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