ACCOUNTS, ESTIMATES, Scc. OF BKITISH MUSEUM. 



VIII. — PROGRESS made in the Cataloguing and Arrangement of the Collections 

 and Account of Objects added, in the Year ending 25th December 1855. 



Department of Printed Books. 



1. Works added to the Collection during the year have been placed on the shelves of the 

 Library as soon as catalogued. The press-marks, indicating their respective localities, have 

 been affixed to each volume, title, and entry in the Catalogue. The total number of these 

 items amounts to 63,684. 



II. Cataloguing : — (a.) New General Catalogue. — The number of titles written for 

 this Catalogue amounts to 40,645. The number of titles transcribed fourfold for this 

 Catalogue is 51,982. 76,776 titles have been laid down in one copy of this Catalogue, and 

 46,398 in a second. 



(b.) Supplementary Catalogue. — 1. The number of titles written for this Catalogue amounts 

 to 24,755, besides 893 Chinese ; in all, 25,648. 



2. The number of titles transcribed fourfold for the Supplementary Catalogue is 22,451 ; 

 besides 678 index slips. The number of title slips inserted is 80,374 ; viz., 79,674 in 

 three copies of the Supplementary Catalogue, and 700 index slips in four copies of 

 indexes to various long headings. This insertion has rendered it necessary, in order to 

 preserve the alphabetical order of the names and headings, to take up and re-insert 26,675 

 titles in each of the three copies of the Supplementary Catalogue, and 202 slips in each 

 of four copies of the indexes ; and to add to each copy of the Supplementary Catalogue 

 247 leaves. All the indexes to the long headings in the Catalogue have been kept up. 



3. The number of entries made in the Hand Catalogue of the periodical publications is 

 268. 



(c.) Maps. — 1. The new titles and cross-references for maps amount to 6,243. 



2. The number of titles for the Map Catalogue transcribed fourfold is 5,324. 



The number of title-slips inserted in each of two copies of the Map Catalogue is 7,271. 

 This insertion has rendered it necessary (for the purpose of maintaining the strict alpha- 

 betical arrangement) to take up and re-insert in each of the two copies 4,230 title-slips, and 

 to add to each copy 113 leaves. 



(d.) Music. — 1. The titles and cross-references written for this collection are- 3,351. 



2. 3,300 title-slips have been transcribed fourfold. The number of titles inserted in each 

 of three copies of this Catalogue is 3,636. This insertion has rendered it necessary to take 

 up and re-insert 2,430 title-slips in each copy, and to add to each copy 165 leaves. 



in. Interleaved General Catalogue, — 7,128 entries in the small paper copy of this 

 Catalogue have been re-written, in consequence of the necessary repairs to the volumes 

 having rendered it necessaiy to remove the lower portion of a great number of the original 

 leaves. 



IV. Binding. — ^The number of volumes bound is 21,683 in 18,763, including 7,018 

 Pamphlets. The number of volumes repaired is 1,775. 136 Maps have been mounted. 



V. Reading Room Service. — 1. The number of books returned to the shelves of the 

 General Library from the Reading Rooms is 110,476; to those of the Royal Library, 9,321 ; 

 to those of the Grenville Library, 688 ; to the Closets in which books are kept from day to 

 day for the use of the Readers, 81,198 ; making a total of 201,683, or 695 per diem. 

 Adding the number of volumes returned to the shelves of the Reading Rooms, about 

 146,000, the whole amounts to 347,683, or 1,198 per diem. 



2. The number of Readers has been 53,567; on an average, 184 per diem, the Reading 

 Rooms having been kept open 290 days ; each Reader has therelbre consulted, on an 

 average, nearly seven volumes per diem. 



VI. Additions. — 1. The number of volumes added to the Library (comprising 160 re- 

 ceived under the Internatioral Copyright Act) amounts to 10,404 (including Music, Maps, 

 and Newspapers), of which 836 were presented, 3,936 purchased, and 5,632 acquired by 

 copyright. 



2. The number of parts of volumes, comprising 122 received under the International 

 Copyright Act, is 28,241 (including Maps and Mus'c), of which 281 were presented, 

 10,16l" purchased ard 17,677 (including 8,611 specificatio'is of patents) acquired by 

 copyright. The total number of Newspapers acquired is 3,277. O." these, 510 (viz., 

 201 published in London, and 309 in tlie country) have been received from the Inland 

 Revenue Office in England, 2,024 (Ibr the period f.-om 1818 to 165o) from the branch of 



147. B that 



