Chapter 11

The library of Queen’s College, Belfast (1849), contains about 60,000 vols., while Queen’s College, Cork (1849), has over 32,000 vols. St Patrick’s College, Maynooth (1795), has about 60,000, and other collegiate libraries are well supplied with books.

With one or two exceptions, libraries are attached to the cathedrals of England and Wales. Though they are of course intended for the use of the cathedral or diocesan clergy, they are in most cases open to any respectableCathedral and church libraries.person who may be properly introduced. They seldom contain very much modern literature, chiefly consisting of older theology, with more or less addition of classical and historical literature. They vary in extent from a few volumes, as at Llandaff or St David’s, to 20,000 vols., as atDurham. Together they possess nearly 150,000 printed and manuscript vols. As a rule, very little is spent upon them, and they are very little used. The chamber in the old cloisters, in which the library of the dean and chapter of Westminster is preserved, is well known from the charming description by Washington Irving in hisSketch Book. There are about 14,000 vols., mostly of old theology and history, including many rare Bibles and other valuable books. The library of the dean and chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral was founded in very early times, and now numbers some 22,000 vols. and pamphlets, mainly theological, with a good collection of early Bibles and Testaments, Paul’s Cross Sermons, and works connected with the cathedral.

Perhaps the best library of Catholic theology in London is that of the Oratory at South Kensington, established in 1849, and now containing nearly 35,000 vols. The Catholic Cathedral of Westminster, of recent foundation, contains about 22,000 vols. The archiepiscopal library at Lambeth was founded in 1610 by Archbishop Bancroft, and has been enriched by the gifts of Laud, Tenison, Manners Sutton, and others of his successors; it is now lodged in the noble hall built by Juxon. The treasures consist of the illuminated MSS., and a rich store of early printed books; of the latter two catalogues have been issued by Samuel Roffey Maitland (1792-1866). The MSS. are described in H. J. Todd’s catalogue, 1812. The total number of printed books and manuscripts is nearly 45,000.

The library of Christ Church, Oxford, belongs alike to the college and the cathedral, but will be more properly described as a college library. The cathedral library of Durham dates from monastic times, and possesses many of the books which belonged to the monastery. These were added to by Dean Sudbury, the second founder of the library, and Bishop Cosin. The collection has been considerably increased in more modern times, and now contains 15,000 vols. It is especially rich in MSS., some of which are of great beauty and value; a catalogue of them was printed in 1825. The library has good topographical and entomological collections. The chapter spend £370 per annum in salaries and in books. The library at York numbers about 11,000 vols., and has been very liberally thrown open to the public. It is kept in the former chapel of the archbishop’s palace, and has many valuable MSS. and early printed books. The foundation of the library at Canterbury dates probably from the Roman mission to England,A.D.596, although the library does not retain any of the books then brought over, or even of the books said to have been sent by Pope Gregory to the first archbishop in 601. It is recorded that among Lanfranc’s buildings was a new library, and Becket is said to have collected books abroad to present to the library. The collection now numbers about 9900 printed books, with about 110 MS. vols., and between 6000 and 7000 documents. A catalogue was printed in 1802. The present building was erected in 1867 on part of the site of the monastic dormitory. The library at Lincoln contains 7400 vols., of which a catalogue was printed in 1859. It possesses a fine collection of political tracts of the age of Elizabeth, James and Charles I. The present collection at Chichester dates from the Restoration only; that at Ely is rich in books and tracts relating to the non-jurors. The library at Exeter possesses many Saxon MSS. of extreme interest, one of them being the gift of Leofric, the first bishop. The treasures of Lichfield were destroyed by the Puritans during the civil war, and the existing library is of later formation. Frances, duchess of Somerset, bequeathed to it nearly 1000 vols., including the famous Evangeliary of St Chad. The collection at Norwich is chiefly modern, and was presented by Dr Sayers. The earlier library at Peterborough having almost wholly perished in the civil war, Bishop White Kennett became the virtual founder of the present collection. Salisbury is rich in incunabula, and a catalogue has recently been printed. Winchester Cathedral Library is mainly the bequest of Bishop Morley in the 17th century. The library at Bristol, then numbering 6000 or 7000 vols., was burnt and pillaged by the mob in the riots of 1831. Only about 1000 vols. were saved, many of which were recovered, but few additions have been made to them. At Chester in 1691 Dean Arderne bequeathed his books and part of his estate “as the beginning of a public library for the clergy and city.” The library of Hereford is a good specimen of an old monastic library; the books are placed in the Lady Chapel, and about 230 choice MSS. are chained to oaken desks. The books are ranged with the edges outwards upon open shelves, to which they are attached by chains and bars. Another most interesting “chained” library is that at Wimborne Minster, Dorset, which contains about 280 books in their original condition. The four Welsh cathedrals were supplied with libraries by a deed of settlement in 1709. The largest of them, that of St Asaph, has about 1750 vols. The Bibliotheca Leightoniana, or Leightonian Library, founded by Archbishop Leighton in 1684 in Dunblane Cathedral, Scotland, contains about 2000 vols., and is the only cathedral library in Scotland of any historic interest. The library of St Benedict’s Abbey, Fort Augustus (1878) with 20,000 vols. is an example of a recent foundation. The public library in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, sometimes called Marsh’s Library after its founder, was established about 1694 by Archbishop Marsh, was incorporated by act of parliament in 1707, and endowed by its founder at his death in 1713. The building was erected by the founder, and the original oak fittings still remain. There is no room for additions, and a large collection of modern books was refused a few years ago on that account. The endowment is too small to allow of purchases from the funds of the library, so that it still retains the character of a 17th-century library. The books are chiefly theological, and in the learned languages; they include the libraries of Bishop Stillingfleet and of Elias Bouhereau, a French refugee, who was the first librarian.

Endowed libraries may be defined as those which have been directly established by the bequests of individuals or corporate bodies, excluding those which have been assisted by donors or are merely named after them. As comparedEndowed libraries.with the United States, the endowed libraries of Britain are few in number, although several are of great importance. London possesses very few libraries which have been endowed by individual donors. The principal are the Bishopsgate Institute (1891), which was founded out of sundry City of London charities, and now contains about 44,000 vols., and is celebrated for a fine collection of local prints, drawings and maps. It is open free to persons in the east part of the City. The Cripplegate Institute (1896) in Golden Lane, also founded out of charity moneys, has three branches—St Bride’s Foundation Institute (18,000 vols.), jointly; Queen Street, Cheapside, Branch (8000 vols.); and St Luke’s Institute (5000 vols.)—and contains 28,000 vols. Lectures and other entertainments are features of both these libraries. Dr Williams’ library was founded by the will of an eminent Presbyterian divine of that name; it was opened in 1729. The books (50,000) are housed in a new building in Gordon Square, completed in 1873. Theology of all schools of opinion is represented, and there are special collections of theosophical books and MSS., the works of Boehme, Law, and other mystical writers. The MSS. include the original minutes of the Westminster Assembly, letters and treatises of Richard Baxter, &c. The St Bride Foundation Technical Reference Library (1895) is a very complete collection of books and specimens of printing and the allied arts, including the libraries of William Blades and Talbot Baines Reed, and a number of more modern books presented by Mr Passmore Edwards. It contains about 18,000 vols., and is open to all persons interested in printing, lithography, &c., and also to the general public.

The most notable of the English provincial endowed libraries are those established in Manchester. The fine old library established by Humphrey Chetham in 1653 is still housed in the old collegiate buildings where Sir Walter Raleigh was once entertained by Dr Dee. The collection consists largely of older literature, and numbers about 60,000 volumes and MSS. It is freely open to the public, and may be said to have been the first free library in England. Catalogues in broad classified form were issued in 1791-1863, and there have been supplements since. A remarkable instance of a great library established by private munificence is that of the John Rylands Library at Manchester, which was founded, erected and endowed by Mrs E. A. Rylands in memory of her husband, and is contained in a magnificent building designed by Basil Champneys and opened in 1899. The collection was formed largely on the famous Althorp Library, made by Earl Spencer (40,000 vols.), one of the most remarkable collections of early printed books and rare Bibles ever brought together. The present number of volumes is about 115,000, of which over 2500 are incunabula. A short-title catalogue, 3 vols. 4to., and one of English books, have been published, and a manuscript dictionary catalogue has been provided. Several valuable special catalogues and descriptive lists have been issued, one of the latest being a special catalogue of the architectural works contained in all the Manchester libraries.The William Salt Library, a special Staffordshire library with numerous MSS. and other collections, formed to bring together materials for a history of Staffordshire, was opened to the public in 1874 in the town of Stafford. It contains nearly 20,000 books, prints and other items.Other endowed libraries in the English provinces which deserve mention are the Bingham Public Library (1905) at Cirencester; the Guille-Allès Library (1856), Guernsey; St Deiniol’s Library (1894), Hawarden, founded by William Ewart Gladstone, the great statesman; and the Shakespeare Memorial Library and theatre (1879) at Stratford-upon-Avon.The most important endowed library in Scotland is the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, founded by Stephen Mitchell, tobacco-manufacturer (1874), who left £70,000 for the purpose. It was opened in 1877 in temporary premises, and after various changes will soon be transferred to a very fine new building specially erected. It contains some very valuable special collections, among which may be mentioned Scottish poetry, Burns’ works, Glasgow books and printing, and a choice collection of fine books on art and other subjects given by Robert Jeffrey. It contains nearly 200,000 vols. and is the reference library for the Glasgow public library system. Another older Glasgow public library, also founded by a tobacco merchant, is Stirling’s and Glasgow Public Library (1791), which was endowed by Walter Stirling, and amalgamated with an existing subscription library. It contains 60,000 vols. and is free to reference readers, but a subscription is charged for borrowing privileges. Still another Glasgow institution is Baillie’s Institution Free Reference Library, established under the bequest of George Baillie (1863), but not opened till 1887. It contains over 24,000 vols. Other Scottish endowed libraries are the Anderson Library, Woodside, Aberdeen (1883); the Taylor Free Library, Crieff (1890); the Elder Free Library, Govan (1900); and the Chambers Institution, Peebles (1859), founded by William Chambers, the well-known publisher. The public library of Armagh, Ireland, was founded by Lord Primate Robinson in 1770, who gave a considerable number of books and an endowment. The books are freely available, either on the spot, or by loan on deposit of double the value of the work applied for.

The William Salt Library, a special Staffordshire library with numerous MSS. and other collections, formed to bring together materials for a history of Staffordshire, was opened to the public in 1874 in the town of Stafford. It contains nearly 20,000 books, prints and other items.

Other endowed libraries in the English provinces which deserve mention are the Bingham Public Library (1905) at Cirencester; the Guille-Allès Library (1856), Guernsey; St Deiniol’s Library (1894), Hawarden, founded by William Ewart Gladstone, the great statesman; and the Shakespeare Memorial Library and theatre (1879) at Stratford-upon-Avon.

The most important endowed library in Scotland is the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, founded by Stephen Mitchell, tobacco-manufacturer (1874), who left £70,000 for the purpose. It was opened in 1877 in temporary premises, and after various changes will soon be transferred to a very fine new building specially erected. It contains some very valuable special collections, among which may be mentioned Scottish poetry, Burns’ works, Glasgow books and printing, and a choice collection of fine books on art and other subjects given by Robert Jeffrey. It contains nearly 200,000 vols. and is the reference library for the Glasgow public library system. Another older Glasgow public library, also founded by a tobacco merchant, is Stirling’s and Glasgow Public Library (1791), which was endowed by Walter Stirling, and amalgamated with an existing subscription library. It contains 60,000 vols. and is free to reference readers, but a subscription is charged for borrowing privileges. Still another Glasgow institution is Baillie’s Institution Free Reference Library, established under the bequest of George Baillie (1863), but not opened till 1887. It contains over 24,000 vols. Other Scottish endowed libraries are the Anderson Library, Woodside, Aberdeen (1883); the Taylor Free Library, Crieff (1890); the Elder Free Library, Govan (1900); and the Chambers Institution, Peebles (1859), founded by William Chambers, the well-known publisher. The public library of Armagh, Ireland, was founded by Lord Primate Robinson in 1770, who gave a considerable number of books and an endowment. The books are freely available, either on the spot, or by loan on deposit of double the value of the work applied for.

There are many libraries belonging to societies devoted to the study of every kind of subject, andLibraries of societies and learned bodies.it is only necessary to mention a few of the principal. Full particulars of most of them will be found in Reginald A. Rye’sLibraries of London: a Guide for Students(1910), a work of accuracy and value.

Of the law libraries, that at Lincoln’s Inn, London, is the oldest and the largest. It dates from 1497, when John Nethersale, a member of the society, made a bequest of forty marks, part of which was to be devoted to the building of a library for the benefit of the students of the laws of England. A catalogue of the printed books was published in 1859 and since supplemented, and the MSS. were catalogued by the Rev. Joseph Hunter in 1837. There are about 72,000 vols. The library of the Inner Temple is known to have existed in 1540. In the middle of the 17th century it received a considerable benefaction from William Petyt, the well-known keeper of the Tower records. There are now about 60,000 vols., including the pamphlets collected by John Adolphus for hisHistory of England, books on crime and prisons brought together by Mr Crawford, and a selection of works on jurisprudence made by John Austin. A library in connexion with the Middle Temple was in existence during the reign of Henry VIII., but the date usually assigned to its foundation is 1641, when Robert Ashley left his books to the inn of which he had been a member. There are now about 50,000 vols. Gray’s Inn Library (21,000 vols.) was perhaps established before 1555. In 1669 was made the first catalogue of the books, and the next, still extant, in 1689. The Law Society (1828) has a good law and general library (50,000 vols.), including the best collection of private acts of parliament in England. The library of the Royal Society (1667), now housed in Burlington House, contains over 80,000 vols., of which many are the transactions and other publications of scientific bodies. The Royal Institution of Great Britain (1803) possesses a reference library of 60,000 vols. Some of its early catalogues were in classified form. The London Institution (1805), in the City, is a general library of reference and lending books open to members only. There are about 150,000 vols., and lectures are given in connexion with the institution. The Royal Society of Arts has a library numbering about 11,000 vols., chiefly the publications of other learned bodies.The best library of archaeology and kindred subjects is that of the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, consisting of nearly 40,000 printed vols. and many MSS. It is rich in early printed books, topography, heraldry and numismatics, and includes a curious collection of books on pageants presented by Mr Fairholt, and the remarkable assemblage of lexicographical works formerly belonging to Albert Way.Of libraries devoted to the natural sciences may be mentioned those of the Geological Society of London (1807), with over 30,000 vols. and maps; the Linnean Society (1788), 35,000 vols.; the Zoological Society (1829), about 31,000 vols. Of libraries associated with medicine there are those of the Royal Society of Medicine (1907), incorporating a number of medical societies, over 95,000 vols., about to be housed in a new building; the Royal College of Physicians (1525), 26,000 vols.; the British Medical Association, 20,000 vols.; the Royal College of Surgeons of England (1800), 60,000 vols., with a MS. catalogue on cards; the Chemical Society (1841), over 25,000 vols.; and the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (1841), about 15,000 vols. Other important London society libraries are—the Royal Geographical Society (1830), 50,000 vols., and numerous maps in a special room, open to the public for reference; the Royal Colonial Institute (1868), 70,000 vols. of British colonial literature; the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall (1831), has 32,000 works on military and naval subjects and a museum. Large and interesting collections of books are owned by the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Electrical Engineers (containing the Ronalds Library), the Royal Academy, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and practically every other working society in London.The English provincial libraries connected with societies or learned bodies are mostly attached to those concerned with law, medicine, and various antiquarian, literary and scientific subjects. The headquarters of most national societies being in London to some extent accounts for the comparatively small number of these special libraries in the provinces.The most important libraries of this description outside London are situated in Scotland and Ireland, and one at least is practically a national collection.The principal library in Scotland is that of the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh, who in 1680 appointed a committee of their number, which reported that “it was fitt that, seeing if the recusants could be made pay their entire money, there wold be betwixt three thousand and four thousand pounds in cash; that the same be imployed on the best and fynest lawers and other law bookes, conforme to a catalogue to be condescended upon by the Facultie, that the samen may be a fonde for ane Bibliothecque whereto many lawers and others may leave their books.” In 1682 the active carrying out of the scheme was committed to the Dean of Faculty, Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, who may be regarded as the founder of the library. In 1684 the first librarian was appointed, and the library appears to have made rapid progress, since it appears from the treasurer’s accounts that in 1686 the books and furniture were valued at upwards of £11,000 Scots, exclusive of donations. In the year 1700, the rooms in the Exchange Stairs, Parliament Close, in which the library was kept, being nearly destroyed by fire the collection was removed to the ground floor of the Parliament House, where it has ever since remained. The library retains the copyright privilege conferred upon it in 1709. Of the special collections the most important are the Astorga collection of old Spanish books, purchased by the faculty in 1824 for £4000; the Thorkelin collection, consisting of about 1200 vols., relating chiefly to the history and antiquities of the northern nations, and including some rare books on old Scottish poetry; the Dietrich collection of over 100,000 German pamphlets and dissertations, including many of the writings of Luther and Melanchthon, purchased for the small sum of £80; and the Combe collection.The faculty appear early to have turned their attention to the collection of MSS., and this department of the library now numbers about 3000 vols. Many of them are of great interest and value, especially for the civil and ecclesiastical history of Scotland before and after the Reformation. There are thirteen monastic chartularies which escaped the destruction of the religious houses to which they belonged. The MSS. relating to Scottish church history include the collections of Spottiswoode, Wodrow and Calderwood. The Wodrow collection consists of 154 vols., and includes his correspondence, extending from 1694 to 1726. Sir James Balfour’s collection and the Balcarres papers consist largely of original state papers, and include many interesting royal letters of the times of James V., Queen Mary and James VI. The Sibbald papers, numbering over 30 vols., are largely topographical. The Riddel notebooks, numbering 156 vols., contain collections to illustrate the genealogy of Scottish families. There are about one hundred volumes of Icelandic MSS., purchased in 1825 from Professor Finn Magnusson, and some Persian and Sanskrit, with a few classical, manuscripts. The department has some interesting treasures of old poetry, extending to 73 vols. The most important are the Bannatyne MS., in 2 vols. folio, written by George Bannatyne in 1568, and the Auchinleck MS., a collection of ancient English poetry, named after Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, who presented it in 1774.The first catalogue of the printed books was compiled in 1692, and contains a preface by Sir George Mackenzie. Another was prepared under the care of Ruddiman in 1742. In 1853 the late Mr Halkett commenced a catalogue, which has been printed in 6 vols. 4to, with a supplement, and includes all the printed books in the library at the end of 1871, containing about 260,000 entries. The library, managed by a keeper and staff, under a board of six curators, is easily accessible to all persons engaged in literary work, and now contains about 500,000 vols.The library of the Writers to the Signet was established by the Society at Edinburgh in 1755. At first it consisted of law books exclusively, but in 1788 they began to collect the best editions of works in other departments of literature. During the librarianship of Macvey Napier (1805-1837) the number of volumes was more than sextupled, and in 1812 the library was removed to the new hall adjoining the Parliament House. In 1834 the upper hall was devoted to the collection. This is a magnificent apartment 142 ft. long, with a beautiful cupola painted by Stothard. The library now contains over 110,000 vols. and includes some fine specimens of early printing, as well as many other rare and costly works. It is especially rich in county histories and British topography and antiquities. A catalogue of the law books was printed in 1856. The late David Laing, who became librarian in 1837, published the first volume of a new catalogue in 1871, and in 1891 this was completed with a subjectindex. The books are lent out to the writers and even to strangers recommended by them.The library of the Royal Irish Academy at Dublin was established on the formation of the Academy in 1785 for the purpose of promoting the study of science, literature and antiquities in Ireland. The library possesses about 80,000 printed vols. and MSS. There is a large collection of MSS. and books relating to the history, ancient language, and antiquities of Ireland. They include the Betham collection, acquired partly by public subscription in 1851. The library is partly supported by a government grant and is freely open on a proper introduction. The publication of Irish MSS. in the library was begun in 1870, and has since continued; the general catalogue is in manuscript form.The library of King’s Inns was founded, pursuant to a bequest of books and legal MSS. under the will of Mr Justice Robinson in 1787, to form the nucleus of a library for law students. It is partly supported from the funds of the benchers, but partly also by a treasury grant in lieu of the copyright privilege.It is needless to describe the other society libraries, as most of them are described in annuals like theLiterary Year-bookand similar publications, with statistics of stock, issues, &c., brought up to date.

The best library of archaeology and kindred subjects is that of the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, consisting of nearly 40,000 printed vols. and many MSS. It is rich in early printed books, topography, heraldry and numismatics, and includes a curious collection of books on pageants presented by Mr Fairholt, and the remarkable assemblage of lexicographical works formerly belonging to Albert Way.

Of libraries devoted to the natural sciences may be mentioned those of the Geological Society of London (1807), with over 30,000 vols. and maps; the Linnean Society (1788), 35,000 vols.; the Zoological Society (1829), about 31,000 vols. Of libraries associated with medicine there are those of the Royal Society of Medicine (1907), incorporating a number of medical societies, over 95,000 vols., about to be housed in a new building; the Royal College of Physicians (1525), 26,000 vols.; the British Medical Association, 20,000 vols.; the Royal College of Surgeons of England (1800), 60,000 vols., with a MS. catalogue on cards; the Chemical Society (1841), over 25,000 vols.; and the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (1841), about 15,000 vols. Other important London society libraries are—the Royal Geographical Society (1830), 50,000 vols., and numerous maps in a special room, open to the public for reference; the Royal Colonial Institute (1868), 70,000 vols. of British colonial literature; the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall (1831), has 32,000 works on military and naval subjects and a museum. Large and interesting collections of books are owned by the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Electrical Engineers (containing the Ronalds Library), the Royal Academy, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and practically every other working society in London.

The English provincial libraries connected with societies or learned bodies are mostly attached to those concerned with law, medicine, and various antiquarian, literary and scientific subjects. The headquarters of most national societies being in London to some extent accounts for the comparatively small number of these special libraries in the provinces.

The most important libraries of this description outside London are situated in Scotland and Ireland, and one at least is practically a national collection.

The principal library in Scotland is that of the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh, who in 1680 appointed a committee of their number, which reported that “it was fitt that, seeing if the recusants could be made pay their entire money, there wold be betwixt three thousand and four thousand pounds in cash; that the same be imployed on the best and fynest lawers and other law bookes, conforme to a catalogue to be condescended upon by the Facultie, that the samen may be a fonde for ane Bibliothecque whereto many lawers and others may leave their books.” In 1682 the active carrying out of the scheme was committed to the Dean of Faculty, Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, who may be regarded as the founder of the library. In 1684 the first librarian was appointed, and the library appears to have made rapid progress, since it appears from the treasurer’s accounts that in 1686 the books and furniture were valued at upwards of £11,000 Scots, exclusive of donations. In the year 1700, the rooms in the Exchange Stairs, Parliament Close, in which the library was kept, being nearly destroyed by fire the collection was removed to the ground floor of the Parliament House, where it has ever since remained. The library retains the copyright privilege conferred upon it in 1709. Of the special collections the most important are the Astorga collection of old Spanish books, purchased by the faculty in 1824 for £4000; the Thorkelin collection, consisting of about 1200 vols., relating chiefly to the history and antiquities of the northern nations, and including some rare books on old Scottish poetry; the Dietrich collection of over 100,000 German pamphlets and dissertations, including many of the writings of Luther and Melanchthon, purchased for the small sum of £80; and the Combe collection.

The faculty appear early to have turned their attention to the collection of MSS., and this department of the library now numbers about 3000 vols. Many of them are of great interest and value, especially for the civil and ecclesiastical history of Scotland before and after the Reformation. There are thirteen monastic chartularies which escaped the destruction of the religious houses to which they belonged. The MSS. relating to Scottish church history include the collections of Spottiswoode, Wodrow and Calderwood. The Wodrow collection consists of 154 vols., and includes his correspondence, extending from 1694 to 1726. Sir James Balfour’s collection and the Balcarres papers consist largely of original state papers, and include many interesting royal letters of the times of James V., Queen Mary and James VI. The Sibbald papers, numbering over 30 vols., are largely topographical. The Riddel notebooks, numbering 156 vols., contain collections to illustrate the genealogy of Scottish families. There are about one hundred volumes of Icelandic MSS., purchased in 1825 from Professor Finn Magnusson, and some Persian and Sanskrit, with a few classical, manuscripts. The department has some interesting treasures of old poetry, extending to 73 vols. The most important are the Bannatyne MS., in 2 vols. folio, written by George Bannatyne in 1568, and the Auchinleck MS., a collection of ancient English poetry, named after Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, who presented it in 1774.

The first catalogue of the printed books was compiled in 1692, and contains a preface by Sir George Mackenzie. Another was prepared under the care of Ruddiman in 1742. In 1853 the late Mr Halkett commenced a catalogue, which has been printed in 6 vols. 4to, with a supplement, and includes all the printed books in the library at the end of 1871, containing about 260,000 entries. The library, managed by a keeper and staff, under a board of six curators, is easily accessible to all persons engaged in literary work, and now contains about 500,000 vols.

The library of the Writers to the Signet was established by the Society at Edinburgh in 1755. At first it consisted of law books exclusively, but in 1788 they began to collect the best editions of works in other departments of literature. During the librarianship of Macvey Napier (1805-1837) the number of volumes was more than sextupled, and in 1812 the library was removed to the new hall adjoining the Parliament House. In 1834 the upper hall was devoted to the collection. This is a magnificent apartment 142 ft. long, with a beautiful cupola painted by Stothard. The library now contains over 110,000 vols. and includes some fine specimens of early printing, as well as many other rare and costly works. It is especially rich in county histories and British topography and antiquities. A catalogue of the law books was printed in 1856. The late David Laing, who became librarian in 1837, published the first volume of a new catalogue in 1871, and in 1891 this was completed with a subjectindex. The books are lent out to the writers and even to strangers recommended by them.

The library of the Royal Irish Academy at Dublin was established on the formation of the Academy in 1785 for the purpose of promoting the study of science, literature and antiquities in Ireland. The library possesses about 80,000 printed vols. and MSS. There is a large collection of MSS. and books relating to the history, ancient language, and antiquities of Ireland. They include the Betham collection, acquired partly by public subscription in 1851. The library is partly supported by a government grant and is freely open on a proper introduction. The publication of Irish MSS. in the library was begun in 1870, and has since continued; the general catalogue is in manuscript form.

The library of King’s Inns was founded, pursuant to a bequest of books and legal MSS. under the will of Mr Justice Robinson in 1787, to form the nucleus of a library for law students. It is partly supported from the funds of the benchers, but partly also by a treasury grant in lieu of the copyright privilege.

It is needless to describe the other society libraries, as most of them are described in annuals like theLiterary Year-bookand similar publications, with statistics of stock, issues, &c., brought up to date.

Proprietary and subscription libraries were at one time more common than now, as, owing to the steady advance of the municipal library, the minor subscription libraries have been gradually extinguished. A striking exampleProprietary and subscription libraries.of this is furnished by the mechanics’ institutes which used to flourish all over the country. In most cases these have been handed over to the local authorities by the owners to form the nucleus of the public rate-supported library, and in this way the older libraries have been preserved and valuable aid has been given to the popular library movement. Somewhat akin to the mechanics’ institutes are the libraries established in connexion with various co-operative societies in the north of England. Together with working men’s club libraries, there must be nearly 100 libraries of the class just mentioned, ranging in size from a few hundred vols. to 30,000 or 40,000 vols. The affiliated clubs of the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union possess among them over 100,000 vols.

Among subscription libraries, the London Library stands first in order of importance. It was founded in 1841 as a lending library for the use of scholars, and Dean Milman, Sir G. C. Lewis, W. E. Gladstone, Thomas Carlyle, Henry Hallam and other eminent men took part in its formation. By means of a moderate subscription, funds were raised for the purchase of books on general subjects, which now amount to about 250,000 vols. Of these elaborate and excellent author and subject catalogues have been printed. The last is valuable as a classified guide to the contents of the library.

Some mention should be made also of the more important subscription or proprietary libraries, which were formed for the most part in the latter half of the 18th century. The earliest circulating library in the metropolis was established about the middle of the 18th century. The first in Birmingham was opened by Hutton in 1757. The idea of a proprietary library appears to have been first carried out at Liverpool in 1758. The library then formed still flourishes at the Lyceum, and possesses a collection of 55,000 vols. and an income of £1000 a year. In 1760 a library was formed at Warrington which has been merged in the Warrington Museum. The Leeds library was established in 1768, and now has 64,000 vols. In 1772 the Bristol museum and library was formed, and numbered Coleridge, Southey and Landor among its earlier members. It has now been merged in the reference collection of the Bristol public libraries. The Birmingham (old) library was formed in 1779, and its rules were drawn up by Dr Priestley. The library has now about 80,000 vols.Other English proprietary libraries have been established at Leicester, Liverpool (Athenaeum, 1798), Manchester, Nottingham and elsewhere. In Scotland the first subscription library was started by Allan Ramsay, the poet, at Edinburgh in 1725, and since that time commercial subscription libraries have increased greatly in number and size, Mudie’s andThe TimesBook Club being typical modern examples.

Other English proprietary libraries have been established at Leicester, Liverpool (Athenaeum, 1798), Manchester, Nottingham and elsewhere. In Scotland the first subscription library was started by Allan Ramsay, the poet, at Edinburgh in 1725, and since that time commercial subscription libraries have increased greatly in number and size, Mudie’s andThe TimesBook Club being typical modern examples.

Many of the principal clubs possess libraries; that of the Athenaeum (London) is by far the most important. It now numbers about 75,000 vols. of books in all departments of literature, and is especially rich in well-bound andClub libraries.fine copies of works on the fine arts, archaeology, topography and history. The pamphlets, of which there is a complete printed catalogue, as well as of the books, form a remarkable series, including those collected by Gibbon and Mackintosh. Next comes the Reform Club, with about 60,000 vols., chiefly in belles-lettres, with a fair proportion of parliamentary and historical works. The National Liberal Club, containing the Gladstone Library, has about 45,000 vols., and may be used occasionally by non-members. The Oxford and Cambridge Club has 30,000 vols. in general and classical literature. At the Garrick there is a small dramatic collection; and the (Senior) United Service Club, besides a number of books on professional subjects, possesses the fine library which formerly belonged to Dugald Stewart.

Other London clubs which possess libraries are the Carlton with 25,000 vols.; the Constitutional with 12,000 vols.; Grand Lodge of Freemasons, 10,000 vols.; Alpine, 5000 vols.; Travellers, 8000 vols.; and Junior Carlton, 6000 vols. In the provinces and in Scotland and Ireland every club of a social character has a reading-room, and in most cases a library is attached.

The first act of parliament authorizing the establishment of public libraries in England was obtained by William Ewart, M.P. for the Dumfries Burghs, in 1850. This arose out of the report of a special parliamentary committeeMunicipal libraries.appointed to enquire into the management of the British Museum in 1835, and a more general report on libraries in 1849, at which much evidence was submitted to prove the necessity for providing public libraries. Ewart obtained both committees and also, in 1845, procured an act for “encouraging the establishment of museums in large towns.” Neither the 1845 nor 1850 acts proved effective, owing chiefly to the limitation of the library rate to ½d. in the £ of rental, which produced in most cases an insufficient revenue. In 1853 the Library Act of 1850 was extended to Ireland and Scotland, and in 1854 Scotland obtained an act increasing the rate limit from ½d. to 1d. in the £. In 1855 Ireland also obtained a penny rate, and later in the same year England obtained the same power by an act which remained the principal library act, with some intermediate amendments, till 1892, when a Public Library Consolidation Act was passed. In the following year, 1893, the power of adopting the acts, or putting them in operation, was transferred from the ratepayers to the local authority, save in the case of rural parishes and the metropolitan vestries. By the London Government Act of 1899, however, the metropolitan boroughs were given the power of adopting the acts of 1892-1893 without consulting the ratepayers, so that as the law at present stands, any urban district can put the public libraries acts in force without reference to the voters. Rural parishes are still required by the provisions of the Local Government Act 1894 to adopt the 1892 Libraries Act by means of a parish meeting, or if a poll is demanded, by means of a poll of the voters.

The main points in British library legislation are as follows:—(a) The acts are permissive in character and not compulsory, and can only be put in force by a vote of a majority of members in an urban district or city, or of a majority of voters in rural districts.(b) The amount of rate which can be collected is limited to one penny in the pound of the rateable value of the district, though in some towns power has been obtained by special legislation for local purposes to increase the amount to 2d. In a few cases, as at Birmingham, no limit is fixed. The incomes produced by the penny in the pound range from less than £10 in a rural district to over £25,000 in a large city.(c) Municipal libraries are managed by committees appointed by the local authorities, who may, if so disposed, delegate to them all their powers and duties under section 15 of the act of 1892. The local authorities in England have also power to appoint persons on such committees who are not members of the council. By the Scottish principal act of 1887 committees are to consist of one-half councillors and one-half non-councillors, not to exceed a total of 20, and these committees become independent bodies not subject to the councils. Glasgow has contracted out of this arrangement by means of a special act. In Ireland, committees are appointed much on the same system as in England.(d) Power is given to provide libraries, museums, schools for science, art galleries, and schools for art. Needless to say it is impossible to carry on so many departments with the strictly limited means provided by the acts, although some towns have attempted to do so. The Museums and Gymnasiums Act of 1891 enables an additional rate of ½d. to be raised for either purpose, and many places which have established museums or art galleries under the provisions of the Libraries Acts have also adopted the Museums Act in order to increase their revenues.(e) The regulation and management of public libraries are entrusted to the library authority, which may either be the localauthority, or a committee with a full or partial delegation of powers. The library authority can buy books, periodicals, specimens of art and science, and make all necessary rules for the proper working of the libraries. A staff can be appointed, and arrangements may be made with adjoining local authorities for the joint use of one or more libraries. Buildings may also be erected, and money borrowed for the purpose on the security of the local rates. These are the main provisions of the library legislation of the United Kingdom as at present existing. Revision and amendment are wanted as regards the abolition or raising of the rate limitation, and some clearer definitions as to powers which can be exercised, as, for example, the right to spend money on lectures. The rate limitation is the most serious obstacle to progress, and it affects the smaller towns to a much greater degree than large cities or areas.

The main points in British library legislation are as follows:—

(a) The acts are permissive in character and not compulsory, and can only be put in force by a vote of a majority of members in an urban district or city, or of a majority of voters in rural districts.

(b) The amount of rate which can be collected is limited to one penny in the pound of the rateable value of the district, though in some towns power has been obtained by special legislation for local purposes to increase the amount to 2d. In a few cases, as at Birmingham, no limit is fixed. The incomes produced by the penny in the pound range from less than £10 in a rural district to over £25,000 in a large city.

(c) Municipal libraries are managed by committees appointed by the local authorities, who may, if so disposed, delegate to them all their powers and duties under section 15 of the act of 1892. The local authorities in England have also power to appoint persons on such committees who are not members of the council. By the Scottish principal act of 1887 committees are to consist of one-half councillors and one-half non-councillors, not to exceed a total of 20, and these committees become independent bodies not subject to the councils. Glasgow has contracted out of this arrangement by means of a special act. In Ireland, committees are appointed much on the same system as in England.

(d) Power is given to provide libraries, museums, schools for science, art galleries, and schools for art. Needless to say it is impossible to carry on so many departments with the strictly limited means provided by the acts, although some towns have attempted to do so. The Museums and Gymnasiums Act of 1891 enables an additional rate of ½d. to be raised for either purpose, and many places which have established museums or art galleries under the provisions of the Libraries Acts have also adopted the Museums Act in order to increase their revenues.

(e) The regulation and management of public libraries are entrusted to the library authority, which may either be the localauthority, or a committee with a full or partial delegation of powers. The library authority can buy books, periodicals, specimens of art and science, and make all necessary rules for the proper working of the libraries. A staff can be appointed, and arrangements may be made with adjoining local authorities for the joint use of one or more libraries. Buildings may also be erected, and money borrowed for the purpose on the security of the local rates. These are the main provisions of the library legislation of the United Kingdom as at present existing. Revision and amendment are wanted as regards the abolition or raising of the rate limitation, and some clearer definitions as to powers which can be exercised, as, for example, the right to spend money on lectures. The rate limitation is the most serious obstacle to progress, and it affects the smaller towns to a much greater degree than large cities or areas.

Between 1850 and 1910 about 630 local government areas of all kinds adopted the Public Libraries Acts. Of these a considerable number had in 1910 not yet put the acts in operation, whilst the London Government Act 1899, by joining various previously independent vestries or boards, extinguished about 23 library areas. The Metropolitan County of London in 1910 comprised 25 library areas, or counting also the City, 26, and only Marylebone, Bethnal Green and parts of Finsbury and Paddington remained unprovided. Practically every large city or district council has adopted the Public Libraries Acts or obtained special legislation, and the only important places, in addition to Marylebone and Bethnal Green, unprovided in 1910 were Bacup, Crewe, Dover, Jarrow, Scarborough, Swindon, Weymouth, Llandudno, Govan, Leith, Pollokshaws and Wishaw. In all, 556 places had library systems in operation, and among them they possessed about 925 buildings.

The progress of the public library movement was very slow up to 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s jubilee. From 1887, however, when many districts established libraries as memorials to Queen Victoria, the progress has been much more rapid. An immense stimulus to the movement was given from about 1900, when Mr Andrew Carnegie (q.v.) began to present library buildings to towns in England as well as to Scotland and the United States. The result of this action was to increase the number of municipal libraries from 146 in 1886 to 556 in 1910; and in the 10 years up to 1910 during which Mr Carnegie’s gifts had been offered, no fewer than 163 places had put the acts in operation, a yearly average of over 16 adoptions.

There is one municipal library whose importance demands special mention, although it is not rate-supported under the provisions of the Public Libraries Acts. This is the Guildhall library of the Corporation of the City of London, which is a free public reference library with a periodicals reading-room, and a lending department for officials and members of the corporation. A library was established for London by Sir Richard Whittington between 1421-1426, and several notices in the civic records show how well in those times the citizens cared for their books. But it did not remain without accident; in 1522 the Lord Protector Somerset carried off three cart-loads of books, and during the great fire of 1666 the remainder was destroyed together with the library buildings. Nothing was done to repair the loss until 1824, when a committee was appointed, and rooms set apart for library purposes. In 1840 a catalogue of 10,000 vols. was printed, and in 1859 a second was prepared of 40,000 vols. In consequence of the large and increasing number of the readers, the present fine building was commenced about ten years later, and, after having cost £90,000, was opened in 1873 as a free public library.

There are now upwards of 136,000 printed vols. and 5900 MSS. in the Guildhall library. The contents are of a general character, and include a special collection of books about London, the Solomons Hebrew and rabbinical library, and the libraries of the Clockmakers Company and the old Dutch church in Austin Friars. Recently the fine collection of books by and about Charles Dickens, called the National Dickens Library, was added, and other special libraries of a valuable nature, as well as an extensive and well-cared-for collection of London prints, and drawings.

There is such a variety of library buildings in the United Kingdom that it is not possible to single outBritish library administration.examples for special description, but a brief statement of their work and methods will help to give some idea of the extent of their activities.

The total number of borrowers enrolled in 1910 was11about 2,200,000, 59% males and 41% females, 48% under 20 years of age and 52% over 20. Industrial and commercial occupations were followed by 49% of the borrowers, the balance of 51% being domestic, professional, unstated, and including 20% of students and scholars. To these borrowers 60,000,000 vols. are circulated every year for home-reading, and of this large number 54% represented fiction, including juvenile literature. The Reference libraries issued over 11,000,000 vols., exclusive of books consulted at open shelves, and to the Reading-rooms, Magazines, Newspapers, Directories, Time-tables, &c., allowing only one consultation for each visit, 85,000,000 visits are made per annum. Allowing 5% for the reading of fiction in current magazines, it appears that the percentage of fiction read in British municipal libraries, taking into account the work of every issuing or consulting department, is only about 24%. This fact should be carefully recorded, as in the past municipal libraries have suffered in the esteem of all sections of the public, by being erroneously described as mere centres for the distribution of common novels. The quality of the fiction selected is the best obtainable, and, as shown above, it is not read to an unreasonable or unnecessary extent.

The changes in character, policy and methods which have marked library administration in the United Kingdom, have affected libraries of all kinds, but on the whole the municipal libraries have been most active in the promotion of improvements. It is evident, moreover, even to the most casual observer, that a complete revolution in library practice has been effected since 1882, not only in the details of administration, but in the initiation of ideas and experiments. One of the most notable changes has been the gradual disappearance of the unclassified library. Previous to 1882 very little had been accomplished in the way of scientific classification schemes equipped with suitable notations, although the Decimal method of Mr Melvil Dewey had been applied in the United States. After that date this system began to be adopted for reference departments in British municipal libraries, till in 1910 at least 120 places had been classified by means of the scheme. An English scheme, called the “Adjustable,” with a notation, but not fully expanded, has been adopted in 53 places, and a very complete and minute scheme called the “Subject,” also English, has been used in nearly 40 libraries, although it only dates from 1906. That much remains to be accomplished in this direction is indicated by the fact that over 340 municipal libraries were in 1910 not closely classified, but only arranged in broad numerical or alphabetical divisions. The adoption of exact schemes of classification for books in libraries may be said to double their utility almost mechanically, and in course of time an unclassified municipal library will be unknown. The other kinds of library—state, subscription, university, &c.—are very often not classified, but some use the Decimal system, while others, like the Patent Office, have systems peculiar to themselves.

The catalogue, as a means of making known the contents of books, has also undergone a succession of changes, both in policy and mechanical construction. At one period, before access to the shelves and other methods of making known the contents of libraries had become general, the printed catalogue was relied upon as practically the sole guide to the books. Many excellent examples of such catalogues exist, in author, subject and classified form, and some of them are admirable contributions to bibliography. Within recent years, however, doubts have arisen in many quarters, both in Europe and America, as to the wisdom of printing the catalogues of general popular libraries which possess comparatively few rare or extraordinary books. A complete catalogue of such a library is out of date the moment it is printed, and in many cases the cost is very great, while only a small number is sold. For these and other reasons, modern libraries have begun to compile complete catalogues only in MS. form, and to issue comparatively cheap class-lists at intervals, supplemented by monthly or quarterly bulletins or lists of recent accessions, which in combination will answer most of the questions likely to be put to a catalogue. Various improvements in the mechanical construction of manuscript catalogues have contributed to popularize them, and manylibraries use the card, sheaf and other systems which allow constant and infinite intercalation coupled with economy and ease in making additions.

The idea of using separate slips or cards for cataloguing books, in order to obtain complete powers of arrangement and revision is not new, having been applied during the French revolutionary period to the cataloguing of libraries. More recently the system has been applied to various commercial purposes, such as book-keeping by what is known as the “loose-leaf ledger,” and in this way greater public attention has been directed to the possibilities of adjustable methods both in libraries and for business. The card system is perhaps the most generally used at present, but many improvements in the adjustable binders, called by librarians the “sheaf system,” will probably result in this latter form becoming a serious rival. The card method consists of a series of cards in alphabetical or other order kept on edge in trays or drawers, to which projecting guides are added in order to facilitate reference. Entries are usually made on one side of the card, and one card serves for a single entry. The sheaf method provides for slips of an uniform size being kept in book form in volumes capable of being opened by means of a screw or other fastening, for the purpose of adding or withdrawing slips. In addition to the advantage of being in book-form the sheaf system allows both sides of a slip to be used, while in many cases from two to twelve entries may be made on one slip. This is a great economy and leads to considerable saving of space. A great advantage resulting from the use of an adjustable manuscript catalogue, in whatever form adopted, is the simplicity with which it can be kept up-to-date. This is an advantage which in the view of many librarians outweighs the undoubted valuable qualities of comparative safety and multiplication of copies possessed by the printed form. There are many different forms of both card and sheaf systems, and practically every library now uses one or other of them for cataloguing or indexing purposes.

One other modification in connexion with the complete printed catalogue has been tried with success, and seems worthy of brief mention. After a complete manuscript catalogue has been provided in sheaf form, a select or eclectic catalogue is printed, comprising all the most important books in the library and those that represent special subjects. This, when supplemented by a printed list or bulletin of additions, seems to supply every need.

The most striking tendency of the modern library movement is the great increase in the freedom allowed to readers both in reference and lending departments. Although access to the shelves was quite a common feature in the older subscription libraries, and in state libraries like the British Museum and Patent Office, it is only within comparatively recent years that lending library borrowers were granted a similar privilege. Most municipal reference libraries grant access to a large or small collection of books, and at Cambridge, Birmingham and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, the practice is of long standing. So also in the United States, practically every library has its open shelf collection. On the continent of Europe, however, this method is not at all general, and books are guarded with a jealousy which in many cases must militate against their utility. The first “safe-guarded” open access municipal lending library was opened at Clerkenwell (now Finsbury), London, in 1893, and since then over one hundred cities and districts of all sizes in Britain have adopted the system. The British municipal libraries differ considerably from those of the United States in the safeguards against abuse which are employed, and the result is that their losses are insignificant, whilst in America they are sometimes enormous. Pawtucket and Cleveland in America were pioneers to some extent of the open shelf system for lending libraries, but the methods employed had little resemblance to the safe-guarded system of British libraries. The main features of the British plan are: exact classification; class, shelf and book guiding; the provision of automatic locking wickets to regulate the entrance and exit of borrowers, and the rule that borrowers must be registered before they can obtain admission. This last rule is not always current in America, and in consequence abuses are liable to take place. The great majority of British and American libraries, whether allowing open access or not, use cards for charging or registering books loaned to borrowers. In the United Kingdom a considerable number of places still use indicators for this purpose, although this mechanical method is gradually being restricted to fiction, save in very small places.

Other activities of modern libraries which are common to both Britain and America are courses of lectures, book exhibitions, work with children, provision of books for the blind and for foreign residents, travelling libraries and the education of library assistants. In many of the recent buildings, especially in those erected from the gifts of Mr Andrew Carnegie, special rooms for lectures and exhibitions and children are provided. Courses of lectures in connexion with the Liverpool and Manchester public libraries date from 1860, but during the years 1900-1910 there was a very great extension of this work. As a rule these courses are intended to direct attention to the literature of the subjects treated, as represented in the libraries, and in this way a certain amount of mutual advantage is secured. In some districts the libraries work in association with the education authorities, and thus it is rendered possible to keep schools supplied with books, over which the teachers are able to exercise supervision. This connexion between libraries and schools is much less common in the United Kingdom than in the British colonies and the United States, where the libraries are regarded as part of the national system of education. Excellent work has been accomplished within recent years by the Library Association in the training of librarians, and it is usual for about 300 candidates to come forward annually for examination in literary history, bibliography, classification, cataloguing, library history and library routine for which subjects certificates and diplomas are awarded. The profession of municipal librarian is not by any means remunerative as compared with employment in teaching or in the Civil Service, and until the library rate is increased there is little hope of improvement.The usefulness of public libraries has been greatly increased by the work of the Library Association, founded in 1877, during the first International Library Conference held in London in October 1877. A charter of incorporation was granted to the association in 1898. It holds monthly and annual meetings, publishes a journal, conducts examinations, issues certificates, holds classes for instruction, and has greatly helped to improve the public library law. The Library Assistants Association (1895) publishes a journal. A second International Library Conference was held at London in 1897, and a third at Brussels in 1910. Library associations have been started in most of the countries of Europe, and the American Library Association, the largest and most important in existence, was established in 1876. These associations are giving substantial aid in the development and improvement of library methods and the status of librarians, and it is certain that their influence will in time produce a more scientific and valuable type of library than at present generally exists.

The usefulness of public libraries has been greatly increased by the work of the Library Association, founded in 1877, during the first International Library Conference held in London in October 1877. A charter of incorporation was granted to the association in 1898. It holds monthly and annual meetings, publishes a journal, conducts examinations, issues certificates, holds classes for instruction, and has greatly helped to improve the public library law. The Library Assistants Association (1895) publishes a journal. A second International Library Conference was held at London in 1897, and a third at Brussels in 1910. Library associations have been started in most of the countries of Europe, and the American Library Association, the largest and most important in existence, was established in 1876. These associations are giving substantial aid in the development and improvement of library methods and the status of librarians, and it is certain that their influence will in time produce a more scientific and valuable type of library than at present generally exists.

British Colonies and India.

The majority of the British Colonies and Dependencies have permissive library laws on lines very similar to those in force in the mother country. There are, however, several points of difference which are worth mention. The rate limit is not so strict in every case, and an effort is made to bring the libraries into closer relations with the educational machinery of each colony. There is, for example, no rate limit in Tasmania; and South Australia may raise a library rate equivalent to 3d. in the £, although, in both cases, owing to the absence of large towns, the legislation existing has not been adopted. In Africa, Australia and Canada the governments make grants to public libraries up to a certain amount, on condition that the reading-rooms are open to the public, and some of the legislatures are even in closer touch with the libraries. The Canadian and Australian libraries are administered more or less on American lines, whilst those of South Africa, India, &c., are managed on the plan followed in England.

Africa.

There are several important libraries in South Africa, and many small town libraries which used to receive a government grant equal to the subscriptions of the members, but in no case did such grants exceed £150 for any one library in one year. These grants fluctuate considerably owing to the changes and temper of successive governments, and since the last war they have been considerably reduced everywhere. One of the oldest libraries is the South African Public Library at Cape Town established in 1818, which enjoys the copyright-privilege ofreceiving a free copy of every publication issued in Cape Colony. This library contains the great collection of colonial books bequeathed by Sir George Grey. The libraries of the various legislatures are perhaps the best supported and most important, but mention should be made of the public libraries of Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony, which published an excellent catalogue, and the public libraries at Kimberley; Durban, Natal; Bloemfontein, Orange River Colony; Bulawayo, Rhodesia; Johannesburg, Transvaal; and the public and university libraries at Pretoria. None of the libraries of North Africa are specially notable, although there are considerable collections at Cairo and Algiers.

Australasia.

All the public libraries, mechanics’ institutes, schools of arts and similar institutes receive aid from the government, either in the form of grants of money or boxes of books sent from some centre. The public library of New South Wales, Sydney (1869), which includes the Mitchell Library of over 50,000 vols., now possesses a total of nearly 250,000 vols., and circulates books to country libraries, lighthouses and teachers’ associations to the number of about 20,000 vols. per annum. The public library of Victoria, Melbourne (1853), with about 220,000 vols., also sends books to 443 country libraries of various kinds, which among them possess 750,000 vols., and circulate annually considerably over 2½ million vols. The university library at Melbourne (1855) has over 20,000 vols., and the libraries connected with the parliament and various learned societies are important. The public library of South Australia, Adelaide, has about 75,000 vols., and is the centre for the distribution of books to the institutes throughout the colony. These institutes possess over 325,000 vols. There is a good public library at Brisbane, Queensland, and there are a number of state-aided schools of arts with libraries attached. The Library of Parliament in Brisbane possesses over 40,000, and the Rockhampton School of Arts has 10,000 vols. Western Australia has a public library at Perth, which was established in 1887, and the small town institutes are assisted as in the other colonies.

Tasmania has several good libraries in the larger towns, but none of them had in 1910 taken advantage of the act passed in 1867 which gives municipalities practically unlimited powers and means as far as the establishment and maintenance of public libraries are concerned. At Hobart the Tasmanian Public Library (1849) is one of the most important, with 25,000 vols.

New Zealand is well equipped with public libraries established under acts dating from 1869 to 1877, as well as subscription, college and government libraries. At Auckland the Free Public Library (1880) has 50,000 vols., including Sir George Grey’s Australasian collection; the Canterbury Public Library, Christchurch (1874), has 40,000 vols.; the University of Otago Library, Dunedin (1872), 10,000 vols.; and the public library at Wellington (1893) contains 20,000 vols.

India and the East.

Apart from government and royal libraries, there are many college, society, subscription and others, both English and oriental. It is impossible to do more than name a few of the most notable. Lists of many of the libraries in private hands including descriptions of their MS. contents have been issued by the Indian government. At Calcutta the Sanskrit college has 1652 printed Sanskrit volumes and 2769 Sanskrit MSS., some as old as the 14th century; there is also a large collection of Jain MSS. The Arabic library attached to the Arabic department of the Madrasa was founded about 1781, and now includes 731 printed volumes, 143 original MSS. and 151 copies; the English library of the Anglo-Persian department dates from 1854, and extends to 3254 vols. The library of the Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded in 1784, and now contains 15,000 printed vols., chiefly on eastern and philological subjects, with a valuable collection of 9500 Arabic and Persian MSS.

At Bombay the library of the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, established in 1804 as the Literary Society of Bengal, is now an excellent general and oriental collection of 75,000 printed vols. and MSS., described in printed catalogues. The Moolla Feroze Library was bequeathed for public use by Moolla Feroze, head priest of the Parsis of the Kudmi sect in 1831, and consisted chiefly of MSS., in Arabic and Persian on history, philosophy and astronomy; some additions of English and Gujarati works have been made, as well as of European books on Zoroastrianism. The Native General Library (1845) has 11,000 vols., and there are libraries attached to Elphinstone College and the university of Bombay.

The library of Tippoo Sahib, consisting of 2000 MSS., fell into the hands of the British, and a descriptive catalogue of them by Charles Stewart was published at Cambridge in 1809, 4to. A few were presented to public libraries in England, but the majority were placed in the college of Fort William, then recently established. The first volume, containing Persian and Hindustani poetry, of theCatalogue of the Libraries of the King of Oudh, by A. Sprenger, was published at Calcutta in 1854. The compiler shortly afterwards left the Indian service, and no measures were taken to complete the work. On the annexation of the kingdom in 1856 the ex-king is believed to have taken some of the most valuable MSS. to Calcutta, but the largest portion was left behind at Lucknow. During the siege the books were used to block up windows, &c., and those which were not destroyed were abandoned and plundered by the soldiers. Many were burnt for fuel; a few, however, were rescued and sold by auction, and of these some were purchased for the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Perhaps the most remarkable library in India is that of the rājā of Tanjore, which dates from the end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century, when Tanjore was under the rule of the Telugu Nāiks, who collected Sanskrit MSS. written in the Telugu character. In the 18th century the Mahrattas conquered the country, and since that date the library increased but slowly. By far the greater portion of the store was acquired by Sharabhojī Rājā during a visit to Benares in 1820-1830; his successor Sivajī added a few, but of inferior value. There are now about 18,000 MSS. written in Devanāgarī, Nandināgarī, Telugu, Kannada, Granthī, Malayālam, Bengalī, Panjābī or Kashmirī, and Uriya; 8000 are on palm leaves. Dr Burnell’s printed catalogue describes 12,375 articles.

The Royal Asiatic Society has branches with libraries attached in many of the large cities of India, the Straits Settlements, Ceylon, China, Japan, &c. At Rangoon in Burma there are several good libraries. The Raffles Library at Singapore was established as a proprietary institution in 1844, taken over by the government in 1874, and given legal status by an ordinance passed in 1878. It now contains about 35,000 vols. in general literature, but books relating to the Malayan peninsula and archipelago have been made a special feature, and since the acquisition of the collection of J. R. Logan in 1879 the library has become remarkably rich in this department. In Ceylon there is the Museum Library at Colombo (1877), which is maintained by the government, and there are many subscription and a few oriental libraries.

Canada.

The public libraries of the various provinces of Canada have grown rapidly in importance and activity, and, assisted as they are by government and municipal grants, they promise to rival those of the United States in generous equipment. Most of the library work in Canada is on the same lines as that of the United States, and there are no special points of difference worth mention. The library laws of the Dominion are embodied in a series of acts dating from 1854, by which much the same powers are conferred on local authorities as by the legislation of Britain and the United States. An important feature of the Canadian library law is the close association maintained between schools and libraries, and in some provinces the school libraries are established by the school and not the library laws. There is also an important extension of libraries to the rural districts, so that in every direction full provision is being made for the after-school education and recreation of the people.

Back to Index Next