uously in the Library, with lists of books in the various arts and sciences," and have, therefore, from the foundation of the Library to the present, attempted, with more or less. success, to carry into effect this idea. They agree with the committee that a list of books upon the subject of electricity as applied to the mechanical arts, could not fail to be of interest and service. Some months before the present committee was appointed, they began the preparation of such a list, which, they are pleased to say, will soon be given to the public.

The new special catalogues of History, biography, and travel, and of Historical fiction, recommended by the committee, have been for a long time in the course of preparation, and are now ready for the printer. By a curious coincidence, the first portion of the latter catalogue was published a short time before the trustees received the committee's recommendation.

The trustees are obliged to the committee for calling to their attention the dissatisfaction expressed by the people of Roxbury in regard to drawing more than one book at a time from the Roxbury branch, which is made up partly of books belonging to the city and partly of those belonging to the Fellowes Athenæum. At present the same rules apply to that branch that apply to all the branches. The trustees will examine the subject carefully, and will correct any injustice that may have been done to the people of Roxbury. They regret that the people affected should not have made their dissatisfaction known to them at once.

The trustees appreciate the kind motive that prompts the examining committee to give them all possible "aid in the performance of their difficult and complicated task of adapting the accommodation of the new building to a great many purposes," by submitting to them the report of the sub-committee presented by Mr. Browne. Valuable as the report may be, they are of the opinion that it would have been of much greater practical use if the sub-committee had conferred with them upon the subject before drawing the report. By this means the sub-committee would have been able to avoid some mistakes as to facts which impair the value of the report, and which seem to have misled the whole committee.

The trustees, recognizing fully the great benefit of the patent library for the community, have always made it a subject of the most careful attention. In 1889, Mr. John Heard, Jr., of the examining committee of that year, as well as of that of the past year, recommended, in a special report, that the patent library be placed in a more convenient room than the one it then occupied on the third floor.

The trustees, after careful consideration of this recommendation, decided to remove the collection to the room on the first floor that was then known as the Fine Arts room, and was used as a reading-room for women. By this means more space and additional conveniences were gained for the use of the books. The change has met with the general and generous approval of persons who frequent the room, both by reason of its greater accessibility and enlarged facilities, occupying as it does the only large room at the disposal of the trustees, and being exceeded in size only by the Bates hall and the lower hall. The trustees have given special attention to the care of this room, and while the only serious complaint that has been received by them is that contained in Mr. Browne's report, a great many persons have taken pains to express their satisfaction with the arrangement and with the attention given to them by the library officials; the beneficial results of the change are touched upon also in the report of the examining committee for 1890.

These remarks are inade in order that the city government may not be misled, as the examining committee apparently was, by the statements of Mr. Browne, which would seem to imply that no proper attention has been paid to the convenience of those who use this department, either in the present building or in the new building. While the trustees recognize the fact that many and great improvements over the present arrangement can be made when they have ample space at their command, they nevertheless desire to emphasize the fact that, in its present position, the patent library is not neglected, but affords great facilities for consultation and is of great positive value to the city. No further increase in room can be made without depriving the women of the only space devoted especially to their accommodation, and the trustees believe that their claims are entitled to as much consideration as those of any other persons.

The advice in regard to the new building would perhaps be of considerable value if it had been founded upon a knowledge of such facts as could have been easily obtained by inquiry of the trustees. It is a mistake to suppose that the room provided in the new building for the patent library is practically no larger than that in the old building. The present patent room measures 44 ft. by 27 and contains about eleven hundred square feet of floor space. The main patent room in the new building measures 65 ft. by 34 and contains about twenty-two hundred square feet. Opening from this room is one measuring 40 ft. by 37; both these rooms are provided with broad galleries and have a connecting room measuring 14 ft. by 40 and amply lighted

at each end, that can be used for copying or other purposes. The patent library at present consists of 4,500 volumes; the rooms provided in the new building have an accommodation for 70,000 volumes. If it grow beyond this limit, rooms above and below may be connected with them capable of accommodating 160,000 volumes, making the whole possible expansion of the patent library 230,000 volumes.

The space which the committee suggests for use as consultation-rooms and private offices is that which is best adapted in the whole building for the public, and the trustees do not believe that the citizens would look with favor upon any scheme which would devote this valuable space, or indeed any space in the building, to private offices for patent lawyers. Proper toilet accommodations have been arranged for this as well as for all other departments of the Library.

If the recommendation that experts be consulted in reference to the patent department is to be understood as implying that expert advice has not been sought and received, the committee certainly does a great injustice to the trustees who have at all times taken advantage of such expert advice as was available. They regret that no inquiry should have been made of them touching this matter. In addition to such outside advice as is to be had, they have always at hand highly-trained library assistants, who are familiar with the needs of the department and who are in constant contact with those who use it. In discussing all matters connected with the new building it should always be borne in mind that probably no library on this continent, or, perhaps, in the world, has a more highly-trained or efficient staff than that of the Boston Public Library. Certainly no persons not familiar from long experience with the peculiar needs of this institution could on most questions be trusted to give sounder advice.

The recommendation to adopt in the new Bates hall some noiseless material instead of marble for the floor is apparently based upon the mistaken supposition that access to the desk for the delivery of books to borrowers is to be through this room. This is by no means the case. The reading-room will be used solely by readers, and there will be an entirely separate room for the delivery-desk. It may be worthy of remark here that a marble floor has been used from the beginning in the large hall of the present building, and, so far as is known, there has been no complaint of its "sonority."

In the judgment of the trustees and of their predecessors, who have carefully studied the matter for years past, ample accommodations are provided in the new building for the readers who are now obliged to use the lower hall. In view

of the opinion expressed by the committee that this is not the case, the trustees have carefully considered this subject anew, and their unanimous opinion is that they have made no mistake. What is now called the "lower hall" in the old library, was established soon after the Library was founded, as a room connected with the main hall of the Library where books of a popular character would be more easily accessible to the public. For many years there was no division of the catalogue of the two rooms, and probably there would never have been a division had they not been located upon different floors. The separation was the result of an effort to relieve persons desiring books in the lower hall from the inconvenience of mounting stairs in order to consult the catalogue which was then in the Bates hall.

In the new building no such inconvenience will exist; all books in the Library, which will contain a copy of every one now in the lower hall, will be easily accessible to the public. Those who now use the lower hall will find ample accommodations in the new Bates hall, which is designed as a general reading-room for the whole people, and not for any special class. In other parts of the building there will be provided for students desiring to prosecute any particular line of research, almost three times as much space as is contained in the new Bates hall. While it is possible in the new building to provide, without alteration of the present plan, a room with ample accommodations for the collection in the lower hall, with separate and convenient access from the street, the trustees do not propose, at present, to set apart separate accommodations for that collection. If experience show that they are in error, and that the public desire a separation of classes, future trustees will be able to provide that separation without changing the present arrangement of the building. The present trustees, however, are of the opinion that the new building is built for the accommodation of all the citizens of Boston, without reference to so-called "class" or condition; and they are further of the opinion that the new Bates hall will not be too good for the users of the present lower hall, and that they would be false to their trust if they made any regulation which might result in an apparent separation of the poorer users of the Library from the richer.

The fears of the examining committee, that there will be inadequate room for the delivery of the books, appear to the trustees to be without foundation. A room containing twenty-one hundred square feet of floor surface has been provided, in the most accessible part of the main story, solely for the delivery of books. This room is entirely sep

arate from the reading-rooms, and no reader will be incommoded by persons applying for books. Outside of this room five hundred square feet of floor space is reserved for the delivery attendants. The delivery-desk is calculated to provide for at least four times the present combined circulation of the upper and lower halls, and is capable of extension to three or four times its present proposed length. This subject has been the matter of careful and constant consideration by the trustees from the inception of the project.

In regard to the suggestion that the appointment of a librarian will relieve the trustees of unusual responsibility, they would say, that whether or not a librarian is in charge of the building their responsibility remains the same. They are given by law the control and management of the Library and all its branches, and their responsibility cannot be shifted to any other shoulders.

The wonderful success of the Library has been due to the fact that the present trustees and their predecessors in the trust have felt the full weight of this responsibility, and have at all times refused to delegate any part of it to subordinates.

The trustees have considered the subject of the appointment of a librarian with great care. The qualifications for a librarian are peculiar, and it is difficult to find any person possessing them. When the trustees are satisfied that this position can be filled for the best interests of the Library, a librarian or superintendent will be appointed.

ADMINISTRATION.

In December, 1889, the present trustees opened Bates hall in the evening for the first time, and two months later they opened it to the public on Sunday, both for consultation and for the delivery of books for home use.

The experiment has, in both cases, proved so eminently successful that during the present year they felt justified in adopting the same policy at the largest branch library, that at South Boston. If time shows as good relative results there as at the central Library, it is hoped that the Sunday opening can be extended to the other branches.

Great benefit to the public has resulted from the increase of facilities for the use of the Library, accomplished by the removal of the large counter used by the desk attendants, and of the little-used desk at the northerly end of Bates. hall. This change permitted a readjustment of the cardcatalogue cases, which are now placed in the spaces between