HULL. The forty-fifth annual meeting of the Yorkshire Union of Mechanics' Institutes will be held at Hull on Wednesday, June 21st, 1882, at the Royal Philosophical Institute. The conference will be opened by Sir Edward Baines, the President of the Union, and the evening meeting will be presided over by Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice, M.P. The number of institutes in the Union in 1881 was 256, most of which possess libraries of their own, besides which the Union has a Village Library of over 16,000 volumes, which are circulated in boxes of 50 volumes each amongst over 160 villages.

LEICESTER. Mr. J: Hart, High Bailiff of the Borough of Leicester, has offered to present a new Free Library to East St: Margaret's Ward. Plans have been approved by the donor, and the building will soon be commenced. The structure will be a handsome one, and the front will be decorated by carved panels. The principal room will be 55 feet by 34, and a Librarian's room and offices will be included.

LIVERPOOL.-LIVERPOOL (LYCEUM) LIBRARY.-The one hundred and twenty-third annual meeting of the proprietors of this Library was held on Tuesday, May 23rd, the President, Mr. Fred. Wevill, in the chair. The Committee's Annual Report showed that during the year, ending April 30th, the Library had been open 306 days, and in that period 61,176 works (equal to about 150,000 vols.) were issued, being an average of about 500 volumes. We find, from the Treasurer's Accounts, that £635 10s. 7d. has been expended in the purchase and hire of books and bookbinding; and, after the payment of the necessary working expenses of the Library, a balance of £116 14s. 8d. is carried forward. There have been 1,166 volumes added to the permanent stock of the Library during the year, and 1,409 volumes have been borrowed from London Subscription Libraries, making a total acquisition of 2,575 volumes of new books.

LONDON. BRABY AND Co.'s LIBRARY.-The twelfth annual meeting was held in the new building, erected as a Library, at Messrs. Braby and Co.'s works, Deptford, Mr. Frederick Braby in the chair. Mr. W. R. Douthwaite, of Gray's Inn, and Mr. C. Welch, our Hon. Secretary, were present. The Report was read by Mr. G. R. Humphrey, the Hon. Secretary. The Library now contains over 1,400 volumes, and the circulation for last year was 990. A resolution of congratulation and good-will was moved by the Rev. R. J. Simpson, and seconded by Mr. Douthwaite.

LONDON. LONDON LIBRARY.-The annual meeting was held on Thursday, May 25th, when Sir Henry Barkly took the chair, and, in moving the adoption of the Report (see p. 96), referred to the fact of the occasion being the twenty-fifth anniversary of the librarianship of Mr. R. Harrison, under whose management the Library has shown a steady improvement. In 1857 there were only 660 members; there are now 1,712. Suggestions were made as to circulating the Report beforehand among the members, and opening the Library in the evening, and it was understood that

these questions would have the careful consideration of the Committee.

LONDON. SOUTH LONDON FREE LIBRARY.-This is entirely supported by voluntary subscriptions, and in consequence of a demand having been made by the parochial authorities for rates, a public meeting was held on Monday, June 6, to protest against the attempt, as being contrary to the Act 6 and 7 Victoria, c. 36, which exempts such institutions. It was finally agreed that a member of the council should wait upon the assessment authorities on the subject.

MANCHESTER.-We are sorry to learn, from Mr. Sutton, of the decease of one of our Manchester members. Mr. T. B. M. Dutton, Librarian of the Manchester Athenæum, died on the 6th inst., after a long and painful illness. He had been librarian of the institution for about eighteen years, and was previously an assistant in the Free Public Library at Peel Park, Salford. Some of our members will doubtless remember his friendliness and courtesy in connection with our meeting at Manchester.

MERTHYR TYDVIL.-The six days' poll on the question of adopting the Public Libraries Acts finished at Merthyr Vale on Saturday, May 20th. The total numbers were: For, 294; Against, 826; majority against, 532. The parish of Merthyr is a long and straggling one, and the heaviest vote was in the outlying district of Dowlais, where the "hill men" registered 506 votes "against," and only 11 "for." The entire number of voters is about 2,500, so that the poll was not generally a heavy one.

NEWARK. The foundation-stone of the Free Library, which has been presented to the inhabitants of Newark by the munificence of Mr. William Gilstrap, of Bury St. Edmunds, a native of the town, was laid by the donor on Whit Monday, May 29th. The Mayor and Corporation, and most of the leading inhabitants were present. After laying the stone, Mr. Gilstrap delivered an address.

OXFORD.-Grants of books have been made by convocation, to the Free Library at Bethnal Green, to the Watford Public Library, and to the Halifax Public Library.-A decree has also been passed, making over to the curators of the Bodleian Library, the rooms hitherto used for examination purposes.

READING.-The New Public Buildings, comprising a Town Hall, Public Free Library and Museum, and Schools for Science and Art, built at a cost of about £60,000, were presented to the Corporation on behalf of the Subscribers, and formally opened, on May 31st, by John Walter, Esq., M.P. The Public Libraries Acts were adopted at Reading on May 17th, 1877. The population of the Borough is 42,000, and the income derived from the rate is about £645. The Library receives a start by a donation of 4,000 volumes. The Library is divided into three rooms by handsome screens of oak and glass from floor to ceiling. The Lending Library is 21 feet by 31 feet, the News-room is 28 feet by 31 feet, and the Reading-room and

Reference Library is 48 feet by 42 feet, each room being 20 feet high. There are also arrangements for ladies' and librarian's rooms.

STAFFORD. Mr. De' Mazzinghi writes: The Borough of Stafford has recently been organizing a Free Library, both for reference and circulation. Its reading-room for newspapers and periodicals has been open a month or two, and has found favour with the townsmen. The Library has been built upon a site adjoining the New Borough Hall, with which it communicates. Over the reading-room is a room of the same size, containing a museum of natural history, furnished almost entirely by the collection made by the donor, Mr. Wragge, in the course of his travels in different parts of the world. Another donation is that of the Hon. William Littleton's Zulu Collection, made in South Africa, when acting as secretary to Sir Bartle Frere. The room above at the top is appropriated to the School of Art. The Circulating Library is lodged at present in presses occupying one side of the Mayor's dining-room, which has also to accommodate at one end an indicator for 5,000 volumes upon the Wolverhampton principle. Liberal donations have been made, both of books and money, and the lending department will soon be opened. A Reference Library also is lodged in glazed cases occupying a side of the Reading-room. One of these is filled by a useful set of standard works, forming part of the bequest of the late Mr. Hicks Smith, Barrister, to the William Salt Library, which, by arrangement with his representatives, was waived by the Trustees in favour of the Free Library, the William Salt Library being, as is well known, of a very special and indeed unique character, even amongst antiquarian Libraries, and its shelf accommodation appropriated to books of a corresponding kind. The Corporation of Stafford have appointed Mr. Calvert to take charge of the Free Library.

STOCKPORT.-Mr. J. D. Buckland has been appointed Chief Librarian of the Stockport Public Free Library, in succession to Mr. W. H. Greenbough, and has intimated his intention to join the Library Association.

YORK. The Rev. Canon Raine, the librarian of York Minster Library, recently read a very interesting paper on the Library to a meeting of friends at the house of our Hon. Local Secretary, Mr. W. W. Morrell, which will probably be published shortly by the Yorkshire Archæological Society. The Library is at present admirably conducted, and is open two or three times a week. A few persons pay a subscription of £1 1s. annually.

Cornell University now possesses a Library Bulletin similar to that at Harvard, and consisting of a record of the principal accessions, with notes and bibliographical appendices. Among the latter, brief lists of books relating to the German civil services and to Petrarch, drawn up by the Librarian, Prof. Willard Fiske, have already appeared.

The children of the late Mr. T. Crane have erected at Quincy (U.S.) a Public Library building, in memory of their father, at a cost of 40,000 dols.

A part of the numerous MS. collections left by the late Édouard Fournier have been acquired by the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, another part relating to the City of Paris is in the hands of the Bibliothèque de la Ville, and the late Baron James de Rothschild secured the remainder.

The Journal des Savants for April contains an article on the Cabinet des Manuscrits of the Bibliothèque Nationale.

The sixteenth and last volume, just out, of the new edition of "Correspondance par Grimm, Diderot, etc., revue par M. Tourneux" (which, may be observed, includes an excellent index to the work), contains a long account of the library and papers of Grimm, during and after the Revolution.

In the Supplement to the Journal de Genève of April 14, may be read an interesting contribution by M. Eug. Ritter, "Sur les MSS. de J. J. Rousseau, légués à la Bibliothèque Publique de Genève par Mme. Streckeisen-Moulton."

The article "Libraries in the forthcoming volume of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which will soon be published, may be presumed to possess special interest to our readers. Unfortunately the space at the disposal of the writers has necessitated a great deal of compression as well as a great deal of omission. This is especially the case with regard to the chapter on "Library Management," where an endeavour is made to present a succinct but comprehensive view of this much-embracing subject. In the historical portion, the well-known facts relating to ancient and mediaval libraries are re-examined. Modern libraries are treated not so much with a view to write their annals, or to describe their bibliographical rarities, as to show the nature of the work they are accomplishing. The article is followed by elaborate tables, in which much information as to the leading libraries of the world is briefly presented. In the case of the United Kingdom no particular limit of extent is observed, and full justice is done to the Libraries established under the Acts. As regards other countries, it has been necessary to draw the line, except in the case of special collections, at libraries of 30,000 volumes and upwards. The entire number of libraries thus registered amounts to nearly a thousand, and the information has been obtained in nearly every instance direct from the officers of the different libraries enumerated.

LIBRARY CATALOGUES AND REPORTS. Manchester Public Free Libraries. Catalogue of the Chorlton and Ardwick Branch Lending Library. Second Edition. Manchester, 1882. La. 8vo, pp. viii.-237, hf.-bd.

A catalogue of a collection of 17,500 volumes on the now familiar index system, which was first introduced by the Manchester Free Libraries fifteen years ago.

There are very many references under subjects to the contents of collected works, &c. The printing is in double columns, and in small but readable type.

Manor of Aston Local Board. The Fourth Annual Report of the Free Libraries' Committee. March 26th, 1881, to March 25th, 1882. La. 8vo, pp. 16 and cover.

The new library buildings were opened 4th January, 1882, and the Reference Library and News-room have been much frequented. The issues in the Reference Library, from January 5th to March 25th, were 2,109. The number of volumes is 2,321. In the Lending Department there has been a decrease owing to the withdrawal of the old borrowing cards, the issue for the year being 66,092. The number of volumes in the Lending Department is 5,307. The rate produced £493 8s. 5d.

Brighton Free Library, Museum, and Picture Gallery. . .Seventh and Eighth Annual Reports. . . during the years 1881-2. . . Brighton, 1882. 8vo, pp. 27.

The date above, "1881-2," should be 1880-1, the reports being for these two latter years. The Reports do not afford much information as to the Library, the Sub-Committee reporting that "The Library continues to be well frequented, as many as 60 readers being usually present in the evening, and the daily number of visitors averaging above 100.'

Bristol Museum and Library. Report of Proceedings at the Eleventh Annual Meeting, held 16th February, 1882, with List of Subscribers. 8vo, pp. 29.

The total number of subscribers was 808, and the receipts from subscriptions £11 18s. 6d. ; there being a slight decrease in both sets of figures. The total income was £1,405 15s. 9d. About 630 volumes have been purchased for the Library. There were 462 subscribers to the " Library alone.

Chester. Fourth Annual Report of the Committee of the Chester Free Public Library, 1881. Chester, 1882. 8vo, pp. 10.

The number of readers on December 31st, 1881, was 995, the issues for the year 38,756. 206 volumes were added during the year, chiefly for the Reference Library now in course of preparation. The rate produced £607 88. 9d., the total income (including balance from previous year of £133 11s. 5d.) being £814 16s. 4d. London. Report of the Committee of the London Library to the Forty-first General Meeting of the Members, May 25th, 1882. London, 1882. 8vo, pp. 8.

There are now 1,712 members, the number having been increased by 44 during the year. The books added in the same period amounted to 3,031 volumes and 130 pamphlets. Annual circulation, 99,231 volumes. The gross receipts (£4,292) and sum spent in buying books (£889) show a slight decrease as compared with last year.

Southport. Atkinson Free Library, Borough of Southport. Seventh Annual Report, 1881-2. Southport. 8vo, pp. 11.

The accessions to the Library for the year were by purchase 692, by donation 266, and the total number of volumes now in the Library is 11,090. 1,260 borrowers' cards have been issued during the year. The issues were in the Lending Department 92,411, in the Reference Library 27,976. It is estimated that 159,172 persons have used the news-room, and 109,829 the reading-room during the year. At the Churchtown Branch a decrease of borrowers and readers is reported. The rate produced £748 178. 9d., and there was a net deficiency on the year's working of £13 78. 6hd.

Swansea. Seventh Annual Report of the Public Library and