Library Report

DURING THE TEN years since Baker Memorial Library first opened its doors in 1928 the total number of volumes in the Dartmouth library has grown from 265,307 to 453,763, it was reported at the first faculty meeting by Prof. Frank Maloy Anderson, for many years chairman of the Faculty Committee on the Library. Of this increase 19,068 volumes were acquired during the past year.

Circulation figures last year reached an all-time high for the Library, the 365,525 books charged out representing an increase of 14,483 more than the previous year. Much of this increase, Professor Anderson explained, was undoubtedly due to the new sophomore course Social Science 3-4, which did its work exclusively with books furnished by the Library.

Gifts of books for the year aggregated 2,358, an increase of nearly 300 over the year before. Among them was a copy of Morisito's Orbis Maritimi (1643) presented by Prof. Louis F. Karpinski of the University of Michigan. Among the numerous gifts of manuscripts were complete novels by Sinclair Lewis, Ben Ames Williams and Gertrude Atherton, and shorter manuscripts by Robert Frost, George Ade, Edgar Lee Masters, Carl Sandburg, Edwin Markham, Arthur Guiterman, and William McFee. A collection of Dartmouth material written by Samuel D. Wiggin '75 was given by Mrs. Martha Slade of Mt. Kisco, N. Y.

Income available for the purchase of books diminished during the year, falling from $62,812.01 the previous year to $58,397.18. The number of volumes purchased, however, increased from 12,373 to 15,087 by means of the withdrawal of $5,000 from the Sanborn Fund reserve which was set up in order to take advantage of any unusual opportunities where quick action and prompt payment are essential. Professor Anderson reported that an attempt will be made during the current year to restore the reserve fund to its usual figure of $10,000.

Notable among the acquisitions of the past year were an unusual number of large sets, either complete or in long runs filling in existing gaps. Especially valuable was a set of The Atlantic Neptune, one of the most coveted things in the field of maritime charts. The Dartmouth set contains 112 items and is particularly strong in the New England portion. Other notable acquisitions were the Rosenstock-Huessy library, consisting of 6300 books and pamphlets mainly in German and dealing with German history and culture, and a collection of items from the Strafford, Vt., library of the late Senator Justin S. Morrill, including political clippings, general-store records, and a number of manuscript volumes written or compiled by George W. Johnson of the Class of 1825.