Page:A Short History of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1909).djvu/52

34 The old hand lists were replaced in 1885 by a regulation card catalogue which has been kept up to date. An Assistant Librarian was appointed in 1890. The library, exclusively for reference, now contains about 60,000 volumes, almost entirely on the natural sciences. In many respects it is the most important collection of the kind in America. It is especially distinguished for its complete sets of early Journals and Transactions and for finely illustrated monographs in all departments of zoölogy and botany. Its sources of growth are the incomes of the Wilson, the I. V. Williamson and the Meigs Funds, supplemented within recent years by liberal appropriations from the treasury. These sums provide the proprietary journals and works on general science, while the publications of learned societies, perhaps the most important part of the library, are secured by exchange of the Proceedings and Journal.

The arrangement of the library has been considered a model of convenience by all having occasion to consult the books. They have been removed to the new building where they are placed in a fireproof compartment fitted up with tiers of steel stacks. Much-needed increase of room has thus been secured.

Mr. Witmer Stone, one of the Curators, states that the Academy's museum to-day, both for its historic value and the extent of its collections, is one of the most important in existence. As in the case of all the older scientific institutions its arrangement has undergone material changes in the course of time. The old idea of having all specimens displayed in show cases has been superseded by the establishment of two distinct collections: an exhibition series selected and arranged primarily for the education of the public and a study series compactly arranged in the laboratories and study rooms, where the large suites of specimens required in the work of modern specialists may be accumulated and preserved. Perishable material which has but a comparatively short life in exhibition cases is here preserved from the ravages of light, dust and insects. One of the features of the museum is the large number of type specimens which served as the basis of the work of the eminent naturalists who have figured in the history of the Academy, access to which is indispensable to the students of the present day.

An idea of the extent of the collections may be gained from recent examinations of the catalogues. The vertebrate animals