LAW DIVISION

Established 21 Ap. 1818

The law library grew last year from 61,928 to 63,990. 721 of these new books were bought and 1341 were gifts or exchanges. 1746 of the additions continued sets already on our shelves.

Among the rare volumes added are:

Georgia. Laws, 1800-4, 1809, 1813

North Carolina. Public acts [Swann's revision]. 1751

This division also contains 53,595 pamphlets, or 36% of the total library collection of 150,297.

a Unusual increase due to gift of books from Albany medical college, Jan. 31, 1893.

b Unusual increase due to new appropriation for medical books which became available Oct. 1, 1895.

These statistics represent material classed in 610 (medicine). Other material of importance is to be found in 540 (chemistry), 590 (animal physiology), etc.

Besides 10,332 books the medical library has about 5750 pamphlets and is receiving regularly 244 serials, exclusive of annuals and biennials. The largest gift received during the year was that from C. H. Porter M.D. noted on page 25. In 1900, $1060.18 was spent for the medical library; of this, as is shown on p. 114, $235.65 was for books, $637.48 for serials and $187.05 for binding. These figures differ from table above for same reasons that are given in note on table T2, p. 114.

I regret the necessity of again reporting the failure of the legislature to make provision for the state medical library. It was supposed that we should have not less than $5000 a year, and the list of serials ordered and the plans were based on this estimate. The $1000 or $2000 granted allows nothing whatever for a librarian or assistant and nothing creditable to the state or satisfactory to the profession can be carried on till some provision is made for the needed work, and also for buying more of the new books. We had the alternative either of locking the library entirely, or of giving such very imperfect service as could be taken from other duties by those with no special training. If the library is to be maintained creditably, a larger appropriation must be secured.

HISTORY DIVISION
Established 1898

During 1900 more books were added and the expenditure for books and serials was larger than ever before.

The resignation of our history librarian, Mr C. A. Flagg, to accept a more lucrative position in the national library has left the work under Mr Herbert McKnight, assistant in charge, from whose report I extract and condense:

New reading room. The transfer of quarters from the fifth to the third floor, though undertaken with some misgiving, has proved satisfactory to both readers and attendants. The present arrangement of the material of the division is as follows: 1) in room 34, genealogies, publications of hereditary and patriotic societies, and periodicals relating to genealogy and local history; 2) in 34A, local histories; 3) in the rooms above, general histories and maps. Our new quarters are as convenient of access as 55 and we have the great advantage of proximity to the card catalogue, the main reading room, manuscript room and the collections of biography and travel.

Selection of books. We aim to get every genealogy published in the United States and Canada and every local history dealing with the North Atlantic states. New York state material of course takes precedence, and in this connection the assistant in charge found it both pleasant and profitable during the month of September to visit a number of local libraries throughout the state and to enlist the cooperation of their librarians and of the local history enthusiasts in building up our collection.

Our collection of personal narratives and regimental histories of the civil war is already large and we are constantly on the lookout for new material.

In other historical fields it has seemed desirable to have as many as possible of the documents on which the history is based. It seems wise to buy compilations of extracts from original sources when we have the documents themselves, that the student may more easily acquire his knowledge at first hand. Besides this we should have all standard secondary works and all monographs on topics of particular interest.

MANUSCRIPT DIVISION

Established 19 Ap. 1881

The archivist, Mr A. J. F. van Laer, reports as follows: Reference work. The work of the past year has shown conclusively that no satisfactory progress in bringing the large collection of manuscripts into convenient shape for consultation can be expected without clerical assistance.

The numerous applications for searches-under the present conditions often requiring days of patient labor-the preparation

of certificates, copies and translations and the assistance given to personal inquirers have prevented any work worth mentioning in arranging and indexing the vast mass of papers still practically inaccessible. An inquiry for a description of the contents of the collection of French manuscripts, referred to under no. 73 of history bulletin 3, has led to the compilation of an annotated list of these papers, giving brief contents and bibliographic references. This list, largely prepared in extra hours given to the library, will appear as history bulletin 5.

The frequent inquiries for copies of marriage bonds, necessi tated a blank corresponding to the original blanks employed in those bonds. By this means, simply by filling out the written information, a perfect copy of a given bond can be obtained at a minimum of labor and expense.

During the summer a general examination of the records of the department was made by Messrs Charles Worthen Spencer and Walter Hammond Nichols, working under direction of Prof. Herbert L. Osgood, adjunct member for the state of New York of the archives commission appointed by the American historical association. Aside from the fresh interest of the publie in manuscript resources, which will inevitably accrue from the commission's report, the work has directly benefited the department by the preparation of a useful typewritten list of its entire collection.

Binding and indexing. The waste of time daily in laborious searches for want of proper indexes demands a remedy.

Besides the collection of "Henry Stevens papers" already noted in last year's report, there is a large mass of legislative papers, numbering at a rough estimate over 50,000 single documents, tied up in packages, variously labeled and arranged in chronologic order. If a certain report or petition for a particular year is wanted and not found in the packages where it might have been expected, including the ones marked "Miscellaneous ", it becomes necessary to open all packages of that year and, in important cases, also those of preceding and following years, to make reasonably certain that the paper has not been misplaced. If the year is not exactly known, the difficulty increases corre spondingly. Such search is not only very tedious but the condition of the papers, which are loose and not properly recorded,

offers no safeguard against their being mislaid or stolen, and even in cases where inquirers are willing to do the work themselves strict supervision becomes necessary. It is therefore highly desirable that these papers be arranged, bound and indexed. The present collection being once disposed of it will be a relatively slight task yearly to bind and index the additions. A considerable number of volumes, such as "Assembly papers ", Manuscripts, miscellaneous ", Van der Kemp's translations of Dutch records and others have more or less satisfactory indexes, at present the only clue to their contents, and consequently often consulted. Imperfect as these indexes are in many respects, the need for new and minute ones is less felt and for the present much valuable time in making searches might be saved by hav ing these indexes copied into a single alphabet.

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Publications. The most important sets of records thus far inaccessible to the public except by actual consultation in the manuscript room, are the volumes of "General entries ", " Court of assize", "Orders, warrants, etc." and the executive council minutes. Careful calendars have been prepared by Berthold Fernow and it is hoped they may be published. It is also desirable to print the documents in full, but this should not be undertaken out of its regular order. The publication of the English minutes ought to be preceded by that of the Dutch "Council minutes" which form part of the "New York colonial mss."

Many of the Dutch records are at present in such frail condition that any handling, however careful, puts them in danger of becoming torn and more illegible. Specially is this true of the "Register of the provincial secretary" and the "Council minutes", the edges of which volumes, not protected by stubs, have to stand all the wear and are fast fraying off, thereby destroying the last word of every line. Apart, therefore, from the danger of total destruction by fire or otherwise, always attending unique documents, it seems imperative that they should be permanently preserved in print as soon as possible. By this is not meant merely the publication of the original Dutch-though undoubtedly the most important, for the original text being once preserved, translations can be made at any time-but also an accurate readable translation in English. The translations prepared by Van der Kemp are not only incomplete but also full of errors.