A New Reading-Room for the Library.

President Eliot, in his recent report, complains of the absence of a comfortable reading-room and of safe means of lighting the present reading-room artificially. The need of such a reading room- spacious, well ventilated, well lighted, and open up to 10 p. m.- he says, is very urgent, and the best plan is to build a large room at the north-east corner of Weld Hall, at a very short distance from Gore Hall, so as not to darken the delivery room and the present reading-room, which is to be converted into a large stack, able to contain about 500,000 volumes. The new reading-room is to be connected with Gore Hall by means of archways, and is to contain about 30,000 reference works in wall book-cases. The amount of money needed would be about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and although the president and fellows are quite unable to provide anything like the required sum, nevertheless, judging from precedent-money for the new medical school, for the museum for the botanical department, and the funds for the maintenance of the Jefferson Physical Laboratory, which were all raised by general subscription-the President has not the least doubt that a call for the necessary sum would not go unheeded.