LIBRARY committee's REPORT. 67 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE LIBEAEY, 



For the Year 1866. 



by f. parkman, chairman. 



Your Committee are happy to report that, during the past year, the 

 circulation of books has increased one third over that of the year pre- 

 ceding. As arrangements have been made which will give greater facil- 

 ities of access to the Librarj^ it is to be hoped that the next year will 

 show a yet larger increase. Books may henceforward be taken cut or 

 examined throughout the business hours of every week-day. 



The great necessity of the Library is a good catalogue, of which every 

 member of the Society should have a cojDy. To make one such as will 

 eftectually answer its purpose and not discredit the Society, requires the 

 services of a person accustomed to work of this kind and acquainted 

 with foreign languages. Such a one can be employed at the rate of 

 twenty dollars a week, and as the catalogue can certainly be made with- 

 in the space of a month, the outlay will be small. Your Committee re- 

 quest that you will authorize them to have this work done. 



The number of costly illustrated books in our collection, while it makes 

 the library exceedingly valuable relatively to the number of volumes 

 contained in it, at the same time calls for care and precaution in its use. 

 A^''hile the greater part of the books may be allowed a free circulation, 

 it is indispensible to the interests of the Society that others should be 

 consulted in the library-room alone, or be permitted to leave it only by 

 a special vote of the Committee. 



The reduced rates of exchange, will, it is hoped, make it possible to 

 import during the next year, at a reasonable price, several valuable books 

 which hitherto it has been impossible to procure without too great an 

 outlay, notwithstanding our exemption from the payment of duties. 



The expenditure for the past year amounts to S407.06, of which a por- 

 tion was on account of purchases of the preceding year. A balance of 

 ^72 94 is now on hand, but it will be covered by orders already given 

 for books. 



The following books were purchased during the past year: — 



Album de Pomologie, 4 vols., 4to. 

 Miller's Gardener's Dictionary, 3 vols., 8vo. 

 Worcester's Large Dictionary, 1 vol., 4to. 

 Grevelle's Scottish Flora, G vols., royal Bvo. 



