“, 
new borrowers have been enrolled, 757 males and 411 females, whose 
occupations I have tabulated as usual. The borrowers are distributed 
over the various wards as follows, the second column showing the number 
who ought to come from each ward in proportion to the population. 
Actual Number 
WARD. number of according to 
Borrowers. Population. 
Arboretum ... cas ae 113 150 
Babington ... ase ae 140 125 
Becket Ss dee Ea 214 186 
Castle nae sale “=e 99 123 
Derwent... is fei 47 65 
Friar Gate ... We ae 121 III 
Kings Mead Ae as 121 150 
Litchurch ... fe ai, 145 fete) 
Becket, Babington, Friar Gate, and Litchurch Wards furnish more 
than their quota of readers, the last-named remarkably so, and the other 
four wards fall below their fair share. 
The arrangement referred to in my last report with regard to in- 
fected houses is still carried out, and works well. All books which 
have been in infected houses have been destroyed, and the public may 
have all confidence that the Library is not a means of spreading 
contagious diseases. 
The News Room and Reference Room continue to be extensively 
used, and no complaint can be made of the conduct of those who 
resort thither. In the evenings the News Rooms are always full, and 
I have very rarely indeed to draw attention to the regulations enforcing 
silence. 
I have not been able to do nearly as much in the Museum as I 
hoped to have done during the year; but, with the exception of the 
Geological collection, everything is in good order. The naming of the 
specimens is all but completed, and if I can only get time, a few weeks 
should see everything in order. The Committee may rely on my best 
efforts in this direction. 
Mr. C. J. Courtney, who had been in the service of the Committee 
for nearly eighteen years, received the appointment of Librarian at the 
Minet Library, Camberwell, in May last. His services were always 
cheerfully and willingly rendered; and the appointment of Mr. W. H. 
Walton, as his successor, will, I am sure, secure the Committee another 
zealous and faithful servant. Of the rest of the staff, I can only speak 
