LIBRARIES, PUBLIC. 



331 



yen, which is the real currency of the country in 

 foreign trade. The rate of discount, varying sud- 

 denly and with a wide margin, makes business 

 at times largely speculative. 



Politics and Events. The year was measur- 

 ably free from the usual riots and outbreaks of 

 native peasants against their oppressive yang-ban 

 and magistrates, or against Japanese traders and 

 workmen, though another attempt was made with 

 violence to wreck the electric railway and hinder 

 Japanese railway laborers. The palace intrigues 

 ind emeutes have also been fewer than usual, 

 reversion to barbarism, in the judicial torture 

 id execution of two Koreans, was made the sub- 

 ject of protest from and negotiation with Japan, 

 ind the affair was closed after an apology from 

 Ws Majesty given through the Mikado's envoy 

 n audience. During the Boxer agitation in China 

 there was danger of irruptions across the border 

 at Wi-ju. A Russian escort of 50 soldiers to 

 the refugee Danish missionaries from China was 

 riven free passage, and Korea virtually joined the 



allies marching to Pekin, giving aid and comfort 

 in the form of 1,000 bags of cleaned rice, 2,000 

 bags of flour, and several hundred cases of ciga- 

 rettes. Nevertheless, the formation of a Korean 

 secret society in alliance with the Chinese anti- 

 foreign agitators was accompanied by assaults, 

 with robbery of missionaries, in November. Prince 

 Min-Tong-Whan was appointed minister to Wash- 

 ington, and arrived in time for the New Year's 

 reception at the White House. In October a 

 Korean branch of the Royal Asiatic Society was 

 formed in Seoul. J. H. Gubbins was made presi- 

 dent, and the membership consisted mainly of 

 English-speaking residents. The year has been 

 one of great activity and marked success in mis- 

 sionary effort. There are now, besides the native 

 Christians of the Greek and Roman forms of the 

 faith, about 10,000 members of the various re- 

 formed churches. Government schools for the 

 study of English, French, Russian, and Japanese 

 are in operation in Seoul, besides the military, 

 medical, and pedagogical institutes. 



L 



LIBRARIES, PUBLIC. The early history 

 what may be called the new library movement 

 this country was told in the Annual Cyclopaedia 

 for 1886, and subsequent progress was outlined 

 in the volume for 1893. This year the record is 

 to be brought down to the end of the century. 



One of the most evident signs of progress is 

 :>und in the increase of libraries, an increase 

 irthered by special legislation. The most note- 

 worthy newcomer in the library field is found in 

 few York city, where the Astor Library, Lenox 

 library, and Tilden Trust combined forces in 

 1895 to form the New York Public Library, a 

 nsolidation that prevents much duplication of 

 rk and makes possible various innovations 

 (longer hours, more book accessions, improved 

 methods), increasing the usefulness of the newly 

 created library. A building is in process of con- 

 struction on the site of the old reservoir at Fifth 

 Avenue and Forty-Second Street. In 1900 some 

 sf the circulating libraries in the city began to 

 make arrangements for consolidating with this 

 library. 



The Bureau of Education in 1896 again issued 

 statistics of public, society, and school libraries, 

 from which most of the following figures are taken. 

 Reports were received by the bureau in 1896 from 

 1,026 libraries (of more than 1,000 volumes each) 

 the United States, containing 33,051,872 vol- 

 imes and 5,444,788 pamphlets. This meant an 

 crease, since 1891, of 523 libraries and 7,074,229 

 lumes, or 15 per cent, in libraries and 27 per cent, 

 number of volumes. This difference between 

 and 27 per cent, was explained by the statement 

 lat " unfavorable business conditions since 1891 

 have operated to prevent the establishment of 

 nany libraries, yet the cheapness of books has 

 'een favorable to the growth of existing libraries 

 i'ith fixed incomes." The North Atlantic division 

 lowed an increase in volumes of more than 28 

 er cent., the North Central division about 28 

 er cent., the Western division nearly 40 per cent., 

 ie South Atlantic 18 per cent., and the South 

 entral 21 per cent. More than half of the actual 

 icrease in the number of volumes was made in 

 lie North Atlantic division. 



Of these libraries, 2,000 were credited to the 

 North Atlantic division, 322 to the South Atlantic 

 division, 255 to the South Central division, 1,195 to 





the North Central division, and 254 to the West- 

 ern division. In addition, 3,167 libraries were re- 

 ported as having fewer than 1,000 but not fewer 

 than 300 volumes, and nearly 1,000 had fewer than 

 300 volumes each. This made a total of 7,193 li- 

 braries (of 300 volumes and over) and 34,596,258 

 volumes, compared with 5,338 libraries and 20,- 

 722,393 volumes in 1885, and 3,648 libraries and 

 12,329,526 volumes in 1875. 



Two libraries had 500,000 volumes or more; 4 

 had 300,000 to 499,999; 28 had 100,000 to 299,999; 

 69 had 50,000 to 49,999 ; 155 had 25,000 to 49,999 ; 

 411 had 10,000 to 24,999; 630 had 5,000 to 9,999; 

 and 2,727 had 1,000 to 4,999. 



Of books drawn for home use, 1,852 libraries 

 reported 35,075,055 in 1896, and 594 reported 7,- 

 706,830 volumes used in the reading rooms. The 

 statistics of Greater New York for l897-'98 show 

 a total of 3,226,807 volumes circulated in that 

 year. 



Under the heading Distribution of Libraries 

 and of Volumes, it is shown that in 1891, with 

 3,503 libraries containing 25,977,643 volumes, there 

 was one library for every 17,877 people, and 41 

 volumes for every 100 inhabitants in the country. 

 For 1896 the figures were: 4,026 libraries with 33,- 

 051,872 volumes, being 17,376 inhabitants for 

 each library and 47 volumes for every 100 in- 

 habitants. The libraries that occupied their ow r n 

 buildings numbered 765, and 548 paid rent. Of the 

 2,713 others, many were school libraries, which 

 neither owned buildings nor paid rent. The li- 

 braries supported by taxation numbered 1,147; by 

 corporations, 2,346; and by both, 14. The free 

 libraries reported numbered 1,558; 635 w y ere free 

 for reference only, and 772 were free to subscribers. 

 Of the 1,061 not reporting, many were corporation 

 libraries free to members. Six hundred and twen- 

 ty-seven libraries, containing 9,062,363 volumes, 

 and circulating 27,015,234 volumes for home use 

 during the year, were entirely free to the public. 

 Three hundred and forty-two libraries were strictly 

 circulating, 705 were for reference, and 2,600 were 

 both. 



The 4,026 libraries were classified as follows: 

 General, 1,560; school, 940; college, 626; college 

 society, 54; law, 127; theological, 97; medical, 

 44; Government, 23; State, 26; asylum and re- 

 formatory, 87; Young Men's Christian Associa- 



