31 AUGUST 1901, Page 22

The Library, July. (Kegan Paul, Trench, and Co. 8s. net.)

—An excellent portrait of Antony Panizzi, sometime Chief Librarian of the British Museum, suffices to make this number attractive. There are sundry interesting articles, more or less technical per- haps, but of no little importance. We may mention "The Libraries of Greater Britain," especially the note on "Toronto Public Library." In this city the managers of the Public Library actually proceeded at law against the City Council for aiding down the estimate, and recovered the money. That is a commend- able state of things, but not a little surprising. Here the library authorities have to come cap in hand. The article on " Leather for Bookbinding " is of considerable practical value One thing is tolerably clear, that in all libraries where gas is used the books should be protected by tightly fitting glass cases. in one London library well known to the writer of this notice it is an almost unvarying experience that old bound books were found to lose their covers on being used. Only a few bindings of first quality survived.