ACCOUNTS, ESTIMATES, &C. OF BKITISH MUSEUM. 



VIII-— PROGRESS made in the Cataloguing and Arrangement of the Collection 

 and Account of Objects added, in the Year ending 25th December 1856. 



Department of Printed Books. 



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

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

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

 items amounts to 72,533. 



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

 this Catalogue amounts to 35,714. The number of titles transcribed fourfold for this 

 Catalogue is 99,078: — 132,170 have been laid down in one copy of this Catalogue, and 

 85,014 in a second. 



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

 to 27,885, besides 706 Chinese ; in all, 28,591. 



2. The number of titles transcribed fourfold for the Supplementary Catalogue is 25,913; 

 besides 651 index shps. The number of title slips inserted is 22,933 ; viz., 22,782 in 

 three copies of the Supplementary Catalogue, and 151 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 32,060 

 titles in each of the three copies of the Supplementary Catalogue. 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 

 418. 



(c.) 3Iaps. — The new titles and cross-references for maps amount to 7,28S. The 



. number of title-slips inserted in each of two copies of the Map Catalogue is 4,201. 



This insertion lias rendered it necessary (for the purpose of maintaining the strict aipha^* 



betical arrangement) to take up and re-insert in each of the two copies 3^144 title-slips, and 



to add to eaci) copy 22 leaves. 



(d.) Music. — The titles and cross-references written for this collection are 5,344. 



III. Binding. — The number of volumes bound is 24,262 in 18,998, including 3,901 

 Pamphlets. The number of volumes repaired is 18,641. 313 Maps have been mounted, 



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

 General Library from the Reading Rooms is 110,873; to those of the Royal Library, 8,869; 

 to those of the Grenville Library, 1,018 ; to the Closets in which books are kept from day to 

 day for the use of the Readers, 79,598 ; making a total of 200,358, or 684 per diem. 

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

 144,000, the whole amounts to 344,358, or 1,175 per diem. 



2. The number of Readers has been 53,209; on an average, 181 per diem, the Reading 

 Rooms having been kept open 293 days ; each Reader has theretbre consulted, on an 

 average, 6^ volumes per diem. 



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

 ceived under the International Copyright Act) amounts to 10,434 (ii;icluding Music, Maps, 

 and Newspapers), of which 753 were presented, 4,010 purchased, and 5,831 acquired by 

 copyright. 



2. The number of parts of volumes, comprising 200 received under the International 

 Copyright Act, is 27,516 (including Maps and Music), of which 737 were presented, 

 8,180 purchased, and 18,599 acquired by copyright. The total number of Newspapers 

 acquired is 732. Of these, 489 (viz., 218 published in Londori, and 271 in the country) 

 have been received from the Inland Revenue Office in England, 123 from the branch of 

 that office in Ireland, and 119 from the branch of that office in Scotland. In addition to 

 these, 567 numbers of London and Colonial Newspapers have been purchased. The Irish 

 Newspapers have been bound. The English, Scotch, and Colonial Newspapers are not yet 

 bound. 



3. The Maps, Charts, and Plans amount to 171, in 279 sheets; the Atlases to 11 com- 

 plete and 25 parts of Atlases in course of publication. Of the Maps and Charts, 88 were 

 presented, 6 purchased, and 77 acquired by copyright. The Atlases and parts of Atlases 

 were obtained under the Copyright Act. 



105— Sess. 2. X ^ *• *^'>® 



