THE RETROSPECT OF THE YEAR. 137 



Of the total number of pamphlets and serials, 3,787 were 

 pamphlets and 9,619 were serials. 



The 'donations to the library for the year have been 

 received from two hundred and seven individuals and 

 seventy-five societies and governmental departments. The 

 exchanges from eight individuals and one hundred and 

 seventy-eight societies and incorporated institutions, of 

 which ninety-four are foreign ; also from editors and pub- 

 lishers. 



Among the donations may be mentioned an addition to 

 thejbotanical section of nearly 100 volumes, from Mr. John 

 Robinson ; about 600 volumes distributed among the va- 

 rious departments, from Mr. T. F. Hunt ; the frequent 

 gifts of Dr. Samuel A. Green of Boston ; and the con- 

 gressional documents regularly received from the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior. 



The librarian desires to call attention again to a subject 

 which was mentioned in his last annual report, namely, the 

 marking out of special lines of work for the Public Library 

 and the Essex Institute, and in a lesser degree for the Salem 

 Athenaeum, and the Peabody Academy of Science. A few 

 months since a meeting was held at the Public Library, at 

 which, were present representatives of all the societies 

 mentioned and a unanimous agreement was arrived at, 

 that each should as far as possible mark out a special line 

 of its own in reference to the purchase of expensive books 

 so that unnecessary duplication would be avoided. To 

 the Public Library should be left the purchase of books on 

 general literature as fiction, biography, travels, etc., and 

 those on the industrial and mechanic arts ; to the Institute, 

 local history, genealogy, sociology, the collection of bound 

 volumes of newspapers and other subjects within the line 

 of its special work and, together with the Peabody Acad- 

 emy of Science, the scientific works largely obtained by 



