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clerk of works.
Mr. G. S. Rees was appointed Clerk of Works of the now building on the
10th October, 1897, at the salary of £3 13s. 6d. per week.
laying of foundation stone.
The laying of the foundation stone of the new building took place on the
2nd December, 1897. Mr. J. Passmore Edwards performed the ceremony.
The report for the year 1898-9 is as follows:—
librarian.
One of the first matters calling for the attention of the Commissioners at
the commencement of the year, was the question of appointing a suitable
person as chief Librarian.
Advertisements were issued for a Librarian at a salary of £160 per
annum, rising by annual increments of £10 to £200 per annum with house,
coals and gas so soon as the building should be completed.
Eighty-four (84) applications were received, and Mr. Thomas AIdred,
the Chief Librarian at Barrow-in-Furness, was appointed to the post, and he
commenced his duties on the 25th May, 1898.
ladies' convenience.
An arrangement was arrived at, and a formal agreement dated the 15th
October, 1898, was entered into between the Vestry and the Commissioners
for the letting to the former Authority of a small plot of ground on the
westerly side of the Library for the erection of a Ladies Convenience, at the
rent of £5 per annum.
books.
The Commissioners made appeals to various institutions and persons for
gifts of books, and these were in many cases 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 wore 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 bo prepared to
consider the application when the Library had been established in a permanent
building. The application will, accordingly, be shortly renewed.
Considerable attention was paid to the quality and cost of the
books purchased. The method adopted in selecting the books was
that of sending a copy of the Librarian's draft list of books to each
member of the Books Committee, which consisted of the Cornmissioners,
and Mrs. E. M. Burgwin, Sir J. G. Fitch, LL.D., M.A.,
Miss H. C. Gardiner, Mr. J. M. Hale, Mrs. Hawkins, itev. St. Clare