Part 1 - The Institute Libraries - Institute for Advanced Study

That irritation, too, appeered ta wear away.
Meanwhile, Flexner, troubled by a kind of incredulity at Veb-
len's statements on the relationship between the School's professors and
its rraembers, had asked Veblen for an explgnation. The Professor gave kt
to him under date of the tth December. There fs nothing to show t kt he
had discussed it with his colleagues,
The progrsm of the Institute is to give its permanent members
an opportunity to pursue scholzrship unhmpered by Any of the
handicaps which such an-organiz~tion c.zn reasonably be expected
to eliminate, It is also its policy to give a similzr opportunity
for limited periods (usuelly a single academic year)
to temporary members. Some of these are men or w m n who have
recently atteined tk Ph. D. end who need not only the freedom
of opportunity implied by their residence at the Institute but
also inspiration and help frm the professors. Some are mture
scholzrs whose primary need is tecportiry release from routine
academic obligations. In the second cless of cases it is often
possible to induce the university to which the scholar it attached
to give him letive of absence end pay hlf his szlary.
Men of this sort derive a greet deel of stlmlus.end help from
their association with the ypunger group as well ss from the
Institute professors. The latter derive a great deal of stimulus
in their work from bath groups of tmporzry mmbexs. Indeed,
mny if not all of our professors will testify that they
receive more from the visitors than they give,
The sfgnificance of this establishment, consisting of a perma-
nent group of scholars year by yeer in contact with a steady
stream of colleagues from all parts of the world, is already
well understood throughout the ecadmic world. Xt is tnsreas-
ingly thought of as something which could nat be diminished
without serious loss to this world,
It would be hard to exeggerate the importance of the stream
flowing through it to the Institute Itself. If this stxeam
should dry up, there would be danger that the wacadem&c
heaven* would apprdacb the state of Nirvana.
The funds which the Institute devotes to the stipends far
temporary members are matched ~ n d probably exceeded in ammt
by the contributions from outside sources. Every unirerqitp
which grants a member of its faculty leave of absence to kw
to the Institute is making a contribution te scholarship of '\
a definite pecuniary value. This is by no means always a i
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