PREFACE.

The completion of this first issue of the Educational Directory has been attended with unexpected difficulties and delays to which reference is made, in explanation, on another page.

Here it is the desire of the undersigned simply to say that the plan of this book has become more comprehensive while its preparation was going on, and that from this cause also an additional delay has resulted, which will be avoided in subsequent issues. It is to be hoped, however, that the portly appearance of the volume, whatever its imperfections, may be accepted as an indication of the important place which the Directory is destined to fill.

The prominence given in this publication to Catalogues and Lists of Books scarcely needs explanation. The corresponding portion of the Year-Book of Education for 1878 has been pronounced of such importance by practical educators as well as by booksellers, publishers, and librarians, that a retention of this feature, continually improved in each new issue, is forced upon the publisher, who is only too glad to see his cherished labor thus appreciated.

In consequence of this, preparations have been made to considerably increase the bibliographical part of the work. As publishers and authors are recognizing the importance of having their books enumerated in what will hereafter be regarded and consulted as a practical Guide to Books for the Teaching Profession, and as the necessary material is also being diligently collected from other sources, it is apparent that in future issues this portion of the volume will-like the List of Educational Institutions be brought nearer and nearer to that completeness and usefulness which the publisher desires and strives to attain.

It may not be out of place to remark in this connection that the importance of the several publications to which the Educational Directory belongs has been acknowledged even beyond expectation. Thus the Cyclopaedia of Education, the first work of its kind, in the English language, in addition to the extraordinary marks of appreciation bestowed upon it in this country, has not only secured a strong hold in England and other European countries, but it has also been honored by the award of a Medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris.

In like manner the merits of the Year-Book of Education have also secured recognition both at home and abroad, and notably by the Commissioners of Education from foreign countries who examined the book at the Paris Exposition.

It may appear superfluous to state that in the present volume American Educational Institutions and American publications occupy the largest space. At the same time, however, the publisher appreciates the growing desire in this country for fuller information in regard to European Educational Institutions and publica

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tions. It is, therefore, his intention carefully to collect and publish in the subsequent issues such information in these respects as may be deemed of sufficient value, while any additional particulars that may be desired will be cheerfully communicated at the Office of his Educational Bureau.

Within the short time that has elapsed since the organization of this Bureau its desirability no less than its efficiency has been established and numberless positions have been filled through its agency, without any expense either to teachers or to employers. Gratified to feel that he is thus doing a welcome service to many persons, and cheered and encouraged on all sides, the undersigned will continue to work in this direction, and further, with the aid of an extensive collection of reference books, catalogues, and other material, endeavor to give full information in regard to educational matters at home and abroad.

Cordial thanks are expressed to all who have aided in the preparation and correction of this volume, and the request is added that whosoever can contribute to the correctness and reliability of later issues, will do so at the earliest opportunity.

E. Steiger.