,government ,documents     in     ,small
 ,libraries       ,government ,documents
     in     ,small ,libraries     ,,by  
,,charles ,,wells ,,reeder              
,reprinted from ,report of ,board of    
,library ,commissioners of ,ohio for the
     year ending ,november #ae1 #aiji4  
,the ,springfield ,publishing ,company1 
,state ,printers4     ,springfield1     
,ohio3     #aiaj4     ,government       
,documents in ,small ,libraries  ,by    
,,charles ,,wells ,,reeder1 ,assistant  
,reference ,librarian1 ,ohio ,state     
,university4  ,substance of an address  
before a meeting of librarians held     
under the auspices of the ,library      
,organizer of the ,ohio ,library        
,commission1 ,ohio ,state ,university1  
,october #h1 #aiji4  ,the problem of    
government publications in the small    
libraries has been discussed at much    
length by librarians1 but it is still   
far from a definite solution4 ,in fact1 
there can be no general settlement of   
many phases of this question1 for each  

and every library must decide what its  
own policy and attitude shall be toward 
this class of publications4  ,it is     
generally admitted that some libraries  
ought to have all the publications that 
are made for distribution1 and therefore
 a system of depository libraries is    
maintained by the government4 ,the      
libraries which are not favored with    
this privilege are compelled to make a  
selection from the great number of      
documents and there is the essence of   
the problem for discussion here4 ,the   
question of what to get involves the    
selection of certain publications which 
will be useful to present patrons of the
 library and the acquisition of those   
for which a demand can be created4 ,for 
instance1 if the library is located in a
 rural section1 there will be a big     
demand for publications relating to     
agriculture1 and a larger proportion of 
such documents will be secured than for 
other subjects4 ,if the students of the 
high school are interested in debating  

present day questions1 the publications 
of the government relating to the       
existing political and economic         
conditions will be in demand4 ,in the   
final analysis1 the librarian must feel 
the pulse of the community1 as it were1 
and secure the classes of government    
material which correspond most nearly to
 the demand4 ,at the same time1 by      
making use of bibliographies1 of        
department lists of publications and of 
the reference section in the ,documents 
,office1 the demand for this class of   
literature can be materially increased  
and documents secured which are not     
already in the library4  ,the purpose of
 this discussion is to suggest a list of
 government publications which will be  
of use in a small library4 ,before doing
 so1 the various methods of securing    
documents must be mentioned1 as the way 
will be indicated with each document    
serial in the following list4 ,first of 
all1 there is the system of depository  
distribution which is based on the act  

of ,january #ab1 #ahie4 ,the idea is to 
place in all sections of the country    
complete collections of all public      
documents which are printed and made for
 distribution4 ,this privilege is       
granted by law or through the request of
 senators and representatives4 ,the     
second way in which large numbers of    
documents are distributed is through the
 congressional quota4 ,this practice is 
a very old one1 being used for the first
 time in #agia4 ,each member of         
,congress is given a quota of all       
documents published by that body1 the   
number varying with each document4      
,these are distributed by the order of  
the congressmen and are sent out under  
their franks4 ,as a rule1 the libraries 
will receive very prompt and courteous  
attention from their representative in  
,congress to any request made for       
publications4 ,thirdly1 the departments 
and bureaus have mailing lists including
 public officials1 institutions of      
various kinds and interested people4    

,usually a request by a library to be   
placed upon such a list is granted2 if  
not1 a letter to the congressman will   
bring the desired result4 ,finally1 the 
,superintendent of ,documents is        
authorized to sell the government       
publications at a price sufficient to   
cover the actual expense of paper1 press
 work and binding4 ,the amount is always
 small because the main costs of        
typesetting and stereotyping are        
eliminated from the price4 ,there are   
some publications which are secured by  
sale only1 this rule applying to        
libraries as well as to individuals4    
,the list of publications which will be 
useful is as follows3 ,the ,farmers'    
,bulletins of the ,department of        
,agriculture are brief popular articles 
which give in simple1 concise language  
the results of investigations and       
experiments4 ,they also outline methods 
for farm procedure and offer            
instructions and suggestions for the    
practical farmer4 ,the annual edition of

 these bulletins is over six and one    
half million copies4 ,by law eighty per 
cent4 of these are placed at the        
disposal of the members of ,congress1   
the remaining twenty per cent4 being in 
the hands of the ,secretary of          
,agriculture4 ,libraries will be placed 
on the mailing list1 or single copies   
will be sent on application to a        
senator1 representative or delegate1 or 
to the secretary of the department4 ,an 
,index to ,farmers' ,bulletins #a-bej   
was issued as ,bulletin #h of the       
,division of ,publications1 ,department 
of ,agriculture2 ,circular ,no4 #d of   
this ,division is a ,farmers' ,bulletin 
,subject ,index1 and contains a list of 
the subjects of the ,bulletins arranged 
alphabetically4 ,it is revised at       
frequent intervals4 ,the ,library of    
,congress issues printed cards for the  
,farmers' ,bulletins4  ,the ,yearbook of
 the ,department of ,agriculture is     
virtually an annual encyclopedia of     
popular1 timely articles on special     

topics covering the year's work of the  
,department and the year's progress in  
agriculture4 ,the law provides for an   
edition of #ejj1jjj copies1 but under   
the new system of public printing1 the  
actual number issued is #cjj1jjj4 ,the  
,department has #cj1jjj and the         
remainder is placed at the order of the 
members of ,congress4 ,applications to  
either source will be filled1 but       
requests had better be sent to the      
congressmen first4 ,two indexes to the  
,yearbook have been prepared3 ,bulletin 
#g1 ,division of ,publications covers   
the annual volumes for the period1      
#ahid-aijj1 and ,bulletin #i of the same
 ,division1 the years #aija-aije4       
,catalog cards for all the articles can 
be secured from the ,library of         
,congress4  ,the ,division of           
,publications1 ,department of           
,agriculture1 issues ,circular ,no4 #b1 
,publications for ,free ,distribution1  
which gives the titles of such          
publications4 ,they are sent free as    

long as the edition lasts1 application  
being made to the ,secretary of         
,agriculture4 ,circular ,no4 #c is      
,publications for ,sale4 ,these can be  
purchased from the ,superintendent of   
,documents1 the remittances being sent  
by postal money orders1 express orders1 
,new ,york draft1 or in currency1 but   
never in stamps4 ,there is also a       
,monthly ,list of ,publications issued  
by the ,department of ,agriculture1     
which will be sent to any library free4 
,through these three lists a librarian  
can keep in touch with the publications 
of the most active publishing department
 of the government and secure the latest
 available information for the library  
patrons4  ,the ,annual ,report of the   
,american ,historical ,association is   
devoted to papers by historians of      
national fame1 to reports of the ,public
 ,archives ,commission1 and to the      
publication of historical               
bibliographical enterprises4 ,for the   
students of ,american history no one set

 of government documents can be more    
valuable4 ,the edition is rather        
limited1 the law providing for #e1ejj   
copies4 ,as the ,smithsonian            
,institution has so many exchanges1     
these reports are best secured from the 
quota allowed to ,congressmen4  ,the    
,international ,bureau of ,american     
,republics is not essentially a ,united 
,states government bureau1 but one in   
which twenty-one of the republics of the
 ,western ,hemisphere have an interest4 
,the ,monthly ,bulletin is printed in   
four languages--,english1 ,spanish1     
,portuguese and ,french4 ,it contains   
the latest information on the commerce1 
laws1 new enterprises and general       
development of each republic4 ,it is    
essentially a magazine of ,central and  
,south ,american events4 ,this ,bulletin
 cannot be obtained free1 as the bureau 
sells nearly all its publications4 ,the 
subscription price for the ,english     
edition is #b4jj per year4 ,a small     
library does not need the foreign       

edition4 ,communications should be      
addressed to the ,director of the       
,bureau4  ,no library can afford to be  
without the publications of the ,bureau 
of the ,census4 ,the volumes of the     
decennial censuses contain the          
statistical records of the nation's     
growth and development4 ,if the full set
 of reports is not wanted1 by all means 
the ,abstract should be secured1 as it  
contains the summaries4 ,the series of  
,bulletins issued by the permanent      
bureau contains the recent statistics1  
estimates1 and are the source for much  
of the data found in the annual         
newspaper almanacs4 ,these publications 
are supplied free of charge to libraries
 upon application to the ,director of   
the ,census or to members of ,congress4 
,the ,department of ,commerce and ,labor
 has issued a ,list of ,publications 444
 available for distribution2 the ,bureau
 has also issued ,publications ,tenth1  
,eleventh and ,twelfth ,censuses and    
,permanent ,bureau4 ,the publications no

 longer available are marked with an    
asterisk4  ,the ,annual ,reports of the 
,civil ,service ,commission contain the 
data on the historical and statistical  
growth of the classified government     
service1 the number and character of    
examinations1 the appointments to       
service1 the rules covering civil       
service appointment and the legal       
decisions of the ,commission4 ,the      
,commission has twenty thousand copies  
of its annual report for distribution1  
applications for it being made directly 
to the ,commission4 ,the ,manual of     
,examinations is issued ,january #ast   
and ,july #ast of each year1 and give   
the date1 place1 character and scope of 
scheduled examinations4 ,it will be     
found indispensable for those desiring  
to enter the government service4 ,it    
will be furnished gratuitously by the   
,commission4  ,the ,congressional       
,directory is issued in three editions  
for a long session1 and in two for a    
short one4 ,it contains the essential   

facts necessary for a valuable reference
 book on the government4 ,there are     
biographical sketches of each senator1  
representative and delegate in          
,congress2 committee arrangements are   
given for all members2 officials and    
attaches of both houses are listed2     
biographical sketches are given for the 
heads of the executive departments2     
there is a roster of the chief officers 
in each department and in the consular  
and diplomatic service2 finally1 there  
is a brief outline of the official      
duties of each department1 bureau and   
division in the government4 ,the number 
issued is determined by the ,joint      
,committee on ,printing1 but inasmuch as
 the ,directory is issued as a ,senate  
document1 it can be secured by          
application to a member in ,congress4   
,if not supplied in this way1 it can be 
purchased from the ,superintendent of   
,documents4 ,the last edition is the one
 to be secured4  ,the ,congressional    
,record is published daily when         

,congress is in session and in a        
collected edition when the session is   
over4 ,it is a verbatim report of all   
that takes place in ,congress1 and ought
 to be placed with the daily papers in a
 library4 ,an ,index is prepared every  
two weeks and one for the entire        
session4 ,besides the references to the 
bills1 the index contains a history of  
each measure and the number of each     
committee report and document presented4
 ,each senator has ninety copies and    
each representative and delegate has    
sixty-two copies4 ,librarians should    
make application to their congressmen   
for the ,record at the beginning of each
 session of ,congress1 as new mailing   
lists are made out at that time4  ,the  
,annual ,reports of the ,bureau of      
,education are devoted to statistics    
concerning the educational system of the
 ,united ,states4 ,there are also       
discussions and papers on important     
educational movements in other          
countries4 ,the law provides for an     

edition of #ce1jjj copies1 #bj1jjj of   
which are distributed by the ,bureau4   
,the reports from #ahfg to #ahih are    
indexed in ,a4 ,l4 ,a4 ,index1 #b;d ed4 
,since #aijf much of the descriptive    
material in the annual reports has been 
eliminated and published as ,bulletins4 
,these contain many late monographs of  
importance and the results of study of  
new problems in education4 ,bulletin #b1
 #aijh1 is a ,list of ,publications 444 
#ahfg-aijg4 ,the annual bibliography of 
education which has been issued for the 
past eight years in the ,educational    
,review is now printed as a ,bulletin of
 the ,bureau of ,education4  ,the       
,experiment ,station ,record1 a         
publication of the ,office of           
,experiment ,stations1 gives a technical
 review of the current literature of    
agricultural investigation1 not only in 
the ,united ,states1 but also throughout
 the whole world4 ,it reviews books and 
annual reports of governments and the   
agricultural experiment stations in the 

various states and about #a1fjj         
periodicals in twelve or more languages4
 ,the ,office maintains a mailing list1 
and application for publications should 
be directed to the ,director4 ,the      
,record is also sold by the             
,superintendent of ,documents at #a4jj  
per volume1 beginning with ,july1 #aiji4
 ,previous volumes are #a4ej4  ,the     
,annual ,reports of the ,interstate     
,commerce ,commission cover both the    
administrative and the quasi-judicial   
proceedings of the ,commission4 ,in its 
administrative features the report      
presents railroad statistics1 discusses 
the uniform methods of accounting1 and  
summarizes the results of enforcing the 
safety appliance laws1 the hours of     
service act and the accidents law4      
,important decisions made during the    
year by the ,commission and by ,united  
,states ,courts are reviewed4 ,the      
reports are furnished gratuitously by   
the ,commission to those who apply4     
,another valuable serial is the report  

on the ,statistics of ,railways in the  
,united ,states4 ,it is prepared        
according to schedules1 and covers the  
mileage1 the amount of railway capital1 
the earnings and income1 the general    
expenditures and the accidents4 ,this   
volume is also distributed free by the  
,commission4  ,the ,bureau of ,labor    
issues three serials which ought to be  
found in every library4 ,the ,annual    
,reports contain the results of         
investigations which the ,bureau has    
made on industrial and social subjects4 
,the ,special ,reports are on particular
 subjects1 and are prepared as requested
 by the ,president of the ,united       
,states or by either house of ,congress4
 ,the ,bulletin is issued bi-monthly1   
and contains the latest information on  
subjects within the wide field of labor 
and not included in the other reports4  
,the ,annual ,reports and ,bulletins up 
to #ahih are indexed in the ,a4 ,l4 ,a4 
,index1 #b;d ed4 ,the ,bureau issued an 
,index in #aijb which covers ,annual    

,reports #a-af1 ,bulletins #a-ci and    
,special ,reports #a-i4 ,application for
 these publications are best made to the
 ,bureau and handled from its mailing   
list4  ,the most useful publication of  
the ,library of ,congress in a small    
library is the series of bibliographies 
compiled in the ,division of            
,bibliography4 ,they vary in size from  
approximately complete bibliographies to
 small reading lists on questions of    
current interest4 ,inasmuch as they are 
based on the largest collection of      
library materials in the ,united        
,states1 the bibliographies give an idea
 of existing references and sources     
which might not be suggested or even    
known in smaller institutions4 ,through 
library loans and the judicious writing 
for sources1 the small library can      
supply liberal materials for study from 
these bibliographies4 ,as to the        
distribution of these publications1 the 
,library of ,congress makes this        
statement3 ,with certain exceptions1 the

 publications are not distributed       
gratis1 except to institutions with     
which the library regularly exchanges4  
,at any event1 they can be purchased    
from the ,superintendent of ,documents  
for from ten to fifteen cents4 ,the     
complete list of these bibliographies is
 published in the ,list of ,publications
 ,issued ,since #ahig 7by the ,library  
of ,congress74  ,the ,daily ,consular   
and ,trade ,reports are issued from the 
,bureau of ,manufactures4 ,these are a  
collection of reports made by ,united   
,states consuls in all parts of the     
world on matters of commercial and      
current importance1 such as new         
inventions1 crops1 market possibilities 
and commercial relations in general4    
,the ,bureau will add a library to its  
mailing list upon application4  ,the    
,bureau of ,statistics of the           
,department of ,commerce and ,labor     
issue two serials which are of use in   
small libraries4 ,the ,monthly ,summary 
of ,commerce and ,finance is the leading

 statistical publication of the         
government4 ,it gives a very complete   
and detailed statistical account of the 
foreign commerce of the ,united ,states1
 the internal commerce and the commerce 
with the non-contiguous possessions4    
,the ,statistical ,abstract covers1 in  
summarized form1 most of the important  
subjects in the wide field of government
 activity1 and easily ranks as the most 
useful summary of statistics relating to
 our country that is printed4 ,the      
edition is limited to twelve thousand   
copies--three thousand to the ,senate1  
six thousand to the ,house1 and the     
remainder to the ,bureau4 ,application  
for both serials can be made directly to
 the ,bureau1 and especially for the    
,monthly ,summary4  ,in conclusion1 the 
librarian that intends to be alive to   
his opportunity with government         
documents will get the ,annual ,reports 
of the ,superintendent of ,documents for
 #aijg and #aijh and commit them to     
heart4 ,they contain the best           

explanation of the present plan of      
distribution and other problems with    
these publications that has been        
written4 ,the library should receive the
 series of ,price ,lists and ,leaflets  
now being issued by the ,documents      
,office4 ,the one is virtually a        
bibliography of some important subjects 
which the documents cover2 the other is 
a description of some one document or   
some class of more than passing         
interest4 ,both show what can be        
purchased and the price of the          
publication4 ,if the library has not    
received copies of ,free ,lists ,nos4 #a
 to #c1 they should be sent for4 ,they  
contain a list of the documents which   
are offered free of all charge to       
libraries4 ,many rare and useful        
publications can be secured in this way4
 ,finally1 if possible1 subscribe for   
the ,monthly ,catalog of ,public        
,documents1 which keeps the reading     
public informed as to what is now being 
published by the government1 how and    

where the publications can be obtained  
and the purchase price4