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TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS 
 
 HELD IN LONDON 
 
 OCTOBER, 1877. 
 
 EDITED BY THE SECRETARIES OF THE CONFERENCE, 
 
 EDWARD B. NICHOLSON, 
 
 Librarian of the London Institution, 
 AND 
 
 HENRY R. TEDDER, 
 
 Librarian of the Athenceum Club. 
 
 LONDON: PRINTED AT THE CHISWICK PRESS 
 BY CHARLES WHITTINGHAM. 
 
 1878. 
 
 Y 
 
 ■'^^ , r P r 
 
 ^0 '■ 
 
 ''^', 
 
 ^'llliiinut 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 INTRODUCTION. By Henry R. Tedder, Librarian of the Athenseum 
 
 Club, London ix 
 
 Inaugural Address. By the President, John Winter Jones, 
 
 Librarian of the British Museum i 
 
 On the best Means of Promoting the Free Library Movement in Small 
 
 Towns and Villages. By William H. K. Wright, Librarian of the Free 
 
 Library, Plymouth 22 
 
 The British Museum in its relation to Provincial Culture. By 
 
 William E. A. Axon, Honorary Secretary of the Manchester Literary Club 29 
 University Libraries as National Institutions. By Charles H. Robarts, 
 
 Fellow and late Librarian of All Souls' College, Oxford .... 33 
 On Special Collections of Books. By Cornelius Walford .... 45 
 Note on Library Buildings. By Guillaume Dapping, Assistant Librarian, 
 
 Bibliothfeque Ste. Genevifeve, Paris 5° 
 
 Selection and Acquisition of Books for a Library. By Robert Harrison, 
 
 Librarian of the London Library 5 ^ 
 
 Selection and Selectors of Books. By James M. Anderson, Assistant 
 
 Librarian, University Library, St. Andrew's 57 
 
 Note on Books suitable for Free Lending Libraries. By John D. MuUins, 
 
 Librarian of the Free Libraries, Birmingham 59 
 
 On the Admission of Fiction in Free Public Libraries. By Peter Cowell, 
 
 Librarian of the Free Public Library, Liverpool 60 
 
 On a New Invention which renders Slip-Catalogues available for 
 Public Reference. By Henry W. D. Dunlop, Assistant Librarian, National 
 Library of Ireland ^^ 
 
 Photo-Bibliography; or, a Central Bibliographical Clearing-House. 
 
 By Henry Stevens 7° 
 
 On Cataloguing. By James M. Anderson, Assistant Librarian, University 
 
 Library, St. Andrew's ^^ 
 
vi CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 On the Catalogues of Glasgow University Library. By Robert B. 
 
 Spears, Librarian of the University Library, Glasgow . . • • 4 
 
 Notes on Cataloguing. By Cornelius Walford .••••• 
 On an "Evitandum" in Index-Making, principally met with in French 
 
 and German Periodical Scientific Literature. By Benjamin R. 
 
 Wheatley, Resident Librarian of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society 88 
 
 Remarks on Rules for an Alphabetical Catalogue. By Jdn A. Hjaltalfn, 
 
 Assistant Librarian, Advocates' Library, Edinburgh 93 
 
 On the Alphabetical Arrangement of the Titles of Anonymous Books. 
 
 By Henry B. Wheatley, Assistant Librarian, Royal Society, London . 97 
 
 Note on Co-operative Cataloguing. By Guillaume Depping, Assistant 
 
 Librarian, Bibliothfeque Ste. Genevibve, Paris 100 
 
 A New General Catalogue of English Literature. By Cornelius Walford loi 
 
 A Universal Index of Subjects. By John Ashton Cross, late Librarian of the 
 
 Oxford Union Society 104 
 
 On the System of Classifying Books on the Shelves followed at the 
 British Museum. By Richard Garnett, Superintendent of the Reading- 
 Room, British Museum 108 
 
 Note on Book-Tags. By James M. Anderson, Assistant Librarian, University 
 
 Library, St. Andrew's 115 
 
 On Binding of Books for Public and Private Libraries; and on 
 
 Shelf- Arrangement AS associated therewith. By Cornelius Walford 116 
 
 On Binding. By Sir Redmond Barry, V.P., President of the Public Library 
 
 of Victoria, at Melbourne 119 
 
 On Buckram as a Binding-Material. By Edward B. Nicholson, Librarian 
 
 of the London Institution 124 
 
 Hints on Library-Management so far as relates to the Circulation of 
 Books. By Benjamin R. Wheatley, Resident Librarian of the Royal 
 Medical and Chirurgical Society, London 127 
 
 On Lending Books. By Sir Redmond Barry, V.P., President of the Public 
 
 Library of Victoria, at Melbourne 134 
 
 Means of Obtaining the Books Required in a Lending Library. By 
 
 James Matthews, Librarian of the Public Free Library, Newport (Mon.) . 136 
 
 Note on Statistics of Libraries. By John D. Mullins, Librarian of the 
 
 Free Libraries, Birmingham 138 
 
CONTENTS. vii 
 
 DISCUSSIONS AND PROCEEDINGS of the Conference, October 2, 3, 4, ^^^ 
 and s, 1877, INCLUDING THE Constitution of the Library-Association 
 OF the United Kingdom, as adopted October sth, 1877 . . .141 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Appendix to Papers and Discussions : 
 
 I. Specimen of a Dictionary-Catalogue of Works on Mental Philo- 
 sophy. By James M. Anderson 183 
 
 II. Specimens of the Sheet-Catalogues used in the Glasgow University 
 
 Library (i and 2) 185 
 
 III. Form of Catalogue-Card proposed by Cornelius Walford . . 187 
 
 IV. List of Subjects of works in the British Museum library accord- 
 
 ing to the Arrangement of books upon the Shelves. By 
 
 Richard Garnett 188 
 
 V. Notes on Bookbinding. By Mr. Birdsall, of Northampton . 193 
 
 YI. Regulations for the conduct of visitors to the Melbourne Public 
 
 Library. .......... 194 
 
 VII. Note on the Literary Resources of Victoria. By Sir Redmond 
 
 Barry 194 
 
 VIII. Specimens of Forms and Account-Books used in the Circulation 
 of books in the library of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical 
 
 Society, London 195 
 
 IX. Conditions upon which books are lent by the trustees of the 
 
 Melbourne Public Library to other institutions . . .198 
 X. Statistics relative to the Melbourne Public Library, including 
 
 the lending department . . . . . . . .199 
 
 XI. Report on Poole's Index to Periodical Literature. Presented by 
 
 a delegation of the American Library-Association . . .199 
 XII. The Postcard-System of Ordering books at the London Insti- 
 tution 206 
 
 XIII. Note on the term " Free Library." By Sir Redmond Barry . 207 
 
 XIV. Duties of a Librarian. By the Rev. Dr. Samuel R. Maitland, 
 
 sometime librarian to the Archbishop of Canterbury . . 208 
 XV. Rough List of some leading subjects connected with Library 
 Formation and Management. Prepared by Edward B. 
 Nicholson, for the Organizing Committee .... 208 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 Historical and Descriptive Accounts of the Visits of the Conference 
 TO Metropolitan Libraries : 
 
 Sion College Library. By the Rev. William H. Milman . • -213 
 
 Corporation Library. By William H. Overall 216 
 
 London Institution Libraiy. By Edward B. Nicholson . . .218 
 
 British Museum : 
 
 General Account and outlines of the History of the Library. By 
 
 George BuUen 220 
 
 Description of the Visit of members of the Conference. By 
 
 George W. Porter 224 
 
 The Warming and Ventilation of the Museum. By Eugene A. Roy 230 
 
 Athenaeum Club Library. By Henry R. Tedder 231 
 
 Lincoln's Inn Library. By William H. Spilsbury . . . .232 
 
 Linnean Society Library. By Henry B. Wheatley .... 233 
 London Library. By Robert Harrison ... ... 234 
 
 Reform Club Library. By Henry Campkin 235 
 
 Royal Academy Library. By Henry R. Tedder 235 
 
 Royal Society Library. By Henry B. Wheatley 236 
 
 Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society Library. By B. R. Wheatley . 236 
 Society of Antiquaries Library. By Henry B. Wheatley . . -237 
 South Kensington Museum : 
 
 Dyce and Forster Libraries. By Richard F. Sketdiley . . 237 
 Educational Library. By Alfred C. King ..... 238 
 National Art Library. By Robert H. Soden Smith . . .239 
 
 The Exhibition of Library Designs, Catalogues, and Appliances. By 
 
 Edward B. Nicholson 241 
 
 Speeches at the Dinner given to the Conference by the Lord Mayor. 
 By the Lord Mayor, John Winter Jones, Leopold Delisle, Professor Justin 
 Winsor, Baron Otto de Watteville, William F. Poole, and Melvil Dewey . 250 
 
 List OF (218) Members on THE Conference 253 
 
 List OF (139) Libraries AND- (3) Governments Represented . . . 259 
 
 Index. By Henry R. Tedder 261 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 /he first general Conference 
 of Librarians 'was held at 
 New York, Sept. 15-17, 
 1853, upon an invitation 
 signed by Prof. C. C. 
 Jewett, Mr. W. F. Poole, and other libra- 
 rians, " for the purpose of conferring toge- 
 ther upon the means of advancing the 
 prosperity and usefulness of public li- 
 braries, and for the suggestion and dis- 
 cussion of topics of importance to book 
 collectors and readers." About eighty 
 librarians, as well as others interested in 
 library matters, attended the convention. 
 Many questions were debated, and the sug- 
 gestion to form a permanent Association 
 met with considerable favour. No further 
 meetings were held, however, and twenty- 
 three years had elapsed, when, having in 
 view the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, 
 a second meeting was convened on Oct. 
 4, 5, 6 of that year. The Philadelphia 
 Conferepce was attended by 102 citizens 
 of the United States, and by one repre- 
 sentative from Europe in the person 
 of Mr. James Yates of Leeds. This date 
 may almost be said to mark a new period 
 in the history of bibliothecal science, for 
 at the same time was issued the exhaustive 
 Report of the Bureau of Education on 
 Public Libraries in the United States, and 
 in the previous month had appeared the first 
 number of the " American Library Jour- 
 
 nal," founded by some of the promoters 
 of the Conference. The meeting at 
 Philadelphia proved very successful, and 
 showed the earnest intention of its 
 members to apply strict scientific method 
 to all details of library-economy. Perhaps 
 the most important result has been the 
 foundation of an American Library- Asso- 
 ciation, which has since undertaken much 
 work of real practical use. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson, librarian of the 
 London Institution, in an article in the 
 "Academy'' of Jan. 27, 1877, on the 
 report of the Philadelphia Conference 
 published in the "American Library 
 Journal," urged the advisability of a 
 similar meeting in London. This sugges- 
 tion he repeated in a letter to the " Times" 
 of Feb. 16, wherein were given extracts 
 from replies received in correspondence 
 with the heads of some of the largest 
 libraries in the United Kingdom. Sup- 
 ported by the many accessions obtained in 
 consequence of this letter, Mr. Nicholson 
 invited the principal metropolitan librarians 
 to meet at the London Library, April 9, 
 1877. It was then unanimously resolved 
 that a Conference should be held in the 
 autumn, and an Organizing Committee 
 was constituted, ultimately consisting of: — 
 Mr. G. Bullen, keeper of the printed 
 books, British Museum; Mr. H. Camp- 
 kin, librarian of the Reform Club; Mr. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 W. R. Douthwaite, librarian of Gray's 
 Inn; Mr. Rich. Garnett, superintendent 
 of the reading-room, British Museum ; 
 Mr. Rob. Harrison, librarian of the London 
 Library ; Mr. Solomon A. Hart, librarian 
 of the Royal Academy ; Mr. J. Leighton ; 
 Mr. W. H. Overall, librarian of the Cor- 
 poration Library ; Mr. Jos. Radford, 
 librarian of the Free Library, West- 
 minster ; Dr. Reinhold Rost, librarian of 
 the India OflSce ; Mr. Eugene A. Roy, 
 assistant librarian, British Museum ; Mr. 
 H. Stevens ; Mr. T. D. Sullivan, librarian 
 of the Royal United. Service Institution; 
 Mr. H. R. Tedder, librarian of the 
 Athenaeum Club ; Mr. Ernest C. Thomas, 
 late librarian of the Oxford Union Society; 
 Mr. E. M. Thompson, assistant keeper of 
 the MSS., British Museum ; Mr. Nicolas 
 Triibner ; Mr. W. S. W. Vaux, librarian of 
 the Royal Asiatic Society; Mr. B. R. 
 Wheatley, resident librarian of the Royal 
 Medical and Chirurgical Society ; Mr. 
 H. B. Wheatley, assistant librarian, Royal 
 Society ; and Mr. J. Whittall, librarian of 
 the Statistical Society; with Mr. E. B. 
 Nicholson as secretary. Provincial li- 
 brarians were of course unable to attend 
 in person, but their views and wishes 
 were kept in view throughout. The 
 Committee held frequent sittings to or- 
 ganize prehminaries, and circulars of in- 
 vitation, with the "Rough List of some 
 Leading Subjects," were addressed to all 
 the libraries of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 as well as to the principal of those 
 on the Continent and in America. The 
 movement was warmly supported, and at 
 length the Committee were able to an- 
 nounce that complete arrangements had 
 been concluded and a date fixed upon. 
 
 The first Conference of Librarians in 
 Europe was held in the lecture-theatre of 
 the London Institution (kindly lent for 
 the occasion by the Board of Manage- 
 ment), on Oct. 2, 3, 4, 5, 1877. The 
 transactions and proceedings form the 
 
 present volume, which includes descrip- 
 tions of the visits to some of the most 
 representative metropolitan libraries, as 
 well as of the exhibition of library designs, 
 catalogues, and appliances. The list of 
 names enumerates 218 members, nearly all 
 of whom came to the meetings, among the 
 most assiduous attendants being the six- 
 teen visitors from the United States. The 
 French Government, with that enlightened 
 zeal for progress and new ideas which is 
 so marked a quality of the national cha- 
 racter, deputed a special commission to 
 report on the Conference. The German 
 and Greek governments wer? likewise re- 
 presented, and Prof. Leopold Seligmann, on 
 behalf of the former, has prepared a report 
 to Dr. Falk, the Minister of Public Wor- 
 ship. To the 139 libraries represented, 
 Belgium contributed i, Denmark 2, 
 France 4, Italy 1, the United States 17, 
 Victoria i, and Great Britain and Ireland 
 113. Nearly every point of library eco- 
 nomy received more or less attention, 
 and one action of the Conference was the 
 thorough ventilation of the great question 
 of printing the catalogue of the British 
 Museum. A resolution for a General 
 Catalogue of English Literature was car- 
 ried, and it may be hopefully expected that 
 the new Library- Association of the United 
 Kingdom will take the necessary measures 
 to effect that vast undertaking in a com- 
 plete and scientific manner. The founda- 
 tion of the Association, with the object 
 " to unite all persons engaged or interested 
 in library work, for the purpose of pro- 
 moting the best possible administration of 
 existing libraries, and the formation of 
 
 new ones where desirable," and 
 
 " the encouragement of bibliographical 
 research," was a practical result of the 
 Conference, which left to the A^ociation 
 the task of continuing the good work it 
 had commenced. The word " American " 
 having been dropped in the title, " The 
 Library Journal " is now the official organ 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of both Associations ; they are to be con- 
 gratulated on having at their service a 
 periodical conducted with so much talent 
 and energy. 
 
 The Metropolitan Free Libraries Com- 
 mittee, which is vigorously promoting the 
 adoption of the PubUc Libraries Act in 
 London, received its mission from the 
 Conference, on the motion of Mr. E. B. 
 Nicholson. The new Index-Society may 
 also be said to have sprung partly from 
 the discussion on subject-catalogues and 
 the paper of Mr. J. Ashton Cross, on a 
 Universal Index of Subjects. 
 
 The Corporation of the City of London 
 have for some years shown their interest 
 in the promotion of public libraries by 
 throwing open their own valuable collection 
 for the public benefit. It was therefore a 
 graceful and appropriate act of hospitality 
 on the part of the Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas 
 White, to honour the members by an 
 invitation to a banquet at the Mansion 
 House. 
 
 English librarians owe so much to the in- 
 valuable Memoirs of Libraries by Mr. Ed- 
 ward Edwards, that they should not be too 
 envious of that most recent encyclopaedia 
 of information published in the United 
 States under the modest title of Report on 
 Public Libraries, already referred to. But 
 is it quite hopeless to expect that our 
 own government may ever take sufficient 
 interest in libraries to encourage a similar 
 work for this country ? 
 
 With the very limited funds at the 
 disposal of the Publishing Committee it 
 would have been impossible to bring out 
 this Report in so complete and handsome 
 a manner without the liberal enterprise 
 of Mr. B. F. Stevens, the manager of the 
 Chiswick Press, and the Editors are glad 
 to have this opportunity of expressing their 
 special sense of acknowledgment to that 
 gentleman for the practical interest he has 
 taken in its production. 
 
 Henry R. Tedder. 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 BY JOHN WINTER JONES, LIBRARIAN OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, AND PRESIDENT 
 
 OF THE CONFERENCE. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen, 
 
 E live in an age of con- 
 gresses and conferences — 
 which means that we live 
 in an age when the ad^ 
 
 _ _ , ^ ^ vantages of the intei^- 
 
 change of thoughts, ideas, and experi- 
 ences are fully appreciated, and the 
 benefits to be derived from unity of 
 action in the affairs of life are recog- 
 nized. The idea of holding a Conference of 
 Librarians originated in America — in that 
 country of energy and activity which has 
 set the world so many good examples, and 
 of which a Conference of Librarians is not 
 the least valuable, looking to the practical 
 results which may be anticipated from it. 
 The present meeting differs somewhat 
 from that held last year at Philadelphia. 
 At Philadelphia there was but one visitor 
 from Europe, and the members were na- 
 turally and necessarily engaged in con- 
 structing plans, discussing questions, and 
 arriving at conclusions with the object of 
 perfecting their library system ; but with 
 little personal aid from the experience of 
 other countries. The present Conference 
 will have the advantage not only of the 
 presence of many of the able and accom- 
 plished men who took a leading part in the 
 Philadelphia Conference, but also of the 
 
 representatives of many of the important 
 libraries of the Continent, from whom 
 we may also look for much assistance in 
 our deliberations. 
 
 Prior to the year 1 83 5 there had been little 
 discussion, if any, about public libraries. 
 In that and the following years a com- 
 mittee of the House of Commons held an 
 inquiry into the condition of the British 
 Museum, in the course of which much 
 valuable information was collected bearing 
 upon the questions which will form the 
 subjects of our deUberations, and especi- 
 ally upon the nature and extent of libraries, 
 home and foreign, and upon the degree in 
 which they were made to promote study 
 and learning. In the years 1848 and 1849 
 another inquiry by a Royal Commission 
 took place into the constitution and man- 
 agement of the British Museum, and of 
 this inquiry the question of catalogues and 
 the principles upon which they should be 
 compiled formed a prominent feature. 
 These inquiries, and the discussions to 
 which they gave rise, brought prominently 
 forward the importance of framing cata- 
 logues systematically, and, in fact, gave the 
 first impetus to the study in this country of 
 what the Germans call Bibliothekswissen- 
 schaft. The chief promoter of these ques- 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 tions in both inquiries, and especially in 
 the latter, was my predecessor, Sir Anthony 
 Panizzi, who fought his battle against diffi- 
 culties which would have been discouraging 
 to many. But he was well supported by 
 the sympathy of learned men, not only in 
 England but on the Continent and in 
 America. There is also another gentleman, 
 whose early efforts for the extension of 
 libraries ought not to be passed over with- 
 out acknowledgment. I allude to Mr. 
 Edward Edwards, whose works on libraries 
 are well known, and who exerted himself 
 to bring together information respecting 
 the libraries of different countries under 
 circumstances necessarily of considerable 
 difficulty. 
 
 So far as the public libraries in America 
 are concerned, the Bureau of Education 
 issued last year a special report, showing 
 their history, condition, and management, 
 the first part of which fills an octavo volume 
 of 1,187 pages. This is a remarkable 
 document and stands alone. It brings 
 into one view the results of the exertions 
 made by the American Government for 
 the education of the people, and contains 
 ample evidence of the care and ability 
 with which their national libraries are ad- 
 ministered. 
 
 Unfortunately we do not possess the 
 same ample details respecting the libraries 
 of the British Colonies. In New South 
 Wales there is the Free Public Library of 
 Sydney and the Library of the University 
 of Sydney. Melbourne is much better 
 supplied. In addition to the Melbourne 
 PubHc Library, there is the Library of the 
 Parliament of Victoria, the Library of the 
 Legislative Council, the Library of the 
 Supreme Court of Victoria, the Library of 
 the University of Melbourne, and the 
 Melbourne Diocesan Library. In South 
 Australia, Adelaide has its Library of the 
 South Australian Institute, and Tasmania 
 the Tasmanian PubUc Library established 
 in Hobart Town, 
 
 The President of the Public Library of 
 Victoria, Sir Redmond Barry, will probably 
 communicate to the members of the Con- 
 ference some details relating to these 
 libraries, which cannot be otherwise than 
 higlily interesting. 
 
 The objects of the present Conference 
 are simply practical. It would, therefore, 
 be out of place to occupy many minutes 
 with speculations about ancient libraries. 
 It may be assumed that wherever writing 
 has been practised libraries of some kind 
 have been formed. The evidence of the 
 existence of ancient libraries is very scanty, 
 depending much on the nature of the 
 material upon which the writing was in- 
 scribed. We know more of the collections 
 of Assyria and Babylonia than of other 
 countries, from the simple fact that their 
 records were inscribed on clay and stone 
 instead of on perishable materials. 
 
 Many early writers have referred in their 
 works to libraries, but we have no precise 
 account either of their nature or extent. 
 According to Diodorus Siculus, a public 
 library was founded in Egypt by King 
 Osymandyas, who is supposed to have 
 reigned about 600 years after the Deluge. 
 Large collections of Manuscripts were 
 formed at a later period, and especially 
 that founded at Alexandria by Ptolemy 
 Soter, which developed into the celebrated 
 Alexandrian Library under the fostering 
 care of subsequent kings. The number of 
 volumes contained in it must have been 
 very large, although it may be doubted 
 whether it ever reached the enormous 
 quantity of 700,000. The story of its de- 
 struction in the seventh century, as re- 
 corded by Abu-lfaragius, is too well 
 known, and its accuracy too uncertain, to 
 make repetition desirable. 
 
 Of the early libraries of Greece little is 
 recorded, and still less positively known. 
 The libraries formed in Rome appear to 
 have been more numerous than those of 
 Greece, dating from about the second 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 century before the Christian era. Isidorus, 
 Plutardi, Suetonius, and other writers, 
 mention the libraries of Paulus Aemilius, 
 of Sulla, of LucuUus, &c., but none of 
 these collections have descended to us. 
 As collections they have been dispersed 
 or destroyed, and all that we now inherit 
 of these treasures are copies, the oldest 
 of which does not date farther back than 
 about the fourth century. 
 
 Of many of the royal and monastic 
 libraries formed during the Middle Ages 
 we have more precise accounts, but any 
 statements respecting them would extend 
 this address far beyond its proper limits. 
 
 Let us turn now to the branch of our 
 subject in which we are more immediately 
 interested — printed books. The opposing 
 claims of Germany and the Low Countries, 
 of Men tz and of Haarlem, to the honour of 
 having produced the first specimen of 
 typography, have long been under discus- 
 sion. For upwards of three hundred years 
 learned and ingenious men have occupied 
 themselves with this subject. The claims 
 of Haarlem have, of course, been loudly 
 advocated by Dutchmen, and Germans 
 have been no less earnest in their advo- 
 cacy of the claims of Mentz, leaving the 
 question very much as they found it. A 
 Dutchman named Hadrianus Junius com- 
 menced the discussion in favour of Haar- 
 lem about the year 1569. Another Dutch- 
 man, Dr. Van der Linde, has taken the 
 opposite side. By his exhaustive work, 
 "De Haarlemsche Costerlegende weten- 
 schappelijk ondersocht," a second edition 
 of which was published in 1870, he proves 
 that Junius's statements are not founded 
 on facts, that many of his documents are 
 myths, that Haarlem has no claim at all, 
 and that all the evidence is in favour of 
 Mentz. 
 
 The first printing types were generally 
 cut in close imitation of the writing used in 
 manuscripts, and, as the caligraphers of 
 each nation had their peculiar style of 
 
 writing, the early printed books display a 
 striking national character. 
 
 At the time when printing began to be 
 exercised there was little intercourse be- 
 tween different countries — the human mind 
 was not so cosmopolitan as it has become 
 since the invention of printing. The 
 earliest books, therefore, show especially 
 the prevailing studies of a nation — ^juris- 
 prudence and speculative philosophy in 
 one, classical learning and poetry in an- 
 other, history and romance in a third, and 
 theology in all. 
 
 It is not known that any book was 
 printed out of Germany up to the year 
 1462. No book is known bearing the 
 date 1463 or 1464. This circumstance is 
 attributed to the war between Adolph von 
 Nassau and Diether von Isenburg, the two 
 rival archbishops of Mentz. The former 
 obtained possession of Mentz and sacked 
 the city in 1462. The printers were dis- 
 persed, and printing slumbered for the 
 next two years. But light soon sprang up 
 from this darkness. The wandering printers 
 settled in different places on the Continent, 
 spreading a knowledge of their art wher- 
 ever they went, and especially in Italy. 
 In Rome there were more than twenty 
 Germans who printed from the year 1465 
 to 1480. In Venice there were upwards 
 of twenty Germans whose books are dated 
 from 1469 to 1480. In Naples there were 
 eight Germans and one Belgian, and in 
 Padua eight Germans and one Dutchman, 
 up to the year 1480. There were about 
 no Germans exercising their craft prior 
 to the year 1480 in twenty-seven different 
 cities. About the year 1480 there were 
 established in Italy alone not less than 
 forty printing presses in as many different 
 places, whilst in Germany there were only 
 fifteen. Printing was introduced also into 
 France and Spain by the Germans, who 
 likewise came into England and worked at 
 Oxford and in London, and possibly also 
 at St. Alban's, soon after Caxton established 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 his press at Westminster Abbey. The 
 above statements will show how largely the 
 world is indebted to the Germans not only 
 for the introduction of printing, but for its 
 diffusion throughout Europe during the 
 fifteenth century. The wonderful activity 
 of the printing press during that period is 
 not generally known. Hain, in his " Re- 
 pertorium Bibliographicum," published in 
 the years 1826 to 1838, enumerates 16,299 
 works and editions which were issued prior 
 to the year 1500. Considerable additions 
 could now doubtless be made to this number. 
 
 A list of some leading subjects connected 
 with library formation and management 
 ha;s been placed in the hands of the 
 members of the Conference. This list is 
 of a very comprehensive nature, embracing 
 as it does a reference to all the details 
 which demand the attention of the libra- 
 rian, and upon the due appreciation of 
 and mastery over which must depend the 
 success of his administration. It is evident 
 that in an address these subjects can only 
 be very slightly touched upon, and that 
 they must be left to be worked out by the 
 papers submitted to the Conference and 
 the discussions amongst its members. 
 
 The first subject proposed for discussion 
 is the extension and first formation of 
 libraries. 
 
 This is a large subject. It is at the 
 same time a subject of the gravest im- 
 portance, comprehending as it does' the 
 foundation of the library system, upon 
 which rests the usefulness of these insti- 
 tutions. 
 
 Libraries are general or special. 
 
 Whether a library should be general or 
 special must depend upon the locality in 
 which it is placed, and the class of persons 
 for whose use it is intended. 
 
 Of the importance of libraries for large 
 communities there can be no question, and 
 it is equally true that no community is so 
 small as to render a library unnecessary 
 or undesirable. 
 
 Forty years ago the subject of the for- 
 mation of public libraries had hardly been 
 mooted. London, Edinburgh, Dublin, 
 and the two English Universities had 
 their libraries — more or less accessible to 
 readers; Manchester had its Chetham 
 Library, and London had also Archbishop 
 Tenison's Library. Sion College Library 
 and the Library at Lambeth Palace were 
 also accessible to scholars. There were 
 also libraries in certain parts of Ireland 
 and Scotland more or less available for the 
 purposes of study and research. But it 
 was not until the years 1849 and 1850 
 that the subject was brought prominently 
 before the English public by the labours 
 of the Select Committee of the House of 
 Commons, appointed on the motion of 
 Mr. William Ewart, the member for the 
 Dumfries Burghs, on the best means of 
 extending the establishment of libraries 
 freely open to the public, especially in 
 large towns in Great Britain and Ireland. 
 In their second report, issued in the year 
 1850, the Committee say: "Your Commit- 
 tee are of opinion that the evidence which 
 they have received shows the expediency 
 of establishing in this metropolis other 
 public libraries of a popular character, by 
 which the British Museum would be re- 
 lieved from a numerous class of readers 
 who might be equally well accommodated 
 elsewhere." And again : " Your Commit- 
 tee see no reason to vary the general 
 conclusion arrived at by your Committee 
 in the last Session of Parliament re- 
 specting the main object and scope of their 
 inquiry, that this country is still greatly 
 in want of libraries freely accessible to the 
 public." 
 
 These inquiries led to the passing of the 
 Public Libraries Acts, the provisions of 
 which were at once adopted by Manches- 
 ter, Salford, and Liverpool, and subse- 
 quently by other great commercial and 
 industrial centres, with a success which 
 must have amply rewarded the earnest 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 and intelligent men who saw with intuitive 
 appreciation the advantages, moral and 
 intellectual, which wouldresult from placing 
 within reach of their diversified populations 
 the means of mental culture, special edu- 
 cation, and innocent amusement. 
 
 Libraries for general readers are desir- 
 able in all localities, for, however each 
 particular community may be constituted, 
 there must always be many who desire 
 general education, and many to be allured 
 from idleness and dissipation. But the 
 formation of such libraries is a serious 
 charge, the weight of which increases in 
 inverse proportion with the extent of the 
 population. A librarian ought to be much 
 more than an officer to take charge of a 
 collection of books; he ought to be an 
 educator; he has to consider the characters 
 of those for whom the library is formed, 
 and to make his selection of works accord- 
 ingly. Where the population is large, and 
 the library to be formed large in proportion, 
 this is a comparatively easy task. But when 
 the community is small, the greatest care 
 is required to insure the formation of such 
 a collection as shall be strictly adapted to 
 its wants, and shall supply the most nu- 
 tritious pabulum for the mind. 
 
 Early in the present century efforts were 
 made in several districts to supply the 
 means of self-culture by the formation of 
 literary institutions, of which a library was 
 a prominent feature. These were followed 
 by mechanics' institutes; and for several 
 years the movement was successful. But 
 some of these establishments, so far as 
 London is concerned, have not maintained 
 their original vigour. Some are already 
 dead — one at least may be considered to 
 be dying, for it has recently changed its 
 lecture room into a billiard and smoking 
 room, which is certainly far from a literary 
 or intellectual purpose. The London Insti- 
 tution stands out an honourable exception 
 to these indications of decay. I do not 
 here allude to the thirty, or forty small 
 
 associations established in the various 
 suburban districts, or the Young Men's 
 Christian Association with its i5obranches. 
 It may be asked. Why should there be 
 this falling off amongst the older insti- 
 tutions if the necessity for the formation of 
 libraries be so strongly felt? The reason 
 may be looked for in the fact that mental 
 inquiry has penetrated much deeper than 
 it had when these institutions were first 
 founded, and that the increase of knowledge 
 has brought with it the natural subdivision 
 of subjects, and the consequent concen- 
 tration of thought upon the several distinct 
 branches of investigation. Hence the mul- 
 tiplication of societies, each with its library 
 devoted to the particular study which oc- 
 cupies the attention of its members. 
 
 The above remarks apply to libraries 
 formed for general readers. Those col- 
 lections which are brought together for the 
 use of students of special branches of 
 learning are certainly not of less impor- 
 tance ; their practical utility may be indeed 
 considered to exceed that of the general 
 library. 
 
 In our manufacturing districts it is a 
 matter of necessity that the managers of 
 the various establishments and the work- 
 men employed therein should have ready 
 access to all such works as can assist them 
 in their special faculties, either by suggest- 
 ing new forms or constructive details, or by 
 cultivating their taste and enabling them 
 to appreciate the beautiful in art, and to 
 distinguish between what is true and what 
 is false. London has been recently visited 
 by a deputation representing sixty of our 
 principal cities and towns, whose object is 
 to obtain -for their districts assistance in 
 the way of gifts and loans of books and 
 works of art which may help the manu- 
 facturers and artisans in their respective 
 productions. 
 
 The next subject for investigation is 
 that of library buildings. 
 
 In selecting the site for a library care 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 should be taken to make it as accessible 
 as possible to those for whose use it is 
 constructed. If a general library, that it 
 should be central. If special, that it 
 should be placed as near as possible to 
 the locality frequented by those who re- 
 quire its aid. This may appear to be a 
 truism ; but it is something more ; for it 
 touches the question of providing more 
 libraries than one in wide-spreading dis- 
 tricts, where the one library or one museum 
 cannot be brought to the doors of all. 
 Those who have experience in the manage- 
 ment of a library will know how important 
 it is to save the time, the labour, and the 
 money of students, all of which must be 
 expended overmuch if the visitor to the 
 library find himself at a distance from the 
 collection he desires to consult. 
 
 The material of which library buildings 
 should be constructed is a most important 
 subject for consideration. The great danger 
 to be guarded against is, of course, fire. For 
 this purpose iron is better than stone, and 
 brick better than either. A great authority 
 upon such subjects (Captain Shaw) has 
 stated that he considers staircases con- 
 structed of stone to be more dangerous 
 than those made of wood, because, al- 
 though wooden staircases will ignite and 
 burn, stone staircases when over-heated 
 are liable to split and fall bodily, and thus 
 the communication for which they have 
 been erected to be lost. Iron and brick, 
 therefore, appear to be the materials which 
 should be used whenever it may be practic- 
 able to do so. 
 
 Iron is particularly applicable to the 
 construction of presses for the books. 
 Each press may be formed by iron stan- 
 dards placed at distances of, say, three feet 
 apart. The shelves also may be made of 
 iron set in wooden frames, with nosings, as 
 they are technically called, so constructed 
 as to allow of the insertion of the leathern 
 or cloth fall intended to protect the tops 
 of the books from dust. The shelves 
 
 should be covered with leather for the 
 purpose of protecting the books from 
 injury. A depth of fifteen inches will take 
 a large folio, and where still greater depth 
 is required a second standard placed in 
 front of the first will afford all the neces- 
 sary additional space. It is most important 
 that the distance between the standards, 
 which regulates the length of the shelf, 
 should be in all cases exactly the same. 
 The reason for this will appear in a subse- 
 quent part of this address. It is also to 
 be recommended that the presses should 
 not be more than about eight feet high, so 
 that books on the top shelf may be reached 
 by means of light, dwarf hand-steps. 
 Ladders or high steps in a library are 
 very inconvenient and very dailgerous. 
 
 The system here recommended is eco- 
 nomical as well as safe. Each standard or 
 shelf is a multiple of its fellow — one mould 
 serves for all — and a library so constructed 
 may almost defy fire. Books, We know, 
 are not easy to burn, and in the event of a 
 fire they would be more injured by the 
 water used to extinguish the flames than by 
 the fire itself. 
 
 As economy of space is of the Utmost 
 importance in arranging the contents of a 
 library, it is very desirable to adopt such a 
 plan for raising or depressing the shelves as 
 shall leave no more space than may be re- 
 quired by the height of the books to be in- 
 serted. Supposing the shelves to be sup- 
 ported by pins let into the woodwork of 
 the shelves, if the peg of the pin be cranked 
 the shelf can be raised or lowered one-half 
 of the distance between the holes in which 
 the pegs are inserted by simply turning 
 them half round. In a large library the 
 amount of space saved by this arrangement 
 will be very considerable. 
 
 The furniture of a library must very much 
 depend on the nature of the library for 
 which it is required. There is one point, 
 however, to which it is desirable to draw 
 attention. Every table on which a book 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 is laid or used, and every barrow which is 
 used to carry books from one place to an- 
 other in the library, should be padded. 
 The additional expense caused by the 
 adoption of this precaution will be amply 
 met by the protection from injury which it 
 will secure for the books. 
 
 Where libraries are open in the evening 
 the question of lighting becomes of the first 
 importance. Gas, as commonly used, is 
 bad. It is impossible to secure perfect 
 combustion with the ordinary burner, and 
 nothing can be more destructive to books 
 — and especially to their bindings — than 
 the unconsumed gas, which dries up and 
 rots everything with which it comes in con- 
 tact. The sunlight burner appears to be 
 the safest form in which gas can be used, 
 but a particular construction of building is 
 necessary for the introduction of this mode 
 of lighting. 
 
 - There are three systems of wanning 
 buildings in general use where open stoves 
 cannot be employed — warming by heated 
 air, and by hot-water pipes, and by steam 
 pipes. Of these three systems, the heat- 
 ing by hot-water pipes is preferable. The 
 heated air is dry and exhausting; all the 
 moisture is burnt out of it, and it is as bad 
 for those who come within its influence 
 as for the books. This objection does not 
 apply to the heating by hot water where the 
 temperature is kept at a moderate height. 
 The air does not come in immediate con- 
 tact with the fire, and retains its moisture. 
 Ventilation has always proved a difficult 
 problem to solve : how to get foul air out 
 of an apartment and fresh air in without 
 creating draughts. Where open fires can 
 be used the process is easy enough, but in 
 large rooms without open fires it is other- 
 wise. If the temperature of the air cannot 
 be equalized, the cooler air must move to 
 the place where the air is warmer and more 
 rarefied, and draughts ensue, to the great 
 annoyance of those who have to sit in them. 
 This often leads to the adoption of the use 
 
 of curtains, closed doors, increase of the 
 temperature, and a consequent increase of 
 mischief in the form of present discomforts 
 and a greater susceptibility to atmospheric 
 influences. This subject is one which de- 
 serves, and will amply repay, the most 
 careful consideration of the Conference. 
 
 The building in which the library is to 
 be deposited having been constructed, 
 the next question to be considered is, by 
 whom the library is to be governed, and by 
 whom the books are to be selected. 
 
 There must be a controlling power, and 
 experience has shown that this power may 
 well be exercised by a committee. But 
 having got so far the diflSculties begin to 
 manifest themselves. What is to be the 
 constitution of the committee; what its 
 numbers ; what its powers ? If the com- 
 mittee be numerous, there is the risk that 
 members will attend irregularly, so that the 
 business transacted at one meeting may at 
 a subsequent meeting come under the con- 
 sideration of members who know nothing 
 about it. Some members may attend at 
 rare intervals, in which case they may be- 
 come responsible for orders which they 
 have not given, and may be called upon 
 to legislate upon subjects with the details 
 of which they are unacquainted. The 
 best form oi committee would appear to be 
 one composed oi about five or seven mem- 
 bers, who, by constant attention to the 
 duties committed to their charge, would 
 thoroughly understand the working of the 
 institution, and would be prepared to ap- 
 preciate the relative importance of the 
 several questions submitted to them for 
 consideration. 
 
 It is questionable whether the selection 
 of books for a library should be undertaken 
 by a committee. The formation of a library 
 should be carried out on one uniform plan, 
 an arrangement which is hardly possible 
 where several persons have the right to in- 
 terfere, each of whom will in all probability 
 have views Oi" his own. There is danger 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 of undue prominence being given to one 
 faculty to the sacrifice of others ; or of some 
 class or classes being neglected or prohi- 
 bited from a want of due appreciation of 
 their value or utility. This risk is greater in 
 small than in large libraries. The safest, 
 and therefore the best, course is to be very 
 careful in the choice of a librarian, and 
 then to leave the selection of the books to 
 him, subject, of course, to the control of 
 the committee of management wherever the 
 exercise of that control may be deemed 
 to be advisable. However modest the li- 
 brary may be in extent and character, the 
 librarian ought to be a man who has ex- 
 perience in his work. The necessity for 
 this qualification of course increases with 
 the extent and importance of the collection. 
 A librarian cannot know too much, or be 
 too catholic in his knowledge. Devotion 
 to a particular branch of study is a rock 
 which he ought to avoid ; and this ought 
 to be borne in mind by those who select 
 him, for it is not given to many men to be 
 able to resist the temptation to follow a 
 favourite pursuit in order that they may 
 devote chemselves to the multifarious de- 
 tails of a librarian's office. The man who 
 proposes to himself to be a good librarian 
 must be satisfied with knowing an infinite 
 variety of things ; he must be content with 
 a general insight into the various faculties, 
 but must not endeavour to be great in any. 
 The learned author of the life of Isaac 
 Casaubon, Mr. Mark Pattison, says "the 
 librarian who reads is lost ; " and this is to 
 a great extent true. It was certainly true 
 in the case of Casaubon, who, in his love 
 for the contents of the books placed under 
 his charge, forgot his duties as a librarian. 
 The licence which a librarian may be 
 allowed to take while in the discharge of 
 his duties was well indicated by the amiable 
 Gary, the translator of Dante, who used to 
 describe himself and his colleagues, while 
 engaged in their task of cataloguing the 
 books of the British Museum Library, as 
 
 sheep travelling along a road and stopping 
 occasionally to nibble a little grass by the 
 wayside. 
 
 A librarian ought, above all things, to 
 possess a knowledge of several languages. 
 In making selections for his library, in 
 cataloguing his books, in conducting his 
 correspondence, this knowledge of lan- 
 guages is of great importance ; but he would 
 be wise always to write his letters in his 
 own language, whatever that may be, and 
 not in the language of the person to whom 
 they may be addressed. 
 
 A librarian who does not understand 
 several languages besides his own, will find 
 himself constantly at a loss. Many of the 
 most important bibliographies and biogra- 
 phies will be sealed books to him, and it 
 will be impossible for him either to select 
 foreign books for his library, or to cata- 
 logue them properly if they come under his 
 charge. He will be dependent on others, 
 which is an unsatisfactory position for a 
 librarian. 
 
 Libraries in general obtain accessions 
 through various channels — the first and 
 most direct is by purchase from booksellers 
 or at auctions. Gifts and bequests are the 
 accidental sources through which libraries 
 are also increased. In conducting his pur- 
 chases each librarian will follow his own 
 system, but it may be remarked that the 
 employment of agents for the purchase of 
 books is not always the most economical 
 mode of procedure, excepting in the case 
 of purchases at auctions, or in foreign 
 countries where the transactions are large 
 and extend over several countries. Agents 
 must of course be paid for their time and 
 trouble and skill, and it is very desirable 
 that a careful balance should be struck 
 between the commission paid to them and 
 the saving otherwise effected by this mode 
 of transacting business. It may be that 
 the purchases abroad would involve so large 
 a correspondence, and consequently occupy 
 the time of so large a staff, that the employ- 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 ment of an agent might be the best economy. 
 In this case the librarian will have to pay- 
 particular attention to the fluctuating ex- 
 changes of the several countries concerned. 
 As regards purchases at sales by auction, 
 it is always the most prudent course that 
 these should be effected through the agency 
 of booksellers, who keep their clients' 
 names in the background, and occupy in 
 every respect a neutral position. 
 
 There is no branch of the work of the 
 librarian which has given rise to so much 
 discussion within the last forty years as 
 that of cataloguing. The battle of short 
 titles or full and accurate titles has been 
 fought with as much pertinacity as that of 
 the broad or narrow gauge for railways. 
 Whatever is worth doing is worth doing 
 well, and this hackneyed truism applies as 
 forcibly to the work of the cataloguer as 
 to any other operation. When Dr. Cogs- 
 well was engaged on the formation of the 
 Astor Library, he issued what he called a 
 finding catalogue, with the title "Alphabe- 
 tical Index to the Astor Library, or cata- 
 logue with short titles of the books now 
 collected and of the proposed accessions, 
 as submitted to the Trustees of the Library 
 for their approval, January, 185 1." This, 
 no doubt, was well adapted for the purpose 
 for which it was intended, viz., to give a 
 general idea of the collection he had brought 
 together, and an indication or hst of books 
 which he desired to procure. But his list 
 was not a catalogue in the true sense of 
 the term — nor did he consider it to be 
 so — and yet the same form has since been 
 adopted in many instances. The first step 
 in advance towards fulness of titles is the 
 form more usually employed, comprising 
 the prominent part of the title, with imprint 
 and date and indication of the size of the 
 volume, but this still falls far short of the 
 full and accurate title. 
 
 A good title ought to give all that ap- 
 pears on the title-page of the book, with 
 such further information as to authorship, 
 
 or editorship, &c., or the nature of the 
 contents, as may in addition be derived 
 from the work itself. The catalogue ought 
 to give the person who consults it all the 
 information he can require as to the work 
 described in it. 
 
 It is not proposed in this address to 
 criticize existing catalogues, or to institute 
 comparisons between one catalogue and 
 another; but rather to endeavour to lay 
 down a few general principles to be con- 
 sidered and developed by the Conference. 
 It may be permitted, however, to refer to 
 two or three catalogues, with the view of 
 illustrating what is here meant by a full 
 and accurate catalogue. The first to be 
 mentioned is the catalogue of the Bodleian 
 Library, prepared by Hyde, in two parts, 
 and published in 1674. The next, that of 
 the Library of Cardinal Casanate, com-- 
 piled by Audiffredi, and published as far 
 as the letter K, in the years 1761 to 1788. 
 The last is that of the British Museum 
 Library. These catalogues are mentioned 
 only as examples which may be followed 
 with advantage. 
 
 In addition to a careful description of 
 the contents of a book, so far as this in- 
 formation can be derived from the title- 
 pages and introductory matter, or from 
 the volume itself where the title-page does 
 not fully or properly describe the con- 
 tents, there are cases in which further 
 details would be both interesting and in- 
 structive. My attention was drawn to this 
 point by reading an account of the recent 
 Caxton Exhibition, in which it is stated 
 that Caxton did not print the Bible, or 
 any portion of it. This is a mistake. In his 
 edition of Capgrave's "Golden Legend," 
 printed in 1483, Caxton has translated 
 very many passages from the Scriptures, 
 and has thus been the first who printed 
 any portion of the Bible in English. He 
 also, by his translation of verse 7 of the 
 3rd chapter of Genesis, anticipated the 
 peculiar version which has procured for 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 the Geneva Bible, printed in 1560, the 
 name of the Breeches Bible. He says : 
 "And they toke figge levis and sewed 
 them togyder in maner of brechis." The 
 translation of those portions of the Bible 
 which Caxton has printed is not the same 
 as that by Wyclif, who preceded him by 
 more than a hundred years. 
 
 There are other bibliographical details 
 which may well be added as notes to the 
 titles of the books to which they respec- 
 tively relate. 
 
 Aldus, it is well known, introduced the 
 italic type. His object was to print cheap 
 books, and for this purpose to use the 
 type which would allow the greatest quan- 
 tity of matter to be brought within the 
 smallest space. For the designing of this 
 type he employed the celebrated painter 
 and goldsmith, Francesco Raibolini, also 
 called Francesco da Bologna, and com- 
 monly known as Francia. It is said that 
 Francia took the handwriting of Petrarch 
 as the model for his type. This type was 
 first used in printing an edition of Virgil, 
 which bears the date of April, 1501. Al- 
 dus also printed in the same year, but 
 three months later, a beautiful edition of 
 " Le Cose Volgari di Petrarcha.'' 
 
 Printing had been in existence several 
 years before any system of punctuation 
 was generally adopted. A straight stroke 
 passing obliquely through the line gene- 
 rally indicated a pause, and a full point 
 closed a paragraph. A colon was occa- 
 sionally introduced, and the " Lactantius," 
 printed at Subiaco in 1465 (the first 
 book printed in Italy), has a full point, 
 colon, and note of interrogation. But 
 improvements by one printer were not 
 followed by others, and it was not until 
 about the year 1470 that we approach to 
 the mode of punctuation adopted at the 
 present day. The first book printed in 
 France was the "Liber Epistolarum" of 
 Gasparinus Barzizius, which was produced 
 by three Germans, Crantz, Gering, and 
 
 Freiburger, and contains the full point, 
 semicolon, comma, parenthesis, note of 
 interrogation, and note of admiration. 
 But the semicolon appears to have more 
 force than the full point, for while it is 
 used reversed indiscriminately with the 
 full point in the middle or at the end of a 
 sentence, it is alone used at the end of a 
 chapter or of a heading to a chapter, and 
 then turned as we use it now. It will be 
 observed that the colon is wanting in this 
 book altogether. 
 
 The necessity of some guide for the 
 proper arrangement of the leaves of a book 
 was not met until the year 1470, when 
 Arnoldus Terhoemen, of Cologne, intro- 
 duced a modified pagination by numbering 
 the leaves of his edition of the "Sermo 
 ad Populum." In the following year he 
 printed the " Liber de Remediis utriusque 
 Fortunae" of Adrianus Carthusiensis, in 
 which he placed the numbering in the 
 centre of the margin of the recto of eachleaf. 
 
 The early printers neglected the use of 
 signatures, although they had been used 
 by the copyists of manuscripts long before 
 the introduction of printing. The earliest 
 instance we have of the use of signatures 
 is in the " Praeceptorium Divinae Legis" 
 of Johannes Nider, printed at Cologne, by 
 Johann Koelhof, in 1472. 
 
 Catchwords were introduced before sig- 
 natures, and were doubtless intended to 
 answer the same purpose. They appear 
 for the first time in the first edition of 
 " Tacitus," printed by Johann de Spira, at 
 Venice, about the year 1469. 
 
 The last step towards the completion 
 of a printed book was not made until 
 some years later — viz., in 1487 — ^when 
 the " Confessionale " of Antoninus, Arch- 
 bishop of Florence, was printed with a 
 regular title-page at Strassburg, probably 
 by Martin Flach. An approach to a title- 
 page had been made as early as the year 
 1476, at Venice, by Bernardus Pictor, 
 Petrus Loslein, and Erhardus Ratdolt, 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 who in that year printed an edition of 
 the " Calendarium " of Monteregius.* To 
 this calendar the printers prefixed a leaf 
 containing, in ten lines of Latin hexa- 
 meters, a laudatory description of the 
 calendar, and the names of the printers, 
 with the place of printing. 
 
 It would also be interesting to show that 
 the "Etymologise" of Isidore of Seville, 
 printed by Giinther Zainer at Augsburg 
 in 1472, was the first book printed in Ger- 
 many in which the Roman character was 
 used. Also, that this character was used for 
 the first time in Italy bySweynheim andPan- 
 nartz in 1467, when they printed at Rome 
 the " Epistolse ad Familiares " of Cicero. 
 That the Roman character was introduced 
 into England by Pynson in 1509, who 
 printed in it some portions of his " Sermo 
 Fratris Hieronymi de Ferraria," and that 
 his edition of the " Oratio Ricardi Pacsei," 
 printed in 15 18, is said to be the first 
 book whoUy printed in this character in 
 England. 
 
 These instances are only introduced ex- 
 empli gratia, as a bibliographical disserta- 
 tion would be out of place on the present 
 occasion. 
 
 There is much diversity of opinion as 
 to the best form of catalogue, that is, 
 whether the titles should be arranged al- 
 phabetically under the author's names, or 
 whether they should be classed according 
 to the subjects. Each system has its ad- 
 vantages, and each its difficulties. Readi- 
 ness of reference is one of the first objects 
 to be considered. If the author's name 
 be known, his works will be found more 
 readily in an alphabetical than in a classed 
 catalogue; if not, a classed catalogue may, 
 perhaps, be the best guide. But difficul- 
 ties again present themselves under both 
 systems.- It may be doubtful what is the 
 
 • Otherwise Johann Miiller, who, being a native 
 of Konigsberg, was called Johann von Konigsberg, 
 which he latinized into Johannes Regiomontanus, 
 or Monteregius. 
 
 real name of an author, or what form of 
 name ought to be used. Melanchthon's 
 name was Schwartzerd, but his uncle 
 thought proper to give it a Greek form, 
 and he himself adopted that form. Dante's 
 surname was Alighieri, but his father's 
 name was Frangipane. De Rossi some- 
 times translated his name into Greek, and 
 called himself Erythrjeus, and sometimes 
 into Latin, and called himself De Rubeis. 
 Proctor had made the name of Barry 
 Cornwall so completely his own that by 
 some he was not known under his proper 
 name; and, if we turn to the early painters, 
 the rejection of the surname in favour of 
 an appellation, as Tintoretto, or the Chris- 
 tian name, as Michael Angelo, is almost 
 universal. It is hardly necessary to refer 
 to the gifted ladies who have given a 
 world-wide fame to the name of Bell, or 
 to other modern writers of the same class. 
 French names present considerable diffi- 
 culties. In the catalogue of the British 
 Museum these are met by adopting the 
 first family name, as Arouet de Voltaire, 
 and not Voltaire, and the article instead 
 of the preposition, as La Grange, and not 
 De la Grange. But the rule of adopting 
 the article instead of the preposition ought 
 to be confined to France and her depen- 
 dencies. In Belgium there are many such 
 names, but the preposition, article, and 
 name are all combined in one, and there- 
 fore the name ought to be entered in the 
 catalogue under "De,'' as it would be in 
 England in such cases as De la Beche, 
 De la Rue, &c. 
 
 It has been proposed by some to enter 
 the book under the name which appears 
 on the title-page; but this system would 
 certainly scatter the works of some authors 
 throughout the catalogue, and be no bet- 
 ter than an excuse for idleness or a cover 
 for ignorance. 
 
 The safe course is to adopt one form, 
 and to make cross-references from all the 
 others. If this course be strictly carried 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 out, the particular form adopted for the 
 general heading becomes a matter of 
 secondary importance. 
 
 But there is a very large class of books 
 which present greater difficulties than those 
 which bear names of uncertain form — that 
 is, anonymous works. These works have 
 at all times presented a stumbling-block 
 to cataloguers. When it was determined 
 to reduce to one system the several cata- 
 logues of the British Museum library 
 which had been compiled at different times 
 and on different plans, it was anticipated 
 that about thirty rules would suffice for 
 the purpose, and it was proposed, inter 
 alia, that anonymous works should be 
 catalogued under the first word, not being 
 an article or a preposition, following in 
 this suggestion the rule laid down by Bar- 
 bier in his " Dictionnaire des Anonymes." 
 It was ultimately determined that the lead- 
 ing word should be adopted, and then our 
 troubles began ; what was to be done 
 when there were two or more leading 
 words, and was the first always to be 
 taken, or was the cataloguer to decide 
 which was the most leading word ? In the 
 effort to meet all these cases, and others 
 of equal difficulty, the thirty rules grew to 
 be nearly one hundred. 
 
 In the construction of a classified 
 catalogue doubts will frequently arise as 
 to the class under which a particular work 
 should be entered. The life of a dis- 
 tinguished individual may be more nearly 
 allied to history than to biography ; what 
 is the exact class under which works on 
 canals should be entered ? is it known to 
 every unscientific reader that peat moss is 
 a mineral ? The remedy which has been 
 suggested for these difficulties is to enter 
 the doubtful title under each of the classes 
 to which it may be supposed to belong \ 
 but this is a very unscientific mode of 
 procedure, and in the case of a large 
 catalogue (and every librarian hopes that 
 his catalogue may become large) the ad- 
 
 dition of titles produced by such a process 
 is a serious evil. It may be assumed that 
 the books in all libraries will be classed 
 on the shelves, and will have attached to 
 each volume a mark indicating its parti- 
 cular place in the library. Where an 
 alphabetical catalogue is adopted, if one 
 copy of the title-slips be mounted on card- 
 board and arranged according to the press- 
 marks, a classed catalogue will be secured. 
 The reverse process could not be so well 
 adopted with a classed catalogue, as this 
 would involve the addition of authors' 
 names, &c., to each of the titles. Many, 
 if not all, of the difficulties above referred 
 to would disappear if anindex of subjects 
 were added to the catalogue. Each thing 
 would be entered under its name, and 
 peat moss would find its name under 
 letter P, without the cataloguer having to 
 learn whether it belonged to botany or to 
 mineralogy, neither would he have to enter 
 into the question of the claims of botany 
 for those remarkable and innumerable 
 productions known as Diatomacese, which 
 he would place at once under letter D. 
 Indices of this nature are very elastic, and 
 meet all the cases of works treating on 
 several subjects, for each subject would 
 have an entry to itself. The entries would 
 be very short, not exceeding one line, and 
 would be veiy rapidly made, provided they 
 were made at the same time that the book 
 was catalogued, when the subject of the 
 book would be full in the mind of the 
 cataloguer. When he had written the 
 title for the catalogue, the index-slips 
 could be prepared without effort, and 
 certainly in less than half the time they 
 would occupy if made subsequently ; for 
 it must be borne in mind that the index- 
 slip ought to be made from the book and 
 not from the catalogue title. The adoption 
 of such an index would also enable the 
 cataloguer to dispense with very many 
 cross-references. 
 
 The rules for all catalogues ought to be 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 13 
 
 as simple as possible, but for small libraries 
 more simple than for large libraries. Not 
 that the same amount of information ought 
 not to bfe given in each title, but that a 
 certain amount of classification which may 
 be useful in the catalogue of a large 
 library is not required in that of a small 
 collection of books. It may be well that 
 the catalogue of a large library should 
 show under one heading what periodicals 
 or transactions of societies it may possess, 
 but such works may very well be catalogued 
 separately in libraries of small dimensions. 
 
 Professor Jewett, the first librarian of 
 the Smithsonian Institution, has said that 
 the scholars of all nations demand of 
 Great Britain that the catalogue of the 
 library of the British Museum should be 
 well done, and should be a work of biblio- 
 graphical authority. What is here said of 
 the catalogue of the British Museum ought 
 to be said of all catalogues. Every 
 librarian ought to compile his catalogue 
 with these same results in view, and en- 
 deavour to make it as perfect as possible : 
 not to be contented with producing a work 
 which shall be merely generally satisfactory. 
 Cataloguing against time is a mistake. 
 
 The subject of rules for catalogues will 
 occupy the attention of the Conference, 
 and can only be slightly touched upon in 
 this address. There are, however, one or 
 two points on which it may be well that I 
 should say a few words. One of these 
 points is the designation of the sizes of 
 books. As regards modern books, the 
 folding of the sheets of paper is generally 
 received as the guide, but it is not a guide 
 which speaks to the eye. Some duodecimos 
 may be larger than some octavos, and 
 some octavos may be larger than some 
 folios, to say nothing of the uncertainty of 
 the quartos. When we come to ancient 
 books, the matter is still worse. The 
 early printers did not use large sheets of 
 paper and fold them twice or more to form 
 .quartos, octavos, &c., but merely folded 
 
 their paper once, thus making what is now 
 understood by the terms folios or quartos 
 according to the size of the sheet of paper. 
 Three or more of these sheets were laid 
 one within another, and formed gatherings 
 or quires, each sheet after the first in each 
 gathering being called an inlay. This 
 printing by gatherings was adopted for 
 the convenience of binding. The conse- 
 quence of this practice would be that the 
 printer would either print one page at a 
 time or two, but no more. If two, he 
 would have to divide the matter to be 
 printed into portions sufficient for eight, 
 twelve, sixteen, or twenty pages, according 
 to the number of inlays in each gathering, 
 and then print, say, the first and twelfth, 
 then the second and the eleventh, and so 
 on; and the result of this practice is 
 occasionally seen in an inequality in the 
 length of the pages, particularly in the 
 centre inlay, which would be printed last, 
 and would therefore have either too much 
 or too little matter if the calculation of the 
 quantity necessary for each page had not 
 been exact. It has been suggested that 
 the difficulty might be met by adopting 
 the size of the printed page as the guide, 
 but such a guide would certainly be fal- 
 lacious. It would not indicate the size of 
 the volume ; it would not allow for the 
 many cases of oceans of margin and 
 rivers of text ; it would not speak to the 
 eye without opening the book. The better 
 plan would appear to be to adopt, to a 
 certain extent, the system used by book- 
 binders. As they regulate their charges 
 according to the size of the millboard re- 
 quired for binding their book, their scale 
 is independent of the folding of the printed 
 sheet. It contains twenty-nine divisions 
 or designations of different sizes, of which 
 twenty-six represent modifications of the 
 five sizes of folio, 4to, 8vo, i zmo, and 
 i8mo, a striking proof of the uncertainty 
 of the sizes supposed to be indicated by 
 these five terms. I speak, of course, of the 
 
14 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 measure used by English bookbinders. It 
 would certainly be advisable that some rule 
 should be laid down, which might apply to 
 all countries, by which the general sizes of 
 books might be designated and minute 
 subdivisions be avoided. Why should we 
 designate sizes by paper marks, and talk of 
 pot quartos and foolscap octavos? The 
 pot and the foolscap are things of the past. 
 It would surely be better to adopt some 
 such rule as the following : to designate as 
 1 2mo all books not exceeding 7 inches in 
 height ; as 8vo all those above 7 and not 
 exceeding 10 inches in height; as 4to those 
 above 10 and not exceeding 12 inches in 
 height ; and as folio all above 1 2 inches. 
 The folios might be further described, 
 according to the fact, as large or super, in 
 order to avoid the various subdivisions of 
 crown, copy, demy, medium, royal, im- 
 perial, elephant, and columbier folio. 
 
 Other designations applying to the bulk 
 or substance of a publication are equally 
 indefinite. A distinction ought to be 
 drawn between a volume, a pamphlet, a 
 single sheet, and a broadside; or rather 
 one general agreement ought to be arrived 
 at upon this branch of our subject. It 
 may be urged, and with much reason, that 
 every work which is bound should be 
 treated as a volume. A work of an ephe- 
 meral nature may be called a pamphlet, 
 but such a work may extend to more than 
 a hundred pages. When is such a work 
 to be raised to the dignity of a volume ? 
 It is assumed that the question of pam- 
 phlet or no pamphlet will be confined to 
 works in prose. It would be the safest 
 course to apply the term single sheet to a 
 sheet of paper folded once, or printed on 
 both sides without being folded, and the 
 term broadside to a sheet printed only on 
 one side. 
 
 But what is to be done with that large 
 and important class, academical disser- 
 tations? It is to be assumed that these 
 will not be considered to be pamphlets. 
 
 of 
 
 rules for 
 I 
 
 And here— as the question _ 
 
 cataloguing is at present being noticed 
 may venture to draw attention to the 
 necessity of care in assigning the author- 
 ship of these dissertations. In some 
 countries— Germany, for example— the 
 Respondens is, as a rule, the author; in 
 others, as in Sweden, the Praeses is the 
 author. 
 
 Another point which is of much impor- 
 tance, but upon which there is not at pre- 
 sent any agreement among librarians, is the 
 system of literation to be adopted where it 
 becomes necessary to represent in English 
 characters, names or words from languages 
 having special characters of their own. 
 The guide ought to be the pronunciation, 
 but this again may lead to a difficulty. The 
 Russian language, for example, has not 
 the sound which we represent by th, but 
 th is pronounced like the English// thus, 
 the Russians say " Fedor," and not " Theo- 
 dore,'' although they spell the name with a 
 Greek theta. They have the same letter 
 for the soft v and the hard v. The Germans 
 represent this letter by a w, because they 
 pronounce the w like an English v. Is 
 the Russian letter which is in form like an 
 English jj to be represented by the vowel 
 u or by two 00 1 This question of literation 
 is well deserving the attention of the 
 Conference. 
 
 I cannot quit this branch of the subject 
 without alluding to the second part of the 
 Special Report on Public Libraries in the 
 United States, comprising Mr. Cutter's 
 scheme for a Dictionary Catalogue. Mr 
 Cutter has evidently thought out his sub- 
 ject with great care, and has produced a 
 code of Rules of a very comprehensive 
 and exhaustive character. The Dictionary 
 Catalogue appears to comprise in one the 
 alphabetical catalogue, the catalogue by 
 titles, the catalogue by subjects, and the 
 catalogue by classes. The bulk of such a 
 catalogue would be a question demanding 
 very serious consideration. Supposing the 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 IS 
 
 titles of a catalogue to be written on sepa- 
 rate slips and multiplied, there can be no 
 doubt but that the formation of such a set 
 of catalogues would be of great advantage. 
 
 The books in all libraries ought to be 
 carefully classed on the shelves, and the 
 classification to be more minute in pro- 
 portion as the library increases in extent. 
 The books in the library of the British 
 Museum are separated into nearly 700 
 divisions and subdivisions. This extent 
 of classification has grown up with the in- 
 crease of the collection of printed books, 
 and is not found to be more minute than 
 is necessary. The system of classification 
 to be adopted is a question which demands 
 the most careful consideration by the 
 librarian. The decision will naturally be 
 greatly influenced by the character of the 
 library and its future prospects. Many 
 different systems have been proposed from 
 the time of Bacon, who classes human 
 learning under History, Poesy, and Phi- 
 losophy, down to the present period. 
 
 In classifying the library of the British 
 Museum, five principal divisions have been 
 adopted, namely. Theology, Jurisprudence, 
 Philosophy, History, and Belles-Lettres. 
 These are all comprehensive branches, and 
 admit of subdivisions which will embrace 
 every possible class of works. 
 
 It has been suggested by some that 
 books should be arranged according to 
 their languages ; but this would be a very 
 vicious system, and merely one of the 
 curiosities of classification. It may be 
 interesting to know how many languages 
 are represented in a library, and their rela- 
 tive extent and proportion ; but it is much 
 more interesting to be able to see together 
 all the works in the library upon any given 
 subject. An arrangement by languages, 
 moreover, would separate all the transla- 
 tions of a work from its original, and 
 " Uncle Tom's Cabin," for example, would, 
 be scattered all over the library. The 
 same may be said of classifying books 
 
 according to their place of printing, which 
 would give very interesting and sometimes 
 very useful information. But such objects 
 are better attained by arranging copies of 
 the catalogue upon such systems than the 
 books. 
 
 It is necessary to indicate the particular 
 place a book occupies in a library by a 
 press-mark, and it is also necessary so to 
 arrange the system of press-marks that 
 it may be possible to make additions to 
 the library and still keep the several classes 
 together. In the Museum library this 
 object has been secured by distinguishing 
 the presses by numbers, allowing a certain 
 number of presses to each division and 
 subdivision, and then passing over con- 
 secutive numbers to be filled in as the 
 accessions to the respective classes out- 
 grow the space occupied by such classes 
 in the first instance. Thus, if works on 
 Danish history occupied one press, and it 
 were calculated that they would ultimately 
 require three, and the first press were num- 
 bered 500, the next press, to be occupied, 
 we will say, by Swedish history, would be 
 numbered 503, the numbers 501 and 502 
 being omitted until press 500 was full, 
 when the Swedish history would be moved 
 on, and the press it occupied would be 
 numbered 501, and receive the continua- 
 tion of the Danish history. For this 
 system it is of course necessary that all the 
 presses should be of the same width. 
 
 The scheme of omitting numbers, which 
 is very simple in principle, is applicable to 
 publications issued periodically, and also 
 to maps. Maps should be placed in So- 
 lander cases, where their size does not 
 necessitate their being kept in rolls. The 
 Solander case takes the place of the press, 
 and will be numbered on the same princi- 
 ple ; so many numbers being allowed for 
 each country or great division, and the 
 contents of each case having also a sub- 
 number. 
 
 But not only ought each press to be 
 
i6 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 numbered, but each shelf ought to be dis- 
 tinguished — and for this purpose a letter 
 of the alphabet is most convenient — and, 
 in addition to this, the place of each book 
 on a shelf ought to be marked by a number. 
 Thus a book may be numbered 400. b. 25, 
 which means that it is the 2Sth book on 
 the b. or 2nd shelf of press 400. 
 
 It is very desirable, where practicable, 
 that hand catalogues, or shelf lists, should 
 be prepared. These are particularly neces- 
 sary for those parts of a library to which 
 the public may be admitted, and the con- 
 tents of the shelves ought to be examined 
 by the shelf lists at short intervals. It 
 secures the maintenance of the books 
 in their proper places, and also indicates 
 the absence of a book from the library. 
 It is also a very useful check upon thieves. 
 The books open to readers in the Museum 
 reading-room are examined every morn- 
 ing — about one -third being passed under 
 review every day — so that in three days 
 the whole of the library of reference is ex- 
 amined, and then the inspection begins 
 de novo. 
 
 The press-mark of every book ought to 
 be marked upon it inside ; it ought also to 
 be clearly indicated on the outside, as this 
 course avoids the necessity of opening the 
 book to ascertain its place in the library, 
 and saves in this way a great deal of time. 
 
 The proper mode of dealing with pam- 
 phlets is a question of some difficulty. In 
 a large library which is used by many 
 readers, and which possesses adequate 
 funds, the most advisable course would 
 appear to be to bind each pamphlet 
 separately; in this way the person who is 
 consulting one pamphlet will not interfere 
 with others. But this course is much 
 more expensive than binding them in 
 volumes, and for libraries where the in- 
 come is small the best course would be 
 to arrange the pamphlets in Solander cases 
 according to their subjects, marking on a 
 sliding piece of cardboard the contents of 
 
 each case, and binding them when enough 
 have been accumulated to form a volume; 
 taking care to bind in the volume only 
 those which treat of the same subject, and 
 which are of the same size. 
 
 PubHc documents and newspapers ought 
 to be bound as soon as possible, as no 
 class of papers are more liable to injury 
 from use without the protection of bind- 
 ing. 
 
 Broadsides and single sheets may be 
 conveniently pasted into guard books, as 
 this course admits of their being protected 
 from injury without delay, and renders the- 
 use of them more convenient. 
 
 With respect to manuscripts, too much 
 care cannot be exercised as to their pre- 
 servation. Their arrangement cannot be 
 too simple. A strict classification may not 
 always be possible with many collections 
 so far as the manuscripts themselves are 
 concerned, and therefore the best course 
 would be to classify the entries in the 
 catalogue, and adopt a simple plan for 
 finding each manuscript. This may be 
 done by assigning to each manuscript a 
 consecutive number as it is acquired, and 
 then referring from an index of these 
 numbers to the place occupied by the 
 manuscript in the library. With respect 
 to the preservation of manuscripts, it may 
 be laid down, as a general rule, that no 
 ancient manuscript already bound ought 
 to be rebound. It is better that it should 
 be placed, ragged and dirty, in a case 
 made for its reception than that it should 
 be exposed to the risks attendant on 
 cleaning, sizing, &c. The most careful 
 and skilful binders may make mistakes, 
 or, as it is called, have accidents, and no 
 amount of regret will remedy an injury to 
 a manuscript. I have known irreparable 
 mischief done even to early printed books 
 — the edges of vellum books cut ; vellum 
 plunged into water and shrivelled up ; 
 manuscript notes carefully obliterated,, 
 leaving just enough to show that they were 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 17 
 
 of great importance, and marginal notes 
 cut in half by the process of ploughing. 
 
 The only safe course is to rebind early 
 manuscripts as seldom as possible, and never 
 to allow any writing, however worthless it 
 may appear, to be removed. Moreover, 
 where binding is necessary, the process 
 should be carefully watched by the librarian 
 at all stages of the work. 
 
 Drawings and prints may be arranged in 
 various ways, according to their nature — 
 by schools or by masters ; if topographical, 
 by countries, &c. ; but I would venture to 
 make one suggestion, viz., that all drawings, 
 and also prints other than those of a very 
 common kind, should, as far as possible, 
 be preserved in sunk mounts, so as to pro- 
 tect the surface from abrasion. 
 
 It is greatly to be regretted that the cost 
 of binding has increased so largely within 
 the last few years. Bookbinding ought to 
 take its place among the decorative arts. 
 When the mechanical operation of sewing 
 the sheets of a book together, and placing 
 them in covers, is accomplished, the 
 finisher steps in and completes the work 
 by ornamentation and gilding. The tool- 
 ing of a book admits of the greatest variety 
 and elegance of design, as is shown in the 
 bindings of the sixteenth century, es- 
 pecially in those for Grolier and Majoli, 
 and from that time to the present, not for- 
 getting those of Bauzonnet-Trautz and our 
 own Roger Payne. But, like all other works 
 of art, fine binding is expensive, and can 
 hardly be indulged in by public libraries. 
 The skill is not wanting at the present 
 day, for there are several bookbinders 
 quite equal to the task of giving to a bind- 
 ing all the graceful finish that could be 
 desired, but the cultivation of bookbinding 
 in its highest forms must now be left for 
 the most part to private individuals. 
 
 In binding books for libraries used by 
 the public, the first point to be considered 
 is solidity, .so that the book may resist 
 injury from constant use. To secure this 
 
 advantage, every sheet ought to be stitched 
 round each of the bands, which is not 
 done with cheap binding ; and the covers 
 ought to be fastened by joints. A book 
 so put together will bear a great deal of 
 handling ; and, although such binding may 
 be more costly in the first instance, it is 
 the most economical in the end. 
 
 As a general rule, half-binding is suffi- 
 ciently strong, and morocco will wear 
 better than any other leather. It is not 
 liable to split like russia, which is often 
 injuriously affected by heat. The leather 
 called imitation Levant morocco is a very 
 good substitute for morocco and very 
 much cheaper. But the question of the 
 leather to be used must depend upon the 
 amount to be expended on this branch of 
 the library service. 
 
 It will be found very useful to appro- 
 priate a particular-coloured leather to each 
 of the principal divisions of the library. 
 It enables the librarian to see at a glance 
 to what faculty a book belongs. It will 
 also economize time very much to make 
 the letterings on the back of a book as full 
 as possible, particularly where a bound 
 volume contains more works than one. 
 
 Loose book-covers are sometimes used 
 for the purpose of protecting the richly- 
 bound books, but great care ought to be 
 taken that such covers do not fit the book 
 tightly. If not large, they are apt to strain 
 the binding, and in this way do as much 
 mischief as they prevent, or even more. 
 
 Covers of a simple nature are of course 
 necessary for serials and periodical publi- 
 cations, but the best course is to bind such 
 works as soon as sufficient numbers are 
 issued to form a volume. 
 
 The library appliances which may be 
 necessary must depend much on the nature 
 and extent of the library for which they 
 are required, and will be naturally suggested 
 by experience. Some indication must, how- 
 ever, be supplied of the books demanded 
 by readers, and some record kept of the 
 
i8 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 books which may be in hand. The first 
 of these objects will be attained by requir- 
 ing a reader to fill up the particulars of the 
 book he requires in a blank form, to be 
 supplied to him for that purpose, which 
 makes him responsible for the book until 
 he is properly relieved of his responsibility ; 
 and the second either by retaining the 
 form so filled up, or by entering the par- 
 ticulars in a register and thus securing a 
 record of the number and nature of the 
 books used. 
 
 The facihties which should be afforded 
 to the public for admission to public li- 
 braries must be regulated by the nature, 
 extent, and object of each particular library. 
 The age at which persons should be ad- 
 mitted must also be regulated by the same 
 conditions. Readers visit libraries for 
 different purposes. The student and writer 
 ought not to be mixed up with the mere 
 reader of novels and periodical literature 
 or newspapers. This consideration has 
 led to the establishment of two reading- 
 rooms, where such accommodation can be 
 afforded, and this in foreign countries as 
 well as in our own. Where there is not 
 available space for two reading-rooms, and 
 the visitor to the one room may ask to be 
 furnished with rare and costly works, the 
 only course is to limit the admission to 
 persons of a certain age, and to require 
 from each applicant a guarantee of his or 
 her respectability. It is much more easy 
 to do this than to say that a particular 
 reader may have one kind of work and 
 may not have another. 
 
 The days and hours of admission must 
 again depend upon the character of the li- 
 brary and of the readers who frequent it. It 
 is a mistake to suppose that it is not neces-^ 
 sary to close a library occasionally; cleans- 
 ing and rearrangement cannot be properly 
 carried on while the library is in use ; but the 
 closing need not be for long or at frequent 
 periods. Opening a library in the evening 
 is a much more serious question, although 
 
 in many localities it may be unavoidable. 
 The risk from fire is always present, and 
 the general supervision cannot be so perfect 
 in the evening as during the day. It well 
 deserves consideration, therefore, whether 
 books or manuscripts of great rarity and 
 value ought to be placed in the hands of 
 readers in the evening. 
 
 It is a great advantage to a reader to be 
 able to consult the catalogue of a library ; 
 it facilitates his work in every way ; but it 
 may be doubted whether it is convenient 
 or safe to allow readers access to the title- 
 slips. The slif>s themselves are records 
 which should be most carefully protected 
 from loss, or displacement, or injury. A 
 catalogue comprised in bound volumes 
 would appear to be the most convenient 
 form for consultation, but it should be so 
 arranged as to show the accessions to the 
 library. And this leads to the question 
 about which there has been so much dis- 
 cussion, whether a catalogue of a daily 
 increasing library should be printed or 
 preserved in manuscript. There is per- 
 haps no detail of library management 
 about which more mistaken opinions have 
 been held and expressed than about the 
 expediency of printing catalogues. One 
 reader advocated the printing of the cata- 
 logue of the British Museum library, be- 
 cause it would occupy less space in print 
 than in manuscript, and it would be so 
 much more convenient to have the cata- 
 logue on his table for consultation than tb 
 have to go to the presses of the reading- 
 room for it. It never occurred to him that 
 forty or fifty folio volumes would leave but 
 little space on his table for other materials 
 for literary work; and that, although a printed 
 catalogue would show that certain works 
 were in the library, the absence of the title 
 of any particular work was no proof that 
 it was not in the library. The best answer 
 to the call for a printed catalogue is the 
 fact that so few printed catalogues exist, 
 and that some which have been commenced 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 19 
 
 have been discontinued. In 1739 the first 
 vohime of a classed catalogue of the Na- 
 tional Library of Paris was printed. The 
 class Theology was- completed in 1742. 
 Belles-Lettres followed in 1750, and Juris- 
 prudence in 1753, and the work was then 
 discontinued. In 1852, M. Taschereau, 
 who became Administrateur-en-chef of the 
 library, submitted a scheme to the Minister 
 of Public Instruction for the completion of 
 the catalogue, which he undertook to have 
 finished in twelve years. That is twenty- 
 five years ago. Two classes only have 
 been undertaken: the History of France, 
 and Medicine. Of the Histoiy of France, 
 ten volumes out of thirteen have been 
 published ; and of Medicine, two volumes 
 out of three. We have reason to believe 
 that the printing will cease with the 
 completion of these two classes. The 
 pubUcation of the celebrated catalogue of 
 the Casanate Library, undertaken by 
 Audiftredi, was commenced in 1761. 
 Vol. II. was pubhshed in 1768, Vol. III. 
 in 1775, and Vol. IV., which brought the 
 work down to letter K, was published in 
 1788, or twenty-seven years after the 
 appearance of the first volume ; and then 
 the undertaking was given up. 
 
 The objection to printing a catalogue — 
 apart from the question of expense, and 
 the small probability that the outlay would 
 ever be repaid — rests upon the impossibility 
 of keeping the catalogue on a level with 
 the actual state of the library. But this 
 objection does not apply to printing cata- 
 logues of special classes of books where 
 the collection in the library may be nearly 
 complete, or the additions to which must 
 be of necessity few and slow of acquisition. 
 Acting upon this principle, the Trustees 
 of the British Museum have printed cata- 
 logues of their Hebrew, Chinese, and 
 Sanscrit books, and of some of their col- 
 lections of manuscripts. 
 
 The system of building up a catalogue 
 adopted at the British Museum is found 
 
 to work well in practice. The original 
 title-slips are copied on thin paper ; these 
 transcripts are laid down by the book- 
 binder in volumes in such a manner as to 
 allow of their being shifted and reinserted, 
 so as to admit of the addition in proper 
 alphabetical sequence of the daily acces- 
 sions to the library. By this system the 
 contents of the library can be made known 
 to the readers without the costly and dila- 
 tory process of printing the catalogue and 
 adding to it by supplements. The slips 
 which are inserted in the catalogue volumes 
 might be printed instead of written, and 
 in this way a printed catalogue might be 
 obtained, but not a printed catalogue for 
 circulation. This course has been adopted 
 to a limited extent in the University 
 Library of Cambridge. 
 
 There are other questions which are 
 suggested for consideration by the Organiz- 
 ing Committee, such as — 
 
 1. The qualifications of librarians. I 
 have already had the honour to express my 
 opinion that the qualifications of librarians 
 cannot be too high or too catholic, and 
 that Ubrarians ought to be good linguists. 
 They ought also to be good administrators, 
 to be prepared to exercise a strict and 
 personal superintendence over the library 
 staff, and to give their attention to details, 
 however ordinary or minute. This atten- 
 tion to details (which was one of the secrets 
 of the Duke of Wellington's success in his 
 military operations) will amply repay all 
 librarians who exercise it. 
 
 2. Distribution of functions. This point 
 must be regulated to some extent by the 
 size of the staff, but I would desire to 
 express my opinion that no one operation 
 ought to be entrusted exclusively to one 
 person, unless of absolute necessity. There 
 ought always to be two at least who can 
 do the same thing, in order that the par- 
 ticular branch of work may never be im- 
 peded or suspended by absence on vacation 
 or illness of the person employed upon it. 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 I believe it to be the practice in some 
 continental libraries to place particular 
 classes of books under the exclusive charge 
 of one librarian. By practice the librarian 
 becomes so well acquainted with the books 
 committed to his care that he is indepen- 
 dent of press-marks, and deposits the book 
 after use in any part of the division to 
 which it belongs. The consequence is 
 that no one but himself can find it again 
 without great loss of time. It is not, how- 
 ever, the principle which is here so much 
 at fault as the application of it. The 
 library of the British Museum is marked 
 out into divisions for the purpose of supply- 
 ing books to the readers. In each division 
 certain attendants are placed whose duty 
 it is -to receive readers' tickets, to enter 
 the book wanted in a register, and then to 
 hand the book to another attendant, who 
 carries it to the reading-room. By this 
 division of labour a saving is effected of 
 more than half the time which used to be 
 occupied in procuring books for the readers. 
 The attendants become more ready by 
 having their attention confined to a small 
 section of the library, but they are trans- 
 ferred from time to time to other divisions, 
 in order that they may thus become 
 familiarized with the contents of the entire 
 library. 
 
 3. As to the hours of duty and vacation, 
 each library will form its own regulations. 
 Care should, however, be taken that the 
 hours of duty be not so long as to produce 
 exhaustion of body or mind, and that the 
 term of vacation should be sufficiently 
 long to restore the tone of the tired 
 energies. 
 
 4. The question of salary is a delicate 
 one, upon which, it may be assumed, li- 
 brarians can do little more than express an 
 opinion. It is well, however, that it should 
 be understood that the life of a librarian 
 is a hard one; that his work never relaxes j 
 and looking to the importance of his 
 functions, and the special nature of his 
 
 qualifications, he ought to be well paid. 
 He ought to be so remunerated as to be 
 placed above the necessity of supplement- 
 ing his income by literary work. I have 
 heard it said that the work of a librarian is 
 so agreeable, that the constant association 
 with books and learned men and students 
 is so delightful, that he ought to take these 
 charms of his occupation into account in 
 estimating the value of the salary which 
 may be awarded to him. The. agreeable- 
 ness and the delightfulness may be 
 doubted; but, admitting them for the 
 sake of argument, the hard fact remains 
 that they cannot be employed in satisfy- 
 ing the claims of the butcher, the baker, 
 and the schoolmaster, and, therefore, have 
 little influence on the stem realities of life. 
 
 It is purposed to submit to this Con- 
 ference a scheme for the formation of a 
 Library Association of the United King- 
 dom. Such an association would appear 
 to be a natural and, indeed, a necessary 
 result of our labours, in order to reduce to 
 a permanent form the various opinions 
 which will be elicited in the course of our 
 discussions, and to secure the maintenance 
 of the resolutions at which the Conference 
 may arrive. 
 
 The joint and continuous action which 
 will be obtained by such an association 
 will render practicable the accomplishment 
 of many works which would otherwise be 
 impossible. As an instance, I would beg 
 to refer to the very numerous parochial 
 libraries which are scattered over the 
 kingdom. We possess incidental notices 
 of a few of these, but by far the greater 
 number are totally unknown. They are 
 for the most part unguarded and uncared 
 for ; exposed to pillage and decay. It 
 would be a work well worthy the attention 
 of such an association as is proposed, to 
 obtain lists of these books — catalogues 
 would not be necessary — and to publish 
 them from time to time in a journal, with 
 a separate pagination and register. These 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 lists could then be separated from the 
 journal and bound by themselves, and 
 would ultimately form a most important 
 and instructive bibliographical work. 
 Many rare and valuable books would be 
 found amongst them. If the plan were 
 extended, and made to include school 
 libraries and cathedral and chapter libra- 
 ries, the results would be still more remark- 
 able and valuable. Mr. Beriah Botfield's 
 work on Cathedral and Chapter Libraries 
 contains much useful information, but it 
 is very insufficient as a guide to those 
 important collections. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen, — I will not de- 
 
 tain you longer. I have touched very 
 slightly on some of the principal topics 
 .which have been proposed for discussion, 
 and have merely ventured to indicate some 
 of my own experiences, and to lay down 
 a few principles which I believe to be 
 sound. I do not expect, nor, indeed, is it 
 desirable, that my opinions should pass 
 unchallenged by the Conference. But I 
 do earnestly desire to promote discussion, 
 to promote that ventilation of thoughts 
 and opinions on the subject of library 
 science which may tend to further the 
 objects of this Conference of Librarians 
 of All Nations. 
 
ON THE BEST MEANS OF PROMOTING THE FREE LIBRARY 
 MOVEMENT IN SMALL TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 
 
 BY WILLIAM H. K. WRIGHT, LIBRARIAN OF THE FREE LIBRARY, PLYMOUTH. 
 
 ||Y object in the following 
 paper is not so much to 
 advance my own theories, 
 although I shall venture 
 to throw out a few sug- 
 gestions, as to ehcit from the more ex- 
 perienced their views upon this important 
 matter. I earnestly trust therefore that 
 the cause advocated may suffer nothing 
 from the fact of its having so indifferent a 
 pleader. 
 
 In the first place, then, let us consider 
 the need for promoting the extension of the 
 Free Library movement. 
 
 During the short time I have held the 
 oflBce of public librarian, I have felt it 
 my duty to make myself acquainted with 
 certain questions closely concerning those 
 institutions with which I have become 
 connected. I have realized to a consider- 
 able degree the importance of the work in 
 which we are all engaged ; and by personal 
 visits to some of our principal libraries 
 have obtained an insight into the working 
 of those great higher-educational centres, 
 as well as some idea of the main causes 
 that have contributed to their prosperity. 
 
 Seeing, therefore, the extraordinary suc- 
 cess which has attended the establishment 
 and working of these institutions in the 
 
 larger towns, has led me to look at the 
 question in its relation to our smaller 
 towns, which up to the present time have 
 been in a measure shut out from a partici- 
 pation in the benefits of special legislation 
 in this direction. 
 
 From a careful consideration of the 
 subject, I could see no reason why the 
 studious youth, the aspiring artisan, or the 
 more advanced thinker of our small com- 
 munities, should not possess an equal 
 chance with the dwellers in large towns 
 of obtaining literary food suited to their 
 several capacities and requirements. 
 
 In my own locality this conviction has 
 forced itself upon me in a more than 
 ordinary degree, and inasmuch as my own 
 town is the centre of a large and populous 
 district, and, further, as we possess a little 
 influence over our neighbours, communi- 
 cations from the agitators of this movement 
 in various small towns have reached me, 
 in which information was sought as to the 
 best means for carrying their wishes into 
 eflfect. 
 
 Their question was — " How shall we set 
 about the establishment of an institution 
 like your's, upon equally free, equally 
 broad principles?" 
 
 Upon inquiry, I found that the largest 
 
FREE LIBRARIES IN SMALL TOWNS. 
 
 23 
 
 income they could receive from the local 
 rate (taking it at its present standard) 
 would be wholly inadequate to support a 
 free library, on the smallest scale j and 
 what, therefore, could I advise, but that 
 they should appeal to the inhabitants of 
 their town or district for voluntary help ? 
 
 Not only towns in the West of England, 
 but others in various parts of the country 
 are eager to be "up and doing'' in this 
 work, but doubtful about the way. 
 
 During the recent meeting of the British 
 Association at Plymouth, I had conversa- 
 tions with the representatives of several 
 towns where the movement is on foot, and 
 from all I can gather it is evident that the 
 present generation will see a great advance 
 made in this direction. 
 
 There is therefore, unquestionably, the 
 need for the universal application of the 
 Free Library system, and a growing desire 
 to adapt its principles to the requirements 
 of any and every community. 
 
 For we, as a nation, in spite of our many 
 privileges, are far behind some of our 
 neighbours in the great work of education. 
 We were late in the field with a national 
 education scheme, and now our American 
 brethren have almost distanced us in the 
 race by their establishment of libraries, as 
 recognized national institutions. How long 
 shall such a state of things continue ? 
 
 I next come to the consideration of the 
 means which have already been adopted to 
 meet the great need. 
 
 About thirty years ago, the Mechanics' 
 Institute was established to meet the 
 growing demand for education amongst 
 the toiling portions of the community. 
 The present state of those institutions, 
 wherever they have so far stood the test of 
 time as to exist at all, will be a sufficient 
 evidence that they do not answer the pur- 
 poses for which they were set on foot; 
 they lack some of the most vital elements 
 which contribute to success. 
 
 There are doubtless some notable excep- 
 
 tions to this rule, but, as far as my expe- 
 rience goes. Mechanics' Institutes are not 
 providing for the requirements of the 
 time ; while, as to the communication be- 
 tween them and the " mechanic," the latter 
 is simply elbowed out of the institution 
 bearing his name and designed for his 
 exclusive use. The Mechanics' Institute 
 is rapidly declining into a mere vehicle of 
 popular entertainment and popular lecture, 
 and offers but little encouragement to 
 study. 
 
 Mechanics' Institute libraries are almost 
 entirely devoted to the supply of fiction 
 and popular books of travel ; while books 
 of reference, works in art, science, and 
 general literature scarcely find a place on 
 their shelves. 
 
 This class of institution has then failed 
 in its purpose, so far as it does not present 
 itself to the age as the means whereby the 
 people may become a reading people, in 
 the truest sense of the term. 
 
 Mechanics' Institutes failing to meet the 
 want, there arose another class of insti- 
 tution, the " Working Men's Association." 
 This movement (started some eighteen 
 years ago) has since grown into the 
 "Working Men's Club and Institute 
 Union," with its central organization in 
 London. 
 
 Having had considerable experience 
 with these clubs, I can speak with some 
 degree of assurance and knowledge of their 
 working. 
 
 Many such clubs have proved failures, 
 and have been closed j many more linger 
 on in a state of semi-activity ; a few, 
 perhaps, have proved successful, but prin- 
 cipally by the exertion of what I may term 
 artificial efforts. 
 
 The want of success has arisen from a 
 combination of circumstances which it 
 would take too long here to detail, even if 
 it were necessary. The chief element of 
 failure has certainly been lack of funds, 
 and the difficulty to provide all that was 
 
24 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 necessary to interest and attract the par- 
 ticular class for which these clubs were 
 designed, from the scanty pittance derived 
 from members' subscriptions. 
 
 I am aware that considerable sums are 
 yearly received for the benefit of these 
 institutions from wealthy patrons, and well- 
 meaning philanthropists; in fact, it has 
 fallen to my lot to have recourse to this 
 very expedient, in order to keep alive one 
 of the clubs which, until recently, existed 
 in my own town. 
 
 Such efforts may be justifiable in making 
 a start, or when a particular impetus is 
 required, but I cannot conceal from my- 
 self the fact that such institutions cannot 
 be called successful when their managers 
 are obliged to seek extraneous aid from 
 year to year to keep them open, and I am 
 confident that few of these clubs can be 
 kept open without such aid. 
 
 And what, as a rule, can be said of a 
 Working Men's Club library ? A few 
 hundred volumes of odd books gathered 
 together from the four corners of the town, 
 without any attempt at judicious selection 
 or systematic arrangement. A few books, 
 perhaps, of a solid character, which have 
 crept in quite by accident, but the majority 
 of the volumes are mere outcasts from pri- 
 vate collections ; few which a student will 
 care to read, none that a bibliophile would 
 prize — antiquated editions of musty divi- 
 nity, or obsolete scientific treatises, which 
 have lain on the shelves of their former 
 owners long enough to accumulate the 
 dust of a generation, unknown, unread — 
 
 " Remote, unfriended, melancholy, slow." 
 
 But the funds of such a club have pro- 
 bably never been sufficient to warrant the 
 outlay of money in the purchase of stan- 
 dard works, or new editions to replace the 
 worn-out, worthless stock. What wonder, 
 then, that the working man who goes to 
 such a library comes away frequently dis- 
 appointed at the small choice of literary 
 
 food provided for him? What wonder- 
 that the man of keen intellect and healthy 
 appetite for reading, requiring, as he does, 
 good solid food, should turn disgusted from 
 a store which offers so little attraction ? 
 
 And then as to another accessory of the 
 club — the club-room. How rarely do we 
 find this useful part of the club as Hght, 
 cheerful, and comfortable as the members 
 would like it be. What wonder then that 
 in nine cases out of ten the ordinary man 
 finds more attraction in the comfortable 
 parlour of the public-house than in the 
 bare, unfurnished club-room ? 
 
 I do not pass judgment upon Working 
 Men's Clubs as such, but simply point out 
 the fact that they do not supply the great 
 need. Nor do I say that all such clubs are 
 failures financially, for there are instances 
 where great pecuniary gain has resulted 
 from active exertions. 
 
 But when I examine the efforts as a 
 whole that are put forth to bring about 
 success ; remembering that the object 
 stated in the original prospectus of the 
 Working Men's Club and Institute Union 
 was to draw men from the public-house 
 and its influences, out of the reach of 
 temptation ; and, comparing this with the 
 state of affairs at present, find that one of 
 the chief measures advocated, nay, adopted 
 to keep these institutions open, is the 
 encouragement of the sale of intoxicants 
 in the club, I can only conclude that this 
 movement also is not a success, and that 
 Working Men's Clubs have mt supplied 
 that great want which their originators 
 proposed to supply. 
 
 I cannot refrain, in passing, from drawing 
 attention to a work which is now being 
 carried out by the managers of certain 
 co-operative societies in the country — 
 viz., the estabUshment of Jarge lending 
 libraries in connexion with their central 
 stores. This is undoubtedly a wise pro- 
 vision, and it bids fair to be successful in 
 its results. 
 
FREE LIBRARIES IN SMALL TOWNS. 
 
 25 
 
 Now comes the question :— Is the Free 
 Library movement the best means that 
 can be adopted to supply the need, and, if 
 so, in what way can it best be placed 
 within the reach of all? 
 
 It may be fairly assumed that the Free 
 Library has up to the present time fulfilled 
 the purpose of its projectors, and the secret 
 of its success lies in the fact tliat the move- 
 ment was not started so much in the in- 
 terests of any particular class or section of 
 the community, as by and for the whole 
 community. It is open and free to all — 
 knowing no caste, acknowledging no pre- 
 cedence of rank, birth, wealth, or station ; 
 making no stipulation as to a man's politi- 
 cal or religious convictions. 
 
 We will assume therefore that the need 
 which the Mechanics' Institute and Work- 
 ing Men's Club failed to supply, the Free 
 Library has to a certain extent ahready 
 provided. 
 
 Our large towns have the power in their 
 own hands to establish and support these 
 institutions — a power, moreover, conferred 
 upon them by legislative enactments ; and 
 the Free Library, once established, is 
 thenceforward recognized as a municipal 
 and as a national institution. 
 
 Even in towns where the revenue is 
 large, however, the amount realized under 
 the provisions of the Act is insufficient to 
 meet the growing demand, and to keep 
 these institutions in a thorough state of 
 efliciency. If therefore this difficulty of 
 revenue be felt in the larger towns, how 
 much more must it affect those towns of 
 which I speak, where the means is alto- 
 gether lacking. 
 
 Supposing the work to have commenced 
 by securing the adoption of the Act, the 
 rates are found to be so low that the sum 
 realized annually would be quite inade- 
 quate to pay for the services of a librarian, 
 to provide premises, furniture, books and 
 periodicals. Unless, therefore, the promo- 
 ters can see their way to realize a proper 
 
 income to carry on their labours, and could 
 by dint of great exertions raise enough 
 money to start the scheme, what is the use 
 of beginning ? 
 
 Mr. A. M. Pendleton, in the first of his 
 interesting articles recently published in 
 the "Library Journal," has in a very 
 ingenious manner told us how funds may 
 be raised to start a library — viz., by a 
 systematic assessment and canvass of the 
 whole town, " somewhat on the plan with 
 which Aaron Burr is said to have managed 
 the politics of New York, which was to 
 make rich, lazy men give money ; rich, mean 
 men give labour; poor men time and in- 
 terest; young men enthusiasm; and so 
 every one of the thing he could spare most 
 of."* 
 
 This is doubtless an excellent plan, but 
 one requiring certain conditions to make it 
 effective — conditions which, I fear, are 
 scarcely to be met with on this side the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 In the first place, a man need have a 
 more than ordinary stock of enthusiasm, be- 
 sides abundance of spare time, to set about 
 such a work in the systematic manner sug- 
 gested. Further, he must have a class of 
 persons to deal with who are more easily 
 persuaded to part with their money than (as 
 experience teaches) will the ratepayers of 
 our small towns : for, if ever an Englishman 
 carries a privilege to excess, it is in taking 
 advantage of the privilege to grumble, as 
 he delights to do, at every penny expended 
 in local rates or imperial taxes. From 
 what I know of such persons, I think the 
 mere attempt to assess them, to gauge their 
 pockets in fact, in the manner suggested 
 by Mr. Pendleton, would be likely only the 
 more effectually to close them. 
 
 Mr. Pendleton, moreover, does not take 
 into account the power of opposition — a 
 power which too often exerts itself, and 
 has lately so exerted itself in a very un- 
 
 *See "Library Journal," vol. i., pages 1.61-62. 
 
 E 
 
26 
 
 CONFERENCE 'OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 pleasant degree : take Bath and Chatham 
 as examples. 
 
 I have thus endeavoured to show that 
 the need is a reality, and that various plans 
 which have .been adopted have failed of 
 their object. Further, I have assumed that 
 the Free Library is the institution most 
 nearly supplying that need; and I now 
 propose to point out various methods by 
 which the advantages of this Free Library 
 movement may be more widely spread. 
 
 First. By the union of small towns 
 around a central one for mutual help. 
 Thus, in a district in which a large city or 
 town has within a radius of twenty miles a 
 number of small towns or villages, not one 
 of which is wealthy enough to start and 
 support an institution by itself, a central 
 depot might be established, with branches 
 in the outlying districts, from which sup- 
 plies could be drawn; a continued ex- 
 change and interchange of the best books 
 might thus be obtainable, while Branch 
 Reading Rooms might be supplied in a 
 similar manner. 
 
 This is but a suggestion, I make no pre- 
 tensions to elaborate a scheme. Nor am 
 I aware of the existence of any such union : 
 the nearest approach to it seems to be the 
 branch and delivery systems at Boston 
 (U.S.), detailed in theAnnual Report, 1877, 
 of the Boston Libraries. 
 
 The Working Men's Club and Institute 
 Union organized a similar plan some years 
 since in connexion with their affiliated 
 societies, agreeing, under certain condi- 
 tions, to forward selections of books from 
 their central library to recruit the stock of 
 country libraries; but this is on such a 
 small scale that it can scarcely be said to 
 furnish an illustration. Messrs. W. H. 
 Smith and Son have, in somewhat the 
 same manner, scattered literature all over 
 the country by means of their railway 
 book-stall branches. 
 
 My second proposition refers to the 
 utilization of Board Schools as branch or 
 
 general libraries. That this plan is prac- 
 ticable may be attested by the experience 
 of my friend, Mr. James Yates, of the 
 Leeds Libraries, where the Board Schools 
 have been thus used for some time. I trust 
 that gentleman will furnish the Conference 
 with fuller information upon this very in- 
 teresting point than can be gathered from 
 the Annual Reports of the Leeds Libraries, 
 interesting as those reports undoubtedly 
 are. 
 
 My third and last proposition is by far 
 the most important, and perhaps the most 
 difficult of execution. 
 
 It is, that an effort should be made to 
 secure State aid in the formation and for 
 the support of free libraries and museums, 
 and I trust that the action recently taken 
 by the authorities at Birmingham, in con- 
 cert with other towns, may be closely fol- 
 lowed up and enlarged upon, until suc- 
 cess is assured. 
 
 The State provides elementary schools, 
 nay rather, it compels the ratepayers to 
 establish schools. It uses compulsion to- 
 wards the children themselves, but it also 
 aids such schools from imperial funds 
 according to the results of the teaching in 
 those schools. 
 
 Now, seeing that the State does all this, 
 might it not go a step farther, extending 
 its aid to our libraries, which are, after 
 all, but higher-class schools ? 
 
 Would it be an extraordinary stretch of 
 liberality if the State, after training the 
 children for a few years in these elemen- 
 tary schools, were to supplement that 
 training by assisting the progress of these 
 higher educational establishments, when, 
 by the force of circumstan,ces, the children 
 are compelled to leave those schools? 
 
 The taste for reading has been instilled 
 into the young mind, and ought to be 
 encouraged and developed; but what 
 chance is there of such development, 
 unless material is provided for it to feed 
 upon? 
 
FREE LIBRARIES IN SMALL TOWNS. 
 
 27 
 
 I do not say that the State should 
 entirely provide these institutions, but 
 that it should aid the community in sus- 
 taining them by governmental grants, as 
 in the case of our schools. 
 
 Here I cannot do better than quote a 
 paragraph from an important article in 
 the American Library Report, by Mr. 
 F. B. Perkins, of the Boston (U.S.) Public 
 Library, at page 429. 
 
 Under the head of Maintenance he 
 says : — 
 
 "The circumstances of the case must 
 determine how each library is (financially) 
 created and maintained. But there is one 
 excellent practical rule, already proved 
 healthy and efficient in its application to 
 common schools, which ought to be applied 
 to public libraries as far as possible. It 
 is this : That the community as such (that 
 is, by public money, not through fees paid 
 to the library) should pay something for 
 its privileges. Unrestricted gifts to the 
 public, like unrestricted charity to paupers 
 and beggars, are almost certain to be 
 undervalued if not abused. In our best 
 school systems, the receipt of the State 
 money by a town for school purposes de- 
 pends more or less on the energy with 
 which the town raises money of its own. 
 God helps those who help themselves. 
 The State finds it safe to imitate the Divine 
 example in this particular; and so in the 
 case of libraries. A State grant for the 
 purpose, to depend on the raising of a 
 proper yearly amount by the town, is the 
 most American, that is, the most direct and 
 effective, method of promoting the library 
 department of our systems of public educa- 
 tion. On precisely the same principle, 
 private gifts for the same purpose should be 
 upon the same condition. This plan secures 
 not only beginning but continuance ; not 
 only birth but healthy life. It is com- 
 paratively easy to produce a revival, either 
 in religion or hterature, and thus to found 
 a church or a library ; the real task is to 
 
 maintain it in its proper growth and 
 health afterwards." 
 
 I fully endorse the opinions of the 
 writer, and trust that an attempt may be 
 made in this country to seek for legis- 
 lation in the manner described. 
 
 But how would such a measure more 
 particularly apply to small towns? By 
 securing them a larger income in propor- 
 tion to that raised by themselves. 
 
 Thus, if a penny rate were collected, 
 the State might supplement with a similar 
 sum, or at least one-half, the existing Act 
 being duly altered to meet the require- 
 ments of each case. 
 
 I have within my recollection several 
 towns where the movement languishes for 
 lack of just such support, where a few 
 earnest men are willing to spend their 
 time and money to bring about the de- 
 sired result ; and I also know of others in 
 which the adoption of the Act has been 
 opposed on the ground that the pro- 
 moters could not give a clear idea as to 
 ways and means. 
 
 I am firmly convinced that, were the 
 plan so ably set forth by Mr. Perkins 
 adopted in this country, we should soon 
 see a large increase in the number of free 
 Ubraries, and a corresponding improvement 
 in the moral and social condition of the 
 people. 
 
 Induce them to read books of an eleva- 
 ting character, books which will at once 
 instruct and amuse, and a great work has 
 been inaugurated. 
 
 After all, is it not far better to spend 
 the money of the State in the education 
 of her children than in prison discipline 
 and legal restraint ? 
 
 Such institutions as those for which I 
 contend are great civilizers, and great 
 levellers. 
 
 They teach men their humanity in a 
 variety of ways, and tend in a great mea- 
 sure to remove the barriers which separate 
 class and class, and the mere fact that 
 
28 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 these free news-rooms and free libraries 
 are for the whole community, and not for 
 a particular class, or for privileged ticket- 
 holders, tends greatly to their success, and 
 augurs well for their permanence as na- 
 tional institutions. 
 
 In conclusion, I would fain indulge the 
 hope that this, the first Conference of Li- 
 brarians held in this country, will give an 
 impetus to the work ; being firmly per- 
 suaded that, ere another generation shall 
 have passed away, the Free Library move- 
 ment will have spread like a great tidal- 
 wave over the whole country — every town, 
 village, and hamlet participating in its ad- 
 vantages. 
 
 A few days since I witnessed several 
 thousands of children from our Board 
 Schools assembled to receive prizes for 
 regular and punctual attendance. The 
 prizes selected were books. 
 
 Here, thought I, were the evidences of 
 what must be in the future. The seed 
 
 was being sown ;■ pure literature was being 
 disseminated, and the taste for it must 
 spread : the rising generation, the genera- 
 tion now being educated in our Board 
 Schools, bids fair to be a more reading 
 generation than any which has preceded it ; 
 there is, therefore, all the more necessity 
 for the present generation of workers to 
 establish unfailing storehouses from which 
 to draw. 
 
 The present is the time to prepare the 
 way. There is much to be done for the 
 future. The School Board system, which 
 has struggled against ignorance and pre- 
 judice up to this moment, is prevailing at 
 last, and will continue to prevail, and is 
 laying a foundation upon which the Free 
 Library must build. 
 
 It is well, therefore, that the materials 
 should be made ready, in order that the 
 grand superstructure of national education 
 in its external appliances, at least, may be 
 complete. 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM IN ITS RELATION TO 
 PROVINCIAL CULTURE. 
 
 BY WILLIAM E. A. AXON, HONORARY SECRETARY OF THE MANCHESTER 
 
 LITERARY CLUB. 
 
 'he Government of Eng- 
 land, in what it has so far 
 done for the promotion of 
 hterature and art, has con- 
 fined its attention exclu- 
 sively to London. In educational matters 
 a broader policy is perceptible of late, but 
 with regard to institutions for the prosecu- 
 tion of research, for the extension of know- 
 ledge, and for the culture of art, the nation 
 has done for London that which the pro- 
 vinces are called on to do for themselves. 
 We will not discuss the question as to how 
 far this policy may be justifiable or expe- 
 dient. Sufficient now to assert, what is 
 often practically lost sight of, that an insti- 
 tution does not cease to become national 
 by reason of its location in the metropolis. 
 The British Museum, the South Kensington 
 Museum, and other establishments main- 
 tained out of the general taxation are the 
 property of the people at large. They are 
 the heritage not of the English metropolis 
 but of the English nation. This is not likely 
 to be denied in principle. Does the actual 
 practice, however, in any measure corre- 
 spond ? To what extent can an author, a 
 literary inquirer, or a scientific student 
 living at Manchester, Birmingham, Liver- 
 
 pool, or Newcastle benefit by the existence 
 of the magnificent library and museum in 
 Bloomsbury? The British Museum, all 
 imperfections admitted, is still for the 
 practical uses of modern life and modern 
 scholarship the finest in the world. As a 
 symbol of the literary and scientific sym- 
 pathies of the richest nation it would be 
 our disgrace were it otherwise. England, 
 though later in the field than other nations, 
 has given freely, and will continue so to 
 do, in order to build up a collection of 
 books which, in value and breadth of selec- 
 tion, should be as a national library worthy 
 of her greatness. Libraries without readers 
 are of no avail. Although merely a truism, 
 it is sometimes forgotten that the final 
 utility of a good book is to be read. The 
 final utility of a national library is that, to the 
 utmost degree possible, it shall help the ad- 
 vancement of learning amongst the people 
 to whom it belongs. As a matter of fact 
 the British Museum library is used almost 
 exclusively by those resident in London. 
 Doubtless there are many adventurous 
 spirits who, coming from the northern wilds, 
 make occasional inroads. But, speaking 
 broadly, the British Museum in a direct 
 sense is an instrument of metropolitan and 
 
30 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 not of provincial culture. Only in a secon- 
 dary sense is it an instrument of national 
 culture rightly so called. Lord Granville 
 somewhat rhetorically observed on a recent 
 occasion that, "after all, London was not an 
 excrescence on the nation." This is indis- 
 putable. It is also true that the provinces, 
 in which the majority of the population re- 
 side, are not excrescences upon the national 
 life. It is from them that the metropolis 
 draws some of the best blood that circulates 
 in its mighty veins. London alone is not 
 the nation. There is, then, no provincial 
 jealousy in asking that the most shall be 
 made of the national treasures of art and lite- 
 rature for the general culture of the people. 
 
 The greatest help which the British Mu- 
 seum could give to national culture, alike 
 in its metropolitan and in its provincial 
 form, would be by the issue of a printed 
 catalogue. The want of such a guide is 
 felt every year with increasing force. The 
 widening sphere of the intellectual activi- 
 ties of the age makes not only great but the 
 greatest libraries a necessity for investiga- 
 tion. Whoever tries to explore even the 
 smallest nook of human knowledge will 
 soon find that it has an extensive literature. 
 His own bookshelves and those of his 
 friends will not yield all the information 
 he needs. The collections of the literary 
 institutions and of the town library will 
 probably refer him to books which may be 
 accessible in the national library. But are 
 they ? The resolution of that question in- 
 volves a needless expenditure of time and 
 money. It involves a journey of a couple 
 of hundred miles to learn that perhaps, 
 after all, the coveted books are not in the 
 great library. 
 
 The keen insight of Thomas Carlyle has 
 penetrated to the core of this difficulty. 
 There are but three passages necessary 
 to be quoted from the evidence he gave 
 before the Committee of 1848, in order to 
 give us the catalogue question in a nut- 
 shell:— 
 
 " A library is not worth anything with- 
 out a catalogue— it is a Polyphemus with- 
 out any eye in its head; and you must 
 front the difficulties, whatever they maybe, 
 of making proper catalogues." — Report of 
 British Museum Inquiry, 4472. 
 
 ". . . Of all catalogues, surely by far 
 the worst is ' no catalogue at all.' " — Ibid., 
 
 4378. 
 
 " There ought to be a catalogue of the 
 Museum, drawn up with the best skill 
 possible — a general catalogue; and there 
 ought to be all manner of specific cata- 
 logues ; and those catalogues ought to be 
 circulated over Great Britain, so that a 
 studious man might be able to ascertain 
 what books he could get here when he 
 came to London." — Ibid., 4370. 
 
 " A library is not worth anything with- 
 out a catalogue.'' The British Museum 
 has no catalogue except for those who can 
 at will place themselves beneath the dome 
 of the great Reading Room. It is without 
 a catalogue for the student at Birmingham 
 or Manchester. Can this be regarded as 
 satisfactory ? Is it not tying up in a napkin 
 the talent that should be increasing and 
 multiplying? A printed catalogue of the 
 British Museum would form the most 
 powerful stimulus to higher culture that the 
 present century has seen. It would be the 
 greatest aid to investigation that the literary 
 world could receive from the government 
 of a great nation. The preparation of a 
 printed catalogue is a duty which has been 
 recognized, but unfortunately we have 
 turned back after putting our hand to the 
 plough. It may be thought that if, after the 
 controversy of 1848-49, the printing of the 
 catalogue was abandoned as impossible, 
 there is small chance of its practicability 
 being now admitted. A printed catalogue 
 is not only far more needed, but far more 
 feasible than at any previous time. Nd' 
 doubt the undertaking would be gigantic, 
 but it would not be the first nor the last 
 great project carried into execution by the 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM AND PROVINCIAL CULTURE. 
 
 31 
 
 enterprise of the nation. Take as a work 
 of equal magnitude the successful printing 
 of the specifications of patented inventions. 
 This began in 1854. The system of print- 
 ing has recently been changed, but to the 
 end of 1875 there had been put in type 
 92,799 specifications of patented inven- 
 tions. Each specification forms a stitched 
 pamphlet, sometimes of portentous dimen- 
 sions, and often accompanied by litho- 
 graphed illustrations. There is no extra- 
 vagance in saying that the mere printing 
 of each specification is more difficult than 
 that of ten or even twenty ordinary cata- 
 logue entries. The first estimate gives us 
 the equivalent of 927,990 titles. The 
 object of this paper is not to present any 
 definite scheme. Probably there are many 
 methods which would yield a satisfactory 
 result: "of all catalogues, surely by far the 
 worst is no catalogue at all." One plan 
 would be by a combination of the cata- 
 loguing methods suggested by Dr. Cresta- 
 doro and Professor Jewett. Dr. Crestadoro 
 recommends an inventorial and a finding 
 catalogue. The first simply declares that 
 a book having the title set forth is in the 
 library. It is immaterial whether this part 
 be alphabetical, classified, or entirely des- 
 titute of arrangement. The finding cata- 
 logue is alphabetical, and forms a concor- 
 dance of the subjects named in the title. 
 Professor Jewett's very valuable suggestion 
 was for the stereotyping of titles with a 
 view to co-operative cataloguing. The 
 general MS. catalogue in the British 
 Museum is now so far advanced that 
 probably no great effort would be required 
 to make it a complete record of the printed 
 books up to whatever date might be decided 
 to be the proper limit. This placed in the 
 hands of the printers would in type assume 
 more manageable proportions than it now 
 displays. The titles, if stereotyped, would 
 be useful in a thousand ways. The general 
 catalogue could be analysed for the pre- 
 paration of "all manner of specific cata- 
 
 logues." Stereotype casts could be sold to 
 those who were preparing local catalogues 
 or special bibliographies. The possibilities 
 of usefulness in the last-named direction 
 are multitudinous. 
 
 A matter of considerable importance is 
 that there is no published record of the 
 publications received by the Museum un- 
 der the Copyright Act. The issue of such 
 a list would be an inducement to the pub- 
 lishers to comply with the requirements of 
 the law. There is no doubt that many 
 books and pamphlets, especially those 
 printed in the provinces, never find their 
 way to the Museum library. There are 
 doubtless many causes for this undesirable 
 state of things. Amongst them may pro- 
 bably be placed the apparent absence of 
 an equivalent advantage. If the Museum 
 would tell the pubHc, yearly or monthly, 
 what it receives, many things which it now 
 misses would reach it promptly and cheer- 
 fully. Some of the lacuncR due to the pre- 
 sent system will hereafter need to be filled 
 at a great cost. The accessions made to 
 the Museum do not adequately represent 
 the printing and publishing activity of the 
 provinces. The simplest test applied to the 
 MS. catalogue reveals this fact. That this 
 is undesirable no one will dispute. The 
 ephemeral tracts and pamphlets of to-day 
 will, in the future, yield as valuable material 
 for history as are afforded by the wonder- 
 ful collections respecting the English Civil 
 War and the French Revolution. 
 
 In every great library there is an inevit- 
 able accumulation of duplicates. The term 
 is one liable to misconception. Of some 
 books even a small library must have many 
 copies. After making all allowances for 
 this contingency, the British Museum must 
 have many thousands of valuable works 
 which are now practically useless. How 
 can these be most effectually turned to 
 account for the promotion of national 
 culture ? One suggestion frequently made 
 is, that they should be placed by gift or 
 
33 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 deposit in provincial libraries. At least 
 an equally effectual method would be to 
 make them the nucleus of a National 
 Lending Library available for scholars all 
 over the kingdom. This should be con- 
 fined exclusively to vi^orks likely to be of 
 service to those who were not seeking 
 merely their own amusement, but striving 
 to enlarge the boundaries of human know- 
 ledge. There are many occasions, familiar 
 to all who have engaged much in research, 
 when a book in the hand at home is worth 
 two in the library. 
 
 These suggestions may not contain much, 
 perhaps not anything novel. They will 
 show, however, how the subject appears 
 when regarded from a point of view not 
 often considered. The dislike of centraliza- 
 tion is one of the safeguards of our national 
 character. It is as necessary in literature, 
 in art, and in science, as it is in the ruling 
 
 of the people. " For my part," says Mr. 
 John Morley, in a thoughtful essay, " I look 
 with the utmost dismay at the concentra- 
 tion, not only of population, but of the 
 treasures of instruction on the banks of 
 the Thames." Surely it is not too much 
 to ask that the provinces may at least be 
 furnished with an accurate record of the 
 treasures of literature which have been 
 accumulated at the national cost. Of such 
 a boon we might say, " It is twice blessed : 
 it blesseth him that gives and him that 
 takes." Whilst it would be of inestimable 
 advantage to those dwelling beyond, it 
 would also be a precious gain for those 
 living in the metropolis. It would add 
 to the depth and volume of the stream 
 of national culture which all desire to see 
 flowing, like the ancient NUe, in a fertilizing 
 stream over all the land. 
 
M 
 
 W^^M 
 
 UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES AS NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 BY CHARLES H. ROBARTS, FELLOW AND LATE LIBRARIAN OF ALL SOULS' COLLEGE, OXFORD. 
 
 »N addressing an audience 
 such as the present upon 
 the subject of " Univer- 
 sity Libraries as National 
 Institutions," I should 
 scarcely be justified in limiting my re- 
 marks to one class of universities, or to 
 the universities of any one nation, unless 
 I could show that in some remarkable 
 manner the history, the resources, or the 
 peculiar opportunities of any of those 
 universities, entitle me to select any par- 
 ticular examples as signally illustrative of 
 the subject for discussion. 
 
 In the present case the vast wealth and 
 resources of the Universities of Oxford 
 and Cambridge (whose wealth, it is said, 
 nearly equals that of all the univer- 
 sities of Germany and Austria), the tradi- 
 tions and grand associations of these 
 universities, and, above all, the fact that 
 a Parliamentary Commission has just been 
 appointed for the redistribution of all this 
 wealth, present considerations so excep- 
 tional and so opportune for the develop- 
 ment of University Libraries — especially 
 in the case of the University of Oxford, 
 whose library Hallam has described as the 
 one great cause of its literary distinction — 
 that I hope my observations may not fail 
 to be of interest, even although I should 
 
 seem to dwell too exclusively upon these 
 exceptional opportunities. 
 
 If universities no longer exercise their 
 former power, it must be ascribed in part 
 to the extraordinary increase of printed 
 books ; partly also to the great develop- 
 ment of wealth, which has drawn the 
 means of cultivation to the centres of 
 commerce and population, and in many 
 other ways affected the ancient position of 
 the universities in relation to learning and 
 letters. 
 
 The conditions and environment of 
 modern universities have been completely 
 changed by these causes. We now learn 
 everything from literature, of one kind or 
 another, and the lecture of the university 
 teacher is very frequently a tedious repe- 
 tition of some text-book which we could 
 ourselves refer to with far greater ease and 
 profit. 
 
 Although Carlyle's words on this subject 
 have often been repeated, and he himself 
 has called attention to them after an in- 
 terval of thirty or forty years, they still 
 remain practically unheeded so far as the 
 universities are concerned. "The true 
 university," he urges again and again, " is 
 a collection of books. Universities arose 
 while there were no books procurable, 
 while a man had for a single book to give 
 
 F 
 
34 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 an estate of land. It is now 700 years 
 since universities were first set up in this 
 world of ours. Abelard and other thinkers 
 had arisen, with doctrines in them which 
 people wished to hear of, and students 
 flocked to them from all parts of the world. 
 There was no getting the thing recorded 
 in books, as you now may. You had to 
 hear the man speaking to you orally, or 
 else you could not learn at all what it was 
 he wanted to say. And so they gathered 
 together, these speaking men, the various 
 people who had anything to teach, and 
 found themselves gradually under the 
 patronage of kings and other potentates 
 who were anxious about the culture of 
 their populations, and nobly studious of 
 their best benefit, and became a body 
 corporate, with high privileges, high dig- 
 nities, and really high aims, under the title 
 of a university. Beyond all doubt, this is 
 greatly altered by the invention of printing, 
 which has modified the existence of Uni- 
 versities to their very base. Men have 
 not now to go in person to where a Pro- 
 fessor is actually speaking, because in most 
 cases you can get his doctrines out of him 
 through a book, and can then read it, and 
 read it again, and study it.'' " The uni- 
 versity which would completely take in 
 that great fact of printed books, and stand 
 on a clear footing for the nineteenth cen- 
 tury, as the Paris one did for the thirteenth 
 century, has not yet come into existence. 
 I know of no university where the whole 
 of that fact has yet been completely taken 
 in." 
 
 It is from this point of view here 
 brought out that the development of a 
 perfect library organization, free and open 
 to the learned of all countries, as the 
 central feature of the modern university, 
 acquires significance. The vast increase 
 in the number of books, closely connected 
 as it is with the fact of the continually 
 growing obstacles to effective publication, 
 is in a certain sense an overwhelming evil, 
 
 threatening the basis of all literary cultiva- 
 tion. In noticing this result, and in re- 
 marking upon the continually diminishing 
 publicity attaching to each separate work, 
 De Quincey writes : " It is singular and really 
 philosophically curious to remark the utter 
 bhndness of writers, readers, publishers, 
 and all parties whatever interested in litera- 
 ture, as to the trivial fraction of publicity 
 which settles upon each separate work. 
 The very multiplication of books has con- 
 tinually defeated their object, in a growing 
 progression. Readers have increased, the 
 engines of publication have increased, but 
 books increasing in a still greater propor- 
 tion have left us, as the practical result, 
 an average quotient of publicity for each 
 book taken apart continually decreasing. 
 And if the whole world were readers, 
 probably the average publicity for each 
 separate work would reach a minimum, 
 such would be the concurrent increase 
 of books. But even this view of the 
 case keeps out of sight the most mon- 
 strous forms of this phenomenon. The 
 inequality of the publication has the effect 
 of keeping very many books absolutely 
 without a reader." The maj ority of books 
 are scarcely ever opened, or more than 
 turned over, and every year buries its own 
 literature. " Publication is an idle term 
 applied to what is not published; and no- 
 thing is pubhshed which is not made 
 known publicly to the understanding as 
 well as to the eye ; whereas, for the enor- 
 mous majority of what is printed we can- 
 not say so much even as that it is made 
 known to the eye." 
 
 Very remarkable, too, as coming from 
 Mr. Gladstone, are the following words on 
 this subject, when at the Literary Fund 
 meeting, a few years ago, he was calling 
 attention to the dangers besetting modem 
 literature : — " I myself have great faith in 
 publicity ; but it is a very singular thing 
 how difficult it is to obtain." 
 
 The facts of the extraordinary multipli- 
 
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES AS NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 35 
 
 cation of books, and of the difficulties in- 
 volved in the collection, distribution, and 
 sifting of the enormous mass of printed 
 matter poured forth each year, are within 
 everybody's -cognizance. We scarcely, 
 however, realize that the estimate which has 
 been made of more than 30,000 volumes 
 being published annually in the civilized 
 world, of which about 5,000 volumes are 
 pubhshed in the United Kingdom, is rather 
 under than above the mark; and, more- 
 over, it excludes the vast heap of musical, 
 pamphlet, and journalistic literature. Every 
 day all the machinery of learning which the 
 largest private fortune can with difficulty 
 afford becomes more and more indispens- 
 able, and individual effort at an exhaustive 
 and scientific arrangement, even of one sub- 
 ject, becomes more and more impossible. It 
 was humorously proposed in a periodical 
 some few years ago to found a Society for 
 the Suppression of Useless Knowledge. 
 "Our capacity for accumulating materials," 
 it was said, " has outrun our powers of 
 puttiiig them in order; our Dryasdusts 
 have accumulated such vast heaps of rub- 
 bish that our powers of sifting them and 
 bringing them into shape are unequal to 
 the gigantic task." 
 
 But we may reply, that which is im- 
 possible to the individual may at least be 
 approximately possible to the associated 
 labour and the ample resources of the uni- 
 versities. Books, it is true, are not learn- 
 ing; and with equal truth but with equal 
 uselessness, it may be urged, learning is not 
 wisdom. Nevertheless, as in Bacon's time, 
 libraries are the most effective works of 
 merit towards learning. When the uni- 
 versities are reorganized in their proper re- 
 lation to literature, perhaps some of the 
 difficulties referred to may be overcome ; 
 but in the meanwhile there are opportuni- 
 ties available to Oxford and Cambridge 
 which they cannot afford to neglect, whether 
 they are regarded as literary or as educa- 
 tional centres, or as centres for the encou- 
 
 ragement of research. Much of this work, it 
 may be admitted, is of a mere mechanical 
 kind ; but it is one of the very objects of 
 library organization to provide these me- 
 chanical aids. Moreover, all this machinery 
 of learning has its special place in the acqui- 
 sition of knowledge, as the story told by 
 Boswell of Dr. Johnson aptly illustrates. 
 " No sooner," says Boswell, " had we 
 made our bow to Mr. Cambridge in his 
 library than Dr. Johnson ran eagerly to 
 one side of the room, intent on poring 
 over the backs of the books. Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds observed, ' He runs to the books 
 as I do to the pictures. But I have the 
 advantage — I can see much more of the 
 pictures than he can of the books.' Mr. 
 Cambridge upon this politely said, 'Dr. 
 Johnson, I am going, with your pardon, 
 to accuse myself, for I have the same 
 custom which I perceive you have. But 
 it seems odd one should have such a de- 
 sire to look at the backs of books.' John- 
 son instantly started from his reverie, 
 wheeled about, and said, ' Sir, the reason 
 is very plain. Knowledge is of two kinds. 
 We know a subject ourselves, or we know 
 where to find information upon it. When 
 we inquire into any subject, the first thing 
 we have to do is to know what books have 
 treated of the subject ; this leads us to look 
 at catalogues, and the places of books in 
 libraries." 
 
 Much, however, as may be done by me- 
 chanical means, and much as may be ac- 
 complished by the adoption of a perfect 
 system of cataloguing and classification, 
 all this will be a sorry substitute for the 
 privilege of being able to consult living 
 and intelligent guides. The appointment 
 of a Professorship of Books has been fre- 
 quently urged by Emerson, who describes 
 it as the one professorship of more value 
 than any other. Assistants qualified in that 
 special knowledge which has been termed 
 Bibliothekswissenschaft are more and more 
 essential to a great University Library; and 
 
36 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 amongst the advantages of the develop- 
 ment of University Libraries we may hope 
 for the rise of a school of highly trained 
 students in bibliographical knowledge. 
 
 It may be true that, constituted as the 
 English universities now are, the majority 
 of undergraduates require only the few 
 books which are set down for the exami- 
 nations. But it is not to be believed that the 
 same importance will be for ever attached 
 to the examination system as is the case at 
 present ; and even now the best examiners 
 demand an acquaintance with books far be- 
 yond those figuring in the candidates' list 
 for examination. But from our present 
 point of view Oxford and Cambridge are 
 regarded as places for graduates as well 
 as for undergraduates; and not only for 
 these, but for the learned from all parts of 
 the world. Even, however, considering 
 the universities simply as educational 
 centres, their libraries are their most pro- 
 minent features. In the report of the 
 Commission of 1854 they are described 
 " as the chief incentives to study," and 
 in the report of the Curators of the 
 Oxford Museum, presented to the Royal 
 Commission of 1873, the Radclifife Library 
 is said to form "a central feature in the 
 educational system of the University." 
 
 There are many who, perplexed by the 
 difficulties attending endowments, would 
 get rid of endowments altogether. But of 
 a.11 forms of endowment, in whatever as- 
 pect the university may be viewed, the 
 'encouragement of literary and scientific 
 faciUties by the maintenance and extension 
 of libraries and museums is least objec- 
 tionable and least liable to abuse. The 
 benefits of these endowments are distri- 
 buted, without favour or corruption, im- 
 partially to all, both to those who have 
 find to those who have not ; and few will 
 iJeny that education to be the freest and 
 best of all when the doors of a library are 
 thrown open wide to all comers. Poverty 
 is already at a sufficient disadvantage in 
 
 severe competition, and one at least of such 
 disadvantages is removed when the means 
 of study and the implements of learning 
 are freely provided for all. 
 
 If, then, the expenditure of the endow- 
 ments of the university is directed towards 
 the establishment of its central library on 
 an improved basis, a further step towards 
 scientific progress can be made by an 
 effective system of classification and ar- 
 rangement of books appertaining to vari- 
 ous branches of knowledge, and by their 
 localization in separate departments, or in 
 buildings contiguous to or in connexion 
 with, and under the control of, the main 
 library, and developing in certain cases 
 into special institutions, still remaining 
 part of the same organization. Much 
 labour may be saved, and many hin- 
 drances avoided, if books of a certain class 
 are kept together, and persons wishing to 
 consult them are allowed free access to 
 the places where they are kept. 
 
 The system of special libraries under 
 the control of the university, and in 
 the nature of public libraries, has been 
 carried out at Oxford in the cases of the 
 Physical Science Library at the new 
 Museum, through the great public spirit 
 of the Radclifife Trustees (to whom the 
 University is also indebted for the use 
 of the Reading Room attached to the 
 Bodleian); the Library for Foreign Litera- 
 ture at the Taylor Institution; the Botanical 
 Library, and, to a certain extent, the All 
 Souls' Law Library, established a few 
 years ago. This latter institution, how- 
 ever, is not yet under the control of the 
 University, nor is it yet established on a 
 public or satisfactory basis, and very much 
 still requires to be done in this respect. 
 Many, indeed, doubt whether, under tlie 
 present conditions, so much is required, or 
 whether English Law, other than historical, 
 can be effectually taught at Oxford, while 
 the " Observer," in more than one article 
 expressing approval of the scheme, has very 
 
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES AS NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 37 
 
 clearly shown that few practical results are 
 likely to arise from any School of Law 
 ■which Oxford may now create. From a 
 literary point of view, however, a perfect 
 library organization can accomplish some- 
 thing towards the sifting, analysing, and 
 digesting the vast amount of matter to be 
 found in legal literature. This is very re- 
 markably brought out by Sir J. Fitzjames 
 Stephen inalatenumber of the "Nineteenth 
 Century," where he argues — " Nothing but 
 the rearrangement and condensation of 
 the vast masses of matter contained in 
 our Law Libraries is required in order to 
 add to human knowledge what would 
 practically be a new department of the 
 highest and most practical interest." The 
 problem of law reform, considered in 
 the widest and most permanent sense, 
 he asserts, is essentially a literary one. 
 It must be owned, however, that the 
 opinion of Lord Westbury, when he was 
 Lord Chancellor, does not coincide with 
 that of Sir J. Fitzjames Stephen. In his 
 judgment there could be nothing like 
 real law reform until every single copy of 
 the Law Reports in existence was either 
 burnt or destroyed. 
 
 However desirable this might be to the 
 legal profession, the contingency is so 
 extremely remote that it is impossible not 
 to hope that in the meantime Sir J. 
 Fitzjames Stephen's suggestion will be 
 adopted. Even considering the matter 
 from another point of view, as to the com- 
 pleteness of any collection of the literature 
 of jurisprudence existing in this country, 
 it is worthy of observation that although 
 we have constantly to refer to the Ameri- 
 can Law Reports in our law courts, there 
 is no complete set of American Law Re- 
 ports available in this country : not even in 
 the British Museum. 
 
 If the foregoing observations have any 
 truth, it is manifest that the aim of the 
 university which aspires to render itself 
 cosmopolitan, and render itself attractive 
 
 to its own members and to others besides 
 its own members, should be the develop- 
 ment of a perfect library system. 
 
 What the University of Oxford most 
 needs, wrote the " Daily News " in praising 
 the plan for the union of the Bodleian 
 and All Souls', " is a constant succession 
 of men of letters and of science, who are 
 not necessarily her own children, nor 
 even Englishmen at all. Such men bring 
 new ideas, and their extraordinary indus- 
 try is an excellent example in a place 
 where letters have a slight natural tendency 
 to dilettantism." 
 
 In short, the future at which the Bod- 
 leian, with the various special institutions 
 of the University should aim, should be 
 some slight rivalry with the British Mu- 
 seum, these special libraries being part 
 of one extended organization, associated 
 with and supplemental to the central 
 library. 
 
 But the British Museum has the impor- 
 tant advantage of obtaining free of charge 
 all publications within the United King- 
 dom without special requisition, whereas 
 the Bodleian and other libraries, such 
 as the University Libraries of Cambridge 
 and DubUn, and the Advocates' Library 
 of Edinburgh, which share the privilege 
 of obtaining books without payment under 
 the Copyright Act, are compelled to make 
 a formal application in each particular 
 case. 
 
 This is a serious drawback, and was 
 much complained of by the Cambridge 
 University Librarian, who stated in his 
 evidence before the University Commis- 
 sion of 1852 that, in consequence of the 
 disadvantage they were under as com- 
 pared with the British Museum, valuable 
 publications occasionally escaped their 
 notice, and that it would be no injury to 
 authors if the University Libraries were 
 put on the same footing as the Museum in 
 this respect, it being well known that book- 
 sellers in making their agreements with the 
 
38 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 authors invariably take into account the 
 full number of copies that may be claimed 
 under the Copyright Act, just in the same 
 manner as they would do if such copies 
 were invariably delivered at Stationers' 
 Hall without any demand. 
 
 The Commissioners confirm this state- 
 ment, and add if the public Library of the 
 University, is designed to be made, like 
 the British Museum, a permanent record 
 of national literature, it should not only 
 be secured in the possession of all books 
 that are issued from the press, but should 
 be furnished with adequate funds for their 
 preservation. 
 
 There might be some doubt as to the 
 policy of encouraging competition with the 
 British Museum, if it was a question of 
 either national or local taxation, or even 
 withdrawing funds devoted to educational 
 or university purposes. But all that is 
 required for the satisfaction of these re- 
 quirements is the honourable association 
 of the Bodleian with a college which 
 has now no raison (Titre, but has most 
 abundant resources, and is most admirably 
 situated for the purpose. 
 
 The needs of the Bodleian have been 
 repeatedly and authoritatively urged upon 
 the University and colleges, and in the 
 pages of " Macmillan " of February, last 
 year, a plan was put forth for satisfying 
 those requirements, and at the same time 
 for extending the University Library 
 system in a way adapted to certain spe- 
 cial demands. The proposals consisted 
 chiefly in placing the buildings and 
 bulk of the resources of the College of 
 All Souls at the service of the Bodleian 
 and the University, thereby setting free, 
 in case it should be essentially necessary 
 for- other purposes, the sum of ;^3,6oo, 
 now paid to the Bodleian from the Uni- 
 versity chest. The present annual reve- 
 nues of the Bodleian, without this £zA°°> 
 are about ;£3,ooo, while the annual grant 
 voted by Parliament each year for the 
 
 British Museum library and reading- 
 room is more than _;,^6o,ooo. 
 
 In various reports presented by the 
 Hebdomadal Council to the University, 
 the pressing necessity has been dwelt upon 
 for securing the library from liability to 
 fire, and for providing more space for 
 books, as well as greater accommodation 
 for readers. Moreover, further sums are re- 
 quired for repairs, for the general and daily 
 purposes of the library, and for the in- 
 crease of the University Library staif. To 
 satisfy these limited requirements, at the 
 very least ;^8,ooo a year should be ob- 
 tained, although the actual estimates framed 
 by the Hebdomadal Council and the Cura- 
 tors of the Bodleian do not amount to 
 so large a figure. Should, however, the 
 proposed union of the Bodleian and All 
 Souls' be fairly carried out, these re- 
 quirements may be measured on a diffe- 
 rent scale; and when we remark that 
 the income of the University and Colleges 
 of Oxford is nearly half a million a year, it 
 surely is not an exaggerated estimate to 
 set down the future revenue needed for 
 the combined University Library system, 
 including the charges for capital sums 
 now demanded, at nearly ;^2o,ooo a- 
 year. 
 
 It is quite true that if this large sum 
 was obtained, and if the proposed associa- 
 tion of the Bodleian and All Souls' was 
 carried out, much would require to be 
 done in the way of altering the administra- 
 tion of the library. The body of Curators 
 in whom the administration is at present 
 vested would require to be more carefully 
 selected, and on different principles ; their 
 number would have to be reduced, and 
 their duties and privileges more strictly 
 defined. But these questions are little 
 likely to be overlooked if advantage is 
 taken of the opportunity afforded by the 
 complete reorganization of the University 
 Library system. 
 
 In the meanwhile, it cannot be too often 
 
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES AS NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 39 
 
 repeated that Oxford and Cambridge hold 
 their future in their own hands more than 
 any other institutions in the country. 
 Great opportunities, in one university at 
 least, present themselves, and that univer- 
 sity may yet become a literary centre 
 with scarcely a rival in this country, and 
 in some respects possessing advantages 
 not to be secured even by the Metropolis. 
 The comparative seclusion and the pro- 
 vincial situation of Oxford are not alto- 
 gether to its disadvantage, and at the same 
 time it is within tolerably easy access of 
 the Metropolitan centre. 
 
 The proposals to which I have referred 
 as having been put forth in the pages of 
 " Macmillan,'' of February, 1876, were after- 
 wards abridged in the form of a letter to the 
 "Times," on March 30 of this year. When 
 they first appeared they were very favour- 
 ably received ; they have been openly at- 
 tacked by none, and they have since, to a 
 greater or less extent, been approved of by 
 some of the most eminent residents in the 
 University, including among others the 
 Dean of Christ Church, the Master of 
 Balliol, the Rector of Lincoln College, 
 Professor Max Miiller (himself a Fellow of 
 the College), Dr. Acland (Radcliffe Libra- 
 rian and a former Fellow), Professor Rolles- 
 ton, and the Bodleian Librarian. The 
 suggestions in the main are based on the 
 generally acknowledged facts that the 
 present state and defenceless position of 
 All Souls' render it peculiarly liable to be 
 dealt with by the Commissioners in a 
 manner which will effectually prevent a 
 repetition of the failure of the scheme of 
 185 7, and that in the general redistribution 
 of endowments the greatest changes will 
 be made at this college. 
 
 The buildings and library of the College 
 occupy more than three acres of ground, 
 in one of the best and most central sites 
 of Oxford, and in the closest proximity to 
 the Bodleian Library and Radcliffe Read- 
 ing Room. The College has revenues 
 
 which before long will amount to ;^24,ooo 
 a year, more than equal to the united reve- 
 nues of Balliol, University, and Trinity. 
 
 With all the ancient prestige of an Oxford 
 college, it has no duties, no undergraduate 
 or resident life, and serves no academical 
 or even social objects whatever. Its build- 
 ings are practically empty nearly all the 
 year round, and in the words of Lord 
 Brougham to a former Warden, "it is an 
 institution without a purpose." At that 
 time, however, certain social purposes did 
 exist, which have long since ceased. 
 
 The causes which have brought the Col- 
 lege to this condition are very manifold, 
 and some even date centuries back. In 
 the Oxford Commissioners' report of 1852, 
 one of these causes is referred to : — " The 
 recollection which Archbishop Chichele 
 had of his share in the protracted wars 
 against the French nation seems to have 
 been the determining cause of the pecu- 
 liarity which distinguished the foundation of 
 All Souls' from that of the other Colleges in 
 Oxford. The object of offering up prayers 
 for the dead is brought forward with un- 
 usual distinctness in the charters of foun- 
 dation and statutes of the College. Prayers 
 are especially enjoined for the souls of 
 Henry V. and all the English nobility and 
 subjects who perished in the French wars, 
 and a solemn requiem for the dead was to 
 take place in the College Chapel every 
 Friday throughout the year. This object, 
 which gave to the College its peculiarly 
 funereal name, was rendered void by the 
 Act of Henry VIII. for the suppression 
 of the Chantries ; and though the College 
 was founded as a Chantry, it was pro- 
 bably spared at the Reformation because 
 of its literary character, though all other 
 Chantries were dissolved." The course 
 which the Fellowship elections took in the 
 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in a 
 great measure decided the destiny of the 
 College; and, until the Commission of 
 1 85 4 directed that no candidate should be 
 
40. 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 elected who had not attained to a certain 
 7ninimum of honours in the University, 
 there was but little direct connexion with 
 academical life. The College, however, 
 has a magnificent library, largely en- 
 dowed ; and, although some years ago this 
 library was so neglected as to give rise to 
 the well-known anecdote of the College 
 cat having been discovered there starved 
 to death, it is only fair to say that the 
 story has never been well authenticated. 
 But nowj after a long series of efforts which 
 are described in pamphlets privately printed 
 in 1867 and 1869, the library has been 
 utilized for the University and the public, 
 its revenues have been specially appro- 
 priated for the subject of jurisprudence, 
 and a very convenient reading-room has 
 been built for public use. 
 
 It is true the particular means adopted 
 for affording public access are not the best 
 possible, nor the best proposedj nor is the 
 architectural beauty of the College thereby 
 improved. Nevertheless, it is a clear 
 gain that the public character of the 
 library should have been so far recog- 
 nized. The proposals for which I now ask 
 your support, aim at the completion of 
 this work by the further development of 
 this library, by its permanent establish- 
 ment as a special institution subordinate 
 to the central University Library, and by 
 the adaptation of the College in other re- 
 spects to the needs and requirements of 
 the Bodleian. 
 
 When the Universities Bill was in pro- 
 gress through the House of Commons last 
 session, the existence of the public library 
 of All Souls' was the chief justification 
 which the College of All Souls received 
 at the hands of the members for the 
 University. But although Mr. Goschen 
 moved a clause specially applying to this 
 College, the Bill would have passed 
 without containing any provision enabling 
 the proposals for the union of the Bodleian 
 and All Souls' to be carried out, had it not 
 
 been for the ability and energy of the Earl 
 of Morley in the House of Lords, through 
 whom clauses were inserted empowering 
 any college to make provisions for its 
 complete or partial union with any Uni- 
 versity institution, and also for the transfer 
 of its library. This amendment was de- 
 scribed by the "Times" "as introducing 
 a provision which may, if the Commis- 
 sioners think fit to act upon it, produce a 
 greater effect than any other single clause 
 to be found in the Bill. We hail its ac- 
 ceptance with satisfaction, but we are not 
 quite clear that it will make as little 
 difference as Lord SaKsbury seemed to 
 suppose. It is obvious that a definite 
 suggestion contained in a special clause 
 is likely to be more operative on the minds 
 of the Commissioners than mere vague 
 and undefined powers in general terms. 
 It is far from impossible that some bene- 
 volent college may be found ready to 
 link its fortunes with the Bodleian Library, 
 especially if a little gentle pressure is judi- 
 ciously applied by the Commissioners ; but 
 it is not at all likely that such a provision 
 would have occurred to the Commissioners, 
 or that they would have had the courage 
 to carry it out, if it had not been definitely 
 suggested to them in the Bill from which 
 they derive their powers. However this 
 may be, the effect of the clause, if any, 
 cannot but be beneficial to the Bodleian 
 Library, the greatest, perhaps, of all the 
 great institutions which make the glory of 
 Oxford." 
 
 The pubhc interest in the future of the 
 College, and in the disposition of the re- 
 sources after the expiration of vested in- 
 terests, is, I may observe, at least as great 
 as that of the accidental occupiers of the 
 College at the moment when it may happen 
 to be dealt with by the Commission which 
 has lately been appointed. The rights and 
 duties of the corporate members as the 
 administrators of an established trust, are, 
 it need not be pointed out, very different 
 
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES AS NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 41 
 
 from those which belong to them in con- 
 sidering a scheme for the future at a time 
 when they have been practically suspended 
 from the exercise of their ordinary func- 
 tions by the action of ParHament. 
 
 The interest of the public is permanent 
 and continuous, while that of the corpo- 
 rators is at best the fluctuating interest of 
 a very heterogeneous and mostly absentee 
 body, which certainly cannot claim any 
 exclusive nor even any special voice in 
 settling for posterity the destiny of the 
 College, still less in deciding for the Uni- 
 versity the questions now raised. The 
 University of which the College forms a 
 part has, to say the least, as great, if not a 
 far greater, interest in its voice being heard. 
 The desolate state of the College has long 
 been a perplexity to Oxford, and the Fel- 
 lowship elections have occasionally had an 
 effect upon the elections of other colleges 
 which has not always been the most desi- 
 rable ; and, although I have no wish to 
 dwell at any length upon the condition of 
 things since the failure of the scheme 
 adopted by the College in 1857, it is ad- 
 mitted by nearly all that that scheme has 
 undoubtedly failed. In one respect alone 
 has there been any development, and this 
 — the .establishment of its library as a 
 pubhc institution — ^has been only carried 
 out with an expenditure of time and of 
 force exceedingly disproportionate to the 
 results obtained. 
 
 But I feel that I am specially justified in 
 directing attention to the present condition 
 of the College with respect to my proposals 
 for its adaptation to the service of the 
 Bodleian, when that condition is so de- 
 fenceless as to give countenance to any 
 scheme for the occupation of the College, 
 however illusory, and however unconnected 
 with the actual needs of the College and 
 of the University. I must rnoreover ob- 
 serve, without in any way wishing to touch 
 on the vexed question of the internal re- 
 ibrm of corporate bodies, that he is the 
 
 last to be charged with lifting the veil of 
 secrecy, or with introducing that element 
 of weakness which he is in fact seeking 
 to remove, who after many years of effort 
 within a corporation, finds nearly every 
 effort frustrated, and opportunity after op- 
 portunity neglected, leaving as a result 
 the body still open to the attacks and the 
 language lately used in the pamphlet by a 
 former Member for the City of Oxford, 
 and an Emeritus Professor of the University, 
 wherein the writer expresses his conviction 
 that the main inspiration of the framers of 
 the University Act was the desire to preserve 
 All Souls' in its immunity from all duty, 
 and urges that " against an abuse so invete- 
 rate, so unconscious, and yet so protected, 
 the most decisive language is needed, the 
 plainest language excusable." If such at- 
 tacks cannot be answered, while, instead 
 of being refuted, they are everywhere re- 
 iterated, nothing remains except to admit 
 their justice, and as far as may be possible 
 to pi-event their recurrence. 
 
 " Pudet haec opprobria nobis 
 Et did potuisse et non potuisse refelli." 
 
 In such a case he is not to be charged with 
 making any premature appeal forpublic sup- 
 port who, having exhausted every internal 
 effort at resuscitation, proposes a plan, care- 
 fully elaborated and based upon what has 
 already been accomplished, showing how by 
 the honom'able association of his college 
 with one of the most renowned institutions 
 of the University, it can be made the means 
 of renovating and enlarging the whole 
 University Library system. The College 
 united with the Bodleian would be dis- 
 charging duties ■ of high national impor- 
 tance, the Bodleian will gain what it re- 
 quires in revenue and resources, and the 
 University library system might then be- 
 come of the greatest utility and gloiy to 
 the nation. " The plan," as was said by the 
 " Daily Telegraph " of Feb. 3rd last year, 
 "supplies the Bodleian with what it re- 
 
 G 
 
42 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 quires — an endowment, and gives All Souls' 
 what it needs even more sorely than the 
 Bodleian wants money — a raison d'etre.^' 
 
 I will not now detain you with more 
 than a brief summary of the details by 
 which it is proposed to carry out the 
 scheme of developing the University 
 Library system by means of the buildings 
 and resources of this college. 
 
 The principal step would be the union 
 of the offices of Bodley's Librarian and 
 the Wardenship of the College ; the 
 Bodleian Librarian, elected by the Cura- 
 tors and responsible to them, being ex 
 officio Warden of the College. The want 
 of an official residence for the Bodleian 
 Librarian and staff in close proximity to 
 the Bodleian would then be supplied, and 
 the identification of the two institutions 
 would necessarily follow, while the office 
 of Head of the College would become one 
 of activity and energy, instead of (as at 
 present it very often is) a more complete 
 sinecure than many Fellowships, with re- 
 sults both more detrimental and more 
 durable. 
 
 The union of these two offices is the 
 cardinal feature of the plan ; its practical 
 details are based on the gross annual re- 
 venue of All Souls', amounting in some few 
 years to above ;^24,ooo. Deducting from 
 this fixed charges, rates, taxes, subscrip- 
 tions, charges for repairs, and charges for 
 the management of the estates, &c., there 
 will be a net sum available, after the ex- 
 piration of vested interests, of nearly 
 ;£'20,ooo a year ; and, assuming that it is 
 necessary to keep up the independent 
 corporate existence of the College, I pro- 
 pose that the corporators should be four- 
 teen in number, and that the resources 
 of the College should be distributed as 
 follows : ;^i,Soo for the Warden Librarian; 
 ^3,600 for six Sub-Librarian Fellows, re- 
 presenting various special departments of 
 the University Library system, and ap- 
 pointed by the Warden Librarian with the 
 
 approval of the Curators ; ^^3,600 for four 
 Professor-Fellows (one of Bibliography, 
 one of Literature, and two of Law). These 
 Professor-Fellows to be limited to a tenure 
 of ten years, without power of being re- 
 elected ; but any payment to the two latter 
 Professorships should be contingent on 
 the expiration of the present arrangement, 
 which, by an oversight somewhat inten- 
 tional on the part of the College, enables 
 each of the two Chichele Professors to 
 divide ;^i,5oo a year besides other emolu- 
 ments (being more than double what was 
 intended when the Professorships were 
 established in 1857); ;^i,ooo for three 
 Special Fellows, appointed in turns by the 
 College, by the Council of Legal Educa- 
 tion in London, and by the Curators, on 
 terms and conditions to be specified on 
 each occasion; and ^800 for a pension 
 fund for the use and benefit of the cor- 
 porators of the College. This would leave 
 a balance for the University Library system 
 (after the deduction of about ;£i,Soo for 
 the maintenance of the chapel and the 
 domestic establishment) of a sum amount- 
 ing to nearly ;£'8,ooo. 
 
 The University Library system would 
 of course include the special library and 
 the various public reading-rooms in the 
 College. The chapel might be assigned 
 to the use of the unattached students of 
 the University, and the hall appropriated 
 for the use of the University on certain 
 special occasions, under certain limitations 
 and restrictions. 
 
 The Bodleian Curators might also be 
 given a legal position in the College, with 
 official rooms and other privileges. But 
 the four Professor-Fellows and three 
 Special Fellows should have no further 
 official function in the administration of 
 the Corporate Library trust, except with 
 relation to the development of the special 
 library of the College as a department 
 subordinate to the University Library 
 system. The common and primary pur- 
 
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES AS NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 43 
 
 pose of the corporate body would be the 
 maintenance of the corporate property (ex- 
 cept in so far as it might be otherwise ex- 
 pressly secured) in trust for the Univer- 
 sity Library system, but its subordinate 
 purposes would be to provide a residence 
 and a centre for the University Library 
 staff, and to develope the special library 
 of the College as an institute or special 
 department for the use of the University. 
 
 I can scarcely suppose that I have been 
 able to interest you in these minute mat- 
 ters, but I have felt bound to anticipate 
 that class of objections with which nearly 
 every scheme which in any way depends 
 upon detail is assailed. 
 
 There are also objections founded on a 
 desire to maintain the existing system of 
 Fellowships. But, whatever may be said 
 for Fellowships generally, their most inve- 
 terate supporter will concede that they are 
 to be judged in each College by the cir- 
 cumstances and work of that College, and 
 that their chief advantage is in being 
 awarded, and, at the same time, in being 
 known to be awarded, absolutely according 
 to merit. I may here quote a well-known 
 authority on this subject, the historian of 
 the Norman Conquest, who, in " Mac- 
 millan" a short time ago wrote of the 
 College : — " It is the only one in which 
 the Legislature has thought it needful to 
 bind it down with restrictions in the choice 
 of Fellows, and the only one against which 
 complaints that the Fellowship elections 
 are not made according to merit have 
 been lately made.'' 
 
 Another class of objections are those 
 originating in the hope that the Fellow- 
 ships will be consolidated into Professor- 
 ships, and so be perpetuated under another 
 name. But, even apart from the considera- 
 tions upon which I have been dwelling as 
 to the needs of Oxford, this would be but 
 a small reform at best, and as matters are 
 at present those who know the University 
 have small confidence in the benefit to 
 
 be derived from an indefinite increase of 
 Professors appointed probably in some 
 obscure way, with little guarantee for their 
 efficiency at the time of their appoint- 
 ment, and still less for their subsequent 
 activity. 
 
 There are others who, as an alternative, 
 would propose that the College should 
 elect from time to time such Professors 
 and others upon whom it might chance to 
 bestow its favours. Such patronage, how- 
 ever, would at all times be an anomaly, but 
 when vested in a body such as this, it can- 
 not be too strongly deprecated. Patronage 
 without responsibility, as has been re- 
 peatedly said, is of all forms of patronage 
 most assuredly the worst. 
 
 I should not now have touched upon 
 these topics, had it not been that this 
 meeting to-day will, I hope, be distinguished 
 by its practical character, and it is to this 
 the essential characteristic of my proposals 
 that I am anxious to invite attention. 
 
 It is perfectly possible that the claims 
 of the Bodleian for assistance may be ad- 
 mitted by the University Commissioners ; 
 its present resources may perhaps even be 
 doubled; but nevertheless there may be 
 hesitation to regard the case of All Souls' 
 as exceptional, and the necessary funds 
 may be obtained by the general taxation of 
 all the colleges. No proceeding, however, 
 could be more impolitic. An active col- 
 lege, such as Balliol, would find her re- 
 sources crippled, while the problem of 
 finding a useful career for a purposeless 
 college would remain unsolved, and the 
 abuses connected with college manage- 
 ment would receive a new lease. On the 
 other hand, it is certain that every college 
 will be enabled to frame its scheme for the 
 future with far greater ease when once the 
 requirements of the Bodleian are satisfied, 
 and the University Library system restored 
 on the scale I have suggested. 
 
 Nor is it alone by the amount of money 
 that the requirements of the University 
 
44 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 Library system are to be measured. Much 
 more is needed. The whole of its orga- 
 nization and its mode of administration 
 require revision and improvement. The 
 rearrangement of its departments, the 
 extension of its buildings, and the pro- 
 vision of a centre for the University Li- 
 brary staff are essential requirements, to 
 satisfy which an opportunity will be pro- 
 vided by now restoring the buildings and 
 resources of All Souls' to the service of 
 Oxford. 
 
 If I have enlisted your support for 
 the general plan by which this is to be 
 carried out, the practical result of that 
 support can be shown by strengthening 
 the hands of the Commissioners when they 
 commence their work of reconstruction. 
 In all that work they will need the as- 
 sistance of a firm public opinion, but 
 with relation to this college and its very 
 special representation on the Commission, 
 
 they may be exposed to peculiar diffi- 
 culties and hindrances, which, unless 
 overcome, will effectually check any com- 
 prehensive action. 
 
 I must apologize for limiting my re- 
 marks so exclusively to one University, 
 but my excuse must be that not every 
 University possesses a Bodleian, nor every 
 University an All Souls'. I have detained 
 you at this length in the hope that the 
 public interest in the hterary character 
 of Oxford will make itself heard in vindi- 
 cating the claims of the University Library 
 to be regarded as a national institution, 
 and also in the hope that all those who 
 consider and approach this work of im- 
 provement will ever bear in mind the say- 
 ing of Bacon : — " If you will have a tree 
 bear more fruit than it used to do, it is not 
 anything you can do to the boughs, but it 
 is the stirring of the earth and putting new 
 mould about the roots that must work it." 
 
ON SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OF BOOKS. 
 
 BY CORNELIUS WALFORD. 
 
 /HE question of Special 
 Collections of Books, 
 while it must necessarily 
 have occupied the minds 
 of book-collectors and of 
 book-protectors, has recently assumed an 
 increased interest by reason of a discus- 
 sion arising in the pages of "Notes and 
 Queries" (sth series, vols. vii. and viii.). 
 It would be difficult to name a subject 
 which has not been raised into more or 
 less importance by having a literature de- 
 voted to it. Many of the special fields 
 of literature indicate special phases of 
 thought in their originators. These, again, 
 have followers, who first seek to know 
 what has been written upon their subject, 
 and then, not unfrequently, add their own 
 thoughts. Sometimes this process is re- 
 versed, but not often with success. 
 
 It is for the national benefit that every 
 subject which affects our social and poli- 
 tical life should receive complete and con- 
 tinuous investigation. In a rich and men- 
 tally cultivated country like Great Britain 
 — speaking of its upper and middle classes 
 — ^it is certain that those devoting them- 
 selves to special subjects will form an 
 increasing number. And indeed the range 
 of general literature has now become so 
 vast that a man to be hopeful of making 
 any mark in his day and generation must 
 
 confine himself very much to some special 
 subject or subjects. 
 
 Assuming a man early in life to have 
 come to this wise, because necessary re- 
 solve, and to be wishful to collect the 
 literature of his subject around him, how 
 may he best succeed,^rsf, in ascertaining 
 what has been written upon his especial 
 subject, and nex^, in acquiring the works 
 thereon ? 
 
 I speak on this question not as a novice, 
 but from extensive personal experience in 
 the matter of Special Collections. 
 
 It may aid in the solution of my present 
 effort if I state that my especial subject is 
 that of Insurance — Insurance in all its 
 varying phases : — Marine Insurance, as 
 being associated with and incident to mari- 
 time commerce from the beginning. The 
 perhaps still more ancient phase of Inland 
 Transport Insurance, which we now know 
 was practised by the ass-drivers over the 
 passes of the Syrian mountains, with their 
 loads of silks, spices, and precious stones, 
 even in the early Babylonian period.* With 
 Captivity Insurance, as stated to have 
 been practised by the Crusaders in the 
 twelfth and thirteenth centuries, or by such 
 of them as did not put faith in gaining 
 their release through the romantic in- 
 
 * Vide Tosefta Baba Kama. 
 
46 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 tervention of fair Emirs' daughters, or 
 the more heroic Saracen ladies ; and as 
 we know was resorted to in the last century 
 by the captains of merchant vessels as 
 against the corsairs of Algiers and the 
 pirates of Barbary. With Lottery Insu- 
 rance, when the special revenues of our 
 country were raised by a direct appeal to the 
 gambling propensities of our countrymen, 
 and when several hundreds of offices existed 
 in this city whereby any of the chances 
 of the drawings could be covered for a 
 very small premium.* With the insurance 
 of the risks of Personal Adventure, such as 
 those undertaken, and afterwards so amus- 
 ingly described by Taylor the Water Poet.f 
 With the whole host of Gambling Insu- 
 rances, such as Apprenticeship, Birth, and 
 Marriage Insurance of the reign of Queen 
 Anne, including the large class of Little 
 Goes and Backing the Queen's Picture, which 
 followed, and prevailed, more or less, de- 
 spite the various penal enactments, down 
 to the close of the last century. And then, 
 passing from these and many others— far 
 too numerous even for a passing reference 
 here — down to the various insurance pro- 
 jects of our own time — the Life Insurance 
 companies, on which the professional 
 classes of the country, including more espe- 
 cially the literary classes, base the future 
 hopes of their families ; the Fire Insurance 
 offices, by which we secure in the only way 
 possible indemnification for the destruction 
 of our household goods, our works of art, 
 
 * See a rare pamphlet, published 1777: 
 " Lottery Insurancer ; or a total discovery of 
 every act necessary to constitute a, skilful in- 
 surer." 
 
 t See his poem, "A Kicksey Winsey, or a Lerry 
 
 Come-Tv?ang : wherein John Taylor hath Satyri- 
 
 cally suited 800 of his bad debtors thatvi'ill not pay 
 
 him for his returne of his lourney from Scotland. 
 
 " My debtors like 7 eeles with slip'rie tailes 
 
 One sort I catch, 6 slips away and failes." 
 
 [Then plate illustrating process with veritable 
 eels.] 
 
 ' ' London, printed by Nicholas Okes, for Mathew 
 Walbanck, dwelling at Grayes Inne Gate, 1619." 
 
 our libraries ; the Accident\a?,\!iX^x^ct offices, 
 and the Industrial Insurance offices, and ' 
 still more the Friendly Societies, upon which 
 the toiling masses of this country depend 
 for protection in the events of accident, 
 sickness, or death. These, all these— as well 
 past as present — have a history full of 
 interest and abounding in instruction re- 
 garding men and things. This history lies 
 scattered over the great surface of the 
 literature of the world; in references by 
 ancient historians and classic writers ; in 
 the newspapers and periodical literature of 
 more modem periods, or still more tangibly 
 in the shape of "proposals," prospectuses, 
 and pamphlets. Each of these has a dis- 
 tinct value not only in itself as relating to 
 any particular enterprise, but in a collec- 
 tive sense as forming part of one great 
 whole. And yet so extended an inquiry 
 can be regarded only as constituting one 
 of the by-paths of general Uterature. To 
 it and all its associated questions — as the 
 mathematical theory of probability lead- 
 ing to the development of the science of 
 life contingencies ; the considerations of 
 the rates of Interest for money, involving 
 usury and the laws and ordinances of the 
 Romish Church and the Enghsh universi- 
 ties,* condemnatory thereof; to questions 
 of Vital Statistics, whereby the relative sa- 
 lubrity of our own country is brought into 
 contrast with corresponding observations in 
 other countries, and numerous questions of 
 the influence of locality and occupation 
 upon the duration of life — to these conside- 
 rations, and such as these, I have devoted 
 the greater portion of a lifetime — with what 
 success those who are familiar with my 
 published works, and not I, must testify.t 
 
 * There was an ordinance against usury pub- 
 lished in Cambridge. 
 
 t The " Insurance Cyclopaedia " (first three vols, 
 and part of fourth are already published), contain- 
 ing detailed references to the entire literature of the 
 subjects treated of, giving full titles of all books, 
 pamphlets, papers before learned societies, &c., 
 imder author's name. 
 
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OF BOOKS. 
 
 47 
 
 Having thus, I trust neither too rashly 
 nor too ostentatiously, trotted out my most 
 favourite hobby before you — for I have 
 others, shorthand books and the literature 
 of newspaper history, for instance — I now 
 resume the general consideration of the 
 question, narrowing it as far as may be to 
 practical issues. 
 
 I. With regard to what has been printed 
 upon any given subject — how are we to 
 ascertain this? There is Watt, there is 
 Lowndes ; there is AUibone ; there are also 
 the Bodleian, the London, and numerous 
 other catalogues. But how do these help 
 you? I am constrained to say, not very 
 much : and for the reason that these are 
 all based more or less upon national and 
 general collections only, and their compilers 
 had not the means at hand for making a 
 general catalogue of literature in all its 
 minute details. In my own library I have 
 literally hundreds of books, pamphlets, 
 prospectuses, &c. which none of the works 
 of reference named even allude to — nor 
 could it be expected they would. Their 
 compilers had not access to those Special Col- 
 lections of Books whereby alone they could 
 have made their labours more complete. 
 
 I ought not to omit to mention, in this 
 connexion, Mr. Lewis Pocock's useful but 
 very incomplete "Chronological List of 
 Books and Pamphlets on Insurance Sub- 
 jects," published in 1842, first as a supple- 
 ment to his work on Life Insurance of 
 that year, and a second edition separately 
 printed (pp. 47, and apparently for private 
 circulation only) ; nor McCulloch's well- 
 known " Literature of Political Economy " 
 — in each of which many of the works of 
 my class are named. Then there is Marvin's 
 "Literature of Jurisprudence and Legis- 
 lation,"* a most excellent work, pubUshed 
 in America ; the " French Librarian " of 
 M. Ventouillac (1829); De Morgan's 
 
 * Marvin (J. G.). "Legal Bibliography; or a 
 Thesaurus of American, English, Irish, and Scotch 
 Law Books." Philadelphia, 1847, 8vo. 
 
 " Arithmetical Books " (1847), a marvel of 
 its kind ; and, by no means least, Clarke's 
 "Bibliotheca Legum" (ist ed. 1810, 2nd 
 1 81 9), compiled, or at least arranged and 
 edited, by that industrious collator Thomas 
 Hartwell Home, D.D. — from each of which 
 I have derived much assistance. 
 
 To get, then, to know what has really 
 been printed on any given subject, is the 
 greater part of the special collector's work. 
 He cannot set himself to the task of find- 
 ing a book of which he does not even 
 know the existence. If he finds any such 
 work at all, it will be simply by chance. 
 But if he has reference to the work in a 
 catalogue, and thus knows the name of 
 the author, the date of publication, and 
 name of the pubUsher, the obtaining of a 
 copy for his own use is then only a 
 question of time and of money. Again, 
 unrecorded books, pamphlets, and broad- 
 sides are too often thrown out of sight as 
 waste paper. But only give them a place 
 in a catalogue of acknowledged repute, 
 and their future is made secure. They 
 will be inquired after; they will con- 
 sequently have a market value ; and it will 
 become the direct interest of somebody to 
 preserve them. 
 
 Now what does all this point to in the 
 way of practical solution? Is it not to 
 a catalogue of Enghsh literature brought 
 down to the most recent date, and to which 
 all the known owners of Special Collections 
 shall be asked to contribute ? 
 
 On the subject of catalogues, I propose 
 to offer a few notes for use under that 
 especial head, wherein I shall endeavour 
 to show how they may be made available 
 for special collectors, without necessarily 
 having their contents classed into subjects.* 
 By which I mean— give an industrious 
 author a complete list of works, however 
 bulky that may be, and he will make a 
 more effective selection than ever can be 
 
 * See "Notes on Cataloguing," by Cornelius 
 Walford, pp. 86-7. 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 made for him, however skilful the classifi- 
 cation compiled by others. 
 
 2. As to the acquisition of works by 
 special collectors, I have already shown 
 how this important function may be aided 
 by means of an efficient catalogue. But, 
 pending it, what is the best means of going 
 to work to obtain out-of-the-way books ? 
 
 It is an almost hopeless task to apply at 
 the second-hand bookshops, even if you 
 have time for and opportunity of doing so. 
 The second-hand booksellers know all the 
 principal books on your subject, but these 
 you already have. Money obtains them 
 at once. If the books you require are 
 well-known ones, but simply scarce, like 
 many of the county-histories, for instance, 
 time and money will certainly bring them. 
 But it is the obscure, the unknown works 
 to which I am here alluding. If you know 
 what you want — that is, can give name of 
 book or author, place of publication, and 
 date — then your wants assume a tangible 
 form, and again you will succeed — sooner 
 or later. 
 
 But you want all the books upon your 
 special subj ect, known and unknown to you. 
 What is the next remedy? You ask your 
 pet bookseller, whose sympathies you have 
 enHsted in your earnestness of pursuit — 
 and how many such I now think of, and 
 hereby thank ! — if he has anything in your 
 way. He has not forgotten you ; but he 
 looks " No " as you enter his door. You 
 cannot go on waiting or expecting others 
 to do the work for you. You are there- 
 fore driven as your next step to apply 
 for catalogues ; these you must wade 
 through as they come to hand — for if you 
 wait, even twenty-four hours sometimes, 
 the only book you find in the catalogue 
 which will suit you will be gone ! It is 
 tedious and discouraging work ; but then 
 you cannot read through the catalogues of 
 scholarly booksellers without gaining much 
 useful knowledge ; and occasionally — yes, 
 only occasionally — you will be rewarded 
 
 with a rich " find " that will repay for much 
 trouble in the past, and encourage you to 
 go a-head and keep on going. 
 
 Beyond this, there are men who will take 
 up your special subject for you — ^will exert 
 themselves, and bring brain-power into it. 
 But then these expect to be paid in the 
 enhanced price of all they find. This you 
 cannot object to, in a reasonable degree, 
 and much labour may be thereby saved 
 you. But even these drop you as your 
 wants become more limited in extent. 
 
 The most effective means, beyond those 
 enumerated or in extension of them, is to 
 make your wants known through an appro- 
 priate medium. A communication I made 
 a few months since in the columns of 
 "Notes and Queries," and for which I 
 desire to thank the editor of that useful 
 journal, brought me some assistance — 
 some private contributions of out-of-the- 
 way things, but it did not do what I had 
 most hoped, it did not reveal to me the 
 names of others who were collecting in 
 the same groove. 
 
 Now what is to be done in the direction 
 of finding those who are collecting special 
 works of your own class, or, better, in 
 classes so far analogous as that you may 
 aid each other without fear of rivalry? I 
 do not use the word " rivalry " in any in- 
 vidious sense, for I am bound to say that 
 in my own experience I have found nothing 
 but sympathy, and a real desire to aid. 
 Of course there are several ways in which 
 you may get to know of those working on 
 the same lines with yourself — as, for in- 
 stance, through your bookseller, through 
 their published works, or papers con- 
 tributed to learned societies, or by general 
 notoriety. I have known but three collec- 
 tors in my own walk beyond the Institute 
 of Actuaries in London, the Faculty of 
 Actuaries in Edinburgh, and the Chamber 
 of Life Insurance in New York — viz., Mr. 
 W. T. Thomson, F.R.S.S., of Edinburgh ; 
 the late Mr. Samuel Brown, of London; 
 
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OF BOOKS. 
 
 49 
 
 and Mr. R. P. Hardy, also of this city ; 
 and yet there may be others within five 
 minutes' range of my own house.* I shall 
 in future resort to the " Library Journal," 
 which this Conference of Librarians has 
 brought prominently before us all, and 
 which most assuredly deserves our support. 
 
 The obvious advantages of knowing 
 your compeers in this connexion, are 
 several : — i. Of making your united know- 
 ledge of the existence of books, pamphlets, 
 &c., common property. 2. Of exchanging 
 duplicates. 3. Of devising the best means 
 of preserving and indexing the collections. 
 4. The melancholy one of watching the 
 disposal of the collection in the event of 
 death, or relinquishment of the pursuit. 
 In respect to death, it is quite discourag- 
 ing to reflect upon the fate of Special 
 Collections, unless there be appointed 
 against this contingency some loving or 
 friendly protector. 
 
 The result of the foregoing review is to 
 reduce us to a recognition of the simple fact, 
 that the formation of Special Collections 
 of Books is at the present moment an enter- 
 prise into which the elements of chance 
 largely enter. There is indeed no recog- 
 nized mode of proceeding in regard to 
 private collectors — in whose behalf I now 
 write. In the case of public libraries it 
 is otherwise. Agents can be employed, 
 with instructions to collect all works on 
 certain subjects ; and, as large pecuniary 
 results attach to such an enterprise, the 
 agents will succeed in a considerable 
 degree. But, even here, all in this room 
 must recognize the extent to which the 
 individual knowledge of the librarian in 
 charge will influence the result ! Does any- 
 one here believe that the unrivalled collec- 
 tion of books, pamphlets, broadsides, pro- 
 clamations, and charts associated with the 
 history of this great city, would ever have 
 
 * Mr. Neison is collecting Friendly Society 
 literature. Mr. Meikle, of Edinburgh, Reports 
 of Widows' Funds, &c. 
 
 found their way into the recesses of that noble 
 library at the Guildhall but for the personal 
 energy and the detailed knowledge of our 
 good friend the chief librarian, Mr. Overall? 
 
 The next and nearly the last problem 
 which I have here to submit is, what can 
 be done to remedy the state of things I 
 have spoken of, and to make private and 
 Special Collections more complete in them- 
 selves, and also more available to the en- 
 tire literary world ? I think if any effective 
 remedy be devised it will be mainly through 
 the instrumentality of this Conference. 
 
 I assume that to this as to other useful 
 ends the Conference will take permanent, 
 organized shape. This suggests for it cor- 
 porate life. How can it more usefully 
 engage itself than in making the literary 
 treasures of the world available for the 
 purposes of the world? The end being 
 granted, the means may be, must be, 
 devised. I add my quota of suggestions, 
 and try to run my little hobby into the 
 front rank, thus : — 
 
 1. Let means be taken forthwith — and 
 who can help so effectually herein as the 
 librarians ? — to obtain a hst of the Special 
 Collections of Books in the three kingdoms. 
 Let this list be printed in the report of 
 the Conference, with an intimation that 
 omissions will be rectified in the future 
 publications of the associated librarians. - 
 
 2. Let the owners of Special Collections 
 be invited to contribute lists of the con- 
 tents of their libraries towards the prepara- 
 tion of the General Catalogue of English 
 Literature which, I think, we shall all admit 
 to be much needed, and which I trust will 
 be an enduring result of this Conference. 
 
 3. Let a means be devised of exchang- 
 ing duplicate works, not only as between 
 private collectors, but as among public 
 libraries and the libraries of the learned 
 societies and private collectors, on a basis 
 of mutual advantage ; and then at least 
 one practical step will be gained, worthy 
 of this so-called practical age. 
 
 H 
 
NOTE ON LIBRARY-BUILDINGS. 
 
 BY GUILLAUME DEPPING, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN, BIBLIOTHEQUE STE. GENEVIEVE PARIS. 
 
 URING the Conference 
 held at Philadelphia last 
 year, the question of in- 
 juries to books, caused 
 _ by gas-lighting in the 
 public libraries, and by the peculiar heat 
 emanating from it, was mooted. Several 
 examples were brought forward to show 
 that the bindings, and especially calf bind- 
 ings, frequently dry up like tinder and fall 
 off. 
 
 I could mention similar cases. But in 
 order to be perfectly convinced of the truth 
 of this allegation, and that the damage 
 above spoken of is not to be attributed to 
 other causes, it seems to me desirable that 
 the opinion of sciantific men should be 
 taken. Would it not be well that a com- 
 mittee composed of chemists and libra- 
 rians should take the question into con- 
 sideration and decide upon it ? 
 
 However, this is but a part of the im- 
 portant question of library architecture. 
 
 Without hurting the feelings of architects 
 in general, we may be allowed to observe 
 that this kind of architecture is frequently 
 defective. Many complaints were made 
 about it at Philadelphia. We constantly 
 see that the interior of these buildings is 
 totally unsuitable to the end for which 
 they are destined. 
 
 Public reading-rooms are badly lighted, 
 ill ventilated, &c. In some of these esta- 
 blishments, open during the evenings the 
 atmosphere, especially in summer, is stifling 
 and unbearable. 
 
 It would be extremely desirable for the 
 Conference to propose or make certain 
 rules, and lay down principles indispen- 
 sable in building libraries, of which ex- 
 perience alone can show the absolute 
 necessity. * 
 
 * I have read somewhere that in the Royal Li- 
 brary of Madrid an architect was always appointed 
 to be among the staff of the library. 
 
SELECTION AND ACQUISITION OF BOOKS FOR A LIBRARY. 
 
 BY ROBERT HARRISON, LIBRARIAN OF THE LONDON LIBRARY. 
 
 I PPRO ACHING the sub- 
 ject now brought before 
 you in the methodical way 
 we have laid down for 
 ourselves, I venture to 
 name as three guiding principles of selec- 
 tion in forming a library : 
 
 First, what I call, somewhat arbitrarily, 
 Policy. 
 
 Secondly, Utility. 
 
 Thirdly, Special or Local Appropriate- 
 ness. 
 
 It is surely an act of policy in any nation, 
 or government of a nation, to form a national 
 library. Such a library should be, first of 
 all, a monument of the literature of its own 
 country, and a repertory of the best sam- 
 ples of the literatures of all other countries 
 that have contributed to swell the stream 
 of human ideas and stimulate the general 
 progress of civilization. A national library 
 must also be a school of instruction as well 
 as a monument of literature. The collec- 
 tion of books housed in the British Museum 
 offers a fine example of what I would de- 
 scribe. There will be found the works of 
 literary genius produced by the mind of 
 Great Britain through the long succession 
 of a thousand years : from Alfred the Great 
 and Bede the Venerable to Geoffrey 
 Chaucer and John Wyclif ; from Chaucer 
 
 to Shakspere and Bacon, Spenser and 
 Walter Raleigh. From these to Milton, 
 Locke, and Dryden, on to Pope, Addison, 
 and Fielding ; and then an unbroken series 
 of bright names, such as Hume, Gibbon, 
 Wordsworth, Coleridge, Scott, Byron, and 
 a hundred others familiar to us all, down 
 to the living writers of our age. The works 
 of British writers collected together form a 
 monument of glory to our nation and our 
 language, but they alone do not form a 
 complete school of instruction. A library 
 is instructive in proportion to the com- 
 pleteness of its acquisitions in all languages. 
 It will be readily admitted that a complete 
 collection of Greek and Roman classics is 
 indispensable to a national library. Trans- 
 lations of these into the mother tongue 
 cannot be omitted. The masterpieces of 
 French, Italian, Spanish, and German lite- 
 ratures, with the best English versions of 
 them that can be found, are equally desir- 
 able. Works in languages that are less 
 cultivated, though reasonably excluded 
 from libraries of smaller pretensions, must 
 find a home in a national collection ; 
 for thither resort the specialists, the 
 students of comparative philology, the 
 Orientalist, the Hebraist, the Egyptologist. 
 The languages of the ancient Norseman 
 and the modern Scandinavian, Russian 
 
52 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 and its kindred tongues, Hungarian, 
 Finnish, and other less-known languages, 
 have their devotees, and must be repre- 
 sented in this great school-house. Similar 
 reasons require tlie national collection to 
 include treatises, both general and spe- 
 cial, on all the sciences. The difficulty of 
 selection in this department is very great. 
 The rapid progress made by scientific 
 investigators often causes the work of one 
 year to be superseded by a new work, or a 
 new edition of the same work, in the next. 
 Yet the last must be had, and the first 
 cannot be thrown away, for it marks a 
 period in the history of the science which 
 is of importance to some students. The 
 image called up to the mind by the gradual 
 accumulation of books gathered together 
 in this way is perhaps too appalling to 
 dwell upon, and may make some of you 
 here sigh for that Khalif Omar who is 
 fabled to have treated the great library at 
 Alexandria in a very summary manner. 
 
 For works treating of the exact sciences 
 a comparatively small space would be re- 
 quired, even in a national library, were it 
 not for the indispensable but voluminous 
 transactions of the learned societies of all 
 countries. Far more exacting is the de- 
 mand for room made by that division of 
 human learning which is the recorded 
 experience of mankind — the division of 
 history, memoirs, biographies, and books 
 of travel. Of books on these subjects I 
 would furnish an unstinted supply, for 
 they not only convey instructive lessons to 
 the general reader, but they stimulate and 
 nourish the writers of the future. What 
 would have been our loss had North's 
 "Plutarch," or Holinshed's "Chronicle" 
 not have fallen into the hands of Shak- 
 spere? or, coming to our own day, how 
 feeble and imperfect would be our con- 
 ception of the great French Revolution, 
 had not Mr. Carlyle been an eager reader 
 of the innumerable memoirs of that period ! 
 This division of history and travel would 
 
 necessarily include the important section 
 of topography, local history, antiquities, 
 genealogy, &c. In these days of controversy 
 no public library can be without a collec- 
 tion of works on theology, polemics, and 
 criticism. Fiction and the drama demand 
 and deserve a large place. They are the 
 flower and quintessence of the time, albeit 
 that they include sometimes wild, unfruit- 
 ful, and even unsavoury blossoms. To me 
 it seems that the " Waverley Novels " 
 occupy a place in the nineteenth century 
 analogous to the position of Shakspere's 
 plays in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 centuries. 
 
 I have said enough in this rough sketch 
 to show that a library founded on the 
 principle of public policy must be all- 
 embracing and catholic, and must adopt 
 of necessity the two other principles which 
 I have ventured to separate from the first— 
 those of utility and appropriateness. 
 
 Utility. 
 
 In venturing to name utility as a guiding 
 principle in the selection and acquisition 
 of the contents of a library, I intended to 
 show that most valuable and useful collec- 
 tions of books may be made without any 
 attempt to reach the dimensions of a 
 national public library. About a century 
 ago, under the guidance of men like Dr. 
 Priestley, the practical sense of this coun- 
 try applied itself to the satisfaction of a 
 need that was generally felt by the middle 
 classes, both in the metropolis and in the 
 provinces. A supply of good books was 
 hard to get by persons of moderate means, 
 in their individual capacity, but by club- 
 bing together the thing was attainable. 
 In this way arose the proprietary Ubraries, 
 of which the most conspicuous example 
 to-day extends its sheltering hospitality to 
 this Conference. Libraries of the same 
 kind are to be found in most of the great 
 towns of England, and, if you examine 
 their contents, you may find that the 
 
SELECTION AND ACQUISITION OF BOOKS. 
 
 S3 
 
 principle of utility has been kept in view 
 by those who have selected the books. 
 You will see that the law of supply and 
 demand has been in operation. They 
 were founded and are maintained by share- 
 holders who belong for the most part to 
 the substantial citizen class, and the books 
 they favour are of a solid and substantial 
 character — works of morality, history 
 general and local, travels, biography, poli- 
 tics, finance, trade and manufactures. Not 
 much poetry nor many plays can be found 
 there, and till of late years but little fic- 
 tion. Works of popular science, too, are 
 only now making their way into these 
 good and useful libraries. Incongruous 
 additions are indeed sometimes made of 
 books that never get asked for, or touched 
 except by the porters' dusters. But these 
 are accidents, and arise generally from the 
 indiscriminate acceptance of presents and 
 bequests. Upon the whole, I believe that 
 the catalogue of one of these proprietary 
 libraries might be studied with great ad- 
 vantage by anyone desirous of forming 
 any new library of moderate pretensions. 
 The free libraries of our large towns, as 
 they aim at the enlightenment of many 
 classes of the community, including the 
 lower and more numerous, are necessarily 
 bound to expand the scope of their action 
 in selecting; but utility must be their 
 guiding star, and the ambition of forming 
 an ideally perfect universal library ought 
 to be discouraged. Lofty aspirations of 
 that kind can only be permitted in 
 the case of national libraries fed by 
 national funds. 
 
 Appropriateness. 
 
 In choosing the word appropriateness 
 to indicate a principle of selection for 
 libraries, I had in mind some singular 
 instances of inappropriateness in this re- 
 spect that had come within my observation. 
 Many years ago I remember seeing in a 
 very useful provincial library, of some 
 
 25,000 volumes, a copy of the " London 
 Gazette," in about 1 50 foHo volumes, which 
 had been acquired at the cost of 100 
 guineas. Could anything be more inap- 
 propriate ? Sometimes you find in a good 
 solid collection of commercial, historical, 
 and general works, a long array of volumes 
 containing lists of the stars, or of some 
 other special subject that is out of place 
 anywhere but at the Royal Society or 
 Greenwich Observatory. As I said just 
 now, these incongruous works often find 
 their way into libraries by means of gifts 
 and bequests ; and I would urge selectors 
 of books placed in these circumstances 
 resolutely to set their faces against such 
 donations — to look, if I may use a collo- 
 quialism, the gift-horse in the mouth, and 
 in every case of glaring inappropriateness 
 to decline the gift. 
 
 Persons Selecting. 
 
 Here comes in the question. Who shall 
 the selectors of books be ? The answer 
 depends on several things. First of all the 
 providers of the funds used in forming 
 and enlarging a library have a recognized 
 right to say something as to the disposal 
 of those funds. The usual practice in this 
 country is for the shareholders or rate- 
 payers, as the case may be, to delegate the 
 task of guarding the expenditure to a com- 
 mittee of their own body, who in their turn 
 employ an expert to advise with and assist 
 them in the selection and purchase of 
 books. The expert is the librarian, and it 
 is a most desirable thing that he should 
 have knowledge and experience enough to 
 inspire his committee with entire confi- 
 dence. In these days it is not difficult to 
 find a body of gentlemen fitted by culture 
 and intelligence to discharge the duties 
 which devolve upon a library-committee, 
 and to work in harmony with a competent 
 librarian. They are bound, no doubt, to 
 exercise their power of veto in cases where 
 the expenditure threatens to be lavish, but 
 
54 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 the reading wants of any given consti- 
 tuency are not hard to find and to satisfy 
 when willing minds are applied to the work. 
 The danger of having hobbies and crotchets 
 sometimes arises. It may be in a com- 
 mittee-man, as was the case, I beheve, in 
 the instance I mentioned just now of the 
 purchase of the " London Gazette " for a 
 Ubrary in the provinces, or it may be in 
 the librarian, as instanced a few years ago 
 by the curator of a large library abroad, 
 who insisted on purchasing every edition 
 (whether bare reprint or not) of every book 
 and pamphlet that had ever appeared in 
 any language about his country. Such 
 indiscriminate collection must have loaded 
 his shelves with a vast quantity of rubbish, 
 and it teaches us the important lesson, 
 above all things to avoid whims. I 
 would claim for the librarian as much 
 liberty of action as possible in book-pur- 
 chases, seeing that he has many chance 
 opportunities of buying that must be 
 seized with promptitude, and will not 
 wait for the periodical meeting of the 
 library-committee. 
 
 Printed Guides to Selection. 
 
 In the work of selection the aid must 
 be sought of such published works on 
 bibliography as can be found. Brunei and 
 Lorenz in French, Lowndes and the London 
 Catalogue in English, Ebert, Engelmann, 
 Heinsius, and others in German. Our 
 American friends here have done good 
 work in this department, as well as in the 
 catalogues of their great libraries at Boston, 
 New York, and elsewhere. I abstain from 
 mentioning names of living authors, be- 
 cause I am speaking in the presence of 
 distinguished writers on this important 
 subject. I may be permitted to render 
 homage, however, to a work which, though 
 antiquated and sometimes decried, I have 
 often found extremely useful. I allude to 
 that monument of human industry and 
 patience, Watt's " Bibliotheca Britannica," 
 
 It is not too much to hope that the move- 
 ment we have assembled to inaugurate 
 will bring forth in due time, with other fruit, 
 a new edition of Watt, brought down to 
 recent times. It is perhaps too much to 
 expect in this busthng age that the task 
 should be undertaken by one or two per- 
 sons only, but we may reasonably look for 
 its accomplishment by due division of 
 labour and the combined action of a society 
 of librarians. Of class-bibliographies it 
 is impossible to speak too highly of the 
 works published by Di:. Miildener of 
 Gottingen, and by Mr. Engelmann of 
 Leipzig. Among classified catalogues the 
 four volumes published by this Insti- 
 tution and the volume published by the 
 Royal Institution are worthy of all honour. 
 There is a valuable index of subjects in 
 the catalogue of the Athenaeum Club 
 library, and a similar one in the catalogue 
 of the London Library. This Ust might 
 be extended indefinitely. 
 
 Acquisition of Books. 
 
 How to acquire the books necessary to 
 form a library, is a question the answer to 
 which must be modified by circumstances 
 of time, place, and means. The most cer- 
 tain way of getting the books you want is 
 to go to the bookseller who has them, with 
 money in your hand, and make the best bar- 
 gain you can. Some books you have to look 
 for in the rooms of the auctioneer, and the 
 study of sale-catalogues is not an unpro- 
 fitable one for librarians. It is, however, 
 a great saving of time to make purchases 
 at auctions by commission ; I think, too, 
 that in the end it is a saving of money. 
 Many books may be obtained at reasonable 
 cost by advertising in the journals and 
 papers specially -devoted to the service of 
 bibliopoles — in " Notes and Queries," " The 
 Bookseller," "The Publishers' Circular," 
 " The Library Journal," and other serials 
 of the kind. Purchases are greatly facili- 
 tated when the booksellers are oblig- 
 
SELECTION AND ACQUISITION OF BOOKS. 
 
 55 
 
 ing enough to send in parcels of their 
 wares for the inspection of the book 
 selectors. 
 
 I confess I have not much faith in any 
 plan for forming a library by the book- 
 donations of its well-wishers. The books 
 received in this way are often so very un- 
 attractive that they encumber the shelves 
 of the library for years without being 
 opened, and for the good they do or may 
 be expected to do they might as well have 
 been buried in the sea. Brilliant exceptions 
 of course there are to gifts of this class, as 
 some of the most splendid shelves of the 
 British Museum, and the great collection 
 of Sir Thomas Bodley at Oxford, abun- 
 dantly testify. But in speaking so dis- 
 respectfully of gifts I have chiefly in mind 
 the small beginnings of a provincial library, 
 and I would entreat the good-natured 
 friends of such an institution to resist the 
 temptation of getting rid of their useless 
 literature by carting it to the new library, 
 and rather to let their munificence in that 
 direction flow in the shape of hard cash. 
 With respect to the acquisition of books by 
 interchange, I would appeal to the ex- 
 perience of some American gentleman ac- 
 qt^ainted with the Smithsonian Institution, 
 which has acted on that principle now for 
 some years with an interpretation of the 
 most generous kind. Have the receipts of 
 that institution corresponded in any con- 
 siderable degree with its gifts, and has the 
 result of interchange been adequate and 
 satisfactory ? As for duplicates, I do not 
 think valuable works are often to be found 
 in superfluous number in many libraries. 
 In the great libraries, which obtain dupli- 
 cates and triplicates by gift and bequest, 
 the managers are usually tied down to 
 keeping the books by the terms of their 
 trust deed. The donation of books by 
 the Government had not a very beneficial 
 effect when it was tried pretty largely in 
 the case of the publications of the Record 
 Commission. .Great waste occurred then. 
 
 Tons of those books were thrown into the 
 waste-paper market, and some of the most 
 valuable among them have now become 
 scarce and difficult of attainment. The 
 plan adopted by the Master of the Rolls 
 in publishing his valuable Calendars and 
 Chronicles at a low price, much below 
 what they must cost, is by far the most 
 satisfactory form of Government donation 
 that can exist. 
 
 Finally, with regard to the acquisition of 
 books by public libraries by means of the 
 copy-tax. It must be admitted to be the 
 most efficient method of making a national 
 collection as complete as possible. I speak 
 as a librarian, not as an author or publisher, 
 and have therefore nothing to say as to 
 the unequal pressure of the tax when it 
 demands five copies of a sixpenny pam- 
 phlet from one publisher, and five copies 
 of a work like Gould's " Birds " from 
 another. 
 
 For one moment I may perhaps be per- 
 mitted to dwell on the interesting specula- 
 tion of what might have been the state of 
 our national libraries if the law of copyright- 
 tax had been in operation from the time 
 of the introduction of printing into this 
 country. What a glorious array of incuna- 
 bula would have been seen in the national 
 repository ! What Caxtons, Pynsons, and 
 Wynken de Wordes ! What a splendid 
 series of quarto and folio Shaksperes ! 
 not to speak of Edmund Spenser's first edi- 
 tions, and other treasures of Elizabethan 
 and Jacobean literature, in the presence 
 of which the Grenville collection would 
 look pale. But, alas ! this vision of glory is 
 dashed by the remembrance of the multi- 
 tudinous crowd of worthless books that 
 must have followed in the wake of these 
 bibliographical gems. I have read, in a 
 report of one whom we had hoped to see 
 among our distinguished visitors here 
 to-day, a calculation that the operation of 
 the copy-tax in America would bring to the 
 Congress Library in Washington an acces- 
 
56 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 sion of 2,000,000 volumes in the course 
 of a century. Accepting this number as a 
 rough estimate of the products of the Bri- 
 tish press during the last four centuries, we 
 get an aggregate of 8,000,000 volumes — 
 a total which I think our honourable Pre- 
 
 sident would regard with nothing short of 
 horrible amazement. The only possible 
 remedy for such an awful accumulation of 
 books would be a standing committee of 
 cremation that would exercise its powers 
 with unflinching stringency. 
 
SELECTION AND SELECTORS OF BOOKS. 
 
 BY JAMES M. ANDERSON, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN, UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, ST. ANDREW S. 
 
 IHOEVER has access to 
 the catalogue of almost 
 any large library, not na- 
 tional and SO purposely 
 encyclopaedic in its cha- 
 racter, and subjects it to a careful scrutiny, 
 can scarcely fail to be struck with the amus- 
 ingly heterogeneous nature of its contents. 
 No sharply defined features will be found 
 marking it off from any other collection of 
 similar extent. The most unlikely books 
 are sure to be there : the most likely are 
 sure to be wanting. Viewed in departments, 
 some branches of knowledge will be seen 
 to be fairly represented, some meagrely, or 
 not at all, but without any apparent reason. 
 Viewed in periods, the practised eye will 
 now and then detect the presence of a 
 specialist working in his favourite field at 
 the expense of all el§e. An irregular and 
 unequal mode of growth is thus exhibited, 
 thoroughly representative selections being 
 preceded and followed by vexatious blanks. 
 An accession-catalogue from the beginning 
 would display a record of fortuitous accre- 
 tions to a parent stem together with the 
 results of a nominal but apparently blind 
 and unnatural selection. 
 
 It has often been said, and with truth, 
 that the selection of books for a library is 
 a matter of extreme difficulty, and that no 
 code of rules can be drawn up which will 
 
 be applicable to all libraries alike. But I 
 think there are certain general principles 
 which, if steadily kept in view, would do 
 much to lessen the difficulty, and these it 
 is the object of this note to formulate. 
 
 I. Selection. 
 
 The selection of books should invari- 
 ably be made— I, In relation to the 
 library itself; and, 2, In relation to 
 those using it. This implies that every 
 hbrary should exist for some special pur- 
 pose, and that it should be equally efficient 
 in all its departments so far as consistent 
 with utility. If a library, whatever may be 
 its extent, have no distinct and clearly un- 
 derstood aims, it has no business to exist. 
 As soon asthe nature and sphere of action, 
 so to speak, of a library are firmly grasped 
 by its directors, half the task of selecting 
 its contents is over. No college-library, 
 for example, has to contend with the ques- 
 tion of admitting the current fiction, nor 
 has a circulating library in a fashionable 
 watering-place to contend for the admission 
 of much else. The very nature of the two 
 institutions decides at least what is to be 
 excluded. It further implies that the se- 
 lection is not merely to be made with 
 reference to a given Ust of books, or to the 
 pubUcations of a given period of time. 
 The question is not, which out of fifty new 
 
58 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 works are the best forty? but, among these 
 fifty are there even ten coming within the 
 range of the library's requirements ? and, if 
 so, are they really wanted, worth having, 
 and likely to be useful now or prospec- 
 tively ? Again, a book may be suited for 
 a certain library, so far as its subject is 
 concerned, and it may be a very superior 
 book of its kind, but yet it may be unfitted 
 for that Hbrary, on account of there being 
 no one among its readers able or willing to 
 read it. This will be best illustrated by 
 an example. From a given list of books 
 a library-committee selected Richter's 
 " Kurzes Lehrbuch der Organischen Che- 
 mie," and Grundt's "Hebraische Elemen- 
 targrammatik." Now these two works may 
 in themselves be very admirably adapted 
 to their purpose, but when the committee 
 knew, or ought to have known, that no 
 student of chemistry or of Hebrew using 
 the library could read German, or, even if 
 he could, would make use of a German 
 text -book, then clearly the wisdom of such 
 a selection is open to question. There are, 
 of course, important and epoch-making 
 books which a wise collector will secure 
 regardless of the language in which they 
 are written and of the fact that they may 
 lie unread for years, but these are not as a 
 rule school and college class-books, com- 
 pendiums, or " Leh'rbiicher " of any sort. 
 
 II. Selectors. 
 From the foregoing it is evident that, 
 if a library is worthily to fulfil its mis- 
 
 sion, the person entrusted with the selec-' 
 tion of its contents must know it tho- 
 roughly, not merely as it should be, but as 
 it actually is. Otherwise he may select 
 books good in themselves, but of little 
 practical value in the collection of which 
 they are designed to form a part. To in- 
 sure and maintain this knowledge on the 
 part of the selector it seems desirable that 
 the purchase of books should be vested in 
 the librarian, than whom there is no one 
 more likely to be intimately acquainted 
 with the wants of the library under his 
 charge. If, however, this be objected to 
 on the ground of allowing him too much 
 scope for the gratification of merely per- 
 sonal desires, then the purchase might be 
 vested in a permanent board composed of 
 a few of the best obtainable men, but still 
 the librarian should be a member of that 
 board, and entitled to voice and vote in 
 the selection of every book. To entrust 
 the work to an annually changing com- 
 mittee might tend to the formation of a 
 model collection of those indefinable 
 volumes which " no gentleman's hbrary 
 should be without," but more than this 
 could scarcely be expected under such an 
 arrangement. I conclude, therefore, 
 
 1 . That books should be selected with 
 strict reference to the province and needs 
 of the library and to the character of its 
 readers, and 
 
 2. That books should be selected by the 
 librarian, or by a standing committee in 
 conjunction with the librarian. 
 
NOTE ON BOOKS SUITABLE FOR FREE LENDING LIBRARIES. 
 
 BY JOHN D. MULLINS, LIBRARIAN OF THE FREE LIBRARIES, BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 'jY experience is that it is 
 wasteful to buy for free 
 /i?«i/z'«g- libraries expensive 
 books, or works in many- 
 volumes. I find in a cer- 
 tain free lending library, containing nearly 
 20,000 volumes, much valuable space occu- 
 pied by works in many volumes, of which 
 none but the first have ever been issued. 
 Take as an instance, Alison's Europe, 
 fourteen volumes, costly and cumbersome, 
 scarcely ever used; near it I find the 
 
 Epitome of the same work, copy after copy 
 well worn. Milman's Gibbon, twelve 
 volumes wasted ; then the Student's Gib- 
 bon (an abridgment), constantly in use. 
 And so throughout the shelves I get the 
 same lesson : — Put into your reference- 
 department all the best editions of your 
 authors; and for the lending libraries, for 
 the borrowers to take to their homes or 
 their workshops, the concise edition, if 
 you please. 
 
ON THE ADMISSION OF FICTION IN FREE 
 PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
 
 BY PETER COWELL, LIBRARIAN OF THE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY, LIVERPOOL. 
 
 iN looking over the "Rough 
 List " of subj ects suggested 
 for papers and discussion, 
 I noticed that which is 
 the subject of this paper, 
 viz., " On the Admission of Fiction," to 
 which I add, so far as this paper is con- 
 cerned, " in Free Public Libraries." The 
 subject attracted my attention, and I was 
 a little surprised to see it, because I thought 
 the question was virtually settled by the 
 almost universal introduction of this class 
 of literature in free lending libraries, if not 
 in reference-libraries, and that it was de- 
 sirable and proper to admit and circulate it. 
 The subject, however, is one that is still 
 frequently raised and discussed, and will 
 probably remain for some time a debated 
 one, particularly among ratepayers, as to 
 how far it is expedient or their duty to sup- 
 ply fiction to those who seek it at rate- 
 supported libraries : and, as a librarian of 
 some years' experience, I have ventured 
 to state a few facts and opinions respect- 
 ing what I believe must be interesting 
 to educationalists generally, whether rate- 
 payers or not. 
 
 But here let me at once define what I 
 wish to be understood by fiction. I mean 
 novels and romances — as distinct from 
 
 poetry, dramas, fables, parables, fairy tales, 
 and the like. The fact of the subject 
 appearing in the " Rough List " is evidence, 
 I think, that even among librarians doubts 
 do prevail as to the utility and desirability 
 of circulating this class of literature. The 
 list, though a pretty full one in all other 
 respects, is entirely silent respecting the 
 admission of other classes. It takes for 
 granted, I presume, that all other classes 
 of literature except that of fiction are 
 perfectly legitimate and beyond cavil, and 
 their admission to the library-shelves is 
 right and proper. Why is there an im- 
 plied doubt about novels ? Is it that they 
 are not considered educational; that the 
 amount of time spent in their perusal is out 
 of all proportion to the profit gained ; that 
 they unfit the mind for close and attentive 
 reading and study, weaken its energies, 
 and render it unhealthy; and that their 
 seductive power and fascination is detri- 
 mental to the true interests of readers 
 generally, but particularly of young ones ? 
 These are some of the charges brought 
 against novel-reading, and when we find 
 it indulged in, both in extent and quality, 
 as it only too frequently is, I fear there is 
 much truth in them. Lord Neaves wrote 
 a pamphlet " On Fiction as a Means of 
 
FICTION IN FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
 
 6i 
 
 Popular Teaching," but I see little or 
 nothing in it about modern fiction, parti- 
 cularly what is called " modern feminine 
 fiction." The fable, the parable, the fairy- 
 tale, are dwelt upon in their respective 
 uses, but not a word about the popular 
 novels which are so eagerly sought for 
 at all our subscription-libraries and free 
 libraries as well. Librarians are usually 
 careful to draw attention in their annual 
 reports, wherever they can do so, to any 
 diminution of the issues under this head. 
 How is this, and why? On the other 
 hand, they like to notice any rise or in- 
 crease in the issues of better class reading. 
 Years ago I observed, in making up the 
 statistics of the Liverpool lending libraries, 
 that the issue of novels was about 75 per 
 cent, of the whole issue. It forms that 
 proportion still. In American libraries I 
 read that the same proportion prevails, and 
 I have not observed much variation from 
 that in other free lending libraries in our 
 own country. The younger members of 
 our libraries, almost without exception, 
 read fiction, so do the female portion, both 
 old and young ; the greater portion of our 
 young men from eighteen to thirty read 
 something better ; above the latter age 
 the reading is less marked, fiction and 
 fact being often mixed up in their lists of 
 books wanted, in much variety. 
 
 Mechanics, I regret to say, do not read 
 and study the books on their respective 
 trades to the extent it might be expected 
 they would. Amateurs read them much 
 more. It is often stated by those who are 
 tolerant in the matter of novel-reading, that 
 the reading of such eventually leads up to 
 a better and more wholesome kind of 
 reading ; that it is wise to meet the illite- 
 rate on their own level, and provide them 
 with whatever they can and will appre- 
 ciate, in order that by-and-by they may 
 be led and induced to read (as they cer- 
 tainly will, they say) travels, history, 
 biography, science, and other equally 
 
 useful classes of literature. I have heard 
 such statements so frequently put forward 
 that at one time I began to take it for 
 granted that they were really true, and 
 to believe them. It is much pleasanter, 
 I suppose, to feel and believe that you are 
 doing any amount of good, direct and in- 
 direct, present as well as prospective, than 
 to entertain doubts concerning the value 
 of a considerable portion of your work. Mr. 
 Perkins, of the Boston Public Library, con- 
 tributing to that elaborate and exhaustive 
 Report on the Public Libraries of the United 
 States published by the American Govern- 
 ment, which is so overflowing with informa- 
 tion on all matters of general library eco- 
 nomy, as well as historically and statistically 
 in reference to their own libraries, and to 
 which English librarians are considerably 
 indebted already for useful hints and sug- 
 gestions on library management — writes as 
 follows :* — 
 
 " The first mistake likely to be made in 
 estabHshing a public library is choosing 
 books of too thoughtful and solid a cha- 
 racter. It is vain to go on the principle 
 of collecting books that people ought to 
 read, and afterwards to do whatever shall 
 be found possible to elevate their reading 
 tastes and habits. Most of those who read 
 are young people who want entertainment 
 and excitement, or tired people who want 
 relaxation and amusement. For those who 
 do not read, it is desirable that the habit 
 of reading should be formed. A habit of 
 reading is more necessary than any parti- 
 cular line of reading, because it is the one 
 indispensable requisite; and to form the 
 habit, easy reading — that is, reading such 
 as people want, such as they enjoy — must 
 be furnished first, and afterwards that which 
 requires more effort." 
 
 Further on he says: '"Silly reading,' 
 ' trash,' at least what is such to many per- 
 sons, must to a considerable extent be supplied 
 
 * American Library Report, p. 420. 
 
62 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 by the public library. And those who in- 
 tend to organize a library for the public, 
 for popular reading, and who intend to 
 exclude such 'trash' might as well stop 
 before they begin. But what is trash to 
 some, is, if not nutriment, at least stimulus 
 to others. Readers improve : if it were not 
 so, reading would notbe a particularly useful 
 practice. The habit of reading is the first 
 and indispensable step. That habit once 
 estabhshed, it is a recognized fact that 
 readers go from poorer to better sorts of 
 reading. No case has ever been cited where 
 a reader beginning with lofty philosophy, 
 pure religion, profound science, and useful 
 information has gradually run down in his 
 reading, until his declining years were dis- 
 reputably wasted on dime novels and story 
 weeklies. The idea is ridiculous, even on 
 the bare statement of it. But the experience 
 of librarians is substantially unanimous to 
 the contrary : that those who begin with 
 dime novels and story weeklies may be 
 expected to grow into a liking for a better 
 sort of stories, then for the truer narratives 
 of travels and adventure, of biography and 
 history, then of essays and popular science, 
 and so on upward." 
 
 Now this is what all will exclaim should 
 be the case, what we hope is taking place j 
 it is the devoutly-to-be-wished and much- 
 to-be-desired work that we trust to be 
 going on in connexion with free and 
 other libraries. But is it really so ? Is this 
 uniform progress taking place? I fear 
 not. I do not say that there are no cases 
 of this upward progressive taste for bet- 
 ter reading. There are, I am sure, in 
 every library. There are at Liverpool, we 
 can testify; but they are not, I am sorry 
 to say, so very many, and they are not as 
 a rule among those who have had to 
 acquire a taste for reading simply at our 
 libraries. 
 
 It is true that readers do improve ; but 
 the improvement among those whose taste 
 rises no higher than what may be called 
 
 "silly reading" and "trash," that is, the 
 poorest of poor worthless novels, is of the 
 most microscopic character. Such readers 
 left to themselves, as they necessarily must 
 be, left to choose their own books and be 
 their own guides in the selection, are as 
 boys at school would be without teachers, 
 examinations, and the wholesome effect 
 produced by being put a class higher, 
 though at the bottom of it. These are 
 spurs to boys' progress, and a hke in- 
 centive is supplied in almost all the 
 various classes of books. But what is there 
 in the average novel to produce a cor- 
 responding effect, supposing it be regarded 
 as a means to promote something better 
 and higher than lies in the mere quiet 
 spending of an idle hour ? I fear there is 
 not much in the best of them to show a 
 man his deficiencies in education and 
 knowledge, and to incite him to seek and 
 find out how much there is that is 
 thoroughly interesting and graspable, even 
 by the ilKterate man, in history, travel, 
 and the various arts and sciences. Fur- 
 ther, I do not know that I can in my 
 experience cite a case of a man coming 
 down from the reading of "lofty philo- 
 sophy," "pure religion," and "profound 
 science," to that of story weeklies ; but I 
 have noticed many take to novels as their 
 regular reading who before preferred "use- 
 ful information." It is sometimes asserted 
 in favour of novels that they are educa- 
 tional. The best of them are no doubt to 
 some extent, either historically, biographi- 
 cally, topographically, or ethically ; but will 
 any one say that in this respect Smiles's 
 "Self Help," his "Lives of the Engineers," 
 Green's " History of the English People," 
 or any one of a thousand others in travels, 
 history, biography, or popular science, are 
 not worth in the way of education some 
 scores of the best novels ever written ? 
 
 I do not think that people as a rule go 
 for ethical principles, for history, geo- 
 graphy, or philosophy, to the pages of a 
 
FICTION IN FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
 
 63 
 
 novel; all this they consider can be 
 sought and found much better in the trea- 
 tises of those who have devoted their lives 
 to its special study and teaching. If 
 we take the majority of the present day 
 novels, the sensational fiction which is so 
 eagerly sought and read at our libraries, 
 it is a matter of considerable doubt if they 
 ought to find a place in them at all. To 
 their character and tendency the testi- 
 mony of public writers, of teachers, and 
 the thinking portion of the community, is 
 pretty uniform. A writer in the " Church 
 Quarterly,'' in a recent article, says : " In- 
 stead of delicacy and refinement, and a 
 pure moral and religious tone, we find 
 just the reverse — indelicacy, vulgarity, im- 
 purity, and an immoral and irreligious 
 tone. One of the prominent character- 
 istics of modern novels, and especially of 
 those written by women, is a marked pre- 
 dilection for taking up doubtful or objec- 
 tionable subjects, and treating them in a 
 way which can hardly help having an 
 unsettling, if not corrupting effect, on 
 young and impressionable minds. 
 
 " In these works the ruling aim of life is 
 dissociated from all ideas of sober duty or 
 principle, and is determined by mere pas- 
 sionate desire. Directly a young woman 
 falls in love, as the phrase is, she is sup- 
 posed to be entitled to discard all the re- 
 straints and precautions with which the 
 experience of ages has surrounded the chas- 
 tity of women, to set aside all natural obli- 
 gations, to deceive or defy her family, to 
 trust herself unreservedly to the solitary 
 companionship of any good-looking man 
 she may take a sudden fancy to, though 
 perhaps a perfect stranger, and to sub- 
 ordinate her whole life to the master 
 passion." Further on the same writer 
 continues : " We do not mean to say that 
 young people actually shape their lives on 
 what they read in novels, but still their 
 ideas of good and bad, of propriety and 
 impropriety, muSt necessarily be to some 
 
 extent affected by the manner in which 
 such questions are dealt with ; and consider- 
 ing how large a part of life consists of what 
 is called conduct, and how subde and in- 
 sidious are the influences on which it 
 depends, it is evident that this is a serious 
 matter. It is dangerous for the mind to 
 lose the habit of feeling disapproval of and 
 repugnance to certain things, and to begin 
 to look at them with equanimity if not 
 favour; and this is the tendency of the 
 kind of novels we are speaking of ... . 
 The novel, in fact," the writer adds, " has 
 become a sort of study of the morbid 
 anatomy of human nature. It is chiefly 
 occupied with the sickly observations and 
 perversities, the diseased and unnatural 
 features of life, and competes with the 
 
 newspapers in the details of crime 
 
 Imagination in its higher form is paralysed, 
 and frightful reality is the only inspiration 
 of romance. Such characters as the 
 novelist delights to portray may possibly 
 be true to life, but they are very far from 
 being pleasant or profitable objects of 
 contemplation. A character of real no- 
 bility rising above the level of sordid am - 
 bition or amorous longing ; visions of heroic 
 effort in any direction, or any of those 
 sweet and wholesome thoughts which 
 nourish the mind, and refresh it when 
 weary, are apparently the last things to be 
 discovered in the voluminous issues of the 
 circulating library." 
 
 The truth of the foregoing strictures, 
 severe and censorious as they are, will be 
 generally admitted, I think, by those who 
 have read or made themselves acquainted 
 with the novels which constitute this par- 
 ticular class or school of fiction ; and the 
 conclusion which I have come to — and I am 
 not alone in it — is, that such had better be 
 left unprovided for the readers of our free 
 libraries, or if already provided gradually 
 withdrawn. Further, the romancing of 
 Jules Verne in matters of science, the false 
 impressions produced by Cooper respecting 
 
64 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 the North American Indians, and the rose- 
 colour which Marryat throws over life in 
 the navy, deceptive and misleading as they 
 are, can scarcely be of much advantage 
 beyond supplying simple amusement : since 
 we have to unlearn so much in getting a 
 correct knowledge of things which we 
 previously thought and received as truth. 
 
 The novels of Lever, Lover, Cockton, 
 and others supply us with fun and laughter, 
 and, having done that, their mission ends. 
 Of that other class of fiction represented 
 by such authors as Dickens, Scott, 
 Thackeray, Charles Kingsley, George 
 Eliot, George Macdonald, Miss Muloch, 
 Mrs. Oliphant, William Black, R. D. Black- 
 more, and others, something much better 
 must be said in its favour. 
 
 And if it were that writers like these 
 would be read, and studied, and in the 
 intervals of more instructive reading re- 
 turned to again, so that the delineations 
 of character and conduct their works 
 afford us might perchance leave some 
 abiding mark for good upon the reader's 
 own character and conduct, matters need 
 not be so regretted. The almost daily 
 attendance of many of the readers to 
 exchange their books prevents the very 
 faintest supposition of anything more 
 being done than a mere skimming of the 
 books and the following out of the thread 
 of the story. Descriptions of scenery, 
 ethical remarks, historical notes, or philo- 
 sophical reflexions are usually treated as 
 so many impedimenta, to be skipped 
 and passed over as hurriedly as possible. 
 But there is a work done through the me- 
 dium principally of novels, which, though 
 of a negative or preventive kind, is, 
 when considered in connexion with the 
 working classes, not to be ignored or de- 
 spised. I will illustrate what it is I mean 
 by the following anecdote. A woman, 
 poorly and meanly clad, with a shawl 
 thrown over her head by way of a bonnet, 
 came to me one day in one of the lending 
 
 branches, and asked as a special favour if 
 I would choose for her an amusing novel 
 of some kind. Her reason was, as it came 
 out in a little after-talk, that her husband 
 was only too fond of- going out at nights 
 after he came home from work, and of 
 making his way to the neighbouring public- 
 house ; that she was anxious to keep him 
 at home, and in this she was frequently 
 successful if she had something amusing 
 in the house already provided for him to 
 read. Without dwelling too much on a 
 case or two of this kind, and making the 
 most of them, I have no doubt but that 
 there are others of similar character, in 
 fact I have good reasons for believing there 
 are; still, I think that even in this direction 
 there is a temptation to over-estimate the 
 amount of good work going on of this pre- 
 ventive kind. 
 
 From the foregoing it will be surmised 
 that individually I am no strong advocate 
 for the issue of fiction at our free libraries, 
 in the shape of novels and romances, unless 
 they are of a high standard. When I see 
 so many people who are tolerably well 
 educated, as well as those who are the 
 reverse, make the reading of novels appa- 
 rently the sum total of their reading, while 
 works of genuine interest and usefulness 
 in all departments of knowledge lie neg- 
 lected and almost despised upon the library 
 shelves, as a librarian at least I may be 
 excused if I am at times a trifle indignant 
 at the undoubted waste of time and neglect 
 of opportunities which could be so much 
 better utihzed. As to the upward progress 
 in taste and quality of^ reading which is 
 said to be going on from the zero of " dime 
 novels and story weeklies," I cannot help 
 expressing myself extremely sceptical ; my 
 experience being rather the other way. 
 And, again, as to the better class novels, 
 which are so graphic in their description 
 of places, costumes, pageantry, men, and 
 events, I regret to say that they are not 
 the most popular with those who stand in 
 
FICTION IN FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
 
 6S 
 
 need of their instructive descriptions. I 
 could generally find upon the library shelves 
 "Harold," "The Last of the Barons," 
 " Westward Ho ! " " Hypatia," " Ivanhoe," 
 " Waverley," " Lorna Doone," &c., when 
 not 3 copy of the least popular of the works 
 of Mrs. Henry Wood, ' Ouida,' Miss Brad- 
 don, or Rhoda Broughton were to be had. 
 
 I consider that a habit of reading is quite 
 as effectually acquired, if not more so, by 
 means of such illustrated periodicals as 
 "The Graphic," "The Illustrated London 
 News," " The Pictorial World," " The Lei- 
 sure Hour," " Punch," and the like, and 
 by newspapers, as by popular novels, and 
 certainly, I think, with much greater profit 
 to the reader. The portrait of a popular 
 statesman or general, a sketch of a place, 
 or battle-incident, naturally induces the 
 reading of the text in connexion with it, 
 or the seeking out of some information 
 about one or the other of biograpliical, 
 historical, or geographical value, and there- 
 fore more conducive to educational pro- 
 gress than a novel. 
 
 If it is considered desirable to issue 
 novels in our free libraries — and personally 
 I would be the last man to deprive the 
 working classes of any recreation they 
 might desire in this way — by all means let 
 them be of sterling merit and stamped with 
 general public approval : let them be al>ove 
 the level of the taste of the people with 
 whom we have so much to deal, rather 
 than on a par with it ; let them be above 
 their ordinary ideal of a " first-rate tale," 
 and not coincide with it : for by this means 
 there is, I think, a far greater possibiHty of 
 improving and refining the people, and of 
 raising the tone and character of their 
 reading than if we met them, as is now 
 advocated, on their own ground with what 
 they best appreciate themselves. 
 
 I have never heard that fiction, meta- 
 phorically speaking, was much more than 
 dessert, or the flowers which adorn the 
 dining-table. No one pretends that these 
 
 are the essentials of the repast, but they 
 need not be wanting in their peculiar ex- 
 cellences. A pure and healthy novel is 
 not like an abstruse scientific treatise, diffi- 
 cult to understand and follow in its reason- 
 ing, it can be read and understood quite 
 as easily as the commonest and least 
 worthy of them, and, as far as my acquain- 
 tance goes, a good deal more so. 
 
 A wholesome supervision is now being 
 exercised in some libraries in regard to 
 juvenile readers, by the formation of a 
 special juvenile library within the larger 
 one, whence alone they can draw their 
 supplies. This is a check highly to be 
 commended, and I am sure must be 
 working most beneficially. At the Boston 
 Public Library, United States, literary 
 notes are now appended to their special 
 and branch-library catalogues, drawing 
 attention to the best books on parti- 
 cular subjects, and pointing out their 
 pecuhar merits and qualities. I under- 
 stand that the most satisfactory results 
 have attended their introduction, in the in- 
 creased demand for the works bearing this 
 stamp of special commendation. As con- 
 siderable labour and time must have been 
 expended in adding this valuable and in- 
 teresting feature to the catalogues, it can- 
 not but be pleasing to all concerned to 
 find the notes are doing their well in- 
 tentioned work. Whatever steps may be 
 taken towards the improvement of popular 
 reading, whether as inducements to better, 
 or checks upon the prevailing taste, I am 
 quite prepared to endorse them, since I 
 am quite satisfied the time has come to take 
 them. Teachers would not so uniformly 
 condemn the time so misapplied by their 
 pupils, nor masters protest against the loss 
 they sustain through servants and assis- 
 tants devoting to novels the time which 
 ought to be given to their business, and 
 public opinion would not so often find ex- 
 pression against the amount of purposeless 
 and aimless reading and consequent waste 
 
6$ 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 of time, unless there was a tolerably ad- 
 verse feeling, at least against the excess of 
 it. Free libraries were primarily intended 
 to carry on the education of our schools 
 and to enable the poorer classes to de- 
 velop any latent talent or ability they 
 might possess of a literary, a scientific, or 
 an artistic kind, and so make it profitable 
 to themselves and others. The social 
 question, if I may so call it, of amusement 
 and relaxation was subsidiary to this, and 
 was more of an afterthought, but based 
 upon the idea that eventually light reading 
 would be given up after a time in favour 
 of that which is more valuable and improv- 
 ing. This idea, in sympathy so much with 
 the people themselves rather than the 
 books they read, has still many adherents. 
 It is much more desirable, I think, to 
 see the yearly returns of books read at 
 our libraries represent good quality rather 
 than quantity, and we could very well dis- 
 pense with any emulation which may 
 exist to show big totals, if at the expense 
 of, or with indifference to the more im- 
 portant requisite of quality. I will not 
 enter into the question of the cost which 
 popular novels entail in repairing, binding, 
 and replacing them when worn out, as it 
 is one so familiar to all librarians. It will 
 suffice my purpose to draw attention to the 
 fact that a very large item which is now 
 expended on them in this way could be 
 saved, or devoted to the purchase of books 
 of more permanent value and interest. 
 
 It will be perceived that my remarks, 
 when summarized, are intended to show 
 and maintain that the theory of a regular 
 upward progress of reading from lower- 
 class novels to the higher departments of 
 literature is rather of the nature of a 
 fiction itself; that in the interests of the 
 people it is wise not to supply novels at 
 all unless they are of the best and purest 
 character ; that successful inducements to 
 read may be found in illustrated and other 
 periodicals, and in newspapers ; and that 
 
 a too liberal supply of novels tends to 
 foster a taste for them at the expense of 
 books of a more useful and profitable 
 character. But before concluding this 
 paper, lest my somewhat pessimist views, 
 which only apply, I must clearly state, to 
 the more indifferent novels, should also 
 be extended to free libraries in other 
 parts of their work, allow me to state a few 
 facts and figures in connexion with those 
 at Liverpool, which I am sure may also 
 be applied to other free libraries as well, 
 so far as their great issues in really useful 
 literature are concerned. 
 
 During the year ending the 31st August 
 last, 453,585 volumes were issued at the 
 reference-library alone. Of these 170,531 
 were strictly Novels. 
 
 The next largest item comprised in the 
 total was 125,127 volumes in Miscellane- 
 ous Literature : the greater portion of these 
 are quarterly and monthly magazines, 
 which are counted as volumes, also bound 
 volumes of " The Illustrated London 
 News," " The Graphic," " Punch," and the 
 like. History and Biography numbered 
 27,014 volumes ; works on the Mechanical 
 andFine Arts, 26,959; Theology, 22,002; 
 Poetry and the Drama, 17,524; Travels, 
 14,512; Science, 12,447, and so on in 
 gradually diminishing numbers down to 
 2,715 in Political Economy. The issues 
 of literary, scientific, illustrated and other 
 periodicals, published weekly, numbered 
 157,482; and additional to these again 
 there were 11,557 patents consulted. Our 
 two lending branches supply a further 
 quota of 111,505 volumes exclusive of 
 novels ; making a total issue for reference 
 and lending libraries, exclusive of fiction, 
 of 563,598; or, if anyone should be dis- 
 posed to take exception to periodicals and 
 magazines, of 251,359 volumes wholly in 
 the higher classes of literature. 
 
 Our special room at the reference- 
 library for students, in which no novels 
 are issued, is now attended by 550 persons 
 
FICTION IN FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
 
 67 
 
 of both sexes, whose tickets, entitling to ad- 
 mission for twelve months, have all been 
 either renewed or issued for the first time 
 since last January. Much real solid work 
 is done therein by clergymen, teachers, 
 young men preparing for various examina- 
 tions, and others with literary, scientific, 
 or artistic occupations and tastes ; and so 
 much has the demand for the use of this 
 room and its privileges lately increased, 
 that the library-committee have had to 
 take into their consideration the ques- 
 tion of additional accommodation for this 
 class of readers. These figures cannot 
 but be considered most satisfactory and 
 full of promise for the future; and, as 
 other free libraries are also well to the fore 
 in the good work of educating and in- 
 structing the people generally, and of 
 affording facilities for the study of special 
 
 subjects to all comers without hindrance, 
 whether from age or pecuniary means, 
 there is every reason for congratulation. 
 Their weak point, I consider, is the promi- 
 nent place novels as yet hold in their 
 statistics ; but, as librarians themselves may 
 not be without some little power towards 
 correcting and raising the prevailing taste, 
 it is to be hoped they will not consider 
 the subject or the endeavour alike unworthy 
 of their consideration. This question of 
 complying with the exact taste of the 
 general public in the matter of fiction is 
 an important one, and as such I bring it 
 under the notice and attention of this first 
 English meeting of librarians, in order 
 to elicit their full and free criticism and 
 discussion upon whatever I have stated 
 and upon the merits of the question 
 generally. 
 
ON A NEW INVENTION WHICH RENDERS SLIP-CATALOGUES 
 AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REFERENCE. 
 
 BY HENRY W. D. DUNLOP, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN, NATIONAL LIBRARY OF 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 I LL librarians cannot but 
 be aware of the great 
 difficulty which attends 
 the interpolation of new 
 entries in book-cata- 
 logues where all previous entries are more 
 or less fixed, and, if movable, have to 
 be constantly moved for the purpose of 
 making room for entries for which it is 
 impossible in all cases beforehand to pro- 
 vide space. To meet this difficulty this 
 new system has been invented, and has 
 worked with success in, amongst others, 
 the library of the Royal College of Sur- 
 geons, Dublin. The slip-catalogue system, 
 of course, labours under the danger of the 
 slip being misplaced or altogether lost ; it 
 being otherwise, in most cases, vastly su- 
 perior to the book-system. I need scarcely 
 say that I do not claim to have invented 
 a new system, but rather to have rendered, 
 ~by means of an improved method of con- 
 structing slip-catalogues, such catalogues 
 available for public reference. My plan 
 is as follows : — 
 
 In frames or drawers the labels are 
 placed, as in any other slip-catalogue, in 
 dictionary order; the only and essential 
 
 difference being that these slips or labels 
 are prevented from misplacement or loss 
 by being traversed by a brass rod which 
 travels from end to end of the frame, and 
 which is under the control of the librarian 
 only. This rod runs through the top of a 
 vertical slot or slit made in the centre of 
 the successive labels ; this allows the label 
 to be lifted above its fellows, but prevents 
 its wilful or unintentional misplacement, 
 while the flexible character of the labels 
 allows of their being written on, or 
 gummed on, or read, without withdrawing 
 the rod. This slot and flexibility of the 
 labels, as distinguished from cloth joints 
 and round holes punched in the labels, 
 form the essential, and, I believe, novel, 
 features of my idea. Each label carries at 
 its top line the heading (be it author or 
 subject, as the case may be), and, under 
 the heading, such successive entries and 
 press-marks, &c., as refer to that heading; 
 there being thus, at a glance, under the 
 author the books by that author, or under 
 the subject or subdivision, the works in 
 that subdivision. 
 
 If a label becomes full, or if a new 
 heading has to be inserted, the bar is un- 
 
SLIP-CATALOGUES FOR PUBLIC REFERENCE. 
 
 69 
 
 locked and withdrawn, the sides of the 
 drawer keeping the labels in position; a 
 new label is inserted in its position, and 
 the bar passed again. 
 
 The catalogue is thus kept up to the 
 mark from hour to hour, is indefinitely- 
 expansive and never becomes crowded, but 
 a regular " overflow " takes place from drawer 
 to drawer, as in any other slip-catalogue. 
 
 The labels being strong and thin, about 
 one thousand go to a foot. 
 
 Indices such as " A E ", " A I ", " A O ", 
 &c., interspersed ad libitum, throughout 
 the series of labels and standing slightly 
 above them, aiid placed not directly be- 
 hind one another, but on alternate sides 
 of the drawer, guide the searcher at a 
 glance to the heading which he seeks, and 
 make the search (as I have determined 
 by experiment) about half as long as it 
 would be, ceteris paribus, in a book. 
 
 To the minds of Kbrarians will imme- 
 diately be suggested the great facilities 
 which this system affords, enabling the 
 series to be either one of labels bearing 
 at the head the author's name and the 
 works by that author on the face under- 
 
 neath, with press-mark, &c. ; or one of 
 groups of " subjects " in dictionary-order 
 of groups, with the authors, in each subject, 
 also in dictionary-order. 
 
 Plans somewhat similar to my invention 
 (such as the card system at the Congress 
 Library), but neither so safe nor so com- 
 pact, have been resorted to, and it is 
 therefore hoped that this short essay may 
 be of use in making available for general 
 and public reference the only principle 
 which enables librarians to keep up their 
 readers' catalogues from hour to hour in a 
 thoroughly perfect condition, and tends to 
 prevent the deplorable state into which 
 many library catalogues fall, not from any 
 want of attention or care on the part of 
 officers, but rather in consequence of that 
 very care and attention bestowed, which 
 results, owing to the finiteness of the book- 
 system, in the complete choking up of a 
 catalogue on which much labour has been 
 bestowed, and thus forces on them the 
 obligation in many cases of beginning de 
 novo, at the cost of much timej,nd money, 
 a task which it has taken them many years 
 to fulfil. 
 
PHOTO-BIBLIOGRAPHY; OR, A CENTRAL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL 
 
 CLEARING-HOUSE. 
 
 BY HENRY STEVENS. 
 
 '|Y notion is that every 
 book, big and little, that 
 is published, like every 
 child, big and little, that 
 is born, should be regis- 
 tered, without inquiry into its merits or 
 character. I am not a Malthusian either 
 in population or books. Who shall dare 
 to pronounce on the progeny of a mother 
 or an author, and declare that this child 
 or that book should not have been? 
 Certainly not the registrar, or the cata- 
 loguer, or the librarian. A human soul 
 that is once in existence, or a book that 
 is once in print and published, you cannot 
 well suppress or put out of existence. You 
 may kill it, or cut it up in a review, or let 
 it go astray and get lost or neglect to buy 
 it, but it exists nevertheless, and like sin 
 or the lost book of Michael Servetus is 
 always liable to break out, and should 
 therefore be provided for and against. If 
 villanous, watch and reform or impound it. 
 The question of cataloguing our books 
 is becoming a very serious one, and there- 
 fore I ask the attention of this Conference 
 of Librarians for a few minutes to a word 
 on the necessity of cataloguing every book 
 printed; the itnportance of printed card 
 
 catalogues of old, rare, beautiful and costly 
 books, and how to make them on a co- 
 operative or universal system, which for 
 the lack of a better term I shall, for the 
 present, call Photo-Bibliography. For 
 carrying out this project a Central BibUo- 
 graphical Bureau or Clearing-House for 
 librarians is suggested. For more than 
 four hundred years the press has teemed, 
 and of late steamed, with books. The 
 dead past lives again in print in our pubHc 
 and private libraries, where to a great 
 extent are garnered up the records of 
 laws, manners, customs, history, literature, 
 science and art — the intellectual accumu- 
 lations of ourselves and our predecessors. 
 Whatever we decide to do with our own 
 mental offspring, we are bound in honour 
 to preserve and transmit the stores of in- 
 telligence and knowledge we have inherited. 
 In our Hbraries the past and present hold 
 their schools for the instruction of the 
 future. The post of librarian therefore is 
 a responsible and honourable one. He is 
 the collector, the custodian, and the cata- 
 loguer of our books, with the labour and 
 responsibility of three offices and generally 
 the pay of one. 
 A nation's books are her vouchers. Her 
 
PHOTO -BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 71 
 
 libraries are her muniments. Her wealth 
 of gold and silver, whether invested in 
 commerce, or bonds, or banks, is always 
 working for her ; but her stores of golden 
 thoughts, inventions, discoveries, and in- 
 tellectual treasures, invested mainly in 
 print and manuscript, are too often stored 
 somewhere in limbo, like the half of our 
 copyrighted books, unregistered, where, 
 though sleek and well preserved, they 
 rather slumber than fructify. The half of 
 them are not recorded, and the resting- 
 places of many are not known. I hold that 
 it is the duty, calling, privilege, and honour- 
 able responsibility of this Conference to 
 remedy this growing evil. New old books, 
 even the early printed ones, are daily 
 brought to light. All the copies at present 
 known of half the different works printed 
 by England's five earliest printers may be 
 counted on our fingers if not on our 
 thumbs. In spite of the recent activity of 
 collectors and librarians it is well known 
 that of all the books that came from the 
 press of Caxton, some forty exist, as far 
 as we know at present, in single copies 
 only, many of which are imperfect. How 
 many have been utterly lost no man can 
 tell. Nay more, who can lay his hand 
 readily on a single copy of all, or even a 
 considerable part, of the printed ballads 
 that were sent broadcast over the land so 
 late as the year of the Crimean war ? who 
 will, for instance, undertake to supply one 
 of the 300,000 copies of the Nightingale 
 Ballad? Books ! to-day they are, to-morrow 
 the half of them are not. It is perhaps a 
 fortunate circumstance that the stillborn 
 and infant mortality among them is greater 
 far than the corresponding death-rate in 
 Dr. Farr's tables. Many pass away un- 
 recorded and leave no present trace of 
 their existence, but still they may turn up 
 any day, and like the remaining Sibylline 
 leaves command the price of the whole. 
 
 From the days of Hipparchus to the 
 present time the stars have been cata- 
 
 logued, and to-day every bird, beast, fish, 
 shell, insect, and Hving thing; yea, every 
 tree, shrub, flower, rock and gem, as they 
 become known, are scientifically, systema- 
 tically, and intelligently named, described, 
 and catalogued. In all these departments 
 of human knowledge there is a well ascer- 
 tained and generally acknowledged system 
 which is dignified as a science. A man 
 who can correctly describe in a dead lan- 
 guage a live beetle, or a fish, or a humming- 
 bird is very properly deemed a philosopher, 
 a man of science, becomes a fellow of 
 learned societies with a respectable o p q 
 handle to his name, and may once a year 
 spend a week with other severe philosophers 
 in scientific associations. But there is as 
 yet no section for Ubrarians or bibHo- 
 graphers in the British or American Asso- 
 ciations. We trust, however, that at no 
 distant day the letters F.L.A. (Fellow of 
 the Library Association) may carry as 
 much weight as F.S.A., or even F.R.S. 
 At present, however, no such honour 
 awaits the librarian or the bibUographer, 
 the cataloguer of our books, the registrar 
 of our mental offspring. There is no 
 acknowledged system of art or science to 
 dignify and honour their labours. Biblio- 
 graphy as yet is a mere jackal, or pack- 
 horse, or some other patient beast of bur- 
 den doomed to work for other arts and 
 sciences, content with small emoluments 
 for itself and smaller praise. The fact is 
 that when an advanced hbrarian produces 
 a good catalogue he has done only what 
 is expected of him, like a good boy who 
 spells correctly, but he is sure to get plenty 
 of censure if he falls short of the correct 
 thing. 
 
 We are accustomed to boast that the 
 literature of the Enghsh language is the 
 richest in the world. It may be so, but 
 just now this is probably mere national 
 brag, inasmuch as we are unable to back 
 our boast with even decent catalogues or 
 schedules of it. Of the ephemeral Htera- 
 
72 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 ture of the past and the floating books of 
 the present a large part was never booked. 
 It was even worse in our fathers' day than 
 now. Many are saved by drifting by mere 
 chance into some snug harbour. Offer a 
 thousand small English booksof the present 
 century to the British Museum, and full as 
 it already is, the chances are that half of 
 them will be found wanting in that world- 
 renowned national repository where every 
 human British book has the inalienable 
 right of recorded citizenship. There are 
 tolerably complete lists of our soldiers, our 
 clergy, our lawyers, and our criminals. 
 Why not of all our books ? Who shall 
 say that this class contains more drones or 
 trash than that ? or why one list should be 
 winnowed and another not ? The fact is 
 we have not the means, notwithstanding 
 our honoured and appreciated Herberts 
 and Ameses, our Watts and Lowndeses, 
 of taking stock of our national literature. 
 
 Current trade-lists there are indeed, 
 good enough perhaps for the purpose, and 
 some merchantable printed catalogues, 
 general and special, for which we are 
 thankful, but they mostly fall far short of 
 bibliography. Indeed it is a fact that no 
 painstaking, earnest collector of rare and 
 precious books can find anywhere reliable 
 collations and descriptions of one half of 
 the rare books he buys, but is compelled 
 often to take them on trust. 
 
 The contents of some of our excellent 
 pubHc and private libraries are each sepa- 
 rately scheduled in print or manuscript 
 sufficiently well, no doubt, to be used 
 on the premises in face of the books 
 described, but our learned and indefatig- 
 able librarians presiding over the best 
 dozen of our libraries each catalogue their 
 books as carefully and elaborately as if 
 they existed nowhere else, and sometimes 
 probably, notwithstanding the celebrated 
 ninety-one rules, in as many ways as there 
 are copies. While some books are thus 
 catalogued ovei- and over again, very many 
 
 are overlooked and altogether neglected. 
 This is inevitable, but no improvement 
 can be expected so long as there is no 
 standard, no acknowledged general system 
 worthy the name, no co-operation or com- 
 mon interest in universal bibliography. 
 
 Now if these twelve Caesars over books 
 would each thoroughly bibliographize se- 
 parate rare and valuable books, and ex- 
 change results, instead of all half doing 
 the same work in a dozen different styles ; 
 or better still, if they would unite and co- 
 operate in the establishment of a Central 
 Bibliographical Bureau or Clearing-House, 
 where librarians might daily exchange 
 their check-lists of books, at small cost, 
 for standard bibliographical titles that will 
 pass current the world over, we might 
 eventually have our literary history and 
 bibliography in a fit state to transmit satis- 
 factorily to posterity, instead of continuing 
 the present muddle which is manifestly 
 growing muddlier every year as the harvest 
 of the press accumulates. It is doubtless 
 as much as each staff can accomplish to 
 keep up with the growth of its own library 
 without regarding others. As there is 
 little hope of any one library ever even 
 approaching completeness, there is no ap- 
 parent progress whatever made towards 
 that universal and harmonious catalogue 
 raisonn'e which we have been so long and 
 so devoutly praying for. We are not 
 moving so fast in this matter as the world 
 around us, and are therefore lagging, a 
 circumstance not creditable to the Great 
 or Greater Briton. 
 
 The good old-fashioned idea and practice 
 of printed catalogues of large and rapidly 
 increasing libraries in this country are, I 
 am sorry to say, well nigh abandoned as 
 impracticable, while in America the impor- 
 tance and necessity of them are recognized 
 and at present acted upon ; but it is not 
 unlikely that the curators of the Con- 
 gress Library, at Washington, and of the 
 Public Library, at Boston, may some- 
 
PHOTO 'BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 73 
 
 what modify their notions and practice in 
 this respect, when their collections are 
 increased from somewhat under 300,000 
 to a million and a-half of volumes, like 
 the library of the British Museum, or the 
 National Library of Paris. It is well 
 known that the difficulties of producing a 
 printed catalogue of a large and rapidly 
 growing library vastly increase in propor- 
 tion to its size. It is hardly therefore to 
 be expected that a single institution, 
 national, public, or private, should take 
 upon itself the burden of universal biblio- 
 graphy, or the right of prescribing rules 
 and general principles for others. The 
 staff of the British Museum library, for 
 instance, may not dictate to that of Bodley 
 or Paris, and as no one of them is afflicted 
 with affluent misery, or has sufficient 
 money, men, or authority to lead off inde- 
 pendently, they, like many lesser lights, 
 are compelled to shine under their own 
 bushels. In consequence the manuscript 
 catalogue of each library, however excel- 
 lent it may be, is of little use except to 
 the owners, and it must, like our un- 
 licensed beer, be taken on the premises. 
 It affords the student outside the library 
 no adequate means of studying the biblio- 
 graphy of his subject at home, nor can he 
 compare the books of one library with 
 those of another. 
 
 This isolation and waste of vain repeti- 
 tion, it is believed, is wholly unnecessary. 
 There is no royal road, it has been said, 
 to knowledge. He who would attain that 
 goal must learn to labour and to wait, for 
 knowledge is locked up mainly in books, 
 appropriately termed works. There is, 
 however, a short-cut with a pass-key in 
 universal or co-operative bibliography, a 
 simple system of arrangement by which 
 may be economized the labours of hun- 
 dreds who are cataloguing over and over 
 the same books. 
 
 It would, indeed, be difficult to supply 
 descriptive tides and collations of all 
 
 books at once, but a well digested plan, 
 expansive as an india-rubber band, it is 
 believed, might be devised, which, in a few 
 years, would supply our public and private 
 libraries with titles as fast as they are re- 
 quired or can be paid for, adapted, and 
 arranged, and at the same time educate a 
 bibliographical staff that would eventually 
 post up the ledger of our literature to date, 
 and keep it up. You cannot well undo 
 the labour of years, or change readily 
 systems of cataloguing, and throw away 
 the work and cost of years, however faulty. 
 It is better to devise some scheme that 
 may readily be adapted to any and all 
 systems. There is now nothing, as we 
 have said, approaching a complete biblio- 
 graphical record of the books of the 
 English language, that is, of Great Britain, 
 America, India, and Australia. Germany 
 and France are a little better off, but not 
 much. Other book-printing nations are, 
 I believe, behind even England. 
 
 Under all these circumstances I see no 
 better mode of co-operative or universal 
 cataloguing of old, rare, beautiful, and 
 costly books than by the establishment of 
 a Central Bibliographical Bureau, public 
 or private, where librarians, collectors, and 
 amateurs may buy descriptive slip or card 
 titles of books as they buy postage-stamps, 
 money-orders, or telegrams, at a tithe of 
 the cost they would incur in making them 
 themselves, and at the same time infinitely 
 superior in quality. Such a bureau, or 
 clearing-house, under Government protec- 
 tion, it is believed, might from the begin- 
 ning be made self-supporting, or even 
 remunerative, like the Post Office. It 
 would soon become a great educator of 
 the educated, and an inestimable boon 
 to the historian, as well as to the literary 
 or scientific student, enabling him at once 
 to find, ready at his hands, cut and dried, 
 the materials of his subject. It not un- 
 frequently happens that students exhaust 
 their energies in mastering the materials 
 
74 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 of their subjects, before they put pen to 
 paper. Not every historian has the pluck, 
 persistence, and toughness of Gibbon. A 
 well-stocked and methodical Bibliogra- 
 phical Bureau would have reheved that his- 
 torian of three-fourths of the fag and worry 
 of his twenty years' mousing for materials. 
 A student now visits the library of the 
 British Museum, and dives into its volu- 
 minous manuscript alphabetical catalogues 
 pretty much as the pearl-fisher plunges into 
 the sea. Sometimes he brings up a pearl 
 and is rewarded, but oftener he brings up 
 nothing, though the pearl-grounds be the 
 
 All these works are printed, and any 
 library or student may have them; but, 
 creditable as they are, they lack scope and 
 execution, being mere lists of articles and 
 papers, and not bibliographical catalogues. 
 They are long paces, however, in the right 
 direction. 
 
 Before proceeding further let me submit 
 to this Conference of Librarians a few of 
 my proposed photo - bibliographic titles 
 for a printed slip or card catalogue. In 
 consideration of the large proportion of 
 folios in the early printed books, I pro- 
 pose to make the cards four by seven 
 
 LOPEZ (DuARTE, OR Odoardo) a Report oi Congo, foAn Wolfe, London, 1597,4° 
 
 A REPORT 
 
 OF THE KING- 
 
 doiiicofCoNnOiaR&. 
 
 gionof AiiicA. 
 
 ^ndofdie Countries that border 
 
 founile about tlieCune. 
 
 ^nici, 1I111 ihina 
 ..It. buMnl11b.11d.11 
 ribccldrU.(aFhcii. 
 tajoaittlnthlilnibfit. 
 nctP^ neilionflitluji 
 irTA'i^>rpriDEidta«D<i 
 
 „u^.f.»...Cn| 
 (OUDdin >b.t(CM>IIKL 
 
 Diawcnoutofihe\vritine« and dircoDtfes of 
 
 ediait Lnii.^ Pojtingjll, by 
 
 Fhtifp Plaint. 
 
 7rdnplitl)iitifri4luiih\^hihmllirwll. 
 
 Tnaud by lului Wellr, 1,97, 
 
 A Report / of the King-/ dome of Congo, a Re-/ gion of Africa./ And of 
 the Countries that border / rounde about the fame./ I. Wherein is alfo 
 (hewed, that the two Zones Torrida & Frigida,/ are not only habitable, but 
 inhabited, and very temperate, contrary / to the opinion of the old Philofo- 
 phers. / 2. That the blacke colour which is in the skinnes of the Ethiopians 
 and / Negroes, &c. proceedeth not from the Sunne./ 3. And that the Riuer 
 Nilus fpringeth not out of the mountains of the / Moone, as hath beene 
 heretofore beleeued. Together with the true / caufe of the rifing and 
 increafing thereof./ 4. Befides the defcription of diuers Plants, Fiflies and 
 Beaftes, that are / found in thofe Countries. / Drawen out of the writmges 
 and difcourfes of / Odoardo Lopez a PortingaU, by / Philippe Pigafetta./ 
 Tranflated out of Italian by Abraham Hartwell./ [Printer's device] London/ 
 Printed by lohn Wolfe. 1597./ 4° 
 
 Collation. Nine preliminary leaves, viz. title with arms on the back ; dedication to 
 lohn, Archb. of Canterbury, five pages, signed by Abraham Hartwell, and dated istjan. 
 1597 ; The Translator to the Reader, eleven pages, also signed by Hartwell, with errata 
 at the bottom of last page. Then follows a fly-leaf with sign. A only on it, and a second 
 title, reading same as the first, reverse blank. Text (A 3) pages 1-217, followed by three 
 pages of Table. Signature ^tt, *j ** (one leaf) A-Z and A a to E e 4, all in four leaves 
 except two stars. Roman type, thirty-two lines on a page. With two large copper-plate 
 Maps, viz., ** A description of .^gypt," etc. graven by William Rogers, 17 inches by 25, 
 on two sheets, and " The description of the Coast of Abex," etc. graven by Robert 
 Becket, 15 inches by 22. There are also nine numbered woodcuts, filling pages 40, 72, 
 75* 78, 80, 82, 84, 85, 113 (same as No. i on p. 40), 131 (No. 7repeated). 
 
 best, and the catalogues are acknowledged 
 to be surpassed by those of no other large 
 public library. Something akin to our 
 scheme, but a distant relation of it, has 
 been attempted by the Royal Society in 
 its extensive index to the scientific papers 
 in the periodicals and transactions of all 
 nations; and by the South Kensington 
 Museum in its universal art-catalogue. 
 Prior to the appearance of these works 
 Poole's Index of the best periodicals was 
 published in 1848, and was much enlarged 
 in 1853, while it is now felt that the new 
 and enlarged edition already in hand is 
 the one thing needful in large libraries. 
 
 inches. Those of the British Museum are 
 four by ten inches. These sample slip- 
 titles are chosen on account of their variety 
 of both large and very small t)rpes, and 
 their including vignettes, woodcuts, and 
 fine copper-plate engravings. If these titles 
 can be printed by this process, almost any 
 others can. They are unusually long, some- 
 what complicated, and demand several 
 cross references. 
 
 These samples are given to show the form 
 of the titles, and not the bibliography. 
 This is mainly a new application of pho- 
 tography to bibliography. It is not in- 
 tended to supersede, but rather to sup- 
 
PHOTO -BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 75 
 
 plement, improve, systematize, and elevate 
 the present method of cataloguing our 
 libraries and museums, public and private. 
 It is the result of long study and number- 
 less devices to combine fulness and perfect 
 accuracy with reasonable cost of money, 
 space, and time. I have not yet solved 
 all the difficulties, but am now sufficiently 
 advanced, after several years' practice, to 
 pronounce with considerable confidence 
 this system of higher-class cataloguing to 
 be safe, simple, easy, accurate, expeditious, 
 and cheap. 
 The plan is to reduce all the titles, maps. 
 
 regulated by the printer, who declares, 
 after seeing many specimens, that a reduc- 
 tion of two-thirds will give him excellent 
 " copy," far better than the average manu- 
 script, as one may perceive by the annexed 
 portrait-titles reduced two-thirds. 
 
 All titles, then, are precisely one-third 
 the dimensions, or one-ninth the super- 
 ficies of the originals. Nine is found by 
 experience to be the most convenient 
 multiple, as it avoids fractions, and suits 
 the printer. If the printer be satisfied, 
 few other readers will object to the size. 
 The system is to clear up as we go, 
 
 PIGAFETTA (Filippo, or Philippo). See 
 
 LOPEZ (UuARTE, OR Oduardo) a Report of Coago, John Wolfe, London, 1597, 4° 
 
 A Report / of the King-/ dome of Congo, a Re-/ gion of Africa./ And of 
 the Countries that border / rounde about the fame./ I. Wherein is alfo 
 fliewed, that the two Zones Torrida & Frigida,/ are not only habitable, but 
 inhabited, and very temperate, contrary / to the opinion of the old Philofo- 
 phers./ 2. That the blacke colour which is in the skinnes of the Ethiopians 
 and / Negroes, &c. proceedeth not from the Sunne./ 3. And that the Riuer 
 Nilus fpringeth not out of the mountains of the Moone, as hath beene 
 heretofore beleeued. Together with the true / caufe of the rifmg and 
 increafing thereof./ 4. Befides the defcription of diuers Plants, Fiflies and 
 Beaftes, that are / found in thofe Countries./ Drawen out of the wiitinges 
 and discourfes of/Odoardo Lopez a Portingall, by Philippo / Pigafetta./ 
 Tranflated out of Italian by Abraham Hartwell./ [Printer's device] Condon/ 
 Printed by lohn Wolfe. 1597./ 4° 
 
 Collation. Nine preliminary leaves, viz. title with arms on the back ; dedication to 
 lolin, Arciib. of Canterbury, five pages, signed by Abraham Hartwell, and dated ist Jan. 
 1597 ; The Translator to the Reader, eleven pages, also signed by Hartwell, with errata 
 at the bottom of last page. Then follows a fly-leaf with sign. A only on it, and a second 
 title, reading same as the first, reverse blank. Text (A 3) pages 1-217, followed by three 
 pages of Table. Signature 3#, *, *• (one leaf) A-Z and A a to E e 4, all in four leares 
 except two stars. Roman type, thirty-two lines on a page. With two large copper-plate 
 Maps, viz., " A description of vEgypt," etc. graven by William Rogers, 17 inches by 25, 
 on two sheets, and "The description of the Coast of Abex," etc. graven by Robert 
 Becket, 15 inches by 22. There are also nine numbered woodcuts, filling pages 40, 72, 
 75, 78, 80, 82, 84, 85, 113 (same as No. i on p. 40), 131 (No. 7 repeated). 
 
 History. 
 
 Africa. 
 
 Congo. 
 
 Nile. 
 
 Egypt. 
 
 Ethiopians, 
 
 Negroes. 
 
 Mountains of the 
 
 Moone, 
 Costume, 
 Natural 
 
 History. 
 
 woodcuts, or whatever it is desired to copy, 
 
 THE 
 
 HTSTORIE OF 
 
 THE \yBSt.I3^-Dies, 
 
 Containing the A&ss .md Aduenmrcs 
 
 oftbeS^mariht xehich hsuecmqmrea 
 
 and peoplnl ihoTe Counmes, iniicnn] wkh vaiv 
 
 die of picilaiit rclaiioDciFuie MJiinen. 
 
 Cercmoiuei, Lawci.Goucmncnu, 
 
 tai WaiTCiofifK 
 
 iKDtJtm. 
 
 Publilhed m l-atin by M'. Hak^int 
 
 aiidtiaKfbKdi]itoEnglillibyM.^«i,Cait, 
 
 ^Ihihmii tfiitttri enaStbunntn ^ 
 lieunb. Pfit. gj. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 9±aeitoijtiiJrmHiiOf andaietoMfoUattaeii^ 
 oflhcDdlin/'du^Church-yanl. 
 
 to one uniform scale. The reduction is 
 
 and make an alphabetical card catalogue, 
 something after the manner that is now 
 generally adopted in our principal Ubraries. 
 The photograms as they are collected are 
 laid down on pieces of common cheap 
 writing-paper, cut to the exact size of the 
 thin cards, about four by seven inches, 
 which are used, though any other size 
 may perhaps do as well, if it be thought 
 desirable to mix these cards with those 
 already in any particular library. The 
 bibliographer then adds in manuscript the 
 heading of the title, the translation (if it 
 be desired), the collation, description, list 
 of maps and plates, notes, or whatever 
 
76 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 Smith {Captain John) Historic of Virginia, /. D. £3" /. H. for Michael Sparkes, London, 1626, f. 
 
 The / Generall Historie / of/ Virginia, New-England, and 
 the Summer/ 1 fles: with the names of the Adventurers,/ 
 Planters, and Govemours from their / firft beginning An°: 
 1584. to this / prefent 1626./ With the Proceedings of those 
 Severall Colonies / and the Accidents that befell them in 
 all their / Journyes and Difcoveries. / Alio the Maps and 
 Defcriptions of all thofe / Countryes, their Commodities, 
 people, / Government, Cuftomes, and Religion / yet 
 knovrae./ Divided into sixe Bookes. / By Captaine John 
 Smith fometymes Governour / in thole Countryes & 
 Admirall / of New England. / London. / Printed by I. D. 
 and / I. H. for Michael/ Sparkes. / 1626. / Folio. 
 
 Collation. Seven preliminary leaves, viz. Title engraved by lohn 
 Barrk, reverse blank ; dedication to the Duchess of Richmond. 2 
 pages ; verses by Samuel Purchas, T. Macarnesse, John Done, and 
 others, 4 pp. ; the Contents 4 pp. ; A Preface of foure Poynts, 
 signed John Smith, i page ; and verses by S. M. and T: T. 1624, 
 one page. Text pp. 1-96 and 105-248. Sign, of text B — li in 
 fours (Sig. O omitted). Four Maps, viz. Old Virginia, Virginia, 
 Bermuda, and New England. 
 
 CMahi Title.] 
 
 DE BRY (JoHAN Theodor & Johan Israel) India, Part I. German, Lopez' Congo, _/! Saur, Franckfort, 1597, P 
 
 Regnvni / Congo / hoc eft / Warhaffte vnd Eigent- / 
 liche Befchreibung defz Kbnig- / reichs Congo in Africa, 
 vnd deren an- / grentzenden Lander, darinnen der 
 Jnwohner / Glaub, Leben, Sitten vnd Kleydung wol / 
 vnd auszfiirlich vermeldt vnd / angeziegt wirdt. / Erftlich 
 durch Eduart Lopez, wel- / cher in diefer Nauigation 
 alles Perfonlich er- / fahren, in Portugalefifcher Spraach 
 geftellt, / Jetzo aber in vnfer Teutfch Spraach trans- / 
 ferieret vnd vberfetzt, / Durch / Avgvstinvm Cassiodo- 
 rvm. / Auch mit fchbnen vnd Kunftreichen Figu- / ren 
 gezieret vnd an Tajg geben, durch Hans / Dietherich 
 vnd Hans Ifrael von Bry, Gebrii- / der vnd BUrger zu 
 Franckfiirt. / Getruckt zu Franckfort am Mayn, durch 
 Jo- / han Saur, in Verlegung Hans Dietherich vnd 
 Hans / Ifrael von Bry, im Jahr / M.D.xcvil. / Folio. 
 
 Collation. Four prel. leaves, viz. title, reverse blank : dedication i 
 
 (A ij) 2 pp. signed by Cassiodorus; Vorrede (A iij) 3 pp. signed I 
 
 by the Brothers De Bry ; next page blank. Text (B) pp._l-74. 
 Register (L ij) 5 pp. and i pa^e blank. Second title, Erklarung | 
 
 etlicher Capital, etc. 1597, reverse blank,- Plates (Aa ij) numbered 
 I to 10, Ende, followed by a blank leaf, a half-title, Folgen, etc., 
 (sig.*) and plates xi to xiiii. Two maps on 3 .sheets. Furst Edition. 
 
 [Main Title.] 
 
PHOTO-BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 77 
 
 W-ENGLAND. See 
 Smith {Captain John) Historie of Virginia, /. D. & /. H.for Michael Sparkes, London, 1626, f". 
 
 The/Generall Historie /of/ Virginia, New-England, and 
 the Summer / Ifles : with the names of the Adventurers,/ 
 Planters, and Govemours from their /firft beginning An" : 
 1584. to this / prefent 1662./ With the Proceedings.of those 
 Severall Colonies / and the Accidents that befell them in 
 all their / Journyes and Difcoveries. / Alfo the Maps and 
 Defcriptions of all thofe / Countryes, their Commodities, 
 people, / Government, Cuftomes, and Religion / yet 
 knowne./ Divided into sixe Bookes. / By Captaine lohn 
 Smith fometymes Governour / in thofe Countryes & 
 Admirall / of New England. / London. / Printed by I. D. 
 and / I. H. for Michael / Sparkes. / 1626. / Folio. 
 
 Collation. Seven preliminary leaves, viz. Title engraved by lohn 
 Barri, reverse blank ; dedication to the Duchess of Richmond, 2 
 pages ; verses by Samuel Purchas, T. Macarnesse, John Done, and 
 others, 4 pp. ; the Contents 4 pp. ; A Preface of foure Poynts, 
 signed John Smith, i page ; and. verses by S. M. and T. T. 1624, 
 one page. Text pp. 1-96 and 105-248. Sign, of text B— li in 
 fours (Sig. O omitted). Four Maps, viz. Old Virginia, Virginia, 
 Bermuda, and New England. 
 
 [Croas rcftTence] 
 
 EZ (DuARTE, Odvardo, or Eduart). See 
 
 DE BRY (JoHAN Theodor & Johan Israel) India, Part I. German, Lopez' Congo,y. Saur, Franckfort, 1 5 9 7, f" 
 
 Regnvm / Congo / hoc eft / Warhaffte vnd Eigent- / 
 liche Befchreibung defz Konig- / reichs Congo in Africa, 
 vnd deren an- / grentzenden Landen, darinnen der 
 Jnwohner / Glauls, Leben, Sitten vnd Kleydung wol / 
 vnd auszf iirlich vermeldt vnd / angeziegt wirdt. / Erftlich 
 durch Eduart Lopez, wel- / cher in diefer Nauigation 
 alles Perlonlich er- / fahren, in Portugalefifcher Spraach 
 geftellt, / Jetzo aber in vnfer Teutfch Spraach trans- / 
 ferieret vnd vberfetzt, / Durch / Avgvstinvm Cassiodo- 
 rvm. / Auch mit fchonen vnd Kunftreichen Figu- / ren 
 gezieret vnd an Tag geben, durch Hans / Dietherich 
 vnd Hans Ifrael von Bry, Gebrii- / der vnd Biirger zu 
 Franckfurt. / Getruckt zu Franckfort am Mayn, durch 
 Jo- / han Saur, in Verlegung Hans Dietherich vnd 
 Hans / Ifrael von Bry, im Jahr / M.D.xcvil. / Folio. 
 
 Collation. Fourprel. leaves, viz. title, reverse blank ; dedication 
 (A ij) 2 pp. signed by Cassiodoms ; Vorrede (A iij) 3 pp. signed 
 by the Brothers De Bry ; next page blank. Text (B) pp. 1-74. 
 Register (L ij) s pp. and i page blank. Second title, Erklarung 
 etlicher Capital, etc. 1597, reverse blank. Plates (Aa ij) numbered 
 I to 10, Ende, followed by a blank leaf, a half-title, Folgen, etc., 
 (sig.*) and plates xi to xiiii. Two maps on 5 sheets. First Edition. 
 
 tCrofrS reference.] 
 
78 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 he deems necessary or important. The 
 titles next go to the printer, who prints 
 the whole, both the photogram (by an 
 electro-block or some one of the permanent 
 processes) and the manuscript, in the pre- 
 scribed form, in large or small type, or 
 both, according to the space required. 
 
 This method gets rid of the necessity for 
 revising and transcribing the titles, while 
 the cost of printer's corrections is greatly 
 reduced. The printer then prints as many 
 copies as are required, some on thin cards 
 and others on strong thin paper for laying 
 down in volumes, and the titles are done — 
 well done, and quickly. It is proposed 
 to sell the title-cards to collectors and 
 libraries at a very moderate price. Any 
 title in stock may be sold probably for 4^. 
 to 6(/. Any other titles wanted may be 
 executed to order at, say, <)d. to \s. each, 
 and may be produced by the Bureau or 
 Company, as required. For instance, if 
 a Hbrary wants all the early editions of 
 Ptolemy, or of the Bible, Shakspere, 
 Dante, Boccaccio, Milton, &c. known, 
 it may have them for a shilling each, or, 
 if already in stock, for the half of that 
 price. If the printed titles without the 
 portrait-titles are desired, the cost will be 
 trifling. On the other hand, the portrait- 
 titles may be had separately to illustrate 
 catalogues or to paste down on the front 
 or back of the ordinary manuscript slips of 
 any library. But it is not purposed to 
 carry this scheme at present beyond rare, 
 costly, and beautiful books. 
 
 Now there is no reason why these titles 
 should not be perfect of their kind, and be 
 produced at moderate cost as fast as they 
 are demanded. An alphabetical catalogue 
 so made is always perfect as far as it goes, 
 and may be from time to time enlarged to 
 any extent. The titles may be kept sepa- 
 rate, or be mixed with the slip-titles of 
 any library. They may be shuffled and 
 arranged in any order, class, or subject. 
 Index and cross-reference cards may be 
 
 added in print or manuscript. It might 
 here be mentioned that the heading of the 
 tide may/// one long line, containing the 
 name of the author, the short title, name 
 of printer, place, date, and size. This 
 brief title will help in lettering the binding 
 and the line, if printed in blue or some 
 other colour, may serve as an index title, 
 while if printed in red it may serve as a 
 cross reference. The fact that the full 
 title is printed on each slip will not harm 
 either the index or reference tide. The 
 
 NE^^ EAKTH 
 
 O R , The True 
 OF 
 
 The paft A G E S, and of the AGES 
 
 or World to corae 
 
 CALLED 
 
 TIi3 Jews Commonweal, 
 
 irt/r-rrcn btf an unwoithv wicEiefs of. the tmm of mc steat God,y 
 yv.r.raiiuv \oHN BRATNE. 
 
 Ifa 4111. TlnLotdiTTPcUotta^td reittitri^htfeiffifefifikei litwiltmgnille 
 
 -XmiloiiiPimKd for sitiMi'd JKi»»,ii.ttli; rcvni Bars inPHlU's Omico-vaM. 
 
 photograms will appear only on the main 
 titles. Press-marks and additions in manu- 
 script, to adapt the titles to the particular 
 copies of any library, may be added by 
 hand. New headings may be added, and 
 then the short title printed in red for a 
 cross-reference slip. On one corner of 
 each slip may be printed in small type the 
 class to which the book belongs, and even 
 the sub-class, or chief words for index or 
 class slips. All these hints can better be 
 given by the bibUographer when he works 
 
PHOTO -BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 79 
 
 up the title than by the librarian after- 
 wards. 
 
 By these portrait-titles books in one 
 library can be compared with perfect cer- 
 tainty with copies in any other library. 
 For instance, what description of this 
 moon-title in the British Museum would 
 enable one to compare it with Bodley's 
 copy so well as this reduced portrait-title ? 
 
 The portrait-titles, instead of being 
 printed on cards, may be used for illus- 
 
 ^<^^c (Bofpdof 
 
 <ll)(ratne tvas in t^ 
 Beginmrngt io ©cb» 
 2(1 twinges tccr mote 
 6t;tt/an^tt>K^outtt/ 
 XOQA ma&e tioti)in je t^dt tvoa m<it)c. 3nif 
 was (#a tfte life toos t^e X\^{ of men/dnb 
 t^( (ig^t f^mctl^in t(( Carc(ii(8/6ut ^ Datcf* 
 we rompe^mbtb it not. 
 
 ^r^tvewaaamonraitfrom Q3cd/tv^ofe 
 name was 3i>o <r^eram( came as a tvttnes 
 (0 6earc t»i;tnes of t^e lQ^f)t/ tt^otall men 
 tJ^wu^^ ()im migf^t 6e(eue .^e tvae not t^at 
 fig^ti 6ut to 6eare tvitnes of t6e (ig()t. tT^at 
 trae a true lig^t / tv^tt^ ligOtet^ alt men t^at 
 
 smi into t$« ivp)l^(> ^« WM In <&( n>oi((e' 
 
 <in& 
 
 FolUizelyveofZurlch Testament, 1550, igo. ""^ 
 
 trating catalogues or other books, and, as 
 the negatives or cliches are kept, may be 
 supplied in large or small quantities. They 
 serve admirably for comparing type, wood- 
 cuts, engravings, and general art-purposes. 
 They are very beautiful, and may well 
 serve designers and artists for hints and 
 models. The photograms, however, have 
 mainly answered their purpose in aiding 
 in the production of cheap, clear, and 
 perfectly accurate titles, but they are not 
 
 indispensable on the cards, as the entire 
 title is printed with descriptions and colla- 
 tions. Should a printed catalogue be made, 
 these titles will supply the best copy, on 
 short notice, for the greater part of the 
 work ; the rest, in the way of addition or 
 compression, being done in the usual way 
 by hand. The negatives are numbered 
 and so arranged on shelves like books 
 that they may be referred to instantly. 
 One shelf, eight feet long, will hold the 
 negatives of 10,000 titles, as I know by 
 experience. 
 
 So far nothing has been said of trash or 
 natural selection in our works, the bugbear 
 of half the critics. It is natural that every 
 man should select such books as he fan- 
 cies, but it is only fair that he should leave 
 the same right to others. We all know 
 that in books, what is trash to one person 
 is nuggets to another, and that the tastes 
 of mankind in this respect are as varied as 
 in everything else. Ask a hundred men 
 who read as they run to each exclude a 
 hundred of the worthless volumes from a 
 library of ten thousand, and the chances 
 are that no single book would receive five 
 black balls. You have a perfect right to 
 turn up your nose at my poems and pro- 
 nounce them trash, while I may if I 
 please indulge in the like luxury of calling 
 your sermons stuff and nonsense ; yet we 
 are individual critics, and our opinions go 
 exactly for what they are worth, while our 
 books perhaps rival in the rapidity of sale 
 the " Proverbial Philosophy," proverbially 
 vitup/erated annually at twelve and six- 
 pence per column by the professed critic 
 who has it in hand. Not every one is 
 robust enough to relish Bacon or indulge 
 pleasantly or profitably in the " Novum 
 Organum," for his mind may be better 
 adapted to enjoy "Peter Wilkins," or 
 "Mother Goose's Melodies." Indeed it 
 is amazing, looking up and down our 
 streets and markets, to see how light is 
 the mental pabulum that best nourishes 
 
8o 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 some minds, and what dry and hard meat 
 others require. The lighter a balloon the 
 higher it will rise, even so sometimes the 
 thinner the matter of a book the higher it 
 goes in the estimation of some of our 
 neighbours, whose tastes and opinions are 
 to be respected. No man or person ever 
 wrote a book, probably, so weak and 
 wishywashy but that some mental stomach 
 might be found just strong enough to 
 thrive upon it. I therefore, in view of 
 the general fitness of things, vote for the 
 cataloguing of every book printed as it 
 turns up, leaving the selection to the 
 selectors. There is no fear of being pa- 
 pered up if we arrange, sort, systematize, 
 
 NARRATIONES DViE 
 
 ADMCOVn «E«OSADII.EI> 
 
 QVARVM PRIMA 
 
 CONTINET DIAKIVM EX- 
 PEDITION is FRANCISCI DRAKI 
 
 ^ AhhD M I> 1. IKV. 
 
 e^ L r F H A 
 
 OMNIVMRIiKVM AB EO- 
 
 DEMORAKOET NORRF.YSIO 
 
 In LriiT.HicA unipdnnenclbiura 
 
 6d«lcDi tonimuiuuncm 
 
 Emmialiitsijmmanltttedilt' 
 
 ' AdiJitiifairupcrtabiilisGeognpIlids 
 
 accuniilslRiis. 
 
 HORfftuaan, 
 
 3[/^» Chr/Jiophori Lochneritf^ fO' 
 
 bannuHofmanm.. 
 
 O^KHOHDXO^ 
 
 and catalogue promptly, briefly if unim- 
 portant, and properly our literary stores. 
 
 Who does much, of him much is ex- 
 pected, is an old rule in international 
 affairs by which England may fairly be 
 called upon to give to the world the first 
 instalment of a Universal Printed Cata- 
 logue, made on tme bibliographical princi- 
 ples, with full titles and collations, not 
 alone of English printed books, but of all 
 the books in all languages existing in our 
 public and private libraries, or likely to be 
 in them. What we want somewhere, not 
 everywhere, is a full, clear, plain, practical, 
 exact, precise, concise, and comprehensive 
 title, collation, and description — that is to 
 say, a real portrait and intellectual photo- 
 
 graph of every one of the books in our 
 libraries, true and expressive hke the faces 
 of our friends, and as readily distinguish- 
 able and recognizable. Why abridge a 
 title, except it be an index or cross-refe- 
 rence title ? Better record it as left by the 
 author. 
 
 What should we say of a portrait-painter 
 who left out an eye, or the nose, or the 
 chin, to save expense or space? These 
 titles should be so well executed as to 
 become at once standard by the universal 
 law of superiority and value, and to pass 
 current like our coins. They should be 
 procurable at small cost, and be so good 
 
 JUDGMENT 
 
 Given ibrih by 
 
 Ctt)entj>€io[Ijt (SttA&crs 
 
 AGAINST 
 
 George Keith, 
 
 And his FRIENDS, 
 
 With Anfaert to tlic faid "^HdgiiHiti, Jeclaring tlioli: 
 Twenty Eight Qiiikers to be ^oCIJJlItlAIIS. 
 
 An itf^pfff/ (for which Tcveral were fmprlfuned.i^c)l)y 
 Ilie raid (?n/sf#»rtAc-to the piatlp^eithlC, ^r/MG!i:- 
 
 WithaFuUACCOUNTofliiclaidlDcjltl? ^tttino, 
 Signed \>y Sevaity Quaiicn. 
 
 L I 
 
 CENSED, 
 
 Dtn. Paptjr. 
 
 as to be adopted as a matter of course by 
 all our public and private libraries, as fast 
 as their present back stock of titles can be 
 adapted or disposed oi. Made in this 
 way lovers of books would probably make 
 portrait-albums of their favourite books in 
 the manner they now do of their friends 
 and companions. 
 
 Bibliography is fast becoming an exact 
 science, and not a whit too soon. It is 
 high time to separate it from mere cata- 
 logue-making. It is becoming a necessity 
 to the scholar, the librarian, and the col- 
 lector (they are all not always identical). 
 Indeed every considerable library should 
 have two distinct catalogues exclusive ot 
 
PHOTO -BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 8i 
 
 its shelf and administrative lists. The one 
 raisonnd or bibliographical, and the other 
 its index, the latter so constructed as to 
 serve all practical purposes in ordinary- 
 cases for a finding, record, and common 
 reference catalogue. There should also 
 be plenty of cross references. Let the 
 one be full and descriptive, the other small, 
 compact, and full of condensed brevity. 
 By full titles with collations and descrip- 
 tions is not meant anything so sprawling, 
 irrelevant, slipshod, and lumpy as the 
 sumptuous works of Dr. Dibdin, Ander 
 Schififahrt, or of others more recently 
 
 VITA 
 
 L E T T E R E 
 AMERIGO VESPVCCI 
 
 CEHTILVOUO FIOBBNTINO 
 
 RACCOLTE E ILLVSTRATE 
 
 O M L V Jt^T£ 
 
 &NGELO MARIA BANDINI. 
 
 riRENZE MOCCXLV. 
 
 KELLA GT.\UPEKIA ALL* IN5EGVL . Dl APOLLO 
 Ce« tKt&iA OB IQtiilOit. 
 
 published, printed with the same stupen- 
 dous nihilities and vacuities ; but tidy, 
 exact, compact, and comprehensive, show- 
 ing in a nutshell all the reader wishes to 
 know or see, short of the books them- 
 selves. 
 
 In all these cases you have a clear view 
 of the mottoes, the vignettes, the dignities 
 or titles, the printers' or pubUshers' names, 
 with specimens of type, and other impor- 
 tant et ceteras usually omitted in ordinary 
 cataloguing, which, it must be admitted, 
 are of immense advantage to the biogra- 
 pher, bibliographer, and student. 
 
 It is not well to put a library into the 
 catalogue, but better to put a catalogue into 
 the library. A cumbersome catalogue, like 
 a big thick-paper dictionary, is a very 
 great nuisance. A description of a rare and 
 
 costly book should tell precisely not only 
 what constitutes a perfect copy, but when 
 applied to an imperfect one should indicate 
 exactly what is wanting, and that in the 
 briefest possible terms, eschewing spacings, 
 broken lines, and all bibliographical quid- 
 dling. These last may be left to booksellers' 
 and auctioneers' catalogues, and to those 
 who have notions to vend and ventilate 
 by catalogues. I have seen a bibliogra- 
 phical work of considerable pretensions, 
 recently published, wherein many of the 
 
 342- 
 NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 Oxford : At the Theater. 1679 
 
 8vo. 
 
 instead of 
 342 New Testament. Oxfd : At the Theater, 1679. 8" 
 
 titles, long enough perhaps to fill a line or 
 line and a-half, are expanded by broken 
 bits, points, and printer's quads, into four or 
 five lines, against all the rules of workman- 
 like printing, thus filling 150 instead of 50 
 pages. Such printing as this cannot be too 
 highly condemned, and such cataloguing 
 can have no pretensions to bibliography, 
 especially as in most cases little informa- 
 tion is given beyond the bare intimation of 
 the existence of a particular edition, with 
 name of the printer, place, date, and size. 
 What every collector and librarian wish 
 particularly to know is omitted. 
 
 NOVVM TE* 
 
 STAMENTVM OMNE LA- 
 
 TJHA VERIIONE, OPPOEITVH AG* 
 
 dilioni uuIfpTl Gut Gmnin icz,ia Qtui 
 ItnUlefonim uulgicuiiL 
 
 ^(oCaii(«ib«ii}uiii> 
 fiU 9tiW rpiu^cn pSflSngtn Crr/fmacd to uHlhi V«H(»> 
 
 
ON CATALOGUING. 
 
 BY JAMES M. ANDERSON, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN, UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, ST. ANDREW'S. 
 
 F the four or five catalogues 
 which are in general to be 
 met with in well-equipped 
 libraries, there are only- 
 two which closely concern 
 the readers, and thus call for very special 
 attention in their compilation. These are 
 the Author and the Subject Catalogues. 
 The one is universally admitted to be an 
 absolute necessity, the other to be highly 
 desirable if not altogether indispensable. 
 In regard to the Author- Catalogue, I have 
 only to remark that I think the best form 
 in which it can be compiled is in accordance 
 with the card system, either on the princi- 
 ple which has reached such perfection in 
 America, or, for collections of moderate 
 extent, after the manner of the Catalogue 
 Bonnange. Next to this form I would place 
 that employed in the University of Leipzig 
 and other Continental libraries, where each 
 author is allowed at least one sheet to him- 
 self, the whole being kept in strictly alpha- 
 betical order in unbound portfolios. A less 
 perfect but in some respects more conve- 
 nient form is that of writing the titles upon 
 separate slips of paper and pasting them 
 into hnen-mounted volumes specially pre- 
 pared for the purpose. I am also of 
 opinion that this catalogue should not as 
 a rule be printed. 
 
 In regard to the Subject-Catalogue, while 
 
 I readily admit its desirability in all libra- 
 ries, and especially in those attached to 
 colleges and other educational institutions, 
 I look upon the difficulties to be encoun- 
 tered in its satisfactory compilation as 
 sufficient to deter any librarian from at- 
 tempting it. I am further of opinion that 
 the time and labour expended in syste- 
 matically classifying and cataloguing the 
 books of a large and miscellaneous library 
 are scarcely warranted by the ultimate 
 benefit to be derived. In those libraries, 
 for instance, which until within the last 
 forty years enjoyed the so-called "privi- 
 lege" of the Copyright Act, and indiscrimi- 
 nately laid hold of everything in the shape 
 of a book that came within their reach, 
 there are thousands of volumes whose in- 
 herent worthlessness is such as to render 
 their appearance in a scientifically con- 
 structed catalogue ridiculous. I refer chiefly 
 to the shoals of polygraphical rubbish which 
 deluged the literary world for the first 
 three or four decades of this century. One 
 of these libraries might make a brilliant 
 display in the departments of Modern 
 Philology and Devotional Theology so 
 far as mere numbers are concerned, and 
 yet both departments might be practically 
 useless. I know that these books have 
 their place and uses in the economy of 
 literature, but they are not such as to en- 
 
CATALOGUING. 
 
 83 
 
 title them to a place in all the catalogues 
 of a library. Again, in few libraries are 
 works in all branches of knowledge in 
 equal demand. At St. Andrew's a hundred 
 books and more are asked for in Classics 
 and Philosophy for one in Law and Medi- 
 cine. But in the compilation of a complete 
 classified catalogue the work must go on 
 in all departments simultaneously. A 
 scheme of classification having been fixed 
 upon, the books are taken down from their 
 shelves, their titles copied and distributed 
 to their places in the catalogue. The 
 classification of useful departments is thus 
 impeded by the less useful, and the whole 
 work rendered extremely slow and labo- 
 rious. If a hbrary is to be classified at all, 
 I think it should be done gradually by 
 single departments in the order of utility. 
 
 Before becoming acquainted with the 
 American systems of cataloguing through 
 the publication of the American Library 
 Report and the " Library Journal," I 
 had been endeavouring to work out a 
 method of Dictionary-Cataloguing some- 
 what similar to that developed in Mr. 
 Cutter's " Rules," but confined to special 
 departments of knowledge. The union 
 of an Author and Subject Catalogue 
 in one continuous alphabet is far too 
 gigantic an undertaking to meet with wide 
 approval. It at least doubles the labours 
 and expense of preparing an Author-Cata- 
 logue, and it introduces Subject-headings 
 which there is really no need for. Within 
 due limits I highly approve of the Dic- 
 tionary-system, and beheve it to be much 
 better adapted for facilitating the ready use 
 of a library than the more common method 
 of perplexing divisions and subdivisions, 
 which, however clear, must still be supple- 
 mented by an index. It is unquestionably 
 better to be able to find all the works relat- 
 ing to Psychology in a library by merely 
 turning to that word in the catalogue, than 
 by first requiring to know that they form a 
 subdivision of the section "Speculative Phi- 
 
 losophy," as in the system of Alexis Olenin ; 
 or that they comprise A A and B B of 00 
 of IV., as in that of Thienemann. 
 
 As a practical illustration of what I con- 
 ceive to be a useful form of Dictionary- 
 Catalogue, I subjoin a rough specimen 
 applied to works in the department of 
 Mental Philosophy.* It consists of thirty- 
 seven main entries, with the corresponding 
 sub -entries where needed. The limits of 
 a note prevent me from entering into 
 details, but I dare say these are hardly 
 necessary, as the specimen, so far as it 
 goes, will be found to be self-explanatory. I 
 would merely remark that among the advan- 
 tages of such a catalogue are the following — 
 
 1. It shows at one view all the works 
 contained in a library by a given author, 
 so far as the department for which it is 
 compiled is concerned. 
 
 2 . It shows at one view all the works on a 
 given subject under the same limitation. 
 
 3. It shows in a work of more than one 
 volume the contents of each, unless the 
 words of the title embrace the whole. 
 
 4. In collections of essays, &c., and in 
 works bearing vague or general titles, it 
 specifies the contents of each volume. 
 
 5. It shows briefly all that a library con- 
 tains about a given author, or his writings, 
 immediately under his own name, without 
 entailing the hunting-up of cross references 
 except for fuller information. 
 
 To these others might be added, but 
 not, I think, without encroaching on the 
 functions of an index, which must be care- 
 fully distinguished from a catalogue. 
 
 The whole drift of this note and accom- 
 panying specimen is to show that all reason- 
 able demands made upon a library by its 
 readers may be easily and readily met by 
 
 1. A complete unprinted Author (and 
 first, or chief word) Catalogue ; and 
 
 2. A series of Departmental Dictionary- 
 Catalogues, printed, reprinted, and sold to 
 the public. 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
ON THE CATALOGUES OF GLASGOW UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY. 
 
 BY ROBERT B. SPEARS, LIBRARIAN OF THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, GLASGOW. 
 
 jN the following paper I 
 propose to give a brief 
 account of the method 
 employed in preparing 
 the catalogues of the 
 library of the University of Glasgow, as it 
 seems to combine many of the advantages, 
 and to be free from the chief disadvantages, 
 pertaining to the printed or manuscript 
 catalogues respectively. 
 
 About ten years ago the Rev. Professor 
 Dickson, curator of the library, obtained 
 the sanction of the Senatus to the prepa- 
 ration on a new plan of a catalogue of the 
 entire library. The unsatisfactory state of 
 the catalogues in use at that time furnished 
 in itself an excellent reason for entering 
 upon such an undertaking; while the ap- 
 proaching removal of the collection to the 
 new University buildings at Gilmorehill, 
 and the necessary re-arrangement of the 
 books in connexion therewith, formed spe- 
 cial grounds for proceeding with it at once. 
 The plan suggested by Dr. Dickson is 
 briefly as follows : — The titles, as will be 
 seen from the specimens (see Appendix) 
 are printed on one side only of a folio sheet, 
 in four columns with suitable margins, and 
 having such intervals between them as to 
 permit the free use of a knife and straight- 
 
 edge for the purpose of separating them. 
 The titles are printed under the names of 
 authors, or under the headings appropriate 
 to an Author-Catalogue, but there is, or 
 need be, no alphabetic arrangement. In the 
 case of books previously shelved, the titles 
 are printed in the order in which the books 
 occur in the shelves ; and, in the case of 
 current accessions, the titles are printed in 
 the order of the accession of the books — 
 the shelf-marks in the one case, and the 
 accession-marks in the other, being printed 
 on the margin of the titles. It may be 
 here explained, in passing, that the titles 
 of works in course of publication received at 
 the library are entered in manuscript, in a 
 " Continuation-Book," a reference in manu- 
 script being made to that book from the 
 Alphabetic Catalogue, which reference 
 occupies the place of the title to be printed 
 when the work is completed. In proceed- 
 ing to incorporate the printed titles in the 
 catalogues, three copies of a sheet are cut 
 up after having had the shelf-marks, when 
 not printed, inserted in manuscript, and 
 the titles contained in each of those sheets 
 are arranged — the first set for the Alphabetic 
 Catalogue, the second set for the Shelf- 
 Catalogue, and the third set for the Classi- 
 fied Catalogue ; after which they are pasted 
 
THE CATALOGUES OF GLASGOW UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. 
 
 85 
 
 into their proper places in the various 
 volumes which go to form those catalogues. 
 In the Alphabetic Catalogue (which is in 
 folio, with two columns to the page) pro- 
 vision is made by leaving spaces between 
 the titles for preserving approxirnately the 
 alphabetic order until the expansion of the 
 library, or the wear arid tear of constant 
 use, shall necessitate the catalogue being 
 made up afresh (for which the plan affords 
 special facilities). When I have added that 
 our system of cataloguing is a modification 
 of Professor Jewett's scheme — that, from 
 the fact that the books are classified in the 
 shelves, the Shelf-Catalogue is very much a 
 Catalogue of Subjects — and that titles which 
 are discovered to be incorrect, or that have 
 become incorrect through the unlooked-for 
 publication of continuations of the works 
 concerned, are replaced by titles correctly 
 printed, with a bracketed (C) under the 
 accession- marks, to indicate that they are 
 cancels, I have, I think, said all that is 
 necessary to let members of the Conference 
 understand the nature of our catalogues, 
 and the manner in which they are com- 
 piled. 
 
 I have, however, been speaking to some 
 extent rather of what will be in course of 
 time, than of what has actually been accom- 
 plished. The Alphabetic Catalogue now 
 in use, for instance, was designed to last 
 for some six or seven years only, by which 
 time it was anticipated that all the titles 
 would be in print, when a better idea could 
 be formed as to how the catalogue should 
 be spaced. The work of printing, however, 
 is not yet completed, and, as a consequence, 
 parts of the temporary catalogue have, 
 through recent accessions, become some- 
 what inconveniently crowded. The titles 
 for the Classified Catalogue also are, as 
 yet, only arranged and " pigeon-holed " 
 preparatory to being pasted into volumes. 
 
 As the printing of the titles (in which 
 Dr. Dickson has continued to take a deep 
 
 personal interest— preparing most of the 
 manuscript for the press, and reading the 
 proofs) was necessarily interrupted for a 
 considerable time by the removal and re- 
 arrangement of the contents of the library, 
 it would not have been surprising if the 
 anticipations formed at the outset as to 
 the accomplishment of the work had not 
 been realized. As a fact, however, the 
 printing was approaching completion at the 
 calculated time, when the accession three 
 years ago of the Euing bequest of some 
 18,000 volumes obliged us to defer any 
 more permanent arrangement for some 
 time longer. Meanwhile, although I am 
 not yet in a position to say that our 
 system has developed all its resources, I 
 think I may venture to affirm that it has 
 been fully tested, and has proved eminently 
 satisfactory. 
 
 I need scarcely refer to the advantages 
 pertaining to our method ; they will, I be- 
 heve, be readily apprehended by all present. 
 I may just say, that, as our catalogue is 
 printed, it may claim for itself the chief ad- 
 vantages of a printed volume — such as 
 clearness and legibility, readiness with 
 which it may be consulted, and economy of 
 space ; and, as the titles are dealt with 
 separately, it may claim for itself all the 
 advantages of the usual written catalogue — 
 such as completeness, ' and the ease with 
 which wrong titles may be cancelled, and in- 
 jured or worn-out titles replaced. It should 
 be observed, further, that our system admits 
 of the preparation of an indefinite number 
 of different kinds of catalogue, such as. 
 Alphabetic Catalogue, Shelf-Catalogue, 
 Classified Catalogue, Catalogues of Spe- 
 cial Collections, and these either in the 
 form of volumes or as Card Catalogues ; 
 in fact, it offers facilities for the realization 
 to a great extent of the views expressed 
 by the late Mr. Watts in his article on 
 " Libraries " as to the feasibility of multi- 
 plying the forms of catalogue. 
 
NOTES ON CATALOGUING. 
 
 BY CORNELIUS WALFORD. 
 
 (I) 
 
 )ATALOGUES for Pri- 
 vate Reference. — Which is 
 the best method of mak- 
 ing one ? I describe 
 my own plan, which has 
 worked well. The first thing on receiv- 
 ing a book, pamphlet, prospectus, deed of 
 settlement, private act of parliament, or 
 any thing worth preserving — and what 
 printed document is not? — is to enter 
 upon a card (4T-in. by 3-in.) such parti- 
 culars as I have, in a paper upon "A 
 New General Catalogue of English Litera- 
 ture" (see pp. 101-3), suggested for the 
 slips, but not in such detail, and the 
 title not in full. These cards are placed 
 under chronological arrangement, and 
 kept so. They make my chronology 
 of insurance-literature a growing one. 
 From these cards periodically I enter up 
 my combined Alphabetical and Subject 
 Catalogue, carefully marking the card 
 that it is so entered. I also usually, in 
 writing the card, indicate on its face 
 (top corner, right hand) the initials of 
 the subjects or heads under which the 
 work it refers to should be entered. 
 This adds much to completeness. For 
 each special subject — and I have several 
 
 — I use cards either of different size or 
 colour. 
 
 In writing on special subjects it is also 
 useful to prepare cards of books, &c., upon 
 them which you have not got For these, 
 use a different colour, but same size. Then 
 you have the entire. literature of the subject 
 before you. When you obtain the work, 
 you substitute a card of the ordinary 
 colour for the special card, which is then 
 thrown out 
 
 ( 2 .) Chronological Arrangement of Cata- 
 logues, &'c. — I have in other notes dwelt 
 upon the importance of chronological ar- 
 rangement in regard to books and publica- 
 tions, and, indeed, in all that is worth 
 preserving. I hope it will be found to 
 commend itself to practical minds without 
 need of argument, or that if a better 
 method be in practice we may have it 
 before us. Take any special subject — say 
 the National Food Supplies. Turn to 
 your cards. Select those upon this subject ; 
 throw them out so that they fall in se- 
 quence. If you have anything like a com- 
 plete collection of works upon it, the great 
 epochs in its history — the Famines, the 
 Corn-Law agitation — ^will proclaim them- 
 selves by the simple rule of proportion; 
 
NOTES ON CATALOGUING. 
 
 87 
 
 you have a comprehensive outline of the 
 development of your subject before you. 
 You see the names of those who have pre- 
 ceded you. You seem to gain a me- 
 chanical grasp of the question, and of 
 the vastness, or otherwise, of its pro- 
 portions. 
 
 I ought to say, as a necessary explana- 
 tion, that the subjects of my investigation 
 are mostly historical and statistical ; or, 
 more correctly, that my mode of dealing 
 with them assumes these forms, and hence 
 the reasons for the detailed treatment here 
 indicated. 
 
ON AN " EVITANDUM " IN INDEX-MAKING, PRINCIPALLY 
 
 MET WITH IN FRENCH AND GERMAN PERIODICAL 
 
 SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 
 
 BY BENJAMIN R. WHEATLEY, RESIDENT LIBRARIAN OF THE ROYAL MEDICAL AND 
 CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 
 
 Though in no wise wish- 
 ing to obtain the noto- 
 riety of lago in being 
 "nothing if not critical," 
 the exigency of my sub- 
 ject, which compels me to address myself 
 to one point alone of supposed error, 
 without any power of balancing compen- 
 satory good and evil — excess against defect 
 — obliges me to assume the unenviable 
 character of censor alone. 
 
 I wish to point out an error in indexing 
 which does not seem to me to have had 
 sufficient attention drawn to it, and it 
 would gratify me much if these few words 
 should assist in so gaining that attention 
 as gradually to lead those who are in- 
 terested in the composition of the indexes 
 to which I am about to refer to substitute 
 a more useful form. I do not complain 
 of the want of indexes— of the large 
 number of works in which we have to be 
 contented with a Table of Contents only — 
 the " Inhaltsverzeichniss " of the Germans, 
 the " Table des Matiferes " of the French. 
 I refer to the use of the names of authors 
 and persons in indexes without details of 
 
 the reason or cause of the reference. It 
 is a disease which has long had a sporadic 
 character, cropping up at intervals and in 
 divers places where classified catalogues 
 have appeared, with indexes of authors' 
 names; but which has more recently 
 become epidemic, or rather endemic, in 
 countries where the growth of scientific 
 periodical literature has been rapidly in- 
 creasing ; it is found in the " Namen 
 Register " of the Germans, and the " Table 
 des Auteurs " of the French. It has not 
 been adopted to any extent in England, 
 but this may in some measure be accounted 
 for by the fact of our not having much 
 system, either for good or for evil, in these 
 matters. 
 
 In Germany we have the " Sach Regis- 
 ter " and the " Namen Register ; '' the 
 former is usually correct and full of details, 
 but the latter consists of the surnames of 
 authors, and the initials of their Christian 
 names, and of these alone. I believe this 
 to be the case in a large number of foreign 
 scientific journals and other works, but I 
 shall here confine myself to the class of 
 literature in which I am more particularly 
 
ON AN "EVITANDUAf" IN INDEX - MAKING. 
 
 89 
 
 interested, giving the following as a list 
 of the principal medical and physiological 
 journals which have adopted the system : — 
 
 In German — 
 
 Canstatt und Virchow, Jahresbericht der Gesam- 
 
 mten Medicin. 
 Schmidt's Jahrbiicher. 
 Graevell's Notizen. 
 Jahresberichte der Anatomie. 
 Jahresbericht der Thierischen Chemie. 
 Jahresbericht fUr Ophthalmologic. 
 Archiv fiir Anatomie, von Reichert. 
 Archiv fur Pathologische Anatomie, von Virchow. 
 Archiv fur Klinische Chirurgie, von Langenbeck. 
 Centralblatt fiir Medicinischen Wissenschaften. 
 Centralblatt fur Chirurgie. 
 Medicinische Chirurgische Rundschau. 
 Berliner Klinisoher Wochenschrift. 
 Wiener Medicinischer Wochenschrift. 
 Deutsche Klinik. 
 
 Allgemeine Wiener Medicinische Zeitung, 
 &c. 
 
 In French — 
 Annales d'Oculistique. 
 Revue des Sciences Medicales. 
 Gazette des H&pitaux. 
 Gazette Medicale. 
 
 Bulletin de 1' Academic de Medecine. 
 Bulletin de la Societe Anatomique. 
 Bulletin de la Societe d' Anthropologic, 
 &c. 
 
 It is difficult to understand what is the 
 particular use of this special mode of 
 indexing, and what object is sought to be 
 attained by it. Should the consulter wish 
 to see if an author has written on a certain 
 subject, or if his known work on that subject 
 has been criticized, his object would be 
 easier attained by the addition of the 
 author's name in brackets to the reference 
 in the Subject-Index. But I will come to 
 the real point at issue : If the case referred 
 to a single entry or reference in each 
 instance, the omission' of any information 
 beyond the name would argue an idle and 
 perfunctory mode of work on the part of 
 the index -maker, with little or no saving 
 of type, as probably sufficient information 
 could be added in the spaces of the lines 
 left vacant in this mode of compilation. 
 But under some of these names it is not 
 
 at all an uncommon fact to meet with as 
 many as from five to thirty paginal refe- 
 rences. Supposing you require to know, in 
 one of the German " Jahrbiicher," whether 
 a certain paper, of which the exact title is 
 unknown to you, by a certain author whose 
 name is known to you, has been analysed 
 or criticized? You look to the author's 
 name, and you find five-and-twenty entries 
 of pages where works of his are noticed, 
 but beyond his name there is an entire 
 blank in the entry, and, if you have the 
 courage to attempt to pursue your inquiry, 
 you will probably have to wade through 
 nearly the whole of these references in suc- 
 cession before you arrive at the one you 
 are seeking for. If I may speak in the 
 interest of students of science, so often 
 diligent index-seekers after knowledge, I 
 must say that nothing can be more vexing 
 and wearying. This trouble might be easily 
 avoided by the entry of one or two special 
 or prominent words of the subject of the 
 title after the name in each entry ; for the 
 slightest clue will often be sufficient, when 
 the character of the work sought for is in 
 some measure, though indefinitely, known 
 to the seeker. 
 
 There are objections, I think, indepen- 
 dent of the above criticism, to two dis- 
 tinct indexes, one of Authors and one of 
 Subjects. I am inclined to consider them 
 as a kind of snare, for I have often seen 
 that, when an unavailing reference has 
 been made to one index, the book has 
 been closed without a suspicion that an- 
 other one lay near perdu by its side for 
 additional consultation ; and this the more 
 frequently happens when the Subject-Index 
 contains many names of persons in the 
 position of subjects, having all the appear- 
 ance, to the casual consulter, of the names 
 of authors; and so the existence of an 
 additional Index of Authors never even 
 enters the mind. 
 
 In an index embracing both authors and 
 subjects, the authors' names should be fol- 
 
 N 
 
go 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 lowed by their subjects in as short a form 
 as possible, and to the subjects, when 
 those of works, the authors' names should 
 be added, enclosed in brackets. I be- 
 lieve, from the amount of white waste 
 of space frequently found in these " name " 
 indexes, and paid for in the printer's bill 
 at the same rate as the printed matter, 
 that there would be comparatively small 
 increase in expense ; and, as what is worth 
 doing at all is worth doing well, and it is 
 better to have a more expensive system 
 of lighting for a good performance than to 
 have " un jeu qui ne vaut pas meme la 
 chandelle," I hope some steps may yet be 
 taken to neutralize or correct this evil. An 
 index should specially have for its object 
 the saving of time, and it is preposterous 
 that a form or plan should be adopted 
 which in very many instances produces an 
 exactly contrary effect; in which, in fact, 
 the index-maker, in order to save a few 
 hours of his own time, has necessitated the 
 loss of many hours to each one of the nu- 
 merous body of studious consulters of it. 
 
 I will refer especially to two biblio- 
 graphical works to which indexes of the 
 same nature are appended. 
 
 The first is the valuable " Bulletino di 
 Bibliografia e di Storia delle Scienze 
 Matematiche^ e Fisiche," a monthly journal 
 published at Rome, which is compiled 
 upon the most elaborate system of biblio- 
 graphical detail possible ; for every book 
 referred to has its full title given with 
 perpendicular parallel marks to show the 
 actual arrangement of the words upon the 
 title-page; and, however often the book 
 may be again referred to, the same process 
 is repeated. The editor spares no trouble 
 to make his references accurate, and is 
 never satisfied with taking any fact at 
 second hand ; and the journal is probably 
 one of the most complete instances of full 
 and elaborate description of books as to 
 title and contents which the hterature of 
 any country possesses. 
 
 If this is a fault, it is certainly on the 
 right side ; but why, when the compiler is 
 thus scrupulous to excess, does he fail to 
 give us a full and competent index to this 
 elaborate work? This jewel-casket of 
 bibliographical treasure, why has it not an 
 elaborately warded key which would un- 
 lock it on the instant with a single turn ? 
 Why does he give us a wardless index- 
 key, which makes his work, like an 
 ordinary EngHsh eight-day clock, require 
 some thirty windings to set in motion 
 its contents before our minds ? 
 
 In searching the index of the last 
 volume, that of Volume IX., for 1876, I 
 find the following names, with the number 
 of paginal references which I have below 
 attached to them without one further word 
 of explanation or meaning : — 
 
 Reimer 28 
 
 Michael Chasles ... 29 
 
 Wm. Crookes 30 
 
 S. Giinther 31 
 
 Paolo Mansion 32 
 
 Arthur Cayley 32 
 
 Secchi 34 
 
 Maurizio Cantor ... 39 
 
 Boncompagni 46 
 
 Mallet-Bachelier ... 48 
 
 Poggendorff 51 
 
 Teubner 61 
 
 Gauthier Villars ... 67 
 
 The Other work, relative to which I 
 must say a few words, is one of an allied 
 character, so far as it possesses indexes 
 with a meaningless aixangement of the 
 names of persons only. I allude to the 
 well-known, useful, and elaborate biblio- 
 graphical work, the " Critical Dictionary, 
 of English Literature," of which the first 
 volume appeared in 1859 and the third 
 and last in 187 1, and it is to this point 
 of its index only that my remarks refer. 
 I wish to pay my full tribute of praise and 
 thanks for the enormous labour in the 
 work itself, which has been of such value 
 to us all. 
 
 The author in his title-pages used the 
 words "with Forty Indexes of Subjects," 
 and stated that they were to appear in his 
 last volume. I recollect that the delight- 
 ful prospect of an elaborate collection of 
 forty indexes created in me feelings of no 
 ordinary warmth and gratification, and I 
 
O.V AN "EVITANDUM" IN INDEX-MA KING. 
 
 can hardly describe my disappointment 
 when I had them actually in my posses- 
 sion and began to consult them. 
 
 These indexes are comprised in 226 
 pages, and, according to a statement at 
 the end, contain above 75,000 names — 
 nomina et praeterea nihil. The author, in 
 the preface to his first volume, speaks of 
 this as the second division of his work, 
 and as a copious Index of Subjects, so that 
 the inquirer can find at a glance all the 
 authors of any note in the language under 
 the subject or subjects upon which they 
 have written ; and then congratulates the 
 clergyman, the lawyer, the doctor of medi- 
 cine, the agriculturist, and the mechanic 
 on the ability of thus learning the best 
 works in their calling, and the best guides 
 to their professional duties ; and at the 
 end adds, "that the reader will find in 
 these forty copious indexes of subjects 
 means by which he can at once refer to 
 all the authors who have written upon any 
 given department of letters." 
 
 With so elaborate and useful a work as 
 the Dictionary, compiled during so many 
 years of assiduous and devoted literary 
 labour, I am at a loss to conceive how 
 the intellect which achieved it could re- 
 main content with such a lame and im- 
 potent conclusion as these indexes (which, 
 I must suppose, the author of the Dic- 
 tionary had compiled for him by some 
 incompetent person) must be considered 
 to be ; at least, on the special point of 
 enabling us to refer to all the authors who 
 have written tipon subjects in any given 
 department of letters. Let us analyse what 
 these words actually mean as developed 
 in these indexes. We will take the list of 
 Biography and Correspondence : it con- 
 tains 4,600 names, in 53 columns, and 
 what you learn from it is, that there are 
 this large number of names in biographical 
 literature. But cuibono 2 Here was a special 
 opportunity for usefulness. Biographies are 
 entered in the Dictionary under their au- 
 
 thors (autobiographies appearing, of course, 
 under subject and author at the same time), 
 and if this index had been one of the sub- 
 jects of biographies, referring to the authors' 
 names in the Dictionary, it would have 
 been invaluable and very useful ; but these 
 4,600 names have no such value, they are 
 merelya dry repetition of thenames already 
 occurring in, and here selected from the 
 index ; and the subjects of biographies, the 
 one only point on which the index would 
 have been of value, are not there. Take 
 a few instances. Lockhart's name, we must 
 suppose, stands for his "Life of Scott," 
 the entry of Scott for his " Life of Napo- 
 leon," the last name not appearing once 
 either in Dictionary or index, and so with 
 the rest. The names are really a hetero-, 
 geneous list, with every possible kind of 
 varying meaning attached to them. Let 
 me give the following as a few illustrations 
 —viz., the names and the works they stand 
 for:— 
 
 Amory — Life of John Buncle. 
 
 Ascham (Rog. ) — Life. 
 
 Ballard (G.) — Memoirs of Ladies. 
 
 Boethius — Vitae Episcoporum. 
 
 Bogue — History of the Dissenters. 
 
 Bouvet — Life of the Emperor Cang-Hi. 
 
 Bowles — Letters from a Portuguese Nun. 
 
 Bozun — Lives of English Saints. 
 
 Brainerd — Life among the Indians. 
 
 Bramble — Royal Brides. 
 
 Bray — Memoirs of Evelyn. 
 
 Bromley — Catalogue of English Portraits. 
 
 Brovpn (Capt. Tho.) — Biographical Sketches of 
 
 Dogs. 
 Cumberland — Anecdotes of Spanish Painters. 
 
 What must be the nature of any course 
 of study which would render a list of 5,000 
 names of such composite material of any 
 possible practical use ? 
 
 An index of Topography should surely 
 have been one of the names of places, re- 
 ferring to the authors in the general Dic- 
 tionary ; this one is merely a selected re- 
 enumeration of the authors already in the 
 Dictionary, without a word as to the nature 
 of the works referred to. 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 A few of the more special headings, such 
 as Agriculture, Astronomy, Botanj', and the 
 other sciences may not be quite so amen- 
 able to the above fault-finding, and the 
 classes of literature, such as Drama, Essay- 
 ists, Fiction, Poetry, &c., still less so — 
 though even these would have borne a 
 valuable sub-classification and arrange- 
 ment, as there is little homogeneity in 
 the character of some of the works placed 
 together ; but as to the headings, or indexes 
 of Antiquities, Divinity, History, Medi- 
 cine, Politics, &c., they are, I am afraid, 
 of a perfectly useless character for re- 
 ference. 
 
 What, however, shall we say of the sub- 
 indexes, which really have no existence 
 whatever txct'^tm. the list of their titles at 
 the commencement? Take, for instance, 
 the first — Alchemy — which refers you to 
 Class or Index 8, which is Chemistry. 
 How much nearer are you to Alchemy ? — 
 it is a more secret science in the index 
 than it was in the middle ages — you have 
 500 names under Chemistry, and you 
 must look out the whole of them before 
 you find the philosopher's stone which 
 lies hid in this five-century crucible of 
 mixed ingredients. 
 
 Again, for Algebra you are to look to 
 Mathematics : 1,100 names to be searched 
 through for works on the former — a labour 
 which will be rather plus than minus to be 
 equal to their discovery. 
 
 For Fishes we are to see Natural His- 
 tory : 1,040 names among which to cast 
 our nets, and to find some deep-sea fish- 
 ing necessary for their capture. 
 
 For works on Rhymes we are referred 
 to the index of Poetry : 5,000 names to 
 look through for perhaps twenty works on 
 rhymes, and with no magic music of our 
 childhood to tell us when we are growing 
 warm. 
 
 For Surgery we are to see Medicine : 
 3,800 names. By what quick and masterly 
 operation shall we, like a Fergusson or a 
 Paget, dissect the one from the other ? 
 
 You are referred to the " Morals and 
 Manners" index for such varied subjects 
 as Apparitions, Divorce, Marriage, Duel- 
 ling, Freemasonry, Mormonism, Mytho- 
 logy, Spiritualism, and Witchcraft. There 
 are 1,365 names in this index, and how are 
 you to discover which belong to any of 
 the above subjects without wading through 
 the whole ? It is, in fact, an entire system 
 of indexing backwards from particulars to 
 generals instead of from generals to parti- 
 culars. It is something like writing on a 
 sign-post on the road to Bath, " To Somer- 
 setshire,'' and if in one phrase I were to 
 add a characteristic entry to these sub- 
 indexes, or to give one form of reference 
 which should be typical of this style of 
 index, I should say — Needle, see Bottle of 
 Hay. You find the bottle of hay — but 
 where is the needle ? 
 
REMARKS ON RULES FOR AN ALPHABETICAL 
 CATALOGUE. 
 
 BY JON A. HJALTALIN, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN, ADVOCATES' LIBRARY, EDINBURGH. 
 
 ' HE name Alphabetical 
 Catalogue implies that 
 in it all the books of a 
 certain library will be 
 found by the names of 
 their authors alphabetically arranged ; also 
 all the books published without a speci- 
 fied author or authors, by the first or 
 leading words of their titles, or by the 
 name of their subjects, also arranged al- 
 phabetically. It is also understood that 
 these two divisions, the books pubUshed 
 with an author's name and anonymous 
 publications, do not form different parts 
 of the catalogue, but are intermixed, just 
 as in dictionaries the words are not 
 grouped together-according to their affini- 
 ties, but inserted in different parts of the 
 dictionary, according to their alphabetical 
 order. This is the most generally recog- 
 nized form of catalogues at present. The 
 closer the catalogue follows its pattern, 
 the alphabetical dictionary, the easier it is 
 thought to be for reference, and conse- 
 quently the more valuable for the general 
 student. The Alphabetical Catalogue will 
 therefore be an Author- Catalogue. It will 
 also be, as far as anonymous publications 
 are concerned, a Tide-Catalogue, a Sub- 
 ject-Catalogue, a Form-Catalogue, and a 
 
 Classed Catalogue; that is, there will be 
 found in it entries or headings answering 
 to these descriptions. 
 
 It is not the purpose here to give ex- 
 haustive rules 'for the preparation of such 
 a catalogue. It has been done far better 
 and much more thoroughly than I could 
 hope to do, and most catalogue-makers 
 are fully acquainted with these rules. 
 
 So long as the catalogue-maker has to 
 deal with books in which the author's 
 name appears, his work is tolerably easy, 
 even if the name of the author appears 
 under different forms, owing to its being 
 translated or transmuted into a different 
 language from its original, to difference 
 in spellings of the same name, or to its 
 being composed of several parts, such as 
 prepositions and articles preceding the 
 real name. For all these cases there are 
 clearly defined and easily understood 
 rules. I only wish to make a remark with 
 respect to authors who have changed their 
 names during the course of their publica- 
 tions. By some librarians they are entered 
 under the first form of their names, by 
 others under the last. If such authors 
 are living at the time of the making of the 
 catalogue, the first form seems to me pre- 
 ferable, as in that case there is possibility 
 
94 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 of further change. Where the author is 
 already dead the last form of his name 
 seems preferable. The same rule would 
 apply to authoresses who write under their 
 maiden name and afterwards under their 
 married name. In their case there is still 
 greater possibility of change than in that 
 of the authors, so long as the authoress is 
 alive. The first form is therefore prefer- 
 able in their case. When they are dead, 
 the last name by which they were known 
 seems preferable. Both in these cases 
 and in all others, when there are any 
 varieties in the names of authors, such va- 
 rieties should be indicated by cross refe- 
 rences, so as to enable the consulter of the 
 catalogue to find the real entry, by what- 
 ever variety of name the author is known 
 to him. A catalogue-maker can hardly 
 ever be too liberal with his cross refe- 
 rences. Even if he has been injudicious 
 in the selection of the form of the name 
 for the heading or principal entry, the 
 cross references will lead the reader to 
 what he wants. In any case where there 
 can be the least reason to think that the 
 name may be looked for under a diffe- 
 rent form, a cross reference should be 
 made. 
 
 In cases of joint authorship, of com- 
 mentators, of editors, and of translators, 
 it is the common practice always to make 
 a cross reference in the first case, and 
 usually also in the second. In cases of 
 editors and translators, cross references 
 are not considered absolutely necessary, 
 and are therefore in most cases omitted. 
 If anonymous works, such as the publi- 
 cations of many of the clubs and other 
 learned societies, are entered under the 
 names of their editors, a cross reference 
 at least should be made from the titles or 
 the subjects of such books. In many 
 cases the translator of a work is better 
 known than its author, and the book is 
 asked for under his name. In such cases 
 cross references are necessaiy. 
 
 The objection to cross references is that 
 they take up so much time in making, 
 and increase the size and expense of the 
 catalogue in an alarming degree. The first 
 objection does not seem of much impor- 
 tance. Cross references do not take long 
 in making. The latter objection can be 
 serious. I think, however, that the benefit 
 to the consulter of the catalogue should 
 outweigh even this objection. 
 
 We may say that the real troubles of 
 the catalogue-maker begin when he comes 
 to books which are without a specified 
 author's name, whether they are the pro- 
 ductions of governments, parliaments, as- 
 semblies, corporate bodies, societies, or 
 whether they are strictly anonymous. 
 
 It has been proposed by some librarians 
 that all works published without a specified 
 author's name should invariably be entered 
 under the first substantive of the title. I 
 have not seen any catalogue where this 
 rule has been strictly carried out. But one 
 can easily see how impracticable such a 
 rule would become under such headings 
 as : Account, Essay, History, Sennon, Tra- 
 vels, Treatise, &c. Considering the help 
 and ease for reference the catalogue should 
 give to the greatest number of the frequen- 
 ters of a library, the best rule seems to be 
 to specialize the headings as much as pos- 
 sible, and to enter every book under its 
 most specific title. If this can be done by 
 using the first substantive as a heading, 
 well and good. If not, another word must 
 be used. 
 
 In every case where a book has a real 
 name, as is the case with a great many 
 anonymous works of fiction, e.g., "Aubrey," 
 " Waverley," " Mordaunt Hall," &c., such 
 name should be used as a heading. 
 
 If the book has no such name, but the 
 title contains a personal name, showing 
 that the book, whether biographical or 
 not, treats of a certain person, it should 
 be entered under the name of such person, 
 with an asterisk prefixed to it, e. g, " The 
 
ON RULES FOR AN ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 
 
 95 
 
 Life and Birth of Benjamin Hoadly," " Re- 
 marks on Professor Pusey's Sermon." 
 
 If there is a local name in the title, in- 
 dicating that it treats of that locality, or 
 is written with a special reference to it, 
 the local name should be used as a head- 
 ing, e.g., "A Handbook to Brighton," 
 "An Account of Popular Education in 
 Scotland." 
 
 According to this rule, works connected 
 with governments, parliaments, &c., should 
 be entered under the name of the locality 
 with which they are connected. Thus, 
 works connected with the Pariiament of 
 England should be entered under England, 
 and not under Parliament. The other 
 plan might be to enter all works connected 
 with Parliaments under Parliament, and 
 subdivide the entries according to localities. 
 The former plan is, however, preferable, 
 as there should be as few class or form 
 headings as possible in an alphabetical 
 catalogue. In the case in question there 
 should be reserved for the heading Parlia- 
 ment only such works as concern parlia- 
 ments in general, and are not confined to 
 any definite locality. 
 
 This rule applies equally well to a large 
 number of works beside those already 
 mentioned, such as, almanacs, calendars, 
 directories, handbooks for travellers, &c. 
 All these should be entered under the 
 name of the institution, or the locality, 
 with which they are connected. It is 
 the practice of some catalogue-makers to 
 group several of these classes together — 
 e.g., all the almanacs under one heading, 
 all the directories under another, &c., to 
 arrange them alphabetically, and then to 
 give cross references from the localities. 
 This seems to be a waste of space ; as, if 
 they are at once entered under their locali- 
 ties, or most specific headings, no cross 
 references seem to be needed. The only 
 advantage of grouping them together is 
 that it enables one to see at a glance how 
 many almanacs or how many directories 
 
 there are in the library. But the calendar 
 of such and such a university, or the direc- 
 tory of such and such a town, is much 
 more frequently asked for than the question 
 is put, how many such books there are in 
 the library. 
 
 In the same manner, laws, or codes of 
 laws, should be entered under the names 
 of the countries to which they belong, 
 except in cases where the code goes by 
 the name of a certain person, as " Codex 
 Justiniani ;" in such cases they should be 
 entered under such names. 
 
 Under some headings of these local 
 entries, if I may be allowed to call them 
 so, there will be a large number of entries, 
 as under England, Scotland, Edinburgh, 
 London, &c. In these cases it will be 
 absolutely necessary to arrange them under 
 sub -headings. 
 
 Grammars and dictionaries should be 
 entered under the name of the respective 
 languages of which they treat. 
 
 Such entries as, catechism, confession, creed, 
 liturgies, &c., should be entered under the 
 names of the respective denominations to 
 which they belong, e.g., the liturgy of the 
 Church of England under: England, 
 Church. Exception may be made when 
 a common title belongs specially to a cer- 
 tain book, e.g., the Book of Common 
 Prayer, or Prayer Book. 
 
 Works or publications of learned so- 
 cieties should not be entered according to 
 localities, but under the names of the 
 societies, unless the local name forms a 
 primary part of the name, e.g., Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne Society of Antiquaries ; but the 
 Royal Society of London should be entered 
 under Royal Society. 
 
 When a work has not a special title, 
 nor a personal name, nor a local name by 
 which it may be entered, the difficulty is 
 considerably increased, as there may be 
 several words in the title under which one 
 would be inclined to enter the work. In 
 such cases it should be entered under its 
 
96 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 most specific subject; e.g., "A Treatise 
 on the Diseases of the Brain," should be 
 entered under Brain, but not under 
 Treatise or Disease. 
 
 When we have selected from the anony- 
 mous books such as can be entered ac- 
 cording to the rules already spoken of, 
 many will remain which do not come under 
 any such specification, and must be put 
 under class-headings, form-headings, or 
 subject-headings, either because they are 
 of too general a character to be specified, 
 or contain a number of special subjects, 
 e.g., Theology, Poetry, Entomology, &c. 
 
 In selecting a word for a heading, a 
 word or words actually occurring in the 
 title should be chosen ; and in no case 
 should this rule be departed from, unless 
 the rule lead to a manifest absurdity. 
 With respect to the inviolability of titles, 
 and headings selected from them, it would 
 be better to place two books on the same 
 
 subject in different parts of the catalogue 
 than to place one of them under aheading 
 which does not occur in the title ; e. g., 
 Antiquities and Archaeology should be put 
 under different headings. 
 
 In cases of anonymous headings cross 
 references are still more necessary than in 
 the author-headings, and should be used 
 unsparingly. 
 
 An Alphabetical Catalogue would not 
 be complete without an index to the works 
 entered under authors' names. Such an 
 index might be arranged on the same 
 principle as that already applied to the 
 anonymous works. Another plan might 
 be, an alphabetico-specified catalogue by 
 means of cross references, as has been 
 done in the printed catalogue of the 
 Advocates' Library with regard to bio- 
 graphies. Thus, if under the " heading 
 London, cross references are made from 
 all the authors who have written on it. 
 
ON THE ALPHABETICAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE TITLES 
 OF ANONYMOUS BOOKS. 
 
 BY HENRY B. ^VHEATLEY, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN, ROYAL SOCIETY, LONDON. 
 
 INONYMOUS books are 
 the pariahs of literature ; 
 and one of the chief diffi- 
 culties that the cataloguer 
 has to contend with is 
 caused by the attempt to form workable 
 rules for their arrangement. This, of course, 
 is not the case in respect of class catalogues, 
 where the titles of all books rank equally, 
 but I have here only to deal with the or- 
 dinary alphabetical catalogue. 
 
 It is necessary, in the first place, to agree 
 upon the definition of an anonymous book. 
 Barbier, who published the first edition 
 of his useful " Dictionnaire des Ouvrages 
 Anonymes et Pseudonymes '' in 1806, 
 gives the following : — " On appelle ou- 
 vrage anonyme celui sur le firontispice du- 
 quel I'auteur n'est pas nommd." 
 
 Mr. Cutter, in his " Rules for a Printed 
 Dictionary Catalogue " (" Report on Public 
 Libraries in theUnited States,"Part2),gives 
 the same definition. He says : " Strictly, a 
 book is not anonymous if the author's 
 name appears anywhere in it, but it is 
 safest to treat it as anonymous if the au- 
 thor's name does not appear in the title." 
 
 Barbier, however, in his second edition 
 (1822) was forced by the magnitude of his 
 materials to adopt a more rigid rule. 
 
 The best definition of an anonymous 
 work would probably take something of 
 this form : — A book printed without the 
 author's name, either on the title or in 
 the preliminaiy matter. 
 
 According to the British Museum rule, 
 a book which has been published with- 
 out the author's name always remains 
 anonymous, even after the author is well 
 known and the book has been republished 
 with the name on the title-page. By this 
 means you have the same book in two 
 places ; for instance, the anonymous edi- 
 tions of " Waverley " are catalogued under 
 Waverley, and the others under Scott. 
 For a bibliography, the only safe rule is 
 to treat a book once anonymous as 
 always so, but for cataloguing purposes 
 it surely ceases to be anonymous when 
 the authoi-'s name is known. We ought 
 never to lose sight of the main object 
 of a catalogue, which is to help the 
 consulter, and not to present him with a 
 series of bibliographical riddles. If we 
 settle that for catalogues all anonymous 
 works shall be entered under the authors' 
 names when known, the question has still 
 to be answered, what is to be done with 
 those that remain unknown ? Some cata- 
 loguers have objected to the insertion of 
 
 o 
 
98 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 subject-headings in the same alphabet 
 with authors' names, and in the old cata- 
 logue of the Royal Society library the 
 plan was adopted of placing all anony- 
 mous titles under the useless heading 
 oi Anonymous. Mr. Cutter writes: "A 
 catalogue of authors alone finds the entry 
 of its anonymous books a source of incon- 
 gruity ; " but this view appears to me to be 
 grounded upon a misapprehension of the 
 capabilities of the alphabetical arrange- 
 ment, which is opposed to classification ; 
 and all words, whether proper names or 
 not, find their appropriate place together 
 in the same alphabet. 
 
 The British Museum rule 38 directs 
 that in the case of all anonymous books 
 not arranged under proper names, accord- 
 ing to previous rules, the first substantive 
 in the title (or, if there be no substantive, 
 the first word) shall be selected for the 
 heading. " A substantive adjectively used 
 to be taken in conjunction with its follow- 
 ing substantive as forming one word." By 
 rule 34 names of places are selected as 
 headings. 
 
 The great objection to this last rule is 
 that an important word in a title may 
 throw very little light upon the subject of 
 the book ; for instance, in accordance 
 with this rule, the sporting novel entitled, 
 " Ask Mamma ; or, the Richest Commoner 
 in England," has been catalogued at the 
 Museum under the head of England. 
 
 Mr. Cutter's rule is : " Make a first-word 
 entry for all anonymous works except 
 anonymous biographies, which are to be 
 entered under the name of the subject of 
 the life." When this rule is appHed, the 
 majority of books will be placed under 
 headings for which no one is likely to 
 seek, so that many cross references will be 
 necessary ; for instance, a " True and exact 
 account of the Scarlet Gowns " is entered 
 under True, which we may safely say would 
 be the last word looked for. It is these 
 redundant words of a title-page that are 
 
 pretty sure to escape the memory. All 
 the rules that I have seen relating to 
 anonymous books appear to me to be 
 based upon a fundamental confusion of 
 the essential differences between a cata- 
 logue and a bibliography. When Barbier 
 compiled his valuable work he adopted the 
 simple plan of arranging each title under 
 the first word not an article, which works 
 admirably, because the consulter has the 
 book whose author he seeks in his hand. 
 In the case of a catalogue it is quite diffe- 
 rent, for the consulter has not the book 
 before him, and wishes to find it from the 
 leading idea of the title, which is probably 
 all he remembers. 
 
 The rule I would propose, is to take as 
 a heading the word which best explains 
 the object of the author in whatever part 
 of the title it may be. The objection that 
 may be raised to this is, that it is not 
 rigid enough; but the cataloguer should 
 be allowed a certain latitude, and it is well 
 that the maker of the catalogue should try 
 to place himself in the position of the user 
 of it in these cases. 
 
 Pseudonymous books offer difficulties 
 of their own, but they are fairly met by 
 Mr. Cutter's rule — "Enter pseudonymous 
 works under the author's real name, when 
 it is known, with a reference from the 
 pseudonym." It is not easy, however, to 
 decide between the real name and the 
 pseudonym in such cases as George Sand, 
 and George Eliot ; because to place these 
 authors under Dudevant and Lewes, is to 
 change the known for the unknown. Ac- 
 cording both to the British Museum rules 
 and those of Mr. Cutter, books pubUshed 
 with initials as substitutes for the author's 
 name are to be entered under the initials ; 
 but I think this adds to the difficulty of 
 finding the entries, because initials do not 
 linger in the memory of the consulter : as 
 these books are really anonymous, they 
 should be treated as such. 
 
 In the foregoing note I have ventured 
 
TITLES OF ANONYMOUS BOOKS. 
 
 99 
 
 to differ from high authorities on catalo- 
 guing, and I do so with diffidence ; but 
 having paid particular attention to English 
 anonymous books for many years, I feel 
 strongly that a mistake has been made in 
 taking as a model the plan of Barbier, 
 which is admirable for the purpose de- 
 signed by him, but which is out of place 
 
 in a catalogue. I can speak from bitter 
 experience of the great difficulty there is in 
 finding anonymous books in the British 
 Museum catalogue, and I think that all 
 will allow that it is well to adopt some 
 system by which a large class of books 
 may be made more available than they are 
 at present. 
 
NOTE ON CO-OPERATIVE CATALOGUING. 
 
 BY GUILLAUME DEPPING, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN, BIBLIOTHEQUE STE. GENEVIEVE, 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 I NDER the present system, 
 each library makes its 
 own catalogue ; there are, 
 therefore, as many cata- 
 logues to be compiled 
 as there are libraries (though the titles of 
 works to be catalogued are the same) for 
 the same works at London as at Oxford, 
 at Oxford as at Manchester; and, out of 
 England, the same at Paris as at London, 
 at Stockholm as at Paris, &c. 
 
 The consequence is, that for some time 
 the question has been asked, if it were 
 not advisable for the work to be done 
 but once, and not repeated as many times 
 as there are hbraries? In this case, the 
 titles of works to be catalogued could be 
 collected once for all. These titles, when 
 properly brought together, should be litho- 
 
 graphed or printed on slips (bulletins). 
 They should afterwards be distributed to 
 the different libraries of the same country, 
 as well as to foreign libraries. 
 
 Such is the system of co-operative cata- 
 loguing which has been recentlyproposed.* 
 Should a trial of this system be made, I 
 would propose commencing the experiment 
 with those books which are, as it were, the 
 instruments, the tools of the librarian; 
 works which every hbrary is obliged to 
 possess, because none can do without them 
 — viz., bibliographical works. 
 
 * See a letter (by Professor Max Miiller) in " The 
 Academy," March 18, 1876, copied by "The 
 Times "of the same day, and quoted in the American 
 Government Library Report, p. 513. See also the 
 contribution to the same Report by Professor O. H. 
 Robinson, on "College Library Administration," 
 pp. 505—525, particularly pp. 512—514. 
 
A NEW GENERAL CATALOGUE OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. 
 
 BY CORNELIUS WALFORD. 
 
 THINK a new General 
 Catalogue of English 
 Literature, i.e. printed in 
 English, and therefore in- 
 cluding American books, 
 is required, and for {inter alia) the follow- 
 ing reasons : 
 
 1. There is no so-called general cata- 
 logue existing, so far as I am aware, which 
 can be purchased at a price within the 
 ordinary means of those most needing the 
 aid of it. Nor in fact is there any cata- 
 logue at all brought down to a recent date. 
 
 2. None of the English catalogues of 
 which I have any knowledge embrace 
 several features which I think are now ad- 
 mitted as being essentials, or which at all 
 events I regard as such. What these are 
 will appear in the following suggestions : 
 
 The first requisite is a carefully printed 
 catalogue of all known authors, in alpha- 
 betical arrangement as to their names, 
 and with chronological arrangement as to 
 their works and the various editions of 
 their works. 
 
 That the full title of the book, pamph- 
 let, prospectus, or broadside should be 
 given — of course excluding mottoes, quo- 
 tations, and statements of other works by 
 the same author; but with the full names 
 of the author. 
 
 That in addition to the full names of 
 the authors, a designation should be given 
 where possible, as philosopher, physician, 
 clergyman, barrister, mathematician, &c. 
 
 That all the editions of a work, and 
 also of its reprints in the same and other 
 languages, be stated ; and, where any varia- 
 tion in the title has been made, however 
 small, that it be stated, even to the extent 
 of reprinting the full title, with the varied 
 words in italics. 
 
 That, where the exact date of a book 
 or an edition cannot be determined — 
 and what can be said in defence of the 
 omission of a date from the title-page of 
 any book ? is it not always an indica- 
 tion (except as to prohibited books) of 
 fraudulent intent? — that the approximate 
 date be given, but always with a mark of 
 interrogation in these cases. 
 
 That, in the case of books pubhshed 
 without the author's name, they should be 
 classed in alphabetical position in relation 
 to the subject of which they treat, and 
 this in the Alphabetical Catalogue. 
 
 That in the case of books which on 
 the face of them do not state the author's 
 name, but where the name is well known, 
 or suspected, the name be printed in 
 brackets : in the case of suspected names, 
 then with note of interrogation. ' 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 That as a preliminary to the pre- 
 paration of such general catalogue, the 
 owners of private special collections of 
 books be communicated with, and asked 
 to contribute the full titles, dates, &c., of 
 such special books as they may have. 
 This may be effected in one of several 
 ways, as : 
 
 («.) by the loan of their catalogues, or 
 cards, where they have them, in the first 
 instance ; then (or) 
 
 (b}j by supplying on slips, of a uni- 
 form size and consistency, the full title, 
 name of author, date, &c., of books, in an 
 agreed form of arrangement. 
 
 Regarding the slips, these should con- 
 sist of pieces of cartridge paper, of good 
 quality, easy to write distinctly upon, and 
 of such consistency as to yield, but not 
 to crumple. The size should be, say, 
 8 inches by 2\ inches, with columns ar- 
 ranged: I. Date. 2. Name and title of 
 author. 3. Full title of book. 4. Place of 
 publication, and name of publisher. 4. Size. 
 5. Number of pages. 6. Enumerate any 
 plates or plans. Where the full title will 
 not go into the front, continue it on back 
 of slip, and if necessary on to several slips.* 
 
 Where the owner cannot undertake this 
 work, or get it done either free of or at 
 a small cost, then let the Library-Asso- 
 ciation send their own officer to do it. 
 Or might not pleasant hospitalities be ex- 
 tended to and from members of the Con- 
 ference in this connexion ? 
 
 That each contributing library should 
 have a distinctive number assigned to 
 it, which number should be given after 
 the title on each slip. The general key 
 to the catalogue would give the detailed 
 reference to each number, as name of 
 owner (and address), nature of collection, 
 &c., whether slips contributed without cost, 
 &c. 
 
 * See Appendix, "Form of Catalogue-Card 
 proposed by Mr. Walford for a General Cata- 
 logue of English Literature." 
 
 Heretofore I have spoken only of an 
 Alphabetical Catalogue, but it seems also 
 desirable to review the essential require- 
 ments of a Subject- Catalogue. 
 
 I am aware here of the initial difficulty 
 — that of determining the general divi- 
 sions. I do not know that there can be 
 any great improvement upon Allibone in 
 this respect. One or two subdivisions may 
 arise out of what I shall proceed to suggest. 
 Thus I would include : — 
 
 Locality. — Under which I should class 
 all books and pamphlets, &c., relating 
 to particular towns exclusively, as Man- 
 chester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, 
 Bristol, Cheltenham, &c., in alphabetical 
 order in the catalogue. 
 
 Occurrences. — As Earthquakes, Fevers, 
 Fires, Floods, Frosts, Plagues, &c. &c. 
 
 Many of these have drawn forth quite a 
 literature — fires especially have done so, as 
 I have sho^vn in my History of Great Fires 
 ("Insurance Cyclopaedia"). 
 
 Institutions and Associations. — 
 As the South Sea Company, the Bank of 
 England, the Equitable Assurance Society, 
 the Orders of Freemasons, Odd Fellows 
 (Manchester and other Unities), Foresters, 
 Druids, &c. &c. 
 
 Not a little remarkable is the number of 
 books, pamphlets, prospectuses, broad- 
 sides, reports, &c. which are called forth 
 in connexion with institutions of this cha- 
 racter. That they are worthy of preser- 
 vation I can testify. They throw a flood 
 of light upon our social and our financial 
 history. 
 
 It has always appeared to me that the 
 corporate life of an institution resembles, 
 in many respects, the physical life of an 
 individual. The institution passes through 
 all the dangers of infancy, the teething, 
 measles, rickets, &c., which shake and 
 sometimes destroy its constitution. It 
 too often suffers from the rashness and 
 folly of youth. It has to face and endure 
 the earnest struggle of manhood, and 
 
NEW GENERAL CATALOGUE OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. 103 
 
 finally, may, like its prototype, be carried 
 off in the impotency of old age. Every 
 institution, too, has a history more or less 
 marked — the history of its progenitors, the 
 history of the circumstances of the age or 
 time which called it into existence, the 
 manner in which it has or has not per- 
 formed its functions. Do not all these 
 things go towards making up the complete 
 record of our country and race ? 
 
 Pursuing the subject of the compilation 
 of the "General Alphabetical Catalogue 
 of EngUsh Literature," under names of 
 Authors, I desire to suggest that the work 
 should be entirely performed on sHps 
 such as I have named, or such as may be 
 agreed upon. Where printed matter is 
 used in the compilation, it can still be 
 made available for the slips by the gum- 
 pot — the other column being duly writ- 
 ten in. The mechanical advantages 
 of separate but uniform slips is very 
 great, They are compact, and easy of 
 reference. Additions may be made up 
 to the very hour of going to press, 
 duplicates may be eliminated, inaccurate 
 ones thrown out, and finally the printer 
 can work from them " at case " even more 
 
 conveniently than from folios of larger 
 size. Greater than all, a hundred busy 
 hands can be preparing them in various 
 places at the same time. And, finally, the 
 same slips can with very slight alteration 
 be made available again for the Subject- 
 Catalogue. They admit, indeed, of in- 
 finite combinations. 
 
 And next? The Catalogue compiled, 
 who shall print it ? I venture to believe 
 the Government — this Government, with 
 a popular author at the head of it — would 
 make a grant for printing it, as a real 
 boon to the world of letters. It should 
 be printed folio size with wide margins, 
 and yet cheap, and could be published as 
 each letter of the alphabet is completed. 
 When I think of the tons of Blue Books, 
 good enough in their way and useful to 
 somebody, every year prin):ed and distri- 
 buted at prime cost, I see hope for our 
 Catalogue ! 
 
 I may here state that the best catalogue 
 with which I am personally familiar is that 
 of the Commercial Library of Hamburg, 
 " Katalog der Commerz-Bibliothek, in 
 Hamburg, 1864 ; " I speak of it as a gene- 
 ral working-catalogue. 
 
A UNIVERSAL INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 
 
 BY JOHN ASHTON CROSSj LATE LIBRARIAN OF THE OXFORD UNION SOCIETY. 
 
 <HAT a Universal Index of 
 Subjects must be made, 
 and soon, is simply as- 
 sumed. This paper asks 
 only. How is it to be 
 done? 
 
 In any plan, three features seem essen- 
 tial :— 
 
 1. The existing materials ought to be 
 the basis of the new Index. 
 
 2. Each part of the work still to be done 
 ought to be connected with some library ; 
 and, 
 
 3. A central clearing-house ought to be 
 set up, in which that work may be parcelled 
 out, and again checked. 
 
 I. The first seems almost a matter of 
 course. Everyone will say — Use to the 
 utmost what has been done. But few are 
 aware how much this is, and how much is 
 being done now. A few particulars there- 
 fore may be given, to show how far the 
 task of preparing a Universal Index has 
 been lightened by the work already done. 
 
 (i.) There are copious indexes to the 
 bibliology of many branches of study. 
 Science, of course, leads the way. There 
 are English, French, and German Indexes 
 to Mathematics and to Geography as well 
 as to Medicine : German Indexes to Chem- 
 istry, to Technology, to Botany (Pritzel's), 
 
 to Zoology in general, to Ornithology, and 
 to Entomology. Binney's " Smithsonian 
 Index to Conchology" fiUs nearly 1,000 
 pages. There is an English Index to 
 Anatomy, and a Dutch Index to Ichthy- 
 ology. An English Index to Electricity 
 and Magnetism is now being printed. 
 
 In Germany, in England, and in America 
 there are indexes to scientific papers, and 
 to the Transactions of Scientific Societies ; 
 —in England the Royal Society's, in 
 America the Smithsonian. 
 
 In Arf, again, there are the French 
 Official Index of 1874 ; the German Index 
 of Meyer ; and in England the South 
 Kensington Book List of 1870, with its 
 67,000 entries. There are also special 
 indexes, such as Hofmeister's and Fetis's, 
 to Music. 
 
 To Theology there are several German 
 indexes ; and in England, Darling's, which, 
 however, is entirely biblical. 
 
 To Classical Literature and Philology 
 there are the indexes of Engelmann, Her- 
 mann, and Klluszmann, of Raumer, and of 
 Mayor. 
 
 Political Literature has been indexed by 
 Mehl, by Ersch, by McCuUoch, by Blakey, 
 by Jaenscherski ; Bibliography by Grasse, 
 Petzholdt, and others. 
 
 History has been indexed in various 
 
A UNIVERSAL INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 
 
 105 
 
 parts by Meusel, by Waitz and Dahlmann, 
 by Oettinger, by Wattenbach, by Tanner, 
 by Duffus Hardy, and others : and there 
 is a German Index to the Historical 
 Papers contained in Periodicals. There 
 are, too, many indexes for special periods 
 and movements : for the Middle Ages, for 
 the Reformation, for the Jesuits, for the 
 American Rebellion, and so forth. And 
 beside these there is Winsor's Index to 
 Historical Fiction. 
 
 The literature, lastly, of many miscel- 
 laneous subjects, such as Printing, Short- 
 hand, Chess, Wine, Tobacco, Angling, the 
 Gypsies, Slang, Mountains,Cyclones, Earth- 
 quakes and Volcanos, the Drama, Roman- 
 ticism, Mesmerism, Darwinism, the Devil, 
 the Doctrine of a Future Life, has been in- 
 dexed by individual effort. Nearly all 
 these subjects, moreover, and many others 
 beside — Archaeology, for instance. Politi- 
 cal Economy, Jurisprudence, and Military 
 Science — are still being carried on in 
 periodical publications. 
 
 (2.) There are further bibliographies in 
 great numbers for special peoples, places, 
 and persons. For France (that of Lorenz), 
 for Germany (Kaysefs and others), for 
 Italy, for Sicily, for Spain, for Portugal, 
 for Denmark, for Norway, for Sweden, for 
 Russia, for Poland, for the Slav peoples, 
 for the Jews, for America, even for Mexico 
 and for San Marino, there are such biblio- 
 graphies ; while for England and America 
 there are the works of Watt, Triibner, Alli- 
 bone, Stevens, and Poole ; not to speak of 
 such local bibliographies as those for Kent, 
 Cornwall, Devonshire, Rhode Island, 
 Massachusetts, and the like. Most of 
 these also are still in progress, and new 
 ones are being added — as, e.g., for Holland, 
 Switzerland, and Greece. 
 
 There are indexes also to all works by 
 Italian travellers and by Italian mathe- 
 maticians, to German Mathematics, Ger- 
 man Poetry, and German Philosophy ; to 
 English and to American Poetry; to 
 
 Spanish Philosophy and to Spanish Agri- 
 culture ; to Swiss History, to Alpine Litera- 
 ture, to English Topography, to Irish Pe- 
 riodical Literature, and to French, Belgian, 
 and English Law Books. All the works on 
 Russia, on Africa and Arabia, on Palestine, 
 on the American Indians, on the American 
 Pacific Coast, have been indexed. And 
 great men like Dante, Shakspere, Molifere, 
 Goethe, Schiller, Columbus, Montesquieu, 
 and Spinoza have their own special biblio- 
 graphies. Even one so recent as Abraham 
 Lincoln has been thus honoured. 
 
 (3.) Again, there are many general biblio- 
 graphies, Georgi's for instance, and others 
 too well known to be named. And by the 
 " Revue Bibliographique," by Triibner's 
 " American and Oriental Record," by 
 Tromel, by Miildener's Gottingen In- 
 dexes, by the " London Catalogue,'' by 
 Sampson Low's Index, by Kelly's and 
 Leypoldt's American Catalogues, by the 
 numerous and thorough trade-catalogues 
 issued in Germany, by the Austro-Hunga- 
 rian Catalogue, and by many other like 
 publications, the same general work is still 
 being carried on. 
 
 Such are the existing materials. 
 
 If, now, all such works as the above were 
 merely to be combined, if to them were 
 added the subject-indexes of all the libra- 
 ries represented here — and every library 
 that is more than a mere book-store has a 
 subject-index ; if there were added, further, 
 the notes that might be obtained from the 
 writers of our dictionaries and encyclo- 
 paedias, and from students specially skilled 
 in particular branches ; if, in short, all the 
 additions were made that a competent 
 editor would be sure to make, the indexes 
 so produced would be of exceeding value 
 in every branch of knowledge, and not 
 unworthy of the support of a Librarians' 
 Conference. 
 
 II. But something more is wanted. An 
 Index so compiled, however, serviceable, 
 could not be final. The same ground 
 
 p 
 
io6 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 must again be gone over. Now what 
 above all is needed is this, that the work 
 should be done so thoroughly as to be 
 done for ever. The work is great enough : 
 it must not be made indefinitely greater 
 by the need for constant renewal. How 
 then is such thoroughness, such finality to 
 be secured? By connecting each part of 
 the work with a Ubrary. This is the second 
 essential. No body of compilers could 
 satisfactorily do the work. It can be ac- 
 complished only by a division of labour, 
 and each part of the work ought to be 
 done where the best gathering of books 
 on that particular subject is to be found. 
 
 Every library ought to have some spe- 
 ciality, however small ; most libraries are 
 coming to have one. Birmingham, for 
 instance, has a Shakspere Library; Uni- 
 versity College, London, boasts its Mathe- 
 matical Library; the London Institution 
 was once consecrated to English Topo- 
 graphy. Each library ought then to supply 
 the references in its own special branch. If, 
 for instance (not to go beyond England), 
 the librarians of Owens College, Man- 
 chester, were to undertake Technology ; 
 of Mason's College, Birmingham, Mechan- 
 ism (and these are the centres where the 
 applications could be best studied) ; of 
 Greenwich Naval College, of Woolwich 
 Academy, and of the naval and military 
 societies. Naval and Military Affairs; of 
 Cooper's Hill and the engineering socie- 
 ties. Engineering ; of the medical schools, 
 the different branches of Medicine — divid- 
 ing them among themselves ; of the Geogra- 
 phical Society, Geography ; of the Royal 
 Society, Science generally ; if the librarians 
 of the Inns of Court, with the help of the 
 law-reporters, were to undertake English 
 Law; of the theological colleges, Theo- 
 logy, &c. &C-., and if, further, full use were 
 made of the facilities afforded by the local 
 and special societies— Philological, Anti- 
 quarian, Oriental, and the hke — the laboui; 
 imposed on each would be trifling, while 
 
 the general results would be valuable in 
 the extreme. And, further, these societies 
 would find their reward in this, that they 
 would thus become the standard authorities 
 and their libraries the resort of students 
 in those particular departments. 
 
 HI. Some furtherreward might, however, 
 be desirable. Few libraries can afibrd to 
 neglect the general reader ; most libraries 
 must, after all, make him their first care. 
 And therefore a third feature must be 
 added — a central clearing-house, namely, 
 to which all references should be sent. 
 Such a clearing-house might, among 
 other things, by the use of the materials 
 thus furnished, supply each library in return 
 provisionally and from time to time with 
 a General Index, amply sufficient for mis- 
 cellaneous readers. 
 
 A clearing-house alone would not do, 
 for it must be managed by an international 
 committee ; and no committee, least of all 
 an international committee, could itself 
 undertake the Index. The actual work 
 will be best done in parts, in connexion 
 with local libraries, and as far as may be 
 by those that already do it. But there 
 must be a committee — the smaller, perhaps, 
 the better — to overlook the work and to 
 guide it so far as to secure uniformity in 
 the treatment. Such a committee might 
 take from each hbrary its finished task, and 
 check the execution by frequent cross- 
 division of subjects with the help of other 
 libraries interested in branches not spe- 
 cially assigned to them, and of such learned 
 societies and individual students as might 
 voluntarily send references. It would be 
 its duty further to see that each branch 
 was kept constantly posted up ready for 
 issue in the finished Index. It might 
 well be empowered to edit any part fit 
 for separate publication; and to hasten 
 on any such part likely to be in demand, 
 or for which the liberality of some one in^ 
 terested in its subject might be ready to 
 supply the means. Such parts would form 
 
A UNIVERSAL INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 
 
 107 
 
 each an independent work indispensable 
 for students in that particular line, and by 
 its sale funds might be obtained to carry 
 on parts not so likely to be popular. Yet 
 by decimal paging and cross references 
 each might still be brought into place in the 
 completed Index. Possibly the committee 
 might also put out ten-year books, and 
 might choose at first the more important 
 mode of treatment, the critical or historical 
 for instance, and leave the others to be 
 added at a later time. But on matters such 
 as these the central committee itself would 
 decide. 
 
 This then is the plan in outline. 
 
 It may be said that, after all, the best 
 library-index is the librarian. But his 
 knowledge where to look for every subject 
 (always very imperfect) costs him years of 
 labour, and it all dies with him. His 
 knowledge might be made vastly greater, 
 his labour lightened, and the results of that 
 labour treasured up. What is wanted is 
 simply organization. Hundreds of libra- 
 rians and students are now engaged on 
 precisely the same subjects, indexing over 
 and over again the very same books. 
 Far more work is now being done in a 
 piecemeal fashion than is needed to com- 
 plete a Universal Index. If some plan 
 such as is here outlined were to be adopted 
 
 by librarians generally, this wasted labour 
 would be saved, and all that each ac- 
 complished would be a permanent gain 
 for knowledge. 
 
 But where, it may be said, is the money 
 to come from? Want of money will not 
 perhaps be a very great hindrance. The 
 MS. of Watt's "Bibliotheca Britannica" 
 brought ;^2,ooo. The "Encyclopaedia 
 Britannica" is a more ponderous work, 
 far more costly in its production (the 
 eighth edition is currently reported to 
 have cost over ;^iso,ooo), far less 
 likely to be self-supporting by the sale 
 of separate parts ; yet each edition is said 
 to yield a profit of from ;^2o,ooo to 
 ;^3o,ooo. Even if the work did not 
 pay, men might perhaps be found 
 willing to take the expense upon them, 
 to buy for themselves a fame as enduring 
 as literature itself at a fraction of the price 
 they now pay for a second-rate title or 
 for a seat in Parliament. But the money 
 will no doubt be found if the work is only 
 seriously undertaken. By whom can it be 
 more fittingly undertaken than by a Library- 
 Association ? 
 
 The question for this Conference ought 
 to be, not whether a Universal Index shall 
 be made, but only in what way it can best 
 be made. 
 
ON THE SYSTEM OF CLASSIFYING BOOKS ON THE SHELVES 
 FOLLOWED AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 BY RICHARD GARNETT, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE READING-ROOM, 
 BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 HE purpose of this paper 
 is to present a brief ac- 
 count of the system fol- 
 lowed in the classification 
 of books on the shelves 
 of the British Museum library. 
 
 It will be understood that this does not 
 amount to an enumeration of all the sub- 
 jects which might suitably be recognized 
 as distinct in a classified catalogue, but 
 only of such as possess sufficient impor- 
 tance to occupy at least one book-press in 
 the library. 
 
 Subjects which from a philosophical 
 point of view might properly be separated, 
 must in actual library arrangements fre- 
 quently be combined for want of room. 
 
 It is further to be borne in mind that 
 the classification now to be described 
 does not in absolute strictness apply to 
 the entire library, but to the acquisitions 
 — comprising, however, nearly four-fifths 
 of the whole — made since Sir Anthony 
 Panizzi's accession to oflSce as keeper of 
 the printed books. The books in Mon- 
 tague House were indeed scientifically 
 arranged on their removal to the new 
 premises, but space was then wanting to 
 
 carry out the views entertained by the 
 officer principally entrusted with their ar- 
 rangement — the late Mr. Thomas Watts, a 
 gentleman of prodigious memory and ency- 
 clopedic learning. Mr. Watts subsequently 
 obtained space more in correspondence 
 with the comprehensiveness of his ideas, 
 and the Museum library will bear the im- 
 press of his mind for all ages. With his name 
 will be associated that of the late keeper, 
 Mr. Rye, for many years his coadjutor, 
 and whose own independent arrangement 
 of the Grenville library and the reference- 
 library of the reading-room will always 
 be cited as models for the disposition of 
 limited collections. I trust to be excused 
 this brief reference to gentlemen prema- 
 turely lost to our profession — the former by 
 death, the latter by indisposition, brought 
 on, it is to be feared, by over-application to 
 his official duties. To the example of the 
 former and the instruction of the latter I 
 am indebted for whatever claim I may 
 have to address you on a subject to which 
 I can contribute little of my own. 
 
 The classification of a great library is 
 equivalent to a classification of human 
 knowledge, and may, if men please, be- 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM SHELF - CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 109 
 
 come the standard or symbol of conflicting 
 schools of thought. It might, for example, 
 be plausibly maintained that knowledge, 
 and therefore the library, should begin with 
 the definition of man's relation to the un- 
 seen powers around him — that is, with 
 Natural Theology. Or with man himself as 
 the unit of all things human — that is, with 
 Anthropology. Or, on Nature's own pattern, 
 with the most rudimentary forms of exis- 
 tence. Hence, as we heard yesterday from 
 the distinguished gentleman who here re- 
 presents the fifth part of the world, the 
 reading-room library at Melbourne be- 
 gins with works on the subject of Sponges. 
 Fortunately for the neutral bibliographer, 
 there exists a book which not only holds 
 in civilized countries a place unique among 
 books, but which has further established its 
 claim to precedence by the practical test of 
 being the first to get itself printed. The 
 Museum classification accordingly begins 
 with the Bible, and I venture to express 
 the opinion that every sound classification 
 will do the same. 
 
 When the next question emerges, how 
 to arrange the Bible itself, we alight at 
 once upon a few simple principles, which, 
 with the necessary modifications, will prove 
 applicable throughout. It is obvious that 
 entire Bibles should precede parts of 
 Bibles; that originals should precede 
 translations ; the more ancient originals, the 
 more recent ; and Bibles in both the ori- 
 ginal tongues those in one only. We thus 
 obtain the following arrangement at start- 
 ing : Polyglots, Hebrew Bibles, Greek 
 Bibles. It is equally apparent that Greek 
 cannot be fitly succeeded by any tongue 
 but Latin J that Latin is most naturally 
 followed by its modern derivatives ; that 
 these draw after them the other European 
 languages in due order; the Slavonic 
 forming a link with the Oriental, which in 
 their turn usher in the African, American, 
 and Polynesian. 
 
 Concordances, consisting of the words 
 
 of the Bible detached from their context, 
 form a convenient link with Commentaries. 
 The latter fall into two principal sections, 
 according as they relate to Scripture in its 
 entirety or to some particular part. In ar- 
 ranging the former, the erudite labours of 
 scholars are, as far as possible, kept apart 
 from the popular illustrative literature of 
 modern days. The order of commentaries 
 on separate books must, of course, cor- 
 respond with that of the books themselves 
 in the canon of the Bible. 
 
 Next succeeds the very important class 
 of literature representing the Bible in con- 
 tact with society through the medium 
 of the Church. The most obvious form 
 of this relation is the liturgical. Litur- 
 gies accordingly succeed Scripture in the 
 Museum arrangement, precedence being 
 given to the various Churches in the order 
 of their antiquity. A, minor but very 
 extensive class of Liturgy, the Psalm and 
 Hymn, naturally follows as an appendix, 
 preceding Private and Family Devotion, 
 which prefaces works on liturgical subjects 
 in general. The next great department 
 of this class of literature ensues in the 
 shape of Creeds and Catechisms. These 
 pass into formal expositions of dogmatic 
 theology, including theological libraries; 
 which lead to the collected works of di- 
 vines, commencing with the Fathers. The 
 same order is observed here as in the 
 arrangement of the Bible in its various 
 languages : the Greek Fathers leading to 
 the Latin, the Latin to the divines of the 
 nations speaking languages derived from 
 the Latin, and these to the Teutonic 
 nations, a division practically equivalent to 
 one into Catholic and Protestant. The 
 general theological literature of each nation 
 follows in the same order, excluding works 
 treating of special theological questions, 
 but including all the immense mass of 
 printed material relating to the Reforma- 
 tion and the controversies resulting from 
 it down to the present day. With these 
 
no 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 the subject of General Theology may be 
 deemed concluded, and we enter not only 
 upon a fresh department, but upon a fresh 
 numeration. The book -presses embracing 
 the subjects hitherto described all bear 
 numbers commencing with 3000. With 
 the new department 4000 commences, and 
 the same remark, mutatis mutandis, is appli- 
 cable to every succeeding principal division. 
 I must pass very lightly over the numerous 
 sections of .this second section. Beginning 
 with the fundamental questions of the be- 
 ing of a God and the truth of Christianity, 
 it embraces every special question which 
 has formed the subject of discussion among 
 Christians, in the order which commended 
 itself as most logical to the original de- 
 signer of the arrangement. These con- 
 troversies conduct to the common ground 
 of Religious Devotion and Contemplation, 
 including the important departments of 
 Tracts and Religious Fiction ; and these to 
 devotion in its hortatory form — i.e., Ser- 
 mons, classified on the same linguistic 
 principle as Scripture, and divided into the 
 great sections of collected discourses and 
 separate sermons. With these the subject 
 of specifically Christian Theology termi- 
 nates, and is succeeded by the great and 
 growing department of Mythology and 
 non-Christian Religion. Judaism follows, 
 leading by an easy transition to Church 
 History. A few words on the arrangement 
 of this section will save much repetition, 
 as the principle here exemplified is never 
 departed from. It demonstrates the ad- 
 vantage of beginning with a subject like the 
 Bible, respecting the correct arrangement 
 of which there can be no dispute, and 
 which serves as a norm for all the rest. 
 As the Bible necessarily commenced with 
 Polyglots, so Church History begins with 
 General Church History; the various 
 nations succeed in their linguistic, which 
 is practically also their geographical order, 
 provision being, of course, made for the 
 intercalation of sub-sections where neces- 
 
 sary, as for instance one on English Non- 
 conformity. Polynesia, as the last member 
 of this arrangement, naturally introduces 
 the next subject — Missions — ^which in turn 
 brings on Religious Orders, including Free- 
 masonry. Religious Biography follows, 
 arranged on the same principle as Religious 
 History, which is always carried out wher- 
 ever practicable. Finally, the whole class 
 is concluded by the small but important 
 division of Religious Bibliography. 
 
 Divine Law is evidently most fitly suc- 
 ceeded by Human Law, or Jurisprudence. 
 The fulness with which the preceding 
 section has been treated will enable me 
 to pass very cursorily over this and its 
 successors. I may be pardoned, however, 
 one remark suggested by the introduc- 
 tion of a new division — that in the classifi- 
 cation of a library it should be considered 
 whether the scope of the collection is 
 special or general. In arranging a mere 
 collection of Law Books it would be proper 
 to commence with works treating of the 
 general principles of Jurisprudence. In 
 arranging a great library, regard must be 
 had to the harmonious connexion of the 
 parts, and accordingly the Museum ar- 
 rangement commences with Ecclesiastical 
 Law as the natural sequel of Theology. 
 Bulls, Councils, Canon-Law and Modern 
 Church-Law introduce the great section of 
 Roman Law. Oriental Law follows, the 
 Laws of the Continental Nations succeed in 
 the order previously explained, and thus 
 room is only found for General Jurispru- 
 dence at a comparatively late period, at the 
 beginning of the numeral series 6000. It 
 brings after it such minor subjects as 
 Prison-Discipline and Forensic Medicine. 
 The remaining space of the section is 
 occupied by the Law of the Enghsh-speak- 
 ing nations, which requires most minute 
 subdivision. 
 
 Next to Divinity and Law, the third rank 
 among the pursuits of the human mind 
 was anciently assigned to Medicine. We 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM SHELF . CLASSIFICATION. in 
 
 have learned to recognize that Medicine, 
 however practically important, ranks scien- 
 tifically only as a department of Biology. 
 The next section, accordingly, commences 
 with general Natural History, continuing 
 through the natural kingdoms of Botany, 
 Geology, and Zoology, including Veteri- 
 nary Surgery, with their appropriate sub- 
 divisions, and then embracing Medicine — 
 first in its general aspect, as medical 
 principle and practice ; then in its great 
 leading divisions of Physiology, Patho- 
 logy, Therapeutics, &c. ; again, as Special 
 Pathology ; finally, in such comparative 
 minutiae as professional controversies and 
 bills of mortality. The divisions of Art — 
 the next class — are simple and obvious. 
 They may be enumerated as Archaeology, 
 Costumes, Numismatics, Architecture, 
 Painting, Sculpture, first as treated col- 
 lectively, and then as treated separately ; 
 and, finally. Music. Fine Art is suc- 
 ceeded by Useful Art, and the interval 
 bridged over by Field-Sports, Games of 
 Chance, and Games of Skill. No sub- 
 division of the Useful Arts has been at- 
 tempted beyond the separation of Cookery 
 and Domestic Economy from the rest, and 
 the addition of two special sections, one 
 for the catalogues of industrial exhibitions, 
 the other for the voluminous and impor- 
 tant publications of the South Kensington 
 Museum. 
 
 The extensive and miscellaneous di- 
 vision which succeeds may, perhaps, best 
 be defined under the head of Philosophy, 
 alike in its scientific principles and in its 
 application to human Hfe. Commencing 
 with PoHtical Philosophy, or the Science 
 of Government, it runs rapidly through 
 the politics of the various nations, in the 
 geographical order previously detailed, 
 passes into Political Economy, with the 
 allied subjects of Finance, Commerce, and 
 Social Science; thence into Education, 
 gund, by the minor morals so intimately 
 allied with the latter subject, into Ethics, 
 
 including works on the condition of 
 Woman, Peace, Temperance, and similar 
 topics. Speculative Philosophy succeeds, 
 introducing Mathematics, on which hangs 
 the great department of Applied Mathe- 
 matics, including all physical sciences ex- 
 cept the biological. The various branches 
 are carefully discriminated, and room is 
 found among them for the so called Occult 
 Sciences, and for Military and Naval 
 matters, the series appropriately conclud- 
 ing with Chemistry, or the science which 
 aims at the resolution of all matter into its 
 original elements. The remaining sections, 
 though most important and extensive, are 
 very simple in arrangement, and may be 
 dismissed very briefly. They are : His- 
 tory; Geography, with Voyages and Topo- 
 graphy; Biography; Poetry and the 
 Drama ; Belles Lettres, including Fiction ; 
 and Philology. The arrangement is in- 
 variably the same: collected works on 
 each subject being placed first, and a 
 geographical order being adopted for the 
 rest when the conditions of the case 
 allow. Genealogy is regarded as an ap- 
 pendix to History ; Letters to Biography ; 
 Elocution, with Literary Criticism and 
 Bibliography, to Poetry and the Dramatic 
 Art. The class of Belles Lettres is headed 
 by Libraries and Cyclopaedias. 
 
 It should be stated that the system here 
 explained refers in the strictest sense only 
 to works complete in themselves, and not 
 to Periodicals, Academical Pubhcations, 
 and State Papers, which are placed sepa- 
 rately. Although, however, these consti- 
 tute distinct series, the principle of clas- 
 sification is practically identical. The 
 same remarks apply to the Oriental de- 
 partments of the collection, the Grenville 
 library, and the reference-library of the 
 reading-room. 
 
 Such is, in its main features, the system 
 of book-press arrangement which I have 
 undertaken to describe. I have no fear 
 but that it will be pronounced in essentials 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 logical and philosophical. It has un- 
 doubtedly proved eminently convenient in 
 practice. That it should be open to re- 
 vision on some points is inevitable from 
 the nature of things, and from two circum- 
 stances more especially — its gradual deve- 
 lopment as subject after subject was added 
 to the library, and the degree in which 
 it represents the idiosyncrasy of a single 
 mind. Some minor oversights must be 
 admitted. Geology, for example, should 
 unquestionably have preceded Botany. I 
 venture more extensive criticisms with 
 hesitation, yet I cannot help remarking 
 that I perceive no valid reason for the 
 severance of so manifest a branch of His- 
 tory as Biography from the parent stem 
 by the intrusion of the entire department 
 of Geography ; while it appears to me that 
 the Useful Arts would have formed, through 
 Domestic Economy, a more natural sequel 
 to Medicine than Fine Art, and in ar- 
 ranging the latter department I should 
 have assigned the last instead of the first 
 place to Archaeology and its allied subjects. 
 Forensic Medicine might also have been 
 conveniently placed at the end of Law, to 
 connect that subject with Natural Science. 
 I should further feel much inclined to 
 form a class for Encyclopsedias immedi- 
 ately after Philology ; both because dic- 
 tionaries of general knowledge seem legiti- 
 mate successors to dictionaries of languages, 
 and that the end of the classification might 
 be answerable in dignity to the beginning. 
 I am aware how much room for diversity 
 of opinion may exist on these and similar 
 points. On a more serious defect there 
 can be no difference of opinion, but it is a 
 defect inherent in all finite things. In an 
 ideal classification by book-press one sepa- 
 rate press, at least, would be provided for 
 each subject, however minute. But an ideal 
 library would also have room for each sub- 
 division. We cannot have the ideal classi- 
 fication without the ideal library, and, al- 
 though I hazard nothing in saying that, 
 
 thanks to the genius of the designer. Sir 
 Anthony Panizzi, economy of space in the 
 new buildings of the Museum has been 
 carried to the utmost extent conceivable, 
 space is still insufficient to provide a dis- 
 tinct niche for every well-marked division 
 of a subject. Upwards of five hundred 
 such subdivisions are provided for ; never- 
 theless this large number is not exhaus- 
 tive. Without such an exhaustive dis- 
 tribution, the actual classification on the 
 shelves, which is all I have undertaken to 
 describe here, can never be conterminous 
 with the ideal classification of the study. 
 If, however, the Museum library has been 
 unable to achieve an infinity of space, it 
 has secured a practically indefinite nume- 
 rical expansiveness by the elastic system 
 referred to in our President's address, in 
 further illustration of which I may be al- 
 lowed a few words. On the removal of the 
 books from Montague House, about 1838, 
 the cumbrous and antiquated, but I imagine 
 then nearly universal system of press-no- 
 tation by Roman letters was exchanged 
 for one by Arabic numerals.* These num- 
 bers were nevertheless consecutive, and 
 thus no space was left for insertions. 
 Supposing, for example, that you have 
 three presses standing together, numbered 
 I, 2, and 3, and respectively occupied by 
 Botany, Horticulture, and Agriculture, it 
 is clear that when your press of Botany 
 is full, you must either duplicate your 
 No. I, or commence your subject afresh 
 with No. 4. Mr. Watts, however, set his 
 numbers loose, leaving a set of spare num- 
 bers after each, for future employment, 
 proportioned to the probable extent of the 
 subject. Thus, in the case supposed, 
 while his Botany would still have been i, 
 
 * It deserves to be recorded that at this period, 
 and for some time afterwards, books were not 
 labelled externally, but merely press-marked inside 
 the covers. When labels were introduced, at the 
 suggestion of Mr. Winter Jones, the printing of 
 the first set cost ;^8oo. 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM S HELF - CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 113 
 
 his Horticulture might have been 10, and 
 his Agriculture 15. When more room is 
 wanted for Botany, the other two subjects 
 are moved one press further on, leaving 
 the press formerly occupied by Horticulture 
 vacant for the Botanical additions. The 
 numbering of the presses is altered, but 
 not the numbering of the books, and the 
 catalogue is not interfered with. The 
 respective subjects thus never get out of 
 due numerical succession; and when, on 
 the opening of the new library in 1857, 
 the books thus numbered were brought 
 from their former confined quarters, and 
 spread over a far larger area, the removal 
 was effected without the alteration of a 
 single press-mark. As the books in any 
 one press may thus come to occupy an- 
 other, it is, as observed by Mr. Winter 
 Jones, essential that all presses should be 
 exactly of the same dimensions. 
 
 There is one incidental circumstance con- 
 nected with the Museum press-arrange- 
 ment of such importance that I may hope 
 to be allowed a few words respecting it, 
 although I adverted to it in the course 
 of the discussion yesterday. I allude to 
 the fourth copy of the catalogue. It is 
 generally known that the titles of books 
 catalogued at the Museum are transcribed 
 trebly on carbonic tissue-paper by a mani- 
 fold writer, and that the catalogue is thus 
 kept up in triplicate. But I suspect it 
 was not generally known until the delivery 
 of the President's address that a fourth 
 copy is taken at the same time. These 
 fourth slips are kept in boxes, and then 
 arranged, not in alphabetical order as in 
 the catalogue, but according to the posi- 
 tion of the books upon the shelves. Now, 
 as each shelf is restricted to a single sub- 
 ject, it follows that an arrangement by 
 shelves is tantamount to an arrangement 
 by subjects — that is, a classed catalogue. 
 A great deal, of course, remains to be 
 done both in the way of subdivision and 
 of incorporation J it is nevertheless the 
 
 fact that — thanks to the foresight of 
 Sir Anthony Panizzi and Mr. Winter 
 Jones — the foundation of a classed In- 
 dex to Universal Literature has been laid 
 by simply putting away titles as fast as 
 transcribed, without the nation having 
 hitherto incurred any cost beyond that of 
 the pasteboard boxes. The apparently 
 gigantic task being thus far simplified, I 
 earnestly trust that public aid may be 
 forthcoming for its completion, ere the 
 accumulation of titles shall have rendered 
 it too arduous. Fully sympathizing with 
 our friend Mr. Axon's wish to see the 
 Museum catalogue in print, I am yet averse 
 to attempting to print it just as it stands : 
 in the first place, because I regard the 
 undertaking as beyond our strength; and 
 in the second place, because, although 
 such a catalogue would tell the student at 
 a distance what books by particular au- 
 thors were in the library, it would not tell 
 him what books on particular subjects 
 existed there ; the latter, as it appears to 
 me, being the more urgent necessity of 
 the two. I should therefore be inclined 
 to recommend the preparation of an 
 abridged classified index, compiled from 
 the fourth-copy slips I have been de- 
 scribing, and its publication from time to 
 time in sections severally complete in 
 themselves, as affording the best means for 
 a gradual solution of the problem. Most 
 of these sections, I have litde doubt, 
 would by their sale nearly repay the ex- 
 pense of publication, which a complete 
 alphabetical catalogue of the library cer- 
 tainly would not. These remarks, it will 
 be perceived, coincide with those made 
 yesterday by Mr. Vickers, which struck 
 me as eminently sensible and practical. 
 
 I have prepared a list of the subjects 
 comprised in the classification of the 
 Museum,* which I put in for your exami- 
 
 * See Appendix, " List of subjects of works in 
 the British Museum library, according to the ar- 
 rangement of books on the shelves." 
 
 Q 
 
114 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS, 
 
 nation. For a list of the principal sys- 
 tems proposed for the classification of 
 libraries, I may refer to Petzholdt's 
 " Bibliotheca Bibliographica." It is in 
 so far deficient that it necessarily con- 
 
 of our American friends and colleagues, 
 who, coming to the subject with unbiased 
 minds and an inventive ingenuity and 
 fertility equalled by no other nation, have 
 already done so much to advance the 
 
 tains no reference to the recent labours frontiers of the librarian's science. 
 
NOTE ON BOOK-TAGS. 
 
 BY JAMES M. ANDERSON, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN, UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, 
 
 ST. Andrew's. 
 
 54L: 
 
 . VER since entering on 
 library work, thelabelling 
 of books has been with 
 '/iP nr^Mfsiz^v me somewhat of the na- 
 j;^^^^^^^::^ ture of a continuous ex- 
 periment. In making the tags I have used 
 all sorts of paper — thick and thin, sized 
 and unsized; and in sticking them on I 
 have employed various materials — ordinary 
 binders' paste, chemical and other gums, 
 glues, and mounting fluids of English and 
 foreign manufacture. Hitherto I have not 
 found one kind much better adapted to 
 the purpose than another. The tags still 
 come peeUng off, although not always 
 exactly in the same way. I observe that 
 in some cases the material appears to 
 evaporate, or becomes so completely ab- 
 sorbed by the binding that it loses all 
 adhesive power and allows the label simply 
 to fall off. In others, especially when the 
 material requires to be heated before be- 
 coming liquid, unless spread very thinly 
 on, a hard crust gradually forms between 
 the label and the book, which forces it 
 partially off at one or other of its corners, 
 leaving any chance stroke or friction to 
 complete the work. As regards paper, the 
 best I have yet met with has been cut 
 from the margins of foreign book-cir- 
 
 culars. It is sized, but thin, bears writ- 
 ing upon, and adheres closely if carefully 
 gummed. 
 
 The obstacles which are interposed to 
 the rapid finding and replacing of books by 
 the falling off of the numbered tags are so 
 great where the staff is insufficient for their 
 perpetual renewal, that it is very desirable 
 that any plan for avoiding them found 
 thoroughly satisfactory should be made 
 known. I cannot flatter myself that I 
 have made the lucky hit, but the tenacity 
 with which the common circular-saw-shaped 
 labels generally hold has led me to con- 
 jecture that a solution of the difficulty 
 might be found in a double gummed per- 
 forated label, similar in shape and consis- 
 tency to a receipt or shilling postage-stamp. 
 Such a form of book-tag would obviate 
 the present disagreeable necessity of hand- 
 ling the paste or gum brush, it would look 
 much neater than an ill-cut square or 
 parallelogram, and I think the fringed 
 edges would not only add to its beauty 
 but assist in making it hold. If such a 
 scheme has not already been tried, it might 
 be worth while to have a few sheets of 
 different sizes manufactured, if thought 
 at all practicable by those best fitted to 
 judge. 
 
ON BINDING OF BOOKS FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 
 ■ LIBRARIES; AND ON SHELF-ARRANGEMENT 
 AS ASSOCIATED THEREWITH. 
 
 BY CORNELIUS WALFORD. 
 
 ^HE subject of binding 
 ^ books has necessarily- 
 
 been forced upon me 
 from acquiring so many- 
 pamphlets, prospectuses, 
 broadsides, and official papers, issued in 
 an unbound condition. 
 
 The first requisite in a -working library 
 is a plain, strong, and simple binding, 
 ■which combines economy -with utility; and 
 yet ho-w hard it seems to cast ruthlessly 
 aside all one's sympathy for that excellence 
 of binding -which elevates every book, 
 •when handled, into a luxury — a -work of 
 art ! In practice I have found a species 
 of Roxburgh binding, leather backs and 
 brown-paper sides, answer very well. But 
 on this point many others have had larger 
 experience. In a private library appear- 
 ance goes for something. 
 
 But the point I really desire to raise 
 here is that of Colour — colour in the bind- 
 ing, in view of shelf-arrangement. Some 
 years since I tried an experiment in this 
 direction. I then had my books bound 
 cheaply but strongly in cloth of various 
 colours, in relation to the subject-matter of 
 the book. Thus General Statistics, Brown ; 
 
 Vital Statistics, J^ed; Periodical Literature, . 
 Green; History, Roan ; Currency, Amber; 
 Chronology, Buff; Pamphlets, Black. This, 
 I ought to say, was in the infancy of my 
 library. 
 
 In process of time, as the volumes in- 
 creased, I found it necessary to classify 
 my books into subjects, and then the 
 colour-arrangement, which had worked 
 very well in the general arrangement, be- 
 came very inconvenient from its sameness 
 in a division — there were no landmarks. 
 
 I did not abandon the idea of colour, 
 but simply extended it. For instance, in 
 Vital Statistics — those relating to England 
 and Wales, I kept Red (crimson) as before ; 
 those relating to Scotland, Blue (dark) ; 
 those to Ireland, Green (emerald) ; to the 
 Continent of Europe, Buff; to the United 
 States, Brown ; to India, Yellow (bright). 
 Some other modifications also followed. 
 This plan is working very well; except 
 that some confusion still arises from the 
 blending of the two methods. 
 
 Would it be practicable to agree up- 
 on certain colours with regard to certain 
 branches of literature for libraries generally, 
 so that the eye would direct one to the 
 
ON BINDING AND SHELF- A RRANGEM ENT. 
 
 117 
 
 locality desired? In large libraries, where 
 the reader does not approach the shelves 
 himself, this is not of much advantage ; but 
 I here, and all through these notes, have 
 regard more particularly to private libraries. 
 
 Out of my colour-experiments has arisen 
 a curious experience. On removing my 
 books from the country to London, I 
 had occasion to use for some of them a 
 room over the kitchen. This is very 
 warm, and as a consequence the cock- 
 roaches, which seem to be a chronic in- 
 fliction on London kitchens, soon extended 
 their visits to my books, and attacked 
 the bindings, disfiguring rather than de- 
 stroying, and eating off even the gold 
 lettering. But most curious to relate, they 
 attacked almost exclusively those bound 
 in crimson cloth — and these when standing 
 by the side of books in cloth bindings of 
 other colours. I have since exterminated 
 these beetles by poison — powdered borax 
 would not do it, although I was assured 
 that it was an infalhble remedy. I was 
 advised (as will be seen by some potes 
 appended)* to try the experiment of having 
 the bindings varnished : this I did, but it 
 has not proved an effectual remedy. 
 
 There is another point which I deem 
 of great importance, especially in a private 
 library, where the eye rather than the 
 reference-catalogue (if there chance to 
 be one) is brought into play, and this is 
 the back lettering of books. I hold that all 
 books and pamphlets must, to be useful, 
 and, indeed, before they can claim a place 
 in a private hbrary ought to be distinctly let- 
 tered on the back — up the back, where the 
 volume is a thin one. First, the subject- 
 matter of the book, short ; then the name 
 of author ; and finally the date of issue. 
 Here my chronological proclivities (which 
 I mentioned in detail in my " Notes on 
 Cataloguing " f) come into play again. I 
 
 * See Appendix, Mr. Birdsall's "Notes on 
 Bookbinding." 
 t See pp. 86-7. 
 
 arrange my, books into subjects, and then 
 those of each subject are placed in chrono- 
 logical order upon the shelves. Every one 
 takes its proper place, Hke the men in a, 
 regiment of soldiers. There is an excep- 
 tion made where there have been several 
 editions of one book. These are placed 
 together, in the order of their issue. 
 
 I can never think of the back-letter- 
 ing of books without recalling poor John 
 TupUng "on the Strand." His quaint 
 catalogues ; his pleasant fancies in the 
 now rare pamphlet, " Folious Appearances : 
 a consideration of our ways of Lettering 
 Books," 1854; his untimely end, in the 
 going down of the Pacific [1856]. He 
 adds another to the long list of scholarly 
 booksellers who live in our memories ! 
 
 In all this I have said nothing about 
 the sellers of new books — the publishers. 
 Is it of any use to discuss them? Are 
 they not like the proud Pharisees of 
 literature, who would hardly accept hints 
 from mere authors — book-makers ! Be- 
 sides, they have very simple rules to guide 
 them — what will sell best — or, in the phrase 
 of commerce — what will pay. They are 
 wise in their day and generation. We 
 have just lost a truly great one in William 
 Longman. I feel sure he would have 
 been among us on this occasion had he 
 survived. With the publishers' books-in- 
 boards, then, we must do the best we 
 can. If the volumes be much used, then 
 the cloth soon wears out, and then we can 
 bind them as we please — buckram, vellum, 
 leather, and brown paper, with as many 
 names and dates on the back as we please. 
 
 I wish there were a law to render it 
 penal alike on authors and pubHshers to 
 issue a book without printing on the title- 
 page, or on the back of it, how many 
 editions it has gone through, and the 
 dates. I write these things in the books I 
 most use. 
 
 With respect to the arrangement of 
 pamphlets, so as to be available for refe- 
 
Ii8 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 rence in the most ready manner, I am here 
 to learn, and not even to suggest, much 
 less to teach. I bind my own — that is, as 
 many as I can get in due course — in 
 chronological order; and letter them on 
 the back, say, "Vital Statistics, No. lo — 
 1870-5." But a few days or weeks after 
 my volume is home from the binder's, 
 there comes to hand one of this class be- 
 longing to this period, which I had not 
 seen before. Why are not all authors of 
 privately-printed pamphlets compelled by 
 law, or custom, which is higher than law, 
 to send copies to all who are likely to 
 want one ? Well, what am I to do with 
 the straggler when it comes ? I have long 
 since, "given it up." They take their 
 chance. Perhaps the organization which 
 I have elsewhere proposed with respect to 
 special collections may in some measure 
 provide a remedy for the treating of col- 
 lections of pamphlets rationally. 
 
 And now a parting shot at the book- 
 binders. Their sins are many, but their 
 difficulties are also great. No one but 
 an idiot would send his books to the 
 binder more than once without indicating 
 the lettering, &c. he desires on the backs ; 
 but this suggests only one of the sins 
 complained of. Dropped stitches are but 
 accidents. The binding up the general 
 index of a series into the last volume of 
 that series, instead of separately (except 
 
 under plain instructions) is an insult to 
 one's common sense; to letter the side 
 of a book and leave the back a blank is 
 direct testimony of far advanced lunacy ; 
 but to cut a book down to within half an 
 inch of its life, or less, so that there is 
 no room for notes (to say nothing of the 
 appearance when opened), is a sin so 
 much beyond all the others which I have 
 named or hinted at, that I know of no 
 designation as applied to it sufficiently 
 expressive which can be used within 
 the range of ears polite. Why do we 
 ever forgive, much less forget such an 
 offence ? 
 
 It will be observed by some present 
 that these notes on binding consist in 
 great part of the substance of an article 
 contributed by me to " Notes and Queries" 
 last year (5th series, vol. 109, 1876). My 
 explanation and apology is that the subjects 
 spoken of attracted so much attention at 
 that time, that I venture to think they may 
 be of interest in the proceedings of this 
 Conference ; and certainly not the less so 
 that I am enabled to add, from many sug- 
 gestions then received, some notes not 
 since used, from one of the greatest autho- 
 rities in this country on bookbinding — I 
 mean Mr. Birdsall, of Northampton.* 
 
 * See Appendix, "Notes on Bookbinding," con- 
 tributed by Mr. Birdsall. 
 
ON BINDING. 
 
 BY SIR REDMOND BARRY, V.P., PRESIDENT OF THE (MELBOURNE) PUBLIC LIBRARY 
 
 OF VICTORIA. 
 
 /he following practical 
 remarks on binding are 
 the result of experience 
 gained in the fonnation 
 and management of the 
 Public Library at Melbourne, in Victoria, 
 Australia. 
 
 They are submitted with deference, not 
 in the expectation that they present any 
 material novelty, but in order to show that 
 attention is paid to the precepts laid down 
 elsewhere by eminent Ubrarians, and with 
 the hope that at this Conference the expe- 
 rience of others may supply useful technical 
 information — to which I do not aspire — 
 for the guidance of those to whom the care 
 and custody of large libraries is intrusted. 
 It is to be expected that books deposited 
 in a public library are liable to be exposed 
 to a great variety of treatment by readers. 
 It may be necessary to renew the binding 
 of some or actually to replace them with 
 fresh copies. Others not so frequently con- 
 sulted may serve the purposes of reference 
 during several generations. 
 
 To insure the fullest measure of endu- 
 rance in esLcii case the binding should be 
 good, strong, and serviceable; the stitching 
 of the sheets honestly and faithfully done ; 
 the work not stabbed. 
 
 Of leathers, — morocco, calf, roan, and 
 vellum are used in preference to russia, 
 which loses colour on exposure to light, 
 tree-calf, liable to crack at the joints, pig 
 or hog skin, which are not so tractable as 
 the others. The skins selected are of the 
 best kind procurable, well prepared, pliant, 
 even in colour and tinge, free from flaws. 
 
 Caoutchouc, Indian - rubber, or other 
 elastic substance liable to expand unduly 
 or partially liquefy in hot seasons of the 
 year, is not employed. For long sets, or a 
 series of many numbers, half-binding is 
 used, the back of strong leather, the sides 
 of marbled paper, easilyrestoredorrenewed 
 wholly if necessary. 
 
 Paper is preferred to cloth, for in hot 
 climates the starch or paste or glue in and 
 on the millboards dries and perishes, dust 
 gets underneath the cloth, the books be- 
 come deformed, and will not stand upright 
 on the shelves. 
 
 Care is taken that the book should open 
 out flat and remain open, and close also 
 completely and remain closed. This, an 
 essential condition, can be attained only 
 by the leaves being cut accurately parallel 
 and pressed regularly and with sufficient 
 force. 
 
 Pamphlets and Uttle books liable to 
 
120 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 be mislaid and to attract the unauthorized 
 borrower, are grouped according to cog- 
 nate subjects, and bound in octavo or 
 small octavo volumes, regardless of the 
 height of each individual treatise. Ranged 
 flush at the upper end, the top being gilt, 
 dust cannot get into and injure the book, 
 as it does when an unequal surface occurs 
 instead of a level face. 
 
 Coats of arms, monograms, names, gene- 
 alogies (as in family Bibles) of previous 
 owners are in all cases preserved. Manu- 
 script notes on the margins of a leaf are 
 never pared off when a book is bound or 
 rebound. The directors exercise their 
 discretion in ordering that such notes or 
 comments or interpolations as may be 
 objectionable be expunged. 
 
 Folding pictures, maps, plans, &c. are 
 strained on muslin, strong and fine, stitched 
 into the back of the book. This to a cer- 
 tain degree saves the thin paper from being 
 crumpled when hastily replaced, and thus 
 distepding the volume, and saves it from 
 being torn out by accident or design. 
 They are grouped in order of succession 
 at the end, and each made to open out 
 beyond and clear of the cover. The 
 reader while perusing the letterpress may 
 thus by occasional reference consult the 
 illustration expanded on his right side 
 without being compelled to turn the book 
 over in order to revert to it, as is inevit- 
 able when bound up opposite to the spot 
 of immediate reference. 
 
 Lettering-pieces on the backs of books, 
 of different-coloured leather according to 
 the nature of the subject, give a distinctive 
 characteristic to each branch of literature. 
 They can be arranged at will on the six 
 spaces, and an endless combination is 
 formed with a comparatively small number 
 of hues. This helps the eye of the reader 
 in search of his author, and the attendants 
 in their adjustment of the books on the 
 shelves. A volume misplaced is instantly 
 detected even by an ilhterate person. The 
 
 cost of binding is not increased by the 
 adoption of this method. 
 
 Gilding on the back of the book involves 
 no considerable additional outlay. It 
 serves the useful purpose of protecting the 
 leather from the effects of the sun's rays 
 and of gas, as well as from the attacks of 
 insects. It is turned to account also to 
 indicate the contents of a work, appro- 
 priate tools cut with artistic skill dis- 
 playing :— 
 
 a flower, leaf, &c., stamp for Botany 
 a mask, &c. . ,, the Drama 
 
 weapon . . „ War, &c. 
 
 Such devices are graceful and suggestive 
 substitutes for the unmeaning mechanical 
 forms so commonly seen. 
 
 In addition to the titlr and other infor- 
 mation supplied by the lettering-pieces, 
 the case and shelf marks, ex. gr. A A, 
 56, are labelled on the top of the back of 
 each book, and at the bottom the place 
 and year of publication with the number 
 of the edition after the first. In the ab- 
 sence of the latter notification editio princeps 
 is implied. 
 
 The name of the binder is burned in, 
 blind-tooled — not gilt — on the leather or 
 paper where turned over on the inside of 
 the cover. It is placed in different posi- 
 tions along the three sides of each, accord- 
 ing to the initial letter of the subject of the 
 work, thus : — 
 
 Agriculture and all beginning with A, 
 on extreme left side at top, as indicated 
 by Maioli. 
 
 Botany and all beginning with B, at 
 middle at top, as indicated by Le Petit 
 Bernard. 
 
 Chemistry and all beginning with C, at 
 extreme right at top, as indicated by Le 
 Gascon. 
 
 Drama and all beginning, with D, at 
 middle of left, as indicated by Derome. 
 
 Engineering and all beginning with E, 
 at bottom of left, as indicated by Grolier. 
 
ON BINiDING. 
 
 121 
 
 ^ Le Petit 
 ^. Bernard. ^ 
 
 Derome. 
 
 .^ \ 
 
 ^ Dusseuil. "*• 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Forestry and all beginning with F, at 
 middle of bottom, as indicated by Dusseuil. 
 
 Geology and all beginning with G, at 
 right hand corner of bottom, as indicated 
 by Padeloup. 
 
 Filling in one-half an alphabet on one 
 side, and dealing in like manner with the 
 other cover, and placing systematically in 
 its allotted place an object insignificant in 
 itself, this mark is not likely to attract the 
 attention of an unprincipled person who 
 may steal a book. It will be observed, 
 therefore, that this is not done through 
 mere pedantry or peculiarity, for, where 
 inscriptions, stamps, and even arming may 
 be obliterated or removed, this name may 
 remain and fix the identification of the 
 stolen volume. But a yet more complete 
 means of proving property is secured by 
 inserting at a particular place on a page, or 
 on more than one, a letter in any language, 
 a character, or symbol, which is also regis- 
 tered in the stock book. In the case of a 
 prosecution for larceny the assistant who 
 made the entry in each is called as a 
 witness, and, although the volume may 
 have been completely altered in appear- 
 ance, rebound, and all traces of other 
 marks expunged by acids or otherwise, 
 this minute emblem will remain to be 
 recognized. 
 
 A bookbinder is engaged on the pre- 
 mises, any book injured is immediately 
 repaired. His technical knowledge is 
 found useful in assisting to ascertain the 
 quality of the materials which accompany 
 the tenders of the bookbinders, to satisfy 
 the trustees that the workmanship is in 
 accordance with the specification. It is a 
 condition that every book is to be collated 
 by the bookbinder at his own expense 
 before delivered. If found incomplete 
 when collated in the library — a process 
 which it goes through before accepted or 
 stamped — and incapable of being made 
 perfect by him, it is returned to him, and 
 the value is deducted from his account. 
 
 When accepted, the books are stamped 
 inside in many places, and armed on the 
 outside with the device of the library, and 
 the motto : — 
 
 "Delectant domi, non impediunt foris, 
 peregrinantur.'' 
 
 On those of the Lending Library the 
 word " rusticantur " is added. 
 
 No fire is required in the library, no 
 artificial warmth except that afforded by 
 gas is introduced. In order to obviate 
 the injury to leather, especially at the 
 headbands, caused by the fumes of gas 
 and also by the dry atmosphere of a mild 
 climate, and occasional excessive heat, due 
 
 R 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 precautions have been taken to secure per- 
 fect ventilation for the books. In addition 
 to the air admitted through the windows, 
 flues run up the columns which divide the 
 interspaces in which the books are ranged, 
 and air-passages lead behind each shelf, 
 which convey gentle currents into the 
 shafts, and communicate through the main 
 walls with the roof. 
 
 This free circulation has been found 
 hitherto effectual to prevent some of the 
 causes of complaint in the libraries of 
 Europe, and in this particular strong 
 corroboration is given to the evidence 
 of the scientific men — Faraday, Fowke, 
 Hoffmann, Redgrave, Tyndall — who re- 
 ported to the Lords of the Privy Council 
 in 1859 on the subject. Holland Winds 
 hung on rollers, drawn down while the 
 rooms and furniture are being cleaned, 
 and when the books are not in use, pre- 
 serve the latter effectually from sunlight, 
 gaslight, and flies, as well as from dust. 
 These are made instructive also by having 
 strained on them, according to the branch 
 of literature in each compartment. Illus- 
 trations, Lists, &c. &c., of the Orders of 
 the Animal and Botanical Kingdoms, 
 Chemistry, Geology, Maps, Charts, &c. 
 They are moreover cheaper, and more 
 convenient, than glazed doors. 
 
 Over each case in the recesses is placed 
 a panel, having printed on it in large gold 
 letters the nature of the works in the com- 
 partment; and small labels in ivory or 
 bone, with strong black letters indicating 
 the subdivisions of the main subject, are 
 attached to the shelves. 
 
 The kind of binding adopted has its 
 advantages, social as well as practical 
 and economical. The cost ranges for 
 octavo volumes from 3^-. (>d. to 5^-. (yd. 
 A volume of becoming exterior, in har- 
 mony with the style of the building and 
 the features and furniture of the room, 
 brings the reader, as it were, into the 
 presence of the author — at least, into 
 
 more immediate communication with him 
 than one in an ordinary dress or a mean 
 garb. 
 
 The individual reader in a spacious, 
 well proportioned, amply ventilated apart- 
 ment, with the temperature well regulated 
 according to the season, takes more care 
 of a book, and feels more interest in the 
 subject of his study if the volume be 
 handsomely bound, than if in boards, 
 which soon break up, or in a common 
 cloth cover, which imbibes damp, retains 
 dust, warps and shrinks, or if enveloped in 
 a paper wrapper, which — especially with 
 those of large size — makes the book un- 
 sightly to the eye and unwieldy to the 
 hand. 
 
 Shelves on which are ranged books 
 bound in well toned colours, displaying 
 judgment and taste in design, skill and 
 neatness in workmanship, without un- 
 necessary expense being incuned in the 
 adornment, produce impressions very dif- 
 ferent from those which arise on seeing 
 rows in frail, shabby covers, dull, tattered 
 backs, unfurnished with information re- 
 specting the order of literature to which 
 they belong, unrelieved by any decoration ; 
 or like those huddled together without 
 regard to size or subject, in the fashion 
 formerly the practice in some places in 
 England, and at this moment in the mag- 
 nificent library of the Escurial, where the 
 right royal volumes are turned with their 
 backs to the wall. 
 
 A computation of the cost of the fre- 
 quent repair of cheaply and, consequently, 
 badly bound books, with the absolute de- 
 terioration in value by reason of their being 
 pared and cut down — or of the time, labour, 
 and material expended in the repeated re- 
 newal and adjustment of paper wrappers, 
 will show that true economy is practised 
 in adopting the best description of bind- 
 ing in the first instance. 
 
 Moreover, the regard thus created for 
 a book is entertained spontaneously in 
 
ON BINDING. 
 
 123 
 
 common by all the readers ; it elevates 
 the feelings, it generates a tone of mutual 
 respectful behaviour. It promotes in a 
 conspicuous manner, amongst those who 
 frequent the library, a desire to protect 
 from injury and loss the valuable property 
 of which the trustees are the indulgent 
 
 but vigilant custodians for the use and 
 benefit of the public* 
 
 * There will be found in the Appendix the fol- 
 lowing illustrations of this paper : I. " Note on 
 the Literary Resources of Victoria ; " 2, "Regula- 
 tions for the conduct of visitors to the Melbourne 
 Public Library." 
 
ON BUCKRAM AS A BINDING-MATERIAL. 
 
 BY EDWARD B. NICHOLSON, LIBRARIAN OF THE LONDON INSTITUTION. 
 
 VERY librarian whose 
 funds are not more than 
 sufficient to allow him 
 to adopt the best known 
 methods of administra- 
 tion, and to purchase all additional works 
 of which his library stands in need, finds 
 his ambition seriously cramped by a yearly 
 increasing expenditure on rebinding. His 
 old cloth books are rubbed and torn to 
 rags, his old russia or calf books are dis- 
 membered by the falling away of the back 
 from the sides, or of the sides from the 
 back, and every year, . as it increases the 
 number of old books, increases the number 
 that require rebinding. In many cases the 
 librarian finds himself reduced to the 
 dilemma either of ceasing to bind old 
 books or else of ceasing to buy new ones. 
 If he elect not to rebind, his old books 
 cannot be used without the certainty of 
 eventual destruction ; if he prefer not to 
 buy, his library falls behind the knowledge 
 of the day, his readers gradually drop oflf, 
 and the collection no longer effects a good 
 in any way proportionate to the cost of 
 retaining it. 
 
 But even this picture, highly coloured 
 as it may appear to some who have never 
 seen the reality, fails to bring out the 
 hardest part of the case. To rebind a 
 
 book in cloth, russia, or calf, does not get 
 rid of it for more than a comparatively 
 limited number of years : every book which 
 a librarian re binds to-day he may be com- 
 pelled to rebind once or twice again in his 
 own lifetime. 
 
 The reason why an ordinary cloth bind- 
 ing will not last is a simple matter of ob- 
 servation. The material is not stout 
 enough, the back becomes torn at top and 
 bottom and at its union with the sides, 
 while the joints rub away. But the reason 
 why russia and calf rot is not nearly so 
 obvious. " It's the gas," is the explanation 
 almost universally accepted, and, I suppose, 
 means that gas contains chemicals which 
 have a peculiarly disintegrating effect upon 
 leather. The City gas-inspector tells me, 
 indeed, that by applying the tongue to a 
 book you can often taste one of the chemi- 
 cal constituents of gas. Now there may 
 be some grain of truth in this theory, but 
 the experience unfolded at the Philadelphia 
 Conference is enough to show that even in 
 a library like that of the Boston Athen^um, 
 which is not artificially lighted at all, the 
 leather bindings of books in the galleries 
 fall to pieces much sooner than the leather 
 bindings below them ; that the chief agent 
 of destruction is, therefore, heated air, 
 which, we know, always rises, and that 
 
07V BUCKRAM AS A BINDING-MATERIAL. 
 
 125 
 
 consequently whatever special damage gas 
 may do is probably effected not so much 
 by any peculiar chemical action as by the 
 generation of unusual heat. The reason 
 why heat destroys leather bindings is that 
 it dries up the moisture in the leather and 
 shrivels it to mere powder. 
 
 Supposing a librarian had no choice but 
 to bind in cloth, calf, or russia, I should 
 therefore advise him to turn his first 
 thoughts to the ventilation of his library. 
 I doubt whether there are many better 
 ways of ventilating a large room than by 
 putting sunlights in the ceiling. Until 
 1874 the library of this Institution was 
 lit by sunhghts pendant to within fifteen 
 feet of the floor : the heat in the gallery 
 was often insufferable, and the atmosphere 
 of the room was sJways stuffy. In that 
 year sunlights in the ceiling were substi- 
 tuted, and since then we have had a li- 
 brary almost as well ventilated as any in 
 London. 
 
 Having improved his ventilation, the 
 librarian should henceforth bind his least 
 used books in cloth, which suffers more 
 from friction than leather but does not 
 crumble from heat ; the books most in use 
 he should bind in calf; russia, as by com- 
 mon consent the most friable of the three, 
 he should eschew altogether. 
 
 But by so doing he will, after all, only 
 mitigate the evil. However well ventilated 
 his library may be, it is almost impossible 
 to prevent an occasionally overheated at- 
 mosphere which will ruin the calf, while 
 his cloth books, if used at all, will need 
 rebinding before any great number of 
 years. The question therefore arises whe- 
 ther no other material is available. 
 
 Of course it is easy to recommend mo- 
 rocco and vellum. Both suffer from heat 
 imperceptibly as compared with russia 
 and calf The objection to both is their 
 expense. To vellum its monotony of 
 colour will also be objected by those libra- 
 rians who decline to put their books in 
 
 paper covers, or to shelve them on their 
 fore edges. 
 
 But I believe that every difficulty will 
 be met by the employment of buckram, 
 which is nothing more than a stout linen 
 with a somewhat open web. Being a cloth 
 it is proof against heated air, and being 
 much firmer than ordinary cloth it rubs 
 to a far less extent and does not tear at 
 all. Its cost is only about 25 per cent, 
 dearer, and in the case of half binding 
 the difference is, of course, nearly inap- 
 preciable. 
 
 Unfaced buckram has long been used 
 by Government for navy libraries, and 
 Mr. Triibner recently told me that he was 
 then binding in it no less than 22,000 
 volumes. This may be taken as a fair 
 evidence of its extreme durability. But I 
 do not know whether faced buckram, 
 which has a far better appearance, was 
 used in any library before that of the 
 London Institution. It was introduced 
 here about ten years ago by the then 
 librarian. Professor Brayley, who, I believe, 
 wrote a paper in its favour to some scientific 
 periodical. 
 
 The faced buckram sold in London is 
 made by a Scotch firm, whose name 
 neither our late nor our present binders 
 know : it is dyed and sold by at least four 
 London houses. Up till the last month 
 it was dyed in eight colours only. One of 
 these, a dirty white, may be left out of 
 consideration. Another, a brilliant yellow 
 (used a good deal in its unfaced state for 
 trade collecting-books), might serve with 
 black lettering-pieces to bind works in 
 Russian, or relating to Russia : but I 
 should almost shrink even from this limited 
 employment of it. The six other colours 
 were black, brown, green, red, purple, and 
 slate, all of which may be bound so as to 
 produce a very neat appearance either with 
 or without lettering-pieces. Green and 
 red, as at present dyed, are liable to fade 
 somewhat. 
 
126 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 Until of late we bound almost solely 
 in brown, and without lettering-pieces ; 
 the aspect of the rebound books was 
 consequently monotonous to the last 
 degree, and I therefore introduced other 
 colours, together with lettering-pieces. I 
 am beginning, however, to discard the 
 lettering-pieces for most works in the 
 reference-library, under the fear that they 
 will peel off — ^not, indeed, in my time, but 
 long before the bindings are worn out. 
 The librarian who does not look as far as 
 possible into the future only prepares for 
 his successors the same labour which, in 
 too many cases, he has inherited from his 
 predecessors. 
 
 I have within the last month induced 
 our binders to procure a dark blue. The 
 firm who supply it only dye in those co- 
 lours which are in sufficient demand, and 
 as buckram has hitherto been used chiefly 
 for commoner purposes, there has been 
 little inducement to secure an equal and 
 a fast colour. But even now a librarian 
 can have a piece dyed in any colour, if he 
 will undertake to have a sufficient number 
 of books bound from that piece to prevent 
 any part of it lying idle in the binder's 
 hands, and there can be no doubt that as 
 soon as the material becomes popular the 
 dyers will vie with each other in producing 
 a large variety of even and permanent 
 colours. 
 
 Since I advocated the claims of this 
 material in the " Academy,'' some months 
 ago, I have been applied to for samples 
 by the Birmingham, Manchester, and 
 
 Boston (U.S.) Public Libraries, and by the 
 Library of the Johns Hopkins University, 
 at Baltimore. I believe that it is also 
 being tried in the library of the Corpora- 
 tion of London. Professor Winsor, in his 
 Annual Report, speaks of the satisfactory 
 appearance of the books which he has had 
 bound in these samples, and expresses his 
 intention of importing the material even 
 at a 40 per cent. duty. 
 
 The representatives of other libraries 
 will, however, be able to state to the Con- 
 ference their opinion of the material, and 
 you will have already seen specimens of it. 
 I have only three pieces of advice to offer. 
 The first is, if you want the web of the 
 buckram to show as little as possible, bind 
 in dark colours. The second is to get 
 specimens of the green (which ought to be 
 very dark) and the red (which ought to be 
 very bright) before ordering them, as a 
 somewhat faded variety of both colours is 
 in use, and, I fear, was among the samples 
 sent to Birmingham and Manchester. The 
 third is, to have as litde tooling as possi- 
 ble on the back ; it only serves to show 
 up the web of the buckram, and converts 
 an appearance of neat respectabihty into 
 one of shabby splendour. 
 
 To sum up, then, buckram binding is 
 scarcely dearer than cloth, is cheaper than 
 half- calf, and, as far as my experience 
 goes, immeasurably more durable than 
 cloth, half-calf, or even full calf. If it 
 should be adopted, the cost of binding in 
 the present will be diminished largely, but 
 still greater will be the gain in the future. 
 
HINTS ON LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SO FAR AS RELATES 
 TO THE CIRCULATION OF BOOKS. 
 
 BY BENJAMIN R. WHEATLEY, RESIDENT LIBRARIAN OF THE ROYAL MEDICAL AND 
 CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY, LONDON. 
 
 sN laying before you some 
 details and suggestions re- 
 lative to that part of the 
 management of a library 
 which is connected with 
 the loan of its books, I have no intention 
 or desire to propose rules, or to press any 
 particular system upon you for adoption, 
 or to find fault with any of the varied 
 modes adopted by others. It is only as 
 illustrating one out of many systems, that 
 I wish to state a few practical details of 
 methods which have been used in our 
 library with success, partially for half — 
 and entirely for the last quarter of— a 
 century. 
 
 .1 speak only as one of several represen- 
 tatives of London Societies, and my re- 
 marks will only be applicable to institutions 
 of a kindred character, possessing libraries 
 which are of moderate extent only, when 
 compared with our great Pubhc Libraries, 
 or with the large Free Libraries of more 
 recent growth in our cities and provincial 
 towns, where readers are numbered by the 
 hundred in a day. I speak only for libraries 
 having constituencies or bodies of mem- 
 bers which, though not comparatively nu- 
 
 merous, make up in quality what they want 
 in quantity, and consist of a high class of 
 educated men. 
 
 I must, par parenthhe, claim for the 
 libraries of Institutions and Societies, the 
 title of Public Libraries as opposed to the 
 private libraries of individuals. I do not 
 understand the word Free being used as 
 almost a synonym of " Public." There 
 are Free Public Libraries, and there are 
 Subscription Public Libraries of Societies 
 or Institutions ; and to the latter class, as 
 sectional Public Libraries, my remarks 
 will chiefly apply. 
 
 Our library is really a Medical and 
 Surgical Section of a great Public Library. 
 Taking the five great classes of literature, 
 I suppose Medicine and its allied sciences 
 may be considered as forming a thirtieth 
 of the whole ; and as our books number 
 30,000, we are, as it were, a completed 
 section of a Public Library of nearly a 
 million volumes in extent. 
 
 A library in which the books are lent 
 out to the members certainly possesses a 
 far higher degree of usefulness than one in 
 which consultation in the reading-room 
 is alone allowed. The area of its room is 
 
128 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 extended, and the hours of its opening 
 prolonged in a ratio almost equal to the 
 area of the homes in which study may be 
 pursued, and the length of the quiet hours 
 of the night to which it may be prolonged. 
 
 I pass over the various official details 
 connected with the ordering of books by 
 our honorary librarians and library-com- 
 mittees— ^the registering of donations, and 
 the sending of letters of thanks^ and 
 the recording, placing, cataloguing, index- 
 ing and shelf-registering of books ; but in 
 connexion with my subject, the landing 
 of Books, I must refer to two points in 
 the placing and cataloguing of them which 
 are intimately related to it. 
 
 I. With regard to the Placing z.'sxdi Num- 
 bering of books in a lending library, I 
 consider that rapidity in placing them in 
 position ready for loan is the great deside- 
 ratum; and therefore, with the exception 
 of large classes, we make no pretension to 
 minute shelf-arrangement, and of course 
 as, in common with other societies of spe- 
 cial character, the whole of our books have 
 a strong homogeneity, minute arrangement 
 is not of so much importance to us. 
 
 Our books are, on receipt, at once cata- 
 logued, marked, and placed ; can be seen 
 within a day or two ; and can be lent out 
 in about a week after purchase. In order 
 to achieve this, we have a large supple- 
 mentary room, shelved round, and with 
 stacks of shelving back to back down its 
 centre, to which room we by degrees re- 
 move our old or disused books, by entire 
 shelves at a time, and thus always keep 
 open for the instant placing of fresh 
 additions, as they are purchased or pre- 
 sented, a series of shelves in folio, quarto, 
 octavo, and duodecimo for English, and 
 another series of the same sizes for Foreign 
 works. We have, at our present rate of 
 increase (which is about 500 volumes a 
 year) if no arithmetical or geometrical 
 progression interfere, sufficient room for 
 about thirty years. 
 
 Minute classification of books on the 
 shelves, if your catalogue and subject- 
 index are fully and completely carried out, 
 is, if you lend your books, quite as much 
 honoured in the breach as the observance ; 
 for where the circulation is large the bene- 
 fit of knowing where your books are placed 
 by classification, without the assistance of 
 your catalogue, is problematical, as in very 
 many instances you would go to the place, 
 and would find your book in a negative 
 sense only, for you would find it out. Shelf- 
 classification, though useful in a library, 
 must always be less perfect than catalogue 
 and index classification, from the exigen- 
 cies of size and space connected with it 
 not allowing of the same minute correctness 
 of arrangement; and therefore, though a 
 useful auxiUary to which I could not think 
 of objecting, should never be used as a 
 principal in our plans of classification. It 
 is much like the arquebus of the later 
 middle ages, when compared as an instru- 
 ment of precision with the rifle direct- 
 ness of a good and complete subject- 
 index. 
 
 For prompt action in a lending library 
 it is necessary that outside tickets or 
 labels should always be adopted in the 
 numbering of books ; for, if only marked 
 inside the covers, the books will be sure 
 to get misplaced on being returned to the 
 shelves — the trouble of hunting for their 
 exact position in a shelf containing thirty 
 to forty volumes being almost too great 
 for ordinary patience. There is a mode 
 advocated of numbering books consecu- 
 tively, either entirely in one series or by 
 rooms or compartments, and this acts very 
 well in the London Library, and else- 
 where; but in the libraries of societies 
 where the principle of a fixed shelf location 
 has been established for many years, the 
 latter has, I think, no difficulties; and, 
 from its allowing the special movement of 
 the contents of distinct shelves to an 
 upper room (a subject which I have just 
 
HINTS ON THE CIRCULATION OF BOOKS. 
 
 129 
 
 before referred to) has very decided ad- 
 vantages. 
 
 Where the hbrary-room is also the 
 reading-room, it is necessary for the 
 correct management of the loan of books 
 that the bookcases should have doors, be 
 kept locked, and only be opened by the 
 librarian or his assistants. Where books 
 are sent for, often several at a time, and 
 in a great hurry, by note from members, 
 the misplacing of a book, even on a neigh- 
 bouring shelf, is, for the time being, the 
 same as if it had been feloniously abstracted 
 from the Ubrary. It is utterly impossible 
 in the hurry of search to allow your eyes to 
 wander over these neighbouring shelves; 
 it is necessary that the book should be 
 always returned to its exact marked place, 
 so that if it is not found there, the con- 
 clusion may at once be drawn that it is out. 
 Cases containing long sets of Journals or 
 Transactions may be left open for consul- 
 tation by readers, but with regard to all 
 other classes of books the cases should be 
 locked. It is an unfortunate truth that 
 the ability to put a book back in its right 
 place is a rare accomplishment, and its 
 rarity has given rise to the use of the 
 notice so comjnonly seen in libraries, 
 that " Books are to be left on the library 
 tables, and in no case to be returned by 
 the consulter to the shelves." 
 
 2. With regard to the Catalogue, I think 
 that in any Society where the books of the 
 library are allowed to circulate among its 
 members a printed one becomes a special 
 necessity — a comer-stone of the system. 
 The ability to learn at home whether the 
 book required is in the hbrary or not is 
 really more than equal to having a tele- 
 graphic system of inquiry-wires laid on 
 from the library to the houses of the 
 members, for the questions are more 
 immediately answered by a reference to 
 the catalogue. 
 
 We have had printed catalogues for 
 more than half a century, which have been 
 
 cut up and pasted in a large folio volume; 
 and for about thirty years, that is since the 
 last edition but one of the catalogue, we 
 have annually printed our additions, and 
 had them inserted in type in spaces left 
 for the purpose, so that the library-copy 
 has been all through that time, and is now, 
 as complete, relatively with regard to the 
 current condition of the library, as when 
 first made. We are now in the press with 
 a new catalogue, which will replace our 
 present one with very slight inconvenience 
 to the business working of the library ; it 
 will again in turn receive its annual supple- 
 mentary additions, and I hope will be useful 
 for another quarter of a century to come. 
 
 I may add that for further usefulness to 
 members at their homes, we have a printed 
 index of subjects, which has also lasted 
 nearly twenty years, and is now being 
 replaced by a new one. 
 
 We have thus had, as far as a library- 
 copy is concerned, a continuous complete 
 printed catalogue, always up to date, for 
 above thirty years, the supplementary ad- 
 ditions of each session being, till printed, 
 entered up in a volume entitled " Recent 
 Additions," which is made (as are also our 
 shelf-catalogues) on a plan of shifting 
 leaves upon strings, which renders them 
 perennial. 
 
 I would here remind our American 
 friends and our Free-Library provincial 
 friends that however cordially the li- 
 brarians of Public Societies may respond 
 to their endeavours to further the saving 
 of time in the transaction of their daily 
 work, the plans that suit their enormous 
 libraries and their enormous constituen- 
 cies will not suit Societies, and we can 
 only stand by and wish them God speed 
 upon their way. Neither the numerical 
 systems nor the card catalogues would 
 be tolerated by our constituencies. It 
 has been said at one of our meetings, 
 by one of our provincial librarians, that 
 he had been unable for some time to find 
 
 s 
 
I30 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 a book at the British Museum, because 
 the same name ran through twenty or 
 thirty leaves of the catalogue, with about 
 four to six entries on each. What would 
 have been the case had he had to look 
 through a hundred slips or cards of the 
 same name for the one work he wanted ? 
 The librarian should keep, as we have 
 kept for a quarter of a century, a card or 
 slip catalogue for himself and his library 
 duties, as the very best form for registering 
 the additions to the library. But no pub- 
 lic — educated or to be educated — like it. 
 They object to looking over yards of sin- 
 gle titles in broken ridges one by one. They 
 want to be able to glance with rapidity over 
 the long page of clear, readable type. 
 
 With regard to our Rules of Circulation, 
 I may state that we allow our Journals to 
 be circulated whilst in progress before 
 binding, for it so often happens that the 
 papers in them are referred to before the 
 close of the year or half-year in which 
 they appear, that much disappointment 
 would be caused if that favour were re- 
 fused. They are arranged on separate 
 tables devoted to the productions of each 
 country, are placed in something like 
 alphabetical order, and are not enclosed 
 in any extra leather cases or covers, for 
 we-, find that the original wrappers with 
 their distinctive colours and appearance 
 become well known to the members, and 
 are much more readily found than they 
 would be if arranged in a series of cases 
 of one dull uniform appearance. 
 
 It is necessary to have rules and laws 
 that can be pressed home when really 
 required, but whose harshness, when it is 
 not obligatory to enforce them, may be 
 mitigated by a general liberality and free- 
 dom of action. You must have laws for 
 the number of books to be allowed out at a 
 time, and for the length of time they may 
 be retained, but these laws must not be 
 too stringently enforced when no possible 
 good and only irritating annoyance is 
 
 created by their enforcement. Our library 
 has to maintain the appearance of that 
 of a private gentleman. We have to 
 conceal our plans and regulations under 
 a seeming liberty of action for our mem- 
 bers, and can only bring them forward 
 when egregiously disobeyed. We have 
 to wear a kid glove on our mailed hand. 
 
 With regard to the time books are 
 allowed to be kept, our laws fix a fortnight, 
 but this must be considered as a law held 
 in reserve. The library is for the benefit 
 of the members of the Society, and if a 
 member requires the use of a book for a 
 longer period, and it is not wanted by 
 another member, there is greater benefit 
 in his retaining it than in its standing 
 idle on our shelves. The law is made 
 to be acted on, should the book be 
 wanted, and then, on being written for, 
 it must be returned within three days, 
 under a fine. 
 
 The Forms and Account Books * which 
 we use connected with the circulation of 
 our books are : — 
 
 No. I. The printed slip for the signatures 
 of members, and the insertion of the titles of 
 the books taken out. As a member is 
 allowed to have eight volumes at a time, 
 all taken at the same time are usually 
 written upon one slip. 
 
 These- forms (No. i) are filed for the 
 day, and then entered up in the large 
 Folio Ledger (A), where each member has 
 a separate page of account to himself. 
 This book is ruled for date of loan, author 
 and title, shelf-mark, person by whom 
 taken (whether the member himself, or a 
 friend, or his messenger), with columns 
 for date of return, and for the hbrarian's 
 signature on receipt. This should be a 
 large thick volume on a strong paper, so 
 as to last several years, for an annual 
 book of the kind would cause an infinitely 
 greater amount of trouble, from there 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
HINTS ON THE CIRCULATION OF BOOKS. 
 
 131 
 
 being constantly two books in use to be 
 referred to instead of one (owing to the 
 loans of one session running into another), 
 with a corresponding uncertainty of refe- 
 rence. The folio of the ledger is on entry 
 written at the top of each slip, and the 
 titles are again entered in the Alphabetical 
 Index to the Ledger (B), with the date of 
 loan, borrower's name, and the folio of the 
 ledger. 
 
 For any system to work well it should 
 be managed by the officers in its smallest 
 details, and if consulters fill up the forms 
 themselves, on taking books out, the entry 
 should be verified by the librarian or his 
 assistant, for it is quite possible for a title 
 to be entered in a manner which will after- 
 wards be found to give no clue to the 
 actual book taken out — the author's 
 name, the shelf-mark, the date, the volume 
 or series being severally omitted where 
 most required. I would recommend there- 
 fore that, as much as possible, the entries 
 be made by the officers themselves, and 
 then signed by the members. I would not 
 say it with any disparagement of the in- 
 tellect of those who use the library, but, 
 unless they have actually studied the 
 subject, there will always be an uncertainty 
 whether the required information wiU be 
 entered by them with technical correctness, 
 or in a way by which the books can be 
 certainly identified. Consulters will copy 
 correctly from the title in a catalogue in ask- 
 ing for a book, but they will not put down 
 the proper particulars from a book when 
 they have, as it were, to invent them for 
 themselves, on taking it out of the library. 
 
 There are great objections to the plan 
 adopted in some libraries, where the circu- 
 lation is small, of using a mere day-book, in 
 which each member writes down the titles 
 of the books he is taking out, with, I fear, 
 only the faintest approach to actual super- 
 vision or verification by the librarian at 
 the time. 
 
 By means of the above two books, the 
 
 ledger (A), and its index (B), we can tell 
 almost instantaneously whether a book is 
 out or not (without consulting the shelves), 
 the time it has been out, and in whose 
 possession it is ; and when works are re- 
 turned they are easily struck off in both 
 books from either direction, index or 
 ledger — viz., if the book has been re- 
 turned without the name of the borrower 
 being left, by turning to the index for the 
 title, where the ledger-folio will be imme- 
 diately found ; or, if the member's name is 
 known, by turning at once to his folio in 
 the ledger, and then finding the title in the 
 index by the alphabetical and the neces- 
 sarily (from their being entered in order of 
 loan) chronological arrangement of the 
 entries under each letter. 
 
 The next phase is that books are 
 often wanted which are already in circu- 
 lation. For the management of this 
 matter we have a large volume lettered 
 '■^ Books bespoken " (C), and this is ruled for 
 the following entries : — name of borrower, 
 date when had, date of notice for return 
 and date of return, title of book, name of 
 member requiring it, date when applied 
 for, date of notice sent him of its being set 
 aside, and date of his receipt of it. All 
 books out when applied for are at once 
 entered in this book, and after receipt, the 
 system again repeats itself through ledger, 
 index, &c. 
 
 There is also a portion of this last book 
 which is devoted to quarterly or half- 
 yearly notices for such books as have been 
 out beyond a reasonable time. The ledger 
 is thus subject to continual supervision, 
 and the danger of the loss of books mate- 
 rially lessened, those books being written 
 for at intervals which have been out up to 
 certain fixed dates ; and the greatest libe- 
 rality as to time being shown to members 
 who are compiling or writing works, and 
 require books for many months for con- 
 sultation and reference. 
 
 We do not adopt that very aggravating 
 
132 
 
 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 form of management which requires all 
 books to be sent in by a certain day under 
 a heavy fine, at the period of the closing 
 of the library : the times of notice above 
 referred to being equally effectual for the 
 purpose, and the autumn-closing of our 
 library is thus rendered less trying to the 
 patience of such of our members as have 
 to remain in London during that period 
 and who are then most inclined and most 
 able to devote much of their time to read- 
 ing and study. 
 
 Form No. 2 is the "Notice for the Return 
 of Books ; " a fine is incurred if it is not at- 
 tended to till after the third day from its 
 transmission. It is generally admirably 
 attended to, the members, with few excep- 
 tions, feeling apparently a pleasure in 
 contributing their assistance towards the 
 smooth and effectual working of the library; 
 and thus, though with only one copy of 
 most books, or two copies of new books 
 of importance and of those likely to be 
 much inquired for, we are able to insure 
 to any member the possession of a book 
 which may be out when he requires it, in 
 about three days after inquiry. This space 
 of time is found to work very well, for, in 
 considering the wants of literary and scien- 
 tific men, we must recollect that instanta- 
 neous reference to books is rarely a posi- 
 tive necessity to an author in the same 
 way as it is to an orator; and that if a 
 reader can make sure, when he wants a 
 book that is out, that he can receive it 
 vidthin three days (which he can do, for 
 our statistics show that most books, with 
 the exception of quite recent publications, 
 have generally been out the required legal 
 fortnight by the time they are again asked 
 for), he will make his memorandum ac- 
 cordingly, will work at some other point for 
 awhile, and find the delay of a few days in 
 consulting the book no very serious in- 
 convenience. 
 
 Form No. 3 is sent to inform members of 
 books being put aside Iqx them, and that they 
 
 will be retained for them for a few days. 
 I need hardly say that this notice usually 
 meets with immediate attention. 
 
 There is one advantage we possess in 
 our library in its professional character, 
 that we maintain friendly relations with 
 the Royal College of Surgeons, which 
 possesses the only other medical library 
 in the metropolis of the same extent and 
 completeness as our own ; and, as in that 
 library the books are not allowed to cir- 
 culate, we in a great measure supply each 
 other's deficiencies. For those of our mem- 
 bers who cannot spare the time for con- 
 sulting or reading their books at the library, 
 our system of circulation provides the ad- 
 vantage of books for use at home, while 
 those who wish only to make cursory re- 
 ference to books, can, if they find them 
 out at our library, always, even if not 
 members of the surgical branch of the 
 profession, obtain easUy permission from 
 the College authorities, and a ready wel- 
 come and assistance in their consultations 
 from my friend Mr. Chatto, at the College 
 library. 
 
 The other great difficulty connected 
 with libraries which are " lending " as well 
 as " reference," is the loss of books, and 
 this, I fear, is a serious matter in some 
 lending libraries. It appears to be an 
 unavoidable evil even with the strictest 
 care and regulations. Books are fre- 
 quently mixed with their own in the pri- 
 vate libraries of borrowers; and the terri- 
 ble domestic cleaning-operations which 
 quarterly or annually take place in studies, 
 when every book is removed from its 
 place and replaced in a new one, the room 
 being thoroughly " tidied up," produce the 
 certain effect that some books will with 
 difficulty again be met with, or not till 
 after long and tedious search in cupboards 
 and other out-of-the-way and obscure po- 
 sitions. In this and other ways we lose 
 books, some temporarily, some for longer 
 periods, and some without recovery, which 
 
HINTS ON THE CIRCULATION OF BOOKS. 
 
 133 
 
 have to be replaced by new copies at the 
 expense of the losers. Our books have 
 been known to travel, inadvertently, in 
 the hands or trunks of friends of our 
 members, to the Antipodes and back 
 again. 
 
 We have permanently lost but few 
 books, for, though about ten works are 
 temporarily misplaced or lost annually by 
 members, they are, by our system of no- 
 tices, mostly refound, and the few' which 
 are really lost are replaced by members 
 at their own expense. 
 
 I should think about six is the number 
 of books permanently lost in the last five- 
 and-twenty years in a library now con- 
 sisting of 30,000 volumes. They are 
 works which, from being out of print, or 
 old and scarce, have not been easUy met 
 with; but, as we have a record of the 
 names of the works, they may yet be 
 replaced by other copies, and the library 
 rendered quite complete by its catalogue. 
 
 I fear our old plans may make some of 
 our more advanced librarians smile; but 
 
 in these plans we have a system by which 
 we can put any book you require into 
 your hand in one minute, can tell you all 
 the books we possess on any subject in 
 an instant, and put them all, even to the 
 extent of twenty, on a table before you in 
 ten minutes ; and what can newer systems 
 do more ? 
 
 I have merely endeavoured to lay before 
 you the working management of one of the 
 departments of a quiet Society-Library 
 in London, in which a large amount of 
 good and useful work is, I trust, carried 
 on for the benefit of one great division of 
 our scientific world. The wants of that 
 large and important body are adequately 
 met. There is little medical and physio- 
 logical literature written or read of real 
 importance to the profession in this great 
 city, with which our library is not in some 
 measure connected. It is this fact which 
 has emboldened me to lay these remarks, 
 and perhaps too prolonged details on one 
 point of its management, before the Con- 
 ference. 
 
ON LENDING BOOKS. 
 
 BY SIR REDMOND BARRY, V.P., PRESIDENT OF THE (MELBOURNE) PUBLIC LIBRARY, 
 
 VICTORIA. 
 
 'HE lending library in 
 Melbourne is conducted 
 on a system different from 
 that in common use else- 
 where. 
 
 In many places single volumes are lent to 
 individuals. That entails the expense and 
 trouble of daily issuing, receiving, check- 
 ing, and collating the books ; the onerous 
 and invidious references as to the respect- 
 ability of the borrowers ; the requisitions 
 and guarantees; and the inconvenience 
 arising from detention, injury to and loss 
 of volumes, and consequent irksome 
 necessity for enforcing fines and com- 
 pensation, difficult if not impossible when 
 borrowers change their place of abode. 
 Also the frequent disappointment of apph- 
 cants for a favourite or popular work not 
 attainable because in use for several days ; 
 as well as the heavy charge of buying 
 many copies of the same book. 
 
 In other places branch-libraries are es- 
 tablished. This involves an outlay neces- 
 sary for the rent of a suitable building; 
 the cost of adequate furniture; the support 
 of an efficient staff. A multiplication of 
 copies follows here also. 
 
 Each system has its manifest and 
 peculiar advantages, including that of 
 private or collective reading at home, and 
 
 the saving of distance in bad or winter 
 weather when going to, or returning from 
 the reading-room. 
 
 Each is open, however, to the objection 
 that a reduplication of the same book pre- 
 vents the acquisition of a like number of 
 independent authors' works which we 
 could not aiford, or a too ready compliance 
 with the demand for what is called " sen- 
 sational literature," published at a cheap 
 rate — this has a tendency to exclude from 
 public libraries and such branches writ- 
 ings of a higher and more permanently 
 instructive character. 
 
 Books (duplicates of those in the Mel- 
 bourne Public Library) are lent to Public 
 Libraries, Mechanics' or Literary Insti- 
 tutions, Athenaeums, or Municipal Cor- 
 porations, for periods extending over three, 
 four, or six months, with further extension 
 of time if desired on the conditions given 
 below. 
 
 They are bound uniformly and well in 
 plain green morocco leather, without 
 lettering-pieces, armed on the upper side 
 with the library's device and motto, and 
 stamped on the title and other pages with 
 the name of the institution. 
 
 They are packed in cases of oak, bound 
 with brass clips, lined with green baize. 
 The shelves are of such depth that the 
 
ON LENDING BOOKS. 
 
 '35 
 
 books cannot suffer from friction in tra- 
 velling. Each case contains about fifty 
 volumes ; weighs on an average 112 lbs. ; 
 has strong handles on each side ; is 
 raised without difficulty by one man ; is 
 closed with a reversible sliding door. On 
 the inside of that is a list of the contents, 
 with the value of each book and the con- 
 ditions of the loan. Each case is covered 
 with a waterproof tarpaulin to protect it 
 when on its journey. It is transmitted by 
 railway or by steamer to and from its 
 place of destination free of cost. The 
 only charge to the borrower is a small sum 
 per hundred paid for collating the books 
 when returned. When the cases are placed 
 back to back on a table, or one on another 
 (the doors being withdrawn) there is no 
 necessity to remove the books and place 
 them on other shelves. 
 
 One set of duplicates — instead of several 
 required as already mentioned — is selected 
 with due reference to the ordinary col- 
 lections generally found in the institutions 
 to which the loans are made. 
 
 Their catalogues are supplied and ex- 
 amined, so that repetitions of their contents 
 are as much as is possible avoided. The 
 works are consequently of an order above 
 the standard to which in the early stages 
 of those institutions the directors limit 
 their purchases. 
 
 They form a fluctuating occasional 
 supplement to the local resources, which 
 can be varied or augmented as desired by 
 any section or body of readers — which en- 
 courages those restricted in the field of re- 
 search to enter on more extensive inquiry. 
 
 When a series of lectures is about to be 
 given at any Literary Institution in the 
 interior of the country, a case, or more than 
 one, containing treatises on Agriculture, 
 Art, Botany, Geology, &c. &c. not at 
 hand, can be supplied. Assistance is thus 
 afforded to the lecturer, as also to the 
 members of his class or audience, who 
 may pursue at their leisure the study of 
 
 the works sent to which they are referred 
 by him. 
 
 The number of volumes thus circulated 
 in the year 1876-7 was 8,000. 
 
 They peregrinated to 18 towns, con- 
 taining a population of 110,000. 
 
 Each town had the privilege of receiv- 
 ing 250 volumes, to be retained for three 
 months. That is 1,000 volumes during 
 twelve months. 
 
 This is equivalent to 32,000 volumes in 
 72 towns, of 440,000 population, in the 
 course of the year. 
 
 The plan is capable of expansion at a 
 cost trifling in comparison with the amount 
 of benefit conferred on those in remote 
 parts of the country unable to visit the 
 library of the capital. 
 
 It is calculated to increase the interest 
 felt in the welfare of the parent institution 
 and strengthen the ties of intimacy between 
 it and its distant relatives, to lead to a 
 still closer association with them — as it 
 were colleges of adults affiliated to a 
 voluntary university of adults, — ^all imbued 
 alike with a desire to advance the great 
 cause of education, which may be said to 
 begin in real earnest when men enter on 
 the struggle of life and resort to a great 
 emporium of learning and philosophy, of 
 literature, science, and art. 
 
 It might be adapted to the cities, 
 districts, counties, or still larger areas in 
 this country, or in others, either by sending 
 forth from the great national university 
 or collegiate Hbraries contributions on a 
 scale larger than our modest loans, or by 
 the co-operation of Mechanics' or other 
 Literary Institutions interchanging within 
 convenient limits such books or editions 
 as others did not possess.* 
 
 * In the Appendix will be found in illustration 
 of this paper :— i. " Statistics relative to the Mel- 
 bourne Public Library, including Lending Depart- 
 ment;" 2. "Regulations for the Conduct of 
 Visitors to the Melbourne Public Library;" 
 3. " Conditions upon which Books will be Lent 
 by the Trustees to Free Public Libraries." 
 
MEANS OF OBTAINING THE BOOKS REQUIRED IN A 
 LENDING LIBRARY. 
 
 BY JAMES MATTHEWS, LIBRARIAN OF THE PUBLIC FREE LIBRARY, NEWPORT (mON.). 
 
 \URING the period of 
 nine years of practical 
 experience at the lend- 
 ing department counter, 
 I have not met with any- 
 thing more difficult than what one may 
 term books being out when borrowers' lists 
 are presented to me on exchanging or 
 applying for books. 
 
 With lists of twenty books, borrowers do 
 not, in nine cases out of ten, obtain the 
 books they want, after repeated applica- 
 tions, and the old cry of " None in," or 
 " All out " has become a by- word amongst 
 them ; consequently lists are useless, bor- 
 rowers get careless, trouble is entailed in 
 finding " consolation "-books, and the 
 rules enforcing lists cannot be strictly 
 enforced. Additional copies will partly 
 remedy the evil, but not wholly, as the 
 chances are against the borrower making 
 a visit to the library at the exact time 
 when a book will be on the shelf. 
 
 The extension of the usefulness of lend- 
 ing departments of libraries depend^ on 
 the easy manner of procuring the works 
 they contain ; therefore, borrowers ought 
 to be assisted to obtain their long-wished- 
 for books. The committee of the New- 
 
 port Free Library, nearly three years ago, 
 passed a resolution to adopt my post-card 
 plan under the following notice : — 
 
 "Borrowers desirous of having books 
 retained for them must provide and deposit 
 post-cards at the Library fully addressed 
 to themselves, with the titles of one or 
 several works legibly written on the back 
 of the same. The librarian or assistant to 
 post the card to the borrower as soon as 
 the, or any one of the books mentioned 
 on the post-card comes in, and passes the 
 usual examination, also to be endorsed 
 the words : present this on application 
 WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. Further- 
 more, to prevent books being given out to 
 wrong persons, borrowers are requested to 
 reproduce the post-card on application for 
 their books." 
 
 It is satisfactory to state that since the 
 adoption of this simple idea the evil is 
 removed, the circulation is quicker, the 
 issue returns are greater, and, I may add, 
 that it is also much appreciated by the 
 borrowers, for they now get their books in 
 a short time instead of waiting (as in some 
 instances) two years for them. 
 
 Doubtless, the plan may be received 
 with disfavour by some, with whom I 
 
MEANS OF OBTAINING THE BOOKS REQUIRED. 137 
 
 should be happy to hold correspondence 
 regarding its merits or defects, or to learn 
 of something better. All I can say at 
 present in favour of it is, that everyone 
 has the same privilege, and, should more 
 
 than one post-card be left for a single book, 
 they are numbered consecutively, 1, 2, 
 3, 4, &c., as they are placed in the hands 
 of the librarian or assistant Renewals of 
 books are not allowed in these instances. 
 
STATISTICS OF LIBRARIES. 
 
 BY JOHN D. MULLINS, LIBRARIAN OF THE FREE LIBRARIES, BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 I S there not great need for 
 the adoption of a com- 
 mon basis of calculation 
 in making up the statistics 
 of libraries ? 
 
 1. Referring to the contents of libraries, 
 we are told with regard to a certain insti- 
 tution that it contains, say, 10,000 volumes. 
 What does this mean? that is, what is 
 considered a volume? In one library 
 every pamphlet, being bound separately, 
 is counted as if it were a volume ; while 
 in another only the volumes in which 
 pamphlets are bound are counted. Again, 
 one library adds largely to its stock from 
 editions in many volumes, another may 
 have the same works in smaller editions. 
 
 I suggest for discussion that, in order to 
 get a fair basis of comparison, the follow- 
 ing method should be adopted : — 
 
 The library consists of 500 works, in 
 800 volumes, and contains also 200 
 pamphlets. 
 
 2. The same suggestion applies with 
 even more force to the statistics of the 
 issues of libraries. To many members 
 of the Conference who print no statistics 
 of issues this may seem a light matter, 
 but to the managers of Free Libraries 
 statistics are life; they are needed to 
 justify existence. The ratepayers who 
 
 support these institutions so magnificently 
 would tire of the expenditure but for the 
 encouragement and stimulus given in the 
 wonderful use of the libraries, as shown 
 by the annual reports. 
 
 There can be no doubt, too, that the 
 rapid and constant increase in the number 
 of Free Libraries is largely diie to the cir- 
 culation of these reports throughout the 
 country. 
 
 These documents having won for them- 
 selves respect and use in the land, and 
 being made the basis of argument and 
 action here and abroad, it is most de- 
 sirable that their figures should be simple 
 and reliable in all points. 
 
 I venture to say that they are not so at 
 present. One library being applied to, for, 
 say, a single Specification of Patent of In- 
 vention, the applicant is served with a 
 volume containing fifty, all of which fifty 
 are counted as issued to him. In another 
 library, only the one asked for is counted. 
 
 In one library the current periodicals 
 are on the tables of the news-room, so 
 that readers help themselves ; in another 
 each periodical has to be applied for, and 
 its issue is counted and goes to swell the 
 statistics. 
 
 Again, one library buys largely from 
 various sources of the three-volume novels 
 
STATISTICS OF LIBRARIES. 
 
 139 
 
 of the day, another adds only such novels 
 as are issued in one-volume editions : so 
 that the two libraries may have an issue 
 about equal in fact, but one apparently 
 three times the other in figures. 
 
 Some one has said that nothing lies so 
 
 a little care both may be made to tell the 
 truth. 
 
 One of the complaints made by the 
 opponents of Free Libraries is the large 
 amount of trumpery fiction circulated. Of 
 course the circulation of the three-volume 
 
 much as what are called facts, except, novel, as now counted, makes this seem 
 perhaps, it be figures. I think that with three times as bad as it really is. 
 
PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THE CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS, 
 
 London, October 2nd, 3RD, 4th, and 5th, 1877. 
 
 FIRST SITTING, 
 
 TUESDA Y MORNING, OCTOBER 2nd, AT 10. 
 
 HE members assembled in the 
 lecture theatre of the London 
 Institution, Finsbury Circus, 
 which had been offered' for 
 their meetings by the Board 
 of Management of the Institu- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison, librarian of the Lon- 
 don Library, having been elected chairman pro 
 tern., and Mr. Nathan Bodington, librarian of 
 Lincoln College, Oxford, and the Rev. J. Clare 
 Hudson, librarian of the Mechanics' Institute, 
 Homcastle, having been chosen scrutineers, a 
 ballot was taken on the list submitted by the 
 Organizing Cotnmittee. 
 
 The scrutineers having reported that the list was 
 carried, the chairman announced the following 
 gentlemen as officers of the Conference : — 
 
 President. — Mr. J. WINTER JONES, librarian of 
 the British Museum. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. — Sir Redmond Barry, presi- 
 dent of the (Melbourne) Public Library of Vic- 
 toria ; Mr. James T. Clark, keeper of the 
 Advocates' Library, Edinburgh ; Rev. H. O. 
 CoxE, Bodley's Librarian, Oxford; M. Leopold 
 Delisle, administrator-general of the Bibliotheque 
 Nationale, Paris ; Professor B. S. Mondino, vice- 
 
 librarian of the Biblioteca Nazionale, Palermo ; 
 M. Jules Petit, assistant keeper of the Biblio- 
 theque Royale, Brussels ; Mr.W. F. Poole, libra- 
 rian of the Public Library, Chicago ; Mr. Lloyd 
 P. Smith, librarian of the Library Company (and 
 Loganian Library), Philadelphia ; Baron Otto 
 DE Watteville, director of Sciences and Letters, 
 Ministry of Public Instruction, Paris; Professor 
 Justin Winsor, librarian of Harvard University 
 Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 
 
 Council.— M.T. W. E. A. Axon, secretary of the 
 Manchester Literary Club ; Mr. G. Bullen, 
 keeper of the printed books, British Museum ; 
 Mr. Peter Cowell, librarian of the Free Public 
 Library, Liverpool; Dr. ANDREA Crestadoro, 
 librarian of the Public Free Libraries, Manchester ; 
 Mr. C. A. Cutter, librarian of the Boston (U. S. ) 
 AthenKum ; M. Guillaume Depping, assistant 
 librarian of the Bibliotheque Ste. Genevieve, Paris ; 
 Mr. Melvil Dewey, late assistant librarian of 
 Amherst College Library, Massachusetts ; Mr. C. 
 Evans, librarian of the Public Library, Indiana- 
 polis ; Mr. Richard Garnett, superintendent 
 of the reading-room, British Museum ; Mr. S. S. 
 Green, librarian of the Public Library, Worcester, 
 Massachusetts ; Dr. Reuben A. Guild, librarian 
 of Brown University Library, Providence, R. I. 
 
142 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison, librarian of the London 
 Library ; Mr. F. Jackson, superintendent of the 
 Public Library, Newton, Massachusetts ; Mr. W. 
 Lyall, librarian of the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; the Comte DE 
 Marsy, joint-administrator of the Town Library, 
 Compifegne ; Mr. J. D. Mullins, librarian of 
 the Free Libraries, Birmingham; Mr. W. H. 
 Overall, librarian of the Corporation Library, 
 London ; M. Octave Sachot, secretary of the 
 French Delegation, Paris; Mr. J. Small, librarian 
 of the University Library, Edinburgh ; Mr. W. S. 
 W. Vaux, librarian of the Royal Asiatic Society, 
 London ; Mr. B. R. Wheatley, librarian of the 
 Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, London. 
 
 Secretaries.— Mx. E. B. Nicholson, librarian 
 of the London Institution ; Mr. H. R. Tedder, 
 librarian of the Athenaeum Club, London. 
 
 The ofiiicers having taken their places, the 
 President proceeded to read the 
 
 Inaugural Address (j^pp. 1-21). 
 
 The long-continued applause with which the 
 address was received having subsided. 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P. , said :— I accept 
 with satisfaction, and as the representative of the 
 youngest nation here, the duty of offering respects 
 to the President of this Conference and the prin- 
 cipal librarian of the greatest library of our hosts 
 the British people. I move that the thanks of this 
 Conference be presented to Mr. Winter Jones for 
 his instructive and much welcome address as an 
 opening to our proceedings. 
 
 The resolution was carried by acclamation. 
 
 Mr. W. H. K. Wright, librarian of the 
 Plymouth Free Library, then read his paper 
 
 On the best Means of Promoting the Free 
 Library Movement in Small Towns 
 AND Villages (see pp. 22-8). 
 Professor Leone Levi remarked that the term 
 "free" applied to libraries established under the 
 Act furnished unwilling ratepayers with the objec- 
 tion that others had to pay for those who used 
 them. In face of the reluctance of local authorities 
 to swell taxation, it was unfortunate that all our 
 legislation on the subject (down to the important 
 Act of last Session, authorizing them to use voting- 
 papers) had been merely permissive and not com- 
 pulsory. Still, nearly a hundred libraries, esta- 
 blished under the Public Libraries Act, were in 
 full work, and had among them about 1,000,000 
 volumes and 800,000 readers ; the yearly issue 
 might be put at 5,000,000 volumes. The Con- 
 ference would probably give a great stimulus to 
 the establishment of smaller libraries, from which 
 we might hope for a much wider diffusion of 
 culture. 
 
 Mr. James Yates, librarian of the Leeds Public 
 Library, also thought the term "free library" 
 
 unfortunate ; he believed that it deterred some 
 people from using such libraries, conveying an im- 
 pression that they were intended for the sole use 
 of the working man. He preferred the American 
 term, " public library." 
 
 The Rev. G. Iliff, delegate of the Sunderland 
 Public Library, considered that in smaller dis- 
 tricts the machinery of the school-boards should 
 be utilized for the establishment and support of 
 libraries, which, as the locality increased, should 
 afterwards be separated from the schools. 
 
 Mr. J. AsHTON Cross, late librarian of the 
 Oxford Union Society, was glad that the dis- 
 cussion had turned on the utilization of board 
 schools and other existing agencies. The paper 
 had suggested begging from one's neighbour and 
 begging from the State — constituting oneself in 
 fact both a social and a political nuisance. Then, 
 why regard the working man as the special object 
 of your patronage, when there were other classes 
 twice as stupid and twice as conceited? As to 
 method, the great circulating libraries should 
 be taken for models ; books should be sent all 
 over the country and lent to all classes for home 
 reading, not stored up in dreary schoolrooms. 
 And the men who were to do the work must, after 
 all, be the willing and not the unwilling. 
 
 Mr. W. E. A. Axon then read his paper 
 
 On the British Museum in its Relation to 
 Provincial Culture (see pp. 29-32). 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson urged that a classed 
 catalogue of the Museum would probably cost 
 nearly as much time and money as the co-operative 
 subject-index to universal literature which Mr. 
 Ashton Cross would advocate at a later sitting. 
 But, if each work in this index had a number 
 against it in the margin, not only the Museum but 
 every large library in the world would be able to 
 put forth a classed catalogue in a few months, 
 since it would merely have to print a list of the 
 numbers which it contained. 
 
 Mr. G. W. Porter, assistant-keeper of the 
 printed books, British Museum, said that the 
 Museum was the only library of like extent which 
 had a catalogue accessible to readers. Mr. Car- 
 lyle's dictum, and much more on the same side, 
 had been weighed by a commission of accomplished 
 men, who satisfied themselves that it was unde- 
 sirable to print at a cost of ;f 70,000 or ;f 100,000 
 a catalogue which would be out of date as soon as 
 printed, and, consequently, useless to the provincial 
 reader who wished to ascertain whether a given 
 book was in the Museum. It would be much 
 better to print catalogues of special subjects ; al- 
 ready Hebrew, Chinese, and Sanskrit catalogues 
 had been published, and he hoped for similar 
 catalogues of early English and fifteenth century 
 works. As to the duplicates in the possession of 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 '43 
 
 the Museum, they were bequeathed on condition 
 of their being kept together, and were of a kind 
 unsuitable for provincial libraries, which would be 
 much better served by a direct grant of public 
 money. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison cited, as an example 
 of possibilities in cataloguing, the alphabetical 
 catalogue of scientific papere prepared under 
 the auspices of the Royal Society, and pub- 
 lished in six quarto volumes, forming an index 
 to the transactions of all the scientific societies of 
 Europe. 
 
 Mr. Richard Garnett, from his experience 
 as superintendent of the reading-room at the 
 Museum, believed that the proportion of provin- 
 cial readers was larger than Mr. Axon supposed. 
 Nor was it necessary to come to London to ascer- 
 tain whether a particular book was in the Museum, 
 inquiries by letter being always answered. 
 
 Mr. A. I. Frost, librarian of the Society of 
 Telegraph Engineers, called attention to a cata- 
 logue of works on Electricity and Magnetism, 
 containing about 13,000 entries, which would be 
 distributed by his Society when printed. It had 
 been compiled by the late Sir Francis Ronalds, 
 who spent the greater part of his life in this work 
 and in forming his own library of about 5,000 
 volumes. It would undoubtedly be of high value 
 to all libraries. 
 
 Mr. Russell Martineatj, of the British 
 Museum, said that one objection to printing the 
 catalogue was that it would be obsolete as soon as 
 made, and that with a dozen supplements it would 
 be too troublesome to consult. Another objection 
 was the impossibility of cataloguing a book (at 
 least an ancient one) with the certainty of correct- 
 ness. Comparison with another copy turning up 
 later might prove that the copy catalogued was im- 
 perfect or had been assigned to a wrong author. 
 In the MS. catalogue it was always possible to 
 correct errors, which in all printed catalogues were 
 found on every page. 
 
 Dr. Richard Caulfield, librarian of Queen's 
 College, Cork, had been an occasional reader at 
 the Museum for twenty years, and had worked 
 there eight or nine hours a day; he had never 
 wanted a full supply of the rarest books and MSS. 
 He had often brought long lists of passages to con- 
 firm, and had got all the information he required at 
 once. He had always found the attendants most 
 courteous and ready to assist him. 
 
 Mr. G. BuLLEN, difiering from some of his 
 colleagues, agreed with Mr. Axon that it was de- 
 sirable to print the catalogue, and saw no objec- 
 tion to periodical supplements. Nor did he think 
 that the expense even of ;^ioo,ooo should be any 
 bar. The printing might extend over ten years, 
 and an annual expenditure during that period of 
 ;^io,ooo, to be repaid by the possession of the best 
 
 catalogue the worid ever saw, was an insignificant 
 draught on the national wealth. Audiffredi's cata- 
 logue, referred to by the President in his address, 
 was an example of a catalogue which, even though 
 unfinished, was of the utmost use tobibhographers. 
 As to the so-called duplicates at the Museum, a 
 large number were not really duplicates at all, and 
 it was only by the retention of supposed duplicates 
 that four distinct editions of Bishop Poynet's 
 catechism printed in England were found to have 
 been published in the same year, and by the same 
 printer, viz., John Wolf, London, 1553. There 
 was a fifth edition printed at Ziirich in the same 
 year ; and there was an Italian translation printed 
 in London likewise in the same year. 
 
 Mr. J. Leighton suggested that the form 
 adopted might be that of the Universal Catalogue 
 of Works on Art, all catalogues on any other form 
 eventually becoming obsolete. This catalogue, 
 the only one of its kind, had never passed out of 
 the "under revision" state, and was, he believed, 
 still in type. The cost had been enormous, though 
 the work had been compiled by the general public. 
 
 Mr. H. Stevens, to give an additional reason, 
 desired a printed catalogue of the Museum in order 
 to see not so much what it contained as what it did 
 not contain. Much time and trouble would be 
 saved by the certainty that a given book was not 
 in the Miiseum. We might then get it elsewhere, 
 or induce the trustees to procure it. In printing 
 in 1856 a catalogue of the 20,000 volumes of 
 American books in the Museum, his chief object 
 had been to find out what were the deficiencies. 
 When found they were easily remedied, and the 
 American collection there now exceeded 75,000 
 volumes. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison said that the cost of a 
 printed catalogue would be reduced by its sale. 
 An edition of 1,000 of the London Library Cata- 
 logue was exhausted in about ten years, when 
 another edition was published ; at a price some- 
 what below cost, the catalogue sold freely. 
 
 Mr. James Yates mentioned that the Museum 
 contained exact duplicates of a rare Yorkshire 
 history, and urged that it would be well if one 
 were lent or given to Leeds for the use of local 
 students of local history. 
 
 Mr. J. Dillon believed that a printed catalogue 
 of the Museum would be a great boon to students 
 outside London, and did not see that the impossi- 
 bility of bringing it up to date furnished a. valid 
 objection. He also advocated the quarterly publi- 
 cation of a classed list of accessions. 
 
 Mr. EiRiKR Magnusson, assistant-librarian of 
 Cambridge University Library, urged that the 
 catalogue of the Museum was the most perfect in 
 the world, that best part of the lives of intelligent 
 and painstaking men had been spent in making it 
 thoroughly scientific, and that if published it would 
 
144 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 become the pattern catalogue for all libraries in 
 the world. 
 
 Mr. J. Small suggested that the Museum cata- 
 logue was already nearly fit to go to press, and 
 that the printing might be begun at several points 
 simultaneously — a method adopted in the printing 
 of more than one encyclopsedia. 
 
 Mr. Robert H. Soden Smith, librarian of the 
 National Art Library, South Kensington, wished 
 to say that the Universal Catalogue of Works on 
 Art alluded to had been projected as a list of all 
 ■works on the subject known to exist, and fulfilled 
 its aim so far as to be a very copious list for all 
 languages except the oriental. It consisted of two 
 thick volumes and a supplementary volume, and 
 was not strictly a catalogue, but a list with brief 
 titles. To compile a complete catalogue of any 
 class of books (or at least any numerous class) 
 would be a labour, if properly carried out, far 
 beyond that of one man's life. 
 
 The President would also be glad to see a 
 printed catalogue of the Museum. But such a 
 
 catalogue would contain about 3,000,000 titles,, 
 and, though the mere printing might be accom- 
 plished in a few weeks or months, the arrange- 
 ment and classification would be a task of the 
 utmost difficulty ; and to look for a particular 
 book in the catalogue, unless it were properly 
 classified, would be tantamount to looking for a 
 needle in a bottle of hay. Such a catalogue would 
 take twenty-five or thirty years to pubUsh; it 
 would fill fifty or sixty large folios : and when it 
 was finished there would be a further mass of 
 300,000 or 400,000 volumes which had acciuuu- 
 lated during its progress and were not included 
 in it. 
 
 Mr. C. H. ROBARTS, fellow and late librarian of 
 All Souls' College, Oxford, then read his paper on 
 University Libraries as National Insti- 
 tutions (see pp. 33-44). 
 
 The sitting having lasted four hours and a, 
 quarter, discussion on Mr. Robarts's paper was de- 
 ferred till the evening, and the Conference ad- 
 journed till 7 p.m.* 
 
 SECOND SITTING, 
 
 TUESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 2nd, AT 7. 
 
 ^N the absence of the President,! 
 Professor Justin Winsor, 
 V.P., was unanimously voted 
 to the chair. 
 
 Before entering on the dis- 
 cussion of Mr. Robarts's paper, 
 three communications of inte- 
 rest in connexion with the day's deliberations were 
 read by one of the Secretaries. 
 
 The first, from Baron Otto de Watteville, 
 V.P., related to popular libraries in France, and 
 was as follows : — 
 
 "We have now in France more than 1,000 
 popular free libraries. They possess more than 
 1, 000,000 volumes. We have also 17,500 school 
 libraries : these, which are for the use both of 
 children and adults, possess about 2,000,000 
 volumes. Every school library, whether founded 
 by private efforts or by the township, is allowed 
 100 volumes or more from the French Govern- 
 ment. Of these 100 volumes, one-third are history 
 
 * Between the morning and evening sittings 
 visits were paid to the libraries of Sion College 
 and the Corporation of London ; these visits are 
 described infra. 
 
 or geography, one-third agriculture or science, and 
 one-third general literature. If in subsequent 
 years the tovmship votes additional funds, the 
 Government makes a fiirther donation. To these 
 two sources of income must be added grants firom 
 the fiinds of the department." 
 
 The following letter from the Rev. J. M. Rod- 
 well, relating to the condition of the old parochial 
 libraries in England, was next read : — 
 
 " 28 Fellows Road, 
 
 "S. Hampstead, N.W. 
 
 " Oct. I, 1877. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I have this morning received a 
 
 reply from my friend Archdeacon Allen of Salop 
 
 relative to the matter I wrote to you about last 
 
 week. 
 
 " He says that there are valuable libraries in 
 most of the deaneries of his archdeaconry — one at 
 Tong Shiffiial, very valuable ; a second at Dudle- 
 
 t The British Museum being closed during the 
 week, and the trustees holding a meeting on the 
 Saturday, Mr. Winter Jones was compdled, by 
 stress of official duties, to attend the Conference 
 less frequently than he had desired. 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 ston, another at Whitchurch, and a fourth at 
 Middle— all very valuable, especially the last. 
 These four are kept in the respective rectory- 
 houses. 
 
 " I have also ascertained that at Totnes there 
 is a very valuable library fast perishing from damp, 
 the room in which it is kept being in every respect 
 most unsuited. 
 
 ."At Brent Eleigh -there is a large library at- 
 tached to the church and kept in an adjoining 
 room. 
 
 " At S. James, Buiy St. Edmund's, is a large 
 library kept in the vestry and quite expose.d to the 
 free-handling of all in-comers— at least this used to 
 be the case a few years ago. It contains some 
 curious MSS. 
 
 " Surely these libraries ought to be looked up 
 and catalogued, as there are plenty of them up 
 and down the country. Might it not fall within 
 the scope of the objects aimed at by the Conference 
 to frame a few simple queries and send them to 
 the Archdeacons and Rm-al Deans of England? 
 The expense of doing this would be but trifling, 
 and the amount of information obtained very 
 valuable. 
 
 "I am, 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 "J. M. RODWELL. 
 
 " P. S. In Newcourt 's Repertorium of the Diocese 
 of London there is a short list of books which in 
 his time belonged to the living of S. Ethelburga's. 
 These have long since disappeared, through the 
 carelessness or dishonesty of rectors and church- 
 wardens." 
 
 The following letter from the Rev. T. K. 
 Cheyne,* librarian of Balliol College, Oxford, 
 relating to the specialization of college libraries, 
 was then read : — 
 
 " BaUiol College, Oxford, 
 
 " Sept. 22. 
 " Dear Sir, — I regret to be unable to attend the 
 Conference of Librarians. I fear in the present 
 condition of the Oxford libraries it would not be of 
 much use, were I able. 
 
 * The reader of the letter (Mr. E. B. Nicholson) 
 did not give the name of the vmter, but subse- 
 quently wrote to Mr. Cheyne asking leave to do 
 so. Mr. Cheyne replied: "I have no objection 
 to my name being mentioned, if it be at the same 
 time stated that the letter was not vnitten with 
 the expectation of its being made public — which 
 step, however, I have no doubt was ftdly justi- 
 fied by circumstances." Mr. Nicholson read the 
 letter on account of its connexion with the matter 
 of Mr. Robai-ts's paper, and in view of the 
 presence of several librarians of Oxford colleges, 
 for the purpose of eUciting that expression of 
 opinion which the writer desired. 
 
 I4S 
 
 " If it were in the power of the Conference to 
 express an opmion on the importance of specializing 
 the Oxford and Cambridge college libraries I 
 should rejoice. Some librarians are (and have 
 been) attempting to specialize, but there is no 
 certainty that their efforts will be continued by 
 their successors, nor have they the pecuniaiy 
 means, nor, generally , speaking, the competent 
 acquamtance with learned literature for doing so 
 to any extent. I believe that until some influential 
 body expresses an opinion nothing will be done. 
 
 " A Commission will soon be sitting, and possi- 
 bly an opinion expressed by the Conference might 
 be of use in inducing them to include the better 
 organization of the libraries among the objects of 
 their deliberations. 
 
 "At the very least the colleges ought to be 
 made to feel themselves responsible to public 
 opinion. A periodical report should be published 
 of their operations. Students would then know 
 where to go for books. The Bodleian is admirable 
 as a library of reference, but circulating learned 
 libraries like those of the colleges are much needed 
 as a supplement. 
 
 "If anything like a combined scheme could be 
 proposed by a recognized authority, I believe 
 several colleges would be not unwilling to co- 
 operate. The attempts of individuals to influence 
 them have but little result. 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 " T. K. Cheyne, 
 
 " Librarian of Balliol." 
 
 Professor H. W. Acland, Radcliffe Librarian, 
 Oxford, then commenced the discussion on Mr. 
 Robarts's paper. He rejoiced that a fellow of a 
 college not the least important in Oxford had 
 proposed to give to a university librarian a special 
 post, a high salary, and a large staff. As an example 
 of what had been done in the past, he instanced 
 the history of the Radcliffe Library, once very 
 little used. The acting trustees (men of the highest 
 position), made aHve to this fact, had it warmed 
 and lighted at the cost of ;£'5oo a year, caused it 
 to be opened in the evening, and allowed it to be 
 used as an evening reading-room for the Bodleian ; 
 finally, in 1855, during the scientific movement at 
 Oxford, they removed the books to the Museum, 
 leaving the building at the entire service of the 
 Bodleian — Mr. Coxe on his part aiding specializa 
 tion by transferring to the Radcliffe collection in 
 its new quarters all the scientific periodicals of the 
 Bodleian. Here was an illustration of a most 
 sincere effort to carry out practical library reform, 
 which showed that Oxford was not indifferent to 
 her duties in this respect ; he only regretted that 
 the success of the effort had not been consummated 
 by the erection of a bridge between the Bodleian 
 and the neighbouring Radcliffe building — a feat 
 
 U 
 
146 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 which we were asked to regard as beyond the 
 powers of modern English architecture. 
 
 The Rev. H. O. CoxE fully agreed that the 
 Bodleian, being a part and parcel of a university 
 from which the nation expected and received much, 
 and being also benefited by the nation through the 
 Copyright Act so far as it was entitled to claim all 
 books published in the realm, was a national insti- 
 tution, in the same way as were those other twelve 
 privileged libraries, whether they still enjoyed the 
 practical benefit of the Act, as originally intended, 
 or took compensation-money in lieu thereof. At 
 the same time, as its income was not at all de- 
 rived from the Government, but its officers held 
 their trust directly from and for the University, 
 its claim to be styled a private library (a claim of 
 which at one time it was exceedingly jealous) was 
 scarcely to be denied. This, however, was a plea 
 that no member of the University would ever be 
 found in these days to wish for a moment to 
 set up. It was well known that any one coming 
 to the Bodleian with anything like a literary want 
 about him would find the shelves open and the 
 officers ready to supply that need to their power. 
 He did not mean that rare and curious books 
 would be put into the hands of a perfect stranger, 
 but that recommendations accepted by the British 
 Museum would meet similar attention in the 
 Bodleian. With respect to the other portion of 
 Mr. Robarts's paper, the proposal to allow colleges 
 out of their own resources and from their own 
 mero motu to supplement funds for increasing the 
 usefulness of the University Library (he did not 
 presume to dictate to this or that college which 
 should do it, or how it should be done), he could 
 not but regard it in a very favourable light on 
 this account — that such a scheme might be made 
 instrumental in the formation of what he would 
 call a "School of Librarians," a point which he 
 could not but conceive to be of the very highest 
 moment. It was obvious that such a plan could 
 not be carried out without large funds — funds 
 which it was equally obvious the University had 
 not the power in itself to supply. He thought 
 therefore that Mr. Robarts's "librarian-fellows" 
 would be a step in a- right direction, and he had 
 read with pleasure Lord Morley's amendment 
 suggesting that the Commission now about to sit 
 in the University should have power to recom- 
 mend to colleges such a channel for the fructifi- 
 cation of idle or superabundant moneys. 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P., said :— I think 
 we Americans receive with approval the ideas of 
 specializing libraries, and of developing the theory 
 and practice of bibliothecal economy, which are 
 derived from Mr. Robarts's paper. The principal 
 libraries of Boston and its vicinity are now, as far as 
 practicable, acting upon the principle of division 
 of aims as regards the acquisition of expensive 
 
 books, certain lines being assigned to different 
 libraries. This policy facilitates erudite research 
 and makes our money go farther. Our own com- 
 munity as the centre of the library interests of 
 America offers the best opportunity for scholarly 
 investigation in an aggregation of nearly 1,000,000 
 volumes in collections more or less public, and 
 in the facilities of a subject-catalogue unsurpassed 
 with us, and which I apprehend I may venture to 
 say you have not in England the equivalent of. We 
 believe in subject-indexes. Perhaps if we were 
 older we should see the futility of them. But with 
 a people to educate, and scholars to make, we 
 hold to their necessity. With you the conditions 
 may be different. Special libraries render such 
 catalogues easier ; and as far as the general uses 
 of all libraries permit it — and in very expensive 
 books few libraries fail of pennitting it — I hold 
 to the desirability of it. As regards the other 
 points I hope to see All Souls' and Bodley join 
 forces to become an exemplar for the world. 
 There is no calculating the good capable of coming 
 from a body of educated fellows of an Oxford 
 college devoting themselves to the science of li- 
 brary management. It is a fortuitous and fortunate 
 combination of forces such as the world has never 
 seen, and from its consummation I think we may 
 safely date a new departure and an elevating 
 outcome. 
 
 Mr. Edvfin Wallace, librarian of Worcester 
 College, Oxford, doubted whether university and 
 college libraries could be nationalized in the or- 
 dinary sense of the expression ; and, considering 
 the limited and peculiar body of readers whose 
 wants they must consult, thought that Mr. Robarts 
 had taken a one-sided view of the question, ignor- 
 ing, as he appeared to do, the fact that besides All 
 Souls' there were at Oxford some score of coUeges 
 possessing libraries of from 5,000 to 50,000 volumes. 
 He contended that the end which Mr. Robarts had 
 in view was more likely to be effected if the work 
 of supplementing the Bodleian were divided rather 
 than centralized, and the different college libraries 
 took up some one branch of knowledge. At Wor- 
 cester an effort had been made to specialize in the 
 direction of Classical Archaeology, and, as this 
 specialization was formally voted by tlie College, 
 it was not likely that it would be set aside to suit 
 the idiosyncrasies of successive librarians. There 
 were other colleges whose libraries were not in the 
 condition implied in the letter read to the Confe- 
 rence, and where specialization had been carried 
 on for several years. He held therefore that the 
 true nationalization of university and college libra- 
 ries would lie in such a specialization of the latter 
 as would create within the chief Enghsh univer- 
 sities two great libraries — the one the Bodleian or 
 other library of general reference, from which books 
 should never be lent out ; the other that of the 
 
CONFERENCE OF LTBRARTANS. 
 
 '47 
 
 different college collections, to whose books the 
 Bodleian or corresponding catalogue should have 
 a mark of reference, and from which it should be 
 possible to borrow books for some definite length 
 of time. 
 
 Mr. EirIkr MagnCsson, assistant-librarian of 
 Cambridge University Library, observed that, if 
 the national character of a university library was 
 determined by the facility with which the public 
 were admitted to the use of its books, the University 
 Library of Cambridge was the most national in the 
 kingdom. It lent its books to all M. A.'s who kept 
 their names on the University books, wherever 
 (within the United Kingdom) they might reside. 
 He reserved his opinion as to the advisability of a 
 university library placing the use of its books so 
 readily within the reach of the public ; but it was 
 evident that such a lending system was, in the first 
 instance, always costly to the library funds, and, in 
 the second, led to a rapidly accelerated deteriora- 
 tion of the books. 
 
 Mr. Lloyd P. Smith, V.P., said that in Philadel- 
 phia the specialization of libraries had been practi- 
 cally carried out, to the great advantage of the com- 
 munity. The libraries of the Pennsylvania Hospital 
 and the College of Physicians confined themselves 
 to medical works, the Law Library to jurispru- 
 dence, the Franklin Institute to mechanic art, the 
 Academy of Natural Sciences to natural history, 
 and so on ; while the Library Company and the 
 Mercantile Library applied themselves to history 
 and general literature. In this way the various 
 libraries supplemented each other, and the public 
 had the use of some 4CX3,ooo volumes, each institu- 
 tion being spared the expense of buying costly works 
 more fitted to other collections. This example 
 might be worthy of imitation elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. J. Small remarked, that in the discussion 
 on this subject something might be said with regard 
 to the university libraries of Scotland. In ancient 
 times these libraries had been well located to suit 
 the literary wants of the people, and had for several 
 centuries been the only public libraries in the 
 country. With the exception, however, of St. 
 Andrew's, the university libraries of Aberdeen, 
 Glasgow, and Edinburgh, owing to the great in- 
 crease of their respective cities, had come to stand 
 in a somewhat peculiar position. They could not 
 now very well be called public libraries, and, firom 
 having lost the privilege of Stationers' Hall, the 
 compensation allowed in lieu of it did not suffice to 
 keep them abreast of the wants of the universities, 
 extended as their constituency had been by recent 
 parliamentary legislation. To remedy matters a 
 much larger compensation-grant was required for 
 these universities. In the case of Edinburgh and 
 Glasgow, however, there were some difficulties. 
 In the former city there was the Advocates' Library, 
 a large and valuable collection, which many had 
 
 proposed to turn into a Scottish National Col- 
 lection, like the British Museum. In the latter 
 city there was a large sum recently left to found a 
 reference-library. When these collections were 
 made fully available to the public, this would tend 
 to allow the university libraries more completely 
 to become collections suited to the wants of pro- 
 fessional and scientific men. In conclusion, he 
 hoped that all these libraries would be extended 
 and made more usefial for their numerous readers. 
 
 Mr. C. H. RoBARTS did not wish to make any fur- 
 ther observation except to point out to the librarian 
 of Worcester College that he in nowise forgot or 
 overlooked the existence of other colleges. It was 
 the very fact that All Souls' College was in every 
 way so distinct from Worcester that made him 
 confine his remarks to the former. The whole plan 
 was based on the proximity of the Bodleian to All 
 Souls', upon the unemployed resources of the latter, 
 and upon the affinity constituted between the two 
 by the recent specialization of its library to law, 
 and its establishment as a public institution. Nor 
 did he think that he could be rightly charged with 
 having taken a limited view of the function of 
 the imiversity libraries of Oxford and Cambridge. 
 It was the limited view which prescribed their 
 maintenance only for the sake of the graduates and 
 undergraduates resident thereat which made him 
 desire that they should be recognized and developed 
 as national institutions and as literary centres for 
 all parts of the world where letters were studied 
 or learning prized. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford then read his paper 
 
 On Special Collections of Books (j^^^pp. 45-9). 
 
 There being no discussion on Mr. Walford's 
 paper, one of the Secretaries read the note by M. 
 
 GUILLAUME DEPPING, 
 
 On Library-Buildings (see p. 50). 
 Mr. W. H. Overall said that the two great 
 enemies to libraries were architects and gas, and 
 instanced the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn 
 libraries. The former when completed did not 
 contain sufficient wall-space to hold the books 
 then in the library, leaving out all provision for 
 the continued increase. All kinds of shifts and 
 contrivances had to be adopted to make room for 
 the works, although doubtless it is a handsome 
 hall. The latter library, from the arrangement 
 of the galleries, presents a stunted and uncomfort- 
 able appearance. The librarian's troubles begin 
 vidth the commencement of the building, the 
 architect desiring to erect a grand hall, often with- 
 out the sliglitest regard to its use as a library. The 
 question of galleries, again, becomes a nuisance— 
 the architect, for the sake of appearance, wishing 
 to keep them at a great height ; whilst the libra- 
 rian, for the better working of the Ubrary, desires 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 to keep them at a height which may be reached 
 by the attendants without ladders. Happily, in 
 the Guildhall Library both ends have been accom- 
 plishsd by malcing the case to carry the hot-water 
 pipes the base, thus giving a step of a foot high, 
 and by keeping the bookcases about 8 feet high the 
 books can be reached without steps, while the first 
 gallery is 9 or 10 feet high. Again, as regards the 
 way of getting to the galleries, in many buildings 
 they are so fixed that much valuable space, to say 
 the least, is lost. Then too the approaches to the 
 library should be studied for the sake of perfect 
 quietness ; in some buildings the library is a 
 passage-way from one part of the building to 
 another, and no attention is bestowed on providing 
 a proper work-room contiguous to the library for 
 cataloguing, collating, preparing books for bind- 
 ing, &c., which have to be done in the library 
 amidst constant interruptions. Lastly, the ques- 
 tion of gas presents many difficulties, most archi- 
 tects desiring to light the building with open 
 lights, regardless of their destructive effects upon 
 bindings. Many librarians could give instances of 
 the effect of gas upon bindings, and it would only 
 be necessary to turn to the Report of the House 
 of Commons upon gas to show to what an extent 
 this had grown a few years since. The intro- 
 duction of sun-lights has in a considerable measure 
 met the difficulty, but there is still room for im- 
 provement. Architects should be guided by the 
 wants of a library, so that when the building was 
 finished it may be not only beautiful but useful. 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P., said : — We are 
 undergoing in America a revolution of ideas in this 
 matter. We are substituting" packing-rooms for 
 show-rooms. The old conventional forms of a 
 large hall, Vvith central areas, surrounded by al- 
 coves ; or a. series of large rooms, of which the 
 walls only are used, are giving place to double- 
 faced cases on narrow passages, with floors grated 
 for light and ventilation, but which can be touched 
 overhead. We gain in cheapness of construction, 
 in compactness of storage, and in promptness of 
 administration. The book-room of the Roxbury 
 branch of the Public Library of Boston, 53 feet 
 long by 27 feet wide, and having three .storeys of 
 8 feet each in height, as planned for the future, 
 will hold 100,000 volumes, with none over 40 feet 
 from its points of delivery. I doubt if any other 
 construction can produce this result. And this 
 moderate distance can be reduced practically much 
 more by automatic systems of service. In the 
 new extension of the library of Harvard Univer- 
 sity, where there are six floors, 7f feet between 
 them, the cases being arranged on this system, 
 300,000 volumes can be brought within a minute 
 -or two of the delivery desk. A key-board at the 
 desk may communicate with annunciators on the 
 different levels, disclosing the book-numbers to 
 
 pages stationed there, who find the volume, put it 
 into the box happening at the instant to pass that 
 floor on its way down, on the face of an endless 
 belt constantly revolving over barrels at the top 
 and bottom of the building, and kept in motion by 
 hydraulic power from the water-mains. The box 
 reaching the bottom, going under the barrel, tips 
 out the book into a padded area, whence the desk 
 attendant lifts it and hands it over the counter. I 
 think this will be foimd more expeditious than the 
 pneumatic tube used in Paris for transmitting the 
 call-slip and the dumb waiter worked by hand, 
 which retains the book. 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P., said :— The injury to 
 bindings of which M. Depping speaks has been ob- 
 served and lamented in our American libraries. The 
 burning of many gas-lights doubtless has a tendency 
 to increase the evil by increasing the heat, yet the 
 deterioration of bindings goes on in libraries where 
 gas is never used. This fact shows that the chief 
 injury arises from heat, and not mainly from the 
 sulphurous residuum of gas combustion. Our larger 
 American libraries are nearly all constructed on 
 the old conventional plan of high rooms, several 
 tiers of galleries, and an open space in the centre 
 for readers. A test was made of the temperature 
 in the upper galleries of one of these rooms by a 
 friend of mine in February last. While the tem- 
 perature of the floor was 65° Fah., fliat of the 
 upper gallery was found to be 142°. Such a 
 temperature dries up the oil of the leather and 
 burns out its life. Books caimot live where men 
 cannot live. Even in our private libraries, warmed 
 by artificial heat, the upper stratum of air is in- 
 sufferable. Books should be kept cool and never 
 near the floor. Our library buildings seem to 
 have been constructed chiefly for show and archi- 
 tectural decoration, and with little reference to the 
 fireservation of the books and the convenient ad- 
 ministration of the library. Nothing can be more 
 absurd for a circulating library than the conven- 
 tional arrangement which has been mentioned. 
 The librarians and attendants are travelling for 
 books the outside of a parallelogram, when they 
 might save their steps by working from a centre 
 outwards. They are climbing ladders and ascend- 
 ing into galleries, when by a better arrangement 
 they might have alt their books within reach on 
 the ground floor. In the more recent arrangement 
 of circulating libraries in America, it is not re- 
 garded as orthodox to have any bookcases more 
 than 8f feet high, the highest shelf bemg not more 
 than l\ feet from the floor, and hence accessible 
 by any person of full stature without steps or 
 ladders. In our visitation of the principal libraries 
 in the provinces, we foimd in one instance shelves 
 25 feet high with no galleries. By placing book- 
 cases, open on both sides, 3 feet apart, a larger 
 number of books can be stored in a given space 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 149 
 
 than might at first be supposed, though the cases be 
 not higher than 8| feet. Nineteen-twentieths of 
 the boolcs of circulation axe octavos and smaller 
 volumes, and hence the cases need not be more 
 than 16 inches deep to accommodate books on 
 both sides ; special wall-cases of greater depth 
 may be constructed for quartos and folios. A 
 room therefore for circulating books need not be 
 more than from 14 to 16 feet high, and galleries 
 ought to be abolished. A few weeks since an 
 architect of Chicago brought for me a set of plans 
 he had made for a circulating library in a flourish- 
 ing city of the West, to ask my approval of the 
 same. He had made a tour of inspection of the 
 larger library-buildings in New York and Boston, 
 and had reproduced all their faults, his plans 
 showing the old conventional arrangement, with 
 high ceiling, several galleries, and open space in 
 the centre. I pointed out the objections to his 
 plans, and said if he would call the next day I 
 would give him a sketch of my own. Such a 
 sketch I furnished him, and it was immediately 
 adopted. To-morrow I will deposit in the col- 
 lection of library-appliances a series of plans 
 showing the architect's original design, and how 
 it was changed at my suggestion. It was found 
 that he had all the space he wanted for books on 
 the ground-floor, and that no book would be more 
 than 35 feet from the counter where the books 
 were delivered. He had also ample space on the 
 same floor for a delivery-room, reference-room, 
 librarian's and work-room, and in the story above 
 a spacious reading-room for newspapers and 
 periodicals, for which he had originally made no 
 provision. I am aware that the specific arrange- 
 ments I have described wiU not apply to large 
 reference-libraries like the British Museum. The 
 rooms of the Museum must be to a certain extent 
 exhibition-rooms, and I apprehend that the climate 
 of England does not require so much artificial 
 heat as in America. I beg here in this presence 
 of Enghsh librarians to allude to a subject which 
 may not be entirely germane to the topic now 
 under consideration, but it is a message I was in- 
 structed by the directors of the Chicago Public 
 Library to communicate, when they sent me to 
 attend this Conference. Six years ago this month 
 a terrible fire swept over Chicago, making a vale 
 of desolation four miles long by one mile broad, 
 destroying every library of a public character and 
 most of the private libraries of its citizens. In 
 view of this calamity the sympathies of the world 
 were awakened, and contributions for the relief of 
 immediate distress poured in firom every part of 
 the globe. The sympathies of the United King- 
 dom found a finer form of expression in sending 
 not only money but books, numbering nearly 
 7,000 volumes, collected mostly through the per- 
 sonal efforts of Mr. Thomas Hughes, whose name 
 
 and whose writings are dear to every American. 
 These volumes were inscribed with the autographs 
 of your gracious Queen, the royal family, the 
 nobility, and the most eminent authors of Eng- 
 land, while the seal of the University of Oxford is 
 stamped on three or four hundred. These volumes 
 form the basis of the Chicago Public Library, and 
 are shown witlr pride to all visitors. My in- 
 structions from the board of directors were to ex- 
 press publicly their thanks, and the thanks of the 
 citizens of Chicago, for these noble gifts, which I 
 am pleased now to do. There is a deep interest 
 in public libraries in the Eastern and Western 
 portions of the United States. This interest 
 manifests itself in the liberal appropriations made 
 by public taxation for their support. In Boston 
 §125,000 is raised by taxation for this purpose. 
 The maximum tax allowed by law in Chicago is 
 $65,000. Cincinnati spends about $50,000 a year 
 on its public library, and has recently erected a 
 library building at a cost of more than $400,000. 
 We hope next year, or at some later period, to 
 welcome the English librarians at ,a meeting of 
 the American Library Association. 
 
 Mr. Francis T. Barrett, librarian of the 
 Mitchell Library, Glasgow, recommended Tonks's 
 patent shelf-fittings, and said that the temperature 
 in the reference-library at Birmingham was much 
 improved by the adoption of sun-burners with venti- 
 lators. 
 
 Mr. David Geddes, librarian of the Free Li- 
 brary, Blackburn, considered that the free library 
 buildings in Britain were not constructed with due 
 regard to practical use in their interior arrange- 
 ments, and hoped that the American experience 
 now available would be utilized in this country. 
 
 Mr. C. Welch, assistant-librarian of the Cor- 
 poration Library, London, said that a loss of space 
 was sometimes incurred in the construction of the 
 lower case when glazed bookcases were used. 
 The smallest dimensions would appear to be such 
 as would secure a height of 2\ feet for the lower 
 case, and so allow for either three i2mo or two 
 4to shelves, or for one folio and one i2mo shelf. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford thought it of primary 
 importance that library buildings should be com- 
 fortable rather than elegant, with plenty of nooks 
 and corners for readers, with special rooms for 
 special subjects where possible; and, above all, 
 well drained and ventilated. The books should 
 be as near as possible to the readers, and, where it 
 was not intended for readers to help themselves to 
 such books as they required, he had found it of 
 great service to be able to see the books upon his 
 subject as arranged on the shelves. This was very 
 well accomplished by means of open wire doors to 
 the cases, such as were in use in the Corporation 
 Library at the Guildhall. 
 
 Mr. C. G. Virgo, librarian of the Public Library, 
 
ISO 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 Bradford, said : — I find from experiments made 
 by myself that rooms may be well lighted by in- 
 troducing air from the external atmosphere, con- 
 veyed by pipes, and the products of combustion 
 similarly removed — no possibility being allowed of 
 the fumes from the gas permeating the air of the 
 room. By a careful apportionment of the amount 
 of air admitted to the flame, the light will be in- 
 creased from 20 to 30 per cent, with the same 
 consumption of gas. 
 
 Mr. J. Leighton said : — It is desirable that 
 libraries should be very lofty, but that the cases 
 should not be carried up to the ceiling. No book 
 should be out of reach of the hand. No library- 
 building should be upon the ground, for fear of 
 damp, for paper suffers more from damp than 
 heat. It is dryness that injures the bindings — that 
 is to say, animal or leather bindings ; calico, and 
 particularly flax, would not suffer where leather 
 would. The air should be freely admitted. I am 
 quite against glazed cases : they are in fact Ward's 
 cases, and only suit plants. Curtains are the best 
 protection when dusting or sweeping. I have 
 known many books much injured by stone walls 
 that hold the damp. Ivy on the walls of some of 
 the Oxford libraries has much injured many books. 
 
 Professor H. W. AclAND begged to be al- 
 lowed to say something for architects. Are they 
 wholly to blame? Is not this the case? — working 
 librarians should lay down exactly the conditions 
 which they need. If they do not, they and not 
 the architects are at fault. Libraries may be 
 beautifiil, convenient, and conveniently fitted. 
 In the library at the Oxford Museum there are 
 some solid fittings designed by the architect. But 
 also there are simple but not unsightly cases where 
 every book is within reach, and where 500 8vo 
 volumes can be placed in a movable stand wher- 
 ever there are 54 inches by i8 inches of floor- 
 space. Indeed, he would most strongly express 
 his opinion that the librarian has to furnish con- 
 ditions which the architect is to fulfil. After such 
 a Conference as this, complaints of the kind ought 
 to cease. The librarians of all nations can cer- 
 tainly lay down what may and what may not be 
 done for special purposes. When Mr. Coxe refits 
 the Bodleian, it is certain he will not be controlled 
 by an architect to his detriment in respect of the 
 placing of his books, whether for storing or for 
 reference and use. 
 
 Mr. P. CowELL said that he thought all expe- 
 rienced librarians had long since come to the con- 
 clusion that ranges of shelving in public libraries 
 more than 8 feet high were a mistake. Galleries 
 ought to be introduced when it was necessary to go 
 higher than this with the shelving. Where boys 
 were employed to get and put away the books, as in 
 most free libraries, even this height was too high 
 without the aid of step-ladders, those noisy, ever- 
 
 in-the-way things which he trusted soon to get rid 
 of, either by substituting a step made of a couple of 
 rods of iron with supports, about eighteen inchesfrom 
 the floor, or by a sort of bracket, something like a 
 small jockey-bar, to be fixed on the shelving at regu- 
 lar distances at about the same height. 
 
 Mr. G. BULLEN knew from experience that it 
 was possible to provide eflicient ventilation and easy 
 access to galleries, which, if properly constructed, 
 not only saved ground-space but formed ornamental 
 adjuncts : he instanced the King's Library at the 
 British Museum. (" You have no gas there.") 
 
 Dr. Reuben A. Guild represented a college 
 library of 50,000 volumes, the largest library in 
 the State, which immediately upon his return to 
 America would be moved into a new building. 
 That building had been erected through the muni- 
 ficence of Mr. John Carter Brown, a recently 
 deceased fellow of the University which bears his 
 name. In many respects this building conforms 
 to the suggestions made by the President in his 
 opening address. The location is favourable, 
 being on high ground, and bounded on three sides 
 by streets. It is fire-proof, being constructed of 
 iron and brick, with stone trimmings and marble 
 floors. The only wood used is for doors and shelves. 
 It is well lighted, each alcove having a window at 
 the end, and every second alcove two windows. 
 It is warmed by air conducted from vrithout through 
 series of pipes heated by steam. It is well venti- 
 lated, having, in addition to windows that open 
 readily and ventilators in the upper story, four 
 large chambers underneath connecting with re- 
 gisters, and chimneys constructed for the purpose, 
 which chimneys are heated in summer by gas, and 
 in winter by steam from the boilers. Thus a cur- 
 rent of air' is constantly passing through the build- 
 ing, making the temperature agreeable and the 
 atmosphere wholesome. AU the shelves on the 
 second and third storeys can be reached without 
 steps or ladders. On the first floor it will be 
 necessary to use a step two feet or more in height. 
 As the students and professors connected with the 
 University are accustomed to free access to the 
 alcoves and shelves, the building has been con- 
 structed with this end in view, combining both the 
 beautiful and the useful. The centre is 35 feet 
 square, having a height of 65 feet. Here in the 
 four corners are books of reference and reading- 
 tables supplied with periodicals. On the north- 
 east and west are octagonal wings with alcoves 
 radiating from a centre. On the south is the en- 
 trance-hall, having on each side rooms for the li- 
 brarian and the committee. On the second floor 
 is a large room for illustrated works, rare and 
 costly books, incunabula, &c., and on the third 
 floor is still another large room for pamphlet litera- 
 ture. No difficulty had thus far been experienced 
 in allowing the public free access to the alcoves. 
 
CONFEKENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 iSi 
 
 During the thirty years that he had been librarian 
 of the University hardly a dozen books had been ' 
 reported as lost or missing. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson said that as regarded 
 floor-shelvage a clear distinction must be drawn 
 between lending and reference libraries. In a 
 lending library no space was required for readers, 
 and it might be possible to shelve all books in low 
 cases on the floor. But in reference-libraries it was 
 desirable to obtain the utmost amount of space for 
 readers. Both classes of libraries, moreover, were 
 intended to receive continuous additions, and a day 
 must come when the floor-shelvage would be inade- 
 quate. Unless part of the old stock were got rid of, 
 only two courses would, in the absence of gal- 
 leries, be possible — to draft off part of the books 
 into other rooms in the building (if there were such 
 rooms available) or to enlarge the library by build- 
 ing. The former of these courses would spoil the 
 compactness and convenience of the library : the 
 latter must always be costly, and sometimes so 
 costly as to be altogether impracticable. He was 
 therefore glad that Mr. Bullen had defended gal- 
 leries. It had been said that Mr. Bullen's library 
 was not lighted by gas. At the Philadelphia Con- 
 ference, however, it was satisfactorily shown, from 
 the example of the Boston Athenteum, that the 
 destruction of bindings in galleries was due not so 
 much to any chemical constituents of gas as to its 
 heatmg power, and that, as hot air always rose, 
 the bindings in iU-ventilated galleries must suffer, 
 whether gas was used or not. The library of 
 the Boston Athenaeum was not lit at all in the 
 evening, yet the leather bindings in the galleries 
 had been found to suffer far more than those on 
 the floor. No library had probably been damaged 
 more by heated air than that of the London Insti- 
 tution. Before 1874 it had been lit by burners 
 pendent below the level of the gallery : the heat 
 in the gallery was sometimes stifling, and the room 
 was always stuffy. Sun-lights in the ceiling were 
 substituted in 1874, and the entire library was ex- 
 cellently ventilated by them. Heated air might also 
 be effectually resisted by the adoption of buckram 
 
 for binding, of which he should say more in his 
 paper upon it. 
 
 Lieut.-Col. Lonsdale A. Hale, President of the 
 Royal School of Military Engineering, Chatham, 
 said that in his library there were shelves 14 feet 
 high, and that for the sake of convenience he filled 
 them with books not often consulted. 
 
 Mr. Robert B. Spears, librarian of Glasgow 
 University, said that those who thought of heating 
 new library buildings by hot air ought to consider 
 well the position of the flues containing the pipes. 
 The Glasgow University Library, since the com- 
 pletion of the new buildings at Gilmorehill, seven 
 years ago, until recently, had been heated through- 
 out by hot air. The flues containing the pipes ran 
 along the inside of the walls, rather below the level 
 of the ground. On one side of the building was 
 the drive, laid with gravel, and it was found that 
 in wet weather the moisture in the ground on that 
 side was actually drawn through the wall into the 
 pipe-flue, and thence discharged into the library, to 
 the detriment of the books. This had now been 
 rectified in the manner deemed most convenient, 
 by closing up the flues, and placing a coil of hot- 
 water pipes in each of the bays on the side of the 
 building referred to. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison then read his paper on 
 
 Selection and Acquisition of Books 
 for a Library (see pp. 51-56). 
 
 One of the Secretaries then read a paper by Mr. 
 James M. Anderson, assistant librarian of the 
 University Library, St. Andrew's, on 
 
 Selection and Selectors of Books 
 {see pp. 57-58), 
 
 and after it Mr. J. D. Mullins read his note on 
 
 Books Suitable for Free Lending Libraries 
 (see p. 59). 
 It being now nearly 10.30 p.m., it was resolved 
 to postpone discussion on the above three papers, 
 together with the reading of Mr.Cowell's paper, the 
 last of this series, till the following morning, and 
 to meet at 9.30, instead of 10. 
 
1S2 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 THIRD SITTING, 
 WEDNESDAY MORNING, OCTOBER zrd, AT 9.30. 
 
 }N the absence of the President, 
 Professor Justin Winsor, 
 V.P., was unanimously voted 
 to the chair. 
 
 Mr. Peter Cowell then 
 read his paper 
 
 On the Admission of Fiction in Free 
 Public Libraries {see pp. 60-67). 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V. P. , said : — We have 
 satisfied ourselves at Boston that the catalogue can be 
 made to correct the normally large percentage of fic- 
 tion used in all public libraries which have popular 
 departments. Its Public Library, you will remem- 
 ber,has a large reference-collection (though it in part 
 circulates) of considerably over 200,000 volumes, 
 with dependent popular libraries, nine in number, 
 possessing collections ranging from 5,000 to 35,000 
 volumes each. It is through these minor agencies — 
 minor in number of volumes, but major in use and 
 iniiuence — that the masses of the population are 
 best met and benefited. The good they get from 
 the higher departments is filtered through other 
 and more liberally endowed minds — a good not 
 to be undei-valued, certainly, though we make refe- 
 rence only to the masses of the people. Some 
 years ago we began a system of annotating our 
 printed popular catalogues with information about 
 the books and authors; and under the subject-refe- 
 rences to give such brief characteristics of the 
 books as a young reader would gladly receive 
 orally from any trusted guide in the matter of 
 reading. Our first attempt was in the classes of 
 History, Biography, and Travel, in the central 
 popular department, and it increased the issues of 
 such books as much as 200 per cent, at one time, 
 and continued to make similar advances, even 
 when the increase had to be figured on correspond- 
 ing months of the second year of trial. The 
 system has been extended to other departments 
 with equally good results. There is exhibited up- 
 stairs one of our wall-lists of books, arranged 
 chronologically in the department of English His- 
 tory, in which the books are characterized, and 
 the imaginative illustrations in novels, drama, and 
 poetry are given together with the solider reading. 
 We offer it to your consideration as the kind of 
 assistance to readers which we believe in, and 
 using which we think you need have no apprehen- 
 sion of the engrossing effect of fiction. 
 
 Baron Otto de Watteville, V.P., said:— La 
 
 question de 1' introduction des romans (moraux, bien 
 entendu) et des fictions dans les bibliothiques popu- 
 laires et scolaires s'est posee depuis longtemps a 
 I'attention du gouvemement franfais. Depuis dix 
 ans nous avons fonde en France plus de 1,000 bib- 
 lioth^ques populaires, plus de 17,000 biblioth^ues 
 scolaires. Ces demi^res possedent plus de 1,500,000 
 volumes, et pr^tent pr^s de 2,000,000 volumes 
 par an. Vous le voyez, messieurs, je parle en 
 m'appuyant sur des faits. Or, la regie constante, 
 la void. Quand une bibliothfeque est creee dans 
 un village, on lit d'abord les romans, puis les voy- 
 ages, puis les puvrages d'histoire : et quand ces 
 ouvrages sont lus on peut dire que le goiit de la 
 lecture a ete inculque aux habitants. Je m'etorme, 
 messieurs, de voir cette question soulevee dans 
 cette assemblee. L'Europe entiere rend hommage 
 au talent et ^ la moralite de vos ecrivains, et par- 
 tout on est heureux de pouvoir introduire les romans 
 anglais dans les bibliothiques populaires — ce sont 
 les hame9ons avec lesquels on attire les lecteurs. 
 J'ajouterai que ces bibliotheques sont assez frequen- 
 tees pour qu'il ait ete necessaire pour quelques- 
 uues de renouveler absolument leur stock de livres 
 uses par le nombre des lecteurs. 
 
 Mr. J. D. MuLLiNS said : — If we acknowledge 
 the worst that can be said of novel reading— that 
 it enfeebles the mind and renders a man unable to 
 read higher works — that a man may be so debili- 
 tated by habitual novel reading that to have to read 
 Bacon's Essays or Butler's Analogy would be the 
 death of him — that novel reading may produce a 
 flabbiness and unwholesomeness of mind so pro- 
 nounced as to be quite worth study as a new disease 
 (which might be so classed under the head of 
 psychological physiology) — ^if we say all that was 
 said recently by Bishop EUicott, we come back 
 to the fact that even his lordship commenced his 
 own profound researches at a very early age by a 
 most earnest study of that celebrated work of fic- 
 tion called "Jack the Giant Killer," and we give 
 the best fiction to our readers in the infancy of their 
 minds, hoping that, as they grow, they will rise to 
 studies of a nobler kind. 
 
 Mr. S. S. Green said : — To cultivated people 
 there are undoubtedly objections to the character 
 of many of the exciting novels and stories provided 
 for older and younger persons in libraries. They 
 often teach a morality which is not high, and are 
 devoid of intellectual merit. Still, much more good 
 
CONfERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 153 
 
 is done hy putting these books into libraries than 
 by keeping them out, if care is taken to exclude 
 those of a directly immoral tendency. Many of 
 the stories for the young, while trashy as pictures of 
 life, a,waken good moral impulses. Cognizance of 
 real life, also, generally corrects the erroneous views 
 found in novels and stories. A girl who is led 
 astray by reading stories lacks the sense to protect 
 her from the blandishments of designing men if 
 she had read no stories. It is also unreasonable 
 to expect all readers to be equally fastidious in re- 
 gard to the moral tone of literature. People gene- 
 rally approve of a type of morality only when it is 
 higher than their own. There are two strong rea- 
 sons for placing exciting stories in libraries : — ist. 
 They do a great work in forming the habit of 
 reading. Illustrated papers and newspapers do 
 much to help in this matter, but fiction is needed 
 for the same purpose. Who does not know from 
 his own experience that his taste improves as his 
 mind matures, particularly if he goes on educating 
 himself? But suppose the reader to continue to 
 read novels. If he did not do this, what would he 
 be doing ? At the best loafing, at the worst spend- 
 ing time in ale or gin shops. 2nd. The stories and 
 novels furnished by public libraries keep users from 
 worse literature. Young persons get hold of copies 
 of " Police Gazettes," and of low or startling stories 
 from book-stalls, and after reading them lend them 
 to companions, until a whole school has read 
 them. My experience teaches me to put into a 
 library a generous supply of fiction, to put in excit- 
 ing stories when demanded, but to keep the supply 
 of the latter as low as the constituency of the 
 library will allow without a diminution in the 
 aggregate amount of reading. 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P., said :— I had not the 
 good fortune to hear the reading of the paper of 
 my friend Mr. CoweU, but I infer its import from 
 the remarks which have since been made concern- 
 ing it, and the intimation he made to me yesterday, 
 that he had a pebble to throw at the habit of 
 American librarians in justifying the circulation of 
 prose fiction. Now I am not aware that the cir- 
 culation of prose fiction by pubHc libraries is an 
 American idea. In fact I am rather disposed to 
 think that our English fHends are doing more of 
 this thing than we are. If we believed it was 
 wrong we woiUd stop it, but we do not believe it 
 is wrong. We discard from our selections immoral 
 and debasing, and even questionable novels, and 
 circulate the better novels freely. We circulate, 
 it is true, novels which persons of culture never 
 read, but they are not bad novels on that account. 
 They are feeble and rudimentary as literary pro- 
 ductions, but quite up to, and a little beyond, the 
 literary standard of the people who read them. 
 The first problem is to induce people of no literary 
 culture to read at all ; and to do this we must give 
 
 them books which they can understand and appre- 
 ciate, even if their standard of literary merit be 
 below our own. As these persons acquire a habit 
 of reading their tastes improve and they read better 
 books. During my thirty years of experience as 
 a librarian, I have watched this matter closely, 
 and am sure that mistakes are made in recommend- 
 ing young people to read books which are not 
 adapted to their capacities. They acquire a distaste 
 for history by having Hume put into their hands 
 when they ought to be reading " Robinson Crusoe " 
 and the "Vicar of Wakefield." The tirade against 
 the reading of prose fiction in our country comes 
 generally from cultivated persons, who have for- 
 gotten the process of their own mental develop- 
 ment. To such persons I have frequently said, 
 "But you have been a great novel-reader." The 
 reply is usually the same, " Yes, I have ; and I 
 have read too many novels." Now the proba- 
 bility is that these persons have read just about 
 novels enough. Their imagination has been awa- 
 kened, and they have acquired a large vocabulary 
 and a facility of expression which they could have 
 obtained in no other way. There is a period in the 
 intellectual development of every person, who later 
 on becomes a scholar, when he craves novel-read- 
 ing, and the craving ought to be satisfied. Jeremy 
 Bentham, who was the most practical of Enghsh 
 jurists, condemns the practice of his parents in 
 keeping novels out of his reach and compelling 
 him to read them by stealth, and Lord Macaulay 
 gives the same testimony in his own experience. 
 
 There is a good deal of talk in public, and we 
 have heard something of it in this Conference, of 
 trash. One speaker has invited the services of a 
 public cremator to go through our libraries, and 
 burn up the trash. Now what is trash? It is 
 something well enough in its way, when in its right 
 place, but which is, for the time being, in a wrong 
 place. A bundle of straw in the hall of the London 
 Institution would be trash, and so would be copies 
 of Grasvius and Gronovius, or a set of the " London 
 Gazette," in a country circulating library. The ser- 
 vices of no cremator are required. The first needs 
 to be removed to a stable, and the last to areference- 
 library. The more common use of the word trash 
 is in connexion with books and pamphlets for which 
 the person who uses the expression has no use or 
 taste. The rich collection of works on Insurance 
 and kindred topics made by Mr. Walford would be 
 trash in a monk's library. 
 
 From 1 640 to 1660 a London bookseller, George 
 Thomason by name, set himself to collect every book 
 and pamphlet that issued from the English press, 
 and he collected 60,000 separate publications. 
 During this period a legion of whimsical and pes- 
 tering sects arose, who printed books and pam- 
 phlets without measure. All these went into Mr. 
 Thomason's collection, an immense amount of 
 
 X 
 
1 54 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 "trash," which he transported about the country to 
 keep it out of the way of the contending armies of 
 the King and of the Parliament. This collection has 
 now found a resting-place in the British Museum, 
 where nothing is regarded as trash. It was saved 
 from the baker's oven by George III., who bought 
 it for £,yx>. There are single books and pamphlets 
 in it which will bring that sum to-day in America. 
 Whenever the British Museum gets tired of that 
 trash, and will offer it at public sale, there will be a 
 book auction in London which will rival in interest 
 that of the Perkins sale. If the duty of cremating of 
 trash were delegated to one official, much would be 
 destroyed ; the books relating to my pet hobbies, 
 one of which is Witchcraft, would doubtless perish 
 in that auto dafi. If delegated to a jury of twelve 
 impartial cremators, nothing would be destroyed ; 
 for they could never agree upon a verdict in any 
 specific case. This, I take it, is the feeling of every 
 true librarian. Any book or pamphlet which has 
 been printed is worth preserving, not everywhere, 
 but somewhere. Librarians should preserve the 
 pamphlets relating to their own localities and others 
 that are of sufficient general interest to warrant their 
 being bound and catalogued ; and the others they 
 should send to large central libraries which main- 
 tain general collections. 
 
 The Rev. H. O. CoxE asked two questions : — 
 I. Are we not losing the real use of fiction in 
 forgetting its philosophy — to supply imagination to 
 those who have it not ? 2. Are we not travelling out 
 of our sphere and acting as censores morum when 
 we have not the power? The librarian has no 
 power to exclude this or that according to his own 
 views. 
 
 Mr. E. Brunt, librarian of the Potteries Me- 
 chanics' Institute, Hanley, said that the reading 
 of good fiction supplied a healthy mental stimulus, 
 and should therefore be encouraged in moderation. 
 But, though it was useless to provide what people 
 would not read, care should be taken in the selec- 
 tion of novels, as the mere fact of a work being in 
 a library was held by some to be a tacit recom- 
 mendation of it. He also had doubts whether any 
 considerable proportion of confirmed novel-readers 
 ever became steady readers of scientific and philo- 
 sophical works. 
 
 Mr. Peter Cowell said in reply that he by no 
 means objected to the admission of fiction ingeneral, 
 but only to the admission of what was generally 
 or almost universally admitted to be trash ; that 
 the history of public libraries afforded ample illus- 
 tration of the good effects produced by the circula- 
 tion of fiction, particularly in keeping the working 
 classes from drink and its attendant evils ; but that, 
 illustrated and entertaining periodicals being so ex- 
 ceedingly popular, much of the good done of the 
 preventive kind might be done by the latter means ; 
 that fairy tales he would not include in objectionable 
 
 fiction, but on the contrary would circulate them 
 freely for young minds ; and that he had yet to 
 learn that cases of upward progressive reading from 
 trash were sufficiently numerous to warrant its in' 
 troduction. 
 
 One of the Secretaries then read the paper by 
 Mr. H. W. D. DuNLOP, assistant librarian of 
 the National Library of Ireland, 
 
 On a New Invention which renders Slip- 
 Catalogues AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REFE- 
 RENCE {see pp. 68-9). 
 
 There being no discussion, Mr. H. Stevens 
 read his paper on 
 
 Photobibliography ; OR, A Central Biblio- 
 graphical Clearing-house {see pp. 70-81). 
 
 One of the Secretaries stated that he had been 
 asked by the Baron Otto de Watteville, V.P., 
 to call attention to the Report of the Commission 
 charged by the French Government to examine 
 the means of reproducing by photography docu- 
 ments in libraries and other establishments under 
 State control. Of this Report a copy was placed 
 in the Exhibition of Library Designs, Catalogues, 
 and Appliances. ' 
 
 Dr. Andrea Crest adoro said;— The catalogue 
 of a public library without an index is imperfect. 
 There are two important functions which a proper 
 catalogue must fiilfil in order to answer the pur- 
 pose for which a public library is intended — an 
 accurate description of every book, and a con- 
 venient means of reference to subjects as well as 
 authors' names, including, where required, titles 
 as distinguished from subject-matter properly so 
 called. It has been a mistake to conliise these 
 functions instead of keeping them distinct. The 
 descriptive titles form the principal entries. These 
 should be carefully drawn up to their fuH neces- 
 sary or desirable extent, but the manner in which 
 they were arranged is immaterial. As fast as 
 books' are added to the library, their full titles 
 should be prepared and printed, not as a supple- 
 ment, but as a continuation-list always in progress. 
 The index-entries alone need be each in one short 
 uniform line, alphabetically arranged as a com- 
 plete concordance to authors, subjects, and titles, 
 as they appear in the principal entries. 
 
 Mr. Jon A. Hjaltalin, assistant librarian 
 of the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, said: — 
 Those who object to printing a catalogue, and 
 those who are in favour of it, both agree about the 
 unhandiness, or unwieldiness, of a manuscript 
 catalogue. I shall only mention one instance, from 
 the British Museum catalogue. It has been truly 
 said here that it had been prepared with such care 
 and by so able scholars as to be a model of what 
 a catalogue should be. Yes, I am quite sure that 
 as far as completeness and correctness goes, it is 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 iSS 
 
 indeed a model catalogue. But what is the ex- 
 perience of readers who have to use it ? It is no 
 more than due that I should take this opportunity 
 for thanking all the oflficials of the reading-room 
 for the invariable civility and kindness I always 
 met with at their hands during the four years I was a 
 reader there. But they left me to find out in the cata- 
 logue die books I wanted. The instance I was going 
 to refer to is this. I wanted a particular book 
 by Samuel Clarke. I knew the author, I knew 
 the book, I knew the particular volume in the 
 catalogue where I should look for it. I took it 
 up, and turned over leaf after leaf : worthy Samuel 
 Clarke always stared me in the face to my utter 
 confusion, but the book I did not find till after a 
 turning over of leaves for an hour and a quarter. 
 Now I think that in a printed catalogue it would 
 not have taken me more than a minute to find this 
 book. This may be an extreme case, but I am 
 afraid there are many of them, and any of us might 
 find it a tedious task to find a particular book by 
 Mr. John Smith. As for the possibility and prac- 
 ticability of printing a catalogue of a large library, 
 I will give you a short account of my connexion 
 with the catalogue of the Advocates' Library. At 
 Mr. Halkett's death the printing of our catalogue 
 had proceeded as far as the word " Catalogue." 
 There was great diversity of opinion among the 
 Advocates whether the printing should be con- 
 tinued or not. It was said that it could not be 
 finished within the present century, and the ex- 
 pense would land the feculty, if not the Advocates 
 individually, in the "Gazette." However, the 
 opinion of those prevailed who wished the printing 
 to go on. In the spring of 1872, I undertook the 
 charge of going over the slips and preparing them 
 for the press, as well as reading the proofs of the 
 printed sheets. It had been said during the dis- 
 cussion as to whether the printing should go on or 
 not, that all the slips were fiiUy prepared and 
 there was nothing more to be done than just ar- 
 ranging the slips in proper order. This was not, 
 however, the case, I am sorry to say. A great 
 many books were not catalogued at all, especially 
 periodicals ; and of many others the slips were 
 merely cut out from an old printed catalogue, and 
 these I have almost invariably found to be wrong. 
 I have thus had to write new slips, or to compare 
 shps of nearly one-third of the library. Thus I 
 worked on from the word ' ' Catalogue" to the end of 
 the letter L, under the superintendence of our late 
 keeper, Mr. Jamieson, and since then I have been 
 working on my own responsibility, subject to the 
 rules on which the catalogue was started, and with 
 the advice and guidance of our present keeper, 
 Mr. Clark. I am now far advanced with S, and 
 hope to see the end of Z before the end of next 
 year. There will then be a printed catalogue of 
 six 4to volumes of between 800 and 900 pp. each. 
 
 The entries in this catalogue will be about 200,000. 
 The cost of the catalogue will be ;£'S,ooo, in- 
 cluding preparation, printing, and paper. We were 
 told yesterday that the entries in a printed cata- 
 logue of the British Museum would be 3,000,000. 
 The cost of that at the same rate would be ;^6o,ooo. 
 Although, however, the entries in a printed catalogue 
 of the British Museum would be 3,000,000, while 
 those of the Advocates' Library catalogue are only 
 200,000, it should not be concluded that the latter 
 library is fifteen times smaller than the former, for 
 such is not the case. The difference lies in this — 
 that we do not make separate entries for editors 
 and translators of books, as I believe they do at 
 the British Museum. The time occupied in getting 
 out the five last volumes of this catalogue will be 
 six years, with only one man working at it, and 
 him the last to claim for himself any superiority or 
 special fitness beyond the ordinary run of librarians. 
 In the case of the British Museum, no one man 
 could get the catalogue through the press, but I 
 cannot see any difficulty in distributing the work 
 in such a way among competent workers as to in- 
 sure the wished-for result. I do not hold a brief 
 for the Advocates' Library catalogue. In some 
 cases I do not agree with its plan. For economical 
 reasons it was found necessary to cut down move 
 of the title-pages than many would desire. With 
 respect to my work on it, I have tried to do my 
 best, yet I am painfully aware how far short it 
 comes of the excellency to which I should have 
 wished to bring it. I do not therefore by any 
 means hold up our catalogue as a model, and 
 think it quite possible to brin out one which 
 should cost less and be better. I only wished to 
 give an instance, however imperfect, of what 
 might be done with limited means and limited 
 working powers. For all that, I think our cata- 
 logue might be used with advantage by smaller 
 libraries, in the same manner as we saw the Bod- 
 leian Library catalogue made use of in Sion 
 College. 
 
 One of the Secretaries then read the paper by 
 Mr. James M. Anderson, 
 
 On Cataloguing {see pp. 82-3). 
 
 Mr. Robert B. Spears, librarian of Glasgow 
 University Libraiy, read his paper 
 
 On the Catalogues of 
 Glasgov^t University Library (see pp. 84-5). 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford read his 
 
 Notes on Cataloguing {see pp. 86-7). 
 
 Mr. C. A. Cutter made some remarks in regard 
 to card catalogues, and in explanation of an easy 
 method of fastening the cards in the drawers so 
 that the public could not disturb the order and yet 
 that facility of consultation should not be in any 
 way interfered with. 
 
ISO 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 He went on to say : — Card catalogues are as 
 characteristic of American libraries as pasted slip- 
 catalogues are of English libraries. In the twenty- 
 five or thirty English collections of books which 
 we have visited I have seen no card catalogue, 
 and, although I hear of some, they are in no case, 
 I believe, accessible to the public, whereas in my 
 own country I know of only one library which has 
 a pasted catalogue, and that is to be given up as 
 soon as possible. I find also another noteworthy 
 difference between the two countries. My English 
 friends seem to consider a subject-catalogue as 
 something very excellent, to be sure, but Utopian — 
 impracticable. With us, on the contrary, a library 
 that has no subject-catalogue is regarded as little 
 better than one which has none at all. As to the 
 difficulties of classification and the liability to mis- 
 takes in dealing with subjects with which one is 
 unacquainted (which has been rather despairingly 
 insisted upon), in all the works upon library eco- 
 nomy you will find that the first qualification of the 
 librarian is universal knowledge. Of course if this 
 requirement is fulfilled, the objection is removed, 
 and if it is not, Carlyle's dictum may profitably be 
 applied here: "After all, the worst catalogue is 
 none at all, " or, as it is expressed in an old proverb, 
 very worthy to be taken to heart by librarians, 
 "Half a loaf is better than no bread." Even 
 supposing the enormous amount of five per cent, 
 of the entries should be erroneous, which is utterly 
 improbable, the subject -catalogue ought neverthe- 
 less to be made for the sake of the assistance which 
 will be afforded to students by the ninety-five per 
 cent, of correct entries. 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P., said: — Adding 
 as we do to the Boston Public Library from 15,000 
 to 30,000 volumes a year, and entering them in 
 our catalogue with such a profusion of subject- 
 references, in addition to the ordinairy main and 
 cross references, and keeping up that catalogue in 
 duplicate for public and official uses, so that from 
 100,000 to 150,000 entries are now made yearly 
 in it — ^you can conceive that we have been put to 
 our wit's end to accomplish this work with an 
 expedition that will satisfy the American notions 
 of rapidity. We do it in this way. The work of 
 the catalogue face goes to transcribers, who in a 
 fixed library chirography — to which our people are 
 drilled — copy the entries on sheets ruled to corre- 
 spond to the faces of twenty cards, using an ink with 
 tannin in it. Sheets thus vifritten are dampened 
 and laid on plates of prepared gelatine ; the ink 
 renders the gelatine horny, where it touches, the 
 rest remaining porous. The plate is then put on 
 a press, dampened, and, the ink-roller going over 
 it, the ink adheres to the writing, and is repelled 
 by the porous parts. Impressions are now taken 
 to any number required, sometimes as many as 
 hundreds, on Bristol board, and, being cut up ac- 
 
 cording to gauges, the cards are at once ready for 
 insertion for the main entries, and they only need 
 a top inscription in the library hand for the other 
 entries. We estimate that we save about one-half 
 in time, and as much in money, as compared with 
 an old system of printing from type. 
 
 Professor E. P. Wright said that, had Mr. 
 Cutter only happened to land on the first island to 
 be met with on the way from America, he would 
 have found card catalogues rather the rule in the 
 libraries of Ireland than the exception. Some of 
 the slips in the Trinity College public library are 
 nearly half a century old, and are not yet worn 
 out. In this library the card catalogue was under 
 the charge of a special officer, and there was there- 
 fore little probability of slips getting astray. As 
 to subject-catalogues, time would only permit him 
 to say that while he thought that in our library 
 catalogues every word on a title-page should ap- 
 pear, with all the needful cross references, these 
 titles should not be added to, nor an attempt made 
 to make a library catalogue an introduction to the 
 classification of science and literature. 
 
 Mr. Edwin Wallace, while allowing that 
 subject-catalogues were of considerable utility, 
 quoted Professor Stanley Jevons's saying, "A 
 classified catalogue is a logical absurdity," and 
 doubted whether the work could be done, except 
 roughly and by the use of some wide divisions, 
 which in the case of libraries like that of the 
 British Museum would themselves comprise so 
 many works as to be of little service to most 
 readers. He especially objected to such sub-classi- 
 fication as characterized Mr. Anderson's specimen 
 catalogue of works in mental philosophy, and 
 called attention to the difficulty a librarian would 
 find with reference to the later German philosophy 
 in distinguishing works on metaphysic from those 
 on logic. 
 
 Mr. G. BuLLEN said that he could not conceive 
 how any one should depreciate the importance of a 
 subject-catalogue. However excellent might be 
 the alphabetical catalogue of authors' names now 
 available in the British Museum, it was only hall 
 perfect, as lacking an index of subjects. Let such 
 an index be provided, and the full idea of a cata- 
 logue would be realized. When superintendent of 
 the reading-room, he had continually felt fhe need 
 of an index of subjects, and often found his brain 
 harassed by the demands made upon it by readers 
 to tell them what book or books they required to 
 see on some particular subject. He trusted that 
 the Conference would give such an expression of 
 opinion in favour of a subject-index as would 
 strengthen the hands of the officers of the Museum 
 in procuring from the Government the finances 
 necessary for its production. 
 
 Mr. Richard Garnett confirmed the ex- 
 perience of Mr. Bullen from his own, and added 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 157 
 
 that a great step had already been taken towards 
 the preparation of an index of subjects to the 
 Museum catalogue. Titles written for books were 
 transcribed quadruply, and one set of slips ar- 
 ranged, not in alphabetical order, but according to 
 the place of the books on the shelves. Books in 
 the Museum being arranged strictly according to 
 subject, this was practically equivalent to a classed 
 catalogixe, which only needed more accurate sub- 
 division to be ready for use in any form desired. 
 Its final preparation and publication were, in fact, 
 simply questions of money. 
 
 Mr. W. Lyall said : — I am glad that Mr. 
 Cutter has introduced the matter of subject cata- 
 logues. It is my firm opinion that no librarian 
 can have a proper grasp of his library without a 
 subject-catalogue. Whether the catalogue be ar- 
 ranged this way or not, there ought to be a good 
 subject-index. The best arranged alphabetical 
 catalogue is that of the Public Library at Boston, 
 U.S. 
 
 The Rev. T. Vickers, librarian of the Public 
 Library, Cincinnati, said : — It is far more im- 
 portant to print classed catalogues of a library 
 for the use of the public than the complete cata- 
 logue in one alphabet. For the mass of readers it 
 is more important to be able to take in at a glance 
 all that a library contains on a given subject than 
 to know whether it contains all the works of a 
 given author. Those who care to read all that an 
 author has written are, for the most part, readers 
 of novels. There should be a complete alpha- 
 betical index to every large collection of books ; 
 but, in order to keep it complete, it is necessary to 
 refrain from printing it in book form. There are 
 in reality no such difficulties of classification as 
 were suggested 'by Mr. Wallace. Even the ex- 
 ample he adduced proves this ; for he must be a 
 tyro indeed in the history of modern German 
 philosophy who does not know that all the so- 
 called "logics" written by Hegel and his fol- 
 lowers ought to be classed under the head of 
 metaphysics. In the Cincinnati library we have 
 adopted the plan of making the complete printed 
 catalogue consist of class-catalogues published in 
 separate volumes. This plan has the great prac- 
 tical advantage of placing an index to any special 
 department at the disposal of the man who wants 
 it at very small cost. In a public library it hardly 
 seems fair to compel the man whose chief interest 
 is confined to a single branch of literature, to buy a 
 catalogue of a dozen branches in which he has no 
 interest at all, in order to control that which does 
 interest him. The medical student will cheerfully 
 buy the medical catalogue, but what sense is there 
 in forcing him to buy the theological one also? 
 The volumes of such a catalogue as we propose, 
 and are now printing, are moderate in size, and, as 
 fast as the edition of any of them is exhausted, it 
 
 can be reprinted de novo, with all the additions 
 down to the date of issue, without involving a 
 great additional outlay of money. It seems to me 
 that this plan should commend itself to all rapidly 
 growing libraries. A library which is increasing 
 at the rate of 10,000 volumes a year needs to re- 
 print its catalogues at short intervals. 
 
 Dr. Andrea Crestadoro said:— A catalogue 
 without index is imperfect. If the index be both of 
 authors and subjects, it does not matter what ar- 
 rangement is given to titles. This removes the 
 great printing difficulty. Thus we may have a con- 
 tinuous catalogue, without supplements, always in 
 progress. 
 
 Mr. W. Lyall said :— With respect to the print- 
 ing of special parts of a subject catalogue, I might 
 say, in the absence of Mr. Yates, that this is done 
 in tire Leeds Public Library, but I do not know to 
 what extent. 
 
 Mr. Lloyd P. Smith, V.P., regretted that his 
 friend Dr. Allibone, a person perhaps as familiar 
 with the subject of printed catalogues as even any- 
 one at that Conference, was not present. The fact 
 that Dr. Allibone had repeatedly pronounced the 
 catalogue of the Library Company of Philadelphia 
 to be the best printed catalogue known to him 
 might be an excuse for explaining the plan of that 
 work. It is a classified catalogue with a copious 
 alphabetical index of all the important words in 
 each title. Coming down only to 1855, the printed 
 catalogue is supplemented by an alphabetical cata- 
 logue as well of subjects as of authors, so that, by 
 referring to two alphabets only, any book in the 
 library can be found by the author's name, the 
 title, or the subject. 
 
 Sir Redmond Barry, V.P., said : — As in this 
 discussion reference has been made to the catalogues 
 of several libraries, allow me to introduce that of 
 the Melbourne Public Library of Victoria. 
 
 The classification is eclectic, including certain 
 features recommended, others excluded by authors, 
 and some perhaps original. It follows the ar- 
 rangement of the books in the recesses, each of 
 which contains about 2,000 volumes. 
 
 Down the west side the books run thus : — 
 
 Chemistry. 
 Meteorology. 
 Cosmical Science. 
 Voyages and Travels. 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Animal Physiology 
 and Psychology, 
 Botany. 
 Agriculture. 
 Geology. 
 Mineralogy. 
 
 On the east side are books relating to history 
 and literature in all its branches, and we adopt what 
 has been condemned — namely, the grouping of 
 books on all subjects written in dead or foreign 
 languages in recesses by themselves, finding it 
 more convenient for our readers of diflferent na- 
 tionalities — French, Italian, Spanish, German, 
 
158 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 Scandinavian, and others — that they should find 
 assembled in one chamber the authors they wish 
 to consult. No inconvenience is felt from a practice 
 virhich obliges a reader to move from one recess to 
 another where he may supply himself with what he 
 may require. 
 
 The catalogue is twofold : — 
 
 1 . Of authors arranged alphabetically, with name 
 of work, size, number of volumes, place of publi- 
 cation, date (name of publisher is omitted), edition. 
 
 2. Index of subjects. Copies of this and the 
 supplements lie on the tables accessible to readers, 
 who can ascertain the resources of the library on 
 any subject, and refer to the author at once. 
 
 In illustration of this, to meet objections of 
 former speakers, take the subject 
 
 Theology. 
 
 The index gives subdivisions : — 
 Buddhist. Mahommedan. 
 
 Catholic. Parsee. 
 
 Sermons. Patristic. 
 
 Eastern. Protestant. 
 
 Hindu. - — Sermons. 
 
 Jewish. 
 
 — all these in one volume. 
 
 If the author required be not found in that 
 volume nor in any other issues, there is in addition 
 in each recess a catalogue of its contents, alpha- 
 betical and raisonnl: consequently, in some recesses 
 there are three or four, according to the number of 
 subjects included. These are partly printed, partly 
 written. Cross references are numerous, and, where 
 the works of a copious writer comprise various sub- 
 jects, the volume containing the specific informa- 
 tion required is expressly named. 
 
 The grand division of the recess is denoted as 
 usual by a plate having on it in large gilt letters the 
 subject. Smaller plates on the shelves indicate the " 
 subdivisions. These conspicuous aids to the eye 
 almost supersede the necessity for a catalogue, as a 
 reader may scan in a moment the names of the books. 
 
 Cards— ingeniously contrived and useful as they 
 undoubtedly are — we consider to be expensive and 
 superfluous. 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P., said :— In the Chicago 
 Public Library our books are catalogued on cards 
 under authors and subjects, and the cards are placed 
 in alphabetical arrangement ; this catalogue has not 
 been printed. We have, however, printed a " find- 
 ing-list " of all the 52,000 books in the library, which 
 we have been able to sell to the pubHc at the actual 
 cost of fivepence per copy. More than 12,000 
 copies of these lists have been sold, a specimen 
 of which I hold in my hand. The work, it will be 
 seen, is printed on Manila paper, which costs only 
 half as much as good book paper, and in ser- 
 vice lasts five times as long. The use of Manila 
 paper for catalogues for public use in libraries is 
 
 worth the consideration of librarians. The list is 
 made from the shelf lists, and hence is classified by 
 subjects : prefixed is a table of contents, and also an 
 index to subjects. The volume is furnished at so 
 low a price by the printer because he is allowed to 
 insert advertisements in the fly-leaves, for which he 
 receives compensation from the advertisers. 
 
 Mr. Peter Cowell exhibited a somewhat inge- 
 niously constructed book, much resembUng a pho- 
 tographic album, which was to be placed in the stu- 
 dents' room of the Liverpool Free Public Library, for 
 showing the regular accessions of new books in strict 
 alphabetic order. He also showed a model illus- 
 trating the plan used in the general reading-room of 
 that library for effecting the same object, but differ- 
 ing in form and construction. He said that the sys- 
 tem adopted there was to print the titles of all the 
 new accessions to the library in good legible type 
 immediately upon passing the committee at their 
 weekly meetings. The titles were supplied in gal- 
 ley by the printer, several copies being struck off in 
 stout cardboard. They were then cut up singly, 
 those on cardboard arranged in the album-like boob 
 in the students' room, and those on paper pasted 
 on small wooden strips of wood and arranged 
 in frames supported against the wall in a conve- 
 nient part of the public room. The album-like 
 catalogue is a book capable of being increased or re- 
 duced in bulk at pleasure, as each leaf is separate 
 from its fellows. They are united by being laced 
 together through eyelet-holes let into a narrow strip 
 of cardboard of equal length to the leaf itself, and 
 joined to it by a hinge of stout calico so as to ad- 
 mit of easy working. Each leaf is i6j inches by 
 14J, and has two openings in each side, measuring 
 12 inches by 5, as if for receiving photos of similar 
 dimensions. The titles printed on cardboard are 
 slipped into the openings crosswise, instead of at 
 the foot as in an album. The leaves are separate 
 in order to admit of the insertion of new ones, as the 
 others get filled up and the titles require opening 
 out to receive others in their proper alphabetic order. 
 The cover is in three pieces — the two sides and the 
 back. The back is flexible and has a number of 
 eyelet-holes let into it, so as to allow of expansion 
 in the lacing as leaves are inserted. The sides, 
 back, and leaves are capable of being united into a 
 firm, compact whole by strong laces passing through 
 the eyelet-holes and being tied tightly together. 
 
 The frames in the general room are each 2 ft. 
 6 inches long, by 6 inches wide. A half inch 
 beading of oak runs round each. At one side the 
 beading is loose, except just at the top and bot- 
 tom, so as to admit of the narrow wooden tablets 
 being slipped in sidewise. The beading at the 
 opposite side has a small groove to receive the 
 tablets and prevent them falling out. The partly 
 loose beading under which the tablets glide is 
 made firm by a small brass hook and eye. The 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 1 59 
 
 frame is always kept filled with tablets either bear- 
 ing titles or blank, the blanks being withdrawn 
 as the others take their place. The plan is simple 
 and works exceedingly well. The clear printed 
 titles of the new books, posted in a convenient part 
 of the room, are found to be an attraction in them- 
 selves, and are believed to be a means of inducing 
 many to read the books who would never have 
 done so othervrise, or would perhaps never have 
 known of their existence. The printed cata- 
 logue was on the plan of authors, titles, and 
 subjects. Supplements were published every two 
 or three years. A catalogue would be kept up 
 in fiiture on the card-system, and would include 
 
 the valuable articles contained in the leading re- 
 views, the scientific papers of various societies, and 
 the numerous pamphlets which were only too fre- 
 quently neglected. 
 
 Mr. B. R. Wheatley then read his paper 
 On an Evitandum in Index-making, princi- 
 pally MET with in French and German 
 Periodical Scientific Literature 
 
 (see pp. 88-92). 
 Mr. Jon A. HjaltalSn read his 
 
 Remarks on Rules for an Alphabetical 
 Catalogue (see pp. 93-6). 
 
 The Conference then adjourned till 7 p. m.* 
 
 FOURTH SITTING, 
 
 WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 3rd, AT j. 
 
 N the absence of the President, 
 Sir Redmond Barry, V.P., 
 was unanimously voted to the 
 chair. 
 
 Mr. H. B. Wheatley, 
 assistant librarian of the Royal 
 Society, London, read his paper 
 
 On the Alphabetical Arrangement of the 
 Titles of Anonymous Books (see pp. 97-9). 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison suggested that leave 
 should be given to enter anonymous books under 
 some word other than the first or leading word, if 
 by so doing its subject could be better indicated. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson said that in that case it 
 would be infinitely more difficult for the reader to 
 find whether an anonymous book was in the library ; 
 indeed, if he were unacquainted vrith the subject- 
 matter of the book it would be quite impossible for 
 him to do so. 
 
 Mr. JOn a. HjaltAliN said : — Anonymous 
 works should be entered under a name or title if 
 they have one — e.g., " Mordaunt Hall. " If there is 
 no name, and a locality is treated of, it should be 
 put under that locality ; a historical account of 
 Leeds, for instance, should be under Leeds. My 
 reason is that you remember a proper name or title 
 better than a common Treading. "First-word" 
 headings would be impracticable on account of 
 their length — e.£^., such headings as would be ne- 
 cessary under " Sermon," " Account," &c. 
 
 Dr. Andrea Crestadoro said : — Every title 
 should have a heading, that is, a word taken from 
 the title-page. This word should be the author's 
 name, if given. If the author's name is wanting, 
 
 then the word indicative of the subject-matter, or 
 in the third instance the title if distinguished from 
 the subject properly so called. 
 
 Dr. Richard Caulfield had often found valu- 
 able memoranda written on the fly-leaves of books 
 published anonymously, which had often given the 
 author's name, and other information about a book. 
 Binders often destroyed such leaves and inserted 
 new ones, which owners of books should be careful 
 to forbid when sending books to binders. He had 
 also sometimes found the name by vnriting to those 
 interested in the history of the locality where the 
 book was printed ; but this could only be done when 
 the book appeared in some provincial town. For 
 instance, about the last quarter of the last century 
 some very curious pamphlets of a controversial 
 nature were printed in Cork, under the pseudonym 
 of " Michael Servetus " — they say, one Dr. Blair, 
 about whose history there were some curious par- 
 ticulars which would never have come to light but 
 for the hunt after his name. Again, it was the 
 custom in Ireland, about a century or more ago, to 
 write laudatory poems on the leading members of 
 society, both male and female, giving only the first 
 and last letter of the name. Such names might 
 easily be identified by persons in the locality ; he 
 had seen the omitted letters filled in by a contem- 
 porary hand in such publications. Pamphlets of a 
 political character were often of a personal nature, 
 
 * Between the morning and evening sittings the 
 Conference visited the Ubrary of the British 
 Museum, and was afterwards received by the 
 President at his house. The visit is described in 
 the Accounts of Visits to Libraries. 
 
i6o 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 and often appeared after this fashion : he had often 
 seen the name of the writer placed on the title-page 
 under the initials, and not unfrequently scratched 
 out or otherwise obliterated. In arranging such 
 books in the catalogue he placed them under their 
 subjects, but kept a register of the initials in a, 
 different book set apart for the purpose, having 
 space beneath each for such conjectures as might 
 be made by himself or the writers quoting the book, 
 and always citing authorities. 
 
 Mr. Ralph Thomas said, in reply to a question 
 which he had heard, that in his experience the 
 British Museum did strictly adhere to their rules 
 for cataloguing anonymous and pseudonymous 
 works. He disagreed with Mr. Wheatley's view 
 that an anonymous work should be catalogued un- 
 der the author's name when found. He thought 
 the rule of the Museum was the scientific rule — viz. , 
 to catalogue under the work or the psevidonym. 
 
 Mr. G. W. Porter was sorry that he had not 
 had the advantage of being present when Mr. 
 Wheatley's paper was read, but he had formed a 
 very strong opinion that the best way of treating 
 anonymous works in a large alphabetical catalogue 
 was to enter them under the first word of the title 
 which was not either an article or a preposition. 
 This was Barbier's plan, and had been followed by 
 Kayser, Melzi, and other bibliographers. No one 
 who had consulted the "Dictionnaire des Ouvrages 
 Anonymes" of Barbier could have failed to be struck 
 by the ease and precision of his method. The great 
 object was to have a fixed and certain rule which 
 every one could apply without hesitation or doubt ; 
 so that a librarian or reader might be able to say 
 with respect to anonymous works, just as confi- 
 dently as in other cases, whether any particular book 
 was or was not in the library. This could not be 
 the case where the subject or leading word was 
 adopted as the heading ; people were apt to take dif- 
 ferent views as to which was the leading word, and 
 in the titles of many anonymous books it was really 
 very difficult to decide. All the advantages to be 
 derived from taking the subject or leading word 
 could be much better attained by cross references 
 or entries in an index of subjects. Sir Anthony 
 Panizzi, at the commencement of the Museum cata- 
 logue, had recommended that the plan of Barbier 
 should be adopted for anonymous books, but he 
 was unfortunately overruled, and a system of taking 
 the proper names of persons, of parties, sects, or 
 denominations, and of places according to a settled 
 order of preference, was adopted. This had been 
 an unfortunate decision, and had materially contri- 
 buted to delay the progress of the work, and to 
 lessen the utility of the catalogue. 
 
 Mr. B. R. Wheatley said that he considered 
 that cross references could be quite as readily and 
 much more appropriately made from the anonymous 
 or pseudonymous entry to the real author, as in the 
 
 opposite mode adopted by the British Museum and 
 in Mr. Cutter's "Rules." The doubtful cases as to 
 real authorship would be comparatively few and 
 would only be the exception necessary to prove the 
 rule. It was an object of such great importance to 
 get the entire works of an author together under his 
 name (the anonymoxxs ones being distinguished from 
 the others by brackets) that in debating the question 
 it ought to outweigh most other considerations. 
 The opposite rule, in instances where an author 
 had successively adopted several pseudonyms, 
 might scatter his works in a dozen different places 
 over the catalogue. Cross references must always 
 be considered in the light of helps, and should 
 therefore be from the imknown to the known, from 
 ignorance to knowledge, and not from knowledge 
 to ignorance. The cataloguer should make his 
 catalogue up to his knowledge, as perfect as he can, 
 adding helpful cross references for the consulter to 
 follow him in his track, not backwards from his 
 own knowledge to the consulter's ignorance. 
 
 One of the Secretaries then read the note by 
 M. Guillaume Depping 
 
 On Co-operative Cataloguing (see p. loo), 
 
 andafteritthe following letterfromProfessorF. Max 
 MiJLLER, late assistant-librarian of the Bodleian 
 Library, Oxford, was read : — 
 
 " 7, Norham Gardens, Oxford, 
 "Sept. 17, 1877. 
 " Dear Mr. Nicholson, — I am sorry I shall not be 
 able to join your Conference of Librarians. I hope 
 it will be a great success. Though an ex-Ubrarian 
 only, I take a great interest in the reform of libra- 
 ries, and I tried to point out some years ago how 
 much the work of cataloguing might be simplified, 
 and the expense lessened by means of co-operation. 
 I forget whether I sent my letter to the ' Times ' 
 or the 'Academy,'* but I have no doubt that the 
 subject will now be taken up and settled by the 
 Conference. If each publisher of a book printed a 
 slip, according to rules to be fixed by the Con- 
 ference, and if one such slip was attached to every 
 book, and more could be bought by libraries, the 
 work and expense of libraries would be consider- 
 ably reduced. To the publisher the expense would 
 be very small, and fully covered by sale of extra 
 copies of slips. 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 "F. MaxMuller." 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V. P., said :— We in 
 America look to the publishers doing much, as far 
 as current books go, in helping our co-operative 
 cataloguing. We hope to induce publishers to put 
 
 * "Academy," March 18, 1876, copied by 
 "Times" of the same day, quoted in American 
 Library Report, p. 513. 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 i6r 
 
 into every copy of every new book issued a stiff 
 paper sheet. This sheet shall be the size, say, of 
 a commercial note-paper, divided into two hori- 
 zontal spaces above and below a vacant centre- 
 space, which can be filled with the publisher's 
 notices, and along which the sheet can be folded 
 for small books. The title is to be repeated in 
 these four spaces, as needed, for main and other 
 entries. The sheet, when cut up, on the printed 
 rules, gives four cards, while the surplus vacant 
 space can be discarded. The cards are thus ready 
 made for a card catalogue, and, all publishers 
 working on a uniform plan, any purchaser of books, 
 and any small library buying only current books, 
 wis. have in ten years a more perfect card catalogue, 
 with no trouble of making it, than most such pur- 
 chasers or libraries can possibly otherwise have. 
 We look for co-operation in this direction producing 
 most important results. 
 
 Mr. B. R. Wheatley said : — I am afraid the 
 scheme could hardly be carried out beneficially to 
 all. A librarian requires the growth of experience 
 — it is simply by his coping with the difficulties that 
 surround him in his work that he grows to be a good 
 cataloguer, and, though he should imbibe know- 
 ledge and good ideas wherever he can firom the 
 experience of others (as exemplified, for instance, 
 in the experiences to be gained from the detailed 
 accounts of these Conferences), he should still do 
 the work himself for his own library. If it is to be 
 done by central committees, or by booksellers and 
 publishers when publishing their book, and he is 
 merely to be a recipient of the slips, good librarians, 
 instead of increasing, wiU soon become an extinct 
 race ; for we know that in all knowledge it is by 
 that which we teach om-selves, or learn by thought 
 from the works of others— and not by what we re- 
 ceive parrot-like without thought from them — that 
 we become true men in the vocation we are fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 Mr. C. A. Cutter reminded Mr. Wheatley that 
 he would still have the old books to catalogue. 
 
 The Rev. W. H. Milman, librarian of Sion 
 College, London, said :— With respect to the pro- 
 posal to have catalogue-slips printed of every book 
 to be hereafter published— such slips to be furnished 
 with all copies of the books sold, and also to be 
 purchasable separately— I quite agree with Pro- 
 fessor Winsor that if it could be carried out it 
 would infinitely and agreeably lighten the labours 
 of a librarian. But I venture to remind the Con- 
 ference that the recommendations of M. Depping 
 went much further. He recommends that arrange- 
 ments shall, if possible, be made for printing slip- 
 titles of all works already published, and that a 
 begmning should be made by providing slips of 
 all bibliographical works. This proposal also has 
 my lull approval in spite of the objection advanced 
 by a preceding speaker, that, if such slips could be 
 
 purchased, the librarian's occupation or chance of 
 distinction as a good cataloguer would be gone. 
 To this I reply that the object in view is not to 
 give librarians an opportunity of earning distinction, 
 but to provide a good and satisfactory catalogue ; 
 that this obviously would be much facilitated by 
 putting printed slips in the reach of every librarian, 
 and so diminishing his mechanical labour and the 
 cost of the catalogue ; and that plenty of opportu- 
 nities of distinction would remain to librarians in 
 the intelligent use, and even corrections of these 
 slips. Whilst, on the other hand, when once a title 
 of any book has been prepared as perfectly as it can 
 be prepared, there is little distinction to be earned 
 in reproducing, whether with or without a question- 
 able variation from the form already in print. 
 
 Professor E. P. Wright said that no more 
 important subject than that of co-operative cata- 
 loguing could be brought before the Conference, 
 and it appeared to him that, if, through the influence 
 of the Library Association, a system of registering 
 the titles of all works of every kind could be carried 
 out after a certain date, an immense step would be 
 taken towards a universal catalogue. Thus, taking 
 this country as a type, if it were enacted that so 
 many copies of every title-page of any work pub- 
 lished in Great Britain, printed on paper of a cer- 
 tain size, should be sent to Stationers' Hall, the 
 arranging of these once a year in alphabetical order 
 would constitute so many complete catalogues of 
 all the works for that year, and if the same were 
 done in each publishing country, a complete cata- 
 logue of all pubUshed works would be year by year 
 attained, which could be bought by all the larger 
 Ubraries of the world. The details of press-reference 
 to such works as each such library contained, and 
 cross references thereto, were matters of detail that 
 could easily be left to the librarians. And, if thus 
 from a certain date a universal catalogue could be 
 made, there might be some chance of printing a 
 complete catalogue of all works published before 
 that date. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford then read his paper 
 on 
 
 A New General Catalogue of English 
 Literature (f«? pp. 101-3). 
 This was followed by the paper of Mr. J. AsHTON 
 Cross, late librarian of the Oxford Union Society, 
 on 
 
 A Universal Index of Subjects 
 (j^^pp. 104-7). 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson heartily approved Mr. 
 Cross's project ; but, as its author had so empha- 
 tically laid down the principle that every library 
 ought to have a speciality, and had made some- 
 what sarcastic reference to the abandonment of this 
 principle in the library of the London Institution, 
 he must take leave to say that he regarded the 
 
 V 
 
l63 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 principle as entirely false in theory, and that he 
 knew it to be most mischievous in its results. 
 There was no security whatever that the importance 
 of the speciality selected would justify the unusual 
 expenditure it involved ; and to this he would add 
 that there was a strong temptation to buy every 
 new book relating to it, good, bad, or indifferent, 
 in order to keep up the reputation of the library in 
 the literature of that particular branch. There 
 were plenty of libraries already founded for spe- 
 cialities, and a library for general readers, instead 
 of stinting all sections of its constituents except one 
 for the purpose of surfeiting that one, should be 
 fair to all, allowing no disproportionate addition 
 of any class of works, except those connected with 
 the history or interests of the locality in which it 
 was situated. 
 
 Professor B. S. MoNDiNO, V.P., suggested that 
 the catalogue of the British Museum might be 
 printed in slips, so that every sheet of paper con- 
 tained a certain number of titles which could be cut 
 out and arranged either alphabetically or by sub- 
 jects. Every librarian might buy copies and make 
 for himself an alphabetical or subject-catalogue of 
 the Museum. The expense of printing would be 
 covered by selling the slips, which not only many 
 librarians, but many private gentlemen would be 
 glad to buy. He suggested that, if these slip- 
 sheets were sent to other librarians throughout the 
 world, they would gladly insert the titles of any 
 books in their possession which the Museum might 
 lack, and that by such co-operation a general cata- 
 logue of printed books might very easily be made. 
 He felt also that a general catalogue of MSS. was 
 wanted, the very existence of some MSS., and the 
 locality of others, being unknown, while of those 
 supposed to be unique it was not knovm whether 
 there might not be duplicates. Such a catalogue 
 might be compiled under the direction of a special 
 committee, who would lay down rules for uniform 
 cataloguing of MSS., and arrange the printed slips 
 sent in to it by each library. In such a catalogue 
 the MSS, in private libraries should of course be 
 included. General catalogues of books and MSS. 
 would be of such obvious value to all students that 
 if the Conference resolved on their preparation the 
 world would at once applaud so thoroughly practi- 
 cal a resolution. 
 
 Baron OxTO DE Watteville said : — Pour 
 repondre a ce que vient de dire le precedent orateur, 
 je demande i la Conference la permission de faire 
 connattre ce que nous avons fait en France. Avant 
 de faire un catalogue general des manuscrits, il faut, 
 je crois, que chaque nation fasse le catalogue spe- 
 cial des manuscrits qu'elle possede — c'est ce que 
 nous faisons en France. Nous possedons deux 
 sortes de bibliotheques — les bibliothiques de I'Etat, 
 et celles des municipalites. Les catalogues de ces 
 deux sortes de bibliothiques sont publics, comme le 
 
 desire le precedent orateur, aux frais de I'Etat, et, 
 par parenthese, ces frais sont eleves — car chaque 
 volume nous coute plus de^l,ooo sterling. Quoi 
 qu'il en soit, voila ce que nous avons fait. Nous 
 avons deux volumes publics du catalogue des manu- 
 scrits de la Bibliothfeque Nationale. M. Delisle, 
 dont je regrette I'absence, vous dirait mieux que 
 je ne puis le faire, qu'il prepare un "inventaire" 
 qui sera termine d'ici a deux ou trois ans, et qui 
 donnera le catalogue complete des 100,000 manu- 
 scrits de cet etablissement. L'an prochain, a I'ex- 
 position universelle, j'aurai I'honneur de mettre 
 sous vos yeux le commencement du catalogue des 
 manuscrits des bibliotheques de I'Arsenal, de Ste. 
 Genevieve, et d'Alger. Quant aux bibliotheques 
 des municipalites des departements, nous avons 
 deja public quatre volumes qui renferment le cata- 
 logue de pres de vingt bibhoth^ques, et nous avons 
 deux volumes nouveaux sous presse et trois en pre- 
 paration. L'honorable orateur auquel je reponds 
 exprimait le desir de voir donner un modele de 
 catalogue de manuscrits. En ce moment je suis 
 heureux de I'absence de M. Dehsle. EUe me 
 permet de dire hautement qu'avec toute I'autorite 
 qui s'attache i sa science incontestee, avec toute 
 son inepuisable bonne volonte, il a donne un 
 modele adopte par tons les savants franfais et qiii 
 dans toute la France sert de regie pour dresser ces 
 sortes de catalogue. 
 
 Professor Leopold Seligmann was not a 
 librarian, but only interested in and connected 
 with library work. He wished, however, to give 
 some excuse for the absence of German librarians. 
 The 1st of October was the beginning of the 
 school year (the winter Semester) all over Germany. 
 Now, as the librarians were closely coimected with 
 the schools, colleges, and universities, they could 
 hardly be absent at such a time. Had the Con- 
 ference been held a few weeks earlier, many Ger- 
 man librarians would undoubtedly have attended 
 it. He assured the Conference of the intense in- 
 terest talcen by German librarians in the idea of a 
 general catalogue, both of books and of manuscripts. 
 That very morning he had received a letter fi'om 
 Dr. Schrader, principal librarian of the Royal 
 Library at Berlin, which he had placed in the 
 hands of Mr. Gamett, and which showed how 
 anxiously one of the most able librarians in Ger- 
 many looked for the success of this Conference. 
 For himself he should make a full report of the 
 Conference, and shoidd forwarf it to Dr. Falck, 
 the Minister of Public Worship, who, he was sure, 
 would give its proceedings his earnest attention. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison called attention to the 
 existence of Haenel's catalogue of MSS. in various 
 parts of Europe, which, though but a small quarto 
 volume and very incomplete, might prove useful 
 to students until the admirable project of the 
 Abbate Mondino should be carried into effect. 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 163 
 
 Professor JUSTIN WiNSOR, V.P., then called 
 attention to the action of the American Library 
 Association in adopting a plan of co-operation 
 among the American libraries for bringing out a 
 new edition of " Poole's Index to Periodical Litera- 
 ture. " The American delegation were instructed to 
 present it to the English Conference, and to ask 
 for their co-operation. He called upon Mr. Poole 
 to make a statement on the subject. 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P., then said :— As the 
 special committee of the American Library Asso- 
 ciation— consisting of Professor Winsor, Mr. Cutter, 
 and myself— have made a printed report,* copies of 
 which are here, ready for distribution, it will not be 
 necessary that I make any extended remarks in expla- 
 nation of the subject. The first edition of my Index 
 was prepared when I was a student in Yale College 
 and connected with one of the College society- 
 libraries, and was printed in 1 848. It was intended 
 only for use in that library ; but, acting on the 
 advice of my friend Mr. Henry Stevens, it was 
 offered to Mr. Putnam, a publisher in New York, 
 who took the whole edition, which soon went out 
 of print. I then began the preparation of a more 
 extended work, which was published in 1853, and 
 for twenty years this edition has been out of print 
 and very scarce. I have had many inquiries made 
 to me since, why I do not issue a. new edition 
 bringing the references down to the present time. 
 My reply has been, that all my work upon the 
 Index has hitherto been purely a labour of love, 
 and that I have never received a penny of pecuniary 
 remuneration therefor. I have been waiting, then, 
 many years for someone to carry on the work in 
 the same spirit, and at the same remuneration 
 which I have received, but I have not yet found 
 the man. The work is too large for one man to 
 achieve, especially if he has other professional 
 duties. Several of our American libraries are 
 spending from ;^lo to £2P ^ y^^-r in endeavouring 
 to keep up the references to such current periodicals 
 as they take, and they find they cannot do even 
 this. The plan of co-operation suggested — the 
 plan proposed — is for each library to prepare the 
 references to the contents of one or more sets of 
 periodicals, and to send these references to the 
 central bureau, where they will be revised, ar- 
 ranged, alphabetically incorporated with the matter 
 of the edition of 1853 and the references contributed 
 by other libraries, and printed, and whence a copy 
 of the complete work will be given to every co- 
 operative library. I have consented, with such assis- 
 tance as I may need, to take charge of the central 
 bureau, and to be responsible for all the pecuniary 
 liabilities of the enterprise. Every five years, or 
 oftener, a supplement will be issued, bringing the 
 references dovm to the latest period, and including 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
 the contents of such additional periodicals as it may 
 be thought desirable to add. A list of periodicals 
 which it is proposed to include in the new edition 
 is given in the report here presented, and also a 
 list of contributions amounting in all to 182 dif- 
 ferent periodicals. The report furthermore contains 
 a set of rules for indexing, in order that the work 
 may be done by the different libraries in a uniform 
 manner. 
 
 The American libraries in proposing this plan 
 do not present it as a finality. They ask not only 
 the co-operation, but the advice of the English 
 librarians, and will cordially amend, enlarge, or 
 modify the plan to meet the wishes of our English 
 friends. It has seemed to us advisable, as there is 
 so much business before the Conference, that the 
 subject be referred to a committee appointed by the 
 Council to consider and report upon. I beg to 
 move " That a committee be formed to consider 
 and report upon the mode of carrying out the 
 project of publishing a new edition of Mr. Poole's 
 Subject-Index to Periodical Literature, and that 
 it be an instruction to the Council to nominate 
 such a committee to the Conference." 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison said that he regretted 
 to throw a damper on the project (for he greatly 
 prized Mr. Poole's Index), but he had no great 
 faith in the plan of employing gratuitous labour for 
 such a purpose. He thought that would lead to 
 failure, and instanced the case of the Philological 
 Society's Dictionary, which had long been waiting 
 hopelessly for a pubHsher. There would be much 
 more certainty of success if the old-fashioned method 
 of publishing by subscription were adopted. 
 
 Mr. H. B. Wheatley thought that the example 
 referred to by Mr. Harrison did not bear out his 
 argument, for, although the Philological Society's 
 great Dictionary had been long on hand, the diffi- 
 culty of production had been chiefly caused by the 
 difficulty of obtaining a general editor rather than 
 a pubHsher, and he believed that before long some 
 satisfactory arrangement as to publication would be 
 made. Under these circumstances he thought 
 that the system of co-operation which had answered 
 so well for the Dictionary would succeed equally 
 well in the case of Mr. Poole's Index. 
 
 Mr. J. ASHTON Cross earnestly advocated the 
 adoption of the scheme. Every library had now to 
 make its own imperfect index in continuation of 
 Poole's. Time and money would be saved by a 
 division of labour. The way, too, would thus be 
 prepared for his own scheme of a co-operative 
 universal index, of which Mr. Poole's scheme was 
 really a part. If an index to periodicals were once 
 made, and kept up by a combination of libraries, 
 the same machinery might be used for the larger 
 work, as proposed by himself in July, 1875. No- 
 body wanted Ubrarians to work for nothing, but 
 co-operative labour was not unpaid labour. 
 
]64 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 Mr. James Yates had found Poole's first Index 
 so invaluable for the answering of all questions not 
 of an encyclopeedic character that he had himself, 
 in an unsystematic way, tried to continue it. 
 
 Mr. Poole's motion, having been seconded by 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V. P., was then put and 
 carried unanimously, after which the Conference 
 adjourned till lo on the following morning. 
 
 FIFTH SITTING, 
 
 THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER i^th, AT lo. 
 
 ! N the absence of the President, 
 Professor B. S. MONDINO, 
 V.P., was unanimously voted 
 to the Chair. 
 
 Mr. Richard Garnett 
 read his paper 
 
 On the System of Classi- 
 fying Books on the Shelves followed at 
 THE British Museum (j-f^pp. 108-14). 
 
 Professors. S. MoNDiNO, V.P., said that in the 
 Biblioteca Nazionale of Palermo, as in many Italian 
 libraries, the place of each book was expressed 
 in such a way as to avoid several numbers coming 
 one after the other, and consequently a stated num- 
 ber of shelves was indicated by Roman numbers, 
 each shelf by a letter, and each book by an Arabic 
 number — V. C. 16, IX. D. 56, would tell at once 
 the place of a book, the letters also showing the 
 size of the book. 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P., said; — We 
 have planned a system for reclassifying the Uni- 
 versity Library at Harvard, in the new building 
 now just completed, which I venture to name the 
 mnemonic system, the object being, by a numerical 
 correspondence of sections, to let certain parts of 
 great divisions, bearing fixed relations to the whole 
 in equivalent treatments, be distinguished by the 
 same digits, in the same position of the sequence 
 that constitutes a book number. For instance : 
 "Travels in England," would have the sajne range- 
 number with "History and Biography of England," 
 &c., though the other figures changed.* The classi- 
 fication is carried throughout all departments of 
 knowledge as a system intelligent rather than 
 philosophical, regard being had to the mnemonic 
 principle, as the essential one to facilitate use, 
 which is in fact the prime element in all practice. 
 
 Mr. Melvil Dewey described briefly the Am- 
 herst College scheme of classification, according to 
 
 * The speaker made the plan more apparent by 
 a diagi'am on the blackboard. 
 
 which the library was divided into nine "classes," 
 each of which was split up into nine ' ' divisions," each 
 of them in turn subdivided into nine "sections." 
 There was an alphabetical subject-index, and, if 
 you looked for Synonyms, you would find after it 
 the number 444, which showed you that you would 
 find all books on synonyms in section 4 of division 
 4 of class 4. For a detailed account of this scheme 
 he referred to the American Library Report, 
 chapter xxviii. 
 
 Mr. Lloyd P. Smith, V. P., desired to express 
 his cordial adhesion to Mr. Dewey's plan, and said 
 that, in his opinion, if no other benefit grew out of 
 the present Conference, the knowledge of this in- 
 genious method of arranging books on the shelves 
 must repay the gentlemen present for the trouble 
 of coming together. He was pleased to find that 
 the classification of his own library at Philadelphia 
 was essentially that so ably described by Mr. Gar- 
 nett. He ventured to think, however, that in some 
 few points the Classification of the Philadelphia 
 library was preferable. 
 
 Mr. Eirikr MagnCsson said that the local 
 classification of a library by the contents of its 
 shelves was the most important subject on which 
 the Conference was called upon to express its 
 opinion. It resolved itself into the four proposi- 
 tions — I. Was it possible ? 2. If possible, at what 
 cost then ? 3. Were the results commensm-ate with 
 the expenditure ? 4. Was it the cheapest and most 
 practical way of putting the contents of a library 
 within the reach of the reader? In deciding the 
 question of possibility, a clear hne must be drawn 
 between an old-established and a new library. 
 The old library had grown in an irregular and un- 
 systematical way into its present shape. To reor- 
 ganize it he maintained that the methodical removal 
 of each single volume would take ten minutes at the 
 lowest estimate. The enormous expense of the 
 process was therefore obvious, and that in itself was 
 a sufiicient answer to the second proposition. But, 
 after all, the classification was far from perfect ; all 
 periodical and ac&demical publications, and in fact 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 i6s 
 
 all serial works of miscellaneous contents, had to be 
 left out of this system, more or less completely. 
 A writer's collected works, however miscellaneous, 
 would have to occupy one place. And, after all, 
 books would consume space, and buildings would 
 not expand with the increase of their contents. 
 Consequently there was a periodical break-up of the 
 systematized classification, and multifarious was the 
 inconvenience to which it would lead. By the im- 
 mense growth of the large libraries there would be 
 required in time a special staff to take the readers 
 to the classes they wanted to examine, and when 
 there the real trouble began, the reader had to go 
 through the class more or less completely before 
 he had satisfied himself of having got what he 
 wanted. The whole scheme presupposed open 
 libraries. But as libraries grow the impossibility 
 of keeping their shelves open to the general public 
 would enforce itself upon every librarian. Libra- 
 ries were not meant for readers only, but also and 
 especially for men of research ; they had as large 
 claims to be accommodated as the general reader. 
 They came to libraries to consult them, with the 
 least loss of time : they had a definite object, and 
 wanted it effected in the least possible space of 
 time. Their method of consulting a library was to 
 verify the whereabouts of the books they wanted 
 from the catalogue, and to go straight to them, or 
 to have them fetched. If they wanted to find out 
 what the library had on such and such a subject, 
 they must go to the class and examine the books on 
 it, from the folios down to the infinitesimos, which 
 all stood on different shelves. This took such time 
 that it destroyed the object in view. These were 
 some of the results of this shelf-classification system. 
 A cheaper and certainly a more practicable way of 
 making a library useful to readers and scholars was 
 to keep a classified subject-catalogue of it side by 
 side with the alphabetical catalogue of authors. 
 That solved all the difficulties, broadly speaking, 
 which shelf-classification could never solve. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson was amazed at the views 
 taken by Mr. Magnusson, and, as the best answer 
 to them, would state his own practical experience. 
 In the library which he represented, and which 
 contained 60,000 volumes, if not more, there had 
 been formerly only a very rudimentary classification, 
 and even that had completely broken down through 
 fresh accumulations. He had determined on re-classi- 
 fying the entire Kbrary, and subdividing as minutely 
 as might be done without causing perplexity. In 
 doing this he had the help of a single assistant 
 librarian (the other assistant librarian being other- 
 wise occupied) for roughly sorting books in the first 
 instance, and for arranging rows of periodicals and 
 parHamentary papers ; he had also the carpenter to 
 alter shelves and remove large piles of books. The 
 pressure of other duties had prevented him from 
 arranging a book for months together, while the 
 
 construction of the library had compelled him to 
 arrange some classes of books half-a-dozen times 
 over, and almost everything twice ; yet with no 
 more help than he had stated he had got within 
 4,000 volumes of the end of his task in less than 
 four years. That was his answer to the questions 
 whether a classified arrangement was possible, and, 
 if so, what it cost. To Mr. Magniisson's inquiries 
 whether it was worth the cost, and whether it was 
 the cheapest and most practical way of putting the 
 contents of a library within the reader's reach, he 
 would reply emphatically, Yes. No one set a higher 
 value than himself upon subject-catalogues and 
 subject-indexes. But neither for readers nor for 
 librarians did the best subject-catalogue in the world 
 render a thorough shelf-classification the less desir- 
 able. Reading the titles of books on any given 
 subject was never the same as being able to see them 
 standing side by side, and to take them down and 
 examine them one by one. The librarian, too, gained 
 a far more thorough knowledge of the contents of 
 his library in any particular department, if, when- 
 ever he turned his eye towards a shelf, he saw books 
 on the same subject grouped together. Even in 
 fetching and replacing books, shelf-classification 
 yielded an immense saving of time ; for not only 
 were most of the books a reader required sure to 
 be close to each other, but in nearly every case the 
 librarian was able to walk to the exact place of 
 each book, without looking out its press-mark j 
 while readers became familiar with the classifi- 
 cation, and in libraries, such as that of the London 
 Institution, where free shelf-access was allowed, 
 saved the time of librarians by fetching their books 
 for themselves. It was undoubtedly true that a 
 work relating to one subject, if it were inseparable 
 from its writer's collected works, might have to be 
 placed among the works relating to another ; but 
 such cases were comparatively rare, and, as re- 
 garded these, the library was no worse off than it 
 would have been without classification ; while, as 
 regarded the arrangement of the vast majority of 
 books it was very much better off; As to the 
 argument that libraries were apt to outgrow their 
 space, and classification to break up in consequence, 
 a library would not hold more books unclassified 
 than classified ; new shelves must be provided in 
 any case, and to these entire classes might be re- 
 moved without any break up whatever of the 
 principles of subdivision. It was true that, if the 
 books on a given subject had to be divided, for 
 want of room, into many sizes, the convenience of 
 a classed arrangement was less ; but it was only 
 less, and he had found it practicable in almost 
 every instance to keep the largest and the smallest 
 sizes so close together that a reader might consult 
 them all without moving two yards to right or left. 
 In classifying the books on the shelves he had 
 separated two classes on the same shelf by an 
 
1 65 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 upright partition of wood, which stood firm but 
 might be shifted in a moment by slightly lifting 
 the shelf above. Every subdivision had or would 
 have on the shelf beneath it, its title, lettered in gilt 
 on a label made of black buckram ; at each end of 
 the label was an eyelet-hole, through which a brass- 
 headed nail was ran into the shelf, firmly enough 
 to hold, but with the head standing out a little, so 
 that it might be twisted out in a moment and the 
 label shifted. Much larger labels of the same kind 
 were afiixed to each recess, giving a complete index 
 to its contents. When the arrangement was com- 
 pleted, the shelves would be numbered on a deci- 
 mal system, every book would have its exact place 
 numbered inside (and perhaps outside) as well as 
 in the catalogue, and shelf-lists would be compiled. 
 As every shelf was made deep enough for two rows 
 of octavos, the even numbers of any series of octavo 
 volumes were put at the back when a division out- 
 grew the shelf-frontage assigned to it, while space 
 had been left for any probable additions in larger 
 sizes. 
 
 He did not wish for a moment to say that shelf- 
 classification was an easy task : it was very far 
 from easy. The librarian who undertook it was 
 bound to get a clear idea of the subdivision of many 
 branches of knowledge with which, unless he were 
 a walking encyclopeedia, he had no previous ac- 
 quaintance : but the educational advantage to him- 
 self in so doing far outbalanced the trouble. Again, 
 when weary with classing books for hours together, 
 he was apt to take the frequently deceptive title of 
 a book as a guide to its subject-matter, to place it 
 wrongly, and to prepare for himself much self- 
 humiliation when he found out his mistake on the 
 thorough revision to which he ought to subject his 
 arrangement. But both this and the former difii- 
 culty were equally applicable to the formation of a 
 classed catalogue, and he was sure the Conference 
 would agree with him that the only question to be 
 considered was, whether shelf-classification was de- 
 sirable and practicable ; if so, no amount of mere 
 trouble ought to be let stand in the way of it. 
 
 Mr. J. AsHTON Cross urged that the question 
 could not be discussed in such an abstract form. 
 In large libraries the great thing was to find the 
 books readily. For them, therefore, Mr. Melvil 
 Dewey's system was the best ; and really more 
 logical than the professedly logical scheme still 
 followed in the British Museum. But small libra- 
 ries ought to be educational : to see the books 
 grouped on the shelves was infinitely more impres- 
 sive than to scan the names in a subject-index. 
 For all but the largest libraries therefore a shelf- 
 arrangement according to the most natural classifi- 
 cation of subjects was essential. 
 
 Dr. Richard Caulfield considered the shelf- 
 arrangement in the British Museum as near perfec- 
 tion as possible under the circumstances, making 
 
 due allowance for the magnitude of the library. 
 After nearly twenty years' practical experience of 
 the Museum, periodically, he might say that he had 
 never been allowed to want a book, and had never 
 met with anything but the greatest courtesy. He 
 had often recommended young friends making their 
 first acquaintance with the Museum to spend a few 
 days in ascertaining the details of the plan, and to 
 study the card of reference to the contents of the 
 reading-room — ^by doing which they would save 
 much trouble. The conduct of some persons, he 
 well knew, was most unreasonable : they expected 
 to get everything without the slightest trouble on 
 their ovm part. 
 
 With respect to special collections of books, such 
 as might be left by bequest and so would never be 
 added to, he had always found that by lettering 
 each case and numbering each shelf and book (as 
 Case B, Shelf 3-14), a book could be got in a 
 moment, provided the catalogue was correct. He 
 had lately arranged on this principle an old cathe- 
 dral-library of about 6,000 or 7,000 books, chiefly 
 patristic and mediaeval, the bequests of former 
 generations of ecclesiastics, and it had succeeded 
 admirably. 
 
 Mr. G. BULLEN was surprised that Mr. Mag- 
 niisson, with his large experience of public libraries, 
 should say anything against the desirability of 
 shelf-classification. We were not called upon to 
 decide as to the preference to be given to a classi- 
 fied catalogue or a classified arrangement on the 
 shelves. Both were desirable if they could be 
 obtained, but, if the latter only, then let us have it 
 by all means. Such classification exists at the 
 British Museum, originated by the late Mr. Watts 
 and notably carried out by Mr. Garnett. For him- 
 self he found the greatest advantage in being able 
 to go at once to the press containing books on any 
 particular subject, especially if one not ordinarily 
 asked for. He had sometimes permitted a reader 
 to go under the charge of an attendant into the 
 inner library and look for himself at those particu- 
 lar books, and take notes of the names and titles 
 of such as he might desire to see in the reading- 
 room. Sometimes also he had given a seat in the 
 inner library to a reader engaged upon some parti- 
 cular out-of-the-way subject, and had shelves of 
 books conveyed to him there, which had proved 
 to be of the greatest advantage to him, besides 
 sparing the attendants much additional labour. 
 
 Mr. W. E. A. Axon said that he wished to cor- 
 rect the impression that he had suggested a classified 
 catalogue at the British Museum. He was per fectly 
 indifferent to the form ; all that he wanted was the 
 titles in any manner, provided there was an index 
 that would take them to the authors and subjects. 
 The simplest and most philosophical system of 
 classification was that of Mr. Dewey, which was 
 equally applicable to large and small libraries. He 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 167 
 
 had himself classified his own private library of 
 about 5,000 titles by it, and the process had occu- 
 pied little more than a week. This facility was 
 due to the excellent index of subjects. He strongly 
 recommended the decimal classification as easy to 
 be worked by the librarian, convenient for the 
 reader, and thoroughly philosophical in principle. 
 
 Mr. C. A. Cutter said : — Let me bring forward 
 one instance in support, of Mr. BuUen's advocacy 
 of shelf-classification. I have for a dozen years had 
 in hand a bibliography of works relating to the 
 Devil. I am encouraged by what Mr. BuUen has 
 said, to hope that he will allow me to visit, under 
 the supervision of an attendant, that portion of the 
 British Museum which is devoted to Demonology. 
 There, in an hour or two, I can make valuable 
 notes of many works hitherto unseen ; whereas, if 
 there were no shelf-arrangement, I should not even 
 attempt to look through the million and a half 
 volumes. And even a classified catalogue would 
 not answer the purpose so well, for then I should 
 be obliged to write two or three hundred slips, and 
 send two or three handred attendants running all 
 about the library, instead of sitting down quietly 
 with all the desired works almost within reach of 
 my table. 
 
 Mr. G. BuLLEN said that, if Mr. Cutter wished 
 to extend his acquaintance with the Devil, he 
 should be happy to hand him over to Mr. Garnett, 
 who would doubtless assist him to the utmost in 
 his diabolical researches. 
 
 Mr. T. Heath, librarian of the Free Library, 
 Derby, said : — I think there has been a great deal 
 of dust and chaff, a whole panorama of theories 
 floating about, until we have lost the real issues 
 involved in this discussion. There is no doubt 
 that Mr. Dewey's system is the best in libraries 
 where the public have access to the shelves. But 
 in most public libraries they have not. All the 
 speakers admit some difficulties and disadvantages 
 in the localization of classes, which of course pre- 
 supposes the admittance of the public to them. So 
 the question is, Are the advantages in libraries 
 where this veto is used commensurate with the ad- 
 mitted difficulties and disadvantages ? I think the 
 Conference should confine itself to this simple but 
 important issue. 
 
 Mr. W. Lyall said : — As all the previous 
 speakers have made mention of press-marks, I may 
 say that in our library we have no numbers or 
 press-marks whatever. The books are divided 
 into eighteen classes ; these are arranged on our 
 shelves into about twenty-five' divisions ; these 
 divisions are all arranged alphabetically according 
 to authors' names, except Biography, which is ar- 
 ranged according to the names of the subjects — so 
 that the difficulty pointed out by Mr. Magnusson 
 does not exist. Thus the different lives of any single 
 person would be found altogether, and not squan- 
 
 dered over the library, as they would be if arranged 
 according to authors. 
 
 The Rev. W. D. Parish suggested that the 
 opinion of the Conference on this and certain other 
 important practical points should be taken by a 
 vote before it dispersed. 
 
 Mr. Edwin Barnish, librarian of the Equitable 
 Pioneers' Society, Rochdale, said : — In discussing 
 the important question of classification we ought 
 not, I think, to consider it solely from the stand- 
 point of a library which contains 300,000 volumes, 
 but to consider also the smaller libraries. The 
 lending library I have the pleasure of representing 
 contains about 13,000 volumes ; I hold that, if it 
 is an advantage to have a classified catalogue, it 
 must also be advantageous to have the books classi- 
 fied on the shelves. During the compilation of a 
 catalogue such classification on the shelves may be 
 advantageously proceeded with, and, though its 
 continuation may not be practicable, still the time 
 devoted to it cannot fail to bring a good return. 
 
 One of the Secretaries then read Mr. James M. 
 Anderson's 
 
 Note on Book-Tags (see -p. 115). 
 
 Mr. A. J. Frost referred to a mode of placing 
 book-tags suggested to him, and which he was 
 about to adopt in the library of the Society of 
 Telegraph- Engineers. This mode was to place the 
 tags not exactly in the same place on each book, 
 but in such a position that there should be an in- 
 clined line of tag from the bottom to the top of the 
 shelf. By this means the absence of any book is 
 at once seen by the line being a broken one. He 
 did not suppose that this plan would be advan- 
 tageous to large libraries, but for small ones, where 
 the staff is small, it would save time and insure 
 the books being returned to their proper place. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford read his paper 
 
 On Binding of Books for Public and Private 
 Libraries ; and on Shelf-Arrangement 
 
 AS ASSOCIATED THEREWITH (see pp. I16-18). 
 
 Sir Redmond Barry, V.P., read his paper 
 On Binding (see pp. 119-23). 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford said, in answer to a 
 question, that he had had some years' experience 
 of vellum, and thought that only care in the paste 
 was needed. 
 
 Dr. Richard Caulfield suggested the use of 
 carbolic acid as a vermifuge in the case of beetles 
 attacking the bindings of books. 
 
 Lieut-Col. Lonsdale A. Hale suggested that 
 maps and plans when fastened into a book should 
 have the lower part on a level with the bottom of 
 the text. Maps loosely mounted and placed in an 
 inside pocket in the cover facilitated reference, and 
 were less likely to be lost from being accidentally 
 
i68 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 torn out. Moreover, more than one might thus be 
 consulted at the same time. 
 
 Professor JusTiN WiNSOR, V.P., said that he 
 had found vellum an excellent material for binding. 
 To bind a book in America unhappily cost twice 
 as much as to have it bound in Europe and sent 
 over. 
 
 Mr. W. Y. Fletcher, assistant librarian, British 
 Museum, who represented Lampeter College li- 
 brary, considered vellum binding apt to crack ; 
 morocco was by far the best leather for the purpose 
 of binding ; pale russia he believed to be the next 
 in durability ; roan was very good, but coloured 
 russia and calf were liable to rapid deterioration, 
 and he felt sure any books bound in these leathers, 
 even if never used, would require rebinding in 
 thirty or forty years. 
 
 Dr. Richard Caulfield said that there was 
 a vast distinction between old vellum and modem 
 parchment. To see the enduring and almost in- 
 destructible nature of vellum we had only to look to 
 the books bound, especially in Holland, in the six- 
 teenth and seventeenth centuries, the old Variorum 
 edition of the classics, for instance ; the vellum 
 was as durable as horn, and often not unlike thin 
 laminae of it. The great cost of this material com- 
 pletely prevented its manufacture at present ; in 
 fact it could not be obtained in its ancient form in 
 any manufactory in Europe. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson read his paper 
 
 On Buckram as a Binding-Material 
 (see pp. 124-6). 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P., said: — I am 
 ready to express my confidence in buckram. By 
 the favour of Mr. Nicholson several sheets were 
 sent to me in Boston, and our library's binders 
 used it on various books, with satisfactory success 
 as to appearance, and with marked success in the 
 trial of daily hard usage, which was made for com- 
 parison with books bound at the same time in stout 
 uncoloured sheep. After three months' experience 
 of catalogues kept in hourly use by the public, 
 those in buckram showed greater firmness in the 
 end. Leathers of all kinds pulverize under the in- 
 fluence of hot and vitiated air, such as we find in 
 libraries, where there is great heat in the galleries 
 of lofty rooms, and where the consumption of gas 
 is allowed. The linen of the buckram stands this 
 test far better. 
 
 Mr. J. Leighton said : — There are two great 
 enemies to books and their bindings — damp and 
 heat. The damp engenders mildew, which in 
 time destroys the paper, rendering it friable to the 
 touch and not unlike tinder. The heat or dryness 
 acts upon leather, reducing it to the condition of 
 dust. Now paper is a purely vegetable substance, 
 with a slight admixture of animal matter, of size or 
 gelatine, to bind and stiffen it. Leather is animal 
 
 and mostly hide, though bladders and fish-skin 
 have been used. 
 
 The great thing wanted in bookbinding is to 
 reduce the use of animal matter to a minimum, 
 and to extend the vegetable. Thus the best and 
 most lasting paper contains the most flax. Now 
 let us assimilate the binding to the paper ; for, as 
 an artist, it is my opinion that drawings and more 
 particularly print upon paper will endure when aU 
 the paintings upon canvas shall have passed away, 
 and so I believe paper made of flax will last even 
 longer than vellum, though all our eariiest MSS, 
 are upon that material. Parchment is very dense, 
 thin, hard, and paper-like, whilst leather is thicker, 
 soft, pliable, and porous, and in dry heat perishable. 
 Vellum " size " enters largely into the manufacture 
 of the best linen papers, while fish-glue, "china- 
 clay," and other materials, such as wood and straw, 
 enter into the composition of the inferior fabrics 
 of our day. 
 
 Upon these premises, in all our national or large 
 collections of bindings, not of a dilettante or special 
 character (for I should be sorry to interfere with 
 the refined taste of the collector or amateur in 
 choice book-coverings), I would bind my books 
 in flax, or vellum, or a combination of both. In 
 national collections I would first have my books 
 strongly sewn upon fine double-cord bands, which 
 I would have " drawn in " firmly and strongly into 
 the boards of the books at the hinges, using as 
 little glue as possible, the backs (without any 
 "hollows" or false bands) being made "flexible." 
 These backs I would, for economy's sake, cover 
 with a white prepared linen cloth of flax, not too 
 fine in texture, the bands being tied over until dry, 
 as in the ancient manner. The head I would have 
 always gilt, to prevent the entry of dust there, and 
 the books should be left with virgin edges to tlie 
 paper, or, if cut, but delicately tinted, as on this 
 edge an amplified subsidiary title could be in- 
 scribed. 
 
 I would devote red to History, purple to Di- 
 vinity, and green to Natural History. I would 
 paint or stain in some indelible pigment or colour 
 a band on the top panel, letters in black on the 
 pure flax or vellum ; the title would then be clear 
 and visible from a distance. Of course gold could 
 be used, but that would be more costly and less 
 clear. On a flexible back, or upon any back to 
 endure for ages, I would eschew morocco labels, 
 as the paste becomes impoverished, when they fall 
 off. All the head-bands should be worked upon 
 the book, and not be stuck on ; a small vellum 
 comer could grace the board, and the same be 
 covered with a neat glazed cloth, to slip easily be- 
 tween its fellow volumes in shelving. These white 
 flax or vellum backs would give the library a most 
 cheerful appearance, and be at once the cheapest, 
 and most useful, and most enduring bookbinduig 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 169 
 
 ever devised. If a little colocynth, or "bitter 
 apple" were mixed in the paste it would greatly 
 prevent the ravages of the book-worm. For a 
 notice of this little pest and other matters relating 
 to binding, I must refer members to my paper 
 
 read on February 24, 1859, before the Society of 
 Arts, and printed by them in their Journal. 
 
 The Conference then adjourned until the next 
 morning at 10.* 
 
 SIXTH SITTING, 
 
 FRIDAY MORNING, OCTOBER ^th, AT 10. 
 
 ^N the absence of the President, 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P., was 
 unanimously voted to the chair. 
 The Chairman having in- 
 vited discussion on 
 
 Age-Qualification, 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson wished 
 to ask any representative of the British Museum 
 on what grounds the exclusion of readers under 
 twenty-one years of age was justified. He had 
 heard it said that young people came mostly to 
 read novels and cribs, but it would be easy by the 
 issue of a different-coloured ticket to prevent their 
 drawing these. The lin^ of twenty-one years waj 
 irrational and crueL It was irrational, because there 
 was no appreciable difference between the tastes of 
 a young man of twenty-one on the one hand and a 
 young man of twenty or twenty-two on the other : 
 there would have been far more reason in drawing 
 the line at eighteen — the age when a young man 
 was leaving school and going out into the world. 
 And the line was cruel because it prevented young 
 people from availing themselves of the national 
 library during what were often the only years of 
 their life when they were able to use it : for after 
 twenty-one a large proportion of them would be 
 earning their living, and consequently unable to 
 use a library which closed at four, five, or six p.m. 
 It was said that, if any one under twenty-one were 
 able to make out a good case, permission to read 
 might be obtained by him. But he himself, when 
 an Oxford undergraduate, living in London, and 
 wishing to make researches in mediaeval literature, 
 had sent in his petition through one of the libra- 
 rians, and had failed to obtain leave ; and only the 
 other day a B. A. of London, applying to him for a 
 reading-ticket, said that he had just applied at the 
 Museum and had been informed that he might send 
 in a petition, but that it was not likely to be granted. 
 It was monstrous if a graduate of a national 
 university was unable to obtain admission to the 
 national library. He was of course aware that the 
 existing limitation had been imposed many years 
 ago, and that the representatives of the Museum at 
 
 the Conference were neither responsible for its 
 imposition nor able to sweep it away at their plea- 
 sure, so that no personal construction must be put 
 upon his remarks. 
 
 Mr. Russell MartineAU said :— The age of 
 readers at the British Museum used to be from 
 eighteen for some years ; after the opening of the 
 new reading-room in 1857, it was raised to twenty- 
 one, when the number of readers had increased to 
 such a degree that there was not room, and, solely 
 for this practical necessity, and not from any objec- 
 tion founded on principle, the trustees were obliged 
 to limit the number. By a careful investigation of 
 the quality of books used by readers from eighteen 
 to twenty-one, and the character of such readers, it 
 was found that (l) they were chiefly students at one 
 of the London colleges ; (2) they read books usefiil 
 for classes or examinations — ordinary college-hand- 
 books. Considering that the colleges to which the 
 students belonged have generally excellent libraries 
 of the class of books required, it was thought that 
 little hardship would arise from the exclusion of this 
 class from the Museum library. A secondary con- 
 sideration (as it was necessary to do something in 
 the way of limitation) was that the young students 
 were frequently complained of by older readers for 
 talking or whispering loud together. 
 
 As to the exceptions which may be made in 
 favour of students wanting other than ordinary 
 books, I believe they take the form of special per- 
 mission to see books in the interior of the library, 
 not in the reading-room. Such exceptions are not 
 unfrequent. 
 
 The Rev. G. Iliff said that the age-admission 
 in the Free Library at Sunderland was fourteen to 
 the reading-room, and sixteen to the lending library. 
 
 Professor B. S. Mondino, V.P., said that in 
 Italy, according to the law bearing the title of the 
 Bonghi law, young men under the age of eighteen 
 
 * The Lord Mayor having honoured the Con- 
 ference vrith an invitation to dinner at the Mansion 
 House, there was no evening sitting, nor were 
 visits paid to libraries in the afternoon. 
 
 z 
 
lyo 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 were not admitted to the public libraries except 
 with the permission of their professors, who must 
 state the books they might read, or with their 
 parents' written consent. 
 
 Mr. J. D. MULLINS said: — I am of opinion that 
 age is not always a good test of fitness ; there are 
 some lads of twelve and thirteen who are so earnest 
 and so advanced in study that it would be cruel to 
 deprive them of the help they seek. While I would 
 not give room for young boys who want to read 
 novels or the Newgate Calendar, I would always 
 admit all studious lads, subject to some supervision 
 as regards the kind of works issued to them. 
 
 Mr. W. H. Overall said : — The age of admission 
 to the Guildhall Library is limited to sixteen, except 
 upon special application. We find the rule works 
 very well. 
 
 Sir Redmond Barry, V.P., said that at Mel- 
 bourne they admitted everyone over fourteen. If 
 it were necessary to deprive people of seven years' 
 reading, it would be better to strike off the seven 
 years at the other end, and disqualify people at 
 sixty-three. That view of his was a very unpreju- 
 diced one, as such a rule would exclude himself. 
 
 Mr. J. Dillon said that the British Museum 
 ought not to be subjected to exactly the same rules 
 in this respect as an ordinary public library. In 
 London there were other libraries, and the British 
 Museum should be chiefly reserved for serious study 
 and research. 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P., said : — In the libraries 
 of the Western States of America there is no re- 
 striction as to the age at which persons may use 
 the library of reference or take out books for home- 
 use. In the Eastern States there is in most public 
 libraries a rule fixing the limitation of age at sixteen 
 years, but the rule amounts to little, as younger 
 persons use their parents' cards in drawing books. 
 I could never see the propriety in excluding young 
 persons from a library any more than from a church. 
 From ten to fourteen years is the formative period 
 of their lives. If they ever become readers and ac- 
 quire a love of books, it is before the age of fourteen 
 years. No persons return their books so promptly, 
 give so little trouble, or seem to appreciate more 
 highly the benefits of a library, as these youth of 
 both sexes. They come to our reference-depart- 
 ment to look up the subjects for their composition 
 and themes at school, and nothing gives me more 
 pleasure than to help them in their researches. 
 The young people are our best friends, and they 
 serve the interests of the library by enlisting for it 
 the sympathies of their parents, who are often too 
 busy to read. 
 
 Professor JUSTIN WiNSOR, V.P., said : — I am 
 quite satisfied that popular libraries can safely be 
 administered without practically any limit as to 
 age, and certainly without any security except the 
 establishment of the borrower's identity. Character 
 
 is of no consequence. Good administration will 
 protect your books better than goodyism in the 
 frequenters. I know by experience that 1,500,000 
 volumes can be issued with the paltry loss of 150 
 books. I know that in the branches of the Boston 
 Public Library 200,000 or 300,000 volumes can 
 be issued without one failing to come back. Our 
 loss is chiefly in the heterogeneous masses of the 
 city proper, where delinquents cannot be traced. 
 These increase the loss of the entire library to 
 I in about 10,000 books issued. 
 
 Professor W. Stanley Jevons said:— It is 
 obvious that the practice of one library is no rule 
 in the case of another, the purposes and characters 
 of libraries being so diverse. The British Museum 
 stands in an almost unique position, as a library of 
 research, and there is no reason why the nation 
 should go to the great expense of enlarging the 
 reading-room in order that students should have 
 comfortable seats to study handbooks which are 
 to be found in their college-libraries. 
 
 Mr. H. Campkin, librarian of the Reform Club, 
 London, protested against denouncing the use by 
 youths of fourteen and upwards of books as "cribs," 
 and stated that, had he at that period of his life 
 been privileged with permission so to use books, he 
 feels that he would now be all the better qualified 
 for the duties of the office he had so long occupied. 
 
 Mr. W. H. K. Wright mentioned that at 
 Bristol and other Free Public Libraries special 
 rooms and books had been provided for young 
 readers. 
 
 Mr. C. Welch said: — The admission of young 
 lads generally interferes with the comfort of stu- 
 dents of older years, and often drives them firom 
 the library. This was found to be the case at the 
 Guildhall Library, and led to the age-quaUfica- 
 tion being raised from fourteen years to sixteen. 
 Where young persons are admitted, it would seem 
 best to put them in a separate room under super- 
 vision, and provide them with a liberal selection 
 of juvenile literature. 
 
 Mr. Peter Cowell said : — At the Liverpool 
 Free Libraries no objection is raised to young 
 people, whether male or female, obtaining books 
 at tlie lending branches if they are above four- 
 teen. In the reference-library reading-room this 
 age-qualification is not required, and, so long as the 
 youths are quiet, orderly, and of fairly clean ap- 
 pearance, books are issued to them on their appli- 
 cation without hindrance. Occasionally it hap- 
 pens that they ask for books which are considered 
 scarcely suitable for their years, when we do not 
 hesitate to object. In our students' reading-room, 
 though it has been thought that sixteen is a suffi- 
 ciently youthful age to qualify for entrance, still no 
 hard and fast rule had been laid down. The 
 library-committee are anxious to give every encou- 
 ragement to young people to form habits of reading 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 171 
 
 and study, and they have therefore not thought 
 it expedient to create any kind of clieck. 
 
 Mr. E. Brunt said that some boys of twelve 
 were able to read with pleasure and profit works 
 above the taste and capacity of many other older 
 boys ; for this reason, and because the habit of 
 reading unless formed early was rarely formed at 
 all, he would not fix any Hue of age-qualification, 
 but would allow the librarian considerable latitude 
 in this matter. 
 
 The Chairman having invited discussion on 
 
 Days and Hours of Admission, 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P., said : — I think 
 the hours that a library is open must correspond 
 to the hours in which any considerable number of 
 people will come to it — all night, if they will come 
 all night, in the evening certainly, and on Sundays 
 by all means. We have fought and are fighting 
 out the " Sunday question " as to libraiies bravely 
 in America. People who were once tortured with 
 the idea now accept it. I appreciate the merits of 
 conservatism. I don't believe in forciiig, but I do 
 believe in ripening. In any community the time 
 for benefactions and philanthropy on Sunday will 
 ripen in the end. The fruit is better by this 
 natural process than by the compulsory one. 
 
 Mr. Robert H. Soden Smith said : — The 
 Art-Library at South Kensington Museum under 
 my charge, and the Educational Library under the 
 charge of Mr. King, are not closed to the public 
 at any period of the year, but are cleaned in the 
 morning. Our hours are from ten to ten on three 
 days of the week, and on other days from ten to 
 four, five, or six, according to season. Except on 
 Sundays and a few special days, these libraries are 
 open constantly. There is no restriction of age 
 for admission. 
 
 Professor Leopold Seligmann said that the 
 question which Professor Winsor had raised as to 
 the days and hours of admission was closely con- 
 nected with the loan of books. If books were lent 
 for home-reading, then the pubUc were not very 
 much affected : otherwise they were affected very 
 decidedly, as, for instance, during that week, 
 when the British Museum was closed until the 8th, 
 and people who were working there were brought 
 to a stop. 
 
 He wished to take that opportunity of saying 
 that in Germany they had compulsory education, 
 and adopted the principle of division of labour. 
 Their idea was, that a shoemaker should make 
 shoes and not meddle with libraries, which, they 
 considered, were for the purposes of acquired 
 science and knowledge, and not for newspaper 
 readers and idlers. A few years ago they estab- 
 lished in Germany what were called Volksbiblio- 
 theken, which were founded by Frederic von 
 Raumer, the historian, and were largely resorted 
 
 to by the people. They were a smaller kind of 
 library, and did not compete with the large esta- 
 blishments. He was surprised that in the British 
 Museum there was no special room for periodicals. 
 In Germany they had in connexion with nearly 
 every library what was called the yournalzimmer, 
 where all the scientific periodicals were supplied. 
 As regarded periodicals, he found the Athenaeum 
 Club better supplied than the British Museum. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford said that, in spite 
 of any criticism to which his views might expose 
 him, he desired to express his great regret that 
 public libraries were not in this country opened 
 on Sunday, as they were in many towns in the 
 United States. He knew the other side of the 
 question — that the librarians were in many cases 
 sadly overworked now, and of course special 
 an-angements must be made for Sunday-duty. 
 But the important fact was really this — that there 
 were thousands of young men who were engaged 
 in commerce during the full working-hours of the 
 week to whom Sunday was the only day available 
 for mental recreation and intellectual culture. 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P., said : — Our reading- 
 room is open eveiy day in the year, Sundays 
 Included, and the circulation of books is never 
 interrupted for the annual examination or for clean- 
 ing. The rooms are cleaned at night, after the 
 library is closed. Books are never called in for the 
 annual examination, which is made while the 
 books are ia circulation. The books are dusted 
 and the shelves cleaned in instalments by the 
 janitors without interrupting the regular work of 
 the library. 
 
 Mr. - Russell Martineau said : — Sunday- 
 opening is of the greatest importance, as it allows 
 whole classes to use the libraries who could not 
 otherwise do so, and I wish to speak on it espe- 
 cially as belonging to a, library which carefully 
 shuts its gates on Sunday, lest it should be supposed 
 that our officers are all opposed to Sunday-opening. 
 The experience of the Free Libraries which are 
 open on Sunday, such as that at Birmingham, is 
 most emphatic as to the good conferred by this 
 practice. The hours of the day during which a 
 library can be open must vary with its character. 
 A library of modern origin and modem books, 
 like the Birmingham Free Library, may be open 
 by night, because its contents could be replaced if it 
 were burned down. But a large proportion of 
 the books of the British Museum are absolutely 
 irreplaceable, and consequently the trustees have 
 always thought it absolutely necessary to exclude 
 all danger from fire by gas or other artificial light. 
 In this I think they are qiiite right. It unfor- 
 tunately excludes all people who have not leisure 
 in the middle of the day. All the more imperative 
 does it seem to me not to shut up the library 
 on the one day on which it might be useful to 
 
172 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 them, especially considering its national character. 
 A good example has been set by other national 
 institutions, notably Hampton Court and Kew 
 Botanical Gardens. 
 
 The Rev. T. Vickers said :— The Public 
 Library of Cincinnati has perhaps reached the 
 maximum number of hours during which a library 
 may be open. This library is open 365 days in 
 the year, from eight a.m. to ten p.m. It was the 
 first of the American Public Libraries to open its 
 doors on Sundays. This experiment was entered 
 upon with misgiving and amid opposition, but it 
 has succeeded beyond the expectation of its most 
 enthusiastic advocates. The number of Sunday- 
 readers now averages considerably more than 
 1,000. The opposition to the opening of the 
 library on this day has entirely subsided. 
 
 Mr. T. F. Plowman, librarian of the Public 
 Library, Oxford, wished to give no opinion at 
 that point as to the desirability or undesirability of 
 opening public libraries on Sunday, but he rose to 
 .express a hope that the Conference would not 
 come to any decision on the question. The fi-ee 
 libraries movement might be said to be in its in- 
 fancy in England, as compared with America, 
 and he felt that, if it went forth that in the opinion 
 of the Conference the opening of libraries on Sun- 
 days was. desirable, it would in the present state of 
 public feeling, which was very much divided in 
 reference to it, be simply throwing down the apple 
 of discord, and would tend to retard the objects 
 they were met to promote. Oxford was early in 
 the field in the matter of free libraries, as theirs 
 wa.s started in 1854, and at the commencement 
 was open on Sundays. Public feeling, however, 
 was so strongly expressed against this that it was 
 only kept open on that day for a short period, and 
 it had been confined to week-days ever since. He 
 believed that many towns would have had no 
 library at all, if opening on Sunday had been one 
 _of the conditions, in consequence of the strong 
 opposition which would have been aroused. As 
 time advanced and the movement progressed it 
 might be desirable to consider the question, but at 
 present it would be mistaken policy to press it. 
 
 The Chairman having invited discussion on 
 
 Access to Shelves, 
 
 Sir Redmond Barry, V.P., thought that every- 
 one had the right to go to the shelves and choose 
 his books for himself. Shelf-access was allowed 
 in the Melbourne Public Library. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson was strongly in favour 
 of allowing to readers as much shelf-access as was 
 compatible with any degree of prudence. Putting 
 out of question the saving of time and trouble to 
 ibrarians, where, as in a large proportion of cases, 
 the staff was small and overcrowded with work, it 
 was an immense saving of time and trouble to the 
 
 reader in libraries where there was a classed shelf- 
 arrangement. In that of the London Institution, 
 which was now to all intents a free public library, 
 access was allowed without any restriction to all 
 shelves on the floor of the room. As anyone in 
 the gallery was quite out of sight of other readers 
 and of the librarians, access to its shelves was only 
 allowed to readers whom the librarians knew, or 
 to anyone who vrished to see what books were in a 
 given department, in which case the librarian either 
 gave him leave to go up alone or went up with him. 
 Incunabula and books of small size and obvious 
 rarity were kept elsewhere in locked cases. In a 
 period of four years and a half, he was not aware 
 that, if the depredations of a single reader were 
 excepted, more than six books had been stolen, all 
 of which were inexpensive. 
 
 That single reader was a young man of good 
 family, good education, good prospects, and excel- 
 lent previous character ; but he stole, and kept on 
 stealing, the best modem editions of the classics 
 and similar works. On discovering the theft he 
 (the speaker) printed a list of the books, got a 
 booksellers' trade-directory, and sent the Hst to 
 every second-hand bookseller in London or the 
 suburbs, promising to buy back the books if infor- 
 mation were given ; at the same time he informed 
 the poHce, who circulate daily a list of missing 
 property among all pawnbrokers within a radius 
 of seven miles round London ; and, lastly, he put a 
 detective in the library. The result was that in 
 less than twenty-four hours he recovered the books 
 for a fraction of their value, and that m two or three 
 days the thief was taken by the detective in the 
 very act of selling a fresh haul. He had gone into 
 the details of this case (which resulted in a sentence 
 of two months' imprisonment) so that any other li- 
 brarian might know how to set about catching the 
 one reader in ten thousand who was capable of thus 
 abusing the liberality shown to him and the confi- 
 dence placed in him. 
 
 Mr. James T. Clark, V.P., said that the true 
 objection to shelf-access was that books were put 
 back out of place. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson said : — We strictly forbid 
 our readers to put books back. 
 
 Mr. G. Bullen was sorry to say that in the 
 great reading-room of the British Museum, where 
 there was unrestricted shelf-access, books were not 
 only stolen, but (what was far worse) infemously 
 mutilated : fortunately the books thus treated were 
 of little value. They sometimes gibbeted mutilated 
 books to induce readers to help in detecting the 
 offenders. 
 
 Mr. G. W. Porter said that, while it was 
 clearly undesirable to allow readers to range through 
 the entire library of the Museum, the advantages 
 of giving tliem access to the large library of re- 
 ference in the reading-room had been thoroughly 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 173 
 
 proved. Various precautions in stamping and ex- 
 amining the books had reduced the depredations 
 at first occurring to a minimum. The boolcs were 
 conspicuously stamped so as to destroy their value 
 as objects of sale, and very few were now lost. 
 Such books as were stolen were now taken for 
 study, and if good lending libraries existed in Lon- 
 don, no doubt the loss from this cause would cease. 
 The reference-books were very largely used, and 
 it would require a very large staff of attendants to 
 supply them, if the public had not access to the 
 shelves. 
 
 Mr. W. H. Overall complained that in the 
 British Museum readers went early in the morning 
 and took books from the shelves which they used 
 only for a few minutes, but which were not returned 
 all day. 
 
 Mr. Peter Coweu said that he did not con- 
 sider free and unrestricted access to the shelves in 
 free libraries at all a wise or useful permission. 
 He admitted that to the student and literary man 
 such a privilege had obvious advantages. These 
 readers came generally for a distinct purpose, they 
 had some definite object in view, some particular 
 subject which they wished to work up, but were 
 often uncertain or ignorant of the fount which was 
 to supply the required information, and so were 
 obliged to search and turn over imtU it was found. 
 In most cases such student-readers might be safely 
 left to their ovTn free will in a library, as they 
 would not be mere wanderers about from shelf to 
 shelf, doing more harm than good in hindering 
 business, but zealous workers and seekers after 
 knowledge, deeply absorbed in their own work. 
 With the general public, who had hardly any aim in 
 their reading, such a privilege, he thought, would be 
 almost detrimental to their true interests. It would 
 certainly be conducive to much more turning over 
 of leaves and skimming of contents — bat-hke flit- 
 ting hither and thither, without profit to reader or 
 advantage to book. Showily-bound and illustrated 
 volumes would be sure to receive the greatest 
 amount of attention, while their less obtrusive 
 brethren, in which probably lay rare stores of 
 literary wealth, would be quietly passed by and 
 neglected. Viewed as a question of order and the 
 general well-being of a library, he should by no 
 means be disposed to grant such a liberty to any 
 class of readers, whether students or not. A care- 
 fiiUy prepared catalogue and a fairly experienced and 
 intelligent librarian would always, he thought, be 
 sufficient for the two classes of readers with whom 
 all librarians had to deal — viz., those who knew 
 what books they want, and those who did not. Con- 
 siderations of the order and safe custody of the 
 books, made free public access to the shelves un- 
 desirable, and it would hardly work well -to allow 
 any special class of readers in a free library to 
 have this privilege to the exclusion of others — in- 
 
 vidious distinctions were better avoided. Libraries 
 like the London Institution, where the readers were 
 not nearly so many as in the Free Public Library ot 
 Liverpool, for instance, and where everyone not a 
 member had to furnish some voucher of his re- 
 spectability before he received a reading-ticket — 
 such libraries could more safely grant such a privi- 
 lege. 
 
 Mr. Melvil Dewey said that the result of his 
 study of the subject was confirmed by the dis- 
 cussion. As a rule the public should not be ad- 
 mitted to shelves, but every librarian should allow 
 access to all special students or others who might 
 really need it. Many readers were much better 
 served in the reading-room than at the shelves, 
 while it would be great folly to bring an entire 
 press of books from the third story to some spe- 
 cialist in the reading-room who might need them 
 all. A serious difficulty would be experienced in 
 active libraries, especially small ones, if readers 
 were scattered about the shelves. 
 
 Mr. Lloyd P. Smith, V.P., said :— I cannot 
 agree that it is expedient to allow shelf-access ; the 
 books should be visible, but only through locked 
 glass doors. In the course of twenty years I have 
 prosecuted four persons for stealing books, and I 
 am sorry to say that there have been others whom 
 I have let off in consideration of their respectability. 
 One of the four persons whom I prosectited was a 
 young man, who came to me in shabby apparel one 
 day and asked me for a book that was not often 
 consulted. He came again, and asked for other 
 rather rare works. I confess that I put trust in him 
 as I saw the class of books he was reading ; my 
 heart warmed to him, and I gave him the key to go 
 to the cases. After a while I found — I forget how — 
 that he had earned off "The Beauties of the Court 
 of Charles II." I arrested him ; I had him com- 
 mitted in default of bail ; I prosecuted him before 
 the grand jury and the petty jury ; and he was 
 sentenced to six months' imprisonment. After- 
 wards I felt that I would go down and see him in 
 prison, to expostulate with him and see what he 
 had to say, and I was weak enough to take him a 
 clean shirt— in return for which he gave me this 
 advice. Always to keep my eyes skinned. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford approved the prac- 
 tice of many American libraries in placing brass 
 wires across their shelves, which secured the books 
 from a reader's hands, but did not hide them from 
 his eyes. 
 
 Mr. EirIkr MagnCsson said that, in forming 
 a true estimate of the advantage that would accrue 
 to the public by having free access to the shelves of 
 a library, it should not be forgotten that, in the 
 first instance, there were libraries and libraries ; in 
 the second, that there were readers and readers ; 
 and lastly, that a book, once in a library, ought to be 
 safe there. The experience of all libraries, large 
 
174 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 and small — even the experience of most private 
 libraries — went to show that free access for people 
 in general to the shelves meant losses to the library, 
 either by way of actual removal of books or by 
 mutilation — unsafely to the books under all circum- 
 stances, and those especially which it was costly, 
 difficult, or more or less impossible to replace. 
 The free access to the shelves necessitated an extra 
 expenditure for the purpose of guarding the library's 
 property against the dangers which the free access 
 created. In a small library this outlay might be 
 trifling, but it must necessarily increase in due pro- 
 portion to the increase of the library itself, and 
 would sooner or later result in such a strain upon the 
 library's funds that it would have to be given up, 
 and either the library would have to be left to the 
 public, to deal with the books as they pleased, or 
 the "privilege" of free access would have to be 
 withdrawn. In small libraries therefore, where 
 effectual supervision at a small expense was possible 
 — if, indeed, it was possible in any library — free 
 access to the shelves might be considered as less 
 dangerous to the property of the library than in 
 the case of large libraries, but dangerous all the 
 same. It was therefore well to consider whether 
 this free access was really a privilege to the 
 public or not. In order to decide that question 
 we had to consider the readers who frequented 
 libraries. Of them there were invariably two 
 classes — the earnest man of research, and the man 
 who came to read anything that might catch his 
 momentary fancy. Libraries were established and 
 maintained at great cost for serious purposes, 
 consequently existed in reality only for the first- 
 named class of readers, and through them for the 
 second class, the triflers and the idlers. The 
 free access to the shelves of a library for this 
 class of frequenters was far rather in the nature of 
 abuse than privilege. This most librai-y-directions 
 had realized, and therefore had relegated this par- 
 ticular class of readers to reading-rooms, wherever 
 such existed. But what about the earnest man of 
 research ? It would be found generally that to him 
 time was everything. He came to the library 
 knowing his mind thoroughly. He wanted a book 
 on some subject — his own. This book he wanted 
 to have at the least expenditure of time. He 
 went straight to the catalogue of authors — an 
 earnest student almost always knew by name the 
 authority he wanted to consult — ascertained the 
 whereabouts of the books, and, if the library was an 
 involved one in its chamber-arrangement, got some 
 assistant librarian to guide him to the spot. If he 
 wanted many books, he got assistance from the 
 library servants to get them together. This class 
 of readers never thought of going to a library for 
 the purpose of studying the panels of the backs of 
 the books on the chance of lighting on what they 
 wanted. In fact, going to the shelves themselves 
 
 was the very thing they wanted to avoid by all 
 means. Was then free access to the shelves of 
 libraries any privilege to the very class of readers 
 for whom libraries especially existed ? Not at all, 
 except in a few rare cases, as, for instance, when a 
 reader should want to ascertain from a periodical 
 consisting of many scores of volumes and devoted 
 to one particular subject (such as Dingler's " Poly- 
 technisches Journal") how such and such a question 
 had been treated at different periods. On the 
 whole, therefore, free access to the shelves of a 
 library was a thing not to be encouraged. Sir 
 Redmond Barry had said that he looked upon it as 
 a right which belonged to the public. It was that, 
 in the same sense that it was the idler's right to 
 stroll about for no purpose and doing nothing. It 
 could hardly be said to amount to anything but 
 dangerous gratification of a popular fancy. 
 
 The Chairman having invited discussion upon 
 
 Access to Librarians, 
 
 Mr. S. S. Green said : — It is obvious that refe- 
 rence libraries are needed by persons of culture : it is 
 not so apparent that they are needed by the people 
 generally. Reference libraries should be estab- 
 lished in all large towns and administered by men 
 of culture : people should have free access to these 
 men. Inhabitants in every town have questions to 
 ask, but few of them know to what books to go to 
 get answers to them. Provide, then, a good, edu- 
 cated librarian of pleasant manners, and give him 
 time to attend to the questions of all who may apply 
 for information. Work may thus be done, in com- 
 mercial and other towns, such as would entitle the 
 libraries to the name of popular vmiversities. I 
 speak with enthusiasm on the subject because I 
 have had an interesting experience in conducting a 
 library in the way here suggested, and have seen 
 the use of the institution thereby increased im- 
 mensely : it has, indeed, risen in five or six years 
 from about zero to an use by, say, 25,000 persons 
 annually. But you must have a really good 
 librai'ian, a man of culture, and one who will 
 command a good salary. 
 
 Dr. Reuben A. Guild said : — In the library of 
 Brown University, the public — that is, professors, 
 undergraduates, and graduates — are allowed free 
 access both to the librarian and to the shelves. In 
 the early days of the college the library was open 
 once a week, and undergraduates were allowed to 
 come only to the librarian's table, the penalty for 
 going beyond being one shilling lawful money. 
 For the past thirty years, during which I have been 
 in charge, the public have not only been allowed 
 free access to the library, which is open daily from 
 lo till 3, but also consult the librarian, instead of 
 the catalogue, inquiries bemg mostly for informa- 
 tion rather than for certain works. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison wished to know if Mr. 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 175 
 
 Green timed his querists, some of whom were apt 
 to talli for a very long time. Some questions too 
 were of a very unexpected Icind. He was once 
 himself aslced by the distinguished author of "Es- 
 mond " and " The Virginians " for a book that 
 would tell of General Wolfe. " I do not want to 
 know about his battles," said Thackeray ; "I can 
 learn about those from the histories. I want some- 
 thing that will tell me the colour of the breeches 
 he wore." 
 
 Mr. C. A. Cutter (laying upon the table for 
 distribution a number of copies of a new annotated 
 list of additions to the Boston Athenseum) said : — 
 I call yom- attention to a slight novelty in cata- 
 loguing — a list of new books with numerous notes, 
 sometimes giving that information about the works 
 which the titles ought to have given, sometimes 
 criticizing the works, usually with special reference 
 to their readableness. It is intended for a circu- 
 lating library containing about 100,000 volumes 
 of a high character. To most of the libraries repre- 
 sented here, such a list would be, I dare say, alto- 
 gether useless, but to such as the London Institution 
 and the London Library it must have some interest. 
 Their librarians must often be, as I am, beset with 
 questions about the character of their newest books, 
 asked how the subjects are treated, whether such 
 and such a book is interesting, whether it is bright, 
 whether it is trustworthy, what is the general 
 Opinion about it, and again what new books there 
 are of interest on such and such a topic ; and they 
 are, no doubt, often asked to select books for the 
 reading of their clients. When such demands come 
 to one buried in work, it is not always easy to give 
 the best answer on the spur of the moment. Any 
 assistance in answering, or any means by which 
 the questioners can be led without much trouble to 
 themselves to find their own answers, is a relief to 
 the librarian ; to say nothing of the advantage of 
 laying such information before readers who perhaps 
 would not think of asking for it. Whether it is 
 best in such a list for the librarian to give original 
 or selected remarks, may be disputed. For my 
 part I hold myself at liberty to give my own 
 opinion, when I have one, or to quote pithy criti- 
 cisms when I agree with them. 
 
 The Chairman having invited discussion on 
 
 Means of Borrowing Desiderata, 
 
 The Rev. T. Vickers said : — " The borrowing 
 of desiderata" is a somewhat ambiguous phrase. 
 I presume there will be no objection to my making 
 it cover a point in library economy to which I 
 think it important to direct attention. In Germany 
 all the literary treasures of the empire are practi- 
 cally at the command of the scholar in whatever 
 part of the country he may reside, and this, too, 
 without the trouble and expense of long journeys. 
 There are two methods of procedure. Suppose he 
 
 lives in a city containing a public library (say 
 Dresden), which does not, however, possess the 
 rare book or manuscript he wishes to consult. On 
 his application, the Dresden libraiy sends to 
 another library (say at Berlin), which contains the 
 work needed. Berlin forwards the book ; Dresden 
 is responsible for it ; and the scholar has the use of 
 it for the trifling cost of carriage. On the other 
 hand, suppose he lives where there is no library. 
 He himself then writes to Berlin or Leipzig, as the 
 case may be, and, if he is known to be a respon- 
 sible person, the work is sent to him ; he has the 
 use of it, say for a month, or longer if need be, on 
 the simple condition that he pays the cost of trans- 
 portation and conforms to the rules regarding its 
 return. 
 
 It seems to me that, under proper guarantees, 
 this }s a system which would work admirably well 
 in England. You have a great national library — 
 perhaps the best in the world ; why compel the 
 scholar who needs to consult a book in it, which 
 is not obtainable elsewhere, to come all the way 
 from Leeds, Edinburgh, or Dublin, at great ex- 
 pense of time and money, for that purpose ? Why 
 not send it to him, if the circumstances make it 
 practicable ? The same system is applicable to the 
 smaller collections both in London and in other 
 parts of the kingdom. The Public Library of Cin- 
 cinnati adopted the plan a year or more ago, and 
 scholars and authors in our part of the country 
 have already found it a great advantage, while 
 the library has not been inconvenienced thereby. 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P., said : — I beg 
 to call attention to tlie latest device for improving 
 borrowing facilities at the Boston Public Library, in 
 the introduction of the telephone for connecting 
 the ceiitral library with its dependent branches in 
 remote sections of the city. It gives promptness 
 to the interior service, and it enables any citizen 
 miles away to learn tlirough a branch if any par- 
 ticular book is in the library before journeying 
 thither to consult it or asking to have it sent to 
 the branch for his use. I think we do not fully 
 comprehend tlie possible uses of the telephone. 
 
 Mr. B. R. Wheatley read his 
 
 Hints on Library-Management, as far as 
 
 relates to the Circulation of Books 
 
 (,see pp. 127-33). 
 
 Sir Redmond Barry, V.P., read his paper 
 
 On Lending Books {see pp. 134-5). 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford said that he feared 
 the system described in Mr. Wheatley's paper 
 would be unworkable without Mr. Wheatley. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison, who knew Mr. Wheat- 
 ley to be tlie soul of his library, agreed with Mr. 
 Walford. 
 
 Mr. J. D. MuLLiNS said : — Sir Redmond Barry's 
 
176 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 plan of circulating books in small towns and villages 
 is felt to be the want of this country, and many of 
 the principal towns here are prepared to issue 
 periodical parcels and boxes of books on due ap- 
 plication and the payment by the authorities of a 
 small subsidy for the use of the same, as duly pro- 
 vided for by the Public Libraries Act. 
 
 One of the Secretaries read the paper by Mr. 
 James Matthews, librarian of the Public Free 
 Library, Newport (Monmouthshire), on 
 
 Means of obtaining the Books required 
 IN a Lending Librarv (j-sk pp. 136-7). 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson must claim priority over 
 Mr. Matthews. In May or June, 1874, he had 
 introduced a similar system, which he thought had 
 advantages in detail over that followed at New- 
 port. Any person wanting a book " not in " took 
 from a tray a postcard,* which he addressed to 
 himself, filUng in on the printed reverse the name 
 of the book and the date of order. These post- 
 cards were dropped into a box, from which they 
 were collected once a day ; orders were made up 
 from them to one of the four lending libraries from 
 which their own lending library supplemented its 
 stock, and they were then sorted into pigeon-holes. 
 When an ordered book arrived from one of these 
 libraries, or was returned by another reader, the 
 librarian took the postcard from its pigeon-hole, 
 inserted on the printed reverse of the card the day 
 up to which the book would be kept waiting for 
 the orderer, and posted the card. This system 
 had given great satisfaction, and had largely in- 
 creased the circulation of books. Formerly a per- 
 son for whom a book was ordered never knew 
 whether it had arrived or not, and was apt to call 
 for it several times before it could be procured for 
 him ; while sometimes, on the other hand, the book 
 had to be kept unused for weeks, waiting to be 
 called for by a person who did not know that it 
 had arrived. He should add that these postcards 
 were supplied without charge. Nothing could be 
 more irritating than to ask a man for a halfpenny 
 whenever he ordered a book, and when perhaps 
 he had only gold in his pocket. Ten pounds 
 covered the cost of some thousands of postcards, 
 and he knew from experi.nce that in an institution 
 supported by subscriptions there was no sounder 
 financial policy than to throw in extra conveniences, 
 entailing little expense, without extra charge. Even 
 in free public libraries he believed that it would 
 be wise to do the same ; the firee postcard system 
 would add greatly to the facilities and popular use 
 of such libraries, and would perhaps lead the cor- 
 poration or vestry in many cases to allow the 
 
 * Specimens of these postcard forms of order 
 will be found in the Appendix. 
 
 full penny rate where they now allowed only a half- 
 penny or a farthing. 
 
 The Chairman having invited discussion on 
 
 Guarantees required in Public Lending 
 Libraries, the Number of Volumes al- 
 lowed, and the Time allowed for 
 Reading, 
 
 The Rev. G. Iliff said that at Sunderland a 
 non-burgess was admitted to borrow books on the 
 guarantee of two burgesses. 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P., said that in 
 the Boston Public Library they only required a 
 reference to a single citizen. A library-attendant 
 verified these references personally, and, whenever 
 the answer was satisfactory, a borrowing-ticket 
 was given without any other guarantee than the 
 borrower's own undertaking to observe the rules. 
 
 Mr. Francis T. Barrett said that in the pubhc 
 libraries in the provinces the guarantee of one 
 burgess was often sufficient. 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P., said that such was also 
 their practice at Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison said that at the London 
 Library books of research were allowed to be kept 
 for two months. Unless returned voluntarily, 
 books could not be called in until the two months 
 had expired. New books, however, were only 
 allowed to be retained two weeks. 
 
 Mr. H. Campkin approved the suggestion of 
 a former speaker, that a borrower should be al- 
 lowed to retain his books as long a term as he 
 required them, unless wanted by other borrowers. 
 
 The Chairman having invited discussion on 
 
 The Executive of .4 Library — their Quali- 
 fications, Functions, Vacation, and 
 Salaries, 
 
 Mr. G. BuLLEN read an amusing* broadside on 
 the duties of a librarian, which had been put in his 
 hands by Canon Robertson. It was written in 
 mock Old English by Dr. S. R. Maitland, sometime 
 librarian at Lambeth Palace, in 1848, when there 
 was much discussion about the British Museum. 
 
 The Rev. Canon ROBER'ISON, librarian of the 
 Cathedral Librai-y, Canterbury, said that the 
 imitation of Old English was not quite perfect, 
 but the imitation of the unreasonableness of Mr. 
 Panizzi's censure was. 
 
 Dr. Andrea Crestadoro said :— By a recent 
 royal decree in Italy it is ordered that in every 
 National Library (of which there are five) a chair 
 of Librarianship shall be established, to teach 
 and train students in the bibliothecal science, so as 
 to qualify them for appointments as librarians. 
 
 Mr. Eiri'kr Magnusson wished to refer those 
 who were not acquainted with it to Petzholdt's 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 very full and admirable treatment of this question 
 in his " Katechismus der Bibliothekenlehre." 
 
 Mr. Lloyd P. Smith, V.P., was surprised that 
 in England a lady-librarian was scarcely ever heard 
 of, while in America the great majority of libra- 
 rians were women. Very good librarians they 
 were, and he was sorry to say that they were too 
 often underpaid. A lady-librarian had told him 
 that she found that one of a librarian's proper 
 qualifications was to be able to live on, two meals " 
 a day, and pay for one out of his or her own 
 pocket. 
 
 Professor Justin Winsor, V.P., said : — In the 
 Boston Public Library two-thirds of the librarians 
 are women. In American libraries we set a 
 high value on women's work. They soften our 
 atmosphere, they lighten our labour, they are 
 equal to our work, and for the money they cost 
 — if we must gauge such labour by such rules — 
 they are infinitely better than equivalent salaries 
 will produce of the other sex. For firom;^ioo to 
 ;£'i6o a year we can command our pick of the 
 educated young women whom our Colleges for 
 Women are launchuig forth upon our country — 
 women with a fair knowledge of Latin and Greek, 
 a good knowledge of French and German, a de- 
 ducible knowledge of Italian and Spanish, and 
 who do not stagger at the acquisition of even 
 Russian, if the requirements of the catalogue-ser- 
 vice make that demand. It is to these Colleges 
 for Women, like Vassar and Wellesley, that the 
 American library-system looks confidently for the 
 future. I think, if I may say it, that it will be 
 a happy day for England when the number of your 
 governesses is so diminished as to be more equal to 
 the demand, by a portion of them substituting the 
 wider sphere of library-work for the enervating 
 care of the idealess young. I am glad to offer to 
 you as one of our American deputation the late 
 librarian of Wellesley College, who is vdth us. 
 That institution, a few miles from Boston, with all 
 the surroundings of park and lake that can make 
 a spot alluring, will show you a lady for its 
 president, others of her sex for her supporters in 
 the professional chairs, and three or four hundred 
 students in govpns that become them because they 
 are women. It is to such institutions that America 
 looks, in the face of the great educational problem 
 whose right solution is to determine her destiny. 
 The solution of that problem is an ennobling work, 
 and libraries and women are to play no mean part 
 in it. 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P., said: — Women are 
 largely employed as assistants in our American 
 libraries, and in many instances they have charge 
 of libraries. Some of our most accomplished 
 cataloguers are ladies, and they find constant em- 
 ployment in this special work, at compensation 
 quite as large as the librarians of some of the 
 
 177 
 
 principal libraries in the English provinces receive. 
 My chief office-assistant and cataloguer is a lady, 
 and a more competent person for the position I do 
 not desire. There is a feeling in America that 
 positions in libraries belong to ladies, and they 
 are employed and paid the same pay as would be 
 received by men who could do the work as well 
 and perhaps better. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson must express his in- 
 dignation at the low salaries which he believed 
 many of the heads of large pubhc libraries in the 
 provinces were receiving. To be a good librarian 
 a man ought to have most of the qualities of a 
 gentleman, a scholar, and a man of business ; 
 whereas the salary generally offered for this com- 
 bination of qualities was an insult to the liberality 
 and intelligence of our great towiis. Seeing that 
 the energy and ingenuity required for the efficient 
 working of a free pubUc library would make a 
 man's fortune in business in a few years, his won- 
 der was that such towns ever got or kept a good 
 librarian. 
 
 Mr. J. D. MULLINS said that there was evidently 
 some indisposition on the part of the English 
 librarians to say anything about salaries ; they had 
 a natural delicacy in stating amounts which might 
 seem to reflect imfavourably on their committees. 
 Having been generously treated by his own com- 
 mittee, he had no fear to speak on the matter. In 
 an assembly of persons who knew something of 
 the duties of a librarian it would not be well per- 
 haps to mention some of the salaries paid in the 
 provinces at present, but matters were improving 
 as the requirements of the position were better 
 known. A few years ago it was thought that any 
 fool would do for a schoolmaster, and, when a man 
 had failed at everything else, he was often sent to 
 educate the rising generation. This notion was now 
 happily dying away. In like manner it had been 
 thought that anyone would do for a hbrarian, and 
 on any vacancy occurring applications swarmed in 
 from all sorts of remarkable people — masters of 
 workhouses that they could not master, school- 
 masters of the old school (without scholars), 
 ministers with affections of the throat or minus the 
 affections of the congregation, Chelsea pensioners 
 short of a limb or two, and other qualificators, 
 most of them confessing with honest simplicity 
 that they knew nothing whatever of library- work, 
 but had always thought they should like to be 
 among books, &c. &c., and all of them sure that 
 they should at once develop every faculty required 
 for the position they sought — men who had failed 
 in most things, discovering all at once that a 
 librarianship was the very thing for which they 
 had all along been waiting. In mercy to these 
 numerous applicants, the Conference ought to 
 draw up a list of reasonable requirements, a modest 
 curriculum for librarians, and, if in connexion with 
 
 A A 
 
178 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 this' could be given a list of the salaries paid to 
 such officers in England and America, some very 
 useful results might ensue. 
 
 Mr. H. Campkin said that hitherto the com- 
 parative status of the office of librarian induced 
 candidates possessing private incomes to offe,r their 
 services for a remuneration which persons living 
 upon their earnings could not accept, and that so 
 long as this feeling prevailed salaries of librarians 
 would ' ' rule low. " 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison regretted that the low 
 stipends at present offered to librarians discouraged 
 competent men from qualifying themselves for the 
 profession. It was a matter of great difficulty at 
 the present time to procure good assistant librarians, 
 and as libraries increased the difficulty would be 
 felt more and more unless the scale of remunera- 
 tion was raised. 
 
 Mr. G. B. Finch said : — The inadequacy of the 
 salaries of librarians in public libraries is not always 
 the fault of the library-committee. It sometimes 
 arises from the insufficiency of the penny rate to 
 which the corporate authority is limited. In a 
 case within my own knowledge, in a town of 
 30,000 inhabitants the penny rate only realizes 
 ;f 500, a sum quite insufficient to pay the stipends 
 of the librarian and his assistants and to meet the 
 necessary expenses of the institution. I think that 
 the remedy is with Parliament, which ought to 
 give the corporation in any place where the Public 
 Libraries Act has been adopted power to levy a 
 larger rate. 
 
 Mr. Melvil Dewey said that he felt sure that 
 men who proved themselves leaders in the profes- 
 sion would find themselves in demand, and, since 
 the supply of suoh librarians is so very limited, 
 competition between intelligent communities would 
 soon raise the salaries. Many salaries were high 
 enough already for the work done. 
 
 Mr. W. J. Haggerston, librarian of the Public 
 Library, South Shields, said : — I should like to say 
 one word in reply to Mr. Dewey's argument that 
 
 the services of a librarian who does his work 
 effectually, and adds to the number of the readers 
 and the number of volumes read, and assists in 
 raising the character of the reading, will be appre- 
 ciated. In provincial libraries where the Public 
 Libraries Acts are in operation the committees are 
 often composed entirely of members of the town- 
 council, and in consequence the question of the 
 librarian's salary is made an election-test during 
 a vacancy in any of the wards of the borough. 
 This, I need not say, is very objectionable. Mixed 
 committees for the management of the library 
 are much better for its working, and the librarian's 
 interests are much safer in the hands of such a 
 committee than they would be in those of a com- 
 mittee composed entirely of members of the town- 
 council. 
 
 Mr. J. D. MULLINS read his note on 
 
 Statistics of Libraries. 
 
 Dr. Andrea Crestadoro said : — In the Man- 
 chester Free Library the practice is to give separate 
 returns of the number of specifications of patents, 
 in order not to mislead the public as to the issues 
 of volumes of books properly so called. 
 
 Mr. Melvil Dewey said that the co-operation- 
 committee of the American Library-Association 
 were going to draw up a code of rules to be followed 
 in compiling statistics, and suggested that the 
 same should be done in England. 
 
 The Conference then adjourned tiU 7 p.m.* 
 
 * Between the morning and evening sittings 
 visits were paid to the London Library ; the Dyce 
 and Forster Libraries, Educational Library, and 
 National Art Library, at South Kensington ; and 
 the libraries of the Athenaeum Club, Lincoln's Inn, 
 the Linnean Society, the Reform Club, the Royal 
 Academy, the Royal Society, and the Society of 
 Antiquaries. These visits are described in the 
 Accounts of Visits to Libraries. 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 179 
 
 SEVENTH SITTING, 
 
 FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER <,th, AT T. 
 
 \ N the absence of the President, 
 Mr. James T. Clark, V.P., 
 was unanimously voted to the 
 Chair. 
 
 It was moved, on behalf of 
 the late Organizing Committee, 
 by Mr. Robert Harrison, 
 seconded by Mr. H . Stevens, and caiTied unani- 
 mously : — 
 
 " That a Library-Association of the United 
 Kingdom be founded." 
 
 The Conference then passed to the discussion of 
 the Constitution proposed for the Association by 
 the Organizing Committee, and printed in the 
 programme of the proceedings. 
 
 Each rule having been considered separately, 
 and a few alterations having been introduced, the 
 following was adopted as the 
 
 Constitution of the Library-Association 
 OF THE United Kingdom. 
 
 I. Name. 
 
 1 . The Association shall be called ' ' The Library- 
 Association of the United Kingdom. " 
 
 II. Objects. 
 
 2. Its main object shall be to unite all persons 
 engaged or interested in library work, for the pur- 
 pose of promoting the best possible administration 
 of existing libraries, and the formation of new 
 ones where desirable. It shall also aim at the 
 encouragement of bibliographical research. 
 
 III. Members. 
 
 3. There shall be two classes of members. 
 Subscribing and Honorary. 
 
 4. Subscribing members shall pay an annual 
 subscription of Half-a-Guinea, which shall become 
 due on the Sth of October in each year. Any 
 member not paying the subscription within six 
 calendar months from that date shall cease to be- 
 long to the Association. Annual payments may be 
 commuted by a life-subscription of Five Guineas. 
 
 5. Any person engaged in the administration of 
 a library shall become a subscribing member on 
 payment of the annual subscription. 
 
 6. Any person not actually engaged in library- 
 administration may be elected a subscribing mem- 
 ber by a vote of upwards of three-fourths of the 
 subscribing members voting at any monthly meet- 
 ing, after notice of proposal given at the previous 
 meeting. Provided that the number of persons so 
 
 elected shall never exceed two-fifths of the whole 
 number of subscribing members. 
 
 7. Honorary members may be elected by a vote 
 of upwards of three-fourths of the members voting 
 at any monthly meeting, after notice of proposal 
 given at the previous meeting. 
 
 8. The Association shall have power to strike 
 any member off its list by the unanimous vote of 
 all members voting at any monthly meeting, after 
 notice of motion given at the previous meeting, 
 and communicated to the member, or by a vote of 
 five-sixths of the members voting at any annual or 
 special general meeting. Provided that a member 
 whose name has been struck off at a monthly 
 meeting shall have the right of appeal to the next 
 annual or special general meeting. 
 
 IV. Officers. 
 
 9. The whole affairs of the Association shall be 
 conducted (subject to the control of annual and 
 special general meetings) by a Council, consisting 
 of a President, three Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, 
 two Secretaries, and twelve other members, all of 
 whom shall be elected at one annual meeting and 
 shall bear office until the close of the next. To 
 these shall be added all past Presidents and Vice- 
 Presidents who shall intimate their wish to serve 
 on the Council. 
 
 10. In case of the death or resignation of any 
 elected officer, the Council may at their discretion 
 elect some other member in his place. 
 
 11. The President and Vice-Presidents shall 
 not be capable of holding the same offices more 
 than two years in succession. 
 
 12. Of the twelve additional members, not more 
 than eight shall be capable of re-election (as such) 
 at the end of each year of office. 
 
 13. The Council shall present to the annual 
 meeting a general report on the progress of the 
 Association during the year. 
 
 14. The Treasurer shall receive all meney due 
 to the Association, shall make such payments as 
 the Council shall direct, and shall keep a clear 
 account of all receipts, payments, and liabilities, 
 of which he shall submit a report to the annual 
 meeting, and whenever so requested to the Council. 
 
 15. The Secretaries for the time being shall 
 keep a record of all proceedings, shall draft re- 
 ports, issue notices, and conduct correspondence, 
 and shall have the charge of all books, papers, 
 and other property belonging to the Association. 
 
 16. Meetings of the Council shall be called by 
 
i8o 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 the President, and shall be held at such time and 
 place as he shall appoint. At his discretion it 
 shall be lawful for the Secretaries to submit any 
 resolution to each member of the Council in writing 
 and to receive written answers. 
 
 V. Meetings of the Association. 
 
 17. There shall be an annual meeting, of which 
 at least two calendar months' notice shall be sent 
 to each member. The Association shall fix at 
 each annual meetiijg the place of the next, pro- 
 vided that the same tovm shall not be chosen for 
 two successive meetings. 
 
 18. The annual meeting shall receive and con- 
 sider the general report of the Council and the 
 Treasurer's report, motions of which one month's 
 notice shall have been given to the Secretaries, 
 and papers approved by the Council. 
 
 19. Monthly meetings shall also be held in Lon- 
 don at some fixed time and place of which notice 
 shall be given to all subscribing members : but 
 the Council shall have power to suspend the meet- 
 ings during July, August, and September. The 
 Council shall have authority to engage rooms for 
 the monthly meetings, and for the formation of a 
 museum of library-appliances and ultimately of a 
 bibliogi'aphical library. 
 
 20. The monthly meetings shall receive and 
 consider papers and suggestions on all subjects re- 
 lating to the aims of the Association, shall examine 
 all library-appliances and designs submitted to 
 them, and shall lay their conclusions and recom- 
 mendations before the Council. They shall further 
 have power to appoint special committees for the 
 investigation of any particular subject, and the 
 reports of such committees shall be submitted to 
 the Council. 
 
 21. On receipt of a requisition from any five 
 members of the Council, or any fifteen subscribing 
 members, the President shall convene within one 
 calendar month a special general meeting; pro- 
 vided that the pui-pose for which the meeting is 
 required be stated in the requisition, and also in 
 the summons issued by the President. 
 
 22. In any district containing six members of 
 the Association, a local committee may be formed, 
 with a corresponding secretary. Resolutions and 
 recommendations forwarded by local committees 
 to the Secretaries of the Association shall be laid 
 before its next monthly meeting. 
 
 VI. Conduct of Business. 
 
 23. All meetings shall be presided over by the 
 highest officer present (the Secretaries excepted), 
 and in the absence of such officers by any member 
 elected by the meeting. 
 
 24. All elections of honorary members shall be 
 conducted by ballot, the candidates being balloted 
 for together. If there be fewer than one black 
 
 ball in four, all the candidates shall be declared 
 elected: otherwise they shall be balloted for 
 separately, when one black baU in four shall ex- 
 clude. 
 
 25. The election of officers shall be conducted 
 by ballot upon a list which shall include any name 
 forwarded to the Secretaries one calendar month 
 before the annual meeting. 
 
 26. On the demand of four subscribing mem- 
 bers, any other motion shall be decided by ballot. 
 
 27. The chairman of any meeting shall have 
 the right of voting, and, if the votes be equal, 
 shall have a casting vote. 
 
 28. Honorary members shall not have the right 
 of voting. 
 
 VII. Laws. 
 
 29. The Council may initiate any by-law not 
 inconsistent with this Constitution; such by-law 
 shall be proposed to the next monthly meeting, 
 and if passed shall have immediate effect. 
 
 30. Amendments to this Constitution may be 
 moved by the Council at an annual or special 
 general meeting, notice of the proposed amend- 
 ment being given on the summons of such meeting. 
 Any individual member may also propose such an 
 amendment at an annual or special general meet- 
 ing, by giving one calendar month's notice to the 
 Secretaries. But no amendment shall have effect 
 unless it be passed by the votes of two-thirds of 
 the subscribing members present. 
 
 The following gentlemen were then unanimously 
 elected as the first Council of the Library-Asso- 
 ciation of the United Kingdom : — 
 
 Mr. J. Winter Jones, Librarian of the British 
 Museum. 
 
 Mr. James T. Clark, Keeper of the Advocates' 
 
 Library, Edinburgh. 
 Rev. H. O. Coxe, Bodley's Librarian, Oxford. 
 Rev. Dr. J. A. Malet, Librarian of Trinity College 
 
 Library, Dublin. 
 
 Mr. W. E. A. Axon, Secretary of the Manchester 
 
 Literary Club. 
 Mr. Francis T. Barrett, Librarian of the 
 
 Mitchell Library, Glasgow. 
 Mr. G. Bullen, Keeper of the Printed Books, 
 
 British Museum. 
 Mr. Peter Co well, Librarian of the Free Public 
 
 Library, Liverpool. 
 Dr. Andrea Crestadoro, Librarian of the Public 
 
 Free Libraries, Manchester. 
 Mr. Richard Garnett, Superintendent of the 
 
 Reading-Room, British Museum. 
 Mr. J. D. MuLLiNS, Librarian of the Free 
 
 Libraries, Birmingham, 
 
CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 Mr. W. H. Overall, Librarian of the Cor- 
 poration Library, London. 
 
 Mr. J. Small, Librarian of the University 
 - Library, Edinburgh. 
 
 Mr. W. S. W. Vaux, Librarian of the Royal 
 Asiatic Society, London. 
 
 Mr. B. R. Wheatley, Librarian of the Royal 
 Medical and Chirurgical Society, London. 
 
 Mr. James Yates, Librarian of the Public Libra- 
 ries, Leeds, 
 
 (Crea^urer. 
 Mr. Robert Harrison, Librarian of the London 
 Library. 
 
 ^etwtariej. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson, Librarian of the London 
 
 Institution. 
 Mr. H. R. Teddek, Librarian of the Athenseum 
 
 Club, London. 
 
 It was then resolved unanimously, on the motion 
 of Mr. Peter Cowell, seconded by Mr. J. D. 
 
 MULLINS : — 
 
 " That the first annual meeting of the Association 
 be held at Oxford." 
 
 It was unanimously resolved, on the recommen- 
 dation of the Council of the Conference : — 
 
 "That the 'American Library Journal' be 
 adopted as the official journal of the Association — 
 it being understood that the word ' American ' in 
 the title wUl be dropped, that some English libra- 
 rians will be added to the board of editors, and 
 that the Association, while incurring no pecuniary 
 responsibility, will endeavour as far as possible to 
 promote the sale of the ' Library Journal ' in this 
 country." 
 
 It was unanimously resolved, on the motion of 
 Mr. Cornelius Walford, seconded by Mr. W. 
 E. A. Axon : — 
 
 " That, recognizing the urgent necessity for a 
 General Catalogue of English Literature, this Con- 
 ference recommends to the Coimcil of the Associa- 
 tion that steps be forthwith taken to prepare such 
 a catalogue, and leaves all details to the Council." 
 
 It was unanimously resolved, on the recommen- 
 dation of the Council of the Conference : — 
 
 " That the English committee to co-operate in 
 preparing a new edition of Poole's Index consist of 
 Mr. Robert E. Graves, Mr. Robert Harrison, and 
 Mr. J. D. MuUins." 
 
 It was unanimously resolved, on the motion of 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson, seconded by Mr. J. D. 
 Mullins ; — 
 
 "That this Conference, recognizing the great 
 educational and social good effected in the chief 
 provincial towns by the establishment of free pub- 
 lic reference and lending libraries under the Act of 
 '855. regrets that the South, East, and North of 
 London are entirely unprovided with such libraries. 
 
 and that only two have yet been established in its 
 Western districts. That, being informed of the 
 willingness of many London librarians and others 
 to promote the further adoption of the Act of 1855 
 in London, it requests the following gentlemen to 
 act as a committee for this purpose, and to add to 
 their number as may be expedient :-- 
 
 Rev. Septimus C. H. Hansard. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison. 
 
 Professor Leone Levi. 
 
 Sir J. Lubbock, Bart., M.P. 
 
 Professor H. Morley. 
 
 Mr. E. B. Nicholson. 
 
 Rev. W. Rogers. 
 
 Dr. W. Sedgwick Saunders. 
 
 Mr. H. R. Tedder." 
 
 It was then announced on the part of the Coun- 
 cil that Mr. E. B. Nicholson had laid before 
 them his account of receipts and expenditure ; that 
 the receipts had been £\\2 17^. dd., and the 
 expenditure ;^S4 igj. %d. ; that there were no 
 liabilities ; and that of the balance of;^57 i7j-. 10^. 
 they had placed ;^5o at the disposal of the Secre- 
 taries, for printing the Transactions and Proceedings 
 of the Conference, with the view of giving a copy 
 to each member. 
 
 It was resolved, on the recommendation of the 
 Council, that subject to this liability the entire 
 balance should be transferred to the Library- Asso- 
 ciation of the United Kingdom. 
 
 Thanks were then voted to the Board of Manage- 
 ment of the London Institution for the use of the 
 lecture-theatre and library; to the Presidents, 
 Vice-Presidents, and Council of the Conference ; to 
 the Secretaries ; and to the librarians from other 
 countries for their presence and participation in 
 the discussions. 
 
 In answer to the vote of thanks to the President, 
 Vice-Presidents, and Council, 
 
 The Chairman, after returning acknowledg- 
 ments for the vote, said that the educational in- 
 fluence of librarians would no w at length be acknow- 
 ledged, and the work they had been quietly and 
 unostentatiously doing would begin to be recog- 
 nized. At a time when elementary training had 
 been made compulsory, when secondary schools, 
 colleges, and universities were the subject of so 
 many commissions, it might reasonably be hoped 
 that the country would accept the library as a part, 
 and a very important part, of the apparatus for 
 higher education. 
 
 In answer to the vote of thanks to librarians 
 from other countries, 
 
 Baron Otto de Watte ville, V.P., said: — 
 Ladies and Gentlemen, — The Minister of Public 
 Instruction has sent us to be present at your 
 Conference -for the purpose of collecting precise 
 
i82 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 information as to the condition and arrangements 
 of libraries. Thanks to your interesting discus- 
 sions and to your kind favour we have learnt much, 
 and have been able to procure most important 
 papers. I beg you to accept the thaiiks of the 
 French Commission, and my own in particular ; 
 I could not thank you enough for the indulgence 
 with which you have allowed me to speak in 
 French, and for the courtesy with which you have 
 listened to me. 
 
 Next year France invites the whole world to 
 record the progress of industry, art, and science. 
 Every invention, every discovery, will be submitted 
 to the examination and judgment of all comers. 
 But, besides the exhibition of material objects, of 
 machinery and manufactured articles, place may be 
 found, and ought to be found, for the exhibition of 
 ideas. The Minister of Public Instruction is occu- 
 pied with this important question: he wishes to bring 
 together in turn, according to the nature of their 
 studies, the learned of all countries, to appeal to 
 their enthusiasm, to be present at their interesting 
 discussions, and to borrow their light. I hope that 
 by his distinguished initiative and the co-operation 
 of the Commissary-General of the Exhibition this 
 project will easily be realized. 
 
 Then it viall be easy for us to continue at Paris 
 the useful studies which we have begun in London. 
 Then, when we show you our great scientific 
 establishments and our national collections, and 
 point out to you how they differ from your own, 
 and why they differ, we shall have new and in- 
 teresting materials for study. Then likewise, I 
 hope, we shall be allowed to show you how far we 
 are mindful of the hearty reception which you have 
 given us. 
 
 Professor JUSTIN WiNSOR, V.P., said : — I beg, 
 on behalf of the American delegation, to express 
 briefly but fervently our gratitude for the courtesy 
 and consideration which has been extended to us, 
 and to declare our positive content with the asso- 
 ciations which we have enjoyed among you. We 
 hope at some time in the future to repay your kind- 
 ness when you in turn shall send a delegation to a 
 Conference in America. 
 
 Professor B. S. MoNDiNO,V. P., returned thanks 
 for Italy, and said that a librarian from Palermo 
 might the better do so because it was the Palermi- 
 tan revolution which had unified Italy. 
 
 Professor Leopold Seligmann also returned 
 thanks for Germany. 
 
 The Conference then dissolved. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 I. 
 
 SPECIMEN OF A DICTIONARY- CATALOGUE OF WORKS IN 
 MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 BY JAMES M. ANDERSON, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN, UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, ST. ANDREW'S. 
 
 (See On Cataloguing, by James M. Anderson, pp. 82-3.) 
 
 iESTHETICS : 
 DuRSCH (G. M.) Aesthetik. 
 RiTTER (H.) Principien der Aesthetik. 
 
 BACHMANN (Dr Carl Friedrich). 
 
 System der Logik. Ein Handbuch zum Selbst- 
 
 studium. Leipzig, 1828. 8° 
 
 BAUR (Dr Ferdinand Christian). 
 
 Drei Abhandlungen zur Geschichle der alten 
 
 Philosophie und ihres Verh'altnisses zum 
 
 Christenthiim. Neu herausgegeben von Dr 
 
 Eduard Zeller. Leipzig, 1876. 8° 
 
 i. Apollonius von Tyana und Christus, Oder das 
 
 Verhaltniss des Pythagoreismus zum Christen- 
 
 thum. 
 
 z. Das Christliche des Platonismus oder Socrates 
 
 und Christus, 
 3. Seneca und Paulus, das Verhaltniss des Stoicis- 
 mus zum Christenthum nach den Schriften 
 Seneca's, 
 
 BAUTAIN (L.). 
 La conscience ou la regie des actions humaines. 
 Deuxieme Edition. Paris, 1861. 12° 
 
 BLIGNIERES (C^lestin de). 
 
 Exposition abregee et populaire de la philosophie 
 et de la religion positives. Paris, 1857. 12° 
 BRADLEY (F, H.). 
 
 Ethical studies. London, 1876. 8° 
 
 CALDERWOOD (Henry), LL.D. 
 
 Handbook of moral philosophy. Fourth edition. 
 London, 1875. 8° 
 CAUSES : 
 
 Janet (P,) Causes finales. 
 
 CONSCIENCE : 
 Bautain (L.) La conscience, sme ed. 
 
 COUSIN (Victor). 
 
 Histoire generale de la philosophie depuis les 
 temps les plus anciens jusqu'a la fin du xviii' 
 siecle. Paris, 1863. 8° 
 
 DURSCH (Dr G. M.). 
 
 Aesthetik oder die Wissenschaft des Schonen auf 
 dem christlichen Standpunkte dargestellt. 
 
 Stuttgart u. Tubingen, 1839. 8° 
 ERDMANN (Dr Johann Eduard). 
 
 Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie, 2 Bde. 
 Berh7i, 1 866. 8° 
 Bd. I, Philosophie des Alterthums und des Mittel- 
 alters, 
 „ z. Philosophie der Neuzeit. 
 
 ETHICS : 
 Bradley (F, H, ) Ethical studies, 
 Schopenhauer (A.) Grundprobleme der Ethik. 
 
 FERRIER (James F.), A.B. 
 
 Institutes of metaphysic the theory of knowing 
 and being. Edinburgh, 1854. 8° 
 
 FLEMING (William), D.D. 
 
 A manual of moral philosophy, with quotations 
 and references for the use of students. New 
 edition. Lotidon, 1871. 12° 
 
 FLINT (Robert), D.D., LL.D. 
 The philosophy of History in Europe. 
 
 Edinburgh, 1874, 8° 
 Vol. I. The philosophy of history in France and 
 Germany, 
 
1 84 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 FONTANA (Bartolommeo). 
 La filosofia della storia nei pensatori italiani. 
 
 Imola, 1873. 8° 
 
 FORTLAGE (Kael). 
 
 System der Psychologie als empirisclier Wissen- 
 schaft aus der Beobachtung des innern Sinnes. 
 2 Theile. Leipig, 1855. 8° 
 
 GRAY (J. F.), Ph.D. 
 
 Exercises in logic ; designed for the use of stu- 
 dents in colleges. London, 1845. 8° 
 
 HAYM (R.). 
 
 Hegel und seine Zeit. Vorlesungen fiber Ent- 
 stehung und Entwickelung, Wesen und 
 Werth der Hegel'schen Philosophie. 
 
 Berlin, 1857. 8° 
 
 HEGEL (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich). 
 
 Haym (R.) Hegel und seine Zeit. 
 
 RosENKRANZ (K.) Hegel als deutsclier National- 
 
 philosoph. 
 Vera (A.) Introduction ^la philosophifi de Hegel. 
 
 HERBART (Johann Friedrich). 
 
 Sammtliche Werke. Herausgegeben von G. 
 
 Hartenstein, 12 Bde. , Leipzig, 1850-52. 8° 
 
 Bd. I. Schriften zur Einleitung in die Philosophier 
 
 „ z. Kurze Encyklopadie der Philosophie aus 
 
 praktischen Gesichtspuncten entworfen. 
 „ 3, 4. Schriften zur Metaphysik. 
 „ 5 — 7. Schriften zur Psychologie. 
 „ 8, g. Schriften zur praktischen Philosophie. 
 „ lOj II. Schriften zur Padagogik. 
 „ 12. Historisch-kritische Schriften. 
 Langenbeck (H.) Die theoretische Philosophie 
 Herbart's und seiner Schule. 
 
 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY : 
 
 Baur (F. C.) Drei Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der 
 alten Philosophie. 
 
 Cousin (V.) Histoire generale de la philosophie. 
 
 Erhmann (J. E.) Grundriss der Geschichte der Philoso- 
 phie. 
 
 Lewes (G. H.) History of philosophy from Thales to 
 Comte. 3rd ed. 
 
 JANET (Paul). 
 
 Les causes finales. Paris, 1876. 8" 
 
 KANT (Immanuel). 
 
 KlRCHMANN (J. H. V.) ErlHuterungen zu Kant's 
 Kritik der praktischen Vernunft. 
 
 Erlauterungen zu Kant's 
 
 Kritik der reinen Vernunft. 2te Aufl. 
 
 KlRCHMANN (J. H. v.). 
 
 Erlauterungen zu Kant's Kritik der praktischen 
 Vernunft. Berlin, 1869. 8° 
 
 Erlauterungen zu Kant's Kritik der reinen Ver- 
 nunft. Zweite Auflage. Berlin, 1870. 8° 
 
 LANGE (Friedrich Albert). 
 
 Geschichte des Materialisnius und Kritik seiner 
 
 • Bedeutung in der Gegenwart. Zweite, ver- 
 
 besserte und vermehrte Auflage, 2 Bde. 
 
 herlohn, 1873-75. 8° 
 
 Bd. I. Geschichte des Materialismus bis auf Kant. 
 
 „ z. Geschichte des Materialismus seit Kant. 
 
 LANGENBECK (Hermann). 
 
 Die theoretjsche Philosophie Herbart's und seiner 
 Schide, und die darauf bezugliche Kritik. 
 Berlin, 1876. 8" 
 LEWES (George Henry). 
 The history of philosophy from Thales to Comte. 
 Third edition, 2 vols. London, 1867. 8° 
 Vol. I. Ancient philosophy. 
 „ 2. Modern philosophy. 
 
 LITTRE (Emile). 
 
 Paroles de philosophie positive. Deuxieme 
 edition. Paris, 1863. 8° 
 
 LOGIC ; 
 
 Bachmann (C. F.) System der Logik, 
 
 Gray (J. F.) Exercises in logic. 
 
 M'COSH (James), LL.D., D.D. 
 The Scottish philosophy, biographical, exposi- 
 tory, critical, from Hutcheson to Hamilton. 
 
 London, 1875. 8° 
 MATERIALISM : 
 Lange (F. a.) Geschichte des Materialismus. ate Aufl. 
 
 MAURICE (Frederick Denison). 
 
 Medieval philosophy ; or, a treatise of moral and 
 metaphysical philosophy from the fifth to 
 the fourteenth century. New edition. 
 
 London, 1870. 8° 
 MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY : 
 Maurice (F. D.) Moral and Metaphysical philosophy 
 from 5th to 14th century. New ed. 
 METAPHYSICS : 
 Ferrier (J. F.) Institutes of metaphysic. 
 Herbart CJ. F.) Schriften zur Metaphysik. 
 Weisse (C. H.) Grundziige der Metaphysik. 
 
 MORAL PHILOSOPHY : 
 Calderwood (H.) Handbook of moral philosophy. 
 Fleming (W.) Student's manual of moral philosophy. 
 
 MORELL (J. D.), A.M. 
 
 On the philosophical tendencies of the age ; be- 
 ing four lectures delivered at Edinburgh and 
 Glasgow, in January 1848. London, 1848. 8° 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY: 
 
 Flint (R.) Philosophy of history in Europe. 
 FoNTANA (B.) Filosofia della storia nei pensatori italiani. 
 
 POSITIVISM : 
 
 Bligni8;rhs (C. de) Exposition de la philosophie et de la 
 religion positives. 
 
 LiTTRE (E.) Paroles de philosophic positive. 
 PSYCHOLOGY : 
 
 Fortlage (K.) System der Psychologie. 
 
 Herbart (J. F.) Schriften zur Psychologie. 
 
 Spencer (H.) Principles of psychology. 
 
 RENAN (Ernest). 
 Dialogues et fi-agments philosophiques. 
 
 Paris, 1876. 8° 
 
 Dialogues : Certitudes. Probabilitfe. R^ves. 
 
 Fragments ; Les sciences de la nature et les sciences 
 
 historiques. La science ideale et la science 
 
 positive. Lettre k M. Adolphe Gueroult. La 
 
 m&taphysique et son avenir. 
 
 RITTER (Dr Heinrich). 
 
 Ueber die Principien der Aesthetik. 
 
 Kiel, 1840. 8° 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 i8s 
 
 ROSENKRANZ (DrKarl). 
 Hegel als deutscher Nationalphilosoph. 
 
 Leipzig, 1870. 8° 
 SCHOPENHAUER (Dr Arthur). 
 Die beiden Grandprobleme der Ethik, behandelt 
 in zwei akademischen Preisschriften. 
 
 Frankfurt am Main, 1841. 8° 
 SCOTTISH PHILOSOPHY : 
 M'CosH (J.) Scottish philosophy from Hutcheson to 
 Hamilton. 
 
 SPENCER (Herbert). 
 
 The principles of psychology. London, 1855. 8° 
 TAPPAN (Henry P.). 
 The doctrine of the will, applied to moral agency 
 and responsibility. New York, 1841. 12° 
 THOMSON (William), M.A. 
 
 An outhne of the necessary laws of thought ; a 
 treatise on pure and applied logic. Second 
 edition much enlarged. London, 1849. 12" 
 
 THOUGHT : 
 Thomson ( W.) Outline of the laws of thought, snd ed. 
 
 UPHAM (Thomas C). 
 
 A philosophical and practical treatise on the will. 
 Forming the third volume of a system of 
 mental philosophy. New York, 1848. 12° 
 
 VERA (Augusts). 
 
 Introduction k la philosophie de Hegel. 
 
 Paris, 1855. 8'' 
 
 WEISSE (Christian Hermann). 
 
 Grundziige der Metaphysik. Hamburg, 1835. 8° 
 
 WILL: 
 Tappan (H. p.) Doctrine of the will. 
 Upham (T. C.) Treatise on the will. 
 
 ZELLER (Dr Eduard). See BAUR (Dr Fer- 
 dinand Christian). 
 
 II. 
 
 SPECIMENS OF THE FOUR-COLUMN- SHEET-CATALOGUES USED IN 
 
 THE GLASGOW UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, 
 
 ON THE PLAN SUGGESTED BY THE REV. PROFESSOR DICKSON, 
 
 CURATOR OF THE LIBRARY. 
 
 The titles, being printed on one side only, are cut up, arranged in any manner that may be 
 convenient, and pasted down in volumes. 
 
 (See On the Catalogues of Glasgow University Library, by Robert B. Spears, pp. 84-5. ) 
 
 I.- 
 
 1876-7. 
 
 -Titles of Books in the order of Accession. 
 ( 1327 ) 
 
 JEBB (RICHARD claverhouse), M.A., 
 
 prof, of greek. 
 
 990.— 1877 The Attic orators from Antiphon to 
 
 Isaeos. A rejoinder to Prof. Ma- 
 
 haffy's ' Reply.' 8° Lond. 1877. 
 
 HANNA (WILLIAM), D.D. See Ers- 
 kine (Thomas), of Linlathen. 
 
 JELF (WILLIAM EDWARD), B.D. 
 991.— 1877 A commentary on the First Epistle 
 of St. John. 8° Lond. 1877. 
 
 JOHN, first EPISTLE OF. See Jelf 
 (William Edward), B.D. 
 
 MAXWELL (JAMES clerk), M.A., 
 LL.D. 
 993-— 1877 Matter and motion ... 12° Lond. 1876. 
 
 DAWSON (CHARLES CARROLL). 
 *ioii.— 1877 Saratoga : its mineral, waters, and 
 their use in preventing and eradicat- 
 ing disease, and as a refreshing 
 beverage. [Revised .... With 10 
 plates. 'X 12° New York, 1874. 
 
 1485.-1874 SUPERNATURAL religion : an 
 '"'•t.— 1877 inquiry into the reality of divine reve- 
 lation. 3 vols. [Vols. I., II. Second 
 edition.] 8° Lond. 1874-7. 
 
 WIGAND (albert), M.D.,prof. bot. 
 C— 1877 Der Darwinismus und die Naturfor- 
 schung Newtons und Cuviers. — Beit- 
 rage zur Methodik der Naturforschung 
 und zur .Speciesfrage. 3 Bande in I. 
 8° Braunschw. 1874-7. 
 
 ' It will be observed that in both specimens a certain portion only is given of the top of each oblong 
 folio sheet, and the four colunms are divided into two, for convenient printing. The specimens do not 
 exhibit the precise size of the titles, the originals being about twice as broad as those given above. 
 
 BB 
 
lao 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I046.' 
 
 1876-7 i> ( 1328 ) 
 
 CHARPENTIER (jacques), M.D. 
 
 1028.— 1877 Ad Expositionem disputationis de 
 
 methodo contra Thessalvm Ossatum, 
 
 Academiae Parisiensis Methodicum, 
 
 responsio. ... 4° Paris. 1564. 
 
 CHARPENTIER (jacques), M.D. 
 1028.— 1877 Descriptionis logicae, liber primus : 
 qui artis topicse et analyticse communia 
 elementacontinet. Ex Porph. quinque 
 vocibus, Arist. categoriis et libro de 
 interpretatione coUectus. 
 
 4° Paris, 1560. 
 
 DIETLEIN (w. o.) 
 1029.-1877 Das Urchristenthum. Eine Beleuclit- 
 ung der von der Schule des Dr. v. 
 Baur. . . iiber das apostolischeZeitalter 
 aufgestellten Vermuthungen. 
 
 12° Halle, 1845. 
 
 1050. 
 
 PRESSEL (wilhelm). 
 -1877 Priscilla an Sabina. — Briefe einer 
 Romerin an ihre Freundin aus dem 
 Jahre 29 n. Chr. Geb. 
 
 8° Hamb. 1874. 
 
 PROTESTANTISCHE vortrage. 
 -1877 Mit Beitragen von Prof. D. Baumgar- 
 ten, Pred. D. Lisco, Pred. W. Miiller 
 .... Bande I.-III. in r. 
 
 8° Berl. 1870-2. 
 
 ROSSI (giambattista). 
 -1877 Introdvctio in universam logicam et 
 rhetoricae compendivm. 
 
 4°Venet. 1612. 
 
 ROSSI (giambattista). 
 -1877 Commentaria dilvcida in dvos libros 
 Aristotelis, de generatione, et corrup- 
 tione .... 4° Venet. 1612. 
 
 II. — Titles of Books already Shelved, with the Shelf Marks. 
 (Catalogue of the Euing Collection. ) 
 
 Euing Coll. ( 123 
 
 CHRYSOSTOMUS (Johannes). 
 
 De prouidentia Dei, ac fato, orationes B D i— i. i 
 sex : Joanne Checo Cantabrigiensi 
 interprete. [Cuing.] laoLond. 1545. 
 
 CHEKE (SIR JOHN). See Chrysos- 
 TOM0S (Joannes.) 
 
 RUDIMENTA grammatices, in gi-a- b D i— i. 2 
 tiam juventutis Scoticae conscripta. 
 Editio prioribus longe emendatlor, et 
 .... auctior. \_Accedunt'&.\xi^vai^'D.\s. 
 pietatis . . . .] [Cuing.] 
 
 12° Edin. 1685. 
 
 GADBURY (JOHN). 
 
 'E0^/if pie ; or a diary, astronomical, in B D i— i. 3 
 astrological, meteorological, for the 
 year of our Lord, i68i [1682, and 
 1695] • • • • \.Title varies.] [ffiuing.] 
 12° Lond. 1681-95. 
 
 TANNER (JOHN). 
 
 Angelus Britannicus : an ephemeris for in B D i— i. 3 
 the year of our redemption 1681 [1682, 
 1683, 1686, 1687, 1688, 1689, 1690, 
 1 691]. . . . Amplified with astrologi- 
 cal observations . . . . [ Title varies.'] 
 [(Suing.] 12° Lond. 1681-91. 
 
 ) 
 
 T. (t.) [Thomas Timme]. 
 
 A silver watch-bell. The sound where- B D i— i. 12 
 of is able (by the grace of God) to win 
 the most profane worldling, and care- 
 lesse liuer, if there be but the least 
 sparke of grace remaining in him, to 
 
 become a trew Christian Where- 
 
 vnto is added, a treatise of the holy 
 sacrament of the Lords Supper. The 
 third time imprinted and enlarged. 
 [Cuing.] 12° Lond. 1606. 
 
 FITZHERBERT (sir anthony). 
 
 Theboke of husbandry. \^Large paper.] b D i— i. 13 
 [Cuing.] 12° Lond. [1534?] 
 
 SMITH (JOHN). 
 
 The history of Joseph : or, a divine B D i— i. 14 
 poem upon Joseph and his brethren .... 
 To which is added a few other poems: 
 the like never before. [Cuing.] 
 
 12° Lond. 1677. 
 
 COLLENUCCI (pandolfo). 
 Comedia de Jacob : e de Josep . . . . B D i- 
 in terza rima istoriata. [Black letter.] 
 [Cuing.] 12° Venet. 1525. 
 
 •I.1S 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 187 
 
 Euing Coll. 
 
 FENNER (DUDLEY), MINISTER. 
 
 Certain godly and learned treatises.... B D i— i. 27 
 for tlie behoofe and edification of al 
 those that desire to grow and increase 
 in true godlines. . . . [(JEutttg.] 
 
 12° Edin. 1592. 
 
 TREATISE SHEWING the possibilitie, BD i-i. 28 
 and conueniencie of the reall presence 
 of our Sauior in the blessed Sacrament 
 (a) : the former is declared by simili- 
 tudes and examples : the latter by the 
 causes of the same. [iJEuing.] 
 
 12° Antwerp, 1596. 
 
 M^- (JO \yohn Monipennie]. 
 The abridgement or svmmarie of the B D i— i. 29 
 Scots chronicles, with a short descrip- 
 tion of their originall, from the com- 
 ming of Gathelus, with a true chrono- 
 logie of all their kings. . . . With a 
 true description and division of the 
 whole realme of Scotland .... and of 
 the commodities in everie part there- 
 of .. . Latelie corrected and augment- 
 ed. [Byl.U.'\ [euina;.] 
 
 12° Edin. 1633. 
 
 BROWNE (SIR THOMAS). 
 
 Religio medici. [ With frontispiece.'] ■^■q-q^_i 
 [Cuing.] 12° [Lond.] 1642. 
 
 124 ) 
 
 NATURA BREVIUM newly coiTected B D i-i. 42 
 in Englyshe, with dyuers addicions of 
 statutes boke, cases, plees, in abate- 
 mentes of the sayde wryttes, and their 
 declaracyons, and barres to tlie same 
 added and put in theyr places moste 
 conueniente. {Black letter.] [Cttinff.] 
 12° Lond. n. d. 
 
 JEWEL (WILLIAM), M.A. 
 
 The golden cabinet of true treasure : B D i— i. 43 
 containing the summe of morall philo- 
 sophic. Translated out of French and 
 
 enlarged, by W. Jewel [ffilttntf.] 
 
 12° Lond. 1612. 
 
 YOUTHS PSALTER (the). Containing B D i— !. 44 
 easie and delightfuU directions to all 
 learners .... for their better reading 
 of the English tongue. With prayers 
 for every day of the week .... and 
 other observable varieties, fit either 
 for the school, or for the closet. . . . 
 [Black letter.] [Cuing.] 
 
 12° Lond. 1696. 
 
 FISHER (JOHN), BISHOP OF ROCHES- 
 TER. 
 
 SacrisacerdotiidefensiocontraLuther- B D i- 
 um .... iam primum ab archetypo 
 euulgata. Cum tabula et repertorio 
 tractatorum. [Black letter.] [Cuing.] 
 12° Colon. 1525. 
 
 ■1.45 
 
 III. 
 
 FORM OF CATALOGUE CARD PROPOSED BY MR. WALFORD FOR PREPARING 
 THE TITLES OF A GENERAL CATALOGUE OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. 
 
 {See Ms Paper, pp. IOI-3-) 
 
 I. Date of Work. 
 
 3. Name and 
 Titles of ■ 
 Author. J 
 
 5. Place of Publication. 
 
 6. Name of Publisher. 
 
 2. Which Edition. 
 
 4. Full title ) 
 of Work. J 
 
 [No. of Contributing Library. ] 
 
 7. Name of Printer. 
 
 8. Size of Work. 
 
 
 g. No. of Pages. 
 
 10. No. of Plates, Charts, &c. 
 
 [Any special remarks about the work to be made on back of this slip.] 
 
i8S 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 IV. 
 
 LIST OF SUBJECTS OF WORKS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM LIBRARY, ACCORDING 
 TO THE ARRANGEMENT OF BOOKS UPON THE SHELVES. 
 
 BY RICHARD GARNETT, SDPERINTENDENT OF THE READING-ROOM, BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 (See On the System of Classifying Books on the Shelves followed at the British Museum, by Richard Garnett, 
 
 pp. 108-14.) 
 
 I. — Theology. 
 
 1 Polyglot Bibles. 
 
 2 Hebrew Bibles. 
 
 3 Greek Bibles. 
 
 4 Latin Bibles. 
 
 5 French, Italian, Spanish, &c. Bibles. 
 
 6 German Bibles. 
 
 7 Dutch and Scandinavian Bibles. 
 
 8 English Bibles. 
 
 9 Bibles in Celtic Languages. 
 
 10 Slavonic Bibles. 
 
 1 1 Bibles in Oriental Languages. 
 
 12 American, Polynesian, &c. Bibles. 
 
 13 Concordances. 
 
 14 Commentaries on the entire Bible. 
 
 15 the Pentateuch. 
 
 16 other Historical Books. 
 
 17 the Psalms. 
 
 18 Prophets and Hagiographa. 
 
 19 unfulfilled Prophecy. 
 
 20 Nevvf Testament in general. 
 
 21 the Gospels and Acts. 
 
 22 the Epistles. 
 
 23 Liturgies of the Church of Rome and Eastern 
 
 Churches. 
 
 24 Service-Books of the Diocese of Sarum. 
 
 25 English Liturgies. 
 
 26 Metrical Versions of the Psalms. 
 
 27 Hymns. 
 
 28 Private and Family Prayers. 
 
 29 Works on the Liturgy, Mass, &c. 
 
 30 Creeds and Catechisms. 
 
 31 Systems of Theology. 
 
 32 Theological Libraries. 
 
 33 Works of the Fathers, 
 
 34 Greek Fathers. 
 
 35 Latin Fathers. 
 
 36 Works of Foreign Divines (Southern Europe). 
 
 37 Foreign Divines (Northern Europe). 
 
 38 Works of Swedenborg and Boehme. 
 
 39 English Divines. 
 
 40 American Divines. 
 
 41 Medieval Theologians. 
 
 42 Religious Controversy in Catholic Countries. 
 
 43 Germany. 
 
 44 Holland and Scandinavia. 
 
 45 Russia, &c. 
 
 46 
 47 
 48 
 49 
 SO 
 SI 
 S2 
 S3 
 54 
 55 
 56 
 57 
 58 
 59 
 60 
 6i 
 62 
 
 63 
 
 64 
 
 65 
 66 
 67 
 68 
 69 
 70 
 
 71 
 72 
 
 73 
 74 
 75 
 76 
 
 77 
 78 
 79 
 80 
 81 
 82 
 
 83 
 84 
 
 85 
 86 
 
 87 
 
 90 
 
 Roman Catholic Controversy in England. 
 
 Scotland and Ireland. 
 
 Natural Theology. 
 Christian Evidences. 
 Works on the Jews. 
 
 Catholic Writers on Papal Supremacy, &c. 
 
 Confession, &c. 
 
 Priesthood and Monastic Orders. 
 
 Works on the Jesuits. 
 
 Tracts, &c. on Church of England. 
 
 Nonconformity in general. 
 
 Quakerism. 
 
 Church of Ireland. 
 
 Church of Scotland. 
 
 American Churches. 
 
 Missions. 
 
 Domestic Missions. 
 
 Works on the Trinity and Person of Christ. 
 
 Atonement and Justification. 
 
 Election and Grace. 
 
 Sacraments in general. 
 
 Baptism. 
 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 Sabbath. 
 
 Universalism and Miscellaneous Theological 
 
 Subjects. 
 Christian Practice and Edification. 
 Religious Fiction. 
 Religious Tracts. 
 Foreign Sermons. 
 Charges and Visitation Sermons. 
 Collected English Sermons. 
 Separate English Sermons. 
 Collected American Sermons. 
 Separate American Sermons. 
 Homiletics and Pastoral Duties. 
 Mythology. 
 
 Scriptures of non-Christian Religions. 
 Jewish History. 
 
 Christian Churches and Denominations. 
 History of the Early Church. 
 
 Medifeval Church. 
 
 Ecclesiastical History of Italy. 
 
 Spain and Portugal. 
 
 France. 
 
 History of the Reformation in general. 
 

 APPENDIX. i8g 
 
 91 
 
 Ecclesiastical History of Germany and Swit- 
 
 104 
 
 History of Freemasonry. 
 
 
 zerland. 
 
 IDS 
 
 General Religious Biography. 
 
 92 
 
 Netherlands. 
 
 106 
 
 Scripture Biography. 
 
 93 
 
 Scandinavia. 
 
 107 
 
 Lives of Saints. 
 
 94 
 
 Slavonic Countries. 
 
 108 
 
 Popes. 
 
 95 
 
 England (Established Church). 
 
 109 
 
 Cardinals. 
 
 96 
 
 (Nonconformity). 
 
 no 
 
 Religious Biography. Southern Europe. 
 
 97 
 
 Scotland. 
 
 m 
 
 Northern Europe. 
 
 98 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 H2 
 
 England. 
 
 99 
 
 America. 
 
 "3 
 
 Scotland. 
 
 100 
 
 Historyof American andPolynesian Missions. 
 
 114 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 lOI 
 
 Asiatic and African Missions. 
 
 "5 
 
 America. 
 
 102 
 
 Roman Catholic Missions to Asia and 
 
 116 
 
 Juvenile Religious Biography. 
 
 
 Africa. 
 
 117 
 
 Theological Bibliography. 
 
 103 
 
 Religious Fraternities. 
 
 
 
 
 II.— Jurisprudence. 
 
 I 
 
 Papal Bull'!. 
 
 30 
 
 General Questions of Jurisprudence. 
 
 2 
 
 History and Acts of Councils. 
 
 31 
 
 Punishment of Crime. 
 
 3 
 
 Canon Law. 
 
 32 
 
 Prison Discipline, &c. 
 
 4 
 
 English Ecclesiastical Law. 
 
 33 
 
 Forensic Medicine. 
 
 5 
 
 Scotch and Irish Ecclesiastical Law. 
 
 34 
 
 Reports of English Law Cases. 
 
 6 
 
 Law of Marriage. 
 
 35 
 
 Commentaries on English Law. 
 
 7 
 
 Roman Law. 
 
 36 
 
 Commentaries on Equity. 
 
 8 
 
 Mediaeval Jurists. 
 
 37 
 
 Common Law Procedure. 
 
 9 
 
 Indian and Mohammedan Law. 
 
 38 
 
 Law of Real Property. 
 
 JO 
 
 Laws of the Italian Kingdom. 
 
 39 
 
 —. — : -Personal Relations. 
 
 11 
 
 Northern Italy. 
 
 40 
 
 ^ Legacies. 
 
 12 
 
 Tuscany. 
 
 41 
 
 -. Companies, -Partnership, Patetits, &c. 
 
 '3 
 
 Papal States. 
 
 ,« 42-'' Bankruptcy, County Courts, &c. 
 
 14 
 
 Naples and Sicily. 
 
 43 
 
 Municipal and Sanitary Law. 
 
 IS 
 
 Spain and Portugal. 
 
 44 
 
 Criminal Law. 
 
 i6 
 
 France. 
 
 45 
 
 Trials. 
 
 17 
 
 Early German Law. 
 
 46 
 
 Law of Ireland. 
 
 i8 
 
 Laws of Austria. 
 
 47 
 
 Scotland. 
 
 19 
 
 Switzerland. 
 
 48 
 
 British Colonies. 
 
 20 
 
 Southern Germany. 
 
 49 
 
 United States Statutes. 
 
 21 
 
 Northern Germany. 
 
 5° 
 
 Reports. 
 
 22 
 
 Prussia. 
 
 SI 
 
 General Law. 
 
 23 
 
 Modem German Empire. 
 
 52 
 
 Laws of separate States (in alph. order). 
 
 24 
 
 Holland. 
 
 53 
 
 Laws of South America. 
 
 25 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 54 
 
 Maritime Law. 
 
 26 
 
 Scandinavia. 
 
 55 
 
 Military Law. 
 
 27 
 
 Russia. 
 
 56 
 
 Treaties and Conventions. 
 
 28 
 
 Poland. 
 
 57 
 
 International Law. 
 
 29 
 
 Elements of Jurisprudence. 
 
 
 
 
 III.— Natural History and Medicine. 
 
 I 
 
 Natural History in general. 
 
 10 
 
 Ornithology. 
 
 2 
 
 Botany. 
 
 II 
 
 Herpetology. 
 
 3 
 4 
 
 Horticulture. 
 
 12 
 
 Ichthyology. 
 
 Agriculture. 
 
 13 
 
 Domestic Animals (with Veterinary Surgery) 
 
 5 
 
 Mineralogy. 
 
 14 
 
 Entomology. 
 
 6 
 
 Geology. 
 
 IS 
 
 Conchology, &c. 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 Palseontology. 
 Zoology in general. 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 Dictionaries of Medicine. 
 Medical Principles and Practice. 
 
 9 
 
 Mammalia. 
 
 18 
 
 Medical Theses. 
 
rgo 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 19 Domestic Medicine, Dietetics, &c. 
 
 20 Physiology. 
 
 21 Phrenology, Animal Magnetism, &c. 
 
 22 Anatomy. 
 
 23 Pathology. 
 
 24 Therapeutics. 
 
 25 Mineral Waters. 
 
 26 Surgery. 
 
 27 Materia Medica. 
 
 28 Epidemics. 
 
 29 Diseases of Women and Children. 
 
 30 Diseases of Special Parts of the Body. 
 
 31 Mental Disorders. 
 
 32 History of Medicine. 
 
 33 Tracts on Medical Subjects. 
 
 34 Climates, Endemic Diseases. 
 
 35 Hospitals. 
 
 36 Bills of Mortality. 
 
 I 
 
 Archeology. 
 
 a 
 
 Prehistoric and Medieval Archaeology. 
 
 3 
 
 Costumes. 
 
 4 
 
 Numismatics. 
 
 5 
 
 Fine Art in General. 
 
 6 
 
 Architecture. 
 
 7 
 
 Domestic Architecture. 
 
 8 
 
 Painting and Engraving. 
 
 9 
 
 Sculpture. 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 Political Science. 
 
 2 
 
 Politics of India and the East. 
 
 3 
 
 Europe in general. 
 
 4 
 
 Turkey and Greece. 
 
 S 
 
 Italy. 
 
 6 
 
 ■ Spain and Portugal. 
 
 7 
 
 Politics of France before Revolution. 
 
 8 
 
 ■ ■ after Revolution. 
 
 9 
 
 Germany. 
 
 10 
 
 Austria and Hungary. 
 
 II 
 
 Scandinavia. 
 
 12 
 
 Slavonic Nations. 
 
 13 
 
 Politics of England before 1715. 
 
 14 
 
 1715-1789- 
 
 IS 
 
 1789-1821. 
 
 16 
 
 Recent English Politics. 
 
 17 
 
 Politics of Scotland. 
 
 18 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 19 
 
 English Colonies. 
 
 20 
 
 Colonies of Eoreign Nations. 
 
 21 
 
 Slavery. 
 
 22 
 
 Politics of United States. 
 
 23 
 
 Spanish America. 
 
 24 
 
 Political Economy. 
 
 25 
 
 Finance. 
 
 26 
 
 Railway Administration. 
 
 27 
 
 Commerce. 
 
 28 
 
 Industrial Questions. 
 
 29 
 
 Public Charities. 
 
 30 
 
 Education. 
 
 31 
 
 Continental Schools, Universities, &c. 
 
 I 
 
 Chronology. 
 
 2 
 
 Universal History. 
 
 3 
 
 History of Asia. 
 
 IV. — Archaeology and Arts. 
 
 10 Music. 
 
 11 Field Sports. 
 
 12 Games of Chance. 
 
 13 Games of SkiU. 
 
 14 Useful Arts. 
 
 15 Domestic Economy. 
 
 16 Industrial Exhibitions. 
 
 17 Publications of South Kensington Museum. 
 
 V. — Philosophy. 
 
 32 British Schools, Universities, &c. 
 
 33 American Schools, Universities, &c. 
 
 34 Moral Philosophy. 
 
 35 Marriage and Condition of Woman. 
 
 36 Peace, Duelling, Cruelty to Animals, &c. 
 
 37 Temperance. 
 
 38 Ancient Metaphysical Philosophy. 
 
 39 Modern Metaphysical Philosophy. 
 
 40 Logic. 
 
 41 History of Philosophy. 
 
 42 Arithmetic. 
 
 43 Mathematics. 
 
 44 Geometry. 
 
 45 Trigonometry. 
 
 46 Logarithms. 
 
 47 Astronomy. 
 
 48 Astrology. 
 
 49 Occult Sciences. 
 
 50 Spiritualism. 
 
 5 1 Physics. 
 
 52 Optics. 
 
 53 Meteorology. 
 
 54 Electricity. 
 
 55 Mechanics and Dynamics. 
 
 56 Hydrostatics and Hydraulics. 
 
 57 Nautical Sciences. 
 
 58 Arms and Military Engines. 
 
 59 Military Art. 
 
 60 Chemistry. 
 
 61 Spectral Analysis. 
 
 62 Photography. 
 
 VI. — History. 
 
 4 History of Asia, British India in particular. 
 
 5 Africa. 
 
 6 Europe in general. 
 
7 History of Europe in the i8th century, 
 
 8 in the 19th century. 
 
 9 Byzantine and Ottoman History, &c 
 
 10 History of Italy. 
 
 11 Spain. 
 
 12 Portugal. 
 
 13 France in general. 
 
 14 to Revolution. 
 
 15 1789-1847. 
 
 16 Recent. 
 
 17 Switzerland. 
 
 18 Austria. 
 
 19 German Empire. 
 
 20 Southern Germany. 
 
 21 Northern Germany. 
 
 22 Prussia. 
 
 23 Holland. 
 
 24 Belgium. 
 
 25 Denmark. 
 
 26 Norway. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ry. 27 
 
 Histoiy of Sweden. 
 
 28 
 
 Russia. 
 
 29 
 
 Poland. 
 
 30 
 
 English History in general. 
 
 31 
 
 Publications of Master of the Rolls. 
 
 32 
 
 Early English History. 
 
 33 
 
 under the Tudors and Stuarts. 
 
 34 
 
 House of Brunswick. 
 
 35 
 
 Parliamentary Debates. 
 
 36 
 
 History of America in general. 
 
 37 
 
 Canada and West Indies. 
 
 38 
 
 United States. 
 
 39 
 
 Separate States. 
 
 40 
 
 Congress. 
 
 41 
 
 Mexico and Central America. 
 
 42 
 
 South America. 
 
 43 
 
 Australia. 
 
 44 
 
 Heraldry. 
 
 4S 
 
 Genealogy. 
 
 46 
 
 Pageants, Processions, &c. 
 
 191 
 
 VII. — Geography. 
 
 I 
 
 Cosmography. 
 
 
 21 
 
 Travels in Northern Germany. 
 
 2 
 
 Ethnology. 
 
 
 22 
 
 Prussia. 
 
 3 
 
 Circumnavigations. 
 
 
 23 
 
 Holland. 
 
 4 
 
 Voyages in two or more parts of the World. 
 
 24 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 5 
 
 Travels in (including Topography 
 
 of) Eastern 
 
 25 
 
 Scandinavia. 
 
 
 Asia. 
 
 
 26 
 
 Russia, &c. 
 
 6 
 
 Western Asia. 
 
 
 27 
 
 England in general. 
 
 7 
 
 Africa. 
 
 
 28 
 
 London. 
 
 8 
 
 Europe. 
 
 
 29 
 
 Northern England. 
 
 9 
 
 Turkey and Greece. 
 
 
 30 
 
 Southern and Western England. 
 
 10 
 
 Italy in general. 
 
 
 31 
 
 Wales. 
 
 II 
 
 ■ Northern Italy. 
 
 
 32 
 
 Scotland. 
 
 12 
 
 Central Italy. 
 
 
 33 
 
 ■ Ireland. 
 
 13 
 
 Southern Italy and Islands. 
 
 
 34 
 
 ■ ■ America in general. 
 
 14 
 
 Spain and Portugal. 
 
 
 35 
 
 United States. 
 
 IS 
 
 France. 
 
 
 36 
 
 Arctic Regions, 
 
 16 
 
 Switzerland. 
 
 
 37 
 
 British America and West Indies. 
 
 17 
 
 Austria. 
 
 
 38 
 
 South America. 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 Australasia and Polynesia. 
 
 19 
 
 Germany in general. 
 
 
 40 
 
 Hydrography. 
 
 20 
 
 Southern Germany. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 VIII.— Biography. 
 
 1 Biographical Collections. 
 
 2 Classical and Oriental Biography, 
 
 3 Oriental Biography. 
 
 4 Italian Biography. 
 
 5 Spanish and Portuguese Biography. 
 
 6 Lives of French Sovereigns. 
 
 7 French Biography. 
 
 8 French Literary Biography. 
 
 9 Lives of German Sovereigns. 
 
 10 German Biography. 
 
 1 1 Dutch Biography. 
 
 12 Scandinavian Biography. 
 
 13 Slavonic Biography. 
 
 14 Collections of British Biography. 
 
 15 Lives of British Sovereigns. 
 
 16 Statesmen and Commanders. 
 
 17 Miscellaneous British Biography. 
 
 18 Lives of British Men of Letters. 
 
 19 American Biography. 
 
 20 Latin Epistles. 
 
 21 Epistles in Languages of Southern Europe. 
 
 22 Northern Europe (including English). 
 
193 
 
 A PPENDIX. 
 
 IX.— Belles Lettres. 
 
 1 Classical Polygraphy. 
 
 2 Homer. 
 
 3 Greek Poets. 
 
 4 Latin Poets. 
 
 5 Greek Orators. 
 
 6 Latin Orators. 
 
 7 Modern Latin Poetry— Southern Europe, 
 
 8 Northern Europe. 
 
 9 Collections of Italian Poetry. 
 
 10 Early Italian Poetry. 
 
 1 1 Dante. 
 
 12 Italian Poetry, 1 6th Century. 
 
 13 17th Century. 
 
 14 1 8th Century. 
 
 15 19th Century. 
 
 16 Poetry in Italian Dialects. 
 -17 Spanish Poetry. 
 
 18 Portuguese Poetry. 
 
 19 Early French Poetry. 
 
 20 Modem French Poetry. 
 
 21 Provenfal and Patois Poetry. 
 
 22 Early German Poetry. 
 
 23 German Poetry of i8th Century. 
 
 24 19th Century. 
 
 25 Dutch Poetry. 
 
 26 Scandinavian Poetry. 
 
 27 Slavonic and Hungarian Poetry. 
 
 28 Celtic Poetry. 
 
 29 Collections of English Poetry. 
 
 30 Works of Early English Poets. 
 
 31 Works of English Poets, 17th Century, 
 
 32 1 8th Century. 
 
 33 19th Century. 
 
 34 English Songs. 
 
 35 English Ballads, Chap-Books, &c, 
 
 36 English Poems of i6th Century. 
 
 37 17th Century. 
 
 38 i8th Century. 
 
 39 19th Century, to 1830. 
 
 40 from 1830 to 1850. 
 
 41 since 1850. 
 
 42 American Poetry. 
 
 43 Greek Drama. 
 
 44 Latin Drama. 
 
 45 Modern Latin Drama. 
 
 46 Italian Drama. 
 
 47 Spanish Drama. 
 
 48 French Drama. 
 
 49 German Drama. 
 
 50 Dutch and Scandinavian Drama. 
 
 51 Russian Drama. 
 
 1 Philology in general. 
 
 2 Semitic Languages. 
 
 3 Other Asiatic and African Languages. 
 
 52 
 
 Shakspere. 
 
 53 
 
 English Drama, Collections. 
 
 54 
 
 Separate Plays, i6th Century. 
 
 55 
 
 17th Century. 
 
 56 
 
 1 8th Century. 
 
 57 
 
 19th Century. 
 
 pe. 58 
 
 American Drama. 
 
 59 
 
 Rhetoric. 
 
 60 
 
 Literary Criticisms and .(Esthetics., 
 
 61 
 
 Literary History. 
 
 62 
 
 Typography. 
 
 63 
 
 Bibliography. 
 
 64 
 
 Catalogues. 
 
 65 
 
 Compendiums of General Knowledge. 
 
 66 
 
 Miscellaneous, Libraries. 
 
 67 
 
 Encyclopeedias. 
 
 68 
 
 Collected Works of Modem Latin Authors. 
 
 69 
 
 Italian Authors. 
 
 70 
 
 Spanish and Portuguese Authors. 
 
 71 
 
 French Authors. 
 
 72 
 
 German Authors. 
 
 73 
 
 Dutch and Scandinavian Authors. 
 
 74 
 
 Slavonic and Hungarian Authors. 
 
 75 
 
 Libraries of collected English Authors. 
 
 76 
 
 Collected works of English Authors. 
 
 77 
 
 American Authors. 
 
 78 
 
 Speeches in Parliament and Congress. 
 
 79 
 
 Fables. 
 
 80 
 
 Proverbs. 
 
 81 
 
 Apophthegms and Anecdotes. 
 
 r. 82 
 
 Satirical and Facetious Works. 
 
 83 
 
 Essays and Sketches. 
 
 84 
 
 Collections of Novels and Tales. 
 
 85 
 
 Folk Lore, Fahy Tales, &c. 
 
 86 
 
 Early Romances- 
 
 87 
 
 Italian Novels. 
 
 88 
 
 Spanish and Portuguese Novels. 
 
 89 
 
 French Novels. 
 
 90 
 
 German Novels. 
 
 91 
 
 Dutch and Scandinavian Novels. 
 
 92 
 
 Slavonic and Hungarian Novels. 
 
 93 
 
 Collected English Novels. 
 
 94 
 
 Waverley Novels. 
 
 95 
 
 Translations of English Novels. 
 
 96 
 
 Early English Novels. 
 
 97 
 
 Republications. 
 
 98 
 
 Enghsh Novels in general. 
 
 99 
 
 Minor Fiction. 
 
 100 
 
 American Novels. 
 
 lOI 
 
 Tales for Children. 
 
 X. — Philology. 
 
 4 
 
 American and Polynesian Languages. 
 
 5 
 
 Chinese and Japanese Languages. 
 
 6 1 
 
 Greek. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 193 
 
 7 Latin. 
 
 8 Italian. 
 
 9 Spanish and Portuguese. 
 
 10 French. • 
 
 11 German. 
 
 12 Dutch and Scandinavian. 
 
 13 Slavonic. 
 
 14 Celtic. 
 
 15 English. 
 
 16 Phonography. 
 
 17 Books for the Blind. 
 
 
 Total No. 
 
 OF Divisions. 
 
 
 Class I. (Theology) . . . , n7 
 „ II. Jurisprudence) ... 57 
 „ III. (Natural History and Medicine) 36 
 „ IV. (Archaeology and Arts) . 17 
 „ V. (PhUosophy) ... 62 
 
 Class VII. (Geography) 
 „ VIII. (Biography) 
 
 IX. (Belles Lettres) . 
 X. (Philology) . . . 
 
 40 
 
 22 
 
 101 
 
 17 
 
 „ VI. (History) .... 46 
 
 51S 
 
 V. 
 
 NOTES ON BOOKBINDING. 
 
 contributed by MR. BIRDSALL, OF NORTHAMPTON. 
 (Referred to in Mr. Wal/ord's paper On Binding, pp. 1 1 6-8.) 
 
 (l.) Colour. Publishers' agreement hopeless: 
 something new is often the chief thing desired. 
 Sameness as perplexing as irregularity : one 
 good plan when you begin de novo is to adhere 
 to one colour and style for a genus of books, 
 and give to each species a diUerent-coloured 
 lettering-piece. By doing this, and using more 
 than one lettering-piece, you get a wide range. 
 
 (2.) Cheap Binding. Cloth is not cheap for 
 books with any wear ; your common Roxburgh 
 should cost but a trifle more, and will wear far 
 better. 
 
 (3.) Cockroaches or Blackbeetles feed on any 
 glutinous substance, as size in cloth, paste and 
 glue in the binding. Their affection for your 
 letterings probably arises from the glaire (white of 
 egg) used to make the gold adhere., I had your 
 cloth books varnished, to see how far that would 
 preserve them. I know no cure but traps and 
 poison. They are, I fear, the British represen- 
 tatives of the white ants of India, which will eat 
 a book clean up. Red wafers (which are coloured 
 with vermilion) are eaten by cockroaches, and will 
 poison them ; at least they are used for the pur- 
 pose. Moistened with white of egg and stuck on 
 paper, they would, I should think, prove a tempt- 
 ing morsel for them. 
 
 (4. ) Gas and Mice. Vellum will resist the for- 
 mer, but mice will take to it very kindly, even 
 when leather bindings are untouched. 
 
 (5. ) Letterings. The poor binder's Mte noire. 
 What is the short title of hundreds of German 
 philological and antiquarian books? A single 
 word will sometimes occupy half the back of a 
 thin book. It is a great boon when owners will 
 indicate the lettering they wish. I have known able 
 men quarrel with letterings they had themselves 
 written out in full, but had forgotten. 
 
 (6. ) Pamphlets. Nothing better than your sug- 
 gestion : — 1st, Classification; 2ndly, Chronological 
 Order. It is a good plan to keep a few pamphlet- 
 boxes into which different classes go till sufficient 
 to make a volume. 
 
 (7. ) Cutting down is an inherent vice with many 
 workmen, and much due to indolence ; it is far 
 easier to cut a good piece off the solid body of a 
 book than to trim the edges. Why did not you 
 suggest that shavings are saleable ? The remedy 
 is to employ careful workmen— /.^. when you can 
 get them — and to make it a species of high treason 
 to reduce the margins. It is really, after all, a mat- 
 ter of cost. We have skilful men who would as 
 little think of cutting books down as of cutting 
 wages down ; but they take high wages, and their 
 labour is too expensive for the general run of com- 
 mon work. Much best library work is now done 
 with the tops only cut and marbled or gilt ; the 
 fore-edge has the widest and most ragged leaves 
 trimmed, and the bolts all cut up by hand, one 
 by one, with a keen knife. 
 
 C C 
 
194 
 
 APFEJS/DIX. 
 
 VI. 
 
 REGULATIONS FOB THE CONDUCT OF VISITORS TO THE MELBOURNE 
 
 PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
 (See On Binding, by Sir Redmond Barry, V. P., pp. II9-23-) 
 
 1. The library will be open every day, except 
 Sunday, Christmas Day, and Good Friday, from 
 ioa.m. to 10 p.m. 
 
 2. No book is to be taken out of the library. 
 
 3. Every book taken from a shelf must be re- 
 turned to the place from which it was taken. 
 
 4. Writing in or upon, marking, folding down 
 a leaf, defacing, mutilating, or otherwise injuring 
 any book, is strictly prohibited. .Any visitor so 
 doing will be excluded from the library. 
 
 5. Children under fourteen years of age are not 
 admitted. 
 
 VII. 
 
 NOTE ON THE LITERARY RESOURCES OF VICTORIA. 
 
 BY SIR REDMOND BARRY, V.P. 
 
 (Illustrating his two papers, On Binding, pp. 119-23, and On Lending Books, pp. 134-5.) 
 
 The President hiving been pleased to invite me 
 to give to the Conference some information re- 
 specting the literary resources of Victoria, I beg 
 leave to do so as briefly as possible : — 
 
 There are in Melbourne, which bid fair in good 
 time to take a leading position : — 
 
 Established 1853. 
 
 Volumes. 
 
 The Public Library of Victoria 
 
 90,000 
 
 The Library of Parliament 
 
 40,000 
 
 „ „ the University 
 
 16,000 
 
 „ ,, the Supreme Court . 
 
 13,000 
 
 Its branches 
 
 4,000 
 
 Total collected in twenty-four years 
 
 163,000 
 
 The other libraries in Melbourne are : — 
 The Library of the Royal Society ; 
 The Library of the Law Society ; 
 The Libraiy of the Medical Society ; 
 Mechanics' Institute (30,000 volumes); 
 Literary Institute. 
 
 And in the suburbs are many in flourishing cir- 
 cumstances, conducted with a liberality of manage- 
 ment unknown or at least not practised in any 
 country visited by me. The following suburbs 
 have libraries :— Brighton, CoUingwood East, Col- 
 lingwood West, Emerald Hill, Fitzroy, Fleming- 
 ton, Footscray, Hawthorn, Pralu-an, Richmond, 
 St. ICilda, Sandridge, Williamstown, Windsor. 
 
 In addition to these there are 130 others in 
 Victoria ; the number of books they possess is 
 174,103. The cost of buildings was ;^9o,28o, of 
 which the Government contributed ;if5o,388. 
 
 Private subscriptions towards buiklings, fur- 
 niture, books, &c., amounted to ^158,510. 
 
 Besides these there are several excellent com- 
 prehensive circulating libraries ; the enterprising 
 proprietors supply periodicals and works of the 
 highest class within forty-three days after they issue 
 from the press in Europe. 
 
 The value of books imported into Australia m 
 the year 1874 was declared at ;^267,ooo. 
 
 A special explanation as to the Library of the 
 Supreme Court may be allowed. Every barrister 
 admitted to practise at the Bar (not called else- 
 where) is compelled to take the degree of LL.B. 
 in the University of Melbourne. 
 
 The faculty of Law consists of a professor and 
 five lecturers. The course of study is su£G,ciently 
 comprehensive ; it occupies four years. 
 
 Every attorney is compelled to pass the matri- 
 culation-examination in the University before he 
 enters into articles, to attend lectures in the Law 
 School for two years, and at the end of his articles 
 to pass an examination held by the Board of Exa- 
 miners for Attorneys. Instead of an annual sub- 
 scription, as is required by the Inns of Court in 
 England and by other legal associations — which 
 involves expense and occasional difficulty of col- 
 lection — the legal practitioners of each branch of 
 tlie profession commute such subscription by a 
 payment for life in one sum. It is now for bar- 
 risters £f)2 los. ; for attorneys, solicitors, and 
 proctors, ;^42. 
 
 These payments yielded a large amount in the 
 first instance. It was remitted to London without 
 delay, and in a few months more than 8,000 well- 
 selected useful volumes were on the shelves. 
 Barristers and attorneys of the United Kingdom 
 contribute also. The sums received have sufficed 
 to enable the committee to procure an excellent 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I9S 
 
 working library in the Supreme Court in Melbourne, 
 and to establish branches in the Insolvent Court in 
 Melbourne, and at the following circuit towns 
 visited by the Judges : Ararat, Ballarat, Beech- 
 worth, Belfast, Castlemaine, Hamilton, Geelong, 
 Maryboro', Sale, Sandhurst, having in the aggre- 
 gate some 4,000 volumes for the use of professional 
 men resident in and practising at those towns. A 
 sum of some ;^6,ooo is invested in Government 
 debentures at £,(> per cent., ready to be laid out in 
 
 the purchase of books on the completion of the 
 new buildings now being built at an estimated 
 cost of half a million of money. When these 
 are completed and the books placed in the new 
 library — a handsome structure— the number of 
 volumes will exceed 25,000, the property of the 
 Government, acquired by the voluntary taxation 
 of the members of the legal profession by them- 
 selves — which has not cost the general public one 
 shilling. 
 
 VIII. 
 SPECIMENS OF FORMS AND ACCOUNT-BOOKS 
 
 USED IN THE CIRCULATION OF BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY OF THE ROYAL MEDICAL AND 
 CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY, LONDON. 
 
 (See Hints on Library Management, as far as relates to the Circulation of Books, 
 by B. R. Wheatley,^'g. 127-33.) 
 
 No. 1. The printed slip for the Signatures of Members, and the insertion of the Titles of the Books 
 taken out. 
 
 No. 2. Notice for the Return of Books. 
 
 No. 3. Notice to inform members that books are put aside for them. ^ 
 
 No. 4 (A). Ledger, wherein each member has a separate page of account. 
 
 No. S (b). Alphabetical Index to Ledger. 
 
 No. 6 (c No. I). Books Bespoken. 
 
 No. 7 (c No. 2). Books Bespoken ; Quarterly Notices. 
 
 No. I. 
 LIBRARY OF THE ROYAL MEDICAL AND CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 Shelf Mark. 
 
 Title of Work. 
 
 Vol. Size. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Signaturt- 
 
 {Date) 
 
196 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 S3, Berners Street, 
 
 Oxford Street, W. 
 
 18 
 
 Sir, 
 
 You are requested to Return to the Library of the Royal Medical and ChieukgicAL 
 Society, the undermentioned Books, which have been in your possession beyond the time allowed by 
 the Bye-laws.* 
 
 When had. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient Servant, 
 
 * " A Fine of Sixpence per day will be incurred for tsvery day a book is detained after 
 the third from the transmission of this notice." 
 
 Bye-Laws, Chap. XV. Sect. 4. 
 
 The Council request that immediate attention may be paid to this notice. The fines, when in- 
 curred, will be strictly enforced ; but, as the only object of their imposition is to render the working 
 order of the Library as efficient as possible, it is hoped that all the FeEows will assist in contributing 
 towards that efficiency by promptly returning books. When application is made for their return, the 
 time for keeping them may be prolonged by notifying, in writing, a wish to that effect, addressed to the 
 Librarian, unless the word "v\r anted" appear on the notice, in which case the volumes must be 
 returned forthwith. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 No. 3. 
 ROYAL MEDICAL AND CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 S3, Berners Street, 
 - the 18 
 
 I beg to inform you that the following Work — 
 
 bespoken by you, and for which your name is next in order, ha been returned to the Library, and will 
 be retained for you for a few days. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient Servant, 
 To 
 
APPEND IK. 
 
 197 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 BOOKS IN CIRCULATION. 
 (Ledger.) 
 
 1876. 
 
 Dr. Murchison. 
 
 
 
 
 Date. 
 
 Title of Work. 
 
 Shelf Mark. 
 
 By whom 
 taken. 
 
 When 
 returned. 
 
 Librarian's 
 Signature. 
 
 Nov. 6 
 „ 10 
 
 Bartholinus de Vasis Lacteis .... 
 
 Savmders on the Liver 
 
 Medical Times, vol. i, t87S 
 
 Marshall's Physiology, vol. 2 . . . . 
 Pavy on Diabetes, 2nd edition .... 
 
 24. e. 8 
 4. h. 10 
 
 6. g. 22 
 6S. f. IS 
 
 Self. 
 Self. 
 
 Dec. 13 
 Jan. IS 
 Mar. 13 
 
 Mar. S 
 
 B. R. W. 
 B. R. W. 
 B. R. W. 
 B. R. W. 
 B. R. W. 
 
 1876. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 BOOKS IN CIRCULATION. 
 
 (Alphabetical Index.) 
 
 B. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 10 
 
 jj 
 
 12 
 
 j» 
 
 IS 
 
 j> 
 
 17 
 
 a 
 
 18 
 
 Title of Work. 
 
 Edinb. Med. Journal, vol. 19 /73 . 
 Erichsen's Surgery, Sth edit. 2 vols. 
 Esquirol, Maladies Mentales, 3 vols. 
 Eble, Lehre von der Haare, 2 vols. 
 Ecker, Convolutions of Brain . . 
 
 Case. 
 
 73 
 
 2. f. 1-2 
 i8.f. 14-16 
 86 b. 12-13 
 
 21 k. 6 
 
 In whose 
 possession. 
 
 Dr. D.Powell 
 Mr. Berry 
 Dr. Williams 
 Mr. Sedgwick 
 Dr. Bastian 
 
 Ledger. 
 
 34 
 SI 
 92 
 
 17 
 
 48 
 
 1876. 
 
 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 BOOKS BESPOKEN. 
 C (No. I). 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fine. 
 
 In whose 
 possession. 
 
 When 
 had. 
 
 Written 
 for. 
 
 Re- 
 turned. 
 
 Title of Book. 
 
 Asked 
 for. 
 
 Written 
 to. 
 
 For whom. 
 
 When 
 had. 
 
 
 Dr. Ralfe 
 Dr. Miurchison 
 Mr. Croft 
 Mr. Durham 
 Dr. Radcliffe 
 
 Aug. 10 
 Oct. 16 
 Sept. 18 
 Jan. 29 
 July 6 
 
 Oct. 19 
 Oct. 19 
 Oct. 19 
 Oct. 19 
 Oct. 20 
 
 Oct. 20 
 Oct. 20 
 Oct. 21 
 Oct. 22 
 Oct. 23 
 
 Garrod on Gout, last edition 
 Watson (Sp.)on the Nose 
 Poore on Electricity in Med. 
 Copland's Dictionary, vol. i 
 Cuvier,RSgne Animale.vol. 18 
 
 Oct. 18 
 Oct. 17 
 Oct. 19 
 
 Oct. 20 
 
 Oct. 21 
 Oct. 21 
 
 Oct. 24 
 
 Dr. Tibbits 
 Mr. Haward 
 Mr. Bird 
 Dr. Legs 
 Dr. W. Ogle 
 
 Oct. 24 
 Oct. 24 
 Oct. 23 
 Oct. 2S 
 Oct. 27 
 
1 98 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 BOOKS BESPOKEN. 
 
 Quarterly Notices. 
 
 C. (No. 2). 
 
 Fine. 
 
 Written for. 
 
 Returned. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Written for 
 
 Returned. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Fine. 
 
 
 June 30 
 
 Julys 
 July 4 
 July I 
 
 July 2 
 July I 
 
 Julys 
 July 4 
 July 1 
 
 Dr. Andrew 
 Dr. Aveling 
 Mr. M. Baker 
 Dr. Barnes 
 Mr. Barwell 
 Dr. Bastian 
 Dr. Baxter 
 Dr. L. Beale 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 
 Julys 
 
 Mr. M. Beck 
 
 
 
 
 IX. 
 
 CONDITIONS UPON WHICH BOOKS ARE LENT BY THE TRUSTEES OF THE 
 MELBOURNE PUBLIC LIBRARY TO OTHER INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 (See On Lending Books, by Sir Redmond Barry, pp. 134-SO 
 
 1. Books will be lent to the trustees or com- 
 mittees of Free Libraries, Mechanics' or Literary 
 Institutions, or to the Councils of Municipalities. 
 
 2. The borrowers shall place the books lent in 
 a suitable apartment to be approved of by the 
 Trustees, and admit the Public to the use of the 
 books therein for such hours as may be appointed 
 by the local committee, but in other respects subject 
 to the rules of the Melbourne Public Library. 
 
 3. The borrowers shall insure at their expense 
 the books lent to them, in a sum equal to the value 
 thereof, and shall deliver to the Trustees the policy 
 and receipt for the annual premium ; all insurances 
 to be made payable at Christmas in each year. 
 
 4. The borrowers shall bear all the expenses of 
 having the books collated on their return (the cost 
 of collating not to exceed 5J. for 100 volumes), and 
 no final receipt will be given for the books until 
 after they are collated, and adjustment made for 
 any imperfections or loss, if any. 
 
 5. The borrowers shall give security to the satis- 
 faction of the Trustees in an amount equal to the 
 value of the books lent to them, that the works 
 will be returned at the expiration of the period of 
 the loan in good condition, regard being had to 
 reasonable wear. 
 
 6. The borrowers and sureties are to be liable 
 for— 
 
 1. The value of any book not returned. 
 
 2. If a volume of a work consisting of several 
 
 volumes, or if a set, or if a series, then 
 the value of the work, set, or series. 
 
 3. The estimated value of the injury done to 
 
 any volume, work, set, or series, or book- 
 case, of which the Trustees shall be the 
 sole judges. 
 
 Signed, 
 
 Witness, 
 
A PPENDIX. 
 
 199 
 
 X. 
 
 STATISTICS RELATIVE TO THE MELBOURNE PUBLIC LIBRARY, INCLUDING 
 THE LENDING DEPARTMENT. 
 (See On Lending Books, by Sir Redmond Barry, V. P., pp. 134-5.) 
 The building was begun July 3, 1853. 
 
 Expended in building up to 1876, ;^io7,ooo. 
 Number of bound volumes of printed books 76,044 
 Parts Pamphlets .... 13,775 
 
 89,819 
 
 Number of readers in 1 1 months and i week 2 14, 1 65 
 (Libraiy closed for cleaning and enumeration for 
 three weeks). 
 
 The Lending Department. 
 
 Towns to which loans of 200, 300, 500 volumes of 
 books have been made for 3 or 6 months during 
 the year 1876-7 18 
 
 Population 110,000 
 
 Number of volumes in circulation . . 8,000 
 
 XI. 
 NEW EDITION OF POOLE'S INDEX. 
 
 (report of the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE.) 
 (See Proceedings, pp. 163-4.) 
 
 American Library Association, ■» 
 New York, September 4, 1877. J 
 
 The special committee appointed by the Con- 
 ference OF American Librarians held at 
 Philadelphia, October 4-6, 1876, to consider and 
 report on a plan of co-operation for issuing a new 
 edition of Poole's " Index to Periodical Literature, " 
 with the references brought down to the present 
 year, and incorporated with those of the edition of 
 1853 — ^having already reported in favour of adopting 
 the co-operative plan for accomplishing a work so 
 much needed, and having recommended rules and 
 methods for indexing, — therewith submit lists of 
 , periodicals, the contents of which it is proposed to 
 include in the new edition. The ' ' New List " com- 
 prises such serials as were not indexed in the edition 
 of 1853. The "Continued List" brings the series 
 previously indexed down to the present year. 
 
 These lists were printed in the American Li- 
 brary Journal for June, 1877 (pp. 365-369), with 
 the request that "librarians, after examination, wiU 
 furnish the committee with such additions, correc- 
 tions, and suggestions as may occur to them. " The 
 committee, having been thus favored, now reprint 
 the Hsts amended, and with such modifications in 
 the abbreviations as will render them more intelli- 
 gible, at first sight, to average readers. Proper 
 names do not usually admit of intelligible abbre- 
 viations ; but the words Magazine, journal, Quar- 
 terly, and Reviexa, which occur frequently, are repre- 
 sented by single letters, as M, y, Q, and P. The 
 titles Atlantic, Bentley, Cornhill, Fraser, Harper, 
 Macmillan, etc., are deemed to be sufficiently de- 
 scriptive in themselves, without the additional 
 abbreviation for Monthly, Miscellany, Magazine, 
 etc. To the lists are added the rules and directions 
 for indexing recommended in the second and third 
 
 reports of the committee ; which are followed by 
 the essential part of other reports, the present re- 
 port being their fifth. 
 
 A supplementary sheet accompanies this report, 
 containing a duplicate impression of the lists. On 
 the supplementary sheet the co-operating librarians 
 are requested to check the complete sets of perio- 
 dicals which their libraries contain, and such as 
 they have access to, and to return the sheet to the 
 committee, who will make an equitable allotment 
 of the work of indexing. In case a library contains 
 only a partial set of a periodical, the librarian will 
 please designate the portion of it which he possesses. 
 This designation may be omitted concerning the 
 more common periodicals, of which sets are found 
 in most libraries, as the Edinburgh, Quarterly, 
 North American, Blackwood, Harper, Atlantic, 
 etc. The lists and communications on the sub- 
 ject may be addressed to W. F. Poole, Public 
 Library, Chicago. 
 
 Justin Winsor, ^ 
 
 William F. Poole, !• Committee. 
 Charles A. Cutter, j 
 
 Rules for Indexing to be observed in the new edition 
 of Poolis Index to Periodical Literature. 
 
 1. The general plan of the edition of 1853 will 
 be followed except as it is herein modified. 
 
 2. The plan adopted in the earlier editions, of 
 making the work mainly an index to subjects, will 
 not be changed. Hence an article treating a spe- 
 cific subject, historical, biographical, scientific, de- 
 scriptive, or of similar nature, will be placed under 
 (or will take for a heading) that subject, and not 
 the name of the author whose work is being 
 reviewed, or the name of the writer of the article. 
 For example: a review of Froude's History of 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 England, by E. A. Freeman, will have England 
 for its heading, and not Froude or Freeman. If 
 the writer, besides reviewing the work, should give 
 a full biographical account of the author, or an 
 elaborate criticism of his style and his other literary 
 works, a second reference must be made under 
 Froude, J. A. If the article on inspection proves 
 to be a treatise on the philosophy of history, or the 
 art of historical composition, it must be placed 
 under the heading HISTORY. 
 
 A single reference to an article will in most 
 instances be sufficient ; but if several subjects of 
 importance are treated in the same paper, or the 
 article is likely to be looked for under more than 
 one heading, two or more references will be made. 
 For example : an article on the "Character of the 
 Early Puritans of New England " will be indexed 
 under Puritans and New England. If it 
 should contain a noteworthy discussion of the 
 banishment of Roger Williams, a reference will 
 also be made to Williams, Roger. 
 
 3. Tales, poetry, plays, and other writings of the 
 imagination will be indexed under their titles, and 
 not under their authors. 
 
 4. Critical notices and reviews of works of the 
 imagination will be indexed under the names of the 
 authors of those works. Critical papers on " Para- 
 dise Lost " and " Pilgrim's Progress " will be in- 
 dexed under Milton and Bunyan. Hawthorne's 
 " Celestial Railroad," where it first appeared in the 
 Democratic Review, would be indexed "Celestial 
 Railroad (N. Hawthorne)." A critical notice of 
 it would be indexed "Hawthorne, N., Celestial 
 Railroad." This arrangement will bring all the 
 critical notices of Mr. Hawthorne's imaginative 
 writings together. A critical notice of his " Life 
 of Franklin Pierce " would be placed only under 
 the name of that person. 
 
 5. The references will be made as brief and 
 comprehensive as possible. In most instances the 
 author's own title best expresses the subject of his 
 paper ; but if the author has given his article an 
 obscure or fanciful title, the indexer will give it a 
 better one, and will place it under the heading 
 where it naturally belongs, and where it will be 
 looked for. The same principle will be applied to 
 reviews of books with obscure or fanciful titles. 
 A paper on Henry C. Carey's " Past, Present, and 
 Future " will be placed under Political Economy. 
 The indexer will find a resolution of many of his 
 doubts if he keeps constantly in mind the main 
 object of his work, which is to show as completely 
 and accurately as possible the real subjects treated, 
 rather than to make a technical index to any parti- 
 cular series. References to trivial and inconse- 
 quential matters must be avoided. 
 
 6. All references must be made from an inspec- 
 tion, and, if necessary, the perusal, of each article. 
 Hence no use will be made of the index which is 
 usuallv printed with the volume, or of any other 
 
 index. Those indexes were made by unskilful 
 persons, and are full of all sorts of errors. It will 
 be less work to discard them entirely than to sup- 
 ply their omissions and correct their errors. 
 
 7. The name of the writer of the article, if it be 
 known or can be ascertained, viill be given in 
 parentheses, as in the edition of 1853. It is hoped 
 that the co-operating librarians will give as much 
 attention to supplying the names of the writers of 
 articles as it is possible for them to give. 
 
 8. Abundant cross-references will be given, and 
 especially in cases where the corresponding cross- 
 reference would not be obvious to the editors who 
 will make the final arrangement of the matter. If 
 the cross-references be too numerous, the excess 
 can be discarded by the editors. 
 
 9. In general, class entries — such as placing 
 articles about horses and dogs under Zoology or 
 Natural History, and painting or engravmg 
 under Fine Arts — will be avoided. 
 
 It will be well, however, to place all articles 
 relating to the late civil war under the heading 
 United States, Civil War, even if they 
 appear elsewhere in the work. Papers re- 
 lating to the American Revolution, the war of 
 1812, and similar epochs may be treated in the 
 same manner. 
 
 10. Mr. Cutter's rules for cataloguing will be 
 observed in the headings as to the names of sove- 
 reigns, noblemen, and married women, and in 
 other respects where they are applicable. It is 
 very desirable that the system of indexing used 
 should be uniform, even though there may be a 
 difference of opinion among librarians as to some 
 of the rules. No person should be placed upon 
 this work who is not thoroughly competent to 
 catalogue books on Mr. Cutter's or the British 
 Museum system. The work of an inexperienced 
 person will be worse than useless. 
 
 1 1. The frequent recurrence of " new series " in 
 some sets of periodicals is a serious obstacle to the 
 indexer, and to convenience of reference. When 
 the original serial number is carried along with the 
 new serial number, discard the new and use the 
 old serial numbering of volumes. In some instances, 
 where " new series " follow each other frequently, 
 and, as in Cassell's Magazine, without indicating 
 whether it be the second, third, or fourth series, it 
 will be necessary to carry through the original 
 numbering of volumes to the end, as if it were one 
 series. As a rule, make as few series as possible. 
 In no case index English reviews and magazines in 
 American editions, unless the paging of the origmals 
 and reprints are identical. 
 
 12. Abbreviations for the titles of the several 
 serials are given in the list of periodicals to be dis- 
 tributed to the co-operating libraries. 
 
 The following recommendations are made as to 
 the manner of doing the work : 
 
APPE.XDIX. 
 
 201 
 
 Use a medium quality of foolscap paper, mea- 
 suring 20 X 30 centimeters, and ruled with lines 
 one centimeter apart, or No. 7 ruling. 
 
 Write in a compact and legible hand on only one 
 side of the sheet, and in such a manner that the 
 paper can be cut into slips without injury to the 
 writing. Abridge the title when it is practicable, 
 so that the entire reference will come in a single 
 line. In writing proper names, give special atten- 
 tion that there be no doubt, by any possibility, as 
 to the spelling. Give the same care to the making 
 of figures. A manuscript in an unformed, sprawl- 
 ing hand cannot be used, as it will lead to inter- 
 minable errors. If the indexer finds that he cannot 
 write on every line, or cannot bring his references, 
 as a rule, into a single line, he may be sure that 
 his handwriting or his skill in abridging titles is not 
 up to the standard of the model indexer. 
 
 When a volume of a serial is in hand make all 
 the references to it that may be required, so that 
 no recurrence to the volume will be needed. 
 Commencing with the first article, write (under the 
 proper subject-heading) the reference, including 
 the name of the writer in parentheses, the abbre- 
 viated title of the serial, the volume, and the page. 
 All this will come into one line. If a second or 
 third reference be needed to the same article, place 
 them immediately under the first, and give them 
 
 American Politics, Points in, 1877 (R. H. Dana, Jr.) 
 
 United States, Mode of electing President (R. H. Dana, Jr.) 
 
 Lewes, M. A., Daniel Deronda (E. P. Whipple) 
 
 Eliot, George. See Lewes, M. A. 
 
 Music, Wagner's Theories of (E. Gryzanowski) 
 
 Wagner, R., his Theories of Music (E. Gryzanowski) 
 
 Harte, Bret, Writings of (E. S. Nadal) 
 
 Darwinism, Triiraiph of (J. Fiske) 
 
 Eastern Question (E. L. Godkin) 
 
 Turco-Russian Question, 1877 (E. L. Godkin) 
 
 From the First and Fourth Reports. 
 
 the same paging. Take then the second article 
 and treat it in the same manner, and so on through 
 the volume. 
 
 After the abbreviated title and volume have been 
 given in the first line, the space they will fill in the 
 subsequent references on the same page may be 
 left blank for the present, and the paging only will 
 be given. When the volume changes, they will 
 both be written again, and always on the first line 
 of each sheet. The filling in of these blanks, which 
 is merely mechanical repetition, can be turned over 
 to an assistant, or, in a long series, the abbreviated 
 titles can be inserted by a rubber hand -stamp pro- 
 vided with movable letters. Fewer mistakes will 
 occur if the blanks be filled in after the manner 
 described than if they are written in when the 
 original reference is made, and much time will be 
 saved. These blanks, however, must be filled be- 
 fore the manuscript is sent in. 
 
 The sheets should be numbered consecutively, in 
 order that the loss of any may be readily detected. 
 No attention need be given by the indexer to the 
 alphabetical arrangement. That arrangement will 
 be attended to by the editors and collaborators. 
 
 The examples given below will serve to illustrate 
 some of the directions which have been given, and 
 to show the appearance of a sheet before the 
 blanks described above have been filled : 
 
 No. Am. 124 ; 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 31 
 
 S3 
 
 S3 
 
 81 
 
 90 
 
 io5 
 
 106 
 
 The plan proposed by Mr. Pdole at the Con- 
 ference, and which the committee were to consider, 
 was as follows : 
 
 "The completion and continuance of the Index 
 I believe is practicable under a plan of co-operation, 
 which this Conference has in its power to organize. 
 The plan I suggest is, that the libraries here repre- 
 sented, and others that may join with us, each take 
 charge of indexing one or more series of periodicals 
 which have appeared since January, 1852, when 
 the references in my Index stopped ; and to send 
 the titles unarranged to the central bureau, where 
 they will be condensed in one alphabetical arrange- 
 ment, and incorporated with the matter of the 
 edition of 1853. A system of rules for indexing 
 will be prepared by the central bureau, so that the 
 work may be done in a uniform and harmonious 
 system. Tlie work of each library will be tho- 
 
 roughly revised before it is incorporated in the 
 general Index. The work will be electrotyped, 
 and every five years, or oftener, a supplementary 
 volume in uniform style will be issued. I am ready, 
 if I can procure such associates and assistants as I 
 desire, to superintend the work of this central 
 bureau. I have in mind one librarian in an Eastern 
 city [Mr. William I. Fletcher, of the Watkin- 
 son Library, Hartford, Ct.] who is fully competent 
 to be my associate. I have the assurance of 
 several of our most responsible publishing houses 
 that they will be glad to publish such an Index as 
 is proposed, assuming all the pecuniary responsi- 
 bihties of the enterprise. A new edition brought 
 down to the present time will, I think, make as 
 much matter as is contained in one volume of 
 AUibone's ' Dictionary of Authors.' " 
 
 At the first meeting of the Committee, Boston 
 
 D D 
 
202 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Public Library, Oct. zotli, all being present, Mr. 
 Poole stated that he had seen Mr. Fletcher at 
 Hartford, who had promised him assistance and 
 co-operation. 
 
 The plan proposed was considered in its several 
 details, and was approved. The committee could 
 devise no other practicable scheme for accomplish- 
 ing a work so extensive and so much needed. It 
 was also considered whether in the new edition 
 any improvement could be made in the plan of 
 the edition of 1853. It was agreed that the plan 
 of making it an index of subjects, and not of 
 authors (except when authors became the subjects) 
 should be continued, and that the names of writers 
 of articles, when known, should be given with the 
 reference. Cross-references should also be freely 
 introduced. 
 
 It was agreed to confine the work to serials in 
 the English language. It is not proposed to index 
 all serials in our own language, but such only as 
 are likely, from their character and importance, to 
 be found in libraries. Purely professional works, 
 as legal, medical, and technically scientific periodi- 
 cals, involve more work than it vnll be practicable 
 at this time to undertake. Semi-professional 
 serials, like the American Journal of Science, will 
 be indexed so far as its articles of general interest 
 are concerned. The present views of the committee 
 are that the next edition of the Index should be 
 made to meet the practical wants of libraries ; and 
 
 in doing this it will perhaps most successfully meet 
 the general wants of scholars, literary men, and 
 the public at large. The specialist in each of the 
 professions and in technical science vrill find much 
 in it responding to his inquiries ; but he has wants 
 which special indexes only can supply. The 
 Royal Society's " Catalogue of Scientific Papers, 
 l8oo-'63," 6 vols. 4to, now partially meets, and 
 when extended to an arrangement of the same 
 matter under subjects and brought down to the pre- 
 sent time, will fully meet the needs of the scientific 
 specialist. The plan proposed of issuing supple- 
 ments to Poole's Index every five years, or oftener, 
 will furnish opportunities of including serials which 
 have been omitted, and which experience may show 
 ought to be included. 
 
 The work of each library vidll be duly acknow- 
 ledged in the preliminary pages, and a copy of the 
 Index, when completed, will be distributed to 
 each co-operating institution. 
 
 The importance of issuing a new edition of this 
 Index, with the references brought dovra to the 
 present time, is so impressed upon the mind of 
 every librarian by his daily experience, and by the 
 discussions at the Conference, that the committee 
 have not thought it necessary to enlarge upon it. 
 They have thought it to be their duty simply to 
 consider the details of the plan proposed, and to 
 aid in facilitating its executioiu 
 
 LIST OF PERIODICALS TO BE INDEXED. 
 
 NEW LIST. 
 
 TITLE. ABBREVIATIONS. WHERE. WHEN. VOLS. 
 
 1 Academy Academy London 1872-76 10 
 
 2 All the Year Round All Year Round London 1859-76 36 
 
 3 American Architect Am. Arch Boston 1876 1 
 
 4 American Bibliopolist Am. Bibliop New York 1869-76 8 
 
 5 American Catholic Quarterly Re- 
 
 view Am. Cath. Q Philadelphia 1876-77 2 
 
 6 American Church Monthly Am. Ch. Mo New York 1857-58 3 
 
 7 American Historical Record Am. Hist. Rec Philadelphia 1872-75 4 
 
 8 American Journal of Education Am. J. Edu Hartford 1856-63 13 
 
 9 American Law Review Am. Law R Boston 1866-76 10 
 
 10 American Library Journal Am. Lib. J New York 1876 I 
 
 11 American Natiualist Am. Nat Salem 1867-76 10 
 
 12 American Quarterly Church Re- 
 
 view Am. Q. Ch. R New York 1848-76 28 
 
 13 American Presbyterian Review Am. Presb. R Phil, and N. Y 1852-71 20 
 
 14 American Social Science Associa- 
 
 tion Journal Am. Soc. Sci. J NewYork 1869-76 8 
 
 15 Anthropological Review Anthr. R London 1863-70 8 
 
 16 Antiquary (Jewitt's) Antiquary London 1873-74 4 
 
 17 Appleton's Journal Appleton NewYork 1869-76 16 
 
 18 Argosy Argosy London 1865-76 21 
 
 19 Army and Navy Journal A. & Navy J NewYork 1863-76 13 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 203 
 
 NEW LIST. 
 
 ''"'-=• ABBREVIATIONS. WHERE. WHEN VOL^ 
 
 20 Alt; Pictorial and Industrial Art London 1870-73 
 
 21 Art Journal Art J London 1849-76 
 
 22 Artizan Artizan London 1843-76 
 
 23 AthenEeum Ath London 1828-76 
 
 24 Atlantic Monthly Atlantic Boston 1857-76 38 
 
 25 Bankers' Magazine Bank. M. (L.) London 1844-76 
 
 25 Baptist Quarterly Review Bapt. Q Philadelphia 1867-76 
 
 27 Belgravia Belgravia London 1867-76 
 
 28 Bentley's Miscellany Bentley London 1837-76 80 
 
 29 Biblical Review Bib. R London 1846-50 
 
 30 Boston Monthly Magazine Bost. Mo Boston 1825-26 
 
 31 Boston Quarterly Review Bost. Q Boston 1838-42 5 
 
 32 Boston Review Bost. R Boston 1861-66 6 
 
 33 Broadway. Broadway London 1868-72 
 
 34 Canadian Monthly Canad. Mo Toronto 1872-76 
 
 35 CasseU's Family Magazine Cassell London 1867-76 
 
 36 Catholic World Cath. World New York 1865-76 
 
 37 Christian Observer Chr. Obs London 1803-76 
 
 38 Christian Quarterly Chr. Q Cincinnati 1869-76 's 
 
 39 Colburn's New Monthly Colburn London 1821-76 159 
 
 40 Congregational Magazine Cong. M London 1818-45 28 
 
 41 Congregational Quarterly. Cong. Q Boston 1859-76 18 
 
 42 Congregational Review Cong. R Boston & Chic 1867-70 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 4 
 28 
 
 34 
 49 
 38 
 33 
 lo 
 
 30 
 o 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 10 
 18 
 23 
 
 74 
 
 s. 
 
 43 Continental Monthly Contin. Mo New York 1862-64 6 
 
 44 Contemporary Review Contemp London 1866-76 27 
 
 45 ComhiU Magazme. Cornliill London 1860-76 34 
 
 46 Danville Quarterly Review Danv. Q Danville, Ky 1861-64 4 
 
 47 DarkBlue Darli Blue London 1871-73 4 
 
 48 Dial Dial Boston 1840-43 4. 
 
 49 DublinReview Dub. R Dublin 1836-76 79 
 
 50 Eclectic Engineering Magazine, 
 
 Van Nostrand's Eel. Engin New York 1869-76 16 
 
 51 Eclectic Review, 1st, 2d, 3d s Eel. R London 1805-36 55 
 
 52 Economist Econ London 1833-76 33 
 
 53 Edinburgh Journal (Chambers's) ....Ed. J Edinburgh 1833-76 44 
 
 54 Edinburgh New Philosophical 
 
 Journal Ed. Philos. J Edinburgh 1826-64 76 
 
 55 English Woman's Domestic Mag.... Eng. Dom. M London 1866-76 21 
 
 56 Evangelical Review Evang. R Gettysburg 1850-70 21 
 
 57 Every Saturday Ev. Sat Boston 1866-71 ii 
 
 58 Examiner Exam London 1808-76 69 
 
 59 Fine Arts Quarterly F. Arts Q London 1863-67 5 
 
 60 Fors Clavigera Fors Clav London 1871-76 6 
 
 61 Fortnightly Review Fortn London 1865-76 26 
 
 62 Galaxy Galaxy New York 1866-76 22 
 
 63 Gentleman's Magazine (new series).. Gentl. M. (n. s.) London 1868-76 17 
 
 64 Geographical Magazine Geog. M London 1874-76 3 
 
 65 Gode/s Lady's Book Godey Philadelphia 1829-76 93 
 
 66 Good Words Good Words London 1860-76 17 
 
 67 Graham's Magazine Graham Philadelphia 1830-58 53 
 
 68 Harper's Magazine Harper New York 1850-76 53 
 
 69 Historical Magazine (Dawson's) Hist. M Morrisania 1 85 7-72 21 
 
 70 Hogg's Instructor Ltogg London 1845 
 
 71 Hours at Home Hours New York 1865-70 11 
 
 72 Household Words (Dickens's) Hsld. Words London 1850-59 19 
 
 73 Howitt's Journal Howitt London 1847-48 3 
 
 74 Intellectual Observer. Intel. Obs London 1862-67 12 
 
204 APPENDIX. 
 
 NEVf LIST. 
 
 TITLE. ABBREVIATIONS. WHERE. WHEN. VOU. 
 
 75 International Magazine (Gris- 
 
 wold's) Intemat. M New York 1850-52 5 
 
 76 International Review Internat. R New York 1874-76 . 3 
 
 77 Irish Quarterly Review Irish Q Dublin 1851-60 9 
 
 78 Journal of the Franklin Institute...;. Franld. Inst Philadelphia 1826-76 98 
 
 79 Journal of Speculative Philosophy ..J. Spec. Philos St. Louis 1867-76 10 
 
 80 Journal of the Statistical Society . . . J. Statis. Soc London 1 839-76 38 
 
 81 Lakeside Monthly Lakeside Chicago 1869-74 10 
 
 82 Lippincott's Magazine Lippincott Philadelphia 1868-76 18 
 
 83 Literary Gazette Lit. Gaz London 1817-62 45 
 
 84 London Journal of Arts (New- 
 
 ton's) Lond. J. Arts London 1820-66 68 
 
 85 London Quarterly Review Lond. Q London 1852-76 47 
 
 86 London Society Lond. Soc London 1862-76 30 
 
 Lord's Theological and Literary Journal. See Theological and Literary Journal. 
 
 87 Macmillan's Magazine Macmillan London 1859-76 35 
 
 88 Mathematical Monthly Math. Mo Cambridge 1859-61 3 
 
 89 Mechanics' Magazine Mech. M London 1823-76 105 
 
 go Mercersburg Review Mercersb Mercersb. & Phil... 1849-76 22 
 
 91 Methodist Magazine Meth. M London 1798-56 59 
 
 92 Mind Mind London 1876 1 
 
 93 Month Month London 1865-76 28 
 
 94 Monthly Religious Magazine Mo. Rel. M Boston 1844-74 SI 
 
 95 Nation Nation New York 1865-76 23 
 
 96 National Magazine Nat. M New York 1852-76 30 
 
 97 National Quarterly Review Nat. Q New York 1860-76 33 
 
 98 National Review Nat. R London 1853-64 19 
 
 99 Nature Nature..... London 1870-76 14 
 
 100 Nautical Magazine Naut. M London 1832-76 45 
 
 101 Naval Chronicle Nav. Chron New York 1836-37 2 
 
 102 New Dominion Monthly New Dom Montreal 1867-76 19 
 
 103 New England Historical and Ge- 
 
 nealogical Register N. E. Geneal. Reg Boston 1847-76 30 
 
 104 New Quarterly Review NewQ London 1853-61 10 
 
 105 North- Western Review No. West. R Chicago 1869-74 6 
 
 106 Norton's Literary Letter Norton New York 1858-60 2 
 
 J07 Old and New v....O. & New Boston. 1870-75 11 
 
 108 Olden Time (Craig's reprint) Olden Time Cincinnati 1876 2 
 
 109 Once a Week Once a Week London 1859-76 33 
 
 110 Our Monthly Our Mo Cincinnati 1870-76 14 
 
 111 Overland Monthly Overland San Francisco 1868-76 17 
 
 112 Penn Monthly Penn Mo Philadelphia 1870-76 7 
 
 113 Peterson's Magazine Peterson Philadelphia ? -76 72 
 
 114 Pioneer Pioneer San Francisco 1854-55 4 
 
 lis Popular Science Monthly Pop. Sci. Mo NewYork 1872-76 9 
 
 116 Popular Science Review Pop. Sci. R London 1862-76 15 
 
 117 Portfolio Portfolio London 1869-76 7 
 
 118 Portfolio (Dennie's) Portfolio (Den.) Philadelphia 1800-27 47 
 
 119 Potter's American Monthly Potter Am. Mo Philadelphia 1873-76 7 
 
 120 Practical Magazine Pract. M London 1873-76 8 
 
 121 Practical Mechanic's Journal Pract. Mech. J Gl'sg'w & Lon 1842-70 22 
 
 122 Presbyterian Quarterly, Presb. Q NewYork 1872-76 5 
 
 123 Prospective Review Prosp. R London 1845-54 10 
 
 124 Putnam's Monthly Putnam NewYork , 1853-69 13 
 
 125 Quarterly Review of Lutheran 
 
 Church Q. R. Luth. Ch Gettysburg 1871-76 6 
 
 126 Radical Radical Boston 1866-72 10 
 
APPENDIX. 205 
 
 NEW LIST. 
 
 TITLE. ABBKEVIATIONS. WHERE. WHEN. VOLS 
 
 127 Reliquary Reliquary London 1861-74 IS 
 
 128 Republic Republic Washington 1873-76 7 
 
 129 Saint James St. James London 1861-76 37 
 
 130 Saint Pauls St. Pauls London 1867-74 '3 
 
 131 Saturday Review Sat. R London 1856-76 12 
 
 132 Scribner's Monthly Scribner New York 1870-76 12 
 
 133 Sharpe's London Magazine Sharpe I/Ondon no date 52 
 
 134 Southern Review (new series) So. R. (n. s.) Baltimore 1867-76 20 
 
 135 Spectator Spectator London 1828-76 49 
 
 136 Student and Intellectual Observer.. Stud. & Intel. Obs London 1868-71 S 
 
 137 Tail's Edinburgh Magazine Tait Edinburgh 1832-60 27 
 
 138 Temple Bar Temp. Bar London 1861-76 47 
 
 139 Theological and Literary Journal . .Theol. and Lit. J New York 1848-61 14 
 
 140 Theological Repository Theol. Rep London 1769-88 6 
 
 141 Theological Review Theol. R London 1864-76 13 
 
 142 Tinsley's Magazine Tinsley London 1867-76 19 
 
 143 Triibner's American and Oriental 
 
 Record Triibner London 1865-76 10 
 
 144 Unitarian Review Unita. R Boston 1874-76 6 
 
 145 United Service Journal Un. Serv. J London 1829-66 111 
 
 U. S. Army and Navy Journal. See Army and Navy Journal. 
 
 146 University Quarterly University Q New Haven i860 2 
 
 Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine. See Eclectic Engineering Magazine. 
 
 147 Victoria Magazine Victoria M London 1863-76 28 
 
 148 Western Law Journal West. Law J Cincinnati 1843-49 6 
 
 149 Williams [College] Review. Williams R Williamstown 1870-71 1 
 
 150 Yale Literary Magazine Yale Lit New Haven 1836-76 41 
 
 151 Zoist Zoist London 1843-56 13 
 
 CONTINUED LIST. 
 
 NO. OF 
 
 TITLE. ABBREVIATIONS. WHERE. WHEN. VOLS. VOLS. 
 
 152 American Journal of Science 
 
 (Silliman's), 2d series Am. J. Sci., 2d s.... New Haven 1852-76 13-62 50 
 
 153 Bankers' Magazine Bank. M. (N.Y.) ...New York 1852-76 7-28 22 
 
 154 Bibliotheca Sacra Bib. Sac Andover 1852-76 9-33 2S 
 
 155 Blackwood's Magazine Blackwood Edinburgh 1852-76 71-120 50 
 
 156 British Quarterly Review Brit. Q London 1849-76 10-64 5S 
 
 157 Brownson's Quarterly Review.. Brownson New York 1850-75 10-22 13 
 
 158 Christian Examiner Chr. Exam Boston 1852-69 52-87 36 
 
 159 Christian Review Chr. R Boston 1852-63 17-28 12 
 
 i6o Church Review Church R New Haven 1852-76 5-28 24 
 
 ^, f 1852-62 i3-29\ ,-/,> 
 
 i6i De Bow's Review De Bow New Orleans {1866-69 1-6/ ^^^ 
 
 162 Dublin University Magazine.. ..Dub. Univ Dublin 1852-76 39-88 50 
 
 163 Eclectic Magazine Eel. M New York 1852-76 25-101 75 
 
 164 Eclectic Review, 4th series Eel. R., 4th s London 1852-76 31-80 50 
 
 165 Edinburgh Review Ed. R Edinburgh 1852-76 95-144 50 
 
 166 Eraser's Magazine Eraser London 1852-76 45-94 5° 
 
 167 Hunt's Merchants' Magazine... Hunt New York 1852-70 26-63 3» 
 
 168 Kitto's Journal of Sacred Lite- „ , o c 
 
 rature Kitto London 1852-64 8-34 26 
 
 169 Knickerbocker Knick New York 1852-64 39-64 26 
 
 170 Living Age Liv. Age Boston 1S52-76 32-131 100 
 
 171 Methodist Quarterly Review.. ..Meth.Q NewYork 1852-76 12-25 17 
 
 172 Museum of Foreign Literature..Museum Philadelphia 1839-42 3» 44 7 
 
 173 NewEnglander New Eng New Haven 1852-76 10-34 
 
 1 74 North American Review No. Am-. . 
 
 25 
 .Boston 1852-76 74-123 5° 
 
2o6 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 CONTINUED LIST. 
 
 TITLE. ABBREVIATIONS. WHERE. WHEN. 
 
 175 North British Review No. Brit London 1852-71 
 
 176 Princeton Review. Princ New York 1852-72 
 
 177 Quarterly Review Quar. London 1852-76 
 
 178 Retrospective Review Retros London 1827-54 
 
 179 Southern Literary Messenger... So. Lit.Mess Richmond 1851-60 
 
 180 Southern Quarterly Review So. Q Charleston 1852-56 
 
 181 Universalist Quarterly Univ. Q Boston 1852-76 
 
 182 Westminster Review Westm London 1853-76 
 
 
 NO. OF 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 18-53 
 
 36 
 
 24-44 
 
 21 
 
 90-141 
 
 SO 
 
 15-18 
 
 4 
 
 17-31 
 
 I.'! 
 
 20-28 
 
 9 
 
 8-32 
 
 25 
 
 S6-105 
 
 SO 
 
 XII. 
 
 THE POSTCARD-SYSTEM OF ORDERING BOOKS 
 AT THE LONDON INSTITUTION. 
 t^Zes Proceedings, p. 176.) 
 (I.) REVERSE OF CARD AS TAKEN BY ORDERER FROM THE TRAY. 
 
 London Institution. 
 
 \One work only to be ordeted on this card.] 
 
 has come in, and will be kept for you 
 
 till -included. 
 
 Date of order : 
 
 [To be filled in by Orderer.] 
 
 If you send for the book, please give the messenger this card. 
 
 Library hours : — Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday, 
 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 
 
 (2.) REVERSE OF CARD AS FILLED IN BY ORDERER.* 
 
 London Institution. 
 \Pne work only to be ordered on this card.} 
 
 has come in, and will be kept for you 
 till included. 
 
 Date of order / ^o. 
 
 \To be filled in by Orderer.\ 
 If you send for the book, please give the messenger this card. 
 Library hours :— Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday, 
 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 
 
 • Who at the same time addresses the card to himself on the other side. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 207 
 
 (3.) REVERSE OF CARD AS POSTED TO ORDERER BY LIBRARIAN. 
 
 London Institution, 
 
 \Pne work only to be ordered on this card.] 
 
 •JcA.u^'nKtn'n > t^&yyceruie 
 
 has come in, and will be kept for you 
 till ^Au/ay included. 
 
 Date of order y ^ec. 
 
 \To be filled in by Orderer.] 
 
 If you send for the book, please give the messenger this card. 
 
 Library hours : — Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday, 
 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 NOTE ON THE TERM "FREE LIBRARY," WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE 
 TO THE MELBOURNE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
 
 BY SIR REDMOND BARRY, V.P. 
 
 (See Proceedings, pp. 142, 170, 172.) 
 
 During the discussions at the Conference the term 
 "free" has been considered objectionable as ap- 
 plied to libraries in England. 
 
 Freedom is so inherent in our constitution that 
 we are content to enjoy it without a prominent use 
 of the word. 
 
 Our library is free in every sense. 
 
 Persons above fourteen years of age, of both sexes 
 and all nations, are admitted free, without letter 
 
 of recommendation, guarantee, payment, signa- 
 ture of name or address, or ticket of admission. 
 
 The enjoyment of the use of the library is free. 
 Each reader may enter at 10 a.m. and remain till 
 10 p.m. ; and may take from any shelf any book, 
 except Patents, 3,800 volumes, those on Medicine 
 and Surgery, and large books with plates, without 
 being asked a question or having asked a question, 
 except to inquire for an author. 
 
2o8 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 DUTIES OF A LIBRARIAN. 
 (See Proceedings, p. 176.) 
 
 The attention of the Public being directed to 
 this subject, it may be well to lay before them the 
 following Rules, which have hitherto only existed 
 in MS. It is not necessary to say whence they are 
 derived ; perhaps few persons in the present day 
 will be desirous to enforce them all. 
 
 IT %^z^ been tlje Hatoes foe t!)e 
 mepec of t'&e IBofe?£(. 
 
 t. J^e s'bal "feepe al atiB sonntte t^e TBofejs 
 gaufe : tijat none lie logt ne mane atoafe. 
 
 ij. 3|tem,tc i\M, mafee "fealennarsi ann tnSen- 
 toticsi of al tlje same TBofepg, tljat go tljiep 
 6e ^an presentUe l>j al soc^ as Doe gelte 
 tijem. 
 
 iij. 3Item, in ttie same ialennats ann fntien» 
 toties \i Slat sette l\sxi\t at large al ann 
 Sonncte tlie titles ann contentis of al i\<. 
 same IBob^s, be tlie neber so great ne so 
 man;. 
 
 is, 31tem, lie s'&al tafee gone ^ene t^at socje 
 ialennats ann inaentotics ie of smal spse 
 for to carte b? tlje gprnle tottbouten notour: 
 ann tbat so Ipiciofse tlie; ma; be pmte 
 rtuate gone cbepe by tbe stationers to t^em 
 tbat toil %aite tbem to bj. 
 S. 3(tem, M slial ma'fee t%e sa;ne 'fealennats 
 ann tnSentories ioitb grete anuice, ann 
 mocbe circumspectlie: ann sbal recognise 
 tbe same manie tymes toptl^ al nyljgence. 
 
 l)i. 3!tem, be Sbsl maSe tbem presentlie; so 
 tbat no man be bjnneren to bene tbe same, 
 ne noe tarie tberfot. 
 
 6tj. 3!tcm, be sbalt mate tbe Same ialennars 
 ann tntientortes Xfex. as enerycbe man inoln 
 baue tbem to be. 
 
 biij. 3|tem, Suban ante man comitb ann toottctb 
 not tobat be tooln baue, tben be ebal tell 
 b;m, ann noe b;m to unnerstonne \i% besy^^ 
 nesse. 
 
 XV. 
 
 ROUGH LIST* OF SOME LEADING SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH 
 
 LIBRARY FORMATION AND MANAGEMENT, 
 
 With References to Edwards's "Memoirs of Libraries" (M.), Edwards's "Free Town 
 Libraries" (F.), the American Government Library-Report (R.), and the f" Library 
 Journal" (J.). 
 
 EXTENSION OF LIBRARIES. 
 
 L Libraries for General Readers. 
 
 (1) Free and Public (M. i. 772—839! F. 1-34, 61—362; R. 389—460; J. 45— 5'. 
 
 225 ; " Statistical Journal," xxxiii. 327 — 65. On Branch Libraries see J. 125—6, 
 288—9). 
 
 (2) Subscription. 
 
 (i) Institutes and Societies (R. 312—88; J. 3—5). 
 (ii) Trade Circulating. 
 
 II. Libraries for Special Classes. 
 
 • This is issued by desire of the Organizing Committee as a suggestion-list of topics for papers and 
 notes, and as a reference-list of some experiences and opinions relating to them. But no one is more 
 fully conscious than the compiler how exceedingly inadequate it is from both points of view : want of 
 time for the compilation of a more complete list must be his excuse. The most important of the hooks 
 not collated is probably Dr. Julius Petzholdt's " ICatechismus der Bibliothekenlehre " (pp. xii., 270, 
 pi. 17 ; 2nd ed., Leipzig, 1871), to which great praise has been accorded by high authorities. 
 
 t Vol. L, Nos. 1—9, only. 
 
209 
 
 (i) 
 Student. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 EXTENSION OF LIBRARIES— i:o«A»«?(f. 
 
 Governmental (R. 252 — 78, 292 — 311). 
 Theological (R. 127 — 60). 
 Legal (R. 161—70; J. 337). 
 Medical (R. 171—82). 
 Scientific (R. 183—217). 
 Artistic. 
 . Industrial. 
 
 / School-Children (R. 38—58). 
 Soldiers (R. 273—5). 
 ^") > Sailors (R. 276—8). 
 
 Non-Student. Hospital and Asylum Patients (R. 58—9). 
 
 L Prisoners and Reformatory-Inmates (R. 218 — 29). 
 FORMATION OF LIBRARIES. 
 
 (F. 22—34; R- 477-9; J. 1-3. 161— 2). 
 LIBRARY BUILDINGS. 
 
 (1) Site (M. ii. 729 ; F. 40—1 ; J. 125, 313). 
 
 (2) Material (M. ii. 730 ; F. 41). 
 
 (3) Number and Arrangement of Rooms (M. ii. 730—2 ; F. 41 2 ; R. 406—7 
 
 See also L. ii. 
 667—708 ("Li- 
 braries Built "), 
 
 braries Project- 
 ed "), and ii. 
 1065-6; J. 19. 
 
 466—75, 483-5)- 
 
 ii.709— 27("Li- (4) Shelvage (M. ii. 736—9 ; F. 43—4 ; R- 485—7 ; J- 313—4). 
 
 (5) Furniture and Fittings (M. ii. 739-45 ; F. 44—5 ; R. 487- 
 
 (6) Lighting (M. ii. 733—4 ; F. 41). 
 
 (7) Warming (M. u. 730, 733 ; F. 42—3). 
 1,(8) Ventilation (F. 42—3). 
 
 ■8). 
 
 SELECTION OF CONTENTS. 
 
 (i) PrinciplesofSelection(M.ii. 569— 76, 1064 ; F. 45— 8 ; R. 395, 421— 3, 479—81; 
 J. 63—7, 213 — 6, 223 — Sf On the Admission of Fiction see R. 393 — 6, 
 410— I, 421—2 ; J. 96—101, 184, 214—5, 277— 9)- 
 
 (2) Persons Selecting (Library-Committees). 
 
 (3) Printed Guides to Selection : 
 
 (a) Class-Bibliographies (R. 688—712 ; J. each No.). 
 
 (b) Classified Catalogues of other Libraries. 
 
 (c) Handbooks to " the best reading" (R. 734 ; J. 215, 260—1). 
 
 ACQUISITION OF CONTENTS. 
 
 (1) By Purchase from Booksellers (M. ii. 643—50; R. 423, 481 — 3 ; J. 91, 134- -8, 
 
 249-50)- 
 
 (2) By Interchange or Purchase of Duplicates (J. 130 — 1). 
 
 (3) By Private Donation (M. ii. 603 — 7). 
 
 (4) By Government Donation (M. ii. 609—21 ; R. 281—4 ; J. 184). 
 
 (5) By Copy-Tax (M. ii. 577-601 ; J. 86—9). 
 
 CATALOGUING. 
 
 (i) Material and Size of Catalogue ("Atlantic Monthly," Oct. 1876, 482). 
 On Card-Catalogues see also R. 556—60, 666 ; J. 131, 490—1. 
 
 (2) Print or MS. (M. u. 851—67, 668; F. 55 ; R. 552— S)? 
 
 (3) Modes of Cataloguing : 
 
 (a) by Authors' Names (F. 53) ; 
 
 (*)by Subjects (M. ii. 751-813. 1066-7; F. 52; J- 2i7; "Atlantic 
 
 Monthly," Oct. 1876, 484) ; 
 {c) by Titles ("Atlantic Monthly," Oct. 1876, 484) ; 
 {d) by Types of Literature {e.g. "Essays," ""' 
 and combinations of these modes. 
 On Subject-Indexes see J. 81 — 4, 130. 
 On Accession-Catalogues see J. 315—20. 
 
 E E 
 
 See also R. 526 — 52, 
 560— 662; J. 121 — 2, 
 
 ' Historical Romances ") ; 
 
2IO ' APPENDIX. 
 
 CATALOGVl'NG—cojiHnued. 
 
 (4) Rules (M. ii. 832— so; "Atlantic Monthly," Oct. 1876, 485-8; J. 328-9), 
 
 (3) British Museum. 
 
 (i) Cutter's (printed as Pt. II. of R.) 
 On JVoiaiioft of Sizes see M. ii. 847-8 ; J. 58-61, 106-9, 139-40, 168-9, 
 
 178—81 (Report of the Committee appointed by the Philadelphia Conference), 
 
 183, 221 — 2. 
 On Use of Capitals see J. 162 — 6. 
 On Abbreviations see J. 322—3. 
 
 (5) Co-operative Cataloguing (J. 14— 5, 118— 21, 170— 5, 289—91). 
 On Co-operative Indexing see J. 62 — 3, 113 — 7- 
 
 (6) Subject-Indexes to Literature. 
 
 On a Subject-Index to Universal Literature see " Notes of a Proposal to make a 
 Universal Index to Literature," privately prmted, 1875 ; " Academy," Jan. 
 27th, 1877, 77 ; J. 56, 183—4, 226-7. 
 
 On Subject-Indexes to Periodical Literature see R. 663—72 ; J. 115— 7, 181— 3, 
 279—81, 286—7. 
 
 (7) Catalogue of Universal Literature by Authors' Names ("Athenaeum" for 1850, 
 SOI— 2 ; M. ii. 867—8, 1067 ; J. 54—8, 120). 
 
 SHELF-ARRANGEMENT. 
 
 (i) Classification (M. ii. 890—921,* 1068 ; F. 48—50; 492— 3)' 
 
 (2) Shelf-Lists (M. ii. 889 ; F. Si ; R. 495-6). 
 
 (3) Book-Tags (labels on backs) (R. 49S ; J. 133). 
 
 (4) Numbering of Shelves (M. ii. 928—9 ; F. 44 ; R. 493—4). 
 
 (5) Subject-Labels for Shelves. 
 
 ARRANGEMENT AND PRESERVATION OF PAMPHLETS (M. ii. 986; R. 510—2, 677 ^8; 
 
 J- 51—4, 101—3, 104—6). 
 PUBLIC DOCUMENTS Q. 10— i). 
 NEWSPAPERS. 
 BROADSIDES, &c. (R. 682). 
 „ MSS. (M. ii. 922—3). 
 
 „ MAPS (M. ii. 927—8). 
 
 „ DRAWINGS AND PRINTS,&c.(M.ii.923— 7). 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 BINDING. 
 
 (1) Material (M. ii. 985; R. 491, 674—6, 713; J. 124-5, 233; "Academy,'- 
 
 Jan. 27th, 1877, 77). 
 
 (2) Colour (M. ii. 982—3 ; R. 676). 
 
 (3) Lettering (M. ii. 986 ; R. 677). 
 
 And on many miscellaneous points see M. ii. 983 — 7 ; R. 674 — 8, 712 — 3. 
 On Book-Covers see R. 407, 426, 490 — i ; J. 131 — 2. 
 
 LIBRARY-APPLIANCES. 
 
 (R. 503 — ^4 (Circulation-Record); J. 122 — 3, 255 — 6 (Indicators); 254 — 5 (Record- 
 Blanks) ; 267 (Record-Bookmarkers) ; 326 — 7 (Scale for measuring Sizes) ; 300 
 (Covers for Periodicals) ; 300 — 1 (Dummies); 24, 233, 267 (Book-Props).) 
 On Co-operative Supply see J. 246 — 7, 283 — 6, 323 — 4. 
 
 * As 12 pp. are devoted to "the actual arrangement of a vrell-ordered Library of moderate 
 extent," and as the library selected is that of the London Institution, I take leave to say that the system 
 there detailed is being superseded by another, the principles of which are — (i) To sub-classify to the 
 utmost degree short of confusion — each shelf being intended to bear a subject-label ; (2) To keep the 
 folio and quarto shelves of each class as near as possible to the shelves for Svo. et inf. — E. B. N. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 211 
 
 FACILITIES FOR THE PUBLIC. 
 
 (1) Preliminary Forms (M. ii. 988 — 1028). 
 
 (2) Age-Qualification (Morley's "English Writers," ii. pt. i., 424; R. 412—5). 
 
 (3) Days and Hours of Admission. 
 
 On Sunday-Opening see M. ii. 1044 — S ; R. xx. — i., 915, 985 — 6. 
 On Closing for Examination see R. 504 ; J. 267 — 8. 
 
 (4) Access to Catalogues. 
 
 (5) „ Shelves (R. 516—20). 
 
 (6) „ Librarians (R. 520 — 4 ; J. 74 — 81, 123 — 4). 
 
 (7) Means of Borrowing Desiderata — 
 
 (a) by Interchange with other Libraries (J. 15 — 6). 
 (*) by Subscription to ,, 
 
 (8) Loan of Books (M. ii. 988- 1028). 
 
 Lending t (9) Guarantees required inPublic Lending Libraries(M.ii. 1053 — 5;F. 6o;R. 408 — 9). 
 Libraries J (10) Number of Volumes allowed, 
 only. [(II) Time allowed for Reading. 
 
 (See also the whole of the chapter " Public Access," M. ii. 988- 1028, 1069. ) 
 
 EXECUTIVE. 
 
 (1) Qualifications (M. ii. 933— 5 ; F. 30—1 ; R. 488—9 ; J. 69—74). 
 On Wo?nen as Librarians see R. 430. 
 
 (2) Distribution of Functions. 
 
 (3) Hours of Duty : Vacation. 
 
 (4) Salaries (M. ii. 953—8)- 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LIBRARIES AND OF LIBRARIANSHIP, 
 
 (R- 733—44; J- each No.) 
 ASSOCIATION OF LIBRARIANS. 
 
 (M. ii. 937—8; J. 140, 145—7, 251—2, 253—4) (Constitution of the American 
 Library- Association). 
 
HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNTS 
 
 OF THE VISITS OF THE CONFERENCE 
 
 TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF SIGN COLLEGE. 
 
 ^N the afternoon of October 2, a 
 considerable niunber of the 
 members of the Conference, 
 upon the invitation of the Rev, 
 W. H. Mihnan, the Librarian, 
 and under the guidance of 
 Mr. G. Bullen, visited the 
 Library of Sion College. 
 
 In a short address, Mr. Milman gave an 
 account of the origin, history, and present state 
 of the hbrary. He began by informing those 
 present that the library was to some extent an 
 accidental if most happy addition to the founda- 
 tion of Dr. Thomas White, who died in 1624. Dr. 
 White held much valuable Church preferment — a 
 London vicarage, a prebendal stall in St. Paul's, and 
 canonries at Salisbury, Oxford, and Windsor. He 
 made, however, good and liberal use of his wealth, 
 employing much of it in the foundation of useful 
 and charitable institutions, amongst which Sion 
 College has proved not the least useftil and im- 
 portant. 
 
 Sion College is not, as the name leads some to 
 suppose, a place of education : it is a guild or com- 
 pany of the parochial clergy of the city and suburbs 
 proper of London — of much the same character as 
 the other companies or guilds of the city — the 
 Goldsmiths, Fishmongers, Merchant Taylors, and 
 the Uke. Sion College was incorporated, la,mongst 
 other objects, for the purpose of governing an alms- 
 house for twenty poor people. This is mentioned 
 because, in fact, the almshouse led to the founda- 
 tion of a library in connexion with the College. 
 ^ As one and the most active of the executors of 
 
 Dr. White, Dr. John Simpson, Rector of St. Olave's, 
 Haii Street, was engaged in superintending the 
 building of the almshouse, when it occurred to him 
 that the low buildings in process of erection might 
 well carry over them a spacious library; such a 
 building he liberally provided at his own cost. 
 
 This was the origin of the library of Sion College. 
 Its history, as far as the acquisition of the valuable 
 books which now adorn its shelves is concerned, may 
 be conveniently divided into three periods. During 
 the first of these periods it depended entirely for 
 its formation and increase upon what the distin- 
 guished President of the present Conference in his 
 opening address very properly insisted should never 
 be more than a subsidiary and accidental source of 
 supply to a library — viz., gifts and bequests ; in fact, 
 as the library was built upon an almshouse, so for 
 its support and increase did it appeal to the charity 
 and generosity of lovers of learning and of the 
 wealthy citizens of London. The response made 
 to this appeal was very creditable to those to whom 
 it was addressed. 
 
 The hbrary erected by Dr. Simpson, at a cost 
 of ;^2,ooo from his own purse, was opened in the 
 year 1633. Already, before it had been opened, 
 liberal donations towards the filling it had been 
 made ; and down to the present time this resource 
 has never quite failed it, though of course, since 
 other sources were opened, this has somewhat 
 waned. A few specimens of these benefactions are 
 given in chronological order, as showing the lively 
 interest taken at this early date in an attempt to 
 found what was intended to be practically a free 
 and open library of reference and study. In esti- 
 
214 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 mating the benefactions, account must of course 
 be taken of the change in the value of money. Vis- 
 count and Viscountess Sudbury gave ;^So each; 
 Sir George Croke, ^loo ; Dr. Walker and the pa- 
 rishioners of St. John the Evangelist, Bread Street, 
 ;fioo; Rebecca, wife of Sir William Romney, 
 Knight and Alderman, ;^loo ; G. Grenough, W. 
 Gonnell, citizens, ;^5o each ; Robert Parkhurst, 
 ;^So ; Nath. Torperley, 170 printed books and 
 some MSS. ; Elizabeth, Viscountess Camden, 
 ;^20O ; Ann, relict of Sir Thomas Moulson, Lord 
 Mayor, ;^ioo. 
 
 Then came the great fire, in which the College 
 and library were consumed. An attempt, success- 
 ful in the main, was made to save the books by 
 removing them to the Charterhouse before the fire 
 reached the College. At least one-third, however, 
 of the volumes in the library were irrecoverably lost 
 in the double transfer from the college to the 
 Charterhouse, and from the Charterhouse back 
 again to the College after the library had been 
 rebuilt. 
 
 The rebuilding was no sooner completed in 1673 
 than, as Mr. Reading puts it, "generous minds 
 began to repair the havoc which the fire had made 
 of the books by many new gifts added to the old 
 remains." Time, Mr. Milman said, would per- 
 mit of the naming of only one or two of these new 
 benefactors. The King gave a "Jesuit's study 
 of works" which had been seized at Holbeck 
 in Yorkshire, and confiscated to the Crown. 
 George, Earl of Berkley, gave 700 volumes ; John 
 Lawson, M.D., 1,100; Mrs. Eleanor James, wife 
 of the well-known printer, Thomas James, upwards 
 of 3,000 volumes. This list might well be con- 
 cluded with the latest private benefaction of any 
 very considerable extent — viz., close upon 300 
 thick volumes of pamphlets, tracts, &c., collected 
 between 1830 and 1871, and presented by Rev. 
 William Scott, late vicar of St. Olave Jevny. 
 
 We arrive now at the second period in the his- 
 tory of the library, when a surer source of adding 
 to its treasures was opened to it, but one which 
 furnished it only with books published in England. 
 By an Act passed in the eighth year of Queen Anne, 
 A.D.I 709, the right was conferred upon the library 
 of Sion College, in common with other libraries, 
 of receiving a copy of every work entered at the 
 Stationers' Hall. This great privilege proved 
 practically of less advantage directly to the library 
 than might be supposed. The knowledge that the 
 library possessed the privilege tended to dry up 
 the streams of private liberality, whilst from the 
 Stationers' Hall seem to have come for the most 
 part only the cheaper and less valuable works, the 
 provisions of the Act being apparently too often 
 evaded in the case of the more costly and important 
 publications. Nor, as will appear presently, do 
 the representatives of the library seem to have 
 
 been as diligent as they should have been in 
 making the most of their right. 
 
 This brings us to the third period in the history 
 of the library, when by the Act of 6 and 7 Will. IV. 
 c. 1 10, this privilege was taken from the library, 
 and an annual compensation awarded in place of 
 it. This compensation was finally settled at 
 ;^363 i^s. 2d., whereas the library of St. Andrew's, 
 in Scotland, receives an annual sum of ;^5oo as 
 its compensation for the same privilege. Hence 
 the suspicion that the authorities of Sion College 
 had been remiss in claiming their rights. If they 
 had not, those of St. Andrew's must have been 
 something more than diligent in enforcing their 
 claims, inasmuch as the main factor in determining 
 the amount of the compensation to be awarded for 
 the withdrawal of the privilege was the annual value 
 upon an average of some years past which the 
 library could show had been derived from it. 
 Whatever may be thought of the amount of the 
 compensation, the possession of a sum of nearly 
 ;^40O per annum to spend upon accessions to the 
 library, certainly works better for its systematic 
 development than the right, whether exercised or 
 held in abeyance, of receiving a copy of every 
 work entered at Stationers' Hall. 
 
 It is believed that, with the exception of a brief 
 interval, ever since the annual compensation has 
 been received, all due care has been taken to ex- 
 pend it so as gradually to secure for the library the 
 best works in every branch of study. Of course 
 the fact already mentioned, that the library is 
 designed principally to facilitate the studies of a 
 large body of clergymen, gives a certain pre- 
 eminence to the department of theology ; but with 
 this reservation the best works in all classes of 
 literature are now, as far as means will admit, 
 purchased for the library. Of late years con- 
 siderable attention has been given to obtaining 
 for the library a more adequate supply of works in 
 foreign languages. 
 
 Mr. Milman proceeded to remark on the ma- 
 chinery for making the treasures of the library 
 available to students and readers, two classes by no 
 means identical. In the course of its history, the 
 library has possessed two printed catalogues, the 
 first published in 1650 by John Spencer, author of 
 "Things New and Old;" this is an alphabetical 
 catalogue with a classified index of theology, casuis- 
 try, and of one or two other departments which 
 seemed to its author to be of greatest importance. 
 The second catalogue was printed in 1724 by ' 
 William Reading. The main catalogue is of the 
 books as they had been classified by Mr. Reading 
 upon the shelves — it is, in fact, a series of classified 
 shelf-hsts with fairly full titles; to this he added an 
 alphabetical index. This catalogue is still held 
 in estimation, and occasionally referred to with 
 profit for bibliographical purposes. It is no longer 
 
SION COLLEGE. 
 
 2IS 
 
 of any use in the library, except to ascertain what 
 once was in it, as the last librarian but one before 
 Mr. Milman destroyed the shelf-classification as 
 arranged by Mr. Reading, intending to substitute a 
 new method of his own, and a new catalogue. The 
 new catalogue, on the new method, never made 
 much progress. Mr. Milman's immediate prede- 
 cessor, upon his appointment, had to consider how 
 he could most quickly again provide suclr a cata- 
 logue as would at any rate give a clue to the con- 
 tents of the library, and make them at once available. 
 He was practically single-handed ; so, to save 
 time, he ordered an interleaved copy of the printed 
 catalogue of the Bodleian Library, and marked with 
 press-marks such of the works upon the printed 
 pages as were possessed by Sion College, as well as 
 by Bodley, supplying in MS. such as the College 
 alone possessed. His work was nearly completed 
 when he was succeeded by the present librarian, 
 who is so far more fortunate that he has a very 
 active and intelligent assistant — but only one. The 
 provisional catalogue therefore stiU serves as a guide 
 to the contents of the library. But a new copy has 
 recently been made of the supplement, and by de- 
 grees catalogue-slips with aU proper cross references 
 from main entries, and with short titles for classi- 
 fied indexes, have been prepared for quite nine- 
 tenths of the contents of the library. Whether 
 these shall be pasted into volumes and used only 
 as a reference-catalogue in the library, after the 
 plan adopted at the British Museum, or whether 
 they shall be treated as materials for a printed 
 catalogue, will depend partly upon the possibility 
 of finding fimds to meet the large expense of 
 printing, partly upon the decision arrived at by 
 the Conference as to the desirability of printing 
 catalogues of libraries which increase largely every 
 year. 
 
 As to the use of the library by students and 
 readers, it might be stated that upon payment of a 
 small subscription not only the fellows and mem- 
 bers of Sion College, but all the clergy of the 
 metropolis, are allowed to borrow books from the 
 
 library for use at home. It is believed that by this 
 permission to take books home the general utility 
 of the library is much increased, though its com- 
 pleteness at any given time as a library of reference 
 is materially compromised. The permission to 
 borrow is not of course extended to works of ex- 
 ceptional value, nor to books of reference proper. 
 It is the more necessary to grant this permission, 
 because, as may easily be seen, the premises have 
 become very insufficient for the due preservation 
 and arrangement of so large and valuable a collec- 
 tion of books. It is hoped that at no very distant 
 day this insufficiency may be remedied by the 
 erection of a new, commodious, and handsome 
 building upon the present, or upon a new and 
 more accessible site. Meanwhile it will be obvious 
 that the demand made upon the time of the 
 librarian, and still more upon that of his assistant, 
 in connexion with the circulation of books and 
 other routine business of the foundation is very 
 considerable. 
 
 Mr. Milman said in conclusion :— " This ad- 
 dress, already too long, shall come to an end. No 
 bibliographical treasures have been displayed or 
 described upon the present occasion because it was 
 impressed upon me that the visit was to have 
 for its object the history and working of the 
 library, not its literary curiosities and rarities. It 
 must not on this account be concluded that there 
 are none to show. A list of the Caxtons and other 
 specimens of fifteenth century typogi'aphy sent 
 hence to the recent exhibition at South Kensington 
 would suffice alone to prove the reverse. And 
 these, after all, were but a specimen of what may be 
 found in the library of interest to the bibliographer. 
 These treasures will be shown now or upon any 
 future and more convenient occasion to the members 
 of the Conference of Librarians." 
 
 At the conclusion of the address, some questions 
 were put to the speaker and answered, after which, 
 upon the proposal of Mr. G. BuUen, seconded by 
 Baron Otto de Watteville, a vote of thanks for the 
 addiess was put and carried unanimously. 
 
2l6 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE CORPORATION OF LONDON, 
 
 GUILDHALL. 
 
 5n the afternoon of October 2, 
 upwards of lOO members of the 
 Conference visited the Free 
 Library of the Corporation of 
 London at the Guildhall, and 
 were received by Mr. Deputy 
 Mark Shephard, Chairman of 
 the Library-Committee, and by the Librarian, Mr. 
 W. H. Overall, who conducted them over the li- 
 brary, reading-room, and museum, and explained 
 to them the working of the library. 
 
 Some of the literary treasures were exhibited 
 in the committee-room, among them being the 
 "Chronica FranciEe" (ist of Henry IV.), used 
 by Mr. Alderman Fabyan in 1514-15, when com- 
 piling his "Chronicles of England and France;" 
 "Chroniques de France," printed by Anthoine 
 Verard at Paris (from the collection of the Dutch 
 Church library deposited at the Guildhall) ; several 
 MSS. of considerable interest ; Agas's original 
 map of the City of London, taken about 1560 
 (only one other copy known) ; collections of Lord 
 Mayors' Pageants (commencing with that borne 
 before William Web, Lord Mayor in 1591), and 
 Royal Pageants (commencing vnth that exhibited 
 to Queen Mary and Philip of Spain in 1555) J ^"<i 
 a collection of the original Bills of Mortality pub- 
 lished during the plague of 1665. 
 
 After the company had partaken of the hospi- 
 tality of the Chairman of the Committee, they were 
 shown over the Guildhall, Council-Chamber, Court 
 of Aldermen, and other rooms. Before leaving, 
 thanks were voted to Mr. Deputy Shephard and 
 Mr. Overall for their kindness and courtesy. 
 
 It is difficult to fix the exact date of the foun- 
 dation of the library at the Guildhall, but it must 
 have .been between 1421 and 1426. 
 
 The celebrated Richard Whittington and his 
 friend William Bury left a considerable sum of 
 money to build and found a library ; and that his 
 benevolent intentions were faithfully carried out 
 the following extract from the civic records will 
 show : — 
 
 Letter- Book K, fol. 39, July 4, 1426 : " Upon 
 the Petition of John Coventry, John Carpenter, 
 and William Grove, the Executors of Richard 
 Whittington and William Bury, the Custody of 
 the New House, or Library, which they had built, 
 with the Chamber under, was placed at their 
 
 disposal by the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and 
 Commonalty." 
 
 In 1442 one of the executors above-mentioned, 
 namely, John Carpenter, the Town-Clerk of Lon- 
 don, Member of Parliament for the City, and the 
 founder of the City of London School, left the fol- 
 lowing directions in his will, which was proved in 
 the Consistory-Court of the Bishop of London on 
 May 12, 1442 ; a copy of the same is enrolled in 
 the ancient Hustings-Court, and preserved in the 
 Corporation's archives : — 
 
 "If any good or rare books shall be found 
 amongst the residue of my goods, which by the 
 discretion of Master William Lichfield and Regi- 
 nald Pecok may seem necessary to the common 
 library at Guildhall for the profit of the students 
 there, and those discoursing to the common people, 
 then I vnll and bequeath that those books be 
 placed by my executors and chained 'vn that library, 
 in such form that the visitors and students thereof 
 may be the sooner admonished to pray for my 
 soul." 
 
 In a subsequent entry of 1444 from the same 
 Records we are enabled to trace the librarian of 
 the then National Library : — 
 
 Letter-Book K, fol. 219: " Terciodecimo Die 
 Julii, anno regni Regis Henrici Sexti post con- 
 questum vicesimo secundo (1444), venit hie coram 
 Thoma Catworth, Maiore et Aldermannis Civitatis 
 London, Magister Johes Clipston, Capellanus et 
 custos Librarie Guyhald, Civitatis predicte, et 
 quandam porrexit supplicacoem sub tenore se- 
 quenti." 
 
 " To the full Honourable Lord and Souveraignes 
 Maire and Aldermen of the Citee of London, be- 
 sechith lowely your Prest and Bedeman Maister 
 John Clipstone, keper of your liberary atte Guylde- 
 halle, for as moche as it hath likede you for to 
 take to hym the kepinge and charge of the said 
 liberary. Please it to you, for to consider the 
 greet attendaunce and charge the whiche he hath 
 with it, and in waytenge therupon to graunte that 
 he may be made so sure of his lyjlode, housyng, and 
 easement of the gardyn which he hath for that 
 occupacion atte this day, that he be nat hereafter 
 putte away therefro, ne noo part there-off, nor noon 
 other charge put upon hym so that he may have 
 more cause and occassion to pray besyly for the 
 toeele of you and of the sayd Citee" &c. 
 
 The answer, in Latin, states that the request 
 
CORPORATION LIBRARY, GUILDHALL. 
 
 T.X'l 
 
 having been duly •weighed, and the great merits 
 and industry of the petitioner considered by the 
 said "Maire and Aldermen," his prayer was granted 
 with occupation for his whole life. 
 
 We next find recorded in Stow the appropriation 
 of the contents of this library by the Lord Protector 
 Somerset in 1552. 
 
 Stow, when writing of the building, afterwards 
 called Blackwell Hall, says : " Adjoining this 
 Chappell was sometyme a fayre and large librarie, 
 fiirnished with Bookes pertaining to the Guildhall 
 and CoUedge : — These Bookes (as it is said) were, 
 in the raigne of Edward the Sixth, sent for by 
 Edward Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector, with 
 promise to be restored shortly : Men laded from 
 thence three Carriers (carts) with them, but they 
 were never returned." 
 
 " This librarie was builded by the Executors of 
 R. Whittington and by William Burie. The armes 
 of Whittington are placed on the one side in the 
 stone worke, and two Letters, to wit W and B for 
 William Burie on the other side." — Stow ; edition 
 1598, p. 219. 
 
 Shortly afterwards the building became a part of 
 the Cloth Mart 
 
 Letter-Book R, fol. 58, March 6, 1553 : " Item 
 for certeyn consideracons movying the Court, yt is 
 agreid by the same that Sir John Aylif, Knight, 
 nowe keper of Blackwell Hall, shall have the 
 whole Lybrarye of the Guyldhall College, as well 
 above as beneth, firom the feste of the Annuncyacon 
 of our Ladye nowe nexte comyng for the terme of 
 his naturall lyf, yeldyng therefore_ yerely duryng 
 the same terme to the Mayor & Coialtye & Cytezens 
 of this Cytie to th' use of the poore £y, so alweyes 
 that he use and occupye the same as a coen Mket 
 howse for the sale of clothes, and none otherwyse. " 
 Everything worthy of selection having been 
 abstracted, this once famous library retained a 
 very dubious and inconsiderable position, and in 
 the Great Fire of 1666 the remaining books and 
 building were destroyed. 
 
 From this date no attempt was made to repair 
 the loss until 1824, when Mr. Richard Lambert 
 Jones recommended the formation of a committee 
 for this purpose, which was agreed to by the Cor- 
 poration, and on June 2nd a suite of rooms was 
 provided for the library purposes. In 1828 the 
 committee received great assistance in the formation 
 of the library from Mr. William Upcott, one of the 
 librarians of the London Institution. Shortly 
 afterwards they appointed the first librarian, Mr. 
 William Herbert, the author of the " History of the 
 Livery Companies of London," and on the nth 
 of October, 1832, a new building was provided for 
 the treasures then collected, the entrance being 
 from the porch of the Guildhall : the first catalogue 
 was issued in 1840, and contained about 10,000 
 volumes. In 1845 Mr. W. Turner Alchin was ap- 
 
 pointed librarian : he prepared a second catalogue, 
 which was issued in 1859, containing about 40,000 
 volumes. About this time several steps were taken 
 by the Corporation to increase the usefulness of 
 the institution, readers not connected with the Cor- 
 poration being admitted by tickets. Mr. W. H. 
 Overall was appointed librarian in 1865, after 
 having filled the office of sub-librarian for several 
 years. The number of readers still increasing, 
 and the usefulness of the library becoming more 
 general, it became necessary to increase the ac- 
 commodation. The facts being brought to the 
 notice of the Court of Common Council by Dr. 
 William Sedgwick Saunders, in 1869, that body with 
 the greatest liberality determined to provide a more 
 fitting building, and to this end appointed a select 
 committee presided over by the gentleman above 
 named ; they recommended that a new building 
 should be erected at the east end of the Guildhall. 
 This was carried out, and the present building was 
 raised at the cost, including the site, of over 
 ;^90,ooo. The building was opened on the loth 
 of March, 1873, as a Free Public Library. 
 
 The principal library is 100 feet long by 65 
 feet -wide, and 50 feet in height, divided into 
 nave and aisles, the latter being fitted up with 
 oak bookcases, forming twelve bays. The room 
 is well lighted, the clerestory over the arcade of 
 the nave, with the large windows at the north 
 and south ends of the room, together with those 
 in the aisles, transmitting a flood of light to every 
 corner of the room. The oak roof, the arched 
 ribs of which are supported by the arms of the 
 twelve great City Companies, with the addition of 
 those of the Leathersellers' and Broderers', and also 
 the Royal and City arms, has its several timbers 
 richly moulded, and its spandrils filled in with 
 tracery, and contains three large louvres for lighting 
 the roof and thoroughly ventilating the hall. The 
 aisle roofs, the timbers of which are also richly 
 wrought, have louvres over each bay, and at night 
 are lighted by means of sun-burners suspended from 
 each of these louvres together with those in the 
 nave. Each of the spandrils of the arcade has, 
 next the nave, a sculptured head, representing 
 History, Poetry, Printing, Architecture, Sculpture, 
 Painting, Philosophy, Law, Medicine, Music, 
 Astronomy, Geography, &c. 
 
 The public reading-room, at the south end of the 
 library, is 50 feet in length by 24 feet wide, lighted 
 by a window at the west end, and also by skylights 
 in the roof. 
 
 The Museum occupies the lower site, the floor 
 being level with the ancient crypt of the Guildhall. 
 The room is 83 feet long, 64 wide, and 20 feet 
 high. 
 
 In the early part of the year 1876 the bankers, 
 warehousemen, traders, householders, and their 
 employes petitioned the Court of Common Comicil 
 
 r F 
 
VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 to open the library in the evening. This was una- 
 nimously agreed to by the Court, and on Mid- 
 summer-day the hours were extended till 9 p.m., 
 so that the library is now open daily from 10 A.M. 
 to 9 p. M. for the first five days of the week, and on 
 Saturdays from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. 
 
 The following statistics will best show the use 
 made of this establishment. 
 
 The number of readers, &c. in the library, read- 
 ing-room, &c., for 187s, was 192,716; for 1876, 
 242,995 ; and for the first six months of 1877, 
 
 148.315- 
 
 One of the principal features of this library is 
 the collection of works upon London— its laws, 
 customs, pageants, livery and public companies, 
 political history, topography, &c. &c, 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE LONDON INSTITUTION.* 
 
 HE London Institution for the 
 Advancement of Literature 
 and the Diffusion of Useful 
 Knowledge was founded in 
 1805, -and incorporated by 
 royal charter in 1807. The 
 present building was erected 
 in 1819. The Institution maintains a reference- 
 library, a circulating library, and reading-rooms : 
 during four months of the year it holds lectures 
 delivered by men of eminence in science, art, and 
 literature. The subscribing members are upwards 
 of 1,200, a number for which the existing accommo- 
 dation is barely adequate ; but in view of the yearly 
 increasing popularity of the Institution the pro- 
 priety of erecting further buildings is under con- 
 sideration. 
 
 Following the order of the "Rough List," it 
 may be said that the reference-library consists of 
 upwards of 6o,ooot volumes, that it is intended 
 for general readers, and that, while supported en- 
 tirely from the income of the Institution, it has 
 nevertheless been made free and public. Each one 
 of the 950 proprietary members now has as many 
 yearly tickets to give as he may vrish, and the proxies 
 placed in the hands of the librarian enable him to 
 give a ticket to any one who may not b.e acquainted 
 with a proprietor. This he does on receipt of a 
 recommendation from any person in a responsible 
 position, and the applications for such tickets, and 
 
 * This libraiy was to have been formally visited 
 on October 3, after the visits to the libraries of 
 Sion College and the Corporation ' of London : 
 time did not admit of this, but the library was 
 open to the Conference during the entire week. 
 
 t In Edwards's " Memoirs of Libraries " (1859), 
 the number of volumes is said to exceed 62,000. 
 In " Old and New London " it is put dovm at 
 about 70,000. But, according to a calculation 
 made about 1866, there were then riot more than 
 53.000. 
 
 the use made of the library, are continuously in- 
 creasing. 
 
 The entire collection (books of extreme scarcity 
 or size, parliamentary papers, and bound daily 
 and weekly journals excepted) is contained in one 
 handsome room, oblong in shape, 97 feet in 
 length, 42 in width, and 28 in height, with a 
 gallery running all round. The lower part of this 
 area is divided into thirteen recesses and four 
 comer rooms : the gallery is supported on the piers 
 of the recesses, and has transverse cases as weU as 
 wall-cases. There is unfortunately no work-room ; 
 but if new buildings are erected this want will 
 certainly be supplied. The shelves are mostly 
 movable — with much loss of time. They are 
 deep enough to admit a double row of octavos, 
 and in the case of a series the volumes with even 
 numbers are placed immediately behind those with 
 odd numbers ; as the collections of journals and 
 tracts are very large, room for many thousands of 
 volumes is thus saved. The room is lighted by 
 sunlights, which serve as excellent ventilators, and 
 is warmed by hot air. 
 
 The contents are at present selected on the 
 theory that libraries for general readers should aim 
 at a general efficiency — neglecting no useful branch 
 of knowledge and favouring none at the expense of 
 others. The fostering, however, of particular de- 
 partments in former times has given to some a 
 peculiar richness. 
 
 New purchases are made each month, but dupli- 
 cates and former editions (unless possessing some 
 special value) are either sold or transferred to the 
 circulating library, and perhaps some day for want 
 of room such other books as have been beyond any 
 doubt entirely superseded, and have no claim to 
 retention on account of their curiosity, may be 
 disposed of with the view of limiting the number 
 of volumes to 80,000, or at most 100,000. 
 
 Of the books in the library there is a printed 
 catalogue up to 1852, in three volumes, issued in 
 1835, 1843, and 1852, the last two being supple- 
 mentary to the first : all these are classified. The 
 
THE LONDON INSTITUTION. 
 
 2ig 
 
 first volume has no indexes ; the second "has both 
 a subject and an author index to itself and the 
 first volume ; the third volume has both a subject 
 and an author index to itself. Since 1852, how- 
 ever, the catalogue has been continued only in 
 manuscript supplements which leave much to be 
 desired, and it is intended to prepare for con- 
 sultation in the library a new catalogue on the 
 dictionary system, with authors and subjects (pos- 
 sibly titles as well) under one alphabet : this cata- 
 logue, or at least one copy of it, will probably be 
 on cards. 
 
 Of the very large collection of bound tracts there 
 are two catalogues — one by authors up to 1859 
 (apparently), the other by subjects up to 1840 
 (apparently) : both are in manuscript, but of the 
 latter letters A — F were printed in a volume (with 
 index) in 1840. Many thousands of further tracts 
 await binding ; when they are bound it is intended 
 to complete the catalogue. 
 
 As an accession-catalogue of books that which 
 is supplied by the American Library- Association 
 is now in use : separate accession-catalogues 
 for periodicals and pamphlets are about to be 
 adopted. 
 
 The old arrangement of the books, to which as 
 "the actual arrangement of a weU-ordered Library 
 of moderate extent" 12pp. are devoted in Edwards's 
 "Memoirs of Libraries," is being superseded by 
 another, the principles of which are — (i) to sub- 
 classify to the utmost degree short of confusion ; 
 (2) to keep the foho and quarto shelves of each 
 class as near as possible to the shelves for 8vo. et 
 inf. The new arrangement is almost completed. 
 Between each sub-division of a subject and the 
 other sub-divisions a thin prop of wood is fixed to 
 prevent disturbance of the classification. 
 
 The object of such an arrangement being to 
 make the shelves a standing classified catalogue 
 both for librarians and readers, labels are needed. 
 These are of black buckram, lettered in gilt, and 
 are affixed with brass-headed nails, capable of being 
 easily removed. The completeness with which 
 the labelling is being carried out may be judged 
 from the fact that in the Topography of the United 
 Kingdom every county has its label, and that Mid- 
 dlesex has the following seven : (l.) Middlesex — 
 General ; (2.) Middlesex — London, General ; (3.) 
 Middlesex — London, Municipal ; {i^.) Middlesex — 
 London, City Companies ; (5.) Middlesex — London, 
 Charities; (6.) Middlesex ^ London, Port; ("].) 
 Middlesex — Miscellaneous, including Ljindon Dis- 
 tricts. Besides the shelf-labels, labels measuring 
 about fifteen inches by nine inches, and also made 
 of black buckram, are affixed to both pilasters of 
 each recess : these give a general index to the con- 
 tents of the recess. 
 
 On the completion of the arrangement and 
 labelling, the shelves will be renumbered on a 
 
 decimal system ; the books, if necessary, will be 
 labelled outside, and shelf-lists will be compiled. 
 
 All binding is done in faced buckram, the nature 
 and advantages of which are described in the paper 
 " On Buckram as a Binding-Material " (see pp. 124- 
 126). 
 
 Passing to facilities for the public, it may be said 
 that beyond a letter of recommendation from some 
 person in a responsible position no preliminary 
 fiarm is required ; that there is no age-qualification ; 
 that the library is open on each week-day from 
 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., except on Saturdays, when it is 
 shut at 3 p. m. ; that it has hitherto been closed 
 once a year, but that this closing may in future be 
 avoided ; and that the readers have access not 
 only to the catalogues and librarians, but also to 
 the shelves — being, of course, forbidden to replace 
 the books they take. 
 
 It remains to speak of the circulating library, the 
 use of which is restricted to members of the Insti- 
 tution. This is comparatively a, recent creation, 
 and until the last few years consisted only of books 
 borrowed from trade circulating libraries. At pre- 
 sent there is a permanent stock of over 3,000 
 volumes in all classes of literature, and including 
 a very high proportion of the best works ; about 
 700 volumes are being added yearly, and the rate 
 of addition is on the increase. This collection is 
 supplemented by a subscription of ;if 200 a year for 
 general literature to Messrs. W. H. Smith and 
 Sons, and by other subscriptions to Mr. Rolandi 
 for foreign works, Messrs. Lewis and Son for 
 scientific works, and Messrs. Augener for musical 
 publications. At present a portion of the reference- 
 library is appropriated to the circulating library, 
 but before very long new buildings, including a 
 spacious circulating library, will probably be 
 erected ; and it is hoped that the collection, as a 
 collection of modern books, will gradually become 
 one of the choicest in the kingdom. 
 
 At present there is only an authors' catalogue up 
 to 1875, but it is intended to commence a new 
 catalogue this year, on the same principle as that of 
 the new reference -library catalogue. The arrange- 
 ment of the books is classified, though, as the 
 collection is as yet small, less minutely so than in 
 the reference-library ; similar shelf-labels are used ; 
 and the same material is used for binding. Members 
 are entitled to five volumes, which they choose 
 firom the shelves. When a book not in hand at- 
 the time is wanted, the person wanting it fills up a 
 postcard* form of order (supplied without charge) ; 
 when the book has been procured, the card is 
 posted to him, telling him of the arrival of the book, 
 and within what time (generally two clear days) it 
 must be called for. The usual number of days 
 allowed for reading a book is twenty-one, at the 
 
 * Described p. 176 and Appendix. 
 
VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 end of which, unless of the lightest reading, or 
 wanted by some other member, it may be renewed 
 for a like term. As it is not possible (at present) 
 to put more than twelve copies of any work in circu- 
 lation, the time for reading books in great demand 
 is hmited to a shorter number of days ; and such 
 books are entered by name in a " short- time 
 register," as well as by number in the general 
 ledger. There are no fines ; but a moderation in 
 the rules and their unvarying observance by the 
 librarians combine to procure a respect for rules 
 which is not always found. The circulating library 
 is open during the same hours as the reference- 
 library ; hitherto it has been found absolutely 
 necessary to close for a fortnight every autumn, for 
 
 stock-taking, verification of members' accounts, re- 
 pairing, &c., but an increase in the staff might 
 possibly obviate this necessity. 
 
 The foregoing account has aimed at being en- 
 tirely practical, but the connoisseur in old and 
 rare books will be pleased to hear that the number 
 of these possessed by the London Institution would 
 have been too long to enumerate, and he who is fond 
 of linking the history of foundations and the names 
 of men may like to know that its former librarians 
 have been — the great Greek scholar Porson ; W. 
 Maltby; Richard Thomson, author of " Chronicles 
 of London Bridge;" professor E. W. Brayley ; and 
 J. C. Brough, author of "Fairy Tales of Science." 
 The present librarian was appointed in 1873. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, 
 
 HE nucleus of the British 
 Museum library was the 50,000 
 volumes contained in the li- 
 brary attached to the museum 
 of Sir Hans Sloane, who dying 
 in 1753 bequeathed to the na- 
 tion his entire collections, on 
 payment to his executors of the sum of ;£^2O,00O, 
 which he believed to be about one-fourth of their 
 actual value. The Government accepting this, a 
 Bill was passed through Parliament by which the 
 Sloane collections were purchased for the sum 
 named, and with them the Harleian collection of 
 -MSS., costing ;^io,ooo; to these was added the 
 Cottonian collection of MSS., already acquired 
 for the nation as far back as 1700. To defray the 
 expenses of purchase and provide suitable accommo- 
 dation, a lottery was authorized for ;^300,ooo, out 
 of which about ;^ 100, 000 were realized ; and the 
 British Museum with its library, after many pre- 
 liminary negotiations, was established in Montague 
 House, in Great Russell Street, and opened to the 
 public on the 15th January, 1759. Another site — 
 namely, that of Buckingham House, now Bucking- 
 ham Palace, in St James's Park — was suggested, 
 but the price of that was ;^30,ooo ; and so Mon- 
 tague House, with its gardens and grounds, occupy- 
 ing about seven acres and a half, which was to be 
 had for ;^lo,ooo, was preferred — a decision, con- 
 sidering its present central situation, by no means 
 to be regretted. 
 
 Previously to the opening of the Museum, King 
 George II. added still further to the strength and 
 value of the Ubrary, by presenting to it the old 
 Royal Library, dating as far back as the reign of 
 
 Henry VII., and rich in manifold treasures, — 
 of which the illustrious Bentley was at one time 
 librarian. Thus in the matter of both printed 
 books and MSS. the Museum library was respect- 
 ably furnished, although lamentably deficient in 
 the number of its volumes as compared with the 
 libraries on the Continent of much older establish- 
 ment, and our own at home in the Universities of 
 Oxford and Cambridge. It is true that, by the 
 provisions of the Copyright Act, the Museum was 
 entitled to a copy of every book published in the 
 United Kingdom ; but in those early days the right 
 was by no means strictly enforced, neither was it 
 made of substantial benefit to the public until the 
 time of Mr. (now Sir Anthony) Panizzi, who, in 
 praiseworthy defiance of the clamours of a few 
 recalcitrant publishers, insisted upon having a copy 
 of every book to which the Museum is entitled 
 lodged in its library. Owing to the carelessness 
 of his predecessors, many thousand pounds have 
 from time to time been expended in the purchase of 
 books to which the Museum was legally entitled ; 
 but, thanks to the few prosecutions which he insti- 
 tuted, the publishers now all feel themselves ame- 
 nable to the statute, and show little or no disinclina- 
 tion to comply with it — so far, at least, as concerns 
 the British Museum. The publications nowannually 
 accruing from this source not only tend to an aug- 
 mentation of the number of volumes in the library, 
 but show the multifarious activity of the mind of 
 the nation in every department of literature, science, 
 and art. Even in those things which some people 
 may think worthless, the Museum is catholic in the 
 extreme: it accepts everything and disdains nothing. 
 It is well known that when the Bodleian Library 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 221 
 
 was founded, Sir Thomas Bodley stipulated that 
 it should not acquire "such books as almanacks, 
 plays, and an infinite number that are daily printed 
 of very unworthy matters and handling, such as 
 methinks both the keeper and the under -keeper 
 should disdain to seek out and deliver to any man. 
 Haply some plays may be worth the keeping, but 
 hardly one in forty. For it is not alike in English 
 plays and others of other nations, because they 
 are most esteemed for learning the languages, and 
 many of them compiled by men of great fame for 
 wisdom and learning, which is seldom or never 
 here among us." The consequence of such an in- 
 junction was that the plays of Shakspere and his 
 contemporaries were scarcely included in the Bod- 
 leian collection, and have since had to be acquired 
 at ruinous prices. The true policy is for librarians 
 of large public libraries not to set themselves up 
 as arbiters of public taste or morals, but to take 
 what comes to them, and leave posterity to judge 
 of the value of their acquisitions. Who would now 
 estimate sufficiently the importance of the Garrick 
 collection of plays, and the Roxburghe and Bagford 
 ballads, were he to be guided by such principles 
 as those set forth by Sir Thomas Bodley ? 
 
 In the same year that the Museum was opened 
 to the public, the library received a remarkable 
 present of Hebrew books, i8o in number, from a 
 Jewish gentleman, Solomon da Costa, accompanied 
 by a characteristic letter to the trustees, wishing 
 success to the new institution, and stating that the 
 books he presented were of the choicest kind in 
 Hebrew literature, and bound in morocco by order 
 of King Charles II., with his cypher on the covers. 
 These books, he says, were purchased by him in 
 the days of his youth, and he begged the trustees 
 to accept them as a token of his gratitude for the 
 protection and privileges that he enjoyed while 
 living under the British Constitution. Da Costa's 
 gift was an admirable foundation for the extensive 
 Hebrew library of which the Museum can now 
 boast. 
 
 In 1763 King George III. added greatly to the 
 value of the library by presenting to it the well- 
 known Thomason collection of books and tracts 
 published in England between the years 1640 
 and 1662, and embracing all the controversial 
 pamphlets, whether on the Royalist or Common- 
 wealth side, which appeared during that eventful 
 period. Thomason was a bookseller at the sign 
 of the "Rose and Crown," in St. Paul's Church- 
 yard, and collected everything, from a folio volume 
 to a broadside, and not only political pamphlets, 
 but all kinds of literature, theological treatises, 
 sermons, poetry, and history. It was a collection 
 formed on entirely opposite principles to those of 
 Sir Thomas Bodley, and fortunate for us that it 
 was so, since it has since proved in the hands of 
 Mr. Carlyle and other historians to be the most 
 
 valuable repertory that we possess for illustrating 
 the political and social condition of England at 
 the time. The collection embraces about 30,000 
 distinct publications, bound in 2,220 volumes, 
 and it is said that Thomason at one time refused 
 as much as £,/^ooo for it. After many vicissitudes, 
 it was at length purchased for the paltry sum of 
 ;^30o by King George III. 
 
 The next important collection acquired for the 
 Museum was the library of the Rev. Clayton 
 Mordaunt Cracherode, one of the Museum trus- 
 tees, who bequeathed it, together with his other 
 collections, in 1799. It consists of as many as 
 4,500 volumes, embracing early editions of the 
 classics, books printed on vellum, books from the 
 libraries of Grolier and De Thou, in their charac- 
 teristic bindings, choice copies and bibliographical 
 rarities. 
 
 The famous library of Sir Joseph Banks, con- 
 sisting of about 16,000 volumes, was bequeathed 
 by its owner to the trustees in 1820, but did not 
 reach the Museum until 1827. It is rich in works 
 on Natural History, Voyages and Travels, Trans- 
 actions of learned Societies, and Journals of 
 Science. The books in the Banksian collection 
 are kept in a separate apartment in the library, 
 not being incorporated and classified with the 
 general collection ; and the same is the case with 
 the Cracherode collection, it being considered 
 that an additional honour is thus conferred upon 
 the memory of the donors. It would have been 
 well, perhaps, had the same course been adopted 
 with respect to the books acquired from the 
 library of the kings of England. 
 
 A still greater acquisition than any of those 
 mentioned was that made in 1823 of the " Royal 
 Library," a collection of books formed by George 
 III., with the greatest care and under the most 
 favourable auspices. That monarch, upon coming 
 to the Crown, found himself without a library, 
 through the gift made by his grandfather to the 
 nation of the old royal collection, and immediately 
 set himself to the task of acquiring one for him- 
 self. The nucleus of it was a very valuable col- 
 lection belonging to the English Consul at Venice, 
 Mr. Smith, which the King purchased for ;^io,ooo. 
 He appointed his illegitimate half-brother. Sir 
 Frederick Augusta Barnard, his librarian, and 
 that gentleman, with the aid of Mr. Nicol, the 
 King's bookseller, took great pains to make the 
 library worthy of his royal master. He con- 
 sulted Dr. Johnson, the best authority of his time, 
 on the choice of books, and a letter from that 
 great scholar on the subject, characterized by sound 
 sense, taste, and discretion, is printed in the first 
 volume of the catalogue, issued in 1820, which 
 Sir Frederick Barnard lived to complete. A sum 
 amounting annually to about ^^2,000 was laid 
 out upon the library, which is calculated to have 
 
VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 cost altogether about ;^i30,ooo. Some of the 
 rarest and most valuable books in the world are 
 included in this library, which, coming into the 
 possession of King George IV., upon the death of 
 his father, appears to have somewhat embarrassed 
 the new King, who could hit upon no better 
 means of getting rid of his white elephant than 
 selling it to the Emperor of Russia. This coming 
 to the ears of Mr. Richard Heber, one of the most 
 famous bibliophiles of his time, he appealed to 
 Lord Sidmouth to prevent such a disgrace from 
 falling on the country by depositing the collection 
 in the British Museum, and it was contrived that 
 the King should get a sum of money for it out of 
 some surplus funds paid by France for compensa- 
 tion of losses during the Revolution. While this 
 was done it was made to appear that the library 
 was presented by the King to the nation, and a 
 letter to that effect was actually written by him on 
 the 15th January, 1823, to Lord Liverpool, in 
 which occurs these words — " The King, my late 
 revered and excellent father, having formed during 
 a long series of years a most valuable and extensive 
 library, consisting of about 120,000 volumes, I 
 have resolved to present this collection to the 
 British nation." And so the Museum came into 
 the possession of George III.'s fine library, which 
 was removed from Buckingham House in 1829 to 
 the magnificent room expressly built for its recep- 
 tion in the Museum, and to which the general 
 public have free access, so far at least as looking 
 at the backs of the books is concerned, while they 
 may be consulted for literary purposes in the 
 reading-room. The number of volumes when 
 counted was not quite " 120,000," but just 65,259 ; 
 to which, however, there should be added a large 
 collection of pamphlets, which, having been since 
 separately bound, makes the entire collection to 
 consist of about 84,000 volumes. An inscription 
 in Latin at one end of the "King's Library," 
 and in English at the other, informs the public 
 that the library was the gift of King George IV. 
 to the nation, nor did the truth come to light as to 
 the manner in which it was acquired until it was 
 inade known in the "Quarterly Review" for 
 December, 1850, in an article written by the late 
 Mr. Richard Ford, which caused a considerable 
 sensation at the time of its appearance. 
 
 Numerous other donations and bequests of whole 
 libraries or parcels of books have from time to 
 time been made to the library of the British 
 Museum from 1 759 to the present day, of which 
 the following must be regarded only as specimens 
 — namely, those of Dr. Thomas Birch, in 1766; 
 of Sir John Hawkins, in 1778 ; of Mr. Tyrrwhitt, 
 in 1786 ; and of Sir Richard Colt Hoare, in 1825. 
 Of purchases the following deserve to be mentioned 
 — viz., the Garrick collection of Old Plays, from 
 the great actor's widow, in 1780; a collection of 
 
 books, principally classics, with MS. notes by Dr. 
 Bentley, in 1807 ; Francis Hargrave's library of 
 Law Books, in 1813 ; Baron Moll's library of 
 Natural History and Medicine, about 20,000 
 volumes, in 1815 ; and in 18 18, Ginguene's library 
 of Italian and French literature, amounting to 
 about 5,000 volumes. 
 
 The greatest acquisition of all, however, next to 
 that of George III.'s library, was the library 
 amassed during many years by the Right Hon. 
 Thomas Grenville, which in a codicil to his will, 
 dated October, 1845, he bequeathed to the British 
 Museum, expressing himself in the following 
 words : — " A great part of my library has been 
 purchased from the profits of a sinecure office given 
 me by the public, and I feel it to be a debt and a 
 duty that I should acknowledge this obligation by 
 giving that library so acquired to the British Mu- 
 seum for the use of the public." Mr. Grenville 
 dying in 1846, at the age of ninety-one, his entire 
 library was deposited in the British Museum. The 
 library is thus described by the late Mr. Thomas 
 Watts in an article on the British Museum which 
 he contributed to the "English Cyclopasdia: " — 
 "The collection comprised 20,240 volumes, and 
 had cost more than ;^54,ooo. It was in admirable 
 condition in all respects, abounding in fine bind- 
 ings, in copies on vellum, and on large paper ; and 
 was altogether such a library as Dibdin delighted 
 to describe. It was rich in choice Italian and 
 Spanish literature, and in early voyages and tra- 
 vels, and in many respects dovetailed aximirably 
 with the Museum collections — the Museum, for 
 instance, having few early editions of the. ' Orlando 
 Furioso ' or ' Don Quixote ; ' the Grenville being 
 remarkably complete in both. This, however, 
 was the less remarkable, as the intention of the 
 donor had been confided some time, before his 
 death to his friend, Mr. Panizzi, the keeper of the 
 printed books. This fine library is kept entirely 
 apart, in a room which contains a bust of the 
 donor, and it has a separate printed catalogue." 
 
 In this way from year to year the library of the 
 British Museum grew, through the action of the 
 Copyright Act, and by gifls and purchases. The 
 sums of money, however, annually allotted for the 
 last-mentioned were for a long time niggardly in 
 the extreme. Thus for the first sixty years of its 
 existence the entire amount spent on the augmenta- 
 tion of the library of printed books did not exceed 
 ;f3i,ooo, or about ^500 a-year. Later on the 
 grants were increased, and in the years 1833-37 
 the sum of ^10,250 was allotted for the purchase 
 of books. It was not, however, until under the 
 administration of Mr. Panizzi, who came into 
 office as keeper of the printed books in 1837, that 
 an earnest effort was made to have the Parlia- 
 mentary grants for the library increased in such a 
 manner as should satisfy the requirements of lite- 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 223 
 
 rary men, and be worthy of the great English 
 nation. Animated by a praiseworthy determina- 
 tion to bring this about, Mr. Panizzi, with the 
 assistance of Mr. J. Winter Jones and Mr. Thomas 
 Watts, drew up an elaborate and higlily interest- 
 ing report on the actual condition of the library, 
 and pointing out its deficiencies in almost every 
 branch of learning. This report was submitted to 
 the trustees in January, 1845, and was so con- 
 vincing that the governing board applied to the 
 Treasury for a grant for the ensuing ten years of 
 ;£'io,ooo per aimum, in addition to the ordinary 
 grant of ;^S,cioo for the acquisition of books. The 
 Treasury consented to the former part of this de- 
 mand, "for some years to come," but objected to 
 the latter. This grant, however, lasted for only 
 about three years, when it was cut down 10^4,500, 
 sometimes even less, until the completion of the 
 new library and reading-room in 1857, when it 
 again assumed the dimensions of jf 10,000 per 
 annum, at which figure it remains to the present 
 day, with an additional grant for binding of 
 ;^7,cioo, which includes the laying down of slips in 
 the new catalogue, and the binding and rebinding 
 of the volumes — processes continually needed in 
 a MS. catalogue carried on according to the 
 present system. 
 
 The collection of printed books, which on being 
 counted in 1838 amounted to only 235,000 volumes, 
 and again in 1849 to only 435,000, has now 
 reached the enormous number of 1,250,000 
 volumes. Notwithstanding this numerical force, 
 it is nevertheless deficient in many thousands of 
 works which it would be desirable to find on its 
 shelves. This is the case not only with respect to 
 foreign works, but in regard to English books 
 generally. These latter it has been the aim of 
 the administration for many years past to supply ; 
 while a machinery exists for a constant influx of 
 the best books in all the languages, published 
 firom year to year, as also for filling up the lacuna 
 among those of later date. 
 
 Even in the branch of " Incunabula," or books 
 published before the year 1500, which of late 
 years has commanded so much attention, and to the 
 collection of which the Caxton Exhibition has 
 given a great impetus, the library has received 
 many and important accessions during the last five 
 years ; and this is still going on so successfully 
 that, should anew edition of Hain's "Repertorium 
 Bibliographicum," the greatest authority on the 
 subject, be called for, the adventurous editor 
 would find his best sources of information in the 
 hbrary of the British Museum. 
 
 Substantially, the character of the library remains 
 the same as when described by Mr. Watts in the ar- 
 ticle before referred to in the " English Cyclopaedia, " 
 in which, writing in 1859, he says : — " The state of 
 the library is, nevertheless, very different from what 
 
 It was twenty years ago, and it now stands perhaps 
 second*in the list of the great collections of Europe. 
 The libraries of France and Italy and the South have 
 in generalfounded their claims to admiration onsuch 
 merits as Dr. Dibdin gives most importance to— the 
 rarity and beauty of particular volumes contained in 
 them, their general good condition, and their extent. 
 In the libraries of Germany, Scandinavia, and the 
 North in general, on the other hand, more attention 
 has been paid to scientific completeness, and to ex- 
 cellence of cataloguing and arrangements. Copies 
 on vellum or on large paper, or in remarkable 
 bindings, sets of Alduses or Elzevirs, have been 
 amassed in the one ; complete sets of books on a 
 particular subject, well classed, in the other. 
 In the Museum there is a combination of both 
 these claims. The King's library, both old and 
 new, the Grenville and the Cracherode collections, 
 would alone suffice to place it on a high level in 
 point of rarities and curiosities, and there has been 
 no falling off in purchases of this kind during the 
 administration of Mr. Panizzi and his successor, 
 Mr. Winter Jones. The Roxburghe ballads, early 
 editions of the Bible, early service-books, early 
 editions of Shakspere's plays— everything that is 
 rare and curious, has been secured whenever an 
 opportunity occurred. In the early part of the 
 19th century, when bibliomania was so prevalent, 
 the name of the British Museum was scarcely 
 heard in a sale-room ; of late years its agents have 
 been incessantly active. While thus increasing in 
 splendour, the library has been equally increasing 
 in usefiilness. For the first time in the history of 
 literature, an attempt has been made on a large 
 scale to bring under one roof all the current litera- 
 ture of the world that had any intrinsic value, 
 regardless of the language in which it might be 
 couched. Mr. Watts, in his proposals, spoke of 
 'one journal from every country in Europe ;' and 
 at the time he wrote there was no journal in the 
 Museum in the Russian language : the catalogue 
 now contains eighteen. The Museum is now sup- 
 posed to possess the best Russian library in exis- 
 tence out of Russia ; the best Hungarian out of 
 Hungary; the best Dutch out of Holland; in 
 short, the best library in every European language 
 out of the territory in which that language is ver- 
 nacular. The books are in every case the standard 
 books of the language — the laws, the histories, the 
 biographies, the works on topography and local 
 history, the poets and novelists in most esteem — in 
 short, all that moulds or paints the life and manners 
 of a nation, and which now a student of any 
 European language need travel no farther than to 
 the reading-room of the Museum to see and make 
 use of." 
 
 It should further be remarked that the library of 
 
 * Now (1878) first? 
 
224 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 printed books includes the collection of Hebrew 
 books, in nearly l2,ooo volumes, of which there is 
 a separate printed catalogue by the late Mr. 
 Zedner ; also the collection of Chinese books, in 
 about 20,000 volumes, with a separate printed 
 catalogue by Professor Douglas ; to which must be 
 added the great Chinese Encyclopaedia, recently 
 purchased from an Imperial Prince at Pekin, con- 
 sisting of 6, 109 volumes, which are now on their 
 way to this country. It includes also a large col- 
 lection of books in other Oriental languages, as 
 Sanskrit, Bengali, Hindustani, Arabic, Persian, 
 Turkish, &c., altogether about 13,000 in number. 
 There is a printed catalogue of the Sanskrit and 
 Pali books in the Hbrary, compiled by Dr. E. 
 Haas. The Musical works in the library comprise 
 upwards of 11,000 volumes of vocal music, and 
 nearly 6,000 volumes of instrumental music ; the 
 number of separate works amounts to about 70,000. 
 The library of Maps in the Museum constitutes a 
 separate department, so created in the year 1867. 
 The maps are now about 115,000 in number. The 
 MSS. always formed a distinct department in the 
 Museum. They amount to upward of 48,000 
 volumes, together with about 44,000 charters and 
 rolls. 
 
 During the week preceding the Conference the 
 British Museum was visited by several of the foreign 
 delegates, who took the opportunity of inspecting 
 the national library at a time when its arrange- 
 ments could be more fully examined than during the 
 session of the Conference. In the absence of Mr. 
 Bullen, they were received by Mr. Porter, the senior 
 assistant keeper, who accompanied them through 
 the library and explained its various details. 
 
 Amongst the earliest arrivals were some of the 
 American visitors, including Mr. Lloyd P. Smith, 
 who was very much interested in the subject 
 of binding. The Museum system of half-bind- 
 ing in morocco, in colours varied according 
 to the subjects, was examined with great atten- 
 tion. This method has now stood the severe 
 test of forty years' use in a public library, and 
 the result has entirely justified Sir Anthony Panizzi 
 in substituting it for the half calf and half rus- 
 sia bindings formerly employed at the Museum, 
 which have now become the cause of constant 
 trouble and expense by their decay. The sides of 
 the half-bound books are covered with cloth in- 
 stead of paper ; this has a better appearance and 
 is more durable. Additional strength is given by the 
 mode in which the sheets are sewn to each of the 
 bands, and by parchment corners underneath the 
 cloth. All folding plates and maps are mounted on 
 thin jaconet or muslin. One of the advantages of 
 the free employment of brightly coloured moroccos 
 is the rich and handsome appearance it gives to the 
 library ; this was the subject of remark by more than 
 
 one of the visitors— indeed few persons can have 
 traversed the Grenville room and passed between 
 the 300 feet of glazed book-presses on each side of 
 the King's Library without feeling how admirably 
 the rich and varied colours of the books enhance the 
 effect of the architecture. 
 
 After an inspection of the catalogue, and some 
 discussion as to the advantages of titles laid down in 
 volumes over the card-catalogues now so popular in 
 America, the visitors proceeded to the transcription- 
 room, in which is kept the immense slip-catalogue 
 of the Museum, alphabetically arranged in card- 
 board boxes for reference. The titles comprised in 
 it are the original entries made by the cataloguers 
 from the books, and form the "copy" from which 
 the title-slips laid dovm in the other catalogues are 
 transcribed. They are always carefully preserved 
 at the Museum, as they are used to record many 
 particulars of consequence to the librarian, and are 
 too important to be exposed to the risk of loss or 
 injury which would attend any use of them by the 
 public. Although these slips, which measure ten 
 inches by four, are somewhat larger than the cards 
 used in America, in consequence of the fiilness with 
 which the Museum books are catalogued, the sys- 
 tem is practically identical with that of the card- 
 catalogue. Some of the slips comprised in it date 
 almost from the foundation of the Museum, and the 
 visitors were much interested in seeing titles in the 
 handwriting of Sir Henry EUis, Sir Anthony Panizzi, 
 of Cary, the translator of Dante, of Nicholas Car- 
 lisle, formerly secretary to the Society of Antiqua- 
 ries, and other Museum librarians of bygone times. 
 
 Another application of the card-catalogue was 
 pointed out to the visitors, which forms part of the 
 system of purchase. At the Museum the books to 
 be added to the library are selected by the libra- 
 rians from the bibliographical periodicals of various 
 countries, all of them which can be obtained being 
 regularly examined for the purpose, and from cata- 
 logues. The orders decided upon are sent off at 
 regular intervals to different booksellers, who are 
 under engagement to supply the publications of the 
 respective States upon regulated terms as to discount 
 and commission. When this is done the titles of 
 the books ordered are briefly entered upon cards 
 five inches by four, and upon the left-hand comer of 
 the card is noted the name of the bookseller and the 
 date when the order was given. The cards are then 
 sorted according to languages, or the countries in 
 which the books are published, those of each coun- 
 try being kept distinct, alphabetically arranged in 
 boxes. They thus foim a series of card-catalogues 
 of the literature of the various States, ranging from 
 America to Switzerland, and extending from 1852 
 to the present time. When the books arrive, each 
 work is carefully compared by an assistant with 
 these cards, to make sure that it is amongst the 
 works ordered, and that it corresponds in every par- 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 225 
 
 ticular with the order given ; he then sees that the 
 hook is perfect, and that the price charged is the 
 proper one, and finally passes it, marking the date 
 of reception on the right-hand corner of the card. 
 This system enables the librarian at once to ascertain 
 whether any particular work has or has not been 
 ordered, and whether it has or hasnotbeen supplied. 
 It is of the utmost value in preventing the purchase 
 of duplicates ; and it is, moreover, a check upon the 
 bookseller, as it shows at a glance what proportion 
 of the orders entrusted to him have been executed. 
 
 Early in the week preceding the assembly of the 
 Conference, M. Leopold Delisle, accompanied by 
 M. Paul Meyer, paid an official visit to the Museum 
 for the purpose of examining the arrangements and 
 general administration of the printed book depart- 
 ment. He was received by Mr. Porter, who con- 
 ducted him over the library, explaining the system 
 of management and the various improvements 
 which the experience of the last forty years has 
 enabled the officers to effect. 
 
 One of the first objects of M. Delisle's attention 
 was, of course, the catalogue and the details con- 
 nected with it. The Museum catalogue is, as most 
 people are aware, an alphabetical one, and includes 
 not only all the older works in the library as far 
 as the amalgamation of the new catalogue with the 
 supplementary one has now proceeded — viz., to the 
 letter S — but is constantly kept up to date by the 
 insertion of the new acquisitions as fast as they are 
 catalogued. In an extensive and rapidly increasing 
 library the great desideratum is a catalogue which 
 shall permit the perpetual intercalation of the new 
 titles as they accrue, each in its proper alphabetical 
 order, for in a large catalogue a title out of its 
 proper place is a title lost to the inquirer. The 
 mechanism by which this is effected at the Museum 
 was fuUy explained to the visitors. It consists in 
 the employment of movable title-slips which are 
 laid down on the pages of folio volumes of blank 
 cartridge-paper, to which they are slightly fastened 
 with paste at the upper and lower edges ; the width 
 of rim covered by the paste being about the six- 
 teenth part of an inch. The ends are left open. 
 This method, while retaining the slips securely in 
 their position, allows them to be removed and 
 shifted on the page whenever it becomes necessary 
 to make room for new intercalations. The removal 
 is most easily effected, as the visitors had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing, by inserting a paper-knife at the 
 unpasted ends of the title. The slips, being lined 
 with stronger paper, sufferno injuryfrom theprocess, 
 indeed many of them have been taken up and re- 
 laid scores of times. The operation of removal is 
 almost instantaneous ; an expert binder can take 
 up a title and relay it as quickly as a card could 
 be inserted in its place, and much more quickly 
 than it could be strung upon one of the wires some- 
 times used to secure the cards. 
 
 The volumes in which the slips are laid down 
 are of folio size, and, when new, contain about 100 
 leaves : on these the titles are laid down four or 
 five to a leaf, leaving space for insertions according 
 to the amount of additions expected. After every 
 leaf one or more guards are inserted by the binder, 
 to which additional leaves can be fastened when 
 necessary. When any of the pages become full, a 
 new leaf is inserted and the titles are taken up and 
 redistributed over the additional space thus gained. 
 When a volume becomes full and all the guards in 
 it have been used, two new volumes are substituted 
 for it, and over the leaves of these the titles are 
 again spaced out at their original distance. Thus 
 the catalogue possesses the power of perpetual 
 expansion and grows with the growth of the library. 
 When first introduced into the reading-room in 
 1850, it comprised 153 volumes containing the 
 arrears of unentered titles, which had entirely out- 
 grown the capacity of the interleaved copy of the 
 printed catalogue formerly employed to receive 
 them. Since that time a million and a half of titles 
 have been incorporated into it without the slightest 
 disarrangement of its alphabetical order or conve- 
 nience for consultation. It now (Christmas, 1877) 
 comprises 1,970 volumes. This great bulk is not, 
 however, found to be a disadvantage — rather the 
 reverse, when one copy of the catalogue is to be 
 used by a large number of readers at the same time, 
 as from the alphabet being divided into small por- 
 tions everyone is able to have just the part which 
 he requires to consult. 
 
 It only remains to add a word or two as to the 
 process of transcription. The title-slips laid down 
 in the volumes are copied from the original titles, 
 referred to in a former part of this account, by 
 Wedgwood's process of manifold writing, which 
 produces four copies simultaneously. The tran- 
 scriber is furnished with books of very thin tissue- 
 paper, containing about twenty-four leaves. He 
 places a sheet of prepared carbonic transfer-paper 
 between the first and second leaf, and between the 
 third and the fourth leaf, and then proceeds to 
 copy the titles before him, using a style of metal or 
 agate. Having filled the first four leaves at one 
 operation, he commences anew on the fifth. When 
 the book is full and has been collated with the 
 originals, to insure correctness, it is sent to the 
 binder, who lines each of the leaves with stronger 
 paper and divides them into the separate titles ; 
 these after being neatly trimmed are ready for in- 
 sertion in the catalogue. Of the four copies of 
 each title produced by the process, three are laid 
 down in volumes so as to form three sets of the 
 alphabetical catalogue, the fourth is mounted upon 
 cards and kept arranged in the order of the press 
 marks ; and, as the books are arranged in the 
 presses upon a classified plan according to their 
 subjects, it forms at the same time a shelf-catalogue 
 
 G G 
 
226 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 and a rough catalogue of subjects. The number of 
 titles annually transcribed by the above process at 
 the Museum averages about 70,000, exclusive of 
 those copied for the separate catalogues of maps 
 and music. 
 
 After pursuing for some time his examination of 
 the system of the catalogue, M. Delisle visited the 
 reading-room, into the arrangements and service 
 of which he minutely inquired. Although not 
 precisely a free public library, that of the Museum 
 approaches to one in the freedom with which 
 admission is accorded to those who desire it. 
 The only conditions imposed are, that a letter of 
 application must be written, that it must be accom- 
 panied by a recommendation from some person of 
 respectability, and that the applicant must have 
 attained the age of twenty-one years. The latter 
 condition was forced upon the trustees by the 
 exigencies of the reading-room space, and was 
 adopted in 1862, simply as the least objectionable 
 mode of placing a limit to the numbers at a time 
 when the room had become so crowded as to in- 
 terfere with serious study. The reading-room is 
 open for about 292 days in the year. It is closed 
 on Sundays, on Christmas Day, Ash Wednesday, 
 and Good Friday, and for three periods, of a week 
 each, in the course of the year, for the purpose of 
 cleaning ; and advantage is taken of this oppor- 
 tunity to thoroughly examine the registers and to 
 ascertain that all the books used in the reading- 
 room during the preceding four months have been 
 duly returned. As it has not been found practi- 
 cable, or indeed deemed safe, to introduce artificial 
 light into the Museum, the time during which the 
 reading-room is open is necessarily regulated by 
 the duration of daylight — the hours being 9 
 to 4 from November to February, 9 to 6 
 from May to August, and 9 to 5 during the 
 rest of the year. The reader when admitted 
 has immediate access to the library of reference 
 which fills the presses round the interior of the 
 reading-room, and comprises about 20,000 volumes 
 of the most useful books, upon every possible sub- 
 ject, carefully selected from the body of the library, 
 and classified on the shelves. To these he can 
 help himself without impediment or restriction. 
 An excellent catalogue of the library of reference 
 with a most useful index of subjects, compiled by 
 Mr. Rye, the late keeper of the printed books, by 
 whom the works composing it were originally 
 selected and arranged, has been printed by the 
 trustees and is placed in the reading-room. 
 
 To obtain books from the interior of the library 
 the reader must make his demand on tickets fur- 
 nished for the purpose : on these he copies from the 
 catalogue the press-mark, title, place of publication, 
 date, and size of the work required, and then, hav- 
 ing signed and dated his ticket and attached to it the 
 number of the seat he has chosen, hands it in at the 
 
 counter surrounding the superintendent s table. In 
 a space of time which during the last two years has 
 been, on the average of the tickets, fifteen minutes, 
 the work is brought and delivered to him ; the 
 ticket being retained as a voucher until the book is 
 returned. It is scarcely necessary to add that the 
 Museum library is not a lending library, and that a 
 book is not under any circumstances allowed to be 
 taken out of the building. 
 
 Should a reader wish to continue the use of a book 
 on the foUovrang day, it is put by and kept for hiM 
 in certain presses In the centre of the reading-room. 
 This is, of course, a great saving of time and trouble 
 both to the reader and to the staff of the library. 
 If, however, another reader should apply for the 
 book at a time when it is not actually in use, it is 
 transferred to him. This system seems to meet a 
 want of the readers, as the number of books thus 
 kept has steadily increased for many years. In 
 1876, it was 280,094; in 1877, 292,249. 
 
 The number of readers during the year 1877 was 
 113,594, or, on the average, 389 daily. 
 
 The number of volumes consulted, inclusive of 
 those estimated to have been used from the shelves 
 in the reading-room, was, in 1877, 913,467. 
 
 It may be added that every book which has been 
 used in the reading-room is replaced on the shelf 
 the morning after its return, and that a system of 
 record has been established so complete that it 
 not only shows, in the case of any book that may 
 be absent from the shelf, by whom it has been 
 removed, and for what reader or for what other pur- 
 pose it has been taken, but also enables the libra- 
 rian to tra*e back every book which has been used 
 in the reading-room for the last thirty years, and to 
 say through whose hands it has passed during the 
 whole of that time. As this system is of great im- 
 portance to the safe custody of the library, and has 
 been of signal service in the detection of theft or 
 mutilation, it may be as well to sketch briefly the 
 method in which it is carried out, and the general 
 features of the reading-room service. 
 
 The reader's ticket, when handed in, is conveyed 
 by one of the attendants to the part of the library 
 in which the book is located. For the purpose of the 
 reading-room service, the library is divided into 
 sections, at each' of which certain attendants are 
 stationed, whose duty it is to get the books and 
 make the necessary entries to record their having 
 been issued. Each attendant is furnished with a 
 certain number — generally 300 — of pieces of mill- 
 board, about 6 inches long, covered at the end with 
 red leather and on the sides with white paper, and 
 it is his duty to leave one of these "boards" as a 
 record in the place of every book he removes from 
 the shelf. He has also a blank -book ruled in double 
 columns for the reception of the duplicate enbies 
 which he has to make side by side. Each atten- 
 dant's boards are numbered in regular sequence, 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 227 
 
 I to 300, on the side, and every attendant has a 
 number assigned to him, which is marked on the ends 
 of his boards. When a reader's ticket is brought to a 
 section, an attendant talces it, and, carrying with him 
 one of his boards, goes in search of the book. Sup- 
 posing he finds it on the shelf, he writes on his board 
 in pencil the press-mark, the name of the author, 
 the reader's name, andthedateoftheticket, andthen 
 substitutes it for the book which he takes away — first, 
 however, noting its number on the reader's ticket. 
 He then goes back to his seat to make the entries in 
 his book. He first writes the date at the commence- 
 ment of each day's work, and then in the left-hand 
 column he enters the press-mark of the work, the 
 author's name, place of publication, date, and size, 
 the reader's name, and the number of the board he 
 has left. He then makes a second entry, rather 
 more briefly, of the same particulars in the right- 
 hand column ; when this is done the book is ready 
 for delivery to the reader. The entries above de- 
 scribed may appear somewhat complicated, and it 
 might be supposed that they would cause delay in 
 the delivery of the books ; but in practice this is 
 not so, as the time occupied in making them has 
 been repeatedly tested and does not exceed three 
 minutes. 
 
 At the close of each day one of the bookbinders 
 cuts out of each attendant's entry-book the second 
 column, containing the duplicate entries, and sepa- 
 rates the individual items, which are then sorted 
 and pasted down in double columns, headed by 
 the date, and in the order of their press-marks, on 
 the blank leaves of large books or registers. When 
 this has been done the columns form a complete 
 register of all the books which have been issued 
 from the library to readers on that particular day, 
 and it is ready for the purpose for which it was 
 designed — that of having the return of the several 
 works to the library recorded, by stamping the 
 date of return on the entries relating to them. 
 
 The replacing is no light matter. Every morn- 
 ing the books which have been in use in the read- 
 ing-room on the previous day, amounting on the 
 average to 1,100 volumes, are sorted into the order 
 of their press-marks, and sent off on barrows to 
 their respective localities. An attendant then 
 makes the circuit of the presses, and restores each 
 book to its place, at the same time removing the 
 board left for it ; the boards he keeps together in 
 the order of the press-marks, to be produced at 
 stamping off as vouchers for the books having been 
 replaced. 
 
 When the circuit of the library has been made, 
 he returns with the boards he has collected to the 
 registers, and taking the boards one by one calls 
 over firom each the press-mark of the book which 
 has been replaced. Another attendant checks him 
 by calling out from the entry on the register the 
 number of the board which had been Jeft for it. 
 
 and, these having been thus verified and found to 
 agree, he stamps on the entry in red ink 3 ; i ; 78 
 — to show that the book was replaced on the 3rd of 
 January, 1878. 
 
 .This system, which was devised by Sir Anthony 
 Panizzi some thirty years ago, affords a complete 
 check and control upon the movement of the books 
 issued to the readers at every point of their progress. 
 The board left shows what book is absent from 
 the shelf, who has taken it, and what reader has it. 
 The entry-book of the attendant shows what books 
 he took from the shelves on any particular day, 
 and for what readers. The registers formed out of 
 the duplicate entries, laid down in order of press- 
 marks, show how many books were sent into the 
 reading-room on any given day, what books these 
 were, by which of the readers any particular book 
 was used, the date of its return to the library, and 
 (what is of still more consequence) it shows what 
 books have not been returned at all. Three times 
 in the year the library is closed for the purpose of 
 cleaning, and advantage is taken of this opportunity 
 to make a thorough examination of the registers, 
 and any entries remaining unstamped off are care- 
 fully investigated until the matter is cleared up. 
 In practice it is found that in most cases this can 
 be done : losses have, indeed, occuiTed from time 
 to time amongst the books in the reading-room, to 
 which the readers have access without any check, 
 but it is a most rare thing for a book from the 
 interior of the library, to be missing. 
 
 After his visit to the reading-room, M. Delisle 
 passed into the interior of the library, and devoted 
 some time to the examination of the system of 
 classification and shelf-arrangement, and more espe- 
 cially to the plan of numbering the presses, which is 
 known as the expansive system, because it admits 
 of the introduction of additional presses in any part 
 of the library where more space is required : thus 
 permitting books on the same subject to be always 
 placed together, instead of being scattered over the 
 library in outlying deposits successively established 
 after the presses originally allotted to the subject 
 have become full. The classification, having been 
 fully described by Mr. Garnett in his paper read to 
 the Conference,* needs not be further referred to 
 here. 
 
 On the following day M. Delisle again spent 
 several hours in the library, and, having expressed a 
 wish to trace a book through the several processes 
 following its acquisition until it was made available 
 for public use, he passed into the copyright-office to 
 observe the steps taken at the first reception of a 
 work from this source. The superintendence of 
 the work of collecting books to which the Museum 
 Is entitled by copyright was in 1850 devolved upon 
 the keeper of the printed books, and it is one of the 
 
 * See pp. 108-19, ^"li Appendix. 
 
228 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 most important duties which Mr. BuUen has to dis- 
 charge. The number of volumes annually received 
 from this source has been for some years steadily 
 increasing : in 1850 it was 3,575, in 1877 it had 
 risen to 8,257, and the total number of articles re- 
 ceived in the latter year was 39,537- I" 1870 the 
 files of newspapers which had up to that date been 
 deposited at the Stamp-Office and from thence for- 
 warded to the Museum ceased to be received there, 
 in consequence of an alteration of the law, and the 
 duty of claiming and receiving them was added to 
 the other work of the Museum copyright-office. 
 Upwards of 2,000 different British newspapers are 
 now annually received, a large proportion of them 
 delivered in single numbers, which have to be sepa- 
 rately registered as they arrive, and incorporated into 
 the files kept available for use. As is the case in the 
 otter departments of the library, the business of the 
 copyright-office is carried out on a systematized plan. 
 To put the Museum in a position to claim what is 
 due to it, extensive registers are kept, in which every 
 new publication that can be read of or heard of is 
 immediately entered, and they are so arranged as 
 to show at a glance, under the heading of the pub- 
 lisher, what works he has issued and which of them 
 have been delivered at the Museum. These regis- 
 ters are constantly examined by the copyright-clerk, 
 in order that any default in delivery may be brought 
 under the notice of the keeper. The receipts given 
 on delivery are filled up in duplicate, upon forms 
 numbered consecutively ; the counterfoil is retained 
 in the receipt, which thus forms a chronological 
 inventory of the deliveries and is made accessible for 
 reference by two volumes of indexes, one under the 
 publisher's name, referring to all the deliveries made 
 by him, the other under the name of the author. 
 
 From whatever source a book is acquired, the 
 first step is to impress upon it a distinctive and in- 
 delible stamp, marking it as the property of the 
 trustees, and until this is done it is on no account 
 allowed to leave the receiving-room. Each work is 
 stamped on the verso of the title-page with the royal 
 arms surmounted by the words "British Museum," 
 and on the last leaf with the date of acquisition. 
 Different colours are employed to denote the source 
 from which a book has been acquired : thus pur- 
 chased books are stamped in red, copyright books 
 in blue, and presented works in yellow. At the 
 Museum the date stamped at the end is made to 
 serve a double purpose, and always enables the 
 librarian to refer to the original record of the book's 
 acquisition, whether this be the duplicate copyright- 
 receipt, the entry in the donation-book, or the book- 
 seller's invoice — these documents being kept chro- 
 nologically arranged and bearing the date stamped 
 in the book. This plan enables the Museum to dis- 
 pense with the accession-catalogue which it is found 
 necessary to keep in other libraries. 
 
 A;, soon as the book is stamped it is passed on 
 
 into the library, and sent to an assistant to be cata- 
 logued. The Museum rules and method of cata- 
 loguing were discussed at the Conference and need 
 not be dwelt on here. The titles are written on shps 
 10 inches by 4, and it is the aim to make them " full 
 and accurate." The assistant takes care to refer to 
 the catalogue to see that the form of name or head- 
 ing he has used does not differ from those that have 
 been previously adopted and sanctioned, and, when 
 he has finished, he makes a private mark on the 
 book which shows to those concerned that it has 
 been catalogued and indicates the heading under 
 which it will be found. The work is then passed 
 on, with the titles in it, to one of the senior assis- 
 tants, who revises the titles and then writes his 
 initials in the corner of them, in attestation that 
 they are correct. 
 
 All the books which have been revised on any 
 given day are placed on the following morning on 
 the sorting-table of the assistant who is charged 
 with the duty of classifying the books and assigning 
 them their places on the shelves, by whom they 
 are sorted into the appropriate classes and sub- 
 divisions J they are then at once carried off to the 
 part of the library to which they belong. At a 
 subsequent period of the day the assistant who has 
 classified the books goes round and places each 
 book on the shelf which it ought to occupy. An 
 attendant who follows him then writes the press- 
 mark in pencil on the inside of the book and upon 
 the titles left in it : the titles he throws into a box, 
 to be sent forward for incorporation amonjst those 
 which are ready for transcription. When the book 
 has been marked, a binder's workman attaches the 
 label or tag to the back. At the Museum two labels 
 are used — the number of the press being shown on 
 the upper part of the book's back, and the shelf- 
 mark at the bottom. The labels employed are oval 
 in shape, measuring about half an inch in length, 
 and are fastened to the back with the ordinary book- 
 binder's paste, which has been found to answer 
 better than anything else. When this has been 
 done, the book is ready for use. 
 
 The members composing the French delegation 
 to the Conference — ^viz., Baron Otto de Watte- 
 ville, M. Leopold Delisle, M. Guillaume Depping, 
 and the secretary of the commission, M. Octave 
 Sachot, visited the Museum on Saturday, Septem- 
 ber 29th, and after an interview with Mr. Winter 
 Jones were conducted over the library. M. De- 
 lisle pointed out to his colleagues those features 
 of the Museum administration which had most 
 impressed him during the attentive examination 
 he had previously made of it. The party visited 
 in succession the copyright-office, the reading- 
 room, the new library (the structure and fittings 
 of which were most carefully examined), and then 
 passed into the north library, where the process of 
 transcription and the arrangements connected with 
 
THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 229 
 
 the binding of books were explained. Baron 
 de Watteville, who has had a large experience of 
 the public libraries of France, having been foi: 
 many years at the head of the department charged 
 with the administration of the libraries, tested the 
 Museum system in many points of detail with great 
 acuteness. At a later period of the day a large 
 party of the American delegates, who were anxious 
 to see the process of supplying books to the reading- 
 room in actual operation, being aware that it 
 would be closed during the first week in October, 
 visited the Museum in company with Mr. B. F. 
 Stevens. Amongst the visitors were Professor Justin 
 Wmsor, Mr. W. F. Poole, Mr. C. A. Cutter, Dr. 
 Reuben A. Guild, and Mr. Melvil Dewey. After 
 inspecting the reading-room, the party passed 
 through the various rooms of the library, examining 
 its appUances with attention. The immense col- 
 lection of newspapers, British and foreign, which 
 occupies nearly the whole basement of the new 
 library, and is a feature quite peculiar to the 
 Museum, was viewed with much interest. 
 
 On the day of the visit, members of the Con- 
 ference began to arrive at about 2.30 p.m., and be- 
 fore they left at 4 p.m. there were more than 
 one hundred present They were received in the 
 reading-room by the principal librarian, by Mr. 
 Bullen, the keeper of the printed books, and by 
 Messrs. Porter, Roy, and Gamett, assistant keepers — 
 the last-mentioned being likewise the superintendent 
 of the reading-room. Many of the assistants in the 
 library likewise lent their aid towards making the 
 visit both profitable and pleasant to the Conference. 
 
 Mr. Winter Jones directed the attention of a large 
 group to the structure of the reading-room, and the 
 apparatus it contains in the shape of desks, chairs, 
 tables, &c., for the readers. He then pointed out 
 the admirable library of reference on its shelves, 
 amounting to about 20,000 volumes of the best 
 selected works, to which the readers can have im- 
 mediate access, helping themselves at will to any 
 work they may desire to consult without the for- 
 mality of vraiting a ticket for the same, or any 
 other hindrance. 
 
 Mr. Jones next pointed out the various catalogues 
 in the room, to which the readers have also free 
 access ; such as the new general catalogue, the 
 supplementary catalogue, the old general cata- 
 logue, the King's Library and GrenvUle catalogues, 
 also the various catalogues of MSS., the Music, 
 Map, Hebrew, Sanscrit, and Chinese catalogues. 
 The librarians were astonished at the number and 
 variety of those several catalogues, the like of 
 which no library in the world can exhibit. Mr. 
 Jones likewise explained, so far as time would 
 allow, the principles upon which the catalogues 
 were constructed, and the peculiar method adopted 
 for their transcription in the new general and sup- 
 plementary catalogues of the printed books. 
 
 The process of obtaining a book from any one of 
 these catalogues was next explained and illustrated 
 by two tickets being filled up and the books fetched 
 in the usual way by a couple of attendants, which 
 was done in a very few minutes. This done, and 
 the visitors having listened to a statement of the 
 method of receiving the books under the Copyright 
 Act, or by purchase or presentation, the stamping, 
 cataloguing, revising, and placing of the same on 
 their appropriate shelves, they wandered through 
 the room, and inspected its various resources under 
 the guidance of the library-staif, who were well 
 pleased to answer all questions. 
 
 The Conference expressed great admiration at the 
 consti-uction of the room, the desks and other con- 
 veniences supplied for the readers, and the method 
 of supplying them with books. It may be men- 
 tioned here that, owing to an increase of the staff of 
 attendants, strongly urged upon the trustees by 
 Mr. Bullen, and a division of the work into sections, 
 suggested by the attendant Anderson, and recom- 
 mended by Mr. Gamett, there are no longer any 
 complaints made by readers on the ground of delay 
 in receiving the books for which they may have 
 written tickets from any of the catalogues. 
 
 From the reading-room the Conference passed 
 to the circles and corridors outside, as also to the 
 galleries of the reading-room itself, in order to get 
 a view of the room as seen from above. From 
 these they passed to the basement, in which the 
 newspapers are kept— such a collection as can be 
 seen nowhere else in the world, and continually in- 
 creasing. Montague Place and Bedford Square must 
 indeed eventually give up some of their mansions 
 for its accommodation — the question cui bono? 
 being satisfactorily answered by the fact that the 
 newspapers, both old and recent, are in constant 
 and increasing requisition, and by no means for 
 frivolous purposes. Sometimes they are asked for 
 in lawsuits, and upon due subp(Kna are produced in 
 courts of law. Sometimes they are asked for in 
 cases of births, deaths, and marriages, genealogical 
 and local inquiries, and, indeed, in a thousand 
 different cases which it would take too long here to 
 specify. Thus the obscurest journal, metropolitan 
 or provincial, is sometimes asked for, and by no 
 means, as has been before said, with frivolous in- 
 tent. Such publications, being essentially ephe- 
 meral, perishing on the very day of their birth, and 
 not kept even in the ofiices from which they issue, 
 it is only in the British Museum that copies can be 
 found ; and that institution cherishes, binds them 
 up, and takes care of them for the use of all future 
 generations. There is no selection made ; they all 
 come to the arms of the same benevolent nurse. 
 
 The large collection of foreign newspapers, the 
 most conspicuous of which are received in the 
 British Museum, likewise drew the attention of the 
 visitors. Some of them remarked that they were 
 
2J0 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 overpowered with the extent and variety of the 
 treasures which thus met their view, ranging from 
 the troubles between Charles I. and his Parliament 
 to the "Times" and "St. Pancras Gazette" of 
 our own day ; and including the gazettes of Venice, 
 the newspapers of the first French Republic, the 
 "Moniteur," and the "AUgemeine Zeitung," with 
 many others. 
 
 The visitors then passed into the inner library, 
 the arrangement of which was explained to them, 
 and some of the choice books in the select cases 
 were shown to them by Mr. BuUen and his assis- 
 tants. The time for this was all too short. Still 
 there was an opportunity for some of the most pro- 
 nounced bibliophiles to gratify their tastes in this 
 direction, while other members of the Conference 
 went off, under the guidance of Mr. Roy, and Mr. 
 Pulman, clerk of the works, who superintends the 
 warming and ventilation of the entire building, to 
 make an inspection of the regions below, and to 
 become acquainted with the heating and ventilation 
 apparatus of the library — a matter of the utmost 
 importance. 
 
 It would be difficult to do justice to the weird ap- 
 pearance of the many subterranean passages, made 
 visible by dim lamplight, by which the lower part of 
 the Museum is honeycombed. It is certainly open 
 to doubt whether any of the visitors would have 
 ventured their limbs and lungs in that unsuspected 
 region of blasts, shafts, and draughts, which might 
 not inaptly be called the " Cavern of the Winds," 
 had they known its nature beforehand. Thanks, 
 however, to the careful pilotage of Mr. Pulman, 
 the visitors emerged, in due time, into daylight, 
 without having suffered contusions against the 
 steam and waterpipes so freely distributed, or 
 otherwise come to grief among the numerous pit- 
 falls with which the place is beset. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary here to enter into all the 
 details of the system in operation for warming and 
 ventilating the reading-room, as anyone wishing to 
 adopt it would doubtless have no dif&culty in ob- 
 taining all necessary information from the trustees. 
 The main features of the system may, however, be 
 briefly described as follows i — 
 
 The air for the supply of the reading-room is 
 obtained from above the surface of the ground, by 
 means of a brick tower, called the air-shaft, built 
 against the exterior wall of the northern part of the 
 Museum, 60 ft. high, and measuring internally about 
 8 ft. by 7 ft. 
 
 The lower part of this shaft communicates with 
 the space below the reading-room by a passage 
 which, in a portion of its course, is divided into 
 two branches, either of which may be closed. One 
 of these branches contains three boilers, over which 
 air may he made to pass, and also encloses a rota- 
 ting fan for producing a stronger current, when 
 
 required by external variations of temperature. 
 Both branches are provided with pipes from which 
 sprays of cold water can be made to radiate from 
 the centre of the passage to the walls, for impreg- 
 nating the air with moisture when too dry. 
 
 The space below the reading-room forms an air- 
 chamber, divided by walls into compartments cor- 
 responding in direction with the readers' tables 
 above. These compartments are provided with 
 hot- water pipes, and valves for regulating the tem- 
 perature at different parts of the room. From 
 perforations in the ceilings of these compartments 
 air is admitted into the reading-room through the 
 pedestals at the ends of the tables and the tops of 
 the screens by which they are divided. 
 
 The dome of the reading-room is surmounted by 
 a lantern enclosed above by a conical skylight, and 
 below by a horizontal one — the latter with openings 
 around its circumference. The sides of the-lantern 
 are formed of double sash doors, provided with 
 flaps, which, when opened to leeward, allow the 
 air from the lantern to escape without difficulty in 
 the direction of the vnnd. 
 
 The roof of the dome consists of two concentric 
 air-chambers ; the iimer one opening into the lan- 
 tern and communicating with the room by means 
 of peifbrations in the soffits of the arches of the 
 windows. The object of the outer chamber is to 
 prevent, as much as possible, the air in the inner 
 one from being affected by extremes of external 
 heat or cold. 
 
 A passage being thus provided from the outside 
 of the air-shaft to the reading-room, and from the 
 reading-room to the outside of the lantern, it is 
 necessary that a constant current should be estab- 
 lished in the same direction. This is partly pro- 
 duced by means of coils of steam-pipes placed in 
 the space above the dome, and partly by the action 
 of ten of Boyle's ventilating turrets over as many 
 windows, and of a large one over the centre open- 
 ing in the dome. The force of the current may also 
 be increased, when necessary, by the rotation of 
 the fan before mentioned. 
 
 The average temperature sought to be maintained 
 is 63° Fahr. It is also requisite that the air should 
 be neither too moist nor too dry. But, with the 
 power of controlling the currents afforded by all 
 the above-mentioned appliances, these conditions 
 can scarcely be difficult of fiilfilment to one who, 
 like King ^olus, "Et premere et laxas sciret 
 dare jussus habenas." 
 
 At the same time that Mr. Roy's party went to 
 inspect the warming and ventilation contrivances 
 of the library, some inquired into the binding ar- 
 rangements, which were explained to them by 
 Mr. Fletcher, and a small party, accompanied by 
 Turpin, one of the oldest and best instructed of the 
 attendants, went to see the fire-engines on the 
 premises, and the means of conveying information 
 
THE ATHEN^UM CLUB. 
 
 231 
 
 to the various fire-establishments, should there be 
 an alarm of fire or any emergency that might require 
 their services. A message was sent to the nearest 
 station and an answer received in a few minutes. 
 The apparatus for conveying a message from the 
 engine-house at the back of the building to the 
 gate at the entrance was also put into operation, 
 and an immediate answer was received. 
 
 At 4 p.m. the assembled members of the Con- 
 ference repaired to the official residence of Mr. 
 Winter Jones, where they were hospitably received 
 and entertained by him and his daughter, Miss 
 Jones, who had invited a large party, including 
 the principal officers of the Museum, to meet 
 them. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE ATHEN^UM CLUB. 
 
 HE Athenseum Club was insti- 
 tuted in 1824 by the Right 
 Hon. J. Wilson Croker, Sir 
 Thomas Lawrence, Sir F. 
 Chantrey, Faraday, and others 
 of the eminent names in litera- 
 ture, science, and art of the 
 day — " for the association of individuals known 
 for their scientific or literary attainments, artists of 
 eminence in any class of the fine arts, and noble- 
 men andgentlemen distinguished as liberal patrons 
 of science, literature, or the arts." The library 
 dates chiefly from 1827, three years prior to the 
 present house being opened to members (February 
 10, 1830). Under the care of the first librarian, the 
 late Mr. Spencer Hall, F.S.A., and a committee 
 which has from time to time included most of the 
 distinguished English men of letters of this cen- 
 tury, it has grown to the present fine collection of 
 45,000 volumes, chiefly "books of reference," but 
 including works in all departments of literature. 
 
 In such a society the library must be somewhat 
 like that of a private gentleman, modified to suit 
 the requirements of the varied classes of readers 
 for whose especial benefit it has been formed, and 
 by whom it is consultei for purposes of study or 
 research. Handsomely bound copies of the best 
 editions of books in their finest states are naturally 
 looked for in a collection of this description. The 
 range of subjects is tolerably universal, but among 
 the departments in which the library is specially 
 complete may be instanced those of the fine arts 
 (including books of prints and the costly engraved 
 reproductions of worksof art known as "galleries"), 
 of antiquities, the rare and valuable English county 
 histories, the general history of all countries, and 
 particularly that of Great Britain and her colonies, 
 the classics of different 'literatures, literary history, 
 grammars and dictionaries, &c. Especial care has 
 always been paid to the acquisition of series of 
 printed documents, and indeed the sources of his- 
 tory in most branches are well provided. 
 
 The collection of pamphlets, bound up in about 
 1,340 volumes, is one of the features of this library. 
 Made with great care, it is more remarkable for 
 the permanent value of its contents than a long 
 array of volumes, for nothing is easier than the 
 accumulation of a large quantity of utterly useless 
 and ephemeral tracts. The Atheneeum collection 
 includes an extremely remarkable series, in 23 
 quarto volumes, of seventeenth and eighteenth 
 century pieces, formed with great care by Edward 
 Gibbon ; also Sir James Mackintosh's collection 
 in 21 volumes ; as well as that made by the 
 late Mr. Morton Pitt, in 139 volumes, of which 
 there is a separate chronological catalogue. There 
 are special series relating to the Civil War, and 
 the Revolution of 1688, the Catholic controversy, 
 the Union of Ireland, and 52 volumes connected 
 with the early history of the United States. The 
 various burning questions which have successively 
 occupied public attention during the nineteenth 
 century are illustrated in their principal opuscula. 
 Of all the pamphlets there is a printed catalogue, 
 brought down to date by means of annual supple- 
 ments. 
 
 There is a considerable collection of maps, which 
 are mounted on linen and arranged in solander 
 cases. Periodicals and newspapers are filed for 
 reference, and arrangements made for the appear- 
 ance on the library tables of all new books of any 
 importance immediately on publication. 
 
 The books are classified on the shelves as far as 
 possible, and are all readily accessible to members. 
 
 The first volume of a printed catalogue appeared 
 in 184S, followed by another in 1851, with an 
 analytical index. These are brought down to date 
 by annual supplements of accessions, the titles 
 being cut up and incorporated with the others in 
 the volumes of the library catalogues. 
 
 Every large library must look to purchases as 
 its principal means of acquiring books, but the 
 Athenseum owes much to the liberality of its mem- 
 bers, as well as to those distinguished foreigners 
 
232 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 ■who have from time to time been visitors to the 
 club.' A bequest of ;^5oo on the part of the late 
 Rev. Charles Tumor was principally expended on 
 archasological works ; and the late Mr. Felix 
 Slade left ;^200 for the purchase of books relating 
 to the fine arts. Mr. George Richmond, R.A., 
 has presented a complete series, in the very finest 
 states, of valuable engravings after his well-known 
 designs, representing the public characters of 
 Great Britain during many years. 
 
 The books have long outgrown the apartment 
 originally devoted to them, notwithstanding its 
 enlargement by an alteration in the ceiling. The 
 large library contains more than half of the whole 
 number of volumes. Two galleries give convenient 
 access to the upper part of the room, the ground 
 floor of which is very suitably presided over by the 
 well-known bust of Pope, by Rymsbraeck. 
 
 In 1841 the attention of the committee was 
 ■ drawn to the great damage caused to bindings by 
 the impoverishment of the leather, particularly calf 
 and russia, from the overheated air and direct 
 action of the iumes of gas. The entire subject was 
 gone into very thoroughly — the opinions of eminent 
 
 binders being taken on the preparation of leather 
 for their purposes ; inquiries were made of other 
 libraries where the books had suffered in a similar 
 manner ; numerous experiments were carried out ; 
 and the result of the investigations of Professor 
 Faraday, Professor Brande, Dr. Prout, Mr. A. Aikin, 
 and Mr. R. Brown subsequently presented to the 
 committee. The general conclusion amved at 
 was, that the evil principally arose from the acid 
 vapours evolved by the combustion of the gas with 
 which the rooms were lighted, and that arrange- 
 ments should be made to carry off the fimies. The 
 rooms had been lighted by open chandeliers, and 
 the proposal by Professor Faraday of a system of 
 ventilation by means of tubes over the gas-jets was 
 adopted. There was, in consequence, a marked 
 improvement; but the rooms still suffered from 
 excessive dryness,, and an entirely favourable at- 
 mosphere, both for books and readers, was not 
 attained until the introduction of sunlights, in the 
 year 1856. Bearing in mind the inability of russia 
 and calf to resist a high temperature, these leathers 
 have been used for some time very sparingly, and 
 the books are now preserved in good condition. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF LINCOLN'S INN. 
 
 THE Library of Lincoln's Inn was 
 founded in the 13th year of the 
 reign of Henry VII. (A.D. 
 1497), deriving its origin from 
 a bequest of forty marks made 
 by John Nethersale, a member 
 ot the society, partly towards 
 the building of a library for the benefit of the stu- 
 dents of the laws of England, partly lor the singing 
 of a mass of requiem by the priest of the house in 
 the divine service of every Friday, lor the repose of 
 his soul. This building, the site oi which is not 
 now known, was finished in the 24th Henry VII. 
 Previously to their removal to the present edifice in 
 184s, the books occupied a suite 01 rooms in "The 
 Stone Building" (so named), to which they had 
 been transferred in the year 1787 from the Old 
 Square. 
 
 The library has been enriched at various periods 
 by donations of printed books and manuscripts U'om 
 members of the society, and in 1676 acquired by 
 the bequest of Sir Matthew Hale the valuable col- 
 lection of manuscripts made by that eminent judge. 
 The accumulation of books did not proceed very 
 rapidly, but the library was more fortunate than 
 that of the Middle Temple, of which it is naively 
 related by Dugdale, that the students had once 
 
 ' ' a simple Library, in which were not many bookes 
 besides the Law ; and that Library, by meanes that 
 it stood allwayes open, and that the learners had 
 not each of them a key unto it, it was at the last 
 robbed and spoiled of all the bookes in it." In the 
 catalogue of Lincoln's Inn Library, printed in 1835, 
 the number of volumes was less than 10,000; hut 
 after that period the increase by purchase of books 
 was so rapid that at the time of the removal to the 
 new building the number was nearly doubled. 
 
 Another catalogue, alphabetically arranged, with 
 an index of subjects, was printed in 1859 ; since 
 which time four supplements have been added, and 
 the number of volumes is now about 40,000. Of 
 this number about one-halt consists of treatises and 
 reports on English and foreign law ; and the re- 
 mainder of works on theology, English and 
 foreign history and topography, Greek and Latin 
 classics, dictionaries and grammars, and general 
 literature. In the class of topography the librai-y 
 is especially rich. 
 
 The Library, forming part of the magnificent 
 pile of building known as the " New Hall and Li- 
 brary 01 Lincoln's Inn," was erected from the de- 
 signs of W. Hardwick, the eminent architect, in 
 1845 ; and was originally eighty feet in length from 
 east to west, exclusive of the great oriels at the ex- 
 
LINCOLN^S INN. 
 
 233 
 
 tremities, which are about six feet each ; but the 
 increase of boolcs became now so rapid that, more 
 space being required for their accommodation, an 
 addition of fifty-one feet was made in 1873. The 
 general design of the enlargement and alterations 
 was made by Mr. Edmund Beclcett Denison (now 
 Sir Edmund Beckett), one of the benchers, and 
 the execution of the work entrusted to Sir Gilbert 
 Scott, by whom the extension was carried out in the 
 same style of architecture as the original building. 
 During the progress of the work the whole of the 
 fine east oriel window was taken down, stone by 
 stone, with great care, and re-erected without altera- 
 tion fifty feet onward. This noble apartment is 
 now 131 feet in length, exclusive, as before ob- 
 served, of the oriels ; the breadth is 40 feet, and 
 the height 44 feet. The bookcases, in projecting 
 piers brought out at right angles to tlie walls on 
 each side, form separate recesses or apartments for 
 the readers. To the upper shelves convenient ac- 
 
 cess is afforded by light iron galleries ; and above 
 the boolccases is another gallery against each wall, 
 extending through the whole lengtli of the room. 
 Access to the upper galleries is afforded by stone 
 staircases at the west end of the room ; and to the 
 lower galleries by four iron spiral staircases, one at 
 each corner. The recesses between the bookcases, 
 about ten feet square, are furnished with oaken 
 tables and chairs, as is also the central area of the 
 room. At one end of the room is a lectern of oak, 
 on which is placed a copy of the printed catalogue 
 of the books, mounted on writing paper of folio 
 size, with blank columns opposite to each printed 
 page, so that all additions may be inserted in their 
 proper order. 
 
 [A full description of the library may be found 
 in'a vohime entitled " Lincoln's Inn, its ancient and 
 modern buildings, with an account of the Library," 
 by W. H. Spilsbury, Librarian,* Second edition, 
 1873, post Svo.] 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY. 
 
 HE Linnean Society was founded 
 in 1788, and incorporated by 
 royal charter in i8o2. It re- 
 moved from the house in Soho 
 Square, formerly belonging to 
 Sir Joseph Banks, to old Bur- 
 lington House, in 1857, and 
 took possession of the present rooms in the new 
 buildings in 1873. 
 
 The library consists of a valuable collection of 
 about 12,000 volumes (many of them costly illus- 
 trated books) chiefly illustrative of the two sciences 
 cultivated by the Society — ^viz., zoology and botany. 
 The chief treasure, however, is the original library 
 of Lmnffius, the obtainmg of which forms quite a 
 romantic episode in the history of libraries. 
 
 At the close of the year 1783, when James 
 Edward Smith, the future founder of the Society, 
 was breakfasting with Sir Joseph Banks, he learnt 
 that the whole of the collections and library of 
 the great naturalist and of his son, the younger 
 Linnffius, might be purchased for 1,000 guineas. 
 Smith was then only twenty -four years of age, and 
 had not the money, but his enthusiastic desire 
 
 to obtain the treasure was appreciated by his 
 father, who advanced him 900 guineas, which were 
 finally accepted by the sellers. The purchase was 
 completed, and the precious cargo on board ship 
 bound for England, when the King of Sweden, 
 Gustavus III., arrived at his capital from a visit to 
 France. He at once sent a ship to the Sound to 
 prevent this expatriation ; the vessel, however, 
 was out of reach, and in October, 1784, the 
 boxes containing the priceless relics of the great 
 Linnaeus were landed at the English Custom 
 House. 
 
 The library remained in the possession of Sir J. E. 
 Smith until his death, in 1828, when his widow, the 
 accomplished lady who died in February, 1877, at 
 the age of 103, sold it with the books of her hus- 
 band and his herbarium to the Society for;^3,ooo. 
 The library of Linnaeus is now kept intact, and 
 none of the books are mixed with the general 
 library, or lent out to the Fellows. 
 
 * It is with much regret that the editors of this 
 volume have to record the death of Mr. Spilsbury, 
 who was one of the members of the Conference. 
 
 H H 
 
334 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 THE LONDON LIBRARY. 
 
 HE London Library was founded 
 in 1840 by a committee of 
 gentlemen connected with the 
 world of letters who felt the 
 want of an institution that 
 would famish books of a high 
 class on loan at the residence 
 of its members. Dean Milman, Sir Geo. Cornewall 
 Lewis, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Carlyle, Mr. Spedding, 
 the late Mr. HaUam, Mr. John Forster, and other 
 writers of eminence took part in the formation of 
 the library. By means of a moderate subscription 
 funds were raised for the purchase of a choice col- 
 lection of books that amount at present to nearly 
 100,000 volumes. Works of an ephemeral charac- 
 ter have been excluded as much as possible, though 
 absolute purity in this respect has been found un- 
 attainable. Technical and professional books are 
 admitted in very small numbers. The catalogue of 
 the library is now in its fourth edition, a portly 
 volume of about a thousand pages, in which the 
 book-titles are arranged alphabetically under au- 
 thors, while a classified index of subjects is placed 
 at the end. The building in which the books are 
 stored is a private house in St. James's Square, for- 
 merly known as Beauchamp House. The classifi- 
 cation on the shelves is in languages, with the 
 Enghsh books divided into subjects. They occupy 
 several rooms in the following order, which is 
 changed as convenience requires : — 
 
 1. Ancient History, Greek and Latin Classics; 
 including the collections of Boeckh, Gruter, Grse- 
 vius, Gronovius, Muratori, &c. 
 
 2. Ecclesiastical History ; including the Acta 
 Sanctorum, Baronii Annales, BuUarium Roma- 
 num, Centuriatores Magdeburgici, Councils, Wad- 
 dingii Annales Minorum, &c. 
 
 3. Theology; including the Fathers of the 
 Church, Parker Society Publications, Puritan and 
 Nonconformist Writers, Recent Controversies, &c. 
 
 4. Modem European History. 
 
 5. Voyages and Travels ; including the collec- 
 tions of Hakluyt, Purchas, &c. 
 
 6. Biography. 
 
 7. History of Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
 8. British County History, Topography, He- 
 raldry, &c. 
 
 9. Parliamentary History, Hansard's Debates, 
 Speeches, &c. 
 
 10. Publications of the Record Commission and 
 of the Master of the Rolls. 
 
 11. Statutes of the Realm and Law Books. 
 
 12. Lexicology and Philology — Encyclopaedias, 
 English and Foreign. 
 
 13. Bibliography and Literary History. 
 
 14. Moral and Political Philosophy; Political 
 Economy. 
 
 15. Art and Science. 
 
 1 6. Transactions and Publications of English and 
 Foreign Societies. 
 
 17. Reviews, Magazines, andotherSerials, bound 
 in sets. 
 
 18. Novels and Romances, old and new. 
 
 19. English Poetry and Drama. 
 
 20. English Miscellaneous Prose Literature. 
 
 21. Works on India and Australia, and Publica- 
 tions of the Oriental Translation Fund. 
 
 22. French Literature ; Historical, Documen- 
 tary, Poetical, &c. 
 
 23. German Literature ; including the Histori- 
 cal collections of Pertr, Pez, Westphalen, &c. ; the 
 works of Kant, Hegel, Herder, Goethe, Lessing, 
 Schiller, Wieland, &c. 
 
 24. ItaHan Literature, General and Historical; 
 including the collections of Muratori, Gr^vius, Al- 
 beri, &c. ; Crescimbeni, Ginguene, Tiraboschi, &c. 
 
 25. Spanish and Portuguese Literature, Histori- 
 cal, Poetical, Dramatic, &c. 
 
 26. History and Literature of British America ; 
 of the United States ; of Central and South 
 America. 
 
 Such a collection could not fail to be of great 
 value to scholars and writers of every degree. M. 
 Guizot told a committee of the House of Commons 
 in 1849 that if the London Library had not existed 
 he should have been put to the greatest straits. 
 Many of the names of those who have been and 
 of those who still are members of the society belong 
 to the bright roll of English men of genius — 
 Bulwer, Dickens, Forster, Thackeray, Tennyson, 
 Carlyle, Kingsley, Macaulay, Stanhope, Milman, 
 Gladstone, Huxley, Stanley, Wilberforce, and 
 others. 
 
 There have been three librarians to the society 
 since 1840. Mr.. John George Cochrane, whose 
 great acquirements in bibliography contributed 
 largely to the solid character which the library 
 assumed firom the beginning, was the first. Mr. 
 Cochrane was succeeded, at his death, in 1852, 
 by Mr. William Bodham Donne, an accomplished 
 classical scholar, who retired in 1857, when the 
 present librarian was appointed. 
 
THE REFORM CLUB. 
 
 235 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE REFORM CLUB, 
 
 HE number of volumes in the 
 Reform Club Library now 
 reaches, in round numbers, 
 some 28,000 or 30,000. As 
 befits its status as a leading 
 political club, parliamentary 
 and historical works constitute 
 its chief feature. It is rich in topography, and it 
 possesses also a very fair selection of what may be 
 styled elegant literature : poetry and the drama, 
 French writers, English essayists, and standard 
 
 British authors are all very fairly represented. 
 Science — technical science — is, save in encyclo- 
 paedias, to be found in very small proportions, nor 
 are the transactions of any foreign scientific so- 
 ciety taken. But, allowing for this deficiency, it 
 may be safely averred that the Reform Club Li- 
 brary is a good serviceable library for all the ordi- 
 nary purposes of the general reader or historic 
 inquirer, and its progressive usefulness may be 
 estimated by the fact that its annual accretions 
 average from 400 to 500 volumes. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS. 
 
 IHE library of the Royal Aca- 
 demy of Arts, after its jom-ney 
 firom Somerset House to Tra- 
 falgar Square, is now hand- 
 somely lodged in the old ball- 
 room of Burlington House, 
 where it has been located since 
 1875. As the collection can neither command the 
 large money grants nor the unlimited space enjoyed 
 by a national art library, it does not pretend to 
 rival the populous shelves of South Kensington. 
 The library has gradually accumulated from the 
 early days of the institution, but only in more 
 recent times has it been recognized as an important 
 feature in the art teaching of the Academy, and 
 more systematic attention paid to its formation — 
 the method followed in which has been to choose 
 carefully the best books in the different depart- 
 ments, and to collect the materials for study and 
 research rather than the indiscriminate garnering 
 of everything relating to art. 
 
 It now numbers some 4,500 volumes, and is ex- 
 clusively devoted to works connected in any way 
 with painting, sculpture, architecture, and engrav- 
 ing, and subjects subsidiary to those arts. It is rich in 
 works treating on the history, theory, and practice 
 of fine art in all its branches, and in aU countries and 
 languages ; lives of artists ; works relating to the 
 costume of various times and peoples ; the history 
 and practice of engraving ; antiquities and archseo- 
 logy ; copies from the works of great masters, &c. 
 An unusually complete series of galleries of various 
 
 countries is one of the features of the collection. 
 Many of these are in the finest and rarest states. 
 The books onarchitecture relate more to the history 
 than the technic of the art, as a very complete 
 collection of works on this important branch of 
 fine art may be found in the rooms of the Royal 
 Institute of British Architects. The collection of 
 prints is extensive, numbering many rare examples. 
 The history of the Academy and the works of its 
 members are well represented, and among the most 
 valued treasures are themanuscript note books of Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, as well as many other documents 
 by or relating to the first President. 
 
 A catalogue of the books has just been published, 
 and may be referred to as an instance of a very 
 elaborate system of cross-references, whereby every 
 name on each title, whether of author, editor, sub- 
 ject, engraver, or illustrator, is indexed in the 
 alphabet. Under covmtries, towns, and places is 
 given a systematized reference to every work illus- 
 trating the same ; and with the name of each 
 artist is grouped the literature sjiecially relating 
 to him. 
 
 The librarian has always been a member of the 
 body, and the names of Stothard and Eastlake 
 may be mentioned as among those who have filled 
 the post. 
 
 The library is open every day to students and 
 members, but the council do not restrict the use to 
 them alone, and it is much consulted by scholars 
 and dilettanti from its convenient and central 
 position and the accessibility of its contents. 
 
336 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 
 
 j HE Royal Society was founded 
 in 1660, and chartered by 
 Charles II., in 1662. 
 
 One of the most energetic 
 of the early Fellows was John 
 Evelyn, the Diarist, who in- 
 duced Henry Howard, after- 
 wards seventh Duke of Norfolk, to present to the 
 society the valuable library which he had inherited 
 from his grandfather, Thomas, Earl of Arundel. 
 That collection originally formed a portion of the 
 library of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, and 
 afterwards came into the possession of Bilibaldus 
 Pirckheymer of Nuremberg, who died in 1530. It 
 contains books of great interest, such as the original 
 quarto tracts of Luther, Melanchthon, and the other 
 
 early Reformei-s, specimens of early printing, and 
 editiones principes of the classics. A catalogue 
 ("Bibliotheca Norfolciana") was printed in i68i in 
 a quarto volume of 1 75 pages. In 1830 the Arundel 
 MSS. were sold to the British Museum, with con- 
 sent of the Duke of Norfolk, for the sum of /'s, 559. 
 
 The strength of the general library consists in 
 the comprehensive collection of scientific journals 
 and transactions, most of which have been indexed 
 in the "Catalogue of Scientific Papers." The 
 library is also particularly rich in the departments 
 of Mathematics, Astronomy, and Physiology. 
 
 Among the treasures of the Society are the origi- 
 nal MS. of Newton's " Principia," and the MS. 
 correspondence of eminent philosophers for two 
 centuries. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE ROYAL MEDICAL AND 
 CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 HE Society was instituted in 
 1805, and obtained a royal 
 charter of incorporation in 
 1834. The admission fee is 
 £6 6s., and the annual sub- 
 scription £s. y. The total 
 number of Fellows, resident 
 and non-resident, is about 650, and the Council 
 consists of a President, four Vice-Presidents, two 
 Treasurers, two Hon. Secretaries, two Hon, Libra- 
 rians, and ten other members of Council. 
 
 The library of the Society contains about 30,000 
 volumes on medicine and its allied sciences. It 
 possesses many early printed, and rare and curious 
 books, and is well kept up in the medical literature 
 of the day, both British and foreign. 
 
 There are reading and journal rooms, and, be- 
 sides its use as a. library of reference, the books 
 f re allowed to circulate liberally among tlie Fellows. 
 
 There is an aimual increase of about 500 volumes 
 by purchase and donation. 
 
 The society has a printed catalogue under authors'' 
 names, with an index of subjects ; both are kept 
 complfete to current date in the library copies, and 
 new editions for the Fellows' home use are now 
 passing through the press. 
 
 The Society possesses also a large collection of 
 engraved portraits of medical men, of which there 
 is a MS. alphabetical catalogue, with details as to 
 the painters' and engravers' names, the style of 
 engraving, &c., and biographical and bibliographi- 
 cal notices ; a collection of medals ; and a series 
 of the busts of celebrated physicians and surgeons, 
 including those of Baillie, Halford, Babington, 
 Astley Cooper, Abernethy, Travers, Lawrence, 
 Bright, Brodie, Stanley, Addison, &c., who have 
 held the office of its Presidency. 
 
THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES. 
 
 237 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES. 
 
 HE Society of Antiquaries traces 
 its origin to an association 
 founded by Archbishop Parker 
 in 1572, but afterwards dis- 
 solved by James I. The meet- 
 ings of the Antiquaries were 
 not publicly recommenced un- 
 til 1707, and in 1751 the Society was incorporated 
 by royal charter. It removed from Somerset House 
 to BurUngton House in 1874. 
 
 The library, which consists of nearly 20,000 
 volumes, is rich in early printed books, large county 
 histories, and other topographical works, books of 
 heraldry, numismatics, and the various materials 
 for history. 
 
 The Society has been fortunate in receiving 
 several valuable gifts and bequests. A very choice 
 collection of books on archseology and genersil 
 
 literature was bequeathed by Mr. Ashpitel, and a 
 curious collection of books of pageants by Mr, Fair- 
 holt, and later Mrs. Albert Way presented the 
 collection of lexicographical books made by her 
 accomplished husband, the editor, for the Camden 
 Society, of the " Promptorium Parvulorum." There 
 are some manuscripts of importance which have 
 been described in the " First Report on the Public 
 Records," and among these are the "Domesday 
 Book for Winchester," on vellum, dated 1 148, and 
 the "Register of Peterborough Abbey," also on 
 vellum. 
 
 The splendid collection of broadsides and pro- 
 clamations, many of which are unique, was used 
 by Bishop Percy for his "Reliques." Besides the 
 treasures already mentioned there is a collection of 
 topographical prints and drawings carefully mounted 
 and arranged in portfolios according to comities. 
 
 THE DYCE AND FORSTER LIBRARIES, SOUTH 
 KENSINGTON. 
 
 HE South Kensington Museum 
 possessestwo collections of rare 
 books, the munificent bequests 
 of the Rev. Alexander Dyce, 
 the eminent scholar and Shak- 
 sperian critic, and of his friend 
 and executor, John Forster, the 
 critic, historian, and essayist, and the biographer 
 of Goldsmith, Landor, Dickens, and (unfinished) 
 Swift. 
 
 The Dyce library, which, with valuable paintings, 
 drawings, engravings, &c. (known as the "Dyce 
 collection "), came to the Museum on Mr. Dyce's 
 death in 1869, is, as might be expected from the 
 nature of his studies, particularly remarkable for its 
 display of English dramatic literature, beginning 
 with "Ferrex and Porrex" and "Gammer Gurton's 
 Needle," and coming down to the present time— a 
 large number of the plays being the original edi- 
 tions, and some of them most rare and extraordinary 
 productions. Amongst them are copies of the first 
 two foho editions of Shakspere, and several of 
 the early quartos. The library is also strong in the 
 English poetry of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and 
 eighteenth centuries ; in Italian poetry, romances. 
 
 and plays ; in Greek and Latin authors, and in 
 the works of the scholars and critics of the six- 
 teenth and seventeenth centuries, such as Heinsius, 
 Casaubon, the Scaligers, Scioppius, and Salmasius. 
 A large number of the volumes are enriched with 
 Mr. Dyce's MS. notes. 
 
 The manuscripts are principally transcripts of 
 unique or rare poems, plays, and interludes, some 
 made by Mr. Dyce himself, and others from the Rox- 
 burghe, Ritson, and Mitford collections. Amongst 
 the original MSS. are " The Faithful Friends," by 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, from the Heber Library ; 
 "The Parliament of Love," by Massinger, formerly 
 belonging to Malone, who believed that it was from 
 the poet's own hand ; and Mr. Dyce's translation of 
 Athenseus. 
 
 Through the generous liberality of Mrs. Forster, 
 who had the option of retaining the property 
 during her life, but who, unsolicited, waived the 
 power of reservation given to her by the will 01 
 Mr. Forster (who died in 1876), the "Forster 
 collection," ■ consisting of paintings, drawings, 
 manuscripts, autographs, and printed books, came 
 into the possession of the Museum in 1876-7. 
 
 The library abounds m history, biography, an- 
 
238 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 tiquities, travels, poetry, dramatic literature, and 
 fiction, and includes a remarkable collection of 
 bound tracts relating to the Great Rebellion and 
 the Commonwealth, Archbishop Laud, Ireland, 
 and Dean Swift. There is, besides, an array of 
 modern pamphlets, bound in S3S volumes. Many 
 American works are on' the shelves. 
 
 The MSS. and autographs include three note- 
 books of Leonardo da Vinci, with sketches ; the 
 Garrick correspondence, in thirty-nine volumes ; 
 most interesting and valuable memorials of the 
 Stuarts, Strafford, Hampden, Pope, Swift, John- 
 son, Goldsmith, Byron, Coleridge, Southey, Lan- 
 dor. Lord Lytton, and many other men of fame 
 
 and celebrity; and a large proportion of the 
 
 originals of the works of Charles Dickens, to whom 
 Mr. Forster stood in the triple relation of firiend, 
 executor, and biographer. Granger's "Biographical 
 History of England," illustrated with more than 
 5,000 portraits, should also be noticed. 
 
 Both the libraries contain many volumes of espe- 
 cial interest in the shape of original and rare edi- 
 tions, presentation copies, books with autograph 
 and MS. notes, and books which will be particularly 
 attractive to students of Pope, Swift, and Shak- 
 spere. Together they number upwards of 30,000 
 volumes. 
 
 THE EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY, SOUTH KENSINGTON. 
 
 ;N 1854 a special Loan Exhibi- 
 tion of Educational Appliances, 
 English and foreign, was held 
 in St. Martin's Hall, Long 
 Acre, under the direction of 
 the Society of Arts. At its 
 close many of the exhibitors of 
 books, school furniture, diagrams, &c. left their 
 contributions to the disposal of the Society, by 
 which they were subsequently handed over to the 
 Science and Art Department of the Committee of 
 Council on Education; and in 1857, when the 
 Museum at South Kensington was formed, a portion 
 of the temporary iron buildings was appropriated 
 for the display of this collection, and publishers and 
 manufacturers were invited to add to it by loans — 
 an invitation which was very widely responded to. 
 A small reading-room was partitioned off, in which 
 the books might be consulted, but for ten years 
 the books, school furniture, elementary scientific 
 apparatus, drawing models, and other educational 
 appliances were displayed as one collection. In 
 1867 the iron buildings were removed, and space 
 was found elsewhere for the educational division 
 of the Museum. In 1876 another removal became 
 necessary, and at present the library and reading- 
 room occupy fairly commodious, though still tem- 
 porary buildings at the extreme west of the Museum, 
 while the other portions of the collection are shown 
 in a range of galleries adjoining the Horticultural 
 Gardens, and quite detached from the Museum. 
 The original unity of the educational division is 
 still borne vdtness to by the printed catalogue. The 
 ninth edition, issued in 1876, following the example 
 of its predecessors, comprises in each class — first 
 books, then material appliances. Thus under Ma- 
 thematics we find books on arithmetic, algebra. 
 
 &c. ; followed by abaci, calculating machines, &c. 
 The growing importance of the library would now 
 seem to call for an independent catalogue. The 
 books have recently been carefully counted, and 
 the number found to amount to 36,884. This is 
 exclusive of duplicates. The following is a sum- 
 mary of the return : — 
 
 English language and literature, including gram- 
 mars, reading lessons, poetry, juvenile books, &c., 
 
 5,445- 
 
 Classical languages and literature 2,179. 
 
 Modem languages and literature, including ex- 
 amples of school books used in various countries, 
 5,520. 
 
 Biography and history 2,224. 
 
 Theology, church history, &c., 920. 
 
 Works on pedagogy, reports, examination papers, 
 &c., 5,224. 
 
 Political, domestic, and social economy, 1,326. 
 
 Drawing and writing, 748. 
 
 Music, 1,291. 
 
 Mathematics, 1,426. 
 
 Geography and astronomy, 1,781. 
 
 Geology and mineralogy, 524- 
 
 Botany and general natural history, 1,546. 
 
 Chemistry, general physics, andmechanics, 1,859. 
 
 Special collections of books not yet separately 
 classified, 4,871. 
 
 Total, 36,884. 
 
 The library has received large additions from 
 the foreign commissions at the various international 
 exhibitions, and authors and publishers of edu- 
 cational works have from its formation liberally 
 contributed to it. Books of reference, educational 
 periodicals, and foreign publications are purchased. 
 The books are arranged in each class in alphabeti- 
 cal order according to the catalogue, but new pub- 
 
EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY, SOUTH KENSINGTON. 
 
 239 
 
 lications are kept for a time in open cases in the 
 reading-room, freely accessible to all visitors, the 
 published price being marked in each book and 
 also stated in the catalogue, so that school mana- 
 gers and teachers can readily ascertain those best 
 suited to their requirements. 
 
 The readmg-room is open during the same 
 hours as the Museum, through which it is reached — 
 namely, daily at tenA.M. throughout the year, except 
 
 on Sundays, Christmas Day, and Good Friday ; 
 closing at ten P.M. on the free days — Monday, 
 Tuesday, and Saturday — and at four, five, or six 
 P.M., according to the season, on the other three 
 days of the v? eelc, when the charge for admission to 
 the Museum is sixpence. The number of readers 
 in 1876 was 20,986, giving a daily average of 67"5. 
 On Saturdays, the teachers' holiday, the readers 
 frequently number 150. 
 
 THE NATIONAL ART LIBRARY, SOUTH KENSINGTON, 
 
 \HE Art Library is at present 
 temporarily housed in a portion 
 of the building erected for Art 
 Museum purposes, and all its 
 arrangements have necessarily a 
 somewhat makeshift character. 
 A fitting and permanent build- 
 ing is about to be erected, with a reading-room cal- 
 culated to accommodate about 250 readers. The 
 collections illustrative of early typography, book 
 ornament, and bookbinding will then be exhibited, 
 as well as large selections from the extensive series 
 of drawings and prints of ornament, and photo- 
 graphs. 
 
 The temporary nature of the existing arrange- 
 ments in the hbrary was explained to the members 
 of the Conference during their visit, and the pro- 
 posed development of its scope and plan indicated. 
 The Art Library is, as its name imphes, a special 
 collection. It is intended to contain all works re- 
 lating to the fine arts of architecture, sculpture, and 
 painting ; all those that illustrate or can aid in the 
 development of art applied to matters of personal 
 or domestic use ; books on the history of art and 
 biography of artists ; illuminated and illustrated 
 books when of importance for art or its history ; 
 specimens of bookbinding and of typography; 
 original designs, drawings, prints, and woodcuts, 
 especially of ornamental art; photographs of objects 
 of art, architecture, &c. 
 
 The object, therefore, defines the scope and limits 
 of the Art Library, and thus it does not enter into 
 rivalry with collections that aim at being universal, 
 such as the library of the British Museum or the 
 Bodleian at Oxford ; it is intended, moreover, to 
 be usefid to those who are too little acquainted 
 with books to gain much from ordinary libraries, 
 but who can learn from illustrations bearing on the 
 arts or trades with which they are familiar. 
 
 Works of general reference, dictionaries of lan- 
 guages, of biography, chronology, genealogy, 
 heraldry, are placed in the library, being required 
 
 for reference by students and for the use of officers 
 of the department engaged in compiling catalogues, 
 preparing labels, and other hterary work of the 
 Museum. Various papers and serials, English and 
 foreign, containing the current information of the 
 day relating to art, are taken in. Catalogues of 
 exhibitions are preserved, and of sales of books 
 and art-objects — the latter with their prices re- 
 corded. 
 
 The collection of original designs and prints has 
 for its primary object the instruction and aid of 
 students of ornament ; it therefore includes illumi- 
 nations, drawings, and sketches of objects of fine 
 art, sometimes the original designs of eminent 
 masters, and the working drawings from which 
 goldsmith's and silversmith's work has been exe- 
 cuted, designs for jewellers and watchmakers, for 
 furniture, carving, ceilings, friezes, &c., also a 
 large number of drawings of mosaics, chiefly antique, 
 of various architectural details as well as of com- 
 pleted buildings. Among the prints book-ornament 
 is especially represented, early woodcut illustrations, 
 title-pages, initial letters, &c. ; also the works of 
 the early engravers of the German school called 
 the "petits maitres," and of the later French 
 school of ornament. 
 
 A MS. catalogue of the books brought up to the 
 latest acquisitions is available for the use of readers, 
 as well as several copies of the Universal Catalogue 
 of Art Books, in which the acquisitions of the 
 library are noted ; there is also a copious index 
 classed in subjects. A catalogue of the collection 
 of original drawings and designs, with a classed 
 register added, is also available. A similar register 
 of the prints is now complete down to the latest 
 additions to the collection. An alphabetical re- 
 gister of the photographs is printed, and a com- 
 plete catalogue is now in progress. As the collec- 
 tion is of great extent, this catalogue will form a 
 dictionary of objects of art with photographic 
 illustrations of each. 
 
 The Art Library originated at Somerset House, 
 
240 
 
 VISITS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES. 
 
 when a small collection of books was made for the 
 use of the students in the Government Schools of 
 Design; this collection was augmented at Marl- 
 borough House when the schools were transferred 
 thither in 1852, was formed into an Art Library, 
 and opened to the public on payment of a small 
 fee. In 1856 it was removed to South Ken- 
 sington, the number of volumes then amounting 
 to about 5,000. The library has since been gra- 
 dually rendered available to larger numbers of 
 readers, and has been increased to its present 
 extent, partly by gifts from private persons ; by 
 contributions from foreign governments (such as 
 that of the series of plates forming the great work 
 known as the " Iconographie du Louvre ") ; by the 
 bequests of the late Rev. Chauncy H. Tovmshend, 
 and of Mr. W. Smith, F.S.A.; and by the annual 
 expenditure of the parliamentary vote of a small sum 
 included in the estimates for the department. The 
 rarity of some art books has delayed or hindered 
 their acquisition, but the most common difficulty 
 has been the cost, which, in the case of many of 
 the books which come vrithin the scope of the 
 collection, is considerable. These, some of which 
 are often asked for, are being purchased by degrees 
 as the amount of the library funds will permit. 
 
 The number of volumes and pamphlets at pre- 
 sent in the library is upwards of 43,000. 
 
 Of original drawings and designs, 17,000. 
 
 Of illuminations, 1,200. 
 
 Of engravings, 50,000. 
 
 Of photographs, 45,000. 
 
 The Art Library is intended for the use of 
 artists in all branches of fine art, whether architects, 
 sculptors, painters, designers of ornament, heraldic 
 painters, engravers, &c., who may find in the col- 
 lections of drawings, engravings, and photographs, 
 and in illustrated books, records and examples of 
 what has been done by their predecessors. It is 
 also intended for the use of all persons engaged in 
 
 trades in which art is or might be an element, such 
 as jewellers, watchmakers, bookbinders, printers, 
 &c.; also of writers on art and students of art his- 
 tory, art biography, topography, costume, &c. ; 
 lastly, with a view to facilitate the work of students 
 and of others engaged in the fireparation of cata- 
 logues, labels, and various illustrations of art 
 objects, works of reference bearing more or less 
 directly on art, or necessary for consultatibn, are 
 included within the scope of the library. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to enlarge upon the 
 practical benefit derivable firom the varied contents 
 of an illustrated library by that large class of arti- 
 sans whose work touches on the confines of fine 
 art, and who because they are unacquainted with 
 what has been done by their predecessors; want 
 the knowledge requisite to move them to higher 
 aims than the mere routine of their respective trades. 
 The decorator who can refer to the drawings of 
 Chambers, Adam, &c., or to the designs of work- 
 men like Chippendale and Locke, or of artists 
 like Flaxman and Stothard, may make a stride in 
 advance of his competitors. The stock-in-trade, 
 so to speak, of various artists in ornament is laid 
 up in books, and such books are being acquired, 
 whenever it is possible, for the library. To those 
 unacquainted with them and with collections of 
 prints, it is hard to realize the wealth of material 
 suggestive not alone to artists but to artisans, thus 
 preserved and ready at hand to arouse invention 
 and economize labour. 
 
 The amount of such matter that can be brought 
 together in a special library is not to be measured 
 by the number of volumes it contains when com- 
 pared with general collections. 50,000 published 
 books may suffice for the scope of an Art Library. 
 But in a collection that has defined limits a certain 
 degree of completeness may be hoped for, and 
 facility of reference retained which would be im- 
 possible amidst an overwhelming mass of materials 
 
EXHIBITION OF LIBRARY DESIGNS, CATALOGUES, AND 
 
 APPLIANCES. 
 
 BY EDWARD B. NICHOLSON. 
 
 URING the Conference an Ex- 
 hibition of Library Designs, 
 Catalogues, and Apphances 
 was held in the library of the 
 London Institution, and formed 
 a most attractive and useful 
 adjunct to its meetings, the 
 exhibits being of the most varied kinds and so 
 numerous that even the very large space allotted 
 was hardly sufficient for their proper display. All 
 exhibits which arrived before the opening day, and 
 many which came later, had attached to them a 
 card bearing the title of the object, its price (where 
 known), any necessary remarks upon it, and the 
 name of the lender : but a great many exhibits 
 (chiefly, however, small catalogues and library- 
 blanks) which were sent in from day to day during 
 the Conference could not be labelled. From the 
 cards collected at the close of the exhibition, from 
 some of the exhibits themselves (left behind as gifts 
 to the Library- Association of the United Kingdomf), 
 and from memory, the following list — necessarily 
 incomplete, but still, it is hoped, better than none 
 at all — ^has been compiled. 
 
 Extensive as it was, the collection was still very 
 imperfect ; but this could hardly be otherwise in 
 the case of a first exhibition, more especially as 
 each exhibitor had no knowledge of what others 
 were likely to bring, and had moreover to repack 
 and take away whatever he brought. It must, 
 however, be stated that as regards class-bibliogra- 
 
 t Denoted by *. Exhibits lent by the London 
 Institution are marked §, by Mr. H. Stevens, ||. In 
 all cases where the source of an exhibit is not 
 stated, it is to be inferred from the description. 
 
 phies and catalogues no effort was made to obtain 
 anything which was not typical or had not some 
 special excellence or feature of note, and that some 
 hundreds of unexhibi ted volumes in these two classes 
 were on the shelves of the room in which the 
 exhibition was held, and were of course accessible 
 to members of the Conference. 
 
 DESIGNS OF LIBRARY -BUILDINGS, 
 (l) Existing. 
 
 Grenoble. Photograph of the "grande salle 
 de la bibliotheque, " in the Town Library and 
 Museum, Accompanied by the following 
 pamphlets published before the erection of 
 the present buildings : — Simples Notes a- 
 dressks h Monsieur le Maire de la Ville de 
 Grenoble d Vappid de deux Projets de con- 
 struclion de Bibliothique et de Musk. Gre- 
 noble, 1 862, X 8vo. (by H YACINTHE Gariel, 
 with plans). Revue de la Presse Speciale sur 
 le Projet de Bibliotheque et de Musk de la Ville 
 de Grenoble, par C. Perrin. Grenoble, 1863, 
 8vo. (with plans). Bibliothique et Musk de 
 Grenoble. Reponse d. M. le Docteur Leroy. 
 Grenoble, 1864, 8vo. (by Debelle and 
 Hyacinthe Gariel, with plan) ; and 
 Bibliothique et Musk de Grenoble. Riponse 
 h la Lettre signk : Le Doyen de la Faculti 
 
 % Had the compiler had before him all the books 
 exhibited he would have measured the outside 
 height and denoted it by a letter, according to the 
 American system. As it is, he has been obliged 
 to take on trust the sizes given in the labels at- 
 tached to many of them, and has examined the 
 folding of those which he has been able to see. 
 
 I I 
 
242 
 
 EXHIBITION OF LIBRARY DESIGNS, 
 
 DESIGNS OF LIBRARY-BUILDINGS, con- 
 tinued — 
 
 de Droit de Grenoble, Burdet. Grenoble, 
 1865, 8vo. (by Hyacinthe Gariel).* 
 Liverpool. Plans of the Free Public Library 
 and Museum.* 
 
 (2) Projected. 
 
 Nottingham. Plans of the proposed public 
 buildings (Exh. by Mr. C. G. Virgo). 
 
 Oxford. Professor H. W. Acland's suggested 
 connexion (in the form of a covered viaduct) 
 between the Bodleian Library and the Rad- 
 cliffe Reading-Room or Camera Bodleiana 
 (photograph from drawing).* 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole, V.P. Plans for a library, 
 chiefly circulating, without galleries. 
 
 Mr. W. Scott (19, Southampton Street, 
 Fitzroy Square, London, W. C. ). Designs for 
 a literary institution. These gained the 
 Soane medal and prize of ;^5o at the Royal 
 Institute of British Architects. 
 
 BOOKCASES. 
 
 Mr. G. AiTCHisoN (150, Harley Street, Lon- 
 don). Design of a room shelved with book- 
 cases supporting objects of art. 
 
 Danner's revolving bookcase. Square, stand- 
 ing about S ft. high, occupying no more 
 floor-space than a good-sized chair, holding 
 about 130 vols., and revolving both ways. 
 To be obtained through Mr. Melvil Dewey, 
 32, Hawley St., Boston, U.S., $18 (car- 
 riage from America to London, £2 2s.) : 
 smaller sizes, ?i6.20 and $14.40 (cheaper 
 finish $lo.8o\ or in London from Triibner 
 and Co., 57-9, Ludgate Hill, E.C. 
 
 Eastlake portable bookcase. Model. (Mr. 
 S. Cuiterman, 4A, Lawrence Lane, Cheap- 
 side, London, E.C.)* 
 
 Mr. C. G. Virgo. Model of his patent book- 
 case. Front of case is a door, itself shelved, 
 which closes on another row of ;helves 
 behind. 
 SHELF-FITTINGS. 
 
 British Museum. Model. Standards of gal- 
 vanized iron, with holes, and brass pins so 
 shaped that space may be gained by merely 
 turning them halfway round. Shelves of 
 galvanized iron, covered with leather, on 
 wooden frame ; moveable pads of galvanized 
 iron covered with leather to prevent the 
 books at either end from being rubbed ; 
 dust-fall.* 
 
 Liverpool Free Public Library. Model 
 of moveable brass-pin system, resembling 
 that of the British Museum. 
 
 W. ToNKS and Son (Birmingham). Models 
 large and small of patent moveable fittings. 
 To each side of the bookcase are screwed 
 
 SHELF-FITTINGS, continued— 
 
 two metals strips perforated at intervals of 
 f inch : in the oblong holes small metal 
 plates are inserted. There are two kinds 
 of strips — one flat, to be inserted in grooved 
 sides of cases ; the other, containing a groove, 
 to be fixed where the side of the case is not 
 grooved. Price of strips in 6 ft. lengths 
 (cut to measure id. per foot extra) : — (i.) 
 Flat, 4^. per foot if iron, lod. if brass ; (ii.) 
 Grooiied, ^d. per foot if iron, Sd. if brass. 
 Price of plates per gross : — (i. ) for flat strips, 
 •js. if iron, los. 6d. if brass; {ii.) for grooved 
 strips, 6s. if iron, 8s. 6d. if brass.* 
 PRINTED GUIDES TO SELECTION OF 
 CONTENTS, 
 (i) ^ Class-BibliograpMes. 
 America. 
 
 Harrisse (H.). Bibliotheca Americana Ve- 
 tustissima. A Description of Works relating 
 to America. 1492 to 1551. AT.Y. 1866. 
 Roy. 8vo.|| 
 
 Sabin (Joseph). Dictionary of Books relat- 
 ing to America. A — Fran. N. Y. 1867-75. 
 6 vols. 8vo. II 
 
 Stevens (H. ) Catalogue of American Books 
 in the Library of the British Museum, 1856. 
 Land. 1866. 8vo.|| 
 
 Historical Nuggets : Bibliotheca Ameri- 
 cana, or a descriptive account of my collec- 
 tion of rare books relating to America. 
 Lond. 1862. 2 vols. l2mo.|| 
 
 Bibliotheca Historica, or a Catalogue 
 
 of 5, 000 volumes of Books and Manu- 
 scripts relating to North and South America. 
 Bost. 1870. 8vo.|| 
 
 Schedule of Two Thousand American 
 
 Historical Nuggets taken from the Stevens 
 Diggings in September 1870. Lond. 1870. 
 FoLII* 
 
 American BookswithTails to 'em, Lond. 
 
 1873. i6mo.|| 
 Art. 
 
 First Proofs of the Universal Catalogue of 
 Books on Art. Lond. 1870. 2 vols. 4to.§ 
 Education. 
 
 [Sampson Low and Co.] Classified Cata- 
 logue of Educational Works, in use in the 
 United Kingdom and its Dependencies in 
 1876. Lofid. 1876. 8vo. 
 Fiction. 
 
 [WiNSOR (Prof Justin).] Chronological Index 
 (A) to Historical Fiction ; including Prose 
 Fiction, Plays, and Poems. Second and en- 
 larged edition. 1875. Bost.* 
 
 t Under this heading have been inserted a few 
 section-catalogues of libraries, as nearly approach- 
 ing class-bibliographies in extent. 
 
CATALOGUES, AND APPLIANCES. 
 
 243 
 
 PRINTED GUIDES TO SELECTION OF 
 CONTENTS, continued— 
 French History. 
 [Taschereau (J.) Edited by.'] Biblioth^ue 
 Imperiale, Departement des Imprimes. 
 Catalogue de I'Histoire de France. Vols. I. 
 —IX. 1855-65. Par. 4to.J 
 French Literature. 
 [BosSANGE (H.)] Ma Biblioth^que Franyaise. 
 Par. 1855. l2mo.|l 
 Incunabula. 
 BuLLEN (G.) Edited by. Caxton Celebration, 
 1877. Catalogue of the Loan Collection of 
 Antiquities, Curiosities, and Appliances con- 
 nected with the Art of Printing. South Ken- 
 sington. Revised edition. Z<)»(/. [1877.] 8vo.|l 
 Campbell (M. F. A. G.) Annales de la Typo- 
 graphic Neerlandaise au XV' Siecle. La 
 Haye. 1874. 4to.|| 
 Penning (Antonio). ICatalogo Ragio- 
 EvoLA (D.' Cav. FiLiPPo). jnato dei Libri di 
 Prima Stampa e delle Edizioni Aldine e 
 Rare esistenti nella Biblioteca Nazionale di 
 Palermo, compilatodal Sac. Antonio Pen- 
 ning, Assistente di essa Biblioteca, e prece- 
 duto da una Relazione Storica suUa mede- 
 sima del D. Cav. FiLiPPO EvoLA, Biblio- 
 tecario Capo. Vol. I. Palermo. 1875. 8vo. 
 {D.' Cav. FUipfo Evola.)* 
 Insurance. 
 Walford (Cornelius). Insurance Cyclo- 
 paedia (The) : being a Dictionary ... a 
 Biographical Summary .... a Bibliographi- 
 cal Repertory of all works written upon the 
 subject of Insurance and its associated 
 sciences : an Historical Treasury .... and 
 also containing a detailed account of the 
 Rise and Progress of Insurance in Europe 
 and in America. Vols. I. — III., Vol. IV., 
 Div. I. and Part V. (Abacus — Friendly.) 
 Land. 187 1-7. 8vo.* 
 Japan. 
 Pages (L. ) Bibliographic Jap»naise ou Cata- 
 logue des ouvrages relatifs au Japon. Par. 
 1859. 4to.|| 
 Medicine. 
 
 [Taschereau (J.) Edited by.] Bibliothjque 
 Imperiale, Departement des Imprimes. 
 Catalogue des Sciences medicales. Tome 
 Premier. Par. 1857. 4to.$ 
 Printing (see Incunabula). 
 Science. 
 Royal Society of London (The). Cata- 
 logue of Scientific Papers. (1800-1863.) 
 Land. 1867-72. 6 vols.J 4to. 
 Shakspere — 
 MULLINS (J. D.) Catalogue of the Shakespeare 
 Memorial Library, Birmingham. Part I, and 
 Part 2, Section I. Birm. 1872-6. 2 pts. 8vo. 
 
 PRINTED GUIDES TO SELECTION OF 
 
 CONTENTS, continued— 
 (2) Handbooks to " the best reading." 
 
 Van Rhyn (G. A. F.) What and how to read. 
 N. Y. 1875. i2mo.|| 
 CATALOGUING. 
 Specimens of Material, Shape, and Size. 
 
 Boston (U.S.) Athen/eum. Specimen of 
 Card-Catalogue. An iron rod, with blocks 
 of wood at each end. Tin index-plates, 
 same size as cards, but with overlapping top 
 for title-writing, guide the searcher approxi- 
 mately to the title he is looking for. * 
 
 Mr. H. W. D.Dunlop. Specimen of his Card- 
 Catalogue (see his paper, pp. 68-9). 
 
 Boston (U.S.) Public Library. (i) 
 Manuscript Catalogue before transfer- process 
 to Cards. (2) Cards (with titles).* 
 
 American Library -Association. Cards 
 recommended by the Co-operation-Com- 
 mittee. To be obtained through Mr. Melvil 
 Dewey, 32, Hawley St., Boston, U.S., or 
 in London from Triibner and Co,, 57-9, 
 Ludgate Hill, E.C. Price not quite lo 
 a penny in quantities of less than 20,000.* 
 Catalogues. 
 
 (l) Libraries, 
 
 Aberdeen. University Library. Cata- 
 logue of the General Library of the Univer- 
 sity of Aberdeen. Aberd. 1873-4. 2 vols. 
 Roy. 8vo. {Sion College Library.') 
 
 Catalogue of the Library of the University 
 
 of Aberdeen. Vol. 3. Law, Medicine, &c. 
 Aberd. 1874. Roy. Svo. {Same.) 
 
 Albany. New York State Library. 
 Catalogue of the New York State Library. 
 1855. General Library. Alb. 1856. 8vo.|| 
 
 Catalogue of theNewYork State Library. 
 
 1 86 1. General Library. First Supplement. 
 L Titles. II. Index of Subjects. Alb. 
 1861. 8vo.|l 
 
 Catalogue of the NewYork State Library. 
 
 1872. Subj ect-Index of the General Library. 
 Alb. 1872. 8vo. 
 
 Catalogue of theNewYork State Library. 
 
 1855. Law Library. Alb. 1856. 8vo.|| 
 
 Catalogue of the NewYork State Library. 
 
 1865. Law Library. First Supplement. 
 Alb. 1865. Svo. II 
 
 Catalogue of the NewYork State Library. 
 
 1855. Atlases, Maps, Engravings, Coins, 
 &c. Alb. 1857. Svo. II 
 
 Antwerp. Public Library. Bibliotheca 
 Antverpiensis. Catalogue Methodique de la 
 Bibliotheque Publique d'Anvers. By F. H. 
 Mertens. Anvers. 1843-52. 3 vols, in 2. 
 Svo. § 
 Birmingham. Free Libraries. Catalogue 
 of the Birmingham Free Libraries— Central 
 
244 
 
 EXHIBITION OF LIBRARY DESIGNS, 
 
 CATALOGUING, continued— 
 
 Lending Department. New edition. Birm. 
 1876. 4to. Price dd. 
 
 Reference-Library Stock-Book. 
 
 Reference-Library Location-Book. 
 
 Shakespeare Memorial Library. 
 
 Catalogue of the Shakespeare Memorial 
 Library, Binningham. Part I, and Part 2, 
 Section i. By J. D. Mullins. Birm. 
 1872-6. 2 pts. 8vo. 
 
 Blackbdrn. Free Library. Blackburn 
 Free Library. 1871-2. Catalogues of the 
 Books in the Reference and Lending Depart- 
 ments. By D. Geddes. Blackb. 1872. 8vo.* 
 
 Boston (U.S.). Athen^um. Catalogue of 
 the Library of the Boston Athensum. 1807- 
 1871. Bost. 1874-6. 2 vols. Roy. 8vo. 
 (A-Ign.)|| 
 
 List of Additions. Various numbers.* 
 
 Massachusetts Historical Society. 
 
 Catalogue of the Libraiyofthe Massachusetts 
 Historical Society. Bost. 1859. 2 vols. 
 Roy. 8vo.|| 
 
 PublicLibrary. Index to the Catalogue 
 
 of Books in the Upper Hall of the Public 
 Libraiy of the City of Boston. [Edited by 
 ProfessorC. C. Jewett.] Bost. 1861. 4to. 
 (Corporation Library, Loitdon.) 
 
 Index to the Catalogue of Books in the 
 
 Bates HaU of the Public Library of the City 
 of Boston. First Supplement. [Edited by 
 Professor C. C. Jewett.] Bost. 1866. 4to. 
 (Same. ) 
 
 Prince Library (The). A Catalogue of the 
 
 Collection of Books and Manuscripts which 
 formerly belonged to the Reverend Thomas 
 Prince, and was by him bequeathed to the 
 Old South Church, and is now deposited in 
 the Public Library of the City of Boston. 
 [Edited by Prof. jusTIN WlNSOR.] Bost, 
 1870. 4to.* 
 
 Catalogue (A) of Books belonging to the 
 
 Lower Hall of the Central Department in 
 the classes of History, Biography, and Tra- 
 vel, including the Histories of Literature, 
 Art, Sects, etc.. Politics, Geography, Voy- 
 ages, Sketches, and Manners and Customs, 
 together with Notes for readers under Sub- 
 ject-References. Second, or consolidated 
 edition, July, 1873. [Edited by Prof. 
 Justin Winsor.] Bost. 1873. 4to.* 
 
 Lower Hall. Class List for English Prose 
 
 Fiction, including Translations and Juvenile 
 Books, with Notes for readers, intended to 
 point out for parallel reading the Historical 
 Sources of works of Fiction. [Edited by 
 Prof. Justin Winsor.] Sixth Edition. 
 April, 1877. Bost. 1877. 4to.* 
 
 Catalogue of Books in the Roxburgh 
 
 CATALOGUING, continued-— 
 
 Branch Library of the Boston Public Li- 
 brary, includingthe collection of the Fellowes 
 AthenKum, together with Notes for readers 
 under Subject-References. [Edited by Prof. 
 Justin Winsor.] Second edition, August, 
 
 1876. Bost. 1876. 4to.* 
 
 Bulletin of the Boston Public Library 
 
 Nos. 40-2 (Jan. —July, 1877). Bost. 1877. 
 4to.§ 
 
 Bradford. Public Free Libraries. Index 
 Catalogue of the Books in the Branch Lend- 
 ing Libraries at Great Horton, Whetley 
 Lane, Barkerend, Bowling Bk. Lane, Ryan 
 • Street. Bradf. 1877. l2mo. Price dd.* 
 
 Brooklyn. Mercantile Library. Cata- 
 logue of the Mercantile Library of Brooklyn. 
 Authors, Titles, Subjects, and Classes. 
 Part First, A— C (Pages I— 400). [By S. B. 
 NoYES.] Brookl. 1877. 4to. ?2.go (Sub- 
 scribers to the Library $1.50).* 
 
 Cincinnatl Public Library. Catalogue 
 of the Public Library of Cincinnati. Cine 
 1871. Roy. 8vo.|| 
 
 Coventry. Free Public Library. Cata- 
 logue of the Coventi7 Free Public Library. 
 Lending Department (in two parts). Part I. 
 containing a Catalogue of Titles and Subjects, 
 and Part II. an Index of Authors. Second 
 edition. Containing over 10,800 Volumes, 
 of which about 3,400 have been recently 
 added. [By E. Brown.] Cav. 1872. Sm. 
 4to. (>d.* 
 
 Detroit. Public Library. Catalogue of 
 the Public Library of the City of Detroit. 
 Detr. 1868. 8vo.|| 
 
 Dublin. National Library of Ireland 
 (Royal Dublin Society). Catalogue of 
 Books added to the Library of the Royal 
 Dublin Society during the month of May, 
 
 1877. Dubl. 1877. 8vo.* 
 Edinburgh. Advocates' Library. Cata- 
 logue of the Printed Books in the Library 
 of the Faculty of Advocates. Vols. I. — V. 
 (A — Rzaczynski.) Edinb. 1867-77. 4to. 
 Price £"] Js. when complete.* 
 
 Signet Library. Catalogue of the 
 
 Printed Books in the Library of the Society 
 of Writers to H.M. Signet in Scotland. 
 Part First, A— L. [By D. Laing.] Bditib. 
 1871. 4to. {London Library.) 
 
 Indianapolis. Public Library. Catalogue 
 of the Public Library of Indianapolis. [By 
 C. Evans?] Ind. 1873. 8vo. (Corporation 
 Library, London^ 
 
 Lansing. Michigan State Library. Cata- 
 logue of the Michigan State Library for 
 1877-78. By Harriet A. Tenney. Lans. 
 1877. Roy. 8vo.|| 
 
CATALOGUES, AND APPLIANCES. 
 
 24s 
 
 CATALOGUING, continued— 
 
 Liverpool. Athenaeum. Catalogue of the 
 Library of the Athenseum, Liverpool. 
 [By W. R.] Liv. 1864. 8vo.§ 
 
 Free Public Library. Catalogue of 
 
 the I^iverpool Free Public Library. Re- 
 ference Department. Containing the Books 
 received up to December 31st., 1870. By 
 S. HuGGiNS. Liv. 1872. 4to. (Corporation 
 Library, London.) 
 
 First Supplement to the Catalogue of the 
 
 Liverpool Free Public Library. Reference 
 Department. Containing the Books re- 
 ceived from Jan. 1st., 1871, to Dec. 31st., 
 1872. By S. HUGGINS. Liv. 1873. 4to. 
 (Same.) 
 
 Second Supplement to the Catalogue of 
 
 the Liverpool Free Public Library. Refe- 
 rence Department. Containing the books 
 received Jan. 1st., 1873, to Dec. 31st., 1875. . 
 Liv. 1876. 4to. {Same.) 
 
 London. Alfred Club. MS. Catalogue 
 of the Library of the Alfred Club, Albemarle 
 Street. By B. R. Wheatley. 1847. Fcl. 
 
 . British Museum. Catalogue of 
 
 Printed Books in the British Museum. 
 Volume I. Land. 1841. Folio [all pub- 
 lished].§ 
 
 Catalogue of Chinese Printed Books, 
 
 Manuscripts, and Drawings in the Library 
 of the British Museum. By Prof. ROB. K. 
 Douglas. Land. 1877. 4to. 
 
 Catalogue of the Hebrew Books in the 
 
 Library of the British Museum. [By Jos. 
 Zedner.] Lond. 1867. 8vo. 
 
 ■ Catalogue of Sanskrit and Pali Books in 
 
 the British Museum. By Dr. Ernest Haas. 
 Lond. 1876. 4to. 
 
 Broadwood's Manufactory. Cata- 
 logue of Books in the Library of John 
 Broadwood & Sons' Manufactory. Lond. 
 1874. 8vo.* 
 
 ■ Addenda to Catalogue. Being Books 
 
 recently added. 1876. 8vo. 11 pp.* 
 
 Corporation Library. Catalogue of 
 
 the Library of the Corporation of London. 
 Lond. 1859. 8V0.5 
 
 • Catalogue of the Library of the Corpo- 
 ration of London. Fourteenth Supplement. 
 With Index of Persons and Subjects. [By 
 W. H. Overall.] 1877. [Lond.'] 8vo. 
 
 ' Catalogue of Sculpture, Paintings, En- 
 gravings, and other Works of Art belonging 
 to the Corporation, together with Books not 
 included in the Catalogue of the Guildhall 
 Library. [By W. H. Overall.] Lond. 
 1867-8. 2 parts. 8vo.* 
 
 • Foreign Office. Catalogue of 
 
 Printed Books in the Library of the Foreign 
 
 CATALOGUING, continued— 
 
 Office. 31st December, 1864. Lond. 1864. 
 4to. (Corporation Library, London.) 
 
 Gray's Inn. Catalogue (A) of the 
 
 Ancient Manuscripts belonging to the 
 Honourable Society of Gray's Inn. [By 
 Alf. J. Horwood.] Lond. 1869. 8vo.* 
 
 Catalogue of the Books in the Library 
 
 of the Honorable Society of Gray's Inn : 
 with an Index of Subjects. By W. DouTH- 
 waite. Lond. 1872. 8vo.* 
 
 Lincoln's Inn. Catalogue of the Printed 
 
 Books in the Libraiy of the Hon. Society 
 of Lincoln's Inn. By W. H. Spilsbury. 
 Lond. 1859. 8vo.J 
 
 London Institution. Catalogue (A) 
 
 of the Library of the London Institution: 
 systematically classed. Preceded by an 
 Historical and Bibliographical Account of 
 the Establishment. 4 vols. 1835, 1840, 
 1843, 1852. [By W. Upcott, Rich. 
 Thomson, and Prof. E. W. Brayley.] 
 Lond. 8vo. [Not published.]* 
 
 — — London Library. Catalogue of the 
 London Library. By Rob. Harrison. 
 Lond. 1875. 8vo.$ 
 
 London Society of Compositors. 
 
 Catalogue of the Compositors' Library, 
 3, Racquet Court, Fleet Street. 1877. 
 Lond. 1877. 8vo. (>d.* 
 
 Pharmaceutical Society. Cata- 
 logue of the Library of the Pharmaceutical 
 Society of Great Britain. 2nd ed. Lond. 
 1874. 8vo. 
 
 . Royal Institution. Classified Cata- 
 logue of the Library of the Royal Institution 
 of Great Britain. By B. Vincent. Lond. 
 1857. 8vo. (Corporation Library, London.) 
 
 Royal Medical and Chirurgical 
 
 Society. Index to the Catalogue of the 
 Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, con- 
 taining an Alphabetical List of Subjects, 
 with the names of Authors. [By B. R. 
 Wheatley.] Lond. i860. 8vo. 
 
 . Royal United Service Institution. 
 
 Catalogue of the Library of the Royal 
 United Service Institution. Lond. 1865. 
 8vo. 5^.* 
 
 Madison. Wisconsin State Historical 
 Society. Catalogue of the Library of the 
 State Historical Society of Wisconsin. By 
 Dan. S. Durrie and Isab. Durrie. Mad. 
 1873. 2 vols. 8vo. II 
 
 - — Wisconsin State Library. Catalogue 
 of the State Library of Wisconsin. Mad. 
 1872. 8vo.|| 
 
 Manchester. Chetham Library. Biblio- 
 theca Chethamensis : sive Bibliothecse 
 publicse Mancimiensis . . . Catalogus, 
 
246 
 
 EXHIBITION OF LIBRARY DESIGNS, 
 
 CATALOGUING, continued— 
 
 exhibens libros in varias classes pro varie- 
 tate argumenti distributes. By J. Rad- 
 CLiFFE, W. P. Greswell, and T. Jones. 
 Manch. 1791-1863. 5 vols, in 4. 8vo. 
 fusion College.') 
 
 Free Library. Catalogue of the Books 
 
 in the Manchester Free Library. Reference 
 Department. By Andrea Crestadoro. 
 Land. 1864. Imp. 8vo, large paper. {Cor- 
 poration Library, London. ) 
 
 Melbourne. Public Library of Victo- 
 ria. Catalogue (The) of the Melbourne 
 Public Library for 1861. Melb. n. d.$ 
 
 MoNTPELiER (U.S.). Vermont State 
 Library. Catalogue of the Vermont State 
 Library. Montp. 1872. 8vo.|] 
 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Literary and 
 Philosophical Society. Catalogue of 
 1848 of the Library of the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon- 
 Tyne, with a Supplement. Newc. 1858. 
 8vo.§ 
 
 New York. Astor Library. Catalogue, 
 or Alphabetical Index of the Astor Libraiy. 
 PartL Authors and Books. A— L. N. Y. 
 1857-8. 2 pts. in I vol. Roy. 8vo.|| 
 
 Palermo. Biblioteca Nazionale. Cata- 
 logo Ragionato dei Libri di Prima Stampa 
 
 e delle Edizioni Rare compilato 
 
 dal Sac. Antonio Pennino e 
 
 preceduto da una Relazione Storica sulla 
 medesima del D.' Cav. FiLlPPO EvoLA. 
 Vol. I. Palermo. 1875. 8vo. {D! Cav. 
 Filippo Evola). * 
 
 Paris. Bibliotheque Nationale. Biblio- 
 theque Imperiale — Departement des Manu- 
 scrits. Catalogue des Manuscrits Fran9ais. 
 Tome Premier. Ancien Fonds. [Edited by 
 J. Taschereau.] Par. 1868. 4to.$ 
 
 Bibliotheque Imperiale, Departement des 
 
 Imprimes. Catalogue de I'Histoire de 
 France. [Edited by J. Taschereau.] 
 Vols. L— IX. 1855-65. Par. 4to.§ 
 
 • Bibliotheque Imperiale, Departement des 
 
 Imprimes. Catalogue des Sciences Medi- 
 cales. Vol.1. [Edited by J. Taschereau.] 
 Par. 1857. 4to.§ 
 
 Penzance. Public Library. Catalogue of 
 the Books in the Penzance Public Library 
 
 with an Index of Titles and Subjects. 
 
 By J. Kinsman. Penn. 1874. Svo.J 
 
 Philadelphia. Library Company. Cata- 
 logue of the Books belonging to the Library 
 Company of . Philadelphia. Phil. 1835-56. 
 3 vols. 8vo.§ 
 
 Plymouth. Free Library. Borough of 
 Plymouth Free Library and News-Rooms. 
 Index-Catalogue of the Books in the Lend- 
 
 CATALOGUING, continued-^ 
 
 ing and Reference Departments, with Rules 
 and Regulations for readers and borrowers. 
 By W. H. K. Wright. Plym. 1877. 
 4to. dd.* 
 
 Rochdale. Equitable Pioneers' Society. 
 Catalogue of the Library of the Rochdale 
 Equitable Pioneers' Society, Limited, De- 
 cember, 1868. Rochd. n. d. 8vo. 
 
 Supplementary Catalogue of the Library 
 
 of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers' Society, 
 Limited. Lending Department. By Edwin 
 Barnish. Manch. 1876. 8vo.* 
 
 Free Public Library. Catalogue of 
 
 the Books in the Rochdale Free Public 
 Library, Town Hall. Reference Depart- 
 ment. By G. Hanson. Huddersfield. 1873. 
 % Sm. 4to.* 
 
 Catalogue of the Books in the Rochdale 
 
 Free Public Library, Town Hall. Lending 
 Department. By G. Hanson. Hudders- 
 field. 1872-4. tSvo.* 
 
 . Supplementary Catalogue of the Books 
 
 in the Rochdale Free Public Library, Town 
 Hall. Lending Department. By G. Han- 
 son. Rochd. 1874. X 8vo.* 
 
 San Francisco. Mercantile Library 
 Association. Catalogue of the Mercan- 
 tile Library Association of San Francisco. 
 [By A. E. Whitaker.] S. F. 1874. 
 Roy. 8vo. {Mr. W. S. W. Vaux.) 
 
 Vienna. Kaiserliche Bibliothek. Ta- 
 bulae Codicum manuscriptorum praeter 
 Graecos et Orientales in Bibliotheca Palatina 
 Vindobonensi asservatorum. Edidit Aca- 
 demia Caesarea Vindobonensis. [By Jos. 
 Haupt, Th. G. von Karajan, A. 
 MussAFiA, and Ad. Wahrmund.] Vim. 
 1864-73. Vols. I. — ^VI. in 3 vols. 8vo. 
 {Sion College.^ 
 
 Washington. Congress Library. Alpha- 
 betical Catalogue of the Library of Congress. 
 Authors. Wash. 1864.* Roy. 8vo.|| 
 
 Catalogue of Additions made to the Li- 
 brary of Congress from Dec. I, 1863, to 1875. 
 Wash. 1864-76. I vol. 8vo and 4 vols. 4to.|| 
 
 Catalogue of the Law Department of the 
 
 Library of Congress. By C. H. W. 
 Meehan. Wash. i860. 8vo.|| 
 
 Waterbury. Bronson Library. Catalogue 
 of the Silas Bronson Library of the City of 
 Waterbury, Conn. Wat. 1870, 8vo.|| 
 
 X These three catalogues were exhibited bound in 
 one volume, with edges even throughout, which the 
 compiler took to be a i2mo, and which by the Ame- 
 rican Library- Association's size-scale would be so 
 counted. But according to the ' fold '-notation the 
 volume is partly 4to and partly 8vo I 
 
CATALOGUES, AND APPLIANCES. 
 
 247 
 
 CATALOGUING, continued— 
 
 Wellington (N.Z. ). Assembly Library. 
 Classified Catalogue of the Library of the 
 General Assembly of New Zealand. Cor- 
 rected to June, 1875. Well. 1875. 4to.$ 
 (2) Private. 
 
 Bolton. MS. Catalogue of a Private Library 
 [the late Lord Bolton's. By B. R. Wheat- 
 ley]. 1848. Fol. 
 
 Byrom. Catalogue of the Library of the late 
 John Byrom, Esq. M.A., F.R.S., preserved 
 by the late Miss Atherton at Kersall Cell, 
 Lancashire. [ByB. R. Wheatley.] Printed 
 for private circulation only. 1848. 4to. 
 
 Humboldt. Catalogue of the Library of 
 Alexander von Humboldt, with a Biogra- 
 phical and Bibliographical Memoir. By H. 
 Stevens. ZoW. 1877. 8 vo, vellum paper. || 
 
 Menzies. Catalogue of the Books, MSS., 
 Engravings, and Library Furniture belong- 
 ing to William Menzies. N.Y. Roy. 
 8vo.|| 
 
 Percival. Catalogue of the Percival Library. 
 By H. Stevens. Land. 1877. 8vo.|| 
 
 Probasco. Catalogue of the collection of 
 Books, Manuscripts, and Works of Art 
 belonging to Henry Probasco, Cincinnati, 
 Ohio. 1873. Roy. 8vo.|| 
 
 (3) Publishers'. 
 
 Brockhaus (F.A.). Vollstandiges Verzeich- 
 
 niss der von der Firma F.A. Brockhaus in 
 
 Leipzig seit ihrer Griindung in 1805 bis zu 
 
 i872verlegtenWerke. ByH. Brockhaus. 
 
 Leipz. 1872-5. 8vo. 
 Leypoldt (F. ). Trade Circular Annual (The) 
 
 for 1871. N. Y. 1871. 8vo.|| 
 Publishers' Trade List Annual (The). N. V. 
 
 1874. Imp. 8vo.|| 
 Sampson Low and Co. English Catalogue 
 
 of Books (The). Vol. II. Jan. 1863 to Jan. 
 
 1872. Lond. 1873. 8vo. 
 English Catalogue of Books (The) for 
 
 1872. £o?id. 1873. 8vo. Sj-. 
 Index to the English Catalogue of Books, 
 
 compiled by Sampson Lovsr. Vol. II. 
 
 1856 to Jan. 1876. Zand. 1876. 8vo. 
 Publishers' Circular (The), Aug. 2. 1877. 
 
 Pond. 1877. 8yo. 
 
 (4) Bookseller^. 
 
 QuARiTCH (Bernard). General Catalogue 
 (A) of Books, offered to the public at the 
 affixed prices, by Bernard Quaritch. Lond. 
 1874. 8vo. £i, 4!.* 
 
 The Supplement : 1875-77. 
 
 Lond. 1877. 8vo. i6j-.* 
 Accession-Catalogues. 
 
 American Library-Association's. Speci- 
 men, ruled for 5 ,000 vols., 30 lines to a page. 
 4to. Headings to columns left-hand page. 
 
 CATALOGUING, conHnued— 
 
 Accession, Class, Book, Vol., Title : 
 right-hand page, Place, Date, Size, Bind- 
 ing, Source, Cost, Remarks. Price 
 $6. 50 in half. Turkey morocco or American 
 russia, $6.85 in russia, $4.50 in sheets. 
 Carriage from America, i is. To be obtained 
 through Mr. Melvil Dewey, 32, Hawley 
 Street, Boston, U.S., or in London from 
 Triibner and Co., 57-9, Ludgate Hill, 
 E.C.$ 
 
 Mr. F. Weaklin. Specimen-sheets of his 
 Accession-Catalogue, 37 lines to a page, fol. 
 Headings to columns, left-hand page, Case 
 OR Shelf Mark ; Running Number of 
 THE Book; General Catalogue — Page; 
 Index-Catalogue — Page ; Title of 
 the Work ; Author, Editor, or 
 Translator ; Number of Vols. : right- 
 handpage, Size; Vol. ; P.P. — Preface — 
 Text ; Notes and Annotations — 
 Critical and Explanatory.* 
 Indexes to Periodical Literature 
 
 Poole (W.F.). Alphabetical Index (An) to 
 Subjects, treated in the Reviews and other 
 Periodicals, to which no indexes have been 
 published ; prepared for the Library of the 
 Brothers in Unity, Yale College. N. Y. 
 1848. 4to.§ 
 
 Royal Medical and Chirurgical So- 
 ciety's Transactions. General Index to 
 the Transactions of the Royal Medical and 
 Chirurgical Society. [By B. R. Wheatley.] 
 Lond. 1871. 8vo. 
 
 Royal Society of London (The). Cata- 
 logue of Scientific Papers. (1800- 1863.) 
 Lond. 1867-72. 6 vols. 4to.$ 
 
 Statistical Society's Journal. General 
 Index to the Journal of the Statistical 
 Society. [By B. R. Wheatley.] Lond. 
 1854-74. 3 vols. 8vo. 
 
 SHELF-ARRANGEMENT. 
 Shelf-Labels. 
 London Institution. Labels of black 
 leather, lettered in gilt by hand, with eyelet- 
 holes for fixing to shelves by nails or screws. 
 Cost dd. (short and long titles alike.)* Dis- 
 carded for — 
 
 Labels of black buckram, lettered in gilt 
 
 by machine, with eyelet-holes. Cost ()d. 
 (short and long titles alike).* 
 Recess-Labels. 
 London Institution. Labels of black 
 buckram, lettered in gilt by machine, with 
 gilt Oxford border, and eyelet-holes at cor- 
 ners. Sizes 10 in. by 7 in. (discarded), 
 and 14 in. by 7 in. Cost 3^^. 6d. and 4r. 6d. 
 respectively, however fully lettered.* 
 
248 
 
 EXHIBITION OF LIBRARY DESIGNS, 
 
 ARRANGEMENT AND PRESERVATION 
 OF NEWSPAPERS. 
 Bath. Royal Literary and Scientific 
 Institution. American cloth covers, with 
 newspapers stitched into them.* 
 Glasgow. Mitchell Library. Newspaper- 
 holder.* 
 BINDING, 
 (i) Fisher and Son [Church Entry, Carter 
 Lane, London, E.C.). Samples of buckram. 
 List of prices for binding in half-buckram, 
 cloth sides, sprinkled edges, gilt lettering on 
 back, medium thickness (repairing extra) : — 
 Fcaf. Sva, Is. 3^/.; crown 8z/o, is. 6ci.; demy 
 %vo, IS. ; royal Zvo, 2s. 31/. ; demy 4(0, Ss. 6d.} 
 imp. 4&, 5j.; demy fol., 6s. 6d.; royal /ol., 
 gs.* 
 
 (2) E. HORSLKV {IVhi/ecross St., London, E.C.). 
 
 Blue-book covered with table-covering. 
 
 (3) London Institution. Samples of 
 
 buckram. Books bound in half-buckram, 
 black, brown, green, red, and dark blue. 
 Some with and some without lettering-pieces. 
 
 (4) Melbourne. Public Library of Vic- 
 
 toria. Specimens of binding. 
 
 (5) T. Morris (35, Northampton Road, Lon- 
 
 don, E. C). Samples of fortified ' vellum ' 
 cloth — intended to give the durability of 
 buckram with finer grain and better colours. 
 
 (6) W. Skelton (r2, Fullwood's Rents, High 
 Holborn, London, W.C). Half-calf bind- 
 ings in imitation of entire calf. 
 
 (7) Arch. Winterbotham (43, Fountain 
 
 St., Manchester). Imitation-leather cloth. 
 IS. a yard (37 in. wide). 
 LIBRARY-APPLIANCES. 
 Accessions- Indicators. 
 Liverpool. Free Public Library. Album 
 and frame, both described in Proceedings, p. 
 158. 
 t Blanks (of various. kinds). 
 (i) Blackburn. Free Library.* 
 
 (2) Boston (U.S.). Public Library.* 
 
 (3) Bradford. Public Library.* 
 
 (4) Mr. Bassett Cadwallader.* 
 
 (5) Dublin. National Library of Ire- 
 land.* 
 
 (6) Glasgow. Mitchell Library." 
 
 (7) London. London Institution.* 
 
 (8) QuEKETT Microscopical Club.* 
 
 (9) Rochdale. Equitable Pioneers' So- 
 ciety.* 
 
 t The term 'blanks' is employed to cover 
 every kind of loose papers or cards, such as reading- 
 tickets, book-tickets, labels, circulars. To sort 
 and catalogue all those exhibited at the Conference 
 would have delayed the appearance of this volume 
 so much longer that the idea of doing so has been 
 abandoneii. 
 
 LIBRARY-APPLIANCES, contimied— 
 Book-Stamps. 
 G. K. Cooke and Co. (12, Paternoster Rom, 
 London, E.C.) Indian-rubber printing 
 stamp. § 
 Liverpool Free Public Library. Im- 
 pressions from sunk, raised, and printing 
 stamps.* 
 Book-Stops. 
 
 F. Gillard. Stop for keeping books up- 
 right on a partly empty shelf (Exhiiitor 
 and address of inventor unknown. ) 
 Copying Machines. 
 The Electric Writing Pen. Copies printed 
 from stencil made by needle worked by a 
 battery. (Mr. J. W. God/ray, Agent, 400, 
 King William Street, London, E. C. ) 
 Indicators. 
 
 (1) Mr. Francis T. Barrett. Model of an 
 Indicator. * 
 
 (2) Leeds Public Library. Model of In- 
 dicator. Has titles of books as well as 
 numbers. 
 
 (3) Leicester Free Library. Model of 
 Indicator. 
 
 (4) W. Morgan (21, Cannon. Street, Bir- 
 mingham). Birmingham Indicator for 4,000 
 volumes. • Metal frame. Cards punched so 
 as to admit of being whisked out quickly 
 with the end of a penholder. 
 
 Ladders. 
 Jos. G. Arnold (King William Street, Lon- 
 don, E.C). Folding ladder.^ 
 Reading- Cases. 
 
 W. H. Smith and Son (186, Strand, Lon- 
 don, W.C). Reading-case for magazines. 
 IS. 6d.% 
 Size-Scales. 
 
 Mr. F. Weaklin. Seven diagrams of 82 
 sizes given to books, from imp. 4to to 
 demy 48mo — viz. ; 12 4tos, 12 8vos, 12 
 i2mos, 12 i6mos, 12 i8mos, 7 24mos, 
 5 32mos, 5 36mos, and 5 48mos. An 
 eighth diagram in which all are brought 
 together on one sheet, and a list with the 
 name of each size and its measurement in 
 inches. 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LIBRARIES AND 
 LIBRARIANSHIP. 
 % General. 
 
 Adrien (Prof.) Statistics of the Principal 
 Public Libraries in Germany. In the 
 Journal of the Statistical Society, vol. iv. 
 pp. 66-9. 1 841. 8vo. 
 
 X The American Library Report, entered below 
 under United States, is a report not only on 
 libraries in the United States, but on the princi- 
 ples and methods of Libraiy-Economy, and is 
 indeed the largest work on the subject. 
 
CATALOGUES, AND APPLIANCES. 
 
 249 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LIBRARIES AND 
 LIBRARIANSHIP, continued— 
 Edwards (E.). Statistical View (A) of the 
 Principal Public Libraries in Europe and 
 the United States of North America. In 
 the Journal of the Statistical Society, vol. 
 xi. pp. 250-81. 1848. 8vo. 
 
 Memoirs of Libraries : including a Hand- 
 book of Library Economy. Land. 1859. 
 2 vols. Svo. 48j.§ 
 
 Free Town Libraries ; wdth brief notices 
 
 of Book Collectors. Land. 1869. Svo. ^^i is.% 
 
 Petzholdt (Julius). Katechismus der 
 Bibliothekenlehre. 2nd ed. Leipz. 1871. 
 l2mo. \s. (id.% 
 
 Library Journal (The). Nos. 1-12 (Vol. I.). 
 [Edited by Melvil Dewey and other 
 American Librarians.] N. Y. 1876-7. 4to. 
 ?S or ;^i yearly. English agents, Triibner 
 and Co., 57-9, Ludgate Hill, London, 
 E.C.§ 
 
 Axon (W. E. A.). Statistical Notes on the 
 Free Town Libraries of Great Britain and 
 the Continent. In the Journal of the 
 Statistical Society, vol. xxxiii. pp. 327-65, 
 1870. 
 
 Axon (W. E. A.). On some Defects in the 
 Statistics of Books and Libraries. Manch. 
 1875. 8vo. 12 pp. (reprinted from Transac- 
 tions of the Manchester Statistical Society).* 
 
 Hints on the Formation of Small Li- 
 braries, intended for public use. Land. 
 n. d. i2mo. 8 pp.* 
 
 British Museum. Rules for the Compila- 
 tion of the Catalogue. In. Vol. I. of the 
 Catalogue of Printed Books in the British 
 Museum, pp. v.-ix.§ 
 
 Cutter (C. A.). Rules for a Printed Dic- 
 tionary Catalogue. [Part II. of the Govern- 
 ment Report mentioned below under United 
 States.l Wash. 1876. 8vo.§ 
 
 Watteville (Baron Otto de). Ministere de 
 rinstruction Publique, des Cultes, et des 
 Beaux Arts. Direction des Sciences et des 
 Lettres. Service de la Photographie. 
 Rapport . . . et pieces a I'appui. Par. 
 1877. 4to.* 
 
 Weaklin (F.). Attempt (An) to Classify and 
 Catalogue a Large or Small Collection of 
 Books. Land. n.d. Svo. [Not published.] 
 
 Cross (J. Ashton). Notes of a proposal 
 to make a Universal Index to Literature. 
 [Lond. 1875.] 8vo. 8pp.* 
 
 Leighton (J.). On the Library, Books, and 
 Binding, particularly with regard to their 
 Restoration and Preservation. In the Jour- 
 nal of the Society of Arts, Feb. 25, 1859.* 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LIBRARIES AND 
 LIBRARIANSHIP, continued— 
 
 Book Plates, Ancient and Modern, with 
 
 Examples. Reprinted from the Gentle- 
 man's Magazine, No. 6, New Series, 
 June I, 1866. Svo. \^Lond. 1866.] Svo. 8pp.* 
 
 Haggerston (W. J.). Library Indicator 
 (The). Reprinted from the Tradesmen's 
 Advertiser. 8 pp. 
 Denmark. 
 
 Copenhagen. Store Kongelige Bibliothek. 
 Aarsberetninger og Meddelelser. ... By 
 Chr[istian W.] Bruun. Vol. I. 1864-9. 
 Vol. II. 1869-74. Vol. HI. Pts. I, 2, 
 1876-7. Kj^benhavn. 8vo.* 
 
 Danske Katalog (Det) i det Store 
 
 Kongelige Bibliothek. By Chr[istian 
 W.] Bruun. Kj^henhavn. 1875. Svo.* 
 England. 
 
 London. Gray's Inn Library. Gray's Inn. 
 Notes illustrative of its History and Anti- 
 quities. By W. R. DouTHWAlTE. lond. 
 
 1876. 8vo.* 
 
 Royal Academy Library. On the Li- 
 brary of the Royal Academy of Arts. By J. 
 Leighton. {Lond. 1869.] 4to.* 
 
 Manchester. ) Handbook of the Public 
 
 Salford. 3 Libraries of Manchester 
 
 and Salford. By W. E. A. Axon. Manch. 
 
 1877. 4to.§ 
 France. 
 
 Lyon. Bibliothfeques Anciennes et Modernes 
 de Lyon (Les). By LEOPOLD Niepce. 
 Lyon. 1876. Svo. [Sion Collge.) 
 
 Paris. Histoire Generale de Paris. An- 
 ciennes Bibliothequi.s (Les) de Paris — 
 Eglises, Monastferes, Colleges, etc. By 
 Alfred Franklin. Par. 1867-73. 3 vols. 
 4to. (Same^ 
 
 Biblioth^que Nationale. Histoire 
 
 Generale de Paris. Cabinet (Le) des Manu- 
 scrits de la Bibliotheque Imperiale. By 
 LEOPOLD Delisle. /'an 1868-74. 2 vols. 
 4to. I^Same. ) 
 
 United States. 
 
 Public Libraries in the United States of 
 America, their History, Condition, and 
 Management. Special Report, Department 
 of the Interior, Bureau of Education. [Ed- 
 ited by S. R. Warren and Maj. S. N. 
 Clark.] Wash. 1876. 2 parts (Part II. 
 being " Rules for a Printed Dictionary 
 Catalogue." By C. A. Cutter.). 8vo.§ 
 
 Boston Public Library. Handbook for 
 Readers, with Regulations. Post. 1877. 
 i6mo.§ 
 
 Twenty-Fifth Annual Report. 1877. In- 
 cluding summaries of the past history andEx- 
 periences of the Library. Post. [1877.] Svo.* 
 
 K K 
 
SPEECHES AT THE DINNER 
 
 GIVEN TO THE CONFERENCE BY THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD MAYOR OF 
 
 LONDON, SIR THOMAS WHITE, AT THE MANSION HOUSE, 
 
 THURSDAY, OCTOBER STH. 
 
 HE Lord Mayor said that 
 he was honoured by the pre- 
 sence of many distinguished 
 Hbrarians, not only of this 
 but of other nations. He 
 would not say foreign libra- 
 rians, since he saw among them so many of 
 our American cousins who had travelled so 
 far in order to render the Conference repre- 
 'sentative and international. As Lord Mayor 
 of London he wished them every comfort and 
 happiness which they could desire, and a safe 
 return home ; and he regretted that his powers 
 of expression were inadequate to convey to 
 them, and to the librarians from other coun 
 tries generally, the warmth of spirit with which 
 he received them. He had the pleasure of 
 welcoming, at the same time, thirty or forty 
 members — some of themladies — of the School- 
 Board for London. He regarded their pre- 
 sence as most appropriate : for, while libra- 
 rians found the books, they found the readers ; 
 and, on the other hand, great as the work 
 which the School-Board was accomplishing, 
 without the aid of the librarian that work 
 could never be brought to its fitting end. His 
 hearers and himself were alike anxious to 
 listen to some of the distinguished men who 
 had honoured him that evening, and he 
 would therefore delay them no longer, but 
 would propose as a toast " The Conference 
 of Librarians of All Nations," coupling with 
 
 it the name of Mr. Winter Jones, the Presi- 
 dent of the Conference, and on special be- 
 half of the librarians from other countries, the 
 names of M. Leopold Delisle and Professor 
 Justin Winsor. 
 
 Mr. J. Winter Jones said, in reply :— My 
 Lord, Ladies, and Gentlemen, — I am much 
 honoured by being called upon to respond to 
 this toast, although I must confess that owing 
 to some present weakness of voice I had hoped 
 to escape speaking. I am sure that the Con- 
 ference of Librarians will be very much grati- 
 fied by the kind reception which the Lord 
 Mayor has been pleased to give to them, and 
 that it will be a good omen to them in their 
 present labours. Perhaps I shall not be con- 
 sidered a disinterested witness if I say that 
 the work of the librarian is very important : 
 but we all admit that books are most neces- 
 sary for science and art, culture and progress, 
 and it must be borne in mind that without 
 the skilled labour and superintendence of the 
 librarian a collection of books is little more 
 than an inert mass. Indeed, a vast amount 
 of care and attention is required to make a 
 collection of books useful to the student and 
 the public. 
 
 The summons which was issued for a Con- 
 ference of Librarians in England has, I am 
 happy to say, been very fully responded to. 
 About 200 delegates have gathered together, 
 and it may certainly be called a Conference of 
 
SPEECHES AT THE LORD MAYOR'S DINNER. 251 
 
 All Nations, for the members of it come from 
 all parts of the world. I believe that the 
 call has been answered by sixteen represen- 
 tatives of the United States alone. And the 
 way in which the Conference has done its 
 work has shown that everyone attending it is 
 thoroughly earnest. One and all have gone 
 into minute details with the most sincere de- 
 sire of obtaining all the information which 
 may be necessary to enable them to carry 
 out their labours in their own country to their 
 own satisfaction and the advantage of man- 
 kind. When I say that the call has been re- 
 sponded to by earnest men, I must add some- 
 thing more. It has been responded to by 
 earnest women, too — brave ladies who have 
 ventured to undertake a journey of 6,000 
 miles in order to obtain all the experience 
 they can in the profession to which they are 
 devoted. All honour to them for coming to 
 the front. 
 
 As for library-science, it is a very large 
 field, and I do not suppose the Lord Mayor 
 or this distinguished company would thank 
 me if I ventured into it I will, therefore, 
 add nothing further than the thanks of the 
 Conference, and my own also, to you, my 
 Lord, for the sumptuous hospitality with 
 which you have been pleased to receive us. 
 
 M. Leopold Delisle said : — My Lord, 
 Mesdames, et Messieurs, — ^Je ne comptais pas 
 avoir I'honneur d'exprimer, au nom des biblio- 
 thdcaires du Continent, notre reconnaissance 
 pour le cordial accueil que nous a €t€ fait par 
 nos confreres de la Grande Bretagne. Mais 
 je suis charmd d'avoir cette occasion de les 
 remercier en meme temps des enseignements 
 que nous avons pulsus prfes d'eux. Ce n'est 
 pas d'aujourd'hui que de fructueux dchanges 
 ont heu entre les bibliothfeques de la Grande 
 Bretagne et du Continent. Les dcoles sax- 
 onnes et irlandaises ontlaissd des traces imp€- 
 rissables de leur influence dans beaucoup de 
 bibhothfeques de France, d'AUemagne, de 
 Suisse, et mgme d'ltalie. La domination 
 normande a fait passer sur le Continent de 
 prdcieux manuscrits anglais, comme elle a 
 fait copier et conserver dans les cloitres anglais 
 les plus anciens monuments de la litt^rature 
 frangaise. De nos jours, I'Angleterre, au 
 prix de grands sacrifices, recueille ce qu'elle 
 peut attirer k elle des dpaves de I'histoire et de 
 la litt^rature de la France, de la Belgique, de 
 la HoUande, des pays du Nord, de I'Allemagne, 
 de la Suisse, de I'ltalie, et de I'Espagne. II 
 
 nous est pdnible assurdment de voir ces riches 
 ddpouilles prendre le chemin de I'Angleterre ; 
 mais nous avons du moins la consolation de 
 les voir traitdes avec les honneurs dont elles 
 sont dignes, et conservdes au Musde Britan- 
 nique avec un luxe, une libdralit6, et une 
 intelligence, auxquels nous ne saurions assez 
 rendre hommage. Je porte la Santd des 
 Bibliothdcaires de la Grande Bretagne, dont 
 les travaux ont rendu tant de services aux 
 savants de tous les pays. 
 
 Professor Justin WiNSOR said: — My Lord, 
 Ladies, and Gentlemen, — The American 
 librarians came into this presence, into Lon- 
 don, into England, with gratitude for the 
 courtesy we had received, with reverence for 
 your past,, for it is our past ; I hope also with 
 docility, for we are a teachable people. We 
 have not much to boast of yet in the way of 
 libraries — it is the potentiality of the future 
 that gives us courage. The other day in the 
 British Museum I felt dwarfed and humbled, 
 and it is well that we should be. We have 
 undertaken to solve a great problem in Ame- 
 rica. It is the problem of education. We 
 believe the library is more potent than the 
 university. We believe our people are to be 
 educated by books if they are to be worthy 
 freemen, and worthy of their British lineage 
 We are sharers with you in the old Saxon 
 adage, " Where there's a will there's a way." 
 I thank God we have the " will," we pray for 
 the '' way.'' We have a shoulder to the wheel, 
 and we trust the future will open the way. 
 The other day, at Stratford-on-Avon, I was 
 impressed with the memories of a Will. He 
 had the right of way. We claim the right to 
 Shakspere as well as you. We claim also the 
 right to another of your old Saxon adages, 
 " You must take the will for the deed." Our 
 accomplishments are rather in our endeavours. 
 We have put our shoulders to the wheel, and 
 we hope one day when British librarians come 
 to America we can show them hbraries worthy 
 of the extent of our country. 
 
 Baron OTTO DE Watteville then rose 
 and spoke in French to the following effect : — 
 My Lord, Ladies, and Gentlemen, — I ask your 
 permission to propose the health of the Lord 
 Mayor. I cannot omit from this toast the 
 name of the Corporation of London, whose 
 great memories recur to my mind at the 
 moment. Throughout the middle ages this 
 powerful Corporation stood in the front of 
 commerce, industry, and progress. And it 
 
2^2 
 
 SPEECHES AT THE LORD MAYOR'S DINNER. 
 
 holds the same position to-day, as we were 
 all able to bear witness when we visited its 
 fine library at the Guildhall. Thanks to the 
 zeal of the librarians and the chairman of the 
 library-committee, and thanks to the liberality 
 of the Corporation, the treasures of that library 
 have been for some years freely enjoyed by 
 the public. 
 
 The hospitality of the Lord Mayor of Lon- 
 don is proverbial, and on this occasion it has 
 certainly justified the proverb. His Lordship, 
 desirous of promoting the spread of culture, 
 has taken a far-sighted course in thus bestow- 
 ing the recognition of the City of London on 
 those who have come together from all parts 
 of the world to assist each other in labours 
 to be utilized in increasing the culture of the 
 world. I call on you, ladies and gentlemen, 
 to join me in paying a just tribute to the Lord 
 Mayor and Corporation of London. 
 
 The Lord Mayor, in acknowledgment, 
 said that the Corporation of London was in- 
 deed such that he was proud to be at the 
 head of it, and that as the representative of 
 a Corporation which had thrown open its li- 
 brary to the public and continued to maintain 
 it for their advantage, he felt an additional 
 pleasure in welcoming the Conference. He 
 was glad to know that so many librarians of 
 free town-libraries were present, and he would 
 give as a toast " Free Town-Libraries," 
 coupled with the name of Mr. W. F. Poole. 
 
 Mr. W. F. Poole said the Americans took 
 it as an especial compliment that his Lordship 
 desired to hear a second speaker from that 
 country. It was a large country, and he lived 
 i,ooomilfiswestof Professor Winsor, and there 
 were others 2,000 miles west of him, and doubt- 
 less they desired to form an approximation to 
 the opinion of the Pacific. It might be asked, 
 "What interest in London has Chicago.?" 
 One thousand telegrams a day pass from the 
 Chicago Board of Trade to London, and every 
 vibration of the London market is felt at once 
 in Chicago. They were also interested in 
 London for another reason. Six years ago a 
 
 terrible fire swept over Chicago. To repair 
 the losses of that calamity money came from 
 a parts of the world. It came from Aus- 
 tralia, New Zealand, and India ; but the 
 United Kingdom gave not only money, but 
 books. Many of those books came from Lon- 
 don, bearing the autographs of their gracious 
 Queen, the Royal Family, the family of Ma- 
 caulay, and other illustrious persons, while 400 
 volumes came from the noble university of 
 Oxford. Therefore they desired as Americans 
 to assure Englishmen of their love for the 
 country, its learned bodies, its Royal Family. 
 They desired also to thank the United King- 
 dom for the courtesy with which they had 
 been received since first they landed here. 
 They wished in their turn to invite Enghsh 
 librarians to America, and they trusted that 
 the Lord Mayor of London would despatch 
 Mr. Overall, the accomphshed librarian of the 
 city of London, to America, as he himself had 
 been despatched to England by the city of 
 Chicago. 
 
 The Lord Mayor then said that the toast 
 of " Members of the Press," those great dis- 
 seminators of knowledge, would, he was sure, 
 be heartily received, and he was fortunate in 
 being able to couple with it the name of a most 
 talented librarian, the editor pf the " Library 
 Journal," Mr. Melvil Dewey. 
 
 Mr. Melvil Dewey said that the Confe- 
 rence must produce results which could not 
 have been obtained by a Conference of English 
 or American librarians separately. He was 
 pleased to think that one of those results would 
 probably be the adoption of the "Library, 
 Journal" as the official organ of English as 
 well as American librarians, and that hence- 
 forth the librarians of both nations would have 
 a permanent means of intercommunication. 
 
 Sir Redmond Barry then proposed in 
 graceful terms the health of the Lady Mayoress 
 (Mrs. Cecil Price), and 
 
 The Lord Mayor having acknowledged 
 the toast, the company broke up. 
 
LIST OF (218) MEMBERS OF THE CONFERENCE. 
 
 JCLAND (Prof. H. W.), 
 Librarian, Radcliffe Li- 
 brary, Oxford. 
 Abler (Rev. Dr. Her- 
 mann), Librarian, Wes- 
 tern Hebrew Library, London. 
 
 Allen (E. G.), American Library Agent, 
 15, Tavistock Row, London. 
 
 Anderson (J as. M.), Assistant Librarian, 
 University Library, St. Andrew's. 
 
 Archer (W.), Librarian, National Library 
 of Ireland, Dublin. 
 
 AsHBEE (E. W.), 17, Momington Crescent, 
 London. 
 
 AxHENiEUM Club, London (Secretary of 
 the). 
 
 Axon (W. E. A.), Hon. Secretary, Man- 
 chester Literary Club, Manchester. 
 
 Bailey (J as. B.), Assistant Librarian, Rad- 
 cliffe Library, Oxford. 
 
 Barnish (Edwin), Librarian, Equitable 
 Pioneers' Society, Rochdale. 
 
 Barrett (Francis T.), Librarian, Mitchell 
 Library, Glasgow. 
 
 Barry (Sir Redmond), President, (Mel- 
 bourne) Public Library of Victoria. 
 
 Bensly (Rob. L.), late Assistant Librarian, 
 University Library, Cambridge. 
 
 Blades (W.), i r, Abchurch Lane, London. 
 
 BoASE (Rev. C. W.), Librarian, Exeter 
 College, Oxford. 
 
 BoASE (F.), Librarian, Incorporated Law 
 Society, London. 
 
 BoASE (G. C), 15, Queen Anne's Gate, 
 
 London. 
 Bodington (Nathan), Librarian, Lincoln 
 
 College, Oxford. 
 Bond (E. A.), Keeper of the MSS., British 
 
 Museum, London. 
 Bone (J. W.), Consolidated Bank, 52, 
 
 Threadneedle Street, London. 
 Boone (T.), 24, Marylebone Road,London. 
 Borer (J.), Librarian, London Society of 
 
 Compositors, London. 
 Brace (W.), 10, Old Jewry Chambers, 
 
 London. 
 Briscoe (J. P.), Librarian, Free Public 
 
 Libraries, Nottingham. 
 Brown (E.), Librarian, Free Library, 
 
 Coventry. 
 Brunt (E.), Librarian, Potteries Me- 
 chanics' Institute, Hanley. 
 Bruun (Christian W.), Librarian, Royal' 
 
 Library, Copenhagen. 
 Bullen (G.), Keeper of the Printed Books, 
 
 British Museum, London. 
 Campkin (H.), Librarian, Reform Club, 
 
 London. 
 Caulfield (Dr. Rich.), Librarian, Queen's 
 
 College, Cork. 
 Chatto (J.), Librarian, Royal College of 
 
 Surgeons, London. ' 
 Clark (A. C), Librarian, Haileybury 
 
 College, Hertford. 
 Clark (Jas. T.), Keeper, Advocates' Li- 
 brary, Edinburgh. 
 
254 
 
 LIST OF MEMBERS. 
 
 Clarke (Rev. Rob. L.), Librarian, Queen's 
 College, Oxford. 
 
 Clarke (Dr. Hyde), Secretary, Council 
 of the Corporation of Foreign Bond- 
 holders, London. 
 
 CoNGREVE (W. H.), Librarian, Birkbeck 
 Institution, London. 
 
 Cooper (Mrs. Sarah), Librarian, Wol- 
 verhampton Library, Wolverhampton. 
 
 CooTE (C. H.), Hon. Librarian, Quebec 
 Institute, London. 
 
 Cowell (Pet.), Librarian, Free Public 
 Library, Liverpool. 
 
 CoxE (Rev. H. O.), Librarian, Bodleian 
 Library, Oxford. 
 
 Crestadoro (Dr. Andrea), Librarian, 
 Public Free Libraries, Manchester. 
 
 Cross (J. Ashton), late Librarian, Oxford 
 Union Society, Oxford. 
 
 Crossley (Jas.), President, Chetham's 
 Library, Manchester. 
 
 CusT (Rob. N.), Hon. Librarian, Royal 
 Asiatic Society, London. 
 
 Cutter (C. A.), Librarian, Boston Athe- 
 naeum, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Davis (Israel), 6, King's Bench Walk, 
 Temple, London. 
 
 De' Mazzinghi (T. J.), Librarian, William 
 Salt Library, Stafford. 
 
 Delisle (Leopold), Administrator-Gene- 
 ral, Bibliothfeque Nationale, Paris. 
 
 Depping (Guillaume), Assistant Libra- 
 rian, Bibliothfeque Ste. Genevieve, 
 Paris. 
 
 Dewey (Melvil), late Assistant Librarian, 
 Amherst College, Amherst, Mass. , Manag- 
 ing Editor of the " Library Journal." 
 
 Dickinson (D.), Librarian, Free Library, 
 West Bromwich. 
 
 Dillon (J.), St.Columba, Killiney, Ireland. 
 
 Douglas (Prof Rob. K.), Keeper of the 
 Chinese Library, British Museum, Lon- 
 don. 
 
 Douglas and Foulis (Messrs.), 9, South 
 Castle Street, Edinburgh. 
 
 DouTHWAiTE (W. R.), Librarian, Gray's 
 Inn, London. 
 
 Duncan (C. W.), Delegate of the Free 
 Library, Chester. 
 
 Dunlop (H. W. D.), Assistant Libra- 
 rian, National Library of Ireland, Dub- 
 lin. 
 
 Dutton (T. B. M.), Librarian, Athe- 
 naeum, Manchester. 
 
 Eastwick (E. B.), 88, Holland Road, 
 South Kensington, London. 
 
 Elliot (J.), Librarian, Free Library, 
 Wolverhampton. 
 
 Evans (C), Librarian, Public Library, 
 Indianapolis. 
 
 Finch (G. B.), Delegate of the Free 
 Public Library, Wigan. 
 
 Fletcher (W. Y.), Delegate of St. David's 
 College, Lampeter (Assistant Librarian, 
 British Museum, London). 
 
 Francis (Col. G. Grant), Hon. Sec, 
 Royal Institution, Swansea. 
 
 Freeman (J.), Librarian, Messrs. Broad- 
 wood's Workmen's Library, London. 
 
 Frost (A. L), Librarian, Society of Tele- 
 graph Engineers, London. 
 
 Gariel (Hyacinthe), Librarian, Town 
 Library, Grenoble. 
 
 Garnett (Rich.), Superintendent of the 
 Reading-Room, British Museum, Lon- 
 don. 
 
 Geddes (D.), Librarian, Free Library, 
 Blackburn. 
 
 Gennadius, (J.), Charge d'Affaires for 
 Greece, 64, Pall Mall, London. 
 
 Gilbert (J.), Villa Nova, Blackrock, Co. 
 Dublin. 
 
 God ART (T.), Librarian, St. Bartholomew's 
 Hospital, London. 
 
 Godfrey (Miss Annie R.), Librarian, 
 Wellesley College, Mass. 
 
 Grant (C. E.), Librarian, King's College, 
 Cambridge. 
 
 Grant (D. B.), Librarian, Free Public 
 Library, Leamington. 
 
 Graves (Rob. E.), Assistant Librarian, 
 British Museum, London. 
 
 Green (S. S.), Librarian, Public Library, 
 Worcester, Mass. 
 
LIST OF MEMBERS. 
 
 2SS 
 
 Grove (G.), 29, Bedford Street, Covent 
 
 Garden, London. 
 Grover (Capt. G. E.), 28, CoUingham 
 
 Place, South Kensington, London. 
 Grut (F.), Delegate of the Entomological 
 
 Society, London. 
 Guild (Dr. Reuben A.), Librarian, Brown 
 
 University Library, Providence, R.I. 
 Haggerston (W. J.), Librarian, Public 
 
 Library, South Shields. 
 Hale (Lieut.-Col. Lonsdale A.), Presi- 
 dent, Royal School of Mining Engineers, 
 
 Chatham. 
 Hanson (G.), Librarian, Free Public 
 
 Library, Rochdale. 
 Hanson (Reg.), 40, Boundary Road, 
 
 London. 
 Harrison (Rob.), Librarian, London 
 
 Library, London. 
 Hart (Sol. A.), Librarian, Royal Aca- 
 demy, London. 
 Hart (T. D.), Vice-President, Cambridge 
 
 Union Society, Cambridge. 
 Heath (T.), Librarian, Free Library, 
 
 Derby. 
 Heywood (Jas.), 26, Kensington Palace 
 
 Gardens, London. 
 HjALTALiN (J6n a.). Assistant Librarian, 
 
 Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. 
 Hodges (E. Richmond), 33, Bloomsbury 
 
 Street, London. 
 Hudson (Rev. J. Clare), Librarian, 
 
 Mechanics' Institute, Horncastle. 
 Hunter (Rev. T.), Librarian, Dr. 
 
 Williams's Library, London. 
 Iliff (Rev. G.), Delegate of the Free 
 
 Library, Sunderland. 
 Jackson (F.), Superintendent, Public 
 
 Library, Newton, Mass. 
 Jeffery (E.), Librarian, Free Library, 
 
 Northampton. 
 Jevons (Prof. W. Stanley), University 
 
 College, London. 
 Jones (J. E.), Assistant Librarian, London 
 
 Library, London. 
 Jones (J. Winter), Librarian, British 
 
 Museum, London. 
 
 King (Alf. C), Librarian, Educational 
 Library, South Kensington, London. 
 
 Knapman (J. W.), Librarian, Pharma- 
 ceutical Society, London. 
 
 La Barte (J. M.), Librarian, King's Inns 
 Library, Dublin. 
 
 Laing (D.), Librarian, Signet Library, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 Laing (Rev. J.), Librarian, New College, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 Lakin (Rev. Storer M.), Librarian, 
 Cathedral Library, Salisbury. 
 
 Leighton (J.), 12, Ormonde Terrace, 
 Regent's Park, London. 
 
 Levi (Prof. Leone), 19, Richmond Cres- 
 cent, Barnsbury, London. 
 
 Lewis (Rev. S. S.), Librarian, Corpus 
 Christi College, Cambridge. 
 
 Lings (E. C), Librarian, Free Library, 
 Leicester. 
 
 Low (Sampson) and Co., Crown Office 
 Buildings, Fleet Street, London. 
 
 Lyall (W.), Librarian, Literary and 
 Philosophical Society, Newcastle-upon- 
 Tyne. 
 
 Maclauchlan (J.), Librarian, Free Li- 
 brary, Dundee. 
 
 MagnCsson (Eirikr), Assistant Librarian, 
 University Library, Cambridge. 
 
 Major (Rich. H.), Keeper of the Maps, 
 British Museum, London. 
 
 Marsy (Comte de). Joint Administrator, 
 Town Library, Compifegne. 
 
 Martineau (Russell), Assistant Libra- 
 rian, British Museum, London. 
 
 Matthews (Jas.), Librarian, Free Library, 
 Newport (Mon). 
 
 Maxwell (Sir W. Stirling), 10, Upper 
 Grosvenor Street, London. 
 
 Mazzinghi (T. J. de'). See De' Mazzinghi. 
 
 MicHiE (Sir Arch.), Agent-General for 
 Victoria, 8, Victoria Chambers, Victoria 
 Street, London. 
 
 MiLMAN (Arth.), Librarian, University 
 Library, London. 
 
 MiLMAN (Rev. W. H.), Librarian, Sion 
 College, London. 
 
256 
 
 LIST OF. MEMBERS. 
 
 MoNDiNO (Prof. B. S.), Vice-Librarian, 
 
 Biblioteca Nazionale, Palermo. 
 MoRLEY (Prof. H.), University College, 
 
 London. 
 MossMAN (W.), Hon. Sec, Bradford 
 
 Library, Bradford. 
 MuLLiNS (J. D.), Librarian, Free Libraries, 
 
 Birmingham. 
 Myers (Asher J.), Hon. Sec, Jewish 
 
 Working Men's Club, London. 
 Napier (Rev. F. P.), Librarian, Wesleyan 
 
 College, Richmond (Surrey).- 
 Neville (E.), Librarian, Public Library, 
 
 Darwen. 
 Nicholson (E. B.), Librarian, I^ondon 
 
 Institution, London. 
 Olmsted (Mrs. Cornelia B.), Librarian, 
 Wadsworth Library, Geneseo Village, 
 N.Y. 
 Overall (W. H.), Librarian, Corporation 
 
 Library, London. 
 Parfitt (E.), Librarian, Devon and Exeter 
 
 Institution, Exeter. 
 Parish (Rev. W. D.), Selmeston, Lewes. 
 Parr (G.), Assistant Librarian, London 
 
 Institution, London. 
 Parsons (W. G.), New Zealand Library 
 Agent, 69, Park Street, Grosvenor 
 Square, London. 
 Paton (Allan P.), Librarian, Free Library, 
 
 Greenock. 
 Pattison (Rev. Mark), Curator of the 
 
 Bodleian Library, Oxford. 
 Petit (Jules), Assistant Keeper, Royal 
 
 Library, Brussels. 
 Plowman (T. F.), Librarian, Public Li- 
 brary, Oxford. 
 PooLE (W. E.), Librarian, Medical Society 
 
 of London. 
 Poole (W. F.), Librarian, Public Library, 
 
 Chicago. 
 Porter (G. W.), Assistant Keeper of the 
 Printed Books, British Museum, London. 
 Presley (Jas. T.), Librarian, Cheltenham 
 
 Library, Cheltenham. 
 QuARiTCH (Bernard), 15, Piccadilly, Lon- 
 don. 
 
 Radford (Jos.), Librarian, St. Margaret 
 and St. John's Free Public Library, West- 
 minster. 
 
 Reynolds (Rev. Herb. E.), Librarian, 
 Cathedral Library, Exeter. 
 
 RoBARTS (C. H.), late Librarian of All 
 Souls' College, Oxford. 
 
 Robertson (Rev. Canon), Librarian, Ca- 
 thedral Library, Canterbury. 
 
 Rodwell (Rev. J.M.), 28, Fellows Road, 
 South Hampstead, London. 
 
 Rogers (Rev. Dr. C), Secretary, Royal 
 Historical Society, London. 
 
 Rogers (T. P. W.), Librarian, Fletcher 
 Library, Burlington, Vt. 
 
 Rogers (Rev. W.), Hon. Sec, London 
 Institution, London. 
 
 Ropes (Rev. W. L.), Librarian, Andover 
 Theological Seminary, Mass. 
 
 RoST (Dr. Reinhold), Librarian, India 
 Office, London. 
 
 Roy (Eugene A.), Assistant Keeper of the 
 Printed Books, British Museum, Lon- 
 don. 
 
 Russell (C. P.), Librarian, Royal Institu- 
 tion, Bath. 
 
 Russell (J. Scott), Sydenham. 
 
 Sachot (Octave), Secretary to the French 
 Delegation, Ministry of Public Instruc- 
 tion, Paris. 
 
 Sanders (W.), Librarian, Chapter Library, 
 Westminster. 
 
 Sands (Alex.), Cincinnati. 
 
 ScARSE (C. E.), Librarian, Birmingham 
 Library, Birmingham. 
 
 Seligmann (Prof. Leopold), Berlin. 
 
 Shore (T. W.), Librarian, Hartley Insti- 
 tution, Southampton. 
 
 Simpson (Rev. Dr. W. Sparrow), Libra- 
 rian, St. Paul's Cathedral Library, Lon- 
 don. 
 
 Sinker (Rev. Rob.), Librarian, Trinity 
 College, Cambridge. 
 
 Sketchley (Rich. F.), South Kensington 
 Museum, London. 
 
 Small (J.), Librarian, University Library, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
LIST OF MEMBERS. 
 
 257 
 
 Smith (ALPHiEUS), Librarian, Quekett 
 
 Microscopical Club, London, 
 Smith (Lloyd P.), Librarian, Library- 
 Co., and Loganian Library, Philadel- 
 phia, Pa. 
 Smith (Rob. H. Soden), Librarian, National 
 Art Library, South Kensington, Lon- 
 don. 
 Solly (E.), Sutton, Surrey. 
 Spears (Rob. B.), Librarian, University 
 
 Library, Glasgow. 
 Spilsbury (W. H.), Librarian, Lincoln's 
 
 Inn, London. 
 Stamp (Miss Isabella), Librarian, Ken- 
 sington Free Public Library, Lon- 
 don. 
 Sternberg (Vinc), Librarian, Leeds 
 
 Library, Leeds. 
 Stevens (B. F.), American Library Agent, 
 
 4, Trafalgar Square, London. 
 Stevens (H.), 4, Trafalgar Square, Lon- 
 don. 
 Sullivan (T. D.), Librarian, Royal United 
 
 Service Institution, London. 
 Sutton (C. W.), Assistant Librarian, Pub- 
 lic Free Libraries, Manchester. 
 Tate (G. Price), Assistant Librarian, Bri- 
 tish Museum, London. 
 Taylor (J.), Librarian, Bristol Museum 
 
 and Library, Bristol. 
 Tedder (H. R.), Librarian, Athenaeum 
 
 Club, London. 
 Thomas (Ernest C), late Librarian of 
 
 the Oxford Union Society, Oxford. 
 Thomas (Ralph), 38, Doughty Street, 
 
 Mecklenburgh Square, London. 
 Thompson (E. M.), Assistant Keeper 
 of the MSS., British Museum, Lon- 
 don. 
 Thorsen (P. G.), Librarian, University Li- 
 brary, Copenhagen. 
 TiMMiNS (S.),Elvetham Lodge, Edgbaston, 
 
 Birmingham. 
 TiNGLEY (Prof. J.), Alleghany College, 
 
 Meadville, Pa. 
 Trijbner (Nicolas), 57, Ludgate Hill, 
 London. 
 
 Vaux (W. S. W.), Librarian, Royal Asiatic 
 
 Society, Loudon. 
 VicKERs (Rev. T.), Librarian, Public Li- 
 brary, Cincinnati. 
 Virgo (C. G.), Librarian, Public Library, 
 Bradford. 
 
 Waite (Jas. K.), Librarian, Free Library, 
 Bolton. 
 
 Waldegrave (Hon. H. W.), late Vice- 
 President of the Cambridge Union So- 
 ciety, Cambridge. 
 
 Walford (Cornelius), 86, Belsize Park 
 Gardens, London. 
 
 Walker (J.), Assistant Librarian, RadclifTe 
 Library, Oxford. 
 
 Wallace (Edwin), Librarian, Worcester 
 College, Oxford. 
 
 Warner (G. F.), Assistant Librarian, 
 British Museum, London. 
 
 Waterfield (E.), Assistant Librarian, 
 India Office, London. 
 
 Waters (G. E.), 97, Westboume Grove, 
 London. 
 
 Watteville (Baron Otto de). Director 
 of Sciences and Letters, Ministry of 
 Public Instruction, Paris. 
 
 Weaklin (F.), 14, Clement's Inn, London. 
 
 Welch (C), Assistant Librarian, Corpo- 
 ration Library, London. 
 
 Wheatley (B. R.), Librarian, Royal Medi- 
 cal and Chirurgical Society, London. 
 
 Wheatley (H. B.), Assistant Librarian, 
 Royal Society, London. 
 
 Whitaker (J. Vernon), 12, Warwick 
 Lane, London. 
 
 Whittall (J.), Librarian, Statistical So- 
 ciety, London. 
 
 WiCKENDEN (J. Fred.), Stoke Bishop, 
 Bristol. 
 
 Williams (Dr. C. T.), Hon. Librarian, 
 Medical Society, London. 
 
 Williams (H. T.), Assistant Librarian, 
 London Institution, London. 
 
 Wilson (Edmund), 8, Osborne Terrace, 
 Leeds. 
 
 Windsor (T.), 3, Apsley Place, Stock- 
 port Road, Manchester. 
 
 I, I, 
 
258 
 
 LIST OF MEMBERS. 
 
 WiNSOR (Prof. Justin), Librarian, Har- 
 vard College Library, Cambridge, Mass., 
 Delegate of the Public Library* and 
 the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 * Prof. Winsor was Superintendent of the Bos- 
 ton Public Library up to the day before the Con- 
 ference, when he entered into office as Librarian 
 of Harvard College. 
 
 WoNFOR (T. W.), Librarian, Free Library^ 
 
 Brighton. 
 Wright (Prof. E. P.), Trinity College, 
 
 Dublin. 
 Wright (W. H. K.), Librarian, Free 
 
 Library, Plymouth. 
 Yates (Jas.), Librarian, Public Library, 
 
 Leeds. 
 
LIST OF (139) LIBRARIES AND (3) GOVERNMENTS 
 REPRESENTED. 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 Brussels. Bibliothique Royale. 
 Denmark. 
 
 Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliothek. 
 Universitets Bibliothek. 
 France. 
 
 Compiigne. Bibliotheque de la Ville. 
 Grenoble. Bibliotheque de la Ville. 
 Paris. Bibliotheque Nationale. 
 
 Bibliotheque Ste. Genevieve. 
 The French Government. 
 Germany. 
 
 The German Government. 
 Greece. 
 
 The Greek Government. 
 Italy. 
 
 Palermo. Biblioteca Nazionale. 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 Bath. Royal Literary and Scientific Institu- 
 tion. 
 Birmingham. Birmingham Library. 
 
 Free Libraries. 
 Blackburn. Free Library. 
 Bolton. Free Library. 
 Bradford. Bradford Library. 
 
 Public Library. 
 Brighton. Free Library. 
 Bristol. Bristol Museum and Library. 
 Cambridge. Corpus Christi College. 
 King's College. 
 Trinity College. 
 Union Society. 
 University Library. 
 Canterbury. Cathedral Library. 
 Chatham. Royal School of Mining Engineers. 
 Cheltenham.. Cheltenham Library. 
 Chester. Free Library. 
 Cork. Queen's College. 
 Coventry. Free Library. 
 Darwen. Public Library. 
 Do'by. Free Library. 
 
 United Kingdom {continued)— 
 Dublin. King's Inns' Library. 
 
 National Library of Ireland. 
 Dundee. Free Library. 
 Edinburgh. Advocates' Library. 
 New College. 
 Signet Library. 
 University Library. 
 Exeter. Cathedral Library. 
 
 Devon and Exeter Institution. 
 Glasgow. Mitchell Library. 
 
 University Library. 
 Greenock. Free Library. 
 Hanley. Potteries Mechanics' Institute. 
 Hertford. Haileybury College. 
 Horncastle. Mechanics' Institute. 
 Hull. Young People's Christian and Literary 
 
 Institute. 
 Leamington. Free Public Library. 
 Leeds. Public Library. 
 Leicester. Free Library. 
 Liverpool. Free Public Library. 
 London. Athenaeum Club. 
 
 Birkbeck Literary and Scientific In- 
 stitution. 
 British Museum. 
 
 Broadwood's Manufactory Library. 
 Chapter Library, Westminster. 
 Corporation Library. 
 Corporation of Foreign Bond- 
 holders. 
 Dr. Williams's Library. 
 Dyce and Forster Libraries, South 
 
 Kensington. 
 Educational Library, South Ken- 
 sington. 
 Entomological Society. 
 Gray's Inn. 
 
 Incorporated Law Society. 
 India Office. 
 
 Jewish Working Men's Club and 
 Institute. 
 
26o LIBRARIES AND GOVERNMENTS REPRESENTED. 
 
 United Kingdom (continued)T~ 
 London [continued) — 
 
 Kensington Free Public Library 
 
 (Mr. Jas. Heywood's). 
 Lincoln's Inn. 
 London Institution. 
 London Library. 
 London Society of Compositors. 
 Medical Society. 
 
 National Art Library, South Ken- 
 sington. 
 Pharmaceutical Society. 
 Quebec Institute. 
 Quekett Microscopical Club. 
 Reform Club. 
 Royal Academy. 
 Royal Asiatic Society. 
 Royal College of Surgeons. 
 Royal Historical Society. 
 Royal Medical and Chirurgical So- 
 ciety. 
 Royal United Service Institution. 
 St. Bartholomew's Hospital. 
 St. Paul's Cathedral Library. 
 Sion College. 
 
 Society of Telegraph Engineers. 
 Statistical Society. 
 University College. 
 University of London. 
 War Office, Intelligence Depart- 
 ment. 
 Western Hebrew Library. 
 Westminster Free Public Library. 
 Manchester. Athenaeum. 
 
 Chatham's Library, 
 Literary Club. 
 Public Free Libraries. 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Literary and Philoso- 
 phical Society. 
 Newport (Mon.). Public Free Library. 
 Northampton. Museum, Free Library, and 
 
 Reading-Room. 
 Nottingham. Free Public Libraries. 
 
 United Kingdom {continued) — 
 Oxford. Bodleian Library. 
 Lincoln College. 
 Public Library. 
 Queen's College. 
 Radcliffe Library. 
 Worcester College. 
 Plymouth. Free Library. 
 Richmond {Surr.). Wesleyan College. 
 RocJidale, Equitable Pioneers' Society. 
 
 Free Public Library. 
 St. Andrea/ s. University Library. 
 Salisbury. Cathedral Library. 
 Southampton. Hartley Institution. 
 South Shields. Public Library. 
 Stafford. William Salt Library. 
 Sunderland. Corporation Free Library. 
 Swansea. Royal Institution of South Wales. 
 West Bromwich. Free Library. 
 Wigan. Free Public Library. 
 Wolverhampton. Free Library. 
 
 Wolverhampton Library. 
 United States. 
 
 An:dmer (Mass. ). Theological Seminary. 
 Boston (Mass.). Athenaeum. 
 
 Massachusetts Historical 
 
 Society. 
 Public Library. 
 Burlington (Vt.). Fletcher Library. 
 Cambridge (Mass.). Harvard College Li- 
 brary. 
 Chicago. Public Library. 
 Cincinnati. Public Library. 
 Geneseo Village {N. Y.). Wadsworth Library. 
 Indianapolis. Public Library. 
 Meadville (Pa.). Alleghany College. 
 Newton (Mass. ). Public Library. 
 Philadelphia (Pa.). Library Company. 
 Loganian Library. 
 Providence (R. I. ). Brovm University Library. 
 Wellesley. Wellesley College. 
 Worcester (Mass.). Public Library. 
 Victoria. 
 
 Melbourne. Public Library of Victoria. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 BY HENRY R. TEDDER. 
 
 EBBREVIATIONS, 
 
 2IO. 
 
 Abelard, 34. 
 
 Aberdeen University 
 Library, 147; cata- 
 logue, 243. 
 
 Abemethy, J., 336. 
 
 Abu- Ifaragius, 
 quoted, 2. 
 .Academical dissertations, how entered. 
 
 Academical publications classed in Bri- 
 tish Museum, in. 
 
 Academy, The, quoted, ix, 100, 126, 
 160, 210. 
 
 Academy. See Royal Academy. 
 
 Access to librarians, i74-5> 211 ; in 
 Brown Univ., 174 ; querists timed, 
 175 ; use of annotated lists of addi- 
 tions, 175. 
 
 Access to shelves, 211 ; advantage of 
 classification, 165 ; reader's right, 
 172 ; should "be permitted, 172 ; 
 limited, 172, 173, 174 ; British Mu- 
 seum, 172, 173 ; book-stealing, 172, 
 173, 174 ; in different libraries, 173-4 ; 
 in Brown Univ., 174. 
 
 Accessions, 8 ; of British Museum, 143. 
 
 Accessions-catalogue, 57, 209, 219 ; an- 
 notated list, 175 ; in Liverpool Li- 
 brary, 158-Q, 248 ; of Am, Lib. Ass., 
 and Mr. Weaklin, 247. 
 
 Accessions-indicator, Liverpool, 158-9, 
 24S. 
 
 Accident-insurance, 46. 
 
 Acland, Prof. H. W.^ 253 ; Tmion of All 
 Souk' with Bodleian, 39 ; the Rad- 
 cliffe Library and specia^zation, 145 ; 
 on architects and library-fittings, 
 150 ; plan of connecting Bodl. Lib. 
 and Radcliffe Reading- Room, 242. 
 
 Acquisition of books, by purchase and 
 advertisement, 54-55, 209 ; by dona- 
 tion, 55, 209 ; by interchange of 
 duplicates, 35, 209 ; from govern- 
 ment, 55, 209 ; by copy-tax, 55, 209. 
 
 Acta Sanctorum, 234. 
 
 Adam, R. and J., 240. 
 
 Addison, J., 51. 
 
 Addison, Th., 236. 
 
 Additions. See Accessions. Acquisi- 
 tions. 
 
 Adelaide, Public Library, 2. 
 
 Adler, Rev. Dr. H., 253. 
 
 Admiration, note of, first used, 10. 
 
 Admission to public libraries, days and 
 hours of, 18, 171-2. 
 
 Adrian, Prof., Statistics of German 
 Public lib., 248. 
 
 Advocates* Library, Edinb. , 147, 259 ; 
 <^talo^e, 96, 155, 244. 
 
 Africa, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Agas, R,, map of London, 216. 
 
 Agents for Hbraries, 8. 
 
 Age of admission to public libraries, 
 18, 211 ; in British Museum, 169, 
 170 ; Simderland Free Lib., 169 ; 
 in Italy, i6g ; Guildhall Lib., 170; 
 Melbourne, 170 ; in United States, 
 170 ; at Boston, 170 ; admission of 
 
 e>uths, 170, 171 ; special rooms, 170 ; 
 iverpool, 170. 
 Aikin, A., 232. 
 
 Air, heated, warming objected to, 7. 
 Aitchison, G., designs for bookcases, 
 
 242. 
 Albany, N. Y., State Lib., catalogues, 
 
 243- 
 
 Alben, E., 234. 
 
 Album for photographs of titles, 79, 
 80 ; for cat. of accessions, 158 ; ex- 
 hibited, 248. 
 
 Alchin, W. T., 217. 
 
 Aldus, italic type, 10. 
 
 Alexandrian Library, 2, 52. 
 
 Alfred Club, library catalogue, 245. 
 
 Al&ed the Great, 51. 
 
 Alison, Sir A., History, 59. 
 
 AlleglKiny Coll. Library, 260. 
 
 Allen, E. G., 253. 
 
 Allen, Archd. J., on Shropslure paro- 
 chial libraries, and Chiurch libraries 
 in England, 144-145. 
 
 AUgemeine Zeitung, 230. 
 
 Allibone, S. A., 47, 105, 157 ; dictionary 
 of English literature, 201 ; instance 
 of bad index, 90-92 ; examples, 91-92 ; 
 arrangement of divisions in index 
 praised, 102. 
 
 All Souls' College, law library, 36 ; 
 Daily News as to union with 
 Bodleian, 37 ; proposed plan, 38-44 ; 
 proposals received with favour, 39 ; 
 site and revenues of, 39 ; has no 
 duties, &c., 39 ; Lord Brougham, 
 quoted, 39 ; causes of decay, 39 ; 
 Commissioners of 1852 on the same, 
 39 ; foundation of, 39 ; ^ fellowship- 
 elections, 39 ; Commission of 1854 
 and the same, 39 ; neglect of fine 
 library, 39 ; now devoted to juris- 
 prudence, ^6, 40 ; further develop- 
 ment, 40 ; Universities BiU and, 40 ; 
 Lord Moray's clauses in same, 40 ; 
 the scheme of 1857, 41 ; establish- 
 ment of the library as a public insti- 
 tution, ^i ; pamphlet referred to, 
 41 ; Dailjf Telegraph as to plan of 
 uniting with Bodleian, 41 ; plan of 
 uniting with Bodleian, 42 ; librarian 
 made warden, 42 ; corporators, 42 ; 
 sub-librarian fellows and professor 
 fellows, 42 ; chapel, 42 ; E. A. 
 Freeman, quoted, 43. 
 
 Alphabetical arrangement of anony- 
 mous books, by H. B. Wheatley, 
 97-99 ; proposed rule for headings, 
 98 ; pseudonymous books, 98 ; books 
 
 published under initials, gS ; British 
 Museum system, 160. 
 
 Alphabetical catalogues, iz ; the best, 
 157 ; in Glasgow Univ. Lib., 84-85, 
 185-7 » of En^sh literature, 101-103, 
 i8x. 
 
 Alphabetical catalogues, rules for, by 
 J. A. Hjaltalln, 93-96; defined, 93; 
 anonymous books, 94-96. 
 
 Alphabetical Index to Astor Library, 9. 
 
 Alpine literature indexed, 105. 
 
 America, bibliography of, 105 ; history 
 of revolution, 105 ; Indians, 105 ; 
 Pacific Coast, 105 ; poetry, 105 ; 
 bibliographies exhibited, 242. 
 
 America, copy-tax in, 55-6. 
 
 American Law Reports, no complete 
 set in England, 37. 
 
 American librarians at the Conference, 
 X, 251 ; problem of education and, 
 251 ; libraries represented at the Con- 
 ference, X, 260. 
 
 AJnerican Library- Association, ix, 211, 
 219 ; rules for compiling statistics, 
 178 ; delegation on new edition of 
 Poole's Index, 163 ; Report (appen- 
 dix), 199-206 ; specimens of cards 
 recommended, 243 ; accessions-cata- 
 logue, 247. 
 
 American Library Journal. 6'feLibrary 
 Journal. 
 
 American Public Libraries, Govern- 
 ment Report, ix, xi ; quoted, 2, 14, 27, 
 6i-62„83, 97, 100, 160, 164, 208-11, 249. 
 
 American Public Libraries, national 
 institutions, 23 ; state aid, 27 ; neces- 
 sity of printed catalogues recognized, 
 72 ; printed guides to selection, 54, 
 209, 243 ; perfection of card-cata- 
 logue in, 82 ; system of classification, 
 114 ; specialization of, 146 ; library 
 buildings, •148 ; bookcases, 148-9; 
 novel reading in, 153 ; co-operative 
 cataloguing, 160-1 ; indexes to 
 periodicals in, 163 ; age qualification, 
 170 ; female-librarians, 177, 211. 
 
 American literature in British Museum, 
 143, 242. See also English literature. 
 
 Ames, J., 72, 
 
 Amherst College, system of classifica- 
 tion described, 164 ; commended, 
 164, 166, 167 ; more logical than that 
 of British Museum, 166. 
 
 Anatomy, index to, 104. 
 
 Anderson, J. M., 233; Selection and 
 selectors of books, 57-58 ; On Cata~ 
 
 ' loguing, 82-83 '* discussion, 155-9 ; 
 (appendix), 383-5 ; Note on book' 
 iagSf 115 ; discussion, 167 ; dic- 
 tionary-catalogue of works in mental 
 philosophy, 156 ; specimen (appen- 
 dix), 183-5. 
 
 Anderson, Mr., of British Museum, 
 229. 
 
262 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Andover Theolo^. Seminary, 260. 
 
 Angling, books indexed, 105. 
 
 Annual Reports, Boston Public Lib, 
 (U.S.), 26, 249 ; Leeds, 26. 
 
 Anonymous books, 12 ; in an alph. cata- 
 logue, Q3 ; change of name of authors, 
 93 ; joint authorship, 94 ; pubd. by 
 societies, 94 ; various systems de- 
 scribed, 94 ; recommendations, 95-96 ; 
 what word to be selected, 96 ; de- 
 fined by Barbier, 97, 160 ; by Cutter, 
 97, 98, 160 ; British Museum rule, 
 9^, 98, 160 ; suggested definition, 97 ; 
 difference between cataloguing and 
 bibliography, 98 ; suggested rule for 
 heading, 98, 159 ; manuscript infor- 
 mation, 159 ; pamphlets, 159-60. 
 
 Antiquaries. See Society of Ant. 
 
 Antonini Confessionale, A. D. 1487, zo. 
 
 Antwerp Public Lib. cat., 243. 
 
 Aj^pendix to transactions and proceed- 
 ings, 183-211. 
 
 Appliances, library, 17-18, 210, 248. 
 
 Arabia, bibliography, 105. 
 
 Archeology, indexed, 105; shelf-classi- 
 fication in British Museum, 190. 
 
 Archer, W., 253. 
 
 Architects of libraries, 147, 149 ; de- 
 fended by Prof. Acland, 150. 
 
 Architecture in libraries defective, 50 ; 
 principles to be laid down, 50. See 
 also Library-buildings. 
 
 Ariosto, L., Orlando Furioso, 222. 
 
 Arnold, J. G., folding ladder, 248. 
 
 Art catalogue, universal, 239, 242 ; form 
 recommended, 143 ; described, 144. 
 
 Art Library, National, account of the, 
 239-40 ; character, 239 ; catalogues, 
 239 ; donations, 240 ; statistics, 240. 
 
 Art library of Royal Academy, 235. 
 
 Art literature, index to, 104 ; shelf- 
 classification of British Museum, in, 
 189-90. See also Art catalogue. 
 
 Art, state aid confined to London, 29. 
 
 Arundel, Earl of, library, 236. 
 
 Arundel MSS., 236. 
 
 Ashbee, E. W., 253. 
 
 Ashpitel, Mr., 237. 
 
 Ask Mamma, 98. 
 
 Assistants in libraries, 178. 
 
 Associations, heading in a subject cat., 
 
 X02. 
 
 Association of Librarians, ix, 211. See 
 American Library- Association. See 
 Library-Association of the U- K. 
 
 Astor library, 9 ; catalogue, 246. 
 
 Athenseum, The, 210. 
 
 Athenaeum Club, 259 ; better supplied 
 with periodicals than B. M., 171 ; 
 account of the library, 231-2 ; 
 founders, 231 ; character of collec- 
 tion, 231 ; pamphlets, 231 ; maps 
 and periodicals, 231 ; catalogue and 
 index, 54, 231 ; bequests, 232; gas 
 and bindings, 232 ; secretary, 253 ; 
 librarian, 231, 257. 
 
 Athenseus, 237. 
 
 Atherton, Miss, 247. 
 
 Atlantic Monthly, quoted, 209. 
 
 Aubrey, 94. 
 
 Auction sales, purchases from, 8, 9, 54. 
 
 Audiffredi, J. B., catalogue of Casanate 
 library, o, 19. 
 
 Augener, Messrs., musical lib., 219. 
 
 Augsburg, early printing, n. 
 
 Austro- Hungarian catalogue, 105. 
 
 Author-catalogue, 11 ; necessity of, 
 82 ; systems of card catalogue, 82 ; 
 system used in Glasgow Univ., 84- 
 SS) 185-7, ■5'5^ a^(3 Alphabetical cata- 
 logue. 
 
 Authors, change of name, 93-94 ; full 
 names and titles, loi. 
 
 Axon, W. E. A., 113, 141, 180, iBi, 
 253, Tfie British Museum, in its re- 
 lation to Provincial Culture, 29- 
 32 ; discussion thereon, 142-144 ; on 
 shelf-classification, 166-7 > Statistical 
 Notes ; Onsome defects in Statistics ; 
 Hints on the formation of small 
 
 Libraries ; Handbk. to Public Li- 
 braries of Manchester and Salford, 
 249. 
 Aylif, Sir J., 217. 
 
 Babington, W., 236. 
 
 Bacon, Lord, 51, 79 ; system of classi- 
 fication, 15 ; quoted, 44. 
 
 Ba^ford ballads, 221. 
 
 Bailey, J. B., 253. 
 
 Baillie, M., 236. 
 
 Balliol College, 43. 
 
 Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Univ., 126. 
 
 Bank of England, 102. 
 
 Banks, Sir J., bequest to British Mu- 
 seum, 221 ; house, 233, 
 
 Bar for slip-catalogue, 68. 
 
 Barbier, A. A., Diet, des Anonymes, 
 quoted, 12, 97, 160. 
 
 Barnard, Sir F. A., George Illrd's 
 Library, 221. 
 
 Barnish, E., 253 ; on classification, 
 167 ; cat. of Rochdale Eq. Pioneers* 
 Soc. lib., 246. 
 
 Baronii Annales, 234. 
 
 Barrett, F. T., 180, 253; on shelf- 
 fittings and sun-burners, 149 ; on 
 guarantees, 176 ; model of an indi- 
 cator, 248. 
 
 Barrows, book, 7. 
 
 Barry, Sir R., 2, isp, 253; (7« Bindings 
 119-1Z3 ; discussion thereon, 167-9 ; 
 (appendix), 194 ; On Lending Books, 
 134-T35 ; conditions (appendix), 198 ; 
 J. D. Mullins as to the system, 175- 
 6 ; elected V.P,, 141 ; the classifica- 
 tion of Melbourne Library, 157-8 ; 
 age of admission at Melbourne, 170 ; 
 on shelf-access, 172, 174 ; Note on 
 tfie Literary Resources of Victoria, 
 194-5 j Note on the term "Free Li- 
 brary*^ 207 ; Mansion House dinner, 
 252. 
 
 Barzizius, G., Liber Epistolarum, ro. 
 
 Bath, Roy. Lit. and Sc. Inst., 250 ; 
 newspaper-covers, 248. 
 
 Bauzonnet-Trautz, 17. 
 
 Beauchamp House, 234. 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, 237. 
 
 Beauties of the Court of Charles II., 
 173- 
 
 Beckett, Sir E., 233. 
 
 Beda, 51. 
 
 Belgian names, 11; law literature, 
 105; librarian at the Conference, ix, 
 259- 
 
 Bell family, it. 
 
 Belles-lettres in first printed Paris 
 catalogue, 19 ; shelf-classification in 
 British Museum, in, 192. 
 
 Bensly, Rob. L., 253. 
 
 Bentham, J., and novels, 153. 
 
 Bentley, Dr. R., 220, 222. 
 
 Bequests of books, 8, 209. 
 
 Berkley, Earl of, 214. 
 
 Berlin, 175. 
 
 Bible, The, portion printed by Caxton, 
 9 ; basis of shelf-classification of 
 British Museum, log ; development, 
 109 ; same applied to theology, 109- 
 izo, 188-9. 
 
 Bibliographical clearing-house, a cen- 
 tral ; or Photobibliography, 70-81 ; 
 establishment of, 73. 
 
 Bibliographical works, universal co- 
 operative catalogue of, 100 ; pay to 
 publish, 107 ; class-bibl. exhibited, 
 242-3. 
 
 Bibliography, details should be added 
 to titles, 10 ; index to, 14 ; University 
 libraries as schools of, 36 ; professor- 
 ship of, 42 ; should be a science, 71, 
 80 ; much wanted, 72 ; key to know- 
 ledge, 73 ; different to cataloguing, 
 80, 98 ; of libraries and librarianship, 
 211 ; exhibited, 248-g. 
 
 Bibliology, indexes to, 104. 
 Bibliotheca Norfolciana, 236. 
 Bibliothecal science, ix, 211, 248-9, 
 251 ; professors of, in Italy, 176. 
 
 Bibliothekswissenschaft, x, 35- 
 
 Biblioth^que Nationale. See Pans. 
 
 Binders' size.s, 13 ; injure manuscripts 
 and incunabula, 16; name in book 
 for recognition, 120-121 ; collation of 
 books, 121 ; their sins, 118, 193. 
 
 Binding, pamphlets, public documents 
 and newspapers, broadsides and 
 manuscripts, 16, 210 ; one of the fine 
 arts, 17 ; tooling, 17, 120 ; of XVIth 
 century, 17 ; requisites for libraries, 
 17 ; half-binding, 17 ; increase of 
 cost, 17 ; morocco, 17, 125, 168, 224 ; 
 appropriate colours, 17 ; cockroaches 
 and colours, 117, 193; letterings, 
 117, 120, 168, 193, 210; publishers*, 
 117 ; pamphlets, 118, 120, 193 ; 
 leathers preferred, 119, 168 ; paper, 
 not cloth, for sides, 119 ; bookplates, 
 and MS. notes, 120 ; plates, 120 ; to 
 facilitate press arrangement, 120 ; 
 name of bmder and plan to recog- 
 nise booksj 120, 121 ; collation, 
 121 ; heat and ventilation, 122 ; 
 blinds, 122 ; cost of bindiug, 122 ; 
 use of fine bindings, 122, 123 ; 
 vellum, 125, 167, 168, 193 ; of books 
 loaned by Melbourne Public Lib., 
 134 ; discussion on, 167-9 I mounting 
 plans, etc., 167 ; degrees of endu- 
 rance of leather, 168 ; endurable com- 
 bination of fiax and vellum, 168-9 ; 
 sewing, 168 ; corners, 168 ; book 
 worms, 168 ; cheap, 193 ; specimens 
 exhibited. 248, 
 
 Binding, Sir R. Barry on, 1 19-123. 
 
 Binding, Mr. Birdsall's notes on, 193. 
 
 Binding, British Museum system, 224, 
 230; MS. catalogue, 225. 
 
 Binding, on buckram as a material, by 
 E. B. Nicholson, 124-126; rebinding, 
 124. See also Buckram. 
 
 Binding, injuries by gas and heat, 6, 
 7, 50, 124, 147, 148, 150, 151, 193 ; 
 House of Commons Report, 148 ; in 
 Athenseum Library, 232. 
 
 Binding and shelf-arrangement, by C. 
 Walford, 116-118 ; requisites, 116; 
 colours for special subjects, 116, 117, 
 193. 224- 
 
 Binney,W,G., index to concbology, 104. 
 
 Biographies in catalogues, 12 ; classifi- 
 cation of, 167 ; shelf-classification in 
 British Museum, m, 191. 
 
 Birch, Dr. T., 222. 
 
 Birdsall's, Mr., Notes on Bookbinding, 
 118 (appendix), 193. 
 
 Birkbeck Lit. and Scientific Inst, 259. 
 
 Birmingham, 102 ; authorities and state 
 aid, 26. 
 
 Birmingham Free Libraries, 259 ; 
 Shakspere library, 106, 243, 244 ; 
 buckram binding, 126 ; sun-bumers, 
 149 ; open on Sundays, 171 ; printed 
 catalogues, 243-4 \ indicator, 248. 
 
 Birmingham Library, 259. 
 
 Birth insurance, 46. 
 
 Black, W., 64. 
 
 Blackbeetles and bindings, 117, 167, 
 193- 
 
 Blackburn Free Library, 259 ; printed 
 catalogue, 244 ; blanks, 248. 
 
 Blackmore, R. D., 64, 65. 
 
 Blackwell Hall, 217. 
 
 Blades, W., 253. 
 
 Blair, Dr., 159. 
 
 Blakey, R., 104. 
 
 Blanks, library, exhibited at the Con- 
 ference, 248. 
 
 Blinds, 122. 
 
 Board-schools utilized for free libr., 26 ; 
 books as prizes, 28,142; and librarians, 
 250. 
 
 Boase, Rev. C. W., 253, 
 
 Boase, F., 253. 
 
 Boase, G. C, 253. 
 
 Bodington, N., 141, 253. 
 
 Bodleian Library, 145, 239, 260 ; new 
 reading-room, 36 ; copyright act and, 
 37 ; Daily News as to union with 
 
INDEX, 
 
 263 
 
 All Souls*, 37 ; future aim of, 37 ; 
 income of, 38 ; alteration of ad- 
 ministration, 38 ; reports of Heb- 
 domadal Council, 38 ; amount re- 
 quired for extension, 38 ; proposed 
 plan for union of All Souls' with, 38- 
 44 ; how put forth, 39 ; the Times 
 as to the Univ. Commission, 40 ; 
 benefits to be derived from All Souls', 
 42 ; librarian made warden of All 
 Souls', 42 ; sub-librarian fellows and 
 professor fellows, 42 ; new scale of 
 salaries, 42 ; curators given position 
 in All Souls', ^2 ; and Radcliffe Lib., 
 145 ; readers in, 146 ; as to school of 
 librarians, 146 ; part of the Univer- 
 sity, 146 ; plan of connexion with 
 Radcliffe Reading Room, 242. 
 
 Bodleian Lib. catalogue, 9, 47, 155 \ 
 used in Sion Coll., 2x5. 
 
 Bodley, Sir T., 221 ; donation of his 
 books to Oxford, 55; conditions, 221. 
 
 Boeckh, A., 234. 
 
 Bolton, Lord, library catalogue, 247. 
 
 Bolton Free Library, 259. 
 
 Bond, E. A., 253. 
 
 Bone, J. W., 253, 
 
 Bonghi law, 169. 
 
 Bonnange, F,, catalo|:ue, 83. 
 
 Bookbinders. See Binders. 
 
 Bookbinding. See Binding. _ 
 
 Bookcases, 148, 149 ; locked in a lend- 
 ing library, 129; should not be 
 glazed, 150; in Oxford Museum, 
 150 ; lettering, 166 ; wire screens for, 
 173 ; models of, 242 ; Banner's re- 
 volving, the Eastlake portable, C. 
 G. Virgo, G. Aitchison, 242. 
 
 Book-clubs, 52-53. 
 
 Book-covers, loose, 17. 
 
 Bookplates and MS. notes in binding, 
 Z20 : J. Leighton on, 249. 
 
 Book-stamps exhibited, 248. 
 
 Book-stop, 248. 
 
 Book-tags, 210 ; note by J. M. Ander- 
 son, 115; novel system of, 167; of 
 British Musetim, 228. See Labels. 
 
 Bookworms, 169. 
 
 Books, burning of, 6 ; those demanded 
 by readers, 17 ; in hand, 17 ; a collec- 
 tion of, tiie true University, 33 ; 
 majority never opened, 34 ; increase 
 of, 34 ; diminishment of publicity, 
 34 ; statistics as to multiplication of, 
 35 ; professorship of, 35 ; multitude 
 of, 70 ; none entirely readerless, 80 ; 
 catalogue of those wanted, 86 ; loss 
 of, 13a, 133, 151 ; delivery of, 148 ; 
 in British Museum, 226 ; dusting, 
 148 ; cremation of, 154 ; in circula- 
 tion, specimen of accounts, 197 ; be- 
 spoken, specimen of accounts, 197-8. 
 
 Books, acquisition of, 209 ; by purclmse 
 and advertisement, 54-55, 209 ; dona- 
 tion,^ 55, 209 ; by interchange of 
 duplicates, 55, 209 ; by copy-tax, 
 see Copyright. 
 
 Books, early printed, 3 ; number before 
 1500, ^ ; new old books always 
 appcarmg, 71 ; should all be cata- 
 logued, 70, 72. See also Incuna- 
 bula. 
 
 Books, injuries to, by gas and heat, 7, 
 50, 124, 125, 126, 151, 168, 193; in 
 Athenaeum Library, 232 ; by damp- 
 ness, 168 ; mutilation, 172. 
 
 Books, loan of, 211 ; between libraries, 
 175. See Circulating. Lending;. 
 
 Books required. See Lending Lib. 
 
 Books, selection and acquisition of, by 
 R. Harrison, 51-56 ; selection and 
 selectors of, by J. M. Anderson, 57- 
 58 ; difficulty, 57 ; general rules, 57- 
 58 ; examples of improper selection, 
 58 ; printed guides, 209 ; exhibited, 
 
 r,^42-3- . 
 
 Books, sizes of, 13-14, 210 ; scale ex- 
 hibited by F. Weaklin, 248. 
 Books stolen, means of detection, 
 I3G-1 ; anecdote by E. B. Nicholson, 
 
 172 ; by L. P. Smith, 173 ; in British 
 Museum, 172, 173. 
 
 Books, special collections. See Special. 
 
 Books suitable for free lending libra- 
 ries, note by J. D. Mullins, 59 ; 
 abridgments preferred, 59. 
 
 Bookseller, The, 54. 
 
 Booksellers, purchases from, 8, 54, 209 ; 
 and special collectors, 48 ; sending 
 on sale, 55 ; trade catalogues, 105 ; 
 exhibited, 247 ; system of ordering at 
 British Museum, 224-5. 
 
 Boone, T., 253. 
 
 Borer, J., 253. 
 
 Borrowing desiderata, 175, 211 ; Ger- 
 man system applicable to England, 
 
 Bossange, H,, Ma biblioth^que fran- 
 paise, 243. 
 
 Boston (U.S.), specialization of libra- 
 ries, 146. 
 
 Boston Athenaeum Library (U.S.), 
 260; damages to bindings by heat, 
 124, 151 ; annotated list of additions, 
 175 ; specimen of card catalogue, 
 243 ; of printed catalogue, 244. 
 
 Boston Public Library (U.S.)> 260; 
 branch and delivery system, 26 ; notes 
 in catalogues, 65; printed cat., 72; 
 Roxbury branch book-room, 148 ; 
 catalogue, 244 ; income from taxa- 
 tion, 149 ; fiction in, 152 ; catalogues 
 and cataloguing, 156, 157, 243 ; age 
 qualification and guarantees, 170 ; 
 
 the telephone in, 175 ; lady-librarians, 
 177; specimen of MS. catal., 243; 
 of card-catalogue, 243 ; specimens of 
 
 printed catalogues, 244 ; Prince Li- 
 brary, 244 ; bulletin, 244 ; library- 
 blanks, 248 ; handbook for readers 
 and annual report, 249. 
 
 Botany, index to, 104. 
 
 Botfield, B., Notes on Cathedral Li- 
 braries, 21. 
 
 Boy-readers, 169, 170, 171 ; special 
 rooms, 170. 
 
 Boyle's ventilating turrets, 230. 
 
 Brace, W., 253. 
 
 Braddon, Miss E. M., 65. 
 
 Bradford Lib., 25^. 
 
 Bradford Public Lib., 259 ; index-cata- 
 logue, 244 ; lib. blanks, 248. 
 
 Branch reading-roonis,26; libraries,i34. 
 
 Brande, Prof., 232. 
 
 Brayley, E. W., 125, 220, 245. 
 
 Breeches Bible, anticipated by Cax- 
 ton, 9. 
 
 Brent Eleigh, church lib. at, 145. 
 
 Brick staircase, 6. 
 
 Bright, R., 236. 
 
 Brixton Free Lib., 259. 
 
 Briscoe, J. P., 253. 
 
 Bristol, 102. 
 
 Bristol Museum and Lib., 259. 
 
 British Ass, at Plymouth, 23. 
 
 British Museum, 149, 156, 215, 239, 
 251, 259 ; Roy. Commissions of 1835, 
 1848 and 1849, I ; system of stan- 
 dards, shelves, and pins, 6, 242 ; press 
 marks, 15 ; shelf-marks, 16 ; marked 
 in divisions to supply books, 20 ; re- 
 lation to provincial culture, 29, 32 ; 
 discussion thereon, 1^2-144 ; property 
 of nation, 29 ; finest lib. in the world, 
 29 ; only used by Londoners, 29 ; 
 Civil War and French Rev. Tracts, 
 31 ; duplicates, 31, 143 ; has no 
 complete set of Am. Law Reports, 
 37 ; annual sum devoted to library, 
 38 ; example of a national lib., 51 ; 
 acquisitions by donation, 55 ; poverty 
 in English literature, 72 ; American 
 books, 143, 242 ; Thomason Tracts, 
 153-4, 221 ; age qualification of 
 readers, 169-70, 2H ; reading-tickets, 
 163-70 ; Athenaeum Club better sup- 
 plied with periodicals than, 171 ; 
 opening on Sunday, 171 ; theft of 
 books, 172-3, stamping books, 173 ; 
 General History, 220-24 ; founda- 
 
 tion, 220 ; Hebrew books, 220 ; Cra- 
 cherode and Banksian collections, 
 221; bequests, 222 ; statistics, 222-3, 
 22^, 226 ; character of lib., 223-4 J 
 Visit of the Conference, 224-go ; 
 orders from booksellers, 224-s ; visit 
 of M. Delisle, 225-8; the MS. cata- 
 logue, 22i^, 225 ; cataloguing, 235, 
 228 ; facilities for the public, 226 ; 
 get ting books, 226-7; replacing books, 
 226-7 ' ''ficord, 227; stamping, 228 ; 
 placing, 228: visit of French commis- 
 sion, 228; other visitors, 229-31 ; news- 
 papers and journals,229-3o ; Ventila- 
 tion and warming;, 230-1 ; reading 
 room, 230 ; fire-apparatus, 230-31 ; 
 model of shelf-fittings, 242. 
 British Museum, binding of, 224, 230 ; 
 
 MS. catalogue, 225. 
 British Museum catalogue (Manu- 
 script), 9, 74, 224, 225 ; French and 
 Belgian names in, ii ; rules as to 
 anonymous works, 12, 97, 98, 99, 
 160 ; Prof. Jewett as to, 13 j method 
 of making, 19 ; only available in 
 reading room, 30 ; card catalogue, 
 74 ; rules as to books published 
 under initials, 98, 160 ; difficulty of 
 finding anonymous books, 09 ; the 
 fourth copy as a classified index, T13, 
 }57t 225-6 ; publication of abridged 
 indices recommended, 113 ; rules for 
 cataloguing, 210, 245, 249 ; title- 
 slips, 224, 225, 228 : puichases re- 
 corded, 224-5 ; laying down slips, 
 225 ; number of volumes, 225 ; tran- 
 scription, 225. 
 British Museum, copyright act, no 
 record of books received by, 31 ; 
 special advantages, 37 ; more strictly 
 enforced, 220, 222 ; system of collec- 
 tion, 227-8 ; statistics, 228. 
 British Museum, Grenville Library, 
 55 ; arranged and catalogued by W, 
 B. Rye, 108, in ; general descrip- 
 tion, 222, 223 ; bindings, 224 : cata- 
 logue, 229. 
 British Museum, King's Library, 150, 
 220, 221, 229, formed by George III., 
 221 ; sold by George IV., 222 ; general 
 description, 222 ; bindings, 224. 
 British Museum, printed catalogues of 
 Hebrew, Chinese, Sanskrit and Pali 
 books, 19, 224, 229, 245 ; Reading 
 Room reference library, 226 ; Ameri- 
 can books, 242; General cat., vol.!., 
 24s, 249. 
 British Museum, printing of catalogue, 
 X, 18 ; W. E. A- Axon as to, 30-32, 
 166 ; great help to provinces, 30 ; 
 T. Carlyle as to, 30; titles stereo- 
 typed, 31 ; discussion on printing, 
 142-4 ; universal index preferable, 
 142 ; special catalo|^es recom- 
 mended, 142 ; difficulties, 143, 144 ; 
 G. Bullen recommends, 143 ; J. Dil- 
 lon, E. Magnusson, and J. Small 
 follow, 143-4 ; the President as to, 
 i<^ ; British Museum and Advocates' 
 Lib., 155; how expenses covered, 162. 
 British Museum, Reading-Room, 20, 
 108, I IT, 226 ; examination of books, 
 16 ; age qualification of readers, 169, 
 170; hours of admission, 171; Sun- 
 day opening, 171 ; supply of books, 
 173 ; printed catalogue, 226 ; facili- 
 ties for the public, 226 ; system of 
 getting books, 226-7 ; ventilation and 
 warming, 230-1. 
 British Museum, shelf-classification^ 15; 
 paper by R. Garnett, 108-114 ; diff'e- 
 rence between cat. and shelf-class., 
 108 ; about four-fifths thus classified, 
 108; devised by T. Watts, 108; 
 the Bible the basis, 109; develop- 
 ment, 109 ; system of dropped num- 
 bers, no; further illustrated, 112 ; 
 theology, 109-110 ; law, no; natural 
 history, art, philosophy (including 
 science) and remaining sections, in ; 
 
264 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 geographical order, in ; periodicals, 
 etc., in; details criticized, 112; 
 classified catalogue by means of shelf 
 cat., 113 ; publ. of abridged indices 
 recommended, 113; perfection of 
 system, 166 ; list of subjects (appen- 
 dix), 188-93 j not so logical as Am- 
 herst College, 166 ; commended as 
 nearly perfect, 166. 
 
 British Museum, slip-catalogue, 113, 
 157, 224, 225-6, 22S. 
 
 Broadsides, what are, 14 ; binding and 
 arrangeinent of, 16, 210. 
 
 Broadwood's, Messrs., manufactory, 
 library, 259 ; catalogue, 245. 
 
 Brockhaus, F. A., cat. of books pubd., 
 247. 
 
 Brodie, Sir B., 236. 
 
 Bronson, Silas, Library cat., 264. 
 
 Brough, J. C, 220. 
 
 Brougham, Lord, quoted, 39. 
 
 Broughton, Rhoda, 65. 
 
 BrooklynMercantileLib. catalogue, 244. 
 
 Brown, E., 253 ; catalogue of Coven- 
 try Free Public library, 244. 
 
 Brown, R., 232. 
 
 Brown, S. , 48. 
 
 Brown Univ. Library, 150, 260 ; access 
 to librarian and shelves, 174. 
 
 Brunet, J. C, 54. 
 
 Brunt, E., 253 ; on novel-reading, 154; 
 on age qualification, 171. 
 
 Brussels, Bibl. Royale, 259. 
 
 Bruun, Christian W., 253 ; Aarsberet- 
 ninger and Det Danske Katalog, 249. 
 
 Buckingham House, 220, 222. 
 
 Buckram as a binding-material, by E. 
 B. Nicholson, 124-126 ; nature of 
 buckram, 125 ; faced and unfaced, 
 125 ; colours, 125, 126 ; in England 
 and America, 126, 168 ; merits, 126 ; 
 heat guarded against by, 151 ; in 
 Boston Publ. Lib., 168 ; shelf-labels, 
 166, 247 ; recess- labels, 247 ; samples 
 exhibited by; Fisher and Son, and 
 London Institution, 248. 
 
 Buiiduigs, Ubraiy, note by G. Depping, 
 SO ; general discussion, 147-151. See 
 Library-buildings. 
 
 BuUarium Romanum, 234 
 
 BuUen, G., ix, 141, x8o, 213, 215, 224, 
 228, 229, 230, 253 ; on printing of 
 Brit. Mais, cat., 143 ; on ventilation, 
 150; galleries, 150, 151 ; on subject 
 cats., 156; on shelf-classification, 166; 
 Mr. Cutter and bibliog. of the devil, 
 167 ; on book-stealing in the British 
 Museum, 172 ; read Dr. Maitland's 
 skit on duties of librarian, 176 ; (ap- 
 pendix), 208 ; General account of the 
 history of the British Museum 
 Library, 220-24; Caxton Exhibition 
 catalogue, 243. 
 
 BuUetino delle scienze matematiche e 
 fisiche, instance of bad index, 90. 
 
 Bureau of Education, U.S. Report on 
 Public Lib. See American. 
 
 Burlington, Vt. , Fletcher Library, 
 260. 
 
 Burlington House, 235, 237. 
 
 Burr, A., management of New York 
 politics, 25. 
 
 Bury, W., 216, 217. 
 
 Bury St. Edmunds, S. James's Church 
 library, 145. 
 
 Byrom, J., cat. of his library, 247. 
 
 Byron, Lord, 51, 238. 
 
 Cadwallader, B., library blanks, 248. 
 
 Calf bindings, injury by gas or heat, 
 SO, 124, 125, 168 ; in Athenseum 
 library, 232. See also Leather. 
 
 Cambridge Union Soc. library, 259. 
 
 Cambridge University, 33, 35 ; holds 
 future in own hands, 39 ; ordinance 
 against usury, 46 ; specialization of 
 libraries, 145 ; those represented at 
 the Conference, 2551. 
 
 Cambridge Univ. Library, 220, 259 ; 
 catalogue, 19 ; copyrightact and, 37 ; 
 
 E. Magnusson as to lending books, 
 147. 
 Cambridge, Mass., Harvard Coll. Lib., 
 
 260. 
 Cambridge, Mr., and Dr. Johnson, 35. 
 Camden, Viscountess, 214. 
 Campbell, M. F. A. G., Annales de la 
 
 typographic neerlandaise, 243. 
 Campkin, H., ix, 253; Account of the 
 library of the Reform Club, 235 ; on 
 the use of cribs, 170 ; on borrowing 
 books, 176 ; on librarians, 178. 
 Canterbury Cath. library, 259. 
 Capgrave's Golden Legend, g. 
 Capitals, use of, 210. 
 Captivity insurance, 45. 
 Carbolic acid and beetles, 167. 
 Card for a genl. catalogue of English 
 literature, 187 ; for new edition of 
 Poole's Index, 201. 
 Card-catalogues, 158, 209, 243; for 
 public reference, paper by H. W. D. 
 Dunlop, 68-69 '' cards for the same, 
 243 ; importance of printed card cata- 
 logues, 70; bymeaus of photobiblio- 
 graphy, paper by H. Stevens, 70- 
 81 ; card proposed for the same, 74 ; 
 perfected in America, 82 ; catalogue- 
 Bonnange, 82 ; other systems, 82 ; 
 for co-operative cataloguing, icxs, 102, 
 161, 187,201 ; in Brit. Mus., 113, 157, 
 225-6, 228 ; unsuitableness for public, 
 130; C. A. Cutter on, 155; in America 
 and'^England, 156; Boston Pub. lib., 
 156, 243 ; album for, 158 ; system of 
 ordering from booksellers in Brit. 
 Mus., 224-s ; specimens of those of 
 Boston Athenseum and Public Lib., 
 Dunlop, and Am. Lib. Ass., 243. 
 Carey, H. F., 224; quoted, 8. 
 Carlisle, N., 224. 
 
 Carlyle, T., 52, 142, 221, 234 ; on uni- 
 versities, quoted, 33 ; on catalogues, 
 quoted, 30, 156. 
 Carpenter, J., 216. 
 Carthusianus, Adrianus, Liber de Re- 
 
 mediis, 10. 
 Casanate, Card., library, g, ig, 
 Casaubon, I., 237 ; life o^ quoted, 8. 
 Catalogue of Engl, lit., general, x ; 
 utilization of special collections, 47, 
 49, 102 ; paper by C. Walford^ 10 1- 
 103 ; why necessary, loi ; requisites, 
 loi ; plan of co-operation, 102 ; slips 
 recommended, 102 ; specimen (ap- 
 pendix), 187; subject catalogue, 102; 
 how printed and published, 103 ; 
 Library At>s. to take steps, 181, x. 
 Cat. of MSS., B. S. Mondino on a new 
 general, 162 ; in France, 162; in Ger- 
 many,i62; Haenel's referred to, 162. 
 Catalogue of universal literature, 2 10. 
 Cataloguers, H. F. Cary, quoted, 8 ; 
 
 women as, 177. 
 Catalogues, good titles, 9 ; general 
 principles laid down, 9-14 ; diversity 
 of opinion as to best form, 11 ; entiy 
 under name on title, 11 ; rules 
 should be simple, 12-13 '> should be 
 of bibliographical authority, 13 ; 
 system of literation, 14 ; hand cata- 
 logues, 16 ; easily consulted, 18 ; 
 print or MS. ? 18, 209 ; method of 
 making B, M. cat., 19, 225 ; in 
 Camb. Univ. Lib., ig ; worst none 
 at all, 30 ; Dr. Johnson as to, 35 ; 
 good specimens, 54 ; indexes to, 
 54 ; contents sometimes of hetero- 
 geneous nature, 57 ; notes as guides 
 to readers, 65 ; interpolation difficult, 
 68 ; every book should be catalogued, 
 70, 72 ; should be well made^ 71 ; 
 establishment of a central bibliogra- 
 phical bureau, 73 ; by photobiblio- 
 graphy, 70-81 ; the two necessary, 
 81 ; should be compact and complete, 
 8r ; specimen to be avoided, 81 ; 
 what necessary in a library, 83 ; de- 
 scription of those used in Glasgow 
 Univ., 84-85, 185-7 ; for private re- 
 
 ference, 86 ; of books wanted, 86 % 
 chronological arrangements, 87 ; in 
 a lending library, 129, 130; recent 
 additions, 129 ; sale of, 158 ; of public 
 libraries exhibited at the Conference, 
 243-7 I private, 247 ; publishers and 
 booksellers, 247. ^'^^^/j^ Accessions. 
 Alphabetical. Anonymous. Author. 
 British Museum. Card. Classified. 
 Dictionary. Manuscript. Printed. 
 Rules. Slip. Subject. 
 
 Cataloguing, 209-10; general principles, 
 9-14 ; bibliographical notes intro- 
 duced, 10 ; combination of Cres- 
 tadoro and Jewett's methods, 31 ; 
 by co-operation, 31, 73, 210 ; note by 
 G. Depping, 100; discussion, 160-1 ; 
 should be made a science, ^i ; paper 
 by H.Stevens onPhotobibliograpby, 
 70-81 ; specimens of slips, 76-7 ; 
 method, 75-76 ; different to biblio- 
 graphy, 80, 98 ; paper by J. M. 
 Anderson, 82-83 ; system used in 
 Glasgow Univ. Lib., 85, 185-7 '> notes 
 by C. Walford, 86-87; in Advocates' 
 Library, 155 ; in the British Museum, 
 228 ; specimens of materials exhi- 
 bited, 243. See also Co-operative 
 cataloguing. Rules for cataloguing. 
 
 Catchwords introduced before signa- 
 tures, 10. 
 
 Cathedral libraries, 21. 
 
 Catworth, T., 216. 
 
 Caulfield, Dr. Rich. , 253 ; on British 
 Museum, 143 ; on anonymous books, 
 159-60; on the British Museum shelf- 
 classification, 166 ; on beetles and 
 binding, 167 ; on vellum binding, 16S. 
 
 Caxton, W., 3, 55 ; printed portion of 
 the Bible, g ; as to productions now 
 remaining, 71 ; in Sion Coll., 215. 
 
 Caxton Exhibition, g, 215, 223 ; cata- 
 logue, 243. 
 
 Centennial Exhibition, ix. 
 
 Central clearing-house. See Clearing- 
 house. 
 
 Centuriatores Magd., 234. 
 
 Cervantes, M., Don Quixote, 222. 
 
 Chamber of Life Insurance in New 
 York, 48. 
 
 Chambers, Sir W., 240. 
 
 Chantrey, Sir F., 231. 
 
 Chantries, suppression of, 39. 
 
 Chapter-libraries, 21 ; at Westminster, 
 259. 
 
 Charles L, 230. 
 
 Charles IL, 214, 221, 236. 
 
 Charterhouse, 214. 
 
 Chatham, Roy. School of Mining Engi- 
 neers, 259. 
 
 Chatto, J., 132, 253. 
 
 Chaucer, G., 51. 
 
 Cheltenham, 102. 
 
 Cheltenham Library, 250. 
 
 Chemistry, index to, 104. 
 
 Chess, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Chester Free Library, 253, 259. 
 
 Chetham Lib., Manchester, 260 ; cat., 
 245-6. 
 
 Cheyne, Rev. T. K., on specialization 
 of college libraries, 145. 
 
 Chicago, fire, 149, 252 ; and London, 
 252 ; donations of books and money 
 from England, 252. 
 
 Chicago Public Library, 260; cata- 
 logues, 158 ; days and hours of 
 admission, 171 ; lady-librarians, 177 ; 
 English donations, 149, 252. 
 
 Chichele, Abp., and foundation of All 
 Souls', 39. 
 
 Chinese books, British Museum printed 
 cat. of, ig, 224, 229, 245. 
 
 Chippendale, T., 240. 
 
 Chiswick Press and publication of the 
 Report, xi. 
 
 Chronica Francise, 216. 
 
 Chroniques de France, 216. 
 
 Chronological order in catalogues, 87 ; 
 on shelves, 117. 
 
 Church Quarterly, quoted, 63. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 265 
 
 Gceronis Epistolae, 11. 
 
 Cincinnati Public Lib , 149, 260 ; 
 classed catalogiies, 157 ; days and 
 hours of admission, 172 ; borrowing 
 de-siderata in, 175 ; printed cata- 
 logue, 244. 
 
 Circulating libraries, in America, 148; 
 plan of W. F. Poole, 149, 242 ; 
 London Institution system, 219-20. 
 See also Lending. Loans. 
 
 Circulation of books, hints on library- 
 management, by B. R, Wheatley, 
 127-133 ; use increased when circu- 
 lated, 127, 128 ; placing and number- 
 ing, 128,, lag ; supplemental y room, 
 128 ; shelf- classification not wanted, 
 128 ; books handled by librarians 
 alone, 129 ; ^ printed catalogue and 
 index of subjects, 129 ; recent addi- 
 tions, 129; neithernumerical system 
 nor card-cat. tolerated, 129, 130 ; 
 rulesofcirculation,i3o ; forms and ac- 
 count books, 130-132 ; specimens(ap- 
 pendix), 195-8 ; books bespoken, 131, 
 197-8; returned, 132 ; put aside, 132 ; 
 relations of R. Med. and Chir. Soc. 
 with R. Coll. of Surgeons, 132; losses, 
 132, 133; C. WalfordandR. Harrison 
 on Mr. Wheatley's system, 175 ; Sir 
 R. Barry's paper on lending boc^s, 
 134-5 J to individuals, 134 ; to public 
 bodies, 135 ; Melbourne system of 
 lending duplicates, 134-5 ; binding, 
 134 ; packing-cases as book-shelves^ 
 135; collation, 135; special loans, 
 135 ; system recommended for this 
 country by J. D. Mullins, 175-6 ; 
 conditions for books lent to public 
 bodies, 19S. 
 
 Circulation-record, 210. 
 
 Clark, A. C. 253. 
 
 Qark, J. T., 155, 179, iSo, 254 ; elected 
 V. P., 141 ; on shelf-acce.*B, 172 ; an- 
 swer to vote of thanks, 181. 
 
 Clark, S. N. See Warren, S. R. 
 
 Clarke, Di. Hyde, 254. 
 
 Clarke, J., Bibliotheca Legum, 47. 
 
 Clarke, Rev. R L., 254. 
 
 Clarke, S., 155. 
 
 Class-bibliographies exhibited, 242-3. 
 
 Classed catalogue. See Classified cata- 
 logue. Subject-catalogue. 
 
 Qassical literature and philologfy, index 
 to, 104. 
 
 Classics in a national library, 51. 
 
 Classification, shelf-, 12, 15, 210 ; by 
 languages, 15 ; of manuscripts, i6 ; 
 drawings and prints, 17 ; by colours • 
 in binding, 116, 117 ; in British 
 Museum, 224. ; subject-index better 
 than, 128 ; difficulties, 156; denied, 
 157 ; in Melbourne library, 157-8 ; 
 Bibl. Naz. of Palermo, 164 ; mne- 
 monic system at Harvard, 164 ; Am- 
 herst Coll. system, 164, 166, 167 ; 
 in Philadelphia, 164 ; subject-cata- 
 logues preferable, 164-5 ; denied, 
 165, 166, 167 ; value of, 165, 166, 167 ; 
 in London Institution, 165-6 ; C- A. 
 Cutter's argument, 167 ; opinion of 
 Conference^ should be taken, 167. 
 See also British Museum. 
 .Classified catalogues, 12. 53 ; value of, 
 83 ; in the Glasgow Univ. Lib., 85 ; 
 and shelf-classification, xo8 ; W. S, 
 Jevon?, quoted, 156; Dr. Allibone 
 on, 157. See also Subject-cat. 
 
 Cleaning booki, 171, 
 
 Clearing-house, a central bibliographi- 
 cal ; or, Photobibliography, by H, 
 Stevens, 70-81 ; establishment of 73; 
 specimens, 76-7 ; for a general index 
 of subjects, 104, 106. 
 
 Clipstone, J , 216. 
 
 Closing for examination, 211. 
 
 Cloth bmding, i?4 ; specimens exhi- 
 bited, 248. .9^^ Buckram. 
 
 Clubs for working men, failure of, 23- 
 
 24 ; libraries of, 24, 
 Cochrane, J. G , 234. 
 
 Cockroaches and bindings, 117, 167, 
 
 193- 
 Cockcon, H,, 64. 
 Cogswell. Dr. J. G., formation of Astor 
 
 Ijibrary, 9. 
 Colerid^je, '^. T., 51. 
 Colhition of buuk', 121 ; when lent, 
 
 1^5, 19S. 
 Collectors on spcci.il sublejts, 45, 47, 
 48 ; insurance-subjecis, 48 ; other 
 subject^, 49 (nott). 
 Co lege libi-aries, ■^eiect'on of bnnks 
 in, 57 ; letter of Rev. T. K, Clieyne 
 on speirializaiimi of, 145 
 Colon, when mtroduced, 10. 
 Cohmial public libraries, 2. 
 Colours (»f biudings, 17, 2eo ; buckram, 
 125, 126 ; for shelf-arrangement, ti6, 
 117, 193, 224. 
 Columbus, C, bibliography, 105. 
 Comma, ini reduced, 10. 
 Committee, on building of library, 7; on 
 selection of books, 7 ; risks of, 8 ; 
 librarian and, 8, 53, 58. See also 
 Library committee. 
 Committee, international, for a univer- 
 sal index of subjects, 106. 
 Compifegne, Biblioth&que de, 259. 
 Conchology, index to, 104. 
 Conference of Librarians, London, Oct. 
 1877, promoted, ix ; organizing-com- 
 mittee, ix-x ; preliminary labours, x ; 
 French government, x; report to Dr. 
 Falk, X ; new general cat. of Eng. 
 lit., X, 181; Lib, Ass. of United King- 
 dom, X, 179; Metropolitan Free Lib. 
 Committee, xi, iSi ; banquet at 
 Mansion House, xi, 250-2 ; publica- 
 tion of report, xi, iBi; Transactions^ 
 1-139 » objects. 2 ; should support a 
 universal index of subjects, 105; 
 Proceedings : first sitting, 141-4 ; 
 second sitting, 14^-51 ; third sitting, 
 152-9 ; fourth sitting, 159-64 ; fifth 
 sitting, 164-69 ; sixth sittii-g, 169- 
 178: seventh sitting, 179-82; inability 
 of Germans to attend, 162 ; Com- 
 mittee to report on new edition of 
 Poole's Index, 163-4, ^^i; opinion to 
 be taken on certain points, 167 ; 
 Library-Association of ihe U, K. 
 founded, 179 ; consdtution and coun- 
 cil, 179-81 ; motions, 181 ; statement 
 of accounts, 181 ; votes of thanks, 
 181-2 ; f^isits to Metropolitan Li- 
 hraries,m.-^-^o'. Exhibition of library 
 designs^ catalogrces and appliances, 
 241-9 ; Speeclies at Mansion Ho7ise, 
 250-2; great success of Conf., 250-1; 
 List o/menibers,'z^i,-2,\ Libraries and 
 governments represented, 259-60. 
 Conference of Librarians, New York, 
 
 Sept. 1853, ix, I. 
 Conference of Librarians, Philadel- 
 phia, Oct 1876, number attending, 
 ix ; success, ix, i. 
 Congress Library, 69 ; catalogues, 246. 
 Congreve, W. H., 254. 
 Continuation-book, 84. 
 Cooke, G. K., and Co., Indian-rubber 
 
 printing stamp, 248. 
 Cooper, bir A., 236. 
 Cooper, J. F., 63. 
 Cooper, Sirs. S., 254. _ 
 Co-operative cataloguing, 31, 73, 210; 
 note by G. Depoing, 100 ; benefits 
 described, 100, 161 ; how to be done, 
 100 ; recommended, i^'i ; publishers 
 to assist, 160, 161 ; in America, 160- 
 I ; cards, 161 ; disadvantages to a 
 librarian, 161 ; taken up by Lib. Ass , 
 161. 
 Co-operative labour for anew gen. cat. 
 of Eng. lit., 102 ; in new ed. of 
 Poole's Index, 163. 
 Co-operative stores, libraries in, 24. 
 Co-operative supply, 210. 
 Cooper'sHiUCb;iege,toindexengineer- 
 
 ing, 106. 
 Coote, C. H., 254^ 
 
 Copenhagen, Kongclig'; BibUoth'-k, 
 259 ; printed cat:i.Iague.s, 249 ; Unl- 
 versitets liibl,, 259. 
 Copying midline, 248. 
 Copynglit-tri.v, 145, 2o;j ; Univr^i'y 
 libraries and, 37-8 ; complaint of 
 Cambridge tilirariaii, 37 ; acquisi- 
 tion of books by, 55, 205 inequalities 
 of, 55 ; had it bei.-n m force since 
 intro luction of priiiLing, 55 ; a-ce.s- 
 sions in America, 55 6 ; iu Ci'eat 
 Britain, 56; privilegt;s so called, 
 82 ; Sion College and, 214. 
 Copyright-tax and Firitish Museum, no 
 record of books rejelvcd, 31; advan- 
 tages of the same, 31 ; special advan- 
 tages of British Museum, 37 ; now 
 more strictly enforced, 220j 222 ; 
 system ofcoUection, 227-8 ; statistics, 
 228. 
 Cork, 159. 
 
 Cork, Queen's Coll. library, 259. 
 Cornwall, bibliography of, 105. 
 Corporation of London. See London. 
 Corporation Library. See Guildhall. 
 Corporation of Foreign Bondholderi 
 
 lib., 259. 
 Corpus Christi Coll. library, 259. 
 Corviniis, M., K. of Hungary, 236. 
 Costa, S. da, 221. 
 Cottonian MSS., 220. 
 Council of Conference, 141-142. 
 Coventry Free Library, 259; catal., 244. 
 Covers, loose, 17. 
 
 Cowell, P., 141, t8o, iSi, 254; On the 
 admission 0/ Jiction in Free Public 
 Libraries, 60-67 '■• discussion thereon, 
 152-154; reply on discussion, 154; 
 on shelves and ladders, 150 ; acces- 
 sions-catalogue, 158-9; exhibited by 
 him, 248 ; on the admission of young 
 readers, 170 ; sheU-access should be 
 restricted, 173. 
 Coxe, Rev. H. O., 150, 254; union of 
 All Souls' with Bodleian. 39 ; elected 
 V. P. of Conference, 141 ; relations 
 with Radcliffe Library, 145 ; as to the 
 Bodleian and a school of librarians, 
 146 ; on novel-reading, 154 ; elected 
 V. P. of Lib. Ass., 180. 
 Cracherode, Rev. C. M., bequest to 
 
 British Museum, 221, 223. 
 Crantz, M., printer of first book in 
 
 France, lo- 
 Crescimbeni, G. M., 234. 
 Crestadoro, Dr. A., 141, 180, 254 ; 
 method of cataloguing, 31 ; on index- 
 catalogues, 154 ; on anonymous 
 books, 159 ; on the training of libra- 
 rians in Italy, 176 ; on the statistics 
 of patents, 178; cat. of Manchester 
 Free Lib., 246. 
 Cribs, use of, i7o. 
 Crimean War, ballads of, 71. 
 Croker, J. W., 231. 
 
 Cross, J. A., 254; A universal index 
 of subjects, xi, 104-107 ; discussion 
 thereon, 161-2 ; on free libraries, 142 ; 
 on Poole's Index, 16 \\ on shelf-classi- 
 fication, 166 ; Notes of a proposal to 
 make a universal index, 249. 
 Crossley, Jas., 254, 
 
 Cross-references, 11, 158 ; dispensed 
 with, 12 ; in catalogues by photo- 
 bibliography, 78 ; objections to, 
 answered, 94 ; and pseudonymous 
 books, 160 ; examples of in Royal 
 Academy library catalogue, 235. 
 Culture, provincial, and British Mu- 
 seum, 29-32 ; national, printed cat. 
 of B. M., help to, 30. 
 Curtains for bookcases, 150. 
 Cust, R. W., 254. 
 
 Cutter, C. A., 141, 157, 161, 229, 254 ; 
 Dictionary Catalogue, 14, 83, 97, 
 249 ; point raised, 98; as to pseudony- 
 mous books, 98, 160 ; to be used m 
 new edition of Poole's Index, 200 ; 
 books pubd. under initials, 98 ; m 
 card and subject catalogues, 155 5 ; 
 M M 
 
266 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 argument for shelf-classification, 167; 
 annotated list of additions to the 
 Boston Athenasum, 175 ; the report 
 on the new edition of Poole's Index, 
 T 99- 206. 
 
 Cutting down by binders, 193. 
 
 Cyclones, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Dahlmann, F. C, 105. 
 
 Daily News, quoted, 37. 
 
 Daily Telegraph, quoted, 41. 
 
 Dampness in libraries, 150, 151 ; in- 
 juries to books, 168 
 
 Danner, J., revolving bookcase, 242. 
 
 Dante, name, 11 ; bibliography, 105. 
 
 Darling, J,, Cyclop. Bibl., 104. 
 
 Darwen Public Lib., 259. 
 
 Darwinism, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Davis, I., 254. 
 
 Days of admission, 171-2, 211. 
 
 Debelle, M., and the Grenoble library, 
 *4r. 
 
 Decimal classification, 164, 165, 166, 
 167. 
 
 Defoe, D., Robinson Crusoe, 153. 
 
 Delisle, L., 250, 254; elected V. P., 
 141 ; and the- French catalogue of 
 MSS., 162 ; visit to the British 
 Museum, 225-8 ; Le cabinet des 
 MSS. de la Bibl. Imp., 249 ; speech 
 at the Mansion House, 251. 
 
 De' Mazzinghi, T. J., 254. 
 
 Demonology, bibliography of, 105, 
 167. 
 
 Denmark, libraries represented, x, 259 ; 
 bibliography of, 105 ; cat. of litera- 
 ture, 249. 
 
 Depping, C, 141, 228, 254 ; Note on 
 library - buildings, 50 ; discussion 
 thereon, 147-15 1 ; Note on co-opera- 
 tive cataloguing, loo ; discussion 
 thereon, 160- i6i. 
 
 De Quincey, T., quoted, 34. 
 
 Derby Free Library, 259. 
 
 De Rossi, G. V., alteration of name, 11. 
 
 Desiderata, acquisition of, 54-55 ; on 
 borrowing, 175, 211 ; German system 
 applicable to England, 175. 
 
 Designs of library-buildings, existing 
 and projected, 241-2. 
 
 De Thou, bindings, 221. 
 
 Detroit Public Library, catalogue, 244. 
 
 Devil, The, books on, indexed, 105 ; 
 C, A. Cutter and. the bibliography 
 of, 167. 
 
 Devon and Exeter Inst, 259. 
 
 Devonshire, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Dewey, M., 141, 229, 242, 243, 254 ; on 
 the Amherst College classification, 
 164 ; on shelf-access, 173 ; on libra- 
 rians, 178; on a code of rules for 
 statistics, 178 ; Library Journal, 249; 
 speech at the Mansion House, 252. 
 
 Diatomaceae, 12. 
 
 Dibdin, Dr. T. F., 81, 222, 223. 
 
 Dickens, C, 64, 234, 237, 238. 
 
 Dickinson, D., 254. 
 
 Dickson, Rev. Prof., and the Glasgow 
 Univ. Lib. catalogues, 84, 85, 185-7. 
 
 Dictionary-catalogue, C. A. Cutrer's 
 rules, 14, 83, 97, 98,160, 249; develop- 
 ment used at St. Andrew's, 83 ; value 
 remarked on, 83. 
 
 Dictionary-catalogue of works in men- 
 tal philosophy, specimen, 183-5. 
 
 Dillon, J., 254; on printed catalogue 
 of Kriiish Museum. 143 ; on British 
 Museum age- qualification, 170. 
 
 Dingier s Polvtech. Journal, 174. 
 
 Diodorus Siculus, quoted, 2. 
 
 Dissertations, academical, how en- 
 tered, 14. 
 
 Divinity, shelf-clasiification of, British 
 Museum, log-iio, 188-9. 
 
 Dr. Williams's library, 2^9- 
 
 Documents, public, arrangement and 
 presfrv^ition, 16, 210. 
 
 J>onatioi'S, 209 ; indiscriminate, to be 
 shunned, 53; geneially valueless. 
 
 55: exceptions, 55; from the state, 55, 
 209. 
 
 Donne, W. B., 234. 
 
 Douglas, Prof R. K., 254 ; cat. of 
 Chinese books, 19, 224, 229, 245. 
 
 Douglas and Foulis, Messrs., 254. 
 
 Douthwaite, W. R., x, 254 ; catalogue 
 of Gray's Inn Lib., 245 ; Notes on 
 Gray's Inn, 249. 
 
 Dramatic literature, index, 105. 
 
 Drawings, arrangement and preser- 
 vation, 17, 210. 
 
 Dresden, 175. 
 
 Druids, Order of, loz. 
 
 Dryden, J., 51. 
 
 Dublin, 175 ; libraries at, 4 ; represen- 
 tatives at Conrerence, 259. 
 
 Dublin, Nat, Lib. of Ireland, 259 ; 
 library blanks, 248 
 
 Dublin, R. Coll. of Surgeons' Library, 
 68. 
 
 Dublin Univ. Lib. copyright act and, 
 
 37- 
 Dudevant, Mme. de, 98. 
 Dudle.iton church, library at, 144. 
 Dugdale, Sir W., quoted, 232. 
 Dummies, 210 
 Dundee Free Library, 259. 
 Dunlop, H. W. D., 254 ; On a new 
 
 ifivention ivkick renders slip-cata- 
 
 logues available for public refere?ice, 
 
 68-69 ■ specimen, 243. 
 Duplicates, accumulation of, 31 ; in 
 
 British Museum, 31, 143 ; exchange 
 
 of, 49. 55 ; lending of, 134, 135. 
 Durrie, D. S., 245. 
 Durrie, Is., 245. 
 Dutch printer at Padua in 1480, 3 ; 
 
 velhira binding, 168. 
 Dutton, T. B. W., 254. 
 Dyce, Kev. A., library bequeathed to 
 
 S. K. Museum, 259 ; account of, 237. 
 
 Earthquake.'', books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Eastlake, Sir C. L., 235. 
 
 Eastlake portable bookcase, 242. 
 
 East wick, E. B., 254. 
 
 Ebert, F. A., 54. 
 
 Edges in binding, 168, 193. 
 
 Edinburgh, 102, 175 ; libraries at, 4 ; 
 representatives at Conference, 259. 
 See Advocates' Lib. Signet Lib. 
 
 EdinburghUniversity Library, 147, 259. 
 
 Edition to appear on title, 117. 
 
 Education, libraries as centres of, 22 ; 
 England behind in the work, 23 ; 
 government aid, 29 ; part of a national 
 library m, 52 ; illustrated periodicals 
 more educating than fiction, 65 ; ad- 
 vantages of shelf-classification in, 
 l66 ; in America, 251. 
 
 Educational Appliances, Loan Exhibi- 
 tion, 238. 
 
 Educational Library, S. K. Museum, 
 259 ; account of, 238-9 ; foundation, 
 238 ; statistics, 238-9. 
 
 Educational literature, Low's cata- 
 logue, 242. 
 
 Edward.s, E.,2; Memoirs of Libraries, 
 English librarians owe much to, xi ; 
 quoted, 208-11, 218, 219; exhibited, 
 249 ; Free Town Libraries, quoted, 
 208-11 ; exhibited, 249. 
 
 Electric writing pen, 24a. 
 
 Electricity, index to, 104. 
 
 Eliot, G. [ps.], 64. 
 
 Ellicott, Bp., and novel-reading, 152. 
 
 ^ lliot, J , 254 
 
 Ellis, Sir H ^ 224. 
 
 Encv lopa;dia.s, classed in British 
 Museum, 112 ; cost and profit of 
 Encycl. Brit., 107. 
 
 Endowment, university, 36 ; devoted 
 to library extension, 36. 
 
 Engelmann, W., 54, 104. 
 
 England, early printing, 3 ; should 
 give the first universal prmted cata- 
 logucj 80 ; bibliography of, 105 ; in- 
 feriority of library-buildings, 149 ; 
 
 exchange of literary treasures with 
 the Continent, 251. 
 
 English Catalogue, 247. 
 
 English Civil War tracts in B. M., 34. 
 See also Thomason. 
 
 English Cyclopaedia, quoted, 222, 223. 
 
 English government and a Report on 
 Libraries, xi. See Government. 
 
 English law-literature, 105 ; indexed 
 by, 106 ; wealth of, 51. 
 
 English literature, richness of, to be 
 proved, 71-72 ; deficiencies of B. M., 
 72 ; no complete bibliography, 73. 
 
 English literature^ a new general cata- 
 logue of, x; special collections, 47, 49; 
 paper by C. Walford, 101-103 ; why 
 necessary, loi ; requisites, loi ; 
 owners of special collections applied 
 to, 102 ; plan of co-operation, 102, 
 161 ; slips recommended, 102 ; speci- 
 men (appendix), 1S7 ; how to print 
 and publish, 103 ; Lib. Ass to take 
 steps, 181. 
 
 English novels i)raised, 152. 
 
 English poetry, indexed, 105. 
 
 English srientific Jit., index, 104. 
 
 English topography, indexed, 105 ; in 
 London Institution, 106. 
 
 Entomological Socieiy, 259. 
 
 Entry under name on title-page, 11. 
 
 Equitable Assurance Society, 102. 
 
 Ersch, J. S., io4._ 
 
 Euing collection in the Glasgow Univ. 
 Lib., 85, 186-7. 
 
 Evans, C, 141, 236^ 254 ; cat. of India- 
 napolis Public Lib., 244. 
 
 Evelyn, J., 236. 
 
 Evening-opening of a library, 7. 
 
 Evitandum in index-making, by B. R. 
 Wheatley, 88-92. 
 
 Evola,F.,Bibl.Naz.diPalermo,243,246. 
 
 Ewart, W. , Select Committee on 
 Libraries, 4. 
 
 Executive of a library, ig-20 ; general 
 discussion, 176 8, 211. 
 
 Exeter Cathedral Library, 259. 
 
 Exhibition of library designs, cata- 
 logues afid appliances^ 241-9 ; de- 
 signs, 241-2 ; bookcases, 242 ; shelf- 
 fittings, 242 ; class-bibliographies, 
 Z42-3 ; catalogues, 243-7 I shtlt-ar- 
 rangement,247; binding,248; library- 
 appliances, 248,; bibliography of 
 libraries, etc., 24S-9. 
 
 Extension of libraries, 4, 208-9, 
 
 Fabyan, R., Chronicles, 216. 
 
 Facilities for the public, i8-g, an ; 
 general discussion, 169-76. 
 
 Faculty of Actuaries, Edinburgh, 48, 
 
 Fairholt, F. W., 237. 
 
 Falk, Dr., x, 162. 
 
 Falls, of leather or cloth, 6. 
 
 Faraday, M., 122, 231, 232. 
 
 Fellowships, librarian- and professor- 
 fellows, 42, 146 ; objections to exist- 
 ing system, 43 ; E. A. Freeman, 
 quoted, 43. 
 
 Ferrex and Porrex, 237. 
 
 Fetis, F. J., index to music, 704. 
 
 Fiction, what is meant by, 60; w?y 
 bad reading, 60 ; Lord Neaves, 
 quoted, 61 ; read by whom, 61 ; leads 
 to better reading, 61 ; assertion 
 doubted, 62 ; better literature than 
 fiction, 62 ; Church Quarterly, 
 quoted, 63 ; bad tendency of modem, 
 63 ; erroneous views given by, 63- 
 64; favourable inbtances, 64; good 
 novels not thoroughly read, 64 ; 
 anecdote of useful work done by a 
 novel, 64 ; only high-Llass fiction ad- 
 vocated, 64, 66 ; low-class fiction 
 most popular, 65 ; illustrated periodi- 
 cals better than, 65, 66; value of 
 high-class fiction, 65 ; amusement 
 should be subsidiary to education, 
 66 ; English novels praised, 152 ; 
 novel-residing not injurious, 152-4. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 267 
 
 Fiction, chronolog. index to historical 
 fiction, Prof. Winsor's, 242 ; class- 
 list, 244. 
 
 Fiction in free public libraries, the ad- 
 mission of, 2og ; paper by P. Cowell, 
 60-67 ; debated question, 60 ; why 
 bad reading, 60 ; _ Lord Neaves, 
 quoted, 61 ; attention drawn in re- 
 ports to decrease of, 61 ; in America, 
 61 ; who read novels, 61 ; amateurs 
 read technical books more than me- 
 chanics do, 61 ; novels lead to better 
 reading, 61 ; assertion doubted, 62; 
 C. C. Perkins in the American Library 
 Report, quoted, 61-62 ; readers im- 
 prove in taste, 62 ; assertion doubted, 
 62, 64, t^y 154; bad tendency of 
 modern fiction, 63 ; novels only 
 skimmed, 64; anecdote of useful work 
 done by, 64 ; fiction not advocated 
 unless ofa high standard, 64 ; doubts 
 as to upward tendency, 64 ; low- 
 class fiction most popular, 65 ; the 
 best novels should alone be issued, 
 65; amusement should be subsidiary 
 to education, 66 ; cost of circulating 
 novels, 66 ; good novels only should 
 be circulated, ^^ \ statistics of Liver- 
 pool Lib., 66 ; statistics in free 
 libraries, 139 ; in Boston Public Lib., 
 152 ; in French popular libraries, 
 152 ; librarian no censor morum, 154 ; 
 selection, 154. 
 
 Ficdon, shelf-classification in British 
 Museum, m, 192. 
 
 Fielding, H., 51. 
 
 Finch, G. B., 254 ; on salaries of libra- 
 rian'^, 1^8. 
 
 Finding-hst in Chicago Library, 158. 
 
 Fine Arts. See Art. 
 
 Fire in libraries, 6, 121 ; apparatus in 
 British Museum, 231. 
 
 Fire-insurance, 46. 
 
 Fires, open, easy ventilacion by, 7. 
 
 First-word entry of anon, books, 94. 
 
 Fisher and Son, Messrs., samples of 
 buckram, 248. 
 
 Flach, Martin, prints first book with 
 title-page, 10. 
 
 Flax as a binding, 168, 
 
 Flaxman, J., 240. 
 
 Fletcher, W. L, and new edition of 
 Poole's Index, 201-2, 
 
 Fletcher, W,Y., 254; on vellum binding, 
 168 ; and Brit. Museum binding, 230. 
 
 Floor-shelvage, 151. 
 
 Folding and sizes, 13. 
 
 Fordj R., on the King's Library, 222. 
 
 Foreign Office, library catalogue, 245. 
 
 Foresters, 102 
 
 Formation of libraries, 4, 7, 8, 209. 
 
 Form-catalogue, 93. 
 
 Forms in lending lib., 130-132 ; speci- 
 mens, 195-7. 
 
 Forster, J., 234 ; bequest of library to 
 S. K. Museum, 237-8, 259. 
 
 Fowke, Capt. F., 122. 
 
 Frame for cat. of accessions in Liver- 
 pool Lib.j 158-9. 
 
 France, pnnting introduced by Ger- 
 mans, 3 ; history of, in printed Paris 
 catalogue, 19, 243, 246 ; bibliography 
 of, 105 ; popular libraries in, 144 ; 
 fiction in, 152 ; photography in libra- 
 ries, 154 ; bibliography of libraries, 
 349. 
 
 Francesco da Bologna, designed italic 
 type, 10. 
 
 Francis, Col. G-G., 254. 
 
 Franklin, A., Les anciennes bibliothe- 
 quesde Paris, 245. 
 
 Free lending libraries, note on books 
 
 suitable for, by J. D. MuUins, 59 ; 
 
 abridgements preferred ; 59, best 
 
 editions to ref. dep., 59. 
 
 Free libraries in France, 144 ; fiction in. 
 
 Free library, term of, 142 ; note by 
 
 Sir R. Barry, 207- 
 Free library movement, 4 ; Metropoli- 
 
 tan Committee for London, xi, 181 ; 
 Guildhall Lib,, xi, 217 ; London In- 
 stitution, 2i8 ; in small towns and 
 villages, 22-28, 142 ; need of exten- 
 sion of, 22, 25 ; means of extension, 
 23, 26; state assistance, 26. 142; 
 union of small towns, 26; ooard- 
 schools, 26, 142; Sunday-question 
 and, 172. 
 Free public libraries, principles of 
 selection, 53 ; donations generally 
 valueless, 55 ; on the admission of 
 fiction, paper by P. Cowell, 60-67 \ 
 attention drawn in reports to de- 
 crease of novel reading, 6i ; taste 
 said to improve, 62 ; assertion doubt- 
 ed, 62, 64,66, 154 ; United States, 152- 
 3 ; statistics and reports, 135 ; gene- 
 ral discussion, 142 ; index-catalogues, 
 154; age-qualification, 169-70; Mel- 
 bourne, 170 ; United States, 170 ; 
 special roorns for students, 170; 
 Sunday-opening, 171-2 ; in United 
 States, 171 ; 0\ford, 172 ; qualifica- 
 tions of librarians, 174, 177-8, 211; 
 advantages of small conveniences 
 gratis, 176; salaries of librarians, 
 177-8, 2rr ; assistants, 178. 
 Freeman, E. A., quoted, 43. 
 Freeman, J., 254. 
 Freemasons, 102. 
 Freiburger, M., printer of first book in 
 
 France, lo. 
 French government commission and 
 the Conference, x, 181-3, 259 ; visit 
 to the British Museum, 228-g. 
 French names, ii ; revolution -tracts 
 in B. M., 31; literature, 51, 54; 
 better off for bibliography than Eng- 
 land, 73 ; scientific lit., index, 104; 
 law-literature, 105 ; libraries repr. 
 at Conf., 259. 
 Friendlj' societies, 46. 
 Frost, A. I., 254; on catalogue of 
 works on electricity, 143 ; on book- 
 tags, 167. 
 Functions, distribution of, ig. 
 Furniture of a library, 6, 209. See 
 
 also Library- appliances. 
 Future life, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Galleries in libraries, 147-g, 151 ; in 
 Athenaeum Lib., 232. 
 
 Gambling-insurance, 46. 
 
 Gammer Gurton's Needle, 237. 
 
 Gariel, H., 254 ; and the Grenoble 
 library, 241, 242. 
 
 Gamett, R,, x, 141, 162, 180, 227, 229, 
 254 ; On the system, of classifying 
 books on tJie shelves folloived at the 
 British Miiseum^ 108-114; discussion 
 thereon, 164-167 ; list of subjects 
 (appendix), 1S8-93 ; on provincial 
 readers in British Museum, 143 ; 
 British Museum shelf-classif., 166 ; 
 the bibliog, of the Devil, 167. 
 
 Garrick plays, 221, 222. 
 
 Gas in libraries, 7 ; particular form of 
 building necessary, 7 ; injury to bind- 
 ing, 50, 124, T25, 147, 148, 150, 151, 
 ig3 ; committee to report on the 
 same, 50 ; H. of Commons Report, 
 148 ; Athenaeum Library, 232. 
 
 Gatherings, 13. 
 
 Geddes, D., 254 ; on library-buildings, 
 i4g ; cat. of Blackburn Free Lib., 244. 
 
 General catalogue oi English literature. 
 Sfe English Literature. 
 
 General catalogue of MSS- 6'(?tf Manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 General index. See Index of subjects. 
 
 Geneseo Village, N. Y., Wadsworth 
 Lib,, 260. 
 
 Gennadius, J., 254. 
 
 Geography, index to, T04 ; indexed by, 
 106 ; shelf-classification in British 
 Museum, iii, igi. 
 
 George II. Royal Library, 220. 
 
 George III. Tbomason tracts, 154, 
 221 ; Royal Library, 221 ; carefully 
 
 formed, 221 ; sold by George IV,, 
 222. 
 George IV. sells Royal Library, 222. 
 Georgi, 'J h., 105. 
 Gering, U., printer of first book in 
 
 France, 10. 
 German government, report on Con- 
 ference, by L. Seligmann, x ; re- 
 presented at Conf., 259. 
 German Uteniture, 51, 54; better off 
 for bibliography than England, 73 ; 
 scientific lit. index, 104 ; index to 
 art lit., 104; mathematics, poetry, 
 and philosophy, lit. indexed, 105. 
 Germany, early printing and printers, 
 3, 4 ; bibliography, 105 ; librarians 
 and the Conference, 162 ; librarians 
 in, 171 ; Volksbibliotheken, 171 ; 
 supply of periodicals in libraries, 
 171 ; method of interchanging book*, 
 175- 
 Gibbon, E., 51, 59, 74 ; pamphlets in 
 
 Athenaeum Library, 231. 
 Gifts of books, 8, 209; indiscriminate, 
 to be shunned, 5;^ ; generally value- 
 less, 55 ; exceptions, 55 ; from the 
 state, 55, 209. 
 Gilbert, J., 254. 
 Gillard, F., book-stop, 248. 
 Gilmorehill, 151. 
 Ginguent^, P. L., 222, 234. 
 Gladstone, W. E., 234 ; quoted, 34. 
 Glasgow, 102. 
 Glasgow, Mitchell Lib., 259; newi- 
 
 paper-holder, 24S ; blanks, 248. 
 Glasgow University Library, 147, 259 ; 
 paper on the catalogues of, by R. B. 
 S()ears, 84-S5 ; invented by Prof. 
 Dickson, 84; described, 84-85 ; speci- 
 mens (appendix), 185-7 I system of 
 cataloguing, 85 ; heating, 151. 
 Godart, T., 254. 
 
 Godfray, J. W,, electric pen, 248. 
 Godfrey, Miss A. R., 254. _ 
 Goethe, J. W. v., 234 ; bibliogr. of, 105. 
 Goldsmith, O. , 153, 237, 238; quoted,a4, 
 Gonnell, W., 214. 
 Goose, Mother, 179. 
 Goschen, G. T., and All Souls', 40. 
 Government and report on English 
 pub. lib., XI ; aid confined to London 
 for promotion of literature and art, 
 29 ; for a general cat. of English 
 literature, 103 ; donation of books, 
 55) 209 ; grants to free lib., 26, 27. 
 Governments, foreign, represented at 
 
 the Conference, 259-60. 
 Graesse, J. G. T., 104. 
 Grsevius, J. G., and J. Gronovius, 234. 
 Granger, Rev. J., 238. 
 Grant, C. E., 254. 
 Grant, D. B., 254. 
 Granville, Earl, quoted, 30. 
 Graphic, The, 65, 66. 
 Gra^-es, R. E., 181, 254. 
 Gray's Inn Library, 259 ; catalogues, 
 245 ; Notes by W. R. Ijouthwaite, 
 249. 
 Great Britain and Ireland. See United 
 
 Kingdom. 
 Greece, libraries of ancient, 3 ; classics, 
 
 51 ; bibliography, 105. 
 Greek government and Conference, 
 
 X, 259. 
 Green, J. R., History, 62. 
 Green, S. S., 141, 254 ; on novel read- 
 ing, 152, 15^ ; on librarians, 174. 
 Greenock Free Library, 23C(. 
 Greenwich Naval Coll., to index naval 
 
 and military matters, 106. 
 Grenoble, Bibli'itheriue de, 259 ; de- 
 signs of the library, 241-2. 
 Grenough, G., 214. 
 GrenviUe Library, British Museum, 
 55; arranged and catalogued by W, 
 B. Kye, 108, iri ; general de crip- 
 tion, 222, 223 ; binuiiigs, 224 ; catv 
 logue, 229. 
 Greswell, W. P., 246. 
 Grolier bindings, 17, 221. 
 
268 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 GrovCj G., 355, 
 
 *- rover, Capt. G. E., 255. 
 
 Grundt s Hebraiscne Kliimentargram- 
 matik, 58, 
 
 Grut, F., 255. 
 
 Gruter, J., 234, 
 
 Onaraiitees, 211; in Bosfon Public 
 Lib,, 170 ; in public knding libra- 
 ries, 176; at Sunderland, 176; Bos- 
 ton, 176 ; Lhicago, 176. 
 
 Guild, R. A., 141, 229, 255 ; on the 
 Brown University Library, 150 ; ac- 
 cess to shelves and librarian in the 
 Brawn Univ., 174. 
 
 Guddhall Library,, xi, 259 ; collection 
 of books on London, 49, 218 ; book- 
 cases, 148, 149 ; age ol admission, 
 170; visiL of Conference to, 216-8 ; 
 founders, 216-7 '' modern history, 
 217; catalogues, 217, 245; as a free 
 public library, xi, 217 ; building de- 
 scribed, 217 ; open in evening, 218 ; 
 statistics, 218; loans to the Exhibi- 
 tion, 244 et seq. 
 
 Guizot, F. P- G., 234. 
 
 Gu:;tavus UL, 233. 
 
 Gypsies, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Haarlem claim of invention of print- 
 ing, 3. 
 
 Haas, E., cat. of Sanskrit and Pali 
 books, 19, 224, 229, 245. 
 
 Haenel, G-, cat. of iVlbS., 162. 
 
 Haggerston, W, J., 255 ; on the libra- 
 rians ot free libraries, 178 ; The library 
 indicator, 249. 
 
 Haileybuiy ' oil. Library, 259. 
 
 Hain, L., Repertorlum Bibliographi- 
 ctim, 4, 223. 
 
 Hale, Lieut. -Col, L. D,, 255 ; on 
 shelves, 151 ; mounting of maps and 
 plans, 167. 
 
 Hale, bir M., coll. of MSB., 232. 
 
 Hdlf-bindiug in British Museum, 224. 
 
 Hal ord, Sir H., 236. 
 
 Halkett, D. S., 155. 
 
 Hall, S., lib. of the Athenaeum, 231. 
 
 Hallam, H., quoted, 33, 234. 
 
 Hamburg, Commerz-Eibliothek, cata- 
 logue, 103. 
 
 Hampden, J., 237. 
 
 Handbook tu best reading, 209, 243. 
 
 Hand-catalogues, 16. 
 
 Hanley,Putteries Mechanics' Inst., 259. 
 
 Hansard, Rev. S. C. H., 181. 
 
 Hanson, G., 255; cat. of Rochdale 
 PVee Public Lib., 246. 
 
 Hanson, K., 255. 
 
 Hardwick, W., 232. 
 
 Hardy, R. P., 49. 
 
 Hardy, Sir T. D., 105. 
 
 Hargrave, F., 222. 
 
 Harleian MS3., 220. 
 
 Harold, 65. 
 
 Harrison, R., x, 141, 142, 179, 181, 
 255 ; Selection and acquisition 0/ 
 books /or a libraiy, 51-56 ; principles 
 laid down, 51 ; cat. of London I^ib., 
 143, 24s; on Roy. Soc. catalogue,i43; 
 oil anonymous books, 159; on Hae- 
 ncl's cat. ofMSS.,162; new edition 
 of Poole's h^dex, 163, 181 ; anecdote 
 of Thackeray, 175 ; on B. R. Wheat- 
 ley's system, 175 ; on number of 
 books allowed at the London Li- 
 brary, 176; on librarians, 178; Ac- 
 count of the London Library, 234-5. 
 
 Harrisse, H., Blbliotheca, 242. 
 
 Hart, S. A., x, 255. 
 
 Hart, T. D., 255. 
 
 Hartley Inst., Southampton, 260. 
 
 Harvard Coll. Library, 148,260; mne- 
 monic system of classification, 164, 
 
 Haupr, J., 246. 
 
 Hawkins, Sir J., 222. 
 
 Heat, injury to books by, 50, 124, 125, 
 147, 148, 150, 168, 193; committee 
 to report on the same, 50 ; in hoston 
 Athenseum, 124, 151 ; London Institu- 
 tion, 125; the Athenaeum Library,232. 
 
 Heating, 7, 150, 151, 209. 
 
 Heath, T., 255 ; on shelf-classification, 
 167. 
 
 Heber, R., 222; library, 237. 
 
 Hebrew books, B. M., printed cat, of, 
 19, 221, 229, 245. 
 
 Hegelj G. \V. F., 234. 
 
 Heinsius, D. , 237. 
 
 Heinsius, W., 54. 
 
 Henry VIL, 220. 
 
 Henry VIII., act for the suppression 
 of chantries, 39. 
 
 Herbert, W., 72, 217. 
 
 Herder, J. G. v., 234. 
 
 Hermann, G., 104. 
 
 Heywood, Jas,, 255; Free Public Li- 
 brary, 259. 
 
 Hteronymus de Ferraria, Sermo, 11. 
 
 Hipparchus, 71. 
 
 Historical fiction, chronolog. index, 
 242; class.listof Boston Library, 244. 
 
 History, index to, 104; shelf- classifica- 
 tion in British Museum, iii, 190-1. 
 
 Hjaltalin, J. A., 255; Rules for an 
 alphabetical catalogtie., 93-96; on the 
 British Museum and the Advocates' 
 Library cataldgues, 154-5 ! on anony- 
 mous books, 159. 
 
 Hoare, Sir R. C, 222. 
 
 Hobart Town Public Library, 2. 
 
 Hodges, E. R., 255. 
 
 Hoffmann, Prof., 122. 
 
 Hofmeister, A., index to- music, 104. 
 
 HoUnshed's Chronicle, 52. 
 
 Holland, bibliography of, 105 ; vellom 
 binding in, 168. 
 
 Horace, quoted, 41. 
 
 Horncastle Mechanics' Inst., 259. 
 
 Home, Rev. T. H., 47. 
 
 Horsley, E., specimen of binding, 248. 
 
 Horwood, A. J., cat. of the MSS. of 
 Gray's Inn, 245, 
 
 Hot water warming, 7, 230. 
 
 Hours of admission in public libraries, 
 171-2, 211, 
 
 Hours of duty of librarian, 20. 
 
 House of Commons, Select Committee, 
 1849 and 1850, 4 ; quored, 4. 
 
 Hudson, Rev. J. C, 141, 253. 
 
 Hughes, T., and Chicago Library, 149, 
 
 Hull, Young People's Christian and 
 Lit. Inst., 259. 
 
 Humboldt, A. v., cat. of his library, 
 247. 
 
 Hume, D., 51, 153. 
 
 Hunter, Rev. T., 255. 
 
 Huxley, T. H., 234. 
 
 Hyde, T., catalogue of Bodleian Li- 
 brary, g. 
 
 Hypatia, 65. 
 
 Ichthyologj'^, index to, 104. 
 
 Iconographie du Louvre, 240. 
 
 Iliff, Rev. G, 255 ; school-boards and 
 libraries, 142; on the age-qualification 
 in the Sunderland Free Lib., 169 ; on 
 guarantees at Sunderland, 176. 
 
 Illustrated London News, 'Ihe, 6=;. 
 66. ' ' ^' 
 
 Inaugural address of Presidejzt^ 1-21. 
 
 Incorporated Law Society, 259. 
 
 Incunabula, 236; in Sion Coll., 215; 
 in British Museum, 223 ; biblio- 
 graphy of, 243. 
 
 Index-catalogues, 54, 154. 
 
 Index of manuscripts, 16. 
 
 Index to periodical literature, by W. 
 F. Poole, proposal for new edition, 
 163-4; objections answered, 163-4; 
 English committee, 163-4, 181 ; re- 
 port of American Lib. Ass. (appen- 
 dix), igg-206 ; specimens of indexes 
 exhibited, 247. 
 
 Index-Society, foundation of, xi. 
 
 Index of subjects, 12, 54, 154, 209 ; 
 supersedes shelf-clas'^ification, 129, 
 164-5 ; denied, 165-6; in R. Med. 
 aiid Chir. Soc, 129 ; Melbourne 
 Library, 158. See also Subject-index. 
 
 Index of subjects, a universal, 210; 
 
 paper by J, A._ Cross, 104-107; 
 classes already indexed, 104-105 ; 
 libraries to take special departments, 
 106; central committee and clearing- 
 house, 106 ; how-published, 107. 
 Indexes, error pointed out, 88 ; Ger- 
 man and French periodicals, 89 ; 
 evils of the simple table of names, 
 89-92 ; Bulletino delle Scienze and 
 AUibone's Dictionary, special in- 
 stances, go-92 ; AUibone's arrange- 
 ment of divisions praised, 102 ; to 
 catalogues, 54 ; in slip-catalogue, 65 ; 
 specimens exhibited, 247. 
 India OflSce, library, 25^. 
 Indianapolis, Public Lib., 260; cata- 
 logue, 244. 
 Indicators, 210; exhibited, Barrett, 
 Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, 248; 
 pamphlet by W. J. Haggerston, 249. 
 Industrial insurance, 46. 
 InhaltsVerzeichmss, 88. 
 Initials, books pubd. under, 98 j in 
 
 anonymous books, 98, 160. 
 Inland transport insurance, 45. 
 Inlay, 13. 
 
 Inns of Court, librarians to index law- 
 literature, 106. 
 Inst, of Actuaries in London. 48. 
 Institutions, heading in a subject-cat., 
 
 102 ; libraries of public, 127. 
 Insurance, great variety of its 
 branches, 45-6 ; C. Walford's In- 
 surance Cyclopsedia, 46, 243 ; rela- 
 tion to mathematics, 46; vital sta- 
 tistics, 46 ; L. Pocock's chronolog: 
 list of books, 47 ; collectors of books 
 on, 48-49 ; C. Walford's collection 
 referred to, 153. 
 Interchange of books, 55. 
 Interrogation, note of, first used, 10. 
 Ireland, libraries, 4; card-catalogues in, 
 156 ; periodical literature of, indexed, 
 105. 
 Iron staircases, presses, and shelves, 6. 
 Isenberg, Diether von, 3. 
 Isidorus, quoted, 3. 
 
 Italy, librarian at Ccmference, x, 259 ; 
 early printing in, 3 ; Roman charac- 
 ter first used in, ii ; literature, 51^ 
 54 ; bibliography of, 105 ; works of 
 mathematicians and travellers, in- 
 dexed, 105 ; age-qualification in 
 public libr., 169 ; the training of 
 librarians in, 176. 
 Italic type, 10. 
 Ivanhoe, 65. 
 
 Jack the Giant Killer, 152. 
 
 Jackson, F., 142, 255. 
 
 Jaenscherski, 104. 
 
 James I., 237. 
 
 James, Mrs. E., 214. 
 
 Jamieson, T. H., 155. 
 
 Japan, bibliography of, 243. 
 
 Jeffery, E , 255. 
 
 Jesuits, history, indexed, 105. 
 
 Jevons, Prof W. S., 255; quoted, 156^ 
 on the age-qualification of the British 
 Museum, 170. 
 
 Jewett, Prof.C-C, and New York Con- 
 ference, ix ; as to B. Museuin cata- 
 logue, 13 ; method of cataloguing, 31, 
 85 ; indexes to Boston Public Lib. 
 catalogues, 244. 
 
 Jewish literature, indexed, 105. ^ 
 
 Jewish Working Men's club and Inst., 
 
 , 259- 
 
 Johnson, Dr. S., 221, 238 ; quoted, 35. 
 
 Jones, J. E., 255. 
 
 Jones, J. Winter, 223, 255; Inaugural 
 address^ 1-21 ; labelling in the 
 Britiih Museum, 112 ; classified 
 index, 113 ; elected President, 141 ; 
 vote of thanks to, 142 ; on the 
 printing of the British Museum 
 catalogue, 144 ; elected Pres. of 
 Lib. A.s.'^., i8q ; reception at the 
 British Museum, 228-31 ; speech at 
 the Mansion House, 250-51. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 269 
 
 Tones, Miss, 231. 
 
 Jones, R. L., 217. 
 
 Jones, T.y 246. 
 
 Journals in British Museum, 223, 228, 
 229-30. 
 
 Journalzimmer, 171, 
 
 jowett, Prof, B., 39. 
 
 Junius, H., claims Haarlem for inven- 
 tion of printing, 3, 
 
 Jurisprudence in first printed Paris 
 catalogue, ig ; books on, indexed, 
 105 ; shelf-classification of British. 
 Museum, no, i8g. See aho Law. 
 
 Juvenile libraries, 65. 
 
 Kant, J., 234. 
 
 Karajan, Th. G. v., 246. 
 
 Kayser, C. G., 105, 160. 
 
 Kelljr's American Catalogue, 105. 
 
 Kensington Free Public Library, 259. 
 
 Kent, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Kersall Cell, Lanes., 247. 
 
 King, A. C, 255 ; Account oftlieEdu- 
 
 cational Library^ S> K, Museum^ 
 
 238-9. 
 King's Library, British Museum, 150, 
 
 220, 221, 229 ; formed by Geo. III. ; 
 
 sold by George IV. , 222; description, 
 
 222 ; bindings, 224. 
 King's Coll., Camb., library, 259. 
 King's Inns' Libran', 259. 
 ■ Kiiigsley, Rev. C, 64, 65, 234. 
 Kinsman, J., cat. of Penzance Publ. 
 
 Lib., 346. 
 Kluszman, 104. 
 Knapman, J. W., 255. 
 Knowledge locked up in hooks, 73 ; 
 
 univ. bibliog., a pass key to, 73. 
 Koelhof, Jo., first uses signatures, 10. 
 
 LaBarte, J. Isl., 255. 
 
 Labels for bnoks, 210 ; in British 
 Museum, 112, 228; note by J. M. 
 Anderson, 115 ; in lending lib., 128 ; 
 novel system of, 167 ; eschewed, 168. 
 
 Labels for pre-i.>-es, 122, 219, 247. 
 
 Labels for shelves, 166, 219, 247. 
 
 Lactantius, a. d. 1465, first book printed 
 in Italy, 10. 
 
 Ladd ers, 6 ; substitute for, 150 ; fold- 
 ing', 248. 
 
 Lady -librarians. See Women. 
 
 Laing, D., 255 ; catalogue of Signet 
 Library, 244. 
 
 Laing, Rev. J., 255. 
 
 Lakin, Rev. S. M., 255. 
 
 Lambeth Palace Library, 4. 
 
 Landor, W. S., 237, 2^8. 
 
 Languages, classification by, 15. 
 
 Lansing, Michigan State Lib., cat., 
 244. 
 
 Last of the Barons, 65. 
 
 Laud, Abp., 237. 
 
 X^w, All Souls' law library, 36, 40 ; 
 teaching at Oxford, 37 ; Sir J. F. 
 Stephen, quoted, 37 ; professorship 
 of law, 42; literature indexed, 105; 
 English lit., indexed by, 106; shelf- 
 classification of British Museum, no, 
 i8g; libraries in Victoria, 194-5. 
 
 Law-Reports, 37 ; no complete set of 
 the American in England, 37. 
 
 Lawrence, SirT., 231. 
 
 Lawrence, Sir W,, 236. 
 
 Lawson, J., 214. 
 
 Leamington, Free Public Lib., 259. 
 
 Leather for binding, 17 ; appropriate 
 colours, 17 ; and ^as and heat, 124, 
 125, 126, 168 ; variousdegrees of en- 
 durance, iig, 168. 
 
 Leaves, arrangement introduced, 10. 
 
 Leeds, 175 ; utilization of school- 
 board, 26. 
 
 Leeds Public Library, 2sg; printed sub- 
 ject-catalogue, 157 ; model of indi- 
 cator, 248. 
 
 Leicester Free Library, 259 ; model of 
 indicator, 248. 
 
 Leighton, J,, x, 255 ; printing of 
 Eritibh Museum catalogue, 143 ; on 
 
 library-buildings, 150 ; on binding, 
 168-g ; On the library, books and 
 binding ; and Book-Plates, 249 ; On 
 the Roy. Acad, library, 249. 
 
 Leipzig, 175; Univ. Lib. card-cata- 
 logue, 82. 
 
 Leisure Hour, The, 65. 
 
 Lending books, Sir R. Barry on, 134- 
 135 ; lending to individuals, 134 ; to 
 public bodies, 135 ; Melbourne sys- 
 tem of lending duplicates, 134-135; 
 binding, 134 ; packitig-cases as 
 bookshelves, 135 ; collating, 135 ; 
 special loans, 135 ; statistics of circu- 
 lation, 135, (appendix) igg ; con- 
 ditions upon which bO'>ks aie lent to 
 free public libraries (appendix), 198 ; 
 recomyiended for this country by J. 
 D. MuUins, 175-6. 
 
 Lending librai-ies, national, 32 ; books 
 suitable for, note by J. D. Mullins, 
 59 ; hints on management, by B. R. 
 Wheatley, 127-33; use of books in- 
 creased, 127, 128 ; placing and num- 
 bering, 128, 129 ; supplementary 
 room, 128 ; shelf-classification not 
 necessary, 128 ; books handled by 
 librarian alone, 129; printed cata- 
 logue and index of subjects, 129 ; 
 recent additions, 129 ; rules, 130 ; 
 forms and acci'unt-books described, 
 130-2 ; specimens (appendix), 195-8 ; 
 losses, 132, 133 ; C;. Walford and R. 
 Harrison as to B. R. Wheatley's sys- 
 tem, 175 ; means of obtaining bnoks 
 required, by J. Matthews, 136-7 ; 
 system of London Institution, xfS ; 
 specimens, 206-7 > Cambridge Univ. 
 Lib. , 147 ; in America, 148 ; plan of 
 
 ^ lib., by W. F. Poole, 149, 242 ; cir- 
 culation-record, 210 ; Sion College, 
 215; London Institution, 219-20. 
 
 Lessing, G. E., 234. 
 
 Lettering books, 17, 117, 168, 193, 210; 
 press-marks and other details given, 
 I20 ; and buckram, 126. 
 
 Lettering bookcases, 166. 
 
 Levant morocco, 17. 
 
 Lever, C, 64. 
 
 Levi, Prof. L., 181, 255; as to free 
 public libraries, 142. 
 
 Lewes, Mrs., 98. 
 
 Lewis, Sir G. C, 234. 
 .Lewis and Son, Messrs., scientific 
 lib., 219. 
 
 Lewis, Rev. S. S., 255. 
 
 Leypoldt's Trade Circular, 105, 247. 
 
 Librarians, educators, 5 ; and selec- 
 tion of books, 8, 53, 58 ; qualifica- 
 tions of, 8^ 19, 174, 177-8, 211; not 
 to be specialists, 8 ; " Librarian who 
 reads is lost," quoted, 8 ; should be 
 linguists, 8 ; should watch rebinding 
 of early MSS., 17 ; distribution of 
 fiinctions, 19 ; importance of, 20; 
 hours of duty and vacation, 20 ; 
 salary, 20, 177-8, 211 ; should have 
 share in selection of books^ 5^, 58 ; 
 liberty of action, 54 ; acquisition of 
 books, 54-6 ; responsible position, 
 70 ; themselves indexes, 107 ; how 
 imperfect, 107 ; Bodleian and school 
 of, 146 ; and architects, 147, 150 ; 
 not censores morum, 154 ; would be 
 extinguished if co-opt-rative cata- 
 loguing introduced, 161 ; denied, 
 161 ; access to, 174-5, 211 ; in Brown 
 Univ., 174 ; querists timed, 175 ; 
 use of annotated lists of additions, 
 17S ; skit on duties, 176, (appendix) 
 208; training in Italy, 176 ; value 
 of women as librarians in America, 
 177, 211 ; and the school-board, 250. 
 
 Librarianship, ix, 211, 251; in Italy, 
 professor of, 176 ; bibliography, 211, 
 248-g. 
 
 Libraries, ancient, 2 ; of Assyria and 
 Babylonia, 2 ; in ancient Greece, 2 ; 
 Rome, 2 ; Middle Ages, 3 ; extension 
 and formation of, 4, 7, 8, 208-9 5 either 
 
 general or special, 4, 208-9 \ impor- 
 tance of, 4 ; for general readers, 5, 
 208 ; formation o^ 5, 7, 8, 209 ; why 
 fallen ofTj 5 ; open in the evening, 
 7; selection of books by a committee, 
 7> 8, 53, 58 ; catalogue-rules simple 
 m small, 13; distribution of func- 
 tions, iQ ; particular classes under 
 charge of one librarian, 20 ; working 
 men's clubs, 24 ; are higher schools, 
 26 ; British Museum finest in the 
 world, 29 ; without readers no avail, 
 29 ; T. Carlyle, quoted, 30 ; develop- 
 ment of organizarion feature of new 
 university, 34, 35 ; most effective 
 towards knowledge, 35 ; specializa- 
 tion of, 36, 37 ; with respect to legal 
 literature, 37 ; selection and acquisi- 
 tion of books, 209 ; paper by R. 
 Harrison, 51-56 ; principles laid 
 down, 51 ; act of government policy 
 to form one, 51 ; persons selecting, 
 53-54; funds for purchase, 53; hete- 
 rogeneous nature of the contents of 
 most, 57 ; the two necessary cata- 
 logues, 8i ; article by R. Watts, 85 ; 
 what catalogues are necessary, 83 ; 
 subject-indexes used for a universal 
 index, 105 ; should co-operate for 
 thesame, 106; special subjects given, 
 106 ; to agree to a general system of 
 colours in binding, 117, 193 ; means 
 of marking books, 120-121 ; in British 
 Museum, 228 ; social uses of hand- 
 some bindings and appointments, 
 122, 123 ; specialization, 145-147 ; 
 condemned, 161-2 ; trash in, 153-154 ; 
 photography in, 154 ; advantages of 
 shelf classification, 165, 166, 167; 
 interchange of desiderata, 175, 211 ; 
 hibliography of, 211 ; exhibited, 248- 
 9 ; having representatives at the Con- 
 ference, 259-60. See also Amer. Lib. 
 Report. _ Free Lib. Lending Lib. 
 Public Lib. Special Lib. Statistics. 
 
 Library -appliances, 17-18, 210, 248 ; 
 furniture, 6, 209, 248 ; blanks, 248. 
 See Indicators. Labels. Ladders. 
 
 Library- Association. See American 
 Lib. Ass. 
 
 Library- Association of the United 
 Kingdom, foundation of, x,i79 ; genl. 
 cat. of Eng. lit.,x, 102, 181; Library 
 Journal organ of, x, 181 ; value of, 
 20 ; special instance, 20 ; to under- 
 take a general index of subjects, 107; 
 constitution, 179-80 ; first council 
 nominated, 180-1 ; first annual meet- 
 ing held at Oxford, 181 ; gifts for the 
 museum and library, 241. 
 
 Library-buildings, 5-7, 209 ; selection 
 of site, 5, 209; material of, 6; eco- 
 nomy of space, 6 ; fire in, 6 ; shelves, 
 6, 135, 148, 149, 150, 151, 2Qg ; models 
 exhibited, 242; gasin,7,i47,i48; light- 
 ing of, 7, 148, i4g, 150, 151, 218, 232 ; 
 warming, 7, 2og ; British Museum, 
 230-1 ; ventilation, 7, 122, 150, 151, 
 2og, 218 ; of British Museum, 230-1; 
 note by G. Depping, 50 ; defects in 
 architecture, 50 ; principles to be laid 
 down, 50 ; supplementary room as 
 adjunct, 128 ; architects and gas,i47; 
 galleries, 147, 148, i4g, 151,232 ; ap- 
 proaches,i48; workroom, 148; build- 
 ings in America, 148 ; in Boston and 
 Harvard, 148 ; sunlighis, advan- 
 tages of, 148, i4g, 151 ; in London 
 Inst., 218 ; Atheneeum Library, 232 ; 
 building of Chicago Lib., 149 ; shelf- 
 fittings, i4g ; heat and ventilation, 
 149, 150, 151 ; buildings of Oxford 
 Museum, 150 ; of Brown Univ. lib., 
 150; Glasgow Univ. library, 151 ; 
 Guildhall Lib. described, 217 ; Lon- 
 don Instil ution, 218; British Museum 
 Reading-Room, 226; warming and 
 ventilation, 230-1 ; Lincoln's Inn, 
 descr., 212-3 i designs exhibited, 241- 
 s; Grenoole, 241; Liverpool, Netting- 
 
270 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ham, Oxford, W. F. Poole's, W. 
 Scott's, 242. 
 
 Library-committee, 7-8 ; librarian and 
 selection, 8, 53, 58 ; in Athenaeum 
 Club, 231 ; London Library, 234. 
 
 Library designs, catalogues, and ap- 
 pliances, exhibition of, 241-9 ; designs, 
 241-2 ; bookcases, 242 ; shelf-fittings, 
 242 ; class-bibliographies, 242-3; cata- 
 logues, 243-7 ; shelf-arrangement, 
 247 ; binding, 248 ; library-appli- 
 ances, 248 ; bibliography of libraries, 
 &c., 248-9. 
 
 Library formation and management, 
 rough list of some leading subjects, 
 X, 208-11. 
 
 Library Journal, 54, 83, 249, 252 ; 
 founded, ix ; conducted with talent 
 and energy, xi ; organ of both Asso- 
 ciations, xi, 181 ; quoted, 25, 208-11 ; 
 medium for special collectors, 49. 
 
 Lichfield, W., 216. 
 
 Liddell, Dean H. G., 39. 
 
 Life insurance, 46. 
 
 Lighting of libraries, 7, 150, 209. See 
 also Sunlights. 
 
 Lincoln, A., bibliography, 105. 
 
 Lincoln Coll. Lib., 260. 
 
 Lincoln's Inn Lib., 147, 259 ; account 
 of, 232-3; founded, 232; catalogue, 
 232, 245 ; new buildings, 232-3. 
 
 Lings, E. C, 255. 
 
 Linnaeus, C, library, 233. 
 
 Linnean Society, account of the lib., 
 233; Linnaeus' library and Sir J. E. 
 Smith, 233. 
 
 List of libraries and governments re- 
 presejiied, 259-60. 
 
 List o/memhers of the Conf, 253-?*. 
 
 Literary institutions, 5 ; why fallen off, 
 5 ; designs for a, 242. 
 
 Literation, system of, 14. 
 
 Literature, state aid confined to Lon- 
 don, 29 ; professorship of, 42 ; in a 
 national library, 51-52 ; selection of, 
 79 ; none useless, 80. 
 
 Liverpool adopts Public Libs. Act, 4. 
 
 Liverpool Athenaeum lib. cat , 245. 
 
 Liverpool Free Public Library, 259 ; 
 novel- reading in, 61, 66; statistics of 
 circulation, 66 ; special room for stu- 
 dents, 66, 170-1 ; description of the 
 album- and framed catalogue, 158-9 ; 
 exhibited, 248 ; admission of young 
 readers, 170; plans, 242; brass pin 
 system for shelves, 242 ; catalogues, 
 245 ; accessions-indicator, 248 ; spe- 
 cimens of book stamps, 248. 
 
 Liverpool, Lord, 222. 
 
 Loan of books, 211. See Circulation. 
 Lending Books. Lending Lib. 
 
 Localities, heading in subject-cat., 102. 
 
 Lock, M., 240. 
 
 Locke, J., 51. 
 
 Loslein, P., 10. 
 
 Loganian Library, Phil. ,260. 
 
 London, too; early printing in^ 3,^ lite- 
 rary institutions and mechanics' insti- 
 tutions, 5 ; why fallen off, 5 ; govern- 
 ment aid to lit. and art, confined 
 to, 29 ; not the nation, 30 ; Great 
 Fire, 214, 217 ; books on, in Guild- 
 hall Lib., 218, 251-2. 
 
 London libraries, 4 ; Accounts of those 
 visited by the Conference^ 213-40; 
 Sion College, 213-5 ; Guildhall, 216- 
 8; London Institution, 218-20; British 
 Museum^ 220-31; Athenaeum Club, 
 231-2 ; Lmcoln's Inn, 232-3 ; Linnean 
 Society, 233 ; London Library, 234 ; 
 Reform Club, 235 ; Royal Academy, 
 235 ; Royal Society, 236; Roy. Med. 
 and Chir. Society, 236; Society of 
 Antiquaries, 237 ; South Kensington 
 Museum, Dyce and Forster collec- 
 tions, 237-8 ; Educational Library, 
 238-9 ; National Art Library, 239- 
 40; representatives at Conference, 259. 
 
 London Catalogue, 47, 5-j., 10^. 
 
 London Conference of Librarians. See 
 Conference. 
 
 London, Corporation of, 251-2 ; throw 
 open their library, xi, 217. See also 
 Guildhall Library. 
 
 London Free Libraries Committee, xi, 
 181. 
 
 London Gazette, 53. 
 
 London Institution, 5, 175, 260 ; Con- 
 ference held in lecture-theatre, x, 
 141 ; catalogues, 54, 218, 245 ; collec- 
 tion of English topography, 106 ; 
 lighting and ventilation, 125, 219 ; 
 buckram binding, 125, 126, 219 ; 
 damages to bindings by heat, 151 ; 
 specialization of, 161-2 ; the new 
 classification, 165-6, 218-9 J shelf- 
 access permitted, 172, 219 ; anec- 
 dote of book - stealing, 172; post- 
 card system of procuring books, 176, 
 219 ; specimens (appendix), 206-7 ! 
 rote of thanks to the board of ma- 
 nagement, 181 ; account of the lib., 
 218-20 ; founded, 218 ; reference 
 library free, 218 ; circulating li- 
 brary, 2ig-2o ; librarians, 220 ; loans 
 to the exhibition, 241 ; shelf-labels, 
 
 247 ; recess- labels, 247 ; lib. blanks, 
 
 248 ; specimens of buckram, 248. 
 London Library, ix, 175, 260 ; number- 
 ing books, 128 ; catalogue, 143. 245 ; 
 index to, 54 ; time allowed, 176 ; ac- 
 count of, 234 ; founded, 254 ; cata- 
 logue, 234; shelf-classification, 234; 
 committee and librarians, 234 ; loans 
 to the exhibition, 244 et seq. 
 
 London School-Board, 250. 
 
 London Soc. of Compositors, lib., 260 ; 
 catalogue, 245. 
 
 London University Library, 260. 
 
 Longman, W., 117. 
 
 Lopez, E., Congo, specimen of photo- 
 bib., 76-7. 
 
 Lord Mayor. ^^^ White, Sir T. 
 
 Lorenz, O., 54, 105. 
 
 Loma Doone, 65. 
 
 Losses of books, 132, 133. See also 
 Theft. 
 
 Lottery-insurance, 46. 
 
 Lover, S., 64. 
 
 Low Countries, claims for invention of 
 printing, 3. 
 
 Low, Sampson, and Co., 255; index 
 to English catalogue, 105, 247 ; 
 educational catalogue, 242. 
 
 Lowndes, W. T., 47, 54, 72. 
 
 Lubbock, Sir J., 181. 
 
 Luculius's library, 3. 
 
 Luther, M., 236. 
 
 Lyall, W., 142, 255 ; on subject-cata- 
 logues, 157; on the classification of 
 his library, 167. 
 
 Lyons, Les bibliothSques anc. etmod., 
 par L. Niepce, 249. 
 
 Lytton, Lord, 65, 234, 238, 
 
 Macaulay, Lord, 234, 252 ; and novels, 
 
 153- 
 McCulloch, J. R., 104 ; Literature of 
 
 political economy, 47. 
 Macdonald, G., 64. 
 Mackintosh, Sir J. , pamphlets in 
 
 Athenaeum Library, 231. 
 Maclauchlan, J., 255. 
 Macmillan's Magazine, quoted, 38, 
 
 39' 43- 
 
 Madison, Wisconsin State Hist, Soc. 
 catalogue, 245. 
 
 Madrid, Royal Library, architect- 
 librarian, 50 (note). 
 
 Magnetism, index to, 104. 
 
 Magnusson, E., 167, 255 ; on British 
 Museum catalogue, 143 ; on Cam- 
 bridge Univ. Library, 147 ; on shelf- 
 classification and subject-catalogues, 
 164-S ; on shelf - access, 173-4; 011 
 Petzholdt's Katechismus, 176-7. 
 
 Maintenance, F. B. Perkins, article on, 
 quoted, 27. 
 
 Maitland,Rey. S. R., skit on the duties 
 of a librarian, 176; given in full 
 (appendix), 208. 
 
 Majoli bindings, 17. 
 
 Major, R. H., 255. ^, „ . 
 
 Malet,Dr. J.A.,V.P.ofLib.Assoc.,i8o. 
 
 Maltby, W., 220. 
 
 Malthusianism in books, 7a 
 
 Manchester, 100, 102 ; libraries, 4 ; 
 represented at the Conf., 260 ; adopts 
 Public Libraries Act, 4. 
 
 Manchester Athenaeum, 260. 
 
 Manchester Literary Club, 260. ^ . 
 
 Manchester Public Free Libraries, 
 260 ; buckram binding, 126 ; statis- 
 tics of specifications, 178 ; catalogue, 
 246 ; Handbk. by W.E.A. Axon, 249. 
 
 Mansion House banquet, xi; speeches 
 by the Lord Mayor, J. W. Jones, 
 L. Delisle, J. Winsor, Baron de 
 Watteville, W. F. Poole, Melvil 
 Dewey, and Sir R. Barry, 250-2. 
 
 Manufacturing districts, libraries, 5. 
 
 Manuscript catalogue, 73 ; specimens 
 exhibited, 245, 247. See Print or 
 MS. ? British Museum. 
 
 Manuscripts; preservation and binding 
 of, 16, 210 ; should not be rebound, 
 16 ; B. S. Mondino on a new general 
 catalogue of, 162 ; in France, 162 ; 
 Germany, 162 ; Haenel referred to, 
 162 ; in British Museum, 224, 229 ; 
 cat. of Bibl. Nat., 246, 249. 
 
 Maps in solander cases, 18 ; press- 
 marks, 15 ; mounting, 120, 167, 224 : 
 arrangement and preservation, 210; 
 in British Museum, 224, 229. 
 
 Marine insurance, 45. 
 
 Marlborough House, 240. 
 
 Marriage-insurance, 46, 
 
 Marryat, Capt., 64. 
 
 Marsy, Cte. de, 142, 255. 
 
 Martineau, R., 255; on printing of 
 British Museum catalogue, 143 ; on 
 the age-qualification of the British 
 Museum, i6g ; opening of British^ 
 Museum on Sundays^ 171-2. 
 
 Marvin, J. G., Legal bibliography, 47. 
 
 Mason's Coll., Birmingham, to index 
 mechanism, 106. 
 
 Massachusetts, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Massachusetts Historical Society, 260 ; 
 library catalogue, 244. 
 
 Massinger, P., Pari of Love, 237. 
 
 Mathematics, index to, 104 ; in Univ. 
 Coll., London, 106. 
 
 Matthews, J., 255; Meatis of ohfain- 
 ing the books required in a lendhig 
 library^ 11,6- j-^'j ; discussion, 176. 
 
 Maxwell, Sir W. Stirling-, 255. 
 
 Mayor, Rev. J. E. B., 104. 
 
 Meadville, Pa., Alleghany Coll., 260. 
 
 Mechanics do not read books con- 
 nected with their trades, 61. 
 
 Mechanics' Institutes, 5 ; why fallen 
 off, 5 ; no longer meet purpose, 23 ; 
 libraries of, 23. 
 
 Mechanism, indexed by Mason's Coll., 
 106, 
 
 Medical Society, 260. 
 
 Medicine, in printed catalogue of 
 Bibl. Nat., 19, 243, 246; index to, 
 104 ; indexed by, 106. 
 
 Meehan, C. H. W., 246. 
 
 Mehl, 104. 
 
 Meikle, Mr., 49. 
 
 Melanchthon, P., 11, 236. 
 
 Melbourne, libraries in, 2, 194-5- 
 
 Melbourne, Public Lib. of Victoria, 
 260 ; shelf-classification, 109 ; bind- 
 ing, 119-123; specimens, 248; let- 
 tering pieces, 120 ; binders* names, 
 and means of recognizing books, 120, 
 121 ; collating, 121, 135 ; library- 
 motto, 121 ; heating and ventilation, 
 121, 122 ; blinds used, 122 ; cost of 
 binding, 122 ; handsome aspect^ of 
 library, 122 ; system ^ of_ lending 
 duplicates to public institutions, 134- 
 135 ; binding, 134; packing-cases as 
 shelves, 135 ; special loans, 135 ; 
 statistics of circulation, 135, 199 ; 
 conditions upon which books are 
 lent to free public libraries, 198; 
 
INDEX, 
 
 TJX 
 
 J. D. Mullins as to the system, 
 175-6 ; classification of books, 157 ; 
 catalogues, 158, 246 ; age of admis- 
 sion, 170 ; shelf-access permitted, 
 172; regulations for readers, 194; 
 statistics, including lending depart- 
 ment, igo ; note as to term of " Free 
 Library, ' by Sir R. Barry, 207. 
 Melzi, G., 160. 
 
 Members of the Conference, 253-8. 
 Mentz, claim of invention of printing, 3. 
 
 Menzies, W., catalogue of his col- 
 lection, 247. 
 Mertens, F. H., Bibliotheca Antver- 
 
 piensis, 243. 
 Mesmerism, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Metropolitan Free Libraries Com- 
 mittee, xi, 181. 
 
 Metropolitan libraries, visit of the 
 Conference to. See London. 
 
 Meusel, J. G., 105. 
 
 Mexico, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Meyer, J., index to art, 104. 
 
 Meyer, P., 225. 
 
 Mice and bindings, 193. 
 
 Michael Angelo, 11. 
 
 Michie, Sir A., 255. 
 
 Michigan State Lib. catalogue, 244. 
 
 Middle, church-librarj' at, 145. 
 
 Middle Ages, libraries in the, 3 ; his- 
 tory, indexed, 105. 
 
 Middle Temple Library, 147, 232. 
 
 Mildew in books, 168. 
 
 Military science, indexed, 105, 106. 
 
 Milman, A., 255. 
 
 Milman, Dean H. H., 234 ; edition 
 of Gibbon, 59. 
 
 Milman, Rev. W. H., 255 ; on co- 
 operative cataloguing, 161 ; Account 
 of Sioft College Library, 213-5. 
 
 MUton, J., 51. 
 
 Mitchell Library, Glasgow, 359 ; 
 blanks, 248. 
 
 Mitford, Rev. J., 237. 
 
 Mnemonic system of shelf-classifica- 
 tion at Harva'-d, 164. 
 
 Moliere, J. B. P., bibliography, 105. 
 
 Moll, Baron, 222. 
 
 Mondino, Prof. B. S., 164, 182, 256 ; 
 on subject-catalo^es and a general 
 catalogue of MSS., 162 ; on the 
 shelf-classification in the Palermo 
 Library, 164 ; on age-qualification 
 in Italian libraries, 169-70. 
 
 Moniteur, 230. 
 
 Montague House, 220; books in, 108, 
 112. 
 
 Monteregii Calendarium, title-page of, 
 II. 
 
 Montesquieu, Baron de, bibliography, 
 105. 
 
 Montpelier, Vermont State Lib. cata- 
 logue, 246. 
 
 Mordaunt Hall, 94. 
 
 Morgan, W., Birmingham indicator, 
 248. 
 
 Morley, Prof. H., 181, 256 ; quoted, 
 208-11. 
 
 Morley, J., quoted, 32. 
 
 Morley, Lord, clauses in Univ. Bill, 
 40, 146. 
 
 Morocco, Levant, i;r ; wears best, 17, 
 125, 168 ; half binding in British 
 Museum, 224 ; bright colours, 224. 
 See also Leather. 
 
 Morris, T., samples ofvellum cloth,248. 
 
 Mossman, W., 256. 
 
 Moulson, Lady, 214. 
 
 Mountains, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Mounts, sunk, to be used for drawings 
 and prints, 17. 
 
 Miildener, W., 54, 105. 
 
 Miiller, Prof. F. Max, 39; letter on co- 
 operative catalogue, 160. 
 
 Mullins, J. D., 142, 180, 181, 256; 
 Note on hooks suitable _for/ree lend' 
 ing libraries, 59 ; Note on statistics 
 ej libraries, 138-139 ; discussion 
 thereon, 178 ; on novel-reading, 152 ; 
 on age-qualificatioUj 170 ; on the 
 
 Melbourne plan of circulating books, 
 ^75-6 ; on salaries and librarians, 177- 
 8 ; Poole's Index, 181 ; cat. of the 
 Shakspere lib., 243, 244; ref. lib., 
 =44- 
 
 Muloch, Miss, 64. 
 
 Muratori, L. A., 234. 
 
 Musical lit., index to, 104 ; in British 
 Museum, 224, 229; Augener's lib., 
 219. 
 
 Mussafia, A., 246. 
 
 Myers, A. J., 256. 
 
 Namenregister, 88. 
 
 Napier, Rev. F. P., 256. 
 
 Naples, German and Belgian printers 
 at, 3. 
 
 Nassau, Adolph von, 3. 
 
 National library, act of policy to form 
 one, 51 ; British Museum as an ex- 
 ample, 51; mnge one should take, 51- 
 52. 
 
 National Art Lib., S. K. M., 260 ; 
 account of the, 239-40 ; character, 
 
 239 ; catalogues, 239 ; donations, 
 
 240 ; statistics, 240. See Art cat. 
 
 National lending library, 32. 
 
 National Library of Ireland, 259; cata- 
 logue, 244 ; blanks, 248. 
 
 National wealth, books as, 71. 
 
 Natural history, shelf- classification of 
 British JNIuseum, m, 189-90. 
 
 Naval subjects, indexed, 106. 
 
 Neaves, Lord, quoted, 61. 
 
 Neison, Mr., 49. 
 
 Netherlands, early printing in, 243. 
 
 Nethersale, J., 232. 
 
 Neville, E., 256. 
 
 New Coll., Edinb., Library, 259. 
 
 New South Wales, public libraries, 2. 
 
 New York Conference of Librarians, 
 ix. 
 
 New York State Library, printed cata- 
 logues, 243. 
 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne Society of Anti- 
 quaries, 95. 
 
 Newcastle-on-TjTie, Lit. and Phil. 
 Soc. lib., 260; classification of, 167; 
 catalogue, 246. 
 
 Newcourt, R., Repertorium, 143. 
 
 Newgate Calendar, 170. 
 
 Newport, Public Lib., 260; post-card 
 system of obtaining books, 136-7. 
 
 Newspapers, arrangement and preser- 
 vation, 16, 248 ; of a higher educa- 
 tional value than fiction, 65 ; in 
 British Museum, 223, 228, 229-30. 
 
 Newton, Sir J., Principia, MS. of, 236. 
 
 Newton, N. J., Public Library, 260. 
 
 Nicholson, E. B., 145, 256; promoter 
 of London Conference, ix ; secre- 
 tary of orgaiiizing-committee, x ; 
 Metropolitan Free Lib. Com., xi, 
 181 ; On buckram as a bindi7ig 
 material, 124-126; discussion there- 
 on, 168 ; secretary, 142 ; as to printed 
 cat. of B. M., 142 ; on floor-shelvage, 
 galleries and gas, 151 ; on anony- 
 mous books, 159 ; specialization of 
 libraries, 161-2 ; on the classification 
 of the London Institution, 165-6 ; 
 on the age-qualification of the 
 British Museum, 169; on shelf-access, 
 172 ; anecdote of book-theft, 172 ; 
 on salaries of librarians, 177 ; sec. of 
 Lib. Ass., 181 ; on the post-card 
 system of procuring books in the 
 London Inst., 176, 219 ; specimens, 
 (appendix), 206- 7 ; A ccount of the 
 London Inst. Lib., 218-20 ; Rough 
 list of subjects connected ivith li- 
 brary formation and management, 
 X, 208-11 ; Exhibition of library de- 
 signs, catalogues and appliances^ 
 241-9. 
 
 Nicol, Mr., 221. 
 
 Nider, Jo., Prseceptorium, 1472, sig- 
 natures first used in, 10. 
 
 Niepce, L. ,Les bibliothfeques anciennei 
 et modemes de Lyon, 249. 
 
 Nightingale ballad, 71. 
 Nineteenth Century, quoted, 37. , 
 Norfolk, Duke of, library, 236. 
 Norse literature, 51. 
 North, Sir T., Plutarch, 52. 
 Northampton Free Lib., 260. 
 Norway, bibliography of, 105. 
 Notation of presses in British Museum, 
 
 108, no, 112, 113. 
 Notes and Queries, 54; quoted, 45, 
 
 48. 
 Nottingham Free Public Libraries, 
 
 260; plans of proposed buildings, 
 
 242. 
 Novels. See Fiction. 
 Noyes, S. B., cat. of the Mercantile 
 
 Library of Brooklyn, 244. 
 Number of volumes allowed in a lend- 
 ing lib., 176. 
 Numbering of pages introduced, 10 ; 
 
 of books in lending lib., 128 ; of 
 
 shelves, i66. 
 Numberi> as press-marks, 15. 
 
 Observer, The, 36. 
 
 Occurrences, heading in a subject-cat., 
 102. 
 
 Odd Fellows, 102. 
 
 Oettinger, E. M., 105. 
 
 Oliphant, Mrs., 64. 
 
 Olmsted, Mrs. C B., 256. 
 
 Omar, Khalif, and Alexandrian library, 
 
 ^52- 
 
 Organizing-Committee of Conference, 
 141, 17Q, 208; formed, ix ; consist- 
 ing of, ix-x ; Rough List, x, 208-11. 
 
 Ornithology, index to, 104. 
 
 Osymandyas, K., founded a lib. in 
 Egypt, 2. 
 
 Ouida \_ps^, 65. 
 
 Overall, W. H., x, 49, 142, 181, 252, 
 256 ; on the supply of books in the 
 B. M. Reading- Room, 173; on 
 architects and ^as in libraries, 147-8 ; 
 age of admission in Guildhall Lib., 
 170 ; Account of the Guildhall Lib.^ 
 216-8 ; catalogues, 245. 
 
 Owens Coll., Manchester, to index 
 technology, 106. 
 
 Oxford, 100; early printing at, 3 ; first 
 annual meeting of Lib. Ass. to be 
 held at, 181. 
 
 Oxford libraries, specialization of, 145 ; 
 injured by ivy, 150 ; libraries repre- 
 sented at the Conf., 260 ; Botanical 
 Library, 36 . See Bodleian Lib. 
 RadclifFe Lib. 
 
 Oxford Museum, curators of, as to 
 Radcliffe Lib., -^^ ; physical science 
 library, 36 ; fittings, 150. 
 
 Oxford Public Lib., 260 ; the Sunday 
 question, 172. 
 
 Oxford University, 33, 35, 36 ; develop- 
 ment of special libraries, 36, 37 ; the 
 teaching of law, 36 ; Daily News, 
 quoted, 37 ; copyright act^ 37, 38 ; All 
 Souls' and a central univ. lib., 40; 
 proposed plan for union of All Souls' 
 with Bodleian, 38-44 ; re-organiza- 
 tion of library system, 38 ; the future 
 in own hands, 39 ; difference between 
 foundation of All Souls' and other 
 colleges, 39 ; donation to Chicago, 
 252. See also All Souls'. Fellow- 
 ships . 
 
 Oxford Univ. library system, union of 
 All Souls' with Bodleian, 42 ; sub- 
 librarian fellows and professor-fel- 
 lows, 42 ; other developments, ^2 ; 
 not only money but reorganization 
 required, 43-4. See also Bodleian 
 
 Pacseus, R., Oratio, n. 
 Packing-case as shelves, 135. 
 Padua, German and Dutcih printers, 3. 
 Pag^s, L., Bibliogr. Japonaise, 243. 
 Pagination, when introduced, 10. 
 
272 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Painters, early, names of, ii. 
 
 Palermo, Bibliotheca Nazionale, 259 ; 
 shelf-classification, 164 ; printed cat. 
 of rare books, 243, 246. 
 
 Palestine, bibliography, 105. 
 
 Pali books in British Museum, 19, 224, 
 229, 245. 
 
 Pamphlets, what are, 14 ; binding and 
 arrangement, 16, 118, 120, 193, 210; 
 pseudonymous, 159-60 ; in London 
 
 ' Inst., 219 ; in Athenaeum Library, 
 231 ; cata ogue, 231. 
 
 Panizzi, Sir A., 2, io8, iiz, 1T3, 160, 
 176, 222, 224, 227. 
 
 Paper marks, 14. 
 
 Parchment and vellum, 168. 
 
 Parenthesis, first used, 10. 
 
 Parfitt, E., 256. 
 
 Parker, Abp., 237. 
 
 Parker Society, 234. 
 
 Paris, 100 ; Exhibition of 1878, 182 ; 
 Histoire gdn^rale de, 249 ; Les an- 
 ciennes bibliotheques, par A. Frank- 
 lin, 249. 
 
 Paris, hiblioth^que Nationale, 259 ; 
 first printed classed cat., 19; classes 
 then finished, 19 ; since taken up, 
 
 19 ; printed catalogues and, 73, 148 ; 
 cat. of MSS. and M. Delisle, 162, 
 246, 249 ; classified catalogues of 
 medicine and French history, 243, 
 246 ; catalogue of MSS , 246 ; Le 
 cabinetdes MSS., par L. Delisle, 249. 
 
 Paris, Bibliotheque Ste. Genevieve, 
 
 259- 
 Parish, Rev. W. D., 256 ; suggests 
 
 opinion to be taken on certain points, 
 
 167. 
 Parkhurst, R., 214. 
 Parochial libraries, 144-5 J "ncared for, 
 
 20 ; how to be made useful, 20. 
 Parr, G., 256. 
 
 Parsons, W, G., 256. 
 
 Patents, printed specifications, 31 ; 
 statistics, 138, 178. 
 
 Paton, A. P., 256. 
 
 Pattison, Rev. M., 39, 256; Life of 
 Casaubon, quoted, 8. 
 
 Paulus Aemilius, library of, 3. 
 
 Payne, Roger, 17. 
 
 Peat-moss, 12. 
 
 Pecok, R., 216. 
 
 Pendleton, A. M., quoted, 25. 
 
 Pennino, A., Cat. della Bibl. Naz. di 
 Palermo, 243, 246. 
 
 Penzance Public Lib. catalogue, 246. 
 
 Percival Library catalogue, 247. 
 
 Percy, Bp., Reliques, 237. 
 
 Periodicals, catalogued, 13; illustrated, 
 ■of a higher educational value than 
 fiction, 65 ; an * evitandum ' in the 
 indexes of French and German scien- 
 tific, by B, R._ Wheatley, 88-92; 
 classed in British Museum, in ; 
 supply in German libraries, 171 ;- 
 better supplied in Athen^um Club 
 than British Museum, 171 ; list to be 
 indexed in new ed. of Poole, 202 6. 
 
 Periodicals, index to, by W. F. Poole, 
 proposed new edition, 163-4 > objec- 
 tions answered, 163-164 ; report of 
 Am. Library Ass. (appendix), 199- 
 206 ; English committee, 163-4, 181 ; 
 specimens of indexes exhibited, 247. 
 
 Perkins, F. B., quoted, 27, 61-2. 
 
 Perkins, H., sale, 154. 
 
 Perrin, C, and the Grenoble lib., 241. 
 
 Personal adventure, insurance of, 46. 
 
 Pertz, G. H., 234 
 
 Peterborough Register, 237. 
 
 Petit, J., 256; elected V.F., 141. 
 
 Petrarch, F., and italic type, to. 
 
 Petzholdt, J., 104 ; Bibliotheca Biblio- 
 graphica, 114 ; Katcchismus, 176-7, 
 211, 249. 
 
 Pez, B-, 234. 
 
 Pharmaceutical Soc. , 260 ; library cata- 
 logue, 245. 
 
 Philadelphia, Conference, 1876, ix, 124; 
 specialization of libraries in, 147. 
 
 Philadelphia Library Comp., 260 ; cata- 
 logue, 246 ; commended by Dr. Alli- 
 bone, 157 ; classification, 164. 
 
 Philological Society's Dictionary, 163. 
 
 Philology, shelf-classification in British 
 Museum, i_92-3. 
 
 Philosophy, mcluding science, shelf- 
 classification in British Museum, m, 
 igo ; specimen of dictionary-cata- 
 logue of mental phil., 18^-5. 
 
 Photobibliography, by H. Stevens, 70- 
 81 ; specimens in text, 76-7 ; method, 
 
 ^ 75-76. 
 
 Photograms, 75-78. 
 
 Photographic album, catalogue in form 
 of, 158. 
 
 Photography in libraries, by Baron O. 
 de Watteville, 249. 
 
 Pictor, B., 10. 
 
 Pictorial Worid, The, 65- 
 
 Pins for shelves, 6, 242. 
 
 Pirckheymer, B., 236. 
 
 Placing books in lending library, 
 128. 
 
 Plans, mounting, 12a, 167, 210. 
 
 Plates, mounting, 120, 167, 210, 224. 
 
 Plowman, T. F., 256 ; on Sunday- 
 opening, 172. 
 
 Plutarch, quoted, 3 ; Lives,by North, 52. 
 
 Plymouth Free Library, 260 ; cata- 
 logue, 246. 
 
 Pocock, L., chronolog. list on insu- 
 rance subjects, 47. 
 
 Point, first used, 10. 
 
 Poland, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Police Gazette, 153. 
 
 Political economy, books on, indexed, 
 ^?5- . . 
 
 Political lit., index to, 104. 
 
 Poole, W. E., 256. 
 
 Poole, W. F., ix, 105, i6g, 229, 256 ; 
 elected V.P.. 141 ; Index to Perio- 
 dicals, 74 ; new edition, 163-4 > ^^- 
 port of Am. Lib. Ass., 199-206 ; 
 English committee, 163-4, 181 ; in 
 exhibition, 247 ; on library-build- 
 ings, 148 ; circulating library, 149 ; 
 plans of the same, 242 ; Chicago 
 Library and T. Hughes, 149 ; novel- 
 reading in American libraries, 153 ; 
 on trash, 153-4 '> ^^^ Thomason col- 
 lection of tracts, 153-4 ; Chicago 
 Library catalogue, 158; on age-quali- 
 fication in American libraries, 170; 
 days and hours of admission in 
 Chicago Lib., 171; on guarantees at 
 Chicago, 176 ; on women as libra- 
 rians in America, 177 ; speech at the 
 Mansion House, 252. 
 
 Pope, A., 51, 238 ; bust in Athenseum 
 Lib., 232. 
 
 Popular libraries in France, 144 ; fic- 
 tion in, 152 ; in Germany, 171. 
 
 Porson, R., 220. 
 
 Porter, G W., 224, 225, 229, 256; on 
 the British Museum catalogue, 142- 
 3 ; on the British Museum and anony- 
 mous booWs, t6o ; on shelf-access and 
 book-stealing in the British Museum, 
 172-3 ; Visit of the Coftference to the 
 British Museum, 224-30. 
 
 Portrait-titles, 75-79. 
 
 Portugal, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Post-card system of procuring books in 
 a lending lib., by J. Matthews, 136- 
 7; in London Institution, 176-219; 
 specimens, 206-7. 
 
 Poynet, J., catechism, 143, 
 
 Presidents inaugural address ^ 1-21. 
 
 Presley, Jas. T., 256. 
 
 Presses, of irpn^ 6 ; height of, 6 ; bind- 
 ing to facilitate arrangement, 120 ; 
 labels, 122 ; in the British Museum, 
 108, no, 112, 113 ;model, 242 ; classi- 
 fication of, see British Museum. 
 
 Press-marks, 15, 167; in Brit. Mus., 
 15, 228 ; of maps, 15 ; where to be 
 marked, 16; on backs, 120; in the 
 Bibl. Naz. of Palermo, i6r. 
 
 Price, Mrs. Cecil, 252. 
 
 Priestley, Dr., and origin of proprie- 
 tary libraries, 52. 
 
 Prince, Rev. T., cat. of his lib. at Bos- 
 ton, 244. 
 
 Print or manuscript cat. ? 18, 209. 
 
 Printed catalogues, objections to, 19 ; 
 special classes, 19; printed catalogues 
 and Brit, Mus., 12 ! printed cats, 
 praised, 72; inAmerica,72; Brit, Mus. 
 and Bibl. Nationale, 73 ; difficulties 
 of, 73; by means of photobibliography 
 (H. Stevens), 70-81 ; nece.^sary iri a 
 lending library, 129 ; classed cata- 
 logues, 157 ; Dr. Allibone as to the 
 best, 157 ; in Chicago, 158 ; system 
 in Liverpool Lib., 158-9 ; England 
 should issue the first instalment of a 
 universal,, f o ; of public libraries ex- 
 hibited, 243-7; private lib., 247; 
 publishers' and booksellers', 247. 
 
 Printed cat. of British Museum, He^ 
 brew, Chinese, Sanskrit and Pali 
 books, Tg, 224, 229, 245 ; B. M.and 
 Bibl. Nationale, 73 ; Reading-room 
 ref lib., 226 ; Grenville Lib., 229 ; 
 American lit., 143,242 ; general cat. 
 vol. i, 245, 249. 
 
 Printing of British Museum cat., ques- 
 tion thoroughly ventilated, x ; Pre- 
 sident as to, 18, 144 ; W, E. A. Axon 
 as to, 30-32, 166 ; great help to pro- 
 vinces, 30 ; T. Carlyle; quoted, 30 ; 
 advantages of stereotyping tides, 31; 
 discussion on pr. cat., 142-4 ; univer- 
 sal index preferable, 142 ; special 
 catalogues recommended, 142 ; diffi- 
 culties, 143, 144; G. Bullen recom- 
 mends, 143; J. Dillon, E. Magnus- 
 son, and J. Small follow, 143-4 ; 
 British Museum and Advocates' 
 Lib., 155; expenses covered by uti- 
 lization in every library, 162. 
 
 Printed guides to selection, 209, 242-3. 
 
 Printing, introduction and spread of, 
 3, 4 ; Roman character fir.-t used, 
 II ; invention has modified universi- 
 ties, 34; books on, indexed, 105; 
 bibliography of incunabula, 243. 
 
 Prints, arrangement and preservation, 
 17, 210. 
 
 Pritzel, G. A., index to botany, 104. 
 
 Private libraries, catalogues exhib.,247. 
 
 Probasco, H., catalogue of his collec- 
 tion, 247. 
 
 Proceedi7igsof the Conference, 141-182. 
 
 Procter, B. W., 11. 
 
 Professorship of books, 35 ; R. W, 
 Emerson, quoted, 35. 
 
 Proprietary libraries, origin of, 52 ; 
 principle of selection, 53 ; their cata- 
 logues of value, 53. 
 
 Props for books, 210, 219, 248. 
 
 Prout, Dr., 232. 
 
 Providence, R. I. See Brown Univ. 
 
 Provinces, London benefits from, 30 ; 
 prov. culture and B. M., 29-32 ; 
 readers in British Museum, 143. 
 
 Pseudonymous books, C. A. Cutter's 
 rule, 98, 160 ; discussion on, 159-60 ; 
 pamphlets, 159-60; British Museum 
 rule, 160; cross references, 160. 
 
 Ptolemy Soter founds library at Alex- 
 andria, 2. 
 
 Public, facilities for the, 211 ; general 
 discussion, i6g-76. 
 
 Public lending libraries, guarantees 
 required, 176, 211 ; at Sunderland, 
 176 ; Boston, 176 ; Chicago, 176. 
 See also Circulation. .Lending 
 Lib. 
 
 Public libraries, not discussed in 
 England before 1835, i ; in the colo- 
 nies, 2 ; two reading-rooms, iS ; days 
 and hours of admission, t8, 211 ; 
 evening opening, 18, 211 ; cat. easily 
 consulted, i3 ; slips not in hands of 
 readers,i8 ; admission, 18 ; age-quali- 
 fication, 18, 169-71, 211 ; m small 
 towns and villages, 22-8 ; income in- 
 sufficient, 25 ; not to be formed by 
 
donations, SS I Hbr, of institutions 
 and societies as, 127 ; in U.S., 149 ; 
 index-catalogues, 154 ; age-qualifica- 
 tion of readers in British Museum, 
 169, ijo ; Sunderland, i6g ; in Italy, 
 169 ; Guildhall Lib., 170 ; Melbourne, 
 170 ; in United States, 170 ; at Bos- 
 ton, 170 ; admission of youths, 170- 
 71 ; special rooms, 170; Liverpool 
 170 ; Sunday-opening, 171-2 ; in 
 America, 171 ; Cliicago, 171; British 
 Museum, 171; Cincinnati, 172; Ox- 
 ford, 172; decision deprecated, 172; 
 advantages of small conveniences 
 without charge, 176 ; printed cata- 
 logues exhibited, 243-7. 'S'w also 
 Free Public Lib. 
 
 Public Libraries Act, adopted by, 4; 
 Metr. Committee to extend in Lon- 
 don, xi, z8i ; in small towns and 
 villages, 22-8, 142. 
 
 Publicity, diminishment o£,De Quincey 
 as to, 34 ; W. E. -Gladstone as to 
 difficulty of, 34. 
 
 Publishers, and binding 117, 193 ; in- 
 vited to assist in co-operative cata- 
 loguing, 160, z6i ; their catalogues 
 exhibited, 247. 
 
 Publishers' Circular, The, 54, 247. 
 
 Publishers' Trade List Annual, 247. 
 
 Fulman, Mr., warming and ventilation 
 of British Museum, 230. 
 
 Punch, 65, 66, 
 
 Punctuation, introduction of, 10. 
 
 Purchases of books, methods, 8, 209 ; 
 from booksellers at British Museum, 
 224-5. 
 
 Putnam, Mr., 163. 
 
 Pynson, R., 55 ; introduced Roman 
 character into England, ix. 
 
 Qualifications of a librarian, 19, 211 ; 
 
 skit of Dr. Maitland, ^ n6, 208 ; in 
 
 Italy, 176 ; lady-librarians, 177; in 
 
 public libraries, 177-8, 211. 
 Quaritch, B., 256 ; general cat. of 
 
 books, 247. 
 Quarterly Review, quoted, 222. 
 Quebec Institute, 260. 
 Queen's Coll., Cork, 259. 
 Queen's Coll., Oxford, 260. 
 Quekett Microscopical Club, 260 ; lib. 
 
 blanks, 248. 
 
 LR., W.] Cat. of Liverpool Athenasum, 
 
 Radcliffe Library,26o; Oxford Museiun 
 curators as to, 36 ; public spirit of 
 trustees, 36; and specialization, 145; 
 plan of connexion with Bodleian, 
 242. 
 
 Radcliffe, J., 246. 
 
 Radford, J., x, 256, 
 
 Raibolini, F., designed italic type, 10. 
 
 Raleigh, Sir W., 51. 
 
 Ratdolt, E., 10. 
 
 Raumer, F. v., 104 ; founder of Volks- 
 bibliotheken, 171. 
 
 Readers, age of admission, 18, 169-71; 
 in British Museum, 20, 146, 226 ; in 
 free public libraries, 62 ; juvenile, 
 65> 169-71 ', notes in catalogues as 
 guides to, 65 ; theft by, 120-1, 172, 
 Z73 ; in Bodleian and British Mu- 
 seum, 146 ; classed catalogues, 157 ; 
 and shelf-classification, 165, x66 ; 
 youthful, 169, 170, 171 ; use of cribs, 
 170 ; special rooms for, 170 ; access 
 to shelves, 172-4; in Melbourne Pub- 
 lic Library, regulations, 104 ; Hand- 
 book of Boston Public Library, 249. 
 See also Facilities for the Public. 
 
 Reading, W., quoted, 214 ; cat. of 
 Sion Coll., 214-5. 
 
 Reading, *'The librarian who reads is 
 lost," quoted, 8 ; taste should be en- 
 couraged, 26, 27, 28 ; tone improved 
 by notes in catalogues, 65 ; time 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 allowed in a public lending library, 
 176 ; London Library, 176 ; Hand- 
 book to the best, 209, 243. 
 Reading novels. 60-7 ; habit of reading 
 cultivated by, 61-62; readers im- 
 prove, 62 ; doubted, 62, 64, 66, 154 ; 
 habit better developed by news- 
 papers than fiction, 65, 66 ; discus- 
 sion, 152-154. 
 Reading-cases, 248. 
 Reading-rooms, two, 18 ; branch, 26 ; 
 bad hghting and ventilation of pub- 
 lic, so; for students, 170-r. 
 Reading-Room in B. M., 20, 108, in, 
 2*6 ; age-qual, of readers, 169, 170 ; 
 hours of admission, 171 j Sunday- 
 opening, 171 ; supply of books, 173 ; 
 facilities for the public, 226 ; system 
 of getting^ books, 226-7 J ventilation 
 and warming, 230-1. 
 Reading-room of Educational Library, 
 ^238,239. 
 
 Reading-tickets, 169-70. 
 Rebinding books, 124. 
 Recess-labels of London Institution, 
 ^247' 
 
 Record-blanks, arc 
 Record-Office, donations of its publi- 
 cations, 55. 
 Redgrave, R., 122. 
 Reference-dept. of a free lib, should 
 
 have -best editions, 59. 
 Reform Club, 260; account of the 
 
 library, 235. 
 Reformation, history, indexed, 105. 
 Regulations for visitors in the Mel- 
 bourne Public Library, 194. 
 Report of Am. Lib. Ass. on new edition 
 
 of Poole's Index, 199-206. 
 Reports. See Annual Reports. 
 Revolving bookcase, Danner's, 242. 
 Revue bibliographique, 105. 
 Reynolds, Rev. H. E., 256. 
 Reynolds, Sir J., and Dr. Johnson, 2$ ; 
 
 note-books, 235. 
 Rhode Island, bibliography of, 105. 
 Richmond, G., donationof portraits to 
 
 Athenaeum Library, 232. 
 Richmond, Wesleyan Coll., 260. 
 Richter's Kurzes Lehrbuch, 58. 
 Ritson, J., 237. 
 Roan as a binding, 168. 
 Robarts, C. H., 256 ; University li- 
 braries as national institutions^ 33- 
 44 ; discussion thereon, 145-147 ; re- 
 ply to discubsion on his paper, 147. 
 Robertson, Rev. Canon, 256 ; on Dr. 
 Maitland's skit, 176 ; reprinted, 
 208. 
 Robinson, O. H., quoted, 100. 
 Rochdale Equitable Pioneers* Soc, 
 260 ; catalogue, 246 ; library-blanks, 
 248. 
 Rochdale Free Public Lib., 260; cata- 
 logue, 246. 
 Rodwell, Rev. J[. M., 256 ; letter on 
 
 the old parochial libraries, 144-145. 
 Rogers, Rev. Dr. C-, 256. 
 Rogers, T, P. W., 256. 
 Rogers, Rev. W.^ 181, 256. 
 Rolandi, P., foreign lib., 219. 
 RoUeston, Prof. G,, 39. 
 Rolls, Master of the, donation of 
 
 publications, 55. 
 Roman character, when first used, 11 ; 
 
 introduced into England, 11. 
 Roman classics, 51. 
 Romanticism, books on, indexed, 105. 
 Rome, libraries of ancient, 3 ; German 
 
 printers at, 3. 
 Romney, Laxiy, 214. 
 Ronalds, Sir F., catalogue of works on 
 
 electricity, 143, 
 Ropes, Rev. W. L., 256. 
 Rost, Dr. R., X, 256. 
 Rough list of some leading subjects 
 connected with library formation and 
 management, x, 60, 208-11 ; 218. 
 Roxburgh binding commended, 1x6, 
 
 193- 
 Roxburghe ballads, 221. 
 
 Roxburghe collection, 237. 
 Roy, E. A., X, 229, 230, 256; Warm. 
 tng and ventilation of the British 
 Museum, 230-1. 
 Royal Academy of Arts. 260 ; account 
 of the library, 235 ; character, 235 ; 
 catalogue, 235 ; Ubrarians, 235 ; 
 pamphlet by J. Leighton, 249. 
 Roy. Asiatic Soc, 260. 
 Roy. Coll. of Surgeons, Dublin, 68. 
 Roy. Coll, of Surgeons, London, 260 ; 
 connexion with R. Med. and Chir. 
 Soc, 132. 
 Roy. Dublin Society. See National 
 
 Library of Ireland. 
 Roy. Geographical Soc. to index geo- 
 graphy, 106. 
 Roy. Historical Soc, 260. 
 Roy. Inst, of British Architects, 235, 
 
 242. 
 Roy. Institution, library catalogue, 
 
 245; praised, 54. 
 Roy. Institution of South Wales, 260. 
 Royal Library, British Museum, 150, 
 aao, 221, 220; formed by George 
 III., 221 ; sold by George IV., 222 ; 
 description, 222 ; bindings, 224. 
 Roy. Medical and Chir. Soc, 260 ; 
 system of lending books described, 
 ^27-133; medical section of great 
 public library, 127 ; placing and 
 numbering, 128, 129 ; supplementary 
 room, 128 ; no minute shelf-classifica- 
 tion, 128 ; printed cat. and index of 
 subjects, i2p, 245 ; rules of circula- 
 tion, 130 ; forms and account books 
 described, 130-132 ; specimens (ap- 
 pendix), 195-8 ; books bespoken, 131 ; 
 returned, 132 ; put aside, 132 ; rela- 
 tions with R. Coll. of Surgeons, 132 ; 
 losses, 132, 133 ; C. Walford and R. 
 Harrison on the system, 175 ; con- 
 stitution of the society, 236 ; library, 
 236 ; catalogue, 236 ; index exhibited, 
 245 ; general index to Trans., 247, 
 Royal Society, 95 ; to index science, 
 106 ; Catalogue of scientific papers, 
 74) 104. 143. 201,; 236, 243, 247 ; 
 anonymous books in libr. cat., 98 ; 
 account of the library, 236 ; Arundel 
 library^ 236 ; MSS., 236. 
 R.oy. United Service Institution, lib., 
 
 260 ; catalogue, 245. 
 Rules for an alphabetical catalogue, by 
 
 J. A. Hjaltalin, 93-96. 
 Rules for cataloguing, 210,249; should 
 be simple, 12-3 ; anonymous books, 
 12, 94-6, 159 ; for a dictionary- 
 catalogue, byC. A. Cutter,i4,83,Q7, 
 q8, 249 ; to index new ed. of Pooife's 
 Index, 199-201 ; British Museum, 
 249. 
 Rules of circulation, 130. 
 Russell, C. P., 256. 
 Russell, J. S., 2^6. 
 
 Russia leather, inferiority of, 17 ; de- 
 cay by heat and gas, 124, 125, i68. 
 See also Leather. 
 Russian, transliteration of, 14 ; biblio- 
 graphy of literature, 105. 
 Rye, W. B., 225 ; and British Museum 
 
 shelf-classification, 108, in. 
 Rymsbraeck, bust of Pope, 232. 
 
 Sabin, J., Diet, of books relating to 
 America, 242. 
 
 Sachot, O., 142, 228, 256. 
 
 Sacbregister, 88. 
 
 St. Alban's, early printing at, 3. 
 
 St. Andrew's Univ. Lib., 147, 260 ; 
 what books read, 83 ; dictionary- 
 catalogue used in, 83 ; specimen, 
 183-5 » _value remarked on, 83 ; com- 
 pensation for copy-tax^ 214. 
 
 St. Bartholomew's Hospital, lib., 260. 
 
 St. Ethelburga, London, church-library , 
 
 145- 
 St. Pancras Gazette, 230. 
 St. Paul's Cath. Lib., 260. 
 Salaries of librarians, 20, 177-8, 2ti. 
 
 N N 
 
274 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 new scale proposed for Bodleian, 42 ; 
 free public libr., 177-8. 
 
 Sale of catalogues, 158. 
 
 Salford, adopts Public Libraries Act, 
 4 ; Handbk. to Public Lib., by W. 
 E. A. Axon, 249, 
 
 Salisbury Cath. Lib., 260, 
 
 Salisbury, Lord, and Univer. Bill, 40- 
 
 Salmasius, C., 237. 
 
 Salt, William, Library, Stafford, 260. 
 
 San Francisco Mercantile Lib. Ass. 
 catalogue, 2^6. 
 
 San Marino, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Sand, G. \Ps.\ 98. 
 
 Sanders, W., 256. 
 
 Sands, A., 256. 
 
 Sanskrit books, cat. of, in British 
 Museum, 19, 225, 229, 245. 
 
 Saunders, Dr. W. S., 181, 217. 
 
 Scaligers, the, 237. 
 
 Scandinavian literature, 51. 
 
 Scarse, C. E., 256. 
 
 Schiffahrt, Ander I>j.], 81. 
 
 Schiller, F. v., 234 ; bibliography, 105. 
 
 School-board for London, 250. See 
 also Board-schools. 
 
 School-house^ national library as a, 52, 
 
 School- libraries, 2. 
 
 School of librarians, H. O. Coxe as to, 
 146. 
 
 Schrader, Dr., and the Conference,i62. 
 
 Schwartzerd, P., 11. 
 
 Science, bibliography should be a, 71 ; 
 literature of, 52 ; indexes to, 104 ; 
 done by Ro^al Soc, ic6 ; shelf- 
 classif. in British Museum, in ; Cat- 
 of scientific papers, see Roy. Society. 
 
 Scioppius, G., 237. 
 
 Scotland, libraries, 4 ; university libra- 
 ries in^ 147. 
 
 Scott, Sir G., 233. 
 
 Scott, Sir W., 51, 52, 64, 65, 94, 97. 
 
 Scott, Rev. W., 214. 
 
 Scott, "W., designs for a literary institu- 
 tion, 242. 
 
 Secretaries of Conference, 142. 
 
 Selection and acquisition of books for 
 a library, 7, 8, 209 ; paper by R. 
 Harrison, 51-6 ; principles laid down, 
 51 ; utility, 52-3 ; appropriateness, 
 53 ; persons selecting, 53-4 ; librarian 
 should have share in, 53, 58 ; library- 
 committee, S3 ; printed guides, 54, 
 2og; exhibited, 242-3; catalogues, 54; 
 paper by J. M. Anderson, 57-58 ; 
 heterogeneous contents of most 
 libraries, 57 ; difficulty, 57 j general 
 rules, 57-58 ; examples of improper 
 selection, 58. 
 
 Seligmann, Prof. L., 25 ; report of 
 the Conference, x ; as to the inability 
 of German librarians to attend the 
 Conference, 162 ; on days of admis- 
 sion, 171 ; Volksbibliotheken in Ger- 
 many, 171; answer to vote of thanks, 
 182. 
 
 Semicolon, first used, 10. 
 
 Sensational fiction, 63. _ 
 
 Servetus, M., Christianismi Restitutio, 
 70. 
 
 Servetus, M. \.ps.\ 159. 
 
 Sewing in binding, 168. 
 
 Shakspere, W., 51, 55, 221, 237, 251 ; 
 quoted, 32, 88 ; value of North's Plu- 
 tarch, &€., to, 52; works compared 
 with Waverley novels, 52 ; biblio- 
 graphy of, 105 ; library at Birming- 
 ham, 106, 243, 244. 
 
 Shaw, Capt., on materials for stair- 
 cases, 6. 
 
 Sheet-catalogues, in Glasgow Univ., 
 84-85 ; specimens, 185-7. 
 
 Shelf-arrangement, 210 ; as associated 
 with binding, by C. Walford, 116- 
 118 ; colours for special subjects, 
 116, 117, 103; chronological order, 
 117 ; in Melbourne Library, 120; 
 appliances exhibited, 247. 
 
 Shelf-classification, 12, 15 ; by lan- 
 guages, 15 ; subject-index better 
 than, 128 ; at Bibl. Naz. of Palermo, 
 
 164 ; mnemonic system at Harvard, 
 164 ; Amherst College system, 164, 
 lefi, 167 ; at Philadelphia, 164 ; sub- 
 ject-catalogues preferable, 164-5 ; 
 denied, 165, x^t^ 167 ; value, 165, 
 161?, 167 ; in London Institution, 
 165-6,219; C. A. Cutter's argument in 
 favour, 167 ; opinion of Conference 
 should be taken, 167 ; readers and, 
 165, 166 ; in the London Lib., 234. 
 
 Shelf-classification in the British Mu- 
 seum, IS ; paper by R. Garnett, 108- 
 114 ; difference between catalogue 
 and shelf-classification, 108 ; about 
 four-fifths thus classed, 108 ; devised 
 by T. Watts, 108 ; the Bible the 
 basis, 109 ; development, 109 ; sys- 
 tem of dropped numbers, no ; fur- 
 ther illustrated, 112 ; theology, 109- 
 iio; law, no; natural history, art, 
 philosophy (including science), and 
 remaining sections, ni ; geographi- 
 cal order, in ; periodicals, &c., in ; 
 details criticized, 112; classified cat. 
 by means of shelf-cat., 113 ; publ. of 
 abridged indexes recommended, "3; 
 perfection of system, 166; list of sub- 
 jects (appendix), 188-93. 
 
 Shelf-labels, 166, 219 ; of London In- 
 stitution, 247. 
 
 Shelf-lists, i6, 210. 
 
 Shelf-marks, 16, 210; in Brit. Mus.,15, 
 228. 
 
 Shelves, 6, 148, 149, 150, 151, 209 ; 
 depth, 6 ; pins for, 6, 242 ; each to 
 be a multiple of its fellow, 6 ; of 
 iron, 6 ; covered with leather, 6 ; 
 packing cases as, 135 ; Tonks's, 149, 
 242 ; floor-shelvage, 151 ; partitions, 
 166; double rows, 166; models of 
 fittings of British Museum, Liverpool 
 Lib., Tonks & Co., 242 ; stop to 
 keep books upright, 248. 
 
 Shelves, access to, 211 ; advantages of 
 classification, 165 ; the reader's right, 
 172; permitted, 172 ; limited, 172, 
 173, 174 ; British Museum, 172, 173 ; 
 book-stealing, 172, 173, 174 ; in 
 different libraries, 173-4 j i^ Brown 
 Univ., 174. 
 
 Shephard, Mr. Dep. M., 216. 
 
 Shore, T. W., 256. 
 
 Shorthand, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Short -time register, 220. 
 
 Sicily, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Sidmouth, Lord, 222. 
 
 Signatures first used, 10. 
 
 Signet Library, 259 ; catalogue, 244. 
 
 Silas Bronson Lib. catalogue, 246. 
 
 Simpson, Dr. J., and Sion Coll., 213. 
 
 Simpson, Rev. Dr. W. S., 256. 
 
 Sinker, Rev. R., 256. 
 
 Sion Coll. Library, 4, 260; catalogue, 
 15s ; visit of Conference, 213-5 \ 
 founders, 213 ; benefactors, 214 ; 
 copy-tax, 214; catalogues, 214-5; 
 used by, 215 ; loans to the exhibi- 
 tion, 243, ei seq. 
 
 Sizes of books, 13-14, 210 ; scale of F. 
 Weaklin, 248. 
 
 Skelton, W., specimens of binding, 248, 
 
 Sketchley, R. F., 256; Account of the 
 Dyce a7id Forster libraries^ S. K. 
 Museujfz, 237-8. 
 
 Slade, F. ,bequest to Athenaeum lib. ,232. 
 
 Slang, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Slav peoples, bibliogr. of, 105. 
 
 Slip-catalogue in British Museum, 113, 
 157, 224, 225-226, 228 ; for public use, 
 paper by H. W. D. Dunlop, 68-69. 
 See also Card-catalogue. 
 
 Slips for a co-operative catalogue, 100, 
 161 ;_ for general catalogue, 102 ; 
 specimen, 187 ; value of, 103. 
 
 Sloane, Sir H., bequest of his collec- 
 tions, 220. 
 
 Small, J., 142, 181, 256 ; on printing of 
 British Museum catalogue, 144 ; on 
 university libraries in Scotland, 147. 
 
 Smiles, S., Self-Help, 62. 
 
 Smith, A., 257. 
 
 Smith, Mr. Consul, 221. 
 
 Smith, J., Virginia, specimen of photo- 
 bib., 76-7. 
 
 Smith, Sir J. E. and Lady, 233. 
 
 Smith, L. P.^ 224, 257; elected V.P., 
 141 ; specialisation of libraries in 
 Philadelphia, 147 ; the cat. of the 
 Library Company of Philadelphia, 
 157 ; on shelf-classification, 164 ; on 
 shelf-access and book-stealing, 173 ; 
 on women as librarians, 177. 
 
 Smith, R. H. S., 257 ; on the universal 
 art catalogue, 144 ; on the opening 
 of the S. K. Museum Lib., 171 ; Ac- 
 count of the National Art Library f 
 South Kensington Museum.^ 239-40, 
 
 Smith, W., 240. 
 
 Smith and Son's railway book-stalls, 
 26 ; subscription-library, 218 ; read- 
 ing-case exhibited, 248. 
 
 Smithsonian Institute, Prof. Jewett 
 first librarian, 13 ; the system of ex- 
 changing, 55 ; index to concho- 
 logy, 104 ; scientific papers, 104. 
 
 Societies, libraries of, public, 127. 
 
 Society of Antiquaries, account of the 
 library, 237; bequests, 237; MSS-, 
 
 237 
 
 Society for the Suppression of Useless 
 Knowledge, 35. 
 
 Soc. of Telegraph Engineers, lib., 260; 
 book-tags in the, 167. 
 
 Solander cases for maps, 15 ; for pam- 
 phlets, 16. 
 
 Solly, E., 257. 
 
 Somerset, Duke of, 217. 
 
 Somerset House, 235, 237. 
 
 South Australia, public libraries, z. 
 
 South Kensington Museum, 260 ; pro-- 
 perty of the nation, 29 ; universal 
 cat. of books on art, 74, 104, 143, 144, 
 239,242; publications in B. M., in, 
 190; days and hours of admission,. 
 171 ; account of the Dyce and For- 
 ster Libraries, 237-8 ; the Educa- 
 tional Library, 238-g ; the National 
 Art Library, 239-40. 
 
 South Sea comp. , 102. 
 
 South Shields Public Lib., 260. 
 
 Southampton, Hartley Inst., 260. 
 
 Southey, R., 238. 
 
 Space, economy of, 6. 
 
 Spain, printing introduced by Ger- 
 mans, 3 ; literature, 51, 54 ; biblio- 
 graphy of, 105 ; philosophy and 
 agriculture, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Spears, R. B., 257 ; On tJie catalogues 
 of Glasgoiv University Library, 
 S4-85 ; discussion, 155-9 j specimens 
 (appendix), 185-7 j **^ heating, 151. 
 
 Special collections of books, by C. 
 Walford, 45-49 ; variety of subjects, 
 45 ; value of pursuing, 45 ; biblio- 
 graphical guides, 47 ; unrecorded 
 literature, 47 ; utilized for the genl. 
 cat. of English literature, 47, 102 ; 
 acquisition from booksellers and 
 agents, 48 ; special insurance col- 
 lectors, 48-49 ; value of knowing 
 fellow-collectors, 49 ; how to syste- 
 matize special collection, 49 ; classi- 
 fication of, 166. 
 
 Special libraries, 5, 209 ; advantages, 
 36 ; development at Oxford, 36, 37 ; 
 letter of Rev. T. K. Cheyne, as to 
 college libraries, 145 ; specializa- 
 tion of Radcliife Lib., 145 ; in Ame- 
 rica, 146 ; Worcester College, 146 ; 
 in ."Philadelphia, 147 ; condemned, 
 161-2. 
 
 Specifications of patents, 31 ; statistics, 
 138,^178. 
 
 Spedding, J., 234. 
 
 Speeches at the Mansion House din- 
 fter, 250-2, 
 
 Spencer, J., cat of Sion Coll., 214. 
 
 Spenser, E., 51, 55. 
 
 Spilsbury, W. H., 257 ; Account of tJte 
 Library of LincoltCs Inn^ 232-3 ; 
 death, 233 ; cat. of Lincoln's Inn, 245. 
 
 Spinoza, B. de, bibliography, 105. 
 
Spira, Jo. de, first used catchwords, lo. 
 Stafford, William Salt Lib., 260. 
 Staircases, wood, stone, iron, and 
 
 brick, 6. 
 Stamp, Miss I., 257. 
 Stamping books,in the British Museum, 
 173, 228 ; specimens exhibited, 248. 
 Standards for shelves, of iron, 6 ; dis- 
 tance, 6 ; each a multiple of its fel- 
 low, 6. 
 Stanhope, Earl, 234. 
 Stanley, Dean A. P., 234. 
 Stanley, E., 236. 
 State-aid for free lib, and museums, 26- 
 
 27. 
 State papers, classed in British Mu- 
 seum, 112, 
 Stationers' Hall, books entered, 214. 
 
 ^1?^ also Copyright- tax. 
 Statistical Society, lib., 260;, Journal, 
 
 index, 247. 
 Statistics of libraries, note by J. D. 
 Mullins, 138-9 ; no common basis, 
 138 ; method proposed, 138 ; specifi- 
 cations, 138, 178 ; reports, 138 ; in 
 free libraries, 138-9 ; fiction, 139 ; in 
 Manchester, 178; code of Am. Lib. 
 Ass.j 178 ; of Melbourne Lib., in- 
 cluding lending department, 135, 
 190 ; of Guildhall Lib., 218 ; of Bri- 
 tish Museum, 223-4, 226; of Educa- 
 tional Lib. S. K. M., 238-9 ; National 
 Art Library, S. K, M., 240. 
 
 Stealing books, binder's name and 
 other means of detection, 120-121 ; 
 anecdote by E. B. Nicholson, 172 ; 
 by L. P. Smith, 173 ; in British 
 Museum, 172, 173. 
 
 Steam-pipes, 7. 
 
 Stephen, Sir J. F., quoted, 37. 
 
 Stereotyping of titles. Prof. Jewett as 
 to, 31. 
 
 Sternberg, V., 257. 
 
 Stevens, B. F., 229, 257 ; liberal enter- 
 prise in the publication of report, xi. 
 
 Stevens, H., x, 105, 179, 257 ; Photo- 
 biblio^aphyi or, a centred bibliogra- 
 phical clearijig'housey 70-81 ; speci- 
 mens in text, 76-7 ; method,75-76; dis- 
 cussion, 154 ; printed catelogue of 
 American books in the Brit.Museum, 
 143, 242 ; and Poole's Index, 163 ; 
 loans to the exhibition, 241 ; catalo 
 gues and bibliographies of American 
 literature, 242; cat.ofA-v.Humboldt's 
 library,247 ; cat. of Percivallib., 247. 
 
 Stitching by binders, iig, 224. 
 
 Stockholm. 100. 
 
 Stone staircases, 6. 
 
 Stothard, T., 235, 24o._ 
 
 Stoves, open, in libraries, 7. 
 
 Stow, J., quoted, 217. 
 
 Strafford, Lord, 237. 
 
 Strassburg, first book with tide page 
 there printed, 10. 
 
 Stratford-on-Avon, 251. 
 
 Students, special room for, in Liverpool 
 Free Public Library, 66, 67, 170 ; 
 in British Museum, 169-70. 
 
 Subiaco, first book in Italy there 
 printed, 10. 
 
 Subscription, publishing by, 163. 
 
 Sudbury, Viscount and Viscountess, 
 214. 
 
 Subject-catalogues, xi, 11, 12, 53 ; 
 desirableness of, 82, 154 ; diffi- 
 culties, 82 ; system used in Glasgow 
 Univ. Lib., 85 ; preferable to shelf- 
 classification, 128, 165 ; denied, 165, 
 166, 167 ; in R. Med. and Chir. 
 Soc, 129 ; value of, 156 ; cata- 
 loguing, 156 ; printing of, 157. 
 
 Subject-catalogue of British Museum, 
 113, 157, 225-6; publication of abridg- 
 ments, 113 ; importance, 156 ; steps 
 taken, 157, 225-6. 
 
 Subject-catalogue of English literature, 
 101-103 ; special headmgs, 102. 
 
 Subject-classification by colours in 
 binding, 116, 117 ; in British Mu- 
 seum, 224. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Subject-entries, 12. 
 
 Subject-index to periodicals, proposed 
 new edition of W. F. Poole% 163-4; 
 objections answered, 163-164 ; Eng- 
 lish committee, 163-4, 181 ; report 
 of Am.^ Lib. Ass. (appendix), 109-206. 
 
 Subject-indexes^ 209 ; those of libraries 
 used for a universal, 105 ; value of, 
 146 ; to literature, 210. 
 
 Subjects, a universal index of, by J. A. 
 Cross, X04-107 ; departments already 
 indexed, 104-5 \ libraries to take 
 special classes, 106; central com- 
 mittee and clearing-house, 106 ; how 
 published, 107. 
 
 Suetonius, quoted, 3. 
 
 Sulla's library, 3. 
 
 Sullivan, T. D., x, 257. 
 
 Sunday- opening of libraries, 171-2, 
 211 ; in America, 171 ; in Chicago, 
 171 ; British Museum, 171 ; Cin- 
 cinnati, 172 ; Oxford, 172 ; decision 
 deprecated, 172. 
 
 Sunderland Free Lib., 260 ; age of 
 admission, 169. 
 
 Sunlight-burners in libraries, 7, 151 ; 
 advantages, 148 ; recommended, 149 ; 
 in London Inst., 218 ; in Athenaeum 
 Lib., 232. 
 
 Sutton, C. W., 257. 
 
 Swansea, Roy. Inst, of South Wales, 
 lib., 260. 
 
 Sweden, bibliography of, 105. 
 
 Sweynheim and Pannartz, first used 
 Roman character, ii. 
 
 Swift, J., 237, 238. 
 
 Switzerland, bibliography of, 105 ; 
 books on history, indexed, 105. 
 
 Sydney, public libraries, 2. 
 
 Table desauteurs, 88; des mati^res, 88. 
 Tables, library, should be padded, 6. 
 Tablet- catalogue, 158-9. 
 Tacitus, Venice, 1469, catchwords first 
 
 used, 10. 
 Tags for books, 210 ; note by J. M. 
 
 Anderson, 115 ; novel system, 167 ; 
 
 in British Museum, 228. 
 Taschereau,J.,on completion of printed 
 
 Paris catalogue, 19 ; Paris printed 
 
 catalogue, 243, 246. 
 Tasmania, Public Library, 2. 
 Tate, G. P., 257. 
 
 Taylor, J. , the water-poet, quoted, 46. 
 Taylor, J., 257. 
 Taylor Institution, library, for foreign 
 
 literature, 36. 
 Technology, index to, 104 ; indexed 
 
 by, 106. 
 Tedder, H. R., x, 257; Introduction^ 
 
 ix-xi ; secretary, 142 ; of Lib. Ass., 
 
 181 ; Metr. Free Libr. Comm., 181 ; 
 
 Account o/tJie library of the Athe- 
 
 nezujn, 231-2; Account oj" the Royal 
 
 Academy library^ 235 ; Index^ 261- 
 
 76- . . 
 
 Telephone in libraries, 175. 
 Temperature of Reading-Room of B. 
 
 M., 230. 
 Tenison, Abp., library, 4. 
 Tenney, H. A., Michigan State Lib. 
 
 catalogue, 244. 
 Tennyson, A., 234. 
 Terhoenen, A., mtroduced pagination, 
 
 10. 
 Thackeray, W. M., 64, 234 ; anecdote, 
 
 175- 
 
 Theft of books, binder's name and 
 other means of detection, 120-121 ; 
 anecdote by E- B. Nicholson, 1^2; 
 by L, P. Smith, 173 ; in British 
 Museum, 172, 173, _ 
 
 Theology in first printed Paris cata- 
 logue, ig ; index to, 104 ; shelf- 
 classification of British Museum, 
 109-110, 188-9. 
 
 Thomas, E. C, x, 257, 
 
 Thomas, R, 257 ; on British Museum 
 and anonymous books, 160, 
 
 Thomason, G., collection of tracts, 
 153-154; described, 221 ; bought by 
 
 275 
 
 George III. and presented to British 
 Museum, 221. 
 
 Thompson, E. M., x, 257. 
 
 Thomson, R., 125, 220, 24?. 
 
 Thomson, W. T, 48. 
 
 Thornbury, G. W, , London, quoted, 218. 
 
 Thorsen, P. G., 257. 
 
 Tickets for readers, 169-70. 
 
 Times, The, ix, 230 ; quoted, 40, 100,, 
 160. 
 
 Timmins, S., 257. 
 
 Tingley, Prof. J., 257. 
 
 Tiraboschi, G., 234. 
 
 Title-catalogue, 93. 
 
 Title-page, early approach to, lo-ii ; 
 first book printed with, 10 ; should 
 give number of edition, 117. 
 
 Title-slips, 12 ; in B. M. cat., 19. See 
 also Slips. 
 
 Titles, additions to, 9 ; fulness of, p, 
 loi ; bibliographical details should 
 be added, 10 ; books entered under 
 name on, 11 ; stereotyping, 31 ; by 
 photobibliography, by H. Stevens, 
 70-81 ; specimens, 76-77 ; method, 
 75-76 ; transcribed by librarian in 
 lending lib., 131. See Cataloguing. 
 
 Tobacco, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Tong, church-library at, 144. 
 
 Tonks, W. and Son, shelf-fittings, 149, 
 242. 
 
 Tooling on backs of books, 120. 
 
 Torperley, N., 214. 
 
 Tosefta Baba Kama, quoted, 45. 
 
 Totnes, church-Hbrary at, 145. 
 
 Towns, large^ success of free libraries, 
 22 ; facilities for, 25 ; libraries in 
 small, 22-28 ; A. M. Pendleton as to, 
 
 25- 
 
 Townshend, Rev. C. H., 240. 
 Tracts. See Pamphlets. 
 Transactions of the Conference, 1-139. 
 Transactions of societies catalogued, 
 
 13 ; of scientific societies, index to, 
 
 104. 
 Transliteration, 14. 
 Travers, B., 236. 
 Trinity Coll.,Camb., library,2S9 ; card? 
 
 catalogues, 156. 
 Tromel, P., 105. 
 Triibner, N., x, 105, 257. 
 TrUbner's Record, 105. 
 Triibner, Messrs., 242, 243, 
 Tupling, J., the bookseller, 117. 
 Tupper, M, F., 79. 
 Turner, Rev. C, bequest to Athenseum 
 
 Library, 232. 
 Turpin, Mr., 230. 
 Tyndall, Profr. J., 122. 
 Types cut in imitation of MSS., 3. 
 Typography. See Printing. 
 Tyrrwhitt, Mr., 222. 
 
 United Kingdom, books yearly pub- 
 lished, 35 ; libraries represented at 
 the Conf., x, 259-60. 
 
 United States. See America. 
 
 Univ. cat. of works of art, 74, 104, 143, 
 144, 239, 242 ; form recommended, 
 i<}.3 ; described, 144. 
 
 Universal index of subjects. See 
 Index. 
 
 Universities, cause of decrease of 
 power, 33 ; modern conditions, 33 ; 
 T. Carlyle, quoted, 33-34 ; informer 
 times, 34 ; undergraduates and 
 examiners, 36 ; of Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge, 33, 38, 145-6 ; Universities 
 Bill and All Souls', 40. See also 
 Cambridge. Oxford. 
 
 University-libraries, 4 ; as national 
 institutions, paper by C. H. Robarts, 
 33-^4 ; discussion thereon, 145-147 ; 
 assistants should be duly qualified, 
 35 ; schools of bibliography, 36 ; 
 should be universal in use, 36 ; chief 
 incentives to study, 36 : Boswell's 
 Johnson, quoted, 35 ; development 
 of special libraries, 36 ; should aim 
 at a perfect library-system, 37 ; and 
 copyright-act, 37,38; in Scotland,i47. 
 
276 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 University Coll., London, 260 ; mathe- 
 matical library, 106. 
 
 University- Commission, 33, 145 ; 1852, 
 complaint of Camb. librarian as to 
 copyright-act, 37 ; opinion as to 
 copyright-act, 38 ; 1854, as to univ. 
 libraries, 36 ; of 1873, as to RadclifTe 
 Lib., 36. 
 
 Upcott, W., 217, 243. 
 
 Vacation of librarian, 20. 
 
 Van der Linde, de Haarlemsche Cos- 
 terlegende, 3. 
 
 Van Rhyn, G. A. F., What, and how 
 to read, 243 ^ 
 
 Vassar(U.S.), College for Women,i77, 
 
 Vaux, W. S. W., X, 142, 181, 257. 
 
 Vellum, 167, 193 ; resists heat or gas, 
 125 ; Dutch vellum, 168 ; develop- 
 ment as a binding, 168-9 > corners, 
 168; "size," 168; specimens of vel- 
 lum cloth, 248. 
 
 Venice, early German printers at, 3 ; 
 early approach to title-page, 10-11. 
 
 Ventilation, 7, 122, 150, 151, 209, 218 ; 
 of British Museum, 230-1. 
 
 Ventouillac, L.T., French librarian, 47. 
 
 Vergilii Aeneis, quoted, 230. 
 
 Vermont State Library, catalogue, 246. 
 
 Verne, J., 63. 
 
 Vice-Presidents of Conference, 141. 
 
 Vickers,Rev,T., 113,257 ; classed cata- 
 logues in Cincinnati Pub. Library, 
 157 ; days and hours of admission in 
 the Cincinnati Public Library, 172 ; 
 on borrowing desiderata, 175. 
 
 Victoria, H.M. Queen, donation to 
 Chicago, 149, 252. 
 
 Victoria, public libraries, 2 ; literary 
 resources of, 194-5 ; libraries in Mel- 
 bourne, 194 ; other libraries, 194 ; 
 Supreme Court, 194 ; law libraries, 
 194-5. See Melbourne, Public Lib. 
 of Victoria. 
 
 Vienna, K. Bibliothek, cat. of MSS., 
 246 
 
 Villages, free libraries in, 22-28. 
 
 Vincent, B., catalogue of the Roy. Inst. 
 Jib., 245. 
 
 Vinci, Leonardo da, 237. 
 
 Virgo, C. G., 257; on lighting, 150; 
 plans for Mottingham, 242 ; model 
 of patent bookcase, 242. 
 
 Visits of the Conference to Metropo- 
 litan Libraries^ historical and de~ 
 scriptive accounts, 213-40. 
 
 Volcanoes, books on, indexed, 105. 
 
 Volksbibliotheken, 171. 
 
 Voltaire, F. M. A. de, name in B. M^ 
 catalogue, 11. 
 
 Waddingii Annales, 234, 
 
 Wadsworth Library, 260. 
 
 Wahrmund, A., 246. 
 
 Waite, J, K., 257. 
 
 Waitz, G., 105. 
 
 "Waldegrave, Hon. H. W. , 257. 
 
 WalfordjC, 257 ; Onspecial collections 
 ofbooksy 45-49 ; his special subject in- 
 surance, 45 ; Insurance- Cyclopaedia 
 referred to, 46, 102 ; exhibited, 243 ; 
 Notes on catalopmtg, 86-87 ; discus- 
 sion,i55-9; specimen card, 187;^ neiv 
 geiieral catalogue of English litera- 
 ture, 101-103 ; form of cat. card, 187 ; 
 moves that tneLib. Ass. take steps, 18 1; 
 On binding of bookstand on sfielf-ar- 
 rangetnent as associated therewith^ 
 116-118; discussion thereon, 167-9; 
 Mr, Birdsall's notes (appendix), 193; 
 on library-buildings, 149 ; coll. of 
 ins. books, 153 ; as to vellum, 167 ; 
 on Sunday-opening, 171 ; on wire 
 screens for bookcases, 173; on B. R. 
 Wheatley's system, 173. 
 
 Walker, Dr., 214. 
 
 Walker, J., 257. 
 
 Wall-lists of books, 152. 
 
 Wallace, E., 257 ; on specialization 
 of university libr., 146; on subject- 
 catalogues, 156. 
 
 Warming, 7, 209 ; of British Museum, 
 230-1. 
 
 Warner, G. F., 257. 
 
 War-Office Lib., 260. 
 
 Warren, S. R.^ and S. N. Clark, re- 
 port on public libraries in the U. S. 
 See American Lib. Report. 
 
 Washington, Congress Library, cata- 
 logues, 246 ; and printed catalogues, 
 72. 
 
 Waterbury, Silas Bronson Lib, cat., 
 246. 
 
 Waterfield, E., 257. 
 
 Waters, G. E., 257. 
 
 Watt, R.J 47, 72, 105 ; Bibliotheca 
 Britanmca, 54 ; price it sold for, 107. 
 
 Wattenbach, W., 105. 
 
 Watteville, Baron O. de, 215, 228, 
 257 ; elected V. P., 141 ; on popular 
 libraries in France, 144 ; fiction in 
 French popular libraries, 152; pho- 
 tography in libraries, 154 ; on the 
 catalogue of MSS. in French libra- 
 ries and M. Delisle, 162 ; answer to 
 vote of thanks, 181-2 ; Service de 
 photo^raphje, 249 ; speech at the 
 Mansion House dinner, 251-2. 
 
 Watts; T,, article on libraries, 85 ; and 
 British Museum shelf- classification, 
 108, no, 112, 113, 166 ; his memory 
 and learning, I08 ; quoted, 222, 
 223. 
 
 Waverley Novels, 94, 97 ,* the Shak- 
 spere of the 19th century, 52. 
 
 Waj', A., 237. 
 
 Weaklin,F.,257 ; accessions-catalogue, 
 247 ; size-scale, 248 ; An attempt to 
 classify, 249. 
 
 Wealth, books as national, 71. 
 
 Webb, W., Lord Mayor, 216. 
 
 Welch, C, 257; on bookcases, 149; 
 admission of young readers, 170. 
 
 Wellesley Coll. (U.S.) lib., 177, 260 ; 
 late lady-librarian at the Conference, 
 178. 
 
 Wellington, N. Z., Assembly Lib. cat,, 
 
 , 247- 
 
 West Bromwich Free Library, 260. 
 
 Westbury, Lord, quoted, 37. 
 
 Western Hebrew Lib., 260. 
 
 Westminster Abbey and Caxton, 4 ; 
 lib., 259. 
 
 Westminster Free Public Lib., 260, 
 
 Westphalen, E. J. de, 234. 
 
 Westward Ho ! 65. 
 
 Wheatley, B. R., x, 142, 181, 257 ; 
 On an evitandiim in index-maki7ig 
 met "With in French and German 
 scientific periodicals, 88-92 ; Hints 
 on library fnanage7nent as far as re- 
 lates to the circulation of books, 
 127-133; discussion thereon, 175-6; 
 forms and account-books (appendix), 
 195-8 ; on cross-references .and pseu- 
 donymous books, 160 ; co-operative 
 cataloguing and librarians, i6i ; Ac- 
 count of the libraiy of the Roy. 
 Med. and Chir. Soc.y 236 ; index 
 to cat., 245 ; catalogue of the Alfred 
 Club library, 245 ; cat. of Lord Bol- 
 ton's lib,, 2.J.7 ; cat. of J. Byrom's 
 library, 247 ; indexes of R. Med. and 
 Chir. Soc. and Statistical Soc, 247. 
 
 Wheatley, _H. B., x, 257 ; On the 
 alphabetical aT^angcinent of the 
 titles of anonymous books, 97-99 ; 
 discussion thereon, 159-160 ; on 
 Poole's Index, 1:63 ; Account of the 
 Linnean Society Library, 233 ; Ac- 
 count of the library of the Royal 
 Society, 236; Account of the library 
 of the Soc. of Antiquaries, 237, 
 
 Whitaker, A. E., cat^ of Mercantile 
 Lib. Ass., 246. 
 
 Whitaker, J. V., 257. 
 
 Whitchurch, church-library at, 145. 
 
 White, Dr. T., and Slon Coll.. 213. 
 
 White, Sir T., banquet to the Con- 
 ference at the Mansion House, xi ; 
 speeches, 25,, 252 ; health proposed, 
 25^-2. 
 
 Whittal, J., X, 257. 
 
 Whiitington, R., and the Corporation 
 
 Library, 216, 217. 
 Wickenden, J. F., 257. 
 Wieland, C. M., 234. 
 Wigan Free Public Lib., 260. 
 Wilberforce, Bp., 234. 
 William Salt Lib., Stafford, 260- 
 Williams, Dr. C. T., 257. 
 Williams, H. T.,257. 
 Williams's, Dr., Library, 259. 
 Wilson, E., 257. 
 
 Winchester Domesday- Book, 237. 
 Wine, books on, indexed, 105. 
 Windsor, T., 257, 
 
 Winsor, Prof. J., 142, 144, 152, 229, 
 258 ; index to hist, fiction, 105, 242 ; 
 elected V. P., 141 ; as to specializing 
 libraries in America, 146 ; on library- 
 buildings in U.S., 148 ; catalogues of 
 Boston PubUc Lib., 156; on co-opera- 
 tive Cataloguing, 160-1 ; on Poole's 
 Index, 163 ; report on new edition, 
 igg-206 ; on the mnemonic system at 
 Harvard, 164 ; on vellum binding, 
 168 ; on buckram, 168 ; on age-quali- 
 fication and guarantees, 170 ; on Sun- 
 day-ojpening, 171 ; the telephone in 
 libraries, 175 ; on guarantees at Bos- 
 ton, 176 ; on women as librarians in 
 America, 177 ; answer to vote of 
 thanks to American delegation, 182 ; 
 chronological index to hist, fiction, 
 242 ; class list in Boston Pub. Li- 
 brary, 244 ; specimens of bis cata- 
 logues of the Boston Public Lib., 
 244 ; speech at the Mansion House, 
 251. 
 
 Winterbotham, A., samples of cloth, 
 248. 
 
 Wisconsin State Library catalogue, 245, 
 
 Wisconsin State Hist. Soc, lib. cata- 
 logue, 245. 
 
 Wolfe, Gen., and Thackeray, 175. 
 
 Wolverhampton Free Lib., 260. 
 
 Wolverhampton Library, 260. 
 
 Women, novel-reading by, 153. 
 
 Women as librarians in America, 177, 
 211 ; colleges for women, 178 ; ac- 
 complished cataloguers, 177. 
 
 Wonfor.T. W.,258. 
 
 Wood, Mrs. H , 65. 
 
 Wood staircases, 6. 
 
 Woolwich Academy, to index naval 
 and military matters, 106. 
 
 Worcester Coll. library, 260 ; devoted 
 to classical archaeology, 146. 
 
 Worcester, Mass., Public Lib., 260. 
 
 Wordsworth, W. , 51. 
 
 Working Men's Ass., failure of, 23. 
 
 Working Men's Club and Inst. Union, 
 23, 24, 26. 
 
 Working Men's Clubs, failure of, 24. 
 
 Worms, book-, 169. 
 
 Wright, Prof. E. P., 258 ; on card- 
 catalogues, 156 ; on co-operative 
 cataloguing, 161. , 
 
 Wright, W. H. K., 25S; On the best 
 Tiieans of pro^noting the free library 
 Tnovetnent in small toivns and vil- 
 lages, 22-28 ;_ discussion thereon, 
 142 ; on special rooms for young 
 readers, 170; cat. of Plymouth Free 
 Lib., 246. 
 
 Wyclif, J., 10, 51. 
 
 Wynkyn de Worde, 55. 
 
 Yale College, 163. 
 
 Yates, Jas., ix, 157, 181, 258 ; as to 
 
 term of free library, 142 ; on British 
 
 Museum duplicates, 143 ; on Poole's 
 
 Index, 164. 
 Young Men's Christian Association, 5. 
 Youthful readers, 169, 170, 171 ; use of 
 
 cribs, 170; special rooms for, 170. 
 
 Zainer, Gunther, n. 
 
 Zedner, J, , cat. of Hebrew books of 
 
 British Museum, 19, 224, 229, 245, 
 Zoology', index to, 104. 
 
 CHISWICK PRESS : t. WHITTINCHAM, TOOKS COUHT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.