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29.

[[underlined]]COLLECTION AND CHARACTER OF THE LIBRARY. [[/underlined]]
It is clear from the quotations which I have made from my talks with various eminent European and American scientist that an adequate library in Chinese is necessary to the work of the School, and that it should be supplemented as a matter of course by works in Japanese and European tongue and by complete sets of the journals of the various Asiatic Societies and the magazines devoted to Far Eastern art. During my stay in Peking, I found that European, Japanese and American libraries had already taken important steps in this direction, and I noted with dismay that the price of early and important books had already gone up many hundred percent during the past ten years. I met no less than five gentlemen in Peking who were busy purchasing books, of the very character we need, for libraries in Europe. They all told me that it had become almost impossible to buy unique books, and that many of the old standard editions were already rare.
At Hanoi I was told that every month made a difference in prices and availability, and that the sooner we began our purchases the more likely we should be to secure the books which will be of vital necessity for our activities as a school of archaeology. 
For this reason, after much consideration of the subject and some consultation, I have decided to recommend that the committee make the library of the School their first care from the very beginning; that above all they accept the tentative suggestion of the French School at Hanoi, and engage the services of the gentlemen offered by them, as an expert in the collection