Evening star., 1932-05-01
Capital Sidelights


plans, he told the House APPROXIMATIONS
Committee: I'VE have reached a stage
here among libraries, partly owing to
the acquisition of the collection of In
cunabula, the Vollbehr collection which
Congress voted to acquire, and other ac-
cumulatlonS, in which we have rarities
OF very considerable number and of
very great distinction, and what you
did IN acquiring the collection of In
cunabula has given us prestige among
the libraries of the world, which, of
course, is going to result in attracting
to US many a gift and bequest of
precious material. It called the atten-
ton OF collectors to the Library, to your
faith in the Library, your belief in what
1t should be, in very spectacular way,
and 1 believe that there is many a col
lector who would never have thought of
bequeathing his collection of rarities to
us before that bill was passed who now
mas put some paragraph in his will di-
lecting it to US.
This treasure room, with its accom-
modatlon for such material, its recoeni-
ton of it from the point of view of the
connoisseur, must be protected, and the
protection that we provide and the
service that we provide there is going to
be the best bid we can make for such
gifts and bequests.'
AS an Illustration of how the Gov
ernment service is sprinkled with ex-
pertS and specialists, so peculiarly
fitted for the particular work they are
performing that a worldwide search
could not find any one better qualified
TO MI their positions, listen to the
plea for DR.. Putnam to the House
Appropriations Committee to allow him
70 retain in the service one such
woman.
In the Oriental division" he ex-
planned, I'VE have a collection of about
100000 volumes of Chinese books. the
finest outside Of China. We have a
little organization for that.
We have, in addition, a collection
OF Japanese literature which has come
to be about between thirteen and four
teen thousand volumes. For that we
have never had any service provided.
The services that we needed are little
difficult to secure. We needed a native
japanese, but with training in the Oc-
cident, competent academic training
knowledge of English and Western
habits, but with all the background of
japanese culture that we could get.
Now, few months ago such a person
appeared; a graduate of university
in Toxic and of Wheaton College in
Massachusetts,, with a master of arts
degree and a doctorate from the Uni
versity of Michigan and at the time
teaching English in women's college
in Virginia.
BY using some of the money that
fell In temporarily from designations
and vacancies not Immediately filled,
we were able to secure temporarily this
person and she Is there now. The
position is being filled by woman.
For various reasons, it is very desirable
that the incumbent should be a woman.
1T would be very unfortunate to
have to part with her. She is Of use
directly in the cataloguing, treatment
and Interpretation of that collection
which has never been attended to and
which we cannot afford to ignore. Also
we have in our division of fine arts
collections of Japanese prints and
other material on japanese art and she
has been very useful in the treatment
and Interpretation of it. That is the
one additional position in the regular
service which have left in the esti-
mates, out Of many others appealed
for"
There are more than 4250,00 print
ed books and pamphlets in the Library
Of Congress. 1t is now rated second
among the three great libraries of the
world. Representative Ludlow of In
diana, who has been using the library
quite extensively for nearly a quarter
of a century, asked Librarian Putnam
about this and passed along the fol-
lowing information:
THE British Museum and the Ma
tional Library in Paris have been about
equal with us, but think we are run
ming ahead of them now, numerically
speaking. Numerically, the Library of
Congress is probably the second now.
But We may in five years be numerically
the first. Their methods of count are a
little different from ours, so it is little
difficult to make an actual comparison.
But in point of richness, of course, We
never can catch up. In the 33 years
that have been here" DR.. Putnam
explained. Il have never had the no
ton of trying to compete with such a
library as regards raritieS. We could
not go out and spend money for rare
missal or other medieval manuscript.
What we have concentrated on is,
in general, the books whose substance
is of concern to the scholar, and If
we cannot get the first edition, why,
we may be content to get the nearest
approach to the first edition.
I'VE do stretch point where it IS
Americana, because the National Lii
brary of the United States ought to be
store house of Americana, it ought
to be strong in all the editions, in
cluding the first editions. Yet would
not think of going out and paying a
fNV- IF m
book, the first book printed in New
England, although it is shame and
modification that the National Lii
brary of the United States should not
have that"
One of the great historic documents
of this Nation. antedating the American
Revolution, and somewhat in a class
with the fundamental documents-the
Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution of the United States-the
Olive Branch Petition. was recently sold
at public sale. There are many noted
scholars who feel that this document
should be acquired by the Federal Gov
ernment and treasured either in the
Library of Congress or be enshrined in
the treasure room of the new National
Archives Building.
When DR.. Putnam, librarian OF Con-
greSs, was asked about this he said:
THE other day I had letter from
the president of a university in the
West, who was very much excited about
the Olive Branch Petition. the last
representation that the Continental
Congress sent to England before the
Declaration Of Independence. Well, it
was sold in New York the other day at
the sale of the Marquis Of Lothian S
collection and fetched $51 900. Now the
president of this university wrote me:
This ought to be in the custody Of
the Federal Government. The Library
Of Congress ought to have it. Surely
Congress would appropriate to secure
that and see that it was put in along
side the Declaration of Independence.
Would you object to a movement in
favor of some appeal to Congress to do
that?'
Il had to write him that could not
associate my Office with appeals to Con-
greSS for that purpose"