Illustrations of university library history in this country naturally begin with Harvard. The library there was begun on the death of its first benefactor in 1638 with his bequest of 320 volumes. The Mathers were among the largest collectors of books in their day in New England but few of their possessions passed into the college collection, most of the Mather library having been destroyed in 1775 during the battle of Bunker Hill. About the close of the 17th century Cotton Mather said of the Harvard College Library that while it was "far from a Vatican or Bodleian dimension" he considered it the "best furnished that can be shown anywhere in the American regions." The fire of 1763 which destroyed the first Harvard Hall destroyed also the entire college library, housed in an upper room, with the exception of one volume: Downame's "Christian Warfare," which was out in circulation at the time. "May Harvard Library," wrote John Barnard of Marblehead, "rise out of its ashes with new life and vigor, and be durable as the sun, tho' the building is a nuisance." This contemptuous sounding phrase, intended to describe the ruined building, can again almost be justified in connection with the overcrowded and outgrown structure of today. The first general catalog of the library, printed in 1790, containing 350 pages, devotes 100 pages to theological tracts, 50 to religious books, 3-1/2 to Bibles, 3/4 of a page to periodicals, 4 to books of travel, and ten to Greek and Latin authors--all of which shows how closely the college had held to its original purpose as a training school for the ministry. There was practically no change in the curriculum at Harvard College during the first two centuries of its existence. The old classical course as pursued by our forefathers required comparatively few books. With the introduction of such studies as modern history and languages, the sciences and economics, came the demand for access to many books, both old and new. That books were regarded as a first essential in the establishment of colleges in the New World is shown not only by the terms of John Harvard's will, which bequeathed one-half of his estate and all his library "towards the erecting of a college," but also by the picturesque founding of Yale College. Eleven ministers met in New Haven in 1700 agreeing to form a college. Each member brought a number of books and presented them to the body, and laying them on the table said these words, or to this effect: "I give these books for the founding of a college in this colony." Then the trustees as a body took possession of them and appointed the Rev. Mr. Russel of Branford as keeper of the library, which at that time consisted of about 40 folio volumes. The library with the additions which came in was kept at Branford for nearly three years, and was then carried to Killingworth. In 1765 the library had grown to 4,000 volumes, showing a growth of only 60 volumes a year through two generations.