Report of the President 37 



These Handbooks are more comprehensive in their nature than 

 the Guide Leaflets, and deal with subjects, rather than with 

 special features or portions of the collections. 



The sale of colored postcards also has been good,- 1,771 

 single cards and 1,752 sets of eighteen, a total of 33,307, 

 having been sold during the year. The sale of publications by 

 commercial houses differs from sales by museums in that while 

 the one endeavors to sell at as great a profit as possible, the 

 other strives to lose as little as possible. 



The extension of knowledge by publications relating to the 

 collections is recognized as a regular branch of museum work, 

 and, as museums are free to the public, museum publications 

 are usually sold at a loss. 



Attendance. — It is encouraging to note the increased 

 attendance, the more that it is not the result of special exhibits 

 or special effort put forth by the Museum. 



Statistics of Numbers Reached by Museum 

 Extension System 



1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 



Board of Educa- 

 tion Lectures... 42,212 45,000 35,068 43,386 28,402 43,549 40,067 52,855 



Lectures to 

 School Children 

 and Children's 

 Room 35,000 17,^87 29,688 28,361 27,524 15,610 29,935 39,624 



Classes visiting 

 the Museum for 

 General Study. . 11,000 6,813 7,795 10,818 8,712 9,284 9 444 10,248 



Meetings of Sci- 

 entific Societies 

 and other Meet- 

 ings and Lec- 

 tures 35,281 6,867 ",784 ^,587 27,369 15,712 18,649 28,384 



General atten- 

 dance for all 

 purposes 565,489 47^,133 537, 8 94 1,043,582 839,141 613.152 7 2 4, I 4 I 846,963 



Number of Pupils 

 reached by Cir- 

 culating Collec- 

 tions 375)°°° 800,000 725,000 575'8oi 922,512 839,089 1,253,435 1,275,890 



940,489 1,276,133 1,262,894 1,619,383 1,761,653 1,452,241 i,977>576 2,122,853 



Care of Building. — In the report of 191 1 attention was 

 called to the condition of the heating apparatus in the old 

 North Wing. It has not been possible to replace this, owing 

 to the cost of the necessary work, and a special appropriation 

 is needed for the purpose. 



