ACCOUNTS, &C,, OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



VI. — PROGRESS made in the Catalogues, and Areangement and Account 

 of Objects added, in tiie Year 1877. 



Department of Printed Books. 



I. Arranr/evient. — 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 adojoted 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 

 90,022, and of labels to 32,000 : the work of renewing the labels which had become 

 obliterated on books much in use has been continued this year. The number of books thus 

 re-labelled is 61,216. Progress has been made in attaching third pi-ess-marks to the books 

 in the New Library, so as to show the exact position of each work upon the shelf: the 

 number of books which have received this third mark during the last year has been 

 20,297, and the corresponding alterations have been carried out in the Reading Room 

 Catalogues. 



■'»^ 



IL Cataloguing : — (a.) 58,145 title-slips have been written for the various Catalogues 

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

 37,826 were written for the New Greneral and Supplementary Catalogues, and 20,319 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 62,453, and of 

 index-slips prepared and transcribed foui'fold to facilitate consultation of the volumes, to 

 908. 46,047 transcripts of title-slips and 879 of index-slijjs have been incorporated into 

 each of three copies of this portion of the Catalogue. This incorporation rendered it 

 necessary, in order to maintain the alphabetical arrangement, to remove and reinsert in 

 each copy 69,896 title-slips and 313 index-slii^s, and to add to each copy 1,346 new 

 leaves to receive new entries. The first copy of 30,550 transcripts, forming portions of 

 the headings Ephemerides and Erasmus and of the letter S (of Avhich 9,592 were new 

 insertions) ; the second copy of 30,730 transcripts, forming portions of the same letters 

 (of which 9,106 were new) ; and the third copy of 45,659 transcripts of the same letters 

 (of which 10,357 Avere new), have been laid down to form additional volumes. 



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

 of title-slips transcribed fourfold amounts to 4,391. 3,044 transcripts of title-slips have 

 been incorporated Into each of three copies of this portion of the Catalogue. In order to 

 maintain the alphabetical arrangement during the incorporation, 6,382 titles were 

 removed and reinserted in each copy, and 132 new leaves were added to each copy to 

 receive them. Some of the volumes of the letters T, U, and Z having become over- 

 crowded, the title-slips, amounting to 9,203, were removed from them and laid down to 

 form new volumes in each of the three copies of the Catalogue, so as to afford space for 

 future entries. 



The number of new entries made in the Hand-Catalogue of the Periodical Publications 

 was 592, and In that of Academies 319. 



(rf.) JSlusic Catalogue, — 17,712 title-slips have been written, and 16,954 title-slips have 

 been transcribed fourfold for this Catalogue. The relaying of the Catalogue of Authors 

 of words set to Music, formerly contained in 22 volumes, has been completed, and it now 

 comprises 58 volumes. The number of titles laid down to form the new volumes during 

 the year has been 17,167, of which 8,505 were new. 



(e.) Hebrew Catalogue. — 251 title-slips have been written, and 214 have been trans- 

 cribed fourfold for this Catalogue. 



(_/.) Oriental Catalogues. — The number of title-slips written Is 209, In addition to 

 AvhIch 1,351 short titles have been written for the various Hand-Catalogues of Oriental 

 Books. 



(g.) Chinese and Japanese Catalogue. — The final sheets of the Chinese Catalogue, com- 

 prising tlie Manuscripts, have been seen through the press. The Japanese Catalogue has 

 been revised for printing. 529 Chinese titles, 267 Japanese titles, and 135 Index-slips 

 have been written. 



(/(.) Carbonic 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, 50,299 have been mounted on cartridge paper, 205,734 have been arranged pre- 

 paratory to incorporation, and 103,815 Incorporated. 



159. " A3 {i.) List 



