art; HAMILTON FISH PARK, Chivalry, Books for older boys and girls; HUDSON PARK, Making of the constitution, Growth of the West, Indians, Games; BOND STREET, Alaska, North Pole, Electric motors, Hawaii, Melodies of many lands. Nature through the microscope; OTTENDORFER, The golden West, Travel in Europe, William Shakespeare; TOMPKINS SQUARE, Lewis Carroll, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, January magazines; JACKSON SQUARE, Trees; EPIPHANY, Legends of the Knights; MUHLENBURG, Picture books, Philippine Islands and Porto Rico; GEORGE BRUCE, Some good Indian books; 58TH STREET, January birthdays of famous men, Great explorers, Alice in Wonderland; 67TH STREET, Popular authors, Dog stories, Pirates; RIVERSIDE, Annual friends, Fairy tales, Housekeeping, Legendary heroes, Stories of the West, Tales of the jungle, The theatre; YORKVILLE, Indians; ST. AGNES, Socialism, Food, South and Central America; 96TH STREET, Summer and winter in the logging camps, January historical calendar; BLOOMINGDALE, Sea stories, Our little foreign cousins; AGUILAR, School stories; 115TH STREET, Chivalry, Japan; 125TH STREET, Education; 135TH STREET, Books on dogs; MOTT HAVEN, Michael Angelo, Charles Dickens, Little people of Holland; MORRISANIA, Sea stories, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Richard Watson Gilder, Joel Chandler Harris, Frederick Remington, Bayard Taylor, Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Byron, Robert Burns; TREMONT, Legends of the MiddleAges, Pirate stories; KINGSBRIDGE, Music, Stories of wild animals; ST. George, Housekeeping; PORT RICHMOND, Cuba, Pirates, Interesting articles in January magazines; STAPLETON, India.

In addition there were lists posted on new books in eight branches, on the new year in seven, on Benjamin Franklin in six, on subjects of the Board of Education lectures in five, on the opera in four, on Abraham Lincoln in four, and on winter in two branches.

The Board of Estimate on Friday, February 4, authorized the letting of contract No. II (for furniture and equipment), the only contract for finishing the new building still unlet, to the Cobb Construction Company at its bid of $543,750.

I have the honor to submit the following report of the work of the Library for the year 1909.

Since my last report the Board has lost its second vice-president, John Stewart Kennedy, who died at his home in this city on Sunday, October 31, 1909. Mr. Kennedy had served as a trustee of the Lenox Library since. 1885, becoming its president in 1887, and he served as trustee and second vice-president of The New York Public Library from the time of consolidation in 1895. By his will the Library is to receive three sixty-fourths of his residual estate, estimated to amount to not less than $2,250,000. The bequest is unrestricted, but it will not be available until the estate is settled, which will take fully a year or more.

At the regular meeting of the Board on January 13, 1909, John L. Cadwalader was elected first vice-president in place of the late Right Rev. Henry C. Potter, and Edward W. Sheldon was elected treasurer in place of the late Edward King. The vacancy caused by the death of Bishop Potter was filled by the election on January 13, 1909, of John W. Alexander, president of the National Academy of Design; and the place of the late Edward King was filled by the election of John Henry Hammond, on February 10.

Arthur E. Bostwick, chief of the circulation department since 1901, resigned October 1, 1909, to become librarian of the St. Louis Public Library, and Benjamin Adams, who had served as his assistant since 1904, was appointed in his place.

GENERAL SUMMARY.

The current activity of the Library is shown in the following summary: In the reference branches during 1909 readers and visitors numbered 265,912; 194,091 desk applicants consulted 776,703 volumes (corresponding

figures for 1908 being 212,701 desk applicants and 905,030 volumes). 28,297 volumes and 70,007 pamphlets were received. 34,936 volumes and 12,003 pamphlets were accessioned, making the total number available for readers 793,854 volumes and 295,078 pamphlets, a total of 1,088,932 pieces in the reference department, which with the 755,406 volumes in the circulation department give an aggregate of 1,844,338 pieces in the whole library. The print department now contains 70,310 prints; there has been little increase in the music, map, or manuscript departments. There were catalogued 44,230 volumes and 42,858 pamphlets; the public catalogues in the ASTOR and LENOX reading rooms contain now 1,580,235 cards; the official author catalogues at these two buildings contain now 1,138,974 cards. 1902 periodicals have been indexed number by number, for which 22,995 cards or printer's slips were written. Periodicals currently received amount to 6,662 if counted by titles, or 168,362 counted by individual pieces; readers of current periodicals at the ASTOR branch numbered 41,785, and these readers called for 264,257 single pieces or numbers.

In the circulation department, the number of branches has increased from 39 to 40, volumes in the department from 680,244 to 755,406, circulation for home use from 6,504,402 to 7,013,649; 4 Carnegie branches have been opened during the year (a total of 32).

The total expenditures for the calendar year 1909 were $885,698.43, of which $210,963.25 was spent for the reference department and $674,735.18 for the circulation department.

Of the reference department expenditures $40,017.78, or 18.9 per cent., went for books, binding, and periodicals; $118,507.12, or 56.1 per cent., went for salaries; $52,438.35, or 24.8 per cent., for all other purposes.

Of the circulation department expenditures $210,209.33, or 31 per cent., went for books, binding and periodicals; $332,588.80, or 49 per cent., went for salaries; $131,937.05, or 20 per cent., for all other purposes.

Of the circulation department expenditures $630,204.22 came from the city appropriation.

There are now 659 persons on the staff of the Library, 156 in the reference department, 503 in the circulation department.

Of the reference department staff the number of librarians, assistants, .etc., was 109; the number of janitors, pages, etc., was 47.

Of the circulation department staff the number of librarians, assistants, etc., was 458; the number of janitors, pages, etc., was 45.