June 1918 the association had purchased 300,000 books, sent 1,349,000 gift books to camps, and distributed 500,000 magazines." In the time after World War I, the services of the Library of Congress towards the war effort provided a new outlook for the American public on the possibilities of what a successful library could accomplish. In other words, the contributions made by the Library of Congress in that time gave "librarians 'a new conception of what a truly national library could be' and added one more item 'to the long list of benefits for which American libraries have to thank the Library and the Librarian, of Congress." Retirement Herbert Putnam's administration as Librarian of Congress lasted for forty years, from 1899 until 1939. It was clear Putnam was not willing to withdraw completely from the world of librarianship, stating: "I would willingly surrender the administration, if that course would serve the interest of the library and I could feel assured as to my successor." Putnam provided the suggestion of "Librarian Emeritus" be developed as his new official title, with an honorarium of one-half of his original salary. On October 1, 1939, Putnam retired as the 8th Librarian of Congress with that title, and he "continued to contribute to the Library, keeping regular office hours for the next 15 years." He was awarded Honorary Membership in the American Library Association in 1940. Herbert Putnam was succeeded in 1939 by Archibald MacLeish, who served from 1939 until 1944. Notes References Bronze Gallery. (1998–2010, January 1). Brenda Putnam. Retrieved February 1, 2011, from Bronze Gallery: 19th and 20th Century Bronze: http://www.bronze-gallery.com/sculptors/artist.cfm?sculptorID=100 Knowlton, J. D. (Ed.). (2005). Herbert Putnam: A 1903 Trip to Europe. Lanham, Maryland, USA: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lewis, H. L. (1939). A Tribute to Dr. Herbert Putnam. Washington: United States Government. Rosenberg, Jane Aiken. (1993) The Nation's Great Library: Herbert Putnam and the Library of Congress, 1899–1939 (University of Illinois Press, 1993), the major scholarly biography External links 1861 births 1955 deaths People from Falmouth, Massachusetts People from Minneapolis People from Washington, D.C. Presidents of the American Library Association Columbia Law School alumni Harvard University alumni Librarians of Congress Massachusetts lawyers Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Members of the American Antiquarian Society Librarians of the Boston Public Library Minneapolis Public Library Members of the American Academy of Arts and