Page:The library a magazine of bibliography and library literature, Volume 6.djvu/13

 Rh and after perambulating the continent, as was the habit of Scotch scholars of the day, he was selected by King James I. to fill the post just named. Reid had decidedly bookish tastes and made good use of his knowledge and opportunities on the continent in bringing together a fine collection of editions of the classics and the fathers, together with some valuable and curious MSS. These he bequeathed to the town of Aberdeen for Marischal College, together with "six thousand merks to be invested in land, so as to yield six hundred merks yearly for a librarian, whose duty shall be to hold his door open four days a week for the scholars and clergy to have the use of the books of the said bibliotheck, and no ways to be astricted in no further duty."

A catalogue of his collection was made, numbering some 1,350 titles, of which, fortunately, there is a copy extant, subscribed by Reid himself, and giving date, place and printer's names.

The next important event in the history of the University Libraries took place in 1709, when there was granted to the "four universities in Scotland" the privilege of receiving copies "of each book or books upon the best paper that, from and after the 10th day of April, 1710, shall be printed and published, or reprinted and published with additions." This privilege was slightly modified in 1814, and finally withdrawn in 1836, when its place was taken by an annual money grant to each of the four universities. But the odd thing was, that while the Act referred to the universities in Scotland as four in number, there were really five, Aberdeen alone possessing two, as those of us who were schoolboys here before 1859 were proud to know, and in our knowledge crowed over our English comrades because all England itself had no more. However, the proud fact had its inconvenience, for it led to much litigation and heart-burning between the two local universities, each claiming to be one of the four universities referred to in Queen Anne's Act. At last, in 1738, it was finally decided by the Lords of Session that to King's College should belong the custody of the books "for the use of both colleges." But, apparently, the university authorities were more eager in asserting their claims than in using them, for, when the annual money grant was struck in 1838 on the basis of proportion to the extent to which the copyright privilege had been used, Aberdeen received only £320, while to Edinburgh, St. Andrews and Glasgow fell the respective sums of £575, £630, £707.