ics of a librarian's report, if of a lending library,
should give the aggregate number of volumes circulated during the year,
also the number of borrowers recorded who have used and who have not used
the privilege of borrowing. The number of volumes used by readers in the
reference or reading-room department should be given, as well as the
aggregate of readers. It is usual in some library reports to classify the
books used by readers, as, so many in history, poetry, travels, natural
science, etc., but this involves labor and time quite out of proportion
to its utility. Still, a comparative statement of the aggregate volumes
of fiction read or drawn out, as against all other books, may be highly
useful as an object lesson, if embodied in the library report.

6. A statement of the actual condition of the library, as to books,
shelving accommodations, furniture, etc., with any needful suggestions
for improvement, should be included in the annual report.

7. A well-considered suggestion of the value of contributions to the
library in books or funds to enrich the collection, should not be
overlooked.

8. The librarian should not forget a word of praise for his assistants,
in the great and useful work of carrying on the library. This will tend
to excite added zeal to excel, when the subordinates feel that their
services are appreciated by their head, as well as by the public.

The preparation of an annual report affords some test of the librarian's
skill and judgment. It should aim at plain and careful statement, and all
rhetoric should be dispensed with. Divided into proper heads, a condensed
statement of facts or suggestions under each should be made, and all
repetition avoided.

Such a library report should never fail to set forth the great benefit to
the community which a free use of its treasures implies, while urging the
importance of building up the collection, through liberal gifts of books,
periodicals, or money, thus enabling it to answer the wants of readers
more fully, year by year. It will sometimes be a wise suggestion to be
made in a librarian's report, that the library still lacks some specially
important work, such as Larned's "History for Ready Reference," or the
extensive "Dictionary of National Biography," or Brunet's _Manuel du
Libraire_, or a set of Congressional Debates from the beginning; and such
a suggestion may often bear fruit in leading some public-spirited citizen
to supply the want by a time