Page:What to do for Uncle Sam; a first book of citizenship (IA whattodoforuncle00bail).pdf/106

102 Government at Washington. The name, the author, and the name of the publisher are sent to the copyright department with the very small sum of one dollar, and two copies of the matter. Then Uncle Sam registers it as his own, and it is safe from being copied. He keeps all this material in a special library at Washington, at a very great cost. He has over a million books. There are many hundred thousand pieces of music, thousands of maps, and engravings, and etchings, too, that he is protecting there.

Some of the books are not bound; they are in sheet form. For these the government has steel lined cases and, in addition, a staff of people to keep the papers in repair. These library assistants press the creases out of the paper sheets, patch holes or tears in them, trace the text over if the ink grows dull, and keep great catalogues of them all.

You received your library book very quickly, did you not? Uncle Sam helped to arrange the library card system; that is the reason why you did not have to wait for your book. Before the Government helped with card cataloguing it cost about thirty cents to put a book in a card filing system. Now there are scores of catalogue clerks at Washington who make your library cards, with the name of the book, the author, and the shelf