THE LIBRARIES. 



1. GENERAL SKETCH OP THE SEVERAL LIBRARIES IN THE BRITISH 

 MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY), WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF 

 THEIR FORMATION AND PROGRESS, FROM 1753 TO THE END 

 OF 1900. 



THE various Books, MSS., Drawings, and Maps in the Natural 

 History Section of the British Museum are distributed as 

 follows : 



1. GENERAL LIBRARY (L.)*: Comprising works treating of 

 subjects common to two or more of the Departments, and hence 

 mainly consisting of the publications of Scientific Societies, 

 Academies, and such like Corporate Bodies, of Scientific Maga- 

 zines, and of Works of Travel. 



Topographical Maps of all countries, the Admiralty Charts 

 and the sheets of the Ordnance Survey [Scale 1 in. = 1 m.] are 

 also kept there. 



Attached to the General Library are the Owen Collection 

 of Drawings of zoological and palseontological specimens, and 

 some MSS., including a collection, in course of formation, of 

 the autographs of Naturalists, formed for the purpose of the 

 identification of handwriting on labels, etc.,f and a collection 

 of Photographs of Natural History objects and Museums. These 

 drawings and photographs have not yet been arranged or 

 catalogued. 



2. BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT LIBRARY (B.)*: Comprising such 

 serial publications and separate works as deal with Botany (pure 



* In the following pages, to avoid constant repetition, the letters L, B, G, 

 M, Z, already in use in the Library, are used for the purpose of distinguishing 

 the several libraries. 



t A representative selection of the large and valuable collection of 

 autographs of Naturalists formed by Mr. C. Davies Sherborn has been 

 generously made available by him for purposes of consultation by the officers 

 and students in the Museum, and has constantly proved most useful. 



B 2 



