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Library, and were very largely assisted in the matter by the Members
of the Books Committee, several of whom are not Commissioners.
A sum of .£850 was set apart to be spent in the purchase of
books, and there are now 6,472 volumes in the Library.
The Commissioners made appeals to various institutions and
persons for gifts of books, and these were in many case's responded to
in a generous spirit. Application was made to the Lords Commissioners
of Her Majesty's Treasury for copies of the Record Office
publications, and 208 volumes were subsequently received from that
Department.
A similar application was made to the Authorities of the British
Museum for their publications; but the Trustees stated that they
would be prepared to consider the application when the Library had
been established in a permanent building. The application will
accordingly be shortly renewed.
The method adopted in purchasing a large number of the books
was that of sending round lists of books required to the second-hand
booksellers throughout the kingdom and inviting quotations. These
prices were subsequently examined by the Librarian and agreed to
by the Commissioners. The majority of the volumes in the Library
was purchased in this manner, and the remainder were obtained at
prices from which considerably more than the usual discount was
allowed. Tenders were also obtained for binding works published in
paper covers, such as music, &c.
BOOKS OF ACCOUNT, LIBRARY SPECIALITIES, ETC.
The Commissioners deemed it desirable to obtain Tenders for
these matters, with the result that the prices of the following firms
were accepted:—
Books of Account—Mr. T. Cornell.
Library Specialities—Library Supply Company.
Typewriting Machine—Hammond Typewriting Company.
FITTINGS.
The Commissioners obtained Tenders for the necessary book
racks, tables, newspaper stands and counter from various firms, and
Messrs. Wake & Dean, whose business is carried on in this Parish,
obtained the contract.