ENDOWMENT FOR THE LIBRARY

The annual report of the University Library indicates rapid growth under increasing difficulties. More than forty thousand volumes have been added to its shelves, swelling the total to nearly two million and placing it among the greatest collections of books in the world. Yet with this encouraging progress there has not come the corresponding increase of dependable resources which are necessary in carrying forward the work from year to year.

The principal need for the future is an adequate endowment fund. Under the present status the librarian must count upon generous friends of the University for the annual income. Due to the varying amounts of the gifts, it is impossible for the librarian to estimate his budget accurately for the ensuing year.

It is time that the finances of the Library should be established on a firm business basis. Through endowment sufficient funds could be insured to cover the normal annual expenses, leaving the gifts as funds for additional expansion and experimentation. The Library is too important an institution in the University to remain dependent upon the charity of its friends.