374? Royal Society, 



Report of the Council to the Anniversary Meeting on St. Andrew's 



Day, 1832. 



The Council of the Royal Society have, during the past year, used 

 their most earnest endeavours to render the Library as effective for the 

 purposes of science, as the means at their disposal would enable them. 

 They have been desirous, in particular, to make it as complete as pos- 

 sible in all those departments of science, which it is more especially 

 the object of the Royal Society to cultivate and to advance. They 

 have accordingly purchased, with the advice of the Library Committee, 

 such books as were more immediately required for these purposes, at 

 an expense of about £1600. It was evident, however, that the mere 

 possession of these books by the Society would be of little avail to 

 those who wished to use them, until they were arranged and cata- 

 logued according to some uniform and well-digested method. A 

 Committee was therefore appointed to consider of the best plan of 

 effecting this desirable object ; and to suggest measures for ob- 

 taining a correct catalogue of the library, arranged under such 

 specific heads as were best calculated to assist the inquiries of all 

 those who might resort to it for information. Various plans for this 

 purpose were proposed and discussed : and it was finally determined 

 that in order to insure uniformity of execution, the whole labour of 

 compiling the new classed Catalogue, and of conducting it through 

 the press, should be confided, though still under the superintendence 

 of the Committee, to one person only ; provided a proper person 

 could be found who was fully competent to so arduous a task, and 

 also willing to undertake it. The Council have accordingly engaged 

 Mr. Panizzi, of the British Museum, a gentleman of great literary 

 attainments, and conversant with that kind of labour, to undertake 

 this charge j and have no doubt that he will accomplish it to the full 

 satisfaction of the Fellows of the Society at large, to whom the pos- 

 session of such a classed Catalogue as the one proposed, will be ad- 

 vantageous in many ways, independently of its direct utility in refer- 

 ence to the employment of the library. 



The whole of the sum at which the Arundel Manuscripts which 

 have been exchanged for books, were valued, has now been received 

 from the Trustees of the British Museum, and the account with them 

 is thereby closed. 



The Council have also directed the printing of an edition of the 

 Abstracts made by the Secretaries and entered on the Journal Book of 

 the Society, of such papers as have been read to the Society and 

 ordered for publication in their Transactions, from the year 1800 

 inclusive, to the present time. They conceive that a collection of 

 these Abstracts, which possess in themselves much intrinsic value, 

 will form an useful sequel to the Abridgement of the Philosophical 

 Transactions of which the public is already in possession, but which 

 does not extend to a later period than the end of the last century. 

 This work will form two thick octavo volumes, one of which is now 

 completed and ready for delivery to subscribers. The proof sheets, 

 at the desire of the Council, were read over by Mr. Lubbock and Mr. 



