8 
books for the young hold an important place in the Library. Four books 
have been lost and paid for, and three have been totally lost through 
default of both borrower and guarantor. On the other hand, a book 
returned two years ago as totally lost, has been recovered. I think that 
considering the very large issue, these figures will not be considered un- 
satisfactory. There is very little ill-usage of books to complain of, and I 
have only had one case of deliberately wilful damage to report during the 
year. Four leaves were cut out bodily from a volume of humorous songs. 
A few of our readers, and only a few, are in the habit of marking the 
books. ‘The marks consist chiefly of marginal notes, more or less idiotic, 
on the subject matter, and sometimes the reader’s opinion on the volume 
as a whole is given in a condensed form on the fly leaf at the end. As 
might be expected, the remarks bear no critical value, and the practice is a 
distinctly mischievous one, and a violation of the Library regulations. I 
am informed that tHe practice is not unknown in Libraries other than those 
supported by the rates, and I have every reason to believe that we have 
less of it than in other towns. I hope I may be able next year to report 
its discontinuance. In the Reference Library 30 volumes of Illustrated 
books have been withdrawn as worn out, and 260 new volumes have been 
added. The whole of the Library is now in an excellent state of repair, 
and there are less than a hundred volumes not available for public use. 
The total number of volumes rebound during the past year is 945, and of 
those repaired 4,777, a total of 5,722. 
During the last year there have been enrolled 1,062 new borrowers, 
754 males and 308 females, whose occupations are shown in Table VI. 
They are thus distributed in the various Wards: Arboretum 116, Babing- 
ton 141, Becket 228, Castle 98, Derwent 39, Friar Gate 121, King’s Mead 
126, Litchurch, 131. Calculating by the percentage which the number on 
the Burgess-roll in each Ward bears to the whole of the town, these 
numbers should be: Arboretum 144, Babington 123, Becket 187, Castle 
126, Derwent 67, Friar Gate 111, King’s Mead 150, Litchurch 92. These 
figures speak for themselves. ‘The number of borrowers since the opening 
of the building in 1879 is 16,002, of whom I estimate something over one 
third are using the Library at the present time. 1,327 applications have 
been made to borrowers for overdue books, and no fewer than 1,005 books 
have been bespoken at the cost of one penny, a post card being sent to the 
borrower when the book is in. I shall be very glad to see this regulation 
still more largely used by borrowers. 
Since February last, we have received regularly every week a list of the 
infected houses in the Borough. Occupiers of such houses known to be 
