xHv Aminal Report of the Council. 



The Natural History Fund has still a debit balance, owing 

 to the transfer of ^loo towards the cost of new bookcases, as 

 referred to in the report of the Council for the session 1895 — 

 1896; this debit balance has been reduced from ^54. 3s. 8d. 

 last year to its present amount of £^ifZ. 3s. lod. 



No expenditure has been incurred in respect to the Joule 

 Memorial Fund and the Dalton Tomb Fund, the balances of 

 which remain at the amounts stated above. The Dalton Tomb 

 Fund stands as a separate account at the Manchester and Salford 

 Savings Bank. 



The Librarian reports that during the session 736 volumes 

 have been stamped, catalogued and pressmarked, 667 of these 

 being serials, and 69 separate works. There have been written 

 329 catalogue cards, 248 for serials, and 81 for separate works. 

 The total number of volumes catalogued to date is 26,929 

 for which 8,923 cards have been written. 



Satisfactory use is made of the library for reference purposes, 

 but the number of volumes consulted is not recorded. During 

 the session, 163 volumes have been borrowed from the library, 

 as compared with 152 volumes in the previous session. 



Some attention has continued to be paid to the completion 

 of sets, 18 volumes or parts having been obtained wliich render 

 5 sets complete, whilst 3 volumes have been acquired which 

 partly complete one set. Most of these volumes were presented 

 by the respective societies publishing them. Since the com- 

 mencement of the re-cataloguing of the library, a total of 823 

 missing volumes has been obtained, resulting in the completion 

 of 103 sets. 



Comparatively little binding has been done this session, 255 

 volumes having been bound in 214. 



A record of the accessions to the library shows that, from 

 April, 1902, to March, 1903, 724 serials and 47 separate works 

 were received, a total of 771 volumes. The donations during the 

 session (exclusive of the usual exchanges) amount to 42 volumes 



