Jan., 191 7. Annual Report of the Director. 85 



Tomkinson's Japanese Collection; Jacoby's Japanische Schwertzieraten. 

 Mr. Edward E. Ayer presented copies of Nelson's Birds of Yorkshire 

 and Dixson's Game Birds. Mr. Ayer has also caused to be ordered for 

 the Museum a collection of ornithological works, which when secured, 

 will further enrich the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. The 

 students and artists, as they become acquainted with the resources of 

 the Museum Library, find it the only library in the city containing so 

 many rare and beautifully illustrated ornithological works. Mrs 

 Edward E. Ayer presented a copy of her translation of the Memorial 

 of Fray Alonso Benavidies, 1 630. The Cambridge University, England, 

 sent a set of sixteen volumes of its Archaeological and Ethnological 

 publications. From the Instituto Biologico of Mexico was received 

 eight of the earlier volumes of La Naturaleza. The Canadian Institute 

 sent fifteen of its earliest publications. The Deutsche Morgenlandische 

 Gesellschaft, Leipzig, presented twenty-three volumes of its Zeitschrift. 

 The Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, completed its file of Pro- 

 ceedings of fifty-one volumes to date, by sending volumes one to 

 twenty-eight inclusive. Through the generosity of various governments 

 represented at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the library 

 received a hundred books and pamphlets. Among these contributions 

 was that of the Chinese Commission consisting of a work in sixteen 

 volumes, bound in cloth cases, entitled Km ting shu king t'u shuo, 

 issued by the command of the late Empress Dowager in 1903, and now 

 out of print. The Argentine Commission gave twenty-eight volumes, 

 among which is a set of the Boletin of the Cordoba Academy of Natural 

 Sciences, particularly desirable. The purchases have been confined to 

 a limited number of books required by the staff for immediate use. Of 

 the twelve orders approved, eleven were filled and these added thirty- 

 five works to the Departmental libraries. Through exchanges with 

 foreign book dealers for publications issued by the Museum, thirteen 

 other important volumes desired by the staff were obtained. 



Year after year the periodical lists are examined by the Curators and 

 those periodicals that were supposed to have permanent value when 

 subscribed to but have become of less use to the staff, have been dropped 

 from the list. At the present time ninety-eight periodicals are received 

 with twenty continuations. 



The increased cost of materials used in binderies is reflected in the 

 advance in the schedule of prices for binding, leather binding being 

 almost prohibitive. For several years, however, all books except a few 

 sets in continuation have been bound in cloth or library buckram in 

 preference to leather as more durable bindings. During the year six 

 hundred and thirteen books and pamphlets have been bound. 



