The History library includes many books which deal solely with Education, Medicine, Music, Art, Religion, Technology, and other subjects, overlapping, therefore, practically with all other departments. The main duplication, however, seems to be in Church History with the Divinity library, in History and Topography with Geography, in Ancient History with Classics and in Education and other subjects with the general library.
The Modern Language library duplicates chiefly material in the libraries of History and Geography, besides of course the general library. It is, however, the one department which strongly favors consolidation of books on the same subject, and if the other departments in or connecting with the general library will agree to such consolidation, its duplication, except with Geography and the Classical Department, should cease after the transfer of its books to the general library building. The fact that this library has on its shelves works like Alumni Oxoniensis, Catalogue of the Advocates Library, "Ersch and Gruber," La Grande Encyclopedie, Dante's Dictionnaire biographique et bibliographique des hommes les plus remarquables, Haebler's Typographia Iberica, etc., will therefore prove an advantage.
The Classical library presents one of the most vexing problems of our library situation, one not solved by a most liberal duplication. Its collections overlap mainly with those of History, Sociology, Science, Political Science, Economics, Literature, Divinity, and the general library. I am not now referring to texts and translations of classical authors, but to modern books on ancient history, government, administration, and the like. What tends to aggravate the situation is the fact that this library possesses also the only set on the campus of certain important general, literary and bibliographical periodicals, e.g., Revue critique. Although this department is in the near future to occupy a building connecting with the general library, it has always taken a strong stand against any merging of its collections with those of other libraries. There is, therefore in this case little hope of relief through consolidation.
Books on Education have been a source of particular trouble inasmuch as they have been purchased extensively by a number of departmental libraries. Mediaeval literature and the history of the middle ages is again a field which has been developed by the Classical library, Modern Languages, History and the general library. General books on Literature may be found in Philosophy, History, Modern Languages, and the general library, and likely also in the Classical department. Books on Evolution treating the question strictly from the biological standpoint may be in Philosophy and History, but not in Biology. Whether the reverse holds true, I have not as yet been able to verify by an actual examination of the Biology library. Naturally books on Experimental and Physiological Psychology may be found in Philosophy, Psychology, and also in the Biology library.
Books on Metallurgy while chiefly in Geology are also represented in the library of Commerce and Administration. This holds true also of Engineering, Shop Management, and Agriculture. The latter subject is freely represented also in Botany, Economics, and in the general library.
Geography, which is connected with the departmental library of Geology in a building not to connect with the general library, buys extensively in History, also in Economics, Natural conservation of resources, Soils, Economics, Botany, Plant Industries, etc., etc.
Meteorology is represented in Geology, in Physics, Astronomy, and in the general library. Books on Water Supply, Irrigation and the like are in Geology and Geography, Chemistry, Economics, and the general library. Books on Fisheries, Whaling, and related subjects may be found in Geography, Biology, and the general library. Commerce is largely represented in Geography, Economics, the general library, Commerce and Administration, and the Classical library. Canals, Waterways, and Railroads, are mainly in Geography and Economics, but also in the general library. Mining is in Geography and Geology, and also in Economics. Marine Biology will be found in Geography and Geology as well as in Biology. Geology has a considerable number of books on Physics and Chemistry. Books on various industries are found in Economics, in Geology, and in the general library. Commercial Geography is somewhat evenly divided between Geography and Commerce and Administration.
Another great difficulty is the separation of volumes of the same work. For instance, there is in no library a complete set of the Statesman's Year Book or the Almanach de Gotha, but partial sets in at least two or three libraries. This holds true also of several bibliographical periodicals and annuals, e.g., Le Soudier's Annuaire de la Librarie française.
The instances here cited consider only the duplicating and overlapping of independent books or monographs treating the same subject, or the same phase of a subject; it does not take note of the duplication common to all libraries because of the inclusion in encyclopedias, general periodicals, and other comprehensive works, of material on a special subject; neither does it refer to the duplication which may be proper in such subjects as Railroads, Waterways, etc., where one department takes up the technical and another the economic phase of a subject.
It would be possible to go on citing hundreds of illustrations similar to the above, but time will not permit. When the work which practically took its beginning in October, 1911, viz., reclassification and recataloging of the libraries, has been completed I dare say that anyone connected with the work who may have had time to make notes by the way, would be in a position to furnish valuable information as regards the practical workings of a departmental system similar to the one which has grown up at the University of Chicago.