THE STICKNEY FUND. 201 



others more popular in character. An increase of more 

 than one third in the number of books taken out was 

 reported. Agreeably to a vote of the Society, the 

 Library Committee procured an album for the photo- 

 graphs of members. This has been filled, and a second 

 and third have been added, containing now 400 photo- 

 graphs. In 1865 the action of the committee was cur- 

 tailed by the necessity of using one half the appropria- 

 tion for furnishing the library room in the new building. 

 In 1866 the committee announced that the library 

 would thenceforward be open for taking out or examin- 

 ing books during the business hours of every week day. 

 In 1867 the reduction in the rate of exchange made it 

 possible to procure several valuable works which had 

 been desired. During nine months of the year the 

 circulation was 532 volumes against 481 taken out 

 during the whole of .the year 1866, and the rooms had 

 grown in favor as a place of resort. In 1868 the circu- 

 lation rose to a thousand volumes. 



In 1869 occurred the most important event in the 

 history of the library, the donation of the Stickney 

 Fund, the terms of which gift have been stated in Chap- 

 ter IV. The income has annually been appropriated 

 according to the terms of the gift, and has enabled the 

 Society to add to its library many large and costly works 

 of reference. The regular appropriation for this year, 

 having been made before the gift of the Stickney Fund, 

 was increased by $100 ; and, an opportunity offering to 

 secure a valuable collection of books at a moderate 

 price, a special appropriation of $333.26 was made. 

 The total expenditure on the library for this year thus 

 amounted to $1,633.26, more than in any year before 

 or since. Since this time, the appropriation for binding, 



