A pioneer of the system of free libraries, and the one which comes next to the Library of Congress in the number of its volumes, is the Public Library of Boston, founded in 1848. It has had a phenomenal growth, and is the centre of a wide range of literary influence. Its numerous branches extend throughout the city and surrounding towns, bringing free reading to every locality. The number of its volumes exceeds 700,000. The free library system stands sponsor for a host of libraries throughout the larger cities. The Public Library of Cincinnati was founded upon this basis in 1867. It at once attained great popularity and speedily grew till, by the end of the century, its volumes numbered approximately 220,000. The same popularity and rate of growth characterized the Public Library of Chicago and that of Philadelphia. The former was founded in 1872, and now contains over 220,000 volumes. The latter was not founded until 1891, but by the year 1900 it grew to contain 203,102 volumes, with fifteen branches, or divisions, throughout the city, and an annual circulation of 1,778,387 volumes. Other libraries of the United States founded or rehabilitated during the nineteenth century, and which ere its close have taken rank as libraries containing over 100,000 volumes, are the New York State Library, at Albany, with approximately 190,000; the State Library at Annapolis, Md., with 100,000 volumes; the Enoch Pratt Free Library, at Baltimore, with 165,000 volumes; the Peabody Institute Library, at Baltimore, with 125,000 volumes; the Athenæum Library, at Boston, with 185,000 volumes; the City Library, at Brooklyn, N.Y., with 120,000 volumes; the University Library, at Chicago, with nearly 400,000 volumes; the Newberry Library, at Chicago, with 125,000 volumes; the Public Library at Detroit, with 135,000 volumes; the Cornell University Library, at Ithaca, N. Y., with 175,000 volumes; the library of the State Historical Society, at Madison, Wis., with 110,000 volumes; the Mercantile Library, at Philadelphia, with 175,000 volumes; the library of the University of Pennsylvania, with 120,000 volumes; the Astor Library, New York City, with 265,000 volumes; the Mercantile Library, New York City, with 250,000 volumes; the Public Library at St. Louis, Mo., with 105,000 volumes; the Sutro Library, at San Francisco, with 210,000 volumes. Of those libraries founded during the century in the United States, and which have secured a rank as over 20,000-volume libraries, there are very many that approach the 100,000 mark, and their average of volumes would gravitate around 50,000. It is by no means true that the importance and usefulness of a library must be measured by its number of volumes. Very many of the best managed, serviceable, and popular libraries contain even less than 20,000 volumes.