8 



Department is now 12,010, of which 283 have been added during the 

 year. The Patent Library, which is included in the above number, 

 now contains 3,454 volumes, of which 116 were added in the same 

 period. The smaller issues bring several effects in their train ; we 

 have had to levy less fines ; about 200 less books have been with- 

 drawn as worn-out ; and one thousand less have passed through the 

 binder's hands for repairs, great or small. 



The erection of a new Indicator necessitated a great change in our 

 system of issuing. The staff have readily adapted themselves to it, 

 however, and if not quite so rapid as our old method, it lends itself 

 less readily to inaccuracy, and it has passed beyond the experi- 

 mental stage, and the public are beginning to understand it. A com- 

 plete overhauling of our list of borrowers and guarantors has for a 

 long time been a necessity, and when we re-opened with the new 

 Indicator, each borrower had to make a fresh application, and the 

 guarantee will now have to be renewed every two years. For the 

 new register we have adopted the card system, which works ad- 

 mirably, and will automatically check time-expired tickets. The 

 usual table of borrowers' occupations is of very recent date, and 

 shows that we still cater for all classes. The distribution among the 

 wards is shown in the following table, about which there is no 

 special remark to make. 



If there has been a falling off' in the issues of the Library, the 

 Newsrooms have shown a very different result, for never have they 

 been more extensively or more continuously used, and I am glad to 

 report that I have not had a single complaint about the behaviour of 

 those frequenting them during the whole year, nor has there been 

 any serious complaint to make about the treatment of the books. 



