ELEVENTH
ANNUAL REPORT
TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
1863
BOSTON:
3. E. FARWELL AND COMPANY, PRINTERS TO THE CITY
3" Conoress Street.
18 6 3.
City Document. — No. 98.
©H6!^ ©W ®©OT®Ifo
ELEVENTH
ANNUAL IlEPOET
OF THE
TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
1863.
In Board of Aldermen, November 23, 1863.
Laid on the table, and 800 copies ordered to be printed.
Attest: S. F. McCLEARY, City Clerk.
CITY OF BOSTON.
Public Library, 18 November, 1863.
His Honor Frederic W. Lincoln, Jr., Mayor of the City
of Boston :
Sir : I have the honor to transmit to you, herewith, the
Eleventh Annual Report of the Trustees of the Public Library,
prepared in obedience to the fourth section of the Ordinance
relative to the Public Library, passed on the 20th of October,
18(33.
Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
CHARLES C. JEWETT,
Secretary of the Board of Trustees.
ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT
TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
In obedience to the fourth section of the Ordinance
of October 20, 1863, in relation to the Public Library,
the Trustees ask leave to submit to the City Council
their Eleventh Annual
REPORT.
The Ordinance directs that a Committee shall be
annually appointed by the Trustees, consisting of five
citizens at large, with a member of the Board to act as
chairman, who shall be invited to examine the Library
and make report of its condition. The members of the
Committee for the present year are Henry F. Durant,
Esq., Right Rev. Bishop Eastburn, George Hay ward,
M.D., Harvey Jewell, Esq., and Benjamin S. Rotch, Esq.;
George Ticknor, Esq., a member of the Board, acting
as chairman. The Report of this Committee, marked
A, is herewith submitted, together with the Report of
,; CI PI D0< i WENT.— No. 97
the Superintendent of the Library, C. C. Jewett, Esq.,
marked B.
The Trustees refer to these documents with pleasure,
as presenting, in detail, a highly satisfactory view of the
condition of the Library, and of its operations during
the past year. They doubt not that the City Council
will be gratified to learn from them that the institution
has in no degree suffered by the state of the country,
and though great numbers of those entitled to its priv-
ileges have left the city to enter the public service in
various capacities, the number of books borrowed from
the Library to be read at home, as well as of those con-
sulted at the institution, is greater than in any former
year.
It is also satisfactory to observe, that not with standing
the great increase of the price of the foreign books,
owing to the present rate of exchange, the number of
volumes added to the Library since the last annual
enumeration is equal to the average of former years.
In administering the important institution commit-
ted to their care, the Trustees have continued to act
on the principles which have governed the Board in
former years, viz. : that of making it as extensively and
practically useful as possible. In purchasing books,
nothing has been done for luxurious display. No high
priced book has ever been bought because it was a
great bibliographical curiosity, but the funds of the
City and of our generous benefactors, entrusted to the
care of the Board for the purchase of books, have been
exclusively expended for those which were deemed of
substantial utility. The institution, however, is under
obligations to several of its liberal friends for works of
costly magnificence.
PUBLIC LIBRARY. 7
In the regulations for the consultation and loan of
books, the Trustees have studied the greatest amount
of accommodation to the public, consistent with a just
regard to the safety and proper care of the collection.
It is correctly observed by the Superintendent, that it
would not have been difficult, by the adoption of more
stringent rules, to prevent the loss of some volumes and
some injury of others in the course of the year, but it
has been thought better, upon the whole, to submit to
this inconvenience, which is not great, than to enforce
regulations which would embarrass the free use of the
Library now enjoyed ; and which the Trustees think
they may with truth say, exceeds that of any other
public library in this country, perhaps in the world.
In the earlier Reports of the Trustees to the City
Council, they have discussed at considerable length
various topics of interest relative to the history and
progress of the Library. Statements and suggestions
of this kind become less necessary from year to year as
experience has been gained in the management of the
institution, while the public at large have become too
well convinced of its utility to require an annual ap-
peal to them on that subject. On the present occasion
the Trustees believe that they shall sufficiently discharge
their duty to the City Council, by referring them to the
Reports of the Examining Committee and the Superin-
tendent, without further comment on their own part.
It is, however, but just to bear the willing testimony
of the Board to the intelligence, zeal, and assiduity with
which the arduous duties of the Superintendent and
Librarian have been discharged by those gentlemen,
CITY" DOCUMENT. —No. 97.
and to the fidelity and diligence of their assistants of
cither sex.
The regular meetings of the Trustees have been
held, and their personal attention given as in former
years.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
EDWARD EVERETT,
GEORGE TICKNOR,
JOHN P. BIGELOW,
NATHANIEL B. SHURTLEFF,
WILLIAM W. GREENOUGH,
JOHN S. TYLER,
HENRY A. DRAKE.
Public Library, November 17, 1863.
[A]
REPORT OF THE EXAMINING COMMITTEE.
The Examining Committee, appointed in obedience to the re-
quisitions of the seventh section of an Ordinance in relation to a
Public Library, dated October 14, 1852, respectfully
REPORT,
That they have endeavored to examine the Library so as to
understand its successive operations fronTthe time when its books
are first received to the time when they begin their course of
duty by use within the halls of the building, or by circulation
through the community. In doing this, they have naturally
made their inquiries under the different heads of the Books them-
selves ; the Catalogues that render the books easily accessible ;
and the forms of Administration, through which they are offered to
the public. Under these same heads, therefore, the Committee
can most easily and simply explain the results of their investiga-
tions.
I. And, first, of the Books and their condition, it being the
main object of every well-conducted public library to collect
books and to preserve them carefully for use.
Regarded from this point of view, your Committee find that
the number of volumes in the Public Library is materially
larger than it ever was at any previous annual examination,
having increased, since the last was made, above five thousand
five hundred volumes. And they further find that, from a very
10 CITY DOCUMENT. — No. 07.
economical arrangement recently adopted for the repair of such
books as may need it in their binding's, the condition of the
books generally is better than it ever was before, and is con-
stantly improving.
But, as the Committee passed from alcove to alcove in the
course of their successive examinations of the whole Library,
they could not fail to observe with pride and gratitude that by
far the largest, the most important, and the most instructive
part of this excellent collection of books has come to the City
from the liberality of generous individuals interested that Bos-
ton should make constant progress in whatever is most worthy
of distinction and honor. The gift by Mr. Bates of fifty thou-
sand dollars in books of permanent value, and of fifty thousand
dollars more as a fund the income of which is to be annually
spent in the purchase of other books of the same class, will not
be forgotten while the City lasts. Nor will the generosity of
Mr. Phillips, Mr. Lawrence, or the other benefactors who have
contributed to our Book Fund, including the liberal-minded
young men who have increased its resources this very year,
ever fail of grateful recognition and record. Their example, too,
will be cherished and followed. Men of a wise and far-seeing
benevolence, like theirs, will no more be wanting in the future
than they have been in the past. For it will, we believe, con-
tinue to be felt that there is no way in which a thoughtful man,
who wishes to promote the intellectual culture, the real pros-
perity, and the moral and religious advancement of the com-
munity to which he and his children belong, — while at the same
time he cherishes the natural desire that his own memory should
be kept fresh in the hearts of his descendents and their con-
temporaries,— can accomplish an object so wise and worthy,
more honorably, or more surely, than by the gift of a fund the
income of which shall be appropriated forever to the purchase of
books, in each volume of which his name will always be re-
corded as a public benefactor, and circulated as such through all
classes and conditions of our citizens in all future time.
PUBLIC LIBEARY. H
Your Committee, therefore, report to you that, so far as
its books are concerned, the Public Library is in a better con-
dition than it has been at any previous period, and that it is
likely to make similar progress hereafter, not only from its pres-
ent means, but from other resources which will surely be sup-
plied to it by a forecast and munificence like those which have
made it what it now is.
II. But books without Catalogues to facilitate their use are
little better than a dead mass growing more and more unman-
ageable as it increases in bulk. Holding, therefore, as we
do, that a book is never so much in the way of its duty as
it is when it is in hand to be read, we believe that, next in im-
portance to having a good and ample collection of books, is that
of having Catalogues fitted not -only to render their use possible
or convenient, but to make it easy, pleasant, and inviting. In
this respect, your Committee believe that the Public Library has
fairly earned no little reputation. On the one hand, for any
person who wishes thoroughly to investigate any subject what-
soever, its system of manuscript catalogues opens at a glance all
the resources of the Library in a way which leaves nothing to be
desired that can reasonably be asked ; while, on the other hand,
its printed Indexes, abridged from these same manuscript cata-
logues, and beginning with the large Index of the Upper Hall
and coming down to the convenient supplements which every
year make known to the public what accessions of the newest
and most popular books have been made in the Lower Hall,
have proved so entirely satisfactory to the thousands who con-
stantly use them, that, as we understand, not a complaint has
been heard or a doubt expressed as to their peculiar fitness and
success.
Your Committee, however, do not feel at liberty to stop here.
They feel bound, while speaking of the catalogues, to add that
the large " Index to the Catalogue of Books in the Upper
Hall," published in 1861, has been received and acknowledged
in other parts of the United States and in Europe, by persons
12 CITY DOCUMENT.— No. 97.
eminently fitted to pronounce judgment on its merits, as a
contribution to the facilities for acquiring knowledge through the
use of large libraries, such as has not been afforded elsewhere.
The Public Library, in fact, through this printed Catalogue,
modestly called an Index, has made its influence felt not only
here at home by the multitudes who avail themselves of the
privileges it opens to them, but by cultivated persons and im-
portant institutions in the rest of the country, and abroad.
To this exposition of the excellent condition and peculiar fit-
ness of the catalogues, both manuscript and printed, the Com-
mittee desire to state a further fact, which, they suppose, can
be stated in relation to the catalogues of few large public libra-
ries anywhere, desirable and important as it may be that the
same fact should everywhere be .true. They refer to the cir-
cumstance, that the entries in the different catalogues of this
Library are not permitted to fall behindhand. They are kept up
to the time, neatly, fully, and in the most satisfactory manner.
This has always been the case in relation to the Accessions'
Catalogue and the Shelf Catalogues, which are, in some respects,
peculiarly important, because the first contains the whole history
of the Library as a collection of books, and the other is an exact
inventory of it as a valuable part of the City's property. The
interleaved indexes, too, for the convenience of the public, have
never failed to be carried on from week to week, so as to show
constantly what new popular books have been added for circu-
lation. But owing to the sudden influx of large masses of books
at two or three periods, especially when Mr. Bates made his
great donation, and when Mr. Parker's bequest was received, it
was not possible to observe the same promptness in relation to
the ampler and more minute catalogue on cards ; although that
catalogue, too, was always in hand and always advancing.
But time and industry have enabled the Superintendent and his
assistants to overcome this difficulty, as, by the same means, they
have overcome so many others. The Card Catalogue is now as
complete as the rest, and likely to continue so.
PUBLIC LIBRARY. 13
Of the catalogues, therefore, as of the books, — the two
items of most consequence in the account of any such institu-
tion — your Committee are happy to report that the Library was
never in a condition to be so useful to the City as it is now, or
to do it so much honor.
III. And, finally, in regard to the real benefits of the
Library to the City ; or, in other words, in regard to the circula-
tion of its hooks and their use in its halls, the Committee are able
to make a report no less satisfactory. The Library was more
used during the last year than it ever was before ; that is, more
books were taken out on a daily average and more on one par-
ticular day ; more persons consulted it as a library of reference ;
more persons resorted to its pleasant and attractive reading-
room ; more visited it from a curiosity which it is honorable to
the City to have excited. It has, in short, in every way appro-
priate to such an institution, done more good during the last
year than it ever did before, and there seems to be no sufficient
reason why it should not continue to do more and more good
every year hereafter.
Your Committee are confirmed in this conclusion as to the
increasing usefulness and importance of the Library when they
look back to its origin, and, from its progress to the present
time, take, so far as they fairly may, a measure for coming
years. In this respect, indeed, a simple recurrence to the dates,
concerning which there can be no mistake or question, is full
of instruction and encouragement. The first report of the
Trustees, setting forth the principles on which they hoped to build
up the institution committed to their care, was made in July,
1852, and the Library itself was opened in May, 1854. Its
resources at that period were small; perhaps, considering the
objects aimed at, ttey should be called humble. They consisted
of about twelve thousand volumes, a very large part of which,
though valuable, was the result of donations, and was not well
fitted for the popular circulation and reading which constituted
the primary object of this institution. Its local arrangements,
14 <ITY DOCUMENT. — No. 97.
confined to two rooms, we're narrow, inadequate, and thoroughly
uncomfortable ; but no more space was to be had, and it was no
deemed advisable to wait for the accumulation of more appro-
priate books. The project was regarded by many whose judg-
ment and influence could neither be wisely nor safely overlooked,
as an experiment promising little real or lasting good to the city.
At this uncertain and anxious period came the most opportune
expressions of Mr. Bates's munificence in 1852, 1853, and 1855 ;
— unsolicited, unexpected, in fact wholly spontaneous, — which,
for the first time, placed the Library upon a safe foundation as
a City institution of permanent and acknowledged importance.
Scarcely ten years have elapsed since this change came over its
character and prospects ; but already above an hundred thou-
sand volumes, well suited to their purpose, have been gathered
on its shelves, and accounts have been opened for their use in
the freest and most trusting manner, with above thirty thousand
different persons. It is become an institution which does
honor to the City at home and abroad, and of which the City in
return is justly proud. Above all, it is an institution which
does great good to great numbers, and does it every day to the
full acceptance of an intelligent community. Results like these,
in so short a period, were certainly not anticipated by the most
earnest and sanguine of its original friends ; and standing where
we now do, we may assuredly accept them as the augury of a
prosperous and beneficent future.
GEORGE TICKNOR,
HENRY F. DURANT,
MANTON EASTBURN,
GEORGE HAY WARD,
HARVEY JEWELL,
BENJAMIN S. ROTCH.
Public Library, November 4, 1863.
[B]
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT.
To the Trustees of the Publtc Library of the City
of Boston :
Gentlemen : In compliance with a requirement of the "By-
Laws relative to the Trustees and Officers of the Public Li-
brary," I have the honor to present to you a Report upon the
condition and increase of the Library from the first of Novem-
ber, 1862, to the first of September, 1863.
In order the better to accommodate a large number of those
who make most use of the books, and in consequence of sugges-
tions made by the last Committee of Examination, the Trustees
have changed the time for the annual examination of the Li-
brary, from October to August. On this account, therefore, the
statistics of the present report apply to a period of ten months
instead of twelve. This fact should be borne in mind, when
comparing the aggregates of increase and of circulation, herein
given, with those of former years.
It is pleasant to be able to say, in general terms, before pre-
senting in detail the results of our annual review, that, during
the continuance of the great patriotic struggle upon which Bos-
ton has bestowed so liberally the best she had to give, her citi-
zens have found time and means to cherish with constant care,
an institution like this, and to avail themselves of its resources,
even more extensively than ever before.
1,; CITY DOCUMENT. — No. 97.
The Library contains at present, —
In the Upper Hall . . 88,038 volumes
In the Lower Hall . . 22,525
Total .... 110,563 «
These are all bound volumes, but about 1,600 of them are
pamphlets separately bound, and 5,237 are duplicates. Some
exchanges of duplicates have already been made, and arrange-
ments are in progress for disposing of the greater part of them
in the same way.
There are also in the Library, according to the enumeration
continued from year to year, 31,043 unbound pamphlets. But
this number includes many duplicates of pamphlets already
placed upon the shelves • and catalogued ; numerous copies of
certain publications ; odd numbers of magazines and public
documents ; and many articles of very little value. During the
year much has been done towards sorting out the duplicates,
and making a more satisfactory arrangement of the pamphlets
which remain. It is proposed further, as time and funds will
permit, to select the most valuable of the pamphlets, bind them
separately, and place them in the Library as books. It is hoped
that this system may be pursued till nothing shall be left in the
room devoted to these productions, but such as are incomplete
or not worth binding. The mode of binding pamphlets which
has recently been adopted for this Library, while it is neat and
strong, is so inexpensive — not costing more than eight or ten
dollars a hundred — that it will be practicable to place upon the
shelves, as books, all pamphlets which seem worthy of preserva-
tion. About 1,500 of the pamphlets of Mr. Theodore Parker's
library have, during the last year, been thus bound, and they
form a very interesting portion of his bequest.
It is not indeed proposed to destroy any of these publica-
tions. Some which now seem utterly worthless, may hereafter
become of value. It will be easy, so long as there is room
PUBLIC LIBKAKY. 17
in the building, to preserve them, and to arrange them so that
they can readily be found.
The increase and active service of the Library, during the
period covered by this report, may be concisely presented in the
following: tabular statement : —
No. of books added :
In the Upper Hall,
3,885
In the Lower Hall,
1,644
Total,
5,529
No. of pamphlets added,
2,169
" " separate papers,
772
" " maps, broadsides, etc..
24
Donations of volumes,
829
" " pamphlets,
1,958
Purchases " volumes,
4,700
" " pamphlets,
212
No. of accounts opened in the loan books,
3,495
Total No. of accounts,
30,481
No. of lendings for home use,
138,027
Daily avei'age,
643.56
Largest No. of lendings in one day, (7Febn
l-
ary, 1863,)
1,534
No. of lendings for use in the building,
7,124
Books missing (September 1,
1863,)
234
Books regained of last year's
loss (294),
156
Books worn out,
106
Books replaced (of which 75 are of those worn
out this year), 127
Amount collected in fines, $ 87 90
The additions to the Library by purchase are equal to the
average in former years, notwithstanding the enhanced price of
foreign books.
The number of new names upon the loan books is 105 less
than during the like period last year.
18 CITY DOCUMENT. — No. 97.
The daily average of circulation is larger than ever before
Last war it was 626; tin.- year G43 and a fraction. In one
day during the present year 1,534 books were lent out of the
building. The largest Dumber on any previous day was 1,517.
Notwithstanding the large aggregate of the circulation, it should
be remembered, that it does not in any way represent some of
the most important uses of the Library. The Reviews, Mag-
azines, and Books of Reference in the Reading Room are acces-
sible and are constantly used, day and evening. The Specifica-
tions of English Patents form a Library of themselves, and are
much consulted. There are also almost constant references to
books of which it is impossible to make record. The great
number of lendings is so striking and valuable a feature, that
we 'may be pardoned, perhaps, for dwelling less than we ought
upon those other benefits of the institution, which are sufficient,
however, of themselves to commend it to the highest favor of
the public.
The number of books missing and worn out is about the same
as usual, as also of books regained ; making the average of
final losses, (almost entirely confined to cheap books easily
replaced,) less than 300 volumes a year.
The remark made in former reports applies with at least equal
force this year, that the amount collected in fines will go far
towards replacing the whole that is actually lost by the circula-
tion.
The larger and more costly works are for the most part asked
for only by those Avho know their value and guard them care-
fully. The losses are mostly accidental. They could be nearly
all prevented by a stricter method of record ; but it has always
been feared that such strictness would prevent many, who now
frequent the Library, from availing themselves of its privileges.
The usual list of the donors to the Library is appended to
this report, and marked AA. They are 194 in number, and
include the names of several who have, from year to year, re-
peated their benefactions. Mr. Ticknor has presented 176
PUBLIC LIBEAKY. 19
volumes ; Mr. William G. Cranch of Washington, 63, besides
a large number of pamphlets ; the Rev. Dr. Gannett, 53, and
Mr. John A. Loring, 45. The Hon. Henry Wilson has con-
tinued to send the full series of government publications to the
Library.
Scarcely a year passes when we have not the pleasure of re-
cording some addition to the permanent funds of the Library.
During the last year one of peculiar interest was received from
the Trustees of a literary association of young men, formerly
existing in this City, under the name of the Franklin Club.
After several years of useful activity the association was dis-
solved, and the funds in its treasury were placed in the hands
of trustees, with instructions to bestow the same as to them
might seem most judicious. The sum, originally about four
hundred dollars, by prudent and skilful management had become
a full thousand. The judgment and action of the trustees
with regard to it may best be told in the words of the following
letter : —
Boston, June 8, 1863.
Hon. F. W. Lincoln, Je., Mayor of the City of Boston:
Sir : The Franklin Club, an association of young men, at its
dissolution, deposited in our hands the funds then in the treas-
ury, with authority to dispose of them in such manner as should
seem judicious.
We now Oiffer to the City of Boston the sum of one thousand
dollars, to be placed at interest forever for the benefit of the
Public Library, on the following conditions, namely :
In trust, that the income of this fund, but its income only,
shall year by year, be expended in the purchase of books of
permanent value for the use of the Free Public Library of the
City, and as far as practicable of such a character, as to be of
special interest to young men.
And without wishing to impose upon those who may adminis-
20 CITY DOCUMENT. — No. 97.
ter the fund, an inflexible condition, we would express a prefer-
ence for books relative to Government and Political Economy.
Respectfully,
THOMAS MINNS,
JOHN J. FRENCH,
J. FRANKLIN REED.
The money thus presented was gratefully accepted and ac-
knowledged by the City, invested in six per cent City scrip,
the income of which is to be expended year by year, by the
Trustees of the Public Library, in accordance with the condi-
tions imposed most judiciously by the donors.
Among the numerous gifts which have been made to the
Library, none is more encouraging than this, betokening as it
does the affectionate and intelligent interest with which the
institution will be cherished and conducted, when it shall be
confided, as ere long it will be, entirely to the hands of those
who are now the young men of the City.
The class of books for which the donors of this fund expressed
a preference, is very appropriate to be provided for, by young
men of culture, in a community so generally devoted to mercan-
tile pursuits. The principles and wide relations, social and
political, of what is popularly denominated business, are but too
little understood. Books of more immediate and transient pop-
ularity are too often perferred to those which treat of subjects
connected with political economy and government.
The indication of preference, modestly expressed^ in the letter
of presentation, does honor to the writers, and is an instructive
testimony, from the most desirable source, to the importance of
placing in the Library, not merly attractive books, but also
books of sober, substantial, scientific value.
In this connection it may be well to say that while the money
appropriated for books by the City has been from year to year
expended wholly upon the most popular English books and the
best magazines of the day, private liberality has supplied the
PUBLIC LIBRARY. 21
funds which have made the Library already valuable to those
engaged in researches in almost every department of science
and of the arts. The use of the less popular portion of a li-
brary is apt to be too little noticed. It does not show itself
conspicuously in a statement of the circulation, but it is suited
to produce results of highest moment to the intellectual and
material progress of the community. Impressed with this con-
sideration, the Trustees have desired to secure for the Library
the best works in all departments, in order that the earnest
student trained in our schools, however poor he may be, and
the mechanic and professional man, may find and may freely
use the means for the highest intellectual achievements.
During the year an enumeration of the books with reference
to the languages in which they were written, was made, and the
result is herewith presented, as descriptive of the character of
the Library. At the suggestion of Mr. Bates, the principal
donor to the funds, the Trustees have endeavored, so far as the
means in their hands allowed, to procure the best works in all
languages, as well as in every direction of scientific and literary
activity. To this end they early sought, and were successful
in securing, from gentlemen of known eminence in various pur-
suits, assistance in making lists of such books as were deemed
most important in different branches of knowledge. Thus the
wants and wishes of all classes of the community were primarily
consulted ; and no pains have since been spared in maintaining
at each stage of the progress of the Library a due harmony of
proportion in all departments of reading and investigation. The
judgment of those best competent to form an opinion upon
the subject, has been emphatic in praise of the selections which
have been made.
3
11
CITY DOCUMENT. — No. 97.
ENUMERATION OF THE BOOKS BY LANGUAGES.
No. of Volumes in Upper
English
French f
German
Italian
Latin <
Greek
Spanish
Chinese
Dutch ,
Danish
Swedish
Portuguese
Russian
Polish
Norwegian
Various languages or dialects . ,
Total.
37,273
16,841
7,380
7,068
3,064
590
240
189
130
78
21
16
12
8
6
177
58,489
17,417
8,139
7,277
3,064
590
241
189
130
78
21
16
12
8
6
177
95,854
This enumeration includes only those books which, at the time
when it was made, had been entered on the shelf-lists, and does
not comprise the duplicates nor those since received. The
books enumerated under "various languages and dialects," are
nearly all translations of the Bible and parts thereof, published
by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and by the American
Bible Society.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
23
I present below a statement of the relative use of different
classes of books in the Upper Hall, repeating the remark which
I had occasion to make in a former report, that the rapid method
of charging books in the Lower Hall, renders impracticable the
classification of lendings in that department.
CLASSIFICATION OF BOOKS LENT IN THE UPPER HALL.
English history and literature
Theology and ethics
Useful arts and fine arts
Periodicals ....
Medicine ....
American history
Mathematical and physical sciences
French history and literature
General history
Italian history and literature
Natural history
Oriental history and literature
Greek and Latin classics
Transactions of learned societies
Bibliography
German history and literature
Miscellaneous
Law .....
17 J per cent.
11
9
7
7
6
5£
5
4*
4
4
U
3
3
2i
2
n
The condition of the books is, in general, excellent. The
most popular books in the Lower Library are, indeed, much
soiled and injured by writing in them and otherwise. The
expense of covering and of rebinding is considerable. Many
books are heedlessly, — few, however, wilfully, — mutilated.
It would be easy to put a stop to such injuries, as to the losses
already mentioned, but only by measures which, it has been
feared, would make it too difficult for a large class of people to
24 CITY DOCUMENT. — No. 97.
use the Library. It is well, therefore, to consider that both the
losses and the injuries fall upon a small part of the books, and
those generally such as are neither scarce nor clear ; that they
are, for the most part, the result of misfortune, of carelessness,
of uncleanly habits, and of ignorance, which it is one great
object of the free circulation of books to remove or diminish ;
and that, after all, they are of small importance compared with
the great benefits which the Library confers by the freest circu-
lation of its books.
In the Upper Hall much has been done to improve the ex-
ternal appearance of the books by repairing such as were torn
and defaced. A hand printing-press, and a small quantity of
type and materials, have enabled us, with the occasional services
of a person employed in the Library, who was formerly a printer,
to letter handsomely several thousand volumes, destitute of titles
upon the backs, besides all the pamphlets which have been bound,
as already stated. A binder, Mr. Seth Goldsmith, has for several
months been employed in the building, repairing and renovat-
ing the bindings, and binding pamphlets. By his services more
has been done for the good appearance and preservation of the
books than could have been effected in the ordinary way in a
much longer time and at a much greater cost.
During the last year, as during the years preceding, the new
books received in the Library have been, with the least possible
delay, placed on the shelves, ready in all respects for public use.
Neither the Catalogue, nor any part of the work on accessions,
has ever been allowed to fall in arrears.
The printed Index can never, of course, fully represent the
condition of the Library so long as the Library continues to
increase. While the great work of preparing and printing the
Index to the Upper Hall was in progress, large accessions were
received, among them the bequest of the late Theodore Parker.
These additions are now all catalogued and accessible to the
public. The Supplementary Index will, it is hoped, be printed
before the close of the present Library year. It will be nearly
PUBLIC LIBRARY. 25
half as large as the original volume, and will represent more
than twenty-five thousand books. The printed guides to the
books will then be : — The Index to the Lower Hall in 204
pages, printed in 1858, with six supplementary lists, issued
annually for the convenience of the public, and containing
abridged titles, without cross references, — and the Index to the
Upper Hall, issued in 1861, in 902 pages, with a Supplement
containing probably 400 pages. It will soon become a matter
of pressing importance to consolidate the Index and Supple-
ments to the Lower Hall. About 8000 copies of the Index
first published will speedily have been distributed, and a new
edition, or a new Catalogue, will be demanded. The several
supplements maybe combined into one, and the cross references
added, so as to form a single large Supplement ; but it will
doubtless be thought best to reprint the whole Index and Sup-
plements in one alphabet. The whole printed Catalogue will
then be in three alphabets, and it will appear practicable to
publish in one alphabet an index or catalogue of the whole col-
lection in both halls, with short titles, under authors and sub-
jects. This is the great desideratum, and becomes more and
more important as the books increase in number.
I' cannot close this report without saying that, through the
last year, as through previous years, the good order of the
Library has never once been disturbed by rudeness or impro-
prieties on the part of visitors, though nothing has been done,
as nothing was needed, by way of restraint. A fact like this
is worth repeating, when it is considered that on some days not
less than two thousand persons visit the Library for borrowing
or returning books, for reading or for reference, besides many
more who come from mere curiosity.
I append to this report the usual financial statement, marked
BB.
Respectfully submitted ,
CHARLES C. JEWETT, Superintendent.
Public Library, October 20, 1863.
3*
[AA]
LIST OF DONORS.
Bates, Joshua, London, interest of fund,
Bigelow, Hon. John P., " "
Lawrence, Hon. Abbott, " "
Phillips, Hon. Jonathan, " "
Townsend, Mary P., " "
$3,000 00
60 00
600 00
1,800 00
240 00
Trustees of the Franklin Club, $ 1,000, the income of which
is to be expended annually in the purchase of books.
Abbott, G. J., Washington,
Agassiz, L., Prof., Cambridge,
A. E. E.,
Albany Young Men's Assoc, for Mutual Improvem't.
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester,
American Anti-slavery Society,
American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia,
American Unitarian Association,
Andrews, William T.,
Ann Arbor, University of Michigan,
Anonymous, 1 paper, 1 broadside
Appleton, Charles Hook,
Appleton, George E., Pittsburgh, Pa.,
Baker, Nathaniel B., Adjutant-General of Iowa,
Vols.
2
Pamps.
3
1
2
2
27
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
27
Balfour, David M. ,
Barnard, Henry, Hon., Hartford,
Bartlett, J. R., Hon., Providence,
Bates, Samuel P., Harrisburg, Pa.,
Bedlington, Timothy,
Beverly Public Library,
Binney, W. G., Burlington, N. J.,
Boston, City of, 5 portfolios,
Boston, Twelfth Cong'l. Society, Francis Brown,
Bowditch, H. I., M. D.,
Bowditch, Nathaniel, Sons of,
Bradlee, Caleb Davis, Rev., 1 manuscript,
British Museum, London,
Brooklyn Mercantile Library Association,
Burnham, T. O. H. P.,
Burroughs, Henry, Rev.,
Burroughs, Thomas H., Hon.,
Butler Hospital for the Insane, Providence,
Byington, E. M.,
Canada, Government of,
Chambers, George E.,
Charlestown Public Library,
Christern, F. W., New York,
Cincinnati Young Men's Mercantile Lib. Association,
Cochrane, James, Edinburgh,
Colby, Anthony, Adjutant-General of N. Hamp.,
Colton, F. P., Adjutant-General of Connecticut,
Connecticut State Library, J. Hoadley,
Cradlebaugh, John, Hon., M. C,
Cranch, William G., Washington, D. C, 7 papers
Gushing, Isaac,
Darrow,*G. R.,
Dean, John Ward,
Detroit Young Men's Society,
Dudley, Dean,
Dunphv, James W.,
Dutton, E. P., &Co.,
Edinburgh Royal Society,
Edinburgh Scotsman, Editor of,
Eliot, Samuel, Hartford, Conn.,
Elliott, E. B.,
Essex Institute, Salem,
Tola.
Pamps.
3
1
1
1
3
2
1
1
1
1
4
2
3
3
3
2
2
6
1
28
1
1
•
2
1
6
63
1
1
4
183
2S
CITY DOCUMENT.- No. 97.
Everett, Edward, Hon., 142 papers,
Fall River Public Library,
Farley, Hubert,
Felt, LydiaB.,
Fluegel, Felix, Leipzig,
Foley, William J.,
Fuller, Allen C, Adjutant-General, Springfield, 111.,
Gannett, Ezra S., 1). D.,
Garrison, Wendell Phillips,
Gaylord, Augustus, Adjutant-General of Wisconsin,
Gilman, D. C., Prof., New Haven,
Goldsmith, Seth,
Gould, Nathaniel D., 1 broadside,
Grant, S. Hastings, New York,
Green, S. A., M. D.,
Greenough, W. W., 240 papers.
Grout, Lewis, Rev., Saxton's River, Vt.,
Guild, -Samuel E., Mrs.,
Hale, Salma, Hon., Keene, N. H.,
Hall, Charles B.,
Hall, J. P.,
Hall, W. W., M. D.,
Harvard Cullege,
Harvard College Observatory,
Hayden, John C, M. D.,
Hedge, J. Dunham, Providence,
Hill, Charles W., Brigadier-General, Ohio,
Hodsdon, John L., Brigadier-General, Maine,
Holmes, Oliver W., M. D.,
Homans, J. Smith, New York,
Hooper, Samuel, Hon.,
Jackson, Abby C,
Jarvis, Edward, M. D., Dorchester,
Jewett, C. C,
Kibbe, Wm. C, Adjutant-General of California,
Lawrence, Abbott, 3 papers, 20 maps,
Lawrence, T. Bigelow, 1 engraving,
Library of Congress,
Lieber, Francis, LL. I).,
Livermore, George,
Liverpool Library,
Loring, Charles G.,
Vols.
4
2
3
1
53
1
1
1
6
1
1
1
18
3
1
1
6
8
1
1
2
4
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
29
Vols. Pamps.
Loring, J. Spear, 9 27
Loring, John A., 45
London, Institution of Civil Engineers, 1
London, Royal Astronomical Society, 2
London, Royal Geographical Society,
London, Royal Society, 1
Lord, Melvin, 2
Lowell City Library, 1
MacCarthy, Denis Florence, Dalkeld, Ireland, 1
McDougall, J. A., Hon., 1
Maha Raja Kalee Krishna Bahadur, Calcutta, 3 2
Malmros, Oscar, Adjutant-General of Minnesota, 1
Massachusetts Historical Society, 2
Mauran, Edward, Adjutant-General of R. I.,
Moore, Charles W.,
Morgan, Henry J., Quebec, 1
Moscow, Societe Imperiale de, 1
Mumford, S. R., Detroit,
Napoleon, Emperor of the French, 2
New Bedford Public Library, 1
Newbury port Public Library, 1
New York Chamber of Commerce, 2
New York, Mercantile Library Association, 1
New York, Regents of the University, 1
New York Society Library,
Onderdonk, Henry, Jr., Jamaica, L. I., 2
Otis, Mary, 3
Palfrey, Sarah H., 2
Palfrey, Francis J.,
Parker, Henry T., 8
Parker, Theodore, part of bequest, 138 1371
Parsons, Usher, M. D., Providence, R. I., 1
Peabody Institute, South Danvers, 1
Perry, W. S., Rev., 1
Philbrick, JohnD.,
Philadelphia Mercantile Library Co.,
Picarfl, William, Cadiz,
Pray, Lewis G.,
Preble, George H., U. S. N., 11
Randall, Stephen, Esq.,
Rawlinson, Robert, England,
Redding, Isabella,
30
CITY DOCUMENT. — No. 97.
Redwood Library, Newport,
Reynolds, Ann C.,
Rhees, William J., Washington,
Richardson, James B.,
Robertson, John, Adjutant-General of Michigan,
Rosenstein, Moritz, M. D.,
Russell, A. L., Adjutant-General of Penn.,
St. Louis Mercantile Library,
Scudder, C. W.,
Seidensticker, James G.,
Shaw, Benjamin S., M. D.,
Sherman, John, Hon.,
Smith, C. C,
Smith, Samuel, Worcester,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
Snow, Edwin M., M. D., Providence,
Stevens, B. F.,
Stockton, R. F., Adjutant-General of New Jersey,
Stone, Edwin M., Rev., Providence,
Storer, H. R., M. D.,
Sumner, Charles, Hon.,
Tappan, John L., Ann Arbor, Mich.,
Thornton, J. Wingate,
Ticknor, George,
Ticknor & Fiefds,
Tolman & Co., 7 papers.
Tyler, John S., Mrs.,
United States, Department of the Interior,
United States, Department of State,
United States, Naval Observatory,
Upham, J. B., M. D.,
Urbino, S.,
Venice, I. R. Istituto Veneto,
Vienna, K. k. geolog. Reichsanstalt,
Waggoner, R. H.,
Wallace, John W., 1 broadside.
Walley, S. H., Hon.,
Warren, Charles H., Hon.,
Warren, J. M., M. D.,
Warren & Co., 360 papers,
Washburn, Peter T., Adjutant-General of Vermont,
Weiss, John, Rev.,
Vols.
2
2
1
Pamps.
1
1
12
2
176
25
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
31
Wells, E. M. P.,Kev.,
Whitney, Frederic A., Rev., Longwood,
Whitney, J. D.,
Whitwell, E. H., Miss,
Willard, Joseph,
Williams, Jos. D., Adjutant-General of Connecticut,
Willis, Nathaniel, 13 papers.
Wilson, Henry, Hon.,
Wisconsin Institution for the Blind,
Wise, Henry A., U. S. N.,
Wood, Horatio, Rev., Lowell,
Wright & Potter,
rois.
Pamps
1
2
1
1
1
2
3
17
1
1
1
1
9
[BB]
FINANCIAL STATEMENT,
For ten months, from November 1, 1862, to August 31, 1863,
Books, American. $4,237.67
foreign books, $4,933.33,
Expense,
Furniture and fixtures,
Gas, .
Printing,
Salaries,
Stationery,
Transportation
Remittances for
including insurance, postage, etc
$2,666 13
9,171
00
713
17
65
84
749
41
365
66
10,369
70
582
88
388
43
$25,071 72
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
milium
3 9999 06314 626 8
-Bindery.
NOV 23 1878