10 ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



A^I.— PROGRESS made in the Arraxgement and Cataloguixg of Collections, 

 AND Additions made to them, in the Year 1889. (Bloomshury.) 



Department of Printed Books. 



I. Arrangement. — The works added to the collection during the past year have, as 

 far as possible, been j^laced on the shelves of the Libi-ary according to the system of 

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

 localities, have been marked on the inside, and aftixed to the back of each volume : 

 also on the title-slips. The total number of these press-marks amounts to 80,0-50 ; in 

 addition to which 22,811 press-marks have been altered, in consequence of chano-es 

 and re-arrangements carried out in the Library ; 36,723 labels have been affixed, and 

 85,258 obliterated labels have been renewed. The process of attaching third-marks 

 to the books in the New Library, with the view of accelerating their delivery to 

 readers, has been continued ; 35;4'32 books have been thus marked during the year, 

 and the corresponding alterations have been carried out in the Rec^ding-room Cata- 

 logues ; 8,411 volumes of country nevv^spapers in the General Library have been 

 labelled and numbered, and 22,348 title-slips written. 



The number of stamps impressed upon articles received is altogether 373,080, 

 of which 41,271 were upon duplicates transferred to other libraries. 



II. Cataloguing, — («.) 72,143 title-slips have been written (the term title-slip 

 applying equally to a main title and a cross reference). Of these 40,430 were written 

 for the General Catalogue, and 31,713 for the separate Catalogues of Music and the 

 Oriental Collections. 



{h.) Printing. — 37,204 titles and 933 index-slips have been prepared for printing 

 during the year, upon the plan announced in the Statement of Progress for 1879, and 

 58,331 titles and 933 index-slips have been printed off. 



Progress has also been made in printing the whole Catalogue in alphabetical sequence 

 from the beginning. With the exception of the headings " Bible," " England," 

 " Great Britain," and a few others, the Catalogue was, at the end of 1889, either 

 printed or at joress up to the heading " Klein." 



One hundred and twenty-six manuscript volumes have been printed during the 

 past year, forming 19 printed volumes. The subject-index of the list of books of 

 reference (revised edition) has been printed. 



(c.) Incorporation. — General Catalogue. — 51,142 title-slips and 933 index-slips 

 have been incorporated into each copy of this Catalogue. This incorjjoration has 

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

 and re-insert 34,433 title-slips in each copy and to add to each coj^y 170 new leaves 

 to receive them. 



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

 was 380, in that of Academies 191, and in the Hand-Catalogue of Newspapers 25,573. 



An improved system of incorporation, by which the insertion into the Catalogue of 

 the titles of books newly acquired has been greatly expedited, has been in operation 

 during the past year. The titles of books recently catalogued are now sent to the 

 printer regularly every fortnight, returned by him and corrected at the Museum 

 during the fortnight following, and incorporated into the Catalogue within the next 

 fourteen days. Two accession parts containing the titles of new books are issued 

 during the nionth. This system has been worked with perfect regularity throughout 

 the year, and has obviated all undue delay in rendering books recently acquired 

 available for public use, so far as the incorporation of titles into the Catalogue is 

 concerned. 



{(l.) Music Catalogue. — 27,031 title-slips have been written for this Catalogue, and 

 /,324 title-slips have been incorporated into each copy of it. This incorporation has 

 rendered it necessary to remove and re-insert 8,029 title-slips in each copy, and to 

 add to each copy 15 new leaves. 



(e.) Hehreiv Catalogue. — 740 title-slips have been written for this Catalogue. The 

 printing of a supplement, comprising all the titles written for Hebrew books since 

 the publication of the Hebrew Catalogue, has been commenced, and five sheets have 

 been printed. 



(/.) Oriental Catalogue. — The number of title-slips written has been 3,388, of 

 which 700 were for Sanskrit and Pali books ; 1,580 for Arabic and Persian ; 228 for 

 Armenian, Syriac, Maltese, Turkish, &c. ; 233 for Tamil, Malayalam, Canarese, &c. ; 

 and 047 for Hindustani, Gujurati, Marathi, Hindi, &c. Nine sheets have been 

 printe*! for the Catalogue of Marathi books, completing this Catalogue with the 

 exception of a portion of the index. One sheet of Accession Titles has been printed 

 for the Catalogue of Bengali books, one for the Catalogue of Arabic books, and six 



sheets. 



