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exceptionally important for their rarity or completeness, and which represent the life's labor of the collector, are offered for sale. For such contingencies the Library is altogether unprepared, and may be compelled, in some cases, to wait half a century before similar opportunities will occur.

The books in the Lower Hall, nearly 29,000 in number, attract four-fifths of the readers of the Library. They are generally of a popular character, though the collection contains, in addition to its romances and novels, some of the best biographical, historical and poetical works in the language, and the most readable books of voyages and travels. As a As a "Circulating Library," in the common use of the term, the collection in the Lower Hall is unmatched in New England for the comprehensiveness of its scope About 32 per cent. of the books it contains are works of English prose fiction, including "juveniles"; and the circulation of these is three-quarters of the whole circulation of the Lower Hall. We thus have a library, containing in both halls almost 153,000 books, with an aggregate circulation of 218,677 for the year, of which considerably more than half, namely, 125,273, was confined to 9,130 books. To those who are accustomed to consider novels as necessarily worthless, this must appear a very discouraging statement; but then an examination of the catalogue of fiction in the Public Library will show that under the general term of novels are included works which are divided from each other by as wide a gulf as that which yawns between the finest and the meanest products of the human heart and intellect. Between these two extremes are the great body of novels, representing, with various degrees of talent, almost every phase of life, character and manners, past and present, and more or less communicating knowledge as well as serving for entertainment. It has been ascertained in this century that people who reject counsel and information when conveyed in a didactic form, can be vividly impressed and influenced by both when they appear in the guise of fictitious narrative; hence

the unexampled rush into literature of novels devoted to the inculcation of moral and religious truth, to the representation of historical periods and personages, to the promotion of new views in politics and philosophy, and even to the presentation of scenes and adventures which were formerly engrossed by the tourist and voyager. In all these books, and they are to be numbered by thousands, under the novelist there lurks the theologian, or the moralist, or the historian, or the political partisan, or the metaphysical thinker, or the traveller in strange lands. Then the representation of social life, as it appears in the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy, occupies the attention of a class of professional novelists who are successful only so far as they have been observers of human nature, and have therefore something to say of interest to human beings. Three-quarters of the novelists of this class would, in former times, have written treatises and essays without reaching a tenth of the readers they now not only reach, but influence. It will thus be seen that this department of literature has drawn to it recruits from almost all the other departments, and that to throw all its products together in one undistinguishing heap, and stigmatize them as "trash" is a most unphilosophical method of procedure. The proportion of novels in the catalogue which are morally and intellectually bad, which bear the marks of proceeding from the brains of profligate or sentimental dunces, is exceedingly small. Many of the novels may not be worth reading, but even when stupid they are innocently stupid. It is doubtless to be regretted that some of the poorest novels in the collection should show the greatest circulation; but it is difficult to say how far this is owing to ignorance on the part of readers of the reputation of better books. What is sought is evidently some novel with sufficiently stimulating elements in it to interest the mind, and the best novels are universally the most interesting. The same person who is attracted by a "sensation" title, and considers Reynolds

or Pierce Egan the most fascinating of narrators, would be more pleased with "Ivanhoe," if he only knew enough of Scott's transcendent fame to ask for it. The Committee are inclined to think that it would be judicious to make the bulletins of new books, and the catalogue of the works of fiction, the vehicles of conveying some information regarding the relative value and interest of the different classes of novels, and of the position their authors occupy in the sliding scale of merit. This is a kind of knowledge which a great many of the applicants for books in the Lower Hall evidently need, and for which they would doubtless be thankful. As it is, they are often determined in their selection by mere accident; and whether they stumble où a work of tragic genius, or a bald recital of coarse horrors, the result is in either case due to chance or caprice.

BUILDING.

The Examining Committees of former years have pointed out numerous defects in the Library building, but all these are fast being subordinated to the one great defect,- of want of sufficient room. The increase of books is, in some departments, already encroaching on the classifications of books; and even. if all classification be abandoned, the shelves of the Library will, in a comparatively short period, be filled. The accommodations for the working force of the institution are altogether inadequate. It is therefore plain, that either a new building must be erected on another site, large enough to hold the possible accumulations of future years, or that the present Library building must be extended so as to cover the limited space in its rear. A plan has been prepared by which, on the supposition that the latter expedient be adopted, room may be obtained for perhaps 150,000 additional volumes, with proper working rooms for the assistants of the Library, and with a room to accommodate the collections in the fine arts. Should this plan be adopted, the Library would have space for 400,000 volumes. A reference to

its growth during the last seventeen years will furnish some means of deciding how soon this limit of 400,000 would be reached. In the year 1852-53, it began with 9,688 volumes. In 1856-57, the number was 34,896. In 1857-58, it leaped to 70,851, showing an increase in one year of 35,955, of which 24,618 were given by Mr. Joshua Bates. In 1860-61, the year when the Parker Library of 11,721 volumes was received, the whole number was 97,386. Since then the additions have been from 5,300 to 8,600 volumes a year, so that the Library now contains nearly 153,000 volumes. If, as the Committee hope and trust, private gifts and bequests of money and books continue to flow in with an accelerated speed, it will hardly be fifteen years before the Library will contain 400,000 volumes. On the question, however, whether the old building should be extended, or a new one on a comprehensive plan should be erected on another site, the committee are divided. Much may be said in favor of either plan, but they refrain from the discussion. They are only agreed in earnestly urging the city government to provide increased accommodations for the Library.

CIRCULATION.

The circulation of the Library during the year was 218,677, showing an increase as compared with 1868 of about 43,000, of which 34,000 were in the Lower Hall and 9,000 in the Bates Hall. The same card admits to both halls, but the great majority of the holders of cards prefer the Lower Hall, the circulation of which was 175,772, while that of the Bates Hall, though the books can be taken cqually with those of the Lower Hall to the homes of the applicants, was only 42,905. The Committee are of opinion that the circulation of the Bates Hall would. be greatly increased if the advantages it offers to all classes of intelligent readers were more generally known. The actual holders of cards are now over 20,000 in number, an increase of over 3,000 since August 1st. These alone have the privilege to

take books from the Library, though no cards are required where books are used in the building. It has been said that the circulation of books is checked by the rule which exacts that each applicant for the privileges of the Library shall give two references. Though the persons to whom the applicants refer are not in the slightest degree bound for the honesty of the applicant, though in the comparatively few cases in which they are applied to they are asked merely to verify the name and residence of the applicant, it is still asserted that a security against fraud, which all honest people are interested in preserving, operates as a hindrance to prevent honest people from applying for books. The rule was adopted by the Trustees in 1868, not because they thought that the loss of two or three hundred books a year was not compensated for by the increased use of the books, but because they found that the losses increased out of all proportion to the circulation. The circulation in 1867 was only 30 per cent. more than it was in 1859, while the losses were 300 per cent. more. The old system was thus abandoned, because it was a demoralizing system, a system which encouraged theft more than it diffused enlightenment. Under the new system of references, only twenty books have been lost during the year, and the circulation has been greater than ever before. In examining the register of applicants, the Committee have ascertained that little or no objection has been made to the rule by those classes from which objection might have been expected; but that in the few cases of irritation which have arisen, the offended parties have been persons who could have found no difficulty in giving references, and who should therefore have been the last to object to a rule made for the general good.

Among the means to extend the circulation and usefulness of the Library, the Committee would specially emphasize the plan to establish Branch Libraries in East Boston, South Boston and the Highland District.

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