lerks
of New York, and though it does not compare with the Astor in the
solidity or value of its contents, is a creditable monument to the good
sense and taste of the young men of our mercantile community. No one but
a clerk can hold an office in it. The term "clerk" is made to include
all men who live on a salary. These members pay an initiation fee of $1,
and an annual subscription of $4. To all other persons the privileges of
the library are offered at an annual subscription of $5. In April, 1870,
the books of the institution showed a roll of 12,867 persons entitled to
the use of the library and reading-room, the latter of which contains 400
newspapers and periodicals.

A large part of the collection consists of works of fiction. It is a
lending library, and its books are sent to readers in Yonkers, Norwalk,
Stamford, Elizabeth, and Jersey City, as well as in New York, in each of
which it has branches. There are also branch offices in Yorkville and in
Cedar street. Every morning a canvass bag, containing the books returned
and applications for others wanted, is sent from each branch to the
library, and is returned in the afternoon full. The directors offer to
establish a branch in any of the suburban towns in which one hundred
subscribers can be obtained in advance. The average daily delivery of
books is 760, of which about three-quarters are taken from the library
proper, the rest from the branches. On Saturday evening the demand for
books is very great.

The system of delivery is as follows:

"Each member on joining the library has a folio assigned him in the
ledger, and its number is written on the ticket which is given him as a
certificate of membership. Let us suppose you have received one of these
tickets, and have made your selection of the book you want. You fill up
a blank application card, with the name of the book desired. You hand
that to one of the attendants. When he has found a book for you, he
hands it, with your application card, to the delivery clerk. This
gentleman occupies a large desk at the central counter, and has before
him two immense drawers, divided into partitions for the reception of the
cards. Each member's name has a place in one or the other of these
drawers, and the number of the folio shows where that place is. The
clerk instantly turns to your name, and finds the card you handed in when
you last borrowed a book. If the date, stamped at the time of delivery,
sho