the scheme of cataloging adopted provides for that possibility. Entries are made on cards under names of both agencies and subjects, and the cards are filed together in what is called the dictionary catalog arrangement. This arrangement enables the searcher to determine what records to consult, whether he is interested in the activities of an agency or in the study of a particular subject. The unit card system, familiar to users of catalogs in American libraries, has been adopted, but the information given on the cards differs in amount and kind from that given on library cards because of the differences between archives and books. Special rules for cataloging motion pictures and sound recordings were necessary because, as pointed out elsewhere, they differ in so many respects from other types of records.

During the fiscal year, 82 accessions, comprising about 220,000 linear feet of records, were cataloged. The records of the Washington office of the Food Administration were cataloged by divisions, but an attempt to catalog the material by series, undertaken as an experiment, was abandoned as impracticable at this time because of the size of the collection. Of the 82 collections cataloged by accessions, 14 were accessions of films or sound recordings.

The library. The library of The National Archives is designed to be a service agency for members of the staff of the organization and for users of the records in its custody. It consists chiefly of publications of the United States Government; general reference books; technical publications bearing especially on the work of The National Archives and its several subdivisions; books, pamphlets, and reports on archival administration in the United States and other countries; reference books on the social sciences, with special emphasis on American history and biography; textual publications of original sources for American history; and current periodicals that fall within any of these classes. During the fiscal year additions of 69,913 items of all kinds, including duplicates which will be discarded, were received by the library. A very large proportion of the accessions were received by transfers from other Government agencies, by gifts, and by exchange.

Most books other than publications of the Government are placed on the open shelves in the east and west search rooms, so that they may be freely consulted by searchers. General reference books, as a rule, are used only in the search rooms; other books may be taken out by members of the staff of The National Archives. Attendants are present to aid searchers in locating books or in obtaining information. No record is kept of books used in the search rooms, but, during the fiscal year 1936–37, members of the staff borrowed 8,559 books and periodicals for use in their offices.

Use of material.-The several operations heretofore described— accessioning, cleaning and repairing, classifying, arranging, filing, cataloging, and library service are all designed to facilitate the use of the records. This is the ultimate test of the necessity for and the efficiency of these operations. Perhaps it may seem unnecessary to stress this point. It appears, however, not to be generally understood. Even Government officials often inquire whether records transferred to The National Archives are thereafter available for use. The same question is more often asked by private individuals. It seems advisable, therefore, to make it clear that, subject to such restrictions as may be imposed by law or by administrative regulations adopted under the authority of law, the collections of The National Archives are available for any proper use not only by officials: of the Government but also by private investigators.

The National Archives Act authorizes the Archivist to make regulations for the use and withdrawal of material deposited in the National Archives Building. The regulations now in force are printed in appendix III of this report. They are designed to protect, preserve, and further the use of the records and are, of course, subject to such revision as experience may show to be necessary to accomplish these purposes. Requests for services involving the use of records, whether made in person, by mail, or by telephone, are complied with whenever possible, but when such requests from private investigators involve searches too extensive to be undertaken by members of the staff, the applicant is referred to competent private professional searchers. Persons who desire to conduct their own searches, upon compliance with the rules and regulations, are admitted to the search rooms where the facilities of The National Archives are placed at their service.

During the fiscal year covered by this report, cards of admission to the search rooms were issued to 118 persons. By telephone, 1,077 inquiries for information which required use of records were received and answered, and 2,343 letters were written in reply to similar inquiries received by mail. A majority of the services rendered were to Government officials. The number of private searchers who have used the collections is small. This may, perhaps, be due to the lack of published guides and descriptive lists. When these have been supplied, it may be confidently expected that The National Archives will become one of the great centers for research in American history and government.

THE FEDERAL REGISTER

Letters received from Government officials and subscribers, together with the growing subscription list, are evidence that the publication of the Federal Register has been received with general ap

proval. Many subscribers have made constructive criticisms and have offered suggestions for improvement which have been helpful to the administrative committee and to the staff of the Federal Register.

The Seventy-fifth Congress passed "An Act to amend the Federal Register Act", approved June 19, 1937. It provides that instead of the "compilation" of documents required by section 11 of the Federal Register Act, each agency of the Government on July 1, 1938, shall have prepared and filed with the administrative committee of the Federal Register a complete codification of all such documents which have been issued or promulgated by it and which are in force and effect on June 1, 1938. A recodification of all such documents is required every fifth year thereafter. With the approval of the President, such codifications are to be published in special or supplemental editions of the Federal Register.

The act establishes a codification board consisting of the Director of the Division of the Federal Register, who is chairman ex officio, three attorneys of the Department of Justice, designated by the Attorney General, and two attorneys of the Division of the Federal Register, designated by the Archivist. The functions of the board are to supervise and coordinate the codifications prepared by the several agencies. Subject to the approval of the President, the administrative committee is authorized to prescribe regulations for carrying out the provisions of the act. The Federal Register Act and the act amending it are printed in appendix I of this report.

RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES

The National Archives Act, section 9, requires the Archivist to include in his report to Congress a "detailed statement . . . of all receipts and expenditures" on account of The National Archives. In accordance therewith the following statement is submitted:

Funds available for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1937

The Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1937, approved March 19, 1936 (Public, No. 479, 74th Cong.), provided appropriations for the support of The National Archives as follows:

$615, 579

Obligations and expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1937

The total obligations and expenditures amounted to $607,185, leaving unobligated balances totaling $8,394.

The Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1938, provides $700,000 for the salaries and expenses and $17,000 for the printing and binding of The National Archives for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938.

REPORTS OF OFFICES AND DIVISIONS

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF ARCHIVAL SERVICE

(From the report of the Director, Mr. HYDE)

The activities of this Office during the fiscal year 1936-37 were most largely concerned with the defining and coordinating of divisional functions, the developing of specialized archival procedures, the handling of departmental transfer requests, the investigation of stackequipment problems, the appraisal of records recommended for disposition, the supplying of technical information to Government departments, and the launching of two new professional divisions. The two new divisions created were the Division of Maps and Charts and the Division of Justice Department Archives. The rapid increase in the volume of work carried on by the professional divisions brought in its wake new problems of intake regulation and procedural standardization, the study and solution of which threw new light upon personnel and equipment requirements, upon the time requirements for the various steps in completing archival transfers, and upon the space requirements necessary for the proper storage of all transferred collections.

The Assistant Director of Archival Service has been given increased responsibilities in the task of coordinating the work of the deputy and special examiners and of other professional agencies concerned with the appraisal, identification, requisitioning, and transfer of archival collections. He has been accorded, also, the major responsibility for the examination of the appraisal reports of the special examiners and for the formulation of recommendations regarding disposable papers for submission by the Archivist in his reports to the Congress.

ACCESSIONING PROCEDURE

As additional space became available in the National Archives Building and as the number of requests to transfer archival material from the various Government agencies increased, it became increasingly evident that careful consideration should be given to each request for the acceptance of additional collections. All deputy examiners were instructed, in preparing memoranda to the Archivist recommending the transfer of records, to include therein, in addition to a description of the records, all possible information regarding frequency and character of use, ways in which such records might be misused, and all departmental rules, regulations, and practices im