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This Volume is for
REFERENCE USE ONLY
5-37--SM-P
KANSAS CITY MO PUBLIC LIBRARY
NATIONAL
LIBRARIES
OF THE WORLD
PLATE I. ANTONIO (SIR ANTHONY) PANIZZI', i797-r7<),
Principal Librarian of the British Museum.
From the portrait by George Frederic Watts, R,A, } in the Board Room, of
the British Museum.
[Frontispiece.
THE WORLD'S : GREAT
Surveyed by ARUNDELL ESDAILE of, the British Museum
NATIONAL
LIBRARIES
OF THE WORLD:
Their History, Administration and
Public Services
By
ARUNDELL ESDAILE
Of the British Museum
(AUTHOR OF "A STUDENT'S MANUAL OF BIBLIOGRAPHY/'
"A LIST OF ENGLISH TALES AND PROSE ROMANCES
PRINTED BEFORE 1740," ETC., ETC.)
LONDON
GRAFTON & GO.
1934
MADE; IN GREAT BRITAIN
PRINTED BY THE LONDON AND NORWICH PRESS>
ST. GILES WORKS, NORWICH
PREFACE
ON the history of libraries there is a voluminous literature,
and the noble monuments of our civilisation of which they
are the guardians have been described and illustrated by
many scholars. There is, however, in all the flood of
printed matter produced by modern librarianship, which
the editor of a magazine devoted to libraries has to endure,
apparently no general account of that comparatively modern
product, the national library.
The idea of a national library has for over a century,
and for longer still, if we consider it rightly, been expanding.
Bignon, Panizzi, Korf and Putnam have each in his gen-
eration taken into the functions of a national library some
fresh and valuable element. Each has made the institution
under his charge, and indirectly other similar institutions,
useful to a wider world of students. What their successors
will do we cannot foresee. The age of wireless, the gramo-
phone, the film and the microphotograph may change the
whole face of libraries. We may at least be certain that
the process of expansion is not at an end.
It may, therefore, be worth while to take stock, to com-
pare the achievements and the systems in different countries.
Uniformity is not to be expected; the political and social
traditions of one country will produce a quite different
type of library service from those in another. Thus in
Germany we find the well established practice of free
lending and of highly organised library co-operation under
central authority ; in England the typical compromise of a
new lending organisation side by side with the older reference
library ; and in the United States the birth and apotheosis
of the catalogue card. Facilities for photographic repro-
VI
PREFACE
duction of documents, which have so greatly eased the
urgency of the demand for unrestricted lending, will be
seen to be fairly general. Such matters as the methods of
recruiting staffs, however, show wide variation, and there
can be seen, at Paris, Rome and Madrid, the survival of
the conception of a national library as a library not only
for all citizens, but also for all uses, a conception which is in
effect impracticable, and which the development of local
public libraries deprives of its force. But the widest varia-
tion is probably to be found in the value set upon the national
library by the national government, as assessed in its
annual budget. Let librarians be encouraged. If they
have the bold conception of their great predecessors, all
these things will be added unto them.
A series of descriptions of libraries, not all of which has
the author seen, and with only one of which can he be
minutely conversant, must be a work in the main of
compilation of material supplied from the various libraries.
I have benefited abundantly by the generous co-operation
of colleagues, many of whom my experience as British
representative on the International Library Committee has
enabled me to call my friends. Information, photographs,
and in some cases the use of blocks have been lavished upon
me. M. Tourneur of Brussels, Dr. Zivnf of Prague, Dr.
Munthe of Oslo, Dr. Tudeer of Helsingfors, Mr. Yuan of
Peiping, and Mr. Matsumoto of Tokyo even wrote the
complete chapters relating to their libraries, and I am aware
that all the chapters of such a book as this ought really to
be written by the men on the spot.
Taking the chapters in their order, my thanks are due
and are gratefully given to the Trustees of the British
Museum for leave to reproduce pictures and plan, to Dr. H.
W. Meikle (Edinburgh), Mr. W. LL Davies (Aberystwyth),
Dr. R. I. Best (Dublin), M. Julien Cain, Administrator-
PREFACE vii
General, and M. E. Leroy, Secretary-General (Paris), Dr.
Herbert Putnam (Washington), Dr. H. A. Kriiss, Direktor,
and Dr. Rudolf Juchhofif (Berlin), Dr. R. TeicM (Vienna),
Dr. Jan Emler and Dr. L. J. Zivny (Prague), M. Marcel
Godet (Berne), Dr. Artigas, Director, and Seiior N. F.
"Victorio, Secretary (Madrid), M. Victor Tourneur (Brussels),
Dr. P. C. Molhuysen, Royal Librarian, and Dr. L. Brummel,
Sub-Librarian (The Hague), Dr. Carl S. Petersen (Copen-
hagen), Dr. Isak Collijn, Riksbibliotekar, and Dr. Carl
Bjorkbom (Stockholm), Dr. Wilhelm Munthe, Overbibliotekar
and Dr. H. S. Bakken, Secretary (Oslo), Dr. L. Tudeer
(Helsingfors), Mr. T. L. Yuan (Peiping), and Mr. K.
Matsumoto and also the Maruzen Co. (Tokyo).
Without Miss Margaret Burton's help I could not have
finished the book without much delay. She came in to
help when I had written the first three chapters, and her
researches were invaluable.
It will be noticed that not all the national libraries of
the world are described in the pages which follow. The
book is not, in fact, intended to be a statistical dictionary
of all such institutions. Those which are the most famous
or historically interesting or significant for their administra-
tion have been selected, with some view also to their geo-
graphical distribution. One or two, however, which might
have been included, are omitted, as no adequate information
had been obtained about them ; it will be seen that the
Balkans are unrepresented. Again, the Parliamentary and
State Libraries of the British Dominions were omitted
from a desire not to give the British Empire too large a
share of the space. If I were so fortunate as to be asked
for a second edition, the inclusion of the dozen or so omitted
libraries would be well worth considering ; meanwhile for
statistics there is always the invaluable Minerva.
ARUNDELL ESDAILE.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON. i
Appendix :
A. The National Library of Scotland (formerly
the Advocates' Library), Edinburgh . 36
B. The National Library of Wales, Aberyst-
wyth ....... 48
C. The National Library of Ireland, Dublin . 55
II. LA BIBLIOTH&QUE NATIONALS, PARIS . . 61
III. THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON . . 93
IV. DIE PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK, BERLIN . 119
V. GOSUDARSTVENNAJA PUBLICNAJA BlBLIOTEKA,
LENINGRAD ...... 145
Appendix :
The Lenin National Library, Moscow . . 164
VI. DIE NATION ALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA . . . 165
VII. VE&BJNA A UNIVERSITY KNIHOVNA, PRAGUE . 191
VIII. LA BIBLIOTH&QUE NATIONALS SUISSE (Die
Schweizerische Landesbibliothek), BERNE . 199
IX. LA REALE BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE CENTRALE,
FLORENCE ....... 207
Appendix :
A. La Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Vittorio
Erhanuele II, Rome .... 218
B. La Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan . 221
C, L a Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele
III, Naples ...... 222
ix
x CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
D. La Biblioteca Nazionale, Palermo , . 222
E. La Biblioteca Nazionale, Turin . . . 223
F. La Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice . 224
X. LA BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL, MADRID . . .227
XL LA BlBLIOTHfeQUE ROYALE DE BELGIQUE, BRUSSELS 239
XII. DE KONINKLIJKE BlBLIOTHEEK, THE HAGUE . 269
XIII. KONGELIGE BlBLIOTEK, COPENHAGEN . . 279
XIV. KUNGLIGA BlBLIOTEKET, STOCKHOLM . .29!
XV. KONGELIGE UNIVERSITETSBIBLIOTEKET, OSLO . 303
XVL THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINGFORS 317
XVII. LA BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL, MEXICO . . . 325
XVIII. LA BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL, BUENOS AIRES . 333
XIX. LA BlBLIOTHECA NACIONAL, RlO DE JANEIRO . 341
XX. THE NATIONAL LIBRARY, PEIPING . , - 349
XXI. THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY OF JAPAN, TOKYO 359
375
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATES
I. Antonio Panizzi .... Frontispiece
FACE PAGE
II. The British Museum : Montagu House . . xii.
III. The South Front l6
IV. The King's Library 33
V. The Reading Room 4
VI. The Stacks 49
VII. La Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris : The Court of
Honour 6 4
VIII. The Reading Room of the Department of
Printed Books- ..... 65
IX. The Central Stacks 8 <>
X The Reading Room of the Department of
MSS 8l
XI The Library of Congress, Washington : The Ex-
terior 96
XII. The Entrance Hall 97
XIII. The Reading Room ri2
XIV. The Future Annex I:C 3
XV. Die Preussische Staatsbibliothek, Berlin: The
Buildings from the Air
XVI. Die NationalbibEothek, Vienna : The Forecourt . 176
XVII. Der Prunksaal. X 7 6
XVIII. () The Portrait Collection *77
(6) The Music Reading Room . . 177
xi
xii ILLUSTRATIONS
FACE PAGE
XIX. La Bibliotheque Nationale Suisse, Berne : The
Main Front 206
XX. The Stack Wing 207
XXL The Reading Rooms .... 207
XXII. La Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid ;
(a) The Main Front . . . .224
(6) The Reading Room . . . .224
XXIII. La BMotheque Royale de Belgique, Brussels :
The Forecourt 241
XXIV. De Koninklijk Bibliotheek, The Hague : The
Main Front 272
XXV. The Reading Room . . . .272
XXVI. The Catalogue Room .... 273
XXVII. Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm : The South
Front 288
XXVIII. The Reading Room . . . .289
XXIX. Kongelige Universitetsbiblioteket, Oslo : The
New Building ...... 304
XXX. The Reading Room 305
XXXI. The University Library, Helsingfors : The
Reading Room 320
PLANS
I. The British Museum (Folding Plan) * face page 26
II. La Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris : Ground Floor . 77
III. First Floor 77
IV. The Library of 'Congress, Washington : Main Floor . 106
V, The Site 107
VI. Die Preussische StaatsbibHothek, Berlin * face page 129
PLATE II. THE BRITISH MUSEUM (MONTAGU HOUSE).
I
THE BRITISH MUSEUM
I
THE BRITISH MUSEUM
FOUNDATION
THE foundation of the British Museum Library was due
to no revolution, nor to the gradual opening to the public
of a private royal collection of books. It took its inception,
more Britannico, from the initiative of an individual. The
roots of the institution may indeed be traced much further
back into the past than the mid-eighteenth century. The
Royal Library had existed from the reign of Henry VII at
least ; while Sir Robert Cotton and his collection of historical
MSS. had been of interest, mainly suspicious, to the Crown
since the beginning of the seventeenth century, and had been
actually transferred to the Crown in 1700.
But in spite of abortive earlier proposals, the effective
motion came by the bequest of the fashionable and wealthy
physician, Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753). Sloane, as is not
uncommon among successful men of his profession, was an
omnivorous collector, and his 50,000 (?) printed books and
his 3,516 manuscripts, choice as they were, did not rival in
importance his specimens in the fields of botany, zoology
and mineralogy. Indeed as a book-collector he was second
to his contemporary, Dr. Mead. Sloane's will directed his
trustees to offer his collections to the Crown or to Parliament
for 20,000, which was much below their market value, in
spite of the slighting remarks of some of his contemporaries,
notably Pope. The offer was accepted with much hesita-
tion : the Treasury, as George II bluntly said, had hardly
20,000 in it ; in the end, under Act of Parliament of the
3
4 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
same year (26 Geo. II, cap. xxii), 100,000 was raised by
a lottery for the purchase of Sloane's collections, with
10,000 for the Harleian MSS., collected by Robert and
Edward Harley, Earls of Oxford (their printed books were
most unluckily allowed to be dispersed), for providing a
repository for these collections and also for the Cotton MSS.
which were already public property, and for setting aside
an endowment of 30,000, which last provides all the income,
except for certain special funds, which the Trustees enjoy
in their own right, depending for the rest on annual Parlia-
mentary grants, as is explained below.
GOVERNMENT
The Museum's Act of Incorporation, already referred to,
set up a Trust for the perpetual preservation and govern-
ment of the newly founded establishment. Its public
character was secured by the composition of the Board :
three Principal Trustees, viz. the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Lord Chancellor (then also called the Lord Keeper of
the Seal), and the Speaker of the House of Commons ; the
Bishop of London ; the Principal Secretaries and Officers of
State ; the Presidents of the Royal Society and the College
(now the Royal College) of Physicians, and two representa-
tives each of the Sloane, Cotton and Harley families. To
these were later added a nominee of the Sovereign, thus
completing the representation of the three Estates of the
Realm ; the Presidents of the Royal Academy of Arts and
the Society of Antiquaries, and three more representatives
of the families of benefactors of the Department of An-
tiquities, Townley and Payne Knight. These Trustees
elect fifteen others from no defined class, but from a com-
bination of men of eminence in scholarship and science, and
of public men who are distinguished by their intellectual
interests. The long lack of an academy of learning in this
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 5
country was in a sense compensated by the existence of
this body.
The full Board is too large, and also too much composed
of busy men, to conduct the affairs of the Museum in detail.
They elect therefore from their number a Standing Com-
mittee of twenty, who meet once a month at Bloomsbury
and once a month at the Natural History Museum and
exercise the necessary control. The Standing Committee
has two special Sub-Committees for the Library Departments
and for the Departments of Antiquities, which hold an
annual inquisition into matters of policy. The Museum in
no way comes under the control of the Board of Education,
as it is usual, and, it may be added, logical, for national
libraries to come. The relations of the Trustees with the
Government are maintained through H.M. Treasury, the
Parliamentary Secretary of which acts for them, for example,
when questions concerning the Museum are asked in the
House of Commons.
BUILDINGS
Sloane's will had stipulated that Parliament should
provide a " general repository " for his collections. In
1755 one was found, in Montagu House, Bloomsbury, the
home of the second and last Duke of Montague, who died
in 1749 ; on its site the front of the present Museum building
stands. The collections were moved into it from Sloane's
home, the Manor House of Chelsea (a district in which his
name is largely perpetuated) in the following year, and " the
British Museum " was opened to the public in January,
Montagu or Montague House (it was spelt both ways but
is now docked of the e) was the second house on the site.
It was the town mansion of the Lords Montague of Boughton,
in Northamptonshire, afterwards Dukes of Montague. It
6 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
was built by the French architect, Pierre Puget, after the
total destruction of its short-lived predecessor by fire in
January 1685-86. It was a dignified, but by no means
unhomely building, of beautiful proportions. Lower wings
flanked the forecourt, and in them were housed the principal
librarian and keepers ; this arrangement was repeated
in the two wings containing the residences in the nineteenth-
century building. The library occupied practically all the
ground floor, and the eastern half of the first floor, in the
main block.
The Reading Room was one of the ground floor rooms on
the north side, and this gave rise to perhaps the earliest
of the very few reprimands ever given by the Trustees to a
senior officer of the Museum, when the Librarian in charge,
Mr. Templernan, deserted his duty and took the air in the
large garden which lay on that side of the house, and in
which the Keeper of Natural History is said to have antici-
pated Kew Gardens. In 1774 a new Reading Room was
fitted up in the S.W. angle of the first state storey.
The accessions of ancient sculpture (the Townley and
Elgin marbles and the Egyptian sculptures taken at the
Battle of the Nile) drove the Trustees and Parliament to
building special and temporary structures in the grounds.
But the only additions of any size to the foundation col-
lections of books or MSS. were the Thomason or King's
Tracts, presented by George III on his accession, the beauti-
ful library of Cracherode (1799), Garrick's plays (1779), and
Burney's newspapers and classics (1817), none of them very
bulky collections ; and room was found for them in the
house. The old Royal Library and Major Edwards's books
had arrived before the opening in 1759.
It was far otherwise when King George Ill's library
(" the King's Library ") was acquired in 1823, The Trustees
were faced with the problem of a library which at a stroke
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 7
was doubled in size. Perhaps they could have thrown out
a wing designed in some harmony with the existing Museum,
and so have saved its elegant architecture to posterity. But
though the Ugly Age had hardly begun, there was not much
respect in the world just then for a past of only a century
and a half. The Trustees decided on a grandiose new build-
ing, and Sir Robert Smirke designed it for them in the
Greek style, to which the Elgin marbles irresistibly tempted
them, consisting of four wings enclosing a vast quadrangle.
Of that building, which is a very large part of the whole
Museum as it stands to-day, the first wing built was that on
the east, and in 1828 its ground floor gallery, 300 feet in
length, received the King's Library ; over the doors inscrip-
tions, whose courtliness exceeded their truth, announced, as
,they still announce, the gift of King George IV. The old
library was transferred to the new north wing, the next to
be built in 1838 ; and the two rooms at the east end of this
wing (now the Catalogue and old Music Rooms) were the
Reading Rooms. The range was subsequently extended to
the west by a long room, now containing inter alia the
Museum's incunabula. When Montagu House went, and the
south wing was erected, the MSS. were transferred thither.
Smirke's architecture is severe and gloomy, but time
has toned the stone of the exterior, and fine proportions
save the whole. Additions have been in similar style;
those affecting the library are (i) the White Wing in the
south-east (1884), which housed the British newspapers and
still houses the Oriental Library ; and (2) part of the King
Edward VII Galleries on the north (1914) which hold the
music and certain other collections, and which are joined up
to the old north wing by the great " North Library/' or
Reserve Reading Room, which was provided from the
bequest of 45,000 to the Library by Vincent Stuckey
Lean (1900).
8 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
These are mentioned first as being in the Smirke tradition,
but a complete innovation was made when the celebrated
round Reading Room was planned and erected. Readers
had been becoming too numerous for the rooms provided ;
and Antonio Panizzi conceived in 1854, and drew the first
rough sketch of his brilliant application of the Engineering
Age to library construction. He planned a structure in
cast iron with only exterior enclosing walls, and occasional
brick piers, in fact a stack, to hold a million and a half
volumes, which should surround and support a huge domed
Reading Room.
The stacks were the first to be planned, though metal
shelving had been used a few years earlier at the Ste. Gene-
vieve at Paris. The art of compressing books has since
then been greatly improved ; and cast iron has been super-
seded elsewhere, as it shortly will be here, by steel But
this is the ancestor of all the stacks ; let us be tender to its
inadequacies.
It has not been thought necessary to filter the air entering
the stacks.
The Reading Room is similarly the ancestor of all the
round reading rooms in the world, but it needs none of the
charity of latter days. It remains almost one of the wonders
of the world. Probably it was not for nothing, Panizzi
being an Italian, that the span of the dome is short of that
of the Pantheon of Rome, but of no other dome, by some
two feet. The radiating rows of the 450 seats, facilitating
supervision, flowed from the circular plan, and were also
new. In many details of fittings, and in the bare and
austere style of the room, clothed on the wall with books
and with nothing else, and devoid of distracting ornament,
the Reading Room is a model.
The Reading Room and " Ironwork " filled the handsome
quadrangle, all but a space for a necessary roadway ; this had
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 9
existed for but a few years, having been completed in 1845.
It is a tradition that the assistants were wont to play cricket
in it in their lunch hour. The Reading Room was commenced
in 1854 and opened in 1857.
In 1902 the Trustees, driven by the eternal lack of space
that vexes public libraries, took Parliamentary powers
(Act 2 Edw. VII, cap. 12) to move the British provincial
newspapers to a repository at Colindale (Hendon), in the
north-western suburbs of London. This building was opened
in 1905 and was full by 1925. In 1932 the Colindale Re-
pository was converted into a Newspaper Library by a
considerable addition in a much better style of plain archi-
tecture, and by a Reading Room and a small Bindery.
The London and foreign newspapers were moved there.
At the same time it was decided (in consequence of the
Interim Report of the Royal Commission on National
Museums and Galleries, 1928) to reconstruct the ironwork
in steel and on a modern space-saving plan. Rolling presses
had been invented in the Museum in 1887 by Mr. Henry
Jenner, and had not only lengthened the life of the Ironwork
but had also enabled accessions to be placed for another
generation close to their proper place in a single shelf-
classification. But the old Ironwork was wasteful of space,
even if light and easy to work. The new Ironwork will
consist of six decks of the usual modern stacks, with
narrow gangways. A beginning has been made by the
filling of two of the old library rooms with stacks on this
plan. A century's growth will thus be allowed for.
The Museum and its Library are not without space for
future growth, even if the two parts are not divided.
In 1894 the Government purchased the ground not
only on the north, on which the King Edward VII
Galleries were built in the years before 1914, but on the
east and west, completing the island site bounded by four
io NATIONAL LIBRARIES
roads. Even when the projected Elgin Room is built on
the west, and even when adequate galleries are built for
the ethnographical collections and for the assembling of a
true Oriental Antiquities Department, and when the Museum
is given a lecture hall, there will remain much space on
these sides. But not only must rent-paying houses be
first destroyed ; building on their sites will front the roads,
and must be monumental, and therefore costly.
Panizzi's circular Reading Room seats 450 readers, and is
controlled from the centre, from which a service sector, cut
out from the rest of the room by converging counters, leads
to the inner parts of the library and to the North Library.
The walls of the Reading Room and the various floor cases
hold some 65,000 books of reference, but 40,000 of these are
on two galleries which are not accessible to readers. The
whole reference collection is constantly revised, and the
author and subject catalogue (last edition 1910) is kept up
to date on the spot ; the abundance of recent lists of biblio-
graphies and of books of reference makes it less urgent to
publish a revised edition of this catalogue.
It has often been complained by occasional readers
that delays of up to and even beyond three-quarters of an
hour occur in the delivery of books. The library covers a
very large area, and though pneumatic tubes have been
installed, by which tickets can be sent without delay to the
King's Library, for example, it will not be possible to remedy
the evil completely till the reconstruction of the stacks allows
of mechanical book carriers. The reader engaged on a
continued research and with occasion to use books of
reference, finds no grievance ; the man who comes to see a
single book can write the day before or can at a pinch ask
the Superintendent to expedite his book.
The Reading Room is ventilated by filtered air passed
up through gratings in the desks and out through the crown
THE BRITISH MUSEUM n
of the dome ; the air is further purified by pans of a mixed
disinfectant and deodorizer.
The northern half of the North Library is devoted to the
consultation of rare books (109 seats). The southern half is
devoted to recent and unbound parts of some 2,000 select
periodicals other than newspapers (24 seats). Binding of
these is now postponed tiU the first demand has died down.
The Library gets, in place of the old Newspaper Room,
where British Parliamentary Papers used to be read, a
real State Paper Reading Room, with 33 seats. The
new Newspaper Reading Room (with 53 seats) is, of course,
in the Colindale building. Maps are mainly consulted in the
Map Room in the King Edward VII wing.
The Departments of MSS. and of Oriental Printed Books
have separate Reading Rooms ; the former (with 35 seats)
has recently been enlarged, and the latter (with 22 seats) is
in urgent need of the same treatment.
Admission to the Reading Rooms is given, not in the
rooms or the departments themselves, but in the Director's
Office. Applicants must be 21 years of age (but the Trustees
sometimes waive this) ; they must give evidence of a definite
study, and of serious need for the Museum Library, and not
(what is very common) a mere fancy to read there rather
than in a local public or special library ; they must be
recommended by some person in a responsible position, not
necessarily, as is often supposed, a London, or indeed any
other, householder ; and they must not be reading for an
examination. The rules, when once the threshold has been
crossed, are very much the normal experience. Books,
however, must be given up when done with, and not left
on the tables ; the tickets for books are then returned and
serve as an acquittance ; books can be kept ready from day
to day. No book may be taken out of a room by a reader.
There are special rules for the handling of MSS.
12 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Each department has also its permanent exhibition, and
temporary exhibitions from time to time. The illuminated
MSS. and bindings of MSS. are shown in the Grenville
Room ; the historical and literary papers with biblical and
other ancient MSS., chronicles and papyri in the Manu-
scripts Saloon ; Oriental MSS. at the south end of the King's
Library; books illustrating the history, and particularly
the early history, of printing, famous English books, bind-
ings of printed books, maps, music, etc., in the rest of the
King's Library. It is a weakness in the departmental
system that there should be two exhibitions of bindings.
READERS AND ISSUES FOR 1932
Number of readers :
Reading Room and North Library (daily average 775) 238,030
Manuscripts Room .....
/ v jo
. 11,528
Oriental Room ......
Books, etc., issued, other than reference books :
Reading Room and North Library
Newspaper Room (for 1931) .
Manuscripts Room .....
Oriental Room ......
. 4,740
2,026,920
. 66,858
. 42,901
26,833
THE COLLECTIONS AND CATALOGUES
A. MANUSCRIPTS
The Foundation Collections, amounting to about 15,000
volumes in all, were the following :
(r) The Cotton : Collected by Sir Robert Cotton (1571-
1631) and added to by his son, Sir Thomas. Given to the
Crown by his grandson, Sir John, 1700. Very rich in books
from the libraries of the monasteries, dispersed at the
Reformation, also in political papers. The collection
* Figures for 1931, the last complete year in the Old Newspaper Room.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 13
remained in the Cottons' house at Westminster, then was
transferred to Ashburnham House, close by, where it was
seriously damaged by fire in 1731. Catalogues by T. Smith,
1696 (of value since it precedes the fire), and J. Planta, 1802.
(2) The Harleian : Collected by Robert (1661-1742) and
Edward (1689-1741) Harley, first and second Earls of Ox-
ford ; general, but, like the Cotton, rich in political history,
and incorporating the papers of Sir Simonds D'Ewes (1602-
50). Purchased under the Museum's Act of Incorporation,
1753. Catalogue commenced by the Harleys' librarian,
Humphrey Wanley, 1708-62, revised edition, 1808-12. The
Harleian Printed Books were dispersed.
(3) Sloane : Collected by Sir Hans Sloane, and purchased
from his executor under the Museum's Act of Incorporation,
I 753- Very rich in botanical and zoological records and
drawings, but general. Catalogue by S. Ayscough, 1782,
and index by E. J. L. Scott, 1904. A commencement of a
fuller catalogue (c. 1837) survives in proof.
With these may be reckoned :
(4) The Royal : Collected by the Kings from Henry VII
and including dispersals from monastic libraries, and the
library of Prince Henry, eldest son of James I (d. 1617),
based on those of Thomas Cranmer, Lord Lumley, and the
Earl of Arundel. Presented by George II in 1757, before
the opening of the Museum, with the printed collections of
the Old Royal Library. Catalogue (with the King's), by
Sir G. Warner and J. P. Gilson, 1921 (first catalogue, 1734).
Later accessions :
(5) The Birch : Collected and bequeathed, 1765, by the
Rev. Thomas Birch, D.D. Catalogued with the Sloane in
1782.
(6) The Lansdowne : Purchased from the executors of
the Marquess of Lansdowne, 1807, and consisting largely of
14 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
political papers from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries.
Catalogue, 1819.
(7) The Hargrave : Legal MSS., purchased from the
Trustees of Francis Hargrave, K.C., 1813. Catalogue, 1818.
(8) The Burney : Classical MSS., purchased from the
executors of Charles Burney, D.D., 1818. Catalogue, 1840.
(9) The King's (so called to distinguish them from the
Old Royal) : Collected by George III from his accession in
1760, and transferred by George IV in 1823. Catalogue
(with the Royal), 1921.
(10) The Egerton : Bequeathed by Francis Egerton, Earl
of Bridgewater, 1829. Maintained and added to by an
endowment established by the testator and added to by
Charles Long, Lord Farnborough (d. 1838). This most
valuable form of bequest has in the course of a century
produced a collection far larger than the original benefactor
could have contemplated ; a centenary exhibition was held.
From 1836 catalogued with the Additional. A catalogue of
the original collection is in preparation.
(u) The Arundel : Collected by Thomas Howard, Earl
of Arundel (d. 1646), and presented to the Royal Society by
Henry Howard in 1667 ; purchased in 1831. Catalogue,
1834. Index, 1840.
(12) The Stowe : Purchased from the Earl of Ashburnham,
1883. Catalogue, 1895.
(13) The Huth : See below, Printed Books.
(14) The political papers of W. E. Gladstone in 1931, by
the gift of his son, joined those of many other English
statesmen in the Museum.
(15) The Additional : All gifts and purchases from the
Museum's funds which do not form part of any special
collection. Catalogue from 1836; of earlier Additions
scattered partial catalogues exist ; a fuller catalogue is in
preparation.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 15
Besides these there are various collections of charters,
rolls, seals and papyri. The great need of the Department
is a unified catalogue, such as the Bodleian's Summary
Catalogue of Western MSS. But a necessary preliminary
to such a catalogue, or to a combined index, is the recata-
loguing of some of the older collections, and for this task
staff has always been lacking. Under Edward Bond's
keepership (1866-78) was commenced a temporary substi-
tute of great value, the Class Catalogue, which is compiled
largely from cuttings from the printed catalogue and acts
after a fashion as a unified subject index, or rather classified
analysis of the whole. Certain classes of MSS. have been
the subject of published catalogues :
Ancient MSS. Greek, 1881. Latin, 1884.
Spanish MSS. 1875-93.
Irish MSS.
Romances, 1883-1910.
Seals, 1887-1900.
Music, 1906-09.
Maps, etc., 1844.
Greek Papyri, 1893-1917.
Literary Papyri, 1927.
Among facsimiles published may be noted :
Codex Alexandrinus, 1879-83.
The Epistles of Clement of Rome.
Biblical MSS., 1900.
An Exultet Roll from Monte Cassino, 1929,
The Luttrell Psalter, 1932.
The Lindisfarne Gospels, 1923.
Aristotle on the Constitution of Athens, 1891.
Herondas, 1892.
Bacchylides, 1897.
Greek Papyri, 1873-78.
i6 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Royal and other Charters, 1903.
Queen Mary's Psalter (Royal MS. II, B VII), 1912.
Magna Charta.
Reproductions from Illuminated MSS., 1907-28.
Schools of Illumination, 1914-30.
and the
Guide to the Illuminated MSS. Latest ed. Pt. I, 1928,
Pts. II and III, 1923.
The collections now number roughly :
MSS., 54,000.
Charters, Seals, etc., 84,000.
Papyri, 2,400.
The accessions in 1932 numbered 815 volumes or pieces.
B. PRINTED BOOKS
The Foundation Collections were :
(1) The Sloane : Very rich in Natural History ; purchased
from Sir Hans Sloane's executors under the Museum's Act
of Incorporation, 1753. No separate published catalogue.
(2) The Old Royal: Presented by George II in 1757.
General, and consisting of purchases by and gifts to the
Kings since Henry VII. An important part of the col-
lection is that brought in by the death of Henry, Prince of
Wales in 1612 ; his father had purchased for him the library
of the Earl of Arundel, which had been founded by Arch-
bishop Thomas Cranmer and had passed through the hands
of Lord Lurnley. No separate published catalogue.
In the earlier years of the Museum there were no funds
for acquisitions other than the interest on 7,000 which had
been bequeathed in 1738 by Major Arthur Edwards for the
rehousing of the Cotton MSS. Before regular purchase
grants began in 1834-5, in Edward Edwards's words, " the
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THE BRITISH MUSEUM 17
Museum had been founded grudgingly. It was kept up
parsimoniously " ; and Horace Walpole lightheartedly antici-
pated the auction of the collections.
Later additions are :
(3) The Thomason (or King's) Tracts of the Civil War and
Commonwealth: Collected by George Thornason, book-
seller, 1641-61, and purchased by George III for the Museum
in 1761. Catalogue, 1908.
(4) The Garrick Plays : Bequeathed by David Garrick
in 1779.
(5) The Cracherode: Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M.
Cracherode in 1799. Including much early printing, and
distinguished by the beauty of the copies and of the
bindings.
(6) Charles Burney's classical collections and English
newspapers, purchased from his executors in 1818.
(7) Sir Joseph Banks' library, bequeathed in 1820. Rich
in botany and travels. Catalogue by Dryander, 1798-1800.
(8) The King's : Collected by George III, and transferred
by George IV in 1823. General, but notably rich in early
printing and in English literature, both of which were being
seriously collected in the latter half of the eighteenth century.
Catalogued, 1820-29, by the King's Librarian, Sir Frederick
Augusta Barnard.
(9) The Croker French Revolution Tracts : Purchased in
1818, 1831 and 1856. Summary analysis of contents, by
G. K. Fortescue, 1899.
(10) The Grenville: Collected and bequeathed by the
Rt. Hon. Thomas Grenville (d. 1846). General; rich in
fine copies (rebound) of early printing, romances, literature
and history. Catalogue, 1842-72. The Grenville duplicates
are kept in reserve and not normally issued to readers.
c
i8 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Collections received since the Grenville have been incor-
porated in the general library and not kept separate,
except :
(n) The Huth: Thirteen MSS. and 37 printed books
selected from the library collected by Henry and Alfred
Henry Huth, under the latter's will, 1910. Catalogue, 1912.
The form of benefaction employed by Mr. Jtuth, that of
bequeathing a definite number of volumes to be selected by
the Museum, gives a precedent which we may hope will be
followed, since the Museum can now absorb whole collections
only at the cost of multiplying duplicates, unless the testator
allows these to be sold or exchanged or transferred to the
National Central Library for lending.
(12) The King's Music (partly MS.), deposited by King
George V in 1910, and carrying with it the title of the
Curator of the King's Music. Catalogue, 1927-29.
(13) Incunabula : (c. 9,600) drawn from all the collections
except the King's and Grenville (copies in which are repre-
sented by dummies), and gathered by Robert Proctor into
one room (the " Arched Room/' at the west end of the north
wing) and arranged by order of countries, towns, presses,
and date, an arrangement now often called " Proctor order."
Proctor's own privately produced Index to these and those
in the Bodleian is now being superseded by the Catalogue of
Fifteenth Century Books (1908).
Regular and unappropriated Parliamentary grants began
in 1834-5. In the mid-nineteenth century, after 1845, with
the aid of a special annual grant, the library was very
rapidly and cheaply built up ; but in the last half century, and
most of all in the last quarter century, American competition
and other causes multiplied prices by from ten to fif ty times ;
while the special grant ceased, leaving the Museum's pur-
chasing power even in face value only two-thirds of what it
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 19
had been. In the last three years the purchase grant for
printed books has been raised from 6,500 or 7,000 to
9,000 ; and competition is for the time less intense. But it
is to be feared that it will be long before the Museum is the
power in the market that it was in 1870. Increases in
purchasing power are badly needed, not only for old books,
but even more for subscribing to the flood of new, largely
scientific and archaeological, journals. Panizzi laid down
the principle that the Museum should possess the best
library of each language outside the native country of that
language, and this is still the Museum's aim in purchasing.
The source from which comes the bulk of the collection
is however not gift or purchase, but the operation of legal
deposit under the Copyright Acts. The legal system (pre-
ceded by an agreement in favour of the Bodleian made in
1610-11 between Sir Thomas Bodley and the Company of
Stationers) began with the Licensing Act of 1662, which
enjoined the delivery of copies to the Royal Library and the
two English universities. This Act and its successors lapsed
in 1695, and was replaced for this purpose by the first
Copyright Act, that of 1709, which increased the list of
libraries receiving copies to nine. The list was again
increased in 1801 to eleven, and reduced in 1836 to five.
In 1757 George IFs gift of the Old Royal Library to the
Museum legally carried with it the right to a copy of every
new book produced in the United Kingdom ; but only in
1815, the Copyright Act of 1814 having strengthened their
hands, did the Trustees claim books. The consolidated
Act of 1842 further improved the law, and then for the first
time, by the energy of Panizzi, was the right of the Museum
properly enforced, as it has been ever since. The current Act
is that of 1911, which added a sixth (the Welsh) library.
By a clause in the Act of Separation of the Irish Free
State (1921) the claim to Irish books is continued.
20 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
The annual accessions to the Library are for 1932 :
Books and pamphlets
Serials and parts
Maps and atlases
Music
Newspapers (numbers)
Miscellaneous .
36,021
90,789
8,180
217433
4,285
The number of volumes in the Library is only very
roughly known ; it probably amounts to about 4,000,000.
The shelf-run is about 73 miles or 118 kilometres.
The first catalogues of printed books were published in
1787 and 1813-19 ; and to these was added that of the
King's Library, 1820-29. After a scheme for a subject-
catalogue had been given up in 1834, a new alphabetical
catalogue, to include the King's Library, was promoted,
with Panizzi in charge. The mistake was made of beginning
to print prematurely, and one volume only appeared in
1841. The scheme was given up at Panizzi's instigation
in 1849, and the MS. movable slips adopted. The catalogue
of 1841 was the occasion of the famous catalogue rules, also
inspired and largely devised by Panizzi. The first general
printed catalogue since 1819 was commenced in 1881 and
completed in 1905, with a supplement covering all accessions
down to 1900, but omitting British newspapers, State papers,
and certain other classes.
After the commencement of the printing of the General
Catalogue, monthly parts of a catalogue of accessions were,
and continue to be, issued. In 1931 there began a revised
edition, brought up to date, and eight volumes (out of an
estimated 230) have appeared, passing the end of A.
The printing of the accession titles gave the opportunity
for a Subject Index of new books. This was the private
venture, at first, of G. K. Fortescue, but was later taken
over by the Trustees. The indexes for the period 1881-1900
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 21
were consolidated, and since then quinquennial volumes
have regularly appeared.
The Catalogues of Maps and Modern Music are in print
in the Reading Room, but not in book form or published.
Of catalogues, etc., not mentioned in their places above,
and not superseded, the following are the chief ; a complete
list (for the whole museum) is issued at intervals : *
Printed Music, 1487-1800. By W. Barclay Squire.
1912.
Greek Printing Types, 1465-1927. Facsimiles with an
historical introduction by Victor Scholderer. 1927.
Catalogues of English Book Sales, 1676-1900. 1915.
Early Stamped Bookbindings. By W. H. J. Weale and
L. Taylor. 1922.
Facsimiles from Early Printed Books. 1897.
Books printed in Iceland from 1578 to 1880. 1885.
Books printed in Spain and Spanish books printed else-
where before 1601. 1921.
Books printed in France and French books printed in other
countries from 1470-1600. 1924.
Rules for compiling the Catalogues [other than of fifteenth
century books] . f 1927.
Guide to the Exhibition in the King's Library. New ed.,
1926.
Guide to the Use of the Reading Room. Lasted. 1924.
New ed. in preparation.
Leather-Dressing for Library Use. 1929.
C. ORIENTALIA
Most of the old collections of MSS. included Oriental
books, mainly Hebrew and Arabic, those in the Old Royal
* List of Catalogues, Guide books and other publications.
f Rules for the Cataloguing of Incunabula, by Henry Guppy, based on the
Museum's rules, have been published by the University and Research
Section of the Library Association, 1932.
22 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Library being particularly noteworthy. Few large separate
collections have been added, but mention should be made
of that formed in the Near East by the remarkable young
scholar, Claudius James Rich, who died in 1820 at the age
of 33, which incidentally included the first cuneiform inscrip-
tions to reach Europe ; and of the Syriac MSS. which were
found in the monasteries of the Nitrian valley in 1841 and
1843, and were catalogued with sensational and contro-
versial results by William Cureton. Recent important
additions are the Zouche or Curzon MSS., deposited in
1888 and bequeathed in 1917; the ancient MSS. found
by Sir Aurel Stein in Chinese Turkestan (1907 and later
years) ; and the 1000 Gaster MSS. (1923), mainly Hebrew,
and particularly strong in the Kabbalah. The MSS. were
separated in 1867, and the printed books later. The latter
included the Hebrew books of Solomon da Costa, from the
Old Royal Library.
The first catalogue of the Oriental MSS. was published in
1838-71, and included Syriac, Karshuni, Arabic and Ethiopic
(Suppl. 1899). The chief later catalogues are :
MSS. Printed Books.
Syriac, 1870-71. Persian, 1922.
Arabic, 1894. Hebrew, 1867-94.
Coptic, 1905. Arabic, 1894-1926.
Ethiopic, 1877. Sanskrit and Pali, 1876-
Persian, 1879-96. 1928.
Turkish, 1888. Burmese, 1913.
Armenian, 1913. Hindi, etc., 1899-1913.
Hebrew and Samaritan, Tamil, 1931.
1900-15. Chinese, 1877-1903,
Japanese, 1898-1904.
while many Coptic and other texts have been reproduced.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 23
The volumes in the Oriental Library number now :
MSS., 16,000.
Printed Books, 120,000.
Annual accessions, c. 1,500.
THE DEPARTMENTS
The Departments of the Museum have multiplied by
fission, after the manner of the amoeba, but less in the
Library Division than in those of Antiquities and Natural
History. The original organisation of the Museum con-
tained separate Departments of Printed Books, MSS., and
Natural History, and they were placed in 1756 each under
the charge of a Keeper and one Assistant Keeper, while in
1758 there was appointed a Keeper of the Reading Room,
all five being under the control of the Principal Librarian,
Gowin Knight, M.D. Antiquities were separated in 1807,
under pressure of the acquisitions of the time, and coins
and medals branched out of this in 1861, not being, as in
many national collections, an adjunct to the books. The
Department of Prints and Drawings, still treated as one of
the Library Departments, but not further noticed in this
account of the Museum, branched off in 1836, and the
Oriental MSS., later to be joined by the Oriental Printed
Books, in 1867. In the same year the collections of maps,
charts, plans and topographical drawings were assembled
from the Departments of Printed Books and MSS. respect-
ively, to form a new Department under the keepership
of Richard Henry Major, but in 1880 the experiment
was abandoned. Printed maps and music form sub-sections
of the Department of Printed Books, but with no separate
or formal constitution as such, any more than have the
State Papers or the Newspapers. The deposit of the
King's Music gives the additional title of Curator of that
collection to (normally) the Keeper of Printed Books.
24 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
The Natural History Departments were moved to South
Kensington in 1880.
PLACE IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Museum is, by its Act of Incorporation, forbidden to
alienate its possessions or to send them out of its gates ;
for this reason the binding is done on the spot. By an
Act of 1924 the Trustees were empowered to lend, for exhibi-
tion in public galleries in this country, duplicates or other
objects which are not important to students or public ;
in practice this excludes all books but the small class of
purchased duplicates.
Unable to take part in, still more to take the lead in, any
national system of book-lending, the Museum leaves that
function to the National Central Library, on the Board of
Trustees and Committee of which it is officially and strongly
represented, and keeps to the role of a stationary library of
reference and research, for which it was founded. Its help
to the student world which cannot come to it is of necessity
confined to the issue of catalogues and facsimiles, loans of
lantern slides, and the sale of photostats made in its photo-
graphic studio. The Inquiry Bureau of the National
Central Library thus allied with the Museum makes free use
of its bibliographical resources, which it would otherwise
have been faced with the problem of duplicating.
PHOTOGRAPHY
A studio for photography has existed in the Museum for
many years, but only since 1926 has it numbered photo-
graphers on its staff. Before that date outside photographers,
professional and amateur, used the studio on payment of
fees, and two or three who had habitually used it were,
when the change came, treated as having a sort of vested
interest, and were allowed to remain. Photostats (formerly
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 25
rotographs) are in large request ; not only do editors of
texts and students needing maps or articles in rare journals
use the process, but at least one important public library
that of Norwich has commenced a methodical collection
of photostats of the Museum's MSS. of local interest.
The institution of micro-film photography from MSS. is
at present under consideration, and so is the use of the
projectors in the Reading Rooms.
A fluorescent cabinet for the decipherment of faded MS.
was presented in 1930 by Professor J. M. Manly, of the
University of Chicago. Experiments in 1933 in the use of
infra-red photography resulted in the decipherment of an
illegible Egyptian leather roll. The unrolling of desiccated
leather rolls was one of the applications to library needs
of the Museum's Research Laboratory, which was established
in 1919 (at first as a part of the Department of Scientific
and Industrial Research), and which has also elaborated a
satisfactory dressing for leather bindings and a cure for
foxing, as well as methods of restoration of decayed an-
tiquities.
SOME LIBRARIANS
The earliest librarians were mostly, as was natural, rather
men of science with general intellectual tastes. The first
Principal Librarian, Gowin Knight (d. 1772), was an in-
ventor; the first Keeper of MSS. and Medals, Charles
Morton (d. 1776), was a medical man ; Matthew Maty,
however, the first Keeper of Printed Books (d. 1765), was a
literary critic of international repute. It is noticeable that
he and the Plantas, father and son, of whom the latter was
Principal Librarian (1799-1827), were Huguenots.
The Museum posts were very ill paid, in the absence of
proper financial support for the Trustees, and were unat-
tractive to men of the highest talents ; in the first century
26 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
quite a number of the staff were clergy who held other
appointments. But about the turn of the century there
entered several really good scholars, who were destined to
raise the credit of the place. Among these were :
Robert Nares (B.M. 1795-1829), the philologist and author
of the well-known Glossary.
Francis Douce (Keeper of MSS., 1807-12), author of the
Illustrations to Shakespeare, 1807, and collector of the great
library which, owing to a quarrel with the Trustees, he
bequeathed not to them but to the Bodleian.
Later came Henry Francis Gary (B.M. 1826-37), the
translator of Dante, and friend of Lamb, who in his applica-
tion for the Keepership of Printed Books, for which he was
passed over in favour of the energetic Panizzi, crystallised
the dying philosophy of a peaceful but pensionless public
service in the words " my age might ask for me that allevia-
tion from labour which is gained by promotion to a superior
place/'
Sir Henry Ellis (Principal Librarian, 1827-56), good
scholar and most amiable of men, had the ill luck to
be contemporary with the forceful Italian and the rising
tide of modernity.
Sir Frederic Madden (Keeper of MSS., 1837-66), a better
scholar than Ellis, was a querulous and illiberal man ; he
led the nationalist feud against the " foreigner," who had
done so much for the Museum, and who, it must be added,
was far from declining that or any other combat.
But these were men of the old world. The creative mind
in the history not only of the Museum, but of libraries at
large, was Antonio Panizzi (1797-1879). A native of
Brescello in the Duchy of Modena, he allied himself with
revolutionary politics, was arrested as a Carbonaro in 1822
and escaped to England. At first, by the patronage of
Roscoe, he gave lessons in Italian, but in 1831 he was
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 27
appointed Assistant Librarian in the Museum. Panizzi's
volcanic energies first found scope in the preparation of the
ill-fated catalogue of 1841, and the preliminary establishment
of a set of rules. Succeeding to the Keepership in 1837 he
supervised the transfer of the library from Montagu House
in 1838. In the years after 1842 he enforced the deposit
of copies under the Copyright Act. In 1843-45 he made a
drastic report which resulted in government assistance
for the building up of the library in the shape of an annual
purchase grant of 10,000, which lasted at that figure for
half a century. In 1846 Thomas Grenville, an active
Trustee, bequeathed his wonderful library to the Museum,
and this was entirely due to Panizzi's influence, which he
had gained not only by his ability as an administrator, but
by his knowledge and taste as a scholar. In the next years
Panizzi was largely engaged in facing the governmental
enquiry into the management of the Museum Library, the
result of which was an immense triumph for him over a
number of celebrated amateur critics. In 1852 he conceived,
and in 1854-57 carried through, the circular Reading Room,
and the surrounding stacks, both of them new ideas. In
1856 he succeeded Sir Henry Ellis as Principal Librarian.
He retired in 1866, having secured the admission of the
Museum staff to the benefits of the Civil Service, of which he
had always insisted that the Museum was a department.
Even if we admit that much that Panizzi achieved was
achieved by the aid of his political influence with the Whig
Cabinets, for whom he was a powerful ally in Continental
affairs, and who rewarded him by giving adequate financial
support to the Museum, his record is a marvellous one for
any one man, and that a man who was deeply engaged in
another life of politics and yet another of literature. To
have conceived and created the first serious cataloguing
code, the first large and properly equipped Reading Room,
28 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
open to all serious students, and the first metal stacks, capable
of holding a library of over a million books, marked Panizzi
out from his contemporaries, who were men of the old world,
and indeed from any other men, as the founder of the
modern library. He was " a bonny fighter/' but impulsive
and generous ; while he would not endure slackness, he
abounded in kindness to his subordinates.
There was but one Panizzi, and Edwards was his prophet.
Edward Edwards was brought on to the Printed Books staff
in 1839 to assist with the new alphabetical catalogue, and
helped Panizzi to frame the Rules. He was not altogether
a success either in the Museum or as the first Librarian of
the first Free Library (Manchester, 1850) ; but he had been
able to assist Ewart in the preparation of the Libraries Bill
of 1850, and he did much to bring Panizzi's liberal ideas
into a new field. After his enforced resignation in 1858,
he produced two massive works dealing largely with the
history of the Museum, and doing his master full justice :
Memoirs of Libraries, 1858, and Lives of the Founders of the
British Museum, 1870.
Another of the entrants of 1839 was Thomas Watts.
Like Edwards he was self-taught, and had interested himself
in the Museum's problems during the enquiry of 1835-36.
Watts's great achievement was the selection of the books
in a vast range of foreign tongues, which flowed in during the
years of the Library's prosperity after 1845. But he was
also the inventor of the Museum's system of shelf-classifica-
tion, in which ample numbers were left blank for accessions,
and also of the loose-leaf ledger or volume-sheaf catalogue,
with movable MS. slips, which preceded and showed the
way for the printed catalogue ; he also introduced the device
of duplicating the written slips and re-arranging them as a
shelf or classified catalogue, thus anticipating the uses of
the card. Watts became first Superintendent of the new
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 29
Reading Room in 1857, and Keeper of Books Printed in
1866, but died in the following year.
Of those who linked the time of the Museum's expansion
and modernisation with our own time, we may take three
outstanding figures, (Sir) Edward Augustus Bond, (Sir)
Edward Maunde Thompson and Richard Garnett.
Bond came in 1838 into the Department of MSS. from the
Record Office, where he had laid the foundations of a fine
palaeographical experience. He received a special tribute
in Madden's evidence before the Commission of 1849-50.
During the discreditable quarrel between the latter and
Panizzi, Bond had to act for his Keeper in many details of
administration. On succeeding to the Keepership in 1866
he vigorously reformed the Department, bringing the cata-
logues up to date and starting the Class Catalogue in lieu
of the unattainable complete index. In 1878 he succeeded
as Principal Librarian John Winter Jones (previously
Keeper of Printed Books), and was responsible for two
important library reforms outside his old Department, the
introduction of electric light and the printing of the written
General Catalogue. He retired in 1888 and died in 1898.
Bond's successor as Keeper of MSS. and as Principal
Librarian was Edward Maunde Thompson, who had entered
the Museum in 1861. Thompson threw himself into Bond's
Class Catalogue, and made himself a master of classical
palaeography, on which subject his is the standard work,
and of such widely different fields as mediaeval illumination
and history, his knowledge overflowing into a long series of
important publications without lessening his official output.
Thompson's energy was worthy of Panizzi. As Principal
Librarian (in 1898 the title was changed to Director and
Principal Librarian), he was perhaps too masterful ; but he
was warm-hearted if alarming to his juniors, and at the end
of the century he succeeded in having the salaries of the
30 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Museum staff raised, if not to the level of other Government
Offices, at least to a living wage. Thompson retired in
1909 and did not die till 1931. His last work was an acute
study of the passage in Sir Thomas More believed to be in
Shakespeare's hand.
In the Printed Books the most interesting figure in this
generation was that of Richard Garnett. Born in 1835 he
was brought into the Museum on the death of his father
(Richard, Assistant Keeper) at the age of 16. He was
already a wide reader of ancient and modern literature, and
the Museum was his university. Panizzi's ideals captured
his loyalty, and when made Superintendent of the Reading
Room in 1875, he did far more than any man had to give
the Room its unique reputation for humane administration.
His previous work as placer (classifier) and his great memory
made him invaluable to readers in the absence of a printed
Subject Index. He retired from the Room in 1884 to give
his whole time to superintending the printing of the cata-
logue. In 1890 he became Keeper, and retired in 1899.
The Museum owes to his foresight its wealth in the English
Romantic writers, whose books were neglected by the
copyright collectors when new. On his retirement his
colleagues produced a handsome volume describing the
300 best books added during his Keepership.
Garnett wrote largely and appreciatively on literature,
notably on Shelley. By far his best original work is The
Twilight of the Gods (1888), a learned and ironical collection
of tales of the mediaeval and ancient world rather in the
manner of Anatole France.
Of the many important men who have not reached high
office in the Museum Library we can mention only a few :
William Cureton (MSS., 1837-50), the Syriac scholar ;
Emmanuel Deutsch, the brilliant Hebrew scholar and writer,
who " for fifteen years (1855-70) did helot's work at the
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 31
Museum " * ; Coventry Patmore (Printed Books, 1846-64),
the poet, (Sir) Edmund Gosse (Printed Books, 1867-75),
poet and critic. Of one who was only there for ten years
(1893-1903) a word more is due. This was Robert Proctor,
who in those ten years did his fair share of the routine work
and also single-handed gathered all the eight or nine thousand
incunabula from all over the library (reading the entire
catalogue through for the purpose), and arranged them,
adespota and all, in the order which is now known by his
name, but which was really the conception of Henry Brad-
shaw. Proctor's sight was failing at the end, and his death,
alone, in the Alps in 1903 was a fit end, a kind of Gram-
marian's Funeral
STAFF
The staff and their salaries are as follows below. The
administrative, Laboratory, and domestic staffs are not
exactly set out, as it is impossible to say what proportion
of them would disappear were the Library and Antiquities
to be divorced. The salary figures are exclusive of Civil
Service cost of living bonus, which is on a sliding scale, at
present ranging downwards from 50 per cent, in the case
of the lowest paid grades. The whole staff numbers some
500 persons ; perhaps 250 for the Library would be a fair
estimate.
A. OFFICE AND HOUSE,
Director and Principal Librarian . (and residence) 1,500
Secretary 850-^1,000
Assistant Secretary ...... 5oo-6oo
Accountant ....... 500-6oo
Staff Officer 400-^500
Six Clerks, one attendant, two Typists, Packer of Publications,
three Locksmiths, Hall Staff, Warders, Firemen, Housemen, f
etc. Laboratory and Photographic Studio Staffs.
* S. Lane-Poole in Dictionary of National Biography.
f The dusting of books is carried out by hand by a gang of 30 house-
men ; only in the Oriental Library is a vacuum cleaner used.
32 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
B. PRINTED BOOKS.*
Keeper and Curator of the King's Music (and residence) 1,000
3 Deputy Keepers ...... 900
25 Assistant Keepers ..... 250-800
Examiner of Bindings f . . . . . 35 o
102 Clerks and Attendants J 70-^250 .
C. MSS.
Keeper and Egerton Librarian .... 1,000
2 Deputy Keepers ...... 900
10 Assistant Keepers ..... 25o-8oo
12 Clerks and Attendants J . . . . {
i Technical Assistant (Repairer) . . . J
D. ORIENTAL PRINTED BOOKS AND MSS.
Keeper ........ 1,000
Deputy Keeper ...... 9o
4 Assistant Keepers ..... 250-^800
4 Clerks and Attendants J
The upper grade is recruited from young men (and now
young women ) aged 22-26, who have taken university
degrees with high honours in ancient, modern, or oriental
literatures or history. Previous experience and technical
training in librarianship are not required (though the staff
numbers more than one diplomat of the University of London
School of Librarianship), since the Library is thought to give
its own special training in the course of the daily work.
Special value is attached to a working knowledge of foreign
languages,
Attendants are drawn from boys (not girls) leaving school
with matriculation standard at the age of about 17 or 18.
Until lately for a number of years rather older men with
* Including the Newspaper Library at Colindale.
f The binding staff are employed by H.M. Stationery Office, not by
the Trustees.
J The Clerks are about to be termed Library Assistants, There are
among them a very few in a Higher Grade, at ^300-^400. The Attendants
are the juniors of this Grade.
There is as yet only one woman Assistant Keeper.
ti
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M
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m
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 33
less education were appointed, the engagement of young
boys (American " pages ") having been prohibited on the
ground that no adult employment could be found for more
than a few of them.
The three Principal Trustees used to appoint outright to
all posts as an act of patronage. Now they first authorise
candidatures and then " nominate >J (i.e. make up the short
list) for Assistant Keepers, the final selection being made
not on examination but on interview by the Civil Service
Commission with the Director and Keeper. Vacancies are
notified to the Appointments Boards of the universities.
Attendants are nominated outright to posts, and have to
pass a simple qualifying examination.
There is no intermediate recruiting between these two
grades.
The Director and Principal Librarian is appointed
(always from a Museum official) by the Crown.
UPKEEP AND FINANCE
The responsibility for the buildings lies with H.M. Com-
missioner of Works, who administers it in consultation with
the Trustees, being represented for routine purposes by
a Clerk of the Works attached to the Museum.
The Trustees possess small funds in their own right.
Of the foundation endowment of 30,000 capital, 20,000
is allocated to Bloomsbury and 10,000 to South Kensington.
They have certain endowed funds for purchase ; the most
notable in the Library is the Egerton (q.v. above, p. 14).
For the bulk of their commitments the Trustees appeal
formally once a year to Parliament for a Grant in Aid, and
submit estimates to H.M. Treasury for inclusion in the
National Budget. These estimates appear regularly in
Civil Estimates, Class IV (Education).* To find the cost of
* 1933. H.M. Stationery Office, is. 3d.
D
34 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
the Library exactly is not possible, as the figures include
the Departments of Antiquities ; but it is fair to reckon it
as about 133,790, or half of the grand net total (when the
Treasury has absorbed any rents and profits from
photography and sale of publications) of 267,580. The
important items are (approximately) :
Salaries and Pensions .... 85,000
Printing, Photography, etc. . . . 8,500
Purchases :
Printed Books 9,200
* MSS 500
* Orientalia 60
Binding 21,900
Buildings, etc 2 5>
The Trustees are voted the " Grant in Aid " or sum for
purchases, in a lump, and they allocate it among the Depart-
ments, placing in favourable times about one-third to a
reserve fund which is allowed to accumulate, and is used
for specially costly acquisitions. The normal Grant (for
the whole Museum) is 30,000, but this is at present halved,
and the upkeep of the working part of the Library is main-
tained only at the cost of the MSS. and early printed books.
Much help towards special purchases has been given in
the last year or two by the newly-founded Society of
" Friends of the National Libraries," and also for a number
of years, in purchases of illuminated MSS., by the National
Art Collections Fund.
The purchase fund is inadequate. During the latter half
of the nineteenth century (see above, p. 18) the amount was
10,000 for the Printed Books ; in 1897 this was reduced to
a normal 6,500, and it is only in the last three years that a
larger allocation has been possible. Of the 6,500, about
1,500 could be allotted to old and rare books, which cost
* In normal years, MSS, ^1,400 (-f ^300 from the Egerton and Farn-
borough Funds) , Orientalia ^700.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM 35
on the average from ten to fifty times as much as they
did in 1850. So inadequate was the grant that for a genera-
tion at least the Library has been forced to abandon the
ideal of universality (except in English books, which cost
nothing), and the most highly specialised sciences are largely
left to other and special libraries to buy.
It may be worth mentioning here that the task of selecting
modern foreign books for purchase is organised by language
and not by subject.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Apart from the catalogues and other official publications
indicated above, the following selection of the large literature
of the Museum may suffice :
Accounts, Estimate, etc. 1812 to date. (Now " Annual
Report/ 1 the financial statement being found in " Civil
Estimates/' Class IV.)
The British Museum Quarterly. 1926 to date. (Mainly de-
voted to an illustrated account of acquisitions.)
Report from the Select Committee on the British Museum.
1835-36.
Report of the Commissioners. 1850.
(The second of these two Parliamentary enquiries dealt
largely with the Library.)
Panizzi, A. [Report] On the Collection of Printed Books
at the British Museum. [1845.]
Edwards, Edward. Lives of the Founders of the British
Museum. 1870.
Memoirs of Libraries. 1859. ( 2nd e d- of all that the
author revised, 1901.)
Fagan, L.A. The Life of Sir Anthony Panizzi. 1880.
Dahl, S. Antonio Panizzi og British Museum. 1916.
Cowtan, R. Memories of the British Museum. 1872 [1871].
36 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Sims, R. Handbook to the Library. 1854.
Rawlings, Gertrude B. The British Museum Library. 1916.
Peddie, R. A. The British Museum Reading Room. 1912.
Barwick, G. F. The Reading Room of the British Museum.
1929.
Gilson, J. P. A Student's Guide to the Manuscripts of the
British Museum. (Helps for Students of History, No.
31.) 1920.
Esdaile, A. The British Museum : the [printed] collections
[in :] Uses of Libraries, Ed. E. A. Baker, 1927.
Partridge, R. History of Copyright Privilege in England
[in ;] Library Association Record, Feb.-March, 1932.
APPENDIX
Apart from the British Museum, which is the central
library for the whole, each of the three smaller countries
of the United Kingdom has its own national library. Some
short account of these is given here as an appendix.
A
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND
(THE ADVOCATES' LIBRARY),
EDINBURGH.
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME LIBRARIANS
LIKE so many other institutions in Great Britain which
perform national functions and yet remain in the hands of
private societies, the chief library in Scotland was for 243
years the private library of the Faculty of Advocates, that
is the Scottish Bar, and it was not till October 26, 1925,
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND 37
that the Advocates' Library was formally handed over to
the nation and became the National Library of Scotland.
The national character of the Library was recognised by
the Copyright Act of Queen Anne (1709), by which the
Library became entitled to receive a copy of every published
work, and the Faculty in return, though this was not made a
condition of the privilege, have always granted free access
to the public.
On July 6, 1680, a proposal was made and adopted to
devote part of the Faculty's funds to the formation of a
Library, the chief supporter being the Lord Advocate of
the day, Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, labelled by his
enemies "the bluidy Mackenzie/' and on November 18,
1682, the Faculty rented a house in the Parliament Close for
the accommodation of the Library. Mackenzie proved a
good friend to the Library : " from the beginning he was
active in urging its claims on the Faculty and on the Court ;
he presented a valuable gift of books ; and on March I,
1689 ... he delivered at the formal inauguration of the
Library a Latin oration, which is printed in his collected
works.' '
Two curators were appointed in 1683, and after that they
were appointed every year at the Anniversary Meeting of
Faculty with other officers. Their number was after in-
creased to five, then to six, and in recent times to eight.
The first Librarian was James Naismith, advocate, who was
appointed in 1684 to the office of Bibliothecarius, or Keeper
of the Library.
In pre-Union days Scotland had been more closely con-
nected by political alliances with the Continent than with
England, and her educated classes inherited a tradition of
European culture which is reflected in the number of foreign,
especially French, books bought for the Library during the
eighteenth century. In 1692 the first printed catalogue was
38 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
issued. " Of 158 pages of catalogue the law-books occupy
89. ... There is a fair representation of English legal
writers, with a fine array of historians and a modest group
of theologians. . . . Modern poets and writers of imagina-
tion are sadly to seek. . . . The entries number 3,140."
On February 3, 1700, a fire destroyed the greater part of
the buildings in the Parliament Close, though owing to the
devotion of James Stevenson, who had succeeded Naismith
as Keeper in 1693, most of the books were saved. The
Library was then moved to the Laigh Parliament House,
which, with additions, it still occupies.
In 1703, Stevenson was succeeded as Keeper by John
Spottiswoode, advocate. It was during his Keepership,
in 1709, that the advocates received the privilege of legal
deposit. In the eighteenth century the privilege of legal
deposit was largely disregarded. The Advocates' Library
was, however, fortunate in having a man of ability and
vigour as Librarian during the first half of the century.
" Thomas Ruddiman joined the staff in a humble capacity
in 1700, and on the death of Spottiswoode in 1730 was
appointed Keeper. ... In the Library he left his enduring
mark on every department of its administration. In 1735
he undertook the task of preparing a complete author-
catalogue. It was finished and printed in 1742, a large
folio volume containing some 25,000 entries/'
In 1752 there raged over the appointment of David
Hume as Librarian a fierce controversy, which he describes
in a letter to a friend of February 4, 1752. " The violent
cry of deism, atheism, and scepticism," he writes, " was
raised against me ; and 'twas represented that my election
would be giving the sanction of the greatest and most
learned body of men in this country to my profane and
irreligious principles."
Hume resigned in 1757, and was succeeded by Adam
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND 39
Ferguson, who was present as chaplain of the Black Watch
at Fontenoy, and who afterwards became Professor of
Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh. The remaining keepers
during the eighteenth century were : William Wallace,
appointed in 1758 ; Alexander Brown, in 1776 ; and William
Manners, in 1794.
By the middle of the nineteenth century the burden con-
sequent on the large increase of books due to the operation
of the Copyright Acts was becoming too much for the
resources of the Faculty ; there was not sufficient money
to pay for adequate staffing or general upkeep, so that
books went unrepaired, no stocktaking was done, and after
1871 no adequate cataloguing. In 1864, in 1869 and again
in 1873 attempts were made to obtain public support, but
without success, although Carlyle wrote a letter on behalf
of the Library upholding its claim to national support ; he
writes : " such helps, bibliographical and others, as I heva
never met with elsewhere, and found the Library by very
far the best I had ever been in."
After the war of 1914-18 it was obvious that the main-
tenance of the library as a National Library was entirely
beyond the financial powers of the Faculty, and that either
the government must take over the financial responsibility
or the Library give up its national character, relinquish its
copyright privilege and become a private library. In 1922
the Faculty made a definite offer to present the Library to
the nation, with certain reservations. The state of the
national finances prevented the immediate acceptance of the
offer, but the Government made an annual grant of 2,000.
In 1923 Sir Alexander Grant's gift of 100,000 solved the
immediate financial difficulty. The National Library of
Scotland Act was passed in August, 1925. The conditions
attached to Sir Alexander's gift were that the Library should
be handed over to the nation and accepted, and that the
40 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
association with the Advocates be preserved. The Govern-
ment, as we have said, took over the Library and tem-
porarily stopped its grant. The Faculty on their side re-
served the legal books for their own use and their borrowing
powers were continued till death. At the date of the trans-
fer, the Library contained about 750,000 books and pamph-
lets, not including MSS., maps or music.
THE COLLECTIONS
In the first printed catalogue of 1692 very few MSS. are
noted, and these are entirely legal ; it was not till 1698
that the purchase by the Faculty of the Balfour MSS. laid
the foundation of the present collection.
" The collection of MSS. includes some fine illuminated
books of the Middle Ages, such, for example, as a beautiful
thirteenth-century Bible, the Psalter and Hours illuminated
for Eleanor de Bohun, daughter-in-law of Edward III, a
great Italian Justinian of the fourteenth century, and the
magnificent copy of the ' De civitate Dei * of St. Augustine,
written and illuminated in Paris about 1503 for Cardinal
Georges d'Amboise. The unique interest of the collection,
however, is in the number of Scottish MSS., not a few of
which are among the original authorities for the history of
the country. Among these may be noted Charters of the
Scottish Kings from William the Lion downwards, the Bull
of John XXII, authorising the anointing and coronation of
Robert Bruce and his successors as kings of Scotland,
chartularies and chronicles of religious houses, examples of
the earliest types of Scottish law books, the MSS. of For-
dun's Scotichronicon, Wyntoun's Chronicle, Barbour's
Bruce, and Blind Harry's Wallace, and the heraldic MS,
of Sir David Lyndsay. The papers of Sir James Balfour
of Denmilne, Lyon King-of-Arms to Charles I, purchased in
1698, contain a mass of original documents relating to the
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND 41
reigns of James VI and Charles I. The Balcarres papers,
presented in 1712 by the third Earl of Balcarres, contain
papers relating to the reigns of James V, Mary Queen of
Scots and James VI. The ' Lyon in Mourning/ the collec-
tion of Jacobite memorials made by the pious care of Bishop
Robert Forbes, and bequeathed to the Faculty by Robert
Chambers, is the source of much of the popular history of
the Forty-five.
" Among ecclesiastical MSS. of pre-Reformation days may
be noted the Rosslyn Missal, the Ramsay and Culross
Psalters, the Herdmanston and Sprouston Breviaries, and
the Scone Antiphonary. Among post-Reformation docu-
ments are the ' King's Confession/ the Covenant of 1580,
signed by James VI, a copy of the National Covenant of
1638. The literary MSS. range from the Bannatyne MS.,
presented by the third Earl of Hyndford in 1772, which is
the chief source of our knowledge of early Scottish verse,
to the MSS. of ' Marmion ' and ' Waverley ' ; and the auto-
graph letters of literary interest include those of Hume and
Adam Smith, Boswell, Burns, Scott (most of his correspon-
dence), Lockhart, Carlyle, Ruskin and Stevenson.
" The collection of early printed books includes a copy of
the 42-line Gutenberg Bible . . . and fine examples of the
work of most of the great fifteenth-century Continental
printers. Here again, however, the chief interest of the
Library lies in its Scottish books. These include the only
known copy of the first book printed in Scotland, the poems
printed by Walter Chepman and Andrew Myllar at Edin-
burgh in 1508.' *
Since the transfer, Scottish patriotism has been stimulated,
and the Library has received a great many valuable gifts
and made a few important purchases.
The largest gift was that of the Lauriston Castle Library,
which was bequeathed to the Trustees by the late Mr, and
42 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Mrs. W. R. Reid, 1926, the printed matter amounted to
11,211 books and pamphlets ; the Reid bequest also in-
cluded the residue of their estate, the income of which is
applied to maintaining and making suitable additions to
the Lauriston Library. Another important gift that year
was the Glenriddell MSS. of Robert Burns ; given by Mr.
John Gribbel, of Philadelphia. In 1927, the Library re-
ceived the most valuable donation of printed books it has
ever received, the Earl of Rosebery's Scottish collection at
Barnbougle Castle.
In 1928 came the Walter Blaikie Jacobite collection. In
1929 and 1930 the Carlyle papers were given by Carlyle's
nephew, Mr. Alexander Carlyle.
In 1930 the number of volumes in the Library, reckoned
in round figures, amounted to 800,000.
BUILDINGS
The Library's first home was a house in the Parliament
Close, which the Faculty rented on November 18, 1682.
" Before the end of the seventeenth century/' says Dr.
Dickson, " the Library was beginning to press on its accom-
modation, and the Faculty had under consideration the
question of providing it with new quarters. The matter
was brought to a crisis by the great fire of February 3, 1700.
It was resolved to apply to the Town Council of Edinburgh
for the use of part of the Laigh Parliament House, the
arched and pillared room under the great Parliament Hall.
The corporation, with the consent of the Privy Council, on
October i, 1701, granted the Faculty the use of part of the
room ' the south end to the fourth stone pillar thereof '
the remainder still being occupied by the public registers.
On the removal of the Records to the new Register House in
1790, the Library secured the use of the whole Laigh Parlia-
ment House, which it still occupies. The large adjoining
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND 43
premises which it now also occupies were added piecemeal
from time to time.
" In 1808 the Faculty acquired for the Library the large
hall on the upper floor of the buildings on the south side of
the Parliament Square, now occupied by the Signet Library.
This fine room was finished in 1815. It was, however, not
long occupied by the Library. In 1825 it was resolved to
erect the range of buildings extending westward from the
south end of Parliament House, which the Library now
occupies, and to dispose of the Hall to the Society of Writers
to the Signet. . . . In 1933 the Library was removed to
the new buildings. A large extension to the west was com-
pleted in 1901, and another extension, including the visitors*
reading room, now the public reading room, was made in
1908."
At the time of the transfer there were two main needs :
better accommodation for the public and staff, and additional
book-storage. In their first report the BuMing Committee
pointed out that at the then " current rate of accessions the
existing storage space will be filled in about fifteen years
time/'
The plan proposed was an improvement of the existing
premises and extending them on the Sheriff Court site;
the alternative plan was to transfer the whole Library to a
new site, but there were so many cogent arguments against
this extra cost, the inadvisability of splitting up the his-
toric collection, since the Advocates would have retained
the legal books, etc., that the plan was dropped on the advice
of the most experienced librarians. The Office of Works'
plan was for a building which could be completed in three
stages : (i) a main block facing George V bridge, adjacent
to and communicating with the Parliament House, con-
taining the reading room, exhibition room and administrative
rooms of the Library, with storage for about 1,197,000
44 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
volumes ; (2) a storage block at the back of this for about
300,000 volumes ; and (3) a further block for the Faculty's
Law Library. The cost of the first part, about 200,000,
the Government was not prepared to find entire ; but a
second gift of 100,000 came from Sir Alexander Grant, on
the conditions amongst others that the Government con-
tributed at least equally and that the building should be
erected on the existing site or an adjacent site fronting, and
having a public entry from George IV Bridge, communicating
directly with the present buildings, thus endeavouring
(though in vain) to stifle in advance various conflicting and
mostly rather wild alternatives which it was foreseen would
be proposed.
There was some delay in starting on the new buildings
because of the difficulty of obtaining a site for a new
Sheriff Court House ; the Act for obtaining powers to pur-
chase the site on which to erect this Court House, and to
obtain the site of the present Sheriff Court House for the
Library, received the Royal Assent in April, 1932, and pre-
liminary building operations are now in progress.
CATALOGUES
The first printed catalogue of the Library was issued
within three years of the inauguration with the title :
Catalogue Librorum Bibliotheccz Juris \Jtriusque, tarn Civilis
quam Canonici, Publici quam Privati, Feudalis quam Munici-
palis variorum Regnorum, cum Historicis Greeds et Latinis,
Liter atis et Philosophis plerisque celebrioribus ; a Facultate
Advocatorum in supremo Senatu Judicum in Scotia, in usum
cupidce legum Juventutis, constructs . . ., Edinburgi . . ,
MDCXCII. It is a class catalogue. There are four classes :
Libri Juridici, Libri Historici, Libri Miscellanei, and Libri
Theologici. Each class is further divided by format.
No new catalogue was put in hand till the time of Thomas
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND 45
Ruddiman, when the accessions under the Copyright Act
made the provision of new catalogues even more necessary.
Ruddiman's complete author-catalogue was printed in 1742
a large folio volume containing 25,000 entries. It followed
the model of the catalogue of Cardinal Imperiali at Rome.
A second and supplementary volume appeared in 1776. It
was followed by a second supplement in 1787 and a third
folio in 1807.
The latest printed catalogue, to the end of 1871, completed
in 1879 (7 vols., 4to) was planned and to a large extent
carried out by Samuel Halkett, Keeper from 1848.
When the Library was transferred the most urgent practi-
cal administrative need was that of up-to-date catalogues
for the public. The Committee came to the conclusion that
a book catalogue " would involve delays which could not
be justified," and recommended a card catalogue by typing
on cards the existing slips.
The card catalogue of the accessions since 1871 is in
progress, and it will ultimately include all books in the
Library ; a shelf catalogue is also in hand.
In 1927 the cataloguing of the MSS. acquired in the two
years since the transfer was begun ; a summary catalogue
describing the main contents of each MS. on the principle
of the British Museum catalogue was prepared and a pro-
visional typed copy made available. A beginning was also
made on recataloguing the MSS. which were in the Library
before October, 1925.
DEPARTMENTS
There are Departments of MSS. and of Printed Books.
46 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
ACCESSIONS
The accessions for 1932 were :
Books and Pamphlets :
Under the Copyright Act . . . 12,278
By donation 6,652
By purchase . . . - 568
19,498
Periodicals :
Under the Copyright Act . . . I7,93O
By donation 1,079
By purchase 114
Music :
Under the Copyright Act ... 3>43
Maps :
Under the Copyright Act . . . 146
By donation , 6
Ordnance Survey Maps and Admiralty
Charts 1,505
Parliamentary Bills and Papers :
From H.M. Stationery Office ... 769
From the Government of Northern Ireland
and the Irish Free State ... 945
45,035
Items received under the Copyright Act . 33,397
From other sources .... 11,638
45,035
Of these accessions 4,737 items (law books) were trans-
mitted to the Faculty of Advocates in accordance with the
provisions of the National Library of Scotland Act.
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
Lending is only occasionally practised ; the Library is
rather the stationary place of research standing behind
other facilities. A photostat is in operation.
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND 47
STAFF
i Librarian,
i Keeper of MSS.
I Keeper of Printed Books.
9 Assistants.
7 Cataloguers.
6 Lower Staff.
FINANCE
While the Library remained the property of the Advo-
cates it received no grant from the Government ; it received
the copyright privilege, but that, though it relieved their
book purchases, brought great expense in upkeep and
storage. When proposals were being made in 1922 for
handing the Library over to the nation, the Government,
though refusing to take the whole responsibility then, made
an annual grant of 2,000. When Sir Alexander Grant's
first endowment gift of 100,000 was made in 1925, the
Government stopped its grant, though through the Office of
Works it at once took on the care of the building, and some
6,000 was spent in " improving the lighting arrangements,
and in securing the Library against fire and damp." The
Committee could however only report at the end of 1926
that " the funds available in the hands of the Trustees for
the administration of the Library consist in the revenue
from the endowment provided by the generous donor. But
the funds do not materially exceed the limits of the
expenditure incurred by the Faculty of Advocates in ad-
ministering the Library prior to the transfer/' There
were no funds for cataloguing, and a committee was
appointed to try and raise the necessary sum. In 1934
5,623 was allocated in the Civil Estimates, practically all
for upkeep; revenue from endowments is 5,017.
48 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chalmers, George. The Life of Thomas Ruddiman. 1794.
Dickson, W. K. The Advocates' Library. (In Library
Association Record, n.s. v.5, 1927, pp. 169-82.) [Passages
above in quotation marks are quoted from this.]
A National Library for Scotland. Proposal to establish a
Scottish National Library on the basis of the Advocates'
Library. 1922. n pp.
The National Library of Scotland. 1925. 16 pp.
National Library of Scotland. Reports. 1926 to date.
National Library of Scotland. Report by the Standing
Committee (Buildings). 1930.
B
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES,
ABERYSTWYTH
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND LIBRARIANS
THE surviving language and strong national feeling of the
Welsh has made of the National Library a primarily Celtic
library. The movement for establishing it dates back to
1873, when a large gathering at the National Eisteddfod at
Mold declared for forming a national collection of books
and MSS. in connection with the newly-founded University
College of Wales at Aberystwyth. A committee was
formed to further the collection of books and MSS., and
Parliamentary agitation set on foot. A Royal Charter
was granted in 1907, and two years later the various collec-
tions were brought together and the Library opened as
the National Library of Wales under the charge of its
first Librarian, the late Sir John Ballinger, C.B.E.
Its first object was stated as being " to collect and pre-
serve written and printed literature of all kinds in Welsh or
CO
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o
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P
s
-
P4
ABERYSTWYTH, WALES 49
any other Celtic language or relating to Wales, the Welsh and
the other Celtic peoples or by Welsh authors/' As a
secondary object it aimed at building up " a general library
of all works . . . which may help to further education,
especially higher education, in Wales/'
The foundation collections of the Library were three in
number ; the private library of Sir John Williams, a dis-
tinguished Welsh surgeon, the Welsh library which had been
brought together at the University College of Wales,
Aberystwyth, between the years 1873 and 1909, and the
library of Mr. Edward Owen, Ty Coch, Caernarvon. These
three collections, with the later addition of Principal
Davies's, contain, in addition to MSS., practically everything
of importance published in the Welsh language since 1546,
Sir John Williams's collection contains about 25,000 printed
books and 1,200 MSS., which the donor had spent many
years collecting with the express intention of presenting
them to the Welsh nation ; notable are the 500 Peniarth
MSS., among which are some of the most valuable Welsh
MSS. in existence, including the " Black Book of Carmar-
then/' written c. 1180, the oldest Welsh MS. extant, the
" Book of Taliesin," and the earliest extant Welsh and Latin
versions of the ancient code of Welsh laws known as the
Laws of Hywel Dda. Among the libraries which he ac-
quired was the Welsh library formed, 1690-1740, by Moses
Williams, Vicar of Devynock, containing many rare and
some unique Welsh books. Mr. Owen's library, known as
the Ty Coch Library, though it did not contain a large
number of Welsh books, had an exceptional number of rare
ones, including a collection of chap-books. The identity of
these foundation collections has been preserved, each being
kept intact and separately shelved, and it is hoped ulti-
mately to publish catalogues of each.
Of not purely Celtic literature there have been acquired
50 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
by gift or purchase, the libraries of several specialists,
including those of F. W. Bourdillon on mediaeval French
(and notably Arthurian) romance, of Sidney Hartland on
ethnology and folk-lore, the Witton Davies library of Hebrew
and other Oriental literature, and Sir Charles Thomas-
Stanford's collection of incunabula, Euclid, and Civil War
tracts.
Sir John Ballinger retired on May 31, 1930, after over
twenty-one years' service as the first Librarian. He was
succeeded by Mr. W. Llewellyn Davies.
From 1912 the Library became entitled under the terms of
the Copyright Act of 1911 to free deposit, but with certain
limitations to the right of claim.
BUILDINGS
The first home for the Library was in a hired building in
Aberystwyth, to which Sir John Williams transferred his
great collection. A fine site for the permanent building had
already been chosen on a hill overlooking the town, and here
the permanent buildings were begun in 1910, the foundation
stone being laid by H.M. the King on July 15, 1911. When
the war came it was feared the building work would have
to be postponed indefinitely, but friends rallied round and
contracts were not broken. The removal to the new build-
ings began in March, 1915, and was finished early in 1916.
The original plan for the building, designed by Mr. S. K.
Greenslade, with that rare thing, the close co-operation of
the Librarian, consists of four rectangular blocks built
round a court with transverse sections from each block
meeting in a central hall, the whole occupying about 250 by
170 feet ; at the back, joined to the two main side blocks,
are two rectangular book stacks (180 by 25 feet). The first
blocks to be completed, those opened in 1916, were the two
side wings ; the south wing contains the Print and Map Room
ABERYSTWYTH, WALES 51
on the ground floor. Above this is a lofty and well pro-
portioned Exhibition Gallery. The other wing contains the
dignified reading room, going to the top of the building, with
galleries round and with seats for 120 readers. One cross
section forming the back of the projected rectangle is also
built ; this contains the MSS. Work is now proceeding
with the book stacks. The cost of completing the original
scheme of buildings to Mr. S. K. Greenslade's designs being
considered prohibitive, his successor, Mr. Holden, has
redesigned the administrative front block. This has now
been put in hand and will be finished in 1936.
The general aspect of the Library is so dignified on its
hill over the sea, that it has been called the Parthenon of
Wales ; it is also unique in having practically unlimited
space for growth.
CATALOGUES
It was considered that a general catalogue in book form
was impossible. Sectional catalogues, lists in book form,
and card indexes which cover the whole contents of the
Library, have been produced. The Peniarth collection of
MSS, had been calendared, while still in Sir John Williams'
possession, for the Historical MSS. Commission, by Dr.
Evans, and a detailed catalogue of the MSS. not included
in this was prepared by Principal Davies. A complete
catalogue of Sir John Williams' library, printed books and
MSS. is being prepared for publication, and then it is hoped
to follow this with catalogues of the other foundation
collections.
Among the printed sectional catalogues and hand-lists
are :
Anglesey MSS. 1929.
Calendar of deed and documents. 1921-
S2 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Calendar of Wynn of Gwydir Papers 1515-1690 in the
National Library of Wales and elsewhere. 1926.
Catalogue of MSS. Additional manuscripts in the col-
lection of Sir John Williams, Bart., by Principal J. H.
Davies. 1921.
Catalogue of MSS. and Rare Books exhibited in the Great
Hall of the Library. 1916.
Catalogue of Oriental MSS., Persian, Arabic and Hin-
dustani. Compiled by H. Ethe. 1916.
Catalogue of Tracts of the Civil War and Commonwealth
period relating to Wales and the Borders. 1911.
A hand-list of books on Agriculture.
The Library also publishes the annual Bibliotheca Celtica.
It has its own printing press on which its cards and some
other catalogues are printed.
DEPARTMENTS
The Library is divided departmentally into Printed Books
and MSS. The Printed Books Department, which now
numbers about 500,000 volumes, is divided into two sec-
tions (i) works of Celtic interest, and (2) other works. The
Celtic side receives most of the donations and purchases.
The MSS. are, as we have said, almost entirely Welsh or
of Welsh interest, and now number about 9,000. The most
important single MS. is the Hendregadredd MS., which is
the oldest (thirteenth century) text of the poetry of the
Gogyafeirdd who sang in the period of the Welsh princes.
A subsection of the department of MSS. deals with
historical documents, court and manor rolls, etc. The
most important collections in this section are the Wynn of
Gwydir papers (formerly known as the Panton papers)
covering the period 1515-1690, and the Carreglwyd papers,
ranging from 1329-1864. The total number of documents
up to 1932 is 120,000.
ABERYSTWYTH, WALES 53
There is also a section of Prints, Drawings, Portraits and
Maps ; Sir John Williams' library provided a valuable
nucleus for this.
The Library has also a Bindery where cleaning, repairing
and binding of MSS. and rare books which are too valuable
to be sent to an outside establishment are dealt with.
Attached to the Bindery is a small fumigating chamber.
Working in close association with the Bindery is the Photo-
stat and Photographic Department and both have proved
most valuable adjuncts to the work of the National Library.
PLACE IN NATIONAL SYSTEM
The National Library as a primarily Celtic Library is the
natural centre for Welsh bibliography and the Celtic
languages. From 1909 onwards the Library has published
the work known as " Bibliotheca Celtica, a register of publica-
tions relating to Wales and the Celtic peoples and languages."
Copies of accession cards are sent to the libraries of the
four constituent colleges of the University of Wales.
In support of the scheme of regional libraries which is
being worked in Great Britain in conjunction with the
National Central Library, the National Library has under-
taken to be the regional library for Wales, which means
that all applications for books from libraries in Wales are
now sent first to the National Library and are only forwarded
to the Central Library if Aberystwyth is unable to supply
the books. The Library is also housing the Union catalogue.
For 1932, 1,774 books were lent through the National
Bureau, and 1,825 through the Sub-Bureau at Cardiff, while
the Union catalogue by the end of that year had nearly
30,000 entries.
The Library has a photostat for making facsimiles of MSS.
and rare books, copies of which are supplied at cost price.
Extra-mural work, so far as the Charter and its financial
54 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
resources allow takes the form of help given by coires-
pondence and books sent by post to serious workers who
have not access to other libraries. Classes for adult study
are organised by the four constituent colleges of the Uni-
versity, the Workers' Educational Association and other
institutions. The National Library supplies a box of books
to each class, as well as to summer schools. During the
year 1931-32, 8,296 volumes were lent to 357 adult study
classes and 551 volumes to 12 summer schools. Recently
the Library has undertaken to re-organise and improve the
libraries in the seventeen sanatoria and tuberculosis hos-
pitals in Wales, established and maintained by the Welsh
National Memorail Association.
FINANCE
The Library has been extremely fortunate in its donors.
The land for the site of the new Library was the gift of Lord
Rendel, while for the building, gifts amounted to 20,281 153.
In 1912 the Treasury made a grant of 5> 00 towards the
building, providing a corresponding sum was forthcoming
from other sources. The ultimate completion of the build-
ings was assured by the handsome provision made by the
will of Sir John Williams, who died in 1926. But the
income from the bequest made by him must be accumulated
for about 15 or 20 years.
The Library receives an annual grant of 17,000 from the
Treasury, though this, like all other public activities, had a
ten per cent, cut from 1932, reducing the grant to 15,200.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The National Library of Wales. Annual Report. 1909 to
date.
A brief account of the Library and its activities.
ABERYSTWYTH, WALES 55
A brief summary of the progress of the Library from
the granting of the Charter to August, 1928. 1928.
Coming-of-age celebration, 1909-29. 1929.
A description of the permanent building. 1914.
Memorandum on the work of the Library in relation
to Welsh studies ; prepared for the Departmental Com-
mittee on Welsh. 1926.
Tedder, H. R. The National Library of Wales, Aberyst-
wyth. 1911. (Reprinted from the Library Association
Record. 1911.)
Library Association. Welsh Branch. Library co-operation
in Wales ; statements prepared by Harry Farr and W.
C. Williams. 1931.
Regional Libraries scheme for Wales and Monmouthshire.
Annual Report 1932 to date.
C
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND,
DUBLIN
HISTORY : THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME LIBRARIANS.
THE National Library of Ireland developed out of the
library of the Royal Dublin Society, which in 1815 acquired
Leinster House, erected in 1745 by James Kildare, after-
wards Duke of Leinster. This Society, which still flourishes,
was in the nineteenth century a centre of intellectual and
cultural interest for southern Ireland, and being truly
national, of sporting interests also. As such it had both a
library and a natural history collection, and was recognised
as a semi-public institution, being in receipt of an annual
grant from Parliament* In 1877 the Library was taken over
56 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
by the Government and developed into the National Library
of Ireland. The new wing was opened in 1890 and the
books transferred in the July of that year under the direction
of Mr. William Archer, who was appointed Librarian of the
Royal Dublin Society in 1876 and from 1877 to 1895 was
Librarian of the National Library of Ireland. Mr. Archer
was succeeded by Mr. T. W. Lyster, who had been assistant
Librarian.
The Library is of course rich in works relating to Irish
history and topography, and every effort is made to make its
collection as complete as possible. The chief collections
obtained by bequest or purchase are :
(1) The Joly collection, formed by Dr. Joly of Rathmines,
Dublin, amounting to about 23,000 printed volumes, besides
an extensive collection of music and engravings. It con-
tains a good collection of Napoleonic literature, but its chief
interest lies in its Irish interest. This collection is kept
separately.
(2) The Thoin collection ; this is a valuable collection of
books bequeathed in 1903 by the widow of the late Alexander
Thorn, numbering upwards of 3,900 volumes, many in fine
bindings. It is strong in Irish interest. This has, by the
terms of the bequest, to be kept together ; it has recently
been catalogued.
(3) Collection of books printed in Ireland, mainly the gift
of Mr. E. R. McC. Dix. This valuable collection has now
been arranged on shelves according to locality and in
order of date.
(4) Archbishop King's Collectanea for the ecclesiastical
history of Ireland. They were used by the editor of Ware's
Works, Walter Harris, who made considerable additions.
Since the establishment of the Free State the most
important gifts and purchases are :
(j) Collection of deeds and other documents relating to
DUBLIN, IRELAND 57
the families of Dowdall and Peppard of Co. Meath, pre-
sented by Mr. Blundell ;
(2) The Orrery Correspondence, 1660-89 letters by or
to Roger Boyle, first Earl of Orrery (about 750 pieces),
purchased 1928-9.
(3) Papers from Dublin Castle, consisting of several
thousand official papers (published), also a number of books
and pamphlets of particular Irish interest.
(4) 178 Irish MSS. from the Phillipps collection.
(5) The Richmond-Lennox Correspondence, a collection
of over 2,000 letters forming the correspondence of Charles
Lennox, fourth Duke of Richmond and Gordon, 1764-1819,
while Viceroy of Ireland (1807-13).
The total number of volumes in the Library is now about
300,000.
Legal deposit of books printed in Ireland (independent
of that of Irish and other British books enjoyed by Trinity
College since 1801) was given by the Free State's Industrial
and Commercial Property Protection Act, 1927. Annual
lists of books received are published by the Government
Publications Sales Office.
BUILDINGS
Leinster House, the original home of the Library, was
erected in 1745 by James Kildare, Earl of Kildare, after-
wards Duke of Leinster, as a private residence. In 1815 it
passed into the hands of the Royal Dublin Society and
remained the headquarters of the Society till 1925, when it
was purchased by the Irish Free State Government for
6,800, and now the Senate assembles in the stately apart-
ment which was the former drawing-room of Leinster
House.
When the Library was taken over by the Government in
1877 the accommodation in Leinster House was quite
58 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
inadequate, and new buildings were a pressing necessity,
but there were the usual delays, and it was not till 1884
that the plans of Messrs. Deane & Co. of Dublin were
accepted, and it was not till 1890 that the new buildings
were opened to the public. The completed block forms an
important and imposing group of buildings with Leinster
House and the two modern wings extending to Kildare
Street ; the left wing comprises the National Library and
the Metropolitan School of Art, the opposite wing is the
National Museum. The wings harmonise to a certain
extent with the original eighteenth century house ; the
fagade of each is about 200 feet in length and consists of
two rotundas with colonnades and pavilions at the sides.
On entering the National Library one finds a semicircular
vestibule leading by a handsome double staircase to a
reading room of horse-shoe shape, measuring 72 by 63 feet,
and adorned with a domed glass roof, being 50 feet to the
top of the dome, with seats for 200 readers.
CATALOGUES
No proper catalogue was made before Archer became
Librarian, and as the first essential for a National Library
was to have a catalogue, an appeal was made to the Treasury
for a special grant, and in 1899 200 was given for four
years for revision of the catalogue.
There is no printed general catalogue, but there is a
general alphabetical card catalogue. " Supplemental Cata-
logues " were printed in 1881 and later years, and lists of
"Books added" (1901-00) from 1906, Subject Indexes of
Books added, 1894-1913 and subsequently at each decade.
Several of the special collections, such as the Joly and the
Thorn, have their own catalogues. A hand list of non-
Irish MSS, is appended to the Annual Report,
DUBLIN, IRELAND 59
There are also :
Bibliography of Irish Philology and of Printed Irish
Literature. 1913.
List of Scientific and Technical Periodicals in Dublin
Libraries.
DEPARTMENTS
There are no separate departments, but separate col-
lections such as the Joly and the Thorn are kept separate,
as already observed ; and recently all works relating to
Ireland, save those in these special collections, were as-
sembled from the different sections of the Library and
grouped together on the main floor of the book stores.
The figures for the use of the Library, 1932-3, were :
Number of readers, 63,535.
The accessions during the year 1932-3 amounted to
13,888.
By Legal Deposit :
Annuals ..... . 171
Periodicals ....
,, weekly
Parliamentary Publications
Newspapers
Books and pamphlets
Music (sheet)
Maps ....
21
. 892
. I2O
- 366
IO
- 275
1,953
By Purchase and Gift:
Annuals .... . 212
Periodicals ... . 510
weekly . . 124
Parliamentary Publications . . 8,397
Newspapers ... 57
Books .... . 2,475
Maps . 60
11*935
60 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
The National Library of Ireland is the repository for all
purely Irish publications, and has the copyright privilege
for them ; its Irish manuscripts, while not comparable to
those of Trinity College, are already of importance for Irish
history.
The Library performs the bibliographical service of
publishing the annual list of all publications received under
the Copyright Act of 1927 (see above). It also publishes
the List of Scientific and Technical Periodicals in Dublin
Libraries.
Exhibitions are arranged in connection with current
events ; that celebrating the centenary of Catholic emanci-
pation was notable.
The Library is under the Department of Education.
FINANCE
The book-purchase grant has been increased from 1,300
to 2,600 since the establishment of the Free State.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
National Library of Ireland. Reports, 1878 to date.
Vine, Guthrie. The National Library of Ireland : a short
account of the building and its contents. (In Library
Association Record, v. 4. 1902. pp. 95-109.)
The National Library : Extension and reform. (Irish
Times, Supplement. January, 1933. p. 92.)
II
LA BIBLIOTHfeQUE NATIONALS, PARIS
II
LA BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
THERE is no date which can be fixed for the foundation
of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, since it is a develop-
ment of the personal library of the sovereigns, and was, while
still their property, open to students. It is, even if we
disregard the early collections which were dispersed and
have not gone to form the present collections, the oldest of
European national libraries, since its continuous history
dates from Louis XI.
Before that date there were personal libraries of indi-
vidual kings. Charlemagne had one at Aix, as might be
expected, and though it was dispersed under his will for
the benefit of the poor, its remote descendant still contains
one volume from it. The pious Saint Louis similarly divided
his books at his death among his favourite religious houses.
John the Good in 1364 bequeathed his to Charles V, and
began the tradition of a continuing collection.
Charles V, called Charles the Wise, was a real book-lover.
He established his library in the Louvre, and employed
GiUes Mallet as keeper. Mallet made the inventory of the
Louvre Library, which, with the enlargements by Jean
le Begue of 1411 and 1424, is the foundation-stone of French
bibliography. After the -death of Charles V the books,
which had numbered 1,183, began to vanish, and in 1424
the whole remains were recatalogued, valued (at 3,323 livres,,
4 sols) and sold to the Duke of Bedford.
63
64 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Louis XI collected some other MSS. and printed books
by confiscations, but (it has been pointed out) nothing to
what a really book-loving and acquisitive king could have,
considering the contemporary collectors, notably Charles
the Bold, whose library, the " Bibliotheque de Bourgogne,"
is the foundation of the Royal Library of Brussels. His
successor, Charles VIII (1483-98), brought home from the
siege of Naples in 1494 most of the Royal Library of that
city. In this period printed books began first to figure
among the MSS. Louis XII brought to the Crown the library
of the House of Orleans, which included that of the poet
Charles d' Orleans. Louis himself collected. The spoils of
Italy contain books from Petrarch's library, and the col-
lection of Louis of Bruges was acquired for the library, now
known as the Librairie de Blois.
Francois I, the magnificent patron of Renaissance art and
learning, brought into the library at Blois a noble inherited
collection, the Librairie d'Angouleme, of the normal fifteenth
century type ; he himself launched out in a new direction,
gathering by his agents in Italy and the East Greek and
Oriental MSS. The former recall his foundation of the
College de France with its chair of Greek and his acquisition
of Greek types. Frangois appointed in 1522 as maitre de
la librairie the great humanist scholar, Guillaume Bude, who
held the office till his death in 1540. In Bude's time, in
1534, the library at Blois was united to the new collection
at Fontainebleau. It had been under the charge in part
of two very distinguished writers, Jacques Lefevre d'fitaples
(Faber Stapulensis) and the poet Mellin de Saint-Gelais.
The latter followed his charge to Fontainebleau. This
was the beginning of the great period of French binding,
and Frangois, like Grolier and Mahieu ("Maiolus"), em-
ployed the finest craftsmen and gave access to the books to
scholars in need of them.
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LA BIBLIOTHQUE NATIONALS 65
In the troubled second half of the sixteenth century the
books were brought from Fontainebleau to Paris ; among
the maitres was Jacques Amyot, Bishop of Auxerre
and translator of Plutarch and Thucydides (1567-93). He
was succeeded by the historian and book collector, J. A.
de Thou (1593-1617). Catherine de Medici's Greek and
other MSS. came in in 1599. Collections received in the
seventeenth century include the Hurault, of Greek and
French historical MSS. (1661) ; the Lomenie de Brienne,
of political papers (1638), the first acquisition of this kind,
to be so frequent in later centuries ; but these two were
temporarily intercepted by Richelieu, and Mazarin retained
the Lomenie de Brienne papers, as was not unreasonable
in view of their character ; both eventually came into the
Royal Library. Later, in 1656, Jacques Dupuy, the sur-
vivor of two brothers, Pierre and Jacques, who had both
served as gardes de la librairie, bequeathed the fine library
of his family ; in 1661 Gaston d' Orleans' splendid collection
brought in not only MSS. and printed books, but also the
beginning of the Department of Medals ; and in 1662
Philippe de Bethune gave to Louis XIV his celebrated
collection of French historical papers, for which Christina
of Sweden had offered him 100,000 crowns ; and a few years
later Colbert secured for the library the cabinet of engrav-
ings of the Abbe Michel de Marolles, from which sprang the
Department of Prints. The intelligence and energy of Col-
bert (who as Surintendant des Batiments du Roi, was practi-
cally all-powerful) and the glory of the Grand Monarch, his
master, gave the library its second period of splendour, the
first having been that of its formation under Louis XII
and Francois I. Not only were the collections named
presented or bequeathed; the Minister purchased the 557
Oriental MSS. of Gilbert Gaulmin in 1667 and the books of
Italian history from the library of the disgraced Foucquet.
66 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
He also caused the duplicates of the Mazarine Library to be
exchanged for duplicates from the Royal collection, and he
sent agents all over the world to seek for books and MSS. for
the Library, which he had installed under his own eye in
the Rue Vivienne.
Colbert died in 1683, but his enthusiasm for the Library
lived on, and collections continued to be gathered into it
under his successor, Louvois, who was advised by his brother,
the learned Archbishop of Rheims. The latter in 1700
presented his collection of 500 MSS. to the Royal Library.
The MSS. now numbered some 10,000 and the printed
books 43,000, and there was full need for the catalogue by
Nicolas Clement. Now, too, in 1691, was appointed a
librarian, superior to the maitres and gardes, and responsible
not to the Surintendant, but to the King himself. This was
none other than the young son of the late Minister, Camille
Letellier, Abbe de Louvois. Under him were N. Clement and
Melchisedec Thevenot, the Orientalist, whose library of
290 Eastern MSS. was bought at his death. Clement
died in 1712, broken in spirit by the deplorable thefts from
the Library, successfully perpetrated in 1707 by the priest
Jean Aymont.
The last great collection acquired before the organisation
of the Library into separate Departments was the gift by
Roger de Gaignres in 1711-16 of the vast collection of
MSS. iUustrating the history of France gathered by or
copied for him. At the death of Louis XIV the Royal
Library contained over 70,000 volumes, of which but a
small part represented the fruits of the unpopular depot
legal, and the average value of which was therefore high.
Louvois died in 1718, and was succeeded by the greatest
of the long line of librarians of the family of Bignon, the first
of whom (Jerome I) was appointed in 1642, while the last did
not disappear till the Revolution.
LA BIBLIOTHfiQUE NATIONALE 67
The Abbe Jerome Bignon, who reigned till 1741, was a
man of real learning, and imbued not only with that passion-
ate love for the Library which it has so constantly inspired
in its servants, but with liberal ideas as to enlarging its
utility. Impressed by the impossibility of managing so
large and so rapidly swelling a collection without subdivision
of responsibility and of work, Bignon carried through in
1720-26 the organisation of the institution by Departments,
setting up the four still existing, and also that known as the
Cabinet des Titres et des Genealogies, which lapsed at the
Revolution into a subsection of the Manuscripts. At the
same time he purchased from the holders the offices of
Curator of the Library of the Louvre, in which Henri IV's
own collection had remained, and that of the Library of
Fontainebleau ; and he absorbed these two collections into
the Royal Library.
Having thus reorganised and unified the national collec-
tions, Bignon proceeded to make them available to scholars.
He obtained a Royal edict in 1735, which became effective
in the following year, opening the Library on two mornings
a week (Thursday and Friday) to students without the
necessity for influence which had attended admission before.
The number of books to be issued to a reader was strictly
limited ; but in practice the Library was open on other days
to a more deserving class of reader than entered on the
public mornings ; and to them there were no such restric-
tions.
The first library in Europe to be explicitly open for study
had been the Bodleian, in 1612 ; the second, and the first
in France, was the Mazarine, in 1643.
To an organised and accessible library there wanted
up-to-date catalogues, and the Abbe Bignon provided these
also, the earliest which are still of daily use: (i) of the
printed books, in certain large classes, published in 6
68 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
vols., 1739-53 ; and (2) of the MSS., published in 4 vols.,
1739-44.
The Abbe Bignon retired in 1741, aged 80, during the
publication of the general catalogue ; he was succeeded by
his nephew, Bignon de Blanzy, who only held office for two
years, and was succeeded in his turn by his brother, Armand
Jerome Bignon.
Under the new regime the flood of accessions continued ;
for Louis XV was anxious to carry on the tradition of
Louis XIV, and supported the Library as liberally when
purchases of whole collections were to be made. In 1756
the chapter of Notre Dame, anxious to find funds for the
reparation of the church, offered to sell their splendid collec-
tion of 301 ancient MSS., and the King bought it.
In 1743 the Jesuits were expelled from Paris and their
three great libraries fell in. That given the Fathers by the
learned and book-loving Bishop Huet of Avranches a century
earlier on condition that it should not be alienated, was
successfully reclaimed by his family's representatives, and
was handed over eventually to the Crown. Other celebrated
collections which came in in this period were the charters
of the President de Mesnieres and the books and MSS. of
de Fontanieu (both 1765) ; the last before the Revolution
was a large selection, 700 printed books, many from early
presses, and 255 MSS., bought at the sale of the due de la
Valliere's Library in 1784 for 117,577 livres ; Louis XVI, in
spite of the economic troubles of his reign, supported the
Library generously.
In 1772 Armand Jean Bignon was succeeded by his son
Jean Frederic, who, after taking steps to strengthen the
working of the depot legal, retired in 1781, thus bringing to
an end a dynasty which had lasted with gaps for all but a
century and a half.
When the Revolution broke out the Royal Library was
LA BIBLIOTHQUE NATIONALS 69
declared National. The edict of 1789 which made the
change set up a college or directoire of eight of the senior
officials, who were to elect a director from their number.
The edict is eloquent on the evils of the previous hereditary
system, but its condemnation is based less on fact than on
the necessity to find tyranny and abuse in every part of the
ancient regime.
Before the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, there had
been appointed a remarkably energetic Conservateur des
Imprimes ; this was Van Praet, who is perhaps best known
to bibliographers by his catalogue of books printed on
vellum, but who served the Library nobly at a vital time.
For, after a short set-back, the inflowing tide of acquisitions
for the Library began again. Not only did the successful
arms of France, and most of all Napoleon's, bring back
spoils of conquest some of which, it is true, were given up
after Waterloo but all the libraries of the suppressed
monasteries and also of the bmigrts who had not been able
to get them out of the country and sell them to such collectors
as Lord Spencer or Cracherode. These vast accumulations
were heaped together in Paris, and were known as " les
depots litteraires." Van Praet secured the first pick, and
working with incredible energy, and being endowed with a
retentive memory, he gathered into the National Library
no less than 300,000 books lacking in the collections, or as
many as had been there in 1789.* By 1818 the Library
was reckoned to contain 800,000.
It was under Van Praet that, at the MacCarthy sale in
1817, the Library secured a copy of the very rare first dated
printed book, the 1457 Psalter of Fust and Schoeffer. Van
Praet died in 1838, and was followed (not directly) by
Naudet (1840-58), after whom the directoire was abolished,
* The d6p6ts Iitt6raires were subsequently picked over for the Arsenal
Library, and the residue distributed aniQBg provincial libraries^ forming
the link between them Jffl4 the State,
70 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
giving way to the present system of an Administrator
General appointed by the Minister of Public Instruction.
The history of the nineteenth century in the Library is
largely the history of the catalogues, which are dealt with
in another section below. Much was done under Tascher-
eau (1852-74), but more by far, including the inception of
the author catalogue and the building of the Salle de Travail,
under Leopold Delisle (1874-1907). Delisle was a
palaeographer, and was Conservator of the Manuscripts
from 1871-74 before he was placed in charge of the whole
Library. To the end of his life he devoted himself to
mediaeval, and particularly to palaeographical, studies ; and
it is the more remarkable that he was the most modernising
chief the institution had had since the Abbe Jerome Bignon,
a century and a half before his time. He was a man of
great width of outlook, but also of much obstinacy. It is
recorded that under the Commune he was summarily dis-
missed by the politicians, clothed in their little brief
authority, and (folding his arms, one supposes, in the
attitude of the best known photograph of him) merely did
not go, but continued to appear at his place every morning
as if nothing had happened. His constancy was not put
to a very long test ; it was the Commune that went first.
The war (1914-18) brought the Library a poverty which was
new to it, and which has not yet left it, though it is some-
what alleviated. With the fallen value of the franc, and the
general economic uncertainty and difficulty of the time,
the credit voted for the National Library became inadequate
for most purposes, and derisory for the supply of foreign,
and still more of rare, books. The Library had never lacked
friends, and the Societe des Amis des Grandes Biblioth&ques
de France has helped it to make use of opportunities of
making acquisitions. A new source of funds has also been
found in the closing of the Galerie Mazarine during the war s
LA BIBLIOTHQUE NATIONALE 71
The permanent exhibition previously held there was not
restored after the return of peace, on the ground that the
pages of books and MSS. exhibited were suffering from the
light. In place of the permanent exhibition periodical
special exhibitions are now held, loans being accepted.
The charge to visitors to these produces a by no means
negligible sum annually towards purchases of rare books
and MSS.
Of the modernising work of the two latest administrators
it is difficult to speak, since both are happily alive and
young. M. Roland Marcel, now exercising his diplomatic
gifts as Prefect of the Lower Rhine, was appointed in 1924 ;
M. Julien Cain in 1930. Neither (and this was the occasion
of some heartburning in the profession) had been a trained
librarian, whereas the Ministry had yielded, by a decree,
to the principle that every other appointment to this post
should go to an archiviste-paleographe. But the appoint-
ments were very successful. It would be unjust to suggest
that before them the administration was merely backward
and inefficient ; but it was hardly abreast of the modern
technical developments of librarianship, however high the
Library's ancient tradition of scholarship still stood. In the
last nine years the consortium of the great Parisian libraries
has been formed; union catalogues of their periodicals
published and taken in hand ; the rate of production of the
author-catalogue greatly hastened ; the current accession
lists regularly published; space found by relegating the
newspapers to Versailles and fitting up basements in the
old building; the fine Salle Ovale made ready for the
reading of current numbers of periodicals ; the service of
books to the Salle de Travail facilitated by mechanical
devices, whereas it had inevitably been retarded by the
employment of " mutiles de guerre " ; the service of photo-
graphy and information placed upon a busing footing;
72 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
and the Library converted into the central focus of the
bibliographical service of the country ; fresh funds, even if
still inadequate, were extracted from the Government for
the annual credits and especially for the purchase of foreign
books ; and the intake of books from the depot legal much
increased. All this modernisation and rationalisation of
the old Library is in the true spirit of the Abbe
Bignon and of Leopold Delisle, and has, no more than it
did with them, lowered the standard of learning in the
staff.
France was the first country to have a system of legally
enforced deposit of new books. So early as December 28,
1527, by the Ordonnance de Montpellier, Frangois I ordered
that one copy of every book printed in France should be
deposited in his Librairie Royale at Blois, and that a copy of
every book printed abroad and sold in France should be
offered to that Library for purchase.
In 1617 an edict ordered the deposit of two copies, as a
condition of privilege, whereas the element of trade privilege,
like that of censorship, was entirely lacking from the Ordon-
nance of 1537.
Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
there were constant complaints by the Royal Librarians, and
constant and unsuccessful attempts to enforce the statutory
delivery of copies. In 1672, it is worth noticing, engravings
were claimed by an Arret du Conseil d'fitat of May 17,
with a retrospective clause indicating that they had been
legally claimable at least 20 years earlier.
The connection of legal deposit with literary property,
which has existed in Great Britain since the Act of Queen
Anne, was more clearly made than by the edict of 1617,
by a decree of July 19-24, 1793 ; of any books for which
copyright was desired, two copies might be voluntarily
deposited, and it was only a$ an afterthought that th fruits
LA BIBLIOTH&QUE NATIQNALE 73
of this arrangement were attached to the Bibliotheque
Nationale.
Napoleon I made deposit compulsory again in 1810, by
a law clearly intended to assist police surveillance of the
press. The Ministry of Police was made responsible, and
five copies were deposited. By an Ordonnance of 1828 the
Ministry of the Interior, which had in 1817 absorbed the
powers of Napoleon's Ministry of Police, received only two
copies, retaining one ; but soon these second copies began
to be allotted to other libraries.
In 1925, a new law completely altered the conditions of
the depot legal one copy had to be deposited by the printer
in the offices of the Ministry of the Interior, the other sent
direct to the Bibliotheque Nationale by the publisher.
The deposit applies to all editions of a newspaper as well
as of a book, even if unaltered ; owing to the original police
motive of the nineteenth century law the time for deposit
is that of publication. It does not include privately printed
books, but does include engravings.
The allocation of the second copies follows a well-defined
scheme. No library outside Paris benefits. Novels, poetry,
modern history, and newspapers go to the Arsenal; art,
bibliography, archaeology and the like, foreign languages and
local history to the Mazarine ; theses and law to the Ste.
Genevieve ; scholarship and fine printing to the Sorbonne ;
the two last-named divide literary criticism and history and
the exact sciences.
BUILDINGS
The earliest information we have of the housing of the
Royal Library is that the choice books of Charles V, under
the care of Gilles Mallet, were placed in three rooms in a
tower of the Louvre, and that the windows were wired
against the incursions of birds and beasts. Under Louis
74 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
XII the reformed collection was kept at Blois, while a second
library was formed at Fontainebleau by Frangois I. The
Library of Blois was brought to Paris under Charles IX and
secured by Henri IV first in the College de Clermont, then
in the monastery of the Cordeliers, and a little later in a
house in the rue de la Harpe belonging to the same com-
munity. Such frequent removals, at first no doubt inspired
by fear of the religious troubles of the time, cannot but have
damaged the books.
At this time a third collection grew, called " le Cabinet
du Roi/' a more personal appanage of the sovereigns, which
was kept in the Louvre. The three were only amalgamated
under a single control by the Abbe Bignon in 172026.
In 1666 Colbert, then Surintendant des Batiments du
Roi, and an enthusiastic supporter of the Library, moved it
to a small house in the rue Vivienne, at the end of the garden
of his own town house. From that it had but a step to
move to its first foothold on the site which it now occupies.
Louvois, who succeeded Colbert as Surintendant, and who
followed him in his care for the Library, intended to move it
to a building to be erected on the site of the hotel Vendome,
then newly acquired by the Crown ; but at his death in
1691 the project was abandoned. In 1720, the moment
when the Abbe Bignon was reorganising the library, opening
it to students, securing its charter from the King, and arrang-
ing for publishing catalogues, the opportunity presented
itself of moving it into a more commodious home close by
that it then occupied. The financier Law,
qui mit la France a Thopital,
after the collapse of his bubble, had to vacate the hotel de
Nevers in the rue de Richelieu, which was confiscated. The
hotel de Nevers was really a combination of the old hotel de
Tubeuf, on the rue des Petjts Champs, built in 1634 (now
LA BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE 75
containing the private quarters of the Administrator General
and the Secretary), with additions by Mazarin of a wing,
designed by Mansart, at the back of the garden on the rue
Vivienne, built to house his art collections, and now con-
taining the Print Room on the ground floor, and of his
private chapel and library on the rue de Richelieu, which ran
on the north past the present opening of the rue Colbert.
But only parts of the complex were used for the Library and
its departments ; other parts were put to other uses, the
Galerie Mazarine, for example, being given to the Bourse,
and yet other parts to the Treasury, which institutions
only evacuated the site in 1825 and 1826 respectively.
In the second quarter of the nineteenth century, the period
in which the flood of books produced by the steam press
and the paper-machine drove all the great libraries to ex-
pansion, the architect Visconti proposed to destroy the hotel
Tubeuf and the hotel de Nevers, and to erect on their sites
a lofty new building, and at the same time to take in some
private houses adjoining the Library in the rue Vivienne.
In 1854 Visconti was succeeded as governmental architect
by Henri Labrouste, whose name will always be associated
with the building. Labrouste restored and adapted the
hotel Tubeuf and the Galerie Mazarine, whose beautiful
painted ceiling was in a precarious condition. On the two
meeting lines of the rue des Petits Champs and the rue de
Richelieu, however, his work was entirely new. He re-
moved the buildings at this angle and built new wings to
hold the library, with interior metal stacks (the " magasin ")
and the great metal-built and columned Salle de Travail,
approached from the Cour d'Entree or Coiir d'Honneur to
the north, which opens on to the rue de Richelieu and place
de Louvois.
Though Labrouste imitated the British Museum's use of
the new engineering methods in building the stacks an<J
7 6 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
reading room, he did not follow the plans in detail. The
round plan for the room, so difficult to fit into a rectangular
frame without waste of space, he rejected in favour of a
very large oblong room, the roof of which, as he had re-
nounced the advantages of a dome, he supported by slender
iron columns. At the further (southern) end a large apsidal
recess gives space for the administration of the room and
communication with the stacks. The only drawback to this
plan is that the administration is separated by the whole
length of the room from the control at the entrance. Separ-
ate tables were allotted to readers using books from the
reserve ; rather curiously in a library where the collection
of rare books is so large and important, a special room
has only now, in 1934, been found for this purpose.
The Departments of MSS., of Prints, and of Medals,
have all large and most beautifully proportioned and
furnished rooms, true to the French tradition by which a
library or museum partakes of the character of, even where
it has not actually been, a private house. It must be
admitted that the dignity and charm of the interiors
are belied by the outer fa$ades, which are somewhat
dull and forbidding ; it must be remembered, however, that
they stand over narrow streets, and that security was a
primary need. In the Department of Printed Books there
are, in addition to the great Salle de Travail, three other
rooms : (i) the Salle de Geographie, which is something
more than a map room ; (2) the Salle Ovale ; (3) the Salle
des societes savantes ; and (4) the Salle publique de lecture.
It seems to be the general opinion that (4) is superfluous.
The comparative scarcity half a century ago in Paris
of readily accessible minor libraries for reference to
common books no doubt brought the Salle publique
into existence, and it has to-day a separate stock of
40,000 books. But its use i rapidly declining, no
LA BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE 77
PLAN II. LA BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS : GROUND FLOOR.
PLAN III. LA BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS : FIRST FLOOR.
78 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
doubt because the smaller public libraries of Paris are
being improved and more and more used, so that the
Bibliotheque Nationale can restrict itself to its proper
function of serving more advanced studies. In the north-
east angle of the building formed by the rue Colbert and the
rue Vivienne is enclosed, rather after the fashion of the
British Museum Reading Room, a very large and lofty oval
hall (3), which was planned to serve as the Salle publique de
lecture. But another and more profitable use has now been
found for it ; it is being fitted up as a room for the consulta-
tion of recent numbers of periodicals. It is, no doubt, a
little overlarge for the present demand for this purpose,
but it may be anticipated that that will expand. The
building of the Salle Ovale and the wings enclosing it on
the street sides on the sites of private houses acquired in
1878 was the last step in the completion of the island site
which had been entered on in 1720. In 1888 the main
entrance upon the place de Louvois was opened. At the
time of writing storage and service rooms, office of the depot
legal, dark rooms, etc., are being contrived in the basements
round the Cour d'Honneur, and more space in the north
wing is being found by transferring the newspapers to a
new repository at Versailles.
CATALOGUES
A. GENERAL AND OF PRINTED BOOKS
The catalogues, in themselves a library by now, began
early to be made. The short general list of 1622, compiled
by Nicolas Rigault with Saumaise (perhaps better known as
Salmasius) and Hautin,* was based on an older MS. inventory
which is preserved and bears the numbers MSS. fr. 5665,
* Titles of catalogues are not set out bibliographicaUy here, as space
is lacking, and they may be found in Annuals des bibhoth&ques and Mme.
Dupuy's article (Revue des BtbUoth&ques, 1932).
LA BIBLIOTHQUE NATIONALS 79
5685. Only 21 years later came another, made by the
brothers Dupuy, whose own fine library was to be bequeathed
to the King by Jacques, the survivor of the pair ; in the
last part there are 1,329 printed books. In 1684, after
reclassifying the Library in 1675-84, Nicolas Clement made
yet another in 14 volumes, containing the classes, with
21 volumes of index ; the number of printed books had now
risen to 43,000. Clement's catalogue remained unprinted,
but it was supplemented finally in 1714, and in 1736 Dom
Jacques Loyau, a Benedictine of St. Maur, added a subject
index in 15 volumes, which is still used. Clement's cata-
logue and its supplements followed the shelf arrangement
of the books, and acted as an inventory.
The Abbe Bignon's plan for separate catalogues of
printed books and of MSS. to follow his reorganisation of
the collections into departments began to take effect in
1739. The classes covered by the six volumes of the class-
catalogue of printed books covers : (i) Theology, 2 vols.,
1739-42 ; (2) Canon, Natural and Public Law, I vol.,
*753 ; (3) Belles lettres, 2 vols., 1750 ; and (4) Civil Law,
unfinished.
In 1840 the main classification and catalogue remained
unchanged, but supplements had multiplied, and there
was an author index in 89 volumes. Naudet, who came
into office in that year, undertook a large scheme of reclassi-
fication, which yet was limited by exigencies of staff, and
was not complete. He made the distinction between the
'* fonds porte " and the " fonds non porte." The former
consisted of the books which had been catalogued, arranged
by subject, and given fixed press-marks ; the latter of the
vast accumulations gathered in during the Revolution and
Empire. The problem lay, of course, with the fonds non
porte. This was roughly analysed into subjects, then each
subject into three size-divisions ; the books thus divided
8o NATIONAL LIBRARIES
were then arranged alphabetically on the shelves without
numeration, so that new accessions could be easily inter-
calated among them.
In 1852 Taschereau succeeded Naudet and governed for
the next 22 years. Arrears were caught up, and it was
possible to unify and organise certain classes of special
importance, and to publish catalogues of them. Of these,
L (History of France), Catalogue, 12 vols. and suppl.,
1855-95 ; and T (Medicine), Catalogue, 3 vols., 1857-89,
were undertaken in Taschereau's time. But a number more
were dealt with (as well as those two being completed)
under his successor, the famous Leopold Delisle. N (Great
Britain), (Spain and Portugal), O 2 (Asia), O 3 (Africa),
P (America), and P 2 (Oceania) were arranged and catalogues
were not printed but reproduced from handwriting, N in
1875-78, in 1833, O 2 in 1892, O 3 in 1895, P in 1903-11
and P 2 in 1912. The principle of arrangement of the
fonds non porte was a size division, followed by a class
letter, and then by a running number. Delisle started two
printed bulletins of accessions, that of foreign books, auto-
graphed, 1874-77, printed from 1877, and that of select
French books, from 1882, These were printed on one side
of the leaf, and copies were cut up and mounted in sheaf
form.
When the fonds ancien or porte and the fonds non
porte had been surveyed, in so far as they were not covered
by the class catalogues, and had been inventoried, all was
ready for Delisle's goal, the great General Catalogue. The
first and chief section, the catalogue of books by known
authors, began to appear in 1897. It has now reached Nezo
with Vol. CXIIL The slow progress of the catalogue was
responsible for a curious device adopted in about 1927, that
of the Photographic Catalogue. MS. titles of books in the
latter letters of the alphabet were assembled by companies
PLATE IX. LA BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS : THE
CENTRAL STACKS.
LA BIBLIOTHfiQUE NATIONALS 8r
of 32 on a frame, and there photostatted on large sheets.
These sheets, bound together, supplemented the author
catalogue.
The result of Dellsle's survey showed 2,048,893 press
marks, many of them covering a series of editions of the
same book, or a number of allied pieces. The remaining
sections of the catalogue, as planned by Delisle in con-
junction with a committee of the Ministry of Public In-
struction appointed in 1893, are (2) Anonyma and books of
collective authorship ; and (3) certain special classes. Of
one special section, the Acts of the Kings of France, one
volume, from the beginning to Henri IV, appeared in 1910.
Delisle dreamed of a further stage, a joint or union catalogue
of the greater Parisian libraries which should facilitate
lending where there was more than one copy of a book in
Paris, but not otherwise. The consortium of 1927 was
therefore only carrying out the idea of an earlier day, and
was one of the good fruits of adversity. Napoleon, it may
be mentioned here, had conceived, in 1805, a far more drastic
scheme, by which the Bibliotheque Nationale should make
a forced exchange wherever another French library possessed
a book not represented in it, giving in return a duplicate.
An exchange of duplicates among the greater Parisian
libraries did take place under Taschereau, in 1860, while
the General Catalogue of Incunabula in the public libraries
of France (Pellechet Polain, vols. 1-3, A Gregorius, 1897-
1909) is an example of the centralisation which comes so
much more easily to Frenchmen than to us.
Since 1921 the bulletin of French accessions received
through the depot legal has carried the united libraries'
press-marks, though it appears in the weekly trade journal
la Bibliographic de la France.
Other catalogues of the Departement des Imprimes are
the two reference catalogues of the Salle de Travail : Reper-
82 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
toire alphabetique des livres mis a la disposition des lecteurs,
1910 ; and
Liste des periodiques frangais et etrangers, 1907.
No catalogue of the books of reference in the Salle pub-
lique de lecture has appeared since 1894. The room, as
observed above, is rapidly going out of use.
Of two classes, alphabetical lists were produced in 1875
(autographed) : General history; and the History of Italy.
Other special catalogues are :
Van Praet's, of books printed on vellum, 10 vols., 1822-
28, with supplement by Delisle, 1877; Early Music, by
J. Ecorcheville, vols, 1-8, 1910-14; Facta and other
judicial documents anterior to 1790, 9 vols., 1890-1921 ;
the " Enfer/' by Guillaume Apollinaire and others, 1913 ;
and Montaigne, Voltaire, Hugo and other authors. A
recent and curious catalogue is that of Keepsakes, by F.
Lachevre, 1929.
The Section of Geography, or Map Room, has no pub-
lished general catalogue, but some special lists have ap-
peared.
The special reading room of the Bibliotheque des Societes
Savantes (formerly of the Comite des travaux historiques)
is served by the Bibliographie des travaux historiques et
archeologiques publies par les Societes savantes de la France,
by R. de Lasteyrie and others, with supplements, 1888 to
date. |
B. MANUSCRIPTS
The basic catalogue of manuscripts is, as of printed books,
that of 1739. The department is broadly divided into the
following " fonds " : Greek, Latin, French, and other
Western tongues, Charters and Oriental ; and in all these
great numbers of catalogues have appeared, mostly by
language. The following are the chief, but here too, as
LA BIBLIOTHfiOUE NATIONALE 83
in the Printed Books, very many catalogues have been
published outside the Library by their compilers, a peculiar
feature of the Bibliotheque Nationale, and evidence of the
interest taken in its collections by the lettered public, and
perhaps also of the inadequacy of its grant for printing.
Western.
Cartularies (French), 1907.
French, etc. (Les manuscrits frangais de la Bibliotheque,
du Roi : leur histoire, et celle des textes allemands,
Anglois, hoUandais, italiens, espagnols, de la merne
collection.) 1838-48.
Greek Inventaire Sommaire, 1886-98.
Catalogus codicum hagiographicorum grascorum,
1896.
Latin Inventaire (nos. 8823-18613, suppl. to catalogue
of 1739-44)- 1863-71.
Nouvelles acquisitions, 1871-4.
Catalogus codicum hagiographicorum latinorum,
1889-90.
Latin and French. Acquisitions, 1875-91. 1891.
1891-1910. 1912.
i89i-~i89i-annually.
French. Inventaire (I. Theology : II. Law, sciences and
arts). 1876-78.
Catalogue : ancien fonds, 1868-1902.
Catalogue general. [Suppl. to preceding.] 1895-
1902.
Table generale alphabetique, 1931.
American, 1925.
Celtic and Basque, 1890.
Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, 1887.
English, 1884.
German, 1895.
84 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Italian, 1886-88.
Mexican, 1899.
Netherlandish, 1886.
Rumanian, 1925.
Russian, etc., 1908.
Spanish and Portuguese, 1881-92.
Venetian, 1888.
Oriental.
Arabic, 1925.
Armenian and Georgian, 1908.
Burmese and Combodian, 1879.
Chinese, Corean and Japanese, 1900-12.
Coptic : Inventaire, 1906.
Catalogue, 1912.
Ethiopian, 1877.
Hebrew and Samaritan, 1866.
Persian, 1905-12.
Sanscrit and Pali, 1907-8.
Indian, Indo-Chinese and Polynesian, 1912.
Siamese, 1887.
Syriac and Sabaean, 1874.
Tibetan, 1909-15 (tomes 2-3).
Turkish, 1932.
Besides these, and the older and superseded general
catalogues of MSS.,* there is a library of catalogues of par-
ticular collections, given, bequeathed and purchased. Such
are those of the MSS. from St. Germain des Pres (1868),
Colbert (1908), Libri and Barrois (1888). Of special classes
may be mentioned the catalogues of the MS. sources of the
history of Paris (1915-16), of Paris under the Revolution
(1890-1914), and of many of the French provinces.
* An account of these is to be found in : Concordances des num&ros
anciens et des numeros actuels des manuscrits latins de la Biblioth&que
Nationals, precedees d'une notice sur les anciens catalogues, 1903.
LA BIBLIOTHfiQUE NATIONALE 85
The collection of reference, and notably of catalogues of
MSS., in the Salle de Travail of the Department, has a cele-
brity of its own. A special catalogue was published in 1924.
In 1912 M. Henri Omont, the lately-retired Conservateur,
published in the " Bulletin de la Societe franfaise de repro-
ductions des manuscrits a peintures " a second edition of
his Lisle des recueils de facsimiles et des reproductions de
manuscrits conserves 'a la BibliotJieque Nationale"
THE DEPARTMENTS
The Royal Library was undivided, under the care of its
Gardes and Maitres, till 1720, when the MSS. and Prints
(Estampes) were separated, and also a department of
" Titres et Genealogies/' which, as might be expected, did
not survive the Revolution, subsiding in 1790 into a sub-
section of the manuscripts. The bulk of the Library, the
Imprimes, received a Conservateur in 1726.
Orientalia are not divided formally from the Imprimes
and Manuscrits ; but maps form a well-organised sub-
section with an adequate room for their consultation. In
1829-39 they formed a separate department ; then they
were (logically enough) attached to the Prints, and only
in 1858 joined, as they now are, to the Printed Books,
In 1930 the Mazarine Library, which has a long inde-
pendent history, was incorporated into the Nationale as
a fifth department. Founded in 1643 by Cardinal Mazarin
for public use, and first presided over by Naude, at the fall
of Mazarin in 1649, in spite of fierce struggles to save the
library, it was all but dispersed ; part was sold with the rest
of his goods, but Christina of Sweden bought all the MSS. and
restored them to him. On his return to power in 1653,
Mazarin restored his library, and he eventually bequeathed
it to the College des Quatre Nations. It now contains a
quarter of a million printed books, including 1,900
86 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
incunabula ; also 5,800 MSS. It was here that the 42-line
Bible was first identified ; hence that Bible's older name
of " the Mazarine/'
The contents of the Library are now reckoned at :
4,000,000 printed books, exclusive of 500,000 volumes of
periodicals, and 125,000 MSS.
Accessions in 1929 * reached the following totals :
Legal deposit : f A.-PRINTED BOOKS
Volumes ....... 12,079
Music ....... 3.95O
Periodicals ...... 496,000
Miscellanea and posters .... 22,000
Maps ....... 490
New impressions ..... 2,270
Purchases :
Works ....... 2,583
Periodicals ...... 23,500
Gifts 4^,357
Maps, etc. :
Complete . . . . - . . I > 1 57
Continuations ...... 1,541
Volumes or bundles : B.-MANUSCRIPTS
Gifts ....... 325
Purchases. ...... ng
Readers and issues in 1932 were :
A. PRINTED BOOKS
Readers. Issues.
Reading Room .... 170,824 543,191
Public Reading Room . . . 19,794 23,650
Map and Societies' Rooms . . 3,172 14,281
B. MANUSCRIPTS
Reading Room .... 27,383 62,794$
* See report printed in Revue des Bibliothiques, ann. 40 (1930), nos. 1-6,
pp. 152-163.
f The strengthened law had by that year come into operation.
j This figure does not include a small number of volumes on loan from
or lent to other libraries.
LA BIBLIOTHQUE NATIONALS 87
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
Assistance to students outside the walls of the Library
by the aid of photography dates from 1877 I i n J 9 2 5 a
second studio was installed for rotography by artificial
light
In the following year there was established, as an addition
to and independent of the Library service, an Office for
Documentation, which is conducted by the Society of
Friends of the National Library and of the Great Libraries
of Paris, and which undertakes (for fees) researches and the
supply of photographs, thus taking a considerable burden
off the shoulders of the staff.
In 1927, actuated by the desire to economise duplication
in book purchases, the Ministry co-ordinated into a group,
the BibKotheque Nationale, the Arsenal, the Mazarine and
the Ste. Genevieve. The last named of these was subse-
quently dissociated from the others and has become the
central library of the University of Paris. The Mazarine,
on the other hand, was incorporated outright as a new
department of the Nationale.
The accessions of the group are now the basis of the
national current register of French publications, la Biblio-
graphie de la France, and of the current catalogue of new
foreign books received. Their combined stores of scientific
periodicals have been catalogued (by Lacroix and Bultin-
gaire) in 1927 ; and those in other fields are being catalogued
by M. Henri Stein.
Loans of books from library to library, both in France
and between French and foreign libraries, are controlled
and centralised by the Bibliothque Nationale.
In 1927 was commenced a repertory on slips of special
collections in French provincial libraries. The Inspectorate
of Libraries organised a thorough inquiry, and as a result
88 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
the material in hand, greatly enlarged, has been published
(1933) as Les Richesses des bibliotheques provinciates
franfaises. The Bibliotheque Nationale contributed
officially (which some national libraries, including the
British Museum did not) to the revised edition (1932) of
the bibliography of periodical and other current biblio-
graphies, Index Bibliographicus, by Drs. M. Godet and J.
Vorstius. The Library has also been the centre of another
organisation of national scope for a similar end that served
in England by the AS LIB Directory, and in the United
States by the Library of Congress the orientation of the
student towards the best sources of information, mainly
bibliographically considered. This organisation is con-
nected with the Union Frangaise des Organismes de Docu-
mentation, commonly called U.F.O.D., and its directory is
maintained on cards in the Library.
STAFF
The staff consists of :
i Administrator-General.
1 General Secretary.
5 Conservators : of Printed Books, Manuscripts, Prints,
Medals, and the Mazarine Library respectively, or
three, if we omit Prints and Medals.
12 Assistant Conservators.
45 Assistants (Bibliothecaires).
n Aides de Bibliotheque.
2 Accountant's Clerks.
3 Clerks in the Depot Legal.
i Superintendent of the Bindery.
12 Binders (men and women).
1 Head Warder.
2 Deputy Head Warders.
94 Police Warders and Cleaners.
LA BIBLIOTHQUE NATIONALS 89
That allotted to the Departments of Prints and Medals
is small in proportion.
The scientific staff is recruited from candidates with one
of a number of qualifications laid down by a decree of
May 24, 1927 ; either the candidate must be any one of :
(a) Doctor of Letters or Science (State diploma).
(b) " Agrege de FEnseignement secondaire J> ;
(c) Member of the Schools of Rome or Athens ;
(d) Archivist paleographer ; or
(e) Diplomat of the School of Modern Oriental Languages.
Or any two of :
(a) Licenciate in Letters or Science ;
(b) Certified Teacher of Modern Languages (second grade) ;
(c) Diplomat of the Ecole pratique des hautes etudes ;
(d) du Louvre ;
(e) Doctor of a University in Science and Letters ;
(/) in Law ;
(g) Medicine;
(h) Diplomat in Chemistry (first class) ;
(f) Certificate for Librarianship in University or " classed "
municipal libraries ;
or have passed out of the Ecole Polytechnic, or the Central
School of Arts and Crafts, or have been employed for five
years in a university or classed municipal library.
The intermediate grade of Aide de bibliotheque is recruited
from candidates possessing either the
(a) baccalaureat ;
(6) diplome de fin d'etudes secondaire de jeunes filles ;
(c) brevet superieur ;
(d) elementaire;
(e) d'etudes primaires superieures (section
generale).
go NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Candidates compete in a simple written and oral examina-
tion of a general character, but including" elements of
bibliography, and making and using of catalogues ; selected
candidates are allowed a month's practice in a national
library in order to acquire the special knowledge involved
and also, doubtless, in order to give the chiefs a chance to
estimate their capabilities.
Women are eligible for and figure in both the scientific
and intermediate grades.
FINANCE
Under Louis XV the budget of the establishment was
about 68,000 livres ; in 1778 it rose to 83,000, in 1788
to 169,000, while special grants were made for consider-
able purchases. The economic distress which brought on
the Revolution is reflected in a fall in 1790 to 110,000 ;
but the claims of the Library were understood by some at
least of the revolutionary leaders, and in the year IV the
grant stood at 192,000, or its highest point till then.
In 1805 Napoleon conceived the idea that the National
Library should contain all considerable works, an ideal
perhaps not at that date quite beyond the powers of a
victorious world power,, if time and the printing press have
now reduced it to the level of a dream. He gave the
Library an annual special grant of fr. 132,000, to enable it
to fill gaps and purchase new books. In the next half
century the Library prospered; under the Restoration
extra grants aggregated fr. 300,000 ; in 1838, in addition
to the regular budget of fr. 272,000, there was a special grant
of fr. 100,000, and binding and purchase absorbed fr. 174,000.
But at one point under the Second Empire the total fell to
fr. 73,202. It was curiously enough the year of the Commune
that saw it rise to fr. 301,000. Under the Third Republic the
Library was fairly well supported until the war of 1914-18.
LA BIBLIOTHfeQUE NATIONALE 91
In 1932 the chief expenses were :
Staff ........ 4300,000 frs.
Lighting, heating, administrative printing, etc. . 533>ooo
Purchases and binding . 685,000
Upkeep of bindery ..... 50,000
Printing catalogues ..... 425,000
Lighting and heating, other printing, office
expenses, etc. ..... 533,000
Sundries ....... 60,000
6,053,000 frs.
The purchase-grant, which in the years immediately
after the war feU to derisory levels, was somewhat
restored by the efforts of the Administrator-General,
M. Roland Marcel, and also by the proceeds of the
splendid series of special exhibitions held in the Galerie
Mazarine. But as M. Marcel observed in his report for
1929, it had far to go before it equalled that of 1913 in
purchasing power. In 1906 the figure was fr. 156,500, of
which fr. 87,700 went to purchase printed books. But the
franc of 1932 is far from being worth a quarter of its pre-
decessor of 1906, as it should be if the 685,000 francs were
to do the work of the 156,500 of the earlier year.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Guide du lecteur a la Bibliotheque Nationale, a la Mazarine
et a 1' Arsenal. 2nd edition. 1930.
Annuaire des Bibliotheques et des Archives. Nouvelle
edition . . . par A. Vidier. 1927.
Couderc, C. Notice sur la Bibliotheque Nationale. (Ex-
trait de la Grande Encyclopedic.) 1888.
Delisle, L. V. Bibliotheque Nationale. Rapport sur les
Collections du Departement des Imprimes. 1885.
Notes sur le Departement des Imprimes. 1891.
92 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Introduction, pp. Ixxxii, in : Catalogue general des
livres imprimes de la Bibliotheque Nationale : Auteurs,
Vol. i, 1897.
Le Cabinet des Manuscrits. 3 vols., 1868-81.
Dupuy, Suzanne. L'Activite bibliographique et docu-
mentaire a la Bibliotheque Nationale (et liste generale
des catalogues), in : Revue des Bibliotheques, 1932,
trimestres 1-2.
Franklin, A. Precis de Thistoire de la Bibliotheque du
Roi, aujourd'hui Bibliotheque Nationale. Deuxieme
edition, corrigee et tres-augmentee. 1875.
Histoire de la Bibliotheque Mazarine et du Palais de
Flnstitut. Ed. 2, 1901.
Labrouste, tL La Bibliotheque Nationale, ses batiments
et ses constructions. 1885.
Lemaitre, H. Histoire du depot legal, ire parte (France).
(Societe frangaise de bibliographie.) 1910.
Marcel, H., Bouchot, H., and Babelon, E. La Biblio-
theque Nationale. (Les Grandes Institutions de France.)
1907. [Lays special stress on the Medals and Prints
and on the buildings.]
Mortreuil, T. La Bibliotheque Nationale, son origine et
ses accroissements jusqu'a nos jours. Notice historique.
1878.
Vallee, L. La Bibliotheque Nationale : choix de docu-
ments pour servir a Thistoire de Tetablissement et de ses
collections. 1894.
The annual report normally appears in the Revue des
Bibliotheques. None was issued for 1931.
HI
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,
WASHINGTON
Ill
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,
WASHINGTON
FOUNDATION AND HISTORY
THOUGH the United States until very recent times did not
possess an actual national library, and even to-day do not
possess one which is so called, they are honoured by a library
which in all but name is among the three most active and
beneficent of all. This is the Library of Congress, at
Washington, District of Columbia.
The Continental Congress from its inauguration in 1774
used the libraries of the New York Society and the Phila-
delphia Library Company for necessary reference ; but in
1783 a committee recommended the purchase of books,
of which they submitted a list, on law and international
relations, and they further recommended that all books
on the antiquities of America and on the affairs of the
United States be collected without delay. The proposal was
defeated by the economists ; and the report of a second com-
mittee, appointed six years later on the motion of one of
its members, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, though it
was allowed to lie on the table, produced little more effect.
The two Houses of Congress, the Senate and Representatives,
did, however, if casually, acquire small libraries in the next
few years.
In 1800 Congress was transferred to the new city of
Washington, and so incidentally lost its access to the
libraries of New York and Philadelphia. A fifth section was
therefore added to the Act removing the Government to
95
96 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
its new home, providing for the establishment of a library
of the two Houses, under the control of a joint committee,
at an initial cost of $5,000. In 1802 a further Act ordered
the unification of the separate libraries of the Houses, and
the appointment by the President of the United States of a
librarian, to be paid not more than $2.00 for each day of
attendance. Three days after the passing of this, the real
foundation Act of the Library of Congress, on January 29,
1802, President Jefferson, an ardent friend of the Library,
appointed as the first Librarian John Beckley, the Clerk of
the House of Representatives. Beckley survived his
appointment only five years, dying on April 8, 1807, being
followed in both offices by Patrick Magruder.
In 1806 the President further manifested his interest by
drawing up a catalogue of desirable books, to which he did
not admit books of entertainment or more than few books
in foreign languages, but in which public law, parliamentary
procedure and the like were very full ; and his plan was
made use of, though modern literature soon bulked large.
The books meanwhile were moved from the office of the
Clerk of the Senate in the Capitol to the first room of the
House of Representatives, newly vacated by that body, and
again in 1805 to a Committee Room. These quarters had
not been solidly rebuilt, and were internally of wood with
a shingle roof. In 1812 the Anglo-American War broke
out, and in its last year, 1814, the British troops fired the
Capitol and totally destroyed the Library, or all that was
left in situ, a few loads of books having been removed for
safety. It had numbered about 3,000 volumes.
This act was generally condemned, though it is improb-
able that the commanding officer responsible was thinking
about a trifling little library, even if he knew it was there,
or, indeed, about anything but the destruction of the building
which symbolised the still new and unforgiven sovereign
w
co
CO
O
&
O
u
M
W
ffi
H
PLATE XII. THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON :
THE ENTRANCE HALL.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 97
nationhood of the ex-colonies. Various offers of help with
books came in, far the most important being that of Jeffer-
son's fine private library, which he offered for purchase on
the House's own terms. After acrimonious debate, in which
the presence in the collection of the works of the Philosophes
and their disciples was freely animadverted on, the authority
to contract for the purchase was given, and the library
valued and purchased for $23,950. It was far richer in
literature than in law and politics. Many of the books were
rare, and the price for the 6,000 volumes was moderate.
But newspaper controversy on party lines ran high, and
much ink was shed. The books were moved in 1815,
Jefferson hoping with good reason that they " might not be
without some general effect on the literature of our country."
Magruder had been away unwell at the time of the burning
of the Library, his assistant, J. T. Frost, being in charge.
The failure to remove the books brought down such censures
that he resigned his posts of Clerk and (by inference) of
Librarian. The offices were now divided, and the new
Librarian was George Watterston, who had made a name
as a journalist and author ; in 1816 his salary was raised
from the dollar a day to $1,000 a year, and in 1818 to $1,500.
The second Library, after various abortive proposals,
was established in the north wing of the new Capitol in
1818 ; then in 1824 moved to much better quarters at the
back of the centre building, where it occupied a hall in the
style of library building of the time, 90 feet long, 30 wide
and 35 high, divided into twelve arched alcoves. Here it
was almost immediately (on the night of December 22, 1825)
very nearly burned in its turn, but it was seen in time to be
on fire, and the damage done was not great this time.
Annual appropriations for purchases at this time averaged
|i,8oo, but were extraordinarily erratic, varying from
nearly $4,000 to $53. The day of large things was not yet,
98 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
and Obadiah Rich's collection of Americana vetustissima was
allowed to go to Lenox. But there were members of Congress
who had the vision of a national library, and a few important
documents were secured, though the proposal of an active
promoter of the Library, Mr. Everett, in 1822, that copies
of all papers in the archives of Great Britain bearing on the
history of the American colonies be secured, failed to find
acceptance ; the project had to wait a century for the
photostat and Mr. Rockefeller. With the annual growth,
largely of law books, the Library of Congress stood fourth
among the libraries of the United States, being topped by
Harvard, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Already the collec-
tion of public documents was reaching great proportions.
By an Act of 1828 the Library Committee was empowered
to remove imperfect and duplicate copies.
In 1829, during the recess, Watterston was removed from
office, by an act ultra vires of President Andrew Jackson,
to whose party his Whig journalism was obnoxious. A
battle of newspapers, conducted on orthodox party lines,
ensued, and Watterston fought in vain for reinstatement
tiH his death in 1854. He was succeeded by John Silva
Meehan, who had been alternately a printer and a sailor.
He took the Library seriously and visited others in order
to study method. Nevertheless, like his predecessor, he
lost his post with equal illegality, and from the same party
rage (though more excusably), being removed by Lincoln
on the ground that he sympathised with the Southern
States. This was not till 1861, and he died in 1863.
In Meehan's time the Library continued to grow, and to
outgrow its space, reaching by 1851 the total of 55,000
volumes, though two fine Italian libraries, the Buturlin
from Florence and the Durazzo from Genoa, were offered
in vain in 1836 and 1844. A new source of books was
provided by inter-governmental exchanges by the agency
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 99
of the enthusiast, Alexandra Vattemare, who had suggested
the system. In 1851 the total was reduced to some 20,000
by the Library's third fire. Plans were already in existence
for enlargement of space for it in an extended Capitol, to
hold a quarter of a million books. But after the fire the
work was placed in the hands of the Capitol's architect,
Thomas N. Walter, who designed a room, stone floored and
with cast iron shelving not unlike the later stack two
years before Panizzi's plan for the British Museum.
The restoration of the Library roused much instructed
public interest ; and in 1852 Congress voted first $10,000
for immediately needed books, and then $75,000. But
many opportunities of profitable purchases were missed,
including Benjamin Franklin's original MS. map of the
States, referred to in the Treaty with Great Britain of 1783,
which one would have thought a capital document in the
national history; Jefferson's and Hamilton's papers,
however, were bought after fierce debates in the Houses.
Meehan had been followed by John G. Stephenson, who
only ruled the Library for three years. In his place was
appointed in 1864 Ainsworth R. Spofford, who had been
Chief Assistant since 1861, and whose regime lasted till
1897, and brings us into our own times.
In 1864, says the present Chief Assistant Librarian, Dr.
Frederick W. Ashley,* " the Library of Congress was nothing
more than the name implied a legislative collection,
numbering but 82,000 volumes. ... It was national in
no sense but ownership." But this was the turning point.
Spoff ord was young and energetic ; and the Library by now
was considerable enough to have influential friends. Copy-
right deposit had existed since 1846 ; it was much strength-
ened by the Act of 1865. In 1866 the Smithsonian Institu-
* Three Eras in the Library of Congress [in] Essays offered to Herbert
1929, p. 57.
ioo NATIONAL LIBRARIES
tlon's collection of the publications of learned societies,
amounting to 40,000 volumes, was transferred ; " in 1867
the present system of international exchange was established ;
and Congress bought for $100,000 the Peter Force collection
of 60,000 volumes of Americana/' A separate building soon
became patently a necessity, though it did not come into
existence for another quarter of a century, and the necessity
was enforced by the receipt of Joseph Meredith Toner's
American and Medical Library of over 24,000 volumes. In
1886 a new library building, on the square immediately
east of the Capitol, was authorised, and in 1897 it was
completed.
In the Appropriation Act of 1897 Congress provided for
the reorganisation of its Library, on a far ampler scale ; and
it created the office of Register of Copyrights, under the
Librarian, whose position it defined and amply secured.
Spofford had served 32 years, and gave up his post to a
new Librarian, John Russell Young, but he continued for
a time as Chief Assistant. Young died after two years,
and after the defeat (by the aid of the American Library
Association) of efforts by various journalists and other
unqualified persons to obtain the post, it was given by
President McKinley to a young man, then Librarian of
Boston Public Library, a member of a leading publishing
family, Herbert Putnam, who to-day holds it, having in 34
years transformed it, and with it the conception of the
functions of such a Library, as Panizzi had done half a
century and more before.
In 1897 the Library possessed no system of classification,
no shelf list, no catalogue beyond an author shelf list on
cards, and a numerically inadequate and untrained staff.
The wealth was in space, for the building was designed to
hold 4,000,000 volumes, in the energy of the presiding brain,
and in the goodwill of Congress.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 101
There were over three-quarters of a million books, and
everything had to be done, first of all the collection of an
adequate staff, which was accomplished in the teeth of
some influential persons who retained the old idea of a
library post as a literary sinecure.
The history of the Library falls into three periods, its
infancy, from the foundation in 1800 to the appointment of
Spofford in 1864 ; its adolescence, during Spofford's Librian-
ship, 1864-97 ; and its maturity from 1897 onwards.
Much that has been done in the last of these three periods
will best be described under the various special headings,
and need merely be summarily referred to now.
In dealing with this library it is not possible to adhere
to our general principle of not praising living men by name.
Since Panizzi there has been no advance in the idea of a
library's service to the community to compare with Dr.
Putnam's shared, be it said, by many of his staff and no
such concrete achievement. But they would be the first
to wish it to be observed that the foundations of such vital
services as the catalogue and the classification had been
laid by Young, and by Spofford, who had not been too proud
to serve as Senior Assistant where he had for so long been
in command.
To summarise, then, the chief reforms and new activities
since 1897 :
(i) In the collections, increased budgets allowed for large
acquisitions in many fields, while the copyright privilege
was thoroughly exploited, and the Library was enabled to
acquire a legal entity and to hold trust funds ; so that
at the present day it contains over four and a half million
books, and may be the largest of the three great libraries.
" Consultants " have been appointed. A vast collection of
photostats of historical documents on Ameripa from foreign
archives has been formed,
102 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
(2) The fine building completed and occupied in 1897
has been extended, first by an enlargement of the stacks, then
by an addition at the back, and lastly, in anticipation, by
the acquisition of land and plans for a large " annex " across
the street.
(3) The administration has been thoroughly and logically
departmentaHsed.
(4) The card catalogue has been perfected, and has
become the source of catalogue supply in respect of new
books for over 5,000 libraries, as well as being a biblio-
graphical tool of great value wherever it has been deposited
as a whole.
(5) A great series of special catalogues and studies has
been published ; in 1899 no funds for this service existed.
(6) The classification has been carried forward and
all but completed, and takes rank as the best for large
general collections of books, as it is based upon the actual
contents of one such.
(7) Ample provision has been made for readers pursuing
serious investigations to work in close contact with the
part of the book store containing the collections on their
subject.
(8) Extra-mural services (beyond those of the catalogue
and the classification) have been inaugurated in the form
of Union Catalogues of important books in other American
libraries and of classical and medieval MSS. in American
collections, public and private, and of loans to other libraries.
CONSTITUTION
The constitution of the Library is unique. It dates from
the Appropriation Act of 1897.
Though executive in its functions and general in its
relations and service, the Library is not a bureau or depend-
gnt of any executive department, It is legally a dependant
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 103
of Congress, that is to say, of the Legislative branch. The
estimates for its maintenance and development, though
communicated to the Budget Bureau, are not subject to
revision there, but in effect reach Congress direct from the
Librarian. The Librarian reports not to the President or
head of any executive department, but direct to Congress.
On the other hand, he is appointed by the President, subject
to confirmation by the Senate. He appoints (and may
dismiss) his subordinates, and within the appropriations
granted has full authority in expenditures. He has even
power to " make rules and regulations for the government
of the Library."
There is, indeed, in each House a " Committee on the
Library" which may also sit as a Joint Committee, but
since 1897 this committee has been considered as not having
any concern with the current administration of the insti-
tution. It is not, therefore, in the position of a board of
trustees, nor, in the case of the Library of Congress, is there
any such board. The supervisory authority is, therefore,
Congress itself, with the Library Committee available for
the consideration of any substantive legislation affecting
it, or for any investigation of its affairs that may be desired.
The employees, including those concerned with the
building except the mechanical plant, are not within the
general Civil Service. The selection of them rests com-
pletely with the Librarian, with only the specification (also
in the Act) that he shall consider " solely fitness for the
particular duties " required in the position.
ADMINISTRATION AND DIVISIONS
The General Administration is controlled by the Librarian,
Chief Assistant Librarian, Executive Assistant, and Secretary.
There are five Service Divisions, those of the Reading
Room, Accessions, Cards, Catalogue and Classification,
104 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
There are sixteen Research Divisions, those of Aeronautics ;
Bibliography ; Catalogue ; Classification ; Documents ; Fine
Arts ; Legislative Reference Service ; Manuscripts ; Maps ;
Music; Periodicals; Chinese Literature; Semitic Litera-
ture ; Slavic Literature ; Smithsonian ; Law Library,
THE BUILDINGS
Until 1897 the Library had occupied an inconveniently
increasing part of the Capitol, in which all the sittings and
business of Congress had to be carried on. In 1888 the
necessary Act had been passed for the erection of a separate
library building, and $4,000,000 were appropriated for the
purpose.
Ten acres immediately to the east were cleared of houses,
and General Thomas Lincoln Casey, Chief of Engineers of
the Army, put plans in hand ; they were completed and the
erection supervised by Bernard R. Green.
The plans were drawn on the amplest scale, to the then
almost Utopian number of 4,500,000 volumes. It was then
built, and doubtless is with its extension to-day, the largest
purely library building in the world. The floor space of
the original structure measured 326,195 square feet, or
nearly 8 acres. The style is Italian Renaissance, the main
facing material being New Hampshire granite, with a lavish
use of marbles. The interior is richly decorated with
sculpture and paintings, fifty American artists having been
employed. The purely decorative frescos in the vaultings
are subdued and often beautiful ; but the more ambitious
works are no addition to the architecture. The outer wings
measure 470 feet north to south by 340 feet west to east.
In the centre of the parallelogram so formed is placed,
clearly on the model of the British Museum, the octagonal
domed Reading Room. From this four arms, dividing the
space into four smaller courts, join up with the main entrance
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 105
in front and with the working wing of the library behind,
and hold stacks to right and left. Two of the courts have
since been filled with additional stacks. The Reading Room
is 125 feet in height and is surrounded by alcoves. The
centre is occupied by a large raised structure, consisting of
the Superintendent's station and the contrivances for
sending pneumatic tubes holding call-slips to the stacks and
for receiving the books by the mechanical conveyors.
Both these devices for quickening delivery of books were
invented here, and both have been largely imitated else-
where. The Reading Room seats some 200 readers ; much
space is occupied by the card-catalogue cabinets. It is
fair to add that there are places for 200-300 readers in stacks,
in the 50 study rooms, as well as those in the special reading
rooms of Orientalia, Slavica, Prints, Maps, Music and
Periodicals (including current newspapers) and those for
members of the Senate and House of Representatives
respectively ; and also that the cabinets holding the author-
cards will probably be soon moved into the Annex to the
east, which will be mentioned later. The room is very
handsome, but is perhaps rather too ornate, and in this is
less successful than its prototype. Admission is free
without formalities ; but admission to the stacks is only
granted to " mature investigators."
The stacks represented an advance on earlier patterns,
and remain very satisfactory ; it had not, of course, been
realised at that date that daylight is not a consideration
in book-storage. They are of cold rolled sheet steel, and
were planned as early as 1888.
Congressmen have their own delivery station in the
Capitol ; it is linked with the Library by a tunnel 1,200 feet
long and by electric carriers.
The central member of the eastern (rear) wing has now
beep thrown forward, forming a spacious Extension. It
io6
NATIONAL LIBRARIES
THE LIBRARY OF COMGRESS FIRST FLOOR PLAN
PLAN IV. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON ; FIRST FLOOR,
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
107
FIRST STREET 3.E,
PL4N V, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON : SITE AND
io8 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
will provide further storage, and also the exhibition of rare
books, the Union Catalogue and the Bibliographic Division,
as well as relieving the Reading Room of the author section
of the catalogue.
This, which is not quite complete at the time of writing,
is not the only addition contemplated. In 1933 $1,000,000
were appropriated, and the Architect to the Capitol was
empowered to enter into contracts not exceeding $5,500,000
further, for the erection of an Annex for which ground had
already been acquired on the further side of the road facing
the Extension and adjoining the new Folger Shakespeare
Library. The centre of the Annex will be occupied by
a stack with a capacity of 8,000,000 volumes ; here will be
stored the bound newspapers (at present 88,600 volumes)
and other little-used matter. The enclosing structure
will house on the ground floor the Division of Copyright ;
on the second that of Printing and Binding ; on the third
that of Cards ; above, set back and surrounded by a roof
terrace, special reading rooms, including 150 study rooms.
The Annex will be connected with the main building
by a subway under the road, and served by mechanical
carriers.
THE COLLECTIONS
A, COPYRIGHT
After the fire of 1851 the Library contained only 20,000
books, including survivors from Jefferson's. Spofford,
appointed Librarian in 1864, was a man of far higher type
than his predecessors, and though not in the modern sense
trained, and though without adequate staff, he increased
the collections in his 32 years of office to nearly a million.
In 1870 the copyright works previously deposited in other
governmental offices were placed at the disposal of the
Library, which has, however, under the Act of 1909, the
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 109
right to select and reject, the rejected books being distributed
among other governmental libraries, and if not required
returned to the claimants of the copyrights. In 1931-
32,39,720 volumes were retained, 6,622 placed out, and
87,986 returned. Registration is an essential part of the
process of obtaining copyright, and the Register is placed,
by the Appropriation Act of 1897, under the Librarian of
Congress. Fees are charged.
During the past 62 years, the total of entries is 5,348,206.
Copyright books are all registered in weekly and monthly
lists from 1891.
B. EXCHANGES, ETC.
Through the Smithsonian Institution are now received
the transactions and other publications of learned societies
all over the world. The basic collection of the Institution
was handed over in 1866 at Dr. Spofford's suggestion. At
the same time the exchange of governmental publications
with foreign nations, obviously important to a parliamentary
library, was stimulated, and to-day about 36,000 volumes
are annually received from this source.
C. PURCHASES, BEQUESTS, ETC.
Appropriations for purchase, ample if never adequate for
all chances, are made annually ; that for 1932-33 amounted
to $130,000, exclusive of $50,000 for the law library and of
$90,000 for books for the blind. In 1930-31 a special
appropriation of $1,500,000 was made by Congress for the
purchase of the Vollbehr incunabula. In the earlier period
of the library, special grants of this kind, though much
smaller in amount, and debated by congressmen with
equal ignorance and vigour, were the main source of acces-
sions. Spofford was responsible for a number of important
acquisitions, beginning with the Peter Force collection
no NATIONAL LIBRARIES
of 60,000 volumes of Americana, bought in 1867, and the
Toner collection of medicine and American local history,
given in 1882. There comes a time in the development of
every great library when whole collections bring a burden of
many duplicates, unless power is taken to resell or exchange,
and the practice is only profitable in special fields. Accord-
ingly in more recent times the great acquisitions have been
special, the historical library of John Boyd Thacher (be-
queathed by his widow in 1927), the Yudin collection of
80,000 volumes of Slavic literature, bought in 1907 ; the
Schiff gift of Judaica ; collections of Scandinavian, Japanese
and Chinese books ; and the Vollbehr collection of 3,000
incunabula, including a copy on vellum of the 42-line Bible,
bought in 1930. The papers of most of the Presidents of
the United States are now to be found preserved in the
Library of Congress. A remarkable and novel gift is that
by Mrs. Frederic Coolidge of an auditorium for music and
an endowment for chamber concerts (1928). In most of
these fields gifts or purchases have turned weakness into
strength ; for example, in 1900 the Librarian reported an
almost total absence of Oriental literature.
The Library had until late years no independent legal
existence (what the French call " civil personality ") and
could not hold trust or other property. This hampering
disability was removed in 1925 by a special Act, creating
the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board, a quasi-corpora-
tion empowered to receive and administer personal property,
the income of which shall be applied " for the benefit of,
or in connection with, the Library, its collections, or its
service." The Board has now, in possession or assurance,
nearly $1,500,000.
Among the endowments have been five for the maintenance
of " Chairs " of American History, Geography, Fine Arts,
Music and Aeronautics. Each such Chair implies an
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS in
honorarium (about $3,000 per annum) which goes to the
chief of a division in additional to his government stipend
ensuring thus a competent specialist in the position. Ad-
ditional specialists in its service are the " Consultants/'
who, without administrative responsibilities, advise the
Librarian in the development of the collections and
inquirers in their respective fields in the effective use of
the collections and the apparatus. One such consultant-
ship (in Hispanic literature) is endowed ; the rest are at
present provided by a grant from one of the Rockefeller
Foundations. The Consultants are not on the government
pay roll, and receive merely an honorarium (about $2,500
per annum).
CATALOGUES AND CARD DISTRIBUTION
The catalogues began to appear soon after the foundation
of the Library. The first, of 1802, gave the money values.
Editions followed in 1808, 1812 and 1815, the last containing
Jefferson's books and being the work of Watterston. These
early catalogues and their successors, however, are now of
little actuality. In Spofford's reign an attempt was made
at a more ambitious printed author catalogue, but, like that
of the British Museum in the 'forties, it was stopped early
in its course of publication, not being complete when the
end came in 1878. The Subject Catalogue of 1869 is,
however, still of value.
Like Panizzi after 1841, Spofford turned from volumes to
something more flexible. A beginning was made of a cata-
logue on cards, which never being published should always
be up-to-date, and unlike the laid-down sheaf-volumes
of other catalogues, should require the minimum of labour
in handling. The cards were in manuscript, and were
inconveniently large ; and in 1897 the staff for all processes
fitting books for use cataloguing, shelf-listing, classification,
112 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
etc., was unprovided with proper apparatus, and numbered
but 27, while the books flowed in from the copyright deposit
at a formidable rate.
A new catalogue, to be printed on cards of the now accepted
standard size, and on sound bibliographical principles, was
decided on. The main dictionary card catalogue now
covers, with 4,000,000 author and subject titles, the
accessions since 1897 and practically all the library as it
existed at that date.
This catalogue is supplemented by a card shelf list,
including reference entries for books containing material
contributions in classes other than that in which the work
mainly falls ; by card finding-lists on the different stack-
floors ; and by a number of special lists, too numerous to
mention, kept on cards and exclusive of the published
special catalogues.
Since 1901 the catalogue cards have been made available
to other libraries, at an average price of 2 cents each, the
service of distribution paying for itself, but preparation and
printing not being reckoned in the account ; 5,704 institu-
tions now make use of this service. Though the greater
university libraries find that the percentage of their acces-
sions represented in them is not very large, the service to
the smaller libraries is enormous, practically saving their
staffs the labour (and the education) of cataloguing and
classification. The stock is now about 85,224,720 cards, rep-
resenting 1,217,496 titles. Whole sets have been deposited
in a number of important centres, not only in the United
States. The cards are printed in the Library's Printing
Office, which (like the Bindery) is a branch of the Govern-
ment Printing Office, and are stored and issued by the Card
Division. A separate Division files the cards received from
other libraries, which form a Union Catalogue, largely of
books not in the Library of Congress.
PLATE XIII. THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON :
THE READING ROOM.
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 113
Experiments are constantly being made with cheap
methods of reproducing cards.
Special catalogues of outstanding importance are :
Catalogue, Index of Subjects, 1869.
Check List of American Newspapers, 1901.
Check Foreign Newspapers, 1904.
Monthly Check List of State Publications, 1910 .
Catalogue of the John Boyd Thacher collection of Incuna-
bula. 1915 ;
while long series of lists of books and articles on subjects
mainly political and of books on foreign countries have
been published.
CLASSIFICATION
The first classification of the library was by size, followed
by class ; but this order was reversed in the early years.
An advance was represented by the classification devised
by Jefferson for his books before they came into the Library ;
and in 1815 that in its turn was modified by Watterston.
Jefferson himself had confessed that it was " something
analytical, something chronological, and sometimes a
combination of both/' The remainder of the century
represented little advance in this matter ; the influx of
books and the inadequacy of space and staff alike forbade.
In 1897, therefore, a modern classification was to seek.
Large as the Library already was, it had not yet reached
the bulk which makes a scheme of shelf reclassification too
laborious to be contemplated ; and as the catalogue was to
be remade one great obstacle was removed. Here, too, as
in cataloguing, the new rdgime imposed a new and improved
method, which has since been recognised as the best for a
large library. The classification was by degrees drawn up
and published in class schedules ; it has only recently been
H4 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
completed. It had two recent predecessors of American
origin, as well as the old system of Brunet which had out-
lived its day. These were Dewey's Decimal and Cutter's
Expansive. Both had good points, and were drawn on, but
the new scheme was essentially pragmatic, and based on
an actual large collection of books, which cannot be said of
the others. Dewey's chief contribution, the device of the
decimal notation, was not at first made use of ; but it has
been employed later in intercalating new subjects. The
main classes are distinguished by letters.
MANUSCRIPTS
This Division was established in 1897. It is enormously
rich in American political history, containing the papers of
practically every President till recent times, and the whole
of the records of the Continental Congress which established
the Union. Perhaps no other national library possesses a
document quite so important to the nation as the holograph
original of the Declaration of Independence, which occupies
a central position in the Upper Hall of Entrance.
The Department is the recipient of a great collection of
photostats of documents of American history in the archives
of Europe which is being formed. As early as 1827 Everett
had moved a resolution in Congress that copies of all docu-
ments in British archives of American interest should be
procured. From 1902 to 1927 a considerable number of
hand or typed transcripts had been acquired ; in the latter
year Mr, J, I). Rockefeller, junior, made a subsidy for live
years for carrying forward the work. In those live years
2,000,000 photostat pages were added, largely from the
libraries and archives of England, France, Spain and
Germany. The work is being carried on, with the aid of
the Wilbur Bequest (1929) in London (the Public Record
Office), Paris and Seville, This work is known as " Project
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
A," being the first of certain large schemes outside the
normal activity of the Library which were made possible
by the formation in 1925 of the Trust Fund Board and by
certain gifts received " for immediate application/' The
third of these, " Project C," was for a Union Catalogue of
Medieval MSS. in United States libraries. The scope has
been extended to the end of the sixteenth century, and
some MSS. even of the seventeenth are being included.
The editor is Mr. Seymour de Ricci. The work is to be
printed in Paris under the title of A Census of Medieval and
Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada.
Among the most important special catalogues and publica-
tions of MSS. are :
List of the Benjamin Franklin Papers. 1905.
Calendar of Washington MSS. 1901.
Calendar of the Correspondence of George Washington
with the Continental Congress, 1906.
Calendar of the Correspondence of George Washington
with the Officers. 1915.
Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. Ed.
by W. C. Ford. 1904
The Records of the Virginia Company of London, ed. by
Susan M. Kingsbury. 1906.
THE READING ROOMS
The main Reading Room has seats for 225 readers. Much
space, on the floor under the dome and in alcoves, is occupied
by the card cabinets. It is, however, intended to move some
of these into the adjoining Extension ; while it must be
noted that very many readers are accommodated in special
rooms and in the 54 study rooms, and nearly 300 desks in
spaces apart from the main Reading Room. In the past
year the number of investigators allowed special facilities
was 820, an increase of 210 on the previous year. These
n6 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
need special admission ; the Reading Room is open without
formalities. But it must be remembered that Washington
is not to be compared as a centre of population with New
York, London or Paris.
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE SERVICE
A Legislative Reference Service was founded in 1915, to
deal with enquiries by Congressmen. In the first Session
of the 72nd Congress it dealt with 2,249 requests.
SERVICE FOR THE BLIND
This is an unusual feature in a national library. Borrowers
in 1931-32 numbered 3,225 ; the books numbered 24,824
and the volumes lent 50,192. A regional system is being
inaugurated.
FINANCE AND STAFF
The current annual budget appropriated by Congress is
as stated on page 118.
The staff consists of 631 trained persons, excluding domestic
and manual staff. The numbers are swelled, by comparison
with other libraries, by the elaboration of the services, as
described above.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Library of Congress and its Activities. 1926. [Contains
a select bibliography.]
Library of Congress. [Section of] American Universities and
Colleges, ed. 2, 1932, pp. 1004-1011.
Annual Reports, 1868 to date (especially from 1897).
List of Publications issued by the Library since 1897.
Johnston, William Dawson. History of the Library of
Congress, Vol. i, 1800-64. Washington, Government
Printing Office, 1904.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 117
Small, Herbert. Handbook of the Library of Congress.
Boston, Curtis and Cameron. 1913.
Green, Bernard R. The New Building for the Library of
Congress. Library Journal, Vol. 21, pp. 13-20.
Bowker, Richard Rogers. The National Library as the
Central Factor of Library Development in the Nation.
New York, 1912.
Hadley, Arthur Twining. Facilities for Study and Research
in the Offices of the United States Government at Wash-
ington. Washington Government Printing Office. 1909.
Library of Congress Trust Fund Board. [Brochure.] 1926.
Handbook of Card Distribution. Card Division. With
reference to bulletins 1-24. 6th ed., 1925.
Classification. [Schedules of classes.]
Essays offered to Herbert Putnam by his colleagues and
friends on his thirtieth anniversary as Librarian of
Congress, April 5, 1929. Edited by William Warner
Bishop and Andrew Keogh. New Haven, Yale University
Press, 1929.
118
NATIONAL LIBRARIES
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DIE PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK
(FORMERLY
KAISERLICH-KONIGLICHE BIBLIOTHEK),
BERLIN
IV
DIE PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK
(FORMERLY
KAISERLICH-KONIGLICHE BIBLIOTHEK) ,
BERLIN
HISTORY : THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
THE Prussian State Library owes its origin to a royal
decree, and it remained under the close personal direction
of the royal house till towards the end of the eighteenth
century, when the direction passed into the hands of a
department of the Ministry of the Interior, so that its
history and fortune, follow those of the State very closely,
and it owes less, perhaps than other libraries, to individuals.
On April 20,, 1659, Frederick William, the Great Elector,
gave order to his Privy Councillor at Berlin for the founding
of a library, and in 1661 the Library was opened with the
title of the " Kurfurstliche Bibliothek zu Colin an der
Spree " with Johann Raue as its first (and only) Librarian.
Very little is known of the private library of the Great
Elector which was now handed over for public use ; we
know that it was housed in the top room of the castle, and
we know the name of one predecessor of Raue, Joachim
Hiibner, who was Historiographer and private Librarian
to the Elector, and who probably helped at the time of the
transference and with advice over purchases. Its chief
treasures were : a 42-line Gutenberg Bible ; two German
MSS : der Trojanische Krieg and Flor und Blanchflor ;
121
122 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
and MSS. of Luther. That it was not a large Library is
shown by a remark made by Hendreich in a letter in 1687
that Frederick William had inherited so few books from his
ancestors that it would be reckoned as hardly sufficient
for a private gentleman's library.
The new Public Library was placed in the top story of
the Schlossapotheke which formed the east wing of the
royal castle, and here it remained for 120 years till 1780,
when the new Royal Library was built by Frederick the
Great, though the Great Elector planned to make a separate
building for the Library (see below), and had begun on it,
when his death interrupted the work. The Library, when
public, remained under the close personal supervision of
the Elector; the performances of the Librarians, Raue,
joined in 1663 by Johann Vorstius and Christian von Hiem-
bach, did not please him, and he called in Christoph Hend-
reich, a Professor at Frankfort a. 0., to organise the cata-
loguing, etc. ; and Hendreich, aided by his brother, carried
out his work so expeditiously, including a re-arrangement
of the Library and a subject catalogue, that the Elector
conferred upon him the office of Librarian, Raue remained
as Librarian till his death in 1679, but after Hendreich' s
entry into the Library, Raue was pushed into the back-
ground, and Hendreich is remembered as the first important
organiser of the Library ; his classification and shelf-
arrangement remained in force till the end of the eighteenth
century. But none of these early Librarians had any say
in the spending of the Library's income ; that remained
entirely in the hands of the Elector, and no book-purchase
could be made without his consent. The allowance for
the Library was derived rather curiously ; from dues paid
for dispensation from having the banns called and for
permission to marry one's cousin and for the right to have
more than the customary number of godparents these
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 123
dues and some other legal fines built up the income of the
Library, and this system remained in force till the end of
the eighteenth century. The amount they brought in
varied, but for the seventeenth century averaged about
1,000 thaler a year ; in the eighteenth century it rose con-
siderably. The Elector not only used the regular income
for book-purchase, but bought special collections ; he also
added books from other places in his territory to the Royal
Library and encouraged other people to make both small
and great gifts. The result of aU this was that at the death
of its founder in 1688 the Library numbered 20,000 volumes
and c. 1,600 MSS. As well as the new building the Grand
Elector had planned to have all the books in the Library
rebound in red leather, but this also he (fortunately) did
not live to see carried out, and after his death only a small
number were completely rebound ; these however survive,
marked with a gold-stamped monogram.
Under Frederick III (1701 Frederick I, King of Prussia)
the royal interest in the Library was continued, and the
Library made good progress. The use of the Library was
regulated, hours of opening laid down, and borrowing
restricted to Privy Councillors, members of learned societies,
etc. At Hendreich's suggestion, the post of Overseer
(Oberaufseher) was instituted, the first holder of which
office was Graf. v. Wartenberg, who took upon himself the
entire direction of the Library ; one of his assistants in this
office was the learned Ezechiel v. Spanheim, whose library
was acquired by Frederick for what was now called the
" Konigliche Bibliothek zu Berlin/' In 1699 the legal
deposit system (Pflichtexemplare) was instituted.
With the accession of Frederick William I (1713) came a
check in the development of the Library which lasted
through his reign and the first 30 years of that of Frederick
the Great ; with the former it was unwillingness to spend
124 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
anything on the Library, so that most of the Library's income
was diverted to supply a pension of 1,000 thaler to General
von Glasenapp. This left the Library practically without
an income ; and the only source for its growth was in the
legal deposit system, which was fortunately strictly enforced.
Nevertheless it was only by a decree of 1824 that the legal
deposit came into full operation. Up to then only a small
number of publishers really sent their books to the Library.
Exigencies of war kept Frederick the Great so fully occupied
for the first 30 years of his reign that the Library was little
better off, except that General von Glasenapp's pension
was stopped. By 1770, however, he was able to give his
attention to his Library, and this took the form not only
of extensive book-buying but plans for a new Library
building. The new Library was begun in 1775, and dedi-
cated by the King in 1780. It comprised five separate
collections : the old Royal Library, the Spanheim Library
for which room had only been found in the Library with the
removal of the medical and mathematical books by Frederick
William I for the use of the Akademie der Wissenschaften
(1735) ; the library of Quintus Icilius, bought in 1780 by
Frederick the Great and consisting of 5,300 volumes with
some MSS. and maps ; and the library of the Berlin preacher,
Friedrich Roloff, consisting of 5,100 volumes and rich in
classical works. The growth of the Library is marked by
these figures ; at the accession of Frederick the Great,
1740, the Library numbered 72,000 volumes and at his
death in 1786 there were 150,000 volumes.
Frederick's literary taste and passion for French will be
remembered ; it is likely that Voltaire during his sojourn
at his Court advised him on the choice of books.
Under Frederick the Great new arrangements were made
for the extended use of the Library by the public, but at
the same time Frederick forbade the lending of books from
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 125
the new Library. All the book purchases were still done by
the King in person, and the Librarians had no say in the
disposal of the money. In 1848, for the first time, a Librarian
of subordinate rank (Diener) was appointed at a salary.
The great needs of the Library at the time of Frederick's
death in 1786 were a reorganisation of the staff, with more
exact definition of duties, and the bringing up to date of
the catalogues. These reforms were carried out largely
during the revolutionary period when Prussia's leaders,
realising the importance of organising the nation's intel-
lectual as well as material assets, strengthened the uni-
versities and libraries as part of the national movement.
Wilhelm von Humboldt as head of the department of
culture (Kultusdepartement im Ministerium des Innern)
under which the libraries were placed in 1810, threw himself
with fervour into the development of libraries, and at the
lowest ebb of Prussia's fortunes in 1810, insisted that the
yearly grant of the Library should be doubled. He also
brought about the separation of the Library from the
Akademie der Wissenschaften in 1798, and at the same time
the medical and mathematical books removed from the
Library in 1735 by Frederick William were returned.
From this time also the direct participation of the sovereigns
in the business of the Library ceased, the relations becoming
more and more those between the Library and the Ministry.
The duties of the staff were defined by a series of " Regie-
mente," the first one being Wollner's of 1796, in which
year the office of a Secretary to the Library was added to
the two librarian's offices, the first Secretary being Butt-
mann. Foremost in the work of organisation stands Schleier-
macher, the learned theologian, who as a member of the
section of Public Education (Sektion des offentl. Unterrichts)
issued his Reglement of April 30, 1813. This dealt with the
division of tasks among the staff (arranging the staff on a
126 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
collegiate basis) and the use of the Library by the public,
and it became the basis for the regulations of all Prussian
libraries. The chief work in connection with the new
catalogues lies to the credit of the chief Librarian, Biester,
aided by the Secretary Buttmann. Biester re-arranged the
five libraries (mentioned above) into one whole, and re-
classified the Library on a similar plan to that used at the
Konigliche Bibliothek at Dresden ; and, with the help of
Buttmann, a new alphabetical catalogue was begun in 1811.
The establishment of the Berlin University, one of Hum-
boldfs creations, was beneficial in every way to the progress
of the Library, which was up till 1831 the University
Library. The yearly grant was raised steadily ; in the
middle of the nineteenth century the grant was 15,000
marks, while at the end of the century it was over 150,000
marks. The number of volumes rose with a corresponding
steadiness ; standing at 150,000 at Frederick the Great's
death, they had more than doubled by 1840, by 1890 they
were 800,000, and by 1909, when Harnack became Director,
the number stood at i|- million, while to-day it has gone
beyond the 2,500,000 mark.
In 1817 Fredrich Wilken became Head Librarian (Ober-
bibliothekar), which post he held till his death in 1840.
With him for the first time the complete supervision of
Library affairs, formerly exercised by the sovereign and
then the Ministry, was put into the hands of the first
Librarian, and the Library attained the position of an
independent department with one head. The Ministry
filled the role from now on solely of " iibergeordnete Auf-
sichtsinstanz." Wilken was not only a well-known historian
but he had also as a Librarian carried out the re-organisation
of the Heidelberg University Library and he had taken an
important share in the handling at Paris of the treasures
taken by France during the revolutionary wars, and returned
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 127
at the peace. During his headship, the Library had to
deal with big accessions of books coming from the newly
acquired Prussian territory, especially from West Prussia
and the Rhineland. In 1819 a periodicals reading
room was opened. Wilken is also honoured as the historian
of the Library (Geschichte der Koniglichen Bibliothek zu
Berlin. 1828).
The chief purchase of importance was that of the library
of Graf Mejan of 14,000 volumes, bought by Frederick
William III, of great value for its magnificent collection of
Aldine editions; and the library of Baron Meusebach
(36,000 volumes), noted for its fine examples of German
printing and literature of the fifteenth and sixteenth cen-
turies. The Mainz Psalter of 1457 was bought by the
King from the Royal Library at Stuttgart.
The chief event of the modern period was the move of
the State Library from Frederick the Great's building to
its present home, which took place in 1909 (details of the
building will be discussed in another section). This took
place during the Directorship of Adolf v. Harnack, who was
Director-General from 1905-20. In addition to the move he
had two other great tasks to carry out : the overcoming
of the results of the war and of the inflation, and the develop-
ment of the State Library, as it was called after 1919, as a
central library. The State Library, apart from its function
as a national library and storehouse of German literature
(an unofficial function, since it has only the deposit from
Prussian publishers), has always devoted itself specially to
the collecting of foreign books. This side therefore suffered
badly during the war, and the inflation after the war made
the purchase of foreign books and periodicals almost im-
possible ; in 1919-23 the lowest depths were reached, but
after that recovery began, and purchases slowly organised
to fill the gaps in foreign publications, especially periodicals,
128 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
which in the worst period, sank to one-eighth of their pre-
war numbers. Recovery was helped by the " Notgemein-
schaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft " founded in 1920.
The society devoted itself specially to acquiring foreign
literature, which it did by purchase and exchange.
The development of the Library as a Central Library
will be dealt with in another section.
The period from 1905 to the outbreak of war was marked
by many rich accessions, both MSS. and early printed books,
which, while they did not make the Royal Library the equal
of the Munich Hofbibliothek, raised it to the second position
in Germany for its collections of MSS. and incunabula.
The fast large collection of incunabula purchased under
Harnack's directorship on the advice of Professor Voullieme,
the bibliographer of Cologne incunabula, was that from the
gymnasium at Heiligenstadt which had come from the
Jesuit College at its dissolution in 1773 . The next came from
the Cathedral School at Magdeburg, comprising the remains
of the old cathedral library ; then a collection from Erfurt,
where an arrangement was made with the town by which,
in return for help in establishing a library, the town gave up
most of its MSS. and incunabula to the Royal Library.
The next purchase was that of the Kirchenministerialbiblio-
thek at Celle (formerly the library of the Welfisch Counts).
This coUection, formed at the time of the Reformation, was
rich in religious works and broadsheets and German litera-
ture. Another collection, containing mostly seventeenth
and eighteenth century material, was that of the Counts
of Gortz-Wrisberg from Wrisbergholtzen near Hildesheim.
Among noteworthy gifts of this period were that of Georg
August Freund on dietetics, including a collection of manu-
script cookery books, and the Lessing Collection, bequeathed
by Gotthold Lessing. In 1914 was founded the Society of
Friends of the Royal Library (Verein der Freunde der Konig-
PreussisdiE
IDberqeschnss,
+33 1Dm
BL4
PLAN VI. DIE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK, BERLIN : MAIN FLOOR.
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 129
lichen Bibliothek) ; the number of works acquired with
their help and through their direction is very considerable.
The yearly income which from 1890 had remained at
150,000 m., Harnack managed to get raised by 40,000 m.
in 1907, and two further increases before the war, and in
1906-7 a special grant of 350,000 m. was made " for the
filling up of gaps/'
Harnack was followed by the late Dr. Fritz Milkau, who,
however, had only a short reign ; and the present Director-
General is Dr. Hugo Anders Kriiss, thanks to whose ad-
vocacy the great work of printing the Gesamtkatalog was
put in progress.
MANUSCRIPTS
The State Library has never compared in its collections
of MSS. with the Bibliotheque Nationale or the British
Museum, or even with the State Library of Munich which
became the repository of so many monastic libraries. This
was partly because Prussia had very few big monastic
foundations, and such as there were mostly went elsewhere,
though some have been acquired recently by the State
Library, as related above. The number of MSS. at the
founder's death was 1600 ; he was particularly interested
in acquiring Indian, Arabic, Turkish, Coptic and even
Chinese MSS., and the Oriental remain still the richest part
of the Department of MSS. In 1932 the statistics of the
Department were : MSS. Western, 13,492 ; Orientalia,
18,846 ; East Asiatic, 1,874,
Other special collections are :
Music. In 1824 a special music collection was founded,
and was given a yearly income of 2,000 m. In 1906 the
t{ Deutsche Musiksammlung " was started, following an
agreement with the music publishers, who declared their
readiness to furnish the Staatsbibliothek with a copy of
K
130 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
each musical publication from 1906 onward. Moreover a
good number of publishers gave the Library a whole set of
their books in stock. In 1914 the old music collection
and the new were amalgamated and formed one Music
Department. This collection includes the originals of most
of the important works of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Mendel-
ssohn, and other masters, and gives ground for its claim
to be a really national collection.
Maps. An important collection (including part of the
material of the former General Staff) of about half a million
maps and geographical pictures.
The War. The Royal Library already possessed a large
war special collection dealing with the war of 1870 ; the
literature of the World War was dealt with on the same
lines and numbers : 700 maps with 4,200 separate leaves,
2,000 posters, 5,700 other graphic productions, 29,000
photographs, 25,600 picture postcards, 6,000 caricatures,
4,000 pieces of music. The only comparable collections
are the Hoover War Collection at Leland Stanford Univer-
sity, the Bibliothdque et Musee de la Guerre at Vincennes,
and the Imperial War Museum and Library in London.
BUILDINGS
The Library of the Great Elector, when given to the public,
was housed in the top storey of the Apotheke or east wing
of the castle. The main room in which the books were
shelved was 150 feet long and 40 feet wide ; there was
also a vaulted room for the MSS., and a reading room. The
main room was furnished with galleries and decorated with
pictures.
The Great Elector, ambitious for his Library, cherished a
plan for a new building, part of a scheme comprising pleasure
gardens surrounded by buildings ; it was to join on to the
Apotheken wing, occupying the east side of the pleasure
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 131
garden, and was to consist of a two-storied gallery, 443 feet
long and 46 feet broad. Only the ground floor of this
building was completed ; the work was suspended a year
after his death (1688) and never resumed.
Under Frederick William I the Library was so full that
there was no room for the Spanheim Library, which was
not housed in the Royal Library till the dispersal of the
medical and mathematical books to the Akademie der
Wissenschaften in 1735. As soon, therefore, as Frederick
the Great turned his attention to increasing the Royal
Library he started on a plan for a new building, and took
as a model a copy of Fischer von Erlach's plan for the
Hofburg at Vienna. The Library, erected in the Opern-
platz, and finally opened by the King in 1780, was a square
building with two curved wings from each side, terminating
in two unequal corner pavilions. The strong four-square
ground floor with its small windows served only as a support
for the richly decorated upper half, and was moreover not
at the disposal of the Library, being used partly by the
garrison as a warehouse and partly by the opera house.
Over the middle bow window was the motto " Nutrimentuni
spiritus." The first storey, which was the Library proper,
comprised a square middle room and the two bow-shaped
wings ; in the corners were enclosed the pavilions. The
books were shelved against the wall so that no projections
might spoil the unbroken view of the room. In the neigh-
bouring house a reading room was instituted. It was
essentially a state room in the eighteenth century grand
style, and was not built with sufficient thought for the
requirements of a growing Library, for already in 1789-90,
when the five separated libraries were united, there was
not enough room, and galleries had to be erected in both
wings. At the same time in the corner pavilion near the
reading room a workroom was contrived for the Librarians,
132 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
and in the other pavilion were placed the MSS. From this
time on till the move to the present building constant
additions to the interior of the building were made, till
in the end the structure had lost all its original form. In
1830 fresh galleries were added, and in 1830 plans for a
new building were asked for from Schinkel. This fell
through, luckily, as the building planned would have been
far too small for modern needs. Instead, in 1840, the whole
of the ground floor was given over to the Library and made
into a two-storey building, and other extra floors were
introduced. Soon after 1879 the lack of room again became
acute ; and in 1883-4 another adjoining building was
acquired, and used as a lending department and store for
music, maps, etc.
In 1890 the question was again opened, and a long dis-
cussion ensued as to the site, whether to move the Library
to a site near the Zoological Garden Station, where its growth
would be unrestricted and its external architecture un-
hindered by consideration for other buildings. What
influenced the decision to stay in the centre of the town was
the wish to remain part of the collection of cultural buildings
formed by the University and the Museums.
The structure occupies a long rectangular site ; the
State Library has only about two-thirds of the block for
its own use ; it shares the block with the Akademie der
Wissenschaften and with the University Library, which has
about 750,000 volumes. The University Library occupies
the northern wing, its big reading room (to seat 300
readers) and the lending department being on the ground
floor. The State Library occupies the middle and southern
portion of the building. The main part of the ground floor
is occupied by the lending department. But on this floor
are also housed the Gesamtkatalog and the Auskunftstelle,
which are placed directly under the catalogue rooms of
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 133
the State Library. The entrance to the general reading
room and the catalogues is by a lofty staircase from the
ground floor. The reading room, which is in the middle
of the building from the first floor up to the top, is a domed
building, 34 metres high, lit by seven big windows, and at
the top a round skylight. It seats 360 readers. Besides
the big reading room there is a small reading room for
oriental studies and adjoining rooms for special research
workers. There is also a reading room for periodicals with
seats for 150. On the second floor are the special col-
lections : Music, Maps, MSS., each with a small reading
room attached. The books are arranged in the third and
fourth storey, subdivided into from six to eight stack-floors.
At the beginning of 1909 the work was so far forward that
the books could be transferred, and the move was accom-
plished in fourteen days. The formal opening, however,
took place only just before war broke out, and was the last
great royal ceremony Berlin saw. The building suffered
in the revolution of 1918.
CATALOGUES
When the Kurfiirstliche Library was opened in 1661,
Johann Raue had already begun the compiling of the
catalogue, an alphabetical list, of which the Library still
has one copy. But as the cataloguing did not progress
with the speed desired by the Elector, Christoph Hendreich,
as related above, was called in to expedite the work. Hend-
reich's shelf catalogue, the Catalogus situs, remained in use
through Biester' s re-arrangement of the Library in 1789-90,
though his alphabetical book-catalogue was superseded
from 1811 onwards by the new alphabetical book-catalogue.
A new catalogue had been urgently needed since the big
accession of books under Frederick the Great. Under
pressure from the Ministry, it was finally taken in haixd by
134 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
the Librarian, Biester, and the work entrusted to the
Secretary to the Library, Buttmann. As a pattern he took
the catalogue of the Gottingen University Library. It
was finished in 1827, and occupied 162 folio volumes. It
has now extended to catalogue 3,000 vols.
The first subject catalogue was the work of Friedrich
Wilken, who became chief Librarian in 1817. In these
" Alte Realkataloge " the books were entered under large
main divisions, such as Roman Law, Zoology, etc., and fur-
ther divided into three formats, but they were from the
beginning thought of only as makeshifts and not as
permanent arrangements ; by 1827 there were 181 volumes.
On August 21, 1842, the " Kustos/' Julius Schrader,
issued a report on the production of a new " Realkatalog "
which contained a fully worked out plan of work. Schrader
was the soul of the undertaking. The books were placed
by the new catalogue, so that this catalogue was also a
shelf list, which it still is to-day. The work was finished in
1881, except for music and maps. Hortzschansky praises
it : " die grosste wissenschaftliche Leistung des Biblio-
thekspersonals ist ein Arbeitswerkzeug ersten Ranges, dem
keine der anderen grossen Staatsbibliotheken zu Paris,
London usw. etwas gleichartiges gegeniiber zustellen ver-
mag." Number of volumes of the "Realkatalog/' 700.
The first card catalogue was made on thin writing paper
(10 x 11.5 cm.) by members of the staff who were engaged in
making the so-called " Inventarien," the early subject
catalogue, and used it as an aid in their work. It was kept
up after the catalogues were finished, and in 1867 numbered
7-800,000. Then when the question came up again what
was to be the future of these cards, Schrader came forward
with the suggestion of making the card-catalogue into a
separate alphabetical catalogue which would keep up to date
aind continue the book-catalogue ; there was opposition to
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 135
this, but the Minister supported the scheme and Schrader won
the day. In 1879, Eduard Ippel was made head of the card-
catalogue department, and in 1886, Wilmanns, who had
already begun an alphabetical catalogue in Gottingen, was
made Director of the Library ; further, in 1886, Dziatzko's
" Instruktionen fiir die Ordnung der Titel im alphabetischen
Zettelkatalog " were published, a fortunate conjunction of
affairs for the building up of this new library instrument.
The entries were made on cards of 15 x 19.5 cm. and
Dziatzko's Instruktionen were adapted by Ippel, and the
work both of revision of the old entries and entering of new
steadily carried on. Since 1885 titles of University publica-
tions, since 1889 school publications, have been printed in
yearly lists. In 1892 appeared for the first time the lr Berliner
Titddrucke," all of which considerably lightened the work of
this department, as henceforth only the titles of antiquarian
publications had to be copied by hand. By 1912 all publica-
tions were included in the card-catalogue except Oriental
literature, so that in cases of doubt or where the book-
catalogue fails (it excludes music, university publications,
newspapers etc.) the card-catalogue is the " complete and
reliable " tool for the searcher. In 1909 the old size of
card was given up for the international size of 7! X I2j cm.
There are therefore three big catalogues in use :
(1) The alphabetical book-catalogue ;
(2) The alphabetical card-catalogue ; and
(3) The subject catalogue.
The great need of the subject catalogue was the pro-
vision of an index. In 1907-19 128 new index volumes
were made. The work was broken off in 1920, but again
started upon some years ago. It is now complete and is
being kept up to date in the form of a " Schlagwortregister,"
i.e. an index to the many thousand headings of divisions
and subdivisions of the system and the historical and
136 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
geographical names. The present need of the subject cata-
logue is the bringing up to date of some of the subjects,
notably the scientific ones.
Catalogue of incunabula :
Die Inkunabehi der Koniglichen Bibliothek und der
anderen Bibliothek Berliner Sammlungen (Kunst-
gewerbemuseum, Kupferstichkabinett usw.). Ein In-
ventar von Ernst Voullieme. Leipzig. 1906. (Bei-
heft zum Z.f.B.) Supplements in 1914, 1922, 1927.
The new accessions of incunabula between 1905-20 were
about 1,400, bringing the total up to about 6,100.
THE DEPARTMENTS
Till the end of the eighteenth century the Library was,
under the King, governed by the Overseer (Oberaufseher),
usually a Privy Councillor (Geheimrat) and a man of some
learning. Under him, up till the middle of the eighteenth
century, were two Librarians, and one, later two, clerks
(Diener), to whom, in 1787, were added one more librarian
and another clerk. In 1827 four " Kustoden " were added
to the administrative branch, as well as three to four assistant
librarians. Wilken, as we have said, was the first chief
Librarian in the modern sense, and his title of Oberbiblio-
thekar was changed by decree of 1885 to Generaldirektor.
Under him were two departmental directors, at first only
of the Department of Printed Books and the Department of
MSS., but their number was later much increased. In 1906,
a First Director (Erster Direktor) was appointed. Then
came the creation of a lower grade of staff (mittleres Personal) .
The departments now are : Printed Books ; Manuscripts ;
Orientals ; East Asiatic ; Music and Maps. A Sound
Department, for records of speech, songs, etc., for some time
part of the State Library, is now removed. Accessions in
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 137
1931 and 1932 (as given in the Annual Reports) reached
the following totals :
Purchase
Gifts ....
GERMANY
8,760
12,202
ABROAD
8,803
ii 46^
TOTAL
17,563
2^ 66^
Exchange
Legal deposit .
Government publications .
134
17457
6,299
728
^Ot^vj
862
17,457
6,299
44,852 20,994 65,846
Purchase
Gifts
.
1932
7,639
. 18 887
10,765
11,403
1,096
18,404
30,290
1,306
16,789
8,280
Exchange
Legal deposit .
Government publications .
2IO
. 16,789
8,280
51,805 23,264 75,069
The purchased books were divided as follows :
1931 1932
New books .... 5,592 7.324
Continuations .... 2,012 2,245
Newspapers .... 6,938 7,651
Antiquaria .... 3,021 1,184
17,563 18,404
The number of current periodicals is 23,623, of which
15,404 are German, and 9,219 foreign.
MANUSCRIPTS
Purchase ..... 56
Gifts ..... 29
Other means .... 20
The statistics for the use of the Library are :
LENDING DEPARTMENT
1932
Books asked for ... 1,008,806 1,034,270
lent on the spot . . 604,336 628,353
sent away (by post) . 83,294 84,726
138 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
READING ROOM
1931 1932
Readers ..... 683,264 728,404
Daily average .... 2,372 2,424
Books used .... 325*864 335,754
lent .... 9,856 9,872
(This includes use of Map, Music and Oriental Departments.)
A fee of twenty marks is charged for a ticket of admission.
STAFF
There are two grades of librarians in the " wissenschaft-
liche " libraries, the " hohere Bibliotheksdienst " and the
" mittlere Bibliotheksdienst. For the first a university
degree is necessary, and for the second the equivalent of
our secondary school education with matriculation, which
must include Latin. The training for the wissenschaft-
liche " Bibliotheksdienst " consists of two years preliminary
" Volontardienst/' which includes practical work in one
of the big " wissenschaftliche " libraries and a course of
study with examinations at the end, and three years " Prak-
tikantendienst " and library school courses for the " mittlere
Bibliotheksdienst." The Preussische Staatsbibliothek ac-
cepts students for practical work, and the head of the Com-
mission for the professional examinations for librarians for
Prussia is the Director-General of the State Library.
The staff of the State Library consists of :
i Director-General.
i First Director.
6 Directors as Heads of Departments.
39 Librarians 1 Higher grade staff (uni-
23 Assistant Librarians J versity trained).
40 (21 of them women) Library Assistants 1 Middle
71 (55 of them women) Additional Library > grade
Assistants. J Staff,
7 Secretarial staff.
4 Desatching Clerks,
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 139
8 Technical staff.
66 Stackworkers and Clerks (lower grade), House-
keepers, Porters, etc.
COST
The financial figures for 1931 were :
A. RECURRENT EXPENSES RM
Salaries. ........ 958,760
Assistance from officials 45,4*o
Unofficial assistance 481,670
f 1,100
Miscellaneous \ goo
L 387,100
Upkeep of buildings 156,000
Increase and maintenance of the collections . . 250,000
Binding ........ 75,000
2,362,870
15 Volunteers in the State Library and University
Libraries 22,500
Honoraria to the extra librarians and assistants em-
ployed in the State and University Libraries . . 86,000
B. NON-RECURRENT EXPENSES RM
Purchases of foreign Literature .... 75,ooo
Transcription of the Subject Catalogue . . . 12,000
Printing Vol. I of the Gesamtkatalog der Preussischen
Bibliotheken ....... 9,000
Metal shelving ....... 18,000
Extensions of the buildings . . . . 90,000
THE STATE LIBRARY AS THE CENTRAL LIBRARY
For historical reasons, Germany has no one city which
would naturally be the centre for a national library, as Paris
or London. The Preussische Staatsbibliothek, though
supported only by the State of Prussia, and receiving by
140 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
law only the legal deposit from publishers in the old Prussian
State and Pomerania, has built up such a collection of books
and such a wide scheme of service that she justly claims to
be the national library of Germany.
Of her collections we have already spoken, and need only
add that with her 2j million books she is by far the largest
library in Germany, and that she has moreover the largest
collection of purely German literature.
The State Library, contrary to the policy of the other
big national libraries, has always allowed, except for a brief
period under Frederick the Great, its books to be lent out,
with the exception of a few reference books, and the usual
restrictions on rare books. The disadvantages of this
system are fully realised ; according to the returns, 27 per
cent, of the books asked for are not available because
lent out. But it is considered that the advantages to scholars
of being able to have all the books they want to work with
in their own homes far outweighs the disadvantages of the
system.
But her chief claim to be a national library rests on the
union catalogues and information bureaus she has placed at
the service of the whole of Germany, and indeed to a certain
extent, at the service of the whole world.
In 1895 was begun the Union Catalogue of the Prussian
Libraries (Gesamtkatalog der Preussischen Bibliotheken)
which, with its 2,\ million cards, is, after many delays, now
being printed, 4 volumes having so far appeared. This
records the holdings of the Munich and Vienna State
Libraries, so far as they duplicate the rest. In 1898 the
" Berliner Titeldrucke," which had appeared since 1892,
included also the ten Prussian University Libraries, so that
it became a union list; since 1928 the four Prussian
" Technische Hochschulen " and since 1931 the Vienna State
Library have also been included. From the union cata-
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 141
logues arose the necessity of uniformity of entry, and in
1899 were published the " Instruktionen fur die alpha-
betischen Kataloge der preussischen Bibliotheken und fiir
den Gesamtkatalog," a second edition of which was pub-
lished in 1909. In 1905, in order to make the Gesamtkata-
log of greater use, the " Auskunftsbureau der Deutschen
Bibliotheken " was founded. This deals with all enquiries
for books or bibliographical enquiries whether from Germany
or abroad, and if the Library has not the book itself, it
does its best to check it in a German library. At present
there is only a union catalogue for the Prussian libraries,
but it is hoped that there will soon be a German union
catalogue. In 1924 a German Leihverkehr was started
which by 1929 included 740 German libraries, who have
agreed to be ready to lend any book to any other in the
union ; the Auskunftsbureau serves this institution by
acting practically as a Central Library for it. The figures
for the Auskunftstbureau for 1931 are :
Applications .... 5,308
Works sought for . . . 18,070
and there were 2,120 enquiries from abroad.
Further union publications of the State Library are :
1914, the Gesamt-Zeitschriften-Verzeichnis, which in-
cludes 17,000 newspapers taken by 350 German libraries.
1929, Gesamtverzeichnis der auslandischen Zeitschriften,
15,000 foreign newspapers in 800 libraries.
Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke ; the Commission for
this was founded in 1904 and the work of listing all western
incunabula portioned out, a work which even the war did
not interrupt, so that by April i, 1921, the investigations
were completed, and the work of printing could be started ;
6 volumes have appeared.
The alliance of libraries is controlled by the " Preussische
Beirat fiir Bibliotheksangelegenheiten," of which the
142 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
General-Director of the State Library is ex-officio Chairman ;
it was founded in 1907.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abb, G. Schleiermachers Reglement filr die Konigliche
Bibliotheken zu Berlin vom Jahre 1813 und seine Vor-
geschichte. 1926.
Vom deutschen Leihverkehr. (In Zentralblatt f.
Bibliothekswesen. v. 44 (1927), pp. 449~ 6l O
Balcke, Curt. Bibliographic zur Geschichte der Preus-
sischen Staatsbibliothek. 1925.
Crous, Ernst. Co-operation among German libraries by
mutual loans and the information bureau. (In The
Library. 3rd. ser., vol. 5 (1914), PP- i*3~39 >" 337~44-)
Fuchs, Hermann. Le bureau de renseignements des biblio-
theques allemandes (Auskunfstbureau der deutschen
Bibliotheken). (In Revue des bibliotheques, vol. 38
(1928), pp. 42^-370
Fiinfzehn Jahre Konigliche und Staatsbibliothek. Dem
scheidenden General-Direktor Adolf v. Harnack . . .
iiberreicht von den wissenschaftlichen Beamten den
Preussischen Staatsbibliothek. 1921.
Harnack, Adolf, Die Benutzung der Konigliche Bibliothek
und die deutsche Nationalbibliothek, mit einem Nach-
wort. (In Aus der Friedens- und Kriegsarbeit. 1916.
pp. 229-61.)
Der Konigliche Bibliothek zu Berlin. (In Aus
Wissenschaft und Leben. Band I. 1911, pp. 129-38.)
Hortzschansky, Adalbert. Die Konigliche Bibliothek zu
Berlin. 1908.
Kriiss, Hugo A. Zur Geschichte der Staatsbibliothek zu
Berlin in den letzten dreissig Jahren. (In Essays offered
to Herbert Putnam, pp. 263-74.)
PREUSSISCHE STAATSBIBLIOTHEK 143
Kruss, Hugo A. Die Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin als Zentral-
bibliothek. 1928.
Fiinfundzwanzig Jahre Preussischer Beirat fur
Bibliotheks-Angelegenheiten. (In Zentralblatt f. Biblio-
thekswesen, vol. 50. 1933.)
Kuhnert, Ernst. Zur Enstehung und Gestaltung des
Gesamtkatalogs. (In Zentralblatt f. Bibliothekswesen,
vol. 49. 1932. pp. 1,117-30.)
Pick, Hermann. Der unvollendet gebliebene Bibliotheksbau
des Grossen Kurfiirsten. (In Beitrage zum Bibliotheks
und Buchwesen Paul Schwenke . . . gewidmet. 1913.
pp. 211-5)
Schnake, Mahlon. Deutsche und Amerikanische Biblio-
theken. (In Zentralblatt f. Bibliothekswesen. vol. 45.
1928. pp. 544-5*0
(A comparison between the Prussian State Library
and the New York Public Library.)
Schwenke, Paul. Der Neubau der Koniglichen Bibliothek
zu Berlin. (In Zentralblatt f. Bibliothekswesen. vol.
25 (1908). pp. 1-18.)
Tautz, Kurt. Die Bibliothekare der Churfiirstliche Bib-
liothek zu Colin an der Spree ; ein Beitrag zur Geschichte
der Preussischen Staatsbibliothek im Siebzehnten Jahr-
hundert. 1925. (Zentralblatt f. Bibliothekswesen.
Beiheft 53.)
Die Raume der churfiirstlichen Bibliothek zu
Colin an der Spree. 1924.
Wilken, Friedrich. Geschichte der koniglichen Bibliothek
zu Berlin. 1828.
Jahresberichte der Preussischen Staatsbibliothek.
Minerva-Handbiicher. Bd. I Die Bibliotheken des
Deutschen Reiches, bearb. von Dr. Hans Praesent. 1929.
Verein Deutscher Bibliothekare. Jahrbuch der deutschen
Bibliotheken. 1910 to date.
V
GOSUDARSTVENNAJA PUBLICNAJA
BIBLIOTEKA, LENINGRAD
FORMERLY THE IMPERIAL PUBLIC LIBRARY,
ST. PETERSBURG
V
GOSUDARSTVENNAJA PUBLlClNAJA
BIBLIOTEKA, LENINGRAD
FORMERLY THE IMPERIAL PUBLIC LIBRARY,
ST. PETERSBURG
HISTORY : THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
THE Idea of a public library as part of the programme of
Westernising Russia was present to the rulers of Russia
from the time of the founding of St. Petersburg, that deliber-
ate creation of a Westernising Emperor, but failed to take
concrete form till the end of the eighteenth century. Before
that time the needs of the cultured classes were met by
private libraries and the Academy of Sciences, which had
its own library. But in 1766, a group of men, including
Count Stroganoff and others, brought forward a scheme for
a public library ; it came to nothing, but the work of
collecting books continued to interest the administration,
and thus a nucleus was formed for a future public library.
The founder of the library was Catherine the Great, and
the foundation collection was the famous library of the
Counts Zaluski, Andreas and Josef, important members of
the Polish aristocracy. Both brothers were collectors, but
the younger brother especially devoted all his time and
money to the work ; most of the books and MSS. were
collected in Western Europe, but in addition he tried to
collect everything printed in Poland, and he also took what
he could get from the monastic libraries, though some of
147
148 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
these were claimed and returned after his death. In 1740
he transferred his collection to the nation, and in 1748 the
Library was formally opened by the King, August III.
From then till the capture of Warsaw by Suvarof , October
29, 1794, when it was declared to be the property of the
Russian Government, the Zaluski Library suffered continual
losses through deliberate pilfering of books and general
carelessness. The number of volumes, when it was handed
over to the Polish nation, was put as high as 400,000, but
this number had dwindled considerably before 1794 ; during
transit a good many more were appropriated, so that the
numbers on arrival at St. Petersburg were found to be only
250,000 volumes and about 10,000 MSS.
The books were given into the care of B. S. Popov, a
Councillor of State, by the Empress Catherine, whose plan
was to provide a real national library, for which purpose
the Zaluski Library was to be used, " with the addition of
all Russian books published since 1764 " ; the collections
made by the Government, such as the Voltaire and the
Diderot libraries, were also placed at the disposal of the new
National Library. The books were first inventoried as
they came out of the chests and then sorted according to
subject matter, language and size. It was unfortunate for
the Library that the Empress died in 1796, for many of her
projects were never carried out, and the development of
the Library into a true National Library was thereby
checked. The Emperor Paul appointed as Director Count
Choiseul Gouffier, a French emigre, who took little interest in
the Library, which indeed would have been handed over and
absorbed into the Library of the Academy had he not been
dismissed in 1800, and Count Alexander Stroganof appointed
as Director. Stroganof was a man of position and culture,
with a very good private library and art collection of his
own, and he proved of immense benefit to the new and
PUBLICNAJA BIB. LENINGRAD 149
struggling institution. He at once set about moving the
books into the new building, which had been assigned to it
by the Cabinet, and saw that the work of cataloguing and
classification was taken in hand under the superintendence
of d'Augard, who, with his approval, published in 1802
" Instructions for the management of the Imperial Public
Library/' Under Stroganof was acquired the valuable
collection of Dubrovsky's MSS. in 1805. Dubrovsky
occupied an official position at the Russian Embassy at
Paris, and when the Revolution made it dangerous to stay
on at Paris, he was instructed to get the papers of the
Embassy out of the country. This he did, and brought
with them " 400 really magnificent and noteworthy manu-
scripts and about 8,000 autographs of famous Frenchmen."
These he acquired from the Abbey of St. Germain, which
was destroyed by fire in August, 1794 (the result of the
basement having been used as a magazine by the revolu-
tionaries), though there remains some mystery as to how
he acquired them ; he had also, it appears, " made con-
siderable collections at the taking of the Bastille, and
probably on other occasions." However he acquired them,
Dubrovsky handed them over to the Russian Government
in 1805, in return for 15,000 roubles and a yearly income and
further an appointment as curator of the Department of
MSS., at an annual salary of 1,200 roubles.
In 1808 Augard died, and Olenin was appointed as
Assistant Director, and at the death of Stroganof in 1811 he
became Director of the Library, which post he held till
1843. His work was of great importance to the Library ;
he raised it, indeed, to the rank of an institution of higher
learning, for being a man of wide culture himself, he suc-
ceeded in adding to his staff men of scholarship and learning,
while he himself was never tired of working for the advantage
of the Library and its staff. The first work he took in hand
150 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
was the general order and arrangement, and in this connec-
tion he had made an exact count of the contents of the
Zaluski collection, for which his figures were : 238,632
volumes of printed works, including 753 incunabula, 12,000
MSS. and 24,574 prints ; he improved the reading-room by
the introduction of windows, and relieved the congestion
of books by putting up new cases. He attempted to intro-
duce a complete system of classification for the books on
the shelves, and expounded his system in a book whose
title may be translated as An Attempt at a New Biblio-
graphical System for the Imperial Public Library ; it was
printed in Russian and French in 1809. He also worked
out rules for the organisation of the Library, including the
duties of the staff, which received the approval of the
Emperor on October 14, 1810 ; the Library was put under
the Ministry of Education and provision made for i Director,
7 librarians, 7 assistant librarians, i Curator of the Depart-
ment of MSS., i assistant to the Curator, 2 secretaries and
i watchman. The librarians and the Curator received
salaries of 1,200 roubles. The general budget was fixed at
24,500 roubles, with 2,500 from, the Library's own resources
(rents of shops, etc.) ; there was no specific sum set aside
for the purchase of new books, though part of the 2,500
roubles was used for this ; new books were acquired by
exchange of duplicates and from the law of legal deposit,
which privilege was given to the Library at this time.
Olenin's great aim was to build up a National Library, and
thus carry out its founder's expressed wish. The Zaluski
collection contained only eight books in Russian, so that
Olenin had to depend on the enforcement of the law of
legal deposit and gifts and purchases for building up a
national collection, and he found it very difficult to
enforce the law outside St. Petersburg ; however, in 1811
Russian books began to come in in small numbers, and
PUBLlCNAJA BIB., LENINGRAD 151
in 1813 there were 800, of which the majority were in
Russian.
On January 2, 1812, the Emperor paid a personal visit to
the Library and displayed great interest in all that had been
done, but the public opening of the Library was delayed
by the Napoleonic invasion ; the occupation of Moscow
endangered St. Petersburg, and all the manuscripts and
most valuable books to the number of 150,000 were packed
in boxes and sent north by water. They were returned at
the end of the year on sledges, and finally the formal opening
of the Library took place on January 2, 1814.
Olenin was succeeded by Buturlin (1843-49), who had
been in the Censor's office before his appointment and had
made himself disliked for his strict working of the censorship.
He did, however, not a little for the Library ; he interested
himself particularly in the Department of MSS., and issued
precise rules to prevent any loss or abuse of manuscripts.
The growth of the Library was small under Buturlin, only
i, 600 volumes being added in the six years ; these included,
however, two valuable collections of books written in the
various Slavonic languages.
The turning point in the history of the Library came with
Count Modest Andreevich Korf s administration, 1849-62 ;
his work for it may be compared with that of Panizzi
for the British Museum. What he accomplished may be
considered under the following heads :
(1) Control of the Library. In the interests of more
direct control by the Director himself, he obtained leave
from the Emperor for the Library to be transferred from
the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of the Imperial
Court.
(2) The raising of both yearly and special grants (this
will be treated below in the section on finance).
(3) Interior organisation, especially of the catalogues.
152 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
When Korf took office the arrangement of the books was
chaotic ; books, after being accessioned and shelved, virtu-
ally disappeared, for they were treated on no unified rules
and had no press-marks, so that even the catalogues that
existed (i.e. for the Zaluski collection and the MSS.) were no
help to finding the books themselves ; very rarely could a
book be found in any department except the Russian,
which alone possessed any semblance of order. Conse-
quently the Library was hardly ever used. Korf made one
of the staff responsible for the accessioning, and in 1850
issued instructions for the staff for the carrying out of their
work, including rules for the cataloguing and shelving of
books, rules which remained in force to the end of the
Imperial regime.
(4) Increase in accessions. When Korf assumed charge
of the Library, it contained 640,000 volumes, 18,000 MSS.,
and 15,000 prints ; it was exceeded in size only by Paris
and Munich. In twelve years he increased the size of the
Library by a third and made it second only to the Biblio-
theque Nationale. The increase of accessions was secured
by strict enforcement of the legal deposit, by securing
copies of all official publications, and also secret and cen-
sored books and all books held up at the frontier, by pur-
chases made possible by extra Imperial grants and by gifts,
which were stimulated by Korf 's methods of publicity. 1852
was marked by the largest number of accessions, when over
28,000 volumes were added. Most noteworthy of the
acquisitions were the Tischendorf MSS. ; in 1856 the
celebrated Biblical scholar Constantin Tischendorf, of
Leipzig, offered to sell to the Russian Government his
collection of 41 MSS., dating from the fifth to the ninth
centuries, which was accepted, and he further petitioned
for means to travel to the East to collect more MSS., promis-
ing to turn over his finds to the Government. The result
PUBLICNAJA BIB., LENINGRAD 153
of this expedition was the finding of the famous Codex
Sinaiticus, recently bought by the British Museum, which
with over a hundred other MSS. was handed over to the
Imperial Library in 1859.
In the twelve years of his administration accessions
amounted to 343,421 printed volumes, 11,485 MSS. and
autographs, 29,362 prints and photographs, 7,016 musical
compositions, and 1,755 maps and plans. Korf himself
organised the book selection and took great personal interest
in it.
(5) Beautifying the building both inside and out. Korf
found the Library in a state of dilapidation, stoves next
the books, floors ajid bookcases painted an ugly red, furniture
broken and worn, and a total absence of interior decoration.
As part of his general scheme for attracting the public, he
hafd everything renovated ; his actual building scheme will
be dealt with in a later section.
(6) Publicity through the press and in every possible way
so as to make the resources of the Library known and used.
Before Korf, the Library was a public library in name only,
He made it a public library in fact, so that by 1856 Korf
was able to say that scarcely any extensive learned work
could be done in Russia without the Library's aid.
(7) Organisation of special departments and sections.
This also will be dealt with in another section.
Korf was succeeded in 1862 by Delianof, who held other
offices outside his library work, and finally in 1882 gave up
his directorship of the Library and became Minister of
Education, in which position, however, he continued to help
it, since from the beginning of his administration it had
again come under the Ministry. Delianof carried on the
work of Korf, and under him steady progress was made.
He gave the Library a definite inner organisation and had
weekly staff meetings in which the undertakings of the
154 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Library were discussed and numerous problems settled.
Delianof also had to deal with the problem of lack of room
caused by the rapid growth of the collections. During his
directorship the valuable Palestinian collection of the
orientalist Tobler was acquired. Bychkof, who was ap-
pointed in 1882, was the first director to be promoted from
the staff ; he had entered the service in 1844 as Keeper of
the MSS., and had afterwards taken charge of the Russian
section and also several times deputised for Korf .
Bychkof s successor was the Russian historian Schilder,
who held office only three years (1899-1902) ; under him
the new building begun under Bychkof was finished.
Kobeko, who followed him, held office till the Revolution
(1918) ; formerly an official in the Treasury Department, he
took in hand the finances of the Library, which was in debt,
while increases in the salaries of the staff were urgently
needed. By July i, 1911, the new appropriations came into
force, amounting to more than three times the amount
received forty years before. In 1914 the centenary of the
opening of the Library to the public was celebrated,
among other things by a finely illustrated centenary volume
edited by Kobeko.
Under the last two Emperors many rare single works and
valuable collections were added ; amongst the most famous
is the MS. given by Nicholas II in 1896, known to scholars by
the name of Codex N. Amongst notable collections of MSS.
are the Greek, Russian and Oriental MSS. bought in 1883
from the famous Russian traveller and scholar, Bishop
Porfirij, which made the Imperial Library one of the richest
in MSS. from the Near East.
At the close of 1913 the Library was counted, and the
figures were as follows :
Printed books and pamphlets, 2,808,819.
Manuscripts, 45,328.
PUBLICNAJA BIB., LENINGRAD 155
Autographs, 152,800.
Documents, 8,575.
Maps and plans, 1,113.
From May 15, 1918, to January 8, 1924, the Director of
the Library was Dr. Radlof , and the present Director is the
orientalist and member of the Academy, Professor N. J.
Marr.
The Library has been enriched since the Revolution by
the confiscated collections of the Imperial Family, emigres,
religious houses, etc. ; among the MSS. collections may be
mentioned those of St. Sophia of Novgorod, of Kirillov-
Bieloversk, of the Theological Academy, etc. It has, on
the other hand, had to restore to Poland, by the Treaty of
Riga (1921), 11,334 out of the 13,300 MSS. taken by Russia
from Poland, forming the main part of the Zaluski MSS.
The present figures are :
Printed works (including pamphlets, maps, plans, etc.),
4,832,948.
MSS. (including autographs and documents), 331,100.
BUILDINGS
On arrival at St. Petersburg the Zaluski Library was
placed temporarily in the Garden of the Anichkof Palace,
and the Court architect, Sokolof, was instructed by the
Empress to draw up plans for an extensive building to
house not only the Library, but also museums and an observa-
tory. But this, owing to Catherine's death in 1796, remained
only a project, and finally a building for the Library alone
was erected at the angle of the Nevsky and Sadowa Street.
Later, during the reign of the Emperor Nicholas (1828),
there was added the wing occupying the side of the square
of the Alexandra Theatre, with an imposing facade designed
by the architect Rossi. The money for this extension was
provided in part from a sum left to the Government by a
i S 6 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
merchant, Larine, after whom one of the large rooms in the
first floor is named.
An integral part of Korf 's schemes for making the Library
of service to the public was the construction of a modern
reading-room ; but the foundation stone was not laid till
1860, and the room was not opened till 1862, just after
Korf had retired from the directorship. It was built on
the model of the British Museum Reading Room, though
it was not so large, there being seats for 250 persons. He
also provided a reading-room for newspapers and periodicals,
the first of its kind in Russia.
From the time of the rapid increase of accessions under
Korf the storing of books became an increasingly difficult
problem. The building had not been enlarged since the
building of the new wing in 1828-30 ; cases had to be
inserted in the middle of rooms, and from 1888 it became
necessary to pile books on the floor of the Russian depart-
ment. In 1886 a piece of land was secured by a grant of
250,000 roubles from the Government for the land and
building. In 1896 was laid the foundation stone of the new
building for which Bychkof had struggled so many years
and which he did not live to see completed. The new
building included a large arched reading-room of 40 by 17
metres, and also storage room for a great number of the
special collections. The work was finished in 1901. The
sections devoted to mathematics, law, philosophy and poly-
graphy were transferred to the new building and the space
so liberated in the old, turned over to the MSS. Department
and the Russian section.
CATALOGUES
To Olenin, Director 1811-43, the Library owes its first
catalogues. His first task was the classification of the
Library, and this having been well set in hand, he turned
PUBLlCNAJA BIB., LENINGRAD 157
his attention to rules and directions for cataloguing. Finally
in 1817, after consultations with his staff, he ordered the
following catalogues to be drawn up : (i) a systematic
catalogue (according to his classification) ; (2) alphabetical
by authors. In 1819 the final printed rules were issued
for the drawing up of the catalogue, and by the end of 1820
23 volumes of the subject catalogue were finished, containing
about 70,000 titles. But as the press marks of the books
were not given, the catalogue was of very little use for
either the staff or users of the Library, and remained in
fact unused.
The catalogue of MSS. was next undertaken, and was
completed in 28 MS. volumes. " The work is specially
valuable in view of the full description of the contents of
the manuscripts. Both the readers and the officials are to
this day [1914] guided by this catalogue, and newly acquired
manuscripts are entered in the same way/'
Under Korf the work of cataloguing was given first place
in importance. The order of April 14, 1850, gave instruc-
tions for the making of three catalogues in each of the
17 sections : (i) a short shelf list ; (2) a brief alphabetical
catalogue for staff use ; and (3) a subject catalogue for the
reader.
Soboltschikoff, who was one of the librarians, published in
French " Principes pour r organisation des grandes biblio-
theques " (Paris, 1859), an( i his system of fixed shelf -marks
was adopted.
Under Delianof (1862-82) detailed rules for cataloguing
were drawn up, and the catalogue systematised on a more
scientific basis. Catalogues of several special collections
were published, that of the " Russica " in 1873.
Under Bychkof a special grant was made in 1896 for the
making of a proper subject catalogue, and steady progress
was made from this time. A subject catalogue was com-
158 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
menced in 1931 ; a class catalogue of foreign books had
existed since 1928.
DEPARTMENTS AND SPECIAL SECTIONS
The State Public Library ranks as one of the foremost
in the world, mainly by reason of its manuscript collections,
which are second only to the Bibliotheque Nationale in
point of numbers and richness, and naturally first for
Slavonic and Near Eastern manuscripts. The foundation
collections were, however, mainly Western, the Zaluski,
since restored to Poland, and the Dubrovsky from the
Abbey of St. Germain. The big collections, however,
acquired by purchase or bequest in the nineteenth century
were almost entirely Slavonic or from the Near East, such
as the MSS. and incunabula of Count Viazmitinoff (1820),
the MSS. acquired in the wars against Persia (1828) and
against Turkey (1829), and the library of the academician
Pogodine, long celebrated in Russia for its national import-
ance, and bought in 1852 by the Government for 150,000
roubles.
The MSS. were constituted as a separate department when
Dubrovsky handed over the French MSS. to the Government
in 1805 in return for a sum of money and the appointment
as curator of the department, subordinate only to the
Director.
Other sections of the Library are :
(i) The Russian section, containing everything printed
in the Russian language, and divided into subjects like the
rest of the Library ; (2) books in Church Slavonic ; (3)
books in the Russian language printed in the time of Peter
the Great ; (4) " Russica " ; (5) Books in oriental languages
and all books of instruction in these languages ; (6) incuna-
bula ; (7) Elzevirs ; (8) Aldines ; (9) the Voltaire library.
A feature of Korf s administration was his arrangement
PUBLlCNAJA BIB., LENINGRAD 159
of the Library primarily as an exhibition, and the success of
the scheme from the point of view of attracting public
interest is shown by the fact that while in 1850, before the
scheme was started, the Library was visited by only 89
persons, in 1859, after the Library was re-arranged, the
number of visitors rose to 3,012. This must have been the
first library in Europe to adopt such methods.
The arrangement of the Library under Korf was as
follows :
Rooms I and II at the far end of the original block con-
tained MSS. and incunabula ; Room I had the Russian and
Slavonic MSS., with those of special interest displayed in
show cases, while Room II was devoted to foreign MSS.,
except for the show case that held the oldest Russian
writing and printing the Gospel written 1056-57 at
Novgorod, and the Acts of the Apostles printed at Moscow
in 1564. Room III was the waiting room into which one
came from the entrance. Room IV was the original reading-
room remodelled as a new reading-room in 1860-62. Room
V contained the natural sciences and mathematics. In the
wing added in 1828-30 were two large rooms (VI and VII)
and smaller ones (VIII and IX) . Room VI held the Russian
section, which contained everything printed in the Russian
language printed after Peter the Great ; in 1860 it contained
40,000 volumes. In show cases were samples of Russian
printing from different centres from the earliest down to
that time. Room VII contained philology, classics, oriental
and Hebrew literature, with exhibition cases containing
books of the Bible printed in all languages, including a copy
of the Gutenberg Bible, a copy of the Mainz Psalter and
Fust and Schoeffer's Bible of 1462. Room VIII held the
Aldine and Elzevir collections, while Room IX, modelled
exactly on a fifteenth century room, held the incunabula.
On the first floor, Room XII, which was above the state
160 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
entrance between Room VI and VII, contained the
" Russica" section, that is, books on Russia in languages
other than Russian. Korf spent more trouble and money
on this section than on any other in the Library, and had
booksellers all over Europe collecting for it, and in ten years
he had amassed 30,000 volumes. There was a printed list
of its contents, and also a subject and an author card
catalogue. Rooms XII and XIV, over Rooms VII and VI,
contained history and the auxiliary sciences, and Room XII
bears the name " Larme " Hall, after the patriotic merchant
whose money helped to build this wing. In the centre of
the room was a large table for the use of those who wished
to consult rare works or such as could not be conveniently
transported to the reading-room. In show cases were
displayed specialy rare works fragments of early printing,
first editions, rare prints and pamphlets on Russia, etc.
Rooms X and XI contain jurisprudence and political
science, and Room XV fine arts and technology, with a
collection of portraits of Peter the Great. Room XVI had
belles lettres and no exhibition cases. Room XVII was
the round room containing typographical curiosities and
literary history and exhibitions of books which have belonged
to famous people, of bindings from the fifteenth century to
modern days, of the rarest productions of the earliest days
of printing moved here because of the poor light in the
incunabula room, etc. Room XVIII contained bibliography,
palaeography and miscellaneous, and Room XIX philosophy
and pedagogy.
These rooms were open to the public on certain days.
The rooms on the second floor were used for storage of books
only.
PUBLICNAJA BIB., LENINGRAD 161
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
Korf was the first to make the Library a real factor in
the national life ; this he did by making it available for
scholars, and by his policy, described above, of turning a
large part of the Library into an exhibition. Bibliographical
work was also steadily carried on from the time of Korf by
the issue of catalogues of the special collections.
The Revolution naturally brought great changes to the
Library. In 1920 courses in librarianship were started at
the Library, at first half yearly, then yearly, then for two
years ; most of those attending are preparing to work
later in the Library.
From July, 1918, the Library has had an Information
Bureau, which issues a Bibliographical Bulletin (" Wissen-
schaftHchbibliographisch.es Bulletin''), the aim of which is
the bringing of the culture of the ages to the masses and
propaganda for good literature ; to encourage " the good
book," it issues critical guides.
The Information Bureau also undertakes a part of the
Union Catalogue of new accessions (in foreign languages)
compiled by 29 of the " scientific " libraries of Leningrad.
In July, 1925, the first number of a new library review
was published by the State Public Library.
Two copies of everything published in Russia are still
received; this privilege is shared with the Lenin Library
at Moscow.
FINANCE
The Library existed at first on a series of appropriations
made by the Emperor either for general expenses of adminis-
tration or for special purposes such as the construction of
cases for books, etc., or the purchase of some special collec-
tion. In the winter of 1802 an appropriation of 16,141
M
162 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
roubles was made for the Library, and 150 pine cases were
constructed.
Olenin, in Ms general scheme, approved by the Emperor
on October 14, 1810, arranged in his budget for an annual
grant of 24,500 roubles, to which would be added 2,500
roubles from the Library's own resources, i.e. rents of shops.
This was for administrative expenses, and no specific allow-
ance was made for the purchase of new books. In 1849 the
yearly grant stood at 20,355 roubles, which in the course of
the years 1850-56 rose gradually to 3 8 >355- I n s P ite of the
absence of any book-fund, books were constantly being
bought, and during the first 25 years 214,300 roubles were so
spent.
Korf managed to acquire many special appropriations ;
about 200,000 roubles from the Emperor and the Govern-
ment (of which 150,000 was for the building of the new
reading-room), and about 105,000 roubles from the sale of
duplicates, bequests of private persons, etc., which averaged
about 25,000 roubles extra a year. In 1866 the yearly grant
was raised to 54,217 roubles ; in 1871 it was 75,246 roubles,
and between 1874-82 it was 78,987 roubles yearly, which
was apportioned as follows :
Roubles.
The librarians ..... 24,537
Other officials 8,750
Lower staff 5> oo
Purchases, binding, etc. . . . 26,000
Upkeep 14,700
Exceptional grants varied in the years 1862-82 between
207 and 68,650 roubles, a yearly average of 11,850 roubles.
Under Delianof (1862-82) the amount spent on purchases
was 350,000 to 390,000 roubles, and for binding in the same
time the sum of 100,000 to 108,000 roubles.
From 1875-88 the Library income never fell below 80,000
roubles, and in 1876 it exceeded 98,000.
PUBLICNAJA BIB., LENINGRAD 163
Kobeko (1902-18) took in hand the finances, and by 1911
had succeeded in getting a new scale of appropriations, the
total amounting to 246,760 roubles, of which 59,980 was for
administrative expenses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Imperatorskaya Publichnaya Biblioteka za sto lyet [One
Hundred Years of the Imperial Public Library], 1814-
1914. [Ed. by Kobeko.] 1914. [With many illus-
trations.]
Dobiache-Rojdestvensky, 0. La bibliotMque publique de
Leningrad. (In Revue des Biblioth&ques, v. 37 (1927),
pp. 277-81.)
Grimm, Werner von. Studien zur alteren Geshichte der K.
Offentlichen Bibliothek in St. Petersburg (Leningrad),
1794-1861. (In Zentralblatt fiir Bibliothekswesen, v. 50
(1933), PP- 30i~i5 ; 353-77 ; 601-12.)
Guide de la Bibliotheque Imperiale Publique de Saint-
Petersbourg, 1860.
Wegweiser der Kaiserlich-Ofientlichen Bibliothek zu St.
Petersburg. 1860.
Koch, Theodore W. The Imperial Public Library, St.
Petersburg. (In Library Journal, v. 40 (1915), pp. 5-23 ;
93-108.) [Mainly a digest of the centenary volume.]
Rozycki, K. Die Kaiserliche Offentliche Bibliothek in St.
Petersburg. (In Zentralblatt fiir Bibliothekswesen, v. 17
(1900), pp. 497-505-)
For the circumstances of the finding, acquisition and
sale of the Codex Sinaiticus, 1843-59, see a pamphlet issued
by the British Museum : The Mount Sinai Bible Manuscript,
3rd ed., 1934.
164 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
APPENDIX
GOSUDARSTVENNAJA PUBLI^NAJA
BIBLIOTEKA IM. V.I. LENINA, MOSCOW
Since the Revolution the centre of importance has shifted
to Moscow, and the need of a new building to act as a
cultural centre and to house the enormous mass of books
which has come into the possession of the State was soon
evident. In 1927 land was acquired next to the old building,
which will be used for exhibitions. The design for the build-
ing was made by Stachuko ; it is a ferro-concrete construc-
tion of massive blocks, and, designed to hold about 9,000,000
books, it will be the largest library in the world. " The
chief public rooms are on the first floor, approached up the
wide staircase leading from the main vestibule. At the head
of the stair is a great open exhibition space, connected
without barrier with the reading-room, vestibule and cata-
logue hall, beyond which is the main reading-room seating
700 readers. The stack is beyond the reading-room and
will hold about 6,000,000 volumes, and a supplementary
stack below the reading-room will hold a further 1,000,000,
while 2,000,000 more will be housed in the old Lenin Library.
. . . Since the building of the Library of Congress there
has been built no National Library of such size and inter-
national importance."
The cost of this building is estimated at 10,000,000
roubles.
VI
DIE NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA
(FORMERLY K.K. HOFBIBLIOTHEK)
VI
DIE NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA
(FORMERLY K.K. HOFBIBLIOTHEK)
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
THE National Library of Vienna has a long history, and the
title of Hofbibliothek, which it held down to 1920, denotes
its intimate connection with the Imperial House of Haps-
burg. The Emperor of Austria was also a German Emperor
(of the Holy Roman Empire) in fact as well as in name
before the eighteenth century ; he was also King of Hungary
and ruler of territories as wide apart as Naples and the
Low Countries ; further, most of the Emperors were ardent
book collectors themselves, took a personal interest in the
library, and did their best to enforce the law of legal deposit
throughout their dominions. The library, therefore, had
more facilities than any other for acquiring literature of all
languages, and its librarians, drawn from all parts of the
Empire, and having connections with all the leading scholars
of Europe, not only directed the buying to scholarly ends,
but were early advised of any important collection of books
or manuscripts that was coming on the market.
The University of Vienna was founded in 1364 and
gradually built up a valuable library, while the town of
Vienna had one from 1466 ; both of these were incorporated
in the Hofbibliothek in the eighteenth century. The
Hofbibliothek was founded by the Emperor Maximilian I in
j hj father, Frederick (fifth Empero^ of that natne)
167
i68 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
had been a famous collector and patron of learning, and had
a valuable collection of manuscripts, but these book treasures,
together with others in the royal library, were still kept in
the Imperial Castle at Innsbruck, and did not find their
way into the Hofbibliothek till later. The Hofbibliothek,
as a fact, owed few book treasures to its founder ; its first
benefactor was Ferdinand I (1519-64), who is often referred
to as the founder of the library (in 1526). Frederick V had
built up a very fine Royal Library by his own collecting
and by engrossing, libraries of Princes of the Royal House.
Maxmilian enlarged these and formed one collection of
them at Innsbruck. In the next century the collection
of Sigismund von Tyrol came to the Royal Library, and it
was not till 1665 that the Emperor Leopold (1657-1705)
gave the greater part of this valuable collection to the
Hofbibliothek, while Lambeck was librarian. Under
Maria Theresa another private collection of the Hapsburgs
at Graz was given to the Hofbibliothek.
It may be noted here that the nineteenth century historian
of the Library, Ignaz Mosel, who published a history of the
Hofbibliothek in 1835, and was in the service of the Emperor
as chief librarian at the time of writing, emphasises the
part played by the Emperors in the development of the
Library : all were patrons of learning, and encouraged the
buying of valuable collections to the utmost of their power ;
the view of the post-war historian (Ottokar Smital in Die
HofbiUiothek. 1920) is that in the Hofbibliothek the
personality of the librarian played the larger part, and that
the Emperor was in most cases merely " the timid execu-
tant " of the proposals of the Director, and that the periods
of expansion in the history of the Hofbibliothek are as-
sociated, more perhaps than in sister institutions, with the
importance of the librarians' personalities.
The Library was fortunate in its early librarians, who
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 169
were scholars of repute ; the first Librarian (though that
title was not given to anyone till nearly a century later)
was Conrad Celtis, who held office from 1493-1508, and was
followed by Johann Cuspinian (1508-29), described by Mosel
as " one of the most noble and learned men of his time/'
" Through the care and industry of these two learned men "
the Library enjoyed important accessions of MSS. The
most important sources of these were the monastic libraries
of Admont, Garsten, Gottweig, Heiligenkreuz, Herzogen-
burg, Klosterneuburg, Mauerbach, Melk, St. Florian, St.
Polten, Seiz, Vorau, Vienna, which at the special order of the
Emperor were looked through for this purpose. The other
source was what was left of the splendid library of Matthias
Corvinus ; Cuspinian, after much delay, managed in 1510
to acquire from it a number of costly volumes of MSS.,
thus saving them from the general destruction which over-
took the library in 1526 by the taking of Buda by the
Turks.
The foundations of the collection of Greek MSS. were
laid by Busbeck, who collected MSS. from Asia and Greece
while he was ambassador at the court of Solyman II, and
left them to the Hofbibliothek at his death in 1592 ; and
Sambucus, who at his death in 1584 left a library of about
3,000 volumes. Other important collections which came to
the Library in this century were : that of Dr. Wolfgang
Latzius, who during an interregnum in the Library between
1557 and 1575 unofficially kept an eye on the place till his
death in 1565; in the collection were MSS. from the
monasteries of Austria, Swabia and Switzerland which he
had rescued from neglect and possible destruction ; also
that of Joseph Dernschwamm, a great traveller, who had
collected diligently on his journeyings, notably the famous
MS. Chronicon Joannis Zonarae in two volumes, bought at
Constantinople, and that of Johann Faber, Bishop of Vienna
170 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
who died in 1541, and who left a considerable number of
MSS. and printed books.
In 1575, Maximilian II, who under pressure of state affairs
had neglected the Library for the first part of his reign,
appointed Hugo Blotius as Librarian, the first to hold this
title. Blotius was born at Delft, and had won a European
reputation as a man of learning before he took up the post
of Librarian. Under a Prince, Rudolph II, 1576-1612, who
was a patron of learning, and a Librarian with energy and
organising ability, the Library took on new life. Not only
did Blotius see to the increase of the Library's stock, but he
devoted himself to the equally important side of organisation
and the making accessible of the Library's treasures to
scholars. The seriousness with which he viewed his duties
may be seen from the proposals that Blotius drew up and
sent to the Emperor in 1579, for the " enlarging, beautifying
and better ordering of the imperial book collection/' and his
dictum that a librarian should give up all other business
showed how important the Hofbibliothek had already
become. Under him the number of volumes rose to 9,000,
and MSS. to 1,600. The law of legal deposit was brought
in at the beginning of his term of office.
Blotius was succeeded by Sebastian Tengnagel (1608-36),
who had acted as assistant to Blotius since 1601, and had
started on an alphabetical author-list to Blotius' catalogues.
Apart from his work in cataloguing and re-arrangements of
the Library, which will be dealt with in another section,
Tengnagel, through his relations with scholars all over the
world, was able to acquire rare works from all parts of the
world. In 1619 Ferdinand became Emperor Ferdinand
II, and the first thing he did for the Library was to consider
moving it from the unfavourable site of the Minorite
monastery to the Hofberg. This was carried out in 1623.
He also tightened up the law of legal deposit by a decree
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 171
which made it compulsory on all German publishers to
deposit four copies at the Hofbibliothek.
Lending books outside the Library was at all times
allowed to accredited scholars, but the loss through non-
return was always considerable ; to see that books were
returned by borrowers was one of the points in Blotius*
proposals for improving the Library, while it is related
that it took Tengnagel thirteen years to get back a priceless
MS. that he had generously lent to the historical writer, de
Thou at Paris.
Apart from his work as Librarian, Tengnagel will always
be remembered for his library of rare MSS. and printed
works, which he left at his death to the Hofbibliothek, since
his Oriental and Hebrew MSS. laid the foundations of the
present day valuable collection of Orientalia.
The next acquisition of importance was the famous and
very valuable Fugger Library, acquired in 1655 ; it con-
tained 15,000 volumes and included all departments of
knowledge ; it was bought by Ferdinand III for 15,000
gulden. The library of the famous astronomer, Tycho
Brahe, was also acquired at that time.
In 1662, the Emperor appointed the learned and much
travelled scholar, Peter Lambeck (" Lambecius"), to be his
Historiographer and Librarian. His description of the
Library when he took office throws a light on the neglect
of his predecessors, after Tengnagel, who had died in 1636,
and on the work he accomplished : " Ich fand den Schatz
iiber meinen Hoffnungen und Wiinschen, aber so sehr im
Staub begraben so durch Schmutz und Verwirrung ent-
stellt dass es vollig das Ansehen hatte als sei er schon durch
viele Jahre als verlassen betrachtet worden." He was no
better pleased with the building, which he found dark and
damp and not even rainproof. Lambeck's great achieve-
ments were his catalogues, which will be referred to in
172 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
another section, Ms work in restoring the Library by having
it cleaned and repaired, and generally encouraging its use
by the public, and thirdly the wealth of accessions to the
Library during his term of office (1663-70) ; these included
his own library which he sent for from Hamburg, a col-
lection of Greek MSS. bought in Venice, the noted library
of the Marquis Cabrega from Spain, and the greater part of
the Royal Library at Innsbruck with which had been
amalgamated the library of Sigismund von Tyrol.
For the first half of the eighteenth century the office was
held by no one of special merit, the only noteworthy adminis-
trative event being the appointment of the first Prefects,
Riccardi and Garelli, in 1725. Besides the two Prefects
the staff consisted of two " Custoden," four " Scriptoren,"
three t( Bibliotheksdiener." The two Prefects were ap-
pointed by the Emperor, the others by the Prefects.
The chief acquisitions of importance in this period were
the valuable collection of Freiherr von Hohendorf from
the Netherlands, the library of the Archbishop of Valencia,
and many valuable Greek MSS. acquired from Venice and
Naples, and in 1738 the library of Prince Eugene of Savoy,
rich in works of all lands (15,000 volumes) and containing
many MSS. (it also contained prints which formed the basis
for the present print collection).
The new building, a description of which will be given in
another section, was erected in the reign of the Emperor
Charles VI, from 1723-6, and the books moved over to the
new building in 1727 ; at the time of the removal they
numbered 90,000 volumes.
The second half of the eighteenth century was covered
by the General Prefectures of the two van Swietens, father
and son, Gerard, 1745-72, and Gottfried, 1777-1803. They
had the good fortune to have a series of very good men
under them, especially Adam Kollar, who entered the service
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 173
of the Library as first Scriptor in 1746, and who was made
the first Director of the Library in 1774, which post he held
till 1783 ; his special work lay with the catalogues. Under
the van Swietens' regime the Library acquired many
valuable accessions both by purchase and gift ; in 1756, as
mentioned above, the University Library was incorporated,
with its wealth of ancient MSS. and in 1780, the town library,
also in 1756, the private library of Maria Theresa's father
from the Imperial castle at Gratz.
The richest collections acquired in the eighteenth century
were, however, from the Jesuits and from the monasteries.
The Order of Jesuits was dissolved in 1775, and by an
Imperial decree, lists of the Jesuit college libraries were
examined, and all books not duplicated in the Hofbibliothek
were moved there, the rest being distributed among other
institutions ; the Jesuit colleges at Vienna and Wr. Nesutadt
had the richest libraries. The Chorherrenstift St. Dorothea,
the Augustinian monasteries of St. Sebastian and St. Roche
at Vienna, and a few other monasteries had their MSS. col-
lections taken for the Hofbibliothek, but Smital, in his
history of the Hofbibliothek, deplores the fact that the
monastic collections were not worked over more thoroughly,
as they were in France and Bavaria ; the greater part of the
monastic libraries remained undisturbed, and the treasures
of some, such as the 42-line Bible from Melk, have been
appearing in the market since the war of 1914-18. The
Jesuit libraries contributed by far the bigger share.
Other valuable acquisitions during this period were
books from the sale of the library of Prince Charles of
Lorraine from Brussels, and from the sale of the due de la
Valliere's library in Paris.
The acquisitions and improvements in the Library noted
by van Swieten as made between 1765-85, included :
(i) increases of books, MSS. and prints, including 1,000
174 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
printed books, more than 1,000 Incunabula and 472
MSS. of special value.
(2) Developments in organisation and administration,
this chiefly in the revision of old catalogues, in the
preparation of the new printed catalogue, and in the
opening of a special department for Prints, as well
as a special room for Incunabula, which last must be
the first provision made anywhere for the study of
early printing.
During the Revolutionary Wars Vienna was constantly
under threat of capture by the French ; in 1797 the most
valuable books and museum pieces were packed up for fear
of the enemy; in 1805 they were again packed up and sent
away to Hungary on the approach of the French ; in 1809
the same was done, and this time Vienna was occupied,
and the French, following Napoleon's usual policy, took all
the objects of special value that were left, to enrich the
Paris libraries and museums. In 1813 the books were
brought back from Hungary, and after the Treaty of Vienna
the Hofbibliothek received back most of her treasures from
Paris. During these troubled years the holders of the
Prefect's office were Freiherr von Jenisch (1803-7) and
Count Ossolinsky (1809-26).
The chief need of the Library at the beginning of the
nineteenth century was an adequate catalogue. The details
of this work will be dealt with in another section, it is
sufficient to say here that by 1824 the new alphabetical
catalogue was finished, and a subject catalogue put in
hand. This work was carried out with the staff, under
Moritz Dietrichstein, Prefect from 1826-45, followed by
Munch (1845-71) and Birk (1871-91). To Dietrichstein
also the Library owes the foundation of the modern col-
lections of music and autographs.
The other pressing need of the Library was room for
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 175
expansion, which had really been a problem ever since the
new building had been occupied, 1726-8. Various palliative
devices will be described in another section, but always
lack of room greatly hampered the work of the librarians,
not only for storage of books but for administrative work
and especially the work of compiling and preparing the
catalogues.
The chief accessions of value in this century were the
collection of the famous Orientalist, Joseph von Hammer-
Purgstall ; the autograph collections of the librarian of
the Marciana, and literary historian, Bartolomeo Gamba,
and that of the French palaeographer, Antoine Sylvestre
de Sacy (1840 and 1855) ; and the collection of Oriental
MSS. of Eduard Glaser. In the present century the chief
MSS. acquisitions have been the Papyrus collection obtained
under the Prefectship of Karabacek (1899-1917), who was
also a Professor of Oriental languages.
At the end of the nineteenth century the growth of the
Library was not commensurate with its importance ; it
was indeed in danger of losing its position in the front rank
of libraries. Birk, who held office from 1870-90, had been
more interested in the work of arranging the Library and
the preparation of the catalogues, and had neglected ac-
cessions to the Library, and during his term of office one
subject after another was allowed to get out of date ; sub-
scriptions to periodicals lapsed, no recent publications
bought, and the legal deposit system not enforced.
In 1891, William von Hartel was appointed as Director,
and he instituted reforms which saved the Library from
becoming merely a museum and a " ' Fachbibliothek ' for
history and Austriana/' He enforced the law of legal
deposit, and by vigorous buying he did his best to fill the
gaps of the last, twenty years ; he set in hand a subject
catalogue and had arranged numerous small, almost for-
176 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
gotten, collections such as Sinica and Japonica, Rarissima
and Erotica, and a large collection of pamphlets. He also
improved conditions for the use of the reading-room, though
not much could be done till the enlargement.
His successor, Heinrich von Zeissberg, was only in office
for three years (1896-9), but he carried on the cataloguing
and reforming work of Hartel.
Karabacek's term of office, 1899-1917, covered the period
of highest prosperity, and also, with the World War, the
period of greatest trial. The rebuilding so long needed was
at last carried out, and the much needed special and general
reading-rooms as well as book stacks provided. Following
on this, since now there was room for the separate housing
of all the special collections, came the proper definition of
the departments and re-organisation of the staff. But
perhaps his greatest work for the Library lay in his publicity
work ; Karabacek made the Library known to Vienna and
the world at large chiefly by an excellent series of exhibitions
arranged in the magnificent " Prunksaal" The celebration
of the 500th anniversay of Gutenberg's birthday was fol-
lowed the next year by an exhibition of miniatures, and
again by other exhibitions, while for the year of the war
was planned a great exhibition of the history of the
book.
The war caused a closing down of most of the Library's
activities ; the reading-room was closed, except for special
readers, a great many of the treasures stored away, and a
very shortened service carried on. The only positive
accomplishments of these years were the starting of the
war collection and the final opening in 1916 of what had
been planned for 1914, an exhibition of the history of the
book.
* See Doublier, O. Em Vierteljahrhundert aus der Geschichte der
Hofbibliothek. 1891-1916. (In Festschrift der Nationalbibliothek in
Wien. 1926. pp. 163-210.)
PLATE XVII. DIE NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA : PRUNKSAAL.
(a) THE PORTRAIT COLLECTION.
(&) THE Music READING ROOM.
PLATE XVIII. DIE NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA.
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 177
Karabacek retired in 1917 and died in 1918, just before
the break-up of the Empire.
The Library has, of course, never been able to make good
the gaps in foreign literature caused by the war (at the close
of which some choice books were lost as part of the price of
defeat), having had neither the resources of the Preussische
Staatsbibliothek nor the help of such a society as the Not-
gemeinschaft. But the Austrian Government, in spite of
the hardships which the country and particularly the capital
have undergone in a period of revolution, has never allowed
the National Library to be completely starved. The war
collection has been built up, and the buildings improved
and enlarged, as will be related in another section. In
1919 the Library came under the Ministry of Public
Instruction and changed its name to the National Library.
BUILDINGS
About the early buildings in which the Hofbibliothek was
housed we know little. In a decree of June 15, 1575,
appointing the first Librarian, it was ordered that the
connection between the Minorite monastery, in which the
collection then was, and the adjoining " Hofhospitale/'
was to cease from then on. This is important, as Mosel
points out, because it gives the first site of the Hofbibliothek,
as to which, before the finding of this document, complete
uncertainty prevailed.
That the Minorite monastery did not provide an ideal
building for the Library is seen from the complaints made
(the General of the Minorite Order also complained of the
occupation of the monastery by the Library !), and when
Ferdinand became Emperor in 1619 the first thing he did
was to consider the moving of the Library from this unfavour-
able site. In 1623, it was transferred to the Hofburg.
We have a description of this building in 1663, when
N
178 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Lambeck took up office. The rooms, eight in number,
were dark and damp, with no free passage of air, and
designed neither for the safety of the books nor for con-
venient use of them ; the windows opened directly on the
street so that only noise and dirt came through them, and
the building was not even rainproof. Lambeck had the
place cleaned and repaired and the books made available
to the public, but the building was not adequate for the
Library's expanding needs, and finally under Charles VI, a
new building in the Baroque style was erected in 1723-6,
after a plan by Johann Fischer von Erlach. The main
feature of the new building, as in that erected by Frederick
the Great at Berlin about 60 years later, was a magnificent
hall, 241 feet in length, 45 feet in breadth and 62 feet in
height, decorated with marble Corinthian pillars, a statue
of Charles VI in the middle, and other statues of princes of
the Empire round the hall. In the middle of the ceiling
was an oval cupola, round the cupola and on the ceilings on
each side were frescoes painted by Daniel Gran between
1726-30, Opening out of the hall were various small rooms
that could be used for special rarities and for administrative
purposes, but directly after the books had been transferred
into the new building, the building was found to be too small.
In 1766 cracks appeared, which necessitated strengthening
the foundations, and at the same time an additional room
was added on the left of the building, forming a left wing,
in the place of the old entrance steps, which was used as a
reading room (the " Alte Lesezimmer ") till 1905 ; till then
the main hall (the Prunksaal) had been the reading room.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the question
of space became more and more acute ; accommodation
for the staff, the public and the books was entirely inade-
quare, and the Emperor was unwilling to find the money
for a new building, which would have been the only adequate
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 179
solution of the problem. Instead of this a number of
palliative devices were applied from time to time.
Temporary solutions of the book storage problem were :
the addition in 1830 of the Library hall of the Augustinians ;
this was used as a book depot but was soon filled. In 1828
the lack of shelf room was temporarily supplied by erecting
in the great hall 64 extra bookcases, which were filled with
the special collections, MSS., Music, etc. In 1856 the most
pressing lack of room was remedied by the erection of special
book stacks, which enabled the book-cases in the main hall
to be removed. These stacks remained till the rebuilding
of 1903-6, when new and more convenient stacks were
erected.
Another problem was that of reading room space ; the
old reading room, which was used from 1766 to 1905, was
not big enough even at the beginning of the nineteenth
century. It occupied a long rectangle, lit by windows only
at each of the narrow ends. In the middle was one long
table at which about 40 people could find a place. In
window-recesses and against the wall were writing tables
for the staff, who had to do there all their work, with the
public who were unable to find seats crowding round them.
In the rebuilding of 1903-6, a new reading room was built
to seat 100 persons, and additional reading rooms were
built for some of the special collections, notably the MSS.
and the Music collections. In 1921 the Print collection
was removed to the Friedrich Palace, as also the Music and
Papyri. The MSS. were then moved to where the Prints
had been, while the removal of the Papyri gave more room
to the Theatrical and Map collections. In 1923 a News-
paper reading room was erected over the reading room,
In 1924 the front of the Library was done up, and in 1928-
30 was carried out the erection of two large book stacks
under the main hall.
i8o NATIONAL LIBRARIES
CATALOGUES
A. GENERAL AND OF PRINTED BOOKS
The first Librarian, Blotius (1578-1608), was responsible
for the first catalogues ; he produced an alphabetical cata-
logue of the contents of the Library in fourteen MS. volumes
and also a catalogue of the historical books.* Tengnagel,
who was appointed as assistant to Blotius in 1600, started
on an alphabetical author-list and finished it in 1605 ; he
also made special indexes to the MSS., arranged according
to their differences of language and contents. 1651-63
Mauchter produced a two-volume catalogue of the contents
of the Library, with a third volume as alphabetical index,
which was the first assembling in one index of the separate
collections.
Lambeck (1663-80), among his other activities, planned a
complete catalogue which would embrace a subject cata-
logue, an alphabetical catalogue of authors' names and a
shelf list, but time was lacking to carry out all his schemes,
and he only produced vols. 1-8 of his Commentaries, i.e.
Catalogue of MSS. This work was carried on by Gentilotti
(1704-25). Kollar, who was in the service of the Library
from 1746-83, was first set to work by the Prefect, van
Swieten, to finish the " Commentaries " of Lambeck, and
the first volume of these revised Commentaries appeared in
1766 under the title of Petr. Lambecii Hamburgensis Com-
mentariorum augustissima Bibliotheca ccesarea Vindobonensis,
liber primus, etc. Editio altera opera et studio Adami
Francisca Kollarii. In 1793 appeared another catalogue
of MSS. produced by Denis, making a second edition of
the revised Lambecius.
* For a detailed description of Hugo Blotius and his cataloguing work
see Miszellen zur Geschichte der Wiener Palatina. (In Festschrift der
Nationalbibliothek in Wien. 1926. pp. 771-94 )
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 181
In 1780 the Prefect, van Swieten the younger, set in hand
the production of a new general catalogue of all printed books
and additional staff was supplied for the making of the
entries. In 1816 the proposal was made for a new printed
catalogue, and in 1824 the new alphabetical printed cata-
logue was finished, and bound up in 28 folio volumes ; it
grew in the course of the nineteenth century to 61 volumes,
and was carried on till 1906. There has been a complete
card catalogue since 1848.
Dietrichstein, who was faced with the special difficulties
of lack of room for his work, was instrumental in starting a
subject catalogue, taking the alphabetical catalogue, after
correction, as the basis of the new catalogue. His work
was carried on by Munch (1845-71), who started a card
catalogue, and finished under Birk (1871-91). Parallel
with this work went on the revision and improving of the
catalogue of incunabula, the arrangement of the autographs
and the preparation of a general index of Latin MSS.
In 1901 appeared the Beschreibungsregeln of the Hof-
bibliothek as instructions for the cataloguing work of the
Library.
Modern printed catalogues are :
Generalkatalog der laufenden periodischen Druckschriften.
Anhang. Periodica in k.k. Hofbibliothek in Wien.
Wien. 1898.
Verzeichnis der Handbibliothek des Druckschriften-
Lesesaales der National BibKothek in Wien. Wien.
1923. Nachtrage 1-4. 1924-7.
Zuwachsverzeichnis der Druckschriften der National-
BibHothek. Anhang. Zuwachs der Spezialsamm-
lungen. Wien. 1923-30; ab 1931 erweitert zum
Osterreichischen Gesamtzuwachsverzeichnis ("Oe. Z")
unter Mitarbeit von 32 Bibliotheken.
182 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Koch, Franz. Schlagwortkataloge iiber die Bestande
der Nationalbibliothek auf dem Gebiete der deutschen
Sprach-und Literaturgeschichte. Wien. 1928.
Since 1930 the Vienna titles, so far as they duplicate the
Prussian, have been incorporated in the " Preussische
Gesamtkatalog/' in the Berlin Accessions, " Berliner Titel-
drucke/' from 1931, and of course in the Gesamtkatalog
der Wiegendrucke.
Old catalogues still in use are :
The old shelf-list (Standsortrepertorien), which is partly
arranged by subjects, which contains Rarissima,
Journals, Biblia, Sinica, Erotica, School and elementary
language books, Law publications, etc.
The Accession Registers (" Einlaufsbiicher ") together
with indexes.
The book catalogue, started in 1825 and continued till
1926.
The card catalogue, started in 1848, which includes all
works from 1501 to date.
Subject catalogue of the war collection, and a card cata-
logue of the " Kriegspressequartier."
A new card catalogue from 1930, made according to the
Preussische Instruktionen, using a preponderance of
the " Berliner Titeldrucke."
A similar catalogue for the reading room from 1931.
A list of Geographical and Bibliographical References
(" Renvois ") up to about 1893.
A subject card catalogue for Encyclopaedias, Philology,
especially classical ; complete 1893-1915.
Schlagwortkatalog (on cards) since 1923.
" Referatskatalog " for classical Philology and Antiquities,
German studies, etc.
A card index of Austrian authors.
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 183
A periodical and serials catalogue since 1923, and a news-
paper catalogue since 1900.
Gesamt-Zeitschriften-Verzeichnis. 1923-6.
Alphabetical catalogue of new accessions of the Vienna
Library of Art History.
Shelf-list of the International Esperanto Museum.
Alphabetical and subject catalogue of the English Library.
Alphabetical catalogue of the Library of the Society of
the History of the town of Vienna and Numismatic
Society.
Catalogues of MSS. in use are :
Author card catalogue and subject book catalogue of the
Reference Library, including those facsimiles already
done.
Card catalogue of new accessions to complete the Tabulce.
Card catalogue of autographs.
The chief printed catalogues of MSS.* are :
Lambeck, Peter. Commentaria de bibliotheca Caesarea
Vindobensi. Vindobonse, 1665-79. 2n( i e< i- prepared
by Adam Kollar. Wien. 1776-90.
Nessel, Daniel de. Catalogus sive Recensio Specialis
omnium Codicum Manuscriptorum Grsecorum, nee non
Linguarum Orientalium . . . bibliothecae csesareae
Vindobonensis. Vindobonae. 1690.
Denis, Michael. Codices manuscripti theologici Biblio-
thecse palatinse Vindobonensis latini aliarumque occi-
dentis linguarum. Vindobonae. 1793-1802.
Endlicher, Stephan. Catalogus codicum philologicorum
latinorum. Vindobonse. 1836.
Chmel, Joseph. Die Handschriften in k.k. Hofbiblio-
thekin Wien im Interess der Geschichte, besonders
der Osterreicheschen Wien. 1840-1.
* For complete list see the list given in Minerva-Handbucher vol. 2.
Osterreicli, pp. 98-9.
184 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Tabulae codicum maim scriptorum praeter Grsecos et
Orientales in bibliotheca palatina Vindobonensi asserva-
torum. Vindobonse. 1864-1912.
Fluegel, Gustav. Die arabischen, persischen und
tiirkischen Handschriften der k.k. Hofbibliothek zu
Wien.
Hermann, J. H. Die illuminierten Handschriften und
Inkunabeln der National-Bibliothek in Wien. Leip-
zig, 1923.
The Incunabula are a section of the MSS. Department
and there are separate catalogues for them :
Book catalogue.
Card catalogue arranged by printers and places of printing.
Catalogue of Aldines.
The " Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke " (1925- )
will serve as the published catalogue of the collection.
DEPARTMENTS
The Hofbibliothek was under the Emperor's direct
supervision down to the break-up of the Empire, more
especially, of course, down to the end of the eighteenth
century, but even in the nineteenth century it was a Hof-
bibliothek in more than name. The Librarians, who from
1725 onwards had the title of Prefects, were appointed
directly by the Emperor, and the rest of the staff by the
Prefect. Blotius was the first who had the title of Librarian
(1575-1608), and he received a salary of 200 gulden ; it was
he who wrote on the duties and qualifications of a librarian
(that he should be learned in languages, diligent, quiet, and
if not of noble blood should be given a title to enhance the
dignity of his office), and emphasised the full-time nature
of such a post. He was also the first to have an official
assistant, Tengnagel, who later succeeded him in office.
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 185
The organisation of the Library remained the same
through the seventeenth century, but in the eighteenth
century, with the growth of the Library, departmental
organisation became necessary. In 1725, as we have said,
the office of Prefect was instituted with a salary of 3,000
gulden attached ; under the Prefect were two " Custoden,"
who received 1,500 and 1,200 gulden respectively; then
came four " Scriptoren/' with salaries from 600 to 300
gulden, also " Bibliothekdiener " and " Hausknechte." In
1774, Adam Kollar was appointed as first " Director " with
a salary of 4,000 gulden, the equivalent of a Deputy Chief
Librarian.
The Department of Printed Books now numbers 1,256,000
volumes, and among its special collections are, the Reference
Library of the Print collection (since 1921 transferred to
the Albertina), the Library of the Portrait collection, the
War collection, the Institute of Foreign Law, and the Inter-
national Esperanto Museum.
The Music collection, instituted by Dietrichstein, now
numbers 21,000 MSS. volumes and bundles (the medieval
MSS. and autograph letters are in the MSS. collection), and
about 27,000 columes of printed music.
The Geography and Map collection is the most recent
special collection, and was started when the new building
of 1903-6 allowed for room for it, with a reading room of its
own. It numbers over 110,000 maps, 22 globes, about 250
topographical drawings, and about 1,100 picture postcards.
The special Papyrus collection acquired by Karabacek
numbers 32,314 Greek and 50,000 Oriental Papyri.
There is also the special Theatre collection, which com-
prises as well as some 21,000 printed volumes, scene paint-
ings, models of stages, etc., and also 30,000 film reels. These
two are apparently (as are the picture postcards) unique
collections.
186 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Yearly accessions average about 18,000 volumes of
printed works, and also about 5,000 volumes of music,
1,000 maps, 3,000 portraits, 5,000 theatralia.
In 1792 the personnel consisted of : Prefect, Director,
four Custoden, four Scriptoren, three Bibliothekdiener, two
Hausknechter. Under the van Swietens the separate
organisation of departments began. The MSS. had always
been the most important part, from the point of view of
value, of the Library, and the special catalogue of them
begun by Lambeck and carried on by KoUar and Denis,
had practically constituted them as a separate department
from the seventeenth century. Owing to lack of space they
had no permanent home in the building till the new ad-
ditions of 1903-6 were made, when they were provided
with storage place and a roomy and light reading room.
Finally in 1921, when the Print collection was separated
from the Library and moved to the Albertina Museum, the
MSS. collection was moved to the rooms formerly occupied
by the Prints.
This famous Print collection, not now a part of the
Library, had its foundations laid by the collection of prints
which was part of Prince Eugene's Library acquired in
1738. It was developed under the van Swietens by Adam
Bartsch, and by careful purchases and generous gifts became
second to none in Europe.
The present Department of MSS. contains about 30,000
Western MSS., 4,280 Oriental, Greek and Slav ; about
60,000 Autographs ; about 9,000 Incunabula ; over 8,000
Book Plates. It is now well provided with storage room
and a reading room for the use of the public.
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 187
STAFF
r Generaldirektor.
i Stellvertreter der Gen. Direktors.
5 Oberstaats bibliothekare.
ii Staatsbibliothekare.
ii Unterstaatsbibliothekare.
The systemisation of the " Mittleren Beamtenstellen "
is not yet completed.
The " Administrationskanzlei " :
i Oberadmkdstrationsrat.
1 Wirkl. Amtsrat.
2 Amtssekretare.
18 Kanzleibeamte.
i Handschriftenrestaurator.
1 techn. Oberoffizial (Photograph).
15 Aufseher (Amtswarte).
32 Vertragsangestellte.
2 Amtsgehilfen.
Karabacek instituted a probationary year for candidates,
and laid down a scale of qualifications. The universities
at which lectures and practice-work in librarianship are held
are those of Graz and Vienna. In 1930 a fresh regulation
was made dealing with the practical instruction in libraries
for the purpose of taking the examinations for scientific
libraries.
The President of the " Priifungskommission fur Biblio-
thekswesen " is the Generaldkektor of the National Library.
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Library has always lent books in the tradition of the
German libraries, both for home reading and to other
i88 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
libraries, at home and abroad. In 1920 there was founded,
on the model of the Berlin Anskunftsbureau, an office for
locating and promoting loans of books, the Buchernach-
weissteHe of the Austrian libraries, the two being in close
relationship. Its aim is an ultimate union catalogue of
the Austrian libraries; towards this the union lists of
accessions now being issued are the first contribution.
FINANCE
The Imperial grant for the Library at the time of Blotius
(1575-1608) was 300 gulden, and his salary was 200 ; while
at the beginning of the eighteenth century the grant was
15,000 gulden a year while the Prefect got 3,000. The
grant was never a large one in view of the size and import-
ance of the Library, and of the fact that it was the central
library for a whole Empire and not for Austria only, but the
smallness of the grant was largely made up for by the gener-
ous special purchases made. Indeed there were very few
libraries which came on the market from the sixteenth
century onwards from which the Hofbibliothek did not
make purchases. For bibliographical treasures the Imperial
interest could nearly always be stimulated so as to result
in a special grant. It was not so easy to get money from
the Imperial exchequer for the necessary building, and
through the nineteenth century all administrative work was
hampered by lack of room, and finally in the worst years of
the twentieth, even book-purchases had to be given up.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL WORKS
Bohatta, J., and Holzmann, M. Addressbuch der Biblio-
theken des osterreich-ungarischen Monarchic Wien.
1900. (K.K. Hofbibliothek pp. 289-93.)
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, VIENNA 189
Petzholdt, Julius, Addressbuch der Bibliotheken Deutsch-
lands mit Einschluss von Osterreich-Ungarn und der
Schweiz. Dresden. 1875. (K.K. Hofbibliothek,
pp. 423-29-)
Teichl, Robert. Die Wiener Bibliotheken, Fiihrer und
Plan. Wien. 1926,
Verein Deutscher Bibliothekare. Jahrbuch der Deutschen
Bibliothekare. 1910 to date. (Includes Austrian " wis-
senschaftliche " libraries.)
Minerva-Handbiicher. Abt. II. Die Bibliotheken. Bd.
2. Osterreich. 1932.
MONOGRAPHS
Mosel, I. F. E. von. Geschichte der K.K. Hof-bibliothek
zu Wien. Wien. 1835.
Smital, 0. Die Hofbibliothek. (In Die beiden Hofmuseen
u. die Hofbibliothek . . . von Heinrich Zimmerman, A.
Handlirsch u. 0. Smital. 1920. pp. 49-92.)
Teichl, R. Das osterreichische Bibliothekswesen der
Gegenwart. (In Zeutralblatt f. Bibliothekswesen v. 43
(1926), pp. 429-38-)
Festschrift der Nationalbibliothek in Wien, herausgegeben
zur Feier des 200-jahrigen Bestehens des Gebaudes,
Wien. 1926. pp. 870.
For a detailed description of the " Prunkgebaude "
erected in 1726, with 16 plates, see S. Kleiner und J. J.
Sedelmayr. Der unveroffentlichte zweite Teil der Dilucida
Reprasentatio Bibliotheoe Csesareae. (In Festschrift der
Nationalbibliothek in Wien. 1926. pp. 75-85 and 16
plates.)
vn
VEREJNA A UNIVERSITNI KNIHOVNA,
PRAGUE
VII
VEREJNA A UNIVERSITNI KMHOVNA,
PRAGUE
HISTORY
THE Public and University Library of Prague came into
existence in the University of Prague, which was founded
in the year 1348 by the Czech King Charles I (the Emperor
Charles IV) . The first recorded mention of it dates from the
year 1366, when the King, who must be reckoned as its
founder, bestowed upon it 48 volumes, while somewhat
later, by his influence, a further 114 volumes were received
from the inheritance of Dean Vilem z Hasenburku. In
1370, we learn from the earlest catalogue, which still survives,
there were in the Library already 204 volumes.
With it were connected in some loose manner, and after-
wards incorporated into it, certain of the university colleges,
of one of which, the College of the Czech Nation, is known
from its catalogue to have contained as many as 2,000
books at the commencement of the fifteenth century.
Beside the University Library, there was founded in 1560
at Prague a library belonging to the Jesuits there, the
nucleus of which was the rich collection of books from the
Oybinian convent. In the seventeenth century this Jesuit
Library was abundantly endowed with gifts of books,
notably with the libraries of Pavel Pistorius and Sigmund
Kapr of Kapfstein. After the suppression of the Czech
Revolution in 1622 these two collections were united.
In the year 1638 the faculties of law and medicine of the
o 193
i 9 4 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
University were withdrawn from the control of the Jesuits ;
and there then came into existence in these faculties an
independent library, distinct from the older University
Library. It was placed in the Carolinum, and called the
Bibliotheca Carolina Minor. It grew rapidly, and in 1740
contained 7,000 volumes. In 1701 it had acquired by
bequest the collection formed by Count Josef Sternberg, and
in 1749 there was received a gift of 4,000 duplicate volumes
from the Court Library in Vienna. By 1769 this Library
was publicly accessible.
The abolition of the Jesuit Order in Austria, which took
place in 1773, was the occasion for the amalgamation of the
three libraries ; since that date the name has been " the
Public and University Library." From twelve suppressed
Jesuit colleges came over 100,000 books. In 1777 a gift of
10,000 volumes was received from the family of the Counts
Kinsk^, while by the good offices of Count Fr. Kinsky, in
later years, the Library has obtained the gift of a complete
collection of the printed works of Mozart, the library of
Professor Krombholz, and a gift of 4,115 books from the
private collection of the Emperor Ferdinand I.
The Revolution of October 28, 1918, and the proclamation
of independence of the Czechoslovak Republic, brought a
new age of expansion to the Library. Between 1918 and
1933 over sixty complete libraries have been acquired by
purchase ; the largest of these was the Lobkowicz collection,
numbering 52,631 volumes ; while others worth mentioning
are the Bolzano, the Lufick^ Seminary, the Smaha, the
Mitrovic and the Ostojic. In 1851 the Library contained
117,542 volumes, and in 1882 it had reached 183,000, both
normal figures for a not very large university library ; but
by 1933 the figure was over 817,000.
Since 1782 all Bohemian books and periodicals have been
deposited by law ; all produced in Slovakia and the majority
UNIVERSITNI KNIHOVNA, PRAGUE 195
issued in Moravia have been purchased ; the Library
therefore earns the name " National/'
The Library is controlled by a Director, who has also the
title of " Government Councillor/' under the authority of
the Ministry of Education and National Culture.
BUILDINGS
The original University Library was housed, till 1383, in
the old College of St. Nicolas, when it was moved to the
Carolinum or University Building. In 1622 it was again
moved, to the Clementinum, a large building constructed
by the Jesuits ; and there it remains. Large adaptations
of the structure were undertaken in 1924, some of which
are not yet quite complete. The result is that rare good
fortune among large libraries, ample space for books and
for the reading-rooms, general, reference, periodical, pro-
fessors' research and manuscripts, as well as for catalogue
room and offices.
Among the most noteworthy Librarians have been the
following : Charles Raphael Ungar (Librarian, 1780-1807),
who may be called the Library's second founder. Under
the librarianship of Fr. Posselt (1810-25) the system of
catalogues was established. Pavel Josef Safafrk (1841-60),
a famous savant, and Josef Truhlar, whose period of service
was 1865-1914, who made the catalogues of Czech and Latin
MSS., should also be mentioned.
DEPARTMENTS
There are the usual sections of Printed Books, MSS.,
Maps, Music, Prints and Drawings ; and also an American
" Masaryk Section " ; the Kinsky collection (v. supra) and
the recently-acquired library of Jan Kubelik are preserved
separately.
196 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
Lending is freely practised in Prague, and outside also
by the medium of the schools. There is an information
bureau for readers.
Since January i, 1934, the Library has been furnished,
in connection with the State Historical Institute and with
the State Photomechanical Institute, both in the same build-
ing, with a complete photographic studio, which satisfies
all modern and scientific demands.
PUBLICATIONS
Since 1920 the Library has published, partly by the help
of the Bibliographical Institute, which was established in
the Library in 1919, partly by the help of its department
called the National Library the Bibliographical Catalogue
of the periodicals of the Czechoslovak Republic (Prague,
1920), the Bibliographical Catalogue (Series I, 1922-28,
15 vols., and since 1929, Series II, so far 5 vols., appearing
also in sheet form).
In independent collections have been published :
Bibliothecae Clementinae Analecta. Editor, J. Emler,
Prague, 1931, Vol. 1, 1931. Manuals for Scientific Libraries.
Prague, 1932, Vol. I, 1932.
FINANCE
To-day 45 officials, with a classical school and university
education, 34 employees and 22 assistants, are in the employ-
ment of the Library. The personal budget for the year
1934 amounts to kc. 1,735,200 for salaries, kc. 142,300 for
wages, totalling kc. 1,914,600. Other expenses amount to
kc. 590,000 for books, kc. 442,000 for upkeep; total
kc. 1,032,000.
UNIVERSITNI KNIHOVNA, PRAGUE 197
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHIEF SOURCES
Spirk, Ant. Geschichte und Beschrelbung der k.u.k.
Universitatsbibliothek zu Prag. Wien, 1844, 109 /i/
pp., i tab.
Hanzlik, Jos. A. Geschichte u. Beschreibung der Prager
Universitats-Bibliothek. Prag., 1851, 8, VI, 633 pp.
Truhlaf , Josef. Dejiny bibioteky Klementinske. (History of
the Clementinum Library. PubL in " Osveta,"i882.)
656-63^ 696-708, 813-25.
Zibrt, V. t. C. Bibliografie ceske historic. Praha, 1900,
Vol. I, p. 198, sq. Nr. 3608-62.
For recent literature, especially the informative articles
by Dr. Emler, the present Director, in the Prager Presse,
about the work and programme of the library, see L. J.
Zivny, Bibliografie csl. knihovedy, Praha, 1929, sq., Vol.
I-VI.
VIII
LA BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALS SUISSE,
BERNE
(DIE SCHWEIZERISCHE LANDESBIBLIOTHEK)
VIII
LA BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE SUISSE,
BERNE
(DIE SCHWEIZERISCHE LANDESBIBLIOTHEK)
HISTORY
THE Swiss National Library, opened in 1895, is a young
institution, whereas those of some of the Swiss towns, and
among others that of Berne itself, are ancient. St. Gall was
famous in the early Middle Agdfe. But, as the present
Librarian has pointed out, the Swiss Confederacy itself,
founded in 1848, is a parvenue compared with the Cantons
and cities.
So far back as 1800 a proposal for such a library for the
Helvetian Republic was made by Philippe Albert Stapfer,
then Minister for Sciences and Arts ; the good old rule was
his, the simple plan, inspired by logic and Napoleon, to
stock the new library by confiscating whatever was best in
all the others. The proposal remained a proposal however ;
and nearly a century passed before a more fruitful scheme
was put forward.
In 1891, Friedrich Staub, of Zurich, the authority on the
German-Swiss dialects (who as M. Godet points out, had a
library to sell), petitioned the Federal Council to take steps
to found a national collection of Helvetica. The time was
ripe. A national museum had just been founded, and so
had the Central Commission for Swiss Bibliography ; his-
torical study was in the air. Enquiry was made as to the
201
202 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
need for such a foundation, and the opinions of librarians,
normally the last persons to be consulted on such a matter,
were taken, and were strongly favourable. On June 28,
1894, the Act of the Council, creating the Library, was
passed. Its function was defined as the collection of
Helvetica of later date than the founding of the Confedera-
tion in 1848, thus avoiding controversy or jealousy on behalf
of the town library of Lucerne, which was given an annual
grant for the purchase of pre-Confederacy Helvetica. The
distinction was never more than nominally observed.
Staub's collection, bought for fr. 25,000 in 1898, contained,
as was inevitable, much older matter, and so did other
collections. In 1911 a new law ordered only that modern
Helvetica should be acquired by preference. The scope of
the collections covers all publications relating to Switzerland
or the Swiss, by Swiss authors, or printed in Switzerland ;
not only printed books and periodicals, but maps, plans,
prints, and drawings are collected. There are at present
only a few manuscripts.
The first Librarian (and the only one bearing that title)
was Jean Bernoulli, who retired in 1908 ; and three years
later the new law, already mentioned (that still in operation),
was passed, setting up a national committee to control the
Library, in place of the local Bernese Committee established
under the original law. The new Librarian (M. Marcel
Godet, who still holds that office) was given the title of
Director.
THE BUILDINGS
At its foundation the Library was housed in part of a
house in the city of Berne, no. 7 Christoffelgasse ; in 1899 it
was moved to the new Kirchenfeld quarter across the river
gorge, near where it now is, and was established in a house
in the ^Egertenstrasse, in company with the Archives.
BIB. NATIONALS, BERNE 203
There it remained till 1931, when renewed overcrowding
forced on the government the provision of an adequate
building. The Archives remain in the house in the ^Egerten-
strasse.
The new site was acquired in 1926, and the design was
put out to competition among Swiss architects. Three
were chosen, the first two by Messrs. Oeschger and Kaufmann,
of Zurich, the third by Mr. Hostettler, of Berne. These
three architects were then requested to collaborate in a
fourth plan, uniting the good qualities of the other three.
Their problem was complicated by the close proximity of
the large and very modern building of the gymnasium,
symmetrically facing which, so as to form a large grass
square, the Library now stands. The final plans were
approved in 1928, and the building was formally opened
on October 31, 1931. The cost was fr. 4,570,000, not
including fr. 450,000 for the site. Per cubic metre of stack
building (without the 4^ miles of shelving) the cost was
fr. 48, and of other parts of the structure fr. 71, or an average
of fr. 64.50.
The style is courageously modern, in strong contrast to the
fanciful archaism of the Historical Museum close by. It is
in fact a salient example of the use of concrete, without
imitation of the traditions of stone or brick. It may be
urged in criticism that the wings do not harmonise in
proportions with the main block, but give the impression
of having been manufactured independently and stuck on
to its ends ; otherwise, once the eye has had time to ap-
preciate the style, the effect is good.
The plan is before all things practical. The entrance,
corridors and offices face across the quadrangle of grass to
the gymnasium ; the stack is at the back ; between the
two, protected from the noises of the schoolboys and of the
town, are the reading rooms, catalogue rooms, and so forth.
204 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
The side wings are at present occupied by the Government
offices of Statistics and Intellectual Property.
The reader, on entering, crosses the wide corridor and
enters the waiting and book-delivery room ; to Ms right
are the catalogue room, the exhibition room and the map
and print room, to the left the reading room, the periodical
reading room, and reading terrace overlooking the garden,
each of these (except the last) being separately accessible
from the corridor, and divided from the rest by glass screens,
which add to the sense of space. The book-delivery station
has a very neat system of mechanical carriers for requisitions
for books and for books themselves.
The reading room seats 48, the periodical room 24. The
tables do not allow of the readers sitting facing each other.
The book-cases for books of reference are recessed into the
wall, the space above being faced with sound-deadening
cream-coloured celotex. The floor is of lapis-coloured
rubber, very pleasant to the eyes. The series of public
rooms is lit by skylights, which can be protected by blinds
against the noon sunlight.
In the print and map room large portfolios are kept
lying on notably practical rolling shelves. The whole
building is remarkably easy to keep clean.
THE COLLECTIONS
The Library collects :
(1) books published in Switzerland ;
(2) books written or translated, illustrated or edited by
Swiss authors or artists or by sojourners in Switzer-
land;
(3) foreign books on Swiss subjects ;
(4) prints, plans, etc., of Swiss interest.
The present stock is over 600,000 volumes ; 1,200 current
BIB. NATIONALS, BERNE 205
periodicals are filed. The present grant for increase of the
collections stands at 25,000 fr., and fr. 18,000 for binding.
In the earlier days of the Library there was a law of
deposit which was of very moderate efficacy. M. Godet in
1915 induced the Swiss publishers and printers to accept
in its place a voluntary arrangement by which they deposit
their books and receive in return a free insertion in the
bulletin of new Swiss books, the monthly Le lime en Suisse
(Der Biichermarkt)). In this arrangement 220 out of 260
Swiss publishers, and those the chief, have joined.
Accessions in 1932 totalled 18,600, of which 14,690 were
gifts, including Swiss books deposited. Of recent special
collections mention should be made of the fine collection of
Bibles presented by M. Liithi (of the Library) at the opening ;
a special catalogue has been published.* The Commission
Centrale pour la Bibliographic Suisse assists with purchases
of old books and prints.
CATALOGUES
Besides Le lime en Suisse, three current catalogues are
issued :
Catalogue des periodiques suisses (Verzeichnis der
laufenden schweizerischen Zeitschriften). 1917- .
Repertoire methodique des publications suisses ou relatives
a la Suisse (Systematisches Verzeichnis der schweizer-
ischen oder die Schweiz betreffenden Veroffentlichungen)
1901-20 ; 1921-30 ;
Bibliographic scientifique suisse (Bibliographie der
schweizerischen naturwissenschaf tlichen Literatur) .
1925- .
The titles of these are cut up and incorporated into the
Swiss Union Catalogue, to which 123 libraries contribute.
* La Bible en Suisse et dans le monde. 1931.
206 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
At the end of 1932 the cards numbered 556466, of which
260,000 were classified. The mechanical work is carried
out by prisoners in the jails.
A special catalogue deserving of mention is :
Catalogue de la division : Histoire et Geographic (publica-
tions parues jusqu'en 1910). 2 vols.
INFORMATION BUREAU: LENDING
As will be seen from the size of the reading rooms, the
Library is largely designed to serve a lending system. The
Information Bureau deals with no fewer than 1,500 applica-
tions from abroad every year, apart from those from Switzer-
land ; and the Union Catalogue, built up as already explained,
serves a very free interlending system.
The reading room figures are :
1930 1932
Readers .. .. 16,817 30,147*
Issues .. .. 44,995 61,347
(Postal) .. .. 11,553 12,928
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rapport. 1900-
Godet, M. La Bibliotheque Nationale Suisse, son histoire,
ses collections, son nouvel edifice . . . Avec 35 illustra-
tions. 1932,
Lemaitre, H. The Swiss National Library. (In the Library
Association Record. 3rd set., v. 2 (1932), pp. 17-21.
illus.) [Deals with the building.]
* Exclusive of 25,520 visitors to the Exhibitions and to the catalogues.
w
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PLATE XX. LA BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALS SUISSE, BERNE : THE STACK WING.
PLATE XXI. LA BIBLIOTHliQUE NATIONALS SUISSE, BERNE :
THE READING ROOMS.
IX
LA REALE BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE
CENTRALE, FLORENCE
IX
LA REALE BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE
CENTRALE, FLORENCE
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
FLORENCE is a city rich, in libraries, and the National Central
Library is neither the oldest nor the richest in rarities and
historical interest, but it is perhaps fitting that the Library
which has become the National Central Library of Italy
was the one founded by a man of the people rather than
one of princely foundation. Magliabechi, the great biblio-
phile, who carried his passion for books so far that he worked,
ate and slept in the midst of them, was possessed at his
death of a library of 30,000 volumes. He died May 26,
1714, and left his books to the poor of Florence. Anton
Francesco Marmi was one of the executors of the will, and
was the first Librarian, and at his death in 1716 he left his
own large library to be joined to that of Magliabechi for
the benefit of the public. In 1737 " il Principe/' Giovanni
Gastone, the last of the House of Medici, took possession
of the Magliabechi bequest in the name of the people of
Florence. In 1747 the Library was formally opened to
the public with the name of the Magliabechi Library (Biblio-
teca Magliabechiana). In 1861, under the Kingdom of
Italy, it became the National Library (Biblioteca Nazionale),
and in 1885, the National Central Library (Biblioteca
Nazionale Centrale).
During the eighteenth century the Magliabechi Library
p 209
210 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
acquired many valuable bequests : in 1755 the " libreria
Gaddi," in 1756 that of Anton Maria Biscioni, and in 1786
the Strozzi collection of MSS. ; but the most valuable acquisi-
tions were the ancient library of the Palatina (Biblioteca
Palatina Antica) and the Lotaringia, united by Pietro
Leopoldo I (Grand Duke of Tuscany) and given to the
Library by him, 12,000 volumes in all, and the books that
came to the Library after the suppression of the monasteries
in Tuscany by the Grand Duke from 1775-89. During the
French occupation there was a second suppression of the
monasteries (1810) which enriched the Library with some
thousands of printed works and 2,373 MSS. In 1867 there
was a third suppression which gave 304 more MSS., the
printed books being given to the Marciana at Venice.
Ferdinand III (the second son of Leopold), who had been
in exile from Tuscany during the Revolutionary wars and
the French occupation, returned as Grand Duke after the
Treaty of Vienna and formed in his own kingdom a new
library, the Palatina (Nuova Palatina) in the building up
of which he spared no expense or trouble, so that at his
death it numbered 40,000 volumes. Leopold II, his suc-
cessor, added many rare books and MSS., which included
books from the Rinuccini library (1850), the rich collection
of autographs of Gonnelli (about 18,000), the De Sinner
collection, famous for the writings of Leopardi, etc. By
1859 there were 80,000 volumes of printed works and more
than 3,000 MSS.
In 1859 the Grand Duke was turned out of Tuscany, and
in 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed, and by royal
decree of December 21 of that year, the Palatina library
was united with the Magliabechiana, the joint collection
numbering 280,000 volumes and 14,000 MSS., and was
given the title of the National Library.
Following this the Library received several important
BIB. NAZIONALE, FLORENCE 211
additions : the Guicciardini collection (about 6,000 volumes)
of works relating to the religious reformation in Italy of
the sixteenth century, which Count Guicciardini gave to
the city of Florence in 1877 ; the library of rare works of
Giovanni Nencini ; histories and genealogies of Count
Passerini ; the Foscolo MSS. ; the Savonarola collection
of Count Lorenzo Capponi. After the Library was given
the additional title of Central in 1885 it acquired the library
of the Count Angelo de Gubernatis (1886) ; the numerous
" Miscellanea Capretta " (about 50,000 small printed works)
in 1890 ; the " Pistoiese " collection of MSS. of Rossi-
Cassigoli (1891) ; the " theatrical " collection of Luigi
Suner (1892) ; and the legal "Giuliana" collection (1897),
and in 1921 the bio-bibliographical collection of Bonamici
with a printed catalogue of 1893.
Among the more distinguished men who have served the
Library since the days of Magliobechi and Marmi may be
mentioned the following :
Ferdinando Fossi (eighteenth century), whose " Rela-
zione dell' opera dell' Accademia Fiorentina" (i.e. de la
Crusca), 1785-89, have been edited by G. Tortoli in " Atti
dell' Accademia della Crusca/' 1909-10 (Florence, 1911,
pp. 83-90).
Giuseppe Molini (1772-1856), knight, bibliographer, book-
seller and publisher, owned the printing press " AlTinsegna
di Dante " (1820-36), which he handed over to Frederico
Biancini. He was librarian of the " Palatina," where he
succeeded F. Tassi. He was author of " Codici manoscritti
italiani dell' I. R. Biblioteca Palatina di Firenze/' 1833 ;
and " Notizie di manoscitti italiani, o che si referiscono
all' Italia, esistenti nella Libreria dell' Arsenale in Parigi,"
1836.
He is thus described by P. Barbera in " Dantisti e Danto-
fili/' 1921, as " What an erudite bibliophile and editor
212
NATIONAL LIBRARIES
was Giuseppe Molini, whom I might call an Aldus Manutius
on a lesser scale, yet not so much less."
Count Luigi Passerini-RUli-Orsini (1816-77), genealogist,
Prefect of the National Library from 1871 to about 1874,
was author or part-author of " Genealogia e storia di famiglie
toscane" ; " Bibliografia di M. A. Buonarroti," 1875 ; and
" Cenni storico-bibliografici della R. Biblioteca Nazionale,"
1872.
Desiderio Chilovi (1835-1905), " scrittore " in the Library
in 1861, Librarian of the Maracelliana, 1879-85, and then
of the National Library, 1885-95, was author of " Le
librerie ambulanti " (in " Nuova Antologia," 1903, pp.
463-80) ; "I cataloghi e ITstituto Internazionale di Biblio-
grafia," 1897 ; and " La scuola rurale, la sua biblioteca e
le biblioteche provinciali," 1902. He had studied librarian-
ship in Germany.
The Library has had the benefit of legal deposit, from
Tuscany since 1848, and from the whole of Italy since 1870,
which privilege it now shares with the National Central
Library (the Vittorio Emanuele) at Rome. From 1886 it
has published the " Bollettino delle pubblicazione itaHane
ricevute per diritto di stampa."
The Library to-day numbers :
Printed books
Pamphlets and small works
Pieces of music
Maps .
Incunabula
MSS. .
Letters
Documents
888,526
1,184,584
44,180
4,625
3,600
22,715
420,186
957
Among the specially noteworthy collections of the Library
are :
(i) The Dante collection, which was started in 1888 and
is stated to contain all the editions of all the works
BIB. NAZIONALE, FLORENCE 213
of Dante and the books, foreign and Italian, relating
to Mm.
(2) The Guiccardini collection of works relating to the
religious reformation in Italy of the sixteenth century.
This collection has its own printed catalogue of 1875.
(3) The Savonarola collection. This was collected from
the original Magliabechi library and the Palatina
library, and added to the Savonarola collection of
Count Capponi.
(4) The Aldine collection. 1,087 Aldine editions were
found in the Nencini library, without taking into
account those found in other parts of the library.
BUILDINGS
The Library's first home was in the Antica Dogana, in
the east wing of the Uffizi ; here also was the first Florentine
theatre. In its main hall the Accademie della Crusca and
del Pimento were wont to meet. In the nineteenth
century the Caserna dei Veliti and the Palazzo dei Giudici
were taken in.
At the end of 1885 the municipality of Florence offered
as a gift to the government an area in the centre of the
city for a new building for the Library ; plans were got out
in 1892 and a three-storey building erected with its entrance
on the Porta Rossa. On the ground floor is the " Sala de
distribuzione " in which are concentrated all public services :
lending department, catalogue rooms, etc. On the right
of this is the large public reading room, containing a reference
library of 2,000 volumes. Later two reading rooms were
provided, one for the general public and one for students,
provided with about 10,000 reference books. There is
also a periodical reading room on this floor. The main
public staircase goes straight up to the second floor, where
are the office of the Director, the MSS. and other specially
214 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
valuable works for which there are special reading rooms ;
the special collections, such as the Guiccardini and Savon-
arola, and the Incunabula, are also housed here. The first
floor, to which the public has not access, is devoted to
administrative offices and workrooms for the staff, and to
book-storage. The area occupied by the building is 80 by
52 metres, and the Library was built to hold 1,894,200
volumes, excluding the reference books ; it was, when
built, one of the very few modern library buildings in Italy,
most of which are in old " Palazzi " of splendid architecture
but ill adapted to modern library needs.
It became necessary in the twentieth century to seek a
more spacious home, and ground was acquired between the
cloister of Santa Croce and the Arno, on the Corso dei
Tintori. This building, which has cost over 6,000,000 lire,
is at the time of writing still under construction, and is
expected to be opened in 1935. A feature is a " Tribuna
Dantesca."
CATALOGUES
Magliabechi himself relied on his memory alone for the
contents of his Library, and left no catalogue. The earliest
one which the Library still has is that compiled by his
friend and executor, Anton Francesco Marmi, entitled :
" Catalogo dei libri di Antonio Magliabechi/' arranged by
subjects ; Marmi also compiled a catalogue of his own
MSS. (" Catalogo dei manoscritti della sua Libreria ").
The first general catalogue, entitled " Catalogus librorum
omnium typis impressorum Bibliothecae Magliabechianae ;
inchoatus die 9 maii a. 1740, absolutus die 14 septembris
a. 1743," was compiled by Giovanni Targioni Tozzeti and
is in MS. in 12 folio volumes. The first catalogue of the
MSS. of the Magliabechi Library, entitled " Catalogus
codicum omnium manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Maglia-
BIB. NAZIONALE, FLORENCE 215
bechianae/' in MS. in 4 folio volumes, was arranged by
subjects following a division into 40 classes.
A large number of the libraries and special collections
acquired by the Library had their own catalogues ; the
Palatine Library had its own catalogue (" Catalogo del
fondo Palatino"), an alphabetical one in 23 MS. volumes,
which lists publications down to 1859. There was also a
catalogue of the MSS. of the Lotaringia-Palatina Library
(" Catalogo dei libri manuscritti deUa Libreria Mediceo-
Lotaringia-Palatina passati d'ordine di S.A.R. alia Pubblica
Libreria Magliabechiana 1'anno 1771, estratto dal Catalogo
fatto del cav. Gio. Gaspero Manabuoni bibliotecario di
quella Libreria nel 1765 ") ; and one of the MSS. from the
religious houses suppressed during the revolutionary period
(" Indice dei manoscritti scelti nelle biblioteche monastiche
del Dipartimento delTArno . . .), a catalogue arranged
alphabetically and comprising 2,227 MSS, Among other
special collections which have their own catalogues are :
1. Catalogo della Raccolta Nencini. (Alphabetical in 4
vols. in MS.)
2. 2 Catalogo della collezione de' libri relativi alia
Riforma religiosa del secolo XVI donata dal conte
Piero Guicciardini alia citta di Firenze. Firenze.
1877 (con tre supplementi).
3. Catalogo della miscellanea Capretta. (Alphabetical
card catalogue.)
4. Catalogo della collezione Savonaroliana. (Alpha-
betical card catalogue.)
The general catalogue in use, comprising all printed works
in the Library since 1870, is an alphabetical card catalogue.
There is no general catalogue of MSS. ; there is one which
includes those in the original Magliabecbi library (" Fondo
Magliabechi ") with the additions of Marmi, Gaddi, Biscioni,
216 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Cocchi, Lami, Strozzi, Biblioteca Mediceo-Lotaringia-
Palatina, S. Maria Nuova, della Crusca, etc., comprising
3,846 MSS. ; and the " Fondo Nazionale," comprising 4,000
MSS. There are also many other special catalogues of
special collections of MSS.
For full list of catalogues see that given in " Accademie
e Biblioteche." v. 2 (1928). " I Cataloghi delle Biblioteche
Italiane " (Firenze : R. Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale).
DEPARTMENTS
There are no departments in the strict sense of the word,
but the Library is divided into sections ; there is the MSS.
section containing over 22,000, which while it contains few
ancient ones, is rich in those of the later Middle Ages and
Renaissance periods ; section of autographs and documents,
which includes works in MS. written by the author, auto-
graphs proper and books containing famous autographs,
letters, etc., and now contains over 400,000 pieces ; a section
of incunabula ("Edizione quattrocentine "), containing
3,700 volumes ; a section of maps ; one of periodicals
and newspapers, etc.
The accessions in 1898 through legal deposit were : 13,126
volumes, 4,175 pamphlets and small works. Total, 17,301.
In 1931 they were 12,193, which included 265 periodicals
and 1,861 pieces of music.
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Library is a State Library under the Ministry of
Education. It is the principal bibliographical centre of
Italy, and its claim to be the National Central Library of
Italy (the Vittorio Emanuele at Rome has also that title)
rests on the number of works in the Library, which counting
pamphlets, letters, etc., now numbers over two and a half
BIB. NAZIONALE, FLORENCE 217
million, the importance of its literary collections, and the
fact that it is the respository for all national publications,
for which privilege it performs the bibliographical service
of publishing the "Bollettmo delle pubblicazioni italiane
ricevute per diritto di stampa/ 1 which is published every
month and distributed freely at home and abroad.
The Director of the National Central Library is also
Superintendent of all the libraries in Tuscany.
The Library has not yet a photographic service of its
own, but uses the local photographers for work that is
needed.
STAFF
The staff consists of :
i Director.
I Head Librarian.
6 Librarians.
4 " Ordinatori."
6 " Coadiutari e assistant!."
The lower grade staff consists of :
8 " Uscieri."
12 "Fattorini."
FINANCE
The present yearly income of the Library is : 200,000 lire,
to which every year the Ministry adds special grants to
the amount of 50 or more thousand lire.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL WORKS
Dziatzko, Karl. Eine Reise durch die grosseren Biblio-
theken Italians. (In his Sammlung bibliothekswissen-
schaftlicher Arbeiten. Heft 6. 1894. pp. 96-128.)
Le Accademie e le Biblioteche d'ltalia nel sessennio 1926-
27-1931-32 : relazione a S. E. il Ministnx 1933.
218 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
MONOGRAPHS
Biagi, G. Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze. (In
his work : Le Biblioteche governative Italiane nel 1898.
pp. 1-26.)
Chilovi, D. and Papini, A. II nuovo palazzo per la Biblio-
teca Centrale di Firenze. 1892.
Palermo, F. Classazione dei libri a stampa dell' I. e R.
libreria Palatina in corrispondenza di un nuovo ordina-
mento dello scibile umano. 1854.
Passerini, L. Cenni storico-bibliografici della R. Biblioteca
Nazionale di Firenze. 1872.
APPENDIX
OTHER ITALIAN NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Italy has not only the Royal National Central Library of
Florence, but also a network of other libraries, some of them
of great age and wealth, with the title of national, each of
which is the headquarters of a province and the seat of the
soprintendenza or governmental control over local libraries,
public and private, under the Fascist law. While Florence
receives and records all new Italian books, the Vittorio
Emanuele at Rome, which also enjoys the title of " Central/'
is the chief centre for foreign books, and publishes a periodical
list. Brief notes on these libraries follow :
A
LA BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE CENTRALE VITTORIO
EMANUELE II, ROME
The " Vittorio Emanuele" was founded in 1875 from the
libraries taken from the religious houses suppressed by the
law of 1873. It was opened to the public on March 14, 1876,
ROME 219
with about 120,000 volumes, and was given the name of
the " Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele," to which
the title of " Centrale " was added in 1885.
The Library is housed in the Palace of the Roman College
(Palazzo del Collegio Romano) , a splendid building of impos-
ing size built by the Florentine architect Bartolommeo
Ammannati in 1582. Here was housed the fine library of
the Jesuits, containing some 80,000 volumes, and to this,
in 1873, was added the collections from the other religious
houses, some 59 in number, many of which contained note-
worthy collections of manuscripts. Not that these collec-
tions passed intact, but enough passed into the safe keeping
of a great library. A new " Sala Riservata " has recently
been opened, and at the same time a semi-independent
service, with a select stock, for the general reader, " Sezione
di coltura generale."
MANUSCRIPTS
The manuscript collection is divided into (i) MSS. acquired
since the foundation, which are subdivided into the ' ' Vittorio
Emanuele " collection and the " Risorgimento " collection,
and (2) MSS. coming from the suppressed religious houses,
which are divided according to their house of origin. The
oldest of these came from the collection of S. Croce in
Gerusalemme, of which two date from the sixth century,
three from the seventh, and one from the eighth. One of
the ninth, of the same provenance, is one of the very large
number of recent important acquisitions, manuscript and
printed.
In section (i) the most valuable are a MS. of the thirteenth
century containing a version in the Sicilian dialect of the
Dialogue of St. Gregory, and a collection of 135 portraits of
Princes of the House of Este in miniatures dating from the
fifteenth century.
220 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
COLLECTIONS OF SPECIAL IMPORTANCE
(1) The most important collection is that of the " Risor-
gimento italiano/' for which the Government made an
annual grant of 1.4,000, later reduced to 1. 2,000.
It was begun in 1882, and comprises books, pamphlets,
newspapers, manuscripts, etc., which illustrate the history
of the movement.
(2) Topographical collection of the city of Rome.
(3) Palaeographical collection.
(4) Bibliographical collection.
(5) Theatrical collection, enriched by the acquisition of
the " Gabrielli " collection.
The present figures (1932) for the number of volumes are :
Printed works 550,000
Pamphlets, etc 310,000
Current periodicals .... 11,000
Incunabula ..... 1.797
MSS 5,278
Autographs, letters, etc. . . . 14,007
The staff consist of :
i Director.
3 Librarians (heads of departments).
6 Librarians.
FINANCE
L. 400,000 are granted annually for book purchase.
PLACE IN NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Library enjoys the privilege of the law of legal deposit ;
it also receives works deposited by authors for copyright
purposes at the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.
It publishes (since 1886) the " Bollettino delle opere
moderne straniere acquisitate dalle Biblioteche Pubbliche
Governative del Regno d'ltalia," and is the chief centre in
Italy for foreign books,
MILAN 221
B
LA BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE BRAIDENSE, MILAN
This Library owes its institution to Maria Theresa* The
library of Count Carlo Pertusati, President of the Senate, was
at his death purchased, in 1763, by the " Congregazione di
Stato," and at the instance of Maria Theresa was put at the
disposal of the public. A home for the library was found
in the Brera (erected by the Jesuits in 1572), which
the Jesuits were forced to vacate after the Papal decree of
1772 suppressing the Order, and the two libraries of Pertusati
and the Jesuits were joined to form the foundation collection
of a state library, which was given the name of Braidense,
and was formally opened to the public in 1876.
In 1778 it was further enriched by the library of Alberto
Haller, the gift of Maria Theresa, which contained the
manuscripts of this famous doctor.
The Library is rich, as regards ancient works, in medicine
and geography, and, as regards modern works, in literary,
historical and philosophical material.
Special collections are :
(1) Works of and about Alessandro Manzoni (" Raccolta
Manzoniana ").
(2) Dramatic works of Italian writers from the sixteenth
to nineteenth century.
(3) Works dealing with the history of Lombardy.
(4) Collection of books for the press of Bodoni.
Figures for the present stock of the Library are :
Printed works ..... 350,000
Pamphlets 206,000
Incunabula 2,500
MSS. 2,000
Autographs 21,000
222 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
The staff consist of :
i Director.
1 Chief Librarian.
2 Librarians.
The Library is entitled to a copy of every work printed
in Lombardy.
C
BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE VITTORIO EMANUELE III,
NAPLES
Founded in 1734, it was opened to the public in 1804, with
the name of the Royal Library of Naples ; from 1816 to
1850 it was known as " Borbonica." The Library is housed
in the Royal Palace, to which, with certain smaller Neapoli-
tan libraries, the Brancacciana, the Provinciale, and others,
it has been transferred in the last few years.
Its most remarkable possession is a collection of papyri
from Herculaneum.
The present stock numbers :
Printed works ..... 1,000,000
Pamphlets, etc. ..... 500,000
Incunabula ..... 4,625
MSS 11,868
The annual combined grant amounts to 1. 150,000.
The Director of the National Library is Superintendent of
the libraries of Campania and Calabria.
D
LA BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE, PALERMO
It was founded in 1778 by an ordinance of the King of
the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand I, and called the Royal Library
till 1860. The Library was given, and still occupies, the
PALERMO 223
former Jesuit College, whose library of 10,000 volumes
constituted the foundation collection of the Royal Library.
The Library possesses the most numerous collection of
Sicilian publications.
The present stock numbers :
Printed works ..... 328,693
Pamphlets, etc. ..... 14,743
Incunabula ..... 982
MSS. 1,642
The yearly grant is 1. 100,000
The Library has an alphabetical and subject catalogue.
The Director of the Library is also Superintendent of
libraries for the Province of Palermo.
E
LA BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE, TURIN
It was founded in 1720, and was formerly the University
Library. Some of its MSS. come from the monastic collec-
tion at Bobbie. It is housed in the second storey of the
Palace of the Royal University.
Among its special collections are :
(1) Valperga (624 Hebrew books).
(2) Napoleonic collection, bought from Baron Lumbroso,
of about 20,000 volumes.
The present stock numbers (1932) :
Printed works 500,000
MSS 1,800
Prints 10,321
Documents ..... 1,600
The yearly grant is 1. 120,000.
The staff consists of :
i Director.
3 Librarians.
224 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
F
LA BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE MARCIANA, VENICE
It was founded in 1468 by the Cardinal Bessarion, who
left Ms library of about 800 volumes to Venice as the founda-
tion collection, though it was not till a century later that the
books were housed and cared for in the magnificent building
designed by Sansovino, which is still the home of the Library.
Besides its manuscripts, which are of special worth, the
Library has several special collections of note :
(1) Works dealing with the music and theatre and costume
of Venice.
(2) Collection of old native literature of Venice.
(3) Topographical collection of Venice.
The present stock numbers (1932) :
Printed works 348,000
Pamphlets, etc 148,000
MSS. 13,000
The staff consists of :
1 Director.
2 Librarians.
The yearly grant is 1. ioo,ooo/
(a) THE MAIN FRONT.
(b) THE READING ROOM.
PLATE XXII. LA BIBLIOT-ECA NACIONAL, MADRID.
X
LA BIBLIOTECA NAGIONAL, MADRID
X
LA BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL, MADRID
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
ON December 29, 1711, King Philip V (1700-46) gave Ms
assent to the project of establishing a Royal Library in
Madrid ; the work of collecting for the Library began at
once, and in March, 1712, it was opened. The Library
remained royal in name and government till 1836, when it
came under the State and took the name which it still has
of the National Library.
Towards the foundation of the Library the King gave
some 8,000 volumes, MSS. and prints ; some were brought
from France, others came from the library which in 1637
had been found collected in the tower of the Alcazar, and
which at the time of its translation to the new institution
was known by the name of the Bibliotheca de la Reina
Madre. With these books came also various mathematical
instruments, a large number of coins and medals and
various antiquities.
The king nominated as Director of the new Library, P.
Robinet, and as Head Librarian, D. Gabriel Alvarez de
Toledo. To P. Robinet succeeded in a short time P.
Esteban Lecompasseur and P. Guillermo Daubenton, both
of the Company of Jesus and Confessors of the king. (The
Jesuits had been foremost in the project for a Royal Library,
since Madrid at the beginning of the eighteenth century
had no public library available for scholars.) D. Alvarez
227
228 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
having died, his place was filled in September, 1715, by D.
Juan Ferreras the historian. In addition in 1716, were
appointed four librarians, one head of the administration,
two writers and two porters, and at the same time the king
approved the Statues for the governing of the Library
(los Estatutos o Constitutiones del Establicimiento) which
were in force till 1761, when fresh ones were made by Charles
III ; then in 1836 the Library came under the State and
was put under the general supervision of the Minister of
Public Instruction and Fine Arts, with a Director as the
chief executive officer of the Library. On July 17, 1858,
the " Cuerpo facultativo de los Archivos, Bibliotecarios y
Arqueologos " was constituted by royal decree ; this took
over the supervision of all archives, libraries, and antiquities
in the country ; it is directed by a Committee which makes
decisions which are promulgated by the Ministry and are
binding on all State libraries. The Vice-President of the
Cuerpo is the Director of the National Library, and another
member is the Secretary of the Library.
The law of legal deposit has been in operation since
October 15, 1716, when Philip V decreed that of everything
printed in Spain one copy was to be entered in the Royal
Library. The modern law regulating this dates from 1896.
There is also the law of author's copyright, by which, in
order to benefit from copyright, all authors must deposit one
copy of their works at the Ministry of Public Instruction,
and another at the National Library. But in practice
neither decree has worked very satisfactorily ; the super-
vision of printers is far more difficult than that of pub-
lishers, since they are more numerous and more scattered,
and often have only a part of a work, and the Library has
never received all the national publications it is entitled to,
and those it does receive often arrive after great delay.
The Library owes its great riches largely to gifts both
BIB. NACIONAL, MADRID 229
from public bodies and private individuals ; at the time of
the suppression of the monasteries in the nineteenth century,
1,000 volumes from the monasteries in the Province of
Madrid came into the National Library through the agency
of the Minister responsible for libraries. From the same
source came 312 incunabula from the cathedral of Avila,
60 volumes of manuscripts, works and studies of the
childhood of Philip V, some in his own handwriting, which
were in the possession of the " Ministerio de Estado," and
more than 1,200 engravings. Of gifts from private in-
dividuals may be mentioned that of D. Melchior de Macanaz,
who gave 200 volumes, and D. Luis de Usoz y del Rio, a dis-
tinguished bibliophile, who left his library of 11,357 volumes
to the National Library, containing a large collection of
bibles and a large number of rare works of Spanish literature
printed in the sixteenth century.
Amongst important purchases of the eighteenth century
was the library which Cardinal Arquinto had formed in
Rome. In the nineteenth century : that of D. Juan Nicolas
Bohl de Faber in 1849, containing a number of old and rare
Spanish works ; that of D. Augustine Duran (1863) of
some 3,700 volumes and bundles, rich in dramatic works of
Spanish writers ; the Mexicana of Lie. D. Jose Carlos Mejia
(1864) of about 8,000 historical works, pamphlets, periodi-
cals, etc., published in Mexico since the emancipation;
Turkish, Arabian and Armenian works from the library
which D. Antonio Lopez de Cordoba collected in Constan-
tinople (1869) ; that of D. Cayetano Alberto de la Barrera
(1873) some 2,500 volumes, mostly Spanish works ; that of
the Marquis de la Romana, 19,630 select and rare works of
all kinds with some rare MSS.
Thirty years after the Library had opened the number of
volumes was calculated at 30,000 ; and by 1874 the total
was : 300,000 printed books, including 1,700 incunabula,
230 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
some 200,000 pamphlets, about 120,000 prints, and above
30,000 MSS. contained in 10,000 books and bundles. To-
day the figures are : 1,400,000 volumes, 2,412 incunabula,
30,172 MSS., 20,470 documents, 101,200 prints, 30,000
periodicals.
The Library has numbered among its librarians and among
those who have lent their services many distinguished
scholars and men of letters, but it did not develop on modern
lines equally with the other great national libraries of
Europe, so that while its resources were second to few, in
the means for making them accessible to scholars it was very
much behind other big libraries. The movement for
reform has been going on from the early days of the nine-
teenth century and is ventilated in the book by S. A.
Paz y Melia : La cuestion de las BMiotecas Rationales y
la diffusion de la cultura, igu ; it finally took shape in
the founding by royal decree countersigned by the Minister
of Public Instruction of the " Patronato " of the National
Library on May 15, 1930. The objects of this body were
laid down as being : to use the resources earmarked for the
acquisition of books, etc., for books which ought to be in
the National Library ; to inspect the internal organisation
of the Library ; to promote co-operation with other libraries
both at home and abroad ; to stimulate gifts and legacies
both from individuals and corporations ; to organise exhibi-
tions and conferences in relation to the stock and activities
of the Library; to prepare publications of catalogues.
After a year's delay caused by resignations, etc., the Com-
mittee and a new Director of the Library got to work and in
the following two years carried out a large programme of
reform which included : increase of hours of opening,
separation of readers (students and scholars from general
public), readers' tickets, box for suggestions, printing of
lists and catalogues, acquisition of books and exchange of
BIB. NACIONAL, MADRID 231
publications and of duplicate stocks. Some of these re-
forms will be mentioned in more detail in later sections.
BUILDINGS
The Library was housed at its foundation in the Royal
Palace and remained there till the French occupation a
century later ; then in the course of the re-building schemes
of Joseph Bonaparte the Library was among the buildings
which had to come down to make the large square in front
of the Royal Palace which to-day is called the " Oriente."
The books, etc., were moved to the Monastery of the Trinity,
but when the French occupation was over, the Fathers of
the Trinity claimed back their monastery and the library
was transferred in 1817 to the house occupied later by the
Ministry of the Navy, and then again moved to the building
in the street of its name (Calle de la Biblioteca), which was
opened to the public on June n, 1826. Before long this
building was found to be too small and a plan for a library
worthy of the capital of Spain was drawn up. A fine
position in the Paseo de Recoletos was chosen and work
was begun in 1866 on a building which was to house not
only the National Library but also the Museum of Archae-
ology and Fine Arts.* It was not completed till 1894 and
the final moving took place the following year ; the Library
occupies the ground floor while on the floor above are the
" Archivo historico-nacional " and the National Museum of
modern art. Sharing the same building to-day are also the
Office for the registration of intellectual property, the Friends
of Art and the Committee of Technology, all of which, it
has been found, makes it more difficult to carry out reforms
and enlargements of the Library services. The old general
Reading Room, now the special " Sala de Estudio " is an
* It is a large building in the style of the French Empire, and is
approached by a broad flight ot steps. On the wide terrace before the
three great doors are huge statues of some of the early kings*
232 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
oblong glass-roofed room, in which are placed 16 large
double-sided desks each seating 20 people. Recently the
whole building has been cleaned and re-painted in light
colours which do not absorb rays of light, and new offices
constructed for the Director and Secretary of the Library.
There is a special Periodical Room which it is hoped to
move to the present general reading room when that is
moved to the large hall of the Museum of Modern Art. For
the special reading rooms of " Raros, Varios y Bellas
Artes" have been substituted special tables in the Sala
de Estudio. The Department of MSS. has still a small
separate reading room. On the ground floor, below these
rooms are a separate popular reading room ("Section
General") and a series of exhibition rooms of the Sociedad
de Ainigos del Arte.
CATALOGUES
The old catalogue consisted of a loose-leafed book cata-
logue of the printed works and two of MSS. But this old
catalogue, compiled by different hands at different periods
was characterised by a complete lack of uniformity of entry.
Up till 1902 there existed no code of cataloguing rules as
instructions for the cataloguing staff, so that, for instance,
works of Thomas Aquinas might be found under Aquino
(Tomas de), Tomas de Aquino, or Thomas de Aquino, or
Aquinatis. The cataloguing, therefore, had to be done
de novo, and to avoid too great a disturbance of the work of
the Library it has been done, not alphabetically, but by
sections as they were arranged in the library, the books
being arranged more or less chronologically on the different
floors, the lower floors having the modern and most used
books. The catalogue is being made on cards of inter-
national size, and with the aid of a multigraph machine,
these are being reproduced, not only for the needs of the
BIB. NACIONAL, MADRID 233
library, but to send to other libraries. A copy of the new
card catalogue on metal cards is placed for the use of the
public in the centre of the Students 1 Reading Room. The
Library hopes ultimately to print its catalogue ; in the
meantime, besides the general card catalogue, there are
various special and sectional catalogues at the service of
the public : a catalogue (" Catalogo de los libros de la sala
general," Madrid, 1931) of the 12,000 books in the general
reading room has been printed and placed in the general
reading room. There is also a printed list of periodicals
in the Library (" Indice de revistas de las bibliotecas de
Madrid").
Printed catalogues of MSS. and special writers are :
Catalogo de las ediciones del " Quijote " existentes en la
Biblioteca NacionaL 1905.
Dominguez Bordona, J. Catalogo de los manuscritos
catalanes de la Biblioteca NacionaL
Guillen Robles, F, Catalogo de los manuscritos arabes
existentes en la Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid. 1889.
[Paz y Melia, Antonio.] Catalogo de las piezas de teatro
que se conservan en el departamento de manuscritos
de la Biblioteca NacionaL 1899.
Rio y Rico, G. M. del. Catalogo bibliografico de la
seccion de Cervantes de la Biblioteca Nacional. 1930.
Roca, Pedro. Catalogo de los manuscritos que pertene-
cieron a D. Pascual de Gayangos. 1904.
There are also a large number of bibliographies, which
are the fruits of the literary bibliographical competitions
organised by the National Library, of which the Library-
has published a complete list.
DEPARTMENTS
The Library is divided into two departments, that of
printed books and that of MSS. Printed books are again
234 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
sub-divided into (i) general books, (2) rare and precious
works, this includes incunabula, divided by countries, rare
works of Spanish and foreign authors, notable works from
famous presses, notable bindings, etc. ; (3) dramatic works ;
(4) miscellaneous (" varios ") mostly pamphlets and papers
relating to political and military events ; (5) music, organised
as a section in 1874, mostly modern composers ; (6) maps
and plans ; (7) prints, a section created in 1867.
The MSS. are the richest collection in Spain. There are
three special collections in this department : the Hebrew,
the Arab and the Greek. There are also masses of archival
material, some originals and some copies, MSS. of Spanish
writers, autographs of famous persons, etc.
Books are not lent out with the exception of some dupli-
cates and triplicates.
The daily figures of readers using the reading rooms
are:
General Reading Room . . . 1,500
Periodical ... 600
Students' ... 1,000
MSS. ... 20
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
Dr. Hoecker, writing in 1927 of the " Spanische Biblio-
thekswesen," said of the National Library that it represents
as to-day only the Vittorio Emanuele still does the old
original character of a national library, of a " bibliotheca
omnibus/' of an Institute which is for the use and enjoyment
of the whole nation. As well as an archive and repository
library it has also to be a popular library. This discord, he
goes on to say, has long been clear, in spite of which they
cannot decide to adopt one character or the other.
The reformers of the " Patronato " were well aware of
this problem and of the criticisms levelled against the
BIB. NACIONAL, MADRID 235
Library that it was " not responding, or responding badly,
to the needs of culture/' They decided, however, in the
end to continue the dual character of the Library, for they
considered that in a town like Madrid with few public
libraries it would be a great deprivation to the ordinary
citizen to be refused admission to his National Library, and
in order to satisfy both popular and " scientific " needs they
made a new general reading room (as at Paris) for the
public temporarily in the hall formerly occupied by the
catalogues, but soon to be moved to the large hall of the
Museum of Modern Art, to which no card of admission is
necessary, while students are provided with a separate
reading room (the former large Salon de Lectura) well
provided with reference books, catalogues and other tools
of the scholar. For admission to this a card is necessary.
The " Patronato " also extended their activities to book
selection, for they desired the National Library to be not
only a repository of national literature, but an active centre
of culture in all branches of knowledge, and since the pro-
fessional librarians in Spain are all drawn from the faculties
of philosophy and letters, it was necessary to call upon
outside specialists for help, and by this and other means to
endeavour to fill the gaps in foreign literature.
The National Library helped to foster bibliographical
studies by instituting in the nineteenth century prizes for
bibliographical work on Spanish writers awarded yearly.
The works of Perez Pastor, el Gallardo, and many other
monographs have originated from these competitions. The
" Patronato " has not only followed this good tradition,
but has doubled the number of annual prizes and consider-
ably augmented the quantity.
Another bibliographical service carried out recently has
been the " Boletin de nuevas adquisiciones extranjeras/' a
list of new foreign acquisitions, which, printed in small
236 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
pamphlet form, is distributed freely to all centres of culture,
universities, libraries, etc.
The National Library possesses, fully equipped, a photo-
graphic studio ; the charges are strictly cost price.
STAFF
The staff consists of :
i Director,
i Sub-Director,
i Secretary.
32 Librarians.
Second grade Assistants.
An applicant for the higher grade of Librarian has to
be licenciate in philosophy or letters. The instruction of
the Librarian, including also the archivist and museum
official, used to be in the hands of the Faculty of Philosophy
at the University of Madrid, who had a Chair of " Biblio-
logy/' Since the reforms in the library world, this course
has been modernised and divided into three sections for
each of the specialisations needed in the three kinds of insti-
tutions : libraries, archives and museums. As part of the
radical reform of the Faculty of Letters at the University of
Madrid we find the creation of a librarian-archivist diploma,
for which the theoretical instruction is completed by practi-
cal work done by the students in the different branches of
the University Library, under the supervision of the
Conservador. Women are equally eligible.
A body of second-grade librarians has also been created.
FINANCE
By a decree of Philip V of January 2, 1716, the Library
was endowed with 8,000 pesos of annual rent from the dues
of tobacco and playing cards of the kingdom, of which 4,300
BIB. NACIONAL, MADRID 237
were apportioned as the salaries of the officials, and the
remaining 3,700 to be spent on books and other expenses.
The grant varied little for the first century, but was
gradually augmented in the nineteenth century, and in 1876
the grant for expenses other than salaries was 30,000 pesetas.
The last few years, contrary to what has happened in
almost every other country of Europe, has brought great
prosperity to all the libraries of Spain, including the National
Library, and has made possible the large scheme of reforms
now being carried out. In a recent report about the
Spanish libraries we read what we have seen in the report
of no other country; "As the Republic has no need of an
army, it has been reduced by nearly a half, and a large part
of the credits for the Ministry of War have been transferred
to the Ministry of Public Instruction. The libraries have
largely profited from this. ... All the services [of the
National Library] have been improved, from the purchase
of books, for which the grant has been increased from
60,000 pesetas to 200,000 pesetas, to the lighting and
heating."
In 1926, 32,000 pesetas were spent on the purchase of
books, in 1931, 78,148 was spent on the purchase of foreign
books, and 24,836 on bindings.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL WORKS
Ernst, Konrad. Eine Studienreise durch die Bibliotheken
Spaniens und Portugals im Auftrag der Inkunabelkom-
mission. (In Zentralblatt f. Bibliothekswesen. v. 28
(1911), pp. 215-28.)
Hoecker, Rudolf. Das Spanische Bibliothekswesen. (In
Zentralblatt f. Bibliothekswesen. v. 44 (1927), pp. 20-38 ;
160-73.)
NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Sens, H. Les bibliotheques espagnoles depuis la Re-
publique. (In International Federation of Library Asso-
ciations. Actes. v. 5 (1933), pp.
SPECIAL WORKS
Biblioteca Nacional. Breve noticia de la Biblioteca
Nacional. 1876.
Patronato de la Biblioteca Nacional. Memoria, 1930-32.
Foster, Mary Louise. Three great Spanish libraries. (In
Library Journal, v. 56 (1931), pp. 9-12, illus.)
Paz y Melia, A. La cuestion de las Bibliotecas Nacionales
y la diffusion de la cultura. 1911.
XI
LA BIBLIOTHEQUE ROYALE DE
BELGIQUE, BRUSSELS
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LA BIBLIOTHEQUE ROYALE DE
BELGIQUE, BRUSSELS
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
ON June 19, 1837, a Royal Decree was issued establishing,
under the name of the " Bibliotheque Royale/ 1 a National
Library for Belgium. But though this Library was the
creation of the modern Belgian Kingdom (of 1830), it has
its roots back in the historic past of a country, which from
the early days of the Counts of Flanders, Hainault, etc.,
has been pre-eminent in the arts, and, in the craft of print-
ing, was the instructor of our own Carton.
The Royal Library was formed mainly out of three older
libraries ; first the celebrated collection of Charles Van
Hulthem of Ghent, which was bought in 1836 by the Belgian
Government, and which, by reason of its Belgian bias, was
a fitting foundation for the new national library ; secondly,
the historic " Bibliotheque dite de Bourgogne," a sad
remnant of its former glory, but still containing treasures
which make it the most prized part of the Royal Library,
joined to the Royal Library in 1838 ; and thirdly, the
Public Library of the City of Brussels, the history of which
was closely involved with that of the Burgundy Library;
finally in 1843 this, too, was absorbed into the National
Library,
The real creator of the Burgundian Library was Duke
Philip, surnamed the Good (1419-67), under whom the
R % 241
242 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
House of Burgundy was raised to the rank of one of the
first powers of Europe. The first Duke of Burgundy,
Philip the Bold, by his marriage with Margaret, only
daughter and heir of Louis, last of the Counts of Flanders
(died 1383) became the possessor, with the other property,
of the private library of the Counts of Flanders. He was
a lover of literature, and preserved this collection of books
with care, and, in spite of the troubled times, even added
works. C. A. de la Serna Santander, writing of the Library
in 1809, mentions four MSS. on vellum which were still in
the Library when he wrote, which were without doubt from
this Prince's library, but writing in 1840, M. Namur says
there was then only one of the four mentioned to be found,
this being " Les dialogues de S. Gregoire, Pape."
It was under Philip the Good that the Library first took
the name of " Bibliotheque de Bourgogne " ; he enlarged it
and enriched it to such an extent that in 1443 it was known,
according to a contemporary author, David Aubert, as the
richest and largest in the world, and certainly the only
others that could be compared to it at this period were that
of Charles V of France and of Jean Due de Berry. David
Aubert was entrusted by Philip the Good with th.6 task of
making and buying MSS., and a scriptorium was established
in the town of Brussels. At his death inventories were made
of his libraries at Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels,
and the total number of MSS. amounted to 3,211. Some
of these, dedicated to Philip the Good, or copied or trans-
lated by his orders, are still to be found in the Library ; a
considerable number of others, lost in the religious wars of
the sixteenth century, were found in the eighteenth century
by Count Cobenzl scattered among the German libraries.
Belgium was early in its history the " cockpit " of Europe,"
and suffered accordingly ; the only miracle is that so much
survives.
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 243
The glories of the House of Burgundy were brought to an
abrupt end by the death of Charles le Temeraire in 1477 on
the field of Nancy. In the few periods he had for peaceful
pursuits he showed his interest in books and letters, and it
was during his reign that printing was introduced into
Belgium. It is related of him that on the model of Alexander
the Great, who carried everywhere with him the works of
Homer to excite his ambition, Charles was never parted
from a MS. translation made for him from the Latin by
Vasque de Lucena, " La Cyropedie " or " 1'Histoire du
premier roi Cyrus/' It was with him at the Battle of
Nancy and believed to be lost, but was acquired in a public
sale at Paris and given by the Queen of the Belgians to
the Bibliotheque de Bourgogne in 1833.
Under Maxmilian of Austria, who by his marriage with
the only surviving heir to the Dukedom, Mary of Burgundy,
became ruler of the Low Countries, the Library was re-
membered only as a source of ready cash, and precious
bindings as well as MSS. were sold to money-lenders to meet
the expenses of a Prince surnamed {t le Necessiteux."
Under Margaret of Austria, aunt of the Emperor Charles V,
and after her her sister, Mary, Queen of Hungary, who acted
as Regents for Charles in the Low Countries, the Library
received rich additions during her life, and at Margaret's
death in 1530, her own library. The Library still has her
books of music, which contain a few songs of her own
composition. The two most precious gifts from Mary were
two works from the celebrated library of Matthias Corvinus,
one, containing the four Evangelists in Latin, was given by
her to Philip II, and was placed by him in the Escorial ;
the other, still in the Bibliotheque de Bourgogne, was a
missal of superb execution, done in Italy for Matthias
Corvinus, and used after this in the ceremonies attached to
the " Joyeuses-Entrees/' the sovereigns taking their solemn
244 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
oath on this missal to observe the privileges and laws of the
country. Philip II always showed himself as a friend of
letters and the arts, and before leaving the Low Countries
for Spain in 1599 he gave orders for the collecting together
of all the books belonging to the different Royal libraries,
Margaret of Austria's and Mary's (who died in 1588) and his
own, scattered in the Royal palaces, and to make one library
of them at Brussels. He also appointed Viglius ab Ayta, a
noted savant of the time, as " tresorier et garde/' There is
no mention made of the place destined for the assembling
of these books, but there seems little doubt that they were
placed in the Royal Palace of the Court at Brussels. An
inventory made by Viglius (still preserved in its care,
gives the numbers as 958 volumes of MSS. and 683 printed
works.
a During the troubled period which succeeded this the
Library lost many precious MSS., and it was not till the end
of the sixteenth century that the Governor-Generals of the
Low Countries interested themselves again in its care,
and enlarged and enriched it. One method instituted by
Archduke Ernest, Governor-General of the Low Countries,
was to order printers to deposit one copy (the next year two)
of everything printed at the Royal Library. But like so
many Government decrees in that country, it was a dead
letter, for the Secretaries of the Council of Brabant refused
for many years to put it into execution, or used it later for
their own profit, " se faire livrer a leur prouffit quatre, cinq
ou six exemplaires." At the death of Viglius, the charge
of the Library was given to Francois Damant, with the title
of Garde-joyaux, who was succeeded by Philippe Borlut.
In 1599 the Archduke Albert and his wife Isabel became
rulers of the Low Countries ; their intentions towards the
Library were excellent, though owing to troubles in the
state and lack of money, not much material benefit accrued.
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 245
Adrien de Riebeke was appointed in place of Borlut, who had
died that year, and he had an inventory made which listed
802 volumes of MSS. and 750 printed books. But seeing
the need for a learned man to be placed at the head of the
Library, they appointed in place of de Riebeke, Aubert le
Mire, " pronotaire apostolique, Licencie en la saincte
theologie, Chanoine de 1'Eglise cathedrale d'Anvers/' etc.,
who received the title of " bibliothecaire et garde de la
librairie de la Cour." After this brief revival of interest
the Library entered into a period of neglect and, finally,
total oblivion, from which it was rescued only by the zeal
and energy of the Count of Cobenzl, Minister plenipotentiary
of the Empress Maria Theresa from 1753 onwards.
From the death of Aubert le Mire, in 1640, the Library was
put in charge of Officers (" Greffiers ") of the Council of
Finances, but they seemed to have done nothing for the
Library, which was practically abandoned. In 1731
occurred a disastrous fire, the Royal Palace, where the
Library was housed, was reduced to ashes and a vast number
of precious works destroyed. What was left of the books
and MSS. were put some time after in the crypt of the Chapel
of the Palace, a chef-d'oeuvre of Gothic architecture. The
crypt had cellars beneath it, so that it was fortunately dry ;
otherwise what had been saved from the flames would have
assuredly rotted away, for after making a rough list of the
contents, the Officer locked them up and allowed no one to
have access to them ; after a time very few people even
remembered their existence. But if the people of Brussels
had forgotten their Library, Marshal Saxe, commanding the
French army of Louis XV, which took Brussels after a few
days' siege in 1746, did not pass over its existence. French
Commissioners, " tr&s habiles pour cette sorte d'op6rations,"
as the Belgian historian remarks, discovered the secret
store, and took away a great number of the valuable MSS.
246 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Three years later France agreed to their restitution ; 188
volumes were claimed back by Belgium, and about 80 were
returned, being the ones deposited at the Bibliotheque
Royale (Paris) ; the others had been disposed of privately
and could not be got back. The returned books were re-
bound magnificently in red morocco leather with the arms
of the King stamped on them.
The Count of Cobenzl, already mentioned, whose interest
in the Bibliotheque de Bourgogne had been roused by seeing
MSS. from the library of the old Dukes of Burgundy in
German libraries, when he arrived in Brussels in 1753 as
Minister Plenipotentiary of the Empress, hastened to make
enquiries about the Library, and was extremely surprised
to find that no one knew anything about it. After months
of research he found out the official keeper of the Library,
the Baron de Lados, and finally the store of books and MSS.
in the crypt, and having satisfied himself of their value, he
had them moved in 1754 to a large Hall between the Rue
Isabelle and the Park, and had them arranged on shelves.
On the recommendation of the " Greffier," Count Cobenzl
had appointed Pere Wouters, a canon of Lierre, as Librarian
that same year, and expressly charged him with compiling
an inventory of the Library. But during the thirteen years
he occupied the post he did not even compile a list of the
existing works in the Library ; he bought books which were
of little or no value, and he allowed no admission of the
public. In 1761 Charles of Lorraine and Count Cobenzl
visited the Royal Library. They found everything in
confusion ; the volumes were torn, the bindings loose, some
were attacked by vermin, and many volumes were just
piled on the floor. Wouters was immediately enjoined to
put the Library in a better state of order and see to the
repair of the books. Under this pressure Wouters had some
of the books repaired, but the disorder continued, and
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 247
finally the Council of Finances put in an official, Jouen, and
ordered Wouters to turn out, which he finally did in 1768.
Jouen drew up a catalogue and made a report to the Council,
in which he said that the Library contained some 9,000
volumes, but many of these were duplicates (of some books
there were even thirty copies), many books were unworthy
of a Royal Library, and, further, it was not possible to put
further shelving in the hall as at present constituted without
spoiling its architectural beauty.
The Council were uncertain how to act, and even con-
sidered a plan of dividing up the Library and making several
official libraries out of it. At this juncture, however, a
scheme was inaugurated by Count Cobenzl for founding a
literary society for the encouragement of lettes in the City
of Brussels. He obtained the support of Charles of Lorraine
for this scheme, which received the sanction of the Empress
in 1769. Count Cobenzl was appointed President and M.
Gerard Secretary. It soon became apparent, however, that
without a good library the Society could do little to en-
courage a taste for belles-lettres, and gradually the idea
of making a public library out of the old Royal Library took
shape. Count Cobenzl died soon after the founding of the
Society, but his successor, Count Starhemberg, was equally
zealous for the scheme, and by a royal pronouncement of
June 26, 1772, the literary society was raised to the position
of a Royal Academy, and the Royal Library was made a
public library.
Worthless books in the old collection were sold (7,000 out
of 9,000 printed books), the library of Count de Cobenzl was
purchased, the Imperial Government contributed 1,000
ducats, and both individuals and corporate bodies were
generous in gifts, noteworthy among these being a selection
of works from the Verdussen Library (Antwerp). M.
Gerard, having arranged the books and made a catalogue
248 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
of the printed works, asked to be relieved from his duties
and for a librarian to be appointed. Finally the Abbe
Chevalier, a member of the Literary Society, was appointed,
at a salary of 600 florins. From this time on the Library
was known as the Bibliotheque Royale or the Public Library
of Brussels, which latter name it held during the time
of the Revolution and until it was finally joined to the
Bibliotheque Royale founded in 1837. The old name of
Bibliotheque de Bourgogne was applied usually to the MSS.
collection, which in spite of further spoliations during the
revolutionary period still retained some of the original
Burgundian MSS.
The most important acquisitions of the newly-made public
library were the spoils from the libraries of the Jesuits, whose
order was suppressed in 1772, a particularly rich haul in
Belgium, where the number of volumes in their libraries
was reckoned at 800,000. Through the influence of the
Academie Imperiale et Royale de Bruxelles (formerly the
Literary Society), permission was obtained from the Empress
to select from the sequestered books all the MSS. and two
copies of all works relating to Belgian history and of the
rarest works. M. Gerard was entrusted with this task of
selection. The MSS. were placed in the Library, and the
books for which there was no room were put temporarily
in the church of the former Jesuits at Brussels, and the plan
suggested by the Prince of Starhemberg (successor to Count
Cobenzl) was to utilise this building for a permanent library.
But with the death of Maria Theresa in 1780, support for
library schemes was no longer forthcoming, and, a further
loss to the Library, the Prince of Starhemberg resigned his
post. After many disputes and some losses the books stored
in the Jesuit church were finally moved in 1792 to the
Library.
The revolutionary period opened disastrously for the
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 249
Library ; in 1794 Belgium was occupied by the revolution-
ary armies of France, and the Representative of the People,
Laurent, removed from the Library seven wagon-loads of
MSS. and books, which was followed by another pillaging,
and later in the year the Commissioners of Science and Arts
removed the rest of the MSS. and placed their seals on the
small remnant still remaining. However, the administra-
tion which was shortly afterwards set up interested itself in
cultural matters, and Gerard and C. A. de la Serna Santander
(the historian of the Library) were charged with putting in
order and retrieving all that they could find which had been
taken from the Library, and make an inventory of them.
The two men worked hard at the task of the re-establishment
of the Library, for as La Serna Santander said in his history,
the number of books retrieved in the first year was so small that
" one could say with truth that at this epoch we began the
establishment of a new Library, which, owing to a sequence
of events, has become much larger than the old one was,
with the exception, however, of the collection of precious
MSS. which it possessed/' Gerard resigned at the end
of 1795, finding it " repugnant after forty years of service
given to the Sovereigns of Belgium, to take an oath of
hatred to royalty/' La Serna Santander was then given
supreme charge of the Library, which office he held till 1811,
when as the result of a political imprudence he was proceeded
against by the police and forced to leave.
The work of putting the Library in order and making an
inventory of what remained was done in forty days, and the
Library opened again to the public on June 5, 1795, for eight
hours a day. By the decree of 1794 suppressing religious
orders in Belgium, large stores of books became available
for building up again the impoverished Library, which La
Serna Santander collected, listed and arranged with the great-
est zeal and energy, so that at the end of his history he was
250 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
able to say that the Library could be " counted to-day
among the finest and richest departmental libraries of the
French Empire/' Other collections of books which came
to the Library at this time besides those from the suppressed
religious houses were those from the Province of Brabant
and the Abbey of Gembloux and some of the books belonging
to the Grand Council of Malines.
In 1803 the Library was handed over to the municipality
of Brussels, which from this time appointed the Librarians
and fixed and paid their salaries. In 1815 the French
Government restored the larger part of the volumes removed
by the revolutionaries of 1794, amounting to 929 printed
works and 621 manuscripts. From 1803 the Library was
divided into two sections, printed works and MSS., the
printed works remaining with the town library and the
MSS. forming again the " Bibliotheque dite de Bourgogne "
belonging to the State, and M. van Hulthem, who succeeded
La Serna Santander as Librarian of the city library, was
also appointed " conservateur des MSS. de Bourgogne/'
He was joined later by the Baron de Reiffenberg, who
published in the " Memoires de I'Acad&nie" and in his
" Archives philologiques " interesting notices on many of
the MSS. in this Library. Very little interest, however, was
taken by either the State or the Municipality in these
libraries ; the MSS. were not open to the public till in 1827
they were handed over to the town, and M. Van de Weyer,
who had replaced M. van Hulthem, was appointed " Con-
servateur" of the MSS. Before this an inventory of the
collection had been made, which gave the following figures :
996 MSS. which had not been carried off to France.
288 MSS. from the Abbey of Gembloux.
892 MSS. from different religious foundations
which, with the MSS. brought back from Paris after 1815,
brought up the number to 2,800 volumes of MSS.
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 251
Towards the end of 1827 the Government acquired the
MSS. from the Library of the ancient Abbey of Tongerloo,
which included the Bollandist Library, to the number of
392. This library had been dispersed and hidden (not
without great loss and destruction) during the revolutionary
period ; in more peaceful times the remnant of the Library
was collected and the printed works sold to the Royal Library
at The Hague, the MSS. nearly followed, but were procured
for the Brussels Library through the action of an official in
the Ministry of the Interior. In 1826 a fire almost com-
pletely destroyed the Library building ; Van Hulthem was
away at Ghent and had taken the keys with him ; it was
necessary to break in the doors and throw the manuscripts
and incunabula out of the window to save them from destruc-
tion. After this Van Hulthem resigned.
In 1827 the Minister van Gobbelschwye, who was of
Belgian origin, had an inventory of the manuscripts made by
Gachard. Sylvain Van de Weyer was appointed Librarian
of the city library and of the manuscripts (Bibliotheque de
Bourgogue) ; under him the Library acquired part of the
Bollandist Library and also part of the manuscripts of the
ancient Abbey of Pare.
At the beginning of 1830 Van de Weyer was relieved of
his office of " Conservateur de la Bibliotheque de Bourgogne "
for political reasons.
The Burgundian Library was to have been attached to the
State Archives, but the amalgamation was interrupted by
the revolution of 1830.
Ten months later the Burgundian Library was reorganised
(February 22, 1831). M. Marchal was appointed " con-
servateur des manuscrits de la Bibliotheque de Bourgogne,"
which was opened to the public on July 21, 1831. Marchal
considerable enriched the collection up to 1838, at which
date the " Bibliotheque Royale" was created.
252 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
The printed works (the City Library), after being adminis-
tered by Van de Weyer, were entrusted to M. Goethals
(January 22, 1832). The City Library was handed over to
the state in 1843. After 1831 and the establishment of a
separate Kingdom of Belgium, the Library grew rapidly in
public interest, extra grants were allowed and no important
sale allowed to pass without purchases being made. Finally
the national feeling found expression in the purchase of the
Van Hulthem collection and the establishment of the
Bibliotheque Royale in 1837. The City Library at the time
of the amalgamation numbered about 100,000 volumes, the
Van Hulthem collection numbered 64,000 volumes (including
MSS.). The MSS. numbered in 1827 2,800 volumes, to
which were added the Bollandist collection of 392, and the
Van Hulthem MSS.
THE VAN HULTHEM COLLECTION
Charles Van Hulthem, curator of the University of Ghent
and member of the Academy of Brussels, devoted fifty years
of his life to the formation of his library ; he was indeed in
the true succession of famous bibliophiles who live only for
their books ; he spent all his salary and private fortune on
books and carried his devotion so far that he would never
in the severest winter have any heating, for fear of injuring
them by causing a fire or from the dust. He bought with a
special bias towards the history and literature of his country,
though his library included much beside ; indeed he bought
anything that was rare or of noted binding, and all his
books were in perfect condition, for he spent 7,000 to 8,000 fr.
a year on binding and repairing. He never had time to
arrange his books, and at his death they were found piled
in heaps or still in cases. Among his special treasures were ;
(i) Collection which treated of the arts, sciences and
letters and history of Belgium.
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 253
(2) Belles-lettres, especially the Greek authors, in editions
of Aldines, Elzevirs, etc.
(3) Plantins, the most complete collection.
(4) Incunabula ; he possessed nearly all the first editions
of books printed in the Low Countries.
THE CITY LIBRARY OF BRUSSELS
We have already given the history of this, which is too
closely involved with the Bibliotheque de Burgogne to be
separated. Among its rarities may be noted :
(1) Earliest fragments of printing.
(2) First printed works from the towns of Belgium.
(3) First editions of classical (Greek and Latin) writers.
(4) Magnificent collection of French, German and Spanish
romances and poems printed in the fifteenth century.
(5) Two special " rarissimes " : (i) letter of Amerigo
Vespucci which announces the discovery of America, printed
at Antwerp ; (2) letter of Christopher Columbus in which
he makes known his discovery; this seems to come from
the printing presses of Rome.
(6) Aldine editions.
(7) Spanish literature ; outside this collection, most of the
Spanish books which were printed in such large numbers
in the Low Countries in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries have disappeared.
THE " BIBLIOTHfeQUE ROYALE" FROM 1837
The organisation of the new Royal Library was put in the
hands of Baron de Reiff enberg, who up till then had been a
professor at the University of Li6ge. P. Namur, who had
been attached to the University of Louvain, was put at the
head of the first section (of printed books, etc.), and as his
assistant Edouard Ftis, who had the special charge of the
arrangement of the prints, maps, plans and medals. At the
254 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
head of the second section (the manuscripts) was Marchal,
the former ' ' Conservateur de la Bibliotheque de Bourgogne,"
who received the title of " Conservateur-adjoint."
De Reiffenberg left all the work of administration to his
assistants. It was Namur who organised the section of
printed books ; he arranged the newly-acquired works
systematically on a plan of his own.
De Reiffenberg died in 1850. He was replaced by Louis
Alvin, who at the time of his appointment was Director of
the Department of Public Instruction in the Ministry of the
Interior. He was a born organiser ; under his direction
the Library developed greatly ; he improved the building,
he created two new sections (the section of prints and of
numismatics) ; he organised a special periodical room,
stopped the closing of the Library which had always taken
place from August 15 to the first Monday of October, and
opened the Library to the public in the evening. Also,
thanks to the influence which he had with the Government,
he was able to acquire the necessary subsidies to make large
purchases. It was thanks to his initiative that the present
reading-room was built. Alvin died in 1887.
Edouard Fetis succeeded him, and continued the work
of his predecessor. He was retired in 1904 and replaced by
Henri Hymans, who was Head of the Section of Prints, and
in 1909 Pere S. J. Van den Gheyn, Head of the Manuscripts
Department, succeeded M. Hymans.
By a decree of July 2, 1909, the Conservateur-en-chef was
put under the authority of an Administrator-Inspector, to
which office M. Louis Stainier was appointed. Under his
administration an important reform was carried out ; the
card catalogue was put at the disposal of the public.
Pere Van den Gheyn gave in his resignation at the end of
1912, and was replaced by Dom Ursmar Berli&re, who
retired July 27, 1914.
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 255
Then once again the Low Countries became a battlefield,
and Brussels passed for the period of the Great War under
the rule of the Germans. To the late Fritz Milkau we owe a
study of the Belgian libraries at that time, for early in 1915
he was sent to Belgium to report on the libraries and consult
with the military authorities as to the best means of preserv-
ing their valuable possessions.
The Library was at first shut and turned into an ambulance
station, then it was opened by order of the Germans. In
the absence of the Administrator-Inspector it was directed
by M. Louis Paris, Head of the Section of Prints. On
December 25, 1917, M. Willem de Vriese was appointed
Director.
During this period the Library suffered no material damage
in loss of books or destruction of buildings ; her difficulties
were simply those arising from smallness of staff and shortage
of money ; of the twenty-nine officials only nine were there
when the Library was re-opened by the Germans, and it
was only able to remain open a few hours daily.
With the restoration of the status quo M. Louis Paris was
appointed "Conservateur en chef," the post of Administrator-
Inspector was abolished and an Administrator-Treasurer
was appointed as assistant to the " Conservateur en chef."
In 1929, M. Louis Paris retired, and was succeeded by
M. Victor Tourneur, formerly Head of the Department of
Coins, who still holds office. Under his directorship the
Library has been completely re-organised, both as regards
the work of the staff and the arrangement of the sections.
The present arrangement of the Library will be given in
another section.
256 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
The figures for the Library at the end of 1931 are :
Printed works ..... 802,459
Periodicals 468,339
Maps and plans ..... 35,629
MSS 31,421
The shelf run is 30 kilometres.
BUILDINGS
The early library or libraries of the Dukes of Burgundy
were naturally housed in the Royal Palaces ; thus at the
death of Philip the Good inventories of his libraries were
made at Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels. Philip II
was the first to decree the collecting together in one place
of all the royal libraries for the use of the King and his
successors "pour y prendre passetems a lire estui livres/"
and though no place is mentioned, it appears certain that
it was placed in the Royal Palace of the Court of Brussels.
In 1731 the Royal Palace was burnt down, with the excep-
tion of the Chapel ; this had very spacious and dry under-
ground chambers (with cellars underneath them), and it was
here that the remnant of the Bibliotheque de Bourgogne
remained almost forgotten till rescued by the Count of
Cobenzl. He had the books removed to a hall situated
between the Rue Isabelle and the Park ; this hall, 40 feet
square and 47 feet high, was pleasing architecturally; one
entered it under a white marble gallery which rested on six
columns and on the opposite wall were two large chimney
pieces of marble. The Count had it fitted up with shelves,
and the books and MSS. transported and arranged there in
1754. But when the plan for making a public library came
to the fore it was found that the shelving was quite in-
adequate, and then the problem was to increase the shelf
room without spoiling the architectural features of the room.
It was finally solved by removing the gallery and the
* Ammaire Statisque de la Belgique, 1933.
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 257
chimney pieces, and putting up extra shelves in the space
left. With these additions the hall served its purpose
of housing the Library till the large accessions consequent
on the suppression of the Jesuit libraries. Gerard had had
the manuscripts from the Jesuit collection put in the Library
and as many printed works as the hall would contain ; the
remainder of the books had to be housed temporarily in the
former church of the Jesuits in Brussels. There was no
possibility of enlarging the hall ; the Prince of Starhemberg
therefore planned to appropriate this church as a permanent
building for the Library, and asked the architect Montoyer
to draw up a plan for the proposed alteration and then
submitted it to the Imperial Government, but the proposal
was rejected. The Library remained where it was, and
the Jesuit collection was moved about, losing much in the
process, until finally the remnant was moved to the
public library in 1792. In 1795 it was decided by the
Central Administration to move the Library from its
position in the Rue Isabelle to the house formerly occupied
by the Chancellor of Brabant, and as more collections of
books kept coming in from the libraries of suppressed
religious houses and emigres, the former Palace of the Court
was selected as being spacious enough for all the new acces-
sions. This building had been stripped bare during the
revolutionary disorders. The books were moved here and
a room opened for the use of the public. In 1826 the
building was almost completely destroyed by fire and the
MSS. and rare works only saved by being thrown out of the
windows. This " palais de 1'ancienne cour " continued to
house the Public Library of the City and the old Library
of Burgundy till the founding of the National Library, and
still remains part of the present large block of library
buildings. In 1830 it consisted of two large halls for the
MSS., furnished all round with oak cupboards in which the
s
258 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
MSS. were locked up ; the first hall was called after Queen
Louise and the second after Maria Theresa.
The present library building forms three sides of a pleasant
square with a stone balustrading to close it. Facing it, one
has on the right the building of the " ancienne cour," an
eighteenth century building forming part of the Hotel de
Nassau, and transformed into a royal palace under Charles
of Lorraine about 1750. The central block, with a
decorated front, was built in 1825 to house an industrial
exhibition, and it was to this building that the Van Hulthem
library was moved in 1838, and finally opened here to
the public in 1839. The left wing of the building dates from
the end of the nineteenth century. The whole block,
though built at different periods, has been designed in a
uniform style and forms a homogeneous whole.
On the ground floor is a reading-room with a good refer-
ence library and an exhibition hall ; since the war the
Library has organised a series of exhibitions dealing with
periods in the former history of Belgium, and exhibits for
these have been drawn from all departments.
CATALOGUES
The first surviving inventories we know of are those of
the libraries of the predecessors of Philip the Good, published
by M. Gabriel Peignot, of Philip the Bold's library with
59 MSS., of his widow, Margaret of Flanders (died 1405),
with 121 MSS., of Margaret of Bavaria, widow of John
(died 1423), with 29 MSS. The 82 MSS. of Charles the Bold,
of which an inventory was made by the order of Louis XI,
were lost to Belgium because Louis was so overjoyed when
he heard the death of his enemy that he gave all the furni-
ture and appointments of the Duke, which were at Dijon,
to the Governor-General of Burgundy, Georges de la
Tremoille.
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 259
The first inventory of the Bibliotheque de Burgogne
collected at Brussels in the Royal Palace was made by
Viglius from 1577-79, and is still, though in a much decayed
state, still in the Library. In it are listed 958 volumes of
MSS. and 683 printed books. The next was made at the
order of the reigning sovereigns Albert and Isabel, and was
. carried out by Philippe Sterck and Paul de Croonendaele
from 1614-17. The volumes are described simply by their
binding and cover title ; 611 volumes of MSS. on vellum,
190 on paper, and 750 printed books are enumerated. Ant.
Sanderus, a contemporary of Le Mire, has left us, in his
" Bibliotheca Belgica Manuscripta," Lille, 1641-44, 2 vols., a
list of MSS. of the Royal Library, which is nothing but an
extract from a catalogue then existing. After the fire of
1731 the then " Greffier " made a kind of list or catalogue of
the remnant saved from the flames but very incomplete and
badly drawn up. In 1768, when the scheme for a literary
society and a public library was inaugurated, the first need
was a proper catalogue of the contents of the old Biblio-
theque de Bourgogne. When Canon Wouters was
appointed (< treasurer, librarian and guardian " of the
Royal Library in 1754 the task of preparing a list of tjie
books was enjoined on him, but he made not the slightest
effort to carry out this task ; in 1755 he published a list of
acquisitions, but it was the only one which appeared. In
1761 Charles of Lorraine and the Count Cobenzl began their
investigations into the Library, and the advocate Jouen was
ordered to draw up a report on the present state and needs
of the Library. This he did, and his report concluded with
the recommendation that a new catalogue should be drawn
up at once. The authorities agreed, and Jouen was com-
missioned to draw up two new catalogues, one of MSS. and
one of printed books ; and instructions were drawn up to
help him in his task. For the MSS. he was instructed to
260 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
give not only format, but number of pages, to enumerate
the miniatures as to their subject and style of illumination.
For printed books he was to give the year and place of
publication and the name of the printer of each work. It
was indeed a great advance on the summary manner of
drawing up previous catalogues. Jouen worked nine months
on these two catalogues and presented them to the Council
of Finances on November 29, 1767, with a further report,
and Jouen was directed to draw up a list of books to be sold
with the aid of the catalogue he had made. But misfortune
overtook these catalogues as it did so many other catalogues
of the Royal Library ; while Jouen was starting on the work
of sorting out the books, Count Cobenzl asked to have the
two catalogues that Jouen had drawn up sent to him, as he
wished to show them to savants and other interested people,
to have their opinion as to the value of the Library. Un-
fortunately, however, Count Cobenzl died soon after, and
the two catalogues were never retrieved. Later a catalogue
was made by Gerard of all the printed works in the
Library, leaving to the newly-appointed Librarian, the
Abbe Chevalier, the task of making one for the MSS., which,
however, was not done.
The first task entrusted to Gerard and La Serna San-
tander by the revolutionary administration of 1794 was to
make an inventory of all the books of the Bibliotheque de
Bourgogne that remained, which was done by them in forty
days.
M. Marchal, appointed " Conservateur " of the Burgundian
Library in 1831, began a catalogue of the manuscripts, which
he continued after the amalgamation with the Royal Library
in 1837, and his appointment as Head of the Department of
Manuscripts.
Of present-day catalogues, there is an alphabetical author
card catalogue for the whole Library available to the public,
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 261
and an author and subject card catalogue for most of the
special collections.
The printed general catalogues of printed works are :
(1) Liste des ouvrages acquis de 1905 a 1920.
(2) Section des periodiques. Catalogue des ouvrages
periodiques mis a la disposition des lecteurs. 1902.
(3) Section des periodiques. Catalogue des ouvrages
periodiques en cours de publication. 1914.
(4) Catalogue des ouvrages mis a la libre disposition de
lecteurs dans la salle de lecture des imprimes. 1923.
Of printed catalogues of special collections there are :
(1) The Van Hulthem collection, compiled by Voisin in
6 vols.
(2) The Muller collection. 1858.
(3) The Fetis collection. 1877.
(4) The Goethals collection. 1876.
There is a printed catalogue of MSS. divided by subjects :
Van den Gheyn, J. S. J. Catalogue des manuscrits de la
Bibliotheque royale de Belgique. (i) Ecriture sainte et
liturgie. (2) Patrologie. (3) Theologie. (4) Jurisprudence
et philosophic. (5) Histoire, hagiographie. (6) Histoire des
ordres religieux et des ^glises particulieres. (7) Histoire des
pays : Allemagne, Angleterre, Autriche, Belgique (histoire
generale). (8 with E. Bacha) Histoire de Belgique (his-
toire particuli&re), 1901-09, 9 vols. (10 with E. Bacha and
E. Wagemans) Histoire d'Espagne, Histoire de France,
Histoire d'ltalie. 1919.
DEPARTMENTS
The old library of the Dukes of Burgundy has always
constituted a separate department of the Library, with the
designation of Bibliotheque de Bourgogne, though this
262 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
designation was often applied to the whole collection of
books, printed and MSS. In 1803 the Library was officially
divided into two sections, the printed works remaining under
the care of the city and the MSS. put under the care of the
State. When all the collections were amalgamated in the
Bibliotheque Royale, 1836-43, the division into two depart-
ments was maintained. The printed works department
is now divided into printed books, maps and plans, prints
and medals and coins.
A characteristic of the Library is the number of old
libraries absorbed by the Bibliotheque Royale, which have
kept their old arrangement according to their old catalogue.
The collections thus kept separate include the Van Hulthem,
the City Library of Brussels, the Muller, the Fetis, the
Lalaing, the Goethals, the Faber, etc.
Louis Alvin (1850-87) created two new sections, that of
prints and that of numismatics,* and from his time dates the
title of " Conservateur en chef " for the Chief Librarian,
with the title of " Conservateur " for the other heads of
departments.
The present-day arrangement of the Library by sections
is as follows :
(1) An administrative section, at the head of which is
an Administrator-Treasurer. Attached to this section is
the Service of International Exchange. This section also
comprises the clerical staff and the accountants.
(2) The printed books section, which has for its object
the finding and acquisition of all works printed in Belgium,
a selection of the best works printed in all foreign countries,
and the completion of the old collections in the Library.
(3) The catalogue section (printed works), which has in
hand an alphabetical catalogue of authors' names and
* As in the ease of other libraries, these departments are not noticed
here.
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 263
anonymous works, an analytical catalogue and a subject
catalogue.
(4) The publications section, which deals with the publica-
tion of the current " Bibliographic de Belgique " and of
national bibliography.
(5) Book-stacks and reading-room section, which sees to
the preservation of the collections of books and their delivery
to the public and the furnishing of bibliographical informa-
tion to the public.
(6) The manuscript section comprising the old " Biblio-
theque de Bourgogne."
(7) The prints section.
(8) The section of chalcography.
(9) The section of coins.
The Library possesses :
(1) A public reading-room.
(2) A public periodical reading-room, where the current
numbers of 3,200 periodicals are placed for the public.
(3) A special research reading-room for scholars, who
have to Be provided with a special card of admission.
(4) A special room for Byzantine studies.
(5) An exhibition room in which are arranged periodical
exhibitions.
(6) A lecture room.
Books are lent to all Belgian libraries recognised by the
State ; the Royal Library is the centre for all international
lending by or to Belgian libraries ; and bibliographical
information is given, while photographs and casts (of coins
and medals) are supplied.
In 1934 the figures for the use of the Library were :
7,800 tickets issued to readers of printed works.
3,975 readers of MSS.
Number of books used, apart from reference books, 1 17,957.
264 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
PLACE IN NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Royal Library is under the Ministry of Science and
Arts. The service for international exchange is also under
the same Ministry, and the head of that service is counted
as one of the staff of the Royal Library, though the actual
office is separate.
The country has no law of legal deposit.
The Library has a special section which deals with publi-
cations relating to national bibliography. Among its
publications is " Liste des acquisitions des bibliotheques
scientifiques de Belgique/'
STAFF
The staff consists of :
(a) SCIENTIFIC
Conservateur en chef ..... i
Administrateur-Tresorier i
Conservateurs ...... 9
Conservateurs-ad joints .... 6
Bibliothecaires ...... 14
Stagiaire I
32
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE
(i) Permanent :
Chef de service ...... i
Chefs de bureau ...... 3
Sous-chef de bureau i
Clerks . . . . . . .11
Shorthand typist ..... i
Typists .4
Mounter (of prints) I
Photographer ...... i
BIB. ROYALE, BRUSSELS 265
Moulder ....... i
Assistant moulder I
Huissiers ....... 24
Messengers. ...... 2
(2) Temporary, Mainly Domestic . . .18
Candidates for entry to the administrative posts must
have a " Licentiate's diploma " ; the preliminary service
necessary has recently been lengthened to two years, to be
spent at the Bibliotheque Royale or other public library
which is prepared to give education for librarianship.
There are two professional examinations.
FINANCE
Before the establishment of the Royal Library, the
Library had a very uncertain income. During the period
of its neglect in the eighteenth century the only money
expended by the Government was the payment of
" Greffiers " or officers charged with the care of the Biblio-
theque de Bourgogne. In order to start the new public
library funds were raised by the sale of unwanted books, by
a gift of 1,000 ducats by the Empress and by many gifts of
books. The librarian appointed in 1772 for the new public
library received a salary of 600 florins.
After 1802, when the Library was handed over by the
French to the municipality, the grant was only 4,000 francs,
of which the most part went to the salary of the librarian.
The Belgian Government purchased the celebrated Van
Hulthem collection in 1836 for 279,400 francs, and the
" conservateur " for the new Royal Library was appointed
at a salary of 7,000 francs,
266
NATIONAL LIBRARIES
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Before the war the yearly grant for the Library was
309,100 francs, which was reduced in the first year of the
German occupation to 104,200 francs.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL WORKS
Collard, Auguste. La bibliotheconomie en Belgique, 1901-
25. 1927.
[The greater part of this is a detailed bibliography.]
Loffler, Klemens. Von belgischen Bibliotheken. (In Zen-
tralblatt 1 Bibl. v. 44 (1927), pp. 237-45 ; v. 45 (1928),
pp. 408-16).
Milkau, Fritz. Das Kriegsschicksal der belgischen Biblio-
theken ; eine Reisebericht. (In Zentralblatt f . Bibl. v. 33
(1916), pp. 1-27.)
Oehler, R. Drei Jahre bibliothekarische Kriegsarbeit in
Belgien. (In Zentralblatt f. Bibl. v. 35 (1918), pp. 154-
630
MONOGRAPHS
Bruxelles. Bibliotheque Royale. Le catalogue de la Biblio-
theque Royale, (In Revue des Bibliotheques et Archives
de Belgique. 1908, pp. 241-5 ; 330-5 ; 491-5.)
La Serna Santander, C. A. de. Memoire historique sur la
Bibliotheque, dite de Bourgogne. 1809.
Namur, P. Histoire des bibliotheques publiques de Brux-
elles (v. i of his Histoire des bibliotheques publiques de
Belgique. 1840.)
Voisin, Auguste. Bruxelles, Bibliotheque Royale. (In his
Documents pour servir a Thistoire des bibliotheques en
Belgique. 1840, pp. 119-59-)
Tourneur, Victor, La Bibliotheque Royale ; le cent cin-
quantieme anniversaire de son ouverture au public. 1922.
XII
DE KONINKLIJKE BIBLIOTHEEK,
THE HAGUE
XII
DE KONINKLIJKE BIBLIOTHEEK,
THE HAGUE
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
AFTER the departure of the last " Stadhouder," William V,
in 1795, his collection of books was in danger of being sold,
but fortunately the Government of the Batavian Repub-
lic decided in the end to retain the collection, amalgamate
it with some other official libraries, and make the joint
collection, which amounted to some 5,000 volumes, into a
State Library. This was the beginning of the Royal Library,
whose official date of foundation is 1798. The newly-formed
Library, which in the beginning was for official use only,
was organised by the French Abbe, Charles Supplice Flament.
Under King Louis Napoleon the Library, now named the
Royal Library, grew rapidly ; in 1810 Holland was annexed
to France, and by imperial decree, the collection was pre-
sented to the municipality of the Hague and amalgamated
with the town library, with the stipulation that all books
not duplicated in the French libraries should be removed
to France, though most of these were returned later. The
collection then numbered 22,114 volumes, and the munici-
pality, with money to spare neither for its upkeep nor
enlargement, was not enthusiastic over the gift, and when
William I was restored, petitioned that the burden should
be removed. Happily for the Library, it was taken over
by William I, the first king of the Netherlands, as a State
Library, to it was added in 1819 the library of the Castle
271
272 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
of Dillenburg, and the whole was moved between 1819 and
1821 to its present home in the Lange Voorhout.
Under the stimulus of royal patronage and public support,
the Library grew rapidly, until to-day it has more than one
million printed books and over 6,000 MSS. The chief col-
lections of importance acquired in the nineteenth century
were : the library of the Abbey of Tongerloo, the seat of
the Bollandists (1819) ; the MSS. of the Lupus Museum in
Brussels (1823) >* the collections of MSS. of G. Cuperus
(1854), of R. M. van Goens (1874), and of H. van Wyne ;
the collections of books of De Witte van Citters (literature),
Groen van Prinsterer (1879, State Law and History), G. A.
Six (Natural History) ; also the collection of Spinozana and
books on chess belonging to Dr. A. v. d. Linde, which were
bought in 1871 and 1876, and most recent, an important
collection of old Dutch song-books from the Scheurleer
music library, bought in 1933.
The first Librarian, mentioned above, was the Abbe
Flament, who made the first catalogue ; two other librarians
of note in the nineteenth century were J. W. Holtrop,
author of a catalogue, and of " Monuments typographiques
des Pays-Bas au isieme si&cle," who was Librarian from
1838-68, and M. F. A. G. Campbell, the author of " Annales
de la Typographic Neerlandaise au XVe siecle," 1874, who
was Librarian from 1869-90. These two were among the
first scientific students of early printing, and their works
are classics of the study.
The law of legal deposit is not now enforced in Holland,
though it was known in various forms from the eighteenth
century to 1912. After the union of Belgium and Holland
in 1815, the Royal Library claimed the compulsory copy
from the South Netherlands. In 1881 fresh regulations
were made, by which no copy thus acquired might be lent
out of the Library for 50 years, which made the provision
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KONINKLIJKE BIB., THE HAGUE 273
of little use for a library which always lent freely, and in
1912 it was dropped, after Holland had subscribed to the
convention of Berne on the question of authors' rights.
BUILDINGS
The collection of books formed by the Batavian Republic,
amounting to about 5,000 volumes, was housed in the
building of the States-General and remained there till it
was moved between 1819-21 to the building where it still
is. This building in its present state, dates from the years
1734-38, when a wealthy lady, Adriana Margaretha Hugue-
tan van Vrijhoeven, had it built by the French architect,
Daniel Marot. She was married to Hendrik Karel, Count
of Nassau la Lecq, and died May 15, 1752. After her
death the house was sold to Jan Baron van Tuyl van Seroos-
kerken, and after some years it came into possession of the
Bentinck family. In the last years of the eighteenth
century and the beginning of the nineteenth century the
building was the seat of the French Legation. It was
purchased by the State in 1803. After his return in 1813,
the Prince of Orange (from 1815 King William I) took up
his residence there provisionally until the palace in the
Noordeinde should be ready to receive him. Till 1819 the
house was the palace of the Crown Prince (later William II),
and in that year the Royal Library was installed there.
The remembrance of the royal occupation of the Library is
still retained in the name of the King's Room, where till
1890 the Librarian had his residence, and where to-day a
part of the most valuable treasures of the Library are kept.
By 1870, with the addition of so many large collections,
there was already great overcrowding, and in 1877 an
adjacent building was bought and incorporated into the
Library ; but this addition was not enough ; not only the
books but also the public using them needed more room.
T
274 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Finally in 1908 a new building was erected in the garden,
containing a reading room to seat 60, and a new book-stack ;
near the reading room was the lending department, in which
were also housed the alphabetical and subject catalogues.
The Director has his office in the old building, where are
also most of the MSS. and treasures of the Library.
CATALOGUES
C. S. Flament, the first Librarian, produced a catalogue
by 1800, to which a supplement appeared four years later.
J. W. Holtrop, Librarian from 1838-68, produced a catalogue
of incunabula : " Catalogus librorum saeculo XV impres-
sorum, quotquot in Bibliotheca Regia Hagana asservan-
tur," 1865.
Among other printed catalogues are :
The general alphabetical catalogues of the Royal Library.
Knuttel, W. P. C. Catalogus van de pajnfletten-verzame-
ling . . . 1889- .
Catalogus van Folklore. 1919-22.
Catalogus der Goethe-verzameling. 1918.
Catalogus van de handbibliotheek in leeszaal en cata-
loguskamer. 1930. With annual supplements.
Lijst van loopende tijdschriften in systematische en in
alphabetische volgorde. 1929.
Catalogus codicuni manuscriptorum, 1922- .
There is a classified catalogue on cards and an author
catalogue on slips.
DEPARTMENTS
Though the Library contains many valuable special
collections, there is only one administration, so that depart-
ments in the literal sense do not exist. The following
collections, however, merit special mention : the collection
KONINKLIJKE BIB., THE HAGUE 275
of MSS. ; the collection of Dutch incunabula and postin-
cunabula ; the collection of pamphlets ; the collection of
ex-libris. There are also the following sections of the
Library : the reading room, with the principal reference
books, a new catalogue of which was published in 1930
(as mentioned above) ; the international exchange bureau,
which will be mentioned in a later section; and the
old reading room, which was restored and set up as a Library
Museum and show room.
USE OF THE LIBRARY
The figures for the use of the Library in 1932 were :
Number of persons using the library . . 105,384
reading room . 69,824
volumes used .... 183,182
borrowed .... 44,128
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Royal Library comes within the administrative
province of the Ministry of Education, Sciences and Arts.
The Netherlands were one of the first European countries
to formulate plans for facilitating exchanges between the
libraries of different countries. Alexandra Vattemare was
the first to preach the idea of an international organisation
for exchange, and between 1852-60 his plans received some
support in Holland. In 1872 was established, on the
model of the Smithsonian Institution, the " Bureau scienti-
fique central n^erlandais," which despatched abroad books
and publications sent in for the purpose, and distributed
those that came from abroad. This was not an official
body and received no government grant ; it was supported
by the learned societies and libraries which made use
of it.
276 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Finally, in 1928, the Dutch Government established at the
Royal Library a " Dutch service for international ex-
changes . ' ' This was done independently of the international
Conventions, which in 1886 and again in 1924 at Geneva
had tried to lay down regulations for international exchanges
which would be binding on all countries. This service took
the place of the former " Bureau scientifique," and took
over its activities, with the additional one of arranging for
the exchange of government publications. Its aim is not
to exchange and receive complete sets of official publica-
tions, but only those particular ones wanted, and as an
aid to selection, it has published since 1930 a bibliographical
list of official Dutch publications under the title of " Neder-
landsche overheidsuitgaven."
The exchange service also has at its disposal a certain
number of scientific publications, published or subsidised
by the government, which it exchanges for literary or
scientific works of foreign countries, and distributes among
the large public libraries of Holland. It also acts as an
intermediary between scientific and learned societies in
Holland and those abroad desiring to exchange their publi-
cations.
The use made of the exchange service in 1932 was :
Received from abroad :
Parcels 184
Postal packets 28
Sent abroad :
Parcels 209
Postal packets 104
There is also a very extensive lending service within the
Netherlands between the Royal Library and the University
libraries, all of which also send books to individual borrowers
throughout the country. Moreover, these libraries lend
books to any public library that applies. In this system
KONINKLIJKE BIB., THE HAGUE 277
the Royal Library plays a very important part, since a
Union Catalogue has been established there since 1922. The
number of participating libraries rose in 1933 to 30, the
number of enquiries to 22,000. The catalogue contains
now approximately one million entries, so that it enables
the Royal Library to supply to foreign libraries most of
the information needed.
Everyone can have photographs at cost price, a photo-
grapher's studio being fitted up in the Library.
STAFF
The higher staff consists of :
The Librarian.
2 Under Librarians.
3 Conservators.
FINANCE
The yearly grant for the Library received steady increases
throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century; in
1869, 5,235 fl. were granted for purchases, binding, etc. ;
in 1878, 20,000 fl. ; in 1900, 27,000 fl. ; in 1912, 42,143 fl.
The total grant for 1932 was 60,000 fl.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL HISTORY
Knuttel, W. P. C. De Koninklijke Bibliotheek te 's Graven-
hage. (In Tijdschrift voor boek- en bibliotheekwezen.
v. 3 (1905), PP- i-n.)
Menn, Walter. Die wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken Hollands
(In Zentralblatt f. Bibliothekswesen. v. 47 (1930), pp.
12-29 : 168-83.)
Niederlandisches Bibliothekswesen. 1914. pp. 23-28.
Wubbe, C. H. Ebbinge. De Koninklijke Bibliotheek
sedert 1905. (In Het Boek. v. 12 (1923), pp. 257-75.)
278 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
THE BUILDING
Biema, V. van. Les Huguetan de Mercier et de Vrijhoeven,
1918.
THE LIBRARIANS
Campbell, M. F. A. G. Levensbericht van J. W. Holtrop.
(Levensberichten . . . van de Maatschappij der Neder-
landsche Letterkunde. 1870. pp. 633-80.)
Knuttel, W. P. C. Levensbericht van M. F. A. G. Campbell.
(Levensberichten . . . van de Maatschappij der Neder-
landsche Letterkunde. 1890. pp. 256-303.)
THE EXCHANGE BUREAU
Brummel, L. Nederland en de Internationale uitwisseling
van geschriften. 1930.
Molhuysen, P. C. Service des echanges internationaux &
la Haye. (In Revue des Biblioth&ques. v. 40 (1930),
PP. 59~ 6 3-)
THE UNION CATALOGUE
Molhuysen, P. C. De Nederlandsche centrale catalogus.
(In Bibliotheekleven. v. 4 (1919), pp. 261-66 ; v. 7.
(1922), pp. 138-40 ; v. 15 (1930), pp. 197-204.)
XIII
KONGELIGE BIBLIOTEK, COPENHAGEN
XIII
KONGELIGE BIBLIOTEK, COPENHAGEN
HISTORY; THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
THE Royal Library was founded by King Frederick III,
who during the years 1661-64 came into possession of the
three libraries belonging to the noblemen, Joachim Gers-
dorff, Laurids Ulfeldt and Peder Scavenius, which were
rich in foreign literature, above all in the Romance languages.
The number of Danish books in King Frederick's Library
was very small, but amongst them was a priceless collection
of ancient Icelandic literature, which included the two
Eddie poems and the Flatoe Book (containing among other
things the account of the discovery of America 500 years
before Christopher Columbus) ; these had been sent to the
king by the Bishop of Skalholt in Iceland. The king suc-
ceeded in buying another treasure from Kepler's son : the
original observations of Tycho Brahe in his own hand. This
king was also responsible for the planning of a special
building for the Library, which, however, was not finished
till after his death. In 1670, at the king's death, the Library
numbered 20,000 volumes. Although the next two kings,
Christian V and Frederick IV, had not the same literary
interests as the founder of the Library, yet at the death of
the latter in 1730 the number of volumes had risen to 40,000
chiefly because of the acquisition of the libraries of the
two savants, Esaias Pufendorff and Chr. Rutzer.
The first Librarian was Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld, a
man who rose to high office in the State (becoming Chancellor
281
282 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
of the King, Count, etc.), but who fell into disgrace under
Christian V and died in prison. In 1730, on the accession
of Christian VI, the learned historian, Hans Gramm, was
made Librarian ; he took advantage of every opportunity
of enriching the Library, so much so that the number of
volumes at his death in 1748 had risen to 70,000 volumes.
During his term of office the Library received a large part
of the library of Count Chr. Danneskjold-Samsoe, which
was particularly rich in MSS. and incunabula. In 1749,
King Frederick V incorporated the library of the Castle of
Gottorp in the Royal Library ; this library was founded in
1606 and contained about 12,000 printed books and 331
MSS., the latter having been taken for the most part
from the religious foundations of Cismar and Bordesholm.
Twenty years later the Library obtained possession of
150 MSS. (Hebrew, Arabian, Persian), bought during an
expedition of Carsten Niebuhr to Arabia.
By 1778 the Library numbered 100,000 volumes, but it
had been allowed to fall into great neglect ; the Librarian,
B. Moellmann, had not only failed in his duty of purchasing
rare works at sales, but had ceased to look after the internal
arrangements of the Library, so that the new books as they
came in were left unbound and in disorderly heaps. It
was the task of his two successors, the German J. H. Schlegel,
and above all of the Icelander, John Erichsen, to restore
order and make good the gaps. Erichsen undertook the
arrangement of the MSS. and published in 1786 the first
catalogue.
The latter part of the eighteenth century, during the
reign of King Christian VII, was indeed the great period
of the Royal Library, which then came into the possession
of the largest part of the collections which caused it at the
end of the century to be reckoned as one of the richest
libraries of Europe, in the sciences as well as in the arts,
KONGELIGE BIB., COPENHAGEN 283
and which still makes it the largest library of Scandinavia.
Some of the most important of these collections were :
that of Count Otto de Thott, the greatest bibliophile of
Denmark, which contained more than 4,000 MSS. and more
than 6,000 books printed before 1530 ; those of the savants
Luxdorph, Kofod Ancher, and the minister, J. H. E. Bern-
storff ; 2,000 original editions of Luther and his contem-
poraries belonging to the Count de Holstein-Ledreborg ;
the rich collection of prints of F. A. Miiller ; MSS. of Uldall
and Kail ; the library of the historian, P. F. Suhm (d.
1798) containing 100,000 volumes ; and the library of old
Danish literature belonging to Henrik Hjelmstjerne (d.
1780) numbering 10,000 volumes. At the end of the
century the Royal Library numbered 250,000 volumes ;
O. G. Noldenhawer was the Librarian during this fruitful
period.
During the nineteenth century the Royal Library gradu-
ally limited itself to buying in the humanities, and this
practice was crystallised by the decree of 1928, following
on a Commission appointed in 1924 to rationalise the work
of the Danish libraries, which laid it down that the Royal
Library was to confine itself to the humanities, while the
University Library was to specialise in the sciences and
medicine.
During the nineteenth century the Library continued to
be enriched with many donations. Amongst others may
be mentioned : the gift of the philologist, Rasmus Rask, of
150 Pali, Sanskrit and Cingalese MSS. ; the papers of the
historian, Jakob Langebek, concerning the history of
Denmark ; the collection of Svend Grundtvig, dealing wititi
the folk-music and folklore of Denmark ; that of Collin,
of MSS. and letters from poets and savants (Danish and
Norwegian), among which may be named those of H. C.
Andersen and H. Ibsen ; and that of Winding, containing
284 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
about 25,000 pamphlets, prints, etc., illustrating the history
of Denmark.
The present book-stock of the Library numbers some
850,000 volumes of printed books, 30,000 MSS., 4,000
incunabula, 110,000 letters, also maps, portraits, prints, etc.
The three State Libraries of Denmark, the Royal Library
of Copenhagen, the University Library of Copenhagen, and
the State Library of Aarhus, each receive a copy of every
Danish publication by the law of 1902.
BUILDINGS
At its foundation the Library was installed (as being the
Royal Library) in the Castle of Copenhagen, but in 1667
was begun the construction of a special building, finished in
1673, three years after the death of its promoter, King
Frederick III. This building remained in use till 1906,
when the Library was transferred to its present home.
The present building has available to the public a reading
room for a hundred readers, and a reference library of
5,000 volumes, a lending department, and a room where
the catalogues are housed.
CATALOGUES
There are available for the public an alphabetical cata-
logue and a subject catalogue. The Library publishes at
irregular intervals, a list of foreign accessions of the chief
libraries of Denmark (" Katalog over Erhvervelser af nyere
udenlandsk Litteratur ved Statens offentlige Biblioteker ").
There is also a bibliography of current Danish works pub-
lished every five years and edited by the head of the Danish
department of the Royal Library, and a bibliography of old
Danish works, " Bibliotheca Danica, Fortegnelse over den
danske Litteratur fra 1482 til 1830. Udgivet fra det store
kgL Bibliotek." Supplement. 1914.
KONGELIGE BIB., COPENHAGEN 285
There are numerous printed catalogues of the MSS.*
and incunabula ; among them may be mentioned :
Behrend, C. Katalog over det kgl. Biblioteks Hands-
krifter vedrorende dansk Personalhistorie. 1925-27.
Baling, J. A. Index librorum sseculo XV^o impressorum,
quorum exempla possidet Bibliotheca Regia Haf-
niensis. 1889-98.
Gigas, E. Katalog over det store kgl Biblioteks
Handskrifter vedjJrende Norden, saerlig Danmark.
1903-15.
DEPARTMENTS
Departments in a strict sense do not exist, but there are
different sections of the Library, while each member of the
staff specialises in one subject. The chief sections are :
the Danish, the Foreign, the MSS., the Music, Maps, etc.
Then there is the Reading Room and the Lending Depart-
ment. The figures for 1929 were :
THE READING ROOM
Readers ....... 51,213
Issues ....... 161,798
THE LENDING DEPARTMENT
Issues :
Danish 11,504
Foreign *7>735
Music 1,875
31,114 volumes
The accessions for 1928-29 were :
Legal deposit ;
Volumes 2,893
Periodicals 1,991
Pamphlets and small writings . . . 1,240
Music ...... 747
Maps, etc 2,901
* For complete list see that given in " Aarsberetning fra det Kongelige
Bibliotek."
286 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Purchases :
Volumes 4,311
Music 155
Maps, etc 18
Gifts :
Volumes ...... 1,374
Music 36
Maps, etc 993
The Library also has its own bindery.
PLACE IN NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Library was royal in origin and at first permission
to use it was narrowly restricted, but by a royal decree of
November 15, 1793, it was opened to the public. Since
then it has been in every way the National Library of
Denmark, not only because it is the repository of Danish
literature, but because it is the centre of the library organisa-
tion of the country (though shared in part with the other
two State libraries), and of the bibliographical work of the
country. As mentioned above, the Library publishes the
list of foreign acquisitions in the chief public libraries of
Denmark, and has also issued a bibliography of the Danish
books in its collections, and edits a bibliography of current
Danish works.
It has a special photographic department.
STAFF
The staff consists of :
I Head Librarian.
8 Librarians.
10 Under Librarians.
8 Librarian Assistants.
i Bookbinder,
i Photographer,
i Janitor.
5 " Bude."
KONGELIGE BIB., COPENHAGEN 287
FINANCE
The grant made to the Library for 1927-28 was 459,375 kr.,
of which 52,500 kr. went on purchase of books and 38,000 kr.
on binding. The figures for 1928-29 (the last published)
show a slight reduction, the total being 443,010 kr., though
there were no reductions on purchase or binding.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL WORKS
Dahl, Svend. Bibliotekshandbok ; oversatt, bearbetad och
med betrag av Svenska fackman uitgeven av Samuel E.
Bring ; Bd. 2. Bibliotekshistoria ; bibliografi. 1931.
Hansen, Valdemar. Les bibliotheques du Danemark. (In
Revue des Bibliotheques. v. 41 (1931), pp. 5-12.)
Jorgensen, Ellen. Les bibliotheques danoises au moyen
age. (In Nordisk Tidskrift for Bon-och Biblioteksvasen.
v. 2 (1915), pp. 332-50.)
Madsen, Victor. Sur Tetat des bibliotheques du Danemark.
(In Congres Internationale des bibliothecaires . . . &
Prague. 1926. v. 2, pp. 338-46.)
Walde, 0. Studier i aldre Dansk bibliotekshistoria. (In
Nordisk Tidskrift. v. 19 (1932), pp. 1-66.)
MONOGRAPH
Werlauff, E. C. Historiske efterretninger om det store
kongelige Bibliotek i K^benhavn ; and enforgede og
f ortsatte. Udgave med tvende stylographerede tegninger,
1844.
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KUNGLIGA BIBLIOTEKET, STOCKHOLM
XIV
KUNGLIGA BIBLIOTEKET, STOCKHOLM
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
THE collection of books brought together by Gustavus Vasa
(1523-60) in the old Franciscan monastery on the Ridder-
holmen in Stockholm, may be regarded as the beginning of
the Royal Library. This collection consisted of books
sequestrated from the monasteries at the time of their
dissolution, which here, as in England, was accompanied by
much wanton destruction, so that comparatively few of
their manuscript treasures reached the natural successors
of the monasteries, the public libraries. The Royal Library
has indeed retained very few even of those collected by
Gustavus Vasa, the first Protestant King, as the greater part
of the royal collection, enlarged by succeeding kings, was
given by Gustavus Adolphus to the University of Uppsala.
A small remnant, however, from the famous monastic
library at Vadstena is now to be found in the Royal Library.
The Library received some of the war spoils of Gustavus
Adolphus, though the institution which benefited most
from these was the University Library of Uppsala. Under
Queen Christina the Library was enriched with valuable
books and MSS., some purchased, some war booty from
Austria and Germany, but this particularly flourishing
period in the history of the Library was of short duration,
since the Queen on her abdication in 1654 took with her,
when she left the country, the greatest and most valuable
part of the collection, which on her death was acquired by
291
292 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
the Vatican Library and still goes by the title of Biblio-
theca Reginse. Further, what was left of the Royal Library
was in part seized by her creditors.
Under Charles X (1654-60) the spoils of war again pro-
vided the chief accessions of the Royal Library, in this
period chiefly from Denmark and Poland, but these also
were not to be a permanent possession, since in 1697, the
Royal Palace, where the Library was housed, was burnt
down, and of 17,385 volumes of printed books and 1,103
MSS., only 6,700 books and 283 MSS. were saved. After
this the Library was moved from place to place and only
found a permanent home in 1786 in the Royal Palace.
In 1661 the law of legal deposit (one of the earliest in
Europe) was passed, by which one copy of every Swedish
publication was to be deposited in the Royal Library. For
the first half of the eighteenth century, apart from the
copyright privilege, accessions were small, but in the latter
half of the century the Library received many extensive
and valuable collections, notably the library of the Antik-
vitetskollegium, containing a great many valuable MSS.,
especially the great collection of old Icelandic MSS., second
only to the Arnamaganea in the University Library in
Copenhagen ; the personal library of Gustavus III (1771-92)
of 15,000 volumes, which had notably the precious col-
lection of Count C. G. Tessin ; the private library of Gustavus
IV, of 7,500 volumes, in 1796. By 1800 the Library num-
bered 30,000 volumes, and was already outgrowing its new
home. In the nineteenth century the chief accessions of
importance were the royal libraries of Drottningholm
(1867) of 3,000 volumes, and that at Gripsholm of 1,600
volumes ; there was also the private library of Charles XV,
which included that of Charles XII of 30,000 volumes, at
Rosersberg ; the library of J. S. Giesecke of 2,500 volumes,
presented in 1880 ; and Fredrik Fehrs collection of 5,000
KUNGLIGA BIB., STOCKHOLM 293
in 1897. In this century there was O. Smith's gift of 382
incunabula (1911, 1916), and M. Sondens' collection of
Swedish portraits and prints.
The Library owes much to the generosity and interest
of the kings, who were themselves mostly private collectors
of discernment, even or more particularly the warlike ones.
They have indeed rather overshadowed the librarians of the
first two centuries. In 1611 we learn that King Charles IX
had appointed a " Vorsteher " for his library, one J. Bureus ;
he was the first Royal Librarian, though of him or of the
contents of this library we know little. In 1634 Lars
Fornelius was appointed as Royal Librarian, and he had
under his care part of the Wiirzburg library (war booty of
1631) and later part of the library from Olmiitz (1642),
Nikolsburg and Prague (1649), which collections were later
taken out of the country by Queen Christina. During the
whole of the seventeenth century there appears to have
been only one office of librarian, with no assistants ; from
1715 onwards there were three Library officials, Librarian,
Vice-Librarian and Amanuensis. In 1751 the Librarian
Magnus O. Celsius wrote the history of the Library in Latin
entitled BMiothecte regice Stockholmensis histona brevis et
succincta, which is still the best authority for its early
period.
In modern times the most important of the librarians
were : G. E. Klemming (1865-90), who amongst other
administrative work re-organised the personnel, and E. E.
Dahlgren (1902-16). The present Librarian is Dr. Isak
Collijn, who has held that position since 1916, and is well
known for his writings on the history and economy of
libraries, and as a palaeographer and bibliographer ; he was
the first President of the International Federation of Library
Associations and of the World Congress of Librarians of
1929.
294 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Among the special treasures of the Library may be
mentioned :
(1) Codex aureus, a Gospel book written at Canterbury
near the end of the eighth century, in a version more
ancient than that of the Vulgate ; written in silver
on red and white vellum ;
(2) Gigas librorum, a colossal Bohemian MS. of the
twelfth century ;
(3) A copy in French of the Voyages of Marco Polo
dating from the fourteenth century ;
(4) The first and second will of Francois Villon (a copy of
the fifteenth century) ;
(5) An almost complete collection of books from the
Elzevir Press ;
(6) The largest collection of MSS. in ancient Swedish in
existence, and early Scandinavian printing; the
series of original works relating to Sweden's patron
saint, St. Bridget (Birgitta) is notably rich.
(7) Collection of ancient Chinese MSS. dating from
2-300 A.D. acquired by Dr. Sven Hedin.
(8) An important collection of Japanese works acquired
by the celebrated Swedish explorer, A. E. Norden-
skiold.
(9) Fine bindings, especially Scandinavian specimens of
the eighteenth century.
To-day the stock numbers :
600,000 printed volumes.
if million pamphlets and small printed works.
12,000 MSS.
200,000 portraits, prints, maps, etc.
The Library is under the Ministry of Education. Under
the copyright law it is supplied with all the native literature,
but in regard to foreign literature, it limits itself to the
humanities, leaving the physical sciences to special libraries.
KUNGLIGA BIB., STOCKHOLM 295
BUILDINGS
The Library was housed in the Royal Castle till the
disastrous fire of 1697 ; after that what was left of the
Library was moved several times until it found a permanent
home in the Royal Palace, where it stayed till 1878, when it
was established in the present building, specially erected
to house it, admirably situated, well removed from other
buildings in the public park, the Humlegard. The architect,
Dahl, was responsible for the plan. It was enlarged in
1927.
One of the most striking features of this Library, as of
others in Scandinavia, is the almost total absence of dust on
the , books (though the present writer has been informed
that no special steps are taken to clean them) and the fresh
and sound condition of the bindings, even of English calf of
1750-1850. The explanation is probably to be found in
the absence of coal fumes from the air.
The present reading room has seats for 77 readers, and is
provided with a reference library of 4,000 works and 300
current periodicals ; it is a ground floor room, with large
windows, and lies on the north side of the building. The
exhibition hall is also on the ground floor.
CATALOGUES
The main catalogue of the Library is a loose leaf manu-
script catalogue, author and subject ; since 1925 a supple-
mentary card catalogue (on cards of international size) has
been kept.
Among the printed catalogues in the Printed Books *
Department may be mentioned :
*For a complete list of printed and other catalogues see SundstrSm, E.
Svenska Bibliothek en Vagledning for Bibliotheksbesokare. 1924.
PP- 5-7-
296 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
(1) Swedish works :
Wargentin, P. V. Forteckning pa en saml. af tryckta
svenska bocker. 1870.
Klemming, G. E. Kongl, bibliotekets saml. af samtida
berattelser om Sveriges krig. 1888-91. Suppl., 1892
and 1902.
Collijn, I. Katalog der Inkunabeln. 2. I. 1916.
(2) Foreign works :
Liljeblad, G. Peringer. Ecloga sive catalogus librarum
ms.-orum turn impressomm, Hispanic! praesertim
idiomatis, quibus regiam bibliothecain Stockholmensem
adauxit vir illustris Job. Gabriel Sparfwenfeldt. . . .
1706.
Berghman, G. Catalogue raisonne des impressions elze-
viriennes. 1911.
Collijn, I. Katalog der Inkunabeln. i. 1914.
There are numerous printed catalogues of special col-
lections of MSS., besides the loose-leaf catalogue which
lists them all under subjects. Amongst them may be
mentioned :
Forteckning ofver HandskriftssamL uti . . . L. v. Enge-
strom's bibl. 1824.
Stephens, G. Forteckning ovfer de fornamsta brittaska
och fransyska handskrifterna uti kongl. bibl. i Stock-
holm. 1847.
Godel, V. Kat. ofver Kongl. bibliotekets fornislandska
och fornnorska handskrifter. 1897.
DEPARTMENTS
The arrangement of the Library is not strictly depart-
mental, but there are the divisions usual in any large library,
(i) The Printed Books, which are again divided into (a)
national : books printed in Sweden, or abroad in Swedish
KUNGLIGA BIB., STOCKHOLM 297
or about Sweden, translations of Swedish authors, literature
about Finland; (b) foreign (humanistic literature only)
history, archaeology, fine arts, geography and travels,
French literature of the seventeenth and eighteenth cen-
turies ; (c) special collections : incunabula, the Norden-
skiold collection of Japanese books (catalogued by L.
Rosny), the Berghman Elzevir collection (printed catalogue,
1911) ; Vult von Steijern's collection of Goethe and Wagner
literature ; the Sohm collection of literature on printing
(printed catalogue, 1812), and the Theselff collection of
gipsy literature.
(2) MSS. Old Swedish and Icelandic MSS. MSS. re-
garding Swedish history and literature, letters, etc. Printed
catalogues on British and French MSS. by G. Stephens
(1847), Latin and French by M. A. Geffroy in " Notices et
extraits/' 1885. Old Icelandic by V. Godel (1897-1900).
Low German by C. Borchling in Nachricht v. d. K. Gesellsch.
d. Wiss. zu. Gottingen Philol. hist. Kl. 1900. Beiheft
Oriental by W. Riedel (1923).
(3) Maps and Prints. Maps, views and portraits, with
the finest collection of old Swedish prints. The collection
of foreign prints was given over in 1868 to the National
Museum. Special collection : the Delagardie Collection
of old views (printed catalogue by I. Collijn. 1915).
There is a reading room with reference collection (as
mentioned above), and a lending department.
The Library has its own bindery.
The figures for the use of the Library for 1932 were :
THE READING ROOM
Readers . ., 18,273
Issues 166,812
THE LENDING DEPARTMENT
Issues 21,745
298 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
The accessions for 1932 were :
Legal deposit :
Volumes 5,3^8
Pamphlets and small writings . . . 2,539
Periodicals 7
Purchases :
Volumes
Total accessions :
Printed works :
Swedish .... 171,686
Foreign .... 14,090
185,776
MSS 12
Maps, etc 2,010
PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Royal Library is the centre of an international
lending system, that is, it acts as the exchange centre for
loans among Swedish libraries and for loans abroad from
any Swedish libraries. The figures for last year were:
books lent to other countries' libraries, 3,614 ; books
borrowed from other libraries, 1,240. As an aid in this
exchange work the Library publishes annually a Union
Catalogue of the foreign accessions of Swedish libraries, to
which the Royal Librarian, Dr. I. Collijn, refers in a recent
report : " The Royal Library has also issued volume 47 of
the Union Catalogue of accessions for Sweden's state libraries,
one of the most important aids to Swedish library work.
This catalogue contains a list of the new acquisitions of
foreign literature made in the year 1932 (by purchase,
exchange and gift, 4,036 pp.). The first volume of a fourth
ten years' register to the said catalogue, including the years
1916-25, is now published. The register has become so
bulky that it was necessary to divide it into two volumes."
The Royal Library is also the centre of Swedish biblio-
graphical work. The main national bibliography is
" Sveriges Bibliografi intill ,r 1600 " (Swedish bibliography
KUNGLIGA BIB., STOCKHOLM 299
up to 1600). " This work/' to quote Dr. Collijn again,
" gives a bibliographical, typographical and literary descrip-
tion of Swedish literature printed during the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries. The work was begun by the librarians,
G. E. Klemming, a former librarian, and Aksel Anderson
(Uppsala) who, during the years 1889-1902, published four
numbers comprising the years 1481-1530. ... In 1927,
the undersigned was requested by the Swedish Literary
Society at Uppsala, which issued the first numbers, to resume
the work. I was indeed doubtful whether the original
arrangement should be followed, but in accordance with the
wishes of the Society, I undertook the work, and it is now
completed. The work comprises two volumes, the first
including the years 1530-82 (528 pp.), the second the years
1583-99) 2 58, Ixxxii pp.). . . ."
Another publication of the Library is " Hadlingar/' of
which vol. 43 has just been published, which, besides reports
of the activities of the Library during the years 1930-32,
contains an account of the Library's great collection of
engravings by Dr. Carl Bjorkbom, and a catalogue of the
Goethe exhibition held on the occasion of the Goethe
jubilee.
The Library has a special Exhibition Room where there
is a permanent exhibition, and in addition, there are special
exhibitions arranged in connection with centenaries, etc.
There was an exhibition in May of last year (1933), of modern
Italian book art. In connection with the thirteenth inter-
national congress of art held at Stockholm in September
of last year (1933) a selection of illuminated mediaeval
MSS. was exhibited. A special catalogue was printed for
this exhibition.
There is a photostat in the Library, and books and prints
if not too valuable are lent to photographers and repro-
ducing firms outside the Library for some hours.
300 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
STAFF
The staff consists of :
I Royal Librarian.
4 First Librarians.
I Additional first Librarian.
6 Other Librarians,
i Additional Librarian.
1 Extra additional Librarian.
6 First grade Amanuensis.
2 Government Assistants,
i Assistant Accountant.
3 Extra government Assistants.
3 Government Assistants for extra " stat."
4 Assistant Accountants.
3 " Extra befattninghavare."
i " Forste expeditions vakt."
4 " Expeditions vakter."
5 " Extra expeditions vaktar."
i " expeditionsvaktsbitrade."
1 Bookbinder.
2 " Tambur och visningssals vakter " (Exhibition
Room).
To be accepted for the administrative grade of Librarian
(Amanuensis and upwards) it is necessary to have passed the
" filosofie licentiats-examen " (about the equivalent of a
doctor's degree but no printed thesis). No special library
training is needed. The library courses which are held
every three years are attended almost exclusively by persons
entering the public and not the " scientific " libraries.
FINANCE
The provision for purchases in the seventeenth century
was negligible, the Library depended almost entirely on
KUNGLIGA BIB., STOCKHOLM 301
gifts and spoils of war. A small yearly grant was begun
at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and already in
the seventeenth century the Librarian got his pay from
the State and not from the king. In 1766 the yearly grant
was 125 reichsthaler, in 1799, 500, in 1805, 1,000, and the
nineteenth century saw a steady rise ; in 1910 it stood at
45,000.
The total expenditure for 1931-32 was 464,884 kr., of
which 66,045 went on book purchase, and 48,494 on binding.
The Library has not entirely escaped the almost universal
" depression " cuts, and 1932-33 suffered a reduction of
grant for purchase to the amount of 5,000 kr. The other
State libraries suffered similar reductions, which drove them
to cut down their stock of foreign periodicals and to limit
bookbinding to a certain extent. " It is an occasion for
satisfaction/ 7 says Dr. Collijn, "that the Parliament for
1933 has not still further reduced the grants of the scientific
libraries/'
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL WORKS
Dahl, Svend. Bibliotekshandbok. Bd. II. Biblioteks-
historia. 1931.
Enestrom, G. Schwedische Bibliotheken. (In Zentral-
blatt f. Bibliothekswesen. v. 4 (1887), pp. 329-35.)
History of the Swedish libraries to the end of the
eighteenth century.
Sundstrom, Einar. Apercu des bibliotheques su6doises.
(In Congres international des bibliothecaires ... a
Prague. 1926. v. 2, pp. 622-29.)
Walde, 0. Storhetstidens litterara krigsbyten, etc. 1916-
20. 2 v.
De Svenska bibliotekens historia. (In Dahl,
Svend. Bibliotekshandbok. Bd. 2. 1931. pp. 37-252.)
NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Sundstrom, Einar, ed. Svenska Bibliotek. En Vagled-
ning for Biblioteksbesokare. 1924. (In which is a full
bibliography.)
MONOGRAPH
Celsius, Magnus 0. Bibliothecse regime stockholmensis
historia brevis et succinta. 1751.
XV
KONGELIGE UNIVERSITETSBIBLIOTEKET,
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KONGELIGE UNIVERSITETSBIBLIOTEKET,
OSLO
HISTORY: THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
NORWAY, unfortunately, has no national library in the
strictest sense of the term. The explanation of this
exceptional situation may be found in the fact that the
country had no royal court during the long union with
Denmark (to 1814). In fact, however, the greatest learned
library of the state, that of the Royal Frederik University,
founded 1811, acts as a national library, being a depository
for the Norwegian literature as well as a central lending
research library for the whole country. In 1895, 1907 and
1925 the two last directors of the library moved proposals
to change the name to " Riksbibliotek," but without result,
and in 1930 a motion in the Parliament (Storting) was
postponed owing to the opposition of the University, because
they feared that their privileges might thereby be diminished.
The question is still pending. The University Library is
however, in other ways, recognized as a national library,
but without the support that an appropriate name and
status can lend.
The Library was founded together with the University in
1811 by a Royal Decree of King Frederik VI of Norway and
Denmark, and was not yet organized when the two countries
were separated in 1814.
The University Library is administered by a director
(" Overbibliotekar "), who is responsible to the Senate of
Y 305
306 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
the University. The latter comes under the Royal Ministry
for Church and Education. Its budget is voted by the
Parliament, the Library having its own heading in the
estimates.
The first Chief Librarian was a pupil of the famous Chr.
Heyne of Gottingen University Library, Professor Georg
Sverdrup (1813-45), renowned in Norwegian history for his
participation in the Constituent Assembly of 1814. The
following were F. W. Keyser (1845-63), the literary editor
P. Botten Hansen (1863-69) and the learned historian L.
Daae (1869-76), later professor at the University. But the
great reformer was A. C. Drolsum (1876-1922), who
developed the exclusive old-fashioned learned university
institution into a great, modern, active library. He re-
introduced the deposit law, and planned new catalogues and
the present building. He was followed by Wilhelm Munthe
in 1922. Heads of the national department have been the
famous bibliographers J. B. Halvorsen (1884-98), editor of
Norsk Foyfatterlexikon, 1814-80, and Hj. Pettersen (1898-
1926), compiler of Bibliotheca Norvegica, the linguist A.
Kjaer, editor of sagas and of a voluminous work on Nor-
wegian place names, was vice-director in 1882-1922.
The nucleus of the collections was a stock of 25,000 dupli-
cates from the Royal Library in Copenhagen and minor
collections of two Norwegian officials, the Chief Justice J. E.
Colbj^rnsen and the Kancellirad H. Andersen, and some
others. On moving into its first building in 1817 the
Library could muster 63,000 volumes. It had then the
universal polyhistoric character of the eighteenth century,
with a preponderance of the humanities. A number of
special libraries having afterwards come into existence, the
University Library has developed into the great centre for
university learning and for other branches of knowledge
not represented in other libraries, at the same time being the
K. UNIVERSITETSBIBLIOTEKET, OSLO 307
depository for Norwegian literature in the largest sense of
the word.
After the separation from Denmark in 1814, Norwegian
law provided for three deposit copies, to the King, to the
Ministry of Justice and to the University Library. In
1839, however, the liberal trade legislation did away with
the copy tax, and for forty-four years Norway was without
a legal deposit. At last, in 1883, the late director, A. C.
Drolsum, succeeded in his efforts of re-introducing deposit
of one copy of every published piece emanating from
Norwegian presses and publishing houses. This copy has
to be delivered to the Library before February i in the
year following publication.
Since the revival of deposit, which is controlled by the
Norwegian Department of the Library, the Department
has applied itself with success to the collecting of older
Norwegian books and pamphlets, and now the collection
of the national literature is practically complete ; only in
the newspaper files are there still serious gaps.
It would require too much space to record all the more
important gifts and bequests ; a survey will be found in
Dahl's Haandbog i BMiotekskundskab , Vol. II, p. 171 seq,
But the constant accumulations to the collections are mostly
due to the regular annual purchases from the governmental
grant. About 600 foreign learned institutions exchange
publications with Oslo,
BUILDINGS
The Library got the first building of its own in 1817, a
fine old patrician house, where it remained till the present
university campus was constructed in 1850. It occupied
the western building, erected in classical style. The in-
terior consisted mainly of five large halls with three ranges
of wall galleries with a capacity of 250,000 volumes. The
3o8 NATIONAL LIBRARIES -
rapid accretions made it necessary to adapt the halls to a
sort of magazine system by throwing bridges between the
galleries. At last, however, the overcrowding was irre-
mediable, and, as the University needed the house for other
institutions, it was resolved to build a new library in the
Observatory Park, about a mile to the west.
This building, opened in 1914, is the result of the thorough
co-operation between the late director, A. C. Drolsum, and
the architect, Mr. Holger Sinding-Larsen, and represents a
very economical and original solution of the structural
problem, which in some features inspired the Swiss National
Library at Berne of 1931. The site is on a corner, sloping
to the rear into the Observatory Park, thus securing un-
limited possibilities of expansion. The building forms an L
which the next extension will change into a horse-shoe.
The right wing is the present bookstack, consisting of eight
low tiers constructed on the Lipman stack system. The
main building, facing the main western avenue of the city,
stands on a small ridge, and the sloping of the ground has
made it possible to put in stacktiers under the main entrance
level and to put the great public halls under skylights half-
way between basement and roof.
An expansion was begun in 1932. The stack wing was
made broader by adding a file of new offices in six stories on
the south side, and now a parallel wing is to be erected. It
will contain a stack of seven tiers for 600,000 books and
20,000 newspaper volumes, with a large new reading room
(210 seats) on the top. The topmost tier will have 28 single
carrels and five double studies. The present main reading-
room (96 seats) will be converted into a public catalogue
hall. The building contains special reading-rooms for
music, folklore and manuscripts (see below), a Bj^rnson
Memorial room, workshops, bindery and printing rooms,
photographic studio, 25 offices for the administration and
K. UNIVERSITETSBIBLIOTEKET, OSLO 309
the staff, and on the topmost floor two lunch rooms with
a roof terrace.
CATALOGUES
The Library has published printed annual accession
catalogues since 1858. From the revival of the copy tax
in 1883 they were converted into an " Arbok " (Yearbook)
containing (i) Arsberetning (annual report, also separately),
(2) Norsk bokfortegnelse (Norwegian bibliography), and (3)
foreign acquisitions. Since 1921, the Norsk bokfortegnelse
is issued independently in co-operation with the Norwegian
Booksellers' Association as a quinquennial bibliography, and
is sent as an exchange to foreign national libraries. Since
1932 the printed cards of foreign acquisitions are sent
monthly to various special libraries, and complete sets are
deposited in research libraries in Bergen and Trondheim.
Among special printed catalogues may only be mentioned
here ; some of international interest : " Katalog over Univer-
sitetsbibliotekets paleotypsamling " (271 incunabula) by
L. Amundsen, 1926 ; Norske aviser, 1763-1920 " (Norwegian
newspaper), 1924 ; " Norske tidskrifter, 1644-1930 " (Nor-
wegian periodicals), 1934 ; " Norske nyhetsblad " (Old Nor-
wegian written and printed broadsides), 1934.
DEPARTMENTS
The Library is composed of the following departments
and collections ;
I. Norske av deling (The Norwegian department) contains
books coming in under the copy tax, and other
books referring to Norway and Norsemen. Kept
as a separate collection.
II. Utenlandske avdeling (The foreign department)
arranged systematically in main classes A T.
3io NATIONAL LIBRARIES
III. Handskriftavdelingen (The manuscript department)
contains 4,324 manuscripts, most of them
modern, oriental, papyri, letters. Great col-
lections of papers from Ibsen, Bj^rnson and other
Norwegian authors, scholars and leaders. Study
room and a Bj^rnson Memorial room.
IV. Kartsamlingen (The map collection) containing about
3,504 maps and atlases.
V. Billedsamlingen (The collection of prints and drawings) ,
mostly topographical drawings and portraits and
2,132 portfolios.
VI. Norsk Musiksamling (Norwegian music collection)
founded by private gifts in 1927, contains 5,970
musical works and 1,756 manuscripts. Reading
room with 15 seats.
VII. Norsk Folkeminnesamling (Norwegian Folklore col-
lection), under the care of the Professor of Folklore.
Contains the papers of the fairytale and folksong
collectors of Norway. Study room with eight
seats.
The administration is composed of the Secretariat, the
Accession Bureaux for books and periodicals, the Exchange
Office, the Bindery, the Printing shop and the Photographic
Studio. The public service is divided into (a) the Lending
Department, which lends books for home use, and (b) the
Main Reading Room, which has at present 112 seats, a
reference collection of about 8,000 books and 800 current
weekly or monthly periodicals. Free admittance, but
portfolios must be left in the cloakroom.
The financial year, 1932-33, shows the following figures
of acquisitions : Deposit copies 1,107, purchases 2,581,
gifts 3,724, exchanges 1,436 volumes. The whole library
stock amounted, July i, 1933, to about 850,000 printed
K. UNIVERSITETSBIBLIOTEKET, OSLO 311
units, occupying 21,460 meters of shelving. The small
prints, maps, manuscripts, etc., are not included.
PLACE IN NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Library lends for research purposes to institutions
and individuals throughout the whole country books not
to be found in any nearer local library, and on condition of
reciprocity directly to every foreign library. It serves as
a national information centre for bibliographical and book-
searching questions.
The photographic studio is equipped with photostat and
micro-film apparatus, and supplies prints at cost price.
STAFF
The staff is composed of the Director (" Overbibliotekar "),
3 heads of departments (Norwegian, Cataloguing and
Public Service departments) (" f?!rstebibliotekarer "), 13
librarians (" bibliotekarer "), 5 library assistants, 5 clerical
assistants and 15 extra assistants, 8 janitors and attendants,
I printer, 2 bookbinders, 2 cloakroom attendants, etc., alto-
gether about 55 persons. The salaries for the ordinary
staff are Kr. 160,000 and for extra staff, Kr. 25,000.
The academic staff is recruited among the graduates
from the various faculties of the University, who, after work
as apprentices and extra staff, are found qualified for a
temporary employment (not more than six years) as
assistants ; and from these the librarians are selected.
Persons with lower academic standing may be appointed
librarians on lower pay, but can be raised to full pay after
producing some meritorious extraordinary bibliographical
work. (See W. Munthe, " Die bibliothekarische Ausbildung
in Norwegen/ 1 in Zentralblatt fur Bibliothekswesen, 1933,
p. 177.)
312 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
The Director is appointed by the King at the recom-
mendation of the Academic Senate ; the librarians and some
ordinary employees are proposed by the Director and
appointed by the Senate, but if the candidate is not recom-
mended by the Director, the right of appointment goes to
the Minister.
FINANCE
The upkeep of the building is in charge of the State
Architect. The Director has the financial and administra-
tive responsibility. A committee of five professors inspects
the work and service once a year and makes a statement to
the Senate.
For the financial year 1933-34 the Storting granted an
aggregate amount to the Library of Kr. 380,000.
Expenditure was as follows :
Purchase of books and periodicals (4,000 from
endowments) ...... Kr. 90,000
Bindings ....... 42,000
Printing ....... 8,000
Extra cataloguing ...... 12,000
Music collection (400 from endowments) . . 3,000
Literary exchange ...... 3.500
Office, library material, extra staff (excluding
inland postage) ...... 24,500
Salaries (ordinary staff) ..... 160,000
Lighting, heating, cleaning .... 30,000
Upkeep of building, etc. ..... 7,000
Total sum . . Kr. 380,000
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The main source for the history of the Library is A. C.
Drolsum, Universitetsbibliotekets festskrift til 100 aars
jubilast, 1911, 2 vols. Contributions may be found in issues
of " Boken om b^ker, I-III, Oslo, 1926-32, and in two
memorial volumes : " Norvegica : Minneskrift til 50
K. UNIVERSITETSBIBLIOTEKET, OSLO 313
arsdagen for oprettelsen av Universitetsbibliotekets Norske
avdeling," Oslo, 1933 ; and " Til Overbibliotekar Wilhelm
Munthe pa 50 arsdagen 20. oktober, 1933."
For further information see Sv. Dahl, Haandbog i Biblio-
tekskundskab, II, p. 166-74, Copenhagen, 1927, and Hand-
bok over norske biblioteker, pp. 24-33, Oslo, 1924.
XVI
THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
HELSINGFORS
XVI
THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
HELSINGFORS
HISTORY : THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
OFFICIALLY, Finland has no institution bearing the name of
National Library. But, in fact, the Library of the Uni-
versity of Helsinki (Helsingf ors) acts as the National Library
of the country. It is the largest as well as being the central
scientific library of Finland, and it possesses, as far as this
is possible, a complete collection of the national literature
of Finland. It is also recognised as the National Library,
though wanting the appropriate name and the official
position.
The Library was founded in Turku (Abo) in 1640, at the
same time that the University (then called Academy) was
founded there. When the University, in 1827, after the
great fire of Abo, in which the Library was nearly destroyed,
was removed to Helsinki, the University Library also was
refounded there.
The University Library is administered by a Director
(Finn. Ylikirjastonhoitaja, Swed, Overbibliotekarie), who
is responsible to the Senate (Consistorium) of the University.
As to the University, it has an extensive autonomy, but the
final authority is the Ministry of Education. The budget
is voted by the Parliament in connection with the budget
of the University.
Among the chief librarians, Henrik Gabriel Porthan (1772-
77) and his pupil Frediik Wilhelm Pipping (1817-75) should
3i8 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
first be mentioned. The former, who, even after having
resigned his librarianship for a University chair, was in fact
the head of the Library until his death (1804), made of this
institution a real research library by encouraging donations
as well as by making purchases of literature and by making
it in every respect accessible to students. And, especially
worthy of notice, he was in this country the first propagator
of the idea of a National Library, and tried to collect for
the Abo Library as complete a collection of national litera-
ture as possible. The chief merits of Pipping also especially
concern the National Department of the Library. During
his librarianship the Library had, after the catastrophe of
1827, to be created anew, and in a comparatively short time
it came to possess a larger amount of volumes than the one
destroyed. He took especial care of the " Fennica "
literature, and during his time a separate " Fennica "
Department was first constituted. Among chief librarians
of more recent times we may mention the philosopher
Andreas Wilhelm Bolin (1873-1912) and Georg Carl August
Schauman (1914-30), under whose direction the Library was
developed into a modern research library. He was followed
by Lauri Oskar Theodor Tudeer (1933-).
To begin with, the Abo Library had 21 volumes, but
during the first century of its activity it acquired several
considerable gifts, inter alia in 1646 about 890 volumes from,
the widow of the General Torsten St&lhandske, brought as
war spoils from abroad. But later on its growth was very
slow, as it had not, until 1693, any regular annual income,
and the sum, then granted, was very modest. When the
Library was destroyed by fire in 1827 it numbered about
40,000 volumes.
After the removal to Helsingfors, the growth of the
Library was rapid. Numerous gifts reached it, the most
considerable among them being: a gift from England,
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, HELSINGFORS 319
where John Bowring brought together a collection of books ;
a collection of about 24,000 volumes presented in 1833 by
the aide-de-camp, Cavalry-Captain Paul Alexandroff, who
had inherited it from his father, the Grand Duke Constantin
Pawlovitch ; and a collection of University dissertations from
different countries (about 30,000), formerly belonging to the
Russian Ambassador in Stockholm, Count J. P. van Suchte-
len, and given in 1836 by the Emperor Nicholas I. Among
notable donations of a more recent date, are to be men-
tioned the medical collection of Professor 0. Engstrom
(about 6,000 volumes) and the judicial library of Baron
S. A. Korff. The Library has also in its care, as a deposit,
the library collected by Baron L. H. Nicolay of Monrepos
near Viborg (about 9,000 volumes, chiefly literature from
the Age of " Enlightenment ").
In 1902, the Library purchased the collection of the
renowned explorer and geographer, Professor A. E. Norden-
skiold (about 5,000 volumes), containing a great many rare
publications ; a catalogue of this collection is being compiled
and will be published.
The regular growth of the Library is from bequests, gifts,
exchange and, as regards the National Department, from
legal deposit. Deposit copies have been granted to the
Library since 1707, and this privilege has been maintained
throughout all the changes of the press laws. From 1820 the
Library was also entitled to a deposit copy of every publica-
tion issued in Russia. This right was transferred to the
Russian Library of the University when it was, in 1845,
separated from the General University Library to form a
separate institution. When Finland became an independent
country this right ceased (1918).
The whole stock amounts to about 500,000 volumes, to
which are to be added about 150,000 foreign dissertations
and a stock of miscellaneous " Fennica " printing estimated
320 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
at about 100,000 items. To these figures are to be added
collections of manuscripts, maps and music.
BUILDINGS
While at Turku (Abo) the Library was housed in very
small, unsatisfactory rooms, but in 1815 it was removed to
a large locality reserved for it in the new University building.
After the fire, it was located in the eastern wing of the build-
ing of the then Imperial Senate in Helsingfors. In 1836, the
construction of a special Library building was begun accord-
ing to the designs of C. L. Engel, the creator of the monu-
mental architecture of the Centre of Helsingfors. In 1845
it was ready for use. The Library, considered to be one of
the most beautiful buildings in Helsingfors, comprises a
series of halls in a style typical of the period, with the book
shelves ranged along the walls. There are three large
halls with the book shelves in three storeys of wall galleries,
as well as a few smaller collections and working rooms. As
time went on, these turned out to be too small, and in 1893
the northern hall was turned into a reading-room, with
52 seats. It has proved possible to increase their number
to 60, and in an adjoining room 12 additional seats have been
provided for readers. The growing collections necessitated
expansion, and in 1906 was erected a semi-circular book
stack of six storeys, whose 8,500 meters of shelving were
estimated to hold 250,000 volumes. Later on, it was found
possible to add, between the radially-placed book shelves,
still shorter shelf-rays, and so to procure 2,000 additional
meters of shelving. Between these shelves it has been
necessary to provide working place for a considerable part
of the Library staff.
The extension proved sufficient for the increasing collec-
tions during a period of about twenty years, but now addi-
tional room for book storage is urgently required. There is
PLATE XXXI. K. UNIVERSITETSBIBUOTEKET, HELSINGFORS :
THE READING ROOM.
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, HELSINGFORS 321
also a great need for a new reading-room, the present one
being inadequate for present-day requirements.
CATALOGUES
The Library has published printed accession catalogues
of foreign literature since 1866. To-day the General Access-
ion Catalogue of the Scientific Libraries of Finland has
been substituted for them ; its first volume comprises the
year 1929. As printed catalogues of the " Fennica "
Department we can consider " Suomalainen Kirjallisuus "
(Finnish Literature), published by the Suomalaisen Kirjal-
lisuuden Seura (Finnish Literature Association), now issued
every third year, and " Katalog over den svenska littera-
turen i Finland " (Catalogue of the Swedish Literature in
Finland), published by the Svenska Litteratursallskapet i
Finland (Swedish Literature Association in Finland).
The Library publishes, besides, since 1918, a series called
" Helsingin Yliopiston Kirjaston Julkaisuja Helsingfors
Universitetsbiblioteks Skrifter" (Publications of the Uni-
versity Library in Helsingfors), of which 16 volumes have
been issued, and which contains the Annual Report of the
Library as well as special catalogues and bibliographical
researches and studies.
DEPARTMENTS
The Library is made up of the following departments :
(i) Fennica-osasto Fenn-ica-avdelningen (National De-
partment). Besides national publications delivered as
deposit copies, the department brings together Finnish
works issued abroad, works published abroad by Finnish
authors, translations of Finnish literature into foreign
languages, and works concerning Finland and the Finns
published abroad.
322 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
(2) Ulkomainen osasto Utlandska avddningen (Foreign
Department).
(3) Venalainen osasto Ryska avdelningen (Russian De-
partment), The Russian Library of the University, being
one of the largest collections of Russian literature outside
Russia, has been reunited with the University Library and
organised as a special department of it in 1925. The col-
lections are kept, as yet, in a separate building, outside
the University Library.
(4) Kasikirjoitusosasto Manuskriptavdelningen (Manu-
script Department). It contains, inter alia, parts of the old
archives of the University rescued from the fire, large collec-
tions of letters and a collection of mediaeval manuscripts,
chiefly consisting of leaves of ecclesiastical works from the
churches, which, during the Age of Reformation, were
employed as covers of State documents.
(5) NuottikokoelmaNotsamlingen (Music collection).
(6) Karttaja kuvakokoelma Kart och lildsamlingen
(Collection of maps, prints and drawings).
Besides the staff of assistants needed for the administra-
tion of the Library, there is a special Deposit Copy Office,
where the deposit copies have to be delivered twice yearly
by the printers, and where they are controlled and forwarded
to such libraries as, in addition to the University Library,
are entitled to get such copies.
The public service is divided into (i) the Lending Office,
which lends books for home use, and (2) the Reading Room,
which together with an adjoining room has 72 seats. It
may be added that the Russian Department has a lending
office and a reading-room of its own. The reading-room has
free admittance. For home lending some qualifications are
required from readers outside the University. All literature
belonging to the " Fennica " Department is excluded from
home lending.
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, HELSINGFORS 323
Figures for recent annual acquisitions are :
Legal deposit 11,000 items.
Purchases and gifts . . . . 6,000 volumes.
Exchanges (chiefly University disserta-
tions from foreign Universities) . 9,000
ITS PLACE IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Library lends, for research only, directly to
individuals in the town of Helsingfors, and occasionally,
upon consideration, elsewhere ; it lends directly to libraries,
public institutions, etc., throughout the whole country. On
conditions of reciprocity it lends to foreign libraries. It
acts as a national information centre for bibliographical and
book-research questions.
The Library has, in common with the State Archives, a
Photostatic Department, which delivers copies at a low rate.
STAFF
The staff of the Library consists of I Director (ylikir-
jastonhoitaja overbibliotekarie), 3 heads of Departments
(Fennica Department, Foreign Department, Russian
Department) kirjastonhoitajat bibliotekarier , 7 senior
under-librarians (vanhemmat alikirjastonhoitajat aldre
underbibliotekarier), and 7 junior under-librarians (nuo-
remmat alikir j astonhoitaj at yngre underbibliotekarier) ,
14 assistants (amanuenssit), 4 attendants, auxiliary
attendants, etc., all together about 40 persons. The
salaries are fmk. 990,000.
The qualifications required for being admitted as an
ordinary member of the staff are an academical degree
(Magister Philosophiae Master of Arts) and a period of
apprenticeship in the University Library. For the Director
and heads of Departments, a Doctor's degree and active
research work is required. Undergraduates are admitted as
apprentices, to the extent needed by the Library.
324 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
The Director is appointed by the President of the Republic
on the recommendation of the Chancellor of the University.
The Librarians are appointed by the University Chancellor
on the recommendation of the Humanistic Faculty, the
Director having previously given his opinion. Other
assistants are appointed by the University Consistorium
(Senate) on the advice of the Director.
FINANCE
For the financial year 1934 the State Budget has granted
to the University Library the following sums :
Fmk.
Purchase and binding of books and periodicals . 910,000
Printing *S>ooo
Catalogue of Foreign Accessions .... 25,000
Salaries (ordinary staff) ..... 875,400
Salaries (extraordinary staff) .... 114,600
Total sum . 1,940,000
(=ca. 8,500)
To this total sum are to be added fmk. ca. 50,000, being
the annual share of the Library in various University fees.
The upkeep of the building of the Library is in charge of
the University architect, and the expenses for the conserva-
tion of the buildings, for lights and firing, etc., are included
in the general budget of the University.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The principal sources for the history of the Library are :
Porthan, H. G. Historia Bibliothecae R. Academiae
Aboensis. Aboae. 1771-95.
Nohrstrom, H. Helsingfors Universitetsbiblioteks Fennica-
Samling. Helsingfors. 1918.
Jorgensen, A. Universitetsbiblioteket i Helsingfors.
Helsingfors. 1931.
For further information see Dahl, Sv., Bibliotckshandbok
II, pp. 293-308, Uppsala, 1931.
XVII
LA BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL DE MEXICO,
MEXICO CITY
XVII
LA BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL DE MEXICO,
MEXICO CITY
HISTORY : THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
" FROM the revolutionary period (1800-20) till 1884 ^^e
history of Mexico is one of almost continuous warfare, in
which Maximilian's Empire is a mere episode/'
Such conditions do not sound favourable for either the
inception or development of a library, and in fact a National
Library did not come into existence till 1857, but several
early attempts had been made to establish one, which showed
that public support was waiting for such an institution.
In 1856 the President issued a decree proposing once more
the formation of a National Library, and the following year
another decree ordered the suppression of the University of
Mexico, and the consigning of the building and books to the
National Library. The second source of books for the new
Library was the libraries of the suppressed religious corpora-
tions and communities. The third source was the law of
legal deposit, passed in 1857. Nothing, however, was done
for three years because of the civil war, which raged with
violence from 1858 to 1861. With the temporary triumph
of the Liberal Government and the occupation of the
capital, Ramirez, who had been nominated Director in 1857,
got to work on the organisation of the various collections
from the suppressed religious houses, and was able shortly
to open the building to the public. The number of volumes
amounted to :
327
328 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
From the religious houses . . . 80,312
From the University library . . . 10,652
Totalling 90,964
During Maxmilian's brief rule the Library suffered the
indignity of being removed from its building and stored
away in the Museum, but was restored again in 1867, when
the Republic was re-established, though not to its original
building. An old church was adapted for use, and at the
end of 15 years the formal opening took place on April 2,
1884. The Director from 1880-1909 was Jose Vigil, and he
took in hand the organisation of the whole Library in its
new quarters, getting the books out of store, arranging them
by a system of classification, cataloguing them, etc. He
also founded the Bulletin which served as the official organ
of the Library, and gave statistics of number of readers, etc.
At his death the number of volumes had reached 200,000.
The original of so many of the books, that is, the fact that
so many came from religious houses, meant a preponderance
of theological works and a great many duplicates. After
theology the best-represented subjects were history, especi-
ally American, law and belles lettres.
MANUSCRIPTS
The Library has not a large collection of MSS., but some
that it has are very rare, such as (i) the volume of old songs
in the Nahuatl language, a unique native collection from the
pre-Spanish period ; (2) a compilation of Mexican sermons
which provides a source for the Nahuatl language ; (3) a
series of documents on the expulsion of the members of the
Jesuit Society from the kingdom of New Spain ; (4) com-
plete archives of the suppressed University of Mexico, which
forms a rich storehouse of facts and dates for biographical
history from the sixteenth century.
BIB. NACIONAL DE MEXICO 329
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND BEQUESTS
(1) 2,000 volumes bequeathed in 1876, a collection of
Mexican works ;
(2) 9,350 volumes given by a Mexican business man, a
general library, comprising literature, history, canon
law and natural sciences, but notable for their
buildings ;
(3) 5>88o volumes dealing with chess, the most complete
of its kind ;
(4) 1,170 works on Mexican affairs written by foreigners
in various European languages, most of them dealing
with the unfortunate Archduke Maxmilian.
THE BUILDING
The Library was first housed in what had been the Uni-
versity building, from which it was removed by the Emperor
Maxmilian. The church of St. Augustin, which was bought
by the Government for the purpose of conversion into a
library, was a Doric-Roman building with Renaissance
details, built in 1689. Its on ty nxerit from a library point
of view seems to have been its size (the middle aisle of the
nave was 64 x 12 metres x 24 in height) ; it lacked good
light and ventilation and was very cold in winter, and the
work of adaptation took more than 15 years to carry out.
In 1893 was inaugurated an evening service for readers
in a building adjoining the Library, the old chapel of the
Third Order of St. Augustine, to which were moved all the
duplicates.
In the early part of this century various repairs and
improvements have been made : doing up the fagade of the
chapel added in 1893 ; repairing the roof of the old chapels
in the main Library ; installation of metal stacks in them to
contain 98,000 volumes ; new furniture of modern design
330 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
in the reading-room, and various other minor alterations and
improvements.
CATALOGUES
Among his improvements, Vigil started the work of
cataloguing, and he left printed n folio volumes, which
contained the catalogues and their supplements (" Catalogos
de la Biblioteca Nacional de Mexico, formados bajo la
direccion de J. M. Vigil, 1889- ).
USE OF LIBRARY
The figures for readers using the Library started with
8,238 in 1882 ; the peak year was 1896, with 71,503, and in
1909 the number was 36,824.
STAFF
The staff, appointed by decree in 1861, consisted of :
i Inspector without salary.
i Librarian-Director with a salary of $1,500.
I Sub-Librarian with a salary of $1,200.
i Assistant Librarian, $360.
Others, $240.
Porter, boy.
At the end of Vigil's directorship the staff consisted of :
i Director.
i Sub-Director.
i Secretary.
i Official.
i in charge of the Boletin and other publications.
1 in charge of the Department of Exchange.
6 " Dependentes de libros."
10 Escribientes.
2 Vigilantes,
BIB. NACIONAL DE MEXICO 331
And the evening library annexed to the National had :
1 Head.
2 Escribientes.
3 Dependentes de libros.
Lower grade staff :
i Conserje.
i Porter.
i Gardener.
i Head of the boys.
5 boys.
FINANCE
Expenditure in 1908 totalled $3,839,800, of which
$500,000 went in purchase of books and $200,000 in upkeep
and repairs.
XVIII
LA BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL,
BUENOS AIRES
XVIII
LA BIBLIOTBCA NACIONAL,
BUENOS AIRES
HISTORY : THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
THE founder of the National Library of Argentina was
Mariano Moreno, the hero of the Revolution of 1810, when
the Argentine established its de facto independence, though
it was not formally acknowledged by Spain till 1842. The
Library was founded by a Government decree of September
7, 1 8 10, but the inspiration behind it was that of Moreno,
who as a man of vision saw the need of something more than
a material basis for the new Republic, and in the midst of
civil strife and fear of outside interference worked enthusi-
astically for the establishment of a public library. In
response to Moreno's appeals, the citizens of Buenos Aires
gave generously of money, books and furniture for starting
the new institution, so that within a year of its foundation
it possessed 15,000 volumes, and on March 16, 1812, opened
its doors to the public with the title of " Biblioteca Publica/'
Among the most generous early donors were ecclesiastical
corporations ; in 1796 the Bishop of Buenos Aires, Don
Manuel Azamor y Ramirez, bequeathed his " famous and
costly library to the favour of Holy Church and to public
education and instruction/' and this collection was handed
over soon after the foundation ; the College of San Carlos
incorporated the whole of its library and individual church-
men gave largely. Also, as might be expected, the majority
of the librarians for the first half of the century were clerics.
The Library, however, did not long maintain the progress
335
336 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
of its first few years ; for many years there was continual
civil war, followed by the Rosas dictatorship, which lasted
from 1835-52, and the Government, occupied in maintaining
itself in power, gave little or no attention or support, while
private interest died down, so that in 1854, when the period
of reform began, the number of books was given as only
15,397, less than the figure of 1822. In 1853 Senor Tejedor
was appointed as Director, and with him it may be said that
the twilight period came to an end. His investigations and
the annual reports which were now published showed the
moribund state of the Library both as to the users and the
book supply. A beginning of reform was made ; old and
valuable books were restored (though many were damaged
beyond repair), new books were acquired, a beginning was
made in the cataloguing, annual reports were expected from
the different departments, though this was not enforced till
1866 ; as a consequence, readers increased in two years from
2,000 to 8,000. Tejedor was succeeded in 1858 by Jose
Marmol, who remained as Director till 1871 ; owing to the
troubled state of the country during this period no special
innovations were introduced ; his successor, Vicente Quesada
(1871-79), did much, including the building of a new reading-
room ; the Library was enriched with 9,716 volumes,
exchange relations were established with Europe and
America, and the number of readers rose from 2,504 in 1872
to 6,192 in 1876. It may be said that from Quesada's term
of office (perhaps from his visit to Europe in 1874) dates the
modern period of the Library. He was succeeded by
Trelles, who remained as Director till the establishment of
the National Government in 1884 ; he was primarily an
archivist and historian and applied himself to the publica-
tion of historical documents in the Library ; as a librarian
he carried on the useful reforms of his predecessor, inaugurat-
ing the new reading-room and classifying the reference works
BIB. NACIONAL, BUENOS AIRES 337
placed there. In 1882 the volumes numbered 32,600 and
the number of readers was 6,000 to 7,000 yearly.
In 1884 Buenos Aires was declared the capital of the
Republic, and the three establishments, the Museum, the
Library and the Archives, were incorporated in the new
jurisdiction and placed under the Ministry of Justice and
Public Instruction ; the name of the Library was changed
from the Public Library to the National Library. In 1885
Groussac became Director, which office he held till 1929 ;
among the many services he did for the Library was to write
its history. When he took office there were 32,000 volumes ;
at his death there were 230,000. He may be said to be the
second founder of the Library, and he is already a classic in
Argentine literature. The Library, however, suffered some-
what in the last few years of Groussac' s term of office owing
to his long final illness, and the present Director has drawn
up a plan of reform, by which he hopes to bring the number
of volumes up to a million and to make the Library a truly
national centre of research and general culture. His first
task was to carry out an exact enumeration which gave the
following figures (December, 1932) :
Printed works ..... 197,642
Pamphlets ...... 60,945
Maps. ...... 2,179
Prints 872
261,638
MSS. 8,839
Copies of archives .... 6,000
Total . 276,477
This means that the Library has grown in the last 40 years
at the rate of 4,500 items yearly.
The scope of the institution covers popular reading as
well as research ; and there is a special room for children.
AA
338 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
BUILDINGS
The Library, for its start, was given an old building in
the street called after Moreno, the founder of the Library, and
adjoining the House of Representatives. In 1822 an addi-
tional house next door was added ; but the whole building,
one gathers from the historian of the Library, Groussac, had
little architecturally to commend it, though he hastens to
add that " if it was more indigent in appearance than to-day,
it was equally hospitable."
The great reform of Quesada's directorship was the
building and fitting up of a completely new reading-room,
which was carried out in 1877-78 on unoccupied land adjoin-
ing the old buildings. With its four galleries, communicating
by stairs, and its well-appointed furniture, it was a pleasant
and comfortable room.
Finally during the directorship of Groussac a new building
was erected, the money for which had been raised by a
national lottery, a device not unknown to other and more
famous libraries. The inauguration of the new Biblioteca
Nacional took place on December 27, 1901 . It is a handsome
stone building in the classical style with a series of large
well-proportioned rooms and a lofty reading-room with
three galleries and a decorated ceiling, but the growth of the
Library has made it necessary in recent years to put shelving
everywhere, up to the ceilings and down to the cellars. One
of these fine rooms has, however, been transformed into a
reading-room for research students, holding about 60 persons,
and has appropriately been called after the former Director,
Paul Groussac. A second room has been devoted to the
the Library of Dr. Amancio Alcorta, a valuable bequest
containing nearly 17,000 items (books, pamphlets, and
manuscripts). At the present rate of growth, which the
Director estimates at 30,000 volumes annually, fresh building
is again the great need of the moment.
BIB. NACIONAL, BUENOS AIRES 339
CATALOGUES
The Library has been publishing volumes of the subject
catalogue since 1893 ; Volume I appeared in that year with
a preface by the Director, Groussac, and Volume VII was
issued in 1932. The present Director favours the preparation
of card catalogues, one for authors and one for subjects for
the general use of the public in the Library, and the printing
of small special catalogues such as were issued recently by
the Library, Catalogo de Industrias (98 pages), Lista de las
ultimas obras argentinas engrasadas en la Biblioteca National
(157 pages), and Ultimas obras ingresadas (64 pages).
DEPARTMENTS AND STAFF
Administrative Section :
The Director.
Deputy Director.
Accountant.
Secretary to the Department.
Legal Deposit :
i Head of the Department.
Bibliographical Section :
1 Head of the Department.
2 Assistants.
2 Secretaries.
Manuscripts and Paul Groussac Room :
i Head of the Section.
Periodical Room :
i Head.
Carlos F. Melo Room (for children) :
i Head.
.Reading Room :
i Head (for morning period).
3 Assistants.
i Head (for evening period).
3 Assistants.
340 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Printing, Binding and Carpentry Departments :
i Head and I Assistant in each.
Lower Grade Staff :
Janitor, porters, boys.
USE OF LIBRARY: ACCESSIONS
Number of people using the Library in 1932 were 100,000.
The accessions for 1932 were :
Purchases (volumes and items) . . i,57 2
Gifts . 9,006
Legal deposit :
Books and pamphlets . . . 716
Pieces of music .... 2,384
FINANCE
The total expenditure for 1932 was $146,444.54, of which
$117,284.54 was for salaries and $29,160. for general ex-
penses. General expenses were divided as follows :
Office equipment .... $1,250.30
Purchase of books .... 6,543.26
Binding of books .... 856.60
Bindery 1,308.63
Carpenter's shop .... 5,516.24
Printing office 1,222.83
Light 3,364-72
Heating 1,536.19
Telephone ...... 1,021.83
Garden . . . . . . 3.60
Subscriptions to reviews . . . 2,195.90
Incidentals. ..... 3^983.5
$29,160.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Groussac, Paul. Noticia historica sobre la Biblioteca de
Buenos Aires (1810-1901). 1901.
La Biblioteca Nacional en 1932. 1933.
Para que la Biblioteca Nacional tenga un millon de volu-
menes. 1933.
XIX
LA BIBLIOTHECA NACIONAL DO RIO DE
JANEIRO, BRAZIL
XIX
LA BIBLIOTHECA NACIONAL DO RIO DE
JANEIRO, BRAZIL
HISTORY : THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
THE National Library of Brazil, officially called " Bibliotheca
Nacional e Publica do Rio de Janeiro/' was founded in the
same year as the National Library at Buenos Aires, in 1810.
The foundation collection was the library brought over to
Brazil by the Prince Regent of Portugal, Don John VI, who
on the invasion of his country by the French troops removed
himself and his queen and his whole court to his colony of
Brazil. The library was a valuable one, having been
enriched by the fine collection made between the years
1770-73 by the Abbot of St. Andrian de Sever, whose
bibliographical rarities are described in glowing terms by
the librarian of the National Library in the first volume of
the Annaes de Bibliotheca Nacional, 1876-77.
The Library was accommodated in the Hospital of the
Third Order of the Carmelites in 1810, which is generally
regarded as the year of its foundation, and in the following
year it was opened to the public. It continued to grow
in its new home, as all works printed in Portugal were sent
out and added, and the interest of the Government and of
individuals was shown by a steady stream of purchases and
gifts.
The most noteworthy purchase made by the Government
was that of the library of the noted Argentine bibliophile
don Pedro de Angelis, which contained 2,700 volumes and
343
344 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
1,300 MSS. of great interest for the history of Rio de la Plata.
The collection contained some very rare works and all were
in a perfect state of preservation.
The early librarians, as might be expected, were all
clerics ; Brother Viegas (a Franciscan) and Father Damaso
(an Oratorian of Lisbon) were the first entrusted with the
arrangement and care of the then Royal Library. They
accompanied the royal family to their new home and
remained in charge of the Library till the independence of
Brazil was proclaimed in 1822. We have a succession of
cleric librarians till the middle of the century. The most
noteworthy administration was that of Dr. Ramiz Galvao,
1870-82 ; he gave new life to the National Library, indeed,
almost everything of worth in the organisation of the
Library was originated by him. During his period of office
were held the two exhibitions of which the two catalogues
survive, and a new library was built. He was succeeded
by Dr. J. de Gama, who had, since the reform of the Library
in 1876, been head of the Section of Printed Works, and
who held office till 1899. He carried on Galvao's work ;
the " Permanent Exhibition of Treasures " was organised
by him and a catalogue made of it, and he introduced
several material improvements in the Library. In 1895,
the number of printed volumes had risen to 231,132, MSS.
115,513, documents 46,675.
The present number of volumes amounts to about 488,000.
TREASURES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Among the treasures of the Library are a collection of
incunabula and early printed books, 142 of the fifteenth
century and 422 of the sixteenth century, also numerous
works of the famous European printers, Bodoni, Aldus,
Elzevir, Plantin, etc.
Most of the special collections and libraries purchased or
BIB. NACIONAL, RIO DE JANEIRO 345
acquired have been described in the Annaes ; the Argentine
collection of de Angelis has already been mentioned. The
largest collection that came to the Library was the special
library of the ex-Emperor, which was taken over by the
Government on the establishment of the Republic in 1889.
The Library numbered 48,236 volumes and contained also
innumerable pamphlets, foreign periodicals, maps, etc., and
occupied a whole new gallery in the National Library ; it
was kept as a separate collection, as was also that of the
ex-Empress.
BUILDINGS
The Library was first housed in Brazil in the " Hospital
of the Third Order of the Carmelites " ; in the beginning it
occupied only the upper floor of the Hospital, but, after the
arrival of the books from Lisbon, more space was required,
and by an Order of November 3, 1812, the Library was given
the ground floor as well. Later, during the administration
of Brother Camillo de Monserrate (1853-70), it was moved
to the Casa do Largo de Lala ; the interior took three years
to be got ready, and for the first time a reading-room was
provided. This was enlarged later by two wings. Another
move was made in 1896 to a larger building which was
adapted for the purpose, but it was not till 1910 that the
Library had a building specially constructed for the purpose ;
it was built to celebrate the centenary.
CATALOGUES
As late as 1873, nothing more than a summary and in-
complete inventory had been made of the contents of the
Library; a list of the MSS. had been made in 1822-31,
arranged in alphabetical order by the titles, and a second
list, 1839-46, arranged in alphabetical order by the names
of authors. This last was in three large folio volumes and
346 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
a copy served the public in the reading-room. The modern
catalogue of MSS. was begun by Dr. Galvao, and he pub-
lished four volumes of the section relating to Brazil.
There are two catalogues of printed books :
(1) Alphabetical loose leafed, in the reading-room ;
(2) A subject catalogue, begun by Galvao.
There are also three printed catalogues of special collec-
tions :
(1) " Catalogo da Exposicao Camoneana/' which com-
memorated the tercentenary of the death of Luiz de Camoes,
1880.
(2) " Catalogo da Exposicao de Historia do Brazil/'
Both these exhibitions were organised by Galvao.
(3) " Catalogo da Exposicao Permanente dos Cimelios
da Bibliotheca National." 1885.
Bibliographies of a great many of the special sections
have been printed in the " Annaes."
PLACE IN NATIONAL SYSTEM
An important part in the development of the Library has
been played by the yearly publication of the Library
entitled " Annaes da Bibliotheca National," which was
begun in 1876-77 by Galvao, to whom the Library owes so
much. In it are published bibliographies of special sections
or descriptions of rare works, in short, anything relating to
bibliography in general and Brazilian bibliography in
particular. It also contains the yearly report.
Courses are organised periodically (from 1914) in library
economy.
There is a law of legal deposit, and authors who wish to
obtain copyright have to register their work at a special
office at the Library.
After the Brussels Convention the Government set up, in
1886, an office for international exchange, and in 1890
BIB. NACIONAL, RIO DE JANEIRO 347
passed this service over to the National Library, where it
continues to function.
USE AND ACCESSIONS
The number of readers using the Library in 1930 was
67,141, an average of 210 a day ; 245,179 works were
consulted.
The accessions for 1930 were :
Printed works. MSS. Prints and maps.
Purchases . 2,459 3 1,957
Gifts . . 996 28 125
Legal deposit . 1,533 3 183
Exchange . 1,592 3 232
The Library is divided, for administrative purposes, into
four sections : Printed books ; MSS. ; prints, photographs
and maps ; coins and medals.
The Department of coins and medals was founded by
Galvao in 1880, and grew steadily under later administra-
tions ; in 1884 a catalogue was issued.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Annaes da Bibliotheca Nacional. 1876-77 to date.
Bibliotheca Nacional ; resumo historico. 1897.
XX
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY, PEIPING
XX
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY, PEIPING
HISTORY
THE documentary history of the Library may be traced back
to a memorial by the Board of Education in September,
1909, praying for the establishment of a National Library.
The Library was established during the following year, and
was then known as the Peiping Library, to which all the
books formerly preserved at the Hall of Classics and at the
Library of the Imperial Cabinet were transferred by the
order of the Government. On the establishment of the
Republic, the Library enjoyed a phenomenal growth, but
owing to the lack of proper quarters, location and support,
its usefulness was greatly diminished. In the winter of
1925 the Ministry of Education undertook to co-operate
with the China Foundation for the Promotion of Education
and Culture in the reorganisation of the National Library.
Owing to political disturbances, the Ministry was confronted
with certain unforeseen difficulties in the full realisation of
the plan, and definite action was unavoidably delayed.
Meanwhile the Foundation undertook to establish on the
site already selected the Library which it had under con-
templation. From March, 1926, to June, 1929, it was
known as the Metropolitan Library, with temporary quarters
in the Pei Hai Park. In June, 1929, the Ministry of Educa-
tion proposed that the National Library and the Metropoli-
tan, Library be amalgamated under one management. The
proposal was accepted by the China Foundation and the
35*
352 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
two libraries were reorganised under the name of the National
Library of Peiping.
OBJECTS
The objects of the Library have always been the promotion
of education and diffusion of culture. The Library is
mainly a reference library ; it is free to all classes of readers.
It supplies, however, on loan to libraries and individuals
books for study which cannot conveniently be obtained in
any other way. It acts as a centre of bibliographical
information, both for national and international purposes.
At the request of the International Institute of Intellectual
Co-operation, it has been serving as national information
centre for China.
SITE AND BUILDINGS
Situated in the historical centre of the city of Peiping, the
National Library on its east side borders the Pai-Hai Park
(the Winter Palace) ; and at its west stands the Fan Memorial
Institute of Biology and Social Research Institute. Across
the thoroughfare, in front of the Library's main gate, stands
the Chung-nan-hai Park (the Imperial Palace and Presi-
dential Residence) ; and to the south-west there are the
offices of the Municipal Government. Occupying a site of
40 acres, the Library is surrounded by the relics of the
historical monuments of Peiping.
The design of the building adheres closely to the Chinese
palace architecture, with adaptations to meet the needs of a
modern library, but the construction is carried throughout
in accordance with the most modern practices. The frame-
work and the roof construction of the building are entirely
of reinforced concrete. The plinths of the building and
terraces are faced with white marble, while the fajades are
decorated and painted in the best style of the Ming Dynasty.
NATIONAL LIBRARY, PEIPING 353
The roofs, which form a most important feature in Chinese
architecture, are covered with green glazed tiles.
The building may be easily divided into three sections,
namely, front, middle, and rear. The front section is given
to bibliothecal museum, reading-rooms, memorial rooms,
and special stack rooms, reception room board meeting room,
and director's office. The middle section is devoted to
offices, research rooms, and the delivery counter. The rear
section is a lofty four-storey building of steel stacks, accom-
modating 400,000 volumes. Books are transferred to the
delivery counter from the stacks by an electrical book
conveyor.
COLLECTIONS
Up to the end of December, 1933, the National Library
possessed 500,000 volumes of Chinese works, and 85,000
volumes in European languages. Among special collections,
there are 8,000 rolls of manuscript sutras of the Tang
Dynasty (618-905 A.D.), 30,000 volumes of Chinese incuna-
bula and early printed books and manuscripts, the Sze Ku
Chuan Shu, or the Imperial Library of Emperor Chien-Lung,
consisting of 36,300 manuscript volumes. In addition, there
are 3,000 provincial and district gazetteers, 41,000 volumes
of Chinese books in the Liang-chi-ch'ao j s depository library,
5,000 volumes of foreign books on China in the John Hay
Memorial collection, and 3,307 volumes of foreign works on
general linguistics in the Mollendorf collection. Because of
its treasures of manuscripts and rare printed books, the
collection of the Library is of international significance.
The Library has also a collection of architectural models
of the Imperial Palaces of Peiping, including the destroyed
Yuan Ming Yuan (the old Summer Palace), which are of
great rarity and of historical significance.
The collection of old Chinese maps, showing the develop-
BB
354 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
ment of cartography in China, is unique. These maps
were painted on silk either during the Ming or early Ching
dynasties, usually of sizes 20 ft. by 30 ft. They include
river and coast maps, public highway maps and frontier
defence maps with the unique monuments of Chinese
cartography.
During the past six years the National Library has built
up a most valuable collection of rubbings of bronzes and
stone inscriptions. They form a primary source material
for the study of Chinese history and archaeology.
FACILITIES
From September to May the Library is open from 9 a.m.
to 10 p.m., and from June to August from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
General books of the Library may be borrowed for home use
for a period of two weeks by any reader who has given two
satisfactory references. Through the inter-library loan
system the Library borrows for its readers books in other
libraries in and around Peiping. The Library maintains
a photostat service to supply research workers in China
with photostat prints of materials they need. The reference
section of the Library answers inquiries received through
correspondence from China and abroad. It has collaborated
with the International Institute of Intellectual Co-operation
in furnishing information concerning Chinese current
bibliographies for inclusion in the Index Bibliographicus.
CATALOGUING AND CLASSIFICATION
The Library has adopted the dictionary catalogue. In
cataloguing and classifying foreign books, the printed cards
of the Library of Congress are being used and the Library of
Congress classification scheme has been adopted. In
classifying Chinese books, the Library has devised its own
NATIONAL LIBRARY, PEIPING 355
classification system, which has been generally followed by
large libraries in China.
ORGANISATION AND STAFF
Controlled by a self-perpetuating Board of Managers, the
administration of the Library is vested in the hands of a
director and an associate director, who are appointed by the
Ministry of Education upon the recommendation of the
Board. The Library is now organised into eight depart-
ments, namely, general administration, acquisitions, cata-
loguing, rare books and manuscripts, inscriptions, maps and
charts, periodicals, and reading-room service. In December,
1933, the number of authorised position in the Library was
125. The system of exchange librarians have been effected
with Germany, France and the United States.
The chief officers have been :
(a) Peiping Library :
Director : Miao Chuan-sen, 1910-11.
Kiang Han, 1911-12.
Hsia Tsung-yu, 1914-18.
,, Liang Chi-chao, 1925-27.
(b) Metropolitan Library :
Director : Liang Chi-chao, 1926-27.
Fan Yuan-lien, 1927-28.
Librarian : T. L. Yuan, 1926-29.
(c) National Library of Peiping :
Director : Tsai Yuan-pei, 1929-
Associate Director : T. L. Yuan, 1929-
Up to the end of February, 1934, the number of authorised
positions in the Library was 125. Generally speaking, there
are only two grades existing in this Library, namely, the
technically trained workers and clerks.
356 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
FINANCE
The budget for last year was $140,000 Chinese currency
for salaries and general administration, $100,000 for the
purchasing of Chinese books, and $35,000 for foreign books.
PUBLICATIONS
The Library has paid much attention to bibliographical
and indexing work. Publications of the Library may be
divided into four categories : (i) Special bibliographies ;
(2) Indexes ; (3) Class-lists and Catalogues of Special
Collections ; (4) General Publications. All of them are
available for international exchange. For information
concerning its publications, the reader is referred to the
list of publications of the National Library.
CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS
The National Library maintains close relations with
scientific and educational institutions in China. It has been
serving as a centre of bibliographical information and co-
ordinating agency in all bibliographical and indexing work.
In 1929 it co-operated with the National Academy of
Peiping in the editing and publication of the " Union
Catalogue of Books in European Languages in Peiping
Libraries. In collaboration with the National Tsing Hua
University Library, a Union List of Serials in Peiping
Libraries has recently been compiled and published.
Other important publications of the Library which have
been published with the co-operation of other institutions
include the following : (i) Bibliography of Chinese Novels ;
(2) Bibliography of Chinese Novels preserved in Japan,
jointly published by the Library and the Editorial Board of
the Dictionary of the Chinese Language ; (3) Union Cata-
logue of Manchu Books, published by the Library and the
NATIONAL LIBRARY, PEIPING 357
Palace Museum ; (4) Index to Sinological Literature, with
first and second supplements ; (5) Index to Literature, with
Supplement ; (6) Bibliography of the Writings of the Sung
Dynasty Authors ; (7) Catalogues of the Books preserved
in the Sung Dynasty Imperial Library, published jointly
by the Library and the Library Association of China ;
(8) Commentary on the Kacyapaparivarta, edited by Baron
A. von Stael-Holstein and published jointly by the Library
and National Tsing Hua University ; (9) Reprint of Father
Trigault, published by the Library and the National
University of Peking ; (10) Index to Geographical Litera-
ture, published by the Library and the National Normal
University ; (n) Union List of Books on Biology in Peiping
Libraries, published by the Library and the Peking Society
of Natural History ; (12) the Quarterly Bulletin of Chinese
Bibliography, published by the Library and the Chinese
National Committee on Intellectual Co-operation ; (13) the
Chinese Agricultural Index, published jointly by the Library
and the University of Nanking; (14) Weekly Literary
Supplement, published every Saturday in co-operation
with the Ta Rung Pao (L* Impartial), a most promising daily
in Tientsin.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Annual Reports.
Some Facts about the National Library of Peiping. 1934.
Note. There has just been founded in Nanking a National
Central Library, with the title Kou-li Chung-yang
Tu-shu-kuan,
XXI
THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY OF JAPAN,
TOKYO
XXI
THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY OF JAPAN,
TOKYO
HISTORY : THE COLLECTIONS AND SOME
LIBRARIANS
THE Imperial Library originated in the Shojaku-kwan
established by the department of education in April, 1872.
It was opened on August i of that year, using the old
university lecture hall at Yushima, Hongo-ku, as its tem-
porary reading room.
In February, 1875, the name was changed to " The
Tokyo Shojaku-kwan/' and in March of the same year it
was provided that one of the free copies sent by all book
publishers to the Copyright Office of the Department of
Education should be delivered to it. Then in February,
1877, i^ s nai tt was again changed to " The Tokyo Library,"
and it was moved to the building in Uyeno Park where the
Tokyo Fine Arts College is now situated. Soon after that
the stack-rooms and the reading rooms were built there.
In March, 1889, the official organization of the Tokyo
Library was instituted by an Imperial ordinance.
Then on February 10, 1896, Dr. Shoichi Toyama and Dr.
Aneki Shigeno, members of the House of Peers, with the
support of seventy other members of that House, submitted
a draft memorial for the establishment of the Imperial
Library, and this was passed in the House. Almost at the
same time, the same memorial was submitted to the House
of Commons by Mr. Jubi Suzuki, and passed.
361
362 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
In April, 1897, the government instituted the Official
Organization of the Imperial Library by an Imperial
ordinance, and the name " The Tokyo Library " was
changed to " The Imperial Library." Then it was decided
to enlarge the scope of the library and the new building
which was built as a result continued for eight years, from
1898 to 1906. Thus the foundation of the national library
of Japan was firmly established.
Following this the number of readers increased rapidly,
and the reading rooms once more became too small. So, in
1928, an addition to the reading rooms as well as new office
rooms was begun and they were completed by August,
1929.
On September i, 1923, the great earthquake took place
in the whole region of the Kanto Districts, with Tokyo as
its centre, and a large number of the libraries in Tokyo and
Yokohama, including the Imperial University Library, were
destroyed with their collections of books. The Imperial
Library, however, fortunately escaped this calamity.
Since 1911 the International Book Exchange Service, and
since 1912, the Library School established by the Depart-
ment of Education, have been under the direction of the
Imperial Library.
The first Librarian was Mr. Hisanari Machida. After
him twelve Librarians were appointed, and the fourteenth
Librarian, Mr. Inaki Tanaka, stayed in the office for a
considerable period of time. Then on November 29, 1921,
Mr. Kiichi Matsumoto, the present Librarian, took up the
post.
Of all the librarians, the one who stayed longest in office
and contributed most to the development of this Library
was Mr. Inaki Tanaka (born Jan., 1846 died Feb., 1925).
After graduating from the Department of Literature of the
Tokyo Imperial University he became an assistant pro-
IMPERIAL LIBRARY, TOKYO 363
fessor of the University. Later he became an official of the
Department of Education, and in 1886 entered the Tokyo
Library. There he was promoted to the position of Director
in March, 1890, and remained in that position until Novem-
ber 29, 1921, covering a period of over thirty-five years,
excepting three years of absence (1888-1891) while he was
studying abroad, having been despatched by the govern-
ment to investigate the library work of western countries.
After returning from abroad, he resumed his duty as the
Librarian, and did everything in his power in the library
management to meet the demand of the new age by estab-
lishing new buildings and collecting more books. Thus by
applying the new knowledge to the library service, he made
the Imperial Library a model library for all countries and
the leading one in Japan. Furthermore, he promoted the
co-operation of library workers by organizing the Library
Association of Japan, and enlightened them by his book
entitled " The Library Management," published in 1900,
and by many essays besides.
At the time of its establishment this Library was given
the collection of books in the Department of Education as
well as the rare books out of those which were taken over
by the prefectural governments from the clan schools of the
old feudal lords. Beginning with these, about 25,000
volumes, as its foundation, this Library has increased its
collections year after year by the delivery of the free copies
coming from the Department of Education, by donations,
and by purchases ; and at present (January I, 1934) there
are 779,147 volumes, of which Japanese and Chinese books
number 648,996 and Western books number 122,951.
Ever since the enactment of the publication law in 1875,
one copy out of every two free copies from the Department
of Education has been delivered to the Imperial Library,
although there were frequent changes in the publication
364 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
laws, while the matter of copyrights was later transferred
to the Department of the Interior.
The collections of this library are not limited to any special
field of knowledge, but cover all kinds of literatures of all
ages and of all nations. Its most notable characteristics,
however, are the abundance of rare old books of Japan and
China and also the comprehensiveness of the new publica-
tions of Japan.
The following are the principal old Japanese and Chinese
collections :
A. RARE BOOKS AND MSS., about 2,000 volumes.
All the rare books are reserved in the special stack-rooms
and are carefully kept there for permanent preservation.
They comprise old documents, old transcribed copies of
sacred books and other things, and all publications in the
period between the Nara period and the Keicho age (700-
1600). There are also manuscripts of celebrated generals,
eminent priests, and other distinguished persons of all ages.
B. THE SAKAKIBARA COLLECTION, about 5,000 volumes.
This is the collection of Mr. Yoshino Sakakibara, an
archaeologist and an authoritative book collector, who worked
from the end of the feudal period to the earlier part of
Meiji Era (died in 1881). It includes rare old manuscripts
and books, covering the fields of history, education, litera-
ture, religion, ancient laws, and social customs and manners
of Japan and China. According to the will of Mr. Sakakibara
these were presented to this Library by his family after his
death.
C. DOCUMENTS OF THE TOKUGAWA FEUDAL GOVERNMENT,
about 6,000 volumes.
This collection comprises the official documents of the
magistrates' offices of Yedo (Tokyo) (including the magig-
IMPERIAL LIBRARY, TOKYO 365
trate's office for the affairs concerning shrines and temples,
the magistrate's office for computation, and the general city
magistrate's office), which were the central government
organs directly controlled by the roju (the ministers of the
Tokugawa shogunate) who took charge of the legislative,
judicial, administrative, and accounting functions. Of all
these documents those of the general city magistrate's
office are the most important, including the regulations,
chronicles, protocols, and illustrations concerning the laws,
criminal punishments, politics, society, commerce and
industry, geography, etc., and are the only available materials
showing the official functions of the Shogunate.
D. THE KOMIYAMA COLLECTION, about 2,500 volumes.
This collection consists of the unpublished books tran-
scribed by Shoshn Korniyama, a geographer and an authori-
tative agronomist, and his son, Shogen Komiyama, a Chinese
scholar at the end of the Tokugawa period. This is the
best material for the study of old geography.
E. THE KQSUGI COLLECTION, about 3,000 volumes.
This is the collection of Mr. Onson Kosugi, D. Lit., a
prominent classicist (1834-1910), and consists of the manu-
scripts transcribed by him concerning old official positions
and practices.
F. THE KABUTOYAMA COLLECTION, about 3,000 volumes.
This is the collection of the successive generations of the
Negishi family, a wealthy family of the Prefecture of Saitaina,
and was contributed to this Library by Mr. Nobusuke Negishi,
a descendant of that family. It consists mainly of old
documents concerning court nobles and the military class,
transcripts of old sacred books, old Yeko sketches, hand-
pressed prints of old coins, and genre-paintings of Kanto
districts with the provinces Musashi and Sagami.
366 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
G. THE IMAIZUMI COLLECTION, about 250 volumes.
This collection of Mr. Yusaku Imaizumi, a celebrated
connoisseur of the five arts of the Meiji Era, consists of the
books especially concerning the tea ceremony, flower
arrangement, and incense burning.
H. DOCUMENTS OF THE So FAMILY, about 1,500 volumes.
These are the documents made by the delegates at Fuzan,
despatched by the Mune family, who took charge of the
diplomatic affairs with Korea during the Tokugawa Shogu-
nate, and were contributed by that family to this Library
through the Department of Foreign Affairs.
I. THE ENKOJI COLLECTION, about 1,200 volumes.
These are Buddhist scriptures kept by Genkichi, the
ninth Director of the Ashikaga School and an adviser of the
civil administration of lyeyasu Tokygawa, in his retreat at
Enkoji in Kyoto.
J. A COLLECTION OF UKIYOE (GENRE-PICTURE) PRINTS,
about 2,500 sheets.
This is a collection of ukiyoe prints of almost all
schools, and is valuable material for the study of the history
of the ukiyoe and the manners and customs of Japan in
Tokugawa period.
K. THE " YELLOW COVER " COLLECTION, about 3,000
volumes.
" Yellow Cover " is a sort of novel in the latter part of
the Yedo period. Its characteristics are the realistic pre-
sentation of the customs and manners of the merchant
class, the rising class of that age, and the expression of the
delicate tastes of jest which prevailed in that class. This
literature was very popular in those days, and as the cover
of the books were yellow, it was called yellow cover. This
collection includes almost all the works of this literature,
IMPERIAL LIBRARY, TOKYO 367
Besides the yellow cover, there are over 3,000 volumes of
other popular books of that period, such as Ukiyl-soshi
(story-books of worldly life), humorous books, and the like,
all of which are valuable material for the study of these
characteristic literatures of the Yedo period.
L. A COLLECTION OF PLAY-BOOKS, about 1,500 volumes.
This is the collection of manuscripts, completely trans-
cribed, of over 200 kinds of classical dramas played in the
Tokugawa period,
BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT
Since the period of- the Shojaku-kwan the Imperial
Library has occupied three separate buildings. At first it
was opened in the old university lecture hall at Yushima in
Kongo Ward, Tokyo, as a temporary measure, and in 1885
it was removed to Uyeno Park, a new building having been
erected there. This was a great improvement, but its
activities were still rather constricted. This library building
in 1894 was divided as follows :
For Stack-rooms . . . 168.50^^60*
Reading rooms . . . 148.95
Office rooms . . . 165 . oo
All others . . . 24.33
Total . . 506.78
* A tsubo is about 36 square feet.
The present building library consist of the main part
with stack-rooms and reading rooms, the construction of
which was begun in August, 1897 on a site of 3,275,443
tsubo, a lot adjoining the Tokyo Musical College, and com-
pleted in March, 1906 and an additional building for read-
ing rooms completed in August, 1929. It is in European
Renaissance style, and the floor space and structure of each
part is as following : ,
368 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Floor space Aggregated number
Stack rooms in tsubo. of floor space in tsubo.
Brick building, eight storied,
including underground floor
(completed in 1906) . 66.725 600.525
Reading rooms and office rooms
Brick building, three-storied
including underground floor
(completed in 1906) . 148 . 112 592 . 448
Reading rooms and office rooms
Reinforced concrete build-
ing, three-storied includ-
ing the underground floor
(completed in 1929) . 144 . 483 589 . 861
Total ., 359-320 1,782.834
The building (1898-1906) was planned by Mr. Hideo
Mamizu (D.S.E.), who adapted models of library buildings
of Western countries ; it was conspicuous, at that time, as
a new style of building in Japan. This building, however,
occupies no more than one quarter of the whole plan of the
Imperial Library building, which is to cover a floor space of
7,000 tsubo, and it is far from meeting the present demand,
due to the rapid increase of the number of books and
readers as well as to the specialised development of the
library functions. An effort is being made to complete
the whole plan, but, unfortunately, this has not yet been
realized.
Besides the above-mentioned building, there are the
following annexes :
Reading room ..... 195 . ooo tsubo
Stack-room ..... 240.000
Bookbinding room .... 40.000
Others (store-room, etc.) . . . 223,112 ,,
Total . . . 698,112
The total floor area of all the buildings 2,480,946 ,,
IMPERIAL LIBRARY, TOKYO 369
The interior arrangement of the buildings is as following :
A. THE MAIN BUILDING :
The underground floor. Engine room, disinfecting room,
automatic power-plant room, stackroom for newspapers,
rest-room for library servants, and lunch-room for
readers.
The ground or first floor. Office rooms, stack-rooms for
periodicals, and rare books, and a photographic room.
The second floor. Public catalogue room, delivery hall with
a selection of quick reference works and information
desk, and a reading room for women.
The third floor. Main reading room.
Stack-rooms run from the underground floor to the seventh
floor inclusive.
B. THE ANNEX :
Stack-rooms, reading rooms, and bookbinding room.
The bookbinding room is equipped with all kinds of
apparatus and has a capacity for binding about 15,000
volumes a year.
The disinfecting room is equipped with the vacuum disin-
fecting apparatus of " S K system," and books and cata-
logue cards are disinfected every month on a definite day.
The floors of the stack-rooms are cleaned by the cleaners
every day and books and book shelves are also cleaned by
using several sets of vacuum-cleaners.
CATALOGUES OF GENERAL WORKS AVAILABLE
TO THE PUBLIC
The following are provided in this Library for the general
use of the public,
A. JAPANESE AND CHINESE BOOKS.
L The Classified and the Subject Catalogues,
(i) Classified Catalogues.
Printed Catalogues of Japanese and Year books Year of cata-
Chinese Books in nine volumes. were received, logue publication
Religion, Philosophy and Educa-
tion (i vol.) . 1872-1899 1904
cc
370
NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Printed Catalogues of Japanese and Year books Year of cata-
Chinese books in nine volumes. were received, logue publication.
Literature and Language (i vol.) 1872-1899 1907
History and Biography (i vol.) . 1872-1899 1900
Geography and Travel (i vol.) . 1872-1901 1902
State, Law, Economics, Finance,
Sociology and Statistics (i vol.) 1872-1899 1907
Medicine (i vol.) . . . 1872-1894 1895
Mathematics and Natural Science
(i vol.) 1872-1894 1895
Engineering, Military Arts, Fine
Arts, Amusements, and In-
dustry (i vol.) . . . 1872-1899 1906
Dictionary, Series, Miscellaneous
Writings, Magazines, and News-
papers (i vol.) . . . 1872-1899 1907
(2) Subject Catalogues.
Year books
Printed Catalogues. were received.
Subject Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese
Books (Vol. i) 1900-1903
Subject Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese
Books (Vol. 2) 1904-1907
Card Catalogues.
Subject Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese
Books (Cards) 1908-
IL The Title Catalogue.
Printed Catalogues.
The Title Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese
Books (Vol. i) 1872-1893
The Title Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese
Books (Vol. 2) 1894-1899
The Title Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese
Books (Vol. 3) ..... 1900-1911
B. FOREIGN BOOKS.
I. The Subject Catalogue,
Subject Card Catalogue of Foreign Books
(Cards) 1872-
II. Author Catalogue.
Author Card Catalogue of Foreign Books
(Cards) . 1872-
IMPERIAL LIBRARY, TOKYO 371
Besides these above stated public catalogues, the following
catalogues are also used :
Card Catalogues.
1. Serial Publications. Classified Catalogue of Japanese and
Foreign Books.
Printed Catalogue.
2. The Imperial Library Bulletin. Contains principally the list
of new accessions to the library classified in eight divisions.
This was a quarterly publication from 1908 till the end of
1930, but was changed to a monthly in January, 1931.
The Title Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese Books, Vol. 4
(1912-1926), and the Author Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese
Books (for all books published before 1926) are in preparation
at present.
Then there are the following printed catalogues (including five
volumes of transcribed catalogues), all of which are included in
some of the previously mentioned public catalogues also :
Book list in the Shojaku-kwan. (This catalogue was presented
to this library by the Department of Education in 1885.)
Catalogue of Books Kept in the Tokyo Educational Museum
Year of
publication.
Japanese and Chinese Books (Vol. i) . . 1881
do. (Vol. 2) 1882
Foreign Books (Vol. i) .... 1881
do. .(Vol. 2) 1883
These catalogues were compiled by the Educational Museum,
but were later presented to the Shojaku-kwan when it was
removed to the building of the Museum in 1885.
Classified Catalogue of the Tokyo Library
Year books Year of
were received. Catalog, pub.
Japanese and Chinese Books (Vol. i) 1882 1883
do. (Vol.2) . . . 1885
Title Catalogue in Kana of the Tokyo Library
Japanese and Chinese Books (i vol.) 1886
(This is the Title Catalogue of tne books included in the
above mentioned Classified Catalogue, Vol. i.)
The Catalogue of Books added to the Tokyo Library
Japanese and Chinese Books (Vol. i) 1887-8 1889
do. (Vol. 2) ... 1889-91 1892
do. (VoL 3) ... 1892-3 1894
cc*
372 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Year books Year of
were received. Catalog, pub.
The Quarterly Bulletin of the Tokyo
Library (bound in i vol.) . up to 1887 1887
The Catalogue of Foreign Books of
the Tokyo Library (bound in
i vol.) 1885 1886
The Catalogue of Books added to the Imperial Library
Japanese and Chinese Books (Vol. 4) 1894-6
do. History and Biography
omitted (Vol. 5) . . 1897-8
do. do. (Vol. 6) . . 1899
FUNCTION AND ADMINISTRATION : PLACE IN
THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
The Imperial Library is under the supervision of the
Minister of Education. Its object is to collect and preserve
books and documents of all ages and of all nations, and to
make them available to the reading public.
The Director has the sole administrative responsibility,
without any directing committee.
The library work of the whole country centres here ; books
are lent to local libraries, and readers are advised as to the
selection of books by a book consultation section. The
Library receives and answers various inquiries concerning
books from all over the country, and so acts the role of an
intellectual clearing-house.
As a result of the revision of the library law on June 29,
1933, the establishment of a central library in each pre-
fecture, as the directing and controlling organ of all the
libraries in the prefecture, was made obligatory. Since the
enactment of this law the Imperial Library has gradually
assumed the position of being the central organ for the
library work of the whole country, and the revision of the
official organization to this end is now being contemplated
by the Department of Education.
A set of the " Reproductions-automat " apparatus made
by the Siemens* Company of Germany is provided in the
IMPERIAL LIBRARY, TOKYO 373
library, and it meets the demands of the readers for the
photographic reproduction of books. Since the Library
began to render this service in January, 1932, a large number
of requests for reproduction, made directly as well as in-
directly by post, have been received, and a great service has
been rendered to scholars and investigators. In the opera-
tion of this machine, by an automatic arrangement by
electric power the objects are set in proper position, and
after the time for exposure is fixed, the button is pressed.
Then the processes of developing, printing, and turning are
automatically carried on in the machine, and in about ten
minutes a dried and completed positive is obtained.
Reproduction fees charged by the Library are as follows :
If printed matter If printed matter
of the library not of the library
Sizes if Photo. Objects. collection. collection.
Small Ordinary books . 50 sen 40 sen
(210 x 148 mm. ) Rolls, Newspapers
and other rare
books . . 70
Ordinary books . 70 60
Large Rolls, newspapers
(297x210 mm.) and other rare
books . . I . oo yen
When a large number of copies of the same printed matter
is required, the following rebates are allowed :
1. From 10 to 49 copies , . 10 per cent, rebate
2. 50 99 20
3. loo copies and over . . 30
STAFF
The organization of the staff is as follows :
The Librarian is the chief officer, and under him there are
assistant Librarians of senior official rank (sonin) and
assistant Librarians of junior official rank (hannin), who look
after the business of arranging and preserving the books and
documents, and attend to visitors in the Library. Then
374 NATIONAL LIBRARIES
there are the clerks who are directly responsible to the
Librarian and who are in charge of accounts and general
affairs. Besides, there are non-regular members of the
staff and employees.
Among the above stated staff, the Librarian and the
assistant Librarians of senior official rank are appointed by the
Premier with the Imperial assent ; the assistant Librarians
of junior official rank and clerks are appointed by the
Minister of Education ; and the non-regular members of
the staff, employees, and other minor members are appointed
and dismissed at the discretion of the Librarian. At present
the staff consists of a total of 172 members (January 31,
1934), more than four times as many as those there were at
the time when the system of the official organization of the
Library was first promulgated in 1897, at which time there
were only 33. The members at present are one Librarian,
five assistant Librarians of the senior official rank, 16
assistant Librarians of the junior official rank, 4 clerks,
1 8 non-regular members, 36 employees, 50 office-boys, 16
servants, 12 bookbinders, 3 office girls and 3 firemen.
The office work of this Library may be divided into two
parts : accounting, maintenance of the buildings, and
general matters on the one hand, and the business primarily
attached to the functions of the Library itself on the other.
FINANCE
The cost of maintenance is about 22,000 yen a year,
the itemised details of which are as follows :
Repair of buildings .... 7,766 yen
Water ....... 1,347
Fuel 1,058
Cleaners' and other labourers' wages 5,693
Gas and Electricity .... 3,832
Heating ...... 2,205
Miscellaneous expenses .... 200
Besides the above mentioned repairs, every five years a general
repair, including the repainting of walls, is done.
INDEX
THE description of each, library follows, with some modification,
regular plan :
I. History : the collections and some librarians.
II. Buildings.
III. Catalogues.
IV. Departments (with figures of use and accessions) .
V. Place in the National System;
VI. Staff.
VII. Finance.
VIII. Bibliography.
These main headings have therefore not been indexed.
Aberystwyth, Nat, Libr. of Wales
at, 48-60
Accessions, bulletins of, insertion
in induces publishers to send
books, 205
Advocates' Library, later Nat. Libr.
of Scotland (Edinburgh), 36-48
Akademie der Wissenschaften,
124-25, 131-32-
Alcazar, Tower of the, 227
Alcorta, A,, libr. of Buenos Aires,
333
Aldine Collections :
Berlin, 127 ; Leningrad, 158,
159 ; Florence, 213 ; Brussels,
253
Alvin, L., libr., at Brussels, 254,
262
Amis. Sea Friends.
Ammannati, B., architect of Col-
legio Romano, 219
Amyot, Jacques, Bp., mattre de la
bibl du roi, 65
Angelis, P. de, collection (Rio de
Janeiro), 343~45
Angoultae, libr. d 1 , 64
Apollinaire, G., p$.> cat. of Bibl.
Nat, Enfer, 82
Archer, W., Libn. of Royal Dublin
Society, 56
Argentine, Nat. Libr. of the, 335-40
Arsenal, Bibl. de 1' (Paris), 87;
Italian MSS, in, 211
Arundel MSS. (London), 14
Astronomy, Tycho Brahe's libr.
(Vienna), 171 ; his MSS.
(Copenhagen), 281
Auskunftsbureau der Deutschen
Bibl., 141
Avila, incun. from, at Madrid, 229
Aymont, J., thefts by, at Paris, 66
Azamor y Ramirez, Bp. M., early
benefactor of Bibl. Nac.,
Buenos Aires, 335
Balcarres MSS., at Edinburgh, 41
Balfour MSS., at Edinburgh, 40-41
Ballinger, Sir J., Libn. at Aberyst-
wyth, 48, 50
Banks, Sir J., scientific libr. in
Brit. Mus., 17
Barnbougle libr, at Edinburgh, 42
Barrois MSS. (Paris), 84
Beckiey, J., Libn. at Washington,
96
Berghnian Elzevir coll. (Stock-
holm), 297
Berlin Univ., 126
Berliner Titeldrucke (Accessions),
135, 140
Bernoulli, J., Libn. at Berne, 202
Bessarioni 'br., foundation coll.,
Venice, 224
B&thune, P. de, his French hist,
papers, Paris, 65
375
376
INDEX
Bible, MSS. of the :
British Museum, 15, 163 ; Lenin-
grad, 152-54
the Gutenberg, Mazarine copy
of, 86 ; Vollbehr copy of, at
Washington, no
Liithi coll. of, at Berne, 205 ;
L. Usoz del Rio coll. of, at
Madrid, 229
Bibliographical Information Bur-
eaux. See Information Bur-
eaux.
Bibliographic de la France (Paris),
81, 87
Bibliotheca Celtica (Aberystwyth),
52, 53
Biester, libr. at Berlin, 126, 133
Bignon, Armand Jean, libr. at
Paris, 68
Bignon, Jean Fr<d<ric, libr, at
Paris, 68
Bignon, Jerome II, libr. at Paris,
67-68 ; reorganised and re-
catalogued libr., 74, 79
Bignon de Blanzy, libr. at Paris,
68
Bindings, British Museum, 21 ;
good condition of in Scandi-
navian libraries, 295 ; collec-
tion of Scandinavian, 294
Birgitta, St. See Bridget, St.
Birch MSS., London, 13
Blaikie Jacobite coll., Edinburgh,
42
Blois, royal libr. at, 64-65, 74
Blotms coll., Vienna, 170, 180
Bobbio, MSS. from, at Turin, 223
Bodoni, coll, of, at Milan, 221 ;
at Rio de Janeiro, 344
Bolin, A. W., libr. of, at Helsing-
fors, 318
Bollanclists, libr. of the, at Brussels,
251 ; at the Hague, 272
Bolzano coll., Prague, 194
Bookbinding. See Bindings.
Book-carriers. See Conveyors.
Borbonica, BibL, at Naples, 222
Bourdillon, F. W., coll. of med.
French romances, at Aberyst-
wyth, 50
Bourgogne, BibL de (Brussels), 64,
241-43, 248, 250, 251 ; in-
ventory of, 259
Boyle, Roger, Earl of Orrery, 57
Bradshaw, H., incunabulist, 31
Brahe, Tycho, his libr. at Vienna,
171; MSS at Copenhagen, 281
Braidense, BibL Naz. (Milan), 221-
22
Brancacciana, BibL, at Naples, 222
Brazil, BibL Nac. de (Rio de
Janeiro), 343-47
Bridget, Saint, coll. at Stockholm,
294
British Museum, 3-36
Bruges, Louis de, libr. of, at Paris,
64
Brussels, BibL royale de Belgique,
241-67
Libr. of the City of, 252-53
Buchernachweisstelle of the
Austrian Libraries, 188
Buddhist collection (Tokyo), 366
Bud6, Guillaume, maitre de la
hbr., 64
Buenos Aires, National Library,
335~4
Bureau Scientifique Central N6er-
landais, 275-76
Burgundian libr. See Bourgogne,
BibL de
Burney, C., coll. of, 6, 14, 17
Burns, Robert, Glenriddell MSS.,
Edinburgh, 42
Busbeck coll., at Vienna, 169
Buturlin, D. P., Libn. at Lenin-
grad, 151
Bychkof, A. F., Libn. at Leningrad,
154
Cabrega libr. (Vienna), 172
Cards, See Catalogues.
Carey, H. F., Libn. at Brit. Mus., 26
Carlyle, T., MSS. at Edinburgh, 42
Carolina Minor, BibL (Prague), 194
Carreglwyd MSS,, Aberystwyth, 52
Carriers, See Conveyors*
Casey, T. I,., planned Library of
Congress, 104
Catalogues :
[Some account of the catalogues
will be found under the head-
ings " History " and " Cata-
logues," and select lists under
the latter, in each chapter,]
Subject: (London), 20-21;
(Paris), 80 ; (Washington),
112-13; (Berlin), 134-35;
(Vienna), 175 ; (Leningrad),
INDEX
377
157-58 ; (The Hague), 274 ;
(Tokyo), 369-70 ; dictionary
(Washington), 112; (Peiping),
354-55
Union : (Aberystwyth) , 53 ;
(Washington), 102, 108, 112;
(Berlin), 140-41 ; (Lenin-
grad), 161 ; (Vienna), 188 ;
(Berne), 205-6 ; (Stockholm),
298-99; (Peiping), 356-47;
of incun. (Berlin), 141 ; of
period. (Berlin), 141; (Prague),
196 ; of med. and ren, MSS.
(Washington), 115
cards, distribution of (Wash-
ington), 111-13 ; (Madrid),
232-33
rules for (British Museum),
20-21, 27 ; (Berlin), 141 ;
(Leningrad), 157
Catherine, the Great, Empress of
Russia, 147-48
Celle, Reformation coll. from, at
Berlin, 128
Celsius, M. O., Libn. at Stockholm,
293, 302
Celtica, in Nat, Lib. of Wales, 48-60
- Phlllipps MSS,, Dublin, 57
Celtis, Conrad, Libn. at Vienna, 169
" Chairs " at Library of Congress,
IIO-II
Chien-lujig, Emperor, libr. of, at
Peiping, 353
China, Hat, Libr. (Peiping), 351-
57 ; (Nanking), 357
Chinese bks. and MSS. See Oriea-
talia,
Christiania. See Oslo.
Christina, Queen of Sweden, 65, 85
Classification :
Library of Congress, 100, 102,
113-14; Paris, 79-80 ; Lenin-
grad, 156-57
Cl<$ment, N,, Libn, at Paris, 66, 79
Clementinum, Prague, 195
Cobenzl, Count, Libn. at Brussels,
245-47, 256
Colbert, J, B,, 74, 84
College des Quatre Nations, 85
Collijn, I., Libn. at Stockholm, 293,
298
Congress, Library of, Washington,
93-118
Consultants at Library of Congress,
XII
Continental Congress, the, records
of, at Washington, 114
Conveyors, British Museum needs,
10
at Washington, 105 ; at
Berne, 204
Cookery books, Berlin, 128
Coolidge, Mrs. F., her endowment
of music at Washington, no
Co-operation. See under " Place
in the National System " in
each chapter.
Copenhagen, Royal libr., 281-87
Copyright. See Legal deposit.
Corvinus, Matthias : bks. from
his libr. at Vienna, 169 ; at
Brussels, 243 ; in the Escorial,
243
Cotton, Sir R., his MSS., 3-4, 12, 13
Cracherode, C. M., libr. of London,
6,17
Cureton, W., Orientalist, Libn. at
British Museum, 22, 30
Curzon MSS. See Zouche MSS.
Cuspinian, J., Libn. at Vienna, 169
Dahl, , designed R. Libr., Stock-
holm, 295, 301
Dahlgren, E. E., Libn. at Stock-
holm, 293
Dante coll., Florence, 212
Delagardie coll. of decorative en-
graving, Stockholm, 297
Delianof, I. D., Libn. at Leningrad,
153, 157
Delisle, Leopold, Libn., Paris, 70,
80-8 1
Deposit, See Legal Deposit.
Dernschwanim, J., coll, at Vienna,
169
De Sinner coll. at Florence, 210
Deutsch, E., Libn. at British
Museum, 30
Dietrichstein, M., Libn. at Vienna,
174, 181
Disinfection, at British Museum,
10-11 ; at Tokyo, 369
Dix, E. R., McC., Irish biblio-
grapher, 56
Douce, F., Libn. at British Museum,
26
Dowdall, family papers at Dublin,
57
Drama. See Theatre,
378
INDEX
Drama, English. See Garrick, D.
Spanish, Duran coll. at
Madrid, 229
Dresden, Kon. Bibl., 126
Drolsum, A. C., Libn. at Oslo,
306-8, 312
Dublin, Nat. Libr. of Ireland, 55-60
Dubrovsky MSS., from Pans, at
Leningrad, 149
Dupuy, Jacques, 65, 79
Dust, absence of in Scandinavian
libraries, 295
Dziatzko, K., Libn. at Berlin, 135
Earthquake, at Tokyo, 362
Ecorcheville, J., cat. of music,
Pans, 82
Edinburgh, Advocates', later
National Libr. of Scotland,
36-48
Education, Adult (Aberystwyth), 54
Edwards, Edward, Libn. at British
Museum, 28
Egcrton MSS., at British Museum,
14. 33
Ellis, Sir H., Libn. at British
Museum, 26
Elzevirs :
Coll. of, at Leningrad, 158-59 ;
Brussels, 253 ; Stockholm,
294-97 ; Rio de Janeiro, 344
Enfer. See Erotica,
Engel, C. L., designed Helsingfors
Univ. libr., 320
Erichsen, J., Libn. at Copenhagen,
282
Erotica, at Paris, 82 ; at Vienna,
176
Escorial, the, bk. from libr. of
Matthias Corvinus in, 243
Esperanto, coll. at Vienna, 183, 185
Exchanges, international : (Wash-
ington), 109 ; A. Vattemare's
scheme for, 275.
See also under " Place in the
National System " in each
chapter.
Exchange of staff, Tokyo, 355
Exhibitions :
British Museum, 12, 21 ; Korf's
policy of large, at Leningrad,
150 ; temporary, substituted
for permanent, at Paris, 70-71
Faber, Bp. J., libr. of, at Vienna,
169
Fees for admission of readers,
Berlin, 138
Ferguson, Adam, Libn. at Edin-
burgh, 39
Film photography, 25
Finance :
[A section setting out the budget
will be found at the end of
each chapter.]
Fire, destruction by, of some
Cotton MSS., 13 ; at Wash-
ington, 96-97, 99 ; Brussels,
245 ; Helsingfors, 318, 322
Fischer von Erlach, J. von, de-
signed HofbibL, Vienna, 178 ;
imitated at Berlin, 131
Flament, C. S., Libn. at the Hague,
271-72, 274
Florence, R. Bibl. Naz. Centrale,
209-18
Fluorescent cabinet, 25
Folger Shakespeare Library, Wash-
ington, 1 08
Folklore, Norwegian, coll, at Oslo,
310
coll. at the Hague, 274
Fontainebleau, librairie dc, 64-65,
74
Fontanieu coll., Paris, 68
Force, Peter, coll., at Washington,
100, no
Fortescue, G. K., Libn. at the
British Museum, 17 ; his Sub-
ject Index, 2o-3
Foscolo, Ugo, MSS. of, at Florence,
211
Foucquet, Card., libr. of, at Paris,
65
Francois I, as collector, 64
Frederick the Great, 124-25
French literature, 1470-1600, in
British Museum, cat. of, 21
French Revolution, coll. in British
Museum, 17
Freunde. See Friends.
Friends of National Libraries,
Societies of, at London, 34 ;
Paris, 87 ; Berlin, 129
Fugger libr., at Vienna, 171
Gabrielli coll. at Rome, 220
Gaignidrcs, R, do, MSS. of, at
Paris, 66
INDEX
379
Galvao, R., Libn. at Rio de Janeiro,
344-46
Gama, J. de, Libn. at Rio de
Janeiro, 344
Ganiba, B., coll. of at Vienna, 175
Garnett, R., Libn. at British
Museum, 155
Garrick, D., coll. of plays at British
Museum, 6, 17
Gaster Hebrew MSS., in British
Museum, 22
Gembloux, Abbey of, MSS. from,
at Brussels, 250
Geography. See Maps.
Far Eastern ; Korniyama coll.
(Tokyo), 365
George II, King of England, pre-
sented Old Royal Library,
1757; *3> *6
George III, King of England, libr.,
6-7 ; MSS. in, 14 ; pr, bks,, 17
George IV, King of England, trans-
fers George Ill's libr. to British
Museum, 7
Gipsy literature. See Romany
literatxire.
Gladstone, W. E., papers of, at
British Museum, 14
Glasenapp, General G. von, pen-
sioned at expense of Berlin
libr., 124
Glcnriddell Burns MSS., at Edin-
burgh, 42
Godet, M., Libn. at Berne, 202,
205-6
Gdrte-Wrisberg coll., at Berlin,
128
G6ttingen Univ. libr., 134
Choiseul Gouffier, Comte, Libn. at
Leningrad, 148
Gramm, H., Libn. at Copenhagen,
282
Grant, Sir A., endows N. L. of
Scotland, 39-40, 44, 47
's Gravenhage. See Hague, The.
Green, B. R,, architect of Libr. of
Congress, 104
Greenslacle, S. K., architect of
Nat. Lib. of Wales, 50
Grenviile, T. bequeathed libr. to
British Museum, 17-18, 27
Gribbol, J., gift to N. Libr, of
Scotland, 42
Grifionfeld, P. S., Libn. at Copen-
hagen, 281-82
Groussac, P., Libn. at Buenos
Aires, 337-40
Guerre, Bibliotheque et Muse"e de
la (Vmcennes), 130
Guicciardmi coll., at Florence, 211,
213-14
Hague, The, Kon. Bibl. at, 269-78
Halkett, S., Libn. at Edinburgh, 45
Hartel, W. von, Libn. at Vienna,
175-76
Hargrave legal MSS., at British
Museum, 14
Harleian MSS., at British Museum,
4> 13
Hartland, S., ethnogr. coll., at
Aberystwyth, 50
Harnack, A. von, Libn. at Berlin,
126-27
Hague, The, Royal Libr., 271-78
Halvorsen, J. B., Libn. at Oslo, 306
Hammer-Purgstall, J. von, Oriental
coll., at Vienna, 175
Hay, John, memorial coll., at
Peiping, 353
Hebraica. See Orientalia.
Heiligenstadt incunabula at Berlin,
128
Helsingfors (Helsinki) Univ. Libr.,
317-24
Hendreich, C., Libn. at Berlin,
122-23, S33
Heyne, Chr., Libn. at Oslo, 306
Hoover War collection, 130
Hospital libraries (Wales), 54
Hostettler, , architect of Berne
libr., 203
Huebner, J., one of the first Libns.
of Berlin, 121
Huet, P. D., Bp,, his libr. at Paris,
68
Hulthem, , van, Libn. at Brussels,
250
Ch. van, Libn. of Univ. of
Ghent, his libr., 252, 265
Humanities, limitation to, at Copen-
hagen, 283 ; and Stockholm,
297
Humbolt, W. von, supports R.
Libr., Berlin, 125
Hume, D., libr. at Edinburgh, 38
Hurault coll, of MSS. at Paris, 65
Huth, H. and A. H., bequest of
bks. from libr. of to British
Museum, 18
INDEX
Icelandic bks., British Museum cat
of ; bks. and MSS., at Copen-
hagen, 281, 292 ; at Stock-
holm, 292, 297
Icilius, Q., Hbr. at Berlin, 124
Incunabula :
British Museum coll. and cat.
of, 1 8 ; Proctor's work on, 31 ;
Aberystwyth, 50 ; Pellechet-
Polam's union cat. of in French
libraries, 81 ; Vollbehr coll. of
at Washington, 109 ; Berlin
coll., 128, and cat. of, 136 ;
Gesamtkatalog, 141 ; Leningrad,
coll., 158 ; special room opened
for at Vienna in 1785, 174,
182 ; Avila cathedral coll. at
Madrid, 229 ; at Brussels,
253 ; the Hague, with " post-
incunabula," 275 ; Copen-
hagen, 282, cat. of, 283 ;
Stockholm, 292-93 ; Chinese
at Peiping, 353 ; rules for
cataloguing, 217*
Index Bibliographicus , 88
Information Bureaux, at London,
24 ; at Pans, 87-88 ; at Ber-
lin, 141 ; at Leningrad, 161 ;
at Berne, 206
See also generally under " Place
in the National System " in
each chapter.
Infra-red photography, 25
Inscriptions, at Peiping, 354
International Institute of Intel-
lectual Co-operation (Paris) ,
352. 354
International exchange and lend-
ing.
See under " Place in the National
System/' in each chapter.
Ippcl, E., Libn, at Berlin, 135
Ireland, Nat. Libr. of, 55-60
Irish language and literature at
Dublin, 56-60
Irish MSS., British Museum cat.
of, 15
Issues of books. See Statistics.
Italy, history of. See Reforma-
tion ,* Risorgimento.
< National libraries of, 207-24
Jacobites, Blaikie colL of, at Edin-
burgh, 42
Jefferson, T., President of U.S.A.,
his libr. goes to Libr. o Con-
gress, 96-97 ; classification of,
113
Jesuits, libraries of the, at Paris,
68 ; at Vienna, 173 ; at
Prague, 193-94
Joly coll. at Dublin, 56, 59
Judaica, Schiff coll. of at Wash-
ington, no
Kapr, S., libr. of, at Prague, 193
Karabacek, J,, Libn. at Vienna,
176-77, 187
" Keepsakes," cat. of., Paris, 82
King, Abp., collectanea, Dublin, 56
Kmsk^ hbr., at Prague, i<)4
King's Library. See George III.
King's Music, in British Museum, 18
King's Tracts in British Museum.
See Tho mason Tracts.
KirchenministerialbibL, Berlin, 128
Klemming, G. E., libr. at Stock-
holm, 293, 2Q9
Kobeko, D. F., libr, at Leningrad,
154 I6 3
Kollar, A., Libn. at Vienna, 180, 185
Komiyama geographical coll.
(Tokyo), 365
Korf, M. A., Count, Libn. at
Leningrad, 158-60
Korff, S. A., Baron, legal libr. of
(Helsingfors), 310
Krtiss, H. A., Libn. at Berlin, 129
Kubelik, Jan, his libr. at Prague,
105
Kurfurstliche Bibl, Berlin, 121, 133
Labrouste, II,, architect of Bibl.
Nat., Paris, 75-76
Lambeck, I\, Libn. at Vienna,
17172, 1 80
Lansdowne political MSS. at British
Museum, 13-14
Larine, , gave extension of libr.,
Leningrad, 155-56
La Romana, Marquis clc, libr. at
Madrid, 220
La Serna Santancler, C. A, <le,
Libn. at Brussels, 249-50
Latzius, W., libr. of, at Vienna,
guarded Hofbibl., 169
INDEX
381
Lauriston Castle libr., added to
Nat. Lib. Scot., 42-43
Law, Hargrave MSS. (British
Museum), 14 ; Bibl. Giuliana
of, at Florence, 211 ; Korff
coll. of (Helsingfors) , 319.
Lean, V. Stuckey, bequest for
extension to British Museum, 7
Leather, good condition of in
Scandinavian libraries, 295
Lefdvre, J., d'ftaples, Libn. at
Blois, 64
Legal deposit :
London, 19, 27 ; Edinburgh,
37-39, 43; Aberystwyth, 50;
Dublin, 57, 60 ; Pans, 68,
72-73 ; Washington, 100,
108-9 ; Berlin, 123 ; Vienna,
167, 170, 175 ; Prague, 194-
95 ; Florence, 212 ; Madrid,
228 ; Brussels, 244, 264 ;
Hague, 272 ; Stockholm, 292,
294 ; Oslo, 307 ; Helsingfors,
319; Rio de Janeiro, 346;
Tokyo, 363-64
replaced in Switzerland by
voluntary concordat, 205
Legislative Reference at Washing-
ton, 116
Leihverkehr, Berlin, 141
Leinster House, became Nat. Libr.
of Ireland, 55-58
Lemire, A., Libn. at Brussels, 245
Lending of books, at Vienna, 171
See also under " Place in the
National System " in each
chapter.
Lenin National Libr., Moscow, 164
Leningrad, Gosudarstvennaja Pub-
liSnaja Bibl., 146-64
Lennox papers, at Dublin, 57
Leopardi, De Sinner coll. of, at
Florence, 210
Lessing coll., at Berlin, 128
Letellier, C., abb<5 de Louvois, 66, 74
Libri MSS., at Paris, 84
Lobkowicz libr., at Prague, 194
Lome"nie de Brieniie, coll. of polit.
papers at Paris, 65
Lotaringia, Bibl., Florence, 210
Louvois, C. Letellier, abb6 de, 66,
74
Louvre, the, R, Libr. of Charles V
in, 63, 73 ; " Cabinet du Roi, 1 '
1 7th cent., housed in, 74
Loyau, J., subject index by, Paris,
79
Luther coll., at Copenhagen, 283
Luthi coll. of Bibles at Berne, 205
Luzick^ Seminary Libr. (Prague),
194
Machida, Hisanari, Libn. at Tokyo,
362
Mackenzie, Sir G., founder of
Advocates' Libr., 37
Madden, Sir F., Libn. at British
Museum, 26
Magliabechi, A., founded R. Bibl.
Naz. Cent., Florence, 209-10,
215
Madrid, Bibl. Nacional, 227-38
Mallet, Gilles, Charles V's Libn.,
Paris, 63, 73
Mamizu, Hideo, architect of Imp.
Libr., Tokyo, 368
Manchu bks., Union cat. of, at
Peiping, 35<>-57
Manuscripts :
[The collections of MSS. will be
found mentioned in each chap-
ter under the headings " His-
tory," " Collections," " Cata-
logues " and " Departments/']
Greek, British Museum, 15 ;
Catherine de Medici's, at Paris,
65 ; at Vienna, 172 ; at
Leningrad, 154-55.
Medieval and Renaissance,
census of, in the U.S.A., 115
Oriental. See Orientalia.
Summary combined repertory
of, needed at British Museum,
15
facsimiles of, published, ib.,
15-16
Manzoni coll., Milan, 221
Maps :
London, u ; MS. maps, cats.
of, 15 ; room for at Paris, 76 ;
Vienna, 185 ; Stockholm, 297 ;
Peiping, 353-54 ; Tokyo, 365 ;
rolling shelves for at Berne, 204
Marciana, Bibl., at Venice, 224
Marmol, J,, Libn. at Buenos Aires,
336
Marr, N, J.> Libn. at Leningrad, 155
Marmi, A. F., Libn. of Maglia-
bechiana, Florence, 209, 214
-82
INDEX
Marolles, M. de, coll. of engravings
(Paris), 65
Masaryk, T. G., coll. of. at Prague,
195
Matsumoto, Kiichi, Libn. at Tokyo,
362
Mazarin, Card de, his libr,, the
Mazarine, 85-87
Mazarine, Galerie, in B. Nat.
(Paris), 75, 91
Meehan, J. S., Libn. at Washing-
ton, 98
Medici, Catherine de, her Gk. MSS.,
65
M6jan libr., its Aldines (Berlin), 127
Mesnieres Charters (Paris), 68
Metal construction, at British
Museum, 8 ; Bibliotheque
Nationale, 75-76 ; Libr. of
Congress, 99, 105
Meusebach libr., at Berlin, 127
Mexican coll. at Madrid, 229
Mexico, Bibl. Nac. de, 327-31
Milan, Bibl. Naz. Braidense at,
221-22
Milkau, F., Libn, at Berlin, 129 ;
report on Belgian libraries, 255
Montagu House, first home of
British Museum, 5-7
Moscow, Lenin Nat. Libr., 164
Mosel, Georg, historian of Hofbibl.,
Vienna, 168
Mozart coll. at Prague, 194
Munthe, W., Libn. at Oslo, 306, 311
Music ;
King George V., at London, 18 ;
British Museum cat. of old
printed, 21, of MS., 15 ; audi-
torium and endowment of, at
Washington, no ; cat. of, at
Paris, 82 ; coll. at Berlin,
129-30 ; of Dutch song-books
at the Hague, 272 ; of Mozart
at Prague, 194 ; J. Kubelik's
libr. at Prague, 195
Nahuatl language, songs and ser-
mons in the, Mexico, 328
Naismith, J,, first Advocates' Libn.,
Naples, Bibl. Vittorio Emanuele
III, 222
Napoleon I, scheme for enriching
Bibl. Nat., 90
Napoleonic coll. at Turin, 223
Nares, R., Libn., London, 26
National Central Library, London,
18, 24, 53
Natural history, Sloane libr., 3, 13,
16
Naudet, G., Libn. at Paris, 69, 79
Newspapers :
Burney's old, in British Museum,
6, 17 ; special buildings for,
at London, 9-10 ; Paris, 78 ;
to be placed in Annex, Wash-
ington, 108
Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen
Wissenschaft, 128
Oeschger, , and Kaufmann, ,
architects of Berne libr., 203
Olenin, A. N., Libn. at Leningrad,
149-51, 156-57, 162
Omont, H., Conservateur des MSS.
(Paris), 85
Open-air reading terrace, at Berne,
204
Orientalia :
British Museum, 21-23, 3 *
Washington, 1 10 ; Paris, 64-
66, 85 ; Berlin, 129 ; Lenin-
grad, 154 ; Vienna, 171, 175,
185 ; Turin, 223 ; Madrid,
229 ; Copenhagen, 283 ; Stock-
holm, 294, 297 ; Peiping, 353-
54. 356-57; Tokyo, 364-67,
369-72.
See also Judaica.
Orleans, Gaston d', 65
MSS. of house of, 64
Orrery, R, Boyle, First Earl of, 57
Orrery Correspondence, at Dublin,
Oslo, Univcrsitetsbibl., 305-13
Owen, E., Ty Coch, Caernarvon
coll. (Aberystwyth), 49
Oybin, conventual libr, of, at
Prague, 193
Palatina, Bibl., Florence, 210, 215
Palermo, Bibl. Naz., 222-23
Panizzi, Sir A., Libn, at Brit. Mus,,
8, 19, 20, 26-28, Frontispiece
Papyri, coll, of, at London, 15-16 ;
at Vienna, 175 ; at Naples, 222
INDEX
383
Parliamentary service (Washing-
ton), 105, 116
Peiping Nat. Libr , 351-57
Peniarth MSS., at Aberystwyth,
49, 51
Peppard, family papers at Dublin,
57
Periodicals, reading room for,
opened at Berlin, 1819, 127
Union Catalogues of, at Ber-
lin, 141 ; Prague, 196 ; Pei-
ping, 356
Petersburg. See Leningrad.
Pettersen, H., Libn. at Oslo, 306
PMllipps Irish MSS. at Dublin, 57
Photography :
At the British Museum, 24-25 ;
Aberystwyth, 53 ; Paris, 8o~
8 1 (the photographic cata-
logue, 87 ; Washington, 101,
photostats of American hist,
papers in European libraries,
114-15 ; Prague, 196 ; Stock-
holm, 299 ; Helsingfors, 323 ;
Tokyo, 372-73
See also under " Place in the
National System " in each
chapter.
Pipping, F, W., Libn. at Helsing-
fors, 317-18
Plantin coll. at Brussels, 253
Pogodine libr., Leningrad, 158
Polish libr. of A. and J. Zaluski,
taken to Russia, 147-48, 150,
restored, 155
Popov, B. S., Libn. to Empress
Catherine, 148
Porfirij, Bp., MSS. coll. by, at
Leningrad, 154
Porthan, H. G., Libn, at Helsing-
fors, 3x7-18
Postcards, pictorial, of the War, at
Berlin, 130
Praet, J. B. B. van, Libn. at Paris,
69 ; cat. of bks. on vellum, 82
Prague, Public and Univ. Libr,,
193-97
Preussische Beirat fur BibL-angele-
genheiten, 141
Preussische StaatsbibL, Berlin, 121-
Prints and Drawings are regarded
as rather pertaining to
Museums, though most libraries
possess them ; they are only
mentioned casually in the
text and are omitted from
the index
Prisoners, employed on Swiss
Union Catalogue, 206
Proctor, R., incunabuhst in Brit.
Mus., 31
Prussian State Library, Berlin,
121-43
Puget, P., architect of Montagu
House, 6
Putnam, H., Libn. at Washington,
99, 100-2, 117
Quesada, V., Libn. at Buenos
Aires, 336
Ramirez, Libn. at Mexico, 327
Raue, J., Libn. at Berlin, 121, 133
Readers, number of. See Statistics.
Reading Rooms :
at the British Museum, 8-n ;
Paris, 75-78 ; Berlin, fees for
entry to, 138 ; Leningrad, 156 ;
open-air terrace attached to,
at Berne, 204 ; popular, at
Paris, 71, 77-78 ; Rome, 220,
Madrid, 231-32, 234-35 ; one
for periodicals first opened at
Berlin, 127
See the section " Buildings " in
each chapter, and for statistics
of use that of " Depart-
ments."
Reformation :
Celle coll. of, at Berlin, 128 ;
Guicciardini colL of, at
Florence, 211
Register House, Edinburgh, records
moved to, 42
Reid, W. R,, bequest to Nat. Lib.
of Scotland, 42
Reiffenberg, , Baron de, Libn.
at Brussels, 250
Rendel, Lord, gave site of Nat.
Libr. of Wales, 54
Rich, C. J,, his Orientalia, London,
22
Richmond Lennox correspondence,
Dublin, 57
Rigault, N., Libn. at Paris, 78
Rio de Janeiro, Bibl. Nac., 343-47
384
INDEX
Risorgimento coll. in Bibl. Vittorio
Emanuele II (Rome), 219
Rockefeller, J. D., benefactions
to Library of Congress, in,
114-15
Romances, British Museum cat. of,
15 ; Bourdillon coll. of med.
French (Aberystwyth), 50
Romany literature, Theselff coll.
of, at Stockholm, 297
Rome, Bibl. Vittorio Emanuele II
at, 21820
Rossi, architect of Imp. Libr. at
St. Petersburg, 155
Royal Dublin Society, 55-56
Ruddiman, T., Advocates' Libr.,
45
Saint- Gelais, Mellin de, Libn. at
Blois, 64
Ste- Gene vie ve, BibL, Paris, allied
with Bibl. Nat., 87
St. Germain des Pr<s, MSS. from
Paris, 84
St. Petersburg. See Leningrad.
Sakakibara coll., at Tokyo, 364
Saumaise (Salmasius), Cl., compiled
cat. at Paris, 78
Savonarola coll, at Florence, 211,
213, 215
Schaumann, G, C. A., Libn, at
Helsingfors, 318
Schiff, J,, coll. of Judaica, at
Washington, no
Schleiermacher, F. D, E., regu-
lated Prussian libraries, 125-26
Schrader, J,, his Realkatalog at
Berlin, 134
Seals, British Museum cat, of., 15
Serials. See Periodicals,
Shakespeare Ubr., the Folger, 108
Sicilian coll. at Palermo, 223
Sinaiticus, Codex, of the Gk. N. T.,
*53> *<>3
Sinding-Larsen, H., architect of
Uiiiv.-bibl., Oslo, 308
Slavonic lit*, in Library of Congress,
100
See also Leningrad.
Sloane, Sir H., founder of British
Museum, 3-5 ; his MSS., 13 ;
his pr. bks\, 16
Smirke, vSir R. and S,, architects of
British Museum, 7
Smital, O., historian of Nat.-bibl ,
Vienna, 168, 189
Smithsonian Institution, at Wash-
ington, 99-100, 109
Societ6s savantes, Bibl. de, at
Paris, 82
Spanheim hbr. at Berlin, 124, 131
Spanish literature, -1600, in British
Museum, Cat. of, 21
Spinoza coll., at the Hague, 272
Spofford, A. R., Libn, of Congress,
99-100, 108, in
Stachuko, , architect of Lenin
libr., Moscow, 64
Stacks. See under Buildings in
each chapter.
Staff, exchange of, at Tokyo, 355
Staffs :
[A section setting out the grades
and numbers of staffs will be
be found near the end of each
chapter,]
Soboltschikoff, V. L, his classifica-
tion at Leningrad, 157
Stapfer, P. A., Proposals for libr.
for Helvetian Republic, 201
Staub, F., foundation coll. of Swiss
Nat. Libr,, 201-2
Stein, Sir A., finds of MSS. in
Chinese Turkestan, 22
Stockholm, Royal Library, 291-302
Stowe MSS., at the British Museum,
14
Stroganof, A. S,, Count, Libn. at
Leningrad, 148-49
Subject Catalogues, Se Cata-
logues ; Subject.
Sverdrup, G., Libn. at Oslo, 306
Swieten, Gerard and Gottfried van,
Libns. at Vienna, 172-73, 181
Sylvestre de Sacy, A., MSS, of
at Vienna, 175
Syriac MSS. See Orientalia.
Tanaka, Inaki, Libn, at Tokyo,
362-63
Taschereau, J. A,, Libn. at Paris,
70, 80
Tejedor, , Libn. at Buenos Aires,
33^
Tengnagel, S,, Libn, at Vienna,
170-71, 180
Thacher, J. B,, hist, Hbr. of, at
Washington, no; cat. of, 113
INDEX
385
Theatre, coll. at London, 17 ;
Vienna, 179, 185 ; Madrid,
229 ; Tokyo, 367
TheVenot, M., his Oriental MSS. at
Paris, 66
Thorn, A , his Irish books at Dub-
lin, 56, 59
Thomason, G., coll. of I7th cent,
tracts (" The King's Tracts ")
in British Museum, 6, 17
Thomas-Stanford, Sir C., his incun-
abula and Euclids at Aberyst-
wyth, 50
Thompson, Sir E. M., Libn. at
Brit. Mus., 29-30
Thott, O. de, Count, Libn. at
Copenhagen, 283
Thou, J. A. de, Libn. at Pans, 65
Tischendorf, C., his Greek MSS. at
Leningrad, and British Mus-
eum, 152-53, 163
Titres et Gen6alogies, Cabinet des,
at Paris, 67, 85
Tokyo, Imp. Libr. of Japan, 361-74
Toner, J. M., American and medi-
cal libr. at Washington, 100
Tongerloo Abbey, MSS. from, at
Brussels, 251 ; pr. bks. sold
to the Hague, 272
Tourneur, V., Libn. at Brussels, 255
Training of librarians. See Staff
under each chapter.
Trelles, M. R., Libn. at Buenos
Aires, 236
Truhlar, J., Libn. at Prague, 195
Trust Fund Board at Library of
Congress, no-n
Trustees, system at British
Museum, 4-5
Tudcer, L. 0. T., Libn. at Helsing-
fors, 318
Turin, Bibl. Naz., 223-24
Ty Coch Libr., Aberystwyth, 49
Ukiyoe prints, at Tokyo, 366
Union Catalogues. See Catalogues:
Union
Union Franpaise des Organismes
do Documentation (U.F.O.D.),
88
Ungar, C. R., Libn. at Prague, 195
Valperga Hebrew coll. at Turin, 223
Vattemare, A., scheme for inter-
national exchanges, 275
Venice, Bibl. Marciana at, 224
Verein der Freunde der Kon.
Bibl., Berlin, 129
Viazmitinoff coll. of incunabula, at
Leningrad, 158
Vienna, K.K. Hoi, later National-
bibl., 165-89
Viglius, , Libn. at Brussels, 244
Visconti, , architect of Bibl.
Nat., Paris, 75
Vittorio Emanuele II, Bibl., Rome,
218-20
Ill (Naples), 222
Vollbehr coll. of incunabula, at
Washington, 109-10
Voltaire, probably assisted
Frederick II in forming Berlin
Libr., 124 ; his libr. at Lenin-
grad, 158
Vouli6me, E., iacunabulist, 128
Wales, Nat. Libr. of, Aberystwyth,
48-60
Walter, T. N., architect at Wash-
ington, 99
War, of 1914-18
Coll. of at Berlin London,
Vincennes and Leland Stan-
ford Univ. (Hoover), 130 ; at
Vienna, 177, 182 ; effect of
the on Paris, 70, on Berlin,
127-28, on Vienna, 176
Watterston, G., Libn. of Congress,
97-98, in
Watts, T., Libn. at British Museum,
28-29
Welsh language and literature in
Nat. Libr. of Wales, 48-60
W*en. 50# Vienna.
Wilbur bequest to Library of
Congress, 114
Wilken, F., Libn. at Berlin, 126-
27 ; subject-cat, by, 134
Williams, Sir J., foundation be-
quests to Nat. Libr. of Wales,
54
Woellner, , regulates Berlin Libr.,
125
Wouters, le Pere, Libn. at Brussels,
246-47, 259
Wynn of Gwydir (Panton), Welsh
papers at Aberystwyth, 52
3 86
INDEX
Yudin coll. of Slavica, at Washing-
ton, no
Zaluski, A. and J., their Polish libr.
taken to Russia, 147-48, 150 ;
mam part restored to Warsaw,
155
Zouche MSS. in British Museum, 22
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