The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory Library

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Citation Brooks, Charles F., and Shirley J. Richardson. 1958. The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory Library. Harvard Library Bulletin XII (2), Spring 1958: 271-281.

Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37363804

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RROTT LA,vRENCE RQTCH (1861~1912), founder and first Director of the Blue I.Jill 1\1cteorologicalObservatory-, ,vas a n1an of fat-reaching vj sion. His in tcrest in meteorology· transcended the in1tncdiutc observational program that led him, in the year of his graduation from 1\1assachusettsInstitute of Technology, J 884, to plan and carry through the erection of the Ob- servatory, on the su1nmit of G·rcat Blue Hill~ i\1ilton, cntirel)T at his o,vn expense. Fro1n the beginning he ~ssembled a library not only of current meteorological publications and ref erenee books but of

older ,vorks a.s,veil. Thro11ghout his career as Director 1 until his un- tin1ely death in 1912, his unflagging energy and good ;udgn1ent provided the Observatory ,vith an ever gro,ving collection of first in1 po rt~nce for a11 aspects of n1eteoro I ogy. F rcq ucn t trips abroad and attendance at 311meetings of the International lVIeteorologicalOrgan- ization aif ordcd excel]ent opportunities for the acquisition of signifi- cant material. He arranged exchanges ,vith nun1crous foreign ,vcather services and meteorological institutions at a time ,vhcn such inter- con tin ental exchanges ,vere rare. As a r csult, th c library at th c Observa- tory can1e to in elude the published results of most of the research done in meteorology. During 1 88 s the Blue Hill Observatory became a department of I--IarvardUniversity, ,vith Rotch as Director. In 1893 th~ State created the Blue HiHs Reserv~tion, and three )7Cars later leased the sun1mit of Great B1ue Hill to I-I~rvard for ninct) 7 -ninc years. Fro1n the outset~ there ,va s close collaboration bet\veen the Observatory on Blu c Hill and the I-Ia~ard College Observa.tory in Can1bridge. The ~observations and Investigations l\·Iadeat the Blue Hill .i\1eteorologicalObserva- tory1 ,vere regularly published in the Annals of the 1-Jarvard College Observatory fron1 1887 through 1926. Only in 192 7 did the Blue Hill Observatory· begin its o,vn serial publication of data and the re~ sults of research; ,vith the support of the Class of '7 3 Printing Fund

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Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) 2 7 2 Harvard Librrrry Bulletin established by th c bcquest of Frank Hagar Bigelo,v. Rotch, ,vho bore the tit1e of Assjsrant in lvlctcorology as ,veil as that of Director from r888, beca1ne I-IarvardJsfirst Professor of 1\1etcorology·in_ 1906. He continued to bear the entire expensc of the Observ.atory, including bui Idin gs, instru tnen ts, and 1ibrar y, until his death, ,v hen bi his , v ill the esrablishn1ent,vas given to Harvard, together ,vith an endo,vmcnt of $ 50,0004 1 B)r 1889 the col]ection of books had a1read}r expanded to such a degree that Rotch \Vaspro1npted to construct an addition to the Ob- servatory· that he designated as "'the library. 1 I-lis introduction to c-Oh-

serva ti ons l\1ad c ·at th c Blue Hi 11]Vlcteoro Iogi ca i O bscrva t or)r 4 • .. in the Year 1 889~ ref erred to this event as f o1lo,vs: 'A hv~-stot) 7 addition

to the southeast corner of the building ,va8 comp}eted in l\1ay .. 4 It contains a library· fourteen bjr seventeen feet, ,vith a large vault for the records . .. / .2 Still another addition \VHS called for during Rotch's lifcti1nc .. A 'nc,v libraryt ,vas constructed in 1902., described, jn the . introduction to 'Observations a.nd Investigations, for 1901-02, in the f ollo,ving terms: The chief object ,va s to provide a fireproof room for the Iibral)• and s tor- age for the kites, and, therefore., a t,vo-story stone building1 ,vith a floor space of 2 8 x 15 f ect, ,vas erected upon the site of the ,,~ooden shed at the ,vester1 y side of the Ob senTatory.. .. 4 • the library . . . js .fitted Yvith steel shelving. havjng a total length of 440 f ect,, and ,viH co11t:1inabout 5000 vol u1nes and the records of th c Observatory during many years. In the corners of the interior frieze are placed copies of eight bas-reliefs on the T-Ioro 1ogi un1 of And ronikos I{yrrh cstcs at .Athens, rep rcscn ting th c ullcgor- ica1 figures of the ,,,ind~·r~ In the introduction to 'Observations and Investigations, for 1903- 04 llotch .stated that ~alibrary of about 8000 volun1es and pan1phlets) had been accumulated/= there ,verc also some 35 periodicals. By the titne of Rotch 1s death the nun1ber of books and pan1phlctshad Iiscn to nearly 2 3~000, ,vith a.bout 50 periodicals and regl~ters of observa-

1 For a general account of the Observatory and its ~cicntific \Vork during the fir.st

f orty-fi ,te y cr-trs 5Ce Al cxftnder G. l\,i cA.dic1 '"l~Jw Hluc l-IiH O b.~enTatory 1884- 19 29, in The ])evelop'll1ent of I-IanJi.1rdUniversity ... 1869-19.19! ed. Samuel EHot !\~ori- son (Cambridge. 193 o). pp .. s49'"" 5 5 4. Rotch !s D\.Ynnota bJe c arccr as a pionecr j n meteorological and -aero"rHHiticalinvestigadon Js som1n:.1rizcdby I\1cAdic jn the Die~ tionarJ of A1uerican1Jiograpb)'4 A.stronotnical Obscnrs.tory of J.Iarv~rd CoUcge, Annals,· XX:X (1890)"! vii.

a Annals, XLIII ( l903) ! 115~JI6. 'An1wht L \ 1Jll ( 1906) 7:i:...

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) The Bh,e Hill MeteorologicalObservatory Library 2 7 3 tions.~ Alexander G .. 1\-1:cAdie,,vho ,vas appointed Director of the Observatory und first Abbott La\vrence Rotch Professor of l\1ctcorol- ogy· in 191 3, paid the follo,ving tribute to the library assc1nblcdby his predecessor~ (The library is probabl) 7 the best collection of meteorological boo ks, pamphlets, and journals in the United States~ outside of the city of Y\1nshington ..... Professor Rotch devoted much tin1e and labor to [the library], 11ispurpose b cin g to 1naintain a hi g l 1-grade . ,v or king library in aero 1ogy \V here stud cnts and in vescigators 111i gh t readily find a.11needed ,vorks.' 6 The need for classification of the contents of this rapidly expanding library became apparent at an early date. H .. Heln1 Clayton, ,vho \Vas Observer fron1 1886 and later l\1eteorologist, in 1900 enlarged his du tics to this task. 1 In , vorking out a classification scheme~ Cl a.y- ton amp1ificd the Dc\vcy decimal .syste111to include n1cteoro 1o gical and rela red subjects.s It is according to th is an1pli fied system, revised und adopted by the \i\7orld l\1ctcorologicalOrganization in 1956t tlu1t nearly all the contents of the library arc currently arranged. A valuable and interesting part of the library is the collecdon of original ,vcather records taken at n1any places throughout Nc,v Eng- l-and.. These records, dating f ro1n before the founding of the U. S. Government ,veather service station in_Boston in 1 87 1 and even cx- ten ding into the ColoJ?-ialperiod) provide valuable inforrnation for the establishment of long-term means and for determining the climatic fluctuations of this region. The most extensive of these arc the Rodman records taken in Ne\v Bedford, l\1assachusettst by San1uel Rod1nan and his son Thomas,

r. Introduction to 'Observations. an,t Investigations!' £or 1909-10, Ann(1lr! LXXIII ( 1914), 9. 1 1 [l, Introduction to 0hservations and lnvesdgatlons for 1911-14} Anna fr., LXX"llI (J~n5)i, 98+ r A~n-Mls!XLIII { 1901 ), 41. a A1nrnlsi LXV"III ( 1911 )t 100. i. The Observatory's holdings of origin-J.l records. of early date hav13 recently hern :supplemented at H:uvard by· the Hol~ghton J....ibrar;1,s l\cqujsition of observations ( catc1.logued as i\·fS D.:Ln42-) made s.t Quebec in r754 by Je-an Frao~ois Gaultier! 'medecin du roi' and friend of Peter- K-alm., and of a collection of tnisccllaneous ohserva ti ons ( catalo gu cd '1.5 bl\1S Am 1 360 :ind 1 , 61 ) mc1de by various persons in

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) 2 74 lf ar-vard f_,,,ibrnryBulletin Despite the severe .financialhandicap under ,vhic..:hthe Observatory ,vas operated during the years foHo,ving Rotch"'s de-a.th, Profess.or l\1cAdie continued in the relentless efforts of his predecessor to 1nain- tain an up-to-date,' ,vorking library that ,vould include accounts of cnrrcnt n1ctcorological research, -as,ve11 as daily and annl1al d~ta sun1- 1na. rj es from ,v c athcr stn ti ons through out the ,vor 1d. R esea re h has aJ,vays been an irr1portant part of the \Vork done at Blue Hill.. The publication of these meteoro]ogical results, plus the daily obscrvationnl

data 1 and 1nonthly~ seasonal, and annua1 su1nmades, has enabled the 1ibrar y to obtain a large portion of its hold in gs through exc lianges ,vi th other ob servator ics, ins titu tions, and individual 111ctcorol o gists. As early as 1916 the number of these exchanges had reached 304. Today they h2.ve doubled. Ho\vever, in meteorology~ a·sin other fields~there is -ahvaysa considerable quantity of 111atcrialthat can be obtained only through purchase. 1'"hc funds available for this gro,vthi have~ in the past., been meager, and the proble1n continues. By l 93 2i lin1jrcd space at the Observatory 1111dforced sonic curtail- n1cnt in the collection of current cl iu1a to logica 1 dat'J. from foreign countrjcs. Dr A. Hamilton Rice., ,vho had recently founded the Institute of Geographical Exploration., 2 Di\Tinity Avenue, Ca1n- bridgc, gcncrous1y.. offered to make the Jo,-ver stacks of the Institute building available for Blue HilPs voluminous cli1natologic3l co1lecti~n.. "\~/jththis collection ,vere included the file of U.S .. dail)7 ,veathcr maps of the Department of Gcolog) 7 aud Geography, complete front 187 1., a.nd the maps ilnd collateral material used for the courses. in meteorology und climatology given at the Geographical Institute. At this san1e ti111ethe entire n1ereoro]ogical and clin1atological holdings of the 1-Iar\TardCollege Observatory ,verc gi'rcn to the Blue Hill

l.tibrary"1 the clin1atologjcalportion being n1crgcd· ,vith the Blue Hill clin1atological collection in the Geographical~Institute stacks. 1'he

IInrvard CoJlege Obscrvatol"}7 , founded in 1840.,had begun collecting clin1atographicn1atcrial decades before the Blue HiU Observatory ,,~as established. Th c -astrono1ncrs ,vcrc in tercsted in c lim-:atefor solar- ccli pse expedition.~, :and cspecial]y in that of the southern hc1nisphcrc in connection ,vith the selection of n suitable site for a. subsidiary·as- trono1nical station. This search and the eventu-a.lestablishrncnt of a

N cw England, Q ne b cc., .i\.•1ichiga n 0 h io, and South Caro] ina (plus one trea cise in Frcnc h) ran gill g from 1 7 i 4 to 186 5. Th e.r;;;e111.isc c1 b ncous obs er\' a tions ·were placed in Houghton on permanent dero.dt by tlw An1eric:1n. Acaderny of Arts .lnd Sciences.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) The Bille Ifill A1eteorologicalObservatory Library 17 5

.stution in Arequipa, Pe-ru1 resulted in the collection of a considerable aniount of cliinatic data for this area4 ]Jaily obscrvarjons taken in C-a.n1bridgefrom [ 840 to I BS8,vere also transferred. Robert DeCourcy Y\1ard, Professor of Clin1atology.,had died in 1931 .. His personal library, along ,vith an cndo,Yn1cnt of$ 1,025 to maintain it and keep it current, \Vasgiven to Harvard by his f an1ily in 193 5 as a n1en1oria.l These books ,vere added to the other c]imatological material in the Geographical Instituter and the entire collection named the Robert DcCourcy "\l\1ard C]i1natological Collection of Ha.rvar

adapted thctn to An1crican conditions 1 and1 by cxan1ple3nd preceptJ starred an A meri can cho ol of cHma to logy vd1ich has guided gov er11111 en tal nnd private clin1atological ,vork for scvc~a] decades.Jo

The American· 1\·leteorological Society, since its founding in 1920 1 had been collecting 1nctcorological and clin1atological publications

f ron1 n1any .sonrces both in this c0ll ntry and abro ad4 This 1n at eri al, pr~\Tionsly·deposited in the Clark University J.-ribrary,,vas transferred to the Blue Hill Library in 195 1, ,vith the clin1atologica]contents added to the ,~1ard Colkction at 2 Divinity Avenue. In 1954 the Society generously relinquished all clain1 to the. transferred 111atcriaLIt con~ tinues tu fur\vard n1ost of its c11rrent exchange tnaterial. 1~hc Blue Hill Library·~ in turn, coopcrutcs ,vith the Society in loaning publications for its use, and in sending current lists of accessionsto the editor of the Society's A{eteorological Abstracts and Bibliograpb)'. The n1crgingof the c1in1atologicalholdings of the Blue Hill Observ- atory\ the fl arvard College Observatory, Professor ~' ard s library, ~nd the American l\1ctcorol ogical Socicty nndcr the nan1e of the founder of the American school of clin1atology has resulted in the greatest body of ,vorld-,vide climatological and cli111atographicalpub~ Jications in the United States outside the "\~1eather Bureau's coUection in \¥ashington. Indeed, during '''orld \\Tar JI it bccan1cevident that

~i:i American l\-leteoro logical Societ~f, Bui le tin i XVI ( 1 9 35 ) , 3 19'"'""3lo.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) Harvard Library Bulletin the \" 1ard collection included material not o\vncd by the V{eather Durcau .. The cost of 111nintaioiogsuch a collection has far exceeded the incon1c from ·the \~lard cndo\vn1entr This additional expense has been borne h)r the Blue HilJ Observatory, \Vith the aid of son1e incon1e from the sale of dupli catcs and, in recent y·ears, from "Ljb r-a.ry i\1embers hips" or contracts, such as the contract ,vith the Arm)i Quartermaster Re~ search and Engineering Conunaud at Natick,. ,vhose fifteen ge ograph- ers and meteorologists arc frcgucnt borro\vcrs.. (A consideration in locating the Quartermaster Center in the Greater Boston area in 195 3 ,vas the availa b ili tJ'" of this climatological co 11e c tion.) Despite the Iangc and uscf ulncss of rhc ,,, ard Collection, the focal point of the Blue Hill l~ibrar) 7 continues to be the assemblageof current 111etcorolo gical Iitcra ture~ as , vell as of important o Ider publications, kept at the BJu c Hi 110 b scrva tory , vhere a st a.ffof n1ctcorolo gists and resc arcl 1 assistants have ready aceess to its con tents~ Here also are the records of all librar) 7 holdings) plus extensive meteorological bibliographies and ref erenee books.

Boo ks and pa rnph lets are ca tal ogucd in one filc~ and serialsI in cl u d- ing journals and data public~tionst ju another. The nvo card files uti- lize Jjfte en dra ,v er.s~and in cl ude ref ere nc e.s to near Iy a.11the con ten ts of the library. Besides these, there is a shelf list for .serials retained at Blue Hill and another for those included in the collection at 2 Divinity· · A venue4 Books are catalogued h oth by- author and ti tie., pamphlets by author only. Both bocks and pa.n1phlctsare arranged on the shelf and in file cabinets according to subject matter.,, thereby providing a fur th er index. Th c seria 1s, ,v hich con,prise the greatest part of the library, arc.catalogued by title and publisher (or by country if foreign), and are arranged on the shelves 2lphabcticallyby countf)T4 The journals are both catalogued and shelved b)7 title. The bibliographies include not only those published by nation-al and international 111ctcorologic al orga njzations and societiesbut -a1soa subject-and-author index of meteorological literature sjucc the early I s·oo's con1prising nearly· 90,000 cards, dra\vn prir~cipal1y from Eng- lish-1a n.guagejournals. The nu cl cus of this comp re-hen~ive hi h liogra- ph y ,vas prepared by the ,~A under the supervision of the u4·S. l~/eather Bureau in the late 193o"s, covering literature to 1937. The Blue Hill l.-ibrary·,vas given one of the ten min1eographedcopies. ~F'ron11937 to l 949 re-gu1-aradditions ,vcre 1nudc to this index fron1

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) Tbe Blue Hill .it1eteorologicalObservatory Library 2 77 the bibliographies published in the Bulletin of tbe An1ericanAieteoro-

logi caJ Society 1 the British Bibliography of MeteorologicalLiterat11re, and the French Bibliograpbie ,n,eteorologiquei11ter11ationrrle. '"'hen- evcr ,5pccialbibliographics ,vcrc compilcd or acquired at Blue Hill they too ,vere added. One snch is on lo\v-sun pheno1nena and -another on anemometry. In .19 5o the American l\1eteorologic-a. l Society began publication of its comprehensive and accessible Meteorological Ab- stracts nnd Bibliograpby (M.A. & B.) t 1nnking further additions to the v\,P A file unnecessary. CA.ta.Iogue cards for ne,v books and serials are sent to "\~TidencrLi- bra r)T for duplication in the 1-Iarvard Union Catalogue before being added to the Observatory file. The Library of Congress also receives ne\v serial ti tles4 All incon1ingmate rial, exclusive of the better-kn o\Vll metcorologi cal journals, is recorded on an accessions list, copies of ,vhich are distributed to the editor of At. A. & B.. , the Library of Congress, the "-'cathcr Bureau Library, and the Sandia Corporation of A]huquerqne) Ne,v Mexico, a supporter of the library. The library identification letters '1'1B-BI--I'appear after all articles listed in A1. A. & B. from the acccssi ons list.. Th is idcn tification, tog ct her ,vi th th c ,vi d c distr ibu-

tion of kl 4 A. & H ., is partly responsible for the in ere asc in the n un1ber of loan requests in recent years. During a nine-,veek period from 31 January to 2 April 1957 there ,vcrc I oz such requests._It is not unusual

to receive them from ,~t;;_T-ashingtonState 1 C-alifornia1 and Alaska~ Re- s carch 1ab oratories, hospitals, and ind ustrj al firms throughout the Greater Boston area have for years utilized the library-. One firm, the Dc\vcy and Almy Chemical Company, receives a sen1i-annual bi hliograph y prep ared by the Assistant l..-ibra ri an, on balloons, u 1tra violet r·adiacion, and ozone. 1... he company in turn contributes to,vard the expenses of the library. The contents of the Blue Hill l~ibrary l1avenot been counted for 111ore than t\ven ty-fivc years. Ho,vevcr, by closely csti mating an annual gro,vth of 1,500 books and pamphlets and 2,000 ,veather 1naps, u fairly accurate total of 25,000 volu1n(;s,14~000 pamphlets, and 95,000 ,vcather n1apshas been reachcd4 There -arcalso 6 micro.films, 3 cloud filn1s ( taken at 900 feet)~ 2 90 Air Force ,veather radar films ( deposited at Blue l-Jill)i about 1~500 individual cloud photographsi an equal num-

ber of lantern slides, and some 2 51000 night cloudjness plates (for

Cambridge and for A.rcquipa1 Pen1). The Blue Hill Observatory·

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) Harvard Library B'lllletiu. ,veathcr records a.re of course con1plcte from February· 1885. The ,veather records of the l\1ount '''-ashington Observatory., since the reestablishment of the station in 193 2t have a]so been deposited in the Bille Hill Librar)r.. . The size of the library and its constant gro,vth have accentuated the need for accessible expansion areas. ,vith .space severel)T lin1itcd at the Observatory, the stacks at 2 Divinity Avenue have served, not only to house the valuable ~'ard Cli1natologicalCollection, but also as u safety·valve for the overflo,v fron1 the main body of the library at Blue 1-lilJ.Current ilccessions of 450 serials,.plus the nornu1l gro-\vth bJTp nrchas e, exchange,.and gift, ,v o u ldpre.sent a serious prob 1en1 of overcro,vding ,vithout this adclitional space. 1\lat1)7 of the less fre- quently used serials and older volumes of foreign meteorological journals have been transferred to Ca1nbridge, along ,vith all data publications. Most books and pamphlets published before 1931 are also part of the c~unbridge collection. Other portions include earlier editions of books, origin a1 , -vcathcr records 1nadc in Can1bridge, 1\1il ton, Son th '''cyrnouth, and the I\1ount "f\rnshingtonObservatory, and duplicates of books., journals, and pan1phlets retained at the Obscrvator y·. There are nlso,, in the lovler stacks at 2 Divjnity Avenue, a large number of surplus issues of the U. S. '\~leather Bureau,,s111011tbly 11 1 eatber Re- vie'lvand S11pple111entsthat ,,rcrc transferred to Can1bridge from "YVash-

ington in r954, a.t the expense of the American 1\1etcorologicalSociet} 7 1 \vhcn a drastic cut in the ,,,eather Bureau,s storage space ,vas en- forced. The Observatory has since distributed 1nany copies to foreign , vcath er s ervices and institutions through au t the \Vor 1d, and has sold sets to A n1erjcan institutions and ind ivid ua Is. The Observatory·'s holdings at 2 Divinity Avenue arc consulted b)r arrangem en t ,vith the Assistant J_.Jib rari an at B 1 uc Hi 11.aci F 1ities in- cl ud c four ,vcll-lightcd desks and a table that together provide a1nple 1vorking space for the, volun1inous clin1atographic publications. The proxi1nig.rof the collection to investigators from the Peabody A1useum, the Biological Laboratories, the Ivluseum of Co1nparative Zoology, l\1as-sachusettsInstitute of Technology~ and the various botanical institutions of the area is often an important factor in aiding research.. Bet\veen r942 and 1945 a number of the rarer early ,vorks in the Blue Ii ill Library co]lected by Abbott La,vrcncc Rotch ,vcre transferred to the I-Ioughton Lihrar3r for safer keeping. During this same

period Prof cssor Rotch 's son, J\1r Arthur Rotch, Harvard, '2 1 't pre-

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) The Blue Hill MeteorologicalObservatory Library 2 79 scntcd to Houghtont in 1ncmory of his parents, his father's private librar) 7 of meteorology and aeronautics, an1ounting to over seven h un- dred early books and over fifty 1nanuscripts,.the latter including six letters of Bcnj~nnin Frunklin to Sir Joseph Banks regarding balloons, as ,vcll as letters of the \~'right brothers and Graf von Zeppelin. By n1cans of the reciprocally advantageous transfers described above, it has been possibleto n1aintain at the Observatory an up-to-date ,vorking ]ibrar}Tfor rnereorological research. Apart from its availability for the ·main ,vork of the Observatory, a 1najorconsideration in retaining the central library, ,vith its administration, at Blue Hill, has been the ease, vith ,v hi ch tb e inct coro logists , vho dct crn1inc p olicics'I pnrchasi ng, and classifying can alternate these dl1ties ,vith their xcsearch. Thus Professor Brooks~until his retirement as Director of the Observatol}r 31 August 1957, ,vas regula.rly at hand for the dctern1in~tion of policy and over-all guidance ..11 -Fro1n 195 2 to Jnly-1957 Dr Rayn1ond ,vex- ]er1. A hhott La,vrcncc Rotch Research Fcllo,v and later Research l\.1eteorologist,served ::isLibrnriant concerned ,virh purch-asing.During 1956-57 Dr Jen-hu Changt Research Cli1n~tologist~ as Associate Li- brarian classifiedmost of the incoming material. From September 1954 to October 1957 J\1rs Anastasia Ca.kstc served ~s Library Assistant in charge of the collection at 2 Divinity Avenue. Other 1ncn1bcrs of the Observatory staff often have contributed servicesto the library during p2rticularly busy periods.. \::\/hcncverpossible, during recent yearst the senrjces of a full-tin1e staff member have been m~intnincd for cataloguing~ acccss_ioning,lonnst and reference ,vork. This post ,,Tas held b)r I\1iss Shirle}7 J. llichardson as Assistant Librarian fro1n October 1956 to September 1957, and as l...rihrarianto I Fcbruar}r 1958, in successionto Dr ''-'ex]er. On the latter date she left the Observatory-to join the Reference Dep-art-

xnent of the I-I~rvard College J_)ibrat}7 , and lVlissElizabeth B. I-lodges became Assistant Librarian.

Funds for the support of the library7 never extensive, have become increasingly inadequate ,vith mounting costs. In consequence, a back- log of uncatalogued material has accumulated,. and there have been serious arrc~rs in binding. Purchgscs of ne,v n1atcrial and the filling

11 Dr Richard i\·l. Goody 1 Re3.der 1n i'\.feteorology g_t the In1pcrial College of Sci- ~ncc and Technology. University uf London! has been appointed to succeed P.ro- f css:a.rBrooks as Professor of .i\1ctcorology and Director of the Ill u-e I-I ill Observatory ;:i.sof I July 1958. In the interim, l\·1r John H. Cono,Ter, J\1Ncorologist at the Illue HiJ 1 i\1.ete.orologi c RI Sta tio nt has b ccn serving as Acting Dj rector.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) 280 H ar·~vardLi hrary B1t ll etiu. of gaps have a1soperforce lagged. In recent years, (Library l\1e1nber- ships' have served in sonic measure to alleviate this situation .. Through th esc 111c1nb crshi psj ·organizations or j n divid u als 1naking repeated u sc of the library contribute to its expenses a.nd thus obtain better service. Some support has come fron1 tl1 e F cderal Govcrnn1en t, in the form both of direct contracts for access to the library and of indirect contracts for organiza.tio ns ca rry·j ng on rcscar ch for the Gover nn1cnt. Further, outright gjfts from satisfiedusers or Friends of the Observatory hav·e cons-istently provided $500 or more a year. The Americr1n IvleteorologicaISociety has been notably generous. Yet all of these sources fluctuate from J'"Carto y·ear~ presenting difficultiesin the \vay· of long-range planning and budgeting for the li~rary. Despite vici ssitu des, the Iib rary, through on t the seventy-three years of its cx:istence, has ·

CHARLES F. BROOKS SHIRLEY J. llICHARDSON

Portscript Professor Tirooksdied at his home in I\1ilton on 8 January 1958, in

his sixty-se·venthyear. He had transmitted the present article1 in unre- vised form~ to the Editor of the BULLETIN on 29 August 1957, nvo days before he rerjred as Director of the Observatory . ._ No account of the Blue Hill Library could be complete ,vithout some1nention of Dr Brooks'sOYVn contribution. It v?aslargely through his e.fforts that the librar)i of the American Jvlcteoro1 ogic al Society v.ras given to the Observatory and ti1at funds ,vcrc obtained by· ,vhich the Blue I-Iill Library greatly increased its position of importance and responsibility ,Yithin the field of meteorology, through participation in the assembling of· the A1eteorologicnl Abstracts and BibliograpbJ' and b)}"1naking loans available.. His repute as a ~ciencist enahled the library to obtain many exchanges and gifts that n1ight other,visc h·.1vc b cen im possib]e. His f.amili~rity ,vi th rh c librar) 7 and his , villingness to gj ve freely of his scc1ning 1y lin1id css kn o,;vledge, not only~to the

j!! A111!alr,L VIII ( 1906); 72..

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) The Blue Hill MeteorologicalObservatory Library 281 rnanagcn1ent and gro,vth of the library but to all ,v ho came to use it, arc in no .sn1all, vay rcsponsi blc for its present status.. '~'hen those ,v ho remember Dr Brooks have vanished, the in crcgsc d scope of the Blue

Hill Libtary 1 including the many books and journals that he gave fron1 his personal col1 ec ti on, , vill attest to his interest and generosity,, S. J. R.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958) List of Contributors

OscAR I-IANDLIN: Profess.or of lalistory, lalarvard University

RICHAnD Sa Srn,vART, j\1aster in Classics and Ancient History, St Paurs School~ Concord, N c,v Hanlpshirc AaKEs l'VIoNcAK)Curator of Dra.,ving.~in the \Villiam Hayes Fogg Art l\.1useum and Assjstant Director of the Willi:.un I·lsycs Fogg Art 1Viuscun1,Ha1Tard University

SYJ,VAN BAR...~ET, Assistant Professor of English, Tufts University

v.,rlLLL\r..1 G LANE, Associa tc Prof cssor of Eng Eshi Sou thl.\"est l\·1issouri State CoHege ROBERT W. LovETTt Head of the i\ianuscrjpt DhTisionand Archives of Baker J ...ibnuy~ Gruduate School of Ilo~dncss Administration~ Harvard University i\1Ek'foN ]vl.. s... ~A1..-1:s, JR~ Associate Profess or of Eng]; sh, La ,vrence College RALPH E . .i\1ATLAVi\ Lecturer on Slavic Languages and Literatures, on 1-Iistory

and Literature 1 and on General EducationJ Hnrvard University

t CHARLES F. BROOKS, Professor of !vlctcorologyi- Emeritus, I-Iarvard University SI 1IRLE.Y J. R 1cnA nnsoN, Ref crcncc Department, Har \"a.rd Co1 leg c Libr8 r y

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XII, Number 2 (Spring 1958)