e made to the Court.

The first printed catalogue was an author catalogue, with brief
particulars of about 923 volumes, and was printed in 1706/7. On December
3rd, 1706, it was "Ordered then that ye Alphabeticall Catalogue of ye
City Library be printed by the Widow Burges," and on February 4th,
1706/7, when Joseph Brett was Library Keeper he "brought in the Catalogue
of Books, printed, wch cost two pds sixteen shillings & three pence & he
was allow'd also a shilling for printing an advertisement." This
catalogue, which is exceedingly scarce, {47} is entitled "A Catalogue of
the Books in the Library of the City of Norwich in the year 1706." It is
a crown 8vo volume, consisting of 38 pages. The catalogue proper is
preceded by an alphabetical list of the benefactors to the Library,
giving the dates of their donations, and abbreviations of their surnames,
(e.g., Ad. for Adamson, All. for Allen). The entries in the catalogue
are extremely brief, and frequently occupy only one line. Each entry is
preceded by an abbreviation for the author's name, and is followed by the
class and book numbers.

In the preface it was confessed that while the catalogue would be useful
to the members of the Library, the "great motive, and main end of
Publishing this Catalogue was to encourage donations to the Library."
Possessors of the catalogue were recommended to interleave it with "spare
paper, on which may be added such books as shall be given, it may serve
for many Years, even till the number of Books here be doubled, which
when, (as is greatly to be wished for) it shall be, a new Edition of the
Catalogue may be expected."

The cost of the catalogue involved the members in debt. Under the date
May 2nd, 1709, in the Minute Book is the following memorandum: "It is
this day Agreed by us whose Names are underwritten yt ye fourteen
shillings & three pence now paid by Mr Herne the present library keeper
to Mr Joseph Brett to clear his disbursemts for catalogus &c for ye
service of ye Library shal be repaid ye said Mr Herne by the succeeding
Library keeper upon his Election unles paid before." A further
memorandum dated May 6th, 1709, shows that a book was sold to raise the
money: "Recd of the Under-library keeper Fourteen Shillings for Sr Waltr
Raileigh: A super-numerary book sold to Mr. Lillington by order of the
Society which is towds ye discharge of the above sd 14s 3d paid to Mr.
Brett by me. W. Herne."

The second edition of the