A Librarian's Work. 335 



try, the books are ready for me to look over, and 

 I must first decide to what "fund " each book en- 

 tered on the invoice must be charged. The uni- 

 versity never buys books with its general funds, 

 but uses for this purpose the income of a dozen 

 or more small funds, given, bequeathed, or sub- 

 scribed, expressly for the purchase of bocks. 

 Sometimes the donors of such funds allow us to 

 get whatever books we like with the money, but 

 more often they show an inclination to favour the 

 growth of departments in which they feel a per- 

 sonal interest. Thus the munificent bequest of 

 the late Mr. Charles Sumner is appropriated to 

 the purchase of works on politics and the fine 

 arts, while Dr. Walker's bequest provides more 

 especially for theology and philosophy, and the 

 estate of Professor Farrar still guards the inter- 

 ests of mathematics and physics. Under such 

 circumstances, it is of course necessary to keep a 

 separate account with each fund, and the data for 

 such an account are provided by charging every 

 new book as it arrives. On the margin of the 

 invoice the names of the different funds are writ- 

 ten in pencil against the entries, while the assist- 

 ants separate the books into ^groups according to 

 the funds to which they are charged. Five or six 

 more assistants now arriving on the scene, the 

 work of " collating " begins. 



