-^ IpiBi^arian's Report ^o- 



TO THE COMMITTEE, FOR THE YEAR ENDING 

 SEPTEMBER 29th, 1904. 



Gentlemen. 

 'Y Report to you will present no new features, for the year's 

 work has been comparatively uneventful. It becomes in- 

 creasingly difficult as years go on to say anything which has not 

 been said before, but if I can so place comparative results before you 

 as to save your wading through the tables of statistics, perhaps the 

 object of this report will have been sufficiently answered. 



With regard to the Library, financial considerations have operated 

 a good deal in the number of new books purchased. The Lending 

 Department now contains 22,671 books against 22,628 last year. We 

 have added 423 new books, and replaced 387 out of 749 withdrawn 

 as worn out. The other sources of reduction are not large ; g books 

 have been lost and paid for ; 8 books have been destroyed in conse- 

 quence of their having been in infected houses, and only one has been 

 totally lost through default of borrower and guarantor. The last Annual 

 Stock-taking yielded the most satisfactory results we have ever had. 

 The total issues are about two thousand less than last year, and the 

 daily issues twelve less. The Reference Library now contains 13,265 

 books as compared with 12,956. Of these 141 ordinary books and 168 

 volumes of Patent Specifications have been added during the year. 

 The average daily issue is 28. We enrolled 13 11 new borrowers, 

 i2o5 overdue books had to be written for, and 2375 volumes 

 passed through the binder's hands, 420 for re-binding, and 1955 for 

 repairs. 



There is nothing now to complain of in the way in which our 

 borrowers make use of the Catalogues and Indicator. The Catalogue 

 in each division is absolutely up to date, the printed Catalogues being 

 supplemented by cards. A second edition of the Fiction Catalogue has 

 been sold out during the year, and a thirid is now in preparation. This 



