Paine, Nathaniel Rice, W. W. Sumner, Charles Tyler & Seagrave, Sermon. 81828 3 20 These donations are all valuable, some of them specially so, as the series of periodicals from Dr. Green, and the Dictionaries of Dr. Smith from Col. Bullock. Mr. Hoar's gift includes a work of such special rarity as to make it valuable, but few copies being known to exist; and the Little and Brown edition of the Poets, presented by him, is in high favor in the circulating Library. Mr. Sumner's constant remembrance of the Library entitles him to kind and thankful regard, and the books he has sent the Library are valuable both in filling up sets that were deficient and in the supply of new volumes of the Congressional Globe, the Pacific Railroad Survey, and Public Documents. The City Council of 1861 appropriated for the use of the Free Public Library a sum barely sufficient to meet its current expenses to the close of the year. This action renders it necessary for the Directors to ask, each year, for an appropriation at the beginning of the municipal year, instead of waiting for the general appropriation bill. The current expenses of the Library, by the strictest economy, have been kept within the sum of twenty-seven hundred and seventy dollars ($2770) for the year. This includes an extraordinary expenditure of $391 50 for in surance and a balance of over three hundred dollars ($300) from the appropriation of last year for furnishing the Library room. For further details we refer to the report of the Finance Committee herewith submitted. In the judgment of the Directors, as has been intimated above, it will be necessary to expend a larger sum, in the ensuing year, in the purchase of books and repairing the ordinary wear of the Library. We believe, moreover, that a larger insurance should be effected upon the city prop erty connected with the Library. The various policies held by the city and Dr. Green upon this property have expired during the past year, and the Directors have ef fected new insurance as follows: The several policies are for the term of five years, and were obtained at a rate of 1-2 per cent. per annum. Should the judgment of the Council concur with that of the Directors in the opinion that a still larger insurance is desirable, it will increase the amount necessarily to be appropriated for the Library the current year. But experience has demonstrated that the Library can be supported, making a liberal allowance for the purchase of new books, at half the expense of the High School to the city. Can any one murmur at this expense, when remembering the unnumbered benefits of which it is the source? The names of eight thousand persons are upon its books, of whom it is estimated that four thousand are still active borrowers. This fact attests not only the popularity of the institution but the large scope of its beneficial influence. How many lonely hours are cheered by its volumes! To how many does it afford profitable occupation for time which would otherwise be misspent and lost! How many intellects does it feed, which,but for its facilities, would remain destitute of the nutriment which they crave! It is not too much to say that it envelopes the whole city in a new atmosphere of moral and intellectual tastes and aspirations, imparting a higher and purer vitality to the entire community. With these convictions of the importance of its influence the Directors respectfully submit this Report of its opera tions for the past year, commending it to your kind consideration for the future. For the Directors, W. W. RICE, President. REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE. To the Directors of the Free Public Library: The Finance Committee respectfully report: That they have approved during the year, bills to the amount of $2,023 38 as follows: 66 66 For Insurance, "Books, Binding, Printing, "Gas, "Salaries, 391 50 325 21 26 27 26 98 126 35 "Pedestal, 1,025 00 9 07 "Coal, 90 00 "Plan for steps, 3 00 2,023 38 Besides the bills already approved there will be due Jan. 1, The City Treasurer has paid on account of the Library appropriation, the following bills which have not been approved by the Finance Committee. Making the whole expenditure of the year, so far as known to the Committee, (about) 183 68 26 69 5 50 6 50 76 99 4.00 303 36 2,766 24 The Committee have been unable to obtain any estimate sufficiently accurate for any practical purpose, of the amount of gas expended by the Natural History Society and the other institutions using parts of the Library Building. The Committee in obedience to the vote passed at the last meeting, have obtained two policies of insurance on the Green Library for the amount of four thousand dollars each, for the term of five years from the first day of Jan uary 1863, at a premium of 1-2 per cent. per annum. For the Committee, GEORGE F. HOAR, Chairman. REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN. To the Directors of the Free Public Library: As your Librarian, it devolves upon me at the close of another year of service, to render you some account of what has been done. It seems desirable that the reports should be brief and include only items of general interest. During the time the Library was open at the new room, till the first annual examination, there were delivered to borrowers from the circulating department, 58,182 volumes, making a daily average of 226 1-2. The classes of books. taken, and the proportions of each, do not vary much from last year's account. The interest in the Library is fully equal to what it was at the opening, while the number of borrowers is largely increased. There is a great deficiency of books, and, unless additions are made, the institution will suffer seriously. I have used every means and precaution to save the books from injury, have had many repaired and rebound, still they are wearing out, and soon new volumes must be added to take their place. I have cautioned and counselled where it seemed proper in this regard, and, although there have been instances of special abuse, they are few in comparison with the great number of volumes. given out to borrowers, and, from what I have seen at other institutions of the kind, I am constrained to say, as a whole, the books are very well used and cared for while they are out of the Library. My system of delivery of books, which is very simple, methodical and labor saving, seems to meet the wants. of borrowers as well as any with which I am acquainted. They are served in their proper order and with the kind wanted as near as the supply of books in hand will permit. The loss of books, either by carelessness or design, is so trifling that those who were anxious about the Library on this account have become more than satisfied; the few instances we have had indicate no design to purloin a book. My assistant in the circulating department has prepared an index of the names of borrowers from this section of the Library written on cards, so that the whole can be arranged in alphabetical order. I find this plan quite necessary now that the number of borrowers is so large and the loss of cards of account so frequent. At the time the last report was made, the Green Library was not ready for the public. As this Library is the great feature of the institution as a permanent and ever ready help to those who have special and important reasons for consulting a library, it seems to me proper that some notice of it should accompany this report, and my assistant, who was appointed to make the catalogue, has compiled a brief statement which here follows: "Probably few libraries of its size can be found, containing a greater variety and more intrinsic value in their contents, than the Green Library, in which are many works valuable for their antiquity, their variety, or their contents, which would scarce attract more than a momentary notice from the casual observer. So that it requires a connection of intimacy and close observation, for no short time, to form even a tolerably correct estimate of its peculiar characteristics and merits. Mr. C. C. Jewett, whose ability as a cataloguer is very generally acknowledged, says: 'A title is often a mere name, arbitrarily chosen by the author, * * * and is not designed to be descriptive of the work.' Consequently, a glance at the titles of books may give but an imperfect idea of their subjects or character. So a catalogue, which gives only the authors and titles of books, furnishes |