with the originals, which, by kind permission of the Hon. William J. Grattan, county clerk, were successively borrowed by the State Library for that purpose. Proof has already been received of the translations of the two volumes of Deeds, which form a direct continuation of the volume published by Professor Pearson in 1869 under the title "Early Records of the City and County of Albany, and Colony of Rensselaerswyck, 1656–1675,” and the annotation and final editing of the remaining records are well advanced, so that the entire set may be expected to appear soon, probably in three octavo volumes, which will add substantially to the material now available in print relating to the early settlements of Albany and vicinity.

To render the sources of information complete, it is desirable that the State Library undertake also the translation and publication of the series of court minutes running from the establishment of the first court of the village of Beverwyck in 1652 to the organization of the mayor's court in 1686, of which the above-mentioned minutes. of 1658-59 form a part and of which another section covering the period 1656-57 is in volume 16 of the New York Colonial Manuscripts in the State Library. Besides shedding a flood of light on the daily life of the community at a very early period of its existence, these minutes furnish a clue to the meaning of many bonds. and depositions recorded in the volumes now being published, so that their availability for study in connection with these volumes becomes essential. While it may not be wise to urge the publication of these court minutes at present, in view of the inevitable further delay which this undertaking would cause in editing the records of the Director General and Council of New Netherland, on which work had been begun when Professor Pearson's translations were presented to the Library, it is believed that no effort should be spared to translate and publish at the earliest opportunity all that remains of the early Dutch records of Albany county.

MEDICAL LIBRARY

In the medical library the past year showed increased activities. in all lines, a growing clientele, and a gradual extension of service throughout the State, not to be estimated accurately in figures. Books were sent to physicians and institutions as far south as Long Island, as far west as Rochester and as far north as St Lawrence and Clinton counties; and requests for bibliographies and information were received from all corners of the State.

The war retarded growth (by making it difficult and often impossible to get books from Europe) and also to some extent the circulation, and lack of assistants prevented additional hours of opening, but the library is coming to be relied upon by many physicians and students as well as by certain state departments, as a necessary adjunct, and is making every effort to prove itself indispensable to the medical profession of the State.

The usual lines of work were followed. In addition to administration of its reading room and to its reference work, the section did its own temporary cataloging, accessioned several hundred volumes, classified and listed an unrecorded number of pamphlets, and collated about half the volumes sent by it to the bindery. The catalog was further enriched by subject cards for books relating to medicine, but classed elsewhere in the Library.

It has not yet been possible to sort and arrange the duplicates, which would be very valuable for exchange purposes, nor to list much unbound material which has accumulated.

During the fall of 1914 room 221 was furnished with tables and chairs, making it possible to send notices to secretaries of neighboring medical societies stating that a room was now at their disposal, as had been promised when the building was constructed. From October to June the Albany County Medical Society, the Homoeopathic Medical Society of the County of Albany and the Monday Night Club held six evening meetings with a total attendance of 117; several committee conferences were held; and individual physicians used the room for private study and had access to reserved books there on evenings when the reading room was closed. Evening use. As previously, the reading room was open two evenings a week during the eight-months college term. The demand for evening privileges becomes more insistent each year, as is attested not only by increased attendance on open evenings but by the number of medical books called for at the main desk and reserves requested for use in the general reading room when the medical room is closed. The medical library should be open every evening. but with the present staff it is not possible to provide necessary attendants.

Circulation. A system of intersection loans was arranged and the lists of borrowers revised accordingly so that no names except those of state employees, who have universal privileges, are duplicated in the various files. There were added to the medical library list 141 new borrowers, 33 of whom resided outside Albany. Of the total 433 borrowers, 120 are nonresidents.

The circulation amounted to 2128 volumes, an increase of 391

over last year.

In spite of augmented facilities which called forth many favorable comments from readers, it was necessary to borrow 24 times from other libraries. The library of the United States Surgeon General's Office, the Boston Public Library, Columbia University and the New York Academy of Medicine extended this courtesy. Upon the first named 15 calls were made and 34 volumes received at an average expense of 58 cents a volume to the borrowing physician, though many of the packages contained a single number of a periodical which, but for lack of funds, should have been on the State Library shelves.

Additions. The following table shows the growth of the medical library in the last three years.

A special effort has been made to acquire works requested by the new faculty of the Albany Medical College and to complete periodical sets. The latter undertaking has been seriously handicapped by the interruption of transportation facilities by the war. In common with all libraries our current files have suffered from the suspension of many foreign journals. It has been estimated that at least 300 European medical periodicals have ceased publication, and those still issued are often delayed in shipment. On this account the number of volumes added during the year was lessened and it is impossible to make an exact count of periodicals now being received. No new titles have been added to the list.

The following periodical sets were completed during the year: American Surgical Association. Transactions

Archiv für gynäkologie

Archiv für klinische chirurgie

Centralblatt für röntgenstrahlen, radium und verwandte gebiete Fortschritte der medizin

Journal of medical research

Journal of physiology