Lincoln and New College Collections. Among the greater accessions were the Shelley Collection (1893), and the 6330 Sanskrit MSS. presented by Sir Chandra Shum Shere, of Nepal (1909). [Sidenote: The War.] When Mr. Nicholson died, on March 17, 1912, the present writer[23] succeeded to his position. In 1913 a new Bodleian Statute (in English), based on the old Latin code but putting the Curators more clearly in their position of Governors of the Library, and otherwise designed to meet modern requirements, came into force. Two large and valuable donations were received in that year and in 1914, namely, 17,000 volumes of Chinese literature from Sir Edmund Backhouse, of Pekin, and Professor Ingram Bywater’s very choice library of about four thousand volumes on Aristotle and his commentators, and of Humanist scholars up to about 1650. Then the War came, and checked many of the activities of the Bodleian. Forty-one members of the Staff were called away on military service of one kind or another, including _all_ of the Regular Staff who were of military age,[24] for the Library made no claim for exemption. The more valuable MSS. and printed books had to be put away in safes protected by sand-bags, and were thereby withdrawn from use. On three occasions an alarm of air-raids brought many of the staff to the quadrangle between midnight and 3 a.m. The readers diminished by about one-third. On the other hand, no department was closed down, nor any change made in the public service, the gaps were filled by the capable assistance of ladies of the Catalogue Revision Staff and men in some way disabled from military work, and in 1916 it was found possible to hold a Shakespeare Tercentenary Exhibition with success. The British Museum was unable to undertake this at the time, and the Bodleian with every right stepped into the gap. A full account of this and of the whole history of the Library during the war will be found in the _Bodleian Quarterly Record_, which was started in April, 1914. In June, 1919, Dr. Cowley[25] succeeded to the chair of office, and may be expected to carry on the Library through a successful era of change and progress which the arrival of peace has made possible. THE BODLEIAN AT THE PRESENT TIME The position of the Bodleian Library among the great libraries of the world has been stated on p. 13. A general description may now be given of its buildings, organization and facilities accorded to students, at the present time. A. BUILDINGS AND READING ROOMS The Buildings may be conveniently divided into three parts: 1. The older part (“Bodley”); 2. The modern part (the “Camera” and Underground Bookstore); 3. Certain outlying store rooms in University buildings. [Sidenote: The Old Reading Room.]