and other societies are preserved here. A general printed catalogue was issued in 6 vols. 8vo., Amsterdam (1856–1877); one describing the bequests of J. de Bosch Kemper, E. J. Potgieter and F. W. Rive, in 3 vols., 8vo. (1878–1879); a catalogue of the MSS. of Professor Moll was published in 1880, and one of those of P. Camper in 1881. Other catalogues have been published up to 1902, including one of the MSS. The library contains about half a million volumes. There are popular subscription libraries with reading-rooms in all parts of Holland, and in Rotterdam there is a society for the encouragement of social culture which has a large library as part of its equipment. At Hague, Leiden, Haarlem, Dordrecht and other towns popular libraries have been established, and there is a movement of recent growth, in favour of training librarians on advanced English lines.
The library of the Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen at Batavia contains books printed in Netherlandish India, works relating to the Indian Archipelago and adjacent countries, and the history of the Dutch in the East. There are 20,000 printed vols. and 1630 MSS., of which 243 are Arabic, 445 Malay, 303 Javanese, 60 Batak and 517 on lontar leaves, in the ancient Kawi, Javanese and Bali languages, &c. Printed catalogues of the Arabic, Malay, Javanese and Kawi MSS. have been issued.
Scandinavia.
Owing largely to so many Scandinavian librarians having been trained and employed in American libraries, a greater approach has been made to Anglo-American library ideals in Norway, Sweden and Denmark than anywhere else on the continent of Europe.
The beginning of the admirably managed national library of Denmark, the great Royal Library at Copenhagen (Det Store Kongelige Bibliothek) may be said to have taken place during the reign of Christian III. (1533–1559), who took pride in importing foreign books and choice MSS.; but the true Denmark. founder was Frederick III. (1648–1670); to him is mainly due the famous collection of Icelandic literature and the acquisition of Tycho Brahe’s MSS. The present building (in the Christiansborg castle) was begun in 1667. Among notable accessions may be mentioned the collections of C. Reitzer, the count of Danneskjöld (8000 vols. and 500 MSS.) and Count de Thott; the last bequeathed 6039 vols. printed before 1531, and the remainder of his books, over 100,000 vols., was eventually purchased. In 1793 the library was opened to the public, and it has since remained under state control. Two copies of every book published within the kingdom must be deposited here. The incunabula and block books form an important series. There is a general classified catalogue in writing for the use of readers; and an alphabetical one on slips arranged in boxes for the officials. A good catalogue of the de Thott collection was printed in 12 vols. 8vo. (1789–1795); a catalogue of the French MSS. appeared in 1844; of Oriental MSS., 1846; of the Danish collection, 1875, 8vo. Annual reports and accounts of notable MSS. have been published since 1864. The library now contains over 750,000 vols.
The University Library, founded in 1482, was destroyed by fire in 1728, and re-established shortly afterwards. A copy of every Danish publication must be deposited here. The MSS. include the famous Arne-Magnean collection. There are now about 400,000 vols. in this library. The Statsbiblioteket of Aarhus (1902) possesses about 200,000 vols. and the Landsbókasafn Islands (National Library) of Reykjavik, Iceland, has about 50,000 printed books and 5500 MSS. In Copenhagen there are 11 popular libraries supported in part by the city, and there are at least 50 towns in the provinces with public libraries and in some cases reading-rooms. An association for promoting public libraries was formed in 1905, and in 1909 the minister of public instruction appointed a special adviser in library matters. About 800 towns and villages are aided by the above named association, the state and local authorities, and it is estimated that they possess among them 500,000 vols., and circulate over 1,000,000 vols. annually.
The chief library in Norway is the University Library at Christiania, established at the same time as the university, September 2nd, 1811, by Frederick II., with a donation from the king of many thousands of duplicates from the Royal Library at Copenhagen, and since augmented by important bequests. Annual Norway. catalogues are issued and there are now over 420,000 vols. in the collection. The Deichmanske Bibliothek in Christiania was founded by Carl Deichmann in 1780 as a free library. In 1898 it was reorganized, and in 1903 the open shelf method was installed by Haakon Nyhuus, the librarian, who had been trained in the United States. The library is partly supported by endowment, partly by grants from the municipality. It now contains about 85,000 vols., and is a typical example of a progressive library. The Free Library at Bergen (1872) has about 90,000 vols. and has recently been re-housed in a new building. A free library, with open shelves, has also been opened at Trondhjem. The library connected with the Kongellige Videnskabers Selskab at Trondhjem now contains about 120,000 vols. Owing to the absence of small towns and villages in Norway, most of the library work is concentrated in the coast towns.
The Royal Library at Stockholm was first established in 1585. The original collection was given to the university of Upsala by Gustavus II., that formed by Christina is at the Vatican, and the library brought together by Charles X. was destroyed by fire in 1697. The present library was organized shortly afterwards. Sweden. The Benzelstjerna-Engeström Library (14,500 printed vols. and 1200 MSS.) rich in materials for Swedish history, is now annexed to it. Natural history, medicine and mathematics are left to other libraries. Among the MSS. the Codex Aureus of the 6th or 7th century, with its interesting Anglo-Saxon inscription, is particularly noteworthy. The catalogues are in writing, and are both alphabetical and classified; printed catalogues have been issued of portions of the MSS. The present building was opened in 1882. The library now contains about 320,000 printed books and over 11,000 MSS. The Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, contains a library of medical books numbering over 40,000.
The University Library at Upsala was founded by Gustavus Adolphus in 1620, from the remains of several convent libraries; he also provided an endowment. The MSS. chiefly relate to the history of the country, but include the Codex Argenteus, containing the Gothic gospels of Ulfilas. The general catalogue is in writing. A catalogue was printed in 1814; special lists of the foreign accessions have been published each year from 1850; the Arabic, Persian and Turkish MSS. are described by C. J. Tornberg, 1846. It now contains about 340,000 printed books and MSS. The library at Lund dates from the foundation of the university in 1668, and was based upon the old cathedral library. The MSS. include the de la Gardie archives, acquired in 1848. There are about 200,000 vols. in the library. The Stadsbibliotek of Gothenburg contains about 100,000 vols., and has a printed catalogue.
Russia.
The imperial Public Library at St Petersburg is one of the largest libraries in the world, and now possesses about 1,800,000 printed vols. and 34,000 MSS., as well as large collections of maps, autographs, photographs, &c. The beginning of this magnificent collection may be said to have been the books seized by the Czar Peter during his invasion of Courland in 1714; the library did not receive any notable augmentation, however, till the year 1795, when, by the acquisition of the famous Zaluski collection, the Imperial Library suddenly attained a place in the first rank among great European libraries. The Zaluski Library was formed by the Polish count Joseph Zaluski, who collected at his own expense during forty-three years no less than 200,000 vols., which were added to by his brother Andrew, bishop of Cracow, by whom in 1747 the library was thrown open to the public. At his death it was left under the control of the Jesuit College at Warsaw; on the suppression of the order it was taken care of by the Commission of Education; and finally in 1795 it was transferred by Suwaroff to St Petersburg as a trophy of war. It then extended to 260,000 printed vols. and 10,000 MSS., but in consequence of the withdrawal of many medical and illustrated works to enrich other institutions, hardly 238,000 vols. remained in 1810. Literature, history and theology formed the main features of the Zaluski Library; the last class alone amounted to one-fourth of the whole number. Since the beginning of the 19th century, through the liberality of the sovereigns, the gifts of individuals, careful purchases, and the application of the law of 1810, whereby two copies of every Russian publication must be deposited here, the Imperial Library has attained its present extensive dimensions. Nearly one hundred different collections, some of them very valuable and extensive, have been added from time to time. They include, for example, the Tolstoi Sclavonic collection (1830), Tischendorf’s MSS. (1858), the Dolgorousky Oriental MSS. (1859), and the Firkowitsch Hebrew (Karaite) collection (1862–1863), the libraries of Adelung (1858) and Tobler (1877), that of the Slavonic scholar Jungmann (1856), and the national MSS. of Karamzin (1867). This system of acquiring books, while it has made some departments exceedingly rich, has left others comparatively meagre. The library was not regularly opened to the public until 1814; it is under the control of the minister of public instruction. There are fine collections of Aldines and Elzevirs, and the numerous incunabula are instructively arranged.
The manuscripts include 26,000 codices, 41,340 autographs, 4689 charters and 576 maps. The glory of this department is the celebrated Codex Sinaiticus of the Greek Bible, brought from the convent of St Catherine on Mount Sinai by Tischendorf in 1859. Other important Biblical and patristic codices are to be found among the Greek and Latin MSS.; the Hebrew MSS.
