Rochdale. The Twelfth Annual Report of the Committee of the Free Public Library of the Borough of Rochdale, for the Year ending March 31st, 1883... Rochdale. 8vo, pp. 19.

The number of Vols. added to the Library was 1,713, and makes the total number at present in the Library 33,348, exclusive of Specifications of Patents. The issues were in the Reference Department 62,505, in the Lending Department 91,618. The total issues were fewer than in some previous years, but the Lending Department was closed for some time in consequence of the small-pox epidemic. The amount of the rate was £1,010. The Circulating Library numbers about 80 subscribers, and the issues were 4,447; 311 vols. were transferred from it to the Free Public Library.

Smethwick. Annual Report of the Free Library Committee of the Smethwick Local Board of Health, 1882-3... Oldbury. 8vo, pp. 8. The number of Vols. now in the Library is 4,766, of which 462 were added during the past year. The issues were 35,333; and the attendance at the Reading Room averaged 1,200 per week during the whole year. The issues of Fiction were 70.26 per cent. of the total issues. The usual statistical tables are appended.

Borough of Southport. Atkinson Free Library. Eighth Annual Report, 1882-3. Southport. 8vo, pp. 10.

The number of Vols. in the Library is now 12,058, of which 965 were added during the year. The issues were for home use 78,092; in the Reading Room 33,339. It is estimated that 392,057 visits were made to the News and Reading Rooms. The Churchtown Branch shows a considerable increase increase of readers and borrowers, the numbers being 6,879 and 1,808 respectively. The income was £848 odd, and the expenditure £844 odd.

Borough of Stockport. The Seventh Report of the Public Free Library and Museum Committee, 1882-3. Stockport. La. 8vo, pp. 31.

The present Report records the result of 18 months working. The issues for the last 12 months from the Lending Library were 71,465. The attendance at the News and Reading Room showed a marked increase, the total for the year being 148,884 visits. The number of vols. added since the last Report was 1,282, making the total stock 18,314. The visitors to the Museum for the 12 months were 30,940. Full statistical tables are appended. The rate produced last year £796 3s. 1d. and the total income was £852 Is. 10d.; the expenditure was £825 6s. 6d.

The Annual Report of the Airdrie Free Library (which is not separately printed) states that the issues for the last year, as well as the visits to the Reading Room were somewhat less than the year before. The issues were 13,827, and the visits to the Reading Room were 25,885. About 400 vols. were added during the year, 170 by gift.

The Report issued to the Subscribers to the Wrexham Free Library states that the daily average of visitors for the year was 301 as against 231 the previous year, and 157 in 1881. The Committee regret that they do not yet see their way to a circulating library, and invite subscriptions and donations. The income for the year was £280 16s. 9d., and the year closes with a balance of £77 13s. 11d. in hand. The rate produced £240 3s. 8d.

148

MONTHLY NOTES OF THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION.

CORRESPONDENCE.

DR. POOLE'S INDEX.

No one can value Dr. Poole's monumental work with more grateful apprecia tion than myself, and I regret that I should have occasioned its author any unnecessary trouble. On reference to the introductory pages, the discrepancy which in some cases exists between the number used in the Index to denote volumes of Periodicals, and that which appears upon the volumes themselves becomes intelligible. It is to be feared that many of those who casually consult such works of reference as that of Dr. Poole's, do not master the preliminary matter, though this care is the least to which Dr. Poole may feel entitled after the labour spent upon his invaluable Index.

V. O. X.

I had occasion yesterday to refer to "Poole's Index" for a reference to Lord Library, Inner Temple, E. C., November 10, 1883. Salisbury's famous article "The Conservative Surrender," which appeared in the Quarterly Review, vol. 123 (1867). I looked under every head I could think of, but it is not indexed. Mr. Poole's Work is done on the whole so admirably that I call attention to this omission, as Librarians may like to make a note in the margin of their copies.

J E. L. PICKERING,

Librarian.

[The Article referred to will be found indexed, Mr. Douthwaite informs us, under the heading render," (p. 5496). No doubt it would have saved our correspondent trouble if "Great Britain, Politics of, in 1867-Conservative Sur it had also been entered under the heading "Conservative find "Conservative Prospects," "Conservative Policy," and many other Conservative things.-ED.]

DISFIGURING BOOKS.

where we do

The tendency has grown of late to disfigure books by writing on the titlepage such phrases as "With the compliments of the author," or "With the author's kind regards," in spite of the fact that a fly-leaf is often provided for the purpose. I have lately seen this done by a distinguished member of the Library Association, and a book-lover to boot. One appreciates the kindly spirit that prompts the gift. The silent eloquence of the act, to an appreciative mind, will need no reminder. Especially is this so if the book is worth having, less need is there then to injure or interfere with the typographer's art.

But to some of us this disfiguring gives the impression of advertising the private, social, or more sacred feelings of our common nature. For literary men and book lovers are often of a curiosity-mongering turn of mind and inclined now, as they probably will be in the future, to fill some pages with the enquiry as to who "A. B." or " Y. Z." may have been. This is not always to the advantage or improvement of literature; and to the appreciative and bookloving members of the Library Association, surely, a hint is sufficient. BIBLIOTHEC. COLL. OWENS.

ERRATA.

Owing to the miscarriage of a portion of the proofs, the following errors in the October number require correction: on p. 118 1. 8 for Horace read Hance; on p. 1191. 1. for Stevens read Stephens; on p. 128 1. 10 from bottom, for Gordyne read Gardyne; p. 130 1. 13 from bottom, for Nilon read Niton.

LONDON: Printed and Sold for the Association by J. DAVY & SONS, Dryden Press, 137, Long Acre.

Single Numbers, Threepence each. Annual Subscription, post free, 3s. 6d.

MONTHLY NOTES

OF

The Library Association of the
United Kingdom.

Contents:-Official Notices-December Monthly Meeting: Paper by Mr. E. C. Thomas," The Future of Monthly Notes."-January Monthly MeetingBibliography of the Writings of Professor Stanley Jevons-Library NotesCatalogues and Reports-Correspondence, etc.

THE next MONTHLY MEETING of the Association will be held at the London Institution, on Friday, January 4th, at 8 P.M.

DECEMBER MONTHLY MEETING.

The Third Monthly Meeting of the Seventh Year of the Association was held on Friday, December 7th, at 8 P.M. at the London Institution, Mr. W. H. OVERALL in the Chair.

The Minutes of the last Meeting having been read and confirmed, the following gentlemen being engaged in library administration were announced as having become Members of the Association :Mr. EDWARD C. LINGS, Librarian, Leicester Free Library (who rejoins); Mr. D. GORMAN, Librarian, Free Library, Chesterfield; Mr. T. BAILEY, Librarian, Free Library, Smethwick. It was also announced that the FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY, NOTTINGHAM, had become a subscriber.

The following gentlemen who had been duly proposed and seconded at the previous Meeting, were elected Members of the Association :-Mr. JAMES COWAN; Mr H. C. RICHARDS; Sir A. C. STEPNEY, Bart., and Mr. W. PRICE WALL.

Mr. JOHN HALLAM, Chairman, and Mr. JAMES BAIN, Librarian, of the Public Library, Toronto, were then, on the motion of the Secretary and Mr. H. R. Tedder, unanimously elected Honorary Members of the Association.

The following gentlemen were proposed and seconded for election at the next Meeting :-Mr. R. S. Faber, 14, Westbourne Terrace Road, W., proposed by the Treasurer, seconded by the Secretary; Mr. John Moore, Chairman of the Local Board, Northwich, proposed by Mr. Cotgreave, seconded by the Secretary.

The Chairman then called upon the Secretary to read his Paper entitled, "THE FUTURE OF MONTHLY NOTES."

THE FUTURE OF MONTHLY NOTES.

It is already known to those of our members who were present at the Liverpool Meeting, or who followed its proceedings as reported in the MONTHLY NOTES, that with the end of the present year an important change is to be made in the mode of publishing the "Transactions and Proceedings" of our Annual Meeting and in the form of our present Journal.

The change about to be made, even as regards our Transactions, will be almost wholly a change of form; and has been proposed with the view partly of securing greater promptitude of publication, and partly of reducing the cost of their publication. We are all proud of the series of handsome volumes of which the London and Cambridge Transactions are destined to occupy the last, and we are greatly indebted to the friendly offices of Mr. B. F. Stevens, without which it is certain that they could never have been published. The expense attending the publication of our various proceedings in two different forms is a matter that has for some time engaged our attention, and the decision of the Annual Meeting at Liverpool that they should henceforward be printed in one form only—but with separate pagination for each series-was not arrived at therefore without due consideration.

One effect of the change will be to give increased importance to what have hitherto been called the "Monthly Notes," and in view of this circumstance the Council have decided to issue them in future under the name of the "Library Chronicle."

The "Future of the Monthly Notes" therefore means the "Future of the Library Chronicle," and my object this evening is in the first place to lay before you such suggestions as are the result of my two years' experience in editing the "Monthly Notes," and secondly to invite the suggestions of those who are present this evening, or may read the present Paper when it is printed.

The most convenient way of doing what I propose will perhaps be to explain briefly what have been the principles upon which the "Notes" have been edited since they have been intrusted to my charge.

In the first place it has of course always been the duty of the Editor to give an account of all our official proceedings, and to print the Papers read at our Monthly Meetings.

In the second place a considerable number of Articles have been printed during the last two years over and above the Papers read at Monthly Meetings. It will be remembered that at the beginning of the year 1882 the "Notes were enlarged from eight pages to a normal sixteen pages monthly. This enlargement of course enabled us to find room for more Papers than could be read and discussed at Monthly Meetings, as well as for some Articles not altogether suitable for discussion, such, for example, as the late Prof. Jevons's "Selected list of Books in Political Economy."

Comparing the "Notes" with themselves, and the year 1882 (as the last completed year) with the year 1881, it will be found that in

the year 1881 seven Papers read at Monthly Meetings were printed, and in the year 1882 six Papers and ten additional Articles, making total of sixteen Papers, were printed.

In the third place, a most obvious duty to be performed by the "Notes was to supply prompt and authentic information as to the work done by the Libraries represented in the Association and others. This has been supplied in the form of Notes and News on all matters of Library interest, and also in the form of abstracts of the Reports issued by the various Library authorities.

In this respect I venture to think a considerable advance has been made, as may be roughly but sufficiently demonstrated by figures. In the year 1881 the number of paragraphs published under the heading of "Library Notes" was 45, including five Abstracts of Library Reports. In the year 1882 the number of Library Reports noticed had increased from 5 to 71, in addition to 196 paragraphs of Notes and News on library matters, thus making a total of 267 paragraphs.

Under the same heading with Reports there appeared in the year 1882 notices of 29 Library Catalogues, as compared with 4 Catalogues noticed in 1881.

Comparing ourselves now for a moment not with ourselves but with other publications professing to devote particular attention to library matters, I think it will be admitted not only that there is room for a special organ for the purpose of providing such information, but also that the "Monthly Notes," considering the means at our disposal, have been fairly successful in supplying this information.

To extend the calculation over a whole year would be too tedious a plan in this case, and I have only troubled myself to examine the numbers of the Academy and Athenæum, and the Bibliographer, for the period corresponding with our number for last October. I find that of the 30 Notes, in addition to Notices of 3 Catalogues and 9 Reports, which appeared in the "Notes," only 2 had been represented by anything in the Academy and Athenæum together, while in the Bibliographer, which as you are aware has a special column headed "Libraries," only 2 were represented, though it is true there were 7 paragraphs of library news, 5 of which however were late and corresponded to paragraphs in previous numbers of Monthly Notes.

Now it is not for me of course to speak too confidently as to the interest and value of these miscellaneous paragraphs, although as I am indebted for them or for the information they contain to many of our members, it would not be so improper for me to do so as it might at first appear. However, I will speak only of the quantity of matter thus brought together, and submit that it is enough to demonstrate the need for an organ exclusively, or almost exclusively devoted to the collection and publication of library news and the discussion of library matters.

I come now to speak of a subject which has always caused me much anxiety and regret in connexion with our work as an Asso