ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



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

 of Objects added, in the Year 1878. 



Department of Printed Books. 



I. Arrangevient. — 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-mai'ks amounts to 

 98,803, and of labels to 37,50G : the work of renewing the labels which had become 

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

 re-labelled is 76,'! 08. Further progress has been made in attaching third press-marks to 

 the books in the 2^'ew 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 

 is 23,137, and the corresponding alterations have been made in the Reading Room 

 Catalogues. 



II. Cataloguing : — (a.) 59,054 title-slips have been written for the various Catalogues 

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

 38,173 were written for the New General and Supplementary Catalogues, and 20,881 for 

 the separate Catalogues of Music and the several Oriental Collections. 



(b.) Transcription and Incorporation. — In the first or amalgamated portion of the Cata- 

 logue from A to Sh, and part of T, the number of title-slips transcribed fourfold amounts 

 to 56,333, and of index-slips prepared and ti'anscribed fourfold to facilitate consultation of 

 the volumes, to 1,552. 37,455 transcripts of title-slips and 1,269 of index-slips have been 

 incorpoKated into each of three copies of this portion of the Catalogue. This incorpora- 

 tion rendered it necessary, in order to maintain the alphabetical arrangement, to remove 

 and re-insert in each copy 54,966 title-slips and 664 index-slips, and to add to each 

 copy 703 new leaves to receive new entries. The first copy of 43,869 transcripts, 

 forming portions of the letters B, G, See to Sh, and T to Teniz (of which 9,574 were new 

 insertions) ; the second copy of 44,938 transcripts, forming jiortions of the same letters 

 (of which 11,176 were new) ; and the third copy of 42,158 transcripts of the same letters 

 (of which 11,176 were 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 3,707. 3,314 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, 5,810 titles were 

 removed and reinserted in each copy, and 86 new leaves were added to each copy to 

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

 crowded, the title-slips, amounting to 15,728, 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 531, and in that of Academies 242. 



(c?.) Music Catalogue. — 19,002 title-slips have been written, and 32,147 title-slips have 

 been transcribed fourfold for this Catalogue. 13,720 transcripts of title-slips have been 

 incorporated into each of the two copies of this Catalogue ; and in order to maintain 

 the alphabetical arrangement, 5,775 titles have been removed and re-inserted in each 

 copy. 



(e.) Hebrew Catalogue. — 172 title-slips have been written, and 734 have been trans- 

 cribed fourfold for this Catalogue. 



(/.) Oriental Catalogues. — The number of title-slips written is 840, in addition to 

 which 600 short titles have been written for the various Hand- Catalogues of Oriental 

 Books. 



{g.) Chinese and Japanese Catalogues. — 304 Chinese and 563 Japanese titles have been 

 written. 



(A.) 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, 47,371 have been mounted on cartridge paper, 64,686 have been arranged, and 

 140,310 partially arranged, preparatory to incorporation, and 53,790 incorporated. 



(t.) List of Boohs of Reference in the Reading Room. — The number of alterations and 

 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 



