I.—Recent Developments of the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Extract

At the opening of another session the attention of the Fellows ought to be directed to certain points concerning the administration of the affairs of this Society. One gratifying feature is the completion of the card catalogue of the volumes in the Society's library. After the removal to our present quarters in 1909 it became apparent that the old catalogue in three large volumes was unsatisfactory. The original entries were not up to modern requirements, and, in view of a new catalogue being prepared, the new marks caused by the altered arrangement of rooms and shelves had been imperfectly registered. The library staff realised that nothing short of a card catalogue prepared from the volumes as they stand on the shelves would meet existing requirements. This was an arduous undertaking, involving considerable outlay. Dr Knott has estimated that the library at present contains forty-six thousand volumes, the greater part of which consists of scientific serials. To accomplish the task of cataloguing this large collection it was necessary to obtain outside expert assistance.