have been followed. A total of 409 requisitions for 1,437 titles were prepared and sent to the Division of Purchase and Supply. From that Division 7,231 pieces were received, many of which had been requisitioned in the preceding fiscal year. At the end of the year 1,253 titles on requisition had not been received, and of this number 716 had been on requisition since the fiscal year 1936. While many of these are books that are out of print, a number are items that publishers or book dealers could supply if orders were sent directly to them. The requirement that books be bought according to the competitive bidding system has increased the difficulty of obtaining promptly books that are desired for the library and probably has increased their cost.

At the end of the fiscal year the library was receiving 117 periodicals other than those published by Government agencies and hence received according to law. Of these 19 were being received by gift and 17 by exchange.

ORGANIZATION OF THE LIBRARY

Physically the books, pamphlets, and other material acquired during the past 2 years have been divided into several groups. In December most of them except Government publications were placed on the open shelves in the east and west search rooms. Current periodicals were placed on special shelving in the west search room, and atlases were shelved in a map case in the east search room. Government publications were arranged in the gallery. Pamphlet material was placed in a vertical file in the workroom. Certain technical publications and some duplicates of other publications were deposited on indefinite loan in the offices of a number of the divisions of The National Archives.

While no classifying or cataloging was done during the year because of the need to devote as much time as possible to the acquiring of books and to making them available for use, considerable work preliminary to cataloging was done. Books in the search rooms were arranged on the shelves roughly according to a provisional plan of classification based upon that of the Library of Congress. The Government documents in the gallery were placed in order according to a modification of the Superintendent of Documents plan of classification. Cards on which to check the annual reports and other serial publications in the library were prepared, and acquisitions to date of such publications of a number of Government departments were checked. The library's holdings of the Congressional set of Government documents and of the Annals of Congress, the Register of Debates, the Congressional Globe, and the Congressional Record were checked in a copy of the Checklist of United States Public Docu

ments. The volumes in the Congressional set were assigned their proper serial numbers.

Early in the year a bookplate, designed by the Division of Photographic Reproduction and Research, was approved and put into use. A total of 3,049 volumes were plated and perforated and 1,501 pamphlets and unbound publications were perforated only.

SERVICE

In December 1936 when books and periodicals were placed in the east and west search rooms, an assistant, with a desk in the west search room, was placed in charge of the material in these rooms and in the gallery. This assistant keeps a record of books lent to members of the staff and gives assistance to those who request it in locating books or obtaining information. During the year 8,559 books and periodicals were lent to staff members for use in their offices. Others were used in the search rooms.

Among the most helpful services that the library can render to members of the staff and to others is the preparation of book lists and bibliographies. While the more pressing work of the Division has left little time for bibliographical work, a beginning has nevertheless been made. The preparation of a bibliography of works on archival economy or descriptive of archival and manuscript collections was begun. By the end of the fiscal year information regarding 1,026 titles had been typed on cards and made available in this form for use by members of the staff. Of these titles 609 are in the library. A checklist of the publications of the United States Food Adminis tration, the records of which have been transferred to The National Archives, was also in progress. The Division of Research began the preparation of an extensive card bibliography of the history, organization, and functions of the several agencies of the Government, which upon completion will be deposited in the library.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

In his capacity as National Director of the Survey of Federal Archives, the Chief of the Division visited units of the Survey in 24 States, and in a number of these he made calls upon local libraries and archival organizations. He attended meetings of the Southern Historical Association, the American Historical Association, the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, and the American Library Association, a regional conference on legal records in New York City, and a regional conference of executives of midwestern historical agencies in Chicago. The head cataloger attended the annual meeting of the American Library Association.

DIVISION OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER

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

DAILY ISSUE

During the fiscal year 1937, 5,078 "documents", as defined in the Federal Register Act, were submitted by 79 Government agencies for printing in the daily issues of the Federal Register. Of this. number 4,645 were actually published and 433 were deemed not to be of general applicability and legal effect. During the year 254 daily issues comprising 3,176 pages were printed. These issues were supplemented by 12 indexes-8 monthly, 2 quarterly (September and March), 1 semi-annual (June), and 1 "annual" (December). The "annual" index, however, covered less than a year, inasmuch as the first daily issue of the Federal Register was not published until March 14, 1936. Since November 1936 the daily edition of the Federal Register has been 7,700 copies, of which 5,500 are sent free of charge to employees of the United States Government.

The daily issues of the Federal Register for the calendar year 1936, which constitute volume 1 of the publication, were reprinted and bound in two parts and were released in June 1937. In accordance with the instructions of the administrative committee of the Federal Register, five thousand sets of volume 1 were printed. Approximately two thousand of these were requested by Government officials, one set. was furnished to each member of Congress, and the remaining sets were placed on sale by the Government Printing Office.

CODIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS

The Federal Register Act required each Government agency to prepare and file with the administrative committee of the Federal Register a complete compilation of documents promulgated by that agency which were in force and effect and relied upon by the agency as authority for any of its activities on March 14, 1936, when publication of the Federal Register began. Representative Emanuel Celler, of New York, introduced a bill in the Seventy-fourth Congress to substitute a codification of the documents for the compilation, but no action was taken on the measure. He reintroduced it in the Seventyfifth Congress as H. R. 5721, entitled "A Bill to amend the Federal Register Act." This bill was approved June 19, 1937, and by its provisions each Government agency is required to prepare and file on July 1, 1938, and every 5 years thereafter, "a complete codification of all documents which, in the opinion of the agency, have general applicability and legal effect and which have been issued or promulgated by such agency and are in force and effect and relied upon by the agency as authority for, or invoked or used by it in the discharge of, any of its functions or activities on June 1, 1938."

Just before the close of the fiscal year 1936-37, letters were sent to each Federal agency asking that it name a liaison officer or committee to direct the work of preparing the codification for that agency and to meet with the board which is to coordinate the codifications.

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE

The administrative committee of the Federal Register, which is composed of the Archivist, an officer of the Department of Justice designated by the Attorney General, and the Public Printer, met four times during the past year. Judge N. A. Townsend, Special Assistant to the Attorney General, was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Dickinson, formerly Assistant Attorney General and Department of Justice representative on the committee.

A third edition of the Federal Register Regulations was prepared in accordance with instructions from this committee, and it was approved by the President and issued in January 1937. The revised Regulations contain some changes in designations of authority under which rules, regulations, and orders are issued by executive agencies and increase the classes of documents printed in the Federal Register to include Executive orders amending civil-service rules.

Numerous letters from subscribers have suggested expansion of the scope of the Federal Register so as to include the publication of certain documents not now published. As a result of this demand and with the authorization of the administrative committee, a study of this question was made and an extensive report was prepared for the committee.

As a further result of demands from subscribers, letters were sent to all Federal agencies which have the authority to promulgate documents of general applicability and legal effect, asking them to provide their rules and regulations with suitable titles, headnotes, or tables of contents explaining the nature of the documents. In general, the response to this request has been satisfactory.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Through constant effort to reach potential new subscribers, the number of paid subscriptions was increased 454 percent during the year. Paid subscriptions on July 1, 1936, totaled 468; during the year 2,622 new subscriptions or renewals were received, but 967 subscriptions were discontinued, leaving 2,123 on the books on June 30, 1937.

It is interesting to note that 920 subscribers have entered upon their second year of using the Federal Register; that only 72 of the 2,123 present subscriptions are for less than a year; that 34 foreign subscriptions have been received; that every State in the United States is represented among the subscribers; that the five areas having the most subscribers are New York, the District of Columbia, Illinois,

California, and Pennsylvania, in that order; that 1,036 of the subscribers are lawyers or law firms; and that the greatest percentage of increase in subscriptions has occurred in the group classifications of libraries, municipal governments, banks, and business houses. Approximately 1,000 requests for information or sample copies of the Federal Register were received during the year.

VALUE TO SUBSCRIBERS

Some idea of the benefit which subscribers are deriving from the Federal Register can be obtained from the following excerpts from letters received by the Division.

From the librarian of a large insurance company:

I have been grateful for the Federal Register. It has been very useful. Part of its usefulness has been because of its promptness of publication. I have been able to find orders, etc., in it before they appeared elsewhere.

From an attorney:

I am enclosing check for renewal of my subscription to the Federal Register. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to congratulate you and your staff upon the work you have done and the progress you have made toward filling the need which this publication is designed to fill. I find the publication of great usefulness and know that it will prove increasingly useful to all members of the bar and the public as time goes on.

MISCELLANEOUS

The drafts of 281 Executive orders and proclamations were examined and edited as necessary and were forwarded to The White House during the year, and 309 signed Executive orders and proclamations were received from The White House. From July through November 1936, numerous printed copies and 132 photostats of Executive orders and proclamations were furnished Government agencies for official use. Subsequent to November such requests have been handled by the Division of Reference.

In August 1936 the Director of the Division attended the annual meeting of the American Bar Association, and in January 1937 he met with the committee on publications of the Council of State Governments to discuss with them the feasibility of State publications similar to the Federal Register.

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER

(From the report of the Executive Officer, Mr. HARRIS)

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS AND SECTIONS

With the appointment of a Chief of the Division of Printing and Binding on October 16, 1936, and of a head of the stenographic pool on August 3, 1936, the organization of the administrative divisions