Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-08-15
DIR. Putnam, %,
Noted Librarian
Continued From First Page

Continued From First Page
later, when he took over leader.
ship of the library, DR.. Putnam
declared, II am not a biblio-
grapher, but an administrator.
He further declared that the
library should be the foremost
Ione in the United States and hi
set about to make his declara.
ton a fact.
During his four decades oil
leadership, DR.. Putnam improved
and extended the library's serv-
ices to Congress. to other Ii
braries and to scholars. Under
his direction. cataloguing prac-
|tices were standardized and in
1901 he began the printing oil
Library of Congress catalogue
cards for sale and use of libraries
throughout the country.
Also, an inter-library loan
system was inaugurated; a spe-
.cial Legislative Reference Serv-
ice was organized and grants
were obtained for the develop
ment of such photographed ap-
paratus as the National Union
Catalogue which lists books of
research value in several hun
.dred libraries in North America.
The Coolidge Auditorium was
presented to the Library and the
'Whittal Pavilion and the foun-
idationS established by them and
by others enabling the Library
to present programs in music
and in other cultural fields, came
into being during DR.. Putnam
tenure of Office.
When DR.. Putnam stepped into
his job he found one million
books imperfectly catalogued, a
small staff and meager funds for
purchases and none for publica-
tionSs
BY the end Of his administra-
ton the Library possessed the
largest collection of Chinese
books and manuscripts outside
the Orient, the greatest collec-
ton of manuscript sources for
the study of United States his
tory. aside from official records
in the National Archives, and the
worlds largest collection of car
tographic and music materials.
Manuscripts Grew
Under his direction, the
Library'S books. pamphlets and
manuscripts grew three-fold
until by 1887 a new annex was
required.
DR.. Putnam obtained a SIS
million appropriation to acquire
the famous Vollbehr collection
of incunabula books printed
before 1901 and personally
brought the Gutenberg Bible in
the collection from Austria to
America.
In 1929 DR.. Putnam received
the gold medal Of the Roosevelt
Memorial Association for dis
ItinguiShed service in administra-
ton of a public Office. He had
received any number of honorary
degrees from educational institu-
tons and was member of many
learned groups.
Often associates would try to
get Dr.. Putnam to reminisce,
but the scholarly gentleman
would only reply, Yesterdays
don't interest me, only tomor-
rows"
And as to writing an auto
biography, he once said, My
annual library reports contain
everything worth preserving. I
have never kept any other kind
of diary"
Not a Profuse Reader
DR.. Putnam did not collect
books and did not write articles
on books and II am not a pro-
fuse reader" he told a reporter
a few years ago. Il read ro-
mantle stuff, travel tales. west
erns and detective stories and
stirring romances with a happy
ending"
His hobby was small boats.
and for more than 40 years he
cruised up and down the Maine
coast every summer.
l.. Quincy Mumford. present
librarian of Congress said:
The Library of Congress and
the world of scholarship have
suffered an immeasurable loss.
No other one figure in the IL
braryS history wrote his name
so large in the development of
its collections and services. His
vision and his dynamic leader
ship led to the creation, as he
himself put 1t, Of a library uni
verSal in scope, national in serv-
ice. 1t will forever stand as a
to Herbert Putnam.
Survivors are two daughters,
Mrs. Eliot O'Hara, who lived with
him; Miss Brenda Putnam. VIII
ton, Conn, a sculptor. and a
grandson. His wife was the late
Charlotte Elizabeth Munroe Put
nam.
He will be cremated Wednes-
day at Forest Hill Cemetery.
Boston. There will be no serv-
ices. Any tokens of sympathy
may be contributed to the Uni
tartan Service Committee at All
Souls Church here.
Henry Wilson, Served