14 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



VII.— PROGRESS made in the Arrangement and Cata- 

 loguing OF Collections, and Additions made to 

 THEM, in the Year 1890. (Bloomsbury.) 



Department of Printed Books. 



I. Arrangement. — The works added to the collection during 

 the past year have, as far as possible, been placed on the 

 shelves of the Library according to the system of classifica- 

 tion adopted in the Museum. The press-marks, indicating 

 their respective localities, have been marked on the inside, 

 and affixed to the back of each volume ; also on the title- 

 slips. The total number of these press-marks amounts to 

 103,639; in addition to which 27,037 press-marks have been 

 altered, in consequence of changes and re-arrangements 

 carried out in the Library ; 37,316 labels have been affixed 

 to books and volumes of newspapers, and 80,793 obliterated 

 labels have been renewed. The process of attaching third- 

 marks to the books in the New Library, with the view of 

 accelerating their delivery to readers, has been continued ; 

 23,688 books have been thus marked during the year, and 

 the corresponding alterations have been carried out in the 

 Reading-room and Hand Catalogues ; and 10,389 volumes of 

 country newspapers have been numbered, and for London 

 and country newspapers 22,601 index-slips have been written. 



The number of stamps impressed upon articles received 

 is altogether 391,723, of which 10,858 were upon duplicates 

 transferred to other libraries. 



II. Cataloguing. — {a.) 57,513 title-slips have been written 

 (the term title-slip applying equally to a main title and to a 

 cross reference). Of these 40,837 were written for the General 

 Catalogue, and 16,676 for the separate Catalogues of Music 

 and the Oriental Collections. 



Q).) Printing. — 44,716 titles and 251 index-slips have been 

 prepared for printing during the year, upon the plan an- 

 nounced in the Statement of General Administration for 1879, 

 and 42,836 titles and 251 index-slips have been printed off. 



Progress has also been made in printing the whole Catalogue 

 in alphabetical sequence from the beginning. With the excep- 

 tion of the headings " Bible " (begun), " England," " France," 

 " Great Britain," Liturgies, and a few others, the Catalogue 

 was, at the end of 1890, either printed or at press up to the 

 heading " Londolianus.' 



One hundred and twenty-seven manuscript volumes have 

 been printed during the past year, forming 21 printed parts. 



(c.) Incorporation. — General Catalogue. — 45,280 title- 

 slips and 246 index-slips have been incorporated into each 



copy 



