Gifts worthy of mention were received from the following during the month: Hon. William A. Courtenay, his "Genesis of South Carolina, 1562-1670," privately printed at Columbia, 1907; from the Danish Rigsdagens Bureau, 8 volumes of parliamentary documents; from Mrs. Henry Draper, for the Cortlandt Palmer Memorial Fund, 3 volumes and 3 portfolios, including 2 volumes of N. P. Litchatschoff's "Materialien zur Geschichte der Russischen Ikonen," St. Petersburg, 1906, "Euvre de Lucas de Leyde, Reproduit et publié par Amand-Durand, Texte par George Duplessis," Paris, 1883, etc.; from Duffield & Co., a copy of "Plays of our forefathers and some of the traditions upon which they were founded, by Charles Mills Gayley, New York, 1907; from the London School of Tropical Medicine, volume and 10 pamphlets, relating to the school, etc.; from Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, two privately printed volumes, "Old family letters," copied from the originals for Alexander Biddle, Series A," mainly letters from John Adams to Benjamin Rush, covering the period 1755-1813, and "Old family letters relating to the Yellow Fever, Series B," being letters written by Dr. Benjamin Rush, in Philadelphia, to his wife at Trenton, between August and November, 1793, printed at Philadelphia in 1892; from J. Pierpont Morgan, a copy of the "Catalogue of the Gutmann Collection of plate, now the property of J. Pierpont Morgan, Esq., by E. Alfred Jones," London, 1907; from the Netherlands Colonial Office, 5 volumes, relating mainly to the Dutch East Indies, including the second supplement to the Catalogue of the Colonial Office Library; from the New Jersey Adjutant General's Office, 14 volumes and 38 pamphlets, reports of the office; from the Mayor of Padua, 10 volumes, mnnicipal documents; from the Province of Quebec, 2 volumes and 22 pamphlets, Journals, Returns, etc., in French and English; from Elihu Root, 18 volumes, a continuation of his gift relating to the United States Insular Possessions; and from the Province of Sassari, Italy, 7 volumes, documents of the Provincial Council.

The exhibitions of prints, etc., at the LENOx and ASTOR branches remained unchanged, the former including the C. S. Smith Japanese prints, contemporary German work, the French bookplates, The Century Company's print printing. material, and the two richly illustrated folio volumes devoted to the mezzotints of John Raphael Smith and the Ward brothers; the ASTOR display consisted of plates from Williams' "Art of Writing" and of specimens of recent American engravings. Picture bulletins and temporary collections of books on special shelves at the circulation branches were as follows: CHATHAM SQUARE, Kate Greenaway, Mother Goose; RIVINGTON STREET, Ships, Back to school; HUDSON PARK, Book covers, Edvard Grieg, The Mediterranean; TOMPKINS SQUARE, Birthdays of famous men and women born in September, Our navy, September; EPIPHANY, Pioneer days, Football stories, Sports and games; MUHLENBERG, Interesting events, Picture books; GEORGE BRUCE, Books about the navy; SACRED HEART, Louisa M. Alcott, 67TH STREET, Hiawatha, North American Indians, School again; RIVERSIDE, Augustus Saint Gaudens, Sea tales, Theatre; WEBSTER, Western life; YORKVILle, Knightly tales; 96TH STREET, Out of doors in September, Tales of the West; BLOOMINGDALE, Pirate stories, List of picture books, Shells, Minerals, Animal stories; AGUILAR, Children going to school, James Fenimore Cooper; 125TH STREET, Stories about the sea, Labor, Bed-time stories; 135TH STREET, Nursery

rhymes and jingles; HAMILTON GRANGE, Busy little housekeepers, After vacation; MOTT HAVEN, Stories to read again; TREMONT, Books girls like, Books of games, Indians of North America, Alfred the Great, Erie Canal, Explorations of Lewis and Clarke, Knights of the Round Table, Miles Standish, Sir Walter Raleigh; STAPLETON, Richard Mansfield; TOTTENVILLE, North American geography, American government.

In addition there were bulletins on new books at six branches, on college and school stories at six branches, on Labor Day at two branches, and on Henry W. Longfellow at two branches.

A new building for the EPIPHANY branch was opened at 228 East 23d Street, on Friday, September 20, at 4 P.M. Alderman Reginald S. Doull received the building on behalf of the City and as representative of the Mayor, and Cleveland H. Dodge, Esq., made the address on behalf of the Trustees of the Library. Dr. Joseph H. McMahon and Mr. Arthur E. Bostwick also spoke. furnished by the choir boys of Epiphany Church.

Rev.

Music was

This building is the twenty-fourth of those erected from the Carnegie fund to be occupied as a branch of the New York Public Library. The Epiphany branch was opened as part of the Cathedral Free Circulating Library at 223 East 22d Street, on October 1, 1901, removed to 230 East 22d Street in April, 1902, received as a branch of the New York Public Library January 1, 1905. It has now on its shelves 11,000 volumes and its annual circulation is about 30,000.

I have the honor to submit the following report of the work of this Library for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1907.

Owing to the resolution of the Board adopted February 13, 1907, by which the fiscal year of the corporation was changed from the period July 1June 30, to January 1-December 31, this report summarizes in brief terms the work of the Library staff for the period in question, leaving until January 1, 1908, the full report for the calendar year 1907 and for the eighteen months since July 1, 1906.

Philip Schuyler, a trustee of the New York Public Library since its formation, died suddenly on November 29th, 1906, as the result of a railway accident. His place on the board was filled by Edward W. Sheldon, chosen February 13, 1907.

GENERAL SUMMARY.

In the reference branches readers and visitors numbered 217,715; 182678 desk applicants consulted 886,161 volumes. 35,865 volumes and 59,428 pamphlets were received; 25,720 volumes and 5,500 pamphlets were accessioned, making the total number thus recorded 710,232 volumes and 270,961 pamphlets, a total of 981,193 pieces in the Reference Department, which, with the 593,881 volumes in the Circulation Department, gives a total of 1,575,074 pieces in the whole system. The Print Department now contains 63,282 prints. There were catalogued 36,303 volumes and 25,489 pamphlets; the number of cards written was 92,130, of slips for the copying machine 26,634. Periodicals currently received number 6,229, readers of periodicals in the Astor Branch 32,522, and these readers called for 243,425 single numbers or pieces.

In the Circulation Department the number of branches has increased from 35 to 37, volumes in the Department from 565,482 to 593,881, circulation for home use from 4,752,628 to 5,090,555; 5 Carnegie branches have been opened (a total of 23); I is ready for opening, 7 have buildings under

way; no new sites have been secured, which leaves the number of sites available for, or occupied by, Carnegie branches, the same as a year ago, namely, 31.

NEW BUILDINGS..

Work on the new building has not made as satisfactory progress as might be desired. Roofing is completed, temporary windows installed, exterior marble work is completed, interior marble work is nearly finished, and work on contract no. 3 for the erection of the main structure almost at an end.

On contract no. 4, for the stack work, the housesmiths' strike was settled in July. All of the structural work for the main stack has been riveted and painted two coats; all stack partitions, ends, bottom shelves and shelf supports have been erected and painted one coat after erection, except the top story, which was left unpainted to allow the ceiling to be plastered.

On contract no. 5, for heating and ventilating apparatus, boilers and settings have been completed and connections made between boilers and piping, the latter practically completed. Ventilating ducts in cellar and walls are installed and work on those in the roofs is about half done. Mains and risers for the vacuum cleaning system are in place, and air piping for the thermostat system has been done as far as the condition of the building permits.

Contract no. 6, for plumbing, was advertised on February II and six bids were received on March 21. The bid of M. J. O'Brien for $93,000 was lowest and the contract was awarded to him April 5. Work began on May 6, and by this time the floor drains have been installed in the engine room and the drain and supply piping in the south court.

The contract (no. 7) for the interior finish was advertised March II, and seven bids were received on April 11. The contract was awarded to the John Peirce Company on April 19, its bid being $3,133,000. Work will be begun at the building early in July.

Contract no. 8, for electric equipment, was advertised June 10, and ten bids were received on June 27, the bid of the Lord Electric Company, $173,891, being the lowest. The contract will be awarded to that company at the meeting of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on July 8.

REFERENCE DEPARTMENT.

To give relief to overcrowded shelves and overladen floors, we have packed away in boxes stored in the Astor basement 40,663 volumes and pamphlets. The material thus stored away will not be available for consul