ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BRITISH MrJSEUM. 



VI. — PROGRESS made in the Cataloguing and Arrangement and Account 

 of Objects added, in the Year 1875. 



Department of Printed Books. 



I. Arranfjevient. — The works added to the Collection during the year have, as far as 

 possible, been placed on the shelves of the Library according to the system of classifi- 

 cation adopted in the Museum. The press-marks, indicating their respective localities, 

 have been marked on the inside, and affixed to the back of each volume ; also on the 

 title-slip and entry in the Catalogue. The total number of these press-marks amounts 

 to 99,014, of labels to 36,417, and of renewed labels to 8,581. 



II. Catalocjuing : — (a.) 56,921 title-slips have been written for the various Catalogues 

 (the terra "title-slip" applying equally to a main-title and a crnss-reference). Of these, 

 40,912 were written for the New General and Supplementary Catalogues, and 16,009 for 

 the separate Catalogues of Music and the several Oriental Collections. 



{}).') Transcription and Incorporation. — In the first or amalgamated portion of the Cata- 

 logue from A to S, the number of title-slips transcribed fourfold amounts to 47,970, and of 

 index-slij)s prepared and transcribed fourfold to facilitate consultation of the volumes, to 

 2,094. 40,249 transcripts of title-slips and 235 of index-slips have been incorporated into 

 each of three copies of this portion of the Catalogue. The first copy of 46,308 transcripts, 

 forming portions of letters A and R (of which 15,722 were new ones), and the second 

 and third copies of 36,156 transcripts (of which 14,501 were new ones), have been laid 

 down in the volumes. 



(c.) In the second or supplementary portion of the Catalogue, T to Z, the number 

 of title-slips transcribed fourfold amounts to 7,173. 12,555 transcripts of title-slips have 

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



(rf.) Music Catalogue. — 13,943 title-slips have been written, and 17,276 title-slips have 

 been transcribed fourfold for this Catalogue. 



(e,) Hebrew Catalogue. — 941 title-slips have been written, and 490 title-slips have been 

 transcribed fourfold for this Catalogue. 



(/.) Oriental Catalogue (including all works in Oriental languages other than Hebrew, 

 Chinese, and Japanese). — The number of title-slips written is 649. The printing of the 

 Sanskrit Catalogue, which was commenced this year, has advanced as far as the heading 

 " Mill." 



{g.) Chinese and Japanese Catalogue. — 476 title-slips have been written for Chinese 

 and Japanese books. The concluding portions of the Catalogue have been seen through 

 the press and printed off. 



{h.) Carhonic Hand- Catalogue. — Of that copy of the fourfold transcript of the title-slips 

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

 marks, 70,000 have been mounted on cartridge paper, and 150,040 arranged preparatory 

 to incorporation. 



(z.) List of Books of Reference in the Reading i?oom.-— The number of alterations an^ 

 additions in the interleaved copies of this List, made to record the changes in the books 

 of reference by the addition of new works and the exchange of old for new editions, 

 amounts to 291 in each of the interleaved copies, and the necessary entries have been 

 made in the Hand- Catalogue. 



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

 amounts to 14,128; and, in consequence of the frequent adoption of the plan of binding 

 two or more volumes in one, the number of bound volumes returned is 8,148. 1,457 

 pamphlets have also been bound, and 663 volumes repaired. 



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

 Library from use in the Reading Room, is 305,713; to the Royal Libi'ary, 10,462; 

 to the Grenville Library, 788 ; and to the presses in which books are kept from day 

 to day for the use of readers, 265,306. Adding the estimated number of volumes 

 returned to the shelves of the Reading Room, about 842,505, the whole amounts to 

 1,424,774, or about 4,883 for each of the 292 days during which the room was open to 

 the public. 



The number of readers during the year has been 105,310, giving an average of 360 daily, 

 and, from the numbers above, each reader appears to have consulted on an average 

 13 volumes per diem. 



177. A3 V. Additions. — 



