Modern British Libraries

The library of the University of London, founded in 1837, now at South Kensington, has over 300,00o vols., and includes the Goldsmiths' Economic (6o,000 vols.), and a musical library. Other collections are De Morgan's collection of mathematical books, Grote's classical library, etc.

University college library, Gower street, established in 1829, has 286,000 vols., including Jeremy Bentham's library, Morrison's Chinese library, Barlow's Dante library, collections of law, medicine (including medical history), mathematical, Icelandic, theological, art, oriental and other books.

King's college library, founded in 1828, has over 70,00o vol umes. In close association with the University of London is the London School of Economics and Political Science (1896), in which is housed the British Library of Political Science, with 2 50, 000 books and 500,000 pamphlets and official reports. The School of Oriental Studies was established in 1916 in the building of the London institution. The library of Sion college (1635) is rich in liturgies, Port-Royal authors, etc., and contains about 200,000 vols. classified on a modification of the decimal system. The copyright privilege was commuted in 1835.

English Provinces.-The

Rothamsted Experimental Station has an agricultural library of 20,000 volumes. The other English universities and colleges have libraries; the chief are : Manchester (205,000 vols.) ; Birmingham (120,000 vols.) ; Liverpool ( too, 000 vols.) ; Leeds (98,000 vols.) ; Sheffield (83,00o vols.) ; Bristol (70,00o vols.), absorbing in 1924 the library of the Bristol Med ical Chirurgical Society (1831) ; Durham (39,000 vols.) has many incunabula. That of Exeter is combined with the City library. The Association of University Teachers established in 1925, at Birmingham, an enquiry bureau for the University libraries, to act as a centre for mutual lending; this it is intended to transfer when possible to the central library for students. The University libraries share in the grants made by the Government's Universi ties Grants committee. A few of the libraries of theological colleges and public schools are important and have historical col lections, incunabula, etc., such as Oscott college (1838), 36,000 vols. ; Stonyhurst college (1794), c. 40,00o vols. ; Shrewsbury school, 7,000 vols., etc.

Scotland.-The

University library of Edinburgh originated in a bequest of books made to the town in 1580 by Clement Little, advocate. In 1831 the books were removed to the present build

ing. Modern accessions have been the Halliwell-Phillips (Shake speare), the Laing (Scottish mss.), the Baillie (oriental mss.) and the Hodgson (political economy). The library now consists of about 350,000 vols. of printed books, with over 8,000 mss.

All schools and colleges in Scotland are well equipped with li braries. The oldest University Library, St. Andrews (1456) con tains well over a quarter of a million volumes. Glasgow (15th Cent.) has 255,00o volumes; Aberdeen (1500) 260,000 volumes. Among others are New College, Edinburgh (1843), 50,000 vol umes, and Royal Technical College, Glasgow, 16,000 volumes.

' Ireland.-In

1601 the English army, to commemorate their victory at Kinsale, subscribed L1,800 to establish a library in the University of Dublin. Later bequests and gifts have been Sir Jerome Alexander's (law books and mss.), 1674; Palliser, 1726; Gilbert, 1736; and Quin (classical and Italian), 1805. In 1802 the collection of 20,000 vols. formed by the pensionary Fagel, was acquired. The library enjoys the copyright privilege. After the recognition of the Irish Free State the right was confirmed. The library now contains 386,00o vols. and over 2,000 mss. There is no permanent endowment. There is a printed catalogue of the mss. (1900) and incunabula (1890).

Queen's college, Belfast (1849), has about i oi ,000 vols.; Queen's college, Cork (1849), oo,000; University college, Dub lin, 65,000; and St. Patrick's college, Maynooth (1795) about 55,00o. (See L. Newcombe, The University and College Libraries of Great Britain and Ireland, 1927.) Cathedral and Church Libraries.-With one or two excep tions, libraries are attached to the cathedrals. Intended for the cathedral or diocesan clergy, they are in most cases open to persons suitably introduced. Many have valuable mss., but most were ravaged in the Civil War, and the printed collections are the work of antiquarian deans of the i8th century. That of St. Paul's cathedral was founded in very early times, and now num bers some 22,000 vols. and pamphlets, with a good collection of early Bibles and Testaments, Paul's Cross sermons, and works connected with the cathedral (catalogue 1893).