In the month of April, 1849, the trustees hired for two years the dwelling house No. 32 Bond street, for the temporary custody and exhibition of the books they had purchased, a portion of which had been received from Europe, and stored for several weeks without charge by the owners of the vessels in which they were imported. The books are now arranged on temporary shelves and in cases, in this building, filling the whole of the lower story and part of the second; and they are fully insured against fire, agreeably to the requirements of the act of incorporation. The trustees regret that the limited accommodations the building affords do not enable them to extend to the public the necessary facilities for using the library as freely as is desirable, and that this difficulty cannot be wholly obviated until the library edifice shall be erected. But they have taken pains to make it generally understood that, in the mean time, all persons desirous of resorting to the library and of examining books, may do so with all the convenience which it is in the power of the trustees to afford.

On the 28th of March, the trustees authorised the superintendent to advertise for plans for a library edifice, and to offer premiums of three and two hundred dollars for the two best. The plans submitted,—about thirty in number, and many of them evincing excellent taste, were examined by the trustees and their committees at repeated special meetings, and the premiums were awarded, in pursuance of their published notice, to the two which they preferred, though none of them were entirely suited to the purposes of the library. A plan was subsequently matured under their direction by Mr. Alexander Saeltzer, the successful competitor for the first of the premiums awarded, and was finally adopted, with various modifications, on the 10th of December last.

One of the embarrassments the trustees have had to contend with, is a limitation of the cost of the building to $75,000. In making provision at the outset for the custody of one hundred thousand volumes, (the lowest number they consider it safe to estimate as a basis for enlargement) and for the annual additions to be made, even in a few years, by the expenditure of their surplus income; in giving to the library edifice the requisite solidity, and in rendering it secure against fire, the trustees found in most cases, that the estimates of the builders which were submitted to them, exceeded the limited sum.

The contracts were finally brought within it by the two experienced and skilful builders, Messrs. Peter J. Bogert and James Harriot, who have undertaken to erect the edifice, and the trustees feel assured that the work will be so executed as to attain the two indispensable requisites of security and strength. The excavation for the foundation is now in progress, and the building is to be completed by the 1st of April, 1852. The dimensions of the site were fixed by the founder of the library; and the edifice, which will be 65 feet front by 120 in depth, will cover the whole of it.

The books belonging to the library, including those purchased by Mr. Astor in his lifetime, exceed twenty thousand volumes, and have cost, as will be seen by the treasurer's report, about twenty-seven thousand dollars. Although many of the works are very expensive, the average cost has been reduced by the judicious measures of the superintendent in making purchases, to little more than one dollar per volume. A catalogue of the books the trustees have purchased and design to purchase, as a basis for the library, distinguishing the one from the other, is in a course of preparation and partly printed; and a copy will be transmitted to the Legislature as soon as it shall be completed. Though their organization is so recent, and their progress has necessarily been so limited, the trustees have reason to believe, from indications already manifested, that the library will become at no distant period, a large recipient of books by donation, from public and private sources, and that they will thus be aided by others in making the institution worthy of the design of the founder, and of the confidence which the Legislature has reposed in them by endowing them with the corporate capacities necessary for the efficient execution of the trust. The trustees annex a list, marked E, of the books already presented to them, with the names of the donors. Among these works will be found one of great value, received from the Lords of the Treasury of Great Britain, through our late Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James, Mr. Bancroft. A copy of a letter from him and the answer of the trustees are annexed, and marked F.

In connexion with this subject, the trustees deem it proper to state, that the superintendent, Mr. Cogswell, at his own request, was permitted to refund the amount of the sums paid for books in the department of Bibliography, and to present the books to the library, with

a view to complete this department at his own cost; "regarding it," as he stated in his proposition, "as the one of the first importance in the formation of a new and extensive library." Mr. Cogswell accordingly refunded the sum of $750, and presented to the library the books so purchased with others, amounting together to about one thousand volumes, the value of which is not less than $2,000. Mr. Cogswell has thus become, in effect, the founder of a department of great importance in connexion with the library, to be completed at a large additional contribution from his own means.

In concluding their report, the trustees cannot withhold the expression of their strong desire to execute their trust in strict accordance with the intention of Mr. Astor, to whom they owe the pecuniary means at their disposal, and of the Legislature, from which they derive the ability, as a corporate body, to carry his design into full effect. They are perfectly aware of the heavy responsibility which rests upon them; and if they entertain any wish beyond that of sustaining it with proper fidelity and judgment, it is that the institution they have been so fortunate as to assist in establishing may, at some future day, become, as a depository of the treasures of literature and science, what the city possessing it is rapidly becoming in commerce and wealth.

New-York, 26th January, 1850.

WASHINGTON IRVING, President.

SAMUEL B. RUGGLES, Secretary.

APPENDIX.

(A.)

Extract of the third Codicil to the will of John Jacob Astor, August 22, 1839.

I, John Jacob Astor, do make this additional codicil to my last will, bearing date the fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.

Desiring to render a public benefit to the city of New-York, and to contribute to the advancement of useful knowledge and the general good of society, I do, by this codicil, appropriate four hundred thousand dollars out of my residuary estate, to the establishment of a public library in the city of New-York.

For this purpose, I give to my executors four hundred thousand dol lars, to be taken from my personal estate, or raised by a sale of parts of my real estate, to be made by my executors with the assent of my son William B. Astor, upon condition and to the intent that the said amount be settled, applied, and disposed of, as follows, namely :

First, In the erecting of a suitable building for a public library.

Second, In furnishing and supplying the same from time to time with books, maps, charts, models, drawings, paintings, engravings, casts, statutes, furniture, and other things appertaining to a library for general use, upon the most ample scale and liberal character.

Third, In maintaining and upholding the buildings and other property, and in defraying the necessary expenses of taking care of the property, and of the accommodation of persons consulting the library.

The said sum shall be payable one third in the year after my decease, one third in the year following, and the residue in equal sums, in the fourth and fifth years after my decease.

The said library is to be accessible at all reasonable hours and times, for general use, free of expense to persons resorting thereto, subject only to such control and regulations, as the trustees may from time to time exercise and establish for general convenience.

The affairs of the institution shall be conducted and directed by eleven trustees, to be from time to time selected from the different liberal professions and employments in life, and the classes of educated men. The mayor of the city of New-York, during his continuance in office, and the chancellor of the State of New-York, during his continuance in office, shall always be trustees. The vacancies in the number of trustees occurring by death, resignation, incapacity, or removal from the State, shall be filled by persons appointed by the remaining trustees; the acts of a majority of the trustees at a meeting reasonably notified, shall be valid.

All the property and effects of the institution shall be vested in the said trustees. They shall have power to direct the expenditure of the funds, the investment, safe keeping, and management thereof, and of the property and effects of the institution; also to make such ordinances and regulations from time to time as they may think proper, for the good order and convenience of those who may resort to the library or use the same; also to appoint, direct, control and remove the superintendent of the library, and all librarians and others employed about the institution; and also they shall have and use all powers and authority for promoting the expressed objects of this institution not contrary to what is herein expressed. They shall not receive any compensation for their services, except that if any one of their number shall at any time be appointed superintendent, he may receive compensation as such.

The trustees shall be subject to the visitation of the proper courts of justice, for the purpose of preventing and redressing all mismanagement, waste, or breach of trust.

And I direct that the said public library be established on my land, at the corner of Lafayette Place and Art street, on the westerly side