1886 .] 
Chairmans Address. 
9 
to those engaged in scientific and literary work. I have never 
received a hook from the Advocates’, Physicians’, and some other 
libraries without being indebted to the courtesy of some member of 
these bodies; and although this be always willingly given, it becomes 
irksome to all parties when repeated week after week. In connec" 
tion with our “Challenger” work, we often find it more convenient 
and expeditious to get books from London than from certain of the 
Edinburgh libraries. It is not for the credit of the city that this 
should be the case. I cannot but think that it would be a great 
advantage to form a central board, composed of representatives of 
the different library-owning societies and corporations of the city. 
Such a board would do good service by preventing the duplication 
of purchases among the various libraries where unnecessary. It 
might have the power of granting the privilege to investigators of 
consulting all the libraries to a limited extent ; but, more important 
still, it might draw up a scheme for a National Library — a scheme 
which, while allowing existing libraries to develop on their present 
lines, would yet erect one of them, say the Advocates’, into a 
National Library, whose function it would be to supplement or fill 
up in those departments not embraced by the other libraries. It 
seems to me that some such scheme would command support. 
When we remember the large sums of public money that are 
annually spent on national libraries in London, and that in addition 
to the cost of buildings and maintenance, about ,£18,000 has been 
spent during the past ten years on salaries and purchase of books 
for the National Library in Dublin, then surely the claims of Scot- 
land deserve some consideration. Were a good workable scheme 
drawn up by some of our leading men, and supported by the public 
generally, then even Scottish Parliamentary representatives might 
awake to the fact that there are some Scottish questions worthy of 
their attention and combined action. 
Some time ago the Council of the Society drew the attention of 
the Government to the fact, that no bathymetrical survey of the 
Scottish freshwater lochs existed, except those of Loch Lomond and 
Loch Awe; and urged the importance, in many branches of scientific 
inquiry, of knowing the depth and form of such basins as Lochs 
Morar, Maree, Lochy, Assynt, Linn, Tay, Ericht, with many others, 
