adjacent to the Rectory, and are accessible to all for whom the library
was designed.--A Circulating Library was opened in Colmore Row, in 1763,
and at one time there was a second-class institution of the kind at a
house up one of the courts in Dale End.--A "New Library" was opened in
Cannon Street, April 26, 1796, which was removed to Temple Row, in 1821,
and afterwards united to the Old Library. The latter was commenced in
1779, the first room for the convenience of members being opened in
1782, and the present building in Union Street, erected in 1798. The
report of the committee for the year 1882 showed that there were 772
proprietors, at 21s. per annum; 35 annual subscribers, at 31s. 6d. per
annum; 528 at 2ls.; 6 quarterly, at 9s. per quarter; 53 at 6s. per
quarter; 17 resident members of subscribers' families, at 10s. per
annum; and 118 resident members of subscribers' families (readers) at
5s. The total number of members was 1,479; the year's subscriptions
being £1,594. The price of shares has been raised from two to three
guineas during the past year. Receipts from shares, fines, &c., amounted
to about £480, making the amount actually received in 1882, £2,012 6s.
The expenditure had been £1,818 19s. 9d., inclusive of £60 carried to
the reserve fund, and £108 paid on account of the new catalogue; and
there remained a balance of £198 6s. 1d. in hand. £782 0s. 9d. had been
expended on the purchase of 1,560 additional books, re-binding others,
&c., making a total of about 50,000 volumes. The library needs
extension, but the shortness of the lease (thirty years only) and the
high value of the adjoining land prevents any step being taken in that
direction at present. The Birmingham Law Society's Library was founded
in February, 1831, by Mr. Arthur Ryland, and has now nearly 6,000
volumes of law works, law reports (English, Scotch, and Irish), local
and personal Acts, &c., &c. The present home in Wellington Passage was
opened August 2, 1876, being far more commodious than the old abode in
Waterloo-street, the "library" itself being a room 35ft. long, 22ft.