108 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BKITISH MUSEUM. 



The extent of this collection on the 31st of December was 

 28,486 volumes and 4,267 maps. 



The accessions to the Departmental Libraries have also been 

 catalogued as they came in, and duplicate transcripts of the 

 titles have been returned with the books. 



Altogether 1,709 title-slips have been written, 175 re- 

 written, and 2,145 revised. 



There are now, on a rough estimate, 74,506 volumes 

 (exclusive of minor separata) and 5,774 maps in the whole 

 building. 



The printing of the Catalogue has been continued, and the 

 work at the end of the year stood as follows : — 



No. of sheets passed for press - - - 45 



No. of title-slips (A — Con) set up in type - 1,103 



The permanent card-catalogue has been mounted as far as 

 the end of sheet 43, and the work of transferring to it 

 the press-marks and other memoranda have been nearly 

 completed. 



A set of sheets of the Catalogue (as far as printed off), 

 stamped with index letters showing in which Department 

 the various works are to be found, has been supplied to each 

 Department. 



The number of students and. visitors (irrespective of the 

 staff and persons to whom the use of a key is granted) 

 making use of the Library during the year was 990. 



E. Ray Lankester, 



Director. 



British Museum (Natural History), 

 31 March 1900. 



