But universality in scope does not mean absolute comprehensiveness in detail. With its purchasing funds and other resources the Library of Congress bids fair to become the strongest collection in the United States in bibliography, in Americana (omitting the earliest), in political and social science, public administration, jurisprudence. If any American library can secure the documents which will exhibit completely legislation proposed and legislation enacted it should be able to. As depository of the library of the Smithsonian it will have the most important collection—perhaps in the world—of the transactions and proceedings of learned societies; and, adding its own exchanges and subscriptions, of serials in general. With theology it may not especially concern itself nor with philology to the degree appropriate to a university library. Medicine it will leave as a specialty to the library of the Surgeon-General's office, already pre-eminent, Geology to the library of the Geological Survey. Two extremes it may have to abstain from—so far as deliberate purchase is concerned: (1) the books merely popular, (2) the books merely curious. Of the first many will come to it through copyright; of the second many should come through gift. (Perhaps in time the public spirit of American collectors and donors may turn to it as the public spirit of the British turns to the National Library of Great Britain.) Original sources must come to it, if at all, chiefly by gift. Manuscript material relating to American history it has, however, bought, and will buy.
Otherwise, chiefly printed books. Of these, the useful books; of these again, the books useful rather for the establishment of the fact than for the mere presentation of it—the books for the advancement of learning, rather than those for the mere diffusion of knowledge.
Lastly there is an organization. Instead of 42 persons, for all manner of service, there are now 261, irrespective of printers, binders, and the force attending to the care of the building itself.
The copyright work is set off and interferes no longer with the energies of the library proper. There is a separate division having to do with the acquisition of material, another—of 67 persons—to classify and catalog it. There are 42 persons attending to the ordinary service of the reading room as supplied from the stacks, and there are eight special divisions handling severally the current newspapers and periodicals, the documents, manuscripts, maps, music, prints, the scientific publications forming the Smithsonian deposit, and the books for the blind. There is a Division of Bibliography whose function is to assist in research too elaborate for the routine service of the reading room, to edit the library publications, and to represent the library in co-operative bibliographic undertakings. There is now within the building, besides a bindery, with a force of 45 employees, a printing office, with a force of 21. The allotment for printing and binding, in 1896 only $15,000, is for the coming year $90,000.
The immediate duty of this organization is near at hand. There is a huge arrear of work upon the existing collection—necessary for its effective use, and its intelligent growth. It must be newly classified throughout; and shelf listed. The old author slip catalog must be revised and reduced to print. There must be compiled a subject catalog, of which none now exists. Innumerable gaps—that which is crooked can be made straight, but that which is wanting cannot be numbered—innumerable gaps are to be ascertained and filled. A collection of reference books must be placed back at the Capitol, with suitable apparatus, to bring the library once more into touch with Congress and enable it to render the service to Congress which is its first duty. The other libraries of the District must be brought into association—not by gathering their collections into the Library of Congress, but by co-ordinating processes and service. The Library of Congress as the center of the system can aid in this. It can strengthen each departmental library by relieving it of material not necessary to its special work. It can aid toward specialization in these departmental libraries by exhibiting present unnecessary duplication. (It is just issuing a union list of serials currently taken by the libraries of the District which has this very purpose.) It can very likely print the catalog cards for all the government libraries—incidentally securing uniformity, and a copy for its own use of each card—which in time will result in a complete statement within its own walls of the resources of every departmental library in Washington. It will supply to each such library a copy of every card which it prints of a book in its own collections relating to the work of the bureau which such library serves.
To reduce to order the present collection, incorporating the current accessions, to fill the most inconvenient gaps, to supply the most necessary apparatus in catalogs and to bring about a relation among the libraries of Washington which shall form them into an organic system: this work will of itself be a huge one. I have spoken of the equipment of the Library of Congress as elaborate, the force as large, and the appropriations as generous. All are so in contrast to antecedent conditions. In proportion to the work to be done, however, they are not merely not excessive, but in some respects far short of the need. To proceed beyond those immediate undertakings to projects of general service will require certain equipment, service, and funds not yet secured, and which can be secured only by a general effort. But the question is not what can be done, but what may be done—in due time, eventually.
A general distribution of the printed cards: That has been suggested. It was suggested a half century ago by the Federal Government through the Smithsonian Institution. Professor Jewett's proposal then was a central bureau to compile, print and distribute cards which might serve to local libraries as a catalog of their own collections. Such a project is now before this Association. It may not be feasible: that is, it might not result in the economy which it suggests. It assumes a large number of books to be acquired, in the same editions, by many libraries, at the same time. In fact, the enthusiasm for the proposal at the Montreal meeting last year has resulted in but sixty subscriptions to the actual project.
It may not be feasible. But if such a scheme can be operated at all it may perhaps be operated most effectively through the library which for its own uses is cataloging and printing a card for every book currently copyrighted in the United States, and for a larger number of others than any other single institution. Such must be confessed of the Library of Congress. It is printing a card for every book currently copyrighted, for every other book currently added—for every book reached in re-classification—and thus in the end for every book in its collection. It is now printing, at the rate of over 200 titles a day—60,000 titles a year. The entry is an author entry, in form and type accepted by the committee on cataloging of the A. L. A. The cards are of the standard size—3 × 5 inches—of the best linen ledger stock. From 15 to 100 copies of each are now printed. It would be uncandid to say that such a number is necessary for the use of the library itself, or of the combined libraries at Washington. The usefulness of copies of them to any other library for incorporation in its catalogs must depend upon local conditions: the style, form, and size of its own cards, the number of books which it adds yearly, the proportion of these which are current, and other related matters. On these points we have sought statistics from 254 libraries. We have them from 202. With them we have samples of the cards in use by each, with a complete author entry. Having them we are in a position really to estimate the chances. I will not enter into details. Summarily, it appears that our cards might effect a great saving to certain libraries and some saving to others, and would entail a mere expense without benefit to the remainder—all of which is as might have been guessed.
The distribution suggested by Professor Jewett and proposed by the A. L. A. had in view a saving to the recipient library of cataloging and printing on its own account. It assumed a subscription by each recipient to cover the cost of the extra stock and presswork. There is conceivable a distribution more limited in range, having another purpose. The national library wishes to get into touch with the local libraries which are centers for important research. It wishes the fullest information as to their contents; it may justifiably supply them with the fullest information as to its own contents. Suppose it should supply them with a copy of every card which it prints, getting in return a copy of every card which they print? I am obliged to disclose this suggestion: for such an exchange has already been begun. A copy of every card printed by the Library of Congress goes out to the New York Public Library: a copy of every card printed by the New York Public Library comes to the Library of Congress. In the new building of the New York Public Library there will be a section of the public card catalog designated The Catalog of the Library of Congress. It will contain at least every title in the Library of Congress not to be found in any library of the metropolis. In the Library of Congress a section of the great card catalog of American libraries outside the District will be a catalog of the New York Public Library.
I have here a letter from the librarian of Cornell University forwarding a resolution of the Library Council (composed in part of faculty members) which requests for the university library a set of these cards. Mr. Harris states that the purpose would be to fit up cases of drawers in the catalog room, which is freely accessible to any one desiring to consult bibliographical aids, and arrange the cards in alphabetical order by authors, thus making an author catalog of the set. He adds "The whole question has been rather carefully considered and the unanimous sense of the council was that the usefulness of the catalog to us would be well worth the cost of the cases, the space they would occupy, and the time it would take to arrange and keep in order the cards."