THE STATISTICS OF THE PRINTED LITERATURE OF THE WORLD, AND THE NEED FOR AN OFFICIAL RECORD OF BRITISH PUBLICATIONS.1 SOME BY WILLIAM E. A. AXON, LL.D. OME figures presented to the Bibliographical Congress held at Brussels in 1910 have been printed in the "Bulletin de l'Institut International de Bibliographie," and are also issued in a separate pamphlet. This statistical report by M. B. Iwinski is drawn up with commendable care; the sources of information are stated, and also the fact that in some cases they are lacking in completeness. In others such data are simply non-existent. The number of books printed in the fifteenth century is estimated at 30,742, but in this calculation no account appears to have been taken of the books printed in England by Caxton and his colleagues, and figures for Scotland in the sixteenth century have been erroneously included. The general result reached by M. Iwinski is that from the invention of printing to the end of 1908 the number of books issued from the press is 10,378,365. There has been a progressive increase in the productiveness of the press—a progression which is thus estimated for the following years : 1 Prepared for the Annual Meeting of the Library Association, Liverpool, 5 September, 1912. 2" La Statistique internationale des imprimés," Bruxelles, 1911, 8vo, pp. The mass of printed literature is likely to increase still more rapidly as education becomes more and more diffused. When we come to examine the table as to the production of books in different countries in years as near to 1908 as the compiler was able to obtain, the results are surprising. Japan leads off with 36,046; Germany is second with 30,317; whilst Russia has 23,852; the United States, 9821; England, 9821; France, 8799; and Italy, 6918. It is not easy to believe that by any uniform method of computation Japan would head this list or that Russia would be credited with more than England and the United States put together. The fact is that many English publications escape record. There is no official list of the publications issued in Great Britain, and the titles registered weekly in the "Publishers' Circular" and yearly in the "English Catalogue record only about 50 per cent of those known to be issued. This is easily proved by comparing the number of the titles in the "English Catalogue" with those actually received under the Copyright Act by the British Museum. The years do not exactly tally, as the British Museum years end in March. The British Museum figures are exclusive of music, magazines, periodicals, and works in progress. In these eight years 52,964 titles appeared in the "English Catalogue," and 116,771 copyright publications were received at the British Museum. The yearly averages are 6608 and 14,596 respectively. In other words, the British Museum received a yearly average of 7988 copyright publications which are not entered in the "English Catalogue". The table just given ends with 1908, because that is approximately the year with which M. Iwinski deals. Let us turn to the latest figures. In the year ending 31 March, 1912, the accessions to the British Museum under copyright numbered 15,293. In the year ending 31 December, 1911, the English Catalogue" registers 10,914 titles. In the preface we are told that "it should be noted that these figures do not include numerous ephemeral pamphlets, Government leaflets, and musical texts. If these were included, a large increase in the total would result; but the figures would not so accurately represent the book-publishing activity of the United Kingdom." What is an "ephemeral pamphlet "? Milton's "Areopagitica," Goldsmith's "Deserted Village," Burke's "Appeal," Herbert Spencer's "Classification of the Sciences," were all ephemeral pamphlets-once. It may further be remarked that the "English Catalogue" has fiftytwo entries about music, and that the British Museum received under copyright 9018 books and pieces and 1400 parts under the heading of musical publications. These and also 45,893 parts or volumes of magazines received at the British Museum under copyright are also excluded from the comparison. Nor are Parliamentary papers included in the British Museum figures. It is possible, but it may be hoped not probable, that the book trade is satisfied with the present imperfect record of British publications. But bibliographers cannot be expected to accept such a mutilated register with complacency. The figures cited show that our book trade bibliography is lamentably imperfect. The British Museum does not publish any list of the literature received under the Copyright Act. This is to be regretted, for although it is possible that some publications may escape the Museum net, such a list would at least not omit so large a proportion of those known to be printed as is done by the British trade bibliographies. The Council of the Library Association has taken action, and it may be hoped that a sufficient amount of support will be forthcoming to ensure the publication of a periodical list that will adequately represent the printed literature of Great Britain. The Parliament of Great Britain is doubtless most laudably anxious to "encourage" literature, but its methods are peculiar. When an author prints a book, and whether its price is 6d. or £50, Parliament takes six copies—but does not pay for them. If the author objects he is fined £5—a most convincing argument. May we not at least ask Parliament to provide for an authentic register of the literary property which the nation acquires at so cheap a rate. PROFESSIONAL PERIODICAL LITERATURE. Italian. La Coltura Popolare (1 September). 170. FABIETTI (E.). The first reading-room for children. Libraries. Contributions for an annotated catalogue. 172. PONI (L.).—Popular libraries in Milan : III. Casalpusterlengo. 173. Italian and foreign news and correspondence. 170. The Milanese Committee of Popular Libraries has recently opened a reading-room for children from 7 to 14 years of age. They were encouraged to do this by observing that children formed the most numerous clientèle of the library. The reason for this lay probably in the diffusion of books by means of the small school libraries which have been established in many towns in Italy, through which the children become accustomed to the use of books and learn to appreciate them. Sig. Fabietti notices the eagerness of the children for books, and describes how they discuss and criticise what they read, and to encourage them in this one day is set apart in the children's readingroom for discussion of books already read. Another day is devoted to reading aloud, when the children's librarian-as usual in such readingrooms, a woman is in charge-seeks to interest all by reading to them. Sig. Fabietti has some sound remarks on the necessity of providing well-bound and well-printed books in the children's room, for by so doing respect for books and care in handling them is more easily inculcated, and in addition to this, the children's interest is more readily obtained and held by well-produced and well-illustrated volumes than by the cheap and nasty variety. 171. This Union began its work of sending out circulating libraries in December last, and, though its means are limited, by May of this year it had fourteen travelling libraries with 778 volumes. These of course were issued again and again, and the success already achieved in the undertaking has encouraged the authorities to add to the number. 172. Continues the account of the people's libraries in the Milanese district. Casalpusterlengo, a busy agricultural and commercial town, has had a library since 1862, but in these last few years, thanks to the energies of the President of the Working-men's Union, it has been galvanized into fresh life, and has been brought into line with modern libraries and the ever-increasing needs of the present day. 173. "Foreign news" is mainly devoted to short accounts of children's reading-rooms in Germany. La Bibliofilia (July-August). 174. The monumental edition of the "Divina Commedia," with 6 facsimiles. |