A series of essays advocates applying scientific and mechanical methods to library practice, arguing for printed catalogues, space-saving shelving mechanisms, telegraphic request systems, and photography to reproduce materials. The author recounts transitional debates over the adoption of printed catalogues and the shift from piecemeal to systematic publication once adequate funding was secured. He describes how sliding-stack shelving increased storage capacity, how telegraphic ordering could eliminate delays in retrieving books, and how institutional photography could cheaply multiply titles and documents for wider use. Practical recommendations are accompanied by historical perspective and administrative observations drawn from extended experience in a major national library.