TABLE XV.-Statistical summary of all degrees conferred-Concluded. Institutions and degrees.-The number of institutions of the several classes embraced in the summary, with the number of degrees conferred by each class, is as follows: Universities and colleges of the liberal arts, 238; degrees conferred in course, 3,262; honoris causâ, 393. Colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts and schools of science, 20; degrees conferred in course, 160. Colleges, &c., for the superior instruction of women, 61; degrees conferred in course, 490; honoris causâ, none. Total number of degrees conferred on women in institutions embraced in Tables VIII and IX of the appendix, 821; honoris causâ, none. Schools and departments of theology, 63; degrees* and diplomas conferred in course, 651. Schools and departments of law, 26; degrees conferred in course, 841. Schools and departments of medicine and pharmacy, 82; degrees conferred in course, 2,666. It is impossible to indicate here the courses of study upon the completion of which these degrees or diplomas are conferred. The great difference existing between these courses appears from year to year in other parts of these annual reports, and may be found for any year by consulting the several catalogues. The material is abundant for a treatise of no small size upon the degrees annually given by these institutions in the United States. This table has special value in showing how far the various courses of study offered to students in these institutions are completed. Taken in connection with the exhibit of the students admitted and in attendance, it shows how large a number fall out by the way. It should quicken among the friends of learning a public sentiment which will encourage and demand more thorough training before the duties are assumed or the honors enjoyed which these degrees confer. *The number of degrees was 158. TABLE XVI.-LIBRARIES. The Special Report on Public Libraries in the United States which was announced in my last annual report as in preparation by this office is well advanced toward completion, and will soon be published and ready for distribution. The Centennial Commission having recognized the importance of libraries as a part of the educational representation at the International Exhibition at Philadelphia, and having designated them as a separate class, the original plan of the work was considerably enlarged, with a view of presenting as full a survey as time and means would permit of all classes of public librarios, from the time of the establishment of the first public library in the colonies to the present. It is believed that the additional historical and statistical matter which it has thus been possible to include will add much to the usefulness and permanent value of the work, and fully compensate for the consequent delay in its publication. The report will be issued in two parts: Part I will comprise the history and statistics of the several classes of public libraries, with essays and discussions on the more important questions of library economy and management, by eminent librarians and others interested in enhancing the usefulness of libraries; Part II constitutes a practical treatise on cataloguing, entitled "Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue," prepared expressly for the report by Mr. Charles A. Cutter, librarian of the Boston Athe næum. It is deemed proper to present here an outline of the report, with some statistics drawn from the tables showing the growth of public libraries in the country during the last one hundred years. Outline of the Special Report on Public Libraries.-The first chapter consists of an historical survey of American public or semi-public libraries, which were established in the colonial period down to the Revolution. It has been prepared after thorough investigation, and affords a striking contrast between the literary resources of the country a century ago and those of the present, and will be read with interest, by all students of our history. Libraries are next treated of as adjuncts of common schools; the history and fortunes of common school libraries in each State where they have been established are described, and the causes pointed out which in some of the States have operated to impair their usefulness as factors in the school systems. Separate chapters are devoted to the libraries of colleges and professional schoolstheological, law, medical, and scientific-the development of each class being traced, and individual sketches given of the principal collegiate and theological libraries in the country. The history of the origin and growth of prison and reformatory libraries in the United States is sketched; their present number, means of support, regulations, character, and extent of use described, and facts presented which testify to their importance as auxiliaries in the moral and intellectual improvement of the unfortunate, and in the reclamation of the vicious and criminal. The institution of professorships of books and reading in our colleges, for the systematic and scientific instruction of students in the art and methods of reading and in the choice and valuation of books, is discussed, and the creation of such professorships. advocated as in accordance with the spirit of the present educational movement. A chapter is given to the libraries of the General Government, the history and condition of the Library of Congress, or National Library, being fully described by its librarian, Mr. A. R. Spofford, and sketches presented of the libraries of the several Executive Departments, and of the system of libraries of military posts, national homes for disabled volunteer soldiers, and the American Seamen's Friend Society, followed by an outline of legislation respecting copyrights and duties on books imported for public use, the distribution of public documents, and exchange of publications with foreign governments, and a description of the Smithsonian system of foreign and domestic exchanges. An interesting chapter on historical societies is next presented, treating of their origin, history, and present condition, educational influence and aims, and including sketches of the libraries, publications, and work of individual societies. Free public libraries, established under general laws and sustained by town or municipal taxation, are then considered, the relations of the citizen and the State and of special communities and classes to them discussed, and a description given of their history and development in each of the States in which such libraries have been formed. A chapter is devoted to the discussion of the educational and industrial benefits which would undoubtedly result from the establishment of art museums in connection with our public libraries, on the plan of such museums in many of the free libraries in Great Britain. Next in order will be found contributions by librarians of wide experience on leading topics relating to the economy and administration of public libraries. These are eminently practical in their bearings, and will, it is hoped, meet the frequent applications to this Office for information on many of the subjects discussed, and lead to the establishment of libraries in communities not at present enjoying these means of cultivation and intellectual improvement. The following are the subjects treated of in this part of the report: (1) Library buildings, with plans and descriptions for a library of one million volumes' capacity; (2) The organization and management of public libraries; (3) College library administration; (4) Library catalogues, comprising an essay on the subject, by Mr. C. A. Cutter, of the Boston Athenæum, and a chronological table of printed catalogues of American libraries, followed by descriptions of the plan of indexing and arranging a library, devised by Mr. Melvil Dewey, and in use in Amherst College Library, and of the catalogues of the Brooklyn Mercantile and New York Apprentices' Libraries, which are now in press, and an outline of the system of classification adopted in the Public School Library of St. Louis; (5) Indexing periodical and miscellaneous literature; (6) Binding and preservation of books; (7) Periodical literature and society publications; (8) Works of reference for libraries; (9) Library memoranda; (10) Titles of books; (11) Book indexes; (12) Library bibliography. Following the subject of library reports and statistics will be found a chapter comprising sketches, prepared in the main by resident librarians, of the more important libraries of Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Charleston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and San Francisco. The paper on the libraries of Charleston also notices other important libraries in the Southern States, and that on the libraries of San Francisco is followed by notices of several flourishing libraries in other places on the Pacific coast. Library reports and statistics.-Under this head will be presented (1) a table of public or semi-public libraries in the country in the years 1776, 1800, and 1876; (2) a table showing the number and extent of public libraries, which now contain 10,000 volumes or more, in the years 1836, 1846, 1856, 1857-'58, 1863, 1874, and 1875; (3) a table showing the increase in the number of public libraries during the last one hundred years, by periods of twenty-five years each, and the number of volumes they contained in 1875; (4) a table of libraries graded according to number of volumes, showing the number of libraries in each State and Territory numbering 500 volumes and upward, classified by sizes; (5) a summary table of all public libraries in the United States numbering 300 volumes and upward, by classes and States; besides tables respecting library funds, circulation of books, &c., &c. Growth of public libraries.-The remarkable growth of public libraries in the country is strikingly illustrated by the following items gathered from the table already mentioned: In 1776 there were, so far as known, 29 public or semi-public libraries in the thirteen American colonies, numbering in the aggregate 45,623 volumes; in 1800 the number had increased to 49, numbering in all about 80,000 volumes; now there are, including students' society libraries in colleges, 3,682 public libraries, numbering in the aggregate 12,276,964 volumes. It is to be noted that the above totals do not include (except in a few instances, which do not materially modify the figures given) the libraries of common schools, which contain so far as reported, a total of 1,365,407* volumes, nor the libraries of churches and Sunday schools.t It appears from the table showing the number of public libraries established in the country during the last one hundred years, by periods of twenty-five years each, that 20 libraries were established between 1775 and 1800; 179 between 1800 and 1825; 551 between 1825 and 1850; and 2,240 between 1850 and 1875. The date of organization of more than 600 libraries which furnished statistics was not given; but it is safe to assume that most of these were established within the last twenty-five years. Gifts and benefactions to libraries.-An effort was made to ascertain the amount of gifts and bequests by individuals to public libraries in the last one hundred years. The returns were very incomplete, but about $15,000,000 of such gifts and bequests were reported, mostly from the Eastern and Middle States. It is estimated that the total amount of benefactions to libraries by individuals in the period named would not fall short of $30,000,000, not including the value of a great number of private collections of books which have been dedicated to the public. Illustrations of library buildings.-The report will contain illustrations of the Loganian Library, the first building in the country devoted to the uses of a public library; of the Redwood Library at Newport, R. I., built between 1748-'50; of the Wellesley College Library, (interior,) at Wellesley, Mass.; of the new library building of the College of New Jersey; of the Public Library at Concord, Mass.; of the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library; of the Public Library at Northampton, Mass. ; of the Public Library at Worcester, Mass.; of the Cornell Library at Ithaca, N. Y.; of the Boston Public Library, (exterior); of Bates Hall and the Reading Room for Periodicals of the Boston Public Library; of the exterior and interior of the Cincinnati Public Library; of the Lenox Library at New York, recently completed; of the Library Company of Philadelphia; of the Ridgway Library at Philadelphia, now approaching completion; and of the Apprentices' Library at Philadelphia. The following is the table of contents of Part I of the report: Letter of the Commissioner of Education to the Secretary of the Interior. Introduction: Chapter I, Public libraries a hundred years ago, Horace E. Scudder; II, School and asylum libraries, editors; III, College libraries, editors; IV, Theological libraries in the United States-part 1, a librarian; 2, Prof. John S. Sumner, S. J.; 3, editors; V, Law libraries, Stephen B. Griswold, LL. B.; VI, Medical libraries in the United States, J. S. Billings, assistant surgeon, U. S. A.; VII, Scientific libraries in the United States, Prof. Theodore Gill, M. D., Ph. D.; VIII, Libraries in prisons and reformatories, editors; IX, Professorships of books and reading-part 1, F. B. Perkins; 2, William Mathews, A. M.; X, Libraries of the General Government, editors; XI, Copyright, distribution, exchanges, and duties, editors; XII, State and territorial libraries, Henry A. Homes, LL. D.; XIII, Historical societies in the United States-part 1, Henry A Homes, LL. D.; 2, W. I. Fletcher; 3, editors; XIV, Young men's mercantile libraries, F. B. Perkins; XV, Young Men's Christian Associations, Cephas Brainerd; XVI, Free libraries, J. P. Quincy; XVII, Public libraries in manufacturing communities, W. I. Fletcher; XVIII, Public libraries and the young, W. I. Fletcher; XIX, How to make town libraries successful, F. B. Perkins; XX, Reading in popular libraries, Justin Winsor; XXI, Art museums and their connection with public libraries, Prof. H. S. Frieze, LL. D.; XXII, Free town libraries, editors; XXIII, Free reading rooms, W. C. Todd; XXIV, Library buildings, Justin Winsor; XXV, The organization and management of public libraries, William F. Poole; XXVI, College library administration, Prof. Otis H. Robinson; XXVII, Library catalogues, C. A. Cutter; XXVIII, Catalogues *The reports of the State superintendents of public instruction of California, Connecticut, and New Jersey do not give the number of volumes in school libraries, consequently the school libraries of those States are not included in the above total for this class. † According to the United States census of 1870, the church and Sunday school libraries of the country contained in the aggregate about 10,000,000 volumes. and cataloguing-part 1, Melvil Dewey; 2, S. B. Noyes; 3, Jacob Schwartz; 4, John J. Bailey; XXIX, On indexing periodical and miscellaneous literature, Prof. Otis H. Robinson; XXX, Binding and preservation of books, A. R. Spofford; XXXI, Periodical literature and society publications, A. R. Spofford; XXXII, Works of reference for libraries, A. R. Spofford; XXXIII, Library memoranda, Justin Winsor; XXXIV, Titles of books, Prof. Otis H. Robinson; XXXV, Book indexes, F. B. Perkins; XXXVI, Library bibliography, A. R. Spofford; XXXVII, Library reports and statistics, editors; XXXVIII, Public libraries of ten principal cities, several contributors; XXXIX, General statistics of all public libraries in the United States, editors; Index. Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue.-Part II of the report, entitled "Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue," is designed especially for the use of librarians and cataloguers, and will be published in a separate volume. The pages of the general statistical table of libraries included in the special library report having been preserved, it is deemed expedient to reproduce them in this my annual report, in order to give the information they embody a wider circulation than would otherwise be possible. In preparing the table it was found advisable to combine in most instances the society libraries of each college and to make but one entry for all, so that the number of libraries is apparently though not really reduced from 3,682 to 3,647, a difference of 35. The omissions in the table are as follows: 653 libraries do not report the date of organization; 2,172 libraries do not report the average annual increase of books; 2,940 do not report the extent of yearly use of the library; 1,960 do not report whether they have a permanent fund or not; 2,852 do not report a yearly income; 2,913 do not report the yearly expenditure for books, periodicals, and binding; and 3,039 do not report the amount paid yearly for salaries and incidental expenses. The totals given below do not include the statistics of eight libraries embraced in the table from which reports were received after the summary was completed. The following is a summary of the table: Total number of volumes. Total yearly additions, (1,510 libraries reporting)............. Total yearly use of books, (742 libraries reporting) Total amount of permanent fund, (1,722 libraries reporting). Total yearly expenditures for books, periodicals, and binding, (769 libraries reporting) 12, 276, 964 434, 339 8,879,869 $6, 105, 581 1,308, 756 562, 407 Total yearly expenditures for salaries and incidental expenses, (643 libraries reporting)..-- 682, 165 The number of pamphlets reported was over 1,500,000. It should be stated, however, that a large proportion of the libraries made no return of this item. TABLE XVII.-MUSEUMS OF NATURAL HISTORY. Forty-four of these important aids to culture are reported. A just balancing of studies, or proper use of Kindergarten methods in 'modifying the present abstract method of instruction, would greatly increase the demand upon these museums and the disposition on the part of persons of wealth to endow them. The establishment of zoological gardens by many of the larger cities is an important step, calculated to add new interest and value to the study of natural history. Those at Cincinnati have made excellent progress. The zoological garden at Philadelphia, now undoubtedly the best in the United States, will attract the attention of multitudes in attendance upon the International Centennial Exhibition and greatly increase the interest in these collections among the people throughout the country.* * The board of directors, in their report of April 27, 1876, observe: "The anticipations of the directors in regard to the increase in the number of visitors at the society's garden have been fully realized. From the 1st of March, 1875, to the 1st of March, 1876, the very large number of 419,776 persons have passed through the gates; an increase of 68,972 over the preceding year. The very great |