assistants from the mere titles of very many books knew instinctively where to find them. This economy of energy was very valuable, and the question was whether a classifying librarian could not sometimes promote this economy by putting forward the part or form of the title which suggested the place of the book. Objections to classification systems were sometimes based on a misconception of the librarian's relation to them. It was a vain dream to suppose that all libraries which adopted the same classification scheme would be arranged exactly like each other. The special circumstances of the library, the idiosyncracies of the librarian and his assistants, must modify the arrangement of the books. One of the most delightful characteristics of libraries was the fact that they differed. This freedom of the librarian must be a refreshing thought to those who had supposed that a classification system, once adopted, must needs be the tyrannous master of the librarian. Above all machinery was the man who intelligently used the machinery.

The PRESIDENT remarked at the conclusion of the paper that the subject was one which must be of absorbing interest to every one present, and was perfectly sure it could not be adequately discussed in the time at their disposal. He therefore proposed that they should omit the discussion and proceed to hear the next paper.

The Philosophical Classification of Literature as Compared with Practical Schemes of Classification.

A paper by Mr. ARCHIBALD CLARKE, Sub-Librarian to the Royal Medical Chirurgical Society of London, on "The Philosophical Classification of Literature as compared with Practical Schemes of Classification," had to be taken as read, in consequence of the large amount of business in this session.

Public Records and Public Libraries.

Mr. ERNEST AXON, Free Reference Library, Manchester, read a paper in which he advocated the further utilisation of public libraries by making them the recognised and legal depositories of local manuscript records. He pointed out that, while the safe custody of national documents had been provided for by the establishment of the Public Record Office, local records, many of them of the greatest importance to the historian, had no recognised place of deposit, but were scattered up and down, and were often in the custody of persons who looked upon them merely as sources of income. Various suggestions had been made for the preservation of these records, but all the schemes were bad, as transgressing the principle that local records should be easily accessible to the people they concerned most-those who lived in the locality to which they referred. He thought that in every town where a free public library had been established the public records, such as parish registers, records of court leets and town councils and overseers' accounts, should be deposited there, to be freely accessible to all who had occasion to refer to them. Amongst the advantages of this plan over that of establishing local record offices would be economy, no separate staff being necessary, and convenience, as libraries, besides being open in the evening, an important matter for the amateur historian, had on their shelves an array of printed works of reference with which the worker in manuscripts could not dispense. The duties of the librarian as keeper of the records were dealt with in some detail, and mention was made of several libraries which to a limited extent had already

become places of deposit for local manuscript records. Referring to the Manchester Free Reference Library, Mr. Axon said it was not quite so strong as it ought to be in local manuscripts, one reason being that several benefactors had thought Chetham's Library and the Owens College Library more suitable places for the custody of manuscripts. The Reference Library did, however, possess a few manuscripts of interest. Of original manuscripts might be mentioned a volume of records of petty sessions, the burial book of one of the local graveyards, several volumes of Newton Heath rate-books, a volume of overseers' accounts, minute-books of a number of local societies and a number of local deeds. In transcripts and similar manuscript collections the library was richer. The collection of Jesse Lee, rich in matters relating to Lancashire history and dialect; the Burton MSS., relating to Lancashire and Cheshire topography and genealogy; the Hibbert Ware MSS., also of local interest, but most valuable for its drawings of Celtic antiquities, transcripts of the registers of two city churches; and, last but not least, the Owen MSS., purchased by the committee two or three months ago. This important collection consisted of eighty volumes, each of several hundred pages. It included transcripts of the marriage registers of the Collegiate Church from 1577 to 1804, and of the registers of baptisms and burials from 1577 to 1750, with annual indexes arranged in alphabetical order, transcripts of the early portions of the Warrington, Flixton and other registers, copies of all the monumental inscriptions in a large proportion of the burial grounds in and near Manchester, abstracts of deeds and sketches and descriptions of old houses and churches. It was a marvellous monument of the patience and industry of Mr. John Owen, and represented sixty years of continuous work. In the case of parish registers, Mr. Axon said, a transcript, with an index of names, should be made as soon as possible, and the transcript only be allowed to be examined by the searcher. The plan of having a transcript for the use of the public had been tried already in a number of churches. In the Manchester Cathedral for many years of the register, if not for all, a transcript had been made, and the original was not as a rule shown to the searcher. If a certified copy of an entry was required the exact date was obtained from the transcript, the entry in the original register was found by the clergyman in charge, and the certificate could be made from it. This good example should be followed, for the original register was saved from much wear and tear, and it was impossible for any fraudulent person to tamper with a document he was not allowed to handle.

Dr. GARNETT said that at their Dublin meeting the Association passed a resolution urging that a national institution should be founded for taking photographic records of valuable manuscripts, including parish registers. The resolution did not seem to produce much effect at the time, but lately there had been some signs of a movement in the direction hoped for. The matter had been strongly pressed on the Government by many influential persons, including Mr. Bryce, and there was reason to believe that the Government had listened to these representations with some favour. It was well known that the Prime Minister himself had the most valuable collection of manuscripts relating to English history in the possession of an individual. He thought they might hear, by-and-by, of the appointment of a national commission to investigate the subject, in which case he hoped Mr. Axon and others who took an interest in the matter would be forward in supplying information. For his own part, he felt that photography should be the basis on which the thing should be done.

Naval and Military Libraries.

Mr. B. CARTER, Librarian, Public Library, Kingston-on-Thames, in a paper on this subject, said that naval libraries were provided by the Admiralty for the use of officers and men of the fleet. These were of three kinds-ship libraries for officers, seamen's libraries, station libraries for officers, containing, according to different classes settled by the complements of the ships' companies, from 69 to 982 volumes. The ships' libraries were administered by the schoolmaster or some other competent person appointed by the captain, and newspapers and magazines were regularly sent to all ships on foreign stations. The intention of the Admiralty, as judged by the lists of books, was evidently that the libraries should have an educational as well as a recreative side, works being supplied on such professional subjects as seamanship, gunnery, engineering, etc. The steam branch, which in these days was of the highest importance, needed more and better books, seamanship being the only subject that had received fair attention; but in all departments, and again more particularly in naval history, a more liberal provision of books was eminently desirable. Military libraries, according to the "Queen's regulations and orders for the army," were established "to afford the troops the means within the barracks of employing their leisure hours in rational amusement and the acquisition of useful knowledge, and thus to encourage habits of morality and sobriety". The regimental recreation and reading-rooms were lighted and warmed by the Government, and placed in charge of the regimental librarian, who acted under the direction of a committee of three officers, assisted by a sub-committee of three non-commissioned officers. They were open to all warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and men who subscribed at rates ranging from sixpence to threepence monthly. The books for the regimental libraries were obtained from the garrison libraries larger institutions, under the supervision of the director of Military Education and a committee, which seemed itself to be subject to much supervision from inspecting officers. The garrison librarian was usually a pensioned non-commissioned officer appointed by the officer commanding, the average salary being about £50 per annum. In the case of the soldiers as well as the sailors it was laid down "that a reasonable proportion of books of an instructive as well as of an interesting character are to be obtained".

The two remaining papers, one on the Chetham Library, by Mr. A. Nicholson, and the other on the Library of Owens College, by Mr. W. E. Rhodes, were read during visits in the afternoon to these institutions.

Letter from Mr. R. C. Christie.

The PRESIDENT read the following letter he had received from Mr. R. C. Christie :

:

"As a past president of the Library Association, I do not like to omit sending you a few lines of hearty congratulation on your acceptance of the office at the meeting at Manchester, and of my good wishes for the success of the meeting. I was present and took an active part at the meeting in Manchester in 1879, and since then have taken a great interest in the Association, and was, I think, one of the most regular attendants both at Association and Council meetings for many years. I had for some time hoped that I might be able to again attend the meeting at Manchester, but my illness has long prevented my contemplating this, and now confines me almost entirely to bed and prevents me from feeling much