Chicago, June 5, 1902

To the Director and Trustees of the Art Institute:

On October 26, 1901, we entered into possession of our new library building, the munificent gift of Mr. Martin A. Ryerson. Work was begun on the library in the spring of 1899, but in consequence of building complications was at a standstill for several months, and the building was only completed in October, 1901, when it was opened with a reception to members of the Art Institute, and to the librarians of the principal libraries of the city, who were invited to meet Mr. And Mrs. Ryerson. It is a room of generous proportions for so special a library, 65 by 70 feet, occupying the south court and corresponding to Fullerton Memorial Hall in the north court, designed by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, the architects of the rest of the building. The general scheme of decoration was designed and executed by Elmer E. Garnsey, of New York. The walls are a soft green, and the pillars separating the alcoves have capitals of greenish bronze, while above them are lunette-shaped windows. The skylight, of translucent glass, slightly iridescent and leaded in a graceful pattern, was designed by Louis J. Millet. The alcoves also have skylights, and electric lamps will stand later on the small tables in each, as now on the larger tables outside. The frieze running below the lunettes bears in gilt letters the names of writers on art from classic times to the present. The furniture and fittings are of mahogany. Our complaint of former days of lack of room and proper accommodation is at an end, and, while for the present we are obliged to face a good many empty shelves, we look forward confidently to a future where not only these shelves, but our stack-room below will be called into use.The library at present contains 2,676 volumes, 324 of which have been added during the past year, and 262 of these since moving into the Ryerson Library. All but twenty of these volumes have been added to the reference department. These accessions include fifteen volumes on architecture, 41 on decorative design, 23 on sculpture, 76 on drawing and painting, 18 on art and criticism, 25 on engraving, 59 bound volumes of periodicals, and the remaining 67 volumes are on various subjects connected with art. The circulating department is of so small extent, numbering only about 700 volumes, that at present it is available exclusively to the students of the Art Institute, to whom 858 volumes have been issued during the school year now ending. The reference department is accessible to both students and members of the Art Institute, and indeed to all visitors to the institution. In the departments of Decorative Design and Architecture, when considered necessary by the teachers and under their direction, reference books are allowed to be taken to the class rooms. Four hundred and forty books have been issued in this manner during the past season.

Miss Johanna Von Oven, a student assistant, continues in charge of the catalogues, reports and pamphlets, which are classified and readily accessible in binders. There are 266 of these binders relating to art in America, and 119 to art in foreign countries. With very few exceptions each binder contains several pamphlets. For the present we have been obliged to discontinue the work of cataloguing the reproductions of works of known artists contained in the books in the library, owing to the renumbering of the books, but we hope to resume this work in the course of a few weeks, since such a catalogue is of great value. Heretofore, owing to the limited extent of our library we have had no regular system of classification, a simple arrangement designed by the librarian, of works on architecture, on decorative design, on theory and practice of art and criticism, and on the history of art, being sufficient. This division we have adhered to quite strictly, as it seemed to fulfill all the requirements necessary for a library such as ours. Now that the library with its fine new building has become a more imposing department of the Art Institute, and our accessions promise to be more rapid, we have adopted the Dewey classification, with modifications. This determination has been reached after careful consideration, and correspondence not only with Mr. Dewey but with Mr. Cutter. Our alcoves answer the purposes of the Dewey classification in a wonderful manner, rendering it very easy for the student to find what he wants with little delay. Above all and first of all, our library is a students' library, intended originally for students and members of the Art Institute, but practically made free to any serious student of art. It is exclusively an art library, with the exception of a few dictionaries and necessary reference books. To meet the wants of the art student, more especially the student of the Art Institute, therefore, is our principal aim and desire. For the students of architecture and decorative design, it is absolutely necessary to have certain books to carry on their work, and to this imperative need we have given our special attention, although the possibilities for expansion in either of these departments are far beyond us. A formidable difficulty is the costliness of books in these departments. In the regular academic department of the school the student is required to take a course in artistic anatomy before he can obtain his diploma. For this course certain text books are required, and we like to add all available works on artistic anatomy of possible help to the student. In the history of painting, in biographies of individual artists, and in all new schools and methods, our ambition is to keep abreast of the times, and our failure to do so is due chiefly to lack of means. We have added four new publications to our list of art periodicals, viz.: "The Craftsman," published in Eastwood, N.Y.; "American Institute of Architects Quarterly Bulletin," published in Washington, D. C.; "The Sketch Book," a magazine conducted by the students of the Art Institute; "Les Arts," a monthly magazine published in Paris. We have dropped the "Interstate Architect & Building News." The list to which we at present subscribe is appended:

The Mrs. D. K. Pearsons Collection of Carbon Photographs is conveniently installed and alphabetically arranged as heretofore. It is now contained in 38 cases containing 266 sliding drawers, each drawer containing sixty photographs. Reproductions of the works of the Old Masters are on one side of the library, while works of Modern Masters, and drawings from the Old Masters occupy the cases on the opposite side. Two assistants have been added to our staff during the past year. Miss Sara Burrows, who for several years was Assistant Librarian in the Public Library in Lincoln, Nebraska, now fills the position of cataloguer and reference librarian. Miss Christopher is the junior assistant. Her work is to record the attendance, change the magazines in the binders as the new ones come in, collate and repair books and assist in cataloguing when possible. Three student assistants have also been regularly employed; Miss Von Oven, to whom we have already referred, Miss Elsie Bowman, who has charge of the photographs, keeping them in order and dusting them and also dusting the books, and Miss Ella Gurnee, who has charge of the library Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, when it is open until seven o'clock for the benefit of students attending the evening school.From October 29, 1901 to May 24, 1902, inclusive, seven months, the students who have made use of the library number 23,257, the number of visitors consulting the books for purposes of study 1,669, and the number of casual visitors 10,108, making a total for the season of 36,004 persons. The largest attendance of students in one day (Oct. 30) was 231, the largest number of visitors in one day (Nov. 2) 533, and the largest number of consulting visitors in one day (Feb. 1, 1902) 36, the largest total attendance in one day (October 30) 688. Among the consulting visitors and students 257 have made use of the Braun photographs, and eight of these consulting visitors have brought in classes with them.

A list of gifts to the library accompanies this report. The only regular source of income for the library at present is the matriculation fees of the students amounting last year to $738.00. As the greater part of this sum is consumed in binding and repairing books, and in subscriptions to magazines and periodicals, no considerable accessions can be looked for except by gift or by special appropriation. The receipts and expenditures of the library for the past year have been as follows:

Very respectfully,

J. L. FORRESTER, Librarian

Excerpted from the Twenty-Third Annual Report of The Art Institute of Chicago, 1901-1902