Most of the London collegiate or teaching institutions have libraries attached to them, and it will only be necessary to mention a few of the more important to get an idea of their variety: Baptist College (1810), 13,000 vols.; Bedford College (for women), 17,000 vols.; Birkbeck College (1823), 12,000 vols.; Congregational Library (1832-1893), 14,000 vols.; the Royal College of Music, containing the library of the defunct Sacred Harmonic Society; Royal Naval College (Greenwich, 1873), 7000 vols.; St Bartholomew's Hospital (1422), 15,000 vols.; St Paul's School (1509), 10,000 vols.; the Working Men's College (1854), 5000 vols.; and all the Polytechnic schools in the Metropolitan area.
The university library of Durham (1832) contains about 35,000 vols., and all the modern English universities--Birmingham, Mason University College (1880), 27,000 vols.; Leeds, Liverpool (1882), 56,000 vols.; Manchester, Victoria University, which absorbed Owens College (1851), 115,000 vols.; Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Sheffield (1907), &c.--have collections of books. The libraries in connexion with theological colleges and public schools throughout England are often quite extensive, and reference may be made to Eton College (1441), 25,000 vols.; Haileybury (1862), 12,000 vols.; Harrow (Vaughan Library), 12,000 vols.; Mill Hill; Oscott College, Erdington (1838), 36,000 vols.; Rugby (1878), 8000 vols.; Stonyhurst College (1794), c. 40,000 vols., &c. The new building for the university of Wales at Bangor has ample accommodation for an adequate library, and the University College at Aberystwith is also equipped with a library.
The origin of the University Library of Edinburgh is to be found in a bequest of his books of theology and law made to the town in 1580 by Clement Little, advocate. This was two years before the foundation of the university, and in 1584 the town council caused the collection to be removed to the college, of which they were the patrons. As it was the only library in the town, it continued to grow and received many benefactions, so that in 1615 it became necessary to erect a library building. Stimulated perhaps by the example of Bodley at Oxford, Drummond of Hawthornden made a large donation of books, of which he printed a catalogue in 1627, and circulated an appeal for assistance from others. In 1678 the library received a bequest of 2000 vols. from the Rev. James Nairne. In 1709 the library became entitled to the copy privilege, which has since been commuted for a payment of £575 per annum. In 1831 the books were removed to the present library buildings, for which a parliamentary grant had been obtained. The main library hall (190 ft. in length) is one of the most splendid apartments in Scotland. One of the rooms is set apart as a memorial to General Reid, by whose benefaction the library has greatly benefited. Amongst the more recent accessions have been the Halliwell-Phillips Shakespeare collection, the Laing collection of Scottish MSS., the Baillie collection of Oriental MSS. (some of which are of great value), and the Hodgson collection of works on political economy. The library now consists of about 210,000 vols. of printed books with over 2000 MSS. Recently it has been found necessary to make considerable additions to the shelving. The library of the university of Glasgow dates from the 15th century, and numbers George Buchanan and many other distinguished men amongst its early benefactors. A classified subject-catalogue has been printed, and there is also a printed dictionary catalogue. The annual accessions are about 1500, and the commutation-grant £707. Connected with the university, which is trustee for the public, is the library of the Hunterian Museum, formed by the eminent anatomist Dr William Hunter. It is a collection of great bibliographical interest, as it is rich in MSS. and in fine specimens of early printing, especially in Greek and Latin classics. There are about 200,000 vols. in the library.