Catalogue of the New York Free Circulating Library, George Bruce Branch ...: Classified Catalogue According to the Decimal Classification : Supplement, 1895-7

The George Bruce Branch of the New York Free Circulating Library was established in 1888, funded by a generous gift from Catherine Wolfe Bruce in memory of her father, the typefounder George Bruce. This supplement, covering the years 1895 to 1897, reflects the institution's commitment to public literacy and systematic organization during a period of rapid expansion for the library system, which would eventually merge into the New York Public Library in 1901.

The catalogue was designed to provide patrons with a structured guide to the library's growing inventory, utilizing the Dewey Decimal Classification system to ensure accessibility for a diverse urban readership. It serves as a historical record of the instructional and literary materials considered essential for public enrichment at the turn of the century, documenting the specific intellectual resources made available to the residents of the lower West Side of Manhattan during the late Gilded Age.