The Report of the Librarian.

The report of the librarian of Harvard College, published simultaneously with the president's report, contains a good deal of interesting matter and shows that marked improvement and progress have been made in all directions.

Three numbers of the Bulletin of Harvard University have been issued under the immediate charge of Mr. Winsor during the last academic year. Six numbers of the Bibliographical contributions have been published.

Of the 16468 bound volumes added to the University Library during the year, 10,885 were added to Gore Hall. 4027 to the Divinity School, 677 to the Law School and the rest scattered amongst the various departments. These accessions are the largest on record, and surpass the number of volumes added during the academic year 1886-87 by about 4,500 volumes. The present extent of the University Library is 343,318 bound volumes, and 276,682 pamphlets.

In the laboratory and classroom libraries there are 3130 volumes. An assistant is sent from Gore Hall once a week to examine the shelves of these libraries by the shelf-lists. Temporary loans are made to these libraries from Gore Hall, so as to facilitate the instruction of the several departments. Of these ten subsidiary libraries six are open evenings, and are well patronized. The advantages reaped from this system of subsidiary libraries compensate for the trouble and annoyance it causes. As the useful books in the department are put in these subsidiary libraries, collateral reading is slightly impeded. Books of reference are put beyond the easy reach of frequenters of Gore Hall, and the liability to loss of books is greatly increased.

During the past year 65,639 books were lent out, 15,267 were used in the building, and 20,360 were taken out over night-a total increase of 5000 volumes.

In addition to the 6549 reserved books there are in the reading-room, 1844 volumes carefully selected for students reading. Of these 1327 are English. 324 are French, 119 German and 44 Italian.

In the Delivery Room are 2947 volumes of periodicals, which may be taken out for seven days, and 2128 reference books for all departments.

The college library is open Sunday afternoons from 1 p. m. to sun-down. During the last year it was open 37 Sundays, and 2,894 persons took advantage of the right of using the reserved books in Gore Hall on Sundays.

The use of "admission cards" by which students have access for investigation at the shelves to special classes of books is steadily increasing. Two hundred and sixty-six students had these "admission cards" and made use of them 7980 times.

Of the 1331 students at the college proper, at the Divinity, Law and Scientific Schools, 1191 availed themselves of their right of taking out books-an increase of 80 students and 152 users. The percentage of users among the undergraduates has risen a great deal during recent years, as the following tables show:-

1884-85 1885-86 1886-87 1887-88

Seniors. 90 92 96 99

Juniors. 93 96 90 98

Sophomores 86 93 92 94

Freshmen. 80 78 69 77

Of the 1027 undergraduates only 121 failed to borrow books, and some of these probably used the reserved books in the Reading Room.

Mr. Kiernan kept during January, February and March, 1888. a record of the fiction used. Of the 15,540 books drawn out in those months, 3027 volumes were prose fiction, and these were mainly taken out by the lower classmen.

A good deal of work was done in the Catalogue department. The total number of titles catalogued for the year 1887-88) was 8,423, of which 6,711 were of books recently received and 1712 of books received before 1860, when the present card catalogue was begun. Besides this, 843 titles of books for the subsidiary libraries were catalogued twice-once for the College Library and once for the subsidiary libraries.

The printing of the index to the subject-catalogue has proceeded slowly. Eighty pages are now in type, which brings the list up to L.

Two important changes have been made in the catalogue. In the first place, the titles of all the books which appear in the Bulletin are printed on cards. The second change consists (1) in distributing the cards for the works of Greek and Latin authors and of the church Fathers to their natural alphabetical places in the authors' catalogue, keeping with each author's works-as at present-the works relating to him; and (2) in addition to the same catalogue the works relating to other authors-now under Biography and Bibliography; placing the works which treat of any author after the works written by him. The object of this last change is to bring the Latin and Greek authors and the church Fathers from their anomalous position in the subject catalogue to their natural position in the author catalogue.

During the past year orders were sent out amounting to $6,805. This amount was divided among agents as follows: Domestic, $1,300; English, $2,150; French, $1,035; German, $1,950; Italian, $112; Scandivanian, $36; Bombay and Cairo, $170.

In the map department, Mr. H. C. Badger has gone over the maps of the World, Europe with subdivisions, Russian and Asia Minor, in preparing the titles for printing. He has also made a special grouping of the plans of the property of the University, including those estates which belonged to Harvard at any time.