librarian's Jteport 



TO THE COMMITTEE, FOR THE YEAR ENDING 

 SEPTEMBER 29th, 1903. 



Gentlemen, 



IT becomes year by year, an inci'eat^ing diHiculty to say anything 

 new ill my Annual Rajjort, particularly when, as on the present 

 occasion, the year's woi-k has been of an ordinary character. It 

 however affords me an opportunity of chronicling progress w here any 

 has been made, and of putting before you in a condensed form, 

 much of the matter contained in the following tables. 



Dealing first with the Library, and making comparisons with the 

 last return ; I find that in the Lending Library we have now 22,(128 

 books against 22,1G7 last year, that we have added 722 new books 

 and rejjlaced 3G3 out of 732 withdrawn as worn out. The other 

 sources of shrinkage are inconsideral)le and may be seen on reference 

 to the statistical tables. Fewer books have been lost and paid for and 

 fewer have been destroyed for having been in infected houses, but on 

 the other hand four have been totally lost through default of borrower 

 and guarantor, a larger numlier than usual. The total issues are about 

 thi-ee thousand more and the daily issues eleven more than last year. 

 The latter now reach .511, of which 55 are children's books. The Refer- 

 ence Library numbers 12,956 books as against 12,563 last year, 201 of 

 these have been added du)-ing last year, as well as llt2 volumes of Patent 

 Specifications. The average daily issue is one less. New borrowers 

 enrolled numbered 1,436; 1,056 overdue books had to be written for, 

 652 books were bespoken, and 2,871 passed through the binder's 

 hands, either for re-binding or repairs. 



The completion of the Lending Library Catalogue at the begin- 

 ing of the year has tended much to the efficiency and smooth working 

 of the Library, and we have no difficulties now with the proper use 

 of the Indicator by the borrowers. The Fiction Section of the 

 Catalogue has run through a large first edition and another edition is 



