The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-12-09
STATE LIBRARY.
Buchanan's Report Shows
How It Has Been
Regulated.

State Librarian Henry G. Buchanan has
submitted to the Governor his first an
nual report, showing the present condi-
tion of the library and what has been
accomplished during the year toward in
stituting the new travelling libraries
At the time of the last report there
were IN the library $50 books pamphlets.
magazines and newspapers. During the
year there have been added by purchase,
exchange and donation 1858 volumes, and
by direction of the Library Commission
ers there were returned to the Superin-
tendent of Documents ISL duplicate books
and pamphlets that had accumulated,
leaving the actual number PHI. These
duplicates were useless to the State LII.
brary, but were wanted at Washington
to supply the needs of other libraries.
The report says that the number of
books reported, while approximately cor
rect. is not really so, as no inventory has
been made for many years, and under
the system formerly practised Of freely
lending books to be taken from the IL
brary many were lost. During the last
year the Library Commissioners adopted
rule forbidding the loan Of books from
the law libary to be taken from the Cap
of complaints from lawyers from various
parts of the State who visited Trenton
to consult books known to be in the II
brary, only to find that their journeys
were useless because the books had been
borrowed
The Librarian calls attention to the fact
that the last printed catalogue of the
books in the library was made In 1858.
Since then the only source of information
concerning the books has been the writ
ten catalogue kept in the law and general
libraries and the annual reports of the
Librarian. To make a new printed cata-
logue would cost several thousand dollars
and would consume years of time, and
after it had been printed it would be in
accurate by reason of the additions made
during the period of time required for
the printing.
The report calls attention to the fact
that the card system is being adopted by
libraries generally as the best method of
keeping record of the contents of
library. To introduce the system would
require the expenditure of $4,000 or $1,000
and a year or so Of time depending on
the number of persons engaged on the
work of classification and filling out the
cards.
1.-THE limited experience of the present
Librarian says the report, makes him
diffident about recommending the intro
duction Of a new system, particularly as
it will be much easier to work along un-
der the crude system now in operation,
but it appears to be a matter of duty
for him to bring the subject to the at
tention of the Legislature. If the system
is to be changed the sooner it is done
the better"
During the summer considerable prog
ress was made on the work of cataloguing
the New Jersey books, pamphlets and
newspapers in the general library, which
will soon be finished and many Of the
pamphlets classified and bound into vol
umes.
The report also contains a brief history
of the formation of the travelling libraries
together with the scheme of operation. At
this time the Librarian finds it impossible
to report on the workings of the travelling
libraries, but will file a supplementary re-
port on the subject in January, if it is
deemed advisable.