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 STATE OF NEW YOHK 
 EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 
 
 Albany, N. YOctober 20 , zpu 
 
 THE NEW STATE LIBRARY 
 Book purchases 
 
 The New York State Library, largely destroyed by fire March 
 29, 1911, is now, by reason of liberal provision made for it by the 
 State, prepared to begin arranging for its new collections. 
 
 It is the duty of those charged with the purchase of materials to 
 see that the State gets full value for all money expended and to 
 make sure that only choice books of real worth and usefulness are 
 permitted to enter into the new library. The act of the Legislature, 
 just passed, directs that the foundations now to be laid shall be made 
 fit to carry, ultimately, a greater library than the one which was 
 burned. 
 
 To this end it seems well to state briefly to dealers and others 
 who may have books to give or to sell, and for the information 
 of the general public which will be interested, something about the 
 scope of the new library soon to be brought together. 
 
 It would be too much to expect to make the New York State 
 Library greater than all other libraries in all particulars. Though it 
 will have some books on most subjects, it can not undertake to 
 collect all the books or even all the important books on all subjects. 
 
 The immediate definite constituency of the Library is of course 
 the Legislature, the courts and the departments of the State govern¬ 
 ment with fheir employes. In recent years as the business of the 
 State has increased and the conception of the functions of the State 
 has enlarged, the range and volume of the official demands made 
 upon the State Library have steadily become greater and greater. 
 It is expected that this will continue. It must be abundantly 
 provided for. 
 
 A remoter but possibly an even more important constituency of 
 the Library is steadily developing in every part of the State. Every 
 school, every library, and all of *the culturing, commercial, pro¬ 
 fessional, and industrial activities in the State are depending upon 
 and becoming, in effect, branches of the State Library. Through 
 them any individual citizen may expect to find the unusual book not 
 
 L4r-On-iooo (7-8691) 
 
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 found in local collections. It is the business of the Library to 
 encourage this by meeting it. 
 
 The Library will, from the first, pay special attention to the 
 following subjects, and in these subjects will aim to make its 
 collections preeminent. 
 
 General reference books 
 
 a Complete sets of all journals named in the chief general indexes 
 to English and American periodicals. 
 
 b All books named in any important indexes to general literature, 
 e.g. The “A.L.A. Index,” “A.L.A. Catalog,” Granger, Cotgreave, 
 Reader’s Guide. 
 
 c All strictly “ reference books ” in all subjects, in the general 
 acceptance of the term, an acceptance which may fairly be indicated 
 by the scope of Kroeger’s Guide to reference books. 
 
 d Publications of learned societies with particular attention to those 
 on the subjects in which the Library is to specialize. 
 
 e Bibliography; especially titles listed in New York State Library 
 School Bulletins 26 and 5, and Bibliography Bulletin 36. Books 
 about books, the history of printing, examples of early printed 
 books, of notable bindings, of books from famous presses, of ex¬ 
 ceptional typography. Library history, administration and publi¬ 
 cations. 
 
 Law 
 
 All American, British and colonial official, unofficial, side and 
 local court reports. 
 
 All series of selected cases or cases covering special topics. 
 
 American, British and colonial statute law. 
 
 All law periodicals in the English language, with a selection from 
 those in other languages. 
 
 Digests, tables of cases, citation books and all legal bibliographic 
 apparatus necessary to the convenient and exhaustive study of case 
 law. 
 
 Legal encyclopedias and dictionaries, American textbooks in all 
 editions, legal history and biography, literature of the law, inter¬ 
 national law, constitutional law, trials. 
 
 Reports of American bar associations and legal societies. 
 
 Such of the statute law and legal literature of foreign countries 
 as will be useful to our State courts and departments in passing upon 
 foreign questions coming before them, and to the Legislature for a 
 comparative study of legislation. 
 
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 Medicine 
 
 Complete sets of all important medical serials, especially those 
 listed in New York State Library Bibliography Bulletin 47 and 
 those indexed in Index Medicus. 
 
 Transactions of medical academies and societies, bulletins from 
 hospitals, public health reports, vital statistics. 
 
 Important cyclopedias, handbooks, reference works and texts, 
 and of less use but surely claiming a place, the literature recounting 
 the history and development of the medical sciences and the lives 
 of famous physicians. 
 
 History 
 
 The standard histories of all countries, with special attention to 
 those European nations which were early or active explorers of 
 America, which were colonizers of this country and which have left 
 traces upon our government, people and institutions. 
 
 Americana will be collected with zeal and in the broadest sense 
 of the term emphasizing strongly the thirteen original colonies. 
 
 The collection of books and manuscripts relating to New York 
 State must, of course, be by all odds the best in the country. 
 
 Local history, geography, travels, cartography, American Indians, 
 American imprints before 1800, New York imprints before 1825, 
 American newspapers before 1850, American biography and gene¬ 
 alogy, with so much of English and foreign genealogy as shall be 
 necessary to trace immigrant ancestry, are some of the collateral 
 historical subjects which will have attention. 
 
 American literature to be principally represented by first and 
 notable editions of the standard authors. 
 
 Education 
 
 The State Library is a part of the State Education Department, 
 the Regents of the University are its trustees, and it is thus directly 
 associated with the administrative educational offices of the State 
 and all of the State’s marvelous educational activities. There are 
 more than 50,000 teachers in the State and the people expend more 
 than $80,000,000 each year for schools. Surely the State Library 
 must make its collections on educational theory and practice as 
 complete and as useful to the thousands of educational officers, 
 teachers and students throughout the State as is possible. Schools, 
 colleges, and universities, public and private, in all parts of the 
 country are urged to send to the Library as full sets as possible of 
 their reports, catalogs and publications. 
 
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 Social science 
 
 The Library must have extensive collections on social, economic 
 and political science; industrial history; statistics. In this field lie 
 the political and economic questions which are the subjects of legis¬ 
 lation and of State regulation or control. On such topics for 
 example as Elections, Suffrage, Labor, Taxation, Banking and 
 finance, Municipal government, Conservation, Public utilities, Insur¬ 
 ance, Charities, no pains will be spared to build up notable collections. 
 
 Technology and engineering 
 
 The Library will aim to secure all the journals named in the 
 Engineering Index and will more particularly notice topics which 
 relate to activities or enterprises in which the State is engaged: 
 canals, railroads, highways, water storage, agriculture, public health 
 and the engineering phases of the utilities regulated by the Public 
 Service Commissions. 
 
 Science 
 
 Beyond the fundamental general reference material, the State 
 Library will specialize in science only so far as may be necessary 
 to serve such agencies or departments of the State government as 
 are doing scientific work. Good working collections will be made in 
 geology, zoology, entomology, botany, with more particular atten¬ 
 tion to the economic phases of these subjects, and in chemistry as 
 related to agriculture, the arts and commerce. 
 
 Manuscripts 
 
 Besides the manuscript archives which in accordance with law 
 are from time to time transferred to the State Library by other 
 State departments, the Library will secure all important private 
 manuscripts that can be obtained relating to the history of the State 
 and to the lives of its public men. Extensive collections of letters 
 are specially desirable and the appropriateness of depositing them 
 in the State Library is suggested to families in which such collections 
 exist. 
 
 Government documents 
 
 As complete a set as possible of the printed documents of the 
 United States Government both in the collected and departmental 
 editions. 
 
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 The same for every state in the Union. At this point many other 
 State libraries have been prompt with offers of substantial help, 
 which will be freely availed of as occasions for it arise. 
 
 The collected edition when issued (otherwise the separate edi¬ 
 tions) of the documents of every American city with more than 
 25,000 population, and for all counties, cities and incorporated 
 villages in New York State. 
 
 In proceeding to secure books according to this program it will 
 be assumed that whenever practicable the principle of competition 
 as to prices must prevail. The Library will be free to go into the 
 markets of the world and all who have materials to sell may be 
 assured of fair dealing upon the basis of the best advantage to the 
 Library. 
 
 The Library invites tenders from all who have books to offer 
 which are within the scope of its proposed collections. 
 
 These tenders must be specific as to price, and clear and accurate 
 as to the physical condition and bibliographic identity of the books 
 offered. 
 
 Tenders of sets of periodicals, transactions of learned societies, 
 state and government reports or serials of any sort should be for 
 complete sets only, unless it is well known that the publication is 
 exceedingly scarce. 
 
 Representatives of the Library expect to make personal examina¬ 
 tion of important purchases. It is therefore suggested that tenders 
 be confined strictly to books actually in hand and not to books which 
 individuals or dealers hope or plan to acquire later, unless they are 
 standard and easily obtainable in the open market. 
 
 Unusual discounts will be expected for purchases involving com 
 siderable sums. 
 
 Any and all tenders may, of course, be declined. All of the facts 
 and conditions affecting each specific tender will be considered and 
 purchases will be made upon the basis of the best advantage to the 
 State. 
 
 When cash is not paid contracts will be made for future delivery 
 at the State Education Building in Albany, N. Y., probably not 
 earlier than April or May, 1912. Payments will be made after 
 delivery of goods in satisfactory condition. It is likely that many 
 important purchases and those involving large sums of money will 
 
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 be made on this contract plan. Form of contract to be used, addi¬ 
 tional copies of this circular, and lists of books wanted on particular 
 subjects may be had from the undersigned to whom all tenders and 
 correspondence should be addressed. 
 
 Director Nezv York State Library 
 
 Approved Oct. io, 1911 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates 
 
 https://archive.org/details/newstatelibrarycOOuniv 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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