us copyright office: ar-1867

8/14/2019 US Copyright Office: ar-1867

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R E P O R T'I'HE L I B R A R I A N OF C O N G R E S S ,' 1 % ~ondition of the library dura'ng Ge year d i n g Deceder 1, 1867.

S I I ~In compliance with the standing instructions of the Joint Committee. on11119 I~ibray,he undersigned has the honor to submit the following report of thec11111litionf the Library of Oongre.~or the year ending December 1,1867 :

'I'l~cpsst year hlul been marked by a degree of prog,oress in BU the interests111' tho library unexampled in its p t istory. The extension of the libraryI I I I I I ~ ~uthorized by act of C o n p s of March 4, 1865, baa been fully com-I~l~~lt.d,d the new fire-proof wings, cach capable of containing over 70,000 vol-I I I I I ~ ~ H , re opened, and to a large extent filled with books. Th e space now atc.ct~nrnand n all department8 of the library is adequate to the accommodation of .~rllont 10,000 volumes. An enumeration of the books on hand, inclading the111-~tvyquinitions of the present year, shows an aggregate of 165,467 volumes.c.xclusive of unbound pamphlets, periodicale, manaacripts, and maps. Of thislrbgrcgate, 83,915 volnmes are in the law department of the library. Thetcar~~cricaltrength of the library haa tbua been doubled within the paat twoYI-nrs,nd the value of the collection has been incalculably increased.The removd to the Capitol of the library belonging to.the Smitheonian be ti - -I 111ion an been completed, and the books, with the single exception of the pamph-Irtn and periodicals, bave been catalogued and placea upon the shelves. A~.nlnloguef the transactions of learned societies in that library has aleo beenI~rit~ted,nder the auspices of the Institution, and is complete up to he last year.'I'llc acceseione to the library through the medium of exchanges made by theSlnithronion Institution during the current year, number 1,432 volnmes, and4,117 pamphlets or parto of volumes, beeides 187 mspa.I'Le valasble historical library of Peter Force, of this city, purchmed by act -

,,I' Oolrgress approved March 2, 1867, waa removed to the Capitol during the~ t monlh, and the larger portion of the books bave been cablogned and~llnced pon the sl~elvea. For a summary of the various departments of this,.~dlt&ion, o rich in the political and historical literature of America, referenceIN made to the special report of the undersigned apou the B'oree library, madeIby direction of the committee, under date of January 25, 1867. The immenselllrtns of newspapere and other periodicals, pamphlete, bound lrnd unbound, maps,


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and other materials acquired with this l i b n y , and th e lye o k t i e a dpamphlets belonging to the Smitbsonian Inst&ution, will be prepared for thecatalogue as soon as the titles of the bound books, now nearly completed, madisposed of. A n enu meration of them , similar to that M y ffected w i dregard to books, will then be made and r e p o d to Congress.Th e accessions to the l ibrary during the year e n d ig December 1,1867, a id efrom the special collections already alluded to, number 9,474 volumes, d e r i dfrom the following named sources :

Volumr................................................y purchase.. 5.183

B y th e operation of the copyright kw............................ 1,493B y tbe exchanges of the Smithso nim Institution.. ................ 1,432B y presentation, (chiefly officialdocumente). ...................... 76 6

Total.. .............................................. 9,474=This aggregate is ex clu ~i ve f about 2,000 pamphleta, and exceeds the addi-iions of the preceding year (1666) b y 2 ,223 volumes.B y the copyright laws of tbe United States, as amended March 4, 1865, an dFeb rua ry 18, 1867, one .copy of each publication for which th e government

granta a c o p e g h t in required to be deposited in the library of Oongreas. Theoperation of this act during the past year ha8 been attended with greatlyincreased efficiency, aa is shown in th e followhg comparative rtatement of arti-cles received at the library for the year endiug December 1, 1866, and Decem-ber '1. 1867, respectively :1866. 1W.

.umber of volumes of books. ........................ 836 1,493................umb er of pamp hlets and .periodicals.. 572 1,340Nu m lle r of piecea of music .....-..................... 386 1,266..............umber of engnavinge and photographs.. 170 319Number of maps ................................... 32 91-ot al n umb er of articles.. .................... 1,996 4,499- -ho material increase of additions to the library from t h b eonrce in attributa-ble chiefly to the amendment of the law, recommended in the last report of theundersigned, by which a penalty ir impored for noncompliance, aud the trans-mission through the mails of all copyright matter for this librqry is made free.The amendment to tbe by-laws regulating the aee of the library, sanctionedb y the comm ittee a t the laat seamon, by w hich pereons under sixteen yeare ofag e are exclvded from the privilegee of readera, has proved in practice to be asaluta ry reform. Th e annoyance to the officere of th e library, and to allreadernwith a serious purpose in view, from having the sesb constantly filled with rest-lebe you ths engaged in no other pursuit than sending for and turning over the

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piobri.l pub1Icathu in the U b r y , h u bemi wholly abateddwa the adoptionof the rule.Occasional diaaatietaction has ariaen from the enforcement of another ruleadopted by the Committee on the Library, namely, the following :"The acceaaee to the alcoves and galleries shall be kept closed, and no oneexcept niembera of Congreee perm itted to enter them nnoecompanied by anofficerof the li br ay , with the exception of the alcoves devoted to lightreading."A brief reflection, it ie believed, will ah on the abaolute necessity of m cb arule in every large and well-regulated library. T h e facility of finding an y bookwhen called for ia depe ndent who lly upon havin g a designated place for eve ryvolume, to which it ia alwa ys returned wh en not in nee. Such an orderlyarrangement is wholly incompatible with th e a p te m of opening the alcoves and

ahelvee to the free range of readere. Continual misplacement of books is theneceaeary reeult of this, beeidea th e can etant liabili ty to loae arieing from thedepredation8 of diahoneet peraone, to which all librariee are subject. Expe riencehaa ahown tha t an y diacrimination which ahall die tinp iah the careful from t b ecareleas, the conacientioua from the unacrnpuloua readere, is wholly impracticable.Th e only rule which ie alike aafe an d aatiafactory ie tha t of uniform and im -partial exclusion from the ahelvea. W hen i t is conaidered that th ere remainsto every reader in the library the unrestricted uae of any number of volumescalled for at the tables, through the complete ea tal op ee of the library that arerurniahed, th e nnreasonablellesa of a n y ' com plaint becomea appa rent.Th e catalogue of additiona to the library during the y m , now cloaing ia awork of ench magnitude tha t, although the printing waa commenced on the l e tof November laat, it will probably occupy the present month and a latg e por-tion of th e mon th of January to complete it. 'I'hia catalo gue will inclu de notonly all the pnrchaaee and receipta of new booke durin g th e year, bnt'alao thelarger portion of t he booka of the Smithaonian library, and of the Fo rce col-lection. I n the judgment of the undersigned the convenience of Congreee willbe better eubeerved, and t he adv antage of a ll who uae the libra ry promoted, b ywaiting a few weeka for a full catalo gue of the moat valua ble store8 of booksrecently acquired, than by the bane of the customa ry pamphlet l i t of additionaat the commencement of the session. There will remain for future cataloguesthe titlea of the multitude of ~a m ph le ta ncluded in the Smitheonian libraryU I ~he Force collection, together with the rich aseemblage of map8 embracedIn both libraries, and the mannacripta, newapapera, and moat of tbe incunabulaof the Fo rce collection.In the catalogue now paaaing through th e preaa the undersigned haa introduced(Ls eature, new to moat catalogue s, of giv ing in all cseea the nnm ber of page soootnined in each work, w hen not extend ing beyond two volumee, together with6 aollation 6f all mapa and plate8 included in a ny work. T h e name8 of pnb-llrbera or printera are alao given, and the contenta of all collection8 or eete ofworks thoroughly analyzed. Th em full descriptione, it id believed, will betlp~lnd ighly naeful to all readera, aa indicating the e xtent of the aev eral worksthe catalogue, while th e collation and names of publiahera will serve as a valua -


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ble and often necqaeq aid to the identification of d i t ditimu of the ~ E Uwork.

The catalogue of the library by subject-matters,M, long in p r o p s , has beencompletely prepared for the press during the year, and includes the entire con-tents of the general catalogue of authore ieaaed in 1864, together with the threeannual supplement6 since publiihed. I t waa found, however, much to the regretof the undersigned, that the Oongressional Printing Office could not undertaketo print sirnultaneouely the subject-catalogue and the extensive annual cataloguenow passing through the press. The printing of accurate catalogues, embracingtitles of books in many langnage%, s a work involving much time and carefullabor.

Th e regret experienced at this delay is tempered by the reflection that themateriala for the general catalogue of subjects are all at hand, arranged inalphabetical order, and available at a moment's notice to any one desiring to findwhat the library contains upon any given subject. The printing will be com-menced la soon as the annual catalogue is finished, and puahed forward to earlycompletion.

I n pursuance of the expressed assent of the committee at the last semion, aroom lying between the central library and the rotundo has been cleared andwill shortly be fitted up asa reading room for periodicale for the sole use of senatomand representativm. This is an improvement long needed, and will greatlyfacilitate the use of the numerous and valuable film of newspapers, magazines,and reviews, foreign and American, now received at the library. The aameroom will contain the bound sets of leading American journals, arranged foremy reference.

Th e balances on hand to the credit of the several fnnds Fn charge of thecommittee a t this date are the following, includinethe amount of undrawn ap-propriations in the treasury of the United States:Fnnd for purchme of boob.. ............................... 81,730 65Fnnd for purchaee of law boob .. ........................... 707 35Fund for purcbeee of per io did .. ........................... & 389 62Fnnd for con4ingent expensee and temporary-help.. ............ 2,795 23.........................................atalogue fund.. 32 44Fund for ornamenting the Oapitol with works of art.. ........... 15,905 00Fund for portrait8 of ex-Presidents of tho United Gtstes.. ....... 3,450 00Fund for Powell's painting for a naval victory for the Capitol. ..... 18,000 00.Fnnd for completing the publication of the works of the explor-

ing expedition.. ........................................ 17 14Fund for pay of arrears to authors and artists of the exploring ex-

pedition. .............................................. 5.837 75Fund for replacing the works of tbe exploring expedition destroyed

by fire. ............................................... 1,346 10Fnnd h r putting in order the platem of tbe exploring expedition.. 457 79Botanic garden fund...................................... 749 96Greenh- fund, (pay of horticdtarut, etc.). ................. 3,899 64


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Fund fo r thscoaa tmcthof anew+ uw... .... .....'.... 20,013 95Fupd for publishing the writings of Jam es Madison.. . 190 131 r 1 conclusion, the attention of the committee is mp ec tfa lly called to thedof additional legisla tion to rende r effective the exchangea of public do cum eat^for the p ublications of foreign governm ents, provided for b y a joint resolntion ofOungreas, approved March 2, 1867. T ha t reeolution directa tha t Wty copiesof all documents hereafter printed by order ef either house of Oon,pss, andflhy copies additio nal of a ll documents printed in exce ss of th e usual number,together with fifty copies of each publication issued by any department or

burcnu of the gover nme nt, be p l d t the dis+ of the Jo in t Committea onthe Library, who shall exch ange the sam& through the agency of the Smith-mooian Institution, for such w orks publiehed in foreign countries, aud especiallyby foreign governments, ae rnay be deemed by said committee an equivalent ;raid works to be deposited in the library of Congress."The corngreesional Printer having taken the ground that this mol utio n doesnut direct him to print an y additional number of the congressional docnmentsto tl~at uthorized by exieting laws, and the quota of such documents, actuallyprinted, being al l distributed, the underaigaed haa been unable to s ecure t heroquired documents w ith which to commence the e p t a m of ex changea pro-peed. A circular has, however, been tranem itted to n early all foreigngovern-tneuts by the officers of the S mithsonian Institution, whose fully organizedrystem of exchangee it was proposed to employ in thii agency, m d a suficient!lumber of replies have been elicited to show tea t the propoeed exch ange meets

with g rea t favor , and wi ll be very ge n e d y embmpd. b o n g hegovernmentswbich have reaponded affirmatively to the circular propoeing an e x c h a w . ofgovernment publications are those of Great Britain, Rneaia, Denm ark, Belgium,tho Netherlands, Greece, Switzerland, Chili, and Costa R i a Th e ddcien ciesof the library in works p ubliihed at the ex pense of foreign governments arevery grea t; and as them worka embody much valuable information, not else-where found, reepecting the hietory, legielation, statistics, and condition of th ecountriee the y represent, the importance of securing 8s full a repreeentation ofthem as poesible for futu re use a nd reference becomes apparent A supple-montay act, together with an appropriation adequata to carny into effect thepurpose of the m olu tion , is earnestly recommended.A, . SPOFPOBD, ibraricurHoa. E. D. YOROAN, ..

Chirmanfl Ae Joinl k m d u e e on the .library.

us copyright office: ar-1867

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