Charles Wells Reeder

“ For instance, if the library is located in a rural section, there will be a big demand for publications relating to agriculture, and a larger proportion of such documents will be secured than for other subjects. If the students of the high school are interested in debating present day questions, the publications of the government relating to the existing political and economic conditions will be in demand. ”

“ For the students of American history no one set of government documents can be more valuable. The edition is rather limited, the law providing for 5,500 copies. As the Smithsonian Institution has so many exchanges, these reports are best secured from the quota allowed to Congressmen.
The International Bureau of American Republics is not essentially a United States government bureau, but one in which twenty-one of the republics of the Western Hemisphere have an interest. ”

“ Usually a request by a library to be placed upon such a list is granted; if not, a letter to the congressman will bring the desired result. Finally, the Superintendent of Documents is authorized to sell the government publications at a price sufficient to cover the actual expense of paper, press work and binding. The amount is always small because the main costs of typesetting and stereotyping are eliminated from the price. There are some publications which are secured by sale only, this rule applying to libraries as well as to individuals. ”