6 



INCREASE OF THE LIBRARY. 



puted. Probably, the enormous quantity of pamphlets, 

 political, theological, and scientific, of Great Britain, since 

 the Reformation, constitute the British Museum Library one 

 of the lai-gest collections of printed literature in the world. 

 Maps also form a relatively considerable portion. The rate 

 of increase is enormous. In the Piu'liamentary return for the 

 year ending the 24th of December, iMoG, not yet published, 

 it will appear that the last annual additions number 10,434 

 volumes, including music, maps, and newspapers, of which 

 753 were presented, 40 lu purchased, and 5831 aec^uired by 

 home copyright. The number of parts of volumes was 

 27,5 l(j. In addition, the Library had accumulated numerous 

 maps, charts, and plans, variously obtained. The number 

 of pieces of music alone added was 2347. In gross, the total 

 additional articles that year numbered 42,G39. Of the com- 

 plete works accumulated in the twelve mouths, 19ol were 

 presented, 2005 purchased, and 7933 were acquired under 

 the Copyright Acts. In the same year, also, each article 

 being impressed with the Museum stamp, the number used 

 was 162,940! 



" The number of books returned to the shelves of the 

 General Library was 110,873; to those of the lioyal Library, 

 8869; to those of the Grenville Library, 1018; to the closets 

 in which books are kept from day to day for the use of the 

 readers, 79,598; making a total of 2(»0,358, or 684 per diem. 

 Adding the number of volumes returned to the shelves of 

 the Reading-rooms, about 144,000, the whole amounts to 

 344,358, or 1175 per diem. The number of readers within 

 that year was 53,209, or an average of 181 per diem, the 

 Reading-rooms having been kept open 293 days. Each reader 

 had, therefore, consulted on an average 6^ volumes per diem. 



Thus had the Library outgrown its local habitation since 

 its foundation in 1753, when the first contents of 'Montagu 

 House,' Bloomsbury, consisted of the Sloane Collection, in- 

 cluding only a few books, the Harleian MSS., and the Cot- 

 tonian Libraiy; Parliament providing no money, but by Act 

 authorising the provision of 30,000/. by a Lottery I The old 



