The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-12-15
State Librarian Henry G.
Buch ran Tells What Has
Been Done in a Year in
New jersey
NEW nlANUs RlpT CA a .OGUE
NUMBER OF VOLUMES 1867. A
GAIN OF 3,417-I4AW LIBRARY
VERY VALUABLE IMPORTANT
WORKS ADDED.
Especial to .'The Jersey City News. y

TRENTON, Dec. 10, 1905.-State Lii
brarian Henry c. Buchanan has handed
to Governor Stokes his annual report.
which treats Of the condition OF the Ne'G
Jersey State Library. The document
shows that the library ct this tire coa-
tains 1867 volumes, gain of 3,4i7 vol
umes over last year.
AT the beginning of the past year 81
500 was available for the purchase and,
binding of books during the year. Of
this amount 81 .S302S was spent FOR the
1856 volumes which have been added to
the law library $1,17S.95 for binding
and repairs, about 81 $50 for books, mag
azines and newspapers bought for the
reference library, and $139.76 has lapsed
into the State fund. Included in the
amount spent on the reference library is
$316.15 for books and pamphlets espec-
tally relating to New Jersey. OF the
added books $50 volumes are rare ones
and were not heretofore in the library.
OF the purchases made for the refer
ence library, 239 were books and pamph-
lets relating to the history of New Jer-
sey and municipalities. institutions and
families Of the State; and of the contrib
A. rso1 oT +b
same character. Besides. there were 322
duplicates donated, which were exchang-
ed for other books that are included in
the figures already given.
Early in the present calendar all of the
alterations and improvements which
We're under way at the time the last re-
port was made. We're completed, and the
State Library is now in better condition
in every respect than at any time in its
history. The increased shelf room has
made it possible to rear1nge and make
more accessible the books in the law de-
partment, and to classify by the decimal
system and rearrange those in the refer
ence derartment.
A new and complete manuscript cata-
logue of the law library has been made,
and during the year the dictionary card
catalogue of the reference library has
been practically finished. The latter in
cludes separate cards. In the report of
1899 it was stated it would cost $4,000
to introduce the card system. but by ex-
tending the work over a period of years
it has been possible to complete it at a
trifing, cost above the cost of the blank
cards and the subscription to such of the
printed cards made by the library of
Congress as We're of use.
The books in the library are now in
good condition. During the year many
volumes which We're damaged during the
double moving when the alterations were
made year ago have been rebound or
repaired as have those which were badly
worn by use. The cost of binding and
rebinding and repairing books during the
year has been 81, 1885, to meet which a
special appropriation of 81 600 was made
by the Legislature at its last session.
At a meeting of the commissioners of
the State Library, held February 2S, the
librarian was authorized to have rebound
in separate sets the legislative docu-
ments, in roder that they might be rem
dered more accessible These documents,
which consist of the messages of the
Governors and the reports of the various
State departments and institutions, were
printed in the Assembly Minutes and
Senate journal during the early days Of
the government. but about 1S40 they
collected and bound separately under
various names, such as New Jersey Re-
ports, Legislative Reports, Legislative
Pamphlets, Appendix to House Journal,
Appendix to Assembly Minutes. Appen-
dix TO Senate Journal, until 1862, when
they were designated as Legislative Doc
uments, and by that title have since been
known.
For several years the Legislative Doc
uments have composed five large volumes
annually, and until five years ago there
was nothing on the outside to direct one
to the particular document for which he
was searching. In 1900 the State Print-
ing Board directed that the contents Of
each volume be printed upon the back
title" and. while that proved 70 be a
great help and time saver, it did not meet
the requirements.
In compliance with the Instructions of
the commissioners q set Of documents
covering the period between 1s47 and
1901 was broken up and the messages
and reports gathered together and re-
! bound, So that one sesSing information