20 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



IX.— PROGEESS made in the Arrangement and Descrip- 

 tion OF THE Collections, and Account of 

 Objects added to them in the Year 1908 (Blooms- 

 bury). 



Department of Printed Books. 



I. Ai^rangement. — 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 classification 

 adopted in the Museum. 



The press-marks, indicating their respective localities, have 

 been marked on the inside and afiixed to the back of each 

 volume. 



The total number of these press-marks amounts to 70,220 ; 

 in addition to which 112,185 press-marks have been altered, 

 on books and in the catalogues, in consequence of changes and 

 re-arrangements carried out in the Library ; 38,497 labels have 

 been affixed to volumes of newspapers, and 121,725 obliterated 

 labels have been renewed. 



The number of stamps impressed upon articles received is 

 451,491. 



4,310 presses of books and newspapers have been dusted in 

 the course of the year. 



II. Catalogues. — Cataloguing. — 45,934 titles have been 

 written (the term "title" applying equally to a main-title 

 and to a cross-reference) for the General Catalogue and for 

 the Catalogues of Maps and Music. 



Printing. — 33,884 titles and index-slips for the General 

 "'Catalogue, and 3,132 for the Map Catalogue, have been pre- 

 pared for printing during the year ; and 32,927 titles and index- 

 slips for the General Catalogue, 3,126 for the Map Catalogue 

 and 15,507 for the Music Catalogue, have been printed. 



Reprinting. — 348 columns, including the headings Austria 

 (52 cols.), Cervantes (72 cols.), and Wright (105 cols.), have 

 been revised, rearranged, and reprinted during the year. The 

 reprint of the heading Cervantes was issued as an excerpt. 



Indorporation. — General Catalogue. — 33,730 titles and 

 index-slips have been incorporated into each of three copies of 

 this Catalogue. This incorporation has rendered it necessary, 

 in order to maintain as far as possible the alphabetical 

 arrangement, to remove and re-insert 44,364 titles and index- 

 slips in each copy and to add to each copy 900 new leaves. 



The system of fortnightly incorporation of accessions to 

 the Library has been carried out with perfect regularity during 

 the past year. 



