Activities of the Friends

Fall Meeting. The Fall meeting was held on November 8. At this
dinner meeting Professor Paul O. Kristeller spoke on "Renaissance
Browsings at Columbia and Elsewhere." For the occasion an ex¬
hibition of Italian Renaissance manuscripts and printed editions
from the Libraries' collections was on display.

Bancroft Dinner. The annual Bancroft Prizes Dinner will be held
on Thursday, March 29, 1973.

Finances. In the November issue each year we report the total gifts
from our members (both cash and "in kind") for the twelve
month period which ended on iVIarch 31. In 1971-72, the general
purpose contributions were $17,959 and the special purpose gifts
$35,353, making a total of $53,312.

The Friends also donated or bequeathed books and manuscripts,
for addition to our research collections, having an appraised value
of $ 148,876. This is the largest such amount recorded in any single
year. The total value of such gifts since the establishment of the
association on May i, 1951, is now $1,344,967.

Aside from gifts, the association has received income from sales
of paid subscriptions to the Columns and the Twenty-Year Index,
and payments for dinner reservations for the fall and winter meet¬
ings. In the year of this report, such receipts totaled $4,318.

Membership. As of September 30, 1972, the membership of the
Friends totaled 417. Since each membership includes husband and
wife, the number of individuals who belong to tlie association is
649.

EXHIBITION IN BUTLER AND LOW LIBRARIES

SEPTEMBER 27-DECEMBER 18

Columbia a7id Her Friends: JAbrary Gifts ip-j2

47