Tribunal de première instance (28,000 volumes), Bibliothèque de l'École Polytechnique (30,000 volumes), Bibliothèque de l'École Normale (26,000 volunies, which acquired the library of Georges Cuvier in 1833), Bibliothèque des Invalides (28,000 volumes, a good collection on history and military affairs), Bibliothèque de l'École Nationale des Beaux Arts (15,000 volumes, 12,000 drawings, 100,000 prints and photographs), Bibliothèque du Conservatoire de Musique (30,000 volumes, one of the finest collections of musical literature in the world), Bibliothèque des Archives Nationales (founded by Danon in 1808, containing 25,000 volumes on palæography, history, and jurisprudence, – as this is the record office of France, the archives are very extensive), Bibliothèque du Luxembourg (25,000 volumes), Bibliothèque du Lycée Louis le Grand (30,000 volumes), Bibliothèque du Ministère de l'Intérieur (17,000 volumes, including Parisian and provincial history and documents).
Provinces of France.
Besides the various collections belonging to learned and scientific societies, educational institutions, and other bodies, outside Paris, over 215 French provincial towns possess public libraries, which range in number of volumes from 2000 or 3000 to 190,000, as at Bordeaux. Most of them were founded at the end of the last or the beginning of the present century, but some are earlier. The library at Lyons was established by Francis I. in 1530, that at Nantes dates from 1588, La Rochelle from 1604, Abbeville, Besançon, and Troyes from the latter part of the same century, and Orléans from the beginning of the 17th century. The large majority were formed by confiscation at the time of the Revolution. In February 1790 the Assemblée Nationale abolished the different religious communities, and in September of the same year the provincial tribunals and parliaments met with the same fate. The books (said to number 10 or 12 millions) of these corporations were declared national property, a committee was appointed to consider what should be done with them, and a general catalogue of all the sequestered effects ordered to be drawn up. In consequence of the recommendations of the committee, the Convention Nationale (January 27, 1794) decreed the establishment and augmentation of public libraries. The orders of the Convention were not carefully executed, and pitiable stories are told of valuable works sold by the yard as they lay upon the ground, of precious manuscripts and printed rarities left to rot in the open air or burnt for fuel. As the government became more settled, the libraries (when not destroyed) of condemned persons were restored to their representatives. A very large number of books still remained, however, and it is to them that the town libraries of France chiefly owe their riches. Theology, law, history, and the severer literature of the 17th and 18th centuries consequently predominate, although for many years more modern requirements have been mainly considered in the acquisition of books. Many collections of local and provincial literature have been formed, as at Angers, Auxerre, Chaumont, Grenoble, La Rochelle, Lille, Marseilles, Orléans, Toulouse, Tours, and Versailles. Some of the libraries are very extensive. Douai and Troyes have 100,000 volumes each; Lyons and Rouen over 120,000; Besançon, 130,000; Aix and Nantes, 150,000; Grenoble, 170,000; and Bordeaux, 190,000 volumes. All have catalogues, mostly alphabetical; a few of them are in print. The Catalogue général des MSS. des bibliothèques publiques des départements is a noble undertaking on the part of the French Government. The first volume came out in 1849, and the latest, the sixth, in 1879; the treasures of eighteen libraries have now been catalogued (about 9650 MSS.), and there remain over 45,000 MSS. to be described. Besides this, Angers, Amiens, Auxerre, Caen, Carpentras, Chartres, Orléans, and Tours possess separate printed catalogues of their MSS. The chambers annually vote large sums for books, which are distributed to the town libraries by the minister of public instruction. The sums granted by the different municipalities for their libraries vary in amount; for instance, Grenoble (170,000 volumes and eight persons employed) gives 26,314 francs, Bordeaux (190,000 volumes and eight persons) 21,350 francs, and Nantes (150,000 volumes and four persons) 13,600 francs.
Popular libraries of every description, including military and workmen's libraries, owe much to the "Société Franklin pour la propagation des bibliothèques populaires," which, founded in 1862, has since been of immense service in originating and helping those institutions. Between 1868 and 1878 the Société had spent 550,000 francs on these purposes. It issues a Catalogue Populaire of a good selection of recommended books, and publishes a journal of its proceedings.
School libraries had an organized existence in France as far back as 1831, and by 1848 the books which had been distributed by the state amounted in value to 2 millions of francs; two years later, however, no trace of books or libraries could be found.[1] In 1860 the question was again taken up, and in 1862 the minister of public instruction ordered that in every primary school a library should be established under the care of the schoolmaster. For some years the Government annually granted 120,000 francs, a sum which was raised to 200,000 francs in 1878; for their share of the expenses the departments contributed in 1875 as much as 170,000 francs. As an instance of the rapidity with which the school libraries have increased, it may be stated that Haute-Marne, which only possessed 44 of them in 1866, ten years later had 548; in 1877 there were about 17,764 bibliothèques scolaires possessing 1,716,904 works, and there are now over 20,000 of them in France. The libraries, which are intended not only for the use of school children but also for their parents and other adults, are regulated by a commission sitting at the ministry of public instruction.
Germany (with Austria and Switzerland).
Germany.
Germany is emphatically the home of large libraries; her want of political unity and consequent multiplicity of capitals have had the effect of giving her a considerable number of large state libraries, and the number of her universities has tended to multiply considerable collections.
Berlin.
Berlin is well supplied with libraries, seventy-two being registered by Petzholdt in 1875, with about 1,293,030 printed volumes. The largest of them is the Royal Library, which was founded by the "Great Elector" Frederick William, and opened as a public library in a wing of the electoral palace in 1661. From 1699 the library became entitled to a copy of every book published within the royal territories, and it has received many valuable accessions by purchase and otherwise. It is now estimated to contain upwards of 700,000 printed volumes and over 15,000 MSS. The amount yearly expended upon binding and the acquisition of books, &c., is £4800. The catalogues are in manuscript, and include a general alphabetical author-catalogue, and a systematic subject-catalogue in a handy form. The building, erected about 1780 by Frederick the Great, has long been too small, and a new one is in contemplation. The conditions as to the use of the collections are, as in most German libraries, very liberal. Any adult person is allowed to have books in the reading-room. Books are lent out to all higher officials, including those holding educational offices in the university, &c., and by guarantee to almost any one recommended by persons of standing; admission to the journal-room is more strictly limited. By special leave of the librarian, books and MSS. may be sent to a scholar at a distance, or, if especially valuable, may be deposited in some public library where he can conveniently use them. There appears to be no limit to the number of books which may be borrowed, although it is prescribed that not more than "three works" must be asked for on one day. Professor Lepsius reports the issues for last year as 71,400 works, to above 5000 readers. The University Library (1831) numbers 200,000 volumes with 353 MSS. The number of volumes lent out in 1880 was 40,101. The library possesses the right to receive a copy of every work published in the province of Brandenburg. Some of the governmental libraries are important, especially those of the Military Academy and the General Staff, which was increased in 1872 by acquiring the library of the "École d'Application" at Metz. In 1850 some popular libraries were established by a society for giving scientific lectures. There are now thirteen such libraries with over 54,000 volumes, but the yearly number of readers is only about 12,000.
Munich.
The libraries of Munich, though not so numerous as those of Berlin, include two of great importance. The Royal Library, the largest collection of books in Germany, was founded by Duke Albrecht V. of Bavaria (1550-79), who made numerous purchases from Italy, and incorporated the libraries of the Nuremberg physician and historian Schedel, of Widmannstadt, and of J. J. Fugger. The number of printed volumes is estimated at about one million, although it is long since any exact enumeration has been made. The library is especially rich in incunabula, many of them being derived from the libraries of the monasteries closed in 1803. The Oriental MSS. are
- ↑ See De Watteville, Rapport sur les Bibliothèques scolaires, 1879.
