490 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSETTM, 1903. 



The public library contains books for home reading, reference works, 

 periodicals, public documents, and books on the fine and decorative 

 arts, the total in 1900 aggregating 258,498 books. 



The present book stacks suffice for 300,000 volumes, but about 

 111,000 is now being spent in constructing additional ones that will 

 accommodate 90,000 more, and there is room enough for stacks to 

 accommodate 300,000 besides, but if the structure referred to above is 

 built over the west court and the rooms now used by the Grand Army 

 of the Republic become free to the library, the building may contain 

 2,000,000 volumes. There is, therefore, space available for a long 

 period of future growth. 



In the great periodical reading room of the third floor 1,030 current 

 periodicals and newspapers are displayed. 



The reference room adjoining is as unrestrictedly accessible as is 

 the large hall. It contains, in its wall repositories, dictionaries, ency- 

 clopedias, bibliog-raphies, handbooks, etc. (2,000 volumes in all), that 

 the public can use directly without application at the desk. It is not 

 possible to state how many volumes are here consulted, but it is cer- 

 tainly many hundreds of thousands. In 1900-1901, 121,709 persons 

 visited the reading room and used 336,103 volumes which, at thtMr 

 request, were given to them from the library. 



In 1900-1901, 1,772,741 books were lent to 79,605 persons, averaging 

 5,813 on week days, 284 on Sundays and liolidays, the maximum 

 being 10,005 on February 23, the minimum 4,424 on September 12. 

 Sixty -six per cent of these lent books, 1,164,320, came from 65 branch 

 stations in the city. 



More than 4,000,000 volumes, including pamphlets, parts of period- 

 icals, and newspapers, are annually iised in the Chicago Public Library. 

 In 1900-1901,1,800,000 were lent out and 600,000 (estimated) were 

 used in the library and its six branch reading rooms. The number of 

 books, periodicals, and newspapers consulted or taken from the open 

 shelves, and of which no record was taken, must be estimated at not 

 less than 1,600,000, based on the number of daily visitors given above. 



All of this will give an idea of the all-embracing activity of the 

 public library. That so great an organization, which does so much 

 good, can not be cheaply maintained is obvious. In 1899-1900 the cost 

 of the maintenance, defrayed by the city, was $263,397. There was 

 paid out for salaries in 1900-1901 the sum of about $136,000; in 1899- 

 1900 the branch stations cost $23,717 and the fuel $8,068. 



The library has 208 employees, 59 of whom are women, and include 

 1 librarian, 1 secretary (also treasurer), 3 assistant librarians 8 heads 

 of departments (circulating, delivery stations, reference, binding, read- 

 ing room, registry, ordering, patent department), and 110 assistants. 



At the head of this powerful and admirable institution is a board of 

 9 directors. The mayor of Chicago annually names three of these 



