ACCOUNTS, ESTIMATES, &C. OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. I3 



VIII. — PROGRESS made in the Cataloguing and Arrangement, and Account 

 of Objects added, in the Year 1868. 



Department of Printed Books. 



I. Arrangement. — The arrangement of the new acquisitions of the Library was carried 

 on during the twelvemonth, on the principle which has received the name of the " Elastic 

 System." The locality of each book was assigned to it in accordance with the character 

 of its contents, and an indication of that locality was inserted and affixed to the inside and 

 outside of each volume, and noted on the title-slips belonging to each work, to be thence 

 transcribed for insertion in the Catalogue. The total number of " Press-marks " amounted 

 to 90,018, and of Labels to 38,334. 



II. Cataloguing : — (a.) 80,342 title-slips were written for the various Catalogues (the 

 term "title-slip " applying equally to a main-title and a cross-reference). Of these, 3,121 

 were for the New General Catalogue, 67,532 for the Supplementary Catalogue, and 

 9,689 for the separate Catalogues of Music, and of Chinese and Hebrew books. 



(b.) Catalogue from A to M. — In the first or amalgamated portion of the Catalogue 

 from A to M, the number of title-slips transcribed fourfold amounted to 40,718, and of 

 index-slips prepared and transcribed fourfold to facilitate consultation of the volumes, to 

 310. 18,657 transcripts of title-slips were incorporated into each of three copies of this 

 portion of the Catalogue, and 13,233 transcripts were laid down for insertion. 



(c.) Catalogue from N to Z. — In the second or supplementary portion of the Catalogue 

 from N to Z, the number of title-slips transcribed fourfold amounted to 17,240, and 

 of index-slips prepared and transcribed fourfold to 560. 15,584 transcripts of title-sli2is 

 were incorporated into each of three copies of this portion of the Catalogue. 



(c?.) Music Catalogue. — 7,313 title-slips were written, and 3,567 transcribed fourfold. 



(e.) Chinese and Japanese Catalogue. — 1,927 title-slips were written for Chinese books, 

 and 233 for Japanese books, making a total of 2,160. 



(/".) Hebrew Catalogue. — 276 title-slips were written, and 253 transcribed fourfold. 



(^.) Carbonic Hand- Catalogue. — Of that copj'' of the fourfold transcript of the title-slips 

 used to form a Hand-Catalogue, by simply arranging the title-slips in the order of the 

 press-marks, 34,200 slips were mounted on cartridge paper, and arranged preparatory to 

 incorporation, and 53,010 were incorporated in the general series. 



{h.) List of Books of Reference in Reading Room. — The number of alterations and 

 additions in this list, to record the changes made by the introduction of new books of re- 

 ference, or new editions in place of old editions removed, amounted to 478 in each of the 

 interleaved copies of the Catalogue. 



III. Binding. — The number of volumes sent to be bound in the course of the year 

 was 14,947 ; and in consequence of the plan frequently adopted of binding two or more 

 volumes in one, the number returned was 13,358, including 1,561 pamphlets. 275 volumes 

 were repaired. 



IV. Reading Room Service. — The number of volumes returned to the General 

 Library, from use in the Reading Room, was 240,629 ; to the Royal Library, 9,238 ; to 

 the Grenville Library, 1,469, and to the closets, in which books are kept day by day for 

 the use of readers, 201,284. Adding the estimated number of volumes returned to the 

 shelves of the Reading Room, about 830,770, the whole amount was 1,283,390, or about 

 4,380 for each of the 293 days during which the room was open to the public. 



The number of readers during the year was 103,529, giving an average of 353 daily ; and, 

 from the numbers above, the average of books consulted by each reader appears to 

 have been more than 12 per day. 



V. Additions. — (a.) 42,331 volumes and pamphlets were added to the Libraiy in the 

 course of the year (including books of Music and volumes of Newspapers), of which 992 

 were presented, 6,099 were received in pursuance of the laws of English Copyright, 346 

 were received under the International Copyright Treaties, and 34,894 were acquired 

 by purchase. 



{b.) 33,403 parts of volumes (or separate numbers of periodical publications, and of 

 works in progress), were also added, of which 1,396 were presented, 20,130 were received 



in 

 211. 4 



