GREAT BRITAIN.
The English kings apparently were indif ferent lovers of books. So far as is known, none but George III formed a library worthy of the name. In one case the power of the king reacted injuriously upon British libraries, for as a result of the conflict of Henry VIII with the Holy See the valuable monastic and other ecclesiastic collections of the pre-Ref ormation period were destroyed or scattered. Some of these books, however, were saved by John Leland (q.v.) and other book-lovers. For this reason but few of the existing British libraries assign a very early date to their foundation. In fact, according to published records, only 37 containing more than 50,000 volumes were founded prior to 1800. Of these, two, the Cambridge University Library (1444) and Lincoln's Inn Library (1497), were founded during the 15th century; six during the 16th century, eight during the 17th century, 11 dur ing the 18th century and 64 during the 19th century.
Among these institutions, t'he British Mu seum (q.v.) of course assumes greatest im portance. The date of its foundation is usually designated as 1753, the year of the bequest of Sir Hans Sloane, yet Edward Edwards finds origins of its collections in a much earlier period. A royal library, according to Walpole, was established by Henry VIII, which was in creased'by gifts from monarchs abroad. Slight additions were made under Henry VIII, but during the brief reign of Edward VI was a decided development owing to the efforts of Sir John Cheke and Roger Ascham. The ac cessions later of the collections of Henry, Earl of Arundel, Lord Lumley, Archbishop Cranmer, Casaubon, Sir John Morris and the Orientaha of Sir Thomas Roe formed the nucleus, to which was added the splendid collections of Sir Hans Sloane and King George III.
University one would ex pect, the earliest large collections were formed by the universities, many of which have grown into imposing libraries. The oldest of these, and one of the most ancient in England, is the Cambridge University Library. That it was in existence prior to 1425 is indicated by a list of its books made at that time. Its first great benefactor was Thomas Scott, arch bishop of York, who erected the building (1475) in which it was housed until 1755, and who made additions to its collections and endow ment. It contains about 900,000 volumes, which include many early English imprints. More famous, even, than the Cambridge Library is that of Oxford, named the Bodleian, after the founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. It was due to the enthusiastic labors of this bibliophile that the Bodleian was opened to the. public in 1602
with 2,000 volumes, almost entirely gifts from his private collection. These activities were crowned by the generous provisions contained in his will. Other distinguished benefactors were Archbishop Laud, Sir Kenelm Digby, John Selden, Francis Douce, etc. The library now contains about 800,000 volumes, 41,000 manu scripts, which include a wonderful collection of Orientalia, Greek and Latin manuscripts, and much valuable material in history and litera ture. In 1860 it was united with the Radcliffe Library of Medicine and Science, the collec tions being transferred to the Radcliffe Camera, its present home. Among the university libra ries of Scotland, those of Edinburgh and Saint Andrews are the most important. The library of the latter is perhaps the older of the two, as the university is known to have possessed books as early as 1456, but the assigned date is 1610 at which time the various collections were united by command of King James VI. It contains about 150,000 volumes, including valuable local history. Edinburgh University was founded in 1583 by the bequest of the library of Clement Little, a lawyer of Edin burgh. This collection was transferred to the university at its foundation in 1583. Among the library's benefactors was the famous Scotch poet and bibliophile, Drummond of Hawthorn den, who made a large donation of books in 1627. The collections number 270,000 volumes and 800 manuscripts. The library of Trinity College at Dublin had a somewhat romantic beginning, having been founded by a gift of f1,800 made by the English army as a memorial to its victory over the Spanish at Kinsale in 1602. This sum was placed in the hands of James Usher, later primate of Ireland, who was a friend of Bodley, the two co-operating in the interest of their libraries. Usher's own library was purchased at his death in 1655 hut its transfer to the university was held up by Cromwell, and not consummated until the Res toration. The library has received many valu able gifts of books and manuscripts and now numbers about 350,000 volumes and 2,078 manu scripts. Among the more recent university foundations may be named the University Col lege Library, London (1823; 150,000 vols.) and the University of London (1839; 100,000 vols.). The majority of the English cathedrals have collections of books. The most of these, how ever, are small and their use is usually restricted to the diocesan purposes. A few, however, are open to the public.