Under his supervision, the British Museum Library (now part of the British Library) quintupled in size and became a well-organised institution worthy of being called a national library, the largest library in the world after the National Library of Paris.
Under hans tillsyn femdubblades British Museum Library (nu British Library) i storlek och blev en väl organiserad institution, värd att kallas en nationalbibliotek, det största biblioteket i världen efter Bibliothèque nationale de France i Paris.