The following table shows that this index is intended to cover reports of library commissions, state libraries, university libraries and the public libraries of the United States and Canada.

When reports of a library were found to contain material of general interest, sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the index, all the years examined were listed in the table, although, as in some instances, a number of reports in the series are not represented by references in the index.

Several small yet exceedingly live libraries are not included, because the activities of these libraries appeared in short paragraph reports, no subject being fully treated; and the plan of this work did not allow minute indexing.

The object has not been to provide an exhaustive index of any one library—one for the benefit of the library indexed—but to make available matter of general interest.

The person seeking references, we will say, to work with children, will possibly find only one or two in the reports of a particular library, but it has been presupposed that one desiring a thorough acquaintance would not limit his study to the entries appearing in the index.

Financial statements, lists of donors, routine reports upon the work of a library have not been included, nor have lists of books purchased, unless these were of bibliographical importance or formed regular supplements of a catalogue.

The index aims to include legislation, historical sketches, monographs upon any subject, bibliographies, biographical sketches, memorial tributes, addresses, dedication ceremonies, plans and descriptions of library buildings, by-laws, rules and regulations, names of librarians, maps, portraits, illustrations, all divisions of library economy when fully treated, many features of library work, original or unique, and curious items; in short, all unusual material and all matter not common to all reports.

With reference to donations an explanation may be necessary. The indexing in one instance of a donor of $10,000 and the failure to record a similar gift in another may appear inconsistent, but it was impossible to note every gift or legacy mentioned in reports, hence gifts have been indexed, as a rule, when they were treated in the reports as matters of importance.

For brevity’s sake many references are not bibliographically precise. For instance, in the case of illustrations and maps references are made to the pages which they face, omitting the word facing.

A prophetic knowledge of the future development of libraries would no doubt give large significance to certain omitted items.

Direct access to very early reports of certain libraries has been impossible, and these reports have been examined for the indexer by persons connected with those libraries. In a number of instances full information could not be obtained.

In addition to the list of libraries indexed there is given an alphabetical key and a list of abbreviations used.

Katharine Twining Moody.