BRITISH MUSEUM 5 



GENERAL PROGRESS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



Visitors. 



The increase in the number of visitors which began in the latter months 

 of 1935 was maintained throughout 1936, and the resulting total of 

 1,324,300 is the highest recorded. 



The visitors attending the free lecture tours of the Official Guide 

 Lecturers numbered 20,150 (21,597 in 1935); and the visitors conducted 

 by the authorised guides, for whose services moderate fees are payable, 

 numbered 8,847, as compared with 9,752 in 1935. 



Students. 



The Reading Rooms of the Library, including the Cohndale Newspaper 

 Library, the Map Room and the State Paper Room, received 255,361 

 visits as compared with 235,857 in 1935. 



The difficulties of service caused by reconstruction recorded in the 

 Report for 1935 continued ; the number of volumes supphed to readers 

 was 2,139, 014, as compared v/ith 2,056,979 in 1935, but is still below the 

 figure of 2,220,964 in 1934. 



43,033 Manuscripts and 7,531 Charters and Seals were issued in the 

 Student's Room of the Department of Manuscripts. 25,505 volumes were 

 consulted in the Department of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts. 



The total number of visits paid by students to the various departments 

 of the Museum, 314,333, is higher than any recorded since 1913 and 

 higher than that for 1935 by 21,995. 



Photography and Casts. 



The number of books issued for photography was 4,868 (including 99 

 used at Cohndale) and of manuscripts 1,946. 



From other departments of the Museum, 5,399 objects were photo- 

 graphed. 



192 casts and 40 new moulds were made, these figures showing some 

 dechne on those for 1935 



In the Department of Coins and Medals, 4,853 casts and 139 electro- 

 types have been made, and work has also been done for the Egyptian and 

 British and Medieval Departments, 



Studio. 



The output of the Photographic Studio is shown in the following 

 table : — 



I 



Negatives 

 Prints ... 

 Lantern Shdes 

 Photostats 



1932 



3,234 



7,844 



545 



24,938 



1933 



3,374 



9,642 



1,075 



21,695 



1934 



3,429 



8,750 



1,302 



22,993 



1935 



3,782 



9,533 



872 



24,424 



1936 



4,090 



11,853 



660 



24,791 



Loans of Lantern Slides. 



2,214 lantern shdes were issued on loan (2,133 in 1935, 6,878 in 1934, a 

 figure accounted for by the Codex Sinaiticus, and 2,943 in 1933). 



