the augustan reprint society the reformed librarie-keeper ( ) john dury _introduction by_ richard h. popkin _and_ thomas f. wright publication number william andrews clark memorial library university of california, los angeles general editor david stuart rodes, _university of california, los angeles_ editors charles l. batten, _university of california, los angeles_ george robert guffey, _university of california, los angeles_ maximillian e. novak, _university of california, los angeles_ nancy m. shea, _william andrews clark memorial library_ thomas wright, _william andrews clark memorial library_ advisory editors ralph cohen, _university of virginia_ william e. conway, _william andrews clark memorial library_ vinton a. dearing, _university of california, los angeles_ phillip harth, _university of wisconsin, madison_ louis a. landa, _princeton university_ earl miner, _princeton university_ james sutherland, _university college, london_ norman j.w. thrower, _william andrews clark memorial library_ robert vosper, _william andrews clark memorial library_ john m. wallace, _university of chicago_ publications manager nancy m. shea, _william andrews clark memorial library_ corresponding secretary beverly j. onley, _william andrews clark memorial library_ editorial assistant frances miriam reed, _university of california, los angeles_ introduction this work, with its quaint sentiments and its grim picture of what librarians were like in the mid-seventeenth century, is more than a curiosity. john dury was a very important figure in the puritan revolution, offering proposal after proposal to prepare england for its role in the millennium. _the reformed librarie-keeper_ is an integral part of that preparation. to appreciate it one must look at it in terms of the plans of dury and his associates, samuel hartlib and johann amos comenius, to reform the intellectual institutions of england so that the prophecies in the books of daniel and revelation could be fulfilled there. john dury ( - ), the son of a scottish puritan, was raised in holland.[ ] he studied at the university of leiden, then at the french reformed seminaries at sedan and leiden, and later at oxford. he was ordained a protestant minister and served first at cologne and then at the english church in the west prussian city of elbing. there he came in contact with samuel hartlib (?- ), a merchant, who was to devote himself to many religious and scientific projects in england, and with johann amos comenius ( - ), the leader of the moravian brethren, as well as with other great educational reformers of the continent. the three of them shared a common vision--that the advancement of knowledge, the purification of the christian churches, and the impending conversion of the jews were all antecedent steps to the commencement in the foreseeable future of the millennium, the thousand-year reign of christ on earth. they saw the struggles of the thirty years' war and the religious conflict in england as part of their development of providential history. in terms of their common vision, each of them strove during the decade - to help the world prepare for the great events to come. comenius started redoing the educational system through his textbooks and set forth plans for attaining universal knowledge. hartlib moved from germany to england, where he became a central organizing figure in both the nascent scientific world and the theological world. he was in contact with a wide variety of intellectuals and brought their ideas together. (for instance, he apprised dury of the millenarian theory of joseph mede, which was to be so influential in the puritan revolution, and he spread comenius's ideas in england.) dury devoted himself principally to trying to unite all of the protestant churches in europe and to this end began his peregrinations from sweden and germany to holland, switzerland, france, and england. these travels were to continue throughout the rest of his life, as he tried to negotiate an agreement on the essentials of christianity in preparation for jesus' return. in , as the puritan revolution began, hartlib, comenius, and dury saw the developments in england as the opportunity to put their scientific-religious plans into effect. they joined together in london in and, with strong support, offered proposals to prepare england for the millennium. they proposed setting up a new university in london for developing universal knowledge. in spite of the strong backing they had from leaders of the state and church, parliament was unable to fund the project because of the turmoil of the time. comenius left for the continent, while hartlib and dury advanced other projects and involved themselves in the westminster conference to reform the church.[ ] hugh trevor-roper has called hartlib, dury, and comenius "the real philosophers, the only philosophers, of the english revolution."[ ] they combined a long list of practical plans with an overall vision of how these fitted into the needed antecedent events to the millennium. they made proposals for improving and reforming many aspects of human activities and human institutions. the advancement of knowledge, the improvement of human life, and the purification of religion, which included bringing the jews and christians together, would prepare england for its role when god chose to transform human history. in a long series of pamphlets and tracts, hartlib and dury turned comenius's theory into practical applications to the situation then prevailing in england.[ ] dury outlined this program in a sermon he gave before parliament on november entitled _israels call to march out of babylon unto jerusalem_. he pointed out that england, the new israel, had a special role in history, "for the nations of great _britain_ have made a new thing in the world; a thing which hath not been done by any nation in the world, since the preaching of the gospel in it, a thing which since the jewish nation, in the daies of _nehemiah_, was never heard of in any nation, that not only the rulers, but the whole multitude of the people should enter into a covenant with their god, ... to walk in the waies of his word, to maintain the cause of religion, and to reform themselves according to his will" (pp. - ). since england was to be god's agent in history, dury proclaimed at the end of his sermon that "the schooles of the prophets, the universities[,] must be setled, purged and reformed with wholsom constitutions, for the education of the sonnes of the prophets, and the government of their lives and with the soundnes and purity of spirituall learning, that they may speak the true language of _canaan_, and that the gibberidge of scholastical divinity may be banished out of their society" (p. ). in the same year that he delivered this sermon, dury married an aunt of lady catherine ranelagh and was brought in closer contact with lady catherine's brother, robert boyle, and the young scientists of the so-called invisible college. dury and hartlib pressed for reforms that would promote a better, more useful education from the lowest grades upward. convinced by the passage in daniel : that knowledge shall increase before the end of history, dury and hartlib sought various opportunities to bring about this increase in knowledge through better schools, better religious training, and better organization of knowledge. such organization would necessarily affect libraries since they were an all-important component of the premillennial preparation. between and , dury wrote a great many tracts on improving the church and society. these include an as yet unpublished one, dated august , giving his views on the post of library keeper at oxford. the poor state of oxford's library led dury to observe that the librarian is to be "a factor and trader for helpes to learning, a treasurer to keep them and a dispenser to apply them to use, or to see them well used, or at least not abused."[ ] during his travels on the continent, dury had visited duke augustus of brunswick and was obviously very impressed by the great library the duke was assembling at wolfenbuttel. in his important _seasonable discourse_ of on reforming religion and learning, dury had proposed establishing in london the first college for jewish studies in the modern world. in this proposal, he saw as a basic need the procurement of a collection of oriental books. such a library was not just to store materials, but to make them available and thereby increase knowledge. hartlib, in a pamphlet entitled _considerations tending to the happy accomplishment of england's reformation in church and state_, written in and published in , had proposed a central "office of addresse," an information service dispensing spiritual and "bodily" information to all who wished it. the holder of this office should, he said, correspond with "chiefe library-keepers of all places, whose proper employments should bee to trade for the advantages of learning and learned men in books and ms[s] to whom he may apply himselfe to become beneficiall, that such as mind the end of their employment may reciprocate with him in the way of communication" (p. ). events surrounding the overthrow and execution of charles i led dury to become more personally involved in library matters. after the king fled from london, the royal goods were subject to various proposals, including selling or burning. these schemes of disposal extended to his books and manuscripts, which were stored in st. james's palace. john selden is credited with preventing the sale of the royal library. bulstrode whitelocke was appointed keeper of the king's medals and library, and on october dury was appointed his deputy. according to anthony à wood, dury "did the drudgery of the place."[ ] the books and manuscripts were in terrible disorder and disarray, and dury carefully reorganized them. as soon as he took over, dury stopped any efforts to sell the books and ordered that the new chapel, built originally for the wedding of king charles i, be turned into a library. he immediately ordered the printing of the septuagint copy of the bible in the royal collection. in the same year that he became deputy keeper, dury wrote the following tract, one of a dozen he composed in on topics ranging from the educational to the ecclesiastical. among the latter was his introduction to thomas thorowgood's book contending that the american indians are descended from the israelites, a work that also served as promotional material for new england colonization. that dury's _the reformed librarie-keeper_ is part of his reform program preparatory to the onset of the millennium is apparent both from its setting and its content. it was published in along with two other tracts (not reprinted here)[ ] and dury's supplement to his _reformed school_, which itself had appeared a few months earlier. _the reformed school_ was a basic presentation of the ideas of comenius, hartlib, and dury for transforming the nature of education in such a way that from infancy people would be directed in their striving toward universal knowledge and spiritual betterment. the _supplement to the reformed school_ deals with the role that universities should take in preparing for the kingdom of god, a role making them more actively part of the world. having placed educational institutions in the scheme of things preparatory to the millennium, dury then proceeds to place library keeping and libraries in this scheme as well. unfortunately, according to dury, library keepers had traditionally regarded their positions as opportunities for profit and gain, not for "the service, which is to bee don by them unto the common-wealth of israel, for the advancement of pietie and learning" (p. ). library keepers "ought to becom agents for the advancement of universal learning" and not just mercenary people (p. ). their role ought not to be just to guard the books but to make them available to those seeking universal knowledge and understanding of the kingdom of god. the library and the library keeper can play important roles in making knowledge available. as dury points out, oxford and heidelberg have failed to do so. dury's work enumerates very practical problems that need to be solved and integrates them into an overall picture of the library keeper, the library, the school, and the church--all fundamental components of a better world, if properly reformed. reforming involves practical changes directed by the spiritual goal of preparing for the millennium. and it should be noticed that while dury had time to worry about how much librarians should be paid and how books should be classified, and while he was occupied in getting the king's books in their proper place on the shelf, he was also convinced that the penultimate events before the onset of the millennium were about to take place. a month after his official appointment as deputy library keeper, dury wrote the preface, dated november , to abraham von franckenberg's _clavis apocalyptica_. this work in dury's translation of states on the title page that it offers a key to the prophecies in the books of daniel and revelation and "that the prophetical numbers com to an end with the year of our lord ." the work, which dury strongly endorses, lists as events "which are shortly to com to pass, collected out of the xi and xvi chapters of the revelation," the destruction of the city of rome, the end of the turkish empire, the conversion of the jews, and the ruin of the whole papacy. thereupon, the devil will be cast out and shut up in the bottomless pit, and the son of god will take "possession of the kingdom" and reign for the millennium (pp. [ - ]). as is all too evident, dury's reform projects did not lead to the millennium. he was active in england until sent abroad in as cromwell's unofficial agent. again he traveled all over protestant europe negotiating to reunite the churches. after the restoration he was unable to return to england and lived out his life on the continent trying to bring about christian reunion. one of his last works, which has not been located, was a shady _touchant l'intelligence de l'apocalypse par l'apocalypse même_ of . his daughter married henry oldenburg, who became a secretary of the royal society of england and who helped bring about some of the scientific reforms dury had advocated. _richard h. popkin washington university_ * * * * * john dury's place in the intellectual and religious life of seventeenth-century england and europe is amply demonstrated in the preceding part of the introduction. this section focuses on _the reformed librarie-keeper_ itself, which was printed in with the subheading _two copies of letters concerning the place and office of a librarie-keeper_ (p. ). the first letter concentrates on practical questions of the organization and administration of the library, the second relates the librarian's function to educational goals and, above all else, to the mission of the christian religion. the work's two-part structure is a clue to a proper understanding of the genesis of _the reformed librarie-keeper_ and to its meaning and puts in ironic perspective its usefulness for later academic librarianship. because _the reformed librarie-keeper_ appeared in the same year that dury became deputy librarian of the king's library in st. james's palace, it has been assumed that he probably wrote the pamphlet as a form of self-promotion to secure the job. an anonymous article in _the library_ in , for instance, speculates that the pamphlet may have been "composed for the special purpose of the author's advancement" and that milton and samuel hartlib urged its production "to forward his claims" while the council of state was debating what to do with charles i's books.[ ] certainly the final sentence of the tract, with its references to "the hous" and "the counsels of leading men in this common-wealth" (p. ), suggests a connection with the debate, but the tone of religious zeal that permeates the work, and especially the second letter, seems to transcend any specific occasion. moreover, hartlib, dury's longtime friend and associate in millenarian causes and the recipient and editor of these letters, claims that they and the other, disparate works he selected for the volume are all "_fruits of som of my solicitations and negotiations for the advancement of learning_" and as such "_are but preparatives towards that perfection which wee may exspect by the advancement of the kingdom of christ, wherein the communion of saints, by the graces of the spirit, will swallow up all these poor rudiments of knowledg, which wee now grope after by so manie helps_" (sig. a r-v). there is, in fact, no way of knowing with certainty if dury's motives were "impure," especially since the exact date of the tract cannot be determined, no entry existing for it in the stationers' register. according to one of dury's biographers, but with no reference to source, the pamphlet was printed by william dugard "shortly after" the latter's release from prison in the early spring of .[ ] the calendar of state papers and the records of bulstrode whitelocke indicate that dury was not officially considered for the library post before late summer and not appointed until october.[ ] the contents of the letters themselves reveal dury far ahead of his time in his conception of the complete librarian, but later commentators have generally not understood that the administrative reforms he advocated were inseparable from his idea of the sacramental nature of the librarian's office--and so have tended to dismiss the second letter because it "merely repeats the ideas of the first with less practical suggestion and in a more declamatory style."[ ] such a comment illustrates how far we are from dury's (and the age's) purposes and hopes, and it shows a great misunderstanding of the religious and moral context within which, for dury, all human activity took place. as professor popkin has shown, dury considered libraries fundamental to the preparation for the millennium: they housed the texts indispensable to the spread of learning, which in turn was prerequisite to religious unity and peace on earth and ultimately to the millennium itself; for with enough of the right books, the christian world could convert the jews, that final step which was to herald the reign of christ on earth. when, in the second letter, dury refers to the "stewardship" of the librarian he is speaking literally, not metaphorically. but if libraries were to serve their purpose in the grand scheme--that is, to make texts easily available--extensive reforms were necessary, and that is the burden of the first letter. dury's cardinal principle is that libraries should be _useful_ to people: "it is true that a fair librarie, is ... an ornament and credit to the place where it is [the 'jewel box' concept]; ... yet in effect it is no more then a dead bodie as now it is constituted, in comparison of what it might bee, if it were animated with a publick spirit to keep and use it, and _ordered as it might bee for publick service_" (p. , my emphasis). the public that dury refers to is an academic faculty and not the general public. to insure fullest use he goes on to advocate the necessity of a _printed_ catalogue with yearly manuscript supplements to be issued as a cumulative printed supplement every three years. he does not reach the point of proposing a call-number system but stresses the importance of shelf-location guides in the catalogue. he believes in aggressive acquisition policies and the necessity of good faculty-librarian relations, with the former advising the latter of the important books in their fields of specialization. he urges what might now be called "interlibrary loan" and other forms of sharing. to keep the librarian on the straight and narrow, apparently a recurrent problem in dury's day, he recommends an annual meeting of a faculty board of governors where the librarian will give his annual report and put on an exhibition of the books he has acquired. to allay the temptation to make a little money on the side by "trading" (dury's obsessive term) in the library's books for his personal profit, the librarian is to receive administrative support for his various expenses during the year and, as a scholar working with other scholars within his university instead of as a mere factotum, the librarian is to receive an adequate salary (perhaps the only one of dury's reforms that must wait until the millennium). the question remains to what extent dury's duties as the deputy librarian of the king's library allowed him to implement the reforms he advocated on paper. the probable answer is, not very much. the librarian's duties and responsibilities described by dury are those of an academic, university librarian, interacting with the faculty and participating fully in the intellectual life of a scholarly community. the role of the librarian of the king's library would have been that of keeper of a static and isolated collection, and dury is particularly critical of a merely custodial role: "... their emploiment," he writes of the typical librarian of his day, is "of little or no use further, then to look to the books committed to their custodie, that they may not bee lost; or embezeled by those that use them: and this is all" (p. ). the king's library was unquestionably magnificent; charles's father and brother henry had been particularly zealous in building it up, acquiring such collections as that of isaac casaubon. and charles had been the recipient in of perhaps its greatest single treasure, the codex alexandrinus, a fifth-century manuscript of the bible in greek, certainly an item that would have interested dury. the library had, in fact, great scholarly potential, but its continued existence was apparently an embarrassment to the commonwealth, and the puritan government merely wanted an overseer. so, by the determination of others, the post of deputy keeper of the king's library was little but a sinecure for dury, leaving him free to pursue his many other interests but powerless to implement the reforms he advocated in his pamphlet within the only library over which he ever had direct control. though he retained the post until the restoration, he left the library itself early in , never to return. the _dnb_ notes that dury's life was "an incessant round of journeyings, colloquies, correspondence, and publications." the account might also have added that, sadly, it was a life of many failures and frustrations, since his visionary scheme for the wholeness of life was so out of touch with the jealousies and rivalries of those he encountered. but if the larger vision that underlay _the reformed librarie-keeper_ is now merely a historical curiosity, the specific reforms that dury advocated, as seemingly impractical in his own time as his other schemes, proved to be of lasting importance. shorn of the millenarian vision that gave them their point in dury's own day, his ideas have become the accepted standards of modern librarianship. dury himself would not have been heartened by his secular acceptance: "... for except sciences bee reformed in order to this scope [of the christian and millenarian vision], the increas of knowledg will increas nothing but strife, pride and confusion, from whence our sorrows will bee multiplied and propagated unto posteritie...." (p. ). _thomas f. wright william andrews clark memorial library_ notes to the introduction [footnote : for dury's biography, see j. minton batten, _john dury, advocate of christian reunion_ (chicago: university of chicago press, ).] [footnote : on the relation of dury, hartlib, and comenius, see g.h. turnbull, _hartlib, dury and comenius_ (liverpool: university press of liverpool, ).] [footnote : hugh trevor-roper, "three foreigners: the philosophers of the puritan revolution," in his _religion, the reformation, and social change, and other essays_, d ed. (london: macmillan, ), .] [footnote : on the philosophical and theological theories of dury, hartlib, and comenius, see richard h. popkin, "the third force in seventeenth-century philosophy, scepticism, science, and biblical prophecy," _nouvelles de la république des lettres_ (spring ), and charles webster, _the great instauration: science, medicine, and reform, - _ (london: duckworth, ).] [footnote : quoted in turnbull, .] [footnote : _athenae oxonienses_, vol. (london, ), col. .] [footnote : the omitted works are _an idea of mathematicks_ by john pell (pp. - ) and _the description of one of the chiefest libraries which is in germanie_, attributed either to julius scheurl or j. schwartzkopf (pp. [ ]- , in latin). this seems to be the first printing of _the description_, which was published separately at wolfenbuttel in . john pell's essay was written around - and was prepared for publication in by hartlib, but was only actually published as an addition to _the reformed librarie-keeper_. it was of some importance in making mathematics better known at the time.] [footnote : "john durie's _reformed librarie-keeper_ and its author's career as a librarian," _the library_, st ser. ( ), .] [footnote : ruth shepard granniss, "biographical sketch," _the reformed librarie-keeper_ (chicago: a.c. mcclurg & co., ), - .] [footnote : see "john durie's _reformed librarie-keeper_," .] [footnote : richard garnett, "librarianship in the seventeenth century," in his _essays in librarianship and bibliography_ (new york: f.p. harper, ), .] bibliographical note _the reformed librarie keeper with a supplement to the reformed school_ ( ) is reproduced from the copy in the folger shakespeare library (shelf mark d /bd w/d ). a typical type page (p. ) measures x mm. not reproduced here are two additional parts in the original volume: _an idea of mathematicks_ by john pell and _the description of one of the chiefest libraries which is in germanie_, attributed either to julius scheurl or j. schwartzkopf. the reformed librarie-keeper with a supplement to the reformed-school, as subordinate to colleges in universities. _by_ john durie. whereunto is added i. an idea of _mathematicks_. ii. the description of one of the chiefest libraries which is in _germanie_, erected and ordered by one of the most learned princes in _europe_. _london_, printed by _william du-gard_, and are to bee sold by _rob. littleberrie_ at the sign of the _unicorn_ in little _britain_. . to the reader. _learned reader!_ _these tracts are the fruits of som of my sollicitations and negotiations for the advancement of learning. and i hope they may in time becom somwhat effectual to rais thy spirit to the exspectation of greater things, which may bee raised upon such grounds as these. all which are but preparatives towards that perfection which wee may exspect by the advancement of the kingdom of christ, wherein the communion of saints, by the graces of the spirit, will swallow up all these poor rudiments of knowledg, which wee now grope after by so manie helps; and till then in those endeavors i rest in the truth._ thy faithfull and unwearied servant samuel hartlib. a supplement to the _reformed school_. _loving freind!_ you have offered to mee that which i confess i did not reflect upon, when i wrote the discours you have published under the name of a _reformed school_; which is, that som may think by the waie of education, which i propose all universities and eminent places of learning might subtilly bee undermined and made useless, becaus therein a waie is shew'd how to initiate youths not onely to the principles of all religious and rational knowledg, and in the exercises of all moral virtues, but in the grounds of all civil emploiments, so far, as will make them fit for all profitable undertakings in humane societies, whence this will follow (in their apprehensions) that they shall have no advantage by beeing sent to anie universities, to attein anie further perfection: becaus the universities will not bee able to add anie thing unto them, which by their own industrie, they may not afterward attein anie where els, as well as there. truly it never came into my thoughts, either directly or indirectly to make universities useless; nor can it bee rationally infer'd from anie thing in the matter form or end of that discours of mine: but i will grant that such as can see no farther then what wee now ordinarily attein unto; and withal think that there is no _plus ultra_ in nature atteinable above that which they have conceived, such as i saie may frame to themselv's this jealousie against that discours: but if they would rais their thoughts with mee a little above the ordinarie pitch, and consider what the nature of man is capable off: and how far it may, by diligent instruction, by method and communication, bee improved: they might rather bee induced to make this inference, if the natural abilities of youths in a school (when reformed) may bee thus far improved: how far more may they bee improved, when they are past the age of youth, and com to manhood in colleges and universities, if namely colleges and universities, could in the sphere of their activities bee proportionally reformed, as the schools may bee in their sphere: for it is rational to conclude thus: if the first step of our reformation will lead us thus far, how far will the second and third lead us? and if scholastical exercises in youths of eighteen or twentie years, will advance them to that perfection of learning and virtues, which few of double their age or none almost ever attein unto, what will collegial and academical exercises (if reformed and set upon their proper objects) bring them unto? i shall therefore to eas you, or such as may have this scruple and jealousie over mee, declare that my purpose is so far from making colleges and universities useless, that if i might have my desire in them, they should becom a thousand times more useful then now they are, that is, as far above the ordinarie state wherein they are set, as this school is above the ordinarie waie of schooling: for if wee look upon the true and proper ends of school, college and universitie-studies and exercises, wee shall see that as in nature they are in a gradual proportion, distant from, and subordinate unto each other, so they ought to rise one out of another, and bee built upon each other's foundations. the true and proper end of schooling is to teach and exercise children and youths in the grounds of all learning and virtues, so far as either their capacitie in that age will suffer them to com, or is requisite to apprehend the principles of useful matters, by which they may bee made able to exercise themselvs in everie good employment afterwards by themselvs, and as the proverb is, _sine cortice natare_. the true and proper end of colleges should bee to bring together into one societie such as are able thus to exercise themselvs in anie or all kind of studies, that by their mutual association, communication, and assistance in reading, meditating and conferring about profitable matters, they may not onely perfit their own abilities, but advance the superstructures of all learning to that perfection, which by such means is attainable. and the true and proper end of universities, should bee to publish unto the world the matters, which formerly have not been published; to discover the errors and hurtfulness of things mistaken for truths; and to supplie the defects and _desiderata_, which may bee servicable to all sorts of professions. now according to those aimes and ends, i suppose it may bee inferred, that none should bee dismissed out of the schools, till they are able to make use of all sorts of books, and direct themselvs profitably in everie cours of studie or action, whereunto their _genius_ shall lead them; and that none should bee admitted into anie colleges, but such as will join with others, to elaborate som profitable tasks, for the advancement and facilitating of superstructures in things already by som discovered, but not made common unto all; and that none should bee made publick professors in universities, but such as have not onely a publick aim, but som approved abilities, to supply som defects and to elaborate som _desiderata_ of usefull knowledg, or to direct such as are studious, how to order their thoughts in all matters of search and meditation, for the discoverie of things not hitherto found out by others; but which in probabilitie may bee found out by rational searching. thus then i conceiv, that in a well-reformed common wealth, which is to bee subordinate unto the kingdom of jesus christ, wherein the glorie of god, the happiness of the nature of man: and the glorious libertie of the sons of god is to bee revealed; all the subjects thereof should in their youth bee trained up in som schools fit for their capacities, and that over these schools, som overseers should bee appointed to look to the cours of their education, to see that none should bee left destitute of som benefit of virtuous breeding, according to the several kinds of emploiments, whereunto they may bee found most fit and inclinable, whether it bee to bear som civil office in the common-wealth, or to bee mechanically emploied, or to bee bred to teach others humane sciences, or to bee imploied in prophetical exercises. as for this school, which at this time i have delineated, it is proper to such of the nobilitie, gentrie and better sort of citizens, which are fit to bee made capable to bear offices in the common-wealth: the other schools may bee spoken off in due time, so far as they are distinct from this, but that which now i have to suggest is chiefly this, that as out of the schools the chois, which ought to bee made for colleges, ought, _cæteris paribus_, onely to bee of such as are most fit to advance the ends of a collegial association; so out of colleges a chois ought to bee made of professors for the universitie onely, of such as are fitted to advance the ends of publick teaching in universities, which are not to repeat and compendiate that which others have published twentie times already, over and over again, but to add unto the common stock of humane knowledg, that which others have not observed, to the end that all these degrees of studies and exercises of the minde of man, beeing subordinate unto the kingdom of jesus christ, the happiness of man by all rational and spiritual waies of improving humane abilities, may bee advanced unto it's perfection in this life so far as may bee. but how far short wee com now of all these designs, i need not to relate unto you: the colleges as they are now conformed, can scarce reach to the half of that which the schools might bring us unto: and the professors of the universities com not up to that, which the collegial associations might elaborate, if they were rightly directed to set their talents at work; and if the publick spirit of christian love and ingenuitie did possess those, that are possessed of publick places in the colleges of the universities. for if this spirit did rule their aims and endevors, there would bee no self-seeking, no partialitie, no envie, nor anie cross actings for private ends, to the prejudice of the publick; but the generous love of virtue and of profitable learning, would swaie all their inclinations to a free conjunction; and make all their endeavors subordinate unto the publick good of the common-wealth of israël in the communion of saints. but how far this principle of acting is now wanting amongst us all, i shall not need to mention: you have considered it long ago, and wee have together lamented that defect, and the doleful effects thereof: our endevor must bee to seek out the best means of a reformation therein, and to make use of them as god shall give us opportunities. and truly somthing of this kinde might bee don, without anie great alteration or stir, even as matters now are formed in the colleges; if god would bee so gracious to us, as to beget in the mindes of those that understand those things, a heartie aim and resolution to benefit the christian common-wealth of learning, by their collegial relations and associations one to another. for if men that are ingenuous will call to minde the end first, for which god doth give them all their talents, and then also for which men of publick spirits have erected colleges and universities, and endowed the same with long and competent maintenances; that such as are fit for studies, and called to bee instrumental in the propagation of truth and virtue, might not bee distracted with the care of the world, in reference to outward matters, but might have all the conveniences which are imaginable to improve those talents to the utmost, either singly, or conveniently with others, if (i saie) ingenuous christians would minde these ends, for which the benefit of their talents from god and of their accommodations from men to improve those talents are bestowed upon them: it would not bee possible for them; to be so unthankful towards god, and avers from the rule of christianitie, and from the love of doing good to the generation wherein they live; that they should intend to lead a collegial life onely for their own private eas and conveniencie in outward things; that beeing accommodated with all necessarie helps of the bodie, they may pleas themselvs onely in the cours of their studies, with that reservation and retiredness, which is proper to a monkish life in popish cloisters; wherein the spirit of mutual envie, of detraction and division is more irreconcilably entertained, then in anie other societies of the world. for their cloister-constitutions, obliging them onely to the observation of som formal works as an _opus operatum_; for which their maintenance is allowed them; they not knowing anie further design of their life, or any greater happiness in this world, then to pleas themselvs; bestow all the rest of their time and thoughts, as their natural inclinations lead them, which is commonly to nothing els but to self-love and pride, which became a provocation unto others, to discover mutually their corruptions, which by reaction make them all full of envie, of hatred, of evil surmises, and of malicious practices one against another: so that no where satan doth dwel and rule more effectually, then in those religious houses, as they are falsly so called. how much of this monkish disposition doth remain as yet in the formal constitutions of colleges, or in the spirits of those that partake of collegial accommodations, is not a thing which i shall take upon me to judg; but i shall leav it to god, and to his daie to discover; onely i would bee glad that all such as are true israelites, and know the end of their calling unto christ, and are not willing to burie their talents, or to make them useless unto others, for whose fakes they have received them would laie this matter to heart, that their aim in a collegial life, should not bee to enjoie an easie careless waie of subsistence by and for themselvs, to follow private fancies in their studies about matters of learning; but that they should minde the stewardship of their gifts and places, and the advantages of their association, whereby they might bee, (if they would make use of it) able to elaborate som tasks, which otherwise cannot bee brought to anie perfection, for the building up of the citie of god in our generations. there is no want of parts and abilities in the spirits of our men, but the waie to order them for publick life, and to bring them together as stones fitly compacted to make up a perfect palace, is that which make's us all useless one to another; wee finde that now and then, as it were by chance, som exquisite pieces of learning, which som have been hatching all their life time drop out; wherein appear's, besides the usefulness of the subject, or the uselesness thereof, som inclination to bee found extraordinarie; but these endevors, disjointed from publick aims, advance little or nothing, the happiness, which true learning rightly ordered in all the parts thereof; and subordinate unto christianitie, is able to bring unto mankind. such pieces therefore serv onely as a witness, to shew what wast there is of profitable time and abilities, for want of loving combinations for publick designs. it is the observation of forreigners concerning our universities, that they finde in them men of as great learning as any where els; but that they lie as it were dead and unknown to the whole world of other men of learning; becaus they delight to live a retired and unsociable life: this humor therefore amongst other parts of our reformation, must by som gospel-principles and rational inducements bee reformed, not onely in colleges but in other associations. the lord teach us the waie of truth and righteousness, that wee may profit in all things to advance the glorie of his name in the kingdom of his son, in whom i rest _your friend and servant_. j.d. the reformed librarie-keeper. by john durie. _london_, printed by _william du-gard_, _anno dom._ . the _reformed librarie-keeper_: or two copies of letters concerning the place and office of a librarie-keeper. _the first letter._ the librarie-keeper's place and office, in most countries (as most other places and offices both in churches and universities) are lookt upon, as places of profit and gain, and so accordingly sought after and valued in that regard; and not in regard of the service, which is to bee don by them unto the common-wealth of israël, for the advancement of pietie and learning; for the most part, men look after the maintenance, and livelihood setled upon their places, more then upon the end and usefulness of their emploiments; they seek themselvs and not the publick therein, and so they subordinate all the advantages of their places, to purchase mainly two things thereby _viz._ an easie subsistence; and som credit in comparison of others; nor is the last much regarded, if the first may bee had; except it bee in cases of strife and debate, wherein men are over-heated: for then indeed som will stand upon the point of honor, to the hazard of their temporal profits: but to speak in particular of librarie-keepers, in most universities that i know; nay indeed in all, their places are but mercenarie, and their emploiment of little or no use further, then to look to the books committed to their custodie, that they may not bee lost; or embezeled by those that use them: and this is all. i have been informed, that in oxford (where the most famous librarie now exstant amongst protestant-christians is kept,) the setled maintenance of the librarie-keeper is not above fiftie or sixtie pound _per annum_; but that it is accidentally, _viis & modis_ somtimes worth an hundred pound: what the accidents are, and the waies by which they com, i have not been curious to search after; but i have thought, that if the proper emploiments of librarie-keepers were taken into consideration as they are, or may bee made useful to the advancement of learning; and were ordered and mainteined proportionally to the ends, which ought to bee intended thereby; they would bee of exceeding great use to all sorts of scholars, and have an universal influence upon all the parts of learning, to produce and propagate the same unto perfection. for if librarie-keepers did understand themselvs in the nature of their work, and would make themselvs, as they ought to bee, useful in their places in a publick waie; they ought to becom agents for the advancement of universal learning: and to this effect i could wish, that their places might not bee made, as everie where they are, mercenarie, but rather honorarie; and that with the competent allowance of two hundred pounds a year; som emploiments should bee put upon them further then a bare keeping of the books. it is true that a fair librarie, is not onely an ornament and credit to the place where it is; but an useful commoditie by it self to the publick; yet in effect it is no more then a dead bodie as now it is constituted, in comparison of what it might bee, if it were animated with a publick spirit to keep and use it, and ordered as it might bee for publick service. for if such an allowance were setled upon the emploiment as might maintain a man of parts and generous thoughts, then a condition might bee annexed to the bestowing of the place; that none should bee called thereunto but such as had approved themselvs zealous and profitable in som publick waies of learning to advance the same, or that should bee bound to certain tasks to bee prosecuted towards that end, whereof a list might bee made, and the waie to trie their abilities in prosecuting the same should bee described, least in after times, unprofitable men creep into the place, to frustrate the publick of the benefit intended by the doners towards posteritie. the proper charge then of the honorarie librarie-keeper in a universitie should bee thought upon, and the end of that imploiment, in my conception, is to keep the publick stock of learning, which is in books and manuscripts to increas it, and to propose it to others in the waie which may bee most useful unto all; his work then is to bee a factor and trader for helps to learning, and a treasurer to keep them, and a dispenser to applie them to use, or to see them well used, or at least not abused; and to do all this, first a _catalogue_, of the treasurie committed unto his charge is to bee made, that is all the books and manuscripts, according to the titles whereunto they belong, are to bee ranked in an order most easie and obvious to bee found, which i think is that of sciences and languages; when first all the books are divided into their _subjectam materiam_ whereof they treat, and then everie kinde of matter subdivided into their several languages: and as the catalogue should bee so made, that it may alwaies bee augmented as the stock doth increas; so the place in the librarie must bee left open for the increas of the number of books in their proper seats, and in the printed catalogue, a reference is to bee made to the place where the books are to bee found in their shelvs or repositories. when the stock is thus known and fitted to bee exposed to the view of the learned world, then the waie of trading with it, both at home and abroad, is to bee laid to heart both for the increas of the stock, and for the improvement of it to use. for the increas of the stock both at home and abroad, correspondencie should bee held with those that are eminent in everie science, to trade with them for their profit, that what they want and wee have, they may receiv upon condition, that what they have and wee want, they should impart in that facultie where their eminencie doth lie; as for such as are at home eminent in anie kinde, becaus they may com by native right to have use of the librarie-treasure, they are to bee traded withal in another waie, _viz._ that the things which are gained from abroad, which as yet are not made common, and put to publick use should bee promised and imparted to them for the increas of their private stock of knowledg, to the end that what they have peculiar, may also bee given in for a requital, so that the particularities of gifts at home and abroad, are to meet as in a center in the hand of the librarie-keeper, and hee is to trade with the one by the other, to caus them to multiplie the publick stock, whereof hee is a treasurer and factor. thus hee should trade with those that are at home and abroad out of the universitie, and with those that are within the universitie, hee should have acquaintance to know all that are of anie parts, and how their vein of learning doth lie, to supplie helps unto them in their faculties from without and from within the nation, to put them upon the keeping of correspondencie with men of their own strain, for the beating out of matters not yet elaborated in sciences; so that they may bee as his assistants and subordinate factors in his trade and in their own for gaining of knowledg: now becaus in all publick agencies, it is fit that som inspection should bee had over those that are intrusted therewith, therefore in this factorie and trade for the increas of learning, som tie should bee upon those librarie-keepers to oblige them to carefulness. i would then upon this account, have an order made that once in the year, the librarie-keeper should bee bound to give an account of his trading, and of his profit in his trade (as in all humane trades factors ought, and use to do to their principals at least once a year) and to this effect i would have it ordered, that the chief doctors of each facultie of the universitie, should meet at a convenient time in a week of the year, to receiv the accounts of his trading, that hee may shew them wherein the stock of learning hath been increased, for that year's space; and then hee is to produce the particulars which he hath gained from abroad, and laie them before them all, that everie one in his own facultie may declare in the presence of others, that which he thinketh fit to bee added to the publick stock, and made common by the catalogue of additionals, which everie year within the universities is to bee published in writing within the librarie it self, and everie three years (or sooner as the number of additionals may bee great, or later, if it bee smal) to bee put in print and made common to those that are abroad. and at this giving up of the accounts, as the doctors are to declare what they think worthie to bee added to the common stock of learning, each in their facultie; so i would have them see what the charges and pains are whereat the librarie-keeper hath been, that for his encouragement, the extraordinarie expences in correspondencies and transcriptions for the publick good, may bee allowed him out of som revenues, which should bee set a part to that effect, and disposed of according to their joint-content and judgment in that matter. here then hee should bee bound to shew them the lists of his correspondents, the letters from them in answer to his, and the reckoning of his extraordinarie expence should bee allowed him in that which hee is indebted, or hath freely laid out to procure rarities into the stock of learning. and becaus i understand that all the book-printers or stationars of the common-wealth are bound of everie book which is printed, to send a copie into the universitie librarie; and it is impossible for one man to read all the books in all faculties, to judg of them what worth there is in them; nor hath everie one abilitie to judg of all kinde of sciences what everie autor doth handle, and how sufficiently; therefore i would have at this time of giving accounts, the librarie-keeper also bound to produce the catalogue of all the books sent unto the universitie's librarie by the stationars that printed them; to the end that everie one of the doctors in their own faculties should declare, whether or no they should bee added, and where they should bee placed in the catalogue of additionals; for i do not think that all books and treaties which in this age are printed in all kindes, should bee inserted into the catalogue, and added to the stock of the librarie, discretion must bee used and confusion avoided, and a cours taken to distinguish that which is profitable, from that which is useless; and according to the verdict of that societie, the usefulness of books for the publick is to bee determined; yet becaus there is seldom anie books wherein there is not somthing useful, and books freely given are not to bee cast away, but may bee kept, therefore i would have a peculiar place appointed for such books as shall bee laid aside to keep them in, and a catalogue of their titles made alphabetically in reference to the autor's name, with a note of distinction to shew the science to which they are to bee referred. these thoughts com thus suddenly into my head, which in due time may bee more fully described, if need bee, chiefly if, upon the ground of this account, som competencie should bee found out and allowed to maintein such charges as will bee requisite, towards the advancement of the publick good of learning after this manner. the second letter. _sir!_ in my last i gave you som incident thoughts, concerning the improvement of an honorarie librarie-keeper's place, to shew the true end and use thereof, and how the keepers thereof should bee regulated in the trade, which hee is to drive for the advancement of learning, and encouraged by a competent maintenance, and supported in extraordinarie expences for the same. now i wish that som men of publick spirits and lovers of learning, might bee made acquainted with the action, upon such grounds as were then briefly suggested; who know's but that in time somthing might bee offered to the trustees of the nation, with better conceptions then these i have suggested. for, if it bee considered that amongst manie eminencies of this nation, the librarie of oxford is one of the most considerable for the advancement of learning, if rightly improved and traded withal for the good of scholars at home and abroad; if this (i saie) bee rightly considered and represented to the publick reformers of this age, that by this means this nation as in other things, so especially for pietie and learning, and by the advancement of both, may now bee made more glorious then anie other in the world; no doubt such as in the parlament know the worth of learning will not bee avers from further overtures, which may bee made towards this purpose. what a great stir hath been heretofore, about the eminencie of the librarie of heidelberg, but what use was made of it? it was ingrossed into the hands of a few, till it became a prey unto the enemies of the truth. if the librarie-keeper had been a man, that would have traded with it for the increas of true learning, it might have been preserved unto this daie in all the rarities thereof, not so much by the shuttings up of the multitude of books, and the rareness thereof for antiquitie, as by the understandings of men and their proficiencie to improv and dilate knowledg upon the grounds which hee might have suggested unto others of parts, and so the librarie-rarities would not onely have been preserved in the spirits of men, but have fructified abundantly therein unto this daie, whereas they are now lost, becaus they were but a talent digged in the ground; and as they that had the keeping of that librarie made it an idol, to bee respected and worshipped for a raritie by an implicite faith, without anie benefit to those who did esteem of it a far off: so it was just with god that it should fall into the hands of those that in all things follow an idolatrous waie, to blinde men with shewes without all realitie of substantial virtue, which is onely eminent in this, that it becometh profitable unto all, by dilating the light of knowledg, and the love of grace and goodness in the hearts of all men, that are fit to receiv the one and the other; and where this aim is not in those that are intrusted with publick places; there they in the end will bee found unprofitable servants; for the trust which god hath put into their hands to profit withal, they discharge not for the account which everie one is to give unto him of his stewardship, is not how careful hee hath kept things of use unto himself, to pride himself in the possession of that which others have not, (as the custom of men is, that know not what true glorie is) but how faithfully and diligently hee hath distributed the same to such as were worthie thereof for their good, that they might bee stirred up both to glorifie god for his goodness; and to imitate him in the communication of all good things unto others for his sake freely. this was christ's work on earth to receiv us, unto the glorie of god; this was that which hee taught by this practice, that it is _more blessed to give, then to receiv_. this is that which this envious world cannot rellish, and what stop's the current of true love in the hearts of men? nothing so much as the self-seeking of men in the waies of learning, by which they covetously obstruct the fountains of life and comfort, which might overflow and water abundantly the barren and thirstie souls of those that perish for want of address unto wisdom; which in all the waies of humane and divine learning might bee mainly advanced, by the industrie of one man in such a place, whose trade should bee such as i formerly described, to deal with the spirits of all men of parts, to set them a working one by and towards another, upon the subjects which hee should bee intrusted withal to keep in the stock of learning. it is the glorie and riches of nations and of great cities, to make themselvs the center of trade for all their neighbors; and if they can finde waies of politie, to oblige their neighbors to receiv from their magazines the commodities whereof they stand in need, it is everie waie a great benefit unto the state, so it may bee in matters of learning, and by the trade of sciences this church may oblige all the neighbor churches, and that universitie all forreiners that trade in knowledg to receiv pretious commodities, whereof they stand in need, from our magazines and storehouses; if a painful steward and dispenser thereof, bee imploied and mainteined to use industrie for so blessed a work, from whence much glorie to god in the gospel, and honor will redound to the nation. for although the waies of humane learning are almost infinite and wonderfully various, and have their peculiar uses in the outward life of man, for which most men affect them, yet in one that is to minde the universal good of all, the whole varietie and diversitie of matters useful unto this present life, as they com within the sphere of learning must bee reduced, and may bee subordinate unto the advancement of the gospel of christ, wherein the glorie of the nation, at this and all times should bee thought to stand: and truly that is the thing which take's most with mee, for which i would have that librarie thus improved by a faithful keeper, that when his trade is set on foot, with all those that are of eminent parts in their several faculties, wee knowing who they are and wherein their eminencies do lie, may have opportunities to provoke them to the right use thereof, by giving them objects from our store; and furnishing them with tasks and matters to bee elaborated, which cannot bee diverted from the scope of god's glorie to bee made known unto all men in jesus christ, for there is nothing of knowledg in the minde of man, which may not bee conveniently referred to the virtues of god in christ, whereby the humane nature is to bee exalted to that dignitie whereunto hee hath received it, that it should by him rule over the whole creation. and the want of this aim to look upon things in order to him, and to set them a working without relation to him, is that which blast's all our endevors, and make's them determin in confusion and disorder; for whatsoever is not directed in it's own place with som reference unto him must bee overthrown; nor is there anie waie left for anie to prosper in that which hee undertaketh, but to learn to know him and respect him in it, for the advancement of the kingdom over the souls of men, which by the sanctified use of all knowledg is chiefly effected. if then the trade of learning is to bee set a foot in a publick waie, and regulated to deserv the countenance of a religious state, this aim, and the waie of prosecuting of it must bee intended and beaten out; for except sciences bee reformed in order to this scope, the increas of knowledg will increas nothing but strife, pride and confusion, from whence our sorrows will bee multiplied and propagated unto posteritie; but if hee, who is to bee intrusted with the managing of this trade, bee addressed in the waie which leadeth unto this aim without partialitie, his negotiation will bee a blessing unto this age and to posteritie. i have no time to inlarge upon this subject, or to conceiv a formal and regular discours, but the thoughts which thus fall into my minde i impart unto you, that you may give them as hints unto others, who of themselvs will bee able to inlarge them either to the hous, or to such as can in due time swaie the counsels of leading men in this common-wealth. http://www.ebookforge.net a book for all readers designed as an aid to the collection, use, and preservation of books and the formation of public and private libraries by ainsworth rand spofford g. p. putnam's sons new york & london copyright by a r spofford table of contents. chapter page . the choice of books, . book buying, . the art of book binding, . preparation for the shelves: book plates, &c., . the enemies of books, . restoration and reclamation of books, . pamphlet literature, . periodical literature, . the art of reading, . aids to readers, . access to library shelves, . the faculty of memory, . qualifications of librarians, . some of the uses of libraries, . the history of libraries, . library buildings and furnishings, . library managers or trustees, . library regulations, . library reports and advertising, . the formation of libraries, . classification, . catalogues, . copyright and libraries, . poetry of the library, . humors of the library, . rare books, . bibliography, index, a book for all readers chapter . the choice of books. when we survey the really illimitable field of human knowledge, the vast accumulation of works already printed, and the ever-increasing flood of new books poured out by the modern press, the first feeling which is apt to arise in the mind is one of dismay, if not of despair. we ask--who is sufficient for these things? what life is long enough--what intellect strong enough, to master even a tithe of the learning which all these books contain? but the reflection comes to our aid that, after all, the really important books bear but a small proportion to the mass. most books are but repetitions, in a different form, of what has already been many times written and printed. the rarest of literary qualities is originality. most writers are mere echoes, and the greater part of literature is the pouring out of one bottle into another. if you can get hold of the few really best books, you can well afford to be ignorant of all the rest. the reader who has mastered kames's "elements of criticism," need not spend his time over the multitudinous treatises upon rhetoric. he who has read plutarch's lives thoroughly has before him a gallery of heroes which will go farther to instruct him in the elements of character than a whole library of modern biographies. the student of the best plays of shakespeare may save his time by letting other and inferior dramatists alone. he whose imagination has been fed upon homer, dante, milton, burns, and tennyson, with a few of the world's master-pieces in single poems like gray's elegy, may dispense with the whole race of poetasters. until you have read the best fictions of scott, thackeray, dickens, hawthorne, george eliot, and victor hugo, you should not be hungry after the last new novel,--sure to be forgotten in a year, while the former are perennial. the taste which is once formed upon models such as have been named, will not be satisfied with the trashy book, or the spasmodic school of writing. what kind of books should form the predominant part in the selection of our reading, is a question admitting of widely differing opinions. rigid utilitarians may hold that only books of fact, of history and science, works crammed full of knowledge, should be encouraged. others will plead in behalf of lighter reading, or for a universal range. it must be admitted that the most attractive reading to the mass of people is not scientific or philosophical. but there are many very attractive books outside the field of science, and outside the realm of fiction, books capable of yielding pleasure as well as instruction. there are few books that render a more substantial benefit to readers of any age than good biographies. in them we find those personal experiences and adventures, those traits of character, that environment of social and domestic life, which form the chief interest in works of fiction. in fact, the novel, in its best estate, is only biography amplified by imagination, and enlivened by dialogue. and the novel is successful only when it succeeds in depicting the most truly the scenes, circumstances, and characters of real life. a well written biography, like that of dr. johnson, by boswell, walter scott, by lockhart, or charles dickens, by forster, gives the reader an insight into the history of the times they lived in, the social, political, and literary environment, and the impress of their famous writings upon their contemporaries. in the autobiography of dr. franklin, one of the most charming narratives ever written, we are taken into the writer's confidence, sympathize with his early struggles, mistakes, and successes, and learn how he made himself, from a poor boy selling ballads on boston streets, into a leader among men, whom two worlds have delighted to honor. another most interesting book of biography is that of the brothers william and robert chambers, the famous publishers of edinburgh, who did more to diffuse useful knowledge, and to educate the people, by their manifold cheap issues of improving and entertaining literature, than was ever done by the british useful knowledge society itself. the french nation has, of all others, the greatest genius for personal memoirs, and the past two centuries are brought far more vividly before us in these free-spoken and often amusing chronicles, than in all the formal histories. among the most readable of these (comparatively few having been translated into english) are the memoirs of marmontel, rousseau, madame rémusat, amiel, and madame de staël. the recently published memoirs by imbert de st. amand, of court life in france in the times of marie antoinette, josephine, marie louise, and other periods, while hastily written and not always accurate, are lively and entertaining. the english people fall far behind the french in biographic skill, and many of their memoirs are as heavy and dull as the persons whom they commemorate. but there are bright exceptions, in the lives of literary men and women, and in some of those of noted public men in church and state. thus, there are few books more enjoyable than sydney smith's memoirs and letters, or greville's journals covering the period including george iv to victoria, or the life and letters of macaulay, or mrs. gaskell's charlotte brontë, or the memoirs of harriet martineau, or boswell's life of dr. johnson. among the briefer biographies worthy of special mention are the series of english men of letters, edited by john morley, and written by some of the best of contemporary british writers. they embrace memoirs of chaucer, spenser, bacon, sidney, milton, de foe, swift, sterne, fielding, locke, dryden, pope, johnson, gray, addison, goldsmith, burke, hume, gibbon, bunyan, bentley, sheridan, burns, cowper, southey, scott, byron, lamb, coleridge, keats, shelley, wordsworth, de quincey, macaulay, landor, dickens, thackeray, hawthorne, and carlyle. these biographies, being quite compendious, and in the main very well written, afford to busy readers a short-hand method of acquainting themselves with most of the notable writers of britain, their personal characteristics, their relation to their contemporaries, and the quality and influence of their works. americans have not as yet illustrated the field of biographic literature by many notably skilful examples. we are especially deficient in good autobiographies, so that dr. franklin's stands almost alone in singular merit in that class. we have an abundance of lives of notable generals, professional men, and politicians, in which indiscriminate eulogy and partisanship too often usurp the place of actual facts, and the truth of history is distorted to glorify the merits of the subject of the biography. the great success of general grant's own memoirs, too, has led publishers to tempt many public men in military or civil life, into the field of personal memoirs, not as yet with distinguished success. it were to be wished that more writers possessed of some literary skill, who have borne a part in the wonderful drama involving men and events enacted in this country during the century now drawing to a close, had given us their sincere personal impressions in autobiographic form. such narratives, in proportion as they are truthful, are far more trustworthy than history written long after the event by authors who were neither observers nor participants in the scenes which they describe. among american biographies which will help the reader to gain a tolerably wide acquaintance with the men and affairs of the past century in this country, are the series of lives of american statesmen, of which thirty volumes have been published. these include washington, the adamses, jefferson, franklin, hamilton, jay, madison, marshall, monroe, henry, gallatin, morris, randolph, jackson, van buren, webster, clay, calhoun, cass, benton, seward, lincoln, chase, stevens, and sumner. while these memoirs are of very unequal merit, they are sufficiently instructive to be valuable to all students of our national history. another very useful series is that of american men of letters, edited by charles dudley warner, in fifteen volumes, which already includes franklin, bryant, cooper, irving, noah webster, simms, poe, emerson, ripley, margaret fuller, willis, thoreau, taylor, and curtis. in the department of history, the best books for learners are not always the most famous. any mere synopsis of universal history is necessarily dry reading, but for a constant help in reference, guiding one to the best original sources, under each country, and with very readable extracts from the best writers treating on each period, the late work of j. n. larned, "history for ready reference," five volumes, will be found invaluable. brewer's historic note book, in a single volume, answers many historic queries in a single glance at the alphabet. for the history of the united states, either john fiske's or eggleston's is an excellent compend, while for the fullest treatment, bancroft's covers the period from the discovery of america up to the adoption of the constitution in , in a style at once full, classical, and picturesque. for continuations, mcmaster's history of the people of the united states covers the period from to , and is being continued. james schouler has written a history of the united states from to , in five volumes, while j. f. rhodes ably covers the years to the civil war with a much more copious narrative. for the annals of england, the short history of england by j. r. green is a most excellent compend. for more elaborate works, the histories of hume and macaulay bring the story of the british empire down to about . for the more modern period, lecky's history of england in the th century is excellent, and for the present century, mccarthy's history of our own time, and miss martineau's history of england, - , are well written works. french history is briefly treated in the student's history of france, while guizot's complete history, in eight volumes, gives a much fuller account, from the beginnings of france in the roman period, to the year . carlyle's french revolution is a splendid picture of that wonderful epoch, and sloane's history of napoleon gives very full details of the later period. for the history of germany, austria, russia, france, spain, italy, holland, and other countries, the various works in the "story of the nations" series, are excellent brief histories. motley's rise of the dutch republic and his united netherlands are highly important and well written historical works. the annals of the ancient world are elaborately and ably set forth in grote's history of greece, merivale's rome, and gibbon's decline and fall of the roman empire. another class of books closely allied to biography and history, is the correspondence of public men, and men of letters, with friends and contemporaries. these familiar letters frequently give us views of social, public, and professional life which are of absorbing interest. among the best letters of this class may be reckoned the correspondence of horace walpole, madame de sévigné, the poets gray and cowper, lord macaulay, lord byron, and charles dickens. written for the most part with unstudied ease and unreserve, they entertain the reader with constant variety of incident and character, while at the same time they throw innumerable side-lights upon the society and the history of the time. next, we may come to the master-pieces of the essay-writers. you will often find that the best treatise on any subject is the briefest, because the writer is put upon condensation and pointed statement, by the very form and limitations of the essay, or the review or magazine article. book-writers are apt to be diffuse and episodical, having so extensive a canvas to cover with their literary designs. among the finest of the essayists are montaigne, lord bacon, addison, goldsmith, macaulay, sir james stephen, cardinal newman, de quincey, charles lamb, washington irving, emerson, froude, lowell, and oliver wendell holmes. you may spend many a delightful hour in the perusal of any one of these authors. we come now to poetry, which some people consider very unsubstantial pabulum, but which forms one of the most precious and inspiring portions of the literature of the world. in all ages, the true poet has exercised an influence upon men's minds that is unsurpassed by that of any other class of writers. and the reason is not far to seek. poetry deals with the highest thoughts, in the most expressive language. it gives utterance to all the sentiments and passions of humanity in rhythmic and harmonious verse. the poet's lines are remembered long after the finest compositions of the writers of prose are forgotten. they fasten themselves in the memory by the very flow and cadence of the verse, and they minister to that sense of melody that dwells in every human brain. what the world owes to its great poets can never be fully measured. but some faint idea of it may be gained from the wondrous stimulus given through them to the imaginative power, and from the fact that those sentiments of human sympathy, justice, virtue, and freedom, which inspire the best poetry of all nations, become sooner or later incarnated in their institutions. this is the real significance of the oft-quoted saying of andrew fletcher, that stout scotch republican of two centuries ago, that if one were permitted to make all the ballads of a nation, he need not care who should make the laws. in the best poetry, the felicity of its expressions of thought, joined with their rhythmical form, makes it easy for the reader to lay up almost unconsciously a store in the memory of the noblest poetic sentiments, to comfort or to divert him in many a weary or troubled hour. hence time is well spent in reading over and over again the great poems of the world. far better and wiser is this, than to waste it upon the newest trash that captivates the popular fancy, for the last will only tickle the intellectual palate for an hour, or a day, and be then forgotten, while the former will make one better and wiser for all time. nor need one seek to read the works of very many writers in order to fill his mind with images of truth and beauty which will dwell with him forever. the really great poets in the english tongue may be counted upon the fingers. shakespeare fitly heads the list--a world's classic, unsurpassed for reach of imagination, variety of scenes and characters, profound insight, ideal power, lofty eloquence, moral purpose, the most moving pathos, alternating with the finest humor, and diction unequalled for strength and beauty of expression. milton, too, in his minor poems, has given us some of the noblest verse in the language. there is poetry enough in his l'allegro and il penseroso to furnish forth a whole galaxy of poets. spenser and pope, gray and campbell, goldsmith and burns, wordsworth and the brownings, tennyson and longfellow,--these are among the other foremost names in the catalogue of poets which none can afford to neglect. add to these the best translations of homer, virgil, horace, dante, and goethe, and one need not want for intellectual company and solace in youth or age. among the books which combine entertainment with information, the best narratives of travellers and voyagers hold an eminent place. in them the reader enlarges the bounds of his horizon, and travels in companionship with his author all over the globe. while many, if not the most, of the books of modern travellers are filled with petty incidents and personal observations of no importance, there are some wonderfully good books of this attractive class. such are kinglake's "eothen, or traces of travel in the east," helen hunt jackson's "bits of travel," a volume of keen and amusing sketches of german and french experiences, the books of de amicus on holland, constantinople, and paris, those on england by emerson, hawthorne, william winter, and richard grant white, curtis's nile notes, howell's "venetian life," and taine's "italy, rome and naples." the wide domain of science can be but cursorily touched upon. many readers get so thorough a distaste for science in early life--mainly from the fearfully and wonderfully dry text-books in which our schools and colleges have abounded--that they never open a scientific book in later years. this is a profound mistake, since no one can afford to remain ignorant of the world in which we live, with its myriad wonders, its inexhaustible beauties, and its unsolved problems. and there are now works produced in every department of scientific research which give in a popular and often in a fascinating style, the revelations of nature which have come through the study and investigation of man. such books are "the stars and the earth," kingsley's "glaucus, or wonders of the shore," clodd's "story of creation," (a clear account of the evolution theory) figuier's "vegetable world," and professor langley's "new astronomy." there are wise specialists whose published labors have illuminated for the uninformed reader every nook and province of the mysteries of creation, from the wing of a beetle to the orbits of the planetary worlds. there are few pursuits more fascinating than those that bring us acquainted with the secrets of nature, whether dragged up from the depths of the sea, or demonstrated in the substance and garniture of the green earth, or wrung from the far-off worlds in the shining heavens. a word only can be spared to the wide and attractive realm of fiction. in this field, those are the best books which have longest kept their hold upon the public mind. it is a wise plan to neglect the novels of the year, and to read (or to re-read in many cases) the master-pieces which have stood the test of time, and criticism, and changing fashions, by the sure verdict of a call for continually new editions. ouida and trilby may endure for a day, but thackeray and walter scott are perennial. it is better to read a fine old book through three times, than to read three new books through once. of books more especially devoted to the history of literature, in times ancient and modern, and in various nations, the name is legion. i count up, of histories of english literature alone (leaving out the american) no less than one hundred and thirty authors on this great field or some portion of it. to know what ones of these to study, and what to leave alone, would require critical judgment and time not at my command. i can only suggest a few known by me to be good. for a succinct yet most skilfully written summary of english writers, there is no book that can compare with stopford a. brooke's primer of english literature. for more full and detailed treatment, taine's history of english literature, or chambers' cyclopaedia of english literature, two volumes, with specimens of the writers of every period, are the best. e. c. stedman's victorian poets is admirable, as is also his poets of america. for a bird's eye view of american authors and their works, c. f. richardson's primer of american literature can be studied to advantage, while for more full reference to our authors, with specimens of each, stedman's library of american literature in eleven volumes, should be consulted. m. c. tyler's very interesting critical history of the early american literature, so little known, comes down in its fourth volume only to the close of the revolution in . for classical literature, the importance of a good general knowledge of which can hardly be overrated, j. p. mahaffy's history of greek literature, two volumes, and g. a. simcox's latin literature, two volumes, may be commended. on the literature of modern languages, to refer only to works written in english, saintsbury's primer of french literature is good, and r. garnett's history of italian literature is admirable (by the former keeper of printed books in the british museum library). lublin's primer of german literature is excellent for a condensed survey of the writers of germany, while w. scherer's history of german literature, two volumes, covers a far wider field. for spanish literature in its full extent, there is no work at all equal to george ticknor's three volumes, but for a briefer history, h. b. clark's hand-book of spanish literature, london, , may be used. i make no allusion here to the many works of reference in the form of catalogues and bibliographical works, which may be hereafter noted. my aim has been only to indicate the best and latest treatises covering the leading literatures of the world, having no space for the scandinavian, dutch, portuguese, russian, or any of the slavonic or oriental tongues. those who find no time for studying the more extended works named, will find much profit in devoting their hours to the articles in the encyclopaedia britannica upon the literatures of the various countries. these are within reach of everyone. the select list of books named in this chapter does not by any means aim to cover those which are well worth reading; but only to indicate a few, a very few, of the best. it is based on the supposition that intelligent readers will give far less time to fiction than to the more solid food of history, biography, essays, travels, literary history, and applied science. the select list of books in the fields already named is designed to include only the most improving and well-executed works. many will not find their favorites in the list, which is purposely kept within narrow limits, as a suggestion only of a few of the best books for a home library or for general reading. you will find it wise to own, as early in life as possible, a few of the choicest productions of the great writers of the world. those who can afford only a selection from a selection, can begin with never so few of the authors most desired, or which they have not already, putting in practice the advice of shakespeare: "in brief, sir, study what you most affect." says john ruskin: "i would urge upon every young man to obtain as soon as he can, by the severest economy, a restricted and steadily increasing series of books, for use through life; making his little library, of all his furniture, the most studied and decorative piece." and henry ward beecher urged it as the most important early ambition for clerks, working men and women, and all who are struggling up in life, to form gradually a library of good books. "it is a man's duty," says he, "to have books. a library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life." and says bishop hurst, urging the vital importance of wise selection in choosing our reading: "if two-thirds of the shelves of the typical domestic library were emptied of their burden, and choice books put in their stead, there would be reformation in intelligence and thought throughout the civilized world." selection of books for public libraries. let us now consider the subject of books fitted for public libraries. at the outset, it is most important that each selection should be made on a well considered plan. no hap-hazard, or fitfully, or hastily made collection can answer the two ends constantly to be aimed at--namely, first, to select the best and most useful books, and, secondly, to economize the funds of the library. no money should be wasted upon whims and experiments, but every dollar should be devoted to the acquisition of improving books. as to the principles that should govern and the limitations to be laid down, these will depend much upon the scope of the library, and the amount of its funds. no library of the limited and moderate class commonly found in our public town libraries can afford to aim at the universal range of a national library, nor even at the broad selections proper to a liberally endowed city library. but its aims, while modest, should be comprehensive enough to provide a complete selection of what may be termed standard literature, for the reading public. if the funds are inadequate to do this in the beginning, it should be kept constantly in view, as the months and years go on. every great and notable book should be in the library sooner or later, and if possible at its foundation. thus will its utility and attractiveness both be well secured. taking first the case of a small public library about to be started, let us see in a few leading outlines what it will need. . a selection of the best works of reference should be the corner-stone of every library collection. in choosing these, regard must be had to secure the latest as well as the best. never buy the first edition of soule's synonymes because it is cheap, but insist upon the revised and enlarged edition of . never acquire an antiquated lempriere's or anthon's classical dictionary, because some venerable library director, who used it in his boyhood, suggests it, when you can get professor h. t. peck's "dictionary of classical antiquities," published in . never be tempted to buy an old edition of an encyclopaedia at half or quarter price, for it will be sure to lack the populations of the last census, besides being a quarter of a century or more in arrears in its other information. when consulting sale catalogues to select reference books, look closely at the dates of publication, and make sure by your american or english catalogues that no later edition has appeared. it goes without saying that you will have these essential bibliographies, as well as lowndes' manual of english literature first of all, whether you are able to buy watt and brunet or not. . without here stopping to treat of books of reference in detail, which will appear in another place, let me refer to some other great classes of literature in which every library should be strong. history stands fairly at the head, and while a newly established library cannot hope to possess at once all the noted writers, it should begin by securing a fine selection, embracing general history, ancient and modern, and the history of each country, at least of the important nations. for compendious short histories, the "story of the nations" series, by various writers, should be secured, and the more extensive works of gibbon, grote, mommsen, duruy, fyffe, green, macaulay, froude, mccarthy, carlyle, thiers, bancroft, motley, prescott, fiske, schouler, mcmaster, buckle, guizot, etc., should be acquired. the copious lists of historical works appended to larned's "history for ready reference" will be useful here. . biography stands close to history in interest and importance. for general reference, or the biography of all nations, lippincott's universal pronouncing dictionary of biography is essential, as well as appleton's cyclopaedia of american biography, for our own country. for great britain, the "dictionary of national biography" is a mine of information, and should be added if funds are sufficient. certain sets of collective biographies which are important are american statesmen, vols., englishmen of letters, -- vols., autobiography, vols., famous women series, vols., heroes of the nation series, vols., american pioneers and patriots, vols., and plutarch's lives. then of indispensable single biographies there are boswell's johnson, lockhart's scott, froude's carlyle, trevelyan's macaulay, froude's caesar, lewes' goethe, etc. . of notable essays, a high class of literature in which there are many names, may be named addison, montaigne, bacon, goldsmith, emerson, lamb, de quincey, holmes, lowell, etc. . poetry stands at the head of all the literature of imagination. some people of highly utilitarian views decry poetry, and desire to feed all readers upon facts. but that this is a great mistake will be apparent when we consider that the highest expressions of moral and intellectual truth and the most finely wrought examples of literature in every nation are in poetic form. take out of the world's literature the works of its great poets, and you would leave it poor indeed. poetry is the only great source for the nurture of imagination, and without imagination man is a poor creature. i read the other day a dictum of a certain writer, alleging that dickens's christmas carol is far more effective as a piece of writing than milton's noble ode "on the morning of christ's nativity." such comparisons are of small value. in point of fact, no library can spare either of them. i need not repeat the familiar names of the great poets; they are found in all styles of production, and some of the best are among the least expensive. . travels and voyages form a very entertaining as well as highly instructive part of a library. a good selection of the more notable will prove a valuable resource to readers of nearly every age. . the wide field of science should be carefully gleaned for a good range of approved text-books in each department. so progressive is the modern world that the latest books are apt to be the best in each science, something which is by no means true in literature. . in law, medicine, theology, political science, sociology, economics, art, architecture, music, eloquence, and language, the library should be provided with the leading modern works. . we come now to fiction, which the experience of all libraries shows is the favorite pabulum of about three readers out of four. the great demand for this class of reading renders it all the more important to make a wise and improving selection of that which forms the minds of multitudes, and especially of the young. this selection presents to every librarian and library director or trustee some perplexing problems. to buy indiscriminately the new novels of the day, good, bad, and indifferent (the last named greatly predominating) would be a very poor discharge of the duty devolving upon those who are the responsible choosers of the reading of any community. conceding, as we must, the vast influence and untold value of fiction as a vehicle of entertainment and instruction, the question arises--where can the line be drawn between the good and improving novels, and novels which are neither good nor improving? this involves something more than the moral tone and influence of the fictions: it involves their merits and demerits as literature also. i hold it to be the bounden duty of those who select the reading of a community to maintain a standard of good taste, as well as of good morals. they have no business to fill the library with wretched models of writing, when there are thousand of good models ready, in numbers far greater than they have money to purchase. weak and flabby and silly books tend to make weak and flabby and silly brains. why should library guides put in circulation such stuff as the dime novels, or "old sleuth" stories, or the slip-slop novels of "the duchess," when the great masters of romantic fiction have endowed us with so many books replete with intellectual and moral power? to furnish immature minds with the miserable trash which does not deserve the name of literature, is as blameworthy as to put before them books full of feverish excitement, or stories of successful crime. we are told, indeed (and some librarians even have said it) that for unformed readers to read a bad book is better than to read none at all. i do not believe it. you might as well say that it is better for one to swallow poison than not to swallow any thing at all. i hold that library providers are as much bound to furnish wholesome food for the minds of the young who resort to them for guidance, as their parents are to provide wholesome food for their bodies. but the question returns upon us--what is wholesome food? in the first place, it is that great body of fiction which has borne the test, both of critical judgment, and of popularity with successive generations of readers. it is the novels of scott, austen, dickens, thackeray, george eliot, cooper, hawthorne, kingsley, mulock-craik, and many more, such as no parents need blush to put into the hands of their daughters. in the next place, it is such a selection from the myriads of stories that have poured from the press of this generation as have been approved by the best readers, and the critical judgment of a responsible press. as to books of questionable morality, i am aware that contrary opinions prevail on the question whether any such books should be allowed in a public library, or not. the question is a different one for the small town libraries and for the great reference libraries of the world. the former are really educational institutions, supported at the people's expense, like the free schools, and should be held to a responsibility from which the extensive reference libraries in the city are free. the latter may and ought to preserve every form of literature, and, if national libraries, they would be derelict in their duty to posterity if they did not acquire and preserve the whole literature of the country, and hand it down complete to future generations. the function of the public town library is different. it must indispensably make a selection, since its means are not adequate to buy one-tenth of the annual product of the press, which amounts in only four nations (england, france, germany, and the united states) to more than thirty-five thousand new volumes a year. its selection, mainly of american and english books, must be small, and the smaller it is, the greater is the need of care in buying. in fact, it is in most cases, compelled to be a selection from a selection. therefore, in the many cases of doubt arising as to the fit character of a book, let the doubt be resolved in favor of the fund, thus preserving the chance of getting a better book for the money. with this careful and limited selection of the best, out of the multitude of novels that swarm from the press, the reading public will have every reason to be satisfied. no excuse can be alleged for filling up our libraries with poor books, while there is no dearth whatever of good ones. it is not the business of a public library to compete with the news stands or the daily press in furnishing the latest short stories for popular consumption; a class of literature whose survival is likely to be quite as short as the stories themselves. take an object lesson as to the mischiefs of reading the wretched stuff which some people pretend is "better than no reading at all" from the boy jesse pomeroy, who perpetrated a murder of peculiar atrocity in boston. "pomeroy confessed that he had always been a great reader of 'blood and thunder' stories, having read probably sixty dime novels, all treating of scalping and deeds of violence. the boy said that he had no doubt that the reading of those books had a great deal to do with his course, and he would advise all boys to leave them alone." in some libraries, where the pernicious effect of the lower class of fiction has been observed, the directors have withdrawn from circulation a large proportion of the novels, which had been bought by reason of their popularity. in other newly started libraries only fiction of the highest grade has been placed in the library from the start, and this is by far the best course. if readers inquire for inferior or immoral books, and are told that the library does not have them, although they will express surprise and disappointment, they will take other and improving reading, thus fulfilling the true function of the library as an educator. librarians and library boards cannot be too careful about what constitutes the collection which is to form the pabulum of so many of the rising generation. this does not imply that they are to be censors, or prudes, but with the vast field of literature before them from which to choose, they are bound to choose the best. the american library association has had this subject under discussion repeatedly, and while much difference of opinion has arisen from the difficulty of finding any absolute standard of excellence, nearly all have agreed that as to certain books, readers should look elsewhere than to the public free library for them. at one time a list of authors was made out, many of whose works were deemed objectionable, either from their highly sensational character, or their bad style, or their highly wrought and morbid pictures of human passions, or their immoral tendency. this list no doubt will surprise many, as including writers whose books everybody, almost, has read, or has been accustomed to think well of. it embraces the following popular authors, many of whose novels have had a wide circulation, and that principally through popular libraries. here follow the names: mary j. holmes, mrs. henry wood, c. l. hentz, m. p. finley, mrs. a. s. stephens, e. d. e. n. southworth, mrs. forrester, rhoda broughton, helen mathers, jessie fothergill, m. e. braddon, florence marryat, ouida, horatio alger, mayne reid, oliver optic, w. h. s. kingston, e. kellogg, g. w. m. reynolds, c. fosdick, edmund yates, g. a. lawrence, grenville murray, w. h. ainsworth, wilkie collins, e. l. bulwer-lytton, w. h. thomes, and augusta evans wilson. bear in mind, that only english and american novels are included, and those only of the present century: also, that as to many which are included, no imputation of immorality was made. such a "black list" is obviously open to the charge of doing great injustice to the good repute of writers named, since only a part of the works written by some of them can properly be objected to, and these are not specially named. bulwer-lytton, for example, whose "paul clifford" is a very improper book to go into the hands of young people, has written at least a dozen other fictions of noble moral purpose, and high literary merit. out of seventy public libraries to which the list was sent, with inquiry whether the authors named were admitted as books of circulation, thirty libraries replied. all of them admitted bulwer-lytton and wilkie collins, all but two oliver optic's books, and all but six augusta evans wilson's. reynolds' novels were excluded by twenty libraries, mrs. southworth's by eleven, "ouida's" by nine, and mrs. stephens's and mrs. henry wood's by eight. other details cannot find space for notice here. this instance is one among many of endeavors constantly being made by associated librarians to stem the ever increasing flood of poor fiction which threatens to submerge the better class of books in our public libraries. that no such wholesome attempt can be wholly successful is evident enough. the passion for reading fiction is both epidemic and chronic; and in saying this, do not infer that i reckon it as a disease. a librarian has no right to banish fiction because the appetite for it is abused. he is not to set up any ideal and impossible standard of selection. his most useful and beneficent function is to turn into better channels the universal hunger for reading which is entertaining. do readers want an exciting novel? what can be more exciting than "les miserables" of victor hugo, a book of exceptional literary excellence and power? literature is full of fascinating stories, admirably told, and there is no excuse for loading our libraries with trash, going into the slums for models, or feeding young minds upon the unclean brood of pessimistic novels. if it is said that people will have trash, let them buy it, and let the libraries wash their hands of it, and refuse to circulate the stuff which no boy nor girl can touch without being contaminated. those who claim that we might as well let the libraries down to the level of the poorest books, because unformed and ignorant minds are capable of nothing better, should be told that people are never raised by giving them nothing to look up to. to devour infinite trash is not the road to learn wisdom, or virtue, or even to attain genuine amusement. to those who are afraid that if the libraries are purified, the masses will get nothing that they can read, the answer is, have they not got the entire world of magazines, the weekly, daily, and sunday newspapers, which supply a whole library of fiction almost daily? add to these plenty of imaginative literature in fiction and in poetry, on every library's shelves, which all who can read can comprehend, and what excuse remains for buying what is neither decent nor improving? take an example of the boundless capacity for improvement that exists in the human mind and human taste, from the spread of the fine arts among the people. thirty years ago, their houses, if having any decoration at all, exhibited those fearful and wonderful colored lithographs and chromos in which bad drawing, bad portraiture, and bad coloring vied with each other to produce pictures which it would be a mild use of terms to call detestable. then came the two great international art expositions at philadelphia and chicago, each greatly advancing by the finest models, the standard of taste in art, and by new economies of reproduction placing the most beautiful statues and pictures within the reach of the most moderate purse. what has been the result? an incalculable improvement in the public taste, educated by the diffusion of the best models, until even the poor farmer of the backwoods will no longer tolerate the cheap and nasty horrors that once disfigured his walls. the lesson in art is good in literature also. give the common people good models, and there is no danger but they will appreciate and understand them. never stoop to pander to a depraved taste, no matter what specious pleas you may hear for tolerating the low in order to lead to the high, or for making your library contribute to the survival of the unfittest. is it asked, how can the librarian find out, among the world of novels from which he is to select, what is pure and what is not, what is wholesome and what unhealthy, what is improving and what is trash? the answer is--there are some lists which will be most useful in this discrimination, while there is no list which is infallible. mr. f. leypoldt's little catalogue of "books for all time" has nothing that any library need do without. another compendious list is published by the american library association. and the more extensive catalogue prepared for the world's fair in , and embracing about , volumes, entitled "catalogue of a. l. a. library: , vols. for a popular library," while it has many mistakes and omissions, is a tolerably safe guide in making up a popular library. i may note that the list of novels in this large catalogue put forth by the american library association has the names of five only out of the twenty-eight writers of fiction heretofore pronounced objectionable, and names a select few only of the books of these five. as for the later issues of the press, and especially the new novels, let him skim them for himself, unless in cases where trustworthy critical judgments are found in journals. running through a book to test its style and moral drift is no difficult task for the practiced eye. let us suppose that you are cursorily perusing a novel which has made a great sensation, and you come upon the following sentence: "eighteen millions of years would level all in one huge, common, shapeless ruin. perish the microcosm in the limitless macrocosm! and sink this feeble earthly segregate in the boundless rushing choral aggregation!" this is in augusta j. evans wilson's story "macaria", and many equally extraordinary examples of "prose run mad" are found in the novels of this once noted writer. what kind of a model is that to form the style of the youthful neophyte, to whom one book is as good as another, since it was found on the shelves of the public library? i am not insisting that all books admitted should be models of style; even a purist must admit that one of the greatest charms of literature is its infinite variety. but when book after book is filled with such specimens of literary lunacy as this, one is tempted to believe that homer and shakespeare, to say nothing of thackeray and hawthorne, have lived in vain. never fear criticism of those who find fault with the absence from your library of books that you know to be nearly worthless; their absence will be a silent but eloquent protest against them, sure to be vindicated by the utter oblivion into which they will fall. many a flaming reputation has been extinguished after dazzling callow admirers for six months, or even less. do not dread the empty sarcasm, that may grow out of the exclusion of freshly printed trash, that your library is a "back number." to some poor souls every thing that is great and good in the world's literature is a "back number"; and the bible itself, with its immortal poetry and sublimity, is the oldest back number of all. it is no part of your business as a librarian to cater to the tastes of those who act as if the reading of endless novels of sensation were the chief end of man. as one fed on highly spiced viands and stimulating drinks surely loses the appetite for wholesome and nourishing food, so one who reads only exciting and highly wrought fictions loses the taste for the master-pieces of prose and poetry. let not the fear of making many mistakes be a bug-bear in your path. if you are told that your library is too exclusive, reply that it has not means enough to buy all the good books that are wanted, and cannot afford to spend money on bad or even on doubtful ones. if you have excluded any highly-sought-for book on insufficient evidence, never fail to revise the judgment. all that can be expected of any library is approximately just and wise selection, having regard to merit, interest, and moral tone, more than to novelty or popularity. in the matter of choice, individual opinions are of small value. never buy a book simply because some reader extols it as very fine, or "splendid," or "perfectly lovely." such praises are commonly to be distrusted in direct proportion to their extravagance. a good lesson to libraries is furnished in the experience of the cleveland (ohio) public library. in , out of , volumes in that library, no less than , were novels. the governing board, on the plea of giving people what they wanted, bought nearly all new books of fiction, and went so far, even, as to buy of pinkerton's detective stories, fifteen copies each, fifteen of all mrs. southworth's novels, etc. but a change took place in the board, and the librarian was permitted to stop the growing flood of worthless fiction, and as fast as the books were worn out, they were replaced by useful reading. it resulted that four years later, with , volumes in the library, only , were novels, or less than one-fifth, instead of more than one-third of the whole collection, as formerly. in the same time, the percentage of fiction drawn out was reduced from per cent. of the aggregate books read, to per cent. libraries are always complaining that they cannot buy many valuable books from lack of funds. yet some of them buy a great many that are valueless in spite of this lack. can any thing be conceived more valueless than a set of sylvanus cobb's novels, reprinted to the number of thirty-five to forty, from the new york ledger? yet these have been bought for scores of libraries, which could not afford the latest books in science and art, or biography, history, or travel. there are libraries in which the latest books on electricity, or sewerage, or sanitary plumbing, might have saved many lives, but which must go without them, because the money has been squandered on vapid and pernicious literature. in almost every library, while some branches of knowledge are fairly represented, others are not represented at all. nearly all present glaring deficiencies, and these are often caused by want of systematic plan in building up the collection. boards of managers are frequently changed, and the policy of the library with them. all the more important is it that the librarian should be so well equipped with a definite aim, and with knowledge and skill competent to urge that aim consistently, as to preserve some unity of plan. i need not add that a librarian should be always wide awake to the needs of his library in every direction. it should be taken for granted that its general aim is to include the best books in the whole range of human knowledge. with the vast area of book production before him, he should strengthen every year some department, taking them in order of importance. some scholarly writers tell us that very few books are essential to a good education. james russell lowell named five, which in his view embraced all the essentials; namely, homer, dante, shakespeare, cervantes, and goethe's faust. prof. charles e. norton of harvard remarked that this list might even be abridged so as to embrace only homer, dante and shakespeare. i can only regard such exclusiveness as misleading, though conceding the many-sidedness of these great writers. to extend the list is the function of all public libraries, as well as of most of the private ones. next after the really essential books, that library will be doing its public good service which acquires all the important works that record the history of man. this will include biography, travels and voyages, science, and much besides, as well as history. special pains should be taken in every library to have every thing produced in its own town, county, and state. not only books, but all pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers, and even broadsides or circulars, should be sought for and stored up as memorials of the present age, tending in large part rapidly to disappear. in selecting editions of standard authors, one should always discriminate, so as to secure for the library, if not the best, at least good, clear type, sound, thick paper, and durable binding. cheap and poor editions wear out quickly, and have to be thrown away for better ones, which wise economy should have selected in the first place. for example, a widely circulated edition of scott's novels, found in most libraries, has the type so worn and battered by the many large editions printed from the plates, that many letters and words are wanting, thus spoiling not only the pleasure but abridging the profit of the reader in perusing the novels. the same is true of one edition of cooper. then there are many cheap reprints of english novels in the seaside and other libraries which abound in typographical errors. a close examination of a cheap edition of a leading english novelist's works revealed more than , typographical errors in the one set of books! it would be unpardonable carelessness to buy such books for general reading because they are cheap. librarians should avoid what are known as subscription books, as a rule, though some valid exceptions exist. most of such books are profusely illustrated and in gaudy bindings, gotten up to dazzle the eye. if works of merit, it is better to wait for them, than to subscribe for an unfinished work, which perhaps may never reach completion. a librarian or book collector should be ever observant of what he may find to enrich his collection. when in a book-store, or a private or public library, he should make notes of such works seen as are new to him, with any characteristics which their custodian may remark upon. such personal examination is more informing than any catalogue. i think each public library should possess, besides a complete set of the english translations of the greek and latin classics, a full set of the originals, for the benefit of scholarly readers. these classic texts can be had complete in modern editions for a very moderate price. how far duplicate volumes should be bought should depend upon demand, and the views of the purchasing powers. there is a real need of more than one copy of almost every standard work, else it will be perpetually out, giving occasion for numerous complaints from those who use the library. it would be a good rule to keep one copy always in, and at the service of readers, of every leading history, standard poet, or popular novel. then the duplicate copies for circulation may be one or more, as experience and ability to provide may determine. a library which caters to the novel-reading habit as extensively as the new york mercantile (a subscription library) has to buy fifty to one hundred copies of "trilby," for example, to keep up with the demand. no such obligation exists for the free public libraries. they, however, often buy half a dozen to a dozen copies of a very popular story, when new, and sell them out after the demand has slackened or died away. the methods of selection and purchase in public libraries are very various. in the worcester (mass.) public library, the librarian makes a list of desiderata, has it manifolded, and sends a copy to each of the thirteen members of the board of directors. this list is reported on by the members at the next monthly meeting of the board, and generally, in the main, approved. novels and stories are not bought until time has shown of what value they may be. the aim is mainly educational at the worcester library, very special pains being taken to aid all the pupils and teachers in the public schools, by careful selection, and providing duplicate or more copies of important works. in the public library of cleveland, ohio, there is appointed out of the governing board a book-committee of three. to one of these are referred english books wanted, to another french, and to the third german books. this sub-committee approves or amends the librarian's recommendations, at its discretion; but expensive works are referred to the whole board for determination. in the new york mercantile library, which must keep continually up to date in its supply of new books, the announcements in all the morning papers are daily scanned, and books just out secured by immediate order. many publishers send in books on approval, which are frequently bought. an agent in london is required to send on the day of publication all new books on certain subjects. the library boards of management meet weekly in new york and philadelphia, but monthly in most country libraries. the selection of books made by committees introduces often an element of chance, not quite favorable to the unity of plan in developing the resources of the library. but with a librarian of large information, discretion, and skill, there need seldom be any difficulty in securing approval of his selections, or of most of them. in some libraries the librarian is authorized to buy at discretion additions of books in certain lines, to be reported at the next meeting of the board; and to fill up all deficiencies in periodicals that are taken. this is an important concession to his judgment, made in the interest of completeness in the library, saving a delay of days and sometimes weeks in waiting for the board of directors. all orders sent out for accessions should previously be compared with the alphabeted order-card list, as well as with the general catalogue of the library, to avoid duplication. after this the titles are to be incorporated in the alphabet of all outstanding orders, to be withdrawn only on receipt of the books. the library should invite suggestions from all frequenting it, of books recommended and not found in the collection. a blank record-book for this purpose, or an equivalent in order-cards, should be always kept on the counter of the library. chapter . book buying. the buying of books is to some men a pastime; to others it is a passion; but to the librarian and the intelligent book collector it is both a business and a pleasure. the man who is endowed with a zeal for knowledge is eager to be continually adding to the stores which will enable him to acquire and to dispense that knowledge. hence the perusal of catalogues is to him an ever fresh and fascinating pursuit. however hampered he may be by the lack of funds, the zest of being continually in quest of some coveted volumes gives him an interest in every sale catalogue, whether of bookseller or of auctioneer. he is led on by the perennial hope that he may find one or more of the long-wished for and waited-for _desiderata_ in the thin pamphlet whose solid columns bristle with book-titles in every variety of abbreviation and arrangement. it is a good plan, if one can possibly command the time, to read every catalogue of the book auctions, and of the second-hand book dealers, which comes to hand. you will thus find a world of books chronicled and offered which you do not want, because you have got them already: you will find many, also, which you want, but which you know you cannot have; and you may find some of the very volumes which you have sought through many years in vain. in any case, you will have acquired valuable information--whether you acquire any books or not; since there is hardly a priced catalogue, of any considerable extent, from which you cannot reap knowledge of some kind--knowledge of editions, knowledge of prices, and knowledge of the comparative scarcity or full supply of many books, with a glimpse of titles which you may never have met before. the value of the study of catalogues as an education in bibliography can never be over-estimated. the large number of active and discriminating book-buyers from america has for years past awakened the interest and jealousy of collectors abroad, where it has very largely enhanced the price of all first-class editions, and rare works. no longer, as in the early days of dibdin and heber, is the competition for the curiosities of old english literature confined to a half-score of native amateurs. true, we have no such omnivorous gatherers of literary rubbish as that magnificent _helluo librorum_, richard heber, who amassed what was claimed to be the largest collection of books ever formed by a single individual. endowed with a princely fortune, and an undying passion for the possession of books, he spent nearly a million dollars in their acquisition. his library, variously stated at from , volumes (by dr. dibdin) to , volumes (by dr. allibone) was brought to the hammer in . the catalogue filled octavo volumes, and the sale occupied days. the insatiable owner (who was a brother of reginald heber, bishop of calcutta) died while still collecting, at the age of sixty, leaving his enormous library, which no single house of ordinary size could hold, scattered in half a dozen mansions in london, oxford, paris, antwerp, brussels and ghent. yet the owner of this vast mass of mingled nonsense and erudition, this library of the curiosities of literature, was as generous in imparting as in acquiring his literary treasures. no english scholar but was freely welcome to the loan of his volumes; and his own taste and critical knowledge are said to have been of the first order. from this, probably the most extensive private library ever gathered, let us turn to the largest single purchase, in number of volumes, made at one time for a public library. when dr. j. g. cogswell went abroad in , to lay the foundations of the astor library, he took with him credentials for the expenditure of $ , ; and, what was of even greater importance, a thoroughly digested catalogue of _desiderata_, embracing the most important books in every department of literature and science. no such opportunity of buying the finest books at the lowest prices is likely ever to occur again, as the fortuitous concourse of events brought to dr. cogswell. it was the year of revolutions--the year when the thrones were tottering or falling all over europe, when the wealthy and privileged classes were trembling for their possessions, and anxious to turn them into ready money. in every time of panic, political or financial, the prices of books, as well as of all articles of luxury, are the first to fall. many of the choicest collections came to the hammer; multitudes were eager to sell--but there were few buyers except the book merchants, who were all ready to sell again. the result was that some , volumes were gathered for the astor library, embracing a very large share of the best editions and the most expensive works, with many books strictly denominated rare, and nearly all bound in superior style, at an average cost of about $ . per volume. this extraordinary good fortune enabled the astor library to be opened on a very small endowment, more splendidly equipped for a library of reference than any new institution could be today with four or five times the money. compared with such opportunities as these, you may consider the experiences of the little libraries, and the narrow means of recruitment generally found, as very literally the day of small things. but a wise apportionment of small funds, combined with a good knowledge of the commercial value of books, and perpetual vigilance in using opportunities, will go very far toward enlarging any collection in the most desirable directions. compare for a moment with the results stated of the astor library's early purchases, the average prices paid by british libraries for books purchased from to , as published in a parliamentary return. the average cost per volume varied from _s_ or about $ a volume, for the university library of edinburgh, to _s_ _d_, or $ . a volume for the manchester free library. the latter, however, were chiefly popular new books, published at low prices, while the former included many costly old works, law books, etc. the british museum library's average was _s_ _d_ or about $ . per volume. those figures represent cloth binding, while the astor's purchases were mostly in permanent leather bindings. averages are very uncertain standards of comparison, as a single book rarity often costs more than a hundred volumes of the new books of the day; but in a library filled with the best editions of classical and scientific works, and reference books, i presume that two dollars a volume is not too high an estimate of average cost, in these days represented by the last twenty years. for a circulating library, on the other hand, composed chiefly of what the public most seek to read, half that average would perhaps express the full commercial value of the collection. of its intrinsic value i will not here pause to speak. there are many methods of book buying, of which we may indicate the principal as follows: . by direct orders from book dealers. . by competition on select lists of wants. . by order from priced catalogues. . by purchase at auction sales. . by personal research among book stocks. . by lists and samples of books sent on approval. each of these methods has its advantages--and, i may add, its disadvantages likewise. the collector who combines them, as opportunity presents, is most likely to make his funds go the farthest, and to enrich his collection the most. direct orders for purchase are necessary for most new books wanted, except in the case of the one government library, which in most countries, receives them under copyright provision. an advantageous arrangement can usually be made with one or more book-dealers, to supply all new books at a fairly liberal discount from retail prices. and it is wise management to distribute purchases where good terms are made, as thereby the trade will feel an interest in the library, and a mutuality of interest will secure more opportunities and better bargains. the submission of lists of books wanted, to houses having large stocks or good facilities, helps to make funds go as far as possible through competition. by the typewriter such lists can now be manifolded much more cheaply than they can be written or printed. selection from priced catalogues presents a constantly recurring opportunity of buying volumes of the greatest consequence, to fill gaps in any collection, and often at surprisingly low prices. much as book values have been enhanced of late years, there are yet catalogues issued by american, english and continental dealers which quote books both of the standard and secondary class at very cheap rates. even now english books are sold by the mudie and the w. h. smith lending libraries in london, after a very few months, at one-half to one-fourth their original publishing price. these must usually be rebound, but by instructing your agent to select copies which are clean within, all the soil of the edges will disappear with the light trimming of the binder. purchase at auction supplies a means of recruiting libraries both public and private with many rare works, and with the best editions of the standard authors, often finely bound. the choice private libraries of the country, as well as the poor ones, tend to pour themselves sooner or later into public auctions. the collectors of books, whose early avidity to amass libraries of fine editions was phenomenal, rarely persist in cultivating the passion through life. sometimes they are overtaken by misfortune--sometimes by indifference--the bibliomania not being a perennial inspiration, but often an acute and fiery attack, which in a few years burns out. even if the library gathered with so much money and pains descends to the heirs of the collector, the passion for books is very seldom an inherited one. thus the public libraries are constantly recruited by the opportunities of selection furnished by the forced sale of the private ones. here, public competition frequently runs up the price of certain books to an exorbitant degree, while those not wanted often sell for the merest trifle. one should have a pretty clear idea of the approximate commercial value of books, before competing for them at public sale. he may, however, if well persuaded in his own mind as to the importance or the relative unimportance to his own collection of any work, regulate his bids by that standard, regardless of commercial value, except as a limit beyond which he will not go. few librarians can personally attend auction sales--nor is it needful, when limits can so easily be set to orders. it is never safe to send an unlimited bid, as there may be others without limit, in which case the book is commonly awarded to the most remote bidder. there are many curiosities of the auction room, one of them being the frequent re-appearance of book rarities which have been through several auctions, sometimes at intervals of years, keenly competed for by rival bibliophiles, and carried off in triumph by some ardent collector, who little thought at the time how soon his own collection would come to the hammer. there are also many curiosities of compilation in auction catalogues. not to name errors of commission, like giving the authorship of books to the wrong name, and errors of omission, like giving no author's name at all, some catalogues are thickly strewn with the epithets _rare_--and _very rare_, when the books are sufficiently common in one or the other market. do not be misled by these surface indications. books are often attributed in catalogues to their editor or translator, and the unwary buyer may thus find himself saddled with a duplicate already in his own collection. there has been much improvement in late years in the care with which auction catalogues are edited, and no important collection at least is offered, without having first passed through the hands of an expert, familiar with bibliography. it is the minor book sales where the catalogues receive no careful editing, and where the dates and editions are frequently omitted, that it is necessary to guard against. it is well to refrain from sending any bids out of such lists, because they furnish no certain identification of the books, and if all would do the same, thus diminishing the competition and the profit of the auctioneer, he might learn never to print a catalogue without date, place of publication, and full name of author of every book offered. never be too eager to acquire an auction book, unless you are very thoroughly assured that it is one of the kind truly designated _rarissimus_. an eminent and thoroughly informed book collector, with an experience of forty years devoted to book auctions and book catalogues, assured me that it was his experience that almost every book would turn up on the average about every seven years. of course there are notable exceptions--and especially among the class of books known as _incunabula_, (or cradle-books printed in the infancy of printing) and of early americana: but it is not these which the majority of libraries are most in search of. remember always, if you lose a coveted volume, that there will be another chance--perhaps many of them. the private collector, who carries it off against you, has had no former opportunity to get the rare volume, and may never have another. he is therefore justified in paying what is to ordinary judgment an extraordinary price. individual collectors die, but public libraries are immortal. if you become thoroughly conversant with priced catalogues, you will make fewer mistakes than most private buyers. not only catalogues of notable collections, with the prices obtained at auction, but the large and very copious catalogues of such london book-dealers as quaritch and sotheran, are accessible in the great city libraries. these are of the highest use in suggesting the proximate prices at which important books have been or may be acquired. since , annual volumes entitled "american book prices current" have been issued, giving the figures at which books have been sold at all the principal auction sales of the year. there is no word so much abused as the term _rare_, when applied to books. librarians know well the unsophisticated citizen who wants to sell at a high price a "rare" volume of divinity "a hundred and fifty years old" (worth possibly twenty-five cents to half a dollar,) and the persistent woman who has the rarest old bible in the country, which she values anywhere from fifty to five hundred dollars, and which turns out on inspection to be an imperfect copy of one of barker's multitudinous editions of to ' , which may be picked up at five to eight shillings in any old london book-shop. the confident assertions so often paraded, even in catalogues, "only three copies known," and the like, are to be received with absolute incredulity, and the claims of ignorant owners of books who fancy that their little pet goose is a fine swan, because they never saw another, are as ridiculous as the laudation bestowed by a sapient collector upon two of his most valued nuggets. "this, sir, is unique, but not so unique as the other." buying books by actual inspection at the book-shops is even more fascinating employment than buying them through catalogues. you thus come upon the most unexpected volumes unawares. you open the covers, scan the title-pages, get a glimpse of the plates, and flit from book to book, like a bee gathering honey for its hive. it is a good way to recruit your library economically, to run through the stock of a book-dealer systematically--neglecting no shelf, but selecting throughout the whole stock, and laying aside what you think you may want. when this is done, you will have quite a pile of literature upon which to negotiate with the proprietor. it is cheaper to buy thus at wholesale than by piecemeal, because the bookseller will make you a larger discount on a round lot of which you relieve his shelves. another method of recruiting your library is the examination of books "on approval." most book-dealers will be so obliging as to send in parcels of books for the inspection of a librarian or collector, who can thus examine them leisurely and with more thoroughness than in a book store, without leaving his business. all books, by whatever course they may be purchased, are indispensably to be collated before they are accepted and paid for. neglect of this will fill any library with imperfections, since second-hand books are liable to have missing leaves, or plates, or maps, while new books may lack signatures or plates, or be wrongly bound together. in the case of new books, or books still in print, the publisher is bound to make good an imperfection. in old books, this is usually impossible, and the only remedy is to return the imperfect books upon the seller's hands, unless there may be a reason, such as the rarity of the volume, or its comparative little cost, or the trifling nature of the imperfection, for retaining it. the equities in these cases are in favor of the buyer, who is presumed to have purchased a perfect copy. but the right of reclamation must be exercised promptly, or it may be forfeited by lapse of time. if an imperfection in any book you order is noted in the catalogue, it is not subject to return. i have ever found the book auctioneers most courteous and considerate in their dealings--and the same can be said of the book trade generally, among whom instances of liberality to libraries are by no means rare. one of the choicest pleasures of the book collector, whether private student or librarian, is to visit the second-hand book-shops of any city, and examine the stock with care. while he may find but few notable treasures in one collection, a search through several shops will be almost sure to reward him. here are found many of the outpourings of the private libraries, formed by specialists or amateurs, and either purchased by the second-hand dealer _en bloc_, or bid off by him at some auction sale. even rare books are picked up in this way, no copies of which can be had by order, because long since "out of print." the stock in these shops is constantly changing, thus adding a piquant and sometimes exciting element to the book-hunter, who is wise in proportion as he seizes quickly upon all opportunities of new "finds" by frequent visits. to mourn over a lost chance in rare books is often more grievous to the zealous collector, than to lose a large share out of his fortune; while to exult over a literary nugget long sought and at length found is a pleasure to which few others can be compared. of the many _bouquinistes_ whose open-air shops line the quays of paris along the seine, numbering once as many as a hundred and fifty dealers in second-hand books, i have no room to treat; books have been written about them, and the _littérateurs_ of france, of europe, and of america have profited by countless bargains in their learned wares. nor can i dwell upon the literary wealth of london book-shops, dark and dingy, but ever attractive to the hungry scholar, or the devotee of bibliomania. of the many second-hand booksellers (or rather sellers of second-hand books) in american cities, the more notable have passed from the stage of action in the last quarter of a century. old william gowans, a quaint, intelligent scotchman, in shabby clothes and a strong face deeply marked with small pox, was for many years the dean of this fraternity in new york. his extensive book-shop in nassau street, with its dark cellar, was crowded and packed with books on shelves, on stairways and on the floors, heaped and piled in enormous masses, amid which the visitor could hardly find room to move. on one of the piles you might find the proprietor seated-- books to the right of him, books to the left of him, books behind him, volleyed and tumbled, while he answered inquiries for books from clergymen and students, or gruffly bargained with a boy or an old woman for a dilapidated lot of old books. he had a curious quizzical way with strangers, who at once set him down as an oddity, and his impatience with ignoramuses and bores gave him the repute of crustiness, which was redeemed by suavity enough whenever he met with people of intelligence. gowans issued scores of catalogues of his stock, in which titles were often illustrated by notes, always curious and often amusing, credited to "western memorabilia," a work which no bookseller or man of letters had ever heard of, but which was shrewdly suspected to have been a projected scrap-book of the observations and opinions of william gowans. there was another eccentric book-dealer's shop in nassau street kept by one john doyle, who aimed so high in his profession as to post over his door a sign reading "the moral centre of the intellectual universe." this establishment was notably full of old editions of books of english history and controversial theology. the most famous second-hand book-shop in boston was burnham's, whose fore-name was thomas oliver hazard perry, shortened into "perry burnham" by his familiars. he was a little, pale-faced, wiry, nervous man, with piercing black eyes and very brusque manners. in old and musty books he lived and moved and had his being, for more than a generation. he exchanged a stuffy, narrow shop in cornhill for more spacious quarters in washington street, near school street, where he bought and sold books with an assiduous devotion to business, never trusting to others what he could do himself. he was proud of his collection and its extent. he bought books and pamphlets at auction literally by the cart-load, every thing that nobody else wanted being bid off to burnham at an insignificant price, almost nominal. he got a wide reputation for selling cheaply, but he always knew when to charge a stiff price for a book, and to stick to it. once when i was pricing a lot of miscellaneous books picked out for purchase, mostly under a dollar a volume, we came to a copy of "the constitutions of the several independent states of america," st edition, philadelphia, , of which two hundred copies only were printed, by order of congress. this copy was in the original boards, uncut, and with the autograph of timothy pickering on the title page. "if the congress library wants that book," said mr. burnham, "it will have to pay eight dollars for it." i took it, well pleased to secure what years of search had failed to bring. the next year my satisfaction was enhanced when an inferior copy of the same book was offered at twenty dollars. burnham died a wealthy man, having amassed a million dollars in trade and by rise in real estate, as he owned the land on which the parker house stands in boston. among philadelphia dealers in second-hand books, one john penington was recognized as most intelligent and honorable. he was a book-lover and a scholar, and one instinctively ranked him not as a bookseller, but as a gentleman who dealt in books. on his shelves one always found books of science and volumes in foreign languages. another notable dealer was john campbell, a jolly, hearty irish-american, with a taste for good books, and an antipathy to negroes, as keen as the proverbial hatred of the devil for holy water. campbell wrote a book entitled "negromania," published in , in which his creed was set forth in strong language. he was a regular bidder at book auctions, where his burly form and loud voice made him a prominent figure. of notable auction sales of books, and of the extravagant prices obtained for certain editions by ambitious and eager competition, there is little room to treat. the oft-told story of the valdarfer boccaccio of , carried off at the roxburghe sale in , at £ , from earl spencer by the marquis of blandford, and re-purchased seven years after at another auction for £ , has been far surpassed in modern bibliomania. "the sound of that hammer," wrote the melodramatic dibdin, "echoed through europe:" but what would he have said of the mazarin bible of gutenberg and fust ( - ) sold in , at the ashburnham sale, for four thousand pounds, or of the latin psalter of fust and schoeffer, d ed. , which brought £ , at the syston park sale in ? this last sum (about twenty-four thousand dollars) is the largest price ever yet recorded as received for a single volume. among books of less rarity, though always eagerly sought, is the first folio shakespeare of , a very fine and perfect copy of which brought £ . at daniel's sale in . copies warranted perfect have since been sold in london for £ to £ . in new york, a perfect but not "tall" copy brought $ , in at auction. walton's "compleat angler," london, st ed. , a little book of only pages, sold for £ in . it was published for one shilling and sixpence. the first edition of robinson crusoe brought £ at the crampton sale in . the rage for first editions of very modern books reached what might be called high-water mark some time since, and has been on the decline. shelley's "queen mab," st ed. , was sold at london for £ . , and his "refutation of deism," , was sold at £ , at a london sale in . in new york, many first editions of shelley's poems brought the following enormous prices in . shelley's adonais, st ed. pisa, italy, , $ . alastor, london, , $ . the cenci, italy, , $ . hellas, london, , $ . but these were purely adventitious prices, as was clearly shown in the sale at the same auction rooms, a year or two earlier, of the following: shelley's adonais, st ed. pisa, , $ . alastor, london, , $ . the cenci, italy, , $ . hellas, london, , $ . the sales occasionally made at auction of certain books at extraordinary prices, prove nothing whatever as to the real market value, for these reasons: ( ) the auctioneer often has an unlimited bid, and the price is carried up to an inordinate height. ( ) two or more bidders present, infatuated by the idea of extreme rarity, bid against one another until all but one succumb, when the price has reached a figure which it is a mild use of terms to call absurd. ( ) descriptions in sale catalogues, though often entirely unfounded, characterising a book as "excessively rare;" "only -- copies known," "very scarce," "never before offered at our sales," etc., may carry the bidding on a book up to an unheard-of price. the appeal always lies to the years against the hours; and many a poor book-mad enthusiast has had to rue his too easy credulity in giving an extravagant sum for books which he discovers later that he could have bought for as many shillings as he has paid dollars. not that the _rarissimi_ of early printed books can ever be purchased for a trifle; but it should ever be remembered that even at the sales where a few--a very few--bring the enormous prices that are bruited abroad, the mass of the books offered are knocked down at very moderate figures, or are even sacrificed at rates very far below their cost. the possessor of one of the books so advertised as sold at some auction for a hundred dollars or upwards, if he expects to realise a tithe of the figure quoted, will speedily find himself in the vocative. while there are almost priceless rarities not to be found in the market by any buyer, let the book collector be consoled by the knowledge that good books, in good editions, were never so easy to come by as now. a fine library can be gathered by any one with very moderate means, supplemented by a fair amount of sagacity and common sense. the buyer with a carefully digested list of books wanted will find that to buy them wisely takes more time and less money than he had anticipated. the time is required to acquaint himself with the many competing editions, with their respective merits and demerits. this involves a comparison of type, paper, and binding, as well as the comparative prices of various dealers for the same books. no one who is himself gifted with good perceptions and good taste, should trust to other hands the selection of his library. his enjoyment of it will be proportioned to the extent to which it is his own creation. the passion for nobly written books, handsomely printed, and clothed in a fitting garb, when it has once dawned, is not to be defrauded of its satisfaction by hiring a commission merchant to appease it. what we do for ourselves, in the acquirement of any knowledge, is apt to be well done: what is done for us by others is of little value. we have heard of some uninformed _parvenus_, grown suddenly rich, who have first ordered a magnificent library room fitted with rose-wood, marble and gilded trappings, and then ordered it to be filled with splendidly bound volumes at so much per volume. and it is an authentic fact, that a bookseller to the czar of russia one klostermann, actually sold books at fifty to one hundred roubles by the yard, according to the binding. the force of folly could no farther go, to debase the aims and degrade the intellect of man. in the chapter upon rare books, the reader will find instances in great variety of the causes that contribute to the scarcity and enhancement of prices of certain books, without at all affecting their intrinsic value, which may be of the smallest. chapter . the art of book binding. in these suggestions upon the important question of the binding of books, i shall have nothing to say of the history of the art, and very little of its aesthetics. the plainest and most practical hints will be aimed at, and if my experience shall prove of value to any, i shall be well rewarded for giving it here. for other matters readers will naturally consult some of the numerous manuals of book-binding in english, french and german. the sumptuous bindings executed in the sixteenth century, under the patronage and the eyes of grolier, the famous tooled masterpieces of derome, le gascon, padeloup, trautz and other french artists, and the beautiful gems of the binder's art from the hands of roger payne, lewis, mackenzie, hayday and bedford, are they not celebrated in the pages of dibdin, lacroix, fournier, wheatley, and robert hoe? there are some professed lovers of books who affect either indifference or contempt for the style in which their favorites are dressed. a well known epigram of burns is sometimes quoted against the fondness for fine bindings which widely prevails in the present day, as it did in that of the scottish poet. a certain scottish nobleman, endowed with more wealth than brains, was vain of his splendidly bound shakespeare, which, however, he never read. burns, on opening the folio, found the leaves sadly worm-eaten, and wrote these lines on the fly-leaf: "through and through th' inspired leaves, ye maggots make your windings; but o respect his lordship's taste, and spare the golden bindings!" yet no real book-lover fails to appreciate the neatness and beauty of a tasteful binding, any more than he is indifferent to the same qualities in literary style. slovenly binding is almost as offensive to a cultivated eye as slovenly composition. no doubt both are "mere externals," as we are told, and so are the splendors of scenery, the beauty of flowers, and the comeliness of the human form, or features, or costume. talk as men will of the insignificance of dress, it constitutes a large share of the attractiveness of the world in which we live. the two prime requisites of good binding for libraries are neatness and solidity. it is pleasant to note the steady improvement in american bindings of late years. as the old style of "half cloth boards," of half a century ago, with paper titles pasted on the backs, has given way to the neat, embossed, full muslin gilt, so the clumsy and homely sheep-skin binding has been supplanted by the half-roan or morocco, with marble or muslin sides. few books are issued, however, either here or abroad, in what may be called permanent bindings. the cheapness demanded by buyers of popular books forbids this, while it leaves to the taste and fancy of every one the selection of the "library style" in which he will have his collection permanently dressed. what is the best style of binding for a select or a public library? is a question often discussed, with wide discrepancies of opinion. the so universally prevalent cloth binding is too flimsy for books subjected to much use--as most volumes in public collections and many in private libraries are likely to be. the choice of the more substantial bindings lies between calf and morocco, and between half or full bindings of either. for nearly all books, half binding, if well executed, and with cloth sides, is quite as elegant, and very nearly as solid and lasting as full leather; for if a book is so worn as to need rebinding, it is generally in a part where the full binding wears out quite as fast as the other. that is, it gets worn at the hinges and on the back, whether full or half-bound. the exceptions are the heavy dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and other works of reference, which are subjected to much wear and tear at the sides, as well as at the back and corners. full leather is much more expensive than half binding, though not doubly so. every librarian or book collector should understand something of book-binding and its terms, so that he may be able to give clear directions as to every item involved in binding, repairing, or re-lettering, and to detect imperfect or slighted work. the qualities that we always expect to find in a well-bound book are solidity, flexibility, and elegance. special examination should be directed toward each of these points in revising any lot of books returned from a binder. look at each book with regard to:-- . flexibility in opening. . evenness of the cover, which should lie flat and smooth--each edge being just parallel with the others throughout. . compactness--see that the volumes are thoroughly pressed--solid, and not loose or spongy. . correct and even lettering of titles, and other tooling. . good wide margins. a well-bound book always opens out flat, and stays open. it also shuts up completely, and when closed stays shut. but how many books do we see always bulging open at the sides, or stiffly resisting being opened by too great tightness in the back? if the books you have had bound do not meet all these requirements, it is time to look for another binder. the different styles of dressing books may all be summed up in the following materials: boards, cloth, vellum, sheep, bock, pig-skin, calf, russia, and morocco--to which may be added of recent years, buckram, duck, linoleum, and the imitations of leather, such as leatherette and morocco paper, and of parchment. i take no account here of obsolete styles--as ivory, wood, brass, silver and other metals, nor of velvet, satin, and other occasional luxuries of the binder's art. these belong to the domain of the amateur, the antiquary, or the book-fancier--not to that of the librarian or the ordinary book-collector. roan leather is nothing but sheep-skin, stained or colored; basil or basan is sheepskin tanned in bark, while roan is tanned in sumac, and most of the so called moroccos are also sheep, ingeniously grained by a mechanical process. as all the manufactures in the world are full of "shoddy," or sham materials, the bookbinder's art affords no exception. but if the librarian or collector patronises shams, he should at least do it with his eyes open, and with due counting of the cost. now as to the relative merits and demerits of materials for binding. no one will choose boards covered with paper for any book which is to be subjected to perusal, and cloth is too flimsy and shaky in its attachment to the book, however cheap, for any library volumes which are to be constantly in use. it is true that since the bulk of the new books coming into any library are bound in cloth, they may be safely left in it until well worn; and by this rule, all the books which nobody ever reads may be expected to last many years, if not for generations. cloth is a very durable material, and will outlast some of the leathers, but any wetting destroys its beauty, and all colors but the darkest soon become soiled and repulsive, if in constant use. in most libraries, i hold that every cloth-bound book which is read, must sooner or later come to have a stout leather jacket. it may go for years, especially if the book is well sewed, but to rebinding it must come at last; and the larger the volume, the sooner it becomes shaky, or broken at some weak spot. the many beautiful new forms of cloth binding should have a word of praise, but the many more which we see of gaudy, fantastic, and meretricious bindings, and frightful combinations of colors must be viewed with a shudder. vellum, formerly much used for book-bindings, is the modern name for parchment. parchment was the only known writing material up to the th century, when paper was first invented. there are two kinds--animal and vegetable. the vegetable is made from cotton fibre or paper, by dipping it in a solution of sulphuric acid and [sometimes] gelatine, then removing the acid by a weak solution of ammonia, and smooth finishing by rolling the sheets over a heated cylinder. vegetable parchment is used to bind many booklets which it is desired to dress in an elegant or dainty style, but is highly unsuitable for library books. vellum proper is a much thicker material, made from the skins of calves, sheep, or lambs, soaked in lime-water, and smoothed and hardened by burnishing with a hard instrument, or pumice-stone. the common vellum is made from sheep-skin splits, or skivers, but the best from whole calf-skins. the hard, strong texture of vellum is in its favor, but its white color and tendency to warp are fatal objections to it as a binding material. vellum is wholly unfit for the shelves of a library; the elegant white binding soils with dust, or the use of the hands, more quickly than any other; and the vellum warps in a dry climate, or curls up in a heated room, so as to be unmanageable upon the shelves, and a nuisance in the eyes of librarian and reader alike. the thin vegetable parchment lately in vogue for some books and booklets is too unsubstantial for anything but a lady's boudoir, where it may have its little day--"a thing of beauty," but by no means "a joy forever." sheepskin--once the full binding for most school-books, and for a large share of law and miscellaneous works for libraries, is now but little used, except in its disguised forms. it is too soft a leather for hard wear and tear, and what with abrasion and breaking at the hinges (termed by binders the joints), it will give little satisfaction in the long run. under the effect of gas and heated atmospheres sheep crumbles and turns to powder. its cheapness is about its only merit, and even this is doubtful economy, since no binding can be called cheap that has to be rebound or repaired every few years. in the form of half-roan or bock, colored sheep presents a handsome appearance on the shelf, and in volumes or sets which are reasonably secure from frequent handling, one is sometimes justified in adopting it, as it is far less expensive than morocco. pig-skin has been recently revived as a binding material, but though extremely hard and durable, it is found to warp badly on the shelves. calf bindings have always been great favorites with book-lovers, and there are few things more beautiful--_prima facie_, than a volume daintily bound in light french calf, as smooth as glass, as fine as silk, with elegant gold tooling without and within, gilt edges, and fly-leaves of finest satin. i said beautiful, _prima facie_--and this calls to mind the definition of that law term by a learned vermont jurist, who said: "gentlemen of the jury, i must explain to you that a _prima facie_ case is a case that is very good in front, but may be very bad in the rear." so of our so much lauded and really lovely calf bindings: they develop qualities in use which give us pause. calf is the most brittle of the leathers--hence it is always breaking at the hinges; it is a very smooth leather--hence it shows every scratch instantly; it is a light and delicate leather--hence it shows soils and stains more quickly than any other. out of every hundred calf-bound volumes in any well-used library, there will not remain ten which have not had to be re-bound or repaired at the end of twenty or thirty years. heavy volumes bound in calf or half-calf leather will break by their own weight on the shelves, without any use at all; and smaller volumes are sure to have their brittle joints snapped asunder by handling sooner or later--it is only a question of time. next comes russia leather, which is very thick and strong, being made of the hides of cattle, colored, and perfumed by the oil of birch, and made chiefly in russia. the objections to this leather are its great cost, its stiffness and want of elasticity, and its tendency to desiccate and lose all its tenacity in the dry or heated atmosphere of our libraries. it will break at the hinges--though not so readily as calf. lastly, we have the morocco leather, so called because it was brought from morocco, in africa, and still we get the best from thence, and from the mediterranean ports of the levant--whence comes another name for the best of this favorite leather, "levant morocco," which is the skin of the mountain goat, and reckoned superior to all other leathers. the characteristics of the genuine morocco, sometimes called turkey morocco, having a pebbled grain, distinguishing it from the smooth morocco, are its toughness and durability, combined with softness and flexibility. it has a very tenacious fibre, and i have never found a real morocco binding broken at the hinges. the old proverb--"there is nothing like leather"--is pregnant with meaning, and especially applies to the best morocco. as no material yet discovered in so many ages can take the place of leather for foot-wear and for harness, such is its tenacity and elasticity--so for book coverings, to withstand wear and tear, good leather is indispensable. there are thoroughly-bound books existing which are five centuries old--representing about the time when leather began to replace wood and metals for binding. the three great enemies of books are too great heat, too much moisture, and coal gas, which produces a sulphurous acid very destructive to bindings, and should never be used in libraries. from the dangers which destroy calf and russia leather, morocco is measurably free. as to color, i usually choose red for books which come to binding or rebinding, for these reasons. the bulk of every library is of dark and sombre color, being composed of the old-fashioned calf bindings, which grow darker with age, mingled with the cloth bindings of our own day, in which dark colors predominate. now the intermixture of red morocco, in all or most of the newly bound books, relieves the monotony of so much blackness, lights up the shelves, and gives a more cheerful aspect to the whole library. some there are who insist upon varying the colors of bindings with the subjects of the books--and the british museum library actually once bound all works on botany in green, poetry in yellow, history in red, and theology in blue; but this is more fanciful than important. a second reason for preferring red in moroccos is that, being dyed with cochineal, it holds its color more permanently than any other--the moroccos not colored red turning to a dingy, disagreeable brown after forty or fifty years, while the red are found to be fast colors. this was first discovered in the national library of france, and ever since most books in that great collection have been bound in red. a celebrated binder having recommended this color to a connoisseur who was having fine morocco binding done, instanced the example of the paris library, whose books, said he, are "mostly red," to which the amateur replied that he hoped they were. add to the merits of morocco leather the fact that it is not easily scratched nor stained, that it is very tough in wear, and resists better than any other the moisture and soiling of the hands--and we have a material worthy of all acceptance. in half-binding chosen for the great majority of books because it is much cheaper than full leather, the sides are covered with muslin or with some kind of colored paper--usually marble. the four corners of every book, however, should always be protected by leather or, better still, by vellum, which is a firmer material--otherwise they will rapidly wear off, and the boards will break easily at their corners. as to the relative merits of cloth and paper for the sides of books, cloth is far more durable, though it costs more. paper becomes quickly frayed at the edges, or is liable to peel where pasted on, though it may be renewed at small expense, and may properly be used except upon the much-read portion of the library. the cloth or paper should always harmonize in color with the leather to which it is attached. they need not be the same, but they should be of similar shade. one more reason for preferring morocco to other leathers is that you can always dispense with lettering-pieces or patches in gilding the titles on the back. all light-colored bindings (including law calf) are open to the objection that gold lettering is hardly legible upon them. hence the necessity of stamping the titles upon darker pieces of leather, which are fastened to the backs. these lettering-pieces become loose in over-heated libraries, and tend continually to peel off, entailing the expense of repairing or re-lettering. every morocco bound book can be lettered directly upon the leather. bock is made of the skin of the persian sheep, and is called persian in london. it is a partially unsuccessful imitation of morocco, becoming easily abraded, like all the sheep-skin leathers, and although it is to be had in all colors, and looks fairly handsome for a time, and is tougher than skiver (or split sheep-skin), the books that are bound in it will sooner or later become an eyesore upon the shelves. a skin of persian leather costs about one-third the price of genuine morocco, or goat. but the actual saving in binding is in a far less ratio--the difference being only six to eight cents per volume. it is really much cheaper to use morocco in the first place, than to undergo all the risks of deterioration and re-binding. of the various imitations of leather, or substitutes for it, we have leatherette, leather-cloth, duck, fibrette, feltine, and buckram. buckram and duck are strong cotton or linen fabricks, made of different colors, and sometimes figured or embossed to give them somewhat the look of leather. hitherto, they are made mostly in england, and i have learned of no american experience in their favor except the use of stout duck for covering blank books and binding newspapers. the use of buckram has been mostly abandoned by the libraries. morocco cloth is american, but has no advantage over plain muslin or book cloth, that i am aware of. leatherette, made principally of paper, colored and embossed to simulate morocco leather, appears to have dropped out of use almost as fast as it came in, having no quality of permanence, elegance, or even of great cheapness to commend it. leatherette tears easily, and lacks both tenacity and smoothness. both feltine and fibrette are made of paper--tear quickly, and are unfit for use on any book that is ever likely to be read. all these imitations of leather are made of paper as their basis, and hence can never be proper substitutes for leather. all torn leaves or plates in books should be at once mended by pasting a very thin onion-skin paper on both sides of the torn leaf, and pressing gently between leaves of sized paper until dry. corners made of vellum or parchment are more durable than any leather. when dry, the parchment becomes as hard almost as iron and resists falls or abrasion. to use it on books where the backs are of leather is a departure from the uniformity or harmony of style insisted upon by many, but in binding books that are to be greatly worn, use should come before beauty. in rebinding, all maps or folded plates should be mounted on thin canvas, linen, or muslin, strong and fine, to protect them from inevitable tearing by long use. if a coarse or thick cloth is used, the maps will not fold or open easily and smoothly. the cutting or trimming of the edges of books needs to be watched with jealous care. few have reflected that the more margin a binder cuts off, the greater his profit on any job, white paper shavings having a very appreciable price by the pound. a strictly uncut book is in many american libraries a rarity. and of the books which go a second time to the binder, although at first uncut, how many retain their fair proportions of margin when they come back? you have all seen books in which the text has been cut into by the ruthless knife-machine of the binder. this is called "bleeding" a book, and there are no words strong enough to denounce this murderous and cold-blooded atrocity. the trimming of all books should be held within the narrowest limits--for the life of a book depends largely upon its preserving a good margin. its only chance of being able to stand a second rebinding may depend upon its being very little trimmed at its first. if it must be cut at all, charge your binder to take off the merest shaving from either edge. every new book or magazine added to the library, if uncut, should be carefully cut with a paper-knife before it goes into the hands of any reader. spoiled or torn or ragged edges will be the penalty of neglecting this. you have seen people tear open the leaves of books and magazines with their fingers--a barbarism which renders him who would be guilty of it worthy of banishment from the resorts of civilization. in cutting books, the leaves should always be held firmly down--and the knife pressed evenly through the uncut leaves to the farthest verge of the back. books which are cut in the loose fashion which many use are left with rough or ragged edges always, and often a slice is gouged out of the margin by the mis-directed knife. never trust a book to a novice to be cut, without showing him how to do it, and how not to do it. the collation of new books in cloth or _broché_ should be done before cutting, provided they are issued to readers untrimmed. in collating books in two or more volumes double watchfulness is needed to guard against a missing signature, which may have its place filled by the same pages belonging to another volume--a mixture sometimes made in binderies, in "gathering" the sheets, and which makes it necessary to see that the signatures are right as well as the pages. the collator should check off all plates and maps called for by the table of contents to make sure that the copy is perfect. books without pagination are of course to have their leaves counted, which is done first in detail, one by one, and then verified by a rapid counting in sections, in the manner used by printers and binders in counting paper by the quire. the binding of books may be divided into two styles or methods, namely, machine-made book-bindings, and hand-made bindings. binding by machinery is wholly a modern art, and is applied to all or nearly all new books coming from the press. as these are, in more than nine cases out of ten, bound in cloth covers, and these covers, or cases, are cut out and stamped by machinery, such books are called "case-made." the distinction between this method of binding and the hand method is that in the former the case is made separately from the book, which is then put into it. after the sheets of any book come pressed and dried from the printing office, the first step is to fold them from the large flat sheets into book form. this is sometimes done by hand-folders of bone or some other hard material, but in large establishments for making books, it is done by a folding machine. this will fold ten thousand or more sheets in a day. the folded sheets are next placed in piles or rows, in their numerical sequence, and "gathered" by hand, _i. e._: a bindery hand picks up the sheets one by one, with great rapidity, until one whole book is gathered and collated, and the process is repeated so long as any sheets remain. next, the books are thoroughly pressed or "smashed" as it is called, in a powerful smashing-machine, giving solidity to the book, which before pressing was loose and spongy. then the books are sawed or grooved in the back by another machine, operating a swiftly moving saw, and sewed on cords by still another machine, at about half the cost of hand-sewing. next, they are cut or trimmed on the three edges in a cutting-machine. the backs of the books are made round by a rounding-machine, leaving the back convex and the front concave in form, as seen in all finished books. the books are now ready for the covers. these consist of binders' board or mill-board, cut out of large sheets into proper size, with lightning-like rapidity, by another machine called a rotary board-cutter. the cloth which is to form the back and sides of the book is cut out, of proper size for the boards, from great rolls of stamped or ribbed or embossed muslin, by another machine. the use of cloth, now so universal for book-binding, dates back little more than half a century. about , mr. leighton, of london, introduced it as a substitute for the drab-colored paper then used on the sides, and for the printed titles on the backs. the boards are firmly glued to the cloth, the edges of which are turned over the boards, and fastened on the inside of the covers. the ornamental stamps or figures seen on the covers, both at the back and sides are stamped in with a heated die of brass, or other metal, worked by machinery. the lettering of the title is done in the same way, only that gold-leaf is applied before the die falls. lastly, the book is pasted by its fly leaves or end-leaves, (sometimes with the addition of a cloth guard) to the inside of the cloth case or cover, and the book is done, after a final pressing. by these rapid machine methods a single book-manufacturing house can turn out ten thousand volumes in a day, with a rapidity which almost takes the breath away from the beholder. there is a kind of binding which dispenses entirely with sewing the sheets of a book. the backs are soaked with a solution of india-rubber, and each sheet must be thoroughly agglutinated to the backs, so as to adhere firmly to its fellows. this requires that all the sheets shall be folded as single leaves or folios, otherwise the inner leaves of the sheets, having no sewing, would drop out. this method is employed on volumes of plates, music, or any books made up of large separate sheets. in notable contrast to these rapid methods of binding what are termed case-made books, comes the hand-made process, where only partial use of machinery is possible. the rebinding process is divided into three branches: preparing, forwarding, and finishing. the most vital distinction between a machine-made and a hand-made binding, is that the cloth or case-made book is not fastened into its cover in a firm and permanent way, as in leather-backed books. it is simply pasted or glued to its boards--not interlaced by the cords or bands on which it is sewed. hence one can easily tear off the whole cover of a cloth-bound book, by a slight effort, and such volumes tend to come to pieces early, under constant wear and tear of library service. let us now turn to the practical steps pursued in the treatment of books for library use. in re-binding a book, the first step is to take the book apart, or, as it is sometimes called, to take it to pieces. this is done by first stripping off its cover, if it has one. cloth covers easily come off, as their boards are not tied to the cords on which the book is sewed, but are simply fastened by paste or glue to the boards by a muslin guard, or else the cloth is glued to the back of the book. if the book is leather-covered, or half-bound, _i. e._: with a leather back and (usually) leather on its four corners, taking it to pieces is a somewhat slower process. the binder's knife is used to cut the leather at the joints or hinges of the volume, so that the boards may be removed. the cords that tie the boards to the volume are cut at the same time. if the book has a loose or flexible back, the whole cover comes easily off: if bound with a tight back, the glued leather back must be soaked with a sponge full of water, till it is soft enough to peel off, and let the sheets be easily separated. the book is now stripped of its former binding, and the next step is to take it apart, signature by signature. a signature is that number of leaves which make up one sheet of the book in hand. thus, an octavo volume, or a volume printed in eights, as it is called, has eight leaves, or sixteen pages to a signature; a quarto four leaves; a duodecimo, or mo. twelve leaves. the term signature (from lat. _signare_, a sign) is also applied to a letter or figure printed at the foot of the first page of each sheet or section of the book. if the letters are used, the signatures begin with a. and follow in regular sequence of the alphabet. if the book is a very thick one, (or more than twenty-six signatures) then after signature z, it is customary to duplicate the letters--a. a.--etc., for the remaining signatures. if figures are used instead of letters, the signatures run on to the last, in order of numbers. these letters, indicating signatures are an aid to the binder, in folding, "gathering," and collating the consecutive sheets of any book, saving constant reference to the "pagination," as it is termed, or the paging of the volume, which would take much more time. in many books, you find the signature repeated in the "inset," or the inner leaves of the sheet, with a star or a figure to mark the sequence. many books, however, are now printed without any signature marks whatever. to return: in taking apart the sheets or signatures, where they are stuck together at the back by adhesive glue or paste, the knife is first used to cut the thread in the grooves, where the book is sewed on cords or tape. then the back is again soaked, the sheets are carefully separated, and the adhering substance removed by the knife or fingers. care has to be taken to lay the signatures in strict order or sequence of pages, or the book may be bound up wrongly. the threads are next to be removed from the inside of every sheet. the sheets being all separated, the book is next pressed, to render all the leaves smooth, and the book solid for binding. formerly, books were beaten by a powerful hammer, to accomplish this, but it is much more quickly and effectively done in most binderies by the ordinary screw press. every pressing of books should leave them under pressure at least eight hours. after pressing, the next step is to sew the sheets on to cords or twine, set vertically at proper distances in a frame, called a "sewing bench," for this purpose. no book can be thoroughly well bound if the sewing is slighted in any degree. insist upon strong, honest linen thread--if it breaks with a slight pull it is not fit to be used in a book. the book is prepared for the sewer by sawing several grooves across the back with a common saw. the two end grooves are light and narrow, the central ones wider and deeper. into these inner grooves, the cords fit easily, and the book being taken, sheet by sheet, is firmly sewed around the cords, by alternate movements of the needle and thread, always along the middle of the sheet, the thread making a firm knot at each end (called the "kettle-stitch") as it is returned for sewing on the next sheet. sometimes the backs are not sawed at all, but the sheets of the book are sewed around the cords, which thus project a little from the back, and form the "bands," seen in raised form on the backs of some books. books should be sewed on three to six cords, according to their size. this raised-band sewing is reckoned by some a feature of excellent binding. the sunken-band style is apt to give a stiff back, while the raised bands are usually treated with a flexible back. when sewed, the book is detached from its fellows, which may have been sewed on the same bench, by slipping it along the cords, then cutting them apart, so as to leave some two inches of each cord projecting, as ends to be fastened later to the board. in careful binding, the thread is sewed "all along," _i. e._: each sheet by itself, instead of "two on," as it is called. the next process is termed "lining up," and consists of putting on the proper fly-leaves or end-leaves, at the beginning and end of the volume. these usually consist of four leaves of ordinary white printing paper at each end, sometimes finished out with two leaves of colored or marbled paper, to add a touch of beauty to the book when opened. marbled paper is more durable in color than the tinted, and does not stain so easily. one of these end-leaves is pasted down to the inside cover, while the other is left flying--whence "fly-leaf." after this comes the cutting of the book at the edges. this is done by screwing it firmly in a cutting-machine, which works a sharp knife rapidly, shaving off the edges successively of the head, front and end, or "tail" as it is called in book-binding parlance. this trimming used to be done by hand, with a sharp cutting knife called by binders a "plough." now, there are many forms of cutting machines, some of which are called "guillotines" for an obvious reason. in binding some books, which it is desired to preserve with wide margins, only a mere shaving is taken off the head, so as to leave it smooth at the top, letting the front and tail leaves remain uncut. but in case of re-binding much-used books, the edges are commonly so much soiled that trimming all around may be required, in order that they may present a decent appearance. yet in no case should the binder be allowed to cut any book deeply, so as to destroy a good, fair margin. care must also be taken to cut the margins evenly, at right angles, avoiding any crooked lines. after cutting the book comes "rounding," or giving the back of the book a curved instead of its flat shape. this process is done with the hand, by a hammer, or in a rounding press, with a metallic roller. before rounding, the back of the book is glued up, that is, receives a coating of melted glue with a glueing brush, to hold the sections together, and render the back firm, and a thorough rubbing of the back with hot glue between the sections gives strength to the volume. next comes the treatment of the edges of the book, hitherto all white, in order to protect them from showing soil in long use. sometimes (and this is the cheaper process) the books are simply sprinkled at the edges with a brush dipped in a dark fluid made of burnt umber or red ochre, and shaken with a quick concussion near the edges until they receive a sprinkle of color from the brush. other books receive what is called a solid color on the edges, the books being screwed into a press, and the color applied with a sponge or brush. but a marbled edge presents a far more handsome appearance, and should harmonize in color and figure with the marbled paper of the end leaves. marbling, so called from its imitation of richly veined colored marble, is staining paper or book edges with variegated colors. the process of marbling is highly curious, both chemically and aesthetically, and may be briefly described. a large shallow trough or vat is filled with prepared gum water (gum-tragacanth being used); on the surface of this gum-water bright colors, mixed with a little ox-gall, to be used in producing the composite effect aimed at in the marbling are thrown or sprinkled in liquid form. then they are deftly stirred or agitated on the surface of the water, with an implement shaped to produce a certain pattern. the most commonly used one is a long metallic comb, which is drawn across the surface of the combined liquids, leaving its pattern impressed upon the ductile fluid. the edges of the book to be marbled are then touched or dipped on the top of the water, on which the coloring matter floats, and at once withdrawn, exhibiting on the edge the precise pattern of "combed marble" desired, since the various colors--red, yellow, blue, white, etc., have adhered to the surface of the book-edges. the serrated and diversified effect of most comb-marbling is due to stroking the comb in waved lines over the surface. the spotted effect so much admired in other forms, is produced by throwing the colors on with a brush, at the fancy of the skilled workman, or artist, as you may call him. marbled paper is made in the same way, by dipping one surface of the white sheet, held in a curved form, with great care on the surface of the coloring vat. this is termed shell and wave marbling, as distinguished from comb-marbling. the paper or the book edges are next finished by sizing and burnishing, which gives them a bright glistening appearance. a still more ornate effect in a book is attained by gilding the edges. frequently the head of a book is gilt, leaving the front and tail of an uncut book without ornament, and this is esteemed a very elegant style by book connoisseurs, who are, or should be solicitous of wide margins. the gilding of the top edge is a partial protection from dust falling inside, to which the other edges are not so liable. to gild a book edge, it is placed in a press, the edges scraped or smoothed, and coated with a red-colored fluid, which serves to heighten the effect of the gold. then a sizing is applied by a camel's-hair brush, being a sticky substance, usually the white of an egg, mixed with water (termed by binders "glaire") and the gold-leaf is laid smoothly over it. when the sizing is dry, the gold is burnished with a tool, tipped with an agate or blood-stone, drawn forcibly over the edge until it assumes a glistening appearance. after the edges have been treated by whatever process, there follows what is termed the "backing" of the book. the volume is pressed between iron clamps, and the back is hammered or rolled where it joins the sides, so as to form a groove to hold the boards forming the solid portion of the cover of every book. a backing-machine is sometimes used for this process, making by pressure the joint or groove for the boards. then the "head-band" is glued on, being a silk braid or colored muslin, fastened around a cord, which projects a little above the head and the tail, at the back of the book, giving it a more finished appearance. at the same time, a book-mark for keeping the place is sometimes inserted and fastened like the head-band. this is often a narrow ribbon of colored silk, or satin, and helps to give a finish to the book, as well as to furnish the reader a trustworthy guide to keep a place--as it will not fall out like bits of paper inserted for that purpose. next, the mill-boards are applied, cut so as to project about an eighth to a quarter of an inch from the edges of the book on three sides. the book is held to the boards by the ends of its cords being interlaced, _i. e._: passed twice through holes pierced in the boards, the loose ends of the cords being then wet with paste and hammered down flat to the surface of the boards. the best tar-boards should be used, which are made of old rope; no board made of straw is fit to be used on any book. straw boards are an abomination--a cheap expedient which costs dearly in the end. the binder should use heavy boards on the larger and thicker volumes, but thin ones on all duodecimos and smaller sizes. next, the books are subjected to a second pressing, after which the lining of the back is in order. good thick brown paper is generally used for this, cut to the length of the book, and is firmly glued to the back, and rubbed down closely with a bone folder. a cloth "joint," or piece of linen (termed "muslin super,") is often glued to the back, with two narrow flaps to be pasted to the boards, on each side, thus giving greater tenacity to the covering. if the book is to be backed so as to open freely, that is, to have a spring back or elastic back, two thicknesses of a firm, strong paper, or thin card-board are used, one thickness of the paper being glued to the back of the book, while the other--open in the middle, but fastened at the edges, is to be glued to the leather of which the back is to be made. after this, comes putting the book in leather. if full bound a piece of leather cut full size of the volume, with about half an inch over, is firmly glued or pasted to the boards and the back, the leather being turned over the edges of the boards, and nicely glued on their inside margin. it is of great importance that the edges of the leather should be smoothly pared down with a sharp knife, so as to present an even edge where the leather joins the boards, not a protuberance--which makes an ugly and clumsy piece of work, instead of a neat one. for half-binding, a piece of leather is taken large enough to cover the back lengthwise, and turn in at the head and tail, while the width should be such as to allow from one to one and a half inches of the leather to be firmly glued to the boards next the back. the four corners of the boards are next to be leathered, the edges of the leather being carefully pared down, to give a smooth surface, even with the boards, when turned in. the leather is usually wet, preparatory to being manipulated thus, which renders it more flexible and ductile than in its dry state. the cloth or marbled paper is afterwards pasted or glued to the sides of the book, and turned neatly over the edge of the boards. it may be added, that the edges of the boards, in binding nice books, are sometimes ground off on a swiftly revolving emery-wheel, giving the book a beveled edge, which is regarded as handsomer and more finished than a straight rectangular edge. all the processes hitherto described are called "forwarding" the book: we now come to what is denominated "finishing." this includes the lettering of the title, and the embellishing of the back and sides, with or without gilding, as the case may be. before this is taken in hand, the leather of the book must be perfectly dry. for the lettering, copper-faced types are used to set up the desired sequence of letters and words, and care and taste should be exercised to have ( ) types neither too large, which present a clumsy appearance, nor too small, which are difficult to read. ( ) proper spacing of the words and lines, and "balancing" the component parts of the lettering on the back, so as to present a neat and harmonious effect to the eye. a word should never be divided or hyphenated in lettering, when it can be avoided. in the case of quite thin volumes, the title may be lettered lengthwise along the back, in plain, legible type, instead of in very small letters across the back, which are often illegible. the method of applying gold lettering is as follows: the back of the book where the title is to go, is first moistened with a sticky substance, as albumen or glaire, heretofore mentioned, laid on with a camel's hair brush. the type (or the die as the case may be) is heated in a binder's charcoal furnace, or gas stove, to insure the adhesion of the gold leaf. the thin gold leaf (which comes packed in little square "books," one sheet between every two leaves) is then cut the proper size by the broad thin knife of the "finisher," and carefully laid over the sized spot to receive the lettering. usually, two thicknesses of gold leaf are laid one above another, which ensures a brighter and more decided effect in the lettering. the type metal or die is then pressed firmly and evenly down upon the gold-leaf, and the surplus shavings of the gold carefully brushed off and husbanded, for this leaf is worth money. the gold leaf generally in use costs about $ . for little squares or sheets. it is almost inconceivably thin, the thickness of one gold leaf being estimated at about / of an inch. besides the lettering, many books receive gold ornamentation on the back or side of a more or less elaborate character. designs of great artistic beauty, and in countless variety, have been devised for book ornaments, and french and english book-binders have vied with each other for generations in the production of decorative borders, fillets, centre-pieces, rolls, and the most exquisite gold-tooling, of which the art is capable. these varied patterns of book ornamentation are cut in brass or steel, and applied by the embossing press with a rapidity far exceeding that of the hand-work formerly executed by the gilders of books. but for choice books and select jobs, only the hands are employed, with such fillets, stamps, pallets, rolls, and polishing irons as may aid in the nice execution of the work. if a book is to be bound in what is called "morocco antique," it is to be "blind-tooled," _i. e._: the hot iron wheels which impress the fillets or rolls, are to be worked in blank, or without gold-leaf ornamentation. this is a rich and tasteful binding, especially with carefully beveled boards, and gilded edges. on some books, money has been lavished on the binding to an amount exceeding by many fold the cost of the book itself. elegant book-binding has come to be reckoned as a fine art, and why should not "the art preservative of all other arts"--printing--be preserved in permanent and sumptuous, if not splendid style, in its environment? specimens of french artistic binding from the library of grolier, that celebrated and munificent patron of art, who died in , have passed through the hands of many eager connoisseurs, always at advancing prices. the grolier binding was notable for the elegant finish of its interlaced ornaments in gold-leaf, a delicacy of touch, and an inimitable flowing grace, which modern binders have struggled after in vain. at the beckford library sale in london, in , there was a great array of fine french bindings of early date. a book from grolier's library, the "toison d'or," , brought £ , or over $ , , and a heptameron, which had belonged to louis xiv, in beautiful brown morocco, with crown, fleur-de-lys, a stag, a cock, and stars, as ornaments, all exquisitely worked in gold, lined with vellum, was sold for £ . following the grolier patterns, came another highly decorative style, by the french binders, which was notable for the very delicate gold tooling, covering the whole sides of the book with exquisite scroll-work, and branches of laurel. the most celebrated of english book-binders was roger payne, who was notable for the careful labor bestowed on the forwarding and finishing of his books, specimens of which are still reckoned among the _chefs-d'oeuvre_ of the art. his favorite style was a roughly-grained red morocco, always full-bound, and he kept in view what many binders forget, that the leather is the main thing in a finely executed binding, not to be overlaid by too much gilding and decoration. he charged twelve guineas each (over $ ) for binding some small volumes in his best style. payne's most notable successors have been lewis, hayday, bedford, and zaehnsdorf, the latter of whom is the author of a treatise on book-binding. at the art exhibition of , a book bound by bedford was exhibited, which took two months merely to finish, and the binding cost forty guineas; and a doré's dante, exquisitely bound by zaehnsdorf, in grolier style, cost one hundred guineas. a decorative treatment not yet mentioned is applied to the covers of some books, which are bound in elegant full calf. to give to this leather the elegant finish known as "tree-calf binding", it is first washed with glaire or albumen. the boards of the book are then bent to a convex shape, and water sprinkled over, until it runs down from the centre in many little branches or rivulets. while running, a solution of copperas is sprinkled on, and carried along the branches which radiate from the central trunk, producing the dark-mottled colored effect which resembles, more or less nearly, a tree with its spreading branches. to make the book beautiful should be the united aim of all who are concerned in its manufacture--the paper-maker, the printer, and the book-binder. while utility comes first in the art of book-making for libraries, yet neatness and even elegance should always be united with it. an ill-forwarded book, or a badly finished one, presents a clumsy, unattractive look to the eye; while an evenly made piece of work, and a careful and tasteful ornamentation in the gilding, attract every discerning reader by their beauty. one writer upon book-binding terms the forwarder of the book an artizan, and the finisher an artist; but both should have the true artist's taste, in order to produce the work that shall commend itself by intrinsic excellence. the form and shape of the book depend wholly, indeed, on the forwarder. we are told that the great beauty of the grolier bindings lay in the lavish and tasteful adornment of the sides. in fact, much depends upon the design, in every piece of decorative work. the pretty scroll patterns, the interlaced figures, the delicate tracery, the circles, rosettes, and stars, the lovely arabesques, the flowers and leaves borrowed from the floral kingdom, the geometric lines, the embroidered borders, like fine lace-work,--all these lend their separate individual charms to the finish of the varied specimens of the binder's art. there are some books that look as brilliant as jewels in their rich, lustrous adornment, the design sometimes powdered with gold points and stars. some gems of art are lined with rich colored leather in the inside covers, which are stamped and figured in gold. this is termed "_doublé_" by the french. some have their edges gilded over marbling, a refinement of beauty which adds richness to the work, the marble design showing through the brilliant gold, when the edge is turned. others have pictorial designs drawn on the edges, which are then gilded over the pictures. this complex style of gilding, the french term _gaufré_. it was formerly much in vogue, but is latterly out of fashion. many gems of binding are adorned with fly-leaves of moire silk, or rich colored satin. color, interspersed with gold in the finish of a book covering, heightens the effect. the morocco of the side-cover is sometimes cut, and inlaid with leather of a different color. inlaying with morocco or kid is the richest style of decoration which the art has yet reached. beautiful bindings have been in greater request during the past twenty years than ever before. there was a renaissance of the ancient styles of decoration in france, and the choice grolier and maioli patterns were revived with the general applause of the lovers of fine books. in vivid contrast to these lovely specimens of the binder's art, are found innumerable bibliopegic horrors, on the shelves of countless libraries, public and private. among these are to be reckoned most law books, clad in that dead monotony of ugliness, which charles dickens has described as "that _under-done pie-crust_ cover, which is technically known as law calf." there are other uncouth and unwholesome specimens everywhere abroad, "whom satan hath bound", to borrow mr. henry stevens's witty application of a well-known scripture text. such repellant bindings are only fit to serve as models to be avoided by the librarian. the binding that is executed by machinery is sometimes called "commercial binding". it is also known as "edition binding", because the whole edition of a book is bound in uniform style of cover. while the modern figured cloth binding originated in england, it has had its fullest development in the united states. here, those ingenious and powerful machines which execute every branch of the folding and forwarding of a book, and even the finishing of the covers, with almost lightning speed, were mostly invented and applied. very vivid is the contrast between the quiet, humdrum air of the old-fashioned bindery hand-work, and the ceaseless clang and roar of the machinery which turns out thousands of volumes in a day. "not as ours the books of old, things that steam can stamp and fold." i believe that i failed to notice, among the varieties of material for book-bindings heretofore enumerated, some of the rarer and more singular styles. thus, books have been bound in enamel, (richly variegated in color) in persian silk, in seal-skin, in the skin of the rabbit, white-bear, crocodile, cat, dog, mole, tiger, otter, buffalo, wolf, and even rattle-snake. a favorite modern leather for purses and satchels, alligator-skin, has been also applied to the clothing of books. many eccentric fancies have been exemplified in book-binding, but the acme of gruesome oddity has been reached by binding books in human skin, of which many examples are on record. it is perhaps three centuries old, but the first considerable instance of its use grew out of the horrors of the french revolution. in england, the bristol law library has several volumes bound in the skin of local criminals, flayed after execution, and specially tanned for the purpose. it is described as rather darker than vellum. a russian poet is said to have bound his sonnets in human leather--his own skin--taken from a broken thigh--and the book he presented to the lady of his affections! such ghoulish incidents as these afford curious though repulsive glimpses of the endless vagaries of human nature. it is said that the invention of half-binding originated among the economists of germany; and some wealthy bibliophiles have stigmatized this style of dressing books as "genteel poverty." but its utility and economy have been demonstrated too long to admit of any doubt that half-binding has come to stay; while, as we have seen, it is also capable of attractive aesthetic features. mr. william matthews, perhaps the foremost of american binders, said that "a book when neatly forwarded, and cleanly covered, is in a very satisfactory condition without any finishing or decorating." it was this same binder who exhibited at the new york world's fair exhibition of , a copy of owen jones's alhambra, bound by him in full russia, inlaid with blue and red morocco, with gold tooling all executed by hand, taking six months to complete, and costing the binder no less than five hundred dollars. book lettering, or stamping the proper title on the back of the book, is a matter of the first importance. as the titles of most books are much too long to go on the back, a careful selection of the most distinctive words becomes necessary. here the taste and judgment of the librarian come indispensably into play. to select the lettering of a book should never be left to the binder, because it is not his business, and because, in most cases, he will make a mistake somewhere in the matter. from want of care on this point, many libraries are filled with wrongly lettered books, misleading titles, and blunders as ludicrous as they are distressing. i have had to have thousands of volumes in the library of congress re-lettered. a copy of lord bacon's "sylva sylvarum", for example, was lettered "verlum's sylva"--because the sapient binder read on the title-page "by baron verulam", and it was not his business to find out that this was the title of honor which bacon bore; so, by a compound blunder, he converted verulam into verlum, and gave the book to an unknown writer. this is perhaps an extreme case, but you will find many to match it. another folio, rochefort's history of the caribby islands, was lettered "davies' carriby islands," because the title bore the statement "rendered into english by john davies." in another library, the great work of the naturalist, buffon, was actually lettered "buffoon's natural history." neither of these blunders was as bad as that of the owner of an elegant black-letter edition of a latin classic, which was printed without title-page, like most fifteenth century books, and began at the top of the first leaf, in large letters--"hoc incipit," signifying "this begins", followed by the title or subject of the book. the wiseacre who owned it had the book richly bound, and directed it to be lettered on the back--"works of hoc incipit, rome, ." this is a true story, and the hero of it might perhaps, on the strength of owning so many learned works, have passed for a philosopher, if he had not taken the pains to advertise himself as a blockhead. some of the commonest blunders are stamping on the back the translator's or the editor's name, instead of that of the author of the book; putting on adjectives instead of substantives for titles; modernizing ancient and characteristic spelling, found in the title, (the exact orthography of which should always be followed); mixing up the number and the case of latin titles, and those in other foreign languages; leaving off entirely the name of the writer; and lettering periodicals by putting on the volume without the year, or the year, without the number of the volume. "no one but an idiot", said mr. c. walford to the london librarians' conference, "would send his books to the binder, without indicating the lettering he desires on the backs." the only safe-guard is for the librarian or owner to prescribe on a written slip in each volume, a title for every book, before it goes to the binder, who will be only too glad to have his own time saved--since time is money to him. i would not underrate the book-binders, who are a most worthy and intelligent class, numbering in their ranks men who are scholars as well as artists; but they are concerned chiefly with the mechanics and not with the metaphysics of their art, and moreover, they are not bound by that rigid rule which should govern the librarian--namely--to have no ignoramus about the premises. in writing letterings (for i take it that no one would be guilty of defacing his title-pages by marking them up with directions to the binder) you should definitely write out the parts of the title as they are to run on the back of the book, spaced line upon line, and not "run together." i think that the name of the author should always stand first at the head of the lettering, because it affords the quickest guide to the eye in finding any book, as well as in replacing it upon the shelves. especially useful and time-saving is this, where classes of books are arranged in alphabetical sequence. is not the name of the author commonly uppermost in the mind of the searcher? then, let it be uppermost on the book sought also. follow the name of the author by the briefest possible words selected from the title which will suffice to characterize the subject of the work. thus, the title--"on the origin of species by means of natural selection", by charles darwin, should be abbreviated into darwin -------- origin of species. here are no superfluous words, to consume the binder's time and gold-leaf, and to be charged in the bill; or to consume the time of the book-searcher, in stopping to read a lot of surplusage on the back of the book, before seizing it for immediate use. books in several volumes should have the number of each volume plainly marked in arabic (not roman) numerals on the back. the old-fashioned method of expressing numerals by letters, instead of figures, is too cumbrous and time-consuming to be tolerated. you want to letter, we will say, vol. of blackwood's magazine. if you follow the title-page of that book, as printed, you have to write "volume lxxxviii," eight letters, for the number of the volume, instead of two simple figures--thus-- . now can any one give a valid reason for the awkward and tedious method of notation exhibited in the roman numerals? if it were only the lost time of the person who writes it, or the binder's finisher who letters it, it would be comparatively insignificant. but think of the time wasted by the whole world of readers, who must go through a more or less troublesome process of notation before they get a clear notion of what all this superfluous stuff stands for instead of the quick intuition with which they take in the arabic figures; and who must moreover, by the antiquated method, take valuable time to write out lxxxviii, eight figures instead of two, to say nothing of the added liability to error, which increases in the exact ratio of the number of figures to be written. which of these two forms of expression is more quickly written, or stamped, or read? by which method of notation will the library messenger boys or girls soonest find the book? this leads me to say what cannot be too strongly insisted upon; all library methods should be time-saving methods, and so devised for the benefit alike of the librarian, the assistants, and the readers. until one has learned the supreme value of moments, he will not be fit for a librarian. the same method by arabic numerals only, should be used in all references to books; and it would be well if the legal fashion of citing authorities by volume and page, now adopted in most law books, were extended to all literature--thus: " macaulay's england, . n. y. ," instead of "macaulay's england, n. y. ed. . vol. , page ." it is a matter of congratulation to all librarians, as well as to the reading public, that poole's indexes to periodical literature have wisely adopted arabic figures only, both for volume and page. the valuable time thus saved to all is quite incalculable. every book which is leather-bound has its back divided off into panels or sections, by the band across the back or by the gold or plain fillet or roll forming part of the finish of the book. these panels are usually five or six in number, the former being the more common. now it is the librarian's function to prescribe in which of these panels the lettering of the book--especially where there is double lettering--shall go. thus | cousin | | | | | | ---- | | | | new | nd | history | th | wight | end |york, | panel | of | panel | | | . | | modern | | | | | | philosophy.| | | | | many books, especially dramatic works, and the collected works of authors require the contents of the various volumes to be briefed on the back. here is a shakespeare, for example, in volumes, or a swift in , or carlyle in , and you want to find _king lear_, or _gulliver's travels_, or _heroes and hero worship_. the other volumes concern you not--but you want the shortest road to these. if the name of each play is briefed by the first word upon the different volumes of your shakespeare, or the contents of each volume upon the swift and the carlyle,--as they should be--you find instantly what you want, with one glance of the eye along the backs. if put to the trouble of opening every volume to find the contents, or of hunting it in the index, or the library catalogue, you lose precious time, while readers wait, thus making the needless delay cumulative, and as it must be often repeated, indefinite. each volume should have its date and place of publication plainly lettered at the lower end, or what binders term the tail of the book. this often saves time, as you may not want an edition of old date, or _vice versa_, while the place and date enable readers' tickets to be filled out quickly without the book. the name of the library might well be lettered also on the back, being more obvious as a permanent means of identification than the book-plate or inside stamp. books should never be used when fresh from the binder's hands. the covers are then always damp, and warp on exposure to air and heat. unless pressed firmly in shelves, or in piles, for at least two weeks, they may become incurably warped out of shape. many an otherwise handsomely bound book is ruined by neglect of this caution, for once thoroughly dried in its warped condition, there is no remedy save the costly one of rebinding. books are frequently lettered so carelessly that the titles instead of aligning, or being in straight horizontal lines, run obliquely upward or downward, thus defacing the volume. errors in spelling words are also liable to occur. all crooked lettering and all mistakes in spelling should at once be rejected, and the faulty books returned to the binder, to be corrected at his own expense. this severe revision of all books when newly bound, before they are placed upon the shelves, should be done by the librarian's or owner's own eye--not entrusted to subordinates, unless to one thoroughly skilled. one should never receive back books from a binder without collating them, to see if all are perfect as to pages, and if all plates or maps are in place. if deficiencies are found, the binder, and not the library is responsible, provided the book was known to be perfect when sent for binding. in the congressional library i had the periodicals which are analyzed in poole's index of periodical literature thoroughly compared and re-lettered, wherever necessary, to make the series of volumes correspond with the references in that invaluable and labor-saving index. for instance, the eclectic review, as published in london, had eight distinct and successive series (thus confusing reference by making eight different volumes called , , , etc.) each with a different numbering, "first series, d series," etc., which poole's index very properly consolidated into one, for convenient reference. by adding the figures as scheduled in that work--prefixed by the words _poole's index no._ ---- or simply _poole_, in small letters, followed by the figure of the volume as given in that index, you will find a saving of time in hunting and supplying references that is almost incalculable. if you cannot afford to have this re-numbering done by a binder in gilt letters, it will many times repay the cost and time of doing it on thin manila paper titles, written or printed by a numbering machine and pasted on the backs of the volumes. in all periodicals,--magazines and serials of every kind,--the covers and their advertisements should be bound in their proper place, with each month or number of the periodical, though it may interrupt the continuity of the paging. thus will be preserved valuable contemporary records respecting prices, bibliographical information, etc., which should never be destroyed, as it is illustrative of the life and history of the period. the covers of the magazines, too, frequently contain the table of contents of the number, which of course must be prefixed to it, in order to be of any use. if advertising pages are very numerous and bulky, (as in many popular periodicals of late years) they may well be bound at the end of the volume, or, if so many as to make the volume excessively thick, they might be bound in a supplementary volume. in all books, half-titles or bastard titles, as they are called, should be bound in, as they are a part of the book. with each lot of books to be bound, there should always be sent a sample volume of good work as a pattern, that the binder may have no excuse for hasty or inferior workmanship. the grolier club was founded in new york in , having for its objects to promote the literary study and progress of the arts pertaining to the production of books. it has published more than twenty books in sumptuous style, and mostly in quarto form, the editions being limited to copies at first, since increased to , under the rapidly enlarging membership of the club. most of these books relate to fine binding, fine printing, or fine illustration of books, or are intended to exemplify them, and by their means, by lectures, and exhibitions of fine book-work, this society has contributed much toward the diffusion of correct taste. more care has been bestowed upon fine binding in new york than in london itself. in fact, elegant book-binding is coming to be recognized as one of the foremost of the decorative arts. the art of designing book-covers and patterns for gilding books has engaged the talents of many artists, among whom may be named edwin a. abbey, howard pyle, stanford white, and elihu vedder. nor have skilful designs been wanting among women, as witness mrs. whitman's elegant tea-leaf border for the cover of dr. o. w. holmes's "over the tea-cups," and miss alice morse's arabesques and medallions for lafcadio hearn's "two years in the french west indies." miss may morris designed many tasteful letters for the fine bindings executed by mr. cobden-sanderson of london, and kate greenaway's many exquisite little books for little people have become widely known for their quaint and curious cover designs. a new field thus opens for skilled cultivators of the beautiful who have an eye for the art of drawing. mr. william matthews, the accomplished new york binder, in an address before the grolier club in , said: "i have been astonished that so few women--in america, i know none--are encouragers of the art; they certainly could not bestow their taste on anything that would do them more credit, or as a study, give them more satisfaction." it is but fair to add that since this judgment was put forth, its implied reproach is no longer applicable: a number of american women have interested themselves in the study of binding as a fine art; and some few in practical work as binders of books. there is no question that readers take a greater interest in books that are neatly and attractively bound, than in volumes dressed in a mean garb. no book owner or librarian with any knowledge of the incurable defects of calf, sheep, or roan leather, if he has any regard for the usefulness or the economies of his library, will use them in binding books that are to possess permanent value in personal or public use. true economy lies in employing the best description of binding in the first instance. when it is considered that the purposed object of book-binding is to preserve in a shape at once attractive and permanent, the best and noblest thoughts of man, it rises to a high rank among the arts. side by side with printing, it strives after that perfection which shall ensure the perpetuity of human thought. thus a book, clothed in morocco, is not a mere piece of mechanism, but a vehicle in which the intellectual life of writers no longer on earth is transmitted from age to age. and it is the art of book-binding which renders libraries possible. what the author, the printer, and the binder create, the library takes charge of and preserves. it is thus that the material and the practical link themselves indissolubly with the ideal. and the ideal of every true librarian should be so to care for the embodiments of intelligence entrusted to his guardianship, that they may become in the highest degree useful to mankind. in this sense, the care bestowed upon thorough and enduring binding can hardly be overrated, since the life of the book depends upon it. chapter . preparation for the shelves: book plates, etc. when any lot of books is acquired, whether by purchase from book-dealers or from auction, or by presentation, the first step to be taken, after seeing that they agree with the bill, and have been collated, in accordance with methods elsewhere given, should be to stamp and label each volume, as the property of the library. these two processes are quite distinct, and may be performed by one or two persons, according to convenience, or to the library force employed. the stamp may be the ordinary rubber one, inked by striking on a pad, and ink of any color may be used, although black or blue ink has the neatest appearance. the stamp should bear the name of the library, in clear, legible, plain type, with year of acquisition of the book in the centre, followed by the month and day if desired. a more permanent kind of stamp is the embossing stamp, which is a steel die, the letters cut in relief, but it is very expensive and slow, requiring the leaf to be inserted between the two parts of the stamp, though the impression, once made, is practically indelible. the size of the stamp (which is preferably oval in shape) should not exceed ¼ to ½ inches in diameter, as a large, coarse stamp never presents a neat appearance on a book. indeed, many books are too small to admit any but a stamp of very moderate dimensions. the books should be stamped on the verso (reverse) of the title page, or if preferred, on the widest unprinted portion of the title-page, preferably on the right hand of the centre, or just below the centre on the right. this, because its impression is far more legible on the plain white surface than on any part of the printed title. in a circulating library, the stamps should be impressed on one or more pages in the body of the book, as well as on the last page, as a means of identification if the book is stolen or otherwise lost; as it is very easy to erase the impression of a rubber stamp from the title-page, and thereby commit a fraud by appropriating or selling the book. in such a case, the duplicate or triplicate impression of the stamp on some subsequent page (say page or , many books having but few pages) as fixed upon by the librarian, is quite likely to escape notice of the thief, while it remains a safe-guard, enabling the librarian to reclaim the book, wherever found. the law will enforce this right of free reclamation in favor of a public library, in the case of stolen books, no matter in what hands found, and even though the last holder may be an innocent purchaser. all libraries are victimized at some time by unscrupulous or dishonest readers, who will appropriate books, thinking themselves safe from detection, and sometimes easing their consciences, (if they have any) by the plea that the book is in a measure public property. in these cases, there is no absolute safe-guard, as it is easy to carry off a book under one's coat, and the librarian and his few aids are far too busy to act as detectives in watching readers. still, a vigilant librarian will almost always find out, by some suspicious circumstance--such as the hiding of books away, or a certain furtive action observed in a reader--who are the persons that should be watched, and when it is advisable to call in the policeman. the british museum library, which has no circulation or book lending, enforces a rule that no one making his exit can have a book with him, unless checked as his own property, all overcoats and other wraps being of course checked at the door. it is a melancholy fact, duly recorded in a massachusetts paper, that no less than two hundred and fifty volumes, duly labeled and stamped as public library books, were stolen from a single library in a single year, and sold to second-hand booksellers. the impression of the stamp in the middle of a certain page, known to the librarian, renders it less liable to detection by others, while if stamped on the lower unprinted margin, it might be cut out by a designing person. next to the stamping, comes the labeling of the books to be added to the library. this is a mechanical process, and yet one of much importance. upon its being done neatly and properly, depends the good or bad appearance of the library books, as labels with rough or ragged edges, or put on askew, or trimmed irregularly at their margins, present an ugly and unfinished aspect, offensive to the eye of good taste, and reflecting discredit on the management. a librarian should take pride in seeing all details of his work carefully and neatly carried out. if he cannot have perfection, from want of time, he should always aim at it, at least, and then only will he come near to achieving it. the label, or book-plate (for they are one and the same thing) should be of convenient size to go into books both small and large; and a good size is approximately ¼ inches wide by ½ inches high when trimmed. as comparatively few libraries care to go to the expense, which is about ten times that of printing, of an engraved label (although such work adds to the attractiveness of the books containing it) it should be printed in clear, not ornamental type, with the name of the library, that of the city or town in which it is located (unless forming a part of the title) and the abbreviation no. for number, with such other spaces for section marks or divisions, shelf-marks, etc., as the classification adopted may require. the whole should be enclosed in an ornamental border--not too ornate for good taste. the labels, nicely trimmed to uniform size by a cutting machine, (if that is not in the library equipment, any binder will do it for you) are next to be pasted or gummed, as preferred. this process is a nice one, requiring patience, care, and practice. most libraries are full of books imperfectly labelled, pasted on in crooked fashion, or perhaps damaging the end-leaves by an over-use of paste, causing the leaves to adhere to the page labelled--which should always be the inside left hand cover of the book. this slovenly work is unworthy of a skilled librarian, who should not suffer torn waste leaves, nor daubs of over-running paste in any of his books. to prevent both these blunders in library economy, it is only needful to instruct any intelligent assistant thoroughly, by practical example how to do it--accompanied by a counter-example how not to do it. the way to do it is to have your paste as thin as that used by binders in pasting their fly-leaves, or their leather, or about the consistency of porridge or pea soup. then lay the label or book-plate face downward on a board or table covered with blotting paper, dip your paste brush (a half inch bristle brush is the best) in the paste, stroke it (to remove too much adhering matter) on the inner side of your paste cup, then apply it across the whole surface of the label, with light, even strokes of the brush, until you see that it is all moistened with paste. next, take up the label and lay it evenly in the middle of the left inner cover page of the book to be labelled, and with a small piece of paper (not with the naked fingers) laid over it, stroke it down firmly in its place, by rubbing over a few times the incumbent paper. this being properly done (and it is done by an expert, once learned, very rapidly) your book-plate will be firmly and smoothly pasted in, with no exuding of paste at the edges, to spoil the fly-leaves, and no curling up of edges because insufficiently pasted down. so much for the book-plate--for the inside of the volumes; now let us turn attention to the outside label. this is necessarily very much smaller than the book-plate: in fact, it should not be larger than three-quarters or seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, and even smaller for the thinner volumes, while in the case of the very smallest, or thinnest of books, it becomes necessary to paste the labels on the side, instead of on the back. this label is to contain the section and shelf-mark of the book, marked by plain figures, according to the plan of classification adopted. when well done, it is an inexpressible comfort to any librarian, because it shows at one glance of the eye, and without opening the book at all, just where in the wide range of the miscellaneous library it is to go. thus the book service of every day is incalculably aided, and the books are both found when sought on the shelves, and replaced there, with no trouble of opening them. this outer-label system once established, in strict correspondence with the catalogue, the only part of the librarian's work remaining to be prescribed in this field, concerns the kind of label to be selected, and the method of affixing them to the books. the adhesive gummed labels furnished by the library bureau, or those manufactured by the dennison company of new york have the requisite qualities for practical use. they may be purchased in sheets, or cut apart, as convenient handling may dictate. having first written in ink in plain figures, as large as the labels will bear, the proper locality marks, take a label moistener (a hollow tube filled with water, provided with a bit of sponge at the end and sold by stationers) and wet the label throughout its surface, then fix it on the back of the book, on the smooth part of the binding near the lower end, and with a piece of paper (not the fingers) press it down firmly to its place by repeated rubbings. if thoroughly done, the labels will not peel off nor curl up at the edges for a long time. under much usage of the volumes, however, they must occasionally be renewed. when the books being prepared for the shelves have all been duly collated, labelled and stamped, processes which should precede cataloguing them, they are next ready for the cataloguer. his functions having been elsewhere described, it need only be said that the books when catalogued and handed over to the reviser, (or whoever is to scrutinize the titles and assign them their proper places in the library classification) are to have the shelf-marks of the card-titles written on the inside labels, as well as upon the outside. when this is done, the title-cards can be withdrawn and alphabeted in the catalogue drawers. next, all the books thus catalogued, labelled, and supposed to be ready for the shelves, should be examined with reference to three points: st. whether any of the volumes need re-lettering. nd. whether any of them require re-binding. rd. if any of the bindings are in need of repair. in any lot of books purchased or presented, are almost always to be found some that are wrongly or imperfectly lettered on the back. before these are ready for the shelves, they should be carefully gone through with, and all errors or shortcomings corrected. it is needful to send to the binder st. all books which lack the name of the author on the back. this should be stamped by the binder at the head, if there is room--if not, in the middle panel on the back of the book. nd. all books lettered with mis-spelled words. rd. all volumes in sets, embracing several distinct works--to have the name of each book in the contents plainly stamped on the outside. th. all books wholly without titles on the back, of which many are published--the title being frequently given on the side only, or in the interior alone. th. all periodicals having the volume on the back, without the year, to have the year lettered; and periodicals having the year, but not the volume, are to have the number of the volume added. if these things, all essential to good management and prompt library service, are not done before the books go to their shelves, the chances are that they will not be done at all. the second requisite to be attended to is to examine whether any of the volumes catalogued require to be bound or re-bound. in any lot of books of considerable extent, there will always be some (especially if from auction sales) dilapidated and shaken, so as to unfit them for use. there will be others so soiled in the bindings or the edges as to be positively shabby, and they should be re-bound to render them presentable. the third point demanding attention is to see what volumes need repair. it very often happens that books otherwise pretty well bound have torn corners, or rubbed or shop-worn backs, or shabby marbled paper frayed at the sides, or some other defect, which may be cured by mending or furbishing up, without re-binding. this a skilful binder is always competent to take in charge; and as in the other cases, it should have attention immediately upon the acquisition of the books. all books coming into a library which contain autographs, book-plates of former owners, coats of arms, presentation inscriptions from the author, monograms, or other distinguishing features, should preserve them as of interest to the present or the future. and all printed paper covers should be carefully preserved by binding them inside the new cover which the book receives, thus preserving authentic evidence of the form in which the book was first issued to the public, and often its original price. in like manner, when a cloth-bound book comes to re-binding, its side and back covers may be bound in at the end of the book, as showing the style in which it was originally issued, frequently displaying much artistic beauty. whoever receives back any books which have been out in circulation, whether it be the librarian or assistant, must examine each volume, to see if it is in apparent good order. if it is found (as frequently happens) that it is shaky and loose, or if leaves are ready to drop out, or if the cover is nearly off, it should never be allowed to go back to the shelves, but laid aside for re-binding or repair with the next lot sent to the binder. only prompt vigilance on this point, combined with the requirement of speedy return by the binder, will save the loss or injury beyond repair of many books. it will also save the patrons of the library from the frequent inconvenience of having to do without books, which should be on the shelves for their use. how frequent this sending of books to repair should be, cannot be settled by any arbitrary rule; but it would be wise, in the interest of all, to do it as often as two or three dozen damaged books are accumulated. if you find other injury to a book returned, than the natural wear and tear that the library must assume, if a book, for example, is blotched with ink, or soiled with grease, or has been so far wet as to be badly stained in the leaves, or if it is found torn in any part on a hasty inspection, or if a plate or a map is missing, or the binding is violently broken (as sometimes happens) then the damage should be borne by the reader, and not by the library. this will sometimes require the purchase of a fresh copy of the book, which no fair-minded reader can object to pay, who is favored with the privileges of free enjoyment of the treasures of a public library. indeed, it will be found in the majority of cases that honest readers themselves call attention to such injuries as books have accidentally received while in their possession, with voluntary offer to make good the damage. all unbound or paper covered volumes should be reserved from the shelves, and not supplied to readers until bound. this rule may be relaxed (as there is almost no rule without some valid exception) in the case of a popular new book, issued only in paper covers, if it is desired to give an opportunity of early perusal to readers frequenting the library. but such books should not be permitted to circulate, as they would soon be worn to pieces by handling. only books dressed in a substantial covering are fit to be loaned out of any library. in preparing for the bindery any new books, or old ones to be re-bound or repaired, lists should be made of any convenient number set apart for the purpose, prompt return should be required, and all should be checked off on the list when returned. no shelf in a well-regulated library should be unprovided with book-supports, in order to prevent the volumes from sagging and straining by falling against one another, in a long row of books. numerous different devices are in the market for this purpose, from the solid brick to the light sheet-iron support; but it is important to protect the end of every row from strain on the bindings, and the cost of book supports is indefinitely less than that of the re-binding entailed by neglecting to use them. some libraries of circulation make it a rule to cover all their books with paper or thin muslin covers, before they are placed on the shelves for use. this method has its advantages and its drawbacks. it doubtless protects the bindings from soiling, and where books circulate widely and long, no one who has seen how foul with dirt they become, can doubt the expediency of at least trying the experiment of clean covers. they should be of the firmest thin but tough manila paper, and it is claimed that twenty renewals of clean paper covers actually cost less than one re-binding. on the other hand, it is not to be denied that books thus covered look shabby, monotonous, and uninteresting. in the library used for reference and reading only, without circulation, covers are quite out of place. book-plates having been briefly referred to above, a few words as to their styles and uses may here be pertinent. the name "book-plate" is a clumsy and misleading title, suggesting to the uninitiated the illustrations or plates which embellish the text of a book. the name _ex libris_, two latin words used for book-plate in all european languages, is clearer, but still not exact, as a definition of the thing, signifying simply "out of books." a book-plate is the owner's or the library's distinctive mark of ownership, pasted upon the inside cover, whether it be a simple name-label, or an elaborately engraved heraldic or pictorial device. the earliest known book-plates date back to the fifteenth century, and are of german origin, though english plates are known as early as . in france, specimens appear for the first time between and . foreign book-plates are, as a rule, heraldic in design, as are also the early american plates, representing the coat of arms or family crest of the owner of the books, with a motto of some kind. the fashion of collecting these owners' marks, as such, irrespective of the books containing them, is a recent and very possibly a passing mania. still, there is something of interest in early american plates, and in those used by distinguished men, aside from the collector's fad. some of the first american engravers showed their skill in these designs, and a signed and dated plate engraved by nathaniel hurd, for example, of boston, is of some historic value as an example of early american art. he engraved many plates about the middle of the last century, and died in . paul revere, who was an engraver, designed and executed some few plates, which are rare, and highly prized, more for his name than for his skill, for, as generally known, he was a noted patriot of the revolutionary period, belonging by his acts to the heroic age of american history. a book of george washington's containing his book-plate has an added interest, though the plate itself is an armorial design, not at all well executed. its motto is "_exitus acta probat_"--the event justifies the deed. from its rarity and the high price it commands, it has probably been the only american book-plate ever counterfeited. at an auction sale of books in washington in , this counterfeit plate had been placed in many books to give a fictitious value, but the fraud was discovered and announced by the present writer, just before the books were sold. yet the sale was attended by many attracted to bid upon books said to have been owned by washington, and among them the late dr. w. f. poole, then librarian of the boston athenaeum, which possesses most of the library authentically known to have been at mount vernon. john adams and john quincy adams used book-plates, and james monroe and john tyler each had a plain name-label. these are all of our presidents known to have used them, except general garfield, who had a printed book-plate of simple design, with the motto "_inter folia fructus_." eleven of the signers of the declaration of independence are known to have had these signs of gentle birth--for in the early years of the american colonies, it was only the families of aristocratic connection and scholarly tastes who indulged in what may be termed a superfluous luxury. the plates used among the southern settlers were generally ordered from england, and not at all american. the northern plates were more frequently of native design and execution, and therefore of much greater value and interest, though far inferior in style of workmanship and elaboration of ornament to the best european ones. the ordinary library label is also a book-plate, and some of the early libraries and small collections have elaborate designs. the early harvard college library plate was a large and fine piece of engraving by hurd. the harvard library had some few of this fine engraved label printed in red ink, and placed in the rarer books of the library--as a reminder that the works containing the rubricated book-plates were not to be drawn out by students. the learned bibliophile and librarian of florence, magliabecchi, who died in , devised for his library of thirty thousand volumes, which he bequeathed to the grand duke of tuscany, a book-plate representing his own profile on a medal surrounded with books and oak boughs, with the inscription--"antonius magliabecchius florentinus." some book-plates embody designs of great beauty. the late george bancroft's, engraved on copper, represented a winged cherub (from raphael) gazing sun-ward, holding a tablet with the inscription "_eis phaos_," toward the light. some french book-plates aim at humor or caricature. one familiar example represents an old book-worm mounted on a tall ladder in a library, profoundly absorbed in reading, and utterly unconscious that the room beneath him is on fire. to those who ask of what possible utility it can be to cultivate so unfruitful a pursuit as the devising or the collecting of book-plates, it may be pertinent to state the claim made in behalf of the amateurs of this art, by a connoisseur, namely, "book-plates foster the study of art, history, genealogy, and human character." on this theory, we may add, the coat of arms or family crest teaches heraldry; the mottoes or inscriptions chosen cultivate the taste for language and sententious literature; the engraving appeals to the sense of the artistic; the names of early or ancient families who are often thus commemorated teach biography, history, or genealogy; while the great variety of sentiments selected for the plates illustrate the character and taste of those selecting them. on the other hand, it must be said that the coat of arms fails to indicate individual taste or genius, and might better be supplanted by original and characteristic designs, especially such as relate to books, libraries, and learning. chapter . the enemies of books. we have seen in former chapters how the books of a library are acquired, how they are prepared for the shelves, or for use, and how they are or should be bound. let us now consider the important questions which involve the care, the protection, and the preservation of the books. every librarian or book owner should be something more than a custodian of the books in his collection. he should also exercise perpetual vigilance with regard to their safety and condition. the books of every library are beset by dangers and by enemies. some of these are open and palpable; others are secret, illusive, little suspected, and liable to come unlooked for and without warning. some of these enemies are impersonal and immaterial, but none the less deadly; others are personally human in form, but most inhuman in their careless and brutal treatment of books. how far and how fatally the books of many libraries have been injured by these ever active and persistent enemies can never be adequately told. but we may point out what the several dangers are which beset them, and how far the watchful care of the librarian and his assistants may fore-stall or prevent them. one of the foremost of the inanimate enemies of books is dust. in some libraries the atmosphere is dust-laden, to a degree which seems incredible until you witness its results in the deposits upon books, which soil your fingers, and contaminate the air you breathe, as you brush or blow it away. peculiarly liable to dust are library rooms located in populous towns, or in business streets, and built close to the avenues of traffic. here, the dust is driven in at the windows and doors by every breeze that blows. it is an omnipresent evil, that cannot be escaped or very largely remedied. as preventive measures, care should be taken not to build libraries too near the street, but to have ample front and side yards to isolate the books as far as may be consistent with convenient access. where the library is already located immediately on the street, a subscription for sprinkling the thoroughfare with water, the year round, would be true economy. in some cities, the evils of street dust are supplemented by the mischiefs of coal smoke, to an aggravated degree. wherever soft coal is burned as the principal fuel, a black, fuliginous substance goes floating through the air, and soils every thing it touches. it penetrates into houses and public buildings, often intensified by their own interior use of the same generator of dirt, and covers the books of the library with its foul deposits. you may see, in the public libraries of some western cities, how this perpetual curse of coal smoke has penetrated the leaves of all the books, resisting all efforts to keep it out, and slowly but surely deteriorating both paper and bindings. here, preventive measures are impossible, unless some device for consuming the coal smoke of chimneys and factories were made compulsory, or the evil somewhat mitigated by using a less dangerous fuel within the library. but, aside from these afflictions of dust, in its most aggravated form, every library and every room in any building is subject to its persistent visitations. wherever carpets or rugs cover the floors, there dust has an assured abiding-place, and it is diffused throughout the apartment in impalpable clouds, at every sweeping of the floors. hence it would be wise to adopt in public libraries a floor-covering like linoleum, or some substance other than woolen, which would be measurably free from dust, while soft enough to deaden the sound of feet upon the floors. even with this preventive precaution, there will always be dust enough, and too much for comfort, or for the health of the books. only a thorough dusting, carried on if possible daily, can prevent an accumulation of dust, at once deleterious to the durability of the books, and to the comfort both of librarians and readers. dust is an insidious foe, stealing on its march silently and unobserved, yet, however impalpable in the atmosphere of a library, it will settle upon the tops of every shelf of books, it will penetrate their inner leaves, it will lodge upon the bindings, soiling books and readers, and constituting a perpetual annoyance. it is not enough to dust the tops of the books periodically; a more full and radical remedy is required, to render library books presentable. at no long intervals, there should be a thorough library cleaning, as drastic and complete as the house-cleaning which neat housewives institute twice a year, with such wholesome results. the books are to be taken down from the shelves, and subjected to a shaking-up process, which will remove more of the dust they have absorbed than any brush can reach. to do this effectually, take them, if of moderate thickness, by the half-dozen at a time from the shelf, hold them loosely on a table, their fronts downward, backs uppermost, then with a hand at either side of the little pile, strike them smartly together a few times, until the dust, which will fly from them in a very palpable cloud, ceases to fall. then lay them on their ends, with the tops uppermost on the table, and repeat the concussion in that posture, when you will eliminate a fresh crop of dust, though not so thick as the first. after this, let each volume of the lot be brushed over at the sides and back with a soft (never stiff) brush, or else with a piece of cotton or woolen cloth, and so restored clean to the shelves. while this thorough method of cleansing will take time and pains, it will pay in the long run. it will not eliminate all the dust (which in a large collection is a physical impossibility) but it will reduce it to a minimum. faithfully carried out, as a periodical supplement to a daily dusting of the books as they stand on the shelves, it will immensely relieve the librarian or book-owner, who can then, (and then only) feel that he has done his whole duty by his books. another dangerous enemy of the library book is damp, already briefly referred to. books kept in any basement room, or near any wall, absorb moisture with avidity; both paper and bindings becoming mildewed, and often covered with blue mould. if long left in this perilous condition, sure destruction follows; the glue or paste which fastens the cover softens, the leather loses its tenacity, and the leaves slowly rot, until the worthless volumes smell to heaven. books thus injured may be partially recovered, before the advanced stage of decomposition, by removal to a dry atmosphere, and by taking the volumes apart, drying the sheets, and rebinding--a very expensive, but necessary remedy, provided the books are deemed worth preserving. but a true remedy is the preventive one. no library should ever be kept, even in part, in a basement story, nor should any books ever be located near the wall of a building. all walls absorb, retain, and give out moisture, and are dangerous and oft-times fatal neighbors to books. let the shelves be located at right angles to every wall--with the end nearest to it at least twelve to eighteen inches removed, and the danger will be obviated. a third enemy of the book is heat. most libraries are unfortunately over-heated,--sometimes from defective means of controlling the temperature, and sometimes from carelessness or want of thought in the attendant. a high temperature is very destructive to books. it warps their covers, so that volumes unprotected by their fellows, or by a book support, tend to curl up, and stay warped until they become a nuisance. it also injures the paper of the volumes by over-heating, and weakening the tenacity of the leaves held together by the glue on the back, besides drying to an extreme the leather, till it cracks or crumbles under the heat. the upper shelves or galleries of any library are most seriously affected by over-heating, because the natural law causes the heat to rise toward the ceiling. if you put your hand on some books occupying the highest places in some library rooms, in mid-winter, when the fires are kept at their maximum, the heat of the volume will almost burn your fingers. if these books were sentient beings, and could speak, would they not say--"our sufferings are intolerable?" the remedy is of course a preventive one; never to suffer the library to become over-heated, and to have proper ventilation on every floor, communicating with the air outside. seventy degrees fahrenheit is a safe and proper maximum temperature for books and librarian. the mischief arising from gas exhalations is another serious source of danger to books. in many well-lighted libraries, the heat itself from the numerous gas-burners is sufficient to injure them, and there is besides a sulphuric acid escaping from the coal-gas fluid, in combustion, which is most deleterious to bindings. the only remedy appears to be, where libraries are open evenings, to furnish them with electric lights. this improved mode of illumination is now so perfected, and so widely diffused, that it may be reckoned a positive boon to public libraries, in saving their books from one of their worst and most destructive enemies. another of the potent enemies of books is fire. i refer, not to over-heating the rooms they occupy, but to the risk they continually run, in most libraries, of total destruction. the chronicle of burned libraries would make a long and melancholy record, on which there is no space here to enter. irreparable losses of manuscripts and early printed books, and precious volumes printed in small editions, have arisen from men's neglect of building our book-repositories fire-proof. in all libraries not provided with iron or steel shelves, there is perpetual danger. books do not burn easily, unless surrounded with combustibles, but these are furnished in nearly all libraries, by surrounding the books on three sides with wooden shelves, which need only to be ignited at any point to put the whole collection in a blaze. then follows the usual abortive endeavor to save the library by the aid of fire engines, which flood the building, until the water spoils nearly all which the fire does not consume. the incalculable losses which the cause of learning has sustained from the burning of public, university and ecclesiastical libraries are far greater than the cost which the provision of fire-proof repositories would have entailed. of late years, there has been a partial reform in library construction. some have been built fire-proof throughout, with only stone, brick, concrete and iron material, even to the floors and window casings. many more have had iron shelves and iron stacks to hold the shelves constructed, and there are now several competing manufacturers of these invaluable safeguards to books. the first library interior constructed wholly of iron was that of the library of congress at washington, which had been twice consumed, first when the capitol was burned by the british army in , and again in , through a defective flue, when only , volumes were saved from the flames, out of a total of , . the example of iron construction has been slowly followed, until now the large cities have most of their newly-constructed libraries approximately fire-proof, although many are exposed to fire in parts, owing to a niggardly and false economy. the lesson that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well, and that every neglect of security brings sooner or later irreparable loss, is very slowly learned. whole hecatombs of books have been sacrificed to the spirit of commercial greed, blind or short-sighted enough not to see that secure protection to public property, though costlier at first, is far cheaper in the end. you may speak of insurance against library losses by fire, but what insurance could restore the rare and costly shakespearean treasures of the birmingham free library, or the unique and priceless manuscripts that went up in flames in the city library of strasburg, in , or the many precious and irreplaceable manuscript archives of so many of our states, burned in the conflagration of their capitols? one would think that the civilized world had had lessons enough, ever since that seventh century burning of the alexandrian library by the caliph omar, with that famous but apocryphal rhetorical dilemma, put in his mouth perhaps by some nimble-witted reporter:--"if these books agree with the koran, they are useless, and should be burned: if not, they are pernicious, and must not be spared." but the heedless world goes carelessly on, deaf to the voice of reason, and the lessons of history, amid the holocausts of literature and the wreck of blazing libraries, uttering loud newspaper wails at each new instance of destruction, forgotten in a week, then cheerfully renewing the business of building libraries that invite the flames. nothing here said should be interpreted as advice not to insure any library, in all cases where it is not provided with iron cases for the books, or a fire-proof building. on the contrary, the menaced destruction of books or manuscripts that cannot be replaced should lead to securing means in advance for replacing all the rest in case of loss by fire. and the experience of the past points the wisdom of locating every library in an isolated building, where risks of fire from other buildings are reduced to a minimum, instead of in a block whose buildings (as in most commercial structures) are lined with wood. you will perhaps attach but small importance at first thought, to the next insidious foe to library books that i shall name--that is, wetting by rain. yet most buildings leak at the roof, sometime, and some old buildings are subject to leaks all the time. even under the roof of the capitol at washington, at every melting of a heavy snow-fall, and on occasion of violent and protracted rains, there have been leaks pouring down water into the libraries located in the old part of the building. each of these saturated and injured its quota of books, some of which could only be restored to available use by re-binding, and even then the leaves were left water-stained in part. see to it that your library roof is water-tight, or the contents of your library will be constantly exposed to damage against which there is no insurance. another besetting danger to the books of our libraries arises from insects and vermin. these animated foes appear chiefly in the form of book-worms, cockroaches, and mice. the first-named is rare in american libraries, though its ravages have extended far and wide among the old european ones. this minute little insect, whose scientific name is the _anobium paniceum_, bores through the leaves of old volumes, making sometimes holes which deface and mutilate the text. all our public libraries, doubtless, have on their shelves old folios in vellum or leather bindings, which present upon opening the disagreeable vision of leaves eaten through (usually before they crossed the sea) by these pernicious little borers. it is comforting to add, that i have never known of any book-worm in the congressional library--except the human variety, which is frequently in evidence. georgetown college library once sent me a specimen of the insect, which was found alive in one of its volumes, but the united testimony of librarians is that this pest is rare in the united states. as to remedies, the preventive one of sprinkling the shelves twice a year with a mixture of powdered camphor and snuff, or the vapor of benzine or carbolic acid, or other repellant chemicals, is resorted to abroad, but i have not heard of any similar practice in this country. i may remark in passing, that the term "book-worm" is a misnomer, since it is not a worm at all, but an insect. a more serious insect menace is the cockroach, a hungry, unclean little beast, which frequents a good many libraries, and devours bindings (especially fresh ones) to get at the paste or savory parts of the binding. the remedy for this evil, when once found to exist, is to scatter the most effective roach poison that can be found, which may arrest further ravages. another insect pest is the croton bug, (_blatta germanica_) which eats into cloth bindings to get at the sizing or albumen. the late eminent entomologist, dr. c. v. riley, pronounced them the worst pest known in libraries, but observed that they do not attack books bound in leather, and confine their ravages to the outside of cloth-bound books, never troubling the leaves. the remedy prescribed is a powder in which pyrethrum is the chief ingredient, sprinkled about the shelves. among the rodents, mice are apt to be busy and mischievous infesters of libraries. they are extremely fond of paste, and being in a chronic state of hunger, they watch opportunities of getting at any library receptacle of it. they will gnaw any fresh binding, whether of cloth, board, or leather, to get at the coveted food. they will also gnaw some books, and even pamphlets, without any apparent temptation of a succulent nature. a good library cat or a series of mouse traps, skilfully baited, may rid you of this evil. the injury that comes to library books from insufficient care in protecting them on the shelves is great and incalculable. there are to be seen in every library, volumes all twisted out of shape by the sagging or leaning, to which the end-book is subjected, and which is often shared by all its neighbors on the shelf. the inevitable result is that the book is not only spoiled in its good looks, but (which is vastly more important) it is injured in its binding, which is strained and weakened just in proportion to the length of time in which it is subjected to such risks. the plain remedy is to take care that every volume is supported upright upon the shelf, in some way. when the shelf is full, the books will support one another. but when volumes are withdrawn, or when a shelf is only partly filled with books, the unsupported volumes tumble by force of gravitation, and those next them sag and lean, or fall like a row of bricks, pushing one another over. no shelf of books can safely be left in this condition. some one of the numerous book-supports that have been contrived should be always ready, to hold up the volumes which are liable to lean and fall. we come now to the active human enemies of books, and these are unhappily found among some of the readers who frequent our libraries. these abuses are manifold and far-reaching. most of them are committed through ignorance, and can be corrected by the courteous but firm interposition of the librarian, instructing the delinquent how to treat a book in hand. others are wilful and unpardonable offences against property rights and public morals, even if not made penal offences by law. one of these is book mutilation, very widely practiced, but rarely detected until the mischief is done, and the culprit gone. i have found whole pages torn out of translations, in the volumes of bohn's classical library, doubtless by students wanting the translated text as a "crib" in their study of the original tongue. some readers will watch their opportunity, and mutilate a book by cutting out plates or a map, to please their fancy, or perhaps to make up a defective copy of the same work. those consulting bound files of newspapers will ruthlessly despoil them by cutting out articles or correspondence, or advertisements, and carrying off the stolen extracts, to save themselves the trouble of copying. others, bolder still, if not more unscrupulous, will deliberately carry off a library book under a coat, or in a pocket, perhaps signing a false name to a reader's ticket to hide the theft, or escape detection. against these scandalous practices, there is no absolute safeguard in any library. even where a police watch is kept, thefts are perpetrated, and in most libraries where no watchman is employed, the librarian and his assistants are commonly far too busy to exercise close scrutiny of all readers. as one safeguard, no rare or specially costly book should be entrusted to a reader except under the immediate eye of the librarian or assistant. ordinary books can be replaced if carried off, and by watching the rarities, risk of theft can be reduced to a minimum. when newspapers are given out to readers, it should always be in a part of the library where those using them are conscious of a surveillance exercised over their movements. the penalty of neglecting this may at any time be the mutilation of an important file, and it must be remembered that such damage, once done, cannot be repaired. you can replace a mutilated book usually by buying a new one, but a newspaper can almost never be replaced. even in the city of boston, the librarian of the athenaeum library records the disgraceful fact, that "the temptation to avoid the trouble of copying, by cutting out articles from newspapers is too strong for the honesty of a considerable part of the public." and it was recorded by the custodian of a public library in albany that all the plates were missing from certain books, that the poetry and best illustrations were cut from magazines before they had lain on the tables a week, and strange to say, that many of these depredations were committed by women. it is a difficult problem how to prevent such outrages to decency, and such irreparable depredations on the books in our libraries as destroy, in great part, their value. a posted notice, reminding readers that mutilation of books or periodicals is a penal offence, will warn off many, if not all, from such acts of vandalism. if there is no law punishing the offence, agitate until you get one. expose through the press such thefts and mutilations as are discovered. interest readers whom you know, to be watchful of those you do not know, and to quietly report any observed violation of rules. when a culprit is detected, push the case to prompt legal hearing, and let the penalty of the law be enforced. let it be known that the public property in books is too sacred a right to be violated with impunity. inculcate by every means and on every opportunity the sentiment that readers who freely benefit by the books supplied should themselves feel personal concern in their cleanliness and preservation, and that the interest of the library is really the interest of all. a daily abuse practiced by many readers in libraries, though without wrongful intent, is the piling of one book on top of another while open. this is inexcusable ill-treatment, for it subjects the open book thus burdened, to injury, besides probably soiling its pages with dust. especially harmful is such careless treatment of large volumes of newspapers or illustrated works. careless use of ink is the cause of much injury to library books. as a rule (to which the very fewest exceptions should be made) pencils only should be allowed to readers, who must forego the use of ink, with the inevitable risk of dropping it upon the book to its irreparable injury. the use of ink in fountain pens is less objectionable. tracing of maps or plates should not be allowed, unless with a soft pencil. under no circumstances should tracing with a pen or other hard instrument be permitted to any reader. failure to enforce this rule may result in ruin of valuable engravings or maps. there is one class of books which demand special and watchful care at the hands of the librarian. these are the fine illustrated works, mostly in large folio, which include the engravings of the art galleries of europe, and many other specially rare or costly publications. these should be carefully shelved in cases where they can lie on their sides, not placed upright, as in some collections, to lean over, and, sooner or later to break their backs, and necessitate rebinding. when supplied to readers, there should not be more than one volume at a time given out, to avoid the risk, always threatening, of careless handling or of opening one volume on top of another that is open. there should also be a printed notice or label affixed to the side cover of every illustrated work reading, "never touch an engraving," or an equivalent warning. this will go far, by its plain reminder, to prevent soiling the pages by the fingers, a practice which rapidly deteriorates fine books, and if long continued, renders them unfit to be exhibited to clean-handed readers. all plates should be stamped at some portion of their surface (it is often done on the back) with the embossing stamp of the library, as a means of identification if abstracted from the volume to which they belong. such books should, moreover, be consulted on a large table, or better an adjustable stand (to avoid frequent lifting or shifting of the position of the volume when inspecting the plates) and always under the eye of the librarian or an assistant not far removed. these precautions will insure far more careful treatment, and will result in handing down to a new generation of readers many a rare and precious volume, which would otherwise be destroyed or irretrievably injured in a very few years. the library treasures which cost so much to bring together should never be permitted to suffer from want of care to preserve them. all writing upon the margins of books should be prohibited--other than simple pencil corrections of the text, as to an erroneous date, name, etc., which corrections of errors should not only be permitted, but welcomed, upon due verification. the marking of passages for copying or citation should be tolerated only upon the rigid condition that every user of the book rubs out his own pencil marks before returning it. i have seen lawyers and others thoughtless enough of right and wrong to mark long passages in pen and ink in books belonging to public libraries. this is a practice to be sternly repressed, even at the cost of denying further library privileges to the offender. turning down leaves in a book to keep the place is one of the easily besetting sins of too many readers. those who thus dogs-ear a volume should be taught that the vile practice weakens and wears out the leaves thus folded down, and makes the book a more easy prey to dust and disintegration. however busy i may be, i instinctively turn back every turned-down leaf i notice in any book, before using it, or handing it to another. a good safe-guard would be to provide a supply of little narrow strips of paper, in the ticket boxes at the library tables to serve as the book-markers so frequently needed by readers. for this purpose, no thick or smooth calendered paper should be used, which falls out of any loosely bound book too readily--but a thin soft paper un-sized, which will be apt to retain its place. i have lost valuable time (which i shall never see again) in trying to find the pages marked for me by a searcher who had thoughtlessly inserted bits of card-board as markers--which kept falling out by their own weight. the book-marks should be at least two inches long, and not more than half an inch wide; and rough edges are better than smooth ones, for they will adhere better to the head of the volume where placed. better still it is, to provide paper book-marks forked at the lower end by slitting, then doubled so that the mark will go on both sides of the leaf at once. this is the only sure safe-guard against these bits of paper falling out, and thus losing the place. never put cards, or letters, or documents, or any solid substance into a book. it weakens the binding, and if continued, often breaks the back. the fact that most of the injuries to which books are exposed are unintentional injuries does not alter the fact that they are none the less injuries to be guarded against. wilful perpetration of the many abuses referred to may be rare, but the unconscious perpetrators should be instructed how to use books by a vigilant librarian. and they who have thus been taught to be careful of the books in a public library will learn to be more careful of their own, which is a great step in the education of any one. it ought not to be needful to charge any one never to wet the finger to turn over the leaves of a book--a childish habit, akin to running out the tongue when writing, or moving the lips when reading to one's self. the only proper way to turn the leaf is at the upper right-hand corner, and the index-finger of the right hand will always be found competent to that duty. still less should it be needful to insist upon the importance to every reader of books, of coming to their perusal clean-handed. when you reflect that nine-tenths of the soiling and spoiling which books undergo comes from the dirty hands of many readers, this becomes a vital point. fouquet, a learned book collector of france, used to keep a pile of white gloves in the ante-room of his library, and no visitor was allowed to cross the threshold, or to handle a book without putting on a pair, lest he should soil the precious volumes with naked hands. such a refinement of care to keep books immaculate is not to be expected in this age of the world; and yet, a librarian who respects his calling is often tempted to wish that there were some means of compelling people to be more careful about books than they are. it ought not ever to be true that an enemy to the welfare of library books is found in the librarian himself, or in any of his assistants, yet there have been those employed in the care of books who have abused their positions and the volumes entrusted to their charge, not only by neglect of care, (which is a negative injury) but by positive and continual ill treatment. this may arise from ignorance of better methods, but ignorance is a poor excuse for one credited with the intelligence of a librarian. in some libraries, books are treated with positive indignity, and are permanently injured by tightly wedging them together. never crowd books by main force into shelves too short or too small for them. it strains the backs, and seriously injures the bindings. every book should slip easily past its fellows on the shelf. if a volume is too tall to go in its place, it should be relegated to lower shelves for larger books, never letting its head be crowded against the shelf above it. one should never pull books out from the shelf by their head-bands, or by pulling at the binding, but place the finger firmly on the top of the book, next to the binding, and press down while drawing out the volume. from failure to observe this simple precaution, you will find in all libraries multitudes of torn or broken bindings at the top--a wholly needless defacement and waste. never permit a book to be turned down on its face to keep the place. this easily besetting habit weakens the book, and frequently soils its leaves by contact with a dusty table. for the same reason, one volume should not be placed within the leaves of another to keep the place where a book-mark of paper, so easily supplied, should always be used. books should not be turned down on the fore-edges or fronts on the library tables, as practiced in most book-stores, in order to better display the stock. the same habit prevails in many libraries, from careless inattention. when necessary, in order to better read the titles, they should never be left long in such position. this treatment weakens the back infallibly, and if long continued breaks it. librarians, of all persons in the world, should learn, and should lead others to learn, never to treat a book with indignity, and how truly the life of a book depends upon proper treatment, as well as that of an animated being. these things, and others of my suggestions, may seem trifles to some; but to those who consider how much success in life depends upon attention to what are called trifles--nay, how much both human taste and human happiness are promoted by care regarding trifles, they will not appear unimportant. the existence of schools to teach library science, and of manuals devoted to similar laudable aims, is an auspicious omen of the new reign of refined taste in those nobler arts of life which connect themselves with literature, and are to be hailed as authentic evidences of the onward progress of civilization. chapter . the restoration and reclamation of books. we are now to consider carefully the restoration and the reclamation of the books of a library, whether public or private. nothing can be more important than the means of restoring or reclaiming library books that are lost or injured, since every such restoration will save the funds of the library or collector from replacing them with fresh or newly bought copies, and will enable it to furnish its stores with as many new books as the money thus saved represents. the cardinal thing to be kept always in view is a wise economy of means. an every-day prudence is the price of successful administration. a management which permits any of the enemies of books to destroy or damage them, thereby wasting the substance of the library without repair, is a fatally defective management, which should be changed as soon as possible. this consideration assumes added importance when it is remembered that the means of nearly all our libraries are very limited and inadequate to the drafts upon them, year by year. a great many libraries are compelled to let their books needing rebinding accumulate, from the mere want of money to pay for reclothing the nearly worn-out volumes, thus depriving the readers for a considerable time, of the use of many coveted books. and even with those which have large means, i have never yet heard of a library that had enough, either to satisfy the eager desire of the librarian to fill up deficiencies, or to meet fully the manifold wants of readers. so much the more important, then, is it to husband every dollar that can be saved, to keep the books in such good condition that they will not need frequent rebinding, and to reduce to a minimum all the evils which beset them, menacing their safety, or injuring their condition. to attain these great ends, the librarian who is qualified for his responsible position, must be both a preserver and a restorer of books. if not personally able to go through the mechanical processes which belong to the art of restoration, (and this is the case in all libraries except the smallest) he should at least learn all about them, so as to be able to teach them thoroughly and intelligently to an assistant. it is frequently made an excuse for the soiled and slovenly and even torn condition of books and bindings in a much used public library, that neither the librarian nor his aids have any time to look into the condition of the books, much less to repair any of the numerous damages they sustain. but it should be remembered that in most libraries, even the busiest, there are seasons of the day, or periods of very stormy weather, when the frequentation of readers is quite small. those times should always be seized upon to take hold of volumes which have had to be laid aside as damaged, in the hurry of business. to arrest such damages at the threshold is the duty and the interest of the library. a torn leaf can be quickly mended, a slightly broken binding can be pasted or glued, turned-down leaves can be restored where they belong, a plate or map that is started can be fastened in, by devoting a few minutes at the proper time, and with the proper appliances ready at hand. multitudes of volumes can be so treated in the course of the year, thus saving the heavy cost of rebinding. it is the proverbial stitch in time that saves nine. never wait, in such matters, for the leisure day that never comes, but seize the golden moment as it flies, when no reader is interrupting you, and clear off at least one of the little jobs that are awaiting your attention. no one who does not know how to use the odd moments is qualified for the duties of a librarian. i have seen, in country libraries, the librarian and his lady assistant absorbed in reading newspapers, with no other readers in the room. this is a use of valuable time never to be indulged in during library hours. if they had given those moments to proper care of the books under their charge, their shelves would not have been found filled with neglected volumes, many of which had been plainly badly treated and injured, but not beyond reclamation by timely and provident care. it is amazing how any one can expect long employment as a librarian, who takes no interest in the condition of the books under his charge. the way to build up a library, and to establish the reputation of a librarian at the same time, is to devote every energy and intelligence to the great work in hand. convince the library directors, by incessant care of the condition of the books, that you are not only a fit, but an indispensable custodian of them. let them see your methods of preserving and restoring, and they will be induced to give you every facility of which you stand in need. show them how the cost of binding or re-buying many books can be saved by timely repair within the library, and then ask for another assistant to be always employed on such work at very moderate cost. library directors and trustees are commonly intensely practical men, and quick to see into the heart of good management. they do not want a librarian who has a great reputation as a linguist, or an educator, or a book-worm, but one who knows and cares about making their funds go as far as possible, and can show them how he has saved by restoring old books, enough money to pay for a great many new ones. nothing is more common in public lending libraries than to find torn leaves in some of the books. if the leaf is simply broken, without being absolutely detached, or if part is torn off, and remains on hand, the volume may be restored by a very simple process. keep always at hand in some drawer, a few sheets of thin "onion-skin" paper, or the transparent adhesive paper supplied by the library bureau. paste this on either side of the torn leaf, seeing that it laps over all the points of juncture where the tear occurred, and that the fitting of the text or reading matter is complete and perfect. the paper being transparent, there will be no difficulty in reading the torn page through it. this little piece of restoration should always be effected immediately on discovery, both that the torn piece or fragment may be saved, and that the volume may be restored to use. in case of absolute loss of a leaf or a part of a page, there are only three remedies known to me. . the book may be condemned as imperfect, and a new copy purchased. . the missing part may be restored from a perfect copy of the same work, by copying the portions of the text wanting, and inserting them where they belong. this can be done with a pen, and the written deficiency neatly inserted, in fac-simile of the type, or in ordinary script hand; or else the part wanting may be photographed or heliotyped by the best modern process from a duplicate copy of the book. . if the book is of very recent issue, the publishers may furnish a signature or sheet which would make good the deficiency, from the "imperfections" left in the bindery, after making up the edition of the work. in most cases, the last named means of replacement will not be found available. the first, or buying a fresh copy, may entail a greater expense than the library authorities would deem proper at the time, and it might be preferred to continue the book in use, with a slight imperfection. the second method, more or less troublesome according to circumstances, or the extent of the matter to be copied is sometimes the most economical. of course, it is subject to the drawback of not being, when done, a _bona fide_ or genuine copy of the book as published. this diminishes the commercial value of even the rarest book, although so fully restored as to text that the reader has it all before him, so that it supplies every requisite of a perfect copy for the purposes of a public library, or a private owner who is not a connoisseur in books. when the corners of a book are found to be broken (as often happens by falling to the floor or severe handling) the book may be restored by a treatment which will give it new leather corners. with paste or glue well rubbed in, apply thick brown paper on the corners, which, when dry, will be as hard as desired, and ready to receive the leather. then the sides may be covered with marbled paper or cloth, and the volume is restored. when the back of a book becomes loose, the remedy is to take it out of the cover, re-sew it, and glue it firmly into the former back. this will of course render the back of the volume more rigid, but, in compensation, it will be more durable. in these cases of loose or broken backs, the study should be to save the leather cover and the boards or sides of the book intact, so as to diminish by more than one-half the cost of repair. as the volume cannot be restored to a solid and safe condition without being re-sewed, it may be carefully separated from the cover by cutting the cords or bands at their junction with the boards, then slowly stripping the book out of its cover, little by little, and treating the sheets when separated as already indicated in the chapter on rebinding. one of the most common defacements which library books undergo is marking up the margins with comments or references in pencil. of course no thoughtful reader would be guilty of this practice, but thoughtless readers are often in the majority, and the books they read or fancy that they read, get such silly commentaries on the margins as these: "beautiful," "very sad," "perfectly splendid," "i think becky is horrid," or, "this book ends badly." such vile practices or defacements are not always traceable to the true offender, especially in a circulating library, where the hours are so busy as to prevent the librarian from looking through the volumes as they come in from the readers. but if detected, as they may be after a few trials of suspected parties, by giving them out books known to be clean and free from pencil marks when issued to them, the reader should be required always to rub out his own marks, as a wholesome object-lesson for the future. the same course should be pursued with any reader detected in scribbling on the margin of any book which is being read within the library. incorrigible cases, amounting to malicious marking up of books, should be visited by severe penalties--even to the denial of further library privileges to the offender. not long ago, i bought at an auction sale a copy of the first edition of tennyson's "in memoriam," which was found on receipt to be defaced by marking dozens of verses in the margin with black lines drawn along them, absolutely with pen and ink! the owner of that book, who did the ruthless deed, never reflected that it might fall into hands where his indelible folly would be sharply denounced. the librarian or assistant librarian who will instinctively rub out all pencil marks observed in a library book deserves well of his countrymen. it is time well spent. the writing on book-margins is so common a practice, and so destructive of the comfort and satisfaction which readers of taste should find in their perusal of books, that no legitimate means of arresting it or repairing it should be neglected. in a public library in massachusetts, a young woman of eighteen who was detected as having marked a library copy of "middlemarch" with gushing effusions, was required to read the statute prescribing fine and imprisonment for such offenses, with very tearful effect, and undoubtedly with a wholesome and permanent improvement in her relations to books and libraries. in some libraries, a warning notice is posted up like this: "readers finding a book injured or defaced, are required to report it at once to the librarian, otherwise they will be held responsible for the damage done." this rule, while its object is highly commendable, may lead in practice to injustice to some readers. so long as the reader uses the book inside of the library walls, he should of course report such defects as meet his eye in reading, whether missing pages, plates, or maps, or serious internal soiling, torn leaves, etc. but in the case of drawing out books for home reading, the rule might embarrass any reader, however well disposed, if too strictly construed. a reader finding any serious defect in a library volume used at home, should simply place a mark or slip in the proper place with the word "damaged," or "defective" written on it. then, on returning the book to the library, his simple statement of finding it damaged or defective when he came to read it should be accepted by the librarian as exonerating him from blame for any damage. and this gives point to the importance of examining every book, at least by cursory inspection, before it is handed out for use. a volume can be run through quickly by a practiced hand, so as to show in a moment or two any leaves started or torn, or, usually, any other important injury. if any such is found, the volume should under no circumstances be given out, but at once subjected to repair or restoration. this degree of care will not only save the books of the library from rapid deterioration, but will also save the feelings of readers, who might be anxious lest they be unjustly charged with damaging while in their hands. the treatment of their imperfect books (which tend perpetually to accumulate) is very different in different libraries. some libraries, where funds are ample enough to enable them to do it, condemn any book that has so much as a sentence torn out, and replace it on the shelves with a new copy. the imperfect volumes are sold for waste paper, or put into some sale of duplicate books, marked as imperfect, with note of the damage upon a slip inserted at the proper place in the book, and also in the catalogue, if sold at auction or in a printed list of duplicates offered by the library. this notice of what imperfection exists is necessary, so that no incautious purchaser may think that he is securing a perfect copy of the work. other libraries not blessed with means to pursue this course, do as best they can afford, supplying what is deficient when possible without much cost of time or money, or else continuing the damaged book in use "with all its imperfections on its head." the loss of a single plate does not destroy the value of the book for readers, however to be regretted as diminishing the satisfaction to be derived from the volume. and one can sometimes pardon the loss of a part of a page in a mutilated book, especially when he is made aware of the fact that the library which welcomes him to the free enjoyment of its treasures cannot well afford to buy another. it is disheartening to read, in an annual report of a public library of circulation in massachusetts, that many of its popular books are so soiled and defaced, after a few readings, as to be unfit for further service; that books of poetry are despoiled by the scissors to save trouble of copying verses wanted; that plates are often abstracted, and that many magazines "seem to be taken from the library for no other reason than that private scrap-books may be enriched or restless children amused." the only remedy suggested is to examine each book before again giving it out, and, if returned defaced, to hold the borrower responsible. the art of cleaning books that are stained or dirty, is a matter not widely known, and in this country there are few experts at it. some of these keep closely guarded the methods they use to cleanse a book. comparatively few libraries avail themselves of the practice of washing their soiled volumes, as the process is too expensive for most of them, and so they are accustomed to let the library books remain in use and re-issue them again and again, until they become so filthy as to be quite unfit to be seen--much less handled by any reader. but there are often valuable or rare works which have sustained interior injury, and which it is desired to restore to a clean condition. the best method is to take the book apart as the first step. when separated into sheets, those leaves which are merely dirty should be placed in a bath composed of about four ounces of chloride of lime, dissolved in a quart of water. they should soak until all stains are removed, and the paper is restored to its proper color. then the pages should be washed in cold water--running water is preferable--and allowed to soak about six hours. this removes all traces of the lime, which would otherwise tend to rot or injure the book. after this, the sheets are to be "sized," _i. e._, dipped in a bath of size and water, and laid out to dry. this process gives firmness and consistency to the paper, which would otherwise remain too soft to handle. the sheets should be pressed a few hours between glazed paste-boards, as used in printing offices. a cheap and simple size for this purpose may be made by mixing white gelatine with water, and this may be kept in a bottle, so as to be always conveniently at hand. the art of restoring and rendering fit for handling books and rare early pamphlets by sizing all the leaves is in constant use in europe. by this means, and by piecing out margins, the most rotten paper, ready to drop apart in turning the leaves, may be restored to use, if not quite to its pristine condition. ink-spots or mildew stains may be wholly removed, when freshly made, by applying a solution of oxalic or citric acid, and then washing the leaf with a wet sponge. it is more effectual to follow the bath of oxalic acid by applying a solution of one part hydrochloric acid to six parts of water, after which bathe in cold water, and dry slowly. or an infusion of hypochlorite of potash in twice its volume of water may be used instead of the preceding. if a leather-bound book has grease on its cover, it can be removed by scraping french chalk or magnesia over the place, and ironing with a warm (not hot) iron. a simpler method is to apply benzine to the grease spots, (which dissolves the fatty material) and then dry the spot quickly with a fine cloth. this operation may be repeated, if not effectual at the first trial. the same method of applying benzine to oily spots upon plates or engravings, will remove the stains. ink-stains may also be taken off from the leather covers of books bound in calf or morocco by the use of oxalic acid. care should be taken first to try the acid on a piece of similar leather or on a discarded book of the same color. if the leather is discolored after removing the black spot, one may apply, after taking out the traces of oxalic acid by some alkali, a coloring matter similar to the tint of the leather. spots or stains of grease or oil are often found in books. they may be wholly removed by applying carbonate of magnesia on both sides of the leaf stained, backed by paper, and pressing with a hot iron, after which the sheets should be washed and left under pressure over night. another method is to dilute spirits of salts with five times its bulk of water, then let the stained leaves lie in the liquid four minutes, after which they are to be washed. still another method is to make a mixture of one pound of soap, half a pound of clay and two ounces of lime, dissolved in water to a proper consistency; apply it to the spots; fifteen minutes after, dip the leaf in a bath of warm water for half an hour, after which dry and press until smooth. stains left by mud on the leaves of a book (a not uncommon fate of volumes falling in a wet street) can be removed thus: spread over the spots a jelly composed of white soap and water, letting it remain about half an hour. then dip the leaf in clear water, and remove the soap with a fine sponge dipped in warm water; all the mud stains will disappear at the same time. to remove the last traces of the soap, dip a second time in clear water, place the leaf between two sheets of blotting paper, and dry slowly in a cool and shady place. the same process, of washing in soap and water, will remove what are doubtless the most common of all the soilings that library books undergo, namely, the soil that comes from the dirty hands and fingers of readers. it is sometimes necessary to color the sheets that have been washed white, so as to correspond in tint with the rest of the volume, which has not needed that treatment. an infusion of cheap tobacco leaves, or a bath of brown stout will effect this. in all these methods of removing soil from the pages of books, it is absolutely necessary to give attention to thorough washing after the chemicals are used. otherwise there will remain an element of destruction which will sooner or later spoil the book, to restore which so much pains may have been expended. and one can readily learn how to restore a valuable book by these methods. he should, however, first practice on the restoration of a volume of little worth--and venture upon the treatment of a precious volume only after practice has made him an expert. to restore a fresher look to volumes whose bindings are much rubbed or "scuffed" as it is sometimes called, one may spread over their surface a little wet starch pretty thick, with a little alum added, applied with an old leather glove. with this the back of the book, and the sides and edges of the boards should be smartly rubbed, after which, with a fine rag rub off the thicker part of the starch, and the book will present a much brighter appearance, besides being rid of dust and soil. there will remain on the volume a very slight deposit of gelatine or gluten; before it dries completely, the palm of the hand may be passed over it at all points, and the leather, which may have assumed a dull color from the starch, will resume a bright brown or other tint. if this fails to appear, a bit of flannel, impregnated with a few drops of varnish, should be rubbed over the leather, and when nearly dry, rub with a white rag slightly touched with olive oil, and a brilliant appearance will be given to the binding. when leaves are started, or a signature becomes loose in any volume, it should be at once withdrawn from circulation, or the loss of an important part of the book may result. the remedy commonly resorted to, of patching up the book by pasting in the loose leaves, is a mere makeshift which will not last. the cause of a loose signature is generally to be found in a broken thread in the sewing, and the only permanent cure is to take the book out of its cover, and re-sew it, when it may usually be re-inserted in the same binding. this is for cloth-bound books. when bound in leather, it is best to take out the loose sheet, "overcast" it, that is, secure all the leaves by sewing, then carefully lay some paste along the outer edge or back of the sheet, insert the sheet in its place, pressing it firmly with a paper knife along the middle of the sheet, and the volume will be restored ready for use after a few days drying under weight. on occasion of a fire next to the mercantile library rooms in philadelphia, in , great damage was done, from water thrown by the fire-engines, to many thousands of books. the library authorities tried various methods of restoring the volumes, and among others, drying them in ovens was resorted to. this was found, however, to dry the books so rapidly, that the bindings cracked, and in many cases came off, while many volumes were much warped. the most advantageous method that was adopted was to prepare a large number of frames on which many wires were strung horizontally across a large room. the wet books (many of which were soaked through) were suspended on these wires in such a way as to dry them by degrees, the temperature of the room being raised considerably by furnace heat. the condition in which the books were found after the wetting varied greatly. nearly all that were printed on soft paper were wet through, while those next to them printed on thick paper, and with solid leather bindings, were scarcely damaged at all. the water stains constituted the most serious injury to the volumes, and multitudes of fine books that were wet will always bear the marks of the stain. some of the more costly books were restored by taking them apart, washing them thoroughly, then placing them in a heated press, and drying them, so that the water-stains were removed. all the books, however different the degree of damage from the water, retained their legibility, and were put to the same uses in the library as before the fire occurred. none were burned, the actual fire being confined to the neighboring buildings of the block in the midst of which the library was unfortunately located. the whole number of volumes damaged was about , , and the insurance, which was assessed by referees at the amount of $ , , would nearly have replaced the books by new ones. many of the volumes had to be rebound as the damage by wetting the glue and paste which are such important elements in binding securely, led to the falling apart of the covers. there are multitudes of books restored by some one of the processes which have been ingeniously contrived to make an old book as good as new, or an imperfect volume perfect. the art of reproducing in facsimile, by mere manual dexterity with the pen, letters, words, and whole pages, has been carried to a high degree of perfection, notably in london. a celebrated book restorer named harris, gained a great reputation among book lovers and librarians by his consummate skill in the reproduction of the text of black-letter rarities and early-printed books of every kind. to such perfection did he carry the art of imitating an original that in many cases one could not distinguish the original from the imitation, and even experts have announced a harris facsimile in a shakespeare folio to be the printed original. the art has even been extended to engravings, with such success that the famous droeshout portrait of shakespeare, which illustrates the title-page of the first folio of , has been multiplied in pen-made facsimile, so as to deceive the most careful scrutiny. this nice and difficult art is not widely pursued in this country, though there are some experts among new york and philadelphia book-binders, who practice it. the british museum library has a corps of workers engaged in the restoration both of books and of manuscripts (as well as engravings) who are men of the highest training and skill. the process is necessarily quite expensive, because of the time required and of the small number of competing artists in this field. it is chiefly confined to the restoration of imperfect copies of early printed and rare books, which are so frequently found in imperfect condition, often wanting title-pages or the final leaves, or parts of pages in any part of the volume. so costly, indeed, is this skilful hand-restoration of imperfect books, that it has been a great boon to the collectors of libraries and rare works, to see the arts of photography so developed in recent years, as to reproduce with almost exact fidelity printed matter of any kind from the pages of books. the cost of such facsimiles of course varies with the locality, the work, the skill, or the competition involved. but it may be said in general that the average cost of book-page facsimiles by photographic process need not exceed one dollar a page. an entire edition of the encyclopaedia britannica has been printed from plates made in replica from photographs of the original text of the edinburgh edition. the reproduction in this case can hardly be commended, as it is trying to the eyes to read, when compared with the original, presenting a somewhat blurred and irregular aspect to the eyes. it is very difficult to lay down rules which shall be effective in checking the abuse of books which compels exercise of the means of restoration. writing upon margins (already referred to) may sometimes be checked by putting a printed slip in every library book bearing the warning--"never write in a library book." to this may be added--"never turn down leaves," an equally important injunction. indeed, a whole list of "dont's" might be inserted, but for the chance that too many warnings might operate to warn off a reader from absorbing any of them. thus-- "don't soil any book don't write on margins don't turn down leaves don't lay a book on its face open don't wet fingers to turn leaves don't fail to use the book-mark don't read with unclean hands." as a loose slip is liable to fall out, some such reminder should be pasted into the fly-leaf of every book, next the book-plate. a self-respecting reader will generally heed such hints, which a moment's reflection will teach him are meant to preserve the library book clean and presentable for his own use, as well as for that of others. but there will always be some rude, boorish people who will persist in their brutal and destructive treatment of books, in the face of whatever warnings. how to deal with such unwelcome persons is an ever-present problem with the librarian. if sustained by the other library authorities, a really effectual remedy is to deny the further use of the library to any offender clearly proven to have subjected library books to damage while in his hands. some librarians go so far as to post the names of such offenders in the library hall, stating that they are denied the privileges of the library by the authorities, for mutilating books. in any case, great care must be taken to have the clearest proof, before proceeding to fasten the offense upon a particular individual. this involves, where the injury is not committed in the presence of any library officer, so as to be observed, but has been done while the book was drawn out, an examination of each volume before giving it out. if this rule were to be observed as to all, it would entail an expense that few libraries could afford. in a large circulating library in a city, it might require the entire time of two assistants to collate the books before re-issuing them. the circumstances of each library must determine how to deal with this matter. probably the majority will limit the close examination of books before giving them out, to cases where there is reason to suspect wilful continued soiling, scribbling, or dog's-earing. a few such cases once detected and dealt with will have a most salutary restraining influence upon others, especially if re-enforced by frequent and judicious paragraphs in the local press, setting forth the offense and the remedy. but all in vain will be the endeavor to abate these defacements and consequent waste of the library books, unless it is enforced by a positive law, with penal provisions, to punish offenders who mutilate or deface books that are public property. a good model of such a statute is the following, slightly abridged as to verbiage, from an act of congress, of which we procured the enactment in the year : "any person who steals, defaces, injures, mutilates, tears, or destroys any book, pamphlet, work of art, or manuscript, belonging to any public library, or to the united states, in the district of columbia, shall be fined ten dollars to one hundred dollars, and punished by imprisonment from one to twelve months, for every such offense." this act will be found in the united states statutes at large, vol. , p. . it would be well if the term "periodical" were added to the list of objects to be protected, to avoid all risk of a failure to punish the mutilation of newspapers and magazines, by pleading technical points, of which lawyers are prone to avail themselves in aiding offenders to escape conviction. it will be observed, that the word "deface," employed in this statute, actually covers the marking of margins by any reader, all such marking constituting a defacement within the meaning of the law. while the great multitude of readers who frequent our public libraries are honest and trustworthy, there are always some who are conspicuously the reverse. it is rarely safe in a large public library to admit readers to the shelves, without the company or the surveillance of an attendant. and it is not alone the uncultivated reader who cannot be trusted; the experience of librarians is almost uniform to the effect that literary men, and special scholars, as well as the collectors of rare books, are among those who watch the opportunity to purloin what they wish to save themselves the cost of buying. sometimes, you may find your most valuable work on coins mutilated by the abstraction of a plate, carried off by some student of numismatics. sometimes, you may discover a fine picture or portrait abstracted from a book by some lover of art or collector of portraits. again, you may be horrified by finding a whole sermon torn out of a volume of theology by a theological student or even a clergyman. all these things have happened, and are liable to happen again. no library is safe that is not closely watched and guarded. in the astor library a literary man actually tore out sixty pages of the _revue de paris_, and added to the theft the fraud of plagiarism, by translating from the stolen leaves an article which he sold to appleton's journal as an original production! in this case, the culprit, though detected, could not be punished, the law of new york requiring the posting in the library of the statute prohibiting mutilation or other injury to the books, and this posting had not been done. the law has since been amended, to make the penalties absolute and unconditional. in the astor library, over six hundred volumes were discovered to have been mutilated, including art works, patent office reports, magazines, newspapers, and even encyclopaedias. the books stolen from that library had been many, until several exposures and punishment of thieves inspired a wholesome dread of a similar fate. at a meeting of the american library association, one member inquired whether there was any effectual way to prevent the abstraction of books. he was answered by another librarian (from cincinnati) who replied that he knew of only one effectual method, and that was to keep a man standing over each book with a club. of course this was a humorous paradox, not to be taken literally, but it points a moral. seriously, however, the evil may be greatly curtailed, (though we may be hopeless of absolute prevention) by adopting the precautions already referred to. in the library of the british museum, a great library of reference, from which no book is permitted to be taken under any circumstances, the evil of mutilation was much reduced by prosecuting and posting the offenders publicly. after a few years, the obnoxious practice had so far ceased, that the placards, having an unpleasant aspect, were taken down. but on renewal of such depredations and defacements of books by readers, the placards were renewed, and some of the mutilated books, suitably labelled, were posted in the great reading room before the eyes of all. the authorities of the british museum are convinced of the salutary effects of such warnings, though books are sometimes stolen or mutilated under the liberal management which leaves several thousand volumes open for reference, without tickets. the late dr. wm. f. poole, the chicago librarian, recorded his experience in dealing with some clergymen, who, said he, seem to have as regards books, an imperfect appreciation of the laws of _meum_ and _tuum_. he had found ministers more remiss in returning books than any other class of men. he would by no means reflect on a noble and sacred profession by charging the derelictions of a few upon the many. but he had had unpleasant experiences with men of that profession, who had absolutely purloined books from the public library, removed the book-plates and library stamp, and covered the volumes with paper carefully pasted down inside of the covers. a librarian in massachusetts testified that it was common experience that clergymen and professional men gave the most trouble. second-hand book-dealers in boston had found a judge of the court purloining rare pamphlets, and ministers making away with pamphlet sermons under their coats. without insisting here upon any such extenuations of such practices as the prevalence of kleptomania, it has been made abundantly manifest that theft and mutilation of books are sufficiently common to demonstrate the weakness of human nature, and the necessity of every safeguard which public libraries can provide against such abuses of their treasures. a boston librarian stated that the thieves or mutilators of books included school-boys, clerks, students, teachers, soldiers, physicians, lawyers, clergymen, etc. in only one case was the crime committed through want or suffering. yet, though the offenders had been proven guilty in every instance, only two cases were known in which the penalty of the law had been enforced. does not this bespeak laxity of public morals in boston in regard to such abuses of library property? the union theological seminary at new york recorded its experience with ministers and theological students, to the effect that its library had lost more than a thousand volumes, taken and not returned. this of course included what were charged out, but could not be recovered. a librarian in auburn, n. y., returning from vacation, found that the american architect, an important illustrated weekly, had been mutilated in seven different volumes, and that pages in all had been stolen. fortunately, she was able to trace the reader who had been using the work, and succeeded in recovering the abstracted plates. the offender was prosecuted to conviction, and had to pay a fine of fifty dollars. it often happens that books which disappear mysteriously from a public library re-appear quite as mysteriously. those taking them, finding that the rules do not allow certain books to leave the library, make a law unto themselves, carry off the book wanted, keep it until read, and then return it surreptitiously, by replacing it on some shelf or table, when no one is looking. this is where no intention of stealing the book exists, and the borrower wilfully makes his own convenience override the library regulations, in the belief that he will not be found out. the buffalo young men's library reported in one year eighteen illustrated works on the fine arts, reserved from being taken out by its by-laws, as disappearing for weeks, but brought back in this underhanded manner. in other cases of such return, it is likely that the purpose was to keep the book, but that conscience or better thoughts, or fear of detection prevailed, and secured its return. some instances where leniency has been exercised to save book thieves from penalties may be instructive. one man who had carried off and sold two volumes from the astor library was traced and arrested, when he pleaded that absolute want had driven him to the act. he had a wife ill and starving at his home, and this on investigation proving true, he was pardoned and saved further misery. in another case, a poor german had stolen a volume of the classics which he pawned for a small sum to get bread for himself, being long out of work, and in a condition bordering closely upon starvation. he was released, the book reclaimed, and the offender turned over to the agencies of public charity. a librarian of new york gave it as his experience that some ministers are not to be trusted any more than other people. some of them like to write their opinions on the margins of the books. he found one of the library books written on in thirty pages, recognized the hand-writing, and wrote to the reverend gentleman asking an interview. he came, admitted the fact, and said that his notes made the book more valuable. this ingenious excuse did not satisfy the librarian, who said, "others do not think so, sir; so if you will get us a new book, you may keep the more valuable one." he soon brought in a new copy, and the matter ended. at the new york mercantile library, a young lady, amply able to buy all the books she could want, was discovered going out of the library with one book in her hand which she was entitled to, it being charged, and with five others hidden under her cloak, without permission. mr. melvil dewey has truly said that it is very hard to tell a library thief at sight. well-dressed, gentlemanly, even sanctimonious looking men are among them, and the wife of a well-known college professor, detected in purloining books, begged so hard not to be exposed, that she was reluctantly pardoned, and even restored to library privileges. a prominent lawyer of brooklyn, of distinguished appearance and fine manners, did not steal books, but his specialty was magazines and newspapers, which he carried off frequently. being caught at it one day, and accused by the librarian, he put on an air of dignity, declared he was insulted, and walked out. the librarian found the periodical he had taken thrown down in the entry, and he never after frequented that library. it is curious and instructive to know the experience of some libraries regarding the theft or mutilation of books. thus, in the public library of woburn, mass., a case of mutilation occurred by the cutting out of a picture from "drake's historic fields and mansions of middlesex county." on discovery of the loss, a reward of $ was offered for information leading to detection of the culprit. this was published in the town paper, and an article was printed calling attention to these library thefts and abuses, followed by citing the state law making such depredations a penal offense. within a week the missing plate came back to the librarian through the mail--anonymously of course, the person who had abstracted it finding that it was rather an unsafe picture to keep or exhibit, and so choosing to make his best policy honesty, though rather tardy in coming to that wise conclusion. this experience, and others here cited, may serve as a hint what course to pursue under similar circumstances, in the reclamation of library books. in the library of the london institution, continuous thefts of valuable editions of the classics had occurred. putting a detective in the library, a young man of suspicious demeanor was soon identified as the thief, and was followed and arrested in the very act of selling a library book. he proved to be a young man of good family, education and previous good character; but the library had suffered such losses from his depredations, that no mercy was shown, and he received and underwent the sentence to two months imprisonment. it may be added as an instance of methods availed of in london to trace missing books, that the librarian, knowing from the vacancies on the shelves what books had been abstracted, printed a list of them, sent it to every second-hand book-dealer in london, at the same time supplying it to the police, who circulate daily a list of missing property among all the pawn-brokers' shops in the city, and recovered all the books within twenty-four hours. the mercantile library of philadelphia missed a number of valuable books from its shelves, and on a watch being set, a physician in the most respectable rank in society was detected as the purloiner, and more than fifty volumes recovered from him. a library at lancaster, pa., reported the almost incredible incident of a thief having hidden under his coat, and carried off, a webster's unabridged dictionary! in most cases of detected theft or mutilation of books, strong appeals are made by the culprit or his friends to save exposure by public prosecution. these are commonly, in the case of persons in very respectable circumstances in life, not so much to avoid paying fines imposed by law as to avoid the disgrace attached to publicity, and the consequent damage done to the character of the individual. it is probably true that in a majority of cases, such influences have been strong enough to overcome the determination of the librarian or library authorities to let the law take its course. now, while it must be admitted that there is no rule without some valid exception that may be made, it is nevertheless to be insisted upon that due protection to public property in libraries demands the enforcement of the laws enacted to that end. the consequence of leniency to the majority of book thieves would be not only an indirect encouragement to the culprits to continue their depredations, but it would also lead to a lax and dangerous notion of the obligations of readers, and the sacredness of such property, in the public mind. enforcement of the penalties of wrong-doing, on the other hand, tends unquestionably to deter others, both by the fear of publicity which must follow detection, and by terror of the penalty which is or may be imprisonment for a considerable term, besides the imposing of a fine. at the worcester, mass., public library, a young man of twenty-two was detected in stealing a book, obliged to confess, and prosecuted. much pressure was brought to bear by his family and friends, very respectable people, to save him from the penalty. the court, however, imposed a fine of thirty dollars, and it being represented that his relatives would have to pay the amount, though innocent parties, the judge suspended the sentence until the young man should pay it in instalments from his own earnings, one of the family giving bail. the valuable lesson was in this way not lost, either to the offender or to the community; the law was enforced, and the young man perhaps saved from a life of wrong-doing, while if he had been let off scot-free, in deference to the influence exerted to that end, he might have gone from bad to worse. at the pratt institute free library in brooklyn, books had been disappearing from the reference department at intervals of about a week, and a watch was instituted. after some weeks' fruitless watching, a young man who came frequently to consult books was singled out as the probable offender, and the eyes of the library staff were centered upon him. the janitor watched his movements for some days, from a concealed post of observation, as the young man walked back and forth between the book stacks, and one day caught him in the act of slipping a book into his pocket, and arrested him as he was leaving the building. he had stolen a dozen books from the library, all but three of which were recovered. he claimed to be a theological student, and that he had taken the books merely for the purposes of study. much sympathy was expressed for him by people who believed that this was his motive, and that it was some partial atonement for his offense. the grief of his relatives at his disgrace was intense. the court sentenced him to eight years in the penitentiary, but suspended the sentence in view of the fact that it was a first offense, by a youth of twenty-one years. he was put under police surveillance for his good behavior (equivalent to being paroled) but the sentence becomes active upon any further transgression of the law on his part. it may be gathered from these many cases of library depredations, that they are very common, that perpetual vigilance is the price of safety, that punishment in nearly all cases is wiser than pardon, and that the few exceptions made should be mostly confined to offenders who steal books under desperate necessity or actual want. chapter . pamphlet literature. what is a pamphlet? is a question which is by no means capable of being scientifically answered. yet, to the librarian dealing continually with a mass of pamphlets, books, and periodicals, it becomes important to define somewhere, the boundary line between the pamphlet and the book. the dictionaries will not aid us, for they all call the pamphlet "a few sheets of printed paper stitched together, but not bound." suppose (as often happens) that you bind your pamphlet, does it then cease to be a pamphlet, and become a book? again, most pamphlets now published are not stitched at all, but stabbed and wired to fasten the leaves together. the origin of the word "pamphlet," is in great doubt. a plausible derivation is from two french words, "_paume_," and "_feuillet_," literally a hand-leaf; and another derives the word from a corruption of latin--"_papyrus_," paper, into _pampilus_, or _panfletus_, whence pamphlet. the word is in shakespeare: "comest thou with deep premeditated lines, with written pamphlets studiously devised?" but we also find "pamphlets and bookys," in a work printed by caxton in , a hundred years before shakespeare. whatever the origin, the common acceptation of the word is plain, signifying a little book, though where the pamphlet ends, and the book begins, is uncertain. the rule of the british museum library calls every printed publication of one hundred pages or less, a pamphlet. this is arbitrary, and so would any other rule be. as that library binds its pamphlets separately, and counts them in its aggregate of volumes, the reason for any distinction in the matter is not plain. some of the government libraries in europe are greatly overrated numerically by reckoning pamphlets as volumes. thus, the royal library at munich, in bavaria, has been ranked fourth among the libraries of the world, claiming over a million volumes, but as it reckons every university thesis, or discussion of some special topic by candidates for degrees, as a volume, and has perhaps , of this prolific class of publications, it is actually not so large as some american libraries, which count their pamphlets as distinct from books in their returns. the pamphlet, or thin book, or tract (as some prefer to call it) is reckoned by some librarians as a nuisance, and by others as a treasure. that it forms rather a troublesome asset in the wealth of a library cannot be doubted. pamphlets taken singly, will not stand upon the shelves; they will curl up, become dogs-eared, accumulate dust, and get in the way of the books. if kept in piles, as is most frequent, it is very hard to get at any one that is wanted in the mass. then it is objected to them, that the majority of them are worthless, that they cost altogether too much money, and time, and pains, to catalogue them, and that they are useless if not catalogued; that if kept bound, they cost the library a sum out of all proportion to their value; that they accumulate so rapidly (much faster, in fact, than books) as to outrun the means at the disposal of any library to deal with them; in short, that they cost more than they come to, if bound, and if unbound, they vex the soul of the librarian day by day. this is one side of the pamphlet question; and it may be candidly admitted, that in most libraries, the accumulation of uncatalogued and unbound pamphlets is one of the chief among those arrears which form the skeleton in the closet of the librarian. but there is another side to the matter. it is always possible to divide your pamphlets into two classes--the important, and the insignificant. some of them have great historical, or economic, or intellectual value; others are as nearly worthless as it is possible for any printed matter to be. why should you treat a pamphlet upon pears's soap, or a quack medicine, or advertising the columbia bicycle, with the same attention which you would naturally give to an essay on international politics by gladstone, or a review of the cuban question by a prominent spaniard, or a tract on chinese immigration by minister seward, or the pamphlet genealogy of an american family? take out of the mass of pamphlets, as they come in, what appear to you the more valuable, or the more liable to be called for; catalogue and bind them, or file them away, according to the use which they are likely to have: relegate the rest, assorted always by subject-matters or classes, to marked piles, or to pamphlet cases, according to your means; and the problem is approximately solved. to condemn any pamphlet to "innocuous desuetude," or to permanent banishment from among the intellectual stores of a library, merely because it is innocent of a stiff cover, is to despoil the temple of learning and reject the good things of providence. what great and influential publications have appeared in the world in the guise of pamphlets! milton's immortal "areopagitica, or plea for unlicenced printing," was a pamphlet of only forty pages; webster's speech for the union, in reply to hayne, was a pamphlet; every play of shakespeare, that was printed in his life-time, was a pamphlet; charles sumner's discourse on "the true grandeur of nations" was a pamphlet; the "crisis" and "common sense" of thomas paine, which fired the american heart in the revolution, were pamphlets. strike out of literature, ancient and modern, what was first published in pamphlets, and you would leave it the poorer and weaker to an incalculable degree. pamphlets are not only vehicles of thought and opinion, and propagandists of new ideas; they are often also store-houses of facts, repositories of history, annals of biography, records of genealogy, treasuries of statistics, chronicles of invention and discovery. they sometimes throw an unexpected light upon obscure questions where all books are silent. being published for the most part upon some subject that was interesting the public mind when written, they reflect, as in a mirror, the social, political, and religious spirit and life of the time. as much as newspapers, they illustrate the civilization (or want of it) of an epoch, and multitudes of them, preserved in great libraries, exhibit this at those early periods when no newspapers existed as vehicles of public opinion. many of the government libraries of europe have been buying up for many years past, the rare, early-printed pamphlets of their respective countries, paying enormous prices for what, a century ago, they would have slighted, even as a gift. when thomas carlyle undertook to write the life of oliver cromwell, and to resurrect from the dust-bins of two centuries, the letters and speeches of the great protector, he found his richest quarry in a collection of pamphlets in the british museum library. an indefatigable patriot and bookseller, named thomason, had carefully gathered and kept every pamphlet, book, periodical, or broadside that appeared from the british press, during the whole time from a. d. to , the period of the interregnum in the english monarchy, represented by cromwell and the commonwealth. this vast collection, numbering over , pamphlets, bound in , volumes, after escaping the perils of fire, and of both hostile armies, was finally purchased by the king, and afterward presented to the british museum library. its completeness is one great source of its value, furnishing, as it does, to the historical student of that exceedingly interesting revolution, the most precious memorials of the spirit of the times, many of which have been utterly lost, except the single copy preserved in this collection. several great european libraries number as many pamphlets as books in their collections. the printed catalogue of the british museum library is widely sought by historical students, because of the enormous amount of pamphlet literature it contains, that is described nowhere else. and the librarian of the boston athenaeum said that some readers found the great interest in his catalogue of that collection lay in its early american pamphlets. as another instance of the value to the historical stores of a public library of this ephemeral literature, it may be noted that the great collection of printed matter, mostly of a fugitive character, relating to the french revolutionary period, gathered by the late m. de la bedoyère, amounted to , volumes and pamphlets. fifty years of the life of the wealthy and enthusiastic collector, besides a very large sum of money, were spent in amassing this collection. with an avidity almost incredible, he ransacked every book-store, quay, and private shelf that might contribute a fresh morsel to his stores; and when paris was exhausted, had his agents and purveyors busy in executing his orders all over europe. rival collectors, and particularly m. deschiens, who had been a contemporary in the revolution, and had laid aside everything that appeared in his day, only contributed at their decease, to swell the precious stores of m. de la bedoyère. this vast collection, so precious for the history of france at its most memorable period, contained several thousands of volumes of newspapers and ephemeral journals, and was acquired in the year , for the national library of france, where it will ever remain a monument to the enlightened and far-sighted spirit of its projector. in like manner, the late peter force, mayor of washington city, and historiographer of the "american archives," devoted forty years to amassing an extensive collection of _americana_, or books, pamphlets, newspapers, manuscripts, and maps, relating to the discovery, history, topography, natural history, and biography of america. he carried off at auction sales, from all competitors, six great collections of early american pamphlets, formed by ebenezer hazard, william duane, oliver wolcott, etc., representing the copious literature of all schools of political opinion. he sedulously laid aside and preserved every pamphlet that appeared at the capital or elsewhere, on which he could lay hands, and his rich historical collection, purchased by the government in , thirty-three years ago, now forms an invaluable portion of the congressional library. of the multitudinous literature of pamphlets it is not necessary to speak at length. suffice it to say that the library which neglects the acquisition and proper preservation and binding of these publications is far behind its duty, both to those of its own generation, and to those which are to follow. the pamphlet literature of every period often furnishes the most precious material to illustrate the history and development of that period. the new ideas, the critical sagacity, the political controversies, the mechanical and industrial development, the religious thought, and the social character of many epochs, find their best expression in the pamphlets that swarmed from the press while those agencies were operating. the fact that multitudes of these productions are anonymous, does not detract from their value as materials for students. pamphlets, from their peculiar style of publication, and the difficulty of preserving them, tend to disappear more quickly than any class of publications except newspapers, and broad-sides, and hand-bills. they are far less likely to be preserved in the hands of private holders than even reviews and magazines. it is the common experience of librarians that a pamphlet is far more difficult to procure than a book. multitudes of pamphlets are annually lost to the world, from the want of any preserving hand to gather them and deposit them permanently in some library. so much the more important is it that the custodians of all our public libraries should form as complete collections as possible of all pamphlets, at least, that appear in their own city or neighborhood. how to do this is a problem not unattended with difficulty. pamphlets are rarely furnished for sale in the same manner as books, and when they are, book-sellers treat them with such indignity that they are commonly thrust aside as waste paper, almost as soon as they have appeared from the press. if all the writers of pamphlets would take pains to present them to the public libraries of the country, and especially to those in their own neighborhood, they would at once enrich these collections, and provide for the perpetuity of their own thought. a vigilant librarian should invite and collect from private libraries all the pamphlets which their owners will part with. it would also be a wise practice to engage the printing-offices where these fugitive leaves of literature are put in type, to lay aside one copy of each for the library making the collection. our local libraries should each and all make it a settled object to preserve not only full sets of the reports of all societies, corporations, charity organizations, churches, railroads, etc., in their own neighborhood, but all catalogues of educational institutions, all sermons or memorial addresses, and in short, every fugitive publication which helps to a knowledge of the people or the region in which the library is situated. the binding of pamphlets is a mooted point in all libraries. while the british museum and the library of congress treat the pamphlets as a book, binding all separately, this is deemed in some quarters too vexatious and troublesome, as well as needlessly expensive. it must be considered, however, that the crowding together of a heterogenous mass of a dozen or twenty pamphlets, by different authors, and on various subjects, into a single cover, is just as objectionable as binding books on unrelated subjects together. much time is consumed in finding the pamphlet wanted, among the dozen or more that precede or follow it, and, if valuable or much sought-for pamphlets are thus bound, many readers may be kept waiting for some of them, while one reader engrosses the volume containing all. besides, if separately bound, a single pamphlet can be far more easily replaced in case of loss than can a whole volume of them. pamphlets may be lightly bound in paste-board, stitched, with cloth backs, at a small cost; and the compensating advantage of being able to classify them like books upon the shelves, should weigh materially in the decision of the question. if many are bound together, they should invariably be assorted into classes, and those only on the same general topic should be embraced in the same cover. the long series of annual reports of societies and institutions, corporations, annual catalogues, etc., need not be bound separately, but should be bound in chronological series, with five to ten years in a volume, according to thickness. so may several pamphlets, by the same writer, if preferred, be bound together. libraries which acquire many bound volumes of pamphlets should divide them into series, and number them throughout with strict reference to the catalogue. there will thus be accumulated a constantly increasing series of theological, political, agricultural, medical, educational, scientific, and other pamphlets, while the remaining mass, which cannot be thus classified, may be designated in a consecutive series of volumes, as "miscellaneous pamphlets." when catalogued, the title-page or beginning of each pamphlet in the volume, should be marked by a thin slip of unsized paper, projected above the top of the book, to facilitate quick reference in finding each one without turning many leaves to get at the titles. in all cases, the contents of each volume of pamphlets should be briefed in numerical order upon the fly-leaf of the volume, and its corresponding number, or sequence in the volumes written in pencil on the title page of each pamphlet, to correspond with the figures of this brief list. then the catalogue of each should indicate its exact location, thus: wilkeson (samuel) how our national debt may become a national blessing, pp. vo. phila., [miscellaneous pamphlets, v. : ], meaning that this is the third pamphlet bound in vol. . the only objection to separate binding of each pamphlet, is the increased expense. the advantage of distinct treatment may or may not outweigh this, according to the importance of the pamphlet, the circumstances of the library, and the funds at its command. if bound substantially in good half-leather, with leather corners, the cost is reckoned at _s._ _d._ each, in london. here, they cost about thirty cents with cloth sides, which may be reduced by the use of marble or manila paper, to twenty cents each. black roan is perhaps the best leather for pamphlets, as it brings out the lettering on the backs more distinctly--always a cardinal point in a library. but there is a more economical method, which dispenses with leather entirely. as no patent is claimed for the invention, or rather the modification of well-known methods, it may be briefly described. the thinnest tar-board is used for the sides, which, _i. e._, the boards, are cut down to nearly the size of the pamphlet to be bound. the latter is prepared for the boards by adding two or more waste leaves to the front and back, and backing it with a strip of common muslin, which is firmly pasted the full length of the back, and overlaps the sides to the width of an inch or more. the pamphlet has to be stitched through, or stabbed and fastened with wire, in the manner commonly practiced with thin books; after which it is ready to receive the boards. these are glued to a strip of book muslin, which constitutes the ultimate back of the book, being turned in neatly at each end, so as to form, with the boards, a skeleton cover, into which the pamphlet is inserted, and held in its place by the inner strip of muslin before described, which is pasted or glued to the inside of the boards. the boards are then covered with marbled paper, turned in at each edge, and the waste leaves pasted smoothly down to the boards on the inside. the only remaining process is the lettering, which is done by printing the titles in bronze upon glazed colored paper, which is pasted lengthwise on the back. a small font of type, with a hand-press, will suffice for this, and a stabbing machine, with a small pair of binding shears, constitutes the only other apparatus required. the cost of binding pamphlets in this style varies from seven to twelve cents each, according to the material employed, and the amount of labor paid for. the advantages of the method are too obvious to all acquainted with books to require exemplification. two still cheaper methods of binding may be named. what is known as the harvard binder, employed in that library at cambridge, mass., consists simply of thin board sides with muslin back, and stubs also of cloth on the inside. the pamphlet is inserted and held in place by paste or glue. the cost of each binding is stated at six cents. the cheapest style of separate treatment for pamphlets yet suggested is of stiff manila paper, with cloth back, costing about three cents each. i think that the rule of never mixing incongruous subjects within the same cover should be adhered to. the expense, by the cheaper method of binding referred to, is but slightly greater than must be incurred by binding several in a volume, in solid half morocco style. but, whenever pamphlets are bound together, the original printed paper covers should never be destroyed, but should be bound in. another method of preserving pamphlets is to file them away in selected lots, placed inside of cloth covers, of considerable thickness. these may be had from any book-binder, being the rejected covers in which books sent for re-binding were originally bound. if kept in this way, each volume, or case of pamphlets, should be firmly tied with cord (or better with tape) fastened to the front edge of the cloth cover. never use rubber or elastic bands for this, or any other purpose where time and security of fastening are involved, because the rubber will surely rot in a few weeks or months, and be useless as a means of holding together any objects whatever. still another means of assorting and keeping pamphlets is to use woodruff's file-holders, one of which holds from ten to thirty pamphlets according to their thickness. they should be arranged in classes, placing in each file case only pamphlets on similar subjects, in order of the authors' names, arranged alphabetically. each pamphlet should be plainly numbered at its head by colored pencil, with the figure of its place in the volume, and the number of the case, containing it, which should also be volumed, and assigned to shelves containing books on related subjects. i need not add that all these numbers should correspond with the catalogue-title of each pamphlet. then, when any one pamphlet is wanted, send for the case containing it, find it and withdraw it at once by its number, place it in one of the koch spring-back binders, and give it to the reader precisely like any book that is served at the library counter. a more economical plan still, for libraries which cannot afford the expense of the woodruff file-holders, is to cut out cases for the pamphlets, of suitable size, from tough manila board, which need not cost more than about three cents each case. in whatever way the unbound pamphlets are treated, you should always mark them as such on the left-hand margin of each catalogue-card, by the designation "ub." (unbound) in pencil. if you decide later, to bind any of them, this pencil-mark should be erased from the cards, on the return of the pamphlets from the bindery. chapter . periodical literature. the librarian who desires to make the management of his library in the highest degree successful, must give special attention to the important field of periodical literature. more and more, as the years roll on, the periodical becomes the successful rival of the book in the claim for public attention. indeed, we hear now and then, denunciations of the ever-swelling flood of magazines and newspapers, as tending to drive out the book. readers, we are told, are seduced from solid and improving reading, by the mass of daily, weekly, and monthly periodicals which lie in wait for them on every hand. but no indiscriminate censure of periodicals or of their reading, can blind us to the fact of their great value. because some persons devote an inordinate amount of time to them, is no reason why we should fail to use them judiciously ourselves, or to aid others in doing so. and because many periodicals (and even the vast majority) are of little importance, and are filled with trifling and ephemeral matter, that fact does not discredit the meritorious ones. counterfeit currency does not diminish the value of the true coin; it is very sure to find its own just level at last; and so the wretched or the sensational periodical, however pretentious, will fall into inevitable neglect and failure in the long run. it is true that the figures as to the relative issues of books and periodicals in the publishing world are startling enough to give us pause. it has been computed that of the annual product of the american press, eighty-two per cent. consists of newspapers, ten per cent. of magazines and reviews, and only eight per cent. of books. yet this vast redundancy of periodical literature is by no means such a menace to our permanent literature as it appears at first sight;--and that for three reasons: ( ) a large share of the books actually published, appear in the first instance in the periodicals in serial or casual form; ( ) the periodicals contain very much matter of permanent value; ( ) the steady increase of carefully prepared books in the publishing world, while it may not keep pace with the rapid increase of periodicals, evinces a growth in the right direction. it is no longer so easy to get a crude or a poor book published, as it was a generation ago. the standard of critical taste has risen, and far more readers are judges of what constitutes a really good book than ever before. while it is true that our periodical product has so grown, that whereas there were twenty years ago, in , only , different newspapers and magazines published in the united states, there are now, in , over , issued, it can also be stated that the annual product of books has increased in the same twenty years from less than two thousand to more than five thousand volumes of new issues in a year. whatever may be the future of our american literature, it can hardly be doubted that the tendency is steadily toward the production of more books, and better ones. whether a public library be large or small, its value to students will depend greatly upon the care and completeness with which its selection of periodical works is made, and kept up from year to year. nothing is more common in all libraries, public and private, than imperfect and partially bound sets of serials, whether newspapers, reviews, magazines or the proceedings and reports of scientific and other societies. nothing can be more annoying than to find the sets of such publications broken at the very point where the reference or the wants of those consulting them require satisfaction. in these matters, perpetual vigilance is the price of completeness; and the librarian who is not willing or able to devote the time and means requisite to complete the files of periodical publications under his charge is to be censured or commiserated, according to the causes of the failure. the first essential in keeping up the completeness of files of ephemeral publications, next to vigilance on the part of their custodian, is room for the arrangement of the various parts, and means for binding with promptitude. some libraries, and among them a few of the largest, are so hampered for want of room, that their serials are piled in heaps without order or arrangement, and are thus comparatively useless until bound. in the more fortunate institutions, which possess adequate space for the orderly arrangement of all their stores, there can be no excuse for failing to supply any periodical, whether bound or unbound, at the moment it is called for. it is simply necessary to devote sufficient time each day to the systematic arrangement of all receipts: to keep each file together in chronological order; to supply them for the perusal of readers, with a proper check or receipt, and to make sure of binding each new volume as fast as the publication of titles and index enables it to be done properly. while some libraries receive several thousands of serials, the periodical publications taken by others amount to a very small number; but in either case, the importance of prompt collation and immediate supply of missing parts or numbers is equally imperative. while deficiencies in daily newspapers can rarely be made up after the week, and sometimes not after the day of their appearance, the missing parts of official and other publications, as well as of reviews and magazines appearing at less frequent intervals, can usually be supplied within the year, although a more prompt securing of them is often necessary. in these publications, as in the acquisition of books for any library, the collation of each part or number is imperative, in order to avoid imperfections which may be irreparable. first in the ranks of these ephemeral publications, in order of number, if not of importance, come the journals of all classes, daily and weekly, political, illustrated, literary, scientific, mechanical, professional, agricultural, financial, etc. from the obscure and fugitive beginnings of journalism in the sixteenth century to the establishment of the first continuous newspaper--the london weekly news, in , and renaudot's gazette (afterwards the _gazette de france_) in , followed by the issue of the first daily newspaper, the london daily courant, in , and the boston weekly news-letter in , (the first american journal)--to the wonderful fecundity of the modern periodical press, which scatters the leaves of more than thirty thousand different journals broadcast over the world, there is a long and interesting history of the trials and triumphs of a free press. in whatever respect american libraries may fall behind those of older lands (and their deficiencies are vast, and, in many directions permanent) it may be said with confidence, that in the united states the newspaper has received its widest and most complete development. numerically, the fullest approximate return of the newspaper and periodical press gives a total number of , periodical publications, regularly appearing within the limits of the united states. while no one library, however large and comprehensive, has either the space or the means to accumulate a tithe of the periodicals that swarm from a productive press, there are valid reasons why more attention should be paid by the librarian to a careful preservation of a wise selection of the best of all this current literature. the modern newspaper and other periodical publications afford the fullest and truest, and on the whole, the most impartial image of the age we live in, that can be derived from a single source. taken together, they afford the richest material for the historian, or the student of politics, of society, of literature, and of civilization in all its varied aspects. what precious memorials of the day, even the advertisements and brief paragraphs of the newspapers of a century ago afford us! while in a field so vast, it is impossible for any one library to be more than a gleaner, no such institution can afford to neglect the collection and preservation of at least some of the more important newspapers from year to year. a public library is not for one generation only, but it is for all time. opportunities once neglected of securing the current periodicals of any age in continuous and complete form seldom or never recur. the principle of selection will of course vary in different libraries and localities. while the safest general rule is to secure the best and most representative of all the journals, reviews, and magazines within the limit of the funds which can be devoted to that purpose, there is another principle which should largely guide the selection. in each locality, it should be one leading object of the principal library to gather within its walls the fullest representation possible, of the literature relating to its own state and neighborhood. in every city and large town, the local journals and other periodicals should form an indispensable part of a public library collection. where the means are wanting to purchase these, the proprietors will frequently furnish them free of expense, for public use; but no occasion should be lost of securing, immediately on its issue from the press, every publication, large or small, which relates to the local history or interests of the place where the library is maintained. while the files of the journals of any period furnish unquestionably the best instruments for the history of that epoch, it is lamentable to reflect that so little care has ever been taken to preserve a fair representation of those of any age. the destiny of nearly all newspapers is swift destruction; and even those which are preserved, commonly survive in a lamentably fragmentary state. the obvious causes of the rapid disappearance of periodical literature, are its great volume, necessarily increasing with every year, the difficulty of lodging the files of any long period in our narrow apartments, and the continual demand for paper for the uses of trade. to these must be added the great cost of binding files of journals, increasing in the direct ratio of the size of the volume. as so formidable an expense can be incurred by very few private subscribers to periodicals, so much the more important is it that the public libraries should not neglect a duty which they owe to their generation, as well as to those that are to follow. these poor journals of to-day, which everybody is willing to stigmatize as trash, not worth the room to store or the money to bind, are the very materials which the man of the future will search for with eagerness, and for some of which he will be ready to pay their weight in gold. these representatives of the commercial, industrial, inventive, social, literary, political, moral and religious life of the times, should be preserved and handed down to posterity with sedulous care. no historian or other writer on any subject who would write conscientiously or with full information, can afford to neglect this fruitful mine of the journals, where his richest materials are frequently to be found. in the absence of any great library of journals, or of that universal library which every nation should possess, it becomes the more important to assemble in the various local libraries all those ephemeral publications, which, if not thus preserved contemporaneously with their issue, will disappear utterly, and elude the search of future historical inquirers. and that library which shall most sedulously gather and preserve such fugitive memorials of the life of the people among which it is situated will be found to have best subserved its purpose to the succeeding generations of men. not less important than the preservation of newspapers is that of reviews and magazines. in fact, the latter are almost universally recognized as far more important than the more fugitive literature of the daily and weekly press. though inferior to the journals as historical and statistical materials, reviews and magazines supply the largest fund of discussion concerning such topics of scientific, social, literary, and religious interest as occupy the public mind during the time in which they appear. more and more the best thought of the times gets reflected in the pages of this portion of the periodical press. no investigator in any department can afford to overlook the rich stores contributed to thought in reviews and magazines. these articles are commonly more condensed and full of matter than the average books of the period. while every library, therefore, should possess for the current use and ultimate reference of its readers a selection of the best, as large as its means will permit, a great and comprehensive library, in order to be representative of the national literature, should possess them all. * * * * * the salient fact that the periodical press absorbs, year by year, more of the talent which might otherwise be expended upon literature of more permanent form is abundantly obvious. this tendency has both its good and its evil results. on the one hand, the best writing ability is often drawn out by magazines and journals, which are keen competitors for attractive matter, and for known reputations, and sometimes they secure both in combination. on the other hand, it is a notable fact that writers capable of excellent work often do great injustice to their reputations by producing too hastily articles written to order, instead of the well-considered, ripe fruits of their literary skill. whether the brief article answering the limits of a magazine or a review is apt to be more or less superficial than a book treating the same topic, is a question admitting of different views. if the writer is capable of skilful condensation, without loss of grace of composition, or of graphic power, then the article, measured by its influence upon the public mind, must be preferred to the more diffuse treatise of the book. it has the immense advantage of demanding far less of the reader's time; and whenever its conclusions are stated in a masterly way, its impression should be quite as lasting as that of any book treating a similar theme. such is doubtless the effect of the abler articles written for periodicals, which are more condensed and full of matter in speedily available form, than the average book of the period. in this sense it is a misuse of terms to call the review article ephemeral, or to treat the periodicals containing them as perishable literary commodities, which serve their term with the month or year that produced them. on the contrary, the experience of librarians shows that the most sought-for, and the most useful contributions to any subject are frequently found, not in the books written upon it, but in the files of current periodicals, or in those of former years. it is especially to be noted that the book may frequently lose its adaptation and usefulness by lapse of time, and the onward march of science, while the article is apt to reflect the latest light which can help to illustrate the subject. while, therefore, there is always a liability of finding many crude and sketchy contributions in the literature of the periodical press, its conductors are ever on the alert to reduce to a minimum the weak or unworthy offerings, and to secure a maximum of articles embodying mature thought and fit expression. the pronounced tendency toward short methods in every channel of human activity, is reflected in the constantly multiplying series of periodical publications. the publishing activities of the times are taking on a certain coöperative element, which was not formerly known. thus, the "literary syndicate" has been developed by degrees into one of the most far-reaching agencies for popular entertainment. the taste for short stories, in place of the ancient three volume novel, has been cultivated even in conservative england, and has become so wide-spread in the united states, that very few periodicals which deal in fiction at all, are without their stories begun and finished in a single issue. the talent required to produce a fascinating and successful fiction in this narrow compass is a peculiar one, and while there are numerous failures, there are also a surprising number of successes. well written descriptive articles, too, are in demand, and special cravings for personal gossip and lively sketches of notable living characters are manifest. that perennial interest which mankind and womankind evince in every individual whose name, for whatever reason, has become familiar, supplies a basis for an inexhaustible series of light paragraphic articles. another fruitful field for the syndicate composition is brief essays upon any topic of the times, the fashions, notable events, or new inventions, public charities, education, governmental doings, current political movements, etc. these appear almost simultaneously, in many different periodicals, scattered throughout the country, under the copyright _imprimatur_, which warns off all journals from republishing, which have not subscribed to the special "syndicate" engaging them. thus each periodical secures, at extremely moderate rates, contributions which are frequently written by the most noted and popular living writers, who, in their turn, are much better remunerated for their work than they would be for the same amount of writing if published in book form. whether this now popular method of attaining a wide and remunerative circulation for their productions will prove permanent, is less certain than that many authors now find it the surest road to profitable employment of their pens. the fact that it rarely serves to introduce unknown writers of talent to the reading world, may be laid to the account of the eagerness of the syndicates to secure names that already enjoy notoriety. the best method for filing newspapers for current reading is a vexed question in libraries. in the large ones, where room enough exists, large reading-stands with sloping sides furnish the most convenient access, provided with movable metal rods to keep the papers in place. where no room exists for these stands, some of the numerous portable newspaper-file inventions, or racks, may be substituted, allowing one to each paper received at the library. for filing current magazines, reviews, and the smaller newspapers, like the literary and technical journals, various plans are in use. all of these have advantages, while none is free from objection. some libraries use the ordinary pamphlet case, in which the successive numbers are kept until a volume is accumulated for binding. this requires a separate case for each periodical, and where many are taken, is expensive, though by this method the magazines are kept neat and in order. others use small newspaper files or tapes for periodicals. others still arrange them alphabetically on shelves, in which case the latest issues are found on top, if the chronology is preserved. in serving periodicals to readers, tickets should be required (as for books) with title and date, as a precaution against loss, or careless leaving upon tables. whether current periodicals are ever allowed to be drawn out, must depend upon several weighty considerations. when only one copy is taken, no circulation should be permitted, so that the magazines and journals may be always in, at the service of readers frequenting the library. but in some large public libraries, where several copies of each of the more popular serials are subscribed to, it is the custom to keep one copy (sometimes two) always in, and to allow the duplicate copies to be drawn out. this circulation should be limited to a period much shorter than is allowed for keeping books. in no case, should the bound volumes of magazines, reviews, and journals of whatever kind be allowed to leave the library. this is a rule which should be enforced for the common benefit of all the readers, since to lend to one reader any periodical or work of general reference is to deprive all the rest of its use just so long as it is out of the library. this has become all the more important since the publication of poole's indexes to periodical literature has put the whole reading community on the quest for information to be found only (in condensed form, or in the latest treatment) in the volumes of the periodical press. and it is really no hardship to any quick, intelligent reader, to require that these valuable serials should be used within the library only. an article is not like a book;--a long and perhaps serious study, requiring many hours or days to master it. the magazine or review article, whatever other virtues it may lack, has the supreme merit of brevity. the only valid exception which will justify loaning the serial volumes of periodicals outside the library, is when there are duplicate sets of any of them. some large libraries having a wide popular circulation are able to buy two or more sets of the magazines most in demand, and so to lend one out, while another is kept constantly in for use and reference. and even a library of small means might secure for its shelves duplicate sets of many periodicals, by simply making known that it would be glad to receive from any families or other owners, all the numbers of their magazines, etc., which they no longer need for use. this would bring in, in any large town or city, a copious supply of periodicals which house-keepers, tired of keeping, storing and dusting such unsightly property, would be glad to bestow where they would do the most good. whatever periodicals are taken, it is essential to watch over their completeness by keeping a faithfully revised check-list. this should be ruled to furnish blank spaces for each issue of all serials taken, whether quarterly, monthly, weekly, or daily, and no week should elapse without complete scrutiny of the list, and ordering all missing numbers from the publishers. mail failures are common, and unceasing vigilance is the price that must be paid for completeness. the same check-list, by other spaces, should show the time of expiration of subscriptions, and the price paid per year. and where a large number of periodicals are received, covering many parts of the country, they should be listed, not only by an alphabet of titles, but by another alphabet of places where published, as well. if a new library is to be formed, having no sets of periodicals on which to build, effort should be made to secure full sets from the beginning of as many of the prominent magazines and reviews, american and foreign, as the funds will permit. it is expedient to wait a little, rather than to take up with incomplete sets, as full ones are pretty sure to turn up, and competition between the many dealers should bring down prices to a fair medium. in fact, many old sets of magazines are offered surprisingly cheap, and usually well-bound. but vigilant care must be exercised to secure perfect sets, as numbers are often mutilated, or deficient in some pages or illustrations. this object can only be secured by collation of every volume, page by page, with due attention to the list of illustrations, if any are published. in the absence of british bibliographical enterprise (a want much to be deplored) it has fallen to the lot of american librarians to produce the only general index of subjects to english periodical literature which exists. poole's index to periodical literature is called by the name of its senior editor, the late dr. wm. f. poole, and was contributed to by many librarians on a coöperative division of labor, in indexing, under direction of mr. wm. i. fletcher, librarian of amherst college. this index to leading periodicals is literally invaluable, and indispensable as an aid to research. its first volume indexes in one alphabet the periodicals embraced, from their first issues up to . the second volume runs from to , and the third covers the period from to , while a fourth volume indexes the periodicals from to , inclusive. for , and each year after, an annual index to the publications of the year is issued. besides this, the _review of reviews_ publishes monthly an index to one month's leading periodicals, and also an annual index, very full, in a single alphabet. and the "cumulative index," issued both monthly and quarterly, by w. h. brett, the cleveland, ohio, librarian, is an admirably full means of keeping our keys to periodical literature up to date. there are other indexes to periodicals, published monthly or quarterly, too numerous to be noticed here. the annual _new york tribune_ index (the only daily journal, except the _london times_, which prints an index) is highly useful, and may be used for other newspapers as well, for the most important events or discussions, enabling one to search the dailies for himself, the date once being fixed by aid of the index. mention should also be made here of the admirably comprehensive annual "_rowell's newspaper directory_," which should rather be called the "american periodical directory," since it has a classified catalogue of all periodicals published in the united states and canada. chapter . the art of reading. "the true university of these days," says a great scholar of our century, thomas carlyle, "is a collection of books, and all education is to teach us how to read." if there were any volume, out of the multitude of books about books that have been written, which could illuminate the pathway of the unskilled reader, so as to guide him into all knowledge by the shortest road, what a boon that book would be! when we survey the vast and rapidly growing product of the modern press,--when we see these hosts of poets without imagination, historians without accuracy, critics without discernment, and novelists without invention or style, in short, the whole prolific brood of writers who do not know how to write,--we are tempted to echo the sentiment of wordsworth:-- "the intellectual power, through words and things, goes sounding on a dim and perilous way." the most that any one can hope to do for others is to suggest to them a clue which, however feeble, has helped to guide his uncertain footsteps through the labyrinthian maze of folly and wisdom which we call literature. the knowledge acquired by a librarian, while it may be very wide and very varied, runs much risk of being as superficial as it is diversified. there is a very prevalent, but very erroneous notion which conceives of a librarian as a kind of animated encyclopaedia, who, if you tap him in any direction, from a to z, will straightway pour forth a flood of knowledge upon any subject in history, science, or literature. this popular ideal, however fine in theory, has to undergo what commercial men call a heavy discount when reduced to practice. the librarian is a constant and busy worker in far other fields than exploring the contents of books. his day is filled with cataloguing, arranging and classifying them, searching catalogues, selecting new books, correspondence, directing assistants, keeping library records, adjusting accounts, etc., in the midst of which he is constantly at the call of the public for books and information. what time has he, wearied by the day's multifarious and exacting labors, for any thorough study of books? so, when anyone begins an inquiry with, "you know everything; can you tell me,"--i say: "stop a moment; omniscience is not a human quality; i really know very few things, and am not quite sure of some of them." there are many men, and women, too, in almost every community, whose range of knowledge is more extended than that of most librarians. the idea, then, that because one lives perpetually among books, he absorbs all the learning that they contain, must be abandoned as a popular delusion. to know a little upon many subjects is quite compatible with not knowing much about any one. "beware of the man of one book," is an ancient proverb, pregnant with meaning. the man of one book, if it is wisely chosen, and if he knows it all, can sometimes confound a whole assembly of scholars. an american poet once declared to me that all leisure time is lost that is not spent in reading shakespeare. and we remember emerson's panegyric upon plato's writings, borrowing from the caliph omar his famous (but apocryphal) sentence against all books but the koran: "burn all the libraries, for their value is in this book." so sheffield, duke of buckingham: "read homer once, and you can read no more, for all books else appear so tame, so poor, verse will seem prose, but still persist to read, and homer will be all the books you need." of course i am far from designing to say anything against the widest study, which great libraries exist to supply and to encourage; and all utterances of a half-truth, like the maxim i have quoted, are exaggerations. but the saying points a moral--and that is, the supreme importance of thoroughness in all that we undertake. the poetical wiseacre who endowed the world with the maxim, "a little learning is a dangerous thing," does not appear to have reflected upon the logical sequence of the dictum, namely: that if a little learning upon any subject is dangerous, then less must be still more dangerous. * * * * * the art of reading to the best advantage implies the command of adequate time to read. the art of having time to read depends upon knowing how to make the best use of our days. days are short, and time is fleeting, but no one's day ever holds less than hours. engrossing as one's occupation may be, it need never consume all the time remaining from sleep, refreshment and social intercourse. the half hour before breakfast, the fifteen minutes waiting for dinner, given to the book you wish to read, will soon finish it, and make room for another. the busiest men i have known have often been the most intelligent, and the widest readers. the idle person never knows how to make use of odd moments; the busy one always knows how. yet the vast majority of people go through life without ever learning the great lesson of the supreme value of moments. let us suppose that you determine to devote two hours every day to reading. that is equivalent to more than seven hundred hours a year, or to three months of working time of eight hours a day. what could you not do in three months, if you had all the time to yourself? you could almost learn a new language, or master a new science; yet this two hours a day, which would give you three months of free time every year, is frittered away, you scarcely know how, in aimless matters that lead to nothing. a famous writer of our century, some of whose books you have read,--edward bulwer lytton,--devoted only four hours a day to writing; yet he produced more than sixty volumes of fiction, poetry, drama and criticism, of singular literary merit. the great naturalist, darwin, a chronic sufferer from a depressing malady, counted two hours a fortunate day's work for him; yet he accomplished results in the world of science which render his name immortal. be not over particular as to hours, or the time of day, and you will soon find that all hours are good for the muse. have a purpose, and adhere to it with good-humored pertinacity. be independent of the advice and opinions of others; the world of books, like the world of nature, was made for you; possess it in your own way. if you find no good in ancient history or in metaphysics, let them alone and read books of art, or poetry, or biography, or voyages and travels. the wide domain of knowledge and the world of books are so related, that all roads cross and converge, like the paths that carry us over the surface of the globe on which we live. many a reader has learned more of past times from good biographies, than from any formal history; and it is a fact that many owe to the plays of shakespeare and the novels of walter scott nearly all the knowledge which they possess of the history of england and scotland. it is unhappily true that books do not teach the use of books. the art of extracting what is important or instructive in any book, from the mass of verbiage that commonly overlays it, cannot be learned by theory. invaluable as the art of reading is, as a means of enlightenment, its highest uses can only be obtained by a certain method of reading, which will separate the wheat from the chaff. different readers will, of course, possess different capacities for doing this. young or undisciplined minds can read only in one way,--and that way is, to mentally pronounce every word, and dwell equally upon all the parts of every sentence. this comes naturally in the first instance, from the mere method of learning to read, in which every word is a spoken symbol, and has to be sounded, whether it is essential to the sense, or not. this habit of reading, which may be termed the literal method, goes with most persons through life. once learned, it is very hard to unlearn. there are multitudes who cannot read a newspaper, even, without dwelling upon every word, and coming to a full stop at the end of every sentence. now this method of reading, while it may be indispensable to all readers at some time, and to some readers at all times, is too slow and fruitless for the student who aims to absorb the largest amount of knowledge in the briefest space of time. life is too short to be wasted over the rhetoric or the periods of an author whose knowledge we want as all that concerns us. doubtless there are classes of literature in which form or expression predominates, and we cannot read poetry, for example, or the drama, or even the higher class of fiction, without lingering upon the finer passages, to get the full impression of their beauty. in reading works of the imagination, we read not for ideas alone, but for expression also, and to enjoy the rhythm and melody of the verse, if it be poetry, or, if prose, the finished rhetoric, and the pleasing cadence of the style. it is here that the literary skill of an accomplished writer, and all that we understand by rhetoric, becomes important, while in reading for information only, we may either ignore words and phrases entirely, or subordinate them to the ideas which they convey. in reading any book for the knowledge it contains, i should as soon think of spelling out all the words, as of reading out all the sentences. just as, in listening to a slow speaker, you divine the whole meaning of what he is about to say, before he has got half through his sentence, so, in reading, you can gather the full sense of the ideas which any sentence contains, without stopping to accentuate the words. leaving aside the purely literary works, in which form or style is a predominant element, let us come to books of science, history, biography, voyages, travels, etc. in these, the primal aim is to convey information, and thus the style of expression is little or nothing--the thought or the fact is all. yet most writers envelop the thought or the fact in so much verbiage, complicate it with so many episodes, beat it out thin, by so much iteration and reiteration, that the student must needs learn the art of skipping, in self-defense. to one in zealous pursuit of knowledge, to read most books through is paying them too extravagant a compliment. he has to read between the lines, as it were, to note down a fact here, or a thought there, or an illustration elsewhere, and leaves alone all that contributes nothing to his special purpose. as the quick, practiced eye glances over the visible signs of thought, page after page is rapidly absorbed, and a book which would occupy an ordinary reader many days in reading, is mastered in a few hours. the habit of reading which i have outlined, and which may be termed the intuitive method, or, if you prefer it, the short-hand method, will more than double the working power of the reader. it is not difficult to practice, especially to a busy man, who does with all his might what he has got to do. but it should be learned early in life, when the faculties are fresh, the mind full of zeal for knowledge, and the mental habits are ductile, not fixed. with it one's capacity for acquiring knowledge, and consequently his accomplishment, whether as writer, teacher, librarian, or private student, will be immeasureably increased. doubtless it is true that some native or intuitive gifts must be conjoined with much mental discipline and perseverance, in order to reach the highest result, in this method of reading, as in any other study. "_non omnia possumus omnes_," virgil says; and there are intellects who could no more master such a method, than they could understand the binomial theorem, or calculate the orbit of uranus. if it be true, as has been epigramatically said, that "a great book is a great evil," let it be reduced to a small one by the skilful use of the art of skipping. then, "he that runs may read" as he runs--while, without this refuge, he that reads will often assuredly be tempted to run. what i said, just now, in deprecation of set courses of reading, was designed for private students only, who so often find a stereotyped sequence of books barren or uninteresting. it was not intended to discourage the pursuit of a special course of study in the school, or the society, or the reading class. this is, in fact, one of the best means of intellectual progress. here, there is the opportunity to discuss the style, the merits, and the characteristics of the author in hand, and by the attrition of mind with mind, to inform and entertain the whole circle of readers. in an association of this kind, embracing one or two acute minds, the excellent practice of reading aloud finds its best results. here, too, the art of expression becomes important, how to adapt the sound to the sense, by a just emphasis, intonation, and modulation of the voice. in short, the value of a book thus read and discussed, in an appreciative circle, may be more than doubled to each reader. it is almost literally true that no book, undertaken merely as task work, ever helped the reader to knowledge of permanent or material value. how many persons, struck by mr. emerson's exalted praise of the writings of plato, have undertaken to go through the dialogues. alas! for the vain ambition to be or to seem learned! after trying to understand the phaedo, or falling asleep over the gorgias, the book has been dropped as hastily as it was taken up. it was not perceived that in order to enjoy or comprehend a philosopher, one must have a capacity for ideas. it requires almost as much intelligence to appreciate an idea as to conceive one. one will bring nothing home from the most persistent cruise after knowledge, unless he carries something out. in the realm of learning, we recognize the full meaning of that scripture, that to him that hath, shall be given; and he that hath not, though never so anxious to read and understand plato, will quickly return to the perusal of his daily newspaper. it were easier, perhaps, in one sense, to tell what not to read, than to recommend what is best worth reading. in the publishing world, this is the age of compilation, not of creation. if we seek for great original works, if we must go to the wholesale merchants to buy knowledge, since retail geniuses are worth but little, one must go back many years for his main selection of books. it would not be a bad rule for those who can read but little, to read no book until it has been published at least a year or two. this fever for the newest books is not a wholesome condition of the mind. and since a selection must indispensably be made, and that selection must be, for the great mass of readers, so rigid and so small, why should precious time be wasted upon the ephemeral productions of the hour? what business, for example, has one to be reading rider haggard, or amélie rives, or ian maclaren, who has never read homer, or dante, or even so much as half-a-dozen plays of shakespeare? one hears with dismay that about three-fourths of the books drawn from our popular libraries are novels. now, while such aimless reading, merely to be amused, is doubtless better than no reading at all, it is unquestionably true that over-much reading of fiction, especially at an early age, enervates the mind, weakens the will, makes dreamers instead of thinkers and workers, and fills the imagination with morbid and unreal views of life. yet the vast consumption of novels is due more to the cheapness and wide diffusion of such works, and the want of wise direction in other fields, than to any original tendency on the part of the young. people will always read the most, that which is most put before them, if only the style be attractive. the mischief that is done by improper books is literally immeasureable. the superabundance of cheap fictions in the markets creates and supplies an appetite which should be directed by wise guidance into more improving fields. a two-fold evil follows upon the reading of every unworthy book; in the first place, it absorbs the time which should be bestowed upon a worthy one; and secondly, it leaves the mind and heart unimproved, instead of conducing to the benefit of both. as there are few books more elevating than a really good novel, so there are none more fruitful of evil than a bad one. and what of the newspaper? it may be asked. when i consider for how much really good literature we are beholden to the daily and weekly press, how indispensable is its function as purveyor of the news of the world, how widely it has been improved in recent years, i cannot advise quarreling with the bridge that brings so many across the gulf of ignorance. yet the newspaper, like the book, is to be read sparingly, and with judgment. it is to be used, not abused. i call that an abuse which squanders the precious and unreturning hours over long chronicles of depravity. the murders, the suicides, the executions, the divorces, the criminal trials, are each and all so like one another that it is only a wanton waste of time to read them. the morbid style in which social disorders of all kinds are written up in the sensational press, with staring headlines to attract attention, ought to warn off every healthy mind from their perusal. every scandal in society that can be brought to the surface is eagerly caught up and paraded, while the millions of people who lead blameless lives of course go unnoticed and unchronicled. such journals thus inculcate the vilest pessimism, instead of a wholesome and honest belief in the average decency of human nature. the prolixity of the narrative, too, is always in monstrous disproportion to its importance. "does not the burning of a metropolitan theatre," says a great writer, "take above a million times as much telling as the creation of a world?" here is where the art of skipping is to be rigorously applied. read the newspaper by headlines only,--skipping all the murders, all the fires, all the executions, all the crimes, all the news, except the most important and immediately interesting,--and you will spend perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes upon what would otherwise occupy hours. it is no exaggeration to say that most persons have spent time enough over the newspapers, to have given them a liberal education. as all readers cannot have the same gifts, so all cannot enjoy the same books. there are those who can see no greatness in shakespeare, but who think tupper's proverbial philosophy sublime. some will eagerly devour every novel of miss braddon's, or "the duchess," or the woman calling herself "ouida," but they cannot appreciate the masterly fictions of thackeray. i have known very good people who could not, for the life of them, find any humor in dickens, but who actually enjoyed the strained wit of mrs. partington and bill nye. readers who could not get through a volume of gibbon will read with admiration a so-called history of napoleon by abbott. and i fear that you will find many a young lady of to-day, who is content to be ignorant of homer and shakespeare, but who is ravished by the charms of "trilby" or the "heavenly twins." but taste in literature, as in art, or in anything else, can be cultivated. lay down the rule, and adhere to it, to read none but the best books, and you will soon lose all relish for the poor ones. you can educate readers into good judges, in no long time, by feeding them on the masterpieces of english prose and poetry. surely, we all have cause to deprecate the remorseless flood of fictitious literature in which better books are drowned. be not dismayed at the vast multitude of books, nor fear that, with your small leisure, you will never be able to master any appreciable share of them. few and far between are the great books of the world. the works which it is necessary to know, may be comprised in a comparatively small compass. the rest are to be preserved in the great literary conservatories, some as records of the past, others as chronicles of the times, and not a few as models to be avoided. the congressional library at washington is our great national conservatory of books. as the library of the government--that is, of the whole people,--it is inclusive of all the literature which the country produces, while all the other libraries are and must be more or less exclusive. no national library can ever be too large. in order that the completeness of the collection shall not fail, and to preserve the whole of our literature, it is put into the statute of copyright, as a condition precedent of the exclusive right to multiply copies of any book, that it shall be deposited in the library of congress. apprehension is sometimes expressed that our national library will become overloaded with trash, and so fail of its usefulness. 'tis a lost fear. there is no act of congress requiring all the books to be read. the public sense is continually winnowing and sifting the literature of every period, and to books and their authors, every day is the day of judgment. nowhere in the world is the inexorable law of the survival of the fittest more rigidly applied than in the world of books. the works which are the most frequently re-printed in successive ages are the ones which it is safe to stand by. books may be divided into three classes: st, acquaintances; d, friends; and d, intimates. it is well enough to have an acquaintance with a multitude of books, as with many people; though in either case much time should not be given to merely pleasant intercourse, that leads to no result. with our literary friends, we can spend more time, for they awaken keen interest, and are to be read with zest, and consequently with profit. but for our chosen intimates, our heart-companions, we reserve our highest regard, and our best hours. choice and sacred is the book that makes an era in the life of the reader; the book which first rouses his higher nature, and awakens the reason or the imagination. such a volume will many a one remember; the book which first excited his own thought, made him conscious of untried powers, and opened to his charmed vision a new world. such a book has carlyle's sartor resartus been to many; or the play of hamlet, read for the first time; or the faust of goethe; or the confessions of st. augustine; or an essay of emerson; or john ruskin; or the divine comedy of dante; or even an exquisite work of fiction, like john halifax, or henry esmond. what the book is that works such miracles is never of so much importance as the epoch in the mind of the reader which it signalizes. it were vain to single out any one writer, and say to all readers--"here is the book that must indispensably be read;" for the same book will have totally different effects upon different minds, or even upon the same mind, at different stages of development. when i have been asked to contribute to the once popular _symposia_ upon "books which have helped me,"--i have declined, for such catalogues of intellectual aids are liable to be very misleading. thus, if i were to name the book which did more than most others for my own mind, i should say that it was the emile of rousseau, read at about the age of seventeen. this work, written with that marvellous eloquence which characterises all the best productions of jean jacques, first brought me acquainted with those advanced ideas of education which have penetrated the whole modern world. yet the emile would probably appear to most of my readers trite and common-place, as it would now to me, for the reason that we have long passed the period of development when its ideas were new to us. but the formative power of books can never be over-rated: their subtle mastery to stimulate all the germs of intellectual and moral life that lie enfolded in the mind. as the poet sings-- "books are not seldom talismans and spells." why should they not be so? they furnish us the means, and the only means, whereby we may hold communion with the master-spirits of all ages. they bring us acquainted with the best thoughts which the human mind has produced, expressed in the noblest language. books create for us the many-sided world, carry us abroad, out of our narrow provincial horizons, and reveal to us new scenery, new men, new languages, and new modes of life. as we read, the mind expands with the horizon, and becomes broad as the blue heaven above us. with homer, we breathe the fresh air of the pristine world, when the light of poetry gilded every mountain top, and peopled the earth with heroes and demigods. with plutarch, we walk in company with sages, warriors, and statesmen, and kindle with admiration of their virtues, or are roused to indignation at their crimes. with sophocles, we sound the depths of human passion, and learn the sublime lesson of endurance. we are charmed with an ode of horace, perfect in rhythm, perfect in sentiment, perfect in diction, and perfect in moral; the condensed essence of volumes in a single page. we walk with dante through the nether world, awed by the tremendous power with which he depicts for us the secrets of the prison house. with milton, we mount heaven-ward, and in the immortal verse of his minor poems, finer even than the stately march of paradise lost, we hear celestial music, and breathe diviner air. with that sovereign artist, shakespeare, full equally of delight and of majesty, we sweep the horizon of this complex human life, and become comprehensive scholars and citizens of the world. the masters of fiction enthrall us with their fascinating pages, one moment shaking us with uncontrollable laughter, and the next, dissolving us in tears. in the presence of all these emanations of genius, the wise reader may feed on nectar and ambrosia, and forget the petty cares and vexations of to-day. there are some books that charm us by their wit or their sweetness, others that surprise and captivate us by their strength: books that refresh us when weary: books that comfort us when afflicted: books that stimulate us by their robust health: books that exalt and refine our natures, as it were, to a finer mould: books that rouse us like the sound of a trumpet: books that illumine the darkest hours, and fill all our day with delight. it is books that record the advance and the decline of nations, the experience of the world, the achievements and the possibilities of mankind. it is books that reveal to us ideas and images almost above ourselves, and go far to open for us the gates of the invisible. "a river of thought," says emerson, "is continually flowing out of the invisible world into the mind of man:" and we may add that books contain the most fruitful and permanent of the currents of that mighty river. i am not disposed to celebrate the praises of all books, nor to recommend to readers of any age a habit of indiscriminate reading: but for the books which are true helpers and teachers, the thoughts of the best poets, historians, publicists, philosophers, orators,--if their value is not real, then there are no realities in the world. very true is it, nevertheless, that the many-sided man cannot be cultivated by books alone. one may learn by heart whole libraries, and yet be profoundly unacquainted with the face of nature, or the life of man. the pale student who gives himself wholly to books pays the penalty by losing that robust energy of character, that sympathy with his kind, that keen sense of the charms of earth and sky, that are essential to complete development. "the world's great men," says oliver wendell holmes, "have not commonly been great scholars, nor its scholars great men." to know what other men have said about things is not always the most important part of knowledge. there is nothing that can dispense us from the independent use of our own faculties. meditation and observation are more valuable than mere absorption; and knowledge itself is not wisdom. the true way to use books is to make them our servants--not our masters. very helpful, cheering, and profitable will they become, when they fall naturally into our daily life and growth--when they tally with the moods of the mind. the habits and methods of readers are as various as those of authors. thus, there are some readers who gobble a book, as boswell tells us dr. johnson used to gobble his dinner--eagerly, and with a furious appetite, suggestive of dyspepsia, and the non-assimilation of food. then there are slow readers, who plod along through a book, sentence by sentence, putting in a mark conscientiously where they left off to-day, so as to begin at the self-same spot to-morrow; fast readers, who gallop through a book, as you would ride a flying bicycle on a race; drowsy readers, to whom a book is only a covert apology for a nap, and who pretend to be reading macaulay or herbert spencer only to dream between the leaves; sensitive readers, who cannot abide the least noise or interruption when reading, and to whose nerves a foot-fall or a conversation is an exquisite torture; absorbed readers, who are so pre-occupied with their pursuit that they forget all their surroundings--the time of day, the presence or the voices of others, the hour for dinner, and even their own existence; credulous readers, who believe everything they read because it is printed in a book, and swallow without winking the most colossal lying; critical and captious readers, who quarrel with the blunders or the beliefs of their author, and who cannot refrain from calling him an idiot or an ass--and perhaps even writing him down so on his own pages; admiring and receptive readers, who find fresh beauties in a favorite author every time they peruse him, and even discover beautiful swans in the stupidest geese that ever cackled along the flowery meads of literature; reverent readers, who treat a book as they would treat a great and good man, considerately and politely, carefully brushing the dust from a beloved volume with the sleeve, or tenderly lifting a book fallen to the floor, as if they thought it suffered, or felt harm; careless and rough readers, who will turn down books on their faces to keep the place, tumble them over in heaps, cram them into shelves never meant for them, scribble upon the margins, dogs-ear the leaves, or even cut them with their fingers--all brutal and intolerable practices, totally unworthy of any one pretending to civilization. to those who have well learned the art of reading, what inexhaustible delights does the world of books contain! with milton, "to behold the bright countenance of truth, in the quiet and still air of delightful studies;" to journey through far countries with marco polo; to steer across an unknown sea with columbus, or to brave the dangers of the frozen ocean with nansen or dr. kane; to study the manners of ancient nations with herodotus; to live over again the life of greece and rome with plutarch's heroes; to trace the decline of empires with gibbon and mommsen; to pursue the story of the modern world in the pages of hume, macaulay, thiers and sismondi, and our own prescott, motley, and bancroft; to enjoy afresh the eloquence of demosthenes, and the polished and splendid diction of cicero; to drink in the wisdom of philosophers, and to walk with socrates, plato and the stoics through the groves of academia; to be kindled by the saintly utterances of prophets and apostles, st. paul's high reasoning of immortality, or the seraphic visions of st. john; to study the laws that govern communities with the great publicists, or the economy of nations with adam smith and stuart mill; with the naturalists, to sound the depths of the argument as to the origin of species and the genesis of man; with the astronomers, to leave the narrow bounds of earth, and explore the illimitable spaces of the universe, in which our solar system is but a speck; with the mathematicians, to quit the uncertain realm of speculation and assumption, and plant our feet firmly on the rock of exact science:--to come back anon to lighter themes, and to revel in the grotesque humor of dickens, the philosophic page of bulwer, the chivalric romances of walter scott, the ideal creations of hawthorne, the finished life-pictures of george eliot, the powerful imagination of victor hugo, and the masterly delineations of thackeray; to hang over the absorbing biographies of dr. franklin, walter scott and dr. johnson; to peruse with fresh delight the masterpieces of irving and goldsmith, and the best essays of hazlitt, de quincey, charles lamb, and montaigne; to feel the inspiration of the great poets of all ages, from homer down to tennyson; to read shakespeare--a book that is in itself almost a university:--is not all this satisfaction enough for human appetite, however craving, solace enough for trouble, however bitter, occupation enough for life, however long? there are pleasures that perish in the using; but the pleasure which the art of reading carries with it is perennial. he who can feast on the intellectual spoils of centuries need fear neither poverty nor hunger. in the society of those immortals who still rule our spirits from their urns, we become assured that though heaven and earth may pass away, no true thought shall ever pass away. the great orator, on whose lips once hung multitudes, dies and is forgotten; the great actor passes swiftly off the stage, and is seen no more; the great singer, whose voice charmed listening crowds by its melody, is hushed in the grave; the great preacher survives but a single generation in the memory of men; all we who now live and act must be, in a little while, with yesterday's seven thousand years:--but the book of the great writer lives on and on, inspiring age after age of readers, and has in it more of the seeds of immortality than anything upon earth. chapter . aids to readers. there is one venerable latin proverb which deserves a wider recognition than it has yet received. it is to the effect that "the best part of learning is to know where to find things." from lack of this knowledge, an unskilled reader will often spend hours in vainly searching for what a skilled reader can find in less than five minutes. now, librarians are presumed to be skilled readers, although it would not be quite safe to apply this designation to all of that profession, since there are those among librarians, or their assistants, who are mere novices in the art of reading to advantage. manifestly, one cannot teach what he does not know: and so the librarian who has not previously travelled the same road, will not be able to guide the inquiring reader who asks him to point out the way. but if the way has once been found, the librarian, with only a fairly good memory, kept in constant exercise by his vocation, can find it again. still more surely, if he has been through it many times, will he know it intuitively, the moment any question is asked about it. it is true of the great majority of readers resorting to a library, that they have a most imperfect idea, both of what they want, and of the proper way to find it. the world of knowledge, they know, is vast, and they are quite bewildered by the many paths that lead to some part or other of it, crossing each other in all directions. and among the would-be readers may be found every shade of intelligence, and every degree of ignorance. there is the timid variety, too modest or diffident to ask for any help at all, and so feeling about among the catalogues or other reference-books in a baffled search for information. there is the sciolist variety, who knows it all, or imagines that he does, and who asks for proof of impossible facts, with an assurance born of the profoundest ignorance. then, too, there is the half-informed reader, who is in search of a book he once read, but has clean forgotten, which had a remarkable description of a tornado in the west, or a storm and ship-wreck at sea, or a wonderful tropical garden, or a thrilling escape from prison, or a descent into the bowels of the earth, or a tremendous snow-storm, or a swarming flight of migratory birds, or a mausoleum of departed kings, or a haunted chamber hung with tapestry, or the fatal caving-in of a coal-mine, or a widely destructive flood, or a hair-breadth escape from cannibals, or a race for life, pursued by wolves, or a wondrous sub-marine grotto, or a terrible forest fire, or any one of a hundred scenes or descriptions, all of which the librarian is presumed, not only to have read, but to have retained in his memory the author, the title, and the very chapter of the book which contained it. to give some idea of the extent and variety of information which a librarian is supposed to possess, i have been asked, almost at the same time, to refer a reader to the origin of candlemas day, to define the pragmatic sanction, to give, out of hand, the aggregate wealth of great britain, compared with that of half-a-dozen other nations, to define the limits of neutrality or belligerent rights, to explain what is meant by the gresham law, to tell what ship has made the quickest voyage to europe, when she made it, and what the time was, to elucidate the meaning of the carolina doctrine, to explain the character and objects of the knights of the golden circle, to tell how large are the endowments of the british universities, to give the origin of the custom of egg-rolling, to tell the meaning of the cipher dispatches, to explain who was "extra billy smith," to tell the aggregate number killed on all sides during the napoleonic wars, to certify who wrote the "vestiges of creation," or, finally, to give the author of one of those innumerable ancient proverbs, which float about the world without a father. the great number and variety of such inquiries as are propounded by readers should not appal one. nor should one too readily take refuge from a troublesome reader by the plea, however convenient, that the library contains nothing on that subject. while this may unquestionably be true, especially as regards a small public library, it should never be put forward as a certainty, until one has looked. most inquiring readers are very patient, and being fully sensible how much they owe to the free enjoyment of the library treasures, and to the aid of the superintendent of them, they are willing to wait for information. however busy you may be at the moment, the reader can be asked to wait, or to call at a less busy time, when you will be prepared with a more satisfactory answer than can be given on the spur of the moment. what cannot be done to-day, may often be done to-morrow. remember always, that readers are entitled to the best and most careful service, for a librarian is not only the keeper, but the interpreter of the intellectual stores of the library. it is a good and a safe rule to let no opportunity of aiding a reader escape. one should be particularly careful to volunteer help to those who are too new or too timid to ask: and it is they who will be most grateful for any assistance. the librarian has only to put himself in their place--(the golden rule for a librarian, as for all the world besides), and to consider how often, in his own searches in libraries, in the continual, never-ending quest of knowledge, he would have been thankful for a hint from some one who knew, or had been over the ground of his search before; and then he will feel the full value to the novice, of such knowledge as he can impart. he is not to forget that his superior opportunities for learning all about things, with a whole library at command, and within elbow-reach every hour of the day, should impose upon him a higher standard of attainment than most readers are supposed to have reached. in the intervals of library work, i am accustomed to consider the looking up of subjects or authorities as one of my very best recreations. it is as interesting as a game of whist, and much more profitable. it is more welcome than routine labor, for it rests or diverts the mind, by its very variety, while, to note the different views or expressions of writers on the same subject, affords almost endless entertainment. in tracing down a quotation also, or the half-remembered line of some verse in poetry, you encounter a host of parallel poetic images or expressions, which contribute to aid the memory, or to feed the imagination. or, in pursuing a sought-for fact in history, through many volumes, you learn collaterally much that may never have met your eye before. full, as all libraries are, of what we call trash, there is almost no book which will not give us something,--even though it be only the negative virtue of a model to be avoided. one may not, indeed, always find what he seeks, because it may not exist at all, or it may not be found in the limited range of his small library, but he is almost sure to find something which gives food for thought, or for memory to note. and this is one of the foremost attractions, let me add, of the librarian's calling; it is more full of intellectual variety, of wide-open avenues to knowledge, than any other vocation whatever. his daily quests in pursuit of information to lay before others, bring him acquainted with passages that are full of endless suggestion for himself. he may not be able to pursue any of these avenues at the moment; but he should make a mental or a written note of them, for future benefit. his daily business being learning, why should he not in time, become learned? there are, of course, among the infinitude of questions, that come before the librarian, some that are really insoluble problems. one of these is to be found among the topics of inquiry i just now suggested; namely: what is the aggregate wealth of great britain, or that of other nations? this is a question frequently asked by inquiring congressmen, who imagine that an answer may readily be had from one of those gifted librarians who is invested with that apocryphal attribute, commonly called omniscience. but the inquirer is suddenly confronted by the fact (and a very stubborn fact it is) that not a single foreign nation has ever taken any census of wealth whatever. in great britain (about which country inquiry as to the national resources more largely centres) the government wisely lets alone the attempt to tabulate the value of private wealth, knowing that such an object is utterly impracticable. but, while the british census makes no attempt at estimating the property of the people, the independent estimates of statistical writers vary hopelessly and irreconcilably. mr. j. r. mcculloch, one of the foremost accredited writers on economic science, lays it down as a dictum, that "sixty years is the shortest time in which the capital of an old and densely-peopled country can be expected to be doubled." yet joseph lowe assumes the wealth of the united kingdom to have doubled in eighteen years, from to ; while george r. porter, in his widely-accredited book on the "progress of the nation," and leoni levi, a publicist of high reputation, make out, (by combining their estimates) that the private wealth of england increased fifty per cent. in seventeen years, at which rate it would double in about twenty-nine years, instead of sixty, as laid down by mr. mcculloch. mr. levi calculates the aggregate private wealth of great britain in , at $ , , , , being a fraction less than the guesses of the census enumerators at the national wealth of the united states, twelve years later, in . can one guess be said to be any nearer the fact than the other? may we not be pardoned for treating all estimates as utterly fallacious that are not based upon known facts and figures? why do we hear so much of the "approximate correctness" of so many statistical tables, when, in point of fact, the primary data are incapable of proof, and the averages and conclusions built upon them are all assumed? "statisticians," says one of the fraternity, "are generally held to be eminently practical people; on the contrary, they are more given to theorizing than any other class of writers; and are generally less expert in it." in the presence of such gross discrepancies as these, by statisticians of the highest repute, and among such a practical people as the english, what value can be attached to the mere estimates of wealth which have been attempted in the census of the united states? the careful superintendent of the census of and , the late francis a. walker, writes concerning it: "at the best, these figures represent but the opinion of one man, or of a body of men, in the collection of material, and in the calculation of the several elements of the public wealth." and in the last census report for , the results of the so-called "census of wealth," are cautiously submitted, "as showing in a general way a continuous increase in the wealth of the nation, the exact proportions of which cannot be measured." now, what are we to conclude regarding the attempt to elevate to a rank in statistical science, mere estimates of private wealth, for a large portion of which, by the statements of those who make them, no actual statistical data exist? and when this is confessedly the case in our own country, the only one attempting the impossible task of tabulating the wealth of the people, what shall we say of the demand that is made upon our credulity of accepting the guesses of mr. giffen, or mr. mulhall, as to british wealth? are we not justified in applying the old latin maxim--"_de non apparentibus, et de non existentibus, eadem est ratio_," and replying to those who demand of us to know how much any nation is worth, that it is sometimes an important part of knowledge to know that nothing can be known? among the literally innumerable inquiries liable to be made of a librarian, here is one which may give him more than a moment's pause, unless he is uncommonly well versed in american political history--namely, "what was the ostend manifesto?" to a mind not previously instructed these two words "ostend manifesto", convey absolutely no meaning. you turn to the standard encyclopaedias, appleton's, johnson's universal, and the britannica, and you find an account of ostend, a little belgian city, its locality, commerce, and population, but absolutely nothing about an ostend manifesto. but in j. n. larned's "history for ready reference", a useful book in five volumes, arranged in alphabetical order, you get a clue. it refers you from ostend, under letter o, to cuba, where you learn that this formidable ostend manifesto was nothing more nor less than a paper drawn up and signed by messrs. buchanan, mason, and slidell, ministers of the united states to great britain, france, and spain, respectively, when at the watering-place of ostend, in , importing that the island of cuba ought to, and under certain circumstances, must belong to the united states. looking a little farther, as the manifesto is not published in larned, you find the text of the document itself in cluskey's "political text-book", of , and in some of the american newspapers of . this is a case of pursuing a once notorious, but more recently obscure topic, through many works of reference until found. in many searches for names of persons, it becomes highly important to know before-hand where to look, and equally important where not to look, for certain biographies. thus, if you seek for the name of any living character, it is necessary to know that it would be useless to look in the encyclopædia britannica, because the rule of compilation of that work purposely confined its sketches of notable persons to those who were already deceased when its volumes appeared. so you save the time of hunting in at least one conspicuous work of reference, before you begin, by simply knowing its plan. in like manner, you should know that it is useless to search for two classes of names in the "dictionary of national biography," the most copious biographical dictionary of british personages ever published, begun in , under leslie stephen, and reaching its sixty-first volume, and letter w in , under the editorship of sidney lee. these two classes of names are first, all persons not british, that is, not either english, scottish or irish; and secondly, names of british persons now living. this is because this great work, like the britannica, purposely confines itself to the names of notables deceased; and, unlike the britannica, it further limits its biographies to persons connected by birth or long residence with the british kingdom. knowing this fact before-hand, will save any time wasted in searching the dictionary of national biography for any persons now living, or for any american or european names. another caveat may properly be interposed as regards searches for information in that most widely advertised and circulated of all works of reference,--the encyclopaedia britannica. the plan of that work was to furnish the reading public with the very best treatises upon leading topics in science, history, and literature, by eminent scholars and specialists in various fields. pursuant to this general scheme, each great subject has a most elaborate, and sometimes almost exhaustive article--as, for example, chemistry, geology, etc., while the minor divisions of each topic do not appear in the alphabet at all, or appear only by cross-reference to the generic name under which they are treated. it results, that while you find, for example, a most extensive article upon "anatomy", filling a large part of a volume of the britannica, you look in vain in the alphabet for such subjects as "blood, brain, cartilage, sinew, tissue," etc., which are described only in the article "anatomy." this method has to be well comprehended in order for any reader to make use of this great cyclopaedia understandingly. even by the aid of the english index to the work, issued by its foreign publishers, the reader who is in hasty quest of information in the britannica, will most frequently be baffled by not finding any minor subject in the index. the english nation, judged by most of the productions of its literary and scientific men in that field, has small genius for indexing. it was reserved to an american to prepare and print a thorough index, at once alphabetical and analytical, to this great english thesaurus of information--an index ten times more copious, and therefore more useful to the student, than the meagre one issued in england. this index fills , closely printed columns, forming the whole of volume of the philadelphia edition of the work. by its aid, every name and every topic, treated anywhere in this vast repository of human knowledge can be traced out and appropriated; while without it, the encyclopaedia britannica, with all its great merits, must remain very much in the nature of a sealed book to the reader who stands in need of immediate use and reference. we have to take it for what it is--a collection of masterly treatises, rather than a handy dictionary of knowledge. the usefulness and success of any library will depend very largely upon the sympathy, so to speak, between the readers and the librarian. when this is well established, the rest is very easy. the librarian should not seclude himself so as to be practically inaccessible to readers, nor trust wholly to assistants to answer their inquiries. this may be necessary in some large libraries, where great and diversified interests connected with the building up of the collection, the catalogue system, and the library management and administration are all concerned. in the british museum library, no one ever sees the principal librarian; even the next officer, who is called the keeper of the printed books, is not usually visible in the reading-room at all. a librarian who is really desirous of doing the greatest good to the greatest number of people, will be not only willing, but anxious to answer inquiries, even though they may appear to him trivial and unimportant. still, he should also economise time by cultivating the habit of putting his answers into the fewest and plainest words. how far the librarian should place himself in direct communication with readers, must depend largely upon the extent of the library, the labor required in managing its various departments, the amount and value of assistance at his command, and upon various other circumstances, depending upon the different conditions with different librarians. but it may be laid down as a safe general rule, that the librarian should hold himself perpetually as a public servant, ready and anxious to answer in some way, all inquiries that may come to him. thus, and thus only, can he make himself, and the collection of books under his charge, useful in the highest degree to the public. he will not indeed, in any extensive library, find it convenient, or even possible, to answer all inquiries in person; but he should always be ready to enable his assistants to answer them, by his superior knowledge as to the best sources of information, whenever they fail to trace out what is wanted. in any small library, he should be always accessible, at or near the place where people are accustomed to have their wants for books or information supplied: and the public resorting to the library will thus come not only to rely upon him for aid in their intellectual researches, but to appreciate and respect him for the wide extent of his knowledge, and to consider him, in time, an indispensable guide, if not leader, in the community. his reputation, in fact, will depend upon the extent to which he has been able to help others, as well as upon the number of people whom he has thus aided. in a very high sense, the true librarian is an educator; his school is as large as the town in which his library is situated. very few people in that town know what he is always presumed to know,--namely--to what books to go to get answers to the questions they want answered. in supplying continually the means of answering these countless questions, the library becomes actually a popular university, in which the librarian is the professor, the tuition is free, and the course is optional, both as to study and as to time. most persons who come to make any investigation in a public library require a good deal of assistance. for example, a reader is in need of the latest information as to the amount of steel and iron made in this country, and what state produces these important manufactures. he has not the faintest idea where to look for the information, except that it may be in the census, but the census is nine years old, and he wants recent facts. it is vain to turn him over to the cyclopaedias, for there is not one whose information upon such statistics comes anywhere near up to date. you have to put before him a pamphlet annual, published by the american iron and steel association, which contains exactly what he wants; and no other source of information does contain it. another inquirer seeks to know how to treat some disease. in such cases, of course, the librarian should not go farther than to put before the reader a work on domestic medicine, for it is not his function to deal in recommendations of this, that, or the other method of treatment, any more than it is to give legal opinions, if asked--although he may have studied law. so, if the reader wants to know about the religious tenets of the presbyterians, or the mormons, or the buddhists, or the doctrines of the catholic church, and asks the librarian's opinion about any controverted question of belief, he is to be answered only by the statement that the library is there to supply information, not opinions, and then pointed to the religious cyclopaedias, which give full summaries of all the sects. he may frequently be asked for information on a subject which he knows nothing about; and i have heard a librarian declare, that he often found himself able to give fuller and better information on a subject of which he was previously ignorant, than upon one he had long been familiar with. the reason was that in the one case he had freshly looked up all the authorities, and put them before the reader, while in the other, giving the references from a memory, more or less imperfect, he had overlooked some of the most important means of information. the constant exercise of the habit of supplying helps to readers is a splendid intellectual school for the librarian himself. through it, his memory is quickened and consequently improved, (as every faculty is by use) his habits of mental classification and analysis are formed or strengthened, and his mind is kept on the alert to utilize the whole arsenal of the knowledge he has already acquired, or to acquire new knowledge. another very important benefit derived by the librarian from his constantly recurring attention to the calls of readers for aid, is the suggestion thereby furnished of the deficiencies in the collection in his charge. this will be a continual reminder to him, of what he most needs, namely, how to equip the library with the best and most recent sources of information in every field of inquiry. whether the library be a large or a small one, its deficiencies in some directions are sure to be very considerable: and these gaps are more conspicuously revealed in trying to supply readers with the means of making what may be termed an exhaustive research upon a given subject, than in any other way. you find, for example, in looking up your authorities in what has come to be called egyptology, that while you have wilkinson's ancient egypt, and lane's modern egyptians, both of which are very valuable works, you have not the more modern books of brugsch-bey, or of a. h. sayce, or of maspero. you may also find out, by mingling freely with a good part of the readers, what subjects are most frequently looked into or inquired about, and you can thus secure valuable information as to the directions in which the library most needs strengthening. thus, in a community largely made up of people connected with manufacturing interests, the inquiries are liable to be much concerned with the mechanic arts; and you would therefore naturally seek to acquire a liberal selection of the best and latest works in technical science, or the useful arts. if you have, on the other hand, very few inquiries, indeed, for theological works, you take it as some evidence that that department of the collection needs little enlargement, and you may devote your funds in other directions. then too, the great value of popularising the library by the hearty interest shown by the librarian in the wants of the people can hardly be over-rated. this interest, being a perennial one, and continued through a series of years, the number of citizens and their families assisted will be constantly on the increase, and the public opinion of the town will come in time, to regard the library as a great popular necessity. hence, if it is an institution supported in whole or in part by town or municipal funds, its claims to liberal consideration will be immeasurably strengthened. if an enlargement of room for the books, or even a new library building comes to be needed, its chances for securing the funds requisite will be excellent. if a more liberal supply of new books, or an extended range of older ones of great value is reported by the librarian as wanted to increase the usefulness of the library, the authorities will more cheerfully consider the claim. and if it is proposed that additional and competent assistance shall be given to the librarian, or that he should be more liberally compensated for his highly useful and important labors, that, too, may be accomplished--especially if it has come to be recognized that by his wide knowledge, and skilful management, and helpful devotion to the service of the reading public, he has rendered himself indispensable. in the supply of information desired by readers, it is better to leave them to their own search, once you have put before them the proper authorities, than to spend your time in turning for them to the volume and page. this, for two reasons--first, it leaves your own time free to help other readers, or to attend to the ever-waiting library work; and, secondly, it induces habits of research and self-help on the part of the reader. it is enough for the librarian to act as an intelligent guide-post, to point the way; to travel the road is the business of the reader himself. therefore, let the visitor in quest of a quotation, look it out in the index of the volumes you put before him. if he fails to find it, it will then be time for you to intervene, and lend the aid of your more practiced eye, and superior knowledge of how to search; or else, let the reader look for it in some more copious anthology, which you may put before him. there are multitudes of inquiries for the authors of poems, which are in no sense "familiar quotations," nor even select quotations, but which are merely common-place sentiments expressed in language quite unpoetic,--and not the work of any notable writer at all. they are either the production of some utterly obscure author of a volume of verse, quite unknown to fame, or, still more probably, the half-remembered verses of some anonymous contributor to the poet's corner of the newspaper or magazine. in such cases, where you see no poetic beauty or imaginative power in the lines, it is well to inform the inquirer at once that you do not think them the production of any noted writer, and thus end the fruitless search for memorizing what is not at all memorable. what may strike uncultivated readers as beautiful, may be set down as trash, by a mind that has been fed upon the masterpieces of poetry. not that the librarian is to assume the air of an oracle or a censor, (something to be in all circumstances avoided) or to pronounce positive judgment upon what is submitted: he should inform any admiring reader of a passage not referred to in any of the anthologies, and not possessing apparent poetic merit, that he believes the author is unknown to fame. that should be sufficient for any reasonably disposed reader, who, after search duly completed, will go away answered, if not satisfied. i gave some instances of the singular variety of questions asked of a librarian. let me add one, reported by mr. robert harrison, of the london library, as asked of him by william m. thackeray. the distinguished author of esmond and the virginians wanted a book that would tell of general wolfe, the hero of quebec. "i don't want to know about his battles", said the novelist. "i can get all that from the histories. i want something that will tell me the color of the breeches he wore." after due search, the librarian was obliged to confess that there was no such book. a librarian is likely to be constantly in a position to aid the uninformed reader how to use the books of reference which every public library contains. the young person who is new to the habit of investigation, or the adult who has never learned the method of finding things, needs to be shown how to use even so simple a thing as an index. do not be impatient with his ignorance, although you may find him fumbling over the pages in the body of the book in vain, to find what you, with your acquired knowledge of indexes and their use, can find in half a minute or less. practice alone can make one perfect in the art of search and speedy finding. the tyro who tries your patience this year, will very likely become an expert reader the next. wide as is the domain of ignorance, there are few among those intelligent enough to resort to a library at all, who cannot learn. you will find some who come to the library so unskilled, that they will turn over the leaves even of an index, in a blind, hap-hazard way, evidently at a loss how to use it. these must be instructed first, that the index is arranged just like a dictionary, in the alphabetical order of the names or subjects treated, and secondly, that after finding the word they seek in it, they must turn to the page indicated by the figure attached to that word. this is the very primer of learning in the use of a library, but the library in any town, used as it is by many boys and girls of all ages, has to be a primary school for beginners, as well as a university for advanced students. despise not the day of small things, however you may find it more agreeable to be occupied with great ones. on the other hand, you will find at the other extreme of intelligence, among your clientage of readers, those who are completely familiar with books and their uses. there are some readers frequenting public libraries, who not only do not need assistance themselves, but who are fully competent to instruct the librarian. in meeting the calls of such skilled readers, who always know what they require, it is never good policy to obtrude advice or suggestion, but simply to supply what they call for. you will readily recognize and discriminate such experts from the mass of readers, if you have good discernment. sometimes they are quite as sensitive as they are intelligent, and it may annoy them to have offered them books they do not want, in the absence of what they require. an officious, or super-serviceable librarian or assistant, may sometimes prejudice such a reader by proffering help which he does not want, instead of waiting for his own call or occasion. let us look at a few examples of the numerous calls at a popular library. for example, a reader asks to see a book, giving an account of the marriage of the adriatic. you know that this concerns the history of venice and its doges, and you turn to various books on venice, and its history, until you find a description of the strange festival. it may be, and probably is the case, that the books, like most descriptive works and narratives of travellers, are without index. this is a disability in the use of books which you must continually encounter, since multitudes of volumes, old and new, are sent out without a vestige of an index to their contents. some writers have urged that a law should be made refusing copyright to the author of any book who failed to provide it with an index; a requirement highly desirable, but also highly impracticable. yet you will find in most books, a division of the contents into chapters, and in the beginning of the volume a table of the contents of each chapter, giving its leading topics. this is a substitute for an index, although (not being arranged in alphabetical order) it is far less useful than that time-saving aid to research. but you have to learn to take advantage of even poor and inferior helps, when you cannot have the best, (as a poor guide is better than no guide at all, unless it misguides,) and so you run your eye quickly through the table of contents to find what you seek. in the case supposed, of the ceremony at venice, you will be aided in the search by having in mind that the catch-words involved are "adriatic," and "doge," and as these begin with capital letters, which stand out, as it were, from the monotonous "lower case" type (as printers call all the letters that are not capitals) your search will be much abridged by omitting to read through all the sentences of your table of contents, and seizing only the passage or passages where "doge," or "adriatic," may occur. this remark will apply as well to numerous other searches which you will have to make in books. the table of contents will commonly take note of all the more salient topics that are treated in the book, whether of persons, of places, of notable scenes, historic events, etc., and so will aid you in finding what you seek. in the last resort only, in the books whose table of contents fails you, will you have to turn the leaves page by page, which, while not equivalent to reading the book through, is a time-consuming business. of course no librarian can devote hours of his precious time to searches in such detail for readers. they are to be supplied with the books likely to contain what they are in search of, and left to seek it in their own way, with such hints and cautions as to saving time by taking the shortest road, as the experience of the librarian enables him to supply. the suggestions here given are not needed by scholarly readers, but are the fruits of long experience in searching books for what they contain. again, let us take the case of a call by a reader who happens to be a decorative painter, for patterns which may furnish him hints in finishing an interior of a house. of course he wants color--that is, not theory only, but illustration, or practical examples. so you put before him owen jones's grammar of ornament, or racinet's _l'ornement polychrome_, both illustrated with many beautiful designs in color, which he is delighted to find. another reader is anxious to see a picture of "st. george and the dragon." if you have the "museum of painting and sculpture," in volumes, or champlin's "cyclopaedia of painters and painting," a dictionary of art in four volumes, you find it in either work, in the alphabet, under "st. george," and his want is satisfied. a youngster wants to know how to build a boat, and you find him folkard on boats, or frazar's sail-boats, which describe and figure various styles of water-craft. perhaps an inquisitive reader wants to find out all about the families of the various languages, and what is known of their origin, and you supply him with w. d. whitney's "life and growth of language," or max müller's "science of language," either of which furnishes full information. another inquirer seeks for information about the aggregate debts of nations. you give him the great quarto volume of the last census on wealth and indebtedness, or for still later information the statesman's year book for , or the almanach de gotha for the current year, both of which contain the comparative debts of nations at the latest dates. the inquirer who seeks to know the rates of wages paid for all kinds of labor in a series of several years, can be supplied with the elaborate report on labor and wages for fifty-two years, published by the u. s. government in , in four volumes. another reader wishes, we will suppose, to hunt up the drawings of all patents that have been issued on type-writers, and type-writing inventions. you put before him the many indexes to the patent specifications and patent office gazette; he makes out from these his list of volumes wanted, which are at once supplied, and he falls to work on his long, but to him interesting job. a reader who has seen in the library or elsewhere a book he would much like to own, but cannot find a copy in town, wants to know what it will cost: you turn to your american or foreign catalogue, covering the year of publication, and give him not only the price, but the publisher's name from whom he can order it, and he goes on his way rejoicing. an artist engaged upon a painting in which he wishes to introduce a deer, or a group of rabbits, or an american eagle, or a peacock, asks for an accurate picture of the bird or animal wanted. you put before him j. s. kingsley's riverside natural history, in six volumes, and his desire is satisfied. in dealing with books of reference, there will often be found very important discrepancies of statement, different works giving different dates, for example, for the same event in history or biography. next to a bible and a dictionary of language, there is no book, perhaps, more common than a biographical dictionary. our interest in our fellow-men is perennial; and we seek to know not only their characteristics, and the distinguishing events of their lives, but also the time of their birth into the world and their exit from it. this is a species of statistics upon which one naturally expects certainty, since no person eminent enough to be recorded at all is likely to have the epoch of his death, at least, unremarked. yet the seeker after exact information in the biographical dictionaries will find, if he extends his quest among various authorities, that he is afloat on a sea of uncertainties. not only can he not find out the date of decease of some famous navigators, like sir john franklin and la perouse, who sailed into unexplored regions of the globe, and were never heard of more, but the men who died at home, in the midst of friends and families, are frequently recorded as deceased at dates so discrepant that no ingenuity can reconcile them. in haydn's dictionary of dates, sir henry havelock was said to have died november th, , while maunder's treasury of biography gives november st, the london almanac, november th, and the life of havelock, by his brother-in-law, november th. here are four distinct dates of death given, by authorities apparently equally accredited, to a celebrated general, who died within forty years of our own time. of the death of the notorious robespierre, guillotined in , we find in chalmers' biographical dictionary that he died july th, in rees's cyclopaedia, july th, and in alison's history of europe, july th. doubtless it is some comfort to reflect, in view of his many crimes, that the bloody tyrant of the jacobins is really dead, irrespective of the date, about which biographers may dispute. of the english mechanician joseph bramah, inventor of the bramah lock, we learn from the english cyclopaedia, that he died in , and from rose's biographical dictionary, that he died in . now, although a large share of the errors and discrepancies that abound in biographical dictionaries and other books of reference may be accounted for by misprints, others by reckoning old style instead of new, and many more by carelessness of writers and transcribers, it is plain that all the variations cannot be thus accounted for. nothing is more common in printing offices than to find a figure inverted serving as a , a for a , or a for an , while , , and o, are frequently interchanged. in such cases, a keen-eyed proof-reader may not always be present to prevent the falsification of history; and it is a fact, not sufficiently recognized, that to the untiring vigilance, intelligence, and hard, conscientious labors of proof-readers, the world owes a deeper debt of gratitude than it does to many a famous maker of books. it is easy enough to make books, heaven knows, but to make them correct, "_hic labor, hoc opus est_." a high authority in encyclopaedical lore tells us that the best accredited authorities are at odds with regard to the birth or death of individuals in the enormous ratio of from twenty to twenty-five per cent. of the whole number in the biographical dictionaries. the portuguese poet camoens is said by some authorities to have been born in , and by others in ; a discrepancy of eight years. chateaubriand is declared by the english cyclopaedia to have been born september th, ; september th, , by the nouvelle biographie générale of dr. hoefer; and september th, , by the conversations-lexicon. of course it is clear that all these authorities cannot be right; but which of the three is so, is matter of extreme doubt, leaving the student of facts perplexed and uncertain at the very point where certainty is not only most important, but most confidently expected. of another kind are the errors that sometimes creep into works of reference of high credit, by accepting too confidently statements publicly made. in one edition of the dictionary of congress a certain honorable member from pennsylvania, in uncommonly robust health, was astonished to find himself recorded as having died of the national hotel disease, contracted at washington in . in this case, the editor of the work was a victim of too much confidence in the newspapers. in the congressional directory, where brief biographies of congressmen are given, one distinguished member was printed as having been elected to congress at a time which, taken in connection with his birth-date in the same paragraph, made him precisely one year old when he took his seat in congress. even in reporting the contents of public and private libraries, exaggeration holds sway. the library of george the fourth, inherited by that graceless ignoramus from a book-collecting father, and presented to the british nation with ostentatious liberality only after he had failed to sell it to russia, was said in the publications of those times to contain about , volumes. but an actual enumeration when the books were lodged in the king's library at the british museum, where they have ever since remained, showed that there were only , volumes, being but little more than half the reported number. many libraries, public and private, are equally over-estimated. it is so much easier to guess than to count, and the stern test of arithmetic is too seldom applied, notwithstanding the fact that , volumes can easily be counted in a day by a single person, and so on in the same proportion. here, as in the statistics of population, the same proverb holds good, that the unknown is always the magnificent, and on the surface of the globe we inhabit, the unexplored country is always the most marvellous, since the world began. these discrepancies in authorities, and exaggerations of writers, are not referred to for the purpose of casting doubt upon all published history, but only to point out that we cannot trust implicitly to what we find in books. bearing in mind always, that accuracy is perhaps the rarest of human qualities, we should hold our judgment in reserve upon controverted statements, trusting no writer implicitly, unless sustained by original authorities. when asked to recommend the best book upon any subject, do not too confidently assert the merits of the one you may think the best, but say simply that it is well accredited, or very popular. it is not always safe to recommend books, and the librarian does well to speak with proper reservations as to most of them, and to recommend only what are well known to him to be good, by his own intimate acquaintance with them, or, which is the surest test of all, by the verdicts of critical reviews, or by the constant reprinting of them in many successive years. it was the well-nigh unanimous report at a conference of american librarians, upon the subject of "aids to readers", that "nothing can take the place of an intelligent and obliging assistant at the desk." this was after a thorough canvass of the relative merits of the various reference books and helps to readers in book form. not only the casual reader, and the reader with a purpose may be constantly aided by the librarian's knowledge, and larger experience in the art of finding things, but teachers in the schools, clergymen preparing discourses, and every one seeking to know anything, should find the librarian a living catalogue. there is nothing so effective in the world as individual effort. chapter . access to library shelves. the matter of free or unrestricted access to the books on the shelves is a vexed question in libraries. open and unprotected shelves, either in alcoves or the main reading room, while they appear to be a boon to readers, who can thus browse at will through the literary pastures, and turn over volumes at their pleasure, furnish by no means good security for the books. some of the smaller public libraries protect their books from access by glass doors in front of the shelves, which form also a partial protection against dust. others again, use wire screen doors, opened, like the others, by lock and key when books are wanted. both of these arrangements give to readers the advantage of reading the titles on the backs of most of the books in the library, while protecting them from being handled, disarranged, or removed. but they are also open to the objection that they obstruct the prompt service of the books, by just the amount of time it takes to open the doors or screens, and close them again. this trouble and delay may overbalance the supposed advantages. certainly they must do so in all large libraries, where the frequentation is great, and where every moment's delay in the book service works disadvantage to numerous readers. while private libraries, or quite small public ones, can indulge in the luxury of glass cases, no extensive collection can be managed with the requisite promptitude under their obstructions. but how to avoid the indiscriminate and usually careless handling of the books on shelves, by the people frequenting the library, and still extend to readers prompt and full service of all the books they wish to consult on any subject, is a problem. in a few of the great libraries, where that modern improvement, the stack system, prevails, the difficulty is solved by the storing of the books in the outside repositories, or iron book-stacks to which readers are not admitted. in this case the reading room is only for books in use by those frequenting it, or is supplied with a selection of reference books simply, the stacks being drawn upon for all the rest. this of course secures the books both from misplacement and from pillage. in smaller libraries which have no stack system (and this includes by far the greater number) a variety of treatment prevails. most of them are unprovided with any effective means of guarding the books on the shelves from handling. the result is great insecurity, and inevitable misplacement of books, amounting often to confusion and chaos on the shelves, unless corrected by much daily re-arrangement by the librarian or assistants. this consumes much valuable time, which ought to be devoted to other pressing duties. one remedy is to guard the shelves by a railing of some kind, which cannot be passed, except at the gates or passage-ways provided for the attendants. this simple provision will protect the orderly arrangement as well as the safety of the library--two objects both of cardinal importance. absolutely free access to all the shelves means, sooner or later, loss to the library. and the books most certain to be taken or mutilated are those which it is costly, or difficult, or in some cases, impossible to replace. the chances of abstracting engravings from books are much greater in the shadow of the shelves, than in the open reading-room, under the eyes of many. in any library but the smaller ones, the difficulties and dangers of unrestricted handling of all the books by the public will be developed in the direct ratio of the size of the library. nor will it do to admit one class of readers to the shelves, and exclude others. it often happens that persons claiming to have special literary or scientific objects, and who profess that they cannot get along at all by having books brought to them, are favored in their wish to go to the shelves, while others are disfavored. this raises at once the just complaint that invidious distinctions are made. the only safe rule to follow is that of universal free access, or impartial and uniform exclusion from the shelves. in the latter case, no one can complain, especially when made aware that he can have all the works on a given subject brought to his seat in a brief time, and can work upon them to much greater comfort and advantage, seated where there is good light and ample room, than if standing up in the shadow of the shelves to pursue his researches. it is also to be considered that such disarrangement of books as inevitably follows free admission to the shelves deprives the very persons who claim this privilege, of finding what they seek, until a complete replacement takes place, throughout the library, and this is necessarily a work of time. that it involves much more time and consequent delay than is occasioned by the re-shelving of books used in a day, is apparent when we consider that in the latter case, only the number of volumes actually withdrawn from shelves by the library attendants have to be replaced, and that these are in conveniently assorted piles all ready to go to their respective shelves; while in the other case, the displacement is made by many hands, most of them careless of any convenience but their own, and moreover, the disarranged books are, or are liable to be, scattered on the wrong shelves, thus throwing the entire library into disorder, requiring great pains, knowledge, and time to repair. in any well-regulated library, the absence of any book from its place can almost always be accounted for. thus it is either-- . in the reading room, in use; or . charged out to a borrower; or . sent to the binder for rebinding, or repair; or . reserved for some reader's use; or . in temporary use by a cataloguer, or some other library assistant; or . among the books not yet re-shelved from recent use. now each of these is a legitimate reason for the absence of any book not found in its place. by search under each of these heads, _seriatim_, aided by the memory of librarian and assistants, the missing volume should be readily located, and soon availed of for use. but in the case of books misplaced by readers, no such tracing out of the whereabouts of any volume is effectual, for the reason that the book may have been (and probably is) put on some shelf where it does not belong. and the question, where in an extensive collection, a book-hunter admitted to freely range over all the shelves, and a stranger to the minute classification of books, has misplaced the missing volumes, is an insoluble problem, except by hunting over or handling the entire library. in this close practical view of the case we have to add to the long list of the enemies of books, formerly enumerated, those who demand a right to browse (as they term it) among the shelves of a public library, and who displace the books they take down to gratify, it may be, only an idle curiosity. their offence consists, not in being anxious to see the books, but in preventing others from seeing them, by segregating them where neither librarian nor assistants may be able to find them, when called for. the whole question is summed up in the statement that the ability to produce library books when called for, depends strictly upon keeping them in their proper place: and this is quite incompatible with promiscuous handling upon the shelves. the preservation of order is alike in the interest of the reading public, of the librarian and his assistants, and of the very persons who complain of it as depriving them of library facilities. if library facilities consist in rendering the books in it unfindable, and therefore unavailable to any reader, then the argument for free range of the shelves arrives at a _reductio ad absurdum_. the true library facilities consist in a classification and a catalogue which arrange the books in systematic order, and keep them there, save when called into use. thus, and thus only, can those who resort to a public library for actual research, be assured of finding what they want, just when they want it. the time saved to all readers by the sure and steady preservation of an orderly arrangement of the books, is simply incalculable. multiply the number of volumes out of place by the number of readers who call for them, and you have some idea of the mischief that may be done through the carelessness of a few favored readers, to the whole community of scholars. of course the considerations here set forth pre-suppose an active and intelligent librarian, and zealous and willing attendants, all ever ready to aid the researches of readers by the most prompt and helpful suggestions, and by dispatch in placing before them what they most need. the one cardinal design of a library--to supply the largest amount of information in the shortest time, is subverted by any disorganizing scheme. if the library be administered on the just principle of "the greatest good to the greatest number," then such individual favoritism should never be allowed. it may, indeed, be claimed that there is no rule without some valid exceptions; but these exceptions should never be permitted to defeat the cardinal object of the rule--which is to keep every book strictly in its own place. let the exception be confined to allowing an occasional inspection of the shelves in the company of a library attendant, and there will be no trouble. but there is another danger, aside from the misplacement of books. experience has shown that thefts or mutilations of books have been numerous, in direct proportion to the extension of freedom and opportunity to those frequenting the library. literary men and book-lovers are frequently book-collectors also; and the temptation to take what is often too loosely considered public property is sometimes yielded to by persons whose character and standing may render them the least suspected. in one of the largest lending libraries in this country, the purloining of books had been carried so far, that the authorities had to provide a wire fence all around the reading room, to keep the readers from access to the shelves. the result was soon seen in the reduction of the number of books stolen from volumes to volumes a year. after several years' experience of the astor library in opening its alcoves to readers (amounting to practical free admission to the shelves to all calling themselves special students) the losses and mutilations of books became so serious, that alcove admissions have been greatly curtailed. at the conference of librarians in london, in , the subject of admission or non-admission to the shelves was discussed with the result that opinions were preponderantly adverse to the free range of the library by readers. it was pointed out that libraries are established and maintained at great cost for serious purposes of reading and study, and that these ends are best subserved by systematic service at a common centre--not by letting the readers scatter themselves about the library shelves. to one speaker who held that every one in a free public library had the right to go to the shelves, and choose his books for himself, it was answered that this was equivalent to saying that it is the idler's right to stroll about in every place devoted to a special business, and interrupt that business at his pleasure. at the international conference of , an able defence of open shelves was presented, claiming that it saves much librarians' time in finding books, if readers are allowed to find them for themselves; that thefts and mutilations are inconsiderable; that it makes an appeal to the honor of people to respect the books; that the open shelf system does better educational work; that it is economical by requiring fewer library attendants; that it has grown steadily in favor in america, and that it gives the people the same right in the library which is their own, as the individual has in his own. on the other hand, it was urged that the arguments for open shelves were all arguments for anarchy; that the readers who want to rummage about for what they want lack proper discipline of the mind; that the number of books lost under it has been very large; that librarians are custodians and conservers, as well as dispensers of books; that all books misplaced are practically lost to the library for the time being; that the open shelf system requires far more space, and is more expensive; and that, however desirable, its general adoption is utterly impracticable. the practice of libraries in this particular of administration differs widely, as do the opinions of librarians regarding it. in most colleges and universities free access is allowed; and in some public free libraries, both east and west, the readers are allowed to handle the books on the shelves. this is comparatively safe in the smaller town libraries, where the books are in compact shape, and the unavoidable misplacement can be corrected daily in no long time. the experience of "open shelves" in such collections has been so favorable that their librarians have testified that the losses were insignificant when compared with the great public convenience resulting. but the difficulty and confusion arising from free handling of the books on shelves increases in the direct ratio of the size of the library, until, in an extensive collection, it reaches an intolerable result. what is encountered continually in enforcing the rule of exclusion from shelves is the almost universal conceit that some reader is entitled to exemption from such a rule. explain to him never so courteously that experience has proved that a library is thrown into confusion by such admission; that while he may be careful to replace every book handled in the same spot, nearly all readers are careless, and he will insist that he is the exception, and that he is always careful. that is human nature, the world over--to believe that one can do things better than any one else. but if such importunities prevail, the chances are that books will be misplaced by the very literary expert who has solemnly asserted his infallibility. on the whole, open shelves may be viewed as an open question. it may be best for small libraries, as to all the books, and for all libraries as to some classes of books. but make it general, and order and arrangement are at an end, while chaos takes the place of cosmos. the real student is better served by the knowledge and aid of the librarian, thus saving his time for study, than he can be by ranging about dark shelves to find, among multitudes of books he does not want, the ones that he actually does want. the business of the librarian, and his highest use, is to bring the resources of the library to the reader. if this takes a hundred or more volumes a day, he is to have them; but to give him the right to throw a library into confusion by "browsing around," is to sacrifice the rights of the public to prompt service, to the whim of one man. those who think that "browsing" is an education should reflect that it is like any other wandering employment, fatal to fixity of purpose. like desultory reading of infinite periodicals, it tends rather to dissipate the time and the attention than to inform and strengthen the mind. in libraries of wide circulation in america, many have open shelves, and many more free access to certain classes of books. the newark free library opens all departments except fiction; others open fiction and current literature only. some libraries, notably in england, have a "safe-guarded" open-shelf system, by which the public are given free range inside the library, while the librarians take post at the outside railing, to charge books drawn, and check off depredations. this method may be styled "every one his own librarian," and is claimed by its originators to work well. at the conference of the american library association in , after discussion, votes were taken, showing librarians in favor of free access to shelves for small libraries, as against only for unrestricted access in large libraries. the debate brought out curious and instructive facts as to losses of books where free range is allowed. the denver public library lost in one year volumes; the buffalo public library books in seventeen months; the minneapolis, in a year; and the st. louis public library , volumes in two years, out of "a very limited open shelf collection." one librarian, estimating the loss of books at $ , worth in two years, said the library board were perfectly satisfied, and that "unless we lose $ , worth of books a year, the open-shelf system pays in its saving of the expenses of attendance." it does not appear to have occurred to them that a public library owes anything to the public morality, nor that a library losing its books by the thousand, to save the cost of proper management, may be holding out a premium to wholesale robbery. there is another precaution essential to be observed regarding the more costly and rare possessions of the library. such books should not be placed upon the shelves with the ordinary books of the collection, but provided for in a repository under lock and key. in a large library, where many hundred volumes of books of especial rarity and value are to be found, a separate room should always exist for this class of books. they will properly include ( ) incunabula, or early printed books; ( ) manuscripts, or unique specimens, such as collections of autographs of notable people; ( ) illuminated books, usually written on vellum, or printed in color; ( ) early and rare americana, or books of american discovery, history, etc., which are scarce and difficult to replace; ( ) any books known to be out of print; and ( ) many costly illustrated works which should be kept apart for only occasional inspection by readers. where no separate room exists for safe custody of such treasures, they should be provided with a locked book-case or cases, according to their number. when any of these reserved books are called for, they should be supplied to readers under special injunctions of careful handling. neglect of precaution may at any time be the means of losing to the library a precious volume. it is easy for an unknown reader who calls for such a rare or costly work, to sign his ticket with a false name, and slip the book under his coat when unobserved, and so leave the library unchallenged. but the librarian or assistant who supplies the book, if put on his guard by having to fetch it from a locked repository, should keep the reader under observation, unless well known, until the volume is safely returned. designing and dishonest persons are ever hovering about public libraries, and some of the most dangerous among them are men who know the value of books. this class of reserved books should not be given out in circulation, under any circumstances. not only are they subject to injury by being handled in households where there are children or careless persons, who soil or deface them, but they are exposed to the continual peril of fire, and consequent loss to the library. there are often books among these rarities, which money cannot replace, because no copies can be found when wanted. in the library of congress, there is a very salutary safe-guard thrown around the most valuable books in the form of a library regulation which provides that no manuscript whatever, and no printed book of special rarity and value shall be taken out of the library by any person. this restriction of course applies to members of congress, as well as to those officials who have the legal right to draw books from the library. chapter . the faculty of memory. to every reader nothing can be more important than that faculty of the mind which we call memory. the retentive memory instinctively stores up the facts, ideas, imagery, and often the very language found in books, so clearly that they become available at any moment in after life. the tenacity of this hold upon the intellectual treasures which books contain depends largely upon the strength of the impression made upon the mind when reading. and this, in turn, depends much upon the force, clearness and beauty of the author's style or expression. a crude, or feeble, or wordy, redundant statement makes little impression, while a terse, clear, well-balanced sentence fixes the attention, and so fastens itself in the memory. hence the books which are best remembered will be those which are the best written. great as is the power of thought, we are often obliged to confess that the power of expression is greater still. when the substance and the style of any writing concur to make a harmonious and strong impression on the reader's mind, the writer has achieved success. all our study of literature tends to confirm the conviction of the supreme importance of an effective style. we must set down a good memory as a cardinal qualification of the librarian. this faculty of the mind, in fact, is more important to him than to the members of any other profession whatever, because it is more incessantly drawn upon. every hour in the day, and sometimes every minute in the hour, he has to recall the names of certain books, the authors of the same, including both their surnames and christian or forenames, the subjects principally treated in them, the words of some proverb or quotation, or elegant extract in poetry or prose, the period of time of an author or other noted person, the standard measurements and weights in use, with their equivalents, the moneys of foreign nations and their american values, the time of certain notable events in history, whether foreign or american, ancient or modern, the names and succession of rulers, the prices of many books, the rules observed in the catalogue, both of authors and subjects, the names and schools of great artists, with their period, the meaning in various foreign languages of certain words, the geographical location of any place on the earth's surface, the region of the library in which any book is located--and, in short, an infinitude of items of information which he wants to know out of hand, for his own use, or in aid of library readers or assistants. the immense variety of these drafts upon his memory seldom perplexes one who is well endowed with a natural gift in that direction. in fact, it seems actually true of such minds, that the more numerous the calls upon the memory, the more ready is the response. the metaphysicians have spent many words in attempting to define the various qualities of the mind, and to account for a strong or a weak memory; but after all is said, we find that the surprising difference between different memories is unaccounted for; as unaccountable, indeed, as what differences the man of genius from the mere plodder. the principle of association of ideas is doubtless the leading element in a memory which is not merely verbal. we associate in our minds, almost instinctively, ideas of time, or space, or persons, or events, and these connect or compare one with another, so that what we want is called up or recalled in memory, by a train of endless suggestion. we all have this kind of memory, which may be termed the rational or ideal, as distinguished from the verbal and the local memory. the verbal memory is that which retains in the mind, and reproduces at will what has been said in our hearing by others, or what we have read which has made a marked impression upon us. thus, some persons can repeat with almost exact accuracy, every word of a long conversation held with another. others can repeat whole poems, or long passages in prose from favorite authors, after reading them over two or three times, and can retain them perfectly in memory for half a century or more. there have even been persons to whom one single reading of any production was sufficient to enable them to repeat it _verbatim_. these instances of a great verbal memory are by no means rare, although some of them appear almost incredible. john locke tells us of the french philosopher pascal, that he never forgot anything of what he had done, said, or thought, in any part of his natural life. and the same thing is recorded of that great scholar of holland, hugo grotius. the mathematician euler could repeat the aeneid of virgil from beginning to end, containing nearly nine thousand lines. mozart, upon hearing the _miserere_ of allegri played in the sistine chapel at rome, only once, went to his hotel, and wrote it all down from memory, note for note. cardinal mezzofanti both wrote and spoke thirty languages, and was quite familiar with more than a hundred. he said that if he once heard the meaning of a word in any language, he never forgot it. yet he was of the opinion, that although he had twenty words for one idea, it was better to have twenty ideas for one word; which is no doubt true, so far as real intellectual culture is concerned. lord macaulay, who had a phenomenal memory, said that if all the copies of milton's paradise lost were to be destroyed, he could reproduce the book complete, from memory. in early life he was a great admirer of walter scott's poetry, and especially the "lay of the last minstrel", and could repeat the whole of that long poem, more than six hundred lines, from memory. and at the age of fifty-seven he records--"i walked in the portico, and learned by heart the noble fourth act of the merchant of venice. there are four hundred lines. i made myself perfect master of the whole in two hours." it was said of him that every incident he heard of, and every page he read, "assumed in his mind a concrete spectral form." but the memory for names and words has been sometimes called the lowest form of memory. persons of defective or impaired intellect frequently have strong and retentive verbal memories. mrs. somerville records the case of an idiot who could repeat a whole sermon _verbatim_, after once hearing it, but who was stupid and ignorant as to every thing else. and there are many instances in the books to the same effect. another kind of memory may be called, for want of a better name, the local memory. a person who has this strongly developed, if he once goes to a place, whether a room, or a street in a city, or a road in any part of the country, knows the way again, and can find it by instinct ever after. in the same way any one gifted with this almost unerring sense of locality, can find any book on any shelf in any part of a library where he has once been. he knows, in like manner, on which side of the page he saw any given passage in a book, which impressed him at the time, although he may never have had the volume in his hand more than once. he may not remember the number of the page, but he is sure of his recollection that it was the left or the right hand one, as the case may be, and this knowledge will abridge his labor and time in finding it again by just one half. this local memory is invaluable to a librarian or an assistant in shortening the labor of finding things. if you have a good local memory, you can, in no long time, come to dispense with the catalogue and its shelf-marks or classification marks, almost entirely, in finding your books. although this special gift of memory--the sense of locality--is unquestionably a lower faculty of the mind than some others named, and although there are illiterate persons who can readily find and produce any books in a library which have often passed through their hands, yet it is a faculty by no means to be despised. it is one of the labor-saving, time-saving gifts, which should be welcomed by every librarian. the time saved from searching the catalogues for location-marks of the outside of books, will enable him to make many a research in their inside. this faculty, of course, is indefinitely strengthened and improved by use--and the same is true of the other branches of the sense which we call memory. the oftener you have been to any place, the better you know the way. the more frequently you have found and produced a given book from its proper receptacle, the easier and the quicker will be your finding it again. another faculty or phase of memory is found in the ability to call up the impression made by any object once seen by the eye, so as to reproduce it accurately in speech or writing. this may be termed the intuitive memory. there are many applications or illustrations of this faculty. thus, for example, you see a book on some shelf in your library. you take in its size, its binding, both the material and the color, and its title as lettered on the back. all this you absorb with one glance of the eye. you remember it by the principle of association--that is, you associate with that particular book, in connection with its title, a certain dimension, color, and style of binding. now, when you have occasion to look up that special volume again, you not only go, aided by your memory of locality, to the very section and shelf of the library where it belongs, but you take with you instinctively, your memory or mental image of the book's appearance. thus, you perhaps distinctly remember ( ) that it was an octavo, and your eye in glancing along the shelf where it belongs, rejects intuitively all the duodecimos or books of lesser size, to come to the octavos. ( ) then you also remember that it was bound in leather, consequently you pass quickly by all the cloth bound volumes on the shelf. ( ) in the third place you know that its color was red; and you pay no attention whatever to books of any other color, but quickly seize your red leather-bound octavo, and bear it off to the reading-room in triumph. of course there are circumstances where this quick operation of the faculties of memory and intuition combined, would not be so easy. for example, all the books (or nearly all) on a given shelf might be octavos; or they might all be leather-bound; or a majority of them with red backs; and the presence of one or more of these conditions would eliminate one or more of the facilities for most rapidly picking out the book wanted. but take a pile of books, we will say returned by many readers, on the library counter. you are searching among them for a particular volume that is again wanted. there is no order or arrangement of the volumes, but you distinctly remember, from having handled it, its size both as to height and thickness, its color, and how it was bound. you know it was a thin mo. in green cloth binding. do you, in your search, take up every book in that mass, to scrutinize its title, and see if it is the one you seek? by no means. you quickly thrust aside, one by one, or by the half-dozen, all the volumes which are not green, cloth-bound, thin duodecimos, without so much as glancing at them. your special volume is quickly found among hundreds of volumes, and your faculty of memory and intuition has saved you perhaps a quarter of an hour of valuable time, which, without that faculty, might have been wasted in search. again, another circumstance which might intervene to diminish the frequency of application of the memory referred to, as to the physical features or appearance of a book sought for, is where the shelf-arrangement is alphabetical, by authors' names, or by the names of the subjects of the books, if it is an alphabet of biographies. here, the surest and the quickest guide to the book is of course the alphabetical order, in which it must necessarily be found. this memory of the aspect of any object once looked at, is further well illustrated in the very varied facilities for the spelling of words found in different persons. thus, there are people who, when they once see any word (we will say a proper name) written or printed, can always afterwards spell that word unerringly, no matter how uncommon it may be. the mental retina, so to speak, receives so clear and exact an impression of the form of that word from the eye, that it retains and reproduces it at will. but there are others, (and among them persons of much learning in some directions) upon whom the form or orthography of a word makes little or no impression, however frequently it meets the eye in reading. i have known several fine scholars, and among them the head of an institution of learning, who could not for the life of them spell correctly; and this infirmity extended even to some of the commonest words in the language. why this inaptitude on the part of many, and this extraordinary facility on the part of others, in the memorizing faculty, is a phenomenon which may be noted down, but not solved. that vivid mental picture which is seen by the inward eye of the person favored with a good memory, is wholly wanting, or seen only dimly and rarely in the case of one who easily forgets. so vital and important is memory, that it has been justly denominated by the german philosopher, kant, "the most wonderful of our faculties." without it, the words of a book would be unintelligible to us, since it is memory alone which furnishes us with the several meanings to be attached to them. some writers on the science of mind assert that there is no such thing with any of us as absolutely forgetting anything that has once been in the mind. all mental activities, all knowledge which ever existed, persists. we never wholly lose them, but they become faint and obscure. one mental image effaces another. but those which have thus disappeared may be recalled by an act of reminiscence. while it may sometimes be impossible to recover one of them at the moment when wanted, by an act of voluntary recollection, some association may bring it unexpectedly and vividly before us. memory plays us many strange tricks, both when we wake and when we dream. it revives, by an involuntary process, an infinite variety of past scenes, faces, events, ideas, emotions, passions, conversations, and written or printed pages, all of which we may have fancied had passed forever from our consciousness. the aids to memory supposed to be furnished by the various mnemonic systems may now be briefly considered. these methods of supplying the defects of a naturally weak memory, or of strengthening a fairly good one, are one and all artificial. this might not be a conclusive objection to them, were they really effective and permanent helps, enabling one who has learned them to recall with certainty ideas, names, dates, and events which he is unable to recall by other means. theory apart, it is conceded that a system of memorizing which had proved widely or generally successful in making a good memory out of a poor one, would deserve much credit. but experience with these systems has as yet failed to show, by the stern test of practical utility, that they can give substantial (and still less permanent) aid in curing the defects of memory. most of the systems of mnemonics that have been invented are constructed on the principle of locality, or of utilizing objects which appeal to the sight. there is nothing new in these methods, for the principle is as old as simonides, who lived in the fifth century before christ, and who devised a system of memorizing by locality. one of the most prevalent systems now taught is to select a number of rooms in a house (in the mind's eye, of course) and divide the walls and the floors of each room into nine equal parts or squares, three in a row. then "on the front wall--that opposite the entrance of the first room--are the units, on the right-hand wall the tens, on the left hand the twenties, on the fourth wall the thirties, and on the floor the forties. numbers , , , and , each find a place on the roof above their respective walls. one room will thus furnish places, and ten rooms as many as , while occupies the centre of the roof. having fixed these clearly in the mind, so as to be able readily and at once to tell the exact position of each place or number, it is then necessary to associate with each of them some familiar object (or symbol) so that the object being suggested, its place may be instantly remembered, or when the place is before the mind, its object may immediately spring up. when this has been done thoroughly, the objects can be run over in any order from beginning to end, or from end to beginning, or the place of any particular one can at once be given. all that is further necessary is to associate the ideas we wish to remember with the objects in the various places, by which means they are readily remembered, and can be gone over in any order. in this way, one may learn to repeat several hundred disconnected words or ideas in any order, after hearing them only once." this rather complicated machinery for aiding the memory is quite too mechanical to commend itself to any one accustomed to reflect or to take note of his own mental processes. such an elaborate system crowds the mind with a lot of useless furniture, and hinders rather than helps a rational and straightforward habit of memorizing. it too much resembles the feat of trying to jump over a wall by running back a hundred or more yards to acquire a good start or momentum. the very complication of the system is fitted to puzzle rather than to aid the memory. it is based on mechanical or arithmetical associations--not founded on nature, and is of very small practical utility. it does not strengthen or improve the habit of memorizing, which should always be based upon close attention, and a logical method of classifying, associating, and analyzing facts or ideas. lord bacon, more than two centuries ago, wisely characterized mnemonic systems as "barren and useless." he wrote, "for immediately to repeat a multitude of names or words once repeated before, i esteem no more than rope-dancing, antic postures, and feats of activity; and, indeed, they are nearly the same thing, the one being the abuse of the bodily, as the other is of mental powers; and though they may cause admiration, they cannot be highly esteemed." in fact, these mnemonical systems are only a kind of crutches, sometimes useful to people who cannot walk, but actual impediments to those having the use of their limbs, and who by proper exercise can maintain their healthy and natural use indefinitely. i have given you an account of one of these artificial systems of memory, or systems of artificial memory, as you may choose to call them. there have been invented more than one hundred different systems of mnemonics, all professing to be invaluable, and some claiming to be infallible. it appears to be a fatal objection to these memory-systems that they substitute a wholly artificial association of ideas for a natural one. the habit of looking for accidental or arbitrary relations of names and things is cultivated, and the power of logical, spontaneous thought is injured by neglecting essential for unessential relations. these artificial associations of ideas work endless mischief by crowding out the natural ones. how then, you may ask, is a weak memory to be strengthened, or a fairly good memory to be cultivated into a better one? the answer is, by constant practice, and for this the vocation of a librarian furnishes far more opportunities than any other. at the basis of this practice of the memory, lies the habit of attention. all memory depends upon the strength or vividness of the impression made upon the mind, by the object, the name, the word, the date, which is sought to be remembered. and this, in turn, depends on the degree of attention with which it was first regarded. if the attention was so fixed that a clear mental image was formed, there will be no difficulty in remembering it again. if, on the other hand, you were inattentive, or listless, or pre-occupied with other thoughts, when you encountered the object, your impression of it would be hazy and indistinct, and no effort of memory would be likely to recall it. attention has been defined as the fixing of the mind intently upon one particular object, to the exclusion for a time, of all other objects soliciting notice. it is essential to those who would have a good memory, to cultivate assiduously the habit of concentration of thought. as the scattering shot hits no mark, so the scattering and random thoughts that sweep through an unoccupied brain lead to no memorable result, simply from want of attention or of fixation upon some one mental vision or idea. with your attention fastened upon any subject or object, you see it more clearly, and it impresses itself more vividly in the memory, as a natural consequence. not only so, but its related objects or ideas are brought up by the principle of association, and they too make a deeper impression and are more closely remembered. in fact, one thing carefully observed and memorized, leads almost insensibly to another that is related to it, and thus the faculty of association is strengthened, the memory is stimulated, and the seeds of knowledge are deeply planted in that complex organism which we call the mind. this power of attention, of keeping an object or a subject steadily in view until it is absorbed or mastered, is held by some to be the most distinctive element in genius. most people have not this habit of concentration of the mind, but allow it to wander aimlessly on, flitting from subject to subject, without mastering any; but then, most people are not geniuses. the habit to be cultivated is that of thinking persistently of only one thing at a time, sternly preventing the attention from wandering. it may be laid down as an axiom that the two corner-stones of memory are attention and association. and both of these must act in harmony, the habit of fixed attention being formed or guided by the will, before a normal or retentive memory becomes possible. what is called cultivating the memory, therefore, does not mean anything more than close attention to whatever we wish to remember, with whatever associations naturally cling to it, until it is actually mastered. if one has not an instinctive or naturally strong memory, he should not rest satisfied with letting the days go by until he has improved it. the way to improve it, is to begin at the foundation, and by the constant exercise of the will-power, to take up every subject with fixed attention, and one at a time, excluding every other for the time being. there is no doubt whatever that the memory is capable of indefinite improvement; and though one's first efforts in that direction may prove a disappointment, because only partially successful, he should try, and try again, until he is rewarded with the full fruits of earnest intellectual effort, in whatever field. he may have, at the start, instead of a fine memory, what a learned professor called, "a fine forgettery," but let him persevere to the end. none of us were made to sit down in despair because we are not endowed with an all-embracing memory, or because we cannot "speak with the tongues of men and of angels," and do not know "all mysteries and all knowledge." it rather becomes us to make the best and highest use, day by day, of the talents that are bestowed upon us, remembering that however short of perfection they may be, we are yet far more gifted than myriads of our fellow-creatures in this very imperfect world. there is no question that the proper cultivation of the memory is, or ought to be, the chief aim of education. all else is so dependent upon this, that it may be truly affirmed that, without memory, knowledge itself would be impossible. by giving up oneself with fixed attention to what one seeks to remember, and trusting the memory, though it may often fail, any person can increase his powers of memory and consequently of learning, to an indefinite degree. to improve and strengthen the memory, it must be constantly exercised. let it be supplied with new knowledge frequently, and called on daily to reproduce it. if remembered only imperfectly or in part, refresh it by reference to the source whence the knowledge came; and repeat this carefully and thoroughly, until memory becomes actually the store-house of what you know on that subject. if there are certain kinds of facts and ideas which you more easily forget than others, it is a good way to practice upon them, taking up a few daily, and adding to them by degrees. dr. w. t. harris, the united states commissioner of education, gave his personal experience to the effect that he always found it hard to remember dates. he resolved to improve a feeble memory in this respect by learning the succession of english kings, from william the conqueror, down to victoria. with his characteristic thoroughness, he began by learning three or four dates of accession only, the first day; two new ones were added the second day; then one new king added the third day; and thereafter even less frequency was observed in learning the chronology. by this method he had the whole table of thirty-six sovereigns learned, and made familiar by constant review. it had to be learned anew one year after, and once again after years of neglect. but his memory for dates steadily grew, and without conscious effort, dates and numbers soon came to be seized with a firmer grasp than before. this kind of memory, he adds, now improves or increases with him from year to year. here is an instance of cultivation of memory by a notable scholar, who adds a monition to learners with weak memories, not to undertake to memorize too much at once. learning a succession of fifty names slowly, he says, will so discipline the memory for names, as to partially or even permanently remove all embarrassment from that source. i may add that a long table of names or dates, or any prolonged extract in verse or prose, if learned by repeating it over and over as a whole, will be less tenaciously retained in memory, than if committed in parts. the highest form of memory is actually unconscious, _i. e._, that in which what we would recall comes to us spontaneously, without effort or lapse of time in thinking about it. it is this kind of memory that has been possessed by all the notable persons who have been credited with knowing everything, or with never forgetting anything. it is not to be reckoned to their credit, so much as to their good fortune. what merit is there in having a good memory, when one cannot help remembering? there is one caution to be given to those who are learning to improve a memory naturally weak. when such a one tries to recall a date, or name, or place, or idea, or book, it frequently happens that the endeavor fails utterly. the more he tries, the more obstinately the desired object fails to respond. as the poet pope wrote about the witless author: "you beat your pate, and fancy wit will come; knock as you please, there's nobody at home." in these cases, no attempt to force the memory should be made, nor should the attention be kept long on the subject, for this course only injures the faculty, and leads to confusion of mind. to persist in a constantly baffled effort to recover a word, or other forgotten link in memory, is a laborious attempt which is itself likely to cause failure, and induce a distrust of the memory which is far from rational. the forgotten object will probably recur in no long time after, when least expected. much discursive reading is not only injurious to the faculty of memory, but may be positively destructive of it. the vast extent of our modern world of reviews, magazines and newspapers, with their immense variety of subjects, dissipates the attention instead of concentrating it, and becomes fatal to systematic thought, tenacious memory, and the acquirement of real knowledge. the mind that is fed upon a diet of morning and evening newspapers, mainly or solely, will become flabby, uncertain, illogical, frivolous, and, in fact, little better than a scatterbrains. as one who listens to an endless dribble of small talk lays up nothing out of all the palaver, which, to use a common phrase, "goes in at one ear, and out at the other," so the reader who continuously absorbs all the stuff which the daily press, under the pretext of "printing the news," inflicts upon us, is nothing benefited in intellectual gifts or permanent knowledge. what does he learn by his assiduous pursuit of these ephemeral will o' the wisps, that only "lead to bewilder, and dazzle to blind?" he absorbs an incredible amount of empty gossip, doubtful assertions, trifling descriptions, apocryphal news, and some useful, but more useless knowledge. the only visible object of spending valuable time over these papers appears to be to satisfy a momentary curiosity, and then the mass of material read passes almost wholly out of the mind, and is never more thought of. says coleridge, one of the foremost of english thinkers: "i believe the habit of perusing periodical works may be properly added to the catalogue of anti-mnemonics, or weakeners of the memory." if read sparingly, and for actual events, newspapers have a value which is all their own; but to spend hours upon them, as many do, is mere mental dissipation. chapter . qualifications of a librarian. in directing attention to some of the more important elements which should enter into the character and acquirements of a librarian, i shall perhaps not treat them in the order of their relative importance. thus, some persons might consider the foremost qualification for one aspiring to the position of a librarian to be wide knowledge in literature and science: others would say that the possession of sound common sense is above all things essential; others an excellent and retentive memory; still others might insist that business habits and administrative faculty are all-important; and others again, a zeal for learning and for communicating it to others. i shall not venture to pronounce what, among the multitude of talents that are requisite to constitute a good librarian is the most requisite. suffice it to say, that all of them which i shall notice are important, and that the order of their treatment determines nothing as to which are more and which are less important. so much is expected of librarians that it actually appears as if a large portion of the public were of the opinion that it is the duty of him who has a library in charge to possess himself, in some occult or mysterious way, unknown to the common mind, of all the knowledge which all the books combine. the librarian of the british museum, speaking to a conference of librarians in london, quoted a remark of pattison, in his "life of casaubon," that "the librarian who reads is lost." this was certainly true of that great scholar casaubon, who in his love for the contents of the books under his charge, forgot his duties as a librarian. and it is to a large degree true of librarians in general, that those who pursue their own personal reading or study during library hours do it at the expense of their usefulness as librarians. they must be content with such snatches of reading as come in the definite pursuit of some object of research incident to their library work, supplemented by such reading time as unoccupied evenings, sundays, and annual vacations may give them. yet nothing is more common than for applicants for the position of librarians or assistant librarians to base their aspiration upon the foolish plea that they are "so fond of reading", or that they "have always been in love with books." so far from this being a qualification, it may become a disqualification. unless combined with habits of practical, serious, unremitting application to labor, the taste for reading may seduce its possessor into spending the minutes and the hours which belong to the public, in his own private gratification. the conscientious, the useful librarian, living amid the rich intellectual treasures of centuries, the vast majority of which he has never read, must be content daily to enact the part of tantalus, in the presence of a tempting and appetizing banquet which is virtually beyond his reach. but he may console himself by the reflection that comparatively few of the books upon his shelves are so far worth reading as to be essential. "if i had read as many books as other men," said hobbes of malmesbury, "i should have been as ignorant as they." if the librarian, in the precious time which is indisputably his, reads a wise selection of the best books, the masterpieces of the literature of all lands, which have been consecrated by time and the suffrages of successive generations of readers, he can well afford to apply to the rest, the short-hand method recommended in a former chapter, and skim them in the intervals of his daily work, instead of reading them. thus he will become sufficiently familiar with the new books of the day (together with the information about their contents and merits furnished by the literary reviews, which he must read, however sparingly, in order to keep up with his profession) to be able to furnish readers with some word of comment as to most books coming into the library. this course, or as close an approximation to it as his multifarious duties will permit, will go far to solve the problem that confronts every librarian who is expected to be an exponent of universal knowledge. always refraining from unqualified praise of books (especially of new ones) always maintaining that impartial attitude toward men and opinions which becomes the librarian, he should act the part of a liberal, eclectic, catholic guide to inquirers of every kind. and here let me emphasize the great importance to every librarian or assistant of early learning to make the most of his working faculties. he cannot afford to plod along through a book, sentence by sentence, like an ordinary reader. he must learn to read a sentence at a glance. the moment his eye lights upon a title-page he should be able to take it all in by a comprehensive and intuitive mental process. too much stress cannot be laid upon the every-day habit or method of reading. it makes all the difference between time saved, and time wasted; between efficiency and inefficiency; between rapid progress and standing still, in one's daily work. no pains should be spared, before entering upon the all-engrossing work of a library, to acquire the habit of rapid reading. an eminent librarian of one of the largest libraries was asked whether he did not find a great deal of time to read? his reply was--"i wish that i could ever get as much as one hour a day for reading--but i have never been able to do it." of course every librarian must spend much time in special researches; and in this way a good deal of some of his days will be spent in acquainting himself with the resources of his library; but this is incidental and not systematic reading. in viewing the essential qualifications of a librarian, it is necessary to say at the outset that a library is no place for uneducated people. the requirements of the position are such as to demand not only native talent above the average, but also intellectual acquirements above the average. the more a librarian knows, the more he is worth, and the converse of the proposition is equally true, that the less he knows the less he is worth. before undertaking the arduous task of guiding others in their intellectual pursuits, one should make sure that he is himself so well-grounded in learning that he can find the way in which to guide them. to do this, he must indispensably have something more than a smattering of the knowledge that lies at the foundation of his profession. he must be, if not widely read, at least carefully grounded in history, science, literature, and art. while he may not, like lord bacon, take all knowledge to be his province, because he is not a lord bacon, nor if he were, could he begin to grasp the illimitable domain of books of science and literature which have been added to human knowledge in the two centuries and a half since bacon wrote, he can at least, by wise selection, master enough of the leading works in each field, to make him a well-informed scholar. that great treasury of information on the whole circle of the sciences, and the entire range of literature, the encyclopaedia britannica, judiciously studied, will alone give what would appear to the average mind, a very liberal education. one of the most common and most inconsiderate questions propounded to a librarian is this: "do you ever expect to read all these books through?" and it is well answered by propounding another question, namely--"did _you_ ever read your dictionary through?" a great library is the scholar's dictionary--not to be read through, but to enable him to put his finger on the fact he wants, just when it is wanted. a knowledge of some at least of the foreign languages is indispensable to the skilled librarian. in fact, any one aspiring to become an assistant in any large library, or the head of any small one, should first acquire at least an elementary knowledge of french and latin. aside from books in other languages than english which necessarily form part of every considerable library, there are innumerable quotations or words in foreign tongues scattered through books and periodicals in english, which a librarian, appealed to by readers who are not scholars, would be mortified if found unable to interpret them. the librarian who does not understand several languages will be continually at a loss in his daily work. a great many important catalogues, and bibliographies, essential parts of the equipment of a library, will be lost to him as aids, and he can neither select foreign books intelligently nor catalogue them properly. if he depends upon the aid of others more expert, his position will be far from agreeable or satisfactory. how many and what foreign languages should be learned may be matter for wide difference of opinion. but so far-reaching is the prevalence of the latin, as one of the principal sources of our own language, and of other modern tongues, that a knowledge of it is most important. and so rich is the literature of france, to say nothing of the vast number of french words constantly found in current english and american books and periodicals, that at least a fairly thorough mastery of that language should be acquired. the same may be said of the german, which is even more important in some parts of the united states, and which has a literature most copious and valuable in every varied department of knowledge. with these three tongues once familiar, the italian, spanish, portuguese, dutch, and scandinavian languages may be, through the aid of dictionaries, so far utilized as to enable one to read titles and catalogue books in any of them, although a knowledge of all, so as to be able to read books in them, is highly desirable. in the boston public library, the assistants are required to possess an adequate knowledge of latin, french, and german. and all candidates for positions in the reading-room of the british museum library must undergo a thorough test examination as to their knowledge of the latin language. opportunities for acquiring foreign languages are now so abundant that there is small excuse for any one who wants to know french, latin or german, and yet goes through life without learning them. there are even ways of learning these languages with sufficient thoroughness for reading purposes without a teacher, and sometimes without a text-book. two assistant librarians taught themselves french and german in their evenings, by setting out to read familiar works of english fiction in translations into those languages, and soon acquired a good working knowledge of both, so as to be able to read any work in either, with only occasional aid from the dictionary for the less common words. it is surprising how soon one can acquire a sufficient vocabulary in any language, by reading any of its great writers. a good way for a beginner to learn french without a master is to take a french new testament, and read the four gospels through. after doing this three or four times, almost any one who is at all familiar with the scriptures, will be able to read most books in the french language with facility. in the great art of learning, all doors are easily unlocked--by those who have the key. it should go without saying that the librarian should possess a wide knowledge of books. this knowledge should include ( ) an acquaintance with ancient and modern literature, so as to be able to characterize the notable writers in each of the leading languages of the world; ( ) a knowledge of history extensive enough to enable him to locate all the great characters, including authors, in their proper century and country; ( ) a knowledge of editions, so as to discriminate between the old and the new, the full and the abridged, the best edited, best printed, etc.; ( ) an acquaintance with the intrinsic value or the subject and scope of most of the great books of the world; ( ) a knowledge of commercial values, so as to be able to bid or to buy understandingly, and with proper economy; ( ) a familiarity with what constitutes condition in library books, and with binding and repairing processes, for the restoration of imperfect volumes for use. the librarian should be one who has had the benefit of thorough preliminary training, for no novice is qualified to undertake the role of an expert, and any attempt to do so can result only in disappointment and failure. no one who has read little or nothing but novels since leaving school need ever hope to succeed. no librarian can know too much, since his work brings him into relation with the boundless domain of human knowledge. he should not be a specialist in science (except in the one science of bibliography) but must be content with knowing a little about a great many things, rather than knowing everything about one thing. much converse with books must fill him with a sense of his own ignorance. the more he comes to know, the wider will open before him the illimitable realm of what is yet to be known. in the lowest deep which research the most profound can reach, there is a lower deep still unattained--perhaps, even, unattainable. but the fact that he cannot by any possibility master all human knowledge should not deter the student from making ever advancing inroads upon that domain. the vast extent of the world of books only emphasizes the need of making a wise selection from the mass. we are brought inevitably back to that precept by every excursion that we make into whatever field of literature. the librarian should possess, besides a wide acquaintance with books, a faculty of administration, and this rests upon careful business habits. he should have a system in all the library work. every assistant should have a prescribed task, and be required to learn and to practice all the methods peculiar to library economy, including the economy of time. each day's business should be so organized as to show an advance at the end. the library must of course have rules, and every rule should be so simple and so reasonable that it will commend itself to every considerate reader or library assistant. all questions of doubt or dispute as to the observance of any regulation, should be decided at once, courteously but firmly, and in a few words. nothing can be more unseemly than a wrangle in a public library over some rule or its application, disturbing readers who are entitled to silence, and consuming time that should be given to the service of the public. when thomas carlyle, one of the great scholars of modern times, testified in before a parliamentary commission upon the british museum library, he thus spoke of the qualifications of a librarian: "all must depend upon the kind of management you get within the library itself. you must get a good pilot to steer the ship, or you will never get into the harbor. you must have a man to direct who knows well what the duty is that he has to do, and who is determined to go through that, in spite of all clamor raised against him; and who is not anxious to obtain approbation, but is satisfied that he will obtain it by and by, provided he acts ingenuously and faithfully." another quality most important in a librarian is an even temper. he should be always and unfailingly courteous, not only to scholars and visitors of high consideration, but to every reader, however humble or ignorant, and to every employee, however subordinate in position. there is nothing which more detracts from one's usefulness than a querulous temper. its possessor is seldom happy himself, and is the frequent cause of unhappiness in others. visitors and questions should never be met with a clouded brow. a cheerful "good-morning" goes a great way oftentimes. many library visitors come in a complaining mood--it may be from long waiting to be served, or from mistake in supplying them with the wrong books, or from errors in charging their accounts, or from some fancied neglect or slight, or from any other cause. the way to meet such ill-humored or offended readers is to gently explain the matter, with that "soft answer which turneth away wrath." many a foolish and useless altercation may thus be avoided, and the complainant restored to cheerfulness, if not to courtesy; whereas, if the librarian were to meet the case with a sharp or haughty answer, it would probably end without satisfaction on either side. whatever you do, never permit yourself to be irritable, and resolve never to be irritated. it will make you unhappy, and will breed irritation in others. cheerfulness under all circumstances, however difficult, is the duty and the interest of the librarian. thus he will cultivate successfully an obliging disposition, which is a prime requisite to his success with the public and his usefulness as a librarian. it ought not to be requisite to insist upon good health as a condition precedent for any one aspiring to be a librarian. so very much depends upon this, that it should form a part of the conscientious duty of every one to acquire and maintain a sound condition of physical health, as a most important adjunct of a thoroughly sound and healthy condition of the mind. this is easier than most persons are aware. if we except inherited constitutional weaknesses, or maladies of a serious character, there is almost no one who is not able by proper diet, regimen, and daily exercise, to maintain a degree of health which will enable him to use his brain to its full working capacity. it demands an intelligent and watchful care of the daily regimen, so that only simple and wholesome food and drink may be taken into the system, and what is equally important, adequate sleep, and habitual moderate exercise. no one can maintain perfect health without breathing good unadulterated air, and exercising in it with great frequency. one's walks to and from the library may be sufficient to give this, and it is well to have the motive of such a walk, since exercise taken for the mere purpose of it is of far less value. the habit of taking drugs, or going to a doctor for every little malady, is most pernicious. every one, and especially a librarian, who is supposed (however erroneously) to know everything, should know more of his own constitution than any physician. with a few judicious experiments in daily regimen, and a little abstinence now and then, he can subdue head-aches, catarrhs and digestive troubles, and by exercising an intelligent will, can generally prevent their recurrence. if one finds himself in the morning in a state of languor and lassitude, be sure he has abused some physical function, and apply a remedy. an invalid will make a poorly equipped librarian. how can a dyspeptic who dwells in the darkness of a disease, be a guiding light to the multitudes who beset him every hour? there are few callings demanding as much mental and physical soundness and alertness as the care of a public library. sound common sense is as essential to the librarian as sound health. he should always take the practical straightforward view of every item of library business and management, remembering that the straight road is always the shortest way between two points. while he may be full of ideas, he should be neither an idealist nor a dreamer. in library methods, the cardinal requisites to be aimed at, are utility and convenience. a person of the most perfect education, and the highest literary attainments, but destitute of common sense, will not succeed in the conduct of a library. that intuitive judgment, which sees the reason of everything at a glance, and applies the proper agencies to the case in hand, is wanting in his composition. multitudes of emergencies arise in library service, where the prompt and practical sense of the librarian is required to settle a dispute, adjust a difficulty, or to direct what is to be done in some arrangement or re-arrangement of books, or some library appliance or repair. in such cases, the unpractical or impracticable man will be very likely to decide wrongly, choosing the inconvenient method instead of the convenient, the more costly instead of the more economical, the laborious in place of the obvious and easy; in short, some way of doing the work or settling the difficulty which will not permit it to stay settled, or will require the work to be done over again. the man of common-sense methods, on the other hand, will at once see the end from the beginning, anticipate every difficulty, and decide upon the proper course without trouble or hesitation, finding his judgment fully vindicated by the result. the librarian in whom the quality of common sense is well developed will be ever ready to devise or to accept improvements in library methods. never a slave to "red tape," he will promptly cut it wherever and whenever it stands in the way of the readiest service of books and information to all comers. another quality which every librarian or assistant in a library should possess is a thorough love of his work. he should cherish a noble enthusiasm for the success and usefulness of the institution with which he has chosen to be associated. nor should this spirit be by any means limited to the literary and scientific aid which he is enabled to extend to others, nor to the acquisition of the knowledge requisite to meet the endless inquiries that are made of him. he should take as much interest in restoring a broken binding, or in seeing that a torn leaf is repaired, as in informing a great scholar what the library contains upon any subject. no one who is listless or indifferent in the discharge of daily duties is fit for a place in a public library. there should be an _esprit de corps_, a zeal for his profession, which will lead him to make almost any sacrifice of outside interests to become proficient in it. thus only will he render himself indispensable in his place, and do the greatest amount of service to the greatest number of readers. i have seen employees in libraries so utterly careless of what belongs to their vocation, as to let books, totally unfit for use, ragged or broken, or with plates loosened, ready to drop out and disappear, go back to the shelves unrepaired, to pursue the downward road toward destruction. and i have been in many libraries in which the books upon the shelves exhibited such utter want of care, such disarrangement, such tumbling about and upside-down chaos, and such want of cleanliness, as fairly to make one's heart ache. in some cases this may have been due in great part to unwise free admission of the public to the shelves, and consequent inevitable disorder; in others, it may be partially excused by the librarian's absolute want of the needful help or time, to keep the library in order; but in others, it was too apparent that the librarian in charge took no interest in the condition of the books. too many librarians (at least of the past, however it may now be) have been of the class described by dr. poole, the chicago librarian. he said that library trustees too often appeared to think that anybody almost would do for a librarian; men who have failed in everything else, broken-down clergymen, or unsuccessful teachers, and the like. passing now to other needful qualifications of librarians and library assistants, let me say that one of the foremost is accuracy. perhaps i have before this remarked that exact accuracy is one of the rarest of human qualities. even an approximation to it is rare, and absolute accuracy is still rarer. beware of the person who is sure of every thing--who retails to you a conversation he has heard, affecting to give the exact words of a third person, or who quotes passages in verse or in prose, with glib assurance, as the production of some well-known writer. the chances are ten to one that the conversation is mainly manufactured in the brain of the narrator, and that the quotation is either not written by the author to whom it is attributed, or else is a travesty of his real language. it is lord byron who tells of that numerous class of sciolists whom one finds everywhere-- "with just enough of learning to misquote." the books one reads abound in erroneous dates, mistaken names, garbled extracts, and blundering quotations. so much the more important is it to the librarian, who is so continually drawn upon for correct information upon every subject, to make sure of his facts, before communicating them. when (as frequently happens) he has no way of verifying them, he should report them, not as his own conclusions, but on the authority of the book or periodical where found. this will relieve him of all responsibility, if they turn out to be erroneous. whenever i find a wrong date or name in a printed book, or an erroneous reference in the index, or a mis-spelled word, i always pencil the correct date, or name, or page of reference in the margin. this i do as a matter of instinct, as well as of duty, for the benefit of future inquirers, so that they may not be misled. i speak here of errors which are palpable, or of the inaccuracy of which i have positive knowledge; if in doubt, i either let the matter go entirely, or write a query in pencil at the place, with the presumed correct substitute appended. never be too sure of what you find in books; but prove all things and hold fast to those only which you find to be beyond dispute. thus will you save yourself from falling into many errors, and from recanting many opinions. it is the method of ordinary education to take everything for granted; it is the method of science to take nothing for granted. i may refer here to another rule always to be observed, and pertaining to the theme of strict accuracy in your daily work. that is, the necessity of carefully examining every piece of work you may have done, before it leaves your hands, for the purpose of correcting errors. all of us are not only liable to make mistakes, but all of us do make them; and if any one has a conceit of his own accuracy, the surest way to take it out of him is to let him serve an apprenticeship in some library, where there is competent revision of all the labor performed. there are multitudes of assistants in libraries who cannot write a letter, even, without making one or more errors. how often do you leave out a word in your writing experience, which may change the meaning of a whole sentence? so, in writing titles, whether for the catalogue, or for a library order, or for the information of some inquirer, you are liable to make errors of date, or edition, or place of publication, or size, or to misplace or omit or substitute some word in the description of the book. there is nothing in the world quite so easy as to be mistaken: and the only remedy (and it is an all-essential one) is to go over every line and every word of what you have written, before it leaves your hands. as second thoughts are proverbially best, so a second careful glance over a piece of writing will almost always reveal some error or omission to be corrected. think of the mortification you must feel at finding an unverified piece of work returned upon your hands, with several glaring mistakes marked by the reviser! think, on the other hand, of the inward satisfaction experienced when you have done your best, written and revised your own work, and found it always passed as perfect. i have tried many persons by many tests, and while i have found a great number who were industrious, intelligent, zealous, conscientious, good-tempered, and expeditious, i have found scarcely one who was always accurate. one of the rarest things in a library is to find an assistant who has an unerring sense of the french accents. this knowledge, to one expert in that language, even if he does not speak it, should be as intuitive as the art of spelling correctly, either in english or french. he should write the proper accent over a letter just as infallibly as he writes the proper letters in a word. but, strange to say, it is very common, even with good french scholars (in the book-sense or literary sense of scholarship) to find them putting the acute accent for the grave over a vowel, or the grave instead of the acute, or omitting the circumflex accent entirely, and so on. every one commits errors, but the wise man is he who learns by his mistakes, and applies the remedy. the best remedy (as i said in the case of memory in another chapter,) is to cultivate a habit of trained attention in whatever we do. yet many people (and i am afraid we must say most people) go on through life, making the same blunders, and repeating them. it appears as if the habit of inaccuracy were innate in the human race, and only to be reformed by the utmost painstaking, and even with the aid of that, only by a few. i have had to observe and correct such numberless errors in the work of well-educated, adult, and otherwise accomplished persons, as filled me with despair. yet there is no more doubt of the improvability of the average mind, however inaccurate at the start, than of the power of the will to correct other bad habits into which people unconsciously fall. one of the requisites of a successful librarian is a faculty of order and system, applied throughout all the details of library administration. without these, the work will be performed in a hap-hazard, slovenly manner, and the library itself will tend to become a chaos. bear in mind the great extent and variety of the objects which come under the care of the librarian, all of which are to be classified and reduced to order. these include not only books upon every earthly subject (and very many upon unearthly ones) but a possibly wide range of newspapers and periodicals, a great mass of miscellaneous pamphlets, sometimes of maps and charts, of manuscripts and broadsides, and frequently collections of engravings, photographs, and other pictures, all of which come in to form a part of most libraries. this great complexity of material, too, exhibits only the physical aspect of the librarian's labors. there are, besides, the preparation, arrangement and continuation of the catalogue, in its three or more forms, the charging and crediting of the books in circulation, the searching of many book lists for purchases, the library bills and accounts, the supervision and revision of the work of assistants, the library correspondence, often requiring wide researches to answer inquiries, the continual aid to readers, and a multitude of minor objects of attention quite too numerous to name. is it any over-statement of the case to say that the librarian who has to organize and provide for all this physical and intellectual labor, should be systematic and orderly in a high degree? that portion of his responsible task which pertains to the arrangement and classification of books has been elsewhere treated. but there is required in addition, a faculty of arranging his time, so as to meet seasonably the multifarious drafts upon it. he should early learn not only the supreme value of moments, but how to make all the library hours fruitful of results. to this end the time should be apportioned with careful reference to each department of library service. one hour may be set for revising one kind of work of assistants; another for a different one; another for perusing sale catalogues, and marking _desiderata_ to be looked up in the library catalogue; another for researches in aid of readers or correspondents; still another for answering letters on the many subjects about which librarians are constantly addressed; and still another for a survey of all the varied interests of the library and its frequenters, to see what features of the service need strengthening, what improvements can be made, what errors corrected, and how its general usefulness can be increased. so to apportion one's time as to get out of the day (which is all too short for what is to be done in it) the utmost of accomplishment is a problem requiring much skill, as well as the ability to profit by experience. one has always to be subject to interruptions--and these must be allowed for, and in some way made up for. remember, when you have lost valuable time with some visitor whose claims to your attention are paramount, that when to-morrow comes one should take up early the arrears of work postponed, and make progress with them, even though unable to finish them. another suggestion; proper system in the management and control of one's time demands that none of it be absorbed by trifles or triflers; and so every librarian must indispensably know how to get rid of bores. one may almost always manage to effect this without giving offense, and at the same time without wasting any time upon them, which is the one thing needful. the bore is commonly one who, having little or nothing to do, inflicts himself upon the busy persons of his acquaintance, and especially upon the ones whom he credits with knowing the most--to wit, the librarians. receive him courteously, but keep on steadily at the work you are doing when he enters. if you are skilful, you can easily do two things at once, for example, answer your idler friend or your bore, and revise title-cards, or mark a catalogue, or collate a book, or look up a quotation, or write a letter, at the same time. never lose your good humor, never say that your time is valuable, or that you are very busy; never hint at his going away; but never quit your work, answer questions cheerfully, and keep on, allowing nothing to take your eyes off your business. by and by he will take the hint, if not wholly pachydermatous, and go away of his own accord. by pursuing this course i have saved infinite time, and got rid of infinite bores, by one and the same process. the faculty of organizing one's work is essential, in order to efficiency and accomplishment. if you do not have a plan and adhere to it, if you let this, that, and the other person interrupt you with trifling gossip, or unnecessary requests, you will never get ahead of your work; on the contrary, your work will always get ahead of you. the same result will follow if you interrupt yourself, by yielding to the temptation of reading just a page or a paragraph of something that attracts your eye while at work. this dissipation of time, to say nothing of its unfair appropriation of what belongs to the library, defeats the prompt accomplishment of the work in hand, and fosters the evil habit of scattering your forces, in idleness and procrastination. it ought not to be needful to urge habits of neatness and the love of order upon candidates for places in libraries. how much a neat and carefully arranged shelf of books appeals to one's taste, i need not say, nor urge the point how much an orderly and neatly kept room, or desk, or table adds to one's comfort. the librarian who has the proper spirit of his calling should take pains to make the whole library look neat and attractive, to have a place for everything, and everything in its place. this, with adequate space existing, will be found easier than to have the books and other material scattered about in confusion, thus requiring much more time to find them when wanted. a slovenly-kept library is certain to provoke public criticism, and this always tells to the disadvantage of the librarian; while a neatly kept, carefully arranged collection of books is not only pleasing to the eye, but elicits favorable judgment from all visitors. among the qualities that should enter into the composition of a successful librarian must be reckoned an inexhaustible patience. he will be sorely tried in his endeavors to satisfy his own ideals, and sometimes still more sorely in his efforts to satisfy the public. against the mistakes and short-comings of assistants, the ignorance of many readers, and the unreasonable expectations of others, the hamperings of library authorities, and the frequently unfounded criticisms of the press, he should arm himself with a patience and equanimity that are unfailing. when he knows he is right, he should never be disturbed at complaint, nor suffer a too sensitive mood to ruffle his feelings. when there is any foundation for censure, however slight, he should learn by it and apply the remedy. the many and varied characters who come within the comprehensive sphere of the librarian necessarily include people of all tempers and dispositions, as well as of every degree of culture. to be gracious and courteous to all is his interest as well as his duty. with the ignorant he will often have to exercise a vast amount of patience, but he should never betray a supercilious air, as though looking down upon them from the height of his own superior intelligence. to be always amiable toward inferiors, superiors, and equals, is to conciliate the regard of all. courtesy costs so little, and makes so large a return in proportion to the investment, that it is surprising not to find it universal. yet it is so far from being so that we hear people praising one whose manners are always affable, as if he were deserving of special credit for it, as an exception to the general rule. it is frequently observed that a person of brusque address or crusty speech begets crustiness in others. there are subtle currents of feeling in human intercourse, not easy to define, but none the less potent in effect. a person of marked suavity of speech and bearing radiates about him an atmosphere of good humor, which insensibly influences the manners and the speech of others. there will often come into a public library a man whose whole manner is aggressive and over-bearing, who acts and talks as if he had a right to the whole place, including the librarian. no doubt, being a citizen, he has every right, except the right to violate the rules--or to make himself disagreeable. the way to meet him is to be neither aggressive, nor submissive and deferential, but with a cool and pleasant courtesy, ignoring any idea of unpleasant feeling on your part. you will thus at least teach a lesson in good manners, which may or may not be learned, according to circumstances and the hopeful or hopeless character of the pupil. closely allied to the virtue of patience, is that of unfailing tact. this will be found an important adjunct in the administration of a public library. how to meet the innumerable inquiries made of him with just the proper answer, saying neither too much, nor too little, to be civil to all, without needless multiplication of words, this requires one to hold his faculties well in hand, never to forget himself, and to show that no demand whatever can vex or fluster him. the librarian should know how, or learn how to adapt himself to all readers, and how to aid their researches without devoting much time to each. this requires a fine quality of tact, of adapting one's self quickly to the varied circumstances of the case in hand. one who has it well developed will go through the manifold labors and interviews and annoyances of the day without friction, while one who is without tact will be worried and fretted until life seems to him a burden. need i mention, after all that has been said of the exacting labors that continually wait upon the librarian, that he should be possessed both of energy and untiring industry? by the very nature of the calling to which he is dedicated, he is pledged to earnest and thorough work in it. he cannot afford to be a trifler or a loiterer on the way, but must push on continually. he should find time for play, it is true, and for reading for his own recreation and instruction, but that time should be out of library hours. and a vigilant and determined economy of time in library hours will be found a prime necessity. i have dwelt elsewhere upon the importance of choosing the shortest methods in every piece of work to be accomplished. equally important is it to cultivate economy of speech, or the habit of condensing instructions to assistants, and answers to inquiries into the fewest words. a library should never be a circumlocution office. the faculty of condensed expression, though somewhat rare, can be cultivated. in the relations existing between librarian and assistants there should be mutual confidence and support. all are equally interested in the credit and success of the institution which engages their services, and all should labor harmoniously to that end. loyalty to one's employers is both the duty and the interest of the employed: and the reciprocal duty of faithfulness to those employed, and interest in their improvement and success should mark the intercourse of the librarian with his assistants. he should never be too old nor too wise to learn, and should welcome suggestions from every intelligent aid. i have suggested the importance of an even temper in the relations between librarians and readers; and it is equally important as between all those associated in the administration of a library. every one has faults and weaknesses; and those encountered in others will be viewed with the most charity by those who are duly conscious of their own. every one makes mistakes, and these are often provoking or irritating to one who knows better; but a mild and pleasant explanation of the error is far more likely to lead to amendment, than a sharp reproof, leaving hard feeling or bitterness behind. under no circumstances is peevishness or passion justifiable. library assistants in their bearing toward each other, should suppress all feelings of censoriousness, fault-finding or jealousy, if they have them, in favor of civility and good manners, if not of good fellowship. they are all public servants engaged in a common cause, aiming at the enlightenment and improvement of the community; they should cherish a just pride in being selected for this great service, and to help one another in every step of the work, should be their golden rule. everything should be done for the success and usefulness of the library, and all personal considerations should be merged in public ones. turning now to what remains of suggestion regarding the qualities which should enter into the character, or form a part of the equipment of a librarian, let me urge the importance of his possessing a truly liberal and impartial mind. it is due to all who frequent a public library to find all those in charge ready and willing to aid their researches in whatever direction they may lie. their attitude should be one of constant and sincere open-mindedness. they are to remember that it is the function of the library to supply the writings of all kinds of authors, on all sides of all questions. in doing this, it is no part of a librarian's function to interpose any judgments of his own upon the authors asked for. he has no right as a librarian to be an advocate of any theories, or a propagandist of any opinions. his attitude should be one of strict and absolute impartiality. a public library is the one common property of all, the one neutral ground where all varieties of character, and all schools of opinion meet and mingle. within its hallowed precincts, sacred to literature and science, the voice of controversy should be hushed. while the librarian may and should hold his own private opinions with firmness and entire independence, he should keep them private--as regards the frequenters of the library. he may, for example, be profoundly convinced of the truth of the christian religion; and he is called on, we will suppose, for books attacking christianity, like thomas paine's "age of reason," or robert g. ingersoll's lectures on "myth and miracle." it is his simple duty to supply the writers asked for, without comment, for in a public library, christian and jew, mahometan and agnostic, stand on the same level of absolute equality. the library has the koran, and the book of mormon, as well as the scriptures of the old and new testament, and one is to be as freely supplied as the other. a library is an institution of universal range--of encyclopaedic knowledge, which gathers in and dispenses to all comers, the various and conflicting opinions of all writers upon religion, science, politics, philosophy, and sociology. the librarian may chance to be an ardent republican or a zealous democrat; but in either case, he should show as much alacrity in furnishing readers with w. j. bryan's book "the first battle," as with mckinley's speeches, or the republican hand-book. a library is no place for dogmatism; the librarian is pledged, by the very nature of his profession, which is that of a dispenser of all knowledge--not of a part of it--to entire liberality, and absolute impartiality. remembering the axiom that all errors may be safely tolerated, while reason is left free to combat them, he should be ever ready to furnish out of the intellectual arsenal under his charge, the best and strongest weapons to either side in any conflict of opinion. it will have been gathered from what has gone before, in recapitulation of the duties and responsibilities of the librarian's calling, that it is one demanding a high order of talent. the business of successfully conducting a public library is complex and difficult. it is full of never-ending detail, and the work accomplished does not show for what it is really worth, except in the eyes of the more thoughtful and discerning observers. i may here bring into view some of the drawbacks and discouragements incident to the librarian's vocation, together with an outline of the advantages which belong to it. in the first place, there is little money in it. no one who looks upon the acquisition of money as one of the chief aims of life, should think for a moment of entering on a librarian's career. the prizes in the profession are few--so few indeed, as to be quite out of the question for most aspirants. the salaries paid in subordinate positions are very low in most libraries, and even those of head-librarians are not such that one can lay up money on them. a lady assistant librarian in one city said she had found that one of a librarian's proper qualifications was to be able to live on two meals a day. this doubtless was a humorous exaggeration, but it is true that the average salaries hitherto paid in our public libraries, with few exceptions, do not quite come up to those of public school teachers, taking the various grades into account. most of the newly formed libraries are poor, and have to be economical. but there is some reason to hope that as libraries multiply and their unspeakable advantages become more fully appreciated, the standard of compensation for all skilled librarians will rise. i say skilled, because training and experience are the leading elements which command the better salaries, in this, as in other professions. another drawback to be recognized in the librarian's calling, is that there are peculiar trials and vexations connected with it. there are almost no limits to the demands made upon the knowledge and the time of the librarian. in other professions, teaching for example, there are prescribed and well-defined routines of the instruction to be given, and the teacher who thoroughly masters this course, and brings the pupils through it creditably, has nothing to do beyond. the librarian, on the other hand, must be, as it were, a teacher of all sciences and literatures at once. the field to be covered by the wants of readers, and the inquiries that he is expected to answer, are literally illimitable. he cannot rest satisfied with what he has already learned, however expert or learned he may have become; but he must keep on learning forevermore. the new books that are continually flooding him, the new sciences or new developments of old ones that arise, must be so far assimilated that he can give some account of the scope of all of them to inquiring readers. in the third place, there are special annoyances in the service of a public, which includes always some inconsiderate and many ignorant persons, and these will frequently try one's patience, however angelic and forbearing. so, too, the short-comings of library assistants or associates may often annoy him, but as all these trials have been before referred to, it may be added that they are not peculiar to library service, but are liable to occur in the profession of teaching or in any other. in the next place, the peculiar variety and great number of the calls incessantly made upon the librarian's knowledge, constitute a formidable draft upon any but the strongest brain. there is no escape from these continual drafts upon his nervous energy for one who has deliberately chosen to serve in a public library. and he will sometimes find, wearied as he often must be with many cares and a perfect flood of questions, that the most welcome hour of the day is the hour of closing the library. another of the librarian's vexations is frequently the interference with his proper work by the library authorities. committees or trustees to oversee the management and supervise expenditures are necessary to any public library. sometimes they are quick-sighted and intelligent persons, and recognize the importance of letting the librarian work out everything in his own way, when once satisfied that they have got a competent head in charge. but there are sometimes men on a board of library control who are self-conceited and pragmatical, thinking that they know everything about how a library should be managed, when in fact, they are profoundly ignorant of the first rudiments of library science. such men will sometimes overbear their fellows, who may be more intelligent, but not so self-asserting, and so manage as to overrule the best and wisest plans, or the most expedient methods, and vex the very soul of the librarian. in such cases the only remedy is patience and tact. some day, what has been decided wrongly may be reversed, or what has been denied the librarian may be granted, through the conversion of a minority of the trustees into a majority, by the gentle suasion and skilful reasoning of the librarian. there are other drawbacks and discomforts in the course of a librarian's duties which have been referred to in dealing with the daily work under his charge. there remains the fact that the profession is no bed of roses, but a laborious and exacting calling, the price of success in which is an unremitting industry, and energy inexhaustible. but these will not appear very formidable requisites to those who have a native love of work, and it is a fact not to be doubted that work of some kind is the only salvation of every human creature. upon the whole, if the calling of the librarian involves many trials and vexations, it has also many notable compensations. foremost among these is to be reckoned the fact that it opens more and wider avenues to intellectual culture than any other profession whatever. this comes in a two-fold way: first, through the stimulus to research given by the incessant inquiries of readers, and by the very necessity of his being, as a librarian; and secondly, by the rare facilities for investigation and improvement supplied by the ample and varied stores of the library always immediately at hand. other scholars can commonly command but few books, unless able to possess a large private library: their researches in the public one are hampered by the rule that no works of reference can be withdrawn, and that constitutes a very large and essential class, constantly needed by every scholar and writer. the librarian, on the other hand, has them all at his elbow. in the next place, there are few professions which are in themselves so attractive as librarianship. its tendency is both to absorb and to satisfy the intellectual faculties. no where else is the sense of continual growth so palpable; in no other field of labor is such an enlargement of the bounds of one's horizon likely to be found. compare it with the profession of teaching. in that, the mind is chained down to a rigorous course of imparting instruction in a narrow and limited field. one must perforce go on rehearsing the same rudiments of learning, grinding over the same latin gerunds, hearing the same monotonous recitations, month after month, and year after year. this continual threshing over of old straw has its uses, but to an ardent and active mind, it is liable to become very depressing. such a mind would rather be kept on the _qui vive_ of activity by a volley of questions fired at him every hour in a library, than to grind forever in an intellectual tread-mill, with no hope of change and very little of relief. the very variety of the employments which fill up the library hours, the versatility required in the service, contributes to it a certain zest which other professions lack. again, the labors of the librarian bring him into an intimate knowledge of a wide range of books, or at least an acquaintance with authors and titles far more extensive than can be acquired by most persons. the reading of book catalogues is a great and never-ending fascination to one who has a love for books. the information thus acquired of the mighty range of the world's literature and science is of inestimable value. most of it, if retained in a retentive memory, will enable its possessor to answer multitudes of the questions continually put to the librarian. then, too, the service of a public library is a valuable school for the study of human nature. one comes in contact with scholars, men of business, authors, bright young people, journalists, professional men and cultured women, to an extent unequaled by the opportunities of any other calling. this variety of intercourse tends to broaden one's sympathies, to strengthen his powers of observation, to cultivate habits of courtesy, to develop the faculty of adapting himself to all persons--qualities which contribute much to social interest and success. the discipline of such an intercourse may sometimes make out of a silent and bashful recluse, a ready and engaging adept in conversation, able to command the attention and conciliate the regard of all. farther than this, one brought into so wide a circle of communication with others, cannot fail to learn something from at least some among them, and so to receive knowledge as well as to impart it. the curious and diverse elements of character brought out in such intercourse will make their impress, and may have their value. all these many facilities for intellectual intercourse both with books and with men, contribute directly to keep the librarian in contact with all the great objects of human interest. they supply an unfailing stimulus to his intellectual and moral nature. they give any active-minded person rare facilities, not only for the acquisition, but for the communication of ideas. and there is one avenue for such communication that is peculiarly open to one whose mind is stored with the ripe fruits of reading and observation. i mean the field of authorship--not necessarily the authorship of books, but of writing in the form of essays, reviews, lectures, stories or contributions to the periodical press. there are in every community literary societies, clubs, and evening gatherings, where such contributions are always in demand, and always welcomed, in exact proportion to their inherent interest and value. such avenues for the communication of one's thought are of great and sometimes permanent advantage. the knowledge which we acquire is comparatively barren, until it is shared with others. and whether this be in an appreciative circle of listeners, or in the press, it gives a certain stimulus and reward to the thinker and writer, which nothing else can impart. to convey one's best thought to the world is one of the purest and highest of intellectual pleasures. let me add that there are two sides to the question of authorship, as concerns librarians. on the one hand, their advantages for entering that field are undoubtedly superior, both from the ready command of the most abundant material, and from experience in its use. on the other hand, while authorship may be said to be the most besetting temptation of the librarian, it is one that should be steadily resisted whenever it encroaches on the time and attention due to library duties. if he makes it a rule to write nothing and to study nothing for his own objects during library hours, he is safe. some years since it was a common subject of reproach regarding the librarians of several university libraries in england that they were so engaged in writing books, that no scholar could get at them for aid in his literary researches. the librarians and assistants employed in the british museum library, where the hours of service are short, have found time to produce numerous contributions to literature. witness the works, as authors and editors, of sir henry ellis, antonio panizzi, dr. richard garnett, edward edwards, j. winter jones, thomas watts, george smith, and others. and in america, the late justin winsor was one of the most prolific and versatile of authors, while john fiske, once assistant librarian at harvard, reuben a. guild, william f. poole, george h. moore, j. n. larned, frederick saunders and others have been copious contributors to the press. * * * * * in a retrospective view of what has been said in respect to the qualifications of a librarian, it may appear that i have insisted upon too high a standard, and have claimed that he should be possessed of every virtue under heaven. i freely admit that i have aimed to paint the portrait of the ideal librarian; and i have done it in order to show what might be accomplished, rather than what has been accomplished. to set one's mark high--higher even than we are likely to reach, is the surest way to attain real excellence in any vocation. it is very true that it is not given to mortals to achieve perfection: but it is none the less our business to aim at it, and the higher the ideal, the nearer we are likely to come to a notable success in the work we have chosen. librarianship furnishes one of the widest fields for the most eminent attainments. the librarian, more than any other person whatever, is brought into contact with those who are hungering and thirsting after knowledge. he should be able to satisfy those longings, to lead inquirers in the way they should go, and to be to all who seek his assistance a guide, philosopher and friend. of all the pleasures which a generous mind is capable of enjoying, that of aiding and enlightening others is one of the finest and most delightful. to learn continually for one's self is a noble ambition, but to learn for the sake of communicating to others, is a far nobler one. in fact, the librarian becomes most widely useful by effacing himself, as it were, in seeking to promote the intelligence of the community in which he lives. one of the best librarians in the country said that such were the privileges and opportunities of the profession, that one might well afford to live on bread and water for the sake of being a librarian, provided one had no family to support. there is a new and signally marked advance in recent years, in the public idea of what constitutes a librarian. the old idea of a librarian was that of a guardian or keeper of books--not a diffuser of knowledge, but a mere custodian of it. this idea had its origin in ages when books were few, were printed chiefly in dead languages, and rendered still more dead by being chained to the shelves or tables of the library. the librarian might be a monk, or a professor, or a priest, or a doctor of law, or theology, or medicine, but in any case his function was to guard the books, and not to dispense them. those who resorted to the library were kept at arm's length, as it were, and the fewer there were who came, the better the grim or studious custodian was pleased. every inquiry which broke the profound silence of the cloistered library was a kind of rude interruption, and when it was answered, the perfunctory librarian resumed his reading or his studies. the institution appeared to exist, not for the benefit of the people, but for that of the librarian; or for the benefit, besides, of a few sequestered scholars, like himself, and any wide popular use of it would have been viewed as a kind of profanation. we have changed all that in the modern world, and library service is now one of the busiest occupations in the whole range of human enterprise. one cannot succeed in the profession, if his main idea is that a public library is a nice and easy place where one may do one's own reading and writing to the best advantage. a library is an intellectual and material work-shop, in which there is no room for fossils nor for drones. my only conception of a useful library is a library that is used--and the same of a librarian. he should be a lover of books--but not a book-worm. if his tendencies toward idealism are strong, he should hold them in check by addicting himself to steady, practical, every-day work. while careful of all details, he should not be mastered by them. if i have sometimes seemed to dwell upon trifling or obvious suggestions as to temper, or conduct, or methods, let it be remembered that trifles make up perfection, and that perfection is no trifle. i once quoted the saying that "the librarian who reads is lost"; but it would be far truer to say that the librarian who does not read is lost; only he should read wisely and with a purpose. he should make his reading helpful in giving him a wide knowledge of facts, of thoughts, and of illustrations, which will come perpetually in play in his daily intercourse with an inquiring public. chapter . some of the uses of libraries. let us now consider the subject of the uses of public libraries to schools and those connected with them. most town and city libraries are supported, like the free schools, by the public money, drawn from the tax-payers, and supposed to be expended for the common benefit of all the people. it results that one leading object of the library should be to acquire such a collection of books as will be in the highest degree useful to all. and especially should the wants of the younger generation be cared for, since they are always not only nearly one half of the community, but they are also to become the future citizens of the republic. what we learn in youth is likely to make a more marked and lasting impression than what we may acquire in later years. and the public library should be viewed as the most important and necessary adjunct of the school, in the instruction and improvement of the young. each is adapted to supply what the other lacks. the school supplies oral instruction and public exercises in various departments of learning; but it has few or no books, beyond the class text-books which are used in these instructions. the library, on the other hand, is a silent school of learning, free to all, and supplying a wide range of information, in books adapted to every age. it thus supplements, and in proportion to the extent and judicious choice of its collections, helps to complete that education, which the school falls short of. in this view, we see the great importance of making sure that the public library has not only a full supply of the best books in every field, avoiding (as previously urged) the bad or the inferior ones, but also that it has the best juvenile and elementary literature in ample supply. this subject of reading for the young has of late years come into unprecedented prominence. formerly, and even up to the middle of our century, very slight attention was paid to it, either by authors or readers. whole generations had been brought up on the new england primer, with its grotesque wood-cuts, and antique theology in prose and verse, with a few moral narratives in addition, as solemn as a meeting-house, like the "dairyman's daughter," the "history of sandford and merton," or "the shepherd of salisbury plain." very dreary and melancholy do such books appear to the frequenters of our modern libraries, filled as they now are with thousands of volumes of lively and entertaining juvenile books. the transition from the old to the new in this class of literature was through the sunday-school and religious tract society books, professedly adapted to the young. while some of these had enough of interest to be fairly readable, if one had no other resource, the mass were irredeemably stale and poor. the mawkishness of the sentiment was only surpassed by the feebleness of the style. at last, weary of the goody-goody and artificial school of juvenile books, which had been produced for generations, until a surfeit of it led to something like a nausea in the public mind, there came a new type of writers for the young, who at least began to speak the language of reason. the dry bones took on some semblance of life and of human nature, and boys and girls were painted as real boys and genuine girls, instead of lifeless dolls and manikins. the reformation went on, until we now have a world of books for the young to choose from, very many of which are fresh and entertaining. but the very wealth and redundancy of such literature is a new embarrassment to the librarian, who must indispensably make a selection, since no library can have or ought to have it all. recurring to the function of the public library as the coadjutor of the school, let us see what classes of books should form essential parts of its stores. . as geography, or an account of the earth on which we live, is a fundamental part of education, the library should possess a liberal selection of the best books in that science. the latest general gazetteer of the world, the best modern and a good ancient atlas, one or more of the great general collections of voyages, a set of baedeker's admirable and inexpensive guide books, and descriptive works or travels in nearly all countries--those in america and europe predominating--should be secured. the scholars of all grades will thus be able to supplement their studies by ready reference, and every part of the globe will lie open before them, as it were, by the aid of the library. . the best and latest text-books in all the sciences, as geology, chemistry, natural history, physics, botany, agriculture, mechanic arts, mathematics, mental and moral science, architecture, fine arts, music, sociology, political science, etc., should be accessible. . every important history, with all the latest manuals or elementary books in general and national history should be found. . the great collections of biography, with separate lives of all noted characters, should be provided. . dictionaries, cyclopaedias, statistical annuals, and other books of reference will be needed in abundance. . a small but select number of approved works in law, medicine, and theology should be embraced in the library. . i need not add that the poets and novelists should be well represented, as that goes without saying in all popular libraries. and special attention should be paid to building up a collection of the best books for juvenile readers, such as have passed the ordeal of good critical judgment among the librarians, as eminently fit to be read. there are several useful catalogues of such reading, as: caroline m. hewins' "books for the young," g. e. hardy's "five hundred books for the young," and the admirable "list of books for girls and women" by augusta h. leypoldt and geo. iles, contributed to by many experts, and copiously supplied with notes describing the scope and quality of the books. the last two are published by the library bureau. with this broad equipment of the best books in every field, and vigilance in constant exercise to add fresh stores from the constantly appearing and often improved text-books in every science, the library will be a treasury of knowledge both for teachers and pupils in the schools. and the fact should not be overlooked, that there will be found as much growth for teachers as for scholars in such a collection of books. very few teachers, save those of well-furnished minds and of much careful reading, are competent to guide their scholars into the highways and byways of knowledge, as the librarian should be able to do. to establish a relation of confidence and aid with teachers is the preliminary step to be taken in order to make the library at once practically useful to them and to their scholars. in case there are several public schools in charge of a general superintendent, that officer should be first consulted, and tendered the free aid of the library and its librarian for himself and the teachers. in some public libraries, the school superintendent is made an _ex officio_ member of the library board. then suitable regulations should be mutually agreed upon, fixing the number of books to be drawn on account of the schools at any one time, and the period of return to the library. it is most usual to charge such books on teachers' cards, or account, to fix responsibility, although the teachers loan them to the scholars at their option. in places where there are no school libraries proper, the public library will need to provide a goodly number of duplicates, in order to meet the special school demand. this, however, will usually be of low-priced rather than costly books, as the elementary text-books do not draw heavily upon library funds. a very attractive feature in providing books for the young is the large number of illustrated books now available to all libraries. all the kingdoms of nature are depicted in these introductory manuals of science, rendering its pursuit more interesting, and cultivating the habits of observation of form and of proportion, in the minds of the young. pupils who have never accomplished anything in school have been roused by interest in illustrated natural histories to take an eager interest in learning all about birds and animals. this always leads on and up to other study, since the mind that is once awakened to observation and to thought, needs only a slight guidance to develop an unappeasable hunger for finding out all about things. the ancient maxim that "it is only the first step that costs" is especially true in the great art of education. it matters little what it is that first awakens the intellect--the great fact is that it is awakened, and sleeps no more thenceforward. a mottled bird's egg, found on the way to school, excites the little finder to ascertain the name of the bird that laid it. the school or the teacher supplies no means of finding out, but the public library has books upon birds, with colored plates of their eggs, and an eager search ensues, until the young student is rewarded by finding the very bird, with its name, plumage, habits, size, and season, all described. that child has taken an enormous step forward on the road to knowledge, which will never be forgotten. instances might be multiplied indefinitely of such valuable aids to research, afforded by libraries, all along the innumerable roads travelled by students of every age in search of information. one of the most profitable of school exercises is to take up successively the great men and notable women of the past, and, by the effective and practical aid of the libraries, to find out what is best worth knowing about columbus, franklin, walter scott, irving, prescott, bancroft, longfellow, hawthorne, whittier, emerson, lowell, victor hugo, or others too numerous to name. reading longfellow's evangeline will lead one to search out the history and geography of acadia, and so fix indelibly the practical facts concerned, as well as the imagery of a fine poem. so in the notable events of history, if a study is made of the english commonwealth, or the french revolution, or the war between the united states and england in - , the library will supply the student with copious materials for illustration. not alone in the fields of science, history, and biography, but in the attractive fields of literature, also, can the libraries aid and supplement the teachings of the school. a fine poem, or a simple, humorous, or pathetic story, told with artless grace or notable literary skill, when read aloud by a teacher in school, awakens a desire in many to have the same book at home to read, re-read, and perhaps commit to memory the finer passages. what more inspiring or pleasing reading than some of longfellow's poems, or the vicar of wakefield, or milton's l'allegro and il penseroso, or saintine's picciola, or selections from the poems of holmes, whittier, kipling, or lowell? for all these and similar wants, the library has an unfailing supply. as a practical illustration of the extensive, use of books by schools in some advanced communities, i may note that librarian green, of the worcester (mass.) public library, said in that his average daily account of the books loaned to schools in two busy winter months showed over , volumes thus in daily use. this too, was in addition to all that were drawn out by pupils on their own independent cards as borrowers. such a record speaks volumes. in the same city, where the massachusetts state normal school is located, sixty-four per cent. of the scholars visited the library to look up subjects connected with their studies. a forcible argument for librarians taking an interest in reading for schools is that both parents and teachers often neglect to see that the young get only proper books to read. the children are themselves quite ignorant what to choose, and if left to themselves, are likely to choose unwisely, and to read story papers or quite unimproving books. their parents, busied as they are, commonly give no thought to the matter, and are quite destitute of that knowledge of the various classes of books which it is the province of the librarian to know and to discriminate. teachers themselves do not possess this special knowledge, except in rare instances, and have to become far more conversant with libraries than is usual, in order to acquire it. that the very young, left to themselves, will choose many bad or worthless books is shown in the account of a principal of a school in san francisco, who found that sixty per cent. of the books drawn from the public library by pupils had been dime novels, or other worthless literature. the wide prevalence of the dime novel evil appeared in the report of the reading of , boys in a western new york city. out of this number, (or nearly one-half) were in the habit of devouring this pernicious trash, procured in most cases by purchase at the news stands. the matter was taken up by teachers, and, by wise direction and by aid of the public library, the reading of these youthful candidates for citizenship was led into more improving fields. to lead a mind in the formative stage from the low to the high, from tales of wild adventure to the best stories for the young, is by no means difficult. take a book that you know is wholesome and entertaining, and it will be eagerly read by almost every one. there is an endless variety of good books adapted to the most rudimentary capacity. even young minds can become interested in the works of standard writers, if the proper selection is made. wonderful is the stimulus which the reading of a purely written, fascinating book gives to the young mind. it opens the way for more books and for infinite growth. all that is needed is to set the youth in the right direction, and he will go forward with rapid strides of his own accord. this teaching how to read is really the most profitable part of any education. to recite endless lessons is not education: and one book eagerly read through, has often proved more valuable than all the text-books that ever were printed. the uses of the library to the university. closely allied to the benefits derived from the library by the teachers and scholars in public schools are its uses to all those engaged in the pursuit of higher education. for our colleges and universities and their researches, the library must have all that we have suggested as important for the schools, and a great deal more. the term university implies an education as broad as the whole world of books can supply: yet we must here meet with limitations that are inevitable. in this country we have to regret the application of the word "university" to institutions where the training is only academical, or at the highest, collegiate. the university, properly speaking, is an institution for the most advanced scholars or graduates of our colleges. just as the college takes up and carries forward the training of those who have been through the academy, the seminary, or the high school, so it is the function of the university to carry forward (we will not say complete) the education of the graduate of the college. no education is ever completed: the doctor who has received the highest honors at the university has only begun his education--for that is to go on through life--and who knows how far beyond? now the aid which a well equipped library can furnish to all these higher institutions of learning, the academy, the seminary, the college, and the university, is quite incalculable. their students are constantly engaged upon themes which not only demand the text-books they study, but collateral illustrations almost without number. the professors, too, who impart instruction, perpetually need to be instructed themselves, with fuller knowledge upon the themes they are daily called upon to elucidate. there is no text-book that can teach all, or anywhere near all there is upon the subject it professes to cover. so the library, which has many books upon that subject, comes in to supply its deficiencies. and the librarian is useful to the professors and students just in proportion as he knows, not the contents, but the range of books upon each subject sought to be investigated. here is where the subject catalogue, or the dictionary catalogue, combining the subjects and the authors under a single alphabet, comes into play. but, as no catalogue of subjects was ever yet up to date in any considerable library, the librarian should be able to supplement the catalogue by his own knowledge of later works in any line of inquiry. the most profitable studies carried on in libraries are, beyond all question, what we may term topical researches. to pursue one subject though many authorities is the true way to arrive at comprehensive knowledge. and in this kind of research, the librarian ought to be better equipped than any who frequent his library. why? simply because his business is bibliography; which is not the business of learned professors, or other scholars who visit the library. the late librarian winsor said that he considered the librarian's instruction far more valuable than that of the specialist. and this may be owing largely to the point of view, as well as to the training, of each. the specialist, perhaps, is an enthusiast or a devotee to his science, and so apt to give undue importance to the details of it, or to magnify some one feature: the librarian, on the other hand, who is nothing if not comprehensive, takes the larger view of the wide field of literature on each subject, and his suggestions concerning sources of information are correspondingly valuable. in those constantly arising questions which form the subjects of essays or discussions in all institutions of learning, the well-furnished library is an unfailing resource. the student who finds his unaided mind almost a blank upon the topic given out for treatment, resorts at once to the public library, searches catalogues, questions the librarian, and surrounds himself with books and periodicals which may throw light upon it. he is soon master of facts and reasonings which enable him to start upon a train of thought that bears fruit in an essay or discourse. in fact, it may be laid down as an axiom, that nearly every new book that is written is indebted to the library for most of its ideas, its facts, or its illustrations, so that libraries actually beget libraries. some of the endlessly diversified uses of a well-equipped library, not only to scholars but to the general public, may here be referred to. among the most sought for sources of information, the periodical press, both of the past and the current time, holds a prominent rank. when it is considered how far-reaching are the fields embraced in the wide range of these periodicals, literary, religious, scientific, political, technical, philosophical, social, medical, legal, educational, agricultural, bibliographical, commercial, financial, historical, mechanical, nautical, military, artistic, musical, dramatic, typographical, sanitary, sporting, economic, and miscellaneous, is it any wonder that specialists and writers for the press seek and find ready aid therein for their many-sided labors? to the skeptical mind, accustomed to undervalue what does not happen to come within the range of his pet idols or pursuits, the observation of a single day's multifold research in a great library might be in the nature of a revelation. hither flock the ever-present searchers into family history, laying under contribution all the genealogies and town and county histories which the country has produced. here one finds an industrious compiler intent upon the history of american duels, for which the many files of northern and southern newspapers, reaching back to the beginning of the century, afford copious material. at another table sits a deputation from a government department, commissioned to make a record of all notable strikes and labor troubles for a series of years, to be gleaned from the columns of the journals of leading cities. an absorbed reader of french romances sits side by side with a clergyman perusing homilies, or endeavoring to elucidate, through a mass of commentators, a special text. here are to be found ladies in pursuit of costumes of every age; artists turning over the great folio galleries of europe for models or suggestions; lawyers seeking precedents or leading cases; journalists verifying dates, speeches, conventions, or other forgotten facts; engineers studying the literature of railways or machinery; actors or amateurs in search of plays or works on the dramatic art; physicians looking up biographies of their profession or the history of epidemics; students of heraldry after coats of arms; inventors searching the specifications and drawings of patents; historical students pursuing some special field in american or foreign annals; scientists verifying facts or citations by original authorities; searchers tracing personal residences or deaths in old directories or newspapers; querists seeking for the words of some half-remembered passage in poetry or prose, or the original author of one of the myriad proverbs which have no father; architects or builders of houses comparing hundreds of designs and models; teachers perusing works on education or comparing text-books new or old; readers absorbing the great poems of the world; writers in pursuit of new or curious themes among books of antiquities or folk-lore; students of all the questions of finance and economic science; naturalists seeking to trace through many volumes descriptions of species; pursuers of military or naval history or science; enthusiasts venturing into the occult domains of spiritualism or thaumaturgy; explorers of voyages and travels in every region of the globe; fair readers, with dreamy eyes, devouring the last psychological novel; devotees of musical art perusing the lives or the scores of great composers; college and high-school students intent upon "booking up" on themes of study or composition or debate; and a host of other seekers after suggestion or information in a library of encyclopedic range. chapter . the history of libraries. the library, from very early times, has enlisted the enthusiasm of the learned, and the encomiums of the wise. the actual origin of the earliest collection of books (or rather of manuscripts) is lost in the mists of remote antiquity. notwithstanding professed descriptions of several libraries found in aulus gellius, athenaeus, and others, who wrote centuries after the alleged collections were made, we lack the convincing evidence of eye-witnesses and contemporaries. but so far as critical research has run, the earliest monuments of man which approached collections of written records are found not in europe, but in africa and asia. that land of wonders, egypt, abounds in hieroglyphic inscriptions, going back, as is agreed by modern scholars, to the year before the christian era. a papyrus manuscript, too, exists, which is assigned to about b. c. and the earliest recorded collection of books in the world, though perhaps not the first that existed, was that of the egyptian king ramses i.--b. c. , near thebes, which diodorus siculus says bore the inscription "dispensary of the soul." thus early were books regarded as remedial agents of great force and virtue. but before the library of ramses the egyptian king, there existed in babylonia collections of books, written not on parchment, nor on the more perishable papyrus, but on clay. whole poems, fables, laws, and hymns of the gods have been found, stamped in small characters upon baked bricks. these clay tablets or books were arranged in numerical order, and the library at agane, which existed about b. c. even had a catalogue, in which each piece of literature was numbered, so that readers had only to write down the number of the tablet wanted, and the librarian would hand it over. two of these curious poems in clay have been found intact, one on the deluge, the other on the descent of istar into hades. the next ancient library in point of time yet known to us was gathered in asia by an assyrian king, and this collection has actually come down to us, _in propria persona_. buried beneath the earth for centuries, the archaeologist layard discovered in at nineveh, an extensive collection of tablets or tiles of clay, covered with cuneiform characters, and representing some ten thousand distinct works or documents. the assyrian monarch sardanapalus, a great patron of letters, was the collector of this primitive and curious library of clay. he flourished about b. c. in greece, where a copious and magnificent literature had grown up centuries before christ, pisistratus collected a library at athens, and died b. c. . when xerxes captured athens, this collection, which represents the earliest record of a library dedicated to the public, was carried off to persia, but restored two centuries later. the renowned philosopher aristotle gathered one of the largest greek libraries, about b. c. said to have embraced about volumes, or rather, rolls. plato called aristotle's residence "the house of the reader." this library, also, was carried off to scepsis, and later by the victorious sulla to rome. history shows that the greek collections were the earliest "travelling libraries" on record, though they went as the spoils of war, and not to spread abroad learning by the arts of peace. rome having conquered athens, we hear no more of the athenian libraries, but the seat of ancient learning was transferred to alexandria, where were gathered under the liberal sway of the ptolemies, more books than had ever been assembled together in any part of the world. marc antony presented to cleopatra the library of the kings of pergamus, said to have contained , rolls. there is no space to sketch the ancient libraries, so scantily commemorated, of greece. through aristotle's enthusiasm for learning, as it is believed, the ptolemies were fired with the zeal of book-collecting, and their capital of alexandria became the seat of extensive libraries, stored in the brucheion and the serapeum. here, according to general belief, occurred the burning of the famous alexandrian library of , volumes, by the saracens under omar, a. d. . if any one would have an object lesson in the uncertainties of history and of human testimony, let him read the various conflicting accounts of the writers who have treated upon this subject. the number of volumes varies from , , as stated by aulus gellius, to , by eusebius. the fact that in ancient times each book or division of an author's work written on a roll of papyrus was reckoned as a volume, may account for the exaggeration, since the nine books of herodotus would thus make nine volumes, and the twenty-four of homer's iliad, twenty-four volumes, instead of one. so, by an arbitrary application of averages, the size of the alexandrian library might be brought within reasonable dimensions, though there is nothing more misleading than the doctrine of averages, unless indeed it be a false analogy. but that any library eight hundred years before the invention of printing contained , volumes in the modern sense of the word, when the largest collection in the world, three centuries after books began to be multiplied by types, held less than , volumes, is one of the wildest fictions which writers have imposed upon the credulity of ages. i cannot even touch upon the libraries of the romans, though we have very attractive accounts, among others, of the literary riches of lucullus, of atticus, and of cicero. the first library in rome was founded b. c. and in the augustan age they multiplied, until there were twenty-nine public libraries in hadrian's time, a. d. the emperor julian, in the fourth century, was a founder of libraries, and is said to have placed over the doors this inscription: "_alii quidem equos amant, alii oves, alii feros; mihi vero a puerulo mirandum acquirendi et possidendi libros insedit desiderium._" the libraries of the middle ages were neither large nor numerous. the neglect of learning and of literature was wide-spread; only in the monasteries of europe were to be found scholars who kept alive the sacred flame. in these were renewed those fruitful labors of the _scriptorium_ which had preserved and multiplied so many precious books in classic times among the romans. the monks, indeed, were not seldom creators as well as copyists, though the works which they composed were mainly theological (as became their sacred profession and ascetic life). the latin, however, being the almost universal language for so many centuries, the love of learning conspired to widen the field of monastic study. many zealous ecclesiastics were found who revived the classic authors, and copies of the works of poets, historians, philosophers and rhetoricians were multiplied. then were gradually formed those monastic libraries to which so many thousands of mediaeval scholars owed a debt of gratitude. the order of benedictines took a leading and effective part in this revival of learning. taxes were levied on the inmates of monasteries expressly for furnishing the library with books, and the novices in many houses must contribute writing materials upon entering, and books at the close of their novitiate, for the enrichment of the library. among notably valuable libraries, several of which still survive, were those of monte cassino in italy, the abbey of fleury in france, st. gall in switzerland, and that of the illustrious congregation of st. maur in france. the latter had at one time no less than one hundred and seven writers engaged in multiplying books. the first library in england is recorded (in the canterbury chartulary) to have been given by pope gregory the great, and brought by st. augustine, first archbishop of canterbury, on his mission to england about a. d. . it consisted of nine precious volumes on vellum, being copies of parts of the scriptures, with commentaries, and a volume of lives of the martyrs. the library of the benedictine monastery at canterbury had grown in the th century to titles, being very rich in theology, but with many books also in history, poetry and science. at york had been founded, in the th century, a noble library by archbishop egbert, and the great scholar alcuin here acquired, amidst that "infinite number of excellent books," his life-long devotion to literature. when he removed to tours, in france, he lamented the loss of the literary treasures of york, in a poem composed of excellent hexameters. he begged of charlemagne to send into britain to procure books, "that the garden of paradise may not be confined to york." fine libraries were also gathered at the monasteries of durham, of glastonbury, and of croyland, and at the abbeys of whitby and peterborough. nor were the orders of franciscans and dominicans far behind as book-collectors, though they commonly preferred to buy rather than to transcribe manuscripts, like the benedictines. "in every convent of friars," wrote fitzralph to the pope, in , "there is a large and noble library." and richard de bury, bishop of durham, and chancellor of england in , whose "philobiblon" is the most eloquent treatise in praise of books ever written, said, when visiting places where the mendicants had convents; "there amid the deepest poverty, we found the most precious riches stored up." the pope, it appears, relaxed for these orders the rigor of their vows of poverty, in favor of amassing books--mindful, doubtless, of that saying of solomon the wise--"therefore get wisdom, because it is better than gold." richard de bury, the enthusiast of learning, wrote thus: "the library, therefore, of wisdom is more precious than all riches, and nothing that can be wished for is worthy to be compared with it. whosoever, therefore, acknowledges himself to be a zealous follower of the truth, of happiness, of wisdom, of science, or even of the faith, must of necessity make himself a lover of books." and said joseph hall, bishop of norwich--"i can wonder at nothing more than how a man can be idle--but of all others a scholar; in so many improvements of reason, in such sweetness of knowledge, in such variety of studies, in such importunity of thoughts. to find wit in poetry; in philosophy profoundness; in history wonder of events; in oratory, sweet eloquence; in divinity, supernatural light and holy devotion--whom would it not ravish with delight?" charles the fifth of france amassed a fine library, afterwards sold to an english nobleman. lorenzo de medici, of hungary, and frederic duke of urbino, each gathered in the th century a magnificent collection of books. all of these became widely dispersed in later years, though the manuscripts of the duke of urbino's collection are preserved in the library of the vatican. i may here note a very few of the most extensive library collections now existing in europe and america. . of the great public libraries of europe, which owe much of their riches to the government privilege of the copy-tax, the national library of france is the oldest and the largest, now numbering two million six hundred thousand volumes. founded in the th century, it has had four hundred years of opportunity for steady and large increase. paris abounds in other public libraries also, in which respect it is far superior to london. . next to the bibliothèque nationale of france, comes the library of the british museum, with , , volumes, very rich both in manuscripts and in printed books in all languages. a liberal parliamentary grant of $ , a year for purchase of books and manuscripts keeps this great collection well up to date as to all important new works, besides enabling it constantly to fill up deficiencies in the literature of the past. following this, among the great libraries having over half a million books, come in numerical order volumes. . russian imperial library, st. petersburg, , , . royal library of prussia, berlin, , , . royal library of bavaria, munich, , . library of congress, washington city, , . boston public library, , . university library, strasburg, germany, , . imperial public library, vienna, , . bodleian library, oxford , it is a notable fact that among the richest monuments of learning that have been gathered by mankind, the university libraries hold a very high rank. reckoned in number of volumes, there are many of them which far outrank the government libraries, except in six instances. out of libraries, all exceeding , volumes, as reported in the annual _minerva_, in october, , no less than are the libraries of universities. strasburg heads the list, with a noble collection of , volumes; then oxford university, whose bodleian library numbers , ; leipzig university, , ; cambridge university, england, göttingen university, and harvard university, , each; the university of vienna, , ; the universities of heidelberg and of munich, , each; ghent and würzburg universities, , each; christiania, norway, university, and tübingen, each , ; university of chicago, , ; copenhagen university, , ; breslau, cracow, rostock and upsala, , each; yale university, new haven, , ; st. petersburg, , ; bologna, , ; freiburg and bonn universities, , each; prague, , ; trinity, dublin, , ; königsberg, , ; kiel, , ; naples, , ; and buda-pest, , . i need not detain you by enumerating those that fall below , volumes, but will say that the whole number of volumes in the university libraries embraced in my table is more than fifteen millions, which would be much enlarged if smaller libraries were included. a noble exhibit is this, which the institutions of the highest education hold up before us. * * * * * we may now consider, somewhat more in detail as to particulars, the origin and growth of the libraries of the united states. the record will show an amazingly rapid development, chiefly accomplished during the last quarter of a century, contrasted with the lamentably slow growth of earlier years. thirty years ago the present year, i was invited to give to the american social science association, then meeting at new york, a discourse upon public libraries in the united states. on recurring to this address, i have been agreeably surprised to find how completely its facts and figures belong to the domain of ancient history. for, while it may excite a smile to allude to anything belonging to a period only thirty years back as ancient history, yet, so rapid has been the accumulation, not only of books, but of libraries themselves in that brief period of three decades, as almost to justify the term employed. antiquarians must ever regard with interest the first efforts for the establishment of public libraries in the new world. the first record of books dedicated to a public purpose in that part of this country now occupied by the english-speaking race is, i believe, to be found in the following entry in the records of the virginia company of london: "november , .--after the acts of the former courte were read, a straunger stept in presentinge a mapp of s^r walter rawlighes contayinge a descripcon of guiana, and with the same fower great books as the guifte of one unto the company that desyred his name might not be made knowne, whereof one booke was a treatise of st. augustine of the citty of god translated into english, the other three greate volumes wer the works of mr. perkins' newlie corrected and amended, wch books the donor desyred they might be sent to the colledge in virginia there to remayne in saftie to the use of the collegiates thereafter, and not suffered at any time to be sent abroade or used in the meane while. for wch so worthy a guifte my lord of southampton desyred the p'tie that presented them to returne deserued thanks from himselfe and the rest of the company to him that had so kindly bestowed them."[ ] the college here referred to was the first ever founded in america, and was seated at henrico, at the confluence of the james river with the chickahominy. it was designed not only for the education of the virginia settlers, but to teach science and christianity to the indians. large contributions were raised in england by sir edwin sandys, and others of the virginia company, for its support. but this virginia college and its incipient library were doomed to a speedy extinction. like so many other brilliant "prospects for planting arts and learning in america," it did not survive the perils of the colonial epoch. it was brought to a period by the bloody indian massacre of march , , when three hundred and forty-seven of the virginia settlers were slaughtered in a day, the new settlement broken up, and the expanding lines of civilization contracted to the neighborhood of jamestown. harvard university library was founded in by the endowment of john harvard, who bequeathed to the new college his library and half of his estate. soon afterwards enriched by the zealous contributions of english puritans and philosophers, of berkeley, and baxter, and lightfoot, and sir kenelm digby, the first university library in america, after a century and a quarter of usefulness, was totally destroyed with the college edifice in the year by fire. when we contemplate the ravages of this element, which has consumed so many noble libraries, destroying not only printed books of priceless value, but often precious manuscripts which are unique and irreplaceable, a lively sense of regret comes over us that these creations of the intellect, which should be imperishable, are even yet at the mercy of an accident in all the libraries of the world save a very few. the destruction of books in private hands is natural and inevitable enough, and goes on continually. whole editions of books, now sought with avidity as the rarest volumes known to literature, have been gradually destroyed in innumerable fires, worn out in the hands of readers, used for waste paper by grocers and petty tradesmen, swallowed up in the sack of towns, or consumed by dampness, mould, or, in rare instances, by the remorseless tooth of time. yet there have always existed public libraries enough, had they been fire-proof, to have preserved many copies of every book bequeathed to the world, both before the invention of printing and since. but, when your insurance office is bankrupt, what becomes of the insured? when nearly all our public libraries are so constructed as to become an easy prey to the flames, the loss of so many books which have completely perished from the earth ceases to be wonderful. the growth of harvard university library, from its second foundation a century ago, has been steady, though at no time rapid. select and valuable in its principal contents, it has received numerous benefactions from the friends of learning, and promises to become the best, as it already is much the largest, among the university libraries of the country. its present strength is about , volumes. the year witnessed the birth of the first new york library open to public use. the rev. john sharp, then chaplain of his majesty's forces in that city (it was in the days of good king william of orange), bequeathed his private collection of books to found a "public library" in new york. the library thus organized was placed in charge of the corporation of the city, but the first city library of new york languished with little or no increase until , when a society of gentlemen undertook to found a public library by subscription, and succeeded so well that the city authorities turned over to them what remained of the public city library. this was the beginning of the new york society library, one of the largest of the proprietary libraries of the country. it was then, and for a long time afterwards, commonly known as "the city library." the continental congress profited by its stores, there being no other library open to their use; and the first congress under the constitution, which met in new york in , received the free use of the books it contained. the library is conducted on the share system, the payment of twenty-five dollars, and an annual assessment of six dollars, giving any one the privilege of membership. it now contains about , volumes. the same year, , in which the new york library was founded, ten connecticut ministers met together at lyme, each bringing a number of books, and saying, "i give these books for the founding of a college in this colony." such was the foundation of yale university, an institution that has done inestimable service to the cause of letters, having been fruitful of writers of books, as well as of living contributions to the ranks of every learned profession. thirty years later, we find the good bishop berkeley pausing from the lofty speculations which absorbed him, to send over to yale college what was called "the finest collection of books that ever came together at one time into america." for a century and a half the growth of this library was very slow, the college being oppressed with poverty. in , the number of volumes had risen only to , , but it is cheering to relate that the last thirty years have witnessed a growth so rapid that in yale university library had , volumes. the fourth considerable library founded in the united states was due in a large degree to the industry and zeal for knowledge of the illustrous franklin. as unquestionably the first established proprietary library in america, the library company of philadelphia merits especial notice. let us reverently take a leaf out of the autobiography of the printer-statesman of pennsylvania: "and now i set on foot my first project of a public nature, that for a subscription library. i drew up the proposals, got them put into form by our great scrivener, brockden, and by the help of my friends in the junto [the junto was a club for mutual improvement, founded by franklin] procured fifty subscribers at forty shillings each to begin with, and ten shillings a year for fifty years, the term our company was to continue. we afterwards obtained a charter, the company being increased to one hundred; this was the mother of all the north american subscription libraries now so numerous. it is become a great thing itself, and continually increasing. these libraries have improved the general conversation of the americans, made the common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen from other countries, and perhaps have contributed in some degree to the stand so generally made throughout the colonies in defence of their privileges." when this philadelphia library was founded, in , not a single city or town in england possessed a subscription library. even the library of the british museum, since become the greatest collection of books in the world, save one, was not opened until , more than a quarter of a century afterwards. although not designed as a public library of circulation, save to its own subscribers, the philadelphia library has been kept free to all for reference and consultation. the record of the gradual increase of the first philadelphia library from its first few hundred volumes, when franklin was but twenty-five years of age, to its present rank as the largest proprietary library in america, with , volumes of books, is highly interesting. its history, in fact, is to a large extent the history of intellectual culture in philadelphia, which remained, until the second decade in the present century, the foremost city of the union in population, and, from to , the seat of government of the united states. the philadelphia library company, in , voted that "the gentlemen who were to meet in congress" in that city should be furnished with such books as they might have occasion for; and the same privilege was exercised on the return of the government to that city, in , and until the removal of congress to washington in . during the nine months' occupation of philadelphia by the british army, it is refreshing to read that the conquerors lifted no spear against the muses' bower, but that "the officers, without exception, left deposits, and paid hire for the books borrowed by them." the collection, in respect of early printed books, is one of the largest and most valuable in america, embracing some books and files of newspapers which are to be found in no other public library. the selection of new books has been kept unusually free from the masses of novels and other ephemeral publications which overload most of our popular libraries, and the collection, although limited in extent in every field, and purposely leaving special topics, such as the medical and natural sciences, to the scientific libraries which abound in philadelphia, affords to the man of letters a good working library. the shares in the library cost forty dollars, with an annual assessment of four dollars to each stockholder. in , the great bequest of doctor james rush to the philadelphia library of his whole property, valued at over $ , , , was accepted by its stockholders, by the bare majority of five votes in a poll of over five hundred. this lack of harmony is attributable to the fact that the bequest, so generous in itself, was hampered by the donor with numerous conditions, deemed by many friends of the library to be highly onerous and vexatious. not the least among these was the following, which is cited from the will itself: "let the library not keep cushioned seats for time-wasting and lounging readers, nor places for every-day novels, mind-tainting reviews, controversial politics, scribblings of poetry and prose, biographies of unknown names, nor for those teachers of disjointed thinking, the daily newspapers." here is one more melancholy instance of a broad and liberal bequest narrowly bestowed. the spirit which animated the respectable testator in attempting to exclude the larger part of modern literature from the library which his money was to benefit may have been unexceptionable enough. doubtless there are evils connected with a public supply of frivolous and trifling literature; and perhaps our periodicals may be justly chargeable with devoting an undue proportion of their columns to topics of merely ephemeral interest. but it should never be forgotten that the literature of any period is and must be largely occupied with the questions of the day. thus, and thus only, it becomes a representative literature, and it is precious to posterity in proportion as it accurately reflects the spirit, the prejudices, and the personalities of a time which has passed into history, leaving behind it no living representatives. if we admit that the development of the human intellect at any particular period is worth studying, then all books are, or may become, useful. it is amazing that a person with any pretensions to discernment should denounce newspapers as unfitted to form a part of a public library. the best newspapers of the time are sometimes the best books of the time. a first-class daily journal is an epitome of the world, recording the life and the deeds of men, their laws and their literature, their politics and religion, their social and criminal statistics, the progress of invention and of art, the revolutions of empires, and the latest results of science. grant that newspapers are prejudiced, superficial, unfair; so also are books. grant that the journals often give place to things scurrilous and base; but can there be anything baser or more scurrilous than are suffered to run riot in books? there is to be found hidden away in the pages of some books such filth as no man would dare to print in a newspaper, from fear of the instant wrath of the passers-by. when i consider the debt which libraries and literature alike owe to the daily and weekly press, it is difficult to characterize with patience the parthian arrow flung at it from the grave of a querulous millionaire, who will owe to these very newspapers the greater part of his success and his reputation. the father of the respectable testator, doctor benjamin rush, has left on record many learned speculations concerning the signs and evidences of lunacy. we may now add to the number the vagaries of the author of a ponderous work on the human intellect, who gravely proposed to hand over to posterity an expurgated copy of the nineteenth century, with all its newspapers left out. the library of congress, or, as it was called in its first general catalogue in , "the library of the united states," was founded in , by the purchase of five thousand dollars' worth of books by act of congress, upon the removal of the government to washington. by the act of january , , entitled "an act concerning the library for the use of both houses of congress," this library was placed in charge of a joint committee of both houses of congress, consisting of three senators and three representatives, and a librarian, to be appointed by the president of the united states. it had grown to the number of only , volumes in , when the british army made a bonfire of our national capitol, and the library was consumed in the ruins. the first library of congress being thus destroyed, ex-president jefferson, then living, involved in debt, and in his old age, at monticello, offered his fine private library of , volumes to congress, through friends in that body, the terms of payment to be made convenient to the public, and the price to be fixed by a committee. the proposition met with able advocacy and also with some warm opposition. it is illustrative of the crude conceptions regarding the uses of books which prevailed in the minds of some members, that the library was objected to on the somewhat incongruous grounds of embracing too many editions of the bible, and a number of the french writers in skeptical philosophy. it was gravely proposed to pack up this portion of the library, and return it to the illustrious owner at monticello, paying him for the remainder. more enlightened counsels, however, prevailed, and the nation became possessed, for about $ , , of a good basis for a public library which might become worthy of the country. the collection thus formed grew by slow accretion until, in , it had accumulated , volumes. on the th of december in that year, a defective flue in the capitol set fire to the wood-work with which the whole library was surrounded, and the result was a conflagration, from which , volumes only were saved. congress at once appropriated, with praiseworthy liberality, $ , for the purchase of new books, and $ , for rebuilding the library room in solid iron; the first instance of the employment of that safe and permanent material, so capable of the lightest and most beautiful architectural effects, in the entire interior structure of any public building. the appropriation of $ , was principally expended in the purchase of standard english literature, including complete sets of many important periodicals, and a selection of the more costly works in science and the fine arts. in , two wings, each as large as the central library, and constructed of the same fire-proof material, were added to it, and quickly filled by the accession, the same year and the following, of two large libraries, that of the smithsonian institution, and the historical library of peter force, of washington. the latter was the largest private library ever then brought together in the united states, but its chief value consisted in its possession of a very great proportion of the books relating to the settlement, history, topography, and politics of america, its , pamphlets, its files of early newspapers of the revolution, its early printed books, and its rich assemblage of maps and manuscripts, many of the latter being original autographs of the highest historical interest, including military letters and papers of the period of the american revolution. the smithsonian library, the custody of which was accepted by congress as a trust, is rich in scientific works in all the languages of europe, and forms an extensive and appropriate supplement to the library of congress, the chief strength of which lies in jurisprudence, political science, history, and books relating to america. yet no department of literature or science has been left unrepresented in its formation, and the fact has been kept steadily in view that the library of the government must become, sooner or later, a universal one. as the only library which is entitled to the benefit of the copyright law, by which copies of each publication for which the government grants an exclusive right must be deposited in the national library, this collection must become annually more important as an exponent of the growth of american literature. this wise provision of law prevents the dispersion or destruction of books that tend continually to disappear; a benefit to the cause of letters, the full value of which it requires slight reflection to estimate. this national library now embraces , volumes, besides about , pamphlets. it is freely open, as a library of reference and reading, to the whole people; but the books are not permitted to be drawn out, except by senators and representatives and a few officials for use at the seat of government. its new, commodious and beautiful building, which may fitly be called the book-palace of the american people, open day and evening to all comers, is a delight to the eye, and to the mind. * * * * * the library of the boston athenaeum originated, in the year , with a society of gentlemen of literary tastes, who aimed at creating a reading-room for the best foreign and american periodicals, together with a library of books. to this a gallery of art was subsequently added. the undertaking proved at once successful, leaving us to wonder why cultivated boston, though abounding in special and parish libraries, should so long have done without a good general library; new york having anticipated her by fifty-two years, and philadelphia by three-quarters of a century. the athenaeum library is peculiarly rich in files of american newspapers, both old and new, and its collection of early pamphlets is one of the largest in the country. in literature and science it embraces a heavy proportion of the best books, its total number of volumes being reckoned at , . its collection of books, pamphlets, and newspapers relating to the recent civil war is among the completest known. the price of a share in the athenaeum is three hundred dollars, a large sum when compared with that of other proprietary libraries; but it involves much more valuable property-rights than any other. the annual assessment is five dollars to shareholders, who alone possess the right to draw books. the proprietors have also the power to grant free admission to others, and the library and reading-room are thus thrown open for reference to a wide range of readers. the history of the astor library, opened in , has been made too familiar by repeated publication to need repetition here. the generous founder gave two per cent. out of his fortune of $ , , to create a free public library for the city which had given him all his wealth. the gift was a splendid one, greater than had ever before been given in money to found a library. moreover, the $ , of mr. astor, half a century ago, appeared to be, and perhaps was, a larger sum relatively than four millions in new york of to-day. yet it remains true that the bequest was but one-fiftieth part of the fortune of the donor, and that the growth and even the proper accommodation of the library must have stopped, but for the spontaneous supplementary gifts of the principal inheritors of his vast wealth. the growth of the astor library has been very slow, the annual income from what was left of mr. astor's $ , bequest, after defraying the cost of the library building, and the $ , expended for books at its foundation in , having been so small as to necessitate a pinching economy, both in salaries of the library staff, and in the annual purchase of books. it was an example of a generous act performed in a niggardly way. but after the lapse of half a century, enlightened public policy, building upon the astor foundation, and on the lenox and tilden bequests for founding public libraries in new york city, is about to equip that long neglected city with a library worthy of the name. there has already been gathered from these three united benefactions, a collection of no less than , volumes, making the new york public library take rank as the fourth, numerically, in the united states. while no library in america has yet reached one million volumes, there are five libraries in europe, which have passed the million mark. some of these, it is true, are repositories of ancient and mediaeval literature, chiefly, with a considerable representation of the books of the last century, and but few accessions from the more modern press. such, for the most part, are the numerous libraries of italy, while others, like the library of the british museum, in london, and the national library, at paris, are about equally rich in ancient and modern literature. the one great advantage which european libraries possess over american consists in the stores of ancient literature which the accumulations of the past have given them. this advantage, so far as manuscripts and early printed books are concerned, can never be overcome. with one or two hundred thousand volumes as a basis, what but utter neglect can prevent a library from becoming a great and useful institution? the most moderate share of discrimination, applied to the selection of current literature, will keep up the character of the collection as a progressive one. but with nothing at all as a basis, as most of our large american libraries have started, it will take generations for us to overtake some of the vast collections of europe--even numerically. in the "american almanac" for was published the earliest statistical account of american libraries which i have found. it is confined to a statement of the numerical contents of twenty public and university libraries, being all the american libraries which then (sixty years since) contained over , volumes each. the largest library in the united states at that date was that of the philadelphia library company, which embraced , volumes. the first organized effort to collect the full statistics of libraries in the united states was made in , by professor c. c. jewett, then librarian of the smithsonian institution, and the results were published in , under the auspices of that institution, in a volume of pages. it contains interesting notices of numerous libraries, only forty of which, however, contained as many as , volumes each. in , mr. w. j. rhees, of the smithsonian institution, published "a manual of public libraries, institutions, and societies in the united states," a large volume of pages, filled with statistical information in great detail, and recording the number of volumes in libraries. this work was an expansion of that of professor jewett. the next publication of the statistics of american libraries, of an official character, was published in "the national almanac," philadelphia, for the year , pp. - , and was prepared by the present writer. it gave the statistics of libraries, each numbering , volumes or upwards, exhibiting a gratifying progress in all the larger collections, and commemorating the more advanced and vigorous of the new libraries which had sprung into life. the work of collecting and publishing the statistics of american libraries has for years past been admirably performed by the united states bureau of education. begun in , that institution has issued four tabular statements of all libraries responding to its circulars of inquiry, and having (as last reported in ) one thousand volumes or upwards. besides these invaluable reports, costing much careful labor and great expense, the bureau of education published, in , an extensive work wholly devoted to the subject of libraries, bearing the title "special report on public libraries in the united states." this publication (now wholly out of print) consisted of pages, replete with information upon the history, management, and condition of american libraries, under the editorship of s. r. warren and s. n. clark, of the bureau of education. it embraced many original contributions upon topics connected with library science, by experienced librarians, _viz._: messrs. w. f. poole, justin winsor, c. a. cutter, j. s. billings, theo. gill, melvil dewey, o. h. robinson, w. i. fletcher, f. b. perkins, h. a. homes, a. r. spofford, and others. i have prepared a table of the numerical contents of the thirty-four largest libraries in this country in , being all those having , volumes each or upwards: library of congress, washington, , boston public library, boston, , harvard university library, cambridge, , new york public library, new york city, , university of chicago library, , new york state library, albany, , yale university library, new haven, , new york mercantile library, new york, , columbia university library, new york, , chicago public library, , cincinnati public library, , cornell university library, ithaca, n. y., , sutro library, san francisco, , newberry library, chicago, , philadelphia library company, , philadelphia mercantile library, , boston athenaeum library, , enoch pratt library, baltimore, , philadelphia mercantile library, , detroit public library, detroit, mich., , university of pennsylvania library, phila., , princeton university library, princeton, n. j., , pennsylvania state library, harrisburg, , peabody institute library, baltimore, , cleveland public library, cleveland, o., , st. louis public library, , mechanics and tradesmen's library, new york, , free public library, worcester, mass., , san francisco public library, , philadelphia free library, , american antiquarian society library, worcester, mass., , california state library, sacramento, , massachusetts state library, boston, , new york society library, new york, , public libraries endowed by private munificence form already a large class, and these are constantly increasing. of the public libraries founded by individual bequest, some of the principal are the public library of new york, the watkinson library, at hartford, the peabody institute libraries, of baltimore, and at danvers and peabody, mass., the newberry library and the john crerar library at chicago, the sutro library, san francisco, the enoch pratt library, baltimore, and the carnegie libraries at pittsburgh and allegheny city, pa. nearly all of them are the growth of the last quarter of a century. the more prominent, in point of well equipped buildings or collections of books, are here named, including all which number ten thousand volumes each, or upwards, among the public libraries associated with the founder's name. new york public library (astor lenox and tilden foundations), , newberry library, chicago, , sutro library, san francisco, , enoch pratt library, baltimore, , peabody institute library, baltimore, , davenport library, bath, n. y., , silas bronson library, waterbury, conn., , pratt institute free library, brooklyn, n. y., , watkinson library, hartford, conn., , sage library, new brunswick, n. y., , case library, cleveland, ohio, , grosvenor library, buffalo, n. y., , forbes library, northampton, mass., , cooper union library, new york, , fisk free public library, new orleans, , peabody institute library, peabody, mass., , reynolds library, rochester, n. y., , carnegie free library, allegheny, pa., , fletcher free library, burlington, vt., , howard memorial library, new orleans, , carnegie library, pittsburgh, pa., , sage public library, west bay city, mich., , hoyt public library, saginaw, mich., , osterhout free library, wilkesbarre, pa., , seymour library, auburn, n. y., , hackley public library, muskegon, mich., , willard library, evansville, ind., , otis library, norwich, conn., , morrison-reeves library, richmond, ind., , baxter memorial library, rutland, vt., , cornell library association, ithaca, n. y., , thomas crane public library, quincy, mass., , dimmick library, mauch chunk, pa., , gail borden public library, elgin, ill., , peabody institute library, danvers, mass., , tufts library, weymouth, mass., , warder public library, springfield, ohio, , withers public library, bloomington, ill., , cary library, lexington, mass., , fritz public library, chelsea, mass., , turner free library, randolph, mass., , ames free library, north easton, mass., , bigelow free library, clinton, mass., , clarke public library, coldwater, mich., , harris institute library, woonsocket, r. i., , merrick public library, brookfield, mass., , robbins library, arlington, mass., , nevins memorial library, methuen, mass., , sturgis library, barnstable, mass., , birchard library, fremont, ohio, , james prendergast library, jamestown, n. y., , rogers free library, bristol, r. i., , abbott public library, marblehead, mass., , armour institute, chicago, ill., , beebe town library, wakefield, mass., , carnegie free library, braddock, pa., , goodnow library, south sudbury, mass., , millicent library, fairhaven, mass., , thayer public library, south braintree, mass., , dyer library, saco, maine, , cossit library, memphis, tenn., , gloucester (mass.) sawyer free library, , ferguson library, stamford, conn., , parlin memorial library, everett, mass., , jennie d. haynes library, alton, ill., , hornell free library, hornellsville, n. y., , besides the preceding list, purposely confined to free libraries chiefly founded by individuals, which have reached the ten thousand volume mark, there are a multitude of others, too numerous to be named, having a less number of volumes. in fact, the public spirit which gives freely of private wealth to enlarge the intelligence of the community may be said to grow by emulation. many men who have made fortunes have endowed their native places with libraries. it is yearly becoming more and more widely recognized that a man can build no monument to himself so honorable or so lasting as a free public library. its influence is well nigh universal, and its benefits are perennial. * * * * * we now come to consider the city or town libraries, created or maintained by voluntary taxation. these, like the class of libraries founded by private munificence, are purely a modern growth. while the earliest movement in this direction in great britain dates back only to , new hampshire has the honor of adopting the first free public library law, in america, in the year . massachusetts followed in , and the example was emulated by other states at various intervals, until there now remain but fifteen out of our forty-five states which have no public library law. the general provisions of these laws authorize any town or city to collect taxes by vote of the citizens for maintaining a public library, to be managed by trustees elected or appointed for the purpose. but a more far-reaching provision for supplying the people with public libraries was adopted by new hampshire (again the pioneer state), in . this was nothing less than the passage of a state law making it compulsory on every town in new hampshire to assess annually the sum of thirty dollars for every dollar of public taxes apportioned to such town, the amount to be appropriated to establish and maintain a free public library. library trustees are to be elected, and in towns where no public library exists, the money is to be held by them, and to accumulate until the town is ready to establish a library. this new hampshire statute, making obligatory the supply of public information through books and periodicals in free libraries in every town, may fairly be termed the high-water mark of modern means for the diffusion of knowledge. this system of creating libraries proceeds upon the principle that intellectual enlightenment is as much a concern of the local government as sanitary regulations or public morality. society has an interest that is common to all classes in the means that are provided for the education of the people. among these means free town or city libraries are one of the most potent and useful. new hampshire and massachusetts, in nearly all of their towns and cities, have recognized the principle that public books are just as important to the general welfare as public lamps. what are everywhere needed are libraries open to the people as a matter of right, and not as a matter of favor. the largest library in the country, save one (that at washington), owes its origin and success to this principle, combined with some private munificence. the boston public library is unquestionably one of the most widely useful collections of books open to the public in this country. of all the greater collections, it is the only one which lends out books free of charge to all citizens. instituted in , its career has been one of rapid progress and ever widening usefulness. i shall not dwell upon it at length, as the facts regarding it have been more widely published than those relating to any other library. under the permissive library laws of thirty states, there had been formed up to , when the last comprehensive statistics were gathered, about , free public libraries, supported by taxation, in the united states. a still more widely successful means of securing a library foundation that shall be permanent is found in uniting private benefactions with public money to found or to maintain a library. many public-spirited citizens, fortunately endowed with large means, have offered to erect library buildings in certain places, on condition that the local authorities would provide the books, and the means of maintaining a free library. such generous offers, whether coupled with the condition of perpetuating the donor's name with that of the library, or leaving the gift unhampered, so that the library may bear the name of the town or city of its location, have generally been accepted by municipal bodies, or by popular vote. this secures, in most cases, a good working library of choice reading, as well as its steady annual growth and management, free of the heavy expense of building, of which the tax-payers are relieved. the many munificent gifts of library buildings by mr. andrew carnegie, to american towns and cities, and to some in his native scotland, are worthy of special note. and the reader will see from the long list heretofore given of the more considerable public libraries to be credited wholly or in part to private munificence, that american men of wealth have not been wanting as public benefactors. in some cases, whole libraries have been given to a town or village where a public library already existed, or liberal gifts or bequests of money, to be expended in the enrichment of such libraries, have been bestowed. very interesting lists of benefactions for the benefit of libraries may be found in the volumes of the library journal, new york. it is with regret that candor requires me to add, that several proffers of fine library buildings to certain places, coupled with the condition that the municipal authorities would establish and maintain a free library, have remained without acceptance, thus forfeiting a liberal endowment. where public education has been so neglected as to render possible such a niggardly, penny-wise and pound-foolish policy, there is manifestly signal need of every means of enlightenment. * * * * * we now come to the various state libraries founded at the public charge, and designed primarily for the use of the respective legislatures of the states. the earliest of these is the new hampshire state library, established in , and the largest is the new york state library, at albany, founded in , now embracing , volumes, and distinguished alike by the value of its stores and the liberality of its management. the reason for being of a state library is obviously and primarily to furnish the legislative body and state courts with such ample books of reference in jurisprudence, history, science, etc., as will aid them in the intelligent discharge of their duties as law-makers and judges of the law. the library thus existing at each state capital may well be opened to the public for reading and reference, thus greatly enlarging its usefulness. every state in the union has now at least a legislative library, although the most of them consist chiefly of laws and legislative documents, with a few works of reference superadded; and their direct usefulness to the public is therefore very circumscribed. the new york state library is a model of what a great public library should be in the capital of a state. in it are gathered a great proportion of the best books in each department of literature and science, while indefatigable efforts have been made to enrich it in whatever relates to american history and polity. its reading-room is freely opened to the public during many hours daily. but a state library should never be made a library of circulation, since its utility as a reference library, having its books always in for those who seek them, would thereby be destroyed. even under the existing system, with the privilege of drawing books out confined to the legislature, some of the state libraries have been depleted and despoiled of many of their most valuable books, through loaning them freely on the orders of members. the sense of responsibility is far less in the case of borrowed books which are government property, than in other cases. the only safe rule for keeping a government library from being scattered, is strict refusal of orders for loaning to any one not legally entitled to draw books, and short terms of withdrawal to legislators, with enforcement of a rule of replacement, at their expense, as to all books not returned at the end of each session. * * * * * there is one class of libraries not yet touched upon, namely, school district libraries. these originated for the first time in a legally organized system, through an act of the new york state legislature in , authorizing the voters in each school district to levy a tax of twenty dollars with which to start a library, and ten dollars a year for adding to the same. these were not to be for the schools alone, but for all the people living in the district where the school was located. this was supplemented in by a state appropriation of $ , a year, from new york's share of the surplus revenue fund distributed by congress to the states in , and the income of which was devoted by new york to enlarging the school district libraries. after spending nearly two millions of dollars on these libraries in forty years, the system was found to have been so far a failure that the volumes in the libraries had decreased from , , to , volumes. this extraordinary and deplorable result was attributed to several distinct causes. st. no proper responsibility as to the use and return of books was enforced. d. the insignificance of the sum raised by taxation in each district prevented any considerable supply of books from being acquired. d. the funds were largely devoted to buying the same books in each school district, instead of being expended in building up a large and varied collection. thus the system produced innumerable petty libraries of duplicates, enriching publishers and booksellers, while impoverishing the community. the school district library system, in short, while promising much in theory, in the way of public intelligence, broke down completely in practice. the people quickly lost interest in libraries which gave them so little variety in books, either of instruction or of recreation. although widely introduced in other states besides new york, from to , it proved an admitted failure in all. much public money, raised by taxation of the people, was squandered upon sets of books, selected by state authority, and often of inferior interest and utility. finally, it was recognized that school district libraries were an evanescent dream, and that town libraries must take their place. this instructive chapter in library history shows an experience by which much was learned, though the lesson was a costly one. the historical libraries of the country are numerous, and some of the larger ones are rich in printed americana, and in historical manuscripts. the oldest is that of the massachusetts historical society, founded in , and among the most extensive are those of the new york historical society, american antiquarian society, the historical society of pennsylvania, the new england historic-genealogical society, and the wisconsin state historical society. there are no less than historical societies in the u. s., some forty of which are state associations. the mercantile libraries are properly a branch of the proprietary, though depending mostly upon annual subscriptions. the earliest of these was the boston mercantile library, founded in , and followed closely by the new york mercantile the same year, the philadelphia in , and the cincinnati mercantile in . next we have the professional libraries, law, medical, scientific, and, in several cities, theological. these supply a want of each of these professions seldom met by the public collections, and are proportionately valuable. * * * * * the most recent plan for the wide diffusion of popular books is the travelling library. this originated in new york in , when the legislature empowered the regents of the state university (a body of trustees having charge of all library interests in that state) to send out selections of books to any community without a library, on request of resident taxpayers. the results were most beneficial, the sole expense being five dollars for each library. travelling libraries, (mostly of fifty volumes each) have been set on foot in massachusetts, michigan, iowa, wisconsin, pennsylvania, and other states, and, as the system appears capable of indefinite expansion, great results are anticipated in the direction of the public intelligence. it is pointed out that while the state, by its free school system, trains all the people to read, it should not leave the quality of their reading to chance or to utter neglect, when a few cents _per capita_ annually would help them to an education of inestimable value in after life. some objections, on the other hand, have been urged to the system, as introducing features of paternalism into state government, and taking out of the hands of individual generosity and local effort and enterprise what belongs properly to such agencies. the vexed question of the proper function and limitations of state control in the domain of education cannot here be entered upon. in the volume last published of statistics of american libraries, that of , great progress was shown in the five years since . the record of libraries reported in embraced , collections, being all which contained over , volumes each. the increase in volumes in the five years was a little over seven millions, the aggregate of the , libraries being , , volumes. this increase was over per cent. in only five years. if the good work so splendidly begun, in new england, new york, pennsylvania, and some of the western states, in establishing libraries through public taxation and private munificence, can only be extended in the southern and middle states, the century now about to dawn will witness an advance quite as remarkable as we have seen in the latter years of the century about to close. footnotes: [ ] ms. records of the virginia company, in the library of congress. chapter . library buildings and furnishings. proceeding now to the subject of library buildings, reading-rooms, and furnishings, it must be remarked at the outset that very few rules can be laid down which are of universal application. the architectural plans, exterior and interior, of such great institutions as the library of congress, or the boston public library, with their costly marbles, splendid mural decorations, and electric book-serving machinery, afford no model for the library building in the country village. where the government of a nation or a wealthy city has millions to devote for providing a magnificent book-palace for its library, the smaller cities or towns have only a few thousands. so much the more important is it, that a thoroughly well-considered plan for building should be marked out before beginning to build, that no dollars should be wasted, or costly alterations required, in order to fit the interior for all the uses of a library. the need of this caution will be abundantly evident, in the light of the unfit and inconvenient constructions seen in so many public libraries, all over the country. so general has been the want of carefully planned and well-executed structures for books, that it may fairly be said that mistakes have been the rule, and fit adaptation the exception. for twenty years past, at every meeting of the american library association, the reports upon library buildings have deplored the waste of money in well-meant edifices designed to accommodate the library service, but successful only in obstructing it. even in so recent a construction as the boston public library building, so many defects and inconveniences were found after it was supposed to have been finished, that rooms had to be torn out and re-constructed on three floors, while the pneumatic tube system had been found so noisy as to be a public nuisance, and had to be replaced by a later improved construction. one leading cause for the mistakes which are so patent in our library buildings is that they are not planned by librarians but mainly by architects. the library authorities commonly take it for granted that the able architect is master of his profession, and entrust him with the whole design, leaving out of account the librarian, as a mere subordinate, entitled only to secondary consideration. the result is a plan which exhibits, in its prominent features, the architect's skill in effective pilasters, pillars, architraves, cornices, and balustrades, while the library apartments which these features ornament are planned, not for convenient and rapid book-service, but mainly for show. it is the interest of architects to magnify their profession: and as none of them has ever been, or ever will be a librarian, they cannot be expected to carry into effect unaided, what they have never learned; namely, the interior arrangements which will best meet the utilities of the library service. here is where the librarian's practical experience, or his observation of the successes or failures in the reading-room and delivery service of other libraries, should imperatively be called in. let him demonstrate to the governing board that he knows what is needed for prompt and economical administration, and they will heed his judgment, if they are reasonable men. while it belongs to the architect to plan, according to his own ideas, the outside of the building, the inside should be planned by the architect in direct concert with the librarian, in all save merely ornamental or finishing work. we do not erect a building and then determine whether it is to be a school house or a church: it is planned from the start with strict reference to the utilities involved; and so should it always be with a library. in treating this subject, i shall not occupy space in outlining the proper scheme of building and interior arrangement for a great library, with its many distinct departments, for such institutions are the exceptions, while most libraries come within the rule of very moderate size, and comparatively inexpensive equipment. the first requisite for a public library, then, is a good location. it is important that this should be central, but it is equally important that the building should be isolated--that is, with proper open space on all sides, and not located in a block with other buildings. many libraries have been destroyed or seriously damaged by fire originating in neighboring buildings, or in other apartments in the same building; while fires in separate library buildings have been extremely rare. it would be a wise provision to secure a library lot sufficiently large in area to admit of further additions to the building, both in the rear and at the side; and with slight addition to the cost, the walls and their supports may be so planned as to admit of this. committees are seldom willing to incur the expense of an edifice large enough to provide for very prolonged growth of their collection; and the result is that the country is full of overcrowded libraries, without money to build, and prevented from expanding on the spot because no foresight was exercised in the original construction or land purchase, to provide for ready increase of space by widening out, and removing an outer wall so as to connect the old building with the new addition. if a library has , volumes, it would be very short-sighted policy to plan an edifice to contain less than , , which it is likely to reach in from ten to forty years. the next requisite to a central and sufficient site is that the location must be dry and airy. any low site, especially in river towns, will be damp, and among the enemies of books, moisture holds a foremost place. next, the site should afford light on all sides, and if necessary to place it near any thoroughfare, it should be set back so as to afford ample light and ventilation in front. it need hardly be said that every library building should be fire-proof, after the many costly lessons we have had of the burning of public libraries at home and abroad. the material for the outside walls may be brick or stone, according to taste or relative cost. brick is good enough, and if of the best quality, and treated with stone trimmings, is capable of sufficiently ornate effects, and is quite as durable as any granite or marble. no temptation of cheapness should ever be allowed to introduce wood in any part of the construction: walls, floors, and roof should be only of brick, stone, iron, or slate. a wooden roof is nothing but a tinder-box that invites the flames. in general, two stories is a sufficient height for library buildings, except in those of the largest class, and the upper floors may be amply lighted by sky-lights. the side-lights can hardly be too numerous: yet i have seen library buildings running back from a street fifty to seventy-five feet, without a single window in either of the side walls. the result was to throw all the books on shelves into a gloomy shade for many hours of each day. the interior construction should be so managed as to effect the finding and delivery of books to readers with the greatest possible economy of time and space. no shelves should be placed higher than can be reached by hand without mounting upon any steps or ladders; _i. e._, seven to seven and a half feet. the system of shelving should all be constructed of iron or steel, instead of surrounding the books on three sides with combustible wood, as is done in most libraries. shelves of oxidized metal will be found smooth enough to prevent any abrasion of bindings. shelves should be easily adjustable to any height, to accommodate the various sizes of books. in calculating shelf capacity, one and a half inches thickness a volume is a fair average, so that each hundred volumes would require about thirteen feet of linear shelf measurement. the space between uprights, that is, the length of each shelf, should not exceed two and a half feet. all spaces between shelves should be ½ or inches high, to accommodate large octavos indiscriminately with smaller sizes; and a base shelf for quartos and folios, at a proper height from the floor, will restrict the number of shelves to six in each tier. in the arrangement of the cases or book-stacks, the most economical method is to place book-cases of double face, not less than three feet apart, approached by aisles on either side, so as to afford free passage for two persons meeting or passing one another. the cases may be about ten feet each in length. there should be electric lights between all cases, to be turned on only when books are sought. the cases should be set at right angles to the wall, two or three feet from it, with the light from abundant windows coming in between them. the width of shelves may be from to inches in these double cases, thus giving about eight to nine inches depth to each side. no partition is required between the two sides. it should be stated that the light obtained from windows, when thrown more than twenty feet, among cases of books on shelves, becomes too feeble for effective use in finding books. this fact should be considered in advance, while plans of construction, lighting, and interior arrangement are being made. all experience has shown that too much light cannot be had in any public library. railings and stair-cases for the second or upper floors should be of perforated iron. the reading-room should be distinct from the book delivery or charging-room, to secure quiet for readers at all hours, avoiding the pressure, hurry and noise of conversation inevitable in a lending library or department. in the reading-room should be shelved a liberal supply of books of reference, and bibliographies, open without tickets to the readers. next the central desk there should be shelves for the deposit of books reserved day by day for the use of readers. the library chairs, of whatever pattern may be preferred, should always combine the two requisites of strength and lightness. the floor should be covered with linoleum, or some similar floor covering, to deaden sound. woolen carpets, those perennial breeders of dust, are an abomination. in a library reading-room of any considerable size, each reader should be provided with table or desk room, not flat but sloping at a moderate angle, and allowing about three feet of space for each reader. these appliances for study need not be single pieces of furniture, but made in sections to accommodate from three to six readers at each. about thirty inches from the floor is a proper height. for large dictionaries, atlases, or other bulky volumes, the adjustable revolving case, mounted on a pedestal, should be used. for moving any large number of volumes about the library, book-trucks or barrows, with noiseless rubber wheels, are required. every library will need one or more catalogue cases to hold the alphabetical card catalogue. these are made with a maximum of skill by the library bureau, boston. the location of the issue-counter or desk is of cardinal importance. it should be located near the centre of the system of book-cases, or near the entrance to the stack, so as to minimize the time consumed in collecting the books wanted. it should also have a full supply of light, and this may be secured by a location directly in front of a large side window. readers are impatient of delay, and the farther the books are from the issue-counter the longer they will have to wait for them. among modern designs for libraries, that of dr. w. f. poole, adapted for the newberry library, chicago, is notable for dividing the library into many departments or separate rooms, the book shelves occupying one half the height of each, or ½ feet out of , the remaining space being occupied by windows. this construction, of course, does not furnish as compact storage for books as the stack system. it is claimed to possess the advantage of extraordinarily good light, and of aiding the researches of readers. but it has the disadvantage of requiring readers to visit widely separated rooms to pursue studies involving several subjects, and of mounting in elevators to reach some departments. a system which brings the books to the reader, instead of the readers travelling after the books, would appear to be more practically useful to the public, with whom time is of cardinal importance. in all libraries, there should be a receiving or packing room, where boxes and parcels of books are opened and books mended, collated, and prepared for the shelves. this room may well be in a dry and well lighted basement. two small cloak-rooms for wraps will be needed, one for each sex. two toilet rooms or lavatories should be provided. a room for the library directors or trustees, and one for the librarian, are essential in libraries of much extent. a janitor's room or sleeping quarters sometimes needs to be provided. a storage room for blanks, stationery, catalogues, etc., will be necessary in libraries of much extent. a periodical room is sometimes provided, distinct from the reading-room or the delivery department. in this case, if several hundred periodicals are taken, an attendant should be always present to serve them to readers, from the shelves or cases where they should be kept in alphabetical order. without this, and a ticket system to keep track of what are in use, no one can readily find what is needed, nor ascertain whether it is in a reader's hands when sought for. system and the alphabet alone will solve all difficulties. as to the space required for readers in a periodical room, it may be assumed that about five hundred square feet will accommodate twenty-five readers, and the same proportion for a larger number at one time. a room twenty-five by forty would seat fifty readers, while one twenty-five by twenty would accommodate twenty-five readers, with proper space for tables, &c. the files for newspapers are referred to in another chapter on periodicals. in a library building, the heating and ventilation are of prime importance. upon their proper regulation largely depends the health and consequently the efficiency of all employed, as well as the comfort of the reading public. there is no space to enter upon specific descriptions, for which the many conflicting systems, with experience of their practical working, should be examined. suffice it to say in general, that a temperature not far below nor above degrees fahrenheit should be aimed at; that the furnace, with its attendant nuisances of noise, dust, and odors, should be outside the library building--not under it; and that electric lighting alone should be used, gas being highly injurious to the welfare of books. in calculating the space required for books shelved as has been heretofore suggested, it may be approximately stated that every one thousand volumes will require at least eighty to one hundred square feet of floor measurement. thus, a library of , volumes would occupy an area of nearly one thousand square feet. but it is necessary to provide also for the continual growth of the collection. to do this, experience shows that in any flourishing public library, space should be reserved for three or four times the number of volumes in actual possession. if rooms are hired for the books, because of inability to build, the library should be so arranged as to leave each alternate shelf vacant for additions, or, in the more rapidly growing divisions, a still greater space. this will permit accessions to be shelved with their related books, without the trouble of frequently moving and re-arranging large divisions of the library. this latter is a very laborious process, and should be resorted to only under compulsion. the preventive remedy, of making sure of space in advance, by leaving a sufficiency of unoccupied shelves in every division of the library, is the true one. in some libraries, a separate reading-room for ladies is provided. mr. w. f. poole records that in cincinnati such a room was opened at the instance of the library directors. the result was that the ladies made it a kind of social rendezvous, where they talked over society matters, and exhibited the bargains made in their shopping excursions. ladies who came to study preferred the general reading room, where they found every comfort among well conducted gentlemen, and the "ladies' reading-room" was abandoned, as not fulfilling its object. the same experiment in the chicago public library had the same result. some libraries in the larger towns provide a special reading-room for children; and this accomplishes a two-fold object, namely, to keep the public reading-room free from flocks of little people in pursuit of books under difficulties, and to furnish the boys and girls with accommodations of their own. it may be suggested as an objection, that the dividing line as to age is difficult to be drawn: but let each applicant be questioned, and if falling below twelve, or fifteen, or whatever the age limit may be, directed to the juvenile reading-room, and there need be no trouble. of course there will be some quite young readers who are gifted with intelligence beyond their years, and who may dislike to be reckoned as children; but library rules are not made to suit exceptions, but for the average; and as no book need be refused to any applicant in the juvenile department, no just cause of complaint can arise. in some libraries, and those usually of the larger size, an art room is provided, where students of works on painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts can go, and have about them whatever treasures the library may contain in that attractive field. the advantages of this provision are, first, to save the necessity of handling and carrying so many heavy volumes of galleries of art and illustrated books to the general reading-room, and back again, and secondly, to enable those in charge of the art department to exercise more strict supervision in enforcing careful and cleanly treatment of the finest books in the library, than can be maintained in the miscellaneous crowd of readers in the main reading-room. the objections to it concern the general want of room to set apart for this purpose, and the desirability of concentrating the use of books in one main hall or reading-room. circumstances and experience should determine the question for each library. some public libraries, and especially those constructed in recent years, are provided with a lecture-hall, or a large room for public meetings, concerts, or occasionally, even an opera-house, in the same building with the library. there are some excellent arguments in favor of this; and especially where a public benefactor donates to a city a building which combines both uses. the building given by mr. andrew carnegie to the public library of washington will be provided with a small hall suited to meetings, &c. but in all cases, such a public hall should be so isolated from the library reading-room as not to annoy readers, to whom quiet is essential. this end can be effected by having the intervening walls and floors so constructed as completely to deaden sound. a wholly distinct entrance should also be provided, not communicating with the doors and passages leading to the library. comparisons are sometimes made as to the relative cost of library buildings to the number of volumes they are designed to accommodate; but such estimates are misleading. the cost of an edifice in which architectural beauty and interior decoration concur to make it a permanent ornament to a city or town, need not be charged up at so much per volume. buildings for libraries have cost all the way from twenty-five cents up to $ . for each volume stored. the library of congress, which cost six million dollars, and will ultimately accommodate , , volumes, cost about $ . per volume. but it contains besides books, some half a million musical compositions, works of graphic art, maps and charts, etc. the comparative cost of some library buildings erected in recent years, with ultimate capacity of each, may be of interest. kansas city public library, + , , vols., $ , . newark, n. j. free library, + , , vols., $ , . forbes library, northampton, mass. (granite), + , , vols., $ , . fall river, ms. library, + , , vols., $ , . peoria, ill. public library (brick), + , $ , . smiley memorial library, redlands, cal. (brick), + , $ , . reuben hoar library, littleton, mass. (brick), + , , vols., $ , . rogers memorial library, southworth, n. y. + , , vols., $ , . belfast (me.) free library (granite), + , $ , . gail-borden public library, elgin, ill. (brick), + , $ , . warwick, mass. public library (wood), + , , vols., $ , . the largely increased number of public library buildings erected in recent years is a most cheering sign of the times. since , eleven extensive new library buildings have been opened: namely, the library of congress, the boston public library, the pratt institute library, brooklyn, the columbia university library, new york, the princeton, n. j. university library, the hart memorial library, of troy, n. y., the carnegie library, pittsburgh, the chicago public library, the peoria, ill. public library, the kansas city, mo. public library, and the omaha, neb. public library. and there are provided for eight more public library buildings, costing more than $ , each; namely, the providence, r. i. public library, the lynn, mass. public library, the fall river, mass. public library, the newark, n. j. free public library, the milwaukee, wis. public library and museum, the wisconsin state historical society library, madison, the new york public library, and the jersey city public library. to these will be added within the year , as is confidently expected, the washington city public library, the gift of andrew carnegie, to cost $ , . no philanthropist can ever find a nobler object for his fortune, or a more enduring monument to his memory, than the founding of a free public library. the year has witnessed a new gift by mr. carnegie of a one hundred thousand dollar library to atlanta, the capital of georgia, on condition that the city will provide a site, and $ , a year for the maintenance of the library. cities in the east are emulating one another in providing public library buildings of greater or less cost. if the town library cannot have magnificence, it need not have meanness. a competition among architects selected to submit plans is becoming the favorite method of preparing to build. five of the more extensive libraries have secured competitive plans of late from which to select--namely, the new york public library, the jersey city public library, the newark free public library, the lynn public library, and the phoebe hearst building for the university of california, which is to be planned for a library of , volumes. it is gratifying to add that in several recent provisions made for erecting large and important structures, the librarian was made a member of the building committee--_i. e._, in the new york public library, the newark free public library, and the lynn public library. chapter . library managers or trustees. we now come to consider the management of libraries as entrusted to boards of directors, trustees or library managers. these relations have a most intimate bearing upon the foundation, the progress and the consequent success of any library. where a liberal intelligence and a hearty coöperation are found in those constituting the library board, the affairs of the institution will be managed with the best results. where a narrow-minded and dictatorial spirit is manifested, even by a portion of those supervising a public library, it will require a large endowment both of patience and of tact in the librarian, to accomplish those aims which involve the highest usefulness. boards of library trustees vary in number, usually from three to nine or more. a board of three or five is found in practice more active and efficient than a larger number. the zeal and responsibility felt is apt to diminish in direct proportion to the increased numbers of the board. an odd number is preferable, to avoid an equal division of opinion upon any question to be determined. in town or city libraries, the mode of selection of library trustees varies much. sometimes the mayor appoints the library board, sometimes they are chosen by the city council, and sometimes elected by the people, at the annual selection of school or municipal officers. the term of service (most usually three years) should be so arranged that retirement of any members should always leave two at least who have had experience on the board. library trustees serve without salary, the high honor of so serving the public counting for much. the librarian is often made secretary of the trustees, and then he keeps the record of their transactions. he should never be made treasurer of the library funds, which would involve labor and responsibility incompatible with the manifold duties of the superintendent of a library. in case of a library supported by municipal taxation, the town treasurer may well serve as library treasurer also, or the trustees can choose one from their own board. the librarian, however, should be empowered to collect book fines or other dues, to be deposited with the treasurer at regular intervals, and he should have a small fund at disposal for such petty library expenses as constantly arise. all bills for books and other purchases, and all salaries of persons employed in the library should be paid by the treasurer. the meetings of the trustees should be attended by the librarian, who must always be ready to supply all information as to the workings of the library, the needs for books, etc. frequently the trustees divide up the business before them, appointing sub-committees on book selections, on library finances, on administration, furnishings, &c., with a view to prompt action. if a library receives endowments, money gifts or legacies, they are held and administered by the trustees as a body corporate, the same as the funds annually appropriated for library maintenance and increase. their annual report to the council, or municipal authorities, should exhibit the amount of money received from all sources in detail, and the amount expended for all purposes, in detail; also, the number of books purchased in the year, the aggregate of volumes in the library, the number of readers, and other facts of general interest. all accounts against the library are first audited by the proper sub-committee, and payment ordered by the full board, by order on the treasurer. the accounts for all these expenditures should be kept by the treasurer, who should inform the librarian periodically as to balances. the selection of books for a public library is a delicate and responsible duty, involving wider literary and scientific knowledge than falls to the lot of most trustees of libraries. there are sometimes specially qualified professional men or widely read scholars on such boards, whose services in recruiting the library are of great value. more frequently there are one or more men with hobbies, who would spend the library funds much too freely upon a class of books of no general interest. thus, one trustee who plays golf may urge the purchase of all the various books upon that game, when one or at most two of the best should supply all needful demands. another may want to add to the library about all the published books on the horse; another, who is a physician, may recommend adding a lot of medical books to the collection, utterly useless to the general reader. beware of the man who has a hobby, either as librarian or as library trustee; he will aim to expend too much money on books which suit his own taste, but which have little general utility. two mischiefs result from such a course: the library gets books which very few people read, and its funds are diverted from buying many books that may be of prime importance. trustees, although usually, (at least the majority of them) persons of culture and intelligence, cannot be expected to be bibliographers, nor to be familiar with the great range of new books that continually pour from the press. they have their own business or profession to engage them, and are commonly far too busy to study catalogues, or to follow the journals of the publishing world. so these busy men, charged with the oversight of the library interests, call to their aid an expert, and that expert is the librarian. it is his interest and his business to know far more than they do both of what the library already contains, and what it most needs. it is his to peruse the critical journals and reviews, as well as the literary notices of the select daily press, and to be prepared to recommend what works to purchase. he must always accompany his lists of wants with the prices, or at least the approximate cost of each, and the aggregate amount. if the trustees or book committee think the sum too large to be voted at any one time from the fund at their disposal, the librarian must know what can best be postponed, as well as what is most indispensable for the immediate wants of the library. if they object to any works on the list, he should be prepared to explain the quality and character of those called in question, and why the library, in his judgment, should possess them. if the list is largely cut down, and he considers himself hardly used, he should meet the disappointment with entire good humor, and try again when the members of the committee are in better mood, or funds in better supply. it is very customary for boards of library officers to assume the charge of the administration so far as regards the library staff, and to make appointments, promotions or removals at their own pleasure. in most libraries, however, this power is exercised mainly on the advice or selection of the librarian, his action being confirmed when there is no serious objection. in still other cases, the librarian is left wholly free to choose the assistants. this is perhaps the course most likely to secure efficient service, since his judgment, if he is a person of tried capacity and mature experience, will lead to the selection of the fittest candidates, for the work which he alone thoroughly knows. no library trustee can put himself fully in the place of a librarian, and see for himself the multitude of occasions arising in the daily work of the library, where promptness, tact, and wide knowledge of books will make a success, and the want of any of these qualities a failure. still less can he judge the competency or incompetency of one who is to be employed in the difficult and exact work of cataloguing books. besides, there is always the hazard that trustees, or some of them, may have personal favorites or relatives to prefer, and will use their influence to secure the appointment or promotion of utterly uninstructed persons, in place of such candidates as are known to the librarian to be best qualified. in no case should any person be employed without full examination as to fitness for library work, conducted either by the librarian, or by a committee of which the librarian is a member or chief examiner. a probationary trial should also follow before final appointment. the power of patronage, if unchecked by this safeguard, will result in filling any library with incompetents, to the serious detriment of the service on which its usefulness depends. the librarian cannot keep a training school for inexperts: he has no time for this, and he indispensably needs and should have assistants who are competent to their duties, from their first entrance upon them. as he is held responsible for all results, in the conduct of the library, both by the trustees and by the public, he should have the power, or at least the approximate power, to select the means by which those results are to be attained. in the boston public library, all appointments are made by the trustees upon nomination by the librarian, after an examination somewhat similar to that of the civil service, but by a board of library experts. in the british museum library, the selection and promotion of members of the staff are passed upon by the trustees, having the recommendation of the principal librarian before them. in the library of congress, appointments are made directly by the librarian after a probationary trial, with previous examination as to education, former experience or employments, attainments, and fitness for library service. in smaller libraries, both in this country and abroad, a great diversity of usage prevails. instances are rare in which the librarian has the uncontrolled power of appointment, promotion and removal. the requirement of examinations to test the fitness of candidates is extending, and since the establishment of five or six permanent schools of library science in the united states, with their graduates well equipped for library work, there is no longer any excuse for putting novices in charge of libraries--institutions where wide knowledge and thorough training are more indispensable than in any other profession whatever. in state libraries, no uniformity prevails as to control. in some states, the governor has the appointment of the librarian, while in others, he is an elective officer, the state legislature being the electors. as governors rarely continue in office longer than two or three years, the tenure of a librarian under them is precarious, and a most valuable officer may at any time be superseded by another who would have to learn all that the other knows. the result is rarely favorable to the efficient administration of the library. in a business absolutely demanding the very largest compass of literary and scientific knowledge, frequent rotation in office is clearly out of place. in a public or state library, every added year of experience adds incalculably to the value of a librarian's services, provided he is of active habits, and full of zeal to make his acquired knowledge constantly useful to those who use the library. partizan politics, with their frequent changes, if suffered to displace a tried librarian and staff, will be sure to defeat the highest usefulness of any library. what can a political appointee, a man totally without either library training or library experience, do with the tools of which he has never learned the use? it will take him years to learn, and by the time he has learned, some other political party coming uppermost will probably displace him, to make room for another novice, on the principle that "to the victors belong the spoils" of office. meanwhile, "the hungry sheep look up and are not fed," as milton sings--that is, readers are deprived of expert and intelligent guidance. this bane of political jobbery has not been confined to the libraries of states, but has invaded the management of many city and town libraries also. we have yet to learn of any benefit resulting to those who use the libraries. in the case of a few of the state libraries, trustees or library commissioners or boards of control have been provided by law, but in others, a joint library committee, composed of members of both houses of the legislature, has charge of the library interests. this is also the case in the library of congress at washington, where three senators and three representatives constitute the joint committee of both houses of congress on the library. the membership of this committee, as of all others in congress, is subject to change biennially. it has been proposed to secure a more permanent and careful supervision of this national library by adding to the joint committee of congress three or more trustees of eminent qualifications, elected by congress, as the regents of the smithsonian institution now are, for a longer term of years. the trustees of the british museum are appointed by the crown, their tenure of office being for life. in several states the librarian is appointed by the supreme court, as the state libraries are composed more largely of law books, than of miscellaneous literature, and special knowledge of case law, and the principles of jurisprudence, is demanded of the librarian. where the trustees of a public library are elected by the people, they have in their own hands the power of choosing men who are far above party considerations, and they should exercise it. in no department of life is the maxim--"the tools to the hands that can use them," more important than in the case of librarians and boards of managers of libraries. the value of skilled labor over the unskilled is everywhere recognized in the business of the world, by more certain employment and larger compensation: and why should it not be so in libraries? chapter . library regulations. no feature in library administration is more important than the regulations under which the service of the library is conducted. upon their propriety and regular enforcement depends very much of the utility of the collection. rules are of two kinds, those which concern the librarian and assistants, and those which concern the public resorting to the library. of the first class are the regulations as to hours, division of labor, leaves or vacations of employees, &c. the larger the library, and consequently the force employed, the more important is a careful adjustment of relative duties, and of the times and seasons to be devoted to them. the assignment of work to the various assistants will naturally depend upon their respective qualifications. those who know latin, and two or more of the modern languages, would probably be employed upon the catalogue. those who are familiar with the range of books published, in literature and science, will be best qualified for the service of the reading-room, which involves the supply of books and information. in direct proportion to the breadth of information possessed by any one, will be his usefulness in promptly supplying the wants of readers. nothing is so satisfactory to students in libraries, or to the casual seekers of information of any kind, as to find their wants immediately supplied. the reader whom an intelligent librarian or assistant answers at once is grateful to the whole establishment; while the reader who is required to wait ten to twenty minutes for what he wants, becomes impatient and sometimes querulous, or leaves the library unsatisfied. one rule of service at the library desk or counter should be that every assistant there employed should deem it his duty to aid immediately any one who is waiting, no matter what other concerns may engage his attention. in other words, the one primary rule of a public library should be that the service of the public is always paramount. all other considerations should be subordinate to that. it is desirable that assistants in every library should learn all departments of library work, cataloguing, supplying books and information, preparing books for the shelves, etc. this will enable each assistant to take the place of another in case of absence, a most important point. it will also help to qualify the more expert for promotion. a second rule for internal administration in any library should be that all books are to be distributed, or replaced upon their shelves, daily. if this is not systematically done, the library will tend to fall into chaos. and even a small number of volumes not in their places will embarrass the attendants seeking them, and often deprive readers of their use--a thing to be always sedulously avoided. in the library of congress, the replacement of books upon the shelves is carried out much more frequently than once daily. as fast as books come in at the central desk by the returns of readers, they are sent back through the book-carriers, to the proper floors, where the outside label-numbers indicate that they belong, and replaced by the attendant there on their proper shelves. these mechanical book-carriers run all day, by electric power, supplied by a dynamo in the basement, and, with their endless chain and attached boxes constantly revolving, they furnish a near approach to perpetual motion. thus i have seen a set of macaulay's england, called for by ticket from the reading-room, arrive in three minutes from the outlying book-repository or iron stack, several hundreds of feet distant on an upper floor, placed on the reader's table, referred to, and returned at once, then placed in the book-carrier by the desk attendant, received back on its proper floor, and distributed to its own shelf by the attendant there, all within half an hour after the reader's application. another rule to be observed by the reading-room attendants is to examine all call-slips, or readers' tickets, remaining uncalled for at the close of each day's business, and see if the books on them are present in the library. this precaution is demanded by the security of the collection, as well as by the good order and arrangement of the library. neglect of it may lead to losses or misplacements, which might be prevented by careful and unremitting observance of this rule. another rule of eminent propriety is that librarians or assistants are not to read newspapers during library hours. when there happen to be no readers waiting to be helped, the time should be constantly occupied with other library work. there is no library large enough to be worthy of the name, that does not have arrears of work incessantly waiting to be done. and while this is the case, no library time should be wasted upon periodicals, which should be perused only outside of library hours. if one person employed in a library reads the newspaper or magazine, the bad example is likely to be followed by others. thus serious inattention to the wants of readers, as well as neglect of library work postponed, will be sure to follow. a fourth rule, resting upon the same reason, should prevent any long sustained gossip or conversation during library hours. that time belongs explicitly to the public or to the work of the library. the rule of silence which is enforced upon the public in the interest of readers should not be broken by the library managers themselves. such brief question and answer as emergency or the needful business of the library requires should be conducted in a low tone, and soon ended. library administration is a business, and must be conducted in a business way. no library can properly be turned into a place of conversation. all differences or disputes between attendants as to the work to be done by each, or methods, or any other question leading to dissension, should be promptly and decisively settled by the librarian, and of course cheerfully submitted to by all. good order and discipline require that there should be only one final authority in any library. controversies are not only unseemly in themselves, but they are time-consuming, and are liable to be overheard by readers, to the prejudice of those who engage in them. another rule to be observed is to examine all books returned, as carefully as a glance through the volume will permit, to detect any missing or started leaves, or injury to bindings. no volume bearing marks of dilapidation of any kind should be permitted to go back to the shelves, or be given to readers, but placed in a bindery reserve for needful repairs. it should hardly be necessary to say that all those connected with a public library should be carefully observant of hours, and be always in their places, unless excused. the discipline of every library should be firm in this respect, and dilatory or tardy assistants brought to regard the rule of prompt and regular service. "no absence without leave" should be mentally posted in the consciousness and the conscience of every one. another rule should limit the time for mid-day refreshment, and so arrange it that the various persons employed go at different hours. as to time employed, half-an-hour for lunch, as allowed in the washington departments, is long enough in any library. furloughs or vacations should be regulated to suit the library service, and not allow several to be absent at the same time. as to length of vacation time, few libraries can afford the very liberal fashion of twelve months wages for eleven months work, as prevalent in the washington departments. the average vacation time of business houses--about two weeks--more nearly corresponds to that allowed in the smaller public libraries. out of libraries reporting in , allowed four weeks or more vacation, three weeks, two weeks, and none. but in cases of actual illness, the rule of liberality should be followed, and no deduction of wages should follow temporary disability. where many library attendants are employed, all should be required to enter on a daily record sheet or book, the hour of beginning work. then the rule of no absence without special leave should be enforced as to all during the day. we now come to such rules of library administration as concern the readers, or the public. the rule of silence, or total abstinence from loud talking, should be laid down and enforced. this is essential for the protection of every reader from annoyance or interruption in his pursuits. the rule should be printed on all readers' tickets, and it is well also to post the word silence, in large letters, in two or more conspicuous places in the reading-room. this will give a continual reminder to all of what is expected, and will usually prevent any loud conversation. while absolute silence is impossible in any public library, the inquiries and answers at the desk can always be made in a low and even tone, which need attract no attention from any readers, if removed only a few feet distant. as there are always persons among readers who will talk, notwithstanding rules, they should be checked by a courteous reminder from the librarian, rather than from any subordinate. this--for the obvious reason that admonition from the highest authority carries the greatest weight. another rule, which should always be printed on the call-slips, or readers' tickets, is the requirement to return books and receive back their tickets always before leaving the library. this duty is very commonly neglected, from the utter carelessness of many readers, who do not realize that signing their ticket for any book holds them responsible for it until it is returned. many are unwilling to spend a moment's time in waiting for a ticket to be returned to them. many will leave their books on tables or seats where they were reading, and go away without reclaiming their receipts. while complete observance of this rule is of course hopeless of attainment in a country where free and easy manners prevail, every librarian should endeavor to secure at least an approximate compliance with a rule adopted alike for the security and good order of the library, and the efficient service of the reader. all readers should be privileged to reserve books from day to day which they have not completed the use of, and instructed always to give notice of such reservation before leaving the library. this saves much time, both to the reader and to the librarian in sending repeatedly for books put away needlessly. in a circulating library, a fixed rule limiting the time for which a book may be kept, is essential. this may be from three days to two weeks, according to the demand for the book, but it should not exceed the latter period. still, a renewal term may be conceded, provided the book is not otherwise called for. a small fine of so much a day for each volume kept out beyond the time prescribed by the rule, will often secure prompt return, and is the usage in most libraries where books are lent out. in the boston public library no renewals are allowed. a rule requiring the replacement or repair of books damaged while in the hands of a reader should be printed and enforced. it may properly be waived where the damage is slight or unavoidable. in public circulating libraries, a rule of registration is required, and in some libraries of reference also; but in the library of congress all readers over sixteen are admitted without any formality or registration whatever. in popular libraries, the need of a registry list of those entitled to borrow books, is obvious, to prevent the issue to improper or unauthorized persons; as, for example, residents of another town, or persons under the prescribed age of admission to library privileges. a printed library card should be issued to each person privileged to draw books; corresponding in number to the page or index-card of the library record. each card should bear the full name and address of the applicant, and be signed with an obligation to obey the rules of the library. on this card all books drawn may be entered, always with month and day date, and credited with date of return, the parallel entries being at the same time made in the library charging record. library cards of registration should be issued for a limited period, say twelve months, in order to bring all persons to a systematic review of their privilege, and should be renewed annually, so long as the holder is entitled to registration. no books should be issued except to those presenting registration cards, together with a call-slip or ticket for the book wanted. another rule should fix a limit to the number of volumes to be drawn by any reader. two volumes out at any one time would be a fair limit. if made more to all readers, there is likely to be sometimes a scarcity of books to be drawn upon; and if a few readers are permitted to draw more than others, the charge of undue favoritism will be justified. another rule should be that any incivility or neglect on the part of any library attendant should be reported to the librarian. in such cases, the attendant should always be heard, before any admonition or censure is bestowed. an almost necessary rule in most libraries is that no book should be taken from the shelves by any person not employed in the library. the exceptions are of course, the books provided expressly for the free and open reference of the readers. another essential rule is that no writing or marks may be made in any library book or periodical; nor is any turning down of leaves permitted. a printed warning is important to the effect that any cutting or defacing of library books or periodicals is a penal offense, and will be prosecuted according to law. the regulations for admission to library privileges are important. in this country the age limitation is more liberal than in europe. the boston public library, for example, is free to all persons over twelve years of age. in the library of congress, the age limit is sixteen years or upward, to entitle one to the privileges of a reader. in the astor library, none are admitted under nineteen, and in the british museum library none below twenty-one years. the hours during which the library is open should be printed as part of the regulations. all the library rules should be printed and furnished to the public. the most essential of them, if carefully expressed in few words, can be grouped in a single small sheet, of mo. size or less, and pasted in the inside cover of every book belonging to the library. better still, (and it will save expense in printing) let the few simple rules, in small but legible type, form a part of the book plate, or library label, which goes on the left-hand inner cover of each volume. thus every reader will have before him, in daily prominence, the regulations which he is to observe, and no excuse can be pleaded of ignorance of the rules. as no law is ever long respected unless it is enforced, so no regulations are likely to be observed unless adhered to in every library. rules are a most essential part of library administration, and it should be a primary object of every librarian or assistant to see that they are observed by all. chapter . library reports and advertising. we now come to consider the annual reports of librarians. these should be made to the trustees or board of library control, by whatever name it may be known, and should be addressed to the chairman, as the organ of the board. in the preparation of such reports, two conditions are equally essential--conciseness and comprehensiveness. every item in the administration, frequentation, and increase of the library should be separately treated, but each should be condensed into the smallest compass consistent with clear statement. very long reports are costly to publish, and moreover, have small chance of being read. in fact, the wide perusal of any report is in direct proportion to its brevity. this being premised, let us see what topics the librarian's report should deal with. . the progress of the library during the year must be viewed as most important. a statistical statement of accessions, giving volumes of books, and number of pamphlets separately, added during the year, should be followed by a statement of the aggregate of volumes and pamphlets in the collection. this is ascertained by actual count of the books upon the shelves, adding the number of volumes charged out, or in the bindery, or in readers' hands at the time of the enumeration. this count is far from a difficult or time-consuming affair, as there is a short-hand method of counting by which one person can easily arrive at the aggregate of a library of , volumes, in a single day of eight to ten hours. this is done by counting by twos or threes the rows of books as they stand on the shelves, passing the finger rapidly along the backs, from left to right and from top to bottom of the shelves. as fast as one hundred volumes are counted, simply write down a figure one; then, at the end of the second hundred, a figure two, and so on, always jotting down one figure the more for each hundred books counted. the last figure in the counter's memorandum will represent the number of hundreds of volumes the library contains. thus, if the last figure is , the library has just , volumes. this rapid, and at the same time accurate method, by which any one of average quickness can easily count two hundred volumes a minute, saves all counting up by tallies of five or ten, and also all slow additions of figures, since one figure at the end multiplied by one hundred, expresses the whole. . any specially noteworthy additions to the library should be briefly specified. . a list of donors of books during the year, with number of volumes given by each, should form part of the report. this may properly come at the end as an appendix. . a brief of the money income of the year, with sources whence derived, and of all expenditures, for books, salaries, contingent expenses, etc., should form a part of the report, unless reported separately by a treasurer of the library funds. . the statistics of a librarian's report, if of a lending library, should give the aggregate number of volumes circulated during the year, also the number of borrowers recorded who have used and who have not used the privilege of borrowing. the number of volumes used by readers in the reference or reading-room department should be given, as well as the aggregate of readers. it is usual in some library reports to classify the books used by readers, as, so many in history, poetry, travels, natural science, etc., but this involves labor and time quite out of proportion to its utility. still, a comparative statement of the aggregate volumes of fiction read or drawn out, as against all other books, may be highly useful as an object lesson, if embodied in the library report. . a statement of the actual condition of the library, as to books, shelving accommodations, furniture, etc., with any needful suggestions for improvement, should be included in the annual report. . a well-considered suggestion of the value of contributions to the library in books or funds to enrich the collection, should not be overlooked. . the librarian should not forget a word of praise for his assistants, in the great and useful work of carrying on the library. this will tend to excite added zeal to excel, when the subordinates feel that their services are appreciated by their head, as well as by the public. the preparation of an annual report affords some test of the librarian's skill and judgment. it should aim at plain and careful statement, and all rhetoric should be dispensed with. divided into proper heads, a condensed statement of facts or suggestions under each should be made, and all repetition avoided. such a library report should never fail to set forth the great benefit to the community which a free use of its treasures implies, while urging the importance of building up the collection, through liberal gifts of books, periodicals, or money, thus enabling it to answer the wants of readers more fully, year by year. it will sometimes be a wise suggestion to be made in a librarian's report, that the library still lacks some specially important work, such as larned's "history for ready reference," or the extensive "dictionary of national biography," or brunet's _manuel du libraire_, or a set of congressional debates from the beginning; and such a suggestion may often bear fruit in leading some public-spirited citizen to supply the want by a timely contribution. of course, the annual report of every public library should be printed, and as pamphlets are seldom read, and tend rapidly to disappear, its publication in the newspapers is vastly more important than in any other form. while a pamphlet report may reach a few people, the newspaper reaches nearly all; and as a means of diffusing information in any community, it stands absolutely without rival. whether the library reports shall be printed in pamphlet form or not is a matter of expediency, to be determined by the managing board. funds are rarely ample enough, in the smaller town libraries, to justify the expense, in view of the small circulation which such reports receive, and it is much better to put the money into printing library catalogues, which every body needs and will use, than into library reports, which comparatively few will make any use of. a judicious compromise may be usefully made, by inducing some newspaper, which would print a liberal share of the report free of charge, as news, for public information, to put the whole in type and strike off a few hundred copies in sheet form or pages, at a moderate charge. this would enable the library officers to distribute a goodly number, and to keep copies of each annual report for reference, without the expense of a pamphlet edition. in some of the larger and more enterprising of city libraries, reports are made quarterly or monthly by the librarian. these of course are much more nearly up to date, and if they publish lists of books added to the library, they are correspondingly useful. frequently they contain special bibliographies of books on certain subjects. among these, the monthly bulletins of the boston public library, harvard university library, new york public library, salem, mass., public library, and the providence public library are specially numerous and important. the relations of a public library to the local press of the city or town where it is situated will now be noticed. it is the interest of the librarian to extend the usefulness of the library by every means; and the most effective means is to make it widely known. in every place are found many who are quite ignorant of the stores of knowledge which lie at their doors in the free library. and among those who do know it and resort to it, are many who need to have their interest and attention aroused by frequent notices as to its progress, recent additions to its stores, etc. the more often the library is brought before the public by the press, the more interest will be taken in it by the community for whose information it exists. it is of the utmost importance that the library conductors should have the active good will of all the newspaper editors in its vicinity. this will be acquired both by aiding them in all researches which the daily or frequent wants of their profession render necessary; and also, by giving them freely and often items of intelligence about the library for publication. enterprising journals are perpetually on the hunt for new and varied matter to fill their columns. they send their reporters to the library to make "a story," as it is called, out of something in it or about it. these reporters are very seldom persons versed in books, or able to write understandingly or attractively about them. left to themselves to construct "a story" out of a half hour's conversation with the librarian, the chances are that an article will be produced which contains nearly as many errors as matters of fact, with the names of authors or the titles of their books mis-spelled or altered, and with matters manufactured out of the reporter's fancy which formed no part of the interview, while what did form important features in it are perhaps omitted. the remedy, or rather the preventive of such inadequate reports of what the librarian would say to the public is to become his own reporter. the papers will willingly take for publication short "library notes," as they may be called, containing information about the library or its books, carefully type-written. this course at once secures accurate and authentic statements, and saves the time of the press reporters for other work. bear in mind always that the main object of such library notices is to attract attention, and encourage people to use the library. thus there should be sought frequent opportunities of advertising the library by this best of all possible means, because it is the one which reaches the largest number. to do it well requires some skill and practice, and to do it often is quite as essential as to do it well. keep the library continually before the public. what are the business houses which are most thronged with customers? they are those that advertise most persistently and attractively. so with the library; it will be more and more resorted to, in proportion as it keeps its name and its riches before the public eye. a certain timeliness in these library notices should be cultivated. the papers are eager to get anything that illustrates what is uppermost in the public mind. if a local fair is in progress or preparing, give them a list of the best books the library has in that field; the history of the philadelphia exposition, the chicago world's fair, the paris expositions, &c. on another day, set forth the books on manufactures, horses, cattle, domestic animals, decorative art, &c. if there is a poultry exhibition, or a dog show, call public attention to the books on poultry or dogs. if an art exhibition, bring forward the titles of books on painting, sculpture, drawing, and the history of art, ancient and modern. if some great man has died, as bismarck or gladstone, give the titles of any biographies or books about him, adding even references to notable magazine articles that have appeared. when the summer vacation is coming around, advertise your best books of travel, of summer resorts, of ocean voyages, of yachting, camping, fishing and shooting, golf and other out-door games, etc. if there is a presidential campaign raging, make known the library's riches in political science, the history of administrations, and of nominating conventions, lives of the presidents, books on elections, etc. if an international dispute or complication is on foot, publish the titles of your books on international law, and those on the history or resources of the country or countries involved; and when a war is in progress, books on military science, campaigns, battles, sieges, and the history of the contending nations will be timely and interesting. whatever you do in this direction, make it short and attractive. organize your material, describe a specially interesting work by a reference to its style, or its illustrations, or its reputation, etc. distribute your library notes impartially; that is, if several papers are published, be careful not to slight any of them. find out the proper days to suit their want of matter, and never send in your notes when the paper is overcrowded. always read a proof-slip of each article; time spent in going to a newspaper office to correct proof is well spent, for misprints always await the unwary who trusts to the accuracy of types. if the library acquires any extensive or notable book, whether old or new, do not fail to make it known through the press. if any citizen gives a number of volumes to the library, let his good deeds have an appreciative notice, that others may go and do likewise. another feature of library advertising is the publication in the press of the titles of new books added to the library. as this is merely catalogue printing, however abbreviated in form the titles may be, it will usually (and very properly) be charged for by the newspapers. but it will pay, in the direction of inducing a much larger use of the library, and as the sole object of the institution is to contribute to public intelligence, it becomes library managers not to spare any expense so conducive to that result. chapter . the formation of libraries. in the widely extended and growing public interest in libraries for the people, and in the ever increasing gatherings of books by private collectors, i may be pardoned for some suggestions pertaining specially to the formation of libraries. i do not refer to the selection of books, which is treated in the first chapter, nor to the housing and care of libraries, but to some important points involved in organizing the foundation, so to speak, of a library. the problem, of course, is a widely different one for the private collector of an individual or family library, and for the organizers of a public one. but in either case, it is important, first of all, to have a clearly defined and well considered plan. without this, costly mistakes are apt to be made, and time, energy and money wasted, all of which might be saved by seeing the end from the beginning, and planning accordingly. let us suppose that a resident in a community which has never enjoyed the benefit of a circulating library conceives the idea of using every means to secure one. the first question that arises is, what are those means? if the state in which his residence lies has a library law, empowering any town or city to raise money by taxation for founding and maintaining a free library, the way is apparently easy, at first sight. but here comes in the problem--can the requisite authority to lay the tax be secured? this may involve difficulties unforeseen at first. if there is a city charter, does it empower the municipal authorities (city council or aldermen) to levy such a tax? if not, then appeal must be made to a popular vote, at some election of municipal officers, at which the ballots for or against a library tax should determine the question. this will at once involve a campaign of education, in which should be enlisted ( ) the editors of all the local papers. ( ) the local clergymen, lawyers and physicians. ( ) all literary men and citizens of wealth or influence in the community. ( ) all teachers in the public schools and other institutions of learning. ( ) the members of the city or town government. these last will be apt to feel any impulse of public sentiment more keenly than their own individual opinions on the subject. in any case, the public-spirited man who originates the movement should enlist as many able coadjutors as he can. if he is not himself gifted with a ready tongue, he should persuade some others who are ready and eloquent talkers to take up the cause, and should inspire them with his own zeal. a public meeting should be called, after a goodly number of well-known and influential people are enlisted (not before) and addresses should be made, setting forth the great advantage of a free library to every family. its value to educate the people, to furnish entertainment that will go far to supplant idleness and intemperance, to help on the work of the public schools, and to elevate the taste, improve the morals, quicken the intellect and employ the leisure hours of all, should be set forth. with all these means of persuasion constantly in exercise, and unremitting diligence in pushing the good cause through the press and by every private opportunity, up to the very day of the election, the chances are heavily in favor of passing the library measure by a good majority. it must be a truly boeotian community, far gone in stupidity or something worse, which would so stand in its own light as to vote down a measure conducing in the highest degree to the public intelligence. but even should it be defeated, its advocates should never be discouraged. like all other reforms or improvements, its progress may be slow at first, but it is none the less sure to win in the end. one defeat has often led to a more complete victory when the conflict is renewed. the beaten party gathers wisdom by experience, finds out any weakness existing in its ranks or its management, and becomes sensible where its greatest strength should be put forth in a renewal of the contest. the promoters of the measure should at once begin a fresh agitation. they should pledge every friend of the library scheme to stand by it himself, and to secure at least one new convert to the cause. and the chances are that it will be carried triumphantly through at the next trial, or, if not then, at least within no long time. but we should consider also the case of those communities where no state library law exists. these are unhappily not a few; and it is a remarkable fact that even so old, and rich, and well-developed a state as pennsylvania had no such provision for public enlightenment until within three years. in the absence of a law empowering local governments or voters to lay a tax for such a purpose, the most obvious way of founding a library is by local subscription. this is of course a less desirable method than one by which all citizens should contribute to the object in proportion to their means. but it is better to avail of the means that exist in any place than to wait an indefinite period for a state legislature to be educated up to the point of passing measures which would render the formation of libraries easy in all places. let the experiment be tried of founding a library by individual effort and concert. with only two or three zealous and active promoters, even such a plan can be carried into successful operation in almost any community. a canvass should be made from house to house, with a short prospectus or agreement drawn up, pledging the subscribers to give a certain sum toward the foundation of a library. if a few residents with large property can be induced to head the list with liberal subscriptions, it will aid much in securing confidence in the success of the movement, and inducing others to subscribe. no contributions, however small, should fail to be welcomed, since they stand for a wider interest in the object. after a thorough canvass of the residents of the place, a meeting of those subscribing should be called, and a statement put before them of the amount subscribed. then an executive committee, say of three or five members, should be chosen to take charge of the enterprise. this committee should appoint a chairman, a secretary, and a treasurer, the latter to receive and disburse the funds subscribed. the chairman should call and preside at meetings of the committee, of which the secretary should record the proceedings in a book kept for the purpose. the first business of the library committee should be to confer and determine upon the ways and means of organizing the library. this involves a selection of books suitable for a beginning, a place of deposit for them, and a custodian or librarian to catalogue them and keep the record of the books drawn out and returned. usually, a room can be had for library purposes in some public building or private house, centrally located, without other expense than that of warming and lighting. the services of a librarian, too, can often be secured by competent volunteer aid, there being usually highly intelligent persons with sufficient leisure to give their time for the common benefit, or to share that duty with others, thus saving all the funds for books to enrich the library. the chief trouble likely to be encountered by a library committee will lie in the selection of books to form the nucleus or starting point of the collection. without repeating anything heretofore suggested, it may be said that great care should be taken to have books known to be excellent, both interesting in substance and attractive in style. to so apportion the moderate amount of money at disposal as to give variety and interest to the collection, and attract readers from the start, is a problem requiring good judgment for its solution. much depends upon the extent of the fund, but even with so small a sum as two or three hundred dollars, a collection of the very best historians, poets, essayists, travellers and voyagers, scientists, and novelists can be brought together, which will furnish a range of entertaining and instructive reading for several hundred borrowers. the costlier encyclopaedias and works of reference might be waited for until funds are recruited by a library fair, or lectures, or amateur concerts, plays, or other evening entertainments. another way of recruiting the library which has often proved fruitful is to solicit contributions of books and magazines from families and individuals in the vicinity. this should be undertaken systematically some time after the subscriptions in money have been gathered in. it is not good policy to aim at such donations at the outset, since many might make them an excuse for not subscribing to the fund for founding the library, which it is to the interest of all to make as large as possible. but when once successfully established, appeals for books and periodicals will surely add largely to the collection, and although many of such accessions may be duplicates, they will none the less enlarge the facilities for supplying the demands of readers. families who have read through all or nearly all the books they possess will gladly bestow them for so useful a purpose, especially when assured of reaping reciprocal benefit by the opportunity of freely perusing a great variety of choice books, new and old, which they have never read. sometimes, too, a public-spirited citizen, when advised of the lack of a good cyclopaedia, or of the latest extensive dictionary, or collective biography, in the library, will be happy to supply it, thereby winning the gratitude and good will of all who frequent the library. all donations should have inserted in them a neat book-plate, with the name of the donor inscribed, in connection with the name of the library. many a useful library of circulation has been started with a beginning of fifty to a hundred volumes, and the little acorn of learning thus planted has grown up in the course of years to a great tree, full of fruitful and wide-spreading branches. chapter . classification. if there is any subject which, more than all others, divides opinion and provokes endless controversy among librarians and scholars, it is the proper classification of books. from the beginning of literature this has been a well-nigh insoluble problem. treatise after treatise has been written upon it, system has been piled upon system, learned men have theorised and wrangled about it all their lives, and successive generations have dropped into their graves, leaving the vexed question as unsettled as ever. every now and then a body of _savans_ or a convention of librarians wrestles with it, and perhaps votes upon it, "and by decision more embroils the fray" since the dissatisfied minority, nearly as numerous and quite as obstinate as the majority, always refuses to be bound by it. no sooner does some sapient librarian, with the sublime confidence of conviction, get his classification house of cards constructed to his mind, and stands rapt in admiration before it, when there comes along some wise man of the east, and demolishes the fair edifice at a blow, while the architect stands by with a melancholy smile, and sees all his household gods lying shivered around him. meanwhile, systems of classification keep on growing, until, instead of the thirty-two systems so elaborately described in edwards's memoirs of libraries, we have almost as many as there are libraries, if the endless modifications of them are taken into account. in fact, one begins to realise that the schemes for the classification of knowledge are becoming so numerous, that a classification of the systems themselves has fairly become a desideratum. the youthful neophyte, who is struggling after an education in library science, and thinks perhaps that it is or should be an exact science, is bewildered by the multitude of counsellors, gets a head-ache over their conflicting systems, and adds to it a heart-ache, perhaps, over the animosities and sarcasms which divide the warring schools of opinion. perhaps there would be less trouble about classification, if the system-mongers would consent to admit at the outset that no infallible system is possible, and would endeavor, amid all their other learning, to learn a little of the saving grace of modesty. a writer upon this subject has well observed that there is no man who can work out a scheme of classification that will satisfy permanently even himself. much less should he expect that others, all having their favorite ideas and systems, should be satisfied with his. as there is no royal road to learning, so there can be none to classification; and we democratic republicans, who stand upon the threshold of the twentieth century, may rest satisfied that in the republic of letters no autocrat can be allowed. the chief difficulty with most systems for distributing the books in a library appears to lie in the attempt to apply scientific minuteness in a region where it is largely inapplicable. one can divide and sub-divide the literature of any science indefinitely, in a list of subjects, but such exhaustive sub-divisions can never be made among the books on the shelves. here, for example, is a "treatise on diseases of the heart and lungs." this falls naturally into its two places in the subject catalogue, the one under "heart," and the second under "lungs;" but the attempt to classify it on the shelves must fail, as regards half its contents. you cannot tear the book to pieces to satisfy logical classification. thousands of similar cases will occur, where the same book treats of several subjects. nearly all periodicals and transactions of societies of every kind refuse to be classified, though they can be catalogued perfectly on paper by analysing their contents. to bring all the resources of the library on any subject together on the shelves is clearly impossible. they must be assembled for readers from various sections of the library, where the rule of analogy or of superior convenience has placed them. what is termed close classification, it will be found, fails by attempting too much. one of the chief obstacles to its general use is that it involves a too complicated notation. the many letters and figures that indicate position on the shelves are difficult to remember in the direct ratio of their number. the more minute the classification, the more signs of location are required. when they become very numerous, in any system of classification, the system breaks down by its own weight. library attendants consume an undue amount of time in learning it, and library cataloguers and classifiers in affixing the requisite signs of designation to the labels, the shelves, and the catalogues. memory, too, is unduly taxed to apply the system. while a superior memory may be found equal to any task imposed upon it, average memories are not so fortunate. the expert librarian, in whose accomplished head the whole world of science and literature lies coördinated, so that he can apply his classification unerringly to all the books in a vast library, must not presume that unskilled assistants can do the same. one of the mistakes made by the positivists in classification is the claim that their favorite system can be applied to all libraries alike. that this is a fallacy may be seen in an example or two. take the case of a large and comprehensive botanical library, in which an exact scientific distribution of the books may and should be made. it is classified not only in the grand divisions, such as scientific and economic botany, etc., but a close analytical treatment is extended over the whole vegetable kingdom. books treating of every plant are relegated to their appropriate classes, genera, and species, until the whole library is organised on a strictly scientific basis. but in the case, even of what are called large libraries, so minute a classification would be not only unnecessary, but even obstructive to prompt service of the books. and the average town library, containing only a shelf or two of botanical works, clearly has no use for such a classification. the attempt to impose a universal law upon library arrangement, while the conditions of the collections are endlessly varied, is foredoomed to failure. the object of classification is to bring order out of confusion, and to arrange the great mass of books in science and literature of which every library is composed, so that those on related subjects should be as nearly as possible brought together. let us suppose a collection of some hundred thousand volumes, in all branches of human knowledge, thrown together without any classification or catalogue, on the tables, the shelves, and the floor of an extensive reading-room. suppose also an assemblage of scholars and other readers, ready and anxious to avail themselves of these literary treasures, this immense library without a key. each wants some certain book, by some author whose name he knows, or upon some subject upon which he seeks to inform himself. but how vain and hopeless the effort to go through all this chaos of learning, to find the one volume which he needs! this illustration points the prime necessity of classification of some kind, before a collection of books can be used in an available way. then comes in the skilled bibliographer, to convert this chaos into a cosmos, to illumine this darkness with the light of science. he distributes the whole mass, volume by volume, into a few great distinct classes; he creates families or sub-divisions in every class; he assembles together in groups all that treat of the same subject, or any of its branches; and thus the entire scattered multitude of volumes is at length coördinated into a clear and systematic collection, ready for use in every department. a great library is like a great army: when unorganized, your army is a mere undisciplined mob: but divide and sub-divide it into army corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, and companies, and you can put your finger upon every man. to make this complete organization of a library successful, one must have an organising mind, a wide acquaintance with literature, history, and the outlines, at least, of all the sciences; a knowledge of the ancient and of various modern languages; a quick intuition, a ripe judgment, a cultivated taste, a retentive memory, and a patience and perseverance that are inexhaustible. even were all these qualities possessed, there will be in the arrangement elements of discord and of a failure. a multitude of uncertain points in classification, and many exceptions will arise; and these must of necessity be settled arbitrarily. the more conversant one becomes with systems of classification, when reduced to practice, the more he becomes assured that a perfect bibliographical system is impossible. every system of classification must find its application fraught with doubts, complications, and difficulties; but the wise bibliographer will not pause in his work to resolve all these insoluble problems; he will classify the book in hand according to his best judgment at the moment it comes before him. he can no more afford to spend time over intricate questions of the preponderance of this, that, or the other subject in a book, than a man about to walk to a certain place can afford to debate whether he shall put his right foot forward or his left. the one thing needful is to go forward. referring to the chapter on bibliography for other details, i may here say that the french claim to have reached a highly practical system of classification in that set forth in j. c. brunet's _manuel du libraire_. this is now generally used in the arrangement of collections of books in france, with some modifications, and the book trade find it so well adapted to their wants, that classified sale and auction catalogues are mostly arranged on that system. it has only five grand divisions: theology, law, arts and sciences, belles-lettres, and history. each of these classes has numerous sub-divisions. for example, geography and voyages and travels form a division of history, between the philosophy of history and chronology, etc. the classification in use in the _bibliothèque nationale_ of france places theology first, followed by law, history, philosophy and belles-lettres. the grand division of philosophy includes all which is classified under arts and sciences in the system of brunet. in the library of the british museum the classification starts with theology, followed by . jurisprudence; . natural history (including botany, geology, zoölogy, and medicine); . art (including archaeology, fine arts, architecture, music, and useful arts); . philosophy (including politics, economics, sociology, education, ethics, metaphysics, mathematics, military and naval science, and chemistry); . history (including heraldry and genealogy); . geography (including ethnology); . biography (including epistles); . belles-lettres (including poetry, drama, rhetoric, criticism, bibliography, collected works, encyclopaedias, speeches, proverbs, anecdotes, satirical and facetious works, essays, folklore and fiction); . philology. sub-divisions by countries are introduced in nearly all the classes. in the library of congress the classification was originally based upon lord bacon's scheme for the division of knowledge into three great classes, according to the faculty of the mind employed in each. . history (based upon memory); . philosophy (based upon reason); . poetry (based upon imagination). this scheme was much better adapted to a classification of ideas than of books. its failure to answer the ends of a practical classification of the library led to radical modifications of the plan, as applied to the books on the shelves, for reasons of logical arrangement, as well as of convenience. a more thorough and systematic re-arrangement is now in progress. mr. c. a. cutter has devised a system of "expansive classification," now widely used in american libraries. in this, the classes are each indicated by a single letter, followed by numbers representing divisions by countries, and these in turn by letters indicating sub-divisions by subjects, etc. it is claimed that this method is not a rigid unchangeable system, but adaptable in a high degree, and capable of modification to suit the special wants of any library. in it the whole range of literature and science is divided into several grand classes, which, with their sub-classes, are indicated by the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. thus class a embraces generalia; b to d, spiritual sciences (including philosophy and religion); e to g, historical sciences (including, besides history and biography, geography and travels); h to k, social sciences (including law and political science and economics); l to p, natural sciences; q, medicine; and r to z, arts (including not only mechanical, recreative and fine arts, but music, languages, literature, and bibliography). the sub-divisions of these principal classes are arranged with progressive fullness, to suit smaller or larger libraries. thus, the first classification provides only eleven classes, suited to very small libraries: the second is expanded to fifteen classes, the third to thirty classes, and so on up to the seventh or final one, designed to provide for the arrangement of the very largest libraries. this is the most elaborate and far-reaching library classification yet put forth, claiming superior clearness, flexibility, brevity of notation, logical coördination, etc., while objections have been freely made to it on the score of over-refinement and aiming at the unattainable. what is known as the decimal or the dewey system of classification was originally suggested by mr. n. b. shurtleff's "decimal system for the arrangement and administration of libraries," published at boston in . but in its present form it has been developed by mr. melvil dewey into a most ingenious scheme for distributing the whole vast range of human knowledge into ten classes, marked from to , each of which sub-divides into exactly ten sub-classes, all divisible in their turn into ten minor divisions, and so on until the material in hand, or the ingenuity of the classifier is exhausted. the notation of the books on the shelves corresponds to these divisions and sub-divisions. the claims of this system, which has been quite extensively followed in the smaller american libraries, and in many european ones, are economy, simplicity, brevity of notation, expansibility, unchanging call-numbers, etc. it has been criticised as too mechanical, as illogical in arrangement of classes, as presenting many incongruities in its divisions, as procrustean, as wholly inadequate in its classification of jurisprudence, etc. it is partially used by librarians who have had to introduce radical changes in portions of the classification, and in fact it is understood that the classification has been very largely made over both in amherst college library and in that of columbia university, n. y., where it was fully established. this only adds to the cumulative proofs that library classification cannot be made an exact science, but is in its nature indefinitely progressive and improvable. its main object is not to classify knowledge, but books. there being multitudes of books that do not belong absolutely to any one class, all classification of them is necessarily a compromise. nearly all the classification schemers have made over their schemes--some of them many times. i am not arguing against classification, which is essential to the practical utility of any library. an imperfect classification is much better than none: but the tendency to erect classification into a fetish, and to lay down cast-iron rules for it, should be guarded against. in any library, reasons of convenience must often prevail over logical arrangement; and he who spends time due to prompt library service in worrying over errors in a catalogue, or vexing his soul at a faulty classification, is as mistaken as those fussy individuals who fancy that they are personally responsible for the obliquity of the earth's axis. it may be added that in the american library association's catalogue of , books for a popular library, washington, , the classification is given both on the dewey (decimal) system, and on the cutter expansive system, so that all may take their choice. the fixed location system of arrangement, by which every book is assigned by its number to one definite shelf, is objectionable as preventing accessions from being placed with their cognate books. this is of such cardinal importance in every library, that a more elastic system of some kind should be adopted, to save continual re-numbering. no system which makes mere arithmetical progression a substitute for intrinsic qualities can long prove satisfactory. the relative or movable location on shelves is now more generally adopted than the old plan of numbering every shelf and assigning a fixed location to every volume on that shelf. the book-marks, if designating simply the relative order of the volumes, permit the books to be moved along, as accessions come in, from shelf to shelf, as the latter become crowded. this does not derange the numbers, since the order of succession is observed. for small town libraries no elaborate system of classification can properly be attempted. here, the most convenient grouping is apt to prove the best, because books are most readily found by it. mr. w. i. fletcher has outlined a scheme for libraries of , volumes or less, as follows: a. fiction (appended, j. juvenile books); b. english and american literature; c. history; d. biography; e. travels; f. science; g. useful arts; h. fine and recreative arts; i. political and social science; k. philosophy and religion; l. works on language and in foreign languages; r. reference books. numerous sub-divisions would be required to make such a scheme (or indeed any other) fit any collection of books. in arranging the main classes, care should be taken to bring those most drawn upon near to the delivery desk, or charging system of the library. the alphabet is usefully applied in the arrangement of several of the great classes of books, and in many sub-divisions of other classes. thus, all english and american fiction may be arranged in a single alphabet of authors, including english translations of foreign works. all collected works, or polygraphy, may form an alphabet, as well as poetry, dramatic works, collections of letters, and miscellanea, arranged by authors' names. in any of these classes, sub-divisions by languages may be made, if desired. the class biography may best be arranged in an alphabet of the subjects of the biographies, rather than of writers, for obvious reasons of convenience in finding at once the books about each person. chapter . catalogues. catalogues of libraries are useful to readers in direct proportion to their fulfilment of three conditions: ( ) quick and ready reference. ( ) arranging all authors' names in an alphabet, followed by titles of their works. ( ) subjects or titles in their alphabetical order in the same alphabet as the authors. this is what is known as a "dictionary catalogue"; but why is it preferable to any other? because it answers more questions in less time than any other. the more prevalent styles of catalogues have been, . a list of authors, with titles of their works under each. . a catalogue of subjects, in a classified topical or alphabetical order, the authors and their works being grouped under each head. . a catalogue attempting to combine these two, by appending to the author-catalogue a classed list of subjects, with a brief of authors under each, referring to the page on which the titles of their works may be found; or else, . appending to the subject-catalogue an alphabet of authors, with similar references to pages under subjects. each of these methods of catalogue-making, while very useful, contrives to miss the highest utility, which lies in enabling the reader to put his finger on the book he wants, at one glance of the eye. the catalogue of authors will not help him to subjects, nor will the catalogue of subjects, as a rule, give the authors and titles with the fullness that may be needed. in either case, a double reference becomes necessary, consuming just twice the time, and in a two-column catalogue, three times the time required in a dictionary catalogue. the reader who wants darwin's "origin of species" finds it readily enough by the author-catalogue; but he wants, at the same time, to find other works on the same subject, and all the author-catalogues in the world will not help him to them. but give him a dictionary catalogue, and he has, in the same alphabet with his darwin, (if the library is large) dozens of books discussing the theory of that great naturalist, under species, evolution, darwinism, etc. thus he finds that there is no key which so quickly unlocks the stores of knowledge which a library contains, as a dictionary catalogue. the objections to it are chiefly brought by minds schooled in systems, who look askance on all innovations, and instinctively prefer round-about methods to short-hand ones. ask such an objector if he would prefer his dictionary of the english language arranged, not alphabetically, but subjectively, so that all medical terms should be defined only under medicine, all species of fish described only under fishes, etc., and he will probably say that there is no analogy in the case. but the analogy becomes apparent when we find, in what are called systematic catalogues, no two systems alike, and the finding of books complicated by endless varieties of classification, with no common alphabet to simplify the search. the authors of systems doubtless understand them themselves, but no one else does, until he devotes time to learn the key to them; and even when learned, the knowledge is not worth the time lost in acquiring it, since the field covered in any one catalogue is so small. alphabetical arrangement, on the other hand, strictly adhered to, is a universal key to the authors and subjects and titles of all the books contained in the library it represents. the devotee of a bibliographical system may be as mistaken as the slave of a scientific terminology. he forgets that bibliography is not a school for teaching all departments of knowledge, but a brief and handy index to books that may contain that knowledge. a student who has once made a thorough comparative test of the merits, as aids to wide and rapid research, of the old-fashioned bibliographies and the best modern dictionary catalogues, will no more deny the superiority of the latter, than he will contest the maxim that a straight line is the nearest road between two points. meantime, "while doctors disagree, disciples are free;" and the disciples who would follow the latest guides in the art "how to make and use a catalogue," must get rid of many formulas. the reader will find in the chapter on bibliography, notes on some classes of catalogues, with the more notable examples of them. we are here concerned with the true method of preparing catalogues, and such plain rules as brevity will permit to be given, will be equally adapted to private or public libraries. for more ample treatment, with reasons for and against many rules laid down, reference is made to the able and acute work, "rules for a dictionary catalogue," by c. a. cutter, published by the u. s. bureau of education, d ed. . condensed rules for an author and title catalogue. _prepared by the co-operation committee of the american library association._ entry. books are to be entered under the: surnames of authors when ascertained, the abbreviation "_anon._" being added to the titles of anonymous works. initials of authors' names when these only are known, the last initial being put first. pseudonyms of the writers when the real names are not ascertained. names of editors of collections, each separate item to be at the same time sufficiently catalogued under its own heading. names of countries, cities, societies, or other bodies which are responsible for their publication. first word (not an article or serial number) of the titles of periodicals and of anonymous books, the names of whose authors are not known. and a motto or the designation of a series may be neglected when it begins a title, and the entry may be made under the first word of the real title following. commentaries accompanying a text, and translations, are to be entered under the heading of the original work; but commentaries without the text under the name of the commentator. a book entitled "commentary on ...." and containing the text, should be put under both. the bible, or any part of it (including the apocrypha), in any language, is to be entered under the word bible. the talmud and koran (and parts of them) are to be entered under those words; the sacred books of other religions are to be entered under the names by which they are generally known; references to be given from the names of editors, translators, etc. the respondent or defender of an academical thesis is to be considered as the author, unless the work unequivocally appears to be the work of the _praeses_. books having more than one author to be entered under the one first named in the title, with a reference from each of the others. reports of civil actions are to be entered under the name of the party to the suit which stands first on the title page. reports of crown and criminal proceedings are to be entered under the name of the defendant. admiralty proceedings relating to vessels are to be put under the name of the vessel. noblemen are to be entered under their titles, unless the family name is decidedly better known. ecclesiastical dignitaries, unless popes or sovereigns, are to be entered under their surnames. sovereigns (other than greek or roman), ruling princes, oriental writers, popes, friars, persons canonized, and all other persons known _only_ by their first name, are to be entered under this first name. married women, and other persons who have changed their names, are to be put under the last well-known form. a pseudonym may be used instead of the surname (and only a reference to the pseudonym made under the surname) when an author is much more known by his false than by his real name. in case of doubt, use the real name. a society is to be entered under the first word, not an article, of its corporate name, with references from any other name by which it is known, especially from the name of the place where its headquarters are established, if it is often called by that name. references. when an author has been known by more than one name, references should be inserted from the name or names not to be used as headings to the one used. references are also to be made to the headings chosen: asked for by their titles; from other striking titles; from noticeable words in anonymous titles, especially from the names of subjects of anonymous biographies; from the names of editors of periodicals, when the periodicals are generally called by the editor's name; from the names of important translators (especially poetic translators) and commentators; from the title of an ecclesiastical dignitary, when that, and not the family name, is used in the book catalogued; and in other cases where a reference is needed to insure the ready finding of the book. headings. in the heading of titles, the names of authors are to be given in full, and in their vernacular form, except that the latin form may be used when it is more generally known, the vernacular form being added in parentheses; except, also, that sovereigns and popes may be given in the english form. english and french surnames beginning with a prefix (except the french de and d') are to be recorded under the prefix; in other languages under the word following. english compound surnames are to be entered under the last part of the name; foreign ones under the first part. designations are to be added to distinguish writers of the same name from each other. prefixes indicating the rank or profession of writers may be added in the heading, when they are part of the usual designation of the writers. names of places to be given in the english form. when both an english and a vernacular form are used in english works, prefer the vernacular. titles. the title is to be an exact transcript of the title-page, neither amended, translated, nor in any way altered, except that mottos, titles of authors, repetitions, and matter of any kind not essential, are to be omitted. where great accuracy is desirable, omissions are to be indicated by three dots (...). the titles of books especially valuable for antiquity or rarity may be given in full, with all practicable precision. the phraseology and spelling, but not necessarily the punctuation, of the title are to be exactly copied. any additions needed to make the title clear are to be supplied, and inclosed by brackets. initial capitals are to be given in english: noted events, and periods (each separate word not an article, conjunction, or preposition, may be capitalized in these cases); to adjectives and other derivatives from proper names when they have a direct reference to the person, place, etc., from which they are derived; to the first word of every sentence and of every quoted title; to titles of honor when standing instead of a proper name (_e. g._, the earl of derby, but john stanley, earl of derby); in foreign languages, according to the local usage; in doubtful cases capitals are to be avoided. foreign languages.--titles in foreign characters may be transliterated. the languages in which a book is written are to be stated when there are several, and the fact is not apparent from the title. imprints. after the title are to be given, in the following order, those in [ ] being optional: the place of publication; [and the publisher's name] (these three in the language of the title); the year as given on the title-page, but in arabic figures; [the year of copyright or actual publication, if known to be different in brackets, and preceded by c. or p. as the case may be]; the number of volumes, or of pages if there is only one volume; [the number of maps, portraits, or illustrations not included in the text]; and either the approximate size designated by letter, or the exact size in centimeters; the name of the series to which the book belongs is to be given in parentheses after the other imprint entries. after the place of publication, the place of printing may be given if different. this is desirable only in rare and old books. the number of pages is to be indicated by giving the last number of each paging, connecting the numbers by the sign +; the addition of unpaged matter may be shown by a +, or the number of pages ascertained by counting may be given in brackets. when there are more than three pagings, it is better to add them together and give the sum in brackets. these imprint entries are to give the facts, whether ascertained from the book or from other sources; those which are usually taken from the title (edition, place, publisher's name, and series) should be in the language of the title, corrections and additions being inclosed in brackets. it is better to give the words, "maps," "portraits," etc., and the abbreviations for "volumes" and "pages," in english. contents, notes. notes (in english) and contents of volumes are to be given when necessary to properly describe the works. both notes and lists of contents to be in a smaller type. miscellaneous. a single dash or indent indicates the omission of the preceding heading; a subsequent dash or indent indicates the omission of a subordinate heading, or of a title. a dash connecting numbers signifies to and including; following a number it signifies continuation. a ? following a word or entry signifies probably. brackets inclose words added to titles or imprints, or changed in form. arabic figures are to be used rather than roman; but small capitals may be used after the names of sovereigns, princes, and popes. a list of abbreviations to be used was given in the library journal, vol. : - . arrangement. the surname when used alone precedes the same name used with forenames; where the initials only of the forenames are given, they are to precede fully written forenames beginning with the same initials (_e. g._, brown, brown, j.; brown, j. l.; brown, james). the prefixes m and mc, s., st., ste., messrs., mr., and mrs., are to be arranged as if written in full, mac, sanctus, saint, sainte, messieurs, mister, and mistress. the works of an author are to be arranged in the following order: . partial collections. . single works, alphabetically, by the first word of the title. the order of alphabeting is to be that of the english alphabet. the german ae, oe, ue, are always to be written as ä, ö, ü, and arranged as a, o, u. names of persons are to precede similar names of places, which in turn precede similar first words of titles. a few desirable modifications or additions to these rules may be suggested. . in title-entries, let the year of publication stand last, instead of the indication of size. . noblemen to be entered under their family names, with reference from their titles. . instead of designations of title, profession, residence, or family, to distinguish authors, let every name be followed by the chronology, as-- james (henry) - . james (henry) - it is highly desirable to give this information as to the author's period in every title-heading, without exception, when ascertainable. if unknown, the approximate period to be given, with a query. . all titles to be written in small letters, and printed in lower case, whether in english, german, or any other language, avoiding capitals except in cases named in the rule. . works without date, when the exact date is not found, are to be described conjecturally, thus: [ ?] or [about .] . in expressing collations, use commas rather than the sign + between the pagings, as--xvi, , vii pp.--not xvi+ +vii pp. . forenames should be separated from the surnames which precede them by parenthesis rather than commas, as a clearer discrimination: as-- alembert (jean baptiste le rond d')--not alembert, jean baptiste le rond d'. the printed catalogue of the british museum library follows this method, as well as that in the preceding paragraph. . all books of history, travels, or voyages to have the period covered by them inserted in brackets, when not expressed in the title-page. . all collected works of authors, and all libraries or collections of different works to be analysed by giving the contents of each volume, either in order of volumes, or alphabetically by authors' names. of course there are multitudes of points in catalogue practice not provided for in the necessarily brief summary preceding: and, as books on the art abound, the writer gives only such space to it as justice to the wide range of library topics here treated permits. probably the most important question in preparing catalogue titles, is what space to give to the author's frequently long-drawn-out verbiage in his title-page. there are two extremes to be considered: ( ) copying the title literally and in full, however prolix; and ( ) reducing all title-pages, by a procrustean rule, to what we may call "one-line titles." take an example: "jones (richard t.) a theoretical and practical treatise on the benefits of agriculture to mankind. with an appendix containing many useful reflections derived from practical experience. iv, pp. °. london, mdccxliv." as abridged to a short title, this would read: "jones (richard t.) benefits of agriculture, iv, pp. °. lond. ." who will say that the last form of title does not convey substantially all that is significant of the book, stripped of superfluous verbiage? but we need not insist upon titles crowded into a single line of the catalogue, whether written or printed. this would do violence to the actual scope of many books, by suppressing some significant or important part of their titles. the rule should be to give in the briefest words selected out of the title (never imported into it) the essential character of the book, so far as the author has expressed it. take another example: "bowman (thomas) a new, easy, and complete hebrew course; containing a hebrew grammar, with copious hebrew and english exercises, strictly graduated: also, a hebrew-english and english-hebrew lexicon. in two parts. part i. regular verbs. edinburgh, ." this might be usefully condensed thus: bowman, (thomas) hebrew course: grammar, exercises, lexicon, [&c.] part i. regular verbs. edinburgh, . one objection brought against the dictionary catalogue is that it widely separates subjects that belong together. in the boston athenaeum catalogue, for example, the topic banks is found in vol. , while money is in vol. ; and for wages, one must go to vol. , while labor is in vol. . but there are two valid reasons for this. first, the reader who wants to know about banks or wages may care nothing about the larger topics of money or of labor; and secondly, if he does want them, he is sent to them at once by cross-reference, where they belong in the alphabet; whereas, if they were grouped under political economy, as in classed catalogues, he must hunt for them through a maze of unrelated books, without any alphabet at all. it is often forgotten by the advocates of systematic subject catalogues rather than alphabetical ones, that catalogues are for those who do not know, more than for those who do. the order of the alphabet is settled and familiar; but no classification by subjects is either familiar or settled. catalogues should aim at the greatest convenience of the greatest number of readers. it is noteworthy that the english catalogue (the one national bibliography of the current literature of that country) has adopted, since , the dictionary form of recording authors, titles and subjects in one alphabet, distinguishing authors' names by antique type. it is hoped that the american catalogue, an indispensable work in all libraries, will adopt in its annual and quinquennial issues the time-saving method of a single alphabet. it is not claimed that the dictionary catalogue possesses fully all the advantages in educating readers that the best classed catalogues embody. but the chief end of catalogues being to find books promptly, rather than to educate readers, the fact that the dictionary catalogue, though far from perfect, comes nearer to the true object than any other system, weighs heavily in its favor. edward edwards said--"many a reader has spent whole days in book-hunting [in catalogues] which ought to have been spent in book-reading." it is to save this wasted time that catalogues should aim. nothing can be easier than to make a poor catalogue, while nothing is more difficult than to make a good one. the most expert french bibliographers who have distinguished themselves by compiling catalogues have been most severely criticised by writers who no doubt would have been victimized in their turn if they had undertaken similar work. byron says "a man must serve his time to every trade, save censure;--critics all are ready made." when de bure and van praet, most accomplished bibliographers, published the catalogue of the precious library of the duke de la vallière, the abbé rive boasted that he had discovered a blunder in every one of the five thousand titles of their catalogue. barbier and brunet have both been criticised for swarms of errors in the earlier editions of their famous catalogues. the task of the exact cataloguer is full of difficulty, constantly renewed, and demanding almost encyclopaedic knowledge, and incessant care of minute particulars. the liability to error is so great in a kind of work which, more than almost any other, demands the most scrupulous accuracy, lest a catalogue should record a book with such mistakes as to completely mislead a reader, that rules are imperatively necessary. and whatever rules are adopted, a rigid adherence to them is no less essential, to avoid misapprehension and confusion. a singular instance of imperfect and misleading catalogue work was unwittingly furnished by mr. j. payne collier, a noted english critic, author, and librarian, who criticised the slow progress of the british museum catalogue, saying that he could himself do "twenty-five titles an hour without trouble." his twenty-five titles when examined, were found to contain almost every possible error that can be made in cataloguing books. these included using names of translators or editors as headings, when the author's name was on the title-page; omitting christian names of authors; omitting to specify the edition; using english instead of foreign words to give the titles of foreign books; adopting titled instead of family names for authors (which would separate stanhope's "england under queen anne" from the same writer's "history of england," published when he was lord mahon); errors in grammar, etc. these ridiculous blunders of a twenty-five-title-an-hour man exemplify the maxim "the more haste, the worse speed," in catalogue-making. that our british brethren are neither adapted nor inclined to pose as exemplars in the fine art of cataloguing, we need only cite their own self-criticisms to prove. here are two confessions found in two authors of books on catalogue-making, both englishmen. says one: "we are deficient in good bibliographies. it is a standing disgrace to the country that we have no complete bibliography of english authors, much less of english literature generally." says another: "the english are a supremely illogical people. the disposition to irregularity has made english bibliography, or work on catalogues, a by-word among those who give attention to these matters." an american may well add, "they do these things better in france and germany," while declining to claim the meed of superiority for the united states. too much prominence should not be given to place-numbers in library catalogues. the tendency to substitute mere numerical signs for authors and subjects has been carried so far in some libraries, that books are called for and charged by class-numbers only, instead of their distinctive names. an english librarian testifies that assistants trained in such libraries are generally the most ignorant of literature. when mechanical or mnemonical signs are wholly substituted for ideas and for authors, is it any wonder that persons incessantly using them become mechanical? let catalogue and classification go hand in hand in bringing all related books together, and library assistants will not stunt their intellects by becoming bond-slaves to the nine digits, nor lose the power of thought and reflection by never growing out of their _a b c's_. there are two forms of catalogue not here discussed, which are adjuncts to the library catalogue proper. the accession catalogue, kept in a large volume, records the particulars regarding every volume, on its receipt by the library. it gives author, title, date, size, binding, whence acquired, cost, etc., and assigns it an accession number, which it ever after retains. the shelf catalogue (or shelf-list) is a portable one divided into sections representing the cases of shelves in the library. it gives the shelf classification number, author, brief title and number of volumes of each book, as arranged on the shelves; thus constituting an inventory of each case, or stack, throughout the library. to check a library over is to take an account of stock of all the books it should contain. this is done annually in some libraries, and the deficiencies reported. all libraries lose some books, however few, and these losses will be small or great according to the care exercised and the safe-guards provided. the method is to take one division of the library at a time, and check off all books on the shelves by their numbers on the shelf-list, supplemented by careful examination of all numbers drawn out, or at bindery, or in other parts of the library. not a volume should be absent unaccounted for. those found missing after a certain time should be noted on the shelf-list and accession book, and replaced, if important, after the loss is definitely assured. the reason for writing and printing all catalogue titles in small letters, without capitals (except for proper names) is two-fold. first, there can be no standard prescribing what words should or should not be capitalized, and the cataloguer will be constantly at a loss, or will use capitals in the most unprincipled way. he will write one day, perhaps, "the dangers of great cities," and the next, "the dangers of great cities"--with no controlling reason for either form. secondly, the symmetry of a title or a sentence, whether written or printed, is best attained by the uniform exclusion of capitals. that this should be applied to all languages, notwithstanding the habit of most german typographers of printing all nouns with capitals, is borne out by no less an authority than the new grimm's _deutsches wörterbuch_, which prints all words in "lower case" type except proper names. nothing can be more unsightly than the constant breaking up of the harmony of a line by the capricious use of capitals. to discriminate carefully the various editions of each work is part of the necessary duty of the cataloguer. many books have passed through several editions, and as these are by no means always specified on the title-page, one should establish the sequence, if possible, by other means. the first edition is one which includes all copies printed from the plates or the type as first set; the second, one which is reprinted, with or without changes in the text or the title. first editions often acquire a greatly enhanced value, in the case of a noted author, by reason of changes made in the text in later issues of the work. for though the latest revision may and should be the author's best improved expression, his earliest furnishes food for the hunters of literary curiosities. every catalogue should distinguish first editions thus [ st ed.] in brackets. in the arrangement of titles in catalogues, either of the various works of the same writer, or of many books on the same subject, some compilers follow the alphabetical order, while others prefer the chronological--or the order of years of publication of the various works. the latter has the advantage of showing the reader the earlier as distinguished from the recent literature, but in a long sequence of authors (in a subject-catalogue) it is more difficult to find a given writer's work, or to detect its absence. the task of accurately distributing the titles in a catalogue of subjects would be much simplified, if the books were all properly named. but it is an unhappy failing of many writers to give fanciful or far-fetched titles to their books, so that, instead of a descriptive name, they have names that describe nothing. this adds indefinitely to the labor of the cataloguer, who must spend time to analyse to some extent the contents of the book, before he can classify it. this must be done to avoid what may be gross errors in the catalogue. familiar examples are ruskin's notes on sheep-folds (an ecclesiastical criticism) classified under agriculture; and edgeworth's irish bulls under domestic animals. the work of alphabeting a large number of title-cards is much simplified and abbreviated by observing certain obvious rules in the distribution. ( ) gather in the same pile all the cards in the first letter of the alphabet, a, followed in successive parallel rows by all the b's, and so on, to the letter z. ( ) next, pursue the same course with all the titles, arranging under the second letter of the alphabet, aa, ab, ac, etc., and so with all the cards under b. c. &c. for all the letters. ( ) if there still remain a great many titles to distribute into a closer alphabetic sequence, the third operation will consist in arranging under the third letter of the alphabet, _e. g._, abb, abc, abd, etc. the same method is pursued throughout the entire alphabet, until all the title-cards are arranged in strict order. too much care cannot be taken to distinguish between books written by different authors, but bearing the same name. many catalogues are full of errors in this respect, attributing, for example, works written by jonathan edwards, the younger, ( - ) to jonathan edwards the elder, ( - ); or cataloguing under henry james, jr., the works of his father, henry james. the abundant means of identification which exist should cause such errors to be avoided; and when the true authorship is fixed, every author's chronology should appear next after his name on every card-title: _e. g._ james (henry, - ) moralism and christianity, new york, . james (henry, - ) daisy miller, n. y. . the designation of book sizes is a vexed question in catalogues. the generally used descriptions of size, from folio down to mo. signify no accurate measurement whatever, the same book being described by different catalogues as mo. vo, crown vo. &c., according to fancy; while the same cataloguer who describes a volume as octavo to-day, is very likely to call it a duodecimo to-morrow. library catalogues are full of these heterogeneous descriptions, and the size-notation is the _bête noir_ of the veteran bibliographer, and the despair of the infant librarian. yet it is probable that the question has excited a discussion out of all proportion to its importance. of what consequence is the size of a book to any one, except to the searcher who has to find it on the shelves? while the matter has been much exaggerated, some concert or uniformity in describing the sizes of books is highly desirable. a committee of the american library association agreed to a size-notation, figured below, adopting the metric system as the standard, to which we add the approximate equivalents in inches. _centimetres_ _size_ _outside_ _sizes._ _abbreviations._ _height._ _inches._ folio, f°. f quarto, °. q octavo, °. o duodecimo, °. d sixteen mo., °. s . twenty-four mo., °. t thirty-two mo., °. tt . forty-eight mo., °. fe it will be understood that the figure against each size indicated represents the maximum measure: _e. g._ a volume is octavo when above and below centimetres ( to inches high). as this question of sizes concerns publishers and booksellers, as well as librarians, and the metric system, though established in continental europe, is in little use in the united states and england, it remains doubtful if any general adherence to this system of notation can be reached--or, indeed, to any other. the publishers' weekly (n. y.) the organ of the book trade, has adopted it for the titles of new books actually in hand, but follows the publishers' descriptions of sizes as to others. librarian j. winter jones, of the british museum, recommended classing all books above twelve inches in height as folios, those between ten and twelve inches as quartos, those from seven to ten inches as octavos, and all measuring seven inches or under as mos. mr. h. b. wheatley, in his work, "how to catalogue a library," , proposed to call all books small octavos which measure below the ordinary octavo size. as all sizes "run into each other," and the former classification by the fold of the sheets is quite obsolete, people appear to be left to their own devices in describing the sizes of books. while the metric notation would be exact, if the size of every book were expressed in centimetres, the size-notation in the table given is wholly wanting in precision, and has no more claim to be adopted than any other arbitrary plan. still, it will serve ordinary wants, and the fact that we cannot reach an exact standard is no reason for refusing to be as nearly exact as we can. and while we are upon the subject of notation may be added a brief explanation of the method adopted in earlier ages, (and especially the years reckoned from the christian era) to express numbers by roman numerals. the one simple principle was, that each letter placed after a figure of greater equal value adds to it just the value which itself has; and, on the other hand, a letter of less value placed before (or on the left of) a larger figure, diminishes the value of that figure in the same proportion. for example: these letters--vi represent six; which is the same as saying v+i. on the contrary, these same letters reversed represent four; thus--iv: that is v-i= . nine is represented by ix, _i. e._, x-i, ten minus one. on the same principle, lx represents --or l+n: whereas xl means --being l-x. proceeding on the same basis, we find that lxx=l+xx= ; and lxxx or l+xxx is . but when we come to ninety, instead of adding four x's to the l, they took a shorter method, and expressed it in two figures instead of five, thus, xc, _i. e._ or c-x= . the remarkable thing about this roman notation is that only six letters sufficed to express all numbers up to one thousand, and even beyond, by skilful and simple combinations: namely the i, the v, the x, the l, the c, and the m, and by adding or subtracting some of these letters, when placed before or after another letter, they had a whole succession of numbers done to their hand--thus: i, xx, cc, ii, xxx, ccc, iii, xl, cccc, iv, l, d, v, lx, dc, vi, lxx, dcc, vii, lxxx, dccc, viii, xc, cm, ix, c (centum), m, (mille), , x, now, when the early printers came to apply dates of publication to the books they issued, (and here is where their methods of notation become most important to librarians) they used precisely these methods. for example, to express the year , they printed it thus: mdcvc, that is-- + + + - . but the printers of the th century and later, often used complications of letters, dictated by caprice rather than by any fixed principles, so that it is sometimes difficult to interpret certain dates in the colophons or title-pages of books, without collateral aid of some kind, usually supplied to the librarian by bibliographies. one of the simpler methods of departure from the regular notation as above explained, was to substitute for the letter d ( ) two letters, thus--i[inverted c], an i and a c inverted, supposed to resemble the letter d in outline. another fancy was to replace the m, standing for , , by the symbols ci[inverted c]--which present a faint approach to the outline of the letter m, for which they stand. thus, to express the year , we have this combination--ci[inverted c] i[inverted c] cx, which would be indecipherable to a modern reader, uninstructed in the numerical signs anciently used, and their values. in like manner, is expressed thus: mdxliix, meaning + + + - . and for , we have ci[inverted c] i[inverted c] c xxvi. as every considerable library has early printed books, a librarian must know these peculiarities of notation, in order to catalogue them properly, without mistake as to their dates. in some books, where a capricious combination of roman numerals leaves him without a precedent to guide him to the true date, reference must be had to the bibliographies of the older literature, (as hain, panzer, etc.), which will commonly solve the doubt. as to the mechanics of catalogue-making, widely different usages and materials prevail. in america, the card or title-slip system is well nigh universal, while in england it is but slowly gaining ground, as against the ledger or blank book catalogue. its obvious advantage lies in affording the only possible means of maintaining a strict alphabetical sequence in titles, whether of authors or subjects. the title-cards should be always of uniform size, and the measure most in vogue is five inches in length by three inches in breadth. they should not be too stiff, though of sufficient thickness, whether of paper or of thin card board, to stand upright without doubling at the edges. they may be ruled or plain, at pleasure, and kept in drawers, trays, or (in case of a small catalogue) in such paste-board boxes as letter envelopes come in. the many advantages of the card system, both for catalogues and indexes, should not lead us to overlook its palpable defects. these are ( ) it obliges readers to manipulate many cards, to arrive at all the works of an author, or all the books on any subject, instead of having them under his eye at once, as in printed catalogues. ( ) it can be used only in the library, and in only one place in the library, and by only one person at a time in the same spot, while a printed catalogue can be freely used anywhere, and by any numbers, copies being multiplied. ( ) it entails frequent crowding of readers around the catalogue drawers, who need to consult the same subjects or authors at the same time. ( ) it requires immeasurably more room than a printed catalogue, and in fact, exacts space which in some libraries can be ill afforded. ( ) it obliges readers to search the title-cards at inconvenient angles of vision, and often with inadequate light. ( ) it is cumbersome in itself, and doubly cumbersome to searchers, who must stand up instead of sitting to consult it, and travel from drawer to drawer, interfering with other searchers almost constantly, or losing time in waiting. ( ) to this is added the inconvenience of constant insertion of new title-cards by members of the library staff, and the time-consuming process of working the rods which keep the cards in place, if they are used, and if not used, the risk of loss of titles, or misplacement equivalent to loss for a time. says mr. h. b. wheatley: "i can scarcely imagine anything more maddening than a frequent reference to cards in a drawer." but it is to be considered that all systems have defects, and the problem of choosing the least defective is ever before us. most of the suggested defects of the card catalogue, as concerns the readers, can be obviated by making a two-fold catalogue, the type-written titles being manifolded, and one set arranged in card-drawers for the use of the library staff, while another is mounted on large sheets in bound volumes for use of the public. this would secure the advantages of a printed catalogue, with no more expense than the manuscript titles would cost. if desired, a number of copies could be bound up for reading-room use. accessions of new books could be incorporated from month to month, by leaving the right-hand pages blank for that purpose. this would be near enough to alphabetical order for most readers, with the immense advantage of opening at one glance before the eye, any author or subject. it would go far to solve the problem how to unite the flexibility and perfect alphabeting of the card system, with the superior comfort, safety, and ease of reference of the book. it would also be a safe-guard against the loss or displacement of titles, a danger inherent in the card system, as they could be replaced by copying missing titles from the catalogue volumes. while the undoubted merits of the card system have been much overrated, it would be as unwise to dispense with it as the complete official catalogue of the library, as it would be to tie down the public to its use, when there is a more excellent way, saving time and patience, and contributing to the comfort of all. to print or not to print? is a vital question for libraries, and it is in most cases decided to forego or to postpone printing, because of its great expense. yet so manifest are the advantages of a printed catalogue, that all public libraries should make every effort to endow their readers with its benefits. these advantages are ( ) greater facility of reading titles. ( ) much more rapid turning from letter to letter of the catalogue alphabet. ( ) ability to consult it outside of the library. ( ) unlimited command of the catalogue by many readers at once, from the number of copies at hand, whereas card catalogues or manuscript volumes involve loss of time in waiting, or interfering with the researches of others. a part of these advantages may be realized by printing type-written copies of all titles in duplicate, or by carbon paper in manifold, thus furnishing the library with several copies of its catalogue: but why not extend this by multiplying copies through the ingenious processes now in use, by which the printing of titles can be effected far more cheaply than in any printing office? might not every library become its own printer, thus saving it from the inconvenience and risk of sending its titles outside, or the great expense of copying them for the printer? the titles thus manifolded could be combined into volumes, by cutting away all superfluous margins and mounting the thin title-slips alphabetically on paper of uniform size, which, when bound, would be readily handled. all the titles of an author's works would be under the eye at a glance, instead of only one at a time, as in the card catalogue. and the titles of books on every subject would lie open, without slowly manipulating an infinite series of cards, one after another, to reveal them to the eye. the classification marks could be readily placed against each title, or even printed as a part of the manifold card titles. not that the card catalogue system would be abolished: it would remain as the only complete catalogue of the library, always up to date, in a single alphabet. daily accessions inserted in it would render it the standard of appeal as to all that the library contained, and it would thus supplement the printed catalogue. of course, large and increasing accessions would require to be combined in occasional supplementary volumes of the catalogue; and in no long number of years the whole might be re-combined in a single alphabet, furnishing a printed dictionary catalogue up to its date. the experience of the great british museum library in this matter of catalogues is an instructive one. after printing various incomplete author-catalogues in the years from to , the attempt to print came to a full stop. the extensive collection grew apace, and the management got along somehow with a manuscript catalogue, the titles of which (written in script with approximate fullness) were pasted in a series of unwieldy but alphabetically arranged volumes. to incorporate the accessions, these volumes had continually to be taken apart by the binder, and the new titles combined in alphabetical order, entailing a literally endless labor of transcribing, shifting, relaying and rebinding, to secure even an imperfect alphabetical sequence. in , the catalogue had grown to over two thousand thick folio volumes, and it was foreseen, by a simple computation of the rate of growth of the library, that in a very few years its catalogue could no longer be contained in the reading-room. the bulky manuscript catalogue system broke down by its own weight, and the management was compelled to resort to printing in self defence. before the printing had reached any where near the concluding letters of the alphabet, the ms. catalogue had grown to three thousand volumes, and was a daily and hourly incubus to librarians and readers. this printed catalogue of the largest library in the world, save one, is strictly a catalogue of authors, giving in alphabetical order the names, followed by the titles of all works by each writer which that library possesses. in addition, it refers in the case of biographies or comments upon any writer found in the index, to the authors of such works; and also from translators or editors to the authors of the translated or edited work. the titles of accessions to the library (between thirty and forty thousand volumes a year) were incorporated year by year as the printing went on. all claim to minute accuracy had to be ignored, and the titles greatly abridged by omitting superfluous words, otherwise its cost would have been prohibitory. the work was prosecuted with great energy and diligence by the staff of able scholars in the service of the museum library. as the catalogue embraces far more titles of books, pamphlets, and periodicals than any other ever printed, it is a great public boon, the aid it affords to all investigators being incalculable. and any library possessing it may find, with many titles of rare and unattainable works, multitudes of books now available by purchase in the market, to enrich its own collection. it is said to contain about , , titles and cross-references. it is printed in large, clear type, double columns, well spaced, and its open page is a comfort to the eye. issued in paper covers, the thin folios can be bound in volumes of any thickness desired by the possessor. it has several capital defects: ( ) it fails to discriminate authors of the same name by printing the years or period of each; instead of which it gives designations like "the elder", "the younger", or the residence, or occupation, or title of the author. the years during which any writer flourished would have been easily added to the name in most cases, and the value of such information would have been great, solving at once many doubts as to many writers. ( ) the catalogue fails to print the collations of all works, except as to a portion of those published since , or in the newer portions issued. this omission leaves a reader uncertain whether the book recorded is a pamphlet or an extensive work. ( ) the letters i and j and u and v are run together in the alphabet, after the ancient fashion, thus placing josephus before irving, and utah after virginia; an arrangement highly perplexing, not to say exasperating, to every searcher. to follow an obsolete usage may be defended on the plea that it is a good one, but when it is bad as well as outworn, no excuse for it can satisfy a modern reader. ( ) no analysis is given of the collected works of authors, nor of many libraries made up of monographs. one cannot find in it the contents of the volumes of any of swift's works, nor even of milton's prose writings. ( ) it fails to record the names of publishers, except in the case of some early or rare books. the printing of this monumental catalogue began in , the volumes of ms. catalogue being set up by the printer without transcription, which would have delayed the work indefinitely, and it is now substantially completed. its total cost will be not far from £ , . there are about volumes or parts in all. only copies were printed, part of which were presented to large libraries, and others were offered for sale at £ . per annum, payable as issued, so that a complete set costs about £ . one learns with surprise that only about forty copies have been subscribed for. this furnishes another evidence of the low estate of bibliography in england, where, in a nation full of rich book-collectors and owners of fine libraries, almost no buyers are found for the most extensive bibliography ever published, a national work, furnishing so copious and useful a key to the literature of the world in every department of human knowledge. chapter . copyright and libraries. the preservation of literature through public libraries has been and will ever be one of the most signal benefits which civilization has brought to mankind. when we consider the multitude of books which have perished from the earth, from the want of a preserving hand, a lively sense of regret comes over us that so few libraries have been charged with the duty of acquiring and keeping every publication that comes from the press. yet we owe an immeasurable debt to the wisdom and far-sightedness of those who, centuries ago, provided by this means for the perpetuity of literature. the earliest step taken in this direction appears to have been in france. by an ordinance proclaimed in , regulating the printing of books, it was required that a copy of each work issued from the press should be deposited in the royal library. and it was distinctly affirmed that the ground of this exaction was to preserve to posterity the literature of the time, which might otherwise disappear.[ ] this edict of three centuries and a half ago was the seed-grain from which has grown the largest library yet gathered in the world--the _bibliothèque nationale_ of france. it antedated by more than two hundred years, any similar provision in england for the preservation of the national literature. it is a notable fact that the united states of america was the first nation that ever embodied the principle of protection to the rights of authors in its fundamental law. "the congress shall have power to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." thus anchored in the constitution itself, this principle has been further recognized by repeated acts of congress, aimed in all cases at giving it full practical effect. if it is asked why the authors of the constitution gave to congress no plenary power, which might have authorized a grant of copyright in perpetuity, the answer is, that in this, british precedent had a great, if not a controlling influence. copyright in england, by virtue of the statute of anne, passed in (the first british copyright act), was limited to fourteen years, with right of renewal, by a living author, of only fourteen years more; and this was in full force in , when our constitution was framed. prior to the british statute of , authors had only what is called a common law right to their writings; and however good such a right might be, so long as they held them in manuscript, the protection to printed books was extremely uncertain and precarious. it has been held, indeed, that all copyright laws, so far from maintaining an exclusive property right to authors, do in effect deny it (at least in the sense of a natural right), by explicitly limiting the term of exclusive ownership, which might otherwise be held (as in other property) to be perpetual. but there is a radical distinction between the products of the brain, when put in the concrete form of books and multiplied by the art of printing, and the land or other property which is held by common law tenure. society views the absolute or exclusive property in books or inventions as a monopoly. while a monopoly may be justified for a reasonable number of years, on the obvious ground of securing to their originators the pecuniary benefit of their own ideas, a perpetual monopoly is generally regarded as odious and unjust. hence society says to the author or inventor: "put your ideas into material form, and we will guarantee you the exclusive right to multiply and sell your books or your inventions for a term long enough to secure a fair reward to you and to your family; after that period we want your monopoly, with its individual benefits, to cease in favor of the greatest good of all." if this appears unfair to authors, who contribute so greatly to the instruction and the advancement of mankind, it is to be considered that a perpetual copyright would ( ) largely increase the cost of books, which should be most widely diffused for the public benefit, prolonging the enhanced cost indefinitely beyond the author's lifetime; ( ) it would benefit by a special privilege, prolonged without limit, a class of book manufacturers or publishers who act as middle-men between the author and the public, and who own, in most cases, the entire property in the works of authors deceased, and which they did not originate; ( ) it would amount in a few centuries to so vast a sum, taxed upon the community who buy books, that the publishers of shakespeare's works, for example, who under perpetual copyright could alone print the poet's writings, might have reaped colossal fortunes, perhaps unequalled by any private wealth yet amassed in the world. if it is said that copyright, thus limited, is a purely arbitrary right, it may be answered that all legal provisions are arbitrary. that which is an absolute or natural right, so long as held in idea or in manuscript, becomes, when given to the world in multiplied copies, the creature of law. the most that authors can fairly claim is a sufficiently prolonged exclusive right to guarantee them for a lifetime the just reward of their labors, with a reversion for their immediate heirs. that such exclusive rights should run to their remotest posterity, or, _a fortiori_, to mere merchants or artificers who had no hand whatever in the creation of the intellectual work thus protected, would be manifestly unjust. the judicial tribunals, both in england and america, have held that copyright laws do not affirm an existing right, but create a right, with special privileges not before existing, and also with special limitations. the earliest copyright enactment of granted the exclusive privilege of printing his work to the author or his assigns for + , or twenty-eight years in all. the act further required entry of the title, before publication, in the office of the clerk of the united states district court in the state where the author or proprietor resided. this remained the law, with slight amendment, until , when a new copyright act extended the duration of copyright from fourteen to twenty-eight years for the original, or first term, with right of renewal to the author (now first extended to his widow or children, in case of his decease) for fourteen additional years, making forty-two years in all. by the same act the privilege of copyright was extended to cover musical compositions, as it had been earlier extended (in ) to include designs, engravings, and etchings. copyright was further extended in to dramatic compositions, and in to photographs and negatives thereof. in a new copyright code, to take the place of all existing and scattered statutes, was enacted, and there were added to the lawful subjects of copyright, paintings, drawings, chromos, statues, statuary, and models or designs intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts. and finally, by act of march , , the benefits of copyright were extended so as to embrace foreign authors. in , congress created the office of register of copyrights, but continued the copyright office, with its records, in the library of congress. in , the first enactment entitling the library of the united states government to a copy of every work protected by copyright was passed. this act, to establish the smithsonian institution, required that one copy of each copyright publication be deposited therein, and one copy in the library of congress. no penalties were provided, and in , on complaint of the authorities of the smithsonian institution that the law brought in much trash in the shape of articles which were not books, the law was repealed, with the apparent concurrence of those in charge of the congressional library. this left that library without any accessions of copyright books until , when, at the instance of the present writer, the library committee recommended, and congress passed an act restoring the privilege to the library of congress. but it was found to require, in order to its enforcement, frequent visits to the records of the clerks of united states district courts in many cities, with costly transcripts of records in more than thirty other offices, in order to ascertain what books had actually been copyrighted. to this was added the necessity of issuing demands upon delinquent authors or publishers for books not sent to the library; no residence of the delinquents, however, being found in any of the records, which simply recorded those claiming copyright as "of the said district." it resulted that no complete, nor even approximate compliance with the law was secured, and after five years' trial, the librarian was obliged to bring before the committees of congress the plan of a copyright registry at the seat of government, as had been the requirement in the case of patents from the beginning. the law of copyright, as codified by act of july , , made an epoch in the copyright system of the united states. it transferred the entire registry of books and other publications, under copyright law, to the city of washington, and made the librarian of congress sole register of copyrights, instead of the clerks of the district courts of the united states. manifold reasons existed for this radical change, and those which were most influential with congress in making it were the following: . the transfer of the copyright records to washington it was foreseen would concentrate and simplify the business, and this was a cardinal point. prior to there were between forty and fifty separate and distinct authorities for issuing copyrights. the american people were put to much trouble to find out where to apply, in the complicated system of district courts, several of them frequently in a single state, to enter titles for publication. they were required to make entry in the district where the applicant resided, and this was frequently a matter of doubt. moreover, they were required to go to the expense and trouble of transmitting a copy of the work, after publication, to the district clerk, and another copy to the library of congress. were both copies mailed to washington (post-free by law) this duty would be diminished by one-half. . a copyright work is not an invention nor a patent; it is a contribution to literature. it is not material, but intellectual, and has no natural relation to a department which is charged with the care of the mechanic arts; and it belongs rather to a national library system than to any other department of the civil service. the responsibility of caring for it would be an incident to the similar labors already devolved upon the librarian of congress; and the receipts from copyright certificates would much more than pay its expense, thus leaving the treasury the gainer by the change. . the advantage of securing to our national library a complete collection of all american copyright publications can scarcely be over-estimated. if such a law as that enacted in had been enforced since the beginning of the government, we should now have in the library of congress a complete representation of the product of the american mind in every department of science and literature. many publications which are printed in small editions, or which become "out of print" from the many accidents which continually destroy books, would owe to such a library their sole chance of preservation. we ought to have one comprehensive library in the country, and that belonging to the nation, whose aim it should be to preserve the books which other libraries have not the room nor the means to procure. . this consideration assumes additional weight when it is remembered that the library of congress is freely open to the public day and evening throughout the year, and is rapidly becoming the great reference library of the country, resorted to not only by congress and the residents of washington, but by students and writers from all parts of the union, in search of references and authorities not elsewhere to be found. the advantage of having all american publications accessible upon inquiry would be to build up at washington a truly national library, approximately complete and available to all the people. these considerations prevailed with congress to effect the amendment in copyright registration referred to. by enactment of the statute of all the defects in the methods of registration and deposit of copies were obviated. the original records of copyright in all the states were thenceforward kept in the office of the librarian of congress. all questions as to literary property, involving a search of records to determine points of validity, such as priority of entry, names and residence of actual owners, transfers or assignments, timely deposit of the required copies, etc., could be determined upon inquiry at a single office of record. these inquiries are extremely numerous, and obviously very important, involving frequently large interests in valuable publications in which litigation to establish the rights of authors, publishers or infringers has been commenced or threatened. by the full records of copyright entries thus preserved, moreover, the library of congress (which is the property of the nation) has been enabled to secure what was before unattainable, namely, an approximately complete collection of all american books, etc., protected by copyright, since the legislation referred to went into effect. the system has been found in practice to give general satisfaction; the manner of securing copyright has been made plain and easy to all, the office of record being now a matter of public notoriety; and the test of experience during thirty years has established the system so thoroughly that none would be found to favor a return to the former methods. the act of provided for the removal of the collection of copyright books and other publications from the over-crowded patent office to the library of congress. these publications were the accumulations of about eighty years, received from the united states district clerks' offices under the old law. by request of the commissioner of patents all the law books and a large number of technical works were reserved at the department of the interior. the residue, when removed to the capitol, were found to number , volumes, a much smaller number than had been anticipated, in view of the length of time during which the copy tax had been in operation. but the observance of the acts requiring deposits of copyright publications with the clerks of the united states district courts had been very defective (no penalty being provided for non-compliance), and, moreover, the patent office had failed to receive from the offices of original deposit large numbers of publications which should have been sent to washington. from one of the oldest states in the union not a single book had been sent in evidence of copyright. the books, however, which were added to the congressional library, although consisting largely of school books and the minor literature of the last half century, comprised many valuable additions to the collection of american books, which it should be the aim of a national library to render complete. among them were the earliest editions of the works of many well-known writers, now out of print and scarce. the first book ever entered for copyright privileges under the laws of the united states was "the philadelphia spelling book," which was registered in the clerk's office of the district of pennsylvania, june , , by john barry as author. the spelling book was a fit introduction to the long series of books since produced to further the diffusion of knowledge among men. the second book entered was "the american geography," by jedediah morse, entered in the district of massachusetts on july , , a copy of which is preserved in the library of congress. the earliest book entered in the state of new york was on the th of april, , and it was entitled "the young gentleman's and lady's assistant, by donald fraser, schoolmaster." objection has occasionally, though rarely, been made to what is known as the copy-tax, by which two copies of each publication must be deposited in the national library. this requirement rests upon two valid grounds: ( ) the preservation of copies of everything protected by copyright is necessary in the interest of authors and publishers, in evidence of copyright, and in aid of identification in connection with the record of title; ( ) the library of the government (which is that of the whole people) should possess and permanently preserve a complete collection of the products of the american press, so far as secured by copyright. the government makes no unreasonable exaction in saying to authors and publishers: "the nation gives you exclusive right to make and sell your publication, without limit as to quantity, for forty-two years; give the nation in return two copies, one for the use and reference of congress and the public in the national library, the other for preservation in the copyright archives, in perpetual evidence of your right." in view of the valuable monopoly conceded by the public, does not the government in effect give far more than a _quid pro quo_ for the copy-tax? of course it would not be equitable to exact even one copy of publications not secured by copyright, in which case the government gives nothing and gets nothing; but the exaction of actually protected publications, while it is almost unfelt by publishers, is so clearly in the interest of the public intelligence, as well as of authors and publishers themselves, that no valid objection to it appears to exist. in great britain five copies of every book protected by copyright are required for five different libraries, which appears somewhat unreasonable. regarding the right of renewal of the term of copyright, it is a significant fact that it is availed of in comparatively few instances, compared with the whole body of publications. multitudes of books are published which not only never reach a second edition, but the sale of which does not exhaust more than a small part of the copies printed of the first. in these cases the right of renewal is waived and suffered to lapse, from defect of commercial value in the work protected. in many other cases the right of renewal expires before the author or his assigns bethink them of the privilege secured to them under the law. it results that more than nine-tenths, probably, of all books published are free to any one to print, without reward or royalty to their authors, after a very few years have elapsed. on the other hand, the exclusive right in some publications of considerable commercial value is kept alive far beyond the forty-two years included in the original and the renewal term, by entry of new editions of the work, and securing copyright on the same. while this method may not protect any of the original work from republication by others, it enables the publishers of the copyright edition to advertise such unauthorized reprints as imperfect, and without the author's or editor's latest revision or additions. the whole number of entries of copyright in the united states since we became a nation considerably exceeds a million and a half. it may be of interest to give the aggregate number of titles of publications entered for copyright in each year since the transfer of the entire records to washington in . copyrights registered in the united states, - . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , total, years, , , it will readily be seen that this great number of copyrights does not represent books alone. many thousands of entries are daily and weekly periodicals claiming copyright protection, in which case they are required by law to make entry of every separate issue. these include a multitude of journals, literary, political, scientific, religious, pictorial, technical, commercial, agricultural, sporting, dramatic, etc., among which are a number in foreign languages. these entries also embrace all the leading monthly and quarterly magazines and reviews, with many devoted to specialties--as metaphysics, sociology, law, theology, art, finance, education, and the arts and sciences generally. another large class of copyright entries (and the largest next to books and periodicals) is musical compositions, numbering recently some , publications yearly. much of this property is valuable, and it is nearly all protected by entry of copyright, coming from all parts of the union. there is also a large and constantly increasing number of works of graphic art, comprising engravings, photographs, photogravures, chromos, lithographs, etchings, prints, and drawings, for which copyright is entered. the steady accumulation of hundreds of thousands of these various pictorial illustrations will enable the government at no distant day, without a dollar of expense, to make an exhibit of the progress of the arts of design in america, which will be highly interesting and instructive. an art gallery of ample dimensions for this purpose is provided in the new national library building. it remains to consider briefly the principles and practice of what is known as international copyright. perhaps there is no argument for copyright at all in the productions of the intellect which is not good for its extension to all countries. the basis of copyright is that all useful labor is worthy of a recompense; but since all human thought when put into material or merchantable form becomes, in a certain sense, public property, the laws of all countries recognize and protect the original owners, or their assigns to whom they may convey the right, in an exclusive privilege for limited terms only. literary property therefore is not a natural right, but a conventional one. the author's right to his manuscript is, indeed, absolute, and the law will protect him in it as fully as it will guard any other property. but when once put in type and multiplied through the printing-press, his claim to an exclusive right has to be guarded by a special statute, otherwise it is held to be abandoned (like the articles in a newspaper) to the public. this special protection is furnished in nearly all civilized countries by copyright law. what we call "copyright" is an exclusive right to multiply copies of any publication for sale. domestic copyright, which is all we formerly had in this country, is limited to the united states. international copyright, which has now been enacted, extends the right of american authors to foreign countries, and recognizes a parallel right of foreign authors in our own. there is nothing in the constitutional provision which restrains congress from granting copyright to other than american citizens. patent right, coming under the same clause of the constitution, has been extended to foreigners. out of over , patents annually issued, about , (or per cent.) are issued to foreigners, while american patents are similarly protected abroad. if we have international patent right, why not international copyright? the grant of power is the same; both patent right and copyright are for a limited time; both rights during this time are exclusive; and both rest upon the broad ground of the promotion of science and the useful arts. if copyright is justifiable at all, if authors are to be secured a reward for their labors, they claim that all who use them should contribute equally to this result. the principle of copyright once admitted, it cannot logically be confined to state lines or national boundaries. there appears to be no middle ground between the doctrine of common property in all productions of the intellect--which leads us to communism by the shortest road--and the admission that copyright is due, while its limited term lasts, from all who use the works of an author, wherever found. accordingly, international copyright has become the policy of nearly all civilized nations. the term of copyright is longer in most countries than in the united states, ranging from the life of the author and seven years beyond, in england, to a life term and fifty years additional in france and russia. copyright is thus made a life tenure and something more in all countries except our own, where its utmost limit is forty-two years. this may perhaps be held to represent a fair average lifetime, reckoned from the age of intellectual maturity. there have not been wanting advocates for a perpetual copyright, to run to the author and his heirs and assigns forever. this was urged before the british copyright commission in by leading british publishers, but the term of copyright is hitherto, in all nations, limited by law. only brief allusion can be made to the most recent (and in some respects most important) advance step which has been taken in copyright legislation in the united states. this act of congress is aimed at securing reciprocal protection to american and foreign authors in the respective countries which may comply with its provisions. there is here no room to sketch the hitherto vain attempt to secure to authors, here and abroad, an international protection to their writings. suffice it to say that a union of interests was at last effected, whereby authors, publishers and manufacturers are supposed to have secured some measure of protection to their varied interests. the measure is largely experimental, and the satisfaction felt over its passage into law is tempered by doubt in various quarters as to the justice, or liberality, or actual benefit to authors of its provisions. what is to be said of a statute which was denounced by some senators as a long step backward toward barbarism, and hailed by others as a great landmark in the progress of civilization? the main features added to the existing law of copyright by this act, which took effect july , , are these: . all limitation of the privilege of copyright to citizens and residents of the united states is repealed. . foreigners applying for copyright are to pay fees of $ for record, or $ . for certificate of copyright. . importation of books, photographs, chromos or lithographs entered here for copyright is prohibited, except two copies of any book for use and not for sale. . the two copies of books, photographs, chromos or lithographs deposited with the librarian of congress must be printed from type set, or plates, etc., made in the united states. it follows that all foreign works protected by american copyright must be wholly manufactured in this country. . the copyright privilege is restricted to citizens or subjects of nations permitting the benefit of copyright to americans on substantially the same terms as their own citizens, or of nations who have international agreements providing for reciprocity in the grant of copyright, to which the united states may at its pleasure become a party. . the benefit of copyright in the united states is not to take effect as to any foreigner until the actual existence of either of the conditions just recited, in the case of the nation to which he belongs, shall have been made known by a proclamation of the president of the united states. one very material benefit has been secured through international copyright. under it, authors are assured the control of their own text, both as to correctness and completeness. formerly, republication was conducted on a "scramble" system, by which books were hastened through the press, to secure the earliest market, with little or no regard to a correct re-production. moreover, it was in the power of the american publisher of an english book, or of a british publisher of an american one, to alter or omit passages in any work reprinted, at his pleasure. this license was formerly exercised, and imperfect, garbled, or truncated editions of an author's writings were issued without his consent, an outrage against which international copyright furnishes the only preventive. another benefit of copyright between nations has been to check the relentless flood of cheap, unpaid-for fiction, which formerly poured from the press, submerging the better literature. the seaside and other libraries, with their miserable type, flimsy paper, and ugly form, were an injury alike to the eyesight, to the taste, and in many cases, to the morals of the community. more than ninety per cent. of these wretched "libraries" were foreign novels. an avalanche of english and translated french novels of the "bigamy school" of fiction swept over the land, until the cut-throat competition of publishers, after exhausting the stock of unwholesome foreign literature, led to the failure of many houses, and piled high the counters of book and other stores with bankrupt stock. having at last got rid of this unclean brood, (it is hoped forever) we now have better books, produced on good paper and type, and worth preserving, at prices not much above those of the trash formerly offered us. at the same time, standard works of science and literature are being published in england at prices which tend steadily toward increased popular circulation. even conservative publishers are reversing the rule of small editions at high prices, for larger editions at low prices. the old three-volume novel is nearly supplanted by the one volume, well-printed and bound book at five or six shillings. many more reductions would follow in the higher class of books, were not the measure of reciprocal copyright thus far secured handicapped by the necessity of re-printing on this side at double cost, if a large american circulation is in view. the writers of america, with the steady and rapid progress of the art of making books, have come more and more to appreciate the value of their preservation, in complete and unbroken series, in the library of the government, the appropriate conservator of the nation's literature. inclusive and not exclusive, as this library is wisely made by law, so far as copyright works are concerned, it preserves with impartial care the illustrious and the obscure. in its archives all sciences and all schools of opinion stand on equal ground. in the beautiful and ample repository, now erected and dedicated to literature and art through the liberal action of congress, the intellectual wealth of the past and the present age will be handed down to the ages that are to follow. footnotes: [ ] g. h. putnam, "books and their makers in the middle ages," n. y. , vol. , p. . chapter . poetry of the library. the librarian's dream. . he sat at night by his lonely bed, with an open book before him; and slowly nodded his weary head, as slumber came stealing o'er him. . and he saw in his dream a mighty host of the writers gone before, and the shadowy form of many a ghost glided in at the open door. . great homer came first in a snow-white shroud, and virgil sang sweet by his side; while cicero thundered in accents loud, and caesar most gravely replied. . anacreon, too, from his rhythmical lips the honey of hybla distilled, and herodotus suffered a partial eclipse, while horace with music was filled. . the procession of ancients was brilliant and long, aristotle and plato were there, thucydides, too, and tacitus strong, and plutarch, and sappho the fair. . aristophanes elbowed gay ovid's white ghost, and euripides xenophon led, while propertius laughed loud at juvenal's jokes, and sophocles rose from the dead. . then followed a throng to memory dear, of writers more modern in age, cervantes and shakespeare, who died the same year, and chaucer, and bacon the sage. . immortal the laurels that decked the fair throng, and dante moved by with his lyre, while montaigne and pascal stood rapt by his song, and boccaccio paused to admire. . sweet spenser and calderon moved arm in arm, while milton and sidney were there, pope, dryden, and molière added their charm, and bunyan, and marlowe so rare. . then gibbon stalked by in classical guise, and hume, and macaulay, and froude, while darwin, and huxley, and tyndall looked wise, and humboldt and comte near them stood. . dean swift looked sardonic on addison's face, and johnson tipped boswell a wink, walter scott and jane austen hobnobbed o'er a glass, and goethe himself deigned to drink. . robert burns followed next with thomas carlyle, jean paul paired with coleridge, too, while de foe elbowed goldsmith, the master of style, and fielding and schiller made two. . rousseau with his eloquent, marvellous style, and voltaire, with his keen, witty pen, victor hugo so grand, though repellent the while, and dumas and balzac again. . dear thackeray came in his happiest mood, and stayed until midnight was done, bulwer-lytton, and reade, and kingsley and hood, and dickens, the master of fun. . george eliot, too, with her matter-full page, and byron, and browning, and keats, while shelley and tennyson joined youth and age, and wordsworth the circle completes. . then followed a group of america's best, with irving, and bryant, and holmes, while bancroft and motley unite with the rest, and thoreau with whittier comes. . with his raven in hand dreamed on edgar poe, and longfellow sweet and serene, while prescott, and ticknor, and emerson too, and hawthorne and lowell were seen. . while thus the assembly of witty and wise rejoiced the librarian's sight, ere the wonderful vision had fled from his eyes, from above shone a heavenly light: . and solemn and sweet came a voice from the skies, "all battles and conflicts are done, the temple of knowledge shall open all eyes, and law, faith, and reason are one!" when the radiant dawn of the morning broke, from his glorious dream the librarian woke. * * * * * the library. that place that does contain my books, my books, the best companions, is to me, a glorious court, where hourly i converse with the old sages and philosophers; and sometimes, for variety i confer with kings and emperors, and weigh their counsels. beaumont and fletcher. * * * * * the bard of every age and clime, of genius fruitful and of soul sublime, who from the glowing mint of fancy pours no spurious metal, fused from common ores, but gold to matchless purity refined, and stamped with all the godhead in his mind. juvenal. * * * * * books, we know, are a substantial world, both pure and good; round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood, our pastime and our happiness will grow. wordsworth. * * * * * quaint lines on a book-worm. the bokeworme sitteth in his celle, he studyethe all alone, and burnethe oute the oile, 'till ye midnight hour is gone then gethe he downe upon his bedde, ne mo watch will he a-keepe, he layethe his heade on ye pillowe, and eke he tryes to sleepe. then swyfte there cometh a vision grimme, and greetythe him sleepynge fair, and straighte he dreameth of grislie dreames, and dreades fellowne and rayre. wherefore, if cravest life to eld ne rede longe uppe at night, but go to bed at curfew bell and ryse wythe mornynge's lyte. * * * * * ballade of the book-hunter. in torrid heats of late july, in march, beneath the bitter _bise_, he book-hunts while the loungers fly,-- he book-hunts, though december freeze; in breeches baggy at the knees, and heedless of the public jeers, for these, for these, he hoards his fees,-- aldines, bodonis, elzevirs. no dismal stall escapes his eye, he turns o'er tomes of low degrees, there soiled romanticists may lie, or restoration comedies; each tract that flutters in the breeze for him is charged with hopes and fears, in mouldy novels fancy sees aldines, bodonis, elzevirs. with restless eyes that peer and spy, sad eyes that heed not skies nor trees, in dismal nooks he loves to pry, whose motto evermore is _spes_! but ah! the fabled treasure flees; grown rarer with the fleeting years, in rich men's shelves they take their ease,-- aldines, bodonis, elzevirs! prince, all the things that tease and please,-- fame, hope, wealth, kisses, jeers and tears, what are they but such toys as these-- aldines, bodonis, elzevirs? andrew lang. * * * * * 'tis in books the chief of all perfections to be plain and brief. samuel butler. of all those arts in which the wise excel, nature's chief master-piece is writing well. buckingham. books should to one of these four ends conduce: for wisdom, piety, delight, or use. sir john denham. * * * * * my books. oh, happy he who, weary of the sound of throbbing life, can shut his study door, like heinsius, on it all, to find a store of peace that otherwise is never found! such happiness is mine, when all around my dear dumb friends in groups of three or four command my soul to linger on the shore of those fair realms where they reign monarchs crowned. to-day the strivings of the world are naught, for i am in a land that glows with god, and i am in a path by angels trod. dost ask what book creates such heavenly thought? then know that i with dante soar afar, till earth shrinks slowly to a tiny star. j. williams. * * * * * thoughts in a library. speak low! tread softly through these halls; here genius lives enshrined; here reign in silent majesty the monarchs of the mind. a mighty spirit host they come from every age and clime; above the buried wrecks of years they breast the tide of time. here shall the poets chant for thee their sweetest, loftiest lays, and prophets wait to guide thy steps in wisdom's pleasant ways. come, with these god-anointed kings be thou companion here; and in the mighty realm of mind thou shalt go forth a peer! anne c. lynch botta. * * * * * verses in a library. give me that book whose power is such that i forget the north wind's touch. give me that book that brings to me forgetfulness of what i be. give me that book that takes my life in seeming far from all its strife. give me that book wherein each page destroys my sense of creeping age. john kendrick bangs. * * * * * a book by the brook. give me a nook and a book, and let the proud world spin round; let it scramble by hook or by crook for wealth or a name with a sound. you are welcome to amble your ways, aspirers to place or to glory; may big bells jangle your praise, and golden pens blazon your story; for me, let me dwell in my nook, here by the curve of this brook, that croons to the tune of my book: whose melody wafts me forever on the waves of an unseen river. william freeland. the love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books. h. w. longfellow. oh for a booke and a shady nooke eyther in door or out, with the greene leaves whispering overhead, or the streete cryes all about: where i maie reade all at my ease both of the newe and olde, for a jollie goode booke whereon to looke is better to me than golde! * * * * * to daniel elzevir. (_from the latin of ménage._) what do i see! oh! gods divine and goddesses--this book of mine-- this child of many hopes and fears, is published by the elzevirs! oh perfect publishers complete! oh dainty volume, new and neat! the paper doth outshine the snow, the print is blacker than the crow, the title-page, with crimson bright, the vellum cover smooth and white, all sorts of readers to invite; ay, and will keep them reading still, against their will, or with their will! thus what of grace the rhymes may lack the publisher has given them back, as milliners adorn the fair whose charms are something skimp and spare. oh dulce decus, elzevirs! the pride of dead and dawning years, how can a poet best repay the debt he owes your house to-day? may this round world, while aught endures, applaud, and buy, these books of yours. may purchasers incessant pop, my elzevirs, within your shop, and learned bards salute, with cheers, the volumes of the elzevirs, till your renown fills earth and sky, till men forget the stephani, and all that aldus wrought, and all turnebus sold in shop or stall, while still may fate's (and binders') shears respect, and spare, the elzevirs! * * * * * blessings be with them, and eternal praise, who gave us nobler loves and nobler cares! the poets, who on earth have made us heirs of truth and pure delight by heavenly lays. wordsworth. * * * * * companions. but books, old friends that are always new, of all good things that we know are best; they never forsake us, as others do, and never disturb our inward rest. here is truth in a world of lies, and all that in man is great and wise! better than men and women, friend, that are dust, though dear in our joy and pain, are the books their cunning hands have penned, for they depart, but the books remain. richard henry stoddard. * * * * * the paradox of books. i'm strange contradictions; i'm new and i'm old, i'm often in tatters, and oft decked with gold. though i never could read, yet lettered i'm found; though blind, i enlighten; though loose, i am bound. i'm always in black, and i'm always in white; i am grave and i'm gay, i am heavy and light. in form too i differ,--i'm thick and i'm thin; i've no flesh and no bone, yet i'm covered with skin; i've more points than the compass, more stops than the flute; i sing without voice, without speaking confute; i'm english, i'm german, i'm french, and i'm dutch; some love me too fondly, some slight me too much; i often die soon, though i sometimes live ages, and no monarch alive has so many pages. hannah more. * * * * * i love my books as drinkers love their wine; the more i drink, the more they seem divine; with joy elate my soul in love runs o'er, and each fresh draught is sweeter than before: books bring me friends where'er on earth i be,-- solace of solitude, bonds of society. i love my books! they are companions dear, sterling in worth, in friendship most sincere; here talk i with the wise in ages gone, and with the nobly gifted in our own: if love, joy, laughter, sorrow please my mind, love, joy, grief, laughter in my books i find. francis bennoch. * * * * * my library. all round the room my silent servants wait,-- my friends in every season, bright and dim angels and seraphim come down and murmur to me, sweet and low, and spirits of the skies all come and go early and late; from the old world's divine and distant date, from the sublimer few, down to the poet who but yester-eve sang sweet and made us grieve, all come, assembling here in order due. and here i dwell with poesy, my mate, with erato and all her vernal sighs, great clio with her victories elate, or pale urania's deep and starry eyes. oh friends, whom chance or change can never harm, whom death the tyrant cannot doom to die, within whose folding soft eternal charm i love to lie, and meditate upon your verse that flows, and fertilizes wheresoe'er it goes. bryan waller procter. * * * * * rational madness. _a song, for the lover of curious and rare books._ come, boys, fill your glasses, and fill to the brim, here's the essence of humor, the soul, too, of whim! attend and receive (and sure 'tis no vapour) a "hap' worth of wit on a pennyworth of paper." those joys which the bibliomania affords are felt and acknowledged by dukes and by lords! and the finest estate would be offer'd in vain for an exemplar bound by the famed roger payne! to a proverb goes madness with love hand in hand, but our senses we yield to a double command; the dear frenzy in both is first rous'd by fair looks,-- here's our sweethearts, my boys! not forgetting our books! thus our time may we pass with rare books and rare friends, growing wiser and better, till life itself ends: and may those who delight not in black-letter lore, by some obsolete act be sent from our shore! * * * * * ballade of true wisdom. while others are asking for beauty or fame, or praying to know that for which they should pray, or courting queen venus, that affable dame, or chasing the muses the weary and grey, the sage has found out a more excellent way-- to pan and to pallas his incense he showers, and his humble petition puts up day by day, for a house full of books, and a garden of flowers. inventors may bow to the god that is lame, and crave from the fire on his stithy a ray; philosophers kneel to the god without name, like the people of athens, agnostics are they; the hunter a fawn to diana will slay, the maiden wild roses will wreathe for the hours; but the wise man will ask, ere libation he pay, for a house full of books, and a garden of flowers. oh grant me a life without pleasure or blame (as mortals count pleasure who rush through their day with a speed to which that of the tempest is tame) o grant me a house by the beach of a bay, where the waves can be surly in winter, and play with the sea-weed in summer, ye bountiful powers! and i'd leave all the hurry, the noise, and the fray, for a house full of books, and a garden of flowers. envoy. gods, grant or withhold it; your "yea" and your "nay" are immutable, heedless of outcry of ours: but life is worth living, and here we would stay for a house full of books, and a garden of flowers. andrew lang. * * * * * the library. they soothe the grieved, the stubborn they chastise, fools they admonish, and confirm the wise: their aid they yield to all: they never shun the man of sorrow, nor the wretch undone: unlike the hard, the selfish, and the proud, they fly not sullen from the suppliant crowd; nor tell to various people various things, but show to subjects, what they show to kings. blest be the gracious power, who taught mankind to stamp a lasting image of the mind! with awe, around these silent walks i tread; these are the lasting mansions of the dead:-- "the dead!" methinks a thousand tongues reply; "these are the tombs of such as cannot die! crown'd with eternal fame, they sit sublime, and laugh at all the little strife of time." lo, all in silence, all in order stand, and mighty folios first, a lordly band; then quartos their well-order'd ranks maintain, and light octavos fill a spacious plain: see yonder, rangèd in more frequent rows, a humbler band of duodecimos; while undistinguished trifles swell the scene, the last new play and fritter'd magazine. here all the rage of controversy ends, and rival zealots rest like bosom friends: an athanasian here, in deep repose, sleeps with the fiercest of his arian foes; socinians here with calvinists abide, and thin partitions angry chiefs divide; here wily jesuits simple quakers meet, and bellarmine has rest at luther's feet. george crabbe. * * * * * eternity of poetry. for deeds doe die, however noblie donne, and thoughts do as themselves decay; but wise words, taught in numbers for to runne recorded by the muses, live for ay; ne may with storming showers be washt away, ne bitter breathing windes with harmful blast, nor age, nor envie, shall them ever wast. spenser. * * * * * the old books. the old books, the old books, the books of long ago! who ever felt miss austen tame, or called sir walter slow? we did not care the worst to hear of human sty or den; we liked to love a little bit, and trust our fellow-men. the old books, the old books, as pure as summer breeze! we read them under garden boughs, by fire-light on our knees, they did not teach, they did not preach, or scold us into good; a noble spirit from them breathed, the rest was understood. the old books, the old books, the mother loves them best; they leave no bitter taste behind to haunt the youthful breast: they bid us hope, they bid us fill our hearts with visions fair; they do not paralyze the will with problems of despair. and as they lift from sloth and sense to follow loftier planes, and stir the blood of indolence to bubble in the veins: inheritors of mighty things, who own a lineage high, we feel within us budding wings that long to reach the sky: to rise above the commonplace, and through the cloud to soar, and join the loftier company of grander souls of yore. the spectator. chapter . humors of the library.[ ] some thoughts on classification. _by librarian f. m. crunden._ classification is vexation, shelf-numbering is as bad; the rule of d doth puzzle me; mnemonics drives me mad. _air--the lord chancellor's song._ when first i became a librarian, says i to myself, says i, i'll learn all their systems as fast as i can, says i to myself, says i; the cutter, the dewey, the schwartz, and the poole, the alphabet, numeral, mnemonic rule, the old, and the new, and the eclectic school, says i to myself, says i. class-numbers, shelf-numbers, book-numbers, too, says i to myself, says i, i'll study them all, and i'll learn them clear thro', says i to myself, says i; i'll find what is good, and what's better and best, and i'll put two or three to a practical test; and then--if i've time--i'll take a short rest, says i to myself, says i. but art it is long and time it doth fly, says i to myself, says i, and three or four years have already passed by, says i to myself, says i; and yet on those systems i'm not at all clear, while new combinations forever appear, to master them all is a life-work, i fear, says i to myself, says i. * * * * * classification in a library in western new york: gail hamilton's "woolgathering," under agriculture. * * * * * book asked for. "an attack philosopher in paris." a changed title. a young woman went into a library the other day and asked for the novel entitled "she combeth not her head," but she finally concluded to take "he cometh not, she said." * * * * * labor-saving devices. the economical catalogue-maker who thus set down two titles-- "mill on the floss, do. political economy." has a sister who keeps a universal scrap-book into which everything goes, but which is carefully indexed. she, too, has a mind for saving, as witness: "patti, adelina. do. oyster." * * * * * from a new york auction catalogue: " . junius stat nominis umbrii, with numerous splendid portraits." * * * * * at the new york free circulating library, a youth of twenty said shakespeare made him tired. "why couldn't he write english instead of indulging in that _thee_ and _thou_ business?" miss braddon he pronounced "a daisy". a pretty little blue-eyed fellow "liked american history best of all," but found the first volume of justin winsor's history too much for him. "the french and german and hebrew in it are all right, but there's spanish and italian and latin, and i don't know those." * * * * * a gentleman in paris sent to the bookbinder two volumes of the french edition of "uncle tom's cabin." the title in french is "l'oncle tom," and the two volumes were returned to him marked on their backs: l'oncle, l'oncle, tome i. tome ii. * * * * * how a bibliomaniac binds his books. i'd like my favorite books to bind so that their outward dress to every bibliomaniac's mind their contents should express. napoleon's life should glare in red, john calvin's life in blue; thus they would typify bloodshed and sour religion's hue. the popes in scarlet well may go; in jealous green, othello; in gray, old age of cicero, and london cries in yellow. my walton should his gentle art in salmon best express, and penn and fox the friendly heart in quiet drab confess. crimea's warlike facts and dates of fragrant russia smell; the subjugated barbary states in crushed morocco dwell. but oh! that one i hold so dear should be arrayed so cheap gives me a qualm; i sadly fear my lamb must be half-sheep! irving browne. * * * * * in a wisconsin library, a young lady asked for the "life of national harthorne" and the "autograph on the breakfast table." * * * * * "have you a poem on the victor of manengo, by anon?" * * * * * library inquiry--"i want the catalogue of temporary literature." query--what did she want? a friend proposes to put owen's "footfalls on the boundaries of another world" in travels. shall we let him? * * * * * a poet, in boston, filled out an application for a volume of pope's works, an edition reserved from circulation, in the following tuneful manner: "you ask me, dear sir, to a reason define why you should for a fortnight this volume resign to my care.--_i am also a son of the nine._" * * * * * a worthy deutscher, confident in his mastery of the english tongue, sent the following quaint document across the sea: "i send you with the post six numbers, of our allgemeine militär-zeitung, which is published in the next year to the fifty times. excuse my bath english i learned in the school and i forgot so much. if you have interest to german antiquariatskataloge i will send to you some. i remain however yours truly servant." * * * * * a gentlemanly stranger once asked the delivery clerk for "a genealogy." "what one?" she asked. "oh! any," he said. "well--savage's?" "no; white men." * * * * * said melvil dewey: "to my thinking, a great librarian must have a clear head, a strong hand, and, above all, a great heart. such shall be greatest among librarians; and, when i look into the future, i am inclined to think that most of the men who will achieve this greatness will be women." * * * * * a library hymn. _by an assistant librarian._ i have endeavored to clothe the dull prose of the usual library rules with the mantle of poetry, that they may be more attractive, and more easily remembered by the great public whom we serve. gently, reader, gently moving, wipe your feet beside the door; hush your voice to whispers soothing, take your hat off, i implore! mark your number, plainly, rightly, from the catalogue you see; with the card projecting slightly, then your book bring unto me. quickly working, with no shirking, soon another there will be. if above two weeks you've left me, just two cents a day i'll take, and, unless my mind's bereft me, payment you must straightway make. treat your books as if to-morrow, gabriel's trump would surely sound, and all scribbling, to your sorrow, 'gainst your credit would be found. therefore tear not, spot and wear not all these books so neatly bound. these few simple rules abiding, we shall always on you smile: there will be no room for chiding, no one's temper will you rile. and when heaven's golden portals for you on their hinges turn, with the books for all immortals, there will be no rules to learn. therefore heed them, often read them, lest your future weal you spurn. * * * * * titles of books asked for by written slips in a popular library. aristopholus translated by buckley. alfreri tragedus. bertall lavie hors de ches soi. cooke m. c. m. a. l. l. d. their nature and uses. edited by rev. j. m. berkeley m. a. f. r. s. (fungi.) caralus note book (a cavalier's). gobden club-essays. specie the origin of darwin. an epistropal prayer book. * * * * * blunders in cataloguing. gasparin. the uprising of a great many people. hughes, tom. the scouring of the white house. mayhew. the pheasant boy. wind in the lower animals (mind.) * * * * * recent calls for books at a western library. account of monte cristo. acrost the kontinent by boles. bula. count of corpus cristy. dant's infernal comedy. darwin's descent on man. feminine cooper's works. infeleese. less miserable. some of macbeth's writings. something in the way of friction. squeal to a book. * * * * * in vol. of laporte's "bibliographie contemporaine," dibdin's famous book is entered thus: "bibliomania, or boock, madnss: a bibliographical romance...ilustrated with cats." * * * * * a well-known librarian writes: "the catalogue of the indiana state library for the year has long been my wonder and admiration. "bank's history of the popes" appears under the letter b. strong in the historical department, it offers a choice between the "life of john tyler, by harper & brothers," "memoirs of moses henderson, by jewish philosophers," "memoirs and correspondence of viscount castlereach, by the marquis of londonderry," and "memoirs of benvenuto, by gellini." in fiction, you may find "tales of my landlord by cleishbotham," and "the pilot, by the author of the pioneers;" while, if your passion for plural authorship is otherwise unappeasable--if beaumont and fletcher or erckman-chatrian seem to you too feeble a combination of talents--you may well be captivated by the title "small arms, by the united states army." "the state of indiana has undoubtedly learned a good many things since ; but whosoever its present librarian may be, it is hardly probable that its highest flight in bibliography has surpassed the catalogue from which the above are quoted." * * * * * books demanded at a certain public library: "the stuck-up minister"--(stickit minister.) "from jessie to ernest" (jest to earnest). * * * * * a country order for books called for "the thrown of david," "echo of hummo" (ecce homo) and "echo of deas" (ecce deus). * * * * * the nation mentions as an instance of "the havoc which types can make with the titles of books, that a single catalogue gives us 'clara reeve's old english barn,' 'swinburne's century of scoundrels,' and 'una and her papuse.' but this is outdone by the bookseller who offered for sale "balvatzky, mrs. izis unveiled." another goddess is offended in "transits of venice, by r. a. proctor." * * * * * in a certain city, an examination of applicants for employment in the public library was held. the following is an exact copy of the answer to a question, asking for the title of a work written by each of the authors named: "john ruskin, 'the bread winners;' william h. prescott, 'the frozen pirate;' charles darwin, 'the missing link;' thomas carlyle, 'caesar's column.'" the same man is responsible for saying that "b. c." stands for the creation, and "a. d." for the deluge. who wants this bright young man? * * * * * a story about stories. "when a man's single," all "vanity fair" courts his favor and smiles, and feminine "moths" "in silk attire" try on him "a woman's wiles." "the world, the flesh and the devil" were "wormwood" and gall to me, weary and sick of "the passing show," no "woman's face" was "fair to see." i fled away to "the mill on the floss" "two years ago," "in an evil hour," for "the miller's daughter" there i met, who "cometh up as a flower." she was a simple "rose in june," and i was "an average man;" "we two" were "far from the madding crowd" when our "love and life" began. it was but "a modern instance" of true "love's random shot," and i, "the heir of redclyffe" was "kidnapped": and "why not"? we cannot escape the hand of "fate," and few are "fated to be free," but beware of "a social departure"-- you'll live "under the ban," like me. i tried to force the "gates ajar" for my "queen of curds and cream," but "the pillars of society" shook with horror at my "dream." i am no more "a happy man," though blessed with "heavenly twins," because "the wicked world" maintains "a low marriage" the worst of sins. "pride and prejudice" rule the world, "a marriage for love" is "a capital crime," beware of "a country neighborhood" and shun "mad love" in time. * * * * * says the nation: a philadelphia catalogue, whose compiler must have been more interested in current events than in his task, offers for sale "intrigues of the queen of spain with mckinley, the prince of peace, boston, ." how godoy should become mckinley, or mckinley should become the prince of peace, is a problem for psychologists. * * * * * confusion of knowledge. the following are some specimens of answers to examinations of candidates for library employment, given within the past five years: "a sonnet is a poem which is adapted to music, as petrarch's sonnets"; "a sonnet is a short poem sometimes and sometimes a long one and generally a reflection, or thoughts upon some inanimate thing, as young's 'night thoughts.'" "an epic is a critical writing, as 'criticism on man'"; "an epic is a literary form written in verse, and which teaches us some lesson not necessarily of a moral nature"; "an epic is a dramatic poem." epigrammatic writing is very clearly defined as "critical in a grammatical way." "allegory is writing highly colored, as pope's works"; "allegory is writing of something that never happened, but it is purely imaginary, often a wandering from the main point." a common mistake regarding the meaning of the word bibliography results in such answers as "bibliography--a study of the bible;" or "gives the lives of the people in the bible." an encyclopaedia was aptly defined as "a storehouse of knowledge for the enlightenment of the public," while another answer reads "book of books, giving the life of famous persons, life and habits of animals and plants, and some medical knowledge." a collection of works of any author is termed "an anthropology." "anthology is the study of insects." folklore is defined as "giving to animals and things human sense"; an elegy means "a eulogy," oratory, "the deliverance of words." belles-lettres is to one applicant "beautiful ideas," to another "the title of a book," to another "short stories"; again "are the letters of french writers," and still another writes "french for prominent literature and light literature." a concordance "is the explication or definition of something told in a simpler form," is the extremely lucid answer to one question, which was answered by another candidate as "a table of reference at back of book." the titles of books are too seldom associated with their authors' names, resulting in such answers as "homer is the author of the aeneid"; "lalla rookh" was written by james blackmore; "children of the abbey," by walter besant (while another attributed it to jane porter); "bow of orange ribbon," by george meredith; "hon. peter stirling," by fielding; "quo vadis," by browning; "pamela," by frank stockton (according to another by marie edgworth); "love's labour's lost," by bryant (another gives thomas reade as the author, while still another guesses schiller); "descent of man," by alexander pope (another gives dryden); "the essay on man," by francis bacon. one candidate believes "hudibras" to be an early saxon poem; another that "victor hugo's best known work is william tell"; another that "aesop's fables is a famous allegory." charlotte brontë is described as an "american--nineteenth century--children's book." cicero was "known for latin poetry." "dante is an exceedingly bitter writer; he takes you into hell and describes satan and his angels. he wrote his play for the stage." another's idea of the divine comedy is "a play which could be acted by the priests on the steps of a church for the benefit of the poorer class." civil service in the mind of one young woman was "the service done by the government in a country, domesticly." a christian socialist is "an advocate of christian science." "a limited monarchy is a kingdom whose ruler is under the ruler of another country." legal tender is "the legal rate of interest"; another considers it "paper money." in economics, some of the answers were "profit-sharing, a term used in socialism, the rich to divide among the poor." "monopolies is the money gained by selling church properties"; while "a trust is usually a place where a person puts some money where it will be safe to keep it." about noted personages and historic events and places the answers are equally startling. "molière was a french essayist and critic" (also "a french writer of the nineteenth century,") cecil rhodes, "the founder of bryn mawr college"; "seth low--england, eighteenth century;" attila "a woman mentioned in the bible for her great cruelty to her child;" warren hastings "was a german soldier" (also "was a discoverer; died about "); "nero was a roman emperor b. c. ." perhaps the most unique guess in this line was "richard wagner invented the wagner cars;" abbotsford is "the title of a book by sir walter scott;" "vassar college is a dream, high-up and unattainable;" "tammany hall is a political meeting place in london;" "the parthenon, an art gallery in athens." pedagogy seemed one of the most perplexing of words. it was defined by one as "the science of religion," by another as "learned pomposity;" but the most remarkable of all was "pedagogy is the study of feet." * * * * * song of some library school scholars. three little maids from school are we, filled to the brim with economy-- not of the house but library, learnt in the library school. _ st maid_--i range my books from number one. _ nd maid_--alphabetically i've begun. _ rd maid_--in regular classes mine do run. _all_--three maids from the library school. _all_--three little maidens all unwary, each in charge of a library, each with a system quite contrary to every other school. our catalogues, we quite agree, from faults and errors must be free, if only we our way can see to find the proper rule. * * * * * boy's remark on returning a certain juvenile book to the library: "i don't want any more of them books. the girls is all too holy." * * * * * "half the books in this library are not worth reading," said a sour-visaged, hypercritical, novel-satiated woman.--"read the other half, then," advised a bystander. * * * * * the woes of a librarian. let us give a brief rehearsal of the learning universal, which men expect to find in librarians to their mind. he must undergo probation, before he gets a situation; must begin at the creation, when the world was in formation, and come down to its cremation, in the final consummation of the old world's final spasm: he must study protoplasm, and bridge over every chasm in the origin of species, ere the monkey wore the breeches, or the simian tribe began to ascend from ape to man. he must master the cosmology, and know all about psychology, and the wonders of biology, and be deep in ornithology, and develop ideology, with the aid of craniology. he must learn to teach zoölogy, and be skilled in etymology, and the science of philology, and calculate chronology, while he digs into geology, and treats of entomology, and hunts up old mythology, and dips into theology, and grows wise in sociology, and expert in anthropology. he must also know geography, and the best works on photography, and the science of stenography, and be well up on cosmography, and the secrets of cryptography. must interpret blind chirography, know by heart all mens' biography, and the black art of typography, and every book in bibliography. these things are all essential and highly consequential. if he's haunted by ambition for a library position, and esteems it a high mission, to aspire to erudition; he will find some politician of an envious disposition, getting up a coalition to secure his non-admission, and send him to perdition, before he's reached fruition. if he gets the situation, and is full of proud elation and of fond anticipation, and has in contemplation to enlighten half the nation, he may write a dissertation for the public information on the laws of observation, and the art of conversation. he must know each famed oration, and poetical quotation, and master derivation, and the science of translation, and complex pagination, and perfect punctuation, and binomial equation, and accurate computation, and boundless permutation, and infinite gradation, and the craft of divination, and scripture revelation, and the secret of salvation. he must know the population of every separate nation, the amount of immigration, and be wise in arbitration, and the art of navigation, and colonial annexation, and problems australasian. he must take his daily ration of catalogue vexation, and endless botheration with ceaseless complication of decimal notation, or cutter combination. to complete his education, he must know the valuation of all the publications of many generations, with their endless variations, and true interpretations. when he's spent a life in learning, if his lamp continues burning, when he's mastered all philosophy, and the science of theosophy, grown as learned as mezzofanti, as poetical as dante, as wise as magliabecchi, as profound as mr. lecky-- has absorbed more kinds of knowledge than are found in any college; he may take his full degree of ph. or ll. d. and prepare to pass the portal that leads to life immortal. footnotes: [ ] mostly from the library journal, new york. chapter . rare books. there is perhaps no field of inquiry concerning literature in which so large an amount of actual mis-information or of ignorance exists as that of the rarity of many books. the makers of second-hand catalogues are responsible for much of this, in describing the books which they wish to sell as "rare," "very scarce," etc., but more of it proceeds from absolute ignorance of the book-markets of the world. i have had multitudes of volumes offered for sale whose commercial value was hardly as many cents as was demanded in dollars by their ill-informed owners, who fancied the commonest book valuable because they "had never seen another copy." no one's ideas of the money value of any book are worth anything, unless he has had long experimental knowledge of the market for books both in america and in europe. what constitutes rarity in books is a question that involves many particulars. thus, a given book may be rare in the united states which is abundant in london; or rare in london, when common enough in germany. so books may be rare in one age which were easily found in another: and again, books on certain subjects may be so absorbed by public demand when events excite interest in that subject, as to take up most of the copies in market, and enhance the price of the remainder. thus, napoleon's conquering career in egypt created a great demand for all books on egypt and africa. the scheme for founding a great french colony in louisiana raised the price of all books and pamphlets on that region, which soon after fell into the possession of the united states. president lincoln's assassination caused a demand for all accounts of the murder of the heads of nations. latterly, all books on cuba, the west indies, and the philippines have been in unprecedented demand, and dealers have raised the prices, which will again decline after the recent public interest in them has been supplanted by future events. there is a broad distinction to be drawn between books which are absolutely rare, and those which are only relatively scarce, or which become temporarily rare, as just explained. thus, a large share of the books published in the infancy of printing are _rare_; nearly all which appeared in the quarter century after printing began are _very_ rare; and several among these last are _superlatively_ rare. i may instance the mazarin bible of gutenberg and schoeffer ( ?) of which only twenty-four copies are known, nearly all in public libraries, where they ought to be; the mentz psalter of the same printers, , the first book ever printed with a date; and the first edition of livy, rome [ ] the only copy of which printed on vellum is in the british museum library. one reason of the scarcity of books emanating from the presses of the fifteenth century is that of many of them the editions consisted of only two hundred to three hundred copies, of which the large number absorbed in public libraries, or destroyed by use, fire or decay, left very few in the hands of booksellers or private persons. still, it is a great mistake to infer that all books printed before a. d. are rare. the editions of many were large, especially after about , many were reprinted in several editions, and of such incunabula copies can even now be picked up on the continent at very low prices. contrary to a wide-spread belief, mere age adds very little to the value of any book, and oft-times nothing at all. all librarians are pestered to buy "hundred year old" treatises on theology or philosophy, as dry as the desert of sahara, on the ground that they are both old and rare, whereas such books, two hundred and even three hundred years old, swarm in unsalable masses on the shelves of london and provincial booksellers at a few pence per volume. the reason that they are comparatively rare in this country is that nobody wants them, and so they do not get imported. a rare book is, strictly speaking, only one which is found with difficulty, taking into view all the principal book markets of various countries. very few books printed since have any peculiar value on account of their age. of many books, both old and new, the reason of scarcity is that only a few copies actually remain, outside of public libraries, and these last, of course, are not for sale. this scarcity of copies is produced by a great variety of causes, most of which are here noted. ( ) the small number of the books originally printed leads to rarity. this is by no means peculiar to early impressions of the press: on the contrary, of some books printed only last year not one tenth as many exist as of a multitude of books printed four centuries ago. not only privately printed books, not designed for publication, but some family or personal memoirs, or original works circulated only among friends, and many other publications belong to this class of rarities. the books printed at private presses are mostly rare. horace walpole's strawberry hill press produced some thirty works from to , in editions varying from fifty to six hundred copies. the lee priory press of sir e. brydges printed many literary curiosities, none of which had more than one hundred impressions. most of the editions of the shakespearean and other critical essays of j. o. halliwell-phillipps were limited to forty copies, or even less. the genealogical and heraldic imprints of sir thomas phillipps, at the middle hill press, - , numbering some hundreds of different works, were mostly confined to twenty copies each, and some to only six copies. some of them are as rare as many manuscripts, of which several copies have been made, and sell at prices dictated by their scarcity. most of them are in the library of congress. the kelmscott press of william morris printed in sumptuous style, improved upon the finest models of antique typography, a number of literary works, which now bring enhanced prices. of the many historical and literary publications of the roxburghe club, the percy society, the maitland, the abbotsford, and the bannatyne clubs abroad, only thirty to one hundred copies were printed. of those of the prince society, the grolier club, and others in america, only from to copies were printed, being for subscribers only. rarity and enhanced prices necessarily result in all these cases. of some books, only five to ten copies have been printed, or else, out of fifty or more printed, all but a very few have been ruthlessly destroyed, in order to give a fanciful value to the remainder. in these extreme instances, the rarity commonly constitutes almost the sole value of the work. ( ) even where many copies have been printed, the destruction of the greater part of the edition has rendered the book very rare. printing offices and book binderies are peculiarly subject to fires, and many editions have thus been consumed before more than a few copies have been issued. the great theological libraries edited by the abbé j. p. migne, the _patrologie grecque, et latine_, owe their scarcity and advanced prices to a fire which consumed the entire remainder of the edition. all the copies of a large edition of "twenty years among our savage indians," by j. l. humfreville, were destroyed by fire in a hartford printing office in , except two, which had been deposited in the library of congress, to secure the copyright. the whole edition of the _machina coelestis_ of hevelius was burned, except the few copies which the author had presented to friends before the fire occurred. the earlier issues in spanish of the mexican and peruvian presses prior to are exceedingly rare. and editions of books printed at places in the united states where no books are now published are sought for their imprint alone and seldom found. ( ) many books have become rare because proscribed and in part destroyed by governmental or ecclesiastical authority. this applies more especially to the ages that succeeded the application of printing to the art of multiplying books. the freedom of many writers upon politics and popular rights led to the suppression of their books by kings, emperors or parliaments. at the same time, books of church history or doctrinal theology which departed, in however slight a degree, from the standard of faith proclaimed by the church, were put in the index expurgatorius, or list of works condemned in whole or in part as heretical and unlawful to be read. a long and melancholy record of such proscriptions, civil and ecclesiastical, is found in gabriel peignot's two volumes--_dictionnaire des livres condamnés au feu, supprimés, ou censurés_, etc. works of writers of genius and versatile ability were thus proscribed, until it gave rise to the sarcasm among the scholars of europe, that if one wanted to find what were the books best worth reading, he should look in the index expurgatorius. it appears to have been quite forgotten by those in authority that persecution commonly helps the cause persecuted, and that the best way to promote the circulation of a book is to undertake to suppress it. this age finds itself endowed with so many heretics that it is no longer possible to find purchasers at high prices for books once deemed unholy. suppressed passages in later editions lead to a demand for the uncastrated copies which adds an element of enhanced cost in the market. ( ) another source of rarity is the great extent and cost of many works, outrunning the ability of most collectors to buy or to accommodate them on their shelves. these costly possessions have been commonly printed in limited numbers for subscribers, or for distribution by governments under whose patronage they were produced. such are some of the notable collections of early voyages, the great folios of many illustrated scientific works on natural history, local geography, etc. that great scholar, baron von humboldt, used jocosely to say that he could not afford to own a set of his own works, most of which are folios sumptuously printed, with finely engraved illustrations. the collection known as the "_grands et petits voyages_" of de bry, the former in volumes, relating to america, and finely illustrated with copper-plates produced in the highest style of that art, are among the rarest sets of books to find complete. the collection of voyages by hulsius is equally difficult to procure. a really perfect set of piranesi's great illustrated work on the art and architecture of ancient rome is very difficult to acquire. the _acta sanctorum_, in the original edition, is very seldom found. but there is no room to multiply examples. ( ) what adds to the rarity and cost of certain books is the peculiarly expensive style or condition in which they are produced or preserved. some few copies of an edition, for example, are printed on vellum, or on china or india or other choice paper, in colored ink or bronze, on colored paper, (rose-tinted, or green, blue or yellow,) on large paper, with broad margins, etc. uncut copies always fetch a higher price than those whose edges are trimmed down in binding. to some book-collecting amateurs cut edges are an abomination. they will pay more for a book "in sheets," which they can bind after their own taste, than for the finest copy in calf or morocco with gilt edges. some books, also, are exceptionally costly because bound in a style of superior elegance and beauty, or as having belonged to a crowned head or a noble person, ("books with a pedigree") or an eminent author, or having autographs of notable characters on the fly-leaves or title-pages, or original letters inserted in the volume. others still are "extra-illustrated" works, in which one volume is swelled to several by the insertion of a multitude of portraits, autographs, and engravings, more or less illustrative of the contents of the book. this is called "grangerising," from its origin in the practice of thus illustrating granger's biographical history of england. book amateurs of expensive tastes are by no means rare, especially in england, france, and america, and the great commercial value placed upon uncut and rarely beautiful books, on which the highest arts of the printer and book-binder have been lavished, evinces the fact. ( ) the books emanating from the presses of famous printers are more sought for by collectors and libraries than other publications, because of their superior excellence. sometimes this is found in the beauty of the type, or the clear and elegant press-work; sometimes in the printers' marks, monograms, engraved initial letters, head and tail-pieces, or other illustrations; and sometimes in the fine quality of the choice paper on which the books are printed. thus, the productions of the presses of aldus, giunta, bodoni, etienne, elzevir, froben, gutenberg, fust and schoeffer, plantin, caxton, wynkyn de worde, bulmer, didot, baskerville, pickering, whittingham, and others, are always in demand, and some of the choicer specimens of their art, if in fine condition, bring great prices in the second-hand book-shops, or the auction room. an example of caxton's press is now almost unattainable, except in fragmentary copies. there are known to be only about examples of caxtons in the world, four-fifths of which are in england, and thirty-one of these are unique. his "king arthur" ( ) brought £ at auction in , and the polychronicon ( ) was sold at the ives sale (n. y.) in , for $ , . ( ) in the case of all finely illustrated works, the earlier impressions taken, both of text and plates, are more rare, and hence more valuable, than the bulk of the edition. thus, copies with "proofs before letters" of the steel engravings or etchings, sometimes command more than double the price of copies having only the ordinary plates. each added impression deteriorates a little the sharp, clear outlines and brilliant impressions which are peculiar to the first copies printed. ( ) of some books, certain volumes only are rare, and very costly in consequence. thus, burk's history of virginia is common enough in three volumes, but volume of the set, by jones and girardin, ( ,) is exceedingly rare, and seldom found with the others. the fifth and last volume of bunsen's egypt's place in universal history is very scarce, while the others are readily procured. of de bry's voyages, the th or final part of the american voyages is so rare as to be quite unattainable, unless after long years of search, and at an unconscionable price. ( ) the condition of any book is an unfailing factor in its price. many, if not most books offered by second-hand dealers are shop-worn, soiled, or with broken bindings, or some other defect. a pure, clean copy, in handsome condition without and within, commands invariably an extra price. thus the noted nuremberg chronicle of , a huge portly folio, with , wood-cuts in the text, many of them by albert dürer or other early artists, is priced in london catalogues all the way from £ . up to £ , for identically the same edition. the difference is dependent wholly on the condition of the copies offered. here is part of a description of the best copy: "nuremberg chronicle, by schedel, printed by koberger, first edition, , royal folio, with fine original impressions of the , large wood-cuts of towns, historical events, portraits, etc., very tall copy, measuring ½ inches by ½, beautifully bound in morocco super extra, full gilt edges, by riviere, £ . all the cuts are brilliant impressions, large and spirited. the book is genuine and perfect throughout; _no washed leaves_, and all the large capitals filled in by the rubricator by different colored inks: it has the six additional leaves at end, which brunet says are nearly always wanting." ( ) the first editions printed of many books always command high prices. not only is this true of the _editio princeps_ of homer, virgil, tacitus and other greek and roman writers, published in the infancy of printing, but of every noted author, of ancient or modern date. the edition printed during the life of the writer has had his own oversight and correction. and when more than one issue of his book has thus appeared, one sees how his maturer judgment has altered the substance or the style of his work. first editions of any very successful work always tend to become scarce, since the number printed is smaller, as a rule, and a large part of the issue is absorbed by public libraries. the earliest published writings of tennyson, now found with difficulty, show how much of emendation and omission this great poet thought proper to make in his poems in after years. a first edition of ivanhoe, vols., , brings £ or more, in the original boards, but if rebound in any style, the first waverley novels can be had at much less, though collectors are many. ( ) another class of rare books is found in many local histories, both among the county histories of great britain, and those of towns and counties in the united states. jay gould's history of delaware county, n. y., published in , and sought after in later times because of his note as a financier, is seldom found. of family genealogies, too, printed in small editions, there are many which cannot be had at all, and many more which have risen to double or even quadruple price. the market value of these books, always dependent on demand, is enhanced by the wants of public libraries which are making or completing collections of these much sought sources of information. ( ) there is a class of books rarely found in any reputable book shop, and which ought to be much rarer than they are--namely, those that belong to the domain of indecent literature. booksellers who deal in such wares often put them in catalogues under the head of _facetiae_, thus making a vile use of what should be characteristic only of books of wit or humor. men of prurient tastes become collectors of such books, many of which are not without some literary merit, while many more are neither fit to be written, nor printed, nor read. ( ) there is a large variety of books that are sought mainly on account, not of their authors, nor for their value as literature, but for their illustrators. many eminent artists (in fact most of those of any period) have made designs for certain books of their day. the reputation of an artist sometimes rests more upon his work given to the public in engravings, etchings, wood-cuts, etc., that illustrate books, than upon his works on canvas or in marble. many finely illustrated works bear prices enhanced by the eagerness of collectors, who are bent upon possessing the designs of some favorite artist, while some amateurs covet a collection of far wider scope. this demand, although fitful, and sometimes evanescent, (though more frequently recurrent,) lessens the supply of illustrated books, and with the constant drafts of new libraries, raises prices. turner's exquisite pictures in rogers's italy and poems ( - ) have floated into fame books of verse which find very few readers. hablot k. browne ("phiz") designed those immortal wellers in pickwick, which have delighted two whole generations of readers. the "cruikshankiana" are sought with avidity, in whatever numerous volumes they adorn. books illustrated with the designs of bartolozzi, marillier, eisen, gravelot, moreau, johannot, grandville, rowlandson, bewick, william blake, stothard, stanfield, harvey, martin, cattermole, birket foster, mulready, tenniel, maclise, gilbert, dalziel, leighton, holman hunt, doyle, leech, millais, rossetti, linton, du maurier, sambourne, caldecott, walter crane, kate greenaway, haden, hamerton, whistler, doré, anderson, darley, matt morgan, thos. nast, vedder, and others, are in constant demand, especially for the early impressions of books in which their designs appear. ( ) finally, that extensive class of books known as early _americana_ have been steadily growing rarer, and rising in commercial value, since about the middle of the nineteenth century. books and pamphlets relating to any part of the american continent or islands, the first voyages, discoveries, narratives or histories of those regions, which were hardly noted or cared for a century ago, are now eagerly sought by collectors for libraries both public and private. in this field, the keen competition of american historical societies, and of several great libraries, besides the ever increasing number of private collectors with large means, has notably enhanced the prices of all desirable and rare books. nor do the many reprints which have appeared much affect the market value of the originals, or first editions. this rise in prices, while far from uniform, and furnishing many examples of isolated extravagance, has been marked. witness some examples. the "bay psalm book," cambridge, mass., a. d. , is the caxton of new england, so rare that no perfect copy has been found for many years. in , henry stevens had the singular good fortune to find this typographical gem sandwiched in an odd bundle of old hymn books, unknown to the auctioneers or catalogue, at a london book sale. keeping his own counsel, he bid off the lot at nine shillings, completed an imperfection in the book, from another imperfect copy, had it bound in bedford's best, and sold it to mr. lenox's library at £ . in , stevens sold another copy to george brinley for guineas, which was bought for $ , in , by c. vanderbilt, at the brinley sale. john smith's folio "historie of virginia," st ed., , large paper, was sold to brinley in at $ , , and re-sold in for $ , to mr. lenox. in a copy on large paper brought £ at the hamilton library sale in london. in , a perfect copy of the large paper edition was presented to the library of congress by gen. w. b. franklin. perfect copies of smith's virginia of on small paper have sold for $ , , and those wanting some maps at $ to $ . the earlier english tracts relating to virginia and new england, printed between and , command large prices: _e. g._, lescarbot's new france, [canada,] , $ to $ ; wood's new england's prospect, , $ to $ ; hubbard's present state of new england, boston, , $ to $ . it is curious to note, in contrast, the following record of prices at the sale of dr. bernard's library in london, in : t. morton's new england, , eight pence; lescarbot's new france, , ten pence; wood's new england's prospect, , and three others, s. d.; nine eliot tracts, &c., s. d.; hubbard's present state of new england, , s.; smith's historie of virginia, , s. d. the numerous and now rare works of increase and cotton mather, printed from to , though mostly sermons, are collected by a sufficient number of libraries to maintain prices at from $ to $ each, according to condition. they number over volumes. several collections have been attempted of frankliniana, or works printed at benjamin franklin's press, and of the many editions of his writings, with all books concerning the illustrious printer-statesman of america. his "poor richard's almanacs," printed by him from to , and by successors to , are so rare that mr. p. l. ford found a visit to three cities requisite to see all of them. the library of congress possesses thirty-five years of these issues. a word may be added as to early newspapers, of some special numbers of which prices that are literally "fabulous" are recorded. there are many reprints afloat of the first american newspaper, and most librarians have frequent offers of the ulster county, (n. y.) gazette of jan. , , in mourning for the death of washington, a genuine copy of which is worth money, but the many spurious reprints (which include all those offered) are worth nothing. of many rare early books reprints or facsimiles are rife in the market, especially of those having but few leaves; these, however, are easily detected by an expert eye, and need deceive no one. of some scarce books, it may be said that they are as rare as the individuals who want them: and of a very few, that they are as rare as the extinct dodo. in fact, volumes have been written concerning extinct books, not without interest to the bibliomaniac who is fired with the passion for possessing something which no one else has got. some books are quite as worthless as they are rare. but books deemed worthless by the common or even by the enlightened mind are cherished as treasures by many collectors. the cook-book, entitled _le pastissier françois_, an elzevir of , is so rare as to have brought several times its weight in gold. nearly all the copies of some books have been worn to rags by anglers, devout women, cooks, or children. when a book is sold at a great price as "very rare," it often happens that several copies come into the market soon after, and, there being no demand, the commercial value is correspondingly depressed. the books most sure of maintaining full prices are first editions of master-pieces in literature. fitzgerald's version of omar khayyam was bought by nobody when quaritch first published it in . after eight years, he put the remainder of the edition,--a paper-covered volume--down to a penny each. when the book had grown into fame, and the many variations in later issues were discovered, this first edition, no longer procurable, rose to £ , the price actually paid by mr. quaritch himself at a book auction in ! auction sales of libraries having many rare books have been frequent in london and paris. the largest price yet obtained for any library was reached in - , when that of mr. wm. beckford brought £ , , being an average of nearly $ a volume. but w. c. hazlitt says of this sale, "the beckford books realized perfectly insane prices, and were afterwards re-sold for a sixth or even tenth of the amount, to the serious loss of somebody, when the barometer had fallen." the second-hand bookseller, having the whole range of printed literature for his field, has a great advantage in dealing with book collectors over the average dealer, who has to offer only new books, or such as are "in print." it may be owned that the love of rare books is chiefly sentimental. he who delights to spend his days or his nights in the contemplation of black-letter volumes, quaint title-pages, fine old bindings, and curious early illustrations, may not add to the knowledge or the happiness of mankind, but he makes sure of his own. the passion for rare books, merely because of their rarity, is a low order of the taste for books. but the desire to possess and read wise old books which have been touched by the hoar frost of time is of a higher mood. the first impression of paradise lost ( ) with its quarto page and antique orthography, is it not more redolent of the author's age than the elegant pickering edition, or the one illustrated by john martin or gustave doré? when you hold in your hand shakespeare's "midsommer night's dream" (a. d. ) and read with fresh admiration and delight the exquisite speeches of oberon and titania, may not the thought that perhaps that very copy may once have been held in the immortal bard's own hand send a thrill through your own? when you turn over the classic pages of homer illustrated by flaxman, that "dear sculptor of eternity," as william blake called him, or drink in the beauty of those delicious landscapes of turner, that astonishing man, who shall wonder at your desire to possess them? the genuine book lover is he who reads books; who values them for what they contain, not for their rarity, nor for the preposterous prices which have been paid for them. to him, book-hunting is an ever-enduring delight. of all the pleasures tasted here below, that of the book lover in finding a precious and long sought volume is one of the purest and most innocent. in books, he becomes master of all the kingdoms of the world. chapter . bibliography. to the book collector and the librarian, books of bibliography are the tools of the profession. without them he would be lost in a maze of literature without a clue. with them, his path is plain, and, in exact proportion to his acquaintance with them, will his knowledge and usefulness extend. bibliography may be defined as the science which treats of books, of their authors, subjects, history, classification, cataloguing, typography, materials (including paper, printing and binding) dates, editions, etc. this compound word, derived from two greek roots, _biblion_, book, and _graphein_, to write, has many analogous words, some of which, ignorantly used to express a bibliographer, may be set down for distinction: as, for example--bibliopole--a seller of books, often erroneously applied to a librarian, who buys but never sells: bibliophile, a lover of books, a title which he should always exemplify: bibliopegist, a book-binder: bibliolater, a worshipper of books: bibliophobe, a hater of books: bibliotaph, a burier of books--one who hides or conceals them: bibliomaniac, or bibliomane, one who has a mania or passion for collecting books. (bibliomania, some one has said, is a disease: bibliophily is a science: the first is a parody of the second.) bibliophage, or bibliophagist, a book-eater, or devourer of books. bibliognost, one versed in the science of books. biblioklept, a book thief. (this, you perceive, is from the same greek root as kleptomaniac.) bibliogist, one learned about books, (the same nearly as bibliographer); and finally, bibliothecary, a librarian. this brings me to say, in supplementing this elementary list (needless for some readers) that _bibliotheca_ is latin for a library; _bibliothèque_ is french for the same; _bibliothécaire_ is french for librarian, while the french word _libraire_ means book seller or publisher, though often mistaken by otherwise intelligent persons, for librarian, or library. the word "bibliotechny" is not found in any english dictionary known to me, although long in use in its equivalent forms in france and germany. it means all that belongs to the knowledge of the book, to its handling, cataloguing, and its arrangement upon the shelves of a library. it is also applied to the science of the formation of libraries, and their complete organization. it is employed in the widest and most extended sense of what may be termed material or physical bibliography. bibliotechny applies, that is to say, to the technics of the librarian's work--to the outside of the books rather than the inside--to the mechanics, not the metaphysics of the profession. the french word "_bibliothéconomie_," much in use of late years, signifies much the same thing as _bibliotechnie_, and we translate it, not into one word, but two, calling it "library economy." this word "economy" is not used in the most current sense--as significant of saving--but in the broad, modern sense of systematic order, or arrangement. there are two other words which have found their way into murray's oxford dictionary, the most copious repository of english words, with illustrations of their origin and history, ever published, namely, biblioclast--a destroyer of books (from the same final root as iconoclast) and bibliogony, the production of books. i will add that out of the fifteen or more words cited as analogous to bibliography, only three are found used earlier than the last quarter century, the first use of most having been this side of . this is a striking instance of the phenomenal growth of new words in our already rich and flexible english tongue. carlyle even has the word "bibliopoesy," the making of books,--from _biblion_, and _poiein_--to make. public libraries are useful to readers in proportion to the extent and ready supply of the helps they furnish to facilitate researches of every kind. among these helps a wisely selected collection of books of reference stands foremost. considering the vast extent and opulence of the world of letters, and the want of experience of the majority of readers in exploring this almost boundless field, the importance of every key which can unlock its hidden stores becomes apparent. the printed catalogue of no single library is at all adequate to supply full references, even to its own stores of knowledge; while these catalogues are, of course, comparatively useless as to other stores of information, elsewhere existing. even the completest and most extensive catalogue in the world, that of the british museum library, although now extended to more than folio volumes in print, representing , volumes in manuscript, is not completed so as to embrace the entire contents of that rich repository of knowledge. from lack of information of the aid furnished by adequate books of reference in a special field, many a reader goes groping in pursuit of references or information which might be found in some one of the many volumes which may be designated as works of bibliography. the diffidence and reserve of many students in libraries, and the mistaken fear of giving trouble to librarians, frequently deprives them of even those aids which a few words of inquiry might bring forth from the ready knowledge of the custodians in charge. that is the best library, and he is the most useful librarian, by whose aid every reader is enabled to put his finger on the fact he wants, just when it is wanted. in attaining this end it is essential that the more recent, important, and valuable aids to research in general science, as well as in special departments of each, should form a part of the library. in order to make a fit selection of books (and all libraries are practically reduced to a selection, from want of means to possess the whole) it is indispensable to know the relative value of the books concerned. many works of reference of great fame, and once of great value, have become almost obsolete, through the issue of more extensive and carefully edited works in the same field. while a great and comprehensive library should possess every work of reference, old or new, which has aided or may aid the researches of scholars, (not forgetting even the earlier editions of works often reprinted), the smaller libraries, on the other hand, are compelled to exercise a close economy of selection. the most valuable works of reference, among which the more copious and extensive bibliographies stand first, are frequently expensive treasures, and it is important to the librarian furnishing a limited and select library to know what books he can best afford to do without. if he cannot buy both the _manuel du libraire_ by brunet, in five volumes, and the _trésor des livres rares et précieux_ of graesse, seven volumes, both of which are dictionaries of the choicer portions of literature, it is important to know that brunet is the more indispensable of the two. from the , reference books lying open to the consultation of all readers in the great rotunda of the british museum reading room, to the small and select case of dictionaries, catalogues, cyclopaedias, and other works of reference in a town or subscription library, the interval is wide indeed. but where we cannot have all, it becomes the more important to have the best; and the reader who has at hand for ready reference the latest and most copious dictionary of each of the leading languages of the world, two or three of the best general bibliographies, the most copious catalogue raisonné of the literature in each great department of science, the best biographical dictionaries, and the latest and most copious encyclopaedias issued from the press, is tolerably well equipped for the prosecution of his researches. next in importance to the possession in any library of a good selection of the most useful books of reference, is the convenient accessibility of these works to the reading public. just in proportion to the indispensability and frequency of use of any work should be the facility to the reader of availing himself of its aid. the leading encyclopaedias, bibliographies, dictionaries, annuals, and other books of reference should never be locked up in cases, nor placed on high or remote shelves. there should be in every library what may be termed a central bureau of reference. here should be assembled, whether on circular cases made to revolve on a pivot, or on a rectangular case, with volumes covering both sides, or in a central alcove forming a portion of the shelves of the main library, all those books of reference, and volumes incessantly needed by students in pursuit of their various inquiries. it is important that the custodians of all libraries should remember that this ready and convenient supply of the reference books most constantly wanted, serves the double object of economizing the time of the librarian and assistants for other labor, and of accommodating in the highest degree the readers, whose time is also economized. the misplacement of volumes which will thus occur is easily rectified, while the possibility of loss through abstraction is so extremely small that it should not be permitted to weigh for a moment in comparison with the great advantages resulting from the rule of liberality in aiding the wants of readers. bibliography, in its most intimate sense, is the proper science of the librarian. to many it is a study--to some, it is a passion. while the best works in bibliography have not always been written by librarians, but by scholars enamored of the science of books, and devotees of learning, it is safe to say that the great catalogues which afford such inestimable aid to research, have nearly all been prepared in libraries, and not one of the books worthy of the name of bibliography, could have been written without their aid. in viewing the extensive field of bibliographies, regard for systematic treatment requires that they be divided into classes. beginning first with general bibliographies, or those claiming to be universal, we should afterwards consider the numerous bibliographies of countries, or those devoted to national literature; following that by the still more numerous special bibliographies, or those embracing works on specially designated subjects. the two classes last named are by far the most numerous. although what may be termed a "universal catalogue" has been the dream of scholars for many ages, it is as far as ever from being realized--and in fact much farther than ever before, since each year that is added to the long roll of the past increases enormously the number of books to be dealt with, and consequently the difficulties of the problem. we may set down the publication of a work which should contain the titles of all books ever printed, as a practical impossibility. the world's literature is too vast and complex to be completely catalogued, whether on the coöperative plan, or any other. meanwhile the many thousands of volumes, each of which has been devoted to some portion of the vast and ever-increasing stores of literature and science which human brains have put in print, will serve to aid the researches of the student, when rightly guided by an intelligent librarian. notwithstanding the hopeless nature of the quest, it is true that some men of learning have essayed what have been termed universal bibliographies. the earliest attempt in this direction was published at zürich in , under the title of "bibliotheca universalis," by conrad gesner, a swiss scholar whose acquisition of knowledge was so extensive that he was styled "a miracle of learning." this great work gave the titles of all books of which its author could find trace, and was illustrated by a mass of bibliographical notes and criticism. it long held a high place in the world of letters, though it is now seldom referred to in the plethora of more modern works of bibliography. in , the bookseller b. ostern put forth at frankfort, his _bibliothèque universelle_, a catalogue of all books from to . in , th. georgi issued in eleven folio volumes, his _allgemeines europäisches_ _bücher-lexikon_, claiming to represent the works of nearly all writers from down to . this formidable catalogue may perhaps be said to embrace more forgotten books than any other in the literary history of the world. almost equally formidable, however, is the bibliography of that erudite scholar, christian g. jöcher, who put forth in , at leipzig, his _allgemeines gelehrten-lexicon_, in which, says the title page, "the learned men of all classes who have lived from the beginning of the world up to the present time, are described." this book, with its supplement, by adelung and rotermund, (completed only to letter r), makes ten ponderous quarto volumes, and may fairly be styled a thesaurus of the birth and death of ancient scholars and their works. it is still largely used in great libraries, to identify the period and the full names of many obscure writers of books, who are not commemorated in the catalogues of universal bibliography, compiled on a more restrictive plan. we come now to the notable catalogues of early-printed books, which aim to cover all the issues of the press from the first invention of printing, up to a certain period. one of the most carefully edited and most readily useful of these is hain, (l.) _repertorium bibliographicum_, in four small and portable octavo volumes, published at stuttgart in - . this gives, in an alphabet of authors, all the publications found printed (with their variations and new editions), from a. d. to a. d. . more extensive is the great catalogue of g. w. panzer, entitled _annales typographici_, in eleven quarto volumes, published at nuremberg from to . this work, which covers the period from (the period of the first book ever printed with a date) up to a. d. , is not arranged alphabetically (as in hain's repertorium) by the names of authors, but in the order of the cities or places where the books catalogued were printed. the bibliography thus brings together in one view, the typographical product of each city or town for about eighty years after the earliest dated issues of the press, arranged in chronological order of the years when printed. this system has undeniable advantages, but equally obvious defects, which are sought to be remedied by many copious indexes of authors and printers. next in importance comes m. maittaire's _annales typographici, ab artis inventae origine ad annum _, printed at the hague (hagae comitum) and completed at london, from - , in eleven volumes, quarto, often bound in five volumes. there is besides, devoted to the early printed literature of the world, the useful three volume bibliography by la serna de santander, published at brussels in , entitled _dictionnaire bibliographique choisie du quinzième siècle_, bruxelles, , embracing a selection of what its compiler deemed the more important books published from the beginning of printing up to a. d. . all the four works last named contain the titles and descriptions of what are known as _incunabula_, or cradle-books (from latin _cunabula_, a cradle) a term applied to all works produced in the infancy of printing, and most commonly to those appearing before . these books are also sometimes called fifteeners, or th century books. of general bibliographies of later date, only a few of the most useful and important can here be named. at the head of these stands, deservedly, the great work of j. c. brunet, entitled _manuel du libraire et de l'amateur des livres_, the last or th edition of which appeared at paris in - , in five thick octavo volumes. the first edition of brunet appeared in , and every issue since has exhibited not only an extensive enlargement, but great improvement in careful, critical editorship. it embraces most of the choicest books that have appeared in the principal languages of europe, and a supplement in two volumes, by p. deschamps and g. brunet, appeared in . next to brunet in importance to the librarian, is j. g. t. graesse's _trésor des livres rares et précieux_, which is more full than brunet in works in the teutonic languages, and was published at dresden in six quarto volumes, with a supplement, in - . both of these bibliographies aim at a universal range, though they make a selection of the best authors and editions, ancient and modern, omitting however, the most recent writers. the arrangement of both is strictly alphabetical, or a dictionary of authors' names, while brunet gives in a final volume a classification by subjects. both catalogues are rendered additionally valuable by the citation of prices at which many of the works catalogued have been sold at book auctions in the present century. in was published at paris a kind of universal bibliography, on the plan of a _catalogue raisonné_, or dictionary of subjects, by messrs. f. denis, pinçon, and de martonne, two of whom were librarians by profession. this work of over pages, though printed in almost microscopic type, and now about forty years in arrears, has much value as a ready key to the best books then known on nearly every subject in science and literature. it is arranged in a complete index of topics, the books under each being described in chronological order, instead of the alphabetical. the preponderance is given to the french in the works cited on most subjects, but the literature of other nations is by no means neglected. it is entitled _nouveau manuel de bibliographie universelle_, and being a subjective index, while brunet and graesse are arranged by authors' names, it may be used to advantage in connection with these standard bibliographies. while on this subject, let me name the books specially devoted to lists of bibliographical works--general and special. these may be termed the catalogues of catalogues,--and are highly useful aids, indeed indispensable to the librarian, who seeks to know what lists of books have appeared that are devoted to the titles of publications covering any period, or country, or special subject in the whole circle of sciences or literatures. the first notably important book of reference in this field, was the work of that most industrious bibliographer, gabriel peignot, who published at paris, in , his _repertoire bibliographique universelle_, in one volume. this work contains the titles of most special bibliographies, of whatever subject or country, published up to , and of many works bibliographical in character, devoted to literary history. dr. julius petzholdt, one of the most learned and laborious of librarians, issued at leipzig in , a _bibliotheca bibliographica_, the fuller title of which was "a critical catalogue, exhibiting in systematic order, the entire field of bibliography covering the literature of germany and other countries." the rather ambitious promise of this title is well redeemed in the contents: for very few catalogues of importance issued before , are omitted in this elaborate book of closely printed pages. most titles of the bibliographies given are followed by critical and explanatory notes, of much value to the unskilled reader. these notes are in german, while all the titles cited are in the language of the books themselves. after giving full titles of all the books in general bibliography, he takes up the national bibliographies by countries, citing both systematic catalogues and periodicals devoted to the literature of each in any period. this is followed by a distributive list of scientific bibliographies, so full as to leave little to be desired, except for later issues of the press. one of the curiosities of this work is its catalogue of all the issues of the "index librorum prohibitorum", or books forbidden to be read, including separate catalogues, from a. d. to a. d. . the next bibliographical work claiming to cover this field was in the french language, being the _bibliographie des bibliographies_ of léon vallée, published in at paris. this book, though beautifully printed, is so full of errors, and still fuller of omissions, that it is regarded by competent scholars as a failure, though still having its uses to the librarian. it is amazing that any writer should put forth a book seventeen years after the great and successful work of petzholdt, purporting to be a catalogue of bibliographies, and yet fail to record such a multitude of printed contributions to the science of sciences as vallée has overlooked. some ten years later, or in , there came from the french press, a far better bibliographical work, covering the modern issues of books of bibliography more especially, with greater fullness and superior plan. this is the _manuel de bibliographie générale_, by henri stein. this work contains, in well-printed pages, st. a list of universal bibliographies: d. a catalogue of national bibliographies, in alphabetical order of countries: d. a list of classified bibliographies of subjects, divided into seventeen classes, namely, religious sciences, philosophical sciences, juridical, economic, social, and educational sciences, pure and applied sciences, medical sciences, philology and belles lettres, geographical and historical sciences, sciences auxiliary to history, archaeology and fine arts, music, and biography. besides these extremely useful categories of bibliographical aids, in which the freshest publications of catalogues and lists of books in each field are set forth, m. stein gives us a complete geographical bibliography of printing, on a new plan. this he entitles "_géographie bibliographique_," or systematic lists of localities in every part of the world which possessed a printing press prior to the th century. it gives, after the modern or current name of each place, the latin, or ancient name, the country in which located, the year in which the first printed publication appeared in each place, and finally, the authority for the statement. this handy-list of information alone, is worth the cost of the work, since it will save much time of the inquirer, in hunting over many volumes of panzer, maittaire, hain, dibdin, thomas, or other authors on printing, to find the origin of the art, or early name of the place where it was introduced. the work contains, in addition, a general table of the periodicals of all countries, (of course not exhaustive) divided into classes, and filling seventy-five pages. it closes with a "repertory of the principal libraries of the entire world," and with an index to the whole work, in which the early names in latin, of all places where books were printed, are interspersed in the alphabet, distinguished by italic type, and with the modern name of each town or city affixed. this admirable feature will render unnecessary any reference to the _orbis latinus_ of graesse, or to any other vocabulary of geography, to identify the place in which early-printed books appeared. stein is by no means free from errors, and some surprising omissions. one cardinal defect is the absence of any full index of authors whose books are cited. there are also quite brief catalogues of works on bibliography in j. power's handy book about books, london, , and in j. sabin's bibliography: a handy book about books which relate to books, n. y., . the latter work is an expansion of the first-named. we come now to the second class of our bibliographies, _viz._: those of various countries. here the reader must be on his guard not to be misled into too general an interpretation of geographical terms. thus, he will find many books and pamphlets ambitiously styled "_catalogue américaine_", which are so far from being general bibliographies of books relating to america, that they are merely lists of a few books for sale by some book-dealer, which have something american in their subject. to know what catalogues are comprehensive, and what period they cover, as well as the limitations of nearly all of them, is a necessary part of the training of a bibliographer, and is essential to the librarian who would economize his time and enlarge his usefulness. let us begin with our own country. here we are met at the outset by the great paucity of general catalogues of american literature, and the utter impossibility of finding any really comprehensive lists of the books published in the united states, during certain periods. we can get along tolerably well for the publications within the last thirty years, which nearly represent the time since systematic weekly bibliographical journals have been published, containing lists of the current issues of books. but for the period just before the civil war, back to the year , or for very nearly a century, we are without any systematic bibliography of the product of the american press. the fragmentary attempts which have been made toward supplying an account of what books have been published in the united states from the beginning, will hereafter be briefly noted. at the outset, you are to observe the wide distinction that exists between books treating of america, or any part of it, and books printed in america. the former may have been printed anywhere, at any time since , and in any language: and to such books, the broad significant term "_americana_" may properly be applied, as implying books relating to america. but this class of works is wholly different from that of books written or produced by americans, or printed in america. it is these latter that we mean when we lament the want of a comprehensive american catalogue. there have been published in the united states alone (to go no farther into america at present) thousands of books, whose titles are not found anywhere, except widely scattered in the catalogues of libraries, public and private, in which they exist. nay, there are multitudes of publications which have been issued in this country during the last two hundred years, whose titles cannot be found anywhere in print. this is not, generally, because the books have perished utterly,--though this is unquestionably true of some, but because multitudes of books that have appeared, and do appear, wholly escape the eye of the literary, or critical, or bibliographical chronicler. it is, beyond doubt true even now, that what are commonly accepted as complete catalogues of the issues of the press of any year, are wofully incomplete, and that too, through no fault of their compilers. many works are printed in obscure towns, or in newspaper offices, which never reach the great eastern cities, where our principal bibliographies, both periodical and permanent, are prepared. many books, too, are "privately printed," to gratify the pride or the taste of their authors, and a few copies distributed to friends, or sometimes to selected libraries, or public men. in these cases, not only are the public chroniclers of new issues of the press in ignorance of the printing of many books, but they are purposely kept in ignorance. charles lamb, of humorous and perhaps immortal memory, used to complain of the multitudes of books which are no books; and we of to-day may complain, if we choose, of the vast number of publications that are not published. take a single example of the failure of even large and imposing volumes to be included in the "american catalogue," for whose aid, librarians are so immeasurably indebted to the enterprise of its publishers. a single publishing house west of new york, printed and circulated in about four years time, no less than thirty-two elaborate and costly histories, of western counties and towns, not one of which was ever recorded by title in our only comprehensive american bibliography. why was this? simply because the works referred to were published only as subscription books, circulated by agents, carefully kept out of booksellers' hands, and never sent to the eastern press for notice or review. when circumstances like these exist as to even very recent american publications (and they are continually happening) is it any wonder that our bibliographies are incomplete? perhaps some will suggest that there must be one record of american publications which is complete, namely, the office of copyright at washington. it is true that the titles of all copyright publications are required by law to be there registered, and copies deposited as soon as printed. it is also true that a weekly catalogue of all books and other copyright publications is printed, and distributed by the treasury, to all our custom-houses, to intercept piratical re-prints which might be imported. but the books just referred to were not entered for copyright at all, the publishers apparently preferring the risk of any rival's reprinting them, rather than to incur the cost of the small copyright fee, and the deposit of copies. in such cases, there is no law requiring publishers to furnish copies of their books. the government guarantees no monopoly of publication, and so cannot exact a _quid pro quo._, however much it might inure to the interest of publisher and author to have the work seen and noticed, and preserved beyond risk of perishing (unless printed on wood-pulp paper) in the library of the united states. if such extensive omissions of the titles of books sometimes important, can now continually occur in our accepted standards of national bibliography, what shall we say of times when we had no critical journals, no publishers' trade organs, and no weekly, nor annual, nor quinquennial catalogues of american books issued? must we not allow, in the absence of any catalogues worthy of the name, to represent such periods, that all our reference books are from the very necessity of the case deplorably incomplete? only by the most devoted, indefatigable and unrewarded industry have we got such aids to research as to the existence of american publications, as haven's catalogue of american publications prior to , sabin's bibliotheca americana, and the american catalogues of leypoldt, bowker, and their coadjutors. these illustrations are cited to guard against the too common error of supposing that we have in the numerous american catalogues that exist, even putting them all together, any full bibliography of the titles of american books. while it cannot be said that the _lacunae_ or omissions approach the actual entries in number, it must be allowed that books are turning up every day, both new and old, whose titles are not found in any catalogue. the most important books--those which deserve a name as literature, are found recorded somewhere--although even as to many of these, one has to search many alphabets, in a large number of volumes, before tracing them, or some editions of them. one principal source of the great number of titles of books found wanting in american catalogues, is that many books were printed at places remote from the great cities, and were never announced in the columns of the press at all. this is especially true as to books printed toward the close of the th century, and during the first quarter of the th. not only have we no bibliography whatever of american issues of the press, specially devoted to covering the long period between and , but multitudes of books printed during that neglected half-century, have failed to get into the printed catalogues of our libraries. as illustrations we might give a long catalogue of places where book-publication was long carried on, and many books of more or less importance printed or reprinted, but in which towns not a book has been produced for more than three-quarters of a century past. one of these towns was winchester, and another williamsburg, in virginia; another was exeter, new hampshire, and a fourth was carlisle, pa. in the last-named place, one archibald loudon printed many books, between a. d. , and , which have nearly all escaped the chroniclers of american book-titles. notable among the productions of his press, was his own book, a history of indian wars, or as he styled it in the title page, "a selection of some of the most interesting narratives of outrages committed by the indians in their wars with the white people." this history appeared in two volumes from the press of a. loudon, carlisle, pa., in and . it is so rare that i have failed to find its title anywhere except in sabin's bibliotheca americana, field's indian bibliography, and the catalogue of the library of congress. not even the british museum library, so rich in americana, has a copy. sabin states that only six copies are known, and field styles it, "this rarest of books on america," adding that he could learn of only three perfect copies in the world. a harrisburg reprint of ( copies to subscribers) is also quite rare. continuing the subject of american bibliography, and still lamenting the want of any comprehensive or finished work in that field which is worthy of the name, let us see what catalogues do exist, even approximating completeness for any period. the earlier years of the production of american books have been partially covered by the "catalogue of publications in what is now the united states, prior to ." this list was compiled by an indefatigable librarian, the late samuel f. haven, who was at the head of the library of the american antiquarian society, at worcester, mass. it gives all titles by sequence of years of publication, instead of alphabetical order, from (the epoch of the earliest printing in the united states) to the end of . the titles of books and pamphlets are described with provoking brevity, being generally limited to a single line for each, and usually without publishers' names, (though the places of publication and sometimes the number of pages are given) so that it leaves much to be desired. notwithstanding this, mr. haven's catalogue is an invaluable aid to the searcher after titles of the early printed literature of our country. it appeared at albany, n. y., in , as an appendix [in vol ] to a new (or second) edition of isaiah thomas's history of printing in america, which was first published in . in using it, the librarian will find no difficulty, if he knows the year when the publication he looks for appeared, as all books of each year are arranged in alphabetical order. but if he knows only the author's name, he may have a long search to trace the title, there being no general alphabet or index of authors. this chronological arrangement has certain advantages to the literary inquirer or historian, while for ready reference, its disadvantages are obvious. while there were several earlier undertakings of an american bibliography than haven's catalogue of publications before the american revolution, yet the long period which that list covers, and its importance, entitled it to first mention here. there had, however, appeared, as early as the year , in boston, "a catalogue of all books, printed in the united states, with the prices, and places where published, annexed." this large promise is hardly redeemed by the contents of this thin pamphlet of pages, all told. yet the editor goes on to assure us-- "this catalogue is intended to include all books of general sale printed in the united states, whether original, or reprinted; that the public may see the rapid progress of book-printing in a country, where, twenty years since, scarcely a book was published. local and occasional tracts are generally omitted. some of the books in the catalogue are now out of print, and others are scarce. it is contemplated to publish a new edition of this catalogue, every two years, and to make the necessary additions and corrections; and it is hoped the time is not far distant, when useful libraries may be formed of american editions of books, well printed, and handsomely bound. printed at boston, for the book sellers, jan., ." the really remarkable thing about this catalogue is that it was the very first bibliographical attempt at a general catalogue, in separate form, in america. it is quite interesting as an early booksellers' list of american publications, as well as for its classification, which is as follows: "law, physic, divinity, bibles, miscellanies, school books, singing books, omissions." the fact that no subsequent issues of the catalogue appeared, evinces the very small interest taken in bibliographic knowledge in those early days. this curiosity of early american bibliography gives the titles of books, all of american publication, with prices in . here are samples: bingham's columbian orator, cts.: burney's cecilia, vols. $ : memoirs of pious women, $ . : belknap's new hampshire, vols. $ : mrs. coghlan's memoirs, ½ cts.: brockden brown's wieland, $ : federalist, vols. $ . : dilworth's spelling book, ½ cts.: pike's arithmetic, $ . . the number of out-of-the-way places in which books were published in those days is remarkable. thus, in connecticut, we have as issuing books, litchfield, new london and fairhaven: in massachusetts, leominster, dedham, greenfield, brookfield, and wrentham: in new hampshire, dover, walpole, portsmouth, and exeter: in pennsylvania, washington, carlisle, and chambersburg: in new jersey, morristown, elizabethtown, and burlington. at alexandria, va., eight books are recorded as published. this historical nugget of the boston bookmongers of a century ago is so rare, that only two copies are known in public libraries, namely, in the library of congress, and in that of the massachusetts historical society. it was reprinted in , for the dibdin club of new york, by mr. a. growoll, of the publishers' weekly, to whose curious and valuable notes on "booktrade bibliography in the united states in the th century," it forms a supplement. the next catalogue of note claiming to be an american catalogue, or of books published in america, was put forth in , at claremont, n. h., by alexander v. blake. this was entitled, "the american bookseller's complete reference trade-list, and alphabetical catalogue of books, published in this country, with the publishers' and authors' names, and prices." this quarto volume, making pages (with its supplement issued in ) was the precursor of the now current "trade list annual," containing the lists of books published by all publishers whose lists could be secured. the titles are very brief, and are arranged in the catalogue under the names of the respective publishers, with an alphabetical index of authors and of anonymous titles at the end. it served well its purpose of a book-trade catalogue fifty years ago, being the pioneer in that important field. it is now, like the catalogue of , just noticed, chiefly interesting as a bibliographical curiosity, although both lists do contain the titles of some books not elsewhere found. mr. orville a. roorbach, a new york bookseller, was the next compiler of an american bibliography. his first issue of was enlarged and published in , under this title: "bibliotheca americana: a catalogue of american publications, including reprints and original works, from to , inclusive." this octavo volume of pages, in large, clear type, closely abbreviates nearly all titles, though giving in one comprehensive alphabet, the authors' names, and the titles of the books under the first word, with year and place of publication, publisher's name, and price at which issued. no collation of the books is given, but the catalogue supplies sufficient portions of each title to identify the book. it is followed in an appendix by a catalogue of law books, in a separate alphabet, and a list of periodicals published in the united states in . roorbach continued his catalogue to the year , by the issue of three successive supplements: ( ) covering the american publications of to : ( ) from to : ( ) from to . these four catalogues, aiming to cover, in four different alphabets, the issues of the american press for forty years, or from to , are extremely useful lists to the librarian, as finding lists, although the rigorously abbreviated titles leave very much to be desired by the bibliographer, and the omissions are exceedingly numerous of books published within the years named, but whose titles escaped the compiler. following close upon roorbach's bibliotheca americana in chronological order, we have next two bibliographies covering american book issues from to . these were compiled by a new york book dealer named james kelly, and were entitled the american catalogue of books, (original and reprint) published in the united states from jan., , to jan., , [and from jan., , to jan., ] with date of publication, size, price, and publisher's name. the first volume contained a supplement, with list of pamphlets on the civil war, and also a list of the publications of learned societies. these very useful and important catalogues cover ten years of american publishing activity, adding also to their own period many titles omitted by roorbach in earlier years. kelly's catalogues number and pages respectively, and, like roorbach's, they give both author and title in a single alphabet. names of publishers are given, with place and year of publication, and retail price, but without number of pages, and with no alphabet of subjects. next after kelly's catalogue came the first issue of the "american catalogue," which, with its successive volumes (all published in quarto form) ably represents the bibliography of our country during the past twenty-five years. the title of the first volume, issued in , reads "american catalogue of books in print and for sale (including reprints and importations) july , . compiled under direction of f. leypoldt, by l. e. jones." this copious repository of book-titles was in two parts: ( ) authors, and ( ) subject-index. both are of course in alphabetical order, and the titles of books are given with considerable abbreviation. the fact that its plan includes many titles of books imported from great britain, (as supplying information to book-dealers and book-buyers) prevents it from being considered as a bibliography of strictly american publications. still, it is the only approximately full american bibliography of the publications current twenty-five years ago. as such, its volumes are indispensable in every library, and should be in its earliest purchase of works of reference. the limitation of the catalogue to books still in print--_i. e._, to be had of the publishers at the time of its issue, of course precludes it from being ranked as a universal american bibliography. the first issue in was followed, in , by the "american catalogue, - : books recorded (including reprints and importations), under editorial direction of r. r. bowker, by miss a. i. appleton." this appeared in one volume, but with two alphabets; one being authors and titles, and the other an alphabet of subjects. as this volume included eight years issues of the american press, the next bibliography published covered the next ensuing six years, and included the books recorded from july, to july, . this appeared in , edited with care by miss appleton and others. in appeared its successor, the "american catalogue, - . compiled under the editorial direction of r. r. bowker." this catalogue records in its first volume, or alphabet of authors: ( ) author; ( ) size of book; ( ) year of issue; ( ) price; ( ) publisher's name. the names of places where published are not given with the title, being rendered unnecessary by the full alphabetical list of publishers which precedes, and fixes the city or town where each published his books. this same usage is followed in succeeding issues of the american catalogue. this indispensable bibliography of recent american books, in addition to its regular alphabets of authors and titles (the latter under first words and in the same alphabet with the authors) and the succeeding alphabet of subjects, prints a full list of the publications of the united states government, arranged by departments and bureaus; also a list of the publications of state governments, of societies, and of books published in series. this last issue has pages. its only defects (aside from its inevitable omissions of many unrecorded books) are the double alphabet, and the want of collation, or an indication of the number of pages in each work, which should follow every title. its cost in bound form is $ , at which the two preceding american catalogues - , and to can also be had, while the catalogue of books in print in , published in , is quite out of print, though a copy turns up occasionally from some book-dealer's stock. the american catalogue has now become a quinquennial issue, gathering the publications of five years into one alphabet; and it is supplemented at the end of every year by the "annual american catalogue," started in , which gives, in about pages, in its first alphabet, collations of the books of the year (a most important feature, unfortunately absent from the quinquennial american catalogue.) its second alphabet gives authors, titles, and sometimes subject-matters, but without the distribution into subject-divisions found in the quinquennial catalogue; and the titles are greatly abridged from the full record of its first alphabet. its price is $ . each year. and this annual, in turn, is made up from the catalogues of titles of all publications, which appear in the _publishers' weekly_, the carefully edited organ of the book publishing interests in the united states. this periodical, which will be found a prime necessity in every library, originated in new york, in , as the "american publishers' circular," and has developed into the recognized authority in american publications, under the able management of r. r. bowker and a. growoll. for three dollars a year, it supplies weekly and monthly alphabetical lists of whatever comes from the press, in book form, as completely as the titles can be gathered from every source. it gives valuable notes after most titles, defining the scope and idea of the work, with collations, features which are copied into the annual american catalogue. i must not omit to mention among american bibliographies, although published in london, and edited by a foreigner, mr. n. trübner's "bibliographical guide to american literature: a classed list of books published in the united states during the last forty years." this book appeared in , and is a carefully edited bibliography, arranged systematically in thirty-two divisions of subjects, filling pages octavo. it gives under each topic, an alphabet of authors, followed by titles of the works, given with approximate fullness, followed by place and year of publication, but without publishers' names. the number of pages is also given where ascertained, and the price of the work quoted in sterling english money. this work, by a competent german-english book-publisher of london, is preceded by a brief history of american literature, and closes with a full index of authors whose works are catalogued in it. we come now to by far the most comprehensive and ambitious attempt to cover not only the wide field of american publications, but the still more extensive field of books relating to america, which has ever yet been made. i refer to the "bibliotheca americana; a dictionary of books relating to america," by joseph sabin, begun more than thirty years ago, in , and still unfinished, its indefatigable compiler having died in , at the age of sixty. this vast bibliographical undertaking was originated by a variously-gifted and most energetic man, not a scholar, but a bookseller and auctioneer, born in england. mr. sabin is said to have compiled more catalogues of private libraries that have been brought to the auctioneer's hammer, than any man who ever lived in america. he bought and sold, during nearly twenty years, old and rare books, in a shop in nassau street, new york, which was the resort of book collectors and bibliophiles without number. he made a specialty of americana, and of early printed books in english literature, crossing the atlantic twenty-five times to gather fresh stores with which to feed his hungry american customers. during all these years, he worked steadily at his _magnum opus_, the bibliography of america, carrying with him in his many journeys and voyages, in cars or on ocean steamships, copy and proofs of some part of the work. there have been completed about ninety parts, or eighteen thick volumes of nearly pages each; and since his death the catalogue has been brought down to the letter s, mainly by mr. wilberforce eames, librarian of the lenox library, new york. though its ultimate completion must be regarded as uncertain, the great value to all librarians, and students of american bibliography or history, of the work so far as issued, can hardly be over-estimated. mr. sabin had the benefit in revising the proofs of most of the work, of the critical knowledge and large experience of mr. charles a. cutter, the librarian of the boston athenaeum library, whose catalogue of the books in that institution, in five goodly volumes, is a monument of bibliographical learning and industry. sabin's dictionary is well printed, in large, clear type, the titles being frequently annotated, and prices at auction sales of the rarer and earlier books noted. every known edition of each work is given, and the initials of public libraries in the united states, to the number of thirteen, in which the more important works are found, are appended. in not a few cases, where no copy was known to the compiler in a public collection, but was found in a private library, the initials of its owner were given instead. this extensive bibliography was published solely by subscription, only copies being printed at $ . a part, so that its cost to those subscribing was about $ unbound, up to the time of its suspension. the first part appeared january , , although vol. i. bears date new york, . it records most important titles in full, with (usually) marks denoting omissions where such are made. in the case of many rare books relating to america (and especially those published prior to the th century) the collations are printed so as to show what each line of the original title embraces, _i. e._ with vertical marks or dashes between the matter of the respective lines. this careful description is invaluable to the bibliographical student, frequently enabling him to identify editions, or to solve doubts as to the genuineness of a book-title in hand. the collation by number of pages is given in all cases where the book has been seen, or reported fully to the editor. the order of description as to each title is as follows: ( ) place of publication ( ) publisher ( ) year ( ) collation and size of book. notes in a smaller type frequently convey information of other editions, of prices in various sales, of minor works by the same writer, etc. the fullness which has been aimed at in sabin's american bibliography is seen in the great number of sermons and other specimens of pamphlet literature which it chronicles. it gives also the titles of most early american magazines, reviews, and other periodicals, except newspapers, which are generally omitted, as are maps also. as an example of the often minute cataloguing of the work, i may mention that no less than eight pages are occupied with a list of the various publications and editions of books by dr. jedediah morse, an author of whom few of the present generation of americans have ever heard. he was the earliest american geographer who published any comprehensive books upon the subject, and his numerous gazetteers and geographies, published from to , were constantly reprinted, until supplanted by more full, if not more accurate works. upon the whole, sabin's great work, although so far from being finished, is invaluable as containing immeasurably more and fuller titles than any other american bibliography. it is also the only extensive work on the subject which covers all periods, although the books of the last thirty years must chiefly be excepted as not represented. as a work of reference, while its cost and scarcity may prevent the smaller public libraries from possessing it, it is always accessible in the libraries of the larger cities, where it is among the foremost works to be consulted in any research involving american publications, or books of any period or country relating to america, or its numerous sub-divisions. i may now mention, much more cursorily, some other bibliographies pertaining to our country. the late henry stevens, who died in , compiled a "catalogue of the american books in the library of the british museum." this was printed by the museum authorities in , and fills octavo pages. its editor was a highly accomplished bibliographer and book-merchant, born in vermont, but during the last forty years of his life resided in london, where he devoted himself to his profession with great learning and assiduity. he published many catalogues of various stocks of books collected by him, under such titles as "bibliotheca historica," "bibliotheca americana," etc., in which the books were carefully described, often with notes illustrating their history or their value. he became an authority upon rare books and early editions, and made a valuable catalogue of the bibles in the caxton exhibition at london, in , with bibliographical commentary. he was for years chief purveyor of the british museum library for its american book purchases, and aided the late james lenox in building up that rich collection of americana and editions of the scriptures which is now a part of the new york public library. his catalogue of the american books in the british museum, though now over forty years old, and supplanted by the full alphabetical catalogue of that entire library since published, is a valuable contribution to american bibliography. mr. stevens was one of the most acute and learned bibliographers i have known. he was a man of marked individuality and independent views; with a spice of eccentricity and humor, which crept into all his catalogues, and made his notes highly entertaining reading. besides his services to the british museum library, in building up its noble collection of americana, and in whose rooms he labored for many years, with the aid of panizzi and his successors, whom he aided in return, stevens collected multitudes of the books which now form the choice treasures of the lenox library, the carter brown library, at providence, the library of congress, and many more american collections. to go with him through any lot of americana, in one of his enterprising visits to new york, where he sometimes came to market his overflowing stores picked up in london and on the continent, was a rare treat. every book, almost, brought out some verbal criticism, anecdote or reminiscence of his book-hunting experiences, which began in america, and extended all over europe. he was not only an indefatigable collector, but a most industrious and accurate bibliographer, doing more work in that field, probably, than any other american. he wrote a singularly careful, though rapid hand, as plain and condensed as print, and in days before modern devices for manifolding writing were known, he copied out his invoices in duplicate or triplicate in his own hand, with titles in full, and frequent descriptive notes attached. his many catalogues are notable for the varied learning embodied. he was a most intelligent and vigilant book collector for more than forty years, his early labors embracing towns in new york and new england, as purveyor for material for peter force, of washington, whose american archives were then in course of preparation. among the library collectors who absorbed large portions of his gathered treasures, were james lenox, jared sparks, george livermore, john carter brown, henry c. murphy, george brinley, the american geographical society, and many historical societies. he was an authority on all the early voyages, and wrote much upon them. no one knew more about early bibles than henry stevens. his enterprise and ambition for success led him to bold and sometimes extensive purchases. he bought about , the library of baron von humboldt, and this and other large ventures embarrassed him much in later years. he became the owner of the franklin manuscripts, left in london by the great man's grandson, and collected during many years a library of frankliniana, which came to the library of congress when the franklin manuscripts were purchased for the state department in . he was proud of his country and his state, always signing himself "henry stevens, of vermont." his book-plate had engraved beneath his name, the titles, "g. m. b.: f. s. a." the last, of course, designated him as fellow of the society of antiquaries of london, but the first puzzled even his friends, until it was interpreted as signifying "green mountain boy." his brother used jocosely to assure me that it really meant "grubber of musty books." as to his prices for books, while some collectors complained of them as "very stiff," they appear, when compared with recent sales of americana, at auction and in sale catalogues, to be quite moderate. the late historian motley told me that mr. stevens charged more than any one for dutch books relating to america; but mr. motley's measure of values was gauged by the low prices of dutch booksellers which prevailed during his residence in the netherlands, for years before the keen demand from america had rendered the numerous dutch tracts of the west india company, etc., more scarce and of greater commercial value than they bore at the middle of this century. as treating of books by american authors, though not so much a complete bibliography of their works, as a critical history, with specimens selected from each writer, duyckinck's "cyclopaedia of american literature" deserves special mention. the last edition appeared at philadelphia, in , in two large quarto volumes. equally worthy of note is the compilation by e. c. stedman and ellen m. hutchinson, in eleven volumes, entitled "library of american literature," new york, - . a most convenient hand-book of bibliographical reference is oscar f. adams's "dictionary of american authors," boston, , which gives in a compact duodecimo volume, the name and period of nearly every american writer, with a brief list of his principal works, and their date of publication, in one alphabet. of notable catalogues of books relating to america, rather than of american publications, should be named white kennet's "bibliotheca americana primordia," the earliest known catalogue devoted to american bibliography, london, ; o. rich, catalogue of books relating to america, - , london, ; rich, "bibliotheca americana nova," books printed between and , two volumes, london, - ; h. harrisse, "bibliotheca americana vetustissima," new york, , and its supplement, paris, , both embracing rare early americana, published from to . this is a critically edited bibliography of the rarest books concerning america that appeared in the first half century after its discovery. the important field of american local history has given birth to many bibliographies. the earliest to be noted is h. e. ludewig's "literature of american local history," new york, . thirty years later came f. b. perkins's "check list for american local history," boston, ; followed by a. p. c. griffin's "index of articles upon american local history in historical collections," boston, , and by his "index of the literature of american local history in collections published in - ," boston, . closely allied to the catalogues of city, town, and county histories, come the bibliographies of genealogies and family histories, of which the last or th edition of d. s. durrie's "bibliographia genealogica americana; an alphabetical index to american genealogies in county and town histories, printed genealogies, and kindred works," albany, , is the most comprehensive and indispensable. this work gives us an alphabet of family names, under each of which are grouped the titles of books in which that special name is treated, with citation of the page. it also gives the name and date of publication of the special family genealogies which are separately printed, whether book or pamphlet, with number of pages in each. the work is by a librarian, to whose laborious diligence americans are deeply indebted. among other bibliographies of genealogy are munsell's "american genealogist: a catalogue of family histories," albany, . this work aims to give the titles of all separately printed american genealogies, in an alphabet of family names, giving titles in full, with place and year of publication, name of publisher, and collation, or number of pages. for the multitudinous public documents of the united states, consult b. p. poore's "descriptive catalogue of the government publications of the united states, - ," washington, , and f. a. crandall, check list of public documents, debates and proceedings from st to d congress ( - ), washington, ; also, comprehensive index to the publications of the united states government, - . the same--united states catalogue of public documents, to , washington, . several biennial or annual lists of united states documents have followed. as supplementing these extensive catalogues, we have in the appendix to the "american catalogue" of a list of united states government publications from to ; in that of a list from to ; and in that of a list covering the years to . a most important recent bibliography is found in h. c. bolton's "catalogue of scientific and technical periodicals, - ," washington, . there are also many sale catalogues of american books, with prices, some of which may be noted, _e. g._ j. r. smith, bibliotheca americana, london, ; f. müller, catalogue of books and pamphlets relating to america, amsterdam, , and later years. ternaux-compans, "bibliothèque américaine;" books printed before , paris, : p. trömel, "bibliothèque américaine," leipzig, : d. b. warden, "bibliothèque américaine," paris, : r. clarke & co., "bibliotheca americana," cincinnati, , , , , and . there are, besides, important catalogues of some private libraries, devoted wholly or chiefly to books relating to america. among these, the most extensive and costly is john r. bartlett's catalogue of the library of j. carter brown, of providence, in four sumptuous volumes, with fac-similes of early title-pages, of which bibliography only fifty copies were printed. it is entitled, "bibliotheca americana: a catalogue of books relating to north and south america," - , vols. large vo., providence, - . the carter brown library is now the richest collection of americana in any private library in the world. among catalogues of libraries sold by auction, and composed largely of american books, are those of john a. rice, new york, : w. menzies, new york, : george brinley, in five volumes, sold to : henry c. murphy, new york, : s. l. m. barlow, new york, : and brayton ives, new york, . the wide field of bibliography of english literature has given birth to many books. only the more comprehensive can here be noted. r. watt's bibliotheca britannica, in four quarto volumes, edinburgh, , although now old, is still an indispensable work of reference, giving multitudes of titles of english books and pamphlets not found in any other bibliography. it of course abounds in errors, most of which have been copied in allibone's dictionary of english literature. this extensive work is a monument of labor, to which the industrious compiler devoted many years, dying of too intense study, at glasgow, at the early age of forty-five, in the year . the issue of the work in , being thus posthumous, its errors and omissions are largely accounted for by the author's inability to correct the press. the plan of the work is unique. vols. and contain the alphabet of authors and titles, with dates and publishers' prices when known. vols. and contain an alphabet of subjects, in which the titles re-appear, with a key alphabet in italic letters attached to each title, by which reference is made to the author-catalogue, at a fixed place, where all the works of the author are recorded. the work is printed in small type, with two crowded columns on a page, thus containing an enormous amount of matter. the key is quickly learned, and by its aid, and the alphabet of subjects, the librarian can find out the authors of many anonymous books. watt is the only general bibliography of english literature which gives most of the obscure writers and their works. lowndes' bibliographer's manual of english literature, in its second edition, enlarged by h. g. bohn, is a most indispensable bibliography. this work is arranged alphabetically by authors' names, and aims to record all important books published in great britain, from the earliest times to about a. d. . it is in eleven parts, or vols. mo. of very portable size, lond., - . while it gives collations of the more important works, with publishers and dates, it fails to record many editions of the same work. its quoted prices represent the original publisher's price, with very frequent additions of the sale prices obtained at book auctions. the chief defect of lowndes' manual is its total lack of any index of subjects. s. austin allibone's "critical dictionary of english literature," philadelphia, - , volumes, with supplement by john f. kirk, in vols., philadelphia, , is a copious reference book, which, in spite of its many errors and crudities, should be in all libraries. it contains in abbreviated form most of the titles in watt and lowndes, with the addition of american authors, and of british books published since the period covered by lowndes. the three volumes of allibone accompany the titles of works by noted authors with many critical remarks, copied mostly from reviews and literary journals. this feature of the book, which makes it rather a work of literary history and criticism than a bibliography pure and simple, has been dropped in mr. kirk's supplement, which thus becomes properly a bibliography. the publications of england and america, from about to , are more fully chronicled in this work of kirk than in any other bibliography. the important "english catalogue of books," from a. d. to , in vols., with its valuable index of subjects, in vols., from up to , is so constantly useful as to be almost indispensable in a public library. it records, in provokingly brief one-line titles, with publisher's name, year of issue, and price, all books published in great britain whose titles could be secured. it thus subserves the same purpose for english publications, which the american catalogue fulfills for those of the united states. both are in effect greatly condensed bibliographies, enabling the librarian to locate most of the published literature in the english language for many years back. the english catalogue, from to date, is supplemented by its annual issues, entitled "the english catalogue of books for ," etc. i have said that accuracy should be one of the cardinal aims of the librarian: and this because in that profession it is peculiarly important. bibliography is a study which approaches very nearly to the rank of an exact science; and the practice of it, in application to the daily work of the librarian, is at once a school of accuracy, and a test of ability. a habit of analytical methods should be assiduously cultivated, without which much time will be lost in fruitless searches in the wrong books to find what one wants. as a single illustration of this need of method, suppose that you want to find the title of a certain book with its full description, a want likely to occur every hour in the day, and sometimes many times an hour. the book is perhaps sir walter scott's life of napoleon,-- vols., london, , and your object is to trace its title, published price, etc., among the numerous bibliographies of literature. you begin by a simple act of analysis--thus. this is a london, not an american book--hence it is useless to look in any american catalogue. it is written in english, so you are dispensed from looking for it in any french or other foreign bibliography. its date is , london. therefore among the three leading english reference books in bibliography, which are watt's bibliotheca britannica, lowndes' bibliographer's manual, and the english catalogue, you at once eliminate the former as not containing the book. why do you do this? because watt's great work, in four huge quartos, though invaluable for the early english literature, stops with books published before the date of its issue, . your book is published in , and of course could not appear in a catalogue of . shall you refer then to the english catalogue for its title? no, because the five volumes of that useful work (though some imperfect book lists were published earlier), begin with the year , and the book you seek bears date of . you are then reduced, by this simple process of analyzing in your mind the various sources of information, and rejecting all except one, namely lowndes' bibliographer's manual, to a search in a single catalogue for your title. this simplifies matters greatly, and saves all the time which might otherwise have been lost in hunting fruitlessly through several works of reference. lowndes' invaluable manual was published in , and though a second edition, edited by bohn, appeared thirty years later, it does not contain books published after that date, unless they are later editions of works issued earlier. you find in it your scott's napoleon, date , with its published price, £ . . , and an account of other later editions of the book. of course you will observe that it is necessary to know what period of years is covered by the various bibliographies, and to carry those dates perpetually in your memory, in order thus to simplify searches, and save time. once learned, you will have the comfort of knowing where to turn for light upon any book, and the faculty of accurate memory will reward the pains taken to acquire it. i must not omit to include, in noting the more useful and important english bibliographies, the very copious list of works appended to each biography of british writers, in the new "dictionary of national biography," lond., - . this extensive work is nearly finished in about volumes, and constitutes a rich thesaurus of information about all british authors, except living ones. living characters, considered notable, and brief note of their books, are recorded in "men and women of the time," th ed. london, --but this book, although highly useful, is far from being a bibliography. i should not omit to mention among useful librarians' aids, the "book prices current; record of prices at which books have been sold at auction." this london publication began with the year . no sales are reported of books bringing less than one pound sterling. the book-sales of were reported in of this issue, and the book is published in each case the next year. the similar catalogue entitled "american book prices current" was begun with , being compiled from the sale catalogues of american auctioneers, for that year, and the prices brought at auction in new york, boston, philadelphia, and chicago, are recorded for all notable books, but limited to works bringing as much as $ or upward. five years' reports, in as many volumes, have now been issued, and the publication is to be continued. its utility of course consists in informing librarians or collectors of the most recent auction values of books. at the same time, a word of caution is required, since it is not safe to judge of average commercial values, from any isolated bid at an auction sale. a very useful classed catalogue, published by the british museum library, and edited by g. k. fortescue, an assistant librarian, is the so-called "subject-index to modern works," of which three volumes have appeared, beginning with the accessions of - , each covering five years additions of new works, in all european languages, to that library. the third volume embraces the years to , and appeared in . as this is not confined to works in english, it should be classed with universal bibliography. as containing most of the latest books of any note, all three volumes are important aids to research. they are printed in large type, in which it is a refreshment to the eye to read titles, after the small and obscure print of watt's bibliotheca britannica, and the but little better type of lowndes' manual, and of the english catalogue. a collation of pages is also added in most cases, and the importance of this can hardly be overrated. these catalogues of the british museum library abound in pamphlets, english, french, german, italian, etc., evincing how large a share of attention is given to the minor literature coming from the press in the more recent years. w. h. d. adams's "dictionary of english literature," london, , and later, in a compact volume, gives authors and titles of the more important english and american books. also, in the same alphabet, an index to the titles, as well as authors, by the first word, and to many sayings or quotations, with their original sources. it is a highly useful book, although its small bulk leaves it far from being a comprehensive one. chambers' cyclopaedia of english literature, in vols., london, , has an account of the most notable british writers, with specimens of their works, and forms what may be termed an essential part of the equipment of every public library. the library association of the united kingdom, since , the date of its organization, has published transactions and proceedings; also, since , "the library," a periodical with bibliographical information. it may be noted, without undue expression of pride, that america first set the example of an organized national association of librarians (founded in ) followed the same year by a journal devoted to library interests. that extremely useful periodical, the _library journal_, is now in its twenty-fourth volume. its successive issues have contained lists of nearly all new bibliographical works and catalogues published, in whatever language. the london publisher's circular, first established in , is a weekly organ of the book-publishing trade, aiming to record the titles of all british publications as they appear from the press. it gives, in an alphabet by authors' names, the titles in much abbreviated form, with publisher, size in inches, collation, price, and date, with a fairly good index of titles or subjects, in the same alphabet. covering much the same ground, as a publishers' periodical, is "the bookseller," issued monthly since , with lists of the new issues of the british press, and critical notices. in addition to the english catalogue, there is the extensive whitaker's "reference catalogue of current literature," published every year, which now makes two large volumes, and embraces the trade catalogues of english publishers, bound up in alphabetical order, with a copious index, by authors and titles, in one alphabet, prefixed. while on english bibliographies, i must note the important work on local history, by j. p. anderson, "book of british topography," london, . this gives, in an alphabet of counties, titles of all county histories or descriptive works of england, scotland, ireland, and wales, followed in each county by a list of town histories or topographical works. the arrangement under each town is chronological. its only want is a collation of the books. british genealogy, or the history of families, is treated bibliographically in g. w. marshall's "the genealogist's guide," london, , which gives an alphabet of family names, with references in great detail to county and town histories, pedigrees, heralds' visitations, genealogies, etc., all over great britain, in which any family is treated. the wide field of foreign bibliography, by countries, cannot here be entered upon, nor can i now treat of the still more extensive range of works devoted to the bibliography of various subjects. index. access to shelves, - accuracy, rarity of, - adams (o. f.) dictionary of american authors, adams (w. h. d.) dictionary of english literature, administration, faculty of, advertising, library, - aids to readers, - alexandrian library, , allibone (s. a.) critical dictionary of english literature, - alphabeting titles, , - american book prices, current, - , american catalogue, - , - american library association catalogue of , books, , foundation of, list of novelists, on open shelves, on size-notation, americana, bibliographies of, - rare, - what are, anderson (j. p.) book of british topography, arabic figures, art of reading, - art, lesson from, assistants in libraries appointment of, - qualifications of, - regulations for, - astor library, n. y., , mutilation in, , auction sales, - , - , authorship, - bad books, - , - bartlett (j. r.) catalogue of j. carter brown library, bay psalm book, beckford library sale, , - beecher (h. w.) on books, bibliography, - accessibility of, - bibliographies of, - classification of, - definition of, earliest american, early works in, no full american, of american publications, - selection of works in, binding of books, - , - colors in, desiderata in, how a bibliomaniac binds, importance of, lettering titles, , - machine methods, - marbling and gilding, - , materials for, rebinding methods, biography, - , discrepancies in, - living characters, blake (a. v.) american booksellers' trade-list catalogue, boccaccio of , sale of, bolton (h. c.) catalogue of scientific and technical periodicals, book binding, - , - book buying, - book covering, book-marks, book plates, - , - book prices current, - , - american, - , book shops, second hand, - , book supports, , book worms, books, cheap and poor editions of, books, choice of, - books for public libraries, selection of, - , books of reference, , - books, three classes of, books which have helped me, books,--_see_ reading bores, how to treat, boston athenaeum library, , early pamphlets in, boston public library, appointments in, languages demanded, bowker (r. r.) american catalogue, - publishers' weekly, british museum library appointments in, catalogue of, - , its defects, classification, mutilation in, - trustees of, brown (j. carter) library of americana, brunet (j. c.) manuel du libraire, bry (de) voyages, , buildings, library, - cost of, light in, location of, - many mistakes in, materials for, periodical room, shelving, bulwer-lytton (e. l.) writings of, , burnham (t. o. h. p.), bury, richard de, buying of books, - methods of, - calf binding, campbell (john), capitals, how to be used in catalogues, , card catalogue system, its defects, - how obviated, - cards, for catalogues, carlyle (thomas) life of cromwell, on librarians, on reading, carnegie (andrew) gifts to libraries, catalogue of all books printed in the u. s. , - catalogues, - abridging titles, - accession, auction, - card system for, chronology of authors, , , classed, - , collations in, cross references, cutter's rules for, deficiencies of american, - dictionary, - , - english, , errors in, - , imprints, how given, kinds of, of british museum library, - , printing, advantages of, - rules for, - sale, value of, - , shelf, size-notation in, - use of capitals in, , caxton's press, books, census of wealth, futility of, - chambers' cyclopaedia of english literature, children's books, , reading-rooms, - choice of books, - , , chronology of authors, , classic authors, classification of books, - application of, bibliothèque nationale, system of, british museum, system of, brunet's system of, close classification, - conflict of systems, - crunden's verses on, cutter, system of, dewey, system of, fletcher, system of, fixed shelf location, library of congress, system of, cleaning books, - , - clergymen, some book-abusing, , cleveland public library fiction experience, methods of selections, cogswell (j. g.), collation, , collier, j. payne, as a cataloguer, congressional library--_see_ library of congress copy tax, origin of, rationale of, , copyright and libraries, - aggregate copyrights entered, and library of congress, - books not entered, duration of, foundation of, , history of, in the constitution, international, why, - origin of, perpetual, , provisions of, counting a library, , courtesy, in libraries, , croton bug, crowding of books on shelves, - crunden (f. m.) verses on classification, cutter (c. a.) boston athenaeum catalogue, classification, rules for catalogue, sabin's bibliotheca americana, cutting edges, - , damage to books, _see_ injuries damp, an enemy of books, dates, errors in, - dates of books, ancient expression of, - decimal system, , denis (f.) nouveau manuel de bibliographie, - dewey (melvil) classification, remark by, dictionary catalogues, - , - dictionary of national biography, , dime novels, , documents (u. s. public) catalogues, dogs-earing books, "dont's," list of proper warnings, duplicates in libraries, , - durrie (d. s.) bibliographia genealogica americana, dust, in libraries, - to remove from books, duyckink's cyclopaedia of american literature, eames (w.) continuation of sabin's bibliotheca americana, editions, to be always noted, first, , , education, , - egypt, libraries of, - elzevirs, , emerson (r. w.) cited, , encyclopaedia britannica, scope and limitations of, , - , enemies of books, - english catalogue, - , , uses dictionary form, errors in books, - , in librarians, - essays, , facsimile reproduction, - fiction, , - , fires, in libraries, - , , destruction of books by, - first editions, , , fletcher (w. i.), classification, index to periodicals, force (peter) historical library of, rich in pamphlets, formation of libraries, - franklin (b.) collections of frankliniana, his manuscripts, on philadelphia library, french language, need of, - , furnishings of libraries, gas, an enemy of books, genealogy, bibliographies of, - , george iv, library of, georgi (t.) allgemeines europäisches bücher-lexikon, gesner (c.) bibliotheca universalis, gould (jay) history of delaware county, n. y., gowans (william), graesse, trésor des livres rares et précieux, grangerising, greece, libraries of, - griffin (a. p. c.) indexes of american local history, grolier bindings, , grolier club, n. y., , growoll (a.) book trade bibliography in the u. s., publishers' weekly, hain (l.) repertorium bibliographicum, halliwell-phillipps (j. o.), privately printed books, harris (w. t.) experience with memory, harrisse (h.) bibliotheca americana, harvard university library, haven (s. f.) catalogue of american publications, - , heat, an enemy of books, heber library, helps to readers, - history, - , of libraries, - (local) bibliography, , homer, , , horace, perfection of his odes, humboldt (baron von), humors of the library, - hurst (j. f.) on choice books, illustrated books, , , , - immoral books, , , index expurgatorius, , indexes, use of, - how to make, - substitutes for, injuries to books, _see_ crowding, cutting, dogs-earing, enemies, ink, margins, mutilations, soiling, tracing, torn leaves ink, use of, how removed, - inquiries, innumerable, - international copyright, - iron construction, jöcher (c. g.) allgemeines gelehrten-lexikon, juvenile books, , , kelly (j.) american catalogue, - , khayyam (omar), kirk (j. f.) supplement to allibone, - , la bedoyère, french revolution collection, labelling books, - ladies' reading-rooms, languages, foreign, - la serna de santander, dictionnaire bibliographique, law books, binding, letters, - leypoldt (f.) books of all time, librarian a constant aid, ancient idea of, as an author, - as preserver and restorer of books, - benefits to, of inquiries, high standard for, indispensable, how to become, , intercourse with readers, librarian's dream, qualifications of, - accuracy, business habits, , courtesy, , energy and industry, foreign languages, - good temper, habits of order, - health, impartial liberality, - knowledge of books, love of his work, patience inexhaustible, sound common sense, tact unfailing, reserve in recommending books, "who reads is lost," , woes of a, - librarianship, attractions of, , - drawbacks attending, - opens avenues to growth, school of human nature, libraries, ancient, of clay, - and copyright, - and schools, , and universities, , annual reports of, - catalogues of, - classification of, - exaggeration of volumes in, - formation of, - founded by individual gift, - history of, - historical, list of, over , vols., - mercantile, monastic, - picture of ancient, poetry of, - professional, prompt service in, - readers in, , - special report on, , state libraries, - statistics of american, subscription libraries, ten largest, travelling libraries, - uses of, - library, how to count a, , library, humors of the, library, poetry of the, library advertising, - library association of united kingdom, library buildings and furnishings, - _see_ buildings library bulletins, library commissioners, library committees, - , library donations, library journal, n. y., - , library laws (state), , library of congress and copyright books, - , appointments in, joint committee on, our national conservatory of books, - restriction of mss. and rare books, sketch of its history, - library regulations, - , - library reports, library science schools, library trustees or boards of managers, - literature, history of, - loudon (a.) history of indian wars, lowndes (w. t.) bibliographer's manual, macaulay (t. b.) memory, maittaire (m.) annales typographici, marbling, margins, writing or marking on, , - , mazarin bible, , memory, the faculty of, - attention and association, its corner-stones, - cardinal qualification of a librarian, - discursive reading impairs it, - improvement of, - intuitive memory, local memory, verbal memory, migne (j. p. _abbé_) patrologie, milton, , , , , mnemonic systems, - morocco binding, morris (william) kelmscott press, mutilation of books, , - penal laws for, - posting offenders, new hampshire library law, newspapers, _see_ periodicals new york mercantile library, selections for, new york public library, notation of book sizes, of book dates, , novels, _see_ fiction nuremberg chronicle, omar (caliph) sentence imputed to, , , omniscience, no human, open shelves, - american library association on, an open question, benefits of, - , evils of, - international library conference on, - opinions on books, ostend manifesto, - pamphlets, literature of, - binding of, - british museum, wealth in, , classification of, , definitions of, dignity and power of, embarrassments of, great works printed as, how to acquire, la bedoyère collection of, peter force, collection of, swift disappearance of, thomason collection of, panzer (g. w.) annales typographici, parchment, peignot (g.) repertoire bibliographique universelle, dictionnaire des livres condamnés, periodicals, literature of, - binding of, - cardinal importance of, - , , , check list for, compared with books, completeness of, - continuous reading of impairs the memory, indexes to, - lettering by poole index, limited library circulation, - newspapers abuses of, destruction of, filing for readers' use, library notices in, - mutilation of, number of, , over-reading of, , percentage of, to books, syndicate publication, value of, - perkins (f. b.) check-list for american local history, petzholdt (j.) bibliotheca bibliographica, philadelphia library company's library, - philadelphia mercantile library fire, - phillipps (sir t.) privately printed books, plato, reading of, , plutarch's lives, , poetical quotations, , - poetry, - , poetry of the library, - politics in libraries, poole (w. f.) plan of library building, on ladies' reading-rooms, poole's indexes to periodical literature, poor richard's almanac, pratt institute library, thefts in, preparation for the shelves, - press, the, and the library, - prices of books, , - , - , - , - privately printed books, - , problems, insoluble, - pseudonyms, - publishers' circular (london), publishers' weekly, n. y., qualifications of librarians, - questions asked, innumerable, , , - quotations, search for, , rare books, , , , - causes of rarity, - mere age not a cause, readers, aids to, - classification of, - , - , , - favoritism among, limitations of aid, , reading, art of, - best, not the latest, - choice of, - , - , - formative power of, - passion for, - inspiration of, - librarian's, , - , methods of, - , - the literal, the intuitive, novel reading, over-much reading of newspapers, , perils of too great absorption in, - pleasures of, - reading aloud, - , taste in, time to read, reading rooms, reclamation of books, - recommending books, to be done sparingly, , reference, books of, , - religion, questions about, , reports, librarians', - comprehensive, printing of, reserved books, - restoration and reclamation of books, - rich (o.) bibliotheca americana, roman libraries, roman numerals, , - roorbach (o. a.) bibliotheca americana, - , rubber bands, untrustworthy, rules, library, - call slips or tickets, circulation, limit, - done into verse, - hours, prompt service, - registration, vacations, rush (james) bequest to philadelphia library co., - ruskin on collecting books, russia binding, sabin (j.) bibliotheca americana, - school district libraries a failure, - schools and libraries, - science, books of, , scott's napoleon, bibliographical object-lesson, - second-hand book shops, - selection of books, - , _see_ choice of books shakespeare, , , , , sheep binding, shelves, library, access to, preparation of books for, shelves, open, - signatures, size-notation of books, - sizing paper, smith's historie of virginia, smithsonian institution collection in library of congress, copyright privilege of, soiling of books, how removed, spelling, facility in, stack system, , stamps in books, - , state libraries, - appointments in, stealing of books, _see_ thefts stedman (e. c.) library of american literature, stein (h.) manuel de bibliographie, - stevens (henry) characteristics of, , story (a) about stories, - style, importance of, - , sample of prose run mad, sunday-school books, syndicate publishing, - teaching, tennyson (alfred) early editions of poems, thackeray (w. m.) curious question of, thefts, book, , - leniency in case of, - methods of reclamation, - time, use of, - , - titles, abridgment of, - alphabeting of, - entry of, in catalogues, - headings of, lettering of, - , - use of capitals in, , , titles of novels, done into verse, - torn leaves, how repaired, tracing of maps or plates, travels, , tree calf binding, trübner (n.) bibliographical guide to american literature, trustees, boards of library, , - turner's illustrations, , ulster co. gazette, , universal catalogue, universities, use of the library to, - university libraries, uses of libraries, - vallée (l.) bibliographie des bibliographies, vellum binding, voyages, , walpole (horace) strawberry hill press, washing soiled books, , watt (r.) bibliotheca britannica, - wealth, all estimates of, futile, - winsor (justin) a prolific author, on librarians' instructions, woes of a librarian, - worcester, massachusetts, public library methods of selection, theft in, use of by schools, yale university library, books for authors authors and publishers [sidenote: authors and publishers] a manual of suggestions for beginners in literature comprising a description of publishing methods and arrangements, directions for the preparation of mss. for the press, explanations of the details of book-manufacturing, instructions for proof-reading, specimens of typography, the text of the united states copyright law, and information concerning international copyrights, together with general hints for authors. by g. h. p. and j. b. p. _seventh edition, re-written with additional material._ _ °, gilt top_ _net, $ . _ chief contents part i.--publishing arrangements--books published at the risk and expense of the publisher--books published for the account of the author, _i. e._, at the author's risk and expense, or in which he assumes a portion of the investment--publishing arrangements for productions first printed in periodicals or cyclopædias--the literary agent--authors' associations--advertising--on securing copyright. part ii.--the making of books--composition--electrotyping--presswork--bookbinding--illustrations. "full of valuable information for authors and writers. . . . a most instructive and excellent manual."--george wm. curtis in _harper's magazine_. "this handy and useful book is written with perfect fairness and abounds in hints which writers will do well to 'make a note of.' . . . there is a host of other matters treated succinctly and lucidly which it behoves beginners in literature to know, and we can recommend it most heartily to them."--_london spectator._ g. p. putnam's sons, new york and london by geo. haven putnam * * * * * authors and their public in ancient times a sketch of literary conditions and of the relations with the public of literary producers, from the earliest times to the fall of the roman empire. second edition, revised, °, gilt top, $ . . the book abounds in information, is written in a delightfully succinct and agreeable manner, with apt comparisons that are often humorous, and with scrupulous exactness to statement, and without a sign of partiality either from an author's or a publisher's point of view.--_new york times._ books and their makers during the middle ages a study of the conditions of the production and distribution of literature from the fall of the roman empire to the close of the seventeenth century. in two volumes, °, cloth extra (sold separately), each $ . vol. i., - --vol. ii., - . it is seldom that such wide learning, such historical grasp and insight, have been employed in their service.--_atlantic monthly._ it is a book to be studied rather than merely praised. . . . that its literary style is perfect is acceptable as a matter of course, and equally of course is it that the information it contains bears the stamp of historical verification.--_n. y. sun._ the question of copyright comprising the text of the copyright law of the united states, and a summary of the copyright laws at present in force in the chief countries of the world; together with a report of the legislation now pending in great britain, a sketch of the contest in the united states, - , in behalf of international copyright, and certain papers on the development of the conception of literary property and on the results of the american law of . second edition, revised, with additions, and with the record of legislation brought down to march, . °, gilt top, $ . . a perfect arsenal of facts and arguments, carefully elaborated and very effectively presented. . . . altogether it constitutes an extremely valuable history of the development of a very intricate right of property, and it is as interesting as it is valuable.--_n. y. nation._ * * * * * g. p. putnam's sons new york: west rd street. london: bedford st., strand. by moses coit tyler * * * * * a history of american literature during the colonial time new edition, revised, in two volumes. volume i.-- - . volume ii.-- - . each $ . . agawam edition, vols. in one. °, half leather, $ . . "in the execution of his work thus far, professor tyler has evinced a skill in the arrangement of his materials, and a masterly power of combination, which will at once place it in a very eminent rank among american historical compositions. it is not so much the history of a special development of literature, as a series of profound and brilliant studies on the character and genius of a people of whom that literature was the natural product. the work betrays acute philosophical insight, a rare power of historical research, and a cultivated literary habit, which was perhaps no less essential than the two former conditions, to its successful accomplishment. the style of the author is marked by vigor, originality, comprehensiveness, and a curious instinct in the selection of words. in this latter respect, though not in the moulding of sentences, the reader may perhaps be reminded of the choice and fragrant vocabulary of washington irving, whose words alone often leave an exquisite odor like the perfume of sweet-brier and arbutus."--george ripley, in _the tribune_. the literary history of the american revolution - two volumes, large octavo. sold separately. volume i.-- - . volume ii.-- - . each $ . . this work is the result of an altogether new and original treatment of the american revolution. the outward history of that period has been many times written, and is now, by a new school of american historians, being freshly re-written in the light of larger evidence, and after a more disinterested and judicial method. in the present work, for the first time in a systematic and complete way, is set forth the inward history of our revolution,--the history of its ideas, its spiritual moods, its passions, as these uttered themselves at the time in the writings of the two parties of americans who either promoted or resisted that great movement. three men of letters chapters in literary biography and criticism devoted to george berkeley, timothy dwight, and joel barlow. °, gilt top, $ . . "though more lengthy than most of the sketches in professor tyler's well-known 'history,' these monographs have much of the brevity of their original purpose; and they are marked by the same picturesqueness of treatment, the same vivacity of expression, and the same felicity of statement, that characterize the author's larger volumes."--_the nation._ * * * * * g. p. putnam's sons, new york and london. language. * * * * * some common errors of speech. suggestions for the avoiding of certain classes of errors, together with examples of bad and of good usage. by alfred g. compton, professor in college of the city of new york. ° $ . "the book calls up many interesting, not to say fascinating, lapses from strict grammar, and is very valuable. in its index expurgatorius will be found many surprises by the self-supposed learned."--_chicago times-herald._ a simple grammar of english now in use. by john earle, a.m., ll.d., professor of anglo-saxon, university of oxford, author of "english prose: its elements, history, and usage." ° $ . "the book is a clear, careful, and scholarly treatise on the english language and its use, rather than a work of science. it is a book that will be valuable to teachers and to students of language everywhere."--_washington times._ the english language and english grammar. an historical study of the sources, development, and analogies of the language, and of the principles covering its usages. illustrated by copious examples by writers of all periods. by samuel ramsey. ° $ . "mr. ramsey's work will appeal especially to those that desire to know something more about the history and philology, the growth and mistakes of their native tongue than is given in the ordinary text-books."--_baltimore sun._ orthometry. a treatise on the art of versification and the technicalities of poetry, with a new and complete rhyming dictionary. by r. f. brewer, b.a. °, pp. xv. + $ . "it is a good book for its purpose, lucid, compact, and well arranged. it lays bare, we believe, the complete anatomy of poetry. it affords interesting quotations, in the way of example, and interesting comments by distinguished critics upon certain passages from the distinguished poets."--_n. y. sun._ manual of linguistics. an account of general and english phonology. by john clark, a.m. °, pp. lxiii. + $ . "mr. clark has traced the english language back to its foundations in his work 'manual of linguistics.' it is an interesting theme, and his book will prove very useful for reference, for he has culled from many sources and gone over a wide territory."--_detroit free press._ composition in the school-room. a practical treatise. by e. galbraith. °, cloth $ . "the author has drawn fully from the best writers on the subject, and her book is an epitome of the best thought of all."--_boston transcript._ * * * * * g. p. putnam's sons, new york and london. transcriber's notes: . punctuation for abbreviations such as per cent., viz. has been standardised. . there are spelling inconsistencies in proper and place names as well as within accented characters and hyphenated words. these have been left as printed. . obvious punctuation errors have been corrected. . the remaining corrections are: page , "edinburg" changed to "edinburgh" page , "faciliate" changed to "facilitate" page , "conspiciously" changed to "conspicuously" page , "responsibile" changed to "responsible" page , "reasearches" changed to "researches" page , "adminstration" changed to "administration" page , "substracting" changed to "subtracting" page , "univeral" changed to "universal" page , "ieft" changed to "left" page , "pyschology" changed to "psychology" page , "polittics" changed to "politics" page , "at" changed to "as" page , "thus" changed to "this" page , "vocabularly" changed to "vocabulary" page , "columbiau" changed to "columbian" page , "approxmiately" changed to "approximately" page , "guaged" changed to "gauged" page , "duyckincks" changed to "duyckinck's" page , "meuzies" changed to "menzies" page , "i" changed to " " page , "pubished" changed to "published" page , "allgemeinas" changed to "allgemeines" a library primer john cotton dana third edition library bureau, chicago copyright, , by library bureau to samuel s. green, william i. fletcher, and charles a. cutter preface. a library primer was published in the first six numbers of public libraries in . it was quite largely made up of extracts from an article by dr w.f. poole on the organization and management of public libraries, which formed part of the report on public libraries in the u.s., published by the u.s. bureau of education in ; from w.i. fletcher's public libraries in america; from mary w. plummer's hints to small libraries; and from papers in the library journal and a.l.a. proceedings. at the request of a number of people interested i have revised, rewritten, and extended the original draft for publication in book form. additional material has been taken from many sources. i have tried to give credit in good measure. the prevailing tendency among librarians is to share ideas, to give to one another the benefit of all their suggestions and experiences. the result is a large fund of library knowledge which is common property. from this fund most of this book is taken. the library primer is what its name implies. it does not try to be exhaustive in any part of the field. it tries to open up the subject of library management for the small library, and to show how large it is and how much librarians have yet to learn and to do. the city library, j.c.d. springfield, mass. contents chapter page i, the beginnings--library law ii, preliminary work iii, what does a public library do for a community? iv, general policy of the library v, trustees vi, the librarian vii, the trained librarian viii, rooms, building, fixtures, furniture ix, things needed in beginning work x, the library bureau xi, selecting books xii, reference books for a small library xiii, reference work xiv, reading room xv, list of periodicals xvi, buying books xvii, ink and handwriting xviii, care of books xix, accessioning xx, classifying xxi, decimal classification xxii, expansive classification xxiii, author numbers or book marks xxiv, shelf list xxv, cataloging xxvi, preparing books for the shelf xxvii, binding and mending xxviii, pamphlets xxix, public documents xxx, checking the library xxxi, lists, bulletins, and printed catalogs xxxii, charging systems xxxiii, meeting the public xxxiv, the public library for the public xxxv, advice to a librarian xxxvi, the librarian as a host xxxvii, making friends for the library xxxviii, public libraries and recreation xxxix, books as useful tools xl, village library successfully managed xli, rules for the public xlii, rules for trustees and employés xliii, reports xliv, library legislation xlv, a.l.a. and other library associations xlvi, library schools and classes xlvii, library department of n.e.a. xlviii, young people and the schools xlix, how can the library assist the school? l, children's room li, schoolroom libraries lii, children's home libraries liii, literary clubs and libraries liv, museums, lectures, etc. lv, rules for the care of photographs library primer chapter i the beginnings--library law if the establishment of a free public library in your town is under consideration, the first question is probably this: is there a statute which authorizes a tax for the support of a public library? your state library commission, if you have one, will tell you if your state gives aid to local public libraries. it will also tell you about your library law. if you have no library commission, consult a lawyer and get from him a careful statement of what can be done under present statutory regulations. if your state has no library law, or none which seems appropriate in your community, it may be necessary to suspend all work, save the fostering of a sentiment favorable to a library, until a good law is secured. in chapters and will be found a list of state library commissions, important provisions in library laws, and the names of the states having the best library laws at present. before taking any definite steps, learn about the beginnings of other libraries by writing to people who have had experience, and especially to libraries in communities similar in size and character to your own. write to some of the new libraries in other towns and villages of your state, and learn how they began. visit several such libraries, if possible, the smaller the better if you are starting on a small scale. chapter ii preliminary work often it is not well to lay great plans and invoke state aid at the very outset. make a beginning, even though it be small, is a good general rule. this beginning, however petty it seems, will give a center for further effort, and will furnish practical illustrations for the arguments one may wish to use in trying to interest people in the movement. each community has different needs, and begins its library under different conditions. consider then, whether you need most a library devoted chiefly to the work of helping the schools, or one to be used mainly for reference, or one that shall run largely to periodicals and be not much more than a reading room, or one particularly attractive to girls and women, or one that shall not be much more than a cheerful resting-place, attractive enough to draw man and boy from street corner and saloon. decide this question early, that all effort may be concentrated to one end, and that your young institution may suit the community in which it is to grow, and from which it is to gain its strength. having decided to have a library, keep the movement well before the public. the necessity of the library, its great value to the community, should be urged by the local press, from the platform, and in personal talk. include in your canvass all citizens, irrespective of creed, business, or politics; whether educated or illiterate. enlist the support of teachers, and through them interest children and parents. literary, art, social, and scientific societies, chautauqua circles, local clubs of all kinds should be champions of the movement. in getting notices of the library's work in the newspapers, or in securing mention of it from the lecture platform, or in clubs, and literary, artistic, and musical societies, it is better to refrain from figures and to deal chiefly in general statements about what the library aims to do and what it has done. chapter iii what does a public library do for a community? and what good does a public library do? what is it for? ) it supplies the public with recreative reading. to the masses of the people--hard-worked and living humdrum lives--the novel comes as an open door to an ideal life, in the enjoyment of which one may forget, for a time, the hardships or the tedium of the real. one of the best functions of the public library is to raise this recreative reading of the community to higher and higher levels; to replace trash with literature of a better order. ) a proper and worthy aim of the public library is the supplying of books on every profession, art, or handicraft, that workers in every department who care to study may perfect themselves in their work. ) the public library helps in social and political education--in the training of citizens. it is, of course, well supplied with books and periodicals which give the thought of the best writers on the economic and social questions now under earnest discussion. ) the highest and best influence of the library may be summed up in the single word, culture. no other word so well describes the influence of the diffusion of good reading among the people in giving tone and character to their intellectual life. ) the free reading room connected with most of our public libraries, and the library proper as well, if it be rightly conducted, is a powerful agent for counteracting the attractions of saloons and low resorts. especially useful is it to those boys and young men who have a dormant fondness for reading and culture, but lack home and school opportunities. ) the library is the ever-ready helper of the school-teacher. it aids the work of reading circles and other home-culture organizations, by furnishing books required and giving hints as to their value and use; it adds to the usefulness of courses of lectures by furnishing lists of books on the subjects to be treated; it allies itself with university extension work; in fact, the extension lecture given in connection with the free use of a good library seems to be the ideal university of the people. the public library, then, is a means for elevating and refining the taste, for giving greater efficiency to every worker, for diffusing sound principles of social and political action, and for furnishing intellectual culture to all. the library of the immediate future for the american people is unquestionably the free public library, brought under municipal ownership, and, to some extent, municipal control, and treated as part of the educational system of the state. the sense of ownership in it makes the average man accept and use the opportunities of the free public library while he will turn aside from book privileges in any other guise. that the public library is a part of the educational system should never be lost sight of in the work of establishing it, or in its management. to the great mass of the people it comes as their first and only educational opportunity. the largest part of every man's education is that which he gives himself. it is for this individual, self-administered education that the public library furnishes the opportunity and the means. the schools start education in childhood; libraries carry it on. chapter iv suggestions as to general policy of the library in general, remember always ) that the public owns its public library, and ) that no useless lumber is more useless than unused books. people will use a library, not because, in others' opinions, they ought to, but because they like to. see to it, then, that the new library is such as its owner, the public, likes; and the only test of this liking is use. open wide the doors. let regulations be few and never obtrusive. trust american genius for self-control. remember the deference for the rights of others with which you and your fellows conduct yourselves in your own homes, at public tables, at general gatherings. give the people at least such liberty with their own collection of books as the bookseller gives them with his. let the shelves be open, and the public admitted to them, and let the open shelves strike the keynote of the whole administration. the whole library should be permeated with a cheerful and accommodating atmosphere. lay this down as the first rule of library management; and for the second, let it be said that librarian and assistants are to treat boy and girl, man and woman, ignorant and learned, courteous and rude, with uniform good-temper without condescension; never pertly. finally, bear in mind these two doctrines, tempering the one with the other: ) that the public library is a great educational and moral power, to be wielded with a full sense of its great responsibilities, and of the corresponding danger of their neglect or perversion; ) that the public library is not a business office, though it should be most business-like in every detail of its management; but is a center of public happiness first, of public education next. chapter v trustees [condensed from paper by c.c. soule] ) _size of the board_.--the library board should be small, in small towns not over three members. in cities a larger board has two advantages: it can include men exceptionally learned in library science, and it can represent more thoroughly different sections of the town and different elements in the population. ) _term of office_.--the board should be divided into several groups, one group going out of office each year. it would be wise if no library trustee could hold office for more than three successive terms of three years each. a library can, under this plan, keep in close touch with popular needs and new ideas. ) _qualifications_.--the ideal qualifications for a trustee of a public library--a fair education and love of books being taken for granted--are: sound character, good judgment, common sense, public spirit, capacity for work, literary taste, representative fitness. don't assume that because a man has been prominent in political business or social circles he will make a good trustee. capacity and willingness to work are more useful than a taste for literature without practical qualities. general culture and wide reading are generally more serviceable to the public library than the knowledge of the specialist or scholar. see that different sections of the town's interests are represented. let neither politics nor religion enter into the choice of trustees. ) _duties_.--the trustee of the public library is elected to preserve and extend the benefits of the library as the people's university. he can learn library science only by intelligent observation and study. he should not hold his position unless he takes a lively interest in the library, attends trustees' meetings, reads the library journals, visits other libraries than his own, and keeps close watch of the tastes and requirements of his constituency. his duties include the care of funds, supervision of expenditures, determination of the library's policy, general direction of choice and purchase of books, selection of librarian and assistants, close watch of work done, and comparison of the same with results reached in other libraries. a large board ordinarily transacts business through its chairman, secretary, treasurer, and one or more committees. it is doubtful if the librarian should act as secretary of the board. the treasurer, if he holds the funds in his hands, should always be put under bonds. it is well to have as many committees as can be actively employed in order to enlist the coöperation of all the trustees. the executive committee should take charge of the daily work of the library, of purchases, and of the care of the building; they should carry their duties as far as possible without assuming too much of the responsibility which properly belongs to the full board. it will be best to entrust the choice of books to a book committee appointed for that purpose purely. the finance committee should make and watch investments and see that purchases are made on most favorable terms. ) _relations with the librarian_.--the trustees are the responsible managers of the library; the librarian is their agent, appointed to carry out their wishes. if they have, however, a first-class librarian, the trustees ought to leave the management of the library practically to him, simply supplementing his ability without impeding it. they should leave to a librarian of good executive ability the selection, management, and dismissal of all assistants, the methods and details of library work, and the initiative in the choice of books. a wise librarian the trustees may very properly take into their confidence, and invite his presence at all meetings, where his advice would be of service. ) _other employés_.--efficiency of employés can best be obtained through application of the cardinal principles of an enlightened civil service, viz., absolute exclusion of all political and personal influence, appointment for definitely ascertained fitness, promotion for merit, and retention during good behavior. chapter vi the librarian if circumstances permit, the librarian should be engaged even before the general character of the library and plan of administration have been determined upon. if properly selected, he or she will be a person of experience in these matters, and will be able to give valuable advice. politics, social considerations, church sympathies, religious prejudices, family relationship--none of these should be allowed to enter into his selection. secure an efficient officer, even at what may seem at first a disproportionate expense. save money in other ways, but never by employing a forceless man or woman in the position of chief librarian. recent developments of schools of library economy, and recent rapid growth of public libraries throughout the country, have made it possible for any new library to secure good material for a librarian. if lack of funds or other conditions make it necessary to employ some local applicant, it will be wise to insist that that person, if not already conversant with library economy, shall immediately become informed on the subject. it will not be easy, it may not be possible, for trustees to inform themselves as to library organization and administration. they can, however, with very little difficulty, so far inform themselves as to be able to judge whether the person they select for their chief officer is taking pains to acquaint himself with the literature of the subject, or trying to get in touch with the knowledge and experience of others. they should not submit for a moment to ignorance or indifference on the part of their chosen administrator. success or failure of a library, as of a business, depends on the ability of the man or woman at its head, and only trained men and women should be in charge. the business of the librarian is a profession, and a practical knowledge of the subject is never so much needed as in starting a new enterprise. the librarian should have culture, scholarship, and executive ability. he should keep always in advance of his community, and constantly educate it to make greater demands upon him. he should be a leader and a teacher, earnest, enthusiastic, and intelligent. he should be able to win the confidence of children, and wise to lead them by easy steps from good books to the best. he has the greatest opportunity of any teacher in the community. he should be the teacher of teachers. he should make the library a school for the young, a college for adults, and the constant center of such educational activity as will make wholesome and inspiring themes the burden of the common thought. he should be enough of a bookworm to have a decided taste and fondness for books, and at the same time not enough to be such a recluse as loses sight of the point of view of those who know little of books. as the responsible head of the institution, he should be consulted in all matters relating to its management. the most satisfactory results are obtained in those libraries where the chief librarian is permitted to appoint assistants, select books, buy supplies, make regulations, and decide methods of cataloging, classifying, and lending; all subject to the approval of the trustees. trustees should impose responsibility, grant freedom, and exact results. to the librarian himself one may say: be punctual; be attentive; help develop enthusiasm in your assistants; be neat and consistent in your dress; be dignified but courteous in your manner. be careful in your contracts; be square with your board; be concise and technical; be accurate; be courageous and self-reliant; be careful about acknowledgments; be not worshipful of your work; be careful of your health. last of all, be yourself. chapter vii the trained librarian in a small library julia a. hopkins, of the rochester (n.y.) public library, in public libraries, december, the value of training for the man or woman who shall take charge of a large city library is now so firmly established that no one thinks of discussing the question. if it is true that technical training is essential for the headship of a large library, why is it not equally necessary for that of a small library? trained service is always of greater value than untrained service, be the sphere great or small. if a woman argued from the standpoint that, because the house she was to take charge of had only seven rooms instead of twenty she needed to know nothing of cooking, sweeping, and the other details of household work, i am afraid that her house and her family would suffer for her ignorance. so in many departments of library work the accident of size makes little or no difference; the work is precisely the same. the difference lies in the fact that the head of a large library oversees and directs the work done by others, where the village librarian must, in many cases, do all of the work himself. in the distinctly professional duties, such as the ordering, classifying, and cataloging of books, there is a difference only in amount between the greater and the less. and it is precisely these professional duties of which the person untrained in library work is in most cases wofully ignorant. it is inevitable that in starting a library there should be some mistakes made; but with a trained librarian in charge, these mistakes will be fewer in number. for example, what does the novice know of classification? he realizes that the books, for convenience in use, must be grouped in classes. if he has had the use of a good library (as a college student would) he has some idea as to how the class divisions are made, and knows also that there must be some sort of notation for the classes. necessity being the mother of invention, he contrives some plan for bringing together books on the same subject. but with the addition of books to the library and the demand which growth makes, he finds that constant changes have to be made in order to get books into their right places; and then some day he awakens to the fact that there is some perfectly well-known and adopted system of classification which will answer all his purposes, and be a great deal more satisfactory in its adaptability to the needs of his library than the one he has been struggling to evolve. then he exclaims in despair: if i had only known of that at the beginning! he feels that the hours which he has spent in rearranging his books, taking them out of one class and putting them into another, although hours of such hard work, are in reality so many hours of wasted time. and he is right; for every minute spent in unnecessary work is so much lost time. not only that, but it is unnecessary expense, and one of the most important things which a small library has to consider is economy. is it not of value to the library that its librarian should know how best to expend the money given him to use? that he should not have to regret hours of time lost over useless experiments? surely if training teaches a librarian a wise expenditure of money and an economy of time, then training must be valuable. chapter viii rooms, building, fixtures, furniture the trustees will be wise if they appoint their librarian before they erect a building, or even select rooms, and leave these matters largely to him. they should not be in haste to build. as a rule it is better to start in temporary quarters, and let the building fund accumulate while trustees and librarian gain experience, and the needs of the library become more definite. plans should be made with the future enlargement of the building in view; libraries increase more rapidly than is generally supposed. rooms of peculiar architecture are not required for the original occupation and organization of a library. the essential requirements are a central location, easy access, ample space, and sufficient light. the library and the reading room should be, if possible, on the same floor. make the exterior attractive, and the entrance inviting. in arranging the rooms, or building, plan from the first, as already suggested, to permit visitors to go to the books themselves. a collection of the printed matter on library architecture should be carefully studied by both trustees and librarian before any plans are made. while no specific plan can be recommended that would suit all cases, there are a few general rules that meet with the approval of the library profession as a whole. they maybe thus summed up, following in the main a paper on the subject by c.c. soule: "a library building should be planned for library work. every library building should be planned especially for the kind of work to be done, and the community to be served. the interior arrangement ought to be planned before the exterior is considered. no convenience of arrangement should be sacrificed for mere architectural effect. the plan should be adapted to probabilities and possibilities of growth and development. simplicity of decoration is essential in the working rooms and reading rooms. the building should be planned with a view to economical administration. the rooms for public use should be so arranged as to allow complete supervision with the fewest possible attendants. there should be throughout as much natural light as possible. windows should extend up to the ceiling, to light thoroughly the upper part of every room. windows in a book room should be placed opposite the intervals between bookcases. in a circulating library the books most in use should be shelved in floor cases close to the delivery desk. a space of at least five feet should be left between floor cases. (if the public is excluded, three feet is ample.) no shelf, in any form of bookcase, should be higher than a person of moderate height can reach without a stepladder. shelving for folios and quartos should be provided in every book room. straight flights are preferable to circular stairs. the form of shelving which is growing in favor is the arrangement of floor cases in large rooms with space between the tops of the bookcases and the ceiling for circulation of air and the diffusion of light. modern library plans provide accommodations for readers near the books they want to use whatever system of shelving is adopted. single shelves should not be more than three feet long, on account of the tendency to sag. ten inches between shelves, and a depth of eight inches, are good dimensions for ordinary cases. shelves should be made movable and easily adjustable. many devices are now in the market for this purpose, several of which are good." don't cut up your library with partitions unless you are sure they are absolutely necessary. leave everything as open as possible. a light rail will keep intruders out of a private corner, and yet will not shut out light, or prevent circulation of air, or take away from the feeling of openness and breadth the library room ought to have. for interior finish use few horizontal moldings; they make traps for dust. use such shades at the windows as will permit adjustment for letting in light at top or bottom, or both. the less ornamentation in the furniture the better. a simple pine or white-wood table is more dignified and easier kept clean than a cheaply carved one of oak. but get solid, honestly-made, simple furniture of oak or similar wood, if funds permit. arm-chairs are not often desirable. they take up much room, are heavy to move, and are not easy to get in and out of at a table. in many cases simple stools on a single iron standard, without a revolving top, fastened to the floor, are more desirable than chairs. the loafer doesn't like them; very few serious students object to them. a stack room for small libraries is not advisable. don't crowd your cases close together unless it is absolutely necessary. an excellent form of wooden case is one seven feet high, with shelves three feet long and seven and a half inches wide, supported on iron pegs. the pegs fit into a series of holes bored one inch apart in the sides of the case, thus making the shelves adjustable. these pegs can be bought in the market in several shapes. the shelves have slots cut in the under side at the ends to hold the projecting ends of the pegs, thus giving no obstructions to the free movement of the books. with some forms of pegs the slots are not needed. the uprights are made of inch and a half stuff, or even inch and an eighth. the shelves are inch stuff, finished to seven-eighths of an inch. the backs are half inch stuff, tongued and grooved and put in horizontally. this case-unit ( ' x ' x ") may be doubled or trebled, making cases six and nine feet long; or it may be made double-faced. if double-faced, and nine feet long, it will hold about a thousand books of ordinary size when full. it is often well to build several of your cases short and with a single front--wall cases--as they are when in this form more easily adjusted to the growing needs of the library. a library can never do its best work until its management recognizes the duty and true economy of providing skilled assistants, comfortable quarters, and the best library equipment of fittings and supplies. for cases, furniture, catalog cases, cards, trays, and labor-saving devices of all kinds, consult the catalog of the library bureau. very many libraries, even the smallest, find it advantageous to use for book cases what are known as "steel stacks." the demand for these cases has been so great from libraries, large and small, that shelving made from a combination of wood and steel has been very successfully adapted to this use, and at a price within the reach of all libraries. one of the principal advantages in buying such "steel stack" shelving, with parts all interchangeable, is that in the rearrangement of a room, or in moving into a new room or a new building, it can be utilized to advantage, whereas the common wooden book cases very generally cannot. chapter ix things needed in beginning work--books, periodicals, and tools the books and other things included in the following list--except those starred or excepted in a special note, the purchase of which can perhaps be deferred until the library contains a few thousand volumes--are essential to good work, and should be purchased, some of them as soon as a library is definitely decided upon, the others as soon as books are purchased and work is actually begun. i. books *american catalog of books in print from - , v. with annual supplement. the publishers' weekly, n.y. several of the volumes are out of print. all are expensive. they are not needed by the very small library. the recent years of the annual volumes are essential. card catalog rules; accessions-book rules; shelf-list rules; library bureau, , $ . . these are called the library school rules. catalog of a.l.a. library; v. for a popular library, selected by the american library association, and shown at the world's columbian exhibition, washington, . sent free from the united states bureau of education. *english catalog, - , v., with annual supplement. the annual supplements for recent years are needed by the small library; the others are not. five thousand books, an easy guide to books in every department. compiled for the ladies' home journal, . curtis publishing company, philadelphia, pa. paper, cents. out of print, but can probably be found second-hand. fletcher, w.i. public libraries in america, . roberts bros., boston, $ . library bureau catalog, containing list of library tools, fittings, and appliances of all kinds, . to be obtained of the library bureau, chicago, madison st.; boston, atlantic ave.; new york, broadway; philadelphia, n. broad st.; washington, f st., n.w. plummer, m.w. hints to small libraries, . truslove & comba, n.y., cents. public library handbook, by the public library, denver, . out of print. publishers' trade list annual, , v. . office of the publishers' weekly, n.y., $ . catalogs of all important american publishers bound together in one volume. reference catalog of current literature, . catalogs of english publishers, bound in one volume and indexed. j. whitaker & sons, london, $ . rules for an author and title catalog, condensed. see cutter, rules for a dictionary catalog, , p. - . sent from the united states bureau of education, washington, free. these are the rules adopted by the american library association. *sonnenschein, w.s. best books, readers' guide, . sonnenschein, london, $ . gives author, title, publisher and price of about , carefully selected and carefully classified books. sonnenschein, w.s. reader's guide to contemporary literature ( , v.), supplement to best books, . sonnenschein, london, $ . . *subject headings for use in dictionary catalogs, library bureau, , $ . in a small library this is not needed, but it will save trouble to get it. lawrence, i. classified reading. a list with publishers and prices of books for the school, the library, and the home, . normal school, st cloud, minn., $ . . iles, george. list of books for girls and women and their clubs, . library bureau, $ . world's library congress, papers prepared for, held at world's columbian exposition, chicago, . united states bureau of education, washington, d.c., free. covers very fully the entire field of library economy. ii. periodicals book news, monthly. wanamaker, philadelphia, cents. (book reviews.) dial, semi-monthly, adams st., chicago, $ . (book reviews, notes and essays.) literature, weekly. harper & bros., n.y., $ . (current english and american literature.) nation, weekly. new york, $ . (book reviews, art, politics.) publishers' weekly, the american book trade journal, duane st., n.y., $ . (lists nearly all american and best english books as published.) library journal, monthly, $ a year, duane st., new york. this is the official organ of the american library association. public libraries, monthly, $ a year, madison st., chicago. presents library methods in a manner especially helpful to small libraries. new york times saturday review of books and art. the times, n.y., $ . monthly cumulative book index. an author, title, and subject index to the books published during the current year, brought up to date in one alphabet each month. morris & wilson, minneapolis, minn., $ . iii. other things accession book. see catalog of the library bureau. for a very small library a common blank-book will do. agreement blanks, which the borrower signs before getting his borrower's card giving him the right to use the library. see chapter on charging systems. book cards. see chapter on charging systems, and library bureau catalog. book pockets. see library bureau catalog, and also chapter on charging systems. borrowers' cards. given to borrowers as evidence of their right to draw books. see chapter on charging systems. borrowers' register, best kept on cards. see chapter on charging systems. catalog cards. these are of two sizes and many thicknesses. select what suits you. see library bureau catalog. catalog case. see library bureau catalog. for a very small library a few japanned tin trays will serve. but your catalog will grow faster than you suppose. cole size card; a sheet marked in such a way as to give one at a glance the proper letter to use in indicating the size of any book placed on it. see library bureau catalog. in a very small library not needed. classification scheme. see chapters on classification. cutter author table for book numbers. see chapter on book numbers. for a very small library one can use numbers only. daters and ink pads for dating borrowers' cards, etc. the pencil daters are best. see chapter on charging systems. ink. for all outside labels use higgins' american drawing ink, waterproof. for book cards, borrowers' cards, etc., use any good black, non-copying ink. carter's fluid is very good. labels. round ones are best and those ready gummed do well if carefully put on. dennison's " a" are good. paste. binder's paste is good; for library use it needs thinning. higgins' photo mounter and other like bottled pastes are better. rubber stamps and ink pad for marking books with name of library. see chapter on preparing books for the shelves. shelf list cards. see library bureau catalog. shelf list sheets (or cards). see library bureau catalog. in a very small library sheets of ordinary ruled writing paper will serve. it is better, however, to get the right thing at the start. chapter x the relation of the library bureau to libraries geo. b. meleney, ch. mgr., in public libraries, may, the consideration of the relations of the library bureau to libraries brings us back to the organization of the american library association in . at this gathering of the prominent librarians of the country, the discussion of methods brought out the lack of unanimity in, and the need of coöperation for, a uniform system in the various branches of library work. to carry out uniform methods requires uniform material, and this was hard to obtain. the american library association as such, of course, could not take up a business venture of this kind, but it was decided to advise an organization for keeping on sale such supplies and library aids as the association might decide were needed. the library bureau was then organized for this purpose, and has continued to keep the same relation toward the library association as was originally intended. referring to the numbers of the library bureau catalogs, one may trace the history of the development not only of the appliances furnished by the library bureau, but also of ideas of library economy as they are gathered there from every source. it confined its attention at first to libraries only, the business being divided into four departments: employment, to bring together libraries and librarians; consultation, to give expert advice on any phase of any library question; publication, to publish the various needed helps (from point of usefulness to libraries rather than profit to publishers); supply, to furnish at lower prices all articles recommended by the a.l.a., and to equip any library with best known devices in everything needful. among the things noticed in these departments are catalog cards, cases, trays, and outfits, book supports, blanks, book pockets, boxes, desks, inks, etc. some specialties are noted in library devices, and helpful advice as to their economical use is given. the successive catalogs follow the same line, attention being directed toward all improvements in old material, and to all advanced work in library administration wherever found. not all the material recommended was manufactured by the library bureau, but a generous spirit is shown in recommending any device, plan, or publication known to be helpful to the library profession. it has brought to notice many notable contributions to library literature, such as the author table, by c.a. cutter, of the boston athenæum; decimal classification and relative index and library notes, by melvil dewey; _library journal_; library school rules; perkins' manual; linderfelt's rules; sargent's reading for the young; lists of books for different clubs; subject headings of a.l.a., etc. the library bureau catalog itself is one of the best library aids ever published. these catalogs have always been sent free to library workers. libraries grew in numbers and size largely because of the enthusiasm of earnest workers, but very frequently with hardly enough financial assistance to warrant more than the purchase of a few books, and frequently with limited knowledge of how to make the small store of use to the waiting public. the management of the library bureau at this time was certainly doing a missionary work; but its chief problem was the financial one, or how to make both ends meet, and it was not until library methods were introduced into business houses that this question was solved. the constant and untiring efforts of the management of the library bureau toward the assistance and upbuilding of the smaller and younger libraries have had much to do with the growth of library sentiment, which is now so apparent on every hand, and indirectly this knowledge of library work and library methods has done much to enlarge the facilities of the library bureau. from a very unpretentious concern, publishing a few library aids, manufacturing such library devices as could not be obtained elsewhere, and keeping for sale a few articles of library furnishing, the library bureau has grown to be a corporation of no small proportions, having numerous branches both in this country and europe, maintaining a card factory, cabinet works in boston and chicago, and facilities for the manufacture of steel stacks unexcelled in this country. the library bureau, however, has never forgotten the cause of its birth or the teachings of its youth, as is clearly evidenced from year to year by the various undertakings and publications which a careful observer can clearly see are not put forward with any presage of success when viewed entirely from a business standpoint. this lesson is constantly taught to the employés of the library bureau, and they are positively instructed that, regardless of the promise of success in other directions, the attention to library requirements is the first demand. the library bureau maintains at its various offices persons thoroughly versed in library economy, for the express purpose of furnishing detailed information and aid to those younger members of the profession whom they have the pleasure and opportunity of assisting over the stumbling-blocks in their daily work. with this same idea in view it publishes from the chicago office a monthly magazine called public libraries, of an elementary character, which is entertaining, instructive, and inspiring, and helps to encourage a sentiment favorable to public libraries and to make librarianship a profession of high standing. chapter xi selecting books--fitting the library to its owners the selection of books should be left to the librarian, under the general direction of trustees or book committee. there should be made at the start a collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries, gazetteers, and scientific compendiums, which should not be lent. the extent of this collection will depend on the scope and purposes of the library. no library, however small, can dispense with some books of reference. but for a small library don't buy expensive works. the encyclopædia britannica is an example of what not to get. there must be taken into consideration, in determining the character of the books to be purchased, these factors among others: a) presence or absence of other libraries in the vicinity, and their character, if present. b) the avowed purposes of the free, tax-supported public library, to-wit: ) to help people to be happy; ) to help them to become wise; ) to encourage them to be good. c) the amount of money to be expended and the sum that will probably be available for each succeeding year. d) the manner in which the books are to be used; whether they are to be lent, or are to be used only for reference, or are to form both a reference and a lending library. e) the class of people by whom they are to be used, and if children, whether for school work only, or for general reading, or for both. f) the occupations and leading local interests of the community. g) the character and average degree of intelligence of the community. h) the habits, as to reading and study, of those who will use the library. the village library, in its early days, can well afford to begin at the level of the community's average reading. at the same time it must always try to go a little ahead of the demands of the people, and develop a taste and desire for the very best books it can get. the masses of the people have very little of literary culture. it is the purpose of the public library to develop this by creating in them the habit of reading. as a rule people read books which are above their own intellectual and moral standard, and hence are benefited by reading. the reading of books generally leads to the reading of better books. then do not aim too high. avoid trash, but do not buy literature which will not be read simply because it is standard or classic. remember that the public library is a popular institution in every sense of the word; that it has become possible only by the approval of the majority of the population, and that the majority of the population is confined in its turn to a majority of people of the most commonplace kind. do not pander to any sect, creed, or partisan taste. buy largely books costing from cents to $ , found in so many of the series now published. these are fresh, up-to-date, written for the most part by competent men, and are reliable. they are not dull, because no one can afford to be dull in a mo volume. as a general thing they are well made, supplied with maps and illustrations when needed, and have indexes. put much of your money into the history, travel, and literature of your own country first, and then see what you have left for greece and rome. the common people nowadays should be encouraged in their interest in their own country, its description, history, politics, biography, mineral resources, literature. the people will inquire for these books, and they should be provided for them. wait until the library is larger before investing much money in the history of worn out empires, simply because such and such a person wants them, or because some library anywhere from two to twenty times as large has them. use common sense and much of it. put into the people's hands books worthy of their respect, then insist that they be handled carefully and treated always with consideration. expensive books; that is, books which are first-class in paper, ink, and binding, are generally better worth their cost than cheap ones. in the first purchases buy largely for children. they are the library's best pupils. they are more easily trained to enjoy good books than their elders. through them the homes are best reached. they will, by their free use of the library, and by their approval of it, do much to add to its popularity. the best books for children will be enjoyed by all. in selecting fiction, get from the older librarians a statement of what are the most popular of the wholesome novels found on their shelves. a better guide than this it will be difficult to find. fiction is of the greatest value in developing a taste for reading. everyone should be familiar with the great works of imagination. nearly all the greatest literature of the world is fiction. the educational value of the novel is not often questioned. but don't buy a novel simply because it is popular. if you follow that line you will end with the cheapest kind of stuff. some librarians pretend that they must buy to please the public taste; that they can't use their own judgment in selecting books for a library which the public purse supports. why these librarians don't supply the police gazette it is difficult to understand. "the public" would like it--some of them. we select school committees and superintendents and teachers to run our schools. we ask them to inform themselves on the subject and give us the best education they can. they don't try to suit everybody. they try to furnish the best. library trustees and librarian are in a like case. the silly, the weak, the sloppy, the wishy-washy novel, the sickly love story, the belated tract, the crude hodge-podge of stilted conversation, impossible incident, and moral platitude or moral bosh for children--these are not needed. it is as bad to buy them and circulate them, knowingly, as it would be for our school authorities to install in our schoolrooms as teachers romantic, giggling girls and smarty boys. buy good novels, those the wise approve of, in good type, paper, and binding; keep plenty of copies of each on hand; put them where your readers can handle them; add a few each year of the best only of the latest novels, and those chiefly on trial (not to be bought again if found not to have real merit) and your public will be satisfied, and your library will be all the time raising the taste of the community. some books should not be put, at least not without comment, into the hands of young people. other books, some people think, should not be read by young people. other books, some people think, should not be in a public library at all. a good course to follow in regard to such books is to consider the temper of your community and put into the library as many of them as are noteworthy in a literary way as your public and your resources permit. in other departments follow at first the guidance of some one of the good book lists now available. other things being equal, american scientific books are preferable to those by foreign authors. in all departments select the latest editions, and, at first, the recent book rather than the older book. the proportion of books in the different departments of knowledge must vary greatly in different libraries. the following is a good general guide: per cent. general works . philosophy . religion . sociology . philology . science . useful arts . fine arts . literature . biography . history . travels . fiction . ____ total local interest should be fostered by buying freely books on local history and science and books by local authors. the librarian should keep informed of coming events, and see that the library is provided with the books for which there is sure to be a future demand. he should avoid personal hobbies and be impartial on all controversial questions. he should not be overconfident in his knowledge of what will elevate and refine the community. it is better to buy extra copies of a wholesome book wanted by the public than one copy each of other books which will not be read. do not waste time, energy, and money--certainly not in the early days of the library--in securing or arranging public documents, save a few of purely local value. take them if offered and store them. do not be too much impressed by the local history plea, and spend precious money on rare volumes or old journals in this line. certain work can judiciously be done toward collecting and preserving materials for local history that will involve neither expense nor much labor, and this the librarian should do. do not turn the public library, which is chiefly to be considered as a branch of a live, everyday system of popular education, into a local antiquarian society; but simply let it serve incidentally as a picker-up of unconsidered trifles. a wide-awake, scholarly librarian will like his town, and delight in at least some study of its antecedents. and such a librarian need not be a crank, but must needs be an enterprising, wide-awake, appreciative student, who can scent the tastes and needs of posterity. put no money into rare books. a book which was out of print years or years ago, and has not insisted upon republication since, has, ordinarily, no place in the active, free public library. if you get it, sell it and buy a live book. the free public library should encourage its readers to suggest books not in the library, by providing blanks for that purpose, and paying courteous attention to all requests. ask by letter, by circulars, and by notes in the local papers, for gifts of books, money, and periodicals. acknowledge every gift. remember that one who has helped the library, be it ever so little, has thereby become interested in it, and is its friend. chapter xii reference books for a small library, compiled by c.a. baker, of the public library, denver this list includes about books, costing about $ . it is arranged alphabetically. it is subdivided into four lists, arranged according to relative importance. this subdivision is shown by the numbers prefixed to each entry. . adams, c.k. manual of historical literature. . o. harper, cl. $ . . . adams, o.f. dictionary of american authors. . o. houghton, mifflin, cl. $ . . adler, g.j. dictionary of the german and english languages. . q. appleton, mor. $ . . allibone, s.a. critical dictionary of english literature. , v. q. lippincott, sh. $ . . . allibone, s.a. supplement to the critical dictionary of english literature, by j.f. kirk. , v. q. lippincott, sh. $ . . appleton's annual cyclopædia and register of important events. q. appleton, cl. $ . . appleton's cyclopædia of american biography. - , v.q. appleton, cl. $ , half mor. $ . . appleton's cyclopædia of applied mechanics, ed. by p. benjamin. , v. q. appleton, sh. $ , half mor. $ . . appleton's modern mechanism, supplement to cyclopædia of applied mechanics. , v. q. appleton, sh. $ . , half mor. $ . . . bartlett, j., ed. familiar quotations. . o. little, cl. $ . . bliss, e.m., ed. cyclopædia of missions, v. . q. funk & wagnalls, cl. $ . . bliss, w.d.p. cyclopædia of social reform, including political economy, science, sociology, statistics, anarchism, charities, civil service, currency, land, etc. . q. funk & wagnalls, cl. $ . , sh. $ . . . brannt, w.t. and wahl, w.h. technico-chemical receipt book. . d. baird, cl. $ . . brewer, e.c. reference library, - . v. o. lippincott. $ . dictionary of miracles, historic notebook, dictionary of phrase and fable, reader's handbook. . brown, e. and strauss, a. dictionary of american politics. . d. burt, cl., $ . . bryant, w.c, ed. library of poetry and song. . q. fords, howard, cl., $ . . century dictionary and cyclopædia. (century dictionary and the century cyclopædia of names combined with the atlas of the world.) v. prices from $ to $ . often can be picked up second-hand. . century atlas of the world. . f. century co., cl. $ . , half mor. $ . . century cyclopædia of names, n.d. f. century co., cl. $ . , buf. $ . . (note.--the two last are included in the century dictionary and cyclopædia, but can be bought separately.) . chambers, r., ed. book of days, v. o. lippincott. . $ . . champlin, j.d. jr. young folks' cyclopædia of common things. . o. holt, cl. $ . . . champlin, j.d. jr. young folks' cyclopædia of persons and places. . o. holt, cl. $ . . . champlin, j.d. jr. and bostwick, a.e. young folks' cyclopædia of games and sports. . o. holt, cl. $ . . . channing, e. and hart, a.b. guide to the study of american history. o. ginn. . $ . . clement, c.e. painters, architects, engravers, and their work. . d. houghton, mifflin, cl. $ . (artists not living.) . clement, c.e. and hutton, l. artists of the th century and their work. d. houghton & mifflin, cl. $ . . cram's bankers and brokers' railroad atlas; complete alphabetical index. . f. cram. $ . . . cumulative index of periodicals, monthly and annual. . helman-taylor co., cleveland, pa. $ . . cyclopædia of american biographies. j.h. brown, ed. . v. , a-c. q. cyclo. pub. co., boston, half mor. $ . . fields, j.t. and whipple, e.p., ed. family library of british poetry. . q. houghton, cl. $ , mor. $ . . fletcher, w.i., ed. a.l.a. index to general literature. . q. houghton, cl. $ . . fletcher, w.i., ed., and bowker, r.r. annual literary index, including periodicals and essays. . o. publishers' weekly, cl. $ . . . frey, a.r. sobriquets and nicknames. . o. houghton, cl. $ . . goodholme, t.s. domestic encyclopædia of practical information. . o. scribners, cl. $ . . harper's book of facts. c.t. lewis, ed. . q. harper. sub. only, $ . . harper's cyclopædia of british and american poetry. e. sargent, ed. . q. harper, hf. leather, $ . . harper's dictionary of classical literature and antiquities. h.t. peck, ed. . q. harper, cl. $ . . hastings, j. dictionary of the bible, v. o. . clark, cl. s per vol., half mor. s. per vol. . haydn's dictionary of dates. b. vincent, ed. . o. putnam, cl. $ , half mor. $ . . hazell's annual; record of men and topics of the day. . d. hazell, s. d. . hopkins, a.a. scientific american cyclopædia of receipts, notes, and queries. . o. cl. $ , sh. $ . . hoyt, j.k. cyclopædia of practical quotations, english, latin, and modern foreign. . q. funk & wagnalls, cl. $ , sh. $ . . jameson, j.f. dictionary of united states history, - . . q. puritan pub., cl. $ . , half mor. $ . . . johnson's universal cyclopædia. , v. q. johnson, half mor. $ , cl. $ . . king, m., ed. handbook of the united states. . o. king (matthews, northrop co.), cl. $ . . . larned, j.n., ed. history for ready reference, from the best historians, biographers, and specialists. . v. maps. nichols co., springfield, mass. cl. $ each, half mor. $ each. . lalor, j.j., ed. cyclopædia of political science, political economy, and political history of the united states. - . v. q.c.e. merrill, $ . . leypoldt, a.h. and iles, g. list of books for girls and women. dewey classification numbers with each entry. . library bureau, cl. $ . . lippincott's gazetteer of the world. . q. lippincott, sh. $ . . lippincott's universal pronouncing dictionary of biography and mythology, by j. thomas. . q. lippincott, in v., sh. $ , half turkey $ ; in v., sh. $ . . lossing, b.j. popular cyclopædia of united states history. . v. q. harper, mor. $ . . lübke, w. outlines of the history of art. . v. o. dodd, mead, half roan, $ . . . matson, h. references for literary workers. . o. mcclurg, $ . . . men and women of the time. th ed. . o. routledge. $ . . mineral industry, its statistics, technology, and trade, ed. by r.r. rothwell, annual. o. scientific pub. co, cl. $ . . mulhall, m.g. dictionary of statistics. . ed. . q. routledge, cl. $ . . mulhall, m.g. industries and wealth of nations. . o. longman, cl. $ . . patrick, d. and gramme, f.h., eds. chambers biographical dictionary. . o. lippincott, half mor. $ . . . poole, w.f. and fletcher, w. poole's index to periodical literature. o. houghton, mifflin. v. . in two parts, cl. $ , sh. $ . v. . jan. l -jan. . cl. $ , sh. $ . v. . jan. l -jan. . cl. $ , sh. $ . v. . jan. l -jan. . cl. $ , sh. $ . in a small library having bound periodicals of recent date only, volume alone is sufficient. . rand-mcnally indexed atlas of the world. . v. x cm. rand-mcnally. cl. $ . , half leather, $ . . . riemann, h. dictionary of music. o. augenev, $ . . . smith, h.p. and johnson, h.k. dictionary of terms, phrases, and quotations. . o. appleton, half leather, $ . . smith, w. classical dictionary. new edition by marindin. . o. appleton, $ . . smith, w. dictionary of the bible. . o. coates, cl. $ , half mor. $ . . smith, w. and cheetham, s. dictionary of christian antiquities. . v. o. burr, hartford, conn., cl. $ , leather $ . . soule, r. dictionary of english synonyms. . o. lippincott, cl. $ . , mor. $ . . . spiers, a. and surenne, o. french and english pronouncing dictionary. . q. appleton, half mor. $ . . standard dictionary of the english language, v. q. . funk & wagnalls, half rus. $ ; with denison's reference index, $ . . statesmen's year book, , v. . d. macmillan, $ . . walsh, w.s. handy book of literary curiosities. . o. lippincott, half leather, $ . . . walsh, w.s. curiosities of popular customs, and of rites, ceremonies, observances and miscellaneous antiquities. . o. lippincott, half leather, $ . . . webster, n. international dictionary. springfield, mass. merriam. . $ . . wheeler, w.a. familiar allusions. . d. houghton, cl. $ . . wheeler, w.a. explanatory and pronouncing dictionary of noted names of fiction. . d. houghton, cl. $ . . wheeler, w.a. and c.g. who wrote it? d. lee & shepard, cl. $ . . whitaker's almanac. . d. whitaker, paper, s. d. whitaker's directory of titled persons for the year ; a companion to his almanac. d. whitaker, paper, s. d. . who's who? annual; autobiographies of the leading men and women of the day; complete peerage, etc. . d. black, cl. s. d. . world almanac and encyclopædia. . d. new york world, pa. cents. . young, r. analytical concordance to the bible, n.d. ed. . q. religious tract society, cl. s., mor. s. chapter xiii reference work---helping the inexperienced inquirer--periodicals reference work in libraries large and small has for its first rule: meet the inquirer more than half way. to the stranger a library is often an oppressive place, an awesome place--in his imagination. he comes in shyly; everyone appears busy, his question suddenly seems to him trivial; he won't trouble these wise and busy people with it--and goes out. a good second rule is: learn at once just exactly what the inquirer wishes to know. this is not always easy. tact and a little patience will generally effect it. a good third rule is: whenever possible show the inquirer how the answer is found, so that he may next time in some measure help himself. it is surprising how many, especially of the younger people in a community, can be taught within one year, on their occasional visits, to make the proper use of at least a few reference books. another rule of very general application is: go first to a dictionary. in many cases a question answers itself, or betrays where its answer may best be found, if it is once plainly stated. and nothing is better than reference to a few words in a dictionary for the clear statement of a question. the larger dictionaries, moreover, and notably the century, will answer many more inquiries than even great readers often suppose. many questions come up again and again. of these, and of the references which answered them, notes should be kept on cards for future use. in fact it is well to keep an index in this way of the references looked up for all the more important inquiries. the following excellent advice is from an article on the use of periodicals in reference work, by frederick winthrop faxon, in public libraries for june, : "in all reference work periodicals play a large part. they may be roughly divided into two great classes, the technical and the popular. the former are indispensable to the scholar, or the expert, and in the rapid advancement of science are the only real sources of information. text-books or treatises are out of date before published; therefore for a correct present view, or a complete history of the development of any science, the technical reviews and society transactions must be consulted. these will be the principal part of a scientific library, and should be in the large public and college libraries in order to cover advanced study. they have, on the other hand, little place in small libraries--they would seldom be of use, and are very expensive. "but the popular periodicals every library needs. in the better class of these reviews it is possible, if we know where to look, to find several articles on both sides of almost any subject. furthermore, these are often written by the foremost authors or scientists, and are in a language intelligible to all. the amateur cannot give the time or patience to wade two-volume deep in the subject his club wishes him to treat in half an hour's speech. the magazine gives just what he wants in several pages. there are periodicals exclusively devoted to every branch of every science, and magazines which, in their files, include articles on all subjects. this mine of information has been opened up by poole's index. since , when the third and enlarged edition of poole's index was published, all this is common property for the asking. grouped around poole and keeping pace with the times are the poole supplements, which ought, perhaps, to be named the fletchers, covering the five-year periods since , ending respectively , , . then the annual literary index gives a yearly index of subjects and authors, and serves as a supplement to the poole supplement. for such as cannot be even a year without a periodical index we now have the admirable cumulative index, bi-monthly, edited by the cleveland public library. thus all the principal periodicals since the beginning of the century may be consulted by reference to one or more of five single books or alphabets. "the review of reviews must be mentioned as a useful monthly index to current periodical literature, but of little value for study reference as compared with the indexes just mentioned. an annual index issued by the review of reviews, since , is good in its way, though rather superficial. sargent's reading for the young, and its supplement, index the juvenile sets of st nicholas, harper's young people, and wide awake. poole and the cumulative are of little use without a fair assortment of the sets therein indexed. "thus far titles (practically all of them serials published since ) have been indexed. it is a mistake, however, to suppose that most of these are necessary in a small library before poole's index should be purchased or can be of use. given poole and a complete set of littell's living age, and harper's monthly, more reference work can be done than with twice the number of reference books not periodicals. a small collection of sets has enabled more than one struggling library to hold its own with the students and club members, and to accomplish work which could not have been done as well with many works of reference, the purchase of which would have exhausted the whole book fund." chapter xiv reading room--periodicals a free reading room is generally opened in connection with the library, and often proves its most attractive feature. it should be comfortably furnished and scrupulously clean. as the room is for the use of all clean and orderly people, quiet should be maintained to give all a chance to read and study without interruption. there should be no signs commanding things, and the fewest possible--and they unobtrusive--requesting things. signs giving information helpful to readers are always permissible; but see that they harmonize with the furnishings of the room and are clean. gray, or some modest tint, is preferable to white cardboard for all signs. the general atmosphere of the place should be such as one would wish to have in his own home--orderly, inviting, cheerful. the village library ought to preserve for reference a file of local papers; and it seems proper for it to provide for public use a few dailies or weeklies from the nearest cities. further than this in this direction it would not seem expedient to go, because better work can be done, with the money newspapers would cost, in other directions. in fact, where the room is limited, as well as funds, it will often be better to provide no newspapers at all. few are unable to get papers to read elsewhere. the library can well devote itself to the encouraging the reading of other things. most people read the newspapers enough, library or no library. many, save for the library, would not read the standard american and english periodicals. [illustration: magazine binder. (reduced; various sizes.)] the young people are the library's most hopeful material. to them the librarian hopes to give, through books and journals, an added pleasure; and in them he hopes to awaken a taste for reading something--in time something good. to attract the children it will be wise to have on file a few juvenile journals and picture papers and illustrated magazines. as to the standard and popular monthlies and quarterlies there seems to be no question; they should be taken freely. the magazines furnish us with the best fiction, the best poetry, the best essays, the best discussions of all subjects, old and new, and the latest science. it is a question if many a village library would not do more, vastly more, to stimulate the mental life of its community, and to broaden its views and sympathies, and to encourage study, if it diverted a far larger part of its income than it now does from inferior books, and especially inferior novels, to weekly journals and popular and standard magazines. it is not yet fully impressed upon us that the thing the community needs is not a "library"--it may have a street lined with "libraries" and still dwell in the outer darkness--but contact with the printed page. get this contact first, then, by means of attractive rooms, and clean, wholesome, interesting periodicals and books, and let the well rounded students' collection of books come on as it will. from to per cent can very often be saved on the cost of periodicals by ordering them through a reliable subscription agency. the custom is extending of taking extra numbers of the popular magazines and lending them as if they were books though generally for a shorter period and without the privilege of renewal. when this is done, put each magazine in a binder made for the purpose, and marked with the library's name, to keep it clean and smooth, and to identify it as library property. similar binders are often put on the magazines which are placed in the reading rooms. (see library bureau catalog.) complete volumes of the magazines are in great demand with the borrowing public. the magazine indexes now available will make useful to the student the smallest library's supply of periodical literature. in small reading rooms the periodicals that are supplied should be placed on tables where readers can consult them without application to the attendants. files and racks for newspapers, special devices for holding illustrated journals, and other things of like nature, are to be found in great variety. post up in the reading room a list of the periodicals regularly received; also a list of those in the bound files. a careful record should be kept of each magazine ordered, of the date when ordered, the date when the subscription begins and expires, the price paid, the agency from which it is ordered, and the date of that agency's receipted bill. if the list of journals taken is small this record can be kept very conveniently in a blank book. if it is large and constantly growing or changing, it is best kept on cards, a card to each journal, and all alphabetically arranged. it saves much trouble when dealing with an agency to have subscriptions coincide with the calendar year, disregarding the volume arrangements of the publishers. chapter xv list of periodicals for a small library [see also chapter list of things needed in beginning work.] century magazine (monthly), illus. n.y. century co. ed. by r.w. gilder, $ . harper's new monthly magazine, illus. n.y. harper. ed. by h.m. alden, $ . harper's round table (monthly), illus. n.y. harper, $ . st nicholas (monthly), illus. n.y. century co. ed. by mary mapes dodge, $ . forum (monthly), n.y. forum co., $ . harper's weekly, illus. n.y. harper, $ . youth's companion (weekly). boston. perry mason co., $ . . mcclure's magazine (monthly), illus. n.y. doubleday & mcclure, $ . ladies' home journal (monthly), illus. phila. curtis pub. co., $ . independent (weekly). n.y. $ . outlook (weekly), illus. n.y. $ . engineering magazine (monthly). n.y. $ . life (weekly), illus. n.y. $ . nineteenth century (monthly). n.y. leonard scott co., $ . . review of reviews (monthly), illus. n.y. ed. by albert shaw, $ . . contemporary review (monthly). n.y. leonard scott co., $ . . critic (monthly), illus. n.y. critic co., $ . nation (weekly). n.y. evening post co., $ . educational review (monthly), n.y. holt, $ . kindergarten magazine (monthly), illus. chicago kindergarten literature co., $ . appleton's popular science monthly, illus. n.y. appleton, $ . scientific american (weekly), illus. n.y. munn, $ . with supplement, $ . scientific american supplement (weekly), illus. n.y. munn, $ . art amateur (monthly), illus. n.y. montague marks. $ . outing (monthly), illus. n.y. outing co., $ . chapter xvi buying books a good book for a library, speaking of the book as to its wearing qualities and as to the comfort of its users, is printed on paper which is thin and pliable, but tough and opaque. its type is not necessarily large, but is clear-cut and uniform, and set forth with ink that is black, not muddy. it is well bound, the book opening easily at any point. the threads in the back are strong and generously put in. the strings or tapes onto which it is sewn are stout, and are laced into the inside edges of the covers, or are strong enough to admit of a secure fastening with paste and paper. in ordering books of which several editions are on the market, specify the edition you wish. when you have found a good edition of a popular author like scott or dickens, make a note of it on the shelf-list. in giving your orders, always try your local dealer first. if he cannot give you good terms, or, as is very likely to be the case, has not the information or the facilities which enable him to serve you well, submit a copy of the list to several large book dealers, choosing those nearest your town, and ask for their discounts. it is economical, generally, to purchase all your books through one dealer, thus saving letter writing, misunderstandings, freight, express, and general discomfort. keep a record of all books ordered. the best form of record is on slips, using a separate slip for each book. these order slips should have on them the author's surname, brief title, number of volumes, abbreviated note of place, publisher, year, publisher's price if known, name of dealer of whom ordered, date when ordered, and if its purchase has been requested by anyone that person's name and address. for transmitting the order to the book dealer, a list on sheets should be made from the order slips, arranged either by publishers or alphabetically by authors. this list may be written on one side of the paper only, with copying ink, and a letter-press copy taken; or, make a carbon copy of the sheet sent to the dealer. the carbon copy has the advantage of being easier to handle and better to write on. the books as received should be checked by this copy, or by the order cards. the cards for books received should be put by themselves, alphabetically, and kept until the books they represent have been cataloged and the cards for them have been properly entered in the card catalog. you thus will have lists ) of books ordered and not received; ) of books received and not cataloged; ) of books cataloged. if few books are bought this work is unnecessary. [illustration: simple form of order slip on plain paper. (reduced; actual size, - / x - / cm.) sent aug ' fiske, j discovery of america houghton miff. ' v. . notify j. winson arapahoe] books will often be ordered at the request of interested persons. in such cases the name and address of the person asking for the book should be entered on the bottom of the order slip for that book. when the book comes, and has been made ready for use, send a note to this person, notifying him of the fact of its arrival. [illustration: order slip. (reduced; actual size, - / x - / cm.) library no. order no. ordered f of mcc received mr cost $ . approved not now ordered [checkmark] not in library [checkmark] write legibly author's surname, followed by given names or initials: howard, george title: second marriages edition: place: n.y. publisher: stone year: no. of vols. size: d total price: $ not in great haste not [stricken out] in haste i recommend the above for the library. notice of receipt is not asked signature: john carr address: anderson fill above as fully as possible. cross out not, if notice is wanted, if in great need or special haste put a ? before items of which you are not sure. give reasons for recommending on the back.] do not be tempted by a large discount to give orders to irresponsible persons. a library should secure from to per cent discount. do not buy ordinary subscription books or books on the installment plan. do not anticipate revenues, and do not spend all your money at once; if you do you will miss many a bargain, and have to go without books that are needed more than those you have bought. buy good but not expensive editions. do not spend on a single costly work, of interest to few and seldom used by that few, a sum that would buy or perhaps volumes that would be in constant and profitable use by many. buy no book unless by personal acquaintance, or upon competent and trustworthy testimony, it is worth adding to your library. do not feel that you must buy complete sets of an author, or all of any "series"; all the works of very few authors are worth having. do not buy cheap editions of fiction; the paper, presswork, and binding is poor, and is simply a waste of money. the best is none too good in buying fiction, for it wears out fast, and has to be rebound, and then replaced. do not buy a lot of second-hand fiction to put into the hands of the people. you cannot expect them to keep their books clean if you start them out with dirty pages, soiled plates, and a general hand-me-down air. books for young people must be interesting. no amount of excellence in other directions will compensate for dull books. do not trust too much to the second-hand dealer. avoid subscription books. do not buy of a book peddler; in nine cases out of ten you can find better and cheaper books at the stores. a well selected and judiciously purchased library, with such works of reference as are needed, will cost, on an average, $ . a volume. the following notes were prepared by a bookseller of experience, and should be carefully considered before beginning to buy books: any bookseller worthy your patronage will be able to assist you by pointing out the most desirable edition for general library use. there is every reason for placing your orders with your local dealer so long as he can care for them intelligently. a large discount should not be the sole factor in deciding where to buy, but keep in mind this, a conscientious bookseller can save you money by carefully watching your interests in the very many details that pertain to bookbuying. having decided on your bookseller agent, place all your orders with him. it will save you time, which is equivalent to money. keep an exact duplicate copy of every order you place, and for this purpose a manifold book is preferable. in writing your orders never write on both sides of a sheet; arrange your items alphabetically by author, and make all your entries as complete and full as possible. this is particularly important in the case of books in the field of science, history, and biography. the more clear and definite your orders are made out, the more promptly and completely can your bookseller supply them. an ideal bookseller, qualified to act as your agent, is one who has familiarized himself with the various editions of books, and will always make selections with greater stress on quality than quantity; who will not send you the second edition of a scientific work when a third is out; who will avoid sending you expensive publications (even though you may have ordered them) until he is satisfied that you want them; who will exert himself to get desirable books that may be out of print or issued by an out-of-the-way publisher; who will always be prepared to advise you as to the latest work on any particular subject, as well as the best work. these points are of greater importance to the live librarian than is the percentage of discount. say nothing about per cents; to do so is misleading and unsatisfactory always. no one understands you. it is safe to estimate that your purchases of fiction and juvenile literature will average inside of $ per volume. a general list, including reference books, of say v., would average about $ . per volume, or $ . make your purchases with the needs of your community clearly in mind, securing such books as will be constantly in use, and thereby get returns for your expenditure. the expensive publications and books that are called for only at rare intervals should be left to libraries with very large incomes, and to those making special collections. where possible to do so avoid buying large bills of books at long intervals. it is better to spend an income of $ per year in monthly installments of $ , than it is to buy twice a year $ lots. the frequent purchase will bring you the new and talked of books while they are fresh in the minds of people, and there is greater economy of time in cataloging and shelving them. second-hand books are rarely cheap at any price. have confidence in your agent, for your interests are always his. chapter xvii ink and handwriting for catalog cards and all other records use a non-copying black, permanent ink. carter's record ink is good. it has been adopted, after careful investigation, by the state of massachusetts for all official records. the new york state library school, at albany, has issued a little handbook on "library handwriting," which recommends carter's record, and says they use stafford's blue writing ink for blue and his carmine combined for red. for all labels on the outside of books, and for all writing on surfaces which may be much handled, use higgins' american drawing ink, waterproof. the vertical hand should be used in all library work. the following rules, with the illustrations, are taken from the albany school handbook above referred to: brief rules ink. use only standard library ink and let it dry without blotting. position. sit squarely at the desk and as nearly erect as possible. alphabets. follow the library hand forms of all letters, avoiding any ornament, flourish, or lines not essential to the letter. size. small letters, taking m as the unit, are one space or two millimeters high; i.e. one-third the distance between the rulings of the standard catalog card. capitals and extended letters are two spaces high above the base line or run one space below, except t, the character &, and figures, which are one and one-half spaces high. slant. make letters upright with as little slant as possible, and uniformly the same, preferring a trifle backward rather than forward slant. spacing. separate words by space of one m and sentences by two m's. leave uniform space between letters of a word. shading. make a uniform black line with no shading. avoid hair line strokes. uniformity. take great pains to have all writing uniform in size, slant, spacing, blackness of lines and forms of letters. special letters and figures. in both joined and disjoined hands dot i and cross t accurately to avoid confusion; e.g. giulio carelessly dotted has been arranged under guilio in the catalog. cross t one space from line. dot i and j one and one-half spaces from line. in foreign languages special care is essential. _joined hand_. connect all the letters of a word into a single word picture. complete each letter; e.g. do not leave gap between body and stem of b and d, bring loop of f back to stem, etc. avoid slanting r and s differently from other letters. they should be a trifle over one space in height. the small p is made as in print, and is not extended above the line as in ordinary script. _disjoined hand_. avoid all unnecessary curves. the principal down strokes in b, d, f, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, t, u, and the first line in e, should be straight. specimen alphabets and figures [illustration: joined hand] [illustration: disjoined hand] make all the small letters, except f, i, j, k, t, x and y, without lifting pen from paper. make g and q in one stroke, moving from left to right like the hands of a watch. begin on the line. take special pains with the letter r, as carelessly made it is easily mistaken for v or y. make the upper part of b, r, and s a trifle smaller than the lower part. _figures_. make all figures without lifting the pen. begin with the horizontal line. make the upper part of and smaller than the lower part; is best made by beginning in the center. chapter xviii the care of books books of moderate size should stand up on the shelves. large books keep better if they are laid on their sides; when they stand, the weight of the leaves is a pull on the binding which tends to draw the books out of shape, and sometimes breaks them. books which stand up should never be permitted to lean over, but should be kept always perfectly erect; the leaning wrenches them out of shape, and soon breaks the binding. a row of books which does not comfortably fill a shelf should be kept up at one end by a book support. there are several good supports on the market. the crocker is excellent; so is the one described in the library bureau catalog. [illustration: l.b. book supports. (reduced.)] books as they come from the dealer are not always perfect. to make sure that their purchases are in good condition some libraries collate all their books as soon as received, that is, look them through with care for missing pages, and injuries of any kind. imperfect volumes are returned. but save with very expensive books this labor is unnecessary, and doesn't pay. the time spent on it easily amounts to more than the cost of replacing the very few books which may by chance be later found imperfect. in fact, any responsible dealer will usually replace an imperfect copy with a good one even if the former bears a library mark, and has been handled a little. use care in cutting pages. don't cut them with anything but a smooth, dull edge. cut them at the top close to the fold in the back. the worst enemies of books are careless people. another enemy is damp. it is bad for the binding; it is very bad for the paper. gas, with heat, is very destructive to books, especially to the bindings. books should occasionally be taken from their shelves and wiped with a soft cloth. the shelves should at the same time be taken down and cleaned thoroughly. don't hold a book by one of its covers. don't pile up books very high. don't rub dust into them instead of rubbing it off. don't wedge books tightly into the shelves. those who use a public library are all desirous that its books be clean and neat, and with a little encouragement will take pretty good care of them. there are exceptions, of course, and especially among the children. these must be looked after and reasoned with. don't cover your books. the brown paper cover is an insult to a good book, a reproach to every reader of it, an incentive to careless handling, and an expense without good return. a few simple rules like the following can be brought in an unobtrusive way to the attention of those who use the library. always be sure that the library sets a good example in its handling of books. keep books dry. do not handle them when the hands are moist; of course never when the hands are soiled. use them to read, and for nothing else. never mark in them. do not turn down their pages. do not lay them face downwards. do not strap them up tightly. never let them fall. open them gently. the book you are reading will go to others. pass it on to them neat and clean, hoping that they will do the same by you. chapter xix accessioning books a careful record should be made of all books received. use for this purpose what is called an accession book. this is a blank book, ruled and lettered and numbered especially for library invoices. (see the library bureau catalog.) it is the library's chief record, and should contain a complete history of every volume on its shelves. the items entered in the accession book concerning every volume in the library are commonly the following: date of entry; accession number; class number (religion, sociology, etc.); author; title; place of publication and name of publisher; date of publication; binding (cloth, leather, etc.); size (octavo, quarto, etc.); number of pages; name of dealer from whom purchased; cost; remarks (maps, plates, etc.; books rebound; magazines, etc.; lost, worn out, replaced by another book, etc.). [illustration: accession book, left-hand page. (reduced size.) date ' accession f.t. class book vol. author title b bunce, o.b. don't . z zola, e. soil scr. . . f v. fiske, j. discovery of amer. . f v. " " ] [illustration: accession book, right-hand page. (reduced size.) place and publisher date binding source cost remarks n.y. app. pa. scribner bind no. l. vizetelly cl. " " " b. ho.m. c " " } . " " " " " } ] each book and each volume of a set has a separate accession number and a separate entry. each entry occupies a line; each line is numbered from one up to such a number as the library has volumes. the number of each line, called the accession number, is written on the first page after the title-page of the book described on that line. the accession book is a life history of every book in the library. it forms such a record as any business-like person would wish to have of property entrusted to his care. it is also a catalog of all books in the library, and a useful catalog as long as the library is small. never use an old accession number for a new book, even though the original book has disappeared from the library. record should be made of all books, pamphlets, reports, bulletins, magazines, etc., received by the library as gifts; and every gift should be promptly and courteously acknowledged in writing, even if previously acknowledged in person. keep this record in a blank book, alphabetizing all gifts by the names of the givers, with dates of receipt. books given should appear on the accession register the same as books purchased. chapter xx classifying books the smallest public library should be classified and cataloged. this will make its resources more easily available, and will prevent the confusion and waste of labor which are sure to come if systematic treatment of the books is deferred. get the best advice obtainable; consider the library's field and its possibilities of growth, and let the first work on the books be such as will never need to be done over. to classify books is to place them in groups, each group including, as nearly as may be, all the books treating of a given subject, for instance, geology; or all the books, on whatever subject, cast in a particular form--for instance, poetry; or all the books having to do with a particular period of time--for instance, the middle ages. few books are devoted exclusively to one subject and belong absolutely in any one class. the classification of books must be a continual compromise. its purpose is not accurately to classify all printed things, this can't be done; but simply to make certain sources of information--books--more available. any classification, if it gets the books on a given subject side by side, and those on allied subjects near one another, is a good one. books may be classified into groups in a catalog or list, yet themselves stand without order on the shelves. for convenience in getting for anyone all the books on a given subject, and especially for the help of those who are permitted to visit the shelves, all books should stand in their appropriate classes. each book, therefore, should bear a mark which will tell in what class it belongs; distinguish it from all other books in that class; show where it stands on the shelves among its fellows of the same class; and indicate which one it is of several possible copies of the same book. this mark can be used to designate the book in all records of it, instead of the larger entry of its author and title. there are two classification systems worthy of consideration, the dewey, or decimal, and the cutter, or expansive. they are outlined in the following chapters. don't try to devise a system of your own. having decided on your system of classification, begin to classify. this is one of the many things which can only be learned by doing. give fiction no class number, but an author number or "book-mark" only, as explained in a later chapter. give all biography a single letter as its class number, and follow this by the author number. distinguish all juvenile books, whether fiction or other, by writing before their numbers some distinguishing symbol. take up first, in classification proper, the subjects of history and travel, which will be found comparatively easy. it is easier to classify or books at a time in any given class than it is to classify them singly as you come to them in the midst of books of other classes. consequently, group your books roughly into classes before you begin work on them. as soon as a book is classified enter it at once in your shelf-list--explained in a later chapter--and see that an author-card for it is put in the author catalog--explained later--with its proper number thereon. if, after you have made up your mind, from an examination of the title-page, or table of contents, or a few pages here and there, what subject a book treats of in the main, you are still in doubt in what class to place it, consider what kind of readers will be likely to ask for it, and in what class they will be likely to look for it, and put it into that class. in doubtful cases the catalogs of other libraries are often good guides. keep your classification as consistent as possible. before putting a book, about which there is any opportunity for choice, in the class you have selected for it, examine your shelf-list and see that the books already there are of like nature with it. classify as well as you can, and don't worry if you find you have made errors. there are always errors. don't get into the habit of changing. be consistent in classifying, and stick by what you have done. chapter xxi the dewey or decimal system of classification [from the introduction to the decimal classification and relative index. published by the library bureau, $ .] the field of knowledge is divided into nine main classes, and these are numbered by the digits to . cyclopedias, periodicals, etc., so general in character as to belong to no one of these classes, are marked nought, and form a tenth class. each class is similarly separated into nine divisions, general works belonging to no division having nought in place of the division number. divisions are similarly divided into nine sections, and the process is repeated as often as necessary. thus means class (natural science), division (mathematics), section (algebra), and every algebra is numbered . the books on the shelves and the cards in the subject catalog are arranged in simple numerical order, all class numbers being decimals. since each subject has a definite number, it follows that all books on any subject must stand together. the tables show the order in which subjects follow one another. thus algebra precedes geometry, and follows arithmetic. in the book after the tables of the classes arranged in their numerical order is an index, in which all the heads of the tables are arranged in one simple alphabet, with the class number of each referring to its exact place in the preceding tables. this index includes also, as far as they have been found, all the synonyms or alternative names for the heads, and many other entries that seem likely to help a reader find readily the subject sought. though the user knows just where to turn to his subject in the tables, by first consulting the index he may be sent to other allied subjects, where he will find valuable matter which he would otherwise overlook. the claims of the system may be summed up as follows: compared with other systems it is less expensive; more easily understood, remembered, and used; practical rather than theoretical; brief and familiar in its nomenclature; best for arranging pamphlets, sale duplicates, and notes, and for indexing; susceptible of partial and gradual adoption without confusion; more convenient in keeping statistics and checks for books off the shelves; the most satisfactory adaptation of the card catalog principle to the shelves. it requires less space to shelve the books; uses simpler symbols and fewer of them; can be expanded, without limit and without confusion or waste of labor, in both catalogs and on shelves, or in catalogs alone; checks more thoroughly and conveniently against mistakes; admits more readily numerous cross references; is unchangeable in its call-numbers, and so gives them in all places where needed, as given in no other system; in its index affords an answer to the greatest objection to class catalogs, and is the first satisfactory union of the advantages of the class and dictionary systems. the decimal system is used by a large number of libraries in this country, and has gained recognition and has been put to use by some librarians and men of science in europe. divisions general works bibliography. library economy. general cyclopedias. general collections. general periodicals. general societies. newspapers. special libraries. polygraphy. book rarities. philosophy metaphysics. special metaphysical topics. mind and body. philosophical systems. mental faculties. psychology. logic. ethics. ancient philosophers. modern philosophers. religion natural theology. bible. doctrinal theol. dogmatics. devotional and practical. homiletic. pastoral. parochial. church. institutions. work. religious history. christian churches and sects. non-christian religions. sociology statistics. political science. political economy. law. administration. associations and institutions. education. commerce and communication customs. costumes. folk-lore. philology comparative. english. german. french. italian. spanish. latin. greek. minor languages. natural science mathematics. astronomy. physics. chemistry. geology. paleontology. biology. botany. zoology. useful arts medicine. engineering. agriculture. domestic economy. communication and commerce chemical technology. manufactures. mechanic trades. building. fine arts landscape gardening. architecture. sculpture. drawing, design, decoration. painting. engraving. photography. music. amusements. literature american. english. german. french. italian. spanish. latin. greek. minor languages. history geography and description. biography. ancient history. europe. } asia. } africa. } modern north america. } south america. } oceanica and polar regions. chapter xxii the expansive classification: c.a. cutter's the classification those who have used it call it common-sense and up-to-date. they say that it is clear and easy to apply, and that it gives a suitable place for many classes of books for which other systems make no provision, or provide badly. it has been maturing for years. before it was printed it was applied (with a different notation) to the arrangement of a library of over , v. the experience thus gained has been supplemented as each part was prepared for the press by searching catalogs, bibliographies, and treatises on the subject classified. this ensured fullness. overclassification, on the other hand, has been guarded against in four ways: ) by not introducing at all distinctions that are purely theoretical or very difficult to apply; ) by printing in small type those divisions which are worth making only when a large number of books calls for much subdivision; ) by warning classifiers in the notes that certain divisions are needed only in large libraries; ) by printing separately seven classifications of progressive fullness, the first having only classes, which would be enough for a very small library; the second having classes and geographical divisions, suiting the small library when it has grown a little larger; the third having classes and geographical divisions; and so on, till the seventh would suffice for the very largest library. the same notation is used throughout, so that a library can adopt the fuller classification with the least possible change of mark. it often suggests alternative places for a subject, stating the reasons for and against each, so that classifiers have a liberty of choice according to the character of their libraries, or of their clientage, or their own preferences. the notation the original feature of this notation is the use of letters to mark non-local subjects and figures for places. this makes it possible to express the local relations of a subject in a perfectly unmistakable way, the letters never being used to signify countries, and the figures never being used for any other subjects but countries. thus is england wherever it occurs; e.g. f being history and g geography, f is the history of england, g the geography of england. this local notation can be used not merely with the main classes, but in every subdivision, no matter how minute, which is worth dividing by countries. whenever one wishes to separate what relates to england from other works on any subject one has only to add the two figures . whenever one sees in the mark of a book one knows that the book so marked treats its subject with special reference to england. this "local list" by the figures from to gives marks to the most important countries. the addition of a third and sometimes of a fourth figure gives marks for all the independent countries in the world. parts of and places in countries are arranged alphabetically under each, and are marked either by the usual cutter order-table, which has initial letters followed by figures, or by a special cutter order-table composed of figures alone. non-local subjects are marked with letters, first, to distinguish them from local subjects; and, second, because of the greater capacity. there are main classes, a to z. by adding a second letter these are divided into parts, and these, by adding a third letter, into , parts, making , in all, so that as one uses successively three, four, or five characters, one gets respectively times, times, and times the capacity of a decimal notation. the result is, short marks, numerous subdivisions, much greater elasticity, much greater power to properly express the relations of subjects to one another, and their relations to subordinate subjects, and much more opportunity of making the different portions of the classification correspond to each other. the first part of the classification, as published, contains the first six classifications and a combined index to them all. the seventh, the fullest classification, will have sections. five of them are published, each with its own index. of two (social sciences and language and literature) about half is published. when these and the other three (natural sciences, industrial arts, recreative and fine arts) are printed, a full index to the whole will be made. expansive classification. outline a generalia. a general works. ae general encyclopedias. ap general periodicals. ar reference works. as general societies. b-d spiritual sciences. b philosophy. ba-bf national philosophies and systems of philosophy. bg metaphysics. bh logic. bi psychology. bm moral philosophy. br religion, natural theology. bt religions bu folk-lore. ca judaism. cb bible. cc christianity. cce patristics. ce apologetics, evidences. cf doctrinal theology. ck ethical theology. cp ritual theology and church polity. cx pastoral theology. cz sermons. d ecclesiastical history. dk particular churches and sects. e-g historical sciences. e biography and portraits. f-fz history. f universal history. f ancient history. f modern history. f medieval history. f -f history of single countries (using local list). fa-fw allied studies, as chronology, philosophy of history, history of civilization, antiquities, numismatics, chivalry, heraldry. g geography, travels. g -g single countries (using local list). ga ancient geography. gf surveying and map-making. gz maps. h social sciences. hb statistics. hc economics. he production. hf labor. hi slavery. hj transportation. hk commerce. hm money. hn banking. hr private finance. ht taxation and public finance. hu tariff. hw property, capital. hz consumption. i demotics, sociology. ic crime. ig charity. ih providence. ik education. j civics, government, political science. ju constitutions and politics. k law and legislation. kd public documents. l-q natural sciences. l general works, metrics. _l number and space._ lb mathematics. _lh-lr matter and force._ lh physics. lo chemistry. lr astronomy. _m-q matter and life_ m natural history. mg geology, incl. mineralogy, crystallography, physical geography, meteorology, paleontology. my biology. n botany. cryptogams. phanerogams. o zoology. invertebrates. p vertebrates. pg mammals. pw anthropology, ethnology, ethnography. q medicine. q-z arts. r general works, exhibitions, patents. rd-rg extractive arts. rd mining. re metallurgy. rf agriculture. rh horticulture. ri silviculture. rj animaliculture. rq chemic arts. rt electric arts. ry domestic arts. rz food and cookery. s constructive arts, engineering. sg building. sj sanitary engineering. sl hydraulic engineering. st transportation and communication. t fabricative arts, machinery, manufactures, and handicrafts. u protective arts, i.e., military and naval arts, life-preserving, fire fighting. v athletic and recreative arts, sports and games. vs gymnastics. vt theater. vv music. w fine arts, plastic and graphic. we landscape gardening. wf architecture. wj sculpture. wk casting, baking, firing. wm drawing. wp painting. wq engraving. wr photography. ws decorative arts, including costume. x-yf communicative arts (by language). x philology. x inscriptions. x language. y literature. yf english fiction. z book arts (making and use of books). za-zk production. za authorship. zb rhetoric. zd writing. zh printing. zk binding. zl distribution (publishing and bookselling). zp storage and use (libraries). zt description (zt bibliography; zx selection of reading; zy literary history; zz national bibliography.) chapter xxiii author-numbers, or book-marks the books in a given group or class should stand on the shelves in the alphabetical order of their authors' names, though this is not necessary in a small library. this result is best secured by adding to the class-mark of every book another mark, called an author-number or book-number or book-mark, made up of the first letter of the author's name and certain figures. books bearing these author-numbers, if arranged first alphabetically by the letters, and then in the numerical order of the numbers following the letters, will always stand in the alphabetical order of the authors' names. different books by the same author are distinguished from one another by adding other figures to the author-number, or by adding to the author-numbers the first letter of the title of each book. these book-marks cannot be chosen arbitrarily. they should be taken from the printed set of them worked out by mr cutter, and called the cutter author-tables. (see library bureau catalog.) in a very small library the books in a given class can be distinguished one from another by writing after the class-number of each book the number of that book in its class. if the class-mark of religion, for example, is , the books successively placed in that class will bear the numbers . , . , . , etc. fiction should have author-numbers only. the absence of a class-number will sufficiently distinguish it from other classes. chapter xxiv the shelf-list many books can be very properly put in any one of several different classes. in which one a given book should be placed will often be decided by noting where other like books have been placed. books by authors of the same name will often fall into the same class, and to each of these a different author-number must be given. you must have at hand, then, a list of the books already classified, to see at once, in classifying the next book, what kinds of books and books by what authors are in each class. every book in the library, as soon as it has been classified, and has received its proper author-number, should be entered in a list in the order first of its class-number, next of its author-number. this list is called the shelf-list. it is commonly kept on sheets, but many librarians believe it best kept on cards; a card for each different book. it is a catalog of all the books in the library arranged in the order in which they stand on the shelves. it is a subject-index of the library. it is indispensable in the work of properly placing, class-numbering, and author-numbering new books. it is a list from which it is very easy to check over the library and learn what books are missing or out of place. it includes usually only the class- and author-number, author's name, brief title, and accession number. this last enables one to refer at once from the brief entry of a certain book in the shelf-list to the full information in the accession book. there are advantages in adding to the shelf-list record the publisher and price. as soon as a book has received its class- and author-numbers, which together are sometimes called the "call-number," as being the mark to be used by the public in calling for a book, these numbers, or combinations of numbers and letters, should be written in the accession book in a column left for the purpose, on the line given up to the description of the book in hand. this enables one to refer at once from the accession entry of a given book to the shelf-list entry of the same book. [illustration: shelf list sheet. (reduced; actual size. x cm.) book no. accession no. vol. author title qg goodrich british eloquence m macauley speeches w windham] [illustration: shelf-list card. (reduced; actual size, x - / cm.) slater s book collecting ] chapter xxv cataloging books after the books are accessioned, classified, author-numbered or book-marked, and shelf-listed, they should be cataloged. a catalog is a labor-saving device in library work. from it both reader and attendant can ascertain whether the library has a certain book. by consulting the catalog for the class-number, the book may be looked for in its proper place, thus often saving hunting through the shelves in several classes. a printed list or catalog of the library is one of the first things that will be asked for by the public. it is useful especially for those who cannot well visit the library. but it is very expensive; it is out of date as soon as issued; it cannot often be sold; it requires training and experience to make it properly, and the money it will cost can be better spent otherwise. do not issue one. print lists of additions in newspapers. post them in the library. issue an occasional bulletin of the latest purchases if you think it will be popular. put your time, skill, energy, and money into the making of a full card catalog; keep this up to date; give the public access to it; teach them how to use it, and you will find the printed catalog not needed. on cards prepared for the purpose [see chapter on things needed ( ) and library bureau catalog], a card for each book--and a book is a book although in several volumes--write the author's surname (if the book is anonymous write first the title), given name or names, if known, title, date of copyright, date of publication, call-number, and such other data as seem desirable. the price, for example, may be put here, and the size, indicating this by a letter. [see cole size card in chapter on things needed ( ) and in library bureau catalog.] arrange these cards alphabetically, by authors' names for an author catalog. this catalog will be in constant use in the purchasing of books, in classifying new purchases, etc. by the call-number one can refer from any entry in it to the entry of the same book in the shelf-list. to make possible a like reference to the accession book, write the accession number of each book near the bottom of the card on which it is entered. in making the catalog entries observe certain fixed rules of alphabetization, capitalization, punctuation, arrangement, etc., as set forth in the catalog rules which may be adopted. only by so doing can you secure uniformity of entry, neatness in work, and the greatest possible meaning from every note, however much abbreviated. [illustration: author card. (reduced; actual size, - / x - / cm.) . coffin, charles carleton, - c _old_ times in the colonies. p. il. o n.y. c[ ]] preserve this catalog with great care. it is the key to the records in shelf-list and accession book. in a small library the public may very properly use it. as soon as possible, if your library is to be quite large and much used, prepare for public use a duplicate of it, omitting all those entries in the original which are of use only to the librarian. the average reader more often remembers the titles of books than their authors. add, therefore, to the author-list, in your public catalog--not in your private or official catalog, for which author-entries alone are sufficient--a title-list; a set of cards like the author cards, except that on each one the book's title is entered first instead of its author. arrange author and title-lists in one alphabetical series. [illustration: title card. (reduced; actual size, - / x - / cm.) . old times in the colonies c _coffin_, c.c.] as the use of the library for reference work increases, the question will often be asked, has it any books on a certain subject? add, therefore, to your author- and title-list a subject-list. make this by writing a card for each book with the subject of which it treats the first word upon it. arrange this also in the same alphabetical series with the other two. in some cases the book's title and its subject will be identical; for example, geology, by tompkins, or washington's boyhood, by jones. for such books one card answers for title and subject. for fiction no subject-card is necessary. on the other hand, many books have to do with more than one subject; a volume of essays, for example, or a group of biographical sketches. for such it is desirable to add to the subject-list by writing as many cards for each book as the importance of the several subjects therein and the space the author gives to them seem to demand. each card will have for the first word of its entry the subject to which it refers, followed by the author and title of the book. arrange these cards also alphabetically with all the others. put on every card in the catalog the call-number of the book to which it refers. this author-title-subject-list, or dictionary catalog, will tell at a glance if the library has books a) by a certain author; b) with a given title; c) on a given subject. these are the questions most often asked. [illustration: subject card. (reduced; actual size, - / x - / cm.) . u.s. history- colonial. c coffin, charles carleton - _old_ times in the colonies. p. il. o n.y. c[ ]] there are in print several books giving rules for cataloging. some of these are mentioned in the chapter on things needed ( ). in a small library which is always to be small it is not necessary to follow all the rules laid down in these books. it is much better, however, to do all the work, even in a very small library, according to the most approved methods. so to do brings you in touch with your fellows and gives you the comfort which comes from the consciousness of work well done, even if the amount of the work be small. in writing the subject-headings difficulties will soon arise unless you follow certain general rules and are careful also to be consistent in your work. for instance, at intervals during a few months you add to the library books on horses, cows, sheep, goats, camels, and pigs; some dealing with one animal, some with two or more. if for the first one you write a subject-card with the catch-word or entry-word at the top "domestic animals," and for the next one "farm animals," and for the next one "animals, domestic," you will scatter the references to domesticated animals all through your catalog, to the despair of those who would use it. you can guard against this, and easily, if your catalog is small, by looking to see what you have already written every time you write a new subject-entry-word, and by following out a previously devised plan in the making of your entries. the safest way is to get a printed list of headings and catalog rules and follow them. (see chapter on things needed, .) with a printed list of subject-headings at hand it is not difficult to keep your catalog consistent and reasonable. this same list of subject-headings will serve also as a guide in the writing of the cross-reference cards for your catalog, the cards, that is, which refer the searcher from the topic "pigs," for example, to "swine," or from both to "domestic animals." of course the subject-headings' list must be systematically used, and must be marked and annotated to fit your special needs. this work, like classifying, can best be learned by doing. there are many ways of keeping your catalog cards. the thing to use is a set of trays made for the purpose. (see library bureau catalog.) the cards are extremely valuable, and expense should not be spared in providing for their safe keeping and handy use. chapter xxvi preparing books for the shelves all books should be marked with the name of the library. this is cheaply done with a rubber stamp and violet or red ink pad. an embossing stamp makes a good and indelible mark. the type used should be of moderate size and open faced. a perforating stamp now on the market marks a book neatly and most permanently. mark books freely, to assure their being recognized as the library's property wherever seen. have some definite pages on which stamps always appear. many use the title-page, fifty-first or one hundred and first, and the last page. this need not interfere with marking elsewhere. [illustration: embossing stamp.] on the back of the book write the call-number. for this purpose use a tag or label. they can be had in several sizes; round ones are best. paste the label where it will mar the book least, as near the middle as possible. it is well to put all labels at the same height from the bottom of the back, so far as this can be done without covering essential parts of the lettering. four inches is a good height for the lower edge of all labels. labels stick better if the place where they are to be pasted is moistened with a solution of ammonia and water, to remove varnish or grease. if this is done the mucilage or gum on the labels when purchased will be found usually to stick well. after the call-number is written, varnish the label with a thin solution of shellac in alcohol. labels put on in this way will keep clean, remain legible, and rarely come off. if a charging system using a pocket is adopted, no book-plate is needed, if the pocket, that is, is pasted on the inside of the front cover and has the name of the library on it. when books are classified the call-number is written with hard pencil on a certain page, the same page in all books; a common place is the first right hand page after the title-page, and near the inner margin. this call-number should be written with ink on the pocket and book slip, which is kept in the pocket, or on the book-plate. it is advisable also to write the call-number in ink on some definite page bearing the library's stamp. if a book-plate is adopted let it be small and simple. have a special plate for gifts, with space on it for writing the name of the giver. books wear better if they are carefully opened in a number of places before they are placed on the shelves. this makes the backs flexible and less likely to break with rough handling. in cutting the leaves be sure that the paper knife does its work to the very back edge of the top folds, that it is never sharp enough to cut down into the leaves, and that it is held nearly parallel to the fold to be cut. the following is a list of things to be done before books are ready for use in a public library: book notices and reviews are read and the library's needs and funds considered. order slips are made out, arranged alphabetically, and compared with the catalog to see if the books listed on them are already in the library. order list is made out, approved, and sent to dealer. books arrive and are checked by the bill, and brief notes of date of purchase, initials of dealer, and price are written on the left margin of the second page after the title-page. bill is checked for items and prices by order slips. gifts when received are a) properly acknowledged; b) entered in gift book; c) marked with small gift-book plates pasted inside the front cover. books are looked over (if you wish), collated, especially the expensive ones, to see if complete and sound. books are entered in the accession book. books are stamped with library stamp. books are opened to loosen binding, and pages cut, if necessary. the book-plates are pasted inside the front cover--if book-plates are used. pockets are pasted on the inside of front cover or wherever the system adopted places them. labels are put on the backs. books are classified, author-numbered and call-numbered. books are entered on shelf-list. catalog cards are written--author, title, and subject. bulletin lists of the books are made out for posting up and for newspapers. call-numbers are written on the labels, the pockets, and the book slips. labels are varnished. the call-number of each book is entered in the proper place on the line which that book occupies in the accession book. books are placed on the library shelves for public use. catalog cards, author, title, and subject, are arranged alphabetically in one series and distributed in catalog. chapter xxvii binding and mending binding a book means not only covering it, but preserving it. good binding, even at a high price, educates the public taste and promotes a desire to protect the library from injury and loss. cheap binding degrades books and costs more in the end than good work. keep in a bindery-book, which may be any simple blank book, or one especially made for the purpose (see library bureau catalog), a record of each volume that the library binds or rebinds. enter in the bindery-book consecutive bindery number, book-number, author, title, binding to be used, date sent to bindery, date returned from bindery, and cost of binding. books subject to much wear should be sewn on tapes, not on strings; should have cloth joints, tight backs, and a tough, flexible leather, or a good, smooth cloth of cotton or linen such as is now much used by good binders. most of the expensive leather, and all cheap leather, rots in a short time; good cloth does not. very few libraries can afford luxurious binding. good material, strong sewing, and a moderate degree of skill and taste in finishing are all they can pay for. learn to tell a substantial piece of work when you see it, and insist that you get such from your binder. the beginners' first business is to inform himself carefully as to character, value, cost and strength of all common binding materials. from binders, or from dealers in binding material, you can get samples of cloth, leather, tapes, string, thread, etc., which will help you to learn what to ask for from your local binder. the following notes are from a lecture by john h.h. mcnamee before the massachussets library club in , on the essentials of good binding: "had i the ordering of bindings for any public or circulating library where books are given out to all classes of people, and subjected to the handling which such books must receive, i should, from my experience as a binder, recommend the following rules: for the smaller volumes of juveniles, novels, and perishable books (by which i mean books which are popular for a short time, and then may lie on the shelves almost as so much lumber), have each book pulled to pieces and sewed with hayes' linen thread on narrow linen tapes, with edges carefully trimmed. have the books rounded and backed, but not laced in. have the boards placed away from the backs about one-fourth of an inch, in order to give plenty of room for them to swing easily and avoid their pulling off the first and last signatures of the book when opened. give the back and joint a lining of super or cheese cloth. have them covered with american duck or canvas pasted directly to the leaves, pressed well and given plenty of time to dry under pressure, and so avoid as much as possible all warping of boards and shrinkage of the cloth. for all large folios, newspapers and kindred works, use heavy canvas, as it is somewhat cheaper than sheep, and as easily worked. have them sewed strongly on the requisite number of bands, every band laced into the boards, which should be made by pasting two heavy binder's boards together, to prevent warping and give solidity to the volume. the reason i say lace in large volumes is that the heavy books will sag and pull out of covers by their great weight unless tightly fastened to a solid board, thus giving the book a good foundation to stand on. for all periodicals not bound in leather i should prescribe the same treatment. these volumes can be lettered in ink on the canvas, or in gold on a colored leather label pasted on the cloth. but for all books which are destined to be bound in leather i should surely, and without any hesitation whatever, order morocco, and by this i mean goat skin, and i should go still further and demand a good german or french goat; boards hard and laced in at every band, super joints, full, open backs, lettering clear and distinct, and the paper on the sides to match the leather. i would also recommend that a schedule be used, giving a space for schedule number; then the name of book or books, or lettering to be used on each volume; space for the number of volumes, space for description of binding, and finally for price, thus giving the binder a complete order on a large sheet, which he is in no danger of losing. all he will have to do is to mark on the title of each volume, in small figures, its schedule number, and, when the books are done, put down the prices and add up the column of figures, and make out his statement as per the number of schedule. this method gives the librarian a complete list of volumes sent and returned, and by laying away these schedules she has for handy reference a very complete list of prices. it saves the binder from writing out the name of each volume on his bill, and as the librarian must keep a list of books sent, why not keep them this way as well as any other? i have mislaid or lost hundreds of lettering slips, which are the bane of a bookbinder's existence. lay down some rules for the cutting of books, placing of plates, binding of covers, and advertisements, style of lettering, etc., and have your binder follow them. don't ever cut with a folder before sending to binder, as it makes the sewing more difficult. don't pull to pieces or take out titles and indexes. the binder always takes care of that. don't take off ads, as it sometimes leaves unsightly tears or takes away pages, and if all leaves are paged the binder is at a loss to know if the book is complete. don't ever use mucilage or glue. your bookbinder will send you a little paste, or you can make it by boiling flour and water and sprinkling in a little salt. if you wish to keep it for a long time, mix a few drops of oil of cloves with it and seal up. of course there are cases where some of these rules don't apply, such as volumes made up from leaves taken from several other volumes or pamphlets. in case of a book of this kind place every leaf in correct order, and write directions very carefully." many books will need repair. a few hours spent in the bindery, studying the methods of putting a book together, will be helpful, not only in the matter of securing good binding, but in the repairing of books that have gone to pieces. mend and rebind your books the minute they seem to need it. delay is the extravagant thing in this case. if you are slow in this matter, leaves and sections will be lost, and the wear the broken-backed volume is getting will soon remove a part of the fold at the back of the several sections, and make the whole book a hopeless wreck forever. chapter xxviii pamphlets save all pamphlets having to do with local history, and save also those of a general nature which promise ever to be of any importance. in a small library, however, or in any library in which money for salaries is limited, and the work to be done in the regular matter of attending to the public, lending books, etc., is great, do not waste time in trying to arrange or catalog pamphlets. simply let them accumulate, arranging them roughly in classes. bind at once only those that seem absolutely to demand it. in the history of almost any library the time will come when it will be possible to sort out pamphlets, arrange them properly, catalog such as are worth it, bind them singly or in groups, and incorporate them into the library. but any system of arranging and sorting pamphlets which does anything more than very roughly to arrange and store them, and attempts to make them, without much labor, accessible to the general public, is almost sure to be a failure. this is not true of pamphlets to which the public has not access. but pamphlets not fully cataloged and not accessible to the public are, no matter how scientifically arranged, almost useless plunder. to keep them clean and in order nothing is as good as a pamphlet case, which any boxmaker can make, of cardboard about inches high, inches deep, and inches thick, open at the back. they will cost from to cents each, according to quality of board used and quantity ordered. for holding a few pamphlets together temporarily ballard's "klips" are best. sold by h.h. ballard, pittsfield, mass. [illustration: l.b. pamphlet case. (various sizes.)] chapter xxix public documents adelaide r. hasse, of the new york public library how issued government documents are issued in two sets or editions, viz.: the congressional or sheep, and the departmental or cloth. the annual reports of the heads of departments, with many of the serial and occasional publications of the various departments, are contained in the sheep set, and in addition, all the reports of committees, and records of the transactions of congress, except the debates which are contained in the congressional record. the cloth set contains all the publications of the various departments, irrespective of the fact that some of them may have appeared in the sheep set. to whom issued the depository libraries receive the sheep set by law from the superintendent of documents. each department has its own list of "exchanges" (i.e., designations) which receive gratis the publications of that department intended for general distribution. non-depository libraries receive their documents regularly from the departments when on the department exchange list, or irregularly from their representatives in congress. "remainder libraries" receive from the superintendent of documents such documents as can be supplied from the fractional quotas sent to him after the editions ordered for the use of congress have been equally divided among the senators and representatives. "special libraries" are those libraries specially designated by members of congress to receive the publications of the geological survey. many thousands of books have been sent on special application to libraries not on the list. the depository, remainder, and special libraries together now number over . all the departments still control the distribution of their own publications, the superintendent of documents only distributing the sheep set, and such of the department publications as have been turned over to him by the departments for this purpose, or of which there have been remainders. sometimes the number of copies of its own publications allotted to the department is very small and soon exhausted. librarians and others who want full information about the distribution, present methods of issue, etc., of public documents, should send for the first annual report of the superintendent of documents. in addition there have been issued from his office, since its establishment in march, , a check list of public documents, and since january, , a monthly catalog of current publications. both are mailed free upon application. care in a library the question of the most economical, and at the same time satisfactory manner of caring for documents in a library, cannot be considered in the space of so brief an article as this necessarily must be. after all, it is a question that must be settled by each library for itself, since it rests chiefly upon the extent to which the library can afford duplication. depository libraries have better opportunities than others for filling up the sheep set, and having this set they have the greater portion of those documents useful to the average library. a complete sheep set from the th congress to the close of the d congress numbers slightly over v., and will require feet of shelving, or six modern iron book stacks. though it is done in a few cases, the subject classification of the sheep set is not to be recommended. where subject classification, or the incorporation of the documents in the general library, is desired, the cloth set is preferable, and is in most cases procurable. if a library can afford shelf room for both, it will be found more satisfactory to keep the sheep set intact, and to make a selection of such reports from the cloth set as will be locally useful to the library. no small library should undertake to acquire any documents but those for which it has an actual use; only the largest libraries can afford the task of filling up sets of documents simply for the sake of having a complete record. small libraries, and all libraries in need of any special report or document, can get it, in most cases, by applying to the superintendent of documents. return all your duplicates to the superintendent of documents; arrangements for their transportation will be made by him upon notification, and anything he has that is needed will be sent in exchange. do not try to collect a complete set of government documents; the government of the united states has not yet been able to do that. chapter xxx checking the library check the library over occasionally. it need not be done every year. it is an expensive thing to do, in time, and is not of great value when done; but now and then it must be gone through with. it is not necessary to close the library for this purpose. take one department at a time and check it by the shelf-list. make a careful list of all books missing. check this list by the charging slips at the counter. for those still missing make a general but hasty search through the library. go over each part of the library in this way. then compile all lists of missing books into one list, arranged in the order of their call-numbers. once or twice a week for several months go over the library with this list, looking for missing books. even with access to the shelves, and with great freedom in matters of circulation, not many books will be found missing, under ordinary circumstances, at the end of a six months' search. such books as are still missing at the end of any given period, together with those that have been discarded as worn out, and those that have been lost by borrowers, should be properly marked on the shelf-list, and should have an entry in the accession book, stating what has become of them. if they are not replaced, it will be advisable to withdraw the cards representing them from the card catalog, or to write on the cards the fact of withdrawal and the cause. keep a record of all books withdrawn from the library for whatever reason. chapter xxxi lists, bulletins, printed catalog give the public access to the card catalog if possible. if a dictionary catalog is made it will prove to be most helpful to the serious students. for the average reader, the person who wishes to get a recent book, the latest novel, etc., prepare lists of additions from month to month, post them up in some convenient place in the library, and put them in a binder to be left on desk or table in the delivery room. print lists of additions, if possible, in the local papers; also publish reference lists having to do with current events and matters of popular interest. oftentimes the newspapers will furnish, for a small sum, extra copies of the lists which they have printed. if the means warrant the expenditure, a periodical bulletin, appearing once a month, or even oftener, containing information about the library, notes on recent additions, suggestions as to the use of books, lists on special subjects, and lists of books lately added may prove useful. such a bulletin can often be maintained without cost to the library by having it published by some one who will pay its expenses by means of advertisements. the very best way of bringing new books to the attention of readers is to print a list of additions, with call-numbers, as condensed as possible, and with no other matter, for free distribution in the library. in printing lists of books, make the classes covered special, not general. give lists suitable for as many different needs and occasions as possible. there can't be too many of them. for instance, a teacher would find thoroughly helpful and practicable such classified lists of books as, for beginners in third and fourth grades, for the intermediate pupils, for boys, for girls, numerous references to the current events of the day; historical readings divided into periods and adapted to different grades; historical fiction under several forms of classification; biographies and biographical sketches suited to different ages; geographical aids, including travel, description, life, scenes, and customs in different countries; natural history and elementary science; the resources of the library available for the purpose of illustrating topics in history, art, and science; material for theme studies; special lists for anniversary days now so generally observed in schools, and so on. lists in which the titles of the books come first are better liked by the general public than are author-lists. people commonly know books by name, not by author. don't make the mistake of spending much money, at the library's beginning, for a printed catalog. a printed catalog, as stated in chapter , is not a necessity. it is useful, particularly for home use, to tell whether the library owns certain books; but with a good card catalog, newspaper lists, special lists, and the like, it is not a necessity. few large libraries now publish complete catalogs. chapter xxxii charging system on the inside of the front cover of every book in the library paste a manilla pocket. (see library bureau catalog.) or paste, by the bottom and the upper corners, thus making a pocket of it, a sheet of plain, stout paper at the bottom of the first page of the first flyleaf. on this pocket, at the top, write the call-number of the book. below this print information for borrowers, if this seems necessary. in this pocket place a book-card of heavy ledger paper or light cardboard. on this book-card, at the top, write the call-number of the book in the pocket of which it is placed. [illustration: card-pocket. (reduced; actual size, x - / cm.) chicago public library * * * * * extract from city ordinance. sec. .--any person who shall willfully or maliciously cut, write upon, injure, deface, tear, or destroy any book, newspaper, plate, picture, engraving, or statue belonging to the chicago public library, shall be liable to a fine of not less than five dollars, nor more than fifty dollars for every such offense. * * * * * extract from rules. .--books may be retained two weeks, and may be once renewed for the same period. .--a fine of three cents a day shall be paid on each work, whether bound in one or more volumes, which is not returned according to the provisions of the preceding rules; and no other book will be delivered to the party incurring the fine until it is paid. * * * * * * * * received. * * * * * acme library card pocket. under pat. sept. , ' , "ref. index file." made by library bureau, franklin st., chicago * * * * * keep your card in this pocket.] to every borrower the library issues a borrower's card. this card is made of heavy, colored tag-board, and contains the borrowers' name and address, and his number in the series of borrowers' numbers. the librarian, before delivering a book to a borrower, takes from the pocket the book-card, writes on it the number found at the top of the borrower's card, and after it, with a dater, stamps the day of the month. at the same time he stamps the same date on the borrower's card, and on the pocket in the book or on a dating slip pasted in the book opposite the pocket. [illustration: book card. (reduced; actual size - / x - / cm.) d dole, e.p. talks about law ja. ja. f. f. ap. ] the borrower's card he places in the book pocket, the book-card he retains as a record of the loan, and the borrower takes the book away. the book-card, with all others representing the books issued on the same day, he places in a tray behind a card bearing the date of the day of issue. all the book-cards representing books issued on a certain day are arranged in the order of their call-numbers. [illustration: tray for book-cards.] under this system the borrower can tell, by looking at his card, on what date the book he has was taken from the library. if he wishes to renew it without taking it back to the library, he can do so by a letter stating that he took on a certain day a book bearing a certain number, and wishes it renewed. the librarian can tell, from the book-cards, what books are in circulation, and how many of each class were lent on a certain day. [illustration: no. . postal notice. (reduced.) city library association springfield, mass. feb. , . the book noted below is now in the library and will be reserved for you until p.m., feb. . _please present this notice and your library card._ a charge of two cents is made for this notice. john cotton dana, _librarian_. per. s.m.j. _book no._ . _title, etc._ ave roma immortalis. reserve postal, form , jan. . ' , ] the borrower's number, written on the book-card of any given book in circulation, will give, through the register of borrowers, the name and address of the person having that book. overdue books are automatically indicated, their cards remaining in the tray, behind the card indicating the date they were lent, after the day for their return has passed. when a borrower returns a book the librarian can learn, from the date on the pocket, whether or no a fine should be paid on it; if not, he can, if in haste, immediately take out the borrower's card from the book pocket, stamp the date of its return at the right of the date on which it was lent, thus canceling the charge against the borrower, and lay the book aside and look up its book-card later. [illustration: no. . registration card, face. (reduced; actual size, - / x - / cm.) name. geo. brown no. residence. vernon. employment. machinist. employer. smith & wesson's. place of business. main.] [illustration: no. . registration card, reverse. (reduced; actual size, - / x - / cm.) feb. , . i hereby declare that i am a resident of the city of springfield, and in consideration of the right to use the free city library, agree to comply with all regulations provided for its government. george brown. i hereby certify that the above subscriber is a fit person to enjoy the privileges of the city library, and that i will be responsible for any loss or injury the library may sustain from the permission given to draw books in consequence of this certificate. signature (in ink) residing at no. street.] double and special borrowers' cards are not needed under this system. it accommodates itself readily to a "two-book" system. on the book-cards belonging to the second book, and all other books after the first, which any borrower may take, the librarian writes the borrower's number preceded by any letter or sign which will serve to indicate that these books are charged, not on the borrower's card, but to the borrower direct, on the strength of a general permission to him to take more than one book. [illustration: no. . overdue notice. (postal card, reduced.) the city library association, springfield, mass. literature: art: science. the library: circulating department. the rules of the library require all books to be returned in two weeks. book no. g . stands charged to you (card no. ) as taken from the library feb. . ' . you are incurring a fine of two cents for every day's detention. if you think a mistake has been made, please notify us. a charge of two cents is made for sending this notice. the city library. per b. present this notice with your library card.] the postal notice no. , the registration cards and , the notice that the book is overdue, no. , the fine slip, no. , all explain themselves. in most places, certainly in all small towns, a sufficient safeguard against the loss of books is found in the signature of the borrower himself. no guarantee need be called for. to ask for a guarantor for a reputable resident is simply to discommode two people instead of one. the application which the borrower signs should be brief and plain. name, residence, place of business, and any necessary references, should be written in by the librarian on one side; the signature to an agreement to obey the library rules can be written by the applicant on the other. all borrowers agreements should be filed in alphabetical order. they should receive borrowers' numbers in the order of their issue, and the date. the borrowers' cards should state that they expire in a definite number of years from the date of issue, and the date of issue should be stamped on them. an index of borrower's agreements should be kept by their numbers. this need contain only the borrower's number, his name, and, when necessary, his address. it is conveniently kept in a book. it is better to keep it on cards. [illustration: no. . fine slip. (reduced; actual size - / x - / cm.) the city library assocation springfield, mass. fines received feb no. . - d. ] chapter xxxiii meeting the public if the public is not admitted to the shelves, it will be necessary to supply catalogs for public use as well as slips on which lists of books wanted can be made out; but the fullest possible catalogs and the finest appointments in the delivery room cannot take the place of direct contact between librarian or assistants and the public. wherever possible, the person to whom the borrower applies for a book should go himself to the shelves for it. the stranger in the library should be made welcome. encourage the timid, volunteer to them directions and suggestions, and instruct them in the library's methods. conversation at the counter having to do with wants of borrowers should be encouraged rather than discouraged. no mechanical devices can take the place of face to face question and answer. the public like to handle and examine their books, and it is good for them to do it. they like the arrangements in the library to be simple; they object to red tape and rules. they like to have their institutions seem to assume--through, for example, the absence of signs--that they know how to conduct themselves courteously without being told. they don't like delays. they like to be encouraged to ask questions. they like to be consulted as to their wants, and as to changes in arrangements and methods. they like to feel at home in their library. chapter xxxiv the public library for the public the librarian of former times was almost invariably a bookworm, and was often a student properly so called. the older librarians of the present day, and the librarians of the great libraries of our cities, are also very commonly men of letters, men of learning, men who admire the student spirit and know how to appreciate it. the librarian of former days actually felt that the books of which he had charge were to be used, if they were used at all, chiefly, if not only, by persons who wished to make some careful and painstaking research; and the older librarians, and the librarians of the greater libraries of today, are also inclined to think that their libraries are best used, or at least are used as fully as they need be, when they are visited by those who are engaged in original investigation or serious study of some sort. as a fellow librarian once wrote me, for example, of one of his colleagues, "his whole trend is scholarly rather than popular; he appreciates genuine contributions to art, science, and industry, but has little taste for the great class of books that the main body of readers care for." this view of literature, libraries, and the use of books, and this special fondness for what may be called genuine contributions to art, science, and industry, are proper enough in their time and place; but it cannot be too often impressed upon the library world, and upon those who contribute to the support of libraries, and upon trustees and directors generally, that the thing that is of great consequence in the work of the free public library is not its product in the shape of books which are the results of careful research, or of books which are contributions to science, art, and industry; it is the work that the library does from day to day in stimulating the inquiring spirit, in adding to the interest in things, and in broadening the minds of the common people who form per cent at least of the public library patrons. that is to say, the public library is chiefly concerned not in the products of education, as shown in the finished book, but in the process of education as shown in the developing and training of the library users, of the general public. it is from this common-folks-education point of view that the advocate of the open-shelf system looks upon the question of library administration. a free public library is not a people's post-graduate school, it is the people's common school. the more i see and learn of free public libraries the more i am convinced that a public library can reach a high degree of efficiency in its work only when its books are accessible to all its patrons. the free public library should not be managed for the use of the special student, save in special cases, any more than is the free public school. that it should be solely or chiefly or primarily the student's library, in any proper sense of the word, is as contrary to the spirit of the whole free public library movement as would be the making of the public schools an institution for the creation of greek philologians. everyone engaged in educational work, and especially those thus engaged who are most thoroughly equipped for the work in a literary way, and are most in touch with the literary and scholarly spirit, should have his attention called again and again to the needs of the crowd, the mass, the common people, the general run, the per cent who either have never been within a schoolroom, or left it forever by the time they were thirteen years of age. and his attention should be again and again called to the fact that of the millions of children who are getting an education in this country today, not over or per cent at the outside, and perhaps even less than that, ever get as far, even, as the high-schools. the few, of course, rule and must keep the lamp burning, but the many must have sufficient education to know how to walk by it if democracy is to endure. and the school for the many is, and is to be, if the opinions of librarians are correct, the free public library; but it cannot be a school for the many unless the many walk into it, and go among its books, handle them, and so doing come to know them and to love them and to use them, and to get wisdom from them. chapter xxxv advice to a librarian [from public libraries, june, ] as a matter of fact the position of librarian is more of an executive business affair than a literary one. let me give you fair warning--it is in no sense your business to dictate to others as to what they may or may not, should or should not, read, and if you attempt to assume such responsibility you will make unnumbered enemies, and take upon yourself a thankless and uncalled-for task. frankly, do you know what is good for me to read? are you not very much in doubt what is best for yourself? isn't there a doubt in the best and most candid minds upon this same subject? let the board of directors assume the responsibilities, work carefully and cautiously for the things that are considered best by persons of some authority, the people with sound, healthy bodies and clean minds, and thoroughly distrust the literary crank. don't be too sure of your own judgment; the other fellow may be right, especially as to what he wants and needs. hang on to your tastes and prejudices for yourself, but don't impose them upon others. cultivate your own tastes carefully by reading but little, and that little of the best; avoid the latest sensation until you are quite sure it is more than a sensation; if you have to buy it to please the patrons, have some convenient (literary) dog of good appetite and digestive organs, and try it on him or her and watch the general effect. you will be astonished how much you will find out about a book, its morals and manners, by the things they don't say. our mutual friend's father, mr d----, used to utterly damn a book to me when he said it was just fair, and his it's a likely story, put things in the front ranks. just get the confidence of as many readers as you can, grapple some of the most divergent minds with hooks of steel; and in finding out how little you know that is of any real value to anyone else, you will begin to be of some little value to yourself. don't try to direct. the fellow that wants your direction will cause you to ooze out the information he needs, and you will hardly know that you have told him anything. i may be, and doubtless am, saying much that is quite unnecessary, but i have tried to bear in mind some of my own mistakes, and of others around me. i have been impressed with the fact that librarians seem to think that they must or ought to know everything, and get to think they do know. it is a delusion. one can't know it all, and only a hopeless case tries. be more than content to be ignorant on many things. look at your position as a high-grade business one, look after the working details, have things go smoothly, know the whereabouts and classification of the books, and let people choose their own mental food, but see to it that all that is put before them is wholesome. chapter xxxvi the librarian as a host maude r. henderson, in public libraries, september, each librarian needs to have an ideal for society; must have before him an end of which his work will be only a part. it is the peculiar position of the librarian to be so situated that with the consent of his trustees he may, simply by virtue of his office, be able to draw about him more of the elements of usefulness than almost any other person. even a librarian who is a stranger is not taking matters unduly into his own hands in immediately availing himself of this privilege, for he is placed in the community where he can bring together those who have something to give and those who wish to receive. his invitation is non-partisan, non-sectarian, and without social distinctions. the object of this article upon the librarian as a host is to suggest methods of usefulness for the community through the forms of entertainment at the disposal of the librarian. a surprising number of people, not having attractive surroundings, and not having unbounded resources within themselves, lead dull lives. the theater is expensive, sometimes not available, often not attractive, and one of the attractions of a library evening will be that it is "some place to go," but does no violence either to their scruples or their ideas of economy. many who will not identify themselves with clubs, from an aversion to organization, will appreciate the freedom from it here, for there will be no officers, no rules, no fees. if there is no especial note that the librarian thinks it would be well to sound, he may let it be known that the first of a series of entertainments to be given by the library, at the library, will be, for instance, a talk upon the child in history, our american illustrators, or some attractive subject. there are always a number of specialists, even in small places, who can contribute liberally to these plans, thus relieving the librarian of any real work beyond that of planning, while it accomplishes the double purpose of engaging the interest of the speaker in the work of the library, and of furnishing the entertainment for others. the following suggestions, which have been prepared for the work of a small library, will give a more definite idea of the plan. very often there will be found some one who, having a special fondness for one school of art, has made a collection of reproductions of its famous works in photographs, casts or engravings, who will willingly loan them for the illustration of a talk upon this theme, even if not quite as willingly giving the talk himself. a beautiful program for a musical evening would consist of the conversation or paper upon a certain musical form, such as the opera, symphony, or perhaps dance music, being illustrated and varied by the performance of examples of those forms. the organized musical clubs could here be of the greatest service in taking charge of the whole entertainment. an enthusiasm for a work or this kind may be somewhat crushed out by the press of regular duties, but the librarian may be greatly helped by the coöperation of organized clubs. musical societies, saengerbunds, the elks, daughters of the revolution, and other societies are constantly preparing excellent entertainments, which it is hoped they will be willing to reproduce for those who have either not the leisure or the inclination to study. such a movement does not in any way divert the energies of the library from their original aims, but is only another means of enhancing their efficacy. the resources of the library upon each of the subjects presented can be made known in many ways familiar to the librarian, such as posted lists, bulletins, and by the mention of them in the talks. upon a night which the librarian might consider of interest to them, special invitations may be sent to the different organized societies of working people, such as the retail clerks, labor unions, etc, who might not include themselves readily in a general published invitation. it has been generally observed that more people are willing to read than know _what_ to read, and are always glad of help in selection. the originality of the librarian will develop many themes and schemes, and the work itself will doubtless show new veins which may be followed up. it may be that not many will avail themselves of any one invitation, but with a constant change of topic and manner of presentation, there cannot fail to be a great number, eventually, whose attention will be enlisted. chapter xxxvii library patrons--making friends of them library patrons may be roughly divided into classes, thus: first--the adult student who, on rare occasions, calls to supplement the resources of his own collection of books with the resources of the public institution. this class is very small. second--the dilettante, or amateur, who is getting up an essay or a criticism for some club or society, and wishes to verify his impression as to the color of james russell lowell's hair, or the exact words dickens once used to james t. fields in speaking of a certain ought-to-be-forgotten poem of browning's. this class is large, and its annual growth in this country is probably an encouraging sign of the times. it indicates interest. third--the serious-minded reader who alternately tackles macaulay, darwin, and tom jones with frequent and prolonged relapses--simply to rest his mind--into mrs wistar and capt. king. this class is quite large, and though in too large a measure the victims of misplaced confidence in sir john lubbock and frederick harrison, they make excellent progress and do much to keep up the reading habit. fourth--the "oh, just-anything-good-you-know" reader. her name is legion. she never knows what she has read. yet the social student who failed to take into account the desultory, pastime reader, would miss a great factor in the spread of ideas. fifth--the person who does not read. he is commoner than most suppose. he is often young, more often boy than girl, oftener young man than young woman. he commits eternally what mr putnam aptly calls the great crime against the library of staying away from it. he is classed among the patrons of the library somewhat as the western schoolma'am brought in knowledge of the capital of massachusetts as part of her mental baggage: "well, i know i ought to know it." he ought to be a library patron. how make him one? there are many methods, and all should be tried. the pears' soap plan of printers' ink is one of the finest and best. if a library has or is a good thing for the community let it so be said, early, late, and often, in large, plain type. so doing shall the library's books enter--before too old to be of service--into that state of utter worn-out-ness which is the only known book-heaven. another way, and by some found good, is to work the sinfully indifferent first up into a library missionary, and then transform him into a patron. a library is something to which he can give an old book, an old paper, an old magazine, with no loss to himself. having given, the library is at once his field, a timbuctoo for his missionary spirit, is in part his creation. ever after he is its interested friend. he wants to know about it. he goes to see it. he uses it. chapter xxxviii public libraries and recreation w.i. fletcher in public libraries, july, there is nothing out of place in the comparing of the library to the school and the college, but its true mission is not to be so limited. to a large extent it is to be compared, as an object of public care and expense, with the park, the modern common, where there are flower-beds, rare plants in conservatories, lakes with boats in summer and skating in winter, and music by excellent bands. not very strictly useful, these things, but recognized everywhere as ministering to the real culture of the people. let this library, then, be the place where you will come, not merely to study and store your minds with so-called "useful" knowledge, but also often to have a good time; to refresh your minds and hearts with humor and poetry and fiction. let the boys find here wholesome books of adventure, and tales such as a boy likes; let the girls find the stories which delight them and give their fancy and imagination exercise; let the tired housewife find the novels which will transport her to an ideal realm of love and happiness; let the hard-worked man, instead of being expected always to read "improving" books of history or politics, choose that which shall give him relaxation of mind and nerve, perhaps the innocents abroad, or josh billings' "allminax," or samanthy at saratoga. chapter xxxix books as useful tools there is still too much of superstition and reverence mingled with the thought of books and literature, and study and studentship in the popular mind. books are tools, of which here and there one is useful for a certain purpose to a certain person. the farmer consults his farm paper on the mixing of pig-feed; the cook takes from the latest treatise the rules for a new salad; the chemist finds in his journal the last word on the detection of poisons; the man of affairs turns to the last market reports for guidance in his day's transactions; and all have used books, have studied literature. the hammer and the poem, the hoe and the dictionary, the engine and the encyclopedia, the trowel and the treatise on philosophy--these are tools. one and all, they are expressions of the life of the race. but they are not, for that reason, to be reverenced. they are proper for man's service, not man for theirs. approach books, then, as you would a sewing machine, a school, or a factory. literature, after all, is simply all that's printed. in print are found the sum of the experience and observation of the whole race. out of this print it is the librarian's business to help his fellows to draw such facts and suggestions as may aid them in their work. chapter xl a village library successfully managed james r. garfield, in public libraries, october, mentor, ohio, is a village of but people; therefore we are somewhat limited in our ability to raise funds for carrying on library work. but some six years ago of us got together and began holding a series of meetings every month, something in the nature of the old new england township meeting, for the purpose of stirring up an interest in town affairs, and in doing that we considered it necessary to have some central point of interest around which we could all work, and we chose as that the library. there had never been a library in the village except a small circulating library. we all believed that the use of books and the greater knowledge of books would be a common center of interest around which we could all work and toward which we would be glad to give work. the result of five years' work in this way was that we now have a library of about v., and two years ago, acting under a general law of the state, we became incorporated, and requested the village council to levy a tax for the work of the library. we at that time had about v. the council very readily saw the advantage of this kind of work. they appreciated what was being done for the citizens and schools of the state, and therefore they levied a tax and turned the proceeds of the tax over to the library board. in this way, you will see, the library board is kept entirely aloof from politics. there are no elections by the people, nor is the board appointed by any political officers. it is a self-constituted body, a corporate body under the laws of this state, and as long as we maintain our corporate existence the village may turn over the funds to the library. we settled the difficulty of women's rights by having an equal number of both men and women on the board, and then in order to avoid the question of disruption of families we made the other member of the family who was not on an honorary member of the board. in this way we increased the number of workers and at the same time satisfied the desire of many people to hold office. but we found that , together with the supernumerary and honorary members, were unwieldy, and the work practically devolved upon very few of the members. therefore, when we incorporated, we made an executive board consisting of five members, and they had absolute management of the library proper. they are elected every year from the members of the association, and have absolute control of the library. although our library is supported by the village, we make it absolutely free to anyone who desires to use it. those outside the village or township are required to put up a nominal deposit, merely for the safe return of the book. we made this the ideal toward which we are working--that the friendship of books is like the friendship of men, it is worth nothing and avails nothing unless it is used constantly and improved constantly. chapter xli rules for the public printed rules, telling the public how they may use the library, are best put in the form of information and suggestions. thus published they do not give the impression of red tape and restrictions so much as of help in making access to the library's resources easier and pleasanter. the following suggestions and rules are copied with slight modification from a set in actual use. the utopia free public library information and suggestions general the library is open to everyone. do not hesitate to ask questions. suggestions of books for purchase and of changes in methods are asked for. circulating department the circulating department is open from to . all persons residing in the city of utopia, and giving satisfactory reference, are entitled to use the circulating department of the library on subscribing to the following agreement: i hereby certify that i am a resident of the city of utopia, and, in consideration of the right to use the free circulating department of the library, agree to comply with the regulations provided for its government. a card-holder is responsible for all books taken on his card. immediate notice should be given of change of residence. the library card should be presented when a book is drawn, renewed, or returned. to renew a book, bring or send your card and the number of the book. lost cards can be replaced at once on payment of cents for renewal, or without charge after a delay of two weeks. one book, or one work if not in more than three volumes, may be taken at a time and kept two weeks, when it may be renewed for two weeks. four weeks is the limit of time that a book can be retained in any one household. books must be returned on the same card on which they are drawn. a book cannot be transferred from one account to another unless it is brought to the library. a fine at the rate of cents per day is assessed on each book retained over time, payable on its return. a book retained more than a week beyond the time limited may be sent for at the expense of the delinquent. books marked with a * in the catalogs are reference books, and are not lent. no pen or pencil marks should be made in the books. any person who refuses to pay the fines or expenses mentioned, or wilfully violates any of the foregoing rules, forfeits thereby all right to the use of the library. teachers, and for good cause others, can take out more than one book (other than fiction) at a time, for such a term as may have been agreed upon before the books leave the library. in the absence of such agreement the books can be kept for the usual time only. persons not resident in the city may be allowed, at the discretion of the librarian, to take books on payment of $ per year, and on signing an agreement to comply with the regulations of the library. reference department the librarian and assistants are glad of opportunities to help those wishing to do reference work of any kind to a knowledge of the location of the books and the use of catalogs, indexes, and other aids. reading room the reading room is open from a.m. to p.m. on week days; and on sundays from p.m. to p.m. conversation and conduct inconsistent with quiet and order are prohibited. back numbers of papers and periodicals may be had on application to the attendants. the books, papers, and periodicals should be carefully used, and neither marked nor cut. persons who wilfully violate any of the foregoing rules thereby forfeit all right to the use of the reading room. chapter xlii rules for the government of the board of trustees and employés of the public library [slightly modified from the rules of the erie (pa.) public library.] article i meetings of the board section . the regular meetings of the board of trustees shall be held on the monday preceding the first thursday of every month, at p.m. sec. . special meetings shall be called by the president whenever, in his judgment, they may be necessary; or at the written request of three members of the board. article ii quorums section . five members of the board and two of any standing committee shall constitute a quorum, in either case, for the transaction of business. article iii order of business section . the order of business at all regular meetings of the board shall be as follows: . roll call. . reading of the minutes. . petitions and communications. . hearing of citizens and others. . report of the secretary. . report of the librarian. . report of the book committee. . report of the finance committee. . report of the building committee. . report of special committees. . bills and pay-rolls. . new business. article iv officers section . the officers of the board shall consist of a president, vice-president, and secretary, each of whom shall be elected at the regular meeting in january, to serve for one year. in case of a vacancy the board may elect a person to fill the unexpired term at any regular meeting. temporary appointments may be made in the absence of the regular officers. sec. . the president shall preside at the meetings of the board; appoint the various committees; certify all bills that have been recommended for payment by the board; prepare the annual report; see to the general enforcement of the rules; and perform such other duties as the board may direct. in conjunction with the finance committee, he shall make an estimate at the close of each fiscal year of the probable expenses for the ensuing year, and submit the same to the board for its action. sec. . the vice-president shall perform the duties of the president in the latter's absence. sec. . the secretary shall record all proceedings of the board; read the minutes of the preceding meeting, or meetings, at each regular meeting; keep a detailed account of receipts and expenses; report the same to the board monthly; file all communications, vouchers, and other papers; certify all bills that have been recommended for payment by the board; transmit all resolutions and recommendations that may require it to the board of education or the proper committee thereof; prepare an annual report of receipts and expenses; and perform such other duties as the board may require. article v committees section . the standing committees of the board shall be a finance committee, a book committee, and a committee on building and grounds, each to consist of three members, to be named by the president at the regular meeting in february of each year. sec. . the finance committee shall certify to the correctness of all bills and pay-rolls before their presentation to the board; require a voucher for all expenses; see that the accounts are properly kept; aid the president in making up his annual estimates; verify the fiscal reports of the secretary and librarian; and look after the financial affairs of the board generally. sec. . the book committee shall be consulted by the librarian in the selection of all books, magazines, newspapers, etc.; prepare the rules for the management of the library; supervise the cataloging, labeling, and shelving of the various publications; have general charge of the book rooms; suggest suitable persons for employés (except the janitor and his assistants), and fix the duties of the same; require a list of all gifts, purchases and losses to be kept by the librarian, and verify his monthly and annual statements of the same. sec. . the committee on building and grounds shall purchase and take charge of the furniture and fixtures in the library building; look after all matters pertaining to the building and grounds (inclusive of sidewalks, lawns, heating, lighting, and ventilation), and suggest the proper persons to serve as janitor and assistants to the same. they shall require all parts of the premises to be kept in a neat, clean, and creditable condition, and report all defects that require repair or remedy. article vi expenditures section . unless otherwise ordered by the board, no indebtedness shall be incurred without the previous approval of the proper committee. sec. . no committee shall authorize an expense of more than $ in any one month without having secured the sanction of the board in advance. sec. . no bill shall be recommended to be paid by the board until it has been approved by the proper committee in writing. sec. . all bills recommended for payment by the board shall be certified by the president and secretary. sec. . when bids are asked for supplies, furniture, repairs, labor, etc., they shall be made under seal, and shall only be opened at a meeting of the board or of the committee to which the matter has been referred. article vii to be in writing section . all reports, recommendations, and resolutions shall be submitted in writing. sec. . reports of committees shall be signed by two members thereof. article viii employÉs section . the terms of all regular employés shall continue until their successors are appointed. they shall be subject, however, to removal for cause, at any time, by a vote of the board. sec. . the president may suspend any employé, for cause, subject to the action of the board at its next meeting. sec. . the salaries of employés shall be fixed before their election. article ix the librarian section . subject to the direction of the board and the several committees, the librarian shall have supervisory charge, control, and management of the library building and all of its appurtenances, as well as of all the employés in and about the same. sec. . he shall be held strictly responsible for the care and preservation of the property in charge of the board; the courtesy and efficiency of the library service; the accuracy of the records; the reliability of his accounts and statements; the classifying, cataloging, and shelving of the books; the enforcement of the rules; the cleanliness and good condition of the building, grounds, and sidewalks; and the proper heating, lighting, and ventilation of the building. sec . he shall attend the meetings of the board and assist the secretary in keeping his minutes and accounts. sec. . he shall keep an account, in permanent form, of all his receipts and expenses on behalf of the library, and report the same to the board monthly. sec. . he shall make a monthly report of the operations of the library, including a list of all accessions to the various departments of the same, whether by gift or purchase, with such recommendations as, in his opinion, will promote its efficiency. sec. . he shall keep record books of all accessions to the library by purchase, and of all gifts for its several departments, with the dates when received, and, in the case of donations, the names and places of residence of the donors. sec. . he shall promptly and courteously acknowledge all gifts to the library or any of its departments. sec. . he shall keep an account of the time of the several employés; prepare the pay-rolls in accordance therewith, and place the same before the finance committee in advance of each regular meeting. sec. . he shall prepare an annual report showing, as fully as may be practical, the operation of the library and its several departments during the preceding year, with an inventory of the furniture, books, and other contents of the building. sec. . the first assistant librarian shall perform the duties of the librarian during the latter's absence. article x amendments section . amendments hereto shall only be made at a regular meeting of the board, and must be proposed at least one month previous to final action on the same. chapter xliii reports as far as the welfare of the library is concerned, the money spent in publishing an elaborate annual report can often be better invested in a few popular books, or, better still, in a few attractively printed statements of progress and of needs, distributed through the community on special occasions. if there must be an annual report for the general public--which will not read it--it should be brief and interesting, without many figures and without many complaints. do not think it necessary, in making up your report, to adopt the form or the list of contents usually followed by libraries. give the necessary figures as briefly as may be, and adapt the rest of the report to the library and its community. chapter xliv library legislation prank c. patten, librarian helena (mont.) public library the modern library movement is embodying ideas that are yet to make public libraries about as common as public schools, and correspondingly important in educational value. after a generation of most remarkable growth of public libraries in number, size, and recognized usefulness, experience can now enlighten us in regard to plans of library support and organization. the best interests of the movement are served by embodying the results of this experience in law. such a law, by setting forth a good plan, encourages the establishment and promotes the growth of these popular educational institutions. outline of a good law the following outline (with explanatory notes) embraces the important provisions of a good state library law: _establishment and maintenance._--authorize the governing body in connection with the voters of any city, town, county, school district, or other political body that has power to levy and collect taxes, to establish and maintain a public library for the free use of the people. provide also for joint establishment and maintenance, for aiding a free library with public money, and for contract with some existing library for general or special library privileges. provide for maintenance by regular annual rate of tax. authorize special tax or bonds to provide rooms, land, or buildings. provide that on petition of or taxpayers the questions of establishment, rate of tax, and bonds shall first be decided by vote of the people at general or special election, to be changed only by another vote. note.--it is believed that there need be no limit of rate placed in the state law, as a community is not at all likely to vote to tax itself too high for library support. the people of a small place will, in fact, often fail to realize that in order to raise money enough to accomplish their object the tax rate must be higher than in a large place. it is not impossible that communities will, by and by, spend about as much in support of their public libraries as in support of their public schools. _management._--establish an independent board of trustees and place the management wholly in its hands. constitute the library a public corporation, with power to acquire, hold, transfer, and lease property, and to receive donations and bequests. secure a permanent board with gradual change of membership, the number of members to be not less than three, and the term of office certainly to be not less than three years. note.--in order to remove public library management from the influences of party politics, the library and its property should be wholly left to the control of trustees selected from citizens of recognized fitness for such a duty. ex-officio membership in a library board should generally be avoided, especially in case of a small board; fitness for the position alone should be considered. experience seems to show that in cities the proper board of trustees can best be secured through appointment by the mayor and confirmation by the council. it is a good way to provide for five trustees, one to be appointed each year for a term of five years. this number is large enough to be representative, and small enough to avoid the great difficulty in securing a quorum if the number is large. the length of term in connection with gradual change of membership encourages careful planning, and it secures the much needed continuity of management and political independence. and yet there is sufficient change of officers so that the board will not be too far removed from the public will. _miscellaneous_.--state the purpose of a public library broadly, perhaps in the form of a definition. make possible the maintenance of loan, reference, reading room, museum, lecture, and allied educational features, and of branches. prescribe mode for changing form of organization of an existing library to conform to new law. impose penalties for theft, mutilation, over-detention, and disturbance. provide for distributing all publications of the state free to public libraries. note.--it is probably most convenient to have the library year correspond with the calendar year. it is well to have the trustees appointed and the report of the library made at a different time of the year from either the local or general elections. the library is thus more likely to be free from the influences of party politics. to have a library treasurer is probably the better plan, but library money may be kept in the hands of the municipal treasurer as a separate fund, and be paid out by order of the board of trustees only. libraries for schoolrooms, to be composed of reference books, books for supplementary reading, class duplicates, and professional books for teachers, should be provided for in the public school law. school funds should be used and school authorities should manage these libraries. the business of lending books for home use is better and more economically managed by a public library, having an organization that is independent of the school authorities. _a state central authority_.--establish a state library commission; appointments on this commission to be made by the governor and confirmed by the senate, one each year for a term of five years. make the commission the head of the public library system of the state with supervisory powers. let the commission manage the state library entirely, and center all its work at that institution. let it be the duty of the commission, whenever it is asked, to give advice and instruction in organization and administration to the libraries in the state; to receive reports from these libraries and to publish an annual report; to manage the distribution of state aid, and to manage a system of traveling libraries. note.--within a few years each of several states has provided for a state library commission, to be in some sense the head of the public library system of the state, as the state board of education is the head of the public school system of the state. by having small traveling libraries of or v. each, to lend for a few months to localities that have no libraries, and by having a little state aid to distribute wisely, the state library commission is able to encourage communities to do more for themselves in a library way than they otherwise would. there may be cases where the work of the commission might better be centered at the state university library. the state library commission has proved to be a useful agency wherever tried, and the plan seems likely to spread throughout the country. in wyoming the income from , acres of state land forms a library fund. it would seem probable that other states will adopt this plan. by far the most complete and successful state system that has yet been organized is that of new york, where all centers in the state library at albany as headquarters. reading matter on library legislation the report of the united states commissioner of education for - contains a compilation of the library laws of all the states. every year new laws and amendments are enacted in several of the states, and the advance is very marked. the laws of new york, massachusetts, wisconsin, and illinois are among the best. essentials of a good law the three most essential things to be provided for in a good state library law are: a sure and steady revenue. careful and consecutive management. a central library authority. in attempting to alter or make new laws, these essentials should be kept clearly in mind, but special conditions peculiar to each state dictate modifications of any general plan. anyone interested in the matter could read the general articles upon the subject and the various state laws, and then, with the assistance of the best legal talent to be obtained, frame an act appropriate to the conditions of his state. chapter xlv a.l.a. and other library associations and clubs the american library association was organized in . it holds annual meetings. it publishes its proceedings in volumes, of which those now in print may be purchased of the a.l.a. publishing section, - / beacon st., boston, or of the secretary. it seeks in every practicable way to develop and strengthen the public library as an essential part of the american educational system. it therefore strives by individual effort of members, and where practicable by local organization, to stimulate public interest in establishing or improving libraries, and thus to bring the best reading within reach of all. librarians, trustees, and persons interested may become members; the annual fee is $ . membership entitles one to a copy of the proceedings; it has now about members. every person actively engaged in library work owes it to herself, as well as to her profession, to join the american library association. if the association is large, if its meetings are well attended, if its proceedings as published show that the problems of library work are carefully studied, if the published proceedings are widely circulated, it is easier to persuade the intelligent part of the public that the librarian's profession is serious, dignified, and calls to its membership men and women of ability and zeal. if the public is persuaded of these things, the position of the humblest as well as of the highest in the profession is thereby rendered better worth the holding. to attend diligently to one's business is sometimes a most proper form of advertising one's merits. to be a zealous and active member of the a.l.a. is to attend to an important part of one's business; for one can't join it and work with it and for it and not increase one's efficiency in many ways. state associations have been organized in the following states: new york, pennsylvania, ohio, wisconsin, maine, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, vermont, california, colorado, connecticut, georgia, illinois, indiana, iowa. the following states have state library commissions: connecticut, georgia, massachusetts, new hampshire, new york, ohio, vermont, wisconsin, indiana, colorado, michigan, new jersey, minnesota. the following cities have library clubs: buffalo, chicago, minneapolis, new york city, washington city. an inquiry for information regarding any of these associations or clubs, addressed to any librarian in the states given, will receive attention. much of what is said above about the a.l.a. applies with equal force to the association of one's state or neighborhood. often, moreover, it is possible to attend a state association meeting at small expense of time or money. chapter xlvi library schools and training classes as libraries have become more thoroughly organized, as they have become more aggressive in their methods, and as they have come to be looked upon by librarians and others as possible active factors in educational work, the proper management of them has naturally been found to require experience and technical knowledge as well as tact, a love of books, and janitorial zeal. it is seen that the best librarians are trained as well as born; hence the library school. the library school--a list of those now in operation will be found at the end of this chapter--does not confine itself to education in the technical details of library management. it aims first to arouse in its pupils the "modern library spirit," the wish, that is, to make the library an institution which shall help its owners, the public, to become happier and wiser, and adds to this work what it can of knowledge of books, their use, their housing, and their helpful arrangement. perhaps the ideal preparation for a librarian today would be, after a thorough general education, two or three years in a good library school preceded and followed by a year in a growing library of moderate size. a few libraries have tried with much success the apprentice system of library training, taking in a class, or series of classes, for a few months or a year, and at the end of the period of apprenticeship selecting from the class additions to its regular corps. list of library schools and training classes new york state library school, albany; pratt institute library school, brooklyn; wisconsin summer school of library science, madison; drexel institute library school, philadelphia, pa.; university of illinois state library school, champaign; amherst summer school library class, amherst, mass.; los angeles public library training class; cleveland summer school of library science. chapter xlvii the library department of the n.e.a. the library department of the national educational association holds meetings annually at the same time and place with the n.e.a. the national educational association is the largest organized body of members of the teaching profession in the world. its annual meetings bring together from to , teachers of every grade, from the kindergarten to the university. it includes a number of departments, each devoted to a special branch of educational work. the library department was established in . it has held successful meetings. it is doing much to bring together librarians and teachers. it is arousing much interest in the subject of the use of books by young people, briefly touched on in the later chapters of this book. following the example of the n.e.a., many state and county associations of teachers throughout the country have established library departments. at these are discussed the many aspects of such difficult and as yet unanswered questions as: what do children most like to read? how interest them in reading? what is the best reading for them? chapter xlviii young people and the schools if possible give the young people a reading room of their own, and a room in which are their own particular books. these special privileges will not bar them from the general use of the library. make no age limit in issuing borrowers' cards. a child old enough to know the use of books is old enough to borrow them, and to begin that branch of its education which a library only can give. the fact that a child is a regular attendant at school is in itself almost sufficient guarantee for giving him a borrower's card. certainly this fact, in addition to the signature of parent, guardian, or adult friend, even if the signer does not come to the library, will be guarantee enough. teachers should be asked to help in persuading children to make the acquaintance of the library, and then to make good use of it. to get this help from teachers is not easy. they are generally fully occupied with keeping their pupils up to the required scholarship mark. they have no time to look after outside matters. visits to teachers in their schoolrooms by librarian or assistant will often be found helpful. lists of books adapted to schoolroom use, both for the teacher and for pupils, are good, but are very little used when offered, unless followed up by personal work. brief statements of what the library can do and would like to do in the way of helping on the educational work of the community will be read by the occasional teacher. teachers can sometimes be interested in a library through the interest in it of the children themselves. the work of getting young people to come to the library and enjoy its books should go hand in hand with the work of persuading teachers to interest children in the library. it is not enough to advertise the library's advantages in the papers, or to send to teachers a printed statement that they are invited and urged to use the institution; nor is it enough to visit them and say that the books in the library are at their service. these facts must be demonstrated by actual practice on every possible opportunity. a teacher who goes to a library and finds its privileges much hedged about with rules and regulations will perhaps use it occasionally, certainly not often. appropriate books should be put directly into their hands, the educational work of this, that, and the other teacher should be noted, and their attention called to the new books which touch their particular fields. teachers' cards can be provided which will give to holders special privileges. it is a question, however, if such a system is necessary or worth while. under the charging system already described any teacher can be permitted to take away as many books as she wishes, and a record of them can be easily and quickly made. to give "teachers' cards," with accompanying privileges, is to limit to some extent the rights of all others. and yet teachers may very often properly receive special attention. in a measure they are part of the library's staff of educational workers. but these special attentions or favors should be offered without proclaiming the fact to the rest of the community. many cannot see why a teacher should receive favors not granted to all. take special pains to show children the use of indexes, and indeed of all sorts of reference books; they will soon be familiar with them and handle them like lifelong students. gain the interest of teachers in this sort of work, and urge them to bring their classes and make a study of your reference books. chapter xlix how the library can assist the school channing folsom, superintendent of schools, dover, n.h., in public libraries, may, we have to consider the teacher, the school, the pupil, the home. the teacher is likely to be conservative; to have fallen into ruts; to be joined to his idols; to make the text-book a fetish; to teach a particular book rather than the subject, so that the initiative in works of coöperation must come from the library side. if, then, the library is equally conservative, if the librarian and the trustees look upon their books as too sacred or too precious to be handled by boys and girls, the desired coöperation will never be attained. in beginning the desired work the librarian must have a well-defined idea of what is to be done and how. there should be a well-defined line of differentiation between material which the school should furnish and that properly belonging to the library province. of course all text-books, all supplementary reading matter for classroom use, all ordinary reference books, should be furnished by the school authorities. but the more extensive and the more expensive dictionaries, gazetteers, cyclopedias, and books for topical reference cannot be so furnished. if they are to be used by public school pupils, the library must supply them, and make access to them as easy and as pleasant as possible. it is within the scope of the library to improve the taste in reading among the pupils of the schools by compiling lists of the best books upon the shelves, and distributing these lists to the pupils. such lists may be classified as suitable to different grades or ages, or by subjects, as, history of different countries or epochs, biography, travels, nature work, fiction, etc. the possible good that may be achieved in this way is immeasurable. although, according to dogberry, to write and read comes by nature, we must remember that a taste for good reading is not innate but acquired, and that it is not ordinarily acquired under unfavorable conditions. to ensure the acquirement of this taste by the child, good reading must be made as accessible as the bad, the librarian and the teacher must conspire to put good reading, interesting reading, elevating reading in his way. the well-read person is an educated person. the taste for good reading once acquired is permanent. there is little danger of backsliding. it grows with indulgence. one writer says: no man having once tasted good food or good wine, or even good tobacco, ever voluntarily turns to an inferior article. so with our reading habits; a taste for good reading once acquired becomes a joy forever. teachers do not realize, as does the librarian, the low tone of the reading taste of the community. when they fully understand this, together with the fact that the acquirement of a reading habit and a love for good literature are largely dependent, in a majority of cases, upon the public school training, then will the librarian have to bestir himself to supply the demand for good books made by the school. the habit thus formed, the taste thus acquired, will be of infinitely more value to them than the information gained. the latter may soon be forgotten, the former will stay with them through life; but the influence of good books taken into the homes of our school children, from the library or from the school, does not stop with the children themselves. it is impossible that such books should go into even an ignorant, uncouth, unlettered family without exerting an elevating and refining influence. thus the school opens to the library the broadest field for doing the greatest good to the greatest number, the shortest avenue to the masses. but the consciousness of good done will not be the only reward for the library. the reflex action upon the library of this intimate connection with the school will be highly beneficial. a generation will grow up trained to associate the library and the school as instrumentalities of public education, demanding alike its moral and financial support, a generation that in town meetings and in city councils will advocate generous appropriations for the public library as well as for the public school. thus, your bread cast upon the waters shall return unto you after many days. chapter l children's room in recent years a number of the larger libraries of the country have given up a portion of the delivery room, or a separate room entire, to the use of children. all of these special arrangements for children thus far reported have been successful. the plan that seems to give the greatest satisfaction, is to place in a room opening from the delivery room, and perhaps forming in effect a part of it, the books in the library especially adapted to the use of young people up to about years of age. such of these books as are not fiction are classified as closely as are the books in the main part of the library, and are arranged by their numbers on the shelves. in this room the children have free access to the shelves. an attendant in charge gives special attention to the wants of the young visitors, and as far as possible gives guidance in the selection and instruction in the use of the books. a collection of reference books adapted to the young is sometimes added to the books which circulate. even in the very small library a corner for young people will usually be found an attractive and useful feature. it draws the young folks away from the main collection, where their presence sometimes proves an annoyance. it does not at all prevent the use, by the younger readers, of the books of the elders if they wish to use them, and it makes much easier some slight supervision, at least, of the former's reading. chapter li schoolroom libraries "schoolroom library" is the term commonly applied to a small collection, usually about v., of books placed on an open shelf in a schoolroom. in a good many communities these libraries have been purchased and owned by the board of education, or the school authorities, whoever they may be. if they are the property of the school board they commonly remain in the schoolroom in which they are placed. as the children in that room are changed each year, and as the collections selected for the different grades are usually different, the child as he passes through the rooms comes into close contact with a new collection each year. there are some advantages in having the ownership and control of these libraries remain entirely in the hands of the school board and the superintendent. the library, however, is generally the place in the community in which is to be found the greatest amount of information about books in general, the purchasing of them, the proper handling of them in fitting them for the shelves, cataloging, binding, etc., and the selection of those best adapted to young people. it is quite appropriate therefore, that, as is in many cities the case, the public library should supply the schools with these schoolroom libraries from its own shelves, buying therefor special books and often many copies of the same book. if schoolroom libraries do come from the public library, they can with very little difficulty be changed several times during the school year. with a little care on the part of the librarian and teachers, the collection of any given room can be by experience and observation better and better adapted to the children in that room as time goes on. there are many ways of using the schoolroom library. the books forming it should stand on open shelves accessible to the pupils whenever the teacher gives permission. they may be lent to the children to take home. thus used they often lead both children and parents to read more and better books than before, and to use the larger collections of the public library. they may be used for collateral reading in the schoolroom itself. some of them may be read aloud by the teacher. they may serve as a reference library in connection with topics in history, geography, science, and other subjects. wherever introduced these libraries have been very successful. chapter lii children's home libraries in a few cities the following plan for increasing the amount of good reading among the children of the poorer and less educated has been tried with great success. it is especially adapted to communities which are quite distant from the public library or any of its branches. it is, as will be seen, work which is in the spirit of the college settlement plan. the "home libraries," if they do no more, serve as a bond of common interest between the children and their parents, and the persons who wish to add to their lives something of interest and good cheer. as a matter of fact they do more than this. they lead not a few to use the library proper, and they give to at least a few boys and girls an opportunity for self-education such as no other institution yet devised can offer. a home library is a small collection of books, usually only or , with one or two young folks' periodicals, put up in a box with locked cover. the box is so made that it will serve as a bookcase and can be hung on a wall or stood on the floor or a table. in the neighborhood in which it is to be placed a group of four or five children is found--or perhaps a father or a mother--who will agree to look after the books. to one of these, called the librarian, is given the key of the box, and the box itself is placed in the spot selected; perhaps a hallway or a living room. under a few very simple regulations the librarian lends the books in the home library to the young people of the neighborhood. if the experiment is successful the first set of books is changed for another, and the work continues. or perhaps the library is enlarged; and perhaps even grows into a permanent institution. chapter liii literary clubs and libraries evva l. moore, withers' public library [public libraries, june, ] in your community are a number of literary clubs; if there are not, it lies within the power of the librarian to create them: an evening club composed of men and women; a ladies' club for the study of household economics; a young ladies' club for the study of music or some literary topic; a club for young men in which to study sociology; a novel club for the study of the world's great fiction. for constitutions suitable for such clubs, account of administration, organization, etc., consult the extension bulletin no. of the university of the state of new york, and bulletin no. , june, , of the michigan state library, and list of books for women and girls and their clubs. the study club is one of the best means of extending the influence of your library; of securing the attention and hold of the people. it awakens thought, arouses discussions, puts into circulation books which otherwise might stand idle on the shelves. it is necessary to study carefully the courses of study of the different clubs, and to do this the programs must be on file in the library. if they are printed (and encourage this) so much the better; if in manuscript they can be used with small inconvenience. if the program is prepared week by week only, make arrangements to have it sent immediately to the library; also watch your local paper for notices. no doubt the officers of the various clubs come to you for suggestions when arranging the course of study for the year, and to inquire as to the resources of the library on the subject in hand, in order that every effort may be made to fill the gaps in the library collection. when a request of this kind comes, suggestions and assistance may be obtained from the two bulletins mentioned above, as, in addition to information along the lines of organization, they contain outlines of study. harper's bazaar devotes a page each week to club women and club work. university-extension bulletins and courses of study offer numerous suggestions. the literary clubs of the smaller towns without libraries, within a radius of a few miles of your own small town, copying after their more pretentious sister along literary lines, should have your encouragement and assistance. lend all the books that you can spare on as easy terms as are compatible with your rules; in short, institute traveling libraries on a small scale. chapter liv museums, lectures, etc. a museum in connection with the library, either historical or scientific, or an art gallery, may be made a source of attraction, and of much educational value. the collecting of antiquities, or natural history specimens, or rare bindings, or ancient books or manuscripts, is generally taken up by societies organized for such purposes. the library should try to bring these collections into such relations with itself as to add to its own attractiveness, and to make more interesting and instructive the collections. a library can often very happily advertise itself, and encourage the use of its books, by establishing a series of lectures. entertainments, somewhat of the nature of receptions, or exhibits of the library's treasures in the library itself, will sometimes add to the institution's popularity, and will always afford a good excuse for sending to leading people in the community a note reminding them of the library's existence and perhaps of its needs. chapter lv rules for the care of photographs henry w. kent, slater museum, norwich, conn. i. accessioning the _accession book_ should be ruled in columns under the following headings: a, accession number; b, author; c, title; d, gallery; e, photographer and place of publication; f, date of publication; g, photographer's number; h, process; i, size of print; j, size of mount; k, cost; l, cost of mounting; m, remarks. a accession number. the consecutive museum number to be either written or printed. this column should be used to give the date of accession. b author. for photographs of paintings give one important name. for photographs of sculpture give sculptor's name, where known. for photographs of architecture give name of city followed by country in parentheses. london (eng.) c title. for photographs of painting and sculpture use short, catch title, bringing, where possible, the important name first. for photographs of architecture, make first word a word descriptive of the kind of building: temple of mars; cathedral of notre dame; basilica of s. paolo. d gallery. this column is used for sculpture and painting only. enter official name of gallery under name of city, followed by country in parentheses, and separated by hyphen: london (eng.)-national gallery; paris (france)-louvre. e photographer and place of publication. use the last name of publisher, followed by name of city abbreviated. alinari, fio.; braun, pa.; hanfstaengl, mün. f date. the high grade photographs have the date of their publication on the mount. g publisher's number. to be found on all prints. h process. state whether silver print, platinotype, carbon (give color b. for black, br. for brown, g. for gray), autotype, collotype, etc. i size of print. give size in centimeters, giving width first. j size of mount. use the following notation: f for size measuring x inches, and upwards. q for size measuring x inches up to x . o for size measuring x inches up to x . d for all sizes under o. k cost. give cost of imported prints in foreign money; give total of bill in american money. l cost of mounting. m remarks. this column will be found useful for date of remounting prints. enter all prints in the order of the publisher's bill. write the accession number on the back of mount (see under labeling) and on author card. ii. card cataloging photographs of paintings and sculpture should be entered under the following heads: a, author, b, title, c, gallery, d, school of painter or sculptor. use library bureau card, no. r. a author card. this should show, a, author's name, dates of birth and death, and school; b, title of work; c, kind of work; d, gallery; e, imprint; f, accession number; g, classification or storage number. [illustration: painting card; author, with full name to precede list of words. giorgione, ii. (giorgio _barbarelli_) called. - . _italian-venetian_ a] aa enter author on first blue line between red lines, under his best known name, even if a nickname, giving full name with nicknames and their translations after it, in parentheses. give dates of birth and death in parentheses, followed by name of the school to which the artist belonged. make cross-references from all forms under which the author might be looked for. (it will be found convenient to give all this data on one card, to precede the list of the artist's works, using on all following cards the first, or well-known name, only.) [illustration: painting card; author, showing title of work, kind of work, gallery, etc. q giorgione, ii. g h _holy family_. _easel-picture_. _venice_(italy)-palazzogiovanelli. naya, venice. . silver, x cm. a] ab write the title on second blue line, at the right of red lines. make it as brief as possible, using the important name in it, first. christ, baptism of; christ, betrayal of; virgin mary, coronation of; st john, birth of; st peter, martyrdom of. ac indicate after the title whether it is an easel-picture, fresco, statue, relief, or a part of a larger work. ad give on fourth blue line, at left of red lines, the official name of gallery, preceded by city, with country in parentheses. london (eng.)-national gallery. ae give the imprint on fifth blue line, beginning at the right of red lines: name of photographer, place of publication, date, number of print, process, size of print in cm., bottom by height. b title card. this card should show, a, title, b, author. [illustration: painting card; title, with different authors and galleries. holy family. see _buonarotti_. florence (it.)-palazzo uffizi. q-g h _giorgigne ii_. venice (it.)-palazzo giovanelli. _ghirlandaio ii_. florence (it.)-palazzo uffizi. b] ba give on first blue line, beginning at the left of red lines, a full title, but as in ab make the important name or word the first word. christ, baptism of; christ, betrayal of; st john, birth of; portrait of pope julius. bb give on second blue line, between red lines, the one well known or important author's name; the first one used in aa. the title card becomes in most cases a series card, since the title of an often-represented subject attracts to itself many names of artists. in such cases arrange the authors' names alphabetically, in columns, and against them write the names of the galleries where the works are to be found. give class and author number in blue ink at the left. c gallery card. this card is a series card, and should show, a, name of gallery; b, names of the artists and their works in the gallery. ca give official name of gallery preceded by the name of the city where it is located, with country in parentheses. cb enter alphabetically, names of authors, with the title of their works, one author to a line. give at the left, classification numbers in blue ink. [illustration: painting card; gallery, with authors and titles of works. venice (italy) - palazzo giovanelli q-g h giargione ii. holy family. c] d school card. this should show under the names american, english, french, german, italian-florentine, italian-venetian, italian-umbrian, italian-parmesan, spanish, etc., all the artists of the school arranged alphabetically, with the number of their works written in, in pencil. [illustration: painting card; school, all authors of school arranged alphabetically with number of works written in pencil. school. italian-venetian. q-g h _giorgione_, il. _veronese_ d] photographs of architecture should be cataloged according to the foregoing rules, except in the following cases: author card. for author, give the name of the city where the building or detail is found, followed by the country in parentheses. for title make the first word descriptive of the kind of building, and after the name of the building give the point from which the view was taken, affixed to the words interior or exterior: temple of zeus, exterior from the east. cathedral of notre dame, interior of nave looking east. instead of gallery, give style of building, using words egyptian, assyrian, greek, roman, byzantine, romanesque, gothic, renaissance, modern, etc., followed by adjective indicating country. imprint the same. gallery card will not be needed. [illustration: architecture card; author, showing place, kind of building, and style. q poitiers (france). p cathedral. interior of nave, looking east. _gothic_ french _robett, paris_ silver, x cm. a] for school card use s style card. style card. this should show all photographs arranged by cities, under styles, under general term architecture. architecture, gothic--italian. architecture, gothic--spanish. architecture, gothic--english, perpendicular. architecture, gothic--english, pointed. [illustration: architecture card; style, showing place, etc. architecture - gothic. french _abbeyville_ ch. of s. wulfrand _amiens_ cathedral _auxerre_ s] the cards for the three divisions, architecture, painting, and sculpture, should be kept in separate alphabets. iii. classification arrange the photographs of sculpture and painting alphabetically by authors where known; where not known, by subjects under the various sizes. arrange the photographs of architecture alphabetically by cities, under the sizes. indicate the arrangement on cards by two numbers, in blue ink: the classification number and the author number. classification number. this is indicated by the letters f, q, o, d. author number. use the c: a. cutter letter alphabetic-order table for book authors, and add to the number so gained the first one or two letters (as the number of prints may require) of the title of the print; or the numerals , , and may be used. write these two numbers in blue ink on the cards, as follows: author card. class number on the first line of upper left-hand corner; author number below it. on other cards. write at the left of first red line the two numbers on one line separated by a hyphen. iv. labeling give author's name in full, with dates, in parentheses, and school, beginning directly under left-hand corner of print. give title, same as on title card, only reversing the form, beginning under the middle of print and running out to the right-hand corner. some collections have more or less descriptive matter on the mount, but this is to be discouraged. give the gallery or style at lower left-hand corner of mount inch from either edge. use waterproof or india ink in all cases. [illustration: showing proper method of entering descriptive matter on mounted photographs.] stamp name of collection with rubber stamp on back of mount in upper left-hand corner, - / inches from upper and side edges. the stamp should give full name and place of museum or library, leaving room above for class and author number, and below for accession number. [illustration: class ____ author ____ slater memorial museum norwich, conn. no. ____] v. storage store sizes q, o, and d, in drawers of a cabinet, which may be easily removed to table, or in pigeonholes; stand the mounts on long edges, with backs to the front, so that classification and author numbers may be easily seen in turning them over. store size f in drawers, but lying flat. these should be taken out of the drawer and laid on a table when being handled. the drawers for the smaller sizes should be box-shaped, with sides cut down somewhat to allow the prints to be easily turned. those for the large size should have no front, but the case containing them should have doors. note.--be very careful in handling photographs never to rub or pull one over another; always turn them from side to side, like the leaves of a book. index. accession book, , ; for photographs, ; sample page, . accession number for photographs, ; in accession book, - ; on shelf list, ; on catalog cards, . accessioning photographs, - . additions, lists of, , . advertising a library, - , , , . advice to a librarian, - . age limit for borrowers, . agents, _see_ book dealers. agreement blanks, , - . alphabetical arrangement, dictionary catalog, , ; for photographs, - . alphabets, ; specimen page, . amendments to rules of library board, . american catalog of books, . a.l.a. catalog, . american library association, fee, ; members, - ; objects, . amherst summer school library class, . ancient manuscripts, collections, . annual literary index, . annual report, . antiquities, collections, . appointment of librarian, , , . appointment of library assistants, . appointment of trustees, . apprentice classes, . architecture card, author, ; style, ; title, . art entertainments, . art galleries, . assistant librarian, duties of, . associations, _see_ library associations. author card, ; for architecture, - ; for painting and sculpture, - . author catalog, - . author-list, , . author-number explained, ; for photographs, ; on shelf list, . author table, _see_ cutter author table. author's name, in accession book, ; in catalog, ; in shelf list, ; on order slip, . baker, c.a., reference books for a small library, - . ballard's klips, . beginning work, things needed in, - . beginnings of the library, - . best books (sonnenschein), . bills, checking, , . binders for magazines, - . bindery-book, . bindery number, , . bindery schedule, - . binding, , - ; materials, - ; cloth, - ; leather, , ; sewing, - ; backs, - ; joints, - ; lettering, - ; titles and indexes, ; advertisements, ; periodicals, ; folios, - ; newspapers, ; fiction, ; juveniles, ; rules for, . biography, classification of, . blanks, agreement, , - ; order slip, - ; request, , . board, see trustees. book-buying, _see_ buying books. book committee, . book cards, , - - - ; _see also_ book slip. book dealers, , - - . book-lists, _see_ lists. book news (monthly), . book-numbers, . book-plates, - . book-pockets, , - , - - - . book-reviews, , . book-slip, , ; _see also_ book card. book supports, . books, as useful tools, ; for girls and women and their clubs (iles), ; needed in beginning work, - ; overdue, ; reference, _see_ reference books; renewal of, ; selection of, _see_ selection of books. bookcases, - ; steel, ; wooden, . borrowers, age limit, ; cards for, , - , - , - ; index to, ; information for, ; numbers for, - , ; register of, , , ; responsibility of, , . buildings and grounds committee, . buildings, library; _see_ library buildings. bulletins, , , , ; _see also_ lists. buying books, , - ; ordering, , ; agents, , - - ; price, - - - ; discounts, , - - ; editions, , - - ; binding, type, quality of paper, ; complete sets, ; series, ; second-hand books, , ; fiction, ; for children, - ; new books, ; when to buy, ; _see also_ selection of books. call-number, defined, ; in book, , ; on book-slip, , , ; on pocket, , , ; on label, - , ; in accession book, , ; on shelf-list, ; on catalog-cards, , ; in charging system, . capitalization, . card catalog rules, , - ; for photographs, - . card pocket, _see_ book pocket. care of books, brief rules for, ; dusting books, ; handling books, , - ; covering books, ; cutting leaves, , ; gas, heat, damp, . carter's ink, , . cases, _see_ bookcases; catalog cases. catalog, arrangement of, ; author, - ; dictionary, ; duplicate, ; on cards, ; printed, , ; of a.l.a. library, ; subject headings for, - ; trays for holding, . catalog cards, , - , . catalog case, , . catalog rules, , - . cataloging books, - . cataloging photographs, - . chairs, - . change of residence, . charging system explained, . check list of public documents, . checking bills, , . checking the library, . children's books, _see_ juvenile books. children's cards, . children's home libraries, - . children's privileges, . children's rooms, , . circulating department, , . class number, decimal, ; expansive, ; explained, ; for photographs, ; in accession book, ; on shelf list, ; in catalog, . classification, defined, ; decimal, , - ; expansive, , - ; of photographs, ; how to classify, - ; biography, ; fiction, ; history and travel, ; juvenile books, ; in the catalog, ; on the shelves, - . classification scheme, . classified reading (lawrence), . cleveland summer school of library science, . cloth bindings, - . club women, . club work, . clubs, ; constitutions for, ; organization of, ; programs, ; _see also_ library clubs, literary clubs, musical clubs. cole size card, , . collating books, , . commissions, free library, - , . community and the library, , . complete sets, . conversation in the library, , . co-operation of teachers, - , - . copyright date on catalog cards, . covers for books, . crocker book support, . cross-reference cards, . cumulative index, . cutter's author table, , ; expansive classification, , - ; rules for a dictionary catalog, . date, copyright, on catalog cards, . date in charging system, , , ; of publication, in accession book, ; on catalog cards, ; on order slip, . daters, , . dating slip, . dealers, _see_ book dealers. decimal classification, , - . delivery room, . dennison's labels, . denver public library handbook, . depository libraries, - . dewey, or decimal system of classification, , - . dial (semi-monthly), . dictionaries, aid in reference work, . dictionary catalog, cutter's rules for, ; value of, ; defined, . discarded books, . discounts, , - - . disjoined handwriting, - . drexel institute library school, . duplicate catalog, . duplicates for school use, . dusting books, . duties of a librarian, - , ; of trustees, . editions, , - - . education through libraries, , - , , , - , , ; _see also_ influence of the library. embossing stamps, . employés, appointment of, , ; salaries of, ; suspension of, . english catalog, . engravings, . entertainments, _see_ library entertainments. essentials of good binding (mcnamee), - . exhibits, . expansive classification (cutter), , - . expenditures, . expiration of privileges, . faxon, f.w., use of periodicals in reference work, - . fiction, author-numbers for, ; binding for, ; cataloging, ; cheap editions of, ; classification of, ; price per volume, ; selecting, - . figures, - . finance committee, . fine slip, . fines, , . five thousand books, compiled for the ladies' home journal, . fixtures for libraries, - - . fletcher, w.i., libraries and recreation, ; public libraries in america, . folios, binding for, - . folsom, channing, how the library can assist the school, - . forfeiture of privileges, - . free library commissions, - . function of the library, , - , - , , . furniture for libraries, - - . gallery card, for painting and sculpture, . garfield, j.r., village library successfully managed, - . gift book, ; plates, - . gifts, ; acknowledgment of, , , , . glue, . guarantor, , . handwriting, brief rules for, - . hasse, a.r.. public documents, - . henderson, m.r., librarian as host, - . higgins' ink, , ; photo mounter, . hints to small libraries (plummer), . history and travel, classification of, . home libraries, - . hopkins, j.a., the trained librarian in a small library, - . how the library can assist the school (folsom), - . iles, george, books for girls and women and their clubs, . imprint, for photographs, , ; on catalog cards, . index, annual literary, ; cumulative, ; monthly cumulative book, ; poole's, ; relative, ; to borrowers, . indexes, their use taught, ; to periodicals, . influence of the library, ; _see also_ education through libraries. information for borrowers, . ink, , ; for photograph labels, ; pads, , . inquiries, how to answer, . inventory taking, . joined handwriting, - . juvenile books, binding for, ; classification of, ; periodicals, ; price per volume, ; selecting, , . kent, h.w., rules for the care of photographs, - . labeling photographs, - . labels for backs of books, - , ; gummed, ; ink for, , ; ink for photograph, ; varnishing, , . law, library, . lawrence, i., classified reading, . leather for bindings, , . lectures, , , . legislation, _see_ library legislation. librarian, advice to a, - ; and trustees, - ; annual report of, - ; appointment of, , , ; as a host (henderson), , ; duties of a, ; monthly report of, ; qualifications of, - , , ; the trained (hopkins), - . libraries, establishment and maintenance of, ; function of, , - , - , , ; management of, , , . libraries and communities, , . libraries and clubs, - . libraries and education, , - , . libraries and politics, . libraries and the public, , , - . libraries and recreation (fletcher), . libraries and schools, , - , - . library advertising, _see_ advertising a library. library assistants, appointment of, . library associations, - . library beginnings, - . library board, _see_ trustees. library buildings and the community, . library buildings, architecture, - ; convenience, ; decoration, ; exterior, - ; fixtures, - - ; furniture, - - ; interior, - ; partitions, ; requirements, ; stairs, ; windows, . l.b. book support, . l.b. pamphlet case, . l.b. steel stacks, . library bureau, relation to libraries (meleney), - ; catalog of, , , - ; organization of, ; publications of, , ; cabinet works of, ; card factory of, ; consultation department, , ; employment department, ; supply department, . library clubs, . library entertainments, - , . library journal (monthly), . library law, ; essentials of a good, ; outline of a good, ; _see also_ library legislation. library league, . library literature, - , . library legislation (patten), ; reference list on, ; _see also_ library law. library patrons, . library policy, - . library rooms, - - . library school rules, . library schools and training classes, aim and scope of, . library schools and training classes, list of, . light in libraries, . list of books for girls and women (iles), , ; of books needed in beginning work, - ; of periodicals for a small library, - ; of periodicals needed in beginning work, - ; of reference books, - ; of things needed in beginning work, - ; of things to be done to prepare books for shelves, - . lists, of additions, ; for reference, - , , ; for schools, , , ; _see also_ bulletins. literary clubs and libraries (moore), - . literature, its use, . literature, library, see library literature. literature (weekly), . loan department, , . local history, books on, . local history pamphlets, . los angeles public library training class, . lost cards, . mcnamee, j.h.h., essentials of good binding, - . magazine binder, . magazine record, in blank book, ; on cards, . management of the library, , , . manuscripts, _see_ ancient manuscripts. marking books, , . meeting of board of trustees, . meleney, g.b., relation of the library bureau to libraries, - . men's and women's clubs, . mending, _see_ repair. missing books, . monthly cumulative book index, . moore, e.l., literary clubs and libraries, - . morocco for bindings, . mucilage, . museums, , . musical clubs, , . musical entertainments, . nation (weekly), . national educational association, . natural history collections, . new books, . new york state library commission, . new york state library school, . new york times, . newspaper lists, , . newspapers, binding for, ; files and racks for, ; for the reading room, . non-depository libraries, . non-residents, . novel clubs, . officers of board of trustees, . open shelves, , , , - , . order list, . order sheet, , . order slip, - , . overdue books, , . overdue notice, . ownership, marks of, , . pages, cutting, , ; entry in accession book, . painting card, author, ; gallery, ; school, ; title, . pamphlet case, - . pamphlets, cataloging, - ; classifying, - ; klips for, ; local history, . paper, best quality for books, . paste, , . patten, f.c., library legislation, . patrons, . penalties, . perforating stamp, . periodicals, binder for, - ; binding for, ; circulation of, ; cost, ; for children, ; indexes to, ; list for a small library, - ; needed in beginning work, - ; record of, ; use in reference work, - . photographs, ; accessioning, - ; cataloging, - ; classifying, ; labeling, - ; storage, ; handling, . placards, _see_ signs. place of publication, in accession book, ; on order slip . planning library buildings (soule), - . plummer, m.w., hints to small libraries, . pocket, _see_ book pocket. policy of the library, - . politics and libraries, . poole's index, . postal notice, . pratt institute library school, . preliminary work, . preparing books for the shelves, - . president of library board, . printed catalogs, , . printed rules, . privileges, expiration of, . privileges for children, ; forfeiture of, - ; teachers, , . process, photograph, . professional books for teachers, . public, contact with the, ; rules for the, - . public documents, ; care in a library, - ; check list, ; collecting, ; congressional, - ; departmental, - ; how issued, ; to whom issued, - . public libraries (monthly), , . public libraries in america (fletcher), . public library handbook, . publication, date of; _see_ date of publication. publication, place of; _see_ place of publication. publisher's name, in accession book, ; on order slip, . publishers' trade list annual, . publishers' weekly, . punctuation, . purchase of books, _see_ buying books. qualifications of librarian, - , , . qualifications of trustees, . quorum of library board, . rare bindings, collections, . rare books, - . readers, . readers' guide to contemporary literature (sonnenschein), . reading habits, - . reading lists, _see_ reference lists. reading room, character of, ; for children, , ; newspapers for, ; periodicals for, - ; rules for, ; value of, - . receptions, . recreation, . reference books, for a small library (baker), - ; for schools, , , ; how indicated, ; selecting, . reference catalog of current literature, . reference department, . reference list on library legislation, . reference lists, for schools, , , ; on cards, ; special subject, . reference work, for children, , , , ; suggestions, ; use of dictionaries, ; use of periodicals, - . register of borrowers, _see_ borrowers. regulations, _see_ rules for the public. relation of the library bureau to libraries (meleney), - . relative index, . remainder libraries, , . renewal of books, , . repair, . report, annual, ; of librarian, ; of trustees, . request blanks, . responsibility of borrowers, , , . review of reviews, . rooms, library, - - . rubber stamps, , . rules, accession-book, , ; card catalog, , - ; for an author and title catalog, condensed, ; for a dictionary catalog, , ; for binding, ; for care of books, ; for government of trustees and employés, - ; for handwriting, - ; for the care of photographs (kent), - ; for the public, , , - ; library school, ; shelf-list, , - ; for planning library buildings (soule), - . sargent's reading for the young, . school card for painting and sculpture, - . school libraries, , , - . schoolroom libraries, _see_ school libraries. schools and libraries, , - , - , . schools, reference books for, , , . schools, reference lists for, , , . second-hand books, , . secretary of library board, . selection of books, extra copies, , ; fiction, - ; for children, ; for reference, ; history, travel, literature, ; local history, ; natural science, ; price, , ; proportion in each department, ; public documents, ; rare books, , ; request blanks, , ; suggestions, ; with reference to the community, , , ; _see also_ buying books. series, . shelf-list cards, , . shelf-list rules, , , . shelf-list sheets, , . shelves, for folios and quartos, ; form, ; height, ; size, . signs, , . size card, . size letter, . size notation for photographs, , , . size of board of trustees, . societies, _see_ clubs. sonnenschein, w.s., best books, ; readers' guide to contemporaneous literature, . soule, c.c., rules for planning library buildings, - ; trustees, , . special libraries, . specialists, . stafford's ink, . stacks, , . stamp, embossing, , perforating, , rubber, , ; rubber, for labeling photographs, . stamping books, , . state library commissions, - , . state library associations, . storage of photographs, . study clubs, . style card for architecture, . subject card, illustration, . subject headings, , - . subject-list, . supplementary reading for schools, , . supplies, - - , . supports, . tables, . tax levy for libraries, - . teachers' cards, . teachers, coöperation of, - - - . teachers' privileges, , . teachers, professional books for, . things needed in beginning work, - . time limit for retaining books, . title, in accession book, ; in catalog, ; on order slip, ; on shelf-list, . title card, illustration, ; for architecture, ; for painting and sculpture, - . title-lists, , . tools, - . tools, books as useful, . trained librarian in a small library (hopkins), - . training classes, - . transfer of accounts, . traveling libraries, , . tray, for book cards, ; for catalog cards, . trustees, appointment of, ; committees, , ; duties, ; meeting of board of, ; officers, , ; qualifications, ; relations with the librarian, - ; reports, ; size of board, ; term of office, , . two-book system, . type, size of, . u.s. documents, _see_ public documents. university of illinois state library school, . varnish for labels, . vertical hand, . village library successfully managed (garfield), - . volume entry in accession book, . wisconsin summer school of library science, . women on library board, . women's clubs, - . work-number, _see_ book-number. world's library congress papers, . writing _see_ handwriting. young ladies' clubs, . young men's clubs, . young people, reading for; _see_ juvenile books. on books and the housing of them by william ewart gladstone ( - ) in the old age of his intellect (which at this point seemed to taste a little of decrepitude), strauss declared [ ] that the doctrine of immortality has recently lost the assistance of a passable argument, inasmuch as it has been discovered that the stars are inhabited; for where, he asks, could room now be found for such a multitude of souls? again, in view of the current estimates of prospective population for this earth, some people have begun to entertain alarm for the probable condition of england (if not great britain) when she gets (say) seventy millions that are allotted to her against six or eight hundred millions for the united states. we have heard in some systems of the pressure of population upon food; but the idea of any pressure from any quarter upon space is hardly yet familiar. still, i suppose that many a reader must have been struck with the naive simplicity of the hyperbole of st. john, [ ] perhaps a solitary unit of its kind in the new testament: "the which if they should be written every one, i suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." a book, even audubon (i believe the biggest known), is smaller than a man; but, in relation to space, i entertain more proximate apprehension of pressure upon available space from the book population than from the numbers of mankind. we ought to recollect, with more of a realized conception than we commonly attain to, that a book consists, like a man, from whom it draws its lineage, of a body and a soul. they are not always proportionate to each other. nay, even the different members of the book-body do not sing, but clash, when bindings of a profuse costliness are imposed, as too often happens in the case of bibles and books of devotion, upon letter-press which is respectable journeyman's work and nothing more. the men of the renascence had a truer sense of adaptation; the age of jewelled bindings was also the age of illumination and of the beautiful miniatura, which at an earlier stage meant side or margin art,[ ] and then, on account of the small portraitures included in it, gradually slid into the modern sense of miniature. there is a caution which we ought to carry with us more and more as we get in view of the coming period of open book trade, and of demand practically boundless. noble works ought not to be printed in mean and worthless forms, and cheapness ought to be limited by an instinctive sense and law of fitness. the binding of a book is the dress with which it walks out into the world. the paper, type and ink are the body, in which its soul is domiciled. and these three, soul, body, and habilament, are a triad which ought to be adjusted to one another by the laws of harmony and good sense. already the increase of books is passing into geometrical progression. and this is not a little remarkable when we bear in mind that in great britain, of which i speak, while there is a vast supply of cheap works, what are termed "new publications" issue from the press, for the most part, at prices fabulously high, so that the class of real purchasers has been extirpated, leaving behind as buyers only a few individuals who might almost be counted on the fingers, while the effective circulation depends upon middle-men through the engine of circulating libraries. these are not so much owners as distributers of books, and they mitigate the difficulty of dearness by subdividing the cost, and then selling such copies as are still in decent condition at a large reduction. it is this state of things, due, in my opinion, principally to the present form of the law of copyright, which perhaps may have helped to make way for the satirical (and sometimes untrue) remark that in times of distress or pressure men make their first economies on their charities, and their second on their books. the annual arrivals at the bodleian library are, i believe, some twenty thousand; at the british museum, forty thousand, sheets of all kinds included. supposing three-fourths of these to be volumes, of one size or another, and to require on the average an inch of shelf space, the result will be that in every two years nearly a mile of new shelving will be required to meet the wants of a single library. but, whatever may be the present rate of growth, it is small in comparison with what it is likely to become. the key of the question lies in the hands of the united kingdom and the united states jointly. in this matter there rests upon these two powers no small responsibility. they, with their vast range of inhabited territory, and their unity of tongue, are masters of the world, which will have to do as they do. when the britains and america are fused into one book market; when it is recognized that letters, which as to their material and their aim are a high-soaring profession, as to their mere remuneration are a trade; when artificial fetters are relaxed, and printers, publishers, and authors obtain the reward which well-regulated commerce would afford them, then let floors beware lest they crack, and walls lest they bulge and burst, from the weight of books they will have to carry and to confine. it is plain, for one thing, that under the new state of things specialism, in the future, must more and more abound. but specialism means subdivision of labor; and with subdivision labor ought to be more completely, more exactly, performed. let us bow our heads to the inevitable; the day of encyclopaedic learning has gone by. it may perhaps be said that that sun set with leibnitz. but as little learning is only dangerous when it forgets that it is little, so specialism is only dangerous when it forgets that it is special. when it encroaches on its betters, when it claims exceptional certainty or honor, it is impertinent, and should be rebuked; but it has its own honor in its own province, and is, in any case, to be preferred to pretentious and flaunting sciolism. a vast, even a bewildering prospect is before us, for evil or for good; but for good, unless it be our own fault, far more than for evil. books require no eulogy from me; none could be permitted me, when they already draw their testimonials from cicero[ ] and macaulay.[ ] but books are the voices of the dead. they are a main instrument of communion with the vast human procession of the other world. they are the allies of the thought of man. they are in a certain sense at enmity with the world. their work is, at least, in the two higher compartments of our threefold life. in a room well filled with them, no one has felt or can feel solitary. second to none, as friends to the individual, they are first and foremost among the compages, the bonds and rivets of the race, onward from that time when they were first written on the tablets of babylonia and assyria, the rocks of asia minor, and the monuments of egypt, down to the diamond editions of mr. pickering and mr. frowde.[ ] it is in truth difficult to assign dimensions for the libraries of the future. and it is also a little touching to look back upon those of the past. as the history of bodies cannot, in the long run, be separated from the history of souls, i make no apology for saying a few words on the libraries which once were, but which have passed away. the time may be approaching when we shall be able to estimate the quantity of book knowledge stored in the repositories of those empires which we call prehistoric. for the present, no clear estimate even of the great alexandrian libraries has been brought within the circle of popular knowledge; but it seems pretty clear that the books they contained were reckoned, at least in the aggregate, by hundreds of thousands.[ ] the form of the book, however, has gone through many variations; and we moderns have a great advantage in the shape which the exterior has now taken. it speaks to us symbolically by the title on its back, as the roll of parchment could hardly do. it is established that in roman times the bad institution of slavery ministered to a system under which books were multiplied by simultaneous copying in a room where a single person read aloud in the hearing of many the volume to be reproduced, and that so produced they were relatively cheap. had they not been so, they would hardly have been, as horace represents them, among the habitual spoils of the grocer.[ ] it is sad, and is suggestive of many inquiries, that this abundance was followed, at least in the west, by a famine of more than a thousand years. and it is hard, even after all allowances, to conceive that of all the many manuscripts of homer which italy must have possessed we do not know that a single parchment or papyrus was ever read by a single individual, even in a convent, or even by a giant such as dante, or as thomas acquinas, the first of them unquestionably master of all the knowledge that was within the compass of his age. there were, however, libraries even in the west, formed by charlemagne and by others after him. we are told that alcuin, in writing to the great monarch, spoke with longing of the relative wealth of england in these precious estates. mr. edwards, whom i have already quoted, mentions charles the fifth of france, in , as a collector of manuscripts. but some ten years back the director of the bibliotheque nationale informed me that the french king john collected twelve hundred manuscripts, at that time an enormous library, out of which several scores were among the treasures in his care. mary of medicis appears to have amassed in the sixteenth century, probably with far less effort, , volumes.[ ] oxford had before that time received noble gifts for her university library. and we have to recollect with shame and indignation that that institution was plundered and destroyed by the commissioners of the boy king edward the sixth, acting in the name of the reformation of religion. thus it happened that opportunity was left to a private individual, the munificent sir thomas bodley, to attach an individual name to one of the famous libraries of the world. it is interesting to learn that municipal bodies have a share in the honor due to monasteries and sovereigns in the collection of books; for the common council of aix purchased books for a public library in .[ ] louis the fourteenth, of evil memory, has at least this one good deed to his credit, that he raised the royal library at paris, founded two centuries before, to , volumes. in it had , volumes. it profited largely by the revolution. the british museum had only reached , when panizzi became keeper in . nineteen years afterward he left it with , , a number which must now have more than doubled. by his noble design for occupying the central quadrangle, a desert of gravel until his time, he provided additional room for , , volumes. all this apparently enormous space for development is being eaten up with fearful rapidity; and such is the greed of the splendid library that it opens its jaws like hades, and threatens shortly to expel the antiquities from the building, and appropriate the places they adorn. but the proper office of hasty retrospect in a paper like this is only to enlarge by degrees, like the pupil of an eye, the reader's contemplation and estimate of the coming time, and to prepare him for some practical suggestions of a very humble kind. so i take up again the thread of my brief discourse. national libraries draw upon a purse which is bottomless. but all public libraries are not national. and the case even of private libraries is becoming, nay, has become, very serious for all who are possessed by the inexorable spirit of collection, but whose ardor is perplexed and qualified, or even baffled, by considerations springing from the balance-sheet. the purchase of a book is commonly supposed to end, even for the most scrupulous customer, with the payment of the bookseller's bill. but this is a mere popular superstition. such payment is not the last, but the first term in a series of goodly length. if we wish to give to the block a lease of life equal to that of the pages, the first condition is that it should be bound. so at least one would have said half a century ago. but, while books are in the most instances cheaper, binding, from causes which i do not understand, is dearer, at least in england, than it was in my early years, so that few can afford it.[ ] we have, however, the tolerable and very useful expedient of cloth binding (now in some danger, i fear, of losing its modesty through flaring ornamentation) to console us. well, then, bound or not, the book must of necessity be put into a bookcase. and the bookcase must be housed. and the house must be kept. and the library must be dusted, must be arranged, should be catalogued. what a vista of toil, yet not unhappy toil! unless indeed things are to be as they now are in at least one princely mansion of this country, where books, in thousands upon thousands, are jumbled together with no more arrangement than a sack of coals; where not even the sisterhood of consecutive volumes has been respected; where undoubtedly an intending reader may at the mercy of fortune take something from the shelves that is a book; but where no particular book can except by the purest accident, be found. such being the outlook, what are we to do with our books? shall we be buried under them like tarpeia under the sabine shields? shall we renounce them (many will, or will do worse, will keep to the most worthless part of them) in our resentment against their more and more exacting demands? shall we sell and scatter them? as it is painful to see how often the books of eminent men are ruthlessly, or at least unhappily, dispersed on their decease. without answering in detail, i shall assume that the book-buyer is a book-lover, that his love is a tenacious, not a transitory love, and that for him the question is how best to keep his books. i pass over those conditions which are the most obvious, that the building should be sound and dry, the apartment airy, and with abundant light. and i dispose with a passing anathema of all such as would endeavour to solve their problem, or at any rate compromise their difficulties, by setting one row of books in front of another. i also freely admit that what we have before us is not a choice between difficulty and no difficulty, but a choice among difficulties. the objects further to be contemplated in the bestowal of our books, so far as i recollect, are three: economy, good arrangement, and accessibility with the smallest possible expenditure of time. in a private library, where the service of books is commonly to be performed by the person desiring to use them, they ought to be assorted and distributed according to subject. the case may be altogether different where they have to be sent for and brought by an attendant. it is an immense advantage to bring the eye in aid of the mind; to see within a limited compass all the works that are accessible, in a given library, on a given subject; and to have the power of dealing with them collectively at a given spot, instead of hunting them up through an entire accumulation. it must be admitted, however, that distribution by subjects ought in some degree to be controlled by sizes. if everything on a given subject, from folio down to mo, is to be brought locally together, there will be an immense waste of space in the attempt to lodge objects of such different sizes in one and the same bookcase. and this waste of space will cripple us in the most serious manner, as will be seen with regard to the conditions of economy and of accessibility. the three conditions are in truth all connected together, but especially the two last named. even in a paper such as this the question of classification cannot altogether be overlooked; but it is one more easy to open than to close--one upon which i am not bold enough to hope for uniformity of opinion and of practice. i set aside on the one hand the case of great public libraries, which i leave to the experts of those establishments. and, at the other end of the scale, in small private libraries the matter becomes easy or even insignificant. in libraries of the medium scale, not too vast for some amount of personal survey, some would multiply subdivision, and some restrain it. an acute friend asks me under what and how many general headings subjects should be classified in a library intended for practical use and reading, and boldly answers by suggesting five classes only: ( ) science, ( ) speculation, ( ) art, ( ) history, and ( ) miscellaneous and periodical literature. but this seemingly simple division at once raises questions both of practical and of theoretic difficulty. as to the last, periodical literature is fast attaining to such magnitude, that it may require a classification of its own, and that the enumeration which indexes supply, useful as it is, will not suffice. and i fear it is the destiny of periodicals as such to carry down with them a large proportion of what, in the phraseology of railways, would be called dead weight, as compared with live weight. the limits of speculation would be most difficult to draw. the diversities included under science would be so vast as at once to make sub-classification a necessity. the ologies are by no means well suited to rub shoulders together; and sciences must include arts, which are but country cousins to them, or a new compartment must be established for their accommodation. once more, how to cope with the everlasting difficulty of 'works'? in what category to place dante, petrarch, swedenborg, burke, coleridge, carlyle, or a hundred more? where, again, is poetry to stand? i apprehend that it must take its place, the first place without doubt, in art; for while it is separated from painting and her other 'sphere-born harmonious sisters' by their greater dependence on material forms they are all more inwardly and profoundly united in their first and all-enfolding principle, which is to organize the beautiful for presentation to the perceptions of man. but underneath all particular criticism of this or that method of classification will be found to lie a subtler question--whether the arrangement of a library ought not in some degree to correspond with and represent the mind of the man who forms it. for my own part, i plead guilty, within certain limits, of favoritism in classification. i am sensible that sympathy and its reverse have something to do with determining in what company a book shall stand. and further, does there not enter into the matter a principle of humanity to the authors themselves? ought we not to place them, so far as may be, in the neighborhood which they would like? their living manhoods are printed in their works. every reality, every tendency, endures. eadem sequitur tellure sepultos. i fear that arrangement, to be good, must be troublesome. subjects are traversed by promiscuous assemblages of 'works;' both by sizes; and all by languages. on the whole i conclude as follows. the mechanical perfection of a library requires an alphabetical catalogue of the whole. but under the shadow of this catalogue let there be as many living integers as possible, for every well-chosen subdivision is a living integer and makes the library more and more an organism. among others i plead for individual men as centres of subdivision: not only for homer, dante, shakespeare, but for johnson, scott, and burns, and whatever represents a large and manifold humanity. the question of economy, for those who from necessity or choice consider it at all, is a very serious one. it has been a fashion to make bookcases highly ornamental. now books want for and in themselves no ornament at all. they are themselves the ornament. just as shops need no ornament, and no one will think of or care for any structural ornament, if the goods are tastefully disposed in the shop-window. the man who looks for society in his books will readily perceive that, in proportion as the face of his bookcase is occupied by ornament, he loses that society; and conversely, the more that face approximates to a sheet of bookbacks, the more of that society he will enjoy. and so it is that three great advantages come hand in hand, and, as will be seen, reach their maximum together: the sociability of books, minimum of cost in providing for them, and ease of access to them. in order to attain these advantages, two conditions are fundamental. first, the shelves must, as a rule, be fixed; secondly, the cases, or a large part of them, should have their side against the wall, and thus, projecting into the room for a convenient distance, they should be of twice the depth needed for a single line of books, and should hold two lines, one facing each way. twelve inches is a fair and liberal depth for two rows of octavos. the books are thus thrown into stalls, but stalls after the manner of a stable, or of an old-fashioned coffee-room; not after the manner of a bookstall, which, as times go, is no stall at all, but simply a flat space made by putting some scraps of boarding together, and covering them with books. this method of dividing the longitudinal space by projections at right angles to it, if not very frequently used, has long been known. a great example of it is to be found in the noble library of trinity college, cambridge, and is the work of sir christopher wren. he has kept these cases down to very moderate height, for he doubtless took into account that great heights require long ladders, and that the fetching and use of these greatly add to the time consumed in getting or in replacing a book. on the other hand, the upper spaces of the walls are sacrificed, whereas in dublin, all souls, and many other libraries the bookcases ascend very high, and magnificent apartments walled with books may in this way be constructed. access may be had to the upper portions by galleries; but we cannot have stairs all round the room, and even with one gallery of books a room should not be more than from sixteen to eighteen feet high if we are to act on the principle of bringing the largest possible number of volumes into the smallest possible space. i am afraid it must be admitted that we cannot have a noble and imposing spectacle, in a vast apartment, without sacrificing economy and accessibility; and vice versa. the projections should each have attached to them what i rudely term an endpiece (for want of a better name), that is, a shallow and extremely light adhering bookcase (light by reason of the shortness of the shelves), which both increases the accommodation, and makes one short side as well as the two long ones of the parallelopiped to present simply a face of books with the lines of shelf, like threads, running between the rows. the wall-spaces between the projections ought also to be turned to account for shallow bookcases, so far as they are not occupied by windows. if the width of the interval be two feet six, about sixteen inches of this may be given to shallow cases placed against the wall. economy of space is in my view best attained by fixed shelves. this dictum i will now endeavor to make good. if the shelves are movable, each shelf imposes a dead weight on the structure of the bookcase, without doing anything to support it. hence it must be built with wood of considerable mass, and the more considerable the mass of wood the greater are both the space occupied and the ornament needed. when the shelf is fixed, it contributes as a fastening to hold the parts of the bookcase together; and a very long experience enables me to say that shelves of from half- to three-quarters of an inch worked fast into uprights of from three-quarters to a full inch will amply suffice for all sizes of books except large and heavy folios, which would probably require a small, and only a small, addition of thickness. i have recommended that as a rule the shelves be fixed, and have given reasons for the adoption of such a rule. i do not know whether it will receive the sanction of authorities. and i make two admissions. first, it requires that each person owning and arranging a library should have a pretty accurate general knowledge of the sizes of his books. secondly, it may be expedient to introduce here and there, by way of exception, a single movable shelf; and this, i believe, will be found to afford a margin sufficient to meet occasional imperfections in the computation of sizes. subject to these remarks, i have considerable confidence in the recommendation i have made. i will now exhibit to my reader the practical effect of such arrangement, in bringing great numbers of books within easy reach. let each projection be three feet long, twelve inches deep (ample for two faces of octavos), and nine feet high, so that the upper shelf can be reached by the aid of a wooden stool of two steps not more than twenty inches high, and portable without the least effort in a single hand. i will suppose the wall space available to be eight feet, and the projections, three in number, with end pieces need only jut out three feet five, while narrow strips of bookcase will run up the wall between the projections. under these conditions, the bookcases thus described will carry above , octavo volumes. and a library forty feet long and twenty feet broad, amply lighted, having some portion of the centre fitted with very low bookcases suited to serve for some of the uses of tables, will receive on the floor from , to , volumes of all sizes, without losing the appearance of a room or assuming that of a warehouse, and while leaving portions of space available near the windows for purposes of study. if a gallery be added, there will be accommodation for a further number of five thousand, and the room need be no more than sixteen feet high. but a gallery is not suitable for works above the octavo size, on account of inconvenience in carriage to and fro. it has been admitted that in order to secure the vital purpose of compression with fixed shelving, the rule of arrangement according to subjects must be traversed partially by division into sizes. this division, however, need not, as to the bulk of the library, be more than threefold. the main part would be for octavos. this is becoming more and more the classical or normal size; so that nowadays the octavo edition is professionally called the library edition. then there should be deeper cases for quarto and folio, and shallower for books below octavo, each appropriately divided into shelves. if the economy of time by compression is great, so is the economy of cost. i think it reasonable to take the charge of provision for books in a gentleman's house, and in the ordinary manner, at a shilling a volume. this may vary either way, but it moderately represents, i think, my own experience, in london residences, of the charge of fitting up with bookcases, which, if of any considerable size, are often unsuitable for removal. the cost of the method which i have adopted later in life, and have here endeavored to explain, need not exceed one penny per volume. each bookcase when filled represents, unless in exceptional cases, nearly a solid mass. the intervals are so small that, as a rule, they admit a very small portion of dust. if they are at a tolerable distance from the fireplace, if carpeting be avoided except as to small movable carpets easily removed for beating, and if sweeping be discreetly conducted, dust may, at any rate in the country, be made to approach to a quantite negligeable. it is a great matter, in addition to other advantages, to avoid the endless trouble and the miscarriages of movable shelves; the looseness, and the tightness, the weary arms, the aching fingers, and the broken fingernails. but it will be fairly asked what is to be done, when the shelves are fixed, with volumes too large to go into them? i admit that the dilemma, when it occurs, is formidable. i admit also that no book ought to be squeezed or even coaxed into its place: they should move easily both in and out. and i repeat here that the plan i have recommended requires a pretty exact knowledge by measurement of the sizes of books and the proportions in which the several sizes will demand accommodation. the shelf-spacing must be reckoned beforehand, with a good deal of care and no little time. but i can say from experience that by moderate care and use this knowledge can be attained, and that the resulting difficulties, when measured against the aggregate of convenience, are really insignificant. it will be noticed that my remarks are on minute details, and that they savor more of serious handiwork in the placing of books than of lordly survey and direction. but what man who really loves his books delegates to any other human being, as long as there is breath in his body, the office of inducting them into their homes? and now as to results. it is something to say that in this way , volumes can be placed within a room of quite ordinary size, all visible, all within easy reach, and without destroying the character of the apartment as a room. but, on the strength of a case with which i am acquainted, i will even be a little more particular. i take as before a room of forty feet in length and twenty in breadth, thoroughly lighted by four windows on each side; as high as you please, but with only about nine feet of height taken for the bookcases: inasmuch as all heavy ladders, all adminicula requiring more than one hand to carry with care, are forsworn. and there is no gallery. in the manner i have described, there may be placed on the floor of such a room, without converting it from a room into a warehouse, bookcases capable of receiving, in round numbers, , volumes. the state of the case, however, considered as a whole, and especially with reference to libraries exceeding say , or , volumes, and gathering rapid accretions, has been found to require in extreme cases, such as those of the british museum and the bodleian (on its limited site), a change more revolutionary in its departure from, almost reversal of, the ancient methods, than what has been here described. the best description i can give of its essential aim, so far as i have seen the processes (which were tentative and initial), is this. the masses represented by filled bookcases are set one in front of another; and, in order that access may be had as it is required, they are set upon trams inserted in the floor (which must be a strong one), and wheeled off and on as occasion requires. the idea of the society of books is in a case of this kind abandoned. but even on this there is something to say. neither all men nor all books are equally sociable. for my part i find but little sociabilty in a huge wall of hansards, or (though a great improvement) in the gentleman's magazine, in the annual registers, in the edinburgh and quarterly reviews, or in the vast range of volumes which represent pamphlets innumerable. yet each of these and other like items variously present to us the admissible, or the valuable, or the indispensable. clearly these masses, and such as these, ought to be selected first for what i will not scruple to call interment. it is a burial; one, however, to which the process of cremation will never of set purpose be applied. the word i have used is dreadful, but also dreadful is the thing. to have our dear old friends stowed away in catacombs, or like the wine-bottles in bins: the simile is surely lawful until the use of that commodity shall have been prohibited by the growing movement of the time. but however we may gild the case by a cheering illustration, or by the remembrance that the provision is one called for only by our excess of wealth, it can hardly be contemplated without a shudder at a process so repulsive applied to the best beloved among inanimate objects. it may be thought that the gloomy perspective i am now opening exists for great public libraries alone. but public libraries are multiplying fast, and private libraries are aspiring to the public dimensions. it may be hoped that for a long time to come no grave difficulties will arise in regard to private libraries, meant for the ordinary use of that great majority of readers who read only for recreation or for general improvement. but when study, research, authorship, come into view, when the history of thought and of inquiry in each of its branches, or in any considerable number of them, has to be presented, the necessities of the case are terribly widened. chess is a specialty and a narrow one. but i recollect a statement in the quarterly review, years back, that there might be formed a library of twelve hundred volumes upon chess. i think my deceased friend, mr. alfred denison, collected between two and three thousand upon angling. of living englishmen perhaps lord acton is the most effective and retentive reader; and for his own purposes he has gathered a library of not less, i believe, than , volumes. undoubtedly the idea of book-cemeteries such as i have supposed is very formidable. it should be kept within the limits of the dire necessity which has evoked it from the underworld into the haunts of living men. but it will have to be faced, and faced perhaps oftener than might be supposed. and the artist needed for the constructions it requires will not be so much a librarian as a warehouseman. but if we are to have cemeteries, they ought to receive as many bodies as possible. the condemned will live ordinarily in pitch darkness, yet so that when wanted, they may be called into the light. asking myself how this can most effectively be done, i have arrived at the conclusion that nearly two-thirds, or say three-fifths, of the whole cubic contents of a properly constructed apartment[ ] may be made a nearly solid mass of books: a vast economy which, so far as it is applied, would probably quadruple or quintuple the efficiency of our repositories as to contents, and prevent the population of great britain from being extruded some centuries hence into the surrounding waters by the exorbitant dimensions of their own libraries. --the end-- footnotes: [footnote : in der alte und der neue glaube] [footnote : xxi, .] [footnote : first of all it seems to have referred to the red capital letters placed at the head of chapters or other divisions of works.] [footnote : cic. pro archia poeta, vii.] [footnote : essays critical and historical, ii. .] [footnote : the prayer book recently issued by mr. frowde at the clarendon press weighs, bound in morocco, less than an once and a quarter. i see it stated that unbound it weighs three-quarters of an ounce. pickering's cattullus, tibullus, and propertius in leather binding, weighs an ounce and a quarter. his dante weighs less than a number of the times.] [footnote : see libraries and the founders of libraries, by b. edwards, , p. . hallam, lit. europe.] [footnote : hor. ep. ii. i. ; persius, i. ; martial, iv. lxxxvii. .] [footnote : edwards.] [footnote : rouard, notice sur la bibliotheque d'aix, p. . quoted in edwards, p. .] [footnote : the director of the bibliotheque nationale in paris, which i suppose still to be the first library in the world, in doing for me most graciously the honors of that noble establishment, informed me that they full-bound annually a few scores of volumes, while they half-bound about twelve hundred. for all the rest they had to be contented with a lower provision. and france raises the largest revenue in the world.] [footnote : note in illustration. let us suppose a room feet by , and a little over feet high. divide this longitudinally for a passage feet wide. let the passage project to inches at each end beyond the line of the wall. let the passage ends be entirely given to either window or glass door. twenty-four pairs of trams run across the room. on them are placed bookcases, divided by the passage, reaching to the ceiling, each feet broad, inches deep, and separated from its neighbors by an interval of inches, and set on small wheels, pulleys, or rollers, to work along the trams. strong handles on the inner side of each bookcase to draw it out into the passage. each of these bookcases would hold octavos; and a room of feet by would receive , volumes. a room of feet by (no great size) would receive , , it would, of course, be not properly a room, but a warehouse.] classics of american librarianship edited by arthur e. bostwick, ph. d. the library and society reprints of papers and addresses with notes by arthur e. bostwick, ph. d. new york the h. w. wilson company london: grafton & company published, january, preface it may be desirable to repeat here the warning that the word "classics" in the title of this series is to be understood as meaning early and standard expressions of ideas that have later developed into prominence. the papers and addresses in this volume have been chosen especially with this in view, and as they emphasize social relations an effort has been made to include expressions from men of eminence whose names would not probably occur to the student of library economy as having expressed an opinion about the work of libraries or as having influenced it in any permanent way. i desire to acknowledge the kindly assistance rendered in the selection and grouping of the articles by mrs. gertrude gilbert drury, chief instructor in the st. louis library school. it has been most valuable. the original suggestion of this volume, and of the character of its contents, i owe to dr. james i. wyer, jr., director of the new york state library. arthur e. bostwick contents preface the library and society general community relations the historical evolution of the free public library in america and its true function in the community; dedication address at sage library. (_library journal_, , p. ) moses coit tyler. the library as a field for philanthropy. (extract from "the best fields for philanthropy," _north american review_, december, .) andrew carnegie. the idea of a popular library. ("life, letters, and journals," vol. , .) george ticknor. the function of a town library. ("protection of majorities,") josiah p. quincy. the free public library. (extract from "men and women," .) thomas w. higginson. two fundamentals. (_library journal_, , p. .) mary salome cutler. what a library should be, and what it can do. (_public libraries_, , p. .) melvil dewey the public library in american life. (_library journal_, , p. .) hugo munsterberg. books and the public library; dedication address of chelsea library. (_library journal_, , p. .) james russell lowell. the influence of good books; dedication address, spencer library, mass. (_library journal_, , p. .) robert collyer. books and life. (_library journal_, , p. .) edward asahel birge. address at the dedication of the boston public library. ("orations and speeches", boston, ; vol. iii.) edward everett. address at a meeting in favor of the new york free circulating library. (_library journal_, , p. .) grover cleveland. addresses at the opening of the wadsworth athenæum library, hartford, conn. (_library journal_, , p. .) charles dudley warner. charles hopkins clark. libraries as leaven; dedication address, madison public library. (_american bibliopolist_, , p. .) james davie butler. the free public library. (_american magazine of civics_, , p. .) henry hervey barber. the community's service to the library the relation of the state to the public library. (_transactions of the second international library conference_, london, , p. .) melvil dewey. methods of securing the interest of a community. (_library journal_, , p. .) william eaton foster. financial support free libraries: an argument against public support. ("a plea for liberty," ed. by thos. mackay, rd ed., london, , p. .) m.d. o'brien. arguments for public support of public libraries: a rejoinder to the foregoing. (_library journal_, , p. , conference no.) william eaton foster. public libraries and the public, with special references to san francisco. (_library journal_, , p. .) frederic beecher perkins. the levy of library tribute; presidential address to the a.l.a. (_library journal_, , conference no., p. .) henry munson utley. alternatives to tax support if not a tax-supported library--what? (_iowa library quarterly_, april, , p. .) anonymous. cooperation between library and community. (university of new york, home education bulletin , p. .) m. anna tarbell. boards of trustees library work from the trustees' standpoint. (_library journal_, , conference no., p. .) john calvin learned. trustees of free public libraries. (_library journal_, , conference no., p. .) charles carroll soule. duties of trustees and their relations to libraries. (_library journal_, , conference no., p. .) samuel swett green. the library's service to the community some popular objections to public libraries. (_library journal_, , p. .) william frederick poole. how to use a library: addresses at pittsfield, mass. (_library journal_, , p. .) james mascarene hubbard. adaptation of libraries to constituencies; world's library congress, chicago exposition. (education bureau report, chap. ix., part ii, p. , - .) samuel swett green. relation of free public libraries to the community. (_north american review_, , p. .) herbert putnam. the public library: its uses to the municipality. (_library journal_, , p. .) john shaw billings. the library: a plea for its recognition. (international congress of arts and science, st. louis exposition. _library journal_, , conference no., p. .) frederick morgan crunden. the library as a factor in modern civilization. (_library journal_, , conference no., p. .) william herbert perry faunce. the provision of books the librarian and his constituents. (_library journal_, , p. .) reuben brooks poole. the usefulness of libraries in small towns. (_library journal_, , p. .) theresa hubbell west. address at the dedication of the university of pennsylvania library. (_library journal_, , p. .) talcott williams. collection of information libraries as bureaus of information. (_library journal_, , p. .) samuel swett green. the library friend. (_library journal_, , p. .) winifred louise taylor. control and guidance of reading probable intellectual and moral outcome of the rapid increase of public libraries. (_library journal_, , p. .) bradford kinney pierce. possibilities of public libraries in manufacturing communities. (_library journal_, , p. .) minerva amanda sanders. presidential address, lake placid conference. (_library journal_, , conference no., p. .) joseph nelson larned. the library as an inspirational force. (_public libraries_, , p. .) sam walter foss. the use of the public library; ryerson library dedication address. (_library journal_, , p. .) james burrill angell. community center service the library as a social centre. (_public libraries_, , p. .) gratia alta countryman. the library and the social centre. (_wisconsin library bulletin_, , p. .) lutie eugenia stearns. where neighbors meet. (from st. louis public library report, - .) margery closey quigley. what of the future? (_library journal_, , conference no., p. .) frederick morgan crunden. index the library and society recent progress in all directions--political, educational, industrial, hygienic--has been marked by the growth and strengthening of a social consciousness. it is this chiefly that has differentiated the modern library from its predecessors and has made prominent our present insistence on the reader as well as the book, as a fundamental element in what we are doing. at first evident only in a general and somewhat vague recognition, by writers and speakers, of a vital relation between libraries and the communities that they serve, it later crystallized into definite discussions of their reciprocal service--that of the community to the library, consisting of financial, material and moral support expressing itself partly in the appointment of adequate boards of trustees and their proper backing, and that of the library to the community, showing itself largely in the provision of books, the collection of information, the control and guidance of reading, and so-called "community-centre" service. these facts have guided the grouping and sequence of the papers and addresses that make up the present volume. the authors, it will be noticed, include more statesmen, publicists, and professional men, and fewer librarians, than was the case with the two previous volumes, thus reflecting the greater generality and wider interest of the subject. general community relations in the following group have been included papers and addresses largely by publicists or educators interested in libraries from the general civic standpoint, and affected by the general trend toward what has been termed here "socialization." they have been loosely arranged in three groups--general ideas on the field, function and possibilities of the library, papers on books and their uses, as affected or promoted by the library, and general addresses, chiefly at the opening of library buildings. within these groups they are given in general in their chronological order, although with some exceptions whose purpose will be self evident. through them all runs the thread of consciousness that service to the community must be the primary object of the library, although the breadth and extent of that service, as it was destined later to grow and develop is not generally realized and in some cases doubtless would have been deprecated by the writers or speakers, could they have foreseen it. but in all these pronouncements we may clearly see the dawning light of a new library day. the historical evolution of the free public library in america and its true function in the community this comprehensive sketch, by professor tyler of cornell university, forms part of an address delivered at the dedication of the sage library, at west bay city, michigan, jan. , . moses coit tyler was born in griswold, conn., aug. , and graduated at yale in . he was professor of english at michigan university in - and from the latter year to his death, dec. , , held the chair of american history at cornell. in this address, prof. tyler has added to his equipment as a philosophical historian his personal knowledge and experience of the service that a properly administered collection of books may render to a community. looking over the entire course of american society, from its rough and hardy beginning, in the first years of the th century, i find six distinct stages of development with reference to the possession and use of books by the people. the first stage is that of private libraries; the second is that of special institutional libraries, like those of colleges and other learned corporations, and intended for a limited and rather scholastic class in the community; the third is that of association or joint stock libraries, _i.e._, libraries of a more miscellaneous and general character, but for the use only of those whose names are on the subscription list; the fourth is that of common school libraries; the fifth is that of endowed libraries, _i.e._, public libraries founded and sustained entirely by private endowment and thrown open to the public without any cost whatever to the public; and finally, the sixth is that of free public libraries created, it may be, by private benefaction, but sustained in part at least at the public cost, _i.e._, uniting the two elements of private help and public selfhelp, and cherished by the public only as people will cherish that which costs them something, and of which they have some sense of real ownership. but before proceeding to inspect these successive forms of library evolution, the fact should be distinctly brought out as applicable to them all, that the american people started on their career in this country with an uncommon interest in books; and say what one will about american philistinism and american devotion to the practical, this people have always retained that ancient and primitive homage for books. to an extent, i think, unapproached elsewhere, they are, and they always have been, a bookish people. in some other nations there is, undoubtedly, a larger leisurely class; and among persons of that class there is a profounder and more extensive contact with books than is the case with us. but while among most other nations, the craving for books is the propensity of one class, with us it may be fairly described as the propensity of all classes. a certain tincture of bookishness has pervaded the american people from the beginning. perhaps the most decided quality of american civilization has been its effort to unite the practical with the ideal; its passion for material results ennobled by the intellectual and the spiritual; its fine reverence for studiousness, even amid the persistent fury of dollar-hunting. and not only was this bookish trait visible in our colonial infancy but it may be said to have had an ante-natal origin. the two englishmen who in the latter half of the th century did most to make possible the birth of american civilization in the first half of the th, were sir humphrey gilbert and sir walter raleigh; and both were men possessed by this large zest for ideas as well as for deeds; both were contemplative men as well as active men. the last glimpse that any surviving mortal had of sir humphrey gilbert, before his ship went down in the sea, was of that stern hero sitting calmly on the deck, with a book in his hand, cheering his companions by telling them that heaven is as near by water as by land; and the last labor of sir walter raleigh, before his judicial murder in the tower, was to write one of the learnedest and stateliest books to be met with in the literature of modern men. and this flavor of bookishness which belonged to these two great pioneers and martyrs of american colonization, seems to have passed on to the men who successfully executed the grand project in which they had failed. when you run your eyes along the sturdy list of the great colony-founders of the th century--the men who carried out the fierce task of conveying english civilization across the atlantic, and of making it take root and live in this wild soil--captain john smith, and william bradford, and winslow, and robert cushman, and the winthrops, and dudley, and hooker, and davenport, and roger williams, and william penn, you will find them all, in some special sense, lovers of books, collectors of books, readers of books, even writers of books. and what is true of the leaders of that great act of national transmigration is true also of the men of less note who followed in it. the first american immigrants were reading immigrants--immigrants who brought in their hands not only axes and shovels, but books. their coming hither was due to the restlessness inflicted by the possession of ideas. books were to them a necessary part of the outfit for the voyage and the settlement. and so rare and so precious were books in those days that they were cherished as family treasures, and handed down as heirlooms; nay, they were so dealt with in wills and in contracts as if they rose almost to the dignity of real estate. in fact, in those days, the possession of an unusual number of books, with the reputation of using them, constituted a sort of patent of gentility, and seemed to bridge the chasm between the most widely separated classes in society; as when, in , a young mechanic, named benjamin franklin, arriving in new york on a sloop from newport, is invited to the house of the governor of new york and is honored by him with a long and friendly interview, for no other reason than that the captain of the sloop had told the governor of a lad on his vessel who had with him "a great many books." "the governor received me," says franklin in his autobiography "with great civility, showed me his library, which was a considerable one, and we had a good deal of conversation relative to books and authors. this was the second governor who had done me the honor to take notice of me, and for a poor boy, like me, it was very pleasing." so i think i am justified in saying that we started on our career as a people with this underlying intellectual quality--a pretty general respect for books, love for them, habit of using them; and this is the impelling moral force which prompts to the several efforts which society has made for providing itself with books. now, the first stage in the process of library evolution--and i have called it that of private libraries--was the prevailing condition of the american colonies during the whole of the th century and the first third of the th. this is the picture: everywhere books, but few, costly, portly, solemn, revered, read over and over again; every respectable family, however poor, having at least a few hereditary treasures in the form of books, as in that of silver and choice furniture; and here and there up and down the colonies, an occasional luminous spot, drawing to itself the wide-eyed wonder of the surrounding inhabitants, the seat of a great private library, belonging to some country gentleman, or clergyman, or publicist, like that of colonel william bird, of westover, or of the reverend james blair, of williamsburg, or of dr. cotton mather, of boston, or of james logan, of philadelphia, or of cadwallader colden, of new york. this is the first stage of library evolution. and, of course, it has its pleasant aspects; but surely there is here no adequate provision for the intellectual wants of the entire community. very few persons in any community are rich enough to buy and own all the books they ought to have access to; and the existence of great private libraries in a few wealthy households can no more supply this general need of books than the great private dinners which are given in the same households can keep the entire community from going hungry. accordingly, the second stage in the evolution of libraries is away from mere private ownership and use, and is toward complete public ownership and use; but it stops far this side of it; it is the stage of special scholastic libraries, collected by colleges and other learned corporations, and intended for the particular use of the learned class--students, investigators, and specialists. the earliest library of that sort ever formed in this country was begun at harvard college in ; near the close of the th century, another was begun at william and mary college, and still another at yale; thenceforward, and especially during the past eighty years, such libraries have been multiplying in the land, so that at the present moment there are more than three hundred of them, and a few of them are now really vast library collections. the value of these libraries--who can doubt? yet their direct value is only for a class; they are scholars' libraries, not people's libraries. this will not suffice; society cannot rest satisfied, and will not rest satisfied until everywhere good books for all are placed within the reach of all. the complete popularization of books is the goal. so we come to the third stage of library evolution--that of libraries gathered and controlled by voluntary associations of people, _e.g._, joint stock associations, but of course for the use only of those who subscribe to them and share in the expense. here we have a natural step forward; a goodly step; a step in the right direction, but still not far enough. we shall all agree that this is the strong and hearty modern method of doing difficult things--the method of clubbing together to do something; it is self-reliant, social, cooperative, mutually, helpful, what the individual cannot do alone a club of individuals can do together. thus the hardest and grandest achievements of our time have been brought about--vast railroads, vast manufacturing and commercial enterprises. and so men and women, who could not singly get the books they wanted, have joined forces and have got them by combination. it is a notable fact, however, that this third stage of library evolution was not reached until more than a hundred years after the first colonies had been settled. many of you, doubtless, in wandering about philadelphia--perhaps during our great centennial visit to that city--may have noticed the venerable building of the philadelphia library company, and in the walls of it an old tablet with this inscription: "be it remembered in honor of the philadelphia youth (then chiefly artificers) that, in , they cheerfully, at the suggestion of benjamin franklin, one of their number, instituted the philadelphia library, which though small at first, is become highly valuable and extensively useful, and which the walls of this building are now destined to contain and preserve." now, in reality, that year , when that first subscription library was started in america, begins a new epoch in the intellectual life of the american people, the epoch of systematic cooperation for the procurement by the people of the great intellectual and spiritual boon of books. immense results have followed from that example set in . therefore, let us stop a moment longer, and listen to benjamin franklin's own account of the way in which he came to think of that capital project. "at the time i established myself in pennsylvania, there was not a good bookseller's shop in any of the colonies to the southward of boston. those who loved reading were obliged to send for their books from england; the members of the junto had each a few. we had left the alehouse, where we first met, and hired a room to hold our club in. i proposed that we should all of us bring our books to that room; where they would not only be ready to consult in our conferences, but become a common benefit, each of us being at liberty to borrow such as he wished to read at home. this was accordingly done, and for some time contented us. finding the advantage of this little collection, i proposed to render the benefit from the books more common by commencing a public subscription library. i drew a sketch of the plan and rules that would be necessary, and got a skilful conveyancer to put the whole in form of articles of agreement to be subscribed; by which each subscriber engaged to pay a certain sum down for the first purchase of the books and an annual contribution for increasing them. so few were the readers at that time in philadelphia, and the majority of us so poor, that i was not able with great industry to find more than fifty persons, mostly young tradesmen, willing to pay down for this purpose forty shillings each and ten shillings per annum. with this little fund we began. the books were imported; the library was opened one day in the week for lending them to the subscribers, on their promissory notes to pay double the value if not duly returned. the institution soon manifested its utility, was imitated by other towns and in other provinces. the libraries were augmented by donations; reading became fashionable; and our people, having no public amusements to divert their attention from study, became better acquainted with books; and in a few years were observed by strangers to be better instructed, and more intelligent, than people of the same rank generally are in other countries." i think you will agree with me that this is a very striking bit of testimony, too much so to permit us to hurry past it. note these few things about it. in the first place, that device of franklin's, started in --what does it really signify in our history? it signifies this. it signifies a new departure for mankind--the application of the democratic spirit to the distribution of intellectual advantages. these things called books--these bewitched and bewitching fabrics of paper and ink, which somehow contain the accumulated thought of all nations and of all centuries, and can communicate to us the noblest pleasures and the most godlike powers--these potent things, in all the ages before, had been accessible only to some few fortunate human beings--to a privileged class--to rich men who wished them--to scholars who could win their way to them--in short, to an aristocracy of intellectual privileges. but in , by that modest device of benjamin franklin, the democratic spirit--the modern humane spirit--the spirit which in its true nature is a levelling spirit only in this grand sense that it levels upward and not downward, and raises the general average of human intelligence and felicity--this benign and mighty democratic spirit, i say, which was then marching with gentle but invincible footsteps along all avenues and pathways of modern life, and was laying its miraculous touch on church and state, on kings and priests and peasants, on the laws and law-makers and law-breakers, on all the old activities of society, on the old adjustments of human relations, that spirit then began to touch this relation also, the relation of man to the superb and royal realm of books. and the first effect of that touch was what? it was enlargement, liberalization, extension of intellectual opportunity for man simply as man. hitherto books had been the privilege of the privileged class. in effect, franklin says: they shall be so no more. in this year i set agoing a device concerning books which shall abolish the privileged class by making all classes privileged, and shall finally result in placing the blessings of books within the reach of all. but, in the second place, in that year , who was franklin who did all that, and who were the persons who helped to do it? he and they were young men; obscure men, poor men, laboring men; mechanics and tradesmen of the town where they lived; young men just getting a start in the world. so this new era in the brain life of the american people had its beginning with such as they were. who of us, therefore, however modest be our lot in life, has any right to say to himself, "i am not in position to do anything for the advancement of my race"? nay; my brother, think of young ben franklin, the printer, and his brother mechanics; remember what they accomplished; and do not despair of being useful in your time also. and in the third place, this movement came from those young men associated together in a social debating club. it was their experience in the actual discussion of the problems of human thought which made them feel the need of books and suggested this great measure for popularizing books: a fact which fits in well with mr. sage's idea of blending the two things together here; of giving perpetual house-room and hospitality to a debating club, here, in the very midst of this library. and now the fourth point is, that the plan started by franklin and those other young mechanics in philadelphia, in , the plan of joint-stock library associations, worked so well there that, as franklin tells, it was taken up in other provinces. naturally, the new plan was adopted first in the towns where it was heard of first--the towns nearest to philadelphia. but before many years, the news of it had travelled far, to the southward and the northward, and whether consciously or unconsciously the model set up in philadelphia, was imitated, with more or less closeness, in scores of places far away. one curious example springs up in south carolina. it is in the georgetown district, then given to the growth of indigo. a number of the planters came together and formed the winyaw indigo society. their chief business was to have a pleasant time together and talk indigo; they paid their initiation fees in indigo; they paid their annual dues in indigo; and presently they found their treasury so full and overflowing with indigo, that they resolved to devote their surplus in part to the formation of the indigo society library. then, too, at about the same time in charleston, seventeen young men, of very limited means, desirous of seeing the best and freshest english magazines, formed a club for that purpose, and started with a fund of ten pounds sterling, not venturing at first to hope to be able to purchase books also. soon, however, their plan grew and took in books; and from this small beginning arose the great "library society" of charleston, which has ministered to the pleasure and benefit of the people of that place for nearly a century and a half. but the philadelphia plan travelled northward as well as southward. in , at newport, rhode island, was formed, also out of a discussion club, the famous redwood library, which lives and flourishes still. in the providence library was started on the same general plan; in , the new york society library; in , the social library at salem, massachusetts; in , similar libraries at lancaster and at portland, maine; in , a similar one at hingham; and so on throughout the country. one of the most curious of these joint-stock library associations was one formed in in three parishes in the towns of york and kittery, maine, and called the "revolving library." it was not a circulating library--that being the name of a library from which the books circulate singly and in units; but it was called a "revolving library" because the entire library was to revolve, in bulk, on its own axes, in an orbit including the parsonages of the three parishes embraced in the scheme. and thus this library began to revolve from parsonage to parsonage more than years ago; and it has been revolving ever since, occasionally encountering some queer experiences, as when, about years ago, it was found by the new pastor of kittery point in the garret of the parsonage, "dumped down on the attic floor like a load of coal," the wife of the former incumbent having had a prejudice against books for sanitary reasons, "considering them unhealthy, and so being unwilling to have them in any living room" where their presence might communicate diseases to the family. this, of course, is a rather eccentric specimen of the class of libraries now under view. a very good normal example of the class is furnished us by the social library of castine, maine, organized in ; and its articles of association i desire to read to you as exhibiting the scope and spirit of this whole movement for supplying the public with books through jointstock companies. the articles of association are as follows: "it is proposed by the persons whose names are here subjoined to establish a social library in this town. it is greatly to be lamented that excellent abilities are not unfrequently doomed to obscurity by reason of poverty; that the rich purchase almost everything but books; and that reading has become so unfashionable an amusement in what we are pleased to call this enlightened age and country. to remedy these evils; to excite a fondness for books; to afford the most rational and profitable amusement; to prevent idleness and immorality; and to promote the diffusion of useful knowledge, piety, and virtue, at an expense which small pecuniary abilities can afford, we are induced to associate for the above purposes; and each agrees to pay for the number of shares owned, and annexed to his name at $ per share." the first public library in the north-west was established by an association formed at marietta, ohio, in . then followed similar libraries at cincinnati, and at ames, athens county. the latter, which was formed as early as , had a curious origin. it was popularly known as the "coon-skin library." the hardy pioneers of that township of ames met together, it seems, to consider the subject of roads; and, having considered it, they proceeded to consider also the subject of books--a fine illustration, i think, of the blending of the practical and the ideal in the american character and in american civilization. here were these sturdy pioneers projecting a public library even before they had got their public roads cut out and put in order. what is called money hardly existed among them; but they knew how to shoot bears and to catch coons and to take their skins, and these skins could be sent to boston and sold for cash, and the money invested in books. this accordingly was done. the noted politician, thomas ewing, then a boy at ames, gives this account of the affair: "all my accumulated wealth, ten coon-skins, went into the fund," the total amount of which proved to be about $ . "squire sam brown, of sunday creek, who was going to boston, was charged with the purchase. after an absence of many weeks, he brought the books to capt. ben brown's, in a sack on a pack-horse. i was present at the untying of the sack and pouring out of the treasures. there were about volumes, i think, and well selected; the library of the vatican was nothing to it, and there never was a library better read. this, with occasional additions, furnished me with reading while i remained at home." that is the stuff of which strong men are made, and strong communities, and mighty nations. and what was done at marietta, and at cincinnati, and at ames, was done in a multitude of other towns all over the north-west. at vincennes, indiana, a library was started by similar means in ; and one of the founders was gen. wm. henry harrison, the hero of tippecanoe and hard cider. that was the first public library established in indiana. so, too, in michigan, far back in its territorial days, similar libraries were formed, especially that of the young men's society of detroit. but in michigan, by far the greatest service in this direction has been rendered more recently by the ladies, whose admirable library associations in such towns as ann arbor, flint, and kalamazoo have done much, especially during the past twenty years, for the literary improvement and enjoyment of the people. but this third stage of library evolution, good and useful as it has been during the past years, has this defect: it does not offer books freely to all who would like books; it is limited to those who participate in its privileges by paying for them. therefore society pushed forward into a fourth stage of evolution--one still nearer to the grand object to be reached--the complete popularization of books. this fourth stage was reached chiefly through a new idea entering into the case, namely, the duty of the state to help in providing books for the people who compose the state. the principle is already admitted that the state must educate its citizens, and for that purpose must sustain schools. for the same purpose, and on the same principle, it must sustain libraries; for these are but an annex to schools, and the books in them are only a part of the necessary apparatus for public education. in this way was started the fourth plan, that of "district school libraries," a plan which for a while was hailed with delight as a real contribution to human progress and happiness; which was eagerly adopted in this state and in many others; but which has, upon the whole, resulted in failure. the state of new york has the honor of having started this plan, which was first publicly advocated by governor de witt clinton, in his message for . in general john a. dix, then secretary of state, was "charged with the execution of the law giving to the school districts $ , a year to buy books for their libraries, and requiring them to raise by taxation an equal amount for same purpose." the system was received throughout the state with enthusiastic favor. in the school libraries of the state reported the possession of , volumes; in the following year, , volumes more; and in they had reached the enormous number of , , volumes. the plan as advocated in new york soon passed over into massachusetts, where it was taken up and advocated by horace mann, that noble-minded and eloquent champion of popular enlightenment. through his influence the necessary law was passed in , but the operation of the plan was never very successful in that state, and after twelve years had resulted in the accumulation of only , volumes. michigan appears to have been abreast of massachusetts in the adoption of the plan of district school libraries, incorporating it into its school law of . after new york, massachusetts, and michigan, the several other states which adopted this plan did so in the following order: connecticut in ; rhode island and iowa in ; indiana in ; maine in ; ohio in ; wisconsin in ; missouri in ; california and oregon in ; illinois in ; kansas and virginia in ; new jersey in ; kentucky and minnesota in ; and colorado in . these data will give you some idea of the wide extension of this fourth stage in library evolution. its merits are very great. perhaps its greatest merit is that it recognizes the true function of the public library as a part of the system of public education, and therefore as entitled to a share in public taxation. moreover, it has undoubtedly done a vast amount of good in placing the means of intellectual improvement within the reach of millions of people of all ages; it has stimulated the love of books and diffused knowledge and happiness. and yet with all these merits, it has been a failure; and this is largely due to just three defects in administration: . lack of care and wisdom in the selection of the books, resulting in the acquisition of many volumes of trash and of profligacy. . lack of care as to the distribution and return of the books, resulting in their rapid dispersion and disappearance. . lack of care in the preservation of the books that were not strayed and stolen, resulting in their rapid deterioration. you have got to apply business principles to the handling of books, as well as of any other material possessions. libraries as well as sawmills need to be dealt with according to common-sense and with efficiency. now upon the general failure of these libraries, let me quote for you a little testimony. the superintendent of schools in new york state, in , says: "the system has not worked well in this state.... the libraries have fallen into disuse, and have become practically valueless." [ pub. lib. of u.s., i. .] the superintendent for says that in "nearly every quarter of the state," the libraries are "almost totally unused and rapidly deteriorating." [ pub. lib. of u.s. i. .] for , the superintendent gives a more detailed picture of the condition of the school libraries. he finds them "mainly represented by a motley collection of books, ranging from 'headley's sacred mountains' to the 'pirate's own book,' numbering in the aggregate a million and a half of volumes, scattered among the various families, constituting a part of the family library, or serving as toys for children in the nursery; ... crowded into cupboards, thrown into cellars, stowed away in lofts, exposed to the action of water, the sun, and of fire, or more frequently locked away into darkness unrelieved and silence unbroken." [ pub. lib. of u.s. i. .] this graphic picture of the failure of the system in new york is perhaps matched by a similar picture of its failure in michigan, as drawn by our superintendent of education in : "the books were distributed to the districts by the town clerk to be returned by the directors every third month for exchange. this would now require more than , miles' travel per annum, at a positive expense to the directors, certainly, of $ , , to say nothing of more than , days' time. this was like putting two locomotives ahead of each other to draw a hand-car. the result was the books were generally hidden away in the clerks' offices, like monks in their cloister, and valueless to the world. and what kind of books were they? some good ones, doubtless; but generally it was better to sow oats in the dust that covered those books than to give them to the young to read. every year, soon after the taxes were collected, the state swarmed with pedlers, with all the unsalable books of eastern houses--the sensational novels of all ages, tales of piracies, murders, and love intrigues--the yellow-covered literature of the world." finally, the superintendent for says: "the whole system seems to have come into general disfavor; and is, more than any other feature of our school system, the one of which we are least proud." now we come to the fifth stage in the evolution of libraries--that of libraries fully endowed by private generosity, and thrown open to the public on such conditions as the founders have been pleased to indicate; sometimes called patronymic libraries. notable specimens of this class of libraries are the astor, cooper, and lenox libraries, of new york, and the peabody library, of baltimore. the note of this species of library is this: it is for the use of the public entirely without cost to the public. in short, it is a library completely endowed, not only as to the original expense of its erection and equipment, but absolutely for all subsequent expense in its increase and administration. concerning this species of library, i have this to say: it is a noble use to make of private wealth; it does immense good; but it is not the best final form of library evolution. and for two reasons: first, the man who will completely endow a free public library does not arise in every community; whereas, every community needs a free public library. and, second, the wholesomest kind of a gift is not that which does it all for the community and requires no exertion or sacrifice on their part; but that which gives the community a good generous start, but still leaves something for the community to do for itself. in other words, the healthiest sort of help, whether for one man or for ten thousand, is that help which helps a man to help himself. and this brings us to the sixth and final form of library development. it is the one which is the resultant of the two grand ideas; primarily, the recognition of the free public library as an essential part of the system of public education and therefore as a legitimate subject for public taxation. this idea is essential to the most satisfactory form of a public library--the public must invest something in it. but this idea can adjust itself to that other noble one--private liberality in aid of the public. and it is in this final and most consummate form, combining private help with public selfhelp, that many of the most successful libraries in this country have been organized; and yet it is only since that such libraries have been possible. for it was in that the first state in our union, massachusetts, passed an act authorizing a municipality to tax itself for the support of a free public library. since then many other states have followed with similar legislation. so that it is only within the past thirty-five years that this grand result has been reached: the systematic popularization of books under the direction of the municipality, partially at least at the public expense, and often in combination with private benefaction. now, it is this grand result that you have reached here in west bay city. the library which you to-day dedicate to the perpetual service of the people, and which we may believe will continue as long as society lasts here to do its serene and beneficient work for the instruction and delight of innumerable generations of mankind--this library represents the latest, and i think we may say the most perfect and the final term in a process of library evolution, which has been going forward on this continent for more than two hundred years, and has involved, as we have seen, countless struggles and failures and sacrifices for the production of this single result. ladies and gentlemen, may i venture to express the hope that this study which we have now made of the process--the slow, costly, laborious process--by which this brilliant result has been made possible and easy for you, in west bay city, is something which will enhance even your pleasure in the acquisition of this noble library as well as your appreciation of the princely act of mr. sage in his creative relation to it? i trust it may enhance also your feeling of responsibility for the perpetual success of this library in the purposes for which it has been formed. this library has been well organized; but the working of it will depend upon you. it is on one side of it a business concern; and like any other business concern it will go to wrack and ruin unless it is conducted on sound business principles, accurate accounting, sharp supervision, punctuality, system, order, promptitude, energy. but more than ordinary business qualities are needed to make this library all that it should be. recognize the true function of the free public library; it is a part of a large system of public education. it is but a co-ordinate department of that larger institution for public education--the people's university--including the ward schools and the high schools. some of the fruitfullest and best work of those schools will be done in this library. then, too, the public library stands for the wholesome truth that education is never finished and should not stop when one stops going to school. the boy and the girl who graduate at the school do not desert the library; they keep up and carry forward their intellectual training by a post-graduate course in the public library, for the rest of their lives. furthermore, the free public library supplements the work of the free public schools by reaching those whom the schools never reached at all, or only reached very slightly. and that public library is never a complete success, in which is not present in the officers a spirit of courtesy toward readers, of sympathy, of cheerfulness, of patience, even of helpfulness. don't permit your library ever to be a dismal, bibliographical cave, in charge of a dragon. let it always be a bright and winsome place, hospitable to all orderly people; a place where even those ill-informed about books will not be made embarrassed, but encouraged. let it be one of the most attractive places in town; let it outshine in attractiveness the vulgar and harmful attractions of the bar-room and the gambling den; let it grow up into the best life of the community, a place resorted to by all, loved by all, a blessing to all. the library as a field for philanthropy at a dinner given to andrew carnegie by the authors' league in new york, he said: "they say i am a philanthropist. i am no such foolish fellow." nevertheless, to the _north american review_ for december, , he contributed an article, entitled "the best fields for philanthropy," in which he gives the library first place. it is of course impossible to tell whether the title was his or a suggestion of the editor. the extract printed here is interesting as embodying mr. carnegie's gospel of "help by self-help," but also as giving credit to enoch pratt of baltimore as an earlier exponent of it. andrew carnegie was born in dunfermline, scotland, nov. , . he was brought by his family to pittsburgh, pa. as a boy of , and after working as a weaver's assistant and a telegraph messenger boy, became an operator, rose to be head of his division, made money by organizing a sleeping-car company and after the civil war became an ironmaster, retiring in as a multi-millionaire. much of his fortune he gave to build libraries, almost always on the condition that the municipality should assure them a stated support. he died in new york, aug. , . the reception given to the first paper[ ] upon this subject, to which our lamented friend, the late editor and proprietor of this _review_, was pleased to give the first place in the june number, has been most encouraging to its author, as it would surely have been to the editor had he been spared, for he was most deeply interested in the subject. [ ] "wealth" by andrew carnegie. in the north american review, june, . * * * * * before entering upon the question which you have proposed, it may be advantageous to restate the positions taken in the former paper, for the benefit of those who may not have read it, or who cannot conveniently refer to it. it was assumed that the present laws of competition, accumulation, and distribution are the best obtainable conditions; that through these the race receives its most valuable fruits; and, therefore, that they should be accepted and upheld. under these it was held that great wealth must inevitably flow into the hands of the few exceptional managers of men. the question then arose, what should these do with their surplus wealth? and the "gospel of wealth" contended that surplus wealth should be considered as a sacred trust, to be administered during the lives of its owners, by them as trustees, for the best good of the community in which and from which it had been acquired. it was pointed out that there were but three modes of disposing of surplus wealth, and two of these were held to be improper. first, it was held that to leave great fortunes to children did not prove true affection for them or interest in their genuine good, regarded either as individuals or as members of the state; that it was not the welfare of the children, but the pride of the parents, which inspired enormous legacies, and that, looking to the usual results of vast sums conferred upon children, the thoughtful man must be forced to say, if the good of the child only were considered: "i would as soon leave to my son a curse as to leave to him the almighty dollar." the second mode open to men is to hoard their surplus wealth during life, and leave it at death for public uses. it was pointed out that in many cases these bequests become merely monuments of the testators' folly; that the amount of real good done by posthumous gifts was ridiculously disproportionate to the sums thus left. the recent decision upon mr. tilden's will, which is said to have been drawn by the ablest of lawyers, and the partial failure of mr. williamson's purposes in regard to the great technical school which that millionaire intended to establish in philadelphia, are lessons indeed for the rich who only bequeath. the aim of the first article was thus to lead up to the conclusion that there is but one right mode of using enormous fortunes--namely, that the possessors from time to time during their own lives so administer them as to promote the permanent good of the communities from which they have been gathered. it was held that public sentiment would soon say of one who died possessed of millions of available wealth which he might have administered: "the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced." the purpose of this article is to present some of the best methods of performing this duty of administering surplus wealth for the good of the people. the first requisite for a really good use of wealth by the millionaire who has accepted the gospel which proclaims him only a trustee of the surplus that comes to him, is to take care that the purpose for which he spends it shall not have a degrading, pauperizing tendency upon its recipients, and that his trust should be so administered as to stimulate the best and most aspiring poor of the community to further efforts for their own improvement. it is not the irreclaimably destitute, shiftless, and worthless that it is truly beneficial or truly benevolent to attempt to reach and improve. for these there exists the refuge provided by the city or the state, where they can be sheltered, fed, clothed, and kept in comfortable existence, and--most important of all--where they can be isolated from the well-doing and industrious poor, who are liable to be demoralized by contact with these unfortunates. one man or woman who succeeds in living comfortably by begging is more dangerous to society, and a greater obstacle to the progress of humanity, than a score of wordy socialists. the individual administrator of surplus wealth has as his charge the industrious and ambitious; not those who need everything done for them, but those who, being most anxious and able to help themselves, deserve and will be benefited by help from others and the extension of their opportunities at the hands of the philanthropic rich. it is ever to be remembered that one of the chief obstacles which the philanthropist meets in his efforts to do real and permanent good in this world is the practice of indiscriminate giving; and the duty of the millionaire is to resolve to cease giving to objects that are not proved clearly to his satisfaction to be deserving. he must remember mr. rice's belief, that nine hundred and fifty out of every thousand dollars bestowed to-day upon so-called charity had better be thrown into the sea. as far as my experience of the wealthy extends, it is unnecessary to urge them to give of their superabundance in charity so-called. greater good for the race is to be achieved by inducing them to cease impulsive and injurious giving. as a rule, the sins of millionaires in this respect are not those of omission, but of commission, because they will not take time to think, and chiefly because it is much easier to give than to refuse. those who have surplus wealth give millions every year which produce more evil than good, and which really retard the progress of the people, because most of the forms in vogue to-day for benefiting mankind only tend to spread among the poor a spirit of dependence upon alms, when what is essential for progress is that they should be inspired to depend upon their own exertions. the miser millionaire who hoards his wealth does less injury to society than the careless millionaire who squanders his unwisely, even if he does so under cover of the mantle of sacred charity. the man who gives to the individual beggar commits a grave offence, but there are many societies and institutions soliciting alms which it is none the less injurious to the community to aid. these are as corrupting as individual beggars. plutarch's "morals" contains this lesson: "a beggar asking an alms of a lacedaemonian, he said: 'well, should i give thee anything, thou wilt be the greater beggar, for he that first gave thee money made thee idle, and is the cause of this base and dishonorable way of living.'" as i know them, there are few millionaires, very few indeed, who are clear of this sin of having made beggars. bearing in mind these considerations, let us endeavor to present some of the best uses to which a millionaire can devote the surplus of which he should regard himself as only the trustee. _first_--standing apart by itself there is the founding of a university by men enormously rich, such men as must necessarily be few in any country. perhaps the greatest sum ever given by an individual for any purpose is the gift of senator stanford, who undertakes to establish upon the pacific coast, where he amassed his enormous fortune, a complete university, which is said to involve the expenditure of ten millions of dollars, and upon which he may be expected to bestow twenty millions of his surplus. he is to be envied. a thousand years hence some orator, speaking his praise upon the then crowded shores of the pacific, may repeat griffith's eulogy of wolsey, "in bestowing he was most princely: ever witness for him this great seat of learning." here is a noble use of wealth. we have many such institutions, hopkins, cornell, packer, and others, but most of these have only been bequeathed, and it is impossible to extol any man greatly for simply leaving what he cannot take with him. cooper, and pratt, and stanford, and others of this class deserve credit and the admiration of their fellows as much for the time and the attention given during their lives, as for their expenditure, upon their respective monuments. we cannot have the pacific coast in mind without recalling another important work of a different character which has recently been established there, the lick observatory. if any millionaire be interested in the ennobling study of astronomy,--and there should be and would be such if they but gave the subject the slightest attention,--here is an example which could well be followed, for the progress made in astronomical instruments and appliances is so great and continuous that every few years a new telescope might be judiciously given to one of the observatories upon this continent, the last being always the largest and the best, and certain to carry further and further the knowledge of the universe and of our relation to it here upon the earth. as one among many of the good deeds of the late mr. thaw, of pittsburg, his constant support of the observatory there may be mentioned. this observatory enabled professor langley to make his wonderful discoveries. the professor is now at the head of the smithsonian institution, a worthy successor to professor henry. connected with him was mr. brashear, of pittsburg, whose instruments are in most of the principal observatories of the world. he was a common millwright, but mr. thaw recognized his genius and was his main support through trying days. this common workman has been made a professor by one of the foremost scientific bodies of the world. in applying part of his surplus in aiding these two now famous men, the millionaire thaw did a noble work. their joint labors have brought great, and are destined to bring still greater, credit upon their country in every scientific centre throughout the world. it is reserved for very few to found universities, and, indeed, the use for many, or perhaps any, new universities does not exist. more good is henceforth to be accomplished by adding to and extending those in existence. but in this department a wide field remains for the millionaire as distinguished from the croesus among milionaires. the gifts to yale university have been many, but there is plenty of room for others. the school of fine arts, founded by mr. street, the sheffield scientific school, endowed by mr. sheffield, and professor loomis's fund for the observatory, are fine examples. mrs. c.j. osborne's building for reading and recitation to be regarded with especial pleasure as being the wise gift of a woman. harvard university has not been forgotten; the peabody museum, and the halls of wells, matthews, and thayer may be cited. sever hall is worthy of special mention, as showing what a genius like richardson could do with the small sum of a hundred thousand dollars. the vanderbilt university at nashville, tennessee, may be mentioned as a true product of the gospel of wealth. it was established by members of the vanderbilt family during their lives--mark this vital feature--during their lives; for nothing counts for much that is left by a man at his death. such funds are torn from him, not given by him. if any millionaire is at a loss to know how to accomplish great and indisputable good with his surplus, here is a field which can never be fully occupied, for the wants of our universities increase with the development of the country. _second_--the result of my own study of the question, what is the best gift which can be given to a community? is that a free library occupies the first place, provided the community will accept and maintain it as a public institution, as much a part of the city property as its public schools, and, indeed, an adjunct to these. it is, no doubt, possible that my own personal experience may have led me to value a free library beyond all other forms of beneficence. when i was a boy in pittsburg, colonel anderson, of allegheny,--a name i can never speak without feelings of devotional gratitude,--opened his little library of four hundred books to boys. every saturday afternoon he was in attendance himself at his house to exchange books. no one but he who has felt it can know the intense longing with which the arrival of saturday was awaited, that a new book might be had. my brother and mr. phipps, who have been my principal business partners through life, shared with me colonel anderson's precious generosity, and it was when revelling in these treasures that i resolved, if ever wealth came to me, that it should be used to establish free libraries, that other poor boys might receive opportunities similar to those for which we were indebted to that noble man. great britain has been foremost in appreciating the value of free libraries for its people. parliament passed an act permitting towns and cities to establish and maintain these as municipal institutions, and whenever the people of any town or city voted to accept the provisions of the act, the authorities were authorized to tax the community to the extent of one penny in the pound valuation. most of the towns already have free libraries under this act. many of these are the gifts of rich men, whose funds have been used for the building, and in some cases for the books also, the communities being required to maintain and to develop the libraries; and to this feature i attribute most of their usefulness. an endowed institution is liable to become the prey of a clique. the public ceases to take interest, in it, or, rather, never acquires interest in it. the rule has been violated which requires the recipients to help themselves. everything has been done for the community instead of its being only helped to help itself. many free libraries have been established in our country, but none that i know of with such wisdom as the pratt library, of baltimore. mr. pratt presented to the city of baltimore one million dollars, requiring it to pay per cent. per annum, amounting to fifty thousand dollars per year, which is to be devoted to the maintenance and development of the library and its branches. during the last year , books were distributed; , people of baltimore are registered upon the books as readers; and it is safe to say that , frequenters of the pratt library are of more value to baltimore, to the state, and to the country than all the inert, lazy, and hopelessly-poor in the whole nation. and it may further be safely said that, by placing within the reach of , aspiring people books which they were anxious to obtain, mr. pratt has done more for the genuine progress of the people than has been done by all the contributions of all the millionaires and rich people to help those who cannot help themselves. the one wise administrator of his surplus has poured his fertilizing stream upon soil that was ready to receive it and return a hundred-fold. the many squanderers have not only poured their streams into sieves which never can be filled,--they have done worse; they have poured them into stagnant sewers that breed the diseases which afflict the body politic. and this is not all. the million dollars of which mr. pratt has made so grand a use are something, but there is something greater still. when the fifth branch library was opened in baltimore, the speaker said: "whatever may have been done in these four years, it was his pleasure to acknowledge that much, very much, was due to the earnest interest, the wise councils, and the practical suggestions of mr. pratt. he never seemed to feel that the mere donation of great wealth for the benefit of his fellow-citizens was all that would be asked of him, but he wisely labored to make its application as comprehensive and effective as possible. thus he constantly lightened burdens that were, at times, very heavy, brought good cheer and bright sunshine when clouds flitted across the sky, and made every officer and employee feel that good work was appreciated, and loyal devotion to duty would receive hearty commendation." this is the finest picture i have ever seen of any of the millionaire class. as here depicted, mr. pratt is the ideal disciple of the "gospel of wealth." we need have no fear that the mass of toilers will fail to recognize in such as he their best leaders and their most invaluable allies; for the problem of poverty and wealth, of employer and employed, will be practically solved whenever the time of the few is given, and their wealth is administered during their lives, for the best good of that portion of the community which has not been burdened by the responsibilities which attend the possession of wealth. we shall have no antagonism between classes when that day comes, for the high and the low, the rich and the poor, shall then indeed be brothers. no millionaire will go far wrong in his search for one of the best forms for the use of his surplus who chooses to establish a free library in any community that is willing to maintain and develop it. john bright's words should ring in his ear: "it is impossible for any man to bestow a greater benefit upon a young man than to give him access to books in a free library." closely allied to the library, and, where possible, attached to it, there should be rooms for an art gallery and museum, and a hall for such lectures and instruction as are provided in the cooper union. the traveller upon the continent is surprised to find that every town of importance has its art gallery and museum; these may be large or small, but in any case each has a receptacle for the treasures of the locality, which is constantly receiving valuable gifts and bequests. the free library and art gallery of birmingham are remarkable among these, and every now and then a rich man adds to their value by presenting books, fine pictures, or other works of art. all that our cities require to begin with is a proper fireproof building. their citizens who travel will send to it rare and costly things from every quarter of the globe they visit, while those who remain at home will give or bequeath to it of their treasures. in this way these collections will grow until our cities will ultimately be able to boast of permanent exhibitions from which their own citizens will derive incalculable benefit, and which they will be proud to show to visitors. in the metropolitan museum of art in this city we have made an excellent beginning. here is another avenue for the proper use of surplus wealth. _third_--we have another most important department in which great sums can be worthily used,--the founding or extension of hospitals, medical colleges, laboratories, and other institutions connected with the alleviation of human suffering, and especially with the prevention rather than the cure of human ills. there is no danger of pauperizing a community in giving for such purposes, because such institutions relieve temporary ailments or shelter only those who are hopeless invalids. what better gift than a hospital can be given to a community that is without one?--the gift being conditioned upon its proper maintenance by the community in its corporate capacity. if hospital accommodation already exists, no better method for using surplus wealth can be found than in making additions to it. the late mr. vanderbilt's gift of half a million of dollars to the medical department of columbia college for a chemical laboratory was one of the wisest possible uses of wealth. it strikes at the prevention of disease by penetrating into its causes. several others have established such laboratories, but the need for them is still great. if there be a millionaire in the land who is at a loss what to do with the surplus that has been committed to him as trustee, let him investigate the good that is flowing from these chemical laboratories. no medical college is complete without its laboratory. as with universities, so with medical colleges; it is not new institutions that are required, but additional means for the more thorough equipment of those that exist. the forms that benefactions to these may wisely take are numerous, but probably none is more useful than that adopted by mr. osborne when he built a school for training female nurses at bellevue college. if from all gifts there flows one-half of the good that comes from this wise use of a millionaire's surplus, the most exacting may well be satisfied. only those who have passed through a lingering and dangerous illness can rate at their true value the care, skill, and attendance of trained female nurses. their employment as nurses has enlarged the sphere and influence of woman. it is not to be wondered at that a senator of the united states and a physician distinguished in this country for having received the highest distinctions abroad should find their wives from this class. _fourth_--in the very front rank of benefactions public parks should be placed, always provided that the community undertakes to maintain, beautify, and preserve inviolate the parks given to it. no more useful or more beautiful monument can be left by any man than a park for the city in which he was born or in which he has long lived, nor can the community pay a more graceful tribute to the citizen who presents it than to give his name to the gift. if a park be already provided, there is still room for many judicious gifts in connection with it. mr. phipps, of allegheny, has given conservatories to the park there, which are visited by many every day of the week, and crowded by thousands of working people every sunday, for, with rare wisdom, he has stipulated as a condition of the gift that the conservatories shall be open on sundays. the result of his experiment has been so gratifying that he is justified in adding to them from his surplus, as he is doing largely this year. to any lover of flowers among the wealthy i commend a study of what is possible for them to do in the light of mr. phipps's example; and may they please note that mr. phipps is a wise as well as a liberal giver, for he requires the city to maintain these conservatories, and thus secures for them forever the public ownership, the public interest, and the public criticism of their management. had he undertaken to manage and maintain them, it is probable that popular interest in the gift would never have been awakened. the parks and pleasure-grounds of small towns throughout europe are not less surprising than their libraries, museums, and art galleries. we saw nothing more pleasing during our recent travels than the hillside of bergen, in norway. it has been converted into one of the most picturesque of pleasure-grounds; fountains, cascades, water-falls, delightful arbors, fine terraces, and statues adorn what was before a barren mountain side. here is a field worthy of study by the millionaire who would confer a lasting benefit upon his fellows. another beautiful instance of the right use of wealth in the direction of making cities more and more attractive we found in dresden. the owner of the leading paper there bequeathed its revenues forever to the city, to be used in beautifying it. an art committee decides from time to time what new artistic feature is to be introduced or what hideous feature is to be changed, and as the revenues accrue they are expended in this direction. thus through the gift of this patriotic newspaper proprietor his native city of dresden is fast becoming one of the most artistic places of residence in the whole world. a work having been completed, it devolves upon the city to maintain it forever. may i be excused if i commend to our millionaire newspaper proprietors the example of their colleague in the capital of saxony? scarcely a city of any magnitude in the older countries is without many structures and features of great beauty. much has been spent upon ornament, decoration, and architectural effect: we are still far behind in these things upon this side of the atlantic. our republic is great in some things,--in material development unrivalled; but let us always remember that in art and in the finer touches we have scarcely yet taken a place. had the exquisite memorial arch recently erected temporarily in new york been shown in dresden, the art committee there would probably have been enabled, from the revenue of the newspaper given by its owner for just such purposes, to order its permanent erection to adorn the city forever. while the bestowal of a park upon a community as one of the best uses for surplus wealth will be universally approved, in embracing such additions to it as conservatories, or in advocating the building of memorial arches and works of adornment, it is probable that many will think we go too far, and consider these somewhat fanciful. the material good to flow from them may not be so directly visible; but let not any practical mind, intent only upon material good, depreciate the value of wealth given for these or for kindred aesthetic purposes as being useless as far as the mass of the people and their needs are concerned. as with libraries and museums, so with these more distinctively artistic works; these perform their great use when they reach the best of the masses of the people. it is worth more to reach and touch the sentiment for beauty in the naturally bright minds of this class than that those incapable of being so touched should be pandered to. for what the improver of the race must endeavor to do is to reach those who have the divine spark ever so feebly developed, that it may be strengthened and grow. for my part, i think mr. phipps put his money to better use in giving the workingmen of allegheny conservatories filled with beautiful flowers, orchids, and aquatic plants, which they, with their wives and children, can enjoy in their spare hours, and on which they can feed the love for the beautiful, than if he had given his surplus money to furnish them with bread, for those in health who cannot earn their bread are scarcely worth considering by the individual giver; the care of such being the duty of the state. the man who erects in a city a truly artistic arch, statue, or fountain makes a wise use of his surplus. "man does not live by bread alone." _fifth_--we have another good use for surplus wealth, in providing for our cities halls suitable for meetings of all kinds, especially for concerts of elevating music. our cities are rarely provided with halls for these purposes, being in this respect also very far behind european cities. the springer hall, of cincinnati, that valuable addition to the city, was largely the gift of mr. springer, who was not content to bequeath funds from his estate at death, but who gave during his life, and, in addition, gave--what was equally important--his time and business ability to insure the successful results which have been achieved. the gift of a hall to any city lacking one is an excellent use for surplus wealth for the good of a community. the reason why the people have only one instructive and elevating, or even amusing, entertainment when a dozen would be highly beneficial, is that the rent of a hall, even when a suitable hall exists (which is rare), is so great as to prevent managers from running the risk of financial failure. if every city in our land owned a hall which could be given or rented for a small sum for such gatherings as a committee or the mayor of the city judged advantageous, the people could be furnished with proper lectures, amusements, and concerts at an exceedingly small cost. the town halls of european cities, many of which have organs, are of inestimable value to the people, when utilized as they are in the manner suggested. let no one underrate the influence of entertainments of an elevating or even of an amusing character, for these do much to make the lives of the people happier and their natures better. if any millionaire born in a small village, which has now become a great city, is prompted in the day of his success to do something for his birthplace with part of his surplus, his grateful remembrance cannot take a form more useful than that of a public hall with an organ, provided the city agrees to maintain and use it. _sixth_--in another respect we are still much behind europe. a form of beneficence which is not uncommon there is providing swimming baths for the people. the donors of these have been wise enough to require the city benefited to maintain them at its own expense, and as proof of the contention that everything should never be done for any one or for any community, but that the recipients should invariably be called upon to do part, it is significant that it is found essential for the popular success of these healthful establishments to exact a nominal charge for their use. in many cities, however, the school children are admitted free at fixed hours upon certain days, different hours being fixed for the boys and the girls to use the great swimming baths, hours or days being also fixed for the use of these baths by ladies. in inland cities the young of both sexes are thus taught to swim. swimming clubs are organized, and matches are frequent, at which medals and prizes are given. the reports published by the various swimming baths throughout great britain are filled with instances of lives saved because those who fortunately escaped ship-wreck had been taught to swim in the baths, and not a few instances are given in which the pupils of certain bathing establishments have saved the lives of others. if any disciple of the "gospel of wealth" gives his favorite city large swimming and private baths (provided the municipality undertakes their management as a city affair), he will never be called to account for an improper use of the funds intrusted to him. _seventh_--churches as fields for the use of surplus wealth have purposely been reserved until the last, because, these being sectarian, every man will be governed by his own attachments; therefore gifts to churches, it may be said, are not, in one sense, gifts to the community at large, but to special classes. nevertheless, every millionaire may know of a district where the little cheap, uncomfortable, and altogether unworthy wooden structure stands at the cross-roads, to which the whole neighborhood gathers on sunday, and which is the centre of social life and source of neighborly feeling. the administrator of wealth has made a good use of part of his surplus if he replaces that building with a permanent structure of brick, stone, or granite, up the sides of which the honeysuckle and columbine may climb, and from whose tower the sweet-tolling bell may sound. the millionaire should not figure how cheaply this structure can be built, but how perfect it can be made. if he has the money, it should be made a gem, for the educating influence of a pure and noble specimen of architecture, built, as the pyramids were built, to stand for ages, is not to be measured by dollars. every farmer's home, heart, and mind in the district will be influenced by the beauty and grandeur of the church. but having given the building, the donor should stop there; the support of the church should be upon its own people; there is not much genuine religion in the congregation or much good to flow from the church which is not supported at home. many other avenues for the wise expenditure of surplus wealth might be indicated. i enumerate but a few--a very few--of the many fields which are open, and only these in which great or considerable sums can be judiciously used. it is not the privilege, however, of millionaires alone to work for or aid measures which are certain to benefit the community. every one who has but a small surplus above his moderate wants may share this privilege with his richer brothers, and those without surplus can give at least part of their time, which is usually as important as funds, and often more so. some day, perhaps, with your permission, i will endeavor to point out some fields and modes in which these may perform well their part as trustees of wealth, or leisure, according to the measure of their respective fortunes. it is not expected, neither is it desirable, that there should be a general concurrence as to the best possible use of surplus wealth. for different men and different localities there are different uses. what commends itself more highly to the judgment of the administrator is the best use for him, for his heart should be in the work. it is as important in administering wealth as it is in any other branch of a man's work that he should be enthusiastically devoted to it and feel that in the field selected his work lies. besides this, there is room and need for all kinds of wise benefactions for the common weal. the man who builds a university, library, or laboratory performs no more useful work than he who elects to devote himself and his surplus means to the adornment of a park, the gathering together of a collection of pictures for the public, or the building of a memorial arch. these are all true laborers in the vineyard. the only point required by the "gospel of wealth" is that the surplus which accrues from time to time in the hands of man should be administered by him in his own lifetime for that purpose which is seen by him, as trustee, to be best for the good of the people. to leave at death what he cannot take away, and place upon others the burden of the work which it was his own duty to perform, is to do nothing worthy. this requires no sacrifice, nor any sense of duty to his fellows. time was when the words concerning the rich man entering heaven were regarded as a hard saying. today, when all questions are probed to the bottom and the standards of faith received the most liberal interpretations, the startling verse has been relegated to the rear, to await the next kindly revision as one of those things which cannot be quite understood, but which meanwhile--it is carefully to be observed--are not to be understood literally. but is it so very improbable that the next stage of thought is not to restore the doctrine in all its pristine purity and force, as being in perfect harmony with sound ideas upon the subject of wealth and poverty, the rich and the poor, and the contrasts everywhere seen and deplored? in christ's day, it is evident, reformers were against the wealthy. it is none the less evident that we are fast recurring to that position to-day; and there will be nothing to surprise the student of sociological development if society should soon approve the text which has caused so much anxiety: "it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." even if the needle were the small casement at the gates, the words betoken serious difficulty for the rich. it will be but a step for the theologian to take from the doctrine that he who dies rich dies disgraced to that which brings upon the man punishment or deprivation hereafter. the "gospel of wealth" but echoes christ's words. it calls upon the millionaire to sell all that he hath and give it in the highest and best form to the poor, by administering his estate himself for the good of his fellows, before he is called upon to lie down and rest upon the bosom of mother earth. so doing, he will approach his end no longer the ignoble hoarder of useless millions, poor, very poor indeed, in money, but rich, very rich, twenty times a millionaire still, in the affection, gratitude and admiration of his fellow-men, and--sweeter far--soothed and sustained by the still small voice within, which, whispering, tells him that, because he has lived, perhaps one small part of the great world has been bettered just a little. this much is sure: against such riches as these no bar will be found at the gates of paradise. the idea of a popular library the following seven papers give some fundamental ideas on the functions of popular libraries. they are arranged in chronological order, and, so grouped, span the gap between and , considerably more than half a century. the first is interesting as presenting a discussion at the inception of our first great public library, that of the city of boston, quoted from "the life, letters and journals of george ticknor" (boston, ). ticknor's idea of a popular library, given in a letter to edward everett, is followed by everett's answer. some of the editor's comments precede and conclude. those interested may read on, in chapter xv, vol. ii of the "life," and get a further idea of ticknor's zeal in promoting the boston library and his interest in making it as popular as possible, in distinction to the idea of a library solely for scholars, upheld by john jacob astor, in his new york gift of three years previous, which everett rather favored. george ticknor was born in boston, aug. , and graduated at dartmouth in . he was admitted to the bar in but devoted his life chiefly to teaching and to literature, serving as professor in harvard in - . he died in boston, jan. , . a sketch of everett appears on page of this volume. the endowment of a great library in new york, given by mr. john jacob astor, at his death, in , was much talked about; and men of forecast began to say openly that, unless something of a like character were done in boston, the scientific and literary culture of this part of the country would follow trade and capital to the metropolis, which was thus taking the lead. still, nothing effectual was done. among the persons with whom mr. ticknor had, of late years, most frequently talked of the matter, dr. channing was dead, mr. abbott lawrence had become minister to england, and mr. jonathan phillips was growing too infirm to take part in public affairs. the subject, however, kept its hold on mr. ticknor's mind. his idea was that which he felt lay at the foundation of all our public institutions, namely, that in order to form and maintain our character as a great nation, the mass of the people must be intelligent enough to manage their own government with wisdom; and he came, though not at once, to the conclusion that a very free use of books, furnished by an institution supported at the expense of the community, would be one of the effective means for obtaining this result of general culture. he had reached this conclusion before he saw any probability of its being practically carried out, as is proved by the following letter, which he wrote to mr. everett, in the summer of . a few months before this date mr. everett had presented to the city--after offering it in vain more than once--a collection of about a thousand volumes of public documents, and books of similar character, accompanied by a letter, urging the establishment of a public library. to hon. edward everett. bellows falls, vermont, july , . my dear everett,--i have seen with much gratification from time to time, within the last year, and particularly in your last letter on the subject, that you interest yourself in the establishment of a public library in boston;--i mean a library open to all the citizens, and from which all, under proper restrictions, can take out books. such, at least, i understand to be your plan; and i have thought, more than once, that i would talk with you about it, but accident has prevented it. however, perhaps a letter is as good on all accounts, and better as a distinct memorandum of what i mean. it has seemed to me, for many years, that such a free public library, if adapted to the wants of our people, would be the crowning glory of our public schools. but i think it important that it should be adapted to our peculiar character; that is, that it should come in at the end of our system of free instruction, and be fitted to continue and increase the effects of that system by the self-culture that results from reading. the great obstacle to this with us is not--as it is in prussia and elsewhere--a low condition of the mass of the people, condemning them, as soon as they escape from school, and often before it, to such severe labor, in order to procure the coarsest means of physical subsistence, that they have no leisure for intellectual culture, and soon lose all taste for it. our difficulty is, to furnish means specially fitted to encourage a love for reading, to create an appetite for it, which the schools often fail to do, and then to adapt these means to its gratification. that an appetite for reading can be very widely excited is plain, from what the cheap publications of the last twenty years have accomplished, gradually raising the taste from such poor trash as the novels with which they began, up to the excellent and valuable works of all sorts which now flood the country, and are read by the middling classes everywhere, and in new england, i think, even by a majority of the people.[ ] now what seems to me to be wanted in boston is, an apparatus that shall carry this taste for reading as deep as possible into society, assuming, what i believe to be true, that it can be carried deeper in our society than in any other in the world, because we are better fitted for it. to do this i would establish a library which, in its _main_ department and purpose, should differ from all free libraries yet attempted; i mean one in which any popular books, tending to moral and intellectual improvement, should be furnished in such numbers of copies that many persons, if they desired it, could be reading the same work at the same time; in short, that not only the best books of all sorts, but the pleasant literature of the day, should be made accessible to the whole people at the only time when they care for it, _i.e._ when it is fresh and new. i would, therefore, continue to buy additional copies of any book of this class, almost as long as they should continue to be asked for, and thus, by following the popular taste,--unless it should demand something injurious,--create a real appetite for healthy general reading. this appetite, once formed, will take care of itself. it will, in the great majority of cases, demand better and better books; and can, i believe, by a little judicious help, rather than by any direct control or restraint, be carried much higher than is generally thought possible. [ ] mr. ticknor was much struck by the publication of a cheap edition of johns' translation of froissart, by the harpers, of which he found a copy in a small inn of a retired village of southern new york, in ; and he always watched the signs of popular taste, both in publishers' lists and in the bookshelves of the houses which he entered, in his summer journeys, or in his errands of business and charity in the winter. after some details, of no present consequence, developing this idea, the letter goes on:-- nor would i, on this plan, neglect the establishment of a department for consultation, and for all the common purposes of public libraries, some of whose books, like encyclopaedias and dictionaries, should never be lent out, while others could be permitted to circulate; all on the shelves being accessible for reference as many hours in the day as possible, and always in the evening. this part of the library, i should hope, would be much increased by donations from public-spirited individuals, and individuals interested in the progress of knowledge, while, i think, the public treasury should provide for the more popular department. intimations of the want of such public facilities for reading are, i think, beginning to be given. in london i notice advertisements of some of the larger circulating libraries, that they purchase one and two hundred copies of all new and popular works; and in boston, i am told, some of our own circulating libraries will purchase almost any new book, if the person asking for it will agree to pay double the usual fee for reading it; while in all, i think, several, and sometimes many copies of new and popular works are kept on hand for a time, and then sold, as the demand for them dies away. omitting other details, now of no importance, the letter ends as follows:-- several years ago i proposed to mr. abbott lawrence to move in favor of such a library in boston; and, since that time, i have occasionally suggested it to other persons. in every case the idea has been well received; and the more i have thought of it and talked about it, the more i have been persuaded, that it is a plan easy to be reduced to practice, and one that would be followed by valuable results. i wish, therefore, that you would consider it, and see what objections there are to it. i have no purpose to do anything more about it myself than to write you this letter, and continue to speak of it, as i have done heretofore, to persons who, like yourself, are interested in such matters. but i should be well pleased to know how it strikes you. to this letter mr. everett replied as follows:-- cambridge, july , . my dear ticknor,--i duly received your letter of the th from bellows falls, and read it with great interest. the extensive circulation of new and popular works is a feature of a public library which i have not hitherto much contemplated. it deserves to be well weighed, and i shall be happy hereafter to confer with you on the subject. i cannot deny that my views have, since my younger days, undergone some change as to the practicability of freely loaning books at home from large public libraries. those who have been connected with the administration of such libraries are apt to get discouraged, by the loss and damage resulting from the loan of books. my present impressions are in favor of making the amplest provision in the library for the use of books there. your plan, however, is intended to apply only to a particular class of books, and does not contemplate the unrestrained circulation of those of which the loss could not be easily replaced. that boston must have a great public library, or yield to new york in letters as well as in commerce, will, i think, be made quite apparent in a few years. but on this and other similar subjects i hope to have many opportunities of conferring with you next winter. the difference of opinion, here made evident, as to the possibility or safety of allowing books to circulate freely, was not removed by many subsequent conversations, nor were the hopes of either of the gentlemen, with regard to the establishment of a great library, raised even when, in the early part of , the mayor, mr. seaver, recommended that steps be taken for such an object, and the common council, presided over by mr. james lawrence, proposed that a board of trustees for such an institution should be appointed. when, therefore, both mr. everett and mr. ticknor--the latter greatly to his surprise--were invited to become members of this board, they conferred together anew on the project; and, although the mayor, on hearing mr. ticknor's views, was much pleased with them, and urged him to take the place, yet he at one time determined to decline the office, certainly unless the library were to be open for the free circulation of most of its books, and unless it were to be dedicated, in the first instance, rather to satisfying the wants of the less favored classes of the community, than--like all public libraries then in existence--to satisfying the wants of scholars, men of science, and cultivated men generally. the function of a town library nearly a quarter-century elapsed after ticknor's letter, just quoted, before the publication in book form of josiah p. quincy's "protection of majorities and other essays" (boston, ), of which collection his paper on the function of a town library forms a part. as stated in his introduction, it appeared originally in _old and new_, a magazine already extinct when that introduction was penned. while asserting as strongly as mr. ticknor his belief in making a library "popular," the writer denies that his belief justifies the inclusion of fiction. his position seems to be that, praiseworthy as much of it is, fiction should not be supplied to the public from the public funds. the present attitude, that this is a matter to be settled by the public itself, is repudiated in set terms and with somewhat picturesque illustrations, by mr. quincy. his stalwart advocacy of the library as a supplement to the school is what justifies the inclusion of his paper in this collection. those who desire to follow mr. quincy a little farther may read the next paper in the above-named collection entitled "the abuse of reading." josiah phillips quincy was born in boston, nov. , and graduated at harvard in , the son of the statesman josiah quincy who was also president of harvard. he was admitted to the bar in , but afterward engaged in business and in farming, also writing freely on civic and economic subjects. this is a one-sided paper. something might be said on the other side; but, as that is the popular side, it is likely to receive full justice. in behalf of an unconverted minority, who should be represented through the press, if nowhere else, i desire to register a dissent from the prevailing opinion concerning the function of libraries sustained by the taxation of towns and small municipalities. the importance of stimulating thought upon subjects bearing ever so remotely upon our fiscal requirements, i conceive to be far greater than may superficially appear. for when the mass of our people clearly comprehend what government should not be called upon to do for them, they will insist upon its performing duties which are manifestly within its sphere of action. laboring men and women are to-day suffering from the adulteration of their food and drink, and from a system of taxation which oppresses them with weighty and unjust burdens. their deliverance can only come by dismissing legislators who are disciples of what may be called the todgers school of economy; that remarkable matron, as dickens tells us, caring little for the solid sustenance of her boarders, provided "the gravy" was abundant and satisfactory. upon what principle can the citizen, who thinks before he casts his ballot, justify himself in voting increased taxes upon his neighbors for the purpose of establishing a library? he must assume the necessity of public schools, and then argue that he may vote for a library that will supplement the elementary instruction which the town provides. and the justification is ample. if our schools are so conducted as to awaken a taste for knowledge and give a correct method in english reading, the town library may represent the university brought to every man's door. but suppose a large portion of the funds taken from tax-payers is devoted to circulating ephemeral works of mere amusement. is it not as monstrous for me to vote to tax my neighbor to furnish the boys and girls with "a terrible tribulation," or "lady so-and-so's struggle," as it would be for the purpose of providing them with free tickets to witness "article " or "the black crook"? these romances and dramas (to represent them in the most favorable point of view) are evanescent productions, designed to meet the market demand for the intense and spasmodic. their claims to patronage from the public purse are precisely similar. so far, the citizen has a right to object as a tax-payer. but, if he were truly solicitous for the welfare of the community about him, the protest might be far deeper. for the weak spot in our school system lies just here: while claiming immense credit for giving most of our children the ability to read, we show the profoundest indifference about what they read. but this accomplishment of reading is a very doubtful good if it goes no farther than to give a boy the satisfaction of perusing "the police gazette," or introduces a girl to the immoralities of mr. griffith gaunt, and the adventures of a hundred other heroes of characters even more questionable. by teaching our children to read, and then setting them adrift in a sea of feverish literature which vitiates the taste and enervates the character, we show an indifference about as sensible as that of the old lady who thought it could not matter whether her son had gone to the bosom of abraham or beelzebub, seeing that they were both scripture names. it is not difficult to conceive of communities, existing in greenland or elsewhere, which might legitimately tax the citizen to furnish his neighbors with their novel-reading. but it can scarcely be disputed that an increased facility for obtaining works of fiction is not the pressing need of our country in this present year of grace. dr. isaac ray, perhaps our highest authority on morbid mental phenomena, concludes his study on the effects of the prevalent romantic literature in these words: "the specific doctrine i would inculcate is, that the excessive indulgence in novel-reading, which is a characteristic of our times, is chargeable with many of the mental irregularities that prevail among us in a degree unknown at any former period." the late dr. forbes winslow, a physician of similar note in england, used still stronger language in describing how fearfully and fatally suggestive to the minds of the young are those artistically developed records of sin which form the staple of the popular novel. in these days of disordered nerve centres, and commissions to inquire into every thing, we neglect much valuable information which lies upon the surface. it is well to bear in mind that our eminent bibliographer, mr. spofford, has informed us that "masses of novels and other ephemeral publications overload most of our popular libraries"; and that our wisest physicians have agreed as to the influence they exert. of course these views will be met by a brusque statement that town libraries must supply such books as people want, and that they demand the current novels in unlimited quantities. but i repudiate the dismal fallacy upon which such an argument is based. plum-cake and champagne would doubtless be demanded at a sunday-school picnic, were these delicacies placed upon the table; but, if the committee did not think it necessary to supply them from the parish funds, is it certain that a fair amount of cold beef and hasty-pudding would not be consumed in their stead? and if a heartless man-government declined to furnish maggie and mollie with "the pirate's penance" or "the bride's bigamy" for their sabbath reading, is it not possible that those fair voters of the future might substitute mrs. fawcett's interesting illustrations of political economy, or some outline of human physiology, their knowledge of which would bless an unborn generation? i do not advocate the absurdity of a town library which should chiefly consist of authors like plato and professor peirce. no one can doubt that the great majority of its volumes should be emphatically _popular_ in their character. they should furnish intelligible and interesting reading to the average graduate of the town schools. and there is no lack of such works. the outlines of physical and social science have been written by men of genius in simple and attractive style. history and biography in the hands of their masters give a healthy stimulus to the imagination, and tend to strengthen the character. the function of a town library should be to supply reading improving and interesting, and yet, in the best sense of the word, popular; and i maintain that this can be done, without setting up a rival agency to the news-stand, the book-club, and the weekly paper, for the circulation of the novels of the day. there is a saying of dr. johnson, to the effect, that, if a boy be let loose in a library, he is likely to give himself a very fair education. but, in accepting this dictum, we must remember the sort of library the doctor had in his mind. as known to him, it was based upon solid volumes of systematized information. besides these were the noblest poems of the world, a very few great romances, and ponderous tomes of controversial theology; good, healthy food, and much of it attractive to an unpampered boy-appetite. but the range of a large library is by no means necessary to produce the soundest educational results. can it be doubted that familiar knowledge of a small case of well-selected books--such, for instance, as the modest stipend of a country clergyman easily collects--is better for boy and girl than the liberty of devouring a thousand highly-flavored sweets in the free library? at all events, a few old-fashioned people do not question it. "a year ago," writes one of them, "alice used to read irving and spenser, and tom was dipping into gibbon and shakespeare; liking them well enough, yet preferring a game of base-ball to either, as it was proper he should. but the town library was opened, and these young people are found crouching over novels in out-of-the-way corners, when they ought to be at play; or reading surreptitiously at night, when they ought to be asleep." it is in vain to throw all the responsibility upon parents. american parents are very busy, and somewhat careless. mrs. fanny firefly's highly-seasoned love-stories for girls, and mr. samuel sensation's boy-novels and spiced preparations of boned history, are got up, like the port-wine drops of the confectioners, to tempt and to sell. and they do their work. no one can examine the average boy and girl of the period without being struck with their ignorance of the great works of english literature which young people of a former generation were accustomed to read with profit and delight. the function of a town library is to supplement the town schools; to gratify the taste for knowledge which they should have imparted; and to serve as an instrument for that self-education to which there is no limit. but tax-payers are not bound to circulate twenty-seven thousand novels against nineteen hundred volumes of biography and seventeen hundred of history, according to the figures of one report; or to expend two-thirds of the working force of their establishment in sending out "novels and juveniles," according to the statement of another. in a word, information, not excitement, should be imbibed from the atmosphere of the town library. that prevailing infirmity of our time which seems to substitute sensibility for morality should there find small encouragement. but we shall never know what this institution might do for a community, so long as the temptation of free novels is thrust in the faces of all who enter. for it is not to be expected that our youth fresh from school, moving among the countless agitations of american life, will select reading that may require some mental exertion, so long as mental excitement is offered them in unlimited amounts. i am well aware how much may be said for the story-tellers, and how many people there are to say it; and, whenever there is danger of their being unduly neglected, my voice shall be loudly raised in their behalf. but one may allow the claims of the romances, from scheherazade to mrs. southworth, and yet maintain that the theory upon which the average town library is run is faulty. there is no virtue in despising cakes and ale, and the heat of ginger in the mouth may at times impart a wholesome glow to the entire system. but it does not quite follow that it is the function of american towns to supply these stimulants gratis, at the expense of their tax-payers. while we consider the immense amount of reading of a certain sort that a town library supplies, it is well to remember that there are other sorts of reading it may possibly prevent. for it may encourage reading precisely as prodigality encourages industry. luxury and profusion do indeed feed industry, and demoralize it; but the industry which serves god by blessing man, they prevent from being fed. i fear that in these days more noble capacities die of a surfeit from too much poor reading, than starve from want of good books. the valid defence of institutions working in the interest of state education is this: they prevent a waste of power. when any one of them can be shown to encourage waste of power, it needs looking after. in our complex social condition, the real consequences of any government interference extend far beyond its apparent consequences. an institution may be very useful up to a certain point, and yet hurtful if allowed to run its full course without restraining criticism. the managers of our smaller libraries are apt to be picked men, who give unrequited labor and intelligence to their trust. but they are chosen at town meetings,--and to a certain extent must carry out the wishes of their electors. upon this matter, as upon most others, it is the duty of the thoughtful men and women to create a wholesome public opinion. they must recognize the fact that the change from a few good books to an unlimited supply of all sorts of books is by no means an unmixed advantage to a community. while the results of town libraries, taken in the aggregate, are undoubtedly good, it is our duty to consider whether they ought not to be better. the free public library the public library had now passed the period of the merely academic advocacy exemplified in the ticknor letter of . it was an actual, functioning institution, and as such was called upon to answer criticism and to justify its existence. the atmosphere of apologetics begins to appear in what its friends have to say about it. this is evident in the extract from col. higginson's "men and women" (new york, ) which immediately follows. the author's comparison of the evolution of a library with that of a great railroad system is perhaps the first hint of a comprehensive vision of the library as something bigger than any individual town or city institution and beyond it. thomas wentworth higginson was born in cambridge, mass., dec. , , and graduated at harvard in . he entered the ministry in but retired in and served in the civil war. from that time until his death, may , , he devoted himself to literature, publishing a large number of books. just as there is a good deal of anxiety wasted in regard to our free public schools, especially on the part of those who have never entered them, so there is some misplaced solicitude in regard to our libraries. the free town or city library is one of the few things in our democratic society that would have pleased the splenetic carlyle, who mourned in one of his early letters that every village in england had its jail, but none its open library. it is a pity, therefore, when a man of high standing and great influence writes of these institutions thus hastily (i take the passage from a well-known literary journal): "among the forms of beneficence for which our own generation has been conspicuous is the free library.... but it is, i apprehend, no exaggeration to say that such well-meant generosity has _oftener than otherwise_ (the italics are my own) been chilled and discouraged by its results. appreciative readers are few, the best books are largely let alone, and the cost of the 'plant' and the taste which are put into it are often in most painful contrast to the appreciation which they have received." now, while every count of this last sentence may be true indictment, it is easy to show how little it sustains the verdict. "appreciative readers" are few in the most cultivated circles, if their appreciation must be tested by "the best books" only. it is not easy even to know what the best books are, if we may judge by the tiresome failures in making out the list of them; and suppose that they were known, do we find many clergymen or bishops who habitually read plato, Æschylus, and dante, rather than "ben-hur" or "the lady or the tiger"? it does not therefore follow that people are unworthy of public libraries because "the best books are largely let alone"; the question is whether even the second best may not be good reading. we have the medical authority of hippocrates for saying that the second best medicine may be better than the best, if the patient likes it best. so in regard to the fine buildings, the success of republican government happily does not depend on how far our citizens appreciate the architecture of the capitol at washington and the state house at albany; and it is surely the same with libraries. grant a few over-fine library buildings, built to please some private benefactor; grant a few mismanaged public libraries--though where these buildings or these libraries are i do not myself know--does the kindly writer of these lines mean to be understood as saying that "oftener than otherwise" our free public libraries are failures? if he does, it can only be said that this remark adds another to the innumerable illustrations of that invaluable remark of coleridge that we must take every man's testimony to the value of that which he does not know. all experience shows how easy it is to construct an institution out of one's own consciousness and then condemn it; we see this daily in what is written of our public school system. in general butler's brief career as governor of massachusetts he made a severe attack upon the normal art school in boston, and cited a pathetic instance of a fallen girl who undoubtedly (as he urged) received her first demoralization from the study of the nude in that school. it turned out on investigation that he himself had never entered the school, and that the young girl herself made no such charges; that there never had been any studying from nude models in the school; that she had attended it but a month or two, and this in its early days, when it did not possess so much as a plaster cast of a human foot or hand. no matter; the charge was reiterated up to the very end of his excellency's career in office, and is believed by many worthy people of this day. it is equally easy to bring general charges against public libraries, and equally hard to remove their impression, however unjust and even cruel they may be. what are the facts? there has just been a great librarians' convention assembled from all parts of the country, and keeping together for many days. did a single speaker at that convention take the ground that "oftener than otherwise" the benefactors of public libraries were chilled and discouraged? on the contrary, it was reported that such benefactors were never so active, and their benefactions were never so large. the tone was not one of discouragement, but of buoyancy and hope. every one admitted the vastness of the educational engine created by the free library system; every one had his own suggestion by way of improvement or development, but every one expressed a cordial faith in the community, and reported encouragement in all work well done. the simple truth is that the creation of a system of such libraries is like the creation of a great railway system; it must be an evolution, not a creation outright. the wisest librarian in america fifty years ago had no more conception of the free library system of to-day than had benjamin franklin of our postal methods; nor can any one now foresee what fifty years of development will do for either. the truth is that every step in any great organization brings out new possibilities, new dangers, and new resources. side by side with the perils of free libraries--as of too much light reading, and the absence of proper appreciation of the best things--there are evoked resources to meet these dangers. outside the library there come up the "association to promote study at home," and the vast chautauqua "reading circles"--all these being essentially based on the free library system, and implying it for their full development. inside the library there grow up such methods as those of mr. s.s. green, city librarian of worcester, massachusetts, whose ways of making such an institution useful to all sorts and conditions of the people may take rank with rowland hill's improvements in postal service, as to their results on democratic civilization. he has succeeded in linking the library and the public schools so closely that he and the teachers acting in concurrence, indirectly control the reading of the whole generation that is growing up in that city. the details must be sought in his reports--as, for instance, one from the library journal of march, , which is printed as a leaflet; but the essential thing in managing libraries, as in managing schools, is to have faith in the community in which one lives, and to believe that people do, as the scripture has it, "covet earnestly the best gifts," if you will only show them how those best gifts are to be obtained. put into school and library methods one-half the organizing ability brought to bear on railways and telegraphs, and we shall stand astonished at the results within our reach. those already attained, if fairly looked at, are sufficient to encourage any one. the writer has at two different times and in two different states been a director in these institutions. whenever he needed a little stimulus toward doing his duty it was his custom to go and look over the rack containing the books lately brought back by readers. with all necessary deduction for the love of fiction--a love shared in these days by the wisest and best--the proportion of sensible and useful reading was always such as to vindicate the immense value of the free public libraries. two fundamentals mary salome cutler, now mrs. milton fairchild, is the first librarian to be quoted in this symposium. a sketch of her appears in vol. ii. of this series. in the paragraphs quoted below which form part of a paper read by miss cutler, then vice-director of the new york state library school, before the pennsylvania library club and printed in _the library journal_ (october, ), appears a definite recognition of the social character of the library's task. her two fundamentals--organization and human feelings--are both decided elements in its socialization. in considering library interests we do well, i think, not to confine ourselves to the limited range of library subjects. that mysterious thing which we call society is growing more complex, every part more curiously intertwined with every other part, each human life bearing some relation to every other human life. whether he will or no, it is literally true that "no man liveth to himself alone." if it were possible, then, as a part of this organism to discover some of the laws which govern the whole, we might come back to our special domain with an application of the laws which would have the force of freshness. i believe that we gain an insight into these controlling principles only by yielding to the tendency of solidarity, by opening ourselves to surrounding influences, by living the fullest life of which we are capable. i think i have seen the workings of two of these laws which have a close relation to each other. if i am right your experience will confirm mine, and we can together make the application to what concerns us most--the library interests of to-day. in any undertaking results depend directly, and often largely, upon the perfection of organization. organization implies a mind which can grasp the undertaking as a whole, follow it out, each step in detail, estimate the various factors, personal and impersonal, provide for unforeseen contingencies, and furnish the faith, the will-power, the personal magnetism, whatever you choose to call it, in such measure as is needed to carry it through. such a mind sees the end at the beginning, and thinks of it as already done while to others it may seem far off and even impossible. such thought, often the work of one mind, sometimes the result of cooperation, is behind every piece of accomplished work. other elements may doubtless be essential, but there can be no adequate results without organization. and, making allowance for other elements, the perfection of results depends upon the perfection of organization.... for the reason of this tendency we have not far to seek. i believe it is found in the scientific spirit of the age, which is surely pervading every sphere of human thought and activity. the careful investigation of facts, the deduction of the law from the phenomena, the distrust of chance and the loyalty to the law deduced, all of which evidence the scientific spirit, mark alike the great financier, diplomatist, inventor, philanthropist. in some undertakings organization alone will suffice. for example, making a machine, laying out a railroad, compiling a volume of statistics. in others there must needs come in what i will call the human element, the consideration of people, not in masses, but as individuals, that matchless, indescribable quality which we call human sympathy.... illustrations might be multiplied in educational, religious, and philanthropic efforts where we work for the masses, and forget that each one of the mass is a human being with passions, sensibilities, aspirations like our own. this interest in the human being as such, which is a gift to some, can be cultivated, but it can never be simulated. the counterfeit always rings false. joined to a good memory for names and faces, it gives a person a power which can hardly be estimated.... it seems to me that these two principles apply with tremendous and unusual force to the problems of the modern library. i will speak of the public library alone because it has a wider reach and a closer touch on life. we will review in imagination the library situation in this country. we take up mr. flint's statistics volume for ; we sum up free libraries in the new england states, in new york, pennsylvania, and new jersey, in the southern states, in the western states, a total of free libraries. we recall our friends in the american library association, who constitute with some marked exceptions, who prefer to work alone, the high-water mark of the fraternity. as their names pass before us we take a measure of the men and women. we think of their libraries which we may have visited, or, better still, which we have used as readers. in some few cases we know the influence of these libraries in the town or city. take it for all in all we find a body of hard-working men and women translating into practice noble ideals. as a result, the library is beginning to get a hold upon the community. but it is only a beginning and, compared with the possibilities, only a prophecy of what may and will be. are not the failures in our work due to the lack of the best organization and the true human touch? a librarian is appointed, let us say, to an important post. he has doubtless had experience in library work. he comes on to consult with the trustees. they vote to send him on a trip for getting ideas from other libraries. he probably has on his hands a beautiful building illy adapted to library work. he carries the plans with him, and spends most of the time with other members of the craft, in choosing the least of several evils in placing the reference-room, catalog, charging-desk, etc. he secures two or three assistants with training, experience, or both, and fills the minor places with local help chosen by examination or by luck or by personal favor. he learns in a general way the character of the town and selects books with that in view. if there are certain manufacturing interests or a particular foreign population, he makes large purchases in those lines. he decides on a system of classification, of cataloging, and on a method of charging. the books are rushed through the various processes, though all too slowly for an impatient public. in a few months at the latest the big educational plant begins to be utilized. the circulation surprises the most sanguine, the average of fiction drops a little below the usual mark, good service is done at the information or reference desk by the enthusiastic man or woman having it in charge, work is begun with the schools, and a little fraction of teachers make the children know books because they know books themselves. the rest go through the motions. the bookworm fills his corner, the chronic grumbler has his little say, the usual number of prize questions are answered. the library becomes the very bread of life to those who are ready to receive it, and gives refreshment and suggestion and inspiration to many more. the profession approves. at the next a.l.a. meeting mr. ---- is brought forward more prominently, and the wise ones say, "i always thought he was a rising man." but only per cent. of the population ever set foot within the library, and when a stranger asks the way within a block of the building, a fairly intelligent-looking workman does not appear to know there is such a thing as the public library. in looking over the proceedings of the library association for the years of its existence, we are struck by the evidences of industry and earnestness. there are papers and discussions on libraries and schools, access to the shelves, bookbinding, systems of classification, cataloging rules. the keynote is cooperation in securing, with an enthusiasm which amounts to missionary zeal, the best and most uniform methods, with special reference to mechanical devices. the very motto smacks of arithmetic and commerce. "the best reading for the largest number at the least cost." all this is good and proper in its place. wise methods are essential to the best results. but we sought in vain all along the years for the philosophic insight which should grasp the higher motive of our profession and connect it with the great struggles of our modern life. after the columbus year in the clearer air of the mountain-top, the word for which we were waiting came. i wish it were possible to stop right here and give you the papers of mr. larned and mr. brett, which were read at lake placid, as well as the discussion which followed. i must content myself by quoting mr. larned's last sentence: "those of us who have faith in the future of democracy can only hold our faith fast by believing that the knowledge of the learned, the wisdom of the thoughtful, the conscience of the upright, will some day be common enough to prevail, always, over every factious folly and every mischievous movement that evil minds or ignorance can set astir. when that blessed time of victory shall have come, there will be many to share the glory of it; but none among them will rank rightly before those who have led and inspired the work of the public libraries." this leads us to the first great need of the profession to-day, that the librarian should be in the noblest sense a large, man, that he should add to executive and business ability and technical knowledge a broad and generous culture in matthew arnold's sense of the word, "an inward spiritual activity, having for its character increased sweetness, increased light, increased life, increased sympathy." he must be an omnivorous reader, skimming many books, and knowing by instinct which books and which chapters and sentences to read carefully. he must study from books and in life the great industrial, social, and religious questions which stir our age. he must be a scholar without pedantry, a man of the world without indifference, a friend of the people without sentimentality. there follows naturally the second necessity, that the librarian should be a careful student of his own town. he should know its history and topography, its social, political, business, literary, and ecclesiastical life. to this end he should have a personal acquaintance with the city officers, the party bosses, the labor leaders, members of the board of trade, manufacturers, leading women in society, with the clergy, with the school superintendent and the teachers, with those who shape the charitable organizations, with reporters, policemen, and reformers. to what end? broadly that he may catch the spirit of the civic life and relate the library to the whole as the organs to the body. specifically, that he may reach the entire population through the natural leaders, that he may select books, establish branches, open up new avenues of communication between the library and the people. the church may be aristocratic, industry, trade, and politics a war, the public school like the drinking-fountain, though planned for the many scorned by the few. i believe it is possible for a man with a broad and sympathetic knowledge of our age and an intimate knowledge of his own city, to make of the public library the one common meeting-place, the real focus of democratic ideas. the church and the school will reach this in the future, the library may achieve it to-day. there is a third difficulty, which is a very real and palpable one. the librarian himself may have a fairly high ideal of the library which is shared by perhaps one or two assistants. the bulk of the work in a library with a large circulation is done by young persons of less opportunity and training. each has a distinct part of the work to do with little idea of its relation to the whole. unfortunately the loan-desk, registration-desk, and reading-room are usually manned in this way. i have often stood amazed at the delivery-desk of librarians whose names represent all that is best in the library profession. i would not be understood as depreciating the work of the lower assistants in our libraries. i know well that this service, as a whole, represents an amount of faithfulness and devotion which it ill becomes me to undervalue. the responsibility lies with the head of the library and the failure comes from lack of organization. the appointing power should be practically in his hands. the man whom we have described above does not need to seek this power. it comes to him. it is surely possible to secure for the library service young men and women, boys and girls, of fair intelligence, quick wits, responsive minds, and human sympathies. the making of these units into an organism is the severest test of a librarian's power. the ability of a general is not enough. he must himself have the real human touch or he cannot call it forth from others. there must be the promptness, the accuracy, the despatch which marks military discipline; there must be also an intelligent conception of the purpose of the library, a strong sense of personal responsibility and of the dignity and beauty of the public service. it is sometimes said that spirit of the library should be that of a merchant and his well-trained clerks, anxious to please their customers. it should be rather the fine spirit of a hostess with the daughters of the house about her greeting her guests. there is a fourth failure which is perhaps the root difficulty. it is the failure to make the most of time. the day opens. the man hastens to his place and finds a score of voices calling him to as many different tasks. he hastily begins the one which seems to call the loudest, and has just begun to gather up the threads of thought when there is a peremptory call in another direction. and so he is driven through the day, not controlling, but controlled, and constantly lashed by the thought of neglected duties. by dint of keeping at it all through the day and often into the night much work is done. the man gets and deserves the reputation of a hard-working man, deliberately sacrificing health, ease, leisure, and the joys of a scholar's life for the public good. now this is the first and natural result of the enlarged conception of a librarian's work. the man is dazed by the sense of responsibility and almost crushed by the demands upon his time apparently separate and conflicting. but this should be considered only the first process from which the strong man will speedily evolve a wiser way. the fatal mistake lies in considering this first stage inevitable and final. if a man tarries here it argues limitation, not power. there certainly are men who stand high in public life as well as those holding less prominent positions, who accomplish an enormous amount of work with a sense of freedom and an impression of leisure. as i have observed individual cases, i am led to the conclusion that the explanation lies not in a stronger physique, or a stronger intellect, but in a better organization of work with reference to time. there is no need more imperative than this for all of us who are proud to be called busy people. the trouble is, we think we are too busy to stop and plan. our philosophic error lies in believing that the work must all be done to-day. nature herself should teach us that the best work cannot be done in a hurry. we may not hope in this generation to understand well the working of that complex, mysterious thing which we call human society, but we may at least so relate ourselves and our libraries to it that we may live, move, and grow together. "not unrelated, ununified, but to each thought and thing allied, is perfect nature's every part rooted in the mighty heart." what a library should be and what it can do no one has done more to inspire library workers with the feeling that what they are doing is worth while than dr. melvil dewey, pioneer in this country of the modern library and of the socialized library spirit. a sketch of dr. dewey will be found in vol. i. of this series. the following is from the stenographer's report of a brief talk at the atlanta conference of the american library association, as printed in _public libraries_ (chicago, june, ). atlanta has been known long in this country as a southern city that believes supremely that education pays, and as the revelation has come late in this century of what the library is or should be, and what the library can do, on this line i will say a few words to you tonight. we have had an illustration in the recent war with spain that education pays, in what it means to have the man behind the guns trained. we have an illustration in mr. carnegie's work, whose name has been mentioned here in his competition with the rest of the world, illustrating another peculiar american feature that american education pays in dollars and cents; but it is a more recent conception of the part the library has in a system of public education. it took a thousand years to develop our educational system from the university down; first the university as the beginning of all education, and then we must have the colleges to prepare for the universities, the academies and common schools to prepare for the colleges, and it is only in our own generation that we have come to understand that we must begin with the kindergarten and end in our libraries. i am really pleased tonight that the young men's association has done this generous work, and that atlanta is going to pay the money from the taxes. it would be no advantage to this city if your schools were provided for you without charge to the people. those who study the question from the low plane of dollars and cents, without regard to the higher things in life, have learned that no investigation pays well. in many a community men are giving liberally to the schools, and are beginning to give liberally to the libraries, and they do it because they know it makes everything more valuable--it makes their business more prosperous. the library is going through the same process the public school went through. henry barnard, of connecticut, visited different states and spoke before them to urge upon them the system of public education, and to provide a guidance for the children. it is true that the educated parents are more likely to have children educated highly, but there is no question whatever that the great majority of the men and women who are to shape the future of this country will be born in the humblest homes, and we come back to the problem of the general education of all the people as the best possible advancement and the chiefest defense of the nation; it is the concern of the state because it is the duty of the state, because it pays, and because the state does not dare any longer to neglect it. therefore i call your attention to the fact that we are repeating in libraries exactly the process of the school, and that there were meetings to urge the acceptance of them. there are few who doubt the wisdom of donating money to support the free library, and when the history of the time is written it will be marked as the history of free libraries. why is it that the people are taxing themselves erecting beautiful buildings, buying books, paying salaries, printing catalogs, incurring all these expenses, paying out an amount of money that a short time ago would have been thought only a dream? it is a recognition of its necessity and importance. we understand that it is a good thing. a broad conception at the end of the century of the work of the schools is simply this, to teach the children to think accurately, with strength and with speed. if it is in the school that they get their start, then where do they get their education? tell me from your own experience, was it from the school that you got most of your ideas? we had an experiment some time ago, when the teachers of new york made an elaborate investigation as to the teaching of boys and girls. the thing that influenced those boys and girls most was the books they read. what, after all, is the supreme end of education? i state that we should teach them to think with accuracy and with speed, but i doubt if there is one who denies the supreme necessity of the building of character. that is what is winning in the peaceful conflicts of commerce. if you care to analyze how character is built, follow it back briefly. character comes from habits, and habits from actions repeated, and actions from a motive, and a motive from reflection. what makes me reflect? what makes you reflect? what is the cause? isn't it something that you have read in a book, a magazine, or a paper? so the genealogy is this: reading begets reflection, reflection begets motive, motive begets action, and action begets habit, and habit begets that supreme thing--character. so we have come to recognize that if we are to accomplish the chief end that is before the people, we must strive to control the reading for others. reading sometimes carries downhill, as it often carries upward, and there is no way that we can reach the people except through the free library and with proper help from the people. what atlanta wants to make out of her citizens is not to train privates, but to train officers. if you go out on the streets you can find a thousand men to do the work of a laborer, where you can find only a few to do the work that will demand five or ten thousand dollars. the world is looking for that class of men. it is the highest salaried man that is the hardest to find. if you would buy a machine, there enters into it the material that is in it; the process of manufacture throughout which has transformed it, and then the approved fitness for performing its functions. the same way with a man--the native that is manufactured; then comes the experience which proves the fitness for his work; and you pay the salary for these things. and by means of our schools and libraries we must reach these girls and boys. thomas edison and other great men say that their whole lives are governed from reading a single book. so the province of the library is to amuse, to inform and inspire. we have the old proverbs, as free as air; as free as water; but the new one that is important to the race is, as free as knowledge. the people of this state cannot afford to have any boy in georgia who is anxious to know more, how to make his life more valuable, who wants inspiration and is ready to read, and not furnish it to him. education is the chief concern of the american people, and the states that have done most for their education have been the most prosperous. it is the concern of the richest as to what should be done for the poorest; you should provide free schools and free libraries, or the failure to do so will react in your own lives. if you say that this ideal is too high, that the library has important functions, but it does not take its place as the equal of the schools, it is because you have not studied this question in all its details. when you do, you will be forced to the conclusion that while we must say that this is the inspiration of a dreamer, remember that it is the devotion of noble minds that never falters, but endures and waits for all it can find, and what it cannot find, creates. the public library in american life as the last of this particular group of papers we reproduce a view of our public library system by a foreigner who had lived in this country long enough to appreciate it and who was yet able to contrast it with the library systems of european countries--prof. munsterberg of harvard. hugo munsterberg was born in danzig, germany, june , , educated at leipzig and heidelberg, and after serving as assistant professor at the university of freiburg, became professor of psychology at harvard in , where he served until his death on dec. , . the subjoined extract is from his book "the americans" (new york, ). the american's fondness for reading finds clearest expression in the growth of libraries, and in few matters of civilization is america so well fitted to teach the old world a lesson. europe has many large and ancient collections of books, and germany more than all the rest; but they serve only one single purpose--that of scientific investigation; they are the laboratories of research. they are chiefly lodged with the great universities, and even the large municipal libraries are mostly used by those who need material for productive labors, or wish to become conversant with special topics. exactly the same type of large library has grown up in america; and here, too, it is chiefly the universities whose stock of books is at the service of the scientific world. besides these, there are special libraries belonging to learned societies, state law libraries, special libraries of government bureaus and of museums, and largest of all the library of congress. the collection of such scientific books began at the earliest colonial period, and at first under theological auspices. the calvinist church, more than any other, inclined to the study of books. as early as the catalog of harvard college contained pages, of which were taken up by theological works. harvard has to-day almost a million books, mostly in the department of literature, philology, history, philosophy, and jurisprudence. there are, moreover, in boston the state library of law, with over a hundred thousand volumes; the athenaeum, with more than two hundred thousand books; the large scientific library of the institute of technology, and many others. similarly, in other large cities, the university libraries are the nucleus for scientific labors, and are surrounded by admirable special libraries, particularly in new york, chicago, and philadelphia. then, too, the small academic towns, like princeton, ithaca, new haven, and others, have valuable collections of books, which in special subjects are often unique. for many years the american university libraries have been the chief purchasers of the special collections left by deceased european professors. and it often happens, especially through the gift of grateful alumni, that collections of the greatest scientific value, which could not be duplicated, come into the possession even of lesser institutions. in many departments of investigation, washington takes the lead with the large collection of the various scientific, economic, and technical bureaus of the government. the best known of these is the unique medical library of the war department. then there is the library of congress, with many more than a million volumes, which today has an official right to one copy of every book published in the united states, and so may claim to be a national library. it is still not comparable to the many-sided and complete collection of the british museum; the national library is one-sided, or at least shows striking gaps. having started as the library of congress, it has, aside from its one copy of every american book and the books on natural science belonging to the smithsonian institution, few books except those on politics, history, political economy, and law. the lack of space for books, which existed until a few years ago, made it seem inexpedient to spend money for purposes other than the convenience of congressmen. but the american people, in its love for books, has now erected such a building as the world had never before seen devoted to the storing of books. the new congressional library was opened in , and since the stacks have still room for several million volumes, the library will soon grow to an all-round completeness like that at london. this library has a specially valuable collection of manuscripts and correspondences. all the collections of books which we have so far mentioned are virtually like those of germany. but since they mostly date from the nineteenth century, the american libraries are more modern, and contain less dead weight in the way of unused folios. much more important is their greatly superior accessibility. their reading-rooms are more comfortable and better lighted, their catalogs more convenient, library hours longer, and, above all, books are more easily and quickly delivered. brooks adams said recently, about the library at washington as a place for work, that this building is well-nigh perfect; it is large, light, convenient, and well provided with attendants. in paris and london, one works in dusty, forbidding, and overcrowded rooms, while here the reading-rooms are numerous, attractive, and comfortable. in the national library at paris, one has to wait an hour for a book; in the british museum, half an hour, and in washington, five minutes. this rapid service, which makes such a great difference to the student, is found everywhere in america; and everywhere the books are housed in buildings which are palatial, although perhaps not so beautiful as the washington library. still, all these differences are unessential; in principle the academic libraries are alike in the new and old worlds. the great difference between europe and america begins with the libraries which are not learned, but which are designed to serve popular education. the american public library which is not for science, but for education, is to the european counterpart as the pullman express train to the village post-chaise. the scientific libraries of boston, including that of harvard university, contain nearly two million printed works; but the largest library of all is distinct from these. it is housed on copley square, in a renaissance palace by the side of the art museum, and opposite the most beautiful church in america. the staircase of yellow marble, the wonderful wall-paintings, the fascinating arcade on the inner court and the sunlit halls are indeed beautiful. and in and out, from early morning till late evening, week-day and sunday, move the people of boston. the stream of men divides in the lower vestibule. some go to the newspaper room, where several hundred daily newspapers, a dozen of them german, hang on racks. others wander to the magazine rooms, where the weekly and monthly papers of the world are waiting to be read. others ascend to the upper stories, where sargent's famous pictures of the prophets allure the lover of art, in order to look over more valuable special editions and the art magazines, geographical charts, and musical works. the largest stream of all goes to the second floor, partly into the huge quiet reading-room, partly into the rotunda, which contains the catalog, partly into the hall containing the famous frescoes of the holy grail, where the books are given out. here a million and a half books are delivered every year to be taken home and read. and no one has to wait; an apparatus carries the applicant's card with wonderful speed to the stacks, and the desired book is sent back in automatic cars. little children meanwhile wander into the juvenile room, where they find the best books for children. and everything invites even the least patient reader to sit down quietly with some sort of a volume--everything is so tempting, so convenient and comfortable, and so surpassingly beautiful. and all this is free to the humblest working-man. and still, if the citizen of massachusetts were to be asked of what feature of the public libraries he is most proud, he would probably not mention this magnificent palace in boston, the capital of the state, but rather the free public libraries scattered through the smaller cities and towns of this state, which is after all only one-third as large as bavaria. it is these many libraries which do the broadest work for the people. each little collection, wherever it is, is the center of intellectual and moral enlightenment, and plants and nourishes the desire for self-perfection. of course, massachusetts has done more in this respect than any other ward in this respect. but there is no longer any city of moderate size which has not a large public library, and there is no state which does encourage in every possible way the establishment of public libraries in every small community, giving financial aid if it is necessary. public libraries have become the favorite christmas present of philanthropists, and while the hospitals, universities, and museums, have still no reason for complaint, the churches now find the superfluous millions are less apt to go to gay church windows than to well chosen book collections. in the year there existed more than public libraries having over a thousand volumes; of these had more than fifty thousand, and had more than a hundred thousand volumes. all together contained, according to the statistics of more than forty-four million volumes and more than seven million pamphlets; and the average growth was over per cent. there are probably to-day, therefore, fifteen million volumes more on the shelves. the many thousand libraries which have fewer than books are over and above all this. the make-up of such public libraries may be seen from the sample catalog gotten out by the library association a few years since, as a typical collection of five thousand books. this catalog, which, with the exception of the most important foreign classics, contains only books in english, including, however, many translations, contains general reference books, books on history, on biography, on travel, on natural science, on belles-lettres, novels, on art, on religion, on social science, on technical subjects, etc. the cost of this sample collection is $ , . the proportions between the several divisions are about the same in larger collections. in smaller collections, belles-lettres have a somewhat greater share. the general interest taken by the nation in this matter is shown by the fact that the first edition of , copies of this sample catalog, of pages, was soon exhausted. the many-sidedness of this catalog points also to the manifold functions of the public library. it is meant to raise the educational level of the people, and this can be done in three ways: first, interest may be stimulated along new lines; second, those who wish to perfect themselves in their own subjects or in whatsoever special topics, may be provided with technical literature; and third, the general desire for literary entertainment may be satisfied by books of the best or at least not of the worst sort. the directors of libraries see their duties to lie in all three directions. the libraries guide the tastes and interests of the general public, and try to replace the ordinary servant-girl's novel with the best romance of the day and shallow literature with works that are truly instructive. and no community is quite content until its public library has become a sort of general meeting-place and substitute for the saloon and the club. america is the working-man's paradise, and attractive enough to the rich man; but the ordinary man of the middle classes, who in germany finds his chief comfort in the bierhalle would find little comfort in america if it were not for the public library, which offers him a home. thus the public library has come to be a recognized instrument of culture along with the public school; and in all american outposts the school teacher and librarian are among the pioneers. the learned library cannot do this. to be sure, the university library can help to spread information, and conversely the public library makes room for thousands of volumes on all sorts of scientific topics. but the emphasis is laid very differently in the two cases, and if it were not so neither library would best fulfil its purpose. the extreme quiet of the reference library and the bustle and stir of the public library do not go together. in the one direction america has followed the dignified traditions of europe; in the other, it has opened new paths and travelled on at a rapid pace. every year discovers new ideas and plans, new schemes for equipment and the selection of books, for cataloging, and for otherwise gaining in utility. when, for instance, the library in providence commenced to post a complete list of books and writings pertaining to the subject of every lecture that was given in the city, it was the initiation of a great movement. the juvenile departments are the product of recent years, and are constantly increasing in popularity. there are even, in some cases, departments for blind readers. the state commissions are new, and so also the travelling libraries, which are carried from one village to another. the great schools for librarians are also new. the german librarian is mostly a scholar; but the american believes that he has improved on the european library systems, not so much by his ample financial resources as by having broken with the academic custom, and having secured librarians with a special library training. and since there are such officials in many thousand libraries, and the great institutions create a constant demand for such persons, the library schools, which offer generally a three years' course, having been found very successful. admittedly, all this technical apparatus is expensive; the boston library expends every year a quarter of a million dollars for administrative expenses. but the american taxpayer supports this more gladly than any other burden, knowing that the public library is the best weapon against alcoholism and crime, against corruption and discontent, and that the democratic country can flourish only when the instinct of self-perfection as it exists in every american is thoroughly satisfied. books and the public library this paper and the two that follow it relate specifically to reading as fostered by the public library and yet not sufficiently to the provision of books to the public as a definite library service to warrant postponing them to the section relating to that branch of community service. they have a somewhat academic or "literary flavor," and yet are permeated not with the idea of "books for scholars" but with that of "books for people"--the idea of reading as a universal function--duty, pleasure and inspiration in one--which is distinctly that of a socialized library. the first paper is an address made by lowell at the opening of the new public library building at chelsea, mass., dec. , . james russell lowell was born in cambridge, mass., feb. , , and graduated at harvard in , succeeding longfellow as professor of literature there in . he edited _the north american review_ in - , served as u.s. minister to spain in - and to great britain in - . he died in cambridge, aug. , . "a few years ago my friend, mr. alexander ireland, published a very interesting volume which he called "the book-lover's euchiridion," the handbook, that is to say, of those who love books. it was made up of extracts from the writings of a great variety of distinguished men, ancient and modern, in praise of books. it was a chorus of many voices in many tongues, a hymn of gratitude and praise, full of such piety and fervor as can be parelleled only in songs dedicated to the supreme power, the supreme wisdom and the supreme love. nay, there is a glow of enthusiasm and sincerity in it which is often painfully wanting in those other too commonly mechanical compositions. we feel at once that here it is out of the fulness of the heart, yes, and of the head, too, that the mouth speaketh. here was none of that compulsory commonplace which is wont to characterize those 'testimonials of celebrated authors,' by means of which publishers sometimes strive to linger out the passages of a hopeless book toward its _requiescat_ in oblivion. these utterances which mr. ireland has gathered lovingly together are stamped with that spontaneousness which is the mint mark of all sterling speech. it is true that they are mostly, as is only natural, the utterances of literary men, and there is a well-founded proverbial distrust of herring that bear only the brand of the packer, and not that of the sworn inspector. but to this objection a cynic might answer with the question, 'are authors so prone, then, to praise the works of other people that we are to doubt them when they do it un-asked?' perhaps the wisest thing i could have done to-night would have been to put upon the stand some of the more weighty of this cloud of witnesses. but since your invitation implied that i should myself say something, i will endeavor to set before you a few of the commonplaces of the occasion, as they may be modified by passing through my own mind, or by having made themselves felt in my own experience. the greater part of mr. ireland's witnesses testify to the comfort and consolation they owe to books, to the refuge they have found in them from sorrow or misfortune, to their friendship, never estranged and outliving all others. this testimony they volunteered. had they been asked, they would have borne evidence as willingly to the higher and more general uses of books in their service to the commonwealth, as well as to the individual man. consider, for example, how a single page of burke may emancipate the young student of politics from narrow views and merely contemporaneous judgments. our english ancestors, with that common-sense which is one of the most useful, though not one of the most engaging, properties of the race, made a rhyming proverb, which says that: "when land and goods are gone and spent, then learning is most excellent"; and this is true, so far as it goes, though it goes, perhaps, hardly far enough. the law also calls only the earth and what is immovably attached to it _real_ property, but i am of opinion that those only are real possessions which abide with a man after he has been stripped of those others falsely so called, and which alone save him from seeming and from being the miserable forked radish to which the bitter scorn of lear degraded every child of adam. the riches of scholarship, the benignities of literature, defy fortune and outlive calamity. they are beyond the reach of thief or moth or rust. as they cannot be inherited, so they cannot be alienated. but they may be shared, they may be distributed, and it is the object and office of a free public library to perform these beneficial functions. "books," says wordsworth, "are a real world," and he was thinking, doubtless, of such books as are not merely the triumphs of pure intellect, however supreme, but of those in which intellect infused with the sense of beauty aims rather to produce delight than conviction, or, if conviction, then through intuition rather than formal logic, and, leaving what donne wisely calls "unconscious things, matters of fact," to science and the understanding, seeks to give ideal expression to the abiding realities of the spiritual world for which the outward and visible world serves at best but as the husk and symbol. am i wrong in using the word _realities_?--wrong in insisting on the distinction between the real and the actual? in assuming for the ideal an existence as absolute and self-subsistent as that which appeals to our senses--nay, so often cheats them in the matter of fact? how very small a part of the world we truly live in is represented by what speaks to us through the senses when compared with that vast realm of the mind which is peopled by memory and imagination, and with such shining inhabitants! these walls, these faces, what are they in comparison with the countless images, the innumerable population which every one of us can summon up to the tiny show-box of the brain, in material breadth scarce a span, yet infinite as space and time? and in what, i pray, are those we gravely call historical characters, of which each new historian strains his neck to get a new and different view, in any sense more real than the personages of fiction? do not serious and earnest men discuss hamlet as they would cromwell or lincoln? does cæsar, does alaric, hold existence by any other or stronger tenure than the christian of bunyan or the don quixote of cervantes or the antigone of sophocles? is not the history which is luminous because of an indwelling and perennial truth to nature, because of that light which never was on land or sea, really _more_ true, in the highest sense, than many a weary chronicle with names, date, and place in which "an amurath to amurath succeeds"? do we know as much of any authentic danish prince as of hamlet? but to come back a little nearer to chelsea and the occasion that has called us together. the founders of new england, if sometimes, when they found it needful, an impracticable, were always a practical people. their first care, no doubt, was for an adequate supply of powder, and they encouraged the manufacture of musket bullets by enacting that they should pass as currency at a farthing each--a coinage nearer to its nominal value, and not heavier than some with which we are familiar. their second care was that "good learning should not perish from among us," and to this end they at once established the latin school in boston, and soon after the college at cambridge. the nucleus of this was, as you all know, the bequest in money by john harvard. hardly less important, however, was the legacy of his library, a collection of good books, inconsiderable measured by the standard of to-day, but very considerable then as the possession of a private person. from that little acorn what an oak has sprung, and from its acorn again what a vocal forest, as old howell would have called it--old howell, whom i love to cite, because his name gave their title to the 'essays of elia,' and is borne with slight variation by one of the most delightful of modern authors! it was, in my judgment, those two foundations, more than anything else, which gave to new england character its bent and to boston that literary supremacy which, i am told, she is in danger of losing, but which she will not lose till she and all the world lose holmes. the opening of a free public library, then, is a most important event in the history of any town. a college training is an excellent thing; but, after all, the better part of every man's education is that which he gives himself, and it is for this that a good library should furnish the opportunity and the means. i have sometimes thought that our public schools undertook to teach too much, and that the older system, which taught merely the three r's, and taught them well, leaving natural selection to decide who should go farther, was the better. however this may be, all that is primarily needful in order to use a library is the ability to read. i say primarily, for there must also be the inclination, and, after that, some guidance in reading well. formerly the duty of a librarian was considered too much that of a watchdog to keep people as much as possible away from the books, and to hand these over to his successor as little worn by use as he could. librarians now, it is pleasant to see, have a different notion of their trust, and are in the habit of preparing for the direction of the inexperienced lists of such books as they think best worth reading. cataloging has also, thanks in great measure to american librarians, become a science, and catalogs, ceasing to be labyrinths without a clew, are furnished with finger-posts at every turn. subject catalogs again save the beginner a vast deal of time and trouble, by supplying him for nothing with one at least of the results of thorough scholarship, the knowing where to look for what he wants. i do not mean by this that there is or can be any short-cut to learning, but that there may be, and is, such a short-cut to information that will make learning more easily accessible. but have you ever rightly considered what the mere ability to read means? that it is the key that admits us to the whole world of thought and fancy and imagination; to the company of saint and sage, of the wisest and the wittiest at their wisest and wittiest moment? that it enables us to see with the keenest eyes, hear with the finest ears, and listen to the sweetest voices of all time? more than that, it annihilates time and space for us; it revives for us without a miracle the age of wonder, endowing us with the shoes of swiftness and the cap of darkness, so that we walk invisible like fern seed and witness unharmed the plague at athens or florence or london, accompanying cæsar on his marches, or look in on catiline in council with his fellow-conspirators, or guy fawkes in the cellar of st. stephen's. we often hear of people who will descend to any servility, submit to any insult, for the sake of getting themselves or their children into what is euphemistically called good society. did it ever occur to them that there is a select society of all the centuries to which they and theirs can be admitted for the asking--a society, too, which will not involve them in ruinous expense and still more ruinous waste of time and health and faculties? southey tells us that, in his walk, one stormy day, he met an old woman, to whom, by way of greeting, he made the rather obvious remark that it was dreadful weather. she answered, philosophically, that, in her opinion, '_any_ weather was better than none!' i should be half inclined to say that any reading was better than none, allaying the crudeness of the statement by the yankee proverb, which tells us that, though 'all deacons are good, there's odds in deacons.' among books, certainly there is much variety of company, ranging from the best to the worst, from plato to zola, and the first lesson in reading well is that which teaches us to distinguish between literature and merely printed matter. the choice lies wholly with ourselves. we have the key put into our hands; shall we unlock the pantry or the oratory? there is a wallachian legend which, like most of the figments of popular fancy, has a moral in it. one bakála, a good-for-nothing kind of fellow in his way, having had the luck to offer a sacrifice especially well pleasing to god, is taken up into heaven. he finds the almighty sitting in something like the best room of a wallachian peasant's cottage--there is always something profoundly pathetic in the homeliness of the popular imagination, forced, like the princess in the fairy tale, to weave its semblance of gold tissue out of straw. on being asked what reward he desires for the good service he has done, bakála, who had always passionately longed to be the owner of a bagpipe, seeing a half wornout one lying among some rubbish in a corner of the room, begs eagerly that it may be bestowed on him. the lord, with a smile of pity at the meanness of his choice, grants him his boon, and bakála goes back to earth delighted with his prize. with an infinite possibility within his reach, with the choice of wisdom, of power, of beauty at his tongue's end, he asked according to his kind, and his sordid wish is answered with a gift as sordid. yes, there is a choice in books as in friends, and the mind sinks or rises to the level of its habitual society, is subdued, as shakespeare says of the dyer's hand, to what it works in. cato's advice, _cum bonis ambula_, consort with the good, is quite as true if we extend it to books, for they, too, insensibly give away their own nature to the mind that converses with them. they either beckon upward or drag down. and it is certainly true that the material of thought reacts upon the thought itself. shakespeare himself would have been commonplace had he been paddocked in a thinly shaven vocabulary, and phidias, had he worked in wax, only a more inspired mrs. jarley. a man is known, says the proverb, by the company he keeps, and not only so, but made by it. milton makes his fallen angels grow small to enter the infernal council room, but the soul, which god meant to be the spacious chamber where high thoughts and generous aspirations might commune together, shrinks and narrows itself to the measure of the meaner company that is wont to gather there, hatching conspiracies against our better selves. we are apt to wonder at the scholarship of the men of three centuries ago and at a certain dignity of phrase that characterizes them. they were scholars because they did not read so many things as we. they had fewer books, but these were of the best. their speech was noble, because they lunched with plutarch and supped with plato. we spend as much time over print as they did, but instead of communing with the choice thoughts of choice spirits, and unconsciously acquiring the grand manner of that supreme society, we diligently inform ourselves and cover the continent with a network of speaking wires to inform us of such inspiring facts as that a horse belonging to mr. smith ran away on wednesday, seriously damaging a valuable carryall; that a son of mr. brown swallowed a hickory nut on thursday; and that a gravel bank caved in and buried mr. robinson alive on friday. alas! it is we ourselves that are getting buried alive under this avalanche of earthy impertinences. it is we who, while we might each in his humble way be helping our fellows into the right path, or adding one block to the climbing spire of a fine soul, are willing to become mere sponges saturated from the stagnant goosepond of village gossip. one is sometimes asked by young people to recommend a course of reading. my advice would be that they should confine themselves to the supreme books in whatever literature, or still better to choose some one great author, and make themselves thoroughly familiar with him. for, as all roads lead to rome, so do they likewise lead away from it, and you will find that, in order to understand perfectly and weigh exactly any vital piece of literature, you will be gradually and pleasantly persuaded to excursions and explorations of which you little dreamed when you began, and will find yourselves scholars before you are aware. for remember that there is nothing less profitable than scholarship for the mere sake of scholarship, nor anything more wearisome in the attainment. but the moment you have a definite aim attention is quickened, the mother of memory, and all that you acquire groups and arranges itself in an order that is lucid, because everywhere and always it is in intelligent relation to a central object of constant and growing interest. this method also forces upon us the necessity of thinking, which is, after all, the highest result of all education. for what we want is not learning, but knowledge--that is, the power to make learning answer its true end as a quickener of intelligence and a widener of our intellectual sympathies. i do not mean to say that every one is fitted by nature or inclination for a definite course of study, or indeed for serious study in any sense. i am quite willing that these should 'browse in a library,' as dr. johnson called it, 'to their hearts' content. it is, perhaps, the only way in which time may be profitably wasted. but desultory reading will not make a "full man," as bacon understood it, of one who has not johnson's memory, his power of assimilation, and, above all, his comprehensive view of the relations of things. "read not," says lord bacon, in his "essay of studies," "to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested--that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously (carefully), and some few to be read wholly and with diligence and attention. _some books also may be read by deputy._" this is weighty and well said, and i would call your attention especially to the wise words with which the passage closes. i have been speaking of such books as should be chosen for profitable reading. a public library, of course, must be far wider in its scope. it should contain something for all tastes, as well as the material for a thorough grounding in all branches of knowledge. it should be rich in books of reference, in encyclopædias, where one may learn without cost of research what things are generally known. for it is far more useful to know these than to know those that are _not_ generally known. not to know them is the defect of those half trained and therefore hasty men who find a mare's nest on every branch of the tree of knowledge. a library should contain ample stores of history, which, if it do not always deserve the pompous title which bolingbroke gave it, of philosophy teaching by example, certainly teaches many things profitable for us to know and lay to heart; teaches among other things how much of the present is still held in mortmain by the past; teaches that, if there be no controlling purpose, there is, at least, a sternly logical sequence in human affairs, and that chance has but a trifling dominion over them; teaches why things are and must be so and not otherwise; teaches, perhaps, more than anything else, the value of personal character as a chief factor in what used to be called destiny, for that cause is strong which has not a multitude but one strong man behind it. history is indeed mainly the biography of a few imperial men, and forces home upon us the useful lesson how infinitesimally important our own private affairs are to the universe in general. history is clarified experience, and yet how little do men profit by it--nay, how should we expect it of those who so seldom are taught anything by their own! delusions, especially economical delusions, seem the only things that have any chance of an earthly immortality. i would have plenty of biography. it is no insignificant fact that eminent men have always loved their plutarch, since example, whether for emulation or avoidance, is never so poignant as when presented to us in a striking personality. autobiographies are also instructive reading to the student of human nature, though generally written by men who were more interesting to themselves than to their fellow-men. i have been told that emerson and george eliot agreed in thinking rousseau's "confessions" the most interesting book they had ever read. a public library should also have many and full shelves of political economy, for the dismal science, as carlyle called it, if it prove nothing else, will go far toward proving that theory is the bird in the bush, though she sing more sweetly than the nightingale, and that the millennium will not hasten its coming in deference to the most convincing string of resolutions that were ever unanimously adopted in public meeting. it likewise induces in us a profound distrust of social panaceas. i would have a public library abundant in translations of the best books in all languages; for though no work of genius can be adequately translated, because every word of it is permeated with what milton calls 'the precious life blood of a master spirit,' which cannot be transfused into the veins of the best translation, yet some acquaintance with foreign and ancient literatures has the liberalizing effect of foreign travel. he who travels by translation travels more hastily and superficially, but brings home something that is worth having, nevertheless. translations properly used, by shortening the labor of acquisition, add as many years to our lives as they subtract from the processes of our education. in such a library the sciences should be fully represented, that men may at least learn to know in what a marvellous museum they live, what a wonder worker is giving them an exhibition daily for nothing. nor let art be forgotten in all its many forms, not as the antithesis of science, but as her elder or fairer sister, whom we love all the more that her usefulness cannot be demonstrated in dollars and cents. i should be thankful if an every day laborer among us could have his mind illumined, as those of athens and of florence had, with some image of what is best in architecture, painting and sculpture to train his crude perceptions and perhaps call out latent faculties. i should like to see the works of ruskin within the reach of every artisan among us. for i hope some day that the delicacy of touch and accuracy of eye that have made our mechanics in some departments the best in the world may give us the same supremacy in works of wider range and more purely ideal scope. voyages and travels i would also have, good store, especially the earlier, when the world was fresh and unhackneyed and men saw things invisible to the modern eye. they are fast sailing ships to waft away from present trouble to the fortunate isles. to wash down the dryer morsels that every library must necessarily offer at its board, let there be plenty of imaginative literature, and let its range be not too narrow to stretch from dante to the elder dumas. the world of the imagination is not the world of abstraction and nonentity, as some conceive, but a world formed out of chaos by the sense of the beauty that _is_ in man and the earth on which he dwells. it is the realm of might be, our heaven of refuge from the shortcomings and disillusions of life. it is, to quote spenser, who knew it well, "the world's sweet inn from care and wearisome turmoil." do we believe, then, that god gave us in mockery this splendid faculty of sympathy with things that are a joy forever? for my part, i believe that the love and study of works of imagination is of practical utility in a country so profoundly material in its leading tendencies as ours. the hunger after purely intellectual delights, the content with ideal possessions, cannot but be good for us in maintaining a wholesome balance of the character and of the faculties. i for one shall never be persuaded, that shakespeare left a less useful legacy to his countrymen than watt. we hold all the deepest, all the highest satisfactions of life as tenants of imagination. nature will keep up the supply of what are called hard-headed people without our help, and, if it come to that, there are other as good uses for heads as at the end of battering rams. i know that there are many excellent people who object to the reading of novels as a waste of time, if not as otherwise harmful. but i think they are trying to outwit nature, who is sure to prove cunninger than they. look at children. one boy shall want a chest of tools and one a book, and of those who want books one shall ask for a botany, another for a romance. they will be sure to get what they want, and we are doing a grave wrong to their morals by driving them to do things on the sly, to steal that food which their constitution craves and which is wholesome for them, instead of having it freely and frankly given them as the wisest possible diet. if we cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, so neither can we hope to succeed with the opposite experiment. but we may spoil the silk for its legitimate uses. i can conceive of no healthier reading for a boy, or girl either, than scott's novels or cooper's, to speak only of the dead. i have found them very good reading at least for one young man, for one middle-aged man, and for one who is growing old. no, no; banish the antiquary, banish leather stocking, and banish all the world! let us not go about to make life duller than it is. but i must shut the doors of my imaginary library, or i shall never end. it is left for me to say a few words of fitting acknowledgment to mr. fitz for his judicious and generous gift. it is always a pleasure to me that i believe the custom of giving away money during their lifetime (and there is nothing harder for most men to part with, except prejudice) is more common with americans than with any other people. it is a still greater pleasure to see that the favorite direction of their beneficence is toward the founding of colleges and libraries. my observation has led me to believe that there is no country in which wealth is so sensible of its obligations as our own. and, as most of our rich men have risen from the ranks, may we not fairly attribute this sympathy with their kind to the benign influence of democracy rightly understood? my dear and honored friend, george william curtis, told me that he was sitting in front of the late mr. ezra cornell in a convention, where one of the speakers made a latin quotation. mr. cornell leaned forward and asked for a translation of it, which mr. curtis gave him. mr. cornell thanked him, and added: "if i can help it, no young man shall grow up in new york hereafter without the chance, at least, of knowing what a latin quotation means when he hears it." this was the germ of cornell university, and it found food for its roots in that sympathy and thoughtfulness for others of which i just spoke. this is the healthy side of that good nature which democracy tends to foster, and which is so often harmful when it has its root in indolence or indifference; especially harmful where our public affairs are concerned, and where it is easiest, because there we are giving away what belongs to other people. in this country it is as laudably easy to procure signatures to a subscription paper as it is shamefully so to obtain them for certificates of character and recommendations to office. and is not this public spirit a natural evolution from that frame of mind in which new england was colonized, and which found expression in these grave words of robinson and brewster: "we are knit together as a body in a most strict and sacred bond and covenant of the lord, of the violation of which we make great conscience, and by virtue whereof we hold ourselves strictly tied to all care of each other's good, and of the whole." let us never forget the deep and solemn import of these words. the problem before us is to make a whole of our many discordant parts, many foreign elements, and i know of no way in which this can better be done than by providing a common system of education and a common door of access to the best books by which that education may be continued, broadened, and made fruitful. for it is certain that, whatever we do or leave undone, those discordant parts and foreign elements are to be, whether we will or no, members of that body which robinson and brewster had in mind, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, for good or ill. there is no way in which a man can build so secure and lasting a monument for himself as in a public library. upon that he may confidently allow "resurgam" to be carved, for through his good deed he will rise again in the grateful remembrance and in the lifted and broadened minds and fortified characters of generation after generation. the pyramids may forget their builders, but memorials such as this have longer memories. mr. fitz has done his part in providing your library with a dwelling. it will be for the citizens of chelsea to provide it with worthy habitants. so shall they, too, have a share in the noble eulogy of the ancient wise man: "the teachers shall shine as the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." the influence of good books the following paragraphs, which are from an address delivered by rev. dr. collyer at the opening of the richard sugden library at spencer, mass., are taken from a report in _the library journal_ (september, ). the autobiographical portions, perhaps, are little related to the progress of libraries here in the united states, but their interest is so great that more of them have been included here than are strictly pertinent to our subject. robert collyer was born in keighley, yorkshire, eng., dec. , . he was apprenticed to a blacksmith as a boy of , came to shoemakertown, pa., with his parents in and followed there the trade of a hammermaker. later he entered the ministry of the unitarian church and in founded unity church in chicago. in he became pastor of the church of the messiah in new york city, where he died in . when richard sugden asked me to come to spencer and say some word which would fit this occasion, i wrote him by the next mail that i should be ever so glad to come, and felt that it was a great honor to receive such an invitation, and a great pleasure. nor was the trouble of much account--which touches us all who say aye to such an invitation on the impulse of the moment and then wonder how we shall make our promise good. my old friend wanted me to come, and not another and better man, and to say the word which was in my heart to-day, whatever this might be; and this was enough, because i had read in the papers--what he was far too modest to tell me, beyond the merest mention--about the gift of richard sugden to his town, and so i said it makes no great matter what any man may say, the thing he has done tells its own story, and tells it more nobly than i could ever hope to do, more nobly and in this fashion which shames my speech. for our words float away on the summer winds, to be caught, it may be, and set in type and read by those who care for such things, and then to die and be forgotten; but this your friend and mine has done in spencer will be eloquent with the silence which is golden, and still tell its tale when we are all dead and dust who gather here to-day. it is a poor and scant manhood which does not long now and then to be remembered some little while after the grass grows green and the daisies bloom on the grave. to have them speak of us at the fire-side and in the workshop and the market, remembering what was worthy in us and forgetting what was base, though there may be no more to tell by comparison than dr. ripley told down in concord, as he stood by the dust of a man in his own town, and being sorely troubled to find some real worth in the man's life he could dwell on for a moment, said, "he was the best man i ever knew at a fire." i cannot even guess whether richard sugden ever thought of this as one of the rewards which must return to him for his gift to spencer, and i love to think that to his generous heart the work was its own reward. but i say, as we stand here on this day of gift and dedication, that if this had been his sole purpose, to be held in grateful remembrance of his fellow-townsmen and their children through centuries of time, then he has taken out an insurance that will stand good always and keep his memory green in the town of spencer. and not here alone, but far away across the sea in old yorkshire, where his home was in the old time before he came to this new world to seek his fortune, and, far more and better than that, to earn it honestly and well. the story will be told there long after to-day and to-morrow, how one of the sugdens who went out from among them gave this gift, and then the kith and kin will hold up their heads and feel that the fine old name has won still another patent of nobility. a poor youth he was in the narrow, contracted, dear old land, where the poor were held by a cruel bit. and a voice came to him, saying, "get thee out from thy kindred and thy father's house unto a land that i will tell thee of"; and he followed the voice, as i did also, to the promised land; carved out his fortune honest and fair, i say, but then could not be content to enrich his own family alone, or, as so many do, to remember his town in his will. he must build this noble structure, please god, in his own lifetime, and convey it by free gift to you and yours forever; and so the work is done, and so well done, to all seeming, that if you care for the gift as your friend has cared for its creation, we may say, as old andrew fairservice said of the cathedral in glasgow, "keep airn and gunpooder aff it, and it will stand to the crack o'doom." my friend and yours is also an englishman and a yorkshireman, as you know, by birth and breeding, as i am also, and i am the more glad and proud of what he has done for that reason; because i still love old england with a very tender love after these forty years of absence, as i know he does also. but i have had to notice how very many of us who came here from england to find a home in the american republic, and it may be make their fortune, can find nothing so good in this new world as that they left behind them, and no matter how much wealth they may win, they do nothing as a rule for the town they live in, like this your friend has done in spencer. he could not be content to be a mere exile from england, he must be a citizen of the united states and blend his life with the life in this new world which has made him so much more of a man than he ever could have been had he stayed on that hill-side in old yorkshire. this is the true home of his heart and life, here he won his wealth and found ample room to grow to be the man you honor, and here is one proof among many he has given in all these years, that while he was born in england and is proud of it, though he may not say so, he was born again in america, and does not love the old land less but the new land more, as every man must who comes here to share your life, if he is worth his salt. you will pardon me, i know, as you receive the gift, for this word in praise of the giver, while he may find it hard to do so; but for that i do not care, because in asking me to come here and say the word that was in my heart he must run his risk and take it as it came to me, and insisted on being said. richard sugden falls into line with our home-born men far and wide, but especially in massachusetts, who have done or are ready to do some such thing as he has done now in spencer--building these public libraries in the towns where they live or from which they went away to seek their fortune; public libraries, which range with the schools and churches and the town halls; which are the four-square defence of our life as citizens of the republic and of our intelligence and virtue, when they are nobly maintained. they can do no nobler thing. they are sure of their reward, also, if they want one, in the grateful remembrance of their towns and cities, and open the way for others again who wonder what they can do to the finest purpose; men who have made their fortune and have not been struck by what we may call the greenback paralysis, through which the hand that gets takes all the strength from the hand that gives. what can we do better, they will say in such a case, than this richard sugden has done for spencer, and many another man far and wide?--see to it that our town also shall have a public library, which shall be its pride and joy, and make perfect so far as we can the defence from ignorance and vice and crime; open a fountain from which the waters of life may flow forever for those who thirst for knowledge or whatever good books can give them? and, as i have had to notice up among the mountains this summer how i would not feel thirsty till i came to a clear, cool spring, but then would drink to my heart's content, so such fountains as these will also create the thirst they can so nobly allay, while still we keep on drinking in answer to their perpetual invitation, as the years come and go. and now shall i tell you a very simple story touching my own life, which will help to make good my thought of the worth of this you are doing in spencer through your free public library, and have been doing, as i understand, these years, which is in itself a great and singular honor to your town, maintaining a free library and reading-room at your own proper charges, for which your friend and fellow-citizen has built this noble edifice, with some such feeling as he had in the old time who built the temple that the ark of the covenant and the rod which budded and the sacred books might have an abiding and splendid home. it was my lot to be born as your friend was and mine, in a poor and small home, with this thirst in my nature, as far back as i can remember, for something to read. and i mind very well the first book i ever bought with my own penny, the delectable history of whittington and his cat, which cast such a spell over my imagination that when i went up highgate hill over london the other summer, and saw the stone on which poor dick sat down to hear the bells ringing far below, which lured him back again to fame and fortune, i found i was a small boy again reading my small wonder-book, and the old stone divided the honors of a tender interest with the red granite shaft set above the grave of the woman of finest genius england has to her name, george eliot, which is a few minutes' walk away. there were a few books in our small cottage of three rooms, but these were among the best in the english tongue, the bible and bunyan and goldsmith, with a few more i do not now remember, but these i read as you drink at clear, cool springs. then a man came along from over the moors and brought burns with him, and another brought shakespeare. my father borrowed these for me to read, and the world grew great and wide and wonderful to me as i read them, while to this day i notice that i care more for the history of england in shakespeare's grand dramas than i do for hume and froude and macaulay, so great was the spell cast again over my life. then an old farmer came along with a couple of volumes, and said, "here, lad, i notice thou is fond o' good reading, and i think thou will like to read these books." it was irving's sketch-book and it was christmas day, and i was away from home then and lonesome, wanting to be with my folks and to sit by the old fireside, but the magic wand of irving touched me and stole away all my tears. still, as you may see, this was only hand-to-mouth reading. i had never seen a public library, but had heard of them and longed to find one somewhere, sometime, as, i fear, i never had longed to find my way into heaven. well, i heard of one that had been started only three miles away, and so i went with my heart in my mouth to see what i could find to read in the wonderful new library. i can see the books now standing on the shelves in the small upper room, and recall the old delight of my youth. i go into the astor library now and then when i have time, rich in the lore of all the ages, and have wandered through some of the finest in the world beside, but that small room in addingham is still the story of one's first love. there were some volumes, but here i was with all this wealth of books at my command at about the cost of three days' work in a year. i cannot tell you the story of that first grand passion and the delight of it. i had found a library. i like that honest dutchman, a fine old scholar says, who told me that one page of plato did him more good than ten bumpers of wine, and that was the way i felt about those volumes. i had found out the unspeakable delight of drinking all my heart could desire, and struck the matchless intoxication of noble and wholesome books, that leave no headache or heartache when you are sober, only it was a good while before i got sober. then i came in due time to this new world and began to work again at the anvil in pennsylvania, my own proper business i expected to follow all my life, and presently heard of a library in the small town of hatboro, six or seven miles away, six one way and seven the other. a fine old farmer had found a long while ago that this was the noblest use he could make of a good deal of his money, to build up a library away among the rich green lands, and so there it was waiting for me with its treasure of good books. i see them again as they stand on the shelves, and think i could walk right in and lay my hands on those that won me most potently and cast their spell again over my heart, though it is five and thirty years since i was within the doors. i may mention hawthorne among them all as the author i found there for the first time who won my heart for good and all, as we may say, and holds it still. then i found a great treasure in no long time in philadelphia, that i could no more exhaust than you can exhaust the spring we have been glancing at by drinking, which dips down toward the deepness of the world. i was still bound fast to the anvil, for this was our living, but there was my life, so far as good books could make it, rich for me and noble in the great library again seven miles away. so what matter about the hard day's work at the anvil, while there was some new volume to read when the day's work was done or old one to read with an ever new delight. my new book or old one, with the sweet green lane in the summer time where i could walk while the birds sang their mating song, and the fragrance of the green things growing floated on the soft summer air, and the fireside in winter with the good wife busy about the room, and the little ones sleeping in their cribs, i look back to those times still and wonder whether they were not the best i ever knew. i was reading some lines the other day in an old english ballad written years ago, and they told the story of those times: "o for a booke, and a shadie nook, eyther indoore, or out, with the green leaves whisp'ring overhede, or the streete cries all about, where i maie reade, all at my ease, both of the new and olde, for a right good booke, whereon to looke, was better to me than golde." and so i touch the story of my own life for some poor evidence of what good books can do for us and for the worth of what you have been doing in spencer all these years, and are made glad to day by this library building which crowns the good endeavor; a place that will not shame but will glorify your purpose and hold it to the noblest and best endeavors you can make in the time to come, for such a shrine will be sure to draw books to it always, worthy of its beauty and grace, and there will be other men and women also to follow in the steps of richard sugden, and bring to it costly works and rare and beautiful, worthy to be in the palaces of kings while still you will see to it that the noble provision of books for the general reading rests directly as it has done so long on your own generous care. you have made this noble boon of good books easy and opulent for the workingmen of spencer. when i came to this new world and had not heard as yet of that library among the green lands, but must have books on any terms, and the terms were hard, and the good wife watching not the dollars but the very cents because they must all be saved to furnish the little home, i can well remember how i bought a book one day for half a dollar, far too big to smuggle into the cottage, and hid it in the bushes, watched my chances the next day, and got it in all safe and sound; and some days after, when she caught me reading, and said, "where did you get that book, my dear?" i answered, "why, i have had it for some time"; and then she only said, "indeed!" for she was patient with me and good; and then, it was in what somebody calls our treacle moon. the workingmen of spencer fall on happy times. here are books easy to come at as the water you drink and the air you breathe and stores of them which can never be exhausted. if it had come to pass thirty years ago that some man delving in your wild hills had struck gold, and all the eager manhood of new england had gone crazy to delve for gold where spencer stands, and had found it in mighty stores, i wonder whether that would have been such a boon to spencer and the world as this you have done--establishing great industries and wholesome and good; beckoning the working forces from far and wide to come here and take hold with you on such terms as we can find nowhere else outside this new world. brother mcglynn, i remember, as we rode together to the funeral of gen. grant, called out some half-dozen times, "god's world for the workingman!" you did this who were the pioneers of the strong and steadfast town, and then you said, we must have a free public library, and pay the bills; we have got our churches started, and our schools, and our place for town-meeting--the tap-root of the tree of liberty in new england, a living tree, and no mere liberty-pole, and reaching down years--now we must complete the walls of the city, which standeth four-square, by a free public library, and so do what men may to maintain a fair public virtue and intelligence within the lines of spencer; these men we employ shall have books to read of every kind any man ought to read, and the ought shall be large and free and fair; and so the thing was done. the thirty years have come and gone; the free public library has done its noble and beautiful work. it is a new departure we touch to-day in this ceremony of gift and acceptance. this library will grow always more worthy the name your friend and neighbor has made for it from this time. they say that in scotland once a man sent for his minister and said, "if i give £ , to the church do you think it will be reckoned in my account when i get through down here?" and the minister said: "i do not feel sure about that; but it is weel worth the experiment." i do feel sure about this, and the worth of what you can do, to be placed to your credit, not yonder but right here in the town of spencer. there can be no nobler investment, and but few as noble as this you have made these thirty years for all who have the hunger and thirst in them good books can satisfy; while still with poor oliver in the story, we ask for more; and they are not dead things, as milton says, but contain a potency of life as active as the soul from which they sprang: "books are each a world; and those we know are a substantial world both pure and good; round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood, our pastime and our happiness will grow. and books are yours within whose silent chambers treasure lies preserved from age to age; more precious far than that accumulated store of gold and orient gems, which for a day of need the sultans hide deep in ancestral vaults. these stores of truth you can unlock at will." books and life the influence of books on the community has been used in this address by dean (now president) birge as a basis for discussing their reaction on special groups, especially those differentiated by age and sex, and how far the library should be guided by it and take advantage of it. it is perhaps the best general treatment of the group features of socialized library work by a speaker of authority, not a professional librarian. edward asahel birge was born at troy, n.y., sept. , , graduated at williams in and since has been a member of the university of wisconsin faculty, serving successively as instructor in natural history, professor of zoology, dean of the college of arts and sciences, acting president, and finally in , president of the university. he has also served as a director of the free library at madison, and in was president of the wisconsin library association, before whom this address was delivered. the aspect of the subject to which i would call your attention is the often observed fact of the extent to which modern life in all of its phases, is becoming based upon books. i say in all of its phases, for we are concerned with the present extent of this relation between books and life with its rapid increase, rather than with its existence. ever since the beginning of human society men have based their actions on the teachings of experience. part of these teachings each individual has directly derived from his environment, and he has supplemented and enlarged them by means of those coming from the remembered experience of others, often belonging to an older generation. later in history there were added those teachings derived from books--from the recorded experience of others. with that enlargement of the basis of human action which comes from the remembered experience of others we, as librarians, have nothing to do, and, indeed, there is little to say about it now which could not have been said with equal propriety, one, two, or twenty centuries ago. with books the case is different. the last century, the last generation, the last decade--each has seen the transfer of the basis of action from the oral to the printed word, which could be paralleled by no other period of equal length in the history of civilization. the story of this transfer from talk to print, from rule of thumb to textbook, from tradition to school, from practise to science, is long and intensely interesting. i can touch only a few phases of it. first consider the lengthening of the school period for children. i do not think it is possible accurately to compare the present length of this period with that which existed a century or a half ago; nor would such a comparison interest us. it is enough for our purpose to know that years have been added to the school life of many thousands of the youth of all classes. as a single illustration, consider the effect of the high school, whose development into a large and popular institution, an institution affecting great masses of the people, belongs almost wholly to the period within the life of the generation now on the stage. a half century ago the public high school was almost unknown and the private academy reached very few persons. only a generation ago the number of students in secondary schools was hardly one-tenth of the present number. the attendance on institutions of secondary grade has thus increased five times as rapidly as the population. within the past fifteen years the attendance in the high schools of milwaukee has more than trebled, while only a little more than fifty per cent. has been added to the population of the city. in racine almost exactly the same ratio holds, and so for many other cities of the united states, the increase being least marked in new england cities, and greatest in the cities of the west. the formative influence of the high school youth are far more extensively and exclusively books than were those of his father or grandfather, who probably began to learn his trade, or his business, at about the age when his boy enters the high school, and who therefore, during the period of adolescence, received his training from action rather than from study, from oral rather than from printed experience. one may find to-day in the writings of many teachers jeremiads over the shortness of the average school life of children. i would not contradict their statistics and would join in their regrets, but the fact remains that the most striking phenomenon in the life of the children of the past thirty years is the extent to which their training has been committed to the use of books and the rapid growth of the use of books as the period has advanced. few as the school years of the children now are, those of any older generation have been fewer. this aspect of the matter is the one that is of interest to us, and the school life of the present, instead of arousing our regrets by its brevity, may well call out our astonishment by its length, and demand the use of our best wits to see the changes which have been caused in the life of the present and to forecast those which in the future will flow from this fundamental change in education. one of these correlated changes is already apparent--the extension of the period of book learning for many thousands of persons into the college and university course. in the total attendance on colleges in the united states was about ten thousand. half a century later, when the population of the country had increased about three and one-third times, the college students had increased in a tenfold ratio, or more than three times as rapidly as the population. even more significant is the growth of the number of college students in more recent years. since the number has more than doubled, thus continuing in the latest years a ratio of growth with reference to population quite as great as in earlier years. an equally significant, and quite as conspicuous change, is seen in the growth of technical education. thirty years ago, when i came to wisconsin, the university was graduating from two or three and a half dozen engineers yearly, and these could not all find occupation in this commonwealth, with a population then of more than a million people. now a hundred graduates go out at commencement, while the population of the state has little more than doubled, and while other engineering schools of high rank have multiplied all around it. nowadays the man of books, rather than the man of tradition is directing the work of the world. in the copper mines of the north the old-fashioned mine captain, who received his profession and his traditions from his father, is disappearing and has almost vanished. his place is taken by the graduate of a mining school, who interprets what he sees, not by the light of the experience of his elders, communicated to him orally, but by the far clearer light of the collective experience of men embodied in books. when the capitalist now desires to explore for new iron mines he employs not the old-fashioned prospector, but puts into the field a party of young men often fresh from the geological laboratory. thus science, organized knowledge, book learning, is driving out with increasing rapidity the picturesque figures of past times--times wholly past, though only just behind us in years. that "bookish theoric," so detested by iago, is apparently firmly in control of affairs and has displaced its predecessors and rivals. in countless other ways the same fact is shown. half a century ago a youth who desired to become a lawyer or a doctor entered the office of a practitioner and learned his profession by practise and experience. now he goes to the school of law or medicine and gains his entrance to his chosen calling by the way of books and laboratories. even commerce and trade, in which the rules of practical experience seem most firmly entrenched, are shifting their basis to books, and schools of commerce and trade schools are springing up on every hand to give youth a broader foundation of knowledge than can be gained from practise. still more significant are the facts shown by the enormous development of agricultural experiment stations, farmers' bulletins and farmers' institutes. agriculture, that calling which of all others is most ancient and most conservative, is rapidly changing its basis from tradition to books. perhaps i ought not to say "most conservative," for there is one calling which may better deserve the title--that of the domestic industries practised by women. yet even here a beginning of the transfer, although a small one, has been made by schools of domestic science. while this beginning is but small, and while the traditional professions of women have not yet been greatly modified by books, the life of no class of the community has been more profoundly affected by this general change than has that of women. with the passing away of home industries and with the great increase of wealth which the past century, or half century, has seen, have come vastly increased opportunities to women for leisure, for release from domestic duties, and for the prolongation of school life. the statistics of high schools and colleges sufficiently show the use which they are making of this leisure. other facts are equally obvious and significant as showing the transfer of the basis of woman's life from domestic experience to books. the woman's club, i suppose, may be said fairly to take the place of the sewing circle of our mothers and grandmothers. the contrast even in the name is significant, as marking the transfer of interest from the circle of domestic experience to the wider domain of the recorded life of the world, to the realm of books. thus at whatever point we examine the life of the present, we find it basing itself on books, both for action and enjoyment, and that in an ever-increasing degree. this truth is peculiarly evident to you as librarians, since the facts of your own profession and the rapid growth of libraries and library work afford one of the latest phases of this general movement. from to the number of libraries in the united states just about doubled, increasing steadily, and adding, during this period, about , libraries, or a little less than per year. from to , , libraries were added, or about per year. from to , , libraries were founded, or per year. in the past ten years the number of libraries must have doubled; a ratio growth at least four times that of the population.... it is plain that the adjustment of the library to this movement of men's minds towards books is the most important practical question for all of us. questions of management, of administration, of methods are all of secondary importance beside this one--if, indeed they may be called even secondary. for this change of base is a revolutionary affair, not a mere matter of readjustment of detail, and it is no easy task for the library to find itself in such a movement. libraries are so small a part of the national intellectual life, so small, in the mass, for example, in comparison to the great universities, that their proper influence and work are easily overlooked. there is sometimes danger that they may be swept into currents guided by other forces rather than find opportunity freely to contribute their own share to the movement. let us turn then to the more practical side of the question, and ask how the library is adjusting itself, in this changed relation of men, where it has best succeeded, and where it still has most to do. let us ask where experience seems to promise successful solution of problems, and where the problems are in that stage in which only doubtful success can be expected from experiments, and final solution still lies far before us. the library began as a place to keep books, permitting their use by the public, but often under such restrictions as seem to indicate that this service was granted "grudgingly and of necessity." books and the high life were in some obscure way correlated in the mind of the librarian, and he too often seemed to feel that these were treasures not to be shared by the many. the first change which came, therefore, as the library was swept into the general intellectual current of time, was the removal of restrictions on the use of books and their replacement by devices intended to encourage and extend that use. a second step, and a much more revolutionary one, has been to teach the community directly the uses of books, and thus not merely to afford easy conditions for the use of books on the part of those who want them, but to add a positive force which will compel the books to go out in the community, there to perform their present service and to create a demand for an increased service in the future. this change marks a fundamental departure of the library from its old basis, and one which will affect it greatly, for good and perhaps for ill. the movement toward freedom of administration was really concerned with small matters, and left unaltered the central plan and purpose of the library. but with the assumption of direct educational work for children, for women, for men, the library has entered upon a new epoch in its evolution. it has taken up duties whose performance will demand greatly enlarged resources--of space and of money, of books and of working staff. and what is of even greater importance, the purpose, the point of view, of those who control the library, and the temper of the administration, will change, and ought to change, under the pressure of these new duties. this positive and educational library work falls into two main types--that for children, and that for adults--both men and women. it is still in a tentative condition, in a formative and experimental period. the results are still so few and recent that they do not admit any exact formulation. they permit only general and suggestive statement. work for children is, in some ways, the easiest educational attempt of the library, since it runs parallel to the work of the schools, and those for whom the work is done are easily reached and easily guided. its function is, of course, in part to supplement the school. it would be, however, a great misfortune if it were looked upon merely as a supplement to the school, as a means of providing reading which the school ought to buy, but cannot afford. its purpose is rather to begin in childhood, both for pleasure and for profit, a voluntary association with books which lie wholly outside of the school program. it aims to begin the early formation of the habit of reading as distinguished from study--a habit which will be permanent, instead of ending with the period of formal instruction. it recognizes the fact that school life must soon end, and that when the end comes, the important feature of the child's intellectual condition is not so much the amount he has learned as the temper and habit of his mind toward books. has he merely learned certain truths from books or are books open to him? it is of fundamental importance to the community that the second alternative be secured. the school libraries and children's librarians are, therefore, not to feel that their duty is to supplement the school. that duty lies on a different, and, in a way, a higher plane, in a more spiritual region. it is their part to make the child a citizen of the world of books, and to naturalize him so thoroughly that he will always remain a citizen. thus only can he share fully, not only in the high and permanent pleasures that books afford, but also in that great movement of life toward books which marks our time. from remarks which i have heard on various occasions, i believe this extension of library service and library duties to youth has often been misunderstood. work with school children, whether done by the library force as part of their duties, or by assistants especially engaged, has seemed to many to be a somewhat unnecessary extension of the library--something of a luxury. these added duties have often been assumed by the libraries under special pleas, and for reasons temporary in character. but in that wider view which i am trying to present, the truth is recognized that the library is a permanent storehouse of books for the community, to which the citizen of every class and age must repair for knowledge not only interesting and useful but necessary to the conduct of life. we recognize also that while the training of the schools soon ceases for every individual, the service of the library extends throughout life. we assert also that the possibilities of this service must be taught to the members of the community from childhood, and that the efficiency of the books will largely depend on the efficiency with which this teaching is done. especial care must be taken with children and youth toward the end of the ordinary school periods--in the upper grades and in the high school. here it is that the transition to independent reading must come. the children's room must not be merely an appendage to the kindergarten and primary school, but the library must supply to youth of all ages not only books, but inspiration in reading. the questions which arise in work for children are many and often perplexing, but if these general principles are accepted, they are, after all, questions of detail rather than of principle. the library's influence over women has been the greatest in extent and productive of the largest results; so much so that, in the opinion of many critics of the public library, that institution is in danger of becoming "feminized." i shall not attempt to discuss so large a subject as that indicated by this fearful word, but it may not be unprofitable to touch upon the causes which have given the work of the library for women at once so great an extension and so great a success, as well as some obvious limitations. i should place first among the causes, both for the success and the limitation of this influence, the recent acquisition by women of large opportunities for the intellectual life, their natural conservatism, and their greatly increased leisure as compared with men. that women read books, and read them in enormous numbers, is granted, indeed asserted. that they read seriously i have heard questioned and have always wondered at the doubt. it seems to me rather that they never read in any way except seriously. how many women--reading women, i mean--can put away an unfinished book without a sense of guilt? how many can "browse about" in a library and enjoy doing so? how many really like to read a dictionary or encyclopaedia without ulterior designs upon an article for the women's club, or, at least, without wanting to know something? these are all tests--unconscious, but none the less excellent--of the real readers, of those to whom books are alive and intimate friends. while i have no statistics at hand, i fear that many women most devoted to libraries would fail to reach this standard. the field of the intellectual life has been widely opened to women so recently that they still feel a certain sense of duty along with the privilege which is granted them in entering it, rather than a complete sense of being at home there. the conservatism of women helps this tendency to read seriously and for general purposes. the traditional use of books as a means of culture appeals to their more conservative mind as it does not to men. they are more easily induced to read for reading's sake--they are willing to read the books one ought to read. they are moved by considerations of mental improvement independent of any result beyond the improvement itself. the library as a library attracts them. then, too, the amount of their reading and its character is modified by the fact that women are so much more limited than men in means to pass their leisure. jerome k. jerome (if correctly reported by newspapers) recently pointed out that much so-called reading is no more an intellectual process than is smoking a cigar, and that often we go to books just as to the cigar, to pass the time and to prevent the intrusion of disagreeable thoughts. of course this is, and ought to be, wholly true, and since with us the cigar is a masculine privilege, the woman must take to books as the man takes to smoking, and even to drinking. speaking seriously, the library is to many women a relief from care--the only distraction from the monotony of routine. it is a cheap and easy thing to sneer at this use of books, but we who believe in the friendship of books know that here lies one of the greatest blessings they can give, as it is one of the greatest blessings of true friendship. nor do we wonder that the uncultivated, or the half-cultivated, often choose their book friends from a class not greatly above their own. on the other hand, women have hardly begun to use books on lines along which we are seeking to get men to read--in directions connected with their trade or profession. domestic industries, so far as they are in the hands of women, are still most wholly dependent upon tradition. they are not exposed to competition. failure or inefficiency does not put the proprietor out of business. their results are not measured in dollars and cents. in a word, the whole line of motives which is forcing masculine industries over to the basis of books is lacking in the chief feminine occupations. we are now seeing only the feeble beginnings of the attempt thus to transfer them from tradition to science. a long time must pass, and social conditions greatly change, before the transfer is made. thus women are not forced from general to special lines of reading, while they have greater motive for general reading than have men. as a result, women are becoming, to a degree without example in the past, the possessors and transmitters of the life of culture. i do not believe that fewer men read good literature than formerly, but the increase in masculine readers of this type has been so much less than the increase in women readers that in comparison the number of men seems to have shrunken greatly. of course much of this reading by women for culture is desultory and aimless, much is misdirected. but after all deductions are made, it remains true that the knowledge of books seems to be tending to become the possession of women rather than of men. it has always belonged to a certain class of men--not a very large part of the community--and it is still theirs; but its extension to other classes has been along female lines rather than male, and its transmission to the next generation seems only too likely to depend in a large measure upon the female line. college statistics at present show the same facts. language, literature, and art are the chosen studies of women. men turn rather to science, economics, or politics--subjects which, they suppose, bear directly on future plans for life. these great subjects whose main purpose in education is the uplifting of the mind, the widening of the mental horizon without direct reference to any specific line of life--these appeal far more strongly to women than to men, and their influence, in a rapidly increasing degree, will reach the next generation through the mother rather than through the father. it would be a pessimistic view which would say that modern society is coming to depend on the mothers for the accumulation and transmission of culture, while retaining in the male line the function of accumulating and transmitting wealth, though much could be said for the thesis and a very plausible argument could be constructed for it. if all this is true, it is inevitable that women should use libraries far more than men. it is equally inevitable that in this large use much should be trivial, much customary, much misdirected and unwise. nature has no means of reaching success except by the rule of natural selection--the old-fashioned plan of "cut-and-try," and this means much failure along the road of advance. we who see the work of the library from our daily experience know how much it is contributing of culture, how much of happiness, to the life of women, and through them to that of the community. but men--why do they not use the library, say the critics, and what shall the library do to increase its use by men? you have all read the vigorous article that the _independent_ published on this subject last summer, which, with much of error, contains a good deal of truth in a stimulating form. it presents a subject which must have a somewhat larger treatment. it ought first to be said that in this and other articles on the topic the terms _women_ and _men_ are by no means similarly used. the writers are not concerned about men at large--the husbands and brothers of the women who are said to visit the library--the women of comparative leisure, who are seeking information on art, literature, or ancestry, who are trying to get up a paper for the club, or who visit the library for recreation. it is the plumber, the machinist, the grocer, whose absence they deplore, and to whom they think the library ought to give help. not only so, but it is the plumber, rather than as a man, whose presence is desired and who is to be aided. the library, says the _independent_ in effect, ought to teach the plumber how to "plumb"; ought to furnish him with information which his boss is unable to give. but this is a new function for libraries, however useful it may be, and a function which libraries do not attempt for women. dressmakers do not (i speak under correction, but i think i am right) expect to secure at a library a knowledge of how to fit a difficult customer, any more than do tailors. yet this sort of thing, we are told, the library ought to do for men; and we are told in a tone which implies that here is an obvious duty which only wilful ignorance can overlook. it ought rather to be recognized that in undertaking this work the public library is entering a new and almost unexplored field of effort, and also that it is trying to extend its influence to classes of the community which it has not hitherto reached, and along lines of knowledge which it has never seriously attempted to follow. in such a work there must be many experiments and many failures, and the positive results will be small for a long time.... the problem for the library, as regards men, is therefore twofold: . can men be induced to visit the library for general purposes, to use it in ways similar to those for which women come to it? . how can the wage-earners and handicraftsmen be induced to visit the library and use its books for their practical advantage? let us first consider the general question: can we reach the men? the women come to the libraries, say the critics, in shoals and droves, for all sorts of intellectual purposes, good and bad. you catch the children, they say, in school, when they cannot get away, and indeed are glad of relief from lessons; but the men--can you reach them and affect their lives? in reply we must say at once and frankly that no such large volume of success with men is possible as has been the case with women. the public library came to women at the precise moment when increased education disposed them to use it, and increased leisure gave them the opportunity. it fills a space in their lives which would be otherwise void. but the present time is one of decreased leisure and increased intensity of work for all classes of men. perhaps i ought to except from this statement the wage-earner, who as eight hour laws and customs come into force will have more time for reading than the man of almost any other class in the community. this movement toward lessened hours of labor is more effective where libraries are best organized and therefore presents an opportunity for the extension of library influence, both general and special. the opportunity must be improved, yet neither the wage-earner nor the business man will be easy to reach; neither has been among the active patrons of the library in the past. their lives are already full, both with business and pleasure, and if the library is to reach them, it must attract them on lines which appeal to them more strongly than business or present pleasure. it must reach needs which they know and feel to be real. i do not believe that men of the present generation will come to libraries in great numbers for the purposes that attract women. we might as well admit that they will not substitute the novel for the cigar, the printed story for the companionship of the club. they will not read good books because they ought to do so, and the number who will read them because they like to do so is unfortunately not great. men have not thus acted since the world began, and man-like, they will not do so now, even though such conduct on their part would help our library statistics very greatly. nor will any great number of them read in order to enlarge the basis of life, for, in spite of the greatness of the movement toward books, it affects at first hand only a few people in the community. the mass of workmen, now and always, will get their knowledge from tradition or at second hand. it will be the unusual man who will get his ideas from books at first hand and thus improve his work and that of his fellows. the problem is then to reach these few, and through them the community; and this brings us to the second phase of the question. i do not find that the problem has been solved; perhaps it is too recent. but libraries have been attempting its solution by various methods and with varying success. the first and most successful attempt is that of the large libraries, like that of pittsburgh and the pratt institute of brooklyn, which maintain a technical library for the men--a library adequately housed in its own rooms and administered by a special librarian. these technical libraries for working men succeed in their aim of reaching many of the class for which they are established. they offer not merely an opportunity for reading, but that guidance in the use of books which all classes of the community need, if they are to use books for a serious purpose. they show us that success in this line of effort may be reached if the library has an income sufficient to enable it to undertake the task on a large scale. this condition is, however, not that of most of the libraries which are represented here. our incomes are none too large for the work which we must necessarily do for the general public. such libraries must ordinarily content themselves with offering to men opportunities for reading without special guidance in the use of books. this work has been attempted in a good many of the smaller libraries. they attempt to provide masculine conditions for reading and reading material which will appeal to men. the first includes a well-furnished, comfortable room for men, where a man can come in his working clothes without feeling he is out of place; smoking may be allowed or not--both plans are tried without great difference in apparent result. the masculine reading comprises newspapers and magazines; good books of literature which can be left in the room (paper bound copies suggested); most important of all are trade journals; if possible, files of the recent volumes of these journals, selected according to the industries of each town; and the most readable and most recent reference books on similar subjects. in a word, a room is furnished with reading which will appeal to the classes of men who do not ordinarily use libraries and who are not greatly interested in literature. this plan is good one and ought to be tried, but i believe the conditions are exceptional under which it will reach large numbers of men. inertia and habit will keep most of them away from the library. they will see the daily papers at their wonted places of resort, and the room, necessarily lacking in much of the freedom of the club, will fail to attract very many of them. they will not form the habit of visiting it, even though they might enjoy it if the habit were formed. it must also be remembered that increasing numbers of the manufacturing concerns are providing their employees with reading of this kind, and thus limiting the use of the city library. in some libraries the attempt to reach men has gone still further and has led to an inclusion of attractions which are ordinarily regarded as outside the work of a library. they have attempted to combine to some degree the privileges of a club with that of the public library. the stevens point library has a club room, equipped with billiard tables, cards, etc., as well as with technical journals and similar books. this, the librarian reports, is very successful in attracting boys, many of whom learn to use the library. men, however, do not come in large numbers, as they do not care to use a place frequented by boys, and in which smoking is not permitted. at wausaukee a special room with games and where lunch is served has been established at the library as a means of furnishing a sort of club room for lumber men who come to the village, especially on sunday, and who have no other place of resort, except the saloon. how far such methods are advisable as a part of library work is a question which will often be asked during the coming years and which only experience can answer. at present such enterprises have not gone beyond the stage of early experiment. summing up the result, i would frankly confess that the reports which i have received are not numerous enough for a positive judgment, yet it is my impression that where there is an income large enough to provide a special librarian and a public large enough to warrant the expense, this movement for special libraries for men is likely to succeed. it seems also to be true that where the library provides the men with the opportunity for reading only, and does not furnish guidance for readers, no very large use is made of technical books and there is no greatly increased use of the library in general. how to guide the reading seems, therefore, to be the central factor in the solution of the problem. in a small town a special librarian is impossible, for financial reasons, but there, as well as in large cities, lectures can be given which deal with practical subjects and the aid to their knowledge which the library affords. many cities are giving such courses of lectures, notably perhaps new york, and with considerable effect on the use of the public library. i have no statistics regarding such lectures from the various cities, but undoubtedly this method offers the easiest plan for extending the use of the library in smaller cities and towns. i say the _easiest_, and it will not be difficult to secure good lectures on literature, history, or art, but lectures on the practical subjects are much more difficult to obtain, since it is hard to secure lecturers who know more about the trades than do the craftsmen who constitute the audience. if these movements are to succeed, they must not be attempted in an amateurish way. they must be well planned and well executed--planned and executed with careful reference to the wants of the men of the community. above all, they must be persistently carried out with full vigor year after year, even though results are apparently small. their purpose must be steadfastly maintained and the methods of execution continually readjusted, as success or failure indicates. it is no light or easy thing to change the habits of half the adult members of the community--to cultivate the reading habit in those who have reached maturity without acquiring it--and the work which the library proposes for itself involves such a task. if men are to be reached at all it must be on a business basis, not on that of occasional effort. nor must the missionary spirit prevail, for men, as a rule, do not wish to be reformed or to be helped. they must find in the library a place which appeals to their sense of comfort and which gives them things that they want, or, like other sensible people, they will not use it. one word in closing this topic, and that in emphasis of what i have already said. it is easier to keep a boy reading as he grows up than to catch him again as a man after the library has lost him. take a lesson from the church. the boy who graduates from sunday-school rarely returns for a post-graduate course. in the wise administration of the work for children and youth lies the main hope not of reaching, but keeping men in the library. but it should be definitely understood that this enlargement of library work which the times are forcing upon us means increasing expense, more room, more books--which must be more frequently renewed--and a larger library staff. it means the attempt to do efficiently several lines of intellectual work for the public instead of purveying literature for those who desire it. this new work the library can readily accomplish, but not with the staff which was sufficient for the old duties. any library can provide, for example, the list of desiderata mentioned in the _independent's_ article, which could easily be extended. they can all be furnished by the library as the public wants them and will pay for them. they cannot be, and ought not to be, supplied by an already overworked library staff of two or three persons. the library, therefore, should not enter upon these duties blindly or ignorantly. it is a great task which is thus undertaken--to educate the community to use books and to guide it in that use. although small beginnings are possible, the work will inevitably grow on our hands just as that of the schools and colleges has done, and for similar reasons. but whatever difficulties lie in the way of their performance, it is plain that the library must assume these new duties. with many experiments, with many failures, with many partial successes, the library will extend its teachings, its conscious influences, until they touch the life of the community at every point. in this rambling talk i have discussed library work as it looks forward to new problems, and have devoted only a word, and that perhaps a rather disparaging one, to the traditional use of the library. i would not leave the subject in this way. for the traditional use of books remains and will remain the center of library work and the main source of its best influences. the problem of the library to-day, looked at from within and not from without, and in relation to other agencies, is essentially that which confronts the university. both institutions once stood for culture and for culture exclusively. both are now challenged by the spirit of the newer time and are called upon to justify themselves as public utilities. this they must do, and that in full measure, but there is a real danger that both, in the multiplicity of the new duties thus forced upon them, may forget the weighty words, "these ought ye to do and not leave the other undone." for, after all, the highest public utility which the library offers, or can offer, is the opportunity to cultivate the friendship of books. this utility is none the less precious because it is intangible. indeed, it is the unique privilege of the library among municipal enterprises that it can provide a service which aids the higher life of the citizen so directly and so purely. in the spirituality of this function, the library stands second only to the highest institutions of pure learning, and to the church. no new undertaking, no extension of work, no plea of necessity can warrant or justify any loss of power on this highest level. the problem is not to discover how to sacrifice as little as possible of the old spirit to the new duties, but to learn how through the new duties we may make more wide-spread and more potent for good that oldest and best inheritance from the past--the love of books. "the people's university," the library has been called, but it would be as great a pity if the librarian so understood this term as to believe that people came to the library only to learn, as it would be if any went there who could not learn what they sought. that university which is a place to study rather than a place to live is missing its best possibilities, and in a similar way the library ought to be, first and always, a place to read rather than a place to study. i would not go so far as to say that i want to find it a place to "loaf," though i might be provoked into saying so; but certainly it must be a place where i can "invite my soul"--such a place as the world gives me elsewhere only in the church or in the silence of nature. trade journals and technical works are of great use; books for women's clubs are good things; the children's room is a necessity; but these of themselves no more make a library than a kitchen, dining room and bedroom make a home. out of such utilities as these you may get a boarding house, but nothing better; the family makes it a home. those are wholly wrong who believe that standard books are so cheap that anyone can buy them, and therefore the library could conceivably get on without them. without the best literature you might get a very useful institution, no doubt, but not a library, for in a library the great works of the great authors are the soul and theirs is the spirit which enables the library not merely to contribute to the advance of the community toward prosperity and intelligence, but also, in some degree, to touch its higher life to finer issues. the boston public library an address at its dedication this and the four addresses that follow it have little in common except that all were delivered at the opening exercises of libraries. everett's address at the opening of the boston public library appropriately heads the group. the reader will look in it in vain for any reflection of the conservative opinions expressed in the letter to george ticknor printed on page of this volume, unless perhaps in the total absence of anything radical. it is typical oratory of the day--ponderously graceful, if that is not a contradiction in terms. edward everett was born in dorchester, mass., april , . he graduated at harvard in and served there as professor of greek in - . he was a member of congress in - , governor of massachusetts in - , minister to great britain in - , president of harvard, - , u.s. secretary of state in - , and u.s. senator in - . he died in boston, jan. , . his reputation as a scholarly orator was very high. mr. mayor:-- in behalf of the trustees of the city library, i receive with extreme pleasure the keys which you have placed in my hands. the completion of the noble building, which the city government now confides to our care, is an event to which the trustees have looked forward with the greatest interest, and which they now contemplate with the highest satisfaction. they deem themselves especially honored in their connection with an institution, for whose use this stately and commodious edifice has been erected, and which they doubt not is destined to be instrumental of the highest good to the community, and to reflect lasting credit upon the liberality, public and private, with which it has been founded and endowed. the city of boston, owing to peculiar circumstances in its growth and history, has been at all times, as i think, beyond most cities in the world, the object of an affectionate attachment on the part of its inhabitants; a feeling entitled to respect and productive of good, even if it may sometimes seem to strangers over-partial in its manifestations. it is not merely its commanding natural situation, the triple hills on which it is enthroned, its magnificent bay and harbor, and the group of islands and islets that sparkle like emeralds on their surface; not merely this most admirable common, which opens before our windows, delightful even at this season of the year, and affording us in summer, in its noble malls and shady walks, all that the country can boast of cool and beautiful and salubrious, transported to the heart of the city, "the poor man's pleasure-ground," as it has been well called, though a king might envy it;--nor the environs of our city of surpassing loveliness, which enclose it on every side in kindly embrace; it is not solely nor principally these natural attractions which endear boston to its citizens. nor is it exclusively the proud and grateful memories of the past,--of the high-souled fathers and mothers of the land, venerable in their self-denying virtues, majestic in the austere simplicity of their manners, conscientious in their errors, who, with amazing sacrifices and hardships never to be described, sought out new homes in the wilderness, and transmitted to us delights and blessings which it was not given to themselves to enjoy;--of those who in succeeding generations deserved well of their country,--the pioneers of the revolution, the men of the stamp act age, whose own words and acts are stamped on the pages of history, in characters never to be effaced;--of those who, when the decisive hour came, stood forth in that immortal hall, the champions of their country's rights, while it scarcely yet deserved the name of a country; it is not exclusively these proud and grateful associations, which attach the dutiful bostonian to the city of his birth or adoption. no, mr. mayor, it is not exclusively these, much as they contribute to strengthen the sentiment. it has its origin, in no small degree, in the personal relation in which boston places herself to her children; in the parental interest which she cherishes in their welfare, which leads her to take them by the hand almost from the cradle,--to train them up in the ascending series of her excellent free schools; watching over them as a fond father watches over the objects of his love and hope; in a word, to confer upon them a first-rate school education at the public expense. often have i attempted, but with very partial success, both in this country and in europe, to persuade inquiring friends from the countries and places where no such well-organized system of public education prevails, that our free schools do really afford to the entire population means of elementary education, of which the wealthiest citizen is glad to avail himself. and now, mr. mayor, the enlightened counsels of the city government are about to give new strength to those ties of gratitude and affection, which bind the hearts of the children of boston to their beloved city. hitherto the system of public education, excellent as it is and wisely supported by a princely expenditure, does but commence the work of instruction and carry it to a certain point; well advanced, indeed, but far short of the goal. it prepares our young men for college, for the counting-room, for the office of the engineer, the _studio_ of the artist, the shop of the artisan, the laboratory of the chemist, or whatever field of employment they may be destined to enter, but there it leaves them, without further provision for the culture of the mind. it disciplines the faculties and forms a taste for the acquisition of knowledge, on the part of our young men and women, but it provides no means for their exercise and gratification. it gives them the elementary education requisite for their future callings, but withholds all facilities of access to those boundless stores of recorded knowledge, in every department, by which alone that elementary education can be completed and made effectual for the active duties of life. but to-day our honored city carries on and perfects her work. the trustees, from their first annual report to the present time, have never failed to recommend a first class public library, such as that, sir, for whose accommodation you destine this noble building, as the completion of the great system of public education. its object is to give to the entire population, not merely to the curious student, but to the inquisitive member of either of the professions, to the intelligent merchant, mechanic, machinist, engineer, artist or artisan, in short, to all of every age and of either sex, who desire to investigate any subject, either of utility or taste, those advantages which, without such an ample public collection, must necessarily be monopolized by the proprietors of large private libraries, or those who by courtesy have the use of them; nay, to put within the reach of the entire community advantages of this kind, far beyond those which can be afforded by the largest and best provided private libraries. the trustees are anxious that the institution, whose prosperity they have so much at heart, should continue to be viewed in this light; as one more added to the school-houses of the city, at which boston boys and girls, when they have outgrown the other schools, will come to carry on the education which has been there commenced; where boston men and women, "children of a larger growth," may come to acquire that additional knowledge which is requisite for the most successful discharge of the duties of the various callings of society,--which opens, in its pursuit, the purest sources of happiness,--and which, without reference to utility, contributes so materially to the grace and ornament of life. i am aware that there is still floating about in the community a vague prejudice against what is called book-learning. one sometimes hears doubts expressed of the utility of public libraries; opinions that they are rather ornamental than necessary or useful; and the fact that our time-honored city, never indifferent to the mental improvement of her children, has existed more than two centuries without one, is a sufficient proof, that, until within a very few years, their importance has not been practically felt. there is perhaps even now a disposition to claim some superiority for what is called practical knowledge--knowledge gained by observation and experience (which most certainly the trustees would not disparage), and a kind of satisfaction felt in holding up the example of self-taught men, in supposed contradistinction from those who have got their knowledge from books. no name perhaps is so frequently mentioned for this purpose as that of franklin, who, because he had scarce any school education and never went to college, has been hastily set down as a brilliant example to show the inutility of book-learning. it has been quoted to me in this way, and to show that libraries are of no use, within three days. now, mr. mayor, i need not tell you that there never was a greater mistake in point of fact. a thirst for books, which he spared no pains to allay, is the first marked trait disclosed in the character of franklin; his success throughout the early period of his life can be directly traced to the use he made of them; and his very first important movement for the benefit of his fellow-men was to found a public library, which still flourishes;--one of the most considerable in the country. franklin not a book-man! whoever labors under that delusion, shows that somebody else is not a book-man, at least so far as concerns the biography of our illustrious townsman. we happen to have a little information on that subject, in a book written by franklin himself. he there gives a very different account of himself, and i would ask any one who entertains the idea to which i am alluding, at what period of franklin's career he supposes this taste for books began to be manifested by him; how soon he ceased to be a self-formed man? perhaps after he had struggled through the years of his youthful poverty, escaped to philadelphia, set up in business as a printer, and begun to have a little money in his pocket. i need not tell you, sir, that it was earlier than that. was it, then, while he was the clever apprentice to his brother, the editor of a journal, and wrote articles for its columns in a disguised hand, and tucked them under the office door, enjoying the exquisite delight of being ordered to set up his own anonymous articles; was it then, at the age of fifteen or sixteen, that this fondness for reading, under the stimulus of boyish authorship, disclosed itself? earlier than that. well, then, at the grammar-school and master brownwell's writing-school, which he attended from eight to ten (for there are boys who show a fondness for reading, even at that tender age); was little benjamin's taste for books developed while yet at school? earlier than that. hear his own words, which you will permit me to read from that exquisite piece of autobiography to which i have already alluded: "from my infancy i was _passionately_ fond of reading, and all the money that came into my hands was laid out in purchasing books. i was very fond of voyages. my first acquisition was bunyan's works, in separate little volumes. i afterwards sold them to enable me to buy r. burton's _historical collections_. they were small chapman's books and cheap, forty volumes in all. my father's little library consisted chiefly of books in polemic divinity, most of which i read. i have often regretted [and this is a sentence that might be inscribed on the lofty cornice of this noble hall] that at a time when i had such a thirst for knowledge, more proper books had not fallen in my way.... there was among them plutarch's lives, which i read abundantly, and i still think that time spent to great advantage. there was also a book of defoe's, called an _essay on projects_, and another of dr. mather's, called an _essay to do good_, which"--did what, sir? for i am now going to give you, in franklin's own words (they carry with them the justification of every dollar expended in raising these walls), the original secret of his illustrious career--what was the effect produced by reading these two little books of defoe and cotton mather? "they perhaps gave me a turn of thinking, which had an influence on some of the principal future events of my life." yes, sir, in the reading of those books was the acorn that sprouted into that magnificent oak; there was the fountain-drop which a fairy might have sipped from a buttercup, from which has flowed the missouri and the mississippi,--the broad, deep river of franklin's fame, winding its way through the lapse of ages, and destined to flow on, till it shall be ingulfed in the ocean of eternity. from his "infancy," sir, "passionately fond of reading," nay, with the appetite of a vulture, with the digestion of an ostrich, attacking the great folios of polemic divinity in his father's library. not a dull boy, either; not a precocious little bookworm; fond of play; doesn't dislike a little mischief; sometimes, as he tells us, "led the other boys into scrapes;" but in his intervals of play, in his leisure moments, up in the lonely garret when the rest of the family were asleep, holding converse in his childhood with the grave old non-conformists, howe and owen and flavel and baxter,--communing with the austerest lords of thought; the demigods of puritanism. franklin not a book-man? why, he goes on to tell us that it was "this bookish inclination which at length determined his father to make him a printer," against his own inclination, which was for the sea; and when he had thus by constraint become a printer, his great consolation was, as he says, that "i now had access to better books. an acquaintance with the apprentices of booksellers enabled me sometimes to borrow a small one, which i was careful to return soon and clean. often i sat up in my chamber reading the greatest part of the night, when the book was borrowed in the evening and was to be returned in the morning, lest it should be found missing." then he made the acquaintance of mr. matthew adams, an ingenious, sensible man, "who had a pretty collection of books." he frequented the printing-office, took notice of the bright little apprentice, and "very kindly proposed to lend me such books as i chose to read." having taken to a vegetable diet at the age of sixteen, he persuaded his brother to allow him in cash half the price of his board,--lived upon potatoes and hasty pudding,--soon found that he could save half even of that little allowance (which could not have exceeded two-and-six-pence a week, lawful money), and this poor little economy "was an additional fund for buying books." what would the poor, underfed boy, who was glad to buy books on the savings of his potato diet, have said could he have had free access to a hall like this, stored as it soon will be with its priceless treasures? further, sir, while working as a journeyman in england, he says, "i made the acquaintance of one william wilcox, a bookseller, whose shop was next door. he had an immense collection of second-hand books."--(somewhat, i suppose, like our friend burnham, in cornhill.)--"circulating libraries were not then in use, but we agreed that on certain reasonable terms, which i have now forgotten, i might take, read, and return any of his works. this i esteemed a great advantage, and i made as much use of it as i could." finally, sir, as i have already said, franklin's first important movement for the good of his fellow-men was the foundation of the public library in philadelphia. at his instance, the members of a little club to which he belonged, tradesmen and mechanics of narrow means, threw into common stock the few books which belonged to them. a subscription was then obtained from fifty young men, principally tradesmen, of two pounds each, and ten shillings _per annum_, and with this little fund they began. "the books were imported, the library was opened one day in the week for lending them to the subscribers, on their promissory notes to pay double the value if not duly returned." "this was the mother," says franklin, "of all the north american subscription libraries, now so numerous. it has become a great thing itself, and continually goes on increasing. these libraries have improved the general conversation of the americans, made the common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen from other countries, and, perhaps, have contributed in some degree to the stand so generally made throughout the colonies in defence of their privileges." those are the words of franklin, mr. mayor, which i read from his own book. our excellent friend the president of the commissioners (hon. r.c. winthrop) has justly felicitated himself on having been the first person publicly to raise his voice in this noble hall. he must be a happier man than i who can speak an earlier or an abler word than his on any occasion; but i claim the credit of having read from the first book opened in this hall;--and what is more, sir, i mean to have the satisfaction of presenting the first volume given to the library, since this building came into the care of the trustees. in your presence, mr. mayor, and that of this vast assembly on this first of january, , i offer this copy of franklin's autobiography in sparks's edition, as a new year's gift to the boston public library. nay, sir, i am going to do more, and make the first, and perhaps the last, motion ever made in this hall; and that is, that every person present, of his own accord, if of age,--with the consent of parent or guardian, if a minor,--man, woman, boy, or girl, be requested, on going home, to select one good book, and in memory of the poor boy, who half-fed himself to gratify his taste for reading, present it as a new-year's gift to the boston public library. i make you that motion, mr. mayor, and i call upon all present to give me their voices: especially i ask the cooperation of the fairer and better part of creation. if nowhere else, woman's rights shall be respected in this hall, while i have anything to do with it. i pray you, mr. mayor, put the question, and then i'll finish my speech. his honor the mayor then rose and stated the question, which was seconded by mr. winthrop. the mayor particularly called on the ladies to vote, and a unanimous and emphatic aye resounded through the vast hall. the negative was then called and no response made. his honor, amidst great cheering and laughter, pronounced it a unanimous vote. mr. everett resumed-- no, sir, if there is one lesson more than another directly deducible from the life of franklin, it is the close connection of a thoroughly practical and useful life and career with books, libraries, and reading. if there is a thing on earth which would have gladdened his heart could he have anticipated it, it would be the knowledge that his native city, in two generations after his death, would found a library like this, to give to the rising generation and to the lovers of knowledge of every age that access to books, of which he so much felt the want. and could it be granted to him, even now, to return to his native city, which dwelt in his affections to the close of his life, his first visit would be to the centre of the ancient burial-ground, where in after-life he dutifully placed a marble slab on the graves of his parents; his second visit would be to the spot in milk street where he was born; his third to the corner of union street and hanover street, where he passed his childhood, in a house still standing; his fourth visit would be to the site of the free grammar school-house, where, as he says in his will, he received "his first instruction in literature," and which is now adorned with a statue which a grateful posterity has dedicated to his memory; and his last and longest would be to this noble hall, where you are making provision for an ample supply of that reading of which, "from his _infancy_ he was _passionately_ fond." the trustees have done what they could to connect some reference to franklin with an institution which would have been the object of his warmest affections, by providing that every franklin medal boy shall be entitled to its privileges; and inasmuch as the accumulating fund which he bequeathed to the city, and which now exceeds seventy thousand dollars, has proved almost wholly unavailing for the primary object of the bequest, it deserves consideration whether, when it has reached a sufficient magnitude, as it will before the end of this century, the interest of the fund, if it can be legally done, might not advantageously be appropriated, as a permanent endowment for the support of the library. i have not proposed at this time, sir, on the part of the trustees, to make a formal speech; i have preferred to let benjamin franklin speak for us. this day belongs of right to the commissioners for building the library, ably represented as they are, by our distinguished friend their president, who has done such ample justice to the subject; and to you, mr. mayor, as the organ of the city government, whom i cannot but congratulate on closing your official career,--in all respects so honorable to yourself and so acceptable to your fellow-citizens,--by an act, i am sure, most grateful to your own feelings and most auspicious of the public good. it is not yet the time for the trustees to speak. a more fitting opportunity may hereafter present itself, when the books shall be placed on the shelves, the catalogue printed, and the library opened for public use. occasion may then, perhaps, with propriety be taken, to illustrate the importance and utility of such an institution; to do justice to the liberality on the part of the city government and the individual benefactors by which it has been founded, endowed, and sustained; and especially to the generosity of our greatest benefactor and esteemed fellow-countryman, mr. bates, whose letters announcing his first munificent donation of fifty thousand dollars, alluding to his own early want of access to books, assign that as the moving cause which prompted his liberality. it will be the pleasing duty of those who may then be intrusted with the administration of the library, to pay a fitting tribute to so much public and private bounty. in the mean time, sir, we must throw ourselves on the patience and considerateness of the city council and the community. not much short of sixty thousand volumes are to be brought together from four different places of temporary deposit, and assigned to their final resting-places in this hall and the circulating library below. here they are to be arranged on the shelves, the cards and slips which pertain to them, far more numerous than the volumes themselves, reduced to alphabetical order; a separate catalogue of each alcove prepared; and a comprehensive catalogue of the whole collection, without which it will be little better than an unmanageable mass, prepared and printed. every thing which could be done beforehand, has been anticipated; but much of the work was of necessity reserved till the books should be placed on the shelves. in the interval, and while this labor is going on, the library in mason street will be left in possession of the books most in request for daily circulation, and will be closed at last only when it becomes absolutely necessary that they also should be removed to the new building. but it is time for me to conclude. the shades of evening are falling around us; those cressets which lend us their mild and tasteful illumination will soon be extinguished; and the first day of the new-year, rich in the happy prospects we now inaugurate, will come to a close. may the blessing of heaven give effect to its brightest anticipations. a few more days,--a few more years,--will follow their appointed round, and we, who now exchange our congratulations on this magnificent new-year's gift of our city fathers, shall have passed from the scene; but firm in the faith that the growth of knowledge is the growth of sound principles and pure morals, let us not doubt, that, by the liberality of the city government and of our generous benefactors at home and abroad, a light will be kindled and go forth from these walls, now dedicated to the use of the free boston public library, which will guide our children and our children's children in the path of intelligence and virtue, till the sun himself shall fall from the heavens. the new york free circulating library address in its favor at a public meeting president cleveland made this address on march , , while a resident of new york city in the interval between his two presidential terms, at a meeting, at chickering hall, called for the purpose of directing attention to the work of the struggling free circulating library and if possible to raise funds for its support, which was only partially insured by the city. owing to increase in both public and private contributions this library was enabled to make rapid growth in the years immediately following until in , when it was merged in the circulation department of the new york public library, it was operating eleven branches with a circulation of over , . this institution was the pioneer of the popular, as distinguished from the scholarly, library idea in new york. [stephen] grover cleveland was born in caldwell, n.j., march , , the fifth son of a presbyterian clergyman. he received a common-school education and after his father's death went in to live with an uncle in buffalo, n.y. he was admitted to the bar there in , was assistant district attorney in - , sheriff in - and mayor in . in the latter year he was elected governor of new york and in president of the united states. he was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in , but was elected again in . he died in princeton, n.j., where he had resided since his last presidential term, on june , . the words i shall speak on this occasion i intend rather as a pledge of my adherance to the cause in which you are enlisted than an attempt to say anything new or instructive. i gladly join with the enthusiasm of a new convert in the felicitations of those who have done noble and effective work in the establishment and maintenance in our city of a free circulating library, and it seems to me they have abundant cause for congratulation in review of the good which has already been accomplished through their efforts and in the contemplation of the further usefulness which awaits their continued endeavor. in every enlightened country the value of popular education is fully recognized, not only as a direct benefit to its recipients, but as an element of strength and safety in organized society. considered in these aspects it should nowhere be better appreciated than in this land of free institutions consecrated to the welfare and happiness of its citizens, and deriving its sanction and its power from the people. here the character of the people is inevitably impressed upon the government, and here our public life can no more be higher and purer than the life of the people, than a stream can rise above its fountain or be purer than the spring in which it has its source. that we have not failed to realize these conditions is demonstrated by the establishment of free public schools on every side, where children are not only invited but often obliged to submit themselves to such instruction as will better their situation in life and fit them to take part intelligently in the conduct of the government. thus, in our schools the young are taught to read, and in this manner the seed is sown, from which we expect a profitable return to the state, when its beneficiaries shall repay the educational advances made to them by an intelligent and patriotic performance of their social and political duties. and yet if we are to create good citizenship, which is the object of popular education, and if we are to insure to the country the full benefit of public instruction, we can by no means consider the work as completely done in the schoolroom. while the young gathered there are fitting themselves to assume in the future their political obligations, there are others upon whom these obligations already rest, and who now have the welfare and safety of the country in their keeping. our work is badly done if these are neglected. they have passed the school age, and have perhaps availed themselves of free instruction; but they, as well as those still in the school, should, nevertheless, have within their reach the means of further mental improvement and the opportunity of gaining that additional knowledge and information which can only be secured by access to useful and instructive books. the husbandman who expects to gain a profitable return from his orchards, not only carefully tends and cultivates the young trees in his nurseries as they grow to maturity but he generously enriches and cares for those in bearing and upon which he must rely for ripened fruit. teaching the children of our land to read is but the first step in the scheme of creating good citizens by means of free instruction. we teach the young to read so that both as children and as men and women they may read. our teaching must lead to the habit and the desire of reading to be useful; and only as this result is reached can the work in our free schools be logically supplemented and made valuable. therefore, the same wise policy and intent which open the doors of our free schools to our young, also suggest the completion of the plan thus entered upon by placing books in the hands of those who in our schools have been taught to read. a man or woman who never reads and is abandoned to unthinking torpor, or who allows the entire mental life to be bounded by the narrow lines of the daily recurring routine of effort for mere existence, cannot escape a condition of barrenness of mind, which not only causes the decay of individual contentment and happiness, but which fails to yield to the state its justly expected return of usefulness in valuable service and wholesome political action. another branch of this question should not be overlooked. it is not only of great importance that our youth and our men and women should have the ability, the desire, and the opportunity to read, but the kind of books they read is no less important. without guidance and without the invitation and encouragement to read publications which will improve as well as interest, there is danger that our people will have in their hands books whose influence and tendency are of a negative sort, if not positively bad and mischievous. like other good things, the ability and opportunity to read may be so used as to defeat their beneficient purposes. the boy who greedily devours the vicious tales of imaginary daring and blood-curdling adventure which in these days are far too accessible to the young will have his brain filled with notions of life and standards of manliness which, if they do not make him a menace to peace and good order, will certainly not tend to make him a useful member of society. the man who devotes himself to the flash literature now much too common will, instead of increasing his value as a citizen, almost surely degenerate in his ideas of public duty and grow dull in appreciation of the obligations he owes his country. in both these cases there will be a loss to the state. there is danger also that a positive and aggressive injury to the community will result, and such readers will certainly suffer deprivation to the happiness and contentment which are the fruits of improving study and well-regulated thought. so, too, the young woman who seeks recreation and entertainment in reading silly and frivolous books, often of doubtful moral tendency, is herself in the way of becoming frivolous and silly, if not of weak morality. if she escapes this latter condition, she is certain to become utterly unfitted to bear patiently the burden of self-support or to assume the sacred duties of wife and mother. contemplating these truths, no one can doubt the importance of securing for those who read, as far as it is in our power, facilities for the study and reading of such books as will instruct and innocently entertain, and which will at the same time improve and correct the tastes and habits. there is another thought somewhat in advance of those already suggested, which should not pass unnoticed. as an outgrowth of the inventive and progressive spirit of our people, we have among us legions of men, and women, too, who restlessly desire to increase their knowledge of the new forces and agencies which at this time are being constantly dragged from their lurking-places and subjected to the use of man. those earnest inquirers should all be given a chance and have put within their reach such books as will guide and inspire their efforts. if by this means the country shall gain to itself a new inventor or be the patron of endeavor which shall add new elements to the sum of human happiness and comfort, its intervention will be well repaid. these considerations, and the fact that many among us having the ability and inclination to read are unable to furnish themselves with profitable and wholesome books amply justify the beneficient mission of our free circulating library. its plan and operation, so exactly adjusted to meet a situation which cannot safely be ignored and to wants which ought not to be neglected, establish its claim upon the encouragement and reasonable aid of the public authorities and commend it most fully to the support and generosity of private benefaction. the development which this good work has already reached in our city has exhibited the broad field yet remaining untouched and the inadequacy of present operations. it has brought to view also instances of noble individual philanthropy and disinterested private effort and contribution. but it certainly seems that the time and money directed towards this object are confined to a circle of persons far too narrow, and that the public encouragement and aid have been greatly disproportioned to private endeavor. the city of new york has never shown herself willing to be behind other cities in such work as is done by our free circulating library, and while her people are much engrossed in business activity and enterprise they have never yet turned away from a cause once demonstrated to them to be so worthy and useful as this. the demonstration is at hand. let it be pressed upon our fellow citizens, and let them be shown the practical operation of the project you have in hand and the good it has accomplished, and the further good of which it is capable through their increased liberality, and it will be strange if they fail to respond generously to your appeal to put the city of new york in the front rank of the cities which have recognized the usefulness of the free circulating libraries. the wadsworth athenaeum addresses at the opening of its library in hartford, conn., jan. , . these addresses, by charles dudley warner and charles h. clark, are reprinted from brief abstracts given in _the library journal_ of january, . charles dudley warner was born in plainfield, mass., sept. , and graduated at hamilton college in . he practised law in chicago in - and in became managing editor of the hartford, conn., _press_. in on its consolidation with the _courant_, he became co-editor. he was made associate editor of _harper's magazine_ in , and died at hartford, oct. , . he was widely popular as an essayist, first gaining favorable notice by his "my summer in a garden." this building and its contents are contributory to the excellence and enjoyment of life exactly as bushnall park is--not merely that it is a place of rest and recreation, but it is a training in beauty, in the appreciation of nobleness, and in the public and private refinement. culture is a plant of rather slow growth. i suppose there never was such a change wrought, almost instantaneously, in a people as was wrought in the american people by the opening and exhibition of the philadelphia centennial of . its effect was at once apparent everywhere. but knowledge precedes culture, culture being, after all, but another name for educational taste. now this institution is simply a means for the culture of the city of hartford, in all ways, because literature and art--not taken externally, but absorbed as a part of our lives, not only of knowledge, but of experience--are the things that make life worth living. no one can speak too highly of the offices of a great library. it was one of our great essayists, you remember, who said that the monastery--speaking of it with reference to its books--was the ark that floated down over the tempest and darkness of the middle ages, in order to carry classic learning to the fifteenth century. they were repositories of learning. that is the old idea. and for a long time--almost to our day--that was the notion of the library. it was a place to put something away. it was not even like a market for the sale of provisions or eggs; indeed, if they were eggs the librarians thought it their duty to sit on them, with the idea that they might hatch out other books. that was a noble thing to do. but much better than that is to scatter these books abroad among the people, so that we shall not have reproduction--an egg for an egg--but that these books will so revivify the life that we shall have books new, that express the actual conditions and that appeal to the human life as it is. this is the modern idea of the library. this great collection, which is not to be secluded, is to be carried and even forced upon the people, so that it shall enter into and become a part of their daily lives. you remember, perhaps, what milton says about the books, in that noblest of noble defences of unlicensed printing, that "they are not dead things. as good almost," he says, "kill a man as you kill a good book. who kills a man, kills a reasonable being, made in god's image. who destroys a good book destroys reason itself, kills the image of god as it were, in the eye. many a man," he goes on to say, "lives a burden to the earth, but a good book is the precious life blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life; so that if we slay a good book we would slay immortality rather than a life." charles hopkins clark, who immediately followed mr. warner, was at this time editor in chief of _the hartford courant_, of which mr. warner was co-editor. mr. clark was born in hartford april , , graduated at yale, and joined the _courant_ staff in , becoming editor in . one of the earliest sins of my youth, or rather one of the earliest that is burnt into my memory, was committed in the library of what was then the young men's institute. i spoke out loud! the rebuke that i received sent me down the stairs overwhelmed with a sense of the enormity of my crime, yet more than sustained by joy to think that i had escaped the utter annihilation with which my reprimand was freighted. and i can say that the awe with which i used to enter that chamber of silence, and the fear with which i regarded the librarian were the common property of all the young people of that somewhat remote period. but long since we found out that the old librarian was one of the gentlest and most inoffensive men, and that we had misunderstood him as completely as he had misunderstood us. but i have no such gloomy recollection, nor to be honest, have i any recollection at all of the wadsworth athenaeum gallery, because, like everybody else who then lived in hartford, i never went in there. the door was often open and the only sentinel on guard had no more formidable weapon than a pair of knitting-needles. but no one ever crossed that threshold. the simple legend, traced on a placard at the door, "admission ten cents," did the business, or rather, to be more elegant as well as accurate, prevented any business being done. the people who came up the stone steps read the notice and turned off to the left to the library or to the right to the historical society, where entrance was free. i say free, but freedom must have its limits if we are to have safety, so the tin sign on the outside of the door gave notice to the always unwelcome boy that he could not go in until he reached the mature age of twelve years. that was one of the things that i wanted to grow to full manhood for. and i well remember my first visit there. as i walked slowly up the stairs i wondered what venerable monument of patriotic achievement, what new inspiration to love for our noble state whose history is such a priceless treasure, what vision of heroic self-sacrifice in her behalf would first burst upon my eager eyes when i should look around the hall. i looked and lo! there in a glass jar stood the chaste but familiar figure of charles hosmer's night-blooming cereus--the modest pioneer of the canned-fruit industry in this community. i have made this brief review in order to suggest to you the state of innocuous desuetude in which for more or less time the various miscalled interests in this building had been lying for lack of any interest at all. the library had a limited and dwindling clientage. the athenaeum was deserted. the historical society, with no funds and few friends, was exhibiting a collection of animal, vegetable, and mineral curiosities, while its real treasures of history and truth were by lock and key shut off from the very public for whom they were collected and preserved. look at that picture, then look at this which greets us here to day. in these elegant and spacious buildings the whole public of hartford is welcome, without money and without price. the circulating library will furnish every home with books, and miss hewins, who has devoted her life to this town, is always ready to help the younger readers. the library of reference, monument alike to mr. watkinson's liberality and dr. trumbull's rare judgment and life-long devoted service as a librarian, offers free to all students the authorities on every branch of knowledge. the historical society, with improved facilities, has been able to adopt a more liberal policy, and is widening its claim upon public interest, and so increasing its usefulness, and, thanks largely to the women of hartford, the art gallery and art school are ready to spread their refining and wholesome influence all through this community. libraries as leaven this address was delivered at the inauguration of the free public library, madison, wis., by prof. james d. butler. james davie butler was born in rutland, vt., march , , and was graduated at middlebury college, vt., in . he entered the congregational ministry, and held the chairs of ancient languages in wabash college, - and the university of wisconsin, - , after which he devoted himself to lecturing and writing until his death in madison in . my subject is "libraries as leaven," or the relation of libraries to the increased diffusion of knowledge. what is a library? it is the knowledge of all brought within the reach of each one. it is an expanded encyclopædia, or the books which are, or ought to be, consulted in compiling a perfect encyclopædia. human knowledge--and hence the books in which it is treasured up--is divided by some authors into forty departments. i have their names here all written down--but i dare not read them. you would give no more quarter to such a catalogue than the lover gave to the mercantile inventory of his sweetheart's charms, when itemized as "two lips indifferent red," "two gray eyes with lids to them," and so on. but all these forty classes of knowledge ought to be represented in a library, and the more largely the better. they should also mingle there in due proportion, "parts into parts reciprocally shot, and all so forming a harmonious whole." "if the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?" i once lived in a town of a thousand families, where, through a legacy, one copy of some single author was annually presented to each family. but, with the same money, a thousand different works might have been every year purchased, and all kept accessible by all the families. the result would have been a feast as appetizing to all palates as the miraculous manna which the rabbins tell us tasted to each jew like that particular dainty which he loved best. it is no objection to a library that no man will ever read it through. no man will read through his dictionary, and time is not long enough for a man to read all the words in the daily _tribune_. nor will any customer exhaust a store. yet he demands an assortment from which to select the little that he needs. in every library most authors, bound up in congenial calf, sleep soundly in their own sheets. yet the dust of dead men's bones, at the touch of genius, comes forth in a new life. how much that is best in macaulay and in buckle is extracted from bibliothecal rubbish--or reading which had never been read. hence even samson could not say to the jaw-bone of an ass: "i have no need of you." the wise thank god for fools. they get their living out of them, and mostly out of the greatest fools. in truth, no library is large enough. guizot and michelet complain of inability to consult certain books, even in that parisian library, where books are as plenty as water in the deluge, and the shelves would reach from here to milwaukee. a library should be a cosmos; but it is a chaos till arrangement, catalogues and librarians bring us at once the volume we desire, and which, without them, would be as hard to fish up as the atlantic cable lost in mid-ocean. "thus warlike arms in magazines we place, all ranged in order and disposed with grace: not thus alone the curious eye to please, but to be _found_, when need requires, with ease." in some libraries, however, books are arranged on a system which seems borrowed from spanish hospitals, where patients are arranged according to religious creeds, rather than bodily complaints. every library has more volumes than i can master; but no library though it be the conflux of all civilizations, has so many volumes as i may need to consult. chief justice story used to assert that no american could test the accuracy of gibbon without crossing the atlantic. such an assertion would now, perhaps, be extravagant, yet many of gibbon's references are still hard to trace in america. one instance may be worth notice. our approaching national centenary leads us to curiosity in reference to the secular feasts of the romans. in gibbon's account of the most famous among them, a thousand years from the founding of rome, the main authority quoted is zosimus. but the history of zosimus you will seek in vain throughout madison libraries. you will not find his name in the public collections of chicago, or cincinnati, or st. louis, or san francisco. it is unlikely that any single copy of zosimus has yet penetrated west of our atlantic slope. but how dare i thus speak about zosimus? how is it possible for me to know whether his history can, or cannot, be discovered, either on the pacific shore, or in the mississippi valley? i know it, thanks to the library of our historical society, and specifically to its goodly array of bibliothecal catalogues. why will not our centenary women's club buy our free library a zosimus? free libraries, especially those maintained by public taxation, were scarcely known before the last half of the nineteenth century. if in an antiquarian mood, i could indeed bring forth curious details concerning half a hundred in continental europe, some of them running back several centuries, but i forbear. the earliest british library law, similar to ours in wisconsin, dates from . the earliest in massachusetts--and i suppose in america--was approved may , . the first library opened in consequence of this law was in new bedford, march , . the grandest triumph under the massachusetts law is in boston. the free library there stands to-day surpassed in volumes by only three or four american libraries--say the astor, congress, and harvard--while in arrangement, architecture, and equipment it is pronounced by the most enlightened foreigners unsurpassed by any library in the world. our legislature in empowered the mayors and councils in towns and cities to lay an annual tax of one mill on a dollar of the assessed valuation, for establishing and maintaining free libraries. this law will bear good fruit. yet it is a step backward from the act of . that act created a library fund by setting apart for that purpose one-tenth of the school-fund income, and imposing a tax of one-tenth of a mill on all property. the sum of $ , . had been thus accumulated when the war of broke out,--and the money was used for military purposes. it ought to be refunded by the state, or united states, and expended for its original object. the great superiority of the law of lies in its extending to rural districts,--and so leaving no hamlet unvisited--while the maxim of the present law is, "coals to newcastle, owls to athens, apples to alcinous. he that hath--to him shall be given." it gives a library to madison, where , volumes were already within reach, but nothing at all to five and twenty other places in dane county, whose need of books is ten times greater. but libraries bring forth after their kind, and free libraries, we may hope, will become co-extensive with free schools. madison, to-day, in opening to all her sons and daughters a free library, has outstripped every other municipality in the state. it is a noble preëminence, and will do her honor to the end of the world. the madison free library, it may be reasonably hoped, will approximate to the bibliothecal ideal. it starts with an inheritance of , volumes, accumulated during a score of years by the madison institute. its revenue is considerable, and it will grow in even pace with the growth of the city. nothing but adam and minerva was ever born of full stature. the tax now assessed for it would impoverish no man till after the lapse of thrice three thousand years. it was limited to less than a third of what the law allows because we make the entering edge of a wedge thin, and would learn wisdom from satan who never makes his temptations so bad at the beginning as at the end. is is only the first step that costs. the free library will be ready for windfalls, and so surely as history repeats itself, they will pour cornucopias into its lap. of the million volumes in the british museum, two out of every five were gifts. no wonder. book-gatherers abhor the breaking up of their collections as we do the dissolution of the union, or as abolitionists did the snapping of family ties by slave-traders. lest what they have joined together shall be put asunder, they rejoice to lay up their treasures in an institution which shall never die. accordingly, in tracing the origin of one hundred and eighty libraries in continental europe, it has been discovered that all of them, except sixteen, were presented to the municipalities by book-lovers. experience this side the atlantic is thus far equally encouraging. i will notice a single specimen. the boston free library is mainly contributed by individuals. one thousand volumes were given by everett; , by bowditch; , by theodore parker; , by joshua bates; , by the old south church, and those of greater rarity than any other equal number of volumes. then ticknor and prescott bestowed the best spanish library ever gathered by private men, and wheelwright one scarcely inferior, relating to south america. of pecuniary benefactions, i will only mention $ , from lawrence, $ , from phillips, and $ , from bates. but legacies to the free library have become so common that we may confidently expect that, if any bostonian shall die and bequeath it nothing, the courts will decide the neglect of the library to be conclusive proof of insanity, and so will nullify his will! on the whole, we cannot be too sanguine concerning the prospective progress of our book-feast for the million. but a library, however perfect, and though freely open to all the world, may be a light shining in a darkness which comprehendeth it not. many years ago, i was a student in such a library at rome. it was larger than any one in america at that time, and offered the best of all its stores daily to everybody, and that without charge. yet it was well-nigh a solitude. the reason was obvious. my walk thither was through a gauntlet of beggar-boys, and i once took with me an italian primer, and cried out that i would give something to any boy who could read. i held it up before nineteen in succession, but no one could spell out a line. they had eschewed not only writing as tempting to forgery, but reading also as a black art. had they been giants they could,--like the barbarians who sacked rome,--ruin, but not relish, the nectared sweets of books. to them the collective wisdom of the world was as sunshine to the blind, or as smoke in the nursery riddle,--"roomful, houseful, can't catch a handful!" "or like gospel pearls which pigs neglect when pigs have that opportunity." but in regard to _our_ free library, i have better hopes, and beg your leave to show _what use_, in my judgment, will be made of it. it will be resorted to for _amusement_. some will flit through it in the spirit of the viennese, who turn their central cathedral into a thoroughfare on promenades and business walks. but such visitors will learn something in glancing at the backs of books. books, as well as men, have a physiognomy. here, as elsewhere, the admirers of shakespeare will take out his plays, return them with the leaves uncut, and then insist that booksellers be instructed if mr. shakespeare writes any new book, to forward it without further orders. many will have no eyes except for the volumes of _fiction_, and sometimes will rather run through these than read them. novels are a sort of cake, which, if eaten alone, is prone to make mental dyspeptics. yet most novel-readers will gain some profit from our library. some of them will here acquire a facility in reading which for lack of practice has hitherto been unknown to them. no one has really learned to read, until he has read to learn. their interest in stories will beguile the toil of becoming _ready_ readers, and their range of reading will naturally widen. but if it does not, they may learn much. every good fiction is _true_, if not to particular fact yet to general principles, to natural scenery, to human nature, to the ways of human life, manners, customs, the very age and body of the time. even tom moore declares that "his chief work of fiction is founded on a long and labourious collection of facts." again, when worn out by work, when care-crazed, and nerves are unstrung, who has not found in fiction--the balm of hurt minds--a recreation, a city of refuge, a restorative. "cups that cheer but not inebriate?" in this way our free library will be a new pleasure, and the founder of it deserves the reward offered by the sicilian tyrant, for such an invention. work was never so monotonous as now; accordingly, play ought to be more than ever amusing. the kilkenny cats, who devoured each other all but the tails, left one orphan kitten which began to eat up itself, but catching sight of a mouse was diverted from suicide. there is among us more than one disconsolate kitten now destroying himself, who will in our free feast of fiction espy a mouse which will reconcile him to life, and save him from himself. the rationale of this solace is indicated after a forcible, though rather a homely fashion, in the chinese saying: "a dog chasing game does not mind the fleas which he _barks_ at while he lies in his kennel." "the labour we delight in physics pain." again, in all great works of fiction the purpose is, while not o'erstepping the modesty of nature, to show virtue her own feature, and scorn her own image. who can count the admirers of scott and dickens that have learned from their portraitures moral lessons so well as never to forget them;--to loathe the mean and aspire to the noble;--to shun evil and cleave to good--in spite of temptations to one and from the other? but, after all, our book-treasury will only now and then bestow its best gifts on those who resort to it merely for pleasure. to most visitors of this class it must remain no more than a telescope to a child, something to play with rather than to look through. accordingly, they no more exhaust the capacities of books than the irish made full proof of potatoes while they cooked only the balls and left the tubers to rot in the ground. but the free library will be resorted to for _instruction_. few will always hold the amusing button so close to their eyes that it will hide the instructive sun. from the start it will be superior to every private collection in the city, and its superiority will increase. accordingly, professional men will come thither to inform themselves either each in his own specialty, or sallying on excursions from their home fields. besides the time-honoured and traditional three professions, editors and teachers will be there, learning how to answer the hard questions of pupils and subscribers. each of these professionals will more or less make known what he learns. the bibliothecal odor will be as plain upon them as a certain other odor is upon those who emerge from the smoking-car or saloon. "dispensing native perfumes they whisper whence they stole those balmy spoils." but the bibliothecal leaven will leaven the community more _directly_. god has set geniuses as great lights in the firmament to give light and delight as well on the earth. the circuit of such suns is unto the ends of the heaven, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. more and more pervasive is their influence, like the spring-time, which leaves no corner of the land untouched. in a library every man will recognize some supreme author transfiguring whatever he touches,--crystallizing into diamonds by wit, turning to gold with poetry, and glorifying as with tongues of angels by eloquence, and whom he hence worships as scotchmen do burns and as all the world does shakespeare. less and less do men entertain angels unawares, more and more are they ashamed to know the world's books only by name. nobody now asks concerning paradise lost, "what does it prove?" moreover, the free library will be patronized by the people in quest of answers to multitudinous questions. newspapers, whether in its reading-room or out of it, will rouse in many directions a curiosity they cannot satisfy, and so will urge to the library. there is a story that an englishman in a london library, after looking through an atlas, said to a friend, "help me find _umbrage_ on the map! i read in my gazette that the french have taken _umbrage_. what a good-for-nothing minister is ours--to leave _umbrage_ so poorly defended that the french could take it." that john bull discovered in the library either _umbrage_, or what was better for him--his own ignorance and the way to remove it, "taking umbrage" against himself. his gazette probably brought the same earnest inquirer to the library for _history_ as well as for geography. a daily paper, which is the history of the world for one day, leads backward, as a stream carries our thoughts to its fountain. whoever repairs to a library with one historical query will be likely to repeat his visit, since newspapers, in the light of history, will become more significant as the last chapter in a novel is more interesting to those who have read the previous chapters, and so often leads one back to them. again, discussions are always arising, not merely in formal debates, but as we sit in the house and walk by the way. some carry them on by assertions and counter-assertions--a strong will and a strong won't--equally positive and ignorant, discussing and sometimes leaving off the _dis_, till like milton's devils they find no end, in wandering mazes lost. too often "it comes to pass that a terrible oath, with a swaggering accent twanged off, gives an opinion more approbation than ever proof itself would have earned it." others back up their opinions by _wagers_, in spite of a lurking feeling that "bets are the blockhead's argument,-- the only logic he can vent, his minor and his major.-- 'tis to confess your head a worse investigator than your purse, to reason with a wager." but where standard books are at hand, investigation will often either take the place of disputation, or bring strife to a speedy end. let us hope those here seeking props for their arguments will never be those jealous lovers of books who cannot use them without using them up, or who spirit them away for themselves alone. such abductors have sometimes infested the libraries in the capitol. their thefts can be justified only by that casuistry which holds stealing the relics of saints for a pious fraud. but in truth the more holy the saint, the more heinous the sacrilege of what hood calls _book_-aneering. moreover, every _lecture_ delivered in the city will send some investigators to the library, that they may confute, or confirm, or amplify its teachings. a lecture that pops will not be as surely _popular_ as formerly, if the library shall evince that what is true in it is not new, and that what is new is not true, or that the speaker draws on imaginations for facts and on facts for imaginations. every meeting of our women's centennial club will start inquiries which cannot be answered without recourse to the library. it is certain that books of _travel_ will here be largely consulted. some of us purpose to go abroad. such will read beforehand in order to add a precious seeing to their eyes. they would dislike to have their experiences those of a lady who when asked what she saw in rome answered "dirt," or of the london barber who at the coronation of napoleon remembered nothing except that the emperor was well shaved, or of the bostonian fresh from the west who, when called on for his opinion of madison, said it would be a pretty fair massachusetts village if it were not spoiled by so many fresh water ponds around it. others among us have travelled already, and we shall be studious in the library that we may ascertain what we ought to have seen--but did not, or the meaning of what we did see, but which was greek to us. the shah of persia noted in his journal that of all the fine things in europe the finest to his mind was a show of wax work. his library would teach him better, and would not laugh at him, as we do. a vermont friend of mine, after his trip to london, when asked whether he saw westminster abbey, confessed that he did not, but added that westminster abbey was out of town at the time of his visit. if he had free course in our library he would hardly excuse himself in that way again. soon after crossing the mississippi at burlington, i heard a new york merchant, bound for california, remarking: "how much geography one learns in travelling. here is burlington. i always thought it in illinois, but now i find it is in missouri." library-reading may by this time have added insight to his sight, and convicted him of the blunder which i suffered to pass uncorrected, though we chatted miles together. there are others of us who, on hearing a traveller's tales, are curious to examine how far we, like the old prophet, should count the way-faring man a fool, and how far he uses his license to lie. hence they will read that they may make up their minds whether all mark twain's caricatures have the ring of truth. a german table d'hote of twenty courses will surfeit a careless diner before it is half over, and yet fail to afford him either what he likes best or what he should like best. hence it compels guests to a careful choice what they will partake of and what refuse of the blessing there is no room to receive in its fulness. a similar influence will be exerted by the free library where we fall into the embarassment of riches. we shall be driven to select from its bill of fare, that is the catalogue, that fraction which we can enjoy most and which will profit us most. "taste after taste upheld by kindliest change." some persons, when they survey a library and perceive that they can never read the hundredth part of its volumes, will be attracted to those works which teach "what to read," or open a panoramic outlook on the diversified regions of the bookish world. "of all the best of man's best knowledges, the contents, indexes and title-pages, through all past, present, and succeeding ages." unless we thus liberalize our views we are likely to vegetate, like the rhubarb pie plant, under a barrel, and see the world only through its bunghole. ignorant of bibliographical guides and hence at a loss how to estimate books, the steward of a british nobleman sold as rubbish all volumes in the library which lacked _covers_. one of those thus disposed of, and bought by a pedlar for nine pence, proved to be the very earliest issue of the british press, snapped up by the british museum for £ , and could not now be bought for ten times that sum. in regard to the _intrinsic_ value of books blunders more egregious are daily made. libraries were never so needful as now, for libraries and life never lay so close to one another as now. our familiar sights lead to interest in recondite knowledge. photography, gas, the locomotive, kerosene, yes, every match that lights it, provokes questions in chemistry, or philosophy, which not every library can answer. no one can gaze at the dome of our capitol without naturally falling into architectural inquiries which draw him through a world of books that expose the nakedness of his ignorance, yet never put him to open shame. but the truth is too palpable to dwell on that in our day life touches libraries at every point. in all libraries there are readers whose emblem is dead fish who follow the stream, but thanks to various accidents, some of this class, ceasing to be passive recipients, begin to investigate as active seekers. they at once rise to a higher mental plane. the contrast between active seekers and passive recipients is analogous to that between the mountaineers and the maritime aborigines of california. the mountaineers lived on grizzly bears--food which it was impossible to seize without tasking their energies to the utmost. but tasking trains. the maritimes lived on salmon, which were so abundant and so tame that they could be caught by fishers who lay basking in the sun. but basking enervates. naturally enough no indians are superior to the mountaineers who are active seekers, nor yet inferior to the maritimes, who are passive recipients. what investigators seek they will not find at once; they may never find it. but they are sure to discover something better, so that they will say with lessing, in the library at wolfenbuttel, "were god to hold truth in one hand and search in the other, and give me my choice, i would say: give me seeking without finding, rather than finding without seeking!" "all things that are, are with more spirit chased than enjoyed." courtship once over, the novel ends. in the library where lessing was made librarian--not that he might serve the library, but that the library might serve him--i took in my hand with reverence the inkstand out of which he distilled the essence of a thousand books, and reformed german literature as radically as luther had reformed german religion. all truths being inter-dependent, every road will lead to the end of the world, and so while studying one subject a man becomes interested in others, and his range of inquiry expands. when he kindles one dry stick, many green ones will catch, and his brightest blazes are lit up by unexpected sparks. one quickly learns to love hunting, and before working up many topics, he forms an investigating habit which will perpetuate itself. thus while seeking an oyster, he finds a pearl, like saul who sought asses and found a kingdom. henceforth he reads more by subjects, each a cord to string pearls on, than by volumes, for he feels that, "unless to some particular end designed, reading is but a specious trifling of the mind, and then, like ill-digested food, to humors turns and not to blood." but less and less of that sort is his reading, though it range through all time, and tax all the world. such an inquirer will live longer than methuselah, for he will have more thoughts, yet he will wish each of his minutes was a millenary. he will read with an appetite growing as long as he lives; indeed reading will help him to live longer. a thousand such readers feel what one has spoken out, saying: "in a library i was thrown, instead of worse society, into the company of poets, philosophers and sages--to me good angels and ministers of grace. from these silent instructors who often do more than fathers for our interests, from these delightful associates i learned something of the divine and more of the human religion. they were my interpreters in the house beautiful of god, and my guides among the delectable mountains of nature, blessing be with them and eternal praise, who gave me nobler loves and nobler cares." pre-eminently to the _young_ will the myriad-minded library be an oracle in perplexities. they have been better trained in public schools than we of the last generation were. they have broken ground in more various studies, and their curiosity has been stimulated concerning more questions. each question, each study puts in their hand a new _key_ to the locks which shut up libraries. singers love to sing, and it is joy for the just to do justice, so will our youth rejoice to use in the library the skill they have acquired in school as naturally as when they get jack knives they take to whittling. the public schools then find in free libraries their fitting supplement, and complement. schools without libraries feed a prisoner with salted viands and then tantalize his thirst with pitchers and bottles, all empty. the free school and the free library will join hands like husband and wife in a well-matched marriage. "he is the half-part of a blessed man, left to be finished by such as she; and she a fair divided excellence, whose fulness of perfection lies in him; but two such silver currents when they join, do glorify the banks that bind them in. each befits the other, as alexander said concerning the finest poem and the most costly casket in the world when he enshrined the iliad in the persian box of gold and gems. both are lotteries where tickets cost nothing and everybody may draw all the prizes. in addition to this, the free library will be to some nothing less than an _inspiration_. _to some_--i wish i could say _to all_, but alas, it is only an "elect few" whom the library can inspire. spectacles are invaluable,--but only to those who have eyes. one sultan never wore a shirt that had not every word of the koran written on it yet absorbed little piety. aaron's excuse for making only a golden calf was, that the jews did not bring him gold enough to make an ox. the cherubim who know most can never equal the seraphim who love most. an ugly and stupid man, walking with a lady on each arm, boasts that he is between wit and beauty, but may not imbibe one particle of either. to some, however, a free library will make up for the lack of a liberal education. more than that. it will furnish such an education every jot and tittle of it, and that, in some sense, better than was ever bestowed in a college, because acquired in the face of greater difficulties. libraries have often vouchsafed this priceless boon. that in salem did to bowditch, the mathematician, in the last century, and to whipple, the essayist, in this. the edinburgh library made hume an historian. another was inspiration to cobbett. so was that of the erfurt convent to luther. "it had purchased," says his biographer, "at heavy cost, several latin bibles just printed for the first time in the neighboring city of mainz. when he first opened one of these tomes his eyes fell on the story of hannah and samuel. "o, god," he murmured, "could i have one of these books i would seek no other worldly treasure." a great revolution then took place in his soul. his happiest hours were in the library. concerning such a scholar-- "we cannot say: ''tis pity he lacks instructions,' for he seems a master to most that teach." the influence of ancient libraries on classical writers is manifest from their quotations. plutarch's have been traced to authors. pliny's to , works. classical libraries preserved in constantinople, so long as studied, made there a goshen of light in the dark ages, and when carried to italy proved a promethean spark to kindle occidental culture anew. it is well known that inventions are oftenest struck out in the patent office, the grand store-house of inventions. in the world of mind, as well as of matter, new ideas are suggested where old ideas most congregate, or are most communed with. according to chaucer, "out of old fields, as man saith, cometh all the new corn from year to year, and out of old books, in good faith, cometh all the new science that men lear." the idea of writing the "life of columbus" first darted into the mind of irving, when, in madrid, he found himself surrounded by an unrivaled magazine of materials made ready to his hand, and for which the world had been ransacked. thus the sight of means to make good books makes good books made. not only those volumes which compose the body of literature, but those finer essences which form its soul,--the literature of power,--stamped in nature's mint of ecstasy--are marked all over with proofs of familiarity with the best that had been achieved,--each in its own department. nobody has hesitated thus to affirm concerning virgil, dante, tasso, milton. but it is commonly said that shakespeare was _ignorant_. the truth is that no ignorant man, no ordinary, scholar can understand his allusions, historical, romantic, classical, or those to art, science, nationalities, customs--or even his words. he could get more from a library in a day than most men in a life-time, but he needed it still. in speaking of shakespeare, i mean the man who wrote the plays reputed his, no matter whether that author was bacon, or john smith, or even our townsman george b. we ought to say that shakespeare was a universal man,--because he was heir of all ages,--and his was universal knowledge, a knowledge which neither can we fathom nor could he find without a library. his peculiarity was ability to discern the immortal part of books, or to stamp what were otherwise perishable with his own immortality. whoever can do much without tools, can do more with them. accordingly men do their broken weapons rather use than their bare hands. whoever can do much without a library, can do more with a library. david did much with a sling, but more with better arms, and builded an armory on which there hung a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. if then there be among us any one person endued with any spark of shakespearian or other genius he will find it kindling to a flame through contact in this library with similar celestial fires. to such a "meeting soul!" as milton calls it,--the library will prove a better bonanza than has been prospected in our states of silver and gold. though having nothing he shall possess all things,--infinite riches in a little room. thus our free library will amuse, and instruct, and inspire. over its entrance i seem to read as on the front of the oldest in the world, the inscription, "the healing of the soul," or the words of franklin to his namesake town, "i give you books instead of a bell, sense rather than sound." let it have free course for a generation, calling to culture as ceaselessly as a standing army calls to war, and this community will say with seneca, "leisure without books and letters is mental death and burial." the first public library in ohio--just two years younger than the state--was founded in ames. it was bought by hunters who threw together a lot of raccoon skins, sent them in a sleigh by one of their number to boston and there bartered them for books. they soon hunted greek as zealously as game, and while ames remained a hamlet ten of them, or their children, were among the early graduates of the state university. the influences of a library are _cumulative_, and sometimes become manifest only after a long lapse of ages. the cuniform library of assyrian bricks, dating from pre-historic periods, burned up, buried and forgotten just now emerges from its grave speaking in a voice heard round the world, and no less authoritative than a second book of genesis. from its shelves more centuries look down upon us than upon napoleon at the pyramids. libraries are hemmed in by no lines of state, nation, race, language, religion or century. their field is the world. but ours is the cosmopolitan age, and we are pre-eminently the cosmopolitan people. more than any other people, then must we feel the need of libraries, which are, of all institutions, the most cosmopolitan. hence they will benefit us most. considerations like these demonstrate that free libraries tend to _equality_ and _fraternity_. they are free lunches, crying to all: "cut, and come again!" as we all have equal rights at the polls and in court, so have we in the free library. in church we each secure a blessing in proportion to our capacity; so can we in the library. in both blessed are they who hunger and thirst, for they shall be filled. in public schools all can enjoy the best of teaching without money and without price; so can they in the free library. free libraries will create an aristocracy--one open to talent and toil, but to nothing else; the aristocracy of knowledge. where street cars have been introduced, half the private carriages are soon given up, so the establishment of free libraries will lead many to refrain from large domestic collections as superfluous, and to the transfer of many a private library to the public shelves, where they will not only do more good, but will be better cared for, better arranged, and more accessible than they now are even to their owners. one millionaire as we walked into his library, said with a sigh: "see how many gaps there are in my shelves! five hundred of my books are missing, lent and lost." "lost!" cried i, half in joke, "say rather found! lost to you, but found each by some one who will make the most of them. would to heaven these , were lost in the same way, lost by you who have no time nor care for them, found by those who have both. nobody could steal them from you, but at most only from moths and worms, dust and mould." rich men who have bought libraries as luxuries will learn that the way to save them is to lose them, and that their books serve them best when deposited in free libraries. many varieties of _sham_ equality result from outside pressure. in venetian gondolas all awnings are required to be black that no one may outshine his neighbor. under the first republic the french proscribed all titles but citizen, and citizeness, which they gave to everybody. communists would make all men's shares in property equal. endeavors of this sort not only fail, but prove suicidal like the impetuous irishman, insisting that one man is as good as another, and _a great dey better too_. the influence of free libraries, however is toward genuine and not merely visible equality. thanks to them the most expensive luxury of the rich becomes the daily food of the poor, and the tree of knowledge no more bears forbidden fruit. a volume which i can draw out of a library at will is worth as much to me as if i owned it. in fact, though my private library is not small, the books i read are more often borrowed than my own. if i take out books from a library, i am doubly spurred to to make their contents my own, because those books must be returned more promptly than to the friend who neither exacts fines nor yet even notes in a book what book we borrow. franklin tells us that "he often sat up reading, the greater part of the night, when a book borrowed (he means _stolen_) from booksellers in the evening, was to be returned in the morning lest it should be found missing." in proportion as men make full proof of books, they become alike _inside_, in real communion with great authors, in information, taste, mental capacity, mastery of speech,--accomplishments which cannot be lost, and which render each one more equal and congenial with his fellows. men will still differ by god, not by man. what then is the free library less than the key stone in our republican arch? when we would show attention to strangers, it has been a madison custom to take them into our cemetery. that grave yard is well worth showing. but in time to come i trust we shall rather exhibit our libraries, and say; "these are our jewels." not tombs, but living shrines that on the living still work miracles,--the shrines where all the relics of the saints full of true virtue are preserved, where the dead live and the dumb speak--the dead sceptered sovereigns who still rule our spirits from their urns. this sun of our intellectual worlds is "made porous to receive and drink the liquid light, firm to retain its gathered beams, great palace now of light, hither as to a fountain countless stars repairing in their golden urns draw light." let us rejoice in it all glorious within, even as our capitol and university parks are without. a library,--the assembled souls of all men deem most wise, the only men who speak loud enough for posterity to hear;--reminds me of that fresco by raphael, which i admired most of all his vatican masterpieces, popularly styled "the school of athens," and which i hope to see hung up as the genius of our library hall, as i have seen it in many. in some one of the fifty-two figures glowing with life in that picture, every variety of culture has a representative. you see there the practical man, like franklin's poor richard, in diogenes rough and ready by his tub. archimedes is drawing a diagram in the sand. on the broad steps of a temple stand ptolemy, with the terrestrial and hipparchus with the celestial globe. no sage is without a docile retinue. socrates, with sly humor, is humbling the self-sufficient alcibiades that he may rouse him to loftier aspirations. pythagoras is writing among disciples, one of whom holds his musical scale, while above all, and in the midst of the temple, appear aristotle, father of natural philosophy, pointing down to the earth, and plato, the father of spiritual philosophy with hand uplifted toward heaven, man as it were feeling for god. the culture proffered in such a school of athens, as raphael painted--and as an ideal free library is to my mind, has its fittest emblem in the miracle of architecture, the dome,--which is well said to unite clustered arches and pillars and radiate in equal expansion towards every quarter of the earth, while with every convergent curve it soars heavenward, buried in air, and looking to the stars. "simple, erect, severe, austere, sublime." the free public library this section, devoted to the general relations of the library and society, which opened with a historical account by prof. moses coit tyler, may appropriately close with another of similar tenor, contributed eleven years later to _the american magazine of civics_ (new york, may, ) by prof. henry h. barber. it covers some of the same ground but gives results to a later date, while it is still only introductory to the social development of more recent years. henry hervey barber was born in warwick, mass., dec. , , graduated at meadville theological seminary in and after holding several unitarian pastorates was professor of philosophy and theology there from to . he was also editor of the unitarian review from to . he died about . no public institution has made greater progress during the last few years or grown more rapidly in public interest and favor than the free public library. the building of a magnificent structure in chicago, together with the excellent newberry free reference library, and in cooperation with the fast growing library of the chicago university, will make perhaps the most superb public provision for free literary culture ever furnished by any municipality. boston has lately transferred its more than half a million volumes to the new and noble public library building on the back bay. the newspapers of this last week tell us that in new york mr. tilden is after all not to be finally counted out; but that the two millions rescued from his estate by the high sense of honor of one of his heirs is to be joined with the invaluable astor library, and the choice lennox reference library, and all made free and available to the public--a property valued in the aggregate at eight million dollars. these events, together with the recent founding of the carnegie free libraries in pittsburg and allegheny, the not very remote establishment of the enoch pratt free library in baltimore, and the addition by mr. henry c. lea to the splendid ridgway foundation in philadelphia, constitute a series of brilliant triumphs for the free public library, unparalleled in the history of educational institutions, and seldom equalled, i must think, in the intellectual progress of civilization. nor do these metropolitan successes indicate, after all, the most essential advance. the frequency with which private beneficence is coming to the aid of public enterprise in smaller cities and country towns, for the establishment and increase of these libraries; the recent notable instances of stimulative auxiliary legislation; and the growth of intelligent interest in new and widely scattered sections of the civilized world, are equally significant, and perhaps even more widely beneficent. it is the era of the free public library; and it is of special interest to us to see that our community and our commonwealth are moving in accord with this tide of new feeling and enterprise concerning it. of special interest, i say, to us as pennsylvanians; for we are glad to remember that it is here that the first impulse was given to the foundation of the system of circulating libraries, the development of which is the free public library in england and america. benjamin franklin, after considerable effort, founded in the philadelphia library company, the "mother," as he himself calls it, "of all the subscription libraries in north america." this library which franklin started for the advantage of himself and his fifty young business associates, in the early time, when, as he says, "there was not a good bookseller's shop in any of the colonies to the southward of boston," and when most of the books had to be imported from england, was followed soon by the establishment of more ambitious similar libraries in newport ( ) and hartford ( ); and later in many other places in england and this country. these were called public libraries, though books could only be taken out by subscribers. probably, however, as in philadelphia, the librarian could "permit any civil gentlemen to peruse the books of the library in the library room." but it was in the formation of many so-called "social libraries" in the smaller cities and country towns of new england and the middle states, early in the present century, that the foundations of the free municipal library were laid. these subscription libraries, in their growth and in their decay, no less than in the appetite for books they developed, created a demand and at length a necessity for public provision for what had come to be one of the prime intellectual needs of many communities. meantime in scotland, in , samuel brown of haddington, following in part the methods of london booksellers, established a system of free itinerating libraries, loaning without cost selections of fifty books in each package to villages and neighborhoods that would engage to circulate and take proper care of them. at the end of two years each loan was called in, and another of different works sent in its place. this scheme was for many years highly successful, and doubtless highly useful; but seems to have failed soon after the death of its projector and inspirer in . the system had the earnest sanction of lord brougham, and about was taken up in some parts of england; and, in a modified form, has had a great success in melbourne and its neighborhood, in australia. stanley jevons, whose article on the rationale of free public libraries in his "methods of social reform" is one of the most interesting and valuable contributions to the literature of this subject, commends it as the best form of extending free public libraries in the rural portions of great britain, and he estimates that there ought to be three thousand such literary itinerants in england and wales. this system was copied in this country in the school district libraries which were started in the state of new york in , and a few years afterward were in successful operation in massachusetts and other new england states, and in michigan and ohio at least, among states further west. at first every school district raising thirty dollars the first year and ten dollars thereafter, by tax or subscription, was assisted by the state--i cite the massachusetts statute--to a like sum; and a small but choice selection of books sent to it for free circulation within the district. a little later massachusetts, at least, removed this condition; and supplied every school district with such a library. these libraries after remaining in use for a while, and generally being thoroughly read, were exchanged among the districts. new books were thus continually coming to new readers. this movement was earnestly forwarded by that pioneer among american educators, horace mann, and during the period of my boyhood was a godsend to the young people of new england. i want to bless the memory of samuel brown, father page (a pioneer of the system in new york), and horace mann for the gleams of literary light thus cast across the bookless darkness of new england rural homes forty to fifty years ago. this highly economical missionary agency of general intelligence passed away in new england with the incoming of the more satisfactory town system of free libraries. the cause of its decadence elsewhere is not clear, but it has lately had a remarkable resurrection in new york, as we soon shall see. the first free town library in america, or the world, supported by municipal taxation, was established by the efforts of abiel abbot, d.d., in peterboro, new hampshire, in . a decayed social library and an operatives' library, and perhaps some other small collections, were thus gathered under the shelter of the town; and took on new life from its fostering care, and the small annual appropriation for new books which is the breath of life to all libraries. here, as always, it was _a man_ that inspired the advance movement and carried it on to successful fulfilment. in , new hampshire passed a general law enabling towns and cities to maintain free libraries by taxation; and in massachusetts, which had granted boston in the right to establish such a library, passed a similar general enabling act. several other states followed almost immediately, and nearly every northern and northwestern state, except pennsylvania, has since adopted the measure. in , twenty states had enacted similar statutes; and, in all, more than seven hundred free libraries have been established under them. they have increased--as might naturally have been expected--most rapidly in the portions of the country where other library agencies, and where an efficient public school system, have been longest and most efficiently at work. thus, of the seven hundred libraries, more than three hundred are in massachusetts (according to the returns of the public library commission for ), or , volumes for every thousand of population; in new hampshire something over one hundred (in ), or volumes per thousand of inhabitants. great britain has kept nearly equal pace with our foremost states in free library legislation. a general enabling act to establish and support free libraries for the people from municipal rates was passed by parliament in , and accepted with great energy and enthusiasm by many of the northern towns and cities. eighty-six free libraries, not including branches, had been opened before ; but, as in this country, the conservatism of the southern portions of the country has prevented their general establishment. for similar reasons only the province of ontario has made any considerable movement in this direction in the dominion of canada. this hasty historical sketch would be very incomplete without some account of the recent legislation, in several states, for the assistance of the smaller towns and villages in the establishment and increase of public libraries. this legislation has already had marvelous results. massachusetts, in , appropriated one hundred dollars to any town that would raise by taxation, or appropriate from the dog tax, or otherwise raise, at least fifty dollars (or if its valuation was less than one million dollars it should raise twenty-five dollars, or if less than $ , it should raise at least fifteen dollars); and should agree to take care of the books, and furnish the agency of distribution. the sums granted by the state are in the hands of a board of commissioners appointed by the governor (with the advice and consent of the council); and so far these commissioners--librarians and others--have been eminent citizens, serving without salaries, and having only $ in their hands annually for clerk hire and traveling expenses. the commission is also required to give advice and information to librarians and others concerning selection of books, cataloguing, and administration; and to select and forward the books granted by the state. now for results. the commission has thus aided in establishing, in four years, more than sixty free public libraries in small towns (out of one hundred and four not thus supplied) and its action has shamed a few larger towns into establishing them; so that now only two and three fourths per cent of the population of the state, in forty-four small towns, were in january, , without their advantages. and this has been accomplished with an entire expense to the commonwealth of less than ten thousand dollars. _per contra_, more than half a million dollars were given by individuals in a single year for similar purposes within the state. certainly, this has been a most economical and effective public outlay; free, too, from all suspicion of any one's fattening by political jobbery. the record of new hampshire is even more remarkable. this state passed a law in , similar to the one outlined above, and over eighty towns accepted its provisions, and established free libraries within a twelvemonth after it came in force. we are glad to read that the states of maine, connecticut, and pennsylvania are moving in the direction of a measure that has proved so effective in its operation, and that must be so widely beneficent. the state of new york has adopted another system to stimulate the development of the free library. her enabling act of many years ago produced, as we have seen, comparatively small results; and in a law was passed authorizing the regents of the university of new york to lend for a limited time--usually six months--selections of books from the duplicate department of the state library, or from books purchased for the purpose, to any public library in the state; or, where none exists, to twenty-five petitioners in any town or village of the state. a fee of five dollars is required, to cover cost of transportation, catalogue, etc., for a loan of one hundred volumes, and a smaller sum (three dollars) for a loan of fifty volumes. this plan, it will be seen, is a revival of the old school district method; and of that instituted by samuel brown in scotland, and the later one found successful in australia. the antipodes have a fashion lately of suggesting valuable object-lessons for social legislation. in small communities it has the advantage of making books do manifold duty, and of meeting the wants of varied communities and occupations. by judicious and varied selection, clubs, classes, schools, and reading circles may be aided in special courses and investigations. at the end of twenty months one hundred and twenty-five of these free loan libraries had been sent out by the new york board of regents; of which nearly one half ( ) went to communities without public libraries, the remainder going to libraries already established ( ), to university extension centers ( ), and to academy libraries open to the public ( ). eleven thousand nine hundred volumes were thus made accessible to the public, with a total circulation of not far from , volumes and , readers. this system, which seems even more economical than the massachusetts one, has greatly promoted interest in good reading, and led to the establishment of several local public libraries. the system is very elastic and is easily adapted to the rapidly growing demands for its privileges. as a pioneer method, or as auxiliary to municipal libraries, it promises excellent results. after this historical survey it would hardly seem necessary to dwell upon the arguments in behalf of the free public library. "there is probably no mode of expending public money," says stanley jevons, "which gives a more extraordinary and immediate return in utility and innocent enjoyment." he affirms that in manchester, birmingham, liverpool, and some other great towns in england, as in similar communities in this country, where such libraries have existed for years, there is but one opinion about them. "they are classed with town-halls, police courts, prisons, and poorhouses as necessary adjuncts of our stage of civilization." a more natural, and certainly more cheerful, collocation would class them with free schools, museums, and public parks, as jevons himself afterwards suggests. "the main _raison d'être_ of free public libraries, as indeed of public museums, art galleries, parks, halls, public clocks, and many other kinds of public works, is the enormous increase of utility which is thereby acquired for the community at a trifling cost." he proceeds to illustrate by several instances what he calls "the remarkable multiplication of utility" in the case of free lending libraries by several instances. every book, in the first year of the birmingham free library, was issued on an average seventeen times, and the periodical literature turned over fifty times. in leeds, every book was used eighteen times. in larger libraries and in later use, of course, the figures are less, averaging from three to ten times, the whole cost of each issue averaging only from two to five cents. similar statistics may be found in the _forum_ article already referred to in regard to the manifold use of books furnished in new york. the comfort and moral economy of a cheerful, well-lighted reading-room, too, is overwhelmingly illustrated. mr. jevons found that in manchester all persons of suitable age visited the free libraries on an average thirteen times a year, of whom three fourths came to read in the reading-rooms. such a refuge from the perils of the saloon and the street is an immense benefaction in any neighborhood. the relative cheapness of securing this means of general culture and enjoyment, this efficient antidote to vice and ignorance, is strikingly shown by comparing its cost with other items of governmental expenditure, and the statistics of national luxuries and vices. the eighty-six free libraries in the large cities of great britain cost not more than half a million dollars per year--one fifth the cost of a first class ironclad. the statistics i have given show that the cost of the two war vessels just voted by congress might be abundantly sufficient to insure the organization on the massachusetts plan of a free library in every village and country town of the united states, not now accessible to such a library. the expenditure for drink, for horse-racing, or even for tobacco, for a single year, would royally equip and endow a public library for every thousand people now without such privileges. as post-office savings banks are, wherever established, a mighty engine for teaching thrift, as public parks are an incalculable source of health and enjoyment in our cities, so the public library, "the free literary park," as jevons calls it, is a most effective agency for the promotion of culture and civilization. in the year , george ticknor, the distinguished author of the "history of spanish literature" and a benefactor of the boston public library, wrote to edward everett: "i would establish a library which differs from all free libraries yet attempted; i mean one in which any popular books tending to moral and intellectual improvement shall be furnished in such numbers that many persons can be reading the same book at the same time; in short, that not only the best books of all sorts, but the pleasant literature of the day, shall be made accessible to the whole people when they most care for it--that is, when it is fresh and new. i would thus by following the popular taste--unless it should demand something injurious--create a real appetite for healthy reading. this appetite once formed will take care of itself. it will in a great majority of cases demand better and better books." mr. everett's conservatism doubted the wisdom of these principles for the foundation of a library: but they are essentially those which have proved sound in the free library system of england and new england, of australia and the northwestern cities. in the light of fifty years' experience, indeed, everett's skepticism reads like governor berkeley's report on education in virginia, in which he thanked god that there were no free schools in virginia and hoped that there would be none for a hundred years. the communities in which libraries, approaching george ticknor's ideal, have been longest established, would do without paved streets or electric lights sooner than without these libraries, and they support them by taxation as cheerfully as the public schools. indeed, the free library in not a few communities is reckoned an invaluable and indispensable adjunct of the public school, the very crown of the system of popular education. such librarians as green of worcester, massachusetts, and whitney of watertown, and hosmer of minneapolis, keep in touch with the work of the schools, and apprize the various classes of pupils of new books especially valuable for their work. more than this, they have regard to the needs of the various clubs, trades, and professions, and keep their members aware of valuable books in their special departments. but perhaps the most helpful service of all is rendered by capable librarians in the constant advice given to inexperienced readers, and the frequent bulletins sent out to stimulate the interest and instruct the intelligence of the community. it is of special interest to note that the demand for good reading has been greatly increased wherever the public library has been administered in this way. indeed, booksellers and proprietary libraries have come to favor the opening of the free library as largely increasing the demand for their books. it is not strange that with this large and various capacity of social service, the free library should be rapidly growing in public favor; nor that private munificence should frequently come to the municipal provision. there is no public object for which so generous gifts are often made. in the year , for instance, five hundred thousand dollars were contributed to public libraries and the erection of library buildings in massachusetts alone. "there has been ready perception," says fletcher in his "public libraries in america," "of the truth that one's memory cannot better be perpetuated than by association with an institution so popular and at the same time so elevating and refining as the public library. memorial libraries are therefore very abundant, and as expense has not been spared in the erection of such memorials, many of our towns, even the smaller ones, are ornamented by library buildings which are gems of architecture.... the fact remains, with all its significance, that about the public library cluster naturally the affections and the interest of the community. in its endowment, on the one hand by private beneficence, and on the other by public taxation, is illustrated that collaboration of the rich and the poor in the pursuit of the highest ends which has in it the promise, and perhaps the potency, of the solution of vexing social questions." the remembrance that these statements are only locally accepted, and that large portions of england and the united states have hardly moved toward the establishment of public libraries, may prompt a consideration of certain objections which are still sometimes urged. civilization accepts its most benignant and effective agencies of progress only under protest; and it is not, therefore, wholly inexplicable that fifty years of unmixed and increasing success should have left some excellent and otherwise intelligent people unconvinced of the beneficence of the free public library. a friend of mine was enthusiastically setting forth the advantages of such libraries, and their rapid multiplication and growing service in new england, at the dinner table of one of the most distinguished, philosophic, and progressive of contemporary englishmen; and was not a little surprised to be cut short with the decided comment, "i do not believe in it." the englishman's fastidious preference for high fences and compartment railway carriages pervades all his intellectual conceptions also; and makes him impervious even to stanley jevons's overwhelming demonstration of the moral, social, and economic utility of the free public library; impervious even to the appeal that ignorance and narrow intellectual opportunity must be supposed to make upon enlightened philanthropy. mr. herbert spencer and the individualists oppose to the public library, supported by taxation, their wellworn declamation about the injustice of making one man pay for another man's culture and amusement; and urge the dictum of _laissez faire_ in civilization and government. but as the post-office and the public school have survived their onslaughts we may not feel compelled to surrender the advantages of the free library. for, as with the school, it is easy to show that mental health and light are as primary interests of the community as material; and that it is precisely because those most deficient are least sensible of their defect that society must seek to remedy it. mr. spencer's analogy between hunger for food and hunger for knowledge is utterly fallacious. the physical appetite may be trusted to seek vigorously its own supply; the intellectual appetite has most to be aroused where intellectual starvation is most imminent; and it grows only by what it feeds on. men usually value most, indeed, what they work or pay for; but it is precisely those who do not value good books at all who need to be tempted and trained to their appreciation. and it is just the children of those whose parents will not, or cannot, provide them wholesome reading, that society cannot afford to let go wholly unprovided. the smallest fee here proves an effective bar, as the experience of all subscription libraries proves. when the springfield (mass.) library was made free, its circulation was trebled the first year--though the fee had been only one dollar--and in a few years rose six or seven fold. "the mercantile library of peoria, ill.," says mr. crunden, "turned over to the city and made free, notes an increase in ten years, of members from two hundred and seventy-five to four thousand five hundred, and of issues from fifteen thousand to ninety thousand." so always. if the dollar fee were removed from the circulation of the books of our meadville city library, for instance, within five years they would go into fifteen hundred families instead of less than three hundred, as now; and the added twelve hundred families would be the very ones where the books would be of highest service. and, perhaps, more beneficent still would be the influence upon the vastly larger number who would frequent the library, and grow intelligent through the multiplied use of its reading facilities, and the help of its valuable reference department. the reaction upon the general intelligence of the community would make itself felt in the increasing intelligence of its working men and the higher standard of life this would bring among them. in short, it would insure economic progress. besides the economic advantages, and much more important, the influence of a well-furnished free library would tell in the training of citizens. the discussion of economic and social questions, eager and often bitter as it is, would become less crude and partisan in the knowledge of the best books and magazine articles upon the topics involved. the reading of history, biography, and travels would exert a broadening, enlightening, and often inspiring influence. to make wholesome literature more accessible than dime novels would save many boys and girls from ruin, rouse many dormant intellects to higher life, and supply effective rivals to the saloons and other low resorts. philanthropy and religion alike demand the wide opening of such an "effectual door" to the opportunities of the higher life. it is sometimes objected that the records of all public libraries show that the lightest literature is most read, that fiction constitutes one half or three fourths of the books circulated. but besides the obvious consideration that only wholesome fiction finds place in all well-appointed public libraries, horace greeley's view has much to commend it, viz.: that all pure reading, however light, tends to develop a taste for more vigorous and instructive literature. besides, it may well be urged that fiction is not only the current form of literary art, but also the effective vehicle of current social theories, philanthropies, and reforms; and that much of the most earnest thinking and serious moral purpose of this age is embodied in it. under such intelligent and careful selection as the public opinion of the community may provide for, the public library will furnish a healthful substitute and corrective for the unappointed and vagrant reading of that large section of young people most in need of guidance. i have left myself but a moment to suggest one or two practical questions that may need consideration in the establishment of a new system of free public libraries in communities or a commonwealth. next to thorough discussion of their proved beneficence, an efficient enabling act is certainly the first desideratum, in any state still without it, so that towns and cities may tax themselves for this purpose. and it is most important that this act be not so narrowly limited that communities shall be unable to attempt anything worth while. better wait five years, or ten years, more for the statute that will enable our communities to put themselves in line with the most advanced in the country in this respect, than to enact a starveling and ineffective statute that shall "keep the word of promise in our ear, and break it to our hope," as has already sometimes happened. the public appropriation is so limited by penny-wise legislation in a number of states as to discourage all action, and kill all interest in the matter. in the same way, it is to be hoped that these states will accompany their enabling acts by auxiliary legislation similar to that in massachusetts and new hampshire; or, perhaps still better, patterned upon that of new york. it is difficult to decide upon the comparative advantages of these two systems. that of massachusetts seems to me better for permanent results; but that of new york seems likely to be more immediately effective in stirring the sluggish interest of indifferent communities. both are wonderfully economical in money, and both have great effectiveness when worked by the intelligent interest of even a few enthusiastic friends of the free library movement in any community. it would seem that even a governor who thinks five million people cannot afford $ , for the "birds of pennsylvania" might consent to spend a fifth of that sum per year to begin a work that would not end, if once well begun, without putting a new and most effective agency of social culture and even economic progress within the reach of every boy and girl in the state. the machinery through which to plan and begin this great and hopeful experiment should be carefully considered. massachusetts's unsalaried commission of eminent citizens, new york's board of university regents, alike insure that in those commonwealths the work will be carried on under the most hopeful and efficient conditions. some such unpartisan and public-spirited agency is absolutely demanded for the success of the movement in a state that has to begin it _de novo_; and the _personnel_ of the agency is the most important point in any legislation initiating it. there is also a difference of opinion as to whether school boards, or boards specially constituted for the purpose, should have charge of public libraries. my opinion is decidedly in favor of the latter; for while school boards would bring the library, as is most desirable, into closer relation with the public schools, an independent board, chosen, perhaps, by the school board in connection with the city council, as sometimes in massachusetts, would be likely to bring more ability, independence, and careful consideration to the affairs of the library, and to separate it more completely from injurious partisan and personal politics. the community's service to the library the public library, like the public school, is the creature of the community, which owes it provision for keeping it in condition to render the service for which it was created. this duty of course, includes adequate financial support but does not end here. among the most important adjuncts to such support are the aid that can be given by enlightened public opinion and by organized groups in the maintenance of liberal and helpful policies, and the appointment of a governing board equally conscious of its responsibilities and its limitations. the relation of the state to the public library this statement of first principles was made by melvil dewey at the second international library conference, held in london, july - , , and is reprinted from the transactions and proceedings of the conference (london, ). in reading this address, it must be kept in mind that it was made to englishmen, whose conception of the functions of a public library were then, as now, much more conservative than ours. a sketch of dr. dewey will be found in vol. i. of this series. we have been listening to an admirable account of the development of the library movement from earliest times to the present day, and i venture to believe that when the history of the age in which we live is written, and is looked back upon by those who shall come after, it will be known distinctively as the "library age." libraries of one sort or another have existed from the beginning of human history, and we are now well into the fifth century since the invention of printing; so that it would seem as if there had been abundant time for library development. but so great an institution as the modern library is of slow growth. it has taken a thousand years to develop our school system from university down to kindergarten. the public library is much more rapidly going through corresponding stages in order to come to its own. the original library was a reservoir, getting in and keeping safely, a storehouse for posterity. that was and is a great function, for which i have profound respect. then, after many centuries, came another library epoch, for which we all feel still greater respect. the cistern was made a fountain; giving out was seen to be more important than getting in. the library is no longer merely a passive receptacle, but becomes an aggressive educational force in every community. the reservoir will not become a stagnant pool, for, in its branches and deliveries, the public library has mains and pipes laid through every street, and reaching almost to the door of every householder. and we live now not in the age of the reservoir, but in the age of the fountain. in our zeal and admiration, however, we are apt to forget that there is yet another and even more important stage to reach. in my own city, some time ago, we spent half a million dollars in providing an ample supply of water. but we found that we had really opened convenient communication with the cemetery by water, for the quality of the new and abundant beverage was such that our death-rate steadily rose. the burning question became qualitative, not quantitative, and we are now spending our money on efficient filtration. of course no library intends to circulate injurious books, but equally no town intends to distribute harmful water. we are concerned more with the results than with the intention. the mortality tables make plain the physical defect, but alas! science has as yet devised no instruments delicate enough to record the greater danger to the individual and the state from poison in the great current, which has come to be a mighty flood, of modern reading matter. the most hopeful, and perhaps the only practicable, method of guarding against this serious danger is through the public library, which must now in the last days of this eventful century recognise the gravity of the new responsibility which it cannot shirk. before another audience i might dwell at length on what this problem of selection means, but the representative librarians of the world will understand my claim that, wonderful as was the development from the cistern to the fountain, its importance is overshadowed by this great question of excluding the pernicious, which i sum up in the word filtration. this is the great problem of the modern library, and its solution must depend largely on the state. it is often said that the modern periodicals and newspapers are our greatest danger; but this, of course, is true only of the sensational and other objectionable types. i yield to none in my high appreciation of what the best kind of newspaper may do in its capacity as the strongest ally of the public library and of the public school. i am confident that early in the next century such journals will be recognised as a distinct part of our educational machinery, but i am equally clear that the worst journals, conducted merely as money-making enterprises, and catering to the worst instead of to the best elements of both society and individuals, are the most potent factors for evil, and the greatest enemy which the ideal librarian has to combat in carrying forward his best work. they leave their habitual readers with neither time nor taste for anything above their own low plane. the mind will inevitably rise or fall to the level of its habitual reading, and we apostles and missionaries of the book have no more disheartening outlook than on the readers whose literary atmosphere is limited to the modern sensational newspapers. but the apologists for such reading say that the history of their own times is of more importance to them than any other history; should they not, therefore, become as familiar as possible with it? but when a man, on account of "pressure of business," never looks inside any good book, yet has time to read everything in the newspapers, he is--well, specialising too much in "history." how many men and women there are, who, from year's end to year's end, read nothing but the so-called history of their own times, and who can tell you nothing better than which dog won the last fight! it is a good thing to know the history of our own times; so is a pinch of salt a good thing on one's breakfast potato, but it is not necessary to drink a barrel of sea water each morning in order to get it. it is highly desirable that i should know the geology and topography of my own state, but i can learn all that is worth knowing without creeping on hands and knees with nose close to the ground over the barnyards and dump heaps of our commonwealth, under the vain delusion that i am exhaustively studying its geology. we must join this battle squarely. the eternal conflict of good and the best with bad and the worst is on. the librarian must be the librarian militant before he can be the librarian triumphant. at the end of another century, when a conference like this is held, our descendants will look back with wonder to find that we have so long been satisfied to leave the control of the all-pervading, all-influencing newspaper in the hands of people who have behind them no motive better than the "almighty dollar." the solution of our difficulties lies in recognition by the state that public libraries are not only good things, but that they are an absolutely necessary part of our educational system. we started with the university, but found that we had to put under it the college. then we went a step further, and had the academy and high school to prepare for the college; the primary and grammar schools to prepare for the high school; and now we have the kindergarten under the primary school. i am not giving a chronology, but simply pointing out that during these centuries educators have constantly been facing the question of adequate provision for meeting completely the public wants. we have at last reached step by step from the university to the nursery, and have provided a series of schools covering the entire field. yet, with all this, we have not attained the full system of education that we ought to attain, and every thoughtful person is now asking, "what next?" huxley has well said that a system of education which in the early years trains boys and girls to read and then makes no provision for what they shall read during all the rest of their lives, would be as senseless as to teach our children the expert use of the knife, fork, and spoon, and then make no provision for their daily food. the whole history of education has been a series of broadening conceptions. i can recall no case in which the ideal has narrowed, but step by step we have come to a general recognition that education is for poor as well as rich, for plebeian as well as prince, for black and white, for native and foreigner, for brilliant or backward, for women as well as men, for deaf, dumb, and blind, and all defectives and delinquents, who in the old conception were left without the pale. it is almost within our memory that we have come to substantial agreement that the state owes an elementary education to every boy and girl born within its limits, not alone as a right to the child, but as a matter of safety and practical wisdom on the part of the state; and this broader conception is followed closely by a second and still broader one, that every boy and girl is entitled not only to an elementary, but to something also of higher education. i have met no competent student of this subject who dares deny that hereafter the state must recognize that education is not alone for the young, for limited courses, in schools which take all the time of their pupils, but that it must regard adults as well; and not alone for short courses, but all through life--not in our recognised teaching institutions alone, but in that study outside of office or working hours that may be carried on at home. i may sum it up in the one sentence, "higher education, for adults, at home, through life." in this home education, which must hereafter be recognised side by side with school education, the library is the great central agent round which study clubs, reading circles, extension teaching, museums, and the other allied agencies must cluster. a statesman solicitous for the future welfare of his country will find his most fruitful field in protecting and guiding the reading of the people. it is what a man reads that shapes his future, which depends, not at once upon the rostrum and the pulpit, but on the book and the newspaper. in education we recognise that the supreme end is the building of character, but many of us have never thought clearly how directly this character-building rests upon the public library. it is reading that begets reflection, reflection begets motive, motive begets action, and action begets habit, and habit begets character; and who here dares question this, that it is not the air nor the water, nor yet the "roast beef of old england," not its history nor traditions nor laws nor geographic location, but _character_, that has made the anglo-saxons, england and her daughters across the seas, the most wonderful people of the earth. it is not brawn, but brain. the dogs and horses might have the physical qualities, but it is the mind and soul, and those elements of true greatness which can best be instilled into a people through the reading of good and great books, that have made a race of which we are justly all so proud. one of the wisest of frenchmen said of the franco-prussian war, when the needle-gun was suggested as the explanation of german victory, "no; it was not the needle-gun, nor the german soldier who held it, nor yet the german schoolmaster who trained the soldier, but it was the german university that made the schoolmaster." "knowledge is power," and it is knowledge that has made england and america great. think of the men who read the poorest newspapers, but know nothing of our best books. can the state afford to make other things free, and not make free true and useful knowledge as preserved in books? can the state recognize the necessity for free schools, and fail to provide free access to the best reading in all realms of knowledge? "free as air," was the old-time strongest expression. then men learned how absolutely essential to physical well-being was abundance of water, and our language records in its favourite expression, "free as water," the meaning of the untold millions that civilization has spent to supply all people freely with this essential. we are learning the greater lesson about the necessity of free knowledge more slowly, because intellectual and spiritual things are not so readily discerned by our mortal eyes, and it takes more time to read even those messages that god has written very large for those who have eyes to see; but the time is not far distant, mark my words, when our speech will again record the general acceptance of a great truth in the common phrase, as "free as knowledge." we should make the public understand the relation of the school system to the library system; that the library is not merely a collection of books, or a storehouse, but an aggressive and active source of education, side by side with the free schools. if the issue came--but, thank god, it never will--between giving up either the library or the free school, i am not sure that i would not choose for the welfare of the country the public library rather than the school. this may sound strange from one who has given his life to education, but i believe that even without our schools nearly every boy and girl would somehow learn to read; and when i soberly consider the influence on lives and characters and on the state, it seems probable that, infinitely valuable as is the work of our free schools, it would be exceeded by what could be done by a system of free public libraries, reaching every boy and girl and man and woman in the community, and so administered as to provide each freely from childhood to the grave with the best reading in every field of interest and activity. the state, whatever it may or may not do, should recognise the library as being as essential to public welfare as is the school, and it should give it as careful protection from dangers without and within as it gives to institutions like banks and insurance companies. the state should protect the library against unjust laws, improper interference, or pernicious influence of any kind from without. it should guard it also against misconduct, incapacity, or neglect on the part of its trustees, officers, or employees. beside the direct appropriations for its support, it should grant the most liberal powers for holding property given by individuals for the public benefit, and, above all, should grant entire exemption from taxation. to tax a free public library for doing its beneficent work is theorising gone mad. it is as absurd as for a missionary to refuse admission to his preaching, or for the manager of a theatre in which a fire has just started to shut out every fireman till he had presented the conventional coupon for a reserved seat. the example first set by my own state (new york) in the statute which i had the honour of drawing ought to be followed universally. we created a public libraries department, to devote its entire attention to advancing the best interests of public libraries. it would take the entire morning to sketch to you the various forms of beneficent work which we have found practicable. we help to establish new libraries, reorganise old ones, revise methods, select books, lend single books or entire libraries, grant books or money up to $ yearly to any library raising an equal sum from local sources, and, by means of correspondence, personal inspection, and steady work in a dozen directions, help every community to get the greatest practical good from the labour and money given to its free library. we have now about five hundred travelling libraries moving about in all parts of the state. the public library is rapidly becoming universal. for the government not to recognise it in its own organisation is as absurd as it would be to have a standing army and no war department, or schools dotted all about the state and no department of education. time forbids more than the mere naming of what is needed, but the first great step in summing up the relation of the state to public libraries is the establishment of a public libraries department, in charge of a strong man who appreciates the almost limitless opportunities for usefulness which this new field affords. our discussions this morning took such a turn that you could almost hear behind them, like the recurring motive of one of wagner's operas, the question, "who shall be greatest among librarians?" in our state library school i give each year a course of five lectures on the qualifications of a librarian, and point out under a half-hundred different heads the things we should demand in an ideal librarian; but when we have covered the whole field of scholarship and technical knowledge and training, we must confess that overshadowing all are the qualities of the man. to my thinking, a great librarian must have a clear head, a strong hand, and, above all, a great heart. he must have a head as clear as the master in diplomacy; a hand as strong as he who quells the raging mob, or leads great armies on to victory; and a heart as great as he who, to save others, will, if need be, lay down his life. such shall be greatest among librarians; and, when i look into the future, i am inclined to think that most of the men who will achieve this greatness will be women. it is well to hold up high ideals, but it would be a sad mistake to underrate the services of the noble men and women who in some, perhaps many, respects fall far short of the standards we lay down, and yet who have done, and are doing well, much of the world's best work. let us dwell on what has been well done, not on what has been omitted or on what might have been done by other men in other circumstances. i remember, some twenty-five years ago, reading in george eliot's _romola_ these words, which we should remember when thinking of any great librarian who of necessity fails in some respects to meet all our ideals: "it was the fashion of old, when an ox was led out for sacrifice to jupiter, to chalk the dark spots and give the offering a false show of unblemished whiteness. let us fling away the chalk, and boldly say the victim was spotted; but it was not therefore in vain that his mighty heart was laid on the altar of men's highest hopes." methods of securing the interest of a community this paper by wm. e. foster, librarian of the providence library, appears in the double number of _the library journal_ for september-october, . written forty years ago it is more advanced from the standpoint of socialization, especially as regards group-action, than some pronouncements that one might hear to-day. a sketch of mr. foster appears in vol. i. of this series. this mainly resolves itself into a consideration of direct and indirect methods. the one attempts only to supply the public with what it wants; the other, striving after the truest improvement of the readers, in time secures, with the growth of intelligent appreciation, an interest even more active, and vastly more permanent, than the other. no library may safely disregard either class of methods, and their proper adjustment is a point which may very profitably engage much of the librarian's attention. it is true that the first of these is not likely to escape his attention. "what the public wants" is a consideration which will meet him frequently, from one end of the year to the other. no one needs to be told, for instance, that the public wants to be amused. doubtless the class of books described as "humorous" would constitute, to a large body of readers in any one of our cities, the true ideal of a collection of books. the taste for imaginative literature begins early and lasts long, with a large number of readers. "something new" is a phrase whose attractiveness is not far from universal. still further, if it is a question between a "true account," which deals with stirring adventures, and another "true account," whose pages are devoted to an impassive statement of scientific facts, there is not much question which will find the most readers among the general public. "what the public wants," then, as regards the choice of books, while it certainly does not indicate a high degree of enlightenment, has perhaps the merit of being true to nature. there are certain points of administration, also, in which the interest of the public is concerned. it is in favor of having the library as near its place of residence as possible; and here, unfortunately, "the public" is a plural personage which cannot all be suited at once. it is in favor of that method of obtaining the privileges of the library which requires the least trouble and inconvenience on its part, and seldom sees the need of a careful verification of the applicant's identity. it is in favor of the fewest restrictions on access to the books, and on the time for keeping them. it is in favor, decidedly, of that "charging system" which will deliver the book soonest. it is in favor of finding the library open on all days and at all hours, sometimes even not regarding the specified hours announced as worthy of consideration. in short, while it is by no means difficult to persuade the public of the reasonableness of a particular restriction, yet its first thought is undeniably largely influenced by selfish considerations. nor is the larger part of the public any more fond of bestowing deep and painstaking thought upon the books which it reads, and of carrying the mind systematically through a complicated mental process. it is not improbable that some readers would be glad of some method of using books which should save them the trouble of any mental process. and, while these readers are so much averse to any troublesome efforts toward improvement on their own part, it would be scarcely reasonable to look for any very intelligent supervision by them of the reading of their children, or of the pupils in the schools. here, again, what the public wants is "the royal road"--some "short and easy method." that library, then, which would awaken and develop a lively interest among its readers in the miscellaneous public, cannot certainly complain of a lack of methods by which to secure such interest. it may include in its selection of books a suitable percentage of fiction, and humorous works. it may infuse "new blood" into the library by frequent and regular purchase of the latest publications. it may add largely to the department of voyages and travels, of books copiously illustrated,--of popular literature, in short. it may place its main building in the center of population, and establish branches for the accommodation of outlying localities. it may recognize the desirableness of "the least red tape" in registering readers, of open book-shelves, of expeditious serving of readers, and long periods of time for the use of the library and the retention of books. it may furnish its readers with explanations and directions for obtaining and using the books which shall require the least difficulty in understanding and applying them. it may, and it should, recognize the value of all these principles, and the library which fails to act on them does so at its peril. yet these points do not comprise all that demand attention; and the effectiveness of even these is due to the limits which are set to them. a certain amount of fiction is well enough, but to enlarge this department at the expense of all others would clearly defeat the library's purpose. diminution of restrictions in the use of books is certainly agreeable to the public, but the removal of all restrictions would result in such a loss of books as would soon work its own cure. the question, "what does the public want?" is not the only, nor, in fact, the chief question to be borne in mind in the conduct of a library. one has only to keep his eyes open to see how suggestive as to methods is this other question: "of what service may the library be?" and it is safe to say that one who has not given the subject attention will be surprised to find at how many points a collection of books, and the thought there contained, touch human life. here is a machine-shop with its hundred or more workmen, many of whom are anxious to study some mechanical work. the library has such works, and is glad to supply them. here again is a society of natural history, whose members are systematically studying some department of natural science. to them, also, the library willingly offers its resources in that department. with no less willingness it offers its cooperation to those who are following a course of public lectures on some topic of political science or of art, to a college class studying topically some epoch of history or period of literature; or to a public-school teacher, with a class in geography; or a parent desiring some suitable reading for a child. or, with no specified class of persons in view, it seeks to make its collection generally available, by regular references to its resources on matters of current and universal interest. much more effective, however, than the best of such attempts at reaching classes of readers will be the aid rendered to individual readers. not general and indefinite, but specific and direct assistance, is here given, and, although at first this kind of work might seem to be impracticable in a large library, yet one who tries it will be interested to see how far such individual methods may be introduced. the librarian almost mechanically learns "to pigeon-hole" in his mind the peculiar tastes and lines of reading of single readers, and, when the occasion presents itself, can bring to their notice books and articles which they are glad to obtain. more than one librarian makes it a regular practice, in adding new books to the library or in collecting material bearing upon some one topic, to drop a postal to this and that reader who, he knows, will be glad of just this information. the more the conducting of a library can be made an individual matter, bringing particular books to the notice of particular readers, the more effective it becomes. it remains to consider what may be called the "general effect" of such individual efforts, continued from one year to another. they will certainly result in giving the public a large amount of assistance. being exerted in connection with the whole community, they cannot fail to leave an influence, like the school, the church, or the newspaper,--an influence moreover, which, if wisely directed, and intelligently shaped, will make the public library idea appreciably felt in the civilization of the country. nor can it fail to have a reflex influence in securing the interest of the public. if methods of the former class were able, by their direct agency, to accomplish practical results, even more significant and more permanent are those reached indirectly by this method. no class of people will be so truly attached to the institution, by active interest, as those who feel that they have been personally aided and improved through its agency. the former methods are directly adapted to secure popularity, the latter to win gratitude; and if it should ever become necessary to choose one of these, at the expense of the other, there can be little room for hesitation. the growth of public sentiment in communities like boston and worcester, where public libraries have been administered on these principles, and with these ends in view, for a series of years, is very instructive. public sentiment, like confidence, is "a plant of slow growth"; but experience shows that when the conviction has once thoroughly penetrated a community that an institution like this is sincerely aiming to serve the public, a hold on its sympathy and interest has been acquired not easily to be shaken. it should be the aim of each librarian to make the usefulness of his institution so manifest that the public will as soon think of dispensing with the post-office as with the library. financial support the justification for taxing the members of a community to support a public library, although rarely questioned to-day was argued with heat in former times. earlier, there was the same difference of opinion with regard to the public schools. in order to obtain the argument in opposition, in its best form, we have had to draw from a british source, which we consider it proper to quote here because it elicited a reply from an american librarian which will immediately follow: free libraries (an argument against public support) this paper, by m.d. o'brien, forms chapter ix of the compilation of essays entitled "a plea for liberty" edited by thomas mackay ( rd ed. london, ). the sub-title of the book, "an argument against socialism and socialistic legislation," gives its viewpoint. there is a formidable introduction by herbert spencer in which he condemns even the extremely limited state support given at that time to general education in england as a "tyrannical system tamely submitted to by people who fancy themselves free." mr. spencer ends by asserting that the end, if this sort of thing is to go on, "must be a society like that of ancient peru, dreadful to contemplate, in which the mass of the people, elaborately regimented in groups, ... were superintended in their private lives as well as in their industries and toiled hopelessly for the support of the governmental organization." a free library may be defined as the socialists' continuation school. while state education is manufacturing readers for books, state-supported libraries are providing books for readers. the two functions are logically related. if you may take your education out of your neighbour's earnings, surely you may get your literature in the same manner. literary dependency has the same justification as educational dependency; and, no doubt, habituation to the one helps to develop a strong desire for the other. a portion of our population has by legislation acquired the right to supply itself with necessaries and luxuries at the cost of the rates. the art of earning such things for themselves has been rendered superfluous. progress therefore halts because this all-important instinct has fallen into disuse. at a point the rates will bear no more, and those who depend on them for their pleasures are doomed to disappointment. the identity of principle exemplified alike by compulsory education and compulsory libraries, logically involves the justification or condemnation of both; and, let us disguise the unpleasant truth in as many sounding phrases as we please, the fact remains that the carrying out of this socialistic principle means pauperism pure and simple. have we forgotten the evils that resulted from the application of this principle under the old poor law? or do we imagine that when an evil changes its outward appearance it changes its inner essence also? the harm done to the national character by a policy of this nature varies in intensity in proportion to the necessity of the want supplied. if the thing supplied at public cost is really necessary and eagerly accepted by the people, it becomes more readily a potent cause of dependency, and a heavy and at length an insupportable charge on the ratepayers. this was the experience of the old poor law. the cost of national education is fast approaching to the same state of things, and the problem will one day have to be faced: 'how is the burden of the cost of education to be returned to the shoulders of those who are responsible for it?' in this paper we are concerned with a smaller question. a very inconsiderable section of the people really want the free library; the question at the polls is generally treated with apathy, and only a very small proportion of the ratepayers record their votes one way or the other. as a matter of fact the free library is forced upon the public by a number of doctrinaire believers in the superhuman value of a mere literary education. it is not a popular want. the vast majority of people have still a greater faith in the training which results from practical contact with the real facts of life, and still only regard book-learning as a useful supplement, easily obtainable by those who really desire it and are likely to profit by it. the history of the education acts is very analogous. the literary classes became alarmed at the ignorance of the poor, and instead of allowing the efforts of philanthropists, aided by the growing appreciation of education amongst the labouring class--already giving great promise of providing a true and voluntary remedy for the supposed evil--to work out a system of education on natural and healthy lines of spontaneous evolution, a course which would have added dignity and stability to the domestic life of the parents and given a real and technical system of education to the children--instead of this, the hasty politician rushed forward crying. 'the people do not want education, so we must compel them.' the compulsory and demoralizing character of the means reacts on the otherwise advantageous nature of the end, and the result is a mind-destroying system of cram for the children; summons, fines, and police for the parents. this is how the politician makes education a lovely and desirable thing. it is almost impossible to over-estimate the evils resulting from the state not allowing teachers and parents to adjust the educational arrangements so as to meet the felt requirements of the case. this communal despotism strikes at the very foundation of personal virtue, viz. the home, the instrument by which nature lifts human character above the non-moral sensuousness of the animal world. let us never forget that the human mind is made up of lower and higher elements, and that the removal of personal duties--the practice-ground of the virtues--favours the development of the lower factors of character at the expense of the higher, of weeds at the expense of flowers. what else can possibly result from the carrying out of a principle which means the public feeding, clothing, and lodging of children under official superintendence and control? will it be contended that state officers can know better than parents what is really needed for children? yet this is what our free educationalists are leading us to. the system which robs the parent of one of the noblest motives to effort--the desire to give a good education to his children--which weakens the sense of duty and takes away a wholesome stimulus to the mental and moral faculties, is only the beginning of an evil that menaces civilization and threatens to swallow up all natural distinctions and relationships in a low and promiscuous communism. this bribe of parental irresponsibility--this patent method of shirking duties--which the politician offers us in exchange for our manhood, is a scheme for encouraging the race to cast itself forth into the moral darkness of a world where the parents are all childless and the children all orphans. the free library, however, has not yet reached the same degree of compulsion as the free school. a majority of the local public must vote for it before it can be established; or rather, we should say, there must be a majority favourable to it amongst _those who do take the trouble to record their votes_: usually only a very small proportion of the electorate think it worth while to cross the street in order to pay a visit to the poll. when the library is established, its real popularity is to be measured by the fact that its books are borrowed by only about one per cent. of the population. we make bold to say that if it ever becomes popular, it will be an extremely mischievous institution. as yet it is merely a plaything for a number of well-meaning busybodies, and an occasional convenience to a few middle-class readers. the limited amount generally spent upon it prevents it from doing anything more than minister to the sensational indulgences of a very limited section of the reading public. if the working classes of the country ever really become students, it will be impossible to supply them with adequate store of books from the rates: if this is attempted, it can only be at a time when books will be but a small item in the expenditure which a dominant state socialism seeks to lay on the public purse. on the one hand will stand a class whose only plan for satisfying their wants is the imposition of a new tax, and on the other a harried remnant of ratepayers, both soon to be overwhelmed by the near approach of national bankruptcy. want is the spring of human effort. self-discipline, self-control, self-reliance, are the habits which grow in men who are allowed to act for themselves. the meddlesome forestalling of individual effort, which is being carried into mischievous excess, is going far to bind our poorer classes for another century of dependence. let us run, as rapidly as possible, through a few of the pleas set up by the advocates of this form of municipal socialism. good books, it is said, are out of the reach of the working man. whether this is true as regards books we shall see, but obviously it would be easy to make out a much stronger case for many other forms of amusement which are far more popular with the million than books; yet no one seriously proposes that the amusements of the poorer classes can _all_ be supported by the rates. but a glance down the lists of some of our publishers will show any one that the statement is not true--is the very reverse of truth. when books like 'pilgrim's progress,' 'the vicar of wakefield,' 'rasselas,' 'paul and virginia,' byron's 'childe harold,' 'lady of the lake,' 'marmion,' and others, can be purchased from messrs. dicks at twopence each; when all scott's novels can be obtained from the same publishers for threepence per story; when, from the same source, any of shakespere's plays can be got for a penny each, it will not do to say that the best kind of literature is unpurchasable by a class that spends millions a year on alcohol, as well as thousands on tobacco and other luxuries. three or four pence, which even comparatively poor people think nothing now-a-days of spending on an ounce of tobacco or a pipe, will buy enough of the best literature to last an ordinary reader at least a week or a fortnight. and when the book is read, there is the pleasure to be derived from lending or giving it to a friend, and of accepting the loan or gift of his in return; a custom that largely obtains in country districts where no socialistic collection of unjustly gotten books exists to hinder the development of personal thrift or poison the springs of spontaneous generosity. lying on the table where this is written is a list of the works published in cassell's national library. how some of the old book-lovers who are gone--who lived in the days when the purchase of a good book involved some personal sacrifice--would have appreciated this valuable library! here are of the world's best books, each one of which contains some pages of clear readable type. the published price is threepence each; but a discount of twenty-five per cent. is allowed when four or five or more are purchased. it would be a waste of space to give the entire list; but a few typical examples may be taken. here are the essays of lord macaulay; here are works by plutarch, herodotus, plato, xenophon, lucian, fénelon, voltaire, boccaccio, gothe, and lessing--in english, of course. here is walton's 'complete angler,' goldsmith's 'plays,' bacon's 'wisdom of the ancients' and 'essays.' here are works by burke, swift, steele and addison, milton, johnson, pope, sydney smith, coleridge, dickens, landor, fielding, keats, shelley, defoe, dryden, carlyle, locke, bolingbroke, shakespere, and many others. all shakespere's plays are here complete, and each play is accompanied by the poem, story, or previous play on which it is founded. here, for example, is the last of the series as yet published, 'all's well that ends well'; it contains a translation of the story of giletta of narbona from painter's 'palace of pleasure'; it is worth threepence to a student, if only for showing the difference between raw material and finished product. hundreds of new novels, including some of those of thackeray, kingsley, dickens, lytton, and other well-known authors, are to be obtained in most places for - / _d._, and their secondhand price is less still. considering the marvellous cheapness of good books, it is difficult to understand how any one can either blackmail his neighbour for them, or encourage working-men to do so. if a man will not deduct a few coppers now and then from his outlay in other luxuries to purchase literature, he cannot want literature very badly; if he does not value books sufficiently well to buy them with his own earnings he does not deserve to have them bought for him with other people's earnings. that poor women and others, who are often the sole support of a large family of children, should have their hard earnings confiscated to maintain readers--many of them well-to-do--in gratuitous literature, is an injustice not to be palliated by all the hollow cant about culture and education so freely indulged in at the present time. some time ago there was a discussion on 'the sacrifice of education to examination.' there is another question quite as serious--the sacrifice of justice to so-called education. let us next consider the educational value of this institution. it is hardly necessary for us to say that we have no objection, either for ourselves or for our neighbours, to novel-reading. on the contrary, we regard it as a legitimate form of recreation. all we argue is that it is not a luxury which should be paid for out of the rates. now, to listen to the advocates of free libraries one would imagine that these institutions were only frequented by students, and that the books borrowed were for the most part of a profound and scholarly character. but the very reverse of this is the case. the committee of the blackpool free library, in their report for the year - , say:--'works of fiction and light literature enjoy the greatest degree of popularity, each book circulating eleven times in the year, while _the more instructive books in the other classes circulate only once during the same period_.' according to this report, out of a total average daily issue of volumes, are works of fiction and light literature. the average issue of history, which is the next largest item, is only per diem. no wonder is it, after such results as this, that the committee should express the opinion 'that the rich stores of biography, history, travels, and works of science and art which have been added in recent years are deserving of greater attention than has hitherto been given to them.' although the nominal and frequently exceeded limit is now one penny in the pound, there is no knowing how soon it may be raised. already one of the members of the library association of the united kingdom, a body composed to a considerable extent of librarians whose bureaucratic instincts naturally impel them to push their business by all possible means, has awarded a prize of ten guineas for a draft library bill, which, among other things, permits a twopenny instead of a penny rate. 'but,' says the _daily news_ of oct. th, , 'the feeling appeared to be unanimous that it would be _unwise_ to put this forward as a part of the association's programme, as it would enormously increase the opposition to the adoption of the act in new localities.' no regard for the ratepayers' pockets holds them back; but only a fear of injuring business by frightening the bird whose feathers are to be plucked. were it not for this the bill would be pushed forward, and those ratepayers who have voted for the adoption of the act in the belief that no more than one penny can be levied, would have the rate suddenly doubled over their heads without knowing it. perhaps, after all, it would serve them right. the intervention of this association in the conduct of the agitation for free libraries is instructive, and points to the fact that if we admit the principle that the wants of the poorer classes generally are to be supplied from the rates, it is not the poorer classes themselves who are allowed to say what form the gift shall take. on the contrary the law is manipulated by a number of amiable enthusiasts who succeed in foisting their own fad on the public charges. if the working classes were allowed to choose the application of _ d._ or _ d._ in the pound it would not go to free libraries. the enormous amount of light reading indulged in by the frequenters of free libraries leads us to expect that these places are largely used by well-to-do and other idlers. and this is exactly what we find. free libraries are perfect 'god-sends' to the town loafer, who finds himself housed and amused at the public expense, and may lounge away his time among the intellectual luxuries which his neighbours are taxed to provide for him. says mr. mullins, the birmingham librarian, 'no delicacy seemed to deter the poor tramp from using, not only the news-room, but the best seats in the reference library _for a snooze_. already the committee had to complain of the use of the room for _betting_, and for the transaction of various businesses, and the exhibition of samples, writing out of orders, and other pursuits more suited to the commercial room of an hotel.' and referring to another free library, the same authority continues:--'in the picton room of the liverpool library, alcoves were once provided with small tables, on which were pens, ink, &c., but it was found that pupils were received in them by tutors, and much private letter-writing was done therein; so that when a respectable thief took away £ worth of books they were closed. after the nonsense usually indulged in by the officials of literary pauperism such candour as this is positively refreshing. it is seldom the high priest allows us to look behind the curtain in this fashion. as a rule, the admission is much less direct, and can only be gathered from a careful analysis of the statistics. according to the bristol report for last year, there were , borrowers during the twelve months preceding december , : of these , are described as having 'no occupation.' the report of the atkinson free library of southport informs us that out of the new borrowers who joined the library last year, are written down as of 'no occupation.' at the same town, in the years - , there were who, according to the report, were without any occupation, out of a total of . according to the annual report of the leamington free public library for - , made a return 'no occupation,' out of a total of applicants. in the yarmouth report for the same year, out of a total of new borrowers, are described as of 'no occupation'; the report for the previous year states the proportion as follows:--total of borrowers, ; 'no occupation,' ; in the year before that the total was-- ; 'no occupation,' . some reports give a fuller analysis of the different classes of people who use the libraries to which they refer. in the wigan report for last year we are told that , people made use of the reference library in that town during - . the largest items of this amount are given as follows:--solicitors, ; clergy, ; clerks and book-keepers, ; colliers, ; schoolmasters and teachers, ; architects and surveyors, ; engineers, ; enginemen, . at newcastle-on-tyne, last year, there were , persons used the reference library, and only of these were of 'no occupation.' yet, notwithstanding the numerical weakness of the latter, they managed to consult nearly half the books that were consulted during that year. the total number consulted was , ; and , were used by people who had 'no occupation.' and this is legislation for the working classes! there is little doubt that at least forty-nine out of every fifty working-men have no interest whatever in these institutions. for one penny they can buy their favourite newspaper, which can be carried in the pocket and read at any time; whereas if they wanted to see a paper at a free library they would generally have to wait half an hour or an hour in a stuffy room, without being allowed to speak during the time. the following sensible remarks are from the pen of one who has risen to an honourable position from a very humble beginning without the aid of either free libraries or free schools:-- not long ago a conference of working men was held at salford to consider the question of rational amusement, when, in reply to a series of questions, it was stated that free libraries were not the places for poor, hard-working men, who had social wants which such libraries could not gratify. it was argued that people who went to work from six in the morning till six at night did not want to travel a mile or so to a free library. music, gymnastics, smoking and conversation rooms, and other things were suggested, but in summing up the majority of replies, it appeared that amusement rather than intellectual improvement, or even reading, was what was most wanted by men after a hard day's toil. this appears to have been realised in the erection, according to mr. besant's conception, of the palace of delight in the east end of london. the truth is that a free library favours one special section of the community--the book-readers--at the expense of all the rest. the injustice of such an institution is conspicuously apparent when it is remembered that temperaments and tastes are as various as faces. if one man may have his hobby paid for by his neighbours, why not all? are theatre-goers, lovers of cricket, bicyclists, amateurs of music, and others to have their earnings confiscated, and their capacities for indulging in their own special hobbies curtailed, merely to satisfy gluttons of gratuitous novel-reading? a love of books is a great source of pleasure to many, but it is a crazy fancy to suppose that it should be so to all. if logic had anything to do with the matter we might expect to hear proposals for compelling the attendance of working men at the free library. but surely in this nineteenth century men might be trusted to choose their own amusements, and might mutually refrain from charging the cost thereof to their neighbours' account. this pandering to selfishness is bad for all parties, and doubly so to the class it is specially intended to benefit. the following imaginary dialogue will perhaps serve to show the inherent injustice of literary socialism. _a_ and _b_ earn _ s._ each by carrying luggage. says _a_ to _b_: 'i am in favour of circulating books by means of a subscription library; from this _ s._ i therefore propose to deduct _ d._ in order to compass my desire. there is my friend _c_, who is of the same opinion as myself, and he is willing to subscribe his quota to the scheme. we hope you will be willing to subscribe your mite, but if not, we intend to force you to do so, for, as you know, all private interests must give way to the public good.' 'perhaps so,' replies _b_,'but then, you see, i have my own opinions on the subject, and i do not believe that your method of supplying literature is the best method. of course i may be wrong, but then i am logically entitled to the same freedom of thought and action as you yourself are. if you are entitled to have your views about a "free" library and to act upon them, i am equally entitled to the same liberty, so long as i don't interfere with you. i don't compel you to pay for my church, my theatre, or my club; why should you compel me to pay for your library? for my own part i don't want other people to keep me in literature, and i don't want to keep other people. i refuse therefore to pay the subscription.' 'very well,' rejoins _a_, 'if that is the case i shall proceed to make you pay; and as i happen to represent a numerical majority the task will be an easy one.' 'but are we not man and man,' says _b_,'and have not i the same right to spend my earnings in my own way as you have to spend yours in your way? why should i be compelled to spend as you spend? don't you see that you are claiming more for yourself than you are allowing to me, and are supplementing your own liberty by robbing me of mine? is this the way you promote the public good? is this your boasted free library? i tell you it is founded upon theft and upon the violation of the most sacred thing in this world--the liberty of your fellow man. it is the embodiment of a gross injustice, and only realises the selfish purpose of a cowardly and dishonest majority.' 'we have heard all this before,' replies _a_, 'but such considerations must all give way before the public good. we are stronger than you are, and we have decided once and for all that you shall pay for a "free" library; don't make unnecessary resistance, or we shall have to proceed to extremities.' and, after all, the so-called free library is not really free--only so in name. if the penny or twopenny rate gave even the shabbiest accommodation to anything like a fair proportion of its compulsory subscribers, there would not be standing room, and the ordinary subscription libraries would disappear. according to mr. thos. greenwood, who in his book on 'free libraries' has given a table of the daily average number of visitors at the different free libraries distributed up and down the country, there is only one per cent., on an average, of visitors per day of the population of the town to which the library belongs accommodated for a rate of one penny in the pound,--sometimes more, sometimes less;--but the general proportion is about one per cent. now what do these facts mean? if it costs one penny in the pound to acommodate so few, what would it cost for a fair proportion to receive anything like a share that would be worth having? even now it is a frequent occurrence for a reader to wait for months before he can get the novel he wants. says mr. george easter, the norwich librarian:--'novels most read are those by ainsworth, _ballantyne_, _besant_, _braddon_, _collins_, _craik_, dickens, fenn, grant, _haggard_, _henty_, _c. kingsley_, _kingston_, _edna lyall_, macdonald, marryat, oliphant, payn, reade, reid, verne, warner, _wood_, _worboise_, and _young_; of those underlined (in italics) the works are nearly always out.' the fact is, the free library means that the many shall work and pay and the few lounge and enjoy; theoretically it is free to all, but practically it can only be used by a few. while there is such a run on novels, solid works are at a discount. at newcastle-on-tyne during - we find that volumes of miss braddon's novels were issued (of course some would be issued many times over, as the whole set comprised only thirty-six volumes), while bain's 'mental and moral science' was lent out only twelve times in the year. there were volumes issued of grant's novels, and fifteen issues of butler's 'analogy of religion'; volumes of lever's novels were issued, while kant's 'critique of pure reason' circulated four times; volumes of lytton's novels were issued, while locke 'on the understanding' went eight times. mill's 'logic' stands at fourteen issues as against scott's novels, ; spencer's 'synthetic philosophy' ( vols.) had forty-three issues of separate volumes; dickens' novels had ; macaulay's 'history of england' ( vols.) had sixty-four issues of separate volumes. ouida's novels had ; darwin's 'origin of species' ( vols.) had thirty-six issues; wood's novels, . mill's 'political economy' had eleven issues; worboise's novels, . smith's 'wealth of nations' ( vols.) had fourteen issues; collins' novels, . 'no worse than in other libraries,' it may be said; 'knowledge is at a discount: sensation at a premium everywhere!' perfectly true; but are people to be taxed to give facilities for this? novel reading in moderation is good: the endowment of novel reading by the rates is bad--that is our contention. and when it is remembered that any book requiring serious study cannot be galloped through, like a novel, in the week or fourteen days allowed for use, it becomes at once evident that this gratuitous lending system is only adapted for the circulation of sensation, and not for the acquirement of real knowledge. and this is the sort of thing people allow themselves to be rated and taxed for! this is progressive legislation, and its opponents are backward and illiberal! free libraries are typical examples of the compulsory cooperation everywhere gaining ground in this country. like all state socialism they are the negation of that liberty which is the goal of human progress. every successful opposition to them is therefore a stroke for human advancement. this mendacious appeal to the numerical majority to force a demoralising and pauperising institution upon the minority, is an attempt to revive, in municipal legislation, a form of coercion we have outgrown in religious matters. at the present time there is a majority of protestants in this country who, if they wished, could use their numerical strength to compel forced subscription from a minority of catholics, for the support of those religious institutions which are regarded by their advocates as of quite equal importance to a free library. yet this is not done; and why? because in matters of religion we have learnt that liberty is better than force. in political and social questions this terrible lesson has yet to be learned. we deceive ourselves when we imagine that the struggle for personal liberty is over--probably the fiercest part has yet to arise. the tyranny of the few over the many is past, that of the many over the few is to come. the temptation for power--whether of one man or a million men--to take the short cut, and attempt by recourse to a forcing process to produce that which can only come as the result of the slow and steady growth of ages of free action, is so great that probably centuries will elapse before experience will have made men proof against it. but, however long the conflict, the ultimate issue cannot be doubted. that indispensable condition of all human progress--liberty--cannot be permanently suppressed by the arbitrary dictates of majorities, however potent. when the socialistic legislation of to-day has been tried, it will be found, in the bitter experience of the future, that for a few temporary, often imaginary, advantages we have sacrificed that personal freedom and initiative without which even the longest life is but a stale and empty mockery. arguments for public support of public libraries a rejoinder to the preceding paper was made by william e. foster, of the providence public library, before the american library association at its conference held in san francisco, cal., in . it may be considered as giving the normal american view as contrasted with the ultra-conservative attitude of mr. o'brien. a sketch of mr. foster appears in vol. i. of this series. the rise of the public library system both in this country and great britain, during the past half-century, has been almost coincident with the very noteworthy reexamination of every phase of social economy now so powerfully influencing the thought of the world. in this discussion the contributions of kaufmann, of fawcett, of graham, of jevons, and above all, of herbert spencer, have been more than influential--they have been almost epoch-making--and whatever view one may hold in regard to the social question, in its various phases, one cannot fail to acknowledge the deep debt which we owe to these profound thinkers. no book, from mr. spencer's point of view, which has appeared within recent years, is worthy of a wider reading than the volume entitled "a plea for liberty; an argument against socialism and socialistic legislation," which appeared about the beginning of the present year. in it thirteen writers, whose point of view is very nearly identical, have discussed in successive chapters such topics as postal communications, electric communication, investment, improvement of workingmen's homes, free libraries, education, and other subjects, in their relation to the question, "what action shall the state take in regard to them?" the underlying purpose of the book is thus expressed in the words of mr. mackay, the editor of the volume:--"if the view set out in this volume is at all correct, it is very necessary that men should abandon the policy of indifference, and that they should do something to enlarge the atmosphere of liberty. this is to be accomplished not by reckless and revolutionary methods, but rather by a resolute resistance to new encroachment and by patient and statesmanlike endeavor to remove wherever practicable the restraints of regulation, and to give full play over a larger area to the creative forces of liberty, for liberty is the condition precedent to all solution of human difficulty." surely this is a statement of the case which must powerfully appeal to all thinking men, and lead them to reexamine, at least, the principles on which state support of the various institutions referred to is based. in such a spirit, a reexamination of the argument for public support of public libraries must be regarded as entirely germane to the objects which the american library association has at heart. in such a spirit the present paper proposes to weigh once more the principles which underlie our american library system, and the considerations brought forward by mr. o'brien in the chapter devoted to "free libraries" in the volume referred to. the half-century of discussion of "socialism and socialistic legislation" already referred to has made few things so clear as the fact that the arguments employed on any subject--social subjects in particular--are weakened in almost the exact ratio in which they are allowed to be tinged by passion and excited feeling. it must therefore be regarded as unfortunate that mr. o'brien's chapter suffers most emphatically from comparison with the generally high level of calm and unimpassioned argument, characterizing the larger portion of the book. whether this is to be explained on the basis of the apocryphal legal maxim, "when you have no case, abuse your opponent," or whether mr. o'brien entered the lists fresh from some too recent participation in a personal contest over the question, we do not undertake to inquire. the fact remains that not only do the writers of the other chapters of the book appear from a careful reading to state their arguments more effectively, but that the reader is also impressed with the fact that they have a case which admits of more effective argument. let us glance in succession at the points which mr. o'brien has aimed to make. they may be grouped in general under two heads; first, those which relate to the injury (in mr. o'brien's view) inflicted on the individual user of a free library from having it aided by public support, and second, those which relate to the tax-payer's grievance (in mr. o'brien's view) in helping to support it. the former is of course the side of the question most germane to the general purpose of the book, and it is therefore an occasion for surprise to notice that in mr. o'brien's enumeration of arguments those coming under the other class outnumber it in the ratio of six to one. first of all, to use mr. o'brien's own language "the argument that if readers were left to pay for their own books, not only would books be more valued, but the moral discipline involved in the small personal sacrifice incurred by saving for such a purpose would do infinitely more good than any amount of culture obtained at other people's expense." and he takes occasion to suggest that "possibly the advocates of literary pauperism will see little force in" this argument. possibly; we are not familiar with the train of reasoning which leads to an advocacy of "literary pauperism." for ourselves, we have been accustomed, long before the appearance of mr. o'brien's chapter, to attach exceptional importance to the principle which he has here indicated, somewhat awkwardly, to be sure. there can be no doubt that the appreciation of any object is in almost the exact ratio of the effort expended to procure it. this is why teachers and librarians--in american communities, at least--have so often had occasion to rejoice at seeing a taste not only for reading, but for owning books inspired in a young man or woman by access to a noble collection of books for the use of the public. for "owning books," we say; but the limits of a collection so owned are too soon reached in the case of even the best-endowed pockets of individual readers. were the intelligent teacher who takes an interest in the reading and intellectual growth of the pupils, from the various walks in life represented in our schools, to find a pupil whose interest in pursuing further some lines of thought therein suggested, extended no further than to the books at home on his own book-shelf, we cannot doubt that it would give occasion to question the efficacy of the teaching imparted. mr. o'brien's objection to the enjoyment of these reservoirs of enlightenment, by a portion of the community, where the community as a whole is responsible for their support, is as if a man should be told that he would do well not to walk abroad at night by the light of the public street lamps, but rather enjoy the light kindled in his own house. the latter is certainly important, but not even mr. o'brien's reasoning is likely to persuade us that it precludes the former. mr. o'brien, in the second place, deeply feels for the reader who, in being brought in contact with the benefits of the library, is, he thinks, subjected to a wrong system of education. to quote his language: "just at the time when a child is beginning to form his tastes, just at the period when the daily habituation to the simple duties of farm life would lay the foundation both of sound health and practical knowledge, he is taken out of the parent's control, and subjected to a mind-destroying, cramming process, which excludes practical knowledge and creates a dislike for all serious study." one is compelled on reading this extraordinary deliverance to cast one's eye to the heading at the top of the page, "free libraries," and ask what this formidable indictment--not one count in which has any bearing on libraries--can mean in this connection. the only conclusion possible is that it was written with a view to appearing in some other chapter of the book. but mr. o'brien's concern is manifested also for the taxpayer, who unites in the public support of the library. if we understand him correctly, his contention is that the enormity of this tax consists largely in the reprehensible nature--as represented in his pages--of the institution itself. for from this short chapter one gradually frames a picture of the free library as a place which tramps frequent for sleeping off the effects of dissipation; as a place used by commercial travellers for exhibiting their samples; as a place from which in one instance "a respectable thief took away £ worth of books"; as a place used in an almost exclusive degree for reading fiction; as a place where the time prescribed for keeping books makes 'serious study' impossible;" and, more serious than all the rest, as a place which, he says, "favors one special section of the community at the expense of all the rest." let us do mr. o'brien the justice to add that for the first three of these counts he gives "chapter and verse" for his charges, quoting, namely, from various (english) library reports. no one will therefore wish to dispute his well-fortified statement that in such and such an instance an unseemly incident occurred. but even a child can assuredly see the difference between a statement of an isolated occurrence and an inference that it is a necessarily characteristic and inherent quality of the institution in question. were this latter true, then we might well cry out for abolishing our churches, sidewalks, and railway stations, for in them these very same three things respectively are known at some time to have been done. in the last three of these counts, however, we have only mr. o'brien's assertions as the basis, and we are obliged to add also that even these are found to be conflicting. on one page his language shows that he is pained that a certain percentage of readers in the libraries named should prefer to call for works of fiction. can it be that he has forgotten this, when on another page he cites it as a grievance that "it is a frequent occurrence for a reader to wait for months before he can get the novel he wants"! on page , after quoting, from the annual report of one of the english libraries, the statement as to the use of works of fiction, nothing but a resort to italics can sufficiently emphasize his lamentation that "the more instructive books in the other classes circulate only once during the same period." mr. o'brien is not the only observer who has failed always to observe, when commenting upon percentages of fiction, that "any book requiring serious study cannot be galloped through, like a novel, in the week or fourteen days allowed for use," yet who would have believed that "out of his own mouth" would he be so completely answered, for this remark, as well as the one which it answers, is found in his decidedly interesting chapter (p. ). but here it is evident that the bearing of the two upon each other was not in his mind in writing it, for his purpose in the sentence last quoted was plainly to make it appear that the customary regulations of public libraries were such as to render "serious study" impossible. the limitation of "a week or fourteen days" for a book of the kind which he here indicates--he instances by name kant's "critique of pure reason" and smith's "wealth of nations"--is practically unknown in american public libraries. in most of those known to the present writer a book of this kind can be charged in the first instance for fourteen days and then renewed, making twenty-eight days in all, and in still others for a longer period. it can then, after being returned to the library--to give any other reader who may need it a chance at it--be taken out again after remaining on the shelves twenty-four hours, for another twenty-eight days' use by the same reader. the annual report of an american library which lies before us contains a case in point. speaking of bryce's "american commonwealth," it states: "of this, seven copies were added in succession." it names as the total of the issues of this work during the year; but considering the truth expressed in mr. o'brien's own very just words, that "any book requiring serious study cannot be galloped through, like a novel," the statement is added that "such a record, for a book like this, constantly in the hands of readers, may be contrasted with the more than ten times greater number of times that some work of fiction might be read through, returned and taken out again, requiring but a part of a day's attention." in fact, is very likely to be the total number of issues possible in the case of seven copies of this book, while would probably fall far short of the total possible issues of the same number of copies of a story like "the wreck of the grosvenor." again, mr. o'brien not only tells us that "a free library favors one special section of the community" at the expense of all the rest, but throughout his chapter recurs again and again to the case of the "workingman." on page , for instance, we are solemnly told: "if the workingman cannot come by his books honestly, let him wait until he can." this is indeed somewhat summary, particularly when, being interpreted, it is found to mean, let there be no free libraries supported by the public. and yet, on page , with no less certainty, we are assured that "there is little doubt that at least forty-nine out of every fifty workingmen have no interest whatever in these institutions." where the deliverances from one and the same source are so contradictory, the impartial inquirer will doubtless feel like looking for some other source of information. from the materials accessible to the present writer in regard to american libraries--and the new edition of mr. greenwood's "public libraries" appears to tell the same tale in regard to great britain--the interest of workingmen in the opportunities afforded by public libraries is everywhere emphatically shown; but he who sets out with the purpose of showing that there is any one exclusive class to whom the public library is of service and to no other--be that class workingmen, or students, or manufacturers, or scientists--will find the facts singularly obstinate and unresponsive to his purpose. the truth is--mr. o'brien's confident assertion to the contrary--that there is no more "universal" and non-partisan institution than a public library. this is undoubtedly the highest among its several claims to public support. few among the objects to which the public funds have been appropriated, in american cities, have met with so hearty and unquestioning approval as the public parks, and it is right that it should be so. yet there are whole classes in every community who not only never do enjoy the public parks, but never care to enjoy them. even the public schools are for a certain fraction of the population only--the younger portion. in contrast with both of these, the public library extends its resources to the children and the adults alike. perhaps, however, the fundamentally important question of universality, in the sense of non-partisanship, is one which is seldom appreciated in its full force, as applied to a public library. an independent position, one entirely free from bias, a non-partisan attitude, in fact, is an ideal repeatedly set before the conductors of a school or a newspaper. in both these cases, however, there is too often an element of practical difficulty in carrying these praiseworthy intentions into practice, which is almost completely wanting in the case of a public library. the policy of the latter, is, in its very essence, catholic. it places on its shelves the volumes which represent, not one side, but both, or rather all sides of any subject on which the sentiment of the public divides; and thus, whether the user be democrat or republican, protectionist or freetrader, catholic or protestant, the aspect which this collection of books presents to him is no less free and uncircumscribed than the illimitable aid. again, it is important that the relation of a public library to the question of entertainment should be clearly understood. entertainment is not an element totally foreign to the purposes of a public library--the same kind of public benefit accrues in this case as in the case of public parks--but in the light of the infinitely more important functions which it renders, this must of necessity occupy a subordinate place. the primary function of a library is to render a service, to supply a need, to respond to a demand. in this respect its value to the community is of the same description as the postal system, the bank at which one may cash a check, or the reservoir from which one may "turn on" a supply of water. one of the points which mr. o'brien aims to make, and which proceeds from a manifest confusion of thought, can be appropriately noticed here. his contention is that a public library is for the "class" who may be designated "book-readers," that these form but a small percentage of any community, and that therefore it is obviously wrong that the library should receive public support. this is ingenious, as is also his eloquent, though somewhat contemptuous setting of their supposed special needs over against those of others. "are theatre-goers, lovers of cricket, bicyclists, amateurs of music, and others to have their earnings confiscated," merely that the "book-reader" may gratify his peculiar craving? like many other ingenious theories, however, it leaves out of account certain fundamentally important bearings of the subject. there can be no doubt that in any community "the book-reader" is not synonymous with the entire population. some of the population are children in arms; some have never learned to read; the sight of some who have learned has failed; others again are too fully occupied to find time for it; others find their inclination drawn more strongly in other directions; others still have more or less to do with reading, yet are not, in the strict sense, "book-readers." yet we shall err very widely if we lose sight of the fact that even those who do not personally perform the role of the "book-reader" do nevertheless benefit by the existence of the library, by proxy. the young child is read to, by his mother; or is cared for by her, by methods learned through her use of books. the busy "captain of industry," whose large profits are due to a skillful application of scientific principles, may find his own time so closely occupied by details of administration that, personally, he seldom opens the treatises which bear upon the subject, but he expects to keep abreast of the ever unfolding science, by the consultation not only of such works as private ownership may provide, but the more nearly complete collection in a great public library. this principle of "community of interest" and interdependence has an even wider bearing; for it applies not only to the family and the business firm, but to the community as a whole. a public library report now before the writer contains several instances of this kind. speaking of the systematic efforts made to build up an approximately complete collection of works on industrial and decorative subjects, the report states that in this way "the library is gradually becoming the possessor of a scientifically selected set of volumes and plates which cannot fail to leave a distinct impress on the character of the work done in the various industries of the city." another portion of the same report illustrates the direct service rendered by such an institution to the interests of the municipality. to quote the language there used, "instances of the last named, both striking and tangible, are of by no means exceptional occurrence, sometimes an application of this kind being presented from more than one city official on the same day," the foregoing having reference to the city in question. "a well-authenticated instance," it continues, "in one of the largest cities of the country, of the saving of a sum of many thousand dollars, in the matter of a contract, due to the opportunity for consulting the requisite data comprised in works of authority in the public library of that city, is but an indication of the possibilities of a public library." it is fitting that where funds are to be appropriated, collected by taxes levied on the tax-paying population, there should be possible so tangible a presentation as the above, of the direct relation of the institution supported, to the question of "profit and loss," as affecting those who are taxed. and yet it is well to remember that it is as true now as twenty centuries ago, that "man does not live by bread alone;" and that the public support of the institutions referred to can be justified by other arguments than that of the material interests just cited. no aspect of the library's operation is more full of interest than that which takes account of its uplifting influence. the analogy between its service and that of the postal system has been noticed; but it has a no less real analogy to the work of the school, the pulpit, or the press--yet without the propagandist principle which so often attaches to these latter--namely, in the principle of growth or advance. in the earlier portion of this paper a little space was devoted to showing that in the nature of the case the number of copies of any work of fiction used in the course of a year would immensely out-number those which could possibly be read in the more solid departments of reading. even were the constituency of the library confined to a selected few, to whose minds the higher class of reading was congenial, this would be the case. nor should we forget that the ground of distinction between a "public" library and any other, as the library of a scientific society, a debating society, a theological school or a teachers' club, is that its constituency _is_ not thus limited to a selected class but is broad as humanity itself, with all its enormous inequalities of condition, taste, and mental growth. like a mirror, therefore, the recorded classified circulation reflects this variety. even with this apparently almost unmanageable unevenness, appreciable improvement in standards of reading is by no means an unknown experience. there lies before the writer, for instance, a library report which is able to make such a statement as this: "the fiction percentages of the seven successive years, beginning with and ending with , show an uninterrupted decline, as follows: +, +, +, +, +, +." but it must be remembered also that figures such as these, though they may tell a part, and a very gratifying part, of the advances which individual readers have been helped to make, fall very far short of expressing the whole. it would be entirely possible for individual after individual thus to advance from good to better, and from better to best, and yet the figures which express the aggregate use of the year remain stationary (or even retrograde), because the constituency of a public library (particularly in a large city) is all the time being reenforced by new readers. and these new readers comprise both those who are children in age and those who are children in mental growth, who begin at the foot. when, therefore, there is anything more than a preserving of a uniform level--as in the noteworthy figures above quoted--it stands for a very striking advance indeed, on the part of a very large portion of the community. probably every librarian in charge of a public library in a large city has had an opportunity of observing these advances in innumerable individual instances. and this class of results, while distinctly following the "order of nature," does not by any means come about through a view of library administration which regards either books, readers, or librarian as inert masses. much of it is the result of individual interest expressed by the librarian in some reader, whose mind receives an awakening impulse. more than one well authenticated instance exists of an individual beginning life as a newsboy or an elevator-boy, and through his use of a public library finding his intellectual powers unfolding until he has entered one of the learned professions. the relation of the library system to the school system opens an almost boundless field of thought, and it is a fact of deep significance that the profound principle involved in it, after having engaged the attention of english and american libraries for years, has been recognized in the educational steps recently taken by the government of japan, where the two systems are placed on a plane of equality. in the experience of one of the american libraries already referred to, almost the chief hope of the library for the future is placed upon "a class of readers," every year largely increasing in numbers, who comprise the "graduates from the various institutions of learning" in the city, and whose "lines of study and reading" "may be characterized as a carrying forward of those impulses in the direction of right reading which were received in school and college." the library has a no less direct relation to the needs and ambitions of those who have received the invaluable training of "the practical duties of the world," to use mr. o'brien's phrase, and it responds with equal readiness to these. there is concentrated in the contemptuous phrase, "book-learning," a popular judgment of condemnation which is for the most part just, on the spurious variety of knowledge which knows the expression of certain principles in books, but knows nothing of their practical embodiment in the life and work of this world. we are glad to observe that mr. o'brien's antipathy to this pseudo-knowledge is almost as profound as our own, but his expression of it seems singularly out of place in a philippic against public libraries; for one will seek far before finding an institution more perfectly suited to be a corrective of such a tendency than the modern public library. does any one claim that the public school system sometimes has an unfortunate tendency to repress individuality and turn out a set of pupils of uniform mould? if so, the public library supplies a means of supplementing and complementing this uniformity by its infinite variety and universality, and it is continually doing this, indeed. does any one regret that the school system at its best reaches but a fraction of the population and that fraction for but a few short years of their life, and that in too many instances there is a tendency on the part of even these few, educated in the schools, to conceive of their education as "finished," and allow the fabric to become hopelessly ravelled? if so, the public library stands to these members of the community in an almost ideal relation, not only fulfilling very perfectly mr. carlyle's characterization of a "collection of books" as "the people's university," but in the peculiarly wide range shown in the demands made upon it, almost as properly rendering it the people's workshop, or laboratory. the same library report which has several times been cited printed several years since a record of the inquiries made on specific subjects during a single month, which throws significant light upon this subject. another report of the same library declares that "few can adequately conceive to what extent the inquiries made at the library have become specialized, and require trained facility and research" on the part of the library staff. the library thus becomes a laboratory, in which the reader gains not only the specific information, but the method. an observation of popular movements in their relation to political or economic principles reveals few facts so plainly as that an almost insuperable narrowness of view is, in much the greater number of instances, the barrier to advance in those questions decided mainly by the popular voice. why then should any one wish to perpetuate the conditions which make this possible? in mr. o'brien's view the workingman,--and we ought not to forget how large a percentage of the community this word "workingman" represents, both in england and america,--will be a fortunate man when the contents of free libraries are no longer rendered everywhere accessible to him by public support, for then the workingmen "for one 'penny' can buy their favorite newspaper, which can be carried in the pocket and read at any time"! it is well nigh incredible that an ideal such as this should be looked forward to by thinking men. whatever may be the fact in regard to the workingmen of great britain,--and mr. o'brien of course knows them better than we do,--it may confidently be asserted that the american workingman would strike no such false note. mr. lowell in one of his admirable orations quotes from a wallachian legend of a peasant who was "taken up into heaven" and offered his choice among the objects to be seen there. he chose a half worn-out bagpipe, and with this returned to the earth. "with an infinite possibility within his reach, with the choice of wisdom, of power, of beauty, at his tongue's end, he asked according to his kind, and his sordid wish is answered with a gift as sordid." the newspaper is well enough in its way,--even a "penny newspaper,"--but to condemn whole masses of the population to limit themselves to this, is to incur the condemnation of mr. lowell's fine scorn when, in another portion of the oration just referred to, he says: "it is we who, while we might each in his humble way be helping our fellows into the right path, or adding one block to the climbing spire of a fine soul, are willing to become mere sponges saturated from the stagnant goose-pond of village gossip." it is more. it is to help develop a community from whom in the end every spark of uplifting influence shall have vanished. does any one say that this is a result impossible of attainment by any people? the scientifically true, yet brutally summary record given by the distinguished european savant, elisée reclus, of a certain european stock which has found and occupied virgin soil in the south of africa, is a sufficient answer. "in general," he says, "the boers despise everything that does not contribute directly to the material prosperity of the family group. they ignore music, the arts, literature, all refining influence, and find little pleasure in anything," except solid amassing of wealth. a few additional points remain to be noted. it is an entirely pertinent question whether every public library in england and america improves its high privilege, uses to the full the peculiar opportunities open to it, places itself in close communication with the public school system, with the university extension movement, and with the influences continually at work in industrial and artistic development. and we need not hesitate to answer in the negative. yet the significant fact is, that everywhere the tendency is in this direction with a stronger and stronger momentum. the advance made in this country, within the last decade even, in this direction, is among the most striking phenomena of the time; and no less striking is the almost overwhelming percentage of the body of librarians in this country whose entrance upon the work from a deep-seated love for it, rather than as furnishing a means of livelihood, supplies one of the strongest guarantees against the invasion of the perfunctory spirit in the future. again, it is equally pertinent to ask whether, granted that the benefits of such an institution as the public library are unquestioned, dependence may not be placed on funds entirely unconnected with those of the public, for its support. it would ill become the citizen of a country where private munificence has accomplished so much in channels of public spirit, to overlook these noble memorials of enlightened private action. yet it remains true, nevertheless, that were dependence to be placed on these alone, a map of the country on which public libraries should be dotted down would show as partial and inadequate a supply furnished to the community, as the very instructive "annual rainfall map" published by the government shows in the matter of rain. what we are accustomed, in the eastern portion of this country, to consider the rain--in its universal beneficent service and in its indispensableness--that also is to be associated with the "reservoirs" comprised in these public collections of books. for, after all, valuable as are the books themselves, even in their material aspect, as pieces of handiwork, still more in the specific items of information and admonition contained in them, yet in the deeper view these are but symbols of their real significance and service. to place one's self in communication with them as contained in these libraries, is to bring ourselves in contact with the stored-up thought of the world thus far. we have just adverted to the fundamental bearing which this has upon the deeper or spiritual side of man's life. but the two-sided character of these collections of books follows us even here, for their indispensableness in the material point of view is almost as striking, and this, not only whether we consider the statesman planning measures of public weal, while neglecting to inform himself of the recorded conditions which necessarily must determine such measures; or whether it be the inventor spending long years of his too brief life in perfecting a machine which his consultation of the recorded patent would have shown him some one else had anticipated him in thinking out; or whether it be the day laborer submitting without an effort to violations of his rights, which a single glance at the recorded statutes would have shown him he had a remedy for. how like all this is to the supposed state of things which one of the most suggestive writers of our day has thus expressed: "our early voyagers are dead: not a plank remains of the old ships that first essayed unknown waters; the sea retains no track; and were it not for the history of these voyages contained in charts, in chronicles, in hoarded lore of all kinds, each voyager, though he were to start with all the aids of advanced civilization," would be in the helpless position of the earliest voyager. once more, each reader of the strongly written book which we have been considering should ask the question for himself, whether all of the various propositions maintained therein necessarily stand or fall together. because the compiler has chosen to bracket together two such headings as "free libraries" and "the state and electrical distribution," it certainly does not follow that the argument which carries conviction in the one case must in the other also. we shall not be suspected of having our judgment in this regard swayed by the natural weakness with which, to use mr. o'brien's illustration, the shoemaker is inclined to think that "there is nothing like leather," if we suggest, what the public at large in this country is very plainly persuaded of, that, for one person who has appreciated the need for public action in the latter case there are thousands in the former. the writer lives in a city in which for more than eleven years the public library was administered by funds not in the least degree derived from municipal appropriations. yet the character of its service to the public had so widely impressed itself upon the community that, largely from sources outside of the library board, a movement arose for recognizing the closeness of the relation, by public support. a report by a committee of the city government, recommending this course, significantly declares: "your committee are unanimously of the opinion that this public library, already existing in the city, is a useful and a necessary adjunct to the educational system sustained by the city in its public schools, and properly appeals to the treasury for an appropriation towards its support." after eleven years' opportunity for observation and comparison, such a judgment as this has the merit of deliberation and conviction. it is true that by far the greater part of the considerations which lead the present writer to find mr. o'brien's view untenable are drawn from observation and experience of conditions existing in this country. yet it is to be noted that his position is also contested, so far as great britain is concerned, by an article in the march number of the library (of london), which shows, not only that our english cousins are fully able to take care of themselves, but also that on many of the questions of fact, about which his arguments turn, he is painfully wide of the mark. few students of social conditions have left so noteworthy an impress on contemporary thought as the late william stanley jevons. of the free public library he held a view radically opposed to that of mr. o'brien, believing it to be "an engine for operating upon" the community, in ways at once protective and ennobling. as to the universality of its beneficent service, he was equally convinced, declaring not only that "free libraries are engines for creating the habit and power of enjoying high-class literature, and thus carrying forward the work of civilization which is commenced in the primary school," but also that they are "classed with town halls, police courts, prisons, and poor-houses, as necessary adjuncts of our stage of civilization." the experience of one community or one nation is repeatedly serviceable to another; but, after all, it is the local conditions which must finally determine in any case. even if a different conclusion were to be reached in this matter in great britain, it would still remain true that for us in america it is one of the highest duties of self-preservation to keep alive the uplifting influences represented in the public support of these institutions. the future of this country, even more than its past, will be irrevocably committed to the democratic principle in government. as is the people--in the widest sense of the word--so will be the national life and character. in the future, even more than in the past, crudity, narrowness, well-meaning ignorance, and low standards of taste and ethics will, unless met with corrective tendencies, color our national life. the public school and the public library--"instruments equal in power to the dionysiac theatre, and vastly greater in their range of power," to quote the language of one of the most thoughtful of our men of letters--will stand more and more, in our american communities, as such corrective tendencies. public libraries and the public one of the first clear statements of the public library as a business enterprise, involving certain amounts invested by a city with the expectation of certain definite returns. the paper refers particularly to the san francisco public library, of which the author, frederic beecher perkins, was then librarian but its conclusions are general, and hold good to-day. it was read at the lake george conference of the american library association, in september, . frederic beecher perkins was born in hartford, conn., sept. , , a grandson of lyman beecher. he left yale in sophomore year to study law and was admitted to the bar in , but graduated at the state normal school in and devoted himself to literary and educational work. in - he was librarian of the san francisco public library. he died in morristown, n.j., jan. , . he was the father of charlotte perkins gilman. there are in the united states about , public libraries of volumes or more. returns of their present conditions are very imperfect, and must therefore be summed in the following crude way:-- annual cost much more than $ , , the books in them are many more than , , books added yearly are many more than , books used yearly are many more than , , these institutions, therefore, represent a large money investment, and a very extensive and active educational agency. not all of them by any means are "free public libraries,"--_i.e._, libraries supported by taxes or endowments for the use of all. but a considerable portion of them are. it may now be justly said that no town of importance is respectably complete without a free public library any more than any town whatever without a school. the san francisco free public library was founded in , and was advancing with creditable speed towards a size and usefulness corresponding to the position of san francisco, among american cities, until the present city government suddenly cut down its annual appropriation to bare running expenses, leaving no allowance for buying new books, or even for replacing old ones worn out. this library is not a collection of mummies of deceased learning, which will be no drier in a thousand years than they are now. it has thus far consisted of live books for live people. but a library of this practically useful kind, if it stops buying new books, quickly becomes dead stock,--unattractive, obsolete, useless. in _belles-lettres_, literature, history, mechanic arts, engineering, applied science, all alike, it is equally indispensable to have the new books. the photographer, the druggist, the electrician, the machinist, the manufacturing chemist, as much as or more than the reader of novels, poetry, travels, or history, want this year's discoveries, for last year's are already obsolete. next year it will not be mr. blaine's book that will be most called for,--that will be a year old,--but general grant's book. but a thousand examples would not make the case clearer. this prohibition of new books, perhaps on pretence of economy, would be the natural first step of shrewd opponents intending to close the library entirely as soon as the books are dead enough. it is girdling the tree now, so as to destroy it more early next year. it is understood that at least two prominent members of the present city government (supervisor pond and auditor strother) are distinctly opposed to the library, and to free public libraries, on principle. it is not known that any member of it is a particularly energetic friend of the institution. the library staff is small in number (seven boys and eight adults); the salaries (omitting the librarian's) exceptionally scanty, and even this small patronage and expenditure is wholly controlled by the board of trustees, and wholly out of reach of the board of supervisors. when this is remembered it is easy to understand both the probable firmness of any opposition, and the probable lukewarmness of any friendship to the library in the latter body. this is perfectly natural. all governing bodies try to keep and increase their authority over persons and payments. they never let go of them when they can help it. and, accordingly, the supervisors insisted on controlling all the expenditure and management of the library, until a decision of the supreme court of the state forced the control out of their hands. whether the actual closing of the library is intended or not, the obvious first step towards it has been taken, and its closing will follow in due season, if the policy is continued. if the voters of san francisco choose to have it so, there is no more to be said, for it is their library. probably they could lawfully divide up the books among themselves, and so close out the enterprise. the dividend, now, would be not far from one volume to each household in the city. but, if they wish the library to continue, this early notice is due them. further: the custom here, in respect to the contents of municipal public documents, prevents such discussions of library questions as are usual in the annual reports of other city libraries; so that, if a view of principles and practices in and about such institutions as a class, and of their application in this instance, is to be laid before the public at all, it must be submitted, as in this paper, unofficially. the following table shows the financial, and some of the literary, relations between public libraries and cities in san francisco, in four other large cities, and in six small cities. the cases were taken promiscuously as they came to hand, of the latest dates available, but all are within a few years. new york has no free public library; movements to establish one there have repeatedly been contemplated, but have been abandoned, because the men who could have set up the library would not encounter the practical certainty of its becoming one more corruptionist engine in the hands of the city rulers. philadelphia has none, for reasons not known to the present writer, but, very likely, the same as in new york. st. louis has none now, although its excellent public school library may, very likely, become one. new orleans has none, apparently, because it doesn't want any. louisville has none, because the devil cannot set up a true church; the enormous lottery swindle which was worked off there a few years ago was ostensibly to establish and endow one, but where did the money go? assessed being, population value in whole gives its of cities ( ) millions city library whole ( ) tax tax boston , $ $ , , $ , / chicago , , , , / cincinnati , / , , , / lynn , / , , / milwaukee , / , , / new bedford , / , , / newburyport , / , , / springfield, mass. , / , , / taunton , / , , / worcester , / , , / san francisco , , , , / vols. being and per vols. per circulation per $ . volumes cities in soul per year soul of added library (about) (about) salaries yearly boston , / , , , chicago , / + , / / , cincinnati , / + , / , lynn , / , / , milwaukee , / , / , new bedford , / , ... , newburyport , / ... ... ... springfield, mass. , / , / / , taunton , , / / , worcester , + , / / , san francisco , / + , / [ ] , [tn: table split for text version] [ ] next year none except gifts. the six small cities tabulated are all in massachusetts, because the latest and fullest reports came to hand from them. of various comparisons which could be formulated from the above figures, the following are the most pertinent now:-- ( ) of the five large cities listed, boston, chicago, cincinnati, and milwaukee give from one fifty-first part to one eighty-second part of their tax levies for their libraries; san francisco, one one-hundred and twenty-fifth part. ( ) of the actual sums so set apart by these cities, boston, with half as many more people, gives nearly seven times as much; chicago, with twice as many, gives three times as much; cincinnati, with one-tenth more gives two and two-thirds times as much; milwaukee, with one-half as many, gives nearly as much ($ less). ( ) accordingly, san francisco would expend every year for its library, if it were as liberal as boston, about $ , ; if as liberal as chicago, $ , ; and so on. ( ) the actual comparative size of their libraries is: boston seven times as large as san francisco; chicago nearly twice; cincinnati twice and a half; milwaukee only is smaller, being somewhat more than one-third as large. ( ) the rate of increase is: from , volumes a year at boston, to , at milwaukee; and in san francisco, for the coming year none (for the loss in worn-out volumes will more than equal any probable total of gifts), none at all. ( ) the number of volumes circulated in a year for each dollar of salaries paid is in san francisco more than twice as great as in boston or milwaukee, and decidedly larger than in chicago or cincinnati. it may be added, although the figures are not in this table, that a much more striking evidence of the stringent economy of the library administration here is the fact that there is paid at the boston public library in salaries, in the cataloging department alone, without allowing anything for printing, nearly as much as the whole of this year's library appropriation by the city of san francisco. ( ) similar comparisons with the six smaller cities listed would give results generally similar, but showing a still more liberal rate per head and dollar of expenditure for libraries. in addition to this exposition of comparative parsimony a feature of it should be remembered which might easily escape notice: that, while the money for running expenses is all gone at the end of the year, nearly all of the allowance above running expenses remains represented by valuable property. thus, if the year's allowance for this library had been $ , , instead of $ , , it would not have cost a cent more to run the library and at the year's end about $ , worth of books would remain added to the permanent property of the city. another result of this policy is to prevent printing any catalogue of the recent additions to the library; so that there is practically no access, and there will, for the present, continue to be none, even for the public who own the books, to all additions to this library since june, , being several thousand titles. it is needless to point out that if there were to be the hypothesis of an unfriendly purpose entertained against the library, that purpose would be served as directly by suppressing the names of books in the library as by preventing the addition of new ones, or by the replacing of those worn out. these brief statements sufficiently show what our city is doing, and what other cities are doing, for or against public libraries. it is not within the scope of this paper to inquire after the real reason for the stop put to the progress of the san francisco free public library. one hypothesis is, that, instead of any unfriendly intention against the library itself, the step was taken to help in persuading the public that the "dollar limit" to the rate of city taxation is too low, and that our citizens must submit to a higher rate. as the money saved is only $ , , the economy is not great in itself, being about one four-hundredth part of the city tax levy. if the proposed effect was expected to be produced by continuously annoying and dissatisfying the citizens there is more reason in the scheme; for the library is frequented by more than a thousand persons daily; between , and , cards have been issued to authorize the home use of books; and there are always at any given moment from , to , volumes from the library in use in as many homes all over the city. to inconvenience and disoblige so large a constituency as this may naturally produce some effect. this paper need not attempt to decide whether that effect would naturally be approval or disapproval of the treatment of the library, enthusiasm in favor of, or against, the proposed increase of taxation, unpopularity or popularity of the institution itself, or of those whose action so effectually cripples its usefulness. nor will it discuss the still larger question of the "dollar limit" itself,[ ] however decisively important all these inquiries are for the future of the library, and however interesting and clear the arguments and conclusions on those subjects may be. but what it may properly do is, to state, without any pretence of novelty, but simply in order to refresh the public memory, the chief heads of a doctrine of her public libraries from a practical point of view. first (to limit the discussion). what a free public library is _not_ for. it is not for a nursery; a lunch-room; a bed-room; a place for meeting a girl in a corner and talking to her; a conversation-room of any kind; a free dispensary of stationery, envelopes, and letter-writing; a free range for loiterers; a campaigning field for mendicants, or for displaying advertisements; a haunt for loafers and criminals. indeed, not to specify with inelegant distinctness, a free public library, like any other similarly commodious place of free public resort, would, if permitted, be used for any purpose whatever, no matter how private or how vicious, which could be served there more conveniently than by going to one's own home, or than by having any home at all. it would be so used systematically, constantly, and to a degree of intolerable nuisance; and its purification from such uses, if they have been set up, will be met with clamor, abuse, and with any degree and kind of even violent resistance which may be thought safe, or likely to succeed. let it not be supposed that this is an imaginary picture. it is in every point taken from actual and numerous instances, and could be illustrated by a sufficiently ridiculous series of single adventures, by any librarian of large experience. open public premises for some of the purposes above specified might conceivably be properly supplied by the public. what is here affirmed is, that public libraries are not at present proper for them. [ ] san francisco is at present taxed on a precise scale of one dollar to the hundred dollars of value, and on an annual total valuation of $ , , , which is, however, in practice somewhat, but not largely, exceeded. second. what such a library _is_ for. its first object is to supply books to persons wishing to improve their knowledge of their occupations. such books as nicholson's, burns', riddell's, tredgold's, dwyer's, waring's, holly's, and others, on practical architecture, building, or departments of them; the numerous collections of plans and details of domestic and other architecture; masury's house-painting; kittredge's metal-worker's pattern-book; percy's, phillips', and other books on metallurgy and mining; dussance, piesse, and others on soap-making, perfumery, and other branches of applied chemistry; lock on sugar-refining; many manuals of brewing and distilling; noad, hospitalier, preece, etc., on applications of electricity; burgh's, roper's, and other hand-books and more advanced works on steam engineering generally, locomotives, marine engines, etc.; gaskell's, hill's, and other business manuals; hand-books of correspondence, book-keeping, phonography; in short, text-books, both elementary and advanced, in all sorts of commercial and industrial occupations, are of the first importance in a free public library, and are constantly and eagerly used in this one. the study of such books puts money directly into the student's pocket, promotes his success in life, and the prosperity of the city. a good and active public library raises the value of every piece of real estate in the city, by thus making the city more profitable (in dollars) to live in; because it enables the intelligent and studious to earn more. second in importance is the supply of books to those who wish to acquire or pursue an education, or to complete or continue a knowledge of general literature; and, third, the accommodation of students working out special lines of research. fourth. such is the more solid usefulness of a public library. the rest of its distributing work, whatever its intrinsic usefulness, is at least as indispensable, and is always numerically the most popular. this is the supply of light literature to readers for rest or amusement. whether books of this class constitute one-half the library or (as in this one) one-tenth of it, it may be depended on that from one-half to four-fifths of all the reading done will be done from that part. the justification of the supply of such books by a free public library is, that it is important also, if not likewise, to afford mental relaxation, as it is to feed mental effort; that even light reading is a very important improvement over and safe-guard from street life and saloon life; that such books introduce to a more useful class of books by forming the habit of reading; and that the public, who pay for the library, choose to have books of this sort as much as, if not even rather more than, the more useful sort. fifth. there is another department of usefulness for public libraries, quite unknown until within a few years, which makes them actual and vital members of the public-school system, and additionally justifies the term "people's universities," which has often been applied to them. this is the arrangement at the library of courses of illustrative study and reading for teachers or pupils, or both. a series of such books as relate to one or another part of the school course is laid out at the library; the teachers, and perhaps sometimes one of the higher classes, examine them along with the librarian, and such information as they afford is used to fill out and illustrate the outline in the school-book for the fuller information of the pupils. this practice is perhaps easiest in history and geography. it is easy to see how a capable teacher could intensify the interest and enrich the minds of a class about the geography of the east indian archipelago, by introducing them to the vivid narrative and abundant illustrations of wallace's most entertaining and instructive book on that region. how, for instance, palgrave's "year in arabia," palmer's "desert of the exodus," lady duff gordon's "letters from egypt," o'donovan's "merv oasis," atkinson's and kennan's books on siberia, huc's "travels in tartary and in china," and hundreds of other books, each for its locality, all over the world, could be used to give a child clear notions and strong impressions of savage or civilized landscapes and people. it is not too much to say that the study of geography in the public schools of san francisco, illustrated as it could easily be from books of travel now in the public library, could be made from beginning to end as fascinating as any romance, while it would store the children's minds with a kind and quantity of distinct knowledge about the earth and its people as much beyond the results of ordinary geographical study as gold is better than mud. it would be easy to furnish similar specifications for the study of history, of natural science, and other branches. this is no mere speculation. this system of instruction is regularly practised by mr. green, of the worcester free library (the originator and pioneer in it); by mr. poole at chicago, and elsewhere, and with complete success. besides its immediate result in vivifying and enriching the pupil's minds, this method affords a training in habits of reading of the very best kind, by teaching research, the habit of selecting books, and the practice of comparative thinking. to sum up: a free public library-- . as to manners--is a parlor, not a bar-room; a place where not only working men and business men, but ladies and young girls can safely and conveniently come and abide. while not expressly a school of manners and morals, it is much and closely concerned in maintaining a high standard in both. . as to objects--is to furnish good books, not bad ones; to satisfy within this limit all demands on it as far as may be; and in particular to be progressive; that is, to supply for intelligent readers what they most require,--the _new_ good books. . as to method--should keep the books in the best possible condition for the longest possible term of use, and should not allow them to be scattered, lost, abused, mutilated, or stolen. lastly. it is needless to add, under these heads, any of the numerous technical details which crowd the work of an active library; but this exposition would be inexcusably imperfect without a reference to the absolute indispensableness of proper quarters in order to successful library administration. only the merest reference need now be made to the professional immorality of notorious localities close around this library in its present place. something more may be said of the unbusinesslike payment by the city of a heavy insurance on $ , worth of its property, which must be paid, because the library is in the same building with a theatre. theatres burn down on an average once in seventeen years; and a theatre risk, although not absolutely uninsurable like a gunpowder mill, is what insurance men call "extra hazardous;" so that not only is the insurance rate high, but the destruction by fire of the library (in its present location) may be looked upon as certain, the only question being, how soon? a difficulty less obvious and less dangerous, but still a source of constant friction and annoyance, is the present arrangement of the library as one collection, with but one place for delivering books. in a small library, with a small business, this difficulty becomes nothing; but in one as large and as energetically active as this it is a serious disadvantage. such a library imperatively requires division into two libraries or sections, one to contain all books deliverable without discrimination; the other, all books calling for special care and precaution of any kind. the receipt and delivery desks of these two sections should be separate, and before and behind them there should be plenty of room. in the present library, which is in one large undivided hall, the space is insufficient, both for the public and for the library staff; and books of the two classes above described are intermingled all over the shelves. the result is, crowding, interruption, delay, error, confusion, and dissatisfaction. very many books might be trusted with a studious mechanic or a literary student which it would be a folly to deliver into the hands of a small boy or girl. many other extremely desirable objects would be gained by the occupancy of properly arranged library quarters; but of these only two need be mentioned here; separate quarters could be provided for students who need special facilities and assistance, and there could be such arrangements that ladies using the library need not crowd and struggle about among impatient children and miscellaneous masculine strangers. the levy of library tribute the above title was constructed by the editor from a sentence in the presidential address of henry m. utley before the american library association at its denver conference of . president utley himself gave it no title, but it is an examination of the claims of the library to public support, with a conclusion that those claims are justified only by regarding the library as an educational institution, using this term in its broadest sense. henry munson utley was born at plymouth, mich., aug. , . he served on the staff of the detroit _free press_ in - , was city editor of the _post_ and _post-tribune_ until , and then, after holding the secretaryship of the detroit board of education, became in librarian of the public library, in which post he served until his death on feb. , , becoming librarian emeritus in . we are met for the seventeenth conference of the american library association in the capital city of the centennial state. it is a pleasing co-incidence that the association and the state celebrate the same natal year. within the memory of some of us the whole region of which this city is now the metropolis was a wilderness. the century was fairly begun when lieut. pike led his little band to the sources of the arkansas and made his futile attempt to scale the lofty peak which now bears his name. forty years later came the explorations of fremont, and then fifteen years elapsed before the tide of immigration set in. the desert of that day has been converted into prosperous farms. thriving towns have sprung up in the mountain fastnesses, at the gateway to which sits this queen city of the plains, displaying all the evidences of wealth, culture, and refinement to be found in the proud cities to the eastward. this rapid and wonderful transformation has been the work of human hands guided by intelligent brains and an indomitable spirit of pluck and perseverance. we are accustomed to think of this combination as purely american. in many of its characteristics it certainly is so. and in no respect more distinctively so than in the cause in which we are most interested. not all the older commonwealths, even on this side of the atlantic, have yet accepted the theory that the education of the citizen is the concern of the state. but in all this newer portion of our country this doctrine has been incorporated into the fundamental law. the ordinance of for the government of the territory northwest of the ohio river declared that for obvious reasons schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged. the twenty states now organized within this and the subsequently acquired territory to the westward have all accepted to the fullest extent the doctrine of the ordinance. they have not only carried it into practical effect by general laws providing for free public schools for children, for universities and institutions of higher learning for the education of youth, but have also provided for the establishment and maintenance of free public libraries at the general expense and for the common use of all the people. let us consider very briefly the theory upon which the state assumes to levy tribute upon the property of individuals to provide means for maintaining libraries. by what right does the state tax the man of wealth to put miscellaneous books into the hands of the man who pays no tax? so far as primary education is concerned, the basis seems clear. the free state which depends for its very existence upon the intelligence of the masses of its citizens must, as a measure of self-defense, provide the facilities by which all may become intelligent. self-preservation is the supremest natural law. whatever has a right to exist has a right to do that which is necessary to preserve its existence. the free state which rests on the suffrage of its citizens is bound in duty to itself to see to it that popular education, which is essential to its perpetuity, is universal. ignorant men are not competent to take care of themselves and their households, still less to direct the destinies of an empire. the state has, therefore, the right, not only to provide the means of education, but to compel education. laws are in force which require certain attendance upon the schools. these rest on the theory that the interest of the state in the education of the individual surpasses that of the individual, and therefore, the state cannot, in justice to itself, treat education purely as a matter of individual concern. it is a notorious fact that the average person does not perceive the importance of self-cultivation. as the vineyard left to itself is soon choked out with weeds and chapparall, so man if left to himself lapses naturally into his primitive condition. the state cannot leave him to himself, but must interpose to make it certain that he acquires the best degree of information which his natural abilities and the time not necessary to his self-support shall permit. neither can the state leave the matter of providing facilities and inducements to education to private enterprise, nor to the church, which has been the foremost of all organizations to appreciate its importance. while the state recognizes these agencies and accepts them as satisfactory, so far as they go, it nevertheless fully equips schools of its own, in pursuance of its inherent right and duty, which cannot be relinquished to any other agency. the extent to which the state shall go in the matter of educating its citizens has been the subject of much discussion. there are those who maintain that as the education of the individual proceeds his concern in his own development increases, until finally, if his education proceeds far enough, his concern in his own development surpasses that of the state, and he must thenceforth be left to equip himself entirely at his own expense. if that point is marked by the line between primary and secondary, or between secondary and higher education, there is where the state is in duty bound to stop. the extent of the interest of the community as compared with that of the individual is held to grow less and less and finally to disappear as he advances. but the better judgment of our time repudiates this theory, and holds apparently that there is no limit to the concern of the state in the mental progress of the individual. ian maclaren in his touching story of "domsie" quotes john knox as saying: "ilka scholar is something added to the riches of the commonwealth." it can probably be demonstrated by the rules of accounts that as a business investment the state is wisely spending money in the education of the people. the cost is more than returned to it in the material development which an enlightened citizenship ensures. if we contrast our own country, where education is free, with some older countries where it is yet held to be a matter of minor concern, or if we contrast some of the states of this republic with others of corresponding age, we shall see at a glance a wide difference in material resources and prosperity. in one the industrial arts are far advanced, there is intellectual activity, the average citizen is well clothed, well housed, and enjoys many luxuries; in the other, the methods and life of a past century prevail and poverty and ill-living are the rule. this, if not the highest motive, is an incidental one of considerable importance for doing at the common expense that which is for the common good. but the maintenance of the public library is not based on the communistic idea. a former president of this association, speaking at the lake george conference, said: "the socialists and communists are all friends of the library, for we give them the books they want, and they hold that it is not only the duty of the government to educate the people, but to furnish them with reading. if the library ever shall have enemies they will be the rich, who do not enjoy being taxed for the benefit of the public, and have libraries of their own. its defenders will be men of broad views, scholarly people, and behind them, with votes, the middle and poorer classes." while it may be true, in a certain sense, that socialists and communists approve the public library because it appears to give them something which they desire at the public cost, that scheme, on its true ground, is as far removed as possible from any such theory of maintenance by the state. the essential principle of communism is that the members of the community shall hold their property in common for the common use and benefit. this principle flourished in the village community in which each individual was allotted his certain proportion of the lands owned in common. there are at this day a sporadic few who advocate government ownership of railroads, and some would even include all the great instrumentalities of commerce and production. but the rational majority hold that the state of society is best which makes the individual a free and independent member of the community. his ambitions and energies are best stimulated by his opportunities to prosper for himself. civilization and enlightenment are advanced by the efforts of the master spirits of the race. the only demand which the individual can justly make on the community, with its government as the common agent of all, is that it shall not merely protect him in his rights as a free and independent citizen, but that it shall assure him the opportunities for the fullest exercise of his talents, and shall also, as a measure of common interest, provide the facilities for his very highest mental equipment. in this latter service of the state there is nothing whatever of the communistic idea. the public library is not a public charity. there may be some who regard it as in the nature of a free soup-house which caters to the appetite for mental pabulum more or less wholesome. most communities make some provision for those who are mentally or physically unfitted to care for themselves and who have no estate nor natural relations upon whom they can rely for support. so the state builds and maintains hospitals and almshouses. this it does simply as a duty of humanity. the instincts of the race and the teachings of an enlightened civilization assure us that a universal brotherhood makes all human creatures kin. as individuals we owe a certain duty to all other individuals, and as organized society we must see to it that the welfare of all is conserved. but there is no duty of kindness or good-will which requires the furnishing of reading matter for the use of the whole community. the public library is not provided for the mere intellectual enjoyment of the citizens. the municipal corporation uses public funds to buy and beautify parks and boulevards. the purpose of these is to promote the public health and comfort, and incidentally to cultivate the aesthetic sense. the state has a direct interest in the health of its citizens. it must rely on their physical strength for defense in time of peril or invasion. therefore it must have a care that their physical welfare is promoted. wholesome food, gentle exercise, a cheerful and contented mind, have much to do with soundness of body, and so food-inspection and open-air recreation are justified at the common expense. art-museums and public concerts are sometimes maintained out of the general treasury. the only basis on which this expense can be justified is that their purpose is educational. the welfare of the state depends not alone on the ability of its citizens to merely read and write and solve problems in simple arithmetic. our nature is many-sided and its full and perfect development must be sought in many directions. the aesthetic is not less real than the practical. the finer qualities of the mind have weightly influence upon national progress and destiny. the state has a right to do for its citizens the things which will best serve its ultimate interests. universities and higher institutions of learning maintained at public cost now train those who have the means and opportunities to take advantage of their curricula for the most advanced degrees, and through their post-graduate courses offer facilities for spending the good part of a lifetime in the immediate pursuit of knowledge. but in the nature of things the number of those who can give time to these higher courses is limited. the argument has sometimes been employed against high schools and universities that they are maintained at great cost for the use of a comparatively trifling portion of the community. statistics are quoted to show that of the whole number of children in the primary grades less than per cent. go through the grammar grades, and that of the small number who enter the high school grades hardly one in ten finishes them, while of these but an infinitesimal number go on to and through the university. it is not due to lack of capacity wholly, or lack of interest, that so many students fall by the wayside, but mainly to the fact that their services are necessary in the productive channels of business. yet, in spite of the comparatively few who are able to take advantage of them, the state considers it a duty to foster, and the community cheerfully bears the burden of maintaining, the higher institutions of learning, because the benefits which they confer are easily recognized. to compensate in some degree those who are not able to pursue in organized institutions studies untimely stopped by the necessities of active life, the community provides the free library. this is the people's university, close to the door of every citizen, in which all who have the inclination and energy to do so may pursue through their whole lives the studies which most interest them. the function of the public library is purely and wholly educational. in this case the term is to be construed in its most comprehensive sense. it does not merely include development of the intellect; it involves all the varied human relations. we owe duties to our maker, to ourselves, to those who are dependent upon us, to our neighbors, to society, and to the state. in all these delicate and intricate relations we must be taught, and as the world advances, our civilization becomes more complex and our relations more involved, the character and quality of our education becomes the more important. the school and the college have merely laid the foundation. if they have done their full duty they have done little more than set the student on the high road. the sequel rests with himself. the public library puts into his hands books, which contain the combined wisdom and experience of all who have gone before, and wherein are preserved the best thoughts of the best men and women of all time. they who pass judgment upon what shall and what shall not be admitted to the shelves of a public library must bear in mind that, strictly construing the function of the library to be educational, there is yet very wide latitude in respect to the things which people may safely and wisely learn. in this aspect of the case, those who are charged with the management and control of libraries have imposed upon them a very grave responsibility. they are not merely the custodians of the books which the public purse has bought; they are commissioned to guide in the path of highest progress. in this light, the function of the librarian assumes the halo of a holy office. he who discharges it earnestly and faithfully may do much to help forward the enlightenment of his generation. the sum of the whole statement, briefly, is this: there is no limit to the concern of the free state in the education of its citizens. it is as much bound to provide libraries in which the adult may continue his studies as it is to maintain schools in which as a child he may begin them. the day is not distant when this duly will be universally recognized in this country. in most of the states compulsory education laws prevail. in at least one, every town is required by law to establish and maintain a free public library. in this respect, new hampshire is only leading the way in which others will shortly follow. then organized society can truthfully say to the individual, in the language of professor hoffman in his "sphere of the state": "we have done what we could to develop and strengthen all your powers. we have taught you to the best of our ability to know yourself and to understand your relations to your fellows. now, so long as you conduct yourself as a child of the day and not of the night, all the rights and privileges of the brotherhood are yours. but if you choose to walk in the darkness rather than in the light, if you trample under foot our laws, if you raise your hand against every man, let the curse of your wrong doing fall upon your own head, not on ours." alternatives to tax-support in the case of a public library, that is, of one intended to be used by all the members of the community, as distinguished from a subscription library, alternatives to public support have usually been in the nature of expedients to tide matters over until the library could be turned over to the municipality. the next two papers are early discussions of some of these alternatives. if not a tax-supported library, what? the following paper contributed anonymously to _the iowa library quarterly_ (des moines, april, ) tells how local library associations have been formed in that state, in small towns where public support, for the moment, has been deemed impossible or inadvisable. the fact that a majority of the states of the union have by legal enactment provided for free public libraries supported by tax indicates the general acceptance of the belief that such an institution is for the public good and its support as an educational institution is as desirable as the support of the public schools. more and more has it come to be recognized that if the ideals and aspirations of youth are to be aroused and directed early in life by the reading of inspiring books, the state may well foster this institution which provides such literature. the code of iowa provides that towns and cities shall have power to provide for the foundation and maintenance of a free public library by voting upon the question, "shall a free public library be established" at a general or special election, and further providing that a tax not exceeding two mills on the dollar of the taxable valuation of such city or town may be levied for its support. this places the library on a firm footing as a public educational institution, even though its income from the tax may be small. there are, however, some towns in the state that find it impossible or unwise at present to secure this support of the library by a tax and hence they ask, "if not a free public library supported by tax, what shall we attempt?" this inquiry is practical. the desire is earnest in many places to support a library by some other means than a tax until such time as sentiment will be strong enough to vote favorably upon it, hence the best method of conducting it needs to be considered. the beginning of such a work must be made by a few, earnest people who thoroughly believe in the need of a public collection of books, not alone for the value it will be to them personally, but what it may do for the many who are unable to own books for themselves. club women are often the most active factors in inaugurating such a movement and sometimes the woman's club alone espouses the cause of the library and provides for the purchase of books and the running expenses of the library. it would seem, however, after observation of various efforts, more or less successful, along this line, that it is much better to secure the cooperation of all clubs and other organizations in the town, thus disarming any outside criticism or antagonism from those outside the one club. a library association, which includes all persons in the town who are desirous of having a public library, seems to be the better form for the organization to take, though a city federation of clubs has proven a successful agency in many towns. the difficulty of providing funds for conducting such a library on an absolutely free basis is evident, but to make membership in the association, with the payment of an annual membership fee, the condition of borrowing is to bar from the use of the books the people who need them most. in organizing a library association it will be necessary to decide what the policy is to be in this respect. shall the library be solely for those who join the association and pay this fee, or shall this be an altruistic movement for the betterment of the town, making the use of the books free to all? if the latter plan is decided upon it will be necessary to provide by subscription of citizens or by entertainments and otherwise, a larger fund for the support of the library, and such an undertaking should be well considered for it often becomes burdensome. if an association is formed with an annual membership fee which entitles the member to the use of the books, those who feel unable to pay this annual fee may be loaned books upon the payment of a small fee for the loan of a single book. the reading room feature is of great importance and whatever plan may be adopted regarding the loan of the books for home use there is no reason why the use of the reading room, the periodicals and the books in the room should not be absolutely free to all who will come there to use them. to make the reading room the brightest and most attractive spot in town for the boys who are inclined to be on the street of evenings is a possibility for any library association, if a few earnest women will give time and effort toward this end. the actual expenses incurred in such a venture are room rent, furniture, heat, light, services of a librarian and the purchase of books and periodicals, but a systematic effort to interest the people of the town often results in the donation of the use of a room and the other necessities. it is not desirable to solicit donation of books. the random inclination of people to pass on to the public library books they do not care for on their own library shelves is damaging to the library receiving them. in another column the report of the audubon club mentions this point. the books should be selected with the greatest care. the most important feature of such an enterprise is to have some one in charge of the room who shall be suited to the work,--a woman of culture and character, of pleasing manners and one who loves children and delights in aiding readers. such a librarian gives an "atmosphere" to the whole undertaking. in many towns club women and others who are interested have volunteered to serve as librarians, without compensation, and if a head librarian is selected to whom these volunteer workers shall report and who is responsible for the work, this arrangement seems a good one until such time as funds will permit of the employment of a paid librarian. at audubon, exira, glenwood, guthrie center, laurens, leon, tama and other places in the state, the women are most courageously carrying on this work, with the hope that the town will eventually take the responsibility off their shoulders by voting a tax to support the library. if any attempt has been made to vote a municipal tax and it has failed, or if there seems to be little sentiment in favor of the measure, there is no need to feel disheartened. a beginning may be made by securing a travelling library of volumes from the library commission at des moines, without other cost than transportation, and these books, may be exchanged for a similar collection every months, thus making volumes accessible during the year. this collection with the few books the local association is able to buy and a few good magazines should make it possible to open the room for reading and the issue of books two afternoons and evenings each week--preferably wednesday and saturday. the small beginning will gather to itself strength if the workers are persistent; the collection of books will increase, sentiment will grow more favorable and eventually the movement will be popular. in making such a beginning the iowa library commission should be called upon for the use of the traveling library, form of constitution and by-laws, book lists and other printed matter, and the secretary will be glad to render any assistance possible in forwarding such an enterprise in any town in the state. co-operation between library and community a paper that originally appeared in _the springfield republican_, dec. , , and was reprinted in home education bulletin no. of the university of the state of new york. the author, miss m. anna tarbell of brimfield, mass. the use of the word cooperation in connection with the public library implies that the library is not simply a collection of books, that it is not a passive institution, a repository of treasure, but an active institution reaching out to bestow benefits. the library spirit means not only cooperating with all uplifting forces in the community, but creating and stimulating such forces. the library spirit seeks to carry brightness into gray and toilworn lives, to give broad vision in place of the narrow and distorted view, to awaken generous sympathies and noble thoughts in place of sordid desires and petty interests. imbued with this spirit, the librarian will be a lover of humankind, sympathetic, earnest, self-sacrificing, a true missionary, enthusiastic withal and eager to seize upon ways and means by which the library may more and more be made to enrich human life. but however abundant in resources the library, and however zealous and efficient the librarian, there is a limit to the work that can be accomplished on the library side for the promotion of intellectual life and general culture. there needs to be a larger and more intelligent demand on the community side for the supply which the library offers. to stimulate this demand there is needed the cooperation of those people and those institutions in the community that possess special opportunities for increasing the use and influence of the library, or in any way making human life wiser, better and happier. this cooperation may be both direct and indirect, since all culture influences are by nature cooperative with that of the library. i shall dwell specially on the need of stimulating cooperation on the side of the community, for the reason that the library has already taken the initiative, and because library privileges are so abundant in massachusetts, so freely offered and eagerly extended, without a proportionate response to these privileges on the part of the public. while dwelling most upon the importance of its educational influences, i would not underrate the province of the library in providing entertainment and recreation, which have their culture value. but the following are impressive words from the editor of the new england magazine in its current number: "education in a democracy is so fundamental that education may almost be looked upon as another way of spelling democracy." "we are to consider more carefully the educational function of everything which affects the mind of the people: the church, the newspaper, the library, the platform." considering cooperation with the library on the part of individuals, we naturally think first of those who are connected with the library by virtue of their office, namely, the library trustees. the trustees have special opportunities for increasing the use and usefulness of the library on account of their acquaintance with, and influence upon, the library on one hand, and their daily intercourse with the public on the other. there has so far come to my notice such assistance by the trustees as inviting people, specially newcomers, to the library, carrying books to outlying schools, personal assistance in the library and collecting historical material for preservation in the library. it is true that the literal requirements of the office of library trustee are only those of a conservative nature, just as the duties of the librarian were formerly considered to be those of the careful custodian, but as the library spirit gains ground and the conception of the library as an active mission grows, we may look forward to the day when every town will be sure of having six or nine persons, as the case may be, not only engaged in improving the character of the library, but in promoting its increased and more effective use, a standing committee for the culture interests of the town. this cooperation will be promoted by trustees attending the meetings of library clubs, joining the clubs and assisting them, as well as by giving the librarian every encouragement to do so, such as granting leave of absence and possibly paying expenses. the _library journal_ and _public libraries_ should be on the subscription list of every library, and trustees as well as librarian need to keep informed of progress in the library world. there are other people in every town who would be willing to assist in the work of the library, or help people to get books or encourage more and better reading if asked to do so by the librarian. to seek out such persons, then, is the duty and opportunity of the librarian in this work of cooperation. suggestions regarding "volunteer aids in library work" are admirably given in the report of the state library commission for this year in the bound volume, _public libraries of massachusetts_, and should be read by librarians and trustees and shown to all patrons of the library who are available for assistance. surely the home should cooperate with the library by the example of the reading habit, and by the direction of the reading of the children; while it would be an excellent thing for parents to pursue lines of reading that would keep them in touch with the children's studies. as it is, i fear librarians will bear out the recent statement of a school supervisor that "the home is not even inclined to supervise the children's reading, and, the selection of books being left largely to themselves, many boys and girls read books not proper for them to read." the church, the school and the library are institutions which naturally constitute a triple alliance. cooperation between the library and the schools, which has received so much consideration and is being so rapidly developed, i need not dwell upon. but there is need for increased cooperation between the church and the library. this cooperation should be both direct and indirect. ministers should feel a responsibility for the intellectual, as well as spiritual, welfare of the people. they should show that intelligence and breadth of mind make a better and more efficient christian, and that the church will become a greater power if its members read and think. the minister has had special privileges for his own culture, and he has peculiar opportunities for recommending books, guiding library taste, and directly increasing the use of the library. there should be some kind of study club connected with every church, and those young people who have finished their school course should be taught their moral obligation to cultivate their god-given mental powers and grow in intelligence and wisdom. to advance the special interests of the church along intellectual lines, the library should be provided with books that will improve sunday school work, aid in the study of the bible, and the growth of intelligence on religious subjects. it should be provided with up to date histories of bible times in the light of archeological discoveries, with works of modern reverent scholarship concerning the bible, and books which record the development of religious thought. much excellent study is being done by members of the women's missionary societies. it is very desirable that these women cooperate with the librarian in the selection of standard works revealing conditions in the countries studied. among organizations, women's clubs have probably done the most to assist library interests. this is especially true in some of the western states, notably in wisconsin. literary and other study clubs which prevail in new england are certainly in their nature cooperative with the library, while they might be of more direct assistance to it. the library, of course, should give these societies all possible encouragement and help. the clubs will react favorably on the library in creating a demand for books which will improve the character of the accessions to the library. where a study club does not exist, the librarian should help to form one. it is possible that there is a tendency to exclusiveness in women's literary clubs. if the number limit keeps out those desirous of joining, or those who need encouragement in literary interest, a branch club for their benefit should be formed. besides working for their own improvement, the members of study clubs should have a missionary spirit and should feel a responsibility for the intellectual welfare of the town. a woman's literary club is capable of being a strong ally of the public library. the newly developing local history societies and the public library are naturally allied, and promise to be of increasing mutual benefit. the library should buy town histories and books needed by the historical society, while the latter will contribute to the library records, maps and published memorials. further, the historical society, by sustaining lectures in which the principles of colonial development are illustrated by local annals, should develop a perception and interest which will be manifested in a demand for volumes of history now lying dusty on the library shelves. the grange is another organization whose objects affiliate it with the library, since the grange movement is an important culture movement. there is opportunity for more active cooperation between the library and the grange. the grange, and also the farmers' clubs, should be asked to recommend the best works upon agriculture, while the lecturer of the grange and the committee of the farmers' clubs should confer in advance with the librarian as to material needed in carrying out their literary programs. more than one other organization might be mentioned which would help the library and be helped by it through increased cooperation, thereby extending the influence of both. it is the sense of obligation and responsibility that needs to grow. the public press is an agency which certainly ought to be a firm ally of the public library, cooperating with it directly and indirectly. newspapers should be ever ready to give space to any matter that will bring the library to the attention of the public, and they should also keep the public informed of progress in library interests. deeper than this, the press should constantly exemplify and teach culture ideals, the true mission of journalism. the hope of stimulating greater cooperation between the community and the public library seems to me to lie largely in the library club or, better, library association, movement. first, local library clubs should increase in number, becoming more truly local, thus exerting a stronger influence upon the libraries in the section represented and coming into closer relation with the community. the membership should include people who are neither librarians nor trustees, but whose sense of responsibility will be awakened as their interest is increased. the district represented should not be so large as to prevent meetings being frequently held in the same vicinity. these local clubs should be in close relation with the state club or association, and the state library commission. the local clubs will do the actual close work, while having the support, advice and assistance of the state club and state commission. the local clubs will give information as to conditions and needs, and will be agencies for the application of progressive ideas. the study of conditions, of what may be called the environment of libraries, comes within the province of library-club work. the study of the conditions and needs of the small towns and rural communities is of leading importance. from what other source except from the library movement with a greater development of its possibilities is help for those towns to come? the initiative in personal effort to give advantages for want of which some of the small towns are suffering has been taken by the women's education association in the loan of their traveling libraries accompanied by personal visits and the study of conditions and needs. but there is another want besides that of books in the small villages and towns. there is needed not only the printed page, but the speaking voice, the influence of personality through lectures. a story from experience will illustrate this need. a few years ago there was held in our town an exhibition of antiquities which awakened intense interest on the part of old and young. this interest made a good opportunity for the study of colonial history, which a few of us carried on. certain books not in our library were needed, although the library is a good one and well equipped in american history. our want came to the knowledge of miss chandler, chairman of the library committee of the woman's education association, and out of this grew, another year, a special library lent to us upon american history which formed a valuable supplement to the works contained in our library in that department. at both times, when we had the exhibition and when we received the traveling library (which we still possess, having bought the books) i realized the opportunity and need of lectures. what a strong combination the group would have made--the exhibition, the working library, a lecture course. this would have been in reality an adaptation of the idea of university extension, which i believe could be developed by the library club movement. each town would have its standing library committee composed of members of the local library club, and several towns in the district represented by the club would form a convenient circuit. but if this scheme, which i believe to be feasible, can not be immediately developed or applied, there should be no delay on the part of those interested in library work in massachusetts in considering some plan of promoting popular education, the leading object today of library work, through lectures of some kind, if not sustained courses having continuity of subject. two difficulties meet this need of lectures in the smaller and poorer towns and in many villages, that of the expense of securing the best talent (and nothing short of excellent ability will serve), and that of knowing where to find available speakers. the last difficulty can be met by organizing a committee who will search out those who can be secured to speak under the auspices of the libraries of the small towns. a plan for bringing the expense within the means of the people of those towns might also be developed. one source of help might be found in the increase of the powers of the state library commission. in wisconsin the efficiency and powers of the state commission have been extended by the passage of a bill through the legislature increasing the appropriation awarded the commission and adding to its duties. the commission is empowered to hold library institutes in various parts of the state, and to encourage the growth of study clubs connected with the traveling libraries. to carry out the duties of the commission, among which is mentioned "to aid in building up a better system of popular education," the additional sum of $ is awarded to the commission. why should not massachusetts aid in building up a better system of popular education by helping to provide speakers for the smaller villages and towns where needed, thus supplementing and aiding the work of the public libraries? it is possible that a beginning could be made through the establishment of library institutes. if it should be considered wise to establish library institutes in this state, as important a feature of them as instruction in library matters would be lectures for the public on literary and educational subjects of a popular nature. the first step to be taken is for a committee representing the three existing library clubs and the massachusetts library commission to consider what plans are most feasible, not only for the improvement of library work, but also for increasing the intelligent and effective use of the library by creating new ideals of popular education in the community, and thus bring about cooperation in its deepest sense. boards of trustees a board of trustees, or of directors or commissioners, is the representative of the community in its control of the library and in the formal service rendered by the community to the library. the relationship was familiar in other public institutions at the time that public libraries began to be established, and its duties, responsibilities and limitations in this instance were regarded as being the same as in others. they were therefore not widely discussed, and the work of library trusteeship is still too little systematized. the trustees' section of the a.l.a., founded in order that library trustees might gather yearly to discuss their peculiar problems, has always been scantily attended. the indiana trustees association is the only prosperous body of the kind in the united states, but its success might well prove suggestive to library trustees in other states. the three following papers were all read at a single library conference in , which may show that there was then some degree of awakening to the necessity for discussing this phase of library administration. library work from the trustees' standpoint a few first principles by the president of the board of what was at that time the st. louis public school library, since the st. louis public library. the rev. mr. learned read this paper at the fabyan's conference of the american library association, in . john calvin learned was born in dublin, n.h., aug. , . he engaged in teaching, went to missouri in and in entered harvard divinity school. after graduation he was pastor of a unitarian church in exeter, n.h., and in took charge of the newly-organized church of the unity in st. louis where he remained until his death, dec. , . he was a member of the board of managers of the public school library from to and its president for half that period. an old play has it that "trustees are not to be trifled with" and, as they are not only allowed but invited to come among the librarians to assert their rights and their authority, why should they not do it vigorously? did they not originate the librarian? "shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, 'why hast thou made me thus?'" yet to assume such creative power must load us down with responsibilities--greater, i fear, than some of us have joyfully accepted. in fact, do not trustees incline, as a rule, to throw too much of the burden of library administration upon the librarian? if the incumbent of this office is fairly willing and capable, is he not suffered to do pretty much as he pleases, except it may be with regard to such large measures as the construction of buildings and the management of investments? proportioned to the authority of trustees, however, is their responsibility. to whom much is given, of them much is required. and the position of the better sort of trustee valuable to the best work of the librarian, is not that sinecure seat sometimes depicted. he must constantly stand as the able and ready advisor of the librarian, and for the honor and defence of the library. he will be made the court of ultimate appeal in many matters, both practical and curious. he will receive letters from all sorts of people, some with gifts in their hands, and some with complaints on their lips; some seeking favors, possible and impossible. col. higginson's humorous way, recently, of introducing phillips brooks as the man whom nobody in the cambridge library could find out the height of, until at last the inquiry was brought to him as trustee to answer, may illustrate the point. lately an article in one of the english reviews treats of the "perils of trustees." and while no statute makes us responsible,--as innocent parties were held to be under british law, in the failure of the glasgow bank,--yet the library trustee carries risks, both moral and financial, and the place should be offered to none who will not give it a _bonafide_ service. there is no room for a mere figure-head or ornamental name on a working library board. every member of a directory, rightly organized, should take his share in the administration, and have some knowledge of what goes on in the library world. it is true there have been instances where some ambitious and irrepressible spirit has exceeded his official duties and privileges; has been disposed to dictate the whole policy of the library, reducing the librarian's office to that of a mere secretary. i knew a director in a large library who resigned because he could not buy the books and write all the reports. he hungered for more to do. but i have known more than one to keep himself as far away from the board as possible, after one or two sessions of three or four hours each, in the necessary deliberations of the book committee. edward everett hale says that the great essential for the directors or trustees of any institution is, that they "keep their end in sight," as dr. watt's hymn reads. if it is an institution to help old women, or save poor children, or find situations for the idle, does it really do it? or is it so taken up with the mechanism of the concern, so absorbed and happy over methods and details, that it loses sight of the object? this is especially to be considered in the management of a public library. what is the library for? is it accomplishing its work? is it doing its utmost to promote the virtue, refinement, and intelligence of the community? a library may be likened to a bank where literary reserves are kept. it is organized to promote the circulation of a sound literary currency. the directors must see to it that, though there may be counterfeit and worthless money in the vaults, the cashier or librarian must pay over the counter for general circulation such only as will maintain the institution's standard of credit and confidence in the community. the gold basis must be maintained, and no "wild-cat" bills pass out through the window. it grows increasingly evident that very few libraries in the world can indulge in the luxury or licence of buying all books written. the ambition to supply any man with any work he calls for must therefore be held in check. thus it becomes increasingly important that much care and deliberation be exercised in the choice of books to be bought, whether to complete deficient departments or for the daily circulation. the purchase of poor books makes a market for poor authorship. hereafter, less than ever should libraries be the dumping place for indiscreet publishers, for questionable or incompetent authors. the public library exists for civilization, that is, for moral ends. it is the record and history of civilization, as well as the ally of progress. it is the "friend and helper of all those who seek to live in the spirit." for this reason, therefore, the character of the books in a library is of more importance than mere numbers; and the value of a library to the community may be imperfectly shown by the statistics of circulation. no aim can be higher, however, than having a good library, to make its resources known, and to multiply readers in the remotest and obscurest parts of our towns and cities. trustees of free public libraries in introducing this topic, mr. c.c. soule, who spoke as a trustee of the brookline public library, said that he had found little or nothing about it in existing library literature, and that his paper had been shown to a considerable number of both trustees and librarians and modified in accordance with their views. his analysis of the subject is somewhat closer than president learned's. charles carroll soule was born in boston june , and graduated at harvard in . after serving in the civil war, which he left as a captain of massachusetts volunteers he became a publisher and after was president of the boston book co. he was an active member of the american library association. he died at his home in brookline, jan. , this paper considers the constitution of elective boards of trustees of free public libraries, intrusted with the appointment of librarians and full control of their libraries. the subject can be naturally treated under the following heads: size of the board; term of office; qualifications for the position; duties; individual and collective; organization; and relations with the librarian. . size of the board the weight of opinion seems to be in favor of small boards; and in small towns, where the duties are light, three trustees will usually work more harmoniously and effectively than a larger number. but in large towns and cities a more numerous board has two advantages--there is more chance of securing among its members one or two men who are exceptionally active, intelligent, judicious, and interested in library science; and the board may be more thoroughly representative of different sections of the town and different elements in the population. . term of office the usual and undoubtedly the best composition of a board of library trustees is to divide it into groups, one group going out of office each year. this provision secures stability by preventing sudden changes of the whole board by intrigue or popular caprice, and is intended to allow opportunity for gradual change whenever it is needed. but does this provision alone insure sufficient change to prevent stagnation? the position of trustee of a library is so pleasant and honorable, that the incumbent may wish to retain it indefinitely. the men selected as trustees may be personally so worthy and popular that their townsmen are reluctant to retire them compulsorily, even when the feeling is prevalent that others might serve more acceptably. to effect a change under such circumstances requires an effort approaching revolution, with danger of that discord and bad feeling which are so unfortunate in library management. would it not be wise, in view of this possible danger, to follow the example of the graduates of harvard college in electing overseers, and provide by law that no trustee shall hold office for more than (say) three successive terms of three years, or nine years in all? while a library might thus lose occasionally an active and efficient trustee (who could still be reëlected after being only a year out of office), would it not gain much more than it could lose, in keeping that close contact with popular needs and with new ideas, which is so healthy and stimulating in the management of all public institutions? . qualifications for the position the ideal qualifications for a trustee of a public library (a fair education and love of books being taken for granted) might be summarized somewhat thus:-- sound character; good judgement and common-sense; public spirit; capacity for work; literary taste; representative fitness. men of character and position in the community are usually selected as trustees; but it may be assumed somewhat too confidently that, because a man has been prominent in political or business or social circles, he will make a good trustee. it is a mistake to put in such a position any man who has outlived his public spirit and energy. library taste is placed low on this list of qualifications, because in any administrative position, even in connection with a library, capacity and willingness to work, united with common-sense and a fair education, are much more useful than a taste for literature without the practical qualities. and of the different grades of literary taste, general culture and a wide range of reading are generally more serviceable to a public library than the knowledge of the scholar or the specialist. in selecting men of prominence for trustees, there is danger of excluding too rigidly the younger men who might contribute to the strength and efficiency of the board. there is so much activity and progress in the library work of this generation, that the adage "old men for counsel, young men for action" is not wholly inapplicable to the choice of trustees, whose work requires counsel and action in nearly equal degrees. with a large board it would seem wise to select members with some reference to representation of different sections of the town, and different occupations, interests, or nationalities among the inhabitants. this tends to prevent dissatisfaction, and to adapt the purchase of books and the general policy of the library to the needs of the whole community, rather than to the wishes of special classes. neither politics nor religious opinion should of course enter into the choice of library trustees, except so far as it is unwise to constitute a board exclusively from one party or one denomination. . duties, individual and collective as an individual, the trustee of a public library ought to realize that he holds a high and sacred trust from the people; that he has been elected to preserve and extend the privileges and benefits afforded by the library in its modern development as "the people's university"; that library science is not to be comprehended by intuition, but can be learned only by intelligent observation and study; and that he has no right to accept or hold the position unless he can take a lively interest in the library, be constant in attendance at meetings and diligent in committee work, keep himself informed of the current library ideas by reading every number of the _library journal_, and, if possible, by visiting other libraries than his own, and watch keenly the tastes and requirements of the constituency he represents. the collective duties of the board includes the care of investments and funds, the careful and economical supervision of expenditures, the determination of the policy of the library toward the public and in its interior administration, the general direction of the choice and purchase of books, the selection of the librarian and his assistants, constant and critical observation of their work, occasional reckoning up of work done and progress made, comparison of results with those reached in other libraries, as a confirmation of merits and a corrective for errors, and such active work of detail as will assist the librarian in performing his duties. . organization a large board ordinarily transacts business through a chairman, a secretary, a treasurer, and one or more committees. the chairman has few active duties, but the position requires judgment in appointing committees, and tact in conducting meetings. the place is perhaps the highest public honor in small towns, and is usually and properly given to some trustee eminent for character and public services. in mr. perkins's article, "how to make town libraries successful," in the "government report of on public libraries," it is suggested that the librarian should act as secretary to the board of trustees; but, aside from the fact he usually has more than enough work to do in his own department, is it not at least doubtful whether an official, whose conduct may at any time be a proper subject for confidential discussion before the board, should serve as their secretary, and so be obliged to be present throughout all meetings? the duties of a secretary may properly provide occupation for some member of the board. the treasurer, if he holds funds in his hands, should always be put under bond. no matter how trustworthy he may be, it is a sound principal that no official should handle public money without giving bond. his successor may not be so careful or so honest, and, unless the precedent is established while the danger of loss seems small, it will be difficult and invidious to insist upon a bond when occasion may require it. if no trustee is willing to accept the position of treasurer with bond, it is usually possible to leave the library funds in the hands of the already bonded town treasurer, and draw on them as needed to pay bills. as to committees, it is better to have as many as can actively be employed, in order to enlist the cooperation or advice of every trustee. in large boards, even with small libraries, four standing committees can find occupation; namely, executive, book, finance, and progress. the executive committee can take charge of the daily work of the library, of purchases, and of the care of the building. they should be efficient men, with prompt business habits, with an active interest in the library, with leisure to attend to their duties during library hours, and with sufficient discretion to sift and formulate business to be presented at the meetings of the trustees. while discharging their executive duties promptly and thoroughly, they ought to be careful not to assume too much of the power and responsibility which properly belong to the full board, whose will they are appointed to execute. [in very large libraries, these duties of an executive committee are sometimes subdivided among additional committees on building and grounds, on purchase of supplies, on reading-room and so on, as different departments increase in importance.] inasmuch as the range of reading, the literary taste, and the critical faculty, which qualify a man to select books for popular use, are not necessarily united with executive ability, it will often be best to intrust the choice of books to a book committee, selected for that purpose alone. this is a sufficiently important duty to occupy all the spare time of a committee, even where the initiative is taken by the librarian, and appeal on doubtful points is made to the full board. the duties of a finance committee are often confined to a perfunctory and occasional examination of accounts, but they may be made very important. to make and watch investments, to provide that money on deposit shall always draw the best interest, to see that purchases of books and supplies are made on the most favorable terms, to keep close watch on all the controllable expenditures, to examine and verify bills, and to audit carefully the treasurer's accounts, will give full employment to a good committee of business men. in addition to these obviously useful committees, there is another,--a "committee on library progress"--which often serves to increase the activity and efficiency of the library. constituted from among the younger or more active men, and from those trustees who can find opportunity for visiting other libraries, such a committee can do good work in watching the experiments made elsewhere; in placing before the board information in regard to improved methods of library work; in comparing the library with other libraries similarly situated; and in encouraging their own librarian, if he be progressive, or in stimulating him, if too conservative. in short such a committee, if both active and wise, could keep even the smallest town library in the full tide of modern progress. it will be best not to leave too much discretion or power permanently to any committee, but to require all committees to report their acts and plans frequently for the approval or criticism of the full board. . relations with the librarian the relations of the trustees with the librarian will vary greatly according to circumstances. some general principals may be suggested, subject always to "the exceptions which prove the rule." first of all, it should be borne in mind that the trustees are the responsible managers of the library, and that so far as they chose to act, the librarian is only their agent, bound in honor to carry out their wishes promptly, thoroughly, and cheerfully. if they are fortunate enough, however, to have a first-class librarian, with superior ability, training, knowledge, energy, wisdom, and tact, the trustees ought to leave the management of the library practically to him, working only to lighten his labors and strengthen his hands. but if--as sometimes may happen--the librarian has human limitations, and while strong in some directions is weak in others, it is the part of the trustees to try to supplement, without impeding, his abilities. if, after ascertaining his limitations, they decide that he is the best librarian that they can get, under the circumstances of the case they should note in what lines he needs help, and select for committees the trustees best fitted to do the part of library work which he cannot satisfactorily perform. if, however, the librarian has executive ability, it will be wise for the trustees to let him control the selection, management, and dismissal of all his assistants; if he has good judgement and what may be called "the librarian's faculty," it will be wise to let him arrange the methods and details of library work; if he has literary taste, it will be especially wise to allow him at least the initiative in the choice and purchase of books, for he has (or ought to have) constant contact with the public and an intelligent knowledge of their wants. although it may not be considered best for the librarian to act as their secretary, the trustees should take him into their confidence, consult him freely, and invite his presence during some part of each board meeting and of all committee meetings where his advice might be of service. the librarian can properly reciprocate by allowing the board and the committees frequent opportunities for private conference and "executive session," unembarrassed by his presence. in brief, while the trustees cannot forget that they control both library and librarian, they should remember that the librarian is chosen to be their expert advisor and their executive officer, and, so long as he fills these positions satisfactorily, they ought not to hamper or interfere with, so much as to assist and sustain him by their actions. the relations of an active librarian with an active board of trustees demand discretion and consideration on both sides. but if the librarian is sensible, and not too sensitive, and the trustees are reasonably harmonious and judicious, the cooperation herein outlined may be carried out with success. the duties of trustees and their relations to librarians although mr. s.s. green says that he has prepared this paper "from the standpoint of a librarian," he is competent to speak from that of a trustee also, for he served as both, having been a trustee of the worcester public library for some time when he was chosen its librarian. a sketch of samuel swett green will be found in vol i. of this series. in the symposium in which we are now engaged, i understand that i am to consider the subject which we are talking about from the standpoint of a librarian. the position can be stated in a few words. a librarian should be regarded as holding relations to his trustees similar to those held by the agent of a factory or the cashier of a bank to the governing board of the factory or bank. some cashiers and some agents have more power than others. the power conferred depends upon the knowledge, training, experience, industry, enterprise, good judgment, and ability of persons holding such positions. if the board of trustees of a library is more competent to manage its affairs than the librarian, and if it is ready to give the time that is necessary to the discharge of the duties of management, it has a perfect right to do so, and the librarian need then only be a clerk. so, too, if on any board of directors there is one man of leisure who has especial qualifications for conducting the affairs of a library, the board may delegate to him the performance of the more intellectual portions of the work of the librarian. even, however, in such cases as those the individuality of the librarian should be considered, because, although his position may be very humble, yet he can do better work if allowed to work in his own way, rather than in accordance with the provisions of rules laid down by others which he is required to strictly observe. when a librarian is accomplished, it will be found wise for a board of trustees or directors to ascertain his views on most subjects before acting, and it will generally appear manifest that it is well to give very careful consideration to those views. a board which encourages its librarian to initiate measures, will administer its trust more satisfactorily than it can if it reduces him to the position of a mere executive officer, who is only to carry out the plans which it has formed. i should say that the wisest course for a board of trustees to pursue is to let a good librarian do pretty much as he thinks best, only keeping a watchful eye on him for the purpose of seeing that things are not going wrong under his conduct of affairs. it is better, generally speaking, for a board to change its librarian than to undertake to manage matters, unless its members are willing to give much time and thought on the subject. mr. greenough, at that time the president of the board of trustees of the boston public library, said to me, just after mr. windsor gave up his position of superintendent of that library, that he wished in his successor the qualities of a librarian (using that designation in a restricted sense) and not those of a superintendent, and that the title of the new officer would be librarian and not superintendent. mr. greenough had had a long connection with the boston public library as a trustee and as president of the board of trustees, and felt that he knew, better than any person whose services the library was likely to secure, how to conduct its affairs. judge chamberlain, mr. windsor's successor, accepted the situation and stated in an early report, in substance, that the duty of a librarian is merely to carry out the wishes of the board of trustees. but mr. greenough became disabled after a while, and judge chamberlain gained experience; and i venture to say, during the latter portion of the short time which he was connected with the boston public library, he found that in the long run a librarian must take upon himself the lion's share in the entire management of a library. now that judge chamberlain has resigned his place, the trustees of the boston public library are understood to be looking around for an accomplished superintendent. the ideal executive head of a large public library--let me say it emphatically--should have the qualifications of both librarian and superintendent. perhaps, in the case of some of the largest libraries, it is well to have both a superintendent and a librarian; but when such a distribution of duties becomes desirable, it is certain that the superintendent should have something of the spirit of a librarian, and as much of his technical knowledge as possible, and that the librarian should be often consulted in regard to questions of management, and have, himself, no mean qualifications as an executive officer. a good librarian should be allowed to make experiments (observing, of course, reasonable limits), without consulting the board of trustees, with the purpose of satisfying himself as to the desirability and feasibility of adopting new methods, and of obtaining evidence that will enable the board to form intelligent opinions in regard to the value of changes recommended by him. experiments may often be undertaken, with good prospect of success, by persons familiar with kinds of work which a board of trustees, acquainted with such kinds of work, would not care to try, but which, nevertheless, it is very important should be tried. a librarian should have the appointment of his assistants in his own hands, and should himself consult heads of departments in the choice of persons to serve under them. he should be allowed to buy such books as are needed between meetings of library committees and boards of trustees, just as a trusted cashier is permitted to loan money to a bank's customer between meetings of its board of directors. both the librarian and the cashier should, of course, give an account of such proceedings to the committee or board over him at the meeting next after the transactions. generally speaking, a competent librarian should be allowed large freedom, and held responsible for wisdom in management. on the other hand, the board of trustees should insist upon the observance by the librarian of such forms as have been adopted as safe-guards. while it should allow much liberty to its executive officer, it should also see to it that he keeps the machinery, by which work is done, in order; so that, if in the exercise of a careful oversight, it shall become advisable at any time for it to resume the power conferred on the librarian, it may be able to do it promptly. trustees and directors may render services of the greatest value to libraries and librarians. not long ago i had upon my board of directors an influential member, who used to say regularly at the first meeting, after new men came on it, "gentlemen, our only duty is to support the librarian." that is saying too much, certainly. it is, however, the duty of a board of trustees to second heartily a librarian in his efforts to make his administration energetic, useful, and progressive, and to do all that it can to secure patient and generous consideration by town and city governments, and by citizens, of all wise measures which he may adopt. trustees are very influential in working individually to obtain for a library the support in money which is needed. they can be of great service in showing their appreciation of good work done by the librarian, by word and act. it is almost too much to expect of a board of trustees that it should look out to see to it that a librarian receive a proper salary, and that his compensation be increased as his services grow in value, without being reminded that the remuneration is inadequate by a communication from that officer. still it is very desirable that, when a communication is made, it should be sympathetically considered, and that members of the board should point out to one another the excellence of the services rendered by the librarian instead of expecting him to enlarge upon their value himself. it should be understood, also, that it is a librarian's duty to state fully the worth of the services of his assistants, and seek adequate compensation for them. a board of trustees can do much, and should always do as much as possible, to keep the interests of a library and of a librarian from being sacrificed to supposed exigencies of politics. in some portions of the country the appointment and removal of librarians for political reasons has become a scandal. a board of trustees owes it to its librarian to protect him from the vagaries of impracticable men who may by some chance become members of the board. for example, it should quietly vote down unwise propositions, as they are made by fussy or narrow men; by those persons who, while they are self-confident, are also ignorant; by men who are so constituted as always to oppose or hold back, or go ahead recklessly; and by such persons as wish to have a hand in doing everything which it is the duty of the librarian to do, and yet are unwilling to give any time or thought to the conduct of affairs. there is a tendency in many boards of trustees, when a single member is urgent in opposition to some measure proposed by a librarian, and the other members have no positive opinions regarding the matter, to yield to the objector. such oppositions may afford a proper excuse for the delay, but should not be allowed to become permanently efficacious in preventing the execution of a project, without the librarian has been given ample opportunities, for explaining the grounds of his recommendation. the librarian should always be treated as a cooperator, and not as an unintelligent servant. it would always be unwise in him to press the adoption of measures until their wisdom is generally recognized by the trustees. still his reasons for advising action should be ascertained and duly considered. a board of trustees will always do well to have the librarian present at its regular meetings. his knowledge and experience will be found of value. his plans will be the better understood. he, too, by being present will not only comprehend better than in any other way the wishes of the board of trustees (and its members), but, that which is of great importance will catch the spirit which animates it, and become aware of the general principles which it desires should underlie the administration of the institution. trustees should bear in mind that unnecessary delays are to be avoided, and that, in order to keep the members of a community in a contented frame of mind, their wants must not only be supplied, but supplied promptly. trustees should remember that it is important to give librarians and some of their assistants time in which to aid users of libraries, instead of keeping every attendant constantly employed about routine work. trustees should guard themselves against the notion that library work is easy, and that it is only the occupations which they are usually engaged in, in which employment is wearing and hard. it must not be supposed, from anything which i have said, that the position of a director or trustee of a library is, in the opinion of librarians, a sinecure. our idea is far from this, as will be seen if the remarks already made are carefully considered. it should be said in conclusion, that one of the most important duties of trustees is to look around among libraries in different towns and cities, to read library reports and accounts of meetings of librarians, with the purpose of finding out whether they are getting as much and as good service from librarians in the communities whose interests they have to look after, as citizens are obtaining in places where libraries and their management have attained a high standard of excellence. with the same end in view, they should see to it that librarians are provided with the current issues of the best library journals and with a collection of the best bibliographical works. they should also put themselves, and insist upon librarians putting themselves, into vital relations with other libraries, and with the whole body of librarians. librarians should never forget that the real authority in a library rests with the board of trustees, or fail to render immediate and cordial submission to its directions. they should also seek and accept with gratitude all practical suggestions that may be made to them by trustees or other persons. when any members of the board of trustees are specialists, they should be urged to give the library the benefit of their special knowledge, by proposing for purchase lists of books known to them to be of particular value. i wish to add to what i have written, the statement that i have always been very fortunate in having over me a body of directors of unusually good judgment, and of the kindest disposition toward me. in fact, the remarks which i have made regarding the duties of trustees have been suggested to me by observation of the happy results which have followed the administration of the affairs of my own library, by a board of directors who have governed themselves by rules almost identical with those which i have recommended for use by boards of trustees and directors generally. the library's service to the community this division of the subject is that which has been most discussed, and its subject matter is that in which most progress has been made. it is creditable to libraries that what they do for the public has extended and developed to a marvelously greater degree than what the public does for them. whether it is equally creditable to the public "is another story." the first seven papers reproduced bear on the subject of library service in a somewhat general manner and are arranged chronologically. some popular objections to public libraries this is probably the first treatment of the subject in this country, and is the leading article in the second number of _the american library journal_, as it was then called. the writer, william f. poole was at the time librarian of the chicago public library. he mentioned objections only to explain them away. it will be noted that none of them would be described at present as "popular," and that only the third is now much heard. william frederick poole was born in salem, mass., , and graduated at yale in , where as librarian of the linonian and brothers library he founded poole's index to periodical literature, by which his name is chiefly remembered. he was librarian of the chicago public library in - , and at his death, march , , he was librarian of the newberry library, chicago, whose building he designed on the departmental system, of which he was an earnest advocate. he was the second president of the american library association, serving in - . in this paper i shall use the term "public libraries" as meaning free municipal libraries organized under state laws and supported by general taxation. this definition will exclude from our notice a large number of libraries established on other foundations, some of them richly endowed and partially accessible to the public. the rapid increase in the number and importance of public libraries, both in this country and in england, is perhaps the most marked feature of educational development during the past twenty-five years; for within that brief period the first of them was opened to the public. my subject, as announced in the programme, requires me to speak of popular objections; yet i must confess that popular appreciation of these institutions, where they have been established, would have furnished a more attractive theme. as their foundation involves taxation, that prolific source of political controversy, it is somewhat remarkable that in the eleven states of our union where public-library statutes have been enacted, so little public discussion has occurred, and so few objections have been offered. i have heard of no instance where such a bill was proposed in a state legislature and was defeated. that all the northern states, where general education and the common-school system are established, have not by legislation provided also for the public library--the natural ally and supplement of that system--is doubtless owing to the fact that the people have not asked for such legislation. the unanimity of the vote by which towns have accepted taxation for the support of public libraries is significant. the commissioner of education at washington recently made inquiries on this point, and received replies from towns and cities. in of these the vote was unanimous; in there was a divided sentiment, but the vote was in favor to against taxation. the vote of the rate-payers in some english towns and cities where free libraries have been established was as follows: ayes. noes. manchester winchester bolton cambridge oxford sheffield kidderminster blackburn dundee, no dissentient. by the latest statistics of the bureau of education, it appears that there are public libraries in eleven of the united states. of these five are eastern states--maine, new hampshire, vermont, massachusetts and connecticut; five are western states--ohio, indiana, illinois, wisconsin, and iowa: and one is a southern state--texas. eight of these states have passed public-library statutes within the past ten years. in the number of libraries the states rank as follows: massachusetts, ; illinois, ; new hampshire, ; ohio, ; maine, ; vermont, connecticut, and wisconsin, each; indiana, ; iowa and texas, each. in the number of volumes they rank as follows (in round numbers): massachusetts, , ; ohio, , ; illinois, , ; new hampshire, , ; maine, , ; indiana, , ; vermont, , ; connecticut, , ; texas, , ; wisconsin, ; iowa, . the aggregate number of volumes in these libraries is , , , and their annual aggregate circulation is , , volumes. it is noticeable that no one of these libraries is in new york, pennsylvania, or any of the middle states. the representatives from those states in this conference may be able to account for this hiatus in the statistics of the bureau of education. in this brief sketch of the statistics of our american public libraries we have not found much evidence of popular objections to their inception and organization. in england, however, where the questions of national schools, secular schools, and parochial schools are still mooted, the idea of levying a general tax for the support of a library free to all, and furnished with books adapted to the capacities of all classes, was not in harmony with the traditions and public policy of that people. in , the same year that the legislature of massachusetts, at the suggestion of josiah quincy, mayor of boston, passed an act authorizing the city of boston to maintain a public library, mr. william ewart, member of parliament, moved in the house of commons for a committee of inquiry respecting libraries. such a committee was raised, and mr. ewart was appointed chairman. much evidence was taken; a report was made; and in february, , a bill was introduced into the house of commons enabling town councils to establish public libraries and museums. "our younger brethren, the people of the united states," says the report, "have already anticipated us in the formation of libraries entirely open to the public." the bill proposed limited the rate of taxation to one halfpenny in the pound; required the affirmative vote of two thirds of the rate-payers; restricted its operation to towns which had at least ten thousand inhabitants; and provided that the money so raised should be expended only in building and contingent expenses. this bill, meagre indeed compared with the later enactments of parliament, met persistent opposition from the conservative benches. an ex-chancellor of the exchequer objected because it did not give sufficient powers to form a library; and he should object to it more strongly if it did. who was to select the books? was every publication that issued from the press to be procured? or was there to be a censorship introduced? another member claimed that the bill would enable a few persons to tax the general body of rate-payers for their own benefit, and the library would degenerate into a political club. col. sibthorp thought that, however excellent food for the mind might be, food for the body was more needed by the people. "i do not like reading at all," he said, "and hated it when i was at oxford." lord john manners said he could not support the bill, because it would impose an additional tax upon the agricultural interest. mr. spooner feared these institutions might be converted into normal schools of agitation. sir roundell palmer--since the lord chancellor of england--was most apprehensive that the moment the compulsory principle was introduced, a positive check would be imposed upon the voluntary, self-supporting desire which existed among the people. a division being taken on the bill, there were ayes and noes. the bill passed the house of commons in july, and the house of lords, without opposition, in august, . the manchester, liverpool, and bolton free libraries were immediately organized under this act, the cost of the books being defrayed by public subscription. in similar legislation was extended to scotland and ireland. in july, , the new libraries having gone into operation with the most encouraging results, a new and more liberal library act was passed, by a vote of three to one, which raised the rate of taxation from a halfpenny to a penny in the pound, and allowed the income to be expended for books. its provisions were made to include towns, boroughs, parishes, and districts having a population of inhabitants, and permitted two adjoining parishes, having an aggregate population of five thousand, to unite in the establishment of a library. in the library act was again improved by removing the limit of population required, and reducing the two-thirds vote on the acceptance of the library tax to a bare majority vote. provision was also made for cases in which the overseers of parishes refused or neglected to call a meeting of the rate-payers to vote on the question. any ten rate-payers could secure the calling of such a meeting, and the vote there taken was made binding and legal. the english free-library system is now so firmly established that it will not be changed except to expand and enlarge it. its chief supporters are the middle classes, and artisans and laborers, who, with their families, are its most numerous patrons. the recent extension of suffrage in england has strengthened the system. no candidate for official position who opposed it could hope for success. it has been found that free libraries have not degenerated into political clubs and schools of agitation. no trouble has arisen in the selection of books, and no censorship of the press was required. it was at first supposed that all books relating to religion and politics--the subjects on which people quarrel most--must be excluded. the experiment of including these books was tried in the manchester and liverpool libraries, where the books were purchased by private subscription, and no controversy arising therefrom, all apprehension of evil from this cause was allayed. parliament doubled the rate of taxation, and permitted the purchase of books from the public funds. the adoption of the compulsory system has not imposed a check on the voluntary and self-supporting desire of possessing books which existed among the people. it has strengthened that desire; and ample proof of this statement could be furnished if the prescribed limits of this paper would permit. it is singular that objections to public libraries have come mainly from men--as we have seen from the debate in the british parliament--who are educated, and in general matters of public welfare are intelligent above their fellows. these objections, however, were uttered before the persons making them had given the subject any attention, and hence they were disqualified from entertaining an opinion. nearly all the objections to public libraries which have been expressed in this country--and these appear more frequently in private conversation than in the public prints--may be classed under three heads: . the universal dread of taxation. libraries cost money. in every city and town of the land there is a feeling that the present rate of taxation is all that the property and business of the place will bear. this feeling existed before the taxes were one half their present rates. there is a generous rivalry among our cities and towns in the maintenance of good schools; and localities which furnish the best facilities for education are regarded as the most desirable places for residence. viewed simply as a matter of public economy, no city can afford to dispense with its educational system, or to permit it to degenerate. the public library also should be maintained as the supplement of the public school, carrying forward the education of the people from the point where the public school leaves it. . there are certain theoretical objections offered to the establishment and maintenance of public libraries. one is that the library tax bears unequally upon the people. some persons do not care to read books, and others prefer to pay for their own reading. the same objection is quite as valid against any system of public education. to lay the burden of education uniformly upon property, and to tax the owner who has no children, or, having children, prefers to educate them at private schools, is another glaring instance of inequality. no taxation for the maintenance of public health, the introduction of water and gas, the construction of roads, bridges, and sewers, bears equally upon every member of the community. if perfect equality in the distribution of these burdens were a necessity, an organized municipality would be an impossibility. perhaps the most popular objection to public libraries is the one urged by the few disciples of herbert spencer--that government has no legitimate function except the protection of person and property, as the original compact of society is simply for the purpose of protection. all else is paternal, pertains to the commune, and tends to perpetual antagonism. the government may support a police, courts of justice, prisons, penitentiaries, and similar institutions, and can do nothing else. how are the people under this theory to be educated? the reply is explicit: unless they will educate themselves, they are not to be educated. how is the public health to be maintained? it is not to be maintained by any interference of government. who is to build bridges and sewers and lay out public parks? nobody. imagine, if it be possible, a community where such a utopian theory was carried out. such a government fortunately does not, and never did, exist on the face of the globe. the "general welfare"--which includes protection--is expressly stated in the preamble of the national constitution to be the purpose of our government, and the same expression is found in nearly all the state constitutions. what ever the people desire, and whatever will, in their judgment, conduce to the general welfare, is a legitimate subject for governmental action. "the only orthodox object of the institution of government," says mr. jefferson, "is to secure the greatest degree of happiness possible to the general mass of those associated under it." herbert spencer wrote his "social statics" before the british parliament passed an act for the support of public libraries. mr. ewart's bill was then before parliament; and mr. spencer, in that work, took occasion to fling a sneer at it. in the preface of his american edition, written in , he states, without remodelling the text, that "the work does not accurately represent his present opinions." . the third and last class of objections to public libraries to which i shall direct your attention relates to the kind and quality of books circulated. these objections, which are usually made by educated and scholarly persons, are based on an entire misconception of the facts in the case. the objectors do not divest themselves of the old idea that libraries are established for the exclusive benefit of scholars; whereas the purpose of these is to furnish reading for all classes in the community. on no other principle would a general tax for their support be justifiable. the masses of a community have very little of literary and scholarly culture. they need more of this culture, and the purpose of the library is to develop and increase it. this is done by placing in their hands such books as they can read with pleasure and appreciate, and by stimulating them to acquire the _habit_ of reading. we must first interest the reader before we can educate him; and, to this end, must commence at his own standard of intelligence. the scholar, in his pride of intellect, forgets the progressive steps he took in his own mental development--the stories read to him in the nursery, the boy's book of adventure in which he revelled with delight, and the sentimental novel over which he shed tears in his youth. our objector supposes that the masses will read books of his standard if they were not supplied with the books to which he objects; but he is mistaken. shut up to this choice, they will read no books. when the habit of reading is once acquired, the reader's taste, and hence the quality of his reading, progressively improve. the standard histories, technical works of science, and even shakespeare's plays and milton's "paradise lost," are sealed books to a larger portion of every community than are willing to acknowledge the fact. "when a boy," said john quincy adams, "i attempted ten times to read milton's 'paradise lost.' i was mortified, even to the shedding of tears, that i could not conceive what it was that my father and mother so much admired in that book. i smoked tobacco and read milton at the same time, and for the same motive: to find out what was the recondite charm in them that gave my father so much pleasure. after making myself sick four or five times with smoking, i mastered that accomplishment; but i did not master milton. i was nearly thirty years of age when i first read 'paradise lost' with delight and astonishment." if our objectors mourn over the standard of books which are read by the public, they may be consoled by the fact that, as a rule, people read books better than themselves, and hence are benefited by reading. a book of a lower intellectual or moral standard than the reader's is thrown aside in disgust, to be picked up and read by a person still lower in the scale of mental and moral development. i do not lament, or join in the clamor sometimes raised, over the statistics of prose fiction circulated at public libraries. why this lamentation over one specific form of fiction? the writers of such prose fiction as is found in our libraries were as eminent and worthy men and women as the writers of poetical fiction, dramatic fiction, or, i might add, the fiction which passes in the world as history and biography. history professes to relate actual events, biography to describe actual lives, and science to unfold and explain natural laws and physical phenomena. fiction treats these and other subjects, mental, moral, sentimental, and divine, from an ideal or artistic standpoint; and the great mass of readers prefer to take their knowledge in this form. more is known to-day of the history and traditions of scotland, and of the social customs of london, from the novels of sir walter scott and charles dickens than from all the histories of those localities. fiction is the art element in literature, and the most enduring monuments of genius in the literature of any people are works of the imagination. it is said that there is much poor fiction, and the statement is true. so there are many poor pictures and poor statues, wretched chromos and more wretched plaster casts. that these productions find purchasers is evidence that there are persons whose ideal standard of excellence is even below these feeble efforts, and they are educated thereby. but there are novels, we are told, which are immoral and positively debasing. so there are immoral paintings and indecent plastic objects. the act of photography, i am told, is debased to the lowest purposes. nobody would think of objecting to art because it can be and is degraded. the librarian who should allow an immoral novel in his library for circulation would be as culpable as the manager of a picture gallery who should hang an indecent picture on his walls. young people, again, we are told, read too many novels. so they eat too much, play too much, go too often to the lake to bathe, remain too long in the water, and do too much of everything in which they take special delight. the remedy is not to deprive children of these pleasures, but that parents and guardians should regulate them. i have never met a person of much literary culture who would not confess that at some period in his life, usually in his youth, he had read novels excessively. his special interest in them suddenly ceased. he found himself with a confirmed habit of reading, an awakened imagination, a full vocabulary, and a taste for other and higher classes of literature. a novel was read occasionally in later life, as recreation in the midst of professional or technical studies. my observation addressed to this point, and extending over a library experience of thirty years, has confirmed me in the belief that there is in the mental development of every person who later attains to literary culture a limited period when he craves novel-reading, and perhaps reads novels to excess; but from which, if the desire be gratified, he passes safely out into broader fields of study, and this craving never returns to him in its original form. again, and finally, we are told that the reading of fiction should be discouraged because it is not _true_. what department of literature is true? is it history? whose history of the united states, for instance, is the true history? is it bancroft's? mr. bancroft for forty years has been changing the plates of his work to an extent that in pages we can scarcely recognize the original text, and lately he has revised the whole in the new centennial edition. the accurate student of specialties in american history will talk to you by the hour of mis-statements and errors found in this new issue. whose history of the reigns of henry viii. and of queen elizabeth is the true one? is it hume's, turner's, lingard's, or froude's? "do not read to me history," said a sick monarch, "that i know is a lie. read to me something that is true." is biography true? which of the score of lives of mary queen of scots is the true biography? is theology true? whose is the true body of divinity? is science true? why was it necessary to rewrite all the science in the eighth edition of the encyclopaedia britannica, for the ninth edition? homer's iliad, dante's divine comedy, shakespeare's hamlet and othello, do not require to be rewritten every ten or twenty years. the vicar of wakefield, ivanhoe, and robinson crusoe have held and will hold their own from generation to generation without revision, because they are _ideally true_ pictures of human life and human nature. shall we say that in literature and science there is nothing true but fiction and the pure mathematics? in the public libraries which are growing up in our land, fully four fifths of the money appropriated for books is spent in works adapted to the wants of scholars. in the larger libraries the proportion is even greater. it is hardly becoming for scholars, who enjoy the lion's share, to object to the small proportional expenditure for books adapted to the wants of the masses who bear the burden of taxation. mr. edward edwards, of the manchester library, speaking, in , of novels and romances--which he circulated more freely than is done in any american library--remarked as follows: "it may be truthfully said that at no previous period in the history of english literature has prose fiction been made, in so great a degree as of late years, the vehicle of the best thoughts of some of the best thinkers. nor, taking it as a whole, was it ever before characterized by so much general purity of tone or loftiness of purpose." how to use a library the substance of two addresses made at pittsfield, mass., and printed in _the library journal_ for february, . mr. hubbard's advice with regard to children's reading was followed long ago by specialization in work with children. that with regard to adult fiction remains unheeded. some day, possibly we shall have "adults' librarians" and training for "work with adults." james mascarene hubbard was born in boston in . he was made assistant librarian of the boston public library in and also reorganized the berkshire athenaeum of pittsfield, mass., in the same year. among all the pictures of abraham lincoln none perhaps are more interesting than two which represent scenes at the beginning and at the end of his life. in the first, a lad of thirteen or fourteen, he is reading by the light of a fire in his father's log hut. in the second, he is reading the bible to his sons in a room in the white house. this bible, which lies before the president in the latter picture, with a catechism and a spelling-book, were the only books in that frontier cabin when he learned to read. though his father could neither read nor write, yet he took the greatest interest in getting books for his son, so that when he was eighteen his library consisted of the bible, pilgrim's progress, Æsop's fables, weem's and ramsay's lives of washington, a life of clay, the autobiography of franklin, and a copy of plutarch. it is note-worthy that the one which influenced him the most strongly, after the bible, was the life of washington. at the very crisis of his career, when on his way to the national capital to take the leading part in crushing out the rebellion, he reverted to those early days, and recalled the burning thoughts which filled his mind while reading of the sufferings and sacrifices endured for the sake of freedom by the great patriot leader and his followers. lincoln's experience was, of course, no solitary one, but it doubtless had a great effect when it became generally known. it filled many men's imaginations with pictures of obscure lads with latent powers for noble deeds in danger of being stunted or wholly destroyed for want of proper nourishment, and they gave freely and generously that these "village hampdens," these hearts "pregnant with sacred fire," might not live useless and ignoble lives for want of books alone. hence to-day a large section of our country is dotted over with libraries, in which the collective wisdom and experience of the world, as it were, are gathered for the use especially of the youth of the nation. but, as is inevitable with the blessing of abundance, has come its danger also. lincoln's naturally great intellectual powers were strengthened by their being at first exercised upon a few subjects. the possession of a book being an era in his early life from its rarity, he read and re-read each one which he got, so as almost to learn it by heart before he read another. so the vivid impressions received from the lives of washington and the other great heroes of history ran no risk of being dissipated before they could have their full effect upon his mind and heart. this, however, is our danger in this day of public libraries and cheap literature, that the mental strength of our youth will be weakened through the too much reading of a multitude of books. as the waters of a brook when confined to a narrow channel may have power enough to set in motion a thousand spindles, but if suffered to spread over the ground are not able to turn a child's toy wheel, so with the powers of the mind. when directed to a few objects they may be capable of the greatest and most beneficent results, but when allowed to exhaust themselves upon a multitude they are in danger of becoming sterile and unfruitful. with lincoln then, and with many a frontier and backwoods boy now, the question was and is, how shall i get a book? with a greater number to-day, however, the more important question is, which book shall i choose? before attempting to aid any one to answer this question for himself, let me briefly advert to the fact that there are two kinds of reading for each of us, and two corresponding uses, therefore, of the library--the reading for amusement and the reading for profit. in regard to the former, i can say but a word, as it is a subject by itself. and that word is, let this reading be the best possible, and do not let it occupy too much of your spare time. books read simply for amusement have on most a greater power to elevate or degrade than any others, and more care should be taken in selecting them than in the choice of those to be read for instruction. read then, and put into the hands of the young the best fiction, and shun those writers, whatever their power or their popularity, who reproduce in their books the slang and vulgar speech of the streets and paint realistic scenes of vice and crime. the answer to the question, how or what shall i read? must necessarily be as varied as the tastes, the talents, and the circumstances of readers vary. the general aim, however, should be the same in all. we should read in order to do well whatever we have to do in life. now this implies something more than the reading simply to increase one's knowledge--certainly a worthy aim, but not the highest. the field of knowledge is so broad and the time for reading so short that we must necessarily choose those subjects, the knowledge of which will make us better fitted for our work in life. and the mere seeking for knowledge, which is the sole end of much reading, does not imply, but may even prevent the attaining that higher end, the cultivation of our nobler powers, as the imagination and the sympathies, and the gaining the power of appreciating what is highest and best in literature and life. for instance, one may be conscious of a total lack of a love for any great writer. to him homer, dante, shakespeare, milton, and their peers are but names. now it may be that the best use to which such an one can put a library is to make at least the attempt to understand and enjoy some great author. it will be no easy task, but one needing and worthy the hardest study. to take, as an illustration of one method, a lesser poet, read carefully and thoughtfully matthew arnold's introduction to his edition of the selected poems of wordsworth. whenever he refers to a poem, read it before going farther and re-read it until the thought of the poet as indicated by the commentator is reasonably clear. then read in the same manner what coleridge, shairp, f.w. robertson, or any other good critic has written upon wordsworth. and, above all, sometimes read the poems as nearly as possible in the same circumstances under which they were written--in the forest, by the brook-side, in the solitudes of the mountains, or on a bridge in the heart of a great city. if this fail to awaken an interest in wordsworth, try some other author in a similar way, and it is impossible that of all who have stirred men's hearts through the ages, no one can be found to arouse your sympathies. and when the right author is at length found, you live on a higher plane than before. this great poet, philosopher, or dramatist has become your friend and familiar companion--a gain far greater than the acquirement of any mere book knowledge. the greater part of another person's life may be spent in sordid surroundings, with companions and in an occupation tending to depress and degrade the better nature. i can easily conceive that it might be the highest duty of such an one to remain ignorant of much useful knowledge in order to quicken the imagination, to enlarge the tastes, and heighten the enjoyments. so that when the day's work is done, he may exchange the sordid companions, suggestive only of mean thoughts and low aims, for intercourse with men of purest and noblest nature--men, too, it may be, who have lived, thought, and written under circumstances as depressing as those in which he lives and works. so there may be some one who regretfully feels that in nature there is nothing which gives to him, as to others, the keenest pleasure, refreshing him when wearied, encouraging him when downcast. who sees nothing in the skies save signs of the coming storm, nothing in the trees or flowers, the rivers or the hills, save something relating to his material comfort or discomfort. the best use to which this man could put a library and his reading hours might be to study the works of the great interpreters of nature, as white of selborne, ruskin, or emerson. and if they should open his eyes so that he can look "through nature up to nature's god," his gain is immeasurable. now, in neither of these instances is the increase of knowledge the aim set before the reader, but the development of some dwarfed faculty whose growth is necessary to the leading of a noble life. but where the increase of knowledge is the direct end sought, the value of the knowledge in itself must not be that alone which decides one in the choice of books, or incites him to reading, but the use to which it can and ought to be put. an employer of labor, for instance, one who is immediately responsible for the welfare of a large number of workmen, cannot, with any true conception of his duty as a master, devote his time for reading to acquiring a knowledge of history, science, or literature, if he know nothing of the principles underlying the relations of capital to labor, if he is ignorant of the dangers, the temptations, the needs and rights of his workpeople. however well-informed on other subjects, he has read to far less advantage than if his books had been chosen with a direct purpose to fit him to do his duty as a master. so many a parent ought, for a time at least, to read with a view wholly to prepare himself for the wise moral and mental training of his children. and on the other hand a man should read the history of his country, not merely that he may not blush from conscious ignorance of it, but that, knowing what his heritage of freedom cost to obtain, he may also come to the conviction that it is not his to enjoy simply, but it is a sacred trust to be accounted for, however humble his position. it could not be more humble than lincoln's, and yet none can doubt that to the spirit in which he read american history was largely due his future fitness for the great work which god gave him to do. to what highest and most profitable use can i put my reading? is the question then which each one should ask himself, and according as the answer is, so should the choice be made. it may be that one will read that he may understand better his duties and privileges as a citizen; another, that he may be a just master, or an intelligent and faithful workman; still another, that she may be a wise parent; while a fourth may have the strong conviction that everything else should be laid aside for the study of one of the masterpieces of the world's literature, that he may develop his higher faculties and become a man thinking lofty thoughts and capable of noble deeds. but there is a very large class of readers, especially of a public library, to whom what i have just said will be of but little use. and as it is upon them that the choice of books has the greatest influence for good or evil, it is to speak of their interests that i turn with the deepest solicitude. this class may be subdivided into two classes--the children of intelligent parents who are capable of directing their reading, and those children who have none to guide them in their choice. as regards the former, one of the greatest dangers of the public library, in my opinion, is that many parents throw off all responsibility as to the books their children read upon those who have charge of the library. a generation ago, all the books, as a rule, which the young read were bought especially for them by their parents or friends, with more or less care in the selection. of course under these circumstances they had a general knowledge of what their children read. now a great many parents neither know, nor do they apparently seem to care to know, what books fall into their children's hands, so long as they are from the public library, which is supposed to be a guarantee for their fitness for young readers. without entering here upon the important question as to what books should or should not be put in a public library, it is enough to say that no intelligent parent, with a right idea of his duty toward his children, can properly lay this responsibility upon persons, however carefully chosen or however faithful in the discharge of their duties. the capacity of children for receiving good or bad impressions from books differs, as their features and forms vary. the same story might prove harmless to one boy and give a moral twist to another's mind from which he might never recover. one girl might receive from a book a hundred evil suggestions, hopelessly depraving her imagination, while upon another it might not leave a single evil trace. now, it is not possible for the most scrupulous librarian to discriminate between these two, and refuse the book to the one and freely give it to the other. and therefore no library with a large and miscellaneous collection of stories and novels can be safe for children freely to use except under the careful supervision of their parents. the only safeguard of which i know is for parents to read much with their children, to interest themselves in their books, and to talk with them about them. those stories, for instance, against which there has been such an outcry of late years, would have but small power to hurt that boy to whom a father had taken the pains to point out the absurdities, the unrealities, the false ideas and aims of which they are accused. but in our cities and large towns there can be no doubt that the greater number of the younger readers of a public library belong to the second of the two classes referred to--those who have none to guide them in the choice of their books. the most of these come, of course, simply for amusement, without a thought of any better use of the library. but a few come with other and higher aims. some, with no specially strong tastes or more than ordinary capacities, merely wish to read that which will cultivate their minds and increase their knowledge, or will be profitable to them in their work. a very few there are, however, in every large town, with intellects of no mean order and strong ambitions, who turn to the library instinctively for that which will satisfy the cravings of their intellects and the promptings of their ambitions. a youth with the instincts of a lincoln or a webster comes to read the history of his country. another, with the latent powers of a nasmyth, a stevenson, or an arkwright, wants the books which will give full play to his inventive faculties. another finds a strange and irresistible attraction in natural phenomena, in the habits of plants and animals, in the formation of the rocks and the hills, in the aspects of the skies and the movements of the stars. now, it will depend very much upon the first choice of their books, and the subsequent direction of their reading, whether they will become men useful to the communities in which they live and add substantial material to the sum of human knowledge, as statesmen, inventors, naturalists, or astronomers. the danger is that, for lack of proper guidance and restraint, they will dissipate their mental energies and lose sight of all high aims by too much and too vague reading. if the public library is to be in fact, what it is in theory, an educating power second only to the church and the school, and supplementing the work of both, there must be some method devised by which such readers as these may be helped to choose the right books. without such aid, given continually and systematically, the library fails in the principal end for which it was founded--the elevation and instruction of the people. we might as well turn our children into a school-house, fully furnished with books and apparatus, but with only a janitor to see that no injury is done to them, and expect the children to make a wise use of their opportunities, to take up and pursue the proper studies without the aid of a master, as to give children the free range of a great library and expect them undirected to make a wise use of its advantages as a means of education. it is, therefore, in my opinion, a most pernicious error to encourage young people, of the lower classes especially, to come to a library, and to give them poor stories in the mistaken belief that, the taste for reading being developed, they will naturally and surely rise from these to better books. such a belief is contrary to all our experience of human nature. with careful guidance and restraint a boy may be brought from the dime novel to read scott and macaulay. but without this restraint and guidance, where one will rise, a hundred, a thousand rather, will remain at the level from which they started, or more naturally sink to still lower depths. the question is, can anything be done to help the young who throng our public libraries to read well and wisely? shall these boys and girls, with their unknown powers both for good and evil, be left to grope helplessly amid these treasures of wisdom and knowledge which our libraries contain, or shall the attempt at least be made to give them a kindly and intelligent guidance? this work, of such incalculable importance, i hasten to say, is already well done to a certain extent by a few librarians in the country. but it is a work which requires time, patience, tact, an insight into character, and a very varied and extensive knowledge. it is evident that the librarians who combine these requisites are few in number. it is a work which cannot be done by them as a class. nor can it be done by the ordinary catalogues, however skilfully prepared. for it is evident that there needs to be some personal knowledge of each reader's capacities in order to help him intelligently and profitably. nor is it something which the school-teachers, willing though many of them are, can do, except in a limited degree, as many of those who need help are not school-children. there are, however, a few persons in every town fitted by their education and their circumstances in life for this work, and it is to them we must finally appeal. the most practical plan, presenting on the whole the fewest difficulties, seems to be the following: let those persons who are willing to make the attempt to give this instruction in reading choose each a subject, as general history, the history of the united states, science, travels, biography, fiction, or children's stories, and see what their public library contains on these subjects. in due time notice could be given that all persons wishing help in the choice of books in any of these subjects could be aided by applying to the librarian. he would refer the inquirer to that person who has chosen this subject, who will naturally endeavor to find out something of the character, circumstances, and abilities of the applicant before selecting the books best fitted in his or her opinion for him to read. no doubt, at first, there would be few to apply, and mistakes would be made from lack of experience. but, if only one reader was substantially aided, if only one bright youth was rescued from the danger of dissipating his energies by aimless or depraving reading, all the labor would be amply rewarded, to say nothing of the benefit which the guide himself, in preparing for his work, would receive. i do not believe, however, that the applicants for guidance would be few, when it was known among the work-people of our mills, our shops and stores, among the poor, that every one coming to the library asking for aid would find some one ready, as it were, to take him by the hand, and lead him from book to book, so long as he needed help. i am confident that it would be an invaluable service if some one or two persons should take the pains to become acquainted with the character of the books for the children and the novels contained in a library. there are many parents who feel instinctively the truth of the words of f.w. robertson, that "a man's character and mind are moulded for good or evil far more by the forms of imagination which surround his childhood than by any subsequent scientific training." many an anxious but ignorant parent who sees in her boys and girls a craving for books, at which she rejoices with trembling, would turn with heart-felt gratitude--i speak with the fullest confidence, because i speak from experience--to one who would give them advice as to the books which their children might safely read and those which they should shun. it is only by some such means as this that the public library can be made a real educating power for the masses. in far too many places, now, it is simply a place where children can get story-books at the public expense. this cannot long continue, and i believe that the greater part of the libraries which continue to do this work without an effort to fulfil their higher mission, will surely and inevitably die, as the district school and agricultural libraries died fifty years ago. the responsibility rests with the people of each place where there is a public library, as to which of two ends shall be reached. it may be merely a means for furnishing amusement for an hour, or it may be a central beacon from whence the rays of light shall stream into every house. adaptation of libraries to constituencies prepared by samuel s. green, then librarian of the worcester, mass. public library and a member of the state library commission, for the world's library congress held at the columbian exposition (chicago, ) and printed in the government report thereon. the "adaptation" favored by mr. green consists in weeding out unfitting books. melvil dewey, as editor of this volume of papers, tells us in a foot-note that in the discussion of mr. green's paper, this process was not generally approved except as the first step in a transfer to other libraries. president eliot's suggestion of reservoir libraries for storage is a later stage, in the same line of thought. a sketch of mr. green appears in vol. i. of this series. note.--with this paper should be read those pages of the chicago discussions in which it was pointed out by leading librarians that to weed out safely would require much costly expert service; that the most hurtful criticism would be attacks after inevitable cases where some one would greatly wish a book that had been withdrawn as useless; that the printed catalogs already circulated would be made untrustworthy by parting with any volume included; that what one wise and learned man would throw out as trash, another equally wise and learned would consider specially valuable because of differing personal equations. in short, that however excellent in theory, it was perhaps the most difficult thing in librarianship to put successfully in practice. while few favored "weeding out" simply to gain room by getting rid of books little wanted, many believe in transferring to other libraries which have a distinctly greater need of them.--m.d. a resident of a massachusetts town to which the commonwealth was about to give $ worth of books came to secure my influence as a member of the state free public library commission to have a large part of the $ spent for rare and expensive books on massachusetts history. as a large and valuable library made up principally of books of that class was soon to be given to another small town in the same county, it would have been manifestly unwise to grant this request. it seems unwise also to place a students' library in a small town where there are few who will use it. it would be better to give the library to a flourishing institution at a county seat, on condition that it shall be open for free consultation by all residents of the county, and that, under proper rules, books may be lent from it to inhabitants of smaller towns for use at home. in this way the library would be so placed that most persons wishing to make investigations would have the books near home, and the comparatively few investigators in the smaller towns, such as the man in the town first mentioned, would also have their interests provided for. the trustees of the thomas crane public library at quincy, mass., have concluded, utilizing the experience of many years, that a working library of , volumes is sufficient to supply the general wants of the , residents of the city. it is proposed not to let the library grow beyond , volumes while the wants of the city remain what they are, and when it exceeds that number of volumes to cut it down by taking out books that never have been needed in a popular library like that in quincy or that have become useless. it having become evident that an addition would presently have to be made to the building if the recent rate of increase should continue, it seemed best to the trustees to begin at once to reduce the size of the library. they proceeded, under the able leadership of mr. charles francis adams, to remove from the library large numbers of government documents, unnecessary duplicates, books of an outgrown ephemeral interest, and those unsuited to the locality. twenty-one hundred and forty-five volumes were removed immediately. the quincy library, by adopting this course, relieves itself from very considerable prospective expenses and secures money to use in increasing its usefulness. part of the plan is to keep the printed catalogs of the small library up to date and to scatter copies of them widely throughout the city by selling them at a nominal price. it is always expensive to prepare and print a good catalog; it is very expensive to issue new editions frequently. still, if a popular library is to do its work well it must introduce its constituents to its books by means of frequent revised editions of a good, printed catalog. the thomas crane library has been famous for the excellence of its annotated catalog and for lists of books on special subjects for the use of school children. it proposes in future to use more money than in the past in making, printing, and keeping up to date good catalogs, and, in order to make it practicable to do so, to keep down the number of volumes in the library, thus reducing the expenses of cataloging, and also to save money in housing its books. that is to say, it is acting on the well-established principle that a small library well cataloged, if at all adapted in the number of its volumes to the size of a town, is of incalculably greater advantage to its constituency than one many times larger but poorly equipped with catalogs. it is a distinctive feature of the quincy plan not to make the library a special reference library. that city is very near boston and cambridge, which it is well known are richly supplied with large general and numerous special libraries. when a man appears in quincy who wishes to make a minute inquiry on some special subject, it is proposed to refer him to the great libraries in the neighboring cities, and to confine the efforts of the trustees of the quincy library to supplying the general wants of its constituency. here, then, is a bold attempt at adapting a library to its constituency. shall it be seconded? many will hold it unwise to discuss such a subject publicly. remembering many ill-judged efforts at economy by ignorant, uneducated, or parsimonious men in town meetings and on library boards, they will pronounce it hurtful to libraries to point out to such men that some library experts consider it well to keep down expenses for cataloging and housing books by weeding out libraries. perhaps they are right. whether they are so or not, however, their objection is too late. the matter now under consideration is undergoing public discussion, and it is important that men having special knowledge of library matters should contribute now the results of their experience. unreasonable men in town meetings and in boards of trustees must be answered, and reasonable men and women need to understand thoroughly the subject in order that their answers may be discriminating and wise. once, when the librarian of congress asked that an addition be made to the library rooms, a member is said to have urged that instead of enlarging the capitol, the library should be weeded out. such a plan would be regarded generally as exceedingly foolish. there must be in many parts of this broad land large and growing libraries which will aim to gather very large general and special collections not limited to books of intrinsic merit. such libraries will have to get many books of little value in themselves to enable students to study subjects historically. it would indeed be very silly to weed out the congressional library. somewhere there should be accessible (and where better than in that library?) every book, pamphlet, and map published in the united states. the congressional library should be a great national library like the bibliothèque nationale and the british museum. the quincy plan would not work well even in a place the size of worcester, mass., with a population of only , or , , and but miles from boston, for it is a center of important educational institutions and of inquirers, and therefore needs large reference libraries. cambridge, though very much nearer boston than quincy, becomes, because of harvard university, a center where there must be a large library. it is too great an inconvenience for harvard professors and students to rely, except for book rarities, on libraries even so near as those in boston. on the other hand, consider the john adams library at quincy. it was collected by president john adams in europe and america, and undoubtedly contains many valuable books. but is it in place in quincy? it was formerly kept in the adams academy, but not proving useful there, it was transferred to the thomas crane public library, where it now is. mr. charles francis adams recently said that he only knew of this john adams library having been consulted once in forty years, and that then he was himself the consulter. it is more convenient for mr. adams to make his many researches in the great libraries in boston and cambridge than in quincy, and his opinion is that this library should be given to the boston public library, where it would be of great value in supplementing the collections, and would be readily accessible to the class of students who would use it. perhaps, however, quincy would be unwilling to give up this library, which marks its connection with a very distinguished man. while it is a distinctive feature of the quincy plan not to make the public library a special reference library, its success depends on having large reference libraries near at hand. in one respect it encourages making the library a special library, namely, on local interests and history. as to the saving in expense possible under the quincy plan, while money is saved which would ordinarily be used in housing books and in other ways, increased expenditure, it should be remembered, is contemplated in frequent issues of improved catalogs. as i shall soon show, the plan, if well carried out, requires other expenditures. there are many small libraries which do not need weeding. if a library needs weeding, as many undoubtedly do, will it be weeded out wisely? broad-minded intelligence is needful for this kind of work, as well as education and experience in library work. an expert is as much needed in this work of weeding out as in selecting books for a library at its start. great harm might result from injudicious discarding. another objection likely to be made to the quincy plan is that it would often be difficult to decide how large a library is needed in a town or city, and that this difficulty would be magnified in a growing town. still, if a thing is desirable it should be done in spite of difficulties. foresight must be exercised and generous provision made for the probable growth of towns, and the number of volumes changed as changes in the size of population or other considerations demand. supposing a mistake has been made, the weeding has been made with the accessibility in view of large and special libraries in towns and cities near by. those towns and cities will still remain near to the town which has grown unexpectedly large; their libraries will still be accessible for reference. the difference between the old state of things and the new is likely to be that the books will be used more under changed circumstances than formerly. but how provide under the quincy plan for students who can not afford time and money to frequent the large libraries even in towns or cities near by; and supposing this number of special inquirers becomes considerable, can you hope that they will receive a cordial welcome and sympathetic assistance in large neighboring libraries? dangers here hinted at must be guarded against. librarians and trustees should be on the lookout for inquirers and help them to get at the books needed. it is proposed to help them by preparing and issuing often improved printed catalogs. personal assistance would also evidently be needed under the new plan. in some cases it would be necessary to buy books. in others the investigator might be introduced to the officers of the library, or by some influential person to the officers of a large neighboring library with reference to his being allowed to borrow if he could not use books on the premises. the same thing might perhaps be better accomplished by a loan from the large to the small library. the small library might have to pay for this privilege. it might be desirable, if an investigator had leisure but not money, for the small library to pay his car fare to the town where the library to be consulted is situated. large libraries as now constituted are very obliging, and continually extend courtesies to smaller institutions. the people of worcester, for example, every week, and sometimes oftener, have books borrowed for their use from the surgeon-general's library, washington, from harvard, the boston athenæum, columbia, yale, and other libraries. many institutions are already extending gratuitously such privileges. supposing it were to become the custom of small libraries to send books and pamphlets which they can get, but do not need, to large neighboring libraries where they would be useful. such action would lead to an exchange of various civilities. then, too, as the desirability of having large libraries help smaller ones by loans of books becomes more and more obvious, will not persons of means give money to the former to enable them to do this kind of work for small towns generally or for particular towns in which they may be specially interested? mr. adams's advice to libraries is, not to accumulate books promiscuously, but to practice a systematic differentiation in collecting. books which cumber the shelves of one library may be of the greatest value in another. the public documents only of its own town and state, and a few of the national documents relating to matters of general interest, are in place in the library of a small town. but all public documents have come to be of the greatest service in large libraries and in libraries connected with important educational institutions. even those which seem driest, because exclusively of statistics, are much in demand in colleges where students of history and political economy are required to examine original sources. mr. charles a. cutter said several years ago, regarding the proper disposition of pamphlets, that local pamphlets should be given to local libraries, professional or scientific pamphlets to special libraries, miscellaneous and all sorts of pamphlets to larger general libraries. this is excellent advice. even large general libraries practice differentiation, many of them excluding professional books and leaving special libraries in their neighborhood to accumulate them. a state library may properly make a specialty of public documents, and perhaps law books, and pay little attention to accumulating other books. a general subscription library with a constituency mainly of people of leisure may find it more useful to collect books in belles-lettres, biography, history, travel, etc., than to buy many dealing with industrial subjects. but a public library in a great manufacturing town, or a special library for architects and engineers, must specialize on technical books. it is not proposed to destroy books taken out of libraries where they are not needed, but to place them within reach of those most needing them, either through other libraries or auction rooms or secondhand bookstores. no countenance would be given to such a proceeding as that of the administrators of the estate of the well-known collector of old books, mr. t.o.p.h. burnham, who are said to have sent a ton or more of material from his stock to the paper mill.[ ] the people of worcester act more wisely. they empty their attics into the rooms of the american antiquarian society or those of the local society of antiquity. housekeepers there, too, dispose similarly of such books as turn up in spring cleaning and are found to be in the way. an extensive system of exchange is in operation under the auspices of the former society, and books and pamphlets sent to the rooms of either society, find their way to persons and libraries where they are needed, and the two antiquarian societies enrich their collections by the exchanges made. [ ] it is conceivable that after a lifetime of buying whole attics of rejected books and preserving those which no one would buy at any price, out of an immense stock there might be a ton of duplicate schoolbooks, incomplete volumes, and other books and pamphlets which could not even be given away to any library; since the large libraries would have copies and the smaller ones would not esteem them worth shelf room.--m.d. col. thomas wentworth higginson recently stated that a trustee of the museum of fine arts, boston, told him that he spent a considerable part of his time in refusing gifts offered to the museum. this trustee is probably wise in declining gifts. there are many books and pamphlets offered to libraries which they would not find useful. these should be accepted only on condition that they may be placed wherever they will be most valuable. differentiation is specially desirable in the smallest libraries. when but little money is available for buying books the small amount should be spent with closest regard to actual needs of the constituency. not infrequently intelligent entertainment and elementary instruction will be the principles that should guide in selecting books for small libraries. with intelligent cooperation several small neighboring towns might adopt to advantage the suggestion that each of them spend a few dollars a year on a specialty, such as botany, geology, zoology; every town taking a different specialty and all lending to one another. this paper favors in the main the selection of books with special reference to the actual existing needs of the users of the library. such an institution as the flourishing public library of providence, r.i., might properly, if allowable for any library in cities of moderate size, add to its general work some specialty of limited interest. mr. foster, its librarian, has recently stated, however, that he thinks that notwithstanding the reputation which the famous harris collection of poetry gives to the library throughout the country, it is the best for that library to devote itself almost exclusively to supplying the general needs of providence. in conclusion, it may be stated that mr. adams does not claim that the plan of weeding out libraries adopted at quincy has never been thought of before. he was not indebted to any book for the idea, but it had occurred to other persons before. action upon it had always been recommended. mr. adams has taken the bull by the horns. he has put the plan in execution and to a considerable extent has systematized it. he has also called attention to it and made it a living subject for discussion. relation of free public libraries to the community presentations of library questions to the general reading public from authoritative sources are exceptionally hard to find, even at the present day. the one reprinted below was contributed to _the north american review_ for june, , by herbert putnam, then librarian of the boston public library. herbert putnam was born in new york, sept. , , the youngest son of the founder of the publishing house. he graduated at harvard in and studied law. he served as librarian in minneapolis, first of the atheneum and then of the public library in - , meanwhile being admitted to the bar in . he practised law in boston in - , but in the latter year became librarian of the boston public library, serving until appointed in librarian of congress. his administration has been marked by the development of this institution along the line of service of a national library. during the great war he was director of library war service. free libraries have existed for less than a half a century. their establishment assumed that books are beneficial: but it involved also the assertion that it is the proper function of government to supply books to such of its citizens as may require them at the expense of the community as a whole. libraries of this special type do not yet form the major portion of the institutions supplying books on a large scale to groups of persons. under the head of "public, society and school libraries," these institutions in the united states aggregate , in number, with , , volumes, with $ , , invested in buildings, with $ , , of endowments, and with over $ , , of annual income. of these the free public libraries supported by general taxation number less than , , with , , volumes, and with less than $ , , of annual income. they are, however, increasing with disproportionate and amazing rapidity. in massachusetts, but of the cities and towns, but three-fourths of one per cent. of the inhabitants now lack them. one hundred and ten library buildings there have been the gift of individuals. no form of private memorial is now more popular; no form of municipal expenditure meets with readier assent. nor are the initiative and the expenditure left wholly to local enterprises. the commonwealth itself takes part: extending, through a state commission, state aid in the form of books and continuing counsel. and massachusetts is but one of eight states maintaining such commissions. new york state, in its system of traveling libraries, has gone further still in supplementing initial aid with a continuing supply of books, and even photographs and lantern slides, purchased by the state and distributed through the regents of the state university from albany to the remotest hamlet. the first stage of all such legislation is an enabling act--authorizing the establishment of a library by the local authorities; the next is an act encouraging such establishment by bounties; and new hampshire has reached a third by a law actually mandatory, requiring the local authorities to establish free libraries in proportion to their means and the population to be served. this seems to mark the high-water mark of confidence in the utility of these institutions. it indicates that free public libraries are to be ranked with the common schools, as institutions indispensable to good citizenship, whose establishment the state for its own protection must require. so the movement has progressed, until now these , public libraries combined are sending out each year over million books, to do their work for good or ill in the homes of the united states. the entire , result from one conviction and a uniform purpose. yet among them there is every variety in scope and in organization. there is the hamlet library of a hundred volumes, open for a couple of hours each week in some farm house, under a volunteer custodian, maintained by the town, but enlisting private contribution through bazaars and sociables--sending out its books by the local provision dealer to its remote and scattered constituents. there is the library of the great city, with elaborate equipment and complex organization to meet a vast and complex need. such a library as you may find at chicago; a city which, though it has two great endowed reference libraries, still considers its million and a half people entitled to a municipal library, with a two million dollar building, studded with costly mosaics, and aided by forty branches and stations in bringing the books nearer each home. or such a library as exists at boston; organized as a city department, under trustees appointed by the mayor, maintained, like the schools, or the police, or the fire department, by general taxation; with a central building which has cost the city two and one-half million dollars, with ten branch libraries and seventeen delivery stations scattered through the city and reached daily by its delivery wagons; with , books; and accommodations for over , readers at one time; including in its equipment such special departments as a bindery and a printing office; requiring for its administration over employes, and for its maintenance each year a quarter of a million dollars, in addition to the proceeds of endowments; and representing in its buildings, books and equipment an investment of over five millions of dollars, the interest on which, at four per cent., to the expenditure for maintenance, is equivalent to an annual burden of $ , for its creation and support. when this function was first proposed for a municipality, the argument used was that in this country books had come to be the principal instruments of education; that the community was already supporting a public school system; that this system brought a youth to the threshold of education and there left him; that it qualified him to use books, but did nothing to put books within his reach; and finally that it was of "paramount importance that the means of general information should be so diffused that the largest possible number of persons should be induced to read and understand questions going down to the very foundation of social order, which are constantly presenting themselves, and which we, as a people, are constantly required to decide, and do decide, either ignorantly or wisely." a glance at the libraries now in operation in the united states shows that the ends proposed for them fall far short of the service which they actually perform. they begin with the child before he leaves school; while he is still in his elementary studies they furnish to him books which stir his imagination, and bring the teaching of the text books into relation with the art and with life. they thus help to render more vivid the formal studies pursued; but they also prepare the child to become an intelligent constituent hereafter. this work cannot begin too early, for four-fifths of the children pass out into active life without reaching the high schools. it need not be deferred, for now the number is almost countless of books that touch with imagination and charm of style even the most elementary subjects; and the library can add illustrations which through the eye convey an impression of the largest subjects in the most elemental way. if the library begins with the citizen earlier than was foreseen, it is prepared to accompany him further than was thought necessary. it responds not only to the needs of the general reader, but also to those of the student and even, to the extent of its means, to those of the scholar engaged in special research. the maintenance of universities at the common expense is familiar in the west; it is less so in the east. and there is still contention that institutions for highly specialized instruction should not be charged upon the community as a whole. but no one has questioned the propriety of charging upon the community the support of a library whose leading purpose may be the encouragement of the higher scholarship. finally, to the services just above described the public library has added another: the supply of books for proposes purely recreative. this service, if anticipated, was certainly not explicitly argued for; nor was it implied in edward everett's prediction that the public library would prove the "intellectual common" of the community. the common that mr. everett had in mind was a pasturage, not a baseball ground, or lover's walk, or a loafing place for tramps. but as regards certain of the books customarily supplied, the ordinary public library of to-day is furnishing recreation rather than instruction. in fact, if we look at the history of free public libraries in this country, we find that the one point of practice on which they have been criticised is the supply of merely recreative literature. the protest has come from thoughtful persons, and it means something, lightly as it has been waved aside. the excuse that used to be given for the supply of inferior books was that they would entice to the use of the better books. there was to be reached a mass of persons of inferior taste and imperfect education. these persons must be introduced gradually to an acquaintance with the better class of reading through the medium of the familiar. and, at all events, it was better that they should read something than not read at all. i am not quite so confident of the regenerating virtue of mere printed matter as such; and i am confident that the reading of a book inferior in style and taste debases taste, and that the book which sets forth, even with power, a false view of society does harm to the reader, and is so far an injury to the community of which he is part. but even granting the premises, the conclusion is doubtful. we do not deliberately furnish poor art at public expense because there is a portion of the public which cannot appreciate the better. nor when the best is offered, without apology, does the uncultured public in fact complain that it is too "advanced." thousands of "ordinary" people come to see and enjoy the abbey and chavannes and sargent decorations in the boston public library. no one has yet complained that the paintings are too advanced for him. the best of art is not too good for the least of men, provided he can be influenced at all. nor are the best of books too good for him, provided he can be influenced, and provided they are permitted, as are the pictures to make their appeal directly. they must not be secluded behind catalogs and formal paraphernalia. the practice which admitted the scholar to the shelves, and limited the general reader to the catalogues, gave the best opportunity to him who least needed it. the modern practice sets before the reader least familiar with good _titles_ a selection of good _books_. it places them on open shelves where he can handle them without formality. the result is almost invariably, that he is attracted to a book in advance of his previous tastes. perhaps a chance paragraph appeals to some experience or ambition, or an illustration stirs his imagination. the books themselves draw him outside of his previous limitations. in the place, therefore, of books inferior in quality, the more modern public library seeks to attract by the freest possible access to books of the best quality. not that this practice is universal. but the opinion and tendency are in this safe direction. however, quality assumed, the general question as to the reading of recreative literature remains. what shall we say of the fact that sixty per cent. of the circulation of the free public libraries still consists of fiction? in the first place, that this percentage takes no account of reference use, which is almost wholly of serious literature; second, that as to home use the ratio in circulation of fiction to serious literature does not represent a similar ratio of trivial to serious service. fiction is the small coin of literature. it must circulate more rapidly to represent the same volume of real business done. a volume of fiction may be issued, returned and reissued three times while a biography or history or work of science is issued once. it will then count seventy-five per cent. in the circulation. but the serious book has during the entire period been out in the hands of the reader; and the service which it has performed--the period of attention which it has occupied--equals that of the novel in its three issues. and, finally, there is to be considered the influence of the best fiction toward general culture (if the library is not merely to inform but also to cultivate)--in broadening the sympathies, giving a larger tolerance, a kindlier humanity, a more intelligent helpfulness; in affording the rest that is in itself an equipment for work, and the distraction that may save from impulse to evil. however, the amount of fiction circulated in proportion to the total work of the library is on the average steadily decreasing. at the same time the quality is improving; in part through critical selection, in part as a happy result of the fact that the inferior novels are also, as a rule, inferior books, so poorly manufactured that libraries cannot afford to buy them. but there is standard fiction and current fiction; and it is the current fiction that constitutes by itself a special problem still perplexing. it is a problem that concerns not the uneducated child, nor the illiterate adult; it is caused by the people of intelligent education who are avid to read the latest novel by mr. x. or mrs. y. while it is still the latest novel by mr. x. or mrs. y. it is being talked about at dinner or afternoon tea. well-informed people are reading it; to read it is a social necessity. the reason that presses the public library to supply promptly every most recent book in the domain of scientific literature is apparent enough. such literature contributes facts which are the data for action. but novels in general belong to the literature of power. their purpose is not to furnish information but to give pleasure. literature of this sort adds no new fact, nor is it superseded, nor does it lose any of its value by lapse of time. to assume that it does would be to assume that beauty of form could become obsolete. this is not so in painting, in sculpture, in architecture; why should it be so in prose fiction, in poetry, in the drama? was there, in fact, an aesthetic value in the canterbury tales in , in hamlet in , in ivanhoe in , that is not to be found in them in ? but a large portion of latter day fiction is fiction with a purpose; another way of saying that it is a work of art composed for the dissemination of doctrine. this element promotes it at once to the dignity of a treatise; a new view of politics, a new criticism of social conditions, a new creed! here is something that concerns the student of sociology. and surely his needs are worthy of prompt response. in fact, his needs and the general curiosity do get prompt response, and the new novels are freely bought. how freely i have recently sought to ascertain. i asked of some seventy libraries their yearly expenditure for current fiction in proportion to their total expenditure for books. the returns show an average of from ten to fifteen per cent. in one case the amount reached fifty per cent., in others it fell as low as two per cent. the ratio for fiction in general is much higher on the average; but fiction in general includes scott and thackeray and other standards, an ample supply of which would not usually be questioned. at providence and worcester, two of the most active and popular of public libraries, the purchases of fiction, current and standard, formed last year but seven and eleven per cent., respectively, of the entire expenditure for books. at boston there were selected but titles of current fiction (out of nearly read and considered). but some dozen copies were bought of each title, so that the entire purchases reached , volumes and cost about $ , . this was about six and a half per cent. on a total expenditure for books of $ , . at st. louis the practise is to buy but two copies out of the general funds to be circulated free. nearly a hundred more are added which are rented out and thus pay for themselves. the statistics do not seem to show that the initial expenditure for current fiction is very alarming. but the purchase price of these books is but a fraction of the expense of handling them. they cannot be supplied in adequate quantities; for while the frenzy of curiosity persists, an adequate supply is beyond the resources of any library. but since the attempt to supply is futile the pretense is injurious. the presence of the titles in the catalogues misleads the reader into a multitude of applications which are a heavy expense to the library without benefit to him. and the acquisition of the single book means to the library the expense of handling a hundred applications for it which are futile to one that can be honored. in this sense a current novel involves perhaps a hundred times the expense of any other book in being supplied to but the same number of readers. the british museum acquires the new novels as published; but it withholds them from the readers until five years after their date of publication. it is my personal belief that a one year limitation of this sort adopted by our free libraries generally would relieve them of anxiety and expense and their readers of inconvenience and delusion. but as regards current light literature in general it is worth while to consider whether the responsibility of public libraries has not been modified by the growth and diffusion of the newspaper and periodical press. in , when the free public library was started, the number of newspapers and periodicals published in the united states was about , ; now it is nearly , . the total annual issues have increased from million to over - / billion copies. the ordinary daily of contained perhaps a single column of literary matter. to-day it contains, for the same price, seven columns. in it gave no space to fiction; now it offers kipling, howells, stockton, bret harte, anthony hope, crockett, bourget and many others of the best of the contemporary writers of fiction. then there are the cheap magazines, which tender a half dozen stories for the price of a cigar or a bodkin. there are, also, the cheap "libraries," which have flooded the united states with engaging literature available to almost any purse. in short, conditions have altered. a vast mass of light literature is now cheaply accessible to the individual which formerly could be acquired only painfully or at great expense. why then should the public libraries struggle to supply it in book form at the public expense? but as to a certain percentage of current light literature there is an embarrassment that i have not touched. it is the embarrassment of making selection without giving offense. all cannot be bought. a choice must be made. with reference to standard literature authoritative judgement is not difficult to obtain. but here there has been no lapse of time to balance opinion. an anticipatory estimate must be attempted and attempted by the library itself. now, if the library decide against the book it is very likely held to blame for "dictating" to its readers. "it is one thing," says a journal commenting on an adverse decision, "it is one thing to consider this novel pernicious, but it is another and more serious thing for the foremost library in the country maintained at public expense, to deny to a large and respectable portion of the public an opportunity to judge for itself whether the work of a man of (this author's) calibre is pernicious or not." the author in this case was, of course, not mr. x., but rather mr. a., an already known quantity. so a library is not to be permitted to apply a judgement of its own! it is not protected by the fact that this judgment coincides with the judgment of professional critics--so far at least as these may be ascertained. the author may have turned perverse and written a book distinctly bad. yet this book is to be bought and supplied to enable each member of the public to form a judgment of his own upon it. and it is to be so bought out of public funds entrusted to the library for educational purposes. censorship has to us an ugly sound; but does the library act as censor when it declares a book beyond its province? does it dictate what the people shall read when it says, "we decline to buy this book for you with public funds"? this is a question which is far larger than the selection or rejection of a novel or two. it involves the whole question of authority, and it concerns not merely the extremes, but the varying degrees of worth in literature. most departments of educational work are founded upon principles, cautiously ascertained, and systematically adhered to. their consistent maintenance upon principle is the easier because each other such department deals with a special constituency, limited either in age or perhaps in sex, or at least in purpose, and one which accepts as authoritative the system provided for it. the free public library, however, has to satisfy a constituency practically unlimited, including every age of both sexes, whose intellectual need ranges from that of the most illiterate to that of the most highly accomplished, whose education in books ranges from that of the person who has never entered a library to that of the scholar whose life has been a perpetual training in the use of the library; the assertive classes, the bashful classes. and if toward this vast and heterogeneous constituency it seeks to assume the position of an educator, it finds that its authority is one which the constituents themselves are unanimously unwilling to concede. each constituent deems himself not a beneficiary accepting some service, but a proprietor demanding it. now, within each community there are persons who would have every kind of printed matter published. if, therefore, a public library exists simply to respond to the demands of its readers, we must have, instead of an educational system devised by experts and administered with reference to general principles, a system fluctuating with each eccentric requirement of individuals, indefinite in number, various in taste and culture, inexpert, except as each may be competent to judge his own need, incapable of expression in the aggregate, and as individuals without responsibility for the general results. if, on the other hand, an authority is to be vested in the library, what limits shall it set upon itself, upon what principles of discrimination shall it proceed, in what directions may it expediently control? i but state the problem. i shall not endeavor to answer it. but it is one of the most important involved in the relation of the public library to the community. from such questions an ordinary educational institution stands aloof. it is content to represent the judgment of the majority in matters of morality and to inculate the lesson of tried truths as against untried fancies in matters of opinion affecting the social order. it thus throws its influence in favor of the established order of things. but its right, nay, its duty, to do this is unquestioned. nor is it regarded as disparaging the opinion which it does not teach. but a public library is not so exempt. in addition to the doctrine which is accepted, it is held to have a duty to the opinion which is struggling for recognition. as to minority opinion, it is not so much a university as a forum. nay, it is to give every advantage to minority opinion, for--in our resentment of intolerance--minority opinion is not merely tolerated, it is pampered. now, it is not for libraries or librarians to act as censors and denounce this or that publication. yet it is to be remembered that a library which circulates a book helps to promulgate the doctrine which the book contains. and if public libraries circulate books which teach restless, irreverent or revolutionary doctrines, they offer us the incongruity of a municipality aiding in the propagation of ideas which are subversive of social order. on the other hand, if there is to be exclusion on such grounds, where is the line of exclusion to be drawn? shall we say at doctrines which, if carried into action, would be criminal under the law? would the public rest content with this? moreover, the principle of exclusion accepted, who is to apply it? whose judgment shall determine whether the particular book does or does not offend? shall the library determine? but will it not then be "dictating" to its readers? will it not be unduly discriminating against a certain class of opinion when it has undertaken to represent impartially all shades of opinion? will it not offend the remonstrant against the existing order of things who has a grievance, and, therefore, a right to be heard; and the defender of the existing order of things who must know the opinion in order to combat it; and the student of sociology whose curiosity reaches all extremes and regards them simply as phenomena upon which he is entitled to be informed? i believe that it will. and yet i do not see how the library can escape exercising judgment. for there is no other responsible authority which can be brought to exercise it. we must then expect numerous decisions which will offend a portion of the community. they will usually be on the conservative side--of exclusion. and it is for those who believe that a public library should be a conservative influence in the community to see that it has the authority and is protected in its exercise. not that in respect of the violent books there is great injury in present conditions. in the public libraries of to-day there exists no doubt material sufficiently anarchic to upset society, if it could have its will upon society. the fact is, that though there is plenty in literature that is incendiary, there is little in our community that is inflammable. the good that the libraries do is obvious and acknowledged. they represent the accumulated experience of mankind brought to our service. they are the custodians of whatever is most worthy of preservation in our own life and literature. they are the natural depositories of what we have of memorial and of records; the original entries of legislation and of achievement. they must render history available; they must adequately exhibit science; they may help to refine by the best examples in each art, and in this they may also contribute to the industrial life of the community by educating the artisan into an artist, his craft into an art. and through record and description of processes and inventions they may contribute to the foundations of great industries. they touch the community as a whole as perhaps does no other single organized agency for good. they offer to the shyest ignorance equality with the most confident scholarship, and demand no formal preliminary which might abash ignorance. they have a profound duty--not generally appreciated--to help render homogeneous the very heterogeneous elements of our population. thirty per cent. of it has come to us from an alien life and alien institutions. one-third of the people in our six leading cities are of foreign birth; seventy-one per cent. were either born abroad or born of foreign parentage. in the assimilation of this foreign element no single agency is perhaps so potent as our public libraries. the public libraries deem themselves the allies of formal educational processes; but also the direct educators of that part of the community not subject to the formal processes. it is this latter responsibility which has led them to attempt a broader service than the mere supply of books. a book is not the only nor necessarily the most effective vehicle for conveying knowledge. there are illustrations which more directly convey an impression, and often as fully state a fact. and photographs and process reproductions are now part of the equipment of a public library almost as conventional as books. within the past year , such have been added to the collections of the boston public library; not as works of art (they are for the most part cheap silver prints and the art museum is but a hundred feet distant); nor merely as aids to the study of the fine arts and the useful arts, but also as convenient auxiliaries to the study of history, of literature and institutions. and they are used by individuals and by classes not as a substitute for the text, but as helping to render vivid the lesson of the text. with these go lectures in exposition. every building of importance recently designed for the uses of a public library includes an art gallery and a lecture hall. what an immense augmentation of function this implies! it implies that the library is no longer merely an aggregate of books, each passive within rigid limits; but that it is an active agent having under its control material which is kept plastic and which it moulds into incredibly varied shapes to suit incredibly varied needs. the experience of the boston public library shows that in the case of books each increase of facilities creates an increased demand. the trustees of boasted that they were providing for as many as fifty readers at a time; the trustees of thought themselves venturesome in providing for readers at a time; and within a month after the new building was opened it was forced to accommodate over at a time. every week over , persons enter the central library building, and every year , , volumes are drawn for home use by the , card-holders. yet these figures represent still but a portion of the persons reached and the work to be done. nor can facilities for distribution keep pace with the need. for a city of a half million people spread over an area of forty square miles adequate library facilities cannot ever be provided. a municipality which even approximates the adequate in providing buildings, equipment, administration and general literature at the public expense must still look to private gift for the specialized material necessary to a great reference collection. that the boston public library is next to the british museum in shakespeariana is, to be sure, the result of a special expenditure by the city. but the larger part of its special collections which have given it distinction as a great scholars' library, has come from private gift; the ticknor collection of spanish literature, the bowditch collection of mathematics, the chamberlain collection of autographs, the brown collection of music and many others. and a city which erects for its public library a building which is monumental is putting forward the most attractive invitation to private gift. the gifts which have come to boston as the direct result of the new building have already reached a twelfth of its cost. with proper organization and a liberal co-operation between municipal and private effort the opportunities for service are almost limitless. the risk is the greater of attempts at service either legally inappropriate or practically inexpedient, and the risk is not lessened by a popular appreciation which is more enthusiastic than it is apt to be discriminating. there is, therefore, the greater need of discrimination on the part of the library itself and of an authority which will protect its exercise. this authority can be conferred only by intelligent public opinion on the part of those who are capable of appreciating constitutional limitations. the public library: its uses to the municipality written for the national municipal league and printed in _the library journal_ for june, , eight years after the author, dr. john s. billings, had begun his service as director of the new york public library; largely a defence of libraries against certain objections. the statement of the part played by "sentiment" in popular institutions, and its justification, are striking and true. john shaw billings was born in switzerland county, ind., in , graduated from miami university in , studied medicine and after serving as a surgeon in the civil war, was assigned to the surgeon general's office in washington, of whose library he compiled the -volume index catalogue. after service in johns hopkins and pennsylvania universities he was chosen in director of the newly established new york public library, where he served until his death in , planning and supervising the construction of its central building. the great majority of cities of , inhabitants and upward in the united states have public libraries of some sort, and the same is true of many of the smaller cities. many of these libraries have been founded on gifts of individuals, some have developed from subscription libraries, but the majority are now supported mainly or entirely by funds appropriated by the city government. a considerable number are still in the formative stage, this being true of those for which buildings are being erected from funds provided by mr. carnegie and for several hundred others for which he will probably provide buildings in the near future. there may be excessive and unjustifiable taxation for the support of a public library--the amount which the city can afford for this purpose should be carefully considered in connection with its needs for a pure water supply and good sewage disposal, for means of communication, for the care of the sick poor and for public schools. each case must be judged by itself; the only general rule i have to suggest is that in the department of education the claims of the public library for support are more important than those of municipal college or high school. the people who have no taxable property, and who therefore often erroneously suppose that they contribute nothing toward the payment of the taxes, are usually quite willing to have a higher tax rate imposed for the purpose of securing for themselves and their families free library facilities--although in exceptional cases religious or sociological opinions may lead them to oppose it. a considerable number of taxpayers on the other hand, are more or less reluctant to have their assessments increased for this purpose, and their arguments should be considered and met. they are: . that they should not be taxed for things they do not want and never use. . that furnishing free books tends to pauperize the community and to discourage the purchase of books for home use. . that there is no evidence that free public libraries improve the community materially or morally. . that the greater part of the books used are works of fiction and that these are injurious to the readers. . that most of the arguments used in favor of free public libraries are merely sentimental and emotional. the first of these reasons would apply also to taxes for public schools, street paving, sewerage, and many other items of municipal expenditure and has no weight. with regard to the second argument it is not a sufficient reply to say that every one pays through the taxes, for this would apply equally well to free lodging houses, free lunchrooms and soup kitchens, free fuel, etc., all of which it generally believed tend to pauperize a city, except in great and special emergencies. the proper answer is that the free public library is an important and, indeed, necessary part of the system of free education which is required to secure intelligent citizens in our form of popular government, and that while in a few very exceptional cases free schools and free libraries may tend to improvidence or indolence or even to certain forms of crime, these rare cases are of no importance in comparison with the benefits which education confers upon the immense majority of the community and with the fact that without free schools and libraries a large part of the people will not be sufficiently educated to be useful citizens. with the regard to the third count, the public library, again, may be considered together with the public school. while it is difficult to trace to either specific instances of material or moral improvement, it is certain that the general diffusion of intelligence which both certainly effect does result beneficially in these directions. communities with flourishing free schools and libraries are usually more prosperous and better than those without such facilities, and, while there is doubtless room here for a confusion of cause and effect, it is probable that there is both action and reaction. prosperity calls for increased facilities for education and these in turn tend to make the community more prosperous. that the majority of books withdrawn from public libraries are works of fiction cannot be denied. many librarians are wont to deplore this fact, and most libraries endeavor in one way or another to decrease the percentage of fiction in their circulation. the proportion of recreative reading in a public library is necessarily large. in like manner, the greater proportion of those who visit a zoological or botanical garden do so for amusement. yet the information that they secure in so doing is none the less valuable and both are certainly educational institutions. so if in the public library a large number of its users get their history, their travel and their biography through the medium of recreative readings we should not complain. were it otherwise these readers would probably lack altogether the information that they now certainly acquire. taking up the final count in the indictment, it is doubtless true that sentimental and emotional considerations have had much to do with library development. they have furnished the initial motive power, as they have for free schools, for the origin and progress of democratic government, and for most of the advances of civilization. they often precede deliberate, conscious reasoning and judgment, yet they are often themselves the result of an unconscious reasoning process producing action of the will in advance of deliberate judgment. sometimes they are pure reflexes, like winking when the eye is threatened by a blow. the free public library can neither be established nor maintained usefully without their aid, but their methods--or want of method--must be carefully guided to produce good results. the sentiment that we ought to establish institutions for the diffusion of knowledge is the expression of a real economic need and should be directed and encouraged and not suppressed. logic is a useful steering apparatus, but a very poor motive power. the library: a plea for its recognition delivered by frederick m. crunden before the library section of the international congress of arts and science, held in connection with the louisiana purchase exposition at st. louis in , closes with a summary of the public library's functions that remains measurably true to-day, although, of course, it could now be somewhat expanded. a sketch of mr. crunden appears in vol. i. the louisiana purchase exposition is an epitome of the life and activity of the world--from the naked negrito to the grande dame with her elaborate paris costume, from the rude wigwam of the red indian to the world's fair palace filled with the finest furniture, rugs and tapestries, sculpture and painting, and decorations that the highest taste and finest technique can produce--from the monotonous din of the savage tom-tom to the uplifting and enthralling strains of a great symphony orchestra--from fire by friction, the first step of man beyond the beast, to the grand electric illumination that makes of these grounds and buildings the most beautiful art-created spectacle that ever met the human eye. and to all this magnificent appeal to the senses are superadded the marvels of modern science and its applications--the wonders of the telescope, the microscope and the spectroscope, the telegraph, in its latest wireless extension, the electric motor and electric light, the telephone and the phonograph, the roentgen ray and the new-found radium. and now after this vision of wondrous beauty, this triumph of the grand arts of architecture and sculpture and landscape--of all the arts, fine and useful--has for six months enraptured the senses of people from all quarters of the globe, the learned men of the world have gathered here to set forth and discuss the fundamental principals that underlie the sciences, their correlations and the methods of their application to the arts of life--to summarize the progress of the past, to discuss the condition of the present and attempt, perhaps, a forecast of the future. in the scheme of classification, our subject appears in the last department that concerns itself with man's purely mundane affairs, and is the last section in that department. it thus appears properly as a climax and summary of the arts and sciences intelligible to man in his present stage of existence; and if the problem of the future life is ever solved this side of the grave, the knowledge conserved and disseminated by the library will be the starting-point and the inspiration of the advance, as it has been of all progress since the art of written speech was invented. "the library is the reservoir of the common social life of the race. it is at once the accumulator and the transmitter of social energy." without the library the highest social culture is impossible; and a most moderate degree could be achieved by very few. under the main division, "social culture," the library is one of the five sections in the department of education. in education are summed up all the achievements of the past and the possibilities of the future. in the words of wendell phillips, "education is the one thing worthy the deep, controlling anxiety of the thoughtful man." "education," exclaims mazzini, "and my whole doctrine is included and summed up in this grand word." it is practically a truism that jules simon utters when he says "le peuple qui a les meilleures écoles est le premier peuple; s'il ne l'est pas aujourd'hui il le sera demain." under this department of education, with its grades, the school, the college and the university, the library is assigned the last section. it belongs there in chronological order of development as an active factor in popular instruction and enlightenment; and, furthermore, the presentation of its claims and functions comes naturally after those of the other factors in education, because it is an essential coadjutor and supplement to each and all. it is a summary and a climax. there have always been libraries, and they have always been a factor in education; but the public, free, tax-supported library is but just half a century old, and could hardly be considered out of the long clothes of infancy till the year ; while its general acceptance as an essential supplement to the public school and a co-ordinate factor with the college and university may be considered the accomplishment of the last decade. there are still teachers who look on general reading as an interference with school work and an extra burden on their shoulders. we start, then, with the axiomatic proposition that all human progress depends on education; and no elaborate demonstration is necessary to show that the library is an essential factor in every grade of education. higher education, certainly, cannot dispense with the library. the well-known dictum of carlyle, "the true university of modern times is a collection of books," was accepted as a striking statement of a man with rhetorical habit, without, perhaps, a realization of its full significance. it has been recently expanded into a more express and specific tribute to the importance of the library in university education. in an address delivered in st. louis and afterwards published in the _north american review_, president harper said: "the place occupied by libraries and laboratories in the educational work of to-day, as compared with that of the past, is one of commanding importance. indeed, the library and the laboratory have already practically revolutionized the methods of higher education. in the really modern institution, the chief building is the library. it is the center of institutional activity.... that factor of college work, the library, fifty years ago almost unknown, to-day already the center of the institution's intellectual activity, half a century hence, with its sister, the laboratory, almost equally unknown fifty years ago, will have absorbed all else and will have become the institution itself." as to the value of the library in elementary education doctor harris says: "what there is good in our american system points towards the preparation of the pupil for the independent study of the book by himself. it points towards acquiring the ability of self-education by means of the library." i might quote similar utterances from many other eminent educators as to the value--the necessity--of the library in early education; but i can think of no stronger summing-up of the subject, nor from higher authority, than this statement from president eliot: "from the total training during childhood there should result in the child a taste for interesting and improving reading, which should direct and inspire its subsequent intellectual life. that schooling which results in this taste for good reading, however unsystematic or eccentric the schooling may have been, has achieved a main end of elementary education; and that schooling which does not result in implanting this permanent taste has failed.... the uplifting of the democratic masses depends on this implanting at school of the taste for good reading." to persons who have given little thought to educational questions these utterances will have the weight that attaches to the highest authority; but we need no university president or national commissioner to tell us these facts. we have learned them from our own experience; and, enlightened as we now are, it seems to us strange that question could ever have been raised as to the essential character of the library in elementary education. yet there are some of us, i am sure, who can recall painful consequences from putting into practice an educational theory not generally accepted by the pedagogues of our childhood days. we know that higher education is impossible without a library, for the library is the storehouse of the world's knowledge, the record of humanity's achievements, the history of mankind's trials and sorrows and sufferings, of its victories and defeats and of its gradual progress upwards in spite of frequent fluctuation and failure. in this chronicle of the past lie lessons for the present and the future; from the lives of storied heroes comes the inspiration that leads the race onward and upward. a university without a library would of necessity have a very small and weak faculty--only the few professors who could be induced to go where the most important instrumentality of their work was lacking: the university that has an adequate library includes in its faculty the professors of all other universities and all the great teachers of all countries and ages. but is it worth while to consider a university without a library? can there be such an institution? in higher education, then, the library is a necessity. in elementary and secondary education it is no less essential, if the most is to be made of the few years that the average child spends in school and if he is to be started on a path of self-culture. on this point stanley jevons says: "in omitting that small expenditure in a universal system of libraries which would enable young men and women to keep up the three r's and continue their education, we spend £ and stingily decline the £ really needed to make the rest of the £ effective." at the international library conference in london, in , one of the most distinguished american librarians, who has been an administrator in a large educational field outside of the library, expressed his view of the supreme importance of the library in a scheme of popular education by saying that if he had to choose between the public school and the public library--if he could have only one--(though the alternative is one that never will or can be presented), he would keep the library and let the school go. for, he argued, every child would learn to read somehow; and, with a free library that actively sought him, he would be better off than if he had a school to teach him to read, but no books to read after he had learned. but however divergent might be opinions regarding this impossible alternative, there is no doubt that the public library, with enlarged functions and activities, has at least equal potentialities with the school. whether the formal instruction of the school or the broader education of the library is of greater value, depends on what is the chief aim. if it is merely to make breadwinners, the school may be the more useful, though in this, too, the library is an efficient coadjutor; but if our purpose is to make men and women, citizens of a progressive nation, active members of an aspiring society, the library may fairly claim at least equal rank with the school. for the school wields its direct influence over the average child but a few years; the library is an active influence through life. again, more than ninety-five children out of every hundred leave school before they are sufficiently mature to comprehend those studies which open their eyes to the universe, which bear upon their relations to their fellow-men, upon their duties as citizens of a state, as members of organized society. these are the studies that deal with the most important problems that mankind has to solve. they cannot be taught to children; they cannot be taught--dogmatically--at all. they involve the consideration of burning questions, subjects of bitter controversy--the world-old battle between conservatism and innovation which, as emerson says, "is the subject of civil history." they cannot be taught by any teacher, they cannot be taught by any text-book or by any one book. their adequate consideration calls for the reading of many books--books of the present and the future as well as the past. the electrician who allows himself to be guided by the treatises of twenty years ago would have no standing; neither has the economist or sociologist who has not kept up with the literature of the last thirty years--or the last three years. it would be of no particular advantage for all of us to be electricians. we can safely trust that field to experts; but it is extremely desirable that every man should comprehend the great issues of economics and politics. the school cannot even present the important problems of sociology; the university cannot adequately do so without the library. on no other subject is the wide reading that matthew arnold enjoins so necessary. and no other subject is of such momentous importance to mankind; for the betterment of social conditions is a necessary forerunner and foundation of moral and religious progress. and that cannot be true religion which does not lead to social betterment. in that noblest aspiration ever put into the mouth and mind and heart (too often, alas, only the mouth!) of man we are taught to pray not that we may be transplanted to a better world, but that god's kingdom may come and his will be done in this world. we are not likely to abate our eagerness in the pursuit of knowledge of physical science, for the zeal of the scientist is stimulated by the spur of commercialism; and, though it seems impossible, the twentieth century may bring forth as wonderful discoveries and inventions as the nineteenth. but, to take the advance just now most sought, can any one raise the question as to which would be of greater benefit to st. louis, to reach chicago in an hour by airship or to take six or ten hours for the trip and find there--and everywhere--a contented body of workmen supplying us with the necessities of life and a set of managers carrying on the transportation system that we already have on equal terms to all people? what the world's progress most needs is "evening up." the advancing column presents a very ragged front, with physical science and its applications so far ahead that they have almost lost sight of social science in the rear. it would be no great disadvantage to the world--to the progress of mankind as a whole--if the swift-footed legion of applied science would merely mark time for a period, while attention should be given to a better organization of the vast human army. the objective point would be reached as soon, for a nation is like a railway train; it can go no faster than its hindmost car. but this is not likely to happen at present. applied science has every stimulus from within and without, every reward intrinsic and extrinsic; while progress in the social and political sciences must carry the dead weight of the inertia of conservatism and also meet the active and intense opposition of vested interests, which have ever the single purpose of preserving the status quo, no matter how unjust or maleficent. the solution of these all-important problems cannot be found in the school, where immature minds are taught merely how to use the tools of knowledge; these questions cannot be settled by the small number of university students; they must be solved by the education of the masses, by instilling in them in their early school years a desire for knowledge and a love for good reading, which will lead them to continue their education by means of the library. the education of the mass of the voters who determine the character of a democratic government, must not be left to the party organ or the stump speaker. the great social and political questions should be studied and pondered in the quiet of the closet and not decided, without previous thought, amid the hurrahs of the hustings. to make the public library realize fully its possibilities as the people's university calls for more than the opportunity which every public library now offers; it requires active effort to reach out and bring the people to the library by the fullest co-operation with the school and by means of attractive lecture courses, which shall stimulate reading and guide it in profitable channels. but the beginning of this work--the inculcation of a taste for good reading--lies with the school, with the library's co-operation, especially during the years from six to ten or twelve, those years when nearly all the children come under the school's influence and when the habit of reading can be most easily formed. if charged with placing undue stress upon the value of the library, i might urge its comparative newness and its consequent lack of recognition; and, as an evidence of the latter, i might point to the fact that in this great educational exposition, while one vast palace is given up to exhibits of the school, the library has with difficulty secured a part of a room in the missouri state building for an exhibit of its activities in the great work of education, in which, as i am trying to show, its potentialities are as great as those of the school. as our board of directors said, in its appeal to the exposition directors for a separate library building: "the library, besides being the most efficient and most economical agency for popular education, represents all the fair will have to show. it stands for the sum total of human knowledge. it is the instrumentality through which knowledge has been conserved and cumulated. only through the library can civilization continue to advance.... books are the most potent factors in progress. without books we should have had no powerful locomotives to show, no wireless telegraphy, no wonder-making machinery, no beautiful buildings, no impressive statuary, no paintings to arouse wonder and yield delight--no world's fair to draw distinguished scientists and educators from all over the world." by way of introduction to the comprehensive addresses of the two distinguished delegates who have travelled four or five thousand miles to lay before this section, and, through publication, before the world, the past history and the present problems of the library, it has seemed to me appropriate that, as chairman, i should present a brief plea for the consideration of the library as one of the greatest factors in human progress. it has existed, though not in its present form or with its present functions, from the dawn of recorded civilization. it is itself the record of civilization; and without it there can be no records and no civilization. it is the repository, the custodian, the preserver of all the arts and sciences and the principal means of disseminating all knowledge. with the school and the church it forms the tripod necessary to the stable equilibrium of society. let me briefly summarize the functions of the public library. . it doubles the value of the public school instruction, on which is expended more than ten times the cost of the library. . it enables the children who leave school at an early age (an overwhelming majority) to continue their education while earning their living. it provides for the education of the adults who have lacked or failed to utilize early opportunities. this is of special importance in a country like the united states, where one of the greatest political problems is the assimilation of a vast influx of ignorant foreigners of all races and languages. . it supplies books and periodicals needed for the instruction of artisans, mechanics, manufacturers, engineers, and all others whose work requires technical knowledge[ ]--all persons on whom depends the industrial progress of the community. . it furnishes information and inspiration to ministers, teachers, journalists, authors, physicians, legislators--all persons on whose work depend the intellectual, moral, sanitary, political and religious welfare and advancement of the people. . it is the stimulus and the reliance of the literary and study clubs, which, especially among the women, have done much not only for individual self-culture but also for civic enlightenment and social betterment. this represents its numerous post-graduate courses, which are taken by constantly increasing numbers. . it has philosophers and theologians to explain and expound and to exhort those who are willing to listen; but, far better, it has poets and dramatists and novelists--who compel a hearing and impress on heart as well as mind the fundamental truths of morality and religion. . it is also a school of manners, which have been well defined as minor morals. the child learns by example and by the silent influence of his surroundings; and every visit to a library is a lesson in propriety and refinement. the roughest boy or the rudest man cannot fail to be impressed by the library atmosphere and by that courtesy which is the chief element in the "library spirit." . it imparts, as the school cannot, knowledge of one's self, and of one's relations to one's fellow-man, and thus prepares the individual for citizenship and fellowship in organized society and leads him to be an active force in social advancement. . it elevates the standard of general intelligence throughout the community, on which depends its material prosperity as well as its moral and political well-being. [ ] the information furnished by a book in the cincinnati public library once saved that city a quarter of a million dollars. this in numerous instances, but on a smaller scale, is a part of the everyday work of the library. . but not last, if an exhaustive list were aimed at--nor least it supplies a universal and urgent craving of human nature by affording to all entertainment of the highest and purest character, substituting this for the coarse, debasing, demoralizing, amusements which would otherwise be sought and found. further, it brings relief and strength to many a suffering body and cheer and solace to many a sorrowing heart. it is instruction and inspiration to the young, comfort and consolation to the old, recreation and companionship to all ages and conditions. i close as i began: education is the greatest concern of mankind; it is the foundation of all human progress. the library is an essential factor in all grades of education; and it is the agent plenipotentiary in the betterment of society and the culture and cheer of the human soul. "the highest gift of education is not the mastery of sciences, but noble living, generous character, the spiritual delight that comes from familiarity with the loftiest ideals of the human mind, the spiritual power that saves each generation from the intoxication of its own success." the library as a factor in modern civilization read by president faunce of brown university, at the narragansett pier conference of the american library association in . elaborates the library's three gifts to the nation--"knowledge, perspective and ideals." william herbert perry faunce was born in worcester, mass., jan. , , graduated at brown university in , entered the baptist ministry, and after holding several pastorates became in president of his alma mater. he is known as an effective writer and speaker, especially on religion and education. we have long been accustomed to speak of three great factors in modern civilization--the school, the church, and the home. must we, in view of such a significant meeting as this, add a fourth factor--the library? the modern library has in some places become a true school; in other places it has radiated something of the refinement for which we once looked to the home, and something of the idealism which is a peculiar gift of the church. the library is vastly more than a collection of books: it is a social, civilizing, moralizing force. we expect to find the library building in every city and town as much as to find the spire of the church or the flag of the schoolhouse. the visitor to boston to-day finds the public library as commanding a pile as trinity church, and far more imposing than any schoolhouse. the visitor to new york finds the new public library building climbing into a mass and dignity as great as that of any cathedral. no smallest village is now complete without its library, and when some future goldsmith shall sing the praise of another "deserted village," he will point out not only with the "noisy mansion" of the school-master, not only the church adorned with the meek and unaffected grace of the rural pastor, but the loaded shelves, the catalogs and reference lists, the chairs and tables, and the zeal unaffected, though not always meek, of the modern librarian. these libraries have sprung into being throughout the land without specific legislation and without deliberate propaganda. the church missionary societies of the country have adopted the avowed policy of planting a church in every community, and appointing superintendents of missions to see that this is done. every state in the union has its laws for the establishment and maintenance of schools. but these multiplying libraries have come into being without enactment of law or the preaching of the crusade. they have spread from sea to sea by a happy contagion, they have become a noble american epidemic. the great inarticulate thirst for knowledge has demanded satisfaction, and created its own supply. our wisest directors of public sentiment and philanthropic endeavor have realized that through the library may come a charity that does not pauperize, a help that induces self-help, light to irradiate the dark places of civilization, inspiration for every calling, and access and power to every worthy institution and noble cause. what then is the specific function of this new and powerful institution in modern life? what is the contribution of the library to modern civilization? the library makes to the nation three gifts: the gift of knowledge, the gift of perspective, the gift of ideals. putting the matter in another way, we may say it gives us facts, relations, values. the library is primarily to conserve and disseminate knowledge. indeed, the old conception of the library was purely that of a place of storage for written or printed material. no one thought of taking out a book from a mediaeval library any more than of removing a statue or painting from an art gallery. and still to-day the function of the library as a storehouse is most important. modern democracy holds that knowledge is not for a few bright minds of each generation, not for an intellectual elite; but all that is knowable is to be made accessible to all that desire to know. if we allow knowledge to come only to a chosen few of each generation, how can we know that we have chosen the right ones to receive it? the genius that might turn the stream of history may be born in the lowliest cabin on the prairie, or in the darkest tenement of the great city. there may not be a village hampden in every village, but there may be an edison, a fulton, an eli whitney, an andrew carnegie, a carl schurz in any village in america. only when we make knowledge accessible to all shall we know what minds and hearts are among us. but we must discriminate. the books which no longer convey knowledge, which state theories no longer held, and propound as facts things no longer believed; in other words, antiquated books of knowledge should be sharply separated from books abreast of modern thinking. those books which have ceased to be of any use to mankind (except for antiquarian purposes) or which never were of any use to mankind--and their name is legion--have their place in a museum, but not in an working library. in an arsenal we keep only weapons now serviceable in actual war, and relegate flint-locks, catapults, and bows and arrows to the museum. no arsenal in the world would be large enough to accommodate weapons for a modern regiment mingled with all the weapons of all past generations. it is time for some one to say frankly that there is no inherent sanctity in paper and printer's ink. it may have been true in milton's day that a book was usually the precious life-blood of a master spirit; but to-day a book is often the product of the least erected spirit that fell. an almanac put forth to advertise some nostrum, or a novel prepared purely as a piece of merchandise, does not acquire dignity or value simply because bound in leather and placed on the shelf with "paradise lost." we must apply to our libraries some higher standard than that of size. we never estimate the uffizzi or the louvre by the number of paintings they contain, yet we continue to grade modern libraries by the number of volumes groaning on dust-covered shelves. a library of five thousand well selected books may be of far more service than one of one hundred thousand composed largely of books outgrown and forgotten. our public libraries must distinguish sharply between the library and the museum, to the advantage of both. secondly: perspective. the library aims to show us facts in their large and permanent relations. there is no virtue in mere knowledge of facts (any more than in vast numbers of volumes). most facts are not worth knowing, still less worth preserving. doubtless the letter "p" occurs a certain definite number of times in "idylls of the king," and it may be that some deluded mortal in prison or asylum has ascertained that number; but we do not care to know that fact or have any one else know it. the exact number of grains in some ant-hill is doubtless discoverable, but only a lunatic would care for the discovery. most facts in nature and in history are in our present stage of development without value. only when these facts are collected, classified, seen in relation, and translated into truth do they become of value to men. for this reason the library must encourage, slow, patient, thoughtful reading. we have long been told that a taste for reading is worth ten thousand a year. whether this is true or not depends altogether on what sort of reading is referred to. the habit of letting the mind lie passive while some scribbler plays upon it is not worth ten thousand a year. the habit of letting the mind become a waste basket for sensation and scandal is not worth ten thousand a year. the habit of reading as a substitute for thinking is worth nothing, but is sheer damage to mental fibre. the university library is even more important than the university laboratory. in the laboratory we verify the theory which is far more likely to be discovered in the library. the new discovery is a new combination of old ideas, and such mental combination comes to us more easily when we are dealing with thoughts than with things. our students need to use books not only as tools, but as friends. in the old days, when the reading of college students was far more promiscuous than to-day, they were accustomed to regard books almost as personal acquaintances, and there was a genuine exchange of reaction of writer and reader. such reading was indeed very desultory, but, as our professor of english literature is accustomed to say, "it was immensely fattening." now, on the other hand, the college student goes to the library with a list of references, using many books, but becoming really acquainted with none. he opens one work at volume , page , another at volume , page , and, having extracted the precise bit of information he desires, has no further use for the author in question. this modern method of reading is far more accurate and definite than the older method, and is obviously effective in securing results. but it must be supplemented by the "browsing" of former days, by the large horizons which come from being set free in the companionship of great minds. thirdly: ideals. our libraries must not be only storehouses of knowledge, but reservoirs of power. the great books of all time give us contact with inspiring personalities, shining examples, with the great leaders of men. the trophies of themistocles will not suffer us to sleep. when such books come into many a shut-in life, to many a boyhood, cabined and confined, the limitations of the farm and factory are forgotten, the mind expands to a kinship with past and future, and the reader in some village library may become the prophet of the new century, and the leader of the modern world. more than that: the literature of power creates the climate in which we live. it shapes our ideals of success, of power, of beauty, of goodness. fiction and poetry, if they thus create aspiration and give us standards, may be more useful than all encyclopedias or text-books, for they deal with the sources and the goal of all human action. the provision of books the seven addresses or papers just preceding relate to the general services of the library to the community. the twelve that now follow analyze this into four types of special service, as already suggested--the provision of books, the collection of information, the control and guidance of reading and community-centre service. the next three papers treat of the provision of books. the librarian and his constituents that the choice of books is the most important of the librarian's duties and that "his best effort" should be given to it, is the thought of an institutional librarian, r.b. poole of the new york y.m.c.a. this view should interest those who think that administrative problems and socialization are elbowing the books into the background. reuben brooks poole was born in rockport, mass., in , and graduated at brown university in . after serving as a teacher he became librarian of the y.m.c.a. library in new york city, where he remained until his death on april , . he was president of his state library association in . by constituents is not meant political constituents. it is unfortunate for any librarian when he holds his office in a public library as a political favor, and library appointments should be as far removed as possible from all party influences. a public library, like any other public property, is susceptible of being used as a tool, and may easily degenerate into a political job, unless specially protected by its charter. new york city has one such library. the library exists for the librarians; its constituents--not readers--are of the school of politics. the example, it is to be hoped, is a unique one in our country. a brief retrospect of the libraries and librarians of the past may help us to more fully comprehend the situation of the librarian and his constituents of to-day. the monk represented the librarian of the middle ages. he was not by profession a librarian, and yet the valuable service he rendered to literature entitles him to the name. he was at once chorister, master of ceremonies, transcriber, illuminator, and collector. professedly the monk was a religious ascetic. he retired from the world to devote himself to religion, to a life of self-denial. his language was the latin; the books or manuscripts that surrounded him were works of the fathers, books of devotion, service-books, and the classics. these were just in keeping with his life and thoughts. a congenial occupation was thus opened to him. the hours of the cloister were made shorter as the monk duplicated and reduplicated some dainty missal, or some commentary of augustine, or painted a miniature of the virgin or of the apostles. however much we may differ in opinion as to the service rendered to religion by the monasteries of the middle ages, as librarians we have a fellow-feeling with these toiling monks, and are grateful to them for the service they have rendered the libraries of to-day by their preservation of works that otherwise would have been destroyed. there is nothing in the book-making arts of to-day to compare with the artistic skill displayed in the illuminations and miniature-painting which enrich and beautify the manuscripts of those times. the monastic libraries were small, and the readers few. books were loaned from monastery to monastery. they were distributed once a year, at the lenten season. as each borrower returned his book he was catechised as to its contents, if the examination was satisfactory he was allowed another book for the coming year; if not, he must take his old book again. one not a member of the order of st. benedict, or an _attaché_ of cluny or canterbury, could procure the coveted treasure, sometimes, by pledging to return with the manuscript borrowed a full transcription. library economy in these ages was very simple. catalogues were little more than inventories, and no discordant notes were chanted, in duets or solos, over systems of classification. the absolute or fixed system of shelving was in vogue, the books being held in their places by chains. the survival of this feature exists in the attachments of the modern city directory. but, not to linger longer in cloisters or abbeys, we come to the age of printing and to the foundation of the modern libraries of europe; the treasures in the monastic libraries contributing to form their vast collections. the monk's occupation as a librarian was gone, and he was succeeded by the collector, the keeper, the scholar. in the centuries immediately succeeding the invention of printing there was a growing diffusion of knowledge by means of libraries. we smile at the restrictions imposed, and look upon them as so many fetters on the intellect. it is, however, to be borne in mind that at this time books were costly and rare, and on this account were guarded with great jealousy. when the bodleian library was founded it was stipulated by law that under no pretence should any book be lent to any one, no matter what his station. a fellow of corpus christi college could not enter the sacred alcoves alone, and he was under oath not to remove a book. the books were there for use, there can be no question; and in the bodleian, to which we have just referred, a person could have six books at a time to consult, and the library was open for six hours during the day. about humphrey chetham bequeathed £ , for a public library in manchester, england. he was a firm adherent of the fixed location. "my mind and will is," he says, "that care be taken that none of said books be taken out of the said library at any time, and that the said books be fixed or chained." after specifying certain religious books, and annotations on the bible, he adds, "and other books proper for the common people." it was two hundred years after this, in this last half century, before the public libraries act was introduced into the english parliament; and from this period we may date a new era, both in england and in this country, in the dissemination of books and improved library methods. the last decade, commencing with the formation of the a.l.a. and the beginning of our second century as a nation, has witnessed results hitherto unachieved in library economy. it is not necessary to enlarge here upon the work that has been accomplished. the important thing to note is that the librarian of to-day should be _en rapport_ with all that pertains to his profession. he should acquaint himself with schemes of classification, and elect from them that which is best adapted for the purposes of his own library. he should adopt the best system for charging, acquaint himself with the most approved library appliances. whether he adopt the classed catalogue, the dictionary, the alphabeto-classed, or any other form, let it be one that shall be abreast of the progress that has been made in this department of library science. the librarian can scarcely keep pace with his fellow-librarians unless he receives the right hand of fellowship of the american library association, and is a reader of the _library journal_ or the _library notes_, just launched and designed to cruise along the coast into the smaller ports. the advantages which the librarian receives from these sources will qualify him better for his profession, but the greater advantage will accrue to his readers: knowledge will be made more available, and a bright, cheerful atmosphere will pervade the alcoves of his store-house. the librarian of to-day is developing to the full the utilitarian principle. he is practical,--practical in his library management, practical in his choice of books. his constituency is either a particular class or the great public. to supply the masses with reading, and to make books helpful in all the vocations of life, is the librarian's aim. it is just here that we need to emulate our predecessors, the monks and the collectors and bookworms of the sixteenth and succeeding centuries. he must have the spirit of the collector, the animus of the scholar. he must not forget that he is an antiquarian in his zeal for utility. his constituency is not confined to the present; he is building for posterity as well. his library will live after him. he therefore needs to be a wise master-builder. if the choice of books is in the librarian's hands, or if he occupies an important position in connection with the selection, his best effort should be given to this department. the responsibility is not small. he will find it more difficult often to reject than to select. he must consult the wants of his readers; but there is a limit to that. everything that is in print may be called for, but that is no reason why it should be honored with a place in a library. the librarian's personal equation is not to be the standard, but the foundation principles of morality, truth, and sound sense must guide him. no quarter should be given to books of doubtful morality. fiction now finds a place in most libraries open to any extent to the public, and this class of books forms so large a part of the circulation of many libraries that it is becoming a question of no small importance as to how far public funds should be expended for such books as afford little else than pastime. a public library is a public educator. it is not a sluice into which every publisher may dump his entire wares; as educators, librarians and managing boards have the right to maintain the purity of their collections, and to protect them from inundations of worthless books. the librarian should be alert to supply his readers with all they require that will be helpful, as we have said; but, more than this, he should lead them. he may do so by procuring works of standard worth, new and old, that represent the best thought in any department of literature or science. unless he has something of the spirit of the collector very much will elude his grasp, and be, perhaps, utterly lost to his library. there are the limited editions, now so limited in number; the privately printed book; the first numbers of periodicals; the first reports of societies; local histories and genealogies; memorial volumes, and the like,--works whose value is enhanced by time. a librarian, to be successful, must be a lover of books. the novice, in applying for a librarianship, often puts it down as one of his cardinal qualifications that he is fond of reading. to the active, toiling worker this is not suggestive of business. a love of books very naturally suggests a taste for reading, except when bibliomania is in the blood. a true friend of books is not such because his collection embraces elzevirs and aldines, or because they are in grolier or bedford bindings, or printed on whatman or holland paper,--these are matters of just pride,--but because the army of silent authors, marshalled under his leadership, will diffuse light and knowledge wherever they go. the librarian imbued with this spirit, if he finds time to read, will reflect what he has read. it is to be feared that the librarian who reads in these times is the exception; and yet there can be no question that, if he could have each day an hour or two for reading,--time enough to acquaint himself with the thought of the times, and occasionally commune with the authors of the past,--his efficiency would be greatly enlarged, and his readers would have a supplemental catalogue in him, corresponding, to some extent, to the good work contemplated by our cooperative committee. there are in every library very many books that are what we might term, to use a mercantile phrase, dead stock. from the very necessities of the case there must be many books that will be called for only at great intervals, while others never have a friendly consultation. but, aside from these, libraries will often have works of great practical value that are standing idle, because it is not generally known that the library possesses them. there may be a choice lot of works on electricity, a rare collection on ceramics, a fine selection of engravings, representative works in the various industrial arts; the call for them not being popular and large, they might be brought to the notice of a larger constituency by calling the attention of certain readers to them, or by sending a polite invitation to some manufacturing firms, to some professional electricians, or to art schools and scientific schools. periodicals, before the days of poole's index, were sealed books. libraries have been wonderfully expanded where this index is used. further cooperation in this direction, as planned by the cooperative committee, should receive hearty encouragement. the books of a library may be further enlarged in their use by publishing, on the library bulletin, the works in the library that illustrate important events, after the admirable plan initiated by mr. foster, of providence. if the librarian has not the time at his command to read he has rare opportunities for reading character; and to be on good terms with his varied constituency he will have to be like st. paul,--all things to all men. he must be polite, accommodating, possess his soul in patience, and be unselfish in his devotion to his readers. generally, his contact with his constituency will be pleasant and agreeable, but he will have to deal with certain typical characters that will vex and fret him. there is the rummager, who snarls at all catalogues, and wants the freedom of the library, not for studious research, but to gratify his bookish propensity. "five minutes with authors" is his watchword. the crank, who has been defined as a person with an idea, without brains to carry it out, is a frequenter of libraries. his inquiries are for what the library does not possess. this affords him a text for lecturing the librarian and the managers. if the librarian's sentiments are not in accord with that idea of his he threatens to expose him in the newspapers. the curiosity-hunter is another representative reader. he is brother to the rummager, but he does not despise catalogues. they exhibit the oddities of the library, at least the odd titles, such as luther's "vagabonds and beggars," "the foundling hospital for wit," or "the history of the tread-mill." he passes quickly from one to the other, gleaning here and there till curiosity is satiated. another reader helps the librarian materially in his statistics; if he calls for one book he calls for an armful. the subject he is investigating may require all the light the library can focus upon it; but he disposes of his armful so quickly that the query is, by what alchemy knowledge is appropriated so rapidly. it must be put to the credit of this age. the intelligent tramp is another _habitué_ of libraries. he is sometimes a desultory reader, sometimes he is a specialist, and he investigates with a profound air the most difficult problems; but that is as far as he goes. he is constitutionally lazy. he has some love for literature and science, but a far more appreciative love of leisure. he does nothing, produces nothing. then there are walking encyclopædias. you cannot name any author or work that they have not an acquaintance with. they can talk glibly on any subject; they absorb like sponges, but they give out nothing. they have a passion for reading; but they either do not, or will not, make their knowledge available to others. the colored man who not long since applied to me for something on the toothache, as he was to deliver a lecture upon this interesting topic, was not of this non-productive class. if his monograph has been published it will be a good book for close classification. the librarian who feels the obligations of his position realizes that his influence as an educator is far-reaching, telling effectively upon the community in which he lives, and destined to extend far down the years to come. it becomes him, therefore, to fully equip himself for his work, and to give to his constituents the results of his ripest experience and his most unselfish attention. the usefulness of libraries in small towns a few books in a small town may exert as much influence as many books in a large one; and the personal influence of their custodian and administrator may count for more. an early statement placing emphasis on this fact by miss west of the milwaukee public library (now mrs. henry l. elmendorf) appears in the subjoined paper read at the buffalo conference of the american library association in . theresa west elmendorf, who as the writer of this paper was theresa hubbell west, was born at pardieville, wis., nov. , , educated in milwaukee and served on the staff of the public library of that city, being deputy librarian in - and librarian in - . in that year she married henry l. elmendorf, then librarian of the buffalo public library, and since his death in she has been vice-librarian there. in she was chosen president of the american library association--the first woman to hold this office. there is still, as in the days when the story of the "wicked and slothful servant," who contemptuously hid his one talent in a napkin, was told, something discouraging in the sight of incomparably greater opportunities than our own in the hands of another. the librarian of a small town or village may not cherish the envy of the man in the parable in his heart, and yet feel a certain depression, a sense that the small things he is striving--perhaps with all his might--to accomplish amount to very little, as he listens to plans for the construction of a building which will commodiously and conveniently house two millions of books; as he ponders over a printed scheme which will intelligently order upon the shelves a hundred thousand volumes, and is yet so flexible, so elastic, that this number may be indefinitely increased with no confusion, no necessity for rearrangement; as he sees a method of charging which has been slowly evolved to meet the ever-varying, ever-increasing needs of a circulation whose daily issues are counted by thousands. possibly this feeling has something to do with the small representation in this association of the hundreds of lesser libraries which are scattered through the land. whether it has, or not, the fact of this meagre representation remains, and remains to be regretted. that such a state of things is to be deprecated by the society goes without saying. every new member, in one way or another, brings an added power and influence, which is by no means always to be measured by the size of the library which he represents, or the active part he bears in the deliberations. he may even be utterly silent, and yet an actual force; for no speaker fails to feel the inspiration which radiates from an attentive and enthusiastic listener. in ordinary society the accomplishment of being "a good listener" is one of the most enduring of charms. it does not lose its power among librarians. the prosperity of a paper as truly as a jest's "lies in the ear of him that hears it, never in the tongue of him that makes it." to ask these unattached librarians, if perhaps an echo may reach them, to consider whether their isolation from their profession is not only a deprivation to themselves which they can illy afford, but a retarding of the progress of the true library spirit as well, and to suggest a thought which may possibly prove a stimulus to counteract the discouragement and depression before spoken of, is all that i have even hoped to accomplish in the few words which have, somewhat too ambitiously, been called a paper on "the usefulness of libraries in small towns." in regard to the interest and profit of these meetings to the lesser libraries, i have heard it asserted, and it is, i think, true, that the papers and discussions were almost exclusively directed to the consideration of the aims, methods, and needs of great libraries. if the fact needs explanation, or justification, an ample one is found in the register of the names of the composing members, with their positions. that there would be a ready and cordial response to any general call for the discussion of topics specially pertinent to small libraries is not to be doubted. over the editorial columns of one of our most-used periodicals runs the legend, "every man is a debtor to his profession." it was a most wise choice of mottoes by our friend, the editor and publisher, for in no profession is it more true than in our own. the constant missionary work which boston and chicago, and indeed every library of any repute in the country, has done and is doing, is proof enough that the obligation is appreciated. if the smaller libraries want the discussion of simpler, less technical methods, they have, probably, but to ask. it may be objected that the great obviously includes the small, and that plans and methods which are good and suitable for the former need but to be reproduced in miniature for the latter. it is true, that, in many departments, the accident of size makes little or no difference in library economy; but in the administration of affairs, in the machinery of running, the director of a municipal library has many and accumulating cares, of which his less burdened rural brother need never feel the weight. prof. john fiske, some years ago, at the time when he was assistant librarian of harvard university, very graphically described a portion of the perplexing duties which fall to the lot of even a university librarian, striving to correct the erroneous but too prevalent notion that such a position is a sinecure. he confined himself to an enumeration and description of the duties which are essentially professional, the multiplicity of details of the ordering, classifying, and cataloging of books. in this direction there is a difference only in amount between the greater and the less. but, in addition to all that prof. fiske described, a city librarian must needs oversee as well the thousand and one minutiae which go to make up the sum of a day's work in a circulating library. he must provide for the accurate identification and registration of his borrowers,--no light task when they number tens of thousands of the floating population of a western city, which has more active duties for her police than the following up of delinquent patrons of the public library. he must see to it that the thousands of books which flow over his counters are unerringly charged, and that tardy borrowers are warned of their remissness. these are but a few of the numberless details, many of which are trivial in the extreme, but which all go toward the making up of such a day's work as "none but he that feels it knows." as a machine increases in complications a constantly greater percentage of power is consumed in overcoming friction. this attention to the routine of daily work, which forms much of the severest, because least satisfying, work which a librarian does, may be compared to the friction of machinery; and just in the proportion that the power of his mind and the strength of his body are taxed in this direction, by just so much are they reduced for other duties, the importance of which is specially prominent in the minds not only of the profession, but of the public as well,--an actual knowledge of the books which the library buys, and the exertion of an active personal influence in raising the standard of literature which is drawn from the library. it is precisely in this line of personal influence that there seem to me to be special encouragements to the librarians of small towns, that here, notwithstanding their limited resources, they have peculiar opportunities for attaining an almost ideal standard of excellence in the quality of their work. it would be unjust to say that a city librarian actually works harder than his country brother. the duties of the former are mainly those of guiding, overseeing, and correcting the work of others. the latter, with his own hands and brain, does most of the work himself. it is as if the one were architect solely, and the other not only architect, but mason and carpenter as well. one of the severest trials of the lot of a city librarian, in the west at least, is that he must work through many assistants who are not only utterly lacking in any real love or enthusiasm for their work, but who are many times illy-educated as well. the remedy for this state of affairs is not likely to be found until our boards of trustees take for their careful consideration the reply of a certain irate domestic to her remonstrating mistress: "you can't expect a good cook and all the christian virtues for two dollars a week!" if the necessities of the work do not require the employment of more than one, two, or, at most, three assistants, the subtle electric current of the librarian's own enthusiasm may suffer the subdivision without being utterly dissipated. he can actually do much of the work himself. he comes into contact with his clientage, which is not so large but that he may hope to become personally acquainted with many of them, and, learning their tastes and needs, easily become their trusted friend and guide. his catalog, too, is his own work, and it is perhaps safe to say that no one ever properly appreciates a catalog but its maker. certainly no one else ever handles it with equal ease and intelligence. i am afraid the catalog has never been made, and never will be, over which the ignorant and indolent will not be perplexed and deceived; and, after all is said, it is to the ignorant to whom the gospel of the public library is specially sent. if the cataloger himself is constantly at hand to explain intricacies, to supplement deficiencies, with his own perfect knowledge of his library, to answer even foolish and stumbling questioners patiently and intelligently, he may make the puzzling way of finding and getting a book so plain that "the wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein." that this personal influence, when exerted, bears fruit, and that right soon, has been proved again and again. the following is from the last report of one of the largest libraries in the country: "the increasing public interest in the more scholarly books of the library, and the large accession of visitors to the reference tables, are to be attributed partly to the saturday-morning classes which have been conducted at the library for the past four months." if such work makes so immediate and appreciable an impression upon a circulation which is numbered by hundreds of thousands, is there not a hopeful outlook, indeed, for small workers? one has said that "a library is, after all, very much what its librarian makes it." there are too many conflicting individualities at work in a municipal library to make this, to any considerable extent, true; but in a small town or village the personal equation of the librarian may easily become the exponent of the power of the library. address at the dedication of the library of the university of pennsylvania dr. talcott williams, the orator of this occasion, feb. , , was at that time a journalist in philadelphia. he has always been a welcome writer and speaker on literary themes. talcott williams was born in abeih, turkey, july , , the son of an american missionary. he graduated at amherst in and in that year entered journalism, becoming later an editorial writer on several large dailies until when he was made director of the school of journalism of columbia university, new york city. for the first and for the last time, the voices of men are heard in this place, dedicated to the more eloquent silence of books. nowhere is man more and men less than in the library. in the presence of books individual learning pales. the scholar dies; the library lives. yet only in part. in this bookish age, we fondly impute immortality to books. nothing could be more false. few books have the power of an endless life. against these books of power stand a great multitude of books of use, which perish with the using. the vast mass of books, like the thoughts in our daily lives, sink into the background of the recollection of the race and furnish the soil from which fresh growths spring. few there are who have written books of power. not a score in all. poets for the most part. high priests forever after the order of humanity, whose flaming message burns from age to age in the great tree of human existence, consuming and unconsumed. these books of power which live that humanity may not die, and books of use that die that others may live, divide literature between them. they constitute the warp and woof out of which the university weaves the higher education. in its last analysis a liberal training is the mastery of books of use and a glad yielding to the mastery of books of power. controversy over the classics, wrangling over greek, vain jangling over required and elective courses--these are details. direct contact between the growing minds of each generation and the great minds of the race--this is essential. we smile at the space given confucius in chinese education; the koran in mohammedan schools; but this is only a perversion of the sound instinct which everywhere puts the young to school to the teachers of the race. unless your education does this, it stands where the electric telegraph did before its wires were grounded--its batteries and instruments, its poles and wires useless until they were in direct contact with the elemental source of electric energy in the earth itself. so-called and mis-called practical systems of education, _realschulen_, which omit these eternal realities of the race, find when they have stuffed their pupils with the facts of the day that they are still insulated from the thinkers of all time. fortunately for us and for our education, these books of power exist in more than one language and are accessible through more than one channel of learning. thanks to the matchless translation of the bible, one incomparable group of books of power is taught in every sunday-school, though i doubt if this will be held sufficient reason for neglecting their study in every university. greek holds another group. but it is the pitiful pedant's plea to urge their study because greek is difficult. it is not because greek is greek, but because homer is homer that chapman "spake out loud and bold" of the solitary text-book which has held its own for years, and links, as may it forever link, this university with the school of athens. "yet still your homer, living, lasting, reigning, and proves how truth builds in poets feigning." it is because these books of power hold the truth that makes men free, working thoughts that perish never, that they live when the tongues in which they speak are dead. books of power which transmit the spiritual life of the race keep the self-same spirit through all the transmigrations of speech. the scriptures of the race, no less than the scriptures of religion, enjoy a pentecostal gift of tongues, and are heard by every man in his own language. where such books are few in number, which a shelf or two will hold, there is a liberal education, and no elective course which permits their exclusion offers intellectual salvation. some such books every race has found in its own literature as it reached the full stature of universal humanity, as our own english-speaking race, well-nigh within this generation, has discovered in adding shakespeare to our general schooling. by the production of such books of power nations are justly measured. this is the wisdom which keepeth a city from destruction. the ship of state, however weighted with worldly wealth, moves a trackless keel through the waters of history unless some poet wings its course with "the proud, full sail of his great verse." we have all heard to-day from one whose lifelong devotion has raised him to the foremost rank of scholarship. "weave a circle around him thrice and close your eyes with holy dread, for he on honey-dew hath fed and drunk the milk of paradise." the study of such books is possible without any aid or apparatus whatever; so near is the diviner of letters to every one of us. but the first office which the library discharges in a university is in providing the limitless and manifold interpretation which the ages have builded about these great books of power. better than all other books as are the books of power when read without study, they are infinitely bettered by all study. the literature of interpretation is only second in value to the literature of inspiration. the study even of books of power tends to become scholastic, narrow, provincial, letterwise, and spiritually dead, unless it is quickened and corrected by the fruits of the entire field of critical science. for lack of this more than one sacred book has met a fate which makes one feel, as well kill a book as give it a good name. even in the teaching of books of power--which of all teaching needs but a soul and the book to awake eternity--the scholar is saved from himself by the library. he learns that with all the inspired prophets of the race no scripture is of private interpretation, that only time unlocks the weaving of these deeper oracles of humanity, because they spake not of themselves, but for the spirit of man. nor need we fear that they will be smothered by their interpretation. the mountains bear easily the weight of forests they uprear, and at the last and highest, no tree ascends above the snow-line of eternal thought. but such ascents are as little the normal work of the university as of the road-builder. its course lies chiefly along the broad highways of learning. not books of power, but books of use, which sum first general, and then special and professional knowledge, occupy the greater portion of its time, just as the most saintly of mortals devotes more of his days to earning his living than to saving his soul. if the study of books of power is rendered more valuable by a library, the adequate teaching of books of use without one is impossible. every text-book is a compromise between what is known and what can be taught. two classes, i know, the publishers and the public, cherish the belief that there are text-books which sum current knowledge on this subject and that; but there are none. every text-book is out of date the day after it goes to the printer, and the day before it gave out, not what is known, but the view of what is known then in vogue. it measures the advancing tides of learning by a gauge itself incessantly changing. we love to speak of authorities and standards. we delude ourselves. the whole field of letters and of learning is in a perpetual flux, whose only complete record is the library. we know that in science discovery succeeds discovery. there is nothing certain about a scientific book except that it will be wrong in five or ten years. only now and then does some law-giver in science, some newton or darwin, descend the mount of discovery, bearing eternal and lasting laws of nature, writ by nature's god. but in literature we dream of permanent reputation. here, too, "every century gives the last the lie." all the lesser priests of letters stand at shrines like that of nemi and the golden bough, "beneath aricia's trees, where the ghastly priest doeth reign, the priest who slew the slayer and shall himself be slain," every new book enters the arena about to die. the friendly verdict but deters fate; it does not avert it. the lesser criticism of letters must be done anew for every crop of readers, and in fifteen or twenty years most essays are left behind. the procession of novels passes almost as rapidly. few are read for thirty years, no english novels have held a popular place for past half a century, and a decade before the centenary of waverly it begins to be whispered that scott is no longer read by the young. every generation must have its own translations of the classics, or reprints of those which have been forgotten. morals, philosophy, and religion must be rewritten for it. even histories, which linger a little longer on the stage than all the rest, yield to inexorable change. it is barely a century since gibbon launched his mighty fleet, freighted with the fall of empire. it has long ridden the seas, but i think we are all well aware that its masts are already low on the horizon. no one author, no one work, can longer satisfy the world for the story of ten centuries of the race. for most of us these changes do not exist. unconsciously we go on down the stream with the favorites of our youth and forget that both are growing old together. if literature is to be taught as it is, and not as it seems, to take one pregnant illustration, true of all studies, teacher and taught must have instant and vital access to that great body of books to which in every subject a text-book is but a rude and makeshift guide. the present can only be understood by the past, and both are needed to prophesy of the future. when this library has been enlarged to the utmost bounds of our anticipation, it will still have its limits to the specialists--joints in its armor of learning. even at the british museum i was told and discovered that no man is long at work without wanting some book with which it is unprovided. but if teaching requires this great array, much more does the wider work of the college professor. to look upon him as set only to teach, to hear recitations, is as narrow and barren a view of his work as to think of the farmer as only occupied in feeding his calves. if a university is in the highest sense to be a teaching body, it must cultivate knowledge as well as pupils. its professors must do more than harvest the learning and teach the discoveries of other discoverers. they must produce and discover. the spirit of genius bloweth where it listeth, but those books of use which play their part in giving each generation its critical standards, its histories, and the results of research are born only in full libraries. if a university is deficient in them, the lack is apt to be in that laboratory of learning, its library. unless a university is producing these, it is teaching only its matriculates when it ought to be teaching the public. much may be done, much accomplished, in the university without the library. professional schools may multiply and grow, for in these men of professional learning supply the lack of books. it is even possible to carry on much research and produce valuable results along any narrow rising line of discovery in some science, which, like the coral, has but its growing edge alive, and for the rest is dead and under water. but if a university is to fill the whole round and play part in society, it must enjoy, employ, and extend the organized memory of man as represented in a great library. as the chief value of this lies, not in any view of its mere bulk and size, but in its relation to the recollection of the race, so the work of the university pivots on its ability to make vital the study of books of power, without which all learning and letters and science are but a vain show. better, a thousand times better, the solitary study which brings men face to face with the spirit of man in these great movements than any university study which dwarfs to routine or degrades to mere rote these great works. for the object of all our study is not knowledge, but wisdom, and we move to dwindling ends if we search out all the secrets of matter and forget the secrets of the spirit. the great round of studies which make up the university, its libraries and laboratories, the accumulation of the past and the discovery of the future, these are each and all but the scaffolding by which the race rises to those conceptions of the divine and the spiritual uttered and summed in its books of power. listening to their teaching we may even learn that the ascent of man is more important than his descent, his future of more consequence than his origin--that it is his birth, and not his death, which is a sleep and a forgetting. but books of use and books of power--the indiscriminate eulogy of books and reading has ceased to be possible even at the opening of a building dedicated to both. their criticism has begun. books are no longer the unique property of the scholar. we all buy books. most of us read them. many of you write them. the use of books is the one side of learning on which we all claim an opinion. yet owned, read, written, or wholly laid aside in a busy life, the use of books, which each of us knows, is individual and personal. standing to-day in the home of a collection which, we trust, is to be one of the larger libraries of learning, landmark, and lighthouse at once, recording the past and lighting the pathless future, this individual and personal use is inevitable before us, cramping and limiting our conception of the relations, the aims, and the ends of a great library. its very beginnings about us raise a doubt as to the wisdom of these endless accumulations of print. the peril of the mere aggregate was, perhaps, never plainer than in these days, when the great glacier of democracy slides on, making high places low and low high--one would be glad to believe, preparing the pathway of a new lordship of learning, but one is fain to fear making easy the track and broad the road for an evil over-lordship of mediocrity in learning and in literature. our own democracy we are assured, has ceased to read anything but fiction, and demands this, not book-meal, but piece-meal, in monthly, weekly, or even daily doses. the vast book-stack of the modern library, in which volumes lose their individuality as completely as urns in a columbarium, and like them but too often hold naught but dead and forgotten dust, is far removed from the still air of delightful studies which we associate with our own loved libraries. "i seldom go there," says emerson of the university library he used, "without renewing my conviction that the best of it all is already within the four walls of my study at home." the ablest of american editors recently urged in the most brilliant of american newspapers that the library of congress should be reduced to a sound working collection of , volumes, and the rest of its treasures dissipated or stored. i have myself heard the suggestion in regard to this library, and from one of academic connection, that its future usefulness would be increased if its future bulk were restricted. whether we listen to the philosopher, the editor, or the university trustee; whatever fanned and winnowed opinions we apply to the great threshing floor on whose round the feet of the ages slowly tread out the wheat from the chaff in the garnered harvest of human thought, the remnant will be small--measured by high thought or narrow utility. the mere mass of our libraries already overtaxes our utmost ability to classify, to catalogue, and to administer. as we watch their bulk grow, on whatever side of the great altar of learning we worship, our fears increase that these heaped offerings will stifle the sacred fire. this weighty weapon of letters forged by generations, this mighty armor and panoply of learning on whose myriad rivets so many hammers have rung, has outgrown the individual, and we begin to doubt its ultimate value to society. thus men ever err in their early thought on the new duties and fresh responsibilities created for men by associate man. in the field of organized life the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. the body is more than an aggregate of cells. the soul wiser than all its faculties. a nation more puissant than any census of its citizens. man more than men. the secret of this supremacy over the sterile synthesis of sense, the root and germ mastery over the mere mechanics of life, and the bald and barren arithmetic of existence, lies in the capacity to know the present and to remember the past--in consciousness, out of which conscience grows, and in memory, mnemosyne, mother of all the muses and parent of all learning. rightly in all history do we measure the value of every human society to humanity by its power to awake to its own existence and be aware of its own past. this is the --"mystery in the soul of state which hath an operation more divine than breath or pen can give expression to--" this exalts the microscopic municipalities of greece. this abases the dumb millions of asia. our own articulate millions, deficient in much, have done most for the world, not by material development, but by demonstrating that , , spread over a continent can enjoy a consciousness as constant, continuous, and complete as the handful of citizens in the market-place of a greek city, less in population that the ward in which we stand, smaller in area than the open spaces about this university. this general capacity to think as one and remember as a whole differences modern societies from all the past, save that of greece. this has brought the awakening of nations in this century, a mightier resurrection with power than the awakening of men in the sixteenth century. with the future awakening of man the work will be complete. until it is, national consciousness and national memory, creating conscious national life, are the determining conditions of human progress. the problem which greece solved by making its communities small, the modern world triumphantly meets by making them large and live. it secures this through the newspaper, the print of the present, which sets at one in consciousness vast masses of men which are set apart in space. for generations separated in time, the library, the print of the past, preserves for society the sacred oracles of memory. misunderstood, misappreciated, placed in opposition, treated as antagonists, the editor assuring us that the newspaper has superseded the printed book, the librarian hesitating to cumber his shelves with the fugitive issues of the newspaper, these twin and vital organs in society still supplement and correlate each other. the newspaper is the library of the moment, the library is the newspaper of all time. we open a newspaper to learn what we are as a nation. we enter a library to learn what we were. the revelations of neither are altogether satisfactory. we object to the library because it does not tell enough of the past. too often we object to the newspaper because it tells too much of the present. the faults and shortcomings of the past, however plainly told, rouse no unpleasant sense of responsibility. in our own individual experience we have each of us had our private and personal quarrel with consciousness and memory for setting in too clear a light the sins and duties, the lacks and demands of the past and passing day. the revelation is no pleasanter when consciousness, memory and responsibility are social and national. yet it is only by accepting both a complete social consciousness and a complete social memory that a society can be created whose ultimate end is the highest development of each of its individuals, whose service is the highest duty of all its members. lavish margin of error in the newspaper too often leads us by some slain truth to ask with the soldier at philippi: "messenger of error-- why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men the things they are not?--" but like cassius, the truth is self-slain and dies among its friends. it still remains true that the newspaper is oftener challenged for telling what is unpleasant than for recording what is untrue, and the refined and cultured soul, which objects to the newspaper because it reeks with the ill news of society for whose ills no man can avoid his just share of responsibility, but imitate the pharaoh, who slew the messengers of evil and sunk in wilful ignorance to an ignoble grave. the nation which lives by the newspaper will lose touch with the past. the nation which lives in the library will want knowledge of the present. we know all too much as americans of the peril of thinking by the newspapers. german thought has run in the seclusive channel of the academic library to the lack and loss of civic consciousness. germany was the last of modern states to act as a people. we were the first, the balance and connection between the newspaper and the library, news and liberal letters, the reporter and the professor, cuts up by the roots the frequent conception of the library as a place occult, withheld, untrod; shut apart from practical ends, the grant of society to the scholar--useful to letters, useless to life. this "idol of the market-place" falls to pieces confronted by the facts of social structure. as well might the brain be held silent, the voice of memory dumb, the light of consciousness in darkness by the side of the brute mechanical forces of the body; silence, seclusion, separation from the active life of society, these may be for the exchange and the market-place, the railroad and the factory, vast, dumb mechanic processes which perish in producing, but not for the library--not here, not here. these walls ring with war. they sound with the conflicts of the race. here, rather than in any arsenal is heard --"the infinite fierce chorus, the cries of agony, the endless groan, which, through the ages that have gone before us, in long reverberations reach our own." thus much for the library in organized society. long since have we known of books as the counsellors and comforters of men. to us all they have been teachers, to each of us companions. that great majority, greater in wisdom no less than in number, in which by the iron decrees of fate so many are called and so few are chosen to lasting immortality, holds all of whom living the world was not worthy, but of whom dead it slowly seeks to be. here and here alone in all shapes and forms, we build the sepulchres of the prophets whom our fathers crucified and here doubtless our children will build the sepulchres of those who in our day are despised and afflicted of men for the truth's sake. in joy and in grief, in life and in death some book supports, sustains, and soothes each of us, and in this library the very light has been trained to teach us at every window and door that we might enter it to pass within the presence of the mighty dead, to enjoy the companionship of that great company no man can number of wise men made perfect by time. but to the seeing eye and the hearing ear, awake and attentive to all that a library is, not for men but for man, not for individuals but for the race, a greater than solomon is here, and a mightier shape fills these halls and looks down from these shelves than all the trooped and illustrious dead. these books, shelf on shelf, these volumes, which fit subject by subject into the storied arch of human knowledge, resting one side on metaphysics and the other on history, the science of mind and the science of man, seem existent human memory. the complete library would round and fill the record of the race. at best, we have but a beggarly fragment. if a single copy of each of the , , volumes which dropped from the press in years were by some glad miracle multiplying knowledge gathered in one place, human memory would be unbroken for this short span of its long stay on the globe. of , , but , , rest in the largest library on earth in bloomsbury square, and not a half are gathered in all known libraries. but such as it is, large or small complete or incomplete, a great library to its capacity gives, as this has begun to do, the only measure we have of the recollection of the race. here we stand face to face not with men or nations, race or people, but with man. blindly our humanity still struggles to shape its thought, dumb, inarticulate, unconscious, travelling in darkness and laboring in pain, century by century, and generation by generation, in the slow pilgrimage toward the conscious and consecration before it. the thunder of its power who shall know? who shall sound its depths or scale its heights? who shall know it in all its compass and sound, measure the confines thereof or prophesy its far final coming? these are all hid in the inscrutable decrees of god from the sight of men, but here, here and in places like this there rises before us like an exhalation of the past in these volumes, in this library, the majestic and visible memory of man. rightly here, as in that larger treasure house in london, have we gathered museum and library under the same roof. these shapeless fragments worked by the early cunning of savage man, these inscribed marbles and sculptured slabs, these tablets and relics of another and a distant life, these all, each in its place, play their part in the recorded memory of the race. out of every fragment from every book shines this ancient of days, who before abraham was and after us shall be. who and what are we, creatures of a day, toilers of an hour, to be measuring by our experience the metes and bounds in the manifestations of his mighty memory. rather let our labor be given to render complete and to transmit unbroken our share in this great heritage by preserving the universal printed record of the life about us. the librarian falling far short of the honor and amplitude of his office, standing between the living past and the slowly dying life of the present, now and then apologizes for saving every empty volume, because none but prescient omniscience can tell which of , titles will be demanded by some solitary reader a century hence. how petty the plea, how narrow the argument, how infinitesimal the claims of this distant reader who after all may never appear! but how simple, how sufficient, how adequate becomes the reason for the preservation of every volume when we remember that it, too, is a part of this vast image of human memory seated by the slow river of time, more vocal than that of memnon, older and younger, and with every fresh sunburst of genius breaking into fresh song! in high reason has our own historical society gathered every volume which fell in this state and city from the press of the last century. only thus can the span of human memory be set forth without a single forgetful flaw. if the like effort is made here to fill a like responsibility for the passing moment to the future, it is possible that the historical society of another century will not find it necessary to pay $ for an almanac which might once have been had for a penny, and yet how grievous the gap in the continuous and social memory of this our city if the solitary copy left of bradford's almanac, the first product of our press, had not found a secure resting-place. a great library, therefore, does not merely transmit the memory of the past; it is daily providing memory for the future, safe preserved "against the wreckful siege of battering days." for the individual no worse hap can fall than loss of memory. all other powers may remain. this lost, all are worthless. stripped of memory, the soul has no future and no past, naught save an infructuose now. nor less, the race. the destruction of the alexandrian library, whether with abulfaraj we attribute it to the intelligent moslem, or with gibbon to the ignorant monk, was not the loss of so many books and parchments. it was the paralysis of a great lobe of human memory, fatal lesion had fallen on the localized organ of recollection in the brain of humanity. if we had the plays of aeschylus, the of sophocles, the last books of livy, the missing annals of tacitus, which this library held, the stature of these writers would not be increased. like the greater peaks of every chain they already rise as they recede. it is only the foot-hill that needs bulk. these, and lost books like them, would fill for us the full measures of classic memory. as library after library perished and book after book shared the fate of those fathered by ptolemy, the wreck and loss of human memory went on. the ages that we call dark lacked not in men of action. those ages of faith had their men of thought matching any before or after. they laid for us the foundations of a civil liberty more indestructible than that of rome. the piers of that great arch of law along which our rights daily travel in safety were built by them. their architecture and their sculpture equals any. their knowledge of the earth, as a whole, was immeasureably in advance of classic conception. they furnished in dante one of the two or three poets for all time, and in the roman church they gave the race a creation and conception of whose future it would be a rash man who ventured to say that it was destined to be less than its past, imperial as its history has been. these ages were dark, not from lack of light and of leading, but from lack of memory. the ages had lost touch of the elbow in their march through the dark defile of time. the renaissance was less the revival of human knowledge than the recovery of human memory. age was joined again to age in the unbroken sequence of continuous recollection, and greece laid her hands to transmit an apostolic succession of memory on the bowed and studious head of the modern world. to play its part in transmitting and preserving human memory this library is tonight opened and dedicated. our library committee, and you, sir, its head, who have shown us that whole libraries of comment may be condensed into a volume by your magic alembic, providing for criticism a new instrument of precision akin to the measurements and the analysis of the exact science--you, sir, in the loving care you have given this building, have not been providing a retreat for scholars; you have built and fashioned here another refuge and stronghold, fortified "against confounding age's cruel knife that he shall never cut from memory." the architect of this building has not wrought in mere brick and stone; he has added to those shrines and centres of human memory to which its treasures gravitate for their security and convenience. this university, in receiving this building from its finance committee, which has raised its cost, and whose head first suggested its erection, is placed in a position where it can discharge not only the first duty of a university, to which it has always been true, of thinking for the community, but the second, which is like unto it, of remembering for society. collection of information one of the functions of the modern library is that of a huge cyclopedia, kept continually up to date by the acquisition of new material--books, periodicals, prints, pamphlets, clippings, publicity matter and manuscripts. it is the cyclopedia on cards long advocated by dr. dewey, except that the cards are in its catalogue and do not contain the information directly but serve only as keys to it. in this kind of service the library is for the moment getting away from books and nearer to the worker, whether at home, in school or laboratory, or in commerce and industry. libraries as bureaus of information early material on this ancient function of libraries, so widely extended and developed of late, is hard to find. only two papers are given here. the first, by samuel s. green, is part of an address delivered at the dedication of the haston free public library building in north brookfield, mass., printed in _the library journal_ for july, . a sketch of mr. green appears in vol. i. of this series. the ideal library is one which invites everybody who has a question to ask, which books contain answers to, to come to the library and put his question, with the assurance that he will be kindly received, his question sympathetically considered, and every effort made to find the answer desired. i cannot better illustrate what i mean by saying that libraries should be bureaus of information than by giving instances of inquiries recently made in the library under my charge and explaining how those inquiries were met. i will select questions which were answered by sending out of town for books, and thus illustrate in addition the fact that libraries administered on advanced principles help one another. a man came to me not long since and asked by what means he could dissolve a certain gum which he mentioned. i had the united states dispensatory brought. the man did not find the answer wished for in that work, but did find a reference to a volume of the _pharmaceutical journal_. we did not have a set of that periodical; so i said that i would send away to borrow the desired volume. i sent to the librarian of the medical library in boylston place, boston, for it. he sent it to me immediately by express. that volume contained some of the information desired by the inquirer, but not all that he wanted. there was another volume of the same periodical which he thought would contain the facts which he was in search of. i sent for that, promising to return both volumes at once. the second volume was immediately received. that contained just what was wanted. by doing work like this a librarian may do much to add to the prosperity of the industries of a town. another man came to me to inquire whether we had a catalog of a certain southern society which purported to do hospital work. i found that we had no catalog of the society named. it appeared that the applicant for information had been asked to contract to do $ worth of work for a society of the name mentioned and wished to learn something about its standing. i told him that if i were in his place i should write to a gentleman in washington, whose name i gave him, who knows all about medical institutions and hospitals throughout the country, to ask him about the society; i offered to write, myself, as the applicant felt timid about writing. i did write and soon had the answer that the correspondent would advise the worcester man to be very cautious about entering into a contract, for he knew nothing about the existence of such a society. i hope that i helped to save a worcester business man from loss on this occasion. again, a boy who came into worcester to school called at the library to ask me what i could tell his brother about a school for instruction in tanning leather in freiberg, saxony. did it receive americans? what was the cost of attending its sessions? what was its curriculum? etc., were questions asked. i had no pamphlet to give the required information, but suggested that the commissioner of education at washington be written to, to find out what information could be found in the library of his office. i found that it would be necessary for me to write the letter; so i wrote it. soon the answer came giving the information desired and stating the address of the school. the answer was passed over to the applicant, with the suggestion that if further information were desired he should write to the officers of the school. i remember doing much to start in her studies a resident of worcester who has since become a distinguished russian scholar, by helping her to get a russian-german dictionary from abroad and by borrowing russian books for her to read from harvard college library. three students of the chinese language have received assistance at my library, one a missionary at home on leave, the other two students under the late chinese professor of harvard university, from dictionaries and other books borrowed for their use. i have had occasion to hunt up books in the language of the exquimaux for the use of an investigator in worcester. i could not find the books in the libraries of harvard university or columbia college, and tried the libraries of other centres of learning without success, when i remembered that dr. j. hammond trumbull, the well-known indian scholar and historical student, had brought together a fine collection of philological works in the watkinson library at hartford, connecticut. the librarian of that library wrote me after a few days, saying that he had the books and would send them at once. he apologized for not despatching them before, saying that the library did not allow books to be taken out. he had waited to consult the president. the president had said that they must set aside the rule if mr. green and the library in worcester wanted the books, for it was evident that they were needed for some important purpose. we got the books and they were used in the preparation of a learned paper. now, for closing illustrations, let me show you how libraries at great distances help one another. i will choose the relations of the library in worcester to the public library of denver, colorado. mr. dana, the librarian of that library, sent to me to borrow one of the publications of the browning society of london. it was sent to him by registered mail and returned, safely, in the same way. next he wanted, for some student of mining, an extract from one of the volumes of the _comptes rendus_ of the french academy. the extract was copied from the volume and sent to him. there has since occurred the following transaction. a gentleman in chicago had written to mr. dana, in denver, to ask him whether he knew of a translation of the report of a government railroad commission in holland which had recently been engaged in considering what kinds of paint are best to use in preserving iron, and whether he could tell him where to find the results of certain experiments which had been made in one of the bureaus of the u.s. navy department. mr. dana passed along the question to me, knowing that i had often to answer questions of that kind. in order to find an answer to the first question, i at once set a young man at work looking at the indexes of the late volumes of the _railroad and engineering journal_, and soon an important article was unearthed giving the results of the investigations of the dutch commission. this piece of information was sent to denver. i then wrote to mr. henry c. baird, the philadelphia publisher, to see if he knew of the publication of a translation of the report. he wrote back that he did not know of the publication of such a translation, but that there was a long article on paints useful in the preservation of iron in one of the most recently issued volumes of spons's "receipts." he promised, however, to make further inquiries. so he went to the rooms of the philadelphia academy of sciences and inquired there what gentleman in the city was most likely to have the information sought for. he was referred to some one connected with the pennsylvania railroad co., who told him that he was not aware that the report had been translated, but referred the inquirer to an elaborate article extending through several numbers of the well-known periodical, _iron_. mr. baird transmitted the information he had got to me and i sent it and other pieces of information gained since my last letter to the library of denver. the information sent to denver was sent to chicago. so by the aid of two far separated librarians a person in chicago, an intermediate city, distant from the homes of both, received information which he desired through denver, worcester, and philadelphia. for an answer to his second question, this inquirer from chicago was referred to the navy department at washington. a clergyman in colorado springs, and this is a final illustration, applied to the librarian of the same public library in denver for an old book by goldwin smith. he referred him to me. i knew him, having met him on my way to california. to my surprise i found we did not own the book. so i wrote to mr. winsor, the librarian of harvard university, and told him that the applicant could be trusted and would make good use of the information afforded him, and that he needed the book in preparing a course of lectures which he was to give at once at colorado college in colorado springs. then i asked mr. winsor if he felt at liberty to lend the book. the next thing i heard in regard to the matter, a letter came from the gentleman in colorado springs thanking me for the aid rendered, and saying that mr. winsor had sent the book and that it had reached him just in time to use in preparing a lecture. the library in the united states which was earliest in the field in doing the work of lending to other libraries systematically and on a large scale, in so far as i know, was that of the surgeon-general's office in washington, long administered so intelligently and with so keen an eye for usefulness by dr. john s. billings. now, how can libraries in towns of the size of north brookfield become bureaus of information? let them approach as nearly as they can to the ideal of seeing to it that everybody needing information gets it. the first thing to do is to let it be understood that a library desires to have inquirers come to it for information, and that its librarian is ready to take time to find out whether the library contains books which will give the information desired. if it does not have the needed books, the librarian tries to think where they can be had. does anybody in town own them? if not, can they be had from a library in a neighboring town? if these resources are not adequate, then let the librarian send to the nearest large centre to borrow books from the library there to answer the questions asked. worcester would be the natural centre for north brookfield to send to. individuals should not send to worcester, but the librarian, having exhausted resources at hand, should send for the books, the library agreeing, of course, to make good damage and loss and pay the cost of carriage. an out-of-town librarian does not know the individual users of a library in a smaller town, but the librarian in that town does know his constituency and for whom it is safe to borrow books. libraries should lend to one another, but the work of lending should be systematic. as a member of the free public library commission of massachusetts, i wish to say that the commission likes to come into close contact with the libraries of the state, and that the smaller libraries may from time to time find it helpful to put questions to its chairman at the state house in boston, in person, through a representative, or by letter, about library administration. people are breaking away from their leaders to-day. there is an immense amount of crude thought and imperfect information in every community. i verily believe that not least among the instrumentalities by which thought may be matured and knowledge completed are public libraries when administered as bureaus of information by accomplished and earnest librarians, who will act as sympathetic friends and advisers to inquirers and help them to look at all sides of questions and form well-grounded judgments. the library friend not all the information required of the public library is asked by those engaged in laboratory research or by experts in commerce and industry. much of it is homely stuff, greatly desired and more or less easy to find. much of it can be given offhand by the capable reference assistant, who thereby becomes what the writer of this article calls a "library friend" to her neighborhood. miss winifred louise taylor was born in freeport, ill., feb. , . in she organized the first circulating library in freeport and acted as librarian for twelve years. it was eventually incorporated in the freeport public library. in - , miss taylor was in charge of the information desk at the pratt institute free library, brooklyn. for many years she gave much of her time to work in the prisons, and in she published "the man behind the bars," describing some of this work. "the library friend" is the term that seems best to apply to that member of the modern library's staff whose work is a development of the service ordinarily rendered through the "information desk." information-desk service as usually conceived, it is not; for the library friend deals with the tendencies, tastes, and aspirations of readers as much as if not more than with the definite question and answer respecting facts. the office indeed may be regarded as finding its first expression in the circulating libraries maintained by subscription in many of the smaller cities twenty-five years and more ago, when the free public library of to-day was comparatively rare. in those libraries every subscriber knew the librarian, and the librarian was personally acquainted with every book on the shelves. to bring the books and readers into congenial relationship was the business and usually the pleasure of the librarian. the personal element was the heart from which the circulation of the books radiated--if the presiding personality lacked vitality and enthusiasm the library was a failure. with the era of the democratic free libraries, with their more rapid growth, with their doors open to men, women and children of all classes, the human element, the personal relation of librarian to the reader suffered a gradual eclipse, until, in some libraries more perfectly developed on the technical side, the personal equation vanished altogether. the library became a great machine, into which a number was dropped, and out of which a book was dropped like corn from the hopper. we all know how formidable this mechanism is to those unaccustomed to modern library methods. to the uninitiated the card catalog is an abomination, an unsolved problem, a delusion and a snare. the boy who is interested in athletics, fumbling over the card catalog in micawber-like fashion, hits upon the title "morning and evening exercises"; he straight away hands in the number thinking he has found a prize. it is discouraging and depressing when the machine shoots out to him a volume of devotional compilations. he has tried his luck and it has failed, and as he was reminded only last week that a book cannot be exchanged the same day on which it is drawn out he retires with "morning and evening exercises," a sadder, but not a wiser boy. it is in accord, therefore, with the process of library evolution that a closer personal relation between reader and librarian should be developed through some such medium as is here outlined under the designation "the library friend." one of the library problems just now is this: given on the one side , books and on the other , people. how is each individual to be brought into contact with the particular book that he wants? where open shelves are practicable a great advantage--to the discriminating reader, an inestimable advantage, is gained; but the majority of librarians have not room to throw any department open to the public; and even among open shelves the person whose judgment of books is wholly untrained often misses what he is looking for. the assistance given by the reference room is invaluable. there no one goes away unsatisfied; but the reference room reaches only those in pursuit of a definite subject. beyond its range is the drifting, aimless reader, the searcher after something he knows not what. the dull, the diffident, the beginners in the use of libraries, those who read purely for amusement and those who want the new books--new spelled with a capital n and book with a small b--old persons, those whose eyesight is defective and whose glasses strike the card catalog at the wrong angle, foreigners who use english with difficulty and diffidence--all these gather together in the delivery room at once, and efficient as the assistant may be--and sometimes they effect miracles--it is impossible for them to give the different individuals the help each one needs. in the libraries where the human element is most withdrawn the case of these people is hard. to bring the personal relation again into the library and to develop it with the growth of the needs of the public, with this end in view, a number of libraries have introduced the information desk. by common consent, perhaps in the eternal fitness of things, this position so far seems to have been relegated to woman. "she is a reading lady, and far gone in the pleasures of friendship." so wrote sir roger de coverley of the object of his affections, and no one could more felicitously describe two of the qualifications for the one presiding at the information desk. a reading lady she must be; and it is no less important that she be far gone in friendship for the public. to study their needs; to be receptive as wax to their impress, and responsive with heart and soul as well as with mind. this all around sympathetic power is the fundamental requisite of true service in this position. she may be a person of many words or of few; a good listener she must be. success depends less upon temperament or gifts than upon an attitude of inward receptivity and outgoing friendliness--the attitude that radiates a home-like atmosphere and insensibly sets the stranger at ease. emerson quaintly described certain faces as "decorated with invitation." this style of decoration will be permanently in fashion in this position if the invitation from the heart is a magnet strong enough to draw within its circle those who are in need of help. it is most necessary, also, that a certain poise be preserved. to be ready but not over anxious to assist; to be responsive but not intrusive; to be suggestive but never insistent; to recommend books without forcing one's own literary tastes or standards upon others; while helping new comers, to seek to make them independent in their use of the library instead of leading them to rely on some one else to do the work and use all the judgement for them, all this requires a nice adjustment of balances. and it is well to have on hand the tact which is the art of lessening social friction, and the sense of humor so invaluable as a lubricator in human relations. when any one comes to the information desk with a grievance, irritated, if not angry, to be met with simple good nature, and not to be taken too seriously, and yet to find instant readiness to adjust the cause of annoyance if possible, soon dissipates the feeling of antagonism or injury. such encounters ought not to tax one's patience. they sometimes turn out to be rather interesting. nor need stupidity tax one's patience. what more pathetic than the isolation of one who is slow to perceive and to grasp? it is a terrible handicap. to rescue the dull from their dullness should be the first impulse, and shallow is the sympathy that does not reach out to such instinctively. it is not enough to be able also to unlock the resources of the individual. people come to libraries from all sorts of homes. to the man or woman living in the midst of ugly and sordid surroundings, where the days are crowded with drudgery, the weekly visit to the library becomes a social event; it is a lift into a fresh atmosphere, into another plane of life. a passing greeting from the information desk gives a sense of welcome and of relationship to the reading public. five or ten minutes of cordial contact, a brief conversation with one unrelated to their world of worries, is a refreshing experience. to be recognized as a thinking, reading being, with opinions about books, instead of a human machine for cooking, scrubbing and sewing, or money-getting, puts new life into one. but this social side of the work of the information desk must rest on the solid foundation of practical qualifications. one must possess the knowledge of a wide range of books, the power of concentration on the one person or the one subject in hand, and the mental alertness that perceives when another person is waiting. the more perfect the understanding of the system of classification of the books and of all the technical side of library work, the more effective will be the service at the information desk. there the resources of the library should be at command, and should be reached rapidly and accurately. when any imaginable or unimaginable question may be asked at any moment, from "may i use your pencil?" up through the whole range of history, art, literature, politics, science or religion, one must know the ground thoroughly in order to meet these demands. topics requiring special research are passed on to the reference room, but the inquirer should be put on the right track when he wants but a single book from the delivery room. the new-comer must be instructed in intelligent use of the catalogs and helped towards self-reliance from the start. the young people must be assisted in making out their first lists, and these lists should represent a variety of authors, in order that the author who pleases can be followed up independently through the card catalogs. a well selected first list for boys or girls should place at their command a range of , , or books. it is surprising how few writers are known to the average boy or girl who comes to the public library for fiction. the field of the boy is often bounded by alger, ellis, optic, and henty, while the girls may know only sophie may and miss olcott. beyond are unknown seas. one of the early developments at the information desk will be carefully-selected lists of books for boys and girls. they grow under one's hand as the young people in turn recommend additions. this sense of co-operation wins the confidence of those who are quick to suspect and ward off any lurking desire for their improvement on the part of the library. notwithstanding that the starting point must always be the taste and inclination of the reader, it is a simple matter to keep the pressure in the right direction. carefully-selected fiction lists for older readers also meet a want. such lists do not include the works of the standard, voluminous writers known to every one. into them are gathered some of the old favorites of a generation ago, or later novels which may have happened to miss fame and yet possess an abiding charm and the indispensable element of interest. there are hundreds of such books, perennially delightful, novels just now submerged under the continually rising tide of new fiction. it is a piece of pure good fortune for the reader who turns in despair from the pursuit of "david harum," "eben holden," or "janice meredith," to find a fresh range of unheard-of novels of equal or more than equal interest. this enlargement of their circle of congenial authors is welcomed with every grateful appreciation. a list of good short stories is another resource, and one of cheerful books for invalids; stories that are neither morbid nor tragic. young working men who can come to the library only at evening are glad of assistance in selecting books related to their work and they are quick to respond to any evidence of sympathetic interest in their pursuit. young girls employed during the day who wish to make up for the lack of opportunities in school are eager and grateful for advice in outlining courses of reading and study; those studying music are glad of guidance into the more interesting pathways of musical literature, or it may be the amateur in some branch of art who reveals a cherished ambition in the hope of obtaining help in this direction, and delightfully friendly relations spring into being while these various lists are under way. often the chance encounter, the mere passing remark, brings the happy inspiration as to just the right books, as when one catches a glimpse of a deep enthusiasm for nature surviving in the breast of a man through fifty years spent between city walls. to introduce him to richard jeffries, most intense, nearest to nature's spirit, and least known of nature's lovers, is to enrich the remaining years of this man's life. all who go to the library go as seekers. some are seeking merely entertainment, others are searching for knowledge, but many are struggling with the deep problems that beset us all, perhaps in moral or spiritual darkness, and looking only for light. if one's heart is with the people, nothing so quickens perception as sympathy. one notes the trend of the reading of the individual, and often what he is seeking is intuitively divined. perhaps the simple remark, "if you can tell me just what you want i may be able to find it for you," results in a frank statement of the difficulty, or an outburst of sudden confidence is given from the impulse that makes it often easier to confide in a stranger than in a relative. and it counts for a good deal just then if the one at the information desk knows what writer has felt and thought most deeply and has written most clearly and helpfully on that subject. few are the needs of the human heart or mind that are really beyond the reach of help from books--books in which we find the reflection of our every mood, the expression in our inmost aspiration, the conservation of the feeling, the experience and the wisdom of the race. control and guidance of reading border regions are those of greatest interest, for they are regions of contact and therefore places where things happen. this is a border region between the field of the librarian and that of the teacher. its activities are the sole justification for the name "library teacher" bestowed upon assistants in many of the homelier city districts. here the librarian must tread warily. he can not push or pull; he must effect what he desires by making it attractive to the reader. in the five following papers this function is somewhat elaborated--a very modern phase of library work and one most nearly concerned with its socialization. probable intellectual and moral outcome of the rapid increase of public libraries a paper by rev. dr. pierce, then editor of _zion's herald_, a methodist publication, read at the lake george conference of the american library association in . notably free from the caution and hesitancy then often appearing in the public utterances of the clergy regarding popular libraries, and full of belief that their power of guidance would make them "powerful elements of culture." bradford kinney pierce was born in royalton, vt., february , , and graduated at wesleyan university in . entering the methodist episcopal ministry, he was also occupied for many years as teacher and editor, being agent of the sunday school union in - , editing _zion's herald_ in - and then serving as librarian of the free library at newton, mass., in addition to his other duties, until his death, april , . he has been called "the nestor of new england methodism." the free public library is now becoming the favorite posthumous beneficiary of our men of wealth. heretofore it has hardly been esteemed respectable in the vicinity of boston for a man of fortune to die without leaving a generous bequest to harvard college or to the massachusetts general hospital. the city and town library is now beginning to share liberally in these testamentary benefactions. the college requires too considerable a sum in our days to be often adequately endowed by the estate of one patron, but the library can be established and be quite amply appointed by the accumulation of one public-spirited citizen, and be made to become his most-honored and permanent memorial. every town of any size in our new england and northern states either has, or will soon have, one of these people's universities, through the individual gift of a generous citizen, or by public establishment. this general gathering of large bodies of books in all our principal towns, opened freely to all ages, can but produce a manifest influence for good or evil in the community. the familiar and forcible response to the objection made to the establishment of so many small colleges in the land, rather than securing their consecration and abundant endowment and appointment in a few centres, is that the "fresh-water institution," so called, brings the opportunities for a liberal culture near to thousands who could not otherwise be prompted to make the incident sacrifices to secure an advanced education. the immediate presence itself of the institution is an inspiration to study. so the presence of the numerous libraries, with their wide-open doors to all, and their attractive shelves, becomes a powerful incitement to those who otherwise would hardly think of seeking enjoyment or profit in reading. the statistics of these city and town libraries fully confirm this _à-priori_ presumption as to their influence in awakening and cultivating an interest in books among all classes. and this influence of books upon a reading community is very powerful. it is more subtle than human companionship. the latter strongly affects and moulds the character; but books reach us at lower depths. they inspire us more profoundly; they touch our whole being, intellect, heart, and executive purpose; they imperceptibly create or modify our ethical standards; they become our models of life and conduct; they lay hold of our highest and most sacred sentiments and color our views of the life beyond. it can but be, where the circulation of these volumes reaches nearly all our families and enters into the thoughts and emotions of every day of the year, that manifest results for the better or the worse will follow. many thoughtful persons have been honestly anxious in reference to the result of the experiment. the public press has sent out its serious forebodings from the pens of those who have taken depressing views of the matter, and alarming tracts have been published, giving painful criticisms upon the contents of certain libraries, the nature of special volumes found upon their shelves, and the amount of circulation of works of fiction of not the most elevating, or even wholesome, character. to all this we answer that these criticisms, whether well founded or not, have not been without their influence in calling attention to the most intelligent of our institutions. their officers are cultured gentlemen and ladies, clearly apprehending the relation of the library to the intellectual and moral development of the community and its true office in administering to the improvement, as well as enjoyment, of its patrons. it is more and more becoming an educating rather than a simply entertaining institution. it is every day becoming more widely recognized that it is not intended to be a competitor with the circulating library, but rather an antagonist, winning the patrons of the latter to the reading and study of a higher order of literature. while the majority of library managers do not take the extreme view that has been strongly advocated by some quite intelligent library trustees, that the public funds should not be used for the purchase of fiction, which may be considered an intellectual luxury, but only for improving and educating literature, they do seek to carefully sift the lighter issues of the press, securing the best and the purest of this character. they also study at the same time, through their accomplished officers and assistants, in the use of the local press, through the cooperation of the teachers of the schools and the leaders of public opinion, with the aid of parents, to awaken especially in the minds of the young people a taste for regular and substantial courses of reading in the various departments of science, history, and _belles-lettres_. the success that has attended these efforts is full of encouragement. our superintendents and librarians do not simply remain at their desks, or stand behind their tables to respond to the call for books, but make themselves felt in the community, aiding in the investigations of students, assisting in the search for authorities, facts, and illustrations, suggesting plans for interesting the youthful readers in scientific or literary studies, and calling attention to the rich accumulations upon the library shelves. the annual reports of these institutions are constantly showing improvement in the character of the reading in their several communities,--a gradual decrease in the lighter works, and an increase in the call for books of art and science, of travel and biography, of poetry and philosophy. a significant falling off in the number of books taken from the library, in many places, is noticed, while the patronage of the library is manifestly increased. the works that are now selected are substantial, requiring thought and time in reading. they cannot be hurried over in a day like the light novel, and hence the decrease in the number of volumes read is a most gratifying evidence of improvement in the quality of the reading. the free library is becoming the effectual antagonist, also, of the superficial news and story papers. their "name is legion." they assault the eye with their staring illustrations, and tempt the reader by their cheapness. especially at the close of the week, supplies of this trash, with periodical sheets of a little higher order, but still superficial, have been heretofore laid in for the hours of respite from labor on the sabbath. this light, disconnected, desultory reading, carried on through all the unoccupied hours of the week, while it secures a smattering of information, can but be of a very vicious intellectual tendency, not to speak of its moral influence. the free library and its reading-room offer without expense the perusal of the best periodical literature in the land, and permit and tempt their patrons to secure, for the unemployed hours of the approaching sabbath, works of deep interest and of an improving character. we are confident that this multiplication of well-selected and constantly growing collections of standard and current literature is full of promise of good, and, as generally managed among us, is attended with small and easily corrected evils. it is inspiring the establishment of literary and scientific clubs, awakening the ambition and inventive powers of our mechanics, encouraging a liberal and cultivating course of reading among our school students, and affording an immeasurable amount of pure and refining enjoyment throughout the community. we look upon it as one of the significant and powerful elements of a higher and general culture among the people, and prophetic of far greater and better fruits in the future. possibilities of public libraries in manufacturing communities "a love of reading as a keynote to broader culture," and how the librarian may guide reading by stimulating that love--a paper by mrs. sanders of the pawtucket public library (long lovingly known among librarians as "mawtucket of pawtucket"). minerva amanda sanders was born in providence, r.i., feb. , . about she became librarian of the subscription library in pawtucket, r.i., organized in , which preceded the present free library; and when about six months later it was turned over to the town, she continued in charge, serving until her death, march , . mrs. sanders did notable pioneer work in her profession, especially in the adoption of free access to books and in work with children. this paper was read at the thousand islands conference of the american library association in . sir john herschel, in an address to the working people of windsor and eton upon the occasion of opening a public library for their use in , said:-- "if i were to pray for a taste, which should stand me in stead under every variety of circumstances, and be a source of happiness and cheerfulness to me through life, and as a shield against its ills however things might go amiss and the world frown upon me, it would be a taste for reading. "give a man this taste and a means of gratifying it, and you can hardly fail of making a happy man, unless, indeed, you put into his hands a most perverse selection of books. "you place him in contact with the best society in every period of history; with the wisest, the wittiest, with the tenderest, the bravest, and the purest characters who have adorned humanity. "you make him a denizen of all nations, a contemporary of all ages. the world has been created for him. it is hardly possible but the character should take a higher and better tone from the constant habit of associating in thought with a class of thinkers, to say the least of it, above the average of humanity. "it is morally impossible but that the manners should take a tinge of good breeding and civilization from having constantly before one's eyes the way in which the best-bred and the best-informed men have talked and conducted themselves in their intercourse with each other. "there is a gentle but perfectly irresistible coercion in a habit of reading well directed, over the whole tenor of a man's character and conduct, which is not the less effectual because it is really the last thing he dreams of. "it cannot, in short, be better summed up than in these few words: it civilizes the conduct of men, and suffers them not to remain barbarians." recognizing this love of reading as the keynote to broader culture and a higher standard of morals, one by one, during the last half-century, libraries have been thrown open to the public that were before only accessible to the scholar (and often grudgingly even to him) and new libraries established, till, in every community, a free public library is as much a necessity to-day as its churches or its schools. even in the troublous days of the revolution our forefathers were awaking to this demand, for in there were "partially public libraries in the colonies"; in there were ; in the number had increased to over , ; while to-day we number between , and , public libraries, comprising a total of over , , volumes. the influence of a public library is contingent upon many circumstances--its community, its finances, and largely upon its management. possibilities which may be developed in one library, in another remain unnoticed; while something of equal importance is made of incalculable benefit to its own community. thus, though working on a general principle, each library independently works out the problem of the greatest good to the greatest number of its own patrons. happily, therefore, there is no cause for the rivalry and jealousies that disturb the harmony of so many fraternities. it is my pleasure and privilege to live in a manufacturing community; to watch the development of practical ideas; to follow the progress of mechanical improvement, and witness with pride their results, for the distinctive feature of pawtucket is the variety of its industries. we remember with pride our parentage and the honor due to it; but surely when samuel slater, after a weary time of toil and discouragement, perfected the first power machinery for cotton spinning in this country, and with a pardonable pride saw it in successful operation in the first bona fide cotton mill in the united states, which still stands in the centre of our city--(i speak with authority though i am fully aware that this is a case parallel to the "seven grecian cities striving for homer dead.")--when, as i said, this was accomplished in , there was no power of the imagination that could have foreseen the change from the little mill village on the blackstone river, with its few hundred inhabitants, to the present city of , , , of whom are engaged in industrial pursuits, its schools, its manufacturing establishments, embracing the greatest variety of industries. but pawtucket is only one of many thriving manufacturing communities. waltham, mass., the adoptive parent of the american watch co., which had in a population of but , , now numbers over , , with not less than , employés, , of whom alone are employed by the american watch co. lowell, mass., according to the census of , had a population of , , one third of whom were employed in its manufactories. manchester, n.h., with a population of , , employs , persons in its manufactories. and so i might go on enumerating special statistics, but these are simply representative communities. it is sufficient for my purpose to say that there are in the united states about , manufacturing establishments, employing nearly , , persons, at an average wage of $ . per working day. it is to this great class that we look for much of the prosperity of our country; for we find that the value of the product of the manufactures of the united states for the last ten years was $ , , , . it is also an important factor in our government, for the pride and principle of our country is "vox populi, vox dei." in these days when skilled labor is at a premium, when issues are constantly arising requiring the best legislative ability, and the demand for both is far greater than the supply, how are we to meet it? the reply comes from far and near, "educate the people." yes, educate the people! for they are very ready to be educated, many of them striving with a self-denial known only to themselves to give to their children the education that was denied them; our schools of to-day are showing good work from the sons and daughters of these parents, and its influence is blessing their homes. but many are denied that privilege, and cannot afford to spare their children's wages for even the three months covering the compulsory law of education. at the average wage a private library though small is unattainable; a newspaper may be a luxury indulged in. where, then, is the royal road to learning? we do not hesitate to say the free public library is that long-sought highway. then open wide the doors; let us stock our shelves with the best mechanical and scientific works; see that each craft is especially represented; supply the works on the leading questions of the day, also works pertaining to the civil government. in this we must not be partisan; these subjects must be considered in all their bearings, and in the broadest manner. the biographies of working men who have attained honor by their practical worth and perserverance either in mechanical, civil, or military service must have a prominent place; history and travel will receive their share of attention; while we will not forget that the working man and woman must have some amusement and recreation, and that "strong meat" is not always desirable; our fiction department must be supplied with all that is bright, fresh, inspiring, and helpful, but nothing that will create a craving for greater stimulant, or tend in the least degree to weaken the moral character; for the office of a public library is to develop to its fullest capacity the best powers of a community. the extent of such development must depend largely upon the manner of its use. believing that the first entrance into a library should bring with it that most delightful sensation, the companionship of books, we have at our own library, contrary to the custom which now obtains, thrown open our shelves to the public, with the title and name of author plainly printed on each volume so that literally "he who runs may read." an old man said to me a few days since: "i get little time for reading now, but i love to come in and look at the books; they bring to mind many a thing that i read long ago, and i carry it with me all the day through; 'tis an education just to be with them." you say, how can this be done without loss of books? ten years of experience has taught us that there is a point of honor in these working people in this regard, with which we must come in contact to fully appreciate; we have lost no more books with our open system than other libraries with their closed shelves. understanding fully the value of a catalogue, especially a closely classified one, to the scholar; to an uneducated man it is a labyrinth through which he gropes till in despair he either lays it aside or appeals for help. what is a catalogue to a man who asks for "a book on birds," and when we direct an attendant to give him a certain work on ornithology, quickly replies, "'tis not that i want; 'tis a book on birds;" or the girl who wants an "adequate book" to furbish up her society manners. not one in ten persons comes to a library with a definite object. roaming at will among the books, the sight of blaikie's "how to get strong" has been the first step toward the recovery of health otherwise lost; john b. gough's "darkness and daylight" has brought in the same way happiness to a wretched household; while andrew carnegie's "triumphant democracy" has awakened in more than one citizen an interest and pride in his native or adopted country heretofore unknown. there are the contents of the shelves to select from; no fear of any one leaving the library without a book; whereas, after presenting from the catalogue a list of books to be returned as "not in," he either "hasn't time," or "will make no further trouble," and passes out unsatisfied. i have already said that a possibility in one community may be impracticable in another; with us this open system has proved an unqualified success. a community of this class is not aggressive; on the contrary they are in a library rather shy. they should be met with prompt service, and the courtesy of the drawing-room. make them welcome as they enter the library; it is their own; help them to cultivate a personal pride in it; ascertain their tastes, (many of them will surprise us), and call their attention to such works as will gratify them, gradually leading them to higher standards when it is necessary. if they are seeking special subjects and need our help, let us exhaust our references. to "give to him that asketh" and "the lord loveth a cheerful giver" should be a librarian's watchword. what does it matter if half of the pleasures, and all of the ills of our patrons be poured into our ears? it only brings us nearer to them, and shows us how to be more helpful, and widens the influence of our work. 'tis a wise community that enables its trustees to give to their librarian sufficient clerical assistance to allow him to mingle with the people, to learn their habits and tastes, to direct their reading (especially of the young), and to assist them in their researches; for we all know that peculiarly inherent weakness of human nature, to seek for information from the highest source, and to be better satisfied, even though the same help may be rendered us by a subordinate. the reading-room in connection with a public library may be made an important agent in the education of a community, especially of its young men and children. after a day of hard work, what are the homes to which many of these young men return? the accommodations of a cheap boarding-house, which means a room generally occupied by two or more, with barely furniture for necessity to say nothing of comfort. what inducement has he to spend his evenings at home? where, then, will he go? into the street, to drift into the place offering the most attraction for the least money; alas! too often at the bitter cost of misery to himself and sorrow for his friends hereafter. this, then is our work, to make our reading-rooms so attractive that they will be drawn hither. have them well lighted, well heated and ventilated, supplied with the daily papers of our own and other cities, also the current magazines. we cannot afford to be niggardly in this work. let us supply our tables with illustrated mechanical and art works, also the best literature of the day. the more freedom that we can give, the better the results. the young man will pass in and out at his pleasure, spending an hour or two with whatever pleases him best, till the reading-room largely takes the place of home, and reading becomes a part of his daily existence, the beneficent effect of which he will carry through life. there are lying on our tables week after week by actual count papers, magazines, and books, from "baby days" to "the cathedrals of the world," free to the public. this has ceased to be an experiment, for during the ten years our losses have not amounted to $ ; and there are days when nearly if not quite persons sit at our tables. the greater possibilities, however, are with our children, the future parents and guardians of our commonwealth. what are we doing for them as public libraries, as educators? working hand in hand with the schools faithfully and well, as shown by the valuable and interesting reports published in the library journal, without which we would know as little of the library work outside our own as we would know of the outside world without our newspaper. long may it live! does our responsibility rest here? what of the multitude of waifs worse than homeless, without restraining or guiding influence, to be thrown into the community to swell the numbers of paupers and criminals, many of whom, yes, the majority of whom, have the same gentle instincts and latent ability as our own little ones so tenderly nurtured. we may say this is the work of charitable institutions and humane societies; not so; this is essentially our work. we call ourselves educators, and have the honor to be recognized as such; the work of a public library is to teach, to elevate, to ennoble, there is no limit to its possible influence. must we wait, then, until our children (for they are all ours as a community) are fourteen years of age or upwards before we begin to teach them the first principles of right living, of mental growth, of love to their neighbor? we maintain that we cannot begin too early, and that this is a part of library work from which we get the greatest percentage of reward. again i ask, what are we doing for these children, the future pride or dishonor of our communities? brockton, mass., has a reading-room to which children are admitted, and which they are encouraged to visit, so well patronized that it will soon double its seating capacity. waltham, mass., has taken a step in the right direction. the trustees of the public library have supplied two tables in their waiting room with wide awake and st. nicholas for the children. lowell, mass., admits children during the day, and supplies them with juvenile magazines. manchester, n.h., admits children to the reading-room; but unfortunately, from various causes, they are unable to offer the necessary attractions, and few visit it. newport, r.i., can only furnish st. nicholas for want of money, but children may come and go at their pleasure. olneyville, r.i., is offering every inducement that their means will allow to draw children to their reading-room; and to interest and instruct them seems to be the object of those in charge. willimantic, conn., admits children at the age of years. somerville, mass., supplies juvenile magazines, and has no limit to age. springfield, mass., also admits children at all ages. the boston public library, the parent of the public libraries of new england, true to its paternal instinct, begins to exert its influence over the children at the earliest years. there are doubtless others from whom we would be glad to hear, but i confess that, after visiting and inquiring among public libraries concerning this work, i became disheartened and ceased investigation, for the popular verdict seems to be "children and dogs not allowed." with our experience in this work with the children since the opening of our library in , and knowing the possibilities only waiting for development, i am emboldened to speak earnestly. let us gather the children in; give "milk for babies," in the illustrated books which they may understand though they cannot read; juvenile magazines and literature of a healthy nature to counteract the pernicious trash that is flooding our communities. it is only necessary to refer you to the specimens of flash literature which our boys have relinquished to us, with pale faces and trembling hands, after reading from the scrapbook here on exhibition the cuttings from the newspapers of the day showing the bad influence of the dime novel. it tells its own story far better than i can tell it, and the one in whose mind this great remedial agent originated is daily blest in seeing the good results of his experiment. help the children to begin early to understand that even they are of use in a community; awaken their pride and ambition in the right direction, and their future is assured. if there are those who doubt the practicability of this work, and, like hosea bigelow, would "give more for one live bobolink than a square mile of larks in printer's ink," come and see our "flower band," numbering children, gathered from the little girls and boys who frequent our library and reading-room, from five years of age to fourteen; from the little fellow who brings three wilted daisies, or a rose without a stem, to the dainty miss with a bouquet from the greenhouse. their badges signify a pledge to bring flowers once a week (if possible), and to respond to a call to distribute them in any place where they will add a bit of brightness to a shadowed household; also to seek out such homes and report them. several names have been already stricken from our list, of those who have died leaving a blessing for these little missionaries. the influence of this work upon the children and the community cannot be told. it must be seen to be appreciated. i have endeavored to show that upon the influence of the public library working in harmony with the spirit of the churches and the schools, with the single object of the highest welfare of the people, depends much of the prosperity, morality, and culture of our industrial communities--i might also say of our country; but when we consider that there are less than , public libraries in the united states, are we not tempted to say in the words of old, "what are they among so many?" but let us remember that the same spirit that gave power to feed the multitude from the "five loaves and fishes" still lives in the hearts of men to animate them to good works, as shown by messrs. ames, hail, pratt, carnegie, osterhout, newberry, and a host of others whose names are yet to be engraved as public benefactors on the tablets of public libraries. may god speed the work! presidential address of joseph n. larned the need of stronger forces in popular education--the failure of the press--the library's opportunity, as it appeared to a scholarly librarian of the so-called "old school" in . joseph nelson larned was born in chatham, ontario, may , , and was educated in the public schools of buffalo, n.y. he served on the editorial staff of the buffalo _express_ in - , was superintendent of education in buffalo in - and superintendent of the buffalo library from until it became the public library in , after which he devoted himself to literature until his death in . his best known work is his history for ready reference and topical reading. he was president of the a.l.a. in - . it was my misfortune to be absent from the meeting at which you did me the honor to elect me to this place, and i had no opportunity, either to give my advice against that action, or to thank you for the distinction with which it clothes me. the advice i would have given is now belated; but my thanks have lost no warmth by the delay, and i pray you to accept them with belief in their sincerity. at the same time i shall venture to draw from the circumstances a certain claim upon your generosity. if it happens to me to be tripped in some of these tangles of procedure which, in such meetings as this, await the stumbling feet of an untrained presiding officer, be good enough to remember the warning i would have given you if i had had the opportunity. we are gathered for the sixteenth meeting of the american library association, in the eighteenth year of its existence. our league of the libraries is young; its history is unpretentious; but it is the history of a movement of higher importance to the world that many others that have marched with trumpets, and drums. eighteen years ago, the conception of the library militant, of the library as a moving force in the world, of the librarian as a missionary of literature, was one which a few men only had grasped; but with which those few had already begun the doing of a revolutionary work. to-day such ideals are being realized in most corners of the american republic. the last generation, and the generations before the last, were satisfied with the school as an agent of popular education. in our time we have brought the library to the help of the school, and the world is just opening its eyes to perceive the enormous value of the reinforcement that is gained from this new power. and the discovery has come none too soon; for a desperate need of more and stronger forces in the work of popular education is pressing on us. if we reflect on the social conditions of the present day, and review a little the working of the ferments in civilized society during a few years last past, we shall marvel, i think, at the timeliness of the movement which brings the public library, just now, to the front of action among the instruments and agencies of popular education. it is our fortune, good or ill as we may regard it, to be unmistakably passing through one of the greater crisies of human history. in the last century, modern democracy got its political footing in the world. its birth was older, and it had been cradled in divers nursing places, swiss, dutch, english, and new english; but last century it stepped into political history as the actor of the leading part; as the sovereign of the future, mounting his throne. from the moment it came on the stage, all wise men knew that its need above every other need was education. they made haste, in our country, to build school-houses and to set the school-master at work; seeing plainly that all they might hope for and strive for in the future would depend on the intelligence that could be put into the brain of this omnipotent sovereign who had risen to rule the world. well, the schools and the school-masters served their purpose reasonably well for a reason. democracy was fairly equipped with a spelling-book and a quill-pen for the duties and responsibilities of a simple, slowly-moving time. the mass of its members, the every-day people of the farm and the shop, read the pamphlets and the weekly gazettes of their day, and were gently drawn, with unconfused minds, into one or the other of two straightly opposed political parties which sought their votes. if they lacked knowledge, there was a certain ingenuousness in their character which paid respect to the opinions of men who had more. if blundering in politics occurred, it was blundering leadership, for the most part, and more easily corrected than perversity in the ranks. so the reign of democracy was successful enough while society kept the simpler state. but that simpler state is gone. we who are beyond middle age may say that we have seen it disappear. we have witnessed a miraculous transformation of the earth and of the people who dwell on it. we have seen the passing of aladdin, who rubbed his magical electric lamp as he went calling afreets from the air to be the common servants of man. a change has been wrought within fifty years that is measureless, not only in itself, but in its effects on the human race. the people who whisper in each other's ears across a continent; who know at noon-time in nebraska what happened in the morning at samarcand; the people to whom a hundred leagues are neighborhood, and a thousand but easy distance; for whom there is little mystery left on the face of the earth, nor anything hidden from their eyes; these people of our day are not in the likeness of the men and women who ambled horseback or rode in coaches from town to town, and who were content with a weekly mail. the fitting and furniture of mind that would make a safe member of society and a good citizen out of the man of small horizons, who lived the narrower life of a generation or two ago, are perilously scant for these times. it is true that all the wonderful quickening of life which has occurred carries something of education in itself, and that men learn by living under the conditions of the present day; but the learning caught in that way is of the dangerous kind. it is the delusive knowledge of the surface of things; the deceitful lore which breeds mischievous beliefs and makes them fanatical. it goes but a little way, if at all, toward the saving of society, as against the unrest, the discontent, the desire, which torment such an age of revolution as ours. and the threatening fact is this: that ignorant opinions have acquired at the present day a capacity for harm enormously increased over that of the elder times. they share the magnified potency that is given to all things, good or ill, by the science of the modern man. its million tongues are lent to them for propagation; but that is a matter of small seriousness compared with the boundless ease of combination which it offers to them at the same time. it is in that appalling facility of alliance and organization, which present conditions have given to men and women of every class and character, for every kind of aim and purpose, that the greatest peril of society lies in our day. a peril, that is to say, so long as society has no assurance that the leagues and confederacies formed within its bosom will be prevailingly well instructed and intelligently controlled. as a serious danger this is something quite new. it has come upon us within recent years. i can remember a state of things in which it was difficult for a man in common life to join himself with other men, much beyond his own neighborhood, in any effectual way, excepting as he did it on the lines of an old political party or an older church. but, to-day, leagues, unions, federations, associations, orders, rings, form themselves among the restless, unstable elements of the time as clouds are formed in the atmosphere, and with kindred lightning flashes and mutterings of thunder. any boldly ignorant inventor of a new economical theory or a new political doctrine, or a new cornerstone for the fabric of society, can set on foot a movement from maine to california, between two equinoxes, if he handles his invention with dexterity. this is what invests popular ignorance with terrors which never appeared in it before, and it is this which has brought the real, responsible test of democracy, social and political, on our time and on us. democracy, in fact, has remained considerably, hitherto, an unworked theory of society, even in communities which have supposed themselves to be democratically constituted. it has remained so through want of conditions that would give a clear sound to the individual voice and free play to the individual will. those conditions are now arriving in the world, and the democratic régime is consequently perfecting itself, not politically alone, but economically, and in all the social relations of mankind. so it is not exaggeration to say that we have come to a situation in which society must fight for its life against popular ignorance. the old agencies of education are inadequate, when the best has been made of them. the common school does not go far enough, and cannot. its chief function is to prepare a soil in the young mind for the after seed-planting which will produce fruits of intelligence. unsupplemented, it is well-nigh barren of true educational results. the higher schools and colleges reach too small a number to count for much in a problem which concerns the teaching of the universal millions. what agency, then, is there, that will prepare the democracy of the present and the future for its tremendous responsibilities? some may say, the newspaper press: and i would rejoice if we could accept that reply. for the press is an educating power that might transform the civilization of the world as swiftly in mind and morals as steam and electricity have transformed its material aspects. there is nothing conceivable in the way of light and leading for mankind which a conscientious and cultivated newspaper press might not do within a single generation. but a press of that character and that effect seems possible only under circumstances of disinterestedness which are not likely to exist. the publication of a newspaper may sometimes be undertaken as a duty, but not often. as a rule it is a business, like any other, with the mercenary objects of business; and as a rule, too, the gain sought is more readily and more certainly found by pandering to popular ignorance than by striving against it. a few newspapers can secure a clientage which they please best by dignity, by cleanness, by sober truthfulness, and by thoughtful intelligence, in their columns; but the many are tempted always, not merely to stoop to low tastes and vulgar sentiments, but to cultivate them; because there is gravitation in the moral as well as the physical world, and culture in the downward way is easier than the upward. the vulgarizing of the news press has been a late and rapid process, nearly coincident in cause and event with the evolution of this modern democracy which it makes more problematical. we need not be very old to have seen the beginnings: the first skimming of the rich daily news of the world for the scum and froth of it; the first invention of that disgusting brew, from public sewers and private drains, with which the popular newspapers of the day feed morbid appetites. we can recall the very routes by which it was carried from city to city, and taken up by journal after journal, as they discovered a latent, un-developed taste for such ferments of literature in the communities around them. the taste was latent, potential; it did not exist as a fact; it was not conscious of itself; it made no demands. the newspapers deliberately sought it out, delved for it, brought it to the surface, fed it, stimulated it, made it what it is to-day, an appetite as diseased and as shamefully pandered to as the appetite for intoxicating drams. and, so far as i can perceive, this action and reaction between what is ignorant and vulgar in the public and what is mercenary and unscrupulous in the press will go on until popular education from other sources puts an end to it. for it is the saving fact that there are other sources; and foremost among them are the public libraries. if it has been our privilege to see, and for some in our circle to bear a part in, the beginnings of the active educational work of the libraries, i am persuaded that it is only the beginnings we have witnessed as yet. i am persuaded that the public library of the future will transcend our dreams in its penetrating influence. consider for a moment what it is, and what it offers to the energies of education which a desperate necessity is awakening and organizing in the world! it is a store, a reservoir, of the new knowledge of the latest day and the ripened wisdom of the long past. to carry into the memory and into the thought of all the people who surround it, in a town, even some little part of what it holds of instructed reasoning and instructed feeling, would be to civilize that community beyond the highest experience of civilization that mankind has yet attained to. there is nothing that stands equally beside it as a possible agent of common culture. it is the one fountain of intellectual life which cannot be exhausted; which need not be channeled for any fortunate few; which can be generously led to the filling of every cup, of every capacity, for old or young. there is little in it to tempt the befouling hand of the politician, and it offers no gain to the mercantile adventurer. for those who serve it on behalf of the public there are few allurments of money or fame. its vast powers for good are so little exposed to seduction or corruption that it seems to give promises for the future which are safer and surer than any others that society can build hopes upon. in this view, those who serve the public libraries have a great responsibility laid on them. they hold in their hands what would give to civilization an ideal refinement if it could be distributed and communicated to all. as we know very well, that is impossible. there is a part of mankind, in every community, which never will feel, never can be made to feel, the gentle attractiveness and influence of books. the fact is one not to be disputed or ignored. at the same time it is a fact to be treated practically as though it did not exist. it is our business to assume that the mission of good books, books of knowledge, books of thought, books of inspiration, books of right feeling, books of wholesome imagination, can be pushed to every hearth, and to every child and parent who sits by it. and it is our business to labor unsparingly toward the making of that assumption good, without reckoning any fraction of hopelessness in it. that is the business to which we are appointed in this world. let us be careful that we do not misconceive it in one most important particular! it is not the mission of _books_ that we are charged with, but the mission of _good books_. and there lies a delicate, difficult, very grave duty in that discrimination. to judge books with adequate knowledge and sufficient hospitality of mind; to exercise a just choice among them without offensive censorship; to defend his shelves against the endless siege of vulgar literature, and yet not waste his strength in the resistance--these are really the crucial demands made on every librarian. for the first condition of successful work is a good tool; and our tools are not _books_, but _good books_. these given, then follow those demands on us which we sometimes discuss as though they came first of all: the demands, that is, for a perfected apparatus in the working library, for a tireless energy in its motive forces, and for a large intelligence in the directing of them. not many years ago, our missionary undertakings from the library seemed to be bounded by its own walls. the improving, annotating, and popularizing of catalogues; the printing and distributing of bulletins and reference lists; the surrounding of readers and seekers in a library with willing help and competent suggestion; these labors seemed, only a few years ago, to include almost everything that the librarian most zealous as a missionary could do. but see what doors have been opening in the last few years, and what illimitable fields of labor now invite him! through one, the great army of the teachers in the common schools is coming into co-operation with him. through another, he steps into the movement of university extension, and finds in every one of its servants a true apostle of the library mission of good books. from a third, he spreads his beneficient snares about a city in branches and delivery stations; and by a fourth he sends "traveling libraries" to the ends of his state. the arena of our work is large enough already to make claims on every faculty and power we can bring to it; and yet our plainest duty is to enlarge it still. i think we may be sure that there are portals yet to open, agents yet to enlist, alliances yet to enter, conquests yet to make. and in the end--what? those of us who have faith in the future of democracy can only hold our faith fast by believing that the knowledge of the learned, the wisdom of the thoughtful, the conscience of the upright, will some day be common enough to prevail, always, over every factious folly and every mischievous movement that evil minds of ignorance can set astir. when that blessed time of victory shall have come, there will be many to share the glory of it; but none among them will rank rightly before those who have led and inspired the work of the public libraries. the library as an inspirational force what a librarian may do to direct the attention of his readers to the really great writers and thinkers--a plea for original work and for innovation in the library--a note frequently heard in , but new in when mr. foss, librarian and popular poet, sounded it in _public libraries_ for march. sam walter foss was born in canadia, n.h., june , , graduated at brown university in and served on the editorial staff of various papers. in he left that of the _boston globe_ and from to his death, feb. , , he was librarian of the somerville, mass., public library. he published several volumes of popular verse. a library has no especial reason for self-felicitation simply because it distributes a large number of books. in fact, it is possible for it to give out a very large number of books and do more harm than good. the test question to ask is: is it grinding out a product of enlightened and symmetrical men and women? is it transforming the community into intellectual, thoughtful, better equipped, more roundly developed citizens? is it making life any ampler, is it making men any manlier, is it making the world any better? if there is any library that cannot answer these questions affirmatively, its librarians are doddering their lives away in useless activity, and receiving a salary without rendering any real service in return. the activities of such a library are useless contortions, and the taxpayers have a right to protest its further existence. what can a librarian do to make his library an inspirational force? in the first place he must be as accessible as a turnpike road. it seems to me that he can do more good by talking to people than in any other way. to do this, of course, it is a prerequisite that he should know something. i have no faith in the miserable heresy that a librarian who reads is lost. a librarian who does not read would better not be found in the first place. a librarian who does not read is simply a stable keeper for books. he may see to it that they are well blanketed, groomed, and put in the proper stalls, and that the various implements about his stable are kept in good order; but such a librarian will never be mistaken for an intellectual giant in his community. let him know the books he handles so that he can talk with schoolgirls about sophie may and virginia townsend, and with boys about henty and brooks and knox and butterworth. let him be able to discuss herbert spencer and david harum with equal zest, and know something about kant and a good deal about kipling, and venerate marcus aurelius, and not despise mark twain. his mind should be a live coal in its love for books, and then nestle up to other minds and let them get ignited also. but it may be said that a librarian hasn't the time for such extensive reading. did you ever know a boy who couldn't find time to play? one always finds time to do the thing he loves to do; and a man who has a genuine love for reading will find time for it even in a library. one of the greatest longings that any soul can have is a longing for some one to talk with who is interested in identical subjects. a librarian, through personal intercourse, can become a powerfully educative influence in his community, and start intellectual impulses that will not subside during his lifetime, but go on widening and blessing indefinitely. let him become the father confessor of minds in his town or city; the priest of the intellect, to whom all men shall bring all their mental problems, all their dubious enigmas of the brain. he will not be able to solve all their puzzles or untie all their knots; but perhaps he will be able to hold the candle for a little while, while they struggle with the knots themselves. let him always hold the candle, and talk pleasantly while he is holding it. this matter of being pleasant in a library is really the first and great commandment. there should be an air of welcome inside that is pleasanter than the sunshine outdoors. the deathlike stillness and tomblike hush, the sepulchral gloom, the graveyard silence that sometimes prevails in libraries, should not be encouraged. make people feel at home. the library here can learn a good lesson from the barroom. there are no signs up in a barroom intimating that loud talking is not allowed, nobody walks on tiptoes, everybody is welcomed heartily and encouraged to stay, and men find a sympathetic friendliness there who find it nowhere else. john wesley said we should not allow the devil to monopolize all the good tunes. the library should not allow the barroom to monopolize all the spirit of human friendliness and good cheer. i am sincerely glad that the old type of librarian is passing out--a man so dignified that children were afraid of him, whose face was so long that his chin dragged on the floor. we want human men with blood in them in a library; men who like men and love children; men who can make themselves agreeable to men, women, children, and dogs. let us make life as pleasant in a library as a mother's twilight hour with her children, and we shall raise up great families for the afterdays, who shall look back upon us as their intellectual parents, and rise up after we are gone and call our memories blessed. there are three classes of books--books that give pleasure, books that give information, and books that give inspiration. the first class has its thousands of readers, the second its hundreds, and the third its tens. it is a good thing to read books for pleasure--it is the most innocent kind of drunkenness i know about; but that reading books merely for pleasure may develop into a kind of intellectual dissipation is something that we know from experience; for who is there of us who has not sinned? but reading books merely for pleasure is something we should outgrow in childhood, just as we do stilts and marbles and the game of tag. it is a better thing to read books for information. it is one of the healthiest joys of the normal mind to be forever learning something; forever learning and forever coming to the knowledge of the truth. it is the best thing, however, to read books for inspiration. and this is a class of readers into which many of the frequenters of the public libraries never graduate. ah! the pity of it! books that lift us out of ourselves and the fogs and fumes and dust of our little treadmill routines into the ampler ether of loftier altitudes--into the grandeurs of life! emerson and shakespeare and wordsworth and whitman--do men love such as these and remain little men? no, this is the meat from which giants are grown; here is the food for souls. now it seems to me it is the duty of the good librarian, one who believes in the august nature of his profession, to lead up his readers by all devices within his power, by imperceptible gradations, through the books that please and the books that inform, to the books that inspire. and the librarian who drops a boy before he learns to love john milton has only brought him half his journey, and has dropped him before he has reached the destination to which his fare was paid. why do not people read the best books? one reason is they never see them. it is a librarian's business to keep them in sight, his next business is to read them himself, and his next business is to talk about them whenever he can get an audience of fifty, or five, or one; to write about them in his monthly bulletins and let every man know he can get them, and welcome, by stretching out his hand. we all know how tom sawyer got his fence painted. he made all the boys in his neighborhood believe that fence painting was great fun. the librarian should make all the boys in his neighborhood believe that reading the best books is genuine pleasure. they can be brought to an appreciation of this pleasure as one is brought to the height of a tableland of a great continent, by gradations so gradual that they seem to be walking on a flat surface. i believe that the great destiny of the public library is as yet but faintly foreseen. the plain truth is that the library has not tried yet to do its best. it has opened it doors and let people come in, if they so desire, or if they happen to be passing that way. no successful auctioneer does business according to any such method. on the contrary he lifts up his voice to all it may concern, and to all that do not care that there are about to be great bargains at his place. the business man who opens his store and then forever holds his peace has his solitude very infrequently interrupted by customers. the church that has no missionary spirit is as tepid as the old church of laodicea. the schoolmaster whose pupils absent themselves too frequently collects his daily audience, even if he has to call in the services of the truant officer. all this is written with something of the same wisdom. i do not believe it should always wait for people to come to it; it should go to the people. every family in every city or town where there is a library should be offered a library card, or as many cards as it has adult members. sometimes there is so much red tape prerequisite to obtaining a library card that a bashful man does not dare to make the attempt. let us not shut the people off from the books that they have paid for by a barbed wire fence of red tape. let every man or woman, yes, or child, too, that is old enough, be personally canvassed and offered a library card. then sell him a catalog at cost price, or better still, at less than cost, and tell him how to use it. ah, but our trustees will say, this will cost something. yes, it will cost something, but it will be a tremendously profitable investment, and pay immense dividends later on in a more intelligent citizenship and wiser and happier men. from all this i wish it might be inferred that no librarian can be too great for his position. it is not easy for him to have too much knowledge, too much tact, too much consecration to his work, too exalted an estimate of his possibilities. he should not have a mind with a flange on it, so that it forever runs on the small rail along the dusty roadbeds of routine. let him originate, let him innovate, let him blaze his path with the pioneers--let him think. the use of the public library part of an address by president angell of the university of michigan--educator, diplomat and statesman--at the dedication of the ryerson library building in grand rapids, mich., oct. , . to advise a reader, pres. angell thinks, one must know something of his personal aptitudes. general advice about "good reading" is seldom of great service. a modern note by a great man. james burrill angell was born in scituate, r.i., jan. , , graduated at brown university, and after studying abroad, became eminent as an educator, holding first a professorship in his alma mater and then serving successively as president of the universities of vermont and michigan. he was u.s. minister to china in - and served on important international commissions. his works on international law and on education are standard. he died on april , . now that your benefactor has so nobly done his part, it remains for the city to see that the library is maintained and managed in an effective manner. it would not only be an act of ingratitude, but it would be a mockery, if in such an edifice as this we should not find a good and growing and well administered library. there is no more important commission in your city than the commission charged with the care of your library. let us hope that they will always be chosen with special regard to their fitness for their official duty and without regard to their party affiliations. especially is wisdom needed in the selection of your books. it is not so difficult to choose books for the cultivated and scholarly readers. but in a city library you must provide for all your population. particular care should be had to procure books attractive and useful to your artisans and mechanics and common laborers. they should be led to feel that this is the place where they can most profitably spend a spare hour and can find something to bring new brightness into their monotonous lives. the efforts which you have already initiated to make the library serviceable to the pupils in your schools must now be redoubled. the teachers and the library authorities must always contrive to cooperate heartily. the multiplication of libraries in this country has already elevated the work of the librarian to the dignity of a distinct profession. and no profession promises to be more useful. in addition to the proper organization and care of the library, the influence which a competent librarian can wield in his guidance of the reading and studies of the young is seldom outweighed by that of the teacher or the preacher. in no manner can a generous appropriation of funds for the support of a library be more wisely expended than in securing a competent librarian. judging by my own experience and by my observation of others, i doubt whether the guide books which have been written to tell one what works to read have been of great service. the simple reason why they are not very helpful is that to advise one what to read, you should know something of his aptitudes and taste and something of his plans of life. general advice is a shot in the air. it may hit nothing. but a competent person may give helpful counsels to the young concerning useful methods of reading whatever one does read, and may indeed specify what are some of the best books on certain topics. a good librarian, if leisure enough is left him, may attract and help willing auditors by occasional lectures or informal talks on how to read in a library. but personal suggestions, to meet particular needs, are the most fruitful of good. and just here the school teachers, if competent to advise, can be of the utmost service. in no way can the library be made so valuable as by the hearty and systematic co-operation of the librarian and the teachers. it would be very useful if they could from time to time meet to confer upon the best methods of securing harmonious action. for it is the generation now coming on to the stage who are chiefly to profit by the use of this library. it is through them that the city is to receive its chief benefit. to incite them to read, to train them to right habits of reading, to inspire them with high ideals of what one should seek and love in reading, should be the aspiration of parents and teachers, if this library is to yield its largest harvest of good. like all good things, this library may to some persons bring no good; it may even be made an instrument of harm. it may bring no good, because it may be utterly neglected. no doubt there are many families who have never drawn a book from its shelves. it may bring no good, it may even cause intellectual, not to say moral injury, if it is misused. it is possible to choose from any great library such passages from works and to peruse them in such a spirit as to gratify and stimulate prurient desires, or if one does not descend to so unworthy and shameful an act, one may read in such a manner as to be guilty of intellectual dissipation. what we may call the desultory readers are exposed to this danger. they pick up whatever book or magazine comes first to hand, provided they are sure that it makes no tax upon their mental powers. they spend their time dawdling over a chapter of this book, then over a chapter of that, as men of the town now join this gay companion for an hour and then another for the next hour for frivolous talk and profitless gossip, and so wander aimless through the day without any fruitage to show for their time. they lose the power, if they ever had it, of consecutive study and thought and discourse on any theme whatever. i do not mean to intimate that we should never come to this library to read for pleasure and entertainment. one of the great and proper uses of books is to refresh and amuse us in our hours of weariness and depression. like the society of our choicest friends, they may wisely be sought for the sole purpose of diverting our minds from the flood of cares and troubles which come in upon all of us. the library may well be "the world's sweet inn from care and wearisome turmoil." or in our happy and merry moods we may seek congenial company in the creations of cervantes and moliere and shakespeare and dickens and mark twain. reading for pastime is a commendable occupation, if wisely followed. lowell in his paradoxical style tells us that what dr. johnson called browsing in a library is the only way in which time can be profitably wasted. but to browse profitably one should have an appetite only for what has some merit. i have known lads born with a literary instinct as unerring as that of the bee for finding honey, to have the free run of a large library and come out with a wonderful range of good learning. such instances show the unwisdom of having the same rules to guide every one in his reading. in such cases as those just cited, the example and taste of the parents often determine the success of the experiment. the books they talk about fondly at table and quote from freely and appositely are likely to arrest the attention of the child. therefore we may say that the home as truly as the school may largely determine what advantage shall be gained in this library. parents who for their children's sake are careful what guests they admit to their house and what companionships they counsel the children to form may well consider what reading comes under their roof and what literary tastes they encourage in their household. in these days when reviews and magazines and school histories of literature abound, there seems ground for one caution to youthful readers. it is, not to be content with reading about great books and great men, but to study the works themselves of great men. many of the outlines of english literature, for example, which pupils in school are required to study, contain dates and names and brief descriptions of masterpieces, and from the nature of the case can contain little else. but cramming the memory with these is not learning the literature. reading, mastering, and learning to appreciate and love the great works of a great author is better than to learn the dry facts in the lives of a score of authors. so our magazines and reviews treat us to criticism sometimes wise, sometimes unwise, of many authors. but all these are of little value until the works themselves of the authors have been studied. with the works the biographies of the authors should be read in order to appreciate the conditions under which the works were produced. but far better is it to gain a thorough acquaintance with one great writer's life and works than to learn a few fragmentary facts at second hand about the lives and writings of many. one of the most difficult questions to settle in these days in the selection of books for a library or in directing the reading of the young is, how large shall be the proportion of fiction in a library or in the reading of any one. just now we are flooded with fiction, stretching from the short story of the magazine to the two-volume novel. i observe that nearly two-thirds of the volumes drawn from this library in - are classed under the two heads of juvenile fiction and fiction. and i suppose the experience of other popular libraries is similar to yours. this shows at least that there is a great craving for fiction. that craving a library like this must to a fair degree strive to meet. nor need we regret that there is a strong desire for sterling works of fiction. they stimulate and nourish the imagination. they give us vivid pictures of life. they portray for us the working of human passions. they give a reality to history. sometimes they cultivate a taste for reading in those who would otherwise be inclined to read little, and so lead them to other branches of literature. but, on the other hand, i think it must be confessed that a great deal of the fiction which is deluging the market is the veriest trash, or worse than trash. much of it is positively bad in its influence. it awakens morbid passions. it deals in most exaggerated representations of life. it is vicious in style. it is a most delicate task for the authorities of a library like this to draw the line between the works of fiction which should be and those which should not be found on its shelves. as to the individual reader, the best we can do is to elevate his taste as rapidly as we can by placing in his hands fiction attractive at once in its matter and in its style. we must hope that with the cultivation of taste to which our best schools aspire, we can rear a generation which will prefer the best things in literature to the inferior. that is the reason why the teachers of languages and literature in our schools should be not mere linguists, but persons of refined literary taste, who will imbue their pupils with a love for the truest and highest in every literature which they can read. i would like to commend to my young friends who desire to profit by the use of this library the habit of reading with some system and of making brief notes upon the contents of the books they read. if, for instance, you are studying the history of some period, ascertain what works you need to study and finish such parts of them as concern your theme. do not feel obliged to read the whole of a large treatise, but select such chapters as touch on the subject in hand, and omit the rest for the time. young students often get swamped and lose their way in serbonian bogs of learning, when they need to explore only a simple and plain pathway to a specific destination. have a purpose and a plan and adhere to it in spite of alluring temptations to turn aside into attractive fields that are remote from your subject. if in a note book you will on finishing a work jot down the points of importance in the volume and the references to the page or chapter, you will frequently find it of the greatest service to run over these notes and refresh your memory. if you are disposed to add some words of comment or criticism on the book, that practice also will make you a more attractive reader, and will make an interesting record for you to consult. community center service this is the newest phase of library work and the most convincing evidence of its socialization. there is little in print about its early stages; its classics are still in the making. we quote only three papers here. the library as a social centre the opening address at the red wing meeting of the minnesota library association, oct. , , by miss countryman, librarian of the minneapolis public library. the "public," miss countryman thinks, "is no indefinite, intangible somebody; it is just 'we'"--the statement of library socialization in a nutshell. gratia alta countryman was born at hastings, minn., in november, , and graduated, with the b.s. degree, at the university of minnesota in . in that same year she entered the service of the minneapolis public library, and she was assistant librarian at the resignation of dr. james k. hosmer in , succeeding him as librarian. during these latter days of enormous library activity, we have been conscientiously examining the functions of a library; we have been trying all sorts of methods to popularize it, to advertise it. we have asked for and listened to the criticism of outsiders, and by the light thrown upon it through this prism have separated our work into its elemental parts and seen its various hues. we used to erect a library as an altar to the gods of learning; now, to use mr. dana's words, we erect it as an altar to the "gods of good fellowship, joy and learning." so you see, our ideals are constantly rising, our horizons ever broadening, and our work continually increasing, both in extent and in depth. we might well have considered our hands fairly full to have dealt alone with this god of learning, but we find ourselves embracing the opportunity for additional service to the gods of good fellowship and joy. it might do us good to consider tonight what we are doing for the cause of learning, what the library has done to increase serious reading and study, and how it may further the educational work of the world. this question is ever present with us, and can stand any amount of discussion. but it is the gods of good fellowship and joy that we are discussing tonight, the library not as a center of learning but as a social center. we are dealing with a small crowd of people whom we call "our public." who are the public? why, you and i, and my family, and others just like us. they want just the same things that we do, and to be accommodated in just the same way that we do. the public is no indefinite, intangible somebody, it is just "we." we talk about the people being hungry for books and information. have you found it so? then why do we have free libraries and free schools? people are willing to sacrifice for something that they are very hungry for. do you hunger and thirst to read homer and shakespeare, and emerson and arnold, and good histories and literature? do you, when you are tired after a day's work, take home a scientific work or a treatise on civics? no, you are just a little sample of the public, and you think you need to read a pleasant, entertaining, restful book. you aren't hungry for information, and, as a matter of fact, the person who delights in study and has a fine taste for the best in literature has one of the "gifts extremely rare." most of us are practical, everyday, working people, with a very limited time for reading, and this public whom we serve is just like us. a few of them will love to read the best, many of them will want information at intervals, a large proportion want recreative reading, and the vast majority use the library not at all. now the former, who want and love the library, you need not be troubled about. they will naturally come to the library, and you will find pleasure in serving them. but these latter classes who either come for pleasure or come not at all must be drawn and held through the social instincts, and through their desire for pleasure. every human being must have social life. we seek company and companionship with whom we can find mutual pleasure. we may find it in friendly gatherings, social clubs, or music or conversation or games, but social pleasure of some sort is sought by all of us, great and small, in town and country alike. in the city there is usually plenty of opportunity--i might almost say that there is a surfeit--and one must pick and choose. but in the towns and villages it is often different; good amusement and profitable pleasures are not always to be had, and being social beings, the social craving is satisfied with whatever means may be at hand. young people especially can not isolate themselves, or live unto themselves. just where is the library going to stand in this matter? is there anything which we can do to satisfy these natural desires and to enter more vitally into the lives of the people? this is the question to take home and think about. as individuals, we are coming to have an enormous interest in other human lives, there is a sense of social obligation upon us; we have come to know that personal righteousness is not all that is required of us, but that we must help to realize the social righteousness. the library has the duty of being all things to all men. it is no longer simply a repository of books, it is exactly what mr. carnegie calls it, the cradle of democracy, filled with the democratic spirit, and it endeavors, as far as circumstances permit, to minister to all the needs of the community in which it dwells. the library stands for progress, the progress of its town, and this does not mean increasing the material prosperity of the people, though that may follow, but it chiefly means the raising of the moral, social and intellectual standards of all its people, and helping men and women to be more effective in every way. the library does not exist for one side only of the life of the people, but for every side, and if it fails to provide for those who seek amusement, it shirks a duty and renounces a privilege. the sooner we unveil the "gods of joy and good fellowship" in our library the better; the sooner we make the library a centre for all the activities among us that make for social efficiency the better. of course there are natural limitations to the kind of work which a library can do, and in helping to further the spirit of good fellowship and to furnish pleasure, we must keep within such limits as are consistent with the spirit of a library. the library can appeal to people in other ways than by books alone, as we shall consider later, yet as books are our chief tools, it is natural to think first of giving pleasure by that method. one of our chiefest ways of late years has been through the children's room. the children get book instruction and supplementary reading and enforced book interests, all of which are needed for their development, in the schoolroom. but in the children's room at the library furnished especially for them, with low tables, picture books and low shelves containing fairy stories and all their favorite authors, they settle down to satisfy their own especial individual tastes. then there is the story hour, of which we shall hear to-morrow. many of the children have never learned the pleasure of reading. they do not belong to cultured homes and the presence of books. many of them never heard a mother goose jingle or a nonsense verse, and a book is an unlearned delight. but what child, even of this kind, does not love to hear stories, and listening breathlessly, would not come again and again. somehow it seems as if we could not discharge our social obligation until we had gone into the by-ways and hedges and gathered in these scraps of society, and taught them the pleasures of a book. the children, once acquainted with the library, will always count it among their friends, and it will forever remain a social centre to them. we grown ups are not so different from the children; we, too, like a story, and we, too, want to read the things that cheer and entertain us. we agreed a moment ago that we, as well as our public, were liable to leave the serious books for the infrequent study hour and to spend our leisure evenings with the fascinating novel. well, i do not know of any better way to give amusement and pleasure than to furnish the people with the books they want, in which they can be interested and absorbed. the "cares that infest the day" will fold their wings better under the spell of a good story than any other way. i think we need not be frightened when libraries are accused of being only fiction distributors, for it is a library's function to amuse as well as to instruct, and if people will seek amusement through the library, so much the better for the people. it is natural that the people should feel a curiosity about the newest book and want to read what other people are talking about. this adds also to pleasant social intercourse, and gives people a common subject of conversation. fiction is bound to be more and more an interpretation of life by which we see the motives and the currents in other souls. we need not be afraid to supply good, wholesome fiction and to use it in establishing social relations with our people, so that the adults as well as the children shall feel a real pleasure in coming to the library. many of our libraries are now housed in beautiful buildings, in which case, the building as well as the books becomes a means of social influence. if there is need of a home for social intercourse and amusement, the library may legitimately attempt to furnish such a home within its walls. if there are social or study clubs, organized labor guilds or missionary societies, or any other organizations, encourage them to meet at the library, find out what they need, let them find out that the library is their cooperative partner. and so with the schools and industries, of which i have not time to speak. the whole building at all times should be managed in the broadest spirit of hospitality; the atmosphere should be as gracious, kindly and sympathetic as one's own home. then do away with all unnecessary restrictions, take down all the bars, and try to put face to face our friends the books and our friends the people. introduce them cordially, then stand aside and let them make each other's blessed acquaintance. some have tried smoking rooms, had boy's club rooms and games, and many have tried simply to make the rooms homelike and cheery, and all of their experience is valuable to us. it may be that no one of the plans used by other libraries may fit your case, for it is not necessarily good for you because some one else has used it successfully. but with any plan do not expect immediate results, for almost everything that succeeds permanently has a slow, gradual development; that which flashes up quickly usually dies down suddenly. be willing to work out a good plan if you have one, and be willing to study your people and all of their interests before you shape your plans. the library and the social centre by a great expert in library field-work as done by one of our most active library commissions. miss lutie e. stearns, of whom a sketch will be found in vol. i. of this series, is now a lecturer at large, but at the writing of this paper, which is reprinted from _the wisconsin library bulletin_ for may, , she was in the service of the library commission of that state. it is coming to be an axiom in library economy that "the worth of a book is in its use." for this reason, librarians everywhere are devoting themselves to what is called "library extension" through the building of branches, and the establishment of deposit stations in schools, factories, stores, club-houses, police stations, fire-engine houses, etc. experience has shown that where no efforts are made along the line of library extension only per cent. or at the most per cent. of the people are reached in any given community. if we wish to have wholesome literature become "the burden of the common thought" we must place good books within easy reach of all. libraries should be quick to realize that the social centre offers a most excellent opportunity to reach those that might not otherwise take the time to avail themselves of library privileges. the free public library should therefore be made an important part of social centre work through active and sympathetic cooperation. where libraries can afford proper facilities, there is no reason why the library building should not serve as the social centre for the community, as this institution differs from the schoolhouse, in cities where parochial schools exist, in being neutral on the religious question and therefore acceptable to all denominations. wherever the social centre may be, whether in library building or schoolhouse, strong emphasis should be placed on the use of books. a special librarian, of peculiar fitness, should be appointed either by the library or the social centre authorities. this man or woman should be earnestly altruistic in his or her desire to fit the right book to the right person at the right time. it may be that this will mean the issuance of a primer in english to an adult slav who has recently arrived in this country, or it may be the loan of a novel more wholesome in tone though just as sentimental as one by bertha m. clay, the author requested. again, the leader of the boy gang may be persuaded to give up the reading of the lurid "nickel library" in favor of custer and grinnell's truthful indian experiences. such selection involves a wide range of books in the social centre library, from well-bound and attractive editions of the classics down to the latest, most wholesome novel. the boys that frequent the gymnasium may be won by barbour's latest football story. the raffia worker should find interest in priestman's handicrafts. an up-to-date and authoritative encyclopedia, a good dictionary, a world almanac, and other popular reference books should be supplied and instruction given in their use. debating material should be sought and every inducement offered for individual research. those who cannot afford to take correspondence courses in the various trades and crafts should find material in the social centre library for self-education. james russell lowell has said that the best part of every man's education is that which he gives himself, and it is for this that the library at the social centre should furnish the opportunity and the means. again, there should be books of a cheerful sort for tired workers so that, as in william morris's earthly paradise, they may "forget six counties overhung with smoke, forget the snorting steam and piston stroke." wholesome novels should be found in plenty for both men and women, together with books that inspire with courage for life's daily round, such as hugh black's work, gannett's blessed be drudgery, hyde's art of optimism, emerson's character and heroism, and wagner's courage. each book in the library's collection should serve one or all three purposes--to inform, to inspire, or to refresh. the rules for the issuance of books should be made as simple as possible. borrowers should not be restricted to one book at a time if more can be used; that is, a novel should be loaned with a book for study. no guarantee should be required except the borrower's signature. a reading room should be made an attractive feature in connection with the issuance of books. the library and reading room should be well lighted and heated, and order and quiet should be insisted upon. the reading table should be supplied with an abundance of the best of the popular magazines. the technical world, popular mechanics, amateur work, and the scientific american, will be found to be strong magnets for attracting the interest of the boys and young men. the world's work, collier's weekly, and the american magazine, are the three great exponents of optimism in our national life which should find a place on the reading room tables, as should mcclure's, everybody's, hampton's, scribner's, harper's, century, and the atlantic. in the small towns the local paper and one or two of the near-by metropolitan dailies should also be taken. attractive libraries and reading rooms make less attractive the seductions of other places. george eliot said long ago, "important as it is to direct the industries of men, it is not so important as to wisely direct their leisure." it is indeed true, as a critic of our national life has said, that "the use of a nation's leisure is the test of its civilization." to win people to a love of good literature, to bring back the old days of reading and meditation, are two of the great problems that confront the present-day librarian. in the words of one earnest library worker, "the modern library movement is a movement to increase by every possible means the accessibility of books, to stimulate their reading and to create a demand for the best. its motive is helpfulness; its scope, instruction and recreation; its purpose, the enlightenment of all; its aspiration, still greater usefulness." where neighbors meet extracts from a special report on the social work of the st. louis public library made in by margery quigley, then librarian of its divoll branch. margery closey quigley was born in los angeles, cal., sept. , , and graduated from vassar college. she entered the service of the st. louis public library in february, , studied at the new york state library school in - , and in august, , became librarian of the free library in endicott, n.y. the experience of the st. louis public library goes to prove that no matter what the neighborhood may be, and however well-supplied it already is with meeting places, there is always room for the library auditorium and club rooms without subtracting in any way from the business of the other agencies. in fact, they seem to increase each other's use. of our six branch buildings, one is located in the heart of the older ghetto, one in carondelet, two in purely residential neighborhoods, one at the soulard civic center, where nine or ten european languages are represented, and the sixth in the older german section of the north side, near the river. about each branch is the full quota of meeting places required by any given neighborhood--moving-picture houses, community halls to let for dances and entertainments, churches, saloons, turnvereins, settlements, club houses, running the gamut from "lid clubs" to the artists' guild, masonic temples and public schools, which are now managed on the community-center plan. several of the branches have all these within a radius of five or six blocks, and still they must show the "standing-room-only" sign to many of the clubs that apply for the use of the library halls. the remarkable feature of this wider use of the library is that in spite of the increase of meetings, there has been no spirit of competition. between the community halls and the library, for example, there has been no rivalry for statistics of use. cabanne branch, in the heart of perfectly equipped institutions which foster all sorts of clubs, shows more than meetings a month during the last nine months, while our report of said of this branch: "there has been an average of nearly six meetings a month in the building." neighborhood clubs meet in the halls which best suit their purposes, and no agency seeks to move any one of them to a different roof. in the crunden branch neighborhood, the socialists meet in a synagogue and a yiddish church meets in the library. the city recreation department reports that the library's work and the department's community work at the patrick henry school and on the playgrounds, far from duplicating one another are supplementary. in giving the free use of its meeting-rooms to any reputable group of persons, the st. louis public library acts upon two principles which it cannot emphasize strongly enough. they are the same on which it buys its books; first, that the library stands for no propaganda but seeks to house all opinions, and second, that it makes no obvious attempt to reform or "uplift." although the books it buys must meet a certain standard in style and content, the day is past when library assistants seek to force down readers' throats books which "will be good" for them. in the same way, the meeting which it shelters must meet the standards of the community; but the library has ceased to initiate or direct clubs and meetings, cultural or otherwise. community work can be successful only when it embodies the spontaneous expression of the neighborhood's own demand, whether it is from children, or women, or men. a chain of suffrage groups was successful, if numbers were an indication, in one neighborhood and a failure in another--from the same cause. in a neighborhood of illiterate foreign women with large families, one suffragist lecturer on the common law of england was greeted by an audience consisting of one deaf old lady and fifty jewish children under twelve, who had heard that candy was to be given away. many of the meetings that wither and die are conceived in the finest spirit of service. if they aim to interest the whole neighborhood, irrespective of cliques and prejudices, they almost always fail--if, as we americans are supposed to do, we figure failure and success in terms of quantity. utopian schemes cannot long survive to-day, housed or not in the scholarly and friendly surroundings of the library. a united ukraine cannot absorb the attention of its supporters half as continuously as the possibility of a new job in ford's factory, and a "decent dancing club" cannot always endure in the face of profits to be made from a river excursion. probably of all municipal institutions, the library, while maintaining its dignified and quiet atmosphere, may become the least formal and most neighborly. it is a library truism that a librarian can tell from repeated experiences just when a borrower is calling at the library to announce her engagement or to proclaim that his new job has been secured. countless other bits of everyday news are exchanged over the desk with real profit to the library and to the visitor. we feel in st. louis that the so-called wider use of the plant is only a tangible expression of this same friendly relationship, justified on the one hand by its economy and on the other, and to a far larger extent, by its contribution to the community's legitimate social life. very fortunately for the tax-payer, and for the average reader, the public library does not look upon its branches as intellectual clinics for the poor. like the public schools, its problem is to serve "all the children of all the people," and consequently in localities other than those where foreigners live, the same sort of branch building is erected, with an auditorium open under the same regulations and used to meet the needs of the particular neighborhood. the so-called "middle class" has as fair a chance and as "good a time" in the library auditoriums as the foreign poor. when there are public meetings at the carondelet library, speakers from other parts of the city invariably come late. they begin their addresses with long apologies, saying that they have never been in the neighborhood before, and did not know where to find the library. they always seem amazed at the size and beauty of the building, and comment particularly on the pleasant club-rooms. one west end woman could not say enough in praise of everything, repeating continually, "and all this down here!" practically this same comment is made again and again in the main library, and in the other branches throughout the city. "all this down here," is equally true of seven auditoriums, each with a seating capacity of , and of club rooms and offices to the number of fifteen. in these halls were held, during the past year, practically as large a number of meetings as our equipment will permit. omitting the meetings at crunden and soulard, practically all are held by the average sort of person--average financially, socially and intellectually. the very absence of the feeling that the club must make money, or must at least pay expenses, probably accounts for the long list of small clubs and board meetings which could almost as easily meet in the homes of members. there are those who think that no one uses the auditoriums except very wealthy club-women, who set up christmas trees for the poor. there is no more truth in this than there would be in saying that all the inhabitants of st. louis are either immigrants or millionaires. in the total number of meetings at the library, what ida tarbell has termed "the shirtwaist crowd," is far in the majority. at practically every branch, the simon-pure woman's clubs form at least fifteen per cent. of all the meetings. at the cabanne branch, about fifty per cent. are made up of women. the barr branch mothers' circle, the queen hedwig polish women, and the carondelet women's club are three names out of a list running almost to a hundred. the masculine of "shirtwaist crowd" is "shirtsleeves crowd"; and this is equally well represented upon the schedules of all the branches. miss griggs, of the barr branch, writes: "we seem now to have a number of new meetings that are held for discussion--but not many for study--casual, one-meeting-only affairs. for instance, the royal arcanum met to discuss what could be done about the increased rates. all the premiums were raised and those for older men raised far out of reason, so all the older members had a meeting down here, to discuss what action they could take. i am glad people come casually that way--and feel that we are open for something beside the regular study meetings. they sit around very informally, smoke, come in and out down stairs and do not have any very formal session. "in common with the other branches, barr has had political meetings. some have been held just before elections and have been quite warm. on one occasion, the library was made a buzzing community center by a series of bombs that were set off in the street. other and quieter meetings have been held by party committees, judges of elections and the like. the state socialist party has twice held its conventions here, and each time the session lasted for four days. the meetings were opened with hymns, and the delegates had all-day sessions, from : a.m. to : p.m. i think most of the partisan leaders feel that they are a little handicapped when they meet in the library--still, they come back occasionally. "there are coming to be more purely social meetings of younger grade pupils. in some cases, these children are not organized, but merely claim to be in order to get the halls. in other cases, relatives who come with them to make application are frank to confess that they want the hall to avoid inconvenience at home, especially the protracted house-cleanings which are the pre-requisite at most home parties. one mother said that the last time there was a birthday party in her house, the man who lived upstairs, after rapping repeatedly on the floor to stop the children's noise, came down and said, that 'the party would simply have to bust up.' she wanted to hold this party in the library, because her husband had such a bad temper, that she was sure he would murder the man if such a thing happened again, and, of course, it _would_ happen again, for no children's party would ever be quiet enough to suit the man upstairs. "adult clubs as a whole ask very little of us beyond the occasional use of the telephone, and they often come and go without our being conscious of them. this is especially true of day-time meetings. it must be admitted, that in addition to those who are very friendly and those who do not make either criticism or appreciation articulate, there are some who break the monotony of the librarian's existence by thinking 'they owns the place,' to quote the janitor. the younger social meetings need considerable attention, too. they overflow upstairs, are always noisy and sometimes not as agreeable as they should be. a member of a new club of girls said, 'i guess we rented this building for the evening--we can make as much noise as we please.'" within certain limits, particularly the powder-cans and lead pencils of the staff, we want the clubs to think that they do own the place. the surest proof that the st. louis plan works, is to have the scions of our democracy feel that they are getting their money's worth from the institution that their taxes support. a group of young socialists was formed too late in the season to secure a regular meeting night. they finally decided that they would have to be satisfied with meeting, for the winter, at k----'s--a delicatessen store a few blocks away. k----'s has an advertisement every week in the jewish record, inviting men to come and read the papers there and make use of the free meeting-room. like all jewish delicatessens, this shop contains everything that any patron is willing to buy, and in addition, elaborates the coffee-house idea into any shape that circumstances may suggest. when the young men said individually on later occasions that they were not contented at the delicatessen, they always added, "it's because we feel so at home at the library; because we've always gotten books out there." the next winter their application was handed in several months in advance. in a neighborhood where conditions are the exact antithesis of crunden's, the same feeling exists. miss pretlow was talking one evening to a young man who belonged to a group giving a dancing party at cabanne library. she said that she could not but remark how well-dressed and well bred and altogether prosperous the dancers were. they very evidently could have met in any one of a number of large homes or could have paid for one of the best halls in the city; so she said to the young man, "how is it you do not rent blank's hall, but use the library instead? i know it can't be the difference in cost that influences you." the young man answered in very evident astonishment: "why, we like this place; we all grew up in this library." when adolescents of both sexes meet together, their meetings are purely for a good time. their behavior is extremely immature from the social side; either very wooden or very uncontrolled. this is the period when the librarian must insist upon strict chaperonage, and it is also the period when resentment of discipline, or even of suggestion, runs high. they would no more follow the advice of the librarian in the matter of invitations, introduction of wall-flowers and how a dance is to be "run off" generally, than they would copy her taste in dress, which they invariably consider very "old-maidy." the standards to which social clubs adhere rigidly are those observed in places of commercialized amusement. one group of boys met to teach each other dancing, where the girls would not see them. as it was a case of the blind leading the blind, a volunteer who had been teaching folk-dancing to the girls all winter, offered her services. after one trial she was _persona non grata_, because she wouldn't let them "rag." some of the dances are quite grim. one will not hear a note of laughter all the evening. five or six girls will often come together. those who know boys will dance with them, and between dances will not make the slightest effort to introduce their friends to possible partners. the friends, instead of resenting this inactivity, often sit all the evening on the side lines watching and chewing gum, apparently perfectly satisfied. at the opposite pole is the wild desire for "rough house." in the early stages of auditorium work and before these days of h.c.l., pieces of cake have occasionally gone flying across the hall. as soon as branch libraries recognized these facts, and it was very soon, the application for dances became fewer and of better quality. leavings from other club rooms no longer apply, and disgruntled alumni associations in schools have ceased to contemplate a move to the nearest branch library. no effort has been made to advertise the club rooms, beyond these statements of the branch librarians in passing, except the exhibiting of the rooms themselves to visitors who "stop in to show our library to cousin sarah, from davenport," or illinois, or oklahoma, as the case may be. word-of-mouth publicity accounts for the gradual steady growth in the use of the rooms. one of the many examples began with a stenographer who sewed, "in secret," as she said, at noon in the club room. she was embroidering an engagement present for one of the girls in her office. needless to say, she scattered information about the rooms, and the rules governing them, wherever any one would listen. eventually a sunday school class, to which her cousin belonged, gave a st. patrick's day party in the library. as an indirect result, a school patron's association now holds five or six meetings each spring, to make preparations for its annual picnic. so the ball of publicity rolls along of its own momentum. at branch libraries, the auditorium and study rooms are as a rule closely connected architecturally with the reading rooms, and club members usually pass through the main part of the library to reach the meetings. one or two at least from each group stop to chat with the workers, or to read. at crunden the assistants say that whenever a yiddish meeting is to begin at nine, the men come at eight and read. then there are the isolated individuals from the club who stumble on the resources of the library quite by accident, and later grow communicative. occasionally some one rushes up stairs to borrow the telephone book, and when, after an unsuccessful quest, he is offered the city directory by the librarian, he finds it hard to realize that any library can contain a book as useful as that. one man who saw a magazine lying on the desk while he was asking to be directed to the auditorium, said, "i had no idea the library handled magazines." libraries try as faithfully to reach every one as if they were commercial enterprises, but there will always be a certain number of persons who have never been in a library building, not to speak of knowing the location of the nearest branch and realizing its resources. a harvard graduate said he had walked past a branch every day for a year and had thought it was a branch post-office. if there were no other arguments in favor of adding auditoriums to the library's list of activities, there is this: that they introduce to the library large groups of people who have had no connection with it before. the horse at least has been led to the water. if clubs meet regularly, there is always a small proportion who make meeting-night their library night. they consequently read and want to calculate all fines with reference to the night of the last meeting. i once heard one young woman telling another how she finally had her reading "doped out into a system," by beginning on her seven-day book just as soon as she reached home after the meeting, and using the fourteen-day book only on the street cars. with the establishment of libraries in small towns and rural communities, there is at present a tendency to make social centers out of library buildings, even at the sacrifice of the books, rather than to establish libraries in connection with social activities. this is also true in those cities where "field-houses" in parks are well developed. without holding a brief for either school, we may properly emphasize three principles. the first is that a librarian holds her position by virtue of being a librarian, and that her duty and training require her full time for the purpose for which she is employed--the fitting of the proper book to the individual. the second is that if the community needs to have the social center stressed more than the books, a social worker must direct the center and the librarian must contribute in a subordinate capacity to make the center a success. for example, the st. louis public library has equipped a room with books and is furnishing an attendant at a colored social center in a church building at garrison and lucas avenues, but it does not thereby put forward any claim to control and stimulate the social activities of the neighborhood. the third principle is that if the library plant is already in operation, it is a waste to exclude neighborhood groups from rooms not being used directly for the reading and circulation of books, inasmuch as overhead expenses continue. what of the future? a forecast, not of library progress alone, but of civilization itself, by one who declares himself "a simple-minded visionary optimist." it is of the warp and woof of visions like this that the fabric of a better world is woven. frederick morgan crunden, who delivered this address at the public session of the philadelphia conference of the american library association, , was not, it is true, the technical founder of the st. louis public library, but in his thirty-year administration of it, he originated and kept in motion the forces that have given it the position that it now holds in the community. these forces and their results were both social, and his address forms a fitting conclusion to this compilation of material on "the library and society." a sketch of mr. crunden appears in vol. i of this series. the present victorian jubilee has naturally brought out a fresh group of reminiscences comparing conditions at the beginning of the reign with those now existing. the most striking contrast between the two periods lies in the advances made in the material comforts of life--improvements in lighting and heating, in locomotion and intercommunication. the progress of applied science has been so rapid that some of its most notable achievements have come within the memory of young persons still at school. telephonic conversation between new york and st. louis is only a thing of yesterday; aerial navigation is evidently near at hand; and already daring scientists speak hopefully of electric communication with the planets. but it is not only in this line that the world has advanced. to note great changes in social customs, we need not go back to the last century. sir algernon west in a recent magazine article refers to the matter-of-course manner in which his chief was in the habit of announcing to the head clerk that he would not be at the office the following day, as he was to dine out that evening. as an indication of the social changes brought about in his lifetime, he quotes this significant sentence of mr. charles villiers: "in his young days," said mr. villiers, "every young man, even if he was busy, pretended to be idle; now every young man, even if he is idle, pretends to be busy." there is great import in this. when every member of society is usefully employed, our social problems will be well on the way to solution. to note progress in another direction we need not turn back to the acts of the th century, which made it a crime to give or receive more than the wretched wage fixed by law. at the beginning of the victorian era boys and girls as young as six years worked in mines and factories longer hours than are now required of strong men; and the masses of people were compelled to pay an artificially high price for their bread, in order to increase the unearned wealth of the few. and in our own country we need not go back to the salem witchcraft or the persecution of the quakers. there are still eye-witnesses to tell us that men and women in this "land of the free," were lawfully sold like cattle or flogged to death at the will of their owners. it was a few months after queen victoria's accession to the throne that elijah parish lovejoy was killed for daring to say that human slavery was wrong--for advocating, not forcible abolition, but gradual emancipation as "the free, voluntary act of the master, performed from a conviction of its propriety." for maintaining his right to express his opinions on this or any other public question, he was driven from place to place and finally shot down in cold blood. in the city where years ago he fell, a martyr to the cause of free speech, a stately monument--one of the most imposing in the country--was the other day dedicated to his memory. no american better deserves a monument. no leader in the revolution or the civil war was a greater hero. in my opinion, the unquestioned courage of the great union commander is dwarfed and paled by the simple heroism of this young preacher-editor, who gave his life to a greater cause than even the preservation of the union. yet for some years after his death, in many cities of this country, it would have been hazardous for a man to utter his eulogy. here, then, is a marked advance. but we have not yet obtained entire freedom of speech on live topics. was it not as late as last year that we hear of two librarians holding opposite political views, whose positions were rendered insecure by an unfortunate misadjustment of longitudes and political opinions? and not many miles from here a score of good, earnest men were jailed for advocating, disinterestedly, and at considerable self-sacrifice, a method of taxation that did not meet the approval of the city authorities. still we have made great progress toward a broad tolerance. we not only permit the practice of all religious forms, but we even allow a man to deny himself the consolations of religion in any form if he chooses to do so. in science, at least, there is absolute freedom of thought and expression. one may publish arguments to prove that the world is five thousand, or five hundred million years old, and no one will molest or denounce him; or he may announce a new theory of the universe with our moon as the stationary centre, and no state or church will anathematize him or compel him to recant. it is not till he enters the field of politics, i.e., the discussion of economic and sociological questions with a view to immediate practical results, that the advocate of new ideas reaches the danger-point. here he finds vested interests--self-styled "vested rights," but as often vested wrongs--on guard and alert to repel intrusion and resist inquiry. these summon to their aid the legions of unreasoning conservatism; and the innovator is made to feel the truth of the saying that there is no pain so keen as the pain of a new idea--from which, therefore, mankind has always shrunk, as a child shrinks from the surgeon's knife. we have passed the period of rack and stake; but social and business ostracism are pretty effective, while occasionally there are suggestions of tar-buckets or bullets. for the most part, however, we content ourselves with denouncing the proposer of any marked departure from existing political or sociological conditions as a "socialist," a "communist," and an "anarchist," using these terms indiscriminately as abusive epithets without any definite knowledge of their meaning. from the beginning of time every social advance--and until recently every forward step in science or religion has been regarded as menacing the very foundations of society. the reform act of , which simply took the first step towards correcting the grossest political abuses, was looked upon by the duke of wellington and other good men as threatening the very existence of the kingdom. the condition of affairs then existing, they considered, if not the best possible, at any rate vastly better than the political chaos that would be sure to result from change. speaking on this blind conservative opposition to the reform bill, dr. arnold, of rugby, said: "all the resistance to these natural changes can effect is to derange their operation, and make them act violently and mischievously instead of healthfully, or at least harmlessly. the old state of things is gone past recall, and all the efforts of all the tories cannot save it; but they may by their folly, as they did in france, get us a wild democracy or a military despotism in the room of it, instead of letting it change quietly into what it is, merely a new modification of the old state. one would think that people who talk against change were literally as well as metaphorically blind, and really did not see that everything in themselves and around them is changing every hour by the necessary law of its being. "there is nothing so revolutionary, because there is nothing so unnatural and so convulsive to society, as the strain to keep things fixed, when all the world is, by the very law of its creation, in eternal progress; and the cause of all the evils of the world may be traced to that natural but most deadly error of human indolence and corruption--that our business is to preserve and not to improve." in his retrospect of the victorian reign, in the june review of reviews, w.t. stead says: "it is to the stoutest conservatives of our time almost inconceivable that rational beings could ever have defended the system that prevailed in britain sixty years ago." i am no more assured of the rising of to-morrow's sun than i am that to the stoutest conservatives of , it will appear "almost inconceivable that rational beings could ever have defended the system" that prevails in america to-day. they will, however, resist further progress as doggedly as do the conservatives of to-day, even while these see plainly how absurd was the attitude of their predecessors of sixty years ago. your genuine conservative ever holds doggedly to things as they are. he clings tenaciously--and vainly. he belongs to a party whose defeat all history teaches is foredoomed. now he stands for the divine right of kings; and notwithstanding he is a man of irreproachable character and able, moreover, to show that he is much less autocratic than most of his predecessors, he loses his crown and his head. again, he stands for the parent country's unlimited power of taxation, and he forfeits his most flourishing colonies. at another period he urges long sufferance as a justification for continuing--even extending--the crime of slavery, and he meets defeat amid slaughter and devastation. no repetition of the lesson will ever teach him to consider what is abstractly right--what ought to be without reference to what is. but the conservative has to be, in accordance with the law of nature, so poetically announced in the song of willis in iolanthe: "that every boy and every gal that's born into this world alive, is either a little liberal, or else a little conservative!" or, as emerson's prose expresses it-- "the two parties which divide the state--the party of conservatism and that of innovation--are very old and have disputed the possession of the world ever since it was made. this quarrel is the subject of civil history. the conservative party established the reverend hierarchies and monarchies of the most ancient world. the battle of patrician and plebeian, of parent state and colony, of old usage and accommodation to new facts, of the rich and the poor, reappears in all countries and times.... "there is always a certain meanness in the argument of conservatism, joined with a certain superiority in its fact. it affirms because it holds. its fingers clutch the fact, and it will not open its eyes to see a better fact. the castle which conservatism is set to defend is the actual state of things, good or bad. the project of innovation is the best possible state of things. of course conservatism always has the worst of the argument, is always apologizing, pleading a necessity, pleading that to change would be to deteriorate. it must saddle itself with the mountainous load of the violence and the vice of society, must deny the possibility of good, deny ideas, and suspect and stone the prophets; while innovation is always in the right, triumphant, attacking, and sure of final success." but though doomed to defeat, conservatism is not to be denounced or condemned. it is not without its uses. it often keeps us from following untried paths that open out alluring but end in thickets or quagmires. a brake is sometimes as necessary to safety as motive power is to progress. but the usual tendency of conservatism is to keep the brakes on all the time, causing either stagnation, retrogression, or a smash-up. the real revolutionist is the rock-ribbed conservative. it is the boulder blocking the onward flow of the stream that causes the eddy and the whirlpool. those who think on this subject and who really desire the improvement of society--unfortunately a very small class--are divided over the question whether mankind shall progress by the path of individualism or by that of collectivism. extremists assure us that these paths go in opposite directions, or traverse each other at right angles. the truth is they run parallel; and we have been travelling both, now advancing more on one and then on the other, towards the ultimate goal of humanity--the perfection of society through the elevation of the individual, the perfection of the individual through the improvement of society. each helps the other; neither can be independent of the other. it often happens that organized society cannot await the slow process of individual perfection. it must accelerate the operation by changing standards and ideals. there is no telling how long it would have required to convince each individual slave-owner of the wrong of human slavery, or each individual mine and factory owner of the wickedness of child-labor. society had to take the matter in hand and force individual development--in one case by law, in the other by the sword. many thoughtful persons are raising the question whether society has not more work of this kind ahead of it. there can be no individual perfection or progress under certain social conditions. ceremonious politeness was not to be expected among the victims of the black hole of calcutta. starvation has often led to cannibalism among men who would shrink with horror from the thought of it under ordinary conditions. society can create conditions favorable or unfavorable to the improvement of the individual. the inevitable outcome of the struggle between individualism and collectivism is the triumph of each in its own proper field. a line drawn from the past to the present shows the trend of the future. we find this embodying two distinct, and apparently contradictory, tendencies--one towards greater individual freedom, the other towards a constant extension of the principle of cooperation, or collectivism. that is, organized society leaves ever greater freedom to the individual in all those things that concern only him, while at the same time it extends farther and farther its supervision and performance of those things that pertain to the welfare of all, and which society can do for the individual better than he can do for himself. a man may kiss his wife on sunday without scandal or fear of prosecution; and he may dress in any manner he pleases within the bounds of convention, which is still an unreasoning tyrant. he is generally glad to avail himself of the more convenient water-supply provided by the community; but he may, if he wishes, have a well in his yard, until, with the growth of the city, this becomes a menace to his neighbors' health; then it must be closed. he may still mould his own tallow candles and use no other light if he prefers; but cooperation among consumers supplies him with a much superior illuminant; and when this cooperation is extended to embrace all the citizens--i.e., when gas or electricity is furnished by the municipality, the cost is reduced, and he becomes a partner in the profits. of the benefits of municipal cooperation we had a signal illustration in the introduction of municipal sprinkling in st. louis. formerly, the occupant of a fifty-foot lot paid a private contractor from $ to $ a season, while he suffered from the dust blown from his neighbors' frontage and from unsprinkled streets all over the city. now the owner of a fifty-foot lot pays about $ a year and enjoys sprinkled streets throughout the whole city. municipal cooperation in libraries brings the same kind of benefits. the average well-to-do reader, instead of a five-dollar subscription fee, pays a dollar tax; and for that not only he and his family, but also the families of his neighbors, have access to a superior library. and it is almost as necessary for your comfort that your neighbor's children have access to a library as for your own. while social evolution tends to relieve the individual of the compulsion of law, and also to lessen the pressure of public opinion, in those affairs that pertain only to his own life, correlatively his action is more and more restricted in so far as it affects his neighbors and society in general--though here, too, law and custom tend more and more to individual freedom. it was once regarded as a public scandal not to go to church; and years ago in st. louis unitarians were shunned as suspicious characters. but pari passu with the growth of individual liberty has grown the recognition of the duty of society to see that all persons have equal liberty--to protect the weak against the strong. nothing in victoria's reign has done more for the progress of england than the series of acts that have been passed to curb the greed of mine and factory owners, to prevent them from coining the muscle and manhood of britain into gold--in a way that, at one period, threatened to exhaust the vitality of the race--to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. the whole history of mankind is a continuous struggle of the weak and ignorant many to secure the rights withheld from them by the superior strength and cunning of the few. the oppression and injustice of the past are apparent to all; but many of us, like the conservative antagonists of cobden and bright, fail to see anything seriously wrong in the present; and, like them, we fear change. but it is the part of wise men to welcome change as the natural order of the universe--to see that it is a change for the better. it does not by any means follow that every new idea is a good one, that every proposed change would be an improvement. but as progress is the law of the universe, it rests with the old order to show why it should be continued. wisdom, therefore, urges us to give careful consideration to new ideas, however contrary they may be to prevalent opinions, bearing in mind the frequent lesson of history that "the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner," and approaching all questions in the spirit of st. paul's injunction: "prove all things; hold fast that which is good." for all political and social problems, which are the burning questions of to-day, there is, it seems to me, a simple test in herbert spencer's "first principle": "every man may claim the fullest liberty to exercise his faculties compatible with the possession of like liberty by every other man." legislation that does not square with the self-evident truth and justice of this dictum is bad legislation, and must prove maleficent to the nation, state, or city that enacts it. i need not offer any modern instances. reasoning in reverse order, i.e., from effect to cause, we may be sure that when we see in a country abounding in natural resources, as ours is, inhabited by the most intelligent, energetic, and resourceful people the world has ever seen--when we see in such a country millions of willing workers in enforced idleness; when, to account for the idleness and its attendant want and destitution, we are offered the absurdity of "over-production" of the very things for which millions are suffering; when we see men and women who toil not revelling in luxury, while others who labor sixteen hours a day are barely able to keep body and soul together, we may know absolutely, without further investigation, that there is something fundamentally wrong in our social organization. this is not the time or place to point out these wrongs specifically, or to advance, even in the most general terms, what, after much thought, i believe to be the remedies. i merely urge the thoughtful study of social problems without bias or prejudice. this state of openmindedness is not easy to achieve. we think that we think our own thoughts; but as tarde, the french psychologist, says: "what the individual hypnotizer is to his sleeping and abnormally plastic subject, such, almost precisely, is society to the waking and normally plastic man."[ ] on the solution of social problems, ibsen says: "there is only one thing that avails--to revolutionize people's minds." this was a difficult task about so plain a matter as the copernican system, which was opposed by the combined learning and piety of europe. how much more difficult must it be when the change affects the every-day life of every individual? as nitti says: "had the propositions of euclid affected economic interests they would still appear doubtful hypotheses of arduous solution." [ ] "as, then, in philosophy the first step is to begin by doubting everything, so, in social philosophy, the first step is to throw aside all supposed absolute rights."--jevons. the public library is destined to play an important part, to exercise an incalculable influence in the solution of the social problems of to-day, and through this on the future of the nation and the race. the wisdom needed for this task is not to be obtained from schools or colleges, but from the higher education of mature minds--the masses of the people--which the public library alone can give. the preparation for this higher education of the masses devolves on the schools and colleges. their curricula should be so arranged as to arouse "historic consciousness" in the youngest child, to awaken social consciousness, and to provide for its continuous development by starting every boy and girl on a career of self-culture--by matriculating every child in the people's university, the public library. in affairs that concern society as a whole, it is better to trust the well-informed common-sense of the people than the learning of the schoolmen. it is not knowledge of mathematics or physics, or greek and latin, or modern languages; it is not the study--academic study--of history, or philosophy, or even political economy, that will solve the great social problems that now confront us. these will help in various degrees, directly or indirectly, some more, some less, some, perhaps, not at all. a knowledge of the general course of history is essential; some acquaintance with philosophy is useful; dogmatic theology serves only to confuse, but the true religion that lies in a vital acceptance of christ's two commandments as a summary of the law and the prophets--that is the greatest aid of all. such, however, is the influence of established order on men's minds that no investigation will avail without a determination to take nothing for granted, to re-examine what have been considered basic principles, to accept no postulates that do not square with reason and justice. this cannot be done by confining our reading to the accepted standards of a generation or a century ago. we must keep abreast of the thought of the time; we must keep our eyes and ears, and still more our minds, open; we must scorn no aids to enlightenment; but we must do our own thinking; we must consider the idea, not the source from which it came, remembering that good may come out of nazareth; we must live up to the motto; "truth for authority, not authority for truth," and we must "lend a hand." my faith in the efficacy of the education offered by the public library is not without foundation. in more than one case i have seen a course of lectures or the reading of a single book lead to a course of reading in economics and sociology, which has entirely changed points of view. new ideals, higher standards, have made new men with higher lines of action. their natures have not been changed, but their visions have been clarified. one of the stock arguments which conservatism always brings out to give a final quietus to any proposal for social reform, is--"oh, that's impossible; you'd have to change human nature!" this mental attitude, which, i am sorry to say, is the prevailing one with the great majority of mankind, is admirable satirized in some verses which i had great pleasure in printing in the april number of the st. louis public library magazine: there was once a neolithic man, an enterprising wight, who made his simple instruments unusually bright, unusually clever he, unusually brave. and he sketched delightful mammoths on the border of his cave, to his neolithic neighbors who were startled and surprised, said he: "my friends, in course of time we shall be civilized! we are going to live in cities and build churches and make laws! we are going to eat three times a day without the natural cause! we're going to turn life upside down about a thing called gold! we're going to want the earth, and take as much as we can hold! we are going to wear a pile of stuff outside our proper skins; we're going to have diseases! and accomplishments!! and sins!!! then they all rose up in fury against this boastful friend for prehistoric patience comes quickly to an end. said one, "this is chimerical! uptopian! absurd!" said another, "what a stupid life! too dull, upon my word!" cried all, "before such things can come, you idiotic child, you must alter human nature!" and they all sat back and smiled! thought they, "an answer to that last it will be hard to find!" it was a clinching argument--to the neolithic mind! yes, great progress and reform can be accomplished without changing human nature. the elemental forces in the heart of man are the same now as in the earliest recorded ages, and they are likely to remain the same for all time to come. we cannot change the elements of man's nature; but by changing conditions we can improve the product of reaction. we can elevate conduct by elevating ideals. there was a time when the man who could wield the heaviest battle-axe was the greatest man; and there are still circles in which corbett and fitzsimmons are regarded as the greatest men of the present day. but the men who now excite most general admiration are our "captains of industry," the men who succeed in getting money and the luxury and power it commands. how shall we elevate our national ideals? selfishness is a mainspring of human action. a like motive, desire for happiness, sets men to fighting dogs and to founding hospitals. nero found pleasure in one way, marcus aurelius in another. charles i. and louis xvi. were not bad men; but they were controlled by outgrown standards. elizabeth, napoleon, peter, and catherine of russia sought their own pleasure in accordance with their personal characters and the standards of their times. but how much higher and purer pleasure the devotion of their talents to the service of their fellowmen brought to washington, jefferson and lincoln, cobden, bright and gladstone--and john pounds! false standards, low ideals, now lead many good men to find their pleasure, not in cruelty, not in sensuality, but in the accumulation of wealth, partly for the luxury, chiefly for the power it brings. "superfluity comes sooner by white hairs, but competency lives longer." with the spread of intelligence and thought, and the consequent elevation of popular ideals, men possessed of millions will not seek to add to their large legitimate gains by legalized robbery from their fellow-citizens; and people calling themselves christians will not rejoice in the distress and starvation of their fellow-men across the ocean. men will still be selfish but their selfishness will at least be on a higher plane--less intense, less destructive of essential rights. how shall we most speedily bring about this desired consummation? by what agency can we most effectively elevate our national ideals? by extending and improving our system of popular education, by reversing the usual order and beginning where school curricula now end, by placing our school-children from their earliest years in close and familiar contact with the life and thought of the race as expressed in literature, by exciting in every child admiration and emulation of the world's true heroes, by feeding the imagination and cultivating the moral faculties, by putting every child into the way of acquiring a social and a historic perspective. i suppose i am one of those simple-minded visionary optimists of whom prof. royce speaks. but i do not "dislike" economic facts in the sense of ignoring them, and i am not blind to the persistence of the elemental forces of human nature. but as the abolition of slavery changed men's mental attitude towards this social crime, without at all changing human nature, just so i believe that the adoption of other social reforms would in a generation cause all men to look with horror and wonder upon social injustice that nearly every one now ignores or regards as irremediable and inevitable. i share ruskin's scorn of the word "utopian." "a thing is either possible or impossible." as carlyle says, "the actual final rights of man lie in the far deeps of the ideal. every noble work is at first impossible." in the a.l.a. we have heard the word "utopian," or its equivalent, on more than one occasion met by the motto, "hitch your wagon to a star"; and we have seen the impracticable an accomplished fact. if time permitted i might risk ridicule by presenting some features of the vision that i see with the eye of faith in an all-wise and all-powerful creater and belief in human perfectibility as an infinite progress. "die zukunft decket schmerzen and glücke schrittweis' dem blicke; doch ungeschrecket, dringen wir vorwärts." "new occasions teach new duties; time makes ancient good uncouth! they must upward still and onward who would keep abreast with truth." index abbott, abiel, library pioneer, . adams, brooks, quoted, . adams, charles francis, trustee of crane library, quincy, . adams, john quincy, quoted, . adams, matthew, lends books to franklin, . adams library, quincy, mass., . adaptation of libraries to constituencies, paper, by s.s. green; in full, . addingham, eng., home of robert collyer, . addison, joseph, quoted, . address at the dedication of the library of the university of pennsylvania, by talcott williams; in full, . alexander the great, quoted, . alexandrian library, destruction of, . allegheny, pa., gift of conservatories, . alternatives to tax-support; general editorial introduction, . american antiquarian soc'y, . american library ass'n, work of, ; catalogue praised. american magazine of civics, article from, . "americans," book by munsterberg, chapter quoted, . americans as lovers of books, . americanization, a library function, . ames, ohio, public library, , . anderson, col. james, praised by carnegie, . angell, james burrill, address at grand rapids library opening; in part, ; sketch of, . arbor, mich., library, . arguments for public support of public libraries, paper by william e. foster, in full, . arnold, matthew, introduction to wordsworth's poems, ; quoted, . arnold, dr. thomas, on the reform bill, . art gallery and school, hartford, conn., . art school, boston; b.f. butler's attack on, . art works as donations, . association libraries, . astor, john jacob, library gift, . astor library, , . atkinson free library, southport, eng., . atlanta conference, talk by melvil dewey at, . auditoriums as donations, . author's league, n.y., carnegie dinner, . bacon, francis, quoted, . baird, henry carey, quoted, . bakala, wallachian peasant, legend of, . baltimore, md., enoch pratt library, ; peabody institute, . barber, henry hervey, article by, ; sketch of, . barnard, henry, anecdote of, . barr branch, st. louis, . baths as donations, . bellevue hospital, n.y. city, gift to, . bequests, effect of, . bergen, norway, parks in, . berkeley, gov., opposes free schools, . billings, dr. john shaw, article on public libraries, in full, ; biog. sketch of, ; pioneer in interlibrary work, . birge, edward asahel, address at madison, in full, ; sketch of, . birmingham (eng.) free library, , , . blackpool free library report, quoted, . blair, rev. james, library of, . boards of trustees; general editorial introduction, . _see also_ trustees. bodleian library, rule of, . boers, characterized, . bolton (eng.) free library founded, . book committee of library board, . book-readers, who are? . book-selection, . books and life, address by edward a. birge; in full, . books and the public library, address by james russell lowell, in full, . books, cheapness of, . booklovers among the colonists, . boston art museum, . boston common council advocates library, . boston, libraries in, . boston public library; address at its dedication, by edw. everett, . boston public library, , ; children in, ; its building, ; gifts to, ; facilities of, ; fiction purchases in, ; praised, ; george ticknor on, ; statistics in , . bowditch mathematical collection, boston, . bradford, wm., booklover, . brashear, john, . bright, john, quoted, . bristol, eng., library report quoted, . british education acts, ; library law, earliest ( ), , , , ; amendment of ( ), . british museum, fiction policy, . brockton, mass., reading-room in, . brougham, lord, approves travelling libraries, . brown music collection, boston, . brown, samuel, founds scottish itinerating libraries, . brown, squire sam, buys books for "coon-skin library," . brown university, paper by pres. faunce, . brownwell's writing-school, attended by franklin, . browsing commended, . burnham, t.o.p.h., book-collector, anecdote of, . burton, r., historical collections bought by franklin, . business enterprise, library as a, . butler, benj. f., his attack on the boston art school, . butler, james davie, address by, at madison, wis., ; biog. sketch of, . byrd, william, library of, . cabanne branch, st. louis, ., . california, anecdotes of pioneers, ; school libraries in, . calvinism as encourager of reading, . carlyle, thomas, quoted, , , . carnegie, andrew, article by, ; sketch of, ; praised by melvil dewey, ; quoted, ; library gifts, . carondelet branch, st. louis, . cassell's national library, praised, . castine, me., library, . catalogues, uses of, , . censorship, do libraries exercise it? . chamberlain, mellen, supt. boston public library, . chamberlain autograph collection, boston, . charity, so-called, . charleston, s.c., library society, . chaucer, geoffrey, quoted, . chelsea, mass., address by lowell at library-opening, . chetham, humphrey, library founder, . children in reading-rooms, ; reading of, ; work with, , , ; pioneer work of mrs. sanders, . chicago, library growth in, . chicago public library, ; statistics in , . churches as objects of philanthropy, . cincinnati, o., springer hall, . cincinnati public library, , (note); statistics in , . circulation, proposed by ticknor, ; expediency doubted by everett, . clark, charles hopkins, opening address at hartford library, ; biog. sketch, . classics, meaning of term, . cleveland, grover, address in favor of the n.y. free circ. lib'y, ; biog. sketch of, . clinton, de witt, advocates libraries, . club, library as a, . club-rooms, use of, . colden, cadwallader, library of, . coleridge, samuel t., quoted, . collection of information: general editorial introduction, . college, increased attendance, . college libraries, . collyer, robert, address given in full, ; sketch of, ; his story of his own life, . colonies, libraries in the, . colorado, school libraries in, . columbia medical school, vanderbilt gift to, . committees of library board, . community center service; editorial paragraph, . community relations, general, . community's service to the library; editorial introduction, . connecticut, school libraries in, . conservatism, deplored, . contents, table of, . control and guidance of reading; general editorial introduction, . "coon-skin library," ames, ohio, . co-operation between library and community; paper by m. anna tarbell; in full, . cooper union, n.y., , . cornell, ezra, bequest, ; anecdote of, . cost of libraries, . cotton mill, first in u.s., . countryman, gratia alta; paper on social centres, in full, ; biog. sketch, . crane library, quincy, mass., . crunden, frederick morgan, paper by, in full, ; address on library's future, ; quoted, . crunden branch, st. louis, . curtis, george william, quoted, . cushman, robt., booklover, . cutler, mary salome, paper by, . cutter, charles a., quoted, . cyclopedia on cards, proposed, . dana, john c., on interlibrary loans, ; quoted, . dances at libraries, . davenport, john, booklover, . defoe, daniel, "essay on projects," read by franklin, . democracy applied to books, ; an "unworked theory," . detroit society library, . dewey, melvil, on the relation of the state to the library; in full, ; editor of library congress papers, ; talk at atlanta given in full, ; advocates card encyclopedia, . dickens's novels commended, . district school libraries. _see_ school district libraries. dix, john a., establishes libraries, . donne, dr. john, quoted, . dresden, beautification of, . drury, gertrude g., aid acknowledged, . dudley, gov., booklover, . duties of trustees, ; and their relations to librarians; paper by s.s. green, in full, . easter, george, quoted, . education acts, great britain, . education, lengthening of, ; from libraries, , , , , , , , . educational influence of the librarian, . edwards, edward, quoted, . eliot, charles w., suggests reservoir libraries, ; quoted, . eliot, george, quoted, , . elmendorf, mrs. henry l., paper by, ; biog. sketch of, . emerson, ralph waldo, quoted, , , , . endowment of libraries, . england, _see_ british. entertainment a function of libraries, , , , , . everett, edward, letter to, from george ticknor, ; answer, ; dedication address of boston public library; in full, ; biog. sketch of, ; opinions on libraries, . evolution of libraries (dewey), . ewart, william, moves library inquiry in house of commons, . ewing, thomas, quoted, . fairchild, mrs. milton, paper by, . fairservice, andrew, quoted, . faunce, william herbert perry, paper by, ; sketch of, . "feminization" of the library, . fiction, use of in libraries, , , , , , ; circulation discussed, ; discouraged by j.p. quincy, ; commended by lowell, ; policy of british museum, . finance committee of library board, . financial support; general editorial introduction, . fiske, john, quoted, . fletcher, william i., quoted, . flint, mich., library, . "flower band" in pawtucket, . foss, sam walker, paper on inspiration, in full, ; sketch of, . foster, william e., paper on securing community interest; in full, ; paper advocating public support of libraries in full, ; quoted, , . franklin, benjamin, autobiography quoted, ; everett's gift of autobiography to boston public library, ; anecdote of, ; founds phila. library co., , ; education of, ; quoted, , . free access, adopted by mrs. sanders, in pawtucket, r.i., , . free libraries: an argument against public support, by m.d. o'brien, . free public library, essay by thomas wentworth higginson, in full, ; article by henry h. barber, in full, ; evolution of, . freedom of thought, . freeport, ill., public library, . freiberg, saxony, tanning school, . froissant, read in rural n.y., . function of a town library, paper by josiah p. quincy, in full, . future of the library, . georgetown, s.c., library in, . gilbert, sir humphrey, . gilbert, w.s. ("iolanthe") quoted, . grant, ulysses s., funeral of, . glasgow cathedral, anecdote of, . grand rapids, mich., address at dedication of building, . greece, smallness of, . green, samuel swett, paper on duties of trustees, in full, ; on adaptation of libraries to constituencies, in full, ; address at library-openings, in full, ; pioneer in library educational work, ; praised by col. higginson, ; praised, . greenough, william w., pres. boston public library board, . greenwood, thomas, quoted, . griggs, lilian (barr branch, st. louis) quoted, . hale, edw. everett, quoted, . harper, william r., quoted, . harris collection of poetry, . harris, william t., quoted, . harrison, william henry, a founder of vincennes library, . hartford, conn., addresses at opening of wadsworth athenæum library, . harvard college library, , . harvard university donations, ; bequest of john harvard, ; rule for trustee's terms, . haston library. n. brookfield, mass., address at dedication, . hatboro, pa., library in, . hawthorne, nathaniel, praised, . herschel, sir john, quoted, . hewins, caroline, praised, . higginson, thomas wentworth, essay by, ; sketch of, ; quoted, , . hingham, mass., library, . historical evolution of the free public library in america and its true function in the community; sketch by moses coit tyler, . historical society, hartford, . history defined, . home use, advocated by ticknor, ; doubted by everett, . homer, praised, . hood, thomas, quoted, . hooker, thos., booklover, . hosmer, james k., praised, ; resigns, . hospitals as donations, . how to make town libraries successful; paper by f.b. perkins, cited, . how to use a library, addresses by james m. hubard; in full, . howell, james, old writer, . hubbard, james mascarene, addresses by, ; sketch of, . huxley, thomas, quoted, . idea of a popular library, letter from george ticknor, . if not a tax-supported library, what? paper in _iowa library quarterly_; in full, . ignorance, power of to-day, . illinois, school libraries in, . increase of libraries, results of, . _independent, the_, quoted, . indiana, school libraries in, trustee's association, . indigo society library, s.c., . influence of good books, address by robert collyer; in full, . information bureau, library as an, . information-desk work, . inspiration from libraries, . insurance of a library, . interlibrary loans, , . international library conference, london, second, . international congress of arts ( ), paper before, . iowa, school libraries in, ; library commission, ; library code, . _iowa library quarterly_, paper from, in full, . ireland, alexander, book praised, . irving, washington, commended, ; anecdote of, . jefferson, thomas, quoted, . jerome, jerome k., quoted, . jevons, william stanley, approves free libraries, ; commends travelling libraries, ; quoted, , , . johns hopkins bequest, . johnson, samuel, quoted, . kalamazoo, mich., library, . kansas, school libraries in, . kentucky, school libraries in, . kittery, me., "revolving library," . knox, john, quoted, . laboratories as donations, . lancaster, mass., library in, . langley, samuel p., discoveries of, . larned, joseph nelson, a.l.a. address, in full, ; biog. sketch of, ; quoted, . lawrence, abbott, , . lawrence, james, pres. boston council, . lea, henry c., library gift, . leamington free library (eng.), . learned, john calvin, paper by, in full, ; sketch of, . lecture courses in libraries, , , . lenox library, n.y., . lessing, quoted, . levy of library tribute, paper by henry m. utley; in full, . librarian and his constituents, paper by reuben b. poole; in full, . librarian, qualities necessary in, , , his relations with his board, , ; "who reads," . libraries as bureaus of information; address by s.s. green; in part, . libraries as leaven, inauguration address at madison, wis., public library, by james d. butler, . libraries, growth of in u.s., ; as donations, . library; a plea for its recognition, paper by frederick m. crunden; in full, . library and society; general introduction, . library and the social centre; paper by lutie e. stearns, in full, . library as a factor in modern civilization, paper by w.h.p. faunce; in full, . library as a field for philanthropy, article by andrew carnegie, . library as a social centre; paper by gratia a. countryman; in full, . library as an inspirational force; paper by sam walter foss; in full, . library association of the united kingdom, opposed, . library associations, local, . library buildings, imposing, . library commission, iowa, ; massachusetts, , , . library friend, paper by winifred l. taylor; in full, . _library journal_ recommended to trustees, . library of congress, ; advice to "weed out," ; "weeding out," . library schools in u.s., . library work from the trustees' standpoint, paper by john c. learned; in full, . library's service to the community; general editorial introduction, . lick observatory donation, . lincoln, abraham, educated by reading, . liverpool free library, ; founded, . logan, jas., library of, . london _daily news_, quoted, . london library conference ( ), . loomis, elias, yale donor, . louisville, ky., no free public library in ( ), . lovejoy, elijah p., death of, . lowell, james russell, address by, ; sketch of, ; quoted, , , (hosea bigelow), . lowell, mass., statistics of, ; reading-room in, . luther, martin, quoted, . lynn, mass., library statistics ( ), . mcglynn, father, quoted, . mackay, thomas, editor of "plea for liberty," essays, . madison, wis., library, inauguration address, ; boston man's opinion of, . maine, school libraries in, . manchester (england) free library founded, , ; library use in, . manchester, n.h., statistics of, . mann, horace, advocates libraries, ; favors school libraries, . manners, lord john, opposes british library act, . manufacturing towns, libraries in, . marietta, ohio, library, . massachusetts, passes first free library act, , , ; growth of libraries in, ; library commission, , , ; school libraries in, , . mather, cotton, "essay to do good," read by franklin, ; library of, . mazzini, on education, . "mawtucket of pawtucket," . meadville city library, . medical schools as donations, . melbourne, australia, travelling libraries in, . "men and women," by t.w. higginson, essay reprinted from, . men, library work with, . methods of securing the interest of a community, paper by wm. e. foster; in full, . metropolitan museum, n.y., . michigan, libraries in, ; failure of district libraries, . milk st., boston, franklin's birthplace, . milton, john, quoted, , . milwaukee, school attendance in, ; library statistics ( ), . minnesota, school libraries in, . minnesota library association, paper at, . missouri, school libraries in, . monks as librarians, . moore, tom, quoted, . morris, william, quoted, . mullins, mr., birmingham, eng., librarian, quoted, . municipal cooperation in st. louis, . munsterberg, hugo, chapter quoted in full, ; sketch of, . nashville, tenn., vanderbilt univ., . national municipal league, article written for, . new bedford, mass., library opened, ; statistics ( ), . new books, necessity of, . new england town meetings praised, . new englanders, practicality of, . new hampshire library law, ; mandatory, ; library growth in, . new jersey, school libraries in, . new orleans, wishes no free library, . new york city, no free public library in ( ), . new york free circulating library; address in its favor by grover cleveland; in full, . new york public library, . new york society library, . new york state, libraries in, ; failure of district libraries, ; public libraries department, ; travelling libraries in, , . newburyport, mass., library statistics ( ), . newcastle-on-tyne library, . newport, r.i., library at, . news, triviality of, . newspapers as aids to libraries, ; influence of, , . nitti, quoted, . _north american review_, quoted, . north brookfield, mass., opening address at haston library, . northwest territory, ordinance of , . norwich, eng., library report quoted, . notes, making of, on books, . objections to libraries classified, . o'brien, m.d., argument against public support of libraries; in full, ; answered by w.e. foster, . ohio, school libraries in, . _old and new_, paper quoted from, . olneyville, r.i., reading room in, . oregon, school libraries in, . organization of trustees, . osborne, mr., gift to bellevue hospital, n.y., . osborne, _mrs_. c.j., yale donor, . packer, asa, bequest, . page, father, n.y. library pioneer, . palmer, sir roundell, opposes british library act, . paradise lost, j.q. adams on, . parks as donations, . peabody library, baltimore, . peabody museum, harvard, . penn, william, booklover, . pennsylvania library club, paper reprinted, . pennsylvania university library, address at dedication; in full, . "peoples university," library as the, . peoria, ill., mercantile library, . periodicals, use of, . perkins, frederic beecher, paper given in full, ; biog. sketch of, ; quoted, . peterboro, n.h., free library, . philadelphia centennial, effects of, . philadelphia, no public library in ( ), . philadelphia liby co., founded by franklin, ; . phillips, jonathan, . phillips, wendell, on education, . phipps, henry, partner of carnegie donations to allegheny, , . pierce, bradford kinney, paper by, in full, ; biog. sketch of, . pittsfield, mass., library addresses at, . pittsburgh technical room, . "plea for liberty," essays, extracts from, ; quoted, . plutarch, quoted, . political meetings in a library, . poole, reuben brooks, paper on choice of books, in full, ; biog. sketch of, . poole, william frederick, paper on objections to libraries, ; sketch of, ; library study plan, . poole's index, ; value of, . portland, me., library, . possibilities of public libraries in manufacturing communities; paper by minerva a. sanders; in full, . pratt, enoch, praised by carnegie, . pratt institute technical room, . pratt library, baltimore, . preface, . presidential address (a.l.a.), by joseph n. larned; in full, . pretlow, mary d. (cabanne branch, st. louis), quoted, . private libraries in the colonies, . probable intellectual and moral outcome of the rapid increase of public libraries; paper by rev. dr. b.k. pierce; in full, . "protection of majorities and other essays," by j.p. quincy, quoted, . providence, r.i., public library, , , . provision of books; general editorial introduction, . public library and the public, paper by frederic beecher perkins; in full, . public library in american life, extract from book by hugo munsterberg, . public library; its uses to the municipality, article by dr. john s. billings; in full, . public library, functions classified, . public, desires of, . public support of libraries opposed, ; advocated, . putnam, herbert, paper on libraries and the community; in full, ; biog. sketch of, . qualifications of a librarian (dewey), ; (green), ; of trustees (green), . quigley, margery closey; report on social centre work in st. louis; in part, ; biog. sketch, . quincy, josiah, suggests mass. library act, . quincy, josiah p., paper in full, ; biog. sketch, . quincy, mass. crane library, ; plan of "weeding out," ; adams collection, . racine, wis., school attendance in, . raleigh, sir walter, . raphael, italian artist, . ray, dr. isaac, quoted, . reade's "griffith gaunt" condemned by j.p. quincy, . readers, classes of, . reading, encouragement of, ; of librarians, . reading-rooms, ; as educators, . reclus, elisée, quoted, . recreation, _see_ entertainment. redwood library, newport, . reference work, . reform act (british) of , . relation of free public libraries to the community, article by herbert putnam; in full, . relation of the state to the public library; statement by melvil dewey; in full, . reservoir libraries, suggested by pres. eliot, . "revolving library" of york and kittery, me., . rhode island, school libraries in, . richard sugden library, spencer, mass., opening address, . ripley, george, anecdote of, . rousseau, "confessions," favorite of emerson, . ryerson library building, grand rapids, mich., address at dedication, . st. louis, fiction purchases in, ; no free public library in ( ), . st. louis library school, . st. louis public library, social centre work at, ; library board quoted, ; _public library_ magazine quoted, . st. louis world's fair, . st. paul, quoted, . salem, mass., social library, . san francisco public library, paper about, ; statistics ( ) . sanders, minerva amanda, paper by, in full, ; biog. sketch of, . scholastic libraries in the colonies, . school and library co-operation, . school attendance, increase of, . school district libraries, ; failure in n.y. and mich., ; described by barber, . school _versus_ library, . schools, free, opposed, . scotland, travelling libraries in, . scott's novels commended, . seaver, mayor, advocates library in boston, . seneca, quoted, . sentiment, part played by, in public institutions, . sever hall, harvard, . shakespeare, william, . shakesperiana in libraries, . sheffield scientific school, . sibthorp, col., opposes british library act, . simon, jules, on education, . smith, _capt_. john, booklover, . smoking in libraries, . social centre, library as a, , ; in st. louis, . social consciousness, growth of, . social libraries, foundation of, ; in salem, mass., . social meetings in a library, . socialism opposed, . socialization, trend toward, . society library, n.y. city, . some popular objections to public libraries, paper by william f. poole, in full, . soule, charles carroll, paper by, ; sketch of, . south carolina, colonial libraries in, . southey, robert, quoted, . southport, eng., free library, . spencer, herbert, opposes free education, ; opposes free libraries, , ; quoted, . spencer, mass., sugden library, . spenser, edmund, quoted, . spofford, a.r., quoted, . springer hall, cincinnati, . springfield, mass. library statistics ( ), . _springfield republican_, paper from, . stages of libraries, six, . stanford, leland, bequest, . statistics of american libraries ( ), ; ( ), . stead, william t., quoted, . stearns, lutie e., paper on social centres, in full, . stevens point library, . story, chief justice, quoted, . street, augustus, yale donor, . subscription libraries, . sugden, richard, gives library to spencer, mass., ; sketch of, . sunday opening, allegheny parks, . swimming pools as gifts, . tarbell, ida, quoted, . tarbell, m. anna, paper by, in full, . tarde, gabriel, quoted, . taunton, mass., library statistics ( ), . taxation, dread of, ; for library support, , ; use for fiction circulation opposed, . taylor, winifred louise, paper by, in full, ; biog. sketch of, . teacher, librarian as a, . teaching, n.y. investigation of, . technical rooms in libraries, ; use in libraries, . technical training, growth of, . term of office of trustees, . thaw, william, pittsburgh donor, . ticknor, george, extract from "life and letters" given at length, ; sketch of, ; letter to edward everett, . ticknor spanish collection, boston . tilden, samuel j., bequest, ; will-contest, . tom sawyer's fence, . translations commended, . travelling libraries, scotch, ; australian, ; new york state, , , . treasurer of library board, . trumbull, j. hammond, librarian, . trumbull collection, hartford, . trustees, boards of, ; duties of, ; standpoint in library work, ; a.l.a. section, . trustees of free public libraries, paper, by charles c. soule, in full, . two fundamentals, paper by mary salome cutler fairchild, . tyler, moses coit, paper by, ; sketch of, . union st., boston; franklin's house, . unitarianism in st. louis, . universities, foundation of, . university libraries in u.s., ; without a library, . use of the public library, address by james b. angell; in part, . usefulness of libraries in small towns, paper by theresa west (now mrs. elmendorf) in full, . utley, henry munson, paper by, in full, ; sketch of, . vanderbilt gift to columbia, ; to vanderbilt university, . vested rights, influence of, . victorian reign, retrospect of, . villiers, charles, quoted, . vincennes, ind., library, . virginia, school libraries in, . wadsworth athenaeum, ; addresses at the opening of its library in hartford, conn., . wallachian legend, , . waltham, mass., statistics of, . warner, chas. dudley, opening address at hartford library, ; biog. sketch, . washington, life of, inspiration to lincoln, . washington, d.c., libraries of, . watkinson, library donor, . watkinson library, trumbull collection, . wausaukee library, . wellington, duke of, opposes reform bill, . wesley, john, quoted, . west, sir algernon, quoted, . west, theresa, _see_ elmendorf. what a library should be and what it can do; talk by melvil dewey, . what of the future? address by frederick m. crunden; in full, . where neighbors meet; st. louis report by margery quigley, in part, . wigan, eng., library report quoted, . wilcox, william, english bookseller, friend of franklin, . william and mary college library, . williams, roger, booklover, . williams, talcott, address at library dedication, in full, ; biog. sketch of, . williamson bequest to phila., . winslow, edward, booklover, . winslow, dr. forbes, quoted, . winsor, justin, sup't boston public library, ; promotes interlibrary loans, . winthrop, robert c., quoted, . winthrops, the, booklovers, . winyard, s.c., library, . wisconsin library ass'n, address before, . wisconsin library fund used for military purposes, ; school libraries in, . wisconsin university, . women as library founders in michigan, ; library work with, ; clubs in libraries, ; aids to libraries, . worcester, mass., library statistics ( ), ; public library, , , ; disposition of old books in, . wordsworth, william, quoted, ; poems of, . workingmen and libraries, . world's library congress of , paper read at, . wyer, james i., jr., suggestion acknowledged, . yale art school, ; college library, . yarmouth, eng., library report quoted, . york, me., "revolving library," . yorkshire, eng., home of richard sugden, . young men's institute library, hartford, conn., . young men's society library, detroit, . _zion's herald_, paper by editor, . zosinius, history, inaccessible, . transcriber's notes this book consists of multiple contributions by various authors. inconsistencies in the spelling of proper names have been retained. other instances of questionable spelling and even more questionable grammar have been retained. however, the following typographical corrections have been made. page ("orations and speeches, boston, ; vol. iii. ("orations and speeches", boston, ; vol. iii. page taxation of towns and small muncipalities. taxation of towns and small municipalities. page physicians have agreed as to the influence they exert physicians have agreed as to the influence they exert. page short-cut to learning, but that there may be, and is, such a short cut short-cut to learning, but that there may be, and is, such a short-cut page most strict and sacred bond and convenant of the lord, of the violation most strict and sacred bond and covenant of the lord, of the violation page every frankln medal boy shall be entitled to its privileges; and every franklin medal boy shall be entitled to its privileges; and page the daily recurring routine of effort for mere existence, canont escape the daily recurring routine of effort for mere existence, cannot escape page brillant triumphs for the free public library, unparalled in the brilliant triumphs for the free public library, unparalleled in the page the task will be an easy one." the task will be an easy one.' page secondary, or betwen secondary and higher education, there is where the secondary, or between secondary and higher education, there is where the page year. this provision secures stability by preventing suddent changes of year. this provision secures stability by preventing sudden changes of page maintenance of public health, the introducation of water and gas, the maintenance of public health, the introduction of water and gas, the page whole in the new centennial edition. the accurage student of specialties whole in the new centennial edition. the accurate student of specialties page with a two millon dollar building, studded with costly mosaics, and with a two million dollar building, studded with costly mosaics, and page who are avid to read the latest novel by mr x. or mrs y. while it is who are avid to read the latest novel by mr. x. or mrs. y. while it is page denounce this or that publication. yet is is to be remembered that a denounce this or that publication. yet it is to be remembered that a page cheap silver prints and the art museum is but a hundred feet distant; cheap silver prints and the art museum is but a hundred feet distant); page deep, controlling anxiety of the thoughful man." "education," exclaims deep, controlling anxiety of the thoughtful man." "education," exclaims page but is it worth while to consider a unversity without a library? but is it worth while to consider a university without a library? page panolpy of learning on whose myriad rivets so many hammers have rung, panoply of learning on whose myriad rivets so many hammers have rung, this exalts the miscroscopic municipalities of greece. this abases the this exalts the microscopic municipalities of greece. this abases the page its compass and sound, measure the confines thereof or phophesy its far its compass and sound, measure the confines thereof or prophesy its far page part of an address delivered a the dedication of the haston part of an address delivered at the dedication of the haston page "it is morally impossiblle but that the manners should take a tinge of "it is morally impossible but that the manners should take a tinge of page practical worth and preserverance either in mechanical, civil, or practical worth and perserverance either in mechanical, civil, or page "'tis a wise community that enables its trustees to give to their 'tis a wise community that enables its trustees to give to their page well for a reason. democrary was fairly equipped with a spelling-book well for a reason. democracy was fairly equipped with a spelling-book page boys that frequent the gymnasium may be won by barbour's lastest boys that frequent the gymnasium may be won by barbour's latest page a final quietus to any propsal for social reform, is--"oh, that's a final quietus to any proposal for social reform, is--"oh, that's page boston public library; address at it dedication, by edw. everett, . boston public library; address at its dedication, by edw. everett, . papers and proceedings of the thirty-fifth annual meeting of the american library association held at kaaterskill, n. y. june - , american library association e. washington street chicago, ill. contents general sessions: president's address: the world of books and the world's work henry e. legler "as others see us" secretary's report george b. utley treasurer's report c. b. roden reports of boards and committees: finance committee c. w. andrews a. l. a. publishing board henry e. legler carnegie and endowment fund w. w. appleton bookbinding a. l. bailey bookbuying w. l. brown co-operation with the n. e. a. m. e. ahern federal and state relations b. c. steiner library administration a. e. bostwick library training a. s. root library work with the blind emma n. delfino library work in great britain l. s. jast the immigrant in the library mary antin immigrants as contributors to library progress adelaide b. maltby the man in the yards charles e. rush what of the black and yellow races? w. f. yust the working library for the artisan and the craftsman e. f. stevens the woman on the farm lutie e. stearns book influences for defectives and dependents julia a. robinson changing conditions of child life faith e. smith how the library is meeting the changing conditions gertrude e. andrus normal schools and their relation to librarianship w. h. kerr the present status of legislative reference work c. b. lester state wide influence of the state library d. c. brown the law that stands the test m. s. dudgeon making a library useful to business men s. h. ranck libraries in business organizations louise b. krause the municipal reference library as an aid in city administration george mcaneny the friendly book g. m. walton how to discourage reading e. l. pearson report of tellers of election executive board council sections: agricultural libraries catalog work with children college and reference professional training public documents round table affiliated organizations: american association of law libraries league of library commissions special libraries association post-conference trip attendance summaries attendance register index kaaterskill conference june - , first general session (monday evening, june ) the president: the thirty-fifth annual conference of the american library association begins this evening. custom has decreed that the presiding officer shall deliver a message, and the present presiding officer has not sufficient independence of mind to depart from that long-established custom. president's address the world of print and the world's work i turning for a text to victor hugo's stirring epic of paris, these words may be found in the section for may, and in the third chapter thereof: a library implies an act of faith which generations still in darkness hid sign in their night, in witness of the dawn. when johann gutenberg in his secret workshop poured the molten metal into the rough matrices he had cut for separate types, the instrument for the spread of democracy was created. when early cavaliers and puritans planted the crude beginnings of free public schools, the forces of democracy were multiplied. when half a century ago the first meager beginnings of the public library movement were evolved, democracy was for all time assured. thus have three great stages, separated each by a span of two hundred years from that preceding, marked that world development whose ultimate meaning is not equality of station or possession, but equality of opportunity. not without stress and strife have these yet fragmentary results been achieved. not without travail and difficulties will universal acceptance be accorded in the days to come. but no one may doubt the final outcome which shall crown the struggle of the centuries. the world was old when typography was invented. less than five centuries have passed since then, and in this interval--but a brief period in the long history of human endeavor--there has been more enlargement of opportunity for the average man and woman than in all the time that went before. without the instrumentality of the printed page, without the reproductive processes that give to all the world in myriad tongues the thought of all the centuries, slavery, serfdom and feudalism would still shackle the millions not so fortunate as to be born to purple and ermine, and fine linen. ii the evolution of the book is therefore the history of the unfoldment of human rights. the chained tome in its medieval prison cell has been supplanted by the handy volume freely sent from the hospitable public library to the homes of the common people. the humblest citizen, today, has at his command books in number and in kind which royal treasuries could not have purchased five hundred years ago. in the sixteenth century, it took a flock of sheep to furnish the vellum for one edition of a book, and the product was for the very few; in the twentieth, a forest is felled to supply the paper for an edition, and the output goes to many hundred thousand readers. as books have multiplied, learning has been more widely disseminated. as more people have become educated, the demand for books has increased enormously. the multiplication of books has stimulated the writing of them, and the inevitable result has been a deterioration of quality proportioned to the increase in quantity. in the english language alone, since , , titles of books printed in the united states, have been listed, and , in great britain since . of these , titles, , represent novels-- , issued in the united states and , in great britain. despite the inclusion of the trivial and the unsound in this vast mass of printed stuff, no one can doubt the magnitude of the service performed in the advancement of human kind. the universities have felt the touch of popular demand, and in this country at least some of them have attempted to respond. through correspondence courses, short courses, university week conferences, summer schools, local forums, traveling instructors, and other media of extension, many institutions of higher learning have given recognition to the appeal of the masses. logically with this enlargement of educational opportunity, the amplification of library facilities has kept pace. the libraries have become in a real sense the laboratory of learning. intended primarily as great storehouses for the accumulation and preservation rather than the use of manuscripts and books, their doors have been opened wide to all farers in search of truth or mental stimulus. in a report to the english king, sir william berkeley wrote as governor of virginia in : "i thank god there are no free schools nor printing, and i hope we shall not have them these hundred years; for learning has brought disobedience into the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. god keep us from both." governor berkeley's sentiments, expressed by him in turgid rhetoric, were held in his day by most men in authority, but that did not prevent the planting of little schoolhouses here and there, and men of much vision and little property bequeathed their possessions for maintaining them. many a school had its origin in a bequest comprising a few milch kine, a horse or two, or a crop of tobacco; in some instances, slaves. from such beginnings, with such endowments, was evolved three hundred years ago the public system of education which today prodigally promises, though it but niggardly realizes, sixteen years of schooling for every boy and girl in the land. if the span of years needed for the development of the free library system has been much shorter, the hostile attitude of influential men and the privations that attended pioneer efforts were no less marked. as recently as the writer of an article in the north american review labeled his attack: "are public libraries public blessings?" and answered his own question in no uncertain negative. "not only have the public libraries, as a whole, failed to reach their proper aim of giving the means of education to the people," he protested, "but they have gone aside from their true path to furnish amusement and that in part of a pernicious character, chiefly to the young." and he added: "i might have mentioned other possible dangers, such as the power of the directors of any library to make it a propaganda of any delusive ism or doctrine subversive of morality, society or government; but i prefer to rest my case here." and it was somewhat later than this that the pages of the century gave space to correspondence in opposition to the establishment of a public library system for the city of new york. these were but echoes of earlier antagonisms. iii for the documentary material dealing with the beginnings of the public library movement, the searcher must delve within the thousand pages of a portly folio volume issued by the british government sixty years ago. if one possesses patience sufficient to read the immense mass of dry evidence compiled by a parliamentary commission and "presented to both houses of parliament by command of her majesty," some interesting facts in library history will be found. a young man of twenty-three, then an underling in the service of the british museum, afterwards an eminent librarian, was one of the principal witnesses. edward edwards had the gift of vision. half a century before public libraries became the people's universities, as they are today, his prophetic tongue gave utterance to what has since become the keynote of library aims and policies. badgered by hostile inquisitors, ridiculed by press and politicians, he undeviatingly clung to his views, and he lived to see his prophecy realized. great libraries there had been before his day; remarkable as a storehouse of knowledge in printed form was, and is in our own day, the institution with which he was associated. but in these rich reference collections intended for the student of research, the element of popular use was lacking. to have suggested the loan of a single book for use outside the four walls of the library would have startled and benumbed everyone in authority--and without authority--from the members of the governing board to librarian, sub-librarians, and messenger boys. this stripling faced the members of parliament, and without hesitation proclaimed his thesis. "it is not merely to open the library to persons who, from the engrossing nature of their engagements of business, are at present utterly excluded from it, but it is also that the library may be made a direct agent in some degree in the work of national education. let not anyone be alarmed lest something very theoretical or very revolutionary should be proposed. i merely suggest that the library should be opened to a class of men quite shut out from it by its present regulations." then he added: "in such a country as this there should be one great national storehouse. but in addition to this, there should be libraries in different quarters on a humbler scale, very freely accessible." one of the ablest members of parliament, william ewart, of liverpool, became intensely interested in the views expressed by young edwards, and from that day was counted the consistent champion of library privileges for the common people. largely through his instrumentality, aided by such men as richard cobden, john bright and joseph brotherton, parliament passed an act "for the encouragement of museums." out of this measure grew the later public libraries' act. this notable step was not accomplished without bitter opposition. "the next thing we will be asked to do," said one indignant member on the floor of the house, "is to furnish people with quoits and peg-tops and footballs at the expense of taxpayers. soon we will be thinking of introducing the performances of punch for the amusement of the people." events in england influenced similar movements in the united states. in a letter to edward everett, in , mr. george ticknor gave the first impetus to the establishment of a free public library in boston--the first in the new world to be maintained permanently by the people for the people. "i would establish a library which differs from all free libraries yet attempted," he wrote. "i mean one in which any popular books, tending to moral and intellectual improvement, shall be furnished in such numbers of copies that many persons can be reading the same book at the same time; in short, that not only the best books of all sorts, but the pleasant literature of the day, shall be made accessible to the whole people when they most care for it; that is, when it is new and fresh." sixty years after the date of mr. ticknor's letter, and chiefly within the last two decades of the period, the public library movement has assumed a place in public education, which, relatively, the public school movement attained only after three hundred years of effort. when thomas bodley died, in , in all europe there were but three libraries accessible to the public--the bodleian, the angelo rocca at rome and the ambrosian at milan. in the penny cyclopedia devoted about four inches of a narrow column to the subject of libraries, ancient and modern, and limited its reference to american libraries to one sentence, obtained at second hand from an older contemporary: "in the united states of america, according to the encyclopedia americana, the principal libraries are, or were in , that of harvard college, containing , volumes; the philadelphia library, containing , ; that of the boston athenaeum, containing , ; that of congress, containing , , and that of charleston, containing , ." it is only since that the federal government has deemed it worth while to compile library statistics, and the first comprehensive figures were gathered in . it is worth noting that then they embraced all libraries comprising volumes, and that in no mention is made of collections containing less than a thousand volumes, while the most recent official enumeration makes , volumes the unit of consideration. from these official figures may be gleaned something of the extraordinary growth of libraries, both numerically and in size. in , including school libraries there were , containing a thousand volumes, ten years later there were , , ten years after that , , and at this date there are in this class not less than , , while the recorded number comprising three hundred volumes or more reaches the substantial total of , , and , of these catalog in excess of , volumes each. iv these figures show phenomenal growth, but even more impressive are the facts that give their full meaning in detail. from a striking compilation issued in germany by die brücke a few weeks ago, together with figures extracted by means of a questionnaire, supplemented by statistical material gathered by the bureau of education, the facts which follow have been deduced: counting the great libraries of the world, the six continents abutting the seven seas possess libraries whose book collections number in excess of , volumes each, and of these --or approximately one-fourth--are located in the americas. of the american libraries are in the united states, including university, public, governmental and miscellaneous institutions, with a combined collection of , , volumes. if this statistical inquiry is pursued further, a reason becomes apparent why millions are starved for want of books while other millions seemingly have a surfeit of them. the rural regions, save in a handful of commonwealths whose library commissions or state libraries actively administer traveling libraries, the book supply is practically negligible. even the hundreds of itinerating libraries but meagerly meet the want. all the traveling libraries in all the united states have a total issue annually less than that of any one of twenty municipal systems that can be named. the public library facilities in at least six thousand of the smaller towns are pitifully insufficient and in hundreds of them wholly absent. the movement to supply books to the people was first launched in the rural regions seventy years ago. indeed the movement for popular education known as the american lyceum, which forecast the activities of the modern public library just as the mechanics' institutes of great britain prepared the soil for them in that country, flourished chiefly in the less thickly settled centers of population. the early district school libraries melted away in new york state and wisconsin and other states, and the devastated shelves have never been amply renewed. the library commissions are valiantly and energetically endeavoring to supply the want, but their efforts are all too feebly supported by their respective states. in this particular, the policy is that which unfortunately obtains as to all educational effort. more than per cent of the young people from to years old--about , , of them--live in the country or in towns of less than two thousand inhabitants. according to an official report from which this statement is extracted, there are , country schools still taught in primitive log houses, uncomfortable, unsuitable, unventilated, unsanitary, illy equipped, poorly lighted, imperfectly heated--boys and girls in all stages of advancement receiving instruction from one teacher of very low grade. it is plain why, in the summing up of this report, "illiteracy in rural territory is twice as great as in urban territory, notwithstanding that thousands of illiterate immigrants are crowded in the great manufacturing and industrial centers. the illiteracy among native-born children of native parentage is more than three times as great as among native children of foreign parentage, largely on account of the lack of opportunities for education in rural america." in indian legend nokomis, the earth, symbolizes the strength of motherhood; it may yet chance that the classic myth of the hero who gained his strength because he kissed the earth may be fully understood in america only when the people learn that they will remain strong, as mr. münsterberg has put it, "only by returning with every generation to the soil." if the states have proved recreant to duty in this particular, the municipalities have shown an increasing conception of educational values. the figures make an imposing statistical array. in the united states there are , incorporated places of , or more inhabitants, and their libraries house , , volumes, with a total yearly use aggregating , , issues. four million volumes a year are added to their shelves, and collectively they derive an income of $ , , . their permanent endowments, which it must be regretfully said but of them share, now aggregate $ , , . nearly all of these libraries occupy buildings of their own, mr. andrew carnegie having supplied approximately $ , , for the purpose in the united states, and the balance of the $ , , represented in buildings having been donated by local benefactors or raised by taxation. the population of these , places is , , , considerably less than half that of the entire united states. their book possessions, on the other hand, are nine times as great as those in the rest of the country; the circulation of the books nearly twelve times in volume. closer analysis of these figures enforces still more strongly the actual concentration of the available book supply. the hundred largest cities of the united states, varying in size from a minimum of , to a maximum of , , , possess in the aggregate more books than all the rest of the country together, and represent the bulk of the trained professional service rendered. the great majority of the , graduates whom the library schools have sent into service since the first class was organized in , are in these libraries and in the university libraries. forty per cent of the books circulated are issued to the dwellers in these one hundred cities, and in fifteen of them the stupendous total of , , issues for home reading was recorded last year. without such analysis as this, the statistical totals would be misleading. the concentration of resources and of trained service in large centers of population, comparatively few in number, makes evident the underlying cause for the modern trend of library development. a further study of conditions in these human hives justifies the specialized forms of service which have become a marked factor in library extension within a decade. with increased resources, with vastly improved internal machinery, with enlarged conception of opportunity for useful service, have come greater liberality of rules and ever widening circles of activity, until today no individual and no group of individuals, remains outside the radius of library influence. if this awakened zeal has spurred to efforts that seem outside the legitimate sphere of library work, no undue concern need be felt. neither the genius or enthusiasm of the individual nor the enterprise of a group of individuals will ever be permitted to go too rapidly or too far: the world's natural conservatism and inherited unbelief stand ever ready to retard or prevent. v specialization has been incorporated into library administration chiefly to give expeditious and thorough aid to seekers of information touching a wide variety of interests--business men, legislators, craftsmen, special investigators and students of every sort. this added duty has not diminished its initial function to make available the literature of all time, nor to satisfy those who go to books for the pure joy of reading. the recreative service of the library is as important as the educative, or the informative. for the great mass of people, the problem has been the problem of toil long and uninterrupted. the successful struggle of the unions to restrict the hours of labor has developed another problem almost as serious--the problem of leisure. interwoven with this acute problem is another which subdivision of labor has introduced into modern industrial occupations--the terrible fatigue which results from a monotonous repetition of the same process hour after hour, day after day, week after week. such blind concentration in the making of but one piece of a machine, or a garment, or a watch, or any other article of merchandise, without knowledge of its relationship to the rest, soon wears the human worker out. there must be an outlet of play, of fun, or recreation. the librarian need not feel apologetic to the public because perchance his circulation statistics show that per cent of it is classed as fiction. if he wishes to reduce this percentage to or or , let him do it not by discouraging the reading of novels, but by stimulating the use of books in other classes of literature. but well does he merit his own sense of humiliation and the condemnation of the critics if he needs must feel ashamed of the kind of novels that he puts upon his shelves. to quote a fellow librarian who expresses admirably the value of such literature, "a good story has created many an oasis in many an otherwise arid life. many-sidedness of interest makes for good morals, and millions of our fellows step through the pages of a story book into a broader world than their nature and their circumstances ever permit them to visit. if anything is to stay the narrowing and hardening process which specialization of learning, specialization of inquiry and of industry and swift accumulation of wealth are setting up among us, it is a return to romance, poetry, imagination, fancy, and the general culture we are now taught to despise. of all these the novel is a part; rather, in the novel are all of these. but a race may surely find springing up in itself a fresh love of romance, in the high sense of that word, which can keep it active, hopeful, ardent, progressive. perhaps the novel is to be, in the next decades, part of the outward manifestation of a new birth of this love of breadth and happiness." vi many of the factory workers are young men and young women, whose starved imaginations seek an outlet that will not be denied. in lieu of wholesome recreation and material, they will find "clues to life's perplexities" in salacious plays, in cheap vaudeville performances, in the suggestive pages of railway literature, in other ways that make for a lowering of moral tone. the reaction that craves amusement of any sort is manifest in the nightly crowded stalls of the cheap theaters. eight million spectators view every moving picture film that is manufactured. it is estimated that one-sixth of the entire population of new york city and of chicago attends the theaters on any sunday of the year. one sunday evening, at the instance of miss jane addams, an investigation was made of theaters in the latter city, and it was discovered that in the majority of them the leading theme was revenge; the lover following his rival; the outraged husband seeking his wife's betrayer; or the wiping out by death of a blot on a hitherto unstained honor. and of course these influences extend to the children who are always the most ardent and responsive of audiences. there is grave danger that the race will develop a ragtime disposition, a moving picture habit and a comic supplement mind. vii it is perhaps too early to point to the specialized attention which libraries have given to the needs of young people as a distinct contribution to society. another generation must come before material evidence for good or ill becomes apparent. that the work is well worth the thought bestowed, whether present methods survive or are modified, may not be gainsaid. the derelicts of humanity are the wrecks who knew no guiding light. the reformatories and the workhouses, the penal institutions generally and the charitable ones principally, are not merely a burden upon society, but a reproach for duty unperformed. society is at last beginning to realize that it is better to perfect machinery of production than to mend the imperfect product; that to dispense charity may ameliorate individual suffering, but does not prevent recurrence. and so more attention is being given prevention than cure. i gave a beggar from my little store of well-earned gold. he spent the shining ore and came again, and yet again, still cold and hungry as before. i gave a thought, and through that thought of mine, he found himself a man, supreme, divine, bold, clothed, and crowned with blessings manifold, and now he begs no more. viii if numbers and social and industrial importance warrant special library facilities for children, certainly the same reasons underlie the special library work with foreigners which has within recent years been carried on extensively in the larger cities. last month the census bureau issued an abstract of startling import to those who view in the coming of vast numbers from across the waters a menace to the institutions of this democracy. according to this official enumeration, in but fourteen of fifty cities having over , inhabitants in did native whites of native parentage contribute as much as one-half the total population. the proportion exceeded three-fifths in only four cities. on the other hand, in twenty-two cities of this class, of which fifteen are in new england and the middle atlantic divisions, less than one-third of the population were native whites of native parentage, over two-thirds in all but one of these cities consisting of foreign-born whites and their children. in his ode delivered at harvard, lowell eloquently referred to "the pith and marrow of a nation drawing force from all her men, highest, humblest, weakest, all, for her time of need, and then pulsing it again through them, she that lifts up the manhood of the poor, she of the open soul and open door, with room about her hearth for all mankind!" this was written in . since then the rim of the mediterranean has sent its enormous contribution of unskilled and unlettered human beings to the new world. there have been three great tides of migration from over-seas. the first came to secure liberty of conscience; the second sought liberty of political thought and action; the third came in quest of bread. and of the three, incomparably the greater problem of assimilation is that presented by the last comers. inextricably interwoven are all the complexities which face the great and growing municipalities, politically and industrially and socially. these are the awful problems of congestion and festering slums, of corruption in public life, of the exploitation of womanhood, of terrible struggle with wretchedness and poverty. rightly directed, the native qualities and strength of these peoples will bring a splendid contribution in the making of a virile citizenship. wrongly shaped, their course in the life of the city may readily become of sinister import. frequently they are misunderstood, and they easily misunderstand. the problem is one of education, but it is that most difficult problem, of education for grown-ups. here perhaps the library may render the most distinct service, in that it can bring to them in their own tongues the ideals and the underlying principles of life and custom in their adopted country; and through their children, as they swarm into the children's rooms, is established a point of contact which no other agency could so effectually provide. under the repressive measures of old-world governments, the racial culture and national spirit of poles, lithuanians, finns, balkan slavs, and russian jews have been stunted. here both are warmed into life and renewed vigor, and in generous measure are given back to the land of their adoption. such racial contribution must prove of enormous value, whether, as many sociologists believe, this country is to prove a great melting pot for the fusing of many races, or whether as dr. zhitlowsky contends, there is to be one country, one set of laws, one speech, but a vast variety of national cultures, contributing each its due share to the enrichment of the common stock. ix great changes have come about in the methods that obtain for the exercise of popular government. in a democracy whose chief strength is derived from an intelligent public opinion, the sharpening of such intelligence and enlargement of general knowledge concerning affairs of common concern are of paramount importance. statute books are heavily cumbered with laws that are unenforced because public opinion goes counter to them. nonenforcement breeds disrespect for law, and unscientific making of laws leads to their disregard. so the earliest attempts to find a remedy contemplated merely the legislator and the official, bringing together for their use through the combined services of trained economists and of expert reference librarians the principles and foundation for contemplated legislation and the data as to similar attempts elsewhere. fruitful as this service has proved within the limitation of state and municipal officialdom, a broadened conception of possibilities now enlarges the scope of the work to include citizen organizations interested in the study of public questions, students of sociology, economics and political science, business men keenly alive to the intimate association--in a legitimate sense--of business and politics, and that new and powerful element in public affairs which has added three million voters to the poll lists in ten states, and will soon add eleven million voters more in the remaining thirty-eight. the new library service centering in state and municipal legislative reference libraries, and in civics departments of large public libraries, forecasts the era, now rapidly approaching, when aldermen and state representatives will still enact laws and state and city officials will enforce them, but their making will be determined strictly by public opinion. the local government of the future will be by quasi-public citizen organizations directing aldermen and state legislators accurately to register their will. when representative government becomes misrepresentative, in the words of a modern humorist, democracy will ask the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be. to intelligently determine the answer, public opinion must not ignorantly ask. x this has been called the age of utilitarianism. such it unquestionably is, but its practicality is not disassociated from idealism. the resources of numberless commercial enterprises are each in this day reckoned in millions, and their products are figured in terms of many millions more, as once thousands represented the spread of even the greatest of industries. but more and more, business men are coming to realize that business organization as it affects for weal or woe thousands who contribute to their success, must be conducted as a trust for the common good, and not merely for selfish exploitation, or for oppression. as the trade guilds of old wielded their vast power for common ends, so all the workers gave the best at their command to make their articles of merchandise the most perfect that human skill and care could produce. men of business whose executive skill determines the destiny of thousands in their employ, are growing more and more to an appreciation of the trusteeship that is theirs. a humane spirit is entering the relationship between employer and employed. great commercial organizations are conducting elaborate investigations into conditions of housing, sanitation, prolongation of school life, social insurance and similar subjects of betterment for the toilers; but a brief span ago they were concerned chiefly with trade extension and lowering of wages, all unconcerned about the living conditions of their dependents. they too are now exemplifying the possession of that constructive imagination which builds large and beyond the present. for results that grow out of experience and of experiment they also are in part dependent upon the sifted facts that are found in print. the business house library is a recent development, and in ministering in different ways to both employer and employed, gives promise of widespread usefulness. xi with the tremendous recent growth of industrialism and the rapid multiplication of invention, the manifest need for making available the vast sum of gathered knowledge concerning the discoveries of modern science has evolved the great special libraries devoted to the varied subdivisions of the subject. munificently endowed as many of them are, highly organized for ready access to material, administered to encourage use and to give expert aid as well, their great importance cannot be overestimated. what they accomplish is not wholly reducible to statistics, nor can their influence be readily traced, perhaps, to the great undertakings of today which overshadow the seven wonders of antiquity. but there can be no question that without the opportunities that here lie for study and research, and--no less important--without the skilled assistance freely rendered by librarian and bibliographer, special talent would often remain dormant and its possessor unsatisfied. greater here would be the loss to society than to the individual. xii thus the libraries are endeavoring to make themselves useful in every field of human enterprise or interest; with books of facts for the information they possess; with books of inspiration for the stimulus they give and the power they generate. conjointly these yield the equipment which develops the constructive imagination, without which the world would seem but a sorry and a shriveled spot to dwell upon. the poet and the dreamer conceive the great things which are wrought; the scientist and the craftsman achieve them; the scholar and the artist interpret them. thus associated, they make their finest contribution to the common life. the builders construct the great monuments of iron and of concrete which are the expression of this age, as the great cathedrals and abbeys were of generations that have passed. adapted as they are to the needs of this day, our artists and our writers have shown us the beauty and the art which the modern handiwork of man possesses. with etcher's tool one man of keen insight has shown us the art that inheres in the lofty structures which line the great thoroughfares of our chief cities, the beauty of the skylines they trace with roof and pediment. with burning words another has given voice to machinery and to the vehicles of modern industry, and we thrill to the eloquence and glow of his poetic fervor. "great works of art are useful works greatly done," declares dr. t. j. cobden-sanderson, and rightly viewed the most prosaic achievements of this age, whether they be great canals or clusters of workmen's homes worthily built, or maybe more humble projects, have a greatness of meaning that carries with it the sense of beauty and of art. in medieval days, the heralds of civilization were the warrior, the missionary, the explorer and the troubadour; in modern times, civilization is carried forward by the chemist, the engineer, the captain of industry, and the interpreter of life--whether the medium utilized be pen or brush or voice. without vision, civilization would wither and perish, and so it may well be that the printed page shall serve as symbol of its supreme vision. within the compass of the book sincerely written, rightly chosen, and well used are contained the three chief elements which justify the library of the people--information, education, recreation. the urge of the world makes these demands; ours is the high privilege to respond. * * * * * the president: we have a very interesting ending to tonight's program in that we have secured from eminent men and women in the united states and great britain brief expressions touching our own work. a circular letter was sent to a number of these eminent ladies and gentlemen represented in professional and business life, to the following effect: "librarians realize that they can profit from seeing themselves 'as others see them.' at the coming annual conference of the american library association to be held in kaaterskill, n. y., it is planned to present to the assembled librarians of the united states and canada brief messages from leading thinkers and recognized authorities in the arts, sciences and letters, and in public life, commenting upon such library activities as are related particularly with their own special interests. each message may take the form either of criticism or suggestion. we shall esteem it a privilege if you will consent to contribute to this symposium. while we shall be glad to hear from you on any phase of library work which most appeals to you, we venture to suggest the following topic for your comment: (here was inserted a specific topic suggested for individual discussion.) sincerely yours, henry e. legler, president." most of these questions will be apparent as the answers are read. we have distributed these responses among a few of our own members who will serve as proxies for the most distinguished contributors to a program which the american library association, i believe, has ever had. selections from these letters were then read by dr. reuben g. thwaites, mr. c. b. roden, miss mary eileen ahern and mr. w. p. cutter. (the following is a list of the questions which were asked in these letters and the replies received follow.) are our public libraries succeeding in their effort to bring to men and women the "life more abundant?" what can the library do to encourage the study of american history? should our public expect the library to supply all the "best sellers" hot from the press? are our public libraries making returns in service adequate to funds appropriated? how could our tax supported public libraries be of greater usefulness to business men? is the negro being helped by our public libraries? does the public library do as much as it might to encourage the reading of the classics? is the public library helping to improve dramatic taste? is co-operation between the public school and the public library developing in the right direction? is the fiction circulated by our public libraries helping to enlighten the people on social and economic problems? is the public library a factor in the recent development of a public conscience? should the public library exercise censorship over the books it circulates? what is a dead book? what rank should the library have in the scale of the community's social assets? what is your conception of the ideal librarian? is it wicked for our libraries to amuse people? are the art departments of our public libraries quickening the love for the beautiful? are our libraries helping to make better citizens of those from over-seas? is the modern city library engaging in activities outside its proper sphere, e. g., lectures, storytelling, art exhibits, victrola concerts, loan of pianola rolls, etc.? is the library doing as much as it might to be a true university to the people? what do you consider the most valuable accomplishment of the public library movement in the past decade? need librarians apologize for circulating a large percentage of contemporary fiction? * * * * * new york, april , . dear mr. president: you ask "what do you consider the most valuable accomplishment of the public library movement in the past decade?" * * * * * answer-- the spread of the truth that the public library, free to all the people, gives nothing for nothing; that the reader must himself climb the ladder and in climbing gain knowledge how to live this life well. andrew carnegie. * * * * * my father[ ] has asked me to write to you in reply to your letter concerning the conference of the american library association to be held in kaaterskill, n. y. neither my father nor i have any chance to see in any detail what our public libraries are doing to make life more abundant. one little incident, however, has come within my experience. the new york public library sends its discarded books to various hospitals and camps instead of destroying them. i have been able to get some of these discarded books for use in a boys' club here in cornwall. they were well chosen for what i wanted and the boys have been responsive and interested in taking them out. this is simply one of the things that the public libraries are doing with the books they are through with and can use no more. [ ] lyman abbott. yours very truly, beatrice vail abbott. * * * * * london, england, april , . in reply to your letter of april st, written on behalf of the american library association, i do consider that to a certain extent the fiction circulated in the public libraries of the united states does help to enlighten the people on social and economic problems. but i am bound to say that i think that we novelists might do a very great deal more in this direction if we would avoid sentimentalizing the truth in order to make it seem more palatable, and also if we would adopt the habit of describing more completely the general social background against which our leading figures live and move. believe me, yours faithfully, arnold bennett. * * * * * drama league of america, chicago, ill. in the last three years the american people as a whole have begun to awaken to a realization of the vast importance of our amusements in the nation's life. we are realizing that we are far behind the other civilized countries in the development of our dramatic taste, and we are beginning to be uneasy over the danger of being too careless in regard to our recreation. the people at large are commencing to take a genuine interest in the problems presented by our theater, and the character of the plays they give. we have arrived at a period of prosperity when we have time, at last, to pay attention to the arts, and especially the last to be developed, the dramatic art. we are uneasy over the conditions in our theaters today. vaguely the people as a whole are feeling around for one means or another to correct these conditions, to create a great national art and to restore drama to her proper place among the arts. one movement after another has aimed to meet these conditions--new theaters--municipal theaters, censorship laws,--every sort of reform. it has remained for the drama league of america to place its finger upon the really vital issue. for the actual fault of the present situation lies with the easy going american public. you cannot create a new theater without a public to support it; you cannot force art on an unwilling public no matter how large an a you use in spelling it. in fact, your reforms must begin the other side of the footlights; and if we are to have better plays upon our stage, if we are to do away with the meretricious plays now too frequently there, we must work with this great pleasure-loving good-natured public, and cultivate in it a taste for better drama. we must create a demand for good drama and the supply will follow--the dramatist, actor and manager are only too willing to fall into line, if the public can be induced to refuse the worthless play and support better drama. the really vital and necessary thing is to secure a public which will enjoy and support good plays. hence, it has become an important and basic matter to improve the dramatic tastes of the country. in fact, in the opinion of many, this is one of the great problems we have before us as a nation today. organized with this very object, the drama league of america has worked for three years on the problem. in those three years it has discovered many things. one of these is, that there is a real and genuine response to the appeal of the written drama; that the message of the play need not be restricted to the city with a theater, but that through the printed play every community may be reached. another point worked out by the league is the absolute assurance that the best and in fact the only way to improve the dramatic taste of the country is to inculcate a thorough knowledge of good drama--an intimate acquaintance with the best plays written. as many of these plays are rarely acted now, or if acted are confined to the big cities, the third point easily follows, that by means of the printed play we can gradually so inoculate the entire nation with a knowledge of good drama and what it really is that it will turn instinctively from the cheap and worthless play and demand better things. consequently the first and most important matter is to make good drama accessible to every one. by spreading knowledge of the best plays of the past and present, all over the country, we are improving the dramatic taste of the nation and paving the way for better conditions in the theaters. in this effort to increase the reading of plays the drama league not unnaturally turned early in its career to the libraries, feeling itself largely dependent upon them for the full development of its work. the keenest response has come in return. over libraries are represented in our membership and keep on file the league literature. the testimony from these libraries is most encouraging. on every side we find the libraries eager to help in this development of public dramatic taste. since the only way to improve dramatic taste is by acquiring a thorough knowledge of plays, it is palpably apparent that the libraries can be the greatest possible help in this new movement. to illustrate concretely--the drama league enters a medium sized town with one public library, inducing the two or three women's clubs to take up each a course in modern drama, interesting the teachers in the high school in the league's high school course, even persuading the grade school to do drama work with the younger pupils. usually there are formed also several little reading circles. of course, the first demand is for the published plays. the students flock to the libraries to get the desired dramas. in chicago the testimony has come many times that since the organization of the drama league public interest has been so keen that the demand for dramas has been phenomenal. is the library content merely to recognize this condition? by no means. the drama department has had to quadruple its supply, and even then is frequently obliged to hold the books in for reference only in order to meet the demand. but see what this has meant to the league to have that quadruple supply of the dramas demanded by its members. from washington comes the testimony that the organization of the league has increased the demand for drama books; from los angeles came a large order for special dramas and reference books needed by our members. the massachusetts state library has offered to meet any demands made upon it. librarians in various communities are officers and directors in this new movement. may i suggest a few ways in which the libraries can help us? in the first place, it will be a real benefit to any community if its library will become a member of the drama league and keep its literature on file. in this way the community is kept informed through the drama league bulletins of the best current plays by its critical analysis; it has access also to the study courses and bibliographies on drama prepared by the league's experts. secondly, it would be an inestimable help in this task of improving dramatic taste of the community if the library would be sure to have on hand all the dramas listed in our study and reading courses. thirdly, if the libraries would arrange a handy shelf of worthy drama where "he who runs may read," where the passerby would be attracted by a drama and pick it up to read it, it might induce a taste for better plays, a knowledge of good drama in a previously heedless theater goer. in evanston, illinois, for three years this shelf has been maintained in the library by the drama club. every few weeks a new selection of dramas is placed on this little book rack which stands near the main call desk. it is much used and very popular. the library could also helpfully publish a separate list of its books on drama and dramas, or better yet arrange them in a separate section. such a list is published yearly by the evanston library and several other libraries have recently adopted this plan--notably the newberry library, chicago, and the kansas city library. another way in which the libraries can co-operate in raising dramatic taste, is by making it easy for the playgoer to read the dramas which have been published and are to be presented in his city. by co-operation with the drama league the library might receive word in advance when a published worthy play is to be given in town. it could then see to it either that its copy of that play is withdrawn from circulation and held for reference only, or it could secure extra copies of the play to meet the extra demand. if it could be thoroughly understood that the library was doing this, interest in reading the play could be stimulated. for instance, the library could post a notice stating the coming of the play to town, side by side with the league bulletin or criticism of the play, and the announcement that it could be secured at the book shelf. with this active help of the libraries we might go far toward securing a trained dramatic taste on the part of our theater goers. there are several magazines of special value to the student of drama. it would be a very great help if the libraries made a special point of including these among their subscriptions and of listing them under the drama department--as for instance, the drama quarterly, and poet lore print in each issue a play which has never been printed in translation before, and which cannot be secured elsewhere. these are extremely valuable to the drama student. the drama quarterly, moreover, is especially adapted to the needs of the student of drama, and should be accessible to him. it aims to criticise the various books on drama and dramas of special excellence, also publishing notices of the most recent drama movements in this country and abroad. it is not used for league propaganda, but was taken over by the drama league merely because it was in danger of being abandoned. moreover, in current opinion and hearst's magazine are frequently printed very valuable portions of unpublished new plays. with every issue of l'illustration is published a new french drama in french. it would be an excellent thing if the larger or better equipped libraries could excerpt the plays from these magazines and have them sewed up simply, each complete by itself, and kept with the other dramas. in this way the library could make an excellent modern drama department readily accessible to the league members, obtainable in no other way, and at very slight cost to the library. a very important way in which the library association might help is one which may not be practical, but which your convention might be able to work out for us. it is in the nature of loan libraries. as we introduce our study courses into the small towns we frequently find no library facilities along our lines. one of our workers made an investigation of the drama department in libraries in small towns of five to ten thousand inhabitants in the middle west, and found that without exception all of those she visited, had only shakespeare and faust, with occasionally a volume of l'aiglon. it is easy to see how difficult it will be for clubs and individuals to take up a study of drama under such conditions. is there any way in which the large state libraries can prepare a loan library at very slight cost, made up of books desired for this special work, which could be borrowed by the local library for the use of its clubs? of course, in some states, as in wisconsin and new york, and probably many others, this is covered by the traveling libraries; but there are very many where this is not so. cannot the libraries go even farther in their effort to improve dramatic taste and meet the demand for dramas and books on dramas, a demand which the drama league is attempting to create? several libraries in various cities, as notably chicago and washington, have opened their rooms for drama league meetings. cannot this be done in other cities? surely any way in which you, as public institutions, can increase the interest in good drama, is a part of your proper function. the league work must go hand in hand with the libraries. without you and your resources, your wisdom and your co-operation, we would be much crippled and sadly curtailed in our possibilities of achievements. on the other hand, now that the development of a national taste for better drama is becoming recognized as a necessity in order to effect any improvement in the conditions of our stage today, now that we fully recognize that the best way to create a better dramatic taste is by familiarity with the best in drama, now that we are working to make the reading of plays popular and wide spread, does it not become a very important branch of the library's activity to take every step possible to increase the reading of plays and the thorough knowledge of dramatic literature on the part of young and old? the real opportunity is with the children. here we can create a fine dramatic taste for the future, and here, too, the library can help. in your junior corner, can you not have the plays recommended on our junior list, as suitable for children in order that they may have them for their play acting? can you not start a junior league drama circle to read and act little children's plays, just as you have your story hour? in this way the library is helping us prepare the audiences of the future which shall not only support better drama, but being thoroughly inoculated with an instinctive dramatic taste, will positively demand worthy drama. so will the libraries and the drama league, representing the universities, schools, clubs and individuals in general have aroused the public conscience to a realization of its responsibilities for the amusements of the people. marjorie a. best (mrs. a. starr best) president, drama league of america. * * * * * the macmillan company, new york, n. y., may , . in reply to your esteemed letter of may nd i may say that the matter which seems to me to be of the greatest interest to publishers, and possibly also to librarians, at the present time is the dissemination among the public at large of that correct information in regard to the ever increasing tide of new books which will enable the public to learn of really meritorious works which are published, and avoid the trash which is now being so freely distributed. almost the only way at the present time of reaching large numbers of book readers is through the libraries, and this seems sufficient excuse for bringing this, which seems to me to be the most important matter, to your notice and of begging that it may be given publicity among your fellow librarians in order that we may have suggestions for the solution of the difficulty. yours very truly, george p. brett, president. * * * * * brown university, providence, r. i., april , . in reply to your letter of april i can only say that i am not familiar enough with the conduct of american libraries to make any new suggestions on the question you propose. i think the plan followed by the providence public library is the best one to encourage the reading of the standard works of literature. it has, as you of course know, a pleasant room, easily accessible, in which attractive editions of the best authors can be read. would it be feasible to supplement this plan by publishing, from time to time, interesting, short descriptions of standard books, giving prospective readers some notion of the subject and peculiar attraction of each--somewhat after the manner of publishers' alluring (or would-be alluring) notices of new books? yours sincerely, w. c. bronson. northampton, mass., may , . your letter of the fourteenth, inviting me to contribute to a symposium of thought concerning library work in america and suggesting the topic, "what is your conception of the ideal librarian," does me great honor. but it brings to my mind very clearly my inability to offer a definition which i could possibly hope would be enlightening or stimulating to a convention of librarians. the library work of our present day has expanded into such liberal bounds and taken on such a missionary, and at the same time scientific, spirit that one who is merely its beneficiary cannot give himself the hardihood to offer words of criticism or of counsel. i know no work which shows such splendid contrasts to what it was when i began life as does the profession of the public librarian and the professional conception of the library's mission to the world. it has been my great joy and honor to bring up a large family whose members are now separated and busy in the world's work and it gives me great pleasure to say of them, as of myself, that the modern management of public libraries has made life worth incalculably more than it could have been under the limitations of forty years ago. with every good wish i beg to remain ever yours truly, george w. cable. * * * * * santa barbara, cal., may , . it gives me great pleasure to attempt a brief answer to the question you suggest--"is the fiction circulated by our public libraries helping to enlighten the people on social and economic problems?" i should be inclined to answer the question decidedly in the affirmative. in addition to the letters i receive from persons whose only access to modern fiction is through the public library, concerning my own work, i have, in the course of political campaigns, and in places in various parts of the country where i have made another sort of address, held many conversations with men and women in the audiences. these have interested me greatly. my own experience corroborates a fact to which i have heard several librarians attest (and it is to me the most hopeful phenomenon in our american life), that the american public--mainly through the libraries--is reading more widely and more intelligently than those who do not come into direct contact with a large portion of it guess. four or five months ago i received a letter from a poor woman who lives on a farm near one of the larger towns of massachusetts giving me a list of the books she had got from the library during the past year. she had read them all; and they included, in addition to two good biographies and royce's "loyalty," several of the best recent novels, both english and american, dealing seriously with the problems of modern life. and finally, the other day when i was in san francisco, i had a long conversation with an ex-burglar who had served a term in the penitentiary, and who has reformed and has been for the last eight years making an honest living, on the subject of such novels as you mention. his comments on them were not only interesting but often valuable. his source was, of course, the public library. hence, i am glad of this opportunity to pay my tribute to the librarian, and to express, as an american citizen, my appreciation of the work he is doing. sincerely yours, winston churchill. * * * * * bureau of education, washington, d. c. april , . the public libraries have no better opportunity for effective service than that offered through generous and intelligent co-operation with the public schools and especially with the high schools and the highest grades of the grammar schools. ideas and ideals gained through reading in childhood and youth effect the character more fundamentally and more permanently, and determine moral conduct for a longer time than ideas and ideals gained later. it should also be remembered that children have more time to read than men and women immersed in the strong current of adult life. the public library in every city and town should be open on the freest terms to all school children and they should feel that they have the heartiest welcome to it. not only should the teacher encourage children to use the library; librarians should invite them to do so and make all possible preparations to serve them. there should be in the libraries a sufficient number of reading rooms to accommodate children of different grades. in these should be assistant librarians who know the very best in literature for children and youth and who know also how to deal with children and how to make the rooms attractive. it is all important that the reading rooms and those in charge be attractive, respected, liked, and loved. it is especially important that children be led to read those things that have permanent and eternal value. no one should be permitted to direct the reading of children who thinks it necessary to have books written down to them or who does not know that the greatest books are the simplest and the most wholesome. the children's librarians should also be whole minded and whole hearted people with a broad and interesting knowledge of the world and life. it will be fatal if they are narrow, prejudiced, sectarian, or over-provincial. the public library should have the services of one or more good story tellers who know the best stories of the world and can tell them in an interesting way. as often as once a week at least there should be a separate hour for all the children. the children should, of course, come in sections--primary, grammar grades, and high school. in addition to the services rendered as here suggested at the library, all the children in school or out should have library cards and for the convenience of the children every school building should be made a branch library for the use of children at least. i see no reason why it should not also serve as a branch library for the older people. it would not cost much to have some one or more teachers at each school serve as librarians under the direction of the librarian of the central library. through the branch library at the school many parents and other older members of the family could be reached who never can be reached through the ordinary central and branch library buildings. attractive statements about books, especially new books should be sent to the parents by the children and books might be ordered and returned through the children. it would not be difficult to induce pupils and teachers to arrange reading circles and clubs among the adult members of families living near the school, the books used by the reading circles to be ordered from and returned to the school branch library. teachers and principals would also be willing to arrange for weekly meetings for the members of these reading circles and clubs, the meetings to be held at the school. certificates and diplomas might be given for the reading of certain groups of books. the library should own in sets books helpful to teachers and children in their studies and should, at the request of superintendents and principals, place sets of these in the several schools for use in school, but not to be taken out except over night or over saturdays and sundays and holidays. libraries should also own large collections of illustrative pictures and lantern slides. these should be cataloged as books are and lists of them should be in the hands of school superintendents, supervisors, principals, and teachers. the pictures and slides should be loaned the schools freely upon their request. school officers and teachers should be asked to assist in selecting these and all other collections for the use of children. the library should serve in this way not only the schools of the city, but also the country and village schools in the counties in which they are located. through the country schools more good can be accomplished, frequently, than through the city schools. country boys and girls are more eager to read than city boys and girls. they have more time for it and will read better books. the library should have a direct relation with every school and every teacher in the county. of course, the county should pay for this service, but it should have it whether it pays for it or not. the city cannot afford to withhold it. the city depends on the country for its prosperity and life. the children now in the country will make up a large part of the population of the city twenty or twenty-five years from now. in many places the public libraries are doing all these things to some extent; in no place to as great an extent as is possible. by using to the best advantage the opportunities here suggested, public libraries may double their usefulness. yours sincerely, p. p. claxton, commissioner. * * * * * new york city, april , . the negro american is being helped greatly by public libraries wherever he is given reasonable encouragement to enter them. often in the north, he is not made to feel welcome in these libraries and in most of the public and private libraries of the south, he is rigorously excluded. it would seem that a statement from the american library association to the effect that the color line in literature is silly, is much needed at present. very sincerely yours, w. e. b. du bois. * * * * * mayor's office, boston, mass. of course, the financial return for money expended to maintain a public library cannot be definitely stated, as may be done in connection with municipal activities which deal solely with material things. it is impossible to trace along commercial lines the influence upon the community of an institution whose prime purpose is not profit, is not even a product that can be expressed in terms of dollars, but is the enlargement of the individual life, and the promotion of higher standards of citizenship. on the lowest and most sordid plane however, an institution like the boston public library is worth many times its cost to the city merely on account of the number of persons from abroad who are attracted to the building as an example of monumental architecture, or because it contains exceptional works of art in its mural decorations, or who visit it as a museum of rare and interesting books. these visitors number thousands yearly; many of them stay in the city for several days, and their entertainment and their expenditure of money while they remain, add to the commercial prosperity of the city. in somewhat the same way, but on a much higher plane, directly within the scope of the library function, numbers of students are yearly drawn to the city by the advantages the library offers for intellectual research. and the library enhances the importance and value of the various schools and colleges within our borders, by enlarging their intellectual resources. in other directions the value of the library to the community is evident. the fact that it is here adds something to the value of every estate in the city. persons seeking a desirable place of residence prefer a city or town which has good schools and a well-equipped and adequately supported library to a place without these institutions, even if no direct use is made by such persons of either. the influence of a good library on the general conditions in a community is therefore a profitable asset. in assimilating the different elements of a mixed and rapidly growing population, the work of the library is obvious, and its results far outweigh their cost. and the increased efficiency of individuals, which the library promotes, has its effect in inestimable public benefits. for example, to take a single possible case out of many, here is a young man without money or influence but who has talent which, if properly fostered may become the source of power. through the opportunities for study given by the public library he perfects an invention, or writes a poem, or enters a useful profession by means of which he ministers to the comfort and enjoyment of his fellow-men and confers honor upon this city. how can one over-estimate the social value of such lives, or the part which the library has played in their development? such instances are by no means few, and unquestionably they supply an affirmative answer to the question as to whether or not the library is making an adequate return for its cost. john f. fitzgerald. * * * * * chicago, illinois, may , . your question, "is the fiction circulated by our public library helping to enlighten people on social and economic problems?" is one which i can answer promptly and affirmatively. looking at fiction in the mass, it is without doubt an enormous educational influence. leaving out of view for the moment the historical novel, or the sociologic novel, and taking merely the local novel, the novel which vividly portrays the life of a special village, or country, or nation, we find it of the greatest service in teaching the people of one country, or class, how the people of other countries and other classes live. such books bring the ends of the earth together. they unite the north and the south, the east and the west, in common sympathy and understanding. they contribute very largely to the higher patriotism, as well as to the profounder social brotherhood. it would be easy to criticise fiction for other and less valuable content, but speaking generally, i believe it to be second only to the stage in its power to affect the young student of life and manners. very sincerely yours, hamlin garland. * * * * * ithaca, n. y., may , . you ask for comment--as "related particularly with their own special =interests=" and at the risk of being charged with "talking shop," i have been brutally frank. yet i hope it will cheer these splendid workers for civilization. the library is =not= "doing as much as it might to be a true university to the people." books alone will not attract the insensitive or indifferent, nor will handsome buildings. equal to other necessity of the library to be "a true university to the people," =is that of arousing interest, awakening curiosity and alluring into path ways that lead to books and reading=. i know of nothing better than to have cheap, popular, illustrated lecture courses that constantly refer to books and the special theme. does the local librarian or do active directors, attempt seriously to tap the knowledge of the local specialist, professional man, or public spirited speaker? do the library people emphasize the necessity of close, personal contact, as far as possible, with the individuals and with the people? libraries must be more human. no machinery, or salaried personnel, however costly or efficient, within chosen lines of activity, can do without that same human sympathy, which in other professions, is known to outweigh in value, all edifices, or the paid professional corps; yes, even in religion or philanthropy. not all, but most libraries--and i have looked in, and at, and around many--are too self-centered. yet with this criticism, honestly called for and as honestly given, none can appreciate the librarian more than i. to guide youthful reading, warning as well as advising and alluring them to high flights, is to make the librarian's calling =second to none= in our complex civilization. with all good wishes to the librarians of the united states and canada. sincerely yours, william eliot griffis. p. s. every library should have a lecture hall and not be afraid even of the "fit audience though few." * * * * * clark university, worcester, mass., may , . my experience is a long one with university libraries, but i have had far less to do with public libraries. the greatest need of the specialist and expert is help in finding all, and especially the latest, often very scattered, literature on the special point on which he is conducting his research, and i believe that in the future every academic library will have a few specialists with a good knowledge of languages, of ph. d. rank, who can do just this. we have one such here, to whom my work owes more than to anybody else. if i ask her to find me, e. g., all the recent references on a topic, be it ever so special, including perhaps a score of archives and special journals, back for three or five years as i may specify, up to the latest arrival, i get this list, which always includes many things our library does not have, then take it to the librarian, who can generally get about everything by borrowing far and near. these, together with the resources here, are placed upon a table in an alcove where i can work or take the books home. this makes a perfectly ideal condition, and it is at the same time indispensable for advanced special work, and everything in a university library should be plastic to this end. a public librarian, it seems to me, should study all the changing interests in a community or in special parts of it, and be able to print in the daily press whenever any topic is prominent a little article telling in a few lines the point of a few books or articles; e. g. a manual training high school is opened. the daily paper should state that the library has a good collection of literature up to date on that subject (if it has), and give a few points from a few of the best books, naming them. a few titles are not enough. another point that interests me greatly is the library story telling. i think more should be done, not less, in this line for children, and that books illustrating topics in geography, history, etc., should be not only laid before teachers but that the classes should meet there and have the things shown to them. why does not the public library go into some of the wonderful illustrative material in the above and other topics, which is so characteristic of german schools, and of which american schools know almost nothing? our educational museum here has lately spent thousands of dollars and collected thousands of these illustrations all the way from wall pictures to bound pictures, illustrating material from primary grades up into college, which we loan as we do books to teachers, parents and others. there is a very great new departure possible here. why does not your association look into this? it has been a great find for us. and about everything in our large collection and its use, to my mind, might be done by public libraries although none of them that i know of has done much of anything along that line. i am very truly yours, g. stanley hall. * * * * * the university of chicago, chicago, may , . while i am not at all a specialist in library science and art, i am daily a debtor to your profession. in answer to the question--"what rank should the library have in the scale of the community's social assets?"--i should indicate the following hints of an argument: the income of every family is increased by the possession and use of a public library. this item is never found set down in the accounts of a family as a part of their income, and the students of budgets are too apt to overlook it; but all communal property, as lake fronts, parks, playgrounds, public schools, public free libraries and reading rooms, are so much addition to the enjoyments of all who have the taste and inclination to use them. as the library contains the very best thoughts of the greatest men and women of all time, i should say that the public free library is among the very highest possessions of the people. when we consider the dangers of idleness or of a depraved use of leisure, and when we consider the splendid opportunity of spiritual growth which comes from intelligent and systematic daily use of the library, we must place this institution among the highest agencies of social amelioration and progress. every year sees improvement in the administration of this noble trust by the professional custodians and administrators. there is manifest everywhere a spirit of courtesy, patience and enterprise, which does honor to this branch of the profession of educators. the librarian and his assistants are colleagues of instructors in all institutions of every grade, and those of us who are teaching feel ourselves to be under profound obligations to our companions in service. sincerely yours, charles richmond henderson. * * * * * chicago, april , . i have your letter of april nd in which you are good enough to ask me to write a few lines on the topic: "should the public library exercise censorship over the books it circulates?" i suppose there is no question that the good public library should =have= somewhere in its shelves all books of serious intent, and should circulate in a restricted and properly guarded way =any= book no matter what its subject matter. so the question comes down to the propriety of circulating generally without restriction all sorts of books. i should hesitate to say that a public library should exercise no supervision over its circulation, although i myself have suffered from what i consider unjust and unmerited notoriety--due to the prescient sensibilities of certain librarians, as you know. but when you will admit the principle of censorship, the matter is a delicate one, of course. it would seem to me, for example, unwise to circulate freely books of medicine. as to fiction--or what publishers call "the general list" of books, i think an intelligent librarian should hesitate a long time before putting on his or her =index expurgatorius any publications= vouched for by the imprint of a =reputable= publishing firm. for such books have actually passed a severe censorship before being put out. i realize it is all a personal matter, for what to me is good red meat may be poison to my brother. i think, for instance, that such a novel as the rosary is infinitely more pernicious than the kreutzer sonata, la terre, or germinal, but the average librarian wouldn't. so i am afraid the matter will have to stand just where it is today--a book will be censored as unfit or unclean according to the whim of the individual librarian. presumably the public librarian is at least abreast of, if not superior in culture and idealism to his community, and as our communities improve our librarians will become persons of wider intelligence and culture than they are now in some cases and exercise their censorial powers with more real discrimination. apropos of this matter you may be interested to know that a few months ago the new york post in an editorial protest against certain young american realists and their treatment of sex--instanced mr. howells and myself as examples of "clean american reticent realism!" this, after all the roar over "together" is an amusing illustration of growth in critical opinion. mr. howells sent me the editorial but i haven't it with me. truthfully, robert herrick. p. s. my own views on the proper treatment of sex in fiction will be briefly touched upon in an article on american fiction to be printed in the yale review before long. * * * * * chicago, may , . you ask me "is the fiction circulated by our public libraries helping to enlighten the people on social and economic problems?" that is a question which a librarian can answer better than any author. in general, it seems to me, magazine fiction is doing more in that line than book fiction. some of the greatest circulations ever attained by periodicals have been built upon a shrewd knowledge of the american materialism. one editor voices it:--"americans are interested about two-thirds in business, and one-third in love." that editorial policy has won in this country. as to social and economic problems, more properly considered, i don't think fiction is doing much for the people. this really is the fault of the people, or of human nature, or rather of american human nature. i think we are one of the most neurotic and hysterical people in the world, which means that presently we shall be one of the most swiftly decadent people in the world. for this reason, we have sudden fashions in fiction. just now we like to read about "action" of heroic sort--precisely as we pay to see baseball games instead of playing baseball ourselves. also, we are for the time given over to a wave of erotic fiction, just this side of indecent. at one time we were crazy over historical fiction, before that, over dialect fiction, before that over analytical fiction. therefore, i should say that our book fiction does not and cannot do much in the way of handling social and economic problems at the present day. once in a while, we have a political novel, machine-made, and like all other political novels. sometimes, we get a business novel, in turn like all other business novels. we don't have really very many thoughtful novels good enough to be called big. i fancy it would not pay authors to write them, or public libraries to buy them. we are having a period of business and political sack cloth and ashes, but, drunk or sober, broke or prosperous, the american character seems to me annually to grow more hectic and hysterical, and less inclined to care for big things and good stuff. part of this is the fault of our newspapers, but most of it is our own fault. we care for making money and for little else, and we spend money whether we have it or not. the public libraries would be the natural agency for correcting some of these things, but frankly i don't know how they could do it. yours very truly, emerson hough. * * * * * new york city. why should not the libraries amplify the work they are already doing by the promotion of the public schools as well as libraries as social and civic centers? schoolhouses should be constructed with all equipments for branch libraries, just as they are now equipped with gymnasiums and baths. the library should not be an accident in the public school; it should be an integral part of it. the schoolhouse is the natural place for the library. to it the children come daily--little messengers who would secure books from printed slips for their parents, too tired or too distant from the library to serve themselves. the library should be the school rest and reading room. it would relieve the tedium of regular school work. it would lend variety to education; it would enrich it and beautify it. in addition, great economy would be effected by converting the school into a library; there would be a saving in construction, in maintenance, in operation. the fine social sense of the modern librarian would have a reaction on education and would lead to other activities being introduced into the schools. the american library is the model of the world in many ways. it has led the movement for the widening of public services to old and young. it is one of the most inspirational achievements of the american city, and it could do a substantial service by promoting the social center idea, which is so actively engaging the minds of people all over the country. (signed) frederic c. howe. new york, n. y. april , . in response to your kind invitation to send a brief message on the subject--"can public libraries legitimately attempt amusement as well as instruction of the people?" i would reply to the affirmative. if literature is an art, and if libraries are to be as they should be--reservoirs of literature--they surely cannot be complete without giving an important place to arts' most human appeal, amusement. the novel, invented to amuse, stands today as the vital force in literature. of course, by "amusement" i do not mean a vaudeville. shakespeare wrote to amuse; and if he does not offer a popular line today it is because modern writers are better chosen to amuse our century. indeed, if you remove the fiction department--the amusement section--from your library you reduce it to the plans of a machine--an admirable machine, perhaps--but without a human soul to drive it. sincerely yours, wallace irwin. * * * * * carnegie institution of washington, washington, d. c., june , . the specific question which you propound, "what can the library do to encourage the study of american history?" is one which i suppose must have very different answers for different sorts of libraries. in the case of libraries of moderate size in small cities, it has sometimes appeared to me that the money used in the purchase of books on american history was too exclusively used in buying the less expensive sort of books, those in one or two or three volumes, of which it is perfectly easy to get a considerable number out of each year's appropriations; while on the other hand, the purchase of certain books of value in expensive sets was never made, because it could not easily be made in any one given year. if the purchasing policy were given a somewhat longer range, extending over several years, one might plan to redress this inequality. to avoid speaking as if i were recommending any one long set of americana for purchase, let me adduce as an instance a library of forty or fifty thousand volumes with which i am familiar which has in the past twenty years bought a great many books of english history, without ever yet having afforded the purchase of the =dictionary of national biography=, obviously because it was too large a morsel for any one year's budget. if i were to proceed to make any suggestion for the larger libraries, i might select for comment the relative lack of co-operation among such libraries in respect to the pursuit of the more expensive specialties. it is plain that the interest of students are, in respect to restricted specialties of this class better served on the whole by their being able to find relatively complete collections in one place, rather than scattered fragments of such collections in various places. the ambition of libraries for possession might well be tempered by some closer approach to systematic organization of these things, whereby certain ones should be recognized as belonging plainly in the field of a certain library without competition on the part of the others. i am speaking, of course, of things which only a few students are seeking, and which they must expect to seek by travel, and not of those things for which there is a separate effective demand in every large city. may i also suggest the question whether it is not a legitimate use of the funds of a public library to pay recognized experts, resident in its city or summoned from elsewhere, to go over the shelves relating to a particular subject and carefully signalize those gaps which are almost certain to occur; to name, in other words, any important books which have been omitted but which are necessary to make the collection a well-rounded one for the needs of the particular locality as the librarian sees them. i think also that university and college libraries are particularly in need of such periodical redress, because professors are so prone to request books needed for the immediate purposes of their classes, and to exhaust their appropriations by such requests, forgetting the need of building up rounded collections for general purposes; and the librarian, on his part, feels a certain delicacy about suggesting books for which the professor has evinced no desire, though often he will agree they were desirable, if their absence were called to his attention. believe me very truly yours, j. f. jameson. hadley, mass., may , . i have your recent letter asking for some brief comment on such phase of library work as most appeals to me. at present, in accord with the trend of current thought in other matters, i am inclined to lay stress on efficiency; and under that head i would urge that librarians, especially in the smaller places, do much strenuous and persistent weeding among the books that find their way to the shelves. feed the furnace with the books that are no longer useful in your particular library, or in some other way absolutely dispose of them. much of the fiction, both for grown-ups and young people, should go, after the first interest in it has waned. many also of the information books decline in value with the passing years and should not remain a permanent incubus. very few of the government publications are of practical use in the average library. we have altogether too much veneration for printed matter. library housecleanings to discard the literary rubbish and misfits are a real need. quality is decidedly more important than quantity, if you would have charm and the widest usefulness. yours very truly, clifton johnson. april , . in response to your kind letter of april th, and after refreshing my mind by consultation with librarian friends, with your kind permission i may say a word on the theme, "that librarians should sometimes take account of stock," that they should consider the reasons for their existence and find out how nearly their present day activities coincide with the purposes for which they are established. with one or two notable exceptions public libraries in the united states are a development of the last quarter of the th century. until about , or possibly the efforts of librarians were directed toward perfecting methods of administration, cataloging, etc. then having arrived at mutual agreement as to forms of procedure they devoted themselves more and more to library extension. they realized that only fractions of their respective communities were in touch with the libraries. in a city of , inhabitants perhaps , or per cent would make use of library privileges, and the circulation of a million volumes per year meant the use of only - / books per year for each inhabitant. then commenced the era of branch libraries, deposit stations, libraries in schools, libraries in factories, in fire-houses; a resort to every possible means to extend usefulness of the library throughout the whole community. not satisfied with these expedients other forms of extension are being adopted. i am told that "one library publishes a weekly paper heralding the advantages of its city. it has established a business man's information branch, compiled an index to the products manufactured within the city, and holds itself ready to give information as to where the best tennis balls, suit cases and everything else can be purchased." undoubtedly this is a public convenience, but it seems to be getting a little away from original library purposes. there is a tendency for libraries to so scatter their energies that they lose sight of the main objects of their being. they exhibit the same tendency which can be seen in the curricula of many colleges which offer courses upon every conceivable subject, the lasting value of which to those who pursue them is certainly questionable. libraries are not exempt from the prevalent tendency of municipal, state and federal agencies to extend their activities and increase the burden of taxes. it is safe to say that in many public libraries the budgets have been more than doubled in the last years. it is a question whether the real service to the community has gained in proportion. it is not necessary to make hourly deliveries to downtown delivery stations of the latest thing in fiction, but it is essential that the libraries should do their utmost to maintain ideals. the library which has set apart in a separate room a collection of standard literature has performed a notable service for its community and furnished an example worthy of imitation. it is a part of the best work of the library to assist in perpetuating only that which is worthy of survival. very truly yours, david starr jordan. * * * * * the french embassy, washington, d. c., may , . on the question you put me: "are our libraries helping to make better citizens of those from over-seas?" i must decline to give an answer. it would be somewhat bold on the part of one who is not himself a citizen of this country and whose opportunities have been scant, for studying such a problem, to express an opinion. concerning librarians, as such, i may say that my experience with them, under many climes and skies, has ever been of the pleasantest. their keeping company with the thinkers and writers of all times, spending their days in those temples where the wisdom, the folly, the dreams, the beauty of ages is stored for the contemplation or warning of succeeding generations, gives them, of whatever nationality they be, a philosophical turn of mind, a benevolent desire to help, a friendliness to the untutored who want to know more. for me they are the typical men of good will for whom there will be peace. believe me, very truly yours, jusserand. * * * * * chicago, may . "can public libraries legitimately attempt amusement as well as instruction of the people?" since you ask me the question, i feel obliged to answer it in all seriousness. in my opinion the public library ought not to be turned into a place of amusement. let us have this one institution left as a refuge from amusement. the general desire of the public to be amused has caused it to become almost impossible for one to go anywhere or see anything without becoming conscious of the fact that the first and generally the sole purpose of everything is to amuse. the preachers make their sermons amusing, the poets make their poems amusing, the artists make their pictures amusing, the merchants make their shops amusing; one cannot eat in a public place without being amused. steamships and railway trains are operated for the amusement of passengers; every vacant storeroom will by tomorrow have become a place of amusement and plans are already being made to convert funerals into amusing affairs. spare to us the one place in which we may hope to escape from amusement. let the public library remain grand, gloomy and peculiar. sincerely yours, s. e. kiser. chicago, april , . in reply to your letter of april , , would say--the modern city library is covering a most desirable field in meeting the needs of a large element of the public, which looks to it almost exclusively for information along library and allied lines. a popular library should be able to supply information on all subjects of a general character and should not proceed along lines of reference facilities except in a general way. this ground is covered by private gifts and educational institutions. the city library should, it seems to me, be constituted along liberal lines, adapted to entertain as well as instruct. any means adapted to stimulate the public desire for the use of its privileges properly guarded, cannot fail to be of general benefit. thus lectures, story telling, art exhibits, and even victrola concerts, loan of pianola rolls, etc., may serve to induct the mind into the wealth of knowledge embraced within its wonderful collection of books. the portals of the city library should be made insidiously alluring, with the expectation that once within them, the reader will go farther. very truly yours, c. c. kohlsaat. northampton, mass., june , . to my fellow workers in libraries, greetings: i always feel a little bashful when i go into a strange library as i sometimes do and happen on a librarian who confronts me with things i say about librarians in the "lost art of reading." usually i speak up quite quickly and say to a librarian, "oh, but you know i do not mean you!" but in speaking as i am now to all the librarians there are in the united states and canada this seems to be inconvenient. i am afraid that if there were any nice thoughtful benignant way of taking each librarian in this great mass meeting, of all the librarians there are, one side and whispering to him quietly, "oh, but you know i do not mean you," i would probably do it! but being driven to it and being faced out this way as i am today, two or three thousand to one, there seems to be nothing for it but to face the music and to look you in the eye a minute and say once for all, "i do mean you, i mean each of you and all of you," and i accuse you of not taking immediate, powerful and conclusive steps to convince donors of libraries and the public of the rights of librarians, of your right to perform your duties under decent, spiritual conditions as members of a high and spirited calling, as professional men and women, as artists and as fellow human beings and not as overworked, under-assisted, weary servants of books. the charges against the library donors and managers that i brought out in my new book "crowds," more particularly the chapters, "mr. carnegie speaks up," and "mr. carnegie tries to make people read," are charges that are going to be answered most successfully by people who admit that they are largely true and who will then proceed tomorrow, before everybody, to turn them into lies. the sooner the librarians and trustees and public men of this country proceed to make what i am saying today about public libraries hopelessly ridiculous and out-of-date, the sooner i will be happy. if i were to move into a strange community and wanted to be a valuable citizen in it, the first thing i would do would be to go to the public library and ask the librarians and their assistants this question, "who are the interesting boys in this town?" if the librarians could tell me i would linger around, and in one way or another, get acquainted with those boys, follow them up and see what i could do to connect them with the men with the books, and ideas and ambitions and opportunities that belong to them. if the librarians could not give me a list of such boys i would ask them why. if they told me that they had not time to attend to such things i would ask the trustees why. if the trustees had not selected librarians naturally interested in boys and books and had not provided such librarians with the necessary assistants so they would have time and spirit to do such things i would turn to the people and i would challenge the people to elect trustees for their library who knew what a library was for. i sometimes think of the librarian in a town as the mayor of what people think, and if he does not have time to read books and to love ideas and inventions in himself and in other people and does not take time to like boys and get the ideas and boys together, he cannot be in a town where he lives, a good mayor of what people think. we shall never have great libraries in the united states until the typical librarian exalts his calling and takes his place in our modern life seriously--as the ruler of our civilization, the creator of the environment of a nation and as the dictator of the motives and ideals of cities, the discoverer of great men and the champion of the souls of the people. i candidly ask you all: what is there that can be done in america in the way of letting librarians keep on being folks? one almost wishes that all the members of the library association of america would write to andrew carnegie, snow him under with letters from the nation, asking him to try the experiment of having at least one of his libraries in the united states fitted up as elaborately and as elegantly with librarians as it is with dumb waiters, marble pillars, book racks and umbrella stands. when we go into a library--some of us--we want to feel our minds being gently exposed to cross-fertilization. we may not want librarians to throw themselves at us--come down plump into our minds the minute we enter whether or no, but we do want when we come into a library to be able to find (if we steal around a little), eager, contagious, alluring librarians who can make people read books and from whom people cannot get away without reading books. every library ought to be supplied with at least one librarian in each department, stuck all over with books, like burrs, so that nobody can touch him or be near him without carrying away a book on him that he's got to read and that he will long to read and will read until somebody drives him to bed! faithfully yours, gerald stanley lee. * * * * * northampton, mass. greetings and good wishes to the men and women who hold the keys: i saw in england, last year, a very old library where the books are chained to the shelves. they have always been chained there; at first because they were valuable and human nature was weak, and now to preserve the tradition. but in general, either because the value of books is less or because human nature is less weak, we trust our public with its books unchained. the shelves of most libraries, i understand, are open freely and the loss of books is small--small enough to be disregarded, you tell me, in relation to the general good. and not only is the public freely admitted. in northampton i have seen, many times, the books put on wheels and traveling out to the public; they are in a kind of clothes-basket set on a truck with tiny wheels; and the janitor trundles the truck to the trolley, and the trolley carries the books to leeds or florence or williamsburg, it may be--i do not know their destination. i only see them traveling away on wheels. this is only a-b-c to all of you. most of you could tell me much more interesting things that libraries are doing. some of you have already seen that it is not enough to put the books on wheels and trundle them out to the public, but that the public itself must be followed and captured. you tell me that in the future the library that would be really up-to-date must catch its readers where it can and chain books to them. presently we shall need wings to follow life and bring it back to its books. for life moves swiftly; and you who hold the keys and who are putting books on wheels and sending them out will not stop till the life in books and the life of the world are come together again. presently we shall all work for this. you have freed the books, you have sent them out, you have reached out to give them to us freely. presently you will unlock the books themselves and open the pages; and the time when a child studied only a few books will belong to the past; the living use of books will be a part of the life of every child that is born into the world. presently we shall all work together for this--with you who hold the keys. jennette lee. * * * * * new york, n. y., april rd, . i'd like to do as you request--but i have no facts to contribute. i feel sure that the public library is doing much to improve dramatic taste--but i can't adduce any evidence. yours truly, brander matthews. * * * * * philadelphia, pa. the librarian's constant difficulty is now, what shall a library try to collect, what shall it keep? this has become a grave question. being myself book greedy, a gourmand of print, i am a poor judge of what to reject. soon or late the average man, who is presumed to represent common sense, will ask, "what is the use of these accumulations of books?" this average man can never consider a library with comment of imagination. a book is for him a book, whereas for you or me a book is a saint, a hero, a martyr, a fool, a seraph of light bearing science. let us drop him with a word of scorn. we shall not ever understand one another. nor would he have the faith in books of that samonicus who, for the cure of a tertian fever in the emperor gordian, ordered the fourth book of the iliad to be applied to the head of the patient. that has long puzzled me--why the fourth? but mr. average awaits a quotation. a voice out of the splendid day of elizabeth shall say it: "sir, he hath not fed of the dainties that are bred of a book; he hath not eat paper, as it were; he hath not drunk ink." s. weir mitchell. the nation, new york city, may th, . i fear you must be charging me with discourtesy for delaying so long my reply to your letter of april th. i have in fact had the intention of writing to you rather fully on the subject of public libraries and best sellers, for use in your conference in kaaterskill. one obligation after another, however, has kept me from doing this and now i can only express to you briefly my conviction that the public library ought by no means to undertake "to supply all the best sellers hot from the press." it has always seemed to me that the office of any institution such as the library is as much to direct and restrain public taste as it is to supply what is demanded. with regret that i cannot reply at greater length to your flattering request for my opinion, i am very truly yours, paul e. more, editor. * * * * * washington, d. c., may , . when your letter came i was, i believe, away from home. at least i never had an opportunity to answer it until just now, having been absent a good deal since its date. although you do not set the time of the coming conference, i assume that it is not too late to answer your question and i am writing now simply to acknowledge receipt of your letter. i will, however, say that i believe that the circulation of fiction by our public libraries does help to enlighten the people on all problems whatsoever, for, in the first place, fiction contains many of the standard novels which certainly have a tendency for good; and secondly, however trashy novels are, in the main they have an educating effect. yours very truly, thomas nelson page. * * * * * newbury street, boston, mass., april , . i cannot better comply with your request (made on behalf of the american library association) than by giving you a leaf from my own experience of twenty-five years, as president or managing director of a rural library, which serves the public in a mountain town where i chiefly reside, and yet is a private institution, receiving no aid whatever from town or state. and my message is to libraries of small means and resources, so situated that trained librarians or assistants are not to be had. we have by this time about , volumes, all obtained through gift or purchase, of which less than half are works of fiction; and the list, on the whole, includes most standard works. from one benefactor we have a good stone building, erected last year upon a lot of our own; and by the time the testamentary provision of another benefactor takes effect hereafter we shall have an endowment fund ample enough to place our institution upon a permanent footing of liberal expenditure. hitherto our annual income has been small and met by life memberships, special entertainments and personal gifts, in which summer visitors and the townspeople combine. in order that our books should be classified but without too much effort i introduced, some years ago, the following scheme: a, denotes works of fiction; b, biography, history, travels, etc.; c, poetry, essays and miscellaneous; p, periodicals and pamphlets (by bound volumes or in cases); r, books of reference. juvenile books under these respective heads are marked by an added j. we have no card catalog and find our patrons served more to their liking, and perhaps more economically, by issuing printed lists, frequently, which give the author and the title simply; the number, and letter, as printed, indicating the subject. about a pamphlet catalog was brought out which gave our list complete to that date. since that time, supplement lists have been printed at convenience; while the latest books are always posted in the library on written sheets. when the supplements become sufficiently numerous we expect to issue a second full pamphlet catalog; and so on. we cannot pay for expert assistance to keep up a card catalog properly, with our present means; and what our patrons most want is to have individual printed lists that they can readily consult. about per cent of our circulation consists of a or aj books, but we try to increase the demand for the b and c books. so, too, the books most eagerly sought are those last added, but we encourage the reading of standard authors wherever we may. yours very truly, james schouler. * * * * * indianapolis, ind., april , . "is the fiction circulated by our public libraries helping to enlighten the people on social and economic problems?" george meredith, in a letter written in , said: "i think that all right use of life, and the one secret of life, is to pave ways for the firmer footing of those who succeed us.... close knowledge of our fellows, discernment of the laws of existence, these lead to great civilization. i have supposed that the novel, exposing and illustrating the natural history of man, may help us to such sustaining roadside gifts." merely "entertaining" fiction is comparable to vaudeville or to tight-rope walking; its use may be to amuse the tired laborer of all sorts; its overuse, however, tends to become a habit and produce flaccid minds. save for this, all fiction which depends on "plot"--always a hash of used meats--or on farcical or melodramatic "situation," is almost negligible. but on the whole, and because of this flaccidity, i believe, it would be a good thing if all merely "entertaining" fiction could be destroyed. a very small portion of that fiction which is produced by artists seeking to know and reveal life, deals with economic problems. except for the work of a few writers (mr. h. g. wells, for instance,--he includes economic discussions) it concerns itself with social relations and "the natural history of man." its circulation must certainly help to enlighten people upon social problems. here i must fail you, for i do not know what type of fiction has the circulation you mean; the most general circulation, i take it. a novel is helpful as it is a revelation of truth; it is always harmful when it is written from a false or assumed point-of-view; it is very likely to be harmful when it is founded upon shallow observation or a cocksure philosophy. most of the fiction produced in our country today is founded upon nothing except the desire to circulate; therefore it shouldn't! very sincerely yours, booth tarkington. * * * * * elizabeth, n. j., may , . the question you ask is not debatable. the public library is among the foremost aids the american boy has today. as great a help as the library is the librarian. much depends upon his personal interest, enthusiasm, judgment, appreciation of the book and the boy. "the man behind the book," provides the power. librarians undoubtedly are a help not only to the boy, but to the writer of boy's books. but like all other classes there are librarians and librarians. some are efficient, some too theoretical, some visionary, some without the capacity to understand the normal boy, and a few are deficient. as far as i have observed, the limitations of the librarians are not so much in their knowledge of books as in their understanding of boys. every profession has its special peril. the minister may become dogmatic, the judge autocratic. the peril of the purely bookish man is that of becoming a prig. the pre-conceived opinion of what a boy ought to be sometimes prevents the discovery of what he really is. among some there is a tendency to magnify the unusual boy at the expense of the normal boy. such librarians would confer a benefit if they would discover what has become of the prodigies of our boyhood. it is sometimes forgotten that boys must be led into better reading, not forcibly transplanted. there are steps and stages in this journey as in every other. a taste for good reading is something to be cultivated, not forced. a healthy boy has about the same appetite for observing the ready-made opinions of his superiors that he has for donning the made-over garments of his ancestors. many librarians understand the boy as well as the book. the combination is fruitful, and divorce here has its own penalty as well as elsewhere. if the american boy (as in many places he is) can be made to feel that the librarian as well as the library are for his benefit, a double good will result. cordially, everett t. tomlinson. * * * * * arlington, mass., may , . in reply to the question proposed to me by your association, "is the public library helping the boy to become a useful man?" i reply emphatically in the affirmative. of course, the degree of helpfulness must depend largely upon the library, and still more upon the character of the boy. to one of low tastes, with no ambition beyond the hour's indulgence, the finest library will have little meaning; but to one having a thirst for knowledge, and aspirations for self-improvement, access to any fairly well chosen collection of books cannot but prove of inestimable service in stimulating and developing his nobler qualities. my own early experience convinces me of this. in my recollections of a backwoods boyhood ("my own story," pages - ) i have told something of my indebtedness of a small subscription library, in which were found the works of a few great writers, among those byron, shakespeare, plutarch, cooper, and scott, and a history of england, which was the first book i turned to after reading "ivanhoe." the world was transformed for me by the poets and romancers that smiled on me from those obscure shelves. i repeat here what i once wrote of that golden opportunity of my boyhood. the town has a vastly more attractive and comprehensive library today; but the value of such an institution depends, after all, upon what we ourselves bring to it. the few books that nourish vitally the eager mind are better than richly furnished alcoves amid which we browse languidly and loiter with indifference. this is true alike of the boy and the man. john townsend trowbridge. * * * * * toledo, ohio, may , . you ask, "is the public library a factor in the recent development of a public conscience?" i suppose that by the term public conscience you mean that undoubted quickening of the public sense, shall we say public decency?--which america has felt in the last ten years, though as yet it has undertaken no fundamental reforms, and is too apt to degenerate into a mere hue and cry after some individual whom it would make a scape-goat for the sins of the people. now, in the development of this feeling, or of this public conscience, it is doubtful whether the public library has been much of a factor. it depends altogether upon the librarian. there are a few instances, no doubt, in which the public library has had this effect, and there are many librarians in the country who, as wise and intelligent men like yourself, are interested in vital subjects, and therefore able to interest others in them. by a judicious exposure of books these subjects are made so inviting and so attractive that the patrons of the library are led on and on in an ever widening exploration of the subject. the library does offer to any one who wishes to make inquiry the opportunity of gratifying his desires, and in this way it no doubt exercises a considerable influence. there is a profound and tremendous influence, silent and indirect, from its mere existence, its mere presence, which must do good in a city, just as in a home in which there are many books, even though they were never read, there is the atmosphere of culture. the librarian, however, should be a sort of teacher, helping the public mind, assisting in the development of the public conscience, for i fear that the public, if left to themselves, would rather read the six best sellers, and in the realm of general ideas engage, to recall a phrase of henry james "in the exercise of skipping." yours sincerely, brand whitlock. second general session (tuesday morning, june , ) the president: we are to start this morning with the committee reports. unless, however, undue objections are made we shall read these by title and, like the members of congress, ask leave to print. a number of them indeed are in printed form and have been distributed and you have doubtless found them on the chairs as you entered the hall. i may say that some of these reports are unusually strong in that they represent the work of a year of very careful thought and investigation by their members. if you will take the time, either at this conference or after you get home, to read these reports, you will greatly profit from the labors of these respective committees. the printed reports comprise those of the secretary, the treasurer, the trustees of the endowment fund, the publishing board, the committee on bookbinding, the committee on bookbuying, the committee on federal and state relations; and reports have also been received in manuscript, by the secretary, from the committees on co-operation with the national education association, library administration, library training and work with the blind. unless it is requested that any particular one of these reports be read at this time we shall pass them over and commit them to the secretary for inclusion in the printed conference proceedings. the above mentioned reports are here printed in full. secretary's report the third report of the present secretary and the fourth since the establishment of a headquarters office is here submitted to the association. the material conditions of headquarters are practically identical with those reported a year ago; we are still the recipients of the generosity of the board of directors of the chicago public library, the large room furnished free by them being more and more appreciated as we compare our commodious quarters with those greatly inferior where a rent is charged which would be prohibitive to the funds of the a. l. a. for the continued courtesy and unfailing kindness of the librarian of the chicago public library and his able staff i cannot find adequate words. it is unquestionably a decided advantage for the executive office of the a. l. a. to be in close proximity to a large reference collection and to a competent corps of library experts. in these respects we are fortunate not only in the chicago public library, but also in the john crerar and newberry libraries which so admirably supplement each other in forming reference facilities of a high order. the routine work of the year has much of it so closely resembled in kind that of last year that the secretary feels it unnecessary to rehearse it again in detail, but respectfully refers inquiry on this point to his report at the ottawa conference. in quantity it is rapidly increasing; there are more letters to write; there is more proof to read; more personal calls from librarians and others as the establishment of the office becomes known; there are more arrangements to be made for the many-sided interests of the association. the publishing board's work is likewise increasing, and with the removal of the booklist office from madison to chicago headquarters, which will be made in the near future, additional duties will devolve on the general office, even though that periodical has its own special staff. these things, however, are as we desire they should be and we are pleased to see indications that the funds of the association are going to permit the enlargement of the work as this is found advisable. =the office as an information bureau=--in no way is this growth quite so noticeable as in the increased correspondence through which the executive office is used as an information bureau on library economy. for a time after the establishment of the office this correspondence was naturally almost entirely with librarians. the letters of the past year, however, have shown that our existence is becoming known to others. we are being told the problems of the library committees of women's clubs; of manufacturers who wish to get their workmen interested in a business library; of business men who are thinking of establishing such a library; of young men and women who are considering librarianship as a vocation and do not know the proper steps to take to get the necessary training and experience; and of publishers and of booksellers who are referring various matters to our office. these things in addition to the steady daily stream of correspondence with librarians in every state of the union. last year we recorded that our actual correspondence averaged letters a day for a period covering several months. it has been considerably greater the past year. this includes, of course, all correspondence relative to publications, membership matters, and business routine. several months ago the secretary printed , little leaflets mentioning some of the ways in which the a. l. a. can assist in library informational lines. about half of these have been distributed, mainly in channels outside of regular library work and among those who perhaps had not previously learned of headquarters and of our publications. =membership=--last year it was the privilege of the secretary to report that the membership was larger than ever before in the history of the association. we are now glad to be able to say that there is a substantial increase in membership over last year. in january, the secretary mailed with the annual membership bills an appeal to members to help again this year as they did last in securing new members. this appeal has been very effectual; many have been instrumental in securing one or more new members and the secretary desires here to thank all those who have so kindly assisted in this campaign. during the late winter and early spring many personal letters were written to librarians and library boards asking them to have their libraries become institutional members of the a. l. a., and many have responded favorably. several hundred personal letters were also addressed to those who had recently, according to the news columns in the library periodicals, changed their positions, presumably for the better financially. when the last handbook was printed, in october, , there were , members of the a. l. a. since then to june st, , new individual members and new institutional members have joined, a total of . on the other hand, the association has lost members by death, have resigned, and judging by the experience of previous years about members will probably fail this year to renew their membership and will consequently be dropped from the rolls. it is likely that enough new members will join at the kaaterskill conference to offset in numbers those whose membership lapses and that the net membership in the handbook will probably be about , or a gain of about over . the income from membership dues is in consequence steadily increasing. for the calendar year the total amount from this source was $ , . (including exchange on checks); in , $ , . ; and for we hope the total amount will not be far short of $ , . =publicity=--the usual methods to secure as much publicity as possible have been followed. the library periodicals have, of course, been kept informed of what the office was doing that would interest the library public. we have sent news notes from time to time to the dial, nation, new york times review of books, bookman, education review, american city, and other magazines, and to about of the prominent newspapers of the country. several articles regarding the conference were given to the associated press, and to news syndicates. before the ottawa conference, the associated press sent to all their subscribers a multi-graphed portion of the president's address. the association needs more money for this publicity work and more time should be spent on it than the secretary has been able to spend. its results at present are far from satisfactory and we hope that with growth of income a more systematic publicity department can be organized, perhaps modelled somewhat after the excellent methods employed by prof. j. w. searson, who conducts the publicity work of the national education association. =registration for library position=--the executive office has from its inception been something of a free employment bureau for librarians and library assistants, who for proper and sufficient reasons desire to change their positions. this year the work has been somewhat more systematized by the use of a printed registration blank, which is sent on request to any member of the association. the questions asked on this blank are as follows: date of this registration. name in full. address (permanent). address (temporary, or until ...). state fully all schools (above grammar grade) and colleges or universities you have attended, with period of attendance at each. degrees, when and where obtained. have you traveled abroad? when? where? how long? languages you read easily. languages you read with assistance of a dictionary. library training and experience. positions held, with approximate dates; and salary received. nature of appointment desired. salary expected. part of country preferred. physical condition. references. forty-two librarians have thus far registered on these blanks and five or six of these have been helped to new positions. the secretary has helped in the filling of some fifteen library positions aside from those using the registration blank. if, however, the service to those seeking positions, and to those seeking capable librarians and assistants is to be as important and far-reaching as we wish to make it, the office must have knowledge of vacancies as well as of persons wanting positions. library boards and librarians are cordially invited to correspond with the secretary when in need of library workers. =library plans=--during the year a number of valuable additions have been made to our collection of architects' plans of library buildings. we want more, particularly good plans of buildings costing from $ , to $ , , as these are most in demand. will librarians and boards who have recently acquired new buildings bear our needs in mind? these plans have from the beginning proved useful, and if a fair number of the latest type of plans could be added the collection would be increasingly useful and used. =library pension systems=--during the year the secretary has been making efforts to collect information about pension systems in operation in libraries or plans being made for pensions. no great progress has been made, due perhaps to the fact that not many libraries are as yet contemplating a pension system. the secretary will be glad to receive information from any librarian or board who has not yet written him on this subject. =a. l. a. representatives at state meetings=--president legler was the official representative at the ohio meeting, newark, october - ; at the illinois-missouri joint meeting, st. louis, october - ; and south dakota conference, mitchell, november - . he also addressed the long island library club on the work of the a. l. a. on october th. mr. t. w. koch, member of the executive board, was the official representative to the indiana state meeting, terre haute, october - . dr. arthur e. bostwick, ex-president of the a. l. a., represented the association at the north dakota conference, mayville, october - ; minnesota meeting, faribault, october - ; and iowa meeting at nevada, october - . secretary utley represented the a. l. a. at the illinois-missouri meeting, st. louis, october - ; oklahoma meeting, muskogee, may - ; and was present unofficially at niagara falls, "new york library week," september - . the secretary has also lectured before the new york state library school, the training school for children's librarians of the pittsburgh carnegie library, and the university of illinois library school. =necrology.= the association has lost by death eleven members since the conference of a year ago. the list includes an ex-president of the a. l. a., and one of the most prominent librarians of the country; a business man who had for years taken a deep interest in library progress; an eminent churchman who has for many years maintained his connection with the national association; the librarian of a large university; the librarian of a well known public library; and several others who at their several posts have faithfully performed their duties and rendered their contributions to the work in which they were engaged. the list follows: clarence w. ayer, librarian of the cambridge (mass.) public library, died april , . he was previously connected with western reserve university, but had been engaged in library work in massachusetts for a number of years. he had been a member of the a. l. a. since (no. ) and had attended four conferences. dr. john shaw billings, director of the new york public library, died march , . successful as an army surgeon during the war between the states, he later assumed charge of the surgeon-general's library and brought it to recognition as one of the most celebrated medical libraries in the world, and compiled an index catalog that has taken a place among the permanent monuments of bibliography. coming to new york in , he began the stupendous work of bringing the various libraries of that city under one great system, releasing funds tied by legal complications, and superintending the erection of a central building costing nearly ten millions of dollars. these tasks he lived to accomplish and they remain as his lasting monument. he was president of the a. l. a. for the year - , and presided at its magnolia conference. he joined the association in (no. ) and attended six of its conferences. see public libraries, : - ; library journal, , - . bertha coit, assistant in the new york public library, died july , . she joined the association in (no. ), and attended the conferences of and . right rev. william croswell doane, bishop of albany, and for many years vice-chancellor of the university of the state of new york, died may , . he joined the a. l. a. in (no. ) and although he attended none of the conferences had steadily maintained his interest in library work and retained his membership in the association. jennie s. irwin, first assistant in the mt. vernon (n. y.) public library, died nov. , . she joined the association in (no. ) and attended the conferences of and . walter kendall jewett, librarian of the university of nebraska, since , died march , . he was previously librarian of the medical department of the john crerar library, and had been notably successful in his library work. he joined the association in (no. ) and attended four conferences. charles a. larson, editor of publications of the chicago public library, died august , . he had been connected with the chicago library for many years and was highly valued. his able work in the reference department will be long remembered. he joined the association in (no. ) and after lapsing membership rejoined in . he attended the mackinac conference. rev. william ladd ropes, librarian-emeritus of the andover theological seminary, at andover, massachusetts, died december , . he was well known to the librarians of an earlier generation. he joined the a. l. a. in (no. ) and attended three a. l. a. conferences, and the london international conference of . charles carroll soule, of boston, long identified with the book publishing business and interested in library work, died jan. , . he was trustee of the brookline (mass.) public library from - , member of the a. l. a. publishing board from - , second vice-president of the a. l. a. in ; and a member of the council - and - . mr. soule was an expert on library planning, having written a book, and numerous articles on this subject. a pamphlet on "library rooms and buildings" was issued by the a. l. a. publishing board as one of its tracts. he joined the a. l. a. in (no. ) and had attended conferences. no librarian was better known to librarians than this interested layman. see library journal, : ; public libraries, : . nelson taylor, bookseller of new york, of the firm of baker & taylor, died june , . he had been a member of the a. l. a. since (no. ). bertha s. wildman, secretary to the librarian of the carnegie library of pittsburgh and a member of the faculty of the training school for children's librarians, died february , . she was a graduate of pratt institute library school and previous to her connection with the pittsburgh library had been the organizer and first librarian of the madison (n. j.) public library. she joined the a. l. a. in (no. ) and attended four conferences. george b. utley, secretary. american library association report of the treasurer, january --may , =receipts= balance, union trust company, chicago, jan. , $ , . g. b. utley, secretary, headquarters collections , . trustees endowment fund, interest . trustees carnegie fund, interest , . a. l. a. publishing board, installment on hdqrs. expense , . estate of j. l. whitney . interest, january--may, . $ , . -------- ---------- =expenditures= checks no. - (vouchers no. - incl.) $ , . distributed as follows: bulletin $ . conference . committees . headquarters: salaries , . additional services . supplies . miscellaneous . postage . travel . trustees endowment fund (life mem.) . c. b. roden, treas. (j. l. whitney fund) . a. l. a. publishing board, carnegie fund interest , . , . -------- -------- balance union trust co $ , . g. b. utley, balance, national bank of republic . --------- $ , . james l. whitney fund feb. , , principal (union trust co. of chicago, savings acct.) $ . respectfully submitted, c. b. roden, treasurer. chicago, june , . report of the finance committee to the american library association: ladies and gentlemen:-- in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, the finance committee submit the following report:-- they have duly considered the probable income of the association for the current year and have estimated it at $ , . , and have approved appropriations made by the executive board to that amount. the details of the estimated income and of the appropriations are given in the january number of the bulletin. the committee have also approved the appropriation to the use of the publishing board of any excess of sales over the amount estimated. on behalf of the committee, the chairman has audited the accounts of the treasurer and of the secretary as assistant treasurer. he has found that the receipts as stated by the treasurer agree with the transfer checks from the assistant treasurer, and with the cash accounts of the latter. the expenditures as stated are accounted for by properly approved vouchers. the bank balance and petty cash, as stated, agree with the bank books and petty cash balances. the accounts of the assistant treasurer have been found correct as cash accounts. on behalf of the committee, mr. e. h. anderson has checked the securities now in the custody of the trustees, and certifies that their figures in regard to the securities on hand are correct. he finds that at par value the bonds and other securities amount to $ , . for the carnegie fund, and $ , . for the principal account. he certifies that to the best of his knowledge and belief the accounts submitted are correct. all of which is respectively submitted for the committee. clement w. andrews, chairman. with the completion of the ninth volume of the a. l. a. booklist miss elva l. bascom severs her connection as editor and as head of the editorial department of the publishing board. for five years miss bascom has carried on this work with signal ability and with devoted industry, and it is with sincere regret that the members of the board have accepted her resignation. during this period of editorial activity miss bascom has maintained the excellent standards established by her predecessors, miss caroline garland and mrs. katharine macdonald jones, and has given to the publication a standard of judgment in selection and critical appreciation that has made the a. l. a. booklist invaluable to thousands of librarians and as many library trustees in the selection of current books for their respective institutions. the a. l. a. booklist is everywhere recognized as a publication wholly untrammeled by commercial consideration in the listing of books and the recommendation which these are given. miss may massee has been elected as miss bascom's successor and will enter upon the work early in august. her experience as a member of the staff of the buffalo public library and her training prior thereto commends her for the position. concerning the a. l. a. booklist there are no new facts to report, comments noted in previous reports being applicable as well at this time. while renewed representations have come to the members of the board, suggesting a change of size, form, and character, and the arguments in behalf thereof have been given due weight, it has not seemed wise to alter the policy which has been continued for a period of nine years. with the beginning of the new volume the place of publication and therewith the editorial headquarters will be transferred from madison, wis., to chicago. by consolidating the editorial headquarters of the publishing board with the headquarters of the american library association both will be materially strengthened and some financial economies can be affected. =periodical cards=--the board received word last fall from the library bureau that they would have to advance prices for the printing of the analytical periodical cards. the matter was placed in the hands of a committee, and after some negotiation, unexpectedly prolonged by the illness of the representative of the library bureau, a rearrangement of the work was made which will enable the board to continue the service to the present subscribers without change in prices. this has been accomplished by giving an order for sixty-five copies of all titles and thirty-five additional titles of the periodicals most in demand. hereafter, subscriptions must be made either to the full set of approximately titles, or to the limited set of . a revision of the list is now in progress. concerning the periodicals issued during the past year mr. william stetson merrill has submitted the following report as editor: the sixteen shipments of a. l. a. periodical cards prepared and sent out during the year ending may , have comprised those numbered to , which were received by subscribers june , to may , . these shipments have included new titles and reprints, making a total of titles. the time of preparation has been reduced from thirteen to ten and a half weeks.[ ] [ ] by "time of preparation" is here meant the interval between the receipt of copy, and receipt of cards by the subscribers. in february of the present year the editor took occasion to check up the work currently done, with the titles of periodicals given in the printed list as indexed by the publishing board. it was then discovered that in the case of thirty-five periodicals no titles had been indexed during intervals ranging from two to five years to date. these facts were brought to the attention of the collaborating libraries, which later reported upon these arrears as follows: periodicals for which no issues later than those indexed had been received by the library, ; discontinued, ; now indexed by the library of congress, ; overlooked or indexing postponed by the library, ; dropped, ; record card wrong, ; no indexer, . the collaborating libraries at once took up the work of bringing their indexing up to date and at the time of writing only three current periodicals are not indexed to date, with the exception of those for which there is at present no indexer. the preparation of the distribution and charges sheets has been in the hands of mrs. s. l. hitz and miss jane burt under the supervision of the editor, who has also attended to all the correspondence connected with the card work. =new publications=--new publications since the last report was submitted include the following: aids in library work with foreigners, compiled by marguerite reid and john g. moulton. ( copies). how to choose editions, by william e. foster. (handbook ) ( copies). buying list of books for small libraries, compiled by zaidee brown,--new edition revised by caroline webster. ( copies). list of economical editions, by le roy jeffers. ( nd edition). revised. ( copies). periodicals for the small library, by frank k. walter. ( copies). a. l. a. manual of library economy, new chapters. chap. v. proprietary and subscription libraries, by charles knowles bolton. ( copies). chap. x. the library building, by w. r. eastman. ( copies). chap. xiii. training for librarianship, by mary w. plummer. ( copies). chap. xxvii. commissions, state aid and state agencies, by asa wynkoop. (in press). chap. xxxii. library printing, by frank k. walter. ( copies). a normal library budget and its items of expense, by o. r. howard thomson. (handbook .) ( copies). index to library reports, by katharine t. moody. ( copies). list of polish books, compiled by mrs. jozefa kudlicka. (foreign booklist ). ( copies). =forthcoming publications=--how to start a public library, by g. e. wire, m. d. second and revised edition. (tract ). graded list of stories for reading aloud, by harriot e. hassler; revised by carrie e. scott. =reprints=--during the past year the following publications have been reprinted: guide to reference books, by alice b. kroeger. ( copies). cutter's notes from the art section of a library. (tract ). ( copies). catalog rules, compiled by committees of the american library association and the library association (of the united kingdom). edition ( copies). essentials in library administration, compiled by miss l. e. stearns. ( nd edition). (handbook ). ( copies). revised. mending and repair of books, by margaret w. brown. (handbook ). ( copies). u. s. government documents in small libraries, by j. i. wyer, jr. ( rd edition). (handbook ). ( copies). =a. l. a. catalog=--the success of the a. l. a. catalog, - , has been greater in point of sales than the most sanguine of us had expected, copies having been sold since its publication a year ago. there is still a reasonably steady demand, copies having been sold during the first five months of . the book has been more extensively advertised than any of the board's other recent publications, special efforts having been made to make it known to high schools, college professors and book lovers generally, but the sales have, nevertheless, been largely confined to libraries, library commissions and library schools. =manual of library economy=--fourteen chapters of the manual have thus far been printed, each as a separate pamphlet, and one is now in press. the list is as follows: . american library history, by c. k. bolton. . the library of congress, by w. w. bishop. . the college and university library, by j. i. wyer, jr. . proprietary and subscription libraries, by c. k. bolton. . library legislation, by w. f. yust. . the library building, by w. r. eastman. . administration of a public library, by a. e. bostwick. . training for librarianship, by mary w. plummer. . branch libraries and other distributing agencies, by linda a. eastman. . order and accession department, by f. f. hopper. . shelf department, by josephine a. rathbone. . reference department, by e. c. richardson. . bookbinding, by a. l. bailey. . commissions, state aid and state agencies, by asa wynkoop. in press. . library printing, by f. k. walter. the chairman of the committee the manual, j. i. wyer, jr., reports that seven other chapters are known to be in an advanced state and may be expected soon. =advertising=--the board's publications have as usual been advertised in library journal and public libraries and in one or two special numbers of the dial. review copies of publications are sent to library periodicals and a number of other papers and magazines, such as the bookman, american city, nation, dial, new york times review, chicago post (friday review), springfield republican, boston transcript, etc. our best returns, however, continue to come from direct circularization of libraries, library commissions and library schools, about , pieces of mail advertising our publications having been sent out since the last conference. no new large publication has appeared since the a. l. a. catalog, - , was published a year ago. although thirteen new publications have been printed and two more are forthcoming they are all, with one exception, small in size and with price ranging from ten to twenty-five cents a copy. consequently the amounts from sales are but small in the aggregate. would it not be well for the board to endeavor to put forth at least one publication each year which shall be of sufficient size, usefulness and importance to make it rank as the "opus major" of the year? there are surely subjects enough within our scope that can be handled to the advantage of the libraries and the profit of the board. =foreign lists=--the board has not felt greatly encouraged to undertake the publication of lists of foreign books because of the unfortunate financial experience with those already issued, only one of the five having paid for itself. this spring, however, when the manuscript of the long-expected polish list was received a new policy was adopted. the secretary circularized those libraries whom he thought would be interested in this list, stating that the publication of the list depended upon the receipt of a sufficient number of subscriptions, requesting those libraries who were able and disposed to do so, to subscribe for at least four copies at cents each. by this means enough subscriptions were readily secured and the polish list has been printed. if libraries are willing to subsidize the publication of these lists, or putting it another way, to pay for several copies more than they perhaps need, other lists can be undertaken, and the board will welcome suggestions as to what languages should be taken up. it has been suggested that a yiddish list would be useful, also italian, lithuanian, finnish and spanish lists. henry e. legler, chairman. financial report =cash receipts june , , to may , .= balance, june , $ , . interest on carnegie fund , . receipts from publications: cash sales $ , . payments on account , . , . interest on bank deposits . sundries . $ , . --------- ---------- =payments, june , , to may , .= cost of publications: a. l. a. booklist $ , . a. l. a. bulletin reprints . a. l. a. catalog, - , . aids in library work with foreigners . buying list of books for a small library . catalog rules . essentials in library administration . government documents in small libraries . how to choose editions .... . list of economical editions . manual of library economy, chaps. , , . mending and repair of books . n. e. a. reprint (bostwick's article) . periodicals for the small library . periodical cards , . $ , . addressograph supplies . typewriter . advertising . postage and express , . rent, madison office . travel . salaries , . elva l. bascom, editing a. l. a. catalog, - . katharine t. moody, editing index to library reports . expense, headquarters ( --$ , ; --a/c $ , ) , . supplies and incidentals , . printing . royalty on guide to reference books . contingencies . balance on hand, may , , . $ , . sales of a. l. a. publishing board publications. april , , to march , . a. l. a. booklist, regular subscriptions $ , . additional subs. at reduced rate of c . bulk subscriptions . extra copies . $ , . handbook , essentials in library administration . handbook , cataloging for small libraries . handbook , management of traveling libraries . handbook , aids in book selection (out of print) handbook , binding for small libraries . handbook , mending and repair of books . handbook , government documents in small libraries . handbook , how to choose editions . . tract , how to start a library . tract , traveling libraries (out of print) tract , notes from the art section of a library . tract , a village library . tract , library school training . tract , why do we need a public library . . foreign lists, french . foreign lists, french fiction . foreign lists, german . foreign lists, hungarian . foreign lists, norwegian and danish . foreign lists, swedish . . reprints, arbor day list . reprints, bird books . reprints, bostwick, public library and public school . reprints, cataloging in legislative reference work . reprints, christmas bulletin . reprints, efficiency of l. staff and scientific management . reprints, national library problem of today . reprints, rational library work with children . reprints, relation of p. l. to municipality . reprints, traveling libraries as a first step . . periodical cards, subscriptions , . periodical cards, old south leaflets v. . periodical cards, reed's modern eloquence sets . , . league publications: aids in library work with foreigners . directions for librarian of a small library . graded list of stories for reading aloud . library and social movement . buying list of books for small library . . a. l. a. manual of library economy: chap. i. american library history . chap. ii. library of congress . chap. iv. college and university library . chap. v. proprietary and subscription libraries . chap. ix. library legislation . chap. x. the library building . chap. xii. administration of a public library . chap. xiii. training for librarianship . chap. xv. branch libraries . chap. xvii. order and accession department . chap. xx. shelf department . chap. xxii. reference department . chap. xxvi. bookbinding . $ . a. l. a. catalog, - , . a. l. a. index to general literature . catalog rules . girls and women and their clubs . guide to reference books . guide to reference books, supplement . hints to small libraries . index to library reports (advance orders) . library buildings . list of editions selected for economy in bookbuying . list of economical editions, ( nd edition) . list of music and books about music . list of subject headings, ( rd edition) , . list of children's books . literature of american history . literature of american history, supplements . periodicals for the small library . plans for small library buildings . reading for the young . reading for the young, supplement . subject index to a. l. a. booklist . subject index to a. l. a. booklist, supplement . a. l. a. bulletin . library statistics--bulletin reprint . , . ---- --------- --------- total sale of publications $ , . report of the trustees of the carnegie and endowment funds to the president and members of the american library association: the trustees of the endowment fund of the american library association beg leave to submit the following statement of the accounts of their trust--the carnegie and general funds--for the fiscal year ending january , . there has been no change in the investments, and all interest has been promptly paid. the trustees are pleased to call attention to the credit to the general endowment fund of nine life memberships, and would recommend that more of such memberships be taken as they are about the only source of addition to that fund. on january , , the usual audit of the investments and accounts of the trust was made by mr. e. h. anderson, of the new york public library at the request of the chairman of the finance committee of the association. as evidence of the audit, mr. anderson furnished the trustees with the following copy of his report made to the finance committee: feb. , . my dear mr. andrews: yesterday, january st, i went to the vaults of the union trust company at fifth avenue and thirty-eighth street, this city, and with mr. appleton and mr. kimball, trustees of the endowment fund of the american library association, checked up the bonds now in their custody. i enclose herewith their typewritten statement concerning the funds in their hands, and i certify to the correctness of the figures as to the bonds on hand. these i have checked in black ink after a personal count of them at the vaults aforesaid. at their par value they amount to $ , for the carnegie fund, and $ , for the general endowment fund. i have not examined the bank book of the trustees nor the vouchers for the amounts transmitted to mr. roden, the treasurer. mr. roden's records should verify the amounts transmitted to the treasurer. if you think it worth while i can examine the bank book of the trustees, but personally i do not think it necessary. if you feel that it should be done, however, return the enclosed typewritten statement for comparison with the bank book. mr. roden will also be able to check the receipts for life members. i think mr. appleton said that two more had been received since january th. i hereby certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief all of the accounts on the typewritten sheets enclosed herewith are correct. very sincerely yours, (signed) e. h. anderson. respectfully submitted, w. w. appleton, w. c. kimball, w. t. porter, trustees endowment fund a. l. a. may , . carnegie fund, principal account cash donated by mr. andrew carnegie $ , . =invested as follows:= june , , % amer. tel. & tel. - / $ , . bonds june , , % amer. tel. & tel. - / , . bonds june , , % cleveland terminal , . june , , % seaboard air line - / , . june , , % western un. tel. - / , . june , , - / % n. y. cen. (lake shore col.) , . june , , % mo. pacific - / , . may , , % u. s. steel , . aug. , , u. s. steel - / , . july , , u. s. steel - / , . ------- -------- , , . jan. , union trust co. on deposit . ----------- $ , . in addition to the above we have on hand at the union trust company $ profit on the sale of the missouri pacific bonds, which we have carried to a special surplus account. carnegie fund, income account = = january , balance $ , . february , int. n. y. central . may , int. u. s. steel . may , int. cleveland terminal . may , int. mo. pacific . may , int. seaboard air line . july , int. amer. tel. & tel. . july , int. western un. tel. . august , int. n. y. central . september , int. seaboard air line . september , int. mo. pacific . november , int. u. s. steel . november , int. cleveland terminal . december , int. union trust . = = january , int. western un. tel. . january , cash on hand . $ , . ------- --------- =disbursements:= = = january , carl b. roden, treas. $ , . june , carl b. roden, treas. , . september , carl b. roden, treas. . october , rent safe deposit co. . november , carl b. roden, treas. , . january , , cash on hand . $ , . --------- --------- endowment fund, principal account = = january , on hand, bonds and cash $ , . february , life membership, c. n. baxter . march , life membership, l. a. mcneil . march , life membership, a. b. smith . may , life membership, h. l. leupp . may , life membership, w. m. smith . may , life membership, l. e. taylor . july , life membership, e. p. sohier . september , life membership, m. r. cochran . november , life membership, s. c. fairchild . $ , . ------ --------- =invested as follows:= = = june , u. s. steel bonds - / $ , . october , u. s. steel bonds - / , . november , - / u. s. steel bonds , . = = july , - / u. s. steel bonds - / , . january , cash on hand, . $ , . union trust co. --------- --------- endowment fund, income account = = january , cash on hand $ . may , int. u. s. steel . november , int. u. s. steel . $ . ------- ------- =disbursements:= = = january , carl b. roden, treas. $ . june , carl b. roden, treas. . january , cash on hand . $ . ------- -------- bookbinding committee in last year's report it was stated that a special collection, showing the kind of work done by library binders, had been started by this committee. during the past year this collection has been materially increased by samples submitted by different binders; it now includes work from binders covering the entire country from the atlantic ocean to the pacific. the collection was formed so that when librarians write to ask about the work of specific binders, the work itself can be examined and intelligent answers given. notices of the collection were printed in the various library periodicals and a certain numbers of requests for information have been received; a smaller number than the committee hoped for, but sufficient to warrant keeping the collection up-to-date. in view of certain criticisms of this collection, it may be well to state that it is not the purpose to print criticisms of the work of different binders, or to grade them in any way. when asked for information the committee will not compare the work of one binder with another, neither will librarians be advised to desert one binder and employ another. all that will be done will be to send suggestions as to ways in which the work of the binder in question can be improved. in order to do this the work of the binder must be available for examination. the committee fails to see how any binder can take offense at this method, or claim that other binders are being officially recognized by the a. l. a. the announcement of the publishers of the encyclopaedia britannica that they were about to issue a yearbook which would be printed only on india paper called forth a protest from this committee against the use of thin paper--a protest which had no effect whatever until letters protesting against its use had been sent to the publishers by librarians of the larger libraries. even then the sole concession that the publishers made was to agree to bind copies on ordinary paper, provided that we could guarantee a sale of that number. for this reason the committee asks that those who wish to purchase a thick paper edition of the yearbook register their orders with the committee. if the total number by july st amounts to copies, the publishers will be notified to that effect. many librarians have refused to buy the india paper edition, and it is evident that if all librarians would refuse to get it, the publishers would realize that the demands of librarians in this respect should be heeded. there have been comparatively few reference books published or announced during the year which the committee felt would need to be bound especially for library use. it was thought advisable, however, to submit our specifications for binding the new editions of the standard dictionary and appleton's cyclopaedia of american biography. the publishers of the standard dictionary adopted practically all of the specifications and the publishers of the cyclopaedia of american biography now have them under consideration. in this connection it is worthy of notice that the publishers of reference books are not only giving studied attention to binding processes, but they also realize more fully than they did a few years ago the necessity of using leather which is free-from-acid. until within the last two or three years it has been difficult to get leathers tanned according to the specifications of the society of arts. recently, however, several firms in this country have begun to specialize in leathers free-from-acid; and in addition to this, the government printing office insists on having a certain amount of such leather and calls for it in its proposals for bids. these are encouraging signs that in the future we may hope to get leather which will not disintegrate so rapidly as that which we have been obliged to use for many years past. with assured standards of book cloths and leathers, which manufacturers, publishers, binders and librarians each year are recognizing more and more as vital to the proper construction of a serviceable book, there remains only paper to be carefully standardized. some efforts are being made by private companies and by the government to discover which papers are best for certain uses, but at present the librarian at least knows little of the subject and is practically at the mercy of the publisher. arthur l. bailey, rose g. murray, j. ritchie patterson. committee on bookbuying at the ottawa meeting of the american library association this committee reported simply progress, without giving details of its work during the past year, but it had submitted the following report to the executive board, which we now submit to the association at large, and follow it up with a further report of the action of your committee during the past year. to the executive board of the american library association. the a. l. a. committee on bookbuying met with a committee from the american booksellers' association in cleveland on may , for the purpose of discussing book prices and discounts to libraries. as it was found impossible to come to any satisfactory understanding before the annual meeting of the associations, it was decided to make only a report of progress. it was, however, further agreed that a more detailed report should be made to the executive boards of the associations to ascertain if the executive boards deemed it wise that the discussion should be continued. the booksellers' association at its annual convention held in new york in may has accepted the report of progress, and has reappointed its committee. during the year - your committee had much correspondence with the officers of the american booksellers' association, with the librarians and with the booksellers throughout the country on questions of the upward tendency of book prices and the efforts which were being made to decrease the discounts to libraries. at a meeting of the american booksellers' association held in may, , a committee on "relations with libraries" was appointed to take up the matter with the committee of the a. l. a. shortly after this committee was appointed, your committee asked that a time be set for a meeting. as the chairman of the booksellers' committee was abroad, the matter was postponed until september. in september the a. l. a. committee was asked to prepare a statement and submit it to the committee of the american booksellers' association, to which they agreed to make a reply, the two papers to form the basis for a discussion at a meeting to be held as soon as the booksellers' reply had been prepared. we submitted the statement requested in october, . although repeated requests for a reply were made, we did not succeed in getting a copy until march, , and notwithstanding repeated requests for a meeting to discuss the matter, none was held until may , , on the eve of the annual conference of the american booksellers' association. we attach a copy of the statement made by your committee and the reply by the committee of the american booksellers' association. the attitude of the members of the committee of the booksellers' association at the meeting referred to did not differ from that taken in the reply excepting that they were willing to modify the expressions in the reply to a considerable degree. it urged that special attention should be given to the tables of business loss and profit, which had been prepared in the book store of brentano's. in connection with these figures the net books should be most considered so far as the new books are concerned. at the present rate of increase of books so issued it will be but a short time before all books are so published. your committee was asked to admit that it was morally wrong to demand that the booksellers should do business at any such profits, or loss, shown by these figures. your committee did not feel that it was justified in taking that position, nor would it be even if it were more certain of the accuracy and fairness of the figures. without doubt there is much that is wrongfully asked or required of the booksellers by some of the library people, which must of necessity add materially to the cost of doing business, but this, we believe, should be paid for by those asking the special favors, and should not be covered by a regular charge upon all library business. there was much to be said in favor of the booksellers' increase of prices if it needs to cover such expenses. on the other hand, it is thought that the bookseller is not justified in all of the increases which have been made in the prices of books to libraries; as, for example, the discounts now allowed to libraries from prices of the net fiction and net juveniles. it is believed that, with the right spirit of coöperation, there are certain changes that might be made which would help the bookseller, as well as the librarian. if what we understand to be the present attitude of the booksellers remains unchanged, if they are unable to give as well as to take, your committee feels as though the discussion might as well come to an end. we believe that there exists considerable difference of opinion among booksellers as to the justice of the terms now being offered to libraries as large buyers of books. it will be a matter of great regret if there cannot be established most cordial relations between the libraries and the booksellers' association. at the same time, we do not think that the a. l. a. should establish such relations upon terms made wholly for the benefit of the booksellers. we think that the executive board should know the present condition of the negotiations, so that it might, if it sees fit, instruct its future committee. (signed) walter l. brown, carl b. roden, charles h. brown. committee on bookbuying. statement made by the committee on bookbuying of the american library association to the committee on relations with libraries of the american booksellers' association. october, . to the committee on relations with libraries, american booksellers' association. gentlemen: we send you herewith a brief statement of the position of the book buying committee of the american library association in relation to the subject which we hope to discuss with you. the relations between libraries and the book trade should be placed upon a business basis, and the discussion of them upon any other ground is not asked for by the libraries. there is no question as to the desirability and the necessity of improving the conditions of the book trade, and we are in sympathy with the apparently successful efforts now being made toward that end. the libraries ask that at this time of reorganization and radical changes a careful and just consideration should be given to their claims as large buyers of a special character. this has always been recognized in the past, and is the reason for the special discounts allowed them by the booksellers. the library trade as a factor in the book business is of increasing importance. while it may not be considered as "wholesale business" if, as it is claimed, that term implies the purchase in quantities of single titles and involves a business risk in such purchases, yet it differs so much more from the character of the retail trade that in the new adjustment of discounts there would seem to be little justice in charging against it the expenses of retail trade. we believe that the amount of library trade, and its peculiar character warrant your association in having appointed a committee to consider its claims. in dealing with libraries many of the largest items of the expense involved in the conduct of the retail business are wholly unnecessary. it can be conducted as well by dealers on back streets or in lofts as it can be by those who have the most luxurious and expensive stores to attract the retail trade, it does not call for the advertising of their wares by the dealers; all skill of salesmanship is eliminated, and no accounts have to be charged off because of failure. it is claimed that there are other expenses as great, perhaps, as those mentioned, which are peculiar to the library trade, but in reality are not called for in the business of many libraries, and while, perhaps, they are customary, they are really necessary in but few cases, if any. these expenses would seem to be rather the result of bookselling methods than because of any peculiar demands of the business. these "bad features," as they were called in your recent convention, were pointed out as being (a) very slow pay, (b) its approval feature, (c) the practice of asking for competitive bids with the lack of ability to judge squarely of such bids. we cannot see that any of these features are of vital importance to the library. to many libraries, as we have said, they do not apply at all, and probably others would be better off if they were not allowed by the trade. the "approval feature" which was made much of by one of your officers, is, we believe, quite as much the fault of the dealers who wish to urge the sale of their stock as it is the fault of libraries who wish to examine the books before purchasing. many books are sent out to libraries on approval which have already been passed upon, or are entirely outside the range of their purchase, and involve an expense of time to the library, which is forced upon it by the bookseller. we agree that no library should ask for competitive bids on itemized lists, for the gain to the libraries who do this is much smaller than the expense involved. it is probable that such lists would show a lack of bibliographical detail and would require much time in wasted effort on the part of the bookseller. library authorities purchasing books in this manner might, perhaps, be expected to show a "lack of ability to judge squarely of such bids." we believe that the bibliographical work of the bookseller in searching for the best (or more often the cheapest) edition to quote on such a list is the most expensive work the bookseller would have in this trade. such work is wholly unnecessary, as the selected lists of recommended books published by the american library association, as well as those published by the state and local associations and the large libraries, are in the habit of stating the edition, the publisher's name and the price. it is safe to say that all libraries are supplied with such bibliographical aid to the extent of their needs and purchases. this question, however, has little to do with the trade of the libraries conducted according to modern methods. the best libraries do not send out for competitive bids on itemized orders, and they do place the necessary bibliographical detail on their orders, and we might add that their officers are fully capable of judging squarely the editions supplied and the price quoted. we should like to see the book trade classify the library business as peculiar to itself. taking the best library trade as a standard, it might suggest some requirements which should be asked for in return for obtaining the library discount. if the business is free from these faults with which it is more or less justly charged, it should be profitable to the bookseller. we believe that libraries have a right to protest against the increasing charges made to them for the passing of the books of the publishers through the hands of the booksellers, and that some concessions should be made in the discounts now granted. we believe that there is ample room for increasing the booksellers' profits by the reformation of its methods, or perhaps we should say the library methods, which are now accepted by them. the general increase and the tendency toward further increases in the charges for the handling of books for libraries by the rules of your association we believe to be unjust, and that we are fully justified in asking that a careful consideration be given to this question with a view toward making more liberal discounts to this trade. we do not believe that the last move of your association in making the same discount on net fiction as upon other net books is warranted, for we think it would be only fair to grant the libraries a proportion of the larger profit which the bookseller receives by reason of the extra discount allowed by the publishers on net fiction. if no other concession is made, we believe that a better price should be offered to libraries on their purchases of net fiction. we should regret to have the booksellers take action which would give the libraries the impression that their trade was a burden to the booksellers; that the members of your association required a larger profit from them than what is amply satisfactory to the jobbing trade and many dealers. it is to the interests of the library to foster friendly relations with the local booksellers. we believe that together they can be of more service than when working against each other; it is good for the community; we believe that it is also to the interests of the booksellers to keep the library trade, not only because of sentimental reasons, but because it pays. not only are the library accounts practically guaranteed and the requirements of display, advertising and salesmanship minimized, as we have already stated, but the library is often the only buyer of many books which are received by the booksellers. no other one customer keeps the stock moving to such an extent as the library. none other wears out books and calls for so many duplications after the period of popular demand, taking from the bookseller's shelves books which he need not re-stock. much of this kind of trade prevents actual loss which the bookseller would have without the library customer. we are not at all convinced that the booksellers are losers in the library trade, nor do we wish to be placed in the position of receiving special favors. the libraries like to feel that the booksellers are giving them fair prices so they will not be constantly shown by out-of-town dealers how much cheaper they might have bought their new books by waiting a brief time after publication. wide margins of profit always lead to the cutting of prices unless the trade is absolutely controlled, which is not the condition in the book trade at this time. we wish to be in a position to urge all libraries to buy of the regular dealers in their localities, and trust that your committee may be able to see some way of recommending further concessions to the library trade. answer to the foregoing statement answer to the library committee on relation with booksellers, as proposed by charles e. butler, brentano's, new york. . we agree that the relations between librarians and booksellers should be on a business basis, and that there is no question as to the desirability of improving the condition of the book trade. . we are in hearty sympathy with the desire of the libraries, that a careful and just consideration should be given to their claims for better discount as large buyers collectively of a special character. . it is the most earnest desire of the book trade to be absolutely fair and just toward the libraries. we fully and most sincerely believe that the libraries would not for a moment desire or expect that their purchases should be made at the sacrifice of a trade, whose very existence depends on what reasonable profit can be made by them in their business transactions. . the libraries believe that the booksellers can make better discounts than they do now, if they carry on their business along the lines indicated by them, while the booksellers claim that the present condition of buying and selling prohibits them from making a profit, but is actually productive of loss, and that the method proposed by the libraries is not possible. . the booksellers are of necessity the agent of the publisher. if his business is not self-sustaining, he must fail. the reduction of real booksellers, by a most liberal construction of what constitutes a bookseller, from about , when our population was millions to about , with our population at millions, is evidence of the truth of this assertion. the booksellers are entitled to sell to everyone who buys books, libraries or others. . the libraries are not booksellers, therefore they are not entitled to booksellers' discounts, which they are now getting from certain sources. thus, booksellers are deprived of the library business. . the bookseller is an important factor in any community in which he is placed. he is taxed by city and state. his educational influence cannot be estimated. his capital, his brains and physical effort are all invested in making his business a success. to do so, he needs reasonable profits, and it is business folly to do any part of his business that results in a loss. . a great majority of the libraries are created and supported by direct taxation, by charitable contribution, endowment, legacies and the like. it is true, the libraries have to be conducted in a careful, businesslike way simply keeping within their means. doing this, they are free from the booksellers' anxieties and difficulties as a merchant. . the unique position enjoyed by libraries in the community as to their capital and freedom from commercial risk, and exemption from taxation and rent, has raised the question: "why should they receive discounts on books?" do they, as libraries, get special discounts on their building, their shelving, light, heat, electricity and supplies, etc., etc.? . the libraries state that in booksellers dealing with libraries many of the largest items of the expense involved in the conduct of the retail business are wholly unnecessary. "it can be conducted as well by dealers on =back streets or in lofts= as it can be done by those who have the most luxurious stores to attract the retail trade; it does not call for the advertising of their wares by the dealer; all skill of salesmanship is eliminated and no accounts have to be charged off because of failure." . the bookseller establishes himself in every community, in such locations as will attract trade--generally the best--limited only by his capacity to pay rent and expenses. this is vital to his success. a bookseller locating himself on a =back street= for the purpose of doing business to enable him to give the library a large portion of his small earnings would speedily end his career. he could not get enough library business to exist on and his chances of doing a general retail business, on a back street, would be very small indeed. he would become solely a per cent or per cent buyer, per cent which he gives to the libraries, with a possible , or per cent expense account. we do not believe that the libraries would knowingly ask anyone to do business under such circumstances for their benefit. will the libraries figure this out? . presuming, for the sake of argument, a bookseller does locate himself on a back street for the purpose of doing library business: he =must= be a bookseller to get a =wholesale rate=. a mere agent not carrying stock, but simply buying on orders, would not be supported or supplied by the publishers, as he does not carry stock or assume the risk of the business. . he would therefore have to carry a reasonable amount of stock to be considered a bookseller. the libraries may not know that the discount given the bookseller is qualified by the quantity purchased of each item. thus, the average trade discount now prevailing on net books and net fiction is per cent in small quantities. if he purchases to copies of a title, he gets an extra per cent. if he purchases to of a title (according to the publisher and the book offered) he gets an extra per cent. the libraries familiar with this discount, and being misguided as to the results, argue that a better discount than they now get should be given them by the bookseller. we have not included here the great number of books published at such discounts as per cent, per cent, per cent, and even per cent, to which must be added transportation and other charges. more of such books are bought by libraries than by the retail buyer, such as educational books, scientific books, medical books, law books, subscription books, etc. . now this is what really happens to the man on the =back street=, as well as to =the bookseller= on the principal thoroughfare. it is safe to say that out of the purchase of new books of any one house, say for a period of a year, about per cent would have to be bought in small quantities at a discount of per cent, about per cent at the extra per cent discounts, and per cent at the extra per cent discounts. thus, buying per cent of his stock at per cent and selling to libraries at a discount of per cent leaves per cent to do business, with an average expense cost to the bookseller of per cent on every dollar of sale. =the per cent at better rate would improve matters very little=, as can readily be seen. it does not seem as if the bookseller could make better discount than he does to the libraries and it really is a question whether he is justified in giving as much as he does now, if able to give any at all, except at a loss to him. . the theory has been advanced by the libraries that all their business should be considered by booksellers as an =independent element= in the business and not chargeable with the per cent cost per dollar of sale, but that the library business should be charged with a much less ratio of expense, thus enabling the bookseller to gratify the desire of the libraries for a further discount. they base this proposition on the following claims: . it does not call for the advertising of their wares by the dealer. . all skill of salesmanship is eliminated. . no accounts have to be charged off because of failure. the facts are that the smaller libraries, and to some extent the larger libraries, are constantly supplied by publisher and bookseller with circular matter regarding new and forthcoming publications, letters and personal visits as to special publications, as well as sending the new books, as issued, on approval, at considerable cost and trouble, and some loss of sale, because books are not available for display to possible buyers who visit the dealer's place of business. the proper handling of library orders to any reasonable extent requires skilled clerks with good knowledge of books, the use of catalogs and the ability to work out titles correctly that are incorrectly given, and which is so often done. it is true that no accounts have to be charged off, but library accounts require much care and trouble in making duplicate and triplicate vouchers, many have to be sworn to before notaries, in some cases depositing money as security that goods will be supplied at prices quoted, and generally a long wait before the bills are paid, and many minor troubles annoying to both libraries and dealers. . as a business proposition, the making of a library department a separate one from the business, and determining its exact cost of maintenance, and basing the library discount thereon is not feasible, for the reason that the bulk of its operations are so interwoven with the business, requiring the assistance of the entire force at many stages that it would be impossible to pick out and determine what each operation costs. again, the profits and loss of a business can only be finally determined at the end of the fiscal year, when the stock is taken, and the books closed--a very anxious moment indeed for the bookseller. he then knows, to his joy or sorrow, how much it has cost him to make one dollar of sale, and what profit or loss he has made on each dollar of sale, on every class of merchandise he has sold, the library trade included. this percentage of sale is his guide for the following year, and as a good business man, he must eliminate every class of merchandise he sells that does not produce some profit. no business can work successfully otherwise. . the following table will show the various ramifications of a special library department in the business, if carried out as proposed. what suggestions would the libraries make in a case like this? work of the library clerk. clerks. writing to libraries for trade. sending circulars and book information to libraries. certain reference catalogs. receiving order for estimate and price. looking up same and selecting editions and pricing. writing to publishers about special books to be priced. correcting librarian's errors. store assistance. correspondence in general. typewriters, machine, paper, etc. advertising for out-of-print books and general advertising. assistance of other clerks. order department and laying out order and getting shorts. receiving department. bookkeeping department. packing and shipping department. catalog--reference. freight and express on goods bought. returns and credits. postage. loss on bad accounts. theft. depreciation of stock. rent. heat. light. care and keep of store. salaries and wages. interest. store supplies. insurance and taxes. auditing. cost of books on approval--going and coming. good will and reputation. . the libraries state that they have a right to protest against the increasing charges made to them for passing of the books of the publishers through the hands of the booksellers, and that some concession should be made in the discounts now granted. . in this, the libraries should consider they are not a trade organization, who, like the booksellers, depend on their trade for a living. publisher and bookseller are one in interest--producer and distributor, and it is economically proper that the publisher's product should pass through the hands of the bookseller, and to whom?--to their clientele, the public. what relation does the library have to the bookseller, other than as a buyer, the same as the rest of the community? it is claimed that libraries are large buyers collectively, but the general public are larger buyers collectively, by many millions of dollars. if the library theory holds good, would not the same theory hold good if the citizens of each community were to combine in their purchasing and demand discounts accordingly? would this not result in the booksellers' sudden and complete annihilation, instead of a gradual one, as it has been? . as to the "increasing charges," there is no more increase to the libraries than to the general public. what brought about these "increasing charges?" the necessity of self-preservation of both publisher and bookseller. till the beginning of the net system and for some years thereafter books were published at the traditional prices of more than fifty years ago (and later a period of ruinous competition to the bookseller) the discounts to the trade remaining about the same, and this in spite of the fact that the cost of everything pertaining to book-making and its selling had greatly increased, and had not advanced in price, while almost every other article of merchandise, labor, material and the necessities of life, has greatly increased in cost, and increased in selling price. . the libraries state: we should regret to have the booksellers take action which would give the libraries the impression that their trade was a burden to the bookseller, that your members required a larger profit from them than what is amply satisfactory to the jobbing trade and many dealers. . the booksellers do not feel that the libraries are a burden to them. they are anxious to have trading relations with them, but on a mutually satisfactory basis. the library does not need profit for its existence, supported as it is, but the bookseller needs it for his very existence. were the libraries aware of the actual facts of the case, they would undoubtedly learn to their surprise that the trade done by "the jobbing trade and many dealers" was anything but satisfactory, and were their dealings with the libraries closely analyzed they would find they had made small profit, if not loss, on the total of the books sold to them. the dealers have only shown existing conditions, and have asked for relief. . the libraries are not sole buyers of net books. a very large proportion of their purchases are of non-net books, which are sold to them at little or no margin of profit, and at the same discount as the booksellers get. this is ruinous competition. . why then do the trade desire library business under existing conditions? they do not seek this business for its profit-making on general publications, regular and net, for that is almost nil, but for such stock as can be bought at much better discount than the regular trade rates, such as jobs and the like, that they can sell the libraries, and also for the real value of the libraries to the bookseller that their orders often enable him to dispose of certain stock--even at cost--which might take a long time to dispose of. finally, there is a certain amount of pride--surprising as it may seem--that the bookseller has. he wants to sell the library in his own community, he wants to do all the business of his community, and he feels it keenly that his library is the only one with whom he cannot do business, except at a very small profit or loss; and which trade goes to some other town or state. . we trust we have made clear to the libraries the exact business situation as it relates to the bookseller, jobber, and the like. to some extent, what is stated here is no new story. the general assertion has been made by the bookseller that the library business is unprofitable, while the libraries state they believe otherwise is or should be the case, and suggest their ideas as to a remedy. . it can be proved, we think, to the entire satisfaction of the libraries, that in spite of the net system and corresponding maintenance of price, the bookseller, jobber and the like, will be happy indeed if he can show the smallest margin of net profit as a result of a year's work in selling regular and net books to the libraries and the public as well. . the booksellers, jobbers and the like desire the library business. they believe that it rightly belongs to them in their own locality, and to no one else, be they large or small. . they believe the discount given to libraries by booksellers, jobbers and the like, should be uniform the country over, and leave a small margin of profit to the seller. . they believe that competitive bidding by the libraries has been detrimental to booksellers, jobbers and the like, as well as to the libraries in many ways, direct and indirect. . they believe that the libraries desire to be fair in this matter and not ask for unreasonable terms, and that a knowledge of the real facts of the case of the condition of the booksellers, jobbers and the like, will convince them that the booksellers, jobbers and others are doing all, if not more than they can, in giving the libraries a discount of - per cent on regular books, and per cent on net books, as at present. . booksellers, jobbers and the like fully believe that they can be of great assistance to the libraries and the libraries to them, and it is their earnest hope that close and harmonious relations may be brought about, and that they will do all in their power towards it. the booksellers most heartily endorse the great and good work the libraries perform to the community, and from a selfish point of view, the bookseller freely admits the great assistance derived by them from the influence of the libraries in creating a desire for reading and the possession of books, and the general educating and elevating of the community, and the bookseller also feels that his presence in any community is likewise educating and elevating and that his interests should be reasonably conserved. . the booksellers complain that when libraries become publishers, as many of them do, they make their prices net but give the trade little or no discount therefrom. such books sold by the bookseller, cost him considerable in addition to the published price. . they cordially invite the librarians to go into any facts and figures they may desire to be informed about, as to the cost of booksellers doing business and as to the conditions affecting the relationship of both, with a view that all difficulties may be removed, to our mutual satisfaction. . we are pleased to learn that the libraries believe--- . the approval feature can be dropped. . that no library should ask for competitive bids on itemized lists. . the bibliographical work is entirely unnecessary by the bookseller and can be dispensed with. . that the relations between libraries and the book trade should be placed upon a business basis. . that there is no question as to the desirability and the necessity of improving the condition of the book trade, and that they are in sympathy with the apparently successful efforts now being made toward that end. booksellers selling to libraries and the result, in profit and loss to the bookseller. the following tabulation is compiled, from actual purchases made from four prominent publishers, by a large bookseller, during a period of one year. these purchases included books in all classes of literature, fiction, biography, science, travel, etc., etc., which would fairly represent the book purchases of a number of libraries for the period of one year. these books were bought at varying discounts, viz.:-- / , / - , / - , / , / - , / - , / , / - , / - , / , / - , / - . every advantage was taken where possible, to obtain by quantity buying, the extra and per cent, given by the publishers. the amount bought of these four publishers at published price was about $ , . , which cost the bookseller about $ , . , and included both regular, net and special books. let us assume that this bookseller sold these books from his stock to the libraries, at a discount from the published prices, on regular books, of / and a discount of % from the published prices of net books. it is here shown, what the result of the operation would be to the bookseller, as to profit or loss. the cost point of doing business by booksellers the country over, has been fairly well determined to be on the same average, % per dollar of sale. this may fluctuate according to circumstances and location, between % and %. in order, however, to clearly and fully cover all possibilities in the matter, the expense per dollar of sale has been calculated at %, %, %, % and % per dollar of sale. in all these calculations per dollar of sale, no allowance is made for depreciation of stock, fixtures, bad accounts, etc., etc. it is hoped that a careful analysis of this table will help solve the library problem. table no. . published discount sold to cost to cost per price to libraries booksellers dollar libraries at of sale cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . / , . , . , . net , . / , . , . , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . / , . , . , . net , . / , . , . , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . / , . , . , . net , . / , . , . , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . / , . , . , . net , . / , . , . , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . / , . , . . net , . / , . , . . total cost loss gain total loss total gain cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . , . -- -- -- net , . , . -- , . -- cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . . -- . -- net , . -- . -- -- cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . . -- -- -- net , . -- , . -- , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . -- . -- -- net , . -- , . -- , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . -- . -- net , . -- , . -- , . table no. . the following tabulation is compiled on the same basis as table no. , but showing the result to the bookseller, as to profit and loss, if the bookseller increased the discount to the libraries, on regular books, from / to / , and on net books from / to / . published discount to sold to cost to cost per price libraries libraries at booksellers dollar of sale cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . / , . , . , . net , . / , . , . , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . / , . , . , . net , . / , . , . , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . / , . , . . net , . / , . , . , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . / , . , . . net , . / , . , . . total cost loss gain total loss total gain cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . , . net , . , . , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . , . net , . . , . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . . net , . . . cost per dollar of sale %. non net , . . net , . , . june, report of the bookbuying committee of the american library association, - in november, , your committee was notified by the secretary that the executive board asked it to continue its negotiations with the committee on libraries of the american booksellers' convention. a meeting with the latter committee was immediately arranged for, and such meeting was held in new york city on november th, which was attended by two representatives of the booksellers' association and by two members of the committee on book buying of the a. l. a. a discussion lasting over three hours, when all the details and conditions were gone over, resulted in a definite agreement, the ratification of which the committee of the american booksellers' association promised to recommend to that association. this agreement was in the nature of a small concession on the part of the booksellers' committee. while the concession was small, it was accepted as at least showing a disposition on the part of the booksellers to co-operate with the libraries in the promotion of a better feeling between them. the booksellers' committee agreed to allow the libraries a discount of % from the net price on new fiction, instead of %, which is now allowed. the % discount was to be given during the calendar year in which the novel was published, as given on the title page. a few days after this agreement was made, the acting chairman of the american booksellers' association committee announced that he could not carry it out, because of his finding that the booksellers could not afford to do what he had promised to recommend, and at that time submitted figures which he thought proved his contention. these figures differed in no particular from those which were formerly submitted, and which are a part of this report, and which, we believe are on a false basis of an exaggerated cost of doing library business, and of misleading statements as to discounts allowed by the publishers to booksellers on new fiction. at the annual meeting of the american booksellers' association, which was held in may of this year, a statement was made by its committee on relations with libraries, but this statement does not form a part of the published report of the proceedings of the convention, and your committee has not been able to obtain a copy of the stenographer's notes. the acting chairman of the booksellers' committee informs us that he made no report, but that he submitted and supplemented the foregoing statements of the committees, with quotations from the correspondence of the two committees. it, therefore, probably differed but little from the original statements made by the two committees. we would, therefore, call your attention to the reasons given in the booksellers' "statement" for holding the uniform higher prices which the libraries are paying for books because of the short discounts allowed by the booksellers' association. as the position taken by the booksellers' association is not agreed to by all of the individual booksellers, such action may or may not be looked upon as a "restraint of trade." the estimate of the cost of doing business by retail booksellers is %, and the contention is that no profit is made from any item which does not net them a sum greater than % above cost. this would mean that they wish to force the libraries into becoming retail customers because library business as a wholesale trade is regarded by the retail booksellers as too costly, and the booksellers' committee believes that it should not be welcomed by them. all booksellers do not take this view any more than they would wish to endorse that expressed in paragraph of the "answer" of their committee, which reads as follows: "a great majority of the libraries are created and supported by direct taxation, by charitable contributions, endowments, legacies and the like. it is true that libraries have to be conducted in a careful, businesslike way, simply keeping within their means. doing this, they are free from the booksellers' anxieties and difficulties as a merchant." your committee believes that there is no question as to the desire of all libraries to encourage good feeling between the booksellers and themselves, nor is there any question as to the desirability of having a bookstore in every community. we believe that the local booksellers should be encouraged, but not at the expense of the taxpayers through the library. the libraries, as wholesale buyers, should, we believe, be allowed greater discounts on the net books. as the retail booksellers seem not included to make any compromise, we believe that your committee on book buying might, in the immediate future, be of service to the libraries by calling their attention to the advantages of buying many replace books from booksellers who are desirous of obtaining and keeping the library business and to those who deal in remainders and second-hand books, both here and abroad. inasmuch as the booksellers' committee on relations with libraries did not keep its verbal promise, and has reassumed its former position which allows no concession whatsoever, although asking and expecting co-operation from the libraries, we believe that there is nothing to be gained by further negotiations with the booksellers' association committee on relations with libraries as it is now constituted. respectfully submitted, walter l. brown, carl b. roden, charles h. brown, committee on bookbuying. report of the committee on co-operation with the national education association the committee of the american library association on co-operation with the national education association, while having no special accomplishment to present, still seems justified in reporting the year as being one decidedly of progress. never before in the experience of the committee has there been a more friendly expression of a desire to co-operate on the part of the n. e. a. than has been the case this year. president fairchild sent an invitation unsolicited for a representative of the american library association to take a place on the general program of the meetings of the national education association in salt lake city. the committee has not been able to find a proper representative to accept the invitation, owing to the great distance from library centers of the place of meeting. there has been an increased amount of discussion by correspondence of the members of the committee as to the work that could be done more thoroughly to create a sympathetic attitude toward the work of the public library as an integral part of public education. an increasing number of schools are turning to the libraries for help, and one association of college librarians has strongly emphasized the need of instruction in library methods for the students of high schools. the committee has been active in its efforts to co-operate with the library department of the n. e. a., and has received a written expression of thanks for its work this year from the officers of the department. m. e. ahern, chairman. committee on federal and state relations the committee reports that its chief activity throughout the year, has been the endeavor to secure a cheaper postal rate upon books, in which effort it has been unsuccessful. attempts were made to have books included in the parcel post bill of , and also to have the rate on books made the same as the second class rate on magazines when sent by individuals. at the regular and extra sessions of congress, the chairman of the committees of congress on post offices and post roads, were interviewed, and the postmaster-general was urged to give the favorable influence of his department toward the end desired. there seems to be no probability of an immediate alteration in the rate upon books, unless a complete revision of the parcel post section of the postal laws be made, and there is some question as to whether it is desirable for books to be included in the parcel post, with the present zone system, inasmuch as under it, the postage upon books within certain zones would be actually greater than under the existing law. the activity of those desiring a one cent postage upon letters, also causes members of congress to hesitate in making any reduction such as we desire. when the new tariff bill was introduced in the house of representatives, the committee addressed a communication to the committee on ways and means, so as to secure the retention of the privilege of free entry for books imported by public libraries. the treasury department on april decided "that small importations through the mails for colleges or other institutions entitled to import books free of duty under par. of the tariff act will be passed without requiring an affidavit in each instance, provided such institutions will file with the collector of customs a copy of its charter or article of association showing it to be entitled to pass such importations free of duty." libraries desiring to avail themselves of this privilege should forward this information promptly to the collector of customs at the port where they receive books. bernard c. steiner, chairman. committee on library administration part of your committee's report is simply supplementary to that of last year, constituting with it a survey of methods used in certain libraries in carrying out two common operations--accessioning and the charging of issue. last year the selected libraries were asked simply to describe these operations closely, being urged to leave out no detail, no matter how trivial and unimportant. it was thought that no set of questions, however minute, would provide for all such details, and that a questionnaire might result in many omissions and make the operations, as performed by the contributing libraries, appear to be more uniform than is really the case. the event proved, however, the necessity of some sort of a questionnaire, and after a study of last year's results the following was prepared by mr. george f. bowerman, of this committee, and sent out by the chairman both to the libraries named in the last report and to certain others. data have been received from the following institutions: public or circulating libraries butte, montana atlanta pittsburgh east orange forbes library jacksonville, florida lincoln library, springfield los angeles new york pratt institute st. louis salt lake city seattle washington college or university wesleyan university, middletown, conn. westminster college, fulton, mo. harvard kansas syracuse tulane state libraries indiana iowa new york virginia special library john crerar, chicago society libraries medical society of the county of kings new york society new york bar association (accession only) we give below the questions sent out with a summary of the various answers by numbers. the original blanks are on file at a. l. a. headquarters, showing answers in greater detail, together with the names of the answering libraries. summary of reports on accession routine [harvard university library did not answer each question in detail, as it keeps no accession record in the usual sense. a record is kept each day of the number of volumes and pamphlets received by gift and by purchase, from which statistics are made up at the end of the year. a file of continuation cards for annual reports and similar continued publications and a record of gifts from individuals are useful supplements to the daily record. bills for books are filed alphabetically under dealer's name each year, and order slips, giving agent, date of order and date of receipt, are preserved.] ( ) when do you accession, before or after cataloging? before cataloging-- . ( ) are all books that are cataloged accessioned? affirmative, (exception, ). ( ) what method of keeping your accession record do you use? all use accession book except los angeles and forbes library, which use bill method, and washington, d. c., which uses order cards as accession record. east orange does not believe accession =book= essential. pittsburgh, which accessions only adult books, is inclined to believe book unnecessary. their method of treating juveniles is especially interesting. seattle notes that their book has fewer items than the a. l. a., and says the use of order cards as accession record is an excellent method. ( ) which of the following items do you enter in your accession record? the number following the item indicates the number of libraries reporting its use:--author, ; title, ; publisher, ; place of publication, ; date of publication, ; size, ; edition, ; number of volumes, ; binding, ; publisher's price, ; cost, ; source, ; date of bill, ; date of entry, . ( ) do you enter facts about re-binding in the accession record? affirmative, ; negative, . ( ) a. do you use your accession record to obtain statistics of additions? affirmative, ; negative, . b. what items do you include? some of these questions were not answered, so it is inferred that the statistics obtained are for total additions only. following items were reported on:--class, ; source, ; branch, ; language, ; circulating or reference, ; adult and juvenile, . ( ) do you maintain a numerical record of accessions according to classification? department or branches? does it cover expenditures for each main class? department or branches? negative, ; record according to classification, ; branch or department, ; separate record of expenditures, . ( ) where do you place accession number? page after title page, ; title page, ; title page and first page, ; title page and page , ; book plate and page after title page, . ( ) do you write price and date of bill as well as accession number in the book. do you write cost of a set in the first volume? affirmative, ; negative, (both questions); cost, ; date, affirmative, ; negative, ; cost in volume of set, . ( ) how do you indicate the branch or department to which a book is assigned? not indicated, or there is no branch, ; stamped or indicated in accession book, ; books stamped or marked, ; separate accession book for each branch, ; order card and book stamped, . ( ) in case of replacements do you keep a record of the accession number which has been replaced or do you regard replacement as if it were an added entry or duplicate, disregarding old number entirely? replacement is regarded as an added entry or duplicate, and no record kept of the old number, ; new number given to replacement but make note of the number replaced, ; old number used, . butte, mont., reports: "we enter each new copy in the shelf list as copy - , etc., keeping a record of each book." new york city bar association reports: "do not use numbers, but dates. a book added to replace is not counted for the annual statistics." ( ) do you note in the accession record when a book is withdrawn, or do you keep a withdrawal book? note in accession record, ; note on shelf list, ; note in accession book and keep withdrawal book, ; have withdrawal book, ; have no withdrawals, ; files book cards, ; keeps record on cards, ; keeps cards withdrawn from public catalog, ; not noted at all, . new york city bar association reports: "we keep all books except in very rare cases. the only notes made are in catalogs and in statistical record." summary of reports on charging systems . what charging system do you use? newark system, ; brown system, ; borrower's record, ; single file--book file under date or class, ; double file--borrower's file and book file, . . the process of charging. a. . do you issue books on borrowers' cards? . a. . do you charge by means of call slips? . a. . permanent or temporary book cards? . b. how many cards are issued to one borrower? one card, ; two cards, ; three cards, ; temporary borrower's cards, ; temporary book cards and no borrower's cards, ; borrower's pocket instead of borrower's card, . c. if a borrower presents his own cards and those of others also, do you issue books on all cards presented? affirmative, ; negative, (cards, slips or pocket held at the library, ). d. do you issue privilege or teachers' cards? affirmative, ; negative, . e. how many -week books of fiction are charged on one card? e. . one book of fiction on a card for weeks-- . two books of fiction on a card for weeks-- . three books of fiction on a card for weeks-- . tulane university--faculty can withdraw any number at one time; students, only . no discrimination between fiction and non-fiction-- . no limit--virginia state. no exact time limit-- . e. . one -day book on one card, ; three -day books on one card, ; unlimited (east orange), ; no -day books, . e. . one -week book of fiction on one card, ; two -week books of fiction on one card, ; three -week books of fiction on one card, ; unlimited (east orange), ; none issued for weeks, . f. how many pay duplicate books may one borrower draw at a time? number unlimited, ; three at one time, ; five at one time, ; as many as cards presented, . (libraries having no pay collection, .) g. do you issue books and magazines on the same card? affirmative, ; negative, ; no circulation of magazines, . h. how many books are issued on privilege or teachers' cards? unlimited, except for fiction, ; books, ; books, ; books, ; no special cards issued, . i. are books stamped on the date of issue-- . are books stamped on the date of return-- . j. do you use different colored pads for charging and discharging? affirmative, ; negative, . k. do you use different colored pencils for different dates? affirmative, ; negative, . l. do you use different sized type for different dates? affirmative, ; negative, . m. is the assistant at the charging desk required to use a mark or initial of identification on the book card? affirmative, ; negative, . n. n. . do you stamp fiction and non-fiction on the same card? affirmative, ; negative, ; no distinction made, . n. . do you stamp fiction and non-fiction on different parts of the same card? affirmative, . n. . in combination? . n. . do you use the same colored ink for fiction and non-fiction? affirmative, ; negative, . o. are the class numbers of non-fiction written on a teacher's or privilege card? affirmative, ; negative, . p. how many places do you stamp--book card? borrower's card? date flap? book entry? call slip? stampings, book card, borrower's card, date flap-- . stampings, book card, borrower's card-- . stampings, book card, date flap-- . stampings, call slip, date flap-- . stamping, call slip-- . stamping, temporary book card-- . stamping, borrower's pocket-- . q. do you renew books more than once? affirmative, ; negative, . r. do you renew books issued for days? affirmative, ; negative, . s. do you renew books issued for two weeks? affirmative, ; negative, . t. do you renew books issued for four weeks? affirmative, ; negative, . u. is the process of renewal like original charge? affirmative, ; negative, . . counting of circulation. a. do you verify your count by having it checked by a second person? affirmative, ; negative, ; no count kept, . b. do you verify your filing in the same way? affirmative, ; negative, . c. are records kept in different departments combined daily in a single statistics record? affirmative, ; negative, ; daily and monthly, ; yearly count, . d. do you send collections of books for home circulation to places outside the library? affirmative, ; negative, . e. . do the custodians of these places furnish circulation figures? affirmative, ; negative, . e. . how often? monthly, ; bi-monthly, ; yearly, ; weekly, . f. is any record kept of the reading (not home circulation) of these collections? affirmative, ; negative, . g. if no circulation figures are obtainable, do you count the original collections sent as books issued? affirmative, ; negative, . h. is omitted. i. for what periods are such collections sent on deposit? varied, ; two months, ; two weeks, . . filing of cards. a. . are fiction and non-fiction cards separated under the day's issue? affirmative, . a. . or are all cards filed in alphabetical order according to author or otherwise. accession number, ; author, ; author and accession number, ; borrower's name, ; call number on slips, ; class number, ; title, . b. do you use different colored book cards? affirmative, ; negative, . c. do you have separate files for -day cards, or do you file them daily with -week books issued one week previously--also -week books issued weeks previously? separate files, ; no separate files, ; filed daily with -week books issued one week previously, . d. do you have separate files for cards issued to teachers? for renewed books? foreign books? teachers--affirmative, ; negative, ; renewed books--affirmative, ; negative, ; foreign books--none. e. do you use guide cards to separate the classes of non-fiction or do different classes have different book cards? guide cards, ; guide cards and colored book-cards, ; colored book cards, ; neither, . f. have you separate files for books loaned to staff members, trustees, etc.? affirmative, ; negative, . g. are special records kept of books in quarantined houses? affirmative, ; negative, . h. do you keep your file of collections loaned as deposits separate from ordinary circulation? affirmative, ; negative, . . discharging of books. a. do you stamp on borrower's card or slip the date book is returned? affirmative, ; negative, . b. do you keep on file at the library all cards of borrowers when in use? affirmative, ; negative, . when not in use? affirmative, ; negative, . c. do you retain at the library a borrower's card on which there is a fine? affirmative, ; negative, . d. do you issue receipts for books without cards? affirmative, ; negative, . e. do you give the receipt to the borrower to be returned with card for cancellation of date or do you keep file of such receipts at the library? receipt file kept at library, . f. do you discharge books before stamping off borrowers' cards? affirmative, ; negative, . discharging and stamping off done at the same time, . g. if not do you look up book cards overdue before you stamp off borrower's card? affirmative, ; negative, . h. do you inspect book while borrower waits? affirmative, ; negative, . i. are books discharged near your return desk or away from it? near or at desk, . j. do you inspect carefully all books returned? affirmative, ; negative, . k. is this inspection made when books are discharged or when shelved? when discharged, ; before shelved, ; at both times, . the most interesting thing brought out by this investigation is the fact that it has taken your committee two years to ascertain and tabulate the simple facts regarding methods of procedure, in a very limited number of institutions, in the performance of only two of the many operations that go to make up their current work. from this it may be imagined how long and difficult a task it would be to carry out a really comprehensive survey of all the work of all kinds of libraries as currently performed. and yet such a survey would appear to be a necessary preliminary to a study of the subject whose aims should be definite suggestions toward the improvement of this work in the direction of greater efficiency. it would seem, at present, a task beyond this committee's powers, although we may be prepared to take general advisory charge of such a work if others can be induced to undertake the details. possibly some of the library schools may regard this as profitable employment for their students. in the next place we are struck with the complete negative that our results place upon the general impression that the various details of modern library work are becoming--possibly even have already become--thoroughly standardized. no one thinks, of course, that everyone does everything alike; but we are apt to believe that there are now a few generally approved ways of doing each thing, and that each library selects from these the one that suits its own conditions and limitations. on the contrary, we seem to be in an era of free experiment. nothing in the two sets of operations that we have studied--not even the existence and value of the operations themselves--would appear to be regarded as sacred. everyone has his own methods and is apparently satisfied, either with them, or with his own ways of departing from them and groping after something better. we cannot regard this as altogether desirable. doubtless no one most efficient way of doing any of these things can be settled upon, so long as conditions differ, but we cannot believe that differences so fundamental and complexities so varied as those revealed in this report are due merely to differing conditions, and that each is the best in the place where it is practised. we must conclude, therefore, that many of our libraries are doing these particular things, and by inference others also, in wasteful, inefficient ways. having made a survey of the facts, the next step would be to inquire concerning all variations from a method selected as the simplest in each case--possibly accessioning as practised at pratt institute free library or the public library of the district of columbia and the charging system at pittsburgh or at east orange, new jersey. the cost of these variations in time and money and the skill necessary in carrying them out, should be ascertained and the practical value of each, if it has any, should be found. it may then be possible to select, for a library of a given type, a standard method of procedure, which will be, all things considered, the most efficient for it. in regard to cost, the report of the sectional committee on the cost of cataloging, to be made at this conference, will doubtless throw some interesting light on the problem. questionnaires the use of the questionnaire by this committee may require some justification in the light of the growing feeling among librarians that the multiplicity of such demands upon their time is becoming a nuisance; and possibly some general recommendations on the use of library questionnaires may be in order. we feel that the value of the questionnaire, and the way in which it should be received, regarded and disposed of, depend primarily on the purpose for which it is intended and also largely on the skill and tact of the questioner. we distinguish three main classes of library questionnaires: ( ) those intended to gather data for the information of librarians in general; ( ) those intended for the use of single libraries; ( ) those intended for the information of individuals. those of the first class, it seems to us, it is the duty of all librarians to answer, as far as possible. they include questions sent out by a. l. a. or state association committees and those put by individual libraries or librarians with a promise to publish the results or to put them into shape that will make them available to the public, provided, of course, the information sought appears likely to be of value when tabulated. questionnaires of the second class will generally be answered, not so much as a matter of public duty as of personal courtesy. they include requests from one librarian to another about details of administration for guidance in making improvements or alterations in method. a librarian feels usually that it is good policy, if nothing more, to comply with such requests so far as his rules permit, for he may at any time desire to make a similar request on his own part. it is suggested, however, that whenever possible such data as these should be asked in a way, and from a sufficient number of libraries, to warrant throwing the results into a form that will make them generally available. the third category includes most of the questionnaires that excite the ire of librarians and cause a feeling that questions of all kinds are nuisances demanding abatement. they come from students writing theses, from assistants preparing papers for local clubs, from individuals obsessed with curiosity, from reporters, from persons of various degrees of irresponsibility. there is no reason why any attention at all should be paid to these and we recommend librarians to return to them merely a stereotyped form of polite acknowledgement and refusal. it is hoped that the headquarters of the association may become more and more the clearing house for systematized information of this kind, saving thereby much wasteful duplication of material and effort. we recommend that the originators of legitimate questionnaires send to headquarters before making up their list of questions, to see how many can be answered in this way. much of the feeling against questionnaires is due to lack of good judgment on the part of the framers. it is obviously unfair to ask another librarian to answer questions that could be answered from the resources of the questioning library, even if the latter would require a little more time and trouble. a large proportion of the items in questionnaires of all three grades specified above are of this character. if it is desired that all the answers shall appear in the same form on one sheet, answers obtainable in the questioning library may be written in before sending out the list, and the attention of the correspondent may be called to this fact. in any case a statement should accompany the questionnaire that the information asked cannot be obtained by any other means at the asker's disposal. in some cases questions are asked that require the collection of unusual data regarding the current work of the library. the answers to such questions can evidently not be given, even if the library is willing and anxious to undertake at once the additional work of collection, until the expiration of the period for which the figures are asked--generally one year. the usual method seems to be to send out such questions to a large number of libraries in the hope that a few will be able to answer them at once. a better way would be to send out to a large number of libraries a statement of the desired data, asking those willing to undertake their collection to notify the asker. at the expiration of the period of collection the sender of the questions would then have accurate data and he would not expect them before the end of this period--whether one year or less. it would seem to be unnecessary to remind those who receive and answer questionnaires that returned blanks should bear the name of the library to which they refer, were it not for the fact that this is so often omitted. in one recent case the name was given simply as "carnegie library," with no address. briefly set forth, the recommendations of this committee, regarding the use of library questionnaires, are, then, as follows: ( ) that questionnaires should always be for the information of librarians in general, or for improving the service of one library in particular, preferably the former. ( ) that no questions should be included that can be answered in the questioning library or at a. l. a. headquarters. ( ) that questions requiring the collection of current data over a specified period of time be asked proportionately in advance of the report desired, in cases where the data are not such as are usually recorded. ( ) that those who answer questionnaires be careful to include the name and address of their library. labor saving devices it is a commonplace of library history that librarianship has contributed the card catalog idea to commercial life. the library in turn is indebted to commercial life for many labor-saving devices. very likely a few of the largest libraries utilize all available labor-saving devices to the utmost. your committee is, however, of the opinion that the medium size and smaller libraries might reduce the cost of administration through the more general use of mechanical appliances. we recommend that at a coming meeting of the association there be held an exhibition of all available competing labor-saving devices adapted to library use. the assembled demonstration of such devices should prove most instructive to the members of the association and would itself be a time-saving device. such an exhibition could probably not be advantageously assembled except in a large city. your committee therefore recommends that either it or a special committee be authorized to arrange for such an exhibition and demonstration. all of which is respectfully submitted. committee on administration. committee on library training at the beginning of the year the committee began the consideration of an outline, prepared by the chairman, of possible points considered in the proposed examination of library schools. this outline was submitted to the members of the committee individually and valuable suggestions obtained and was afterwards discussed by such members of the committee as were present at the january meetings in chicago. this outline which is appended to the present report is not to be considered as necessarily final, for the committee invites criticisms and suggestions from other members of the profession. what the committee desires if library schools are to be examined, is that the schools should be examined from the point of view of the needs of the profession, not simply from the point of view of the interests of the library schools. the real vital questions lying at the foundation of the examination of library schools are these: does this method of obtaining recruits for the profession give the best results which can be secured by such a method? do the library school trained workers prove in actual experience that their training has been of the right sort? these questions cannot be answered from an examination of the records of any one or even any half dozen library school graduates, but only from the examination of many such records. as was before said, criticisms on the outline are invited from members of the profession and from any of the library schools, as the desire of the committee is to make an absolutely thorough, and impartial study of the whole library school problem. at the january meeting in chicago the members of the committee were rejoiced to learn that the executive board had re-appropriated the appropriation for with a like amount for the work of . with these financial limitations in mind the committee considered the question of an examiner, and one having been agreed upon, made the proposition with great confidence, only after considerable delay to have it declined. further search through the field discovered another person who seemed equally suitable and she was approached only to decline. the real difficulty evidently lies in the fact that we are asking the examiner to undertake a large piece of professional work and practically offering only expenses and the cost of a substitute for the regular work during such times as it is necessary to leave it. naturally enough, it is not easy to find anyone willing to take this additional burden. the committee now have in consideration other names and hope, if reappointed, to be able to announce an examiner before the beginning of the next library school year to such schools as indicate their readiness to receive an examination. for the committee. azariah s. root, chairman. appendix scheme of efficiency tests for a library school (note.--in its general outline this scheme is indebted to the admirable test of college efficiency prepared by dean charles n. cole of oberlin college.) i. the process of education a. government and control of the school: . trustees: (a) how chosen. fitness to direct library training; (b) tenure of office; (c) meetings, how often; (d) ad interim power vested where; (e) determination of policy: does it lie with trustees, president, director or faculty. b. equipment of the school: . connection with other educational work: (a) with college or university; (b) with other institutions; . connection with a library: (a) of what type; (b) what constituency and to what extent used; (c) how far equipped with modern library methods; (d) actual practice work in library by students; . bibliographical apparatus: (a) general reference books; (b) trade bibliographies; (c) special bibliographies; (d) library economy; (e) samples of library blanks and supplies; . housing: (a) recitation rooms; (b) study or work rooms; (c) rest and social rooms; (d) library facilities. c. administration of the school: . officers: (a) how many; (b) how obtained; (c) qualifications; (d) tenure of office; (e) estimate of work; (f) compensation; (g) vacation; . faculty: (a) do new teachers have a voice in determination of educational questions; (b) faculty meetings, how often; (c) committees, how many; what duties. d. instruction in the school: . faculty: (a) how obtained; (b) qualifications; (c) tenure of office; (d) estimate and adjustment of work; (e) requirements of teachers; (f) number of hours of instruction given by each teacher in a school year; (g) compensation; (h) vacation; (i) what supervision of teachers' work; . students: (a) how admitted, examination, certificates, etc.; (b) how far does actual practice differ from catalog statements; (c) requirements for admission; (d) requirements for admission of students to advanced standing (in two year courses); . supervision of student work: (a) regulation of amount of work; (b) guidance in choice of studies; (c) requirements for passing grade; (d) what is done about conditions and failures; (e) what methods for enforcing the regularity of work; (f) what provision for the individual help of weak students; (g) graduation; (h) records, how kept, etc.; . curriculum: (a) arrangement and order of studies; (b) length of time devoted to each subject; (c) system of required studies; (d) system of electives; (e) what training for special fields of library work, e. g., children's librarians, legislative reference librarians, etc. . class room work: (a) size of classes; (b) what part of the course is class room work; (c) method of conducting class room work; . practice work: (a) what part of course is practice work; (b) how revised and supervised; (c) what is the purpose in practice work; (d) is this purpose realized; . informal instruction: (a) lectures, etc.; (b) opportunities to see work of libraries; (c) actual experience in libraries other than that connected with the school. e. student life and work: . number of students: . work of students: (a) what seem to be the scholastic ideals of the students; (b) to what extent do the students seem to have professional enthusiasm; (c) what studies do they elect when there is an option; (d) outside activities of students; (e) social life and cultural development of students; (f) environment particularly with reference to breadth of culture; (g) room and board; are students housed under sanitary and elevating conditions; (h) health; (i) social conditions and standing of students; (j) previous educational advantages; (k) literary, musical and artistic opportunities during library school course; (l) opportunities to form personal relationships with members of the faculty. ii. the testing of school work in practical activity . what has been the professional success of the graduates: (a) to what extent have they taken prominent places in the library world; (b) omitting as far as possible personal qualities, is there any general characteristic stamping the students of the school; (c) do the interests of the graduates seem to be broadly professional, or narrowly confined to a particular type of work which they have entered; . what has been the general intellectual standing of the graduates: (a) have they shown themselves equal to cope with their opportunities; (b) have they shown a range of interest which has enabled them to connect their work with that of philanthropic, charitable, sociological; (c) have they taken influential places in the towns in which they work. committee on work with the blind the libraries which circulate embossed books have continued their services throughout the year with ever increasing results, the largest circulation having been attained by the new york public library, which circulated , books and pamphlets. the free library of philadelphia sent out , volumes; the carnegie library of pittsburgh, , ; the perkins institution, , ; wilmington, delaware, . =library of congress.= the most important event in the history of the reading room for the blind during the year was the appointment of mrs. gertrude t. rider as assistant in charge. =perkins institution.= the school is now in its new home where the library is housed in commodious quarters, and is in charge of a trained librarian from albany, miss laura m. sawyer, and a trained assistant from simmons, miss louise p. hunt, who devote their time to the care of the valuable special collection in ink print about the blind as well as to the circulation of embossed books. =new york state library.= eight new titles in new york point were embossed for the new york state library in and an additional list of well chosen titles is now in press for . =saginaw, w. s., michigan.= the free lending library for the blind has asked the legislature for $ , to replenish the collection with new books. of borrowers the librarian reports that persons have drawn no reading matter during the latter half of the year. =california state library.= mr. charles s. greene, of the committee, sends the following report of the work of the state library and the san francisco reading room: the california state library for the blind wishes to report progress during the last year. although we have had very little money to buy books, accessions have increased from , , april , , to , april , , mainly through gifts and the regular receipt of magazines. borrowers have increased from to . the most satisfactory advance, however, has been in the increased use the blind borrowers are making of the library in borrowing all kinds of writing appliances and games to try before buying and in asking information on all subjects of interest to them. such questions as what occupations are followed by the blind, and where different articles for their use can be purchased, are constantly being asked. with an increase in the state library fund, which the present legislature will probably grant, it is hoped to buy all the new publications as fast as possible, as well as to complete our collection of appliances for the blind. the san francisco reading room and library for the blind has about volumes. it conducts an emporium for the sale of articles made by the blind and teaches braille reading and writing, braille stenography, weaving, basketry and broom making. =pennsylvania.= all borrowers residing in the western part of the state are now supplied with books from the carnegie library of pittsburgh; those residing in the eastern part of the state have the use of books deposited with the free library of philadelphia by the pennsylvania home teaching society. =cincinnati, ohio.= miss smith, of the committee, sends the following report: "there seems to be nothing new here in the library work for the blind. the clovernook home, which is to be opened may , has absorbed the attention largely of miss trader and her sister and this spring the flood interfered somewhat with the meetings at the library." =minnesota.= miss carey, of the committee, writes as follows of the work in minnesota: "as far as i know the entire work of providing books for the blind in this state is done through the school for the blind at faribault. the library there is in excellent condition, being on a wholly modern basis as to classification and details of management. it is open throughout the year and circulates to outside readers on an average books a month. there are regular readers outside the institution and about in residence this year. as the school is small this is a large number. the librarian in charge is one of the teachers and for years in this school it has been considered something of an honor to hold this position, although it is by no means a sinecure.... the library work is always stimulated by the annual summer school for adult blind which brings in new readers each year. at the close of the session the pupils, many of them, become patrons of the library 'for good.'" =new publications.= since the first embossed book was issued in philadelphia in , the publishing of literature in raised print has been increased until there are now presses in active use in this country. the record of new publications for is as follows: american braille, titles in english; titles in german. new york point, titles, of which were embossed by the new york state library. in european braille new titles have been issued in england and scotland; in moon type titles have been added and other titles are in press. =the catholic review=, monthly, published by the xavier free publication society for the blind, oakdale avenue, chicago, ill., in american braille. =the illuminator=, a quarterly braille magazine, published by the holmes-schenley literary society of the western pennsylvania institution for the blind, pittsburgh, pa. =society for the promotion of church work among the blind.= volumes and of the music of the hutchins' hymnal have been finished and copies distributed to a number of the leading circulating libraries where the volumes will be available to those who may not wish to purchase them. =bible training school=, south lancaster, mass. "some friends of the blind, in looking over the catalogs of books in different libraries for the blind, were impressed with the small amount of christian literature that had been placed in the embossed type, especially in new york point and american braille, so the plan was conceived of creating a fund and printing one book after another as the funds would accumulate, placing them in the circulating libraries throughout the united states." to obtain the volumes in new york point and american braille, free of charge, address mrs. s. n. haskell, south lancaster, mass. =gould free library for the blind=, east th street, south boston, mass. "the library is working under the auspices of the international bible students' association headquarters, brooklyn, n. y., which supplies financial aid in the main, while donations have been accepted from outsiders. our books are all bible studies, very helpful and appreciated by the blind. we circulated , books and pamphlets last year in the three point systems and a few books in line type and moon type." =free theosophical circulating library for the blind=, waverly street, everett, mass., has issued three titles in american braille; also a monthly paper of or pages. =new postal law.= under an act of congress of august , , "magazines, periodicals and other regularly issued publications in raised letters for the blind, which contain no advertisements and for which no subscription fee is charged, shall be transmitted in the u. s. mails free of postage and under such regulations as the postmaster general may prescribe." =the twelfth convention of workers for the blind= will be held in jacksonville, illinois, june - , , and among those who will attend the conference are several representatives from public libraries interested in the circulation of embossed literature. miss l. a. goldthwaite, of the new york public library, has been asked to conduct a round table. in the general discussion of the subject of catalogs for the blind it is hoped to obtain the best opinion of those in attendance upon the most convenient form for such catalogs or finding lists for use by those who read by touch. the library of congress, the new york public library, the brooklyn public library, the new york state library, the free library of philadelphia, as well as institutions for the blind, will be represented by the assistants in charge of the circulation of embossed books. at this conference there will be given the report of the "uniform type committee" appointed at the overbrook conference in . the two agents of that committee, who made an extended tour of this country from may, , until february, , visited many schools and other institutions for the blind and tested over readers in one or more of the three systems--new york point, american braille and british braille. scientific tests to determine the best size of type, spacing, etc., have been made to establish a standard or uniform system of writing and printing. the recommendations of the committee have been reserved until the meeting of the american association of workers for the blind at jacksonville; they are awaited with interest by all. emma r. n. delfino, chairman. the president: as you will see from your printed programs we are privileged this morning to receive an accredited delegate from the library association of the united kingdom, and it is our especial pleasure to greet as this accredited delegate an old friend of american librarians. he was with us at the conference of , and we have since that time watched with a great deal of interest the strong, splendid work which is manifest in the library over which he presides. i have the honor of introducing to you this morning the honorary secretary of the library association of the united kingdom and the accredited delegate from that organization, mr. l. stanley jast, chief librarian of the croydon public libraries. mr. bowker: and, mr. president, i move that we receive our welcome guest from the l. a. u. k. by a rising vote of welcome. mr. jast spoke as follows: present conditions and tendencies of library work in great britain mr. president, ladies and gentlemen: i should like first of all to express the peculiar personal pleasure i feel at being privileged for the second time to attend a conference of the american library association. as you have said, sir, it was my pleasure in to attend a meeting of your body, then as now the accredited delegate of my association, but that meeting of was, as you know, an international meeting, and an international meeting anywhere is apt to take on general rather than special characteristics, and i have long wished to be present at an ordinary meeting of the american library association, so that i might see for myself how you conduct your work and hear you discussing your own problems in your own way. so that i trust, mr. president and ladies and gentlemen, that you will kindly forget that "a chiel's amang ye takin' notes." iam authorized by the council of the library association to extend to you, sir, and the members present their very heartiest greetings and to express on their behalf their high appreciation not only of the special invitation which you sent to them to send a delegate but for the extremely generous offer of hospitality which was attached thereto. my council felt that to such an invitation only one response is possible and that was to accept. we were in hope that mr. henry r. tedder, who is the chairman of the council of the library association and its honorary treasurer and an ex-president,--and otherwise the secretary of the athenaeum club,--would have come as our delegate, because mr. tedder's importance is intrinsic and not like mine purely adventitious and depending wholly upon the office which i at the moment have the privilege to hold; but it was impossible for mr. tedder to come on this occasion and, ladies and gentlemen, i am the best that we can do for you at this time. but i am happy to say that it is the general feeling of the council that in future we should not let many meetings of the a. l. a.--at all events in the eastern states--go by without sending one or more members of our association to be present at them. i do not think that there is anything from which our association is likely to get a more valuable return than by the visits of some of its more prominent members to america in order that they may see for themselves and not merely read about what you are doing, and how you are doing it and get some knowledge of the conditions under which you are working, of your achievements and of your difficulties, and so bring to library work in great britain that added power which must inevitably come from a wider knowledge. so that i trust that the imperfections of the present delegate will be overlooked, in the hope not only of more but of better to come. i am also requested by my council to extend a very hearty invitation to the members of the american library association to attend the annual meeting of the library association to be held in . that meeting will almost certainly be held at oxford, by invitation of the university and of the city. i need not of course point out the extreme suitability of the city of oxford for a meeting of librarians, nor the attractions which oxford must possess for everyone who likes an atmosphere of ancient learning and who revels in the architectural glories of a bygone day. so we hope that as many of you as possible will come over there for that meeting in order that we may make of it a sort of americo-anglican conference. observe the order, please, in which i mention those words. i draw special attention to that because i believe i have somewhat of a reputation for an absence of tact on these occasions--at any rate among our own members. when i informed mr. utley that i was coming he was good enough to write me a letter, which i received just before i sailed, and he asked--not knowing me very well of course, or he might not have been so liberal in his invitation--that i should talk to you on any subject i liked. i thought that it would be best perhaps if i should say something about the present conditions of library work in great britain. of course it is impossible, in an address lasting only a few minutes, to cover anything like the whole field, and if i did attempt it i should only bore you. but you may be interested in one or two of the outstanding features of our recent work, because they throw light upon conditions which are in many respects very different from yours. first of all, there are two features in what i may perhaps call the domestic situation, which to us are of considerable significance. the most important step which the library association as an association has ever taken has been the recent reorganization of its membership along the lines of the professional qualifications of the members. in our old grouping we took no account whatever of whether a member of the association was a professional librarian or merely a member of a library committee or just a person interested in library work. the honorary fellows of the association and the fellows were any persons, whether librarians or not, whose names would add dignity and importance to the association, or who had distinguished themselves by some special service rendered to the association or the movement as a whole. then in addition mr. tedder himself had a small group of what he called _very_ honorary fellows who were the honorary fellows who insisted on paying their annual dues. that was an entirely private group of mr. tedder's. now we have changed all that. fellows and members of the association are now professional librarians only, and non-professional librarians are known as associate members. the privileges of membership including the power to vote and to serve on the council are shared equally by all members of the association. the fellows consist in the main of librarians only, but there is a small sprinkling of deputy and sub-librarians. the by-law referring to fellows who do not hold chief positions states that "they must be librarians of approved status," but we interpret that phrase "approved status" in the widest possible way. the members consist of assistant librarians--all those assistant librarians who are not in the small group of fellows; they must be twenty-five years of age and have had six years' experience. that is so at the moment. but after the st day of december, , only librarians who possess the diploma of the association will be entitled to fellowship, and in order to receive the diploma you must have taken in addition to possessing practical experience in an approved library, the six examinations held by the association, have obtained the six certificates, have gone through if necessary a ~vive voce~ examination and have submitted a thesis. then professional librarians who possess four out of the six certificates will be entitled to membership. a good deal of criticism has been leveled at the scheme owing to the fact that the librarian of some pettifogging little library, with perhaps a total rate income of a couple of hundred a year or even less, because he is a chief in a small way, is entitled to fellowship, while an assistant in a big library system, who may have infinitely more responsibility, is only entitled to membership. but we had to begin somewhere and we had to draw the line somewhere and we drew the line at the sub-librarian, because when we got below the sub-librarian we should not know where on earth we were, because there is no accepted nomenclature of library positions in our country. i do not know whether there is in yours. "sub-librarian" does not always mean the same thing. the term "chief assistant" is used in a very different way in different libraries. moreover, the privy council would not have approved these by-laws unless we had opened the door as widely as possible to the holders of all existing chief positions. there is one weak point so far which we have discovered in our scheme. we have no provision for non-professional members corresponding to professional fellowship among the professional members, but we have a new by-law now before the privy council creating a group of associate fellows and the associate fellowship will be conferred upon chairmen of library committees and upon non-professional members of the association who have served the association in some definite capacity as members of the council or in some other way. that, i think, then is the most important domestic thing that we have ever done because we have now made the beginnings at all events of a definite organization of the profession. the other important thing will not have the same interest for you, but i mention it because it throws light upon our own conditions. we have settled, by a new by-law, the relations of branch associations to the parent body. until recently we had a by-law which merely provided that branches in any particular district may be formed but it did not state what the powers of the branches were, and owing to that absence of definition we have suffered for a great many years past from a considerable amount of trouble. one or two of the branches grew considerably in recent years, in numbers and in importance; and they began to resent the fact, the inevitable fact of course, that for the most part the actual work of running the association fell upon the members of the council who were resident in london or near it. it may seem absurd to you to speak of the distance of london from the great provincial centers in great britain, but it is not absurd, because every country measures distance on its own scale, and to all intents and purposes manchester is just as far from london as chicago is from new york--because we =think= it is. as hamlet says, you will remember--anticipating mrs. eddy by several centuries-- "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." and as an illustration of the result of this friction i may mention that in london, at the library school--which is hardly a library school because it has not the organization that your schools have, so i ought not to use that term really, but a department of library lectures at the london school of economics and political science, which is a department of the university of london; at these lectures all persons are admissible whether they are librarians or not, but at similar lectures in the provinces everybody was excluded who was not already engaged in library work. so that you had the absurd situation that while the parent body was running one policy at headquarters you had branch associations running an entirely different policy in their own centers. the question of the "open door," as it was termed, was a very hotly debated one at one time in our association. well, the general effect of the stress between the branches and the council was of course bad, each branch being a more or less permanent storm center. while no absolute harm was done perhaps, and while the fireworks let off at the annual meetings were of a more or less harmless character, at the same time we had a general condition of irritation which affected injuriously the work of the association as a whole. now we have done away with that, very largely at all events, at least, we hope, by a new by-law, the main points of which are these: first of all, membership of a branch association includes membership of the parent body; the parent body receiving the subscription to the branch association returns to the branch association a rebate of so much a head for the expenses of the branch and, most important of all, the constitution and by-laws of a branch must be approved by the headquarters council and must in no case conflict with the by-laws and constitution of the parent body. the council meets monthly, i may say, and one of the quarterly meetings is held on the occasion of the annual meeting. so that means that the expenses of the provincial members are paid to three of the quarterly meetings held during the year; and all the important business--especially contentious business--is relegated to those quarterly meetings. leaving the domestic question and coming to the library situation as a whole in great britain, i think that the phrase "marking time" fairly describes it. the public libraries in the united kingdom have accomplished, i think, great things with extremely limited means. but though the first library act was passed in , though the libraries have since then justified themselves many times over, though the demands made upon the libraries have gone on increasing time after time, yet the libraries are still strangled by the statutory limitation of one-penny-in-the-pound on the tax leviable for library purposes which was imposed not by the ewart act of , which limited the rate to a halfpenny, but by the amending act of . it is quite true that about forty of the large towns of the country have promoted special parliamentary bills giving them power to levy a rate of two-pence or even more in the pound, but in very few cases is two-pence actually levied, and of course it is the smaller towns, which can not face the expense of promoting special legislation, which really need greater rating powers even more than the larger boroughs. as the incidence of a library tax in great britain is quite different from yours i may perhaps give you some general idea of what it means by taking the case of my own town, simply because i happen to remember the facts more clearly. croydon is a town in the outer london ring, with a population of , people. its income from the penny rate is a little over £ , sterling. it circulates about , volumes per annum and its fiction percentage is about fifty. whether that is something to be apologized for or not i am not quite clear, after the president's address of last evening. then one has to remember that the ratable value of a place like croydon is a good deal higher than the ratable value of most of the provincial towns. but those figures will give you a general idea of the yield of the penny-in-the-pound rate. a rate of that kind results, you will easily see, in the case of the smaller towns, in a condition of genteel poverty, and in the case of many small towns of absolute hopeless starvation. and this unfortunate position has been accentuated by the tremendous growth of branches in recent years. of the three b's which constitute a library--building, brains and books,--the ordinary british rate-payer thinks mainly of buildings. the building usually does not cost him anything, because he gets it from mr. carnegie, and it is something to look at and something "we've got for our ward, don't you know," books will drop from the sky, and "anyhow you don't require brains to hand books over a counter." hence, from this you have a town, which will perhaps support, in passable efficiency, one central building and two branches, endeavoring to support one central building perhaps and six branches, and so on. hence the limited book funds which we have in our libraries and hence on the whole the poorly remunerated library staffs. and that brings me to a point which it was suggested to me by one of your members i should say something about, and that is the position of women in english public libraries. i am not going to express any opinion on the subject of women in libraries. after all, as george bernard shaw says somewhere, opinions are really only serious when you act on them, and my capacity for courage has never been equal to the task of acting upon many of my opinions. but as things are at present, a number of libraries employ women assistants. there are very few places where women are chief librarians; there are a few in the quite small towns. there are very few libraries which have women sub-librarians or deputy-librarians. these are almost invariably men. but the number of women employed in secondary and tertiary positions in english public libraries is considerable and is very definitely increasing. and whether that be a good thing or a bad thing, i am quite clear about this, that it is increasing for the wrong reason. women are employed in english public libraries not because they are better, but because they are cheaper--with the unfortunate result that the increase of women in the library staffs tends necessarily to lower the already low average of salaries paid. the library association have long recognized of course that the root of all our present difficulties lies in the limitation on the library income, and in order to do away with that they have been promoting for the last three or four years or more a library bill, the main clause of which permits a town to levy a rate, not exceeding two-pence-in-the-pound, that is exactly double the present amount. when we originally drafted the bill we did away with the limitation altogether, but we have now put a limitation in order to placate possible opposition. that bill has been already read once before the present parliament--but the first reading of course is a purely formal matter; it is the second reading which is the crucial one; and owing to the exasperating nature of the orders of the house of commons any one member has only to rise in his seat and say, "i object," to a private member's bill for that bill to be labeled "contentious business" and for its second reading to be deferred to the greek kalends, owing of course to the enormous number of private members' bills and to the growing inefficiency of the house of commons as a legislating machine. it is choked with bills and it can not adequately attend to the thousand-and-one matters which call for its attention. the best chance for the bill would be for the government to grant facilities for it. if they would do that i have not the slightest doubt that the bill would pass because so far as we can see there is little or no serious opposition to it; but we can not get it discussed. the unfortunate fact seems to be that the government will not worry about anything which does not sway votes. nobody is going to get excited about a library bill. if it is true that there is no particular opposition to it, it is also true that there is no crowd of electors passionately demanding it. then we suffer to a considerable extent in great britain from the attitude of the superior people to the public library. in america all the superior people are sympathetic with the public library--apparently so anyhow. in england usually they sneer at it. why, heaven knows! only the other day a cabinet minister who was considered to be a friend of ours, whose name before he reached cabinet rank was actually a backer to a bill on similar lines to the present one, in a meeting which he addressed referred to the country as being "drenched" with public libraries. i think his point was the far greater importance of public wash-houses or something of that sort. and, as i say, he used the extremely unpleasant, and peculiarly unappropriate adjective "drenched." now of course no one objects to a cabinet minister talking nonsense. after all, what else can you talk to a popular audience in politics but nonsense? but this particular variety is pernicious nonsense. the press, of course, with their usual avidity for seizing on anything silly, print that sort of thing ad nauseam and a good deal of real harm is done and difficulty created. i think the minister in question has stated somewhere that he owes a great part of his own education to the public library. mr. carnegie has said the same thing. behold how differently men requite the benefits they have received! well, mr. president and ladies and gentlemen, i have perhaps given you the idea that i take a rather pessimistic view of library conditions at the present moment in great britain, but that is not so at all--most emphatically not so. i am absolutely convinced that the future of the public library in great britain is as certain as it is with you, and though the next step forward may be delayed, the longer it is delayed the bigger that step will be when it is taken. the president: mr. honorary secretary and our guest: i would that the gift of speech had been given me that i might adequately express to you the sense of appreciation that we all feel for your coming, for your gracious words of greeting in behalf of your association and for the view that you have given us of not only the conditions that obtain in great britain but also what the future holds forth for the libraries of your country. in our american assemblages it is customary, when some procedure is taken that no one is particularly interested in, to pass it by; but when something transpires that requires further and more careful thought it is our parliamentary custom to refer this to a committee. in this particular case i am sure that i am meeting the wish of the association as well as my own personal desire when i refer your splendid message to a committee of the whole, consisting of all the librarians present, all the members who have unavoidably been kept at home and that other, smaller group who come within the classification of mr. dewey's "private collections." what you have said to us, sir, has emphasized to us particularly that not only is there in the relationship between your libraries in great britain and ours in this country a kinship of interest, brought about through identical language, and a kinship of literature, but also there are common aims and aspirations. just as the language is subject to local variations, due to the customs of geographical centers, so there are differences in method perhaps. but, after all, we are each, in our own way, attempting to do the same things and to achieve a common purpose. i trust, sir, that you will convey to your associates in great britain our gratitude for the kindly expressions which you have brought to us from them, and we venture the hope that we shall be enabled to carry forward the splendid precedent which has been set in your coming. as you glance at the names of those who are to participate at this session, you will note that this is practically new york day; the one, sole participant who is credited to another part of the country is after all perhaps merely loaned to missouri, because he is a graduate of the new york library school. i shall ask the first vice-president, mr. anderson, to preside over the rest of this meeting. the first vice-president: ladies and gentlemen, i can take that kind of punishment with great composure. the subject for the regular program this morning, as you all know, is work with foreigners and with the colored races. i have the honor to be a neighbor of the first speaker and i may say to you confidentially that she has recently moved a mile or two farther away from me without adequate explanation. the author of "the promised land" needs no introduction to this audience. all of you have read with enthusiasm and appreciation the chapter of her book in which she testifies to the value of the service of the boston public library to her. it gives me very great pleasure to introduce to you mary antin, who will talk to you on the immigrant in the library it is very difficult to be interesting or impressive while telling people things that they already know. i won't try to do that. any one of you sitting in this audience could tell me a great deal more about the immigrant in the library than i can possibly tell you. what i am going to do is to ask you to have in mind what you know about the immigrant, to call up the figure of the immigrant in your libraries as you have seen him daily, and test by your knowledge what i have to say. you know better than i do in what numbers the immigrants come to your libraries, how much of their time they spend there, what books they seek there. what i want to ask you is to share your knowledge of these things with as many people as possible; tell your neighbors every time you have a chance what the immigrant does in the library. every little while we begin anew the discussion of the immigrant--to let him in, or not to let him in--and all sorts of arguments are presented on both sides. representatives of various organizations--capitalistic, unionistic or what-not--hurry their advocates to congress to speak for or against, on this side and on that side. i want to ask you to see to it that the knowledge that you have of the immigrant is also widely spread on such occasions. the caricaturist is always ready with his pencil to give us pictures of the immigrant in various amusing poses--more or less true, more or less false; the interesting author of the comic paragraph is always there; the artist of the vaudeville stage, and enthusiasts of one sort and another--enemies or friends of the immigrant--are ready to speak up whenever the question comes up. ~you~ have a fund of knowledge on the subject which is very special, very different. bring it out on every occasion! when the gentlemen in congress want to pass a law to hold up the immigrant at the gate because he cannot read fifty lines of our constitution, say to them, "hold! wait and see what the immigrant's boys and girls will read when they are let loose in a public library." remind them that the ability to read is not in itself a test of intellectuality. you know scores, hundreds of boys and girls of educated, cultured american families who do not take such an interest in your libraries as the boys and girls of these illiterate immigrants. you know what you know. please tell it so loudly that every one may hear. talk about the "five-foot shelf of classics"! is it not true that the boys and girls of the immigrants swallow it whole and make no boast about it? why, they are saturated with the classics the minute they get a chance. the mere ability to read--what does that amount to? you know what book the immigrant calls for. every little while i read a short paragraph in the new york papers telling that the east side branches of the public library have the greatest circulation of the classics. i would like to see those little paragraphs enlarged, printed big and spread where everybody can see them. we need to know these things. please let me speak today as an american, and not as an immigrant. i wish i could efface from your memory this once the knowledge of my origin. don't make allowances for what i say because of what i was. i am not speaking as an immigrant making an appeal for the immigrants. i am speaking to you as an american. my credentials are these: i have been with you nearly twenty years. my father was an americanized citizen before i got here and i married a native american. please accept me as an american today. let me speak as one of yourselves. we are so ready to classify people by externals--by their habits, their customs, by the way they dress, by their gestures. why, a better test of a man than the way in which he makes a living is the way in which he spends his leisure; and to that you can testify in the case of the immigrant. to gain our bread and butter we are forced to do this, that, and the other thing. but nobody drives us into the public library if the saloon is across the way. speak up and tell to which door the immigrant turns in his leisure hours. people of dainty habits are disgusted with the personal habits of the poor foreigners. they have noticed a smell of herring and onions in the east side of new york. the smell of onions, my friends, can be driven out, but a mean habit of mind is harder to eradicate. many gentlemen who feast daintily on caviar content themselves with the sensational newspaper or the trashy novel. are they superior to the hired laborers who feast on boiled potatoes and herring and onions and have a volume of the classics propped up before them while they eat? there are people who object to the uncouth manners of the alien. it would do us good to make a study of the natural history of the personal habits of the immigrants. there is a reason for the shrug of the shoulders, for the gestures that are so easily caricatured. they have a history, way back, that it would do us good to realize. you workers in the libraries, you see the immigrant in hundreds, you see him off guard; for a man in his hours of relaxation is not posing; you see the alien as he is at least on one side of his nature. let your neighbors know what you know about the immigrant. whenever testimony is being taken on the subject, let your voice be as loud as any. almost every day you will read in your favorite paper letters to the editor, about "the immigrant peril"; how the foreigners lower our standard of life, demoralize our habits, spoil the manners of our children in the public schools. some of these things are true, to a certain extent. but you, under whose observation the immigrant comes, and the immigrant's children, ought to be ready with an explanation of many of these things, and you ought to be ready to suggest a remedy. you know what kind of homes these immigrant children come from, and that explains a great deal. you sit there and agree with me, i can see by your faces. you nod and you smile and you turn to one another, as much as to say, "that is so." don't tell it to me! i know it!! tell it to those who do not know it. a few days ago i received a delegation of boys and girls from the nearest village high school. they represented the debating clubs of their school. they were preparing a debate on the subject of immigration, and who could help them except i? we talked very earnestly for about an hour at my fireside about this perennial question, and these young people took me at my word and were very much in earnest about what i had to say and in the way in which they received what i had to say. that is all right. as a subject for discussion in the high schools that question may be made immortal, but as a subject for national agitation it ought to be laid at rest. why is it that certain questions have been settled once and for all and others are always being reopened? those questions are settled finally which are considered in relation to their underlying principles. let us not confine ourselves to the superficial aspect of the immigration question. every once in a while, when we come to moralize about these immigrants--there are too many of them, they come from the wrong quarters of the globe, and what not--let us ask ourselves, is that the real thing that concerns us, or is there something at the bottom of this agitation that ought to receive attention first? are we really afraid that the immigrant is going to take the bread from our mouths? if so, let us stop and think about it. it is the law of nature that the best man shall come out ahead. are we going to stop the immigrant by temporarily locking the door, while we have possession of the key? it will not be for long. right to the end it is going to be a struggle between the better and the worse, and the better will get ahead. we need not be afraid that the immigrants will take the bread from our mouths if we see to it that we are equally able or better able than they to earn our bread. it is said they are taking the earth from under our feet. not if we are strong enough to stand and hold our ground. if they are getting the better of us, it is because they are better than we, or else, if that is not so, then they can not be getting the better of us, and we need not be afraid of them. we will never settle this question until we are willing to consider it along fundamental lines. did our forefathers, when they launched the declaration that all men were created free and equal, refer to the few hundreds or few thousands of people who were then in this country? why, in that case, many of you are here only as guests! was there any thought in their minds that of all the people in the world, those who happened to get in here before they set to work to compose the declaration of independence were the ones who were born free and equal, and with equal opportunities, and all the rest of mankind with limitations? you heartily approve the sentiments expressed in our constitution and our declaration of independence. how then can you limit the application of their principles? when did the day dawn when it was time to shut the gate? when did the hour arrive when we could say that all those of free and equal origin were already here and the rest could stay outside? i don't know at what moment immigrants begin to be immigrants and not pilgrims and voyagers for spiritual freedom. people were surprised at a phrase i used not long ago, and quoted it right and left, as if i had made a great discovery, when i said that every ship that brings over the immigrants is another mayflower. why, i can not think of it in any other terms. ships are now made to run with steam instead of with sails, and our forefathers did not come in the steerage because the mayflower wasn't built that way. you see i am not sticking to my text--a proof of an inexperienced speaker. but i am not a speaker. i am a witness on the witness stand. i have been called from the ranks to testify. now each of you is in the same position. it would have been an impertinence on my part to get up before a body of scholars without a finished address, if i had any idea that i was going to make an intellectual contribution. i simply answer to my name as a witness, and each of you can do no less: testify to what you know. now remember i am not asking this for the sake of the immigrant. if this were the proper time and place i would tell you just how, in what order, my interest in the immigrant on the one hand and in america on the other developed. with me it was america first, and it still is so. i was not conscious of the immigrant as a special class of our citizenship until i became conscious of certain american problems. it is with me the immigrant for the sake of america, not america for the sake of the immigrant, and i beg you to believe me. and why do i insist that all the truth you know about the immigrant shall be brought out? i am not speaking--i can not repeat it emphatically enough--because i am an immigrant, not even because i represent that specially large group of immigrants, the jews. if america should go back on its ancient traditions and close its hospitable doors, the jews would suffer bitterly. but what is one more disappointment in the history of the jews? they have known how to lift up their hearts and thank god for disappointments before. they would simply adopt another dream. it is not for them that i speak. nor is it because i am a great lover of justice. i want to see that justice is done to the stranger, to be sure; let us know all sides of the immigrant that no injustice may be done. but the thing that makes me speak to you more than any other is my love for america, for the ideals that i was taught to cherish in the public school. i took everything in my school books literally; when i read that this is the land of freedom; that the door is open to all worthy men and women, and that all shall have an equal opportunity. i want to hold you to that, to a literal interpretation of those terms. i went back to russia two years ago, to polotzk on the dvina, the city in the pale where i was born, and again i felt as i felt in the beginning, when i first came here, after seeing how those people over there regard us. they still take us at our word. when we turn them away at the gate, for this and that petty excuse at the bottom of which is some selfish motive that we do not dare to acknowledge, they are bitterly disappointed. and yet they are not the worst sufferers. it is we who suffer, we as americans, for in turning them away we abandon our ideals, and lose the consciousness that we are still conserving the ideals of our forefathers. it always seems to me that in our attitude towards the immigrant, more than in any other branch of our national policy, we make manifest our true ideals. in our formal dealings with foreign governments we may make blunders, we may betray weaknesses, but on the whole these matters remain a secret with the foreign ambassador. the people at large do not follow very closely these dignified negotiations about treaties and tariff and what-not; but as we meet these individual men and women at the gate, here we give ourselves away. there, at the gate of entrance, we, the people of america, deal directly with the people of the world. the immigrant with his million eyes is looking at us, and he will tell whether or not we still believe in the things for which we honor our forefathers on all our patriotic anniversaries. there was a young jewish girl working in my household as a cook, who had been through very unhappy experiences in this country, experiences which, unfortunately, have been multiplied in the lives of many other girls who come here unprotected. she told me her story once, and i saw that what hurt her more than her own misfortunes, more than the agony she had been through, more than the disgrace she had suffered, was her disappointment in america. she found that in america, in this instance that she knew of in her own life, a man may do a gross wrong and there is no way to get hold of him and punish him. she had times of discouragement when she would talk to me and complain of that thing. oh, it shook me to find that in the mind of this ignorant, illiterate child of seventeen, we, the american people, had lost something of our prestige. i talked to her--perhaps the need inspired me--and explained to her that our laws, like the laws of civilization at large, are not yet perfect; that law and civilization are things of gradual growth; and showed her that although we are still to blame for many things that here exist, we have done far better than other people in some respects. i made it my business to try to prove to this ignorant russian girl, my cook, who waited on me every day, that america was still america, despite some mistakes and some failings, and that, on the whole, we have gone further in the quest of justice than other nations. it mattered to me that this one girl should think we were still americans, and surely it matters to you just as much. do not let these millions that come to our gates get the wrong impression of us. do not let people with selfish interests to serve, who send representatives to congress, speak louder than you do when this question comes to be discussed. let the truth out every time. for the sake of our country i am asking it, not for the sake of the unfortunate foreigners. we owe them something, as a people of charitable heart, to be sure, but we owe more to ourselves and to our traditions. this same girl of whom i speak also afforded an illustration of some of the nobler traits of many of our immigrants that you are aware of, and that you ought to testify to. i mean the reverence for learning that is found among the ignorant, the illiterate, of many of our immigrants. this girl who could not read or write a word in any language until she came to me (when gradually, by means of the cook-book, she made some progress), had a genuine reverence for learning, which is in itself half of the material for making a scholar. i kept her pretty busy in my household, as i usually do keep our maids, and sometimes, when there would be a rush of more work than i could do, i would put her to extra trouble, to bring my luncheon upstairs, perhaps, when i could not stop for meals. "oh, miss antin," she used to say, "it is wonderful that i can wait on somebody who can write books!" a respect for letters such as this is not one of our prominent characteristics as americans. i ought to have the courage of our foreign visitor, who told the truth about his people. i can do no less. we can not boast of too much reverence for learning. is it not a great asset these foreigners bring with them, this reverence for learning? the man behind the pushcart can't read fifty lines of the constitution, but his heart bows in reverence before the man who can, and that is worth more than the ability to read the constitution and forget it. there are so many ways of classifying the immigrants--as laborers, as a peril, as a help, according to one's point of view. but i always think of them as a cloud of witnesses in the tribunal of the nations. they go back and forth, in person or through letters; their experience is reported all over the world, and they tell the truth about us. the immigrant is the only visitor, you know, who comes to stay and finds us out. the tourists, the critics, the honorable guests of various honorable institutions, who are taken around in carriages and shown our best front, what do they know about us? the letters home that go out from the east side, shiploads of letters, some of them written at dictation, sent by persons who cannot write themselves--(i used to write letters for my cook; i have never forgotten some of them)--those are the documents that go all over the world. they are forming their opinion of us in the far corners of the earth. what shall they say of us? if you see that justice is done in the case of the immigrant, they will have no evil to say of us. our traditions of liberty, of hospitality to the oppressed, will be realized in the eyes of the world. now it does not matter that the immigrants today may not be running away from religious oppression, or may not be victims of political martyrdom. martyrdom of the worst kind is martyrdom of the spirit, and immigrants who have suffered such martyrdom are still coming to us by the shipload. it is accurate to say, in a certain way, that the immigrants in the beginning came in search of liberty, and today they come in search of bread. that may all be, but with most of our present-day immigrants, if you give them bread and nothing else, they are not satisfied. you know it. and i know what the people said in polotzk only two years ago. if any of you thought, from reading my story, that i had put down the reminiscences of my early childhood, with the haze of the past over all, that i had idealized everything in my enthusiasm, i can assure you that while my story was in manuscript i went back to polotzk, to find out if i had told the truth, and i found that i had. i found there my old rabbi, my teacher who taught me my hebrew letters. i talked with various of the old scholars, who were very old when i got back after seventeen years' absence--these old men who spend their time over the talmud in the corridors of the synagogues--and i found among them just that attitude toward america which i remembered to have existed when i came away nearly twenty years ago. they look on us today as on the upholders of justice and true liberty. they still believe in us. do not let them lose that faith! it is more to us than it is to them that they shall be satisfied in their high longings. that is all i ask of you. you know the immigrant as he is in the library; you have a view of him that most people have not. you send your little paragraphs to the new york papers. they are not printed big enough. nobody sees them. speak up and tell what you know about the immigrant, that justice may be done, that we may remain sound-headed and true-hearted in our national life, true to our traditions; and the immigrant will hear with a million ears and see with a million eyes and run with a million feet to the far corners of the earth, to cry that america is still america. the first vice-president: i shall ask you to rise as an expression of thanks and appreciation of miss antin's address. (the audience remained standing for a moment.) the next speaker will discuss the subject of immigrants as contributors to library progress. it gives me very great pleasure to introduce to you mrs. adelaide b. maltby, who is in charge of the tompkins square branch, on the lower east side, of the new york public library. immigrants as contributors to library progress i should prefer to let miss antin's personality and accomplishments bear home to you the point i had hoped to make; and silently let what she has said to us possess our imaginations to the end that our interest and will-to-do will be vigorously stirred. fortunately, this will happen in spite of my words. a little girl with a fairy book in her hand gleefully remarked: "i can tell what kind of stories are in the book by the continents." would that we could so tell the stories of our peoples! yet the story of immigrants in this country is not unlike that of the "ugly duckling;" and miss antin is living proof of the swan-like qualities. we, as a nation, have persisted in hatching the odd egg; have been apparently proud of the duckling's ability to swim untaught, like other ducks; and were duly troubled, when because of his unlikeness, he was not acceptable to closer acquaintance with cock and gander in the barn-yard. we have witnessed, with but feeble protest, his struggle to feel at home, his association with wild ducks and all it entailed. it seems as if the winter of his agony is enduring. he's had a stirring within as of something better to come! the question is will we make greater effort to recognize the swan-like qualities and to give freedom for their development? in this direction lies progress. as contributors, i shall not single out great personalities from among our foreigners. they will belong to history. nor do i mean only the well educated groups. they are generally accorded recognition. but i do name the masses who earn just consideration slowly. first of all, immigrants have kept us alive in every generation. shall we say on the "qui vive" in some localities? all agree that living is no minor art, so to stimulate life is a contribution. frank warne in his book, the "immigrant invasion," tells how the distribution of immigrants previous to our civil war practically determined the outcome of that struggle, by giving to the north balance of power in congress because of larger population, which was made up of able-bodied men who replaced federal soldiers and kept shops and farms going to furnish supplies to the army. it is interesting to note that mr. warne ascribes the trend of immigration to the north and west very largely to what was read in the old countries about life in different parts of america, mentioning "uncle tom's cabin" as the one product of literature most influencing distribution. cold statistics tell us that new york, massachusetts, pennsylvania, new jersey, illinois and california have the greatest number of foreign born. with this as a basic fact we naturally suppose that in these states, at least, public libraries will be found catering to and helping to americanize and to educate these citizens-to-be; because, if for no other reason, we proudly call ourselves the "university of the people." if the truth were told through questionnaire, or otherwise, about twenty-five out of one hundred libraries throughout new york state are sufficiently alive to the problem to supply books to attract and interest foreigners. yet for twenty years, at least, the task of assimilating the almost overwhelming influx of immigrants has been acute in the states named and in many localities elsewhere. a gentleman working for the education of foreigners in american ways has said that he thought libraries seemed most indifferent to their opportunities. while another, a foreigner, devoting himself and two fortunes to bettering conditions for immigrants, thinks that public libraries, when they do work sympathetically--i mean that in the broadest sense--with the foreign born are the only organizations which accomplish with real altruism the implanting of american ideals and the developing of better citizens. this, he believes, is done when we appreciate and build on the natural endowment of the individual or race. since the national government has been facing this stupendous problem, commissions and organizations galore, official and philanthropic, have sprung into existence as aids. so many are there in new york city alone, a possible list would bewilder one! yet in how many reports of such work when educational assets of communities are being cited, is there mention made of libraries as a force in educating the immigrant? through libraries, however, more than through most educational agencies may self-expression and development of natural gifts be realized by individuals of all ages and nationalities. where does the trouble lie? have we been open-minded or eager enough to discover the excellent contributions foreigners bring to the end that we respond to live issues, thus building progressively? old habits can be changed to new compunctions. there is no standardized method of discovering or of spiritualizing men, of holding intercourse with aliens or of receiving what they bring; but we can develop sympathy and understanding, by knowing the people as individuals, their countries, literatures, languages, arts, great national characters--in a word, their histories, even to economic conditions. thereby do we come to an understanding of reasons for immigration of the present day and of aspirations for life here. thus equipped mentally for further sympathetic appreciation, first hand observation of conditions will help; or if that is not possible, an imaginative putting ourselves in the immigrants' places from the time they leave their old world homes with all their worldly goods in their hands and, in spite of homesickness and fears, with courage and hope in their hearts--with them as they exist in their steerage quarters and with them when they pass through the portals and mazes of ellis island, in the main uncomprehendingly but always trustfully. i can not attempt here to draw the detailed picture; but if you cannot see it for yourself, mr. edward steiner gives it graphically and faithfully in his "on the trail of the immigrant." at last, the federal government accessions the immigrant. he is passed on, properly numbered, to be shelf-listed by states, cities and towns, coming finally to libraries and other institutions to be cataloged. it remains to us then to decide for our own work whether there shall be one entry under the word "alien" or whether his various assets shall be made available by analytical entries. somewhat of all this we must know to appreciate what the immigrant can contribute to life here, and to library progress, if we are wise enough to call it forth or make opportunity for its expression. it is vain to hope for the assimilation of the alien as a result of conscious benevolent effort. we too often forget that each of the hundreds of thousands is a human being! with a sense of the finest they can bring with them, we should have an increasing knowledge of how they live here, what they think and how these elements can be influenced by books and personal contact. the pressure of a congested neighborhood goads to thoughtful search for remedies. no one will go far along these paths without realizing how avid libraries must be to reap the benefits of such diverse gifts, rather than to suffer from the dregs. we must correlate books and people as never before to attain progress. "if we once admit the human, dynamic character of progress, then it is easy to understand why the crowded city quarters become focal points of that progress." as an earnest of what is being done in many libraries elsewhere, may i tell of our work in new york, of that only because i know it best. what has been done in one place and more, can be done in another through interest, desire and adaptation. the necessity of having the library near the people for whom its use is intended is, of course, recognized. this is more especially true when the people are foreigners. the new york public library has forty-one branches and all that are located in districts where foreigners live have, beside english books, collections of books in languages native to the residents. by so doing we believe that we convince of our friendship those adults who do not and even those who may never read english. this is a fundamental necessity, opening up various possibilities for imparting american ideas and ideals. the less english the grown people read the more they need knowledge of true american ideas to help keep them in touch with their children, who rapidly take on ways and manners strange to their parents, many of whom are uncomprehending, reticent and often sad. we go still further. we have assistants of the nationalities represented in the neighborhood, whose special duty it is to make known to their peoples the library privileges, also to know their people individually as far as possible and, of course, the books. right here may i say that a foreign born assistant imbued with respect for her own countrymen and with true american ideals can in her enthusiasm do more to make real citizens than many americans. this cannot be accomplished if, as happens with so many young foreigners, their own people as we see them in this country, are held in contempt. it were pity to scorn the strong qualities they possess, these "greenies," as they call themselves. they live daily too close to the vital facts of existence to develop self-consciousness or artificialities to any great extent. we talk of simplicity. they have it. courage, singleness of purpose, happiness in modest circumstances and astonishing capacity for work are elements of everyday life unconsciously developed. their wealth of imagination, fostered by their own folk-lore and early traditions, could not be more wonderfully illustrated than it has been just recently in new york. the majority of us think of new york and other large cities as vast factories with the machine-like and vicious qualities of human nature uppermost, so it is most refreshing to contemplate "old home week in greenwich village" and the "henry street pageant." "old home week" successfully recalled greenwich village history in a dramatic way to its residents--american, irish and italian--and aroused a new sense of fellowship in sharing the district's activities. to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the henry street settlement, a pictorial representation of the history of the neighborhood from the days of the indians to the present time was given by its residents--men, women and children--before an assemblage of spectators from all parts of the city and representative of all its activities--civic and social. the last living picture, or episode, was of all the nationalities that have lived in the last fifty years in henry street, once the center of manhattan's fashionable life. the irish, the scotch, the germans, the italians and the russians appeared. they sang the songs and danced the dances that contribute so much poetry to the life of the city, while onlookers marveled at the temperamental qualities which made it possible for foreigners to reproduce with unconscious realism historical scenes of a city and a country not their own! such neighborhood pageants as this and the celebration in greenwich village, exert a wholesome and a permanent influence in our municipal life. in both these events the libraries of the neighborhoods took part. the library aimed to show that folk-songs and folk-dances are kept alive by folk-stories. the contrast between old new york and the present time was shown by the use of historical scenes--lantern slides--and a story; in the one case reminiscent of early dutch settlers and in the other a poetic interpreting of the spirit of service in municipal life. those planning the pageant felt that this was a direct help in making atmosphere or in inducing an interpretive mood in participants. festival occasions like these bind together by national ties the people and institutions of a neighborhood and are rich with possibilities for the library. to a delightful degree they broaden our understanding of the folk-spirit. so it seems natural to have stories in the library told by foreigners in their native tongues. from time to time we have groups of bohemians, germans, hungarians, italians listening to old world traditions and tales. knowing the original and the translation enhances the value of the story in english for narrator and listeners. through these story hours we are reminding the foreigner of his unique contribution to life here, and are showing our respect for his best. for a simple example, our picture books and book illustration in general do not express life as vividly or realistically as russian, bohemian or swedish artists do. having some of these in our juvenile collections has been a distinct contribution to establishing sympathetic relations with foreigners. yes, it is true that the italian laborer loves dante and italian classics. it is relatively true of other nationalities. if we take for granted that we should know and libraries should have, french and german standard writers--and this largely because their literature is older, more translated or their languages better known--may we not also take for granted that literary history is still in the making? should we not bestir ourselves to know latter-day masterpieces, if such there be, and the older literature which has helped mould or inspire writers of them, in swedish, finnish, bohemian, polish, hungarian or any other language spoken by the people surrounding us? perhaps the need of realizing what these literary contributions may mean can be emphasized by the fact that in one week, june to june , , thirty thousand souls, nearly five thousand daily, passed the man at the eastern gateway. eighty per cent or thereabouts are going beyond new york city these days. is the hungarian's enjoyment of jokai or their patriot poets for hungarians alone? one can better appreciate how to sustain effort and enthusiasm in a person or a group of this nationality if one knows that much of their best poetry came almost from the cannon's mouth on the field of battle; and if one has seen the glistening eyes and heard the voices of kerchief-capped girls and boys in trousers to shoe tops as they sang in ringing tones "esküszünk!" and then heard their national song in english for the first time. at home they may not celebrate their independence day, march ; but when they are invited to, here, in the library, they do it with much genuine feeling and true sentiment, which i believe leads them to appreciate and adopt as their own our independence day. through such as they, perhaps, patriotic sentiment and feeling may once more be evident in our fourth of july celebrations. if we try to think of a library without the contributions of writers of other nationalities, we must face almost empty shelves in some classes of knowledge. this makes us realize more clearly that immigrants have rich possessions by right of inheritance while these are ours only by adoption. some of the newcomers to our shores may have lost their heritage temporarily; but they will warmly cherish as a friend the library that restores to them this valuable possession and for us that friendship is preeminently a contribution. there are other special ways in which the library seems happily successful in forming such friendships. with adults it comes through our co-operation with neighborhood associations, or organizations working for the benefit of foreigners, such as the y. m. c. a. and y. w. c. a. who conduct in our lecture rooms classes to teach english to foreigners. in these instances it is our pleasure to supplement with books the copies treated. the book work is, perhaps, most marked in connection with the english classes where we have opportunity to watch progress and needs of the individual more carefully from the time when an eager pupil may ask, as one did, for a book called a "woman's tongue" wanting arnold's "mother tongue" to his reading of hale's "man without a country," perhaps, or andrews' "the perfect tribute." there are also many semi-social, semi-educational clubs, or associations, which hold their meetings in the libraries. the slavia is a bohemian club, which has as its only meeting place the bohemian department of one of our branches. its members have done much to help form a splendid bohemian library. several hungarian associations work in co-operation with three branches, where are collections of hungarian books. a large polish society gives its educational lectures twice a month in one branch and its advice in the selection of books; but perhaps the "german association for culture" best illustrates my point. they state: "we are working for culture, and we aim to give the germans in america and the americans a better understanding of our contemporary german literature and art. we are bending our efforts more particularly for our members who as artists, poets, writers, etc., are producing valuable works. and we want to help as much as possible those talented artists, poets, etc., who are not yet known." their distinction is that they succeed! even in the et ceteras! as concrete instances of other possible contributions by foreigners to library progress, i want to tell of the discussion of one city history club chapter and the action of a settlement organization. the membership in both is composed of foreign-born young men from sixteen to twenty years of age, and both groups interest themselves in present day civic welfare. the settlement club wrote to the mayor, comptroller, library trustees and several daily papers a dignified plea for increase in library appropriation and in salaries. the year's closing meeting of a certain city history club was a discussion of the city budget, the club members representing new york's mayor, aldermen and comptroller. the main contention of the majority was that cutting the appropriation of the public library meant seriously handicapping one of the city's most efficient servants and they ended with a warm appreciation of service rendered by library assistants and a vigorous plea for better salaries. this was later reproduced for an audience of representative citizens by the city history club as a token typical of their work. both these happenings came as complete surprises to librarians. it seems as if in their eagerness to "get on" young foreigners, especially, seek and use every possible public means for advancement. they soon appreciate what good service means and how to get it. they make us feel toward what ends they are tending and suggest definitely our part in the building for civic betterment. to sum up, immigrants do bring very rich contributions in arts and literature. they bring many capabilities, that of acquiring intellectual cultivation being not the least among them. i am not blind to the seriousness of the problems they create, having worked among them about ten years; but the conviction strengthens that knowing and understanding their racial and social inheritance and first hand contact with groups of individuals stimulate to broader thought and living. it is not an argument! it is a suggestive statement! immigrants can contribute to library progress. the first vice-president: we will now have a paper from mr. charles e. rush, the librarian of the st. joseph public library, on the man in the yards this great country of ours has become within the last century a huge "melting pot" for all the nations of the world. foreign and english speaking tongues from the four corners of the earth have sought our shores as a haven of relief and opportunity. no other nation has experienced a like growth and none other has ever gained the changing cosmopolitan characteristics which have come to us from such widely differing component parts. those of us who call ourselves americans owe our life, liberty and happiness to the conditions which brought about this great growth and upon us devolves the great burden of relieving many of the unfortunate conditions which naturally result from the continued and increasing wave of humanity still seeking better things in our so-called land of freedom and equality. during the past ninety years nearly thirty millions of people have entered our immigration gates, adding to our numbers more inhabitants than the total population of the united states three score years ago, and almost one-third of our present total figure. at the close of the year of the total and combined population of five states of the union did not equal the number of immigrants admitted during the preceding twelve months. eighty per cent of these thirty millions arrived during the last fifty years. eighty-seven per cent of them were more than fourteen years of age, while only thirteen per cent were under fourteen. these figures easily demonstrate that the problem is a growing one and that the large proportion of new arrivals are destined to become citizens and parents of future citizens in a short time. our past policy of devoting our greatest efforts to the thirteen per cent while largely neglecting the eighty-seven per cent seems very similar to the losing method of mending a leaking boat by removing the water with a sponge rather than by repairing the hole. economists tell us that the "rise and fall of the immigration waves are very closely connected with the phenomenon of prosperity in this country," and that the general causes of westward expansion lie in the presence of foreign political and religious persecutions, low wages, bad economic conditions, ease of transportation, inflated rumors of great opportunities in america, and the appeal of separated friends and relatives. the early immigrants, being largely of teutonic and keltic origin, were thrifty and self-reliant by nature and entered our american life as skilled workmen in agriculture and in the trades. in the last quarter of a century the source of the tide has changed from the northern to the southern countries, resulting in a far different type of foreigner who is generally unskilled, lacking independence and initiative, and blindly submissive to authority. many come from nations with a per cent. of illiteracy rising as high as seventy, and notwithstanding the fifty per cent decrease in the total percentage of illiteracy in this country during the past thirty years we must face the fact that some twenty-eight out of every one hundred of the new arrivals over fourteen years of age are annually classed as illiterates. in the future we may expect to receive an increasing flood of immigration from china, japan and india, with problems and conditions even more perplexing. some say that the incoming foreigner directly affects the entire laboring class native to america in that he adds materially to the supply of wage earners, lowers the scale of wages due to lower standards of living, changes working conditions through the subdivision of labor, modifies labor organizations, influences local and national politics and increases social difficulties. it has been said that "low standards of living on the part of unskilled workers menace the higher standards of the skilled workers. the man of skill is recognizing this fact and he is frequently found joining hands with the unskilled to right the grievances of the latter. in the cotton mills, in the meat packing industry, in the coal mines, in the clothing industry and elsewhere, one nationality has been displaced by another satisfied with a lower standard of living. in turn the second has been displaced by a third, and so on. wave after wave of immigrants may be traced in the history of one of these industries. as rapidly as a race rises in the scale of living, and through organization begins to demand higher wages and to resist the pressure of long hours and over-exertion, the employers substitute another race and the process is repeated. each race comes from a country lower in the scale than that of the preceding until finally the ends of the earth have been ransacked in the search for low standards of living combined with patient industriousness." (carlton). our civilization cannot remain unaffected by these changing characteristics and the threatening, industrial conditions confronting us. with the army of the unemployed rapidly growing larger and larger, it behooves the american nation to encourage immediate consideration of ways and means to prevent unfortunate results in our industrial, political and social life. the national government, being concerned chiefly with the admission or rejection of the immigrant, quickly places him under the care of state and local governments, who are duty-bound to assume the entire responsibility of developing him into an efficient worker and a good citizen. the regulation of private employment agencies, protection of the foreigner in transit, adoption of standard employment laws, creation of municipal unemployment commissions, etc., indicate that state and city governments are beginning to respond to this duty of offering more sympathetic understanding, more adequate care and better protection to the newly arrived, confused, unemployed and homeless immigrant. these governments are slowly realizing that their obligations have been sorely neglected in the past when such problems were wholly consigned to the well meaning but quite inadequate field of private philanthropy. public libraries, as departments of city governments, concerned with the dissemination of knowledge of the masses, must soon realize their large responsibility in the naturalization, education and socialization of our foreign born population. it is very gratifying to announce that the state of massachusetts has very recently taken the lead in this particular field of service by the passage of an act authorizing the appointment by the board of library commissioners of a field worker to direct the educational work of libraries among the aliens of the state. libraries, like human beings, can reach a high point of efficiency and service in a particular line only when that line is encouraged and promoted. the development of libraries favoring certain classes of citizens has been quite general and extremely successful. much has been said but comparatively little has been done for the foreigner among our laboring men. the "man in the yards," the unskilled foreign wage-earner, being taxed, while needing more and receiving less from society than others, "has done much of the rough and hard work of recent decades. he has built the roadbeds of our railways, mined our coal and iron, unloaded our vessels, and cleaned our streets. the recent immigrant has performed the crude manual labor necessary for the upbuilding of big industrial plants and huge transportation systems. his services in developing the resources of the nation have been extremely important. many industries would be almost depleted if divested of all wage-earners of foreign birth and those born on american soil but of foreign born parents. if the foreign born and the native born of foreign parents were removed from our large cities, the latter would shrink to approximately one-third of their recent size." (carlton.) this "man in the yards" with whom "intimate contact removes prejudice, inspires appreciation and kindles self-respect," displays an astounding amount of seriousness and earnestness in his desire to learn and to improve himself when once informed of the possibilities in our libraries. very often he finds his chief delight in the best of books, like a child calling for good instead of new books, and many times he is not as dull and as ignorant as generally supposed, being more appreciative of better things than our average native laboring man. the opportunity is a great one to be of practical and inspirational help to an eager reader seeking to increase his earning power and joy in life, and to learn of the higher ideals of citizenship and the coming brotherhood of all. in order to devise worth-while methods of approaching him and securing his interest, place yourself in imagination in similar surroundings and conditions on a foreign shore. only through direct appeals touching your personal needs, pleasure and occupation would you be attracted in like circumstances by strangers. the same is true with our new americans. foreigners who speak the same language largely settle in the same locality and move from place to place in groups. a thorough educational survey of these groups in the community tributary to the library or branch is of first importance to determine the characteristics, conditions and needs of each group. whenever it is possible an experienced library and social worker should be employed. the advice and assistance of factory managers, labor leaders and social workers cannot be valued too highly. following these steps branch and deposit stations administered by local assistants may well be located in favorable shops, yards, factories, settlements, centers, and labor headquarters, without arousing undue suspicion among the men, even more extensively than in many of our progressive library systems today. the formation of the recently named "creative" or "extension" departments and the appointment of one or more trained assistants to create interest and regularly visit and supervise the library work in each district, group and institution will soon become a customary feature in the large cities. i firmly believe that it will not be many years until our large manufacturing institutions employing much labor will construct recreational centers in their plants equipped with social, reading and gymnastic departments sufficient to meet the needs of their employees. furthermore, i see little to discourage the establishment of traveling library collections on wheels, visiting certain districts on scheduled time, after the manner of the now famous maryland wagon and automobile. in libraries near foreign centers special departments are needed to supply practical and simple information in different languages on requirements for naturalization, instruction, employment, investments, american customs, travel and history, demands of law and order, american money and banks, and friendly advice on many things of fifty-seven or more varieties. the development of our present line of tactics, including the presentation of lectures emphasizing the possibility of increased wages through practical reading, the formation of classes in the study of english, the promotion of special foreign entertainment programs and exhibitions, the extension of the library habit to adults through publicity directed to their children, the publication of daily news for workers by means of special library papers and the general press, the creation of more effectively printed library advertising done in many languages, the co-operation with individuals and societies promoting educational, social and recreation centers, etc., will open a new era in library service for foreign laboring men. a great number of specialized and technical industrial books may not often be found necessary in library collections, since the great need among this class of readers is a large supply of trade journals and more elementary mechanical books for the unskilled workman, the student mechanic and the future tradesman. on the other hand life as well as livelihood must be considered and met. all men must live while they are earning a living and in these days they must be trained for vacation as well as vocation. the tendency today is to place too much emphasis on the daily struggle for livelihood and to neglect the hours of life during leisure time. in defense of the "man in the yards" the crying answer returns, "but what of the man whose soul-deadening toil leaves little or no time for leisure or whose daily labor kills all mental and physical desire for leisure, rest and improvement." this cry will return again and again until all labor shall be so equalized that all men will have more of what life offers and less of what it demands. those who work on specialized labor done under intense strain and through long hours are destined to become weakened, brutalized and almost incapable of showing intelligent interest in social-betterment. even "family life," the first school of morals, is a closed book against the man who comes home dead-tired late at night. consider some of the perils through which the working boy must pass from year to year, such as economic waste in un-educational trades, stinted physical development, early maturity, suppression of the spirit of boyhood, indifference towards knowledge and efficiency, personal weakness, and delinquency. the dire results due to these perils are well illustrated by the following replies made by a number of chicago factory children when asked why they quit school: "because it's easier to work in a factory than it is to learn at school." "you never understand what they tell you in school and you can learn right off to do things in a factory." "they don't call you a dago." "you can buy shoes for the baby." "our boss he never went to school." "school ain't no good. the holy father he can send ye to hell, and the boss he can take yer job away er raise yer pay. but the teacher, she can't do nothing." is it not true that greed, selfishness, privilege, injustice and neglect are five of the great sins of civilization? these obstructions to progress are largely due to ignorance and indifference, two causes which are in themselves as great evils as their results. in order to attain the best of social conditions, positive cures must be found for these devastating evils--cures that will replace greed by liberality, selfishness by the brotherhood of man, privilege by equality, injustice by justice and neglect by service--cures that will transform ignorance and indifference into clear-eyed knowledge and active responsibility. laws and revolutions have failed more miserably than we enjoy admitting and only through the far reaching, beneficent influences of education and religion may we expect to touch the roots of these great evils. is it possible that many of our public libraries, who reach the individual and his family long before and for many years following the efforts of our public schools, can consider themselves excused from a large part of their responsibility in the educational movements now striving to improve the physical, mental and moral conditions of these men who suffer for want of better things? how can it be that some librarians stand by indifferently and heed not the cry of need from these weaker members of society, who, with their distinctive and curable social difficulties, have been left alone to carve their own destinies, unappreciated and unaided? the time is near at hand when everyone shall recognize that it is the "common right of all men to share in the culture, prosperity and progress" of society, and that the conservation of life by raising it to its highest value is to be the cry of our new era of heightened individuality. in his inaugural address president wilson uttered these accusing heart searching words: "we have been proud of our industrial achievements, but we have not hitherto stopped thoughtfully enough to count the human cost, the cost of lives snuffed out, of energies overtaxed and broken, the fearful physical and spiritual cost to the men and women and children upon whom the dead weight and burden of it all has fallen without mercy the years through. the groans and agony of it all, the solemn moving undertone of our life, coming up out of the mines and factories and out of every home where the struggle has had its intimate and familiar seat, have not yet reached our ears." the "vision of the open gates of opportunity for all" must first be seen by those who lead before they who follow can dream dreams and go forth to realize them. the first vice-president: the next speaker, who is now the librarian of the rochester public library, was for many years librarian of one of the most important libraries south of what mr. o. henry was accustomed to call "mason & hamlin's line." i have the pleasure of introducing mr. william f. yust, who will speak to us on what of the black and yellow races? the form in which this subject is expressed is first a question asking for information which has never before been collected. possibly there is in it also a mild challenge to library authorities calling for a declaration of purpose and policy. so far there is no indication of a yellow race problem in public libraries. when foreigners enter a field which is already occupied they do not produce a real race problem so long as they are so few in number that they are chiefly objects of curiosity. it is difficult to understand how the japanese can be a serious race problem in california where they constitute only two and one-half per cent of the population and own and lease only twelve one-hundredths of one per cent of the land. and yet it sounds as if there is trouble there. whatever may be its nature and its causes, the difficulty has not extended to public libraries. the chinese on the pacific coast, as elsewhere, are seldom seen in a library. they live in their own quarter and hardly ever penetrate other sections of the city except for purposes of trade. the japanese who frequent the libraries are not numerous. they belong almost entirely to the student class and the books they take are used in connection with their school work. in some places they "appear to be more resourceful, more polite and more intelligent than the average high school student" with whom the libraries come in contact. as a class of patrons they are not only inoffensive but desirable. while the yellow man is clearly not a problem in libraries, it is equally certain that the black man is a problem. this is especially true in the south. in northern libraries it is the rule to admit him without distinction. throughout the south, with very few exceptions, the segregation maintained in all social, educational and religious institutions is enforced in libraries. this paper will deal primarily with the public library question. but account should also be taken of the institutional libraries to which negroes have access. institutional libraries the report of the u. s. commissioner of education for contains a list of secondary and higher schools for the colored race in states and the district of columbia. of these report libraries aggregating , volumes with an estimated value of $ , . following is a summary of the institutions and their libraries arranged by states. of these libraries have less than , volumes; have , to , volumes; have between , and , volumes; have between , and , . two have , and , respectively. schools volumes estimated reporting. in value. library. alabama , $ , arkansas , , delaware , district of columbia , , florida , , georgia , , kentucky , , louisiana , , maryland , , mississippi , , missouri , , new jersey north carolina , , ohio , , oklahoma , pennsylvania , , south carolina , , tennessee , , texas , , virginia , , west virginia , , --- ------- -------- total , $ , many of these collections except in the larger institutions, have been characterized as "so unsuitable as to be almost worthless ... the discarded refuse of garrets and overcrowded store rooms, which should have gone to the paper mill, but was sent to these poor children through mistaken kindness." these libraries are primarily for the use of the students, but they are usually open to the townspeople for reading and reference. while the people thus have access to a collection of books for consultation, it can not be said that they have the equivalent of a public library, even where the selection is good. it is a common occurrence, however, throughout the country for institutional libraries to operate against the establishment of a public library without acting as a satisfactory substitute. general attitude the prevailing attitude toward libraries for negroes is one of indifference among the masses of both races. but the same conditions existed for many years and still exist in other parts of the country. the library must follow the school, it can not precede it. when it is remembered that the educational awakening of the south is of comparatively recent date and that anything like general education of the negro is still more recent, the small number of public libraries for negroes will not appear so strange. in a few places a vigorous demand has arisen. in a few places the authorities have not only supplied the demand but have endeavored to stimulate and enlarge it. it may be said, however, that there are still people who think that the negro is incapable of education and that it actually unfits him for usefulness. uncle remus has a saying, "when you put a book into a negro's hand you spoil a good plow hand." this notion still lurks in the minds of a surprisingly large number of people, who cite the wretched condition and dense ignorance of millions of negroes after fifty years of freedom. in thirty per cent of them were still illiterate. libraries can not flourish in illiteracy as trees can not grow in a desert. there are, however, oases in the desert, bright and shining examples of individuals, schools and whole communities, which have demonstrated the negro's capacity for the highest education and development. there is a growing disposition to afford him full opportunity for making the most of himself. while some librarians are urging action, others shrink from it as from a disagreeable task. one is endeavoring to look at the subject of a negro library from the missionary standpoint and is trying to convince the trustees that such an innovation would be desirable, but finds it very hard to arouse any interest and enthusiasm. another proposes to let the question alone till forced to take action. another reports that the city is on the verge of the question. another is having difficulty to find a central location for a colored library where white people do not object. one city with a branch library in a negro high school considers it an easy way out of a difficult situation. the authorities realize that the time is coming when these facilities will no longer be adequate. at present their funds are needed so much in other directions that they hope to be able to postpone this added expense for some time to come. one library having a special room for negroes never pushes this part of its work, but does only what it is compelled to do by city ordinance. another where there is no race distinction tells how the library is overrun at times with negroes and what a drawback this is to the work. some lend books to negroes but do not allow them to sit in the reading room. this practice is not established by rule and regulation but rests on the disposition of the librarians to be helpful to all. public sentiment will tolerate it in this form while it would rebel at an attempt to guarantee the same service in formal rules. table of leading cities following is a table of some of the chief southern cities showing their status with respect to negro libraries. the letter x denotes a negro educational institution having a library of , volumes or more. negro population public remarks city total negro lib. =alabama= birmingham , , no mobile , , no montgomery , , no =delaware= wilmington , , yes admitted to wilmington lib. without distinction. =district of columbia= washington , , yes admitted to pub. lib. without distinction. x. =florida= jacksonville , , yes sep. room & sep. books in carnegie lib. =georgia= atlanta , , no x. macon , , no savannah , , yes small sep. lib. of little consequence. =kentucky= covington , , no lexington , , yes draw bks. at same desk with whites; sep reading room; little used. louisville , , yes $ , carnegie branch of pub. lib.; nd branch $ , being built. =louisiana= new orleans , , no $ , carnegie branch to be built. x. =maryland= baltimore , , yes pratt free lib. admits without distinction. x. =missouri= kansas city , , yes pub. lib. admits without distinction. st. louis , , yes pub. lib. admits without distinction. st. joseph , , yes pub. lib. admits without distinction. =north carolina= raleigh , yes sep. bldg. erected by city. poorly supported. =oklahoma= oklahoma city , , yes pub. lib. admits without distinction. =tennessee= chattanooga , , vols. placed in col. high schools as a beginning. memphis , , yes cossitt lib. supplies books thru lemoyne inst. x. nashville , , no $ , carnegie branch to be built. x. =texas= dallas , , no galveston , , yes branch of rosenberg lib. in col. high sch'l. houston , , yes $ , carnegie bldg. under negro board. san antonio , , ? =virginia= norfolk , , no richmond , , no this city has no pub. library. cities having colored libraries charlotte, n. c., is the first and only city to build a library for negroes with its own funds. after erecting a $ , carnegie building it spent $ , on a site and a separate building for negroes which was opened in . but its only income for maintenance is $ a year from the city. most of the books have been donated. in the librarian of the white library enlisted the interest of a pittsburgh woman who collected about volumes for it in the north. the librarian at wilkes-barré, pa., sends it the best of her discarded books. from these facts one may infer what kind of standard is maintained. the white library was incorporated by the legislature in a special act, which at the same time created a separate negro board. several ineffectual efforts have been made to have the act changed to place the colored library under control of the white board and the supervision of the white librarian. this would undoubtedly result in greater efficiency, as now everybody including the colored board seems to be inactive and indifferent toward it. its failure however can hardly be ascribed to the negro board alone because it is manifestly impossible with such resources under such conditions to conduct a library which would command the respect and the interest of either race. savannah, ga., also has a small library for negroes. it was organized in and is housed in rented quarters, but very few persons seem to know of its existence. the city appropriates $ a year for it. in it had , volumes and , were drawn for home use. its total receipts were $ . . at the end of the year $ was due the librarian for salary and there was a deficit of $ . . in mr. carnegie offered $ , for a colored branch building and the city has promised an increased appropriation on the completion of the building. for a time the negroes tried to raise the money for a site by subscription, but so far they have not succeeded. jacksonville, fla., has in its carnegie building a separate room and books in charge of a colored attendant. of its , population half are colored, but the negro registration is only five per cent and the circulation six per cent of the whole. no effort is being made to extend it. the opinion prevails that the arrangement is a mistake and that a branch library in the negro quarter would bring out a much larger use. galveston, texas, has had a branch of the rosenberg library in the colored high school since . it contains , volumes. with a colored population less than one-fifth as large as jacksonville it has twice as many borrowers but circulates only one-fourth as many books, , last year. this seems a very small number and does not bear out the theory that a separate branch enlarges its use. in memphis, tenn., the cossitt library in entered into an agreement with the lemoyne institute, a colored normal school, which furnishes the room, and the cossitt library furnishes the librarian and the books, which number about four thousand added to a like number belonging to the school. while these are used mainly by pupils and teachers of the school, it serves as the book supply for all interested negroes in the city and surrounding district. the facilities thus furnished seem to meet the present demands pretty fully. much depends on the librarian's attitude, which is helpful and encouraging. the circulation last year was , vols. the institute is erecting a new school building, which will provide better library accommodations. louisville, ky., was the first to establish a full-fledged branch on a broad basis and to erect a separate branch library building for negroes. the original plan for ten carnegie branch libraries, of which seven have been built, included two for negroes. the first of these was opened in rented quarters the same year as the main library in . three years later it was moved into the new $ , building. in its administration the colored branch is a part of the general library system and is under the supervision of the main library. the branch librarian, who is a graduate of hampton institute, and the two assistants are colored. the branch serves as the reference library for the colored high schools and other educational institutions. it is in close co-operation with the grade schools through the collections of books which it sends to the classrooms to be drawn by the pupils for home use. it has an assembly room which is used for lectures, entertainments and numerous other public meetings, and two classrooms for smaller gatherings. there is a story hour for children and several reading and debating clubs for boys and girls and adults. through its various activities the library not only circulates books and furnishes facts but it is an educational and social center from which radiate many influences for general betterment. fine work is being done with children, who draw per cent of the books circulated. an interesting account of it is given in the library journal for april, , : - , by mrs. rachel d. harris, a former teacher in the colored schools, who is in charge of this department. when the branch was started eight years ago it was somewhat of an experiment and there was doubt and apprehensiveness all around with regard to the outcome of the undertaking. but it has been a pronounced success from the beginning. it has grown steadily until last year , vols. were drawn from it for home use. it has become so popular that the second branch is now under construction in the eastern colored section of the city. the colored people are proud of this library and its achievements. its opening marked an epoch in the development of the race which is second in importance only to the opening of the first colored free schools there in . houston, texas, also has a separate branch building opened last april. for the past four years it was maintained in a small way in the colored high school. the new building is distinctively a product of negro enterprise. booker t. washington's secretary called on andrew carnegie personally and secured the promise of $ , on condition that the city of houston would agree to provide not less than $ , annually for its maintenance. the $ , for the site was raised by colored citizens entirely among their own people. the plans for the building were drawn by a colored architect and its erection supervised by a committee of a separate board of trustees, which consisted of nine colored men. the librarian is a colored girl who is responsible only to the colored trustees. although she and the trustees consult freely with the librarian and trustees of the public library, the latter act only in an advisory capacity to them. they are therefore justly proud of the library as their own achievement. it contains , volumes. from a colored population of , the registered borrowers were only , last year and the books drawn , . these numbers seem very small, but no doubt there will be a large increase in the new building. while the houston method of management may contribute to the negro's self-respect and minister somewhat to the pride and independence of a few of their number, the wisdom of the plan may well be questioned. the results are bound to be inferior unless experience counts for nothing. it is unfortunate that so many cities in their first venture proceed with such disregard of the experience of other places. but the limit is reached when the same city repeats the process with a second board after one board has learned its lesson. this applies not only to the details of planning, erecting and furnishing a building but equally if not more to its operation, the selection, purchase and cataloging of books, the appointment of assistants and the transacting of its daily business. the white public library boards of nashville and new orleans both have plans under way for the erection of carnegie colored branch buildings, each to cost $ , . in nashville the negroes are raising $ , and the city is paying $ , toward the site. in new orleans the city will purchase the site. in neither of these places is there any public provision at present for supplying books to negroes. in atlanta, ga., the leading educational center of the south for negroes, they are still without public library facilities, although agitation on the subject began over ten years ago. on the day of the opening of the beautiful $ , carnegie building a committee of colored men called on the library board. prof. w. e. b. dubois of atlanta university acting as spokesman said: "gentlemen, we are a committee come to ask you to do justice to the black people of atlanta by giving them the same free library privileges that you propose giving to whites. every argument which can be adduced to show the need of libraries for whites applies with redoubled force to the negroes. more than any other part of our population they need instruction, inspiration and proper diversion; they need to be lured from temptation of the streets and saved from evil influences, and they need a growing acquaintance with what the best of the world's souls have thought and done and said. it seems hardly necessary in the twentieth century to argue before men like you the necessity and propriety of placing the best means of human uplifting into the hands of the poorest and lowest and blackest. "the spirit of this great gift to the city has not the spirit of caste or exclusion but rather the catholic spirit which recognizes no artificial differences of rank or birth or race, but seeks to give all men equal opportunity to make the most of themselves. it is our sincere hope that this city will prove itself broad enough and just enough to administer this trust in the true spirit in which it was given." the chairman asked, "do you not think that allowing whites and negroes to use this library would be fatal to its usefulness?" another member of the committee replied that they did not ask to use this library nor even ask equal privileges but only some privileges somewhere. the chairman then made these points clear: ( ) that negroes would not be permitted to use the carnegie library in atlanta; ( ) that some library facilities would be provided for them in the future; ( ) that the city council would be asked to appropriate a sum proportionate to the amount of taxes paid by negroes of the city; ( ) that efforts would be made to induce northern philanthropists to aid such a library. later mr. carnegie offered to give the money necessary for the erection of a branch library for negroes. when the details of its administration came up for consideration the negroes demanded representation on the library board. this was positively refused and the proceedings were so completely blocked that the negroes of atlanta are still without any public library advantages. methods of management from the cases cited it appears that there are four distinct methods of dealing with this question in the south: ( ) to admit the negro to the same building on equal terms with others as is done in baltimore, wilmington, washington and some of the missouri libraries. this method is not satisfactory to the whites. as one report says, "there are white people who are deterred from using the library because in so doing they must touch elbows with colored folks.... we could do better service to both races if there could be a separation, for we must take the people with their prejudices, especially in the use of the library, which is a purely voluntary matter." ( ) to admit him to the same building but to a separate room, which is not satisfactory to the negro. one library which has this plan reports, "many of the educated and cultured negroes (for there are some even in the south) will not come unless they can do so on the same social equality and use the same apartments as the white patrons." ( ) to have a separate library under control of members of their own race. this is almost certain to produce inferior results on account of their inexperience and lack of knowledge regarding every phase of the work. ( ) to have a separate branch in charge of colored assistants who are under the direction and supervision of one board and one librarian, who have control over the entire library including all branches and other agencies. this plan assures the greatest economy and efficiency and will probably be adopted by all the libraries whose funds will permit it. a separate colored board is as unnecessary and unbusinesslike as would be a separate board for each white branch. on the advantages of a separate branch library one colored man writes: "in the south the separation is not only necessary for the peace and cordial relations desirable to be maintained but the colored branches are desirable because the colored people would use them so a hundred times more than they would otherwise. the feeling of perfect welcome, ownership and unqualified privilege are all necessary to patrons who are to get the best possible from libraries among them. these things in the south can only be had in separate branches as much as it is regrettable that there should be a mind and spirit demanding separate libraries." traveling libraries delaware and kentucky are the only state library commissions reporting special traveling libraries for negroes. last year "seven traveling libraries of to volumes each were arranged for the use of the colored schools in delaware, and the entire charge and care of these libraries was given over to the state college for colored students near dover." the kentucky commission has two libraries of volumes each in circulation and is planning to send more. hampton institute also sends out traveling collections of books. another system of traveling libraries is that established in by james h. gregory of marblehead, mass., for distribution through atlanta university among the negroes of the south. there are about libraries of volumes each. they are sent to any community, school, church or other organization for one year and then exchanged for a different set. two interesting articles on these libraries and their founder were published by g. s. dickerman in the southern workman, august and september, . what the negro reads what the negro reads is in itself a large and interesting subject. a brief article on it dealing equally with what the negro does not read, appeared in the critic, july , from mr. george b. utley, then librarian of the jacksonville public library. the first book drawn from the louisville library was washington's "up from slavery." the most striking feature of the circulation in general is the comparatively small percentage of fiction read. of the , volumes drawn from the louisville library during its first six years only per cent was fiction. this may be due to the fact that the so-called leisure class, who are supposed to read most of the fiction, is smaller among the colored people; or that the novel does not appeal so strongly to the negro mind; or that the library is used more largely by pupils, teachers, ministers and other professional people, who come to it for more serious purposes. a book entitled "tuskegee and its people," edited by booker t. washington, contains biographical sketches of many negroes who have gone out from that school to work for the elevation of their race. these sketches give a remarkable picture of the "conditions that environ the masses of the negro people," as well as their struggles for improvement. one of them describing the country school which he attended writes, "when i reached the point where the teacher ordered me to get a united states history, the book store did not have one, but sold me a biography of martin luther instead, which i studied for some time thinking that i was learning something about the u. s." years later "i betook me to the woods, where i read everything i could get. it was during this time that accidentally, i may say providentially, i got hold of a book containing the life of ignacius sancho; and i have never read anything that has given me more inspiration. i wish every negro boy in the land might read it." another tuskegee graduate, a woman whose mother as a slave had been taught to read by her master's daughter, writes: "sundays, with my sisters gathered about her knees, we would sit for hours listening as mother would read church hymns for us." the articles by mr. dickerman above referred to give the results of some investigations on their choice of books. he received answers from leading negro schools in response to a request for a list of such "books as had been found in the experience of their schools to be the most popular and the best and which they would recommend." the "life of lincoln" appeared on of these lists; "little women" ; "robinson crusoe" ; "paul dunbar" ; "uncle tom's cabin" ; "ivanhoe" ; "souls of black folk" ; "ramona" ; "life of douglass" ; "uncle remus" . six lists included "alice in wonderland," grimm's "fairy tales," "john halifax," "last days of pompeii," and "swiss family robinson." these lists all came from schools and therefore bear the earmarks of the schoolmaster. but the largest part of the reading by negroes is done by the pupils and teachers in connection with their school work. this would account for the preponderance of the literature and history classes. miss sarah b. askew observes that among the general readers in a public library "the colored people's tastes are for quick action, strong emotion, vivid coloring, and simplicity of narration." books by and about their own people are in constant demand. the colored magazines, those devoted especially to their interests and those published by colored men are always popular. there is also a growing demand for books useful to the mechanic in his daily work. chauffeurs "avail themselves of technical books on automobiles." an early experience in the louisville library was with a woman who made a business of raising chickens. she called at the library for medical help because many of them were dying. strangely enough this subject had been overlooked in selecting the books and the librarian was unable to prescribe for sick chickens. but a book on poultry was ordered for her immediately. conclusions following are some conclusions regarding libraries for negroes: ( ) that books and reading are of the utmost value in the education, development and progress of the race. ( ) that in northern public libraries they are admitted to all privileges without distinction. ( ) that in southern libraries the segregation of the races prevails, as it does, in all educational, religious and other social institutions. ( ) that in many places institutional libraries are supplying the book wants of the few negroes who really have need of libraries. ( ) that among the masses of the colored race there is as yet very little demand for libraries. ( ) that where a genuine demand has manifested itself and up-to-date facilities have been provided negroes have been quick to use them and have made commendable progress. ( ) that in some of the large cities containing a great many negroes who are intelligent and who pay taxes the provision made for them is sadly inadequate or is entirely lacking. ( ) that southern librarians generally are kindly and helpfully disposed toward them and that the majority of the white people favor a fair deal for them, including the best training and the fullest enlightenment. ( ) that in the south any arrangement which aims to serve the two races in the same room or in the same building is detrimental to the greatest good of both. complete segregation is essential to the best work for all. ( ) that many libraries are not financially able to conduct separate departments and so the negro loses out. ( ) that a few cities have splendid facilities for them, a few others are now establishing branches, a considerable number are discussing the question seriously and another considerable number which should be at work are doing nothing. ( ) that the best solution of the problem is the separate branch in charge of colored assistants under the supervision and control of the white authorities. ( ) that even in northern cities which have large segregated colored districts such separate branches would result in reaching a larger number of negroes and doing better work for both races. ( ) that the south is entitled to the sympathy and help of the north on this question, which is only a part of the larger question of negro education. that sympathy will come with fuller information and will increase as the size and seriousness of the problem is more fully understood. adjourned. third general session (wednesday morning, june , ) the president: there is a matter of business to come up this morning. at the last conference the association adopted an amendment to the constitution which, to become effective, must be ratified at this meeting. it may be added that the requisite notice required by the constitution, of thirty days, has been given by the secretary, through publication in the bulletin, where you have doubtless seen the proposed amendment together with the by-law which is dependent, of course, upon the adoption of the amendment itself. the secretary will please read the proposed amendment as adopted at the ottawa conference. the secretary: i will also read that portion of section of the constitution to which the amendment would apply: "=council.= membership. the council shall consist of the executive board, all ex-presidents of the association who continue as members thereof, all presidents of affiliated societies who are members of the association, twenty-five members elected by the association at large, and twenty-five elected by the council itself,"-- and the proposed amendment consists of the following words to be inserted at that place: --"and one member from each state, provincial and territorial library association or any association covering two or more such geographical divisions which complies with the conditions for such representation set forth in the by-laws." the president: the amendment is before you for consideration. what is your pleasure? are you ready for the question? (the question being called for and put, the amendment was adopted.) the president: dependent upon the adoption of the amendment to the constitution there is now before you for consideration a proposed amendment to the by-laws. the secretary will please read the suggested amendment which carries into effect now the constitutional amendment which you have just adopted and which becomes effective, in that it has now been adopted by two successive conferences. the secretary then read the proposed amendment section a, which is as follows: "sec. a. each state, territorial and provincial library association (or any association covering two or more such geographical divisions) having a membership of not less than fifteen members, may be represented in the council by the president of such association, or by an alternate elected at the annual meeting of the association. the annual dues shall be $ . for each association having a membership of fifty or less, and ten cents per additional capita where membership is above that number. the privileges and advantages of the a. l. a. conferences shall be available only to those holding personal membership or representing institutional membership in the association." the president then put the question and the above amendment to the by-laws was duly adopted. dr. andrews: i move the addition of the words "or to members of other affiliated societies," in order not to bar these members from attendance at our meetings. the president: dr. andrews' amendment is to include the words "or to members of other affiliated societies." mr. ranck: i think, as a member of the committee that had something to do with the drafting of the proposed by-law, that i can say that the purpose of that provision was that there should be some advantage to persons holding membership in these organizations, to get the railroad rates, hotel rates, etc.; in other words, to have some pecuniary advantage in their becoming members and not to be able to come and get those advantages without holding any kind of a membership. if i may be permitted, mr. president, i should like to give a few figures with reference to the distribution of the members of the council as it now exists, as given in the last handbook. there were members of the council, counting the one or two who have died, representing states, the district of columbia and canada. however, in the council only states in the union have representation. in other words, there are states in the union that are not represented in the council. the population of these states is nearly thirty-three millions and their area is nearly two million square miles, whereas the area of the states that are represented is a little over a million square miles. the point is, mr. president, the purpose of the amendment to the constitution and these amendments is to give a wider geographical distribution of representation in the council; in other words, that more than half of the area of the united states may be brought in, on account of this geographical representation, and that the thirty-three millions of people who live in those states may be able to get a representation which it seems at the present time they do not have. the president: the question before the conference is on the proposed amendment of the by-law as offered by dr. andrews. (the president put the question and the amendment was duly adopted.) the president: the question now is upon the amendment to the by-laws as amended. (the president put the question and the amendment to the by-laws was duly adopted.) the president: the association during the past year suffered grievous loss in the passing of two of its notable members, members who had long been identified with the association and its work, and i may add the loss of a friend of librarians everywhere, that splendid gentleman, mr. francis fisher browne, of the dial,--a man gentle of soul, keen of intellect and fine of fiber. while perhaps we are not called upon to take official notice of his passing it seems to me very well that we should group him with those whose loss we mourn at this time. by request of the executive board and of the council a committee consisting of dr. putnam, mr. bowker and mr. wellman have been asked to draft memorial resolutions on the passing of dr. billings and mr. soule and i would ask dr. putnam to report at this time. dr. putnam: with your permission i will ask mr. wellman to read the suggested minute with reference to mr. soule. and the committee would suggest that if the expression in these minutes appears to you just, that they be adopted by a rising vote. mr. wellman then read the following resolution which was unanimously adopted by a rising vote. charles carroll soule with profound sorrow, we record the death of charles c. soule, whose services and relation to the american library association were in many ways unique. though himself not a librarian, yet in the early days of the public library he was one of those who foresaw the great force which it might be made to exert in our democratic civilization; and to promote the wise realization of this vision, he labored unceasingly as a member of this association for more than thirty years and was a constant attendant at the meetings. he served as vice-president in , as member of the institute for six years, as member of the council for eight years, as trustee of the endowment fund for twelve years, and as a member of the publishing board for eighteen years. but his distinctive contribution was in efforts towards the improvement of library architecture; and here by his study and writings, as well as by creating the office of advisory expert in building, he did more than any other man to further the planning of library buildings for library work. in reciting the tale of his accomplishment, it is impossible to forget the man. unselfish and high-minded, a good counsellor and a consistent friend, he ever showed eager and affectionate interest in the work of his fellow members, and especially in the success of those beginning their careers. above all, he possessed a generous faith in his associates and an unfailing good will. these were but a few of the qualities which enabled him to achieve so much for the public library, and which endeared him to hosts of librarians throughout the land. dr. putnam: mr. president, this is proposed as a minute for the records of the association. it is therefore headed "john shaw billings." the resolution was unanimously adopted by a rising vote. john shaw billings april , --march , a member of the american library association - --its president, - it is seldom that the death of an individual removes from two professions a unit of singular power in each. but such was the loss in the recent death of john shaw billings; a scientist in a department of science intensive and exacting, a librarian rigorously scientific in a profession broadly humane. to the former he made original contributions which constituted him an authority within special fields; but also in his great index-catalog of medical literature, one which assured certainty and promoted advance in every field--and left the entire medical profession his debtor. as a librarian, having first brought to preeminence the professional library entrusted to him, he was called to the organization into a single system of isolated funds and institutions, achieved that organization, and lived to see it, under his charge develop into the largest general library system in the world, with a possible influence upon our greatest metropolis of incalculable importance to it, and through it, to the welfare of our entire country. the qualities which enabled him to accomplish all this included not merely certain native abilities--among them, penetration, concentration, vigor, tenacity of purpose and directness of method, but others developed by self-denial, self-discipline, and a complete dedication to the work in hand. it was through these that he earned his education and his scientific training; and they hardened into habits which attended him to the end of his days, when he concluded in toil that shirked no detail a life begun in toil and devoted to detail. such habits, a keen faculty of analysis, and a scientific training kept him aloof alike from hasty generalizations and from the impulses of mere emotion; while his military training induced in him three characteristics which marked alike his treatment of measures and his dealings with men; incisiveness, a distaste for the superfluous and the redundant, and an insistence upon the suitable subordination of the part to the whole. in this combination, and in the knowledge of, and power over, men which accompanied it, he was unique among librarians; in his complete lack of ostentation he was unusual among men. his mind was ever on the substance, indifferent to the form. a =power= in two professions, to have termed him the "ornament" of either would have affronted him; for he was consistently impatient of the merely ornamental. any =personal= ostentation was actually repugnant to him; and he avoided it as completely in what he suffered as in what he achieved; bearing, with a reticence that asked no allowances, physical anguish in which most men would have found ample excuse from every care. if such a combination of traits assured his remarkable efficiency, it might not have seemed calculated to promote warm personal or social attachments. yet there was in him also a singular capacity for friendship; not indeed for impulsive and indiscriminate intimacies, but for those selective, deep, steady and lasting friendships which are proof of the fundamental natures of men. and however terse, austere, and even abrupt, his manner in casual relations, where a really human interest was at stake he might be relied upon for sympathies both warm and considerate, and the more effective because consistently just and inevitably sincere. the testimonies to these qualities in his character, to these powers, and to his varied achievements, have already been many and impressive. the american library association wishes to add its own, with a special recognition not merely of the value to the community of the things which he accomplished, but of the value to individuals in the example of a character and abilities so resolutely developed and so resolutely applied to the service of science and the service of men. the president: to offer a telegram as a substitute for a long and pleasurably anticipated paper is cause for regret, but such must be the case this morning as miss arnold finds it impossible to be with us. the telegram reads as follows: "emergency meeting of simmons college corporation has been appointed for wednesday and prevents me from attending library meeting. extreme regrets. sarah louise arnold." the general theme of this morning's session is "library influence in the home, in the shop, on the farm, and among defectives and dependents." we shall begin the morning's program with a paper on "the working library for the artisan and the craftsman," by edward f. stevens, librarian pratt institute free library, and director of the school of library science, brooklyn. the working library for the artisan and the craftsman it is not my privilege to speak to you at this time of the professional, technical, or practical aspects of that recent phase of library work wherein is attempted the reconciliation of shopmen with bookmen. in the very few moments placed at my disposal i may mention only that human relationship which enters so largely into a librarian's dealings with men who are concerned with and about their work. the straightforward, sympathetic intercourse of man with man may adorn to the point of making almost beautiful a department of librarianship which is extremely matter-of-fact in its essential character and might easily become commonplace in its practicality. the business of a technology department in a public library may best be expressed in terms of the statement of the policy of the franklin union established in recent years in philadelphia--"the further education of men already employed." such a working library is strictly a library of work. it is almost oppressively utilitarian. yet to a librarian who has had the privilege of making books known to artisans and craftsmen, and who is now denied that privilege, the sense of the loss of the fellowships, not to say friendships, that formerly were a part of his daily occupation proves that the sympathetic was after all the potential element in his experience. i may say with lowell, "i like folks who like an honest piece of steel.... there is always more than the average human nature in a man who has a hearty sympathy with iron." theodore roosevelt has given us a maxim that deserves to be written as a rule of life--"that which one does which all can do but won't do is the greatest of greatness." therein is the greatness of work with practical men--the discernment of the simplest facts of life, the performance of the simplest acts of life in working out the complex things of life, recognizing, to begin with, that a man's difficulty is at once less a difficulty when it becomes the friendly concern of a fellow-man. my own first experience as a seeker after help in a public library in matters technical that were then of great importance to me, met the rebuff and disappointment that have given me a point of view which amounts to a conviction. in the present day, the library assumes considerable confidence in inviting the workingman into its constituency, and the workingman must come to it with no less confidence if the library expects its justification. the mechanic, as formerly the scholar, must approach the library with a calculated expectation. the librarian must understand him, believe in him, and in turn make himself understood by him. in a recent issue of the =american machinist=, a writer deplores the general lack of sympathy and interest in the affairs of the "unheralded mechanic." that the life he lives has no place in men's thoughts nor in literature. this is the closing statement: "as it is, if left to themselves, mechanics will by their silence continue to let those outside the shop think of them as nothing but men tied to a whistle." leigh hunt (himself very much an outsider) in a familiar essay makes this friendly observation: "a business of screws and iron wheels is, or appears to be, a very commonplace matter; but not so the will of the hand that sets them in motion; not so the operations of the mind that directs them what to utter." but this mechanic that now nears the public library is coming neither as a pathetic figure in distress, nor as a mysterious or heroic figure beyond our comprehension. he comes as an unpretending man dignified by earnestness of purpose not to discredit an honorable vocation. the best of mutual understanding and feeling, however, will not secure the chief ends of librarianship except so far as they splendidly prepare the way. the recognition of books as tools comes only as the books stand the same practical test that the workman applies to his instruments. the librarian must furnish books shaped to the man's hand, books that he can use to perform work, that he can depend upon as true, accurate, precise, simple, efficient, economical, reliable in the same sense that his tools must be all these. and so, the selection of books for a working library of technology becomes not unlike the testing of instruments of precision. care in selection is of supreme importance in fitting up a tool-shop of books. wisdom in application is scarcely second to intelligence in choice. a practical man does not often come to a library for this or that particular book, for the work of a specified author, or for a title that he has in mind. if he does, he cannot always be depended upon to know his own wishes in the matter. what this man wants is information about a topic that concerns him. he leaves it to the library to tell him in what printed form that information can be had--and it's risky, for the library, to trifle with him or to play him false. hesitation, indecision, irresolution are fatal. if the library exhibits lack of faith in itself, who, indeed, shall have faith in it? the workingman will be sure to entertain the same contempt for the librarian's doubtful application of even the best books as he himself would of the misuse of good tools in his own trade. this necessity for books that will answer to needs is the incentive in the erection of a working library to which men may resort. at home we have a permanent and constantly revised selection of the most useful technical books registered on cards of varying colors showing the differing characteristics of the books included. this is our works library. and within it, on blue cards, are listed the simplest and most direct texts for the man with the least preparation for books. this is our dinner-pail library. and starting with these, we may go on with a degree of confidence in teaching men the use of tools the handling of which we ourselves understand. preparedness in attitude, preparedness in equipment, await the arrival of the man the most skeptical of the library's guests. does he come and go away again confirmed in his skepticism? if he does, it's the library's fault, not his. does he come, and remain, to come again? then he is ready to pay the tribute of his allegiance that becomes the librarian's great reward. we have heard the =american machinist= complain that the mechanic found no voice to sing his praises. not less is the genus librarian unwept, unhonored, and unsung. he expects praise as little as he desires it, and, perhaps, i may say, deserves it. but the ready word of appreciation, the acknowledgment of the library's help in overcoming difficulties that drove a man there as a last resort, the confession of awakening to the new knowledge of the library's wider purpose and power, is expressed often with a frankness and fervor that surprise and gratify the fortunate librarian who has been instrumental in bringing things to pass. i recall how men of few words and little sentiment have spontaneously related to me their experiences of misfortune, perplexity, disappointment, or other embarrassment that caused them to turn to the public library for a possible helping hand, and then, how the library did not fail them in their extremity. at such times, i knew that the free library was doing what it undertook to do. of this sort are the few, the impressive instances that illustrate how, on occasions, a working library can meet very exceptional requirements. there are also the very many--the students, apprentices, shopmen, machinists, inventors, chemists, engineers, manufacturers--all artisans and craftsmen in their various ways, who are coming to learn that in their usual daily processes they may expect from the public library the ordinary, indispensable service that the library has always performed for those who know the value of books. it is this complete idea of a library that still fails of development in the minds of these men, an idea that the library is a live thing, a public utility of which they will naturally and inevitably avail themselves as they do of the street-cars to take them both to and away from their work. nothing is needed to convince men that a utility =is= a utility save the satisfying use of it. when they have found that the library speeds them on in the direction of the day's occupation, then it becomes easy enough for them to learn that the library can also get them far removed from it. and when the workingman fully comprehends the =working= library, and by means of it is introduced to the =diverting= library, he becomes a man with the greatest capacity for usefulness, and the library's conquest of the community is finished and triumphant. the president: mr. stevens has very forcefully brought out the factor that a book may be in bringing into life dormant faculties that might otherwise go to waste and recalls to us the remark of prof. dewey, that the loss of the unearned increment is as nothing compared with the loss of the undiscovered resource. of course you know as well as the members of the program committee that they had nothing to do with the selection of the next speaker; the topic chose her. how could anyone else be asked to present the subject of "the woman on the farm," than miss lutie e. stearns, of the wisconsin free library commission? the woman on the farm modern programs of library extension through public libraries as distinguished from traveling library systems are practically confined to an arbitrary line drawn tightly around the city's limits. charters, laws, or ordinances under which many libraries operate are usually interpreted to restrict the use of such institutions to a narrow area and no great attempt has been made through legislation, save in california and a few isolated examples elsewhere, to extend library privileges to adjacent communities. it is a happy omen for the future that the president of the american library association, the custodian of a library catering to two-million city dwellers with a circulation second in rank to greater new york, should have seen fit on his own initiative to place among the topics of this meeting the needs of the woman on the farm, the real founder of the city's citizenship. "who's the greatest woman in history?" was the query debated by kansas school teachers recently. they considered joan of arc, queen elizabeth, semiramis, cleopatra, cornelia, catherine of russia, maria theresa, grace darling, florence nightingale, susan b. anthony, and half a hundred others. when they came to deciding, all the names known to fame were ruled out. and to whom do you suppose the judges awarded the palm? here is the answer: "the wife of the farmer of moderate means who does her own cooking, washing, ironing and sewing, brings up a family of boys and girls to be useful members of society and finds time for intellectual improvement." these teachers knew that woman, they knew the drudgery she faced at four or five o'clock every morning the year 'round. there are twenty millions of her in this country of ours, she makes up nearly one-fourth of the population of the country, and while we are dealing with these most "vital statistics," we may include the tragic fact that sixty-six per cent of those committed to insane hospitals are from rural districts, the farm women constituting the great majority thereof. and yet the needs of this great, deserving class of "humans" with minds and hearts even more receptive to ideas than are city women--the needs of such as these are as yet almost wholly unrealized by librarians aside from commission workers. no committee of the american library association has ever had the joy of working out a program of library extension from the great city systems to rural readers. the question put by the then president roosevelt to his country life commission, "how can the life of the farm family be made less solitary, fuller of opportunity, freer from drudgery, more comfortable, happier, and more attractive?" still awaits solution from the library standpoint. though agriculture is our oldest and by far our largest and most important industry, it has only recently occurred to us in the united states that we had a rural problem. it is only within the last decade or so that we have awakened to the fact that there is a rural as well as an urban problem, and the library world is too prone to keep from recognizing it. we are not concerned in this connection with the problem of the retired farmer who moves into a town to spend his last days which are, seemingly, all he is willing to spend; nor shall we discuss those restless flat dwellers in our cities who, tempted by such alluring and wholly immoral titles as "the fat of the land," "the earth bountiful," "a self-supporting home," "three acres and a cow," or "three acres and liberty"--"for those to whom the idea of liberty is more inspiring than that of the cow"--attempt to start ginseng, guinea pig, pheasant, and peacock farms, and who return to the city as shorn of guineas as the pigs they leave behind them. in the serious solution of this problem, we may, in truth, differ as to the sort of farmers we would benefit. as sir horace plunkett has said in his "rural problem in america," "the new york city idea is probably that of a long island home where one might see on sunday, weather permitting, the horny-handed son of weekday toil in wall street, rustically attired, inspecting his jersey cows and aristocratic fowls." these supply a select circle in new york city with butter and eggs at a price which leaves nothing to be desired unless it be some information as to cost of production. full justice is done to the new country life when the farmers' club of new york fulfills its chief function--the annual dinner at delmonico's. then agriculture is extolled in fine virgilian style, the hudson villa and the newport cottage being permitted to divide the honors of the rural revival with the long island home. "but to my bucolic intelligence," concludes sir horace, "it would seem that against the back-to-the-land movement of saturday afternoon, the captious critic might set the rural exodus of monday morning." to the new england librarian there probably comes the picture of rugged, bean-clad hills with "electrics" in every valley eager to take the intellectual rustics to the lowell lectures or the boston symphony orchestra. that books are appreciated in the rural districts even in a state that boasts a library in every town is shown by a letter from one who had received the volumes sent out by the "massachusetts society to encourage studies at home." "i do not know where i should stop if i tried to tell how much these library books have helped me in my isolated life--i have craved so much and there seemed no access possible to anything i wanted. i have lived always with a longing for something different; life was a burden to be carried cheerfully, yet i never quite conquered the feeling that the burden was heavy. books have taken away that feeling and before i was aware, the load was gone. i have written thus of myself, not because my individual experience is of importance enough to interest anyone, but because i believe the world is full of people with the same wants that i have and it may be some satisfaction to know how fully you are supplying them." to the librarian of new jersey, the isolated dwellers of the salt marshes would come to mind. maryland suggests to some librarian epicures the oyster farm, with its succulent product, but to others comes the vision of the "real thing" supplied as in washington county with the ideal arrangement of central library, branches, deposit stations, traveling libraries, and automobile delivery to the very doors of the maryland farm homes--the most ideal arrangement of rural extension that exists in america today. to the georgian, the "cracker" presents itself with its "uneeda" book appeal. the "mountain-white" of kentucky, who comes to berea in his seventeenth year to learn his letters, would surely appreciate an opportunity to go on with them when he gets "back home." in the north middle west, where farms are still surrounded by a fringe of pine and an "infinite destiny," a farmer's wife writes as follows: "for many years i have lived on a farm on the cleared land of northern wisconsin, and i have made an earnest study of the conditions that surround the lives of the average isolated farmer and his family. i have seen all of the loneliness and desolation of their lives, i have witnessed all the dreariness and poverty of their homes. i have been with them when our nearest railroad station meant a twenty-eight mile trip through bottomless mud or over shaking corduroy; where our nearest post-office was eighteen miles away, over the same impassable roads and where we were often without mail for weeks at a time; when the nearest public library was sixty miles away; when the only element of culture or progress we possessed was the little backwoods school, housed in a tumble-down log shack and presided over by careless or incompetent teachers. i have watched civilization come to us step by step,--the railroad, the rural mail delivery, the country telephone, and other modern rural conveniences. but, before any of these, right into the midst of our lonely backwoods life, came the traveling library, for it is characteristic of the traveling library that it is not dependent on modern conveniences for its appearance. i can recall the thrill of joy with which we received our first case of books. i read their titles over and over, handled and caressed them in a perfectly absurd manner. almost all of the books were old friends of mine; but, to our little neighborhood of foreigners, they were "brand new" and the enthusiasm over that library knew no bounds. "we had a regular literary revival that winter. we talked books in season and out of season; and from talking about the books in the little library we fell to talking of other books; of books we had read in our younger, happier days. it mattered little if in the course of these conversations books and authors were hopelessly mixed. "i cannot say that we derived any great amount of knowledge from our first library, but i do know that it brought into our little backwoods settlement, that which we needed much more--hope and courage and an interest in life. that was my first introduction to the traveling library, but during the years that have gone since then, i have seen much of the work of these little cases of books. while it is true that the traveling library does not always meet with as enthusiastic a reception as our little settlement gave it that winter, yet it always comes to our rural communities as a help and inspiration. my appreciation of the worth of the traveling library has grown with the years." "once a library meant nothing but rows of books and its influence was confined to narrow limits. however with the establishment of the traveling library, these books have become veritable missionaries penetrating to all sorts of dreary, isolated places, carrying with them a culture and a pleasure that will aid in illuminating the long, dreary path of existence with the color of happiness." as one farmer's wife has it in another locality, "good books drive away neighborhood discussion of the four deadly d's--diseases, dress, descendants and domestics." olive schreiner in her wonderful and heart searching study of "woman and labor," has pointed out that at first woman hunted with the man, and later when the race settled in one spot, the woman was the tiller of the soil and the man the hunter and warrior. then when man no longer needed to hunt or fight, the woman moved within the house and the man tilled the fields. the woman became the isolated one. isolation is the menace of farm life just as congestion is of city life. this isolation has a depressing effect upon the intellectual life of those who require the stimulus of contact with others to keep their minds active. the woman on the farm, as mr. bailey has pointed out, is apt to become a fatalist. floods, drought, storms, tornadoes, untimely frosts, backward seasons, blight, predatory beasts, animal and plant diseases render a season's great labor of no avail, or destroy the fruits of it within the hour. along with these perennial discouragements comes the interminable round of getting up before sunrise and cooking, baking, dishwashing, sewing, mending, washing and ironing clothes from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year, with additional work peculiar to the seasons, such as at planting times, threshing and harvesting, fruit gathering and preserving, etc., etc., etc. the work of the farm is carried on in direct connection with the home, thus differing from nearly all the large industries, such as manufacturing and the like. the fact that agriculture is still a family industry where the work and home life are not separated, differentiates it from life in the city with its lack of a common business interest among all the members of the family. this condition tends to make rural life stable. the whole family stay at home evenings and one book is read aloud to the entire family circle. we still find the big family in the country where bridge whist and race-suicide--cause and effect--are as yet unknown. but the big family puts cares and responsibilities upon the mother on the farm and when one sees the "bent form, the tired carriage, the warped fingers and the thin, wrinkled features" of so many farmer's wives, one does not at first see anything but cruelty to animals in urging recreation and reading upon such overburdened women. but a brighter, industrial day is at hand. from perpetual motion to hours of reasonable industrial requirements the daily working period of the farmer is coming to be reduced by labor saving machinery. the modern gasoline engine, to my mind the most important contribution to civilization and culture in recent times, now pumps the water, saws and cuts the wood, runs the lighting plant, the washing machine, the milking machine, the cream separator, the churn, the sewing machine, the bread-mixer, the vacuum cleaner, the lawn mower, the coffee grinder, the ice cream freezer and even the egg-beater. these, with the fireless cooker, have relieved the housewife and made time for reading and other recreation. good roads, rural free delivery, the interurban trolley car, the automobile and the rural telephone are removing the old-time isolation and are making possible enjoyment and a culture and refinement equal to that of the business and professional classes of the cities. one thing only is still withheld from distinctly rural communities--the opportunity to get good books. it has been said so often it has become a truism that the rural districts are the seed bed from which the cities are stocked with people. upon the character of this stock more than upon anything else does the greatness of a nation and the quality of its civilization ultimately depend. the importance of doing something with and for these people is paramount for the farms furnish the cities not alone with material products but with men and women. census returns indicate that cities are gaining on the country all the time. we who wish to stop the rural exodus must co-operate with other agencies to make farm life more attractive and this we can do by opening our doors to farmers and their wives, the makers of men. it is our city's self-protection that there should come from the farms strong, well-educated minds, and we each should contribute our share to this end. a chinese philosopher has said, "the well-being of a people is like a tree; agriculture is its root, manufacturing and commerce are its branches and its life; if the root is injured, the leaves fall, the branches break away and the tree dies." state universities and other free educational agencies are recognizing the fact that not the few but all, farm and city-bred alike, must be educated for life and through life. commencement day is no longer the educational day of judgment for the individual. rural consolidated high schools are being built to supplement the little red schoolhouse. libraries, through extension of their service, must aid in the great agrarian movement of the day. we cannot all, perhaps, have the ideal arrangement as worked out in maryland by miss titcomb. it may not be possible to cover other states with book wagons as delaware proposes to do. we may not accomplish the california ideal of the county as the unit. we may not be able to send traveling libraries on their beneficent mission, but we each may try to let down the bars at our own reservoirs so that whosoever is athirst may come and drink of the waters of life freely. the president: whenever i become rash enough to venture a comment upon any paper of miss stearns i always take the precaution to do it before she presents it; afterwards it is entirely superfluous. yet i venture to express a thought which i am sure has occurred to you likewise; that there is a very strong relationship between the two papers which have been presented this morning; that there is cause and coming effect in that the one activity of the library, as represented by the first paper, is making possible the multiplication of these various devices which shall make for the woman on the farm the new day of which miss stearns has prophesied. during the last few years the library has entered another new field, an unsuspected field. those of us who have had an opportunity to go about to the various institutions where the defectives and the dependents and other unfortunates are incarcerated have marvelled at the--shall we say ignorance, which has been at the bottom of the book work with these people. but scientific methods have been introduced and during the last few conferences we have had something of the promise which has now grown into fuller realization. i shall ask miss julia a. robinson, who has done strong, splendid work in iowa in this connection, to present the next paper, on book influences for defectives and dependents: helping those who cannot help themselves needy humanity divides itself into three classes, those whom it is said the lord helps, those who will not and those who cannot help themselves. in no form of need, however, are we interested today save that of the book, nor with the willfully book needy. for are not they served by the public libraries which go even into the highways and byways and wellnigh compel the uninterested to come to the feast freely offered to them? and though there are still rural districts not yet supplied with public or traveling libraries, many of them have the ability to provide themselves with books had they the desire. but there are those, not always removed by space but far removed by condition from such privileges, because crime, weakness or misfortune has deprived them of their freedom and for the safety of society, their own restoration to health or their care and education they are detained behind closed doors. these are the morally, mentally and physically defective and the dependent upon the bounty of the state. with this class of helpless are we concerned, with their needs and with what is being done to bring to them the influence of books. of their needs let me speak briefly while i define and locate the different classes, giving a few figures which perhaps may not be amiss in helping us to realize their numbers. of the moral defectives , have heard the grated doors of prison, penitentiary or reformatory close behind them, for some never to open. for others in a few years perhaps these doors will swing outward to freedom. shall it be to useful citizenship, or to become a greater menace to society and again to be put behind the bars? most of these are men who are employed during long working hours. there is much time for idle thoughts during those hours, in addition to evenings and sundays spent alone in locked cells. large is the opportunity here for the book in its threefold mission of recreation, instruction and inspiration to lives barren of pleasure and interest. but these are not all. we must add , juvenile delinquents found in the state industrial and training schools of the united states, boys and girls whose steps have early found the downward path, in most cases, i believe, because of the influences into which life ushered them. but many of these are yet within the years of susceptibility and to the other upward influences with which it is now sought to surround them should be added the society of books which will bring wholesome pleasure while they present high standards and make right living attractive. these numbers are exceeded by the mentally defective of whom , , disturbed or confused, dazed or depressed, look through grated windows or sit in shadowed corners of the insane hospitals. to take their thoughts from themselves and direct them into healthful channels may mean a step toward mental healing and adjustment. this books will often do and to fail to furnish them may mean to omit a remedial influence in their treatment. of the feebleminded, there are , in the institutions for that class of defectives. with them the task is not so encouraging, but a right to the pleasure of books is theirs and should not be withheld. there are , to whom the printed page must speak for they hear no other voice, and , to whose touch the raised letters bring their message. shut out from so much which others enjoy shall these be denied this means of recreation and instruction? the charitable institutions shelter , dependents which include the old, the sick and the children in the state public schools, orphanages and homes. the former need books to cheer them in their fight for health and strength, or to while away the hours of waiting for their final summons. the children need them not only for the enjoyment which comes from childhood reading, but as a means of development of mind and character. i would lay especial emphasis on the importance of libraries in these and in the industrial and training schools. useful as books are in the other institutions, there the help which they bring is but to the readers themselves. here we have citizens in the making and the state has not only the opportunity of laying the foundations of character, but by laying them deep and broad and strong of receiving returns for their efforts in intelligent and useful citizens. to librarians i need not speak of the value of books in giving the education which makes for intelligence and the ideals which make for usefulness. to meet these needs what do the institutional libraries offer? i shall not give you figures which at best would be inaccurate and incomplete, but such information as could be obtained showing the efforts which are being made to provide books and reading for defectives and dependents, the adequacy and suitability of the libraries and their use of modern library methods. the list of states is incomplete, some failing to respond, others giving vague information, and an omission may not mean that nothing is being done along this line. what is given will serve to show the general trend of interest in the work. california plans to serve the institutions through the county system of libraries, but just how this is to be done or whether any institutions have libraries or have received assistance was not stated. colorado reports libraries in all the state institutions, the best being that at the state penitentiary where the visitors' fees yield a considerable income which is used for books. in georgia two institutions only have libraries, which are reported to be neither well selected, kept up to date nor administered according to modern methods. the only information received from idaho was that traveling libraries are sent to the industrial school. in illinois libraries are reported in the eighteen charitable and three penal institutions of the state, though not all are adequate or suitable in selection. in indiana several institutions receive annual library appropriations ranging from $ , down to $ . no institution is without a library though not all are organized or well selected or large enough for the needs of the institution. the library commission lends an organizer to assist in this work and in some cases the book selection and the affairs of the library are put into the hands of the commission. the librarian from the school for feeble minded youth will attend the summer school. in iowa libraries exist in all of the fourteen state institutions; all are classified, organized and administered according to approved library methods. all except the penitentiaries have appropriations of $ to $ each for the purchase of books. in the penitentiaries the fund received from visitors' fees is used for this purpose. reports are made each month to the board of control showing the reading done by classes in each institution. a trained librarian appointed by the board of control gives all her time to the institutional libraries, superintending the work, doing the book selection, supplying the technical knowledge, instructing the librarians and stimulating the reading. in kentucky the prisons and hospitals are under separate boards, neither of which has done much for the libraries in the institutions under their charge, but both have the matter under consideration and better things are looked for in the future. the prison libraries are represented as inadequate and unsuitable. one only has a fund for the purchase of books and that only $ . the only books in the houses of reform are the traveling libraries loaned by the library commission. two state hospitals have very small libraries and no fund. one has about volumes and an annual fund of $ . the chairman of the board of control of state institutions in kansas writes that considerable interest is taken in providing suitable reading for the dependents and defectives of that state and that the institutions are urged to systematic work, but does not state whether all have libraries. the maine insane hospital has an endowment which yields an income of about $ annually which is expended for books for the general library, periodicals and medical books. according to the chaplain of the maine state prison "additions are made to that library from three sources, a few volumes by purchase, some by gifts from individuals, but mostly by gifts from the state library of =books no longer useful in the traveling libraries=." the massachusetts prison commission reports libraries in substantially all the prisons. the larger ones are classified. michigan has a state appropriation for books. all the institutions have libraries of some kind, but none are classified or organized according to modern methods. the selections are made by the state librarian. minnesota has also an appropriation for books in the state institutions. the public library organizer from the library commission pays regular visits to the institutions, selects the books and supervises the work. not all are classified and several need new books. the two asylums for incurable insane and the hospital for inebriates have only traveling libraries. in missouri five institutions have no libraries. traveling libraries are sent to the insane hospitals. in the boys' training school the library is managed without system. if a boy wants a book the superintendent takes what may be at hand and gives it to him. nebraska has a state appropriation of $ , made directly to the library commission to be expended by them for the thirteen institutional libraries. this is used for books, supplies and periodicals except in two institutions which supply their own magazines. the institutions are asked to furnish cases only and some one to loan the books. books are selected by the commission and prepared for circulation in the commission office. in new hampshire the legislature makes an appropriation for the libraries in the state prisons and state hospitals. the february number of new york libraries was made an institutional number and among other things contained reports from the institutional libraries of the state showing libraries in all but two or three institutions which are supplied by traveling libraries. the following editorial comment is made on these libraries: "of the thirty-six institutions from whose libraries detailed reports are herewith presented, there are not more than two or three whose library conditions would be regarded as up to the standard commonly expected and demanded for public libraries. for not one of them does the state provide a sufficient appropriation for the attainment of such a standard." the committee appointed by the state library association on libraries in the penal institutions in the state of new york in making their report recommend a change of title for the committee to include the charitable as well as the penal and reformatory institutions and a request that the legislature pass an act authorizing the appointment of a supervising librarian for the state institutions. the libraries in many of the state institutions of north carolina are reported so small and poorly cared for that they are practically useless. the school for the blind has a separate library building called the laura bridgman library and there is a good library in the school for the deaf classified by the teachers. the value of this work is appreciated by the board of charities but there is a lack of funds. the north dakota library commission has recently been asked to assist in selecting books and organizing a library for the state penitentiary where a thousand dollars is to be expended. no libraries exist in the other state institutions. the oregon library commission reports libraries in all the state institutions except one just opened. all the institutions are located at salem and receive direct assistance from the commission in organization and book selection and management of their libraries. purchases are made from a general fund. all are reported adequate except one to be made so. three are classified and the rest are to be. pennsylvania has libraries in all the state institutions but none are organized, classified or administered according to accepted library methods. the library commission takes the position (wisely it seems to me) that their part lies in stirring up the boards in charge of the institutions to active interest in these libraries, rather than themselves mixing in the affairs of another organization, though as yet little has been accomplished in that direction. tennessee has a library in the school for the blind, the school for the deaf and the state prison, but none in the insane hospitals. these are organized and classified to a limited extent only. from the biennial report of the texas library commission i quote the following: "only a few of the institutions have libraries and as a rule these are small and without reference to the purpose they are to serve. some have nominal librarians, but none trained and a library without a trained librarian is like a piano without a pianist, valuable, even expensive, but of little use or pleasure." in vermont an appropriation of $ was made in and $ is now appropriated annually. this is divided between the libraries in the state prison, house of correction, state industrial school and insane hospital and is under the control of the free public library commission which purchases the books and oversees the cataloging. a card catalog of each institution is kept at the commission office. the state prison also has a printed catalog. washington has a library of some kind in all its institutions, but in none is it a real factor. none are classified. in wisconsin no institution is wholly without a library. they are organized and classified in a limited way only. the commission assists to some extent in book selection. from these reports we may draw the following conclusions: ( ) libraries of some kind exist in many state institutions. ( ) probably most of these libraries are only partially adequate, if not wholly inadequate and unsuitable. ( ) few are organized or administered according to the best methods, have proper rooms or a librarian in charge to render even their present collection useful. ( ) in a few states only is there trained supervision or systematic library work undertaken in the institutions. ( ) where appropriations are made they are seldom sufficient to properly maintain the libraries. the responsibility for this work lies ( ) with the governing bodies, the boards of control and other boards to whom is committed the care and welfare of the defectives and dependents of the state and the superintendents of the various institutions who are directly responsible for this care, and ( ) with the librarians entrusted with library extension and the carrying of books to those who would otherwise be bookless, the state library commissions. that the superintendents partially appreciate the value of the book is evidenced by library beginnings in many institutions and their readiness to co-operate in movements toward the improvement and increased usefulness of the libraries. but they are busy men with many departments on heart and mind and the boards are charged with many interests. it is not surprising, therefore, that it is the librarians who have recognized the importance of these libraries and the fact that if they are to become a real force in the institutions the work must be given to some one whose business it shall be, who is trained for it, and who has the time to give it proper attention. as few institutions are yet in a position to individually employ a trained librarian, the solution of the problem has seemed to be a joint or supervising librarian for all the institutions of a state or of a kind in a state. iowa through the influence of miss tyler and mr. brigham was the first to undertake this work and is still the only state in which institutional library work is done by a librarian working under the board of control and giving all her time to the institutions. the other states having institutional supervision are indiana, minnesota, where an officer from the commission gives part and nebraska the whole of her time to the institutional libraries, and oregon, michigan and vermont where the work seems to be done directly by the secretary. if the board of control and the institutional heads are not affected by party changes the advantage, it seems to me, lies with the librarian employed by them, who goes into the institutions with authority from the board to do what needs to be done and not as a guest, who is sometimes unwelcome. the book selection can thus be better guarded and i believe books purchased with institution funds will be better cared for by both officers and inmates than those received by donation. appropriations are also likely to be larger if made directly to each institution than if made in a lump sum to the commission. the initiative, however, will undoubtedly lie with the library commission and the importance of institutional library work is such that should the boards fail to use their opportunity it may become the part of the library commission to at least inaugurate the work, which having begun they will probably be allowed to continue. before closing may i emphasize very briefly three important points in connection with institutional library work. i wish i might elaborate both these and the other points which i have touched so hurriedly, but time forbids. . if the libraries are to become a real factor for good in institutional work, the book selection must be differentiated to meet the needs of the different classes of readers, and great care used to exclude the harmful and include helpful books only. . to make these libraries most useful there should be suitable rooms, not only for the proper shelving of the books, but for use as reading rooms where the atmosphere of book lined walls may yield its helpful influence and prepare the way for public library use by the boys and girls at least when the opportunity shall come to them. . though there may be a supervising librarian in the field, there should be a competent institutional librarian who shall not only do the routine work, but have sufficient knowledge of books and readers to be able to fit them together and sufficient time to do the work properly. thus shall these libraries, not only bring brightness and cheer to lives otherwise dull and colorless, for "this books can do;--nor this alone; they give new views to life, and teach us how to live; they sooth the grieved, the stubborn they chastise, fools they admonish, and confirm the wise; their aid they yield to all: they never shun the man of sorrows, nor the wretch undone; unlike the hard, the selfish and the proud, they fly not sullen from the suppliant crowd; nor tell to various people various things. but show to subjects what they show to kings." the president: i am very glad to be able to announce that miss rathbone has kindly consented to exhibit some extremely interesting charts which have been prepared and exhibited in connection with the work of the library school at pratt and i am sure that all of you will miss something if you do not avail yourselves of the opportunity which is here presented to see them and to hear the explanation concerning them. miss rathbone: i am very glad indeed to tell you a little about our exhibition because we found it an interesting thing to do and the people who saw it were interested in it. the genesis of the matter was this: when miss alice tyler was at the school this spring we were speaking about budget and other exhibitions and she said, "i do wish librarians could find some way of graphically presenting library work so that people could understand it as the child welfare work has been presented." that remark of hers, coupled with the fact the library school has never taken part in the exhibition that pratt institute has held for a great many years, at the end of the third term, suggested to me the idea of putting the problem to the class of devising an exhibition that should be a visual presentation of the school course and also of library work in general in a form that would be interesting and intelligible to the general public. after a visit to the bureau of municipal research, where dr. allen gave them a talk on the value of graphic presentation of facts, i told the students that they were to have the entire responsibility of the planning and execution of this exhibition as a problem in the library administration seminar. it was, of course, an experiment but i was sufficiently convinced of its success after the class made their first and only report of progress, to invite the staffs of the neighboring public libraries to the exhibition. when the material was assembled and installed it created a good deal of interest both in the institute among the librarians who saw it, and, best of all, on the part of the public at large. we had about five hundred visitors in the four days it was open and it seemed to awaken in the minds of the people who saw it some conception of what library work means. we heard many comments of this kind, "well, now that i understand the work the library does, i am going to use it more intelligently." one high school boy said, "gee! i've had an awful time trying to use this library before, but i think i know what it is about now." that sort of a thing made me realize that the exhibition might be of value to some of you as showing one way by which people could be interested in the actual work done in a library, so i wrote to see if space could be had to install it here. it was too late, however, so i simply brought up a few of the charts as examples. the exhibition began with the technical work of the library--the progress of a book through the various steps was illustrated by a ladder the rungs of which were labeled, book selection, ordering, receiving, accessioning, classification, etc. books were shown running toward this "library ladder," nimbly climbing the rungs, while at the top they acquire wings and fly "off to the public." this chart hung over a table on which the successive operations were shown in detail the same book being used as an illustration throughout. the successive steps were numbered to correspond to the rungs of the ladder. for example, book selection was shown by a group including the a. l. a. booklist, the book review digest and two or three of the reviews. the descriptive card read "no. . these are a few of the aids in book selection." following that was a chart (exhibiting it) to illustrate the utility of classification, on which was presented a group of ten scientific books unclassified, followed by the same ten in d. c. order, with the question, "in which group would it be easier to find the books on insects." that was followed by another exhibit to prove the utility of subject cataloging. two copies of the same book were obtained, one new and the other quite worn, the book being gleason white's "practical designing," which is made up of a number of papers on minor arts, by different authorities. the new book with a single author card lay on the table surrounded by radiating interrogation points, questions unanswered, and over the book hung this inscription: "this book looks new. why? because nobody knows what is in it. it is poorly cataloged." the worn copy lay on the next table and radiating from that were a number of questions with the catalog cards that answer them attached. over that was the screed: "this book shows wear. why? because it can be reached from twenty-four sources. it is well cataloged." people who had not known before what a catalog meant studied that thing out and the change of expression which came to their faces when they saw the new book and the worn book side by side and understood what it signified was delightful. it struck home. the work of the reference department was tellingly illustrated by an arch in which the reference library was the keystone, all intellectual activities depending on it. (miss rathbone then exhibited various other charts and described them in detail.) in addition to this, children's work, the field work, the courses in binding and printing, the making of reading lists, the course in fiction were represented. altogether we felt that graphic illustration of library work was not only possible but distinctly worth while and that the exhibition had done a good work in educating the library's public, as well as the class, and we expect to make it a permanent feature of the year's work. adjourned. fourth general session (thursday morning, june , ) the president: we begin this morning the fourth session of this thirty-fifth annual conference and i shall ask the chairman of the committee on library administration to submit at this time his report. (dr. bostwick here read the report.) the president: you have heard the report of the committee on administration. this report embodies some recommendations which it seems to the chair should be acted upon. therefore the recommendation which suggests the appointment of a committee to undertake certain work will be referred to the executive board for their attention, as, in accordance with the terms of the constitution, it devolves upon the executive board to name the committees. the report will be printed in the proceedings. (this report is printed with other committee reports. see page .) mr. ranck: mr. president, there is just one item, about questionnaires, if i may have a moment to state it, that i think the committee has not referred to. it is a matter of some importance to us at our library. i think we answer, in the form of questions of one kind or other, not all from libraries however, about a thousand a year. i should like to insist on the importance, when a blank is sent out on which spaces are left for writing in the answers, that a duplicate be sent so that a library can keep a copy of the answers sent. again and again we have to copy them because we feel it very important that we should know just exactly what we are sending out in that way. and if possible, in the printing of that report i should like to see the committee include that, if they are willing to accept the suggestion. the president: the suggestion is a very good one. the president: i feel like congratulating you this morning upon the program for this fourth session, the general theme being: "children and young people; their conditions at home, in the school and in the library." no matter how splendid a structure may be reared nor how beautiful it may be, without an adequate foundation it is most insecure. we have learned to realize in library work that we must begin at the beginning if our work is to have any perpetuity or any permanent result. we feel that, splendid and admirable in every way as the work with the adults is, that that alone is not enough. that work invites, as it deserves, our respect and admiration, but in the work with children is centered our affection. and when i say this i do not mean to intimate for one moment that that work is enveloped in sentiment. i believe most firmly that the work with children is constructive work of the very highest order. if there are any in this audience who doubt that i am sure that after we shall have heard the papers of this morning the doubts will be dispelled. we shall have this work in three volumes this morning, the first volume comprising two chapters. the title of the first volume is the education of children and the conservation of their interests, and chapter one will be contributed by miss faith e. smith, of the chicago public library, on i. changing conditions of child life it is now twenty-eight years since some one first recognized the fact that children needed to have special libraries or special collections of books in libraries, and thereupon opened a children's reading room in new york city. some of the conditions affecting child life today existed then, but we know more about them now than we did then. we have many specialists in sociological fields who are making investigations, compiling statistics, drawing conclusions, and telling other people how to make the world a better place. our rapid industrial development is producing many problems concerning child welfare, some of which are of vital interest to us as library workers; others we may well leave to playground associations, juvenile courts, health bureaus, social settlements, child labor committees, schools and churches. it is not ours to change housing conditions or to do away with child labor, but it is ours to meet these conditions, to be god-parents to those whose natural parents are not inclined or not able to guide their reading, to present to the children's minds other worlds than the tenement or street, and to give to children worn with daily labor such books as will be within their grasp, and will help them to permanent happiness. in when a children's library was opened by miss hanaway in new york city, there were fewer means of recreation than there are now. there were no motion-picture shows, no children's theaters, no municipal recreation parks with free gymnasiums, swimming pools and baths. child labor had only begun to be exploited by large manufacturing establishments ( ). then there were more homes, permanent abiding places, where there was room for children both to work and to play. there was more family life, where father and mother and children gathered about the evening lamp, and father read aloud while mother sewed and the children listened, or where each member of the family had his own book in which to lose himself. there were daily duties for each of the children, the performance of which gave them training in habits of responsibility. today such conditions may be found only rarely, except in small cities and villages. congestion in large cities has led even well-to-do families to live in apartment houses. in chicago this sort of life began only thirty-four years ago, and today one-third of all that city live in residences having six families per main entrance. (chicago city club-housing exhibit.) this tendency to apartment life means the loss of the joy of ownership, the feeling of not-at-homeness and consequent restlessness, due to frequent change of environment. book agents say that they cannot sell books to families in apartment houses, because they have no room for books. scott nearing in his "woman and social progress" regrets "the woeful lack of provision for the needs of the child in the construction of the modern city home. huge real estate signs advertise the bathroom, bedrooms, the dining room and kitchen, the library, and reception hall. but where is the children's room? owners do not care to rent houses to people having children. many of the apartment houses exclude children as they exclude dogs or other objectionable animals." yet we say, and rightly, that this is the century of the child. the complexity of modern life, the tendency to materialism, the multiplicity of interests, have deterred many parents from being actively concerned in the growth of the minds and the souls of their children. this part of their development is being left to teachers, church workers, leaders of boys' and girls' clubs, etc. there is not time for reading aloud to children at home, and little concern is manifested by many intelligent parents, regarding their children's choice of books. the "poor, neglected children of the rich" are not allowed to use the public library books, because there may be germs hidden among the leaves. they may have their own books, but they are denied the joy of reading a book that some other boy or girl has read and pronounced "swell". because of this lack of concern on the part of parents in children's reading, are we not justified in our hitherto condemned paternalism? home life among the very poor in the congested districts of our large cities is often such as is not worth the name. the practice of taking lodgers which prevails among some foreign elements of the population, means the undermining of family life, and often the breaking down of domestic standards. (veiler, "housing reform," p. .) "thousands of children in chicago alone are being exposed to the demoralizing influences of overcrowded rooms, of inadequate sanitary provisions, and of unavoidable contact with immoral persons." "bad housing is associated with the worst conditions in politics, poverty, population density, tuberculosis, and retardation in the schools. it is directly related to many cases of delinquency of boys and girls, who have been brought before the juvenile court." (breckenridge and abbott, "the delinquent child and the home.") furthermore wrong home conditions result in driving children to the street. the child who finds no room at home to do the things that he wishes to do, not even room to study his school lessons, is inevitably forced into the street, "not only in the day time, but as common observation shows, until late at night, not only in good weather but in foul." here he grows up, and is educated "with fatal precision." the saloon and its victims, the hoboes and their stories, criminals dodging the police, lurid signboards, a world of money-getting, all become only too familiar to him. sin loses its sinfulness, and gains in interest and excitement. are we placing our attractive children's rooms, clean and orderly, adorned with flowers and fine pictures, where they may be readily seen from the street, where picture books placed in the windows may vie in alluring powers with the nickel-novel window displays? the boy of the street may be a member of a boys' gang, and if so, this becomes one of the great influences acting upon his life, either for good or for ill. mr. puffer makes the statement that three-fourths of all boys are members of gangs. (puffer, "the boy and his gang," p. .) those boys are fortunate whose gang is an organized body efficiently directed, such as the boys' scout patrol. this, mr. puffer says, "is simply a boys' gang, systematized, overseen, affiliated with other like bodies, made efficient and interesting, as boys alone could never make it, and yet everywhere, from top to bottom a gang." here lies an opportunity for co-operation on the part of the library, and many are the interests awakened by the boy scout movement which may be encouraged by the library. another influence constantly appealing to children of the street as well as to others, is the glaring advertisement of the moving-picture show. moving pictures are now the most important form of cheap amusement in this country; they reach the young, immigrants, family groups, the formative and impressionable section of our cities, as no other form of amusement, and can not but be vital influences for good or ill. in it was estimated that more than half a million children attended motion pictures daily. (juvenile protective assn. of chicago, "five and ten-cent theaters"--pamphlet.) is it not possible for the library to make permanent whatever good, though fleeting, impression may be made by educational pictures or pictures from great books, by co-operating with the picture shows, and being ready to supply to the children copies of the stories, nature books, or histories to which the children may have been attracted by the motion pictures? during the meetings this week our interest in the adult immigrants and their relation to the library has been aroused and augmented, and it has been proven conclusively that the solution of the immigrant problem must of necessity rest with the children. the change in the type of immigration in recent years from a large percentage of english-speaking and scandinavian races having a low percentage of illiteracy, to a leadership among races of eastern and southern europe, with a very high percentage of illiteracy, has had a decided influence on standards of living. these people of other lands do not adapt themselves to american ways as readily as their children. many do not know the english language, they do not stir far from home or from work, and have few new experiences. "many things which are familiar to the child in the facts of daily intercourse, in the street or in the school, remain unintelligible to the father and mother. it has become a commonplace that this cheap wisdom on the part of the boy or girl leads to a reversal of the relationship between parent and child. the child who knows english is the interpreter who makes the necessary explanations for the mother to the landlord, the grocer, the sanitary inspector, the charity visitor, and the teacher or truant officer. it is the child again who often interviews the boss, finds the father a job, and sees him through the onerous task of 'joining the union.' the father and mother grow accustomed to trusting to the child's version of what 'they all do in america,' and gradually find themselves at a disadvantage in trying to maintain parental control. the child develops a sense of superiority towards the parent and a resulting disregard of those parental warnings which, although they are not based on american experience, rest on common notions of right and wrong, and would, if heeded, guard the child." (breckenridge and abbott, "the delinquent child and the home.") can books not teach children to honor their father and mother, and "that the head and the hoof of the law, and the haunch and the hump is obey"? we are told that one of the causes of crime among the children of foreigners is transmitted ambition. "the father left the homeland because he was not satisfied.... he worked hard and saved money, that the dream of better things might be realized.... the son manifests this innate tendency by a desire to excel, by the longings to rise and be masterful, the ambition to beat the other fellow--these are the motives which impel him to an intensive life that carries him to excess and transgression." (roberts, "the new immigration," p. .) it is for us to interest this ambition and turn it into right channels. we may also discover what special interests are uppermost in the minds of those of different nationalities, things they wish their children to love, traditions they have cherished, and which we may help the children to cherish. driven by necessity or by the spirit of the age, the immigrant quickly develops a strong ambition for acquiring money, supposing that he landed on our shores without that impelling force. one of the consequences is that he withdraws his children from school as soon as they are old enough to secure their working papers. "to the italian peasant, who, as a gloriously street laborer begins to cherish a vision of prosperity, it matters little whether his girls go to school or not. it is, on the contrary, of great importance that a proper dower be accumulated to get them good husbands; and to take them from school to put them to work is, therefore, only an attempt to help them accomplish this desirable end." (breckenridge and abbott.) in the national child labor committee conducted an investigation of tenement house work in new york city. among families visited having children, children ranging in ages from - / to years were working on nuts, brushes, dolls' clothes, or flowers. these are truly not the good old-fashioned domestic industries in which children received a good part of their education. those working in factories and tenement sweat shops, where labor is specialized and subdivided into innumerable operations, do not get the variety of employment that cultivates resourcefulness, alertness, endurance and skill. (child labor bulletin, nov., .) we cannot expect these children, with bodies retarded in development by overwork, and without proper nourishment, to be able to take the same mental food that is pleasing to other children of the same age, who have had all necessary physical care. the hours when working children, those engaged in gainful occupations, and those who are helping in the homes, are free for recreation, are in the evening and on sunday. are we placing our most skilled workers on duty at these times, and are we opening our story hours and reading clubs on sunday afternoons, when the minds of these children are most receptive of good things, when the children are dressed in their good clothes, their self-respect is high, and they are free from responsibility? it is a well-known fact that the need of money is not the only cause of the exodus from school that occurs in the grades. an investigation made by the commissioner of labor in (condition of woman and child wage-earners in the u. s., vol. ), examining the conditions of white children under , in five representative cities, showed that of those children interviewed, left school because earnings were necessary, and because dissatisfied with school. the chicago tribune (nov. , ) stated that in there were in chicago over , children between and years of age, who were not in school. over half of these were unemployed, and the remainder had employment half the time at ill-paid jobs, teaching little and leading nowhere. in there were , children of philadelphia not in school, and only , were employed. (philadelphia city club bulletin, dec. , .) the curriculum of our public schools is in a transitional stage. the complaint of parents who take their children from school before they have completed the high school course, is that it does not teach them to earn a living. the desire of commercial men is to have such courses introduced as will lessen the need of apprentice training in their establishments. these changes may help boys and girls to earn a living, but those courses which teach them how to live may be sacrificed. man does not live by bread alone. mrs. ella flagg young says, "the training must also implant in the mind a desire to become something--i mean by that an ideal.... it must make the boys and girls able to know that they have possibilities of greater development along many lines." this sort of training is within the sphere of the library as well as within that of the schools. the children in the rural districts (which the census interprets as meaning people of towns of less than , inhabitants, and people of the country) are the library's great opportunity. in these districts may be found the old-fashioned home life, where parents are glad to be aided in the direction of their children's reading. there are fewer distractions in the way of amusements. books are not seen by the thousands, until they have become so confusing that one knows not what to read or where to begin. homes are owned, instead of rented, and a library worker is not liable to lose her group of children each first of may. the pleasures of city life have been made easily accessible to children and grown people by means of trolley lines, good roads, telephones, etc., and the music of grand opera has been carried to the country homes by means of talking machines. still the distractions of modern life have not absorbed a large part of the everyday life of the children, so that their minds may be appealed to along the line of their natural interests. as miss stearns told us yesterday, there is less of drudgery in farm life today than there was thirty years ago, and children have more time for study and reading; but they need direction and assistance. the consensus of opinion among writers on rural sociology is that the great need of the people of the country is more education; education that will make farming more scientific and efficient, and less fatiguing, education that will help boys and girls to find amusement in the life about them; education that will guide that passion for nature which every normal child possesses. * * * * * because children today have many more opportunities for recreation than they had thirty years ago; because many leave school long before they have acquired the education that will teach them how to live, as well as how to earn a living; because in many homes mothers and fathers cannot train their children in american ideals of citizenship, which they themselves do not understand; because in other homes the physical needs of children are held to be of most importance, while mental and moral needs are left to the care of teachers and social workers, the time seems ripe for the library to place emphasis upon the educational side of its work, rather than upon the recreative. let the recreative be truly recreative, giving relaxation, new visions, higher standards of living, and increased belief in one's self, but let the educational work meet the children's needs, increase their efficiency, teach them how to live, and to be of service in the world's work. mr. bostwick, in the children's section, mentioned three eras in library work with children; first, the era of children's books in libraries; second, era of children's room; third, era of children's department. these concerned books and organization, the machinery of getting the books to the children. we think we have learned something about children's books, and we know approved methods of administration. possibly we are now on the verge of the fourth era, when we shall know ~children~. not the child with a capital c, a laboratory specimen, but living children, with hearts and souls. do we know the conditions under which the children of our own neighborhood live? do we understand their interests, and are we sanely sympathetic? the president: we are glad to get chapter two: how the library is meeting these conditions, by miss gertrude e. andrus, of the seattle public library. ii--how the library is meeting the changing conditions of child life every month, if the mails are regular, we receive assurance that the public library is an integral part of public education, and the complacence with which we accept this assurance gives ample opportunity to our critics for those slings and arrows with which they are so ready. ideas and ideals of education are rapidly changing and it behooves the librarian, and more particularly the children's librarian, to see that she keeps pace with the forward movement and that the ridicule of her censors is really undeserved. the old idea of education was to abolish illiteracy, "to develop the ability, improve the habits, form the character of the individual, so that he might prosper in his life's activities and conform to certain social standards of conduct." the new idea of education is that of social service, to train children to be not mere recipients, but distributors, not merely to increase their ability to care for themselves, but also their ability to care for others and for the state. this perhaps sounds a note of the millennium, but we have been told to hitch our wagon to a star and although the star proves a restive steed and often lands us in the ditch, we travel further while the connection holds than we should in a long, continuous journey harnessed to a dependable but slow-going snail. it may seem a far cry from these comments on education to the topic of my paper: how the library meets the changing conditions of child-life, but in reality it is only a step, for just as in philanthropy the emphasis is placed more and more upon prevention rather than remedy, so in education the task is coming to be the training of the good citizen rather than the correction of the bad citizen. and if the library is, as we are anxious to claim, an integral part of public education, it must have a share, however small, in the preventive policy of modern educators, which will in time effect a change in present social evils. unless the library, as it meets these constantly changing conditions, can do something to improve them and to make the improvement stable, it has small claim to be included in the educational scheme of things. in the conditions of child life which miss smith has outlined, the breaking up of the home is the most serious handicap which the children have to face. it is on this account that all social agencies working with children endeavor, so far as each is able, to supply an "illusory home" and to give, each in its own capacity, the training in various lines which ought in a normal home to come under the direction of the mother and father. there is a spreading belief in the value of reading but there is a woeful lack of knowledge as to what should be read, and the children's library therefore fills a double rôle; it provides books which it would be impossible for many of the children to get otherwise, and it selects these books with thoughtful care of the special place each one has to fill, so that it becomes a counselor, not only to the children but to those parents who are anxious to assume their just responsibility in the guidance of their children's reading, and yet feel their inability to breast unaided the yearly torrent of children's books. the stimulation of this feeling of responsibility on the part of parents is one of the most effective means at the library's disposal of striking a blow at the root of the whole matter, for it is on the indifference of the parents that the blame for many juvenile transgressions should rest, which is now piled high upon the shoulders of the children. in this connection mention should be made of the home library, the most social of all the library's activities. this small case of books, located in a home in the poorer quarters of a city and placed in charge of a paid or volunteer library assistant has been proved to be a potent force in the life of the neighborhood, for the "friendly visitor," if she be of the proper stuff, is not merely a circulator of books, she is an all-round good neighbor to whom come both children and mothers for help in their big and little problems, so that the results have proved to be "better family standards, greater individual intelligence, and more satisfactory neighborhood conditions." but even granting that the mothers and fathers show a deep concern in what their children read, the connection between books and children is often left of necessity to the children's librarian who is selected with special reference to her adaptability to this particular kind of work. now, no matter how strong a personality this young woman may possess, no matter how high her literary standards, nor how far-reaching her moral influence, it is obviously impossible for her to come in contact with more than a few of the children in her community. and in order to provide that intimacy with books from which we wish no child to be debarred, she must depend not alone upon her children's room, beautiful and homelike though that may be, but she must place her resources at the disposal of other educational agencies, all of which are working toward a common end. of these the most powerful is the school, and through the lessons in the use of the public library, through the collections of books placed in the schoolrooms, and most of all through the influence of the teacher, the public library will touch the lives of thousands of children who might otherwise be in ignorance of its resources, and who through this contact will receive a vivid impression of their share as citizens in a great public institution. in this correlation of school and library care must be taken to place an equal emphasis upon the library as a place for recreation as well as a place for study. contrary to the teachings of our puritan forefathers, we are growing more keenly alive to the imperative need of healthful recreation as a means of combating existing social conditions, and our great cities and our little villages are gradually making provision for the gratification of the desire of the people to play. nowhere does the library find an alliance more satisfactory than with these play-centers, for it is in the union of the physical and mental development that education comes to its fullest fruition and the striving to instill "imagination in recreation" can find no better field than in these places where not only muscles but minds may be exercised. these are the well-worn channels through which the children's library pours its stream of books into a thirsty land, channels into which run the tributary streams of deposit stations, churches, settlements, telegraph offices, newsboys' homes, and all the rest which it would only weary you to repeat. we are constantly engaged in deepening and broadening these channels because we believe in the power of books to develop character and to broaden the vision of that "inward eye which is the bliss of solitude." now the book that does this most effectively is the book behind which lies some personality. we all know the popularity of "the book teacher says is good." but the problem of the children's librarian is not limited as is the teacher's to two or three dozen children. she must lay her plans to reach hundreds of children and she can do this only by dealing with the children in groups: in other words, in clubs, reading circles, and story-tellings. the natural group of child life is the boys' gang or the girls' clique which offer unlimited opportunities for good or ill. the tendency of a =neglected= group is to develop strongly a regard for the interests of the individual group and make it antagonistic, if not actually dangerous, to the larger group of society. the possibility of touching children's interests, enlarging their horizon, and influencing their ideals through these groups has been utilized in the club work of many libraries. although all library clubs lead eventually to books, the way may be a circuitous one and baseball, basketry, and dramatics may be met on the way. but aside from the book interest, without which no library club can be considered legitimate, there is the opportunity of guiding the activities of the group by means of debate work or similar interests so that their attention may be directed outside of their immediate environment and made to include the greater possibilities of the larger social group. very often in girls' clubs the charitable impulse is strong and may be so led as to instill a very thoughtful sympathy for others. it is for the things we know best that we have the most sympathy and the truest devotion, and we may expect real patriotism and an active civic conscience only when we have taught the children to know thoroughly their country and the city in which they live. this is some of the most valuable work that is being done by libraries, and it may be well passed on, as has been done in newark, to become a part of the school curriculum. indifference to the fatherland is not the best foundation on which to build the superstructure of american patriotism, and the confused and homesick foreigner welcomes with gratitude the books in his own tongue provided by the library, the opportunity to use the library's auditorium for the meetings of his clubs with unpronounceable names, the respect with which his especial predilections and prejudices are considered by the library in his immediate neighborhood, the display of his national flag and the special stories told the children on the fete day of his country. a people without traditions is not a people, and if we expect these strangers to respect our institutions, we must show them an equal courtesy. this regard shown by the library and other institutions for the national characteristics of the parents reacts upon the children and they grow to understand that though their elders may have been outstripped in the effort to become americanized they have behind them an historical background which is respected by the very americans whose customs the children ape so carefully. the reading circle and the story hour are similar in their purpose for they are both intended to call the attention of the children to special books and to open up the delights of a new world to imaginations often starved in squalor and poverty. both the reading aloud and the storytelling have their rightful place in the home and are merely grafted on the library in its attempt to supply its share of the "illusory home" for which we are striving. if the sunday story-tellings and clubs meet the neighborhood needs more efficiently as miss smith has suggested, the library schedule should be so arranged as to accommodate them. the time of childhood is a time of unbounded curiosities. everything is new and wonderful and open to investigation, and that library may count itself blessed of the gods which can command the co-operation of a good museum. given an exhibit case containing a few interesting specimens, a placard bearing a brief description of the specimens, and the titles of a few books on the subject obtainable at the library, and we can all of us picture a rosy dream of budding scientists, nature-lovers, and historians. this child-like interest is the secret of the popularity of the moving-picture show. here we see unfolded the processes of nature, the opening of a flower, the life of a bee, we ride in a runaway train and in an aeroplane, and we see enacted the daily human drama of love and hate. here is an opportunity which many libraries have grasped, and slides are furnished the picture theaters announcing the location of the library and bearing some such legend as this: "your free public library has arranged with this management to select interesting books and magazine articles upon the historical, literary, and industrial subjects treated in these pictures. it is a bright idea to see something good and then learn more about it." mr. percy mackaye in his recent book on the civic theater, comments on this as follows: "a brighter idea--may we not add?--if the founders of the library had recognized the dynamic appeal of a moving-picture house, and endowed it to the higher uses of civic art! truly, a spectacle, humorous but pathetic: philanthropy in raiment of marble, humbly beseeching patronage from the tattered muse of the people!" so far as the writer knows, but one library has as yet made moving pictures a permanent addition to its activities, although a small town in washington state has intimated that it would do so, provided the carnegie trust fund would give it money. it is a sign of the times, and one of which note must be taken, for it gives the library a chance to deepen the benefit of such good pictures as there are and to raise the standard of the others. unfortunately the interest of many boys and girls is forced prematurely to the subject of how they may aid in the family support. they leave school untrained and unfitted for the life they have to live, and go into shops, factories, department stores, and other service. whether they leave because of economic pressure or because of a lack of interest in their school work the fact remains that per cent of the children entering school drop out before they reach the sixth grade, and only per cent finish the fourth year of high school. manual training and vocational guidance are taking a hand in the matter and the part of the library is evident, not only in its supply of books on these topics but in the personal interest of the library assistants and in their suggestions and advice to the young folks who are struggling to find themselves. this is of course but a drop in the bucket but it is an effort in the right direction. so many of these young people leaving school prematurely are shut up at the crucial age of adolescence in huge factories and stores, creeping home at night too tired to move unnecessarily, or letting the individuality which has been so sternly repressed all day burst forth in excesses and indiscretions. only a few will come to the library, so to make sure the library must go to them. one of the most notable examples of this kind of work is in the main plant of sears, roebuck & co. in chicago. the company furnishes room, heat, light, and librarian's salary and the public library provides the books. this type of library may combine the intimate personal relationships of the small branch, the club, the story hour, and the vocational bureau. it may, as the sears, roebuck library has done, publish lists of books covering certain grades of a school course in grammar, rhetoric, history of literature, and study of the classics, and through the personal influence of the librarian it may make these courses really used, for always in work of this kind it is the personal equation that counts. some commercial houses have independent libraries of their own, sometimes in connection with their service department, as does the joseph & feiss co. of cleveland, in which case the direction of the library comes under the charge of a person whose duty it is to use every means to deepen, strengthen, and broaden the capacity of every employe so that he may remain an individual and not become a machine. this is an age of industrialism which has early placed upon the boys and girls the responsibilities of life, and the love of books is one of the most important of the influences which will keep the pendulum from swinging too far upon the side of materialism and purely commercial ambition. these are some of the ways in which the library is trying to meet the changing conditions of child life in the city through the children's rooms, the homes, the schools, the playgrounds, the factories, and other institutions which have to do with the employment, amusement, or education of children. from many of these problems the life of the country child is mercifully free, but in place of them there is the isolation of farm life and the idleness on the part of the children so often found in country villages. as more than half of our population is in the country, it is but logical that libraries should long ago have made some attempt to reach a class of readers who, as mr. dewey says, "have a larger margin of leisure, fewer distractions, and fewer opportunities to get the best reading. they read more slowly and carefully and get more good from books than their high-pressure city cousins whose crowded lives leave little time for intellectual digestion." long before the formation of the country life commission, librarians were sending traveling libraries to farm-houses and rural communities, and library commissions are now scattering broadcast the opportunities for reading which will do so much to "effectualize rural society." when we think of books and the country, we think also of hagerstown and the book wagon, an institution which in its influence on country life may well be added to the famous trilogy of "rural free delivery, rural telephones, and butterick patterns." greater attention is being paid in these days to conditions of country life, both on farms and in villages, and the work of the country librarian is as broad and as interesting as that of her city co-worker. but whether the work is done in the city or the country, in a crowded tenement district or on a thousand-acre ranch, it has as its foundation the same underlying principle: that of co-operation with all other available agencies to the end that the boys and girls may have a fuller opportunity to become good citizens. we cannot be progressive if we are not plastic, and in the adaptation of our work to the changing conditions of child life lies the secret of the value of the children's library. the president: we give a sigh of satisfaction and one of regret: satisfaction over the pleasure we have had in listening to these fine, moving chapters; regret that they have been so brief. we are reconciled only by the fact that there are two fine companion volumes still to come. mr. willis h. kerr, of the kansas state normal school, will give us the first one, the subject being: normal schools and their relation to librarianship that there is a close relation between librarianship and the forces of education is implied both in the special topic of this paper and in the general theme of the morning: "children and young people; their conditions at home, in the school, and in the library." indeed librarian and teacher have more in common than we yet think. for real library work is teaching, and real teaching is guidance in living, and to live well for thy neighbor and thyself is--real library work. the burden of this discussion will be, not whether the library is an integral part of education, but rather what modern education, as an art, science, and practice, has to say about the attitude and method and practice of library work. with open mind and modest, may we attempt a statement of "library pedagogy" to parallel current educational practice? how may we librarians knit our work more effectively into the educational fabric? how best correlate people and books? if such a statement of library pedagogy is possible, even though tentative, it is worth our while. from college days there rings in my ears the topic of an address by dr. samuel b. mccormick, now president of the university of pittsburgh: "we can achieve that which we can intelligently conceive and adequately express." we must see our whole job through and through if we are to cope with our friends who do not yet see what we are at. the good brother, a ph. d. of one of our best universities, a successful city school superintendent, now a fellow professor, who said, "i can see how instruction of our normal school students in library methods will help them in their work here, but how will it help them as teachers? anyone can find a book in a school library." the superintendent who complained that all his pupils got at the public library was sore eyes and ruined minds from reading trashy fiction; the library trustee who likened library work and salary to dry-goods counter service and wage; the typewriter salesman who objected to open shelves and book wagons and story hours, because they cost--i won't say how much he said; what infinite patience, what skillful teaching power must we librarians have, to turn this tide and use it? lest we paint the picture too darkly, let it be said with all thankfulness and cheer that multitudes of teachers, superintendents, boys, girls, men and women, do understand. there is superintendent condon, formerly of providence, now of cincinnati, of whom mr. foster says in the last ( ) providence report: "mr. condon's co-operation with the library was constant, intelligent, and effective." there is mary antin and her brothers and sisters, americans all, to whom one of the richest gifts of the "promised land" is the public library. there is state superintendent alderman, of oregon, and mrs. alderman. there is the united states commissioner of education, mr. claxton, and mrs. claxton. in every state are men like a western kansas superintendent (way out next to colorado, on the prairies), who found his community destitute of books; even school books and tablets had to be ordered by the drug store from a distant city; no community interest, no debating societies, no class plays, no school athletic teams. he made school vital to the boys and girls. then because to his thinking education does not end with school days, and because he had the library vision, before he was there a year he passed the subscription paper, organized the library association, got the books and magazines, and opened the public library. he gave that town something to live for. and every state has librarians like the little kansas lady in a country community who does reference work and draws patrons from sixteen surrounding school districts by the use of the rural telephone. what have the normal schools to do with all this? before answering this question, it may be well to note that the term "normal school" has not always the same significance. in the united states there are public normal schools. scholastic standards are of three general types: first, the old-time normal school, whose graduates have little more than completed a high school course including some required pedagogy. second, the largest division, the two-year normal school, which requires two years of college cultural and professional work, high school graduation being required for entrance. third, the normal college or state teachers' college, which grants the bachelor's degree for the completion of four years of college cultural and professional work. as a rule the graduates of the high school normal course go into the rural or the small-town schools; the graduates of the two-year college course, into elementary schools and special subjects; and the graduates of the four-year college course, into high school subjects, principalships, and superintendencies. the four-year state teachers' colleges of the united states can be counted on the ten fingers, and their ultimate sphere of influence is being debated. it would seem, however, that the adequate teacher-training institution must be as broad in its facilities and standards as are the conditions of modern life with which teachers must cope. in the normal schools of these three types, student attendance varies from to nearly , , the average being about . faculties vary from or members to . equipment varies correspondingly, the better schools having very complete facilities. for example, the eastern illinois state normal school, at charleston, which is said to have a faculty ranking in scholarship with the universities, has , students, members of faculty, offers two college years of teacher-training, has three buildings, a library of , volumes, and like many other normal schools of its type has an assured future and a fine field of influence. you will pardon another example, i hope, cited because i can be still more definite in describing it: the kansas state normal school, at emporia, is a type of the four-year normal college. it was established in . last year it had , students, in the training school (comprising kindergarten and grades one to eight), , in the normal high school, and , in the college. it had a faculty of , nearly half of these being men, many of the best universities being represented. it has buildings, including an enormous gymnasium, a library, a hospital, a training school, science building, etc. it has a department of library science, in charge of a professor giving full time to that department, and on the same plane as other departments of instruction. of this same general type, in equipment, numbers, and standards, are the schools at ypsilanti, michigan; cedar falls, iowa; kirksville, missouri; greeley, colorado; terre haute, indiana;--i do not mean to slight other worthy examples. aside from these three types of public normal schools, another important type of teacher-training organization is the department of education and psychology in our best colleges and universities, exemplified notably by the school of education of the university of chicago, and teachers' college of columbia university, the last-named being perhaps the most efficient teachers' college in the world. i hasten to add mention of the conspicuously helpful work in educational psychology, pure and applied, which is being done at clark university, massachusetts, under the inspiring leadership of dr. g. stanley hall. now, using the term "normal schools" to include all of these types of institutions and as representing their practices and ideals, may we ask the question we left a moment ago, "what have the normal schools to do with librarianship?" this: the normal schools have now consciously taken up the task of preparing teachers who understand the life that now is and can teach boys and girls to live that life and to be useful members of society here and hereafter. these organized institutions of teacher-training take themselves seriously, they accept the responsibility of their task, and they are measurably succeeding; despite the declarations of popular magazines and investigating committees that our schools are a colossal failure. which they are not, for didn't they train mary antin, and miss stearns, and you and me? if librarianship is educational work, and it is, the normal schools may therefore have some suggestion of educational practice worthy the consideration of librarians. what is the educational world thinking and doing? examine the program of the national education association, to meet week after next at salt lake city. i group some of the topics from the general sessions: =first=, what is education?; education for freedom; the personal element in our educational problems; teaching, and testing the teaching of essentials; measuring results. =second=, what shall we do with the single-room school?; the rural school; fundamental reorganizations demanded by the rural life problem; rural betterments; the schoolhouse evening center. =third=, moral values in pupil self-government, the high school period as a testing time, public schools and public health. relate these groups of topics with this definition of education from the late andrew s. draper, of honored memory: "education that has life and enters into life; education that makes a living and makes life worth living; education that can use english to express itself; education that does not assume that a doctor must be an educated man and that a mechanic or a farmer cannot be; education that appeals to the masses, that makes better citizens and a greater state; education that supports the imperial position of the state and inspires education in all of the states--that is the education that concerns new york." mingle with educational men and women, search the educational periodicals and programs, scan the educational books, visit the normal colleges; and i think you will discover that something like this is happening in the educational world: the content of education is being adapted to meet the needs of all the classes and the masses. the method of education is being adapted to the individual. the result is that education is being universalized, socialized, democratized. in this adaptation of educational material and method, all eyes are upon the individual child. we are studying this child, working for him. we are playing for the batter, tackling the man with the ball. we believe it is more important to develop the undiscovered resource than to run all boys and all girls through the same hopper. a phrase used in the =school arts magazine= for may, , in describing a notable boston exhibit of art illustration, breathes this spirit: "instruction in illustration, should be creative and individual from the outset. models are posed to help in expressing more truthfully the conception of the illustrator rather than as a discipline in abstract drawing." the true teacher never gives up a boy or a girl. but mind you, we are saving the individual, making a man out of him, not that he may be a self-centered unsocial phenomenon, but that he may be a fellow among men, a useful social unit. we want strong individuality willing and able to live in society. perhaps the biggest word in current education is motivation. that word motivation covers a multitude of sins and a multitude of virtues. motivation does not mean coddling. it does not mean allowing the child to do as he pleases. on the other hand, motivation does not mean forcing an unnatural process or situation upon a helpless child or a helpless public. it does not mean that we are to give something to the child. motivation is not didactic in attitude. the spring of action in all of us is impulse. there is no time here to go into the psychology of instinct, impulse, emotion, motive, action, and all that. suffice it for example that through the play instinct and impulse the wise teacher leads the child to a respect for fair-play, order, law, justice. the child never knows where he got it, but he has what he needed, and he has it indelibly. this process assumes a god-given wisdom on the part of the teacher: to know how that little mind is working, what it needs, how it may be brought to feel the need, and then to lead, draw out, educate that mind--o, miracle of miracles! a step further in the consideration of the educational process: perhaps there have been committed more atrocities, more crimes in the name of education, in the high school than in any other period of school life. more fairly stated, the crimes have been in the upper six years of the usual twelve,--in that period which is called adolescence. why do so many boys and girls drop out of the upper grades? why do so many youths never complete high school? the vocational training people have one answer, and it consists in letting the boy work at something of which he feels the need. they motivate his work. the boy from the farm can't read tennyson's "princess;" set him at the =breeder's gazette= or the testing of seed-corn; you can teach him english as readily through one task as the other. only that boy never would learn english from "the princess,"--and i love tennyson. as an example of skillful motivation in teaching may i describe a case which is also an object-lesson to librarians in correlating people and books? it is a third-year high school class in argumentation. after some preliminary study, one day the teacher remarks rather inconsequentially, "do you know i believe the 'boston tea party' was an unjustifiable destruction of property, and that unprejudiced historians now admit it?" now that won't "go" in kansas any easier than it will in massachusetts. teacher is immediately challenged, and she replies, "well, i'll debate it with you; and i'll be fair and square with you and tell you of some material on your side. but there is one man whose authority i would not want to dispute; you'll surely treat me fairly, won't you?" a young lady member of the class at once puts a motion to the class that it will not be considered fair to use the writings of edmund burke against teacher. does that class depend upon bluffing its way through that debate with teacher? no, it keeps us busy at the library to get material out fast enough, even though we had been previously informed by the teacher that the material would be wanted. even dr. johnson's "taxation no tyranny" is read with eagerness. teacher finally agrees to debate even against burke. is burke a bore to that class? why, the library has to buy additional copies. of course, the end desired by the teacher all the time was burke. more and more, in the instruction of adolescent and adult, the teacher's effort is being directed toward arousing a problem to be solved. whether by a class lecture, by a class discussion, or by a personal conference, the pupil is brought to feel that it is important for him to find the answer. is it not important, then, for the librarian to be skilled in drawing out a statement of the problem, or, changing the figure, to recognize accurately the symptoms and to prescribe unerringly? i think librarians having to do with high school and college students should rather frequently visit classes and attend lectures. if this were done, the pupil would less often be ground between upper and nether millstone, and the millstones would think more of each other. thus far, educational ideals and practices. now will they help us any in attempting to formulate a library pedagogy? i believe they will. i believe that the teaching attitude, the study of the individual, the putting of the individual's needs far and away before the observance of inflexible rule and practice, and the determination to correlate people and books and life to the very ends of the earth,--these four stones at least will be in the foundation of library pedagogy. i am not sure that all educational people will agree entirely with the foregoing statement of educational principles and methods. i am quite sure that i may as well gracefully hand my head now to some of you because of the following library corollaries of the preceding educational doctrines. some of these are my own beliefs, some are beliefs of educational men regarding libraries: in the training of librarians, would it be more in accord with modern pedagogy to have less lecturing, less practice work done in the this-is-the-only-way-to-do-it attitude, and to have more of the come-on-and-let's-find-out, the learn-by-doing laboratory spirit? educational administration is being remodeled, centralized. if library work is to be more and more educational, school men have said to me, why not make the public library an integral part of the city school system, and the state library and state library commission an arm of the state department of education? it is a terrible thought, but it will not drown by denying it. when library work becomes educational through and through, and all library assistants are experts in psychology and human nature, the fines system will be a thing of the past. conservation of the individual means that it is better to have a book in use than to have it lying peacefully on the shelf entirely surrounded by unbroken rules. conservation of society means that it is better to have the library open on holidays and sundays, when the working man isn't "dead tired," than to report an increased circulation of fiction. the president: for an object lesson as to the strenuous life we go to oyster bay. for library buildings we go to east ninety-first street, new york, or when he is in europe we go to skibo castle. for information as to the latest inventions we go to the laboratory of mr. edison. for full information as to the best in high school work we go to the girls' high school in brooklyn. miss mary e. hall. miss hall spoke extemporaneously upon the enlarging scope of library work in high schools. some of the points discussed were treated by her in a paper before the section on library work with children at the ottawa conference, . see ottawa proceedings in bulletin of the american library association, v. , p. - . the president: as my eye roves over this audience i see it is thickly sprinkled with punctuation marks. it has been suggested that some of our papers ought to be discussed from the floor. we shall be glad to hear from any librarians who are in this audience, either in the form of experiences or comment. mr. olin s. davis: while i approve fully all that the last speaker has said, i feel very strongly that the college or high school library should not be too complete and that the student should be encouraged to use the public library. work should be given to the students in high schools and girls' schools that would require their coming to the public library, because if the children in the grades and high schools do not learn to use the public library in those years they will not be apt to use the library in later years when they have left school. miss hall: i would like to say that the first thing we do with pupils is to take a census of the entering class to find out how many do not have cards in the public library; interview them to see why they have not; even to write letters to the parents and urge them to allow their children to have cards; and to see before the end of the first term that every student in the entering class has a card in the public library, has a note of introduction from the school librarian to the branch librarian of the public library, and to see that the branch librarian of our big cities and the high school librarian work together four years with that student. we have the very closest co-operation. miss ahern: most of you reading library literature lately have seen considerable criticism of the fact that when students go out from college they do not know how to use the library. that is sometimes the student's fault, but most often it is the fault of the college curriculum. that is a topic we need not discuss here. but i believe librarians will do a great service to those who are going into college activities if they emphasize and elaborate that idea of putting into the requirements for college entrance, a knowledge of how to use library machinery. there are a good many things that are necessary for students to know before they are able to take up the work in colleges, particularly in literature and language. i am not saying that these should be any less. but here is something that i wonder no one has ever thought of before. it means a good deal more to a student to know how to use the various reference books in the college library on, say, the works of john milton, than to have read some of the things which are included in the entrance examination. i think the idea of requiring a knowledge of how to use the library for college entrance is the best thing i have heard at a library meeting for a long time, and i hope the librarians who are present will impress that idea on their superintendents of schools, on their high school principals, and on the college authorities, as far as they can. it is a good thing. if we should not get anything else out of this meeting but to impress on the school people that a knowledge of how to use the library is a necessary requirement for a college course, we shall have gained a great point. mr. ranck: i should like to ask miss hall about her experience with reference to the use of the library on the teaching of english and literature in the high school. miss hall: i have been very much interested in this. our school has been so large it has been very difficult to do all we would like to do. we have not been able to do what has been done in the detroit or grand rapids high school in the way of instruction. but i have been interested in seeing what it has done for the english and the history departments. in the first place, our teachers are coming with their classes for instruction and the teachers are learning a great many things which they are putting in practice. for the last year we have done more with the reader's guide in history than ever before. teachers are assigned to help me in my work. after they heard the talk on the reader's guide they said, "we can do this: we will go through the reader's guide and we will bring out everything that is really interesting on the history of france, germany, china, russia and the balkan war; we will look over those articles and make a card of the best things." they are using the reader's guide in english more than ever before; they are using reference books more. after the talk on the statesmen's yearbook and on the almanacs and some of the yearbooks, such as the new international yearbook, they are using them almost as textbooks. the statesmen's yearbook is in use nearly all the time, as is the new international yearbook, since that talk. they are using the reader's guide for new material--essays that they want on special subjects, and are using it for debate work, informal debates on all sorts of interesting current problems for english work, training the students to do oral debating without any notes, and talks on the topics of the day. they are using encyclopedias more wisely than they used to. teachers used to send scholars to encyclopedias for everything. and when we talked about the real use of encyclopedias and bibliographies, how the encyclopedia simply gave you a certain amount of definite information and often led to more important things, they began using those bibliographies. miss hobart: i do not know that any librarian has been trying to work out the problem which i have of reaching the public school pupils and teachers. some of the best things that i have found in that way are these: i made myself familiar, as early in the term as possible, with the teachers and the conditions of their home life. i found that some had very poor places to room, as they are apt to have in small communities, and to those i offered the use of the library rooms for evening use and for time out of school when they wished to correct papers. our library is warm and light in the winter and cool and light in the summer. and the teachers were extremely glad to have a place where they could come and be quiet and comfortable and do their own work. i think that last year the teachers in our small village practically lived in the library. even those who had homes there used to make it their abiding place most of their waking hours. for the high school pupils, at the time of their graduating essays, we laid books aside in different places in the library. many of those children had no proper places at home where they could write. they came to the library and did their work; almost all the work on their graduating essays was done evenings. for six weeks we gave the use of our catalog rooms to two girls who had their books sent there. there were several out-of-town children; to those we gave a room in the basement. they came from school as quickly as possible at noon, ate their luncheon in a very short time and spent the rest of the intermission in the library doing reference work. the expressions of appreciation we have received and the consciousness of the help given to those children in the use of the library has been a great source of satisfaction. adjourned. fifth general session (friday morning, june , .) the president: we begin this morning the fifth session of this conference and the theme covering the papers is, "the library's service to business and legislation." ten years ago it would not have occurred to anyone perhaps that it would be possible to have a series of papers upon this subject, and the surprising expansion of the service in these directions is evidenced by the fact that we have, in order at all to attempt to cover this subject adequately, a larger number of papers on this morning's program than we have on the program for any other of the subjects which have been scheduled. i will ask mr. c. b. lester to start the program with his paper upon the present status of legislative reference work it is now more than twenty years since the need of specialization in the library's work on subjects of legislation was recognized in new york in the creation of a special staff for such work, and it is just about ten years since the successful combination in wisconsin of such special reference work with the formulation of bills aroused most of the states to the possibilities of usefulness in this field. it would therefore seem worth while to examine the work so far done to discover if possible such principles and tendencies as may be subject to generalization. it is at once obvious that any such generalization in a broad sense must be difficult, for this present year shows in legislation both east and west that we have not yet come to rest on such fundamental principles as to method even though there may be substantial unanimity as to policy. the new laws in vermont (and i think in new hampshire) in the east--in ohio, indiana, and illinois in the middle west--and in california on the pacific coast show such differences that it is evident that local conditions must still be very largely controlling. and to go back a full year or more would bring to notice the new work organized in several states through university bureaus but without special legislation, and the proposals before the congress. comparatively little examination shows that the conception of the work to be done differs widely. mr. kaiser of the university of illinois, who is preparing a detailed study of the subject, writes me: "i find that in practically thirty-two states it is attempted in some form or other--the state library as a whole, a division of the state library created within the library, a division created by law, a separate bureau, library commission bureaus, state university bureaus, etc." obviously this must include practically all states where the state library is other than a law library only or a historical collection only, and must credit with doing legislative reference work those states where general reference work is done on subjects of legislation. but there is a more exact use of the term which takes account of the fundamental principle well suggested in the statement of the librarian of congress in his communication to congress in . "a legislative reference bureau goes further [than the division of bibliography]. it undertakes not merely to classify and to catalog, but to draw off from a general collection the literature, that is the data, bearing upon a particular legislative project. it indexes, extracts, compiles." it breaks up existing forms in which information is contained and classifies the resulting parts, and often "adds to printed literature written memoranda as to facts and even opinions as to merit." such work as the legislative reference staff should be qualified to do is distinctly informational rather than educational in its reference to the patron. it does the work of research, of gathering, sorting and uniting the scattered fact material wanted and presents the results ready for use. and to be fully effective this work must in some way be co-ordinated with the formulation of legislation, so that the product offered by the legislator may be both firmly founded and properly constructed. this work is so evidently necessary that it will be done in an increasing number of states whether the state library or some other agency undertakes it and protects its efficiency by the impartial, non-political and permanent organization of it which can be there best provided. practically all legislation specifically providing for such work has been passed in the years beginning and it is significant that most of this emphasizes research and drafting. the laws specially providing for such work are as follows: alabama, , no. . california, . illinois, . indiana, , ch. ( , ch. ). michigan, , ch. ( , ch. ). missouri, stat., , sec. . montana, , ch. . nebraska, , ch. . north dakota, , ch. ( , ch. ). ohio, ( , no. ). pennsylvania, , no. ( ). rhode island, , ch. . south dakota, , ch. . texas, , ch. . vermont, , ch. ( , ch. ). wisconsin, stat. sec. f. an analysis of the work done, whether provided for by legislation or by administrative practice, shows certain other facts. the number of the staff in any state is often variable, temporary or part time assistance is often used, and this is true where this work is not a part of the work of a state library or other wider organization. furthermore, the cost in money is almost impossible to estimate accurately in many places, because of this co-operation with other work. in starting a new work this difficulty in answering the question of what it costs elsewhere must be faced. the best way to meet it seems to be to make the comparison on the basis of the work wanted, definitely planning what is to be done, and asking for a lump sum to cover its estimated cost. the drafting proposition is a most important element. some three or four states already have official bill-drafting agencies, other than legislative reference departments, and a number of others definitely depend upon the attorney-general's office for this work. in some states there is opposition to putting this in the hands of a non-legislative agency, and in others the libraries, while ready to handle a specialized reference work, are not ready to undertake drafting. obviously this work requires highly specialized training, and equally, i believe, it will be agreed that this service should be rendered and that it must be in the closest co-operation with the reference work. there is no doubt in my own mind that the best condition is that of a single agency to perform this dual work, where the establishment of such is possible, and the usual organization seems to include both the expert draftsmen and the special clerical and stenographic assistance. this service in the primary formulation of bills must inevitably lead to a similar assistance as bills progress toward final enactment. this care as to form through the processes of amendment and revision will ultimately be complete if the enacted statute law is what it should be "to stand the test." this leads me to certain suggestions of other fields of service in the legislative process which should all tend to better the whole legislative product. of course, in much of this service the emphasis is placed upon form and make-up of the final product, the discretion as to subject matter resting elsewhere, but that discretionary judgment is to be based upon the most complete information it is possible to furnish. most of these services are now performed by the libraries or other non-legislative agencies in some states, but of course not all, or indeed many, in any one state. they include editing, foot-noting, side-noting, indexing of session laws, and the preparation of tables of amendments, repeals and similar matter; the proper filing and care of original bills, journals, committee records, and similar matter, after the work of the session is completed; the editing and indexing of the printed journal; editorial work of various forms upon the legislative documents. these are all services needed by our states, useful to the legislative bodies, and only properly handled through some permanent agency. is the state library that agency? i leave the question for your consideration, and suggest that some uncertainty at present as to just what may be most desirable is evident particularly in the new legislation in vermont, ohio, indiana and california. it has already been brought out in prepared paper and in discussion at this conference that the state library should not be a central public library in its content or its method. it is rather possible to express the field of its activities as that of a collection of special libraries. into that field would come quite naturally the varied services to the legislative branch of the government which have been suggested. as already stated some of them are now supplied in some states. what we shall ultimately work toward in our states is a complete organization of these allied branches of work, all of which focus about the work of the legislature. some of these services are at once recognized as within the field of the library--about others there is a decided difference of opinion. but they all have many common elements, many points of contact. they are most effectively to be handled as a group. the tendency will surely be toward a concentration rather than a scattering of these parts of one general work. plans for such a concentration, adapted to a particular set of conditions, to be sure, have already been put into concrete bill form in new york and the bill was before the legislature this year. the question presents many new features, but is not something to be answered perhaps in the distant future; it is rather, i believe, worthy of a very real consideration in the present. the president: the second paper this morning, which follows very logically after the one which we have just heard, will be by mr. demarchus c. brown, state librarian of indiana, on state-wide influence of the state library the writer of this paper would be more than protæan if he could say anything new on this topic. all our associations, at least the half dozen i belong to, meet so often that repetition is forced upon us. in the interim very few experiences or ideas worth recording come to us. biennial or triennial sessions would lead to better results and save money. the personality and attainments of the librarian (and his staff) are of prime importance in making the state library a dominating influence in the commonwealth. he is the man behind the gun. i put him first. from the negative side,--his position should not be subject to partisan or personal influence. that is a blight to start with and will ruin any institution. we are still afflicted with that curse in places, not only in the state libraries but in official positions generally. affirmatively, the head of the state library ought to be a person of scholarly acquirements or at least in deep and appreciative sympathy with scholarship and knowledge. if he is a scholar in a limited field he should be in accord with all who are trained in other departments. he should be able to represent the state in its educational and scientific undertakings, by papers and addresses, whenever called upon. it goes without saying that he should be a trained man in educational or library or literary work and of course an executive officer. his library is a laboratory of all for all in the state and he must be in touch with the work of that laboratory. his library is the distributer of blessings to a great commonwealth, and according to the motto of the "library company" of philadelphia, that is divine (communiter bona profundere deum est). i'll not quote the latin--it would be classic, and to be classic is against the regulations of the zeitgeist. i want him to be an inspirer for all to love art and poetry, and study and history and politics (real); and not merely skilled in the knowledge of card indexes and catalog rules. a certain famous general in the confederate army spent so much of his time on details of drill and quartermaster's regulations that he forgot how to fight his army. i have put the librarian first in this broadening influence of the state library. all the volumes and equipment and staff will be comparatively a failure without this scholarly, well-trained, wide-awake executive officer. as to the various ways in which the state library can extend its influence and make itself useful, permit me to suggest a few. this institution can well be the bibliographical center of the state. every club, school, library, society, and all citizens can be made to know that here information can be obtained about books. our own demand is quite large and ought to be larger. there are libraries with meagre equipment, schools with none, people with none, colleges with little--all these may be taught to turn to the central institution for bibliographical information. i consider this a source of wide-spreading influence, valuable and helpful to the whole state. i have placed it second more because i deem it important, not because i think all of these points can be listed accurately as to their relative positions. our states heretofore have been very slow in preserving their history, both of the commonwealth and municipalities. this has led, perchance, to the unspeakable commercial county histories with their unspeakable portraits and unspeakable cost, which we are compelled to purchase in order to have something. the state library's influence should extend over the entire state in an attempt to teach the preservation of history. the library is the natural place for the collection and organization of the history of the state. the archives may well be kept here for reference and use, though some states have a separate archives and history department. i wish we knew how to preserve history. we don't keep or build memorials, we tear down and throw away. what we want is the new, the fresh, the raw. the old, the seasoned, the ripe, we think is effete (how we like that word in referring to the old advanced civilization of europe). the state library has a great, unploughed field to cultivate. personally, i find people ready to burn up newspapers or manuscripts, or sell volumes for junk rather than give them to an institution where they may be preserved. i am trying to teach them otherwise, but succeeding very slowly indeed. i trust some of you are doing better. the women's clubs are a source of help in extending the influence of the library. they are asking for information of all kinds at all times. we laugh at them, i know. they have papers on shakespeare, goethe or homer at one sitting and dispose of them all. but what shall we do? they are the conservers of culture and reading. men don't want them, i. e. culture and reading. they are bourgeois, "practical," (à bas with that word and up with refinement and culture which is just as meaningful in books as in a field where we know culture is everything). i know many prosperous country towns without a men's reading organization or club in them, but many women's. if the state library in its state-wide influence, could convert men to reading, it would do a great work. send your bulletin to the clubs, suggest topics for discussion, and thus distribute the leaven. so much of our reading and study is done through periodicals of every description that it is made necessary for one central institution to be well supplied with these publications. the periodicals not taken in the average library, college or club, the foreign, like revue de deux mondes, and dublin review, for example, and particularly the learned periodicals used only occasionally, should be found in the state library. the state library can become a source of information, widespread over the state, by this process. demands come sometimes from remote corners, from a teacher or some ambitious student, and he should never be neglected. this department, i fear, has been in a measure overlooked. we have about a hundred from foreign countries secured through exchange for the indiana academy of science. they are not commonly called for but they form a tie between the library and the scientific men and students over the state. by no means limit this list to scientific periodicals. make the selection as broad as human interest, if funds and space permit. it is commonplace to say that the state library is the document depository of the commonwealth. you know that now. many people do not realize it, however. every official publication of the state, counties and municipalities, if preserved here, will be a source for historical research in the future. nothing of the kind should be thrown away. many state libraries were founded with this particular purpose in view. the state library is the logical place for the preservation of all documents of the state. from it the municipal authorities, students of state history and political science, teachers, legislators and citizens gather the information needed on the documentary history of the state. all the states have institutions of various kinds--colleges, hospitals for insane, the epileptic, the tubercular, reformatories, etc., etc. why should the state library not at least supplement the small or large collections in these institutions? their purpose is not to purchase books, though some are needed. the state library's influence and assistance should enter here, also. much can be done to enlarge the views and inform the heads of these institutions and to make happy many of the inmates. no demand by a superintendent of a state institution for books to be purchased for and referred to by him would be overlooked in the indiana state library. the institutions are scattered over the state and the library's influence would be spread in gathering material for the people connected with these institutions. the libraries of the state universities can be supplemented to great advantage, as has been done at least in our own state and in yours, i have no doubt. the newspapers of the state are not kept with any regularity in the different localities. they are a valuable fund of information for the historian, who must sift rigidly of course. our attempt is to preserve the papers from each county. we have many instances already of the value of our collection. we believe that a state-wide service is done in this way. i know the newspaper is not what we think it ought to be, but certain conditions of politics, business and social customs are pictures which will otherwise be lost. the librarian in the state library has imposed upon him here an important duty to the commonwealth, and the possibility of rendering great service. the high schools are fond of debating. the boys are more easily aroused to reading by the discussion of a public or social problem. the local library is usually meagre. if the school principal is kept in close touch with the central library he will know where to send for material. a bulletin on "debates" with bibliographical lists is of great service to the school men. the state library extends its work to educational centers by this method. the indiana state library for several years has followed this system and as a result has almost been swamped with requests for debate material. as many as forty high schools in one week tried to overwhelm us, but our staff stood the test womanfully and won. there are state-wide associations of all kinds in every state. many of them publish reports or proceedings. the state librarian may well keep his institution in touch with all of these. the library may even be a member of some of them, especially educational, social, literary or artistic. the presence of a member of its staff at their meetings or correspondence may lead to the use of the library by these organizations in a way that will show that the library is the thing to be used--a tool for every man. common as it may be to say it, the assistance to the blind of the state by the central library must not be passed by. it is a great joy for any one to note the pleasure these unfortunate people obtain from the collections from which they draw daily. very few, if any, are able to purchase their own books. the number assisted is small, but the benefit and happiness are great and lasting. as the state library is the document and the political science center, it follows that legislative and official information are to be secured here. the officials and members of the assembly ought to be made to know that the state library is, as it were, the fountain head from which to draw. if the library is worth anything or its head and staff worth anything, they should be consulted frequently by these persons in their work of lawmaking. the library has gathered and organized the material and by means of its use by the legislator, the library exerts a state-wide service. it is the province of the traveling libraries department to lend collections of books to groups of citizens in localities apart from libraries. this does not hinder the state library from doing much for the farmer individually and in farmers' institutes. addresses may be delivered, bibliographical lists on agricultural subjects sent and books loaned if the law permits it, and i think it should. in our own library we have letters and requests from farmers; we preserve the records of their institutes and granges. one who had only half an hour a day to read asked for a volume of jefferson, shakespeare, or a good book on chiggers. if he could find out how to get rid of the chiggers, i would prefer that book to jefferson, whose apotheosis is sadly overworked. that farmer's request was not so fascinating as that of a teacher who wanted a book on "the history of the human people." this is a sample of indiana readers. indiana, the home of authors! (i want to express my opinion in parenthesis here, that this indiana literature talk is also sadly overworked.) all this concerns special classes of people and books. but the general reader must be looked after. if democratization of books and reading is our keynote, and i think it is, then the citizen who wants to read on history, poetry, art, sociology, religion, must not be neglected. state-wide means much. it means an open mind for all the demos. our central library shall not be a trade shop, not for the bourgeoisie, but a mentor, a guide, a place of refinement and culture. not for the practical man only--he usually does not know anything and does not want to; he has no breadth of view. looking up a trade item or a report or some figures is good and useful; so is loving a poet because it is at the foundation of character and education. we have recently been informed--no, we have been told--that to talk about reading, culture, the love of knowledge, is "flapdoodle." a citizen may be benefited by knowing how many miles of railroad are in his county, or what amount of money his city spends, but he will be just as much benefited by reading a lofty poem of andré chénier, le jeu de paume for example, or a stanza of william dwight moody's, not that he will make money, but something far better. what i want to say is that the state library shall extend the love of learning, of literature, or art and all their kin to the furthest boundaries of the state in order that all may know that here is a fountain whence all may receive instruction and refreshment. why should the business man not read something besides the newspaper, the statements of which are denied the next day? yet most men read nothing else. if his own town library is small let him call upon the state library and let the state library be ready to help. i believe that lending books must still be granted to the state library. we have calls from lovers of reading from every corner of indiana, from men who love culture, knowledge and literature. these we propose to accommodate as long as the law permits. this observation is made because it has been said repeatedly that the state library shall deal in documents, reports and reference books. we have many foreigners in indiana. when these cannot secure what is wanted at their local library i want them to come to us, as recently happened when the roumanians wanted the text of their native poets and something about their provincial capital nagygebin. i trust that we may all have one great library for reference with a minimum of popular fiction--a library that is a guide to scholarship and knowledge, a library where every man who loves to read may turn himself out to grass and browse, browse deeply. herein will we have state-wide influence. may i group these influences as a summary:--the personality, fitness and scholarship of the state librarian; the bibliographical center may well be the state library; the legislative reference for the assembly and officials; the gathering and preserving of the history and archives of the state along with the encouragement among the people to preserve local historical material; the collecting of newspapers representing the entire commonwealth; the creation of a periodical center in the state library; close connection with schools, colleges and all kinds of organizations, social, literary, commercial, etc.; assistance for all the state institutions, educational, charitable, and correctional; close relation with the women's clubs; assistance to the farmer and the foreigner in isolated localities; the center for general culture and love of knowledge where every citizen may continue to go to school. the president: mr. lester in his paper referred to the bill-drafting department of a legislative reference bureau and mr. brown has just referred to the man behind the counter. we may perhaps feel that modern conditions require two men behind the counter in government: the one who prepares the ammunition and the one who fires it; and perhaps the more important is the one who prepares the ammunition; the one who draws up the law, leaving to the legislature the more perfunctory service of applying the match. mr. matthew s. dudgeon has served in the capacity of director of the bill drafting department of the wisconsin legislative bureau and i believe that since he has assumed the duties of the executive officer of the wisconsin library commission he has continued to perform that service. we shall be glad to hear from him this morning as to the law that stands the test in an address before the new york bar association the honorable joseph e. choate says that we in america are suffering seriously from plethora of legislation. he suggests that this whole mass of legislation pabulum that is made up and offered to the people from year to year, ought to be more thoroughly 'fletcherized,' more completely masticated, before it is poured into the body politic for digestion. "if that were done, i am sure," he says, "that we could get along with half the quantity and it would do us just as much good." the volume of legislation now being considered is, in fact, appalling. the legislature of one eastern state had before it at its last biennial session four thousand and eighty-one distinct bills. a western state this year has asked its legislature to consider three thousand, seven hundred and thirty-eight measures. a southern state actually passed at its latest session one thousand, four hundred and sixty different enactments. unlike the hookworm, however, this disease is neither new nor newly discovered, nor is it like the chills and fever, indigenous to our newly settled american continent. over three hundred years ago montaigne discovered a superabundance of legislation in france. "we have more laws in france," he says, "than in all the rest of the world." and going back still further to the first century a. d. we find tacitus complaining that there are too many laws in rome. "so that as formerly we suffered from wickedness," he says in his annals, "so now we suffer from too many laws." we may safely conclude then that the enactment of many laws which are not so fully "fletcherized" as they should be, is a complaint which long ago became chronic among bodies politic generally and that it is high time that some cure be found for the ailment. how can the quantity of laws be diminished and the quality improved? how can our legislative acts be masticated so that one-half as many may do us as much good? the problem of thus improving legislation and producing "the law that stands the test" is indeed a most serious one. =requirements.= let us suggest the proposition that a law that stands the test must first be one which violates no provision of the constitution; second, it must be founded upon a sound economic basis; third, it should be capable of efficient administration: that is, it should be a practical, workable, usable thing; fourth, it must fit into its surroundings both legal and social. it must, as blackstone has suggested, fit the situation as a suit of clothes fits the man. some laws which are perfectly sound in good old occidental england have been found to be entirely impossible in oriental india. a measure which suits the anglo-saxon yankee in connecticut may be entirely out of place among the mixed peoples of the philippines. the law that stands the test must have all these qualities and this is the law which all the american states are striving to produce. such a law may, of course, possess these characteristics and yet not be in every sense satisfactory. it may not accomplish all that was hoped for it; it may contain errors; it may need amendments, and still it may be a law which, in a proper sense, stands the test. to give a method by which a law may be created which will stand the test will not therefore be to suggest that a method has been discovered which will produce perfect legislation. =nature of subjects considered.= it should be remembered also that the difficulties of legislation arise not only from the multitude of subjects presented, but because many of the subjects are in themselves most difficult of comprehension. the right honorable james bryce has said that the task of legislation becomes more and more difficult and that many of the problems which legislators now face are too hard not only for the ordinary members but even for the abler members of legislative bodies because they cannot be understood and mastered without special knowledge. to illustrate: the legislature of a middle western state has had before it at a single session laws upon the following subjects: a comprehensive code of court procedure, initiative and referendum, recall of all officers except judges, home rule in cities, excess, condemnation, woman's suffrage, workmen's compensation, regulation of industrial accidents by commission, income tax, state aid to public highways, conservation and control of water power, forest reserve, system of industrial education, system of state life insurance, the formation of farmers' co-operative associations, limitation of the hours of labor for women, child labor, public school buildings as civic centers, and teachers' pension. there does not exist in any learned society nor in any university in the land a single man who can do more than converse intelligently upon all of these subjects; yet this state expected its absolutely untrained legislators to understand these matters thoroughly, to express a wise judgment upon them, and to record their judgment in such form as to force it upon an entire state. =lack of training on the part of the legislators.= of the one hundred members of the lower house of the legislature which voted upon all these measures sixty-five had never had any previous legislative experience. only thirty had had the advantage of any college education. while nineteen of the one hundred were lawyers, they were for the most part young, inexperienced men, whose contact with public questions had been limited. thirty of the one hundred were farmers, thirty-one were in business, six were doctors or dentists, eight were mechanics, three were school teachers. yet these men, without experience, or training, or special fitness were forced to vote upon all these difficult economic and industrial problems, and also upon about two thousand other more or less important measures. =necessity for unbiased information.= it is of course evident that what the legislator must have is a source from which he can obtain complete information upon all sides of a controverted question. a court which purports to administer justice after hearing the contention of only one party to a transaction would open itself to ridicule. yet this is precisely the method pursued in legislation. the legislator begins without any independent knowledge of the subject. such knowledge as he obtains is brought to him ordinarily by a lobbyist. he receives many private suggestions whose source he hardly knows. he attends a committee hearing on a bill seeking to increase the taxes levied upon railroad property, for example. here the best data and legal arguments that money can buy is ably and forcibly presented by the railroad attorneys. they give figures to show that the railroads are already taxed more than other forms of property. they quote economists to the effect that the proposed taxation is unsound and unscientific. they cite court decisions demonstrating to a certainty that the proposed measure is unconstitutional. they argue, wheedle, misstate, and finally convince the legislator that the measure is absurd. no similarly exhaustive arguments in behalf of the bill can be presented, for no talent comparable to that of the railroad attorneys, and in fact no talent at all is retained by the people in behalf of public interests. this is the legislative librarian's opportunity. as the right honorable james bryce has said: "no country has ever been able to fill its legislatures with its wisest men; but every country may at least enable them to apply the best methods and provide them with the amplest material." =legislation elsewhere.= it is to be remarked that the legislative questions before all civilized communities are essentially similar. everywhere are problems growing out of crime and pauperism; problems relating to hours of labor, child labor, and wages; employer's liability; compulsory insurance; workman's compensation; problems arising out of inheritance, income taxation, and the regulation of public service corporations. nothing is so new, however, but that some other legislature has worked upon the problem or is working upon it. take, for example, such a question as employer's liability or workman's compensation. fifty legislative bodies are working upon or have worked upon this single question. in at least three foreign countries and in one american state it has been adequately solved. the other forty-six have failed in part or altogether, either because of uneconomic and unscientific approach or because of constitutional limitations. formerly and up to within the last ten years no effort had been made to profit by the experience of these fifty other legislative bodies. the typical american way is to let the legislators stumble along, ignorant of the results of similar experimentations elsewhere, trying out expensive, independent experiments, which inevitably end in ineffectual enactments. what the legislator most needs to know, then, is what efforts other communities are making to solve the problem before him and how they are succeeding, to the end that good measures which have succeeded elsewhere may be adopted and their failures not repeated. where successful legislative work is done the first effort is always to get copies of every law on every subject which is likely to be legislated upon at the current session. all data bearing upon the success or failure of this legislation in other states and countries must be collected, digested, tabulated and placed in such form as to be readily available to the legislator. if a measure has failed or been repealed the reasons for the failure or repeal are sought. if it has been successful its provisions are carefully studied and analyzed with a view to adaptability to local needs. experience shows that in some cases it is necessary to prepare a translation of good foreign legislation which has never before been translated into english. but no law from another jurisdiction can be safely transplanted without careful consideration. the local constitution must be studied. in such a case as the workman's compensation act referred to, it was necessary for a commission to make a close, scientific study of the causes and character of the industrial accidents within the state, to investigate the rates of the casualty insurance companies in the different industries, to discover what co-operation for the prevention of accidents could be secured from employers and employees. hearings were held at various industrial centers within and without the state; scores of witnesses were examined; manufacturers, labor unions, engineering experts and economists were called upon. in short, the problem was treated in a thoroughly scientific manner. contrary to the usual practice, the case was prepared and presented to the legislature with the same thoroughness and care as is usual when an important case is prepared and presented to the court. as a result the law, although not perfect, stands the test. =drafting.= when the legislature has discovered what measures have proved successful elsewhere and what local conditions demand, it is still helpless because the members know nothing of legislative forms and cannot use with sufficient accuracy the language expressive of its conclusion. assistance in bill drafting is necessary. experience has shown that the man who does this must be either a trained lawyer who is also a practical political scientist or a practical political scientist who is something of a lawyer. it is often found too that in its original form a measure is unconstitutional and a lawyer's knowledge is necessary in order to devise some means of whipping the constitutional devil around the judicial stump. for example, the workman's compensation law of england, enacted too literally in its original form, is clearly unconstitutional in america and has been so declared by the courts of our state. in another state, however, the legislative lawyers who were engaged in drafting the bill, seeing clearly the judicial stump and the constitutional devil, by a simple but clever device passed what was in effect the english law, but in such form that when it came before the supreme court it was not only declared constitutional but was commended. =fault not with legislators but with the system.= if legislation be bad the fault is, then, not with the legislator. the average legislator is a keen, bright, honest man, who has been successful in at least a small way in his business or profession. he is ignorant of legislative subjects not because he is an ignorant man, but because his knowledge is of other things. the fault is not with him. it is inherent in our unscientific system of legislating. we put a group of farmers, grocers, and mechanics at work upon some great sociological problem. they can have no adequate knowledge of the subject. we do not give them compensation enough to pay their living expenses while they work. we allot them only a few hours to consider a given question. we provide for them no information. we furnish them with no legal counsel. assuming, however, as is often true, that these men are men of integrity and humanity and common sense and that their ideas are sound, they enact a good law that forbids, for example, the employment of children in hazardous and immoral surroundings. in this they have accomplished an important and intelligent constructive work. then we hire the best trained minds in the state and put them in our courts. we pay them higher salaries than any other public servants. we give them large libraries in which is found the accumulated legal lore of the past. we grant them, for the questions before them, all the time they can use,--weeks, months, often literally years. these talented, high-minded gentlemen, by dint of industrious delving and assisted by highly paid and highly trained attorneys, discover at last in the depths of their moth-eaten law books some mummified eighteenth century idea which has become petrified into a constitutional provision. they shake their heads and decide that the splendid, humane, up-to-date, common sense legislation is unconstitutional and void because of some minor constitutional objection. they cannot be, and should not be, criticised, for they are clearly performing a duty. neither can these judges substitute anything in place of the law which they destroy, for the work for which we pay them so well in money and honor and position is only critical,--and their function is in this case destructive. =the law making function as important as the judicial.= now, creative work the world over has always been recognized as requiring greater intelligence, better training, keener initiative than the purely critical. yet, in legal matters this principle has been entirely ignored. in every way we exalt the interpretive, critical, even destructive, judicial process. we neglect and belittle the constructive creative process of law making. the conclusion of the whole matter is that the making of the law is in principle as important,--in fact, more important, than the interpretation of it. the legislative function must be as carefully performed as is the judicial. men should be prepared for law making as are men for the judicial bench. they must be men of the same calibre, of good ability, of high intelligence, of absolute integrity, of broad sympathies, and of big vision. not until we have an agency of this type assisting in law making, not until the making of laws is recognized as a distinct and important governmental function, co-ordinate with, if not superior to the judicial function, not until each state has a bureau which will, as the honorable james bryce says, supply the legislators with the amplest material and enable them to apply the best methods, can we hope to have laws which in the highest sense "stand the test." the president: we go now from the legislature to the business man, the man who makes the wheels turn around. those of you who had the opportunity to hear the striking address, at a meeting of the special libraries association the other day, from a business man of boston need not be reminded of the tremendous possibilities that lie in this extension of the library service. mr. s. h. ranck, of the grand rapids public library, will discuss making a library useful to business men on first giving consideration to this paper i was inclined to believe that the story of the personal use of the library (the public library) by business men would be almost as brief as the traditional story of snakes in ireland. few librarians have the means of knowing how many business men use their institutions, but where statistics of registration indicate the occupation of card holders it would appear that the library gets almost as many bartenders as bankers. to get some definite data on this subject i had the library records investigated of the officers and committees of the grand rapids association of commerce, the leading business organization of our city, with a membership of , . these men (and a few women) represent our most active business concerns, as well as a few professions. of this number only , or per cent, have live library cards. in looking over the names i recognized of those without cards as persons who either individually or through their employees in the interest of the house, have used the library more or less for reference purposes. there are of course others who use the library in this way without my knowledge. these figures indicate that the library is serving directly only about per cent of the livest business men of the town. the specific questions i propose to discuss are, why do business men use the library relatively little? what can the library do to get business men to use it more? progressive business men use the library because they recognize the enormous value of new ideas and of new knowledge to their business, no matter where they get them. the trouble is that public libraries can't always furnish them the knowledge they need. and furthermore not all business men are progressive. there are standpatters in the business, as well as in the political world. however, there is no class of men who have a better idea of the potential power of print, rightly used, than the business men who advertise. such men are always ready to meet the library more than half way. in discussing this question i should have preferred to use the term "business men" in a liberal sense. we are all more or less "business" people at times, but for this occasion i am directed by our president to limit it to that one of its different meanings which applies to employer rather than employee in "the occupations of conducting trade or monetary transactions" and in "employments requiring knowledge of accounts and financial methods." before proceeding further permit me to state my conviction that the greatest service the library is doing for business men is not to business men personally, but rather for them through their employees,--in supplying knowledge and in promoting the general intelligence and the social welfare of the community. these things are of the greatest importance to every employer, for they are the foundations on which all efficiency is built. the social welfare work of the panama canal, much of it the kind libraries are doing, is a conspicuous example of the immense financial value of such work. the male portion of adult society we may roughly divide, so far as occupations are concerned, into manual workers (laborers and mechanics), professional men, business men, and drones (the idle class) who, like the lilies of the field, neither toil nor spin, but who frequently outshine solomon in the gorgeousness and variety of their array. they live a parasitic life on the productive labor of their fellow men, giving no adequate return. in the administration of our public libraries most consideration has been given to the idle class and to the professional classes. real service for the manual workers and business men has been largely neglected until within recent years. there are several reasons for this neglect. among these may be mentioned the following: working men and business men are expressing themselves in deeds and in things rather than in words and books; and therefore until recently there has been relatively little worth-while material available for the libraries to put on their shelves for the men directly engaged in industrial or commercial pursuits. furthermore there has been a long standing prejudice on the part of these men (those who are rule-of-thumb men) against the reliability and the utility of things in print for their everyday work. and in certain quarters this prejudice still exists to a very considerable extent. they are inclined to look upon the writers and users of books as theoretical and impractical. a further handicap in the use of libraries by business men, is the fact that so few of us in library work know the contents of books and things in print that might be useful to them in their daily work; and oftener we know still less of the problems business men must deal with. therefore we cannot relate the inside of books with their work. much of the work of the public library is a kind of salesmanship, even though there is no direct exchange of the coin of the country. salesmanship in its best sense is service, and service is what a city is buying for all its people when it puts into its annual budget a more or less (usually less) adequate sum of money for its library. as things are today i fear that in too many cases the public instead of drawing a plum from the library pie is not infrequently handed a lemon. recently i had the pleasure of dining with the vice-president of a department store that employs over , people to sell nothing but clothes--wearing apparel. he told me that the great secret of the success of his institution, through whose doors there enter from , to , people every day (and remember that nearly all these people enter with the expectation of parting with some of their good money), is the fact that every employee has instilled into him or her the fact that the salesmanship that brings success is service and that it is founded on knowledge; for, said he, "no one can sell goods satisfactorily unless he knows all about them,"--where they are made, how they are made, what they are, their history, etc. and these things everyone in this store is systematically taught. incidentally, i may add that this department store starts its people at a minimum wage higher than the minimum in many libraries, and the maximum for women in this store is double the maximum of the highest paid women in library work in this country. this store uses the public library of its city and has a library of its own whose librarian is at this convention at the expense of the store. when a department store finds such a policy a wise one the business men responsible for its management will be the first in the community to support a policy of library service based on knowledge. but business men must be shown that the library is delivering the goods. the business man places his establishment so far as possible where it will best serve the purposes of his business, and he spends loads of good money in the first place, and annually in the form of taxation, to get his building at the right place. besides getting his establishment at the right place he also spends more loads of good money to arrange it for the economic and expeditious handling of his affairs in it. so far as libraries relate to serving the business man, as well as nine-tenths of the other people in the community, i am convinced that per cent of the library buildings of the country are badly located, and furthermore that the large proportion of these buildings are badly arranged for the work they have, or ought, to do. the place to serve the people is where the people daily congregate and pass by in the largest numbers. this is never on a side street or in the "best" residence section of the city. your average "best" citizen today gets more satisfaction out of his public library in showing his visitor from out of town the greek temple set back in a beautiful grove or garden as he whirls by in his six cylinder, horse-power, seven-passenger touring car than in using the books and periodicals inside. such a building in such a setting has a value as a work of art, but not as a library for service. incidentally, it is only fair to say that business men in most of our cities are largely responsible that we have library buildings for show rather than for use. every block that separates the library from the principal lines of the movement of the people, every foot that people must walk from the sidewalk to the entrance of the building and then to its books, every step that must be climbed above the level of the sidewalk to reach the first floor, are all so many hurdles, barriers, which the people are obliged to overcome before they can get to their own books, whether it be to use them for business or pleasure, for education or recreation. the bad location and arrangement of library buildings in the united states are keeping hundreds of thousands of potential users and supporters of libraries away from them and out of them every day of the year. and there is no class of persons in the community more affected by such things than business men, for they recognize (consciously or unconsciously) better than any other class the commercial value of time and convenience. let me put this a little more concretely. the library building in which i work is better located and arranged than the average library building of the country. and yet the total distance walked to and from the sidewalk by all those who enter that building daily is nearly miles to the point where the library begins to serve them. furthermore each one of the thousand and more persons who daily enter this building, in addition to the energy he uses in walking feet to and from the sidewalk must lift his own weight and the weight of the books he carries seven feet above the level of the sidewalk. in other words the location and arrangement of this building with reference to the sidewalk requires the people who use it daily to take an extra walk of almost the distance from baltimore to washington and at the same time carry a weight equal to that of a ton of coal feet to the top of a skyscraper and down again. and all this is in addition to the walk of feet from the nearest car line, which few people use, feet from the car lines which are generally used, and over feet from the nearest thoroughfare. the library to be a friend to man, and to serve him, must "live in a house by the side of the road where the race of men go by." the business man who studies usually buys his own printed matter that deals directly with his work, and in this respect he is usually far ahead of the library both in knowledge and in material at hand; and the bigger his business the more is this likely to be the case. the librarian will almost invariably find such a man a most helpful person in the selection of things to be purchased and in the relative value of both authors and books. it should be the business of every librarian to know intimately, as far as possible, all such men in the community. our public libraries must largely increase on their shelves the number of things in print that are of real service to the business man in his work. first of all we must know what these things are, and next we need to have the nerve to spend money for them much more freely than we have ever done before. this is expensive and most such expenditures will not show in the statistics of circulation. as an illustration of this let me refer again to the institution i have the honor to serve. for a number of years we have been spending $ a year for books in only one line of business. besides the books, we take some two dozen current periodicals on the same subject. all are used to a considerable extent and the use made of them by only a dozen men is of the greatest commercial and financial importance to our city. and yet so far as the figures of circulation are concerned the expenditure of $ of our annual book fund for this one business is practically nothing. we must get away from the idea of measuring the usefulness or the efficiency of the library by the number of books issued for home use. so long as this idea dominates our public library work we can never do our best for the community, and especially the business part of it. we need of course many books for the business man in our circulating departments, but these by no means meet the need. many of these books are out of date in a few years at the best. to keep up to date there is necessary a liberal purchase of yearbooks, transactions and publications of industrial, technical and commercial associations which bring down to date annually, and in convenient form, the latest knowledge in their respective fields. for progressive business men such works are vastly more important than encyclopedias, important as encyclopedias of all kinds are. then too we must pay greater respect to the material published in pamphlet form. on a multitude of subjects some of the latest and best things have appeared in this form. most of us do not handle this material properly, if at all. in many libraries pamphlets are regarded and cared for with about the same degree of disrespect as were public documents in most libraries twenty years ago, and i regret to say, in many libraries today. and as for the public use made of pamphlets, it is practically nothing. but more important for the wide-awake business man than books, documents and pamphlets, is a large collection of current periodicals relating to every kind of business activity in your city, with clipping files on many subjects, for it is only through these that it is possible to keep up with the latest information or for the library to supply the thing that is most needed at the minute. as an illustration of such use i recall several recent instances of business men getting up briefs in connection with the proposed underwood tariff bill. the latest information, even when compiled sometimes by government authorities, was secured from technical or trade journals before it could be received from the government printing office. in short the best work the library can do for the business men personally is in the building itself, supplemented by extensive use of the telephone and the mails (reference or information work if you please), and not by issuing to them for home use books whose information at the best is rarely less than a year old, but in reality is more likely to be five, ten, or even twenty years old. the circulating book has a most important place and i would not for one moment take from it the importance that is its due. my plea is that we recognize more fully for our business man, and especially the so-called small business man--the man of small business, or the young man who hopes to establish a business of his own, the great importance of library assistants who know the contents and the relative value of books, pamphlets and periodicals, and who understand the art of library salesmanship whereby the business man gets the things he really needs. and then when we have done all this--have librarians who know, and the things in print the business man needs, this one thing more we must do, we must let the business man know what we have for his particular problem and how we can serve him. the library must advertise the utility of ideas and of knowledge in the every day work of the world as well as advertise its resources and its service. the best advertising is that which comes from a well served patron. but our libraries have thrown away one of the best means of publicity by locating their buildings where people must go out of their way to find them and by so arranging them that the passerby sees nothing but stone, brick and glass--things that suggest nothing of the joy and usefulness of books. seeing great crowds enjoying and using books, as well as seeing attractive things in print through properly arranged show windows, would appeal to the average library user in a way that would simply compel his interest and attention in the things we have for him. the architecture of the average library building suggests a tomb--a place for dead ones--rather than a place chock-full of the things that appeal with tremendous force to the soul that is alive with the throbbing impulses of this wonderful time in which we live. since our buildings deny us this great means of publicity which the show window enables every merchant to use to such great advantage, we must use as best we may such means as we find available. in a general way i may state my conviction that we should make a much larger use of the specific personal appeal as over against general publicity, though the latter is also necessary. when a man has a definite task assigned him put the resources and service of your library directly up to him for his particular problem, especially if the problem is one a little outside the circle of his regular business. it will come to him at the psychological moment and he is most likely to act on your suggestion; whereas had it come to him as a general statement before he was personally interested most likely it would have been promptly forgotten. as a part of our regular routine letters from the library go to all such persons, as we see their names in the newspapers, on programs, etc. at the meeting of the associated advertising clubs of america early this month in baltimore i had the pleasure of "getting next" to some of the livest business men in the country. the thing that impressed me most was not the interesting exhibitions there shown or the various "stunts" that were pulled off, but the new note that some of the men were striking. it was this: "business and business efficiency for service rather than for profit." this is a high ideal, worthy of any profession, and i venture the prediction that it will be men of this type who will more and more dominate the business world of the future. such men will appreciate and support the public library more than business men have ever done before; but they will also require more. to get their support we as librarians must think less of measuring our efficiency in terms of circulation statistics, a kind of impersonal, bookkeeping standard, but more of measuring it in terms of human service--human service not only for the business man, but for every man, every woman and every child in all this vast continent of america. the president: great as is the opportunity of the public library to serve the business man, it can't do it all, for so highly specialized are some of the departments of interest of the various business houses that no public library without a treasury like that of our millionaire concerns could hope to undertake a work of that character. therefore, each large business concern necessarily must supplement the resources of the public library by means of library facilities of its own. we shall hear something of this form of work this morning in the paper which is to be presented by one of the most successful of the libraries of this type, that of h. m. byllesby & co. of chicago, whose librarian, miss louise b. krause, will give us the paper. libraries in business organizations: their expanding function the service which books render mankind may in general be designated as falling into two classes; namely, books for inspiration and books for information. dismissing the use of books as a means of inspiration, because the subject does not fall within the scope of this paper, let us consider the most important use to which printed information can be put, in the service of mankind. at first thought it might seem that the use of the printed page for purposes of information reached its highest service in the function of education, but granted that it does not play an important part in education, we know education to be something vastly larger than a mere knowledge of facts, and we also know that many men and women who are repositories of information derived from the printed page do not always put it into operation for the best welfare of their fellows; for, as james russell lowell has said, "there is nothing less profitable than scholarship for the mere sake of scholarship;" and truly scholarship without the ultimate purpose of practical service is one of the most selfish possessions in the world. let us therefore exclude the use of printed information in the service of education as its highest form of usefulness and consider the following statement. the use of print in furnishing information performs its most important service in the function which it exercises in modern business, because it is business which lays hold of abstract science and knowledge and puts them into practical operation for the greatest benefit to mankind; for the commercial age in which we live is not a sordid age, but an age which is distinctly marked by the development and conservation of resources for the supplying of man's needs, by means of the extension of applied science into the field of business. now lest this statement should be too abstract, and the speaker be accused in the words of leonard merrick of "voicing the sentiments of the unthinking in stately language," let us consider this proposition for a moment in the concrete. it is business enterprise that has brought about, through the perfection of the steam engine, the swiftness and convenience which we enjoy in twentieth century travel by railroad. it is business that has brought the service of the telephone and telegraph to their highest perfection. it is business that has developed artificial lighting by gas and electricity and emancipated us from candles and kerosene lamps. it is business that is transforming raw and waste materials by the application of pure science, into products of service and value for the needs of innumerable homes, in addition to perfecting agricultural machinery, and producing fertilizers to enrich the land, thereby making possible the production of better crops. thus we might continue to multiply illustrations of how business enterprise has equipped us with the means of meeting great needs which at various times have seriously threatened the welfare of human life. this fact of the application of abstract science to the world's practical needs, through the medium of business enterprise, has become permanently recognized by institutions of learning, as seen in the establishment of technical schools, schools of commerce and finance, and instruction in business administration, for, as a recent writer in the journal of political economy has said, "the methods of american industry are rapidly being intellectualized." a variety of professional work of which engineering and chemistry are noteworthy examples are also carried on by large business organizations, and we find professional men of the highest rank as prime movers in large commercial enterprises. (in this connection it might not be amiss to state that out of an experience as university librarian and business librarian the speaker is inclined to think that the professional business man keeps more adequately informed and up to date on his specialties than does the average university professor.) an additional fact which bears directly on the general subject under discussion is, that the age in which we live is not only a business age, but that it is an age marked by the magnitude of its business organizations; an age of "big business," as some one has called it; and because of the economic conditions of our advancing civilization, business will undoubtedly continue to be "big business" even though subjected to federal and state regulation. now correlating these two facts, namely, that modern business is conducted by means of large organizations and that its success is based upon the intelligent application of scientific knowledge to practical needs, we have cleared the way for an appreciation of the function of printed information as embodied in the work of libraries in business organizations. the business organization builds up its own library, first, on account of the convenience of having close at hand the information constantly needed by its workers, and subject to no borrowing restrictions, which would be inevitable even if the facilities of outside libraries were available; and second, on account of the necessity for careful selection of material particularly adapted to its individual needs. business organizations have for many years collected information in a desultory manner, but it has been only in the last few years that some of them have awakened to the fact that more was needed than mere collection of printed information, and for the same reason that they were availing themselves of all modern devices for the quick and adequate handling of their various products and were systematizing their methods to obtain more efficient results, so they must lay hold of modern library methods under experienced supervision if they were to keep up with the steadily growing and important mass of printed information. therefore we find business organizations securing the services of professional library workers, trained to use books in the broadest and most practical manner. some hesitation was at first expressed in various quarters as to whether so-called professional library methods used in public and university libraries were suited to business library needs, and as to whether library workers educated for general library work would adequately meet the business library situation. in fact it was intimated that the business librarian was a worker of a different brand than the ordinary librarian and therefore he had both knowledge and needs which set him apart from his library fellows, in a special class by himself. out of four years' experience as a business librarian the speaker takes pleasure in stating that practical experience has proved the fallacy of both of these conceptions. it is true that business librarians are called upon to exercise certain functions which the librarians of public and university libraries are not, but which any efficient head of a public or university library would be quite capable of exercising if the occasion demanded it. in fact the recent rise of library interest in business men and their needs can be directly traced to the heads of some of our public libraries and the work they have inaugurated in making their libraries as helpful as possible to all classes of citizens. the characterization of the function of libraries in business organizations by the word "expanding" in the title assigned to this paper by the president of the american library association, is most apt, and indicative of the real status of the case. the business library is in a process of evolution, and just what the final result will be, it is a little too early in its development to state. the elemental idea of the function of a business library that was held by the officers of the business organization with which the speaker is most familiar, was to have the books and data which were the property of the company, classified and cataloged so that material could be found quickly, and a librarian was employed solely on the basis of this need. with the acquisition of a librarian the library situation soon changed from the inquiry for certain definite books and periodicals, to the inquiry as to whether the company had any specific information on a given subject, and if not as to whether printed information on the subject was available elsewhere and how quickly it could be obtained. the evolution in the function of a library from that of furnishing a definite book asked for, to furnishing all the information obtainable on a given subject as quickly as possible is decidedly expensive, and the what, how and where of the case would furnish ample material for a separate paper. the evolution in the function of the library did not stop at this point; for it was soon expected that the librarian would understand the specific interests of the members of the organization, and to a certain degree think for them in keeping up with the field of print and in bringing to their attention, without a request on their part, certain facts of which they would like to be cognizant. to this duty was added the forecasting of possible future needs, and the collection of information in advance of rush demands. the magnitude of the work of modern business organizations requires the division of labor into a number of departments, and the workers in any one department may not always be acquainted with the information which may be available in another department. the library, by keeping in touch with individuals in all departments, becomes a central bureau of information in being able to refer the members of one department to those in another who possess the particular information desired. the business library also assembles and files the manuscript data of original research conducted by members of the organization, materials which constitute one of its valuable assets. research data in the possession of business corporations is often a worthy contribution to scholarship. an illustration of this fact was recently brought to the attention of the speaker, by the statement of a university student, who said that in making a study of the drinking waters of a certain state the only analyses of waters on record were those which a railroad had made primarily for the purpose of ascertaining the suitability of the waters for boiler use on locomotives. in addition to these briefly outlined functions, which are more or less technical, attention should be directed to several others, lest a mistaken impression be given that business library work is entirely technical in its nature. business men are often called upon to serve the public as good citizens in various capacities, and also to serve as officers or on committees of national business organizations, and thus have interests outside of their regular company work. their librarian is expected to assist in any need which arises by reason of these outside interests, and not only may be called upon to furnish information but also to do editorial work in preparing material for publication. the welfare and education of employees has also become a prominent feature in the work of many large business corporations, and the library is expected to be a prominent factor in this work, as it is the logical educational center of the organization. some of our business libraries have recently been drawn rather deeply into welfare work with the result that certain phases of practical library service are being neglected. it does not seem advisable, however, that the business librarian should annex any line of welfare work which does not legitimately center in the library; for the librarian is best fitted to serve the interests of the organization by maintaining high standards of efficient library service rather than by annexing other kinds of work belonging solely to the sphere of a social worker. this is particularly important at the present stage of business library development, as the business world in many sections has not yet learned what professional library service really is, and how to utilize it most effectively. in view of the fact that the business world except for comparatively few organizations is not utilizing the undoubtedly valuable service which professional librarians are able to render, and that the american library association has always endeavored to extend the use of books and their widest application, it might not be amiss to suggest that it would be legitimate work for the american library association with its library prestige and well known motives of personal disinterestedness, to undertake a campaign of education to bring before business men the subject of what library work really is, and the character of service it is prepared to render; for in these days of the over-emphasized and often superficial cry for more efficiency, there is no line of work that is more genuinely efficient than that of the trained librarian. the information, to be put before business men, should be free from library technicalities and details, and its arguments should be framed, not to enlighten librarians, but to convince busy men of affairs possessed of shrewd judgment and large foresight, as to the practical worth of the matter as a business proposition. for library work in business organizations is no longer a theory or a tentative experiment, but has proved itself in the firms adopting it to be an integral part of the successful work of the corporation. this fact is well illustrated by a bulletin recently issued by a large business firm, in which it endeavored to put before the public, in a pamphlet entitled "why it is qualified" the value of the consulting services of one of its departments, and among the prominent reasons given under "why it is qualified" is the fact of the commercial library maintained by the company, with the library's particular resources under competent supervision. because printed information has proved to be an integral factor in the successful prosecution of business and because it can be most effectively utilized by means of professional library methods, therefore, the business library hopes to take its place in the ranks of the american library association as one in purpose with all libraries in the realization of a common ideal, namely, the largest possible use of books in the practical service of mankind. the president: i have just received a message that mr. mcaneny will be here in a very short time. in the few moments intervening it might be well perhaps to discuss some of the trenchant papers which we have had this morning. miss ahern: mr. president, i would like to take exception to one thing mr. ranck said in his paper. i do not believe that the idea that the contents of books are useful to men in the business world is of recent date. i think, perhaps, the second statement that these things have only come recently into the arrangement of resources of the library is the truer one. we certainly have had knowledge of chemistry and of geology and technical knowledge in manufacture for many, many years, only many librarians have been more interested in the purely educational or inspirational part of the library and have neglected that large field of usefulness and that large company of people who contribute to the welfare of work and of the world, as miss krause has pointed out. the best chemists in the country are being sought by the business houses; the best knowledge of soils, of minerals, of woods, of lumber, of stone has long been sought by the men who are making a commercial use of these things. and their information is not held in reserve: it is all in printed form and only the scope of the librarian's knowledge of where things may be obtained in the world of print places the limit on this material for the library shelves. and so i hope that librarians will not say that books on these subjects, that material on these subjects is a recent product. it is our knowledge of them, a knowledge that this is a part of the province of library work, that makes for recent activity. the president: mr. ranck is here to answer for himself. the statement has been challenged and he can answer it. mr. ranck: i think there is not so much difference between the view i take and the view taken by miss ahern. i do not know that i followed my manuscript very closely at that point, but what i had in mind was the business man rather than the professional, technical man. i fully grant what miss ahern says with reference to technical subjects, scientific subjects, and so on. as i said, i think there is no radical disagreement between miss ahern's and my position. there may be a misunderstanding. miss ahern: i was not questioning what mr. ranck had said, but, rather, removing any excuse that the library folk may put to themselves for a lack of interest or a lack of activity along this line by saying that the material was scant or hard to command. dr. andrews: there is the other side, that miss krause's paper emphasized and which miss ahern seems to neglect. miss krause's paper states that american industry is becoming intellectualized, and that this is a great factor in the development of business life. it ought also to be an extra incentive to the public library to meet the demands. i think that much of this development in the technical side of library work has come from the increasing study by business men of their own world and that we ought to remember that while the public libraries have neglected in the past to furnish business men with what they wanted, yet the latter did not want it then as much as they do now. the president: those of us--and i assume that that means every librarian--who read the june number of the world's work were impressed by one strong article therein concerning the growing magnitude of municipal administration and the great problems that confront those who are charged with such administration. without repeating to you the very striking comparisons which the author made with some of the governmental functions of states and even some of the kingdoms of europe, showing the tremendous problems confronting the municipal officials, problems of tremendous budgets, of great public works, and so on, it will be sufficient for me to say that it is a happy omen that we are now getting into the public service men of high civic ideals and constructive ability and who are replacing men whose self-seeking interests or vanity led them to seek the votes of their fellow citizens. i am glad that we have with us today a man of this high type. i need not say further concerning him because we took advantage of his absence to get from mr. bowker a pretty good who's-who bearing upon himself, and i shall simply introduce to you at this time to speak to us upon the subject of "the municipal reference library as an aid in city administration," the honorable george mcaneny, president of the borough of manhattan, new york. the municipal reference library as an aid in city administration it is a very real pleasure to meet with the american library association, and to convey in behalf of my colleagues in the administration of the city of new york, and in behalf of other colleagues in public business throughout the country, our hearty congratulations and possibly a friendly warning and a word of appeal. congratulations are due you for having established on so high a plane and in so short a time the profession of librarian. especially are you to be congratulated for having welcomed the new profession of municipal reference librarian; for your adaptability in the constant extension of the reference work, and for the resiliency which is showing again in another field that real father williams never grow old. could benjamin franklin look upon this gathering, and hear your reports of social service, through circulating, home, reference and municipal reference libraries, i am sure that no fruit of his patriotism would seem to him more promising than the recent application of the circulating library idea to government affairs. my friendly warning has to do with your requests to fiscal bodies for appropriations. in many parts of the country, there is the feeling that the less the library has to do with public officials the better it is for the library, consequently, as a short cut, we find compulsory minimum appropriations--so many mills or so many parts of mills for library development. we also find that too many towns are satisfied with this compulsory minimum tax, and that the only time their fiscal representatives hear about libraries is just before the budget appropriations are voted. you must be indulgent with those who vote the money, if the outcome of this habit suggests the man who was exasperated by his wife, who he said "just nagged and nagged him for money, when he came, when he left, on sunday, always." finally, when a neighbor summoned the courage to ask, "what in the world does she do with all the money?" he, perforce, must answer; "well, i don't know; you see i haven't given her any yet." councils and mayors will understand your library problem best if you will help them understand at those quieter seasons of the year when they are not harassed, as they are at budget time, by appeals from every other city department and for every other thing. when presenting your budget, give the fiscal officer credit for wanting to know the whole truth, and for wanting reasons for giving you the money you request. seldom will it help to ask for a great deal more than you need. always, it will help not to present in a single total items that do not belong together. classify your budget. state your program clearly. if all the money you want is not voted this year, stick clearly to the plan that has been voted, and show both the fiscal authorities and the town where your service has been crippled, if at all, for want of funds. it will be well to begin your budget campaign so that the first idea which the public and the fiscal officers get is that of the service you wish to render, rather than the money you wish to get. most library budgets, like most other budgets of the united states, are apt to be put in without the explanatory matter which alone will make the dollar-and-cent facts show social reasons for library support. now for my appeal. in asking you to consider certain needs of public business, i want to speak quite frankly, as a city official who, like thousands of other city and county officials, must step into other people's business, with no time for getting acquainted with detail, and with a public to deal with that not only expects us on the first day we take office to use all the machinery of our predecessor and to get better results, but also really expects us to fail. we inherit a stack of mail. we are flooded with suggestions and complaints; many of them in confidence and most of them confusing. we are urged to attend club and church meetings, and dinners, and graduating exercises. we are expected, without any change in subordinate personnel, while giving our attention to large community problems and to the political aspects of public works, to get an efficient product out of our employees, no matter who they are or what they have been. in most places, we find no disinterested adviser, either on the inside or on the outside. such a situation would not necessarily be serious if we stepped into a thoroughly efficient organization where every employee and supervisor had his place, and where the institution as such had its "continuing memory." when mr. rea succeeded mr. mccrea as president of the pennsylvania railroad, he inherited a splendid organization, every part related to another part; a system under which experts had tabulated within a moment's reach the successes and the failures of the pennsylvania railroad, and the costs of its various contracts, the difference between estimates and final costs, and an efficiency ranking both of its various employees and its stations. when the present administration in new york city stepped into office, we inherited an aggregation of departments and divisions then spending--if we count in installments and interest paid on the city debt--more than $ , , for the expenses of a single year. there were ninety thousand employees. side by side with one another were clerks paid one $ and another $ , for the same kind of work; in another grade were clerks paid $ , and others paid $ , for the same kind of work. when salaries had been increased, and why, was not a matter of record. supplies were contracted for by no standard form. specifications, either for supplies or for construction work, were worded differently at different times, according to the individual wish or whim of the department officer preparing them. the public was but poorly protected at any point. plans were made for new buildings, for new roads, and for other vast improvements, often without estimates of cost; often with assurances of only slight cost, where, too frequently, cost had been estimated as an entering wedge only. thus a great city would stumble into an experiment or public improvement demanding millions of dollars, without ever reckoning the ultimate amount of its obligation. for example it may be fair in this presence to recall that the first bill for the new york public library carried with it an appropriation of $ , , . the city decided to spend this $ , , and actually it spent $ , , . the new york public library is worth every dollar it cost, ten times over; i am merely emphasizing that the public should have had its eyes open and, in this case as in every other, should have known what it was doing. although this same gap occurred over and over again--between estimate and actual cost--no steps were taken to recall the fact when each new amount was under consideration. ignorant as we have been of our own experience, still less informed have we been regarding the experience of neighbor cities. some years ago, denver, in operating its street railway, found it expedient to substitute electric motor power for the old cables. after denver had discarded these cables, baltimore adopted the cable. rochester has recently adopted a device to attach drinking fountains to its ordinary fire hydrants. the idea is a new one, and may prove valuable. i say it merely by way of instance; but if it is a good idea, new york city and your city should adopt it. each successive experiment of the sort should, at least, be brought promptly to the attention of public officials. again, new york city has worked out an improved system of accounting and budget making. the village of dobb's ferry, the cities of duluth and cincinnati have used an improvement upon new york's budget exhibits--recently called a new kind of "confidence game"--that is, taking the public into official confidence about the public's own business. instead of waiting a generation for cities to adopt these new methods, their officials should promptly be given the facts they need. is it not criminal waste and error for one city to introduce a system of sewer disposal, or of milk regulation, which another city has found endangering the lives of its citizens? if a measure has proved bad and dangerous for one city, modern science in the hands of a librarian should make it unnecessary for every other city to go through the same experience. to help us in ending all this waste, and to help us, in short, in putting city government upon a thorough scientific and efficient basis, the municipal reference library is beginning to take its highly important place. without a municipal reference library, it will in future be difficult for any administrative officer to do his best. i will not attempt to review the laborious steps of my colleagues in the present board of estimate and apportionment--our governing municipal body--to incorporate into standard specifications, standard salaries and standard contracts the memory of our past failures, so that we may hold the gains that we have made and avoid the weaknesses and the errors of our experience. but i venture some suggestions as to a reference library that, although general in their application, will indicate our reasons for establishing such a library in new york. our reasons for placing the library in our new municipal building--as we propose to do--apply everywhere. it must be made easy for officials to get information, and for the librarian to get the information promptly and directly to the officials. it is not enough to know that it may be had. to have important information an hour away from the office is almost as bad as to have it a thousand miles away. it must be easier for the busy official to get the information he wants than to endure the thought of going without it. in putting the library where the users are, instead of where they are not, we are following the simple rule of trade that meters city property by the foot instead of by the acre. the municipal library is a place not for everything, but for particular needed things. if it were true that mark hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other constituted a college, it is even more true that a librarian in a bare room, anxious to serve the public via the public official and knowing where the material is, constitutes an infinitely better municipal reference library than a place perfectly equipped which suggests erudition rather than immediate help. there is great danger that our municipal reference libraries will become junk shops, as interesting and as helpful, as out of date or as unrelated to today's problems as an encyclopedia or a "compendium of useful knowledge." a municipal reference library should suggest answers to today's questions; not answers either to yesterday's questions or to next year's. will you, the librarians, consider the importance and the advisability of keeping these libraries workshops, as they ought to be, and of using your general reference libraries as the place for the storage of materials. the ordinary city official hasn't the time to plough through a mass of pamphlets looking for what he wants. he wants the facts collated and marshalled, ready for use--and "he wants what he wants when he wants it." some time ago i was interested in drawing an ordinance to license all vehicles using the new york streets, and to regulate the weight, the width and size of tires, etc., of our great trucks that have been tearing up our pavements. i wanted to know about the policy of other cities in this matter, and to devise, if possible, a way of making those vehicles that destroy the streets help pay for their maintenance. similarly, today, as chairman of the committee on the height, size and arrangement of buildings within the city limits, i am interested in the adoption of some reasonable basis for regulating our modern skyscraper in order to keep the city, literally, from choking itself to death. again, we have had to restore to the public many miles of city sidewalks that had been preempted by stoops, and other encroachments. we have wanted to plan our public buildings and related matters with a view to the future, and to the grouping of building sites in a "civic center." so, in dealing with our transit problem; in investigating the health department, and in improving the type and quality of street pavements, i have wanted not all the information there was to be had--not books or formal reports--but concrete answers to immediately pressing questions. i wanted to be referred to the latest article or report which would make it unnecessary to go through twenty or a hundred other articles, books or reports. it is enough to know that in a great central library are all the working materials for scientific research. frankly, i feel that the actual use that will be made of the municipal reference library will be in inverse ratio to the number of books that are in evidence, and that require the time of the librarian. i would go so far as to say that anything that a public official has not just called for, or that the librarian is not about to call to the attention of a public official for departmental study or report, or for the drawing of ordinances, should be kept in the general library, and out of the municipal reference library. comptroller prendergast and librarian anderson are even planning to have new york's official correspondence "clear" through the municipal reference library--so far as the writing and answering of letters calling for special information goes. i am told that when portland recently started its municipal reference library the mayor promptly availed himself of its facilities for answering innumerable sets of questions and special questions that came from outside the city, and advised his heads of departments to follow his example. i wish the carnegie institution for scientific research or some other great foundation interested in the conservation of national resources and human energy would investigate what it is now costing this country to fill out the innumerable blanks from college boys wishing help on their commission government debate; college students writing theses; national organizations compiling reports, etc. niagara unharnessed was wasting much less power than are we officials, school superintendents, mayors, and engineers who are answering such questionnaires. it would be lamentable enough if we always answered right; but most of us answer quite inadequately, and many of us answer wrong. last year, a certain national society wrote me, asking certain questions about civil service reform. i had had more or less to do for some years with that line of public service. my instinct was to take time from pressing duties to answer these questions; but a neighbor who had received a similar set of questions was thoughtful enough to write to this national body and suggest that before he answered he would like to know how many other new york officials and private agencies had received the same set of questions. it appeared then that twenty different people, including a dozen officials, had been asked to fill out that blank. whereupon it was suggested that instead of drawing upon twenty people who did not possess the facts, the investigator might turn directly to the civil service commission that did possess the facts, and there, no doubt, he readily found what he wanted. now, if a municipal reference library could have served as a clearing house, it would have been brought to light at once that one answer would have served the purpose of twenty, or that one answer, at least, would have served the purpose of the dozen official answers. moreover, just as the official reports give fresher material than published books, such correspondence, manuscript reports of investigating committees, etc., give fresher material than published reports. such data should be kept properly classified, available upon call or when the librarian sees its time for usefulness. another practical suggestion i make from my experience as an official. while it seems to apply especially to administrative departments or to private agencies specializing in certain fields, i really do not see much prospect of getting it unless from a municipal reference library or from the municipal reference activity of a general library. i refer to an up-to-date "poole's" or cumulative index of the passing subject matter of city government. you get, the library gets, once a month a list of all the articles in the principal books. why should we not have a list of the advance steps taken in public affairs? just as soon as a few librarians call for such information, it will become commercially possible to reduce it. the individual library can then add to the material the particular points that are of interest to its own community. similarly, it would be of the greatest assistance to every city official if the matters under his jurisdiction were listed and material grouped under proper heads. for example, the president of the borough of manhattan has jurisdiction over the streets and sidewalks; encroachments and encumbrances; street vaults and street signs; the sewer system; the public buildings; the baths and markets; and the control of private buildings through the enforcement of the buildings laws. if information in regard to what other cities were doing in all these matters were listed, plus suggestions and advance steps taken in these same matters at home, the reference librarian would be of incalculable help to that office. finally, just a word about the expense of the municipal reference library. the amount which it is justified in demanding will depend naturally upon the service it renders. the merit of our new segregated and classified budget is that it calls for the work needing to be done, as well as the cost of not having the work done, and that it shifts attention from the personality that requests the budget allowance. a circumscribed program means circumscribed budget. frankly, i believe that extension of program should and must precede extension of budget. but this new kind of social work which serves a community at those points where it is now least equipped to serve itself, will not want for financial support when it talks about the work that should be done--and not about itself. no municipal activity will, in my judgment, find it easier in the next twenty-five years to secure adequate financial support than the municipal reference library which is not a compendium of knowledge but a forecaster of service needed and an ever-present help in time of trouble. the president: may i express to you, mr. mcaneny, the thanks of the american library association for your coming and the assurance that we have profited greatly from it. adjourned. sixth general session (saturday morning, june , .) the president: during the other sessions of the conference we have been considering people--and books. at this concluding session the topics on the program have special reference to books--and people. the first paper invites our interest by its suggestion of the flavor which old books bring. miss g. m. walton, of the michigan state normal college, will present this paper. the friendly book it was mr. lowell who reminded me the other day, by quoting ecclesiasticus in one of his essays, that we owe the ideal of the man of leisure to a book of the apocrypha wherein we read, "the wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure." our profession standing as a guarantor of our wisdom and our learning, i am here today to bespeak a portion of our large opportunity of leisure for--the friendly book. there is small fear that we librarians forget the books of power and the books of knowledge which dequincey (the ofttimes quoted) presses upon all men. and most of us undoubtedly possess that ardent zeal for knowledge which filled the soul of the literal-minded librarian who read quite seriously (and found therein a working category for her own improvement) lamb's letter to an old gentleman whose early education had been neglected, where, among the qualifications of a preceptor, the following will serve to refresh your memories: "he must be a thorough master of vernacular orthography, with an insight into the accentualities and punctualities of modern saxon. he must be competently instructed in the tetralogy, or first four rules. he must have a genius capable in some degree of soaring to the upper element, to deduce from thence the not much dissimilar computation of the cardinal points. he must instruct you in numeric and harmonious responses, and he must be capable of embracing all history, so as from the countless myriads of individual men, who have peopled this globe of earth--for it is a globe--by comparison of their respective births, lives, deaths, fortunes, conduct, prowess, etc., to pronounce, and teach you to pronounce, dogmatically and catechetically, who was the richest, who was the strongest, who was the wisest, who was the meekest man that ever lived; to the facilitation of which solution, you will readily conceive, a smattering of biography would in no inconsiderable degree conduce." i sometimes question if professions are not tinged with the culture epoch epidemic. it is not so very long since we were half hesitatingly taking a place among the other learned professions, almost with the apologetic air of the young boy making his first appearance in long trousers, and wondering if his fellow-men appreciate his coming into their midst--but the youth soon assumes the aggressive attitude which compels attention--and one symptom of this attitude which i feel among ourselves is the large and learned talk about =new= books--the self-satisfied air and monumental confidence in our sometimes sophomoric knowledge and understanding of all things "in the heavens above, the earth beneath, and the waters under the earth," until i wonder if the pleasant counsel about reading "books at least a year old, that we like, and that are great books" must be relegated with the rest of our emersonian philosophy to the lumber room of our many youthful joys and dreamings. i believe we all love best to mark the passing years by the friends they bring us, and it were a barren year that brings not one more friend, and so with our friendly books, which like all friendships fill our lives with genial warmth and gratitude. neither is really a matter of choice, for a book like a person yields its intimate charm only to the sympathizing heart. we have no care to answer why, other than, "because"--"we love them because we =must= love them." a new book friend comes to us now and then, and we cling to the old ones. sometimes we lose the personal touch, but we see their kindly faces and after a separation from them we arrange them on the shelves, and we rearrange them, and, as mr. arnold bennett says, "the way we walk up and down in front of those volumes, whose faces we have half forgotten, is perfectly infantile." i remember once in rome a friend, selecting photographs, said, "i must take a good cicero to my son frank, who used to say he felt as well acquainted with cicero as he did with bishop huntington," and dear old dean hook, when a lad at oxford expresses this same intimate feeling in one of his lively inimitable letters, "i have got into a very dissolute set of men, but they are so pleasant that they make me very often idle. it consists of one tuft, h. r. h., henry prince of wales, and a gentleman commoner named sir john falstaff, and several others. i breakfast with them, drink tea, and sometimes wine with them," and, again, on hearing the good news of the recovery of his grandfather, he writes, "the minute i opened the letter and saw the news, i pulled down my shakespeare and had a very merry hour with sir john falstaff. i was determined to laugh heartily all that day. i asked sir john to wine with me. i decanted a bottle of my beloved grandfather's best port and sir john and i drank his health right merrily. perhaps you will want to know how my old friend sir john drank my grandfather's health. why i took care to find out the place where he drank justice shallow's health. and so when i said, 'here's to sir walter,' i looked on the book and the knight said, 'health and long life to him.'" among the oldest and dearest of my friendly books is the "life and letters of lord macaulay," of which i became the happy owner, when it was fresh off the press, during a sojourn in the west, far away from my home library. the dates along the margins (one of macaulay's habits which i adopted as i read) bring pleasant thoughts of a journey from colorado to the western coast, and long before i knew dean hook (whom i first met here as the vicar of leeds) i was pulling macaulay down from the shelf, not indeed to drink with sir john, but to refer to some particular talk of men or of books--always to read on and on with equal delight whether he were breakfasting with a party of old trinity college friends, reading in his study, or acting as a guide and escort on a half holiday of sight-seeing with his nieces and nephews, with whom he was always the prince of playfellows. it was on one of these excursions to the zoological gardens that thackeray overheard someone say, "never mind the hippopotamus! never mind the hippopotamus! there's mr. =macaulay=!" when absent he exchanged long and frequent letters with the children, sealing those to his nephew at harrow with an amorphous mass of red wax, which, in defiance of all postal regulations, usually covered a piece of gold. a scrap from one of his letters to a little niece will serve also as an example of the poetry, which he usually attributed to the judicious poet, for whose collected works the children vainly searched the library. "michaelmas will, i hope, find us all at clapham over a noble goose. do you remember the beautiful puseyette hymn on michaelmas day? it is a great favorite with all the tractarians. you and alice should learn it. it begins: 'though quakers scowl and baptists howl, though plymouth brethren rage, we churchmen gay will wallow today in apple sauce, onions and sage. ply knife and fork, and draw the cork, and have the bottle handy; for each slice of goose we'll introduce a thimbleful of brandy.' is it not good? i wonder who the author can be? not newman, i think. it is above him. perhaps it is bishop wilberforce." the macaulays and the wilberforces living at clapham common are very real people to me, and my firm allegiance to trinity college, cambridge, has never wavered since macaulay's undergraduate days, not even when samuel wilberforce, the future bishop, went up to oriel college, oxford. and how doubly precious is a book-friendship, whose introduction claims a personal touch; as when, with the same friend who bought the photograph in rome, i afterwards visited winchester cathedral and standing beside the chantry tomb of bishop wilberforce she said, "when you go home, read his life. he was a great and good man," and i have continued reading it for nearly thirty years. wilberforce was undoubtedly for twenty-five years the greatest figure in the english church. his great sorrows made him tender and tolerant, and many who saw only the brilliant man little dreamed of the causes and depth of his power. he was made bishop of oxford in the troublous times of the tractarian movement, and so great was the work he accomplished and so devoted to him were his clergy that when translated to winchester, bishop stubbs, who succeeded him, coming from quiet chester, where his history was his chief occupation, ruefully asked, "why am i like the witch of endor? because i am tormented by the spirit of samuel." his quickness and humor flashed an unexpected light on many a question, as when asked why he was called soapy sam he answered it was probably because he was always in hot water and always came out with hands clean. and his whimsical reply to "who are the greatest preachers in england?"--is one of those comical self-evaluations which it is generally most hard to give--"i must refer you to an article on a lady's dress--hook and i." his absolute freedom from personal animosity shows itself in the story i like best of all. during a stormy committee meeting in which he and the bishop of london were violently opposed to each other, he threw a note across the table. supposing it to be some point on the business in hand, the bishop of london read, "my dear bishop: you really should not wear such boots. your life is too precious and valuable to us all to allow such carelessness." nothing could more touchingly express the devoted and loving esteem in which he was held than these words written at the time of his death: "with others who loved him, kneeling reverently beside the body, was mr. gladstone, whose sobs attested how deeply his feelings were moved by the sudden loss of his long-tried friend." the last time i was in england i made a sussex pilgrimage to his old home at lavington. it was in june, and my companion smiled as i exclaimed with enthusiasm, "st. barnabas day, the eleventh of june--the bishop's wedding day!" we saw the trees he had planted and loved, the spot whence he would turn for a last homeward look, saying he was as proud of being a sussex squire as a bishop; and best of all the great clumps of rhododendron which he planted with his own hands. since so many librarians are gardening as a favorite recreation, why not have a friendly corner in the garden, where we may "consider the lilies of the field," as we are bidden in that dearest of all books, and where each mood, whether gay or somber, would find echo from the "eternal passion" of the poets--"rosemary for remembrance, or pray you love, remember there's pansies, they're for thoughts." growing next to these in my own garden is the fragrant carolina allspice, because it was the best loved of flowers by henry bradshaw. i sometimes question if a book is truly a friendly book unless i possess it, and yet this in a way would cut off both thackeray and the friend whom he loved best of all, "dear old fitz," for i gave away my "fitzgerald's letters" to a friend with whom i exchange many friendly books. a man of leisure and literary tastes, and in easy circumstances, fitzgerald avoided fame as earnestly as most men seek it. living in a country cottage with a garden, books, pictures and music, he cherished his many lifelong friendships, which he says were more like loves, by writing letters which have a touch of gentle humor and of tender and unaffected charm, as in a letter to frederick tennyson: "i have been through three influenzas; but this is no wonder, for i live in a hut with walls as thin as a sixpence, windows that don't shut, a clay soil safe beneath my feet and a thatch perforated by lascivious sparrows over my head. here i sit, read, smoke and become wise, and am already quite beyond earthly things. i must say to you as basil montague once said in perfect charity to his friends: 'you see my dear fellows, i like you very much, but i continue to advance, and you remain where you are, you see, and so i am obliged to leave you behind. it is no fault of mine.' you must begin to read seneca, whose letters i have been reading, else you will be no companion to a man who despises wealth, death, etc. i wish you were here to smoke a pipe with me. i play of evenings some of handel's grand choruses which are the bravest music after all." and again, to william bodham donne, when puzzled over his agamemnon and the line of signal fires from troy to mycenæ, he writes, "i am ignorant of geography, modern and ancient, and do not know the points of the beacons, and lemprière, the only classic at hand, doesn't help me. pray turn to the passage and tell me (quotes three lines of greek) what, where and why. the rest i know or can find in dictionary or map, but for these: lemprière is no-where: liddell and scott don't help me a jot, when i'm off, donnegan don't help me on again. so i'm obliged to resort to old donne again." a postscript in a letter to charles eliot norton reads--"only a word, to add that yesterday came squire carlyle from you, and a kind long letter from mr. lowell; and the first nightingale, who sang in my garden the same song as in shakespeare's days." and finally, to lawrence the portrait painter: "have we exchanged a word about thackeray since his death? i am quite surprised to see how i sit moping about him, so little have i seen him the last ten years, and not once for the last five. to be sure i keep reading his 'newcomes' of nights and now i have got hold of 'pendennis.' i keep hearing him say so much of it; i really think i shall hear his step coming up the stairs to this lodging, and about to come (singing) into my room as in old charlotte street thirty years ago." and ten years later he writes, "a night or two ago i was reading old thackeray's 'roundabouts,' and (a sign of a good book) heard him talking to me." i am sorry that so many people know fitzgerald only because of the "rubaiyat." i confess myself to be rather like-minded with "that certain old person of ham, who grew weary of omar khayyam, fitzgerald, said he, is as right as can be, but this cult, and these versions, o, damn!" and thackeray, there is no one book which stands for him, save, perhaps, the dear little old brown volume of letters to the brookfields. it is here that we learn much of "pendennis." in one letter he writes, "i am going to kill mrs. pendennis presently, and have her ill in this number. minnie says, 'o papa, do make her well again! she can have a regular doctor and be =almost= dead, and there will come a nice homeopathic physician who will make her well again.'" we who truly know and love him find him ever in his own pages as he smiles kindly at us through his spectacles, or we feel the difficulty with which he is keeping his spectacles dry, and we too say, "dear old thackeray," as in the lines at the end of the white squall, where with pages of nonsense, he writes how the captain "beat the storm to laughter for well he knew his vessel with that wind would wrestle; and when a wreck we thought her, and doomed ourselves to slaughter, how gaily he fought her, and through the hubbub brought her, and when the tempest caught her, cried, george some brandy and water. and when its force expended, the harmless storm was ended, and as the sunrise splendid came blushing o'er the sea, i thought, as day was breaking, my little girls were waking, and smiling and making a prayer at home for me." one of these little girls, minnie thackeray, became the wife of leslie stephen, of whom mr. lowell speaks as "that most lovable of men," whose life and letters, so full of rich and wondrous friendships, and of deep and subtle charm, is always a midnight companion if taken up in the evening. while our serious-minded librarian may find its chief value in the chapter on "the struggle with the dictionary," where as editor, i presume many of us first met with stephen, (and which would prove invaluable to lamb's old gentleman) she will find there only a small part of the real leslie stephen, who wrote one day to edmund gosse, "no, r. l. s. is not the real leslie stephen, but a young scotchman whom colvin has found--robert louis stevenson." it is a temptation to linger over stephen's letters to john morley and charles eliot norton (perhaps his closest lifelong friends), and to the rich list of literary men whom he knew so well through his long years of literary and editorial work. like those of lowell and stevenson, his letters lead one constantly to the reading of his books, wherein again one always finds himself. it were difficult to imagine more felicitous titles of self-revelation than "hours in a library," "the amateur emigrant," and "my study window." i cannot leave stephen without a word from the "letters to john richard green" (little johnny green) which he edited. as macaulay used to love to prove the goods he praised by samples of quotation, i will content myself with green's questioning freeman, in a long letter full of early english history: "by the way, have you seen stubb's hymn on froude and kingsley? 'froude informs the scottish youth that parsons do not care for truth. the reverend canon kingsley cries: history is a pack of lies. what cause for judgments so malign? a brief reflection solves the mystery, froude believes kingsley's a divine, and kingsley goes to froude for history.'" long years ago my eye caught the title, "from shakespeare to pope," gosse, and as i took down the book, i asked, "well, what was there from shakespeare to pope?"--a question which the book answered so delightfully that i read it straight through twice, while the critical kit kats is my particular joy in introducing to friendly books my young student readers, whom i send off armed with it, together with a volume of fitzgerald, or stevenson, or the browning sonnets. mr. gosse has such a comfortable and intimate way of saying things that makes one feel it is one's own expression of one's own thoughts. i suppose most of us own to a pocket copy of shakespeare's sonnets, wherein we have marked many a line, and then mr. gosse writes for us, as he sends the sonnets to a friend: "this is the holy missal shakespeare wrote, then, on sad evenings when you think of me, or when the morn seems blyth, yet i not near, open this book, and read, and i shall be the meter murmuring at your bended ear; i cannot write my love with shakespeare's art, but the same burden weighs upon my heart." do your friendly books ever find each other out upon the shelves? after reading in mary cowden clarke's "my long life," of her childish, reverent awe towards keats and shelley, who were often guests in her father's house, the book found its place next to those poets, and was it keats who was sitting on the sofa when the same little girl crept up behind and kissed his hand just because she had heard he was a poet? gilbert white's "natural history of selborne," much in the same way stands beside lowell, in whose "garden acquaintance," i first learned its "delightful charm of absolute leisure," and here too, when it leaves my study table, stands that dear big book which still claims my leisure hours, "charles eliot, landscape architect," one of those rare books with a subtle and unconscious autobiographic touch, when one chances upon the fact that the writer was harvard's president, telling the story as the brief fore-note says, "for the dear son, who died in the bright prime-- from the father." but this is all very personal and my only hope is that while i am reading, you are following the example of my sometime youthful nephew, who, on being asked about the sermon one sunday after church, answered, "why really, mamma, i don't know what it was about. i got tired listening, and withdrew my attention and went fishing." finally, although we are admonished not to put new wine into old bottles, there fortunately is no admonition against old wine in new bottles, and friendliness is certainly the richest of wine both in men and in books. nor am i at all certain that in the last analysis it is not the supreme grace which makes possible that joy in life, without which we are of necessity cast into a limbo of outer darkness, and so i commend to you the best of old wine which ever lingers in the friendly book. the president: our good old friend, dr. canfield, once told a story about a critic who after a life devoted to the gentle art of making enemies was gathered to his fathers. those who had known him, and who had for the most part been recipients of his buffetings gathered about his bier, and compared notes and estimates of the special qualities which the late departed had possessed. yes, said one, "he loved us so well that he chastised us frequently." true, said another, "he could never catch sight of one of us without administering a vigorous kick." at this the eyelids of the deceased were seen to flutter a bit, and he sat bolt upright and his sepulchral voice made this response: "yes, but i always kicked towards the goal." now perhaps this introduction may not seem to be a very happy preliminary to the paper about to be announced, and in some respects its application may not be evident, for certainly the speaker who is about to talk to us, on "how to discourage reading" is by no means a dead one. he has, however, been somewhat active in the kicking process--though always towards the goal. i present to you mr. edmund l. pearson, of the boston transcript. mr. pearson: the president has very kindly referred to the fact that while i do not practice the profession of librarian, i tell other people how they ought to do it. he might have made use of a quotation or a sentence or two at the beginning of mark twain's "puddin'head wilson," only i fear that mr. legler was too courteous to use it. i have no hesitation in speaking of it myself. mark twain says of the puddin'head wilson maxims: "these maxims are for the instruction and moral elevation of youth. to be good is noble, but to tell others how to be good is nobler and much less trouble." mr. pearson read the following paper: how to discourage reading when the "five foot shelf" of books were published, three of my friends bought the set. one of them did so without any pretence that he was going to read them. he is a somewhat naïve young man, able to indulge his whims, and he said he thought that buying the books "would help out president eliot." that is a very meritorious sentiment to hold toward the compilers or authors of books--i wish that there were more persons who felt that way. i have no fault to find with him, at all. nor have i any complaint to make against the other two men. blame is not what they deserve, but commiseration. like the girl in the song, they are "more to be pitied than censured." the price was a consideration with them, and they gave up their money for the sake of being forever cut off from all those tremendous "classics." for that is what it amounted to. one of these men has a very pretty office, with some nice bookshelves, painted white. he added to the books of his profession and some other works of general literature, this "five foot shelf"--which occupies, i believe, about eighteen feet of shelf room. he tried to read one of the books--i know he did that, because he admitted it--and he confided to me that he thought it was silly. the third man bought the "five foot shelf," and announced his determination "to read the whole thing right through." he did this with set teeth, as if he might have said: "i'll read 'em if they kill me!" well, he started one of them. he read a little in franklin's "autobiography." i know he did, because he told me about it. he and i belong to that irritating class of persons who get up early and take long walks before breakfast, and then take care to mention it later in the day, as if to cast discredit on other people. we have to go early, too, because we intersperse the walks with runs, and he has dignity to maintain, and it wouldn't do for him to dash about the streets after other people are up. while we walked, or dog-trotted, about the country roads he told me about the "autobiography." but i have noticed that he has left the "five foot shelf." i doubt if he even finished that first one of its volumes which he attempted. when he talks about books now, it is about the "history of the american people." he is a democrat, and like many democrats he has discovered that our history has been truly written only according to mr. woodrow wilson. will any one of those three men ever read =two whole= volumes from that set? it is doubtful--very doubtful. and their cases are, i believe, typical of thousands of others. and what is true of the "five foot shelf" is true of a score of other collections--the hundred best books, the greatest books of the universe, the most ponderous volumes of the ages, the selected and highly recommended classics of all nations. there are dozens of them--you all know them--these "standard" sets and collections, in which learned and well-intentioned men have innocently conspired with publishers to discourage reading. the "five foot shelf" is not picked out for especial disapprobation. as a matter of fact, i suppose it is far better, far more human in its selections, far more readable in some of its titles than most of these sets of "great" books. but there is something about every one of these collections of classics that acts like a palsy upon the reading faculty. it is a little mysterious, rather hard to define, but that it exists i have no manner of doubt. it would be impossible to doubt, after seeing it demonstrated so many times. take, at random, the titles of five famous books--books which are apt to turn up in these sets or collections. plato's "republic," the "odyssey," the "morte d'arthur," the "anatomy of melancholy," and "don quixote." take the average man, the man usually known as the "business" man. suppose that he has not read any of these books in his school days--that he has reached the age of forty without reading them. now, the chances are at least a hundred to one that he =never= reads them. but let him buy one of the sets of thirty or forty volumes, in which these five books are included, and the chances against his reading any one of the five, instead of being diminished, are enormously increased. it is now certainly three hundred to one that he never reads any of the five books. there is something benumbing, something deadening, something stupefying, to the average man to take into his house six yards of solid "culture." and this i believe to be true as a general statement, in spite of instances which may be adduced here and there. but, mind you, if this same man happens to have his attention called to one of the books--especially to either of the last two, as they are a little nearer the temper of our time--and if he gets one of them, =by itself=, there is now a fair probability that he may read at least part of it. he =may= even finish it. if he really wishes to read the so-called great books let him forever beware of acquiring one of those overwhelming lumps of literature--the publisher's delight and the book-agent's darling--known by some such name as the colossal classics of the world. they breed hypocrites and foster humbugs. he buys them and =thinks= he is going to read them. they look ponderous and weighty and erudite upon his shelves--to the innocent. people exclaim: "my! what fine books you have!" he tries to smile a wise smile--to give the impression that they are the companions of his solitude, the consolation of his wakeful hours. he knows that these people won't ask if he has ever read any of them. they are afraid he might come back at them with: "oh, yes, of course. now, how do =you= like milton's 'areopagitica'?" after a time he begins to think he =has= read them--because he has looked at the backs, and started to cut one or two of them. then it is all up with him. he never even tries to read them again. they just stand there and occasionally make him a little uncomfortable. making friends with books, and especially with those famous books which require some concentration, is like making friends with people. you can not do it in a wholesale, yardstick manner. if they come into our lives at all, they come subtly, slowly, one at a time. if a man should walk into this room saying: "all my life i have been without friends, i have decided that i wish to have friends--i am going to adopt all of you, every one of you, as a friend, here and now!"--you know how an experiment like that would succeed. it is the same with books. in the competition for the best method to discourage reading, the second prize should be awarded to that pestilential invention--the complete works of an author. there was a publisher--he still lives--who told one of his agents: "books are not made to read; they are made to sell." he was probably the inventor of that discourager of reading, the complete works. if one of you wishes to keep a friend in total ignorance of any writer, there is an almost certain method--give him one of the sets of the complete works of that writer. it is a sure method to kill interest. as in the case of the collections of classics, there is something wholesale and overpowering about such a set. it is thrown at your head, so to speak, in a chunk, and you never get over the blow. imagine the case of a man who had never read dickens. if he is wise, he goes at him one book at a time, he tests and he tries, and at the end of a few years he owns eight or ten books--well-thumbed books, that have been read, and that represent pleasure. but if he listens to the book-agent he contracts for a yard and a half of dickens, and when it comes he gazes in despair at that rigid row of books--as unassailable as a regiment of prussian grenadiers. that is the end of all intercourse between him and charles dickens. "oh, you might as well have them all," says the agent, "you needn't read the ones you don't like." that is what the waiter told the man when he brought him a breakfast-cup full of coffee, after dinner, instead of a demi-tasse: "you ain't got to drink all of it." miles upon miles of these sets of complete works are sold every year, and from one end of the land to the other, heads of families are sinking back comfortably upon their morris chairs, and gazing in fatuous self-satisfaction at their bookcases, which they have just filled, at one swoop, with nine yards of the complete works of scott, cooper, dumas, dickens, and thackeray. "look, mother, we've got the bookcase filled up at last!" "well, i am glad to see it! it was distressin' to see all those shelves so empty like." will they ever look at them? never a look! it is even odds they do not cut the pages. now that the noble art of pressing autumn leaves has gone out--you know how it was done, with wax and a hot flatiron, and then you put them between the pages of a book--now that pastime is forgotten, there isn't one remaining cause why those pages should ever be opened. the insides of those books will be the most secret place in that house henceforth. talk about sliding panels and secret drawers in old writing-desks--they are open and conspicuous in comparison. they will be great for hiding places--i think i will write a melodrama and have the missing will turn up in the fifth act, sixty years later, hidden between page and page of one of the volumes in somebody's complete works. for the third place in the list of best methods to discourage reading there are two competitors. they are so nearly tied that it is hard to choose between them. i am inclined to think that the honor should be awarded to the custom of setting up counsels of perfection in the matter of recommending the so-called "classics" to possible readers, of saying by word of mouth, or by printed page: "these are the great classics, the great books of the world" and adding, by implication, "if you don't like them, after making heroic attempts, then you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting." this word "classics" covers a multitude of nuisances and perplexities. the "classics" include books which are still alive with humanity, which are delightful today to any person who is at all bookish, and they include books which are so utterly alien, so far removed from our time, place and habit of mind, that it is absolutely absurd to pretend that anyone in this year and land, except a few, a very few, specialists, can read them with any pleasure, or can read them at all, in fact, except under compulsion. these lists of the great classics are too frequently compiled with a cowardly obedience to tradition. it matters a little what some great person of a hundred or a thousand years ago thought about a book--but it does not matter much. recently, i saw in a book a list of great persons who had been influenced by this or that book. some book or other influenced madame de maintenon--what of it? doubtless other books, far less desirable, influenced her, too, so what does it prove? the value of books, as a recent writer has pointed out, shifts and changes with the changing years. what may have been truly a great book a thousand years ago is not necessarily great today--no matter how many famous personages have embalmed it in their praise, and no matter how many other personages have praised it, not because they enjoyed it themselves, but because the earlier ones did. such a book is interesting--to specialists--as a milestone in the history of literature, but it is not to be forced, however gently, upon the general reader as a book he "ought" to read. museums of art, like the louvre, contain paintings which ignoramuses like myself look upon with astonishment. mediæval pictures of the most hideous description--how came they in the same building with these other beautiful works of art? is it possible that anyone is so silly as to pretend to admire them? and then the explanation dawns upon the ignoramus: they are here to illustrate the development of the art of painting. this is a museum, as well as a collection of beautiful things. no one who is honest pretends to enjoy their beauty. it is thus with books. a great collection of books may well contain those writings which seemed full of meaning to people two thousand years ago, but they are not to be held up--not all of them, at any rate--as books which anybody "ought" to read today. the significance of any work of literature, however noble, is a thing to ebb and flow, and finally to vanish altogether. professor barrett wendell reminded me once that shakespeare's plays and my daily themes would alike, one day, be dust and atoms in the void of the centuries--but i do not think that he meant unduly to compliment shakespeare by this association. since it is always better to come down to tacks in speaking of books, i will mention some of the classics which have little significance today. it is always dangerous to do this--somebody is sure to hold up his hand and exclaim: "why, i like =them=, very much," or "i know an old gentleman who reads =that=, every night before going to bed." but i will take the risk, and say that the greek and french dramas of the classic periods are works of literature almost certain to appear on most of these lists of best books, and that it is almost sheer humbug to put them there. so few people can read them, there is so little reason--especially in the case of the french plays--why anyone =should= read them, today, that their inclusion is a pitiful example of lack of courage. in the matter of the french drama i speak especially of racine and corneille--names almost certain to appear on these lists of the classics. someone will relate the story about napoleon saying that if racine (or was it corneille?) had lived in his time, he would have made him a marshal. then some of his plays are smugly entered upon the list. with their stiff, set speeches, their ridiculous unbosomings of the leading characters of their "confidantes," they are as out of place in our life as were their caesars, alexanders, and pompeys, teetering about the stage in high-heeled shoes, ruffles, wigs, and all the rest of the costume of louis xiv. it is good to recommend the classics, but it must not be forgotten that there are classics, and classics. there should be independence, and an ability to look things in the face, to realize that a change has come, when it is already here. why should the people who deal with books let the politicians get ahead of them? there is a bright, clean air blowing through the nation, and those who worship fusty precedent are correspondingly unhappy. we have a president who cares not a rap for mouldy and senseless traditions--he has learned well the lesson taught him by one of his predecessors. if president wilson has the courage to point out that the final authority on matters of factory legislation and mine inspection in the year is not necessarily thomas jefferson, is it not possible for the critics and choosers of books to understand that dr. johnson and madame de maintenon have not uttered the last word about literature? there might and should be a "new freedom" of literary criticism--not yesterday, nor today, nor tomorrow, but all the time. here is another way to discourage reading. you can do it by giving a man one of these over-annotated editions of a book. i mean a book which has so many footnotes that the text is crowded right out of bed; a book in which the editor is so pleased with himself for discovering that the father of lady hester somebody (who is mentioned in the text) was born in and died in that he simply has not the decent manners to keep his useless knowledge to himself. no; he must tell it to you, even though he elbows the author--a better man than himself--out of the way to do it. one of the best books of its kind--i speak under correction--is george birkbeck hill's edition of boswell's "johnson." it is, i believe, correct, and scholarly; it certainly represents a vast amount of labor, and it is "very valuable for reference." also it is admirably arranged for driving a reader away from boswell forever. it is positively exasperating to see page after page on which boswell occupies two lines at the top, and dr. hill takes up all the rest of the room. sometimes he takes up the whole page! yet that edition is recommended to readers by persons who ought to know better. other excellent examples--i am speaking only of much-praised books--are found in the furness variorum editions of shakespeare. when one of these volumes appears it is usually greeted by a chorus of "oh's!" and "ah's!" as when a particularly gorgeous skyrocket goes up on fourth of july night. such scholarship! such a boon to earnest shakespeareans! such labor! such erudition! well, a great deal of that praise is deserved--each volume is certainly a tour de force. but i wish to read you from a review of the latest of them--a review written for the boston herald, by mr. john macy, the author of that vigorous and sensible book, "the spirit of american literature." it deals with "the tragedie of julius caesar" edited by horace howard furness, jr. "this," writes mr. macy, "is the latest volume in 'a new variorum edition of shakespeare,' and is the first under the sole editorship of the late dr. furness' son. from an enormous mass of commentary, criticism, word-worrying, text-marring and learned guesswork, mr. furness has chosen what seem to him the best notes. the sanity of his introduction and the good sense of some of his own notes lead one to suppose that he has selected with discrimination from the notes of others. his work is a model of patience, industry and judgment. he plays well in this game of scholarship. but what is the game worth? what is the result? "here is a volume of nearly large pages. the text is a literal reprint of the folio. the clear stream of poetry runs along the tops of the pages. under that is a deposit of textual emendations full of clam-shells and lost anchors and tin cans. under that is a mud bottom two centuries deep. it consists of (a) what scholars said shakespeare said; (b) what scholars said shakespeare meant; (c) what scholars said about what other scholars said; (d) what scholars said about the morality and character of the personages, as ( ) they are in shakespeare's play, and as ( ) they are in other historical and fictitious writings; (e) what scholars said about how other people used the words that shakespeare used; (f) what scholars said could be done to shakespeare's text to make him a better poet. i have not read all those notes and i never shall read them. life is too short and too interesting. all the time that i was trying to read the notes, so that i could know enough about them to write this article, my mind kept swimming up out of the mud into that clear river of text. it is a perfectly clear river. some of the obscurities that scholars say are there are simply not obscure, except as poetry ought to have a kind of obscurity in some turbulent passages. some of the obscurities the scholars put there in their innocence and stupidity, and those obscurities you can eliminate by blandly ignoring them." these learned and over-annotated editions--they are not intended, you say, for the casual reader. yet they get into his hand--they are, sometimes recommended to him. and, as mr. macy asks, are they worth the labor they have cost--are they worth it to =anybody=? looking at them reminds me of the ideal ascetic of the middle ages, st. simeon stylites. st. simeon was considered the most religious man of his time because for twenty years he lived upon a pillar that "numbered forty cubits from the soil," and because he would "'tween the spring and downfall of the light, bow down one thousand and two hundred times, to christ, the virgin mother, and the saints." in spite of that, st. simeon is not the ideal religious man today. will these fact-collectors be the ideal scholars a century hence? are we sometimes acclaiming as great scholars men who are really doing nothing but a tremendous amount of grubbing? are some of the so-called scholarly editions really scholarly, or are they simply gigantic "stunts?" whatever may be their value for reference, and that is vastly over-rated, they discourage reading. it is also possible to drive people away from books, or make it difficult for them to get near books, by printing confusing things about them. it is possible to catalog a book--according to the best rules--in such a fashion as to make it an exceedingly unattractive, not to say repellant object. this is bad enough when it is done in the formal catalog, but when it is done in little leaflets, and book-lists--things which ought to be informal and inviting--the case is very sad. the other day i saw an entry in a book-list which read like this: "dickens. whipple, e. p. charles dickens." the expert is in no doubt; the uninitiated may well be confused to know which is the author and which the subject. when someone defends such practices by saying: "but the rules!" someone else, whose voice is a voice of authority ought to say: "fudge! and also fiddle-de-dee!" the general subject today is "the world of books." it is a delightful world--one so different from that into which we emerge every morning that it seems hard, sometimes, to realize that the one exists inside the other. it is a place of entertainment within the reach of any of us. there are a few obstructions around the entrance--some of which i have tried to describe. people have built up walls of impossible "classics"; publishers have tried to string a barbed-wire fence of complete works around it. pedants stand outside, calling upon you to swallow a couple of gallons of facts before you go into the great tent. you can walk by them all. inside, everything is pleasant. over in one corner are the folk who like to play with first editions, unique copies, unopened copies, and all the rest of those expensive toys. some of these gentlemen have about as much to do with the world of books as have the collectors of four-post beds and old blue china, but many of them are very good fellows. most of them do not belong in here at all, but, like boys who have crawled in under the tent, now they are inside they think they have as much right as anybody. some of them, indeed, are quite uppish and superior, and inclined to look down on the rest of us who have a vulgar notion that books are made to =read=. here is all you require--a comfortable chair, and a pipe. and the company! well, look around: dear lamb and excellent montaigne, sterne and the credible defoe, borrow, dequincey, the great dean, the sturdy leisurist thoreau; the furtive soul whose dark romance, by ghostly door and haunted stair, explored the dusty human heart, and the forgotten garrets there; the moralist it could not spoil, to hold an empire in his hands; sir walter, and the brood who sprang, from homer through a hundred lands, singers of songs on all men's lips, tellers of tales in all men's ears, movers of hearts that still must beat, to sorrows feigned and fabled tears. at the conclusion of mr. pearson's paper a book symposium was conducted in which the following members of the association briefly discussed the respective books here indicated: hine. modern organization. reviewed by paul blackwelder. crispi's memoirs and the recent literature of the risorgimento. reviewed by bernard c. steiner. goldmark. fatigue and efficiency. reviewed by katherine t. wootten. tarbell. the business of being a woman. reviewed by pearl i. field. antin. the promised land. reviewed by althea h. warren. brieux. la femme seule. reviewed by corinne bacon. the great analysis. reviewed by josephine a. rathbone. weyl. the great democracy. reviewed by frank k. walter. the president: before inducting into office the president-elect i shall ask the secretary whether there are any announcements to be made or if any new business is to come up at this time? is there any business for the council to consider? dr. andrews: there are some resolutions from the documents round table to come before the council and perhaps other routine work. the president: they will be referred to the council. we will receive the report of the tellers concerning the election. the secretary: the report of the tellers states that you have elected as your officers for the coming year the following persons: report of the tellers of election no. of votes president e. h. anderson, director new york public library first vice-president h. c. wellman, librarian city library, springfield, mass. second vice-president gratia a. countryman, librarian minneapolis public library members of executive board (for years) herbert putnam, librarian of congress, washington harrison w. craver, librarian carnegie library, pittsburgh members of council (for years) mary eileen ahern, editor "public libraries," chicago cornelia marvin, librarian oregon state library alice s. tyler, director western reserve library school r. r. bowker, editor "library journal," new york a. l. bailey, librarian wilmington (del.) institute free library trustee of endowment fund (for years) e. w. sheldon, president u. s. trust co., new york forrest b. spaulding, john f. phelan, tellers of election. the president: you have heard the result of the election. i shall ask mr. gardner m. jones and mr. harrison w. craver to show the president-elect the way to the platform. (the committee escorted mr. anderson to the platform.) mr. president-elect, it is with special personal satisfaction that i have announced to you the result unanimously made by this conference in choosing you to the honorable position of president. i am personally gratified in that you represent, i think, so splendidly many of the elements which have been talked about during this meeting. you are yourself a graduate of a library school, yet you have sympathy with those who have not attained to that distinction. you have been associated with a great scientific library, you have been in charge of a medium-sized library and are now at the head of the largest public library in the world; and yet many of us have had evidences that you have the deepest and warmest sympathy for the small and struggling library, no matter where it may be. mr. president-elect, the retiring board of officers received this gavel not as an emblem of authority, but as a symbol of service. as such we commit it to your care for the next year. for the retiring board of officers i may say, in the words of wynken deworde in one of his colophons, "and now we make an end. if we have done well, we have done that which we would have desired; and if but meanly and slenderly, we yet have done that which we could attain unto." the wish goes from the ex-president to the president that the most successful administration in the history of the association may be the one which is about to begin. (mr. legler then handed the gavel to mr. anderson and retired from the platform.) president anderson: ladies and gentlemen, fellow members of the association: in the first place, i want to express my heartfelt thanks for the gracious things the retiring president has just been pleased to say concerning my humble self. furthermore, i have to thank him for giving me an opportunity to correct a mistake which has been current in this association for some twenty years, namely, that i am the graduate of a library school. i was at the albany library school--more years ago than i care to tell--between seven and eight months. my money ran out and i had to get a job. i did not even complete the first year. that is a reflection on me, not upon the library school. the exigencies of trains and luncheons would make it unfair if not cruel for me to detain you here this morning with a speech and i shall make none. but i want to beg you on this occasion to forget and forgive the disagreeable things said or done by the officers-elect in the heat of a bitter partisan campaign. (laughter--there was no opposition ticket.) seriously, i want to express to you all, not merely for myself but for every member of the incoming executive board and the incoming members of the council, our appreciation of the honor you have conferred upon us and of the responsibilities you have placed upon our shoulders. we can only hope to maintain--and it will require a struggle and great and arduous work on our part to maintain--the high standard set by our predecessors. i thank you. if there is nothing further to come before us the conference will stand adjourned. adjourned sine die. executive board meeting of june , meeting called to order by president legler. other members present were miss eastman, messrs. anderson, andrews, putnam and wellman. several matters of routine business were transacted, including the reception and adoption of the report of the committee on nominations. upon motion of mr. anderson, seconded by dr. putnam, mrs. h. l. elmendorf was elected member of the publishing board to succeed herself for a term of three years. in behalf of the committee on international relations, dr. putnam reported that with such information as it had been able to gather the committee felt unable to make any affirmative recommendation as to participation by the american library association in the proposed exposition of the book and graphic arts at leipzig in . adjourned. meeting of june th present: president anderson, miss eastman, messrs. andrews, wellman and craver. mr. wellman presented his resignation as non-official member in view of his election to the office of first vice-president, which, upon motion of dr. andrews, was accepted. upon motion of mr. craver, it was unanimously voted that w. n. c. carlton be elected to the executive board to fill the unexpired term of mr. wellman. mr. carlton was called to the meeting and took his place as a member of the board. a meeting place for was next considered. miss edith a. phelps, librarian of the carnegie library of oklahoma city, appeared before the board and invited the association to meet in oklahoma city, her invitation being seconded by the oklahoma library association and other organizations of the state. invitations were received also by letter from the convention bureaus of new orleans, nashville, wilmington, del., milwaukee, and other places. after informal discussion it was voted that the secretary be instructed to investigate facilities for holding the conference at madison, wis., and if, in the opinion of the president and secretary, conditions at madison are not favorable for a meeting, that mackinac and ottawa beach be investigated in the order here named. invitations from the authorities of the panama-pacific exposition to hold the conference at san francisco in were read and from the california library association to the same effect, mr. everett r. perry, of los angeles, bearing the invitation from the latter association. invitations were also received from the library authorities of seattle, seconded by the business organizations of that city and by the convention bureaus of other cities of the pacific northwest. it was voted to refer this information to the next executive board. mr. william stetson merrill presented the following report in behalf of the committee on code for classifiers, which, upon motion, was accepted as a report of progress, and the request for an appropriation of $ referred to the meeting of the executive board in january. the committee on code for classifiers begs to present a report of progress. during the past year no general meeting of the committee has been held, but the chairman has been in correspondence with several members of the committee and considerable data have been collected for the proposed manual for classifiers. messrs. bay and merrill are more immediately concerned with this section of the work and over three hundred points have been assembled for future consideration. an appropriation of twenty dollars ($ . ) to cover typewriting, postage and stationery is requested. respectfully submitted, (signed) wm. stetson merrill, chairman. at the request of the secretary a transfer of funds was authorized as follows: from the contingency fund to conference fund, $ , and to miscellaneous fund $ , leaving a balance in the contingency fund of $ . upon motion of dr. andrews, it was voted that members joining the association after the annual conference shall only be required to pay one-half year's dues together with the usual initiation fee of $ . consideration of the question of issuing the annual handbook in biographical section form was postponed until the next meeting of the executive board. a letter was read from dr. frank p. hill, suggesting that a special committee be appointed to consider the matter of participating in the proposed leipzig exposition and to ascertain the cost of such participation as well as the possibility of securing a creditable exhibit from american libraries. it was voted that a special committee of three on this subject be appointed by the president, which committee shall make the report to the committee on international relations. the president appointed as this committee dr. hill with power to add the other two members. it was unanimously voted that an appropriation of $ from the contingency fund be made to each of the three members of the travel committee as partial compensation for expenses incurred in the performance of association duties, and that the thanks of the executive board be expressed with regret that the finances of the association did not permit a complete reimbursement of expenses. a report was submitted from the committee on cost and method of cataloging, but owing to the lack of time for proper consideration the secretary was instructed to have the report typewritten and copies sent to the respective members of the executive board. at the request of the committee that two other members be added to the committee, one of them to be located in chicago, the other to be the head cataloger of one of the public libraries taking part in the investigation, the president appointed the following persons: j. c. m. hanson and margaret mann. the request of the committee for an appropriation of not to exceed $ was referred to the january meeting of the executive board. the report is as follows: report of the committee on cost and method of cataloging the present report is preliminary only. before a final report can be made a more detailed inquiry must be undertaken of the way in which the work is handled in libraries of various types. the methods used in the libraries that have taken part in the present investigation vary to a considerable degree, and do not always seem to lend themselves to an accurate classification by character or size of library; in some cases this is possible, for instance when we find that the receipt of much duplicate material in the large public libraries having extensive systems of branch libraries has developed a method of handling these that is almost uniform for all. one element which disturbs the cataloging work in these libraries is that the withdrawal and cancellation of the records of lost and worn-out books is done by the cataloging departments. five of the twenty libraries do not at present readily lend themselves to comparison in all respects with the others, the library of congress and the new york public library on account of their size and complicated organization, the libraries of harvard university and the university of chicago because of the disturbances caused by present work of reorganization and recataloging, and the new york state library on account of its rapid growth since the fire two years ago. in other libraries recataloging goes on simultaneously with the current work, but it does not cause the same disturbances as in the cases mentioned. while most libraries count classification and shelf-listing as parts of the cataloging, only four include accessioning, and three do not include either of the four processes mentioned under point in the questionnaire sent out by the committee. three libraries state expressly that the assignment of subject headings is done by the cataloging force, but this is probably also the case with some who do not mention the fact. in one case the reference and cataloging work are combined in one department; in general, reference work seems to be the catalogers' favorite side line. in some libraries the determination of headings and the form of entry is determined by the heads of the department, in others all the original work is done by the assistants and afterwards revised, while in at least one case such work as classification and the assignment of subject headings is done by specialists, each handling his particular subject. two or three libraries employ a special assistant for the cataloging of serial publications. two libraries have all statistical recording done by a special assistant or clerk. whether a library prints its cards or has them written or typewritten in several copies, does not seem to influence the method of work except at the final point, but the growing use of cards printed by some other library has introduced an element that did not exist when any of the libraries taking part in the investigation were organized. the cost of cataloging can not be determined until a definite unit has been agreed upon. the way to reach such agreement might be in line with the method employed by the boston public library, where a considerable number of volumes were set aside for this investigation and the time and money spent on each work carefully computed. by employing a similar way of investigating not only the cost, but also the routine gone through with a book in a number of libraries on its way from the unpacking room to the shelves, some definite unit might be found. the work of the committee has only begun; it should be planned to go much more into details than the present questionnaire indicates. the purpose of the committee should be twofold; to find out whether a method of handling the routine with a minimum expenditure of time could be worked out that could be recommended as standard, and to study how the work might be so arranged as to be made in some degree less mechanical to those who are capable of more or less independent handling of literary material for the purpose of preparing it for use by readers in libraries. aksel g. s. josephson, emma v. baldwin, agnes van valkenburgh. questionnaire . give a short sketch of your catalog department indicating the processes into which the work is divided. . how many of the following items do you include as part of cataloging?: (a) accessioning. (b) classification. (c) shelf-listing. (d) preparation for the shelves. . of how many persons does your cataloging force consist and how is it graded? . what are the minimum and maximum salaries in each grade and division of your cataloging force? . what was the total amount expended for salaries for the catalog department in ? . a. how many of the assistants in the catalog department spend full time on the cataloging work? b. what other work are these engaged in in other departments of the library? . a. how many volumes did you add to your library during ? b. how many of these were added as new titles to your catalog? c. how many of these were on printed cards from the library of congress or from other libraries? . what do you estimate that it cost your library in to catalog a book, including accessioning, classification, shelf-listing and preparation for the shelves? . give any special information about your library that will enable the committee to understand particular phases of your cataloging work. libraries included in the investigation _university and reference libraries_ columbia university library. harvard university library. princeton university library. university of chicago library. yale university library. john crerar library. library of congress. new york public library, reference department. new york state library. newberry library. _public libraries_ boston public library. brooklyn public library. buffalo public library. carnegie library, pittsburgh. chicago public library. cincinnati public library. cleveland public library. philadelphia free library. st. louis public library. toronto public library. a request was read from the catalog section, first, that the executive board be asked to appoint a permanent cataloging committee to which the questions in cataloging may be referred for recommendations; second, that the executive board be asked to send a request to the librarian of congress for the publication of the code of alphabeting used in the library of congress. voted, on motion by dr. andrews that the president and secretary be instructed to appoint a committee for this year to whom questions of cataloging may be referred, and that the chairman of the catalog section be consulted as to the proper form of a by-law providing for a permanent committee. upon motion by dr. andrews, voted that the secretary be instructed to ask the opinion of the committee on code for classifiers as to the desirability of a permanent committee to consider specific questions of classification and as to the proper form of a by-law to provide for such committee. the appointment of members to the various standing committees was next considered, and as a result of consideration at this meeting and of later correspondence between the members of the executive board and consultation with the chairmen of the various committees, the standing committees for the year - are announced as follows: committees, - finance c. w. andrews, the john crerar library, chicago. f. f. dawley, cedar rapids, ia. f. o. poole, new york city. public documents g. s. godard, state library, hartford, conn. a. j. small, state library, des moines, ia. ernest bruncken, library of congress, washington, d. c. john a. lapp, state library, indianapolis, ind. m. s. dudgeon, wisconsin free library commission, madison, wis. t. m. owen, department of archives and history, montgomery, ala. s. h. ranck, public library, grand rapids, mich. adelaide r. hasse, public library, new york. c. f. d. belden, state library, boston, mass. co-operation with the n. e. a. mary eileen ahern, "public libraries," chicago. mary a. newberry, public library, new york city. irene warren, school of education, chicago. george h. locke, public library, toronto, canada. harriet a. wood, library association, portland, ore. library administration a. e. bostwick, public library, st. louis, mo. george f. bowerman, public library, washington, d. c. john s. cleavinger, public library, jackson, mich. library training a. s. root, oberlin college library, oberlin, oh. faith e. smith, public library, chicago. alice s. tyler, western reserve university library school, cleveland. adam strohm, public library, detroit, mich. a. l. bailey, wilmington institute free library, wilmington, del. chalmers hadley, public library, denver. cornelia marvin, oregon state library, salem, ore. george o. carpenter, trustee, public library, st. louis, mo. international relations herbert putnam, library of congress, washington. e. c. richardson, princeton university library, princeton, n. j. frank p. hill, public library, brooklyn, n. y. w. c. lane, harvard university library, cambridge, mass. r. r. bowker, "library journal," new york city. bookbuying the committee has not yet been appointed. bookbinding a. l. bailey, wilmington institute free library, wilmington, del. rose g. murray, public library, new york. j. r. patterson, public library, chicago. federal and state relations b. c. steiner, enoch pratt free library, baltimore. t. l. montgomery, state library, harrisburg, pa. demarchus c. brown, state library, indianapolis, ind. paul blackwelder, public library, st. louis, mo. c. f. belden, state library, boston, mass. thomas m. owen, department of archives and history, montgomery, ala. w. p. cutter, library of engineering societies, new york city. travel f. w. faxon, boston book co., boston, mass. c. h. brown, public library, brooklyn. j. f. phelan, public library, chicago. co-ordination c. h. gould, mcgill university library, montreal. j. l. gillis, state library, sacramento, cal. n. d. c. hodges, public library, cincinnati, o. w. c. lane, harvard university library, cambridge, mass. herbert putnam, library of congress, washington. t. w. koch, university of michigan library, ann arbor. j. c. schwab, yale university library, new haven, conn. work with the blind laura m. sawyer, perkins institution, watertown, mass. lucile goldthwaite, new york public library. mrs. emma n. delfino, free library, philadelphia. mrs. gertrude t. rider, library of congress, washington. julia a. robinson, secretary iowa library commission, des moines. miriam e. carey, supervisor of institution libraries of board of control, st. paul. program e. h. anderson, public library, new york. h. c. wellman, city library, springfield, mass. george b. utley, a. l. a. executive office, chicago, ill. council meeting of june th the meeting was called to order by president legler with members present. the chair announced the death since the last meeting of the council of dr. john shaw billings and mr. charles carroll soule, and by unanimous vote of the council the chair appointed dr. herbert putnam, r. r. bowker and h. c. wellman a committee to draft resolutions to be presented to the association at large. dr. bostwick as chairman presented the following: report of the committee on relations between the library and the municipality in presenting this final report, your committee finds it necessary to consider and to give expression to two points of view, both of which are represented in its membership and neither of which can be neglected--one that believes that, owing to diversity of local conditions and of constitutional and other requirements in different parts of the union, it is impossible to frame definitely a model library law or a model library section of a city charter, and the other, that without some such expression as can be given only in the form of a definite body of law of this kind, the recommendations of the committee will necessarily be vague and will largely fail of effect. your committee has therefore thought it best in the first place to make a statement of the things that a library law or charter section should, in its opinion, aim to do, giving reasons where necessary; and in the second place to present a definite example of the way in which these things may be done, accompanied by a warning that before adopting it as a model in any specific instance, it should be carefully studied by some competent person and modified to suit the necessities of the case. your committee realizes also that every state library law should contain provisions, such as those regulating the state library and library commission, which do not fall within the duties assigned to this committee and hence are not touched upon in this report. and first, regarding the aims of a library law: (a) we reiterate our statement of last year that the library is an educational institution and that education is a matter of state rather than of local concern. if a state already has a good library law which has worked and is working well and satisfactorily to all concerned, local libraries should be left in operation under the provisions of the law, precisely as the schools should be and generally are left, no matter what changes in the form of municipal government are contemplated or have been carried into effect. if the state law is not entirely satisfactory, it is better to amend it than to try to better matters through the local charter. the charter may well contain, to avoid the possibility of conflict, some such special disclaimer as the following: "nothing in this charter shall be so construed as to interfere with the operation of the public library under the library laws of the state." if the library law contains provisions seemingly in conflict with new charter provisions, some additional definition may be necessary. (b) possibly we are not yet ready for compulsory library establishment throughout a state, but at all events it should be made simple and easy for any public taxing or governing body to establish a free public library and to tax itself for the support of that library, accepting gifts where necessary and obligating itself to fulfill the conditions under which these gifts are made. this would include municipalities, counties, townships, school districts, boards of education, etc. the library should be assured of reasonable and sufficient financial support, either through the operation of a special-tax provision or by the requirement of a minimum appropriation by the authorities. in no case should the existence or value of the library be placed in jeopardy by making possible a capricious withdrawal or lessening of support by the local authorities. (c) the library should be administered by an independent board of trustees, not by a single commissioner, and, in particular, not by a commissioner who has other matters on his hands. in case such grouping appears necessary, the library should be placed with other educational agencies and in no case treated as a group of buildings or a mere agency of recreation. the board should be a body corporate, distinct from other municipal organizations and departments, with powers of succession, power to sue and be sued, to acquire and hold property, etc. the terms of its members should not expire all at once, so that reasonable continuity in policy will be insured. it should have power to take over and manage other city libraries, school libraries and, by contract, libraries in other municipalities or communities. (d) the funds of the library, including those derived from taxation, bequest, gift, and library fines and desk receipts, should be at the board's free disposal for library purposes, including the purchase of land and the erection of buildings. they should be received and held by the municipal authorities, and disbursed on voucher, with the same safeguards and under the same auspices as those required for other public funds. (e) the library should be operated on the merit system, in the same way that the schools are so operated--not by placing the selection and promotion of library employees in the hands of the same board that selects clerks and mechanics for the city departments, but by requiring that the library board establish and carry out an efficient system of service satisfactory to the proper authorities. the board should have entire control of its own working force and should initiate its own policies, including selection of sites and planning of buildings, its librarian being regarded both as its executive officer and as its expert adviser, to whom the choice of methods and the management of details are naturally left. he should be present at meetings of the board and may serve as its secretary. we regard as satisfactory any body of law that will accomplish the results aimed at in the following sections, which your committee does not regard as couched in legal phraseology. before being used in any state its provisions should be worded by a competent person experienced in drafting bills for the legislature of that state. section any taxing body shall have authority to levy a tax, not less than ---- mills on the dollar, for the support of a free public library within its jurisdiction, and such tax shall be levied if so ordered by a majority vote of all voters at a general election, on petition signed by ---- voters. any governing or taxing body shall have power to provide, by annual appropriation, for the support of a free public library, whether or not a tax is levied as above provided, or to enter into a contract for library service with another governing or taxing body or with a private corporation already maintaining such a library. section any library supported as specified in section shall be governed by a board of not less than five or more than nine trustees (appointed as the legislature may provide), which board shall have the powers of a public corporation and shall perform all acts necessary and convenient for the maintenance and operation of the library. the board may receive gifts and bequests, acquire and transfer property, real and personal, sue and be sued. it shall manage all libraries owned by the city and may contract with other public bodies within and without the city, to render library service, adding to its number, if mutually so agreed, one or more representatives of such public body. the terms of the members shall not expire coincidently. any member may be removed by the appointing or elective power for stated cause. section all moneys collected for the use of the library, whether by taxation or otherwise, shall be in custody of the city treasurer and shall be paid out by him on vouchers duly attested by the board and audited by the proper city authority. section all employees of the library shall be appointed and promoted for merit only, and the board shall adopt such measures as will in its judgment conduce to this end. section if a gift is offered to the library on conditions involving the performance of certain acts annually, the municipality may obligate itself to perform such acts, by ordinance which shall not be repealed. section the board shall submit an annual report of its work in detail, with its receipts and expenditures, to the tax-levying body. upon motion by mr. wellman it was voted that the above report be printed as a tentative report in the bulletin. upon motion of dr. bostwick it was unanimously voted that the session of the council on thursday evening, june th, at which the topic, "the quality of fiction" is to be discussed, be thrown open to the members of the association at large. the chairman called attention to the vote of the council which was passed at the asheville meeting in , providing that privilege be given to members of the council to reserve hotel rooms at the annual conferences in advance of the membership at large and stated that a number of members of the association considered this action as undemocratic and as undesirable for the council to continue. upon the motion of mr. thomson it was unanimously voted that this ruling be rescinded. the following persons were appointed by the chair as a committee on nominations to nominate five members for the council to be elected by the council for a term of five years each: h. g. wadlin, josephine a. rathbone, m. s. dudgeon, edith tobitt, w. o. carson. mr. ranck presented a report of progress in behalf of the committee on ventilation and lighting of library buildings and recommended that the committee be continued, which recommendation, upon motion of dr. putnam, was adopted. the report here follows: report of committee on ventilation and lighting june, . to the council of the a. l. a.: your special committee on ventilation and lighting can submit at this time only another report of progress. after the meeting at ottawa the matter of having laboratory and other tests made in connection with the technical and scientific problems was taken up with certain industrial organizations with a view to the possibility of having them, in the interest of scientific knowledge, make the necessary tests for us, at no expense to the association. objection developed against this line of procedure, inasmuch as it was feared that less confidence could be placed in such tests when the organization making them (or if the persons making them were in the service of such an organization) had a commercial interest in the results of the tests. accordingly the effort was made to have the tests made by the carnegie institution of washington, and also by the russell sage foundation, both of which efforts failed. the matter was then taken up with the department of commerce, and we are hopeful that we may be successful in getting the national government to make these tests for us through the bureau of standards. in the meantime the committee is continuing its investigations and experiments so far as the limited resources at its command will permit. in this further study the committee is strengthened in its belief reported a year ago to the effect that most of the ventilating apparatus now in use will have to be discarded as junk and that the whole art and practice of artificial ventilation will have to be entirely remodeled on a correct physiological basis, inasmuch as the present basis appears to be entirely incorrect. we therefore recommend that the committee be continued for another year. if deemed advisable the committee could prepare a preliminary report of its findings for publication in the bulletin of the association. such a report might be of immediate service to librarians. as an indication of the committee's difficulties in this matter we may cite the experience of prof. brooks of the university of illinois who, after years of study and experience in illumination, feels less willing today to prescribe a lighting scheme than a few years ago. respectfully submitted, samuel h. ranck, c. w. andrews, w. h. brett, e. h. anderson, ernest d. burton, committee. mr. ranck made an informal statement regarding the irregular and unsatisfactory fire insurance rates which he had found many libraries of the united states were securing and recommended that this subject be investigated by the council. it was voted upon motion by mr. thomson that a committee of three be appointed by the chair to investigate the subject of fire insurance for libraries. the chair appointed as this committee m. s. dudgeon, chalmers hadley and s. h. ranck. there being no further business the council adjourned. meeting of june th this session of the council was conducted as an open meeting and was attended by many of the members of the association at large. the president presided. the nominating committee presented the names of willis h. kerr, mary w. plummer, mary e. robbins, john thomson and samuel h. ranck for members of the council for a term of five years each. upon motion by dr. bostwick it was voted that the secretary cast a ballot for the election of these members, which was accordingly done. the remainder of the session was devoted to a discussion of "the quality of fiction," discussion being led by dr. horace g. wadlin and dr. arthur e. bostwick. dr. wadlin spoke as follows: the quality of fiction--i. the question set for our discussion is not new. it seems to be always with us. by itself, i do not think it of much importance. it only becomes so as related to the much larger question of the general purpose of the public library--what it is supposed to stand for in the community. all details of library policy revert to that, and the fiction question is, after all, a detail. "the quality of fiction"--if i may paraphrase the words of a celebrated writer of it whose works still compete with the latest "best seller"-- "the quality of fiction is not strained. it droppeth like the gentle rain from heaven. it is, perhaps, thrice blessed; it blesseth him that writes, and him that prints and sometimes him that reads. 'tis mightiest in the mighty and--" but i refrain from going farther. beyond that point we reach debatable ground and i shall add nothing to the sum of human knowledge in that direction. when your president asked me to open this discussion, he was kind enough to imply that the time had arrived when representatives of the larger libraries, at least, might speak with conviction on this question. and i suppose i was selected for the reason that the library for which i am responsible has, through circumstances not entirely within its control, acquired a reputation for ultra-conservatism in respect to purchases of fiction; a reputation for which it is entitled to little praise, if the result be thought meritorious and for which it should not be blamed if the results are condemned. for it is well, always, to choose the good rather than evil in any line of action; to choose it, that is, because you love it. but, if you don't love it, it is fortunate that in the general plan of nature the good so surrounds us and hems us in, to say nothing of the consequences which follow the choice of evil, that, in any case, we can scarcely escape the choice of good. with us in boston, and i take it the conditions are not dissimilar elsewhere, the practical considerations of providing shelf-room for new accessions, of keeping the catalog within reasonable limits, the adequate provision for new books in other departments of literature, the constant increase in our fixed charges due to the expansion of our work--these enforce the restriction of purchases of fiction within limits that may be deemed conservative, whether we particularly favor conservatism or not. therefore i speak with no pride of opinion based upon the policy of my own library, nor in criticism of the policy of others, nor with any hope of establishing a hard and fast rule. criticism is frequently caustic and bitter. i would fain be persuasive and kindly. it is indeed my conviction that no invariable rule is possible on this matter or on other points of library policy. certain principles hold, but the application of them must vary in different libraries, and must proceed in harmony with local environment. any other course would result in a system, hard and mechanical, where it ought to be flexible, sympathetic and humane. it is said that in some places it is necessary to placate public opinion by liberal purchases of light and harmless trifles, "bright and snappy" stories, "big heart-gripping" tales of the moment in order that the fountain whereon the library depends for its continued life may not run dry. if that be so, who am i that i should sit in the seat of the scornful, or pronounce judgment on my neighbor? any librarian whose hand is thus forced has trouble enough without my adding to it with wild and whirling words. after all, such action is not without precedent--nay, we may go farther and say not without justification. old isaac walton was not the first who angled successfully with a concealed hook, and he has his disciples in other than green pastures or beside still waters. but, speaking seriously, such bids for the popular approval that may result in enlarged appropriations have nothing to do with the quality of fiction, and carry no lesson for those in more fortunate circumstances, who are able to exercise a sane and untrammelled judgment. let us admit freely, that fiction as a branch of literature, is today important, not merely as a means of relaxation and amusement but of inspiration and instruction. whether or not that admission implies that a public library ought to provide an undue quantity of it is a question of logic, and to be logical when sentiment will more effectively carry your point is today fatal in the discussion of more weighty matters than the one we are now considering. there is, indeed, a form of printed matter even more frequently used than the novel for relaxation and amusement. i allude to that required in the great game of auction bridge, and one may gain instruction, perhaps inspiration from that, but public libraries so far ignore it. although it has been suggested that a moving-picture annex, freely used by some millions to the same ends, might be profitably taken on, and unquestionably the suggestion has much to recommend it. at all events, that time may not be wasted in profitless controversy, i grant, at the outset, all that the most ardent advocates of fiction claim in its behalf. and since it is asserted that many persons will read nothing but fiction, and that such reading is especially adapted to put new life into the tired shop-girl, to illuminate the social gloom that shrouds the proletariat, by taking him into worlds as unlike his real world as it is possible to make them, and to put a little more vitality into the merchant overwrought by too strenuous pursuit of the elusive dollar, why question its importance as at once a tonic and a sedative, a general promoter of bright days and peaceful dreams? of course, though many think otherwise, it is not undeniably the business of a public library to act as a pharmaceutical dispensatory and to make persons read who might much better get a required physical stimulus in some other way. mr. dana some months ago put the reading of the classics into the limbo of out-worn tradition--put them perpetually "on the blink," if i may use language similar to that employed in fiction by sewall ford's popular hero--and miss corinne bacon, in a brilliant paper which, if you have not read it, i commend to your attention, keenly reminds mr. dana that it is not really necessary for any of us to read at all. if, however, we dispute the unqualified benefits of fiction reading, it is the works of the masters which are used to overwhelm us--the recognized standard novels, quite modern some of them, for the production of good fiction did not stop with the death of scott or thackeray or dickens--as if anybody questioned their influence or their power! if i wished, on the other hand, to assume the rôle of mrs. partington, and seek to beat back the on-rushing tide of printed matter, all of which claims to be imaginative and romantic, i should need no better broom with which to attempt that forlorn and hopeless task than one made from the strands which mr. booth tarkington, and others actively engaged in the production of fiction, supplied in the letters read from this platform monday evening. there is a trinity of things, frequently asserted, which i do not believe, that is, i do not believe them in my present state of mental development, though i trust i am still open to conviction. =first=, i do not believe that everybody is entitled to receive at our hands the books they want, when they want them! i hear it put this way: the state or the municipality ought to provide any citizen who wants a book with the book he wants when he wants it.--a moment's candid examination will, i think, show that this is impossible, and it being impossible, we need not spend time in disputing the theory. =second=, i do not believe that we should buy the book of the day, and all the books of the day, irrespective of merit; or, as a critical journal once put it, "buy the books the world is talking about--merit or demerit cast entirely aside." the talk of the people, about the books of the day is, per cent of it, if we may apply a quantitive measure to that which is immeasurable, pure gossip, fostered by more or less interested, or paid notices in the newspapers, and the reading of books which for the moment are made the subjects of such gossip is of about as much real value to the average man or woman as was mrs. a's inquiry after the health of mrs. b's old man. not that she cared anything about his health but the inquiry helped conversation. and when the book of the day rises above the plane of mere gossip its interest or value is frequently momentary. two years ago, the cheerful idlers on summer hotel verandas were lightening the burden of persistent application to what, for want of a better term, is called "fancy work" by reading "the rosary." last year, their affections were centered on "the harvester." this year--well, i refrain from advertising what is likely to be found there. but surely most public libraries in these days of expanding opportunity, find it difficult enough to supply things which have higher civic promise in them, even in fiction, without stocking up extensively with that which is as evanescent as the foam on the wave. =third=, i do not believe--as some do--that the indiscriminate reading of fiction, even poor fiction, leads finally to the selection of better books. once i thought so, and i know that my distinguished predecessor, dr. winsor, held that opinion. but, after some thirty years' intimate knowledge of a library (outside of boston), not too large to permit the study of the peculiarities of individual readers, this seems to me delusive. if i wanted to promote good reading, i would not treat it as a pill to be sugar-coated. good wine needs no bush. passing from the triad of things i do not believe i make one positive affirmation. every public library should establish a standard. as a matter of fact, this is done now. for example, the works of mr. charles garvice are seldom found on our catalogs nor those of rev. silas k. hocking. these two among the most popular english novelists of our day, may be found on the shelves of the circulating libraries, and with several others almost equally well-known, appear among the miscellaneous attractions of the railway news counters; but not with us. why? they are clean, highly moral, in the accepted use of that word, and not without a certain literary merit. the answer to my query implies selection, in accordance with a standard. i said some years ago on this subject, and have seen no reason to change my opinion, that while there are those who resent what they call "censorship" on the part of public libraries, nevertheless, simply because we are public institutions, we have responsibilities to the public, toward children, at least, and toward those of unformed literary taste. personally, i am not much afraid of the baleful effect of certain books usually condemned by moralists. not every one who reads "the pirate's own book" will take to piracy on the high seas; and a quiet elderly lady of my acquaintance who reads rather more erotic french fiction than some would approve, still preserves, so far as i can see, modesty of demeanor, and, unless skilfully dissembled, an exemplary private life. i was myself, in my young days a persistent reader of beadle's dime novels, which were of size to be readily concealed between euclid and andrews and stoddard's latin grammar, well out of view of the censor. oliver optic was permitted to corrupt my young mind, and since i had an eclectic taste, i absorbed liberal doses of sylvanus cobb, jr., emerson bennett, and mrs. southworth, writers almost unknown to the present generation. so far, i have escaped the penitentiary and the home for feebleminded. but that does not justify the exposure of burton's "arabian nights" on open shelves, for which lapse of judgment we were once criticised by a reputable boston paper, or prove that since life is short and art is long and one can not read everything, and some books are, from any point of view, better than others, judicious selection may not prevent lamentable waste of time. before selection is attempted, the amount available for expenditure should be fixed, and this should be determined by the income of the library and the proper relation which, within that income, purchases of fiction should bear to other necessary expenses. the percentage will vary, i should suppose, with different libraries. speaking for my own, it has by experience been determined at from to per cent of all expenditures for books. in a recent lean year, it dropped as low as per cent, but in the last four years has ranged from in to in . i include expenditures for replacements as well as for new fiction. all theory apart, no more could have been spent without impairing the up-keep of other departments. as i have intimated, we are always confronted, to use mr. cleveland's phrase, by conditions rather than theories. i need not enlarge upon the character of those other departments. they are not for the use of the dilettante or the connoisseur. contrary to an opinion that seems to prevail in certain quarters, we do not buy extensively, as one critical commentator put it, either "musty parchments or rare first editions in which not one person in has the slightest interest or concern." no. these departments provide for the scholarly use of a library which is at the center of a group of educational institutions accommodating probably , students. it is unthinkable to suppose that this work of education, of so much importance to our city, could go on without the aid derived from the library. and i need only mention the various special collections which have grown up from the beginning, which are drawn upon each year by students who come to us from abroad, and from which, on the interlibrary loan plan, we lend annually to other libraries in the proportion of , to the which we receive from them in return. these phases of our work must be taken into account, just as similar considerations must be influential in any library, if a proper balance is to be kept of expenditures for fiction. and bear in mind that every dollar spent for fiction beyond the proper limit as set by a candid consideration of conditions and resources, no matter how insistent the demand--and it is well known that the demand may be so insistent as to require, without satisfying it, all the money at your command--every dollar beyond this limit is a dollar drawn from students, from readers in courses, from work with the immigrant, if you have that problem, from work with children, from the artisan or mechanic who comes to you for the books that will add to his industrial efficiency, from your business men's branch, if one exists. the library cannot be made a mere depository for fiction. this should go without saying. it does not propose to include all good fiction in its purchases. the sum set apart can not all be used for new fiction, but must cover replacements. the library must also buy fiction in other languages than english. as to the work of selection, i pass in rapid review our own methods, concerning which much nonsense has been written. we examine with care substantially every book in english that comes from the press, which any public library is likely to buy. last year, which is perhaps typical, different books in fiction were considered, including fiction for young readers. and every book was not merely examined by title, but was read and commented upon in our interest by at least persons on the average. of course, no such thorough examination could be made by the library staff alone, and we have the services of a volunteer committee of readers not officially connected with the library. the committee does not supersede the critical opinion of the librarian or his selected staff officers. it does not even control. it merely aids by an analysis of the books and by such opinions, expressed on blank forms provided for the purpose, as show an outline of plot and treatment, and merits or defects as they appear, not to trained literary critics, but to average readers of some cultivation in different walks of life or on different social planes. this committee was one of the excellent inventions of my predecessor, dr. putnam, and, shortly after its establishment, it received wide attention from the press, for the most part based on complete misconception of its purpose and character. this resulted in creating an impression as different as possible from the actual, but which still persists, as the mother-in-law joke persists, or the young lady who plays the piano in the parlor while mother washes in the kitchen, or the stage irishman and yankee--stock material of the pseudo-humorists. the genial "librarian" of the boston transcript, who on saturday is to tell you how to discourage reading, still has periodic visions of the "censors of the boston public library," just as more timid souls have created bogies out of col. roosevelt or other historic characters. but the committee has no power to "censor" anything, and the boston public library has no "black list" nor has it in my time ever had to become a censor. it has to choose, and so far as possible within the exercise of fallible human judgment to choose wisely. it finds itself unable to buy some hundreds of as good books, perhaps better books, than it buys, but it censors nothing, being fortunately relieved of a duty from which i would myself not shrink in exigency, by the limitations surrounding its choice. it is one of the curiosities of journalism, this rise of the legend of the boston fiction committee. it started from a half jocose article wholly inconsequential, one would have thought, in a western paper from the pen of a little-known boston space writer. numerous excellent books not purchased were said to have been "tabooed," and the list went over the country like wild fire. none of them had been "tabooed," unless inability to buy is a taboo. big head lines with swinburnian fervor spoke of the "books banned in boston." from the little daily papers, the matter spread to the big ones. the times saturday review pointed out, after scanning some of the titles, that "in some new england minds exquisite pleasure was akin to wickedness," because of the supposed censorship of books not bought. the committee was irreverently alluded to as the "body of spinster censors who since they were themselves virtuous had determined there should be no more cakes and ale." a critical literary journal feared that the committee desired "to form boston's literary taste on too precious a model," and that since the majority of the readers were women, "the sense of power may have led them into arbitrary decisions." a new york paper, not unwilling to have a shy at boston, said: "the committee takes an attitude untenable, pharasaic, and what the enemies of boston call bostonese." harper's weekly, a journal of civilization, expressed curiosity about the committee: "that the majority of them are young, we know, because they are not married. but are they red, white, or blue stockings? do they approve of straight fronts? do hoops still gallop in the east wind?" drastic comments were received and appeared in print from other librarians. mr. legler's predecessor, entirely in good faith, fell with the rest. he said he had been told that in boston they sent new novels to club women and received their opinions on slips of paper. he imagined that a good dinner would have something to do with such reports. the st. louis globe democrat had a word of commendation, although equally misled as to the grounds of praise. it said: "the literary lines are drawn as sharply and perhaps as arbitrarily as the social ones. yet this new england trait of severe selection is a blessing to the country, and has leavened its crudeness from ocean to ocean. puritanism has been more or less a critic of the rest of us, but the criticism has done good. * * * there is doubtless good reason for the rejections made." but the new york sun which still shines for all, said: "the city was so terribly agitated over the wicked censorship of fiction at the library that the reading committee is doomed to become an extinct institution." all of this is ancient history, and i only recall it as showing, in little, the growth of a popular myth. the committee as an institution still lives. it has always been representative. as the bookman once said of its lists of best sellers, so, in dealing with the reports, we are not under the impression that we are pointing solemnly to stupendous critical opinions. we do not even claim that every individual report is actually accurate and unbiased. but we do believe that collected and weighed, they are unbiased and accurate in the bulk. the committee in its membership is subject to frequent changes. it is, as i have said, free from library influence. its members are appointed by the committee itself and we neither approve nor cancel appointments. at present there are members, men and women, married and unmarried, ( unmarried ladies comprise the spinster element), protestants and catholics, french, german, spanish, as well as those to whom english is the mother tongue. they are all fairly intelligent, not illiterate of course, but not offensively scholarly. they include artists and teachers, several literary persons, at least two authors of repute, a business man or two, two physicians, and so on. this analysis shows the representative character of the committee; that it is made up with breadth of selection. its verdict is not conclusive, and aims to reflect only the opinion which readers of intelligence would form after careful reading. other factors are always taken into account in determining whether or not a book shall be bought. necessarily, many current novels approved by the committee are not bought. frequently novels are bought which the committee did not approve. but the experience of several years has shown that nearly all which for various reasons we have found it impossible to buy have failed to demonstrate their right to live for even a few brief months. the demand for some of them was insistent for a short time. now, their very names are forgotten. if we had purchased a considerable number of them, the money, so far as present demand is concerned, would have been wasted. it may be fairly said, however, that we have bought meantime, so far as our resources permitted, a fair representation of the best fiction, that which is likely to remain in constant request. our supply of standard english fiction is large, perhaps , volumes, and is constantly replaced as the books wear out. we are liberal in providing good fiction for the young. were our funds enlarged, we could undoubtedly use a larger number of copies, especially in branch and deposit work, but, as i have made clear, we cannot expend a larger amount of our money in this way without impairing the growth of the library in other important directions. whether or not you approve the method that we find helpful, some plan of selection must be adopted since choice is imperative. of course, it would be possible to buy two copies of different books, or, as at present, perhaps copies of books; the expense would be the same in either case. but in the first instance the chances of a borrower getting a copy of any book selected would be much reduced in comparison with his chance of getting one under the more limited range of titles. of course, also, under the first plan, the library would be free from the impression that many novels had been "banned," but the public advantage is greater under the present system. i have already taken too long. if you find anything in our plan helpful, i shall be glad. at any rate, i hope i have done something to lay the ghost of unreasonable censorship which some of you may imagine hovers over the boston public library. we have our faults in boston, but not that. let me take a moment in summing up. every librarian must determine for himself how much money he ought to spend for fiction, under his own local conditions, within his own resources. he should try to keep a proper proportion in this expenditure, not as measured in boston or elsewhere but in that little corner of the earth where his own library is placed. this is a personal matter, not one of invariable mathematical relations. having done that, he should establish a standard and select with reference to it. not my standard--it may not fit the case--but his own. and this too, like most library functions, is a personal matter. it will depend largely on what the librarian is trying to do with his library. for a library should not be a dead thing. it should have a vital relation to the particular community in which it is placed, and fit it as the glove fits the hand. through the books we circulate we are directly influencing the men and women we reach; not for their personal benefit or enjoyment only, or to satisfy only their individual tastes or desires; but that they may become better fitted for their civic duties, may become happier, more intelligent, more hopeful in their human relationships. it is not the book that you give john smith for the benefit of john smith only, that counts, but the book that makes john smith of greater benefit to the community. that sentence, which i quote in spirit if not in exact words from our colleague, dr. richardson, expresses the reason for being of the public library, the only justification for the maintenance of such libraries by general taxation. whatever books contribute to that end are the books that should be bought. there is nothing in the book itself as it lies on the shelf. it is neither moral nor immoral nor of any other intrinsic merit or demerit. "three weeks," copies of which a commercial circulating library in a small city near my home kept in constant circulation for a year, is as good as another in that inert position. but books in contact with the soul of humanity are no longer dead things. they have something of that vital quality which gave them birth, as milton long ago said. it is sometimes as much our duty to restrain readers as to stimulate them, and a large circulation per capita without regard to the character of the books circulated, is as apt to be a sign of the inefficiency of a library, as it is a thing to be emulated. this is not a recital of platitudes nor does the subject call for beautiful phrases about the ideals of the librarian's profession. on the contrary, it concerns practical results in return for the taxpayers' money, which comes hard enough at best. it is no heart-breaking matter whether you buy and circulate , or per cent of fiction. if you bring your percentage down from to , that of itself may not mean improvement. but it is heart-breaking if you fail to get the books best adapted to secure the results i assume you are trying to obtain and which you ought to obtain in your own community. it may be that what mr. dana once facetiously called the "latest tale of broken hearthstones" is just the thing to give a fillip to the dormant sensibilities of your patrons--to make them sit up and take notice lest cracked hearthstones become fashionable in your vicinity. i do not know. but this i know. you should settle that point with your own conscience, and when you have settled it, go on, and do not apologize. in the long run your sins whether of omission or commission, will find you out. on the other hand, believe me, virtue in this field as in others, will bring its own reward, and the reward of virtue is about the only one any librarian can reasonably expect. dr. bostwick was called upon to continue the discussion and spoke as follows: the quality of fiction--ii. the two things that it is necessary to take into account in selecting literature are its form and its content. the former largely determines the literary value of a composition; the latter its practical usefulness. poetry and prose are the two great basic forms into which all literature is divided. narrative may be cast in either form and when that narrative is untrue we call it fiction. in the usage of most of us the word is restricted to prose. fiction, therefore, is not so much a matter of form as of content, or rather of the quality of content. of two books telling of the lives of the same kind of persons in the same way the mere fact that one is true and the other not would class one as biography and the other as fiction. of what importance is the fact that of two bits of narrative, one is true and the other is untrue? that depends on the purpose for which the narrative is to be used. if we desire an accurate and orderly statement of facts, the true narrative is the only one of value. on the other hand, the facts, not of the narrative but incidental to it, may be true in the fiction and false in the biography. from the standpoint of the seeker of recreation, the fiction is generally, although not always, more interesting. the writer has the advantage of being able to create the elements of his tale and control their grouping, as well as regulate their form; and in addition he knows that he must be interesting to secure readers. unfortunately, historians, biographers and travellers have generally too high an opinion of their functions as purveyors of truth to stoop to make it interesting. as regards literary value, of course the mere truth or falsity of the narrative can have little to do with this; yet i believe, as a matter of fact, that fictitious narrative has literary value oftener than true narrative; for the reason offered above, that writers of truth consider it beneath their dignity to garnish it, like those fatuous dieticians who believe that so long as we take so much proteid and so much carbohydrate we need not worry over forms and flavors. now i am supposed to be telling you about fiction and about the propriety or impropriety of including much of it in libraries, but i think you see that i am sidling toward the statement that i think we need not consider fiction at all, as fiction, in this connection. the reasons for rejecting fiction, when they exist, have nothing whatever to do with its being fiction, and would apply to non-fiction as well. if a biography purporting to relate the events in the life of oliver cromwell is full of errors, that is a reason why it should not stand on your library shelves. if a novel, purporting to give a correct idea of life in chicago, succeeds only in leaving the impression that the city is peopled with silly and immoral persons, that is equally a reason for rejection. if a history of the italian renaissance is filled with unsavory details, these might exclude it, just as they might exclude a novel whose scene was laid in the same period. the story of a criminal's life, if so written as to make wrong appear right, might be rejected for this reason whether the criminal really existed or not. a poor, trashy book of travel should no more be placed on the shelves than a novel of the same grade. and if our book funds are limited we can no more buy all the biography or travel or books on chemistry or philosophy than we can buy all the novels that fall from the press. i do not deny, of course, that any or all the reasons for rejection that have been adduced might be overbalanced by others in favor of purchase, and they might be so overbalanced in the case of fiction as well as in that of non-fiction. in other words i should not buy a book because it is fiction, or turn it down for the same reason, any more than i would buy or fail to buy a book because it is biography or travel. i say i should not do this any more in one case than in another; i might want to do it occasionally in both. but i believe that the more we forget the mere issue of fiction versus non-fiction and try instead to draw the line between useful books and harmful ones, wise books and silly ones, books that help and books that hinder, books that exalt and those that depress, books that excite high emotions and books that stir up low ones--the sooner we shall be good librarians. following dr. bostwick's remarks the subject was thrown open to discussion by members at large. the chairman said that at his request some very interesting facts had been extracted from the annual published statements in publishers' weekly, respecting so-called best books of the year. these statements showed that many of the books which were leading books of particular years, ten, fifteen and eighteen years ago, had absolutely disappeared from the list of books which are now in current favor. some of these books were found to be unknown to those who are now engaged in book selection. replying to the question as to the percentage of fiction of books bought by public libraries in canada, mr. w. o. carson of london, ont., stated that in his library the percentage of fiction ran from twenty to twenty-five per cent and he thought that was a fair average for other canadian libraries. mr. carson said that the ontario government bases the government grant on the amount of money expended on books and they give no grant on fiction if it exceed more than forty-five per cent of the amount expended on other books, so in the majority of the small libraries, they do not expend more than thirty per cent on fiction for fear of losing a government grant on anything that exceeds that amount. replacements are included in this percentage. dr. steiner said that a number of years ago mr. ranck and he prepared a paper on replacements and their attention was called to the very large proportion of expenditure for replacements which had to be used for fiction and that this was particularly noticeable in a library of some age, as in the case of the enoch pratt free library of baltimore. the speaker thought it should be borne in mind in connection with the purchase, whether the amount expended was mostly for current fiction, mostly for replacements, whether a new branch was being stocked or whether a library was being stocked which had not been sufficiently provided previously with standard works. the exact proportion of fiction in any one year should be governed by these three factors, if not by others. dr. steiner said that their library last year wore out in round numbers about , books, of which at a rough guess at least six-sevenths were fiction. they replaced about , books including most of the non-fiction books, leaving from , to , volumes in fiction which were allowed to expire by limitation. in every case where a book wears out, the circulation department reports whether that book is regarded by them as being worthy of replacement and if the book be not a duplicate but is an original copy the recommendation is always brought to the librarian, who occasionally overrules the decision of the circulation department in the case of original copies, but so far as duplicates are concerned, the opinion of the circulation department is absolutely accepted. dr. andrews said he had found it very useful in the work of selection to discriminate between those books the library does not intend to buy at present and those which it will not accept even as a gift, and that in fiction it might be especially valuable to have some line of exclusion. he asked whether the chairman or miss bascom could recall what is the proportion of comparison between the recommendation of the boston book committee as read by mr. wadlin and that of the a. l. a. booklist. miss bascom replied that as she recalled it for of about , novels published about were included in the booklist, adding that she supposed that the greater number of the entire output were read. the chairman said that from figures which he had caused to be compiled, it was found that in this country and great britain something like , titles belonging to the classification of fiction had been printed since in this country and in great britain. mr. wadlin said that the a. l. a. booklist contained titles of fiction which the boston public library had not bought simply because they could not, having bought other things instead. local conditions govern their book selection to a considerable extent. the question being raised whether librarians experienced any considerable pressure brought to bear upon them to purchase certain books, the opinion was expressed by mr. ranck, mr. wadlin and others that this pressure was not nearly so great as one might think would be the case, that those demanding the purchase of a certain book were reminded that the library had a limited income and that the question of selection always had to be very carefully considered and that books not purchased were not necessarily excluded for any other reason than lack of funds. representatives of the library schools being asked to what extent the lectures given in library schools were intended to exert an influence either for or against the wide purchase of fiction, miss hazeltine of the university of wisconsin library school, said it was their effort to teach the students to buy the best books with the money at their disposal--those of the best literary value--and to buy many duplicates of the best fiction. dr. bostwick said that those libraries that have pay collections of duplicates ought to state whether their reports include the pay collections of duplicates or not and what relation this collection bears to the original copies. in st. louis it is the tendency to buy rather a small number of copies of each work of fiction for regular use and put these books as far as possible into duplicate collections. the pay collection of duplicates in st. louis varies very much. in three of the branches it has not even been begun, the librarians of these branches reporting that there is no demand for it. in two branches it is very popular and in the central library fairly so. dr. hill thought it was not wise to give a smaller number of copies to the public for free use than to the department where pay is requested. it seemed to him that the public should have just as many copies of a book as those who can afford to pay one or two cents a day. in brooklyn they give the same number of copies to the free circulating department as to the duplicate pay department. dr. hill said the brooklyn public library last year spent for replacement, juvenile and adult, $ , out of the $ , which was spent for books, or something like per cent for fiction both new and replacements. the chairman said he was much interested in a statement printed in collier's about two or three years ago in which was enumerated the result of the publishing activities of the father of the present publisher, who started the line of inexpensive editions of dickens, scott and others of a similar character. it was noted in that summary that the firm had sold in this country seven million copies of the works of charles dickens and four or five million copies of scott's works, not individual titles, but the complete works of those authors. this means of course that a surprisingly large number of the best novels by these writers must be in the homes of the people who use the public libraries and that these people use the libraries to supplement their own private collections. consequently, no particular conclusions can be drawn as to the actual character of the reading done by these people from the fact that books they get from the public libraries are mostly the quality of fiction which is put out at the present time. mrs. sneed said there was one rule for the selection of fiction which she generally gave to her library school class every year. this was the rule of henry van dyke: a book of fiction is really worthy to be bought if it has not given an untrue picture of life, if it has not made vice attractive or separated an act from its consequences. the speaker thought that if this rule was applied in reading one would not go so very far astray. mr. bishop said he had been greatly interested in the last five years in the selections made by the public itself. the library of congress receives, of course, all the copyrighted fiction and places one copy at least of practically every book of permanent value upon its shelves. after the temporary agitation of the immediate advertising is over the public itself goes back to lines that are surprisingly good in every way. mr. gould said that mr. dutton, the publisher of everyman's library, recently told him that he had now sold over one and a half million copies of the books in everyman's library, which was a good indication of the market found for standard works. mr. jast, the english delegate, being called upon by the chair, contributed also to the general discussion, after which the session adjourned. meeting of june th a meeting of the council was called to order by president anderson immediately after adjournment of the conference. the following resolutions were received from the government documents round table and were read and adopted by unanimous vote. the following resolutions were passed unanimously at the adjourned meeting of the documents round table, friday, : p. m., when the special committee on resolutions, consisting of miss e. e. clarke of syracuse university, mr. h. j. carr of scranton, and mr. h. o. brigham of rhode island, appointed at the regular meeting on thursday, reported as follows: whereas, the american library association desires to express the appreciation of its members respecting the efficient work that has been and is being done for libraries by the office of the superintendent of documents, nevertheless it recognizes the many hampering features that still control the issue and distribution of public documents. believing that these features can be materially lessened, therefore be it resolved, that this association approve and urge the early enactment of senate bill entitled, "an act to amend, revise, and codify the laws relating to the public printing and binding and distribution of government publications," now pending before the sixty-third congress; strongly recommending, however, that the parenthetical exception now included in the first proviso of section of said bill be stricken out so that the annual reports of departments shall not be treated as congressional documents. be it also resolved, that this association repeat its former recommendation urging that the text of all public bills upon which committee reports are made, shall be printed with the report thereon. geo. s. godard, chairman documents committee. the following report was made to the council by dr. andrews in behalf of the committee on affiliation with other than local, state and provincial library associations. your committee on affiliated societies respectfully report that they have proceeded in the way proposed and approved by the council at its meeting in january. they regret that circumstances have prevented them from presenting a final report but they believe that substantial progress has been made. in may the committee sent to the presidents of the four affiliated societies the following letter: "the council of the a. l. a. has appointed a committee to formulate the relations which should exist between the association and affiliated associations other than state, provincial, etc., in return for the privileges accorded them. the committee understand that this action was taken largely because one or two of the societies had expressed a desire to contribute toward the expenses of the association. this desire was duly appreciated by the council, who felt that it would be well to take definite and formal action. the committee propose that hereafter these privileges shall not be extended to other than affiliated societies without formal vote of the council, except that the program committee will be authorized to do so for the first meeting of any newly-formed society. they propose to recommend, also, that the present provision shall be continued,--namely, that each affiliated society shall meet with the association at least once every three years. they also expect to recommend that some contribution towards expenses be required, but wish that the manner and the amount of the assessment be determined after consultation with the societies, and have asked that i secure an expression of your opinion on these points. they would consider the amount suggested by one of the societies,--namely $ . , as a maximum. the grounds for such a contribution are evident, but it may be well to state them as follows: " . participation in the special railway accommodations. " . provision for rooms and meals at reduced rates. " . provision of rooms and time for meetings. " . participation in the activities of the meeting. " . printing programs, announcements in the bulletin, and assignment of pages in the proceedings. "the cost of preparing for and holding a convention is about $ . , that of the bulletin and proceedings, including editing and distributing, about $ , . . provision of hotel rooms and travel facilities is not a matter of money, but frequently involves disappointment to individual members who apply too late. "as stated already, the committee have not agreed on any amount or method. they have considered a flat amount of $ . to $ . , one dependent on the number of members in the society, who are not members of the association, and one dependent on the number of such members who attend. "personally, i think the logical method would be a combination of the first and third, and suggest that there be an initial amount of $ . or $ . and an additional charge of cents or cents for each member attending who is not a member of the association. of course, this additional charge will not be asked for official delegates of libraries who are members. "kindly let me have an expression of your opinion on this subject at your earliest convenience and oblige. "yours truly, "(signed) c. w. andrews." they have just now received replies from all and formal action has been taken by two. all, though perhaps with varying degrees of cordiality and readiness, recognize the justice of the proposed arrangement. there is quite naturally some variance in their suggestions as to the proper amount of the contribution to be made and the method by which it is to be computed. the committee desire to consider carefully these suggestions and to reconcile their variations as nearly as possible. they would like to discuss them in a personal meeting of the whole committee, as well as by correspondence, and hope that the winter meeting of the council will afford them an opportunity to do so, and to formulate a by-law for the consideration of council. they therefore submit the foregoing as a report of progress. for the committee, c. w. andrews. it was voted that this report be received as a report of progress and further consideration be referred to the mid-winter meeting in january, . adjourned. agricultural libraries section (round table, june , , : p. m.) mr. charles r. green, librarian of the massachusetts agricultural college, was acting chairman of the meeting, which was an informal one without a regular program. miss emma b. hawks, of the u. s. department of agriculture library, acted as secretary. the subjects for discussion were ( ) catalog cards for agricultural experiment station publications and ( ) the indexing of agricultural periodicals. mr. c. h. hastings first spoke briefly in regard to the printing of cards by the library of congress for the publications of the state agricultural experiment stations. cards have already been issued for the illinois and indiana station bulletins, the copy being supplied by the university libraries. before going on with the work for the other stations, he thought it desirable to consult with the office of experiment stations in regard to a plan of co-operation by which the same card might be used both for the library of congress cards and for the "card index to experiment station literature" issued by the office. it would be much more economical to have only the one card printed, if possible. miss e. b. hawks expressed doubt as to whether such an arrangement could be made, inasmuch as the form and purpose of the office of experiment stations card index differ so widely from those of a dictionary catalog. mr. hastings thought that it would do no harm to make the attempt and said that he would consult with the librarian of the department of agriculture and the director of the office of experiment stations in regard to it. if such an arrangement can not be made he thought the library of congress would be willing to print separate cards, having the copy supplied by the station or college libraries, if they are willing and able to do the cataloging. mr. h. w. wilson then spoke in regard to the publication of an index to agricultural periodicals. he stated that he has had a good many demands for such an index and has delayed adding any agricultural titles to the industrial arts index, because it may be better to have a separate one. those who have written to him about it have almost always expressed a preference for a separate index. miss hawks asked whether some titles might not be included in the industrial arts index now, and then removed if a separate agricultural one were begun. mr. wilson replied that there was some likelihood of the agricultural index being begun next year, in which case it would hardly pay to do anything with the agricultural literature before this. there was some discussion as to the scope of the index. mr. wilson said they would wish to include only journals of national standing. mr. c. r. green thought that there were not more than about six of these. mr. h. o. severance thought there would be many more than this, including papers devoted to special phases, as poultry, bee keeping and stock raising. dr. c. w. andrews doubted whether the farm papers were worth indexing. he thought that the matter was rarely original, but that the articles of value are worked up from station and department of agriculture publications. mr. wilson said he had had more demands for an agricultural index lately than for an index of any other subject. inquiry was made as to how many subscriptions would be needed to justify the starting of a separate index. mr. wilson could not say definitely. there might be two plans--one, the division of subscriptions among subscribers. the basis for the industrial arts index was cents a title-- cents for a weekly. the other plan is a sliding scale of charges by which a library having a great many of the periodicals indexed pays a higher price, thus enabling the smaller ones to pay something but not a higher price than they can afford for the service rendered. mr. wilson stated that he was willing to go to the expense of a referendum to find out the wishes of libraries on this subject, with a view either to the starting of a separate index or the incorporation of some agricultural journals in the industrial arts index. if the idea of a separate index is abandoned, he would almost certainly add some titles to the industrial arts index. mr. green thought that he might count on active support of the department of agriculture library and all the agricultural experiment stations. he was not sure what further support there would be. mr. wilson thought the demand would probably be an increasing one. meeting adjourned. catalog section first session the first session of the catalog section was held wednesday afternoon, june th, the chairman, miss harriet b. gooch, of the pratt institute school of library science, presiding. as the minutes of the last meeting had been published, their reading was omitted. the report of the committee on the cost and method of cataloging was called for, in response to which mr. a. g. s. josephson, chairman of the committee, stated the present report was but a preliminary one, to be followed by a final report next year. the catalog section took no action on the report since the committee was appointed by the executive board of the association, not by the section.[ ] [ ] the report and questionnaire is printed in connection with the minutes of the executive board. miss gooch then stated that the discussion for the afternoon was the administration of the catalog department considered first in its relation to the other departments of the library, and second as to its management of its own affairs looking toward simple, inexpensive and rapid methods of work. she explained that the discussion was concerned with library systems consisting of a central library with a number of branch libraries, and was to be treated both from the librarian's and from the cataloger's point of view. the discussion was opened by mr. f. f. hopper, of the tacoma public library. administration of the catalog department from a librarian's point of view in the reorganization of our libraries, in the adoption of modern progressive and simplified methods, in the effort to develop and improve service to the public, the catalog department has tended to be drawn out of relation to the other departments, to become in a way isolated, and as a result its efficiency has been impaired. the attention of librarians has been given to other phases of library activities and therefore they know less about the catalog department than any other. undoubtedly the technicalities of the cataloging process make it most difficult for librarians to grapple with, but all the more carefully should we consider ways and means of increasing the efficiency of the process, relating the work more closely to changes in other departments, and studying methods of possible simplification of the routine mechanical work that seems to have largely increased of late. in one of mr. carlton's reports to his board of trustees, he uses these words: "it has often seemed to me that in library administration the catalog department was much like the police department in municipal administration. it is frequently under investigation; it is constantly being reformed; its defects are felt in many other departments; and its heads are always changing as one after another breaks down or fails to achieve impossible results." surely such an unsatisfactory and unwholesome condition is not without remedy. if i can not presume to submit a definite plan of reformation, perhaps i may at least attempt to suggest possible lines of investigation for each librarian to pursue. . the catalog room. in the modern organization of work, the first care is to provide work-rooms in which the highest efficiency may be maintained. scientific investigation shows the extravagance of conditions which retard speed and multiply unnecessary motions, which do not provide adequate light and air and proper colors to conserve strength, arrest fatigue and support the energies. in planning buildings we properly endeavor to bring the catalog department into the closest possible relation with the order department, the book stack and the reference department, to save steps which mean time and money. my observation is that frequently there is not the same care exercised in planning the room itself as there is in locating it. often it is too small, so that work clogs up, books must be shifted too often (an expensive process), too many corners must be turned in getting about the room and the assistants impede one another's progress. on the other hand, a room may be so large that time is wasted in getting about it. to be sure this is a rare fault. i have seen cataloging rooms admirably placed for convenience of access to stack, reference room and order department, and really adequate in size, but so devoid of light and air that even a hardened devotee of our reading rooms would fear to enter such a place. plenty of windows, if possible on two sides of a room, and ample indirect artificial lighting are just as important for the efficiency of the catalog department as like facilities for the public reading rooms. . relation of catalog department to other departments. when friction develops between two departments (of course it never does; this is merely a hypothetical case), my observation is that the catalog department is pretty likely to be a party to the affair. why? simply because as organization within libraries has developed, the catalog department has been left more and more to its own devices. in the departments working with the public, the tendency has been to complexity of organization, perhaps, but still to elimination of detail, simplification of method, the sacrifice of theory to practicality that the public may have the feeling of freedom and ease and be given the quickest and best service with the least red tape. during this process the catalog department has continued to develop theory unchecked by daily strenuous contact with the busy borrower, to increase routine and mechanical work, still opaque to the searchlight of scientific investigation from outside the department. you need publicity, but all you ever get is pages and pages of blasts against the poor old battle-scarred, but more-or-less-still-in-the-ring accession book, which in nine cases out of ten belongs to another department anyway. the illuminating power of publicity for the devious ways of cataloging and the development of a better spirit of co-operation, are to be obtained perhaps best of all by the establishment of entirely feasible definite relations between the departments. as miss winser will develop this topic, i will leave it here, simply remarking that in my experience the opinions of one department about the organization and detail of another department are frequently of the utmost value, but rarely the opinions of other departments about the catalog department, whose problems are not understood. . organization of the department. ( ) general type of organization. the development of the modern elaborate systems of scientific management in the various forms of industry has for the most part superseded the best type of ordinary management known as the "initiative and incentive system." under the old system success depends almost entirely upon the initiative of the workmen, whereas, under scientific management, or task management, a complete science for all the operations is developed, and the managers assume new burdens, new duties and responsibilities. having developed the science, they scientifically select and then train, teach and develop the workmen. the managers co-operate with the men to insure all the work being done in accordance with the principles of the science which has been developed. the work and responsibility are almost equally divided between the management and the workmen. the combination of the initiative of the workmen and the new types of work done by the management makes scientific management so much more efficient than the old way. "all the planning which under the old system was done by the workman, as a result of his personal experience, must of necessity under the new system be done by the management in accordance with the laws of the science."[ ] one type of man is needed to plan ahead and an entirely different type to execute the work. perhaps the most prominent single element in modern scientific management is the task idea. the work of each workman is fully planned in advance by the management and the man receives complete written instructions, describing in detail the task he is to accomplish, as well as the means to be used in doing the work. and the work planned in advance in this way constitutes a task which is to be solved by the joint effort of the workman and the management. this task specifies not only what is to be done, but how it is to be done and the exact time allowed for doing it. [ ] f. w. taylor, "principles of scientific management." it is said that "the most important object of both the workmen and the management should be the training and development of each individual in the establishment, so that he can do (at his fastest pace and with the maximum of efficiency) the highest class of work for which his natural abilities fit him," but it is nevertheless true that to some extent scientific management contemplates the selection of the workman best fitted for one particular task and keeping him at that task because he can do that better than any other. within the narrow domain of his special work, he is given every encouragement to suggest improvements both in methods and in implements. in the past the man has been first; under modern methods the system is first. i have attempted to summarize some of the principles of so-called scientific management, because in the organization of our cataloging work definite principles of any kind of management have rarely been evident throughout, and if we are to observe accurately the system of this department, and study it with a view to possible improvement, we must test its work by some existing scientific standards. the =science= of cataloging has been pretty fully developed, and at least its technique is taught in our professional schools. therefore it may be assumed that we are now reasonably conforming to the first ideals of scientific management when we select with due care for the headship of our catalog departments and for the more important positions, those trained in the principles of the science. i personally believe that the principles of scientific management should be actively employed by the head cataloger in the definite planning of the work of the individual, in the testing of the speed and accuracy of the individual for a special task, and in the insistence that speed for each task shall definitely conform to careful but easily made tests of the amount of time that should be consumed in performing the task. there are plenty of results of experiments in other lines of work which show that the output is increased, the cost lessened, by the constant planning and supervision and co-operation of the head of the department, and consequent abandonment by him of a corresponding amount of special detail work of his own that he heretofore may have done. but now i must register an emphatic exception to the application of the exact principles of scientific management to a catalog department. i believe the principles of scientific management as developed for the organization of industry and business, should undergo a distinct change or be abandoned entirely in their application to one most important phase of the organization of a catalog department. scientific management does consider the health and comfort and freedom from fatigue and efficiency of the individual, but always with a view to the effect upon a particular task and upon increased output at reduced cost. in other words the emphasis is placed on the task, not at all on the broad development of the individual. in library work, human sympathy, a broad point of view, the fullest possible development of personality are of the utmost importance; esprit de corps, the spirit of loyalty and co-operation are of more importance than a particular task. i assume that needs no argument. scientific management, fully applied, would, it seems to me, defeat this vital purpose of library organization, and would more effectually differentiate and isolate the catalog department than is already the case in many libraries. this leads to some illustrations of my meaning by ( ) some practical considerations of the organization. i do entirely believe in a distinct and complete organization of a catalog department, not in the system some libraries use in having a department head, but without assistants definitely and wholly assigned to the one department. it is my observation that to insure quick, accurate, consecutive and thoroughly efficient work, not only must the department head devote practically her whole time to the one job, but at least enough assistants also, to insure continuity of work. i am not in favor of the head of the department being part of the time assistant in the children's room or even in the reference room. such a plan is altogether too extravagant. the manager of a department needs to give undivided attention to the supervision of the work of the department. the head of the department is constantly brought directly in touch with the general administration of the library and with other department heads, and a possible tendency to narrowed point of view is thus checked to some extent. there are also some assistants who are naturally fitted to the work of the catalog department and not at all to meeting the public. if we secure an assistant evidently suited for catalog work, but for no other, we should bend all our energies to making her the most efficient possible cataloger, and not deprive the catalog department of her constant services in order to make a vain attempt to develop other sides of her personality and give the public poor service in the process. in my judgment, in a library cataloging from , to , volumes a year, a head cataloger, a first assistant, and probably at least two other assistants should give their whole time to the department and so form the backbone of the organization. to this part of it the principles of scientific management may be thoroughly applied. my idea of the necessity for divergence from those principles comes when we consider the need for the development of some members of the cataloging staff by other sides of library experience, and also when we consider the importance of mutual understanding and co-operation between the departments. all librarians experience difficulty in obtaining assistant catalogers because a candidate is very often reluctant to devote herself wholly to the routine operations of the catalog department. in many such cases, it would be possible to secure an excellent part-time assistant for the catalog department, if we would offer work for part of the day in a department dealing with the public. in this way we would achieve a double purpose. the experience of all librarians, i am confident, will indicate the inestimable advantage to the point of view of the catalog department and to the catalog itself if some one of considerable importance in the department gives a part of each day to reference work, and another assistant a part of each day to the loan department. i think it is not so important that a cataloger devote some time to work with children, and it is also true that such an arrangement is rarely of value to the children's department, where special qualities and training are all-important. on the other hand, it is desirable that someone with the training and experience of a children's librarian, give to the catalog department time for the assignment of subject headings for the children's catalog. the work of the catalog and order departments is most closely related and yet it is my experience that misunderstanding between those departments is not infrequent. an assistant whose time is divided between the two should and does work to the advantage of both departments. with the exception of the one representative from the children's department, i do not believe that the possible advantage gained by having assistants from the departments which deal with the public give part time to cataloging, by any means equals the loss of efficiency attending the change from one manager to another or the loss in the work itself, for it is unusual that one assistant should do equally high-class work in two such distinct fields. i know that some say that the majority of really good desk assistants possess the education, the clear and discriminating mind, the accuracy and resourcefulness of the good cataloger and are of value in the catalog department. also it is true that the suitability of each assistant for each department would of course be considered when interchanges are arranged. nevertheless it is my observation that excellent desk assistants ordinarily can do well only the merest clerical work in a catalog department, and usually they do not appreciate the accuracy and minute care required in cataloging work. certainly it is extravagant to use a part of the time of a presumably fairly-well-paid, good desk or reference assistant for merely mechanical work in the catalog department, which otherwise would be done by a cheaper grade of service than the better grade of catalog assistants. also the special care and extra time wasted by head catalogers in revising the work of such assistants is an expense worth consideration. . cost of cataloging. many complaints are heard from librarians of the seemingly excessive cost of cataloging. few practical suggestions seem to have been made for reducing costs, except in the elimination of some details, such as accession books. since i understand a committee is investigating this whole question, i have not attempted to obtain any statistical information. in the few fairly large libraries whose estimates of the cost of the process have come to my attention, the estimated cost of purchasing, accessioning, and cataloging a book, including labelling, gilding, card filing, and everything necessary to secure a book and prepare it for use, ranges from cents to about cents. these cost estimates vary, not only because of differences in the elaboration or simplicity of the processes, but also because of the difference in the character of the books added, large numbers of duplicates for schools, branches, etc., being more easily and cheaply handled than separate new titles. there can be little question that scientific management, properly used, will reduce the costs of cataloging work. adequate planning and supervision of all processes by the head cataloger, the classifier and others in charge of divisions of the work, can make for speed. i am convinced that we do not really know the maximum length of time which an assistant should be allowed to keep at one certain task. an assistant typewriting shelf-list cards should do rapid work for perhaps three hours. after that a measure of fatigue makes change of occupation advisable for the individual, and economical for the department. slight fatigue from typewriting will not, however, impair efficiency in a different sort of work. a point worth considering here is, that the change in the occupation of a higher-grade assistant in order not to impair efficiency, should not mean time given to a lower or more mechanical grade of work. that is extravagance. impending mental fatigue does not mean that mental processes are to be abandoned. just as much rest is obtained, and efficiency is really increased, by simple change of the mental groove. here the advocate of the general exchange of assistants between departments might say that the advisable thing to do is to send the assistant to another department. in most cases i believe that such a change is a mistake, because a change from one department to another means too great a break in the continuity of management in two departments. one manager can plan more effectively for the entire working time of an individual than two managers can plan for the two halves. the development of library schemes of service, branches, stations, children's rooms, work with schools, has all added enormously to the routine and mechanical processes of cataloging. more shelf-lists, more catalogs, and all sorts of differentiation in the processes suitable to the special need have multiplied details faster than most librarians realize. it is this tremendous complexity which has worn out head catalogers, increased costs, and made administrators clamor for the elimination of unnecessary detail, without having a real understanding of what the detail is and is for. deterioration in the cataloging process will injure other departments, but undoubtedly most libraries have superfluous refinements that could well be omitted with economy in cataloging, and no loss to the chief end of all our work. it is a temptation to consider carefully the methods which might save expenses in the cataloging process, but i can take time only to make brief reference to some of them, most of these having been frequently discussed at length before. (a) careful planning of catalog room for convenience, to save all unnecessary motions. (b) scientific supervision of tasks to produce greatest speed without undue fatigue. (c) stopping the publication of many monthly bulletins. some bulletins of the larger and certain particular libraries are of inestimable value to other libraries. most of these bulletins are printed from the linotype slugs used in printing their own catalog cards, and consequently the labor is minimized. the bulletins of most libraries, i firmly believe, are of no possible use to other libraries, and the material in them would be much more read by the public if published in the newspapers, as it should be in any case, and if the special lists, which are the most useful part of many bulletins, were printed on a multigraph, instead of being buried in forbidding bulletins that no able-bodied ordinary man in his senses could be driven to read. (d) use of library of congress cards. some people say they do not save time. i recommend those people to recatalog a library without them, also to attempt to get along without them for a while for current additions. to the best of my knowledge they do save money, and i know they save wear and tear on typewriter machines and ribbons, and they save temper, which is nervous energy and worth while saving. if you don't believe that last read goldmark on "fatigue and efficiency" and then you will. besides, library of congress cards look better than typewritten cards and have more durability, since typewritten cards rub and fade and have to be rewritten too frequently. (e) what real objection can there be to simplifying the cards you write yourselves? it does not matter if they are not consistent with library of congress cards. no living borrower would know whether they were consistent or not, and no dead one would matter. besides if variety is the spice of life, consistency is the vice of it. nobody but a librarian ever worried about being consistent. i regret i can't even except the clergy. (f) omitting book numbers for fiction saves a vast amount of time and sacrifices little. they do not add beauty, and they cause endless trouble and expense without due compensation. (g) as to the accession book: i mention this because everyone does, and therefore, lack the courage to pass it without remark. some library reports say that they save the time of one assistant by doing away with it. the fact that practically all of them say it, no matter what size the library in question is, makes one suspicious. i think they are just copying each other's reports, which is not fair. if, however, the accession book is abandoned, and the bill-date, source and cost for each copy of a book are added to a shelf-list card which contains author, title, publisher and perhaps date of publication, much writing is saved and all necessary information is preserved. in the minneapolis public library, which makes the closest estimate i have seen, four hours per books are said to be saved by such a method. no small matter! it is my personal opinion that the accession book is superfluous in a library which is completely cataloged and shelf-listed. (h) an interesting change due to the study of motions is recommended in the procedure for shelf-listing by the minneapolis public library: "formerly one person marked the call number on the back of the title page, and assigned the copy letter, then the book was taken by another assistant who marked the book slip, the pocket and the label. this meant two people handling the book, the second doing only the mechanical work of copying; hence the work must be revised by someone else, or many mistakes occurred in the work of even our best markers. now, the shelf-lister, who knows the meaning of the number and has it already in her mind, marks all books as she lists them, and the work goes through faster and more accurately." (i) trying to save money by omitting the yearly inventory, particularly for open shelves, is a mistake, i believe. one does not save money by gaining discredit for failing to keep track of his wares. (j) it is doubtless superfluous to recommend throwing away antiques, like withdrawal books. (k) the use of the multigraph for writing catalog and shelf-list cards is certainly economy if the number of catalogs is large enough to require pretty large duplication. the shifting of much mechanical work to a less highly-paid class of assistant and the saving in revision of all but the first copy of a card, are distinct gains. (l) there are doubtless many mechanical devices which will be adopted to advantage in cataloging in the next few years. many machines of different sorts have greatly changed bookkeeping methods, making the bookkeeper an initiative force in administration of business houses, and certainly similar economy systems will be developed for the cataloger. . efficiency of the individual in the department. the routine work of cataloging brings fatigue sooner than an occupation involving more variety, although the effects of this form of fatigue may not cumulate so rapidly. it is consequently of special importance that the executive pay particular attention to the application of the principles of scientific management to the efficiency of the individual. the utmost care must be taken that energy shall be carefully directed and not be over-expended. unduly prolonged attention to a particular kind of work resulting in the long run in nervous exhaustion is a familiar phenomenon of cataloging. dr. richardson says that for correction and verification work, two hours a day is the maximum for highest efficiency. my observation is that continuous work at the typewriter should not exceed three hours. although filing is largely mechanical work, it is also very wearying because of the decided monotony of it, and there is a marked tendency to tire quickly. since errors rapidly increase with fatigue, the service is directly injured, as well as indirectly through the ultimate effect on the health of the individual. in general the carefully trained assistant not only knows how to go about his work with more dispatch, with less need for supervision, with more real efficiency, but also with less wear and tear on his nervous energy. an added argument for the economy of paying higher salaries to obtain adequately trained assistants! i have had excellent opportunity to observe the effect of the graded salary on the efficiency of a cataloging staff. the increased interest, the new energy, and the altered spirit are marked when a graded service is installed, particularly when it is realized that efficiency, as well as length of service, is considered. it is not necessary to discuss recreation in the library, as the subject relates to the catalog department no differently than it does to the others. the same may be said about vacations, but in passing i should like to say that i agree entirely with dr. bostwick's idea of them as assignments to special work. it seems to me that assistants should be required to obtain the approval of the executive to the plans for their vacations. i have taken vacations myself which were certain to do me no good, and consequently do my work harm, and it does seem that i ought not to expect pay for such a misuse of the library's time. the change in the hours of service in the circulation department of the new york public library from - / hours a week to hours has caused widespread approval. i wonder if anyone has called attention to the fact that slight changes in climate affect the ability of the individual to work a certain number of hours. for instance, i know from experience that it is possible to work longer without discomfort in an even climate, not subject to extremes of either heat or cold, than it is in the climate of new york. there are certain parts of the country where it takes less energy to work hours per week throughout the year than it does to work hours correspondingly in new york. with more attention to light, air, attractive appearance and convenient arrangement of room, avoidance of fatigue in spite of rapid work or monotony, sensible hours, some degree of variety in work, sane vacations, some outdoor exercise during each day, decent pay on a graded basis, the efficiency record of the cataloging staff in many a library should be raised, their organization held intact, and their humor and good-humor have some chance to appear. the subject was continued by dr. arthur e. bostwick, of the st. louis public library, who spoke as follows: from the administrative standpoint the library life of a book is divided very distinctly into two periods, that before it is placed on the shelves and that after it is so placed. the first period, embracing selection, order, receipt, classification, cataloging and mechanical preparation, is strictly preliminary to the second and would have no reason for being except for the second. the public recognizes the second chiefly and knows of the first vaguely and inadequately. to the library, and especially to that part of the staff engaged in the operations proper to it, it bulks large. the librarian of a large library often finds himself obliged to act, in a measure, as the public's representative, taking the point of view of the thousands of readers, rather than of those who operate the machinery directly under his own control. to one who is actually handling the levers and pulleys, the machine often seems to be the thing. the general administrator, somewhat removed from this direct contact, is better able to see it as it is--a means to an end. hence to the chief librarian, this period of preparation must always be a cause of anxiety. its cost and its duration especially worry him. while his training and experience do not permit him to minimize its importance, he would like to make it as cheap and as short as possible. the reader wants his book, and he wants it now--as soon as he sees the notice of it in the paper. the departments of the library that have to do with its preparation are anxious only that this preparation shall be thorough, realizing that on it depends the usefulness of the book in the second, or public, period of its life. the impatient reader sees no reason for any delay. the co-operating departments see every reason. the librarian sees the reasons, too, but it is his business, to a certain extent, to take the reader's part, and insist that the book's preparation shall not be so thorough that by the time of its completion two-thirds of the necessity for any preparation at all shall have passed, never to return. it therefore becomes an important part of his duty to hurry up the work of preparation, and it is my experience that this duty becomes difficult of performance, wellnigh impossible, when the work and responsibility of preparation devolves upon two or more departments. it has sometimes seemed to me that a majority of my working hours were occupied in settling disputes between the order and catalog departments, in futile endeavors to fit the responsibility for delays upon one or the other and to decide which of them, and when, was telling the truth about the other. it was thus with a feeling of relief, although somewhat of surprise, that i found myself four years ago at the head of a library where the preparatory stage of the book's life is entirely in charge of one department, a plan involving of course the consolidation of the order and catalog work. my four years' experience has convinced me that in many cases this plan may be the solution of some of the librarian's problems. it does not do away with delay: it does not make the library staff assume the reader's point of view, or even the librarian's; but it does reduce the number of department heads with whom the librarian has to deal in his "hurry-up" campaign, and it does unify a responsibility whose division continually causes him trouble and vexation. that we so seldom see the combination of this work arises from the fact that the various stages of the book's preparation are rarely looked upon as parts of a whole. the ordering of books is regarded as a business in itself, requiring its own kind of expert knowledge and completed when the book has been delivered and the bills checked off. the cataloger, again, is proud of the degree of technical perfection to which he has brought the multiplicity of detail in his work. he has a high sense of its necessity in the library's scheme. few see that both these processes, together with mechanical operations of pasting, labelling and lettering on which everyone looks down, are simply stages in the work of preparation, through which a book must pass before it becomes an integral part of a modern library. these are not separate departments of work, one completed before the next is begun; they are interwoven and interdependent in all sorts of ways. books can not be ordered properly without a catalog. books can not be cataloged properly without information necessary in the operation of ordering. it becomes a question of library policy, then, whether these operations may not be combined, and the considerations adduced above form at least a strong argument for such combination. i have purposely dwelt on this matter from the standpoint of a general administrator and have therefore not gone into details, which it will be easy for you to obtain if you desire them. in closing, let me say that i believe catalogers to have in a high degree that devotion to their task and that skill and interest in working out its details, that have made the american public library what it is. what they need to guard against is the aloofness arising from the separate and technical character of that work. many of them realize, and all of them should do so, the fact that the catalog is made for the reader; not the reader for the catalog. we may try to train our readers to use our catalogs, but to the end of time we shall still have to deal with the unintelligent, the careless and the captious, and we must try to adapt our catalogs more or less to them. the cataloger may have to break cherished rules, to throw tradition overboard, to act in many ways that will scandalize his profession. contact with as many other departments of the library as possible--realization of his position as a cog wheel in contact with other cogs, will help on the good work. the following paper written by miss beatrice winser, of the newark free public library, was read in her absence by miss agnes van valkenburgh, of the library school of the new york public library: the relation of the catalog department to other departments in the library the subject assigned to me is the relation of the catalog department to other departments in a library. there is a feeling abroad that it is the tendency of librarians to consider their catalog departments as things apart, the details of whose management, long ago settled by experts, should be modified only as those experts may suggest. probably chief librarians do not have the habit of refraining from giving frequent and careful examinations in the catalog departments, or have less interest in the improvement of those departments than in others; but, because it has been possible for experts to formulate rules, as it has not been possible for anyone to do for other branches of the work, the chief librarians have quite naturally allowed themselves to pay less and less attention to the details of these departments, which have thus lost the stimulus which the chief librarians give to the departments with which they largely concern themselves. this, naturally, as i have already said, tends to make of the cataloging department a thing apart and much efficiency is lost to the library as a whole because of it. for the purposes of this paper i propose to include in the scope of the cataloging department much of the work on books from their selection to their placing on the shelf. it must be borne in mind that i am speaking of public libraries and not of college, historical, scientific or special libraries of any kind, and that i am making suggestions only. book selection the selection of books instead of being a difficult and complicated matter calling for hours of study and conference, is really quite simple. every librarian should expect his more intelligent assistants to make suggestions and help to keep his or her own collection up to date, but final decisions as to purchase should rest in the hands of two or three only. an attempt to let a dozen or more people discuss at meetings the value of any book or books and the propriety of adding this or that to the library costs enormously in time and money, and serves no useful purpose. it improves the quality of the books selected but little, it tends to develop undue caution and to make the choice too literary and, if it helps to educate the assistants, it does so at too great a cost. the desire is often expressed that a library should contain "a well-rounded, well-balanced collection of books." this phrase sounds well and perhaps impresses the trustees or the town, but what does it really mean? were we to follow it to its logical conclusion we would all buy in certain fixed proportions, all kinds of books and while we might then lay claim that we had a well-balanced collection, we would be far from filling well the special needs of any special community in which we might be placed. in point of fact every library buys what it thinks it needs most, in most cases it will be found that the books selected are the best books for that library. most books buy themselves, others cry out to be selected. the clientele is waiting for them. the small remnant of specially chosen books call for no elaborate conferences. why have any system of recording the fact that you did not buy certain books at this time, since next month or next year the book not bought has been displaced by another? besides, you can always discover from your bibliographical aids the books you have been compelled to miss, so why duplicate the work already done for you? now let us look at the purely clerical side of book ordering. do we fill out an elaborate order slip with all sorts of bibliographical data needed for comparatively few books only? all that is really needed by bookseller and library is the author, title and publisher of a book, and the latter even could be omitted in most cases. do we economize time and labor by writing our orders so that with the aid of carbon paper, we have an order slip to file, one to send to the bookdealer and another to the library of congress for the purchase of cards? when a consignment of books arrives do we have some elaborate system of checking it off the bill? do we use cabalistic signs in our books so that the public may not by any chance discover the price of them? or do we simply write in plain sight the price, source and date of the bill in each book, check the book on the bill and pass it on? have we ever tried the experiment with say the fiction class of not giving either price, source and date of bill in the books? suppose we buy all our novels from one bookseller, as most libraries do, and announce to the staff generally and also drop a card into the official catalog and the shelf-list to the effect, that after such or such a date, neither the source nor price will be found in any novel, as everyone knows that all novels are bought from john smith and cost $ . . think of the time saved! i am willing to wager that no library could report any ill effects from this change. as to the few novels which sell at net prices, the money lost in charging the usual rate of $ . is negligible compared with the time saved in making these unnecessary entries. to comfort the super-conscientious librarian the loss would actually be covered in many cases, because the reprints of novels often cost less than $ . . accession record now let us go on to the accession book and ask how many use the regular or the condensed book and why? do you cling to the theory that it is the one complete record of every book in your library and would be most useful in case of adjustment of fire losses? i can't deny that it is a complete record of every book, but of what use is that to the library? as to the adjustment of fire losses, are the books in your library arranged in accession order so that in case of fire you could show the insurance adjusters which books were burned by referring to your accession books? do you claim that the accession number is still necessary so that you may know the number of books added and to help distinguish one copy of a book from another? why not use the bates numbering stamp as an automatically accurate recording device, and save time and money? do you use the accession book for securing each month the number of books added in any one class, which of course the bates numbering stamp can not give? to get this one record we employ the time of a person in making other useless records, when all we need is a blank book in which we enter in a few minutes all books under date and class number. in the same book we enter in another place the books subdivided under heads of purchase, binding, periodicals and gifts. thus at tremendous saving we can answer at once the question of how many books are added during any month and in what class. do you perhaps keep an accession book, so that you may secure the price and source of a book reported lost by a borrower? how much lost motion, to say nothing of time and money, is expended annually in libraries where assistants turn from their shelf-list to their accession book for these facts which should be given on the shelf-list card! classification have you ever thought how much it costs your library to have it classified by a college and library school bred person? i am using these terms as synonymous with an educated person. have you ever noticed how much time she spends in getting a book into what to her is the exact class and place? now i am not arguing for less educated people in our public libraries, far from it, but i wish to call your attention to the amount of time and money expended by you in too minute and particular classification. have you ever thought that quite a coarse classification is just as good for your library as the rather particular one which causes your head cataloger to spend half an hour over a book which might just as well be made ready in five minutes? often, after much time has been spent in debating this point or that, about some special feature of a book, and it has at last been placed in a certain division, it will be found more useful with its fellows in a coarser or broader division. i am only suggesting that time could be saved here without impairing the usefulness of the library. cataloging this is that division of library work which one must approach as the holy of holies, leaving one's shoes on the mat outside. please do not assume that i do not appreciate what it has meant to the public library to have experts formulate a set of rules which any library can use. i am not objecting to the rules, but to the application of the rules. we spend hours, days, months, and years in giving paging, illustrations, size, publishers and place of publication on our catalog cards and all for what purpose pray? what does the average user of a public library want to know? he wants to know whether you have a book by a certain author, by a certain title or on a certain subject. ninety-five per cent of the borrowers of books want nothing more than that, and i am excluding fiction entirely. consequently for the possible five per cent, and that is a high percentage, you spend much time in giving gratuitous information. the man who knows his subject goes to the bibliographies of the subject and does not depend upon your card catalog for bibliographical information. let us look into these valuable items, aside from the very necessary author and title, supplied on catalog cards. paging. did your reference people ever report any need of it in serving the public? i never heard of such need. place of publication and publisher. both these items are occasionally asked for, but why spend time in putting them on all your cards for the sake of the few who wish to know, since you can immediately refer to books in print for current books and for all others to the many aids published for the librarian. the date. well, i might grant that it serves a better purpose than the other items, but i doubt its great usefulness. do you in addition to the very necessary shelf-list for all the books in the library, have a special shelf-list for branches? have you ever thought of the time given to keep the record of all the books at your branches? what purpose does it serve, since your branches have their own record of the books they have? i know of one library which kept such a record and finally decided to give it up, since it cost a great deal of money, and seemed after careful consideration to be of little value. not the least harm has resulted from the change and the cataloging department has almost forgotten that it was ever done. does the head cataloger work at least one day a week in the lending or reference department for the sake of getting away from her own point of view and to imbibe something of the real needs of public and assistants? try it, even if you think you can't afford it and i venture to prognosticate that your cataloging department from being the seat of the learned and superior will become a really valuable aid to all the other departments. within the limits of my paper i have been able to cite only a few examples of the changes which might be made in the method of putting books on the shelf in most of our public libraries, but i hope that the very obvious things i have said may serve to help in simplifying the work of a profession already much overburdened with technique. the fourth paper in the discussion by miss laura smith, of the cincinnati public library, was entitled: administration of a catalog department from a cataloger's point of view the ideal of the modern library is service to the community, but the tendency has been to estimate this service by statistics as printed in library reports. columns of figures, showing the number of books cataloged and the cards made, represent but a small part of what can be done and should not be taken as a measure of value of the cataloging department to the library patrons. the old idea of the library was the omniscient librarian who served all the readers from his store of knowledge, but the development of the modern library movement, bringing an increased patronage, made it necessary to delegate some of this work, and libraries were set off into departments. gradually mechanical appliances were introduced and personal aid was limited to the favored few while the average reader was helpless in the face of machinery whose workings were a mystery to him. it reminds one of the story of the fine hospital donated by a philanthropic citizen to a thriving town of the middle west. the building was a model of hospital architecture, the furnishings were the most modern obtainable and the institution was ideal in every respect, adjudged by experts the latest thing in hospitals. a poor citizen, foreign by birth, took his wife to this hospital for treatment. the next day he went to inquire for her and was told that she was too ill to see him, but the attendant offered to take him through the building and show him all the modern improvements. the man was interested and followed his guide through the various wards, listening attentively to his lecture on the advantages of the latest improvements in hospital service. the second day he returned to learn the progress of his wife's case, but she was still too ill to see him, so the attendant showed him some more improvements, which he had not seen the day before. the man was greatly impressed. the third day he returned and was told that his wife had died. when asked by a friend what disease had ended her life, he replied, "i don't know, unless it was the improvements." so the library has adopted progressive methods and among other improvements it has walled a room with the latest model of catalog trays filled with cards as silent guides to the collection of books. printed signs, which no one reads, give intricate directions as to the use of this monster; a human assistant is rarely in sight. has the library the right to expect the public to know how to use a catalog? a trained assistant should be stationed here, and who are better qualified for this service than the members of the cataloging staff? at this point is one of the opportunities for the cataloger's most efficient service to the community. the chief requisite of a well-organized catalog department is a corps of intelligent, educated, trained assistants who have had several years' experience. the raw recruit from the library school is an expense to the service because library school graduates find difficulty in adapting themselves to the existing methods of most libraries. this fault is sometimes individual but more often it is due to the different methods of cataloging taught in the various schools. there should be uniformity of method on this point, full cataloging should be taught in all the schools because it is far easier for the cataloger to learn omissions than to acquire a knowledge of full cataloging when the short form only has been taught in the school. subject-heading work can be taught only in a general way. years of experience are needed before an assistant is competent to assign subject headings, therefore a constantly changing staff is an item of expense worthy of serious consideration. subject headings might be in the hands of a few assistants but there is advantage in having the views of many minds under the supervision of one reviser. an understanding of the community and of existing conditions within the library, added to a thoroughly assimilated knowledge of cataloging methods, increases the value of an assistant. changes are usually due to small salaries, and to better financial conditions elsewhere, but adding a reasonable amount to the salary of a competent assistant is a good investment. to be sure, it foots up on the pay roll as a larger outlay than the substitution of a less experienced assistant at the same or a smaller salary. what the pay roll tells, however, is not borne out by the facts because on it there is no financial accounting for the time of the administrator of the department which is consumed in breaking in a new cataloger while the more important things wait, or go by default. positions in the cataloging department should yield a financial return sufficient to make their incumbency more or less permanent for it is possible to accomplish more with a smaller staff of experienced assistants than with a larger number of those new to the business. when the library has gathered together the best staff of catalogers it can afford it should not put them, like a collection of expensive bric-a-brac, behind closed doors with only the regulation catalogers' tools as guides, and expect them to yield the best return on the investment. the best cataloger needs the stimulus of personal contact with the public as an aid to the most intelligent work. when the cataloging department has a sufficient number of well-trained, experienced assistants, a schedule of work which permits direct contact with the public for at least one-third of the time and a system of co-operation between departments with freedom from unnecessary interruptions to the routine as planned, the catalog is a labor saving tool reducing the net cost of production by the time saved to the circulating and reference departments. the cataloging for a large library system should be done at the central library for several reasons. the main cataloging offices are there with the collection of reference books and the official files showing what headings and entries have been used. the expert catalogers and revisers are better fitted for the responsibility of the cataloging than the assistants at the branches, distracted by other work. the enormous number of cards necessary for the various catalogs are more economically duplicated by writer press, or multigraph, than by hand or typewriter because time is saved in this way in the actual making of the cards, in numbering and putting titles on printed cards and in proof reading, or revising, for in revising typewritten cards, each card must be carefully scrutinized, while from the writer press only the first copy needs revision. when copies of the same title are to be purchased for several branches, the cost of cataloging is greatly reduced if all the copies reach the cataloging department together as time is thus saved in all the processes of preparing the books for circulation, from the accessioning to the pasting of the labels. in the case of fiction this is always possible but with other classes, while it is not always expedient to purchase for the main library and the branches simultaneously, the branch librarians and order department can simplify the process by prompt decision as to the number of branches to which titles are to be added, so that all cards may be ordered or made at the same time. by this means one order for printed cards and one setting up of copy for writer press or multigraph is sufficient. when books come to the catalog department singly and at odd times the labor of verifying author entries and subject headings is the same as for new titles, and the making of cards becomes a mechanical process only when they are to be made in large quantities. every branch added to the library system increases the work of the cataloging department, a fact often lost sight of by the chief administrators of a library. there seems to be a popular delusion that each new addition to the library family means only a duplication of cards while the fact remains that most of the processes in the routine practically consume as much time and thought as if the title in hand were new in the library. in the case of shelf-listing it is obviously easier and takes less time to make a brand new shelf-list card for a book than it does to withdraw the card from the shelf-list, make an addition to it and refile the card. if the main building is so arranged that one card catalog can be used conveniently by all departments much expense will be saved. but if there must be department catalogs, author and subject entries should be uniform so that the individual catalogs may be simply duplicates of certain divisions of the general catalog. subject headings in the public library should be simple enough to be within the comprehension of the average reader. to simplify headings for children is a useless expense and an insult to the child who is often more intelligent than many adult readers. the public library being "an integral part of public education" should not be guilty of senseless simplification even though the kindergartners may accuse us of "taking away the joy of childhood." if the so-called simplified headings are used they can not be filed with other headings, therefore two separate catalogs in each branch must be maintained at extra expense. all non-essentials should be eliminated from the mechanical processes of preparing books for the shelves. the time of high-priced service should be used for the scholarly work, duplication of cards and routine clerical work do not require a college education nor library school training. printed cards should be purchased whenever possible. it is not necessary to become hysterical over the superfluity of information on some of the library of congress cards because the average user of a catalog in a public library does not read beyond the first line of the title, and therefore is not confused by bibliographical details. on the other hand, this same detail is valuable to the few readers who need it. another groundless objection to the use of these cards is the statement that books must be held until the cards are received. if there is co-operation between the order and the cataloging departments, books and cards may be ordered and will come to the cataloger about the same time. when they do not the books should be sent through on temporary slips. this adds slightly to the cost of handling, but saves the reputation of the library in the circulating department. the printed card should be accepted when it agrees with the title page, but when the card requires changes which mar its appearance it should be rejected. when the cards must be made by the individual library the extra bibliographical detail should be omitted for purposes of economy, and the catalogs would still be uniform and accurate in essentials. entries must be accurate, uniform and as consistent as possible that the catalog may save the time of the reference librarians, since effective reference work can be done only when the library is well classified and cataloged and quick service is possible only under these conditions. the plan to combine the catalog and reference departments, the assistants working one-third of their time in reference work, brings excellent results. in the first place the assistants come in direct contact with the public for part of every day. the knowledge of books gained by examination for full cataloging can be made directly useful to the public. on the other hand, the demands of the reader, his peculiarities of expression and his general attitude toward the library give inspiration to the work in the cataloging department as to subject headings and analyticals to be made. the change of work is restful and enables the assistants to accomplish much in a day without becoming weary of either line of work. the efficiency of the assistants depends upon their ability to bring the book and the reader together and as the cataloger has the advantage of studying the books she should therefore bring this knowledge to the public through personal contact. emphasis is put on the increased usefulness of the staff by reason of the ability to appreciate the relation between the library and the public and to bring into the daily life of the community the increased knowledge of books. what has been said is not intended as a criticism of any method of administering a cataloging department, but is an effort rather to present a plan which from practical experience has proved successful. the discussion was then thrown open to the floor, with the suggestion from the chairman that it take the following lines: . is the catalog department too confined in its organization and too distinctly separated from other departments? . how much mechanical work should be done by expert catalogers? who should do the mechanical work and where should it be done? . what should be the relations between the catalog and the shipping departments? mr. hodges, of the cincinnati public library, said that each library had to use a system suited to its individual needs, that in cincinnati there was no head of the order department, that he considered the use of catalogers in the reference department during rush hours a good plan as they were usually well fitted for the work, that in his library there was a single head of the catalog and reference departments. miss hitchler, superintendent of cataloging of the brooklyn public library, said that co-operation could be effected between departments without interchange of assistants. mr. hopper said that the obstacle to combining the heads of the catalog and order departments in one person was that a knowledge of cataloging and a knowledge of the book trade were seldom combined in one person. during the discussion of the second point--that of scientific management within the department--miss van valkenburgh raised a laugh by inquiring where we are to draw the line in keeping track of our efficiency. mr. martel, of the library of congress, in answer to the charge made against catalogers of over-elaboration, as for example in the matter of periodical records, said that under-elaboration often proved quite as expensive as over-elaboration. second session friday, june . the second session of the catalog section was held on friday afternoon, june , miss gooch presiding. miss van valkenburgh, miss hiss, and miss dame, were appointed as nominating committee by the chairman. the session took the form of an informal discussion on simplified forms of typewritten catalog cards, and was held at the desire of the committee of the professional training section on uniformity of forms of catalog cards. this committee was appointed in january, , and consists of helen turvill, chairman, agnes van valkenburgh, harriet b. gooch. the chairman directed the discussion by taking up point by point the form of card recommended by the committee for the practice work of the library schools. typewritten cards for a public library of about , volumes, to be filed with l. c. cards, were taken as a basis of discussion. among the details considered were the following, with the decisions which seemed most generally favored by those present: =brackets.= omit brackets for material inserted in heading but use in title and imprint. =initial article.= use initial article, unless including it would entail repeating author's name in the title. =initial possessive.= omit author's name in the possessive case at the beginning of a title, and cancel it when used on l. c. cards. =editor, etc.= in the title use the name of the editor, translator, etc., in the form given on the title page. =imprint.= include place, publisher and date of publication together with inclusive copyright dates if they differ from the date of publication. =collation.= give main paging, illus., ports., maps. give size only if unusual. =position of items.= begin collation on a new line and indent. =secondary cards.= give author and title only on secondary cards. (main subject cards are not considered secondary cards.) other details discussed were use of points of omission, form of series note, tracing cards, headings in joint-author entries, the place for paging in an analytical note, entry under pseudonym versus real name, entry for adapter. at the close of the foregoing discussion, the matter of having a permanent a. l. a. committee on cataloging was brought forward, and upon miss van valkenburgh's motion, it was determined to request the executive board of the a. l. a. to appoint a permanent catalog committee to which questions in cataloging may be referred for recommendation. miss sutliff then suggested that an a. l. a. code of alphabetizing would also be welcome. mr. martel, in response to a question by the chairman, said that the library of congress followed the cutter rules, but had working notes that might be helpful. a motion put by mr. keogh was then passed that the executive board of the a. l. a. be asked to send a request to the librarian of congress to furnish the code of alphabetizing used in the library of congress for publication. an amendment to the foregoing to include the words "with changes for small libraries" failed of passage. the nominating committee then submitted its ticket: chairman, charles martel, chief of the catalog division, library of congress; secretary, edith p. bucknam, chief of the cataloging department, queens borough public library. after the election, the meeting adjourned. section on library work with children first session the first session of the section on library work with children was held in the ballroom of the hotel kaaterskill, at : p. m., june th, with the chairman, miss power, in the chair. in the absence of miss lawrence, miss ida duff acted as secretary. two papers on the subject of "values in library work with children" were read; the first by miss clara w. hunt, superintendent of the children's department, brooklyn public library. values in library work with children--i you are probably familiar with the story of the man who, being asked by his host which part of the chicken he liked best replied that "he'd never had a chance to find out; that when he was a boy it was the fashion to give the grown people first choice, and by the time he'd grown up the children had the pick, so he'd never tasted anything but the drumstick." it will doubtless be looked upon as heresy for a children's librarian to own that she has a deal of sympathy for the down-trodden adult of the present; that there have been moments when she has even gone so far as to say an "amen"--under her breath--to the librarian who, after a day of vexations at the hands of the exasperating young person represented in our current social writings as a much-sinned-against innocent, wrathfully exploded, "children ought to be put in a barrel and fed through the bung till they are twenty-one years old!" during the scant quarter century which has seen the birth and marvelous growth of modern library work with children, the "new education" has been putting its stamp upon the youth of america and upon the ideas of their parents regarding the upbringing of children. and it has come to pass that one must be very bold to venture to brush off the dust of disuse from certain old saws and educational truisms, such as "all play and no work make jack a mere toy," "no gains without pains," "we learn to do by doing," "train up a child in the way he should go," and so on. our kindergartens, our playground agitators, our juvenile courts, our child welfare exhibits are so persistently--and rightly--showing the wrongdoing child as the helpless victim of heredity and environment that hasty thinkers are jumping to the conclusion that, since a child is not to blame for his thieving tendencies, it is our duty, rather than punish, to let him go on stealing; since it is a natural instinct for a boy to like the sound of crashing glass and the exercise of skill needed to hit a mark, we must not reprove him for throwing stones at windows; because a child does not like to work, we should let him play--play all the time. the painless methods of the new education, which tend to make life too soft for children, and to lead parents to believe that everything a child craves he must have, these tendencies have had their effect upon the production and distribution of juvenile books, and have added to the librarian's task the necessity not only of fighting against the worst reading, but against the third rate lest it crowd out the best. it is the importance of this latter warfare which i wish mainly to discuss. we children's librarians, in the past fifteen or twenty years, have had to take a good many knocks, more or less facetious, from spectators of the sterner sex who are worried about the "feminization of the library," and who declare that no woman, certainly no spinster, can possibly understand the nature of the boy. perhaps sometimes we are inclined to droop apologetic heads, because we know that some women are sentimental, that they don't all "look at things in the large," as men invariably do. in view, however, of the record of this youthful movement of ours, we have a right rather to swagger than to apologize. the influence of the children's libraries upon the ideals, the tastes, the occupations, the amusements, the language, the manners, the home standards, the choice of careers, upon the whole life, in fact, of thousands upon thousands of boys and girls has been beyond all count as a civic force in america. and yet, while teachers tell us that the opening of every new library witnesses a substitution of wholesome books for "yellow" novels in pupils' hands; while men in their prime remark their infrequent sight of the sensational periodicals left on every doorstep twenty years ago; while publishers of children's books are trying to give us a clean, safe juvenile literature, and while some nickel novel publishers are even admitting a decline in the sale of their wares; in spite of these evidences of success, a warfare is still on, though its character is changing. every librarian who has examined children's books for a few years back knows exactly what to expect when she tackles the "juveniles" of . there will be a generous number of books so fine in point of matter and make-up that we shall lament having been born too late to read these in our childhood. the information and the taste acquired by children who have read the best juvenile publications of the past ten years is perfectly amazing, and those extremists who decry the buying of any books especially written for children are nearly as nonsensical as the ones who would buy everything the child wishes. but when one has selected with satisfaction perhaps a hundred and fifty titles, one begins to get into the potboiler class--the written-to-order information book which may be guaranteed to kill all future interest in a subject treated in style so wooden and lifeless; the retold classic in which every semblance to the spirit of the original is lost, and the reading of which will give to the child that familiarity which will breed contempt for the work itself; the atrocious picture book modeled after the comic supplement and telling in hideous daubs of color and caricature of line the tale of the practical joker who torments animals, mocks at physical deformities, plays tricks on parents, teases the newly-wed, ridicules good manners, whose whole aim, in short, is to provoke guffaws of laughter at the expense of someone's hurt body or spirit. there will be collections of folk and fairy tales, raked together without discrimination from the literature of people among whom trickery and cunning are the most admired qualities; there will be school stories in which the masters and studious boys grovel at the feet of the football hero; in greater number than the above will be the stories written in series on thoroughly up-to-date subjects. i shall be much surprised if we do not learn this fall that the world has been deceived in supposing that to amundsen and scott belong the honor of finding the south pole, or to gen. goethals the credit of engineering the panama canal. if we do not discover that some young frank or jack or bill was the brains behind these achievements, i shall wonder what has become of the ingenuity of the plotter of the series stories--the "plotter" i say advisedly, for it is a known fact that many of these stories are first outlined by a writer whose name makes books sell, the outlines then being filled in by a company of underlings who literally write to order. when we learn, also, that an author who writes admirable stories, in which special emphasis is laid upon fair play and a sense of honor, is at the same time writing under another name books he is ashamed to acknowledge, we are not surprised at the low grade of the resulting stories. with the above extremes of good and poor there will be quantities on the border line, books not distinctly harmful from one standpoint--in fact, they will busily preach honesty and pluck and refinement, etc., but they will be so lacking in imagination and power, in the positive qualities that go to make a fine book, that they cannot be called wholly harmless, since that which crowds out a better thing is harmful, at least to the extent that it usurps the room of the good. these books we will be urged to buy in large duplicate, and when we, holding to the ideal of the library as an educational force, refuse to supply this intellectual pap, well-to-do parents may be counted upon to present the same in quantities sufficient to weaken the mental digestion of their offspring beyond cure by teachers the most gifted. there are two principal arguments--so-called--hurled at every librarian who tries to maintain a high standard of book selection. one is the "i read them when i was a child and they did me no harm" claim; the other, based upon the doggedly clung-to notion that our ideal of manhood is a grown-up fauntleroy, infers that every book rejected was offensive to the children's librarian because of qualities dangerously likely to encourage the boy in a taste for bloodshed and dirty hands. now, in this day when parents are frantically protecting their children from the deadly house fly, the mosquito, the common drinking cup and towel; when milk must be sterilized and water boiled and adenoids removed; when the young father solemnly bows to the dictum that he mustn't rock nor trot his own baby--isn't it really matter for the joke column to hear the "did me no harm" idea advanced as an argument? and yet it is so offered by the same individual who, though he has survived a boyhood of mosquito bites and school drinking cups, refuses to allow his child to risk what he now knows to be a possible carrier of disease. the "what was good enough for me is good enough for my children" idea, if soberly treated as an argument in other matters of life, would mean death to all progress, and it is no more to be treated seriously as a reason for buying poor juvenile books than a contention for the fetich doctor versus the modern surgeon, or for the return to the foot messenger in place of electrical communication. it would be tactless, if not positively dangerous, if we children's librarians openly expressed our views when certain people point boastfully to themselves as shining products of mediocre story book childhoods. so i would hastily suppress this thought, and instead remind these people that, as a vigorous child is immune from disease germs which attack a delicate one, so unquestionably have thousands of mental and moral weaklings been retarded from their best development by books that left no mark on healthy children. in spite of the probability that there are today alive many able-bodied men who cut their first teeth on pickles and pork chops, we do not question society's duty to disseminate proper ideas on the care and feeding of children. isn't it about time that we nailed down the lid of the coffin on the "did me no harm" argument and buried the same in the depths of the sea? another notion that dies hard is one assuming that, since the children's librarian is a woman, prone to turn white about the gills at the sight of blood--or a mouse--she can not possibly enter into the feelings of the ancestral barbarian surviving in the young human breast, but must try to hasten the child's development to twentieth century civilization by eliminating the elemental and savage from his story books. if those who grow hoarse shouting the above would take the trouble to examine the lists of an up-to-date library they might blush for their shallowness, that they have been basing their opinions on their memory of library lists at least twenty-five years old. we do not believe that womanly women and manly men are most successfully made by way of silly, shoddy, sorry-for-themselves girlhoods, or lying, swaggering, loafing boyhoods; and it is the empty, the vulgar, the cheap, smart, trust-to-luck story, rather than the gory one, that we dislike. i am coming to the statement of what i believe to be the problem most demanding our study today. it is, briefly, the problem of the mediocre book, its enormous and ever-increasing volume. more fully stated it is the problem of the negatively as the enemy of the positively good; of the cultivation of brain laziness by "thoughts-made-easy" reading. it is a republic's, a public school problem, viz.: how is it possible to raise to a higher average the lowest, without reducing to a dead level of mediocrity the citizens of superior possibilities? our relation to publisher and parent, to the library's adult open shelves of current fiction enter into the problem. the children's over-reading, and their reluctance to "graduate" from juvenile books, these and many other perplexing questions grow out of the main one. i said awhile ago that the new education has had a tendency to make life too soft for children, and to give to their parents the belief that natural instincts alone are safe guides to follow in rearing a child. i hope i shall not seem to be a good old times croaker, sighing for the days when school gardens and folk dancing and glee clubs and dramatization of lessons and beautiful textbooks and fascinating handicraft and a hundred other delightful things were undreamed-of ways of making pleasant the paths of learning. heaven forbid that i should join the ranks of those who carp at a body of citizens who, at an average wage in america less than that of the coal miner and the factory worker, have produced in their schools results little short of the miraculous. to visit, as i have, classrooms of children born in slums across the sea, transplanted to tenements in new york, and to see what our public school teachers are making of these children--the backward, the underfed, the "incorrigible," the blind, the anæmic--well, all i can say is, i do not recommend these visits to americans of the stripe of that boastful citizen who, being shown the crater of vesuvius with a "there, you haven't anything like that in america!" disdainfully replied, "naw, but we've got niagara, and that'd put the whole blame thing out!" for myself i never feel quite so disposed to brag of my americanism as when i visit some of our new york schools. and yet, watching the bored shrug of the bright, well-born high school child when one suggests that "the prince and the pauper" is quite as interesting a story as the seventh volume of her latest series, a librarian has some feelings about the lines-of-least-resistance method of educating our youth, which she is glad to find voiced by some of our ablest thinkers. here is what j. p. munroe says: "many of the new methods ... methods of gentle cooing toward the child's inclinations, of timidly placing a chair for him before a disordered banquet of heterogeneous studies, may produce ladylike persons, but they will not produce men. and when these modern methods go as far as to compel the teacher to divide this intellectual cake and pudding into convenient morsels and to spoon-feed them to the child, partly in obedience to his schoolboy cravings, partly in conformity to a pedagogical psychology, then the result is sure to be mental and moral dyspepsia in a race of milksops." how aptly "spoon-fed pudding" characterizes whole cartloads of our current "juveniles"! listen to president wilson's opinion: "to be carried along by somebody's suggestions from the time you begin until the time when you are thrust groping and helpless into the world, is the very negation of education. by the nursing process, by the coddling process you are sapping a race; and only loss can possibly result except upon the part of individuals here and there who are so intrinsically strong that you cannot spoil them." hugo münsterberg is a keen observer of the product of american schools, and contrasting their methods with those of his boyhood he says: "my school work was not adjusted to botany at nine years because i played with an herbarium, and at twelve to physics because i indulged in noises with home-made electric bells, and at fifteen to arabic, an elective which i miss still in several high schools, even in brookline and roxbury. the more my friends and i wandered afield with our little superficial interests and talents and passions, the more was the straightforward earnestness of the school our blessing; and all that beautified and enriched our youth, and gave to it freshness and liveliness, would have turned out to be our ruin, if our elders had taken it seriously, and had formed a life's program out of petty caprices and boyish inclinations." and prof. münsterberg thrusts his finger into what i believe to be the weakest joint in our educational armor when he says: "... as there is indeed a difference whether i ask what may best suit the taste and liking of peter, the darling, or whether i ask what peter, the man, will need for the battle of life in which nobody asks what he likes, but where the question is how he is liked, and how he suits the taste of his neighbors." what would become of our civilization if we were to follow merely the instincts and natural desires? yet is there not in america a tremendous tendency to the notion, that except in matters of physical welfare, the child's lead is to be followed to extreme limits? don't we librarians feel it in the pressure brought to bear upon us by those who fail to find certain stories, wanted by the children, on our shelves? "why, that's a good book," the parent will say, "the hero is honest and kind, the book won't hurt him any--in fact it will give the child some good ideas." "ideas." yes, perhaps. there is another educator i should like to quote, j. h. baker in his "education and life": "whatever you would wish the child to do and become, that let him practice. we learn to do, not by knowing, but by knowing and then doing. ethical teaching, tales of heroic deeds, soul-stirring fiction that awakens sympathetic emotions may accomplish but little unless in the child's early life ... the ideas and feelings find expression in action and so become a part of the child's power and tendency...." now we believe with g. stanley hall that, "the chief enemy of active virtue in the world is not vice but laziness, languor and apathy of will;" that "mind work is infinitely harder than physical toil;" that (as another says) "all that does not rouse, does not set him to work, rusts and taints him ... the disease of laziness ... destroys the whole man." and when children of good heritage, good homes, sound bodies, bright minds, spend hours every week curled up among cushions, allowing a stream of cambric-tea literature gently to trickle over their brain surfaces, we know that though the heroes and heroines of these stories be represented as prodigies of industry and vigor, our young swallowers of the same are being reduced to a pulp of brain and will laziness that will not only make them incapable of struggling with a page of quentin durward, for example, but will affect their moral stamina, since fighting fiber is the price of virtue. ours is, as i have said, a public education, a republic's problem. to quote president wilson again: "our present plans for teaching everybody involve certain unpleasant things quite inevitably. it is obvious that you cannot have universal education without restricting your teaching to such things as can be universally understood. it is plain that you cannot impart 'university methods' to thousands, or create 'investigators' by the score, unless you confine your university education to matters which dull men can investigate, your laboratory training to tasks which mere plodding diligence and submissive patience can compass. yet, if you do so limit and constrain what you teach, you thrust taste and insight and delicacy of perception out of the schools, exalt the obvious and merely useful things above the things which are only imaginatively or spiritually conceived, make education an affair of tasting and handling and smelling, and so create philistia, that country in which they speak of 'mere literature.'" in our zeal to serve the little alien, descendant of generations of poverty and ignorance, let us not lose sight of the importance to our country of the child more fortunate in birth and brains. so strong is my feeling on the value of leaders that i hold we should give at least as much study to the training of the accelerate child as we give to that of the defective. though i boast the land of abraham lincoln and booker washington i do not give up one iota of my belief that the child who is born into a happy environment, of parents strong in body and mind, holds the best possibilities of making a valuable citizen; and so i am concerned that this child be not spoiled in the making by a training or lack of training that fails to recognize his possibilities. it is encouraging to find growing attention in the "proceedings" of the n. e. a. and other educational bodies to the problem of the bright child who has suffered by the lock-step system which has molded all into conformity with the capabilities of the average child. the librarian's difficulty is perhaps greater than that of the teacher, because open shelves and freedom of choice are so essential a part of our program. we must provide easy reading for thousands of children. milk and water stories may have an actual value to children whose unfavorable heritage and environment have retarded their mental development. but the deplorable thing is to see young people, mercifully saved from the above handicaps, making a bee line for the current diluted literature for grown-ups, (as accessible as scott on our open shelves) and to realize that this taste, which is getting a life set, is the inevitable outcome of the habit of reading mediocre juveniles. we must not rail at publishers for trying to meet the demands of purchasers. our job is to influence that demand far more than we have done as yet. large book jobbers tell us that millions and millions of poor juveniles are sold in america to thousands of the sort we librarians recommend. i have seen purchase lists of boys' club directors and sunday school library committees calling for just the weak and empty stuff we would destroy. i have unwittingly been an eavesdropper at christmas book counters and have heard the orders given by parents and the suggestions made by clerks. and i feel that the public library has but skirmished along the outposts while the great field of influencing the reading of american children remains unconquered. until we affect production to the extent that the book stores circulate as good books as the best libraries we cannot be too complacent about our position as a force in citizen making. an "impossible" ideal, of course, but far from intimidating, the largeness of the task makes us all the more determined. this paper attempts no suggestion of new methods of attacking the problem. it is rather a restatement of an old perplexity. i harp once more on a worn theme because i think that unless we frequently lift our eyes from the day's absorbing duties for a look over the whole field, and unless we once and again make searching inventory of our convictions, our purposes, our methods, our attainments, we are in danger of letting ourselves slip along the groove of the taken-for-granted and our work loses in power as we allow ourselves to become leaners instead of leaders. may we not, as if it were a new idea, rouse to the seriousness of the mediocre habit indulged in by young people capable of better things? should not our work with children reach out more to work with adults, to those who buy and sell and make books for the young? is it not time for the successful teller of stories to children to use her gifts in audiences of grown people, persuading these molders of the children's future of the reasonableness of our objection to the third rate since it is the enemy of the best? may it not be politic, at least, for the librarian to descend from her disdainful height and make friends with "the trade," with bookseller and publisher who, after all, have as good a right to their bread and butter as the librarian paid out of the city's taxes? and then--is it not possible that we might be better librarians if we refused to be librarians every hour in the day and half the night as well? what if we were to have the courage to refuse to indulge in nervous breakdowns, because we deliberately plan to play, and to eat, and to sleep, to keep serene and sane and human, believing that god in his heaven gives his children a world of beauty to enjoy as well as a work to do with zeal. if we lived a little longer and not quite so wide, the gain to our chosen work in calm nerves and breadth of interest and sympathy would even up for dropping work on schedule time for a symphony concert or a country walk or a visit with a friend--might even justify saving the cost of several a. l. a. conferences toward a trip to italy! this hurling at librarians advice to play more and work less reminds me of a story told by a southern friend. years ago, in a sleepy little virginia village, there lived two characters familiar to the townspeople, whose greatest daily excitement was a stroll down to the railroad station to watch the noon express rush through to distant southern cities. one of these personages was the station keeper, of dry humor and sententious habit, whom we will call hen waters; the other was the station goat, named, of course, billy. year after year had billy peacefully cropped the grass along the railroad tracks, turning an indifferent ear to the roar of the daily express, when suddenly one day the notion seemed to strike his goatish mind that this racket had been quietly endured long enough. with the warning whistle of the approaching engine, billy, lowering his head, darted furiously up the track, intending to butt the offending thunderer into kingdom come. when, a few seconds later, the amazed spectators were gazing after the diminishing train, hen waters, addressing the spot where the redoubtable goat had last been seen, drawled out: "billy, i admire your pluck--but darn your discretion!" the parallel between the ambitions and the futility of the goat, and the present speaker's late advice is so obvious that only the illogicalness of woman can account for my cherishing a hope that i may be spared the fate of the indiscreet billy. miss caroline burnite, director of children's work, cleveland public library, delivered the second paper on this subject, presenting the topic from another viewpoint. values in library work with children--ii to elucidate principles of value, i shall use, by way of illustration, the experience and structure of a certain children's department where the problem of children's reading and the means of bringing books to them has been more intensively studied in the last nine years than was possible there before that time. at the time we took our last survey of the department it was found that probably about six out of ten of the children of the city read library books in their homes during the calendar year, and that each child had read about twenty books on the average. four of the six procured library books from a library center; two of the six procured them from collections, either in their schoolrooms or in homes in their neighborhood. in all, fifty-four thousand children read a million books, which reached them through forty-three librarians assigned for special work with these children, through three hundred teachers and about one hundred volunteers. now, we know that six out of ten children is not an ideal proportion and that fifty-four thousand may endanger the quality of book influence for each child, but both of these statements indicate conditions to be adjusted so that the experience of each reading child may contribute to the whole and experience with numbers may benefit the individual. to accomplish this end, work with the children was given departmental organization. my concern in this paper is with departmental organization as it benefits the reading child, and with the principles and policies which have been developed through departmental unity. we think ordinarily that one who loves books has three general hallmarks--his reading is fairly continuous, there is permanency of book interest, and this interest maintained on a plane of merit. these three results always justify the reader and those who have influenced him, and if the consequent book interests of the library child were entirely such, they would prove to all laymen, without argument, that the principles are basic. but in the child's contact with the library there are many evidences of modifications of normal book interests; for, instead of continuity of reading, the children's rooms are overcrowded in winter and have comparatively small book use in summer; instead of permanency of book interests extending over the difficult intermediate period, we know that large numbers of those children who leave school before they reach high school have little or no library contact during their first working years and we sometimes feel that the interesting experiences with reading working children, which librarians are prone to emphasize, give us an impression of a larger number than careful investigation would show. as for quality of reading of the individual working child we cannot maintain that it is always on a high plane. all these conditions we know to be largely the result of environmental influences. deprived for twelve hours a day, twelve months in a year, of opportunity for normal youthful activities, the child's entire physical and mental schedule is thrown out of balance and his tendency is to turn to reading, a recreation possible at any time, only when there is no opportunity to follow other avenues of interest. the strain upon the ear and eye, and back and brain, is even greater in the shop than in the school, and in the consequent intense physical fatigue the tendency is toward recreations in which the book may have no place. the power of the nickel library over the child can be broken by the presence of the public library, but no intermediate gets away from the suggestion, by voice and print, of the modern novel, with its present-day social interests. consequently the whole judgment of the results of library work with children can not rest upon these general tests of normal book interests. rather such variations from the normal are themselves conditions which influence the structure of the work and especially the principles of book presentation. if children are living in an environment which is not the best one for them, all the forces with which they come in contact should tend to correct the abnormal and give them the things their moral nature craves--freer and fuller thoughts, better and freer living, truth of expression, beauty of feeling. we must recognize that books also must be a force in reconstructing or normalizing the influences of their environment. children with social needs must have books with social values to meet those needs--right social contacts, true social perspective, traditions of family and race, loveliness of nature, companionship of living things, right group association and group interests. but while the pedagogical and moral values of books, that is the benefits of right reading for children of normal life, were fully analyzed, the children's department of which i speak had almost no written principle to aid in the enormous task of determining the influence of books on children with social needs. appreciations of the social relationships and the interdependence of characters in books which have proven themselves moving forces in the lives of children, gained through the testimony of men and women who know their indebtedness to them--such books as "little women," "tom brown," "heidi," "otto of the silver hand"--gave a fundamental principle upon which to work. books should construct a larger social ideal for the reader instead of confirming his present one. then arose this question: should we have books with weak social values in the library as a concession to certain children, or by having them do we harm most those very children to whom we have conceded them? the gradual solution of this problem seems to me to be one of the greatest services which a library can render its children. so long as this question is in process of solution we may accept the following as a tentative reply: no books weak in social ideals should be furnished, provided we do not lose reading children by their elimination. if such books are the best a child will read and we take them away, causing loss of library reading interest, we permit him to sink further into his environment. with the last principle as a basis, the evaluation of books was accomplished in the evolution of the department. the cumulative experience of librarians working with children showed that many books which lead only to others of their kind were weak in social viewpoint, and that such books were the ones read largely by those children most occasional and spasmodic in their reading. here was a determining point in the establishment of standards of reading, for it brought us face to face with the question, shall we consider this situation our fault since we supply such books to children who need something better vastly more than do others, or shall we merely justify our selection by maintaining that those children will under no circumstances read a higher grade of books? however, it was proven at the same time that other books were read also by children with social limitations, which, although apparently no better on first evaluation, lead to a better type of reading and this gave us a fresh impulse to consider the evaluation of books as a constantly moving process, and prompted the policy of the removal of those types of books which were least influential in developing a good reading taste. this was done, however, with the definite intention that an increasingly better standard of reading must mean that no reading children be sacrificed, an end only possible by a fuller knowledge of the value of the individual book to the individual child. now let us see what changes have been evolved in the book collections in the department under consideration in the past seven or eight years. in the first study of the collection and before any final study of books from the social viewpoint had been reached, the proportion of books of the doubtful class to those which were standard was considered, and it was seen that this proportion should be decreased in order that a child's chances for eventually reading the best might be improved. it was obvious that the reading of the young children should be most carefully safeguarded, and this was the first point of attack. as a result, these two types of books were eliminated: . all series for young children, such as the dotty dimples and the little colonels. . books for young children dealing with animal life which have neither humane nor scientific value, such as the pierson and wesselhoeft. at about the same time stories of child life for young children were restricted to those which were most natural and possible, and stories read by older girls in which adults were made the beneficiaries of a surprisingly wise child hero, such as the plympton books, were eliminated. the successful elimination of these books, together with the study of the children's reading as a whole, suggested within the next two or three years that other books could be eliminated or restricted without shock to the readers. on the pedagogical basis, certain types of books for young children were judged; on the social basis, certain types of books for older children, with results as follows: . the elimination of word books for little children, and the basing of their reading upon their inherent love for folk lore and verse. . the elimination of interpreted folk lore, such as many of the modern kindergarten versions. . the elimination of the modern fairy tale, except as it has vitality and individual charm, as have those of george macdonald. . the elimination of travel trivial in treatment and in series form, such as the little cousins. . the restriction of an old and recognized series to its original number of titles, such as the pepper series. the disapproval of all new books obviously the first in a series. . lessening the number of titles by authors who are unduly popular, such as restricting the use of tomlinson to one series only. . the elimination of those stories in which the child character is not within a normal sphere; for instance, the child novel, such as mrs. jamison's stories. . the restriction of the story of the successful poor boy to those within the range of possibility, as are the otis books, largely. without analyzing the weaknesses of all these types, i wish to say a word about the series form for story and classed books. the series must be judged not only by content, but it must be recognized that by the admission of such a form of literature the tendency of the child toward independence of book judgment and book selection is lessened and the way paved for the weakest form of adult literature. the last policies regarding book selection developed on the same principles within the past three years have been these: . the elimination of periodical literature for young children, such as the children's magazine and little folks, since their reading can be varied more wholesomely without it. . the elimination, or use in small numbers, of a type of history and biography which lacks scholarly, or even serious treatment, such as the pratt histories. . lessening the number of titles of miscellaneous collections of folk lore in which there are objectionable individual tales; as, for instance, buying only the blue, red, green and yellow fairy books. . recognizing "blind alleys" in children's fiction, such as the boarding school story and the covert love story, and buying no new titles of those types. reports of reading sequences from each children's room have furnished the basis for further study of children's reading for the past seven months. these have been discussed and compared by the workers, and are now in shape for a working outline of reading sequences to be made and reported back to each room, to be used, amplified and reported on again in the spring. while those books which are no longer used may have been at one time necessary to hold a child from reading something poorer, we did not lose children through raising the standard, and the duplication of doubtful books in the children's room is less heavy now than it was a few years ago. also there are more than twice as many children who are reading, and almost three times as many books being read as there were nine years ago, while the number of children of the city has increased but per cent. furthermore, the proportion of children of environmental limitations has by no means diminished, and the foreign population is much the same--more than per cent. of course, the elimination of some books was accomplished because there were better books on these subjects, but the general result was largely brought about because in the establishment of these higher standards =we did not exceed the standards of those who were working with the children.= the standards which they brought to the work, and which they deduced themselves from their experience, were strengthened through round table discussion, where each worker measured her results by those of the others and thereby recognized the need of constant, but careful experimentation. a children's department can not reach standards of reading which in the judgment of the librarians working with the children are beyond the possibility of attainment, for with them rests entirely the delicate task of the adjustment of the book to the child. a staff of children's librarians of good academic education, the best library training, a true vision of the social principles, a broad knowledge of children's literature, is the greatest asset for any library maintaining children's work. but it is true inversely that in raising the standards of the children the standards of the workers were raised. by this, i mean that there were methods of book presentation in use whereby the worker saw farther and deeper into the mentality of the child and understood his social instincts better. this has been evidenced in the larger duplication of the better books. the methods are those which recognize group interest and group association as a social need of childhood. through unifying and intensifying the thoughts and sympathies of the children by giving them, when in association with their own playmates, a common experience of living in great and universal thought in the story hour, the mediocre was bridged and both the child and the worker reached a higher plane of experience. by giving children a chance for group expression of something which has fundamental group interest, not only the children recognized that books may be cornerstones for social intercourse and that there is connection between social conduct as expressed in books and social obligation, but, what is also vastly important, the worker learned that when children are at the age of group activity and expression they can often be more permanently influenced through their group relations than as individuals. through the recognition of the principle that there are standards of book use with individual children and other standards of book appeal for groups of children, it was shown that the organization of the work as a whole must be such that all avenues of presentation of literature could be fully developed. it was seen that far less than with the individual child could we afford to give a group of children a false experience or impotent interest, and that material for group presentation, methods of group presentation and the social elements which are evinced in groups of children should receive an amount of attention and study which would lead to the surest and soundest results. this could be fully accomplished only by recognizing such methods as distinct functions of the department, to be maintained on sound pedagogical and social bases. in other words, that there should not only be divisions of work with children according to problems of book distribution, such as by schools and home libraries, but there must be of necessity divisions by problems of reading. whereas, in a smaller department all divisions would center in the head, the volume of work in the library above alluded to rendered necessary the appointment of an instructor in storytelling and a supervisor of reading clubs, which has resulted in a higher specialization and a greater impetus for these phases of work than one person could have accomplished. here we have an instance of the benefit that a large volume of work may confer upon the individual child. with the attainment of better reading results and higher standards for the workers, it was obvious that the reading experiences of the children and the standards of the workers must be conserved, that the organization should protect the children, as far as possible, from the shock of change of workers in individual centers. within the past two years considerable study has been given to this, and yearly written reports on the reading of children in each children's room are made, in which variations of the children's reading in that library from accepted standards, with individual instances, are usually discussed. however, the children's librarian is entirely free to report the subject from whatever angle it has impressed her most. also a written report is made of the story hour, the program, general and special reading results, and intensity of group interest in certain types of stories. this report is supplementary to a weekly report in a prescribed form of the stories told, sources used and results. all programs used with clubs are reported and a semi-annual report made of the club work as a whole. a yearly tabulation is made of registration from public and parochial schools, giving registration in all libraries, class rooms and home libraries. by discussion and reports back to individual centers, these become bases for a wider vision of work and a wiser direction of energy with less experimentation. the connection between work with children and the problem of the reading of intermediates, referred to in the beginning, should not be dismissed in a paragraph. however, it is only possible to give a short statement of it. recognizing that the reading of adult books should begin in the children's room, a serious study of adult books possible for children's reading was made by the children's librarians for two summers, the reports discussed and books added to the department as the result. a second report of adult titles which children and intermediates might and do read was called for recently and from that a tentative list has been furnished both adult and children's workers for further study. the increasing number of workers in the children's department who have had general training, and in the adult work who have had special training for work with children will make such reports of much value. it may be interesting to know that fifteen of the children's librarians have had general training and six adult workers in important positions have had special training for children's work. four years ago there were only three in children's work who had had general training and none in adult work with the special training. in order to follow the standards of children's work, there is one principle which is obvious, namely, a book disapproved as below grade for juvenile should not be accepted for general intermediate work. this is especially true of books of adventure which a boy of any age between and would read. it has been possible to raise the standard of books for adults in the school libraries above that of the larger libraries. this will furnish eventually another angle for the study of the problem of intermediate reading. in conclusion, the chief influences in the establishment of right reading for children are an intensive study of the reading of children in relation to its social, moral and pedagogical worth to them, the right basis of education and training for such study on the part of the workers, the direction of such study in a way that brings about a higher and more practical standard on the part of the worker, and the conservation of her experience. these are the great services which the library should render children, and they can be most fully accomplished through departmental organization. these papers were followed by a discussion, led by miss stearns and mr. rush, in which advice was given to those selecting children's books to eliminate, in buying new books, those which would be eliminated later, and the suggestion was made that children's librarians should enter the field of writing children's books. dr. bostwick of st. louis then gave a report on volume of children's work in the united states we may divide the history of work with children into three epochs. during the first, our libraries were realizing with increasing clearness the necessity of doing something for children that they were not doing for adults. during the second this conviction had taken the practical form of segregation, physical and mental, and its details were worked out with definiteness. in the third, in which we still are, the whole administrative work of the library for children is being systematized and co-ordinated. these three stages may be roughly styled the era of work with children, the era of the children's room and the era of the children's department. the first began, in any particular library, when that library began to do anything whatever for children that it was not doing for adults; the second, when it opened its first children's room; the third, when it co-ordinated all its children's work under one administrative head. in most libraries the first period was relatively short; the second relatively long. some libraries began their work by establishing children's rooms, reducing the first period to zero. some large libraries are still in the second period, never having co-ordinated their children's work. here are the approximate dates for a few libraries: cleveland new york pittsburgh st. louis milwaukee .... chicago .... brooklyn boston .... i lay no stress on the accuracy of these dates, particularly in the first column, where in some cases they are matters of opinion. pittsburgh appears as a unique example of a library that stepped full-fledged into all three stages at once, starting off, as soon as it began to do children's work at all, not only with a children's room, but with a definitely organized department to conduct the work. with the idea of presenting comprehensively some idea of the volume and importance of children's work in the united states at the present time, a questionnaire was sent out to libraries ( in all) whose total home use was , volumes or more. of these responded. these have been divided into five groups, five "very large" libraries, circulating more than , , ; eight "large" ones, between one and two million; seven "medium," between half a million and a million; thirteen "small," between quarter and half a million, and eighteen "very small," from , to , . the results for each of these groups have been stated separately--averaged where possible. first, regarding the total volume of work. the answers to the questions show that in of the largest public libraries in the country, graded by circulation--libraries containing altogether nearly , , books and circulating a total of over millions--there are now , , volumes intended especially for children. children drew out during the last year , , volumes for home use. volumes for children added during the year numbered , . these libraries have rooms devoted entirely to children and used by them in part, with a combined seating capacity of , . classroom libraries are furnished for the children in the schools, by libraries reporting, to the number of , . children in libraries reporting hold altogether , library cards. there are supervisors of children's work, with numerous clerical assistants and staffs of persons, of whom at least are qualified children's librarians, are graduates of library schools, and have had partial courses. the general conclusion deducible from the statistics gathered seems to be that in some ways library work with children has become standardized while in others it has not. standards, whether permanent or not, we can not tell, have been reached or approximated in the number of books devoted to children's use and, in general, in the proportion of the library's resources, time and energy that is given to this branch of the work. but when we come to the specific number of assistants assigned to it, their supervision, their pay and the grade of experience and training required of them, then we all part company. not only is there no general agreement here, but some of the discrepancies are so large that we can ascribe them only to the fact that we are still in the experimental stage. for instance, to take first the fairly uniform or standardized conditions, the fraction of the stock of books allotted to children is about one-fifth in the larger libraries and decreases slightly in the smaller; in the very small it is about one-eighth. the proportion of juvenile books added yearly is much larger; it varies from nearly one-half in the very large libraries down to one-fourth in the very small. this would seem to be a result of the increasing stress laid on children's work. if this proportion is maintained in the annual purchases, that in the total stock may approximate to it in time, although we can not be sure of this without knowing the ratio of the life of a children's book to that of an adult book. the children's books are doubtless shorter-lived, and this would tend to keep the proportion down in the permanent stock. the circulation is still more nearly uniform, being about one-third to children in all the classes of libraries. the proportion of money spent for children is also uniform, being about one-fourth in libraries of all sizes. the same is true of the number of children's rooms, which throughout all classes of libraries, both large and small, are in the proportion of one to every , to , of circulation, and of their seating capacity, which is to per room. looking on the other side of the shield we find the greatest variation in the proportion of children's cards in use, which runs from less than one-half up to nearly all. from one to five supervisors are employed in each library but some of the very large libraries use only one and some of the small ones as many as three. the same is true of clerical assistants, of which some of the very small libraries report as many as three, while some of the very large get along with as few as two. salaries are fairly uniform, although apparently smaller than the work would warrant. whereas the children's circulation is about one-third the total, the salaries in the juvenile department are from one-seventh to one-eighth the total throughout. in the "small" libraries they are only one-eleventh of the total. the distribution of library-school graduates is very irregular. some libraries in all classes have none at all. in the three lower classes no library has a larger number than three. in some of the larger libraries there may be as many as or . i am aware that some of this irregularity, which i have called a lack of standardization, may be due to differences in nomenclature. assistants, for instance, having precisely the same duties may be described as supervisors in one library and not in another. this will not explain everything, however, and the conclusion is inevitable that in the respects just noted no uniformity has yet been reached by libraries. it seems to me that this lack of standardization has made its appearance in precisely the place where it might have been expected--namely in the third of the three periods already mentioned, that of co-ordination and systematization. this is the latest period; some libraries have not yet entered upon it and most of them are young in it. in other words, children's work is much older than the systematic administration of a children's department, or a system of children's rooms. hence, children's work in general--the selection and purchase of books for children, the planning of children's rooms and their administration as units--has existed long enough to become standardized. we know what we want, having passed through the stage of experimentation. this is not true of the administration of a children's department--the grading of assistants, the organization of a compact body of workers with its expert supervision, the settling of questions of disputed jurisdiction that necessarily arise in cases of this kind. it is on this part of their work that children's librarians need to focus their attention for the next few years. it is time, not perhaps to withdraw our eyes from the older questions but to transfer our gaze in part to the newer. we need to talk less about the size of our juvenile collection, methods of selection of children's books, the salaries of our assistants, ways of increasing our circulation, sizes and plans of children's rooms, and so on, and more about the organization and administration of the children's department as a whole--the duties of the supervisor and her assistants; her relations with the heads of other departments and with branch librarians, the measure of control shared by her with heads of branches in case of children's librarians of branches, the existence of separate grades, corresponding to separate duties or variation of qualifications, among the children's librarians; insistence on training adapted to these different grades. time forbids me to go into details, and i can but suggest these points for your consideration. into one point, however, i feel like going a little more fully: we need more special training for children's work. it is the one kind of specialization that we have attempted in our schools, and we must have more of it and more kinds of it. this of course is but a single case in the more varied program of special training that i am convinced we shall have to take up before long. in the course of an interesting debate on this subject in the a. l. a. council last january it developed that most of the librarians present looked upon specialization as impractical. in particular they believed it impossible for a student to look forward so definitely to special work that he could decide on the special courses that would benefit him. the man that had taken the college-library course might become a superintendent of branches; the qualified municipal reference librarian would go, perhaps, into an applied science room. this may be so now but it cannot long remain the case. even now we can not carry this line of argument much further without making of it a reductio ad absurdum. why go to a library school at all when, after all, you may accept the headship of a grammar-school on graduation, or even decide to travel for a hardware house? why should we attempt to train one man for a lawyer and another for a physician when both may prefer farming? we are getting away fast from the old idea, born of pioneer conditions, that anybody can do anything if he tries. we shall have to travel further enough from it to satisfy ourselves that an expert university librarian will have to be trained for his post and not for that of head of the supply department in a public library. we have learned that a children's librarian does her work better for special training; may it not be that we shall have to make some difference in the future between training, let us say, for supervisory work, for the charge of a branch children's room, and for the duties of an assistant of lower grade? in closing, let me say again that we need to focus our attention at present on the organization and administration of a children's department, especially on the places where it interlocks with that of other departments. the study of this matter should not be entrusted to children's libraries alone, for the standardization of work involving more than one department should not be =ex parte=. the matter should be in charge of a committee including in its membership both chief librarians and the heads of children's departments--possibly also the children's librarian of a large branch library and a branch librarian. the volume of the work is now remarkable; its organization has gone beyond that of some other departments in attention to detail; the question of its co-ordination and of interdepartmental relations should now be taken up systematically. libraries very large libraries large averaged over averaged , , - , , , , av. number volumes in library , , av. juvenile volumes in library , , av. cost of juvenile volumes not given $ , av. volumes added during year , , av. cost of volumes added during year $ , . $ , . av. juvenile volumes added during year , , av. cost of juvenile volumes added $ , . $ , . av. circulation for year , , , , av. juvenile circulation for year , , , av. number children's rooms in system av. number rooms used in part by children av. seating capacity of children's rooms , av. classroom libraries av. home libraries for children av. deposit or delivery stations not included in above av. volumes on shelves open to children , , av. juvenile cardholders , , av. age limit of juvenile cardholders av. estimate of juvenile cards in use [ ] , , av. supervisors of children's work to to av. salary paid supervisors $ , $ , av. clerical assistants in children's work av. salary paid clerical assistants $ $ av. children's librarians to av. salary paid children's librarians $ . $ av. additional assistants giving full time to children's work to to av. salary of such assistants $ . $ av. assistants giving part time to children's work av. salary paid such assistants $ $ number library school graduates to to number assistants having had partial library school courses to to number trained in local library to to number trained in other libraries to to pages giving full time to children's work to to av. yearly salaries for entire staff (not including janitors) $ , . $ , . av. yearly salaries children's department $ , . $ , . libraries medium libraries small averaged , - averaged , - , , , av. number volumes in library , , av. juvenile volumes in library , , av. cost of juvenile volumes $ , $ , av. volumes added during year , , av. cost of volumes added during year $ , . $ , . av. juvenile volumes added during year , , av. cost of juvenile volumes added $ , . $ , . av. circulation for year , , av. juvenile circulation for year , , av. number children's rooms in system av. number rooms used in part by children av. seating capacity of children's rooms av. classroom libraries av. home libraries for children av. deposit or delivery stations not included in above av. volumes on shelves open to children , , av. juvenile cardholders , , av. age limit of juvenile cardholders av. estimate of juvenile cards in use , , av. supervisors of children's work to to av. salary paid supervisors $ , $ av. clerical assistants in children's work to to av. salary paid clerical assistants $ $ av. children's librarians to to av. salary paid children's librarians $ . $ . av. additional assistants giving full time to children's work to av. salary of such assistants $ $ av. assistants giving part time to children's work ... ... av. salary paid such assistants ... ... $ number library school graduates to to number assistants having had partial library school courses to to number trained in local library to to number trained in other libraries to to pages giving full time to children's work to to av. yearly salaries for entire staff (not including janitors) $ , . $ , . av. yearly salaries children's department $ , . $ , . libraries very small averaged under , av. number volumes in library , av. juvenile volumes in library , av. cost of juvenile volumes $ , . av. volumes added during year , av. cost of volumes added during year $ , . av. juvenile volumes added during year , av. cost of juvenile volumes added $ , . av. circulation for year , av. juvenile circulation for year , av. number children's rooms in system av. number rooms used in part by children av. seating capacity of children's rooms av. classroom libraries av. home libraries for children av. deposit or delivery stations not included in above av. volumes on shelves open to children , av. juvenile cardholders , av. age limit of juvenile cardholders av. estimate of juvenile cards in use , av. supervisors of children's work av. salary paid supervisors $ . av. clerical assistants in children's work to av. salary paid clerical assistants $ av. children's librarians av. salary paid children's librarians $ av. additional assistants giving full time to children's work to av. salary of such assistants $ . $ [ ][ ] av. assistants giving part time to children's work to av. salary paid such assistants $ number library school graduates to number assistants having had partial library school courses to number trained in local library to number trained in other libraries to pages giving full time to children's work to av. yearly salaries for entire staff (not including janitors) $ , . av. yearly salaries children's department $ , . [ ] not the same libraries as are represented two lines above. [ ] maximum. [ ] for first year. second session the second session of the section was held june th, at : p. m., in the ballroom. miss martha wilson, supervisor of school libraries, state department of education, st. paul, minnesota, read a paper entitled possibilities of the rural school library on the outermost fringe of library influence they wait--the country children. to fulfill to them the mission of the library, to make books necessary and accessible, we must take account of the agency which touches the life of even the most remote group--the country school. relationships between libraries and schools have long afforded discussion and the librarian is rare who does not feel a sense of her share in the educational work of the town and her responsibility in making her library serve as an adjunct to the school, supplementing or supplanting its library resources. the country school and its library has in the main been outside this friendly concern or ministration on the part of the town library and but little account taken of it as a part of the library resources or possibilities of a county or state. the present revival of rural interest has quickened every phase of country life, social, economic and educational. the country school has shared in the enlargement of interest and is undergoing many radical changes in its spirit, its teaching, its relationships to the neighborhood and the world outside. while in former times the country child went to school only when not needed at home and received through the year an intermittent schooling, amounting in all to but few weeks a year, compulsory education laws in the majority of states have prolonged the period which he now actually spends in school, and subsidies in state aid for longer terms have lengthened the season through which the school is in operation. the new emphasis on country life is a transforming effect on the country school, "the ragged beggar sunning" is being replaced by a modern building planned according to state regulations, with regard to comfort and convenience, seats and lighting are seriously considered and the individual drinking cup adds the last touch of modernity. it is changing its teaching as carefully. the leaders in country school work are striving to give a standing to country service, to reshape it to new country conditions and connect its work very definitely with the neighborhood in which it is placed. in minnesota there are three types of rural schools. the first of these is the one-room, one-teacher school in an isolated community where every grade is represented and all subjects taught. the second type is the associated school where several districts have connected themselves with a town school, where the pupils of high school age are received on the same term as their town cousins, and the one-room schools continue the work with the lower grades in the country but under the supervision of the central school. the third is the consolidated school where a number of districts have combined and established in a town, village or open country a modern school for the grades and high school, transporting to it all the children within the radius of five miles. in all of these schools, the old course of study is adapted to include health instruction, nature study or agriculture, some manual training, sewing and cooking. the high school training departments and the normal schools are making all haste to prepare teachers to fulfill the new requirements while the teachers already at work must bring themselves up to grade at the summer schools. the practical subjects make a strong appeal. a country teacher at the summer school was heard to remark that "the rope-tying lessons were awfully interesting and the course in agriculture was just grand." as a help in the new order of things a strong school library is needed more than ever. even in the smallest school there is indeed a collection of books known as the school library, the heritage of the years. these show no design in selection further than meeting the state aid requirement of the expenditure of a certain amount of money every year for library books. the trail of the book agent is over them all: witness the sets; motley--"history of the united netherlands," grote--"history of greece," gibbon--"rome," and such subscription books as "lights and shadows of a missionary's life" and "the johnstown flood." the erstwhile teachers and their interests have left an impress; the correspondence courses which they pursued while teaching are reflected in such books as hamerton--"intellectual life"; "the literature of the age of elizabeth"; and all the epochs, and eras and periods in which they delved for credits; their faith bears witness in the "life of luther" found in every school library in one western county and their hopes in "how to be happy tho' married," common in another. the average number of volumes in each school is impressive in reports, but inspection of the libraries too often shows that the majority of the books are entirely useless in connection with the school work and quite beyond the grasp and interest of the pupils who may be typified by little moon-faced celestia who trudges two miles through the pine forest to the little log schoolhouse and to whom an illustrated book is a revelation of worlds unknown; anna, eleven years old, who at the time of our visit was doing the work of the household and caring for her mother and the new baby brother before she came to school, for in this county the size of the state of connecticut there are but five doctors and fewer nurses; mary, aged , who keeps house for an older brother and his logging "crew" of four grown men; and little irven, years old, who reads so fast the words can hardly come and who is willing and eager to aver in round childish scribble that his favorite books are "seven little sisters," eskimo stories and fairy stories and fables. however hard to realize, the needs are simple to state; better books and direction in their use. in many of the newer libraries there are many good and suitable books and the more progressive county superintendents are paying more attention to their libraries, making use of the suggestive lists furnished them and selecting all the books for the schools in their counties. one proudly reports the purchase in his county in the last year of =real= children's books. the standardization of the state school list has helped in later years, and as they are obliged to buy from this list there is a pleasing lack of "motor boys" and "aeroplane girls." some few of the teachers have the notion of the purpose of the school library and are eager to extend its influence. one teacher, combining school work with homesteading, asked for help in getting illustrated books and pictures, explaining that he found it difficult to give images to the words in their texts as the children in his school had never seen a locomotive, a train of cars, a bridge, a tower, a brick or stone building, and the nearest approach to the palace of which they read in their stories was the two-story square frame building in the adjoining settlement. the teacher of anna and mary realizing that they would not be allowed to stay in school longer than the law required, having now had more schooling than their father or mother, was trying to give them some simple instruction in household work and was glad to know of "when mother lets us cook" and the simple books of sewing; and the town girl teaching her first term in the country school tells of her experience in using books of drawing to tame the young "jack-pine savage" who had been the bully of the school. the country teacher, as a type, is hardly more than a child herself, born, or transplanted at an early age, into pioneer conditions of work and living with the energies and thought of the family concentrated on getting a start in life in the new land. in these homes books have not been plentiful, in some the catalog of the mail order house is often the only printed matter in evidence, having apparently displaced the family bible from its time-honored place on the center table. in the early schooling and life of the country teacher only the textbooks have left an impress and when she is asked at a country teachers' meeting or in the beginning of her normal school course to name favorite children's books, she puts down the texts she studied in the country schools, the baldwins, the carpenters, the wheelers and the rest. the stage of poverty and extreme hardship is fast passing. with increased prosperity comes the opportunity for better things, usually desired by the children, not always by the parents. the school inspector was urging a new schoolhouse. the farmer thought this one good enough. after dinner they went out to see the fine stock and seeing the splendid barns for the stock the inspector said: "you provide such good buildings for your stock you ought to be willing to do something for your children." the farmer still demurred and the inspector pressed the matter. "do you care more for your stock than for your children?" the farmer became indignant and said: "i want you to know that stock is thoroughbred." if the parents have lost or never had the power to enjoy books, the school and the library must see to it that this asset is given the child in the country, who tomorrow must deal with the problems of the new country life more complex than his fathers have known; the farmer's wife to become emancipated must learn to use the books which will help her, and there must be foundations for the larger citizenship for in spite of all efforts to keep the boy on the farm he will continue to join the ranks of the financiers, the doctors, the judges, the governors and the like. the newer idea of the use of books and reading in the country schools is taking hold if sometimes vaguely. "i tell them to read library books," she said when asked what use she made of the school library. "oh no, i have never read any of them myself," and "little women" and "captains courageous" and many other live children's books stood in perfect condition on the shelf, though there were a number of children in the school old enough to enjoy them, and only such books had been used as the more adventurous spirits in the school had tasted, found good and passed on to their fellows. few children have books of their own--one-third--one-fourth--one in ten being the answer which comes from the teachers to this query. generally speaking, they read the books in the school library or none at all unless there is a traveling library at hand. teachers' training departments in the high schools are doing much to help the country school. in the year's work the students get much of the spirit as well as methods of country school teaching for the training teacher is usually eager to give them all she has of enthusiasm and efficiency and reaches out for all help in her work. in one teacher's outlines, familiar looking notes on book selection and lists of children's books were discovered. she had patiently copied them from the summer school notes of the librarian in her home town and was using them with her students. in addition to her regular work she looks after the school library which is open to the public and also gives help to schools in the country in the arrangement of their school libraries. in most of these departments some work is attempted on the rural school library with required reading of children's books. the town librarians find these classes an opportunity to extend their influence by talks in the schools and showing the resources and use of the library. acquaintance and work with country teachers helped one librarian to put through a long-cherished, long-fought scheme of county extension. as the teachers understand more fully the help they can get from the library the more eagerly they consult the librarian about their work. the inclusion of talks on children's books, reading and school libraries on the programs of the county teachers' and school officers' meetings, talks and exhibits at district and state educational gatherings and the university weeks have helped to give school libraries new importance in the estimation of the teachers. the country school library to become useful must be reduced to a collection of books suited to the ages of the pupils as well as to the work in the school. as elsewhere, the best way to get the country child to read the best books is to have no other kind. recent library legislation makes it possible for any country or town school library in minnesota to combine with a public library for service. they may turn over their books not needed in the school and what is more valuable to the library, the fund which they are annually required to spend for library books. in return the library must furnish the school with traveling libraries of books selected from the state school list, suited to the pupils in the school, and the school may also be a distributing point for books for the neighborhood, a real branch. in some of the associated school districts the central library sends to the associated schools traveling libraries purchased by the district or borrowed from the library commission. in others, the country pupils act as a circulating medium for the central school library. in one town the school and town jointly maintain a good library with a competent librarian in the schoolhouse and it successfully serves the town, the pupils for their reference work and the country 'round about through the country boys and girls who come in every day to school. the village or open country consolidated school presents yet another opportunity. these schools are the direct outgrowth of the new spirit of country life and are planned to minister to the social as well as the educational needs of the combined districts; and serve as a social center. the library is an important part of the equipment for this work. state plans for these buildings include a good-sized assembly room, and a room for a library is required. the principal of the school must be shown how the library may help him in his work and he must be assisted in the selection of books not only for the school work but also for the boys' and girls' club, the potato and corn growing contests, the farmers' club, the women's club, the debating societies, literary evenings, and social gatherings which he plans to make features of his school. such are some of the possibilities. to make them realities, the teachers must be trained in an understanding of the purpose of a library and a knowledge of children's books, and every library agency in every county and state must be quickened toward the most remote of "all of the children of all of the people." in the discussion by mr. kerr, miss burnite, miss brown, miss allin, miss zachert and miss hobart, which followed, the following points were made: that the time to accomplish the work in question is when the teachers are in the normal schools, that such work should be based upon the teachers' intensive knowledge of children's books, and that influence may be gained by approaching the superintendents and by using as advertising mediums the school papers to which the teachers subscribe. miss power then gave the chair to miss mary e. hall, librarian girls' high school, brooklyn, n. y. miss hall introduced miss maude mcclelland, who told of her work in charge of the library in a high school in passaic, n. j., pronounced by miss hall to be a model of its kind. miss mcclelland made a very happy comparison of the old time school boy and the school boy of today and discussed modern high school methods of helping children to meet actual problems in life. miss mcclelland said in part: the work of a high school branch in the preface to a volume of essays entitled "literature and life," william dean howells defends the doctrine that the tree of knowledge, so familiar to all of us, is in reality but a branch of the tree of life. literature, instead of having a separate existence of its own, is, as a matter of fact, but a part of life, and all that is necessary to make it a vital force in the lives of human beings is to establish its identity with life. now the emphasizing of this unity of literature and life has become the self-appointed task of the modern public library--a task which it is approaching from a number of different angles, such as work with children, work with clubs, work with foreigners, and work with schools. something of what the library is doing along one of these lines--that of work with schools--may be learned by studying the methods in use in the high school branch of a public library. perhaps these methods may best be illustrated by contrasting the school days of two brothers, adam and theodore. now adam went to school in the good old days when there were no high school libraries, and indeed very few libraries of any kind. at o'clock every morning the active interests of life ceased for him. he then entered the schoolhouse and began the study of a set of lessons, which far removed from real life in themselves, could not be made intensely vital even by the best of teachers, because there was no library in the building upon which the teachers could draw for books and other materials to illustrate the connection between the classics and real life. the first subject upon his program was ancient history. this he learned with the aid of a textbook, condensed in form, and attenuated in spirit. to him the book was a collection of disagreeable facts to be learned by heart and then forgotten as quickly as possible after examinations were over. now, when adam's brother theodore entered the school, matters had changed. a branch of the public library had been installed, and the history teacher was no longer handicapped in her work. the members of theodore's class had all been given special topics for investigation, so when the class in ancient history was called, one pupil drew upon the board the plan of a greek house, which he had copied from harper's classical dictionary, while another pupil, who had been to the library and interviewed gulick's "life of the ancient greeks," described the furniture and cooking utensils of the greeks, and told about the kind of things they had to eat. and theodore began to realize that after all, those ancient greeks were real people, just like other real people. so from that history lesson he carried away inspiration from the life of the past toward the living of his own life of the present and future. the next lesson on the schedule for the day was english. now, when adam went to school, he had been rather fond of reading--but that there could be any connection between reading and the english work given him at school never entered his head for a moment. true, they did some reading in the english class, but it was reading in which he wasn't very much interested, though he supposed that in some vague way it probably did him a great deal of good. the real reading, which he did surreptitiously at home was of an entirely different kind. far from imagining that he derived any benefit from it, he at times even feared that he was endangering his immortal soul. but he felt that the pleasure was worth it. the two kinds of reading, if tabulated, would be about as follows, the comparative amount done being in about the ratio of to in favor of the kind he liked--if he had luck in borrowing books from the boys: school reading rhetoric and composition. evangeline. pilgrim's progress. selections from milton. lady of the lake. home reading the downward path or a debt of vengeance. helping himself. a leap in the dark. trapped in his own net. the school reading was unexceptionable as to literary character, but, at least for the growing boy of average intelligence, it seemed to lack attractiveness. when theodore entered the english class in high school, times had changed. the first thing the teacher did was to give him a list of books for home reading. at the top of the list was written, "these books may be borrowed either from the high school branch or from any other branch of the public library." on the list were such books as "huckleberry finn," "tom sawyer," "the jungle books," "story of a bad boy," "the wonder book and tanglewood tales," "treasure island" and "the man without a country." now, these books have literary character; they are attractive; furthermore, they were written by authors who at all times observe with proper respect and deference the laws of the english language. so, once more, through the aid of the library, we find the connection between literature and the joy of life established. in the old days, not much had been said about vocations, or working for a living. indeed, the only ambition considered really worth while was that of going to college and becoming educated. to leave school before graduation was rather a disgrace, and if any boy was, like lady macbeth's guests, by force of circumstances, compelled to "go, and stay not upon the order of his going," his method of departure can best be described by the expression, "slinking out." but now, theodore found the school ready and willing to help all those who had to leave school to go to work; and again, the connection between real life and school was established. and if theodore found that the library was not lacking in books that would help in the practical issues of life, neither did he find a dearth of the books that are needed for companionship--the books that we are inclined to group under the heading "cultural reading." oliver wendell holmes, in one of his essays, says, speaking of libraries, that he has the same easy feeling when among books that a stableboy has among horses. and it is perhaps along this line--that of inculcating a real love for books--that the greatest work of the high school library lies. in an article on "children's reading" in harper's weekly for may there are some valuable suggestions for the librarian, not least among them that contained in the last paragraph, which i shall quote: "an excellent suggestion is that in all public schools there should be, as well as the supervisor of drawing, and the supervisor of music, and the supervisor of manual training, a supervisor of the art of reading. for is not reading, after all, an art, and an uplifting, consoling and educative art?" mr. samuel h. ranck, librarian of the grand rapids public library, read a full and interesting paper on the library's opportunities in vocational guidance in october, , the grand rapids public library published in its monthly bulletin an outline of the central high school course in vocational guidance, with a selected list of the library's books on this subject for teachers and pupils. five thousand copies were printed, and no number of the bulletin we have ever published has received so much attention. requests for it have come from all over the world, and a number of institutions have purchased as many as copies. this bulletin is now out of print. in the near future, on the basis of our experience of the last few years, we expect to publish a revised edition of the vocational guidance list, which will include much new material purchased on this subject in the last two years. although this list has received so much attention outside of the city its greatest success has been in the city itself. it has brought to the library a great number of young people for the books for circulation and to the reference department for the preparation of all sorts of themes on vocational subjects as a part of their high school work in english. it is not an uncommon thing to find from to high school students at one time working on this subject in our reference department. incidentally this work at the library has been a splendid training for the boys and girls in the use of the reference books, and regardless of any direct effect it might have on their choice of a career it is certain that the consideration of a number of subjects in connection with the possibility of their being followed as a vocation tends to broaden the life of any young person. at first this work was regarded somewhat as a joke by some of the pupils but there has been less and less of this as time goes on. no work that the library has ever done in the way of making certain classes of books known to its readers has met with anything like the response as has this work of co-operation with the central high school. all through this work the thought of the library has been that it is a co-operating agent rather than an institution working independently, and it seems to me that in all work of this kind the teacher and the school through their intimate personal knowledge of the child are in a much better position to guide the boys and girls than is the library. the library's place is simply that of being fully alive and sympathetic with the whole situation, and in putting forth every effort to gather all available data and to supply the needs of those who can use printed material on this subject. it does not of course neglect opportunities for personal influence, but it seems to me that the library can not take the initiative in the same way nor on the same scale as does the school. through the reading rooms the library has special opportunities to direct the "misfit" who comes to the library for a clue to a better occupation. along with the list in our bulletin of october, , which by the way includes only things in the circulating department of the library, we published an outline of work in vocational guidance in the central high school by principal davis. the following is his statement and the outline, as then in use, since modified somewhat on the basis of practical experience. outline of work in vocational guidance in the central high school by jesse b. davis, principal "vocational guidance aims to direct the thought and growth of the pupil throughout the high school course along the line of preparation for life's work. the plan is intended to give the pupil an opportunity to study the elements of character that give success in life, and by a careful self analysis to compare his own abilities and opportunities with successful men and women of the past. by broadening his vision of the world's work, and applying his own aptitudes and tastes to the field of endeavor that he may best be able to serve, it is attempted to stir the student's ambition and to give a purpose to all his future efforts. having chosen even a tentative goal his progress has direction. in the later study of moral and social ethics he has a viewpoint that makes the result both practical and effective. "in order to reach all the pupils in the high school this work is carried on through the department of english, which subject all pupils must take. brief themes and discussions form the basis of the work. pupils are directed in their reading along vocational and ethical lines and are advised by teachers who have made a special study of vocational guidance. the following outline is but suggestive of the types of themes and discussions to be used. each teacher is given opportunity to use her own individuality in working out the details of the scheme. "outline first year st semester--elements of success in life. . every day problems. (a) the school. (b) the home. (c) the athletic field. (d) the social group. . elements of character. (a) purpose of life. (b) habit. (c) happiness. (d) self-control. (e) work. (f) health. nd semester--biography of successful men and women. . character sketches. . comparison of opportunities of ... with self. . comparison of qualities of ... with self. second year st semester--the world's work. . vocations: professions, occupations. . vocations of men. . vocations of women. nd semester--choosing a vocation. . making use of my ability. . making use of my opportunity. . why i should like to be.... . the law of service. third year st semester--preparation for life's work. . should i go to college? . how shall i prepare for my vocation? . vocational schools. . how shall i get into business? nd semester--business ethics. . business courtesy. . morals in modern business methods. . employer and employee. . integrity an asset in business. fourth year st semester--social ethics: the individual and society--from the point of view of my vocation. . why should i be interested in (a) public schools? (b) the slums? (c) social settlements? (d) public charities? (e) the church? (f) social service? . the social relation of the business man. nd semester--social ethics: the individual and the state--from the point of view of my vocation. . the rights of the individual. . protection of the individual from the state. . the obligations of citizenship. . the rights of property. . the responsibility of power." the books in the bulletin were arranged in accordance with the foregoing outline, which takes the pupil through the whole four years of high school work. principal davis' statement of the aims and methods of vocational guidance as it is being carried on in grand rapids is sufficiently clear i think, and does not require any additional explanation. it should be clearly understood, however, that vocational guidance is altogether different from vocational education and from industrial education, subjects with which it is sometimes confused. to meet the many demands which come to mr. davis for information regarding vocational guidance he is now at work on a book which will discuss the whole matter fully. this book will probably be ready in the fall. it will contain a revised list of our books on this subject. at a recent meeting of the board of education this work was organized and systematized for the whole city, for all the pupils in the seventh grade and upwards, with principal davis as director of the work. in the light of our experience we believe that the library, in addition to printing a list of books such as given in accordance with this outline, needs a supplementary list arranged according to vocations. on account of the growing interest in vocational education and industrial education there have been many useful books published within the last few years. when this work was first begun there was a dearth of suitable material on a good many subjects, and it was necessary for the library to depend largely on magazine articles, pamphlets, etc., in the reference department, the best of which we have indexed according to subject, along with our indexing of other material such as college catalogs, to show the institutions where courses are given on particular subjects, etc. the following are a few of the subjects called for recently, as they were noted in the reference department: nursing, teaching, drafting, social settlement work, dressmaking, library work, dentistry, music, mining engineering, electrical engineering, farming, physical training, agriculture, education of defectives, forestry, playground work, stenography, art, mechanics, magazine illustrating, domestic science, landscape gardening, designing dresses, housekeeping, social secretary work, private secretary work, decorative painting, baseball managership, surveying, civil service, kindergarten work, scientific farming, physical culture. the purpose in all this work is to endeavor to aid boys and girls to find a work in life that will command their best energies, their intelligent interest, and is adapted to their capacities, thus avoiding so far as possible the bane of young people drifting into the first thing that comes along, whether they are fitted for it or not. this work puts before them the widest possible range of choice of vocation, enlarges their horizon, and then endeavors to ground them in those fundamental moral qualities which are the basis of every successful life. by putting the right sort of books into their hands in this way the library has a tremendous opportunity for influencing their lives at the most formative period, and at the same time developing in them a more or less serious attitude toward life and its work. the study of the lives of successful men and women and the study of the work and requirements of different vocations can not help but impress upon boys and girls the importance of preparation and conscientious effort as prime requisites for success in any line of work. we of the library in grand rapids are of the opinion that the library alone in such work could do very little. as already stated we believe that the initiative should come from the school. on the other hand, we are firmly convinced that the school alone without the co-operation of the library would be very seriously handicapped. in the first place the school would be required to duplicate unnecessarily a large number of the books which are in our public libraries, and this of course would be an economic waste. in the second place the school would be denying the children one of the best opportunities to come in contact with an institution which aids them in the continuation of their education all through life after they leave school. it is of immense value to the child to get training in the use of the library in connection with the thinking he is giving to his work in after life. a better introduction of the child to the value of books and a public library, the library itself could hardly ask. but the library's greatest opportunity in vocational guidance is in the fact that all this work is really constructive manhood and womanhood, or if you please, constructive citizenship. and this is not only the greatest work the library can do, but the greatest work any institution can do. this subject proved a timely one and aroused considerable discussion. many questions were asked concerning the co-operation of the public library in grand rapids with this department of work in the high school. mr. ranck announced that mr. davis, principal of the central high school, expects to bring out a book in the fall which shall include outlines and the list of books which has been in such great demand and which is now out of print. the discussion seemed to show that "vocational guidance" is a legitimate field not adequately covered by libraries. miss power now took the chair. miss burnite made a motion to adopt the following resolution: whereas, the members of the american library association who are engaged in work with children feel the great bond of affection for all those who have rendered that service to child life which the achievement of efficient library service for children signifies; and whereas, the dayton public library has suffered the destruction of its children's department and thereby the children of the city are without the influence of good books at the time they need them most; be it resolved: that we express to the board of trustees, the librarian, miss clatworthy, the head of the children's department, miss ely, our deep sympathy and the hope that their work may be rehabilitated upon a greater plane of service. be it resolved also, that these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this meeting and the secretary be empowered to forward them to the library officials mentioned with the request that the resolutions be forwarded to the women's clubs of the city and especially to the mothers' clubs as an expression of sympathy for them also, in the loss of the department of the library which has furthered their own efforts in bettering child life. the motion was carried and the session adjourned. business meetings at the business meetings of the section held june th at : p. m. and after the session, friday, june th, the chairman appointed three new members of the advisory board, as follows: for one year, mr. henry e. legler, and, for three years, miss linda eastman and miss lutie e. stearns. miss annie c. moore, miss clara w. hunt and miss caroline burnite were appointed members of the nominating committee and upon their recommendation the following officers for the ensuing year were unanimously elected: miss agnes cowing, chairman; miss mary ely, vice chairman; miss ethel underhill, secretary. miss adah whitcomb and miss faith smith were appointed by the chair to investigate the subject of simplified headings in several different libraries, to confer with the catalog section and a. l. a. publishing board, and to report to the section. college and reference section main session the main session of the college and reference section was held on tuesday afternoon, june th, at the hotel kaaterskill. mr. andrew keogh, reference librarian of yale university, presided; miss amy l. reed, librarian of vassar college, acted as secretary. the chairman asked for a motion to fill the vacancy on the committee of arrangements which would be caused by his own retirement. it was voted that the chair appoint a nominating committee; mr. l. l. dickerson, librarian of grinnell college, and miss laura gibbs, cataloger of brown university, were asked to serve as such a committee. the session then proceeded to the program for the day, which was the work of miss sarah b. askew, new jersey public library commission, and of mr. n. l. goodrich, librarian of dartmouth college. in order to secure pointed discussion mr. goodrich had caused brief summaries of the papers to be printed and distributed to members of the section two weeks before the meeting. miss lucy m. salmon, professor of history at vassar college, read the first paper, entitled instruction in the use of a college library students who enter college are in an altogether hopeless state, if we are to believe the lamentations poured out in educational reviews and in library journals. in familiar phrase, "they have left undone those things which they ought to have done, and they have done those things which they ought not to have done, and there is no health in them." but it is not given either a college librarian or a college instructor to remain long hopeless, either for himself or for others,--the very nature of his calling demands that somebody do something. discouragement over ignorant and untrained freshmen dissolves into the bewildering questions of who is to do what, and when, and where, and how. and so the college year begins. it is undoubtedly true that a very large majority of college freshmen are not familiar with a large library such as they meet in college, that they have never used a card catalog, and that they would not even recognize it if they saw one. but is it reasonable to expect such knowledge? the majority come from small places where such opportunities are not found, the work of the secondary schools does not demand extensive use of a library, and the mental immaturity of pupils of the secondary school age does not augur well either for an understanding of the intricacies of the card catalog, or for any special interest in the cataloging of books, or in general library history and administration. if the entering student had a knowledge of these things, one reason for going to college would be lacking,--he goes to college to learn what he cannot reasonably be expected to know before that time. cheerfully accepting then this condition of ignorance of all library procedure on the part of the rank and file of college freshmen everywhere, and unanimously agreeing that the college student must in some way learn how to use a library, diversity of opinion is found in regard to these two questions:--is this instruction given better as an independent course to the entering students, or is it better to give it in connection with regular college work? should the instruction be given by members of the library staff, or by college instructors? the very fact that this question has been broached is helpful, since it is significant of the great changes that are coming both in library administration and in educational theory and practice. it suggests the increasing specialization in library work, the growing co-operation between the library force and those engaged in the more technical side of education, newer and, we believe, higher ideals of the object and therefore of the process of education, and the reflection of these changes in the development in the student body of independence, self-reliance, and the desire to do creative work. assuming therefore that we are all interested in securing for the college student fullness of knowledge at the earliest hour possible, i venture personally to differ somewhat from the report of the majority of the committee of the new england college librarians and to say that from the angle of the college instructor, it seems clear to me that the knowledge is better acquired in connection with regular college courses and that it can best be given by college instructors. it is with most of us a favorite occupation to see how many birds we can bring down with one stone, and this desire is in a sense gratified if we can incorporate knowledge of how to use a library with the subject matter included in a particular course,--it seems a saving of time for student, instructor and librarian. everything is clear gain that can be picked up by the way. but quite apart from this general desire to telescope several subjects, there are specific advantages gained by the student when the instruction is given by the instructor of a regular college class. the knowledge acquired falls naturally into its place in connection with definite, concrete work. abstract theory has little place in the mental equipment of the fresh man, he seeks out relationships, adds new knowledge to what he already has, and quite reasonably is impatient, even intolerant in spirit when new ideas and facts are presented to him that he cannot immediately assimilate. to use a homely illustration, an article of food, like butter, that is essential for our physical diet serves its purpose much better when distributed through other articles of food than if taken independently and by itself. all new ideas in regard to library organization, cataloging, bibliography, searching for material, the handling of books, if gained through the usual channels of college work, are quickly and easily assimilated by the college student. if, however, these same ideas are presented to him unrelated to other work they are in danger of remaining unassimilated and of becoming a hindrance rather than a help. on the other hand, the advantages in having the instruction given by a regular college instructor are that he deals with small sections of students, not with "numbers which are appallingly large;" that he knows the individual student; that he is able to relate the bibliographical work with the individual student on the one hand, and on the other hand with the special subject with which the student is working. personally, i can but feel that the assumption made by the committee of the new england college librarians, by the librarian of the newark public library, by the dean of the collegiate department of the university of illinois, and by others in the library field that college instructors are not interested in this matter and would oppose instruction in it is not really warranted by the condition that exists. may i venture to describe somewhat in detail what is done in one college in showing students how to use books, how to become acquainted with the opportunities of a large library, and how to avail themselves of these opportunities in a direct personal way. in giving this account of what is done in vassar college, may i emphasize the statement that the work done is by no means peculiar to one college,--other institutions all over the country are doing much that in principle is precisely the same, although the details may vary. the first aid in knowledge of the library building, of its equipment, and of how to use its collections is given the vassar college student literally during her first hours on the college campus. she is met by a member of the senior or the junior class and taken about the campus, and it is the duty of these student guides to give every entering student a copy of the =students' handbook=. in this she is urged to "become acquainted with the library as soon as possible." "the reference librarian," the =handbook= tells her, "expects every new student to come to the reference desk to be shown about the arrangement of the library and the use of the catalog and to receive a copy of the library handbook." the guides point out the library and they are instructed to urge the new students to seek out the reference librarian at once and to make the library trip immediately. the new student goes to the residence hall where she is to live and she finds on the bulletin board in this hall an invitation to take the library trip. the records kept by the reference librarian show that a very large percentage of the entering students almost immediately avail themselves of this invitation extended by guides and reiterated by =handbook= and by bulletin boards. when the new student first enters the library she is given a plan of the building showing the arrangement of the different sections and a handbook explaining in full the library privileges. armed with this, she is met by the reference librarian and then joining a group of three others she is taken through the library where she makes connections between the plan in her hand, the books on the shelves, "the inanimate reference librarian--the card catalog--" and the animate reference librarian in whom she finds a guide, counselor and friend. this library trip can be, and is intended to be only general in character. the student gains from it first of all the consciousness of having found in the reference librarian a friend to whom she can always go for help and advice; second, her interest is aroused to become better acquainted with the card catalog and with the general facilities for work afforded by the library; and third she gains a determination to follow the injunction of the =students' handbook=, "do your part to make the library an ideal place in which to work." it is at this stage, after this general instruction given by the reference librarian, that the majority of the entering students meet the officers of the department of history. we give them collectively during the first week, usually the second day, an illustrated lecture on the library. this includes slides showing the catalog cards of a few of the books they will use most in their history work, the cards of the most important reference works, periodicals, and atlases, slides showing the difference between a "see" card and a "see also" card, slides that explain incomplete series, continuation cards, and every variation that concerns their immediate work. every slide concerns a work on history that is to be used almost immediately, and the form used in cataloging, the notation and the annotation, the hieroglyphics of the printed card, and the bibliographical features of the card are fully explained from the screen. the students then meet their individual instructors, each one having previously provided herself with a pamphlet called ="suggestions for the year's study, history i."= this pamphlet, besides giving detailed instructions for the preparation of the work, includes a plan of the library; suggestions in regard to its history, as also the description and the meaning of its exterior and interior; a facsimile and explanation of the catalog card of the text book used in the course; hints concerning the general card catalog; an analysis of the general form and different parts of a book; special directions for preparing the bibliographical slips or cards that must accompany every topic presented, together with an illustration of a model card; a full classification, with illustrations under each, of all the works of references the class will presumably use, including general works of reference, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, periodicals, year books, atlases, autobiographical material, including the various forms of =who's who?= together with biographical, ecclesiastical and various miscellaneous dictionaries and encyclopaedias; an elaborate chart devised to show the authoritativeness as history of the text book used in the course, accompanied by a full explanation of it; suggestions in regard to the purchase of histories for a personal library; and finally, a recommendation to make use of another pamphlet called =suggestive lists for reading in history=. the main points in the pamphlet =suggestions for the year's study= are talked over between instructor and students, and constant reference is made to it throughout the year. the next step in the history work is to assign each student one or more questions written on a slip and drawn by lot. these questions are intended to test her assimilation of the bibliographical help already given, and her ability to apply to a concrete case what she has gained. as soon and as often as possible the students in the different sections of this class in history go to the library with the instructor for such additional and special help as they may need. from time to time the students in history i prepare special topics on limited questions. a bibliography must always preface these topics and if it is in any way at fault, either as regards form or material, it must be presented a second time or as many times as is necessary to correct the defects. this course in history i is required of every student in college. those students who elect other courses based on this become acquainted with still other features of the library and acquire added facility in bibliographical work. every student, for example, who elects the course in american history has a pamphlet called =suggestions for the year's study, history a, aa=. this pamphlet includes a chart that shows the location in the library of all the sections of american history, each accompanied by the dewey notation for each section, and also the notation for the sections in political science, law and government, american literature, english literature, and english history. it also considers at length the place in the course of the textbook, secondary works, collections of sources, almanacs, works on government, guides to literature, state histories, biographies, travels, and illustrative material. for the latter the students are again referred to =suggestive lists for reading in history=. another section of the pamphlet considers specific classes of books which the student uses. it calls attention to the various kinds of bibliographies, as complete, selected, classified, and annotated; to library catalogs arranged on the dictionary, author, subject, and title plan, as also to trade catalogs; to documents classified by form and by contents; to official publications, and the publications of historical societies; to every form of personal record; to descriptions by travelers; and to general and special histories. it also takes up periodicals; manuscripts; special facsimiles, like the b. f. stevens; geographical material; monumental records; inscriptions, and pictorial material. elaborate directions are given for preparing exhaustive bibliographies of the material in the college library on special subjects and suggestions for expanding these in the future as other opportunities for further library work are presented. in addition, tin trays of cards are provided in the american history sections. these are bibliographical cards that supplement but do not duplicate the catalog cards of the general library catalog. during the year about twenty special topics are prepared by this class, each prefaced by a bibliography of the subject. at the end of the year, one special bibliographical topic is presented. this represents what each student can do in the time given to three classroom hours. at the end of the first semester of this course the examination given is not a test of what the students have remembered but rather a test of what they are able to do under definite conditions. the class is sent to the library, each member of it usually receives by lot an individual question, and she then shows what facility she has gained in the use of books by answering the question with full range of the library. other pamphlets of =suggestions= have occasionally been prepared for the most advanced courses. at the end of the senior year the students in my own courses are frequently given an examination that calls for the freest use of the library in the planning of history outlines for club work, in arranging for a public library selected lists of histories suitable for "all sorts and conditions of men," and similar tests that show how far they are able to apply present bibliographical knowledge to probable future experiences. all this instruction and opportunity for practice in bibliography is not left to "the chance instruction of enthusiastic instructors" or to "the insistence of department heads" to quote mr. kendric c. babcock.[ ] it is definitely planned, it is systematically carried out, there is definite progression from year to year in the kind of bibliographical work required, and it is directly related to the specific and individual work of every student. from time to time conferences are held by the members of the library staff and the instructors in history and these conferences enable each department to supplement and complement the work of the other and thus avoid repetition and duplication. [ ] =library journal=, march, , p. . this division of labor enables the reference librarian to play the part of hostess, to make the students feel at home, to secure their good will and co-operation, to develop a sense of personal responsibility towards the library and its treasures. her work as regards the library is largely general and descriptive; as regards the students it is that of a friend and counselor; as regards the other officers of the college it is that of an ally and co-operator. it is necessary to emphasize at this point the wide divergence between the work of the reference librarian in the college or the university and that of the reference librarian in the public library however large or small it may be. in the public library the demand made upon the reference librarian is for definite information for immediate use; the library patron wishes, not training in acquiring information by and for himself, but the information itself; no substitution of deferred dividends will satisfy his insistent demand for immediate cash payment; he cares not at all for method but he cares very particularly for instant results. moreover, no one intervenes between the reference librarian and the library patron,--he alone is responsible for giving the information desired. and again, the reference librarian has to deal with an irregular, constantly fluctuating clientele. the man who wants to know who first thought the world was round and whether he was a vegetarian or perchance a cannibal may never visit the library again, but the effort must be made to satisfy his curiosity. the reference librarian of the public library must always be more or less of a purveyor of miscellaneous information to an irregular fluctuating public. but the functions of the college reference librarian are altogether different. it is often his duty not to give, but temporarily to withhold information; not to answer but to ask questions; to answer one question by asking another; to help a student answer his own question for himself, work out his own problems, and find a way out of his difficulties; to show him how to find for himself the material desired; to give training rather than specific information; to be himself a teacher and to co-operate with other instructors in training the students who seek his help. all this is possible for him for he deals with a regular constituency and he can build up each year on the foundations of the previous year. but while progression comes for the students, there is always the solid permanency of subject with which the reference librarian deals. with the regularity of the passing calendar there come the questions of the feudal system and of the frontier, of the renaissance and of how to follow a bill through congress. the personnel of the student body changes, but there is always an unchanging residuum of subject matter. on the side of the regular college work there is therefore practically no demand whatever made on the college reference librarian for the miscellaneous information demanded of the public reference librarian,--he is not the one who writes for the daily papers the description in verse of the daily life of the reference librarian.[ ] just what his work is in the college, from the students' point of view is indicated by a recent experience. [ ] =library journal=, oct., . =public libraries=, june, . a class of seventy in american history was recently asked to what extent the members of it had availed themselves of the services of the reference librarian in that particular course and the replies seem to show that their inquiries had chiefly related to the use of government publications, early periodical literature, material not suggested by the titles of books, out-of-the-way material, source material, and current newspaper material not available through indexes. the many tributes to the help received from the vassar college reference librarian are perhaps best summed up, so it seems to the teacher, in the statement of one student "she shows you how to go about finding a book better the next time." if then it must be evident that the work of the college reference librarian differs widely from that of the public reference librarian, it remains to consider specifically what division of the field should be made between the college reference librarian and the college instructor. here a clear line of demarcation seems evident. the college instructor must know the student personally and intellectually, as he must know the conditions from which he has come and the conditions to which he presumably is to go. he must help the student relate all the various parts of his college work and help him relate his college work to the general conditions in which he is placed. hence he cannot separate for the student the bibliography of a subject from the subject itself. nor can he turn over to the librarian the instruction in bibliographical work. the reference librarian is the only member of the library staff who in the capacity of a teacher comes into direct personal relationship with the student, but his work, as has been seen, is entirely different. in this division of the field that leaves to the college instructor the actual instruction of students in the use of books, a large unoccupied territory is claimed by the reference librarian as peculiarly his own. this concerns the "extra-collegiate activities" and includes help on material needed in inter-class debates, dramatics, pageants, college publications, bible classes, mission classes, commencement essays, and all the miscellaneous activities in which the student, not the instructor, takes the initiative. this work corresponds somewhat closely to that of the general reference librarian in a public library and it demands about one-half of the time of the librarian. instruction in the use of the library is facilitated by unrestricted access to the shelves and here the students are able to put their knowledge to the test and to work out their own independent methods. what are the advantages and the disadvantages of unrestricted access to the library shelves? the question was recently asked a class of seventy students and their replies show an almost unanimous opinion that the advantages are overwhelmingly in favor of the open shelves. among the educational advantages enumerated are that this fosters independence and self-reliance, through encouraging personal investigation; that it enables students to see books in relation to other books, to make comparisons, and therefore to select those that are the best to use; that it shows the library resources and, to a certain extent, the breadth of the investigation that has been done in specific lines. "the open shelf is an instructor, a great indispensable helper, an education in itself," writes one student, while another states, "it gives an opportunity to form a closer acquaintance with books already known by name, and for casual acquaintance with books one has not time to draw out and read at length." on the more personal side the students have found the advantages to be the pleasure found in handling books; the appeal made by titles and bindings; the inspiration that comes from the feeling of kinship with books; the opportunity given for wide acquaintance with books and authors; more extensive reading; the saving of time; the satisfaction of being able to find what is wanted, freedom from the limitations of specific references. "we become interested in subjects and in books we should not otherwise have known at all," writes one, while another asked a friend who replied, "well, i don't know exactly what it means, but i guess it means that i for one use books i never otherwise would have used." on the side of the library as a whole, many have found advantages in the opportunity it gives of doing general and special bibliographical work and in the knowledge afforded of the general plan of arrangement, classification, and cataloging. "if we had to stay in a reading room, how much idea of library organization should we have?" is the clinching question of one enthusiastic student. the moral advantages are found to be the feeling of responsibility towards books and the training given in not abusing the privilege. but it is in the failure of some persons to avail themselves of these opportunities for moral training that students find the disadvantages of the open shelf. there are the periodic complaints that books are lost, misplaced, hidden, and monopolized; that the privilege is abused; and that the social conscience is lacking. "the open shelf is the ideal system but it is designed for an ideal society," feelingly writes one, while another, more philosophical, finds that the open shelf has its annoyances, but no disadvantages, and that these are probably to be charged up to human nature, not to the system. only an occasional one sees any other disadvantages. one student finds herself bewildered and lost in irrelevant material, while another brought up in the atmosphere of harvard, thinks that the closed stack encourages greater precision and carefulness, "for if you have to put in a slip and wait for a book you are more careful about your choice than you are when you can easily drop one found to be unsatisfactory and lay your hands immediately upon another one." "it may be," adds a third, "that we do not get all we might from a book when it is so easy to get others. i find myself often putting aside a book when i do not immediately find what i want." with an occasional plaint about the increased noise and that the open shelf really takes more time since it is easier to ask for an authority on a specified subject than it is to look it up for one's self, the case for and against the open shelf, from the side of the student, seems closed, with the verdict overwhelmingly in favor of unrestricted access to the library shelves. i cannot forbear suggesting two directions in which it seems to me the library work could be extended to the advantage of both library and academic force. the first is the desirability of having connected with every college library an instructor in the department of history who gives instruction in one or more courses in history and who is at the same time definitely responsible for the development of the bibliographical side of the history work. the work of the history librarian on the library side would be to serve as a consulting expert on all questions that arise in cataloging books that are on the border lines between history and other subjects. such perplexing questions are constantly arising and valuable aid might be given in such cases by an expert in history. another part of the work of the history librarian from the side of the library would be to keep the librarian and the history department constantly informed of opportunities to purchase at advantage works on history that are available only through the second-hand dealers. it now usually devolves on some member of the library staff to study the catalogs of second-hand books and report "finds" to some officer of the history department. could facilities be provided for making it possible to have the initiative come from the history side it would seem a distinct gain. the work of the history librarian would also include the responsibility for the classification, arrangement and care of the mass of apparently miscellaneous material that accumulates in every library but does not slip naturally into a predestined place. all is grist that comes to the history mill, yet it is difficult to know how it can best be cared for. miss hasse in her well-remembered article =on the classification of numismatics=[ ] has shown that the utmost diversity has prevailed in regard to the classification of coins and the literary material dealing with them. this is but one illustration of the uncertainty, confusion, and diversity that prevails in classifying much of the material that seems miscellaneous in character, and that yet should be classified as historical material. [ ] =library journal=, september, . the work of the history librarian on the side of the students would be concerned during the first semester particularly with the freshmen and the sophomores. the bibliographical and reference work now done could be greatly enlarged and extended. it would be possible to explain still more fully the possibilities of assistance from the card catalog; to help students locate the more special histories that might seem to be luxuries rather than the necessities of their work; to make them acquainted with histories as histories, rather than with histories as furnishing specific material; to develop their critical appreciation of books and their judgment in regard to the varying degrees of authoritativeness of well known old and recent histories. encouragement would be given the students to begin historical libraries for themselves, advice could be given in making reasonable selections of books, and help in starting a catalog. interest in suitable book-plates for historical collections might be roused as well as interest in suitable bindings, and thus through these luxurious accessories the student be led on to friendship with the books themselves and with their author. during the second semester the work of the history librarian would be largely with the seniors and would be more constructive in its nature. the seniors are looking forward to taking an active part in the life of their home communities and they will be interested in the public schools, in the public library, in social work, in church work, in history and literary clubs, in historical pageants, fêtes and excursions, in historical museums, in the celebration of historic days, and in innumerable other civic activities, many of which are intimately connected with the subject of history. the history librarian would be able to give invaluable aid to the seniors in preparing lists of histories suitable for public libraries in communities where suggestions may prove welcome; in suggesting histories adapted to all these demands made by personal, co-operative, and civic activities. this constructive work of the history librarian would be capable of infinite extension and variation and its good results would be far-reaching and of growing momentum. may i suggest one further possible direction in which the activities of the library staff would lend interest to the general work of the college. every institution needs luxuries and the members of the library staff have it in their power to offer courses of lectures open to all members of the college and also to citizens of the community who are interested in educational questions. such courses would include lectures on the history of libraries; on the great libraries of europe and america; on the great libraries of the world; on great editors like benjamin f. stevens; on rare books; on books famous for the number of copies sold, of editions, of translations, of migrations through auction rooms; on the famous manuscripts of the world. the possibilities of such courses are limitless. there are also the courses of lectures that we are all eager to hear on the plain necessities that are of even greater interest than are those that deal with the luxuries. the college wants to hear about the administration of a library and its general problems; about the special questions of cataloging, interlibrary loans, the special collections of the library as well as its general resources. from the standpoint of special departments, lectures might be given by representatives of these departments on the treasures of the library as they concern their special fields. joint department meetings of the members of the library staff and the officers of the departments of english and of history for the discussion of questions of mutual interest have at vassar college proved stimulating and contributed much to a mutual understanding of each other's ideals and to a sympathetic appreciation of the difficulties attending their realization. "why cannot all this work with and about books be explained by the librarians,--" college authorities sometimes ask. "that is their business; it is the business of the teacher to teach." the answer is simple. the good teacher must individualize the student, the good librarian must individualize the book; and both teacher and librarian must co-operate in helping the college student get the utmost possible from his college course in order that in his turn he may help the community in which he lives in its efforts to realize its ideals. the endless chain extends to the farthermost confines of heaven! discussion of the paper was led by mr. j. t. gerould, librarian of the university of minnesota. he believed that most college teachers had neither the knowledge nor the enthusiasm necessary to give systematic bibliographic instruction. training in the use of the library should, he thought be given by a member of the library staff, from a general point of view, introducing the student to reference books not simply in one field, but in all. the time had come for the university libraries to define their position as a distinct educational integer, not a mere adjunct to the academic departments. of course, to take such a position, the library staff must be thoroughly equipped, and must include trained bibliographers in adequate number. dr. e. c. richardson, librarian of princeton university, called attention to the fact that the principle of unrestricted access to the shelves required hearty co-operation between the college public and the library staff. it should be recognized that the librarian is not responsible for the correct placing of every book on an "open shelf." mr. john d. wolcott, librarian of the bureau of education, washington, d. c., spoke of the questionnaire on the subject under discussion sent out in october, , by the a. l. a. to two hundred colleges and universities. a summary of the results were included in the chapter entitled "recent aspects of library development" by john d. wolcott, which forms a part of the report of the u. s. commissioner of education for the year ended june , . reprints may be obtained from the commissioner. mr. h. c. prince, librarian of the maine state library, called attention to the courses in legal bibliography which were being given at various law schools. those at the university of chicago, though without credit, were eagerly attended by law students. mr. goodrich reiterated his belief that the libraries should take a definite stand in insisting that college students must be taught how to use library resources to the full. they must learn the many "tricks of the trade," which in his opinion, were better known at present to the librarian than to the teacher. miss salmon replied that she thought it less a question of learning the "tricks of the trade" than of adapting the desired knowledge to the individual need and capacity of the student; hence her belief in the teacher as the proper medium of instruction. the discussion could not be pursued for lack of time. mr. h. e. bliss, librarian of the college of the city of new york, read a paper on some practical considerations regarding classification for libraries i the letter inviting me to take part in this conference echoes to me now across the busy field of the past month with notes something like this: "come, if you will, and talk to us and with us, but =please= be =practical=." perhaps i have elsewhere in-adroitly given the impression that i believe classification for libraries should be a matter of science or of philosophy. i did indeed say in print, some months ago, that "to be practical today and tomorrow, man must be scientific." upon science, that is verified and organized knowledge, practical common sense is becoming more and more dependent. to be practical without knowledge is in most matters to be ineffectively practical. how practical should we be in classification for libraries, and how should we be practical effectually? those who have had to do with classification only in small collections of books for popular use may regard it as a comparatively simple and unimportant thing. they do not see why there should be so much trouble and fuss about it. this we may term the naïve view, to borrow a phrase from recent philosophical literature. but some of those who have undertaken to maintain a classification for a large university or reference library know that it is one of the most difficult and complicated of our problems. they apprehend furthermore that it has not yet been solved satisfactorily. this may be termed the =critical= view. it may vary from moderation to extremes optimistic or pessimistic. not a toy librarians want but a =tool=, as we say. the mechanism of a library, however, is not operated by merely mechanical hands. there should be somewhat in library service beyond mere statistical and technical economies. our arrangement of books should not be inconsistent with the organization of knowledge, lest we fail in an =inestimable= service to the seekers and disseminators of knowledge. ii is it feasible economically to adapt this instrument, classification, to that higher service? there are three answers to this question. there is the pessimistic negative. books are wanted in all possible and impossible arrangements. you cannot make a classification that, even with the customary transfers of charging-systems, will serve all these ever-varying needs. this argument leads to the virtual negation of the very =principle= of classification. if this were wholly true, it were futile to provide a place for bacteriology, for the books would be wanted now under botany, now under pathology, or sanitation, and again perhaps under agricultural science. shall we separate such branches or not? the pessimist says: "whichever you do, classification fails." the optimist answers: "good classification serves the average or prevailing demand." to more special subjects the pessimist then turns, such as crystallography, eugenics, child-psychology. these he says are claimed in their entirety by two or three different sciences. these arguments, launched against so-called "scientific classifications," are no less hostile to the worthy undertaking of a practical system in such conformity to the consensus of modern science as the conditions permit. but most librarians have not accepted this pessimistic negative. they continue to classify books for average demands, and the interest in the problem increases. contrasted is the more prevalent optimistic view. we have good classification. the decimal classification is an admirable, successful, at least serviceable system; it is the established, the familiar, the most practical. with all its faults, we love it still. is not that =naïve=? then, a consistent, scientific system is an impossibility. the relations and interests in science are ever changing, always complex. the thing would not continue for a decade to be satisfactory. another outcome of the naïve optimistic view, as realizing the complexity of scientific specialization, is the doctrine that a simple, practical system may be kept abreast of scientific progress by the addition of new details. this elaboration of schedules is compatible with what we term "expansion." expansibility is essential to the very life of a notation, but it may be overworked. certain systems have, i fear, expanded beyond the capacity of their safety valves to save them from explosion. thousands of the details of those inflated schedules are practically useless even in the largest library. such abnormal distension of the bibliographical body, or hypertrophy of its special parts, is not now for the first time called a disease of the bibliothecal system. that the subjects and topics are innumerable and of intricate complexity has led to the misconception that a classification for libraries should embody an infinity of captions in infinite complication. an alphabetical subject-index is believed to be all that is requisite to operate this maze of entangled details. this view may be termed the =subject-index illusion=. classification for libraries is to be distinguished on the one hand from notation and on the other hand from an arrangement of bibliographical subjects indexed. notation and index are but correlative to classification, and, however requisite to a practical system, are in truth of minor importance. they are the fingers and the feet of the body and brain that organize the materials of knowledge. yet it is these fingers and feet that have chiefly occupied the attention of most classifiers. in the theory of classification subjects are to be distinguished from classes as contents from containers. the subject is that which is denoted by its definition; the class is the aggregate of particular things--books, or other things--that are comprised by the definition. a class may be comprehensive of many subjects or aspects of subjects. such need not appear in the schedules of the classification, but they should be in its subject-index. thus, botany is a subject, to which botanical books is the corresponding class; plant physiology, a less general subject, has a less comprehensive class of books. geotropism is a specific subject in the physiology of plants. the question arises, is there a class of books and pamphlets treating especially of this subject, the tendency of plants to respond to gravitation, as a stimulus? "have you in your library," i might ask individually of the majority, "have you an aggregation of books on this subject?" the a. l. a. list comes nearest in the sub-headings under plants, where with movements appears heliotropism, a kindred subject. this caption movements is for a veritable class of subjects, and it might indeed comprise geotropism. that is just what the library of congress schedule does, subordinating under qk "movements, irritability in plants, (general)", the caption of , "miscellaneous induced movements: geotropism, heliotropism, etc." in my own classification, the mark gcm goes with the caption, "movements, heliotropism, geotropism, etc." it seems well thus to provide for a future group of monographs. if i criticise the library of congress classification today, or elsewhere, be it remembered that i recognize its correct treatment of this and thousands of other subjects. but is the e. c. justified in reaching into the dim future for subdivisions of specialization such as its nesgd, diatropism, and nesgl, "lateral geotropism?" that is where we must open the safety valve or burst. the body of the d. c. is congested with thousands of names of persons, places, and events which may be subjects, but hardly for classes of books. systematic schedules might provide for most of these, reduce the bulk of the system, and make for economy and convenience. the l. c. schedules suffer from similar but more astounding expansion. class h, sociology and economics, is needlessly immense, having p., of which but are index. according to the principle laid down a moment ago, the number of subjects in the index should by much =exceed= those in the schedules. the "expansive" seventh expansion expanded so much with its own specialistic tissue that it could afford to omit such bulk of proper and place names. for instance aves (birds), covers pages of fine print; there are all the taxonomic terms, for example, pgslpi is for phalacrocoracidæ, some family related to the pelicans; but there appears besides only the single subject oology (eggs), at the end as pgz. no place under birds for their structure, their habits, for the popular bird-books, and for such interesting subjects as their migration, flight, etc., about which there =are= books! however much there is to interest, to commend, and to admire in this great undertaking, it must be admitted that this is not practical classification for libraries. it is the province of the subject-catalog to bring together topics and titles which are too special for classification to bring into collocation. but let us return to the main question of the feasibility of =better= classification. there are three answers, i said. two we have considered, the naïve, and the pessimistic, also their offspring, the subject-index illusion, but we have not yet completely answered the pessimistic. this we may now proceed to do in connection with the third answer, which is optimistic and constructive, while at the same time critical. this affirms that better classification is feasible, that it may be sufficiently flexible and durable, that changes and adjustments may be provided for in alternative and reserved locations, that the notation may be quite simple, and that the index may be as full and specific as comports with convenience. the purpose of library classification is to group books and to =collocate groups= for the convenience of readers and students in their =average wants=. it is not so much for those who want a book, whose author and subject are known, or any good book on a particular subject; for such, the author and subject-catalogs may suffice. but classification is for those who want books, in the plural, directly, without preliminary handling of cards. three types of such wants are to be distinguished. ( ) to all libraries come (the prevalent type) those who wish a few good books on the subject, or a few facts to be found in the standard books. they do not care to fuss over the card-catalog. the reference librarian, the selective lists, may serve such wants, but close classification usually does so most economically and most satisfactorily. for very specific subjects, however, the subject-catalog in the large library may often best serve this type and may make it less dependent upon free access and close classification. ( ) the second type wants all the good books treating of the subject especially. from these the user himself is to make selection according to his purpose or point of view. free access and classification are here requisite. a bibliography, if there be one, would be most likely an _embarras de richesse_. ( ) the third type is that of exhaustive research: all the available literature is wanted, not only the books and pamphlets treating especially of the subject, but also those on related subjects and those of broader scope. subject-catalogs and bibliographies are needed preliminaries, but access, continued access to the books, is the desideratum. it is for this type that the most carefully guarded libraries give access to their precious collections. classification, not merely any old kind of subject, or close classification, but good, scientific, close classification, based upon good, consistent, broad classification, is here of paramount importance. the test comes when the student turns from the special to the more general and the related subjects, which are mostly in related branches of science. the tendency to organization in science is rapidly and surely growing. the more consistent with the consensus, to which studies on the average are adapted, however original and divergent their aim, the more convenient will be the classification. it is in subordination of the specific to the broader subject or class and in collocation of related subjects and subdivisions of classes that most systems fail; and here that most classifiers fail to understand either the fault or the remedy. the difficulties emphasized by the pessimist, the overlapping of studies and the rival claims, arise chiefly from improper subordination. the material is common to the several sciences because these are portions differentiated from larger fields. child-psychology is part of psychology. the science and art of education are mainly concerned with the mental. they are related to physiology and to sociology as psychology is related. but to place education under sociology, as is done by the d. c. and the e. c. is to answer the relation of second, not of first dependence, and is as false as it were to put psychology under sociology, to put the cart before the horse. education and psychology are working together, and their books should be contiguous. how shall we arrange these practically? well, scientifically, in the order of generality, thus: i anthropology. id to ig human physiology. j psychology. jn social psychology. jo child-psychology. jp education. jq educational psychology. k sociology and ethnology. ka sociology. ke ethnology. l history. the principles of consistent subordination and practical collocation should guide the maker of a system, and his notes should guide the classifier of books. here indeed should be a "code for classifiers" more intimately articulated than in a separate book. but herein lies the practical art of classification, so to dispose classes, divisions, and subdivisions, that they shall produce a relative minimum of inconvenience under the average conditions of demand and a relative maximum of collocation not only of special classes but of general, as well as a degree of consistency as high as practical conditions permit, and ultimately, as an ideal, a consistency not only with the pedagogic but with the philosophic organization of knowledge. this ideal, i believe, is not beyond approximate realization. this critical but optimistic view ascribes the failure of library classifications to the dispersion of related material under subject, or close classification, without proper subordination and collocation. the subject-index, however useful to classifiers, is of little value to students. i approve close classification, but find it the more unsatisfactory and baffling as it is the less consistently adapted to good broad classification, with good articulation of related subjects according to predominating interests, and with alternative locations for flexibility to changes and for durability in the progress of science. iii having answered the main question of feasibility, we may now take up some minor practical questions, first notation. it is not likely that reason shall soon remove all traces of prejudice and controversy in this matter. a few propositions, however, are so reasonable that i think they will be accepted. notation should be brief and simple. its simplicity depends upon its brevity, though also upon the familiarity and homogeneity of its elements. letters give brevity. the capacity of three-letter notation, allowing for omission of all objectionable combinations, is about , . using letters and figures together increases this capacity to about , , omitting confusing mixtures such as k g and b . since somewhat more than , subdivisions seem requisite, the question reduces to this form: "which is simpler, notation of three letters, or of five figures?" but figures, it is argued, are more familiar. they may be so to bookkeepers, but to the keepers of books! familiar here means familiar with the numbers of the d. c. then, are unmeaning combinations like dal or gwk really more meaningless than numbers like ? on the other hand, isn't rag easier to see and to remember? but the argument, so far as it is not merely prejudiced, is childish. such combinations as a , b, c , and cf , are hardly objectionable, and may prove convenient and economical in class-notation as they do in the author numbers, with which librarians are so friendly. since they are come to stay, what is the use of arguing for homogeneous notation? notation is the more systematic and economical where it reduces in part to schedules applicable to the subdivision of many classes or divisions. this feature appeared to a minor extent in the "form signs" of the d. c., but was carried out extensively and complexly in the e. c. it is apparent also in the l. c., but there is more conspicuous by its absence through hundreds of pages of names of countries, places, and persons. time does not permit me to describe here the six schedules that economize the system i have worked out: schedule , mnemonic numerals, constant throughout; schedule , for subdivision by countries, applicable under subjects, where-ever desired; schedule , for subdivisions under countries and localities; schedule , for subjects under any language, except the chief literary languages; schedule , for the chief literary languages; and schedule , for arranging the material under any prominent author. some who admit the feasibility of better classification object that a classification modern for the present will be out of date in a generation. this in new guise is the familiar argument that it is useless to clean the house today, for it will need again to be cleaned next week--which all good housewives say is an unreasonable argument. it would be a pity to have fair librarianship called a slouch. is it conceivable that your books shall remain forever classified as they are at present? are there to be no changes, merely additions of new captions? conservatism is not strange, considering the cost of changing notation; but that cost is small compared with the cost of new building or new collections, and is justified by the service to be rendered. the longer postponed, the larger the cost, the larger the burden. some libraries are changing now--to what? that change may indeed have to be changed again in a decade or two. but how long, then, should a classification endure--or rather, be endurable? one who would not prophesy may nevertheless give an opinion. i believe that a good classification should last a century--with some minor alterations. i believe that a good library should be willing to reclassify, if necessary, at least some of its collections two or three times in a century. i think that library economy should have been developed with better regard to this problem. it is not practical to arrange books inconsistently with the scientific and pedagogic organization of knowledge. organization based on consensus is one of the marked tendencies of modern thought and purpose, and is not likely to be overcome by dissenting or disintegrating philosophical counter-tendencies. this organization is more stable than the theories on which it rests, and these are more stable than the popular press would lead us to suppose. new theories, new statements, are assimilated to the established body of knowledge without much dislocation of members. durability in a system would depend not only upon present consistency with the organization of knowledge, but upon flexibility through reserved and alternative locations, judiciously chosen with regard to tendencies in science. there might be flaws and errors, but all practice, in whatever profession is thus imperfect and tentative. that the d. c. is antiquated is not because of any change in science, but because it did not conform to the science of its generation. the welcome accorded to it in the pioneer days was in keeping with the earlier view that classification is a simple thing, as it indeed was for the small popular libraries. that acceptance has mellowed now into an affectionate companionship with a familiar and comfortable conveyance that has proved serviceable so far. now the thing is said to need repair. but that it cannot economically be reconstructed has been recently demonstrated. it evidently must go on till its thousand pieces fall in a heap together, like the "wonderful one-hoss shay." loading it with more and more scientific luggage may for a time increase its service, but the rattling of its parts grows all the more distressing to those who ride. i reserve my opinion of the expansive classification and of that of the library of congress. it is to the point to say, however, that they are as unsatisfactory in the major principles of practical and scientific classification for libraries as they are valuable and admirable in the details which they have elaborated. they should help to solve the ultimate problem; but, if consistency with science and economy with convenience are feasible and requisite, neither of these systems is fit, nor is either, i think, likely to endure in general use in the future. the simpler, the more systematic, and the more consistent with the organization of knowledge a classification and notation is, the more economical and the less vexatious will be the operation of classifying books. the subject, scope, treatment, purpose of the book--if that could be stated beforehand--and why not?--by author and publisher, and confirmed by the copyright office or the national library, then the class-notation could in most cases be quickly found through subject-index. that information might be printed in the book and more readily found there than through centralized cataloging and service of cards. centralized or co-operative classifying however, or assigning of subjects and of the class-marks of an elaborately classified central or national library, would be a service of high value and of very considerable economy. =but= it should be distinguished from standardized classification. as libraries differ and differentiate, so should their classifications. at best a system may serve for libraries of a type, but not for all types. a university need not adopt an unfit classification as more than one has done of recent years. it may translate the centrally assigned subjects and class-marks into its own system, through its own index. some general conformity, or conformity in special parts, may indeed prove economical and convenient, but standardization of an elaborate system is progress in the wrong direction. this outline of a large, complex, and unsolved problem of paramount importance is very inadequate. i would propose that a committee be constituted, to articulate with the present committee on a code for classifying, to set to work upon a fuller investigation of this great question of the feasibility of better and more economical classification and notation. if librarians do not provide better classification for libraries, then the users of libraries will very likely in the not remote future provide for better librarians. in the subsequent discussion, opened by dr. richardson and by a paper written by mr. w. s. merrill, chief classifier of the newberry library, chicago, exception was taken to many of mr. bliss' criticisms of present classifications. it was pointed out that the d. c., with all its faults, was yet eminently practical, as evidenced by its widespread use. mr. cutter stated that the e. c. classification for zoology, which mr. bliss had specially criticised, had been made in just the way mr. bliss himself regarded as the soundest, i. e., it had been condensed from material furnished by an eminent scientist; as to its being over minute, it was expanded only half as much as the scientist had proposed. mr. charles martel, chief of the catalog division in the library of congress, dr. andrews, librarian of the john crerar library, chicago, and others also expressed their belief in close classification as a safeguard against confusion and unscientific grouping. only a few minutes remained for a paper on "art in the college library," by mr. frank weitenkampf, chief of the art department, new york public library. art in the college library the problem of art in schools has been frequently discussed. the matter of art in colleges, apparently, has not been so much considered. the cases, however, seem to be dissimilar only in degree, not in kind. in fact, not a little of the material that has been suggested for schoolroom decoration would be equally in place in the college. for instance, names such as those of gozzoli or luca della robbia, on the =craftsman's= list for schools could just as well be suggested for the college. also, the average student is probably first to be reached best by recognition of the fact that there are other interests beside the purely aesthetic. in other words, good use can be made of the subject picture, the best possible being chosen. dr. w. d. johnston, librarian of columbia university, where exhibitions "have always been an important auxiliary of lectures" and have included exhibitions of graphic arts, states that these last "are selected and displayed less with a view to artistic than pictorial value." but he adds that more and more attention is given to artistic value, and that in his belief the most valuable exhibits of an artistic nature are those "displayed permanently on the walls of halls, seminar rooms and lecture rooms. on the other hand, those which are exhibited temporarily should, if well selected, and well announced, do much to broaden taste." the permanent display of pictures which illustrate with distinction certain broad principles of taste, is of undoubted necessity. but the use of the temporary show must not be lost sight of. the oft seen easily becomes the oft unheeded; familiarity breeds contempt. periodical changes therefore seem advisable, as evidence that there is "something doing." loans of good prints from private sources, if advisable, might be utilized to excellent effect. for instance, if the library happens to own, or can borrow, a copy of such a publication of color reproductions as the medici prints, or "meister der farbe" or "alte meister" (the latter two issued by seemann of leipzig), a number of plates from the same might be placed on exhibition for, say, three months. this might be followed by a six-weeks' black-and-white show of good etchings from a private collection, or from the stock of the nearest museum or print dealer. after that, perhaps, a show of greek art. the guiding principles should be: keep the exhibit within reasonable bounds as to numbers, make selection with as much discrimination as circumstances will permit, and see that what you offer is made palatable. dr. e. c. richardson of the princeton university library tells me that there a large collection of art photographs is drawn upon for permanent exhibition, the latter rearranged "every now and then" in order to exhibit fresh material, and that there have been a number of special exhibitions. (incidentally, this university has a great variety of undergraduate courses in art.) the matter of proper presentation is important. not what is seen, but what is digested, counts. good labels are a necessity; summary, with as little dryness as possible, informative, so that the student may see at a glance why a given picture was shown, and what are its good points. if relation to studies can be brought out in these exhibits, all the better. that naturally suggests the possibility of an occasional display of pictures illustrating a given period or personality in a given country. in the recently-printed little volume, "art museums and schools," containing four lectures by stockton oxson, kenyon cox, stanley hall and oliver s. tonks, the significance of the museum to teachers of english, art, history and the classics is considered, and the documentary value of art is properly emphasized. "in order to teach the classics," says prof. tonks, "you must know more of ancient life than is to be gleaned from the literature by itself." viewed in this light, the old greek vases and other art objects take on a new significance. but the ultimate object of all this must not be lost to sight, the cultural influence sought, the promotion of interest in art as a matter not apart from, but a part of, our daily life, a contribution to general culture. it is well to make it clear that a certain amount of appreciation of art can become as much a matter of course as certain elementary rules of good breeding. "art," says croly, in his "promise of american life,"--"art cannot become a power in a community unless many of its members are possessed of a native and innocent love of beautiful things." these considerations, again, suggest the occasional exhibiting of plates illustrating decorative and applied art, say color plates such as those in wenzel's "modern decorative art," or "dekorative vorbilder," or similar books, if procurable, or black-and-white plates from books or art magazines. a judicious use of the library's books is advisable, not through lengthy lists in which the bibliographical instincts of the librarian might find vent. reference to two or three books on a subject--whetting the appetite by displaying them at the same time as the plates exhibited--may lead to an occasional reading at spare moments. it may help also to show the fallacy of the "i don't know anything of art, but i know just what i like" attitude. you can not understand anything worth understanding without some trouble, any more than you can play football or bridge without some practice. the matter of hanging must depend, naturally, on local conditions: amount and distribution and shape and location of available wall space or other space, financial resources, character of student body, etc. the simplest method is, of course, to suspend the pictures by clips from horizontal wires, but it is not under all circumstances the safest. pictures may be fastened to a wooden background (usually covered with burlap or other textile) on the wall. in that case, care must of course be taken that thumb-tacks do not pass through the print. the shank of the tack passes close to the picture upon the outermost margin of which its head will then press. mr. e. r. smith of the avery library at columbia university, lays strips of bristol board over the spaces between the pictures, and overlapping the margins of the same; the tacks pass through these strips. pictures fastened to the wall may be covered by sheets of glass held in place by strong tacks, or perhaps the brass-headed upholsterers' nails. where prints are shown unprotected it may prove well to mount them, unless they are printed on thick and strong paper. (at the newark library they use mounting board bound at the edge with buckram and further strengthened by pigskin corners; this is for prints which circulate among teachers.) where frames are used with the intention of periodical or occasional change of exhibits, the back can be held by the familiar "button" device which can be easily swung aside so as to admit of changing the picture without extracting nails. mr. paul brockett of the smithsonian institution, tells me that there the glass doors of bookcases have been used for exhibiting pictures. at the same place, wing frames--that space-saving device of a dozen frames with glass centered on a standard, and having a certain swing in either direction--have been used. moreover, these frames were units which could be hung on the standard or placed against the wall. in some of the new york public library's branches, such frames radiate directly from the wall, to save space. a similar device is seen in a certain type of display fixtures, in which the swinging frames reach to the floor, and which may be seen in operation in the lithographic exhibition of fuchs & lang, warren st., new york city. there is no protecting glass here, however, and i presume that the use of this contrivance would be safe only in exceptional cases. hints to exhibitors may be found in articles such as the one on "mounting, framing and hanging pictures," by miss mabel j. chase, assistant supervisor of drawing, newark, n. j., in the =school arts magazine= for december, , or in one on "planning and mounting an exhibit" in the number for march, , by george w. eggers, who lays stress on the fact that "every exhibit should definitely tell something." still continuing the examination of this magazine, one notes in the issue of april, , an article on the "decoration of an assembly hall in r. c. ingraham grammar school, new bedford, mass." that relates to a permanent exhibit, and describes the distribution of pictures and other objects in such a manner as to make a harmonious arrangement of the whole room. but there are other periodicals, and there are readers' guides and other indexes and bibliographical aids, and this is not the place for lists. now, as to the material to be used for the exhibition. outside of the resources offered by the library's own collection and the loan possibilities indicated, there are various dealers and other agencies to be taken into account. in the state of new york for instance, the division of visual instruction of the education department has a circulating collection of pictures furnishing ample material for educational extension lectures and for study clubs. this consists of "braun, elson, hanfstängel and hegger carbons, copley prints and bromides and berlin photogravures." these wall-pictures are lent to schools and libraries, framed without glass, for a fee of cents each per year. in other states, i presume state library commissions could give advice. there are the artistic lithographic drawings in color issued by b. g. teubner of leipzig at five and six marks apiece, the plates of seemann's "meister der farbe" can be purchased separately, and dealers such as the berlin photographic co., george busse, the detroit publishing co., braun clement & co. and others could no doubt give lists and advice. importing book-dealers, french and german, must be considered. not all of the material furnished by these concerns is equally cheap, but a certain amount of the higher-priced sort will serve for permanent exhibit. part , devoted to the art department, in john cotton dana's "modern american library economy," is a very useful guide, not only in its record of accomplishment at newark, but also in its hints as to sources, its list of addresses. miss ethelred abbot's "list of photograph dealers" (massachusetts library club, ) is properly emphasized for its usefulness, as is also the "bibliotheca pædagogica." for permanent exhibits the reproductions of certain examples in architecture, painting and sculpture which have become classical, are of obvious value. and here, too, the reason for inclusion may well be emphasized to the student, not only by proper labels but also by reference at the proper time in the classroom and lecture hall. such classics in art will not infrequently be found reproduced better in black-and-white than in color. should the library decide to procure color work by modern artists, such as the teubner prints referred to, or the similar ones issued by voigtländer or by the künstlerbund of karlsruhe, care must be taken to select such as are of general, and not merely local, interest. say for example, the well known "field of grain" by volkmann. such modern work also has the advantage of emphasizing the fact that there is work worth while being done today. it likewise shows the healthy tendency to enlarge acquaintance with home production, home scenery, home customs. we find that, for instance, in germany, in sweden, to a certain extent in england, and elsewhere. much of the foreign endeavor in this direction has found its use in schools, but it involves some big principles in point of view which make a certain amount of its results of use in the college as well. but we should similarly pay attention to the best american work. noteworthy attempts by american artists to interpret american life and the beauties of our scenery deserve support. one notes with interest the attempt made by the american federation of arts' committee on art in the public schools to call attention to american examples in the fine arts by calling for an expression of opinion as to the best works produced by our artists. t. w. stevens reported that the chicago institution, furthering the utilization of students' work in the decoration of public school walls, "encouraged the adoption of subject pictures for decoration; especially subjects in american history." the help of the art department, where the college has one, may well be enlisted. (parenthetically let me state that e. baldwin smith in his recent report on "the study of the history of art in the colleges and universities of the united states," princeton, , summarizes his statistics in the statement that of , , students, , have any art courses at all offered them.) not only have we such rich collections as those of the avery architectural library at columbia, the fogg museum at harvard, or yale university, but collections of casts, photographs and books will be found at the disposal of the art departments of a number of other colleges. such resources might be drawn upon so that some modicum, at least, of art influence may be extended to the rest of the institution. if the direct co-operation of the art department is secured it must necessarily be adapted to the needs of the case with a clear understanding of the fact that general students, and not art students, are to be served. the statement of dr. leigh h. hunt, associate professor of art at the college of the city of new york is of interest here. his , boys, says he, would like to begin with the human face. they do not necessarily lean to the saccharine, but perceive human interest shown without the aid of the direct anecdote. they stand memling and ghirlandajo. "the boys love color," he continues, "and are easily led to love refined color. they admire the early english water colorists--cox, dewint; also, japanese prints." after becoming interested in such refined color, they get a liking for monochromes--delft blue landscapes, sanguines and sepia drawings. efforts such as those i have indicated seem particularly called for where the college is away from art influences. but they should not be put aside even where the college is located in a larger center with an art life. rather should the resources near at hand be turned to advantage. i have seen the statement that over per cent of our museums are connected with educational institutions. also, in a large city, there are numerous art exhibitions, most varied in character. but the very extent of all these opportunities may serve to keep away the student who has so many other duties and attractions. and, as prof. hunt points out, boys living at one end of a large city not only whirl past all such possibilities on their way to college, but in new york, using the subway, they pass under it and not through it. what is wanted is the direct, unavoidable presentation of art to those who are not yet sufficiently interested to seek art for themselves. in the whole matter the ever-necessary exercise of common sense is commendable. enthusiasm for the cause must be moderated and adapted to the point of view of the student. the didactic element should be unobtrusive. the student should be interested rather than admonished. above all he should be led to see that a certain love and appreciation of art is not a "highbrow" affair but a proper, necessary and pleasure-giving part of the equipment of the cultured man. as proper and a matter of course as the avoidance of a necktie of shrieking colors, or as the use of the table knife for cutting only. farther discussion of this subject, as well as decision as to the practicability of the ideas advanced, must be left to those who have a more intimate acquaintance with the problems, conditions and difficulties involved than can be had by one who has to deal with the readers in a large public library. mr. goodrich called attention to the library of the university of michigan as one place where ideas like those of the paper had been carried out, made a plea for color prints as against the everlasting black and brown, and suggested the possibilities of pottery and textiles in the way of giving life and cheer to the delivery hall. he referred by way of example to the beautiful drapery curtains in the john hay library reading room--a vast relief from the ordinary roller shade and just as effectual. at the end of the session, the nominating committee brought in the name of mr. w. n. c. carlton, librarian of the newberry library, to succeed mr. keogh on the committee on arrangements; mr. carlton was unanimously elected. his term will be three years; the other members of the committee, miss askew and mr. goodrich, remain the same as this year. the session then adjourned until friday night. college librarians' round table the round table for college librarians was held on friday evening, june th. f. c. hicks, of columbia university, presiding. miss josephine a. rathbone, of the pratt institute school of library science gave a talk on what college librarians can do for library schools in a recent lecture on administrative problems of the college library given to the students of the pratt institute library school the lecturer pictured the ideal college library of the future, with a staff consisting of specialists, each with a knowledge of his subject equal to that of instructors or professors plus a library school training, whose recompense should be on the same scale as that for the teaching of those subjects. i remarked afterward that before that vision could come to pass the college librarians should have to act as feeders for the library schools, turning toward librarianship promising material from which the library schools could make the college library specialist of tomorrow. hence this paper. there has been a good deal of discussion in the professional training section about specialization in library schools--the desirability of having special courses to prepare librarians for technical libraries, for professional libraries, for legislative reference libraries, etc., etc., but i am convinced--and my conviction deepens with my increasing experience--that the time for specialization is before the library school course and not during it. theoretically it does not seem possible that the same library course should be able to fit students for such different lines as children's work, municipal reference work, cataloging, branch library work, the scientific department of a university library, a botanical garden library, and the librarianship of a town library, but actually that is just what happens; recent graduates of our school are filling just such positions and each one found that her library training plus her previous education, experience and temperament enabled her to fill the special position satisfactorily. now what the college librarian can do for the library school and hence for the library profession, is, it seems to me, to make it known among college students that there are opportunities for the specialist in library work--to disabuse the mind of the man or woman who wants to pursue economics or sociology or some branch of science of the idea--almost a fixed idea it would seem--that a specialist in order to continue in his specialty must necessarily teach it, that teaching offers the only pied a terre, the only means of support for the student. students of sociology and government are beginning to find their way into organized welfare work, it is true, but library work should be presented to them as a means of social service, of at least equal importance with settlement work or organized charity. that it could be so presented i am confident, and by whom if not by or through the agency of the college librarian? schools and colleges are devoting an increasing amount of attention to vocational guidance. will not college librarians make a point of seeing that the possibilities and diversified opportunities of librarianship are presented to the students each year? if they do not care to do this themselves, librarians or members of library school faculties might be found in the vicinity who would be glad to do it. once the subject of librarianship is presented to the student and the desirability of entering upon the work through the gateway of library school training is pointed out (i assume that no time need be spent arguing this point--but if i am wrong i shall be glad to discuss the matter with any dissenters later), the college librarian can further the cause by being prepared to advise students as to their choice of a library school. the college librarian should supply himself with the circulars of the several schools and should inform himself concerning the reputation, advantages, requirements, and specialties of the different schools. we all agree that there is no one best library school (except our own), but that each of them offer special opportunities that make them adapted to the particular needs of different students. to direct the inquirer to that school that will best fit him for the particular kind of work he inclines toward would be to serve the profession, the schools, the colleges, and the individual student. will not the college librarian take this function upon himself and enrich the profession not only with the quiet bookish student who will develop into the old-fashioned librarian for whom there is still room, but with the specialist, the executive, the vigorous and enthusiastic altruist who wants to serve the world by positive, constructive, social work? the following paper, prepared by mr. robert s. fletcher, librarian of amherst college, was read by mr. n. l. goodrich, of dartmouth: the college library and research work there was published in a "union list of collections on european history in american libraries, compiled for the committee on bibliography of the american historical association by e. c. richardson, chairman." in the preface to this exceedingly valuable work occurs the following extract from the report of the committee, december, : "it is clear from this situation that no library is self-sufficient--even harvard lacking sets, and all but lacking on the average of , out of , works. even as good colleges as amherst and williams, having but and respectively, lack , and , respectively out of , , while probably of the institutions doing work of college grade in the united states are worse off than these." i need hardly say that this is merely a statement of fact and in no sense a criticism or arraignment of any library mentioned or implied. furthermore, it is undoubtedly true that analysis and reflection will render this statement much less startling than it appears at first glance. whether we can explain and account for it to our entire satisfaction is a question which seems to me rather doubtful. let me quote a little more from this same source: "the most significant fact of the statistics of last year remains, however, substantially unchanged--the fact that only ten or a dozen libraries have as many as per cent of the collections, and that out of institutions which profess to do work of college grade, only about fifty libraries have as much as per cent. the actual situation is even much worse than appears from the figures, since two or three inexpensive volumes of illustrative source books for classroom use are in the list through inadvertence, and undoubtedly swell the record of the minor institutions. it is safe to say that a majority even of the institutions included in the babcock list have less than one-tenth of per cent of these sets, and yet these are titles which have been gathered from actual references and are the books which are liable to meet any men engaged in historical research at every turn." if we assume that research work belongs only to the university--that it has no place in the college--we may dismiss these figures as possessing no significance for us, save as they throw some light on the inferior quality of the collections built up by most of our american libraries. if on the other hand we believe that the smaller institution should encourage its teachers to do research work, and should, so far as its resources allow, provide the facilities for such work, then i believe that a study of the conditions responsible for the situation set forth in the committee's report cannot fail to be of some value. and while i hold no brief for the research worker i am strongly of the opinion that the college which does encourage original research can not but gain a higher quality of teaching, and at the same time acquire a collection of books which, if not notable, shall be at least thoroughly good. it may be claimed, and in that case must be granted, that such a question as this is practically an academic one, and so pretty largely outside of the librarian's province. that is true, however, only so long as you leave the question unanswered--or answer it in the negative. an affirmative answer would bring the matter home directly to every college librarian in the country. the college which believes in research and encourages its faculty to do it, must have a librarian not only in sympathy with the movement, but one skillful in finding ways and means to make it a success, since in most cases the funds at our disposal for the purchase of books would seem to preclude the possibility of such a thing. before going further into the discussion of this phase of the question, let me return for a moment to the report from which i quoted. one or two conclusions may justly be drawn from the figures therein presented. in the first place i think we may safely infer that the situation as regards history, so strikingly set forth, is repeated, and probably in an even worse form, in all the other departments of knowledge. certainly we should not expect a library which was so weak in the research material of history, to be any stronger in philology or the sciences, or in philosophy and economics. the second conclusion follows naturally from this, that the average college library--for it is with the college library that this paper concerns itself--has built up its collection with practically no emphasis on the acquisition of such material. to say that this general condition exists solely because of the lack of funds is to my mind neither a real explanation, nor a real excuse. it exists primarily because there has never been any pressure from members of the faculty to bring about a different condition. if we seek a reason for it we shall find it in the fact that research work has by tacit consent been left almost entirely to the university. its place there--its vital importance in the university scheme of work--has never been questioned. making all allowance for the difference in conditions i still cannot see why a thing that is confessedly of so much benefit to the university should not also be of help to the college. at the risk of getting a little off the track, and for the sake of making what i mean as plain as possible, it seems necessary to devote some space to a definition of the term research work. i am writing, of course, from the standpoint of an outsider, who expresses a purely personal opinion on a subject which interests him. there can be no hard and fast definition of such a term as this--at least not from a librarian. i shall suppose then, that research work is of two kinds, both important, but one of them much more important than the other. the first and most common kind is that ordinarily done by the graduate student in the university. it is the gathering of material--the collection of information on some particular phase of some particular subject--and is not only of value in itself, but when taken together with the work done by other students along related lines becomes part of the structure on which scholarship is built. we may call it analytical research work. the other kind is that done by the man of clear vision and wide outlook, mature enough to see that the analytical work is merely material for a bigger thing--call it what you will--the man who can take the information others have collected and impart it in the form of culture. this is synthetic research work. now the university has much of the former, some of the latter. the college has need only of the synthetic. if its place in the educational world is to be permanent, its contribution to education must be cultural. the type of teacher it needs, and i believe must have, is the man who has done, or is capable of doing, synthetic research work. in his hands teaching takes on a vitality, a spontaneity, a genuineness that no one else can give it. that the book collection of the average college would be sufficient for the needs of men like this is out of the question. there would inevitably arise a demand for the purchase of works of an entirely different kind--a demand that would have to be at least partially met. this demand would be for research material, by which i mean the results of research work, and the problem of such a college library would become a problem in discrimination--the decision as to what of this material it should try to obtain. it ought not to be difficult to draw a clear distinction between analytical and synthetic research material. illustrations of the first will readily occur to you, one as good as any being the usual thesis submitted for the doctor's degree. all "source" material is necessarily analytical--is the result of a careful, painstaking, often laborious search for information: information that may illuminate some dark corner of the field of knowledge. but it is never itself illumined by the spark of genius, nor wrought by the loving hand of the artist. it is merely the wood and the stone out of which a complete structure may some day arise. now how does the synthetic conception of research apply to history? a modern german writer has compressed the whole significance of it into a sentence: "the writing of history," he says, "is just as truly a =will toward a picture= as it is a knowledge of sources." in other words synthesis of the kind referred to is always the work of the artist, and in the nature of things becomes thereby a contribution to culture. gibbon's "decline and fall of the roman empire," lamprecht's "history of germany," rhodes' "history of the united states"--these are all synthetic: each one existed first as a picture in the mind of the artist, not merely as an array of sources from which the facts of history might be drawn. "but," you say, "all libraries buy these books and others like them as a matter of course." yes, we do, but i think the trouble is that we do not make books of this sort our standard, if indeed we have any standard beyond a favorable review or a request from a patron. it is no more true that the result of all synthetic research is cultural than that the result of all artistic endeavor is beautiful. results here are just as uneven as anywhere else, with much that is good and perhaps even more that is bad, and it is when we come to discriminate that we are apt to go astray. now a teacher such as i have in mind would keep abreast through the better periodicals of all that was being done in his particular line, and if facilities were furnished, would buy what he knew he needed--monographs, bibliographies, biographies, and some larger works--things that would not only give his teaching a vitality and freshness otherwise lacking, but would help to hasten the day when his own contribution to the world's culture should see the light. assuming, then, that a college accepts this view, and proposes to encourage its faculty to do research work, what are the practical ways in which the library can not only co-operate, but further such an undertaking? for i believe there are several. a preliminary statement as to the functions of the college library would seem to be essential. these have often been set forth for us in detail, and i shall only enumerate them here. the first and most important function is, of course, to meet the needs of the students and teachers as they arise in the regular college work. along with this is the supplying of books for general reading, outside of the curriculum. most of these books are bought for members of the faculty, who are thereby enabled to keep in touch with the latest developments in their own and other fields, and to avoid the possibility of mental stagnation from too close association with a particular subject. i believe much more might--and should--be done in the way of developing a taste for general reading on the part of the students, but that is another story. apart from these what are the functions of the college library? to be, so far as it can the centre of culture for the community in which it is located: to aid the local public library in its work with woman's clubs, and high school pupils: to lend books freely to other libraries. and in our own case there is the added opportunity of being of some assistance to another institution in the same town. now these things are all important, and the librarian who does not realize it, who fails to utilize to the utmost the possibilities they contain for intellectual and social betterment, is not worthy of his hire. but the point of view i take in this article compels me to consider them as secondary. the college library exists first of all to supply the book needs of its own students and faculty, and for nothing else. the expenditure of its funds, always insufficient, must be limited to this chief function. it is probable that all these other things i have enumerated can be done without any financial loss to the library, but where any of them means a diversion of library funds it becomes unjustifiable. i said above that there are several practical ways in which a library--more properly, perhaps, a librarian--can not only co-operate, but further a movement to encourage research work on the part of members of the faculty. my remarks are of necessity limited to my observation of conditions in the institution with which i am connected, and are not to be considered general in their application. at the same time, i am inclined to think that these conditions are reproduced, at least to a certain extent, in most college libraries. the assistance which the library can render must, of course, be very largely financial. only by releasing funds from present uses, or by increasing these funds, can we hope to buy material of the kind referred to. i am convinced, in the first place, that we can save money in the purchase of books, and this not through better discounts, or any choice of agents, but through more care in the selection of the books themselves. in other words, submit all lists of proposed purchases to a more rigid scrutiny. make all titles answer such questions as "is this book going to be of real value to this library?" "is its usefulness to be more or less permanent, or merely temporary?" "could not our need for it be met by borrowing from another library?" in our own case, at least, i fear a number of books are recommended by professors or others, and bought by the library, which could not survive any such test. this naturally applies not so much to department books as to those of a general nature, for in the last analysis the teacher must be the judge of what he needs to help him in his work. secondly, we ought to save money--i think a considerable sum--on our periodicals. and here the saving effected by dropping some from the list is a double one; not only the subscription price, but the cost of binding. i realize that i am treading on dangerous ground in this matter, and that most professors would say to drop all the books if necessary, but none of the periodicals. and i could wish for enough space to elaborate my side of the question at some length, instead of touching on it only briefly. for i believe it to be of real importance--a thing that every college library must face and decide at some time or other. here at amherst we spent last year over per cent of the income from our book funds on periodicals and their binding--a proportion which i cannot believe to be justified. is there not such a thing as a "periodical" habit, into which all of us, librarians and professors alike, are apt to fall? we keep periodicals on our lists because they have always been there--were there before we came--although on reflection we are sure that no one ever uses them--not even the professor at whose instance they were ordered. in the first place, of course, he =expects= to use them, sometime if not now. or he is sure that he =ought= to--that they would give him just the impetus he needs in his work. or perhaps (and i should whisper this) he likes to have it known that the department is taking these things "couldn't get along without them." now the periodical that cannot prove its right--in terms of usefulness--to be on the shelves of a college library has no place there. and the significance of this for us is the fact that in being there it is keeping something else out! what we spend for it, and for others like it, would enable us to make at least a beginning on the acquisition of our synthetic research material. these are two of the ways in which it seems to me a librarian in sympathy with this movement could further it. another, possibly worth mentioning, is to refrain from binding miscellaneous pamphlets and other unbound material, mostly presented to the library, and which we are apt to think may some day serve a purpose. part of it may--most of it can well be thrown away and the binding money saved. "but," you say, "even in the aggregate these things do not mean very much; perhaps one or two hundred dollars at the outside--one or two or three research collections a year for your library." no, they do not mean very much, by themselves, or in the purchasing power of money they are instrumental in saving. but they stand for something definite and logical; they are indicative of a determination on the part of an institution to get men of a certain type for its faculty, and to provide them with facilities for doing the broadest and biggest work possible. i may be mistaken, but i am inclined to think such an institution could find more money as it needed more. and the librarian skillful in discovering ways and means would not be contented with his yearly appropriations, but would succeed in interesting trustees and friends of the college to a point where interest would be translated into deeds. now there is, of course, another side to all this, and we should be short-sighted indeed not to recognize it. the college library which spent any considerable share of its funds for research material which really belongs only in the university library would have no means whatever of justifying itself--would be worse off than an institution which had no research material whatever. how may we guard against this danger? i must take it for granted that the sort of teacher i have been considering would choose his research material wisely and with the right perspective. in case he failed to do this i should expect the librarian to tell him so. and back of the librarian should be a real library committee; so constituted as to represent the different departments as fairly as possible; having charge of the allotment of book funds; advising and helping the librarian in the shaping of the library's policy; the court of last resort when an expensive and somewhat doubtful set was being considered--i can conceive of such a committee as being one of the greatest factors in the success of this whole undertaking. let at least two types of teachers be selected for it. the one a man whose chief interest centers in the personal and human side of his students; who puts them first to the extent that his work is with them rather than with books or scholarly endeavor. the other the man i have defined as the synthetic research worker, broad in his sympathies toward his students, but a man who realizes both the need of the age for culture, and his own ability to contribute to it something worth while. by a fusion of such types as these the rights of all would be conserved--the needs of all met so far as possible. just a word more by way of summary and i shall be through. i believe the book collection of the average college library is much below what it might be in point of quality. a possible way of changing this situation for the better is to encourage members of the faculty to do research work. this would also result in a higher standard of teaching--or so at least all the teachers with whom i have talked assure me. it is not necessary to assume that research is essential to scholarship, but merely that it adds something to a man's efficiency and power that can be gotten in no other way. the college librarian, if he cares to, can play an important part in bringing these things about. you will doubtless find this scheme--represented here only in outline--rather idealistic, but so, i take it, are all educational schemes. i can only hope that you will find also some soundness in its theory--some small addition to the constructive criticism of a condition which i believe to be fundamentally wrong. miss minnie e. sears, head cataloger of the university of minnesota library, presented a paper on cataloging for department libraries before beginning the discussion of cataloging for department libraries, let me say that as it is a subject which is still in the experimental stage and not yet capable of generalization, the statements made in this paper are based, partly upon information collected from certain university libraries in which this problem is now being worked out, and partly on my own experience in organizing the department catalogs of the university of minnesota. the other libraries quoted are those of the university of chicago, columbia, illinois, johns hopkins, michigan, missouri and wisconsin. in considering the problem of cataloging for department libraries, we may start with a definition and an assumption. for the purpose of this discussion it may be said that a department library is not a mere handful of reference books on a subject, but a more or less comprehensive collection of books on the subject shelved and used separately from the collections of the main library; and it may be assumed that the necessity for a separate catalog of such a collection is admitted by all. assuming this, the first question that presents itself is that of the form of the department catalog. shall it be an author, a classed or a dictionary catalog, or, since in most cases the department library is a small open-shelf collection, will it suffice to have a shelf-list only, serving also as a classed catalog? the shelf-list would offer the simplest and cheapest solution of the difficulty, but the day when it was accepted as a solution of the entire problem has passed. not one of the libraries consulted suggests the shelf-list alone as a possible arrangement. an author catalog, at least, is needed in addition, and the majority of these libraries report dictionary catalogs in some of the department libraries, if not in all. chicago university is to provide for the department libraries outside of harper building an author catalog and a shelf-list, where printed cards are available, and an author catalog only for the department libraries within harper building. columbia, michigan, illinois and minnesota have dictionary catalogs for all department libraries. missouri has dictionary catalogs in , and wisconsin in department libraries, while johns hopkins is to have dictionary catalogs in all department libraries which are outside its main building. a more difficult question is that of the scope of the catalog. how exhaustive is it possible, or even desirable, to make it? it must, of course, include all books in the department library itself, but shall it also record all books dealing with the same subject to be found elsewhere in the university? such completeness of record would be the ideal arrangement, and would, undoubtedly, meet with the hearty approval of the university departments. but will not the cost be prohibitive to many libraries, even in this day of printed cards and multigraph? to be of value, such elaborate cataloging should be done thoroughly and systematically and above all, once undertaken, should never be allowed to lapse, or confusion will be the result. the fuller information about related materials in other parts of the library can always be obtained from the main library catalog, if that record is a union catalog of department libraries as well; and if the department librarian is in telephone communication with the reference librarian at the main library, the information can be obtained almost as quickly as if it were included in the department catalog. we may, therefore, conclude that the department catalog complete for its own library but not including related material in other libraries, is the most practicable form under present conditions, although the ideal form is the more complete catalog which expense at present generally prohibits. the third point which our problem raises is that of variations in cataloging from the rules followed in the general library catalog. the first important variation which suggests itself as possible is in the treatment of analytics. shall analytics be included in the department catalog, and if so, shall they be the same as those in the general catalog? on this point the practice of our eight libraries varies somewhat. chicago university is not planning to include any analytics in its department catalogs, and johns hopkins includes only a few. illinois, michigan and minnesota, in the main, duplicate for their department catalogs the analytics made for their main catalogs and, as a rule, include no additional analytics. the columbia practice is more ambitious, as that library includes in its department catalog analytics (mainly articles in periodicals) which are not included in its general catalog. an article in the =columbia university quarterly= for march, , states that the department catalogs have analytics for all important serials that bear upon the work of the departments whether shelved there or in the general library, that is, the department library catalog attempts to serve both as catalog and index. these cards are intended for temporary use only, to be removed when the demand for them ceases. in most university libraries it would be impossible to keep up systematically such elaborate catalogs, and it is not clear that such indexing--for it is indexing rather than cataloging--would be desirable in all places. a catalog can never be made to take the place of a reference librarian, or of an intelligent use of the important annual and other subject indexes to the literature of a subject, such as =psychological index=, the various =jahresberichte=, etc. moreover, every reference or department librarian naturally does more or less in the way of keeping up card indexes or bibliographies, which are frequently revised and the old material discarded as new and better material takes its place. such reference indexes are simpler and more practical than serial analytics in a department catalog, since they do not call for expert revision and absolute uniformity of subject headings. on the whole, the tendency of present opinion and practice seems to be that important analytics which are useful in the general catalog are useful in the department catalog also, but that beyond that it is better to encourage the use of the printed indexes and the keeping of an informal reference index for material not yet included in the printed aids. a more important possibility of variation, where the department catalog is dictionary in form, is found in subject headings. will the same headings that are found satisfactory in the main library catalog serve equally well in the department catalog as used by specialists? too much emphasis can not be laid upon the fact that any variation of this kind greatly increases the cost of the cataloging, as the assigning and revision of two sets of subject headings, one for the general and one for the department catalog, will mean that that part of the work is greatly increased, though not doubled. the correct assignment of subject headings presents enough difficulties under any circumstances, and the catalog supervisor should hesitate to multiply these unless there is strong reason for doing so. in libraries which have adopted the library of congress subject headings, those headings, with minor variations, will, for most subjects, be found satisfactory in the department as well as in the general catalog. law will at once occur to all as a subject for which it may be desirable to run two sets of headings. we have done this at the university of minnesota, using the special library of congress law headings in the department catalog, and the regular library of congress headings in the general catalog. a point to be carefully considered in adopting more than one set of subject headings, moreover, is the possible confusion of mind that may be produced in the student, the exigencies of whose work require him to use more than one of the library catalogs. such records are certainly much easier to use when there is uniformity of subject entries, and the adoption of several different sets of subject headings will certainly cause confusion, even to members of the library staff, much more to students. after the questions of form, scope, and contents of the department catalog, comes the practical question of how best to get the work done. it can be done in either of two ways, by the regular cataloging force of the university or by the department librarians. in most university libraries the cataloging staff is small in comparison with the amount always to be done, and the work of keeping the general catalog up to date taxes all its powers, and leaves no time for extra records such as department catalogs. on the other hand, does not the department librarian have more or less time which, when properly arranged, could be given to cataloging under the direction of the head cataloger? we have found this to be the case at the university of minnesota. until three years ago our department libraries were all under the supervision of the various departments, and hence in a more or less chaotic state. some of these have not yet emerged from chaos. in these three years, however, we have evolved a system by which this work is done by the department librarians, or, in one case, by an assistant in the department library. it has so far proved a perfectly workable system for our given conditions. all the department librarians so far appointed have been either library school graduates or people with equivalent library training, and in addition to that, in some cases, with special knowledge of the subjects of the departments. one of the first duties of the department librarian, on taking charge of his library, has been to organize it, classifying and cataloging it under the supervision of the head of the catalog department, but doing the work in the department library. the question has been raised as to how the department librarian could do the reference work and other work of his library, and at the same time catalog the department books for both the department and general catalog. of course the cataloging will be intermittent and more or less interrupted, as our rule is that the work for the public must be done first. until, however, the books of a department library are in order and properly listed, no satisfactory reference work can be done with them. our own experience has certainly been that the reference work of our department librarians has been strengthened by their work of cataloging. the general library gains also from this work of the department librarian, as the latter does the cataloging of his books for the general catalog at the same time as that for the department catalog, and so the growth of the general library catalog is greatly promoted, without a corresponding tax upon the resources of the catalog department. in as far as possible the work is revised by the head cataloger or a reviser, in the department library, but in some cases of difficult revision it has been found necessary to transfer the books to the catalog department for revision there. at present, whenever printed cards can not be obtained, all cards are actually made by the department librarian, but as soon as we are able to adopt the multigraph, rough copy only will be supplied by that assistant. after the department library has been thoroughly organized and cataloged, the department librarian goes on with the lighter task of cataloging the current accessions of his library for both the department and the general catalog. some of the advantages of thus having the work done by the trained department librarians are: . it adds several workers to the cataloging force of the library, and thus makes it possible to do much more in the way of providing needed departmental catalogs. this fact has been of great importance with us at the university of minnesota, where, with the present cataloging force alone, it would have been impossible to provide these catalogs. besides, there is the advantage to the general library of getting the cataloging of these same books done for the general catalog. . the department librarian should have, and generally does have, special knowledge of his subject, which is of assistance in cataloging, especially in classification and the assignment of subject headings. . as the work is done in the department it is easy for the department librarian to consult the professors whenever necessary or desirable. . there is a real advantage to the department librarian in the added familiarity with the department books which he has gained in cataloging them. this is particularly true in the case of the librarian who, in the beginning, is not a specialist in his subject, but even the specialist may gain some knowledge from this handling of the material which will help him in the service of his readers. moreover, if he has actually made the catalog, he can use it more intelligently himself and instruct his students better in the use of it. our scheme has certain disadvantages as well as advantages. some of these are: . there is danger that not enough cataloging research work will be done when the cataloging is done in the department library, because many of the important catalog and bibliographical aids are not accessible outside the catalog department--for example, the depository or union catalog of printed cards. . there is danger that the existing records will not be consulted enough, because the general catalog is not easily accessible and can only be consulted on special trips to the main library. . when the work is thus decentralized, there is much greater difficulty in obtaining from the various assistants work which is even fairly uniform. no one who has had experience in trying to manage such work will minimize this difficulty. for this reason, the revision is more difficult, and must be done with the greatest care, especially in the matter of subject headings. . it is sometimes more difficult to get good cataloging from those whose first interest does not lie in this branch of the work, and who are not closely associated with the regular catalogers, and familiar with the many traditions of a catalog department. for this reason we have found at minnesota, that it is an advantage to have a newly appointed department librarian work in the catalog department for a time before taking up the work in his library. we have found, however, that with us the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, particularly the one great advantage that it has been a practical way of accomplishing work which could not have been done by our present cataloging department. summary a tabulated summary of the replies received from the libraries circularized has been prepared, but as it is too detailed for reading here, i will omit it, and present, instead, a few conclusions which may fairly be drawn from this summary. while practice is not uniform on any one point of department cataloging, certain tendencies toward uniformity are clearly evident. . in the matter of department librarians there is clearly a tendency towards the appointment of trained workers having, whenever possible, some special knowledge of the subject of their departments as well. this, of course, is important, if the cataloging is to be done in the department libraries. all these libraries feel, also, the need for some kind of department catalogs, although the number of such catalogs already established varies from three at the university of wisconsin to twenty-three at columbia. . there is a pretty general agreement that the dictionary catalog is the most desirable for department libraries. columbia, illinois, michigan, and minnesota report dictionary catalogs in all organized department libraries, and johns hopkins in all department libraries outside the main building. wisconsin and missouri report dictionary catalogs in certain department libraries, and chicago reports author catalogs and shelf-lists. all the libraries using dictionary catalogs report the use, in the main, of the same kind of subject headings in department as in general catalogs, except for certain special subjects, such as law, or for certain highly specialized collections, such as the avery architectural library at columbia. . there is a somewhat greater variation in the scope of material to be included. so far, only two libraries, columbia and michigan, report any department catalogs covering more than the material in the department libraries, but missouri and minnesota report that they intend, eventually, to have their department catalogs include all books on the subject in the university. in the matter of analytics the majority practice is to include the same analytics in both general and department catalogs, although chicago uses no analytics at all in department catalogs, while columbia, at the other extreme, includes more analytics in department catalogs than in the general catalog. . present opinion seems to be pretty evenly divided on the subject of whether the actual work of cataloging should be done by the department librarians or by the regular cataloging force, although there is perhaps a tendency to have this work done by the department librarians wherever there are trained workers in charge of the department libraries. universities in which the work for department catalogs is done by the department librarians, report that the department librarians catalog these same books for the general catalog as well. in conclusion, let me repeat that if the cataloging is done by the department librarians, too much emphasis can not be laid upon the fact that it is absolutely essential to have all this work done under the supervision of the head cataloger, with the most careful revision. otherwise there will be as many varieties of cataloging as there are department librarians. in behalf of dr. w. dawson johnston, of columbia, miss isadore g. mudge read the following proposal for a catalog of university serial publications one of the desiderata of our exchange departments, as well as of our reference departments, is a catalog of american university serial publications. this should give in addition to the general title, a full table of contents, and an index of the same. it may be prepared by one library, or cooperatively by the library of each institution issuing such series, and published by a central institution, as the bibliography of american historical societies was published by the smithsonian institution, or published as the trade list annual is, each institution printing its own catalog and forwarding it to a publisher to be indexed, bound with the catalogs of publications of other institutions, and so published. the desirability of such a catalog as a record of american university publications was presented to the executive committee of the association of american universities at its last meeting. the committee voted to recommend to the association the passage of the following resolution: "resolved, that the association of american universities recommends to each of its constituent universities the preparation of a catalog of its serial publications and the printing of the catalog in a form which will permit the publication of the several catalogs as a collected work, so arranged and indexed as to make it a useful work of reference." if the members of the college section are similarly interested in such a catalog, similar action on the part of the section may be desirable. i present this suggestion with some diffidence because although the catalog will save librarians much labor in the long run the preparation of it would involve a large amount of extra labor in the immediate future. in spite of this, however, i hope that it will receive your favorable consideration. after some discussion it was voted that the proposal be referred to the executive committee of the college and reference section for consideration. the meeting then adjourned. reference librarians' round table the meeting of the public library division of the college and reference section was held on the evening of june . it was called to order by edwin h. anderson, who turned it over to miss sarah b. askew of the new jersey public library commission, who acted as chairman for the evening. the first speaker was miss marilla waite freeman, librarian of the goodwyn institute library of memphis, who spoke on scientific management, and the reference department as a bureau of information what we call "reference work" has been a little in disrepute of late, and there has been some discussion as to the amount of time which may legitimately be spent in helping the curious inquirer to learn how many of the louis's died a natural death, or whether helen of troy wore locks of titian red. but it is only in the large library that there can be any limitation of what we call the reference department to the handling of such academic quibbles. it is true that in the large library the technical department, the business branch, the art department may limit and thin the quality of work left to the reference librarian, till she (or he) may feel that only the dry bones of the day's research are hers (or his). but in the small library there is no such limitation, and the reference librarian, who may also be the head librarian and the chief cataloger, may come in touch each day with every sort of human interest, from the eager desire of the office clerk to get back to the soil by the road of raising rice in arkansas or apples in idaho, to the yearning for economic independence and artistic expression in the soul of the girl who comes to pore over books on design. to one who is fully awake to the human side of things, there can never be any dull monotony in the life of the reference librarian. i have often wished i had time--and genius--to write the romance of a reference library. it would cover as many pages, and be almost as thrilling as the thousand-and-one-nights. i wish i had time to tell you, the molly-make-believe episode of goodwyn institute library, or the tale of the telegram from the nicaragua revolution. now in the small library where one reference assistant must be so many things to so many people in the course of one day, there is special need of scientific management of time, labor, methods, resources. fortunately, the reference assistant has few =statistics= to trouble with. the only record that seems essential is that of questions asked and topics looked up. a pad of paper, dated, kept at one's elbow, and questions jotted down almost as they are being asked--this gives an interesting basis for monthly and yearly reports, and makes something to show for the day's work much more interesting than mere figures, and does furnish certain figures, especially if we add, after each topic, approximate number of books, pamphlets and magazines used in getting information or material desired. from these daily sheets interesting deductions can be made, classifications of different kinds and sources of questions asked, what classes of people are users and which are non-users of the library, on what lines the library needs to build up its resources, in what directions it needs to advertise better. red pencil checks may be placed against more significant topics, for quick summarization at the end of the month. if the question is for school or club work, or likely to recur again, take a pencil and small pad, write panama canal tolls or labor laws affecting women, or whatever the subject may be, at the top of the pad, and make rapid note of magazine articles, books, etc., looked up. much time is lost in looking up the same things over and over again, sometimes by one assistant, and sometimes by another. lists jotted roughly down while material is being looked up, or directly after, may be copied by typewriter on catalog cards and filed alphabetically in a special tray of the catalog case, where they will be quickly available for the next call. for debates, the material listed on cards should be grouped roughly under "general," "affirmative" and "negative." it saves time, also, in collecting books on the reserve shelf for a debate, to mark the places by clipping to the page a slip labelled "affirmative" or "negative." of course, for debate work the first aid to scientific management is the use, so far as possible, of the work done by others in such invaluable little manuals as the debaters' hand-book series, and the debate pamphlets of the universities of wisconsin, texas, iowa and others, supplemented by the latest magazine articles in the readers' guide.[ ] [ ] a brief list, entitled "debaters' aids," was distributed in connection with this paper. the same economic principle applies, of course, to every other class of subjects looked up. make use of work done by others, whether in the form of bibliographies, indexes, reports and publications of special organizations, or what not. two small indexes which save much time in the small library are the pittsburgh library debate index and their contemporary biography. though the latter is now ten years old it is still extremely useful to those libraries which are so fortunate as to own copies. another economy of time and money is the using of book-lists printed by other libraries or organizations, checking on them the titles in one's own library, putting the library stamp upon them, and distributing them to the class of users interested. goodwyn institute library has recently done this with the booklet entitled: "what to read on business efficiency," issued by the business book bureau of new york. an important psychological point is always to get one good piece of material before each =researcher= promptly, then other material may be gathered more deliberately. if several people are waiting at once, give each one reference to start on rather than serve one in detail while all others wait their turn. perhaps this is a small and obvious trifle to dwell upon, but it is a bromidium that trifles make success, in reference work as in anything else. returning to the wisdom of using others' work, i must emphasize the importance of collecting the material put out by all sorts of special organizations. we know that every subject now has its literature, from "votes for women" to the extermination of the house fly or the loan shark. and much of this matter, often in pamphlet or leaflet form, is obtainable free or at small cost. frequently such literature is the latest and most authoritative word upon any subject. in our scheme of scientific management, therefore, the small library, perhaps even more than the large, can not afford to do without collecting such literature. the pamphlet collection is indispensable. it means work, but in the end by its live usefulness it saves time. by scientific management and intensive use a small library with a good pamphlet collection can get better results than one three times as large whose resources are not up-to-date and thoroughly made use of. first, a word as to the filing of such material; second, as to sources for securing it. i cannot attempt to offer any new solution to the vexed problem of pamphlet disposal. i will merely state briefly how goodwyn institute library handles its pamphlets. we have found the system of filing in pamphlet boxes most convenient and practicable. a box is lettered with d. c. number or inclusive numbers, and with subject or subjects included, as . agricultural credit. pamphlets are counted as received, but not accessioned. if important, catalog card is made under subject, or author, rarely under both. if of slight or only temporary value, they are merely marked with class number, and placed in box without cataloging. sometimes merely a general catalog card is made to show that the library receives all the publications of an organization, as with the national american woman suffrage association, or with the american national child labor committee. in these cases there would be both author and subject card. any specially important publication of the association would be brought out by separate card. a check on the pamphlet would indicate whether or not it had been cataloged. for the small library which has not time to catalog individual pamphlets, it would be sufficient to make one general card for each group, giving class number and subject heading, as: " immigration; for material (or for additional material) on this subject, see pamphlet collection," or merely, "see also pamphlets." goodwyn institute clips also the local newspapers and a few others for matters of local or special interest, mounts the more valuable clippings on manila sheets, x in size, numbers them, occasionally catalogs an important one, and files them with pamphlets on the same subjects. to keep the collection from becoming obsolete, or occupying too much space, it should be gone over once a year, and old pamphlets and clippings and their cards withdrawn and destroyed. with many constantly changing subjects in agriculture, engineering, current problems, etc., it becomes instinctive with the reference assistant to bring forth first to the would-be investigator the pamphlet box or boxes on that subject, then the more recent magazine articles, and only last the books. in goodwyn institute library the pamphlet collection is supplemented by a vertical file, arranged alphabetically under the same headings as the pamphlets. in this file are placed letters, circulars, typewritten lists, and the like, not advisable to be placed in the pamphlet boxes. a practical plan for indexing this material is a general card on each subject included, to be filed at end of regular cards in cataloging: e. g. "levees; for additional material, see vertical file." for the very small library the vertical file is perhaps the most convenient arrangement for disposing of pamphlets and =all= unbound material in one place. some of the larger libraries bind in inexpensive form all pamphlets which are considered worthy of preservation, but for the small library this seems necessary only in the case of pamphlets of unusual value or size. now as to some of the sources of the pamphlet and ephemeral literature which is so valuable. i can not do better than to remind you again of two lists with which you are probably already familiar. the first is "social questions of today, selected sources of information, compiled by the free public library, newark, n. j.," . it may be obtained from the editor of special libraries, state library, indianapolis, for ten cents. it includes the names and addresses of organizations interested in social questions, such as the american civic association, the russell sage foundation, the vocation bureau of boston, and an index of subjects covered by the publications of these organizations, such as the cost of living, prison reform, sex hygiene, vacation schools. the second list is entitled "the library and social movements; a list of material obtainable free or at small expense." it may be had from the a. l. a. publishing board for five cents. this list includes material on all sorts of sociological questions, from co-operative stores to workingmen's compensation. from these two lists a good working collection of up-to-date, inexpensive pamphlet material on social problems may be obtained. among recent organizations, born since these lists were published in , are the drama league of america, the american commission on agricultural co-operation, the southern sociological congress. all these put out valuable and inexpensive reports and publications. it would be a boon to small, and even large libraries, if the a. l. a. publishing board would father a new list including and enlarging the material of the two lists, and adding the most important new organizations and publications which have since come into being. the recently published index to special libraries, vol. - , makes available, in that indispensable little journal much valuable material on current questions, and sources of information. for all subjects, technical, scientific, historical, sociological, covered by the u. s. government publications, and these subjects are innumerable, a convenient guide to selection is offered by the brief classified price-lists furnished by the superintendent of documents. the suggestions in the little weekly government publications, published by m. e. greathouse at th st., n. w., washington, at fifty cents a year, are also helpful, as are the notes in the a. l. a. booklist, which now lists many government documents. the "interesting things in print" column in public libraries should be carefully scanned, as should the "periodical and other literature" department of the library journal. to get upon the regular mailing list of as many organizations as possible saves much time spent in writing for individual publications. and even where there is a membership fee, as of $ . per year to the drama league of america, for example, it will bring far more valuable returns in twelve months than the same amount expended in books. the first labor of writing for and handling a collection of pamphlet literature seems considerable, but when properly organized its daily up-keep is not difficult and its presence in a library goes far to make possible the scientific management of the queries and problems which come each day to the reference desk. may i rather say the information desk. we librarians are so at home with our own terminology, have talked so long and familiarly of reference desks, reference work, the reference library, that i doubt if we ever realize the foreignness of our language to the shy visitor within our gates. "ask in the reference room" means worse than nothing to him, but the simple legend "information desk" will draw him like the kindly and familiar face of a friend. the idea that a modern library is, or should be, a central bureau of information for its town or city is one that we first have to get thoroughly into our own heads, and then impress upon our public. in the effort to find the simplest and most effective way to present this idea to our memphis public, we tried running the following card in the street cars: what do =you= want to know? you have , books, trade journals, magazines on all subjects, and an information bureau for =your= use absolutely =free= in goodwyn institute library. we were able to make specially advantageous terms with the street car advertising company, whose representative had himself made use of the resources of the library, and we have been running this card, or similarly worded ones, for over a year. the results, sometimes direct, sometimes indirect, have been very interesting. the card has brought us many business men, and other street car users, who, seeing our invitation daily, recall it from the depths of their subconsciousness when they do want to know. the card is often taken quite literally, as in the case of the young russian from odessa, later from st. louis, who read the sign in the street car which brought him from the railway station. he came straight to the library and to the information desk, told his story briefly and succinctly, and asked how he could find a position as house boy, for which he was qualified. the jewish rabbi happened to be in the library at the moment. he called up the head of the jewish charities, who on hearing that the lad was from odessa, said: "why, that is my native place! send him along and i will surely find him something." and he did. another bright-eyed youth, who worked with a moving-picture corporation in the daytime, but had his evenings free, came in to ask if we had d'espuy's "architecture antique." he was overjoyed when he saw it and other folios on the subject, said he was wanting to go on with the study of architecture at night, and had seen our street car card. "that card's a fine stunt," he added. then there was the case of the two young men who had come down the river by boat from iowa, looking for work as extra christmas clerks. they were sent up to us by a policeman, from whom they asked information. we sent them to the y. m. c. a. department of employment, and one of them afterward came back to tell us they had both gotten a job. we do not at all mind being teased a bit about our "employment bureau," so glad are we that the policeman and the man-on-the-street should instantly think of goodwyn institute library when asked for any information which he cannot give. we desire to be regarded as a sort of central clearing house for general information, even when the question is of so primitive and vital a nature as how a man shall earn his next meal, and to this end we take as our motto "nothing human is alien to us." we think it is within our legitimate field to tell the man not that he has come to the wrong place, but to tell him the address of the right place, and sometimes even to give him a note or do a moment's telephoning that will connect him with the right place, and will make him feel that the library's "what do =you= want to know?" means him. the point i wish to emphasize is: never let a man go away without either the information for which he has come, or the knowledge as to where he may find it. this does not mean that we must spend precious time in looking up irrelevant questions, or in attempting to handle matters which some other library or organization could deal with more efficiently. it does mean that it is our business as a bureau of information to know just where that question can be most effectively handled, and then to direct the inquirer there. thus if a man desires a certain address in los angeles, we send him to the cotton exchange, one block away, which has a full line of directories, open to the public; if a certain government monograph which we do not possess, we refer him to the cossitt library, which as a government depository has a full collection of public documents; if other than a very simple legal reference, we refer him to the law library, mentioning its hours and restrictions. if the information desired may be secured by letter, we often give a reader the necessary address and let him write himself. we ought, of course, to save the library's time in this way whenever possible. yet frequently the information or material to be secured would have a future value to the library itself, or to the city, and whenever this is the case, this advantage, together with the reader's grateful appreciation of the library for getting him what he wants when he wants it, surely justifies us in writing the letter ourselves. thus, goodwyn institute library has recently secured much information and literature on smoke abatement experience of other cities, for engineers suddenly forced to apply modern methods by a stringent city ordinance. assistance has been given in the same way to the mississippi valley levee association; to a committee appointed to present a county insanity commission bill to the state legislature; to the city engineer, on the practice of different cities as to grade-crossings and railroad track elevation; again to an individual reader who wished to learn what diseases are native to south carolina in distinction from those supposed to be cured by residence there; to a local manufacturer on the process of making paper from cotton stalks; to a student on the death rate and prevalence of tuberculosis among negroes; to another on the best methods of alfalfa raising in west tennessee. the use of the telephone is encouraged for information needed quickly. if a busy business man wishes to know the name and address of the u. s. consul in peru, the population of guthrie, oklahoma, the meaning of a troublesome phrase in a spanish letter, he appreciates knowing that he can get a prompt reply by calling up the library. the st. joseph library makes this feature of its information service effectively known by attractive blotters and leaflets sent to business men. we are all familiar with the insistent demands of club members and of school children, set sometimes, the former by the club system, and the latter by the school system, to subjects beyond their grasp. of the vexed problem of distributing our crowded hours judiciously among all these demands, miss bacon has written most lucidly in her delightful paper on "what the public wants," in the may ( ) library journal. certainly we do have to learn to discriminate as to the time and attention we give to each demand upon us. yet each is important to the man, woman or child, who makes it, and however briefly and expeditiously we may dispose of it, let us make the questioner feel that he did well to come to us, that we are for the moment concentrating upon his problem, and that we are giving him the best assistance in our power, even if it be only an address, or a telephone number, or the name of the book in which his question will be answered. let me repeat that it is all largely a matter of making our library a clearing house of information, of connecting the man with the answer to his question, rather than of necessarily answering it ourselves. and to this end, and by these means, may the small library be as useful as the large. the next speaker was miss sarah b. ball, librarian of the business branch of the newark free public library, who spoke on what any library can do for the business interests of the town have you ever felt discouraged over the purely potential value of your reference books, because they seem to remain forever potential? have you ever turned the pages of the world almanac and sighed over perfectly good answers which you could give to questions that nobody asks you? every reference librarian present knows what i mean. when is wheat harvested in burmah? who is the secretary of sanitation in cuba? how long does it take a letter to go from new york to melbourne, via vancouver? are grapes more nutritious than plums? what are the dues in the knickerbocker club? what three nations have dominions on which the sun never sets? how many shipwrecks last year on the u. s. coasts? these questions are being asked by somebody and being answered in a fashion by somebody. very often that "somebody" is the editor of the query column in the newspaper. the newspapers of the country have educated the people to turn to them with their questions. how many of those questions could be answered just as well or better by the public library? how often the newspaper itself turns to the public library for the answers? here is truly an unnecessary duplication of work and a loss of time. here is also a high-road to popularity and an opportunity for usefulness to a community clearly seen by newspapers and worth cultivating by public libraries. while we are making laws, librarians might conspire to put through a city ordinance to compel all questioning people to call on the public library as the =first= source of information. as that is manifestly impossible, something must be done to attract the business and trade interests of a town to the public library as a bureau of information. why? because the citizens pay taxes to support an institution--the public library--that they may be, by that institution, helped to become not simply better, but also wiser; not simply wiser, but also better informed; not simply better informed in general, but also better informed in city affairs; not simply in city affairs, but also in the affairs of each industrial unit. in a word, the city supports a library that the library may help it to become more harmonious, better governed and more productive. as the institution is supported for specific purposes, it should not only be prepared to fulfill these purposes; it should also let it be known to all that it is thus prepared. it should let those who support it know that it can not only help one who seeks general culture; but can also help one who seeks knowledge of city management in any of its countless aspects, or knowledge of methods of productive or distributive processes in any of their countless forms. possibly the first thing to do in thus letting its practical powers be known is to introduce into its vocabulary the phrase "business department" or "information department." a wider range of questions comes to a library that uses the words "information" or "business department" instead of "reference department." the words "public library" do not convey to the mind of the average person a suggestion of a tenth of the resources for information that are locked up in the collections of printed things which our cities now maintain. an inquiring newarker once said to me "why should a public library advertise itself? surely everyone knows where it is and that it contains books." "yes," said i, "but, do you yourself know what those books contain? would you go to the library to learn the elevation above sea level of the street corner on which you live, or for the width of the street? would you go there to plan your next business trip by using the maps of the cities you will visit, so that time will not be lost in going from one factory to another? if you are trying to sell a patented ticket punch, do you go to the library for the names of purchasing agents of railroads? if you have lost the address of a business correspondent do you telephone to the library or do you set the whole office force on edge hunting for the lost letter? would you turn to the library for the date of wilson's chicago address, or the launching of a new battleship?" he went away wiser; and left me quite pleased with myself. many public libraries have undertaken the task of collecting manufacturers' catalogs from all parts of the united states. our experience indicates that this is a heavy expense with comparatively slight return. would it not be better to spend the same amount of time and money compiling information about the industries of one's own town? it is a hopeless task to represent adequately the manufacturers of the united states. it is not a hopeless task to compile information about local manufacturers that will prove of great value. no business directory gives the specific information that is a daily need among the business men of a community. the directory gives, for example, a list of paper-box manufacturers, but does not indicate those who make egg boxes, hat boxes, jewelry boxes, etc. it lists the jewelry manufacturers, but is useless if you want the names of those who make -karat wedding rings. many manufacturers and dealers are sending to distant cities, through habit, for articles made equally well and at the same cost within their own city, for no other reason than that they lack detailed information of the products of their own city. in some places the board of trade is the natural clearing house for this information. this is as it should be. but what about the towns that are without boards of trade or whose boards of trade are not equipped to give this information? it is safe to say that there are not ten cities in the united states where one can find on file for the use of the public complete and specific information about the industries of that city. to secure this information is not an easy task. it requires circular letters, follow-up letters and possibly personal calls; but the value of thus creating an interest in the public library among those citizens who are paying the heaviest taxes, coupled with the real importance of the information itself, makes it an undertaking of peculiar value to a tax-supported public library. fortunately the smaller the city the fewer the manufacturers and the easier the task, so that here indeed is a piece of work that may well be undertaken by libraries of many towns and cities. we have grown in newark, from being the conventional and rather academic library, to one that has quite large sources of civic and manufacturing and commercial and financial information. the question now is, how shall we get the people to realize the change? we are somewhat in the position of a dry goods store which has transformed itself into a department store, but is visited largely by those who seek only dry goods. we need to advertise our groceries, hardware, furniture and china. if library architecture would only permit of show windows, as do all our newark branches, the task would be greatly simplified. what a show window has meant to the business branch can be seen any day. a passerby is first attracted by the bright color of a map showing the london subway system. he pauses to read the old familiar words: "trafalgar square," "tottenham court road" and "ludgate circus." beside it is a new directory of the clothing trade, or a book on insurance, a pamphlet on civil service, or a new trolley guide. finally, his curiosity aroused over the kind of a business house that can have such diversified interests, he looks up at the gold-lettered sign on the window and reads with puzzled expression, "business branch and reading room of the free public library." often he peers curiously in to see what kind of people are inside, and, seeing a room full of men, comes boldly in and asks for--a directory of spuyten duyvil, or some other obscure place. the window display has broadened his idea of the resources of the public library, which he had hitherto thought of as having nothing to interest him. where a library can afford it there are many advantages in establishing a business department. it keeps together closely related subjects, it is very helpful to business men, and it helps in advertising. if a permanent business department is impossible, there is much to be gained by a temporary showing of all that can be gathered relating to business. all libraries have more of this material than we perhaps realize, surely more than the public realize. by bringing it together and displaying well-printed signs concerning it we are following sound advertising principles. the man who sees a sign in the library, "our business is answering questions," will not be so absurdly apologetic over "bothering you" with his wants, and will use the resources of the library to better advantage than the man who thinks it is only for lending books. other signs that may be used with good effect are these: "have you an idea? patent it. the library will tell you how." "you support this library. do you use it?" "why guess about things? your public library can give you the facts. telephone or write." "a valuable export trade is yours if you follow the consular reports in the public library." "follow the work of the legislature. the bills are on file at the public library." framed signs of the library as bureau of information, placed in public places, are good permanent advertisements. personal visits to the places where questions are being asked--the post office, the railroad, telegraph, newspaper and express offices, and the suggestion that those in charge send to the public library all inquiries they do not wish to be troubled with or can not satisfy, will turn many people toward the library. if it is the item of expense that stands in the way of business work in your library, have you considered possible economies in other lines? why not discontinue a certain fashion magazine and add a financial one? turn down an order for a history of the court of queen anne and buy a good history of wall street. get along without that valuable but expensive book on the ancient civilization of the egyptians and buy a directory of the manufacturers of the world. deny your worthy scholars the latest commentary on plato and get your business men the latest book on accountancy. sacrifice an historical or classical atlas and secure the best maps of your own locality. decide against the portuguese dictionary and buy a cable code. cancel the order for so-and-so's travels in british guiana and subscribe for the official railway guide. here are suggestions for a few resources to be used in meeting business inquiries of a general order, such as come to a library that advertises itself as a bureau of information, and some things we have found useful in business work: . the latest edition of the city directory, directories of local towns, of the capitol of the state, and of the largest cities of the united states. an exchange of directories one year old with other public libraries has proved quite satisfactory. it increases your resources, and the fact that you ask for year-old directories from local business houses for the purpose of exchange is a good advertisement of the library's business side. the cost of sending a -lb. directory to any part of the united states by book-rate express is about fifty cents. if you cannot afford directories, get telephone books from the american telephone and telegraph co., new york city, at prices ranging from to cents. many of these contain classified sections. a classified telephone directory of new york may be obtained free by writing to mr. reuben j. donnelly, fulton street, new york city. . the very best local maps. to spend $ on a real estate atlas may seem extravagant; but such atlases are usually issued at intervals of to years, and will prove one of the most useful sources of local information. . the official railway guide. if the library cannot afford to pay $ . a year for it, get a month-old copy from the local railway office. it contains the most complete list of u. s. towns in print and is of value as a gazetteer and in many other ways. . the western union a. b. c. and lieber cable codes are the only general codes in use. they cost about $ . . . a table for displaying catalogs of business book publishers. this will increase the use of business books and lead to many good recommendations by visitors. . a monthly magazine, "business news," of the business book bureau of new york. it indexes articles in the principal business magazines and lists the important new business books. . a typewriter for the free use of visitors. the local office of a typewriter company may place one in the library as an advertisement. . reports of transactions on the new york stock exchange or of transactions in local securities. local brokers' offices will consider it a good advertisement to place these on file. . trolley guides. fifty cents spent on these each year will fortify the library against all attacks in that line. . thomas's register of american manufacturers, price $ . . with this in hand you can say that, "the public library can give you names of pill-box manufacturers in all parts of the u. s., the name of the man who makes office furniture in marietta, ohio, or the place where rubberset products are manufactured." . kelly's directory of merchants, manufacturers and shippers of the world. price s. this enables you to say, "the public library can give you the name of german manufacturers of mirrors, the dealers in lacquered ware in tokio, the name of a bank in warsaw, a forwarding agent in sydney or the express facilities of coburg." with a simple and inexpensive equipment, somewhat like that included in these eleven items, backed by wide advertising in the local press, a public library can attract the business men of a town to use the institution they support, an institution which should be turned to by everyone in the municipality as the very first source of information. miss edith kammerling, head of the civics room of the chicago public library, presented most ably the work which could be done by any library in the civics line, under the title a civics room in a medium-sized town perhaps the best method of indicating the scope and material of a civics room in a medium-sized library is to describe what are the essentials of a civics room in a large city, permitting the adaptation of such features of the latter to the former as the locality and conditions may suggest. a year ago last month a room was opened in the chicago public library which is known as the civics room. the legend on the door announces "sociology, municipal affairs, business, economics, political science, and education." at first people were very curious to see what the civics room was like, and many there were of the idle curious who came to see what we had, but as the subjects dealt with were not what are generally considered as sources of amusement and entertainment, this patronage gradually ceased until now we have only the earnest, studious class. the work required in assembling and taking care of the material is such as to demand the most concentrated efforts and the most specialized training upon the part of the librarian. she must be familiar with the great issues of the day and must be able to look ahead and assemble material where she sees that a topic is engaging the attention of public-spirited men. the material which is stored in the civics room, therefore, is less in the form of books than in the way of pamphlets, magazine articles, and newspaper clippings--that which is usually regarded as ephemera. the latest material is not to be found in books, for by the time a subject has been before the public, has been talked about, assimilated, and finally published in book form it is practically an old subject. one of the first considerations for the librarian is where to obtain this material. our civics room has a card index of institutions and societies that are interested in the subjects that we cover in our work, and since we are on the mailing list of most of the associations we are pretty well supplied with their publications. the national municipal review, published quarterly by the national municipal league, has a section devoted to new pamphlet material and is a great help in learning of new publications. other journals of particular value are: the survey, with its information desk, the municipal engineer, the american city, and the american political science review. for magazine articles, of course we have the readers' guide, but most of our magazine material is in the form of separates. the branches of our library return innumerable magazines to the main library and these are immediately dismembered and the articles of value and interest to us are taken out and treated as if they were pamphlets. our newspaper clippings are obtained from foreign and domestic newspapers which our reading room receives daily. representative material is obtained in this way from all sections of the country. the pamphlets, magazine separates, and newspaper clippings, together with a small, well-selected collection of books and a goodly supply of current magazines upon economic and sociological subjects constitute the material of the room. if you were to visit our civics room you would see one entire side of the room lined with pamphlet boxes. each box represents a subject. collected in one box are pamphlets, magazine separates, and newspaper clippings. the patron is not compelled to read antiquated books in studying his subject, nor is he compelled to go through the readers' guide and wait for his magazines to be brought to him. here, all gathered together, is the latest material to be had. each pamphlet is classified; each magazine separate is made into permanent form by being stapled in a manila folder with source, title, date, and class number on the cover; each newspaper clipping is classified with source and date and placed in a large manila envelope. we use the wisconsin legislative reference bureau's expansion of the 's of the dewey classification for classifying our material. selections from the contents of a typical box will show what kind of material is to be had. the subject is the recall: address of pres. taft at the banquet of the swedish-american republican league. d cong. d. sess. sen. doc. . mar. , . address on the recall of judges and the recall of judicial decisions at the session of the annual meeting of the ill. state bar assoc. apr. , . election and recall of federal judges; speech of hon. robt. l. owen. d cong. st sess. sen. doc. . july , . federal recall and referendum. springfield republican. dec. , . how the "recall of decisions" would protect the weak from injustice. chicago tribune. apr. , . if recall ever comes, judges will cause it. dallas news. june , . importance of an independent judiciary. ind. apr. , . judicial decisions and public feeling; address by elihu root. d cong. d sess. sen. doc. . jan. , . a judicial oligarchy. century mag. oct., . the judicial recall. century mag. may, . the judicial recall a fallacy of constitutional government; speech by rome g. brown. d cong. d sess. sen. doc. . aug. , . judicial recall is turned down. baltimore american. july , . judicial tyranny and the remedy; speech by isaac r. sherwood. may , . life terms and the judicial recall. chicago american. july , . nullifying the law by judicial interpretation. atlantic. apr., . oakland defeated recall nearly to . san francisco chronicle. apr. , . recall for all but judges urged. new york sun. jan. , . recall in oregon. washington post. sept. , . recall in seattle. mcclure's. oct., . recall of judges. ind. aug. , . recall of judges. editorial rev. nov., . recall of judges; address by james manahan. july , . recall of judges; arguments in opposition by mr. rome g. brown. july , . recall of judges a rash experiment. century. august, . recall of judges and judicial decisions; speech by hon. augustus gardner. apr. , . recall of public servants; speech by hon. jonathan bourne. aug. , . restricting the judiciary. chicago daily news. june , . right of the people to rule; address of theodore roosevelt. mar. , . seeks substitute for judicial recall. indianapolis star. aug. , . study on the recall of presidents. chicago tribune. sept. , . where the recall is justified. international. dec., . wisconsin assembly bill; the interpellation or recall of commissions and other state officers. jan. , . wilson explains recall. springfield republican. sept. , . we keep the public informed of what is taking place in the illinois legislature by having a complete file of the house and senate bills and joint resolutions. these are carefully indexed so that if a patron asks for the bills relating to non-partisan elections, by turning to our index and looking under municipalities--non-partisan elections, the bills are easily found. likewise the ordinances that are passed by the city council are treated in the same way. we have found from our experience covering a year's work that the subjects that have been most used are as follows: initiative and referendum recall woman suffrage immigration direct election of u. s. senators minimum wages child labor woman and labor employers' liability housing unemployment labor unions syndicalism central banking system rural credit socialism single tax income tax high cost of living international arbitration public morals moving pictures civil service commission form of government smoke nuisance playgrounds and parks city planning garden cities six-year term for president child welfare juvenile courts industrial education parcel post business industrial efficiency advertising public utilities noise billboards non-partisan elections some of the questions selected at random, show the demands made upon the room. a committee of the city council is appointed to investigate the question of public service corporation commissions, and the library receives a call for material upon the question "whether it is better to have public utilities regulated by state public service commissions, or to have them regulated by the city council." when the investigation of the telephone rates is to be made the history of the telephone investigations carried on by previous councils is looked up. upon investigating the advisability of electrifying the railway terminals, statistics are demanded showing the amount of damage that is done by the smoke of the railroads in the city limits. only the live, up-to-date material can be of any value to these city officials, and a knowledge of what other cities have done relative to these questions is necessary. newspaper men who are doing such excellent work in keeping the people informed about what improvements are being made to better the conditions in the city, demand a great deal of a civics room. for example: a newspaper man writing a series of articles upon how to improve chicago, wishing to write an article on housing, sends in a call for information regarding schmidlapp houses, and it is our business to get him the material. again he wishes to show how to reduce the cost of living, and sends in a request for information concerning the conveyance of produce from the farmer to the consumer by means of the interurban cars. or again he wishes to inspire the public with the desire to beautify the city with window boxes and flowers and he wishes to know what european cities are doing along this line. civic associations and women's clubs are constantly making demands upon our resources. such questions as: what material have you from the budget exhibits of other cities? statistics showing the death rate in garden cities as compared with the death rate in cities where the population is congested. the provision of giving the wages of prisoners to the support of the family. public comfort stations. city planning and garden cities. the question of working women's wages in its relation to the social evil was studied, during the recent investigation of the illinois vice commission, by students and women's clubs. students find our room a boon. they are able to get material there which they are not able to find anywhere else. this spring students at the university of chicago were working upon a debate on panama canal tolls, and they were so eager to use our material that they would stay all day, leaving in relays to eat while a few were left behind to guard the material. a civics room in a medium-sized town may be made one of the most important assets of the library if it can be arranged that the person in charge does not have to divide her attention with the main work of the other departments of the library. if the staff is limited it would be better to have the civics room situated in a centralized locality, such as the state library, with easy communication with the smaller libraries. these could have an index of what the state library has, and when the need would arise the librarian could communicate her wants to the state librarian and the material could be sent as a package library upon short notice. and so we find that we can be of assistance to the members of the city council, women's clubs, civic organizations, newspaper men and students. the future of the work is very bright; new lines of work open up; new opportunities for service present themselves. it is in this work that one can be alive; he can feel that he is a part of the great movement toward the betterment of his city and its people. dr. william h. allen, director of the bureau of municipal research, of new york, made the closing talk of the evening, taking as his subject, "what a city should expect and receive from a library." he made a plea that librarians as individuals should stand for something in the community, should take their place as persons in the affairs of the day as well as see to it that their institutions performed the work to be expected of a library. he also laid emphasis on the fact that the general public did not know of the work being done by libraries and the possibilities of further service and urged that discussions of such work should be given place in the general magazines and newspapers as well as library magazines. he strongly advocated individual thinking, the doing of that which the individual librarian felt to be the best for a given community whether it be in line with general library thought or not, claiming that individuality of action and thought made for a stronger and better administration even if such individuality led to criticism upon occasion. professional training section the meeting was called to order wednesday evening, june , by the chairman, mr. frank k. walter. the first paper was presented by miss mary w. plummer on specialization and grading in library schools although it is twenty-five years since library schools began, one may say that in a sense they are still in the experimental stage. and to say this is really praise, for when schools cease to experiment they are running along safely in ruts and have lost much of their vitality. the same period has been one of great expansion in library affairs,--not only has the country been covered with library buildings where before, to use a western expression, "there was nothing but sagebrush," but forms of library work and extension have sprung up that were undreamed of twenty-five years ago, new methods have had to be found to meet emergencies and new conditions, social, industrial, and educational, and the library or library commission without several new ideas and aspirations per month is not thought to be doing its full duty. add to all this progress the reactions that are going on, in library practice, in library architecture, etc., each a faithful reflection of some new light or of some old light looked at a second time, and the scene is one of activity paralleled, so far as the present writer knows, in no other field of endeavor, unless it be that of general education. several of the schools carry on an exercise called "survey of the field," merely to keep their classes in sight of this movement, and once a fortnight is not too often for such a class to meet--there is always fresh material for discussion. a school, however, must experiment within reason and along its own lines. because some small libraries and new branches are taking down their partitions or building without them is not sufficient cause for the advocacy of the practice in the schools; the much mooted question of the use of the accessions-book must remain for some time a mooted question in the schools--as long, in fact, as the conservative and radical libraries so evenly balance each other on the subject. it is not for the schools to practice or to teach library innovations--their business is to watch innovations and their results and report to their students. it is open to the school, however, not only to watch but to forecast, to some extent. by dint of observing and listening, one who is not in the actual game often sees what is really happening or going to happen before some, at least, of the participants are entirely aware of it. an instance lies at hand in the subject of cataloging. up to the present, this has been one of the backbone courses in every school-schedule, though the schools report regularly to their students the progress making in co-operative cataloging and the use of printed cards. as this use extends, it becomes more and more evident that cataloging is to be concentrated in a few expert hands and that most librarians are not going to have to be catalogers any more than the head of a commercial concern has to know by heart the price of every article in his stock, or than a manufacturer has to be able to do at a moment's notice what his expert subordinates are doing. for the present, libraries still exist which make their own cards, and they still call on the schools regularly for librarians who can catalog, and hope rather than expect to get them. for, in spite of the fact that the schools still teach every student to catalog, as far as the student material will admit, students of their own volition seldom choose to be catalogers. whether they too have sensed the fact that a change is coming and that the librarianship of the future will have more to do with the inside of the book and its application to the individual, with the handling rather than the making of tools, or whether they simply do not like what seems to them the probable monotony of cataloging, i do not know; but i think the schools will bear me out in the statement that cataloging as a specialty is not the first choice of many students. in view of these facts, i am ready to hazard the prediction that within ten years cataloging will be given in the schools as an elective; and that instead of making catalogs the majority of students will be led to consider the few main principles of cataloging and then taught better how to use and how to criticise catalogs. every instructor in cataloging knows that there are students whom it is a waste of time and vitality to try to make into catalogers, and every year good people go out from the schools who should never be engaged as catalogers and whom the schools recommend only for their qualifications for other work. suppose we concentrated our teaching ability in this line on the students who _would_ make good catalogers and who would elect the study--we should be working with the grain and not across it, the cataloging of the whole country would be uniformly well done instead of open to well-founded criticism in places, as it is now, and the time and strength of the instructor would be saved as well as those of the student whose forte lies in another direction. another result would probably follow very quickly--more men would go into the library schools. i am told that the detail of cataloging seems to a man too much like making tatting, and one can easily understand that a person competent and eager to handle large matters or to fill an active administrative post would fret over anything involving as much minutiæ as the making of catalog cards. however, while libraries in general are making their own cards, and while the smaller libraries have to have librarians who can turn their hands to anything, cataloging as well as the rest, it is unsafe for the schools to send out students without this part of the training. it is only as library conditions point overwhelmingly toward cataloging as a specializing study that the schools can change. librarians can help very greatly in the matter of specialization by encouraging it and employing specialists for special work wherever possible. without depreciating in the least the value of an attractive face and an agreeable manner and of taste in dress, in library work as elsewhere, i may perhaps be allowed to put forward the opinion that the librarian who is choosing a cataloger should not be unduly swayed by these to the exclusion of the other requirements. accuracy, legibility, knowledge of books, ability in research and a taste for it, all go to the making of a good cataloger, and it is discouraging for a school to see the graduate who possesses these qualifications passed over in favor of one who may have a pleasanter address but who can not do the work half so well. and women librarians are swayed by these considerations almost as much as men. the school can hardly be said to blame in such cases--it can only sorrowfully shake its head, knowing that if there is any discredit to be cast upon any one later, a great part of it will probably fall upon the school. setting aside cataloging as a specialty in the days to come, to what shall we devote the large place it has occupied in all the general curricula? it is easy to see that with printed cards and expert service, catalog cards can be fuller in information, can be critically annotated, perhaps, can be made more often for analyticals, subject and author, and that the use of the catalog by the library assistant can be much more constant and more discriminating. some time can be given in the curriculum to selecting from the catalog, securing from the shelves, examining and comparing the books on a given subject, with the result that the student can get a more thorough knowledge of its literature, greater facility in the use of a valuable tool, and may become more generally intelligent for the purpose of the selection and buying of books, and for recommending or the contrary. classification and the study of subject-headings are in themselves so broadening, furnish so good an exercise of the reasoning powers, and afford such fine views of the inter-relations of fields of knowledge, that i doubt if they can ever or ought ever to be set aside as special studies. the study of works of reference, however, offers so large and comprehensive a field that it seems to need division; and this brings me to the other subject of my title, that of grading in the schools. probably no one thing has made teaching more difficult, than the wide range of age and experience among the students. in the same class may occur and do occur continually the girl of twenty without much reading beyond high school and college requirements and the summer novel (unless she has fortunately grown up in a cultivated family with the habit of good reading and of discussing books), and the man or woman of from thirty to forty with a knowledge of books, an experience of life and society, and of thoughtful mind, who may have been successful in teaching or in some other profession; and in between range students of all degrees of cultivation, varieties of experience, and types of education. the training fitted for the first class wastes much of the time of the student at the other extreme, and if it be adapted to that extreme may be too strong or too complicated a mixture for the youngest student. grading would be expensive, for it would mean more teachers or more specialized teachers. in some of the schools the classes are not large enough to admit of so costly a proceeding; yet without grading, under the conditions described, the school belongs where the ungraded school belongs in the scheme of general education--it is delivering a scattering fire that may or may not hit its object. the entrance examination has been the device employed for unifying student-material in some schools, and it is much better than any other means, it seems to me; but though it may show what is the greatest common divisor of the candidates in the way of education and offer a definite point of departure for instruction, those who examine the papers see such differences, quite apart from the mere answers to the questions, as warn them that they are about to deal with a very varied assortment of intellects, a wide range of cultivation, and with necessities ranging from those of the steady, plodding follower who will never go further than an average assistantship to those of the born administrator or scholar. there is, to be sure, in such a class great benefit for the younger and less experienced students from contact with the others, from discussions that are a little over their heads, but, all the same, teaching addressed to the maturer intellect leaves the other with gaps unfilled, while teaching brought down to the level required by youth and inexperience gets the older student nowhere for the time being. the process is a sort of hitching along that should not be necessary in professional or vocational schools. suppose that grading be practicable so far as money and teachers are concerned. where should lines be drawn? often the younger person has the more flexible as well as more open mind and the older student may be a little set and may have ceased to take in readily new ideas. how to distinguish the students who can receive and assimilate readily the best and most that can be given? i should say that perhaps a month might have to be spent in making the division by actual testing of the students in class together. with this secured, two curricula might be offered, one prepared for the needs of each class with appropriate methods of teaching, and offering varied proportions of the same subjects. and here i revert to the teaching of reference work. for the higher grade it would be more inclusive, more difficult, dealing more with books in foreign languages, with books on unusual and recondite subjects, such as would be found in large reference or college libraries, while the lower grade might be adapted to the more elementary work to be done in small libraries or in branches. the "moral" of this plan lies largely in the application of it. if the large reference or college library could be deflected from its main object, the securing of a competent reference assistant, by a sunny smile on the part of a lower grade student, the school's work in preparing the better student would go for naught so far as that library was concerned, and if this happened several times it would result in a confusion of values in the minds of the students. a + a sunny smile - a knowledge of the books would seem to be more than equal to b + a thorough reference equipment - a sunny smile. we may paraphrase here a well-known saying by asserting that, taking all things together, a librarian who can make his own choice of assistants gets the assistants he deserves, with the further assertion that the word personality, as often used now, does not get its full meaning; we forget that it consists not only of what one looks like and sounds like and apparently feels like but of all that one has made one's own out of the realm of knowledge, and all that one has assimilated and made profitable from one's experience. the charge that the one year's general course is too full would probably become less true if or when grading was adopted. only those subjects would need be given to a grade and those amounts of a subject which the students were capable of profiting by and the time saved could be used in more effective ways. there is a very general desire to study administration among both older and younger students. so far as this means covering the whole routine of a library, with lectures on library relationships, management, etc., a course can easily be given; the difficulty arises when students wish to go out as administrators on the strength of such preparation alone; and when library boards send to the schools for students to fill administrative positions and expect the training to ensure administrative ability which, under the circumstances, can not be guaranteed. no matter how friendly may be the attitude of the library connected with a school, it is hardly willing to turn over any of its administrative work to students, nor could it be expected to do so. the ideal thing, of course, would be for the school itself to own a small library as a laboratory in which students could be tested for administrative ability under supervision. but this, too, would take money. when one sees the splendid endowment of a school of journalism, a school of technology, etc., one cannot help hoping that some day a school of librarianship may be endowed which may employ the best of teachers and plenty of them, have its own ample collections, adapted to its needs, and establish its own library as a laboratory in which it may try experiments. i have not yet touched upon the kind of specialization of which we have heard most in late years--the kind to fit students to be librarians of special libraries. i do not believe that the most energetic critic of the library schools would require them to teach engineering, commercial methods, law and medicine. a demand there certainly is from business houses and manufactories for librarians, but that is not enough for the schools. there must be a corresponding demand from persons wishing to be trained for such places. this, so far as i can learn, has not made itself felt. when applicants begin to come to the schools saying, "i intend to go into an applied science library" (or "an insurance library") "and i want to be trained for that work and that only," then the schools will have to provide such training or declare definitely that that is not a part of their field. until such a demand arises from would-be students, it would be foolish for a school which has plenty of demand for general training and certain well-defined extensions of it to go outside this province. a committee of the special libraries association, i learn, is investigating the matter of preparation for special library positions, and it is to be hoped that there may be a very thorough inquiry, and that the committee will state definitely just what the association wants and what it believes to be proper training for such positions. then the existing schools can decide whether or not they can give such preparation. meantime, a suggestion that institutes of technology might take up this special technical work and commercial schools the business library courses, etc., may be worth considering. it has been suggested that the schools specialize among themselves, and to some extent that has come about naturally; for the school with especially good resources and unusual facilities for teaching a given subject, such as legislative reference or work with children, if it makes known its advantages, is very likely to attract the student who wishes to follow that line of work. other reasons, however, often weigh more heavily--the location of a school, the personnel of the faculty, a smaller tuition fee, the general reputation and advancement of its graduates, etc.; so that any school may be called upon to give some special work of which perhaps it is not the best exponent. it cannot send the student elsewhere willy-nilly, and it does its best to give him what is wanted. as schools increase in number, a classification of them according to curricula is likely to follow, and this difficulty may be lessened. even so, there is always the danger to be guarded against that students trained along one line may, through force of circumstances, take positions requiring a kind of training which they have not had. it would be impossible for a mining engineer to do the work of a mechanical engineer and vice versa, but in the work of an average library the cataloger and reference assistant and children's librarian must often change places, and any one of them, rather than be without a position, would as a rule try to do the work of the others. if all have had general training, this would not matter so much, but without that there would be considerable loss of efficiency. in bringing this heterogeneous paper to an end--a paper which claims to be nothing more than a sort of thinking aloud on some of the problems confronting the schools, i wish to state some conclusions that i feel myself coming to: . that we need more good schools. . that they need to send out a larger number of trained people. . that we need longer, more thorough, and more systematic courses. . that with the larger schools some effort at grading is desirable. . that the schools would do well to get together and make a comparative study of their curricula, and their resources and facilities for special subjects, and map out tentatively a division of the field. this, while not binding upon any school, might serve for guidance, but no school should monopolize any one subject unless it is the only school having proper facilities for giving it. miss corinne bacon read a paper entitled co-operation of libraries with library schools before beginning to talk of the ways in which libraries might co-operate to better advantage with library schools, it is but fair to acknowledge gratefully that many libraries are already co-operating with us in a way that often must tax severely their time and patience. in behalf of the drexel institute library school, i thank most heartily those libraries that, regardless of the inconvenience to themselves, allow our students to go to them for the practice work that is so valuable to half-fledged librarians. and in voicing the gratitude of drexel, i feel that i am giving utterance to the feelings of every other school that sends out its students in the same way. we can give our students but two weeks practice work outside of philadelphia, because our school year is so short. perhaps it would be well to lengthen the year by two weeks, in order that the term of work might be lengthened. there are three things that it seems to me the schools may properly ask of the libraries: advance practice work; direct criticism; a living wage for assistants. ( ) advance practice work--i mean by this work done in libraries prior to any study of library science. as a rule, the student with a little practical experience gets far more from a library course than one not so equipped. directors of schools often advise work in advance, but, as far as i know, few schools require it. pratt institute begins with practical work in the pratt library. the difficulties in the way of requiring this work are many. it would bear heavily upon the libraries; it would be an added expense to students living at a distance from good libraries; it would not necessarily prove the applicant's fitness or unfitness for library work, as she might fail at the kind of work she was set to do, and yet be capable of success on some other line. yet, on the whole, this would be a better test of fitness than all the questions we directors hurl at kindly and well-meaning friends or former instructors of our would-be students. don't we ask too many questions as to personality from those whose answers often carry little weight? why should we not accept all who measure up to a certain physical and mental standard, without troubling our heads so much as to whether they are ideally fit for library work? it would bring us more in line with the professional schools. moreover, there are almost as many kinds of library work as there are of people! the chance to work in a real library before beginning the course of study would often clarify the student's ideas about library work, even more than it would clarify the director's ideas about the would-be student. we would have, perhaps, fewer applicants who are not very strong but who "=love= books." sometimes i have wondered whether it would not be well to abandon entrance examinations and require instead a health certificate from a physician, a certificate that six months' satisfactory work had been done in his library from a librarian, and a statement that the applicant had read the english bible through at least three times (this last for its influence on english prose style!). ( ) direct criticism. "indirect criticism" was perhaps the toughest thing in the advanced cataloging course in my honored alma mater, and indirect criticism is one of the most trying things that we teachers of library science have to undergo. librarians can help us by giving us their criticism of our methods and of our students at first-hand. we have had more or less direct criticism--we would like more. we have been told (a) that our graduates are not so valuable to certain libraries as their own apprentices. of course they are not, at first, but they should be more valuable later. (b) that they are wedded to library school methods. i believe there is less justice in this criticism than there was some years ago. (c) that our schools are not "laid out and conducted in accordance with recommendations from experts in pedagogy." we plead guilty. (d) that the schools "almost inevitably tend to exalt technique and routine." i do not think that we mean to do this. we know that culture and gumption are more important than any amount of knowledge of technique and routine, but we expect our students to finish their cultural studies (so far as such studies =can= be finished) before coming to us, and we can not teach gumption. it is heaven-born. we exist largely for the purpose of teaching technique and routine but never for one moment do we mean to exalt them over the weightier matters of the law. i have gone a little out of the way to answer these few direct criticisms. some of us have profited by them. give us more. we would like direct rather than indirect criticism of our graduates. unfavorable comments on training in general, or on the training of a particular school, do not take the place of direct criticism of individuals. librarians would be doing a kindness by writing to the school from which they had a trained assistant who was lacking in ways that reflected on her training and stating plainly what the defects were, so that the school might profit by the knowledge. then, too, librarians would often save themselves trouble by co-operating with the schools to the extent of writing for the record of a graduate whom they think of engaging. many do this, but not all. a librarian or trustee may select an assistant at a conference on account of her good looks and pleasant manners, and when he finds out (it is usually a "he" who makes this error of judgment) that she is not all his fancy painted her, he blames the school that trained her. the school could have told him perhaps, if asked, wherein she was lacking. ( ) a living wage. this is the most important of the three points in which we wish for co-operation. it is getting to be a serious question as to whether women of ability can afford to go into library work. we do not expect luxuries, but to do good work we must keep fit. we need rooms that admit plenty of fresh air and we need nourishing food. we are obliged to dress fairly well. we ought to go to library meetings, and trustees do not usually pay the way of the assistants with the smaller salaries. recreation is a necessity if we are to keep sane. but how can we afford to travel, or even to see a play or to buy a book, on the salaries many of us get? i was asked a few weeks ago to supply a college library with a cataloger who must be a library school graduate knowing french and german and the salary offered was $ a month. if a woman ate poor food, she might be able to save enough out of $ to pay for her washing--only she couldn't afford to buy any clothes to be washed. she could never see a play, hear an orchestra, or buy a book. a good cook, on the other hand, would have no difficulty in getting $ or $ a month =and maintenance=, which would be equivalent to a salary of at least $ or $ a month. moreover, the cook would not be expected to dress as well as the cataloger (though, as a matter of fact, her sunday clothes would probably be more costly) or to attend conventions. the case i have mentioned is by no means an isolated one. a good-looking girl with pleasant manners, who could understand french, german, spanish and italian over the telephone, was asked for by a large city library that proposed to pay about $ a month. another college library recently wanted a college and library school graduate with experience and various other qualifications for $ a year. now if an =experienced= woman with such an education can't get more than $ a year in library work, the sooner she leaves it for something else the better. a special library belonging to a leading institution in a large city was looking for a woman to reclassify and catalog its collection, but seemed unwilling to pay even $ a month. this is not intended as a diatribe against the librarian employer. the trustees and the taxpayers need education along the line of library salaries. libraries need larger appropriations for salaries. we have passed through a period where method was exalted, we seem to be passing through a period where a fine building is the prime necessity. but after all, a library means primarily plenty of books that are worth while and assistants that know enough to get them into the hands of the right people. and we can not cultivate efficient assistants on less than a living wage. do not misunderstand me. i do not mean to imply that a green library school graduate should leap at once into a high-salaried position. yet the comparison sometimes made with the doctor or lawyer, who are so long in gaining a foot-hold, seems to me unfair. lawyers and doctors who are good for much, make big money after a while. it is the exceptional librarian who ever gets a large salary. therefore it is not fair to expect her to spend so many years earning little or nothing as does the doctor or lawyer. i have spoken particularly of salaries for women. salaries for men in library work are usually too low, but i have dwelt on the women's salaries because women are discriminated against, not alone in libraries, but in most kinds of work done by women. the working-woman of today asks no favor because she is a woman. she does ask equal pay with men for equally good work. i do not mean to over-emphasize the money side of library work, even though i think the "missionary" side of it has been over-emphasized. why is a shelf-lister any more of a missionary than a bookkeeper in john wanamaker's store? why is any librarian any more of a missionary than the editor of a great daily, or than a busy surgeon, or many other folks that might be mentioned? we librarians serve those who know more than we, who are better than we--we are "just folks" like all the rest, equally worthy, if we give good measure in our work, of a living wage. we of the schools ask of the libraries we try to serve that they send us criticisms of our graduates, that they try them out, and that they pay them, if found efficient, that living wage without which the best work is impossible. discussion of both papers followed, after which was read the report of the committee on methods of publicity for library schools the committee on methods of publicity respectfully reports to the professional training section as follows: at the time of the mid-winter meeting at chicago the members of this committee met and after consultation with the secretary of the a. l. a. determined upon a procedure which was carried out as follows: it was deemed wise to make an effort to reach the students in the colleges and universities through the publication of an article in each of the periodicals published in the various colleges. one form of letter was framed for co-educational institutions, one form for use at men's colleges and one form for use at women's colleges. these were mimeographed and mr. utley, who had already prepared a list of college publications, mailed the letter to over publications. the letter was in no sense an advertisement of library schools; it was rather an attempt to set forth facts relative to the opportunities within the library profession. it called attention to the existence of the various library schools and referred the interested student to the college librarian or to the secretary of the a. l. a. although the committee flattered itself it had produced a helpful and interesting letter, it cannot learn that it was reprinted to any considerable extent nor that it resulted in interesting many students in the profession. the committee is informed that in many, if not in most, of the educational institutions of the country there are groups of persons interested in vocational training. it is therefore recommended that this publicity work be continued, but that the approach for the publication of the article and for the local use of it be made through the persons or groups in each institution which are particularly interested in vocational training. in most cases these persons have an established channel of publicity and can reach the students and the publications better than they can be reached through the direct attack heretofore employed. respectfully submitted, carl h. milam, m. s. dudgeon, josephine a. rathbone, committee on methods of publicity. june , . the following "account of the work of the library school round table for and ," by mr. p. l. windsor, was read by miss frances simpson. account of the winter meetings of library school instructors in january, , and , there were held in chicago, meetings of library school directors and instructors for the discussion of topics connected with library school work. while at first thought it might seem that such discussions should form a part of the programs of this, the professional training section, nevertheless, the meetings have evidently justified themselves and are likely to continue. members of the faculties of only the generally recognized library schools have attended these meetings; that is, the plans of the meetings do not contemplate the attendance of instructors in summer library schools or instructors in training classes conducted by public libraries. this limitation on the number of people taking part in these meetings was desired, first, because we who arranged the meetings wished to discuss problems belonging primarily to our own special work and not to attempt the larger field which properly belongs to the professional training section; and second, because we wished the meetings to be sufficiently small in numbers and the participants to be sufficiently specialized in interest to insure informal and frank discussion. minutes of these meetings of library school faculties have included copies of reports presented and in some cases have included abstracts of discussions. copies have been sent to each school. some of the topics discussed would be of no general interest to even the professional training section, as they pertain so closely to school work. others are of such a nature that we ourselves would not, with any freedom, discuss them before as large a meeting as a section meeting. our frank, informal discussions have been characteristic. among the questions proposed for discussion and sent to the various faculties in advance of the meeting, are such as these: . is it desirable, and if desirable, is it practicable to make the work of the first year of the two-year schools and the work of the one-year schools more nearly alike? many junior students in a two-year school enter library work without taking the senior year's work; if the courses in one-year schools are better preparation for library work than the first year's work of the two-year schools, then these juniors are at a disadvantage as compared with students from a one-year school. some students in the one-year schools may wish to go to a two-year school and take a second year of training; as the courses are at present arranged, this second year's work is almost impossible, because it does not fit on to the work that the student has had. . do we use the most approved pedagogical methods in our class room work? do we lecture too much, and give too few quizzes, conferences and reviews? do we depend too much on the student's taking full notes, when the proper use of printed outlines, or carefully selected required readings supplemented by a few notes would yield better results? shall the course in cataloging be put at the beginning of the course, or later? how much do we use the stereopticon? . would it be practicable for several schools to secure a lecturer on some special subject in library economy who should give the regular work in that subject in each of these schools? an example of a beginning in this direction is edna lyman scott's work in several schools. . would it be possible for the several schools to combine in securing a lecturer each year to give a short series of lectures on some one subject, these lectures to be seriously worked up, and to be published after being delivered? the final publication of the lectures, and the combined remuneration from several schools, might be a sufficient incentive to capable persons to do their best work. . are the subjects now in our curricula properly balanced? is too much time given to learning cataloging and other routine, and consequently too little to a consideration of methods of extending the use of the library by the public? . is it as easy to secure transfer of credit from one school to another as it should be? information on the following subjects connected with library school work has been collected, reported on and discussed in our meetings. . the cost of library schools and a rough analysis of their expenditures. . specialization among library schools. . book selection as a course in library schools. . the method of revising students' work. . efficiency of administration in library schools. . non-essentials in our library school courses. . certain pedagogical problems connected with our library school instruction. the following officers were elected for the coming year: chairman, corinne bacon; secretary, julia a. hopkins; program committee, mary w. plummer, alice s. tyler, frank k. walter. public documents round table the government documents round table was called together at : p. m., june th, by george s. godard, state librarian of connecticut, chairman of the committee on public documents. mr. f. w. schenk, law librarian of the university of chicago, was asked to serve as secretary. the chairman, after brief introductory remarks relating to the progress which had been made in the matter of printing, binding, labeling and distributing public documents, both national and state, introduced miss mary a. hartwell, assistant chief cataloger in the office of the superintendent of documents, washington, who read a paper prepared by superintendent of documents frank c. wallace, stating his position upon the many questions and resolutions suggested at previous conferences of the american library association relative to the distribution, indexing, assignment of volume numbers, and publication of daily bulletins by the document office. mr. wallace's paper follows: paper by the superintendent of documents i regret the necessity of being compelled to adopt this means of addressing your association, as i feel a better understanding could be had of what we are trying to do for the libraries if it were possible for this office to be represented at your conference. i have read with much interest the proceedings of your last conference, and a part of my paper will endeavor to explain some of the questions which were discussed and made the subject of resolutions. =distribution of bills and other publications now withheld from distribution to the libraries.= there is no doubt but that some libraries, even under the present liberal distribution of government publications, fail to receive everything they should, and i am thoroughly in accord with the opinion expressed during your discussion that means should be provided to enable the libraries to receive those publications of a public character that are now withheld from distribution. it is gratifying to note that in senator smoot's printing bill, which has been reintroduced in the present congress, there are provisions intended to supply remedies for certain existing conditions. section , paragraph , to which i refer, provides that a sufficient number of copies of those publications of congress which do not bear a congressional number, including the committee publications now withheld from distribution to depositories and those printed elsewhere than at the government printing office, shall be supplied to the libraries. it is also worded so as to prevent the departments from withholding some of their publications from the depositories. the printing committee no doubt had in mind when this provision was framed that, under the provisions of the existing law, too much discretion is given the departments, with the result that, contrary to the spirit of the printing law, libraries are being deprived of certain classes of publications that are really of a public character. the question as to the best method to be employed in the distribution of bills is not so easy of solution. it would not be practicable for this office to attempt to carry even a limited supply, as the work involved in storing them in an accessible manner would involve an expenditure that i do not believe could be justified by the results. during the d congress there were introduced , house bills and , senate bills, and you can readily see that to handle an adequate stock of all those bills would be considerable of an undertaking. at the present time the only distributing agencies for copies of bills are the house and senate document rooms at the capitol, but, although they sometimes furnish bills on request, the copies they receive are not intended for general public distribution. it seems to me that the solution supplied in your suggestion, that the text of all public bills upon which committee reports are made should be printed with the reports, is the most logical one that has ever been presented, but it would not be practicable to include also the testimony taken at hearings held by the committees, for in many cases the testimony would fill several large volumes. besides, section , already referred to, provides that the libraries shall receive such hearings. of course this section is not yet law, but we are permitted to hope that it may become so. this is desirable from more than one point of view. it is often the case that committee reports refer to sections of the bill under consideration by number without quoting the language. in such cases the report may be unintelligible to any reader who has not a copy of the bill before him. in fact, nearly all committee reports not accompanied by the bills to which they relate may properly be classed as incomplete and imperfect publications. the question of cost involved in printing the text of bills as appendixes to the committee reports upon them is not serious. while the number of bills introduced in congress and receiving a first print is prodigious, and the cost of printing them in -point type with as many white lines as type lines is tremendous, it must be remembered that only a very small percentage of the bills introduced ever get so far as a committee report, and of these a considerable number are already printed with the reports by order of the committees, and the cost of printing the remainder in solid -point is so very much less than the cost of printing them in the extended bill form that it is almost negligible. i do not think it is too late for the association to submit to the joint committee on printing an amendment providing for the printing of the text of bills and resolutions as appendixes to the committee reports upon them. the pending bill may not pass, or may be extensively amended before passage, or may not be acted upon at the present special session, but i consider it probable that a general printing law of some kind will be enacted at a comparatively early day, and that the american library association may, by proper effort, secure the incorporation in it of the desired provision for the printing of the text of bills with the committee reports. =reasons why catalogs and indexes cannot be issued more promptly= the need for the prompt issue of the catalogs is thoroughly appreciated, as we understand they are the only means of information the general public have for knowing what the united states government is publishing. the monthly catalog is required to show what documents have been published during a month. evidently, therefore, its compilation cannot be completed until after the close of the month. the compilation, however, is always completed within three or four days after the month closes. sometimes the printing does not follow as quickly as one would like. this may seem strange to libraries, to whom the monthly catalog is perhaps the most important of all the public documents. if, however, they were in washington they would soon realize that there are several other government concerns, some of them larger and more exacting than the public documents office. there is one known as the congress of the united states, which calls for thousands of pages of printing where the documents office calls for one, and which, when it calls for the right of way in the government printing office (or anywhere else), is able to get it. the printing of the document office receives every consideration in the government printing office which it is possible to give, but it cannot command the right of way over congress, the white house, or the cabinet. it has been a long time since the monthly catalog has failed to be mailed during the month following its date, often by the middle of the month. it is to be noted, also, that its information is quite different from that of "press notices." it enters only documents that have been actually received, and its descriptions are minute and accurate. in its preliminary pages it gives such advance information of forthcoming documents as can be officially secured and vouched for. there is a habit in some government offices of giving the newspaper reporters information of proposed publications before the copy is ready for the printer, and sometimes before pen has been put to paper. plans thus prematurely announced are subject to change and the advance notice may thus mislead the reader. readers of the monthly catalog are not thus misled. the superintendent of documents is confident that those librarians who keep well informed recognize his purpose to do everything for the great library interests of the country that the limitations of the law and the executive pressure upon his and other administrative offices for economy make possible. the main cause for delay in the preparation of the copy for the document catalogs and indexes is that publications are ordered printed as documents that do not materialize until long after the close of the congress to which they have been assigned, thus making it necessary to delay publication of the catalog and indexes until sufficient information can be obtained for making the entry. it is hardly necessary to explain why the document catalog is being issued in one volume to cover the entire congress instead of at the close of each regular session, as provided by law, because a very complete and detailed explanation has been given in several of the annual reports. it is evident our explanation has been considered satisfactory by the printing committee, as the new printing bill provides for the document catalog to cover a whole congress. i will also refrain from a long discourse as to why the work on the catalogs has been behind, as i know the librarians are only interested as to the promptness in the printing of these bibliographical aids in the future. the copy for the st congress catalog will be ready for the printer sometime during the coming summer and that for the d congress before the adjournment of the d congress, which will be as near as it will be possible to issue this catalog after the period covered. this leaves it to the monthly catalog and the document index to bridge the gap and supply the current information from one document catalog to another, which, although not as complete and as comprehensive as the document catalog, serve as excellent substitutes during the interim. =assignment of volume numbers to the congressional series= there is probably no question concerning public documents to which this office has given more consideration than the devising of a plan by which it would be possible to assign the volume numbers to the congressional series as soon as the documents are printed. there are two very material advantages to be gained, were it possible to solve this question; one that of eliminating the necessity for the public printer to supply storage room for these documents and reports prior to the preparation of the schedule; and the other that the work of the librarians in cataloging these documents and reports would be greatly facilitated by having all of the necessary information at the time the publication was cataloged. the greatest handicap to a solution of this problem is the lack of information concerning the publications which have not been printed and to which document numbers have been assigned. even now, after the session is closed, we are compelled to hold up the schedule for weeks and sometimes months to learn the title, paging, and other necessary information regarding certain publications to which numbers have been assigned, but which are not printed. at the present time in preparing the schedule, we endeavor to maintain a numerical arrangement in binding the senate and house reports after having classified them as public or private in accordance with the provisions of the printing law. the senate documents are brought together first by subject and then by number, but, with the house documents, on account of the introduction in this series of all the annual and serial publications, an effort is made to preserve, as far as possible, a departmental and subject arrangement. it might be well to explain at this point that, although the only volumes distributed to the libraries now as numbered congressional publications are those of which congress is the author, and of these there are consequently no other editions, the schedules and index must of necessity, on account of the wording of the law at the present time, be made to cover a complete numbered set still provided for the exclusive use of congress. there is about only one way to accomplish the numbering of the volumes as soon as printed under the present law, and that is by disregarding entirely any sort of an arrangement and assigning the next open volume number as the documents and reports appear. of course, the index would furnish the key to these miscellaneous volumes. such a plan is now being considered by us, and it is hoped that before july some plan can be devised which will permit of a more prompt shipment of the documents and reports to the libraries. =publication of a daily bulletin= the resolution of the association passed at pasadena, may, , favoring the publication of a daily or weekly bulletin of the document issues by the superintendent of documents, has not been forgotten or overlooked, but up to the present time the project appears no more feasible than it did at the beginning. the documents office has not the authority of initiative except to a very limited extent. its activities are all prescribed and defined by law. it is from the law that the superintendent of documents derives his authority to compile and publish the monthly catalog, the document index, the document catalog, and the series of price lists. it would hardly be proper or prudent for him to begin the issue of another periodical without first asking the permissive or directory action of congress. asking does not always mean getting. legislation concerning the document service has been found heretofore somewhat slow and difficult in the securing. i do not feel that i could predict with any confidence that legislation authorizing a daily or weekly bulletin could be secured at all. if it could, an appropriation to make it operative would be needed, because it is not practicable for the members of the present cataloging force to undertake any new work. they are working under high pressure to bring the document catalog up to date and to keep the document index and the monthly catalog there. the embarrassment caused librarians by calls for documents which have been noticed in the newspapers but not yet announced in the monthly catalog is not so much due to delay of the monthly catalog as to premature announcement in the newspapers. it is the practice of various government bureaus to pass along to the newspaper men information of new publications as soon as they are sent to press or even sooner. of course readers of the newspapers assume that the documents noticed are already available for sale or distribution, whereas the fact is that various causes may tie up the documents in press for months or even years. the most prolific cause of such delays is changes--changes in "copy," changes in "proof," changes even to the substitution of entirely new matter after a first draft has been put in type. the number and extent of such changes in printing the public documents are almost unbelievable, and they are of course highly embarrassing to the libraries and to the public when premature announcement of the forthcoming issue of the delayed document has been made. if the publishing bureaus could be induced to withhold information of new documents until such documents had been actually printed, bound, and delivered, the embarrassment experienced by librarians would be obviated. it is hardly practicable, however, for the superintendent of documents to make any suggestion in the matter to the publishing offices. some of them at least would be likely to resent such a suggestion from him as being meddlesome and out of his sphere. as to whether such suggestion from the american library association would be welcomed or heeded, i do not venture to express an opinion. premature announcements are not always accurate. the announced publications are often changed in the making, and sometimes are not published at all. of course, the monthly catalog, being an official document and an accurate one, cannot take any chances on premature announcements. all of its entries stand for documents actually received, carefully examined, and their origin fully inquired into. this is not work to be hastily done. sometimes a surprising amount of time and trouble are expended in finding out whether a document belongs in some series, whether it is the beginning or ending of that series; if the latter, then whether the same subject or subjects are to be pursued in some other series, and the variety of similar details which libraries and collectors should have, and for which they look to the documents office, because in too many cases such particulars cannot be ascertained by examination of the document itself. a month is the shortest time in which such matters can be sifted out and brought into orderly catalog form. lists issued at any shorter intervals must necessarily be memoranda rather than catalogs, and the work done on them must be performed again in a more orderly manner for the official monthly, annual, and biennial catalogs. =explanation of section of the legislative appropriation act centralizing the distribution in the office of the superintendent of documents= the long cherished hope for a central distributing office has been realized nominally, but the provisions of law creating it, i am sorry to say, correct only the evils that existed from a mechanical standpoint, in that they prevent the double hauling and wrapping that were necessary prior to the change. there remain as many distributing agencies as before, as the authority to distribute the publications consigned to this office continues with the issuing office. the libraries have been afforded no relief, because now, as before, if a dozen selected pamphlets are wanted, it may mean the writing to about as many different places. this is a rather difficult proceeding, as most persons are unfamiliar with the machinery of the government and are frequently in doubt whom to address to secure the desired publications. the departments have always been rather reluctant to relinquish control of the distribution of their documents, and the new printing bill, should it be enacted as it now reads, would give back to them even the mailing of the daily miscellaneous requests. instead of providing for such a step backward, it is the opinion of this office that a provision should be inserted that would discontinue entirely the free distribution by the departments (except to collaborators and sufficient copies for official use), and would permit the superintendent of documents to supply free copies to public libraries and sell copies to the public at a nominal cost. at the present time the departments have only a limited supply, which results in a few applicants obtaining free what others have to pay for. there is probably not a librarian who hasn't experienced the inconvenience of the present arrangement, as it is a daily occurrence for us to have to refer their requests to the issuing office or quote the prices. =need for co-operation on the part of the librarians to improve the publication and distribution methods of government publications= the most striking example of the need for co-operation is that we are today fighting for certain reforms in the methods of publication that were asked for sixteen years ago. the first superintendent of documents had hardly entered upon the duties of the office before he recognized the faulty methods of publication and distribution which he well knew served only to prevent the public document from occupying the position its general standard of efficiency warranted. it is hard to understand why the untiring efforts of those interested in promoting the use of the public document have been practically ignored when you stop to think of the annual cost in compilation, printing, and distribution. we all know that every conceivable subject is treated in the public documents, and when we think of their value to the historian, student, and public in general, it is hard to understand why any obstacles should be put in the way of making them readily accessible and encouraging the librarians to give them the proper place on their shelves. now, as to the faulty methods which obtain in the publication of the public documents, very little has been accomplished in the way of reform. that the present methods cause needless expense in mechanical production and needless difficulties in their use, there is no question. chief of these faulty methods is that of reprinting the same book several times under different numbers and titles. i do not mention this as a new discovery, because every superintendent of documents has endeavored to have the law changed to eliminate from the congressional series those publications of which a departmental edition is printed. one edition for one book is the only logical manner of issuing government publications, and the smoot bill which has again been introduced goes a long way towards correcting the present evil. section provides that all publications of which there is a department edition printed, except the annual reports of the executive departments, shall not be numbered in the congressional series, and section provides that all copies additional to the original order of the department should be identical with those ordered by the department. we are seriously opposed to the exception of the annual reports, and with the hopes of eliminating any exceptions we have just written the senate committee on printing as follows: "no reason is known to this office why the annual reports of the executive departments and independent offices should be excepted from the operation of the salutary provision that departmental publications shall not be printed a second time with changes to indicate (erroneously) that they are documents emanating from congress. "the reasons which have induced the prohibition of second and varying prints of department publications generally, apply with at least equal force to the annual reports, which are the most distinctively and obviously departmental of all departmental issues. they are so distinctive that it is safe to say they are always known and called for by their departmental designations, never by their congressional numbers. everybody knows at once what is meant by war department report, , but nobody knows offhand what is meant by house document , d congress, d session. there is nothing whatever to indicate that these two designations mean the same publication, which is really not a house document at all, but a publication of the executive and not of the legislative branch of the government. and, of course, the same is true of the annual reports of all the executive officials. "the addition of congressional document numbers to executive reports adds nothing to their value or to their accessibility. the second set of designations is merely confusing and troublesome. to spend money on such a second print is to spend it only to buy harm instead of good. "the numerous and conclusive considerations which have been sufficient to place in the bill the prohibition of the second and superfluous editions of other departmental publications apply with at least equal if not even greater force to annual reports, and to except them from the general prohibition seems therefore illogical and contradictory and a long step toward defeating the proposed reform and the economies which it is intended to promote. "if it is not desirable to protect the annual reports from the waste and confusion of double editions, then it is hard to see why any publications should be so protected. the annual reports, so numerous, so important, so certain to be continuously issued for all time to come, are 'the very head and front of the offending' in the double printing abuse, and with them the reform should begin. "to except the annual reports seems to amount to discrediting if not to virtually abandoning the whole reform--the most vital of all reforms in connection with the public printing, that of permitting but one edition for each publication, by which it may always be known and identified and kept free from confusion with others." there is no question that the librarians are in sympathy with what we are trying to do, so now is the time to join forces and make every effort to have this bill embody the necessary provisions to correct all existing evils. the librarians must give the movement impetus, and we believe if sufficient organized effort is directed in the proper channels good results will be bound to follow. mr. wallace's paper was received with enthusiasm because it showed his close and intimate knowledge of matters pertaining to the publication and distribution of documents. a spirited discussion followed the reading of the paper, all through which expressions of appreciation were made concerning the service which had been rendered by the document office in recent years towards prompt and efficient distribution of publications delivered to that office. miss hartwell, informally representing the superintendent of documents, answered many questions relative to the serial numbers on government documents and urged if consistent with the policy of the american library association that action be taken suggesting to congress that annual reports now listed in the congressional set of documents be omitted inasmuch as they are not now in the depository set and such omission would facilitate the publication of the documentary index. the discussion also brought out the consensus of opinion that the libraries would be more satisfactorily served if all publications were sent out under the direction of the superintendent of documents. henry j. carr, librarian of the scranton public library; miss edith e. clarke of syracuse university, and herbert o. brigham, state librarian of rhode island, were appointed a special committee to prepare a suitable resolution of thanks to mr. wallace for his excellent paper and to draft suitable resolutions to be submitted to the council for its approval, urging that the recommendations in mr. wallace's paper relative to publication and distribution of documents be approved by the american library association, this committee to report at an adjourned meeting of the session to be held at : p. m. on friday. the second paper of the evening, prepared by mr. francis a. crandall of washington, d. c., on certain phases of the public document question, in his absence was read by charles f. d. belden, state librarian of massachusetts. mr. crandall's paper (in part) here follows: proposing an executive gazette the committee on department methods, known to the public as the keep commission, was the agency through which, about seven years ago, president roosevelt hoped to reorganize and energize the government service in washington. the keep commission organized for helpers twelve so-called assistant committees, their total membership being about seventy, all supposed to be experts in the several branches of inquiry assigned to them. on one of these assistant committees, the one on "the organization of editorial work and an official gazette," the writer had the honor to serve. we held more than one hundred meetings, and examined as witnesses almost if not quite every man and woman who had any official relation with the work of preparing manuscripts for printing. we learned after a while that the president wanted an official gazette, and expected us to devise the means of creating it. i think that nearly all the members from the start deemed the scheme impracticable and chimerical. it became clear that it would be a costly enterprise, and we could not find any department that had the money for it. soon after this mr. keep left washington, and the keep commission, though nominally still living, dwindled rapidly, and brought forth little if any more fruit. the members of the assistant committees were left stranded, with desks full of unprinted manuscripts as the only results of their prolonged labors. from one of these desks i have withdrawn the report of a subcommittee of the assistant committee on the organization of editorial work and an official gazette. though it was written half a dozen years ago, it seems that an element of interest yet remains in its proposal for the publication, as an alternative to the impracticable official gazette, of an executive gazette. this proposal has not had any exploitation whatever. in the hope that it may in this way be brought to the general notice of persons interested in the methods of publication and preservation of the historical records of the government it is now offered for the consideration of the american library association. the london gazette, which is the model most generally thought of when the term official gazette is used, was begun in , and may be looked upon as a survival of the pre-newspaper age, for though there were newspapers before the gazette, they bore little resemblance to what we now know by that name, and the daily press--the significant part of the press of our day--was not born till a generation later. we may assume that when the gazette was begun its semi-weekly issues were sufficient to carry all the official information that the government of that day wished to offer to its subjects. but this long since ceased to be true. the english government now has a host of publications which do not appear in either of the three gazettes--london, edinburgh, and dublin--of the united kingdom, nor in any of the multitude of gazettes which are issued in the various british dependencies, from canada and australia to borneo and the andaman islands. the country has outgrown the london gazette, and by its growth has been forced into that specialization and subdivision of its official publications which we see even more notably in our own country. no doubt for the andaman islands a monthly gazette covers the whole ground, everything being printed in it and no occasion being found for any other official publication whatever. this may be true of many small countries, but it is not conceivable for a great and growing country like ours. the specialization of official publications seems to be an inevitable result of the growth of public interests and the public service. by recent methods documents are printed relating to special branches of the public service and sent only to those employed in such branches. economy of both time and labor as well as economy in printing are thus promoted. this subdivision is carried out with much minuteness. the daily bulletin of the railway mail service, relating solely to the affairs which its title indicates, is printed in washington in an edition of , copies and supplied to all offices in the department and sent out to the different division superintendents throughout the country. these superintendents extract from it the matters which affect their divisions and redistribute these parts to their subordinates in general orders. thus everybody in the postal service gets that information and those orders which he needs and he does not get and consequently does not waste any time upon that information and those orders which he does not need. the hydrographic office's weekly, notice to mariners, containing only the latest information as to aids and hindrances to navigation, would seem to be a sufficiently specialized publication to be supplied to sailors without further ado. part of the edition is issued in the complete form, but economy and efficiency are further promoted by additional subdivision. the weekly publication, not a large one to begin with, is split into many parts, often a dozen or a score, and one of these leaflets is supplied to the mariner who needs information as to those waters only into which his own voyage will carry him. the yearbook of agriculture, the annual reports of the smithsonian institution, the national museum, the american historical association, the chief of engineers, the chief of ordnance, the bureau of education, and other publications which are made up of distinct papers or chapters that permit of separate publication, are split up and each chapter or paper printed in a pamphlet by itself, so that the authors and others who ask for copies of special papers may have these alone and the cost of supplying them with whole volumes thus be saved. even pamphlets of moderate size, like the bulletins of the department of agriculture which report the proceedings of the conventions of official agricultural chemists, economic entomologists, and other bodies of government specialists, are split into fascicules with which the popular demand for information on special parts of the work of these scientific bodies may be met at least cost. any publication, by whatever name or in whatever form, which undertook to include all of these and the other and almost innumerable specialized publications of the government, and to have itself supplied to all who now receive the existing publications, would of necessity be of enormous bulk and be printed in an enormous edition, and it seems to your committee that it must break down of its own weight. we think it absolutely essential to the success of an official gazette that all of these specialized class publications should be most rigorously excluded from its pages. specialization seems to be a natural and proper development of the public printing, and it would hardly be practicable, or wise if practicable, to arrest it. for these reasons, your committee, in casting about for material which might properly and usefully be carried in an official gazette, should one be issued, has endeavored to choose that only which is of interest to all classes and not alone to any one class, whether in or out of the public service. the list which represents the judgment of the committee in this respect is still very long. we have not suggested the discontinuance of any publication on account of its inclusion in a gazette, because in all the letters we have received from public officials, and all the questions we have asked them, we have not yet found one who is of opinion that any publication now existing can be superseded by publication in a gazette without injury to the public service. opinion among officials as to a gazette is radically divided, the number for and against appearing to be about equal, though the adverse argument appears to be the stronger. opinion in the committee is also widely divided, and we are unable to make a unanimous recommendation on the desirability or feasibility of issuing a gazette on the model of the london gazette or of any other official gazette known to us. your committee, however, thinks it a duty to submit for consideration an alternative plan, based on a suggestion offered in one of the official letters received in reply to its inquiries. this alternative is an executive gazette, to contain all of the official papers and messages of the president and such other occasional matters of special and immediate importance as the president may think it advisable to have officially published. such matter might perhaps at times be drawn from the diplomatic correspondence with other governments or from reports made by american ambassadors, ministers, or consuls, or from the findings or rulings of commissions or other official bodies or other sources for which no special method of official publication is now provided. the weight of this suggestion lies in the fact that every word officially put forth by the chief executive is of universal interest and of historical import, and no official vehicle for its complete and authentic publication is now provided. it is printed in the congressional record, in the newspapers, on separate sheets, in the collected volumes of statutes, and sometimes not at all. these publications are so scattered and each different kind so incomplete that the most industrious librarian or other collector can never be sure that he has all. when the congressional compilation of the messages and papers of the presidents from washington to mckinley was made the originals were gathered from all sorts of public documents and old newspaper files and miscellaneous sources. when it chanced that some of the old papers were preserved in public offices the compilers--especially at first--did not know where to look for them. that compilation as finally made is commendable, but nobody can say that it is complete. it served, however, to demonstrate--what indeed all students knew before--that there is no place where all the official utterances of the head of the government may certainly be found. if they were all to be printed in one publication--if the faith of all presidents were pledged that all official papers should be given publicity in one known publication, and if that publication were so published by volume and number that any historical student or collector might know to a certainty when he had secured all of these publications, then it seems to your committee that something of real moment would have been accomplished. it is true that the publication of presidential messages in an executive gazette would contradict the unanimous opinion of the committee that any sort of an official gazette should be wholly colorless from a partisan point of view. still, it seems of high state importance that all of the official utterances of the chief executive, without exception, should be collected and published in some known and accessible place. whether this consideration is of more or less importance than that of keeping a gazette free from partisanship the committee does not undertake to decide. it submits the suggestion without expression of opinion on its own part. the adjourned session of the government documents round table was called to order by chairman godard at : p. m. on friday, june th. mr. carr, reporting for the special committee, reported certain resolutions, which were unanimously adopted and referred to the council with the request that they be officially adopted by the association and copies of the same be transmitted in official form to the joint committee on printing, the public printer, and the superintendent of documents.[ ] [ ] for text of these resolutions see minutes of the council, page . american association of law libraries first session (june , , at : p. m., at the hotel kaaterskill.) the meeting was called to order by president poole, twenty-eight members being present. the address of welcome, which was to have been delivered by mr. frank b. gilbert, of the department of education of new york state, was given in the form of a telegram from him, as he was unavoidably prevented from attending. president poole addressed the association as follows: this is the eighth annual meeting of this association. we had hoped to have with us mr. frank b. gilbert, who is one of the charter members, formerly of the new york state law library, but this morning i received the following telegram: "unable to be present tomorrow night. unexpected official business requires attention tomorrow afternoon. hope your meeting will be successful." i think we will have to take the welcome from the last six words. the next item on the program is the president's address. i am not going to make any address because you would not be edified. i would call your attention, however, to a few things which have appealed to me during the past year, and which, with suggestions which will come from the members present, will make perhaps a basis for our work during the coming year. in my library, and i have no doubt in a good many of the libraries represented here, there have been calls for practice and form books, and perhaps for other local books of states outside of one's own state, and you have all probably experienced difficulty in getting proper information regarding such material. this need is coincident with the possibility of developing our law library journal. it occurs to me that we might organize a committee to publish in our law library journal, once a year, a list of local practice and form books, giving the title, author, number of the edition, date of publication, cost and publisher--the idea being to include in the list, not all the books, but the best books, and to place the choosing of that list in the hands of parties familiar with such books. if a list could be published every year it would be of considerable advantage. another suggestion has come to me--i think from mr. hewitt--that we put in the law library journal, in some such way as described above, references to the court rules of the highest courts of the several states and any important local courts that are represented in the published reports. i do not refer to the text of the rules and the many amendments, but where they can be found, date of adoption, etc. there is another matter which will come up at one of the sessions, viz., the movement for uniformity in the publication of session laws. you will hear more about that later, but it is worth our consideration. you all know the rather baffling way in which session laws are published; hardly any two states are alike, and the states change their methods from year to year, causing a great deal of confusion and difficulty in finding material. you are perfectly familiar with the chief work which this association has accomplished, viz., the publication of the index to legal periodicals and law library journal. we can congratulate ourselves, i think, on a fairly successful year. the editorial work has been done very well, and the promptness of publication has shown some improvement. mechanically, we have it on a better basis than ever before, and there is no reason why the publication should not continue and become actually self-supporting. now, as you know, it only partially pays for itself. the association pays a certain amount of the costs. we hope to increase the subscriptions among practicing lawyers, and plans have already been made for doing this. we should, i think, take more pains with the law journal portion. we have not done with that all that is possible. personally i think that the editor, working as he does at present--i mean by that, under his present contract and with the time at his disposal--can hardly be expected to do very much more; but we can make a good deal more out of the publication if we improve the law journal--make it more readable, so that people will subscribe for the journal alone. i do not think you can say that anyone would pay $ a year for what is in the law journal now. i wish that matter could be taken up later and discussed, and that steps might be taken to bring about an improvement in that respect. the report of the treasurer was read by mr. redstone of the social law library in boston. under the head of the report of the executive committee, the letter from chairman c. w. andrews, of the special committee on the relations between the american library association and affiliated societies, was considered. reports of the special committees were made by mr. a. j. small, of the iowa state law library, chairman of the committee on legal bibliography; by dr. g. e. wire, of the worcester county (mass.) law library, chairman of the committee on reprinting session laws; by mr. o. j. field, of the department of justice, chairman of the committee on latin-american laws. the first round table was held on wednesday, june , , at : a. m. the report of the committee to confer with the library of congress on subject headings was given by mr. hewitt of philadelphia, and a discussion ensued. this was followed by a symposium on architectural plans and furnishings for law libraries, participated in by mr. frederick d. colson, of the new york state law library, mr. godard, mr. poole, mr. hicks, mr. schenk and mr. hewitt. at the second session, wednesday, june th, at : p. m., mr. colson gave an account of the destruction and rebuilding of the new york state library. mr. frederick c. hicks, of the columbia university library, read a paper on "law libraries and the public," which was followed by a statement by dr. wire on the massachusetts system of county law libraries. a paper on the work in the university of minnesota law library, by mr. arthur c. pulling, librarian, will be printed in a future issue of the journal, mr. pulling being unable to attend. the nominating and auditing committees were appointed by president poole, as follows: nominating committee: george s. godard, chairman; mrs. m. c. klingelsmith, e. j. lien. auditing committee: o. j. field, chairman; william r. reinick, mary v. fisk. the vouchers, etc., sent by mr. whitney, not having arrived owing to the delay of the express company, the auditing committee were instructed to report to the executive committee as soon as the material could be examined. the committee on resolutions, consisting of mr. a. j. small, mrs. klingelsmith and mrs. hoover, reported the following resolution on the death of charles j. babbitt, which was ordered spread upon the minutes: "whereas, after a long and untiring service in his life work our friend and fellow member charles j. babbitt has this year completed his work and become a graduate member of our fellowship, and through his death this association has lost an active member, a kind friend and valued associate, who has left behind him an enduring memorial in the good work which while living he accomplished: "be it resolved, that this association has met with an irreparable loss, and that we extend our sympathy to the bereaved family, and that this resolution shall become a part of the record." then followed the report of the committee on shelf classification of law textbooks, consisting of miss gertrude e. woodard, george n. cheney, e. a. feazel. remarks on cataloging and classifying law textbooks in the library of congress were made by mr. martel of the library of congress. messrs. schenk and butler spoke on the matter of increasing the efficiency of the index to legal periodicals and law library journal. additional features of the journal were considered, and mr. schenk was authorized to include in the journal during the coming year: list of reports as currently issued. list of textbooks dealing with local forms, practice, etc. references showing where to find the court rules of the local courts, the decisions of which appear in the published reports. the following officers were elected for the year - : president--franklin o. poole, association of the bar of the city of new york; first vice-president--frederick w. schenk, law library, university of chicago; second vice-president--o. j. field, department of justice, washington, d. c.; secretary--miss gertrude e. woodard, law library, university of michigan, ann arbor; treasurer--e. lee whitney, vermont state library, montpelier; executive committee--president, ex-officio, first vice-president, ex-officio, second vice-president, ex-officio, secretary, ex-officio, treasurer, ex-officio, e. o. s. scholefield, british columbia legislative library, victoria; a. j. small, state law library, des moines, iowa; c. will schaffer, washington state law library. the meeting adjourned with a resolution by mr. a. j. small thanking each officer and member of the association who had contributed to its work; and with a final word from mr. butler urging all to work for the success of the index during the coming year. league of library commissions tenth annual meeting at kaaterskill, n. y., june - , first session (wednesday, june , : p. m.) round table on organizing small libraries the meeting was called to order by the president, mr. milam. a roll-call by states showed that sixteen were represented: indiana, illinois, kentucky, maryland, massachusetts, maine, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new jersey, new york, north dakota, rhode island, south dakota, vermont and wisconsin. the president then introduced the leader of the discussion, miss zaidee brown, of massachusetts. the outline of the discussion, as printed on the program, was as follows: . methods suggested by the state organizer for accessioning classification shelf-listing cataloging should it be attempted? should l. c. cards be used? loan system mechanical preparation of books . average time required for above processes, and average cost per , volumes . help from local sources volunteers, paid workers, trustees help from neighboring librarians . kinds of supplies and cost . how the organizer may interest the people of the town in the library . board meeting: budget and other administrative problems it was stated that for this discussion "small library" meant any library with less than , volumes. * * * * * as to the accession book, the general opinion seemed to be that there was more reason for keeping it in a library without trained service than in a larger one, and that the trustees usually liked to have it kept. a very simple entry was recommended. miss brown suggested that where, in reorganizing, it was necessary to accession the books already in the library, the quickest way was to number them when the first, or shelf-list, card was written. these cards might be kept in numerical order, and the accession book written from them, thus saving one handling of the books. she said one reason for keeping an accession book in a small library is that the accession number may be used for charging; this led to a discussion of the use of cutter numbers in a small library; miss wright, of vermont, uses them and has found no trouble. miss brown thinks they add considerably to the labor and expense of reorganizing, and she has found them likely to fall into confusion with untrained librarians. no conclusion was reached. as to classification, the preference was for a simplified form of the d. c., using only three figures in most cases, and combining some classes. the leader then asked how many organizers favored a dictionary catalog, with an untrained librarian. miss hazeltine, of wisconsin, said that in that state they start only a shelf-list, to be used as a classed catalog, until the librarian can attend summer school, and then a dictionary catalog is made. miss askew stated that in new jersey a dictionary catalog is made even for a small library, if the librarian and trustees wish it. in vermont, also, the organizer starts a dictionary catalog. miss frances hobart, librarian at vergennes, vt., reported that when she classified she placed a slip in the book giving the class and book number, and the subject headings to be used, for the guidance of the cataloger. these slips are kept, to form a rough shelf-list, and serve the purpose in assigning cutter numbers. a number of those present said that they thought it not necessary to make a shelf-list simply for taking an inventory, as many libraries do not take inventory, and it is not worth the labor of the shelf-list. mr. olin davis, librarian at laconia, n. h., described a method of taking inventory from the accession book, thus making a shelf-list for that purpose unnecessary. the discussion showed that in some states the custom of the state organizer is to start a dictionary catalog, and to make a shelf-list only if cutter numbers are used, or if the additional labor can be easily afforded. miss brown, of massachusetts, said that she preferred, with an untrained librarian, to make an author and title catalog, and to use the shelf-list for a subject catalog. she makes an alphabetic index to the shelf-list, which also serves as a guide for classification, and includes in this index analyticals and secondary subject cards. she feels that this method reduces to a minimum the difficulty of assigning subject headings, and the danger of scattering material through doing this poorly. the objection to her method was made that such a catalog is not so easy for the public to use; she admitted this, but said that in a small library the catalog is mainly a tool for the librarian. mrs. budlong, of north dakota, recommended using the order card for the shelf-list. the discussion showed that in new jersey and vermont the organizer usually starts a dictionary catalog; and in minnesota, indiana, wisconsin and massachusetts the shelf-list is used as a subject catalog unless the librarian has at least summer school training. as to the use of library of congress cards, the general testimony seemed to be that the labor of ordering them, and adding numbers and headings, is about equal to that of making simple cards, with a typewriter. miss brown stated that the added expense for cards per , volumes is about $ , if the order is by author and title. miss farr, of maryland, said that she could catalog about , volumes a month, making a dictionary catalog, if she made her own cards, and about , if she used library of congress cards--showing that the labor is nearly the same. it was not possible to give definite estimates of the cost of reorganization or the time required, as conditions vary so greatly; but some general averages were obtained. mr. milam, of indiana, stated that the cost of supplies and labor, including the time and expenses of the state organizer, was about $ to $ per , volumes. one organizer said that a cataloger should average volumes a day, assigning cutter numbers and making a dictionary catalog. miss askew, of new jersey, thought this number too small, and said she expected one person to make a dictionary catalog for , volumes in two weeks. miss brown, of massachusetts, said that the number of volumes done in a week varied from to , volumes, according to the amount of local help received. she finds it possible to get volunteer workers for a good deal of the work, including writing the cards, and doing the mechanical work involved by a new charging system. this estimate is not for a dictionary catalog, but for an author and title list, and a shelf-list for non-fiction with subject index--no imprint being given on most of the cards. to show the cost of reorganization where there was practically no volunteer labor, miss brown gave the figures for a library at west bridgewater, mass., which contained about , volumes. the state library commission gave about a week of miss brown's time, which is not included in the estimate, a cataloger was engaged at $ a month, and an assistant at $ . local workers were paid about twelve cents an hour. the books were accessioned, classified, an author and title catalog made, and a shelf-list for non-fiction with subject index. book-pockets and book-cards were placed in the books. copy for a printed catalog was made. this catalog was later printed, at a cost of about $ . the entire cost of the work, including printing the catalog, was between $ and $ , or about ten cents per volume. the time required was about seven weeks. as to the question of how the organizer might interest the people of the town, there was a discussion on whether the organizer did better work if she stayed at the hotel, or was entertained in a private family. she can, of course, become better acquainted if in a family, but mr. milam said that he thought the hotel preferable because there would be no drain on her vitality outside library hours. it developed during the discussion that in several states the commission pays the living expenses of the organizer in the town. in massachusetts, the library is expected to meet this expense, but the state sometimes helps buy the supplies. as to the meeting of the board, mr. milam said that he thought the organizer should always meet the board, and if possible leave with them a suggested budget for a library of that size. miss brown said that she carried with her sample copies of a number of selected lists and library aids, and showed them to the board of trustees. a number of organizers spoke of addressing clubs, schools, and other bodies in connection with the work. after the round table, mr. milam appointed the following nominating committee: miss clara baldwin, chairman; mrs. percival sneed, miss zaidee brown. the meeting then adjourned. second session (wednesday, june th, : p. m.) the topic of the second session was libraries in state institutions and in federal prisons. mr. milam, the president, called the meeting to order. miss julia a. robinson, supervising librarian of the state institutions of iowa, opened the discussion. mr. jenkins, of new york, who was announced on the program, was unable to be present. miss robinson spoke first of the need of providing good reading matter in state institutions; and pointed out that such libraries have the advantage of those in the outside world, in that they need not compete with so many conflicting interests in their patrons. of the two possible kinds of supervision; by an outside authority, such as a state library commission, or by an official of the board controlling the state institutions, the latter is preferable if the appointment of such an official is not dominated by politics. an official appointed by the board of control has greater authority, can maintain a closer supervision of the books admitted, and can obtain more help from the inmates of the institutions. as to methods employed, the book selection should be carefully made to suit the various classes in the different institutions; and the organization should be as simple as possible. in iowa, they use an accession book, the decimal classification, and a simple form of shelf-list. in all the institutions, reading rooms for the use of the inmates under proper supervision add to the usefulness of the libraries. the librarian is usually an officer or employee of the institution, but should possess a knowledge of the books in her own library, and a sympathetic acquaintance with the inmates which will enable her to assist them in selecting the books which will be most helpful to them. she should also have sufficient time to give proper attention to the library. inmates often make good assistants, but should work under close supervision and should not be allowed to select the books. in the prisons, where the readers do not have access to the shelves, printed finding lists are necessary. miss florence r. curtis, of the university of illinois library school, next spoke on libraries in prisons. she called attention to the fact that nearly eighty per cent of those in prisons will be out of prison in from one to ten years. they should be regarded as citizens in the making, to be helped in every way possible. of those who enter, about ninety per cent are literate; and over seventy-five per cent have attended school beyond the sixth grade. about fifty per cent of those sent to prison are so-called "accidental criminals," that is, they have yielded to an impulse, but are not habitually criminal. before they leave prison, however, they have received an education of a sort in crime. they know the criminal class, its leading men, etc., they know the methods of crime, and they have learned to regard the law as more favorable to the rich than to the poor, and how best to evade it. besides this, they have become acquainted with unclean literature, circulated secretly; and with vice and dissipation. guards in the prison often peddle drink and drugs to the prisoners. as to what they have learned that is good, she enumerated the following: the prisoner may have learned a trade, but the trades taught often do not help in earning a living outside. the prisoner may have attended a school. usually the school is held for four months, is taught by a volunteer prisoner, and aims only to teach the elementary subjects. the prisoner has attended the church service. last, the prisoner may have had the use of the prison library. miss curtis examined the catalogs of thirty prisons. perhaps three-fourths of the books might be regarded as deadwood. often the libraries contain vicious books, which give wrong ideas of the relations of men and women, and of the family; create a false idea of life; and make dissipation attractive. the works of chambers, elinor glyn, phillips, mrs. southworth, and others of similar grade, are found in large numbers in the prison libraries. the prisoner has so much time to think over what he reads, that especial care should be taken that his reading should be wholesome. books dealing with shady business methods, religious unrest, race prejudice, the detection of crime, etc., are all bad. all fiction added to the library should first be read by a person of good judgment, with respect to its effect on the prisoners. the selection of suitable books does not represent the whole duty toward the prisoner. personal guidance in the choice of books is most desirable. the chaplain is not always the best person to give such guidance as he may not be familiar with modern fiction and he has other duties. the superintendent is not always interested in the reading of the prisoners. the superintendent of a reform school stated flatly that the physical care of the girls was the main duty and interest of the institution. a librarian appointed by the board of control will make the most careful selection of the books. the librarian should also visit the institutions and give as much personal guidance to the reading as possible. it should be noted, however, that this is not a place for an immature person, nor a sentimental one. miss curtis said that the duty of the state library commission, as to prison libraries, was to try to rouse the superintendents, and bring about a better condition. miss stearns, of wisconsin, asked about the use of magazines in prisons. she had visited a prison, with the chaplain acting as librarian, where they took dozens of magazines, and had given up buying books because the magazines were so popular. among those especially in demand were world's work, current events, and cosmopolitan. miss robinson, of iowa, said that they took magazines for the prisons, but in no case were magazines bought to the exclusion of all books. where it is regarded as necessary, the magazines are expurgated by clipping out certain articles. miss curtis said that in illinois prisons many magazines are taken, and are very popular. the men are allowed to form magazine clubs, and to take any magazine not positively disreputable; and many of the cheaper lower-grade magazines are taken. miss clarke, librarian of the public library at auburn, n. y., where there is a state prison, said that she had investigated prison libraries in new york state, especially in auburn, in connection with the work of a committee of the new york state library association. she regards conditions in new york state as discouraging. in auburn, the selection is not so bad, but the men are allowed little if any selection. a convict assistant chooses fifty volumes for fifty cells. these are passed out, and each one is kept a week. it is then passed on to the next cell. an educated ex-convict in a letter printed by richard harding davis in the new york sun, stated that he was unable for a year to get a book he wanted, though nobody else wanted it. they have no printed catalogs or lists. in the women's prison, in auburn, the prisoners are allowed to select books, and one of the teachers had done some work with reading clubs. miss clarke stated that in new york state prisons, the teacher of the prison school is not a convict. the prison school is allowed $ worth of books a year. the hope for improvement in new york state, in library conditions in the prisons, is through the appointment of a librarian in each prison, or a library supervisor of all state penal institutions. mr. wellman, of springfield, mass., asked how to rouse interest in prison libraries in a state where there is no interest. miss curtis said that one should avoid rousing general public criticism, as this would antagonize the prison authorities; that it was better to use the slow method of getting the heads of the institutions and the board controlling the prisons interested. the state library commission should do this. a general article in the press on the value of good prison libraries might be desirable, but one should by all means avoid anything approaching a sensational story about special cases. as an example of how to rouse interest, mr. wynkoop spoke of the number of new york libraries, published in february, , which was devoted largely to libraries in state institutions. copies of this were sent to all trustees of state institutions in new york state, to members of legislative committees dealing with charitable and reformatory institutions, to members of sociological societies, to mayors and sheriffs, to most of the leading newspapers of the state, and to others of influence. about copies were sent out in this way. there have been some evident results. in syracuse, rochester, bath, jamestown, and some other places, the papers have had notices about the need of better libraries in prisons and jails, and the authorities have in some cases taken steps to improve conditions. in answer to questions, mr. wynkoop said that he did not make direct criticism of the present library conditions in prisons, but spoke of the poor economy of spending so little on them. the maximum amount spent on the library of any institution in new york state is $ , though expenditures for other purposes may run into the millions. it was suggested that public libraries should supply local jails with reading matter. miss clarke stated that in the state prison at auburn, magazines are taken for the officials, but are not loaned to the prisoners. an offer of discarded but usable books from the public library to the jail was refused, because the prisoners would cut out the pictures and put them on the wall. miss charlotte templeton, secretary of the nebraska public library commission, next spoke on libraries in reformatories. this is a somewhat more hopeful group than the prisons. the inmates are often below the average physically, somewhat bitter, and frightened, and sobered by their first contact with the law. the reformatory must build them up; physically, mentally, and in the power of self-support. in this the library is a valuable adjunct. it should contain simple books on civics, books to help the foreigner learn english, and books on the technical subjects taught in the prison. there is also a use for books as a means of recreation. these may put the inmate in a better attitude toward life, and may be the entering wedge for more serious reading. they should, therefore, be the first line of attack. again, a prisoner may accept moral training from a book that he would not from a person. the books on conduct are much read. jordan's "self-control," grenfell's "men's helpers," and some of the new thought books are much read. one prisoner said, "if i had had that book three years ago i should not be here now." magazines are generally taken, but as a supplement to the collection of books. they include many on current events and on technical work, and some that are taken mainly for their pictures. country life and baseball are very popular. in conclusion, miss templeton said that the reformatory library is much like a public library, and should be administered in a similar way. in this way, the inmates would become familiar with the use of such a library, would form the "library habit," and be more likely to feel at home in the public library on their release. miss edith kathleen jones, librarian at mclean hospital, waverley, mass., then read the following paper: some problems of the institution library organizer in the state hospitals last year i had the pleasure of telling you something of library work in one of the large private hospitals for the insane; this year i want to speak of some of the problems the institution organizer will meet when she undertakes to set in order the libraries of the state hospitals. in the first place, unless she is fortunate enough to be appointed by the state board of control or state board of insanity or their equivalent, she may at times feel that she is looked upon a little bit as an outsider by the hospital staff, as one who does not understand hospital conditions and who belongs to an entirely different order of things. she may even meet what seems to her indifference or actual antagonism on the part of a few superintendents. the fact is, the library to librarians is of supreme importance, but the library to the average hospital superintendent is merely one method of providing entertainment or employment for his patients. he is much more interested in the new social service movement and the study of eugenics and heredity than he is in the general library, which, to his mind, is simply a part of the therapeutic system and even as such ranks far below useful employment and arts and crafts work. this indifference or antagonism does not arise from any personal feeling nor is it confined to the library. it is the natural outcome of the peculiar organization demanded in a hospital for the insane, a general distrust of any outside interference in any department, and a thorough conviction that each hospital is entirely competent to manage its own affairs. in one state the state board refused the offer of the state library committee to organize its institution libraries for these very reasons. in another state, where the possibility of the state board appointing an institution librarian of its own is under discussion, one superintendent remarked that he "could only say this; if it must come he was thankful it was coming from the =inside=, through the board and from one who knew hospital conditions." another reason for this seeming indifference on the part of the superintendents is that, in the east at any rate, a state hospital is =always= poor. it is poor and it is crowded, and its superintendent is harrassed with having his requests for better accommodations for his patients, a new power house, larger kitchens and laundries, or quarters for his married men nurses turned down; with trying to get larger appropriations from the state legislature; with endeavoring to feed and clothe and house , patients on an appropriation and in quarters designed for , at the most. he probably has cut down his expenses in every conceivable direction, and he can not see the use of spending money for books which the majority of his patients will not read. and there is this to be said for his point of view, that while there are many educated and cultivated persons in all the state hospitals, the majority of them are foreigners and illiterates from the mill and factory-hand classes and from the slums of the cities. in new york state alone, in , forty-six per cent of the whole number of patients admitted to the new york hospitals were of foreign birth. and i might add, to show the menace of the class of people we are letting into our country, that forty-six per cent of the insane were aliens, while only twenty-six per cent of the whole population of the state were of foreign birth. add to these the outcasts from the slums and you have a good idea of the make-up of the state hospitals and asylums, and you will not wonder that many superintendents shake their heads when libraries are mentioned. it would, therefore, seem to be one of the duties of the organizer to prove to the superintendent that even if three-fifths of his patients are illiterate, reading should be provided for the educated two-fifths; that she, from her knowledge of books and editions, can provide a thoroughly readable library which will meet the requirements of all classes, from college professors to the dregs of humanity, for a much less sum than he can do it, and from her experience she can interest the patients in books. for after you have the library, you still have a set of people to deal with who lack initiative and must be aroused to interest in anything. she must also impress upon him that shelf-and-book or even accession numbers mean nothing, and that when, as in one library i know, all the books are covered and there is no hint of author or title on the back, the library is converted into a sort of literary grab-bag which is funny to the librarian but exasperating to the patient. she must convince him that an unclassified library represents a tremendous waste, especially when it is not supplemented by a subject catalog. she must be able to prove to him from the experience of other hospitals that the old-fashioned method of letting a library run itself is not conducive to growth and that there must be some one whose chief duties are to the library. she can assure him from figures that he is not getting out of his library what he should, if out of , patients only use the library during the year and books a week is a large circulation. she can tell him of one hospital of patients which has from to regular readers, not counting nurses and employees, and averages books a day, or , a year; of another of about the same size which often gives out books a day; of a third, which, with a population of , gave out last year , volumes to persons. she can guarantee him that if he will let her weed out obsolete stuff and fill in with the sort of books the patients want and train some patient, nurse or stenographer to act as librarian in her absence at other hospitals, his library circulation will be doubled or trebled the first year. having convinced the superintendent of the utility of the organized, central library, the institution librarian is now free to turn her attention to the patients, getting acquainted with them, learning their tastes in books, interesting them in reading and in pictures. and just here i would say that in the state hospitals the doctors are always glad to have anything new suggested in the way of employment, and that if the organizer can manage it so that the patients can help her in the care of the charging-system, mending and cataloging, her efforts will be much appreciated by all concerned. the institution organizer will soon find that each hospital differs from every other in construction, management, and especially in the character of illness. the asylums for the chronic insane present the most hopeless feature, yet even here there are enough who read to make it worth while to furnish libraries. moreover, in the asylums, the nurses have to be taken into account. their work is so hopeless and uninteresting compared with that in hospitals for acute and recoverable cases that more must be done for them in order to get and keep even ordinarily good attendants. and where, as in many cases, the chronic insane are being transferred to farm colonies way out in the country, far from any city or even large town, the library can, if it will, help very decidedly by offering means of study and education to the nurses and staff as well as diversion to the patients. therefore, one can venture to buy for an asylum a much better selection of books from the point of view of general culture than for the ordinary hospital. i have said so often that a hospital library must be formed for entertainment, not for education, that it must be simple in organization and carried along on unconventional lines, that i speak of these points again only to emphasize them. if one looks upon institutional work from the point of view of educative influence it is discouraging work; but if one thinks of it as an adjunct to the therapeutic service of the hospital, as a means of bringing some pleasure or at least forgetfulness of self for a time to an afflicted class and employment for hours which otherwise would be passed in complete idleness and utter dejection, it is inspiring work. but in the selection of books this point of view must be kept always in mind. yet this is just what those unaccustomed to hospital conditions fail to grasp. not three months ago a hospital in a far-off western city sent a representative to see our library and get all the information he could in regard to the sort of books they should put into their beautiful and expensive new buildings. i showed him a list of some , of our most popular books selected as a basis for the little catalog miss carey, miss robinson, miss waugh and i have made out and annotated, and which is now being printed by the a. l. a. publishing board. the first thing he noticed was the omissions. "why," said he, looking at science, "you have nothing by spencer, or darwin or huxley on this list. aren't they the standard thing? oughtn't i to get them for our library?" "not if you want a library which will be read," was my prompt reply, and i showed him the records of our sets of these scientists, taken out at the most three or four times in the history of the library. a year or so ago i attempted to find out from our cards just what was the most popular sort of fiction in our library. of course the book of the moment is the one read at the moment, so it would be manifestly unfair to include these and i took only those books published prior to . it may interest you to know in their order the most read books, that is, of the old favorites. the date unfortunately excludes mr. pratt, the virginian, kim, rex beach and oppenheim. they are, the choir invisible, janice meredith, saracinesca, sant' ilario, don orsino, vanity fair, the lilac sunbonnet, old chester tales, dr. lavender's people, when knighthood was in flower, the sowers--taken out times in the last three years; the seats of the mighty, the battle of the strong, adventures of sherlock holmes, memoirs of sherlock holmes, treasure island, cape cod folks and the right of way, times; a little moorland princess, dorothy vernon, kidnapped and the cardinal's snuff box times; richard carvel times; the old ma'amselle's secret times and the second wife by miss marlitt times. this shows pretty conclusively that even our people, all of whom belong to the cultivated and educated class, want light, interesting stories of romance and adventure, and the average state hospital reader wants something even lighter than these. i have been asked again and again if the right reading really cures. one dare not affirm this; its influence is negative rather than positive. but i =can= say this: i have known of many cases outside as well as in the hospital where persons have been positively harmed by morbid or hysterically sentimental books. our people are inclined to be pretty emotional anyway, and whatever appeals to that side is to be deplored. to sum up the qualities which determine the suitability of books for a hospital library, i can do no better than quote from the "foreword" of the catalog mentioned above: in making this list the editors have endeavored to keep in mind the following points: . books in a hospital are for recreation, not for instruction, and therefore should consist principally of fiction, picture books, travel, biography, light and popular science and outdoor books. . they must be wholesome--not morbid, or gruesome, or depressing. good detective stories and tales of adventure, however thrilling, if not horrible, and if they do not make vice attractive, are to be recommended, as they, more than almost anything else, hold the attention. . illustrated books and books of pictures are invaluable, as a patient often will look at pictures when he is too ill to read. . the newest fiction is called for and read, yet the old favorites remain much in demand. with so much ephemeral stuff among the "best sellers," it is a delicate task to select the really good novels which will last, and there is a great temptation to fall back on the old and tried books to the exclusion of the more modern. the editors have tried to combine the two in just proportion, and also to give a few titles of the better class of the "second rate" which have proved popular. . it is not enough to provide books for those who wish to read. there are always many patients who are unable to take any initiative towards selecting any form of entertainment or employment for themselves, and for these should be provided light and simple stories which will not tax the brain or require any concentration of attention, but which will serve to stimulate their interest in things outside themselves. these are not necessarily children's books, but often the simple language and quiet wholesomeness of certain books for young people will bridge a patient over this period of mental inadequacy and pave the way towards a real enjoyment of maturer reading. in addition to these five simple rules for selecting the reading for a hospital library, the editors would emphasize another very important point: many of the readers will be elderly persons with failing eyesight, who demand large, clear type. this is hard to procure in cheap editions of standard authors and old favorites, but it is suggested that it is well worth while to take a little pains in selection and even to pay a higher price, in order to get an edition of convenient size, shape and weight, in serviceable binding, with large, clear type. such an edition will last longer and will invite, not repel the reader. complete sets of the works of standard authors, with the exception of shakespeare, scott, dickens, and possibly george eliot, are not recommended for hospitals. only a few of the more popular stories of each will be read. i want to say just a word in regard to the housing of hospital libraries. of course the ideal arrangement is a separate building which is open all the time, but i know of only three or four such in the country. in most state hospitals the library was an afterthought and the books are crowded into one or two more or less inaccessible rooms to which the patients can come only once or twice a week and which can not possibly be made attractive. often there is absolutely no other room to be had in the hospital and the librarian must make the most of it and do her utmost to beautify it with rugs and baskets made by the patients and flowers from the hospital greenhouses. but sometimes a little ingenuity will solve the problem in some such unique way as in the state infirmary at tewksbury, mass., where the superintendent conceived the idea of moving their very good little library (classified and cataloged too) from its one small dark, inaccessible room in the administration house to the large, light chapel which hitherto stood idle six days in the week. here low shelves have been built in between the windows on the wide side aisles and stacks fitted into the alcove rooms each side the chancel. long narrow tables with plenty of books and magazines have been placed in these aisles and the library is now open practically all the time. the hospital for epileptics at monson, mass., has met its problem somewhat differently. the superintendent here is having two large sunny rooms fitted up with bookshelves, one for the men where they can smoke and one for the women where they can sew. these shelves will be kept filled with books from the central library (in an office in the administration house which it shares with the medical library) administered by the stenographer-librarian, but under the direct supervision of a patient for each room. the patients themselves are very enthusiastic over the proposed change and have made out lists of books they want. in massachusetts, the ideal so far as use of the library goes, is found at the foxborough hospital for inebriates, where only men patients are admitted. here they have a separate building containing one large room with low bookcases all around it and two tables covered with periodicals and newspapers in the center. here the men can come when their day's work is over or at the noon hour and read and smoke. i wish i had time to speak of the importance of interesting the nurses in the library and getting their co-operation, and of the possibility of holding classes on books and reading for them. i know of no hospital where they have time for such classes at present, but there is a movement on foot towards requiring better education as a condition for entering the training schools for the general hospitals, and some day some hospital will inaugurate classes in literature. miss jones agreed with miss robinson's statement that the libraries in state institutions should be administered by an official appointed by the board of control. miss flexner, of the louisville free public library, then spoke of an experience in placing books in a county jail. within the last six months, the public library offered to place a deposit in the county jail, and found that the jailer was willing. permission was also obtained from the fiscal court. in november, about volumes, all fiction, were sent, to be retained four months. on their return, it was found that over , issues had been made--a heavy circulation. in the next lot, was placed about per cent of non-fiction, carefully selected. on their return, it was found that books by marden and grenfell had been popular. mrs. sangster's "sweetest story ever told," a life of christ, had been well used, while mrs. wharton's "house of mirth" had been read but twice. "rebecca of sunnybrook farm," "kim," and mrs. whitney's "ascutney street" were each read times in weeks. books on useful arts were so much in demand that they were renewed. the books are charged by the chaplain. when a suspicious looking gathering of the men was investigated by the jailor, it was found that one who could read was reading aloud to those who could not. in the discussion, it was stated that a list of books for use in insane hospitals is to be published soon and that copies are to be on sale by the a. l. a. publishing board. several speakers mentioned a union catalog for prison libraries, with annotations to guide the prisoners in the selection of books. the committee on libraries in federal prisons made a report, in which they stated that an earnest attempt had been made to secure an appropriation of at least $ , for the establishment of a library in the penitentiary at atlanta and a like amount for leavenworth, and $ for books for mcneil island, but that the effort had been unsuccessful. the attempt will be renewed this coming year. the committee was continued. third session (friday, june , ; : p. m.) a third adjourned session of the league was held for the transaction of remaining business. the meeting was called to order by the president. miss martha wilson, supervisor of school libraries in minnesota, spoke on co-operation between library commissions and state boards of education. miss mendenhall then gave a summary of the work done by the library committee of the n. e. a. on library instruction in normal schools. she stated that a questionnaire was sent to normal schools, and the results show that most of the normal school libraries need reorganization. in the , about have trained librarians. these are mainly in the far west. the committee makes the following recommendations: , that library organizations try to have the subject of library training in normal schools presented at educational meetings; , that trained librarians be appointed in all normal schools, with the faculty and salary rank of heads of departments; , the publication of a manual for normal school librarians by the u. s. bureau of education; , the publication in educational periodicals of articles on the greater use of libraries by schools, and on related topics. it was suggested that the library commissions might help in carrying out the last recommendation. miss mendenhall was asked whether she favored putting the school libraries under the state library commissions, or under the state boards of education. she said that she believed the function of the school library to be distinct from that of the public library; that the two should co-operate but not combine. miss stearns of wisconsin said that the question of the relation of the state library commission to the state board of education should be discussed and more clearly defined; that there is a decided tendency to place the library commission under the state board of education, or to merge it with it, as has already been done in one state. there was not time for adequate discussion of this subject, and the suggestion was made that it be taken up at a future league meeting. mrs. minnie clarke budlong, director of the north dakota public library commission, read the following report of the committee on the establishment of new commissions: report of committee on establishment of new commissions this committee has been requested to report on two topics--"a plan for the league to follow in giving aid in the organization of commissions in states now without them," and also a draft of "tentative provisions for a model library law to be used with the model commission law." an a. l. a. committee of which dr. arthur e. bostwick is chairman, has made a valuable report on points to be covered by a model law relating library to municipality, printed in the proceedings. the same committee has under consideration the drafting of the points covered into a model charter, and the league committee decided that action on its own part was unnecessary at present. the other topic assigned this committee cannot be disposed of in so brief a manner. it is a question of theory and of insight, of sympathetic understanding and action. there are eleven states without library commissions: west virginia, south carolina, florida, mississippi, louisiana, oklahoma, new mexico, arizona, nevada, montana and wyoming. these states contain one-eighth of the population of the country, and have only one-twentieth of the libraries. the first step toward aid is to learn how library commissions have been established in other states. letters sent to states elicited replies. perhaps a distinction should be made between library commissions and state libraries, or boards of education, such as new york, california and oregon. but there have been included in this report all states doing extension work, regardless of name or title of organization. the questions asked were: . how did the demand for a commission arise? the answers received are practically unanimous. there was a need felt and provided for by a few far-sighted library workers. eight give the credit of the initiative to library workers or associations. seven give it to women's clubs or the state federation. five say librarians and women's clubs were co-partners in the work, and three, maryland, wisconsin and nebraska, include teachers in this partnership. . who drew the law? the law has usually been drawn by or under the supervision of a few interested workers, such as president of state library association, superintendent of public instruction, president of university, or legislative committee of state federation. in kentucky use was made of the model commission law. . what was done to secure its passage? one would expect a wider range in replies than this question elicited. "a friendly legislator took it in charge" sums up the story in most states. personal letters and interviews of library workers and club women with members of the legislature, and particularly with members of committees, seem the usual methods. in some states the measure was defeated one or more times before influence enough was brought to bear to secure its passage. in nebraska, the measure failed twice until pushed by the federation and teachers. even if no general demand is formulated, there must be a desire expressed by organizations strong enough to impress legislators. . what literature was used? at first, there was no literature available and the majority report "none used" or "nothing special." idaho, minnesota and kentucky mention the wisconsin publications particularly, also some from iowa. five speak of special leaflets prepared or statistics used from traveling library reports or from the league handbook. . how long did it take? the time required varies from "a few weeks" to fourteen years. nine secured the desired legislation in one session. six used two to four years. nebraska required five years; minnesota, six years; tennessee, eight years, and illinois, fourteen. . when was your law passed? massachusetts passed the first library commission law in . since then similar laws have been enacted in states, concluding with south dakota and arkansas in . . has it been amended--if so, when and how? it is interesting to note how few amendments except increase in appropriation have been made in library laws. this emphasizes the importance of careful framing of the law in the beginning. a study of the chief points of the law in other states with such changes as will adapt them to the conditions in the new state should always be made. five states report no amendment. two report increase in membership of commission. ten report increase in appropriation, or minor changes. missouri and north dakota have had their annual appropriation repealed on the theory that it is not constitutional to bind succeeding legislatures. oregon has made the most radical amendment, changing this year from library commission to state library. the conclusion of the matter seems to be that the initiative is with a few interested people, working through library associations, women's clubs and teachers, on the legislators, and that it may often be accomplished in one session after public opinion is sufficiently formed to bring the necessary pressure to bear. these summaries lead to the following suggestions for aid: . a collection of material should be made which would include all pamphlets and articles on the practical establishment of library commissions. effort should be made to include the special leaflets prepared in each state during its campaign. some states, notably kentucky, have prepared maps for circulation to arouse interest. a collection of all such special material kept for loan would be found suggestive and helpful in other states. . if possible some one should be sent by the league as an organizer to assist for a short time in the establishment of new commissions. this organizer should understand conditions in that section of the country, and should be able to advise wisely, talk with legislators persuasively, and address library meetings and state federations enthusiastically. something may be accomplished by correspondence and by leaflets, but much more is possible to the trained observer on the field. conditions even in neighboring states differ widely, and require study on the field for helpful understanding. . special training for library commission workers. there is need of electives in the lines in which commission work differs from public library work. . discussion of practical questions at league meetings. this is already being done and should be continued so long as there is need of a place where workers may discuss their individual problems. . it is suggested a committee be appointed to look after the needs of new commissions after their organization, as well as before the law is passed. there are many problems arising at home and abroad in which new workers would be glad of assistance, were there some particular committee to which they could apply. respectfully submitted, minnie c. budlong, chairman, elizabeth b. wales, asa wynkoop, william frederick yust. june , . the report was accepted and the committee continued. miss elizabeth b. wales, secretary of the missouri library commission, read the following report of the committee on charter provisions: report of committee on charter provisions since the meeting at ottawa your committee has somewhat awaited the action of the council committee, which had been working on the library law of the state from the standpoint of its relation to the free will and initiative of the municipality. it was thought that the work of these committees might duplicate each other. as the report of this committee covering statute law does not seem to meet the point at issue, namely, safeguarding the interests of the library under the adoption of a new form of municipal government, your committee would make two suggestions concerning such safeguard: st. that it may be done by interesting the legislation of the charter bill in a definite provision establishing the public library as a city department. nd. that it may be done by inserting phrases in such bill, practically accepting the existing state law. in the first case the essential points to be covered are: the provision of a proper fund, the appointment of a competent board. if all the duties of said board are settled and all its powers defined, the section will be a long and involved one. your committee therefore recommends safeguarding the state library law as the better plan. to do this, care must be taken to insert the proper phrases under sections which (a) define the general duties of commissioners wherever inclusive terms are used. for instance, "and have power to administer and control all other departments or activities of said city," the clause "except such as are already provided for in the statutes" would guard the library law existing; (b) under the rulings on civil service, the same clause would be effective in protecting library service, "except officers whose appointment is already otherwise provided for in the statutes"; (c) under the section concerning establishment and care of public institutions and buildings the exception must be more definite, e. g., "except that nothing in this law shall be construed to affect the existing state library law." the chairman of your committee was not successful in securing these amendments to the commission government bill in missouri, but found the fathers of the bill willing to consider them, and entirely ignorant of any possible disturbance of the existing library law under the new charter provisions. moreover, good lawyers claim that a partially excepting phrase under the general definition of powers in this case makes it probable that no such disturbance need result. this opinion can not be confirmed, however, until a test case gives us a supreme court decision. briefly, then, your committee recommends protection on the charter law of existing statutory provisions for libraries, rather than a special charter provision. respectfully submitted, elizabeth b. wales, chairman, a. l. bailey, a. e. bostwick, committee on charter provisions. june , . in the absence of the chairman, the secretary read the following report of the committee on library post the committee appointed by the league to assist in obtaining favorable postal rates for library books reports as follows: as the members of the league are aware, the provisions of the general parcel post law were so changed immediately before its enactment that printed matter was excluded from the privileges of the parcel post rates. consequently the long-distance lobbying which the committee and the profession indulged in, favoring the parcel post law, went for naught. since that time the committee has been in correspondence with a number of members of congress favorable to the admission of library books to parcel post rates. during the winter the committee communicated with all of the library commissions and with many state and city libraries asking their co-operation in interesting their representatives in so changing the law as to admit books. while reports indicate that this co-operation was furnished, and several congressmen stand ready to favor a change, the results have been nil. this failure to get any results whatsoever is partly due to the fact that special legislation had entirely engaged the attention of congress. the committee desires to call the attention of the league to the fact that it is not at all certain that to be included in this original parcel post law would be a great assistance to the libraries in circulating books. for practical library use the changed rates would be of little or no advantage, except for points within the fifty mile zone. take, for example, a book weighing a trifle over one pound (and this is a very ordinary-sized book). it can be sent anywhere within the postal union for nine cents under the present third class rates. by parcel post rate it would cost six cents to send this book to a point in the city or along any rural route centering in the city. it will cost eight cents to send this book anywhere within the fifty mile zone. above the fifty mile zone the parcel post rate will exceed the third class rate as indicated below. mile zone--ten cents-- cent excess over existing rd class. mile zone--twelve cents-- cents excess over existing rd class. mile zone--fourteen cents-- cents excess over existing rd class. , mile zone--sixteen cents-- cents excess over existing rd class. and so on, until it will cost twenty-four cents to send the book more than , miles by parcel post as against the nine cents under existing third class rates--an excess of cents. these facts are the occasion for, and justify the opposition which some publishing houses and other commercial houses sending out books or catalogs exhibited to including printed matter within the parcel post law. in some ways it would be unfortunate at this time to admit books to the parcel post rates, since accepting these unsatisfactory rates might prevent further re-adjustments for some time to come. it might be wiser to make an effort to get better rates. it is the committee's judgment that there is much in common between the library authorities and some of the commercial forces which opposed admitting printed matter to the parcel post, that we have all much in common. it is therefore recommended that the committee be directed to use every effort to get into communication with the forces which have opposed the admission of printed matter to the parcel post rates in order that these forces may be united with library authorities in an effort so to adjust rates as to be more advantageous to all than the present parcel post rates would be. in conclusion, the committee reports that it seems unlikely that any further legislation will be immediately enacted. respectfully submitted, m. s. dudgeon, chairman, zaidee brown, mary e. downey. june , . the report was accepted, and the committee continued and directed to carry out the recommendation contained in the report. the following reports of the publication committee and the committee on study outlines were read: report of publication committee the publication committee of the league respectfully reports: that they have had under consideration during the past year two publications, neither of which the committee has found necessary to publish, but both of which are to be published elsewhere. application was made to the committee for a new edition of mrs. mcdonald-jones' "magazines for the small library." at about the time this request was received it was learned that mr. f. k. walter had prepared a manuscript for publication which was substantially such a revision. the committee held a meeting at the mid-winter meeting of the western section of the league and recommended to the a. l. a. publishing board that this be published. we are informed that the publishing board has issued this and that it is now obtainable. the committee has also had under consideration during the year the publication of a "reading list for the insane" prepared with great care by miss miriam e. carey of the minnesota public library commission. the committee hesitated to recommend the publication of this since it seemed that the demand for it would be so limited that it would be difficult to obtain returns for the money expended. the committee is informed, however, that the list will be printed by the a. l. a. publishing board and that suitable arrangements for its distribution to libraries will be made. the committee reports that the committee on study outlines, which was originally a subcommittee of the publication committee, has, as shown by their report submitted herewith, arrived at a satisfactory form of study-club outline. it is therefore recommended that immediate steps be taken to secure the preparation of study outlines to be printed at once. if no other procedure can be found the committee suggests that after a list of the most desirable subjects to be covered is made up, a limited number of subjects be assigned to each active commission, with agreement on their part to prepare at as early a date as possible suitable outlines on these subjects, conforming each as nearly as may be to the form adopted by the league; that all these outlines be submitted to some one person to be edited in order to secure substantial uniformity of form and to insure that the outline will be useful in other states and that the committee be authorized to secure the immediate printing of these if this can be done on a basis which is financially sound. informal discussion of this plan with several of the commissions indicates that the work can be done in this way. it is strongly urged that this work should be inaugurated at once. respectfully submitted, matthew s. dudgeon, chairman, fannie rawson, caroline webster, carl h. milam. june , . report of the study outline committee those who were in attendance at the meeting of the league of library commissions in chicago in january, , will recall the general discussion of the need of study outlines to be used in traveling library work in connection with study clubs, and that the publication committee was asked to investigate and report as to the feasibility of the league's undertaking the preparation of such outlines, to be utilized by the various traveling libraries. mr. m. s. dudgeon, as chairman, reported progress at the pasadena meeting in may, , and submitted suggestions toward a uniform plan. later miss margaret w. brown of iowa, who had been active in club work in her own state, as chairman of the literature and library extension committee of the state federation of women's clubs, was made chairman of the special committee on study outlines. in view of the possibility of the various library commissions contributing one or more study outlines for league use, it seemed important that a general scheme for preparing these should be agreed upon, and miss brown presented such a scheme for discussion at the chicago mid-winter league meeting in january, , relating to the basis and form for preparing these outlines, based on a single text with a small group of collateral references. this was worked out very carefully, and tested by preparing a few outlines according to the proposed scheme, which had proved very acceptable; and it was suggested that the various commissions use the plan in preparing outlines, with the thought of securing uniformity in preparation and printing. the chairman conferred with such thorough students of literature as mrs. francis squire potter and mrs. h. a. davidson, both having practical experience in study club work, the former being chairman of the literature and library extension committee of the general federation of woman's clubs, and the latter well known as the editor of the study guide series. at the annual meeting of the league at ottawa in june, , definite recommendations were made to the league conforming to the plan presented at the chicago meeting the january preceding, and the league voted to authorize an expenditure not exceeding $ for the preparation and printing of a few outlines. the scheme commended itself to certain publishers to such an extent that the league was assured that there would be no financial risk in having these printed, as it seemed reasonably sure there would be a demand for them not only on the part of traveling library systems, but public libraries generally, and the general federation of women's clubs and the various state federations. these plans would doubtless have been consummated before this, had not the chairman, miss brown, found it necessary to give up her work on account of the condition of her health, thus making it impossible to pursue the matter further, involving as it did many details and careful editorial supervision of the material to be put in print. your present acting chairman consented to carry on the work until the time of this annual meeting, hoping to carry out miss brown's plans as to printing a few outlines, as a visible result of the long period of investigation by the committee; she regrets that many things have conspired to make this impossible. hence, this report is made chiefly with the desire of "keeping history straight" up to this point, and transmitting to your next committee a statement of progress up to this time. this report is made with the firm belief that no more important project is under consideration by the league than this, and that if it is kept clearly in mind that these outlines are to meet a real need of a large class of intelligent, ambitious women of this country who have not college preparation, but are eager students, the outlines will be utilized in a very resultful way. before the chicago meeting in january, , a request was made by this committee for a list of subjects for which study outlines were most in demand by the various state traveling libraries, and a summary of the answers received showed an increasing demand for aids in the study of public questions rather than literary or cultural subjects. definite statements were made by several library commissions as to the need of outlines on civic improvement for small towns, civics, conservation, household economics, municipal housekeeping, etc. the plan submitted by miss brown as chairman of this committee as a part of her report at the ottawa meeting is attached hereto. respectfully submitted, alice s. tyler, acting chairman, m. s. dudgeon, carl h. milam. plan for preparation of study outlines _basis_ a. one book selected as foundation for outline. if a single book suitable for text can not be found, outline to be based on fewest number of books necessary for the purpose. text selected to be authoritative, reasonable in price, readable and stimulating. b. five to ten books as collateral reference. selected to cover subject matter in study outline and amplify the text. publisher and price given for all books included, for use in purchase. =note=: a more extended list of books can easily be prepared by any library where additional material is available. lessons should be outlined by: c. question method. five to ten definite questions on each lesson. d. or, topical method. topics assigned under each lesson should be those which present special phases of the general subject. the two methods may sometimes be satisfactorily combined. written papers, if included under either question or topical form of study outline, should be assigned only for subjects which require some degree of original thought; all information to be derived from textbooks and encyclopedias should be covered by the regular lesson for oral discussion. =note=:--number of meetings of study clubs vary. probably not less than sixteen or more than twenty-six lessons. many average two meetings per month, october to may. explanatory notes on the plan of preparation of study outlines a. the use of a few designated books (or a single book) as a basis for common study of the same subject, or closely related topics, provides the means by which the unity and co-ordination is secured, which is essential for effective and satisfactory results. each member may, if she so desires, provide herself at nominal cost, with the source references necessary to cover the essential points contained in the outline. b. the books for collateral reading should be carefully evaluated and selection based upon their real value in supplementing text, from the standpoint of reliability, readableness and stimulative quality, also that the price shall not be prohibitive of purchase by clubs, local public libraries and duplication by traveling libraries of large number of copies for use in supplying many different clubs. any local or traveling library may easily provide additional books for collateral reading whenever the collection permits. it is not, however, deemed advisable to have such extended lists incorporated in the outlines; as a demand would thus be created which could not be supplied by the small library, and therefore would become a handicap and embarrassment. c. in outlining lessons by the question method the questions should be so formulated as to stimulate discussion, not simply to be answered in the affirmative or negative. the question method permits a free expression of individual opinions based on personal reading. such "discussion awakens the keenest interest through the activity of different minds upon the same fact or idea," as each member is expected to prepare herself to answer all questions. the question method is indorsed by many educational experts as a desirable method for the conduct of study classes, and has been found to be practical and satisfactory by many study clubs. d. in outlining lessons by topical method, care should be taken to include no more topics than can be thoroughly discussed, and such phases of the subject assigned as topics as will amplify the general subject which has been studied in common by all members from text upon which the outline is based. the reports were accepted, and it was voted that the publication committee be instructed to secure the preparation of study outlines, as suggested in their report. the secretary then read her report on the year's work, noting the publication of the yearbook of the league, and the preparation by the president of an exhibit for the meeting of the n. e. a. following is the financial statement for the year. balance on hand, aug. , $ . received from dues . received from sale of handbook and yearbook . ------- total $ . expenditures. printing yearbook and programs $ . stationery and postage . clerical help and multigraphs . n. e. a. exhibit, supplies and clerical help . miscellaneous . ------- total $ . balance on hand, june , $ . miss baldwin of minnesota, suggested that the league send to miss tyler, of iowa, a telegram expressing regret for her withdrawal from active commission work, and appreciation of her services to the league. it was voted that miss baldwin be directed to send such a telegram. the following telegram was sent: "congratulations and best wishes from the league of library commissions, with sincere regret that you were absent from this meeting, and the hope that you will consider yourself a life member of the league, to which you have rendered such valuable service." the meeting then adjourned. special libraries association first session the first session of the fifth annual conference of the special libraries association was opened in the parlor of the hotel kaaterskill, on tuesday afternoon, june , , with the president in the chair. mrs. a. w. von hohoff of new york, opened the meeting with a paper entitled, "municipal reference work in new york city." she spoke of the necessity out of which this collection had grown and the lack of ease with which information of this character had been previously obtained. in the short space of time during which this new library has been established over , people have consulted it, mostly employees of the city. it is serving especially those employees who are studying for civil service examination leading to advancement in the city's work; newspaper men, lawyers and real estate dealers have also found it of value. a short resume of the kind of literature on its shelves was given. this library aims to keep new york city in close touch with the activities and movements of other cities.[ ] [ ] for full paper see "special libraries," . the second paper on the program was by mr. n. c. kingsbury, vice-president of the american tel. & tel. company, upon "the library--a necessity of modern business."[ ] [ ] for full paper see library journal, aug., . few people realize, who have had any connection with the library movement, that specialization has come to mean what it has. almost no one would have supposed that even a large public service corporation was maintaining five distinct library collections, two at least of which are in charge of trained librarians. this paper, suggestive as it was of the increased activity along library lines in the business world, led to interesting questions. it was followed by a paper by mr. andrew l. bostwick, municipal reference librarian of st. louis, entitled "relations between the municipal library and legislators." he emphasized the necessity for bridging the gap between the average librarian and the average city assemblyman, also the potency of personality which should bring about a close and cordial relationship between the library and its readers. he spoke of the light manner in which municipal libraries were often created and the subsequent selection of the librarian. the different kind of legislators as existing in the average city were aptly held before the audience in no unmistakable terms; and finally, the choice of a proper librarian with his necessary qualifications was presented, together with the manner in which the data accumulated within the library should be put into the hands of the legislator. dr. w. dawson johnston, librarian of columbia university, presented the next paper entitled, "the relation between special and general libraries."[ ] "the rise of the special library is undoubtedly due to the limitations of the general library. these have been limitations of location as well as limitations of service. a general library can not in the nature of things be everywhere and even when it is located so as to serve excellently the needs of a special institution, it can not render the service of a collection selected for a specific purpose. there must then be special libraries for special institutions, societies, clubs, and offices. [ ] for full report see "special libraries," . "the special library, however, has its limitations also. it is in danger of having the disadvantages of a private library without the advantages of a public library. this is so true as to remind one of charles lamb's description of pamphlets as books which are no books. in similar manner we are sometimes compelled to look upon special libraries as libraries which are no libraries at all, especially where they are so small and so little used as not to require the services of a librarian. "there are too many special libraries which are not to be distinguished from general libraries except by their location, too many that are simply inferior general libraries, too many that may simply be described as general libraries gone wrong." he discussed the policy in the elimination of books in each type of library, the matter of the conditions of transfer from a special library to a general one, the relations between the two in respect to bibliographic service, and in conclusion said: "the special library forms an important auxiliary to the general library and especially to the university library, and more important as subjects of research become more practical in character. the general library, because of its comprehensiveness and size must in the nature of things be more useful and must in the aggregate be more used. but if a special library is well selected, that is, if only the best and latest books are admitted to its shelves, it must be proportionately more used than the general library and with better results. some time may be wasted in finding a special library and in gaining admission to it, but little is wasted in it, while in the general library the time wasted in getting books and in reading books which were better left unread is simply appalling." following this very interesting discourse, a paper entitled, "the library of the school of architecture at harvard university--the treatment of collections relating to landscape architecture, including city planning," by miss theodora kimball, librarian of this library, was read by title in the absence of the author.[ ] [ ] a reprint can be obtained from the secretary of the "spec. lib. assn." ( ) see forthcoming issue of "special libraries." miss helen r. hosmer, of the general electric company, schenectady, n. y., presented the last paper of the afternoon, entitled "the library of the research laboratory, general electric company." "research expects rebuffs, expects to accept a small advance instead of a revolution, expects to make mistakes, and frequently to fail, but intends to let no lesson go unheeded, and to learn from every stumble. "inasmuch as every special library comes into very close contact with those it serves, it is not strange the research library partakes of the same nature that pervades the research laboratory. it too is, in this case particularly, a field for experiment. "the object in view is of course to render as readily available as possible all the information contained in the library on subjects of present or possible future interest to the laboratory staff. "the main sources of this information are two: first, the scientific and technical literature, consisting of books, periodicals, pamphlets and special publications, clippings, and abstracts from the technical literature, compiled by the publication department of the company, and second the reports from the various laboratories of the company." the handling of the different classes of material in this library is minutely described and covers several unique features, both in the kinds of material handled and in the methods used. in concluding, she said: "we are attempting to build up a system requiring the minimum amount of work for maintenance, sufficiently simple to appeal to the most hurried research mind, flexible enough to admit of continued improvement without demolishment, and yet adequate to the varied needs of practical scientific investigation." mr. r. r. bowker, of the library journal, added some very interesting thoughts along the general trend of the meeting drawn from his many years of experience in library and commercial fields, which were much appreciated by all those present. second session the second session of the association was called to order in the ladies' parlor at p. m., june th, by the president. a few general introductory remarks were made by the president regarding the purpose of this session which hinged chiefly about the question of handling clippings. honorable robert luce in a very carefully prepared address then discussed, under the title, "the clipping bureau and the library," the internal working of the clipping bureau which bears his name. probably few librarians have realized the enormous volume of detail handled by the large clipping bureau in the course of a day's work. mr. luce in his paper has carefully brought home that fact and urged that many users of material from clipping bureaus, and among them librarians, had never learned how to correctly judge results of clipping-bureau service. this judgment should be used upon the mass result rather than upon detail. an interesting description of the method of caring for a collection of , or more articles of his own proved an important part of the paper. a discussion of the "scrap book" and its function in the library was also handled. an earnest plea was made for co-operation on the part of the librarians ordering material from the clipping bureau. the employment of the clipping bureau is a step in the line of efficiency. "no man accustomed to business methods can fail to be struck with the waste therein due to the employment of high-grade minds on low-grade work. when some part of the working time of a public servant possessing intellectual acumen is put into manual labor that can be as well performed by a youth without special training, there is economic loss. when your subordinates handle the scissors and the paste-brush, you are paying them for work that can more quickly and much more cheaply be done in our cutting rooms." a significant question by mr. bowker brought out the following facts: "after the reader marks the newspaper it goes to the cutter. there is very seldom any loss there. occasionally an item is slashed or overlooked, and when the clippings have been cut and pasted they go to the sorter, whose duty it is to sort them by groups. we have the clippings divided into classifications. we allow each customer one of those classifications." mr. luce answered many other questions raised by different speakers.[ ] [ ] see full discussion in "special libraries." following mr. luce's paper, mr. jesse cunningham, librarian of the school of mines and metallurgy, rolla, missouri, reported as the chairman of the clipping committee his investigation of the use and methods of handling and filing newspaper clippings. a very careful digest of a questionnaire sent to over thirty selected libraries, discussed the matters of obtaining clippings by these various libraries, the arrangement of the material for clipping, the service rendered by the clipping bureaus, classification and methods of filing, as well as the indexing and eliminating of dead material, closing the report with a discussion of the use and value of clippings, their disadvantages, the purchasing of clippings on special subjects and the several conclusions arrived at by the committee. a most excellent report was rendered. the committee was continued and requested to extend its inquiries along the lines indicated. in the absence of dr. j. franklin crowell of the wall street journal, his paper upon the "clipping methods of the wall street journal library" was read by title. mr. h. w. wilson of minneapolis, followed with a paper entitled, "problems of printed indexes in special fields." "the need for printed indexes in special fields has been made manifest by the thousands of fugitive scraps of indexes that libraries here and there spend their time and energy in producing for temporary use. "first steps toward printed indexes are both fragmentary and inadequate. it seems to be time to take the next step in the development of index-making, a step which involves concentration of scattered ideas--a step which should be successful because it means comprehensiveness, thoroughness, uniformity, economy and efficiency. "the special fields of literature in which printed indexes are most likely to succeed are thought to be as follows, in about the order mentioned: industrial arts, agriculture, education, social problems. "it will scarcely be necessary to defend here the alphabetical index as opposed to the classified arrangement. while a classified list of articles has its value in informing specialists what has been published in their respective fields in one particular month, or year, it is almost useless as a book of ready reference in a library--useless even to the technically trained, exasperating to the layman. "in a classed list the responsibility for finding an article rests with the searcher." the great difficulty caused by unsatisfactory nomenclature especially in rapid-growing new technical fields, was dwelt upon at some length. in conclusion, he said, "at least one new field should be opened up each year." in the general discussion which followed, the questions of paper for clipping mounts, adhesives, and preservatives, were touched upon. third session the third session of the association was held on thursday evening, june , , opening with the president in the chair and about thirty persons present. mr. samuel h. ranck of grand rapids, reported as chairman of the municipal yearbook committee.[ ] [ ] report on file with sec'y of s. l. a. in the absence of mr. h. h. b. meyer, his paper entitled, "the division of bibliography of the library of congress as a clearing house for bibliographical information," was read by mr. bruncken of the same library. "i am planning, in the interval before the next meetings of the state legislature, to prepare a list of the subjects which have been investigated by the several state libraries or state legislative reference bureaus." this will enable the division of bibliography to inform an inquiring librarian what states have taken up any question his own state legislature might be interested in. several fixed forms of cards for doing this work in order to eliminate extensive correspondence are shown.[ ] [ ] for paper in full see forthcoming "special libraries." miss marie f. lindholm presented a paper entitled "a review of the chief sources of special library collections."[ ] [ ] for special reprint address public service commission library of new york, or the secretary's office. while the author has been for some time connected with a prominent public service commission, the very careful and painstaking enumeration of sources of material can but prove of unusual value to almost any special library in the country. under thirteen main headings the paper treated of a general reference foundation, reference sources of particular value to public service commission or corporation libraries, chief reference sources for a financial library, those for a municipal reference library, current books and special reports, periodicals, government and state reports, society publications, company and trade publications, legislation, legal decisions and briefs, manuscripts, original records, blueprints, maps, etc., and finally co-operation in special library work. should one about to form a library of almost any character have before him this paper he would without serious effort gather about himself, without other help, a splendid foundation upon which to build his immediate specialty. much complementary discussion followed. following this the report of the secretary-treasurer discussed the widening aspects of the association, the growth of its membership, both in numbers and in distribution, the financial condition of the society, the large number of inquiries which had been received by the secretary's office, indicating the spread of the special library idea, the methods for advertising the association and its activities which are of interest to the members, the results obtained in the past year through the responsibility districts established at the beginning of mr. handy's administration, the value and possibilities of the employment exchange operated through the secretary's office, and the contemplated brochure advocated by the executive board for placing before interested parties the important facts, such as the association's growth, scope, purpose, constitution, membership, committees, printed literature available, etc. after receiving the report of the executive board and accepting the same in toto and transacting such other business matters as remained, electing new officers, etc., the meeting adjourned sine die. guy e. marion, secretary. post-conference trip saturday noon, june , the post conference party left hotel kaaterskill with feelings of mingled pleasure and regret. the conference week with its happy reunion of old friends was past, and the prospect of a week of travel with its unknown possibilities of sight seeing and impromptu library conferences banished the depression that follows the breaking up of a happy party. vexing details, as paying unusually large hotel bills, arguing with the drivers about double payment of bus fares and exorbitant tipping of porters to insure prompt delivery of trunks at the station, were soon forgotten. for a week we were to be care-free, shifting all responsibility and planning to our genial conductors, mr. f. w. faxon and mr. c. h. brown. even trunks were forgotten, not only by the party, but by the railroad people until the casual inquiry of one of the party brought them to light and started them again on their journey. the rapid descent by the otis elevating railway with the accompanying ringing sensations in the ears made us realize the great height at which we had lived the past week. we soon found ourselves in the heavier, warmer air of the sea level speeding towards albany through the fertile farms of the hudson valley. we caught occasional glimpses of the hudson, bearing on its sluggish tide the graceful, white-sailed, pleasure crafts and the clumsy, but vitally freighted, canal barges. comfortable quarters in albany were found at the hotel ten eyck, and the party spent the evening at the new education building visiting the new state library and library school. the building is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. it is certainly very beautiful when considered alone, but it is a pity that it could not have had a larger site and more advantageous setting. the general plan of the building with its magnificent distances gives a corridor appearance to all the library rooms except the reference room, which is superb in its general effect and equipment. the lighting scheme of this room, which is both direct and indirect, is very effective. the absence of mural decoration is a marked feature, and the room in all its appointments is obviously set apart for serious study and work. the individual desks, which were planned by the librarian, attract immediate attention, as they are admirably arranged to give good light, convenience, and privacy to the student. the new library school with its splendid outfit was of great interest to former students in the party who remembered the cramped and migratory quarters in the old school. every feature that experience had suggested and foresight could devise seemed to be there to aid and inspire the student. the older students noticed with pleasure the portraits of mr. dewey and mrs. fairchild which adorned the walls of the main class room. miss woodworth had prepared a temporary exhibition of class photographs which aroused pleasing memories. the interest was divided between gratification at the growth in strength of character and success of the earlier classes and mirth at their costumes. a permanent exhibition which is the special pride of miss woodworth is the collection of work by the school alumni. this contains library reports, bulletins, and lists prepared in whole or in part by former students. there are also many books along historical and literary lines, photographs of libraries planned or remodeled by library school graduates, and photographs of the former students. this collection was most interesting in its tangible evidence of the success of the students. miss woodworth wants to make this collection as nearly complete as possible and a credit to the school. all former students are urged to send her a set of all their work, either printed or typewritten, and photographs of their libraries and of themselves, both when they were students and as they are now. all material sent to the school before the fire was burned. on the next day, sunday, all departments of the library were open to the visiting librarians and all went a second time to see by daylight the splendid rooms, so admirably equipped and planned to give quick and efficient service to the reader. all left the library with a feeling of admiration for the knowledge, skill, and executive ability of those who had created from nothing in less than two years one of the great world libraries. on monday morning at an early hour we were hurried to the train to secure seats in the dining-car. our english friend was aghast at this american custom of "first come, first served" so early in the morning, and we had to admit that in this case a previous booking of seats would have been more comfortable. we had the unexpected comfort, however, in this case, of early breakfast in a stationary dining-car. our route that morning was through the mohawk valley along the erie canal with its placid mode of travel. glimpses of the foothills of the adirondacks broke up the monotony of the journey through this level country and gave us hints of the mountain scenery to come. the name "adirondacks" suggested the rough, mountain wilderness and we were eager to reach it. at utica we turned north and soon began to climb. the country became wilder and occasional log houses suggested pioneering. at fulton chain station we left the main line of the adirondack division of the new york central and in a short time our special car, which was now rather hot and dusty, was deserted at old forge for the little steamer on the first lake of the fulton chain. we were in the wilderness at last and enjoyed to the utmost the few hours' ride through this chain of beautiful lakes. hills and mountains were on all sides clothed with the forests in all their glory of early summer greenery. there were few signs of civilization and we felt as remote from our daily tasks of doing good to others as the most reprobate could desire. early in the afternoon we reached eagle bay hotel at the head of fourth lake, our headquarters for several days. our long delayed dinner was most welcome, as glorious air and scenery somehow fail to satisfy all physical needs. that afternoon, while exploring the shore of the lake, we made our acquaintance with the adirondack open camp, or "lean-to", lined with balsam boughs on which to sit or lie in the evening and spin yarns while the campfire blazes in front. we all wanted to try the game and those who had cameras took appropriate pictures. we must have come at the wrong time of the year, however, for, alas for the romance of an adirondack lodge, no one seemed to care to brave the attacks of the mosquitos and flies which filled the woods about sundown. all sought the refuge of the hotel piazza enveloped in a stifling smudge from burning green hay or retired early to well screened bedrooms to catch up on the lost sleep question. tuesday morning we started for blue mountain lake over the raquette lake railroad. until within a few years this country was an almost unbroken wilderness and the road even now runs through the heavy woods in a clearing so narrow that the trees shade the train and the full effect of the forest can be enjoyed. the trip through raquette lake, the "queen of the adirondacks" which owes it name to its very irregular outline, gave many opportunities for those with cameras to get fine pictures. from raquette lake there was a short trip along marion river winding through a stretch of forest famed for deer hunting. then came a portage to utowana lake of about a mile by a primitive train of discarded brooklyn open horse-cars drawn by a diminutive locomotive over a creaking railroad. our english friend was much interested in the fauna of the adirondacks and we hoped at this point we could show him at least one bear. perhaps the adirondack bears like those in the yellowstone are shy early in the summer visitor season, for we did not get a glimpse of one of them. the only fauna we saw aside from the birds were chipmunks, red squirrels, one woodchuck, and two rabbits. in eagle lake we passed the famous old eagle's nest and some of the ladies were in raptures over the herons which they thought were eagles. we passed beavers' houses, which we admired on faith, since no one had ever seen beavers working on them. on blue mountain lake even the most self-contained became enthusiastic over its beauties. from its charm of outline, its wooded and rocky islands, its purity and loveliness, it well deserves its claim as the pearl of all the wilderness waters. it claims with lake placid to be the loveliest lake in the eastern states. across the lake is blue mountain with its blue dome rising to a height of , feet. its forest clad side slopes directly to the water's edge inviting the mountain climbers to try their mettle. we left the steamer here and were carried by automobile about a mile up one of the hills to the blue mountain house where we had a glorious view of the lake. it seemed a pity to waste time on dinner, but we did and found it most delectable. although the thermometer stood in the nineties, four of the men, our english friend among them, climbed blue mountain. the less strenuous rested and enjoyed the view and the beauties of a wonderful garden nearby in the woods. the return trip to eagle bay made in the cool of afternoon and evening was enjoyed perhaps even more than the morning trip. we were beguiled on this excursion as on others by frequent comparisons between english and american customs and scenery. this added much to our enjoyment and knowledge because we could look at things from two points of view. one observation which struck us as novel was that the english mountains were better than the american because they were usually treeless. aside from the economic axiom according to which this is a fault, we considered this position untenable, as we thought the barren, dead, english mountains we had seen would be much more beautiful if clothed with living green. however, when we were told that it was more enjoyable climbing english mountains because there were no underbrush and trees to impede one and shut out the view and the breeze, we agreed it all depended on the point of view and the weather. the next morning, wednesday, after a swim in the lake, some climbed eagle mountain just back of the hotel. this was an easy climb and from the "shelter" at the top there was a fine view of the lake. this beautiful lake region is still wild and primitive, there are few pretentious camps or hotels and it is not generally known. more should visit this country to enjoy its beauty before it becomes the resort of wealth and fashion. at noon we left this beautiful spot and, with many regrets, parted with mr. brown, our efficient guide to this region. we went on by train by way of carter and saranac inn station to the lake placid club, our headquarters for the next four days. a delay in train connections at saranac gave us a chance to ride about this famous resort where stevenson once spent a winter in search of health. one of the interesting sights was an imitation alaskan camp with log huts and esquimaux dogs for the use of a moving picture making company, when showing scenes in the wild northwest. the imitation of the northwest was so good that it took considerable mental effort to realize we were still in the empire state with civilized life all about us. so many good things had been planned for us at lake placid, that we were often at a loss what to choose. we usually tried to do everything. the first evening mr. dewey welcomed us and the other librarians, who had gone directly to the lake placid club from the catskills, with a good supper in a special dining room where we could all eat together. he then outlined the plan of entertainment during our stay, delegating his son, godfrey, to carry out details and attend to our comfort and well-being. to these three, mr. melvil dewey, miss katharine l. sharp, and mr. godfrey dewey, the party is most grateful for the welcome they received and the good time they enjoyed. the lake placid holiday will be long remembered with delight by those fortunate enough to enjoy it. the entertainment included automobile tours on several days to the famous places in the adirondacks, covering a territory that would take several weeks to explore in the ordinary way. when we left lake placid we felt we ought to suffer from a case of adirondack travel indigestion. thursday morning two parties were ready to start at : in the stanley steamers driven by mr. godfrey dewey and mr. hubert stevens for an all day trip of about miles. it was a glorious day and the early morning ride in the cool, bracing air made us forget every care and worry. we followed the west branch of the ausable river, with the road crossing it many times and often winding beside it on narrow ledges with the mountains towering above us where we could get the proper thrills of danger. we all felt confidence in our chauffeurs and enjoyed equally the swift runs on the level state roads, the racing up the steep mountain roads and the swift plunges into the valleys. we stopped for a moment at the beautiful wilmington high falls and then sped on to ausable chasm. we explored the chasm and made the trip by boat through the gorge. this seemed a bit perilous and, although assured there had never been an accident, we took our places in the boat with an uneasy feeling. the ride on the swift, deep river in this wonderful cleft in the mountain was, however, all too short. we would have lingered to enjoy the wonders and beauty of the gorge festooned with vines and banked with ferns which found a congenial home in its limestone walls, but there was a long journey ahead. we climbed the walls of the chasm to our waiting automobiles and were soon speeding south, with lake champlain on our left and the bouquet river for company along our road. occasional stops were made to take on water, sometimes from the hose at a friendly hotel, sometimes from a brook, and once from the stock drinking-trough at a farm house where the agitated farmer's wife was fearful that our great machine was going to pump the trough dry. at westport inn we joined the other party, and had a rest on the cool piazza and a good dinner. in the afternoon we ran west through elizabethtown to the mountains again, stopping for a moment to cheer our friends in the other car who had punctured a tire. our turn to stop for repairs came soon, when our friends extended their advice and sympathetic aid and passed on. in a few miles more we began to climb a narrow mountain road which seemed impassable in places, and were enjoying the wild scenery when another tire puncture held us up in a lonely place, remote from the telephone. a family touring party in another automobile stopped to offer aid, but they could not help us. the women in that party inquired if there were wild animals thereabouts and, when assured that there were lynxes, bears and other fearsome beasts in the woods, they besought their men folks to hasten on before the dark should overtake them. for a number of miles we crept along in a crippled condition to st. hubert's inn, where we waited several hours till a new tire could be sent from home. the rest of the trip was largely after dark over rough, narrow, precipitous roads along the cascade lakes where we had our fill of the spice of danger of mountain night travel. we reached home too late to attend the council fire at iroquois lodge. friday, july fourth, was celebrated by the absence of fire-crackers and fireworks and other nerve racking and dangerous devices. instead, a competitive prize fire drill by the club fire department was held. guests could thus see how secure against harm from fire life and property are at the club. under miss sharp's guidance, a tour of the club property was made in the afternoon, and we saw how the comfort and well-being of the guests were cared for in the various departments, such as the laundry and the kitchens. informal tea was served at miss sharp's cottage, the larches, where mrs. frederick m. crunden assisted miss sharp in dispensing good cheer. that evening the party enjoyed an informal banquet, with mr. dewey, miss sharp, and other resident members of the a. l. a. present. just as the dinner closed, the bonfire on the lake was started and the beautiful and unusual spectacle was enjoyed of viewing the fire through a curtain of water from one of the powerful fire hydrants. on saturday several short automobile rides were taken in the morning, including one to the home and grave of john brown, of ossawatomie, now the property of the state. in the afternoon the party was taken by launch to moose island in lake placid and had a picnic lunch before a camp fire in a typical adirondack shelter fragrant with fir balsam boughs. on the ride home mist and rain lent mystery to the beauties of the lake, and just before the trip ended double rainbows proclaimed the end of the storm and a fair day for the morrow. that night a delightful dinner was given the party at iroquois lodge which was graced by the presence of mrs. dewey. a charming feature of the dinner was the arrangement of lighting wholly by candles in rustic candlesticks of white birch, some of which were used to light our way home through the woods, and treasured afterwards as souvenirs. after dinner the company assembled in the council chamber and listened to a graphic story by mr. dewey of the origin and growth of the lake placid club. originally planned to afford an inexpensive, sane, healthful vacation for educational and literary workers, including librarians, it had surpassed all expectations in its success and growth. before the party broke up the thanks and appreciation of all for the good time enjoyed at lake placid as mr. dewey's guests were voiced by mr. hill, mr. thwaites, and miss ahern. mr. jast brought a message of appreciation from over seas where, he said, dewey is a household word in the library world. all spoke in a reminiscent vein and expressed the hope that mr. dewey might again take active part in library work. a small party climbed whiteface that day and had a rather rough experience, particularly on the descent owing to the heavy rain. on sunday automobiles carried the party through saranac to beautiful loon lake, one of the famous, old-time adirondack resorts, where we stopped for a few minutes, and then went on to paul smith's on lower st. regis lake, perhaps the oldest and best known adirondack hotel. here, as at the westport inn, we were guests of the proprietor at a fine dinner. the hotel also arranged a boat trip for us through the lower st. regis, spitfire, and upper st. regis lakes where we saw some of the finest of the adirondack camps. on our way home we visited two famous sanitariums for the cure of tuberculosis, the state institution at ray brook and trudeau's sanitarium, a private, endowed hospital. on this trip no breakdowns marred the pleasure, and, aside from a little delay in starting owing to the agitation of a timid lady from chicago who found herself alone on a rear seat with two mild men, all events came off as scheduled. it might be noted in passing that on all the automobile trips there were at least two and sometimes three men in each car, a marked advance as compared with the famous white mountain coaching trip with one man to a coach. this day, which was perfect in its sunshine and cool, bracing air, was the climax of the trip. with keen regret we gathered to bid good-bye to our hosts at mrs. dewey's afternoon tea. this post conference will long be remembered as one of the best of them all. the party broke up that night. a few stayed on for a rest at lake placid and the others took their ways homeward. some journeyed down lake champlain and lake george, and one stopped at saratoga to be lost in wonder at the huge hotels where all the a. l. a. might easily be housed in comfort and elegance should that body ever meet there. john g. moulton. attendance summaries by position and sex men women total trustees library commissions representatives and organizers chief librarians assistants library schools instructors editors commercial agents others --- --- --- total by geographical sections of the new england states sent " north atlantic states and district of columbia sent " south-eastern states " north central states " south central states " western states " pacific states canadian provinces england germany norway --- total by states alabama arizona california colorado connecticut delaware dist. of columbia florida georgia idaho illinois indiana iowa kansas kentucky maine maryland massachusetts michigan minnesota missouri nebraska new hampshire new jersey new york north carolina north dakota ohio oklahoma oregon pennsylvania rhode island south dakota tennessee texas vermont virginia washington wisconsin foreign countries canada england germany norway --- total by libraries libraries having five or more representatives: brooklyn public l. chicago public l. cincinnati public l. cleveland public l. detroit public l. grand rapids public l. library of congress louisville free public l. new york public l. new york state l. new york state l. school newark free public l. queens borough public l. philadelphia free l. pittsburgh carnegie l. st. louis public l. yale university l. =note=: those who participated in post-conference trip only are not counted in above statistics. attendance register *prefixed to a name indicates participation in post-conference trip in the adirondacks. **prefixed to a name indicates that the person went directly from the catskills to lake placid. +indicates went as far as eagle bay only. abbreviations: f., free; p., public; l., library; ln., librarian; asst., assistant; trus., trustee; ref., reference; catlgr., cataloger; br., branch; sch., school. abbott, alvaretta p., ln. p. l., atlantic city, n. j. abbott, mabel l., asst. wellesley coll. l., wellesley, mass. acker, margaret, ln. p. l., ossining, n. y. ackerly, belle, poughkeepsie, n. y. adams, benjamin, chief circ. dept. p. l., n. y. city. adams, leta e., head catlgr. p. l., rochester, n. y. **ahern, mary e., editor "public libraries," chicago, ill. allen, dr. wm. h., director bureau municipal research, new york city. allin, eugenia, organizer ill. l. ext. com., decatur, ill. anderson, adah m., asst. ln. humboldt br. p. l., chicago, ill. anderson, e. h., director p. l., new york city. anderson, mrs. e. h., n. y. city. anderson, john r., bookseller, new york city. andrew, mrs. kate d., ln. steele memorial l., elmira, n. y. *andrews, c. w., ln. the john crerar l., chicago, ill. andrus, gertrude e., supt. child. dept. p. l., seattle, wash. annis, mrs. newton, detroit, mich. appleton, helena d., secretary p. l., east orange, n. j. armstrong, mary e., asst. catlgr. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. arnold, lillian b., ln. carnegie stout p. l., dubuque, ia. askew, sarah b., organizer n. j. p. l. com., trenton, n. j. avery, john m., ref. ln. state l., montpelier, vt. ayer, t. p., supervisor of binding columbia univ. l., new york city. babbitt, grace e., ref. ln. p. l., washington, d. c. bacon, corinne, ln. drexel inst. l., and dir. l. sch., philadelphia, pa. baer, harriet i., br. ln. p. l., chicago, ill. bailey, a. l., ln. wilmington inst. f. l., wilmington, del. bailey, c. h., buffalo, n. y. bailey, l. j., ln. p. l., gary, ind. bailey, t. d., library bureau, n. y. city. bailey, mrs. t. d., n. y. city. baker, julia a., ln. austin br. p. l., chicago, ill. baldwin, bessie l., asst. p. l., n. y. city. baldwin, clara f., sec'y minn. p. l. com., st. paul, minn. baldwin, e. l., asst. p. l., n. y. city. baldwin, emma v., sec'y to ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. ball, fanny d., ln. central high sch. l., grand rapids, mich. ball, sarah b., ln. business br., f. p. l., newark, n. j. banks, mary, ln. p. service l. of n. j., newark, n. j. barber, clara v., asst. l. of congress, washington, d. c. barickman, mrs. rena m., ln. p. l., joliet, ill. barker, e. elizabeth, ln. y. m. a. l., albany, n. y. barker, tommie d., head ref. dept. carnegie l., atlanta, ga. bartlett, s. r., ln. lockwood, green & co., boston, mass. **bascom, elva l., wis. f. l. com., madison, wis. bastin, dorothy, asst. p. l., chicago, ill. bates, helen c., chief order dept. p. l., detroit, mich. bayer, bertha, fulton st., toledo, o. becker, emily f., ln. p. l., catskill, n. y. belden, c. f. d., ln. state l., boston, mass. belding, mrs. ellinor f., child. ln. adriance mem. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. bell, bernice, head child. dept. f. p. l., louisville, ky. bell, madelene m., senior asst. child. dept. f. p. l., worcester, mass. bell, mary b., louisville, ky. benham, mrs. margaret e., asst. ln. p. l., niagara falls, n. y. bennett, c. w., bigelow binder co., n. y. city. bennett, mrs. m. m., brooklyn, n. y. betteridge, grace l., head trav. l. sect. state l., albany, n. y. bigelow, f. b., ln. n. y. society l., n. y. city. bishop, w. w., supt. of reading room, l. of congress, washington, d. c. blackford, benjamin, supt. of supplies p. l., brooklyn, n. y. blackwelder, paul, asst. ln. p. l., st. louis, mo. blair, mellicent f., asst. catlgr. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. blake, mrs. elveretta s., lagrange, me. blakely, bertha e., ln. mt. holyoke coll. l., so. hadley, mass. blanchard, alice, montpelier, vt. bliss, h. e., ln. coll. of city of new york, n. y. city. bliss, l. e., jr. stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. blumberg, theresa, br. ln. tremont br. p. l., n. y. city. *blunt, florence t., asst. p. l., haverhill, mass. bogle, sarah c. n., director training sch. for child. lns., carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. booth, mary j., ln. eastern ill. state normal sch., charleston, ill. borden, fanny, ref. ln. vassar coll. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. bostwick, a. e., ln. p. l., st. louis, mo. bostwick, a. l., municipal ref. ln. p. l., st. louis, mo. bowen, mrs. enrica h., stud. n. y. p. l. sch., n. y. city. bowerman, george f., ln. p. l., washington, d. c. bowker, r. r., editor "library journal," n. y. city. bowker, mrs. r. r., glendale, stockbridge, mass. bowman, ethel m., plainfield, n. j. bowman, florence m., ln. p. l., plainfield, n. j. bowne, carolyn a., asst. ln. p. l., perth amboy, n. j. brainerd, jessie f., ln. p. l., new rochelle, n. y. bredin, edith, asst. ln. hiram kelly br. p. l., chicago, ill. brett, clara a., asst. ln. p. l., brockton, mass. brewitt, mrs. theodora r., ln. state normal sch. l., lewiston, idaho. brigham, gwendolyn, asst. a. l. a. headquarters office, chicago, ill. brigham, herbert o., ln. r. i. state l., providence, r. i. brigham, johnson, ln. state l., des moines, ia. brigham, mrs. johnson, des moines, ia. brigham, miss, des moines, ia. britton, jasmine, child. ln. p. l., spokane, wash. **brooks, maud d., ln. p. l., olean, n. y. +brown, charles h., asst. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. brown, mrs. c. h., brooklyn, n. y. brown, d. c., ln. state l., indianapolis, ind. brown, gwendolen, br. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. brown, helen dawes, elm st., montclair, n. j. brown, walter l., ln. p. l., buffalo, n. y. brown, zaidee m., agent f. p. l. com., boston, mass. browning, eliza g., ln. p. l., indianapolis, ind. bruncken, ernest, asst. reg. of copyrights l. of congress, washington, d. c. brundage, nellie m., child. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. bucher, mrs. paul (ethel a. sherwood), order asst. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. bucknam, edith p., chief cat. dept. p. l., jamaica, l. i. budlong, mrs. minnie c., sec'y n. d. p. l. com., bismarck, n. d. burnett, marguerite, brooklyn, n. y. burnham, adele, stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. burnite, caroline, director child. work p. l., cleveland, o. burns, anna, ln. in charge central circulation p. l., n. y. city. burritt, e. i., n. y. city. burwell, ethel i., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. butler, h. l., american law l., n. y. city. butler, mrs. h. l., glenada pl., brooklyn, n. y. cady, lora, sag harbor, l. i. camp, david n., pres. and chairman l. com., new britain inst., new britain, conn. campbell, mrs. jennie, asst. yale univ. l., new haven, conn. cargill, j. v., asst. ln. p. l., milwaukee, wis. cargill, mrs. j. v., milwaukee, wis. carlton, w. n. c., ln. newberry l., chicago, ill. carr, henry j., ln. p. l., scranton, pa. carr, mrs. henry j., scranton, pa. carroll, may i., asst. p. l., chicago, ill. carson, w. o., ln. p. l., london, ont. carter, julia, ln. child. br. p. l., cleveland, o. carter, s. j., ref. ln. p. l., milwaukee, wis. caswell, edward a., n. y. city. chamberlain, c. a., edison electric co. l., boston, mass. chamberlayne, ellen f., asst. p. l., binghamton, n. y. chamberlin, edith j., bradford, vt. chase, jessie c., supt. br. libs. p. l., detroit, mich. chase, kate b., br. ln. cornell square br. p. l., chicago, ill. chase, mrs. mildred h., br. ln. f. l., newton, mass. cheney, lucy, ln. f. l., rutland, vt. chivers, cedric, bookbinder, brooklyn, n. y. christiansen, bolette, kongsvinger, norway. christman, jennie l., catlgr. state l., albany, n. y. christopher, katharine m., stud. n. y. p. l. sch., n. y. city. clark, elizabeth v., ln. carnegie f. l., connellsville, pa. clark, mrs. george e., skaneateles, n. y. clark, mabel, stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. clark, s. m., asst. richards l., warrensburg, n. y. clarke, edith e., instr. syracuse univ. l. sch., syracuse, n. y. clarke, elizabeth p., ln. seymour l., auburn, n. y. clatworthy, linda m., ln. p. l. and museum, dayton, o. clement, edith m., asst. trav. l., n. y. state l., albany, n. y. cloud, josephine p., supt. of circ. p. l., minneapolis, minn. coe, mrs. frances r., reviser of catalog, p. l., somerville, mass. colcord, mabel, ln. bureau of entomology, dept. of agriculture, washington, d. c. colcord, maude b., ln. loring reading room, plymouth, mass. colson, f. d., law ln. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. congdon, mrs. william m. (anne w.), l. visitor and director of trav. libs., providence, r. i. cook, o. s., trus. f. p. l., new bedford, mass. cooper, isabella m., instr. simmons coll. l. sch., boston, mass. copeland, lora a., asst. p. l., brockton, mass. corliss, mary, asst. adriance mem. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. cornew, elsie m., asst. p. l., n. y. city. cornew, mrs. h. k., trenton, n. j. coughlin, joseph d., hampton, va. cowley, amy, stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. cowper, virginia s., l. dept. john wanamaker, n. y. city. crain, lucy b., supt. of child. work p. l., somerville, mass. crandle, inez, ln. dimmick mem. l., mauch chunk, pa. craver, h. w., ln. carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. craver, mrs. h. w., pittsburgh, pa. crissey, jane h., asst. p. l., troy, n. y. crosby, caroline r., milford, n. h. cunningham, jesse, ln. mo. sch. of mines, rolla, mo. curtis, florence r., instr. univ. of ill. l. sch., urbana, ill. custer, florence b., philadelphia, pa. cutter, william p., ln. engineering societies l., n. y. city. cutter, mrs. william p., n. y. city. dame, katharine, catlgr. state l., albany, n. y. daniells, w. n., stud., madison, wis. darby, m. claire, ln. accountancy ref. l., ernst & ernst, cleveland, o. darrow, helen w., asst. ln. skidmore sch., saratoga springs, n. y. dauchy, c. a., asst. ln. adriance mem. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. davis, georgia s., statistician p. l., grand rapids, mich. davis, mary g., child. ln. p. l., n. y. city. davis, mary l., ln. p. l., troy, n. y. davis, o. s., ln. p. l., laconia, n. h. davis, mrs. o. s., laconia, n. h. dayton, hazel i., asst. osterhout f. l., wilkes-barré, pa. dean, florence m., asst. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. dean, mathew, dean st., brooklyn, n. y. dean, mrs. mathew, dean st., brooklyn, n. y. decker, cora m., asst. ln. p. l., scranton, pa. decker, c. v. a., kingston, n. y. dice, j. h., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. dick, margaret s., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. dickerson, l. l., ln. grinnell coll. l., grinnell, ia. *dickey, helene l., ln. chicago teachers' coll. l., chicago, ill. dickinson, asa don, editorial dept. doubleday, page & co., garden city, n. y. dickinson, mrs. a. d., garden city, n. y. diephuis, albert, p. l., st. louis, mo. dilks, a. irene, bureau of municipal research, dayton, o. dingman, annie p., yale univ. l., new haven, conn. dixon, vera m., ln. applied science l., columbia univ., n. y. city. donnelly, june r., teacher l. economy washington irving high sch., n. y. city. doren, electra c, r. f. d. , dayton, o. dougan, alice m., asst. catalog dept. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. *dougherty, anna r., chief art dept. f. l., philadelphia, pa. *dougherty, h. t., ln. sayles p. l., pawtucket, r. i. *dougherty, mrs. h. t., pawtucket, r. i. drake, jeannette m., ln. p. l., sioux city, ia. drake, ruth b., asst. catlgr. p. l., cincinnati, o. draper, anne e., ln. bureau of chemistry, washington, d. c. draper, miriam s., ln. child. museum l., brooklyn, n. y. du bois, isabel, br. ln. p. l., fort wayne, ind. du bois, mrs. lanetta e., new paltz, n. y. **dudgeon, m. s., sec'y wis. f. l. com., madison, wis. duff, ida j., child. ln. bushwick br. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. duncan, anne s., port huron, mich. dutcher, marion f., catlgr. adriance mem. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. dwyer, winifred g., asst. f. p. l., bayonne, n. j. earhart, frances e., ln. p. l., duluth, minn. eastman, edith l., asst. ln. wesleyan univ. l., middletown, conn. eastman, linda a., vice-ln. p. l., cleveland, o. eastman, william r., albany, n. y. eastwood, mary e., asst. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. eaton, alice l., ln. norman williams p. l., woodstock, vt. ehle, mary e., ln. potter br. p. l., utica, n. y. elder, vera, asst. p. l., n. y. city. elliot, mrs. portia w., albany, n. y. ellis, ruth m., catlgr. hamilton coll. l., clinton, n. y. elston, catharine, ln. univ. of pittsburgh l., pittsburgh, pa. engle, emma r., chief child. dept. f. l., philadelphia, pa. entler, marguerite h., asst. l. assn., portland, ore. evans, adelaide f., head catlgr. f. p. l., louisville, ky. evans, alice g., ln. f. p. l., decatur, ill. evans, g. h., ln. p. l., woburn, mass. evans, margaret h., child. ln. p. l., buffalo, n. y. everhart, ethel, child. ln. p. l. br., n. y. city. ewing, ariel m., philadelphia, pa. fairbanks, ellen a., woodstock, vt. farquhar, alice m., br. ln. p. l., chicago, ill. farr, mary p., l. organizer, philadelphia, pa. farrell, winnifred, ln. merrick p. l., brookfield, mass. farrington, chas. e., br. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. fauteux, aegidius, ln. bibliotheque st. sulpice, montreal, canada. *faxon, f. w., mgr. l. dept. boston book co., boston, mass. *faxon, mrs. f. w., boston, mass. *faxon, mrs. marcus, huntington ave., boston, mass. feazel, e. a., ln. law l. assn., cleveland, o. feipel, l. n., catlgr. u. s. naval academy l., annapolis, md. feipel, mrs. l. n., annapolis, md. field, o. j., chief clk. dept. of justice, washington, d. c. field, pearl i., supervisor of special deposits p. l., chicago, ill. finney, byron a., ref. ln. univ. of mich. l., ann arbor, mich. finney, mrs. b. a., ann arbor, mich. fisher, mary c., ossining, n. y. fisk, mary v., ln. toledo law assn., toledo, o. fison, h. w., ln. p. l., malden, mass. flagg, c. a., ln. p. l., bangor, me. fletcher, fanny b., trus. fletcher mem. l. of ludlow, proctorsville, vt. flexner, jennie m., head of circulation dept. f. p. l., louisville, ky. foote, elizabeth l., br. ln. p. l., n. y. city. ford, eva m., asst. sec'y a. l. a., chicago, ill. fossler, anna, supervisor serial dept. columbia univ. l., n. y. city. foye, charlotte h., senior asst. john crerar l., chicago, ill. francis, gertrude, east orange, n. j. franke, helena c, ln. f. p. l., bound brook, n. j. freeman, abigail a., brooklyn, n. y. freeman, alice m., boston, mass. freeman, marilla w., ln. goodwyn inst. l., memphis, tenn. freidus, abraham s., chief jewish division p. l., n. y. city. frost, elizabeth r., ref. ln. silas bronson l., waterbury, conn. frost, sarah l., ln. phillips academy, andover, mass. fuller, g. w., ln. p. l., spokane, wash. fuller, h. de w., asst. editor n. y. "nation," n. y. city. fuller, mrs. h. d., n. y. city. fullerton, caroline q., ref. ln. f. p. l., louisville, ky. fulton, edith, br. ln. f. p. l., philadelphia, pa. gamble, william burt, chief. tech. div. n. y. p. l., n. y. city. gardner, anna m. d., troy, n. y. gardner, mrs. i. j., n. troy, n. y. garland, caroline h., ln. p. l., dover, n. h. garvin, ethel, custodian special libs., p. l., providence, r. i. gaston, ethelwyn, newark, n. j. gates, edith m.. senior asst. f. p. l.. worcester, mass. gates, marguerite l., f. p. l., newark, n. j. gault, bertha h., catlgr. mt. holyoke coll. l., south hadley, mass. gaylord, h. j., bookseller, syracuse. n. y. gaylord, mrs. h. j., syracuse, n. y. geddes, helen c, head catlgr. bryn mawr coll. l., bryn mawr, pa. george, c. a., ln. f. p. l., elizabeth, n. j. george, mrs. c. a., elizabeth, n. j. george, miss, elizabeth, n. j. gerber, may m., child. asst. p. l., n. y. city. gerould, j. t., ln. univ. of minn. l., minneapolis, minn. gibbs, charlotte m., wareham, mass. gibbs, laura r., catalog reviser columbia univ. l., n. y. city. gilkey, malina a., asst. catalog div. l. of congress, washington, d. c. glenn, m. r., ln. american bankers' assn., n. y. city. godard, g. s., ln. conn. state l., hartford, conn. goddard, w. d., ln. naval war coll. l., newport, r. i. goding, sarah e., st asst. f. l., philadelphia, pa. goeks, h. m., ln. mott haven br. p. l., n. y. city. goeppinger, eva c, asst. p. l., so. norwalk, conn. goldberg, bessie, head catlgr. p. l., chicago, ill. gooch, harriet b., instructor pratt inst., sch. of l. science, brooklyn, n. y. goodell, frederick, asst. p. l., n. y. city. goodrich, n. l., ln. dartmouth coll. l., hanover, n. h. goodwin, j. e., ln. univ. of texas, austin, tex. gould, c. h., ln. mcgill univ. l., montreal, canada. goulding, p. s., catalog ln. univ. of ill. l., urbana, ill. goulding, mrs. p. s., urbana, ill. grabau, mrs. mary antin, scarsdale, n. y. graf, w. h., n. y. city. grant, agnes m., asst. p. l., detroit, mich. grasty, katharine g., ln. eastern high sch. l., baltimore, md. graves, eva w., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. gray, elizabeth p., washington, d. c. gray, florence b., asst. leg. ref. dept. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. green, c. r., ln. mass. agricultural coll. l.. amherst, mass. green, janet m., br. ln. p. l., chicago, ill. green, lola m. b., catlgr. legal dept. am. tel. & tel. accounting l., n. y. city. greene, l. e., haines falls, n. y. gunter, lillian, ln. p. l., gainesville, tex. guntermann, bertha, st asst. order and accession dept. f. p. l., louisville, ky. gwyn, julia r., br. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. hackett, ann, asst. carnegie-stout l., dubuque, ia. hackett, irene a., ln. f. p. l., englewood, n. j. hadley, anna, ln. gilbert sch. l., winsted, conn. hafner, alfred, bookseller, n. y. city. hagey, e. joanna, ln. p. l., cedar rapids, ia. hagey, mrs. e. m., cedar rapids, ia. haines, mabel r., ln. f. p. l., summit, n. j. hall, drew b., ln. p. l., somerville, mass. hall, mrs. d. b., somerville, mass. hall, mary e., ln. girls' high sch., brooklyn, n. y. halliday, sara l., n. y. city. halpert, freda, asst. carnegie l., duquesne, pa. halsey, francis w., n. y. city. halsey, levantia, umadilla, n. y. hammond, marie a., catlgr. miami univ. l., oxford, o. handy, d. n., ln. insurance l. assn. of boston, boston, mass. handy, mrs. d. n., boston, mass. hardy, a. marie, n. y. p. l. sch., n. y. city. hardy, mary t., asst. ref. dept. p. l., grand rapids, mich. hardy, sue, n. y. city. haring, freda, richland l. co., quakertown, pa. harris, miss f. s., roxborough l., philadelphia, pa. harrison, j. l., ln. forbes l., northampton, mass. harron, mrs. julia s., p. l., cleveland, o. harrsen, meta p., asst. p. l., n. y. city. hartwell, mary a., catlgr. pub. doc. office, washington, d. c. hastings, c. h., chief of card section l. of congress, washington, d. c. hatfield, addie e., prin. and ln. state normal sch., oneonta, n. y. haupt, lura p., br. ln. p. l., cleveland, o. hawkins, eleanor e., head catlgr. p. l., kansas city, mo. hawkins, enid m., ln. stevens inst. of technology, hoboken, n. j. hawkins, jean, instructor n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. hawkins, mrs. w. m., buffalo, n. y. hawks, emma b., asst. ln. dept. of agriculture l., washington, d. c. hawley, josephine, asst. ln. p. l., scranton, pa. hayes, edith p., p. l., somerville, mass. hayes, ethel m., acting ln. tufts coll. l., tufts college, mass. haynes, emily m., ln. worcester polytechnic inst., worcester, mass. *haynes, frances e., asst. ln. mt. holyoke coll. l., so. hadley, mass. haynes, susan l., ln. joshua hyde p. l., sturbridge, mass. hazeltine, mary e., preceptor univ. of l. sch., madison, wis. hedrick, ellen a., catalog reviser yale univ. l., new haven, conn. heitkamp, aline a., br. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. hemans, ida m., ln. n. y. state normal sch. l., geneseo, n. y. hendrick, ellen a., new haven, conn. hennessy, edith m., hotel belmont, n. y. city. herber, elizabeth r., chief child. and bindery depts. f. p. l., bayonne, n. j. herman, mary l., sec'y town room, boston, mass. hewitt, l. e., ln. law assn. of philadelphia, pa. hicks, f. c., asst. ln. columbia univ. l., n. y. city. hicks, mary l., asst. ln. p. l., evansville, ind. hiersemann, a., bookseller and publisher, königstr. , leipzig, germany. higgins, alice g., child. ln. p. l., utica, n. y. **hill, frank p., ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. hill, galen w., ln. millicent l., fairhaven, mass. hill, helen, ln. william penn high sch. l., philadelphia, pa. hinsdale, louise g., ln. f. p. l., east orange, n. j. hiss, sophie k., head catlgr. p. l., cleveland, o. hitchler, theresa, supt. catalog dept. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. hobart, frances, ln. bixby mem. f. l., vergennes, vt. hodges, n. d. c., ln. p. l., cincinnati, o. hoff, mary c., stamford, conn. hoff, susan h., stamford, conn. holliday, sara l., lederle laboratories, w. th st., n. y. city. holmes, dagmar o., asst. p. l., n. y. city. holmes, w. c., asst. tech. ln. carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. hopkins, jessica, ln. p. l., paducah, ky. hopkins, julia a., instructor pratt inst., sch. of l. science, brooklyn, n. y. hopkins, ruth g., child. ln. p. l. brooklyn, n. y. hopper, f. f., ln. p. l., tacoma, wash. horne, lulu, ln. city l., lincoln, neb. **horton, mabel p., brooklyn, n. y. hosmer, helen r., ln. general electric co., schenectady, n. y. hough, r. b., author and publisher, lowville, n. y. *howe, harriet e., head catlgr. p. l., minneapolis, minn. hubbard, mrs. georgia m., head hist. r. and binding, grand rapids, mich. hubbell, jane p., ln. p. l., rockford, ill. hughes, h. l., ln. f. p. l., trenton, n. j. hulburd, anna a., asst. univ. of ill. l., urbana, ill. hull, fanny, br. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. hunt, clara w., supt. child. dept. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. hunt, marietta l., asst. ln. l. assn., portland, ore. huntting, h. r., bookseller, springfield, mass. huston, caroline b., director of haines falls f. l., haines falls, n. y. hutchenrider, rose, st asst. waco p. l., waco, tex. hutchinson, mary d., br. ln. p. l., cleveland, o. hutchinson, susan a., ln. museum l., brooklyn inst., brooklyn, n. y. hyde, sara g., reviser yale univ. l., new haven, conn. ibbotson, j. d., jr., ln. hamilton coll. l., clinton, n. y. imhoff, ono m., ln. national progressive league, n. y. city. ingalls, florence l., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. jameson, mary e., stud. n. y. p. l. sch., n. y. city. *jast, l. stanley, honorary sec'y l. assn. of great britain and ln. croydon p. libs., london, eng. jeffers, leroy, asst. ln. and chief book order dept. p. l., n. y. city. jennings, j. t., ln. p. l., seattle, wash. jessup, maud m., p. l., grand rapids, mich. joeckel, carleton b., supt. circulation dept. cal. univ. l., berkeley, cal. johnson, florence a., ln. town room, boston, mass. johnson, josephine m., asst. p. l., chicago, ill. johnson, sally w., mt. airy, philadelphia, pa. johnston, r. h., ln. bureau of railway economics l., washington, d. c. johnston, w. dawson, ln. columbia univ. l., n. y. city. johnstone, ursula k., asst. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. jones, e. kathleen, ln. mclean hospital, waverley, mass. jones, gardner m., ln. p. l., salem, mass. jones, marion e., asst. harlem br. p. l., n. y. city. jones, mary l., ln. bryn mawr coll. l., bryn mawr, pa. jones, mildred k., asst. utica p. l., utica, n. y. jordan, alice m., custodian child. dept. p. l., boston, mass. josephson, a. g. s., catlgr. john crerar l., chicago, ill. josselyn, l. w., ln. p. l., jacksonville, fla. kammerling, edith, asst. in charge civics dept. p. l., chicago, ill. keator, alfred d., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. kelley, grace, asst. john crerar l., chicago, ill. kellogg, mrs. r. c., trus. richards l., warrensburg, n. y. kelso, tessa l., baker & taylor co., n. y. city. kendall, alice g., "library journal," n. y. city. keogh, andrew, ref. ln. yale univ. l., new haven, conn. kerr, w. h., ln. state normal sch. l., emporia, kan. kessel, martha c., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. kiennicutt, mrs., worcester, mass. kikelhan, r., haines falls, n. y. kilbourne, f. w., editor of publications, p. l., brooklyn, n. y. kilbourne, mrs. f. w., brooklyn, n. y. kimball, florence b., catlgr. sayles p. l., pawtucket, r. i. kimball, w. c., chairman n. j. p. l. com. and trus. p. l., passaic, n. j. kimball, mrs. w. c., passaic, n. j. king, elizabeth mcb., catlgr. legal dept. am. tel. & tel. co., n. y. city. king, ellen, br. ln. f. l., philadelphia, pa. kingsbury, n. c., vice-pres. am. tel. & tel. co., n. y. city. kinney, grace e., card section l. of congress, washington, d. c. klingelsmith, mrs. margaret c., ln. biddle law l., univ. of pa., philadelphia, pa. knodel, emma, ln. guiteau p. l., irvington-on-hudson, n. y. knowles, leah m., p. l., trenton, n. j. koehl, stephen, tablet and ticket co., woodhaven, l. i. kostomlatsky, zulema, stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. krause, louise b., ln. h. m. byllesby & co., chicago, ill. krouse, edna l., ln. f. p. l., scottdale, pa. lange, alma g., child. ln. withers p. l., bloomington, ill. lansing, pauline d., order clerk p. l., buffalo, n. y. lapp, j. a., director ind. legislative bu., indianapolis, ind. laskey, julia, washington, d. c. latham, calhoun, ln. and supt. p. l. bridgeport, conn. latimer, louise p., supervisor of work with schs., p. l., washington, d. c. la tourette, alexandrine, ln. carnegie p. l., iron mountain, mich. lauder, e. louise, asst. catlgr. p. l., binghamton, n. y. leach, howard s., asst. to ln. princeton univ. l., princeton, n. j. lease, evelyn s., ln. kellogg-hubbard l., montpelier, vt. leavitt, miss m. v., charge ref. gifts p. l., n. y. city. lee, g. w., ln. stone & webster, boston, mass. leeper, rosa m., ln. p. l., dallas, tex. legler, henry e., ln. p. l., chicago, ill. legler, mrs. henry e., chicago, ill. lemcke, ernst, pub. and bookseller, n. y. city. leonard, grace f., ln. providence athenaeum, providence, r. i. leonard, mary, br. ln. p. l., n. y. city. leonard, miriam l., st. asst. catlgr. p. l., minneapolis, minn. lesch, r., detroit pub. co., w. th st., n. y. city. lester, c. b., leg. ref. ln. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. lewinson, leah, br. ln. p. l., n. y. city. lewis, cecilia, child. ln. p. l., cleveland, o. lewis, w. p., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. libby, marie c., summit, n. j. lichtenstein, walter, ln. northwestern univ. l., evanston, ill. lien, e. j., ln. state l., st. paul, minn. light, matilda m., dayton, o. lindgren, elin, pratt inst. f. l., brooklyn, n. y. lindholm, marie f., asst. ln. p. ser. com. l., n. y. city. linton, gussie w., asst. ln., johnstown, pa. little, george t., ln. bowdoin coll. l., brunswick, me. lockwood, m. e., haines falls, n. y. loring, nano g., asst. ln. coburn f. l., owego, n. y. lowenstein, nina h., asst. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. mcaneny, george, pres. borough of manhattan, n. y. city. mcalarney, kathrine h., asst. child. dept. f. l., philadelphia, pa. mccambridge, maria m., br. ln., youngstown, o. mccarty, harriet d., ln. p. l., sewickley, pa. mcclelland, a. f., passaic, n. j. mcclelland, maude, ln. girls' high sch., passaic, n. j. mccombs, charles f., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. mccormick, ada m., indus. and civics dept. p. l., fort wayne, ind. mcdonagh, m. p., trus. p. l., london, ont. macdonell, mrs. a. f., ln. p. l., bay city, mich. mcdonell, mrs., bay city, mich. mcguiness, c. l., n. y. city. mckibben, mrs. florence, ln. p. l., mt. pleasant, ia. mcknight, elizabeth b., ln. barringer high sch. br. f. p. l., newark, n. j. mcneil, laila a., catlgr. p. l., brookline, mass. mcvety, margaret a., chief of lending dept. f. p. l., newark, n. j. madden, j. h., ln. american brass co., waterbury, conn. malone, marcella, br. ln. queens borough p. l., n. y. city. maltby, mrs. adelaide b., br. ln. p. l., n. y. city. *mann, b. pickman, bibliographer, washington, d. c. *mann, mrs. b. p., washington, d. c. mann, 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cincinnati, o. mettee, a. h., ln. l. co. of baltimore bar, baltimore, md. milam, c. h., sec'y and state organizer p. l. com. of ind., indianapolis, ind. miller, clara, ln. mcclymonds p. l., massillon, o. miller, louise v., ln. f. l., dobbs ferry, n. y. miller, ruth t., child ln. p. l., cleveland, o. miller, mrs. warwick, br. ln. f. p. l., louisville, ky. mix, faith, asst. br. dept. p. l., chicago, ill. monrad, anna m., reviser yale univ. l., new haven, conn. montgomery, thomas l., ln. state l., harrisburg, pa. montgomery, mrs. t. l., harrisburg, pa. moore, annie c., supervisor child. rooms, p. l., n. y. city. morgan, margaret, br. ln. p. l., providence, r. i. morley, linda h., br. ln. f. p. l., newark, n. j. **morris, louise r., f. p. l., summit, n. j. morrison, bird, br. ln. p. l., chicago, ill. morrow, j. f., chicago, ill. morse, anna l., ln. reuben mcmillan f. l., youngstown, o. morton, f. n., ln. united gas improvement co., philadelphia, pa. morton, mary e., catlgr. p. l., london, 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norton, dorothea g., child ln. p. l., yonkers, n. y. noyes, charlotte g., ln. general electric co. l., schenectady, n. y. nunns, annie a., sec'y to supt. state hist. soc., madison, wis. o'connor, alice k., stud. p. l. sch., n. y. city. *ogden, e. jane, asst. art dept. f. l., philadelphia, pa. oko, a. s., ln. hebrew union coll. l., cincinnati, o. olcott, a. v. s., w. th st., n. y. city. oliphant, c. j., longmans green & co., n. y. city. *osborn, l. p., ln. peabody inst. l., peabody, mass. *osborn, mrs. l. p., ln. peabody hist. soc., peabody, mass. otter, alice, wayne, pa. overton, clara s., asst. child. ln. p. l., n. y. city. overton, florence, ln. yorkville br. p. l., n. y. city. overton, miss j. m., child. ln. n. y. p. l., n. y. city. page, benjamin, meriden, conn. palmer, mary b., ln. carnegie l., charlotte, n. c. palmer, maud, wareham, mass. paltsits, v. h., chrm. p. archives com. of am. hist. assn., n. y. city. parker, glen, baker & taylor co., n. y. city. parker, john, ln. peabody inst., baltimore, md. parsons, mary p., n. y. state l., albany, n. y. partch, isa l., br. ln. p. l., detroit, mich. patterson, edith, ln. p. l., bloomsburg, pa. peacock, j. l., ln. memorial & p. l., westerly, r. i. pearson, edmund l., "the librarian," boston transcript, newburyport, mass. pearson, mary k., child. ln. p. l., cleveland, o. pendry, eliza r., child. ln. hiram kelly br. p. l., chicago, ill. peoples, w. t., ln. mercantile l., n. y. city. peoples, mrs. w. t., n. y. city. perry, everett r., ln. p. l., los angeles, cal. perry, mrs. e. r., los angeles, cal. **peters, mary g., ln. f. p. l., bayonne, n. j. peterson, m. leona, ln. p. sch. l., kane, pa. phelan, j. f., chief of branches, p. l., chicago, ill. phelps, anna r., l. organizer n. y. state l., albany, n. y. phelps, edith a., ln. carnegie l., oklahoma city, okla. phillips, mary e., ex-ln., oneonta, n. y. pidgeon, marie k., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. pierce, frances m., ln. fletcher mem. l., ludlow, vt. pinneo, dotha s., ln. p. l., norwalk, conn. plummer, mary w., prin. l. sch., p. l., n. y. city. poole, f. o., ln. assoc. of the bar l., n. y. city. porter, w. t., trus. p. l., cincinnati, o. power, effie l., supervisor child. work, p. l., st. louis, mo. powers, w. h., ln. so. dak. agric. coll. l., brookings, s. d. pratt, anne s., catlgr. yale univ. l., new haven, conn. pratt, edna b., organizer n. j. p. l. com., trenton, n. j. preston, nina k., ln. hall-fowler mem. l., ionia, mich. prevost, marie l., asst. ln. f. p. l., elizabeth, n. j. price, f. h., asst. f. l., philadelphia, pa. prince, h. c., ln. state l., augusta, me. pritchard, martha c, organizer., scarsdale, n. y. proudfoot, helen, stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. prouty, louise, ln. lorain br. p. l., cleveland, o. pugsley, maud m., br. ln. f. p. l., newark, n. j. putman, herbert, ln. l. of congress, washington, d. c. radford, mary r., ln. f. p. l., muskogee, okla. ranck, s. h., ln. p. l., grand rapids, mich. randel, mrs. h. h., tablet & ticket co., n. y. city. raney, m. l., ln. johns hopkins univ. l., baltimore, md. rankin, g. w., ln. p. l., fall river, mass. rathbone, josephine a., vice-dir. sch. of l. sci., pratt inst., brooklyn, n. y. rawson, fannie c., sec'y ky. l. com., frankfort, ky. ray, frances k., medical ln. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. redstone, e. n., boston, mass. reed, amy l., ln. vassar coll. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. reeves, frances e., schenectady, n. y. reich, pauline, st asst. br. p. l., cleveland, o. reid, adelia, asst. ln. state l., lansing, mich. reinick, w. r., chief p. doc. dept., f. l., philadelphia, pa. reque, anna c., classifier, p. l., chicago, ill. reynolds, margaret, ln. milwaukee-downer coll., milwaukee, wis. rhoades, rachel, ref. ln. p. l., superior, wis. rhodes, isabella k., asst. ref. dept. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. rice, p. n., asst. ref. ln. ohio state univ. l., columbus, o. richards, miss c., trus. richards l., warrensburgh, n. y. richardson, e. c., ln. princeton univ. l., princeton, n. j. richardson, margaret, waterloo, ia. robbins, mary e., ln. & chrm. l. faculty, simmons coll. l., boston, mass. roberts, effie i., asst. ln. carnegie l., wabash, ind. roberts, mary h., asst. ref. ln. state l., indianapolis, ind. robinson, helen f., dean's sec'y and head of r. r. harvard divinity sch., cambridge, mass. robinson, julia a., supervising ln. state institutions of ia., des moines, ia. robinson, rev. l. m., ln. phila. divinity sch., philadelphia, pa. **robinson, sylvia, brooklyn, n. y. rockwell, anna g., ln. new britain inst., new britain, conn. roden, c. b., asst. ln. p. l., chicago, ill. rogers, katharine b., head catlgr. f. p. l., trenton, n. j. rogers, mary e., new britain, conn. rolland, anna p., ln. p. l., dedham, mass. root, mrs. mary e. s., child. ln. p. l., providence, r. i. roper, eleanor, br. ln. queens borough p. l., flushing, n. y. rosenthal, herman, in charge slavonic div., p. l., n. y. city. rowell, w. c., eastern rep. h. w. wilson co., n. y. city. royall, rebecca, ln. carnegie l., cleburne, tex. ruckteshler, n. louise, ln. guernsey mem. l. & follett mem. supreme ct. law l., norwich, n. y. rupp, alice, n. y. city. rush, c. e., ln. f. p. l., st. joseph, mo. rush, mrs. c. e., st. joseph, mo. russell, florence, ref. ln. f. p. l., new haven, conn. ryan, m. lillian, asst. p. l., chicago, ill. sackett, josephine t., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. sanborn, h. n., ln. univ. club, chicago, ill. sanborn, w. f., ln. p. l., cadillac, mich. sanborn, mrs. w. f., cadillac, mich. sanderson, edna m., registrar n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. sargent, abby l., ln. p. l., medford, mass. savage, etta v., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. sawyer, mrs. harriet p., chief instruc. dept. p. l., st. louis, mo. saxe, mary p., ln. westmount l., montreal, can. schaanning, maja, stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. schenk, f. w., law ln. univ. of chicago, chicago, ill. schenk, mrs. f. w., chicago, ill. scholefield, e. o. s., ln. provincial l., victoria, b. c. schooley, altie, br. asst. p. l., passaic, n. j. schwab, j. c., ln. yale univ. l., new haven, conn. sears, minnie e., head catlgr., minnesota univ. l., minneapolis, minn. secombe, annabell c., ln. f. l., milford, n. h. see, alice, stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. settle, george t., ln. f. p. l., louisville, ky. settle, mrs. george t., louisville, ky. severance, h. o., ln. univ. of mo. l., columbia, mo. sewall, w. f., ln. p. l., toledo, o. sewall, mrs. w. f., toledo, o. seward, w. f., ln. p. l., binghamton, n. y. shaver, mary m., classifier & catlgr. vassar coll. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. shearer, a. h., newberry l., chicago, ill. shelly, adah, ln. p. l., sault st. marie, mich. sherwood, grace, dir. legis. ref. bu., state l., providence, r. i. shivers, anne o., ln. f. p. l., perth amboy, n. j. shoemaker, katharine h., ln. stephens mem. l. of manaynuk, philadelphia, pa. sibley, jessie g., child. ln. p. l., n. y. city. sibley, mrs. mary j., acting ln. syracuse univ. l., syracuse, n. y. simpson, frances, asst. dir. l. sch., univ. of illinois, urbana, ill. slomann, p. f. v., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. small, a. j., law ln. iowa state l., des moines, ia. smith, bessie sargeant, supervisor smaller branches p. l., cleveland, o. smith, elizabeth, inst. syracuse univ. l. sch., syracuse, n. y. smith, elizabeth m., head order div. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. smith, ellen g., ln. f. p. l., walla walla, wash. smith, faith e., dir. training class, p. l., chicago, ill. smith, florence s., br. ln. p. l., kansas city, mo. smith, irene, asst. open shelf room, p. l., denver, colo. smith, laura, chief catalog & ref. depts., p. l., cincinnati, o. smith, mary a., ln. p. l., la crosse, wis. smith, mary a., ln. f. l., madison, wis. smith, miriam g., new rochelle, n. y. sneed, mrs. percival, princ. carnegie l. training sch., atlanta, ga. snyder, mary b., br. ln. queens borough p. l., l. i. city, n. y. sornborger, harriet b., ln. bancroft mem. l., hopedale, mass. spaulding, f. b., asst. p. l., n. y. city. speck, mrs. laura, asst. p. l., st. louis, mo. sperry, earl e., ln. & dir. l. sch., syracuse univ. l., syracuse, n. y. spofford, edith c., w. th st., n. y. city. spofford, mrs. edith f., ln. bu. of mines l., washington, d. c. spofford, mrs. lucinda f., br. ln. p. l., somerville, mass. stearns, lutie e., chief trav. l. dept., wis. f. l. com., madison, wis. stebbins, h. l., asst. ln. assoc. of the bar l., n. y. city. stebbins, mary f., child. ln. p. l., cleveland, o. stechert, f. c., pres. f. c. stechert co., inc., booksellers, n. y. city. stechert, mrs. f. c., n. y. city. steele, edith mch., st. asst. silas bronson l., waterbury, conn. steele, elizabeth k., ln. f. p. l., lorain, o. steele, ruby e., ln. p. l., ansonia, conn. steiner, bernard c., ln. enoch pratt f. l., baltimore, md. stetson, willis k., ln. f. p. l., new haven, conn. stevens, edward f., ln. pratt inst. f. l., & dir. sch. of l. sci., brooklyn, n. y. stevens, mrs. e. f., brooklyn, n. y. *stevenson, luella m., st. asst. carnegie f. l., braddock, pa. stewart, edna s., williamsport, pa. stewart, rose g., chief catlgr. f. l., philadelphia, pa. stollberg, luella e., child. ln. p. l., toledo, o. stonehouse, m. e., asst. l., y. m. a., central l., albany, n. y. strohm, adam, ln. p. l., detroit, mich. strong, george f., ln. adelbert coll. l., western reserve univ., cleveland, o. strong, mason, wall st., n. y. city. studwell, florence, n. y. city. sturgis, sarah l., fort wayne, ind. subers, helen d., l. organizer, ashbourne, pa. suter, martha w., asst. in book selection & annotation, n. y. state l., albany, n. y. sutherland, miss, westmount l., montreal, can. sutherland, elizabeth m., internat. joint com., ottawa, canada. sutliff, mary l., instr. n. y. p. l. sch., n. y. city. swartout, jessamine e., ln. heermance mem. l., coxsackie, n. y. tarr, anna m., ln. f. p. l., clinton, ia. taylor, grace a., sr. asst. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. taylor, w. b. a., chief ref. accessions div., p. l., n. y. city. taylor, mrs. w. b. a., n. y. city. templeton, charlotte, sec'y neb. p. l. com., lincoln, neb. thain, mabel a., ln. p. l., oak park, ill. thayer, maude, ln. state l., springfield, ill. thompson, dorothy h., asst. p. l., grand rapids, mich. thompson, grace, asst. f. p. l., newark, n. j. thompson, laura e., supt. of branches p. l., grand rapids, mich. thompson, mary, grand rapids, mich. thomson, john, ln. f. l., philadelphia, pa. thornton, ella m., state l., atlanta, ga. **thwaites, r. g., supt. wis. state his. soc., madison, wis. **thwaites, mrs. r. g., madison, wis. tiefenthaler, leo, ln. municipal ref. br., p. l., milwaukee, wis. tilton, edward l., architect, n. y. city. tobias, ella f., asst. in charge engineering l. univ. of mich., ann arbor, mich. tobitt, edith, ln. p. l., omaha, neb. todd, mary e., head of periodical dept., p. l., syracuse, n. y. *tolman, mary m., manchester, n. h. townsend, eliza e., supt. of br. work, p. l., spokane, wash. townsend, ruth h., br. ln. queens borough p. l., far rockaway, n. y. towsley, lena g., asst. child. ln. pratt inst. f. l., brooklyn, n. y. travers, rebecca b., child. room, th st. br. p. l., n. y. city. tripp, geo. h., ln. p. l., new bedford, mass. tripp, mrs. g. h., new bedford, mass. turvill, helen, instr. univ. of wis. l. sch., madison, wis. underhill, adelaide, assoc. ln. vassar coll. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. underhill, caroline m., ln. p. l., utica, n. y. underhill, ethel p., child. ln. f. p. l., worcester, mass. utley, george b., sec'y american library assoc., chicago, ill. utley, mrs. george b., chicago, ill. utterwick, katharine a., asst. p. l., n. y. city. vail, alice i., stud. l. sch. pratt inst., brooklyn, n. y. vaile, lucretia, stud. n. y. s. l. sch., albany, n. y. valentine, amy, st. asst. p. l., n. y. city. van valkenburgh, agnes, inst. l. sch. p. l., n. y. city. vasbinder, lida c., leg. ref. sec., state l., albany, n. y. voge, a. l., st asst. card sec. l. of congress, washington, d. c. von hohoff, mrs. a. w., ln. munic. ref. l., n. y. city. vrooman, mrs. kate b., brooklyn, n. y. wadlin, horace g., ln. p. l., boston, mass. wait, marie f., ln. peddie inst., hightstown, n. j. wait, maud a., st. asst. central circ. br. p. l., n. y. city. wales, elizabeth b., sec'y mo. l. com., jefferson city, mo. walker, catherine, stud. carnegie l. train. sch., atlanta, ga. walkley, r. l., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. walter, frank k., vice-dir. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. walton, miss g. m., ln. state nor. coll., ypsilanti, mich. wandell, caroline, instr. syracuse univ. l. sch., syracuse, n. y. ward, helen m., supt. of circulation, p. l., detroit, mich. ward, ruth l., sr. asst. br. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. warner, cassandra, ref. ln. p. l., kansas city, mo. warner, philip w., bookseller, leary, stuart & co., philadelphia, pa. warren, althea h., ln. sears, roebuck & co., chicago, ill. waters, alice g., ln. essex inst., salem, mass. waters, caroline e., ln. college for women, cleveland, o. watson, w. r., chief div. of educ. extension, n. y. state l., albany, n. y. webb, k. louise, asst. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. webb, nelle f., catlgr. withers p. l., bloomington, ill. weber, mrs. jessie p., ln. ill. state hist. soc., springfield, ill. weitenkampf, frank, chief art dept. p. l., n. y. city. wellman, h. c., ln. city l., springfield, mass. wells, marion h., child. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. wetzell, bertha s., catlgr. l. co. of phila., philadelphia, pa. wheeler, h. l., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. wheelock, mary e., chief binding dept. p. l., st. louis, mo. whipple, nellie m., asst. ln. p. l., somerville, mass. whitaker, amelia, stud. carnegie l. training sch., atlanta, ga. whitcomb, adah f., ln. hiram kelley br. p. l., chicago, ill. white, ella, child. ln. p. l., cincinnati, o. white, gertrude f., child. ln. f. p. l., new haven, conn. white, h. elizabeth, ln. p. l., passaic, n. j. white, mabel g., st. asst. br. ln. p. l., n. y. city. whiteman, edna a., supervisor story telling, carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. whitmore, frank h., ln. p. l., brockton, mass. whitney, esther, brooklyn, n. y. whittemore, gertrude, ln. narragansett l. assoc., peace dale, r. i. whittemore, grace m. (mrs. everard), ln. p. l., hudson, mass. wigley, laura m., asst. queens borough p. l., l. i. city, n. y. wilcox, b. c., e. th st., n. y. city. wilken, harriet e., ln. f. l., fayetteville, n. y. willets, lora a., asst. br. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. williams, carrie l., asst. f. l., newton, mass. williams, jennie c., instr. margaret morrison carnegie sch., c. i. t., pittsburgh, pa. williams, ora, asst. l. organizer p. l. com., indianapolis, ind. williams, sophie, asst. catlgr. hamilton coll. l., clinton, n. y. williamson, susan m., elizabeth, n. j. willigerod, alice, ln. p. l., hazelton, pa. willigerod, mrs. oscar, east orange, n. j. wilsey, della m., pomona, cal. wilson, h. g., sec'y p. l., chicago, ill. wilson, mrs. h. g., chicago, ill. *wilson, h. w., pres. h. w. wilson co., publishers, minneapolis, minn. *wilson, mrs. h. w., minneapolis, minn. wilson, margaret s., asst. ln. norwalk l., norwalk, conn. wilson, martha, state supervisor of sch. lbs., st. paul, minn. wilson, mrs. r. h., bookseller, n. y. city. wing, c. f., new bedford, mass. wing, mrs. c. f., new bedford, mass. winnett, w. h., trus. p. l., london, ont. wire, dr. g. e., deputy ln. worcester co. law l. & dir. p. l., worcester, mass. wolcott, j. d., ln. bu. of educ., washington, d. c. wolter, peter, mgr. l. dept., a. c. mcclurg & co., chicago, ill. wood, frances e., sr. asst. p. l. br., brooklyn, n. y. wood, grace i., st. asst. carnegie l., cleburne, tex. wood, mary w., ln. blackstone br. p. l., chicago, ill. woodard, gertrude e., law l. univ. of mich., ann arbor, mich. woodcock, mabel e., purchase asst. state l., albany, n. y. wooding, c. l., ln. f. p. l., bristol, conn. wooding, mrs. c. l., bristol, conn. woodruff, eleanor b., ref. ln. pratt inst. f. l., brooklyn, n. y. wootten, katharine h., ln. and dir. l. train. sch. carnegie l., atlanta, ga. wright, c. e., ln. carnegie f. l., duquesne, pa. wright, ethel c., cleveland, o. wright, purd b., ln. p. l., kansas city, mo. wright, rebecca w., sec'y bd. of l. com., state house, montpelier, vt. wright, ruth m., ln. state nor. sch., tempe, ariz. wyche, benjamin, n. y. life ins. co., atlanta, ga. wyer, james i., jr., dir. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. wyer, mrs. j. i., jr., albany, n. y. wyer, william, albany, n. y. wynkoop, asa, inspector p. lib's, state l., albany, n. y. young, gladys, stud. p. l. sch., n. y. city. young, mrs. olive p., john jermain l., sag harbor, n. y. yust, william f., ln. p. l., rochester, n. y. zachert, adeline b., direc. of child. work, p. l., rochester, n. y. index abbott, lyman, letter from, . accessioning (of books), rpt. of com. on library administration, - . affiliation of state library associations with a. l. a., amendment to constitution and by-law affecting, - . affiliation with other than local, state and provincial library associations, rpt. of com. on, - . agricultural libraries section, round table, - . ahern, mary eileen, reads letters at symposium, ; discusses work with college students, ; discusses library in relation to business, - ; member of council, ; chrm. com. on co-operation with n. e. a., . allen, william h., addresses reference librarians' round table, . american association of law libraries, proceedings, - . american library association, president's address, - ; secretary's report, - ; treasurer's report, ; rpt. of trustees of carnegie and endowment funds, - ; rpt. of executive board, - ; rpt. of council, - ; election of officers, ; attendance summaries and register, - . a. l. a. booklist, . a. l. a. committees on blind. see blind. bookbinding. see bookbinding. bookbuying. see bookbuying. co-operation with n. e. a. see national education association. co-ordination. see co-ordination. federal and state relations. see federal and state relations. finance. see finance. international relations. see international relations. library administration. see library administration. library training. see library training. program. see program. public documents. see public documents. travel. see travel. ---- constitution, amendment to, ; by-law to, adopted, . ---- council, amendment to constitution and by-law relative to election of members to, - . ---- executive board, - . ---- membership (rpt. of secretary), . ---- necrology (rpt. of secretary), - . ---- publicity (rpt. of secretary), - . ---- publishing board, rpt. of (legler), - ; periodical cards, ; booklist, ; new publications, ; reprints, ; a. l. a. catalog, - ; manual of library economy, ; advertising, ; foreign lists, ; financial report, ; sales of publications, - . ---- registration for library position (rpt. of secretary), . ---- representatives at other conferences, - . anderson, e. h., rpt. as member of finance com., ; presides second session, -ff; president of a. l. a., - ; chrm. program com., . antin, mary, "the immigrant in the library," - . andrus, gertrude e., "how the library is meeting the changing conditions of child life," - . andrews, c. w., rpt. as chrm. com. on finance, ; moves amendment to by-law, ; discusses library in relation to business, ; chrm. finance com., ; participates in fiction discussion, ; rpt. as chrm. of affiliation com., - . arnold, sarah louise, telegram from, . "art in the college library" (weitenkampf), - . "as others see us," symposium, - . attendance summaries and register. see american library association. ayer, c. w., obituary, . babbitt, c. j., memorial on, . bacon, corinne, "co-operation of libraries with library schools," - ; chrm. professional training sect., . bacon, corinne, reviews brieux, "la femme seule," . bailey, a. l., member of council, ; mem. com. on library training, ; chrm. com. on bookbinding, . ball, sarah b., "what any library can do for the business interests of the town," - . bascom, elva l., resignation as editor booklist, . belden, c. f. d., mem. public documents com., ; mem. com. on federal and state relations, . bennett, arnold, letter from, . best, mrs. a. s., letter from, - . bill drafting, "law that stands the test" (dudgeon), - . billings, j. s., obituary, ; memorial resolution on, - . bishop, w. w., participates in fiction discussion, . blackwelder, paul, reviews hine "modern organization," ; mem. com. on federal and state relations, . bliss, h. e., "some practical considerations regarding classification for libraries," - . blind, rpt. of com. on work with, - ; com. on, . book, evolution of the. "world of print and the world's work: president's address" (legler), - . bookbinding, rpt. of com. on, - ; com. on, . bookbuying, rpt. of com. on, - . books and reading. "the friendly book" (walton), - ; "how to discourage reading" (pearson), - . bostwick, andrew l., presents paper on relations between the municipal library and legislators, . bostwick, arthur e., represents a. l. a. at north dakota, minnesota and iowa meetings, ; chrm. com. on administration, ; "the quality of fiction," - ; "administration of a catalog dep't," - ; "volume" of children's work in the u. s., - . bowerman, g. f., mem. com. on administration, . bowker, r. r., member of council, ; mem. com. on international relations, ; discussion, . brett, george p., letter from, . bronson, w. c., letter from, . brown, c. h., mem. travel com., . brown, d. c., "state-wide influence of the state library," - ; mem. com. on federal and state relations, . brown, zaidee, leads discussion, . browne, francis fisher, tribute to, . bruncken, ernest, mem. public documents com., . bucknam, edith p., sec'y of catalog section, . budlong, mrs. m. c., presents rpt. of com. on establishment of new commissions, - . burnite, c., "values in library work with children," - . business branches. "what any library can do for the business interests of the town" (ball), - . business men, making the library useful to (ranck), - . business organizations, libraries in (krause), - . cable, george w., letter from, . carey, miriam e., mem. com. on work with the blind, . carlton, w. n. c., member of executive board, ; mem. com. on arrangements college and reference section, . carnegie, andrew, letter from, . carpenter, george o., mem. com. on library training, . carr, henry j., chrm. resolutions com. public doc. round table, , . carson, w. o., participates in discussion, . catalog cards, simplified forms of, - . catalog dep't, administration of a, from a cataloger's point of view (smith), - . catalog dep't, administration of the, from a librarian's point of view (hopper), - ; same (bostwick), - . catalog dep't, relation of the, to other dept's (winser), - . cataloging, rpt. of com. on cost and method of, - . cataloging, request for permanent com. on, . catalog section, proceedings, - . "cataloging for department libraries" (sears), - . charging systems and methods, rpt. of com. on library administration, - . charitable institutions. see institutions. charter provisions, rpt. of com. on relations between the library and the municipality, - . charter provisions, rpt. of league com. on, - . child life, changing conditions of (smith), - ; how the library is meeting the (andrus), - . children, section on library work with, proceedings, - . children, values in library work with (hunt), - ; ditto (burnite), - . children's work in the u. s., volume of (bostwick), - . churchill, winston, letter from, - . "civics room in a medium-sized town" (kammerling), - . clarke, elizabeth p., discusses prison libraries, . classification, some practical considerations regarding, for libraries (bliss), - . classifiers, com. on code for, rpt. of, . claxton, p. p., letter from, - . cleavinger, j. s., mem. com. on administration, . coit, bertha, obituary, . college and reference section, proceedings, - . college librarians, what c. l. can do for library schools (rathbone), - . college library and research work (fletcher), - . college library, art in the (weitenkampf), - . college library, instruction in the use of a (salmon), - . constitution. see a. l. a. constitution. "co-operation of libraries with library schools" (bacon), - . co-ordination, com. on, . countryman, gratia a., second vice-president of a. l. a., . cowing, agnes, chrm. sect. on work with children. . crandall, f. a., "proposing an executive gazette," - . craver, h. w., member of executive board, . crowell, j. f., paper read by title, . cunningham, jesse, rpt. as chrm. of com. on clippings, . curtis, florence r., discusses prison libraries, . cutter, w. p., mem. com. on federal and state relations, ; discussion, . cutter, w. p., reads letters at symposium, . davis, jesse b., outline of work in vocational guidance (quoted) in paper by ranck, - . davis, olin s., discusses library work with schools, ; discussion, . dawley, f. f., member finance com., . dayton public library, resolution of sympathy for, . defectives and dependents, book influences for (robinson), - . delfino, mrs. e. n., mem. com. on work with the blind, . department libraries, cataloging for (sears), - . doane, w. c., obituary, . dramatic taste, development of, - . du bois, w. e. b., letter from, . dudgeon, m. s., "law that stands the test," - ; mem. public documents com., ; chrm. com. to investigate insurance rates, . duff, ida, acts as sec'y of sect. on work with children, . election of officers. see american library association. elmendorf, mrs. h. l., re-elected member of publishing board, . ely, mary, vice-chrm. of sect. on library work with children, . endowment funds, rpt. of trustees, - . executive board. see a. l. a. executive board. "executive gazette, proposing an" (crandall), - . exhibits, library school, - . faxon, f. w., chrm. travel com., . federal and state relations, rpt. of com. on, ; com. on, . federal prisons, libraries in, - . fiction, quality of,--symposium, -ff. field, o. j., second v.p., am. assn. of law lib., . field, pearl i., reviews tarbell "the business of being a woman," . finance, rpt. of com. on (andrews), ; com. on, . fitzgerald, j. f., letter from, - . fletcher, r. s., "the college library and research work," - . flexner, jennie m., discusses libraries in jails, - . foreigners, library work among (antin, maltby, rush), - . foreigners. see also immigrants. freeman, marilla w., "scientific management, and the reference department as a bureau of information," - . "friendly book" (walton), - . garland, hamlin, letter from, . gillis, j. l., mem. com. on co-ordination, . godard, g. s., chrm. public documents com., ; presides public documents round table, . goldthwaite, lucile, mem. com. on work with the blind, . gooch, harriet b., presides catalog section, . goodrich, n. d., discussion, ; reads paper by fletcher, . gould, c. h., chrm. com. on co-ordination, ; participates in fiction discussion, . grading, specialization and, in library schools (plummer), - . great britain, present conditions and tendencies of library work in (jast), - . green, c. r., presides agricultural lib. sect., . griffis, w. e., letter from, . hadley, chalmers, mem. com. on library training, ; mem. com. to investigate insurance rates, . hall, g. stanley, letter from, - . hall, mary e., addresses assn. on enlarging scope of library work in high schools, ; participates in general discussion on subject, - . hartwell, mary a., reads paper by sup't of doc., ; discussion, . hasse, adelaide r., mem. public documents com., . hawks, emma b., acts as sec'y agricultural lib. sect., . henderson, c. r., letter from, . herrick, robert, letter from, - . hicks, f. c., presides college librarians round table, . hill, frank p., letter from, regarding participation in leipzig exposition, ; mem. com. on international relations, ; participates in fiction discussion, . history, what can the library do to encourage the study of american?, - . hobart, frances, discusses work with schools, ; discussion, . hodges, n. d. c., mem. com. on co-ordination, . hohoff, mrs. a. w., presents paper on municipal reference work in n. y., . hopkins, julia a., sec'y professional training sect., . hopper, f. f., "administration of the catalog dep't from a librarian's point of view," - . hosmer, helen r., paper on the library of the research laboratory, general electric co., . hospitals. "some problems of the institution library organizer in the state hospitals" (jones), - . hough, emerson, letter from, . howe, frederic c., letter from, - . hunt, clara w., "values in library work with children," - . "instruction in the use of a college library" (salmon), - ; questionnaire sent out by a. l. a., . institutions, library work in charitable and penal. "book influences for defectives and dependents" (robinson), - ; "some problems of the institution library organizer in the state hospitals" (jones), - . insurance rates for libraries, com. to investigate, . international relations, com. on, . "immigrants as contributors to library progress" (maltby), - . "immigrant in the library" (antin), - . irwin, jennie s., obituary, . irwin, wallace, letter from, . jameson, j. f., letter from, - . jast, l. stanley, "present conditions and tendencies of library work in great britain," - ; participates in fiction discussion, . jewett, w. k., obituary, . johnson, clifton, letter from, . johnston, w. d., "proposal for a catalog of university serial publications," ; paper on relation between special and general libraries, . jones, edith k., "some problems of the institution library organizer in the state hospitals," - . jordan, david starr, letter from, . jusserand, j. j., letter from, - . kerr, willis h., "normal schools and their relation to librarianship," - ; mem. of council, . keogh, andrew, presides college and reference section, . kingsbury, n. c., presents paper on the library as a modern necessity, . kimball, theodora, paper read by title, . kammerling, edith, "a civics room in a medium sized town," - . kiser, s. e., letter from, . koch, t. w., represents a. l. a. at indiana meeting, ; mem. com. on co-ordination, . kohlsaat, c. c., letter from, . krause, louise b., "libraries in business organizations; their expanding function," - . labor saving devices, . lane, w. c., mem. com. on international relations, ; mem. com. on co-ordination, . lapp, j. a., mem. public documents com., . larson, c. a., obituary, . league of library commissions, proceedings, - . lee, gerald stanley, letter from, - . lee, jennette, letter from, - . legislative reference work, present status of (lester), - ; "the law that stands the test" (dudgeon), - . legislative reference work. see also municipal reference library. legler, henry e., president of a. l. a., presides at sessions, _passim_; president's address, - ; represents a. l. a. at ohio, illinois-missouri and south dakota meetings, . leipzig exposition, rpt. of com. on international relations respecting participation in, - ; special com. on, appointed, - . lester, c. b., "present status of legislative reference work," - . librarianship, ideal of, . libraries, rpt. of com. on relations between, and the municipality, - . library administration, rpt. of com. on, - ; com. on, . library commissions, rpt. of com. on establishment of new (budlong, chrm.), - . library, instruction in the use of a college (salmon), - . library plans (rpt. of secretary), . library post, rpt. of com. on, - . library post. see also parcel post. library schools, co-operation of libraries with (bacon), - . library school instructors, account of the winter meetings of, - . library schools, proposed examination of, - . library schools, rpt. of the com. on methods of publicity for, . library schools, specialization and grading in (plummer), - . library schools, what college librarians can do for (rathbone), - . library training, rpt. of com. on, - ; com. on, . lighting, rpt. of com. on ventilation and, of library buildings, - . lindholm, marie f., presents paper at special lib. assn., . locke, g. h., mem. com. on co-operation with n. e. a., . luce, robert, addresses special libraries assn., . mcaneny, george, "the municipal reference library as an aid in city administration," - . mcclelland, maude, "work of a high school branch," - . maltby, adelaide b., "immigrants as contributors to library progress," - . "man in the yards" (rush), - . martel, charles, chrm. of catalog section, . marvin, cornelia, member of council, ; mem. com. on library training, . massee, may, elected editor booklist, . matthews, brander, letter from, . mendenhall, ida m., library instruction in normal schools, . merrill, w. s., presents rpt. for com. on code for classifiers, ; discussion, . meyer, h. h. b., presents paper at special libraries assn., . milam, c. h., presides at league of lib. com., . mitchell, s. weir, letter from, . montgomery, t. l., mem. com. on federal and state relations, . more, p. e., letter from, . moulton, j. g., "post-conference trip," - . "municipal reference library as an aid in city administration" (mcaneny), - . municipal reference library. see also legislative reference library. municipal reference work. "a civics room in a medium-sized town," - . municipal yearbook, rpt. on (ranck), . municipality, rpt. of com. on relations between library and, - . murray, rose g., mem. com. on bookbinding, . national education association, rpt. of com. on co-operation with, - ; com. on, . necrology. see a. l. a. necrology. negro. "what of the black and yellow races?" (yust), - . newberry, marie a., mem. com. on co-operation with n. e. a., . "normal schools and their relation to librarianship" (kerr), - . oklahoma city, extends invitation for meeting, . organizing small libraries, round table on, - . owen, t. m., mem. public documents com., ; mem. com. on federal and state relations, . page, t. n., letter from, . parcel post for books, rpt. of com. on federal and state relations, . parcel post. see also library post. patterson, j. r., mem. com. on bookbinding, . pearson, e. l., "how to discourage reading," - . pension systems (rpt. of secretary), . phelan, j. f., mem. travel com., . plummer, mary w., mem. of council, ; "specialization and grading in library schools," - . poole, f. o., mem. finance com., ; presides am. assn. of law lib., ; addresses same, - ; president same, . post-conference trip (moulton), - . power, effie l., presides at section on library work with children, . pratt institute, library exhibit at, - . prince, h. c., discussion, . prisons, libraries in, - . professional training section, proceedings, - . program com., . public documents, com. on, . public documents, resolutions concerning printing and distribution of, . public documents round table, - . publication committee, rpt. of, - . publicity, rpt. of the com. on methods of, for library schools, . publishing board. see a. l. a. publishing board. putnam, herbert, presents minute on j. s. billings, ; member of executive board, ; chrm. com. on international relations, ; mem. com. on co-ordination, . "quality of fiction"--symposium, -ff. questionnaires, - . ranck, s. h., discusses proposed by-law to constitution, ; discusses questionnaires, - ; "making a library useful to business men," - ; mem. public documents com., ; mem. com. to investigate insurance rates, ; mem. of council, ; "the library's opportunities in vocational guidance," - . rathbone, josephine a., describes exhibit at pratt institute, - ; reviews "the great analysis," ; "what college librarians can do for library schools," - . reed, amy l., acts as sec'y college and reference section, . reference librarians' round table, - . reference work. "scientific management, and the reference department as a bureau of information (freeman)," - . research work, college library and (fletcher), - . richardson, e. c., mem. com. on international relations, ; discussion, , . rider, mrs. gertrude t., mem. com. on work with the blind, . robbins, mary e., mem. of council, . robinson, julia a., "book influences for defectives and dependents." - ; mem. com. on work with the blind, ; discusses prison libraries, - . roden, c. b., reads letters at symposium, ; rpt. as treasurer, . root, a. s., chrm. com. on library training, . ropes, w. l., obituary, . rural communities, library work in. "the woman on the farm" (stearns), - . rural school library, possibilities of the (wilson), - . rush, charles e., "the man in the yards," - . salmon, lucy m., "instruction in the use of a college library," - . sawyer, laura m., chrm. com. on work with the blind, . schaffer, c. w., mem. exec. com. am. assn. of law lib., . schwab, j. c., mem. com. on co-ordination, . schenk, f. w., serves as sec'y public documents round table, ; first v.p. am. assn. of law lib., . scholefield, e. o. s., exec. com. am. assn. of law lib., . schouler, james, letter from, - . schools and libraries, co-operation between, - ; as civic centers, - . schools, library work with, -ff. schools. "possibilities of the rural school library" (wilson), - . schools. "work of a high school branch" (mcclelland), - . scientific management, and the reference department as a bureau of information (freeman), - . secretary's report (utley), - . sears, minnie e., "cataloging for department libraries," - . serial publications, proposal for a catalog of university (johnston), . sheldon, e. w., trustee of endowment fund, . small, a. j., mem. public documents com., ; mem. exec. com. am. assn. of law lib., . smith, faith e., "changing conditions of child life," - ; mem. com. on library training, . smith, laura, "administration of a catalog dep't from a cataloger's point of view," - . sneed, mrs. percival, participates in fiction discussion, . soule, c. c., obituary, ; memorial resolution on, . special libraries association, proceedings, - . specialization and grading in library schools (plummer), - . state library, state-wide influence of the (brown), - . stearns, lutie e., "the woman on the farm," - ; discusses prison libraries, . steiner, b. c., reviews crispi's memoirs, ; chrm. com. on federal and state relations, ; participates in fiction discussion, . stevens, e. f., "working library for the artisan and the craftsman," - . strohm, adam, mem. com. on administration, . study outline com., rpt. of, - . tarkington, booth, letter from, . taylor, nelson, obituary, . technology. "the working library for the artisan and the craftsman" (stevens), - . templeton, charlotte, discusses prison libraries, . thomson, john, mem. of council, . thwaites, r. g., reads letters at symposium, . tomlinson, e. t., letter from, - . travel committee, appropriation for expenses voted to, ; membership of, . treasurer's report (roden), . trowbridge, j. t., letter from, . tyler, alice s., member of council, ; mem. com. on library training, ; congratulatory message to, . underhill, ethel, sec'y sect. on library work with children, . use of a college library, instruction in the (salmon), - . utley, george b., rpt. of sec'y, - ; represents a. l. a. at illinois-missouri and oklahoma meetings, ; lectures before library schools, ; mem. of program com., . ventilation and lighting of library buildings, rpt. of com. on, - . vocational guidance, the library's opportunities in (ranck), - . wadlin, h. g., "the quality of fiction," - . wallace, f. c., paper by, - . wales, elizabeth b., presents rpt. of com. on charter provisions, - . walter, f. k., reviews weyl, "the great democracy," ; presides professional training sect, . walton, g. m., "the friendly book," - . warren, althea h., reviews antin, "the promised land," . warren, irene, mem. com. on co-operation with n. e. a., . weitenkampf, frank, "art in the college library," - . wellman, h. c., presents minute on c. c. soule, ; first vice-president of a. l. a., ; resigns as non-official member of executive board, ; mem. of program com., . whitlock, brand, letter from, . whitney, e. l., treas. am. assn. of law lib., . wildman, bertha s., obituary, . wilson, h. w., paper on problems of printed indexes in special fields, . wilson, martha, "possibilities of the rural school library," - ; speaks on co-operation between library commissions and state boards of education, . windsor, p. l., "account of the winter meetings of library school instructors," - . winser, beatrice, "relation of the catalog dep't to other dep'ts," - . wolcott, j. d., discussion, . "woman on the farm" (stearns), - . woodard, gertrude e., sec'y am. assn. of law lib., . wood, harriet a., mem. com. on co-operation with n. e. a., . wootten, katharine t., reviews goldmark "fatigue and efficiency," . "working library for the artisan and the craftsman" (stevens), - . world of print and the world's work; president's address (legler), - . wynkoop, asa, discusses prison libraries, - . yust, w. f., "what of the black and yellow races?" - . transcriber's notes: simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors were corrected. punctuation normalized. anachronistic and non-standard spellings retained as printed. italics markup is enclosed in _underscores_. bold markup is enclosed in =equals=. sans serif font markup is enclosed in ~tildes~. assigned missing anchors for the second and third footnotes at the end of the table on p. . papers and proceedings of the thirty-fourth annual meeting of the american library association held at ottawa, canada june -july , american library association e. washington street chicago, ill. contents general sessions: page addresses of welcome and response address herbert putnam president's address: the public library: a leaven'd and prepared choice mrs. h. l. elmendorf publicity for the sake of information: the public's point of view w. h. hatton secretary's report george b. utley treasurer's report carl b. roden reports of boards and committees: finance committee c. w. andrews a. l. a. publishing board henry e. legler trustees of endowment funds w. c. kimball bookbinding a. l. bailey bookbuying w. l. brown co-ordination c. h. gould co-operation with the n. e. a m. e. ahern federal and state relations b. c. steiner library administration a. e. bostwick library training a. s. root library work with the blind emma n. delfino public documents george s. godard preservation of newspapers frank p. hill publicity for the sake of support carl h. milam breadth and limitations of bookbuying w. l. brown open door through the book and the library c. e. mclenegan what do the people want? jessie welles assistant and the book mary e. hazeltine type of assistants edith tobitt efficiency of the library staff and scientific management adam strohm what library schools can do for the profession chalmers hadley address sir wilfrid laurier conservation of character j. w. robertson address george e. vincent book advertising: information as to subject and scope of books carl b. roden book advertising: illumination as to the attractions of real books grace miller report of executive board report of council report of resolutions committee memorial to frederick morgan crunden report of tellers of election social side of the conference r. g. thwaites day in toronto m. e. ahern day in montreal carl b. roden post-conference trip julia ideson sections: agricultural libraries catalog children's librarians' college and reference professional training trustees' public documents round table affiliated organizations: american association of law libraries league of library commissions special libraries association attendance summaries attendance register index note: the minutes of the national association of state libraries have not been received in time to be included in this volume. they will be separately printed by that association. ottawa conference june -july , preliminary session (wednesday evening, june , , russell theatre) the association convened in a preliminary session on wednesday evening, june , with dr. james w. robertson, c. m. g., chairman of the canadian royal commission on industrial training and technical education, presiding as acting chairman of the ottawa local committee. hon. george h. perley, acting prime minister of canada, was introduced and welcomed the association to canada on behalf of the dominion government. the speaker called attention to the hundred years of peace between the two countries and the plans being formulated for celebrating it, and said that international conferences such as this were the best guarantees of peace; that the more we know of each other the less liable we were to get into trouble. in canada schools and libraries are growing apace, particularly in the new regions of the far west, very much the same as in the united states. exchange of ideas as in this convention is the very best kind of reciprocity and will help both nations in their aims and aspirations for the good of civilization. comptroller e. h. hinchey, the acting mayor of ottawa, spoke the city's welcome, calling attention to ottawa as a convention city and its growing claims for being considered the washington of the north. the association was graciously welcomed in behalf of the women's canadian club of ottawa by the president, mrs. adam shortt, who also voiced the welcome from the women's national council of canada. she said the preachers, the teachers, the writers and the librarians are four great standing armies, standing to protect us and to dispel the hydra-headed enemy ignorance, but that she thought of librarians as captains of individual garrisons scattered here and there through towns and cities, who are sending out emissaries among the people and moulding and forming the mental and moral fibre of each community. the chairman: the women's canadian historical society was most kind in pressing forward its desire to have this convention held here. the president, however, desires not to speak to-night. i have now the pleasure of asking hon. john g. foster, united states consul-general, to speak, as one of ourselves. he is a good citizen, and though of you, with us--we count him almost one of ourselves. mr. foster said he could have assured that portion of the delegates who were his fellow countrymen and countrywomen that they would feel very much at home in this country, whose people, institutions and traditions are so similar to those of the united states. the chairman: many other representative bodies joined in the effort to secure this meeting for ottawa and are represented on the platform to-night, but the only other speaker who i shall ask to voice for them or for himself welcoming sentiments is the hon. martin burrell, minister of agriculture, and, if i may say in parenthesis, also minister of copyrights, since that comes within his department. minister burrell spoke enthusiastically of the value of books and the habit of good reading and the greater ease with which books could now be secured than formerly. continuing he said: "i have heard it said by some skeptical gentlemen that it is true that a librarian never reads a book; in fact, that he cannot be a perfect librarian and read, because he is immediately lost. i do not like to hold that view. i rather hold to the view that the ordinary librarian, perhaps i should say the model librarian, should be a guide, philosopher and friend, and i do not doubt that many of you are very real guides, philosophers and friends to those who are seeking for perhaps they know not what and whom you can direct in right channels with incalculable good to their after life. it is absolutely true that in our modern life we need that guidance. i do not know that i could put it better than in the words of another great book lover, and good library lover too, our friend robert louis stevenson of imperishable memory, who said once there was a sort of dead-alive, hackneyed people in the world who if they were not engaged in a conventional occupation were in a state of coma; that the few hours they did not dedicate to a furious toiling in the gold mill were an absolute blank. it is your high privilege to supply that blank; it is your priceless privilege to fill the hours of life which have to be a blank because we cannot train ourselves for them in this more material age,--to fill them up with a companionship and with an influence of the great thoughts of the great writers of all ages." concluding, he expressed his pleasure at the prospect of entertaining the delegates at the experimental farm on the following saturday. the chairman: the real president of the canadian club found it impossible to be in ottawa to-night, and i am the poor substitute for dr. otto j. klotz, who has been a great pillar of strength in ottawa to those who love books and use books. he deputed me to say that he was exceedingly sorry he could not meet so many old friends of his as would surely be in attendance, and still more sorry because he was deprived of the joy of thus paying a little more back to those who love books and use books for all that books and learning have done for him. he is one of our good men. i am sorry he is not here. we are delighted to have a woman as your president; and in calling on mrs. elmendorf to respond may i say--this comes to me after meeting her yesterday and today--that she is altogether a woman of whom it may be said in relation to her office as president of the american library association, "thy gentleness has helped to make it great." the president: mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen, members of the american library association,--i am sure that i but express what you are all feeling in saying that this royal welcome to the dominion of canada makes us not only happy but very much honored. some members of the association are already at home in their own capital, being keepers of "kings' treasuries" of canada itself. others of us are librarians from hither and yon in the country beyond the border, but we have all come with "joy and goodly gree" to sit in council in the very capital of the lovely land which is so loyally and affectionately "daughter in her mother's house." a small party of us came across the border, as william morris's heroes are wont to move, "by night and cloud," and when we reached the boundary line a sudden inspiration took us and we stooped down and silently, gently gathered that boundary line in our hands and brought its firm lengths with us. i hold what might represent its shining links here in my hands. therefore, while we visit here with you, in the very capital of the dominion, while we hold that boundary line thus in our possession, from boston harbor down the coast through new york and charleston to key west, along the gulf to new orleans, across the great west to pasadena, up the pacific coast line to seattle, from east to west, from north to south, there is no let or hindrance to the lines of influence which go forth. those lines of influence run free without chance for knot or tangle or any such thing. i hope you will not need to try whether "the king's writ runs" but i am sure that you will find that shakespeare reigns in our realm, that tennyson and bobby burns touch our hearts in song, and he who writes the songs of a people need not care who writes their laws. just one small story and then i shall have finished, for thanks must needs be brief if they come from the heart, and there is one to come after who will say to you with grace and directness and clear precision much that i might envy but never approach. my tall brother happened by good fortune to be in london town the night that the great city went nearly wild in her glad rejoicing at the relief of ladysmith. it was a sight to see and join in, and he and his wife went on such progress through the streets as a cab could make for them. in his hand, at the full length of his long arm, he waved from the front of the cab a union jack and a stars and stripes to indicate his sympathy and good feeling. all went well until in one of the many enforced pauses a rough chap jumped for his hand crying, "aw, sir! one flag'll do!" we are very happy to be here and are just a little happier to see by these beautiful draped banners that you have not felt that one flag need to do! the chairman: those of us who have gone to washington have sometimes thought we should revise our boyhood's interpretation of the new jerusalem of the book of revelation. nothing i had ever imagined from st. john's description was quite a match for the glory and magnificence of the beautiful library of congress. i have found it delightful to think of a nation of great wealth providing such a fitting home for its literary treasures. books are the friends and ministers of the mind and the soul of the people. the washington building is the expression in materials of their aspirations for what is best and most beautiful. it is a wonderful building, leaving impressions of wonder on the casual visitor, and still more on those who linger in its chaste corridors and see something of the working of the library itself. i think of the sweet and stately beauty of the place, i think of the institution and its services, and i think also of the man who is more than a match for the magnificence of the home of those books. we will now hear from the man, dr. herbert putnam. address by dr. putnam our acknowledgments as visitors having now been made by the highest authority among us, it is not for the purpose of merely enlarging them that i am assigned a place upon the program. it is rather, i understand, with the view to an expression in behalf of the community of interest represented by this gathering as a whole; and some definition as to what we are, what we aim at, and wherein, if at all, we differ from our predecessors. our aim is in terms a simple one. it is to bring a book to a reader, to lead a reader to a book. the task may indeed vary in proportion as the book is obvious or obscure, the reader expert or a novice, so that our service may be as the shortest distance between two simple points; or as the readiest point between two distances. but its main and ultimate end is the same. and it remains so in spite of organization grown elaborate, apparatus and mechanism grown complex. for the organization is merely to respond to a larger and more varied demand, and with a view to a more ample and diversified response. what then is the difference between the library of today and the library of a few centuries--a single century--ago?--is it merely in the development of this organization, the introduction of this apparatus and mechanism?--is it to such matters that our efforts are directed?--is it they which require incessant gatherings such as this for explanation, exploitation and discussion, and the innumerable reams of written contribution in our professional journals? they are indeed accountable for a large percentage of it: but back of them, beneath them, is a change which is fundamental, a change in attitude which is essential as no mere form or method can be. it consists in the birth and development--not indeed of a new characteristic in either book or reader, or the discovery of new potencies in the one or new sensibilities in the other--but of a new sense of responsibility on the part of the library in the utilization of the one for the benefit of the other. it is an incident of democracy. now, so far as democracy means the participation of the community as a whole in the conduct of its affairs the _form_ of it has existed with us in the united states for generations; and the substance of it has existed throughout the anglo-saxon world. but democracy ought to mean something more: it ought to mean the participation of every individual in its opportunities. and a constitution of society which still left the resources for power and intellectual direction in the hands of the few was in effect an aristocracy, and no complete democracy. among these resources a chief is education. and the practical monopoly of education--and of books as an element in it--meant a monopoly of influence also,--a monopoly which survived after limitations of caste were removed and the opportunities for wealth became widely diffused. against it the free public school, the easily available college, the cheaply procurable newspaper and magazine, and the free public library fought and are fighting their fight in the interest of the prerogative of the individual, in the endeavor to equip him as an independent and co-equal unit, so that the actual constitution of society shall accord with its political form, and indeed assure the efficiency and the permanence of the form. so, having provided for the mass the interest has of late centred upon the individual. meantime, with the evolution from homogeneity to heterogeneity the individual himself has become more and more diversified in trait, aptitude and need; so that the treatment of him by the agencies acting for the community as a whole has also had to become varied. not merely that, but pursuing its responsibilities, to become affirmative, where before, so far as it existed, it was merely responsive. now the service of school and college furnishing definite instruction and perhaps training, to an organized body of youth, within a limited age, and under control, can be reasonably systematized and standardized. but the library is to furnish not merely education but enlightenment, and even culture, to the community at large--without respect to age, and without subordination to control. it cannot impose, it does not control. it may recommend, but it cannot direct. it must still respond to a need voluntarily expressed; but its duty is held to go further: it must remind that the need exists,--it must even inspire the need,--that is to say, the consciousness of it. in this way it is engaged in creating the very demand which later it seeks to satisfy. now this duty upon it accounts for the prodigious energy in the effort itself, and the activity and range of the discussion, which are the characteristics of the modern library movement, particularly in english speaking america. it accounts for the incessant repetition of explanation, of exhortation, of recited experience, which give to a present-day library conference something of the aspect of a revival meeting. to librarians of the older school these are somewhat distasteful; to librarians of the more modern school already convinced and experienced, they may be tedious; but they seem necessary still for the enlightenment and encouragement of others newly entering upon the problem, of a public not yet fully familiar with the relations of it to their own welfare, and to the helpful solution of local problems where the idea meets conditions still impeding: for the field is vast and conditions are still very unequal. the efforts, still inchoate, include also many devices which are crude and of doubtful expediency: especially many designed chiefly to attract--in which the library seems to compete with other enterprises courting popularity in a way scarcely dignified for a public institution maintained by government. they shock the conservative in somewhat the same way as an advertisement by a lawyer or physician shocks the traditions of those reticent professions: and they include not merely schemes of advertising--which might seem to impair the dignity of the book, but auxiliaries for attracting attention such as savor of the devices of a business house in exploiting its goods. the ultimate aim is, of course, the commendation of the book itself,--and the justification lies--or is sought--in this. but the means,--well, the means often afflict the conservatives in the profession, and even cause uneasiness to certain of us among the progressives. the compensating assurance is that they are the promptings of an enthusiasm in itself meritorious; that they are experiments; that they may prove to be expedients merely temporary, and that later they may be dispensed with after they have served their purpose. they are to rouse the dormant, stir the stagnant: but there are also other agencies at work to rouse and to stir; and the time may well come when the operation of these in combination will have achieved the creation of a spirit in the community safe to act upon its own initiative. apart from the portions of our programs devoted to the discussion of such methods and devices--which concern the direct action of a particular library upon its own constituents, is the portion--a large one--devoted to schemes of co-operation among our institutions as such in the interest of economy and therefore of efficiency--in their administration. these are necessarily technical, and their immediate interest is to the librarian rather than to the reader. but their ultimate benefit is to reach the reader,--particularly in freeing to his use a larger measure of the direct personal service of the administration, in interpreting the collections to his need. in proportion as they succeed in this they will achieve a reversion to that service held precious in the library of the older type,--which, lacking the modern apparatus, and with an imperfect collection, at least put the reader into direct contact with what it had, and gave him also the inspiring personal touch with an enthusiast already saturated with its contents: and which accordingly sent him forth with a grateful glow, too little, alas! evident in one relegated to the mere mechanism of modern library practice. the mechanism became inevitable: the increase of the collections, the increase of the constituency, the greater diversity of the need, and the demand that this should be met promptly, have required it. this isn't so apparent to the public, who think of the problem--of getting the right book to the individual reader--in only its simplest terms. but to us librarians it is not merely apparent but urgent. and accordingly we expend upon it a length and a zest of discussion that quite mystify the portions of our audiences outside of the craft. what impels us is that the mechanism is not merely elaborate: it is expensive. it is the more so in proportion as it is variant in form and involves a multiplication of expense by each library acting independently in its own behalf. our effort, and the purpose of our discussions, is therefore to promote a standardization of the form and a co-operative centralization of the work itself, in which our libraries as a whole may secure a participating benefit. now the mechanism consists of certain apparatus necessarily independent with each library--administrative records, charging systems, etc.; but also of classification, catalog and bibliography. all of these may be standardized,--but the opportunity for a co-operation which may save expense occurs chiefly in the three last named. the extravagance, the needless extravagance, of an absence of it represented by the old conditions was little apparent to the general public or to boards of control. it becomes obvious when one considers that thousands of libraries receiving hundreds of identical books,--and hundreds of libraries receiving thousands of identical books--were each undertaking independently the expense of cataloging and classifying these: thus multiplying by exactly their number the total cost of the community. as against this, the economy of a system under which a particular book shall be cataloged--and perhaps classified--at some central point once for all, and the result made available in multiple form to all libraries receiving copies of it--needs only to be stated to be convincing. a condition of it is, in the case of classification, identity in the basic scheme and notation, in the case of catalog identity in the form, and uniformity in the practice. the general availability of bibliographic lists does not depend upon either, though convenienced by both. identity in classification seems still remote, nor does the undoubted vogue of the decimal scheme assure it: for this is chiefly among the smaller libraries. in the larger, the decimal scheme, where adopted, is apt to be accompanied by variations of detail, which mean a variation in the place and symbol assigned to a particular book, and thus bar the general adoption of a decision in the classification of it made at any central bureau. so far as this variance affects the direct administration of a particular library it may be unimportant: for the arrangement of its own books upon its own shelves--provided this is based on a subject scheme, consistently carried out--may be sufficiently effective for its own purposes, even though purely individual with itself. what it implies, however, in multiplication of an expense that might be avoided by the adoption of an identical scheme, is of an import very serious. the construction of a scheme which should suit equally all libraries and all librarians is not to be expected. the best that can be hoped for is a scheme sound in its fundaments and upon which the concessions of individual preference necessary will be only as to detail. the reluctance--of librarians--to make such concessions is due, i think, to an exaggerated estimate of the importance of classification as such--that is to say, of the precise location of a particular book in a given collection; a failure to realize--what experience should have taught--that in many groups no location can be absolutely permanent, owing to changes in the literary output and in the subject relation of that group to the rest. this reluctance is, i fear, one of the conservatisms least creditable to the profession. it induces tenacity in adhesion to systems adopted, and it leads to the adoption of new systems devised to accord with supposed idiosyncrasies of a particular collection--or pursuant to the ingenious inventiveness of a particular librarian. i can express myself the more frankly because in this latter respect the library of congress has itself been a sinner;--and one not yet come to repentance. for at the outset of its problem it found the decimal classification in considerable vogue, the expansive in considerable favor. and it adopted neither, but proceeded to devise a scheme of its own. it did this out of declared necessity, with regard to its supposed interests; and considering those interests alone the results have seemed a justification. they are even being utilized in certain other institutions, and though not proffered as a model for general adoption, they render even now a general service in proving the economy of centralizing the process of classification, as well as that of cataloging, at some central point or points from which the decisions may radiate. the general availability of a catalog entry depends of course upon uniformity in cataloging practice as well as identity in size and form of the card itself,--if the result takes the form of a card. agreement in this has fortunately been rapid, and we have now in english speaking american a set of decisions, embodied in a code of rules--substantially accepted among our own libraries and even substantially acceptable to the libraries of great britain. between continental practice and our own variances still exist, and bar the complete interchange of results. one cannot doubt, however, that time will eradicate, or adjust these also. between bibliography as distinguished from classification and cataloging, there exist, however, no such impediments; and the centralization of bibliographic work--co-operation in it--is progressing apace. the prospect is, therefore, fairly cheerful that librarians will be able in the near future to free themselves and their funds from undue attention to the mere mechanism of their craft, and more completely to devote their resources and personal service to the book as literature, and the reader as a human being. the spirit for this is ardent. it is manifest in our two countries as nowhere else in like degree. as regards the reader it calls itself proudly "the missionary spirit"; it seeks him, appraises him, sympathizes with him, counsels him. it does not doubt its duty in this to be an affirmative one. but as regards the book itself it is not yet so decisive. for in the selection of what it is to offer it still concedes much to what is called the "popular taste"--which means the popular fancy of the moment, ignoring in doing so its prerogative as an "educational" institution to assert standards, and to abide by them. its hope is to improve the taste itself; and the need of this--its appropriateness as a function of the library, and the means of effecting it--are to be a main feature of the program of this conference. they are justly so,--even though they are matters of concern chiefly for that type of library which is engaged in serving the public at large. it is, however, precisely that type of library with which also the duty should lie of representing the standards established by time, and the taste represented by the more refined rather than by the average instincts of the community. and as the temptation--to make concessions is also peculiarly theirs--the responsibility is particularly upon them, their librarians, their trustees, and the conservative in public opinion--to assert this duty and to conform to it. the assertion of it may cause resentment; but this will prove merely individual; it is not likely to organize into formidable resistance. and in time it will become merely sporadic. it will tend to diminish in proportion as associations such as this, in conferences such as this, declare solidly for the authority of the library in such decisions--while clearly distinguishing it from any censorship of literature as such. the temptation to court "popularity"--natural in institutions maintained at the public expense and therefore dependent upon the favor of city councils--has another phase which i hope may prove but transitory. it is in the exploitation of the service done by the books which are the "tools of trade" as against those making for general information, or general culture. the supposition is that the service of the first named is one which will convince certain important opinion as a "practical" service, and particularly that it will appeal to those who are just now insistent upon vocational studies as the studies to be given right of way in the education of youth. the temptation is the greater because the service of a book of this sort is a service whose results are readily demonstrable, it is concrete and objective;--while that of general literature is but subjective. its importance cannot be questioned, nor the duty of the library to perform it, nor the success of our public libraries in the actual performance of it. the only criticism might be lest in the emphasis upon it, our libraries may seem to underestimate, if not to disparage, that other service which in its ulterior benefit to the community may prove of even greater importance; that service which reminds the public that livelihood is not the main purpose of life, nor the present, the local and the particular, the only era, the only place, the only thing worthy of consideration and regard. the books which achieve this may have their greatest value in offsetting the tendencies of mere industry. this is not to say, however, that they may not advance industry itself; for though they may not improve the mere dexterity of a particular individual in a profession, art or trade, they may aid to that sense of proportion, that larger view of a worldwide relation which will advance the art itself; and they cultivate the imagination which is the essential of modern industry in its larger relations. as, therefore, our colleges still stand for the utility of the general studies even in a career looking to vocation, so our libraries may well stand for the utility of the general literature. particularly is this duty upon them since the opportunity--in its relation to the community at large--is uniquely theirs: for no other agency--not even the museum, or the art gallery, or the theatre, the opera house, or the concert hall--potent as may be the influence of these--matches the book in power and availability in this service of quickening the sensibilities, refining the taste, enlarging the understanding, diversifying the experience, warming the heart and clarifying the soul. and this service--understood everywhere--is nowhere--save perhaps in england--quite so completely followed into its consequences as in canada and the united states. the conviction of it grounds our libraries upon a public opinion assuring permanent support; and inspires among individuals enthusiasm for gift and endowment. the greater, therefore, the responsibility of librarians and trustees to see to it that this conviction, this enthusiasm and the resources which they provide shall be so utilized as to effect not merely the most showy but the most substantial results. and the responsibility should include not merely a zeal for the general reader, but a regard for the scholar: since a benefit to the general reader may end with himself, but a benefit to the scholar becomes amplified and diffused through him. he is not, be it understood, a class by himself. he includes the specialist whose vocation is research in a particular field; but he includes also the reader for whom research is but an avocation. he is the unusual man, but he is also the usual man in his unusual moments. what is the conscious aim of the one may be the incidental achievement of the other--to advance knowledge. and the aid rendered by the library to either may be of a consequence to the community more far reaching than the mere diffusion of ascertained knowledge among a multitude of individuals. if the effort of our libraries in this direction has not kept pace with their efforts in the others, the explanation is obvious in the emphasis necessary upon the others during the past fifty years. but the time has come when the obligation to the scholar should resume its due place--in our programs, as well as in our practice. and with the resumption of that interest may we not hope for a recognition--a recognition--in our organizations also of that type which gave personality to the libraries of old?--i mean the type represented by the panizzis, the garnetts, the winsors, pooles, cutters and spoffords. for however indifferent such men may have been, or might be today, to the mere mechanism which of late we have been exalting, and which we must hold to be necessary under modern conditions, they succeeded in producing an atmosphere which had a potency of its own, which no mere mechanism can reproduce, and for which the zeal of routine personal service, however "missionary" in spirit, cannot be a substitute. for the mechanism gives the impression of intervening between the reader and the book; and the routine personal service fails from the very nature of its effort. the reader reached out to may be pleased and aided: but he loses the lesson and the penetrating suggestion afforded by the mere absorption of the old-time librarian in the book itself. it was that which once took the visitor out of himself, away from affairs, and gave him touch with a different world, a sense of different values. does he not miss it now? i think he does; and that, however he may respect the mere efficiency of the modern librarian, as administrator, his really affectionate admiration turns back to the librarian of the old school whose soul was lifted above mere administration, or the method of the moment, or the manner of insistent service, and whose passionate regard was rather for the inside of a book than for the outside of a reader,--even the librarian to whom a reader seemed indeed but an interruption to an abstraction that was privileged. i for one, should be sorry to think that this type has passed finally. there is need for it; there should be a place. i trust that it will be restored to us; and i deplore the influence upon the younger generation in our profession of referring to it with condescension if not with contempt. "our profession." i use the term because it is current. we have assumed it, and no one has challenged it. there are grounds on which it might, i suppose, be challenged. "the word implies," according to the century dictionary, "professed attainments in special knowledge, as distinguished from mere skill; a practical dealing with affairs, as distinguished from mere study or investigation; and an application of such knowledge to uses for others as a vocation, as distinguished from its pursuit for one's own purposes." the latter two requirements are certainly met: we are engaged in practical affairs, and to the use of others. but the "professed attainments in special knowledge, as distinguished from mere skill," while certainly represented in individuals among us, are not with us conditions of librarianship as a vocation or as an office, nor have we in america, as they have in germany, the conventional preparation, the preliminary examination as to qualifications, and the license which by law or usage are requirements in the professions strictly so-called. a profession should imply uniform standards in such qualifications: but the qualifications of persons accepted among us for library posts of importance,--even among persons who have made notable successes in such posts, vary extraordinarily in both kind and degree. a profession should imply a certain homogeneity in ideals, methods and relations; while among us there is still a notable diversity. the modern library with its large establishment and organization, and the responsibility of large funds, has, like the modern university, created a demand in its administrators for the traits necessary in business rather than characteristic of the professions or expected of them. (this demand, and the vogue of woman in our work--a vogue which finds its completest recognition at this meeting--are indeed the most notable of recent phenomena affecting our personnel.) as yet the conventional training has not attracted a sufficiency of men and women with such traits to meet the need; nor has it, on the other hand, attracted a sufficient number of men and women grounded in special branches of the sciences and the arts to fill the positions in our research libraries which administer, and should interpret, the literature of these. the actual personnel of our association includes therefore the utmost diversity in trait, education and experience. a considerable such diversity exists among teachers, and does not disentitle them to the claim of constituting a profession; and we are sometimes called educators. but we cannot claim to be, for we lack the didactic authority, purpose and method. the final characteristic of a profession is its influence upon the community as such. now, our lack of such an influence as a body is in part due to the lack of that homogeneity in ideal method and personnel--but in part also to the necessary limitations of our office. we are necessarily non-partisan. we are to furnish impartially the ammunition for both sides of every issue. the moment we become identified with a single side merely, we lose our influence and our authority. and it matters not whether the issue be political, or theological or economic or social. if it be scientific, or merely literary, we have more freedom, since the subject matter is more nearly academic and less emotional. but even here we must avoid the charge of faddism. in a contest of morality we may indeed take side against the baser, because with this we have no influence and no need to court one. but there are today few moral issues clearly distinguishable as such in which there is need or temptation for us to engage. the result of this neutrality is an attitude which to the world at large must seem somewhat colourless; but also a habit of mind which insensibly in itself becomes neutral. we are content to be observers. we avoid becoming contestants. such characteristics do not go to the solidification of opinion in a profession, nor to the assertion of it in an aggressive way. the sum total of all of which (observations upon us) is that in spite of our numbers, in spite of the momentous aggregate that our "establishment" represents, in spite of the assured place which it occupies in the community and the social system, we are at present, and in many ways must continue to be, an aggregate of individuals rather than a body politic. but even as the devil's advocate i would not so conclude in a deprecatory sense, for we may find and show many reasons for complacency--and special opportunities for service--in the relations which this situation implies. * * * * * my original invitation was a large one: no less than to estimate the place of the library in english-speaking america. i have not attempted to comply with it: for it seemed too large for my fraction of this program. but as a theme it was enticing. and so would have been the reverse of it,--that is, the place of english-speaking america in the development of the library. that also will perhaps be worthy of treatment at some large opportunity. one particular aspect of it is suggested by a letter of francis lieber to general halleck, fifty-seven years ago. it runs-- "... have you laid the foundation of a great public library in california? your state, above all others, ought largely to provide public funds for a library,--say $ , a year for the first five years, and then, permanently so much a year. we cannot do in our days without large public libraries, and libraries are quite as necessary as hospitals or armies. libraries are the bridges over which civilization travels from generation to generation and from country to country, bridges that span over the widest oceans; and california will yet be the buttress of the bridge over which encircling civilization will pass to asia, whence it first came...."[ ] [ ] from "life and letters of francis lieber." edited by thomas sergeant perry. boston. . if california may be such a buttress, what may we not propound of english-speaking america as a whole--from which through its universities and colleges occidental ideals and methods are already being transmitted to the orient through the effective medium of students sent here for their education? * * * * * such are some of the thoughts with which some of us at least approach this conference. they are thoughts, even if, as yet, only in part satisfactions. there is a satisfaction, however, which is dominant with those of us who come from over the border. it is that this conference is to be held on canadian soil; and that here, with the broad welcome extended to us, with a common subject matter, and with purposes in connection with it that can awaken neither cavil nor suspicion, we are free to indulge in reciprocities that will be complete, mutual, and enduring. mr. lawrence j. burpee read the following telegram from the private secretary of the duke of connaught, which was received with hearty applause: the governor-general wishes meeting of american library association every success and his royal highness regrets exceedingly that it is impossible for him to be present at your annual meeting tomorrow. mr. burpee: similar letters of regret have been received from the right honorable prime minister and several members of the cabinet and from sir wilfrid laurier, and we are yet in hopes that sir wilfrid will be able to be with us on dominion day. i have been asked by the dominion archivist and by the director of the victoria museum and the custodian of the national gallery to extend to you a most hearty welcome to visit those institutions, and i have also been asked by the president of the ottawa electric railway to say that the railway would like you to consider yourselves guests of the company while here, and that the a. l. a. button will identify us sufficiently. the chairman: the work of the local committee has been done largely by two men,--dr. otto klotz and mr. lawrence j. burpee,--and perhaps at a later session we will have occasion to give thanks to mr. burpee, who behind the scenes has made our official tasks come so lightly and so easily. the secretary read a cablegram bearing greetings from the new zealand libraries association, through the secretary, mr. herbert baillie, librarian of the wellington (n. z.) public library. adjourned. first general session (russell theatre, thursday, june , : a. m.) the president: i have the honor to announce that the thirty-fourth annual conference of the american library association is now open. it seems to me, with the welcome given us this morning, in the beautiful sunshiny weather, nearly as bright and genial as the welcome that we were given last night, we open under very happy auspices indeed, and i hope that when you hear the speakers as they shall take up the matters on the program, you will feel that the auspices have been very well carried out. i shall have the pleasure to talk to you for a very few moments on the subject as printed on the program. president's address the public library: "a leaven'd and preparéd choice" last evening's jesting pretense that the party from the states had stopped on the border and removed the boundary line to bring it with them here, into the very canadian capital, was not quite all a jest. the american library association is itself a witness that though the boundary line firmly and clearly defines the limits of rule of the two countries in some great and essential things, some "glories of our blood and state," it need not, it does not, even divide, still less alienate, the two peoples. it is one of the worthiest, most auspicious foundations of the american library association that it is, and has ever been, continental not national in its sympathy and membership. within its circle "all who profess and call themselves" english-speaking may unite their best thought and their best endeavor for this important public service. there are many fundamental library principles that are common to both countries and your program committee has intended to arrange the program and discussions to take account of these, leaving to other and minor meetings such things as are national or local in their bearing. the committee has wished to transcend all division by boundary lines. by so much the jest was fact. the attempt has been made to stand away from detail of all sorts so far that it may be possible to see the library world as "a world" indeed, "a whole of parts," as a system of members, each member distinct yet, by virtue of the very peculiarities which constitute its distinctness, contributing to the unity of the whole. we shall fail to see the library world thus, as a world, as a whole unless, amid the mass of facts, of experiences, of needs, of adaptations involved, we can finally discern and seize upon the true center, the truly dominant thing. if we could once see the true center as the center, and the mass of detail taking ordered place about it; if we could once perceive the dominant that should surely rule, and lesser matters in due subjection to that rule, then from the obvious things ever before our eyes, and only too familiar, by that very familiarity made difficult to apprehend, the library might all at once appeal as an entity, as a clear conception. so the forest becomes visible to the artist's eyes, the forest, formed of trees, but never really seen until all at once in the vision of the forest the trees are lost to sight. some modes of thought, some phrases of expression which have been used are those which the philosopher has weighed and clarified for his own carefully measured statements. do not smile at my temerity, and on the other hand do not be in the least alarmed. i ventured but a little way and you will not be called to go far into the philosopher's country under my lead. even if one be no swimmer it is an experience to venture out, with careful balance, feeling for secure foothold upon the solid bed, even a little way into a mighty stream whose full mid-current would sweep over one's head. one gets, out of even so limited an adventure, a sense of the sweep of the river, feels the embrace and pull of the current, stoops to drink a little of the clear, bright, deep waters, ever thereafter to thirst for deeper draughts and to long for strength and mastery to plunge into and breast the full stream. in trying to find warrant for my own thoughts and ordered and lucid statement for them, i have sought and consulted certain books and some of them were too hard for my full reading. i shall not further acknowledge my debt now but, once more departing from precedent, i shall list them for print at the end of the address. in the wish to find the center or dominant of the library world it would be presumptuous for me to dogmatize and say "lo here! this is the point," or "behold! this is the principle." in the very name of the institution which we are talking about there are two elements joined--public, and library--and it seems quite obviously proper to try the first as the center. perhaps the application which follows might repel some as narrow, as exclusive of any but a single type of libraries. the principle itself may, however, be made to apply to the entire library world by recognizing as "public" all libraries which are not private, and by defining public anew as applied to each group or type of libraries, always letting it include all those individuals for whose use and pleasure the library is maintained. what does "public" signify in canada and the united states? what but all the people of these two great experiments in democratic society? pray note that i say society not government. an excursion into discussion of the latter might involve dabbling in the stream of politics which would threaten dangers far more imminent, for me, than philosophy promised. to consider democratic society for a few moments very simply is a less hazardous matter. what is any society but "a world" again, a whole, in which the great thing that matters is the level and fullness of mind that is reached through the diversities of complete development and perfection of the individual members which compose it? the level of value and happiness for the whole can only be raised by raising the condition of the individuals and, on the other hand, that individuality is the most complete, of most real, felt value to itself, which contributes to the perfection of the whole, because it is only thus that the individual is conscious of having done his utmost. why try to say it again when the philosopher has said it so exactly? "what a man really cares about--so it seems to me--may be described as making the most of the trust he has received. he does not value himself as a detached and purely self-identical subject. he values himself as the inheritor of the gifts and surroundings which are focussed in him and which it is his business to raise to their highest power. the attitude of the true noble, one in whom noblesse oblige is a simple example of what, mutatis mutandis, all men feel. the man is a representative, a trustee for the world, of certain powers and circumstances. and this cannot fail to be so. for suffering and privation are also opportunities. the question for him is how much he can make of them. this is the simple and primary point of view, and also, in the main, the true and fundamental one. it is not the bare personality or the separate destiny that occupies a healthy mind. it is the thing to be done, known and felt; in a word, the completeness of experience, his contribution to it, and his participation in it. "at every point the web of experience is continuous; he cannot distinguish his part from that of others, and the more he realizes the continuity the less he cares about the separateness of the contribution to it.... it is impossible to overrate the co-operative element in experience." does it not appear then that the highest possible service to the public is service to the individual, in giving to the individual stimulus and opportunity for the fullest, most diverse, most perfect development, creating thus a world the more enriched, the more unified, in that each of its members has rich powers, functions and experience of his own? but the crux is to come. a people, a society, is made up of individuals of diverse tastes and powers, but it includes very many who are far short of being fully alive to the powers which they may possess. if the span of such lives passes thus, if no stimulus, no illumination reaches them, life will be uninspired, unfruitful of much service, or much joy. it will not be life at its full, nor "the soul at its highest stretch." it is not always afar from our own doors that such things happen. president eliot says, "do we not all know many people who seem to live in a mental vacuum--to whom, indeed, we have great difficulty in attributing immortality, because they have so little life except that of the body?" from such conditions not only individuals but all society suffers. as a spot of unnourished, inactive tissue in a human body is a host ready to receive any one of many forms of disease, so, in the body politic, individuals not fulfilling their utmost best are soil made ready for all manner of social and political ills. the time may come when society will recognize that many social and political ills are partly caused by its own neglect, and call not for more restrictions, for more stringent laws and severer sentences, but rather for more carefully and universally given opportunity. listen once more to the philosopher. "the more highly differentiated the individuals composing a society, the more complete becomes the social bond between them. a man who feels that he is rendering to the community a service at once indispensable and only to be performed by himself, will have come near to fulfilling his part in the highest attainable scheme of social harmony." if this be true, then there seems clear warrant for saying that the community, for its own sake, has a vital interest in trying to secure for each individual the most effective opportunity not only for discovering what his distinct contribution may be made, but also for developing his power to render that contribution most completely. does the community anywhere concern itself to give such opportunities? democratic society has recognized its necessity to give a certain amount of knowledge and training by means of its schools. it is beginning to make the experiment of giving a certain amount of skill to earn a livelihood. this teaching is done in classes and a class is made up of individuals of similar knowledge and attainments, and to them is given general and identical information which tends to produce like results. the community has need for unlikeness, for individuals who can render unique service. the community can never decide what the special individual aptitude may be. no living soul can discover for another. the "power to become" is innate and must make its own response to the stimulus which is capable of affecting it. it is true that the universe is a great battery incessantly sending an infinity of calls of infinitely varied messages. but the receiving operator may be asleep, he may never come within range. the universe is very wide. the range of experience of all is narrow, of some pitifully narrow. because of lack of opportunity to see, to do, to know, to feel, it is not exaggeration to say that multitudes live a half-alive existence, never useful to their possible limit, never happy to their full, for happiness is "felt perfection." from the beginning of time, some men have received their messages, found their work, given their service, lived life to the full and laid it down with a will. the record of these men and their accomplishment, of man's great adventure to find himself, has been written by many hands, and that record is literature. arnold says, "to know ourselves and the world we have, as a means to this end, to know the best that has been thought or said in the world," and "literature may mean everything written or printed in a book." the library is the reservoir of literature, a collection of books, but it is something more, it comes to have identity, a self of its own beyond the sum of all its books, when, by the fusing of the whole under the vital power of the minds that gather and order it, it becomes, in the shakespearian phrase embodied in my title, "a leaven'd and preparéd choice." the library is the one place where time and space are set at naught. it is the microcosm of the universe. here all the wonders of nature are flashed back from the mirrors of eyes that have beheld them. here india, and the arctic and the isles of the sea are as close at hand as niagara. here archimedes' lever, giotto's circle, newton's apple, palissy's furnace, jacquard's loom, jamie watt's tea-kettle, franklin's kite are cheek by jowl with the last marconigram. here the fate of aristides, of columbus, of gordon is as clear to read as the doings of yesterday in chicago. the record of what happened at thermopylæ, at lucknow, at the alamo receives beside it the tale of the courage that rose as the titanic sank. what buddha and socrates and jesus taught answers the cry and strengthens the heart of doubt and pain today. the library is the great whispering gallery of noble deeds and, catching a whisper, "the youth replies, i can" and goes forth. the library is haunted with visions of beauty that plato, that michael angelo, that shelley saw--the youth exclaims "i see!" and follows his lure. here clotho sits twirling her "thread-running spindle" and the youth, catching the clue, fares forth whither the fateful thread leads. the library is almost never the goal but to many it may be the starting point whence they go forth "to strength and endeavor, love and sacrifice, the making and achievement of souls." the public for whom the library exists has little conception or comprehension of its power. how shall such publicity as will give this knowledge of it be given? such publicity should make clear the larger aspects of the library's service, showing that the life of any society is "an indivisible inheritance" and the welfare of all made or marred by the condition and service of each one, therefore the library should be equipped to be universal in its appeal and service, a public necessity for individual use. the public for whom the library exists gives it support insufficient for the task it should perform. if the library commanded respect would it not receive funds? books are the treasure to be gathered for its work. what shall be the principles of buying? how create the "leaven'd and preparéd choice?" books are the medium of appeal, the stuff of human knowledge, experience and wisdom stored by means of the printed leaf. the extent to which each individual shares in the stored treasure of the race-mind, is, in its sum, the measure of public safety and happiness and the starting-point for service. how show, how make known the attraction and stored power of books? every individual must choose his own path. how leave him free to choose in a wide field? service, but not authority, must be at hand. what shall the tests of fitness for such service be? the staff fit for such service must be of rare material and quality. the members of the staff are instruments of the highest elaboration and most delicate adjustment. the requisite quality of service can only be rendered under fit conditions. it is not a matter of knowledge, conscience and will solely, it is a matter of these things plus insight, sympathy and response. exhaustion, or an approach to it, discouragement from lack of appreciation, are like a ground wire for loss of power. body, mind and spirit are all involved in this service. how conserve their strength, well-being and joy? unskilled people cannot render fit service. what are the things that matter in training? how far can training be effective. these are the subjects that your program committee has thought it might interest all to consider. certain leaders will discuss them, each according to his own will and way. in their wisdom and in that of the discussions with which you will follow them will lie all the value of this conference. =books consulted: a short list= =bosanquet=, bernard. the principle of individuality and value. macmillan. . =bryce=, james. the american commonwealth. vol. , p. , and chapter cii. macmillan. . =chesterton=, g. k. manalive. lane. . =douglas=, robert. the choice. macmillan. . =eliot=, c. w. the function of education in democratic society. in his educational reform. century. . =goldmark=, josephine. fatigue and efficiency. charities pub. co. . =hobhouse=, l. t. the individual and the state. in his social evolution and political theory. columbia univ. press. . --liberalism. holt. . =jones=, henry. idealism as a personal creed. macmillan. . --working faith of the social reformer. macmillan. . =macdonald=, greville. the child's inheritance: its scientific and imaginative meaning. smith, elder. . =mark=, thiselton. the unfolding of personality as the chief aim of education. univ. of chicago press. . =sidis=, boris. philistine and genius. moffatt. . =woodberry=, g. e. the torch: eight lectures on race power in literature. mcclure. . * * * * * the president: i have very great pleasure in presenting one who in truth needs no introduction to you; one who has not for some time appeared on our platform but whom i know you will all welcome with pleasure, miss tessa l. kelso. miss kelso, of the baker and taylor co., new york city, spoke informally from notes only on the topic, "publicity for the sake of information: the librarian's point of view," and has been unable to furnish a copy of her remarks for publication. the president: i think you may have seen it mentioned once or twice in the course of your reading, that there was such a thing as the "wisconsin idea." now, i would not for a moment, having been born in that lovely state, have you get any notion that that "wisconsin idea" is singular. we have therefore asked to come and talk to us this morning a gentleman who, those closest to him say, is a repository of "wisconsin ideas," and i have great pleasure in introducing to you mr. william h. hatton,--"mr." hatton by request, though he is ordinarily known in his own country as senator hatton. publicity for the sake of information: the public's point of view when man first discovered that his hands would respond to the command of his brain and that he could use a club to defend himself from his enemy, and that he could through combined mental and physical effort, react upon his environment, the gateway on the road to continuous progress was opened to mankind. the potential power of man cannot be measured. the creator, in so far as we are able to judge, has fixed no limits to man's progress. the only limitations are his lack of knowledge and his lack of power to discern the true relations of the forces which surround him. mankind is a social organism, not a collection of separate and independent parts. where any part is neglected and fails to develop so as to discharge efficiently its function, the whole organization suffers. therefore society is not only deeply interested in education during childhood and adolescence, but it is concerned in the education of man throughout his whole life. the public is as much concerned in the education of the man of forty years of age as it is in the education of the boy of five years. one of the chief functions of the state is to secure justice, equity and equality of opportunity. dr. lester f. ward says, "there can be no equality, no justice, not to speak of equity, so long as society is composed of members, equally endowed by nature, a few of whom only possess the social heritage of truth and ideas resulting from laborious investigation and profound meditations of all past ages, while the mass are shut out from all the light that human achievement has shed upon the world." what shall be done that this "light of human achievement" shall penetrate the cloud of ignorance and cause the lamp of wisdom to burn in every home? your reply doubtless will be, "the formal training of the schools." yes; that is a step in the right direction, but all will agree that the training of the schools is only and can be only a beginning, a learning how to acquire and assimilate knowledge and develop power. there must be other institutions and agencies which shall carry forward the work of education, if we are to have that continuous and universal development which is possible and desirable. the library is peculiarly suited for this work and its power and future influence are not fully appreciated even by those engaged in library work. it is not necessary to say to this audience that the public library is an essential part of a complete educational system and that there should be harmony within the system. the training in the schools should be such as shall make a beginning at least in the preparation for social life and social service, in the broad sense. the students should be shown that the library is a social mirror, a record of the social activities of mankind. if for any cause students leave school, they should be in such close relation to the library and be so familiar with library methods that they will be encouraged to continue studying; thus we shall find the book in the hand of the worker, the ideal condition, assisting him in solving his problems and opening to him visions of life of which he had never dreamed. the school authorities should never overlook the fact that the average time which the individual student attends school is short; but be it short or long, pupils should be trained in the use of the library, and taught how to find in books answers to their questions. questions which shall require students to go to the library should be regularly given them. in the higher grades and in the high schools emphasis should be placed on library work. students should not only be required to read certain specified books, as supplementary reading, but there should be regular assignments of topics for investigation, which will require them to use the library and other sources of information, thus training them in research methods and developing their power of original investigation. by this method their school work will become a living motive-force in their lives. the colleges and universities offer a great number of courses. so many subjects are open for study that the most that can be done during the college years is to select a few and concentrate effort upon those selected and leave the great field of knowledge for future exploration and conquest. therefore, if a student leaves college with high ideals and an ambition to explore still further the field of knowledge and develop his individuality, his immediate need is a good library. therein is the crystallized wisdom of ages held in "magic preservation." here he may find freedom for the development of his individuality and be able to increase his power to react on his environment, enabling him to find profit, pleasure and culture in the various activities of life. but has he learned how to use the library? let us take the testimony of dr. harper, former president of the university of chicago. "it is pitiable," he said, "to find that many graduates of our very best colleges are unable, after taking up the more advanced work of the divinity school or other graduate courses, to make use of books. they find nothing; they do not know how to proceed in order to find anything. no more important, no more useful training can be given men in college than that which relates to the use of books. why do so many men give up reading when they leave college? because in college they have never learned the use of books." this is the testimony of a man of wide experience. a college librarian should be a person of strong personality and broad culture, and the example of some of the universities and colleges of making the librarian a member of the faculty should be followed by all colleges. the most important work for schools and colleges is to arouse in the students the spirit of research, train them in research methods, and develop their powers of independent investigation. impress upon them the fact that education cannot be received but must be acquired, and that the acquisition of knowledge is a process co-extensive with life. president hibben of princeton says, "it is the nature of education that it does not result in a complete and finished product, but rather a progressive process. there is nothing final about it. its achievements always mark new beginnings. education must always be defined in terms of life, of growth, of progress." it will be readily seen that those who complete the regular courses of the schools, colleges and universities need the library. it is well known that the majority do not take advantage fully of the opportunities offered by the schools, but for various reasons they drop out all along the line. for these we need the library. we have a large immigration of adults from foreign lands. these people come here to make homes and to take part in our government. self-government requires knowledge and understanding. great questions are constantly arising which demand intelligent action. ignorance, whether it be the ignorance of the rich or of the poor, is a menace. one of our grave social problems is the ignorance and indifference of the ostentatious rich. rich in material things, but poor in the things which make life rich. they have not learned that every man owes a debt to society that can be paid only in service. complex our social organization is and it is becoming more complex each year. grave questions are before us for solution. the people in general have no adequate conception of the possibilities of the library, when properly organized, as an effective force for dealing with these conditions; and it is doubtful if the most optimistic librarians appreciate what may be, and will be done in the future with this great instrument of education. a community without a public library lacks an essential of a well organized community. let us have in the library men and women of broad culture who have had special training in psychology and sociology, who are sincerely and sympathetically devoted to humanity. let this great educational institution be directed by people of commanding power, trained for public service, who have entered the profession as a life work, salaries to correspond, with qualifications required and services rendered. we say services rendered because all service must be rendered before it can be measured. the library will thus become the center of intellectual activities of the community, a continuation school, a local university. society is under obligation to furnish every means possible for the development of human capacity. there is in the world latent talent and capacity beyond measure. for the development of this latent talent, society is in a measure responsible. if opportunity is offered, capacity will develop. great forces surround us pressing for admission to our lives, telephones, electric light, printing, anæsthesia, antiseptics, synthetic chemistry, wireless telegraphy, etc. these things have always been possible but the cloud of ignorance obscured man's vision, and kept him from realizing his power. the degree to which a community discharges its obligation can be measured by the opportunities it offers for the development of the members of that community. to offer better opportunities for those who wish to continue their studies and to bring together those of like tastes and desires, let there be opened seminar rooms in the library building, or in other buildings which shall be under the control of the library authorities. to these seminar rooms bring students, from every walk of life, to study under competent direction and to investigate subjects in which they are interested either from a material or cultural point of view. only a small percentage of those who complete the high school course go to college. there should be provided graduate courses for the high school graduates, and other students of like qualifications in these seminar rooms, directed by the library staff. the school teachers and library staff can meet in these seminar rooms and discuss questions of common interest; and also pursue advanced studies. these rooms should be the centers for university extension work. people can be brought together here for study and discussion of questions of citizenship, government, civic betterment, and all questions pertaining to social adjustment. study groups can be formed for regular and systematic study under the direction of competent teachers. people of all ages can be brought together for study, which is impossible under our present system of education. in these groups the mature man and woman of high ideals will exert a powerful influence upon the young. through this system regular and systematic reading under competent direction can be encouraged. teachers and parents can meet in these seminar rooms and discuss school questions. continuation schools should be maintained. bring the people from their vocations to these continuation schools; out of these schools organize classes for special work in the library seminar rooms; thus may be secured the union of instruction and practical application which make for increased efficiency, cultivates the whole man, and brightens his life. john stuart mill said, "the business of life is an essential part of the practical education of a people without which book and school and instruction, though most necessary and salutary, does not suffice to qualify them for conduct and for adaptation of means to ends. instruction is only one of the desiderata of mental improvement. another indispensable, is vigorous exercise of active energies." it matters not how highly we value the formal training of the colleges we must never overlook the fact that a very large majority do not have the full benefit of such training. we must therefore deal with conditions as they exist. when we call to mind the names and careers of such men as shakespeare, benjamin franklin, hugh miller, herbert spencer, richard baxter, abraham lincoln, michael faraday, sir humphrey davey, horace greeley, sir william herschel, we come to realize that many of the brightest stars in the world's constellation have been cut and polished by forces other than the formal training of the schools. wide is the field and great is the opportunity. the question may be raised, "how shall we secure the money for this great work?" we are expending in the united states more than two-thirds of our national income for wars past and for military purposes, educating men to destroy. let this fact come to the knowledge of our people and a demand will be made to cut down the appropriations for educating men to destroy and increase the appropriations for educating men to construct. a hundred years of peaceful intercourse between two great nations, canada and the united states, with over three thousand miles of boundary without a gunboat or a soldier, is the best answer to the militarist who would spent the money for instruments of destruction that should be used for instruments of construction. how shall we bring to the knowledge of the people information relating to this great work? there are more than twenty millions of students in the schools of canada and the united states. these students touch directly or indirectly every home. with libraries at various local centers correlated with the schools, we have what may be called the nervous system of education of these great nations. through this system the people may be reached more uniformly and regularly than in any other way. here is a great body of people seeking information coming into direct contact with the homes. therefore we put the schools in the first place as a means of publicity for the sake of information. let us bring the library and the schools into closer relation. render service to mankind wherever mankind is. the best publicity is secured through services rendered. the patronage of the lawyer and physician depends largely on the quality of service rendered. the business man secures custom when he establishes a reputation for fair dealing. may not the library expect good measure of publicity from the reputation it has for real accomplishment? study the problem, do things that are worth while. bring the whole power of the organization to bear on the subject of social adjustment. this will lead to various fields of activity. produce results which shall compel attention. do things that will be considered news. having done, having produced, do not hesitate to make known. give your reports what the newspaper man calls the "news turn." every librarian should have training in psychology and sociology and should continue to study. study man individually, in groups, in communities and mankind as a whole. the president: the next in order will be the secretary's report. secretary's report the close of another conference year finds the executive office still enjoying the hospitality of the chicago public library in the commodious, convenient and well equipped rooms in the chicago public library building. heat, light and janitor service have also been supplied gratuitously as in previous years. the association has now held headquarters offices in chicago for nearly three years and it is a pleasure for the secretary to report that the prospects for continuance and permanence of headquarters were never brighter than they are now. the income from membership fees is steadily increasing. in the amount raised from this source was $ , . ; in , $ , . ; in , $ , . ; and the receipts thus far for warrant us in hoping that the total amount from membership fees will be at least $ , . while the finances of the association even yet do not permit us to do many things that are very much worth doing and which are in the legitimate field of activities, we seem gradually to be approaching the time when excursions can be made into new avenues. although the work of the headquarters office varies from day to day so that no two days are alike the year's work in the aggregate so closely resemble that for last year that much repetition of last year's report would be made if a detailed statement were presented. the routine work has of course been performed, such as editing the bulletin, attending to the correspondence, advertising for the publishing board and sale of its publications which in the last year has been the heaviest in its history, the payment of bills, the keeping of books, the printing of publications for the publishing board, with the attendant work of making contracts for printing and the reading of proof, the arrangements for the midwinter meetings and the annual conference. the volume of this routine work has been very great and is still increasing so that often for days at a time there is little chance for doing anything else. since november , , a record has been kept of mail sent out from the office. from november , to may , , , pieces of first-class mail have been dispatched, or an average of about pieces a day. in addition to this , pieces of circular matter were mailed either in the interest of the a. l. a. or its publishing board during the same period. no record of mail received has been kept but it runs from to letters a day, and frequently reaches a day at certain seasons and on certain days of the week. of course not all of this requires the personal attention of the secretary, a large share being orders for publications, or remittances for the same, payment of membership dues, and various inquiries, which are entirely handled by the office assistants. the headquarters office, however, continues to be, we are pleased to say, a clearing house for general library information. the chicago public and john crerar libraries are frequently consulted by the secretary, and occasionally the newberry and other libraries, and i desire to express at this time my hearty appreciation of the cordial assistance given me by the reference librarians of these various institutions. thanks to their kind offices we have been able in most instances either to give the desired information or tell where it may be found. to those seeking advice regarding establishment of libraries, selection or purchase of books or policy of administration we have gladly helped so far as we were able but always make it a point to try to put the inquirer in touch with the library commission of his state or the state library. we have taken particular pleasure in corresponding with certain towns in new mexico, florida, mississippi and montana where a public library is either being organized or where a campaign to secure one is being conducted. notwithstanding the systematic efforts of the various commissions to cover thoroughly the library work of their respective states many small libraries and library boards seem blissfully ignorant of the existence of such an institution as a state library commission, and we consider it no small service to be able to enlighten them on this point. the commissions, on the other hand, are constantly putting the small libraries in touch with the a. l. a. the state library commissions can always be counted on to co-operate with the a. l. a. to publish our news notes and notices regarding publications in their bulletins, to recommend membership and a. l. a. publications and to respond quickly and efficiently to any special call. this is thoroughly appreciated by the secretary and the executive office. during the past year the secretary has made several demands on the time of the secretaries of the various state library associations and has found response in most cases prompt, intelligent and willing. the library interests of the country are making progress towards a harmony of effort that is good to see and that will bring its sure result in better and more intelligent service to the people. we have endeavored to keep the value and importance of publicity steadily before us and have accomplished as much in this direction as time and funds permitted. multigraphed articles have been sent out to about of the leading papers of the country several times during the year and from marked copies sent to the office and from reports from librarians who have seen the articles in their local papers we know that these contributions have been pretty generally used. several special articles on either the work of the a. l. a. or the publishing board have been written for particular papers. a publicity committee has, at the request of the secretary, recently been appointed in the hope of securing still greater publicity. the work of the executive office, however, does not lend itself to the making of "stories" interesting to those outside the profession. nearly every live and up-to-date library, on the other hand, is every week living out experiences which, if written up in a breezy and popular style of which many of our library folk are masters, would make capital articles acceptable not only to the daily press but to the more exclusive magazines as well. it appears, therefore, that the executive office can perhaps best promote publicity for the profession, by urging the preparation of these contributions from the reference librarians, the children's librarians, the loan desk people, the municipal reference workers, these people who, as kipling puts it, have "lived more stories than zogbaum or i can invent." the secretary has written four or five articles on the a. l. a. for various encyclopedias and year books, and has endeavored to get the association listed in all the leading reference almanacs and annuals. lectures before library schools by the secretary regarding the a. l. a. and its work, and official representation at the state meetings have also given publicity to the association. during the past year twelve persons have received library appointments through recommendations of the secretary. this is a somewhat smaller number than the year before when about fifteen were helped to positions through the executive office. with two or three exceptions the secretary has made recommendations only when requested to do so. the work of the publishing board occupies practically three-quarters of the time of the assistant secretary, at least half of the time of the stenographer and order assistant and probably a quarter of the time of the secretary. in consideration of this the publishing board appropriates $ , a year to the operating expenses of the office. the work of the publishing board is heavier than ever before in its history; the receipts from sales for the calendar year being $ , . , and for the first five months of $ , . . further notice of this feature of the work of the office can be found in the report of the a. l. a. publishing board presented in print at this conference. the secretary wishes here to commend most heartily the faithful services of his fellow-workers at the executive office, miss clara a. simms and miss gwendolyn i. brigham. their capable and willing service has been a large factor in the work of the association and its publishing board and without such intelligence and loyal help the results of the year could not have been attained. for the active co-operation and good will of the officers and other members of the executive board the secretary is deeply grateful. it has been a pleasure to work under such congenial conditions. =membership=--there are more members in the a. l. a. at the present time than ever before in the history of the association. the secretary has conducted as vigorously as possible a steady campaign for new members, this work not only being the duty of the office but directly in line with the conviction of the secretary who has recommended membership in the national association to all library workers in the earnest belief that this action is fully as beneficial to the individual as to the association. when the january membership bills were mailed we enclosed in each envelope an appeal for the member addressed to secure at least one new member for the association. this resulted directly in the addition of over one hundred new members and the secretary wishes to take this opportunity to thank most sincerely and heartily those members who aided in this work. besides the pleasure of securing these new members it was gratifying to feel that so many old members took such practical interest in aiding the association. in april membership appeals were sent to members of state library associations who were not members of the a. l. a. this has resulted in a fair increase of membership. in december the secretary sent letters requesting membership to library people who had, according to the news columns of library periodicals, recently changed their positions assumably for the better. in addition to these more or less impersonal appeals the secretary has written a large number of personal letters to those with whom he is either personally acquainted or else with whom he has conducted an office correspondence. as in all other lines of business it is this personal appeal that has been the most effective and has brought the largest percentage of returns. when the handbook went to press last august there were members in the a. l. a. of this number have since died and have resigned. since last august new members have been received making the present total net membership , . assuming that the usual number, or about persons, will discontinue their membership this summer the net membership in the handbook will be approximately , . of the present total membership are library or institutional members, of whom have joined since last august. =a. l. a. representatives at other conferences=--the practice of having an officer or officially appointed delegate represent the association at the state library association meetings has been followed the past year with success fully equal to that in previous years. since the pasadena conference there have been state or provincial library meetings, and a speaker representing the a. l. a. has been present at of these. the a. l. a. at present has too small a budget to meet the traveling expenses of these speakers, which have been met either by the state association or by the delegates personally. the joint conference of michigan and ohio at cedar point, ohio, sept. - , was attended by mrs. h. l. elmendorf, president of the american library association, who delivered an address on "joy reading," and by the secretary, who spoke informally on the work of the a. l. a. the new york state meeting in new york city, sept. - , was also attended by both the president and secretary, mrs. elmendorf giving her address on "joy reading," and the secretary speaking on "what the american library association stands for." mrs. elmendorf was the official delegate to the keystone state library association meeting at saegertown, pa., oct. - , giving an address on "joy reading;" at the district of columbia library association conference, at washington, november , where she gave a talk on some of the recent books; and at the new york state teachers' association meeting at albany, nov. - , speaking on the subject, "school and library co-operation; a concrete example and a little theory." mr. j. i. wyer, jr., represented the a. l. a. at the state meetings of iowa, at mason city, oct. - ; of illinois, at joliet, oct - ; and of missouri at hannibal, oct. - ; delivering at each meeting an address on the subject, "what americans read." mr. chalmers hadley, librarian of the denver public library, and ex-secretary of the a. l. a., was the representative of the american library association at the meeting of the pacific northwest library association, at victoria, b. c., sept. - , giving an address on "the library and the community." the secretary attended the minnesota meeting, at lake minnetonka, sept. - , the nebraska meeting at omaha, oct. - , and the north dakota state meeting at jamestown, oct. - , giving at each conference an address on "reaching the people." he also gave an address at the joint session of the indiana library association and the indiana library trustees' association, at indianapolis, nov. th, on "the legal and moral requirements of a library trustee." dr. arthur e. bostwick, librarian of the st. louis public library, and ex-president of the a. l. a., was the principal out-of-state speaker at the alabama library association conference, at tuscaloosa, and at the state university, november , and . dr. bostwick gave two addresses; the first on "the companionship of books;" and the second on "the message of the library." miss clara f. baldwin, secretary of the minnesota public library commission, attended, as a. l. a. delegate, the joint meeting of the montana state teachers' association and montana library association, at great falls, december - , , and spoke on "the work of a library commission." dr. reuben g. thwaites, secretary of the wisconsin state historical society, and an ex-president of the a. l. a., officially represented the association at the inauguration of dr. george e. vincent, as president of the university of minnesota, october . mr. carl b. roden, of the chicago public library, and treasurer of the a. l. a., represented the association and gave an address on "the library as a paying investment," at the wisconsin library association meeting at janesville, february - . the secretary has lectured during the year before the iowa summer library school, the new york public library school, and the university of illinois library school. he also addressed the summer library conference at madison, wisconsin, on the work of the a. l. a. =changes in officers and committees=--following his election as first vice-president, mr. henry e. legler resigned as non-official member of the executive board and miss alice s. tyler was elected by the board to fill the unexpired term ending in . mr. harrison w. craver was unable to accept re-appointment as chairman of committee on library administration and dr. arthur e. bostwick was appointed in his place. miss margaret w. brown resigned from the committee on bookbinding and miss rose g. murray was appointed to succeed her. =necrology=--the association has lost heavily by death during the past year. our losses include the senior ex-president of the association, who was a life member, two other life members, and several who were, by their regular attendance through many years, familiar figures at our annual conferences. in all members and former members have passed away since we last met in conference. the roll is as follows: emma helen blair, for several years a member of the staff of the wisconsin state historical library, died september , . miss blair had performed valuable and important work as an editor and professional indexer, assisting among other things in editing "jesuit relations" and the long series of historical documents in spanish entitled "the philippine islands." she had been a member of the a. l. a. continuously since (no. ), and attended the conferences of , and . see library journal, : . isaac s. bradley, for many years librarian and assistant superintendent of the wisconsin state historical society, died april , . he joined the a. l. a. in , (no. ) and had taken great interest in the work of the association. few faces were more familiar at the conferences than his, as he attended sixteen of the annual meetings, those of , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' and ' . frederick morgan crunden, senior ex-president of the a. l. a., life member, and librarian of the st. louis public library, from to , died october , . he was president of the a. l. a. - , presiding over the fabyans conference of the latter year, and vice-president of the international library conference at london in . he joined the a. l. a. in (no. ) and became a life member about . to record mr. crunden's services to the american library world and to the a. l. a. would be practically to give a history of the association for the past years. he participated in many programs and conference discussions and was one of the best known and beloved of american librarians. mr. crunden attended the conferences of and to inclusive, twenty in all, without an absence, except at the san francisco conference of . he also attended the london international conference in . see a. l. a. bulletin : ; library journal, : - ; public libraries, : - . irene gibson, chief assistant in the publication section of the library of congress, died july , . she joined the association in (no. ), and became a life member in . she attended the conferences of , ' , , ' , ' . see library journal, : . jessie sherburne gile, assistant in charge of the work with schools in the public library of haverhill, mass., died october , . she joined the a. l. a. in , (no. ), and attended the conferences of and ' . david l. kingsbury, assistant librarian of the minnesota historical society of st. paul, died january , . he joined the a. l. a. in (no. ), and attended the conferences of , ' and ' . mrs. evelyn n. lane, head of the circulating department of the springfield (mass.) city library, died august , . she had been a member of the a. l. a. since (no. ), but so far as recorded attended only the conference of that year. robbins little, for twenty years superintendent of the astor library, new york city, died april , . he joined the a. l. a. in (no. ), and later became a life member. so far as recorded he attended none of the conferences. stella lucas, librarian of the tainter memorial library of menominee, wis., died july , . she joined the a. l. a. in (no. ), and attended the conferences in , ' and ' . adolph l. peck, librarian of the gloversville (n. y.) free library since its foundation in , died october , . he joined the a. l. a. in (no. ), and was a familiar figure at the annual conferences, having attended those of , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , and . mrs. minerva a. sanders, for many years librarian of the deborah cook sayles memorial library, pawtucket, r. i., died march , . although mrs. sanders was an enthusiastic attendant on a. l. a. conferences she never personally joined the association, but was officially entitled to a seat in the conferences by virtue of the institutional membership of her library. she had attended fifteen conferences and was well known to the veterans of the association, who well remember her early advocacy of open shelves and work for children. l. w. sicotte, president of the numismatic and antiquarian society, of montreal, died september , . he joined the a. l. a. in (no. ). so far as recorded he attended only the conference of held in his home city. t. guilford smith, of buffalo, regent of the university of the state of new york, died feb. , . he had been a member of the a. l. a. continuously since (no. ), and attended the conferences of and . the following persons at various times were members of the association but were not at the time of their death: zu adams, for many years connected with the kansas state historical society, died april, . she was a member of the a. l. a. for the year (no. ), and attended the st louis conference. caroline a. farley, formerly librarian of radcliffe college, cambridge, mass., died march , . she joined the association in (no. ), and was a member continuously until . so far as recorded she attended none of the conferences. stephen b. griswold, for many years law librarian of the new york state library, died may , . he joined the a. l. a. in (no. ), and remained a member until . so far as recorded he attended no conferences. william e. parker, treasurer of library bureau, cambridge, mass., died november , . he was a member of the a. l. a. continuously from (no. ), to , and was secretary of the association in . he attended the conferences of , ' and ' . the secretary's report was accepted on motion of mr. j. i. wyer, jr., seconded by dr. c. w. andrews. the treasurer's report which had been previously printed, was read by title, and accepted. american library association =report of the treasurer, jan. st to may st, .= =receipts= balance, union trust company, chicago, january , $ , . trustees endowment fund interest . trustees carnegie fund interest , . george b. utley, headquarters collections , . a. l. a. publishing board, installment on hdqrs. expense , . interest on bank balance jan. to may . $ , . --------- --------- =expenditures= checks no. - (vouchers no. - ) distributed as follows: bulletin $ . conference . committees . headquarters: salaries , . miscellaneous . trustees endowment fund (life mem.) . a. l. a. pub. bd. carnegie fund interest , . --------- --------- balance union trust company, june , $ , . george b. utley, national bank of republic . --------- total balance $ , . respectfully submitted, c. b. roden, treasurer. chicago, june , . the following report of the finance committee was read by dr. c. w. andrews, chairman, and accepted. report of finance committee. to the american library association: in accordance with the provisions of the constitution the finance committee submit the following report: they have duly considered the probable income of the association for the current year and have estimated it at $ , , and have approved appropriations made by the executive board to that amount. the details of the estimated income and of the appropriations are given in the january number of the bulletin. the committee have also approved the appropriation to the use of the publishing board to any excess of sales over the amount estimated. the receipts and expenditures of the publishing board have been included in the figures given, so that they now exhibit the total financial resources and expenditures of the association. on behalf of the committee the chairman has audited the accounts of the treasurer and of the secretary as assistant treasurer. he has found that the receipts as stated by the treasurer agree with the transfer checks from the assistant treasurer, and with the cash accounts of the latter. the expenditures as stated are accounted for by properly approved vouchers. the bank balance and petty cash, as stated, agree with the bank books and petty cash balances. the accounts of the assistant treasurer have been found correct as cash accounts. on behalf of the committee mr. e. h. anderson has examined the accounts of the trustees for , has checked the securities now in their custody, and certifies to the correctness of the figures, to the bonds on hand, and the balance in bank. he finds that at par value the bonds and securities amount to $ , for the carnegie fund, and $ , for the principal account. he has examined the vouchers for the amounts transmitted to the treasurer and has compared the reports of the treasurer and trustees in regard to the number of new life memberships. he certifies that to the best of his knowledge and belief all of the accounts as submitted to him are correct. all of which is respectfully submitted for the committee. clement w. andrews, chairman. the following reports which had been previously printed, were read by title and accepted. a. l. a. publishing board with the issuance of the a. l. a. catalog, - , which is now in press, the publishing board practically completes an important group of bibliographical aids which has been in process of compilation or publication during the past five years. the chief publications embrace the following: a. l. a. catalog, - , to be issued in . list of subject headings for use in dictionary catalogs, rd edition revised by mary josephine briggs. . small library buildings; a collection of plans with introduction and notes by cornelia marvin. . guide to the study and use of reference books, by alice b. kroeger. . supplement to the above, compiled by isadore g. mudge. . foreign book lists, embracing to date german, french, hungarian, norwegian and danish, and swedish. children's books; a purchase list for public libraries, by harriet h. stanley. . selected list of music and books about music for public libraries, by louisa m. hooper. . hints to small libraries, by mary w. plummer, th edition. . this list does not include a number of new tracts and handbooks, nor the tentative chapters of an a. l. a. manual of library economy which it is proposed upon completion to assemble in book form. an index to annual library reports, which is well under way, will probably be put into type before the expiration of the calendar year. in addition, during the quintennial period now closing, the board has been instrumental in securing the publication of the following important bibliographical aids bearing the imprints of other organizations: index of economic material in documents of the states of the united states, prepared by adelaide r. hasse; a. l. a. portrait index, edited by w. c. lane and nina e. browne. new chapters of the manual of library economy are noted in another paragraph. directions for the librarian of a small library ( copies), by zaidee brown was reprinted for the league of library commissions from the type used by the free public library commission of massachusetts. the library and social movements; a list of material obtainable free or at small expense ( copies), compiled by ono mary imhoff, of the wisconsin free library commission, was reprinted for the league from the type used for the edition of the wisconsin free library commission. subject index to vol. of the a. l. a. booklist ( copies) was printed in june, . although proportionately valuable to vols. - the sale has been very unsatisfactory and is not an encouragement to prepare future yearly indexes. during the past year the following publications have been reprinted: a. l. a. index to general literature, edited by w. i. fletcher, edition ( copies); cataloging for small libraries, by theresa hitchler (handbook no. ) ( copies); binding for small libraries, compiled by the a. l. a. committee on bookbinding (handbook no. ) ( copies); guide to reference books, by alice b. kroeger ( copies); and cutter's notes from the art section of a library (tract no. ) ( copies). a new edition of miss stearns' essential in library administration ( copies) is now in press. it has been brought up to date by the author. =publications out of print=--several publications for which plates were not made have recently become out of print. magazines for the small library, by katharine macdonald jones, and graded list of stories for reading aloud, by harriot e. hassler were both league publications which had been turned over to the board. there is a steady demand for them and they should be either brought up to date and reprinted or something else issued on the same subject. =questions of policy=--the work now nearing an end has engaged the attention and absorbed the resources of the publishing board to an extent that precluded entry into new fields calling for large expenditures. the editorial work involved in the compilation of the third edition of subject headings, extending over a period of several years, and the editorial expenses incident to the publication of the a. l. a. booklist have practically exhausted the current funds available for such service. beginning with the new fiscal year, the funds derived from sales will doubtless care for all outstanding obligations, and the income from the carnegie endowment can be devoted to maintain and to further strengthen the booklist, and to undertake new enterprises. out of the great labor involved, and time required in the preparation of subject headings, and of the a. l. a. catalog, has developed the suggestion that work for new editions of the former compilation should be continuous, and that the booklist bears a logical relationship to the a. l. a. catalog. while the members of the publishing board are not fully prepared at this time to urge a definite permanent policy in this connection, an interesting suggestion comes from mrs. elmendorf, which well merits consideration in having an important bearing on future development. her suggestion, in her own words, is this: "would it not be well to consider the publication of the a. l. a. catalog in loose-leaf form on something the same principle as nelson's cyclopedia? different parts of it might then be revised from time to time and the parts or pages might be for sale separately. "it could be so printed that the pages might be mounted and arranged in a vertical file, headings being suggested at the bottom for arrangement as any library preferred, in regular classed order or in alphabetico-classed. a card index to the vertical file might be made to minimize the difficulties of the classed arrangement. the notes should be attractive notes, letting the presence of the book in this "choice catalog" vouch for its worth and in a general way for the treatment, for the choice should be guided by the best popular, readable treatment. i am more and more thinking that effective helps to awakened personal interest are needed and are lacking. the a. l. a. catalog has always been too bulky, too costly, too much directed to the buyer for effective personal service. i have long been convinced that the greatest popular service can be performed even in the large libraries with quite a limited number of books, i think not more than , , perhaps not more than , . i should like to advertise that many adequately and attractively and watch the results. "i know that there are many objections and difficulties to be met, and yet i believe that there is the germ of a workable scheme present." =list of subject headings=--the chief publication of the year has been the new list of subject headings, revised and edited by mary josephine briggs, cataloger of the buffalo public library. after nearly five years of labor this third edition appeared october st, and has met with a most appreciative reception. copies were printed as a first edition. copies have already been sold (to june ), and a steady demand continues. the reviews have been almost uniformly favorable. =a. l. a. catalog, - =--the new a. l. a. catalog, - , although not yet off the press as this report is written, will be distributed we hope about the date of the ottawa meeting. it contains a selection of about of the best books published since the a. l. a. catalog of , with a list of books now out of print which appeared in that catalog, and also of new editions. children's books are listed separately. five thousand copies are being printed as a first edition, of which nearly have been subscribed for in advance of publication. from the preface written by the editor, miss elva l. bascom, the following extracts are selected: "the general plan of the catalog and the routine of co-operation in the selection of titles practically coincide with those of the original work except that the whole routine, from the preliminary selection to the final preparation for printing, has remained in the hands of one person. "all titles have been submitted to the publishers for latest information, so that the list should be dependable for prices. "the sixth edition ( ) of the decimal classification has been followed. this decision was made on the information that the smaller libraries had not to any extent adopted the seventh edition. it is to be hoped that when the time comes to revise the catalog there may be at hand a complete revised edition of the "d. c." simplified for the requirements of the smaller libraries. "the addition of subject headings (not given with the titles in the catalog) was determined on before the decision to print only a class list was made. it has been a frequent request from the librarians of smaller libraries, who need help in this matter and who found it difficult to find the headings chosen for the dictionary list in the catalog. the new edition of the list of subject headings has been followed with some additions. where the subjects of analytics are easily ascertainable, they are only recommended. "while in the beginning the attempt was made to adhere fairly closely to the proportion of titles to each subject given in the catalog, it was found impossible to do so without impairing the usefulness of the list. the output of books in the subjects grouped under sociology has been so great, and the demand for them so heavy, that it seemed better to include a larger number than was originally planned rather than risk weakening the usefulness of the section. the greatest increase has been in useful arts, and this was intentional, since there is no division where the average librarian is more in need of help, nor where it is more difficult to find the "best book" on short notice. "two special lists are incorporated in the catalog, both in answer to definite requests. one is a selection of about titles of religious books specially chosen for catholic readers. two preliminary selections were made, one by an assistant in the st. louis public library at the request of the librarian, dr. a. e. bostwick, and a second by the rev. w. j. mcmullen of pittsburgh, at the request of the librarian of the carnegie library of pittsburgh, mr. h. w. craver. both lists were then incorporated into a much more extensive one, covering all subjects, compiled by mr. william stetson merrill, of the newberry library. the final selection, limited to religious books, was submitted to archbishop ireland, and at his request was examined by the rev. j. a. ryan, of the st. paul seminary, st. paul, minn." the second list consists of titles of modern drama and books about it. it was impossible to get any unanimity of opinion on such a brief selection and the editor is aware that it will satisfy a very small proportion of libraries. it is allowed to stand, however, for the suggestion it may give to the perplexed librarian of the smaller library. "it is hardly to be imagined that any one ever prepared a list of this character and extent without wishing to ask the indulgence of possible critics and to explain why it is so much farther from perfect than it was expected to be. it seems a fairly simple task to select titles from the books published in eight years, but a list based on the co-operation of about librarians and experts, all fully engaged with their own work, and selected, edited and prepared for printing in the intervals between work having a prior claim, is bound to progress but slowly and to suffer many changes of fortune. one needs to be this sort of clearing house of opinion but once to realize how far apart our libraries are in the matter of book selection. in many cases what is one library's meat seems to be another's poison, and one soon reaches the conviction that there are no "best books" on any subject for a library of any size--if librarians alone are to be consulted. happily, professors, special students and experts in general are less at variance. it is only fair to say that the fiction and children's lists represent librarians' votes only. it is to be doubted if the fiction, at least, would have retained the proper amount of "light reading" if it had passed through the hands of literature professors. if it does not prove a good "working" selection the editor will be greatly disappointed, for it was on that ground alone that many titles escaped the deleting pencil." =a. l. a. booklist=--with the current number of the a. l. a. booklist, volume is completed. since the initial number appeared in january, , the booklist has come to be regarded as an indispensable tool in every library. there has been no deviation from the original policy of furnishing to the libraries, and the numerous small libraries particularly, an unbiased guide in selection of books currently published. the number of titles listed from the annually examined, has been expanded from time to time, but the general character of the publication has been retained. suggestions have come to the board for change of name, for change of form and size, and for other changes that might lead to a larger use of the list by the general public. while the members of the board have given careful consideration to the arguments presented, they have deferred reaching a final conclusion until practical unanimity can be arrived at as to the wisdom of the changes sought. a total of titles has been included in the pages which comprise the eight volumes of the booklist: a. l. a. booklist volume no. of titles no. of pages nos. in vol. , , , ----- ----- total , , =manual of library economy=--six chapters of the manual were printed and ready for distribution previous to the pasadena conference, namely: . american library history, by c. k. bolton. . library of congress, by w. w. bishop. . the college and university library, by j. i. wyer, jr. . order and accession department, by f. f. hopper. . reference department, by e. c. richardson. . bookbinding, by a. l. bailey. during the latter half of the four following chapters were printed, also each in a separate pamphlet, appearing in the order here named: . shelf department, by josephine a. rathbone. . branch libraries and other distributing agencies, by linda a. eastman. . library legislation, by w. f. yust. . library administration, by a. e. bostwick. since their publication the following number of copies of each chapter have been sold (to march ): chapter copies ----- total , manuscripts for two more chapters, the library building, by w. r. eastman, and proprietary and subscription libraries, by c. k. bolton, are ready and in the secretary's possession, but funds for printing are not in hand at present, owing to the heavy obligation incurred by the printing of subject headings and the a. l. a. catalog, - , within so short a time of each other. it is hoped, however, to print these and perhaps some others before the end of the year. =periodical cards=--the shipments of periodical cards sent out since the close of the last report of the board (may , ) have comprised , titles and , cards, not including reprints of cards in which errors have been discovered after the cards have been distributed. copy is received regularly by the editor, mr. william stetson merrill, every two weeks, on the fifth and twentieth of the month from the following libraries:--columbia, harvard, john crerar, new york and yale. this copy is edited promptly and prepared for the printer. =advertising=--the board's publications have been regularly advertised in library journal and public libraries and in one special number of the dial. for the rest circularization and correspondence from the headquarters office has been relied upon. during the year over , pieces of circular matter have been mailed from headquarters office in the interest of our publications. particular effort has been made to advertise widely the new list of subject headings and the a. l. a. catalog. for the latter in addition to circularizing the libraries descriptive postal cards were addressed to , high school and normal school principals. from these circulars only about orders for the catalog can be directly traced. it seems plain that it does not pay to advertise our publications among the high schools. slips advertising the catalog were sent to the librarians of all the leading colleges, requesting that these slips be distributed to members of the faculty interested in book selection. this resulted in getting orders from many college libraries addressed, but very few from the teaching staff. experience would indicate that libraries and librarians are the only classes to which advertising can profitably be addressed. we have endeavored to keep the state library commissions regularly informed on all our publications and all of them which issue monthly or quarterly bulletins list our new publications therein, generally with appreciative annotations and descriptions. exhibits of publications have been made at several state library meetings visited by the secretary. during the past year the principal libraries of england, scotland and ireland have been circularized with lists of our publications, and a very gratifying number of orders have been received as a result. when the revised edition of subject headings appeared copies were sent to nearly all the library periodicals of the various countries of europe with the result that they reviewed the book and quite a number of continental orders have been directly traceable to these reviews. copies of subject headings and the new a. l. a. catalog have been ordered from almost every important country in the world. this report would be incomplete without hearty acknowledgment of the excellent work of the secretary, mr. george b. utley. to his good business judgment and careful and judicious management is due in great measure the splendid financial showing recorded in the accompanying fiscal statement. the affairs of the board have never been in better shape than now. the sales are increasing encouragingly, the inventory shows a salable stock with less "dead" material than at any time for years back, and the office organization is now well systematized and effective. henry e. legler, chairman. financial report =cash receipts june , , to may , .= balance, june , $ , . interest on carnegie fund , . receipts from publications: cash sales $ , . payments on account , . , . interest on bank deposits . sundries . $ , . --------- ---------- =payments june , , to may , .= cost of publications: a. l. a. booklist $ , . library and social movements ( copies) . supplement to guide to reference books, - ( copies) . subject headings, second edition reprint ( copies) . subject index to booklist vol. ( copies) . copyright on hints to small libraries . copyright on supplement to guide . directions to librarian of a small library ( copies) . government documents in small libraries, reprint ( copies) . manual of library economy, chap. , , , , , . manual of library economy, chap. . manual of library economy, chap. . manual of library economy, chap. . manual of library economy, chap. . binding for small libraries, reprint ( copies) . reprints from bulletin . cataloging for small libraries, reprint ( copies) . library statistics tables . a. l. a. index to general literature (part of reprint) . notes on the art section of a library, reprint ( copies) . guide to the use of reference books, reprint ( copies) . subject headings, third edition ( copies) , . periodical cards , . $ , . addressograph machine supplies . furniture and fixtures . advertising . postage and express . rent at madison office . travel . salaries , . expense at headquarters , . supplies and incidentals , . printing (stationery, etc.) . balance on hand, may , , . $ , . sales of a. l. a. publishing board publications =april , , to march , .= a. l. a. booklist, regular subscriptions $ , . additional subs, at reduced rate of c . bulk subscriptions paid , . extra copies . $ , . handbook , essentials in library administration . handbook , cataloging for small libraries . handbook , management of traveling libraries . handbook , aids in book selection . handbook , binding for small libraries . handbook , mending and repair of books . handbook , u. s. government documents . . tract , how to start a library . tract , traveling libraries . tract , a village library . tract , library school training . tract , why do we need a public library? . . foreign lists, german . foreign lists, french . foreign lists, french fiction . foreign lists, hungarian . foreign lists, norwegian and danish . foreign lists, swedish . . reprints, arbor day list . reprints, bird books . reprints, christmas bulletin . reprints, library buildings . reprints, national library problem today . reprints, rational library work with children . . periodical cards, subscriptions , . periodical cards, old south leaflets . periodical cards, reed's modern eloquence sets . periodical cards, smithsonian reports set . , . a. l. a. manual of library economy: chap. i. american library history . chap. ii. library of congress . chap. iv. college and university library . chap. ix. library legislation . chap. xii. administration of a public library . chap. xv. branch libraries . chap. xvii. order and accession department . chap. xx. shelf department . chap. xxii. reference department . chap. xxvi. bookbinding . . a. l. a. index to general literature . catalog rules . children's reading (now out of print) . girls and women and their clubs . guide to reference books . guide to reference books, supplement . hints to small libraries . larned, literature of american history . larned, literature of american history, supplement . list of music and books about music . list of editions selected for economy in bookbuying . list of children's books . list of subject headings, nd edition . list of subject headings, rd edition , . plans of small library buildings . reading for the young . reading for the young, supplement . subject index to a. l. a. booklist, v. - . subject index to a. l. a. booklist, v. . , . league publications: anniversaries and holidays . directions for librarian of a small library . graded list of stories for reading aloud . library and social movement . magazines for the small library . . a. l. a. bulletin and proceedings . a. l. a. bulletin, hopper reprint . . ----- ------- ---------- total sale of publications $ , . report of the carnegie and endowment funds to the president and members of the american library association: the trustees of the endowment funds in presenting their annual report for the year ending january , , desire to say that there has been no change in the securities held by the board. the market price of most of them remaining about the same, changes could not be made to the advantage and desired betterment of the fund. the trustees are pleased to state that all interest has been promptly paid. mr. e. h. anderson of the new york public library was again deputed to audit the accounts of the board and inspect the securities, and he gives to the trustees, as the result of that examination, the following letter: dear mr. appleton: enclosed herewith are the vouchers from mr. roden, treasurer of the american library association, and the receipt for the rent of the safety deposit box in the vaults of the union trust company. i have written the chairman of the finance committee that i have examined these vouchers and found them in accordance with your type written statement. the four type written sheets which you gave me yesterday i have checked as correct as to the bonds in your custody, as to the vouchers referred to above, and as to the cash balance on hand. i have certified to mr. andrews, the chairman of the committee on finance, that to the best of my knowledge and belief the reports contained on these sheets are correct. very sincerely, (signed) e. h. anderson. the general endowment fund has been increased during the year by the taking of seven life memberships by the persons named, adding to the fund, $ . . respectfully submitted, w. c. kimball, wm. w. appleton, w. t. porter. trustees of a. l. a. endowment fund. carnegie fund, principal account cash donated by mr. andrew carnegie $ , . =invested as follows:= june , , % am. tel. & tel. bonds - / $ , . june , , % am. tel. & tel. bonds - / , . june , , % cleveland terminal , . june , , % seaboard air line - / , . june , , % western un. tel. - / , . june , , - / % n. y. cen. , . (lake shore col) june , , % mo. pacific - / , . may , , % u. s. steel , . aug. , , u. s. steel - / , . july , , u. s. steel - / , . ------ --------- , , . jan. , union trust co. on deposit . ----------- $ , . in addition to the above we have on hand at the union trust company $ profit on the sale of the missouri pacific bonds, which we have carried to a special surplus account. carnegie fund, income account = = january , balance $ , . february , int. n. y. central . march , int. missouri pacific . march , int. seaboard line . may , int. u. s. steel . may , int. cleveland terminal . july , int. amer. tel. & tel. co. . july , int. western union tel. co. . august , int. n. y. central . september , int. seaboard line . september , int. missouri pacific . november , int. u. s. steel . november , int. cleveland terminal . december , int. union trust co. . = = january , int. western union tel. co. . january , int. am. tel. & tel. co. . $ , . -------- --------- =disbursements:= = = march , carl b. roden, treas. $ , . august , carl b. roden, treas. , . october , carl b. roden, treas. , . december , rent safe deposit co. . january , cash on hand , . $ , . --------- --------- endowment fund, principal account = = january , on hand, bonds and cash $ , . april , life membership mary e. hawley . april , life membership mary f. isom . may , life membership h. w. craver . august , life membership m. s. dudgeon . august , life membership f. k. walter . october , life membership r. g. thwaites . november , life membership r. b. stern . $ , . --------- --------- =invested as follows:= = = june , u. s. steel bonds - / $ , . october , u. s. steel bonds - / , . november , - / u. s. steel bonds , . = = july , - / u. s. steel bonds - / , . january , cash on hand, union trust co. . $ , . --------- --------- endowment fund, income account = = january , cash on hand $ . may , int. u. s. steel . november , int. u. s. steel . $ . ------- ------- =disbursements:= = = february , c. b. roden, treas. $ . july , c. b. roden, treas. . january , cash on hand . $ . committee on bookbinding during the year the special library edition of the encyclopaedia britannica, mentioned in last year's report, and at various times in the library periodicals, was placed on the market under considerable difficulty. as planned at first, three special library editions were all to be bound in england and imported for libraries by the publishers. unfortunately, it was discovered after orders had been taken that the publishers could not, under the copyright law, import any copies, and notices to that effect were sent to libraries that had ordered these editions. the publishers then found that the cloth bound set, according to the a. l. a. specifications, could be manufactured in this country and again librarians received communications from the publishers. owing to these various communications from the publishers, together with notices from this committee, many librarians remained without knowledge as to the real state of affairs. at the present time the committee understands that the cloth bound set, with special reinforcements, can be obtained directly from the publishers in this country, and that sets bound by mr. chivers can be obtained directly from him. several complaints of the new bindings have come to the committee, but upon investigation, it was found in every case that the complaints were due to imperfect or torn pages and not to defective binding. undoubtedly many imperfect sheets were passed in the first copies that were sold. we have reason to believe, however, that later sets have been more carefully collated. complaints about the cloth binding have also been received from large libraries. as a matter of fact this edition was not intended for large libraries. from the beginning it has been stated that the cloth edition was for the use of small libraries. large libraries were expected to get one of the leather editions. it is quite evident that publishers are beginning to realize that good binding, especially of reference books, is an asset of considerable value when dealing with libraries. during the year the committee has several times been called upon for specifications and suggestions for the binding of large reference books. perhaps the most noteworthy instance was that of the century company, which submitted samples of binding for the new edition of the century dictionary. the century company and the j. f. tapley company, of new york, which did the binding, adopted various methods of strengthening the volumes, and the samples submitted included not only all of the committee's specifications, but several others. the samples were so good and the honesty of purpose of the century company and the j. f. tapley company so evident that the committee felt no hesitation in stating that the result was the best piece of commercial (machine bound) binding ever brought to its attention. visits of two members of the committee to the bindery showed that the specifications in every case were being lived up to. the committee, furthermore, obtained full description and specifications of this binding, which, with certain modifications, can be used as a standard for this kind of work. specifications for strong binding were also submitted to h. w. wilson company for the binding of the new volume of u. s. catalog; to robert glasgow, of toronto, for a set entitled "makers of canada"; and to the review of reviews company for the "photographic history of the civil war." the specifications, as submitted, were adopted by the robert glasgow co., and the review of reviews co. the h. w. wilson co. adopted them with some slight modifications which met with the approval of the committee. so far as the reinforcing of fiction and juvenile books by publishers is concerned, matters stand about the same as they have been for the past two years. the plan has practically been dropped by all publishers. in a few cases, books which the publishers have discovered are in constant demand by libraries, are kept in stock in special binding. examples of these are the little cousin series, published by page, and the peter rabbit series, by warne. the number of titles of such books is very few. it must not be supposed, however, that because the publishers have stopped doing this, such books are unobtainable. on the contrary, it is easier to get reinforced publishers' covers than ever before, and with the surety that the work is well done, which was not always the case when they were bound by the publishers. those who wish to use the attractive publishers' covers, and at the same time have a book which will outlast the period of extreme popularity, can do so by ordering from one of the several firms which do work of this kind. in most cases the increased cost is greater than was the case when the books were done by the publishers, but the work is far better done and in the opinion of the committee the increased value more than compensates for the increased cost. furthermore, the books are not injured for rebinding. in fact, in some cases the sewing of the book is designed to last during its lifetime. when the first cover wears out, all that is necessary is to re-case it. while discussing the question of reinforced bindings it may not be amiss again to call attention to the special binding of the everyman's library. experience in the use of these volumes only emphasizes their serviceability, attractiveness and cheapness. whenever possible all replacements should be made from this collection. during the year the publishers of two periodicals, everybody's and world's work, adopted a scheme of binding which necessitated cutting off the backs of signatures. it was apparent at once that this scheme made it necessary for libraries which bound these periodicals to have them overcast in sewing. since few binders understand the proper method of oversewing and moreover generally charge extra for it, many libraries were put to much inconvenience and added expense. protests from this committee to the publishers were promptly heeded, and as a result all libraries now receive the regular edition with folded sheets. the correspondence of the committee has largely increased. inquiries are frequently received from publishers, from binders and from librarians. inquiries from librarians cover all phases of binding, and not infrequently the committee is asked for opinions as to the work of certain binders. in answering these questions about individual binding the committee has been at a disadvantage, because, except in the case of a very few binders, it has no definite knowledge of their work. to remedy this difficulty the committee has, with some hesitation, planned to establish a collection which shall include samples of the work of all binders which make a specialty of library binding. these samples are to be four in number and will show methods of binding fiction, juvenile books and periodicals. in addition to these samples binders are asked to answer questions which cover methods, materials, and prices. it is hoped that, with these samples and answers to these questions, the committee will be in a position to form more definite opinions about the work of any binder, and librarians who ask for opinions will receive answers based on actual knowledge. the scheme is yet in its infancy but already samples have been received from several binders, and letters from some of them express approval. the committee realizes that good binding may be done in several ways, and while members of the committee may have individual preferences, every effort will be made to give impartial opinions. certainly no binder who does good work need fear unjust criticism. librarians can help in this work by, . sending names of library binders. . urging binders to comply with the requests of the committee. . asking for opinions when the collection is complete. in view of the facts outlined above, it seems reasonable to suppose that one of the committee's most valuable functions is to act in an advisory capacity, not only to librarians, but to publishers and binders. for this reason all librarians are urged to submit their binding problems to the committee. =magazine binders= during the year a number of varieties of magazine binders have been examined. several firms failed to respond to a request for a sample or did so too late. others doubtless exist of which the committee has not heard. the result of study of this subject during the past three years, aided by the chapter dealing with it in dana's "book binding for libraries," edition , is here set forth. of course no one binder is best for all libraries or for all requirements of one library. each must decide for itself by noting the condition of its magazines when they are ready for the bindery whether any binder at all is needed. a library which has no money to spend on the more durable covers or dislikes them for any reason may use one of the methods described in the chapter in dana referred to above. a method, used to some extent by the brooklyn public library, consists, in brief, of putting on a brown paper cover and securing it by paste or brass staples to a bunch of advertising pages at front and back. the best inexpensive binder is that known as the "springfield." it can be made in any bindery, consisting simply of a cover with a stiff strip at the back in which are three eyelet holes, one at each end and one in the middle. the magazine is laced in with tape or shoe string. this method damages the magazine much less than others similar, some of which require drilling holes through from side to side. in principle the binder made by cedric chivers, brooklyn, n. y., is a more durable form of the springfield and is heartily recommended. some libraries desire a binder from which a magazine cannot readily be stolen. this is a matter of local opinion. the best for this purpose appear to be the new "bull dog" binder just put on the market by gaylord brothers, syracuse, n. y., and the "buchan" binder mentioned by mr. dana. all such binders are heavy, clumsy, and slow in operation. for those magazines deceitfully put together without sewing or staples the "bull dog" and the "buchan" binder will both give satisfaction. among a multitude of other binders the best type is that whose mechanism consists of a stout rod firmly fastened though playing free at one end, and fastened at the other by a simple catch. many built on this principle are too clumsy. a few are needlessly flimsy. of those examined the best are the following:-- "universal" made by j. j. ralek, new york city. "a. l. b." made by american library bindery, philadelphia. "torsion" made by barrett bindery co., chicago. for covering binders various materials have been used. for long service and good appearance we recommend pig skin back and keratol sides. cow hide and buckram are cheaper and will not last as long. canvas is ill suited for this purpose. respectfully submitted, a. l. bailey, chairman. rose g. murray, n. l. goodrich, committee. committee on book buying during the past year the a. l. a. committee on book buying has been negotiating with a committee of the american booksellers' association with a view to bringing about a better understanding between the booksellers and the libraries. upon the request of the committee of the booksellers' association, your committee made a statement of the situation, which was delivered to them in october, . the booksellers' committee prepared a reply to this statement, which was delivered to your committee in april, . a meeting of the two committees was held on thursday, may th, , in cleveland, but it was without any definite result. it was agreed that the two committees report progress to their respective associations and that they submit to their executive committee the statement and reply referred to, with a report upon the present situation and to ask to be allowed to continue the negotiations if the executive committee thought it wise to do so. walter l. brown, chairman, c. b. roden, c. h. brown. committee on co-ordination the following report is the result, in part, of a question referred to the committee on co-ordination by a meeting at the pasadena conference. the question was, whether libraries are justified in making a moderate charge in connection with every volume lent, sufficient in the long run, to cover the administrative expense involved in looking up and sending the volume asked for: not as payment for the use of the book, but to relieve the lender of an undue burden of expense, unavoidably attendant upon the system of lending with some freedom to other libraries. in the opinion of the committee this question could be most profitably discussed only in connection with the whole subject of inter-library loans. it is clear, both from past and present developments, and from the direction these developments are taking that inter-library loans are, as yet, merely in their infancy. it is clear, too, that such loans increase the efficiency of libraries which participate in them. finally, it is evident that there is a marked tendency not simply to multiply library loans, but to enlarge the field within which it is considered appropriate to effect them--taking "field" both in a geographical sense, and as relating to different classes of borrowers. accordingly, it is not surprising that additional machinery and new methods should be required, and that some at least, should already have been devised. also, it is safe to predict that this growth in machinery and in methods will continue. therefore, the committee on co-ordination has thought that it might be helpful, at the present time, to attempt a discussion (which will partake of the character of a symposium) in regard to the purpose and scope of inter-library loans. it is hoped that, as a result of this and subsequent discussion, it may become practicable to formulate some general rules for the conduct of inter-library loans. if a code of such rules could be framed, even granting that the provisions would, of course, bind no library against its will, one more step would yet have been taken in the direction of systematizing and extending a process which has already produced excellent results, and bids fair in the near future, to modify library practice in important particulars. while the purpose of inter-library loans is uniform in the main, it varies to some extent, with the nature and duties of the participating libraries. neglecting minor differences, such libraries fall into two groups: reference libraries, including libraries of colleges and universities; and libraries whose work is of a more popular character; or, to state the matter in terms of readers: libraries, most of whose readers are "serious," and libraries, some, at least, of whose readers are not so very serious. this distinction is not a sharp one, yet it produces wide divergence in the point of view, and in the practice of these two classes of libraries. a comparison of the third contribution to this symposium with the first and second will make this matter evident. both points of view are accurate, and varieties of practice, provided only that they exist among the members of a comprehensive system, are the best guarantees of the ultimate achievement of great results. c. h. gould, chairman. i. the purpose of inter-library loans is to make available the unusual material in one library to an enquirer who cannot visit it in person and does not find available the identical material in some institution nearer at hand or which has a nearer constitutional duty to serve him. the service to him must be subject to the convenience of the constituency of the lending library and can be expected only if the risk and expense of it shall be met by the borrowing library in his behalf. . it is not to be expected therefore that a library will lend either ( ) books which if not in the applicant library, are within the ordinary duty of the latter to supply; or ( ) books in constant use among its own readers; or ( ) books for the general reader as against the investigator. . it is not to be expected that material will be sought the transportation of which, even with the best precautions, involves a necessary injury,--as for instance, by strain,--or a contingent injury in its use outside of the walls of the institution owning it by persons over whose use it has no supervision. a stipulation for its use within the walls of the borrowing library, while entirely reasonable, may not cover the case completely, as the responsibility for the care of the material cannot, by a mere stipulation for care, be transferred from the owning to the borrowing library. . subject to , the important service in inter-library loans being to make generally available the unusual book for the unusual need of the serious investigator, the fact that the book needed is either rare, or part of a set which may be marred by the loss of a single volume, or that it is even unique, as for instance a manuscript, ought not to be conclusive against the loan, for it is just through such material that the inter-library loans may render their most important service. . the applicant library should refrain from applying (a) for ordinary books which are within its constitutional duty to supply to its immediate readers, or (b) for unusual books requested for a purpose which it knows to be trivial, or by a person of whose discretion and seriousness it is not assured, or (c) for books which, within the legitimate provisions of a loan are to be had from some institution nearer at hand, or having a nearer constitutional duty to it and to the constituency which it serves, or (d) for books which upon their face must be in constant use in any library possessing them. . the lending library may reasonably stipulate: (a) that the entire cost of the service shall be met by the borrowing library, and may look to this library alone as responsible both for the safety and prompt return of the material and for the replacement of the material if lost or damaged, and (b) it may reasonably include as part of the expense: ( ) packing; ( ) carriage; ( ) insurance; ( ) the fraction, if estimable, which the particular loan should bear of the expense of administering the service. (c) as to the duration of the loan: that it shall not exceed the period of its local loans, with an allowance added for the transit both ways; and the lender may reasonably couple with this a right of summary recall. it may also impose penalties for delays in returning material, or for carelessness in its use or in repacking. it may of course reserve the right to decline further loans to a library which has shown indifference in these regards, or whose applications have been incessantly frivolous. (d) it may of course limit the number of volumes lent to any one library or for the use of any one investigator at any one time. (e) it may, without prejudicing applications from other institutions, deny the application of any particular library, because of lack of assurance as to the safety or intelligent use of the material if lent. its decisions in this regard resting often upon the impressions of a general experience, ought to be unembarrassed. it should not therefore be called upon to explain them. herbert putnam. ii =a statement of general policy in regard to inter-library loans= the primary purpose of inter-library loans is the promotion of scholarship by placing books not commonly accessible and not in use in one library, temporarily at the service of a scholar who has access to some other library. it should not be allowed to interfere with the reasonable and customary use of books by home readers, and the extent to which sending can be carried depends on the local conditions of the lending library, the importance of the service to be rendered, the character of the books desired, the distance to which they are to be sent, and a number of other circumstances. the larger university libraries, having large numbers of professors, advanced students and other professional scholars immediately dependent on them, may find it necessary to restrict the scope of their loans in justice to their local constituency, while others may rightly extend the system beyond the limits indicated, so as to meet the wants of readers in public libraries, teachers in high schools, and others. libraries should not be expected to lend text-books for general class use, popular manuals or books for the general reader, inexpensive books and those which can easily be procured through the book-trade, books to assist in school or college debates, or books for ordinary purposes of school or undergraduate study. neither should they lend books which are likely to be in frequent demand by their own readers, or books which they do not lend at home on the ground that they ought always to be accessible on the shelves. in this respect practice will naturally differ widely, one library being ready to lend books which another would consider it necessary to keep always at hand. caution should be exercised in lending volumes of newspapers, periodicals or society transactions and parts of expensive sets, since such volumes, if lost, are disproportionately expensive and sometimes practically impossible to replace. moreover, periodicals and society publications are often unexpectedly wanted for the purpose of verifying references, etc., and students may justly expect that they will always be accessible with a minimum of delay. the borrowing library should bear the expense of transportation both ways, and additional charges, if required, for the insurance of specially valuable books. it should be financially responsible for the replacement of books lost or injured in transit. borrowing libraries should take pains to borrow from sources nearest at hand or most naturally under obligation to lend. titles of books wanted should be given with all practicable precision, both to insure getting the very thing asked for and to make the labor of finding the book as light as possible for the lending library. applications for loans should always be made through the librarian of the borrowing library and not directly by the professor or student for whose advantage the loan is desired. if books are lent on direct request of the individual, not transmitted through the library with which he is associated, this library cannot be held responsible for the prompt and safe return of the books or for replacing them if lost in transit. librarians are therefore justified in declining to lend on direct request and in insisting that application must be made through the librarian. a library is justified in placing a limit on the number of volumes which it may be expected to lend at one time to a single institution--say five or ten volumes. loans should be made for a definite period, but the length of this period naturally varies with the occasion. the period begins with the despatch of the book from the lending library and ends with the day on or before which the book should be sent off by the borrowing library. if an extension of time is desired, it should be asked for long enough in advance of the book's being due to enable an answer to be received. books may always be recalled by the lending library in advance of the date originally named if needed for the reasonable service of its home readers. in lending rare books, large volumes, portfolios of plates, etc., a library may be expected to insist that they must be used only within the building of the borrowing library. in some cases, it may be advisable to put the same restriction on all books lent. fines may properly be charged and collected for books detained beyond the allotted time without request for extension. repeated failure to return books promptly, or negligence in packing them safely is sufficient ground for declining to make further loans. when books are sent out or returned, separate notice of the fact should be sent by mail, stating date of shipment, mode of conveyance, etc. it is recommended that blank forms prepared for this purpose be used. applications for loans may also most conveniently be made on suitable blanks. libraries that are called upon for frequent loans are justified in making a moderate charge in connection with every volume lent, sufficient in the long run to cover the administrative expense involved in looking up and sending off volumes asked for. this charge is not to be considered as a payment for the use of the book, but is intended simply to relieve the lending library of an undue burden of expense unavoidably attendant upon the system of lending with some freedom to other libraries. it is recommended that libraries arrange so that the services of some competent person may be regularly available at a moderate charge for looking up information, verifying references, etc., when the time and labor involved in such inquiries seem to exceed what may reasonably be demanded of the library staff. the employment of such a person to obtain specific information will also occasionally serve in place of making a loan. it is also suggested that the possession of a cameragraph, for making rotary bromide prints, or other similar device by which facsimile copies can be made inexpensively, would often enable a library to send a satisfactory copy of portions of a rare book or manuscript in place of lending the original. william coolidge lane. iii =inter-library loans= i. purpose. ( ) prompt service. (a) the book, if purchased, might have to come from a greater distance and so cause delay. (b) the book, if out of print, would take time to find or might not be possible for an agent to locate for a very long time, if at all. ( ) economical service. (a) the library that loans the book. rather than have a book, that has cost time and money, stand idle on the shelves, the library owning it would be better repaid for the expenditure if the book were used by more people. (b) the library that borrows the book. rather than purchase a book which would seldom be requested, it would be better to borrow it, and use one's funds and time and shelf room for books that would be in constant demand. for example: take two special lines of library service here in california at the present time. ( ) books for the blind. aside from a small collection in the san francisco reading room and library for the blind for the local blind, and the small collection for the students in the berkeley california institute for the education of the blind and the deaf, the state library has almost all the books and magazines used by the blind of the state. it would not be economical for other libraries or individuals to undertake to carry on this work, so the state library discourages anyone else buying such books and undertakes to furnish them to anyone needing them. if many want to read certain periodicals they are duplicated several times and sent in order to the various blind borrowers. ( ) medical books and periodicals. the lane medical library in san francisco and the barlow medical library in los angeles have perhaps the best medical collections in the state. the state library of course has and is building up a collection in this line for the use of the whole state, but it often borrows from the first two mentioned. ii. scope. there will be no limit, apparently, to the scope of inter-library loans in california. each library at present makes an effort to loan anything asked of it by any other library. for example, the state library buys no fiction, but from the union catalogs of the county free libraries which is located at the state library, it is possible to tell where a certain book is located and to direct one to the other for a rush request of fiction. rare books are loaned by library to library and used by the borrower at the library. newspapers it is not necessary now to loan as by cameragraphing the needed extract from them, the expense, wear and tear, and risk of such loans are avoided. the same applies to articles in unbound or bound periodicals. cameragraphing an article in a periodical also makes unnecessary the duplicating of certain periodicals because of some especially needed article. cameragraphing is also economical in that it keeps the files in the library and so more material is always available for reference use. even reference books, however, are loaned or borrowed frequently to meet certain needs. so the scope is of necessity a matter of judgment of the particular case in question. iii. extent of borrower's financial responsibility. when a library borrows, it takes the financial responsibility, in case of loss or injury, and if the borrower is an individual, he takes it. the state library pays transportation on all loans to and from the county free libraries, and the county free library on all loans within the county. loans to other libraries are usually paid--sending charge by the library sending the book and returning charge by the library returning the book. the expense of administering the service of inter-library loans is not being considered here in california, and we believe that question will never arise here, no matter how great the demands on each other grow to be. the spirit of co-operation is growing so rapidly here that the rivalry seems to be more who has and can give more rather than who can take more. iv. order in which libraries should be applied to for a loan. there is no order here in california except that almost all libraries apply first to the state library and the state library being naturally the best informed on the special lines of strength in the various libraries in california, can request the library that is either known to have it or is likely to have it, to forward it to the library needing it. this is already possible for periodical files as there is at the state library a union list of periodical files in california libraries. periodicals which are not in any california library, are borrowed with least loss of time, from the library of congress or surgeon general's library. v. average duration of loans. it would not be economical to plan a time limit on loans, as usually the library requesting it states the time the book will be needed and it is, if possible, loaned for that period. as soon as the library borrowing it is through with it, even if sooner than the time it expected to need it, the book is returned. any book must of necessity be subject to recall by the library loaning it. there cannot well be a limit to the number of volumes loaned at any one time. that would naturally depend upon the need. no fines or other penalties for negligence in returning loans are necessary where there is a spirit of perfect co-operation, as librarians all understand the necessity of system, and in california at least, show great consideration for each other. vi. forms of application for loans; notice of shipment, etc. the forms used by the state library and county free libraries in california have been found to be perfectly satisfactory. requests are sent in to the state library in duplicate. one is returned with the disposition made of it written on it and the duplicate is kept on file as a record at the state library. if not in the state library a similar duplicated request is sent to some other library. vii. inter-library loans in california. we in california find that a request is never refused and that requesting such loans in itself makes a library proud of its strength and of its place in the system and builds up in this way a strong feeling for co-operation. the rules to be adopted for inter-library loans in california will be those that experience shows are necessary, and are likely to give the best results for california conditions. j. l. gillis. committee on co-operation with the national education association the committee on co-operation with the national education association is in a position to report that an appointment has been made by the executive board of the national education association of a representative of the american library association to speak at the third general session of its meeting in chicago on the place of the library in educational movements. the committee feels that this recognition of the work of the library on the part of the national education association is a decided victory, as for many years the authorities of the national education association have courteously but constantly turned away from the request made by the american library association committee for a representative on their program. a selection was made of dr. arthur e. bostwick, librarian of the st. louis public library, to present the library cause before the national education association. it is needless to add with full assurance, that the matter is safe in his hands. at the invitation of the president of the library department of the national education association, mr. e. w. gaillard of new york, the committee has endeavored as best it could in the short time allowed, owing to the lateness of the invitation, to make an exhibit of american library association material, booklists and material illustrative of the relations between libraries and schools, to be in place at the national education association meeting to be held in chicago. it seems, therefore, that the work of the past year is one that should afford satisfaction in the recognition that the american library association has received from the national education association. president george e. vincent, of the university of minnesota, who will deliver an address at the ottawa conference, at the invitation of the american library association program committee, has been invited to present the official greetings of the national education association to the american library association. the committee through its chairman has advised with several groups of school librarians, but it has been the policy to confine action to affairs in which the national organizations as individual units were concerned. mary eileen ahern, chairman, genevieve m. walton, irene warren, george h. locke, j. c. dana. the president: the next report is that of the committee on catalog rules for small libraries. the secretary: the chairman of this committee, miss theresa hitchler, wrote me that she hoped to make a report through some other member of the committee, and that it was the hope of the committee to have that work finished by fall. the president: then the chair will accept that as a report of information. adjourned. second general session (russell theatre, friday, june , : a. m.) first vice-president henry e. legler presided. the first vice-president: it has always been a moot question as to what vice-presidents were for. mrs. elmendorf has undertaken the very doubtful experiment of endeavoring to find out, and so she has designated the respective vice-presidents in their order to preside over the meetings of the conference. we shall reverse the order of the program and call for the committee reports first. the following reports were presented and received, all having been previously printed, with the exception of the supplement to the report of the committee on library administration and that on work with the blind. the committee on international relations stated that they had no report to make. committee on federal and state relations your committee's chief activity has been along the line of a parcels post, as we have felt that was the most feasible measure for obtaining lower postal rates. the chairman of the committee had personal interviews with the chairmen of the house and senate committees on post office, and filed with the latter a formal endorsement of the parcels post, as well as the resolution looking in that direction, passed by the council at its meeting in january last. the committee recommends that the continuance of this advocacy be authorized by the association. we also recommend that the association endorse a movement for the better safeguarding of the national archives and rendering them accessible to students, feeling that the preservation of these governmental records is one of considerable importance, and one in which librarians have an especial interest, inasmuch as they have under their care manuscripts as well as printed books. the attention of depository libraries is called to the report of senator smoot, on the revision of printing laws ( nd congress, second session. report , p. and following) which discusses the proposed amendments to the laws with reference to depository libraries. bernard c. steiner. committee on library administration your committee has not been active during the whole year, the present chairman having been appointed to fill a vacancy. what it has done has been in the way of a small beginning toward a general survey of methods in public libraries, which it is hoped may be carried forward to completion in future years. the scientific position that the first thing to do, in making an investigation, is to find out the facts, has only recently been taken in work of this kind. it has generally been assumed by those who have desired to better conditions of any sort that the existing conditions were well known to all. the fact is that no one person or group of persons is in a position to know all the conditions thoroughly and that the elementary task of ascertaining them and stating them is usually by no means easy. it is now generally recognized that we must have a survey--an ascertainment and plain statement of the facts as they are--as a preliminary to action or even to discussion. it has seemed to your committee that the general feeling, shared by the educational and industrial worlds, that methods are not always efficiently adjusted to aims should find some place also in the library. we are spending large sums of public money, and investigations by "economy committees," "efficiency bureaus" and the like are taking place all around us. it will be well for us to take a step in advance of these and get for ourselves some sort of a birds-eye view of our work, from the standpoint of its possible lack of complete efficiency--adaptation of end to aim. in order to do this we must first have a survey, which we conceive to involve in this case a statement of just what libraries are trying to do and just how, in some minuteness of detail, they are trying to do it. comparison and discussion of methods will naturally follow later. the method of taking up this matter was suggested by some very preliminary work done in the st. louis public library. the head of each of the various branches and departments was asked to make a detailed written list of the various operations performed by the assistants in that particular department, dividing them into purely mechanical acts and those involving some thought or judgment. this in itself proved to be an interesting task and both information and stimulation resulted from it. certain operations, common to the largest number of kinds of work, were then selected and tests were made, involving both speed of performance and efficiency of result. from a large number of such tests it is expected that some standardization of operations may result, or at any rate the cutting out of useless details and the saving of time for needed extensions of work. the object of an investigation of this kind is of course not to discover ways of making assistants work harder and faster but to find out whether the same amount of work, or more of it, may not be done with less effort. to extend this bit of experimental work, which has not progressed beyond its first steps, to all the libraries of the united states is of course impossible without modification. your committee has not the machinery to handle detailed lists of operations from thousands of different libraries. fortunately it is easy to select operations that are common to very large numbers of libraries of divers sizes and kinds and in all parts of the country. as examples of such operations, and as a small beginning, we selected those of accessioning, charging and discharging, and counting issue. even with a narrowing of the field to two operations, however, it was impossible to investigate these in all our libraries, or even in a large number. after a discussion by correspondence, revealing some difference of opinion, we decided to select about twenty-five libraries, as representative as possible of different sizes, different institutions and different localities. the list as finally made up was as follows:-- public libraries new york st. louis pratt institute east orange, n. j. atlanta, ga. state libraries new york iowa california connecticut virginia university libraries harvard syracuse oberlin kansas university shurtleff college alton, ill. trinity college hartford, conn. tulane university new orleans, la. reference libraries grosvenor, buffalo. newberry, chicago. subscription libraries mercantile, n. y. athenaeum, boston. mercantile, st. louis. special libraries bar association, n. y. academy of medicine, n. y. engineering societies, n. y. john crerar, chicago. to the librarians of each of these libraries was then sent the following letter:-- to the librarian:-- the committee on library administration of the a. l. a. is beginning a survey of simple operations common to all sorts of libraries, especially with a view to finding out whether there is much diversity of detail in them, and ultimately of noting particular methods that seem likely to result in time-saving or in better results. for the moment, however, a mere survey, involving a detailed description of the method of performing certain kinds of work is all that is aimed at. the committee has selected libraries of very different sizes and types, and yours is one of these. if you are willing to co-operate, will you kindly send at once to the chairman a description, in as minute detail as possible, of the following operations: accessioning the counting of issue the charging of books the discharging of books please describe each step of these operations seriatim and in detail, not omitting such as are purely mechanical, and noting points where different assistants would be apt to act in different ways. a description of the operation of accessioning in the new york public library (reference department) is enclosed as a sample. if you can not do this, please notify us immediately, that another library may be put on the list in your place. yours truly, arthur e. bostwick, chairman, harry m. lydenberg, ethel f. mccollough, a. l. a. com. on administration. sooner or later we obtained the desired data from of the libraries to which this letter was sent. only one, the grosvenor library of buffalo, returned no answer. five declined on various grounds. the california state library wrote to us: "we do not feel satisfied with our present arrangements and do not believe we are in a position to offer any suggestions that would be of service in connection with this investigation." the mercantile library of new york wrote: "we regret that we find ourselves unable to co-operate with your committee in this undertaking." the librarian of trinity college, hartford, writes that "with the exception of student assistants the librarian is the entire staff." the senior regent of shurtleff college, alton, ill., writes: "our building is not yet complete and in the management of the old, we are so nearly without a system that i hardly feel it worth while to try to reply to these questions." the librarian of the new york engineering societies writes: "this library * * * has no charging system. its system of accessioning will be abandoned as soon as possible. i suggest that you enter another library on your list." replies such as these seem to imply a misconception of the nature and purposes of a survey. our object is to ascertain facts, not to gather a selected number of ideal cases. for these five libraries the following were substituted: westminster college, fulton, mo. wesleyan university, middletown, conn. washington state library. new york society library. forbes library, northampton, mass. these furnished that data for which we asked, with the exception of the washington state library, which declined. we have material, therefore, from libraries altogether. the last of this body of data comes to hand just as this preliminary report goes to press, but it is being digested and tabulated and some of the results, at least, will be ready for the ottawa meeting, although there will not be time for any study of these results or for recommendations based thereon. the reports from the various libraries will be on file at headquarters at ottawa and will be accessible to all members of the association who desire to consult them. regarding the question of the counting of circulation through traveling libraries, deposits and the like, which has been referred to your committee, we beg to report as follows:-- the sending of books from a library to a school, a club, or some other place where they are to be used or circulated may be regarded in two ways by librarians. it may be held that the sending of the books from the library is itself an act of circulation or that the place to which they are sent for use or distribution is a temporary station of the library, and that sending books thereto is no more circulation than if they were sent to a library branch or delivery station. obviously, if the former view is accepted, no use that is made of the book after it reaches the station can be recorded by the library. when we have lent a book to a reader we do not inquire how many persons in the family use it or whether a neighbor borrows it. the library borrower is responsible for it and it simply counts as one in the issue. but if the place to which it goes is to be treated as a station, then the use of the book at or from that station is part of the library record. if it is used in the school, club, or other place where it is deposited, such use is not circulation, however, but hall or library use, as if it had been used in a branch library. if it is issued from the station for home use, such issues, and every such issue, is properly counted with the circulation. it seems to your committee that the second of these alternatives is the one that should be recognized, both from theoretical and practical reasons. the sending of a collection of books to a place where it is to be used resembles much more closely the temporary transfer of such collection to a branch than it does ordinary circulation. practically also, it is desirable to take account of whatever use is made of the books in such places and logically this can be done only on the second theory. on neither of the theories is it allowable to count the original sending as one issue and then to count or estimate issues from the station; or to count uses in the station as home issues. some libraries report that they are unable to secure proper statistics of use at the station and that they must therefore either count the original issue or guess at the use in some way, or fail to report it at all. in cases of this kind, whatever is done should be made plain by a note in connection with the published statistics. to recapitulate, we recommend: ( ) that the act of sending books from the library to a station of any kind, no matter how temporary, be not regarded as an issue to be counted in the circulation, although separate account of books thus sent should be kept and may be published if desired. ( ) that books used in the station be counted as hall or library use and that books issued from the station be counted as home use. ( ) that where it is found necessary to depart from this method in any way, such departure be plainly stated in a foot note to the published report. all of which is respectfully submitted. arthur e. bostwick, chairman. ethel f. mccollough, harry m. lydenberg. =(supplementary report)= as a supplement to that portion of its report which has already been presented, your committee now submits the following preliminary tabulation and discussion of results. as is usual, in such investigations, our questions have not been interpreted in the same way by all to whom they have been addressed. supplementary questions must therefore be sent out in many cases and these must be framed separately for each case. this will be the next work of this committee, should you see fit to continue it as at present constituted. your committee trusts that it is clearly understood that it does not desire to infer from the extremely small proportion of cases discussed anything that should be properly inferred only from a large number of cases. facts are stated numerically, but no numerical conclusions are or can be drawn. at this stage of the investigation no recommendations at all can be made. =accessioning= the material received varies so much in respect to the items reported upon, and the fullness with which each step is treated, that a second questionnaire must be sent out before there can be any uniformity of tabulation. for example:-- one librarian writes us, "we keep no accession book for ordinary circulating books, only for expensive art books" and fails to state what items are entered. another reports that "the books are accessioned, each separate volume being given a separate accession number" but does not say whether an accession book is used or not. two librarians write that "the standard a. l. a. accession book is used" and leave us to infer that every column is filled in. and two assure us that the promised material will be sent in soon. it is interesting to note, however, that only two libraries, the boston athenaeum and the forbes library, use the bill method of accessioning. the other libraries all use an accession book, but differ widely in the number of items entered; for example, one library enters only author, title, source and price, and another has an accession book printed for its own use, including columns for the following: date of entry, accession number, place of publication, publisher, date of book, size, class, additions classified (including a column for each of the main classes in the d. c. system, one for fiction, and one for juvenile books), volumes bought, volumes received as gifts, periodicals bound, pamphlets bound, the language of the book ( separate columns marked eng. ger. fr. and other), source, publisher's price, discount, net price, binding, remarks. the majority of libraries reporting, use the a. l. a. standard accession book or the condensed form of the same. =libraries using book method= atlanta. bar association of n. y. east orange. iowa state library. john crerar library. kansas state university. kings county medical. n. y. city circulating department. n. y. city reference department. n. y. state library. n. y. society library (accessions only expensive art books). newberry library. oberlin college. pratt institute free library. st. louis mercantile library. st. louis public library. syracuse university. tulane university. virginia state university. wesleyan university. westminster college. =libraries using bill method= boston athenaeum. forbes library. =charging and discharging= the data contributed on this subject are so uneven and varying that any accurate and minute comparison is impossible at present. the functions that constitute a charge or discharge are variously regarded by different libraries. the eighteen libraries forming the basis of this study, with a note of their charging systems, may be roughly arranged in the following groups: =college or university libraries= oberlin. double file. borrowers' file and book file under date. syracuse. double file. borrowers' file and book file under call-number. university of kansas. double file. borrowers' file and book file under date. tulane. single file. book file under class. wesleyan. double file. borrowers' file under date and book file. westminster. single file. book file under date. =public or circulating libraries= boston athenaeum (subscription). double record. borrowers' file and book record under date. carnegie library of atlanta. newark system (no details). east orange public library. newark system (many variations). forbes library. browne system. new york public library. newark system. pratt institute free library. newark system. st. louis mercantile library (subscription). browne system. st. louis public library. newark system. =state libraries= iowa state. reference. (uses temporary slip when a book is issued for home use filed under date.) virginia state. double file. borrowers' file and book file by titles. =reference libraries= newberry library. no attempt has been made to study the charge or discharge of books for library use. =society library= medical society of king's county. borrowers' record. reversing this arrangement and grouping under charging systems, we have: =newark system-- .= carnegie library of atlanta. east orange public library. new york public library. pratt institute free library. st. louis public library. syracuse university (modified). =browne system-- .= forbes library. st. louis mercantile library. =double file--borrower and book-- .= boston athenaeum. oberlin college. syracuse. university of kansas. virginia state library. wesleyan university. =single file--book file under date or class-- .= iowa state library. tulane university. westminster college. =borrowers' record-- .= medical society of county of kings. it is evident from this tabulation that libraries of the same character use the same systems--identical in their essentials but different in detail. college libraries and those whose use corresponds to that of a college library find with but two exceptions a double file useful--one of borrower and one of books--the latter varying greatly in arrangement, owing to the distinctions between students and faculty. a résumé of the college and state systems studied follows: =iowa state.= when book is issued, assistant copies the call number from the book plate upon a manila charge slip, then adds the name of borrower and her date of loan. charge slips are deposited temporarily in a drawer, and next morning are arranged by call-number and filed in the charging tray. there are no fines; books are issued subject to call. the first of each month the tray is examined; all slips bearing a date a month old are taken out, compared with the shelves to ascertain if the books have been returned, and shelved without being discharged, and with the shelf list, to verify the call number; at which time the author and title are copied on the reverse side of slip. notices requesting the return of books are filled in with the author, title and date of loan, and sent to borrowers. date of notice is placed on charge slips with colored pencil, and the slips refiled in tray. in discharging books, the slips bearing corresponding call numbers are taken from tray and destroyed. =oberlin college.= charge. book pocket contains two cards, one white, one pink with author's name, title of book and call number and accession number. borrower signs name on both and leaves on desk. dating slip with date of issue is put in book pocket. assistant stamps both cards with date of issue--filing white cards by call number under date and pink card alphabetically with borrower's card under borrower's name. these are ultimately divided into two files, the "day file" and the "long file," the latter including books drawn by professors and others privileged to retain them more than two weeks. when book is returned dating slip is taken out and saved for future use. book is checked off by finding book card in file and borrower's name is checked from that. pink card is then withdrawn from borrower's file. =syracuse university.= borrower's cards are kept on file by serial number. when a book is issued its call number is written on borrower's card and date of issue stamped on it and on dating slip. book card is stamped with borrower's number and date of issue. borrower's card is filed under number and book card filed by call number. when book is returned book is checked off, date on borrower's card stamped with date of return and the card put in regular file of borrower's cards. (the book card system itself seems to be the newark). =tulane university.= borrower makes out a temporary book card which is filled out with the book data, his name and address and date and is filed by class. when book is returned temporary book card is destroyed. =university of kansas.= corresponds to oberlin except that book card filed with borrower's card is not signed or dated and that the single file is by class. has two files--one for students under date and one for faculty under name. books are discharged at students' leisure by checking off. =virginia state.= borrowers' file and book file of temporary book cards alphabetically under title. =wesleyan.= when book is issued a manilla slip is written giving name of borrower, call number, author and title. the date due is stamped on dating slip in book. slip is placed in box and next morning a second slip is made from it giving call number first, then author, title and name of borrower. date due is then stamped on both cards. first card (borrower's slips) are filed (by date if student, by name, if professor). the other slips (book cards) are filed alphabetically under author. book is discharged by checking off--both slips being withdrawn from issue and presumably destroyed. =westminster.= no students' cards. permanent book card--stamped with date and borrower's name. date stamped on book pocket. cards filed under date. assistant discharges at leisure by checking off. public or circulating libraries prefer the newark or browne system--the majority the newark: =boston athenaeum.= corresponds to oberlin save that day of year instead of day of month is used for dating. that one slip is filed in borrowers' case with information relating to borrower's assessments, etc., instead of with borrower's card, and that the single file is by author. when book is returned date of return is stamped on book slips when book is checked off. =carnegie library of atlanta.= newark system, using slots in desk to sort cards. no details of checking off. =east orange.= newark system, using colored bookcards to distinguish classes. magazines and four weeks' books not stamped on reader's cards. in children's room non-fiction not stamped on reader's card. books checked off near charging desk. =forbes library.= browne system. borrower's pockets filed numerically under each letter of alphabet in order of registration. fiction and non-fiction pockets kept in separate file. when book is issued borrower gives his number by which his pocket is found. book card is taken from book pocket and put in borrower's pocket and date of return is stamped on book pocket. book record is kept by arranging under date, book cards in pockets alphabetically under author and title. (details of information on book card not given). book is discharged by withdrawing book card from borrower's pocket and transferring to book pocket. recent books (last two years) are evidently discharged and shelved at once. others three times a day. empty borrower's pockets are filed throughout the day. =new york public.= newark system. book card has author's surname, title of book, class number and accession number. variously colored book cards are used to indicate various classes. assistant makes hurried examination of book to be issued and copies borrower's card number on book card and stamps date with dating pencil on reader's card, book pocket and book card--the latter to be done at leisure if there is a rush. puts borrower's card in pocket and gives books to reader. book card is dropped in proper slot in desk (ten slots indicating the ten classes). book cards filed under date of issue by class author and accession number. book cards for foreign books are arranged alphabetically after book cards in english. when book is discharged, assistant checks off book comparing date of card with that of book, examines book for damage and then cancels date on reader's card, restoring card to reader. (note. it hardly seems that this checking off before cancelling date on reader's card can be done except in a very slack hour, and must cause annoying delay to reader). books are then placed on truck to right of assistant, later revised and shelved. system has many exceptions, one of which is to write reader's card number on dating slip as well as book card. others are the writing of special or sp. on book card, opposite card number to indicate the privilege of extended time to special cardholder, as well as on dating slip. in this case, call number or accession number is written on card (presumably reader's card) and the use of branch initial on reader's card to show card issued from a branch other than that from which book is borrowed. this library uses a reader's receipt file for books returned without card--a slip giving name, address, card number, class number, date of issue and return. this system with variations is also in use in the st. louis public library (called the "write-ups") and also in the pratt institute free library and supposedly many others. =pratt institute free library.= newark system. uses different ink pads for fiction and non-fiction, and dating pencils. puts book cards into slots in desk; fiction, non-fiction and teachers. stamps dates first and then writes card number. uses different ink pad for discharging. charging and discharging (including checking off done at same desk) done by same assistant except in a rush hour. checking off however is done at assistant's leisure--that is, the reader's card is stamped off before book card is found. book cards are filed by class under date. keeps a separate renewal file. =st. louis mercantile library.= browne system, with separate reader's identification card, seldom used. uses blue reader's pocket for fiction, salmon color for non-fiction, and manilla pockets for pay duplicates. book card corresponds in color, except in case of regular books issued as extras. book card has cutter class number, author and title. assistant stamps date due on dating slip and book card which is placed in reader's pocket. pockets are put temporarily in tray near issue desk and later filed by class, under date due. books are discharged by charging assistant at charging desk, by taking book card from pocket and slipping it into book. empty reader's pockets are constantly being filed in regular reader's file. =st. louis public library.= newark system. different colored ink-pads for seven day and fourteen day books and for discharging. reader's number first written on bookcard, then book card, dating slip and reader's card stamped. reading-room books charged on slips filled out by reader. two books generally are issued on one card but "additional books" stamped on reader's card entitles cardholder to a greater number of volumes, of non-fiction, usually six. this privilege is granted to educators, social workers and others engaged in serious study, at the discretion of the head of the circulation department. discharging is done at a separate desk in the usual way, receipts being filed for books returned without reader's card. books are placed on a truck and checked off by a special assistant. =society library= =the medical society of the county of kings=--uses a borrower's receipt, giving author, title, accession number and borrower's signature. these receipts are filed by borrower's name. when book is returned, it is discharged by stamping date of return on receipt and placing in file of cancelled loans. the libraries using colored book cards to denote the classes are: east orange public library. new york public library. st. louis mercantile library--colors simply indicating fiction or non-fiction. those using colored book cards for their double file (borrower's and book) are: boston athenaeum. oberlin college. at the time of book's issue bookcards are dropped into a drawer through slots designating classes of the books issued by the following libraries: carnegie library of atlanta. new york public library. pratt institute free library--designates fiction, non-fiction and teachers. libraries using temporary bookcards, filled out at time of book's issue by borrower or assistant: iowa state. tulane university. virginia state. wesleyan university. libraries using a borrower's record for privileged classes (professors, etc.) and a time record for students: kansas university. oberlin university. syracuse university. wesleyan university. cards identifying the readers appear to be required by all the libraries save westminster. these vary--those of the boston athenaeum, medical society of county of kings, apparently taking the form of a subscription entry while the st. louis mercantile library issues one as an identification card, which is seldom called into use. libraries using borrowers' cards in a file at the library to indicate what the reader has out, are: oberlin. syracuse--call numbers of books are written on students' cards. university of kansas. virginia. wesleyan. tulane. those using a borrower's card which remains in the possession of the borrower, while he has books from the library, to indicate number of books out, date either of issue or when due, and a date of return are those employing the newark system: carnegie library of atlanta. east orange library. new york public library. pratt institute free library. st. louis public library. syracuse uses the newark system but retains cards in borrower's file (under borrower's number) at library. as regards the discharge of books, the use of the browne system presupposes a complete discharge of the book, in case of a borrower taking another at the time of its return. libraries retaining borrowers' cards at the library discharge at their leisure. where the newark system is used (with the exception of the new york public library) an incomplete discharge is made at the time of the book's return--consisting of the stamping of the date of return on reader's card. it is obviously impossible to delay a reader while book is checked off. checking off is then done at leisure either at charging desk by desk assistant or special assistant appointed for that work. =counting of issue= the eighteen libraries reporting on this subject may be grouped under the following heads: =public or circulating= boston athenaeum (subscription). carnegie library of atlanta. east orange library. forbes library. new york public library. pratt institute free library. st. louis mercantile library (subscription). st. louis public library. =college or university= oberlin college. syracuse university. tulane university. university of kansas. wesleyan university. westminster college. =state libraries= iowa state. virginia state. =reference library= newberry library. =society library= library of the medical society of the county of kings. eight of these libraries record statistics of reference use: newberry. new york. st. louis public. syracuse. tulane. virginia state. wesleyan. westminster. the following do not include reference use on their statistics sheets, although in some cases it is probably kept separately: boston athenaeum. carnegie library of atlanta. east orange. forbes. pratt institute. st. louis mercantile. the medical society of the county of kings and oberlin college library make no record of reference use, but the latter records daily and monthly attendance. four libraries keep no record by class: boston athenaeum. medical society of kings. wesleyan. westminster. the following count the circulation on the day of issue: boston athenaeum. newberry. pratt institute. st. louis public. virginia state. westminster. in all the other libraries it is counted next morning, save in kings county medical, where only an annual count is made. east orange and new york use colored bookcards to indicate the various classes; st. louis mercantile uses different colors for fiction, non-fiction and pay-duplicates, and tulane uses a colored slip for reference requests. two libraries, iowa state and university of kansas, report that no record of issue is made. =public or circulating libraries= =boston athenaeum.= the manilla cards forming the author record are counted at night and the number is entered in a book. there is no entry by class and reference use is not reported. =carnegie library of atlanta.= issue is kept in three groups for fiction, rent or pay collection and classed books. the latter are arranged under class numerically or alphabetically. fiction and rent collection are alphabeted and all are counted on the following morning and entered on a daily sheet, juvenile issue being counted separately. no report on reference issue. =east orange.= colored bookcards are used here to indicate different classes. the issue is counted on the following morning and arranged according to the dewey classification and entered in a statistics book. no report on reference issue. =forbes.= counted by groups of classes. =new york public.= colored bookcards are used here. adult and juvenile issue are counted separately on the following morning: . by dewey classes, issues in each class being added together to obtain the total issue in each group and the two groups then added for the grand total of the day. . by language. . poetry, periodicals and music are counted separately as well as with their respective classes. reference books are charged on slips, signed by the reader, the number of volumes issued being noted on the upper right hand corner. at the close of the day these slips are counted twice, first by readers and second by volumes. =pratt institute free library.= the daily issue is counted on the day of issue and arranged in four groups--fiction, non-fiction, teachers and renewals, and entered on manilla slips which are divided into spaces for the ten dewey classes and also for languages, duplicate pay collection, summer issue, delta and double star, the last two being special collections. these totals are all transferred to a daily statistics sheet. a reference record is not reported on, but is undoubtedly kept in some form. =st. louis mercantile.= the issue is kept in seven and fourteen day trays and arranged by class, salmon colored cards being used for non-fiction and blue for fiction. before the library opens in the morning the issue is counted and entered in a book under classes (cutter). reference record is not reported. =st. louis public.= issue is kept in trays, separated into groups for seven and fourteen-day fiction, the ten dewey classes and (in summer) vacation issue. at night it is counted and entered on a statistic sheet, under the same heads. reading-room issue is entered on the same sheet, also by class. the home issue is then separated by date, seven-days in one alphabet and fourteen-days in another, and arranged by author and accession number not class. this arrangement, by affording but one alphabet in which to search for a book due on a given date, reduces the opportunity for mistakes to a minimum. three-day magazines are inserted with seven-day cards under the correct date. in the morning the circulation is revised for errors in alphabeting and also for illegible charges which are traced by means of a number, assigned to each assistant. reference use is entered on a form divided into four columns for main reference room, art room, technical department and totals. the entries are by class and the number of volumes given to each reader noted. all records are transferred the following morning to a permanent statistics book. =college or university libraries= =oberlin.= the author cards are arranged at night under date of issue by classes, fastened together with a rubber band and placed in the issue tray ahead of all previous circulation. in the morning they are counted and entered on a statistics sheet under class, then filed in the issue tray. statistics of reference use are not kept. =syracuse university.= statistics are recorded for home issue, reading room issue and attendance. when the books are charged they are divided into over-night and two week circulation; in the morning these are subdivided into twelve classes and again recorded as charged to students, faculty or departments. methods of reporting reference use are not outlined but a record of some sort is made, probably at the discretion of the various reading-room attendants. one of the colleges (applied science) reports to the general library only once a year and others monthly. other departments report only attendance. =tulane university.= every morning charging slips are grouped into classes and counted. yellow slips, indicating library use are counted in the same manner and then destroyed. entry is made in a record book under class, library use being recorded in pencil and home issue in red ink directly beneath it. =university of kansas.= no record of issue is kept. =wesleyan university.= the issue is counted each morning in four groups; bound and unbound (issued to individuals), reserve, or books placed on reserve shelves and seminar, or volumes sent to seminars for temporary use. the last two groups are counted only at the time of issue, their reference use not being noted. entry is made in a day book under these heads; no count is taken by classes. book cards are counted each evening for home circulation, reference books as they are given out during the day. there is apparently no record by class and the method of entry is not stated. =westminster.= counted by class each evening. reference books counted as issued. =state libraries= =iowa state.= no record of issue is kept. =virginia state.= a blank form spaced for fourteen classes is used for keeping the daily record of books given out both for reference and home use, the distinction being presumably indicated by the use of pen and pencil, although this point is somewhat obscure. at night these totals are added. =reference library= =newberry library.= there are six reference departments, each keeping statistics for men and women, morning and evening visitors and books used, the latter being entered by classes. these reports are drawn up at night and taken next morning to the accessions clerk who enters the figures in a permanent statistical record. =society library= =medical society of the county of kings.= no record is here maintained of reference use. home use slips are filed and counted annually to determine the circulation for the year but there is no record by class. it is evident from the preceding tabulations that the reports of the various libraries are too uneven to admit of accurate comparison. many points of interest, as the record of reference use, are omitted, although in many cases this record is doubtless preserved. in closing your committee desires to acknowledge valuable assistance in the tabulation and discussion of the above results, rendered by three members of the st. louis public library staff, mrs. h. p. sawyer, chief of the department of instruction, miss mary crocker, chief of the open shelf department, miss jessie sargent, first assistant in the issue department, and miss amelia feary, of the catalog department. arthur e. bostwick, chairman, ethel f. mccollough, harry m. lydenberg, committee on administration. report of the committee on library training after correspondence, it was decided at the beginning of the year to make another effort to obtain from the executive board an appropriation which would make possible the repeatedly suggested inspection of library schools. accordingly, such a request was made at the meeting of the executive board at chicago last january, and an appropriation of $ was obtained. about the same time, a request was presented to the chairman of the committee on library training, signed by representatives of nearly all the library schools, requesting that the committee recommend a minimum standard admission, length of course, and curriculum for library schools. to this the chairman replied, calling attention to the reports of and , in which an endeavor had been made to meet a part of the request, and requesting that the schools indicate in what respects these reports should be modified or supplemented. the replies to this request are most interesting and will be of great service to the committee. when all the schools have answered this inquiry, the replies will be manifolded and the committee will give the request careful consideration. a thoroughly satisfactory recommendation, however, will naturally follow, rather than precede, the contemplated inspection of schools. a tentative scheme of points to be observed in the proposed inspection has been prepared, and is being considered by persons interested. when their criticisms and suggestions have been received, the committee will consider the scheme. when approved by the members of the committee, and when the committee has found a suitable person to make the inspection, the library schools will be given the opportunity to ask for such inspection, and to the extent of the funds available for the purpose, the inspection will be made. in the light of the facts obtained in such a careful study of the library schools, it is hoped to make some recommendations which will be of service to the schools, and to the profession. on account of the absence of the chairman of the committee from the country since the first of february, the work has progressed slowly. for the same reason, this report is submitted without being first considered and approved by the other members of the committee. azariah s. root, chairman. report of the committee on work with the blind the committee on library work with the blind notes with satisfaction the progress which has been made in the past year towards increasing the production of new embossed literature. the installation of stereotype-makers operated by electricity and of power presses in some of the printing offices means a constantly increasing stock of books for circulation. most important of all there seem to be indications that a new era is dawning when all america can unite on one point type. the eleventh convention of the american association of workers for the blind, held at overbrook, pa., june, , was marked by one session unparalleled in the history of type discussions, when, during the report of the uniform type committee, the blind themselves contributed $ . towards the creation of a fund to be used in making scientific tests and experiments to determine upon a uniform system of embossed point print. with the completion of the fund of $ , and the co-operation of certain printing offices, members of the committee have been hard at work preparing tests and making experiments. an outline of the work of this committee appears in the "outlook for the blind" for april, , (v. , no. ). lists of new publications in embossed type as well as lists of magazine articles referring to the blind are published from time to time in the "outlook for the blind," which is the only magazine in this country especially helpful to workers for the blind. librarians are urged to place the "outlook for the blind" on reading tables and among the current magazines and to encourage its reading by the general public, who need educating concerning the best methods of helping the blind. helen keller has said, "i follow with keen interest your efforts to make the 'outlook for the blind' a success. nothing is more useful to the sightless than an intelligent magazine in their interest, setting forth their needs, making known what they can do to earn a living, and advocating movements of the right sort in their behalf. the 'outlook for the blind' is just such a publication. the fact that influential and wise persons who have the welfare of the blind at heart favor the magazine makes it all the more valuable. it deserves liberal support from philanthropists and practical workers for humanity." the samuel gridley howe society has been organized in cleveland, ohio, with headquarters at st. clair avenue, n. e. "the plan of this society is to raise funds from local sources to defray the cost of the presswork, the paper and the very simple binding used," in the work of adding to the list of books in tactile print. the list of publications already issued, in american braille without contractions, includes titles by deland, davis, john fox, jr., van dyke and others. the michigan school for the blind, at lansing, now publishes a magazine in american braille, with contractions, entitled the "michigan herald for the blind," issued monthly except july and august. the subscription price is cents per year. the xavier braille publication society for the blind, oak avenue, chicago, which was organized in , has since issued the "catholic review," a monthly magazine in american braille, with contractions, subscription $ . per year. the society for the promotion of church work among the blind announces that volumes and of the music of the hymnal of the protestant episcopal church have been finished and are ready for distribution. copies may be obtained from mr. john thomson, treasurer, th and locust streets, philadelphia. since the fire in march, , when the new york state library for the blind was almost totally destroyed, the new collection has grown with rapidity and is now nearly as large as at the time of the fire. miss mary c. chamberlain, the librarian, writes, "we hope soon to make the collection larger than it has ever been." the circulation of embossed books from the public library of cincinnati, ohio, "increased during the past year from , during to , during , which was attributed to the fact that the library society for the blind has provided a catalog in point print, which is sent out." the reading room for the blind in washington, d. c., which was discontinued in , has been reopened in the library of congress. during the past year the perkins institution for the blind has given away about , volumes in line type to libraries and schools, retaining a sufficient stock of duplicates for use in the circulating library of the school. the new library of the institution, now in course of construction at watertown, massachusetts, will be very large and commodious; it will be capable of holding , volumes, with provision for an extra gallery for , additional volumes if necessary. in commemoration of the dickens centenary, "great expectations" has been embossed in american braille. the committee plans a full report of libraries which are doing work for the blind and will endeavor to secure from them an outline of the work they are doing at present. in addition the special needs of readers will be sought with a view to having the books desired brought to the notice of one or more of the publishing houses. efforts will be made to secure the establishment of additional libraries of embossed books in states where no such libraries are now maintained. respectfully submitted, emma r. neisser delfino, chairman. committee on public documents your committee on public documents respectfully reports that two important reports relating to the printing, binding and distribution of government publications have been made and are now before congress. the first is the report of the special commission on economy and efficiency, appointed by president roosevelt, and transmitted february , , in a special message approving the same by president taft, which "recommends that the work of distributing documents be centralized in the office of superintendent of public documents in the government printing office as a substitute for the present method of distribution by each of the departments, offices, and bureaus issuing such documents. the plan does not contemplate any change in the authority which determines the persons to whom documents shall be sent, but only that the physical work of wrapping, addressing, and mailing the documents shall be done at one place, and that the place of manufacture." the second report is that made by the congressional committee on printing of which senator smoot is chairman. this committee was appointed under an act of congress approved march , , and was directed to revise and codify the laws relating to public printing, binding and distribution of government publications. after seven years of investigations and hearings this committee has formulated and presented to congress a new bill (senate bill ) covering this entire subject. this bill which makes radical changes in the general printing act approved january , , has passed the senate and is now before the house. while both reports embody many recommendations and suggestions made by our association and by the librarians of our larger libraries, your committee on public documents has thought best to delay its formal report until after the discussion at the sessions of the government documents round table, at which time a paper by superintendent of documents, august donath, will be read, and possibly also one from senator smoot, who has written that other engagements will prevent him from being present and speaking. * * * * * as copies of the proposed bill and the special reports relating to the same have been sent to several librarians, it is hoped there will be a full and free discussion in order that any desirable changes or omissions in the proposed bill may be called to the attention of the congressional committee while there is an opportunity. respectfully submitted, geo. s. godard, chairman. * * * * * the first vice-president: no doubt all of you have very carefully and thoroughly read the printed report of the publishing board, which was distributed at the first session of this conference. it will therefore be unnecessary for me to point out to you some of the very important recommendations, or suggestions, which appear therein, and i mention it at this time merely for the purpose of adding that since the former session, through the generosity of mr. walter l. brown of the buffalo library, the publishing board is enabled to distribute in connection therewith a list which illustrates one of the very strong suggestions, as we think, which appears in that report. you will find this list for distribution at the entrance, and those of you who may care for it, may help yourselves as you pass out.[ ] [ ] the list referred to was a reading list of selected books on greece, prepared with annotated notes in the form advocated by mrs. elmendorf in the report of the publishing board. we will now hear from the committee on deterioration of newspaper paper. we have had for the last two years some exceptionally interesting and important reports on that very important subject, and we are glad to know that dr. hill will at this time present a supplemental report covering the investigations which he has made during the last year, additional to the facts which he has reported heretofore. dr. hill will please report for this committee. preservation of newspapers two years ago a report on the "deterioration of newspapers" was presented to the american library association at the mackinac conference, and as a consequence the executive board appointed messrs. frank p. hill, brooklyn public library, horace g. wadlin, boston public library, and cedric chivers, bookbinder, a committee to consider the subject further and report back to the association. as stated at the pasadena conference last year, the committee was appointed too late to make any satisfactory report at that time. this year the report can be only one of progress. in order to bring the matter more clearly to your minds liberal quotations are made from the report. "an examination of old brooklyn and manhattan papers showed that in many instances papers published within the last forty years had begun to discolor and crumble to such an extent that it would hardly pay to bind those which had been folded for any length of time. upon further investigation it was found that practically all of these newspapers were printed on cheap wood pulp paper, which carries with it the seeds of early decay, and that the life of a periodical printed on this inferior stock is not likely to be more than fifty years. "this is a serious matter and demands the attention of publishers and librarians throughout the country. it means that the material for history contained in the newspapers will not be available after the period mentioned, and that all such historical record will eventually disappear unless provision is made for reprinting or preserving the volumes as they exist at present. the historian depends to such an extent upon the newspapers for his data that it will mean a serious loss if some preservative cannot be found. "as soon as the condition of the files of the brooklyn public library was discovered a circular was sent to some of the prominent newspaper publishers asking ( ) the result of their experience; ( ) whether a better grade of paper was being used for running off extra copies for their own files; ( ) what, if any, means were being taken to preserve the files in their own offices. it was hoped as a result of this circular that definite measures of improvement would be suggested. from responses received it is evident that there is a desire on the part of the publishers to meet the requirements of librarians and others on this subject; and it is likely that a conference of publishers and librarians will be held in the near future to consider the feasibility of printing some copies on better paper, but the answers showed that no special paper was used and that no means were taken to preserve (by reprinting or by chemical process) those in the worst condition. "inquiries were also sent to various manufacturers of paper with no better result. no encouragement was received from this source except that one manufacturer thought that some newspapers were using a better grade, and another, that he had just the paper which ought to be used. it was stated that two new york publishers used a better grade of paper for a few additional copies, but returns from these papers indicate that no difference is made at the present time." during the past six months the members of the committee have been in correspondence with publishers regarding the possibility of striking off a few extra copies on a better quality of paper, and mr. chivers has taken upon himself the duty and responsibility of experimenting with a "cellit" solution prepared especially for the preservation of newsprint paper. early in june of this year the committee invited representatives of the leading new york and brooklyn papers to meet in conference on the subject. the following papers were represented: the brooklyn daily eagle by h. f. gunnison, the new york american by jerome buck, the new york world by e. d. carruthers, and the publishers' weekly by john a. holden. the object of the conference was stated to be: st. the consideration of method of preserving bound volumes of newspapers; and nd. the possibility of publishers printing extra copies of the current issue on a better grade of paper for binding purposes. mr. chivers stated that he had not used "celestron" the german product, but had made successful experiments with "cellit," an american solution. his investigation proved that the deterioration was due in a large measure to the exposure of the paper to light and air and that by covering the paper with a coating of "cellit" or "celestron" the pores were filled and oxidation prevented. he was afraid, however, that the question of expense would deter most librarians and publishers from dipping the volume page by page in the solution, as suggested in the earlier report of this committee, but expressed the hope that some method would be devised by which it could be used less expensively. mr. chivers was of the opinion that since oxidation begins at the edges the life of the paper may be extended from to years if the edges of the bound volume are painted with the solution, and that this treatment could be repeated with the same result. he called special attention to the necessity of binding newspapers as soon as possible after publication so that they need not be long exposed to the air. the desirability of this practice was emphasized by some of the publishers and by mr. arthur d. little, the boston chemist. considerable discussion arose over the question of printing extra copies of current issues on a better grade of paper, and the conclusion arrived at was that there was no practical objection to it, and that it could be done without very much extra cost of time, labor or paper. the conference developed the fact that there was another drawback to the preservation of newspapers, namely, the poor quality of ink, and that nothing would be gained by using the better quality of paper unless a better quality of ink was used. mr. carruthers, of the new york world, drew attention to the fact that the colored sections of the metropolitan sunday papers were destroyed by worms within a short time after publication. so far as the committee was advised the first and only newspaper in the country to print extra copies on better paper was and is the red wing (minn.) republican, which furnishes copies of its publication to the state historical society for filing purposes. considerable publicity has been given the subject since the meeting through the american newspaper publishers' association, and several valuable suggestions have been received. mr. gunnison of the brooklyn daily eagle writes: "i have given considerable thought to the matter of the better grade of paper and have come to the conclusion that the only feasible way is to have rolls of good paper and use that after the regular edition of the paper is run off. as mr. carruthers of the world said, this would be almost impossible for some of the larger papers to carry out. the eagle could do it very nicely because we have a different system of handling the paper and we shall try to put this into operation beginning with the first of the year." as is well known the eagle is one of the best newspapers in the united states, so that if anyone is particularly interested in securing for filing purposes a paper which will last for years or more he should subscribe to the eagle. miss jane roberts, of newark, n. j., states that she uses a preparation put up by a newark chemist and has met with success in its application. mr. conde hamlin of the new york tribune sent in the following: "i did think of one method which seemed to me would be less expensive than the use of a special grade of paper for the printing of a few copies. that would be to take a fine grade of french tissue paper and after separating the sheets which composed the paper to be preserved, covering both sides of the printed matter with this tissue and a fine grade of paste. this, of course, would make the bound volume much thicker but would preserve the paper itself. "i doubt whether this suggestion is of any value but take the liberty of making it." it was decided that the subject was of sufficient interest and importance to warrant further investigation and the conference adjourned to meet in september. we therefore recommend that the committee be continued. frank p. hill, chairman, horace g. wadlin, cedric chivers. * * * * * the first vice-president: inasmuch as the report of the committee contains a recommendation, that recommendation is now before you for action. unless there are objections, the report will be referred to the executive board for consideration of the recommendations contained therein. dr. hill: mr. president, i hope we may hear from mr. chivers for a moment if he is here. the first vice-president: with characteristic thoroughness mr. chivers has proceeded with his experiments as outlined by dr. hill, and we shall be very glad to hear from him at this time as to what he has found out. mr. chivers: the report you have heard deals pretty fully with the subject, and i think the association may be congratulated upon the fact that the publishers of the more or less national newspapers, who would be required to print quite a number of copies, are willing to do it, but that is not the whole of the problem. the difficulty of bad paper and newspaper files will be felt in the future rather with local newspapers, because only a few copies would be required for filing purposes, and the printer would find special printing too troublesome and expensive. as you have heard, there is a substance called cellit, a solution of cellulose and spirit, into which the paper may be dipped, and thoroughly saturated. the spirit quickly evaporating leaves the paper quite tough. the result is a very satisfactory paper. it is, however, practically impossible to dip so large a surface as a newspaper into this solution. the fibre when wet is too weak to handle; also the spirit in the solution quickly evaporates, leaving a glutinous mass, impracticable to deal with. we understand that oxidation of the paper resulted from the action of light, air and deleterious atmosphere. if the newspaper for filing were not allowed to be used in the reading room but were set aside on the morning of publication, kept from the light and air, and a board or weight placed upon it, and if the volume were bound directly it was complete, very little mischief would happen. again, if the edges of the volume were frayed out and this solution of cellit, which is comparatively cheap and quite practical to use in this way, should be painted upon the edges, you would have a newspaper file which would last for a great number of years. how many, i do not know, but the chemist who accompanied me to the british museum, in conducting the examination of newspapers under the instructions of your committee, could see no reason why the paper should not last indefinitely. we discovered there--because in the british museum there are more newspapers brought together than in any other place in the world--that newspapers which were left lying about before binding were in a very bad condition in the course of four or five years, while newspapers which had been bound some fifteen or twenty years, of the same kind of paper, were in thoroughly good condition, proving that if you could take care of the paper and not allow it to be exposed to the air there is no reason why even bad paper should not last a very long time. the rule should be made as i have suggested it. in the british museum there had been no rule, but the exigencies of the binding shop had been consulted, and here and there a newspaper had been bound quickly, and it was all right; and if it had been left about, as some of them were, it was all wrong. that is my practical contribution to the discussion. dr. bostwick: i would like to ask dr. hill if his committee investigated the newspaper report that it is now possible, or will be shortly possible, to obtain a thin, tough metallic sheet which can be printed upon. it was reported that that had been done. dr. hill: nothing of that nature came before the committee, mr. chairman, but i am sure that at the next conference some publisher or some commercial house will give us that desired information. i would say for the benefit of those who are interested in this subject, and a great many of us ought to be, that there are extra copies of the first report of the committee on the table for distribution. dr. bostwick: i would like to ask mr. chivers if he proposes, in applying the cellit to the edges of the sheets, to apply it to the bound volume as a whole, and whether in that case the edges of the sheets would not stick together? mr. chivers: no. the spirit very quickly evaporates and leaves a coating upon the edge of the paper. last year at pasadena i was able to show the edge of a piece of paper before and after treatment, and dealt with quickly it is not glutinous in any way, and the application is perfectly successful. mr. bowker: i would like to ask mr. chivers if it would not be practical to dip the newspapers by some such process as is used in the development of moving picture films or kodak films. they have rollers which carry the paper quickly through the solution. mr. chivers: that occurred to me, but, if you will remember, i said the substance is a solution in spirit, which very quickly evaporates. the rollers might get clogged up in the course of a minute or two. dr. andrews: has the committee ever investigated the process used by the new york state library for the restoration of its manuscripts which came so near total destruction. the result there seemed to be admirable, but the process might be too expensive. mr. hill: i would say, mr. chairman, that the committee had two or three letters from mr. wyer, the director of the library, but i do not think he mentioned that. he may be able to answer the question himself. mr. ranck: i would like to ask if the committee gave any consideration to the temperature and humidity of the rooms in which the newspapers were kept, as having some bearing on the life of the paper. mr. chivers: some attention was given to that in the british museum. the papers are carefully kept. the temperature there does not vary as it does in america. sometimes it is humid more or less, but it does not vary so much. it is the action, not of the humidity, but of light and air itself upon the paper which produces early decomposition. may i say in reply to dr. andrews that we certainly took into consideration the covering of the newspaper with other paper or some other material, and it is altogether too expensive. the report that i was able to give of the action of cellit meets the difficulty in a better way, and for a fraction of the cost and trouble. the first vice-president: on behalf of the executive board the chair is requested to announce the appointment of the following committee on resolutions: dr. reuben g. thwaites, chairman; miss mary w. plummer, mr. judson t. jennings. the dainty bit of literature which appeared in connection with the first issue of the program and bulletin, bearing the signature of the president of this association, strong and persuasive as it was dainty, renders unnecessary any introduction by the present chairman to the program of this morning. the topics, as you will note, are attractive, they are in the hands of those competent to speak upon them, they grow out of the forceful keynote address at the initial meeting of this association; like the branches from a tree, they are consistent parts of the whole. we will begin by listening to mr. carl h. milam, secretary of the indiana public library commission, who will speak on publicity for the sake of support in every community there are scores of intelligent men--men who are well-informed on most subjects--who do not know what the modern public library does, whose conception of it is what might have been expected a generation or two ago. the word "library" to them means such a collection of books as they have in their homes, or the library they used while in college. there is no thought in their minds of the aggressive, civic and educational force that we believe the american public library to be. these men are not found in any one particular class. business men and public officials may seem to head the list, but there are college professors and presidents, and well educated professional men who are quite as uninformed and indifferent as any others. i could point to dozens of men and women in my own state, high up in educational affairs, and some of whom are officially in close touch with libraries, who do not realize at all what place a public library can hold in community life. perhaps the best evidence on this proposition, if evidence is needed, is found in the recent books dealing with civic and educational affairs. in many of them the authors speak forcibly and unmistakably in favor of the public library, and exhibit a knowledge of current library practice that is gratifying to the library profession, but there are other books--not few in number--in which the writers show an entire lack of appreciation of the public library movement. it is very easy for us to say, when such a condition is brought to mind, that it is the other fellow's fault, that there is no excuse in these days for anybody's being ignorant of the public library movement. perhaps that is true; but, for my part, i am inclined to wonder if the fault is not with the librarians themselves. they have been so busy working out their own administrative problems that they have not taken the trouble to keep the public informed on the progress made. they have pushed the establishment of libraries--that has been comparatively easy--but they have not yet, to any very great extent, created a public sentiment that insists enthusiastically on generous appropriations. there is need for some advertising that will take care of this situation. it might emanate from different sources: from the state and national library associations and departments working on the public generally; and from the libraries themselves, individually working on their own communities. most of the library association publications are professional literature; most of the speeches made under the auspices of the associations are made to librarians and others already interested. what is needed now, if my reasoning is correct, is a publicity campaign that will cover a wider range. let its purpose be to give concrete, up-to-date information about the public library to every man and woman who reads, to every individual who is interested in any way in civic improvement or educational affairs. surely no better way can be found of laying a foundation for liberal library appropriations. one great need is for popular books and pamphlets on public library work. dr. bostwick's "the american public library," is the one available volume of this character; there is room yet for several other publications, shorter, for the most part, and dealing with special phases of library work rather than with all phases. many people will have to read a short article or pamphlet before they will acquire sufficient interest to undertake a whole book. the different lines of library work that offer subjects for popular treatment are many. most of them have been written about for librarians; why can't we have them written about now for the general public? properly printed and attractively illustrated, a series of books and pamphlets of the sort i have in mind could be used to a good advantage all over the country. of course, a good deal of the material distributed would never be read, but the fact that little advertising booklets are widely used by business men would indicate that in the long run they do have a good effect. perhaps the most promising field is that of the magazines, for practically all intelligent americans read some monthly or weekly periodical. some would be reached by the good literary magazines, some by the so-called family magazines; others read only the trade journals, and a few only religious. all together they offer a medium of publicity that would reach nearly everybody. if we could successfully emulate the people who have pushed some of the great movements like conservation or industrial education we should soon have everybody believing that the public library is a live issue. no other movement offers better opportunities for such publicity, for there is no other institution quite so broad in its interests as the public library. why cannot the library associations have a publicity man whose business it would be to get such articles into the magazines, to prepare little booklets such as i have described for the information of the general public, and to do whatever else he can to interest influential men and the world at large in public libraries? this man might also be made responsible for getting library news articles and feature stories into the newspapers. such articles would undoubtedly do a great deal to educate newspaper readers to a knowledge of library work as it now is, but if they did nothing more than to keep the subject before the people they would be worth while. there is also a large field open for public speakers. a publicity man, representing a national or state organization, could make himself very useful as a speaker at public gatherings. he could easily secure a place on the programs of many civic, scientific and educational organizations, and by a popular presentation of the public library's service along the line that particularly interested the members, could undoubtedly make scores of new friends for public libraries. such a person would be welcome also as a lecturer on librarianship at college, academy and high school gatherings, at chapel and convocation exercises, etc. these talks would have a double value in that they would help to bring good people into the library profession and at the same time give information about library affairs to students and instructors. so far as i know, the library profession has never indulged in paid newspaper or magazine advertising. this may be due to the fact that we can usually get all the space we want in the regular news columns free of charge; but i suspect it is due partly to our conservatism, to our fear that paid advertising would be considered undignified. certainly if the newspapers and magazines are willing to print without pay all that we wish, we need not consider the paid "ad." but if it is impossible to secure the desired space in any periodical free of charge, it might be worth while to buy it. the paid library advertisement need not be similar to the ordinary commercial advertisement. it could be modeled after the "talks" sometimes used by large corporations and promoters which are meant to create a sentiment favorable toward the company. they should be done in newspaper english and should, of course, be short and to the point. charles stelzle, in his "principles of successful church advertising," says that "one denomination in the u. s. has made a selection of a group of newspapers throughout the country which print regularly an editorial on some doctrinal or ethical theme and which is paid for by the national body." if it is not undignified for a church to do these things, surely it would not be out of place for the public library. so much for the advertising methods that might be followed by the a.l.a., the league of library commissions, or the various state associations and commissions. by such means the attitude of friendliness toward libraries in general would undoubtedly be fostered and an interest in their establishment and maintenance greatly increased. but the librarian of a public library could not rest on this. the proper "taste" for library expenditures--if we may so express it--in his particular town will depend largely on his particular library and his own methods of advertising. of course we shall all agree that the best advertisement is satisfied patrons and lots of them, and that without the backing of such patrons, the advertising will do little good; also that special work for the special classes who have most to do with tax levies and appropriations will bring good results. * * * * * almost as important as satisfactory service is a business-like administration. the library management ought to be such that it will command the respect of business men. no amount of mere talk about the need for more money or of the wonderful advantages that will accrue to the city in case an extra thousand dollars be appropriated, will count for anything unless the librarian knows how to talk business. in fact it does not seem surprising that some libraries are poorly supported when one realizes that there are hundreds of librarians who know nothing about their library finances, who leave the money matters entirely to the library board. * * * * * unfortunately, the librarians who are ignorant of the financial condition of their libraries, except their own salaries and the fines, are not all found in the country towns and are not all without library school training. * * * * * i know of one librarian in a city of nearly one hundred thousand population who never knows the amount of the library income, for either the current or the past year. * * * * * i know of another library, this one in a small town, that has been running for several years on a very limited income although the board has absolute power to more than double the library levy. recently the librarian, a library school graduate, resigned, because, she said, there was no future. a few weeks later a candidate for the position met with the board to talk things over. she went armed with a p-slip full of figures. she knew the assessed valuation of the town, and the present and possible library income. she knew something about the city finances and whether the town could afford an increase for the library. she had similar figures for the adjoining townships and was prepared to tell how township support might be secured. in fact, she went to the board meeting prepared to discuss the financial possibilities of the library in a business-like way, to tell what ought to be done, how much it would cost to do it and finally, what she would take to shoulder the proposition. of course, she was employed. she was employed at her own salary and on her own conditions, and the board agreed to follow out her recommendations. such a librarian is a perpetual advertisement for the library of the very best sort. his reputation for a good business administration will win the business men, and his knowledge of city finances will win the respect of public officials and others interested in city government. the library and the librarian also need a reputation for being interested in all civic improvement societies and other organizations that have for their business the public welfare. agreeable professional relations with the men and women who are members of these societies will make friends for the library of the best and most active people of the city. the librarian can without difficulty, secure an invitation to address such organizations on matters pertaining to the library and if he is the right sort, he will be allowed to present his cause when he is asking for more money. the librarian who does all these things ought not to have any great difficulty in securing the money necessary to run his library properly. it will be an added advantage, however, to keep the name of the library before the people. we ought not to be satisfied until everybody knows that there is such a thing as the public library and that it is situated at a certain place. the mere fact that a man knows a thing exists will make him approachable when the time comes to ask his support. in order that people who do not use the library may nevertheless know something about it and be prepared to play the part of intelligent citizens when appropriations are discussed, there is need for a continuous series of newspaper articles that will tell, frankly and fully, what the library is doing. these articles should appear as news items whenever possible and should be readable. the librarian who does the largest part of the reporter's and editor's work is likely to get the best results. if the papers are accustomed to getting something from the library regularly, they will be willing to print financial reports and budgets with explanations when the time comes. if for any reason the library cannot get its items printed as news, then the same material can be used in paid "talks" to the public. just before time for making the appropriation, comparative statistics can be used to a good advantage, especially if graphically shown with cuts. they can show the smallness of the library income as compared with incomes of other city departments, the lack of growth in library income as compared with the growth of the city, and the appropriation for the library in question as compared with other libraries in cities of equal size. the newspaper is the recognized medium for all sorts of local advertising. it reaches more people than any other medium and many people who could not be reached in any other way. in advertising the needs of the library, however, where only a comparatively small number of people must be reached, it seems reasonable to assume that the circular letter might accomplish good results. it should be carefully written to catch the attention, beginning with some statement in which the reader is interested, proceeding rapidly to the business in hand, and, above all things, stating clearly at the end, the exact action desired. it is possible now to get up perfect imitations of individual typewritten letters. such letters with the name and salutation inserted on a machine, and with personal signature, ought to bring results. those or actual personal letters are the last word. any man who has in the background of his mind a knowledge of what the library stands for, a good opinion of the library based on good service and continued publicity, ought to be influenced to definite action by a good personal letter. the first vice-president: it is not given to many of us to approach a subject from so many directions as mr. walter l. brown, librarian of the buffalo public library, in grappling with the subject of "the breadth and limitations of bookbuying." his all-around experience will make this next paper one of exceptional value to us. dr. thwaites has kindly consented to read the paper for mr. brown. breadth and limitations of book buying one of the first principles of public library management is that of adjusting it to the needs of its public, by whom and for whose benefit and pleasure it is supported by the municipality. upon this proposition there has been no disagreement, as it is self-evident. questions of general policy arise when we attempt to decide what is beneficial and what is detrimental, just how far we may go to supply books for special and limited use, and just how far we may respond to the popular taste in the demand for the expenditure of public funds for pleasure. the breadth and limitation of book buying should be determined by the needs of the public rather than from the ratings of the books which are being published. we should find the books that are best fitted for the people who are to use them, rather than to try to fit the people to the books which we may consider as the most desirable. the questions so often raised as to the admittance to the library shelves of some books of fiction of doubtful morals or the latest piece of erotic literature seem very trivial when we consider the problems that face us in the broad field of library work. the library is a public enterprise for public good, and not merely a coöperative scheme for the purpose of obtaining cheap reading, nor a bibliographical storehouse. the important question is whether the books we are asked to buy will serve any legitimate end of library service. most of our american cities resemble each other in the exceedingly complex character of their population, each of whose varied elements has more or less claim on the services of the public library. while it is not possible to classify definitely the residents of a city for library purposes, there are certain large groups which we may recognize. in the first place, the public library has to serve, as libraries of all times have served, those who have had all the advantages of systematic education--those in the learned professions and in other walks of life who have had given to them, through college and university training, a wider vision than that of the average citizen; those who have had given to them at least the knowledge of the existence of the store of accumulated thought and of the records of the past. upon these more fortunate ones rests the responsibility, in a large measure, of carrying the torch of knowledge and civilization a little farther with each generation. the public library does not pretend to act as a guide to this part of the community, but it must serve as its laboratory and as its source of supply. a second group which includes a large part of our population is made up of those who have had the advantage of the full course of the grammar school, with the smaller number who have had that of the high school. from this group come not only the clerks in our stores and offices, but men in the more skilled occupations, and also many business men and employers of labor. some of these are existing through gray, narrow, uneventful, toilsome lives, while others take a large and leading part in all that concerns the life of the community and in the moulding of public opinion. it includes men of many creeds and civilizations, prejudices, desires and ambitions; of many degrees of culture and taste, high and low; influenced by very different inheritance, associations and opportunities. some gain through application most of the advantages of the best training, while others not only fail to make use of, but often practically lose the education the city has given them. for the larger number of this group there are great possibilities for good in the means of education and cultivation which are now being provided by the municipality. how may the public library best meet the needs of these people, so many and so diverse? how may it give to those who lack it that which will enliven, improve, stimulate and cultivate, creating not only the desire for what is best in life, but supplying the essence so far as it may be gained from the stimulus and inspiration of books? how may we give others the practical knowledge that is needed by them in their varied occupations and activities? probably the most potential group in our cities is that large one made up of the children of the immigrants. if they can be lifted by education, if their taste can be guided and directed toward better desires, the help which the library is able to give will act as a tremendous force for good. if these children are left alone to indulge in what is vicious and demoralizing in the life of the crowded sections of the cities, they will become a menace to the municipal life. their parents have little to give them. the schools have on an average a brief five years in which to influence these children, but they do send them out with the power to read english. the public library may exert its influence not only during their school life, but if it acquires a hold upon them at that time, it will continue to be an influence for good upon these future rulers of the city. is it not possible, in a small way at least, to cultivate their taste and give them some desire to read what is worth while? the broad base upon which city life rests is still another group made up usually of the newcomers from many lands. a very large number have little or no education excepting such as their toil has brought them. many are able to read their native tongue, but all their traditions and all their lore is that of other lands and literatures. we find that many of the more intelligent among them have brought, in addition to their muscular strength, much that might enrich their adopted country if it could find means of expression. they constitute a danger in our life only when lacking the knowledge of our tongue, our ways and our ideals, and when in ignorance of the adjustment of our government by the popular will, they become the prey of the demagogue. he easily gains a blind following among the ignorant by preaching class hatred and a kind of discontent which is unrighteous. library work among these people should not only act as a safeguard, but may prove an opportunity for some at least to attain a broader life by awakening the desire for knowledge and the ability to grow which comes with the reading habit and the knowing how to use books. the public library has not only to carry out its mission to the individuals of these groups as its part in social advancement, but it has to coöperate in the work of betterment with the schools, and with clubs and "movements" and with all manner of philanthropic and social endeavor. there is no lack of appreciation of this function of the public library and we need not emphasize it any more than the service which it renders promptly and liberally to the scholars and other leaders of the mental life of the community. if we should fail to recognize our duty in either respect, objection would be promptly expressed. the real value of a public library as a municipal institution can be best measured by its service toward building up a more intelligent, hopeful and happier citizenship. it is possible to help the immigrant through the writers of his native tongue which bring him pleasure and pastime. we may even now help him in his material progress in his new home by giving him elementary books in english, from which he may acquire some knowledge of american institutions and american life, and the time may come when we will be able to do far more with great effect by having american books translated into other tongues for this purpose. we need to help by far the greater proportion of foreigners to acquire english, because it is a tool which all must have in this country for intelligent bread-winning purposes. we need to study the race history of those represented in the population, and we should know something of their conditions before coming to america; something of their education and their mental development. many sections of our large cities have different problems in the amalgamation of the population and the library should do what it can to help solve them. a library agency in the neighborhood of these newcomers is a center of real service and helpfulness. no work shows more definite results, or is appreciated more than that which we do among the immigrants and their children, who are often used as go-betweens by the parents and the library. while there are many agencies at work upon the children of the immigrant, the library has a very important place and much responsibility. no matter what the other demands may be, we cannot afford to neglect these children, and we must make generous provision to get them interested in good books through the schools and the library. between the immigrants and their children at one extreme, and the educational institutions and the scholar at the other, there is that very large group of the community made up of the more or less educated people, concerning whose needs and desires most of the questions on bookbuying are raised. this is a reading group. a certain part of it consumes tons and tons of newspapers and cheap magazines, the very names of which are strange in libraries. this is the reading--perhaps the only reading--of many of them, and we find that they go to the newspapers for the stirring and morbid records of crime, for scandal, for gambling news and other sensational matter, and they are reading the magazines for stories of much the same character. such readers crave excitement; they seldom read a book for pleasure, and they have never used the printed page for the purpose of obtaining information since their school days. it seems vital that the public library should find some meeting place with this section of the community. the plane of the cultivated reader has no temptation whatever. one must get down to earth to start growth, and the danger of bending down is far less than that of keeping aloof by reason of too high a standard. it is possible to do this without wholly giving up our demand for good quality, and we may find popular books free from vulgarity and from any pernicious influence, which, if properly used, may create a zest for better books when they are offered. in selecting books of different grades for the purpose of leading readers from the poorer books to the better, we do, of course, put before the readers of the better books a selection of descending quality. fortunately, however, there is little danger in this, for there is a safeguard in the fact that a taste for the better books carries with it a dislike to those of inferior quality. it is well to remember also that even the lightest fiction selected by the library is free from most of the objectionable qualities of the reading indulged in by many readers whom we hope to reach. as we advance in the scale of our readers, the demands upon the library increase. more and more the library is becoming of commercial use. not only men of the various industries are finding use for the recorded experiences and the advice of experts in their own lines, but business men are beginning to find great possibilities in the use of books as time-savers and as a help to efficiency. the use of the book as a tool is becoming constantly greater, and the public library, as a matter of course, is to supply all books which may be so used. it is the plain duty of the public library to make known its ability to help its community in these practical ways. it would seem that wise book buying would result more often through a study of the city rather than from the searching of book catalogs. the public library perhaps more than any other educational institution may receive help from social surveys, social engineering, and the records of commercial organizations. if a social survey has not been made of our city, we should at least ascertain the elements which go to make up its population. let us know the types of people to be reached and their numbers. how many americans of native stock? how many residents of foreign birth? how many children of foreign born parents? what are the races represented--english speaking, germanic, slavic, latin, etc.? what are the social and economic conditions? what are their occupations? what of their education and æsthetic development? these are pertinent questions for the library. then let a search be made for the most attractive books for each group, always remembering that there is a place for sound, clear, elementary books on all subjects, and that these should be duplicated freely. let the business of the community be analyzed. are there textile, steel or wood industries? what manufacturing is done, and what raw materials are used? what of its markets? what of its transportation? what authoritative material may we find on all these subjects, and how may we make it of valuable use? what is being done in our city for the fine arts; for natural science; for the study of literature; for religious and ethical teaching? how may we coöperate in all this work by supplying the necessary books? let there be a thorough understanding of how and where good books may be used, and then let us consider the breadth and limitation of our book buying. the first vice-president: one is tempted to linger over the flavor which has been given to the wording of the next topic, "the open door, through the book and the library; opportunity for comparison and choice; unhampered freedom of choice," and if we do not linger longer on this it is because we know that that flavor will be made permanent after listening to the address itself of the speaker, mr. charles e. mclenegan, librarian of the milwaukee public library. the open door, through the book and the library; opportunity for comparison and choice; unhampered freedom of choice a professor in one of our large universities recently complained that college students of the present day are so woefully ignorant of many things that they could reasonably be expected to know. the exciting cause of the professor's outburst was an attempt to get from his class some information about chanticleer. he was met by conservative and judicious silence until one youth, who was not quite sure, ventured the opinion that it was a popular song sung by jane addams. of course such an answer would irritate a chicago man, and justly too, when we consider that miss addams is what made chicago famous. but the wail of the professor provokes the question: where do all the scholars and thinkers of the world come from? what keeps up the breed? what is it that fills in the ramshackle, ill-jointed, unpromising frame of much of our school product, and returns us so much of fine manhood and womanhood, and so much of the sound learning and ability of the working world? we must, i think, admit that the world is fairly furnished with men and women, intelligent and useful, whom no college can claim. and every college has its quota of dunces who may never be anything else. my professor made no discovery of an alarming decadence, for what he complains of has always been true. we should not be pessimistic about youth, and we must be fair to our schools. they make better what we send them, but they have no science of alchemy. many men and women find their inspiration in schools. but after the largest measure of allowance, it will be conceded that the amount of scholarship and efficiency in the world far exceeds the output of our scholastic plants. there are more of such people than schools produce, and the surplus must be accounted for in some other way. this surplus comes, somehow, from that vast throng who are, in a sense, the forgotten children of modern education--those hundreds of thousands who fall out of the ranks in school days, and yet who persist and find themselves without the help of the schools. it is very fortunate that this is so, for otherwise we might have to abandon some of our weightiest political maxims. the world is governed by proverbs, but as a rule of action, a proverb is as dangerous as dynamite. it is as useful as a club in a political campaign. but dr. holmes was right: proverbs should be sold in pairs so that one may correct the other as a counter irritant. one of the most venerable and mossy of these narcotic saws is that our school systems are the bulwark of democracy. undoubtedly presidents could be elected on this platform alone, if you could find an opposing party foolish enough to deny it. yet schools can be the bulwark of democracy only by a confusion of terms, by which we mean that education and intelligence are the bulwarks of democracy. this we may grant; but we are now speaking of something besides the three r's and things that children learn in school. by education and intelligence, we mean the resultant of many forces acting on one point. we may readily admit that democracies like ours have only intelligence with which to oppose the powers that tend to gather at the center or to fly off the circumference. it seems to me that what we call the education of our schools is a very imperfect instrument for the work it is supposed to do. what do we say first to that fifty per cent of the population who drop out of grammar schools with only the most elementary and inadequate knowledge of the three r's? what has the school given them with which to fight the battles of democracy? it is not only the spur of necessity which drives youth to labor so early. that is undoubtedly one cause. there are also the profound weariness and distaste which come of forever seeking from the text-book page, from the teacher's voice, and from the gradgrind drill for something to awaken the mind where the mind has no interest. germany has been the first to see this failure of the common school to equip the majority; the killing effect of one sort of training for every type of mind. witness the system of continuation schools for those who find themselves after beginning the bread and butter work of life. witness the compulsion of the employer to devote part of the apprentice time to special instruction in the chosen craft. even the unused moments of garrison life in the army are not wasted. everywhere the progress of germany is prolonging the school day in the discovery of aptitude, and in the cultivation of it after it has been discovered. in our english-speaking world we are trying to find the same thing in our trade schools, in our manual training, in our vocational education, in the many things which we perhaps hastily call fads in education. they all indicate a reaching after something which is not now attained; a search for an awakening influence on minds that are now dormant; for something to light the inward eye. in all there is the implication of a need which has not been met. these things are the evidence that the diet of public education is not varied enough to nourish all the children of the commonwealth, to awaken the dormant power for some thing that lies somewhere in most of humanity. "the hungry sheep look up and are not fed." public education has given long and careful thought to those who remain in school. it is just becoming conscious of the great majority who do not remain--the great majority whom necessity, choice, or lack of adaptation of the school to the child drive yearly into the rough school of life. at present the best that schools do for these is to provide each child with the means of self education--the ability to read. but we are to remember that this is only one of the instruments of education; it is not education itself. it is no discovery, and it needs little observation to point out, that with this instrument of reading, the newspaper, the magazine and the book are the potent educators of our day. they are, or should be, the bulwark of democracy. i am not concerned to discuss this further than to show that what we have vaguely depended solely upon our schools to do, is not done by them, and never has been done by them. for the great mass, our schools give each child the one open sesame--reading. there they leave him to open what doors he can and will. before i suffer as a heretic, let me quote a really thoughtful man, thomas carlyle, called by a breezy miss in our last civil service examination "the great english apostle of hope." you remember that, in speaking of the origin of universities, carlyle in his heroes said, "if we think of it, all that a university or final highest school can do for us is still but what the first school began doing--teach us to read. the place where we are to get knowledge is the books themselves. it depends on what we read after all manner of professors have done their best for us. the true university of these days is a collection of books." possibly there is a little something "proverbial" about this, and perhaps it should be mixed with a trifle of mark hopkins on the end of a log. but a collection of books, be it large or small, is a library. that definition still holds, though we may have to include "skittles and beer" after awhile. it is quite clear that this aspect of a library as a distinct and active factor in education has only of late impressed itself upon the public mind. it marks the library as a vitalized public utility, from which we are to expect more than has yet been received. even the best of schools has its limitations because of the inflexibility of its courses of study, and it may fail, often does fail, to touch with any spark of living fire. but the library may provide something for every type of mind. the library cannot create mind or the will and disposition to use it, any more than the school can. but where the desire to feed any mental craving exists, it would be a very poor library indeed that cannot satisfy it in some degree. this power of the right book to supplement the school, or even to take the place of it, is not yet comprehended in any fullness in our public education. but it is just in this power of the book that a library has one of its best reasons for being, and it is for this reason that, when the library comes into its own, it will be a most important factor in education. let us see to it that one door is kept open for those who discover themselves after school days are gone. there are thousands who fail to grasp their opportunities in the way and at the time that schools prescribe that they should. some of these find themselves by living, by working, by accident it may be, or by any of the infinite ways in which humanity adjusts itself to its surroundings. for them the library is a path into fields of learning, into avenues of power that make all things possible. here is the college of our self-educated man. there is no mystery about it. it is the natural result of following the inward light. we know that the better part of education is what we give ourselves. one should not use a single instance to prove a principle. it is not merely bad logic; it is not logic. yet the fact that everyone who deals either with people or with books knows many such cases shows that the experience is universal. one day not long ago, as i sat alone in the office, a lad came in. "mister, do you buy the books here?" i admitted complicity. "will you buy one that i want?" i asked what it was. "chickens." to cut the story short, i asked him to sit down and we talked about chickens, for i am something of a farmer. i found that he had read everything in the library on poultry and was hungry for more. he knew the hen intimately. he had mastered the genealogy, the sociology, the psychology, and the "why" of hens. furthermore, while he was doing time in school, he was also carrying on a successful chicken business on a city lot, from which business he had wrung two thousand hard dollars, which he had safely in the bank. he had already marked down a little farm near the city which would be his as soon as he had "completed his education" in the grammar school, and then he would make the feathers fly. i am glad to say he got his book, and i added another lesson to the many my boys have taught me. what is our concern with this lad? he is a type of what i have in mind. i do not value him for his ability to make money. men make money who aren't worth a cent. i measure him by his value as a producer, by his value to humanity as an example, and by his value to a library as a walking delegate for free and unrestricted choice in books. he is an educated man, joyfully occupied in something which engages every faculty of his mind, which he loves, understands, and has mastered for himself. your country and mine will be the better the more they can grow of that sort of man. he has made good; he has arrived. and to arrive somewhere, under your own steam, is a great thing in life. you might not get the answer you were looking for, but you could not get a foolish answer, if you asked him of chanticleer. lest i be misunderstood, i repeat for a moment. schools must be systematized. they must follow a course of study. unhappily, what is called economy dictates that the young must be herded together in droves, graded by their ability to do one or two things into groups of presumptively equal power, equal ability to comprehend and to labor, and of similar tastes. it is the best that modern education has been able to do in the schools. yet every one of these presumptions of equality is false. in spite of the declaration of independence, no two people on earth are equal except in their right to live, move and have their being. but on this educational bed of procrustes each soul of our anglo-saxon race lays him down to pleasant dreams. alas for him whose mental legs are too long, or too short, to fit the couch! dreams? for some they are nightmares! just because of this narrowness of public education, because of its inability to touch all types of mind, we have that endless procession, out and ever out, from our schools. it is not my wish to take a hopeless view of education. there is no reason for taking such a view. i wish merely to emphasize a fact which has always been true, but a fact of which we are just becoming conscious. the problem of education in the days that are coming is to adjust our machinery so that these lost products shall be lessened. in this readjustment the library will have its place as a recognized and systematic factor in "the greatest business of the state." the open door through the library and the book has a pleasant sound. yet probably the most surprising fact in actual experience is the helplessness of even intelligent people in using books. the address of prof. chamberlain, delivered before this association a year ago, did not overstate the case of the schools. but schools are beginning to meet the issue, and in time they will remedy the conditions for those who are fortunate enough to remain in schools. but always for us will remain that contingent who drop out of school, in days before the school can reach them with this gospel of the book. the school has lost them, and, if ever they find the open door through the book, it will be by chance, or because the library itself opens the door. it rests with us to proclaim our mission to them. of course every good library has always taught those insistent ones who knocked at its doors. but the library has been a passive agent of this education, not an active one. a public library, in my judgment, should be equipped with the necessary apparatus to conduct this work systematically, to propagate its own use, to spread the gospel of the open door among the people whom it serves. if this seems a violent innovation, i beg you to consider it from the schoolmaster's point of view, as well as from the librarian's. here is a great body of people in every community whom other agencies have taught to read, who depend upon reading to return service to the state and to promote their own welfare. on the other side, the library, with the admitted duty of furthering education through the book. does it not rest with the library to teach persistently, systematically, and by every practicable means, how and where to find what to read? the means of doing this is another matter, but for the expediency of it, and the need of it, examine in any considerable community, the roster of the great correspondence schools, and reflect how many people are groping their way out of darkness toward the light. what people pay for, as they do for this instruction, they want; and what these learners get for their money, they should have for nothing in any public library. when we teach how and where to find what to read, the open door through the library and the book will have some meaning for every man, woman and child who can simply read. all the artificial barriers that stand between the reader and his book will go; the barrier in the book itself will largely be removed, and the library will reach through intelligent choice many of those who are counted down and out by the schools: the thoughtful man who has come to realize the possibilities of his work: the one who has waited long to find his aptitude; the timid; the hesitant; the shy and distrustful; the misunderstood; those who see the "dawn of a tomorrow." the procession is endless, and each has his human need, which runs the gamut from utility to the highest joys of life. we talk so much about the struggle for existence that we forget that the best thing in life is just to live. not all reading is for material profit; some of it is for happiness, and that happiness is purest and most complete which we find for ourselves. it is the discovery of one's own light that brings the abiding joy. what man or woman cannot look back to the inspiration of some finding of his own for which he owes no one but his creator? these are the finest moments of life. "then felt i like some watcher of the skies, when a new planet swims into his ken." so said keats upon first looking into chapman's homer. to express the rapture of the poet is given only to the poet. but the pure joy of finding for ourselves some of the true and beautiful with which we are in harmony, is reward enough. whether we look upon our library as a source of recreation, of happiness or profit (and it is all of these) this army, who have fallen out of the ranks in the onward march of education in the school, seem to be our especial wards. to open the door through the book for them is a work worth doing, not as a means of salvation, but as a means of sowing more efficiency and more happiness among men. ours is not the schoolmaster's task of teaching things: it is the nobler task of showing humanity how to teach itself. and, while we speak of missions, the library need not take itself too seriously. the world is not looking to us for the salvation of mankind. when all is done that can be done, there will still be those who will not read, and who will follow the primrose path after their natures. there are many agencies in life that work for good and the library is one, not the only one. our field is clear-cut and well-defined--to extend the use of books. there seems to be a sort of nervous notion abroad that one of the chief ends of libraries is to draw a crowd and put a nice book into every hand. i do not know about all these enrichments of our libraries as i read of them. have books any compelling power over those who merely come into their presence, unless such people love the books or at least wish to read them? of this i have no doubt: there are enough who care to use our libraries, if we can take away that helpless bewilderment which overcomes those who are cast adrift, without rudder or compass, upon a sea of books. teach them the ways in which books may be made to yield their treasures. open that door in youth if possible, and it will be the best possession which youth carries into manhood. but open it sometime, for the real harvest time is when he who wishes to read, reads what he wants. it might be more soul-satisfying to me to hand out to my chicken boy books that minister to more attenuated needs--but what about the boy? is he not better that he finds for himself in the book what feeds his mind? the glory and power of the library is that he who can merely read, may there find what the in-dwelling spirit asks for. it is good that there should be one place in education where there is no brimstone and treacle, no mr. squeers, and no smikes. "for books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as the soul whose progeny they are." the first vice-president: a curiosity which has existed since libraries were first started is about to be gratified. we are to get the answer to the question, "what do the people want?" from miss jessie welles, of the carnegie library of pittsburgh. what do the people want?[ ] if we are to believe the voices in the air the people want some big things, for it is a notable fact that the things most loudly demanded are wanted by a few people for all the people. the socialistic group wants a coöperative industrial system for everybody, another familiar group in no uncertain voice demands votes for all, whether we want them or not, and there is a third group to which our president has referred, the members of which think that they see in universal education a panacea for the ills of state and society. of this group all librarians must be at least ex-officio members while librarians in public libraries must work definitely toward the end which it avows. [ ] abstract. how are we doing this? it will not serve to take refuge back of the statement that our only hope for universal education is with the child. we have a duty toward the adult as well as toward the child, and our aim must be not to get people to read books but to get all the people to read the right books, the books best adapted for their individual development. are we supplying the right books? for book selection, a well nigh perfect technique has been established, but is technique enough? knowledge of books and of technique are imperative but the librarian who supplies the right books to all the people must know and understand his fellowmen. who are the people whom we are to serve? do we perchance throw them into one great group and call them the public as distinguished from librarians? who are we but "the public" to the actor, the artist, the man in the railway office? no, a wise providence has endowed men with a great variety of characters and temperaments, and when environment has further complicated matters, we must try to understand them all. for our present purpose let us group the people on the basis of a taste for knowledge. some people are born with a thirst for knowledge, some acquire a taste for it through early training and environment and some must have knowledge thrust upon them if they are to have it at all. of book selection for the educated in any of these groups this paper does not deal. the subject has been discussed often and well, and while we have by no means reached the point where we no longer need to study how to serve them, the question is not a gravely puzzling one. the elimination of the educated brings us down to a study of book selection for the under-educated and the indifferent in the interest of universal education for the benefit of state and society. some of these uneducated ones may be found in each of the three groups. many from the first two groups come to our libraries and should be served thoughtfully and wisely. in many cases the only indication of a thirst for knowledge is an omnivorous appetite for exceedingly poor novels. if they have already devoured many, their taste is probably hopelessly perverted and about all we can hope to do is to hold their interest and eliminate the yellow horror with its debilitating influence by supplying free, easily accessible books of even the lightest grade found upon our library shelves. this is a very slight advance, but it is a step forward. others of this class if "caught young" can be interested in better literature, and are worthy of our careful thought and the wisest service. there come also to libraries many in whom the real desire to know is awake but still rubbing its eyes. they must not be confused with that class of people, difficult to deal with in every sphere, who seek to appear wiser than they are, and some personal knowledge of the individual is imperative in order to avoid this mistake. they usually ask for assistance in book selection and great care should be taken in giving it, as it serves well the future of our race to help one of these "derive education," as one such borrower has expressed it. and now we come to the most difficult group of all, those who must have knowledge thrust upon them if they are to have it at all. these do not come to our libraries, but we go out to them by means of various forms of extension work. we are inclined to take this branch of work lightly, but it is full of potential good for the commonwealth. here we have the citizen at our mercy, why not see what we can do with him to help the cause of universal education? extension work can be carried on with a small staff, but every worker should be of the best, strong in knowledge of books and of human nature. the book selection for these smaller centers can be based upon some personal knowledge of the individual, and the collection may be made a powerful educational tool. the individual can best be reached through his personal tastes, for the developing of which he does not dream that books exist. this personal work must be devoid of sentimentality. the worker's motive must be a desire for fair play, and he must not approach the people in a missionary spirit. they do not want to be uplifted by a missionary nor surveyed by a social worker. the only spirit in which we can study their needs is the spirit of good fellowship, with the honest desire to share with others what we ourselves enjoy. we can reach only a few of the people who need help most and books can give then only a small part of the awakening and training and broadening that the state desires for them, but our effort should not be gauged by what we can accomplish. we have to thank previous generations for many benefits which result from their aiming high above their power of achievement, and if by personal study of the under-educated we can raise the standard of their reading in the slightest degree, the general standard of intelligence of the next generation will advance in the same ratio, and this the state finds worth while. after this paper the session adjourned. third general session (russell theatre, saturday, june , : a. m.) joint session with the professional training section. mr. james i. wyer, jr., director of the new york state library, and ex-president of the a. l. a., occupied the chair. the chairman: your temporary chairman for the morning has but one compunction in accepting this pleasant privilege, and that is that it inevitably deprives you of the gracious presence of your rightful presiding officer, even though it be only for a few minutes. miss mary e. hazeltine, preceptor of the university of wisconsin library school, will speak to us on the assistant and the book the library movement is no longer a crusade, it is a movement of peaceful education. in truth, the library movement is not a movement at all, it is an achievement. the library has come to be a center of personal interest. people, one by one, are the object of our labors. they are to be brought, through the personalities of those who preside over books, into touch with the personalities that dwell within books. there are many militant movements today, those for universal peace (strange paradox), equal suffrage, labor reform, and for human betterment in crowded cities--great social movements that are being promoted through the vigorous propaganda and the emphatic zeal of their leaders. over against these dynamic social movements, the library operates as a quiet force, at once personal, intellectual, educational, persuasive but powerful, studying community interests, serving community needs it is true, but accomplishing the work through the individual. these other movements will, after their first victories are won, likewise take on an educational aspect, but they will become strong and far-reaching only as people are touched and served by them. no cause can be greater than the personality which interprets it. it matters little how proud the ideals of the leaders, or how great the possibilities of the work itself, nothing can really be accomplished except through the vision, ability, and knowledge of those who have actual contact with the public. technique and method in library work are of less importance than the personality of the assistant, his preparation for the work, his continued renewing of himself in interest and knowledge, his immediate contact with affairs of the day, and his ability to share his interest and information with others. if this be true, behind the library must lie a personal force. this must be secured, first, through the personality of those who labor within its walls; then, through the personalities of the books themselves that are ready if permitted, to answer every human need. the vital connection between these depends upon the person that can stimulate a love of books, or arouse a feeling for their need. are our libraries today manned by such assistants? the plain matter of fact is that we are still over-technical. for petty details in devotion to routine and technique, we crucify personality; we kill the love of books among our library workers, for there is no time to read, no opportunity to make or keep a real acquaintance with books. schemes to induce others to read are constantly being devised, red tape is ever being wound around our system of details, professional duties are allowed almost brutally to shut us out from contact with the best in literature. there are too many meetings to attend; too many papers to write; have you ever been obliged to forego an open-air performance of electra at your very door that would have brought interpretation and understanding, because you had to rival euripides and prepare a paper for the american library association? librarians, alas, take their work too seriously, and too painfully do their duty. "for each man kills the thing he loves, by each let this be heard, some do it with a bitter look, some with a flattering word." the librarian of the older days was a crabbed and positively forbidding guardian of books. then for a period of years--and there are traces of this time still with us,--the library worker had the attitude of the clerk, so important seemed the details of library service. now we are approaching the time when the librarian shares in the spirit of the social worker. the one big blessed thing that we all want to do (and we are all assistants to the public) is to get people to love the human messages in books, for "books are not dead things and do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul whose progeny they were." the only way to do this is to make sure that the person who deals with the public knows books--is fairly radiant with book lore. he should not be a rapt scholar absorbed in his own research, nor on the other hand a spiritless, lifeless, or flippant clerk. within a decade there has come a change in the tenor of most library reports, most noticeable within the last five years. the emphasis is now largely on the myriad things that are done for the public which require a knowledge of books and the ability to use them for people. this new library service can only be carried forward by assistants who know both books and people. the library assistant is now rapidly becoming a constructive social worker and has the most potent spiritual forces of all the ages at his command. but in addition to personality there must be education. this is a primary requisite for an assistant. nothing can supply the lack of knowledge. where nothing is, nothing results. it is evident that our libraries are recognizing educated assistants. mr. anderson h. hopkins in his report to the board of trustees of the carnegie library of pittsburgh, said in : "near the beginning of the report appears a statement of the names of members of the staff, in an arrangement showing the positions that they occupy. i have long felt that this is not adequate, although it is in accord with the custom of large public libraries in this country. a number of the members of our staff have not only academic degrees, but also degrees or certificates from professional schools, and i believe it would be a good plan for us to set these forth in our statement, as is commonly done in the calendars of colleges. there can be no question that the work done by the staff compares favorably with that done by any similar professional body and i believe that it would be well to take this step in recognition of the fact." in the report of the cleveland public library for this statement is made: "an analysis of the preparation of the various members of the staff for their work gives this interesting showing: college graduates, ; partial college courses, ; library school graduates, ." from the report of the boston public library for the following is quoted: "three grades of educational qualifications are required. the lowest grade, which includes a comparatively small number of pages, sub-assistants, etc., requires a training equivalent to a grammar school course. the middle grade requires qualifications equivalent to a high school training and familiarity with one foreign language. the third grade, including seventy-seven of these persons, requires qualifications equivalent to those obtained by a college course, and familiarity with two foreign languages. the proper cataloging and classifying of books and the reference work necessary to aid those using the library also requires in many positions much higher qualifications than those which could be obtained by the ordinary college course." libraries should secure more assistants with academic training, whose minds have come in contact with the many subjects that reveal the past and interpret the present. we must rely on the colleges for the production of such assistants, that they shall come to us already knowing the sweep of literature on the library shelves, already loving books and knowledge, and filled with their power. such workers can not help radiating a passion for books. they will make the library a living institution, a center of glowing personality. of some it can be said: "who reads and reads and does not what he knows, is one that plows and plows and never sows." it can never be said of the college bred assistant who has been fired with the message of books that he is such an one, but rather, he will sow day in and out that priceless seed of the love of books in the living soil of human hearts. because such workers have seen the vision, have walked in its light, they will continue to make books a part of their daily living, never losing the habit of systematic reading, despite the routine and immediate demands of the library. we have said that the responsibility for supplying this knowledge and love of books a part of their daily living, never answer, however, that they cannot bring to their students in four years this literary culture if they do not come to college with some previous acquaintance with books; and that, if the student must study all the practical, social, utilitarian, and commercially valuable things demanded today, the reading of books is crowded out. is not then, the responsibility for awakening the love of books for their own sake thrown back upon libraries, and upon the book knowledge of those that serve within their walls? our book service, of which we have been boasting for many years, ought surely by this time to show results among those whom we have been serving. if the colleges claim that there are few among their students who have any real knowledge of books, should not we count the failure partly ours? and what is the reason? the assistant who has given the book to the growing boy or girl has done it mechanically, has done it as a clerk has done it without knowledge of its message, and as a result has failed to arouse a love of books, a love of reading. the failure is in the library assistant. we have substituted for training in book values, for appreciation of their literary content, for knowledge of their true worth among assistants a mechanical skill in the handling of books. the trained assistant must ever keep alert in himself the spirit of knowledge that is in him. in this same spirit and by this same habit, the reading of trained members of the staff must become a contagion and quicken the love of books in the untrained. the library looks then to the trained assistant to come with a knowledge and love of books that shall be retained as his birthright, and used as a talent not hid in a napkin. library assistants cannot all be college bred. many library workers are recruited locally, among those for whom the library itself has been a university. these make up a large body of the assistants who fill important positions in all types of libraries. for their book knowledge and love of learning the colleges cannot be held responsible. the end desired must be secured by the library itself. first, by choosing for an assistant today one who has appreciated the environment of books; second, by encouraging and aiding him to a fuller knowledge of books through systematic reading; third, by creating an atmosphere of books in which future assistants may grow up. to the average assistant who feels her importance because she is working in a library, librarianship means an ability to do things with the hand, rather than with head and heart. many seek a library position because they think it involves only neat and easy work, having in mind the purely mechanical and technical side, without a thought of its meaning and strength. the line should be drawn very sharply between those who know books, can think about them, and who can express the reason that is within them about their values, and those who only know their outside, their mechanical care, and the keeping of their records. so we find the responsibility for the book shortcomings of even our best educated assistants at our own door. it is said that librarians do not know the great life interests, the pervading charm of music, the thraldom of art, the abiding realities of religion, the solace of the out-of-doors; have never sensed the author's heart-throbs which have gone into the books they lightly handle, or gloried in the transcendent mysteries which lie in poetry. how many library assistants really do read books for the joy of it? in how many has this joy been killed; in how many has it never been created? for these is not the library responsible? some libraries are already seriously caring for the training of their assistants. in the large city libraries positions are filled chiefly from the training class conducted by the library itself where a graded service has been established and promotion depends upon examination. but much of this training, like all library training, is of necessity technical and professional, rather than cultural. many libraries further report staff meetings for general discussion of library matters, while a few report such meetings for the general book knowledge of the staff. from the dayton, ohio, public library the report comes that monthly staff meetings have been held since january, , for various stated library purposes, and that the members contribute anything of interest from personal reading which would be suggestive to other members for their own reading, or helpful to them in dealing with the public. library time is allowed for these meetings. in , mr. dana reported that members of the staff met once a week to discuss library matters in general and to have a report by one of the class on the literature of some assigned subject. among the subjects reported on were, photography, history of literature, french revolution, french history, travel in japan, opera, etc. in , mr. brown, of the buffalo public library reports: "we have done more staff training this year than was possible before. round tables are now held in nearly every department, at which methods and books are discussed. to this we can trace habits of greater carefulness and accuracy, a more comprehensive view of the work as a whole, and happier, better service." in , the report says: "the staff round tables--'the part of our work which keeps us keen and alive' as one member expresses it--have been held as usual. at these meetings methods of work and books are discussed and frank talks upon the best means of helping borrowers are given; but the spirit of sympathy and comradeship which results from meeting together as library workers and talking over the work, its purpose and ideals, is really the most valuable and important result of these meetings." from cedar rapids, , comes the report: "a meeting of the staff has been held on thursday mornings for the discussion of current events and library problems." in : "the thursday morning hour has been given to the reading aloud of poems suggested in dawson's 'makers of english poetry.' some time was devoted to browning and milton. new books were discussed and current events were considered." in : "the staff has taken up the study of brander matthews' 'development of the drama,' and has read several of the greek tragedies. current events and new books were also discussed." in : "the weekly staff meetings have been continued and are most helpful." the cleveland report for says: "the staff round table continues to meet; this year, more than ever, emphasis has been laid upon a broader and less superficial knowledge of books on the part of the staff, and it is believed that some progress has been made in this direction. * * * all this shows a flexibility of mind on the part of our staff which has made them grow with their work. there has also been the ability of the older members to train and inspire younger and newer assistants." constant study is required among those who have attained academic distinction, evidenced in advanced degrees, in record of profound research, in contributions to learned societies and journals, and in published monographs and books. even teachers in the grades must pass examinations to hold their positions, and excel in order to secure promotion. no one employs a physician who does not keep abreast of scientific and medical discoveries by graduate courses or private study; few listen long to a preacher who does not keep in touch with the spirit of the times. can it be that the library profession is the only one in which a systematic progression is not generally demanded? a definite amount of reading should be required of all library assistants. they must not be allowed to stagnate, nor to think that because they live in an atmosphere of books they are exempt from reading. there should be on the part of the librarian a keener feeling of responsibility for his assistants and for their growth in the knowledge and love of books. whether this shall be brought about through organized classes, whether it shall be through weekly reading with required reports, or whether it shall be through the subtle influence of the librarian's personality and love of books which inspires him; or whether it shall be a combination of all these, remains to be worked out by each local institution,--but worked out it must be, unless with our boasted free books, we are to become the by-word and the laughing stock of future generations. we all acknowledge that the assistant is a most important individual. have we looked well to his necessary book qualifications and to his continued opportunities for improvement while serving the library? and have we analyzed what these opportunities should be? we say frankly: first, the librarian is brother's keeper of all the assistants. second, the educated library assistant in creating a love for books, owes as much to his fellow assistants, who have been less fortunate in the matter of education, as he does to the public. third, that the library itself should become a progressive training school for love of books and reading. it is the assistant who has caught the message of books, who has heard the gods calling him to celestial heights, who realizes what robert louis stevenson expressed when he said that he felt like thanking god that he had a chance to earn his bread upon such joyful terms--it is such an assistant who makes the library a place where people want to read. and that is the true library whose books are read. no one has a richer opportunity to be a public servant in all the fine significance of that word, than the assistant to the public in the public library. he may unlock the treasures of the past, for those treasures are committed unto him not for keeping but for sharing freely. this public servant may extend the knowledge of the discoveries and innovations of the present, and thus become an interpreter of the scholar's message. this public servant may match the answering book with the inquiring mind, the responsive page with the hungry soul. this public servant may lead out the spirit of youth, lift the burdens of middle life, may speak solace to old age through the thoughts and songs of poet and prophet, dramatist and seer. this public servant must be a great personality, either an achieved personality, or a personality in the making; this public servant must be a lover of people, a lover of life, and therefore a lover of books. the chairman: the next paper on the program is by miss edith tobitt, librarian of the omaha public library. miss tobitt herself, i regret to say, is detained, but she has sent her paper and it will be read by mr. frank k. walter, of the new york state library school. type of assistants: ability to discern quality and essentials of books and power to give information rather than advice when gathering the material for my part of this discussion of "type of assistants," my inclination turned constantly to another wording of the title, that is, "the value of the book to the public dependent upon the intelligent discrimination of the assistant," so while i shall try to adhere more closely to the original subject than this would indicate, i hope that you will pardon me if i now and then talk on the second title. "efficiency in business" has received so much discussion of late that it is a brave person who dares assume the privilege of continuing the subject, but having seen the statement that "the more books of the right kind are read, the more efficient a nation becomes," a librarian naturally believes that the discussion has no end but may be continued indefinitely, for this means not only a supply of the right kind of books but also an efficient distribution of these books. when speaking of the efficiency of the employees in a library, it would seem that the same general rule would hold as in other occupations, but this is scarcely true. the people who are served by an institution maintained at public expense expect a higher grade of service than when served by the employees of some private institution or business. no doubt, this is because a higher grade of honor or integrity is expected in the occupant of the office which is maintained for the public good, at the public expense, than one which is maintained for private gain. naturally the same general rules regarding adaptability, politeness, industry, and various other attributes should be applied to the occupant of any position but in the case of the public servant only the very highest standards should be tolerated. aside from the public the librarian's first interest should be in the employees of the library. again and again the statement has been made to the effect that the "work of getting the right book to the right person falls upon the desk assistant chiefly," but as almost all of the employees of a library are desk assistants at some time during each day, it follows that all of the employees bear almost equal responsibility. it would seem that the selection of books for the library should have first attention, but books are easy of selection compared to employees, and easily disposed of if not found to be useful, while the assistant must be carefully placed in the department for which she is the best fitted. for taking all of the valuable characteristics of all of the assistants into consideration, there are to be found as many grades of value as there are books in the library. to be able to do the subject of "the library assistant" justice, the writer should have a very thorough knowledge of human nature, a knowledge generally possessed by successful teachers and sociological workers, but not often by the librarian. such knowledge comes from a kind of experience not easily obtained by a librarian. it is more to a librarian's credit to know thoroughly the members of the staff and consequently be just to all than it is to have succeeded with any other one piece of work, because perfect justice toward employees will produce the best work for the library. while the actual work of getting the right book to the right person may fall chiefly upon the desk assistant, the manner in which this is done emanates from those who decide the policy of the library. if those who are at the head of affairs have forgotten or have never realized that the library exists for the people, and that it is maintained at public expense for that purpose, and because of this lack of knowledge maintain an attitude of arrogance toward the people, the assistants will do the same. it is true that an indifferent and unsympathetic librarian cannot always prevent a capable and efficient assistant from doing her work well, yet the lack of efficiency at the head will often discourage capable assistants and will never better the work of poor ones. in a library of medium size having thirty employees or less it is a comparatively easy matter for the librarian to keep in close touch with the work of the members of the staff and by personal effort maintain a definite standard, while in a large library this duty must of necessity be detailed to others. but whatever the means adopted, every library must have a definite standard of efficiency which bears directly upon the service to the public and although a full knowledge of the technical details of the work of the library are without question necessary, a proper knowledge of the right attitude toward the public is a greater necessity and should receive from the librarian much greater emphasis than the technical side. the characteristic most to be desired in a library employee, in no matter what position, is that of the self-disciplined and well trained servant who understands the rights of others and what they should expect of him in his position, and who attempts to respond to this demand. these characteristics, if they exist, are inherent but may be more fully developed by experience. it may be well to try to outline in a general way what should be expected of the occupants of some of the important positions in a library, for the final outcome of the work will depend upon the librarian's ability to discriminate in the selection of the right persons to fill these positions. for the children's librarian, the first requirement is a knowledge of children and the ability to feel and show sympathy and affection without being sentimental. many attractions may be introduced into the children's department but the vital things are to know the children and the books. a mistake in the appointment to this position might be more nearly fatal than a mistake in any one of the other departments, for the ability of the children's librarian to discern intelligently those qualities in a book which are right for the child may permanently settle that child's taste in literature. the future well being of the library often depends upon the wise choice of the children's librarian. a knowledge and love of people may also be put as the first requisite for the head of the circulation department, extending not only to the people who are generally called "the public" but also to the employees of the library. this position may well be considered the most important in the library, next to the librarian and assistant, for from this source the other employees will instinctively acquire the standard for their treatment of the public and obtain their ideas of what is the amount of knowledge of books which should be expected of a desk assistant. the personality of the head of the circulation department and her ability to be helpful and to teach those in her department to be helpful, can do more toward increasing the usefulness of a library than any other one characteristic. the employee given to much detail is not generally a success here. rather that employee who, by strength of personality, leads others to do good work, is the best. the head of the circulation department has the best opportunity of any one in the library for making a direct path from the borrower to the book. scholarship, without question, must be considered the first requirement for the reference librarian, and if the public is to learn to have confidence in the library as an educational institution, no mistake must be made here. but the scholarship must always be allied with the desire to do service. frequently the cataloger appears to the other members of the staff to be so far removed from direct contact with people that it is assumed she cannot intelligently know what the public wants. except in very rare instances this is a mistake, as has been proved by some of our great catalogs, the makers of which probably rarely waited upon the public. it is the ability to put oneself in the place of the questioner, to have a sympathetic interest in the people, that counts, and also to realize seriously that only by means of the catalog can the public have a true knowledge of what is in the library. the same general rules may be followed all through the library. different positions require different qualifications and it rests with the librarian to see that the employee fits the position. if this is not done it will make little difference how good the collection of books may be, the contents of the library will not reach the public in a direct way. the library is what the librarian and assistants make it by their intelligent use of the material supplied. this may all seem very commonplace. if it is, then why have we not profited more by what we already know? it must be granted that many libraries inherit employees who are not particularly well fitted for the place they are expected to fill. the only thing to do in this case is to put them where they will do the least harm. we cannot expect to maintain an all star cast, but by studying carefully the people in the employ of the library the librarian can generally so manipulate things that eventually the right person will be in the right place. the program makers asked to have discussed "the ability to discern quality and essentials in books." for this we must have first the student and careful reader who, through the study of various subjects is able to judge the literature of those subjects. it cannot reasonably be expected that library employees will be able to have a first hand knowledge of all classes of literature, but all employees may become reasonably familiar with the names of the best writers on many subjects and the character of their work. it is by means of the various literary tools provided and the ability to acquire a more general knowledge of many subjects by much reading that the library employee increases in value. in this particular part of the work the library assistant gains more by much reading than she does by experience. it is not my duty to discuss the kind or the extent of the education possessed by those who become library employees. we all agree that this should be the broadest and the most general possible with emphasis placed on literature and history. most of our assistants enter the library training classes at the close of a high school course, and, generally speaking, librarians do not expect more than this because the salaries which are offered will not attract people of higher education. therefore, if an assistant is to learn to discern quality and essentials in books some provision should be made by which this knowledge may be acquired in the library after entering as an employee. just as the librarian is responsible for the attitude of the assistants toward the public so are the librarian and heads of departments responsible for the growth of the efficiency of the employees in this particular phase of library work. a standard of efficiency must be maintained along this line of education as well as personal treatment of the public, therefore it is impossible to emphasize too strongly the necessity of continuing the education of the library employees after finishing the work of the training class and after having become an employee of the library. it can scarcely be considered advisable to attempt to give much practice work in all departments to all employees but it should be one of the requirements of the library that provision be made whereby all of the employees in a department shall learn to know the general character and the value of most of the books in that department. from the library periodicals of england one may gather that there is some rather severe criticism of the assistants in libraries, the general feeling being that a lack of efficiency deprives the public of their proper share of service. i should like to quote from a paper by mr. john bar, which appeared in the library world (vol. ). "if the library would only adopt a policy whereby a guarantee could be had that the assistants in the library would be taught their profession in a thorough manner, i am positive that the now prevalent lament regarding the apathy and carelessness of assistants would be reduced to a vanishing point, because from observation, i believe that the assistant is the product of his environment; he is what the conditions in the library make him. the policy of the library should be to provide the staff with every opportunity for improvement in general, literary, and technical knowledge. in order to meet the first part of the proposal, the time of the staff should be so arranged as to allow a reasonable portion for private study as well as recreation. and in order to fulfil the latter part--that relating to technical knowledge--the work of the library should be so organized as to ensure that every assistant shall, in a series of progressive steps, obtain an adequate and thorough knowledge of all the practical details of librarianship." the people of america cannot offer quite as severe criticism of their library employees as this would imply has been offered in england, but the suggestions regarding further education after entering the library, are such as we might well follow. the second item suggested by the program makers reads "the power to give information rather than advice." this naturally would come through the ability of the employee to eliminate his own opinion and to put forward instead the opinions of those who are qualified to know. here again the employee may, by much reading, become more efficient. there is nothing so offensive to patrons of a free institution as to have unsolicited opinions and advice offered by employees. and yet this is a characteristic of the new employee and is prompted not by conceit but by a desire to be helpful and to please. the best way to be helpful in a library, as elsewhere, is to help people to help themselves. in this as in all of the work of the library the standard must be that established by those highest in authority, and ways and methods must be put forward whereby the assistant may know what plan she is to follow. the ability to be helpful comes by much experience, both personal experience and the experience of others. to quote, "experience is the force which makes life possible ... and books alone give permanence to the facts of experience." therefore to busy people in need of the experiences of others, the greatest help comes by much reading. we may attempt in every way possible to make general rules governing the efficiency of the library staff, and attempt to maintain certain definite standards, both for the sake of the public and in order to keep down the expense of maintenance, but with all this we shall never be able to reach a perfect system, partly because many employees give promise of much, but soon reach the limit of their capacity and cease to grow, and also because of the frequent unavoidable changes. there is some variance in the minds of librarians regarding the place of the library in a city, but without discussion we must all agree that first of all the free public library is a collection of books maintained for the use of the public. in order that these books may be available the employees must not only give efficient service, but they must also have a clear understanding of the public. it has been said many times that a few books in the hands of an intelligent and discriminating employee are of greater value than a large collection poorly handled. the employees constitute the medium by which the books reach the public and it rests with the buyer, the cataloger, the desk assistant, the reference librarian, and the children's librarian to see that these get into the hands of the right people at the right time. it is here that the careful discrimination of the librarian and assistants is necessary. the average library is much too large to be well used by the public and the employees of the library. in most libraries of , volumes there are possibly not more than , which are of real value. if the employees could know the authors, titles, and something of the contents of most of these it is quite as much as may be expected. if the assistant comes to the library with a reasonably good education and something of a desire to add to what she has, and will read regularly of books which are of general interest there is no reason why she should not learn to discriminate quite as carefully in the selection of books for the individual borrower as the assistant who has made a special study of the criticism of literature. no mention has been made of requirements for special positions in a library. this can only be settled after the employee has shown some fitness for special work. as the library is what the librarian and assistants make it, it rests with the librarian and those in the highest positions in the library to decide definitely on a policy, the result of which shall be prompt and efficient service from the time of the purchase of the books to their final distribution into the hands of the people. the chairman: next upon the program occurs the paper, "the efficiency of the library staff and scientific management," by adam strohm, assistant librarian detroit public library. the efficiency of the library staff and scientific management in conversing one day with the superintendent of one of our local industries where the library is maintaining a station, i learned something of the many provisions devised by the welfare department of the organization as conducted by the social secretaries of the company. from my tour of inspection i have a vivid recollection of attractive dining rooms, an indoor gymnasium with an up-to-date swimming pool, office or laboratory for a medical attendant to administer first aid and attend to accidents of more or less serious nature, architectural plans, free of charge, for prospective home builders, a well selected book collection of popular and technical character, presided over by a representative of the public library, which institution also arranges for biweekly noon lectures on popular and instructive topics. on my commending the humanitarian spirit animating the management of the company the prompt response came: "that element enters only as incidental in our policy. it is all a matter of business. we must hold our organization intact. it is important to retain our skilled workmen and we must make it worth their while to remain with us." if it has been found to be good policy to provide for the contentment and welfare of the human units in an organization where, after all, a large part of the day's work is rather mechanical and of fixed standards, how vastly more important it must be to give a close, generous consideration to the happiness and comfort of the personnel in a library system where the personal service is of paramount importance, where the physical and mental vitality is under constant pressure, where improvement in the day's work is always exacted and where the result yielded to the individual effort is uncertain and often undemonstrable. in the case of library service, humanitarian regard should weigh equally with considerations of statistics and output, inasmuch as library work is a service for humanity and its welfare. those entrusted with the management of libraries may well remember the maxim that "as we do we teach," which, applied to library conditions, may lead us to conclude that whatsoever is done to promote the happiness and best instincts of the rank and file in a library organization, will result directly in instilling in the public service, rendered by them, a spirit of sympathy, ready regard of the rights and needs of the public and an eagerness to serve loyally. any library management conceived and executed in this spirit may be depended upon for achievements in what is really _library economy_. i'll endeavor to formulate some suggestions toward effecting such results and i can harbor but feelings of satisfaction, should i be advised later that they have already been practically realized in some institutions. the question of how to maintain and increase the efficiency of the staff might well be approached from two angles, the physical and the mental conservation of forces. dr. luther h. gulick makes the statement, that "there are conditions for each individual under which he can do the most and the best work. it is the business of those in charge of others to ascertain these conditions and to comply with them." we hear so much in our day about scientific management that we may be led to begin inquiring skeptically if its value is not exaggerated in the interests of professional organizers, systematizers, etc. no working chart for computing the energy of a mental effort or for the increase of its productiveness has as yet been devised but none of us will deny the need of a working plan for the day's work. else we drift. according to the new doctrine as laid down by mr. h. n. casson, "there is no such thing as unskilled labor, there is an intelligent method for every accomplishment. scientific management does not mean frenzied production. on the contrary, it individualizes the workman, it means the better ordering of the work for the best interests of both individual and the service. consequently, it provides for recreation as well as for work. it insists that the individual shall not sag so far down at the end of the day's work that he will not recuperate." this concerns not only expended energy but misdirected energy. the day's schedule should be so arranged that work requiring the highest mental effort be assigned to the most fruitful hours of the individual, the work so distributed that each individual performs the task he can best do and is most worthy of his highest skill. pride in the work under your hand, the sense of doing something worth while, generates the spirit of loyalty and happiness which reckons, not so much with the written library regulations, as with the unwritten law of the service to stand by cheerfully as long as needed. during the recent years i spent in the east, it was my privilege to become intimately acquainted with one of the most distinguished engineers our country produced during the last half-century. one day when i had occasion to call upon this gentleman, i was directed to proceed from his office to one of the noisiest departments of his extensive mills. there i finally located him seated on an anvil, watching taciturnly the moving throng of busy mechanics. i learned afterwards that the lifelong habit of this philosophic engineer was to emerge from his secluded office and enter the quarters where the "wheels turn around." there he would in his quiet manner ask shrewd questions and enter into conversation with any one whose task or skill attracted him. it is on behalf of the rank and file in the library world that i draw upon this recollection of an industrial organization noted for its resources and efficiency. invite the confidence of every member of the staff, welcome suggestions, allow your assistants to voice the conclusions their experience and service bring home to them, listen with sympathy to suggestions prompted by loyalty and daily pondering. there are times when we may well forget our official gradings, when it will prove profitable to learn from the members of the crew how our theories stand the test. the question of hours, salaries and vacations can be answered only in a general way. the gauge by which we examine the running of the human machinery entrusted to us should be read with sympathy, and we should set a pace that we can hold the entire day or the working period of a normal life. speaking for our own institution, we adhere to the -hour weekly schedule with provision for a weekly half-holiday. evening work should certainly never exceed the number three in any one week and personally i'm leaning toward the more desirable two evenings a week. where a special evening force is employed the recommendation of course, does not apply. the restroom and the kitchenette are now so generally established as to be past the stage of argument. these restrooms should be well equipped and no niggardly considerations should stand in the way of making them neat, airy and inviting in order to afford comfort and relaxation. the appearance and atmosphere of the restroom should banish the dull sense of drudgery and evoke the gentler side of life. the half-holiday and vacation should be provided, not so much because a faithful servant has earned a rest, but because without it life means living at a low level, with the certain result of deadening one's faculties, ambition and alertness, whereas these should all grow with one's experience and work. certainly a month's vacation in the course of a year is a minimum respite in any professional activity of confined nature and mental concentration. we must consider the weight of the statement made by luther h. gulick that, "growth is predominantly a function of rest and that the best work that most of us do is not in our offices or at our desks, but when we are wandering in the woods, or sitting quietly with undirected thoughts." those who are entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the daily toil of others should so govern that each individual remains "master of his own work and not its slave." just a few words as to the rate of compensation prevailing in the library profession today. in so far as the city of detroit is concerned, the scale of wages now in operation and adopted some three years ago, was based on the salaries paid in the public schools which seems a fitting arrangement inasmuch as our public library is an outgrowth of, and, as to appointment of trustees, still under the control of the municipal board of education. the professional training and executive skill required in a librarian of today make it seem reasonable that his or her compensation should be fairly at par with the salaries paid in other city departments where professional training is among the requisites, such as department of city engineer, city attorney, municipal museum, superintendent of public instruction, principal of a high school, etc. our salary schedule based upon the schedule applying to principals and teachers in our local public schools operates in parts as follows: heads of departments to receive the same pay as principals of eight room schools. branch librarians to receive the same pay as principals of seven room schools. first assistants to heads of departments to receive a salary corresponding with that of assistants to principals of schools. in the same manner the schedule applies to the rank and file, promotions being given semi-annually, based on seniority and service record. that this regulation would apply satisfactorily in other municipalities is questionable, as may be deduced from a statement made by one congressman, who, in discussing the salaries paid the school teachers in the city of washington remarked with blunt sympathy that "the policemen were paid more to crash the skulls of the children in washington than the teachers were paid for putting something into them." to maintain the efficiency of the library staff it is necessary not only to consider the welfare of the individual during his working hours but to provide such material regard for his day's toil that his vitality and enjoyment of life may be conserved by having the means to afford the necessary comfort and social status consistent with our profession. to consider the importance of personal appearance, neatness in dress in our service with the public is simply to recognize the point of view of the library patron whose opinion is worth while, and how are we to exact this showing of "fine front" if we do not defray the cost thereof? it is difficult, if not physiologically unsound, to speak about the mental conservation of the library staff apart from its physical maintenance, but in considering the former i would invite your attention to what mr. p. w. goldsbury so aptly calls "the recreation through the senses." mr. goldsbury remarks, "the importance of our understanding, the wide range of the functions of our senses, the influence of our surroundings and the manner in which they react on our minds." he illustrates his point by quoting the saying that "for horses the hardest road out of london is the most level one. there are no hills to climb and descend, and the tired horse has no chance to rest one set of muscles while another works. monotony produces fatigue; and because this particular road is one dead, monotonous level, more horses give out on it than on any other road leading out of london." irresistibly the moral of the canvas before us breaks in upon our individual sense of self-preservation and our responsibility for the welfare of others. for economic as well as for humanitarian reasons it behooves us to so apportion the day's work that one's senses are exercised one after another and through interchange of duties and tasks, not only one's body but one's mind is given a variety of exercise and impressions. the rotation of duties every two hours in departments where direct service with the public is given, will, i believe, be found to afford some relaxation and wholesome change to attendants on duty, especially so, if the change afford the alternative of stationary position and moving about. we all know how one's mind, spirit, aye, even nerves are affected by objects within our vision, the feeling of depression that benumbs us when our eyes rest on dingy colors and ugly outlines, when we dwell in gloomy quarters or poorly ventilated rooms. architects and librarians will find that the efficiency of the human machinery housed within the library walls will be maintained at its best if beautiful effects in color and design of interior decorations are features of the library equipment, if daylight is abundant, furnishings tasteful, atmospheric conditions invigorating--let us sometimes have even the fragrance and color-play of flowers. the capacity of our senses for higher development is nourished by the stimulus from the outside world which brings to us, often unconsciously, mental and physical refreshment and recreation. the occasional relaxation in the day's work contributes to a reasonable mental and physical balance, even the occasional conversation during working hours may well be tolerated, certainly any undue restriction thereof will do more harm than good. i trust that in siding with the authority just quoted and submitting to you these considerations i will not be charged with implying that "work is to take secondary place." to the contrary:--it is by consideration of the little things, by modulating adverse factors, by dealing in a common sense manner with the conditions surrounding our physical and mental field of daily toil, that we may be able to restore the energy that we expend and not only maintain, but increase, our efficiency. our stock in trade, our best assets in library work are the joy of the work and the happiness of the individual. the response from each one of us to the call for ever more faithful and efficient service will come with a hearty good will if our strength be protected--our altruistic visions given time and leisure to go woolgathering. * * * * * the chairman: it is well known to all of us that the province of ontario has done notable library work in recent years. under the guidance of a corps of educational and library officials this work has been stimulated and intensified. a great aid too in the work has been the ontario library association, with a membership, organization, meetings and committee work that correspond favorably with any other library organization anywhere. the conference has not up to this moment had an opportunity to hear in an official way from the ontario library association, which must of course be numbered among the hosts of this meeting. dr. c. r. charteris, its president, is in the room, and the chair is very certain that the conference will not be content without a few words of greeting from the president of the ontario library association. dr. charteris expressed pleasure at bringing greetings from the ontario library association, saying they were backed by about one hundred representatives from the province. he was sure that all, whether trustees or librarians would return home with renewed energy and endeavor to increase interest in library work. the chairman: as this point, ladies and gentlemen, the program naturally divides, and we are brought to that portion of it prepared by the professional training section of the association. the gavel will be turned over to the chairman of that section, mr. matthew s. dudgeon, secretary of the wisconsin free library commission. (mr. dudgeon takes the chair.) the chairman: those of us who are interested directly in library schools, as well as those of you who are more indirectly, but none the less vitally, interested in library schools, feel that we are fortunate that the next subject, "what library schools can do for the profession," should be presented by a man who has not only seen the inside of library schools as a student, but also, as secretary of a state commission, as secretary of the american library association, and as librarian of a public library, has seen the needs of the library and has seen what the capacities of the library school graduate are to meet those needs. i will call upon, but not introduce, mr. chalmers hadley, librarian of the denver public library. what library schools can do for the profession for nearly thirty years an invigorating influence has come to library work through the library schools. during that time hundreds of young men and women, selected for personal and educational qualifications, have been given training in the mechanics of library work and have been placed in touch with the best library thought. as a result, fewer libraries have been converted into laboratories for experimental work in technique. the library schools have been commended repeatedly by this association and their services are too obvious for comment. in considering, however, what they can do for the profession today, we shall assume the role of the devil's advocate and endeavor to point out how they may serve more fully in what they are doing and what they should do that perhaps is not being done. in the time available we can do little more than summarize. the first library school was founded and conducted in connection with a university library and for several years at least, its curriculum showed the strong influence of university demands. the curricula of the later schools have been modified somewhat, but changes have been unimportant as compared to the traditions retained. these were carried from the pioneer school to those established later with certain general basic principles which doubtless always will be kept. for several years a feeling has been sensed, although vaguely expressed that changes and modifications in library school courses were needed. there have been convictions that the schools were not as closely in touch with certain growing activities in library work as libraries themselves were with growing demands and new fields open to them. these convictions have been most pronounced in the schools themselves. as stated by one library school director,--"in some way, the library school should train its students to meet the vital demands that humanity makes upon all who come regularly in communication with people." the aim of the school seems more clearly realized than the means of attaining it, but efforts are seen in the shifts and changes in curricula. in preparing its students to meet the vital demands that humanity will make, it is evident the schools have concluded this can best be done by additions rather than eliminations from courses of study. the training conducted by the oldest school began with a three months' course which in the second year was increased to seven months and then to two years. another school, typical of several, has never increased the time period over one year, but has so increased the work required that in eight and one-half months, including vacations and holidays, instruction and examinations are given in forty-three subjects, a minimum of three hundred and seventy-seven hours of practice work is required, and a trip of six hundred miles in ten days is taken when some fifteen to twenty libraries are inspected and reported on. in these crowded courses of study, the schools should be expected by the profession to prevent its ideals from being smothered in the stress of technical work. the usual incentive to enter library work comes from a love of books but this love will avail little if it be unaccompanied by a consuming desire that the community also share it. generalities and pseudo-sentiment concerning ideals have invited ridicule, but no librarian, however reticent or how unrecognized his actuating principles may be, can carry on his work successfully without following the vision which vitalizes his professional life. from to the present day, this association has cherished its aims and our schools can do no greater service than imparting those guiding principles that the means of work may not become the end. no institution can create qualities lacking in a student and library schools will concern themselves mainly with the mechanics of library work, which is most difficult to obtain elsewhere. but this instruction may either strengthen or weaken indispensable qualities for librarianship and the profession reasonably can expect the schools to foster such. three related qualities which should be developed in prospective librarians are: a sense of proportion in library work, initiative and judgment. when we consider the importance of a proper sense of proportion, should we not congratulate ourselves that the schools are devoting less attention to a particular handwriting and other incidentals, the insistence on which always seemed to belittle the dignity of a great work. legibility in a medical prescription is more important than on a catalog card, but medical colleges and library schools alike can concentrate their strength on more vital needs. in expecting the schools to develop initiative and good judgment in a student, it is not suggested that students be encouraged to attempt changes in systems of classification, cataloging and other technical processes which have been perfected by the best library thought of two generations. in such a course as book selection, however, after general principles are presented, cannot students be thrown more fully on their own judgment and their practice work be confined to evaluating current publications? their conclusions could then be verified by comparison with selections in the order department. a year's work confined to sitting in judgment on books from five to fifty years old, when these books are known to be desirable through their presence on the shelves, deadens initiative and judgment and makes routine of what should be one of the refreshing pleasures of the work. one of the profession's needs today is more men--men whose abilities would qualify them for the highest positions in any work, and these the library schools should attract. while many of the most useful and talented library workers are women, the fact remains that the demand for good men far exceeds the supply, yet we find an astonishing shortage in the schools. even the school most largely attended by men, reports a decrease since the year . more than one school has attracted so few that the presence of a man is noteworthy and there seem to be schools connected with universities where hundreds of young men are preparing for professional life, that have yet to enroll one man student. should we not expect the schools to supply more men? can they not co-operate with the american library association in presenting the claims and rewards of librarianship to young men in the universities? not only would such presentations interest both men and women, but they would help to dispel many existing mediaeval conceptions of library work which still survive. our shortage in men cannot be due entirely to the financial returns in library work. the average salary of men in that work exceeds the average in several crowded professions, and yet our greatest rewards are not in money returns. men may regard the school courses simply as means to an end, and if so, perhaps the means could be made to appeal more strongly to men. it is rash in these days to compare attributes of the masculine and feminine mind, but may we venture to say women, as a rule, have more patience and enjoyment than men in work requiring sustained attention to details. do not library school courses, as now arranged, appeal largely to the house-wifely instincts and cannot courses be devised for men who never intend to fill library positions where the exercise of these instincts will ever play so important a part in their work as will problems of administration and questions of library policy. we shall admit that all students should have sufficient training in cataloging for instance, to know good or poor cataloging when met with. but personally i fail to see why a man destined for administrative work should necessarily have to do expert cataloging in order to appreciate it, any more than he would first have to write a book before his judgment in book selection for his library could be relied on. * * * * * during the last ten years the library has undergone phenomenal development in its relations with other educational and social forces. today we must co-operate not only with the public school, but with the social settlement, the juvenile court, and various other special municipal activities. the profession should expect the schools to provide their students with a working knowledge of what the relations of a library to these activities should be, what methods employed bring best results and what some of the problems and possibilities are from such relations. and most important of all, the schools should be expected to provide candidates for library work with a proper appreciation at least of the importance of the library's public relations in general. no mastery of technique or high endeavor greatly avails if the library's public relations be not handled intelligently and skillfully. rules and regulations are but the written creeds of institutions in the details of loaning books, but back of all of them are the great unwritten laws and principles of procedure, more important than all the printed regulations in existence. great policies in public relations are being tried and tested today and light on them should be focused through the schools so prospective librarians can see ahead more clearly. questions of relations with the public are confronting all who, in the words quoted before, have to meet the vital demands that come through constant communication with people. in the public service magazine of april, , under the heading "public relations--the vital problem," the following is taken from the president's address before the illinois association of gas manufacturers: "slowly probably, but surely, the majority of owners and operators of public utilities are coming to the realization that the most important,--the most vital subject with which they have to deal in the management of their properties today, is that of public relations. it used to be that the man who could put the most gas in the holders at the lowest cost, or could generate the most power at the electric or street car plant, was the most important in the whole organization. "it is different now. the basis of organization has changed and the man who has made a study of public relations--the man who can create and conserve the public good will is given the reins of control." but should a man wish to make a particular study of the library's public relations before he is compelled to assume the responsibilities accompanying them, he may have difficulty. one school makes provision for special students, but on account of the extra work each additional student makes on the faculty, it is often impossible to enter. admission depends on available desk room and on condition that the regular classes are not so large as to occupy the entire time of the faculty. the theory at present seems to be,--give every student a little of everything he may need, as the process of forgetting what he will not use is easier than the work of acquiring it should he need it. we therefore see men destined for control of large libraries, women planning for positions as catalogers in university libraries, candidates for small public institutions, those who will specialize in bibliographical work--all of them differing in natural inclinations, special preliminary training and professional aims in library life, being introduced to forty-three phases of library work, with instruction in all of them varying from to hours, according to the subject, with at least hours of practice work and a library trip--through all of which the student emerges in eight and one-half months, possibly somewhat bewildered by the process but groping for the ladder up which he is determined to climb. cannot the schools do the greatest service to the student and to the profession by abandoning the plan of putting all students through the same square hole? instead of giving a little of everything, cannot the school give much of what the student will use and nothing of what he can dispense with or what can be got easily outside of the school? cannot the courses be simplified somewhat to permit this? entrance examinations are conducted early in june for admission to the school in september. cannot a study of the history of libraries, the history of books and printing, the reading of library literature on publishing houses and other non-technical work be required of the student during the intervening three months? the literature would gladly be provided by libraries over the country and the three months' reading and intelligent observation in the library by the student before beginning his technical training would be advantageous. three months' acquaintance and observation of the student by the librarian would make his recommendations valuable to the school. but school courses as at present outlined cannot be made sufficiently flexible to provide specific training for specific work. therefore, cannot the schools divide the instructional field between them and concentrate their individual efforts on special lines. this division of work is done most successfully by libraries in large cities. such a division would have several advantages. a man loving responsibility and the management of affairs could secure a maximum of definite training for administrative work and a minimum of work less important in his professional career. a woman under appointment as head of a small public library, would receive a maximum of training for this work and a minimum in the methods and features of work in a college library. one of promise as a cataloger would receive a maximum of technical training made possible through a minimum of time and effort required in studying the problems of a children's librarian. the objection can be raised that neither the school nor the student can determine his future work and therefore a minimum number of hours in as many as forty-three subjects is preferable as a foundation. but in these general courses as outlined today, there is a great preponderance of work in certain lines. in speaking of the time devoted to cataloging, one school director said, "there is, however, much reason for this, as a large number of the graduates become catalogers and many others enter positions where a knowledge of cataloging is essential." we shall agree that an expert knowledge of cataloging is essential in many positions, but has not the large number of graduates from this school who have become catalogers, been due partly at least to the fact that twice the time in school was devoted to this work than to any other, the aggregate equaling the combined hours of seventeen other branches. the fact that one's special training largely determines one's field of work, is seen in another library school where a maximum of children's work is made possible by a minimum in some other departments. the result is that of the graduates of this school, were, last year, engaged in children's work, principally as heads of departments. the remaining graduates were represented in other fields of library work. the division of the field between the various schools would have another advantage of the student. at present, a school's geographical location, or its entrance requirements largely decides a student in selecting a school. but would it not be better if the student's selection were based on what the school could offer in special lines of work. it may be thought that a prospective student lacks the self-knowledge to determine his qualifications for special work. many students have and more should have library experience before schools are entered and these will know their intentions and qualifications. even if an occasional mistake were made, the student still would have instruction in the various lines of library work. in the school referred to before, the graduates who are not filling positions for which special training was given, are successfully occupying positions of honor and responsibility in other library fields. again, the law of supply and demand makes no exception to library work, and with a division of the field, a student could receive the fullest training in the work for which there was the greatest demand. in conclusion, the profession should not expect the schools to turn out finished products. librarianship is not merely a process. it is also a habit of mind--an attitude towards public affairs which seeks activity through the medium of books. but in inculcating the principles toward this attitude, the profession must rely and can rely with confidence on the schools. * * * * * the chairman: the paper just presented, and other phases of the subject, will be discussed by mr. william h. brett of the cleveland public library. mr. brett: my good friend mr. hadley has stated so clearly the problems, the purposes and the difficulties of the library school, and i am so heartily in accord with so much that he has said, that i regret that i must differ from some of his conclusions. in considering these questions we must bear in mind that a majority of the students are in schools giving only a one year's course, and only a minority are so fortunate as to be able to attend the schools giving courses of two or more years. now, the problem and the difficulty in a one year school is to arrange a course of study which shall be best for students entering school with widely differing preparation, some with, others without, library experience, and with differing aptitudes, abilities, ambitions and plans for the future. to arrange a course which will best meet the needs of such an aggregation of students is a serious problem. the criticisms on the work of the schools in the paper, seem to be mainly, first, that too much of the routine work, the technical work, is unnecessary for those who may be so fortunate in the future as to fill administrative or other important positions, in which they will not need to do such work, and that routine work of that sort tends to deaden those more important things, sense of proportion, initiative, judgment, ability to deal with the larger problems of life. while i fully agree as to the importance of these things, i believe there is little occasion to fear that a solid technical course will lessen these qualities in any one who is so fortunate as to have them in any eminent degree. it seems to me that those qualities are rather the gift of god to their fortunate possessors than the work of the library schools. my own conviction is that whether it be had in the first year of one of the larger schools, or in a school giving a one year course, a definite, solid basis of technical training is an absolutely essential foundation for good library work. i believe that any specialization in library work should be built on such a foundation, just as specialization in law, in medicine and in the technical professions, is based on a general professional training. we should have, i think, in our library training, the opportunity for specializing when the students are ready for it, but i believe that whatever position one is to occupy, whatever work in the library one may be fortunate enough to do, the solid, general training of one year in a library school is none too much as an introduction and basis. so that i believe that specialization in a one year course is not desirable, even if it were practicable, which it is not for at least two reasons: the time is too short and the expense too great. such a suggestion reminds me of something which i heard president eliot of harvard say once upon a time at a meeting of school superintendents, on the subject of enriching and broadening the course in grammar schools. he argued in a very strong and interesting way for greater freedom for the brighter child to pass along more rapidly by means of special instruction. it was answered in various ways by the school men, but to me the answer was very clear, namely, that what harvard university, with one instructor for eight or nine students, could do is not practicable in grade schools with one instructor for fifty students. so any attempt to specialize in a one year course would require an increase of cost for instruction greater than the result would be likely to justify. an important co-operation has been at various times suggested and discussed as follows: if the courses of the one year schools could be so closely approximated to the first year's work in the larger schools that students having completed the one year's course might afterwards, if able to meet the requirements, complete their work, specializing, if they chose, in the second and third years' work of the larger schools, this would seem a perfectly feasible and desirable thing. another co-operation which i think would be of great value might be arranged with the colleges if they would give credit for work in the library school. a large part of the work in the library school, such as book selection, the subject headings, classifications, the use of reference books, and some other subjects, have a definite and high educational value, equal i believe, we may fairly say, to that of the average value of the college curriculum. if the college would be willing to give credit for a fair share of this work, the student might by some overtime work, graduate from college and from a library school giving one year courses, in four years, or by adding another year, from college and a two year library school. this would, of course, require co-operation through the course. in one instance such a co-operation has been planned and will be put into operation, the college proposing to give a credit of six-tenths of one year for one year's work in the library school. the initiative in that case came from the college. it is true as we all know that we are trying to secure for the service a preparation in college and in library school which is out of proportion to the salaries paid. this is the inevitable condition of a new profession. adequate recognition will not be given to a profession until it has by long service demonstrated its importance, nor will individual members receive adequate salaries until they prove their efficiency. this is as true in the library as it is in business. in business salaries are usually based on the proven value of services already rendered. no young man in a mercantile house is likely to receive a salary in larger than he has shown his ability to earn in . in other words, the man or the woman who grows in business relations must keep the work ahead of the salary. keep the work away beyond the compensation and the compensation will follow it along even though it may not overtake it. to bring about the best results the library schools should co-operate with each other and with the colleges to bring up and maintain high standards and to insist on a good, solid, general and technical foundation, upon which specialization may be built. the chairman: i am not sure but that there should have been a second paper, upon the subject of "what the library schools can not do for the profession." i wonder if it has ever occurred to you that a medical school confines a student for four years before he is permitted to go at large. i wonder if you have ever put to yourselves the question, how many medical students, in their first, or second, or third, or fourth year after graduation, you have been ready to employ in vital matters in your own family. i am quite sure that were any of the young ladies here seeking to employ a lawyer in a breech of promise suit against any of the young men, they would not go to the law graduate in the first year of his experience. it seems to me, therefore, that it is not surprising at all that we do not find in the library school graduate, during the early years of his actual work, all the business ability, the diplomatic qualities and the personality, book knowledge and tact that we might expect. we cannot do everything in one year, i think we all agree. what we do wish to know, and what we welcome very definitely, i am sure, from the standpoint of the schools, is that you let us know, in any way possible, what we can do that has not been done. the discussion will be carried on further by mr. edwin h. anderson, of the new york public library. mr. e. h. anderson: i find myself in such general agreement with mr. hadley's excellent paper that i fear i can do little to stir up interest by discussion. his point that in the first library school the influence of the university library was too marked and that university demands have had too much influence on the curricula of all schools, seems to me well taken. it is only natural that it should be so; but since most of the schools are now directly connected with, or closely related to, public libraries, i think their courses of instruction are more and more losing the marks of university influence. this influence should still hold with the schools connected with universities. but these schools, it seems to me, should frankly specialize and prepare students for university library work. mr. hadley very properly emphasizes the need for more men students in the schools. i am sure all the existing schools are glad to have as many good men as they can get. the difficulty seems to be to find enough men of the right sort who are sufficiently interested in library work to take a course of formal training for it. if the schools could, as mr. hadley suggests, coöperate with the american library association in presenting the claims and rewards of librarianship to young men in the universities, i think the results would justify the effort. i would suggest therefore that the a. l. a. committee on professional training consider this suggestion and arrange to act upon it as soon as possible. there is a crying demand for more men from the schools. the only remedy for the present condition is to induce more men of the right sort to enter the schools. mr. hadley has suggested one method of accomplishing this. another and more direct method is for librarians themselves to call to the attention of young men of the right sort the opportunities which the schools open to them for professional library work. i think the heads of the schools will agree with me when i say that in general their best students are those who are sent to them by librarians. now if these same librarians would make a special point of urging upon educated young men the advantages of the school training, both the schools and the profession would profit by it. nothing is so effective as personal suggestion and explanation; and a librarian who likes his work should have little difficulty in arousing the interest of university men of his acquaintance who are not attracted by the older professions. mr. hadley seems to think that much of the instruction in the schools at present is wasted upon one "destined" for administrative work. the difficulty is to tell when a man or a woman is destined for work of this sort. the inclination for it is not always accompanied by the necessary qualifications. how are we to determine who is destined for administrative work and who for work of another sort? a student might enter a library school expecting to prepare for administrative duties and find after a term's study that he preferred, or was better fitted for, some other kind of work. personally i can say that few of the things i studied at the library school have proved useless to me in administrative work. mr. hadley makes one suggestion which has often been under discussion in library school alumni associations, and which i happen to know was very seriously considered by the faculty of one library school some five years ago. this suggestion is that the schools provide courses of instruction in general library administration for those who look forward to administrative positions. most of the schools have lectures each year from librarians of various sorts of libraries--large, small, public, university, etc.,--in which they are asked to tell in general terms how their libraries are administered. the question is, can the schools go further than this? is there a science of administration which can be taught? the qualities needed for administrative work, library or other, are the gift of the gods, not of the schools. the schools can give the students a firsthand knowledge of the various phases of library work, and this is important. but they cannot give breadth of view to a mind naturally narrow; nor can they endow the student with personal force and poise, tact, _savoir-faire_, sympathy, a sense of justice,--in a word with gumption. now a course of formal instruction in administrative gumption is one that no librarian with any gumption would attempt to give. the whole school of life is devoted to this course, and few degrees are conferred. he would be a god-like instructor indeed who could impart to his students the gifts of the gods as developed and perfected by the great school of experience. anything less than the thunders of sinai would be an inadequate introduction to such a course. what i am trying to emphasize is that the essential qualities for administrative work are too general and intangible to be taught formally in any kind of school. the schools cannot give their students a knowledge and love of books; these, for the most part, they must bring with them. neither can they give them a knowledge of life. are they not, therefore, by the very nature of the case, restricted to teaching chiefly the technique, i had almost said the mechanics, of library work? a knowledge of the technique is necessary to the administrator; but the ability to make the best use of this technique is a natural endowment developed by experience and environment through the course of years. have we any right to expect a library school to provide more than a small part of that experience and environment? are we not asking of the library schools what no other profession expects from its special schools? do we get our bankers from business colleges, or the managers and presidents of our railroads from schools of engineering? some one has said that knowledge is the material with which wisdom builds. the library schools can impart a knowledge of library methods. they can hardly teach the wise use of those methods. they can suggest and illustrate it; but courses of instruction in administrative wisdom are, i fear, an iridescent dream. the chairman: this subject is open to discussion if there is any one who feels moved to contribute to our wisdom. mrs. elmendorf: mr. chairman, may i put in one straw from the outside world to show that other technical concerns are taking up this point of view also. one of the great universities is about to establish a technical school. they have called to the aid of the faculty three men very high in the technical world, all of them having attained great practical success. those three men have agreed in recommending to the faculty that they reduce the technical hours in the schools, as compared to other technical schools, and devote more time to the humanities. dr. bostwick: may i say just a word from the standpoint of one who is interested in the product of the library school, as making use of that product? i do not think this point has been alluded to at all this morning, which is my excuse for intruding it upon you for a moment. i want to emphasize the value of library schools as selectors, which it seems to me is very great, transcending even, perhaps, their great value as trainers. i know a great many persons who use library school students, who, if they were asked why they preferred one library school to another, would say it was not because the training in that school was so much better, or because the instructors in that school were so much better, but simply because they always got better people from that library school. why? because those persons, who exist in great numbers, who are congenitally unfit to become librarians, are not allowed to get into such schools, and, if they do, they are not allowed to graduate. consequently, if you choose graduates of those particular schools you are always sure of getting good persons. therefore, i regard the selective function of a library school as extremely valuable. no matter how good the training you give, no matter how good the instructors you have, if you allow people in your schools who are unfitted for library work, your product will be worth little. * * * * * miss rathbone: the cap that mr. hadley has constructed, fits so well that i could not forbear putting it on. i want to assure you all, however, that its conical shape is not the result of inheritance but of evolution. the curriculum of the particular school i have the honor to be associated with has been a growth, and a growth very largely made up from suggestions, the solicited suggestions, of its own graduates who have worked in the library field. subjects have been added, others have been omitted, others have been reduced in time given to them, according as our students have found in their practical work that they needed things they did not get, or that certain things that we gave them were not of the greatest practical value. again and again we have sent out circular letters, and have requested in personal interviews, the frankest possible criticism from our graduates of the preparation that they received in the school. i have seen a great many such letters, and have talked with a great many people. i must confess, however, that i have never yet had the criticism from any of the graduates that too much time was devoted in the school curriculum to cataloging. that criticism may come, and when it does we shall be glad to meet it, but i have not yet happened to receive it. * * * * * one other point i want to make, and that is that i think the libraries depend upon library schools for general assistants. that is one reason why a one year school, i think, should give all of its students experience in all of the different departments of library work, because, though after they go out into the field, some become catalogers, some children's librarians, some reference librarians, and a few, administrators of large libraries, the average graduate that goes out, three-fourths of our product certainly goes at first into a public library as a general assistant. the heads of such libraries want assistants who can go one week into the children's room; who, if a shortage occurs in the reference room, can be put there; and if in the meantime the work has piled up in the cataloging department, can be transferred from the children's room, or the reference department, to that department. i think that kind of all-round instruction, and the flexibility that results from it, is one of the most valuable assets that the trained librarian can take with him into general library work. dr. hill: mr. chairman, in the first place, i would like to ask mr. brett if he will give us the name of the college which is allowing the library course to be taken as part of the rating. mr. brett: it is the college for women of the western reserve university of cleveland, and the school that co-operates with it is the western reserve library school. dr. hill: in the second place, mr. chairman, the note in mr. hadley's paper which attracted and arrested my attention, related to men, naturally. now, i want to say that as mere men we are not afraid of anything, we are not afraid that we are going to be crowded out of the library profession by our women friends, but we are looking around to see that we do not get crowded too much; and this subject of bringing into the profession more men and better men--although i would say to the ladies that there are a good many good men among us still available,--was taken up by the american library institute last fall, and presented very clearly by dr. dewey. he said in a paper which was submitted to the institute that it was the duty of the american library association to interest the universities so that the work of our association might be brought to the attention of the students, and that we ought to arrange to have lectures given by librarians at the various universities. i became interested in this subject and last winter, talking with a president of one of the eastern universities, asked if such lectures would be acceptable. he said that he would be very glad as president of that university to extend an invitation to the library association to send representatives there to place before students the advantages of the library profession, and to carry on a course which would enable interested students to direct their work along library lines. he said, further, that he had no doubt but what every college and university in the land would welcome such co-operation. such being the feeling of the president of one university, it seems to me that it is time for the committee named by mr. anderson to take some active measure to have the country divided in such way that librarians in the neighborhood of the various universities will arrange to lecture before the students. i think the matter should be given immediate attention. miss kelso: mr. chairman, i have made a study also this last winter, not with college presidents, but with certain members of the graduating class of columbia university and harvard university. in the dogma expressed here it seems to me you treat the university graduate, who has had four years' earnest study, as if he were in kilts, and the girl in short skirts. those men and women have wrested from the college tradition the right to say what they are going to do, in their junior, if not their sophomore year, and to come out after their graduation from economical and sociological courses and to be presented to the curriculum you have, is little short of absurd. go to the professors at the head of the economics departments of our universities, men or women, and they will tell you that their students have known for two years what they were going to be. i know several undergraduates that, before their graduation, had opportunities of national importance, as executive secretaries, to go in and organize a national office. to ask those fellows, who have been taking volunteer practice work, as numbers of them do, in health department work, in tuberculosis and a thousand and one things, to go and take up this library school curriculum,--they will not. bring an undergraduate who is in his senior year to talk to you; go to the professor at the head of one of these departments and ask him to send you a young woman or a young man to talk to you about what the aims of their classes and fraternities have been. i do believe there is a way out, and that is to admit frankly that the library schools can select, as dr. hill has well said, and send students to the libraries for the trying-out process, and above all to have the library association show very much more interest and attention to what the library schools are doing. and i can say to you, as an old librarian, that you are reaping what it seemed to me was a whirlwind sowed some years ago. for a long time past, and when we first had the schools, we shut the door on the possible entrance of politics into libraries,--a very serious menace, as we all know. we all rushed forward and talked about the library school, and if a community had a man or woman who could fill the place, who had special literary ability, had been well educated and was proved to have some executive ability, we all roared, "you're lost if you don't take some one who has gone through a library school training." you know we did. and the poor old committee succumbed and got a library school candidate. we cannot prepare librarians unless we relate them to the great field of human endeavor and social affairs to which the library belongs, if it is used in a proper way, and we must find other means in the library association to evolve some system to afford the trying-out process. mr. walter: although we get at the matter from different points of view, i am quite certain that miss rathbone, miss kelso and i are in exact accord on some points. one is in the recognition of the real responsibility for the curricula of library schools. the library school courses are what they are because the libraries want them so. miss kelso may probably not be quite so familiar with the special demands of libraries as those who are on library school faculties are. a great demand exists at present along two lines. the most frequent demand, i think, is for college or university graduates, who are masters of every branch of library technic, and who possess as well a wide and extensive knowledge of all subjects, which will make them valuable in varied lines of work and in different departments; in other words, universal specialists. this demand comes repeatedly from the smaller libraries and not infrequently from the larger ones. the library school is forced in many ways to make a concession to that demand and to teach many things rather than a few specialties. i am not sure that the concession is always as great or as harmful as has been asserted, and one reason why i am not so sure of this is because i have been studying the curricula of several schools of philanthropy (whose practical character has just been commended) in order to make some improvements in a proposed course in the institution with which i am connected, and the differences in the general plans of the two kinds of schools are so far from being radical that we have been able to take over many of their specialized ideas and put them in our curriculum, with so little change that i defy you to find where the joints are. another demand is for real specialists to put in charge of special departments of large libraries. i believe that demand is growing. but you must remember, if you are going to have them, that two things are necessary. if you want specialists trained in different subjects, you must give them time to get their training and you must pay them enough to attract them and to keep them when you get them. in an engineering school you have lengthy courses full of engineering technic, because you demand engineers. no good school would cut out that technic simply because you needed an engineering student in your technology department and couldn't afford to wait or to pay for a graduate. why should we have to stop doing what experience, and the experience of years, has proved necessary, what most of the people who go out of the library schools say is necessary--why should we cut out general subjects simply because of a temporary or limited demand for short-cut semi-specialists? you do not give time to prepare specialists. you are prone to send in a letter on saturday saying you must have a man in charge of a special department next tuesday, that he must be a graduate of one of the best technical schools of the country and that he must also have a thorough knowledge of library technic. at present i do not believe there is enough demand for those people to attract many of them, because, these specialists, in most cases, are obliged to come into general library work and to keep in general work until the special positions for which they are particularly fitted become vacant or are created. i believe thoroughly in the missionary spirit. i believe every librarian ought to have in him the spirit of st. francis, to enable him, if need be, to go barefoot and get along with almost no food at all, but i do not believe in the right of the public to demand that he work for a salary so small that he must wear the habit and eat the food of st. francis. if you expect to find these exceptional men you must pay for them and have places ready for them. you cannot expect the impossible. the question of technic is a serious one but it is not going to be solved entirely by omissions and short-cuts. i might also say that the institution with which i happen to be connected depends very largely, so far as the changes in its curriculum are concerned, on the suggestions of the people who have gone out from the school and who are working in libraries, and it often plans its courses in accordance with what they suggest, as the result of their own experiences. what is more,--and i am not speaking for ourselves only, for similar conditions exist in other schools--in this way we have (among others) the experience of more than thirty men and women who are at the head of libraries in cities of the united states in either the first or the second class. mr. josephson: it may well be that the present library schools cannot train both librarians and assistants; and perhaps, in consequence, we must have two kinds of school, one school for assistants and one for librarians. however that may be, either school must teach bibliography, and by that i mean the knowledge of the records of books and the art of describing books, so that the one who reads the description may know what the book is. description includes, of course, not only cataloging but classification and annotation as well. i would like to supplement mr. strohm's paper in one particular. i think it would be well if chief librarians would do something to encourage the continuation of professional studies among the members of their staffs, particularly among the younger members, both those who come from library schools and those who do not. we cannot expect them to study too hard after a full day's work, but i think in most cases we would find that such encouragement would be appreciated. the assistants who are ambitious to go forward would be willing to spend a couple of hours a week on further studies, and it might not be entirely out of the way for the library to allow some time for such work. mr. george: it seems to me that in our discussion today a means of practical relief has been missed by each of the speakers, and that is that the ordinary, customary method of universities be adopted by these library schools, and instead of attempting in a year's time to issue a diploma of doubtful value at best, as representing anything in particular, they should adopt the certificate plan, and allow their course to extend over a sufficient time to guarantee something; have their courses divided up in such a way that a certificate will represent something definite to those of us who want to use library school students. it seems to me in that way we can get some practical value from the schools and get efficient aids and assistants in the library service. the great difficulty about the whole thing is that most library school graduates lack a sufficient background and there is not time in one year's course, naturally, for them to acquire anything of that kind, or an experience that can be of practical value to us. i merely throw this out as a practical hint, because i have been waiting for it to come from some of the speakers. by having a certificate covering part of the ground, either cataloging or some other branch of library service undoubtedly we would be perfectly willing to recognize that as an authoritative guarantee from the schools, rather than a diploma that, as i say, is doubtful at best as representing anything, because of the varying courses and requirements of the different schools. at the conclusion of this discussion the session adjourned. fourth general session (monday, july , : a. m.) =dominion day program= dr. james w. robertson, c.m.g., took the chair, on behalf of the ottawa local committee, and called the meeting to order. the chairman: your president has in her genial and successful way insisted that the acting chairman of the local committee should preside on this occasion. of most men one might say when they are forty-five they are middle-aged and mature. this is the forty-fifth anniversary of the birth of this dominion; and canada is still but a youth, a sturdy, growing, promising youth among the nations. she is a people of great heritages, of lofty aspirations and of fine ideals, and she has in sir wilfrid laurier a son worthy of herself. he will speak to us this morning. sir wilfrid laurier:[ ] though i have no claim whatever to be here on this present occasion, still if my presence on this platform can further convince our american visitors how welcome they are amongst us, i can assure them that i would have traveled many and many a long mile to swell the greeting with the seal and hand of the canadian government and the canadian people. welcome you are, not only for the good work in which you are engaged, not only for the intellectual labors which are your daily vocation, but also because whenever you cross our borders, and whenever the canadian members of this association cross your borders, you and they are real missionaries of peace, apostles of civilization, and those visits tend further to improve our relations, to dispel old prejudices and to make us appreciate the blessings of the peace which hath prevailed between your country and my country for nearly a hundred years. [ ] printed only in part. may i take advantage of the present opportunity to remind you of the fact, which has been twice already brought to your attention, that today is the national holiday of canada. we celebrate our national holiday on the first of july, you celebrate yours on the fourth of july,--but the resemblance goes no further. the day you celebrate on the fourth of july recalls the fact that your forefathers wrenched and violently tore asunder the tie which had bound them to the motherland. i think i can call upon your memory to confirm that history attests that this step was not taken lightly, that it tore the heart strings of many and many of those who signed the declaration of independence, but that it was forced upon them by the vicious policy that was followed toward the colonists by the british government. our history is a very different one. the day that we celebrate in canada recalls no violence. on the contrary we celebrate the day when the authorities of england, king, lords and commons, delivered unto us a charter of union, of liberty and of local independence. thus at the very start our courses were cast in different directions. you are a republic, we are a monarchy. we have kept the old monarchy of england. as to the merits of respective forms of government, republican institutions or monarchical institutions, i would not say a word on this or any other occasion, because this has always seemed to be an idle speculation. we know that the form of government is after all a matter of indifference; we know that there must be a virtue in republicanism, and we canadians are here to testify that in the monarchy of england there is as ample liberty as there is in any part of the world, not excepting even the american republic. proud as i am to say that you have your democratic institutions, we are blessed with institutions more democratic, and we have what abraham lincoln called the government of the people, by the people and for the people. i do not mean to say by this, ladies and gentlemen, that the people never make mistakes. i speak for my country, not for yours. but speaking for my country, i would say that at that we must not be surprised nor angry, because it is an attribute of mankind, after all, to err. though, ladies and gentlemen, as i have told you, our lots have been cast apart, though you are one country and we are another, still, after all, we can say with some pride that we have been friends, and better friends we ought to be. men there are in this country, i am sorry to say, who are rather afraid of you american people. they believe that you have some hostile design upon us; and some of your men have perhaps harbored that thought themselves. but if these views are scattered amongst some of my countrymen, they have not at all scared me; i have no fear at all of the american people. i am not afraid of contact with you. i would not be afraid to trade with you, to sell to you and buy from you, because i believe that after all, proud as you have reason to be of your own nation, we canadians are just as good as you are. but, if we cannot trade, if we cannot sell and buy,--and i would not enlarge on this, because i would perhaps trespass on politics,--if we cannot trade and buy from one another, at least we can exchange ideas, sentiments, principles, and this is the very thing which you have been doing in canada during this last week. to this nobody can object. ideas and principles can travel freely across the line, and i believe that everybody would be all the better for this interchange. so i have no fear whatever that there should be an absorption of this country by your country. and may i say what is my own ideal? it seems to me that there is a greater future for canada, and for the united states. you have your problems and we have enough of our own problems. we can afford to share the continent and we can be, you americans and we canadians, the pioneers of a new civilization, a civilization representative of the twentieth century. we can give to the world this example of friendship without hesitation and with perfect confidence in one another. the bane of europe today is militarism. all the nations of europe are distrustful of one another; they spend one-half their income for war, in military preparation one against the other. thank heaven, on this continent, we never think of war with one another. we have the longest frontier that separates two nations, and i thank god there is not a fortress to be found upon it, nor a gun nor a cannon to frown across it. this is the example which we give to the rest of the world. it is certainly an achievement of which we have every reason to be proud; and when you, ladies and gentlemen, come over to our country, as you have, you are further instilling the truth of that sentiment, and my last word to you will be, as the first. come again, come often, and the more often you come the more cordial and warm will be the welcome. president elmendorf: i am quite certain that this audience would be unwilling that some reply should not come from itself. may i ask mr. r. r. bowker, whom i see in the box, to reply for the audience? mr. bowker said, that as he rose to propose on the part of the united states members of the american library association a vote of thanks, he wished to express the equal gratification of our fellow members that we have received the hospitality, so unbounded, of the administration of canada, and especially that we had been thus welcomed by the man whose presence personifies and whose name is a synonym not only for his own party but for united canada. he said the united states members took only one exception to what he had said, and that was that they used the word "american" in a broader sense than he. the american library association means, not the united states, not canada, but both. we have no united states library association. we may almost hope that there shall be no canada library association, but we hope that ontario, with its library association, will be the pioneer to lead its sister provinces into the fellowship and affiliation in which our other associations stand in the american library association. the speaker said it was not only in the brilliant and eloquent pages of parkman that the history of the two sister nations was interwoven; that a man from woburn, massachusetts, was the first to see what the site of ottawa meant; that our own thwaites had brought anew to life the deeds of the jesuit fathers and early explorers, and that miss plummer had personally conducted many thousands of boys and girls of the children's rooms through canada with her "roy and ray." mr. bowker said he supposed we did not rightly recognize canadian writers in the united states libraries because they were so thoroughly a part of english literature, and that it would be very grateful if some one so good as mr. hardy, the secretary of the ontario library association, could before the close of the meetings give a bird's-eye view of canadian writers. "it is a significant coincidence that on this very day there goes into operation throughout the british empire a law which, if not for the first time, at least most explicitly, recognizes the relationship of the several english nations to the motherland, for the new copyright code which today goes into operation states in so many words that the self-governing dominions of canada, newfoundland, australia, new zealand and south africa may adopt the imperial act, or modify it to meet their own judicial process, or legislate independently. it is interesting to some of us that this recognition should be so explicitly made in the field of letters." in closing, the speaker proposed that we express our thanks to our canadian brethren, our hosts who have been so hospitable, by a rising vote. amid hearty applause the entire audience arose. the chairman: before it became necessary for dr. otto klotz, who was and is chairman of the local committee, to be absent from the city, i had agreed to deliver an address to the convention on conservation in canada. the time having come, on the program, for that event, i propose now to tell you a little of what we in canada are doing to conserve the best we have. conservation of character we are all concerned for the good name of our community, for its reputation and its character. most of us are concerned for the welfare of our nation, for its place of honor and influence and power among the nations of the earth. canada is one of the youngest among the self governing peoples. it is only forty-five years since we became a dominion, and we begin only now to find ourselves as a nation. a people who gain self-government become in reality a nation only when they are animated by some dominant purpose to preserve their ideals by further achievement. the preservation of whatever we have found to be worthy in the past,--the good, the true, and the beautiful,--by using them in everyday life for further accomplishment and attainment,--that is conservation. there have been rotations of nations and of civilizations on the face of the earth, as there have been rotations of crops on the fields of the farm. this year's crop is for its own harvest and also to prepare the land for the crop to follow it. the far foresight which peers thoughtfully into eternity while planning for tomorrow is also a part of conservation. in common use the word "conservation" becomes a bland and comprehensive expression into which we put all our scattered convictions and aspirations and gropings after what is best for the largest number of people for the longest stretch of time. it took on a new meaning when theodore roosevelt used his megaphone on it. and because it is an omnibus with room always for one more,--for one more idea, one more suggestion, one more policy, it becomes mightily popular. the first concern of conservation is necessarily with natural resources, but it does give a significant purpose to all the activities of a nation and of an individual. the large, inclusive aim of canada in conservation is that canada shall be great in the character of her people, great enough to match the matchless heritage that has come to her in blood and ideals, in possessions and institutions, in opportunities and obligations. canada's contribution to humanity in a large, uplifting way will be in the perfection by a composite people, diverse in origin of race, language and religion,--the perfection by such a people of the finest of all fine arts, the fine art of living happily and prosperously together, while working with intelligent skill and unfaltering will for ends believed to be for the common good. these large ends include the improvement of the material and social setting of every home, the refinement of the inherited quality of life of every child and the reformation from generation to generation of the habits, standards and ideals of the people. all to the end that we may find satisfactions, large, broad and lasting, through invigorating labor, social service and abiding good will amongst ourselves and also extended to all our neighbors. let me give you a very brief glimpse, merely an indication, a suggestion, here and there, of what we are trying to do. first of all, a word on what we have in possessions to conserve; then a glimpse or two of what we are doing with our estate; afterwards a glance at what we are seeking for ourselves; and finally a look in on what we stand for as a young people among other kindly and competing nations. =on what we have= we have a great deal. never before in the history of the race did seven millions of people have such a heritage come into their free possession. half a continent wide and a whole continent long,--that is our estate. we are happy in the setting of our national life. a very brief survey of what it means to us and what it is in itself must suffice this morning. who knows it? i hear people speak of canada as a red patch on the map, as a stretch of prairies where wheat grows, as the northern fringe of the glorious free republic of the united states. these hardly shed a candle power of light on our estate. half a continent wide and one-sixth of the way around the globe! if europe were eleven in area, we are twelve, and much of it habitable, destined to be the setting of fine homes of a robust people. let us take canada in four areas, in thousand-mile stretches. we can afford to speak of ourselves in those dimensions. a thousand miles in from the atlantic,--where else do you find a better place for homes for a dominant people whose purpose it is to pull up by strength and intelligence and justice and good will, and not to crush down and hold back? dominant because the human race can be at its best in physique, in endurance, in tenacity, in capacity, in aspiration, where apple trees grow in beauty and bounty and the summer air is full of the fragrance of clover blossoms. think back through your books, and over the globe, and into the lives of the people. recall the old stories, the apple trees of eden and the land flowing with milk and honey. after all, physical setting means much for the glory of human life. this is a fine stretch of a thousand miles for homes, of apple trees and clover blossoms with plenty of running water, with skies decked in beauty by clouds, with showers and sunshine in alternate abundance, and farm houses with yards full of children rolling on the grass picking flowers and climbing the apple trees. that is worth while,--to have a thousand miles filling up with homes, willing for more to come and share their joy. then we have a thousand miles of wilderness, a great reservoir north of the great lakes. it tempts the adventurous to seek gold and silver; great areas for trees, and lakes to refresh the thirsty land on both sides by the genial droppings from the rains gathered from the wastes. then come a thousand miles of prairies, stretching out to the foothills of the rocky mountains. it took a thousand times a thousand years to make that place fit for our possession and habitation now. the frugality of prodigal nature was storing in the soil plant food for crops for thousands of years, not that men might ship wheat, but that boys and girls should have the finest chance that the race had known hitherto to be a strong, dominant, lovely and loving people. a thousand miles of prairies! why do your people flock over to those prairies? not for greed of money. i have been enough in the states to know that you libel yourselves in one unkind way. you say the american worships the almighty dollar. chase the charge down and he wants the dollar for the sake of a home, for the pleasure of conquest, for the worship of some boy or girl, to give him and her a better footing and a better start. the call of canada is not merely from property and a chance to get it. the call of canada is the call of a wide chance for possessions, for a piece of good land to own for oneself. it is also the call of the land where law is respected, as well as obeyed. it is most loudly and convincingly the call of a land with chances for children. that is what pulls them here, the chances for children; and these newcomers are amongst the foremost of those who see that the biggest and best and best-sustained building in the place is the public school. then we have five hundred miles, half a thousand, going over the mountains to the pacific ocean. it is a piece of the great creator's fine art in the rough, with the impressiveness of nature's majesty and the instability which endures. tucked in between the mountains are fertile valleys with peaches and plums and wheat and all good things to sustain the homes. a great asset is that five-hundred mile strip, the mountains pregnant with coal and gold and silver, and the streams teeming with fish from the inexhaustible feeding places of the north. that is a glimpse, merely the head-lines, of our national home, our real estate; and we believe the people will be quite a match for it. we come to feel the responsibility for that now. only a word or two of detail. we have forests in vast areas, some of them as yet unsurveyed, and a climate and soil which lets nature far more than restore the lumberman's cut. our forests are inexhaustible in the abundance of their serving power for coming generations; now that we have begun to conserve them by preventing fires, by providing patrols, and also by diffusing knowledge, training and conviction throughout the common schools. then we have fisheries. many of you come up here and regale your friends for evenings afterwards by fish stories. i speak of the great value to canada of fish and fishing. when i go to the coasts, how i glory in the conservation of life by fishing! i fish a little. one of my pawky friends once gave me a book called "fishin' jimmy." it had one sentence with which i comfort myself when i feel disposed to fish when i should be otherwise diligently employed. it was this, "young man, the good lord, when he needed fellows to help him for the biggest job ever taken up, picked out chaps who caught fish." think of nova scotia, the fishing smacks, the men who are not afraid, those who go down to the deep in ships, they see the wonders of the lord while they do their duty for their families. there is conservation of the quality of life by the un-boasting and the uncomplaining, heroic commonplaces of daily toil. with quiet tenacity, against conditions of discomfort which cannot be escaped, and carelessness of personal ease such men teach us how to live. then we have waterways, and water powers, not merely to illuminate houses and run cars, but to enlarge leisure by having our heaviest tasks done by man's further alliance with the electric current. then we have minerals and lands. each of these merits more than a discourse for itself. i feel the incompleteness, the insufficiency, of my statements of our resources and our efforts towards conservation. however, just a word about lands, good land and fertile land. take an example, one only. seager wheeler lives north of regina. how our hearts go out in sympathy to those people who suffer from nature's inhuman manifestation of her strength. (a reference to the regina cyclone of the day before.) i have not learned to look up through nature's devastations to nature's god, but i have learned to look through human life to man's god,--whose tender mercies are over all his other works. seager wheeler lives north of regina. out at the experimental farm, where we were on saturday, dr. saunders, patiently, quietly, modestly, brought together a strain of wheat from calcutta and a strain of wheat from the north-west. a new child is born unto us in wheatland. seager wheeler gets some of that wheat and begins the process of selection on his own farm, "the best out of the best for the best." last autumn i was in new york at the back-to-the-land exposition. a thousand dollar prize in gold was there for the man who would bring the best bushel of wheat from anywhere on the continent. the judges were expert men from the united states, and seager wheeler from the middle of our north-west plains won the thousand dollar prize for his bushel of wheat from that part of our land. more than that, i have a photograph of the plot from which this bushel of wheat was taken, and it measured up - bushels to the acre. no wonder we think well of our land, and you folks want to get some of it. one other sentence only, otherwise i should be beguiled into talking far too long about our lands. in these days, dangerous in their clamors for bigness and swiftness and luxury, one needs to remind himself that satisfactions do not come from these things, but from honest labor whereby one conserves the strength and beauty of some part of nature and man, and develops power and joy in another unit of nature and man, making the earth and man rejoice together. truly a nation's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things it possesseth. =on what we are doing= we in canada are happy in the occupations of the people, as well as in the setting of our lives. what has occupation to do with conservation? occupation conserves the best that humanity has achieved in human beings themselves. not books? it would be a loss if all the books were taken from us,--it would be a loss somewhat modified by the advantages. but whosoever will offend one of these little ones in whom is conserved all the achievements and attainments of the race to this day, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck. the menace of books is that they sometimes crush down and crush out the aspiration of young life for joy in constructive, creative, co-operative labor, through merely selfish, silent reading for gratification. we are happy in the occupations of our people that minister to greatness in character. a new country like ours needs the constructing and conquering qualities, more than the sedentary, absorbing, remembering capacities. the farmer follows one of the conquering, constructive occupations, gathering wealth out of the otherwise chaos. his labor creates wealth and conserves the health and virility of the people. what a grudge i have against the modern factory that, in making things, debases men. i do my thinking aloud in a meeting like this. therefore i do not flatter. i will warrant we should not have women, as i have seen them, working in factories, with poor air and little sunshine amid the infernal rattle of machinery, if we believed in our heart of hearts that things were for homes and that good homes for all the people was the dominant object of a strong nation. why should i have cloth in my house because it is cheap--when it is transfused by the blood of women in leeds? why should i want a coat on my back that carries with it the stain of tears from children who have had no chance? why should i walk easily in boots, factory-made in order that they may be a dollar a pair cheaper, when i have seen women atrophied by the monotonous poverty of their job who should have been mothering a family and nursing the aspirations of young people? we do not want to have things, things, things as our idols and our end in life. the fundamental occupations which engage the large majority of our people are farming, making homes and teaching and training the young. the farm, the rural home and the rural school together provide the opportunities and means of culture in forms which children and grown people can turn into power--power of knowledge, of action and of character. farming is much more than moving soil, sowing grain, destroying weeds and harvesting crops. it is taking care of part of the face of mother earth as a home for her children. making homes is much more than building houses and providing furniture, food, clothing and things. it is creating a temple, not made with hands, as a place of culture for the divine in us. those who live by agriculture are not all of the earth earthy, and the rural home is a fine school for the soul. teaching and training the young is much more than instructing children in the arts of reading, writing and reckoning--those flexible, useful tools of the intellect. much of the time of the school has been consumed in these tasks; but now we come to a happier day when those arts can be acquired joyfully in less than a year and a half, instead of painfully, reluctantly and with difficulty as spread over six years. the main portion of the school time will soon be devoted to caring for the health, the habits and the standards of the pupils while watching and directing the development of their powers of body, mind and spirit. these three fundamental mothering occupations in canada nourish and sustain all the others, such as commerce, manufacturing, transportation and the professions. by means of them, followed as well as they can be by an educated and cultured people, the country will be kept prosperous and fertile. it can be made beautiful only by radiant homes, whence youth will go forth from generation to generation to refine life by their characters, to exalt it by their ideals and to improve its conditions by intelligent labor. i must say a word or two as to whence we got the impetus, the stimulus, towards conservation. intelligent, conscious, planned and organized effort for conservation came to us from washington. we are the washington of the north in more ways than one, and i think i express, if i may venture to do so, the hope and conviction of my friend sir wilfrid laurier when i say that, a hundred years hence and less, the washington of the north will be more than abreast of the washington of the south because of the influence, the moulding influence, of climate and homes and schools such as we in this country will have. but the washington of the south had a great gathering in , when the governors of all the states and others were assembled to consider conservation. i read the report of the proceedings with some care. then i turned more than once to read, right after it, an old classic about a gathering in the time of king ahasuerus, the gathering of the governors of provinces. and i laid down the bible with the conviction that that ahasuerus assembly was no higher in its essence and in its fruits than a pow-wow debauch of indian chiefs on the plains. take the setting and the spirit of the ahasuerus crowd--self-seeking, careless of human rights, neglectful of children's claims. that story was worth recording as a great exhibition of monstrous selfishness, the thing itself--worth avoiding, worth opposing, worth smiting to the death every time it rears its ugly greedy head. on the other hand, consider washington. the governors of sovereign states come together, for what? not to consider how they might enrich themselves at the expense of the weak and those in their care, but how they might conserve for all the people, the property of all the people, for the benefit of all the people, for the longest stretch of time. that was a great gathering. it will go down in history as marking a new epoch in human activity and endeavor. and whatever may be said amid the transient controversies of party politics, the name of theodore roosevelt will stand out illustrious for leadership in a new effort for conservation that saves, not merely forests and material resources, but that saves moral earnestness among the people. i have no sympathy, myself, with your own harsh criticism of these political conventions you are holding now in the states. not being a politician, i can speak of politics without fear. may i tell you what my thinking has been? perhaps only twice before did the united states ever get such service, such an awakening--when you had the struggle for liberty, and, afterwards, the war for freedom. what means the present commotion which bursts through conventional conventions of polite speech? is it not that you shall be saved from a supine sense of satisfaction with having only things--from the loss of great concepts of justice and right aflame in moral earnestness? i rejoice with you that we are indebted to washington for impetus and stimulus in moral earnestness regarding forests and other resources. that is gifford pinchot's contribution--not to make lumber cheap, but to make the land fertile and prosperous, that boys and girls may be beautiful and strong and glad. worth while is the moral earnestness that uses materials only as the mechanism of its efforts for the improvement of life. then canadians attended officially another meeting in washington in , came back and parliament instituted a commission of conservation. that commission has been at work for three years seeking to serve our people by showing how they could improve themselves as well as their circumstances through effort to conserve their resources. on the provincial experimental farm in wellington county, ont., professor zavitz works. he took thin, light grains from a variety of oats, and sowed those by themselves; and, from the same variety, he took plump, heavy, dark grains, and sowed these by themselves. for twelve years he followed that plan on the same soil, under the same climate, with the same management. at the end of twelve years the crop from this plump seed rose by twenty-six bushels more to the acre and ten and a half pounds more to the bushel than the crop from the poor seed. that was conservation secured by intelligent application and good management. you can do that with life as well as with seed and with land. the long distance aim as well as the local object of conservation is to make canada a better country to live in and a more beautiful country to love; and to make canadians a people of greater vigor, finer texture and nobler character. =on what we are seeking= we in canada are a composite sample of life. we have come to us anglo-saxon, celtic, gallic, teutonic, slavonic and others. all these streams of blood flow over canada and mingle in us. it is not any longer with us merely a toleration of an individual or of an idea from russia--or the states--but an appreciation of the person and the idea, to make them serve our people better. there is conservation in that. the best we have inherited is the quality of life. our more immediate ancestors loved liberty, prized intelligence and cherished justice. these they had won by courage, by struggle, by patience and by privation. they left them to us to be improved by education. concepts such as these are what count in the great issues of life. let me without any offense or bad taste be personal and speak of one of my ancestors. he has been dead a long time. i didn't know him. but not infrequently i can feel the thrill and the efforts at domination of his convictions and his habits. i remember a dog biting me. i could have strangled the creature with my hands. i did not learn that in school, but i had the instinct in me from that old ancestor. i can think of him in a cave, living a bare coarse life. but he conserved the chance for the babies; and the lion and the wolf and the bear could not stand against the club and the fire which he used for the protection of his wife and children. coarse! of course he was. a thing of paws and claws and jaws! but he conserved his concepts of duty, his ideals of protection for the young and the weak. his concepts and the labors and struggles they involved by and by refined his body. then, ages afterwards, , or , years afterwards, we had lord lister. two hundred and fifty thousand women saved annually through the service of his refined brain and his trained hands, and his large concepts of duty. and we had florence nightingale; and you had abraham lincoln. and we all have everybody and anybody that conserves concepts of joy and glory through duty discharged by constructive, contributing labor, social service and abiding good will. in these and others innumerable we have a heritage, not made with hands. time fails me even to name all our other heritages which are not in material resources. there are customs, institutions, laws, manners, ideas, traditions, standards, ideals, art, songs, language and books. books are more than material things. they are material humanized into food for the mind and spirit as soil and air may be glorified into apples and flowers for the senses. sometimes produced with immense pains, they bring infinite joys. the kingdom hath come to us for such a time as this when a new day dawns for happiness and well-being on earth. some of the means under modern conditions through which further advances in the formation and conservation of character are to be looked for are,--first those which lead young people to the achievement of joy through the processes of labor as distinguished from its wages or other rewards. every child who is given a fair chance can manage that. in this a little child may lead us. secondly, those which produce the pleasure of working together for some end believed to be good for all. will not school pupils and older students work themselves into social efficiency, by co-operating in productive labor, as well as play themselves into ability by means of team games? both together are better than twice as much of either alone. thirdly, those which yield gladness through creative work whereby each individual strives to give expression to his own concepts of utility and beauty in concrete things as well as in words and other symbols. the insistence, by school and college, upon passive receptiveness for prolonged periods may have disciplined the mind for the perception of symbols, and the understanding of theories and rules. but has not the heaping of instruction upon enforced passivity led to an atrophy of the love of constructive creative labor? immobility in classes all day long is not goodness. that sort of thing is the one persisting attribute of the dead or the nearly moribund. every man who actively conserves these constructive, co-operative, creative powers, and achieves joy and satisfaction through their exercise, saves himself and becomes a saving factor in his community. in doing these things he transfuses the routine of life by a spirit of trained intelligence, cultured ability and habitual good will. the use of books and book-information are a helpful aid to the growth of mental power, the development of moral ideas and the progress of education. books furnish some of the food and stimulus to thought. but when these are not turned into service through action, they become so much cloying debris upon vitality. i have happily seen enough in the last few years to bring me to the conclusion, that, in less than ten years on this continent, all children from rural homes will come to the schools at or years of age able to speak better than they speak now, and able to write and read and to figure up to division. they will come to school able to do all that, having played themselves into ability. we have been on wrong lines in making a child take up a book at six, and so far as schooling is concerned, stay under the domination of a book until he is sixteen. then he has been liberated into a laboratory, or into life, and says, "thank the lord that book business is done!" that is not wise, that is not safe. how the book has menaced humanity in recent years, on all sides, by its insistence that reading is the end of education, the main means and object of culture, instead of being merely a contributing means toward the larger end of living. you people concerned with books must take the bread of life in your hands and minister to life, not under the guise of book-learning, but for the formation of habits and standards and fine ideals. put into the language of everyday life the main steps in every complete educational experience are: observing, thinking, feeling and managing towards and into some form of expression. it appears to me that the closer in point of time the steps are taken together, the greater the growth of power and the surer the formation of habits. frequency of experience is what forms habits and not repetitions of instructions or information. in so far as these experiences can have close relation to the threefold activities demanded by life, so much the better for the culture of the student, even if not so complimentary to a subject or its professor. i mean the activities which we explain as those of body, mind and spirit in the individual's capacity as an earner, a member of society and a trustee in the scheme of life. no doubt this runs counter to the common notion that culture--even real culture as a process and as a result--develops and implies a certain aloofness from the practical work done by men and women to earn their living, and a sweet, or sour, sense of superiority to utilitarian questions of bread and butter. but we must not forget that invigorating toil--invigorating bodily toil--is the only known road to health, strength and happiness. nowadays culture is becoming a term almost as elusive as education itself. agriculture was doubtless the root, the root word as well as the fundamental process, of human culture. the man on the farm gets some light on its intrinsic nature from his occupation. to him culture stands for crops, the best in quality and the largest in quantity that can be obtained, for the suppression of weeds, insects and disease, and for the increase of beauty and fertility. culture has no origin in idleness, indolence or sloth. these make for the corrosion of all the vigors of the physical and mental and moral nature. culture means plowing and harrowing and sowing and hoeing. it means labor and sorrow as well as play and flowers. it means the ripping of the iron share as well as the genial affection of the sun. culture is far deeper than the polite polish on the skin of manners and speech. it is not gained by the mere learning of languages, living or dead, or the acquisition of knowledge, scientific or superstitious, in the poetic meaning of that word. it is the residuum, the leftover, such as it is, in character--in body, in mind and in spirit--after every completed educational experience. from actual practice comes skill in the finest of all fine arts, the fine art of living happily together while working for some good end. alike in school and college, on farm and in factory, in shop and office, in home duties and public affairs, that kind of life develops a quick sense of responsibility, it establishes good standards close by which are understood, it nourishes conscience and strengthens the will-energy towards further culture, better work and happier living. these things we seek to conserve, using our material resources for the enrichment of the quality of life we have inherited, in order to pass it on undiminished and unimpaired. =on what we stand for= this end of an educated people, cultured in character, which itself is only a means towards the largest end, is worth striving for and worth living for. all life is an unceasing struggle. the point is to choose the right objects and means. in the past, humanity has been winning all along the line with an occasional setback such as threatens the present. its warfare is ever against ignorance, helplessness, poverty, disease, vice and ill-wills. education is to train individuals for that warfare. its endeavors are most successful when the experiences which it provides for each individual are in themselves a vital part of the hard campaign. it must ever vary its strategy and tactics and weapons, as the field of operations is moved forward. times change and we change with them. the need of the times is education to qualify us all to achieve satisfaction through labor and service and good will. finally, i present to you the more excellent graces of conservation as earnestness, cheerfulness and the habit of cherishing and following high ideals. at first these are rather traits of character in embryo than fixed attitudes or habits of mind. the particular and specific disciplines of life and of good books are to correct softness, to promote gentleness and to develop a capacity for enduring and enjoying hardness as a good soldier of truth, beauty and goodness in everyday life. in reality, each individual disciplines himself in liberty, by self-government, by diligence, by rational obedience to authority and by co-operation. the discipline which develops character and power is administered from within; external regulations are like the finger posts to indicate the open path and also the place where trespassing is forbidden. in the choice and in the action is discipline. "choose ye this day whom ye will serve" is at the parting of the ways every morning, and is seldom displayed in prominence at the dramatic crises of life. habits are grown in quiet ways, like the shapes of trees and the budding and ripening of fruit. they become the destiny "which shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will." the librarian and every other citizen who lives and moves and has his being in an atmosphere of earnestness, cheerfulness and high ideals, is ready for his best work. such men and women go through life with open minds, with broad sympathies, and appreciative respect for all the worthy achievements and attainments of men and women, of boys and girls. their patriotism, their humanity, in brief, their conservation of character, finds its best accomplishment in making and leaving a better place, with a better path, for better children, to carry the torch of life onward and upward, clearer and stronger, because of what they have been and done. from one of yourselves (ella wheeler wilcox) we have beautifully expressed one of the great dominating purposes which i think animates all canada today: "build on resolve and not upon regret the structure of thy future: do not grope among the shadows of old sins, but let the light of truth shine on the path of hope and dissipate the darkness: waste no tears upon the blotted record of lost years; but turn the leaf, and smile, oh smile, to see the fair white pages that remain for thee." at the conclusion of dr. robertson's address a brief paper was read by sir james grant on some of the literary products of canada. following this paper professor john macnaughton, of mcgill university, delivered an address on "the value of literature." he protested vigorously against the present day tendency toward pure utilitarianism in education and pleaded for a large place for the great and ennobling literature of the past in our educational systems. * * * * * the chairman: i have the pleasure of asking sir wilfrid laurier to serve the canadian libraries and librarians in presenting a little gift to the president. sir wilfrid laurier: mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen, i am entrusted with a very pleasant duty. the canadian members of the american library association are desirous of presenting to its president some expression of their respect and esteem, and they have chosen to convey it in the shape of a gavel which they want to present to you, madam president. it is of canadian wood and canadian silver, and i hope you will carry it with you as a token adding pleasure to your sojourn here, pleasant at all events for all of us, and, i hope, for you also. president elmendorf: sir wilfrid. mr. chairman and canadian friends: this beautiful gift to the association is made, i am told, of canadian wood inlaid with canadian silver. of course canadian wood means the wood of the maple and how does that wonderful close fiber come into being? the maple leaf reaches upward into the free air and there it gathers sunshine and the gases of the atmosphere and combining, converting and solidifying these impalpable things into fiber stores them away as this beautiful wood. what is literature and how does it come into being? by means of the printed leaf, out of human life, are gathered individual knowledge, experience and emotion and combined and converted these individual contributions pass as wisdom into the race mind there to be stored forever to "help such men as need." you have thus given us fit symbol indeed of our profession. just one thought more. i come from the border line where there is much hope that some permanent memorial of the hundred beautiful years of peace may be built. in the same spirit, i hope that this gavel may be the only weapon ever raised to enforce order between canadians and americans. mr. bowker: let us remember "kindness in another's trouble" and that even a closer bond than the common work in our profession, is the bond of sympathy in time of loss. i move, in view of the partial destruction of the public library at regina and the great catastrophe that has come to her people, that the president of the american library association be authorized and requested to send the sympathy of this conference to the public library and the people of regina. the motion was agreed to unanimously, and the message ordered sent. adjourned. fifth general session (russell theatre, monday, july , : p. m.) president elmendorf occupied the chair. the secretary: it was our hope that dr. claxton, u. s. commissioner of education, would be with us at this conference, but he was unable to come and so sends us this greeting: mrs. h. l. elmendorf, president, american library association, ottawa. "convey to association my greetings and best wishes for successful meeting. p. p. claxton." the president: ladies and gentlemen, my introduction to-night is to be very short indeed, that you may the sooner reach the treat in store. our honored speaker of the evening has his own message for us. he also bears a message from the national education association. he is the honored son of his great and beloved father bishop vincent, he has been dean of the university of chicago, he is still president of the chautauqua institution, he is the president of the university of minnesota, more than all, he is himself, dr. george edgar vincent. address by dr. vincent dr. vincent said, in opening his address, that he brought the greetings of the national education association, being an "uninstructed delegate," and he firmly believed "that with your tact, with your boundless energy, with your irresistible enthusiasm, you will ultimately sweep away into the vortex of your aggressive enterprise even the school teachers of the united states and canada." continuing dr. vincent said: i find some difficulty in deciding just what analogy i shall use this evening. this is a subject which has exhausted almost all the forms of metaphor, simile and analogy. librarians have been likened to almost everything under the sun. there are three metaphors which have survived from the old days. you are all familiar with these. you use them ironically, to describe that condition of affairs which prevailed in libraries before you supplanted those archaic people who used so thoroughly to misinterpret the functions of the librarian. one is the analogy of the museum, the library as a museum of books, a museum carefully guarded, a museum to which the public is not to be admitted except under conditions which make resort to the place so irksome that only a few persist. you remember the old story of the man in philadelphia who had committed a crime. to escape detection and go where nobody would look for him, he resorted to the reading room of the philadelphia library. then there is the other analogy--i do not know that this has been, so far, insisted upon, but it is a very good one, it seems to me--the analogy of the penitentiary of books, with the librarian as a jailer. just why these people should have been put in prison as they were in the old days, just why their friends should not be permitted to visit them, it is hard to say. this is akin to another analogy, the library as a mausoleum of books, a place where books are buried, and the librarian is a bibliotaph. these old analogies, these figures of another day, serve pleasantly to flatter a little your complacency over things as they are. but we have no time to devote to the dead past. let us consider some of the analogies which are still living. i have been a little bewildered by that analogy this morning, the maple leaf and the gavel. i have not been quite able to work it out. it seems to me, with all deference to the delightfully poetic figure, which took everybody by storm, including myself, it is a mistake to try to analyze these sentiments. there was something about preserving the light in the maple leaves and the leaves of the book. now, as a matter of fact, leaves are put away in a library very much as they are in an herbarium. there is no botanical relation to the trunk of a tree after they have been folded and put away. so i don't see how that works out--but that doesn't make any difference. an analogy never goes on four legs. this one just happened to have about two and a half feet upon the ground. but that is mrs. elmendorf's analogy; i propose to leave it alone. there may be an explosive possibility about it which she will explain some time when she has a chance to work it out. she had very short notice and she did it beautifully, and i know so little about botany that it gave me practically no intellectual difficulty. then there is the analogy that we are all very fond of, the analogy of the library as a department store. there you have your efficient business manager. the library is a place where it is no trouble to show goods, where you have your various departments and the goods are up to date; where you have all sorts of advertising methods, where you advertise in the daily papers, send out bulletins, get up circulars and posters and attract attention by illustrations, where you have an elevator and all that sort of thing. just think of the sacrifice that librarians are making, the mere pittances they are receiving, when they might be running these great emporia in our large cities. the department store offers a good analogy if you do not press it too far. there is not very much money in the business. it doesn't pay very well in dollars and cents, but think of the intellectual advantages it offers, the psychic dividends that a business of that sort pays! then there is a figure i worked out myself a while ago, the library as a social memory. that seems to me capital. i think, so far as i know, i have a copyright on that figure. it was a good address, by the way, in which i used this trope. i wish i had remembered it; i should have brought it along and read it to-night instead of making this carefully set address. yes, the social memory idea is a good analogy. it reduces the librarian to a medulla oblongata, so far as i am able to understand the psychology of the situation. yet that is an honorable function, although largely automatic. it is a good thing to control the resources of the social memory, to be able to put these at the service of the public mind--decidedly a fruitful analogy, but i do not care to elaborate it this evening. another figure is an hydraulic image--the library as a reservoir--a reservoir of the world's refreshing, stimulating, energizing, fructifying influences. the librarian becomes a gate keeper and an irrigator. it is a beautiful thought, that you are letting out these fertilizing floods over the plains of human ignorance and stupidity. no wonder you think well of yourselves. then there is another that appealed to me this morning--you are a center of radioactivity, of intellectual and moral radioactivity, you are social and psychological physicists. the library as a center of psychic radioactivity strikes me as something satisfying, fascinating, delightful. another figure has appealed to my imagination. it is the library as an inn of books. had you thought about that? of course, you had--and that makes you hotel keepers. you see, being hotel keepers you would naturally be interested in all kinds of equipment; you would have the rooms prepared for your guests in the very best way, you would have a fireproof hotel, the rooms rather narrow, if you please, but plenty large enough and fairly well lighted and ventilated. the trouble is when you are running a big hotel to have the register carefully kept. you know, almost none of our best hotels can ever tell you whether a man is in or out. they are always uncertain about it, and in the old days before libraries and hotels became so efficient you could never be sure the clerk knew his business. you have changed all that, you are the most competent of hotel keepers and know how to build hotels and equip them. you furnish lobbies and parlors in which to meet guests, or if one likes he may take them home with him. i wish i had time to elaborate this idea of the inn of books. i am getting fond of it as the imagination plays with it. you can fancy socrates coming in, looking about cautiously, with a certain apprehension, a little nervous for fear that _she_ might be there. you can imagine him hanging about the corridors, listening to the gentlemen as they talk, coming up behind them, listening a little while, then saying in that calm way of his, that dangerously calm way, "i beg your pardon, but just what do you mean by 'progressive?' precisely what significance do you give to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?'" oh, it would be dreadful if socrates were to come around and ask what we meant by the things we say. no wonder they gave him the hemlock cup. you couldn't permit him in your hotel. people would not understand him and would not associate with him in these days when we so much resent being asked to analyze and explain our automatic phrases. you can see horace coming in. he wouldn't be at all anxious to avoid the ladies. he would soon catch sight of the pretty stenographer. what pleasure he would take in dictating to her a clever ode. yes, horace would like the modern hotel. then picture pepys coming in, registering and then buying a yellow journal. how dismayed he would be! pepys would have no chance whatever with mr. hearst. then you can see the entrance of lord bacon. he would reveal his dual character, insist upon having the state suite all to himself, then hasten to discover how the electric lights and the elevator worked. you can image this sort of thing and can draw from it any analogy you please, but i have not time to do more than merely suggest it. it would make an admirable address for somebody who will be invited to address you next year. i am not going to talk about these analogies, i am going to talk on the psychology of pictures. you know these are psychological days. we have now the psychology of almost everything. we have the psychology of infancy, the psychology of childhood, the psychology of adolescence and the psychology of senility; we have the psychology of advertising, we have the psychology of salesmanship--and we have henry james. therefore one need make no apology--in fact, one would apologise for not talking upon a psychological theme. i am going to try to see whether psychology has anything to say to librarians. of course, it must have something to say. you are all psychologists. anybody that knows how to give some one a book he does not want and make him think he likes it, is a psychologist. it is perfectly obvious that a psychological theme will be appropriate for a company like this. when we try to describe what is going on in our minds we are immediately forced to use some sort of imagery, ideas made familiar in some other field. so when anybody reads psychological literature nowadays he is sure to come across the phrase "the threshold of consciousness." here is a simple picture--a two-room house. one is the conscious room, the other is the unconscious room. there is a door between, and when an idea goes from the conscious to the unconscious room it goes over that threshold, and when it goes back it necessarily has to go over that threshold again. then james has given us that fine figure, "the stream of consciousness." how good it is! your thoughts and feelings flow on day after day and year after year like a stream. practical questions arise at once. what sort of a stream of consciousness have i? is the stream going steadily on, or is it rather like a babbling brook, making a pleasant murmur but with little power? or like the river platte, spreading out and disappearing in the sands of stupidity, or like a turgid stream, so muddy that it is almost impossible to see anything beneath the surface? or is it a strong, clear, on-sweeping current to which new ideals and feelings are contributed day by day, so that as the years go on it becomes a mighty energy to turn the wheels of the world? a very good figure, and we may very well put such questions to ourselves. professor cooley, of michigan, has suggested another figure which i think would sufficiently antagonize professor macnaughton if he were here. let us imagine a room, the walls and ceiling of which are incrusted thickly with incandescent lights. near the door let us imagine a box containing a lot of switches. you turn on a switch and that immediately lights up a line across that wall, over the ceiling and down the other wall. you can stand there and turn on and off these switches and light up those circuits of electric lights at will. in similar fashion you have brain cells and these brain cells are like incandescent electric lights, the filaments of which connect with one another into circuits of association. when some one turns on a switch, by a visual image, or by an odor, or by a sound, there suddenly lights up in your mind one of these circuits of memory. when you look at the turrets of that beautiful chateau laurier, what do you see? are you not in the valley of the loire? can't you see the frowning front of chinon, the gracious facade of asay-le-rideau, the lacelike stairway of blois, the massive turrets of amboise? it is a fine thing to have one's mind well-wired, to have the circuits in good condition. a personal question you can put to yourself is "what sort of mental lights have i? are they four candle power or thirty-two tungsten? are my switches in perfect working order, or are my circuits crossed, and fuses melted so that my mind is in semi or complete darkness?" this is a very practical way of applying these figures; and this address would be of no value if it did not now and then sound the homiletic note. there is another figure to which i call your attention. it is the figure of the stereopticon lecture. we all go to stereopticon lectures. many of us are fond of moving pictures. we may say we are not, we may take high ground, but we sneak in to see them. we all like pictures, we are like children in this regard; and when we go to a stereopticon lecture we know that no matter how stupid the lecturer may be, once in two minutes we are going to get a slide. the laws of physics work in our interests, for if the lecturer keeps a slide in the lantern longer than two minutes the heat is likely to break it. therefore cupidity thwarts the passion for speech. we are all the while attending stereopticon lectures. we all have screens in our minds, and on these screens pictures are passing constantly. our mental life can be described accurately and vividly in terms of these pictures, these slides of memory and imagination. then, too, there is a spectator within us looking at the pictures, commenting upon them and having feelings about them. the character of the individual is revealed by the pictures he fondly holds on the screen of his mind. how curiously mental pictures are related to one another, and what strange slides some of them are! let us examine them for a little. in the first place, it is important to notice that some pictures are very vague. that means they are not well focused. you have been to a stereopticon lecture when the man could not work the lantern and when there were most unseemly altercations between the gentleman on the platform and the unfortunate person who was trying to run the lantern. it is bad enough to have the slides put in upside down; it is bad enough to have them start at the end of the lecture instead of the beginning; it is bad enough to have one of your favorite colored slides drop on the floor, but the worst thing is to have a slide so badly focused that you cannot tell what it is. do you realize that in these mental panoramas, in these stereopticon exhibitions that we are attending, there are some pictures that are not well focused? think of the ideas we have that are vague and hazy. attention is the power which focuses pictures on the screen of the mind. you haven't possession of a picture until you can see it in its clear outlines. what a deal of vagueness there is in the world! how many ideas that, as a friend of mine says, "are fuzzy around the edges." the only mental picture that is to be trusted is the slide which is precise and clear and definite and accurately focused. then another thing to note about these pictures is the way in which they are related to one another. we may have a passive or an active attitude toward the show that is going on. when you are in a passive condition, you know how oddly these pictures come on, what an absurd relation sometimes they have to one another. they seem to have no logical connection whatever. some pictures always appear together, although they may have no connection except that they were originally associated in that way, and you can never get one of them without the other turning up. it is amusing, sometimes grotesque, sometimes absurd, the way these pictures are grouped. some come in what we call a logical series; that is, they have some connection with one another, one brings up another, and you go through the series from one point to another. oh, how promiscuously these pictures come on the screen of the mind, some without the slightest premonition of their coming. it is fascinating to recall the process by which one picture suggested another, and that one a third. at times the spectator within us takes control and says, "i won't have that picture any longer, i will have another." he has the power to summon pictures. there lies the control. if there be in this world anything like self-control, that self-control is in the control of mental imagery. that control is the secret of personality. in terms of mental imagery can we define the individual and his power over himself, for mental pictures control our lives. habit is merely a mental picture which has become automatic. just because you can do the thing although you are conscious of the picture no longer, it does not mean that that image was not there once. when i want you to do something, i tell you to do it. if i have authority over you i put the picture of that act in your mind and i hold it there until it has worked itself out in conduct. of course, i should not go about it in that way, with you, as an association of librarians. not at all. i should attempt it in quite another way. i should sneak the picture into your mind by what we call indirect suggestion. if you were somebody i could browbeat into doing what i told you to do, i could order you to do it. in other words, i could jam the picture right into your mind, hold it there and say, "now, you do that thing." but, with you, i couldn't do it that way. but i think i could manage some of you at any rate. when you were not watching, i should slip the picture into your mind. you wouldn't know where it came from. it would come on naturally. you would think you thought of it yourself. that is the gentle art of suggestion, to slip a picture on the screen of a person's mind without letting him know how it got there. he naturally, then, supposes it is the result of those deceptive processes which he identifies with personal thinking. you cannot cram ideas down the throat of a free-born american citizen. of course, you can't. moreover, what is the use of cramming them down his throat when you can squirt them into him with a psychological hypodermic? that is the charming thing about suggestion. all control, then, is control through mental imagery. you have had this experience, for example. as you stood in a railroad station and a locomotive came thundering in, you have had, for a moment, an impulse--not only an impulse,--you have had the picture in your mind of throwing yourself under the locomotive. from a casual inspection of the company i should suppose that none had tried that experiment as yet. why? because you were able to remove that picture from your mind and substitute for it another--a picture of the presumable appearance of things in a very short time after you had made the experiment, or the vista of a long and happy life stretching out before you, or of obligations to family and friends. any one of these pictures will serve the purpose. but if the time ever comes when that picture of going under that locomotive gets firmly fixed in your mind, nothing except physical force from without can prevent your going under the wheels. every motor idea that comes into our minds tends to work itself out into action. that is the secret of the hypnotic sleep, in which the person who is under your control, through pictures produced in his mind, automatically carries these things out into action. mental imagery is the secret of life, and control of mental imagery means the control of mankind. self-control is the control of one's own imagery. the personality, the self, is revealed in this imagery and in the attitude of the spectator within us. you know those different attitudes. there are some pictures that come upon the screen of your mind, and the spectator within you is immediately interested. for example, here comes a picture on the screen of your mind of the day when that board that you had been working with so long, that unintelligent board, that board made up of reactionary people that you had so long been nursing, came to the point where you were able to tell them of that scheme of yours which must inevitably, logically and remorselessly lead to putting the library in your community on a modern basis. when the picture of your triumph on that occasion comes upon the screen of your mind, the spectator within you claps her hands and says: "you were very clever about that; you waited a long time, you worked it skillfully, you certainly are a capable person." you all get pictures of that kind. you can't help looking at them. here is another slide--a reception. of course, when they said that yours was an extremely becoming gown, you were quite delighted; and you talked well; you did say a lot of brilliant things. to be sure they were not original--nobody expects that--but you were very fortunate in your anthology that afternoon. i can see by the broad and amiable smiles all of you are wearing, that pictures of a similarly agreeable kind are by suggestion appearing on the screens of your minds. but you have pictures of a very different sort. how could you?--of course, you were just from the library school, it was only your first position, but, at the same time, how could you?--you cannot imagine how you could have mistaken sir thomas more, in the sixteenth, for thomas moore in the nineteenth century. how could you have done it? yet you did. when that picture comes on the screen of your mind the spectator within you shrinks and says: "why must we look at that? take it off at once." it would be very piquant if i could take other illustrations from your own experience, but i cannot do that. i shall have to take one out of mine. i have a number which my spectator dislikes. here is a recent one: at our experimental farm we have a very beautiful new saddle horse. as i pretend to be something of a rider i went to ride this horse. there was a sort of celebration that afternoon, and i thought it would be pleasant for the president of the university to ride one of these blooded horses to give _eclat_ to the =affair=. i went out and rode this mare about. everything went well until i encountered several traction engines in active operation and a number of automobiles. i was in a very narrow place. there being almost no other direction for the mare to go, she began to take a vertical course. she was in good condition and rather rotund, and the laws of physics worked out their inevitable result. at forty-five degrees i held on admirably. at sixty-five degrees, i began to feel some little distress. at eighty degrees i looked behind me, and at - / degrees i slid off. now, such is the admirable press organization in the great state of minnesota that every newspaper, i think, in the commonwealth--i haven't found one yet that skipped the item--called attention to the fact that the president of the university had come a cropper--or, if not strictly a cropper, the effect of it was the same. one of the papers was kind enough to say that, being an expert rider, i landed on my feet. if i did, my fundamental ideas of anatomy have been entirely erroneous. as i have been traveling about the state in the last few weeks, i haven't met a man, woman or child who has not sooner or later worked that back-sliding into the conversation. this is a picture of which, when it comes on the screen of my mind, the spectator within me says, "i suppose we have got to stand this, but it is certainly getting to be slightly tiresome." we all get slides of that sort in our collection. then there are pictures of another sort, beautiful pictures, inspiring pictures, yet for some reason the spectator within us is left cold and unaffected by these images. it is the very tragedy of human nature that we may intellectually know beautiful, noble, inspiring things, may have uplifting visions, and yet the spectator within us may look at these things and never so much as feel a flutter of the pulse. we do not incorporate ideas until these things have become not only a part of our intellectual apprehension, but until they have become a part of our emotional nature, until we make them into the very fabric of ourselves. we define the self, therefore, in terms of mental pictures, and the control of self is the control of mental pictures. let me know the pictures to which you constantly revert, let me know the pictures that come steadily to the screen of your mind, let me know the pictures that the spectator within you gloats over and feels a loyalty to, and i will reveal to you your character. whatsoever a man thinketh in his heart, whatsoever pictures he makes his own, whatsoever pictures he gloats over with joy and satisfaction, these things reveal the true personality. consider another thing: the content of these pictures, the kind of pictures. how are they determined? they are determined by our social relationships. do you think the same sort of pictures are in the mind of the englishman as are in the mind of the american? do you think the same kind of pictures come into the mind of the frenchman as come into the mind of the german? there are certain universal pictures, the same for all educated people, but most pictures take on a group character. what are the pictures that come into your minds as librarians? pictures of your active calling. these pictures are very definite. you have your own phrases, your own language. these phrases and these forms of speech are themselves the labels of mental imagery. every social group is held together by its phrases. oh, how we love these phrases and how glibly we repeat them! so too, college professors have their own phrases. what a sesquipedalian terminology it is with which they bewilder the lay mind and overpower the student! how would lawyers get on but for their monopoly of archaic forms of speech? think of the doctors' terminations, so many of them fatal, in _itis_, which they have invented in the last few years. so every social group determines very largely the conduct of its members by cleverly putting into their minds the imagery that it wishes to have carried out. why do you dress as you do? do your clothes represent your individual taste? in some measure, but for the most part you dress as you do because society puts fashion pictures into your heads. you ladies dress as you do because these fashion plates and the women you see upon the street leave a deposit in your mind, a composite picture, and that composite picture works itself out in your own charming and becoming wardrobe. to be sure, as librarians, you have individuality; as librarians, you have a certain personal distinction, but it is, after all, only a variation upon the common modes which you share with all your sisters everywhere. these standards, these ideals, these types, that we talk about are put into our minds by the social groups of which we are members, and we are to a very large extent dominated by these pictures. do you doubt it? just examine your mental imagery. how much of that mental imagery have you secured as a result of your own first hand experience? how much of that mental imagery represents original thinking? how much of that psychic panorama have you received ready-made from the society to which you belong? the pictures come quickly upon the screen of the mind. how readily they are summoned by suggestion! if i had time i could bore you almost to extinction by calling up in your minds images that are common to all of us. we all have large collections of slides. the depressing fact is that for the most part they are identical. how refreshing it is to meet an original person. who is the original person? just the person that has some slides that were made at home. most of us have the same old, tiresome slides. when we have to make conversation, what do we do? go to the pigeon-hole, take out a slide, put it into our minds and then reflect it to our friends. we have to be able to talk on a great variety of subjects. in the nature of things we could not think out these things for ourselves. society has provided the slides. there they are, like a well-organized collection, a card catalog, with a topical index. to suppose that we make the slides ourselves is a grateful illusion. there may be a few who do, but most of us get ours from the stock houses in new york and chicago. was there ever a time when pictorial imagery was presented to the public as in these days? these are the days when people's minds are filled with visual imagery as never before in the history of mankind. and never before was the same imagery spread over so wide an area. think, for example, of what cartoons do. cartoons are a substitute for thinking. cartoons are ready-made slides. cartoons are arguments ready to serve. cartoons demand no intellectual effort. they would not be successful as cartoons if they did. a cartoon which you have to analyze is in the nature of things a mistake and a disappointment. a cartoon tells the story instantly. it is a slide put into the minds of millions of people in a single week. then consider the imagery sent out by the illustrated magazines. there is only one magazine, i think, now, that does not have illustrations. some of us take it just for that reason. it has a kind of distinction on that account. the _atlantic monthly_ has no illustrations except in the advertising pages--some of those are very good--but it has that sense of uniqueness, that kind of snobbishness, which is appreciated even in a democracy like our glorious democracy, where we are all free and equal, as contrasted with the social distinctions of this monarchy under which we are so hospitably received this evening. it is a mistake to suppose that the visual is suggested merely by drawings and photographs. when we go to a lecture on "mother, home and heaven" we expect the speaker in lieu of lantern slides to supply "word pictures." the sunday supplement is the absolute symbol of our state of mind. as we haven't time to think--i. e., to make our own slides--naturally we haven't time to bring our collection together to see whether it is consistent. we are going about with a most extraordinary selection of slides. the only reason we get along with peace of mind is that we do not take our slides out of the different boxes at the same time. you keep your religious slides in one box, your moral slides in another, your business slides in another, your professional slides in another--and never take anything out of two pigeon-holes at once. for that reason you go through life without knowing what an extraordinary collection of hopelessly contradictory and mutually destructive ideas you are carrying about under that hat of yours. it is only by keeping these things in their boxes that we have anything like peace of mind. a few people, of course, are constantly going through their boxes, sifting, reorganizing and unifying their collections. these are the men and women who think, who have courage, and for the most part they represent genuine leadership. but most of us are satisfied to get our slides ready made, to get them in quantities and to have them remain a most heterogeneous accumulation. there is a vast popular demand for ready-made slides. in every possible way these substitutes for thought are being sent out. political slides are industriously distributed. you notice the difficulty that you have just now in talking about the political situation in our glorious country. we do not yet know what to say. you see, the slides haven't yet been sent out for this week. we have to wait until the slide makers put them on the market. we are all waiting to know what to say; we are all waiting for a new set of slides which shall be adjusted to the new conditions. if you bring out that old slide about the republican party that saved the country--no! you don't want to say anything about that. you see at once, even though it has saved the country for years--you can see that that slide won't do. it is cracked. pardon a digression which enforces the point that in these days everything has to be pictorial. you see, when i am addressing a group of librarians in a jaded condition, i have to use pictorial illustrations. it is true, i should like to be didactic and pedagogic on an occasion like this, but you are in a psychological condition which makes it absolutely impossible. even the thought of listening to these songs that are coming afterward, would not keep you if i were not constantly pictorial and keeping your minds filled with this beguiling imagery. imagery, then, is absolutely essential; self-control and social control are dependent upon the distribution of appropriate mental slides. the very life of the nation depends upon this. here we are, nearly a hundred million people--we always include children--whose slides must be supplied and in some fashion unified. the imagination breaks down at the thought of this vast task. this national like-mindedness is a glorious achievement. it has never been equaled anywhere on the face of the earth. to keep these millions of people, who are scattered over three million square miles, with the same fundamental pictures in their heads is a marvelous triumph. that we are the most progressive, the most mighty, the most highly civilized country on the face of the world--that is a gorgeous colored slide, which we keep on hand all the time. there are a lot of slides like that, that are common to everybody. true, we have slides specialized for the use of various social groups, but the fundamental slides that preserve our nationality, are common to millions. we have to have institutions that keep these slides vivid in the minds of our people. it is the greatest attempt at social control that has ever been conceived. but the national slide industry is by no means perfected. on the whole, there is an appalling number of these pictures that are vulgar slides, cheap slides, commonplace slides, uninteresting slides. it is your business--for now i come to my analogy--it is your business, as the people who are running the moving-picture concerns of the united states, to see to it that better pictures are put into the minds of your fellow citizens. you have the responsibility of superseding in the mental collections of millions of our citizens slides that are cheap and unworthy and inaccurate and misleading, with mental pictures that are clean-cut, trustworthy, informing and inspiring. that is your business. you are in competition with the moving-picture houses. there are nine thousand of these moving-picture concerns working night and day in the united states, filling the minds of people with mental imagery. but every library is full of potential mental pictures which can be made interesting, ennobling and uplifting to millions of people. it is your privilege to get these slides out into circulation, a mighty appealing thing to do, a splendidly stirring thing to do. i hope you are thoroughly alert as members of this mental picture syndicate. you know what you have to do. you must advertise and you must capture the public in every possible way; you must not be ashamed to put out posters describing the wonderful pictures. and what rare pictures you have! what is a novel? it is a film of moving pictures. what is a great novel? it is a series of great pictures--and what lovely pictures they may be; what interesting, what inspiring pictures they may be! what a great collection of such mental pictures you have in your libraries! and when people read george barr mccutcheon, try to get that film away from them and give them george meredith. you laugh at that, but how about "harry richmond?" isn't it as good a story as ever anthony hope or as ever george barr mccutcheon wrote? it is a good slide, a good film. when people come and want to read laura jean libbey--of course you wouldn't have her on the premises--but if that is their standard try to work off robert louis on them. you know, there are some of robert louis' that are fairly sensational. you can get people started on the right road with robert louis if you go about it in a clever way to pull the cheap slides out of people's minds. but, you say, there are a lot of people whose mental apparatus, if i may modify the figure a little bit,--no, it is not a modification, it is an amplification, it is a perfectly logical development of the figure,--you say that for a good many people you want a magic lantern in their mind that will focus properly. that is the business of education. that is what dr. robertson and i are trying to do, to make the minds of the young focus properly, on the right sort of things. you must get a great deal of inaccurate information made accurate and definite. you know, one of the great troubles with our educational system is that our ideas are so haphazard, so untrustworthy. the scientific slides need looking after carefully. they are changed every few minutes, but we have to do the best we can to run the latest and most trustworthy slides into the minds of the people. then think of the literary slides. i was very much interested in the discussion this morning. i fear it will go on indefinitely as long as the gentlemen do not define their terms. but i think if they were to do this they would discover that they both believe about the same thing. but here at hand is the real application of this figure. what is it that makes life interesting? it is to be able to associate with the ordinary, commonplace experiences of life an illuminating, inspiring, fascinating imagery. do you realize that the books in your library give no pleasure whatever except as they interpret life to people who bring the experience of life to the books? a book is a mere dead symbol until it becomes vital in the life of a living man or woman. you have books in your library in foreign languages. these books are sealed to people who do not know those foreign languages. you would not think of offering a french or german book, say, to an average college graduate. you must have people who understand the language in which books are written. so when you give a book of history or a book of science or a book of poetry to a man or woman, that man or woman must bring a little bit of life, a little gleam of life experience, in order to get into any kind of relationship with that book. then the book reacts and becomes a guide for the further investigation and interpretation of life. and so the book and life together go on enriching human experience. i wish we had more accurate slides about history, especially about the french revolution. we mostly get our slides on the french revolution from the sunday evening sermons of eminent divines who are proving that the french revolution was completely parallel with our times, and that france went to the bad largely because the church was temporarily disestablished. now, if we get our slides of the french revolution from popular pulpits and from stump speakers we shall get some curious pictures. we want to put into the minds of the people the slides from men like morse stephens and von holst before we introduce those lurid and beautifully colored slides from carlyle and those rather melodramatic slides from "a tale of two cities." then there is the fall of rome, for example. anybody can explain the fall of rome, and we are always upon the brink of a french revolution. what we need is an accurate picture of what caused rome to fall. then as for greece--greece, that magic word! we need a lot of pictures about greece. i have a good deal of interest in classic culture if it can be, for a large number of people, divorced from the classic languages. to suppose that there is an identity between greek grammar and greek life, its social institutions and its aspirations and their lessons for us, is to make a very serious blunder. you have noticed that an eminent greek scholar from england has been lecturing at amherst. did he talk about grammar? no. he talked about the philosophy of greece, the politics of greece, the social history of greece. these are things we need; for, my friends, you know, and you need to preach this doctrine, that modernity defeats itself. to suppose that reading the daily newspaper and having the mind filled with contemporary events gives any one a right to judge of those events, is absurdity itself. we can understand the present only as we can connect that present with the past. therefore, if we are to have an intelligent population many men must have a vivid and accurate panorama of human history; they must be able to see the present in the light of the past, and then to predict with some little degree of certainty what we are to have in the future. look, for example, at our present crisis. i am not going to interpret it, i do not understand it; but we cannot possibly see beneath the surface of it unless we try to interpret it in the light of the experience of other nations. what have all the great nations of western europe done? when we ask that question, and when we see how parties are aligned in this dominion where we meet to-night, we cannot fail to get a little light upon what is going on at home. there the same social forces are at work, under different conditions, to be sure, but working themselves out inevitably. so it is our business to fill the minds of our fellow citizens with accurate pictures, with definite pictures, with pictures of reality, with pictures which shall illumine every department of life. if there is any aim in education, it seems to me it is to make man a citizen of the world, to make him at home in nature, at home with mankind, at home with all the great forces which play a part in his personal development, which sweep through him into the lives of generations yet unborn. when his mind is filled with such pictures, when the spectator within him goes out to the best and finest and truest of these pictures with genuine appreciation, then you have the development of personality and the development of a great civilization. you, my friends, are the keepers of these films and slides. it is your business to see that they are well chosen, to see that they are made available, to see that the people are stimulated, that the people are made to realize vividly what it means to have their minds filled with these true, these beautiful, these inspiring pictures which will enable them to interpret life, to enter into it more richly, to get out of it more joy, the joy of intelligent appreciation, the joy of work well done, scientifically done, the joy of comradeship, the joy of association in great enterprises. when these pictures fill the mind, when the spectator within is loyal to them, then there is richness of personal life, then there is genuine advancement of civilization. imagery is the clue to conduct. without mental imagery there can be no development of character. without mental imagery there can be no social progress. this mental imagery comes from the experience of life. you are not the sole purveyors of it. books, as i have said, are dead and inert things until men with some experience of life come to them for further insight and for guidance as they go their way trying to understand life and to interpret it more truly and to get out of it greater richness. there is a delight in mental pictures. may our pictures be interesting and true and ennobling, may they increase in number as the years go on, may they open up to us vistas of personal satisfaction, give us keener insight into the meaning of life and stir us to larger loyalties and to truer service. may we pledge ourselves to this great work and to the furthering and fostering of those things which watson has so finely called "the things that are more excellent." "the grace of friendship, mind and heart linked with their fellow heart and mind, the gains of science, gifts of art, the sense of oneness with our kind, the thirst to know and understand, a large and liberal discontent, these are the goods in life's rich hand, the things that are more excellent." at the conclusion of president vincent's address, mr. lawrence j. burpee announced that m. amedee tremblay, organist of the basilica, would accompany a number of canadian folk songs which m. normandin, of montreal, would sing. they were given in three groups of three, and between each group was given one of dr. drummond's poems in character, by mr. heney, of ottawa, a most excellent interpreter of these sketches of the french-canadian habitant. these unique, interesting and well rendered contributions to the exercises of the evening were much appreciated by all present, and at their conclusion the session closed with a brief but hearty expression of acknowledgment from president elmendorf. sixth general session (russell theatre, tuesday, july , p. m.) president elmendorf occupied the chair. mr. carr: many of us appreciate the work done in days past by frederick w. faxon, in personally conducting our post-conference tours. business obliged him to take another course this year and cross the water. it has been suggested that we send him a wireless despatch of appreciation and felicitation in the name of the association. madam president, i move the authorization of such a telegram. the motion was carried unanimously, and the cablegram ordered sent. the president: now, we will proceed with the regular program, which brings us to the last of our series growing out of the idea of service to the individual, and we shall take pleasure in hearing mr. carl b. roden, assistant librarian, chicago public library, on book advertising: information as to subject and scope of books at my first a. l. a. conference, that of waukesha, now eleven years ago, i heard discussed that topic ever fruitful of discussion: the librarian's attitude toward those books which are technically known as 'off-color.' the indignant resentment of that part of the public which failed to appreciate the censorious solicitude of the librarian was vividly set forth, and there were those who felt that the only permanent way out was, in the words of george ade, to "give the public what it thinks it wants." but the librarian of congress, in defending the library's point of view, uttered a remark which, as his remarks have a habit of doing, clarified the atmosphere as a chicago lake breeze lifts a fog, and we settled back again serene in the knowledge that our orthodoxy had once more been vindicated and set upon its firm foundations. he said, in effect, that the duty of the librarian was not exclusion but selection and that in the full consciousness of his responsibility to the entire community he, the librarian, must exercise fully and freely his prerogative of selecting, out of the multitude of books, those which best suited his purpose and served his ends. the phrase "not exclusion but selection" struck at least one in that audience as so clear and telling a characterization of the librarian's business that he has kept it in mind, and well within reach for instant use, ever since. many times it has served to confound the irate patron who combatively insisted that he was old enough to judge for himself what was good for him. not a few times has it been the stone offered the facetious newspaper man who came seeking for bread in the form of a "story" on the "barring out" of the latest shady novel. today it recurs again as a fitting text upon which to base a plea for the more effective advertising of books as to subject and scope, and i trust that my exegesis may not prove too violent to establish the relation between my text and my topic, which to my mind is close and intimate. a library, of the kind with which we are now concerned, is first of all--and after all--a collection of books, selected and assembled by the librarian. it may be so administered as to become a great civic force, a social instrument, an educational agency, but first of all it is a collection of units, brought together upon certain principles as they operate in the mind of the library's administrator. now, the word "administer" is a transitive verb, one definition of which is: "to manage, to conduct, as in public affairs," and another, "to serve, to dispense, as in medicine." we may so administer--manage, conduct--the library as to render it a power for the advancement of humanity, and when we do that we are responding to the impulse which is generated in the very air which we in this age of advancement breathe. or we may administer--serve, dispense--the books, as in medicine; knowing the powers and the virtues of each; perceiving the stimulating effects of one, the acceleration of heart action induced by another; this one as an emollient and an anodyne, that one as a vesicatory or an excitant; here a bromide, there a sulphite, yonder a tincture blandly dissolved in a vehicle of simple syrup, next a pill, sugar-coated, but none the less a stern and bitter dose. and when we do that we are returning to the habits and practices of that "old librarian" so useful to use now as a horrible example and a subject for humorous divagation, but we are also returning to the faith once delivered to the saints, for after all, the fathers believed with lord bacon that "some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested" and they did love to administer them "as in medicine." it is far from my intention to imply that the new librarian does not know his books. certainly he has not surrendered one ounce of his faith in their potency. rather does he impute to them, collectively, greater powers than ever before, regarding his library as a moral unit of large influence and seeking to extend its operation to the uttermost limits of his jurisdiction. but is it not thus collectively that he prefers to regard and administer it; as a great, powerful moral force which shall permeate the community and envelop it so that, by a sort of intellectual pantheism, we may all be in tune with the infinite if we but open the windows of the soul? is he not being borne along in the modern trend in therapeutics which is replacing doses and cordials, tinctures and bitter pills with a state of mind? creating the library habit by such methods: by putting the library in the way of the public and making it a familiar and consuetudinal part of the environment; pervading the civic fabric and injecting itself into the daily life of the citizen, is one thing. it is a very great and glorious thing. to the multitude it has opened new channels of relaxation, of stimulation, of mental growth and moral adjustment. its possibilities have not been overstated even by the librarian himself. and on the day when librarians discovered the means and perfected the methods which set the library in that commanding and strategic position, on that day they set themselves in their rightful place as public educators and added a powerful impulse to that divine momentum by which humanity is being driven forward toward the goal of perfection which must be its destiny. but creating the reading habit--well, is that quite the same thing? and if it be not quite the same thing, are librarians still concerned as much as formerly with promoting the generation of the reading habit as a part--say the lesser half--of their task? and if librarians are so concerned, are they--are we--using the most effective methods to advance that part of our task? and is advertising the library just the same thing as advertising the books? it is by the consideration of these questions that i hope to expound my text and deal with the topic assigned to me. the library habit is akin to the museum habit, the public conservatory habit and the menagerie habit, and differs from the reading habit as visits to these institutions differ from cultivating your own garden patch or rearing your own pets. perhaps the logical conclusion of these comparisons would seem to be that one must own one's books, but happily one does not have to own a book's body in order to possess its soul. our present library machinery is admirably adapted to the nurture of the library habit. open shelves, book display racks, branches in which all visible barriers and restrictions have become as obsolete as the "keep off the grass" signs in the parks, all these invite the promiscuous and profuse handling of books, the sipping and skipping, the skimming and returning for more. our card catalogs with their stern noncommittalness and deadly monotony make it necessary for the reference patron to call for whole armfuls of books which he fumbles hastily, scouring the index and tables of contents, and laying them aside for the next dip into the grab bag. our monthly bulletins, presenting in serried ranks the accessions of the month, severely marshalled by the rules of the decimal classification, and with one title closely followed by the next, so that the roaming eye is constantly caught by new and ever more attractive possibilities for skipping and skimming--what could be devised more effectively to promote that species of gluttony which is indicated by long lists of call numbers of books which we simply must see before next month's bulletin appears with another long list? all these things conduce to high circulation statistics and are therefore grateful to our senses. but how many of them are calculated to impart the reading habit, are effective in instilling "much love and some knowledge of books" as a distinguished librarian has paraphrased it in a recent lecture? how far does any of this machinery go in advertising books as to their subject and scope, as the program has it? the science of advertising claims a psychological basis all its own. perhaps it is no psychology at all but only a functioning of instinct that causes us to respond, and often capitulate in the end, to the ceaseless reiteration and ever-present insistence upon a given assertion. but whatever it is, it reacts upon the volition in so compelling a manner as to justify, even in the final acid test of the cash book, the enormous outlay of money poured forth in arousing it. and the keynote of it all is, not the fact of the reiteration, though that is important, but the overpowering irresistible confidence with which the assertion is put forth. the advertiser who would go before his public with the guarded statement that "our soap seems to be a very good soap and barring certain blemishes, a very desirable article," or would quote somebody else's testimonials (a practice now employed only by those ishmaelites of commerce, the patent medicines) might spread his placards in a solid wall across the country, with no other result than that of obliterating the landscape which now he only makes hideous. yet i ask whether the foregoing does not fairly represent the general style of book annotations in library publications, when we treat ourselves to the luxury of annotations at all? yet the business man and the librarian both need publicity, and that which each should secure varies from the other only in degree, not in kind nor in the object primarily to be attained by it, namely, the patronage of the public. the merchant seeks this patronage for his own ends of private gain; the librarian, for ends which he knows to be of higher value and of greater consequence to the life of the community. the former offers for sale an article which he has manufactured or purchased, and to the use of which he sets out to convert the public by methods which have been found effective, though they are expensive. the latter buys his goods, not, let us hope, with quite the same purpose of securing only such as are likely to appeal to the passing fancy of his constituency. his aim being higher than the mere gratification of tastes and desires, he applies higher standards to his purchases. his business is selection. every book that he adds to the library he first selects out of all that are offered, and each selection is fortified and backed by his deliberate judgment that that particular book will be a good one for his public. he knows why it is so, and now it becomes his business to convince his patrons that it is so, and to induce them to profit by the selection which he has made. how does he go about it? his task is both easier and more difficult than that of the merchant. easier, because he asks nothing more intrinsically valuable than time and thought; more difficult, because to most people the use of a book is not yet so proximate a need as a safety razor or even a cake of soap. in common with the merchant he is striving to secure that indispensable element upon which every human transaction between two parties must rest, namely, the confidence of those with whom he seeks to deal: confidence in his motives, in his judgment, and in the value of the service which he offers to perform. and while the merchant constantly faces the danger of losing the faith of the public through the easily aroused distrust of the value of that which he offers, the librarian finds even greater difficulty in overcoming the fear that his design is the philanthropic one of uplifting and improving their mental condition instead of merely amusing them. while the one must combat the lurking suspicion of his customers that he may be "doing" them, the other must dissimulate lest he be discovered in the act of "doing them good." each, then, is under the same necessity of securing the attention of the public, and ultimately for the same end: that of ensuring the prosperity and consistent growth of his enterprise. we know how the merchant advertises. now, how does the librarian advertise? by means of catalogs, bulletins, reading lists, occasionally by space in the newspapers, when that can be had free. very good means, these,--for advertising the library; for implanting the library habit. but very poor and weak means, indeed, for advertising the books or instilling the reading habit. books are not advertised in library publications, except incidentally, for you cannot advertise a book merely by mentioning its name, or copying its title page. in his spacious and optimistic way the librarian, when speaking ex cathedra, in library publications, vests himself, without intending to, in a sort of cloak of infallibility as unbecoming as it is unnatural, saying: "behold, i bring you the books of the month; they are good books or they would not be here. that is enough for you to know. i have spoken!" and yet he has at his command twice over the chief essential ingredient of all good advertising, namely, confidence. confidence in the righteousness of his mission and confidence in the merit and integrity of his book selection, and in the conscientious methods employed in making it. why does he not try to do a little of that which the merchant spends millions in trying to do--transmit that confidence to his patron? why, when his business is book selection, and he knows he prosecutes it faithfully, is he so afraid of being caught at it? the monthly bulletins of our public libraries, with a few shining exceptions, are bare and bald author and title lists employing that deadliest of all monotonous forms, the catalog entry. now, i have been too long apprenticed to the trade of the cataloger to find it in my heart to cavil at his art and the carefully evolved, scientifically derived principles upon which it rests. but when the cataloger is "a-cataloging" he is not writing advertising copy. he is making a permanent record, and he is following certain rules which long experience has established and vindicated as good and necessary for that purpose. he finds it necessary to establish, beyond the possibility of confusion, the absolute identity of an author, and he does this by giving that author his full and correct name, stripping him of all disguises and never heeding the fact that the author himself may have been trying through all his years of discretion to live down the indiscretions of his baptismal record. this practice of employing full names in a card catalog can still be defended, though with much labor. but when an author is made to appear thus full-panoplied in a monthly bulletin, which should have the freshness and attractiveness of a news-sheet--which is all it is--he is more often disguised and concealed from, than revealed to, the view of him who is expected to read as he runs. again, the cataloger rightly confines himself to rendering an accurate transcript of the title page, neither adding thereto, nor, if he be wise, subtracting one jot or tittle therefrom. but title pages, like human faces, are often but a poor index to character, and many a book which might upon closer acquaintance prove a very good friend indeed, if only some one had been near to speak the few formal words of introduction required in good society, is passed by because of a forbidding and austere, or otherwise misleading, countenance. and so the monthly record becomes a stern and monotonous affair, requiring to be furbished up and trimmed with all sorts of side issues by way of supplying what the city editor calls human interest, all of them well contrived to advertise the library, but using up the space which should be given over to advertising the books--of which, first of all, and after all the library is composed. mr. dana, in his pamphlet on booklists, makes a statement, from the experience of his own library, but which must have found an echo in many a heart, to the effect that the monthly list did not supply any definite demand and was very little used. exactly! so might a monthly list of additions to the city directory be very little used; so does the periodical revision of the telephone directory supply a definite demand only to those who are looking for something--and the average citizen is spending very little of his time looking for books. they must be shown to him, and then he must be shown why it will be to his advantage, pleasurable or profitable, to make their closer acquaintance. open shelf rooms, or, wanting these, display racks and tables are in themselves a mighty stride forward in shortening the distance between the reader and the books. but do they always go the whole distance? is it enough to turn a man loose in a roomful of books, all beckoning to him and standing in rows expectant to be chosen, like children in a game? they cannot speak, the attendants, gracious and hospitable and expert though they be, cannot speak to everyone. they often have enough to do to give attention to those that have the courage to speak to them. but placards could speak. small groups of books, taken out of their tactical formation on the shelves and brought together because of some bond of common interest not always convertible in terms of the decimal classification, could become eloquent. and eloquent, indeed, and welcome to the dazed explorer of unfamiliar precincts, would be a bulletin, many of them, plenty of them--for a belief in signs of the right sort is a mark of wisdom--which would tell him in an authoritative, confident, and confidential way what he wishes to know, namely, something about the books, or only about a few of them, that surround him. we do these things, sometimes, on rare occasions, on special days, by means of special bulletins. but it is mostly in the children's room. in fact we take great pains that the children should receive the benefit of our expert judgment and ministrations. but to their elders, to most of whom we might well apply a reverent adaptation of the words of the precept, beginning: "except ye become as a little child ...," to their elders we pay the subtle and misdirected compliment of assuming that they know as much as we do about what is, after all, our chief business, the selection and proper employment and enjoyment of books. it begins to appear, then, i hope, that what i am driving at is that the way to convey information as to subject and scope of books is to talk about them, and to talk about them in such a way as to transmit not only the information, but our own interest in them, our confidence in them, and our point of view--which is not different from that of the people we seek to serve, though it may be more clearly defined when it comes to books. we are all human beings together and our chief common interest is human interest. when we can establish that bond between ourselves and those whom we desire to reach the task is done. why is it that the chicago evening post, three weeks ago today, devoted words in its editorial columns to comment upon the shelf of classics and the illuminating explanatory legend accompanying it, in the springfield, mass., library? why is it that when we receive the st. louis bulletin, we turn first to the page of "books i like and why i like them?" why do the pleasant little informal chats in the chicago book bulletin about the troubles of the reference department meet with so wide a response? why is mr. wellman's charming booklet about "some modern verse" still kept in every librarian's little private file of things really worth keeping? because in all of these, in one form or another, there appears the common bond of sympathy, the common note of human nature, which finds its complement wherever nature is human; the common ground of interest in the self-revelation of human beings which these little isolated and intrinsically unimportant enterprises bring to light. the book bulletin that would report upon the books of the month in the same pleasant, informal fashion, that would embody a page or two of book-chat in the same style of sprightly, intimate, personal causerie, think you that such a book bulletin would stand in great danger of being suspended because "it was very little used?" let us, then, talk more about our books: by word of mouth, in print, by placards, by whatever means ideas may be conveyed, so that the means be effective and the ideas--our own! when we annotate, and so breathe the breath of life into the dry bones of a catalog entry, let us honestly assume responsibility for the presence of the books in the list, by giving our own appraisal, and not always by quoting from some organ of orthodoxy whose very name connotes oppressive solemnity to the man in the street. we have our own collective opinion ready made for us every month in the a. l. a. booklist, concisely put, simply worded, and the result of the combined judgment of a body of collaborators of the highest respectability. but this we mostly keep to ourselves, as a sort of trade secret, instead of giving the public at large the benefit of this most admirable product of co-operative skill. and let us do these things not by way of pretending to oracular gifts or the possession of omniscience, but as a means of revealing ourselves and so of establishing a channel of communication between ourselves and our people through which the clear stream of human nature, which is common to us all, may flow unobstructed. and upon that stream we may confidently launch our several ships, freighted with wisdom and joy, profit and pleasure, inspiration and growth and life itself, safe in the knowledge that they will be wafted straight down the stream to their destinations, the hearts and minds of our patrons. perhaps this is one of the things in the mind of the president when she laid down the following query as the point of departure for this week's program: "should not the library, neglecting no other known service, make very certain that it fulfills its own unique task, that is, to provide and to make known the sources of joy?" the president: i think it is quite evident from several references in mr. roden's very delightful paper why the president went to springfield for a paper on making known the charm of books. the librarian at springfield was by "royal command" compelled either to write a paper himself or produce some one who could write it, and mr. wellman has produced miss grace miller's manuscript, which he will read to us. mr. wellman: madam president, ladies and gentlemen, i am very sorry that miss miller could not be here to present her paper in person. she is known to some of you through the notes which she writes for the springfield bulletin. mr. wellman read the following paper, prepared by miss grace miller, of the springfield city library. book advertising: illumination as to attractions of real books the reputation of the american people as a nation of readers evokes a pleasurable sensation of pride in the patriotic heart. but when we pause to ask, "what do they read?" that pride is destined to fall. newspapers, periodicals, novels, the popular books of the hour--yes, but how many of the books of all time? it may be doubted if the present generation, with all its opportunities, reads as many of these as did its fathers. two traits seem forcibly to impress the cultivated foreigner as characteristic of our men and, to a lesser degree, of our women--a hard materialism and a lack of interest in the finer things of life. is there any relation between this dearth of idealism and the reading habits of the nation? ideals are the greatest force in life, and what a man's ideals are is largely determined by what he reads. the power of great literature to awaken noble ambitions, to cultivate the imagination, to impart the ability "to see life steadily and see it whole" is undisputed. in face of all this, where does the library of today stand? it has been pointed out that the modern library movement is of recent growth. we look with amazement at all that has been accomplished in the last quarter-century. there seems little to connect the library of the present with the library of the past. but one link remains--the book. sometimes it seems as if that was the one thing we were leaving out of our thought--the book, not as a material object, paper, printing, binding, to all of which we pay much attention, but the book as literature. is the library, too, becoming materialized? as the authorized custodians of the wisdom of the past, we stand in an important and dignified relation to the present. how can we share our treasures with a public that too often fails to appreciate its need for them? first of all--above all mere schemes and devices however good--must come a real love and enthusiasm for books, and a knowledge of them among library workers. it is impossible to awaken an interest in other people in a subject in which you are not interested yourself. there has been more or less good-natured raillery among librarians over that time-honored recommendation for one who wishes to enter library work, that he is "fond of reading." in the long list of qualifications which, we are told, the library assistant should possess--a list so comprehensive that one is reminded of the old jest about expecting all the virtues for four dollars a week--love of books seems to be ranked very low. it may be questioned if this is not a mistaken policy. after all, books are the basis of all library work and the attitude of the workers toward the books, cannot be unimportant. one of the most scathing indictments ever brought against library assistants was made when gerald stanley lee accused them of being "book chambermaids." we like to judge our profession--if i may be allowed that disputed term--by its leaders; but the public judges us by the people who answer their questions in our delivery rooms and at our information desks and in our reference departments. and it is no use trying to evade the issue, as some libraries do, by requesting people not to ask questions at the delivery desk. two-thirds of our public never get any farther and, even when referred to some other department, show an inexplicable unwillingness to go there. a few years ago the following communication appeared in a well-known paper: "will you kindly inform me through the columns of the saturday review of books where i can find the story of 'gil blas'? i inquired at one of the public libraries and the attendant said she had never heard of it." incidents like this, and we must in all honesty admit that they are liable to occur in any library, may be one reason for the too prevalent impression that the library is merely a place where one can get a new novel. if we wish to promote the reading of the best books in our communities, we must have literary taste and a familiarity with books in the members of our library staffs. the power of the viva voce, personal opinion is apt to be underestimated. "it's great," says the little cash-girl in the department store, and her word settles the matter for the hesitating purchaser. with the public at large, your recommendation of a book goes farther than a learned review by a real authority. here is where our opportunity lies, not only inside the library, but outside. a librarian who recently read "eothen" and found it thoroughly delightful, casually spoke of it among his friends and, as a result, knows of no less than seventeen people who read the book and twelve who bought it. this incident is typical. why did you choose the last book you read? even if you are a librarian and in the habit of looking over endless numbers of book reviews, it is more than likely it was because someone spoke of it in a way to arouse your interest. in our professional capacity we all expect to be called upon for advice in selecting books, but even outside the library we are probably alike in finding that people assume we can help them to discover the "something interesting" for which they are looking. accordingly, the advantage of a broad range of literary likings is obvious. the world of literature is wide and there is something in it for every taste. if your personal preference happens to be for the moderns, if you enjoy ibsen and shaw and maeterlinck--don't look askance on that other type of mind that finds happiness in scott and browning and tennyson. the mental breadth that can sympathize with a point of view that it does not share, is nowhere more desirable than in library work. much effort is being expended by libraries at the present time in promoting the reading of their books. it is being more and more recognized that a smaller number of books more widely read fulfills the real purpose for which the library exists better than a larger number standing on the shelves. this is now so much of a commonplace that we are liable to forget how new the idea is. it was not so long ago that the annual report pointed with pride to the large proportion of income spent on books and the small amount on administration. the whole movement expressed by the term, "publicity," is the growth of a few years. so far most of our work along this line has been devoted to promoting the reading of new books and technical works. gratifying success has crowned our various schemes. but every library worker knows that the easiest class of books for which to find readers is new books. the reasons for this are so apparent that we need not dwell upon them. to circulate the great books, the classics, the books which constitute literature in the restricted sense is another and a far more difficult undertaking, and on this we have hardly made a beginning. yet if the library is to stand--and we all believe it should--for the highest, for true culture and refinement, if it is to be a source of ideals, as well as ideas, here is a side of our work which must not be neglected. we may be inclined at times to underrate the library's ability to secure the reading of specific books. an experiment tried some years ago may serve as an object lesson. van vorst's "the woman who toils" and "the souls of black folk," by du bois, were selected for this experiment. under ordinary conditions the first of these books would have enjoyed a fair degree of popularity, while the second would have had a rather small circulation. the library bought a number of copies of each, sent notices to all the papers, had book-notes in its bulletin, put up publishers' advertisements on its bulletin-boards, and (note this last) discussed the books in staff-meeting so that every assistant was able to talk about them intelligently. the results surpassed expectations. for months it was impossible to meet the calls for them, and reserves came in steadily; most remarkable of all, after eight years the circulation of one is eight and the other three times above the average. so much for what a library can do in determining what its constituency shall read. one reason why the best books are not read is that many people do not know how readable they are. in the vocabulary of the great public the word classic is synonymous with dry. it frightens people. how much the schools are responsible for this through their use of great literary masterpieces as text-books is a disputed question. if we can only succeed in making people understand that the reason these works are classics is because their inherent interest is so great that it has kept them living and vital through the years that have brought oblivion to hordes of weaker writings, we shall have accomplished something truly worth while. but if to many of our patrons the classic is something to be feared and avoided, there are others who really wish the best, but either do not know it or are so busy that they neglect it, taking the book that comes first to hand. like those daughters of time--the hypocritic days, books too bring diadems and fagots. "to each they offer gifts after his will, bread, kingdoms, stars and sky that holds them all." how often have we, wearied and hurried, hastily taken a few herbs and apples, only to feel later the solemn scorn of a wasted opportunity. there are probably few libraries today, outside the very small ones, that do not employ book lists, more or less elaborate in form, to call attention to their resources. these can be used to good advantage to recommend the purely literary attractions of the library's collection. but there are book lists and book lists. to some librarians a book list is a list of books, and nothing more. the newest member of the staff can take his subject, a pencil and a pad, and look in the card catalog under the proper heading, and lo! the list is made! and it is worth just about the amount of work put into it. a successful list requires far more than this. the books must be carefully selected by some one who knows them. if there are annotations, they must really annotate. if your brief note adds nothing that the public wishes to know, it is wasted. the number of entries, the title, the arrangement, the paper, and the print, all are important in deciding the popularity of a list. a distinction needs to be drawn between the list for students and the list for popular reading. the former may be very full, but experience tends to show that the latter should be brief--twenty-five entries at the longest; and many times, ten would be better. ten great autobiographies, ten world-famous dramas, ten literary masterpieces--the very titles hint at that multum in parvo which gives popularity to collections like dr. eliot's five-foot library. to read five feet of books and find oneself simply but sufficiently armed and equipped to hold one's own with any university giant, how enticing it sounds! and how simple. the public dearly loves superlatives--"the best," "the most famous," "the greatest." if any librarian doubts the drawing power of these phrases, let him make a trial of them. a knowledge of psychology may be a great aid in library work. to be successful, the compiler of a book list should thoughtfully consider whom he hopes to reach by it and then take measures to see that it reaches them. advertise your list, and do not for a moment think that great literature, because it is great, needs no advertising. if your local paper will say that the library is distributing a fine list on the immortal greek tragedies, far more people will be interested in that list than if you merely hand it out at your delivery desk. the most encouraging thought in regard to the promoting of the reading of the best books by means of lists is the broad field from which the books can be selected. the true book-lover in library work often feels like tantalus--seeing all the time so much he would like to read and cannot. and so he turns with avidity to preparing for more fortunate mortals lists, not only of the things he has read and loved, but of the things he would love to read. poetry, drama, essays, biography, letters, travel--here is a world from which to choose. supplementing the lists and adding to their attractiveness are collections of the books themselves. in large libraries most people are more or less at sea. who has not seen them wandering aimless and bewildered from shelf to shelf, and who has not noted the relief with which they turn to almost any small selection of books. many libraries have kept statistics showing the circulation of books placed on special shelves, and it is invariably found that it is much higher than that of the books kept in their regular places. this has passed the experimental stage. today we know that we can in this way increase the use of any books we select. there are just as good books in the stack, but they will not be read to anything like the same extent. a library has in its delivery room certain shelves on which appear all the new books that are bought, regardless of class. the circulation from these shelves is notably large. after a varying length of time these books are sent to the regular shelves. immediately the use of them decreases. books that were read almost continuously while they were on the special shelves only go out occasionally. but take them back to one of the small miscellaneous collections in the delivery room and they immediately begin to circulate again. the merchants learned long ago that people buy what they see, and so in all the stores a large amount of stock is on the counters for inspection. librarians have learned that people also read what they see. in both cases, however, the methods adopted to secure patrons are influenced by the natural limitation as to the amount that can profitably be seen. the experienced clerk does not show the prospective buyer too many different kinds of cloth, lest he should become confused, be unable to decide, and refrain from buying. so with the reader. he can select something satisfactory from a single case of books, when row after row of them gives him mental vertigo. so do not say to him, "here is all greek literature--choose." but bring together on a table or a shelf a few books and say, "here are a dozen of the greatest tragedies in the greek language. all of them are worth reading. take one." but when you have brought together this little collection and called attention to it, never think your work is done. after a little while change it for something else. the wonted soon becomes out-worn. when the collection is new, it is regarded with interest. leave it too long, and people cease to see it. they walk past the shelf with a subconscious feeling that they know what is there. the thing to cultivate in them is a delightful uncertainty as to what they will find, coupled with the expectation that it will be something different from what they saw last time. change we must have. here again we may take a lesson from the merchant. time, thought, and money are spent on preparing a beautiful window display. does the proprietor settle back and say, "this is the high-water mark. we cannot arrange a better window than this; therefore we will make it permanent." not at all. he realizes that while at first it will draw crowds, after a bit it will become an old story. he must offer something fresh. so get together a collection of the best books; call attention to them; get your public in the habit of looking for them; but change them frequently. the infinite variety of literature is such that its presentation need never become stale. one method of introducing people to the best literature seems comparatively little used in this country, though common in england, and that is the lecture course. it is generally affirmed that the american people no longer care for lectures. forms of popular entertainment wax and wane. the new englander of the middle nineteenth century was an enthusiastic attendant of lectures and there can be no doubt that he owed much in an intellectual way to the habit. almost all of the best-known literary and public men of that period either went on lecturing tours or gave readings from their works. their influence was thus greatly extended and an interest awakened in things worth while to an extent otherwise impossible. the old-fashioned lecture certainly compares favorably in its results with many methods of entertainment in vogue today. it is to be feared that the latter, far from stimulating mental life, are conducive to inertia of thought. it would be an interesting experiment for the libraries to attempt a series of lectures on literary lines and see if their old popularity could be revived. * * * * * another way of calling attention to the best in literature seems wholly neglected by libraries; and, surprising as it seems, this is through their bulletins. nearly all large, and many small, libraries publish a bulletin, but little has been done to develop this important library agency. here is a field that may well be cultivated. most publications have to put much money and work into the task of securing readers. our clientele is already provided by the patrons of our institutions. because the bulletin gives a list of new books, and because many of the reading public are interested in new books, they read our bulletins. why do we not give them something more than a bare list of accessions? if we wish to make our influence felt in the character of the reading in our communities, this is our opportunity. the work may be difficult, but it is certainly worth attempting. all librarians have viewed with mingled feelings of wonder and amusement those ingenious literary ladders, by which the unsuspecting reader is triumphantly led from mary j. holmes to thackeray. during the library experience extending over a number of years, the present writer has hopefully watched for an instance of some individual reader climbing this amazing structure, but she has watched in vain. it is not my aim to show how the reader of ella wheeler wilcox's poems may be induced to change to milton; or how a devoted lover of gaboriau may follow a blazed trail that shall lead via münsterburg's study of criminal psychology to william james; or by what methods jack london's "call of the wild" might eventually end in darwin's "origin of species." this puzzling task must be left to some more ambitious soul. but in every community there is a class of people, be it smaller or larger, to whom an attractive presentation of the stimulating qualities of real literature would appeal; and if such a presentation was rightly made, they would respond. will not some library make trial of this method? let it publish in its bulletin a series of brief articles about the great books, telling what they have meant in the past, what they mean today; showing them as sources of inspiration and of consolation; making it clear that any one who has made himself master of their treasures can never be mentally poor. then let that library report the outcome and tell us whether, in its opinion, it paid. the trouble with too many library experiments is that the experimenters never seem to follow them up and tabulate their results. the schemes sound fine, but as to their actual working there is much haziness. librarians are notably ready and anxious to learn from one another, and a plan reported as being tried in one place is likely to be immediately started in many others. if libraries would carefully investigate the actual results achieved by their various devices, and report their failures as well as their successes, much wasted effort might be avoided. another untried scheme that might be suggested is a series of readings. the wealth of english poetry commends that form of literature as well suited to this purpose, though of course there is no dearth of material along many lines from which to choose. the theory of this method is the same as that of the story-hour for children, and the same question would present itself--whether the auditor would merely enjoy the entertainment or whether sufficient interest would be awakened to induce him to pursue the subject farther. most libraries have small lecture rooms, and this plan has the recommendation that it can be tried at slight expense. but after everything possible has been said for schemes of one kind and another, we shall come back in the end to the supreme importance of personality. no amount of advertising, no number of lists and special collections can ever take the place of the cultivated and enthusiastic book-lover in promoting the reading of the best books. the president: it all pretty nearly amounts to saying that our public are our friends, our books are our friends, and we wish to help the friends of the first part to the pleasure of knowing the friends of the second part. the next order of business is the report of the executive board and the report of the council, which the secretary will read. the secretary: there have been two meetings of the executive board, and two meetings of the council, during this conference. executive board at the first meeting of the executive board ordinary routine business was first transacted, and, later, mr. henry e. legler, as chairman of the committee appointed to draft a by-law stating definitely what person or persons are entitled to cast votes for institutional members, reported that the committee recommended that the by-laws be amended by adding the following section: sec. . the vote of institutional members shall be cast by the duly designated representative whose credentials are filed with the secretary. in the absence of such designation or of such delegate the vote may be cast by the chief librarian or ranking executive officer in attendance at the meeting. consideration was given to the recommendations adopted by the council from the committee on relation of the a. l. a. and state library associations and on motion of dr. andrews, it was voted to recommend to the association that section of the constitution be amended by inserting the following clause, after the words "and twenty-five by the council itself;" "and one member from each state, provincial and territorial library association (or any association covering two or more such geographical divisions) which complies with the conditions for such representation set forth in the by-laws." also that sec. a be added to the by-laws as follows: "each state, territorial and provincial library association (or any association covering two or more such geographical divisions) having a membership of not less than fifteen members, may be represented in the council by the president of such association, or by an alternate elected at the annual meeting of the association. the annual dues shall be $ . for each association having a membership of fifty or less, and ten cents per additional capita where membership is above that number. the privileges and advantages of the a. l. a. conferences shall be available only to those holding personal membership or representing institutional membership in the association."[ ] [ ] as this by-law would be meaningless until the above recommended amendment to the constitution is in force, action on the by-law was postponed by the association until the next annual conference. adjourned, subject to the call of the chair. the second meeting was held after the election of officers. mr. legler presided. mr. george t. settle, acting assistant librarian of the louisville free public library, appeared before the board and in behalf of the library board and various officials and organizations of louisville and kentucky invited the association to meet in louisville in . a letter was read from mr. george f. bowerman, librarian of the district of columbia public library, in which was expressed a desire that the association meet in washington in and, if found practicable and desirable, to adopt the policy of holding recurrent meetings in that city. invitations for the conference of were also received and read from the convention bureaus of chicago, buffalo and san francisco. all of these invitations were tabled for due consideration. after general discussion it was voted as the opinion of the executive board that the next conference should be held at some summer resort in the eastern section of the country and the secretary was instructed to investigate places of this nature, and report to the board. a report of considerable length was received from the bookbuying committee relative to negotiations between the respective committees appointed by the a. l. a. and the american booksellers' association, upon which it was voted that this report be sent to the respective members of the executive board and their opinions and suggestions thereon be filed with the secretary to be later considered by the board. a communication from the secretary of the catalog section was received stating that the following resolution had been unanimously adopted by that section: resolved, that the a. l. a. executive board be asked to appoint a committee to investigate the cost and method of cataloging in accordance with the suggestions in mr. josephson's paper, "what is cataloging?"[ ] mr. josephson's paper accompanied the communication. it was voted that the president appoint a committee of three for this purpose and that an appropriation of $ be made for the necessary expenses of the committee. the president appointed as this committee mr. a. g. s. josephson, miss agnes van valkenburgh and miss emma v. baldwin. [ ] for mr. josephson's paper, see page . a communication was considered from mr. asa don dickinson, addressed to the secretary, relative to a campaign for a library clearing house for periodicals. it was taken by consent that such a campaign would not be practical for the a. l. a. to undertake under present conditions. mr. wellman, as special committee of one from the publishing board, to investigate the advisability of the appointment of a committee to work upon the compilation of a code for classifiers, reported favorably on the plan and recommended that the executive board take the matter in hand and appoint a committee as requested. on motion it was voted that the following committee be named: w. s. merrill, j. c. bay, w. s. biscoe, w. p. cutter, j. c. m. hanson, charles martel and p. l. windsor. * * * * * on motion of dr. andrews it was voted that the secretary secure data relating to the library careers of the members of the association, this information either to be incorporated in the annual handbook or filed at the headquarters office for use of the membership. on motion of dr. andrews it was voted that the president suggest to the members of the executive board any changes he deems desirable in the membership of the standing committees and to ask for such suggestions and that the secretary inform the members of any changes suggested by the committees themselves. on motion of miss eastman it was voted that c. w. andrews and a. e. bostwick be re-elected members of the publishing board for terms of three years each. voted, that at its january meeting the council be requested to define the policy of the association as to the number of general sessions advisable at the annual conference. on motion of dr. andrews it was voted that the program committee be asked to consult the wishes of the affiliated organizations regarding the closer grouping of their respective sessions at the annual conference. voted, that at future conferences of the association the ensign of the united states and the british union jack be placed side by side to signify the international nature of the association. adjourned. note: the standing committees for the year - were later appointed as follows and although these appointments were not a part of the ottawa conference business, the list is here given for convenience of reference. a. l. a. standing committees, - =finance= c. w. andrews, the john crerar library, chicago. f. f. dawley, cedar rapids, iowa. edwin h. anderson, public library, new york. =public documents= g. s. godard, state library, hartford, conn. a. j. small, state library, des moines, ia. ernest bruncken, library of congress, washington, d. c. john a. lapp, state library, indianapolis, ind. m. s. dudgeon, wisconsin free library commission, madison, wis. t. m. owen, department of archives and history, montgomery, ala. s. h. ranck, public library, grand rapids, mich. adelaide r. hasse, public library, new york. c. b. lester, state library, albany, n. y. =co-operation with the national education association.= mary eileen ahern, "public libraries," chicago. marie a. newberry, public school library, ypsilanti, mich. irene warren, school of education, chicago. george h. locke, public library, toronto, ont. harriet a. wood, library association, portland, ore. =library administration= a. e. bostwick, public library, st. louis, mo. geo. f. bowerman, public library, washington, d. c. john s. cleavinger, public library, jackson, mich. =library training= a. s. root, oberlin college library, oberlin, o. faith e. smith, public library, chicago. mary w. plummer, library school, public library, new york. adam strohm, public library, detroit, mich. caroline m. underhill, public library, utica, n. y. chalmers hadley, public library, denver, colo. cornelia marvin, oregon library commission, salem. geo. o. carpenter, trustee, public library, st. louis, mo. =international relations= herbert putnam, library of congress, washington. e. c. richardson, princeton university library, princeton, n. j. j. s. billings, public library, new york. w. c. lane, harvard university library, cambridge, mass. r. r. bowker, "library journal," new york. =bookbuying= walter l. brown, public library, buffalo, n. y. c. b. roden, public library, chicago. c. h. brown, public library, brooklyn. =bookbinding= a. l. bailey, wilmington institute free library, wilmington, del. rose g. murray, public library, new york. j. r. patterson, public library, chicago. =federal and state relations= b. c. steiner, enoch pratt free library, baltimore, md. t. l. montgomery, state library, harrisburg, pa. demarchus c. brown, state library, indianapolis, ind. paul blackwelder, public library, st. louis, mo. c. f. d. belden, state library, boston, mass. =catalog rules for small libraries= theresa hitchler, public library, brooklyn. margaret mann, carnegie library, pittsburgh. mary l. sutliff, library school, public library, new york. =travel= f. w. faxon, boston book co., boston, mass. c. h. brown, public library, brooklyn. j. f. phelan, public library, chicago. =co-ordination= c. h. gould, mcgill university library, montreal. j. l. gillis, state library, sacramento, cal. n. d. c. hodges, public library, cincinnati, o. w. c. lane, harvard university library, cambridge, mass. herbert putnam, library of congress, washington. t. w. koch, university of michigan library, ann arbor. j. c. schwab, yale university library, new haven, conn. =work with the blind= mrs. emma neisser delfino, free library, philadelphia. laura m. sawyer, perkins institution, watertown, mass. laura smith, public library, cincinnati, o. miriam e. carey, public library commission, st. paul, minn. charles s. greene, free library, oakland, cal. =program= henry e. legler, public library, chicago. e. h. anderson, public library, new york. george b. utley, a. l. a. executive office, chicago. council =first meeting= the first meeting, held june th, was called to order by president elmendorf, with members present. first vice-president legler, at request of the president, took the chair. voted that a committee of three be appointed by the chair to nominate five members for council to be elected by council for a term of five years each. the chair appointed george h. locke, r. g. thwaites and mary l. titcomb. mrs. elmendorf, as chairman of committee on relations of the a. l. a. and certain other national associations, made a report of progress, stating that the committee had formulated a letter setting forth the desire for closer co-operation, which letter had been transmitted by the secretary to associations. replies had been received from , all of which expressed a desire for closer co-operation between their association and the a. l. a. voted that the report be received as report of progress and the committee continued. in the absence of mr. w. c. lane, chairman of the special committee to promote and co-operate in the development of printed cards in relation with international arrangements, dr. c. w. andrews made an informal report on his own work as a member of the committee, stating that the john crerar library was testing the time required to order printed cards from the royal library of berlin to see whether such orders would reach their destination in time to be filled. he expressed the hope that a majority of such orders would be received in time. mr. bowker spoke of the work as seen by him on a recent trip abroad. dr. putnam spoke informally of the leipzig exhibit of book arts planned for two years hence. the committee on ventilation and lighting reported informally through the chairman, mr. samuel h. ranck, who stated that a formal report had been prepared and would be presented at a later session. miss alice s. tyler, chairman of the committee on relation of the a. l. a. and state library associations, presented the following report: the committee on relation of the a. l. a. and state library associations reports to the council the further consideration of the report which was referred back to the committee at the january meeting of the council and makes the following recommendation: that council recommends that the executive board consider the advisability of amending section of the constitution and section of the by-laws to include representation of state, territorial and provincial library associations in the council and the conditions of such membership. the committee further suggests that the by-laws be amended to provide that the privileges and advantages of the a. l. a. conferences shall be available only to those holding personal, or representing institutional, membership in the association. voted that this report be adopted. the committee appointed to consider the government of american libraries and their relation to the municipal authorities, presented a report through the chairman, dr. a. e. bostwick, upon which it was voted that the report be recommitted to committee for consideration as to minor changes and further report. on motion it was voted that the committee be continued and that membership be increased to five. the president named m. s. dudgeon and adam strohm as additional members. adjourned, subject to call of the chair. =second meeting= at the second meeting, held june th, members were present. vice-president legler presided at the request of president elmendorf, who was present. dr. andrews, as a member of the committee on conditions governing affiliation of other than local, state and provincial associations, reported orally, recommending that a by-law be framed to include as one feature that a membership fee of $ . a year be assessed on such affiliated organizations, stating that three at least of the already affiliated organizations had expressed their willingness to such fee, and that the remaining association has been received on condition that it accept such terms of affiliation as might be determined by the a. l. a. on motion of mr. bowker it was voted that the report be received and that the committee be continued but that at the request of dr. putnam he be relieved and mr. j. i. wyer, jr., be appointed as a member of the committee. at this meeting council elected the following persons as members of the council for a term of five years each: josephine a. rathbone, mrs. percival sneed, mrs. harriet p. sawyer, m. s. dudgeon and w. o. carson. the report of the committee on government of american libraries, dr. bostwick, chairman, which was presented at a previous meeting and recommitted to the committee for certain minor changes, was again presented and it was voted that the report as amended be received and the resolution adopted. the report, including the resolution referred to, is as follows: =report of committee on relation of the library to the municipality= to the american library association: your special committee to whom was referred the matter of drafting a report on what the association regards as fundamental in the relation of the public library to the municipality, submits herewith its report. this whole subject is of such great importance that your committee believes it should receive further consideration, especially if it is desired that there should be submitted the draft of what may be termed a model library article, chapter, or title in a city charter, particularly a charter in a state operating under a so-called home rule law, whereby each city may make its own charter within the limitations fixed by the state constitution and a general state law. your committee believes that the association is practically unanimous in its conviction that the public library should be regarded as a part of the educational machinery of the community, and that the functions of the educational organization are generally separate and distinct from those of the local government organization. in the very nature of things it is therefore impossible for the public library to get the kind of administration it deserves when it is administrated as a part of the city's system of parks, or under the supervision of its board of public works. it may be stated that in some of our states the state constitution recognizes this distinction by providing for two corporations with the same geographical boundaries, the one dealing with the questions of local government and the other with education,--the public schools. this constitutional distinction is based on the principle that education is a matter of state concern, that the interests of the state in education are paramount, and therefore that the state should exercise greater control in educational affairs than in local government affairs. in line with this thought, your committee submits the following resolution, which it recommends to the association for adoption at this time: resolved: that the american library association calls the attention of municipal governments, and of public bodies engaged in the preparation of new or amended charters for such governments, to the necessity for securing independence of action of the public library as an educational agency co-ordinate with the schools. radical changes in forms of municipal government have sometimes left the library's position insecure or doubtful, and charters providing the so-called "commission form" of government have in particular often failed to define adequately the position of public libraries and their governing boards. where there is classification of municipal functions, this association feels very strongly that the public library should be grouped with educative agencies such as the public schools rather than with departments that have little or nothing to do with its work. while it is desirable to keep the control of the library in independent hands and not to place it and the schools under the same direct management, we believe that a city charter should contain no provision grouping the library otherwise than with educative agencies. if the foregoing resolution is adopted, we recommend that a committee be appointed to study this subject further and to submit the draft of what might be termed a library chapter for a city charter. for the purpose of discussion and to clarify the thought of the association on this subject your committee submits the following tentative points which it believes should be considered for such proposed model library chapter. first, the charter should provide for a library board which should have power to administer and control the public library of the city, and at the same time administer all libraries municipally owned in the city. this would include the municipal legislative reference library in the city hall, libraries in public schools, high schools, and possibly such others as libraries in municipal art galleries, museums, etc. this board should consist of not less than five or more than nine members, excluding ex-officio members, the number of which should not exceed one half of the appointive or elected members. a sufficiently small proportion of the board should be elected or appointed each year to make its membership fairly continuous so that it may develop a constructive policy, something that is impossible where the membership is likely to change materially at brief intervals. in no case should the terms of more than half of the members expire at one time. in our smaller cities or towns it would seem advisable to consider whether the municipal art gallery and museum should be administered by the same board which administers the library. it has been suggested that in such places it would be possible to carry on this work with very much less expense under one management than under several managements, and experience apparently demonstrates that having the library, art gallery, and museum interests in the city in the same building, or in a group of related buildings, adds immensely to the public service of each at a minimum expenditure of money. in other words, having all these interests under one roof or in buildings closely adjoining each other makes it possible for each institution to strengthen the other, and at the same time makes it possible for the best coöperation and coördination; and furthermore many more people will use each of these institutions when they are together than when they are widely separated. in larger cities where it may seem desirable to have the art and museum interests under separate boards the charter should provide for official (ex-officio) representatives of each of these institutions on the boards of the others as well as with the board of education of the city, so as to insure the greatest amount of coöperation and coördination. it is the conviction of this committee that the educational interests of the community in many of our cities today should be coördination to a greater extent than they are now, not only for the purpose of eliminating duplication of work and effort but also for the mutual strengthening of the work and effort of each. in many small cities and some larger ones it has been the practice for the public library to be managed by the board of education. the disadvantage of this, however, is that the library interests are usually turned over to a committee and that the membership of this committee is likely to change from year to year, so that there is no constructive policy; and where there is no constructive policy the interests in the library on the part of other members of the board is likely to be small. however, many of the difficulties with the management of a public library by a board of education have frequently grown out of the method of appointment or election of the school board. if the school board is in politics and therefore more or less partisan, the library is apt to suffer by this arrangement even more than the schools themselves. possibly, where public opinion is sufficiently alive to the value and importance of education a single board might manage all the educational interests of a city, just as the board of regents of one of our large state universities administers its varied activities. another point to be considered is whether the library board should be elected by the citizens at large, or appointed by the mayor or selected by the board of education. election by the citizens of members to such a board should be absolutely non-partisan. women should have the right to vote and should be eligible to the board. the board should have power to fill vacancies which may occur by death or resignation, until the next general election, in case the board is elected by the citizens at large. of course, if the members are elected by the board of education, vacancies could be filled at any time by that board, and if they are appointed by the mayor he could fill a vacancy. your committee believes that it is unwise for a public library to be governed by a board which elects its own members, or a majority of its own members: in other words, a "close corporation" is not the form of governing board that is best for a library belonging to all the people of the community. this would not apply where cities make a terminable contract with an existing institution. it is generally unwise for the corporate name of a municipal public library to bear the name of an individual. it should bear the name of the city, and the charter should fix its name. the charter should provide for the organization of the library board by the election of a president and vice-president, with the city treasurer as the ex-officio treasurer of the board and the city comptroller as the auditor of the board's accounts. it should also provide for a secretary or clerk, who should be an employee of the board rather than a member of the board, and it is highly desirable that this officer should be the librarian. in any case his powers should not conflict with those of the librarian. the charter should give the library board full power to hold trust funds which may be placed in its hands, to administer the same, and to accept and to hold gifts of real and personal property for the general purposes for which the board was created. the charter should provide, if the state law does not do so, that the library should not receive less than a minimum fund for its maintenance, based on the assessed valuation of the city. it ought never to be possible for a council so to cut a library's budget that it is necessary to close branch libraries or abandon established work for a year or more, thereby cutting off for the time being all normal growth and sometimes crippling the library so that it takes years to recover. this has happened in more than one american city. the whole idea of a minimum tax for the maintenance of a library is in line with the thought expressed in many of our state constitutions: namely, that the educational interests of the community are paramount. the library board should have full legal rights for defense in the courts, etc. the charter should provide that the chief law officer of the city should be its legal representative. the library board should be given the power to render library service by contract to communities outside of the city limits, such as towns, townships, or counties. in short, it should be given liberal powers for extending its usefulness into similar or related unoccupied fields. the library board should be given absolute power and responsibility over its employees, their appointment, promotion, salaries, removal, etc., within the general limitations of the charter. it should provide that all employment should be given on the basis of merit alone, but that a civil service system should not be imposed upon it from the outside any more than a municipal civil service should be imposed upon a board of education in the employment of teachers in the public schools. your committee has yet to learn of a single american city where a municipal civil service commission, which deals mainly with the employment of clerks in offices, policemen, firemen, etc., has been able satisfactorily to select or promote employees for educational work. the library board should also have power to draft and enforce regulations governing the reasonable use of the library under the general limitations of the city charter or state law. and, finally, the charter should provide that the library board should submit annually to the mayor or the legislative or tax levying body of the city a report of its receipts and expenditures together with a general account of its work and trusts. as stated above, your committee offers all of this to serve as a basis for discussion if it is desired that a model library section for a charter should be drafted. all of which is, respectfully submitted, arthur e. bostwick, chairman, judson t. jennings, samuel h. ranck. the committee on ventilation and lighting of library buildings, samuel h. ranck, chairman, made a verbal report of progress, stating that a lengthy written report covering the investigations and results of correspondence had been prepared. the committee stated that certain commercial companies proposed to make experiments along the lines of the committee's investigation and it was taken by consent that the council express its gratification that these experiments are to be undertaken by the respective companies and that the results will be watched with interest. on motion of dr. steiner it was voted that the report be accepted as a report of progress and committee continued. mr. charles s. greene informed council that the california library association had unanimously passed a resolution to invite the a. l. a. to meet in california in . the statement was received as information and ordered transmitted to the executive board. adjourned, subject to call of the chair. the president: you have heard the reports. if there is no objection they will be received, but there are certain recommendations incorporated in them that need action. will the secretary please read once more the recommendations from the report of the executive board? the secretary read again the proposed amendment to section of the constitution. the president: what is your pleasure? it should be remembered that this amendment to the constitution will require an affirmative vote for two successive sessions of the association. on motion of mr. samuel h. ranck, duly seconded, the amendment received an affirmative vote. the secretary read again the proposed section of the by-laws, recommended by the council, and on motion of dr. bostwick, seconded by dr. andrews, this amendment to the by-laws was adopted. the secretary here read again the resolution incorporated in the report of the committee on government of american libraries and their relation to the municipal authorities. dr. bostwick: madam president, in moving the adoption of this resolution, i would suggest that opportunity be given for its discussion by the association. mr. ranck: i second the motion for the adoption of that resolution, madam president. the resolution was adopted. the president: here is a matter of news from the outside world. the bulletins have announced that governor woodrow wilson has been nominated on the forty-sixth ballot by acclamation. i think this is the first time that a woman ever made that kind of an announcement. there is a matter of business from the public documents committee, on which we should like to hear from mr. godard. mr. godard: this resolution which comes from the committee on public documents, comes before you in a little irregular manner, because the government documents round table was not held until yesterday afternoon, and there has been no meeting of the council since, and will not be to the end of the conference; but the purpose of the resolution is simply to convey to the congressional committee on printing, at washington, the thanks of this association for the efforts that committee has made to embody in the bill which has been passed by the senate the several recommendations made from time to time during the seven years' existence of the committee, relating to the printing, binding and distribution of documents. the bill as a whole has met with the approval of the various librarians, as manifested at the government documents round table yesterday afternoon. while some minor suggestions were made, it was thought best that these suggestions should go to the committee in the form of suggestions rather than be embodied in the resolutions. if in order, i should be pleased to read the resolutions. whereas the congressional committee on printing, appointed under an act passed march , , has after seven years of investigations and hearings, formulated and presented to congress a new bill relating to public printing, binding and distribution of government publications, which embodies so many of the suggestions and recommendations upon these subjects, made from time to time by this association and its several committees, resolved, that we, the members of the american library association, assembled at our thirty-fourth annual conference at ottawa, canada, june th to july nd, , express our appreciation to the senate and house committees on printing, and to the superintendent of documents, for the uniform courtesy and careful consideration extended, and the hope that the bill (s ) may be enacted into law substantially as passed by the senate. the president: you have heard the resolution as presented from the public documents committee. what is your pleasure? dr. andrews: i hope the association will by three-fourths vote approve this resolution. i can testify that mr. godard did not understate the approval which the draft of the bill met with at the government documents round table. the resolution was adopted unanimously. the president: the next business in order is the report of the resolutions committee, of which dr. thwaites is chairman. i want to say just one word before those formal resolutions are read, to express my own personal appreciation of the efforts of our canadian hosts. it seems to me that in their welcome to us, in their kindly courtesy, in every attitude which they have taken toward us, they have made an atmosphere of good cheer and hospitality in which all our business has been done; it has been an atmosphere of the greatest acceptance and delight, and has been like the sunshine out of doors. we will hear the report of the resolutions committee. dr. thwaites, chairman of the committee, read the following report: report of committee on resolutions your committee beg leave to recommend the adoption of the following minute, to be spread upon the records of the conference, and that copies thereof be forwarded by the secretary to the several bodies and persons mentioned therein. in its membership and its sympathies, the american library association is broadly american. it aims to secure among the librarians of the continent that practical reciprocity in ideals and interests that should everywhere prevail among those engaged in undertakings for the moral and intellectual betterment of humanity. the association is deeply gratified in being able to hold its th annual conference within the dominion of canada, whose representatives have for many years prominently participated in the management and deliberations of the association. since its meeting in montreal, twelve years ago, the membership of the association has increased from nine hundred to twenty-three hundred. toward this expansion (itself a visible sign of that quickening of popular concern in educational affairs which has been so marked a feature of the past decade), canada has contributed a goodly share. it is hoped and believed by the association that this conference will still further inspire and strengthen those public-spirited men and women, who, in various capacities, are conducting the public and institutional libraries of the dominion. of the fine temper and professional zeal of its canadian membership, the association has had frequent evidence; but the experiences of the past eight days have brought to the members from the united states a new, although by no means unexpected, sense of the abundant hospitality of their canadian colleagues. any vote of thanks that may be adopted by this association, can seem to the visitors south of the international boundary, but cold recognition of the warm sincerity of their greeting in the capital of the great dominion. it is hoped, however, that between the lines of this fraternal salutation from the men and women of the south, their confreres of the north may read such sympathy and love as words cannot convey. the association begs to place on record its heartfelt thanks to all of those many canadians who, in whatever measure, have contributed towards the success of this delightful meeting and to the entertainment of its participants. but to the following men and women who, either officially or personally, have been intimately concerned in preparations for and in the management of the many charming hospitalities that have made this conference so notable in the history of american librarianship, the association unanimously expresses its especial appreciation. at toronto, entertaining the western delegation: the government of the province of ontario, represented by sir james whitney, premier, the hon. r. a. pyne, minister of education, and mr. walter r. nursey, inspector of public libraries; professor needler, librarian of the university of toronto, and professor lang, librarian of victoria college; the ontario library association and its officers: the members of the toronto public library board, and their chief librarian, dr. george h. locke. at ottawa, the government of the dominion, represented by the hon. george h. perley, acting premier, and the hon. martin burrell, minister of agriculture; his worship the mayor of the corporation of the city of ottawa; the local committee of ottawa, the chairman of which, dr. otto klotz, was represented by dr. james w. robertson, c. m. g.; particularly mr. lawrence j. burpee and mr. d. p. cruikshank, together with the lady members of the committee; the ottawa public library board represented by alderman ainslie w. greene, chairman; the canadian club of ottawa; the women's canadian club of ottawa; the ottawa electric railway represented by its president, mr. thomas ahearn; mr. john f. watson of the dominion central experimental farm; united states consul-general and mrs. j. g. foster; manager f. w. bergman of the chateau laurier; and manager mulligan of the new russell. in addition to its acknowledgment of the foregoing the association wishes to express most sincere appreciation of the cordial message which it received from the governor-general, h. r. h. the duke of connaught, who unfortunately was detained at montreal because of the illness of h. r. h. the duchess, whose subsequent recovery is a source of international gratification; of the great kindness of sir wilfrid laurier, in consenting to address the conference upon dominion day; of the excellent addresses by dr. george e. vincent, president of the university of minnesota and by professor john macnaughton, of mcgill university; and of the admirable arrangements for the post-conference tour made by one of the ex-presidents of the association, professor charles h. gould, librarian of mcgill university, montreal. r. g. thwaites, mary w. plummer, j. t. jennings, committee on resolutions. the president: you have heard the report of the resolutions committee. let us pass it by a rising vote. the resolutions were adopted unanimously, by a rising vote. dr. thwaites: i have another resolution, madam president, to offer from the committee,--a resolution, not a minute: resolved, that the american library association, as an international organization, has viewed with profound satisfaction the project for the establishment of a national library in and for the dominion of canada, and takes pleasure in joining the royal society, the ontario library association, and other learned societies in canada, in respectfully urging upon the government of the dominion the vital importance of such an institution in the fostering and conservation of the intellectual resources and national spirit of canada; and further, in urging upon the government the desirability of effecting such establishment at the earliest possible moment. the resolution was adopted unanimously. * * * * * the president: we have one more resolution, which is a tribute of love and respect that we shall pay with all our hearts. dr. andrews will report for the special committee appointed to draft a suitable memorial concerning our late friend frederick m. crunden. dr. andrews: first let me express my regret that mr. henry m. utley, chairman of the committee appointed by the board to draw up this memorial, is not present in person; secondly, to state for the committee that we have departed from the usual custom of offering a resolution, and have placed before you a brief statement of mr. crunden's life and character, which we hope will convey to those who have come into the association since the time when he had to give up active connection with it, a record of his services. frederick morgan crunden frederick morgan crunden was born at gravesend, england, september , , the son of benjamin robert and mary (morgan) crunden. coming to st. louis while a child, he was educated in the public schools of that city and graduated from its high school in , with a scholarship in washington university. in the latter institution he took a course in the arts and sciences, graduating in with the degree of bachelor of arts. teaching in the public schools of st. louis before graduation, and later in the college faculty of the same university, he received the degree of master of arts in . his marriage to miss kate edmondson was in . during his college course mr. crunden took a vital interest in library work, and in january, , he became secretary and librarian of the st. louis public (then public school) library, continuing as such until . equally identified with many other societies, local and national, he had been a contributor to leading magazines upon educational and sociological subjects, and had attained international fame before he was stricken in with the malady which resulted in his death october , . mr. crunden's public services were by no means confined to the distinctively library interests of his community and the country. he was particularly interested in the mutual relations of schools and libraries, developing them in st. louis in a manner which served as a model for others, and contributing largely to the evolution of the present official relations of the national education association and the american library association. in his public writing he has expressed most clearly and happily the fundamental principles of these relations, and it is a great pleasure to his friends, as it was to him in the last days of his life, to know that his statement of the value of recorded thought has been carved in granite on the walls of his cherished institution. nevertheless it was to library work that the greater part of his time and thought was given, and it is the success of his work as a constructive librarian that naturally we most fully recognize. he combined high executive ability with a comprehensive knowledge of the contents of the collections under his charge. he had that sense of the real librarian, which has been said to be "an intensive perception of the needs of the present, and a prophetic insight into the needs of the future." he worked zealously and unceasingly, first for the broadening of the work of the st. louis public schools library, then for its conversion into a free public library, and finally for its development into a strong institution ranking among the great libraries of the land. it is pleasant to know that even in the last years he was able at times to follow its course along the lines forecast by him, and that he could realize the high appreciation of his services so generally felt by his fellow citizens. almost in the beginning of his library career, he began also his services to the american library association, which were secondary only to the work he did for st. louis. he attended first the boston conference of , and rarely after that did he miss a meeting. elected councillor in , he served the association almost continuously until his illness. he was vice-president in - , and under his presidency the fabyans conference of took rank as the largest and one of the most successful meetings held up to that time. when the association met at st. louis, in , and again in , he was a most thoughtful host, whose care for our welfare contributed largely to the success of those meetings. he served also as one of the vice-presidents of the chicago conference in , and as vice-president of the international library conference at london in , and was one of the chief spokesmen of the association party. this list of offices by no means measures the debt of the association to him. the much longer list of committees on which he served would indicate better the character and breadth of his work, but even this would leave unexpressed the professional knowledge and the personal pleasure gained from his companionship by the individual members. this sense of personal loss must be felt by all who met him in the other library circles in which he was interested, especially the missouri state library association, of which he was the first president, and the new york state library association, whose annual meetings he so often attended. no member of the a. l. a. of his day had a wider and closer personal acquaintance among the membership than mr. crunden. he had a spirit of friendliness and human sympathy which prompted him to take hold upon the hearts of those with whom he was brought into contact in his profession. he had no ambition which inclined him to self-seeking, but was always quick to recognize the merits of others and to give acknowledgment freely and heartily. he was naturally of a modest and retiring disposition, but wholly without self-consciousness or reserve. he looked upon every question with frankness, unbiased by any consideration outside of its true merits as approved by his mature judgment. he held his views firmly, but he never undertook to force them upon others. his many fine qualities of mind and heart are a source of joy to all who recall the memory of him as he was in the midst of his long and brilliant career. his more intimate friends recall with wonder the patience with which he bore the strain of the years of ill health which preceded the final breakdown, and remember with gratitude his gracious hospitality. the president: what is your pleasure, ladies and gentlemen? dr. bostwick: i move that this memorial be spread upon the minutes of the association, that it be printed in the proceedings of this conference, and that copies of it be sent to mrs. crunden and to mr. frederick m. crunden's brother, mr. f. p. crunden of st louis. the motion was unanimously adopted. the president: the chair would like the support of the first vice-president on the platform, and in the meantime, while he comes forward, after the report of the tellers of the association, we have one additional treat which when the time comes i shall ask mr. burpee to announce. the report of the tellers of election is in order, which will be read by the secretary. the secretary: the report of the tellers states that you have elected the following officers: report of the tellers of election. no. of votes for president henry e. legler, librarian, chicago public library for first vice-president e. h. anderson, assistant librarian, new york public library for second vice-president mary f. isom, librarian, portland (ore.) library association for members of executive board (for three years) h. c. wellman, librarian, springfield city library association t. w. koch, librarian, university of michigan for members of the council (for five years) f. k. walter, vice-director, new york state library margaret mann, chief cataloger, carnegie library of pittsburgh w. w. bishop, supt. of reading room, library of congress e. r. perry, librarian, los angeles public library caroline burnite, director of children's work, cleveland public library for trustee of endowment fund (for three years) w. c. kimball, chairman, new jersey public library commission, trenton, n. j. john f. phelan lloyd w. josselyn tellers of election. the president: i have had this beautiful gavel but a very little while, but it nevertheless gives me great pleasure to transfer it. do you remember that miss kelso said that we should be able to produce evidence in the way of results for the value of our work? i am going to make a very distinguished, a very large claim: i think you owe the presence of the president-elect not here only but in the profession to the interest which was originally aroused in his mind in the milwaukee public library. mr. legler, i have great pleasure in presenting the gavel for the meeting of to you as president-elect and in asking you to take charge for the remainder of this meeting. the president-elect: madam president, members of the american library association,--for the personal good-will which you have expressed, i give to you my thanks. in so far as your action attests confidence, it must be received as a call to service, and--if i may be so presumptuous as to represent in what i say those who have been grouped by you for the ensuing year into one official family--in that spirit we receive this gavel, not as a symbol of authority but of service. without venturing upon the uncharted sea of prophecy, we shall endeavor to interpret in terms of action those mental images which have been crystallized for us by the strong, virile papers, fortified by the abounding interest and the contagious enthusiasm of all participants in this conference. the modern library movement, recent as has been its inception, has progressed through two strongly marked stages, and is entering upon a third. the first era was that of pioneering, the sowing of seed. the second may perhaps be termed the era of experimentation, out of which grew a few mistakes and some splendid results. but we have entered upon a third era, the period of constructive work, of careful patient planning, of building enduringly. if a year hence, when we yield into other hands the high commission which you have entrusted to us, we shall be able to say that some advancement has been made, we shall be proud and happy; and we hope that your work, which, of course, must be our work, will yield some realization of our high hopes and aims and aspirations. what is the pleasure of this conference? i am advised that mr. burpee has another pleasure in store for us, and we shall be glad to hear from him. mr. burpee: mr. president and friends of the american library association: on behalf of the local committee i have asked our friend mrs. herbert ault, of ottawa, to try to express to you our feelings in bidding you farewell. mrs. ault will sing the old scotch song, that you all know so well, "will ye no come back again." after the singing of this fine old song, mrs. ault led the audience in the singing of "auld lang syne," whereupon the president-elect declared the thirty-fourth annual conference of the american library association adjourned. the social side of the conference throughout the eight days which we officially spent within the confines of the dominion, cordial appreciation of our presence was constantly in evidence. twelve years had passed since a gathering of the association had been held among our hospitable co-laborers north of the international boundary; i think we all were convinced that in so long delaying our second visit, we of "the states" had been the losers. no doubt there will hereafter be a greater frequency of canadian meetings. the western delegation was the first to experience the sincere and unaffected warmth of canada's greeting. ontario's capital and metropolis was reached by the chicago special at noon of tuesday, june . the toronto committee of arrangements was composed not only of librarians, but representatives of the provincial government, prominent educators, and professional and business men and women. their program of entertainment had included a morning automobile ride through the many parks and charming residence quarters of the city; but the ride was abandoned, for the hour at which the guests were tardily delivered to them by the railway managers spelled luncheon, a british institution that brooks no delay. the scene of the spread was the attractive refectory of victoria college, one of the considerable group of educational institutions comprising toronto university. the customary welcome was voiced by sir james whitney, premier of the province, the hon. r. a. pyne, provincial minister of education, and dr. george h. locke, chief librarian of the toronto public library. each of these local speakers expressed the hope that the association might at some early date honor toronto with one of its annual conferences. dr. andrews of john crerar gracefully responded for the visitors. luncheon over, the spacious and well-equipped buildings of the university were visited and admired, and in due time afternoon tea was charmingly served on the smooth-shaven lawn of one of the delightful quads. dinner followed not long after, in the beautiful new public library building, so admirably administered by dr. locke, to whose kindly activity we owed a large share of the day's greetings; and here the guests tarried and rested amid familiar surroundings until the departure of their train for ottawa, close upon ten o'clock. arriving at ottawa towards noon of wednesday, the westerners soon were commingling with their fellows from other parts of the union and canada, forgetful of geographical sections and national boundary lines. before nightfall, all of us realized that we simply were members of a household of co-workers gathered under the family roof-tree of the citizens of ottawa and the members of the government of the great dominion. a peculiarity of canada's hospitality, as we experienced it, was that the government itself, both in toronto and in ottawa, was quite as active and as informally cordial in arranging for our entertainment, as were individual or associated bodies of its citizens. fortunately our week included both sunday and dominion day. the morning of the former was largely devoted to visits to the many large and sumptuous churches. especially favored were those who witnessed the fine ante-pilgrimage parade of those french catholic societies that have for their name-giver st. jean baptiste, the patron saint of all french canadians. the afternoon was spent in driving or trolleying to the numerous parks and several interesting suburbs, and in taking the many walks wherein the stately panoramic view of three commingling rivers (ottawa, rideau, and chaudière) caused us all to envy the lot of those who dwell with this array of mountains and waterfalls at their very doors. the patriotic exercises of dominion day (july ) reminded us strongly of the historical origin of modern canada, which owes a large share of her prosperity to the grit and enterprise of the loyalist pioneers. driven forth from the american colonies because they failed to sympathize with the movement whose culmination we observe with such enthusiasm, three days later each july, they carried to the wilds of the north those same sturdy anglo-saxon qualities of mind and heart and brawn that have erected and maintained the american union. that canada had at last become a powerful, self-conscious, and justly-proud nation, only sentimentally linked with the parent isle and her sister dominions over seas, was a fact borne home to the visitors, with a forcefulness novel to many of them. it is not likely that any american librarian present at the russell theatre during dominion day, will again flippantly discuss the possibility of our annexation of canada--the day for that sort of talk has passed, and happily for both sides of the border. of course sir wilfrid laurier, no longer premier, but now "leader of his majesty's opposition" in canada, was the chief attraction in the day's program. foremost of french canadians, one of the most accomplished of orators, and in every way a world character, sir wilfrid's appearance attracted a crowded house; and his graceful speech and charming manner, so characteristic of his race, deserved such recognition. but some other features of the program were no less entertaining in their way--the vigorous, thoughtful, but strictly practical views of dr. robertson, as he graphically described canada's almost boundless resources, and with large vision outlined his plans for their conservation; and the equally clear and insistent, yet delicately humorous, protest of professor macnaughton, against such materialistic tendencies of modern education as had been expressed by his friend and predecessor. the day was admirably closed by president vincent of minnesota, whose marshalling of the possibilities of librarianship in the furnishing of mental pictures for the entertainment and instruction of humanity, resembled the falls of chaudière in sparkle and velocity. not content with representation on the program and in honorary seats on the platform, the government of the dominion took a considerable hand in the social activities of the week. among the attractions of ottawa is the central experimental farm of canada, with its broad, well-kept acres, in which the astronomical observatory is in close touch with the silos, and pastures and barns are attractive features of the landscape gardening, and up-to-date poultry-runs are charmingly mingled with evidences of floral and horticultural experimentation. in this interesting environment, a garden party was given under the auspices of the minister of agriculture, the hon. martin burrell, ably seconded by mr. john f. watson of the farm staff. there were tents and lawn chairs, a very british-looking band, military-like policemen as ushers, brilliantly-green foliage, and the socially élite of ottawa acted as cicerones to the varied activities of farm and observatory. thus the librarians (who had autoed to the scene, through miles of drives along the park-like banks of the rideau canal) were made paradoxically to feel not only at home, but quite as though the scene of their entertainment were four thousand miles eastward, in the motherland itself. another governmental activity, especially attractive to the young folk of the conference (there are, however, no old librarians), was an informal ball in the parliament building itself. because of these things, the bibliographical fraternity from the states almost unanimously came to the conclusion that thenceforth they would, in all courtesy, forget all about the recent unpleasantness over reciprocity, and be stout supporters of the present dominion government. a division on the question, at the close of the conference would, i fancy, have revealed few members of the a. l. a. in the opposition lobby. the representatives of our own government were not to be outdone in these matters. consul-general and mrs. j. g. foster were informally "at home" on sunday afternoon. scores of american librarians, especially those concerned officially in the association's affairs, were much pleased for a short hour to be entertained as guests on what constructively is american soil. but while official "functions" necessarily stood out with prominence, there was ever on the tapis a succession of unofficial attentions to the visiting throng. dr. robertson was the life of the enterprising local committee. around this body clustered several effective agencies of welcome and entertainment--his worship the mayor (every canadian mayor is "his worship," but this title of genuine respect would be a serious misfit in some of our cities south of the boundary), the public library board, the local canadian club, and the woman's canadian club, all were actively and omnipresently enlisted in our behalf. and wonder of wonders! our little identification button meant free trolley rides within the corporation limits--a much-appreciated premium for wearing the badge. in short, every door was open to us; at every turn, right glad we were made to feel that we had come to ottawa. curiously enough to those of us who think of the a. l. a. in the oft-quoted classification of the hotel agency, as an institution "mostly women," the ottawa newspapers appeared never to recover from their astonishment in this regard. the preponderating numbers of "lady librarians" was the cause for daily editorial comment. but it was noticeable that the head-lines persistently referred to the event as "library men in council"--painful evidence of the fact that the prevalent american evil of head-line inaccuracy has at last spread to the northland. the practice of holding state, library school, and library staff dinners in the course of the conference, is increasing. these gatherings form an interesting and welcome feature of our social activities during conference week. at ottawa they were more numerous and noticeable than heretofore, and gave rise to much good-natured rivalry as to enthusiasm, numbers, and table decorations. it is evident that the library schools are gathering traditions with age; and their alumni associations are growing in pardonable self-consciousness. a new feature was the exchange of rival "yells." one director was heard to express her intention of offering prizes in the next school year, for appropriate class songs and collegiate battle-cries, that her school might not be outdone in this respect by the vociferous young women of pratt and wisconsin. one heard more or less at ottawa, of "the girls of our class," "dear old pratt," "the way we do it at albany," the "traditions of wisconsin" (five years old!), and the like. it is thus that the profession is looking up. socially, the canadian conference was eminently successful, both at toronto and ottawa. this feature was, in its way, quite as good as the literary program itself, and that is saying much. as for madame president, she sweetly and dignifiedly looked and acted her part, socially as well as behind the gavel, and the dominion folk fairly worshipped her. i fancy, when all is said, that that perhaps is a good share of the secret of our undoubted success in canada. reuben g. thwaites. a day in toronto a most cordial invitation from the toronto public library, through the librarian, dr. locke, had been received for a day's visit in that city en route to the a. l. a. meeting at ottawa, and the party which assembled at chicago to take the special train looked forward with great expectation. needless to say these expectations were fully met. as this was the first hospitality offered, the zest for enjoyment was at full height when the party from the middle-west reached toronto, tuesday morning, june . most of the company had left their various posts of duty only the day before and were ready to enter a new land with a joyful spirit. the special train was nearly two hours late in arriving at toronto and thereby lost to the visitors the pleasure of an automobile ride which had been arranged by the city council. still, as no one had anticipated it, the pleasant street car ride, which took its place, was a welcome change from the confines of the sleeping car. the ride around the business part of the city on the special cars ended at victoria college. a local committee consisting of dr. a. h. u. colquhoun, deputy minister of education, prof. a. e. lang, librarian of victoria college, prof. g. h. needler, librarian of university of toronto, with dr. g. h. locke as chairman, received the party at victoria college, where a luncheon was served to persons, the hosts of the occasion being the education department of the province of ontario and the senate and board of governors of the victoria college. the hon. dr. pyne, minister of education, presided over the occasion and speeches were made on behalf of victoria college by hon. justice maclaren, on behalf of the government by chairman dr. locke and on behalf of the university by prof. alfred baker. each in turn expressed the appreciation of the ideas cherished by the a. l. a. and were most cordial in invitation to the association to hold a future meeting in toronto. response for the visitors was made by dr. c. w. andrews of the john crerar library, chicago, who complimented ontario on the progress which had been made in library development and particularly the city of toronto in its new work under the new librarian, dr. locke, whom dr. andrews claimed as a chicagoan in view of the fact that he had been so valued a part of the faculty of the university of chicago, at one time, for six years. after the luncheon the new library at victoria college was thrown open for inspection. prof. lang and his assistants were most courteous in showing the visitors through and displayed for their inspection some of the rare volumes and manuscripts, especially specimens of ancient papyri which are unique. later the premier of the province of ontario, sir james p. whitney, received the librarians in the legislative chambers, parliament buildings, and made an address of welcome. from the parliament buildings the librarians visited the library of the university of toronto, which they found exceedingly interesting, and well up to date. regret was felt by many at the absence of mr. langton of the library, who was in europe in search of health. a most delightful occasion was the garden party in the university quadrangle tendered by the board of governors of the university. the ivy covered walls, the greensward, the perfect day, delightful company and the most cordial hospitality accompanying the refreshments left an impression of the greatest pleasure on all who were present. the large number of toronto citizens who were present, the faculty with the members of their families, were most courteous in making the occasion one of great delight. at six o'clock dinner was served by the public library board in the art room of the reference library building. there were at the dinner which deserved far greater consumption than the hospitality of the day had left room for, but "the feast of reason and the flow of soul" were much in evidence. the chairman of the occasion was the president of the public library board, mr. turnbull. a most hearty address of welcome was made by chief librarian locke and was responded to in kind by mr. legler of the chicago public library. after dinner the building was thrown open for inspection and the visitors enjoyed greatly seeing the magnificent reading room as well as the other departments of the library. of special interest was the j. ross robertson historical collection of , canadian pictures, representing various phases of canadian life from the earliest period. it was a happy, if tired party that left on the special train at p. m. for ottawa with most grateful memories of cordial hospitality and pleasant company in the day spent in toronto. m. e. ahern. the day at montreal one's capacity for receiving bounteous acts of hospitality may be never so unconfined; one's pleasure in accepting them may be never so untrammelled by thoughts of unworthiness or of the hopelessness of ever making an adequate return for all this charming thoughtfulness and lavish entertainment; yet there comes a time when one's vocabulary of appreciative acknowledgments merely and abjectly fails from overwork, and collapses with nothing more articulate than a gasp left to signify an impotent desire to do justice to the occasion. with many of the librarians this unhappy condition became acute in the course of the day at montreal. leaving ottawa on wednesday morning, july rd, by special train, a goodly company--comprising the post-conference party, reenforced by numerous "trippers" whose return passage made montreal the point of departure--was received, on arriving at the latter city, by a local committee, headed by the librarian of mcgill university, and was promptly transferred to a long line of comfortable vehicles which were soon moving up town through the broad streets and past the stately buildings of canada's largest city. to the traveller from the western plains the upward direction of the journey was especially noticeable and much sympathy and some solicitude was expressed for the stocky horses in their long pull through the warmth of the midday sun. but they plodded sturdily on, conscious of the pitiless grade of those rock-ribbed streets only as part of the day's work. and soon they came to the shady drives and beautiful banks of mount royal park and so onward and upward to the summit, whence the unparalleled outlook over the city, the majestic st. lawrence and the country beyond unrolled before the admiring eyes of the visitors. after an all too brief enjoyment of this superb spectacle, the party re-entered the waiting carriages and was quickly conveyed down hill and deposited on the beautiful campus of mcgill university, where, to the accompaniment of noonday whistles and bells, luncheon was served under the trees. these canadian garden affairs, how they impress the visitors from over the line! the dignified beauty of the setting rendered complete by the invariably benevolent co-operation of the weather; the profusion and variety of appetizing and daintily served viands, and the unobtrusive yet efficient service--truly the stoutest jingo was led to exclaim with unfeigned heartiness: "they do these things so much better in canada!" after luncheon a brief inspection was made of several of the college buildings, notably of the charming library, with its delightful reading room, which was visited by some in order to study its architecture or its administration, but by many more for the purpose of paying their respects to the official home of the librarian of the university, their cordial host and the ubiquitous chairman of the committee to whom the entertainment at montreal was due. mr. gould won the hearts of his guests completely and earned their lasting gratitude and perpetual wonderment, the former through the generous hospitality he provided for them; the latter through the calm, simple, self-effacing yet all pervading way in which he dominated the situation and acquitted himself of his arduous task. and still there was more to come, for on reassembling on the lawn the visitors found a long and inviting line of motor cars in waiting, and in these a tour of the city was made, ending at the pretty new public library in the suburb of westmount, where they met with a pleasant welcome by miss saxe, the librarian, and--with more refreshments! from here the guests dispersed and made their way back to town in small groups at their own convenience. an invitation from the white star line to join in the festivities on the new steamship megantic to mark its impending maiden voyage, attracted some of the librarians during the evening. the post-conference party reassembled on board the steamer saguenay and left for its pleasure trip at nine o'clock, while the others went each his own way, some homeward, some by circuitous routes prolonging their holiday, but all with regret that the delightful canadian days had come to an end, and with deep gratitude and appreciation of the cordial hospitality and gracious good-fellowship of their canadian brethren and indefatigable hosts. c. b. roden. post conference trip "done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticism, strong and content, i travel the open road." so the librarians assembled aboard the "saguenay." the day in montreal had been a full and pleasant one and its evening found the post-conference party tired but tranquilly expectant of the joys the boat's departure was to bring. to this some excitement was lent by the dash on board, just as the gangplank was going in, of the new jersey library commission contingent who had lingered too long at the reception tendered the a. l. a. on the white star liner "megantic." many friendly farewells were waved by the a. l. a. members whose official travels ended at montreal. as the boat started for quebec, deck chairs were soon filled by those who wished to watch the noble sweep of the river and the graceful skyline of the city with its myriads of lights. during the short stop at quebec the next morning only a few strenuous ones ventured ashore. the majority were content with the splendid view of the city with its frowning precipice crowned by the citadel and the graceful pile of the chateau frontenac, below which were spread the picturesque roofs of the lower town. it was the fourth of july and after the flags flourished by the patriotic members of the party had been duly saluted, everyone settled down to the calm enjoyment of a safe and sane fourth. the boat glided past the falls of montmorency, the lovely isle of orleans, the wooded shores of the river where in one place forest fires raged, showing a thin tongue of flame under a hovering cloud of smoke, and on from the stately grandeur of the st. lawrence to the wild beauty of the saguenay. it was here that the real business of travel began. baedekers made their unblushing appearance, most of them bearing on their backs the mystic symbols . . the maps and guidebooks provided by the company were studied while the really "litry" were turning the pages of "a chance acquaintance" or "the golden dog." at half past six, a landing was made at l'anse st. jean but word was given that the real village was some distance beyond, a nice walk--from british standards! a gay start was made but the muddiness of the road and the "recedingness" of the village combined with the ravages of the black fly, which van dyke has truly said is "at the bottom of the moral scale of insects," caused even the most valiant to turn back. there were a few who with true yankee enterprise chartered the only vehicles in sight and came back with glowing tales of the quaintness and charm of the village, but for the majority, it must remain the fair carcassonne of dreams. the great capes of trinity and eternity, towering up through the gloom, were passed after nightfall. a searchlight thrown on them from the boat brought out their craggy inaccessibility and made weirdly impressive the statue of the virgin on one of the terraces of trinity. at ha ha bay few were up in time for exploring but the view of the charming bay was to be had from the deck or even from conveniently located staterooms. it had been suggested that here opportunity would be given anglers to make the acquaintance of the "unsophisticated fish" of the region, but if any wonderful catches were made, no stories of them floated to the ears of the feminine contingent. turning back from here the boat passed through the most striking part of the journey, stopping for some time around the capes of trinity and eternity. to attempt to describe the scenic beauties of the trip would be to attempt what was admirably done by the chronicler of the post conference of (see proceedings a. l. a. , pp. - .) the pleasing pastime of trying to hit the sides of the capes with rocks thrown from the boat was indulged in by a few of the passengers. howells tells us that his uninspired hero actually did it. and that was forty years ago! the origin of this custom might be an interesting question for a class in library economy to investigate. the hours spent at tadousac will be pleasantly enshrined in the book of memory. the air was fresh and cool and many came and went visiting the salmon hatcheries, and the ancient chapel, strolling through the picturesque streets where they were met with kindly hospitality by the _habitants_, or driving through the balsam scented woods. leaving these pleasant shores, a few hours brought the boat to murray bay, where the night was spent. every one started out for a walk in the morning, but the road led past the shops dealing in homespun, and there was a general halt. these characteristic raids sometimes cause one to pause and wonder whether the greater pleasure of traveling comes from adding new and beautiful slides to our mental collection or new articles of vertu to our domestic equipment. those who did get beyond the shops were rewarded by a walk through a straggling french village with quaint views and picturesque glimpses most enticing to the amateur photographer. a number also with true tourist thoroughness visited the former summer home of the president of the united states and even took snap-shots on his front steps. all met for luncheon at the manoir richelieu, a meal well served and good. a round of applause was given captain koenig as he joined the party and another was given mr. gould, the perfect host, whose kindness and thoughtfulness will long be remembered by those whom he personally conducted. after luncheon vehicles of all kinds, including that most fascinating of all, the calèche, waited to take the party to the falls. the drive through a beautiful country with fields of clover and daisies and hedges of wild pink roses ended at a pulp mill, where the interesting process of converting the virgin forest into wood pulp was viewed. beginning at the front door where the bales of pulp were taking their departure, the party went back step by step. to achieve the last a steep chute had to be ascended and the perils of descent seemed so great that nearly all preferred to go around and cross back by some stepping stones. the water was not deep but the stepping stones were small. there may have been other falls but if there were, no one seems to have seen them. that night was a gay one on board the "saguenay." it was the culmination of the delightful evenings spent around the piano with music, songs and story telling. at the command of mr. bowker who, with his charming wife, made admirable masters of ceremonies on these occasions, in accordance with the precedent set twelve years before by the a. l. a. post conference, all purchases of homespun, coverlets, rugs, and dress patterns were brought out and hung over the gallery rail for a loan exhibit. after they had been duly inspected a war dance was led by miss askew, the participants being each clad in his respective purchases. stories, songs and charades followed and the evening ended in singing the following choice composition to the tune of the "little brown jug." the a. l. a.'s started one day, to explore the saguenay, young and old, gay and grim twenty-five hers to every him. ha ha bay, a. l. a., sailing up the saguenay, ha ha bay, a. l. a., each from his own library! oh, mr. gould from montreal, our genial host, beloved of all, we'll rue the day when we must say farewell to you and saguenay. during the next two days in quebec, librarians circulated themselves freely, the torrid heat seeming to cause no appreciable falling off. on sunday morning various church services were attended, many going to the basilica. nearly every one found opportunity to visit the principal sights,--dufferin terrace, the plains of abraham (where early impressions gathered from school histories of the hazard of wolfe's climb were somewhat modified), and the lower town, and many, like true "debtors of their profession" visited the library of laval university. luncheon was enjoyed on both days at the chateau frontenac. on sunday afternoon, a much appreciated hospitality was extended the american library association by mr. and mrs. henry porteous, seigneurs of the isle of orleans, who entertained with a delightful garden party in their beautiful grounds and gardens. in the evening many found their way to dufferin terrace to listen to the music and watch quebec promenade by. monday morning the party was received by alderman collier, in the absence of the mayor, who extended a courteous welcome and after that a street car ride around the city was enjoyed by the party as guests of the city of quebec. in the afternoon a special train was chartered to take the party to the church of st. anne de beaupré. a courteous priest acted as guide and carefully explained all the wonders of this miraculous shrine. on the return trip the falls of montmorency and kent house were visited. it was with great regret in spite of the heat, that farewell was said to this most picturesque of cities. good-byes were said the next morning in montreal and each went on his separate way with the feeling that the past week had been one of pleasure and rich experience long to be remembered. julia ideson. agricultural libraries section the first meeting since organization was held on the evening of june . mr. james i. wyer, jr., presided. in his opening remarks mr. wyer gave a brief account of the events leading up to the formation of the section. he also spoke of the various kinds of agricultural libraries and of their growth and influence. an address of welcome was delivered by the hon. martin burrell, canadian minister of agriculture. wm. m. hepburn, librarian of purdue university presented a paper on library extension work of agricultural colleges extension work is now a name to conjure with. its most popular aspects, the corn train, the wheat special, the farmers' short course, where a thousand or more men and women from the farms gather for a week's instruction, have all been exploited in the newspapers to such an extent that they are well known everywhere. the new methods of extension work were developed in the agricultural colleges or agricultural departments of universities. it seems now as though many of these methods were to be applied in other fields. the moving cause for all this activity is the desire to bring opportunities for education to every man, woman and child in the state who has sufficient energy and ambition to desire them. along purely agricultural lines the extension work carried on by the state college of agriculture at cornell, is typical. the december number of the "announcer" outlining this work contained eight quarto pages giving information under twenty-five separate heads. the work carried on by a university as a whole is best illustrated by wisconsin, whose university extension division has carried this work further than any other similar department. the phrase, "the university that goes to the people," applied to wisconsin, and the slogan, "if you can't come to the college, the college will come to you," used by north dakota agricultural college, illustrate the aims of the workers in this field. of course much of this extension work is altogether outside of the sphere of the library, but there are signs that the libraries of agricultural colleges, and of the land grant colleges especially are waking up to the fact that there are public needs which they are best fitted to supply. the extension departments of the various colleges have found a number of problems confronting them in which they need the help of the college library, such for instance as matters relating to the use of books for special study, and the general problem of awakening in the farm community an interest in books and reading. i shall attempt briefly to characterize the various phases which this library extension work has taken, or may take, without more than passing reference to the work of specific institutions. the first letter of enquiry sent by a farmer to his state college or experiment station, might be said to have originated the entire extension work, and the growth of correspondence between farmers and the college, with its professors and experts, indicates the nature of the demand on the part of the public, and the success of the work of the stations and colleges in arousing this interest. this correspondence forms and always will form a very important phase of university extension work. to get in touch with individuals, to have them take the trouble to write you concerning their needs is a sure indication of their interest. just as the correspondence of the commercial house is systematized, and form letters used where possible, so the growth of this extension work has led to the publication of brief bulletins, or circulars in place of the elaborate and lengthy bulletins so often issued by the experiment stations on the same subjects. one of the needs which was soon felt in correspondence was that for a brief list of books on agriculture, which could be sent in response to inquiries from individuals and libraries. this list is sometimes a simple mimeographed list, or a short printed list, or even a more elaborate bulletin, such as the cornell publication, "what shall the farmer read" or the more recent one, "reading in the farm home." there is real need for these lists, and every college library or extension department should have such a list available for distribution. there is room perhaps for some co-operation here in order to secure greater uniformity and the opinions of many who are in close touch with the needs of the farming community. one of the outcomes of the extension work in agricultural colleges, was the forming of reading and study clubs and clubs for social and civic purposes, and the publishing of study outlines for reading courses, which might be taken up individually or by groups. in some cases all the reading necessary was included in the bulletins published, such as the cornell reading courses. in others special books were assigned which could be purchased from the extension department, or borrowed from it. thus began the lending of material from the college library or some department of the college, a practice which i believe is destined to grow to large proportions, especially when we secure parcels or book post. in several states this work is now well organized. the university of wisconsin, the north dakota agricultural college and perhaps others are prepared to send out what they call package libraries to individuals, clubs, societies or schools for a certain fixed period of time. these package libraries consist of pamphlets, speeches, newspaper clippings, articles clipped from magazines, bulletins issued by the university and other miscellaneous matter. north dakota gives a list of subjects on which they are prepared with package libraries in agriculture, biography, education, science, municipal affairs, etc. they will even lend typewritten copies of declamations, dialogues, orations and printed copies of amateur plays. wisconsin in addition to its package libraries issues bibliographical bulletins on subjects of general interest, as does the university of texas. if these package libraries are made more elaborate including larger pamphlets and books, they can be dignified by the name of traveling libraries. so far as is known by the writer, this work is not carried on by the college library except in one instance, the library of massachusetts agricultural college, where prof. charles r. green has this work in charge. in other colleges it is managed by the extension division or department with, however, the co-operation of the college library and other library interests, as in wisconsin. it will readily be seen that this work duplicates to some extent, the work of the public library, or at least the work that the public library should be doing. it is evident too, that this work would have its best field in states where there were few public libraries in the smaller towns and villages. the looking up of references on domestic science, the boy scouts, or the fireless cooker and other similar subjects is supposed to be the work of the public library. it may be that notwithstanding the emphasis placed by the public library on its reference work, and work with schools, the college by its extension service is going to enter this field and do at long range what the public library is not doing for its own local community. if there is sufficient demand from the rural districts for the service given by the public discussion and information divisions of the extension work (as it is often called) it is certainly a strong argument in favor of the extension of the public library service over the counties or townships as is now being done in several states. there is a good field here for co-operation between the local library, the organized library interests of the state, the college library and the extension service of the college or university. an interesting feature of the work of the extension department at purdue university is the combination of the printed list of books, the sample library, and the actual sale of books to the farmers. some months ago by consultation with members of the station staff and actual examination of many volumes, a list of about titles relating to agriculture, was compiled and printed. several sets of these volumes were then obtained from the publishers, and arrangements made with them for mail orders of these books at certain discounts. the printed lists and sample volumes were taken to county fairs, institutes, farmers short courses, and on special trains. the lists were distributed, the books shown to the farmer, and his order taken on the spot at list price. many orders come in later by mail. there is good psychology in this method of getting the book to the farmer. he can examine the book for himself, give the necessary weight to the recommendation of the man in charge, and having confidence in the university as represented by the extension department, he trusts it with his money. during the year and a half that this plan has been in operation , volumes have been placed in the hands of farmers in the state and the sales have been as high as $ in a month. some may see objections to this method of book distribution and there are dangers that must be guarded against, but in indiana it is regarded as firmly established. there are problems that can only be briefly referred to here connected with the distribution of agricultural literature, that are partly extension and partly library problems. many tons of printed matter are being distributed every year by the various colleges and experiment stations. to insure the best use of this material some "follow-up" system and some instruction to the farmer in its care and preservation would seem to be essential. the small circular or bulletin is taking the place of the more elaborate publications formerly issued on the same subject and these are being sent only to those who request them and have a real need for them. the college should be willing and able to lend books to institute workers, lecturers, clubs, and to other libraries unless this service is already well done by some other agency. it should also be a clearing house for information relating to agricultural literature and should co-operate wherever possible with the other departments of the institution whose work looks toward the betterment of rural life. the value of books to both young and old in the farm home, may be overlooked by the other departments organized for more practical and perhaps more well defined ends, and in this matter the librarian has both an opportunity and a duty. dr. james w. robertson, chairman of the canadian royal commission on industrial training and technical education, delivered an address on economic and agricultural conditions in canada. mr. wyer read a paper prepared by dr. a. c. true, director, u. s. office of experiment stations, u. s. department of agriculture on the subject suggestions as to a policy of administration of agricultural college and experiment station libraries dr. true said in part: fifty years ago next tuesday, the nd of july, the act was passed which authorized the establishment in each state of a college "to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts," and it was just twenty-five years ago this year that the act was passed which created the agricultural experiment station as a department of the agricultural college. it seems, therefore, peculiarly fitting that on this jubilee anniversary we should be discussing the relation to each other of these two institutions which have done so much for the agricultural interests of our country, and we believe are destined to do much more. the agricultural or land-grant colleges authorized by the morrill act of were the direct outcome of a persistent demand for an education better suited to the needs of an age of progress than the classical form then in exclusive use. interest in experimental work grew rapidly and culminated in the passage by congress and signing by president cleveland in of the bill introduced by wm. h. hatch, of missouri, which provided for the establishment of an agricultural experiment station at each of the agricultural colleges, as a department of the college. this act provided the sum of $ , annually for the establishment and maintenance of the experiment station. it was later supplemented by the adams act passed in , which provided for an increased annual appropriation, bringing the sum total of federal appropriation for each station up to $ , . in the hatch act establishing the experiment stations the wording of the law clearly sets forth the fact that the station is a department of the college. it would seem obvious, therefore, that, since the station is a department of the college, the station library should be considered a part of the college library and thus come under the general direction and control of the college librarian. this involves the presumption that the college authorities appreciate the importance of a well managed library and therefore employ a well-trained and efficient librarian, and have a good library organization. the work of the experiment station may be broadly grouped under the two heads research and the dissemination of the results of that research. a necessary preliminary to all successful research work is the examination of the records of similar or allied work. these records are contained in books and periodicals, and a moment's thought reveals the fact that the station library lies at the very heart of the station's work and is second to nothing in importance. even the records of hypotheses tested and found untenable are valuable, as they may save much useless effort and consequent loss of time. the equipment of the station library should, therefore, be one of the first considerations in the organization of the station, and not merely a desirable adjunct if better advocated activities permit. the function of the agricultural college library is primarily to serve the interests of the professors and students who compose the college, whereas the mission of the experiment station library is to serve the investigators and scientific workers who constitute the station staff. for the college library to accomplish the best results there should be direct and constant intercourse between the professors and the librarian. the latter should be cognizant of the broad outlines of the courses being given and should be specifically informed of theme work about to be assigned and theses subjects when chosen. if the librarian does not know these things before the call for material comes, it may be very difficult to supply just what is wanted. even with every care there will sometimes be a conflict of interests, but a system of co-operation between the teaching force and the librarian should reduce these conflicts to a minimum, should work for the benefit of all concerned, and make the library a constantly increasing aid in the process of education. the experiment station library, being designed for the use of scientific investigators, is really a reference collection. it should consist of the records of agricultural investigations the world over and such books of reference in each branch of the station's work as the investigator in charge of that work thinks necessary. the co-ordination of the interests of the two constituencies,--the investigator on the one hand and the teaching force and student body on the other, is one of the most important problems of the librarian of the agricultural library. it is a task which will require his best ability as an administrator, and will be accomplished only by the exercise of boundless patience and unlimited tact, combined with an impartial sense of justice to everybody. only when the investigator, professor and student each realizes fully that the librarian's chief concern is to be of service to him, will the ideals of the library be realized. the vital concern of experiment station workers and the officers of the agricultural colleges in the library and its activities was evinced by the fact that a session of the association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations which met in columbus, ohio, november, , was devoted to this subject. nobody knows better than the workers themselves how useful the library may be to them, and their discussion of different phases of its problems was full of suggestions for the improvement of the service. in the development of the libraries of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations in the various states there have grown up three distinct types of libraries. the first type is the experiment station library which is kept separate from the college library but under its control and which is devoted somewhat exclusively to the use of the station workers. an example of this type of library is found at the state college of washington. the second type is the agricultural college and experiment station libraries combined into a single agricultural library and kept separate from the university library, as at wisconsin. this type may be considered as belonging to the departmental type of library. other states which have adopted this plan are california, iowa, minnesota, missouri, nebraska and virginia. in the third type the collections of agricultural literature including the experiment station collections, are consolidated with the college or university collections and administered as one unit. examples of this type are the libraries of the university of illinois, the oregon agricultural college and the kansas agricultural college. under certain conditions the advantages of one type may far outweigh the disadvantages and leave little doubt that this is the best for the particular institution concerned. in the library of the first type,--namely, the experiment station library kept separate from the college library but under its control, the collections are composed principally of the following classes of literature: . as complete a collection as can be had of publications (a) of the u. s. department of agriculture; (b) of state experiment stations in the united states; (c) of agricultural, horticultural, dairy and live stock and kindred societies; (d) the publications of departments of agriculture, of agricultural schools and societies in foreign countries, all of which literature may be designated as the "official agricultural literature." ( ) files, at least current ones, of the leading agricultural periodicals of the united states, together with the best of those published in the interest of each of the special branches of agriculture,--live stock, dairying, horticulture, etc. ( ) a collection of reference works both general and agricultural, as well as standard works on agriculture and its various branches and allied sciences. few if any of the separate experiment station libraries can be said to have notably complete collections, aside from the "official agricultural literature." scientific books and periodicals are expensive and most of the agricultural colleges have not felt able to duplicate expensive sets of periodicals and scientific reference works. therefore, since the college needs such works as well as the stations, the result has been in most cases that they have been filed in the college or university library and the station collections have been limited principally to the "official agricultural literature" described above. that the experiment station workers should have readily available as complete a collection as possible of the "official agricultural literature," both american and foreign, seems most desirable if not imperative. whether this material should be filed in the station library or in the college library and to what extent it should be duplicated is a matter for each institution to decide, according to its needs and local conditions. in the case of an experiment station located on the college campus and near enough to the college or university for the station workers to use the general library, there is still much to be said in favor of a separate reference and reading room for the experiment station staff with an assistant in charge, the collection consisting principally of the "official agricultural literature," a selected list of current periodicals and a good selection of reference books of special interest in experiment station work. the ideal plan would be for this room to adjoin the university library like a seminar room. if it is not feasible on account of distance for the experiment station workers to have the collection next to the general library, then it should of course be in the experiment station building or agricultural hall. libraries of the second or departmental type,--namely, where the college of agriculture and the experiment station collections are combined, contain in general all the library resources of the institution along purely agricultural lines, including the "official agricultural literature," and in addition a fairly complete collection in the sciences relating to agriculture. such libraries have a two-fold purpose. they must supply the needs of the professors and scientists in connection with their investigations and in addition must serve the students of the agricultural college. if the college of agriculture and the experiment station are some distance from the university,--so far as to make frequent consultation of the university library impracticable, there is no question but that the college of agriculture and the experiment station ought to have a separate library for their especial needs. if on the other hand they are near enough to the university library to make it feasible for the professors and scientists to use it frequently, it is an open question whether it is wise to separate the agricultural collections. it is then a question of a central library versus a departmental or special library. the nearer the college of agriculture library is to the university library, the more intensive should its collections become. there is much to be said in favor of the third type of agricultural library,--namely, where the agricultural collections are incorporated with the college or university collections. when the topography of the campus and the location of the buildings are such as to make it feasible for the station workers and the agricultural professors to use the college or university library, the balance of the arguments seems to be in favor of this arrangement, both as regards economy of funds and efficiency of service, if the special needs of the station workers can be and are given proper consideration by providing the really necessary duplicates and an assistant especially qualified to aid in the bibliographical research connected with the investigations of the experiment station. there is a decided tendency toward unity in modern science. this is especially true in the sciences relating to agriculture. the entomologist needs to use botanical books, the botanist must use chemical books, etc., etc. this has an important bearing on library problems and as far as agricultural libraries are concerned, is an argument for centralized collections. as it is probable that it will be a long time in the future, if ever, before the experiment stations will have sufficient funds to build up complete collections for their special use, independent of the colleges, and since it is a question whether, if funds were actually available, it would be wise to expend them in duplicating to such an extent the college library collections, it seems evident that some compromise arrangement is inevitable. in attempting to work out a satisfactory library plan, every institution should make a careful survey of local conditions, such as the size of the collections, the size of the library staff, funds available, location and architecture of the college and experiment station buildings, and then attempt to work out the best possible policy under its peculiar conditions. in working out such a policy, there are three important points to consider,--the question of administration, the question of convenience and the economy of funds. as regards administration, attention has already been called to the fact that the station is by law a department of the college and under its control. if fully lived up to, this fact would seem to decide many vexed questions of administration. sooner or later, it is believed, the colleges and experiment stations will find that there is less to be gained by standing alone than they had supposed and they will realize the advantages of a unified library administration for the institution as a whole. in considering the question of convenience, distance is the most important factor. this difficulty can, however, to a great extent be minimized by an adequate telephone and messenger service between the library and the various departments of the college. even for the sake of convenience, it is a question whether any institution is justified in separating its agricultural collections from the college or university library, unless it is prepared to provide an efficient assistant to look after the collection. because books are near at hand does not mean that they are more accessible. if an institution is limited in funds and if its total resources in books do not exceed , volumes, there seems little doubt but that the interests of the station and college can best be served by combining forces and resources in one strong library with adequate service, unless the topographical conditions make this plan impossible. such a combination certainly husbands the finances, since separate libraries involving a duplication of catalogs and reference books necessitates a considerable outlay of funds. but whatever the details of the library arrangement for the institution may be, the station should by all means have if possible the services of some person, call him what you will,--librarian, bibliographer, or reference assistant, who may give his time and energy quite fully to the special requirements of the station,--for example, in keeping the official literature complete and up to date, in looking up references, making excerpts, making and taking care of indexes, preparing bibliographical lists, and in doing bibliographical work of a miscellaneous character. there is unquestionably need for librarians trained along agricultural lines. it would seem as though the library training schools of the universities of wisconsin and illinois were peculiarly well situated to make a specialty of training librarians for agricultural work. one of the important duties of such an assistant, regardless of whether the agricultural collections are maintained as a separate library or incorporated with the general library, should be the care and collection of agricultural publications obtainable by gift or exchange. there is now a great accumulation of public and miscellaneous documents, american and foreign, which may be obtained at little or no expense as regards purchase, but the collection, safeguarding and general care of this material is a very considerable task. too many of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations have not sufficiently regarded the importance of collecting this material and of keeping their files complete and in a readily available form. a large portion of this material is never noted in the bibliographies of the book trade. it must be sought for in catalogs and book lists, in reviews, second-hand catalogs, and in many less obvious places. much of the material is not for sale and is only obtainable by gift or exchange. it is therefore an important matter that there should be close co-operation between the experiment station and the library in arranging such exchanges. the station bulletins and reports, published by each state, should be the means of obtaining for the station or college library many valuable exchanges from this country and abroad. in regard to the accessions to the library, whether obtained by purchase or gift, there are certain definite principles which should be followed: first, it is most desirable that all the purchases of books and periodicals for all the collections included in the university and experiment station should be made by the central general library, even the books purchased from the adams fund, in connection with some definite project; second that all the records in regard to the resources of the library be kept in the general library. furthermore, all the collections, whether obtained by gift or purchase, should be regarded as the unquestioned property of the institution at large, and under the custody of the librarian. in regard to the purchase of books from the adams fund, the fact that the experiment station worker needs in connection with an investigation certain books not already in the library, which books he is allowed to purchase from the adams fund, is not, in the opinion of the office of experiment stations, reason for assuming that the books should not be purchased through the library or that they shall not be regarded as the property of the library. therefore, in a library efficiently administered, there would be no inflexible rules which would make it impossible for any experiment station worker to retain in his laboratory for an indefinite period while he is carrying on his investigations, the books which he especially needs to have at hand, regardless of the fact that they were purchased through the library. as far as the office of experiment stations is concerned in the supervision of the accounts of the purchases made by the state experiment stations from the adams fund, it has interpreted the law to mean that the funds can be used in part for the purchase of books needed to carry on a special experiment in progress but it does not hold that books so purchased must be held as the property of the department. on the contrary, it is inclined to believe that the funds will be safeguarded fully as well if not better, by the purchase of books through the library. as regards the assignment of funds for the library, there is lacking in many of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations any well matured policy. a hard and fast allotment of funds to departments is of doubtful wisdom. it would be better to be guided more by the use likely to be made of the books by the various departments than to attempt any impartial division among them. in all but a few of the state agricultural colleges and experiment stations the funds available for books are pitiably small. they need to be greatly increased. in some instances the purchase of scientific books seems unduly restricted as compared with expensive apparatus. as long as the funds are meagre, there is the more need for a well equipped, progressive librarian, with a knowledge of the resources of other libraries, who will co-operate with other libraries, and by exchanges and inter-library loans be able to supplement the resources of his own library. the library of the u. s. department of agriculture has been glad to lend its books to state agricultural colleges and experiment stations as freely as possible without interfering with the work of the department. the borrowing of a book needed for the special use of an investigator will often avoid the necessity of purchasing it and leave the funds available for the purchase of books of more general use. the answers to the questionnaire sent out by the agricultural libraries section disclosed the fact that a large number of the agricultural colleges, but none of the experiment stations, have library committees, and that the college library committee's activities do not, except in a few instances, extend to the stations. it is not the purpose of this paper to discuss general library problems except so far as they touch upon the problems of the agricultural library. no arguments pro or con will therefore be brought to bear upon the desirability of library committees. if, however, it is thought best by an institution to have a library committee, it should by all means be a committee for the whole institution. as already emphasized, the station is a department of the college and there would seem to be no reason for excluding it in the consideration of the library problems of the college, for there is no department of the college whose interest in the library is more vital. it was interesting to note that in one of the state agricultural college libraries, whose growth in the last few years has been remarkable, there is no library committee. in another college with a growing and progressive library, the library committee was referred to as not much help and no hindrance. in some colleges the powers of the library committee are described as merely advisory as to library policies; in others, it evidently has considerable power, the decision in regard to the purchase of books being left largely to the library committee. it is a question whether this latter arrangement is altogether wise. there are certain dangers connected with it. if the librarian cannot be trusted to make a wise selection of books for the college, with the help of recommendations of the members of the faculty and station staff, then the disadvantages connected with a library committee empowered to decide on the purchase of books should be minimized as far as possible by having the library committee rotate in office, in order to insure a fair representation of the needs of all departments of the institution. in the case of the experiment stations, the decision in regard to the purchase of books in most instances rests entirely with the director or the heads of the departments. this plan, too, has its disadvantages. the ambitious specialist allowed to have his own way without regard to the needs of his fellow workers is apt to purchase books of service only to himself. if there is a library committee for the institution, it would be far better to have the book purchases for the station considered by the committee on the basis of a general policy taking into account the special requirements of the station's work and funds. if there is no library committee, then the librarian of the college should by all means be consulted in regard to the purchase of all books for the station as well as the college. it should, of course, be understood by the librarian, as well as by other officers of the institution, that purchases of books and periodicals for the experiment station under the hatch act should be strictly confined to those required in connection with the work of the station and under the adams act to those directly relating to the approved project of research. it will, therefore, be necessary for the station director to pass on the extent of the library purchases from station funds and the character of the books and periodicals to be thus purchased. among the functions, problems and opportunities of the librarians of our agricultural colleges, extension work remains to be considered. the extension work of the agricultural college is now one of its vital activities and is every year enlarging its scope. leaders are needed for every phase of this work,--for correspondence schools, for farmers' institutes, for movable schools of agriculture, for work on practice farms, and in many other of the activities which are being used in carrying the improved methods of modern agriculture to the farmer himself. the experiment station is an organized effort of science to improve agriculture, and the extension work of the agricultural college is the practical means of reaching the farmer with useful information. the rural problem is one of the burning public questions of the day and upon its proper solution depends much of the progress which we confidently expect. the farmer must himself co-operate in the solution of this problem and the leadership is of a very high order that recognizes as an absolute essential to success, and succeeds in enlisting, an active participation on the part of the farmer in the work of bringing about an improved practice of agriculture. if then the library is as important in all the phases of the work of the agricultural college as we deem it to be, the work of the library should by all means be represented in all the extension work activities. in conclusion, the above suggestions regarding the administration of the agricultural college and experiment station libraries and their opportunities for service to the investigator, the student and the farmer, may be briefly summarized as follows: first: the libraries of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations should always be in charge of well-trained and efficient librarians. second: the books and periodicals should be selected with reference to the well-considered needs of the various branches of the institution, having regard for the vast amount of literature which may be secured by gift and exchange. third: the experiment station collection, even when separately housed, should be considered and administered as an integral part of the college or university library, under the direction of the college or university librarian. fourth: the needs of the experiment station staff should be met by the employment of a librarian, bibliographer or reference assistant especially qualified to serve the station in all its interests. fifth: in the extension work activities of the college for the more direct benefit of the farmer, the library should have its share. it is realized that there may be a wide difference of opinion as to the methods to be employed, but the object of this paper will be in part accomplished if it directs attention to the principles upon which a policy of administration should be built. the problems of the library need the combined thought and efforts of librarians, faculties and experiment station staffs in order that it may by its efficiency promote to the fullest extent the work of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations. several papers were presented on some types of agricultural college and experiment station libraries the first was by clarence s. hean, librarian of the college of agriculture of the university of wisconsin, on the type =(a) agricultural college and experiment station libraries combined and separate from the university library but under its control.= mr. hean said in part: the administrative officers of the university of wisconsin believe thoroughly in the theory that teaching and research should go hand in hand. that theory practically applied in our college of agriculture and agricultural experiment station virtually combines the two organizations into one. this agricultural department of the university is housed in a group of buildings at the extreme western end of the campus. the general university library is situated at the extreme eastern end, a full half mile away. it therefore seemed advisable to establish a departmental library for the convenience of our agricultural workers. in our college the funds received from the united states are not nearly sufficient to finance all of the station work, or research work as we call it. the budget is made up by adding together the income from all sources and apportioning this whole amount among the departments according to their needs and talents. orders may then be issued by each department, subject to the dean's approval, to the extent of its allotment. when bills are received the head of the department marks with an "r" all items ordered for research (i. e. station) work. the bookkeeper enters items so marked against united states funds until they are exhausted. the library being a department of the college its funds are treated in this same manner. this marking of research items in the bills with an "r" is the only distinction ever made between books purchased for station or for college purposes. all of the books purchased are classified, cataloged and filed as one collection. it is understood throughout the college that books for the adams or hatch investigations are to be purchased by the library. such books when received are given the right of way in all library processes and forwarded immediately to the investigator who requested them. the selection of books rests with the library committee. this committee consists of five members of the faculty appointed by the dean for a term of one year, and the librarian, an ex officio member. the chairman of the committee has been reappointed for many consecutive terms. the other members are rotated among the different departments. lists of books for consideration at their monthly meetings are made up by the librarian. any member of the faculty, or student either for that matter, may recommend books to go on the list. the selections having been made, the list is forwarded to the university librarian. it is then checked with the university catalog. items already available anywhere on the campus are reported back for further consideration. if it is the judgment of the committee that an additional copy is needed in our library it is so ordered, but all needless duplication is avoided. the actual order is made out by the university librarian who has at hand the bibliographical data for such work. the books are received, accessioned and plated at the general library. they are then forwarded to our college library to be classified and cataloged. all our books are permitted to circulate not only among the students and professors of our own college but among those of any college of the university. in return the same privilege is granted to us by the other colleges. having a well developed delivery system and a liberal loaning policy, we encourage the policy of a strong central library. the next paper, prepared by asa don dickinson, librarian state college of washington, treated type =(b) the experiment station library separate from the college library but under its control.= mr. dickinson said in part: in the state college of washington, the experiment station library is said to be separate from the college, but under its control. our college library building occupies a central position on the campus, not over two hundred yards from the offices of most of the members of the station staff. part of the lowest tier of the college library book stack is set aside for the accommodation of the station library, the point of division being marked by a gate. a specially designated member of the college library staff acts as station librarian, under the direction of the college librarian. her salary is paid largely but not wholly out of the station funds. her duties as station librarian occupy about one-third of her time, but these duties have precedence over her college library work. in the absence of the station librarian, members of the station staff are served by the college library staff. our station library is made up almost entirely ( ) of publications of the u. s. department of agriculture; ( ) of publications of the state experiment stations, and departments of agriculture and horticulture; ( ) of the agricultural, horticultural and kindred periodicals. the college library contains duplicate collections of the first two classes of material. the third class in our experience is relatively of less importance, as it consists chiefly of the popular "farm-papers." the station library, like the college library, has its own card-catalog of u. s. department of agriculture publications, and its own card-index of experiment station literature. students and practitioners of the science of agriculture seem to be specially fortunate in that so much of the valuable material on their subject is published and freely distributed by the federal and state governments. there is perhaps no other science in which the unofficial literature is so relatively unimportant. it is true, the technical journals of the allied sciences contain much that is of value to the experiment station worker. but so far as my experience goes, the use of this is not constant and continuous, as is the case with governmental material. let us have separate and distinct sets of state and federal "bulletins," for our college workers and for our station workers, as both classes need to refer to them so frequently. but is not this going far enough? is it not the wisest policy to confine our station library collection principally to these well-thumbed publications, and to place the less constantly used and more expensive unofficial material in the college library, where it can be of service to a larger public? miss margaret hutchins, of the reference department of the university of illinois library described type =(c) experiment station library consolidated with the university library.= until the library of the illinois experiment station and the university library were separately housed, cared for and supported. in that year the state erected a library building for the university and in it the experiment station deposited its collection of nearly five thousand titles. from that time the station ceased buying books from the hatch fund, with the possible exception of a very few books for laboratory equipment, and it has never bought any from the adams fund. the books deposited by the experiment station in the university library were classified and cataloged and became a part of the library. the only difference in treatment from books otherwise acquired was that the experiment station books were accessioned separately so that it would be possible to take them out of the library again if desired. all books and periodicals bought or exchanged for the experiment station since have been dealt with like those bought or exchanged for the university. the questions of administration come therefore for the most part under the general library policy. books are purchased for the university either out of the legislative appropriation for the library or the appropriations for the university and its different colleges and departments of investigation. = . library funds.= the library funds are assigned to the various departments in the colleges of the university by a committee on the apportionment of library funds, consisting of the president, the librarian and the deans of the colleges, who act on the recommendations of a senate library committee. this is composed of the president and the librarian and seven members representing the following interests; agriculture, engineering, science, graduate school, library, the languages, literature and arts, and the philosophical and social sciences. besides preparing for the first mentioned committee on apportionment, detailed estimates of the library needs of the various colleges, schools and departments, the library committee acts as an advisory board to the librarian in matters of library administration and policy. the college of agriculture, which in illinois is of course intimately connected with the agricultural experiment station, receives its share of the library funds for the purchase of books selected by its professors and investigators. = . maintenance funds, called equipment funds in the library to distinguish from library funds.= books are also purchased out of the legislative appropriations for the support of certain colleges and out of allotments made by the trustees from the general university funds for colleges not specifically provided for by the legislature. in the case of agricultural books these funds have the two purposes: the maintenance fund for the college of agriculture and the experiment station and, second, the appropriations for special departments of investigation in the experiment station. the general policy of the faculty of the college of agriculture (or the staff of the experiment station) as to purchase of books out of these two different funds for college and experiment station is to buy books for special investigations out of station funds unless they clearly would be of use also to the students and instructors of the college at large. books needed by the special investigator and the college in general at the same time are duplicated. when books are no longer needed in the laboratory or office for the special work for which they were bought, they are returned for general circulation to the main library by whose staff they were ordered and cataloged. books already in the library, whether bought out of library funds or equipment funds for any college may be sent to a laboratory, office, or reading room from the main library unless they are needed for reference or class use in the main library or any branch of it. exchange. the library and experiment station also work together in the matter of exchanges. the library exchange assistant arranges for the exchange of experiment station publications the same as for other publications of the university, while the station attends to the actual mailing of its publications, as it has better facilities for this than the library. in this way the library receives from the exchange of the agricultural experiment station publications alone between four and five hundred publications, of which more than one-half are from foreign countries, seventy agricultural periodicals and the publications of ninety learned societies being obtained in addition to the publications of state universities and stations and universities and libraries all over the world. besides these, the library receives by the exchange of other university of illinois publications many hundred more publications, some of which are of interest to agricultural scientists and economists. =advantages of the consolidation of station and university libraries= . economy of administration. no staff of agriculturists or any other specialists trained for scientific or literary research can be expected to order, catalog and care for books as quickly and efficiently as can the well organized library staff of forty, with its order department, gifts, exchange and periodical assistants, and cataloging, binding, loan, and reference departments, whose whole time and attention is devoted to these special lines of library work. the library, too, which handles some thirty thousand new books a year can afford to have more elaborate equipment in the way of trade bibliographies of various countries, catalogs of other libraries, mechanical means for duplicating catalog cards, shelving books, etc., than can such an institution as an experiment station whose money should be spent mostly on salaries of specialists and laboratory and field equipment. . security in preservation of valuable books. while the majority of agricultural departments at illinois favor departmental libraries, they all make it conditional--"if we had a proper and secure place for them." all with whom i have talked have also emphasized the advisability, almost the necessity, of keeping all books on the campus, whether in departmental libraries, laboratories or main library, under the central administration and the supervision of the librarian of the university. = . opportunity to use books and periodicals purchased by other colleges of the university.= it can readily be seen that books and periodicals purchased especially by the college of science may also be of use to the agricultural experiment station. the agricultural faculty also benefit by the periodicals, university publications, etc., received in exchange for publications of other colleges in the university. = . greater educational opportunities.= the agricultural experiment station, while receiving the benefits thus enumerated from its close connection with the university library, is able also to extend its circle of influence through the library, which naturally reaches more people than the station could by itself. not only do the students and faculty of the other colleges of the university have an opportunity to use the agricultural books, but people throughout the state can and do borrow them from the library. discussion on the same type of library administration was continued in a paper prepared by mrs. ida a. kidder, librarian of the oregon agricultural college library. she said in part: our policy of one central library was rather thrust upon us by the exigency of our situation than deliberately chosen, for we began with a single librarian and one part time student assistant, but after four years' experience i should pursue the same general course. it is evident, however, that in libraries growing at the almost incredible rate of many of our western libraries, one must have principles of organization and administration, rather than a fixed policy, or inflexible plans. at the oregon agricultural college we have the advantage of having all our class room and laboratory buildings located near each other. we have had no difficulty or complication as to funds, since nearly all our station funds have been used for experiments and laboratory equipment. at first we had almost no college funds for the purchase of books and periodicals, having only such portion of the general equipment fund as could be spared after equipping our rapidly growing laboratories, but at the last session of our legislature the library was granted a fund of $ , for the biennium for books, periodicals and binding, and of the crop pest fund of $ , a year, granted for investigation, ten per cent could be spent for books and periodicals. this has been used and the library has therefore had this biennium, $ , a year. most of the crop pest fund has been spent for books directly useful to the station investigator. of the regular college library fund, the station departments have received their share along with the strictly instructional departments. the library fund is apportioned by the president of the college, after consultation with the librarian, the basis of judgment being the need of the department together with its present equipment. the books purchased from station funds are usually for some specific investigation and are kept in the laboratory collection of the department purchasing. a record is kept of the books purchased under each different fund. the head of each department is responsible for the books in his laboratory collection, and once a year an inventory is taken. in our general catalog we have the cards of every book kept in a department stamped, under the call number, with the name of that department; thus it is possible to locate from the catalog all books except those out on loan. all our freshmen have one semester's instruction in the use of the library, that is, one lecture and one practical problem a week, with one college credit allowed. during this period we urge the students to feel at liberty to go to any laboratory to consult any book needed for their work, but with all the encouragement we can give them, i feel convinced that the books kept in the laboratory collections do not have the general use from the students which they would have if they were located in the general library. we expect soon to place in our agricultural building duplicate catalogs of the publications of the united states department of agriculture and of the state experiment stations. this will be a great accommodation to the men working in the station. we keep our duplicate reports and bulletins arranged so that at a moment's notice any duplicates may be found. we have one department whose work it is to secure and care for the continuations of value to an agricultural college. this is one of the most valuable features of our organization, and though it was difficult to give the service for such a definite department, from our small library force, it seemed imperative and has proved a wise step. the reference librarian of the college does the reference work for the station as far as called upon. she borrows for the use of the station from a number of other libraries. it seems to me that the problem of administering the college and the experiment station library, whether separately or combined must always present a number of almost insurmountable difficulties; men engaged in research demand all material for their work closely and immediately at hand, instructional work requires that all the material on the campus shall be easily accessible to its use. to meet these so often conflicting demands without extravagant duplication requires of the librarian a broad-minded impartiality of judgement. the next topic was a symposium of recent reference books and new periodicals of special interest to agricultural libraries, which was treated under the following heads: (a) new periodicals, by e. lucy ogden, library of congress; (b) agricultural reference books, by elizabeth s. ingersoll, of cornell university library, and (c) reference books in sciences relating to agriculture, by emma b. hawks, of the u. s. department of agriculture library. miss claribel r. barnett, librarian of the u. s. department of agriculture library was re-elected chairman for the coming year. catalog section first session (thursday, june , : p. m.) the first session of the catalog section was held thursday evening, june , the chairman, miss laura a. thompson, of the library of congress, presiding. the reading of the minutes of the last meeting was dispensed with and they stand approved as printed. the topic of the evening, "subject headings," was introduced in a paper by miss mary josephine briggs, cataloger of the buffalo public library, and editor of the "a. l. a. list of subject headings." in the absence of miss briggs, this paper was read by miss sula wagner, of the st. louis public library. the a. l. a. list of subject headings every cataloger, at least at the beginning of her career, has an ideal of the catalog which she would like to make: a catalog conforming to the most approved rules, accurate in bibliographical detail; consistent in form, in method of entry and in arrangement. she realizes from the first that the task of achieving this ideal will be difficult; she soon begins to fear that it will be impossible. after perhaps years of endeavor, she questions if it is even desirable. absolute consistency in the matter of author entry may be attained by strict adherence to the a. l. a. rules, and the divergences from these rules necessary to adapt them to the varying conditions of public circulating, reference and university libraries are slight and unimportant. but who can frame a code of rules or formulate principles through which consistency in subject headings may be attained? and is consistency so absolutely necessary or desirable? is not the ideal catalog the one which is best adapted to the needs of the majority of its users; which is so arranged that the reader can find what he wants in the shortest possible time, even at the sacrifice of absolute consistency? when the work of revising the subject headings was begun, an effort was made to learn the wishes of all interested in regard to the principles upon which the new edition should be based. many of you remember the list of questions that was published in the library journal and in public libraries. some of you sent answers to those questions. they were questions of scope, of principle of selection, and of arrangement. the answers received from librarians, catalogers and reference workers, the opinions of members of the advisory committee upon these and other problems, the ideas expressed by library workers consulted by miss crawford in the various libraries which she visited, the suggestions gleaned from correspondence with other library workers and with experts upon various subjects, were all carefully noted by miss crawford, and in some instances tabulated so that the varying opinions could be seen at a glance. these notes, together with lists of headings from many libraries, large and small, made up the material from which the third edition of the subject headings was compiled. the most casual examination of this material revealed the fact that while on some points there was practical unanimity of opinion, upon others there was the greatest diversity. the following are not exact quotations, as i no longer have the correspondence at hand; but they fairly indicate the opposing views of some of the writers: "expand the list by the addition of necessary new headings, but make few if any changes. the a. l. a. headings are in very general use, and the possible advantage of changes would not compensate for the inconvenience and expense of wholesale alterations in existing catalogs." "the old headings are antiquated. do not hamper libraries yet to be by perpetuating phraseology that no longer conforms to modern usage." "for the sake of uniformity, adopt the library of congress headings, even if not always entirely satisfactory for a public library." "the library of congress headings are not at all adapted for use in popular libraries. disregard them." "the public library is for the plain people,--use headings they will understand." "if the public does not understand scientifically accurate headings it should be taught. do not lower the standard of scientific cataloging." to choose headings that should offend as little as possible these widely differing advisers, to steer a course between ultraconservatism and iconoclastic radicalism, was the difficult task that confronted me in undertaking the compilation of the new list of subject headings. a special effort was made to formulate a principle that should govern the choice of adjective phrase; inversion; or noun, subdivided. is it better to enter under chemistry, physiological, or physiological chemistry? under psychology, educational, or educational psychology? under negro suffrage or negroes--suffrage? a strict rule for this sort of heading would be a boon to catalogers, but surely not to the users of the catalog. the average reader does not reason concerning the principles upon which the catalog is constructed. the fact that he today finds what he seeks entered under chemistry, organic, will not prevent his turning to electric engineering rather than engineering, electric, tomorrow. the adoption of either form of entry to the exclusion of the others would lead to absurdities. because it is satisfactory to subdivide railroads, would it be desirable to abandon headings beginning electric and substitute subdivisions of electricity for electric conductors, electric lighting and electric power? or because botany, structural, is preferable to structural botany, should we use physics, agricultural, instead of agricultural physics? in the end, all efforts to frame the desired rule resolved themselves into something like this: it is necessary to use all three forms of heading; noun with subdivision, adjective phrase, and inversion. each case must be decided upon its own merits, and that form used under which it is believed that the majority of readers will look,--the majority of readers in each particular library, be it understood. a university library will use many subdivisions because it is convenient for professors and students to have much of the material brought together under large subjects. a medical library will use few, if any, headings beginning medical, because medical is understood. as was stated in the introduction, no radical changes from the second edition were made except in response to what seemed to be a very general demand. there were few dissenting votes to the proposition to abandon the headings arts, fine, and arts, useful. the majority in favor of government instead of political science was less decisive, but still a majority, and the confession heard more than once, "i never can remember the difference between political science and political economy," was a straw that helped to turn the scale. trade union is no longer a comprehensive term when organizations of teachers and of others outside the trades must be included. the phrase domestic economy is being superseded in recent books by home economics or by domestic science. it is impossible to mention the changes in detail or to give the reasons for each, but no changes were made without careful consideration. just how far it is advisable to alter existing catalogs in order to conform to the new headings is a problem that each cataloger must decide for herself. if in your opinion the heading already in use is better than the new one suggested, by all means retain it. if, while admitting a slight advantage in the new heading, you think that the gain is not sufficient to justify the labor of changing, it is much easier to alter your copy of the subject headings than to erase or re-write catalog cards. but if you are convinced that the new heading is one that will be more readily found by the users of your library, and by the desk attendants who have not catalog training, then make the change, even at the expense of considerable time and labor. and by all means consult the attendants in the circulating and reference departments if in doubt as to the advisability of making a change. they know how books are called for. they know how they themselves look for them; and "see" references are irritating when there is a line of impatient borrowers reaching from the request window to the door. such changes as have already been made in the catalog of the buffalo public library have met with general approval from the loan desk. recitations and readings; grammar, english; spelling, english; corn instead of maize; humor instead of wit and humor; the transfer of the subheading best books from bibliography to books and reading; and the removal of immigration from under country, have received especial approbation. the necessity for the latter change was made apparent when it was discovered that the half dozen cards under immigration were so soiled as to be almost illegible, while those under u. s. immigration bore no evidence of use; either because the "see also" reference had been overlooked, or because readers were daunted or confused by the complex arrangement of the cards under united states. in all these cases the new heading differs from both the old a. l. a. heading and from the library of congress heading. starting with the intention of retaining all headings upon which the a. l. a. list and the library of congress were agreed, i soon found that some of these very headings had occasioned the greatest dissatisfaction. if the new list was to be acceptable to any considerable number of those who had taken sufficient interest in the subject to answer miss crawford's questions, i must endeavor to get closer to the point of view of the users of the catalog, rather than be governed by theory or established precedent. the library of congress headings are admittedly devised to meet conditions in the library of congress,--certainly very different conditions from those of a public library. moreover, the library of congress headings have been, and still are, in a state of development. many changes have been made in the last dozen years, and as it is plainly impracticable to reprint immediately all cards bearing a discarded heading, libraries purchasing cards printed several years ago will often find headings suggested that are no longer in use by the library of congress. sometimes cards for two editions of the same book bear altogether different headings. the varying headings adopted by the departmental libraries, whose cards are printed and issued by the library of congress, cause still further apparent inconsistency. we cannot be sure that any particular heading was ever approved by the library of congress unless the card bears the library of congress serial number. the department of education, for example, uses secondary education and art education, while the library of congress uses education, secondary, and art--study and teaching. the department of agriculture has adopted botany, agricultural; fruit and fruit trees; and u. s.--forestry; while the library of congress enters the same material under botany, economic; fruit culture; and forests and forestry--u. s. such variations make it impossible for any cataloger using the printed cards to follow blindly the headings suggested thereon, and emphasize the fact that no list of headings can be satisfactory to all kinds of libraries. most of the headings for the new a. l. a. list were decided upon before the library of congress began to issue its printed lists. on comparing the lists first received, i found cases where the library of congress had changed its practice, and as each instalment was issued i made changes in the manuscript already prepared, in order to bring the two lists into closer agreement. doubtless in the library of congress lists yet to be issued there will be many headings different from those in use five years ago, at the time the list which was my guide was copied from the library of congress catalog. conformity in general to the library of congress headings was my aim, and in most cases of doubt the usage of the library of congress, if known, was the determining factor in the decision. but when, fortified by the approval of such advisers as were available, including in important cases the member of the publishing board who is now president of the american library association, i was convinced that some other form of entry would be more helpful to the users of a public library, i adopted that form, even though inconsistent--as in the treatment of english language,--or not altogether accurate--as in the substitution of corn and rubber for maize and india-rubber. i may add that in no case did i decide in opposition to the majority of the members of the advisory committee, though only a few specific headings were submitted to them. the list, being prepared for moderately large libraries, contains many headings that may well be ignored by the smaller libraries. not only are most of the subdivisions unnecessary, but so also are many distinctions which would result in separation of material that might better be kept together if the entries are few, such as charity organization, infants (children being a sufficient entry), soil absorption, soil moisture. the list is not intended as a guide to be followed blindly, but to be adapted to individual needs, by the exercise of common sense--perhaps the most necessary part of a cataloger's equipment. consideration of cost and weight of the book necessitated limitation of the scope. there was a strong plea for the inclusion of geographical terms, at least in cases of disputed spelling. a list of such names was prepared by miss crawford, with full references and definitions. it was estimated that this list would add perhaps one hundred pages to the book, and the publishing board did not feel that it was advisable to include them. very many headings that might be considered as falling within the scope of the book were omitted because their use would be infrequent, and it was thought better that the occasional cataloger should write these headings on the blank pages, rather than that all should be required to pay for an unnecessarily long and correspondingly heavy list. just a word in regard to the actual amount of material in the book. the statement of the publishing board that the third edition contains about three times the material in the second edition has been questioned on the score that the new edition is printed on one side of the leaf only. it should be remembered, however, that only the printed pages are numbered, so that the list of headings in the third edition occupies pages, double column, while the second edition contained but half pages and full pages. that is, the printed matter in the third edition occupies nearly four times the space filled in the second edition. moreover, the type is smaller, so that the new page contains twelve lines more than the old one. therefore, allowing for the blank space occasioned by the disparity of the lists of "see also" and "refer from" references, it is believed that the estimate of three times the material of the second edition is conservative. the subject was continued in a paper by miss mary w. macnair, of the library of congress on the library of congress list of subject headings the list of subject headings issued by the library of congress is used also, for reference and comparison, by many other libraries throughout the country. it has been suggested that a statement in regard to the purpose, scope, and manner of printing of the list, might be useful to the librarians receiving it, and possibly valuable as well to others who are interested in the undertaking, and who may be, to some extent, unfamiliar with the library of congress catalog. the printing of the list of subject headings was begun in the summer of . up to that time, the second edition of the a. l. a. subject headings had been used as a basis for the subjects assigned in the library of congress catalog. but so many additions and alterations had been made in our interleaved copies of the a. l. a. list, that the need of an entirely new list of headings began to be urgently felt, although the difficulty had been partially obviated by the printing of lists of additions to the old a. l. a. list, for distribution to the catalogers at the library of congress. at this date the third edition of the a. l. a. list was already in preparation, yet it was considered wiser to print a list of the library of congress headings, rather than to co-operate in the a. l. a. undertaking, as the headings needed in our catalog differed to such an extent from those required for the average public library. the distribution of the list to other libraries was not, at first, contemplated. the printing of the subject headings was undertaken to facilitate the work of the catalogers in the library of congress, and it was believed that, if supplied to other libraries in its preliminary form, the list would give rise to many queries in regard to unavoidable omissions and inconsistencies. it had not progressed far, however, before many libraries intimated that it would be useful to them to receive the letters as they were issued, and when requests became too urgent for refusal, it was decided to supply copies at a price insuring that only those libraries should order them which had serious use for them. it was considered that copies for distribution outside the library of congress would surely be sufficient, but it turned out that the estimate was too small, and, in consequence, there has had to be much reprinting of the early letters of the alphabet. the edition of the letter p, just issued, was copies. the scope of the list of headings is largely inclusive in its character, covering subjects in all branches of knowledge as far as they have been adopted in the library of congress catalog. the names of persons and places are, however, omitted, also names of societies, institutions, and bodies of various kinds, names of treaties and conventions, and systematic names of genera and species in botany and zoology. the classes theology, and military and naval science are only partially represented in the list, as these sections are not yet re-cataloged. the classes language, literature, and philology, which are now in the process of recataloging, are more fully, but not yet wholly, represented. in the earlier letters of the alphabet, few headings in law were introduced (as it has only been during the past few months that the law headings have been systematically considered), but they are now included in the list, and many of those omitted in the earlier letters are being entered in the lists of additions to the subject headings issued in connection with the main list. we include in the list the more important subdivisions under a subject. these subdivisions are printed in italics, and separated from the main subject by a dash. one point to which i would especially call the attention of librarians using the list is that ordinarily only those subdivisions are printed under a subject which are distinctive, or peculiar to that subject. general form subdivisions, such as directories, periodicals, societies, etc., which may properly be used under any subject requiring them, are, as a rule, omitted from the list. (a list of these form subdivisions can be found on p. of the "preliminary list of subject subdivisions," issued by the library in .) under names of countries only the history subdivisions are included. turning now from the consideration of the subdivisions, a few words may be useful in regard to the cross-references from subject headings to related subjects. in general, it may be said that references are made from the more inclusive to the smaller subjects, and not ordinarily back from smaller to larger. we should refer from grain to maize and rye, but not from maize and rye back again to grain. where practicable, references are made from the most inclusive to somewhat more limited subjects, and from these latter to subjects still more specific, rather than from the inclusive to the specific subjects. we refer from art to engraving, from engraving to stipple-engraving, not directly from art to stipple-engraving. these general principles have been departed from where it has seemed expedient, the desire being to render the list useful and practical, rather than to make it adhere too strictly to rigid rules of procedure. the seeming incompleteness of references from many subjects, references which obviously are needed to round out the various aspects of subjects is due to the fact that certain headings are not as yet introduced in the library of congress catalog. we have been very conservative about introducing new headings until called for by the books in hand, judging that the headings should be made to conform to the literature, rather than the literature to the headings. the printing of a subject in antique type indicates that, in the library catalog, the subject has country subdivision, as in education, labor and laboring classes, insurance, etc. it may be helpful to add here that the country is subordinated to the subject in our catalog, when it seems desirable to keep the material on a topic together, rather than to distribute it under the country headings. this includes many subjects in technology, science, art, and the social sciences. the numbers which follow the subject headings indicate where the material dealing with those subjects is classified in the library of congress. the explanatory words following these numbers serve merely to guide those interested in the classification scheme. they are in different form from the subject headings, and should not be confused with them. in the matter of hyphens, the century dictionary has been used as an authority. at the present time the list of headings has been completed through the letter p. q and r are now ready for the press, and will probably be issued in the course of a few weeks. the editor of the list sometimes feels it to be a cause for gratitude that the english alphabet is composed of only letters. should it contain as many letters as some other alphabets, the sanskrit for example, the day of completion of the list might indeed be far away. a few words in regard to the printing of the lists known as "additions and corrections" will, i think, be needed for a full understanding of the subject headings. i have already spoken of the lists of additions issued in connection with the old a. l. a. list, before the library of congress list of headings began to be printed. when letter a of our new list was ready for press, there had been four of these lists issued, the additions being cumulated in each successive number. the corrections in the lists appeared but once, and were carried over by the catalogers to copies of the a. l. a. list. the headings in these early supplementary lists have, of course, been incorporated in the library of congress list, as far as the letters have been printed. even after the new list was begun, it was found impossible to dispense with the "additions and corrections" lists, as the library catalog grew and expanded. we have continued to issue them from time to time, as occasion has demanded, and have included in them new headings in the section of the alphabet not yet printed, as well as additions to the letters which have already appeared in print. each "additions and corrections" list is cumulative, as far as the additions are concerned, so that a library possessing the main list and the latest supplementary list has a complete record of all the library of congress headings which have been printed. as was the case in the lists supplementary to the a. l. a. headings, the corrections noted appear but once, and should be carried over by catalogers to the main list of subject headings. the classification numbers, and cross references to related subjects, known as the "see also" references, are not included in the supplementary lists. direct "see" references from one subject to another, or from one form of name to another, are, however, usually included, that the cataloger may avoid the pitfalls lurking for the unwary. including the early supplementary lists, there have been, up to the present time, eight lists of "additions and corrections" issued, and number is ready for the press. having now touched upon some general features in regard to the issuing of the list of subject headings, with its supplementary lists, i will conclude with a word as to a later and fuller edition. the list now being issued is a preliminary list, printed as manuscript, and, to some extent, experimental in its nature. while it is being made as complete and inclusive as present conditions seem to warrant, the intention has been to reissue it later in book form, wider in its scope and more inclusive in its references. concerning the date of issue of the fuller edition, should this desired consummation be brought about, it is impossible at this time to make a statement. probably it will be best to wait until the remaining classes of books in the library are reclassified and re-cataloged, before any definite decision as to date is reached. it has been suggested that the next edition of the list might be put into loose-leaf form, with a view to keeping it to date by inserting new leaves, when necessary, in place of old ones. experiments may be tried along this line, and the relative merits of the various loose-leaf binders investigated. the advocate of this plan suggests that the linotype slugs be kept standing, and that once a month the sheets on which changes have been made be reprinted, and distributed to the catalogers at the library of congress, and to subscribers to the list. the subject matter of a later list would doubtless agree with the present list in general features, but some minor changes might be found to be desirable. one point to which our attention has been called is the possible advantage of entering subjects in zoology and botany in the plural form rather than in the singular, as most of them have been entered in the present list. another matter which merits consideration is the substitution of subdivided headings for the inverted forms now in use in certain classes of subjects, as in the headings oxygen, physiological effect of, and man, origin of. some other questions to be considered are as to whether it would be advisable to distinguish in the list those subjects which are divided by country and then by city, from the subjects which have direct local subdivision; whether certain classes of headings now included could be advantageously dispensed with; and whether the main subdivisions of the animal and vegetable kingdoms are a valuable feature of the list. doubtless other matters will suggest themselves for consideration as time goes on, and we shall hope eventually to publish a list which may commend itself as a valuable tool to library workers. borrowing the words of mr. charles a. cutter in the preface to his "rules for a dictionary catalogue" we may say with him: "it is to be expected that a first attempt will be incomplete, and we shall be obliged to librarians for criticisms, objections, or new problems, with or without solutions." it had been hoped that mr. j. c. m. hanson would personally supplement this paper by an informal account of the early practice and experimentation of the library of congress. in his unavoidable absence, brief extracts from a personal letter were read by miss thompson, who then called upon dr. e. c. richardson, librarian of princeton university, to open the discussion with some previously prepared notes on fundamental principles of cataloging this discussion by the direction of proper authority is a discussion of the alphabetic subject catalog as suggested by the a. l. a. and library of congress subject heads. it is confined to general principles and general principles, of course, always have exceptions. this discussion is, however, free in considering these so far as it pleases. some of the fundamental principles may seem more like rules than principles at first sight but it is believed that they are all well principled. however, it is not pretended that they are all the principles in sight; quite the contrary, there is quite a pocket-full of these left each with the memorandum of some principle, big or little, and there are but twenty-one here enumerated. this being a discussion rather than a systematic paper properly refers to matters of recent personal experience. since the first page of the new subject index contains subjects down to the name "absolute," there has been drawn a synopsis of all the subject headings used by the a. l. a., library of congress, harvard, sydney, princeton and the indexes of the expansive classification and decimal classification. this will illustrate the variety of usages which have to be dealt with in attempting to systematize this matter so as to get uniformity and may be regarded as illustrations of the principles enumerated. . a catalog is a name list of concrete or specific objects as distinguished from classes of objects; a list of plants in a botanical garden, of mineral specimens in a museum or books in a library, but a list of kinds of plants, minerals or books apart from concrete specimens is not. in the case of books such a list is a bibliography. the book catalog is a directory or guide book to certain concrete books, the bibliography is a list of books in the abstract, applying equally whether its books exist in one place or another, or even if they no longer exist at all. . a library catalog is a directory or guide book to books for use. the immediate object to publishers, new book dealers, book auctioneers or antiquarians is sale, the object to the librarian is use. this difference affects both the form of the catalog and the description of the books. . library catalogs in turn may be distinguished into catalogs for the administration (which include chiefly accession catalog and the shelf list) and those for direct use of readers (which include author, subject, title, imprint, etc., catalogs)--the special use in every case modifying the form of the catalog. . catalogs for readers differ according to the two needs of readers which the catalogs try to meet. these needs are ( ) to find a given book; ( ) to find a book or group of books of a given character. it is not quite exact to say under this second head, that the object is to find information on a given subject or topic, for it may be that the object is to find special forms such as incunabula or venetian imprints, association books, fiction, poetry, drama, essays, orations, ballads, encyclopedias, dictionaries, periodicals, classes of rarities, books on vellum, etc. . the prime object of a library catalog or directory to books for use resolves itself into a matter of the economy of time and of attention. where there are only two or three books in a man's library there is obviously little need of catalog. as soon as there are many the guide book is needed. whether, therefore, the catalog is author or subject, the controlling thought in its making is the economy of attention of the user. . the alphabetic order is on the whole the quickest reference order. the economic solution for these two needs proves, therefore, to be, the two alphabetical catalogs ( ) the author and title catalog, ( ) the alphabetical subject catalog. title catalogs and the like are simply supplementary practical devices to aid inexperienced or forgetful readers. the author and title catalog is distinguished from the author and catch-word catalog by the entry of anonymous titles under the first word rather than under the most significant word. b. following a natural evolution, the systematic library catalog and the alphabetical classed catalog are practically extinct species, overwhelmed in the struggle for existence by the alphabetical subject catalog's quick and ready reference. this economy is, to be sure, effected for the average use, at a very great expense to the use of a good many readers who wish to consider all related aspects of a topic, but with the growing habit of classification of libraries, there is in fact a handy substitute, for these readers, in the classification, its index, and the shelf list. the alphabet subject catalog has thus become the recognized sole form of subject catalog for users in general. . the nature and origin of the alphabetical subject catalog is the same as that of the alphabetical encyclopedia, the alphabetical index to books and alphabetical index to a system of classification. its rules and applications may, therefore, be guided by experience and practice in these three fields as well as direct experience in the alphabetical subject catalog. . habit being a chief factor in quick reference, it is important that the name of the subject should be that of common usage. by this is not meant necessarily the use of the common people, but the form generally used in book indexes, encyclopaedias, and library classifications. it is greatly to be desired that all encyclopedias, classifications, indexes and alphabetical subject catalogs should use just the same terms--the same form among synonyms, the same practice as to singular or plural, adjectives or substantive entry. . at least the names of the subjects in the alphabetical subject catalog should be identical with those of the alphabetical index to the systematic catalog if there is any or the classification of its own library. . whatever names are used must be clearly defined. this is the first principle of subject cataloging, whether the arrangement is alphabetical or systematic, that the subject word shall be so clearly defined that there is no mistaking what is to go under it. it is hard to lay too much stress on this matter. it is the alpha and omega of subject cataloging of every sort, besides which even uniform names and the question of arrangement are quite secondary. . in choosing the names for classes, the most specific should be used. this is a very important aid indeed to clear definition. the only objection is the splitting of kindred subjects--the same idea which leads to the alphabetical classed or systematic catalog. many cautions are issued warning against being too specific--some well founded, but the danger lies almost wholly in the other direction. there may be a limit but the principle is one of the clearest and most important in the whole matter and even the encyclopedias--even the britannica itself--are getting further and further away from the old britannica type. . the names of subjects so far as they are identical with author catalog entries should be determined by the same rules as in the author catalog. this is another important aid to uniform names which should be strictly insisted on. . the alphabetical subject catalog should have a classed index, as the classed catalog or the shelf list must have an alphabetical index. note that the index to the new britannica by its alphabetical index recognizes itself as an alphabetical classed encyclopedia rather than an alphabetical subject encyclopedia. note also that it has the systematic index--the idea which in the end must be applied to every alphabetical subject catalog and which will be fully served automatically if the names of the classification index are identical with the subject headings and the class number attached to each of the subject catalog headings. . sub-headings and sub-sub-headings should be alphabetically arranged. they should not be systematic or chronological. . sub-headings should be chosen by the same rules and principles as main headings and thus make a duplicate list. there may be practical limits to this but principle is clear. . the arrangements of titles under main subject or sub-headings need not be alphabetical. much is to be said for the chronological order of authorship or publication, but almost the only use for alphabetical arrangement by authors under heading is a poor duplication of author catalog use. it might be a real advantage to break the bad habit of using subject catalog for author purposes and on the other hand, the chronological arrangement of titles in the vast number of cases would save turning all the cards as required in the alphabetical order. nevertheless the alphabetical is now the common method. . complex books may be analyzed for the subject catalog. this is the distinctive advantage of the subject catalog over the shelf list that it can put different articles in the same volume or various subjects involved in one title under all their effective headings. it is obvious, however, that this principle must be limited--to apply in a wooden way would involve all periodicals and essays, a rock on which more than one attempt at subject cataloging has been wrecked. . the subject catalog should not be overloaded with references. the principle of economy of attention requires this. few things are more aggravating in working under subjects than to have to finger over a large number of irrelevant cards. some of the remedies for this are subdivision, the arrangement in chronological order of publication as above suggested, limiting analysis by excluding all works analyzed in accessible indexes and, where there is more than one edition of the same work, indicating one only and referring to the author catalog for the others. . the card should not be overloaded with details. the principle of economy of attention involves reducing the amount of material in a title to its lowest terms (whether on card or printed book) a matter greatly helped by typographical distinctions or corresponding distinction in the breaking of written lines, the location of certain details on certain lines or certain fixed places on the card, the use of red ink, underscoring, and similar details enabling the user to get the essential facts as to the identity of the work and its location in the building in the shortest possible time. . the indications on the cards of either catalog should be as brief as may consist with clearness and so displayed on the card as to catch the eye quickly. . subject cataloging is a practical art, not a science. names will be changed from time to time and a part of the art is therefore to develop a method of record on cards which shall cost the least possible effort for making changes. dr. g. e. wire, of worcester, continued the discussion of subject headings, with special reference to medical headings in the third edition of the a. l. a. list of subject headings. dr. wire said a lack of knowledge of medical and surgical terms had led the compilers of nearly all the library catalogs into using erroneous headings, "sees" and "see alsos" and that these errors had been continued in the third edition of a. l. a. subject headings. a cataloger of good preliminary education, with experience gained in a large library, and with the opportunities to be found in a large library, college, reference or circulating, of consulting books, or people or both, can in time produce a fairly logical system of "sees alsos" and "sees," and subject headings in almost any subject except medicine. among the changes suggested by dr. wire are the following: =abdomen.= the rational references and cross references are: see also, intestines, viscera. cross reference should be simply viscera. =anatomy.= why refer to glands and not to liver, the biggest gland in the body? why to chest and not to lungs? autopsy should not be referred to; that reference should come from pathology. =appendicitis.= this is a surgical disease and should be put under surgery, practice of, instead of medicine, practice of. =contagion and contagious diseases.= contagion and infection seem to be confused. we are referred from infection to contagion as if they were synonymous terms. =homeopathy.= "see also medicine" should be used for polemical treatises only. these headings show a bias against homeopathy which is common in some classifications. =hygiene.= has "see alsos," most of which are fair but one-half of them could be omitted to the bettering and clearing of the list. =hygiene, public.= this is better on the whole than hygiene (plain), more consistent and logical in their references and cross references, thus confirming our contention that it is from lack of medical and surgical knowledge that these lapses occur. =medicine.= i should omit the following special headings, leaving only the general: allopathy; anatomy; anæsthetics; antiseptics; autopsy; bacteriology; dentistry; diagnosis; histology; homeopathy; hospitals; inoculation; narcotics; pathology; pharmacy; physiology; stimulants; surgery; therapeutics; vaccination. from =medicine, practice of=, i should omit all the surgical headings as follows: appendicitis; bones, diseases; cancer; erysipelas; eye, diseases and defects; obstetrics; surgery; tumors. dr. wire recommended that a medical mind with suitable library training should have been consulted about these headings before a final printing. miss anna m. monrad, of yale university library, outlined the principles and scheme of subject headings for philology and literature applied in the catalog of yale university library. second session (friday, june , : p. m.) the second session of the catalog section was held in the ballroom of the chateau laurier on the evening of friday, june , miss thompson presiding. mr. keogh, miss van valkenburgh and miss mann were appointed by the chairman as nominating committee. the first paper was by miss ono mary imhoff of the wisconsin legislative reference library, on cataloging in legislative reference work the state which studies the laws and experience of other states and countries in order to bring to its own statute books the best features of each, combined with the results of original work, confronts a problem of no small dimensions. the mass of laws put forth by the forty-eight states of this country is so overwhelming that it is practically impossible for one man thoroughly to comprehend their merits and disadvantages. the legislative reference library, therefore, must be of service in helping to select that which is worthy of imitation, at the same time discarding the impractical features. the reasons for the success or failure of such laws, and the differences in economic or local conditions in two communities must always receive serious consideration by those who are endeavoring to meet the advancing economic demands for properly constructed and better laws. the comparative element of this vast accumulation of material must always be remembered, not only in the care, but also in the gathering of material, if the library is to serve its highest purpose. because of this and other well known characteristics of a library of this type, the demands are of a peculiar nature and cannot be met by the ordinary library material treated in the usual library method. it is more or less of a quasi-library, requiring an adaptation of library processes to a combination of office and library work. as a result of this difference, the general library rules for cataloging must be decidedly modified. one is justified in making the catalog of such a library a law unto itself, for each and every one of its class has its own particular problems, environment and limitations, which will probably be met in its own particular way. since the problem becomes so largely one of individuality and circumstances, it might be well to consider for a moment some of the essential differences in purpose and treatment of material, and to realize the desirable points to be attained as well as the non-essentials, or things actually to be avoided. the processes and methods of this kind of a library must in their nature be conducive to rapidity and conciseness of service. time saving devices are unusually important, not only in the acquisition of material and the actual technical work, but in the delivery of material. the speedy availability of the most serious treatises on the most profound subjects is absolutely necessary. between sessions many, many hours of the most earnest and serious efforts must be spent in investigation, study and research in order to relieve the pressure of heavy research work as much as possible during the session. the library deals with business men who are seeking an answer to some special need. they have a definite reason for seeking the information and a definite point of view and they expect the library to answer their questions in a business-like manner. too much emphasis cannot be placed upon _efficiency_ of service as shown through _rapidity_ of service. the legislator is a busy man and any time saved through devices which quicken delivery of material, or shorten the time devoted by the patron himself, is well worth while. if two hours is necessary on the part of the library worker between sessions to put material into such shape that it may be delivered ten minutes sooner during the legislative session, it should be given cheerfully. condensations, digests, and briefs may be prepared during the interval between sessions which will save hours of time during the actual high pressure season of the session itself. any sort of short-cut brought about by analyticals, or any other devices known to the cataloger, should be used. shrewdness of judgment and a general discrimination as to what is really valuable is not only highly desirable but absolutely essential. since time is such an important element, it might be well to call attention to the fact, that the legislative reference library may be adequately maintained without many of the records which are favored in libraries in general. do away with as much "red tape" as possible. simplicity of material, simplicity in service, simplicity in the whole department is to be commended above almost any other one characteristic. among those records which can be abandoned with perfect propriety in such a department, are the accession book, gift book and withdrawal book. so much of the material is ephemeral in its value that the cost of maintenance outweighs the value received in actual results. the serial list may be exceedingly simple. records of the number of books cataloged, or circulation statistics are of very doubtful value in this work. since the loss of material is inevitably rather large, an inventory is almost essential. however, material is easily replaced, much of it is free and because of this fact, a biennial inventory will prove satisfactory in most cases. there is no need of a complicated charging system. in truth, establish no records of any kind within the library until convinced that its efficiency will be hampered without them. emphasis is put upon this point, because of the fact that all legislative reference departments have small appropriations in the beginning, and it is during this early period that the library must justify its existence by showing results in active service rather than in catalogs and records. at first there are never enough assistants to do both efficiently. therefore, let the tendencies be toward those things which will bring into evidence vital things rather than mere good housekeeping. it might be well to state that the term "catalog" will be used in the broadest possible sense. the definition of the term as it will be used in this paper, might be given as "a record of sources and of material," and not merely a record of material to be found upon the shelves of any one library or institution. the catalog should be kept as simple as possible in its essentials. conciseness of title, brevity of treatment, and above all clearness, must always be borne in mind. sacrifice library school rules if necessary. let there be no hesitation in enlarging or changing the title if by so doing greater clearness is gained. it must be remembered always that the catalog is made not for librarians with technical knowledge, but for men whose use of it will be that of an untrained student. let it be such that your constituency may use it without help. be exceedingly generous with notes, never failing in the case of bills to show whether such bills became laws or failed in passage. if a bill became a law, give the citation. if reports or cases are known by special names, be sure to note that fact. let there be no ambiguity either in title, subject or note. annotations as to the substance of material are also highly desirable, particularly when they show whether a given article is favorable or antagonistic, or state the reliability of the author concerned. the material itself falls into three distinct classes which influence the cataloging treatment; books, pamphlets, and clippings. the books and pamphlets show comparatively little variation from regular cataloging methods. clippings in the wisconsin legislative reference department are mounted upon manila sheets, eight by ten, arranged chronologically under classification number, marked with a book number z and treated as a single pamphlet. they have no author card, being entered merely under the subject-heading necessary, with the author line left blank. this procedure is convenient in some other cases, such as certain extracts from the congressional record, containing discussions in which various members take part and where it is difficult to enter under any individual or even joint authors. since the author phase of the catalog is of less interest than the subject phase which acquires unusual importance, secondary cards may be very largely omitted. joint author cards are really of very little service. series and title cards are the exception rather than the rule. whenever possible it is advisable to make continuation cards instead of entering new compilations or new editions on separate cards. in the case of continuation cards, it is advisable to choose a brief title and pay no attention to such variations as may be given in different editions. for instance, a compilation of state tax laws might be entitled, "laws relating to assessment and taxation," and the one simply "taxation laws," and the one "revenue and taxation laws." these may all be entered upon one card under the simple title, "tax laws," and the three volumes added as continuations. in short, do not attempt to show the exact detail by means of cataloging, such as is advisable in public libraries. what your patron wishes to know is whether you have the tax laws of that state and what is the date of their compilation. these are the facts which interest him and the number of pages or the particular form of the title, is of absolutely no value to him. this is a good example of that freedom in condensation and changing of titles which is somewhat heretical in its nature, but which after all leads to that saving of time and patience which is so necessary. use only such imprint as is absolutely essential; omitting on the whole, illustrations, maps, portraits, and plates. in cases of excerpts from periodicals the name of the magazine with the date of that particular issue is usually deemed sufficient. because the ordinary patron of the legislative reference library is unfamiliar with library methods, it has been found convenient to file "see also" cards at the beginning of the subjects rather than at the end. for this same reason, the guide cards should be much more numerous than in other libraries, and it is of great advantage to have the main headings brought out upon thirds with the subdivisions of these main headings on fifths of a different color. blue and manila form a good color contrast for such a scheme. as has been said before, the comparative feature of this work is one which is worthy of special consideration. its value can scarcely be over-estimated. the efficiency of the library can be greatly increased by a constant lookout for such material. every book, pamphlet or clipping, passing through the hands of the cataloger must be most carefully reviewed, not only for its general material, but for any comparative statement which shows either conditions, laws, or tendencies in two or more communities, states, or countries. it may take form as a tabulated statement, a chapter, a paragraph, or even a mere foot-note, but at some future time it may serve as a starting point for an investigation, or give instantaneous help in the question as to "what states or countries have laws similar to this." the advisability of listing such comparative material in a separate catalog must be determined by each library. when it is buried in the regular catalog it requires much longer to answer such questions than when kept in a separate file. if made into a catalog by itself, there should always be a note showing exactly what states or countries are included in the comparison and the dates covered by such material. in other words the comparative entry must be justified either by the title or a note showing that it really is a comparison. probably two-thirds of such material is analytical in character. the question of analyticals will be greatly influenced by the subject matter under consideration. upon certain subjects there are practically no book treatises, and most of the material will be found in the form of analyticals. the amount to be analyzed, the choice of form and the relative value of the material concerned must be determined by shrewd judgment on the part of the cataloger. the entire library will be greatly enhanced by a careful selection of analyticals, but the bulk of the catalog must not be increased unless with good reason. the percentage of analyticals will be in most cases much higher than in the ordinary library, because so often a few pages are worthy of special notice on account of their comparative nature, the particular view point of the author, or sometimes merely because of the scarcity of material on that subject. as to the cataloging form for analyticals, there is no reason why it should not follow the general rules of the library as a whole. my own preference is for the long form, because oftentimes the short form is not perfectly clear to the legislator. although advocating simplicity, as a general thing, it should not require clearness to be sacrificed at any time. there is room for discussion on this point and there is difference of opinion, but my conclusion in the matter has been reached after some experimentation. a little more work on the part of the librarian is preferable to the slightest bit of doubt on the part of the legislator. since legislators are investigating specific problems, looking at them from a single point of view, and not always considering a subject in its broadest sense or in its relationship to knowledge in general, the question of subject headings, outside of classification, becomes practically the most important single proposition the cataloger has to consider. in practically every case the popular rather than the technical form of heading is desirable. the simple ordinary term should be chosen, for it is under this type of heading that your reader will be most certain to look. in his haste and absorption he fails to realize that there is any possible viewpoint, other than his own. having but one thought in his mind, he naturally expects to find his material under this subject. most certainly he should find at least a cross reference. therefore, one recommendation is to be exceedingly generous in the matter of cross references. under such conditions it is always wiser not to trust one's own judgment, but to call upon various people asking under what heading they would look for material of a certain type. in this way the cataloger may secure suggestions which are unusually helpful and which put into the catalog the ideas of many persons rather than of one. for instance, a book or pamphlet relating to the extortion practiced by usurers would be found under a heading such as "interest" or "usury." however, there are various other headings under which individuals might expect to find material of this kind, depending upon the particular phase of the question which he had in mind at the time. a busy man, wishing to draft a bill putting the loan shark under control, would be thinking of a loan shark and not of the underlying principle of interest. another man approaching the question through interest in the installment plan would expect to find material of use to him under that subject. another man taking a broader view of the subject might look under "interest." each of these men would be justified in looking under the particular subject he had in mind, expecting to find either the material or a reference sending him to the chosen heading. every possible heading which suggests itself is worthy of consideration, for such an investment of time will more than pay for itself in the satisfaction it brings to those who use the catalog. the necessity for painstaking effort and careful thought in this connection is verified by experience. special and local names may well be noted on all main cards and cross references made in every case from such forms. for instance, the law governing the sale of stocks recently passed in kansas, which is popularly known as the "blue sky law" should be noted as such in the catalog. the "mary ann" bill may be called for by that name and if there is no cross reference in the catalog the untrained assistant in the library, or the stenographer, will never find it. the mechanical part of the catalog should be so complete that it does not require acquaintance with all phases of the subject in order that a person may use it intelligently. therefore, special and local names inevitably need attention. the contents of a legislative reference library are largely of either an economic or a legal nature, and its patrons sometimes approach the material from the legal side and sometimes from the economic side. in assigning subject headings this fact must never be forgotten. consequently, the headings will sometimes take a legal turn and sometimes an economic turn. at times it is necessary to compromise and choose one halfway between the two. let us consider for a moment the relationship of the economic and the legal material. justice holmes, in his book on the "common law," expresses this relationship unusually well. he says in substance that the growth of the law is legislative; it is legislative in its grounds; that the secret root from which law draws all the juices of life is consideration of what is expedient for the community. the economic necessity for law precedes the legal expression. the need for a statute is felt long before it is formulated. this is readily recognized by political economists and lawyers. judge dicey, in his book entitled, "law and opinion in england," (lond. , p. ) says: "a statute * * * is apt to reproduce the public opinion, not so much of today as of yesterday." since a legislative reference library is busied with the process of law-making, rather than with the administration or interpretation of law, the trend will be toward the economic headings rather than the legal. the tendency of law is to crystallize, and subjects legal in aspect are likely to be complete in themselves, and therefore less amenable to library purposes. as an example, a subject heading such as "eminent domain" is legal in its nature. this will be used in the main body of the catalog without a doubt. it may have cross references of both a legal and an economic nature. at the same time "eminent domain" may be used as a subdivision of economic headings, such as "railroads," "street railways," "telegraphs," and "telephones." this shows how the legal aspect of an economic question may be brought directly in touch with the economic phase of the question. another example is "liquor problem;" as it is used in the subject headings, it is an economic question, yet we use the subdivision "illegal traffic" which includes purely a legal phase. "discrimination," a legal term, will cross refer to some specific form under an economic heading such as "railroads--rebates." it is often necessary to refer from some rather popular headings to legal forms, such as "funeral expenses, see estates of deceased persons." again it may be necessary to mix the two with a heading such as "ethics--business and professional," with cross references from legal headings, such as "professional ethics," "legal ethics," "medical ethics," etc. the general conclusion reached is that there is likely to be either subdivisions or cross references back and forth from any type of heading to any other type, with one exception, namely, an economic subdivision of a legal heading. in our experience in wisconsin, we have not found this combination of headings either necessary or advantageous. this fact but emphasizes what has already been said, that law once established, becomes permanent and fixed in character. geographical divisions as main headings should be used sparingly, but geographical subdivisions of subjects are very helpful. primary election laws, road laws, tax laws, will all be more available if divided by states, not only in the classification, but in the subject heading. if clearness or rapidity of service demand subdivisions, they should be made, even though there be few cards under each subdivision. many helpful suggestions for subject headings and cross references may be obtained from law indexes, law encyclopedias, and the new york index of legislation. not only is it necessary for the cataloger to know the material which is in the library itself, but if efficient work is to be accomplished it is decidedly necessary that material not within the four walls should be made available. let all kinds of knowledge be at the cataloger's command, and make the mechanical devices carry as much of this burden as possible. first of all, material which is in town but which is not contained within your own library, should be noted. statutes and session laws of all the states should be obtainable though not necessarily a part of the library itself. if a state or law library is near at hand, it is far better to rely upon them as a source of reference than to duplicate such a collection on your own shelves. articles in law magazines, reports large in bulk, but issued only occasionally, may be noted, when not placed upon the shelves. in wisconsin we make a distinction between material in existence within the city and that which is in existence elsewhere, such as in the library of congress, the john crerar library, or nearby institutions. a manila catalog card tells us that the material may be found outside of the city, whereas by stamping the name of the library in the place of the call number on a white card, we indicate that the material is in town. subject entries only are made for material of this sort. there are many indexes already in existence which will supplement the catalog and call to the attention of the worker available material. one of the most valuable sources of all is found in the experts of the neighborhood. the librarian is too prone to think that all the most useful knowledge is in books or printed form. some of the best help imaginable can be obtained from men. every community has within its borders specialists of various types; men who have given their lifetime to the study of some particular question. make such individuals a portion of the catalog; use them as sources. the telephone is at your command and oftentimes more valuable information can be obtained from some person within telephone call than can be gotten from hours of work with shelf material. furthermore, do not limit yourself to the talented man within the community, but use the expert wherever he may be found. correspondence will often bring information to your door; mount the letters; put them with the clippings or catalog them separately; in case of urgency, telegraph. in fact, have some of the appropriation deliberately set aside for supplementing the catalog by telegrams. a record of sources, arranged both by places and subjects is of service. under your subject list enter the names and addresses of those who are specialists. experts throughout the country will thus be at your command. in the geographical list, put the names of parties to whom you may apply for material relating to a given community. suppose for instance, that your state is contemplating a workmen's compensation law and some state where there is no legislative reference department is also considering the matter. this state passes a law on tuesday, and on saturday the bill of your own state is coming up for consideration. you need exact information as to which bill is passed, whether it passed with or without amendments; in fact, you must have immediate and full knowledge concerning that law. you may have within your mind some possible source, but during the stress and pressure of the legislative session such a list relieves one of the necessity of remembrance. the catalog, through its mechanical devices, can carry this burden. the catalog is not merely a record of sources within the four walls, but must endure as a record of all possible available sources, so that time and energy given to "the living part" of the catalog, is well expended. in addition to the sources already mentioned, there are numerous other possible indexes of value. when the bills are available in printed form, a subject index indicating the final disposition of a bill--whether killed, passed or vetoed--is of inestimable use. such indexes for the general laws and the local and temporary laws are advantageous. a comparative index, apart from the regular catalog, already noticed, may be mentioned again in this connection. an index of the documents of the state is also a valuable asset, since the publications of most states are rather poorly indexed and have practically no centralized list of subjects. the decisions of the attorney-generals quite often are of as much importance in law conclusions as are the decisions of the courts. they have virtually either vitalized or invalidated laws upon the statute books. in states where statute revisions are rather infrequent, statute indexes may be necessary. these indexes should be made supplementary to the regular catalog. some of them may be carried along as side issues at the same time as the regular work, and others may be taken up in their entirety to be accomplished as time permits. since the importance and value of such a library depends, not upon the quantity, but upon the quality and efficiency of the collection, the disposition of material which has become historical in its nature comes prominently into the foreground. unless there is constant supervision and reduction, there is an unnecessary and useless accumulation. the working library will never be a large one. after a state policy relating to a given question is established, the library should, within a reasonable time, dispose of the larger portion of the collection on that subject. its present usefulness from the legislator's standpoint is over. its future value is as a historical contribution. as a result, there will be continual withdrawals as well as continual acquisitions. after all, that which makes library work so stimulating and so interesting is the human element. the progress which one may make in its mechanical side, the service of all its books and pamphlets, the importance and the value of the material, depend primarily upon the human side of it. the mere fact that the scholar, as well as the man with a hobby, the student along with the crank, the conservative together with the radical, the theoretical and the practical man, are all brought together in a common place, shows that the mechanical is truly the lesser value in this field of work. however, it is in the making of a more perfect apparatus, in the saving of time and energy, in the additions to its efficiency, that the cataloger receives his reward. the possibilities of this work are so far reaching, that every reasonable device or idea is at least worthy of trial so that there may be every possible advancement in every practical direction. it is a new work and there are few guide posts. we cannot accept other experiences unquestionably. what are virtues in another library may be vices in the legislative reference work. what we most need is a safe and sane balance of judgment, quickness of perception, a sense of foresight, combined with all the special knowledge possible, great discrimination, initiative and the ability to meet any situation, and above all, the disposition to test every new conception or suggestion which may lead to development; in fact, the more of these virtues which the cataloger may possess, the more efficient will be the result, not only in the catalog itself, but in the net results shown by the work in its entirety. in the discussion following the paper, mr. w. h. hatton, chairman of the wisconsin free library commission, spoke of the importance of knowing not merely books but men and making a wise use of correspondence. next on the program was mr. a. g. s. josephson's query what is cataloging? in raising this question i am not concerned with the principles of cataloging, with the difference between cataloging and bibliography, or any problem of that kind. my problem is the much more practical: what part of the work of a library staff is meant when cataloging is spoken of in an annual report? what does it mean when a librarian states that a certain number of assistants have during a certain period cataloged a certain number of books? and, bringing the matter down to a particularly practical point, what does he mean when he says that it costs a certain sum of money to catalog a book? i am not going to answer the question, i want it answered. i don't want it answered right off. i would like to see this section go after the problem and bring in the answer. in a word, i suggest that this section appoint a committee for the purpose of investigating the method and cost of cataloging in a number of representative libraries. i would not be much concerned for the present with the methods of the small public and college libraries, but only with such libraries as may be said to have a special cataloging force; and i would not extend the inquiry to more than a score of libraries at the most. the following draft of a questionnaire will show succinctly enough what i have in mind: . how many persons between the grades of head of department and clerical attendants are connected with your cataloging force? in how many grades are these divided? . how many of these are occupied with the actual writing of the titles? . how many persons of the grades of clerical attendants and pages are occupied with copying of cards, typewriting headings, filing and other such more mechanical work? . are any persons of a higher grade than clerical attendant doing any of the above kinds of work, and why? . are those of your assistants who write the titles occupied with this all day, or do they change regularly to some other kind of work? if the latter, is such other work treated merely as relief from the drudgery of title writing, or does it occupy a considerable part of the assistants' time? or, are a certain number of days a week devoted to cataloging (i.e. title writing) all the time, and other days given up to other kinds of work? . are the following items, or any of them, determined by the assistants who write the titles, or by superior members of the staff: (a) general form and completeness of entry; (b) author heading and added author headings and cross references; (c) collation; (d) subject headings; (e) classification. . what is the average salary of the members of your cataloging force? there may likely be other questions to be included; some of the above questions may be made more detailed or given a different formulation or bearing. i believe that an inquiry of this kind, if carried out as it should be done, would do much to show us where changes in our methods might be introduced, to the increased efficiency of the cataloging force and to the benefit of its members. the ensuing discussion, participated in by c. b. roden, w. s. merrill, c. w. andrews and others resulted in the adoption, on motion of mr. roden, of the following resolution: =resolved=, that the executive board be asked to appoint a committee to investigate the cost and methods of cataloging in accordance with the suggestions in mr. josephson's paper. a report on uniformity in cataloging rules, made by miss helen turvill, instructor in cataloging in the wisconsin library school, as chairman of a committee appointed at the january, , meeting of the library schools instructors, was presented by miss mary e. hazeltine. in connection with this report, miss hazeltine submitted for inspection a double file of printed rules on cards embodying the present usage of the wisconsin library school, which it was hoped might serve as a basis for the further work of the committee. one file was arranged numerically as given to the students for class work; the other, alphabetically under topical guides, as the students would have them filed with illustrative sample cards, at the end of the course.[ ] [ ] these card rules may be obtained of the democrat printing company, madison, wis., $ . per set. the report itself, which was merely one of progress, to be completed at the midwinter meeting, was accompanied by a request for discussion at ottawa and a list of points on which an expression of the preference of librarians was desired. =points for discussion= call number--position. heading--second line indention. date. figures--when to be written out. edition--spacing. omissions to be indicated. supplied information to be bracketed? collation to include paging? author abbreviation-- women's names. title card. imprint? initial article in curves. author's name. spacing after initials. spacing between name and titles. added entry cards. form of date. contents. form. punctuation. cross reference. form. joint author. analytic. form. position of paging. added edition. miss gooch and miss van valkenburgh, members of the committee, spoke in explanation of its purpose and scope. mr. merrill said that as editor of the a. l. a. periodical cards he was glad to learn that a committee was working to secure greater uniformity in catalog entries. among the libraries contributing the copy for the periodical card work of the publishing board, there is still variation in the mode of entering authors' names: sometimes date of birth is given and sometimes it is omitted; names unused by a writer are looked up and entered upon the card by one library and disregarded by another library; periods after initials are used or omitted; names of joint authors are both given in the heading by one library and only first name is given by another, while there is even diversity about filling out initials of the second author's name. these divergencies are not only theoretically inconsistent but practically inconvenient, because the printed cards do not conform entirely to the practice of any library. mr. merrill said he hoped that agreement upon these points might soon be reached. the question of methods of bringing the matter to the attention of librarians was informally discussed by miss margaret mann, miss bessie goldberg, miss bessie sargeant smith, and others, but as the chairman, miss thompson, pointed out, the report was but a partial one and not from a committee of the catalog section. therefore no action was required. owing to the lateness of the hour, further consideration of this subject and also problems of arrangement in a dictionary catalog, which was scheduled in the program, were referred to the incoming section officers. the nominating committee submitted this ticket: chairman, miss harriet b. gooch, instructor in cataloging, pratt institute school of library science; secretary, miss margaret sutherland mackay, head cataloger, mcgill university. they were unanimously elected and the meeting adjourned. children's librarians' section first session (friday afternoon, june th) the first session was held at the chateau laurier friday afternoon, june th. the chairman, miss mary de bure mccurdy, presided. the general topic was "work of special libraries with children." miss mary s. saxe, of the westmount public library of montreal, read a paper on the subject. with the children in canada miss saxe said they had in westmount the only properly equipped children's room in any library in the province of quebec, and that the only library work for children in montreal was done by the mcgill university settlement workers in the slums of that city. the best children's work in the province of ontario is now done by the public libraries of toronto, ottawa, london, collingwood, berlin, sarnia and fort william. among the smaller libraries the work done at galt is particularly worthy of mention, the quality being due, as is generally the case, to the unselfish and enthusiastic work of the librarian. at winnipeg, although they have a handsome library building and a room set apart for the children, activities seemed at a low ebb when the speaker visited the library two years ago. "the church of england in canada has done a good work up there within the arctic circle with its sunday school libraries. the indian children and the half-breed children, of whom there are many, get all their reading from this source. "away out on the pacific coast, a missionary of this same church became interested in the logging camps that he found among the islands of the gulf of georgia. he returned to the bishops of columbia, and of new westminster, stating that he must have a boat built, which would be a church, and also an ambulatory library. it was a beautiful scheme--it was also an expensive one. but those of you who care to read of its development in a little book entitled "western canada" can do so, and you will learn with delight how well the idea has worked out. "in the past two years the library movement in canada, especially in the northwest, has expanded rapidly. regina has opened a new public library within the past six weeks, and the work for children is to be well looked after. calgary, new westminster, vancouver, victoria, all tell the same tale of a long struggle in crowded quarters--and now new buildings and splendid promise of good work. it is most unfortunate for us in canada, that our distances are so great, our ties have to be mostly railway ties. "in westmount we opened the children's room in january, . we began agitating the dire need of such a department fully seven years before the reality came." the paper on county work with children prepared by miss alice goddard, head of children's department, washington county free library, hagerstown, maryland, was read by miss gertrude andrus in miss goddard's absence. county work with children my subject, as announced on the program is "county work with children." in the first place let me say that there is little or nothing to be said about county work with children that does not apply equally to work with adults in the same community. the experience of the washington county free library of hagerstown, maryland, during eleven years of rural work, has been that the books that go into the country homes are read by old and young alike. the reason for this is not far to seek; the children are going to school, for a few months of the year, at least, and are receiving an education that was, in many cases, denied the parents. before the installation of our library, books, other than an occasional religious periodical, perhaps, were an unknown quantity in the average farm house, so that, even if the farmer or his wife had acquired the reading habit as a child, it had lapsed, through disuse. consequently, when our books were first brought to the door the same books appealed to both parents and children. one mother told us, with tears in her eyes, that we could never know how she enjoyed hearing the children read the books aloud, for neither she nor her husband could read or write. at a farmers' institute in ohio, an enlightened farmer once remarked that the three things that had done most for the amelioration of the lot of the farmer's wife were, rural free delivery, rural telephones and butterick patterns, and to that trilogy we add rural free delivery of books. how to reach the country children, is, of course, the problem that confronts a county library. the methods of the washington county free library of hagerstown, md., are: first--the children's room of the central library. this is a large, pleasant room, on the second floor, where the usual activities of any children's room are carried on. two story hours a week are held, friday nights for the older children, and saturday mornings for the younger ones; many of our regular saturday morning visitors are from the outlying districts; there are three little boys who come "four mile," as they express it, nearly every week to hear the stories, they have been known to be led into the extravagance of spending even their return fare on the train--such are the temptations of city life!--and having to walk home. one very small boy who is with us almost every saturday is the son of a stage driver, his father brings him in, and leaves him with us for the morning, he is known among us as "sonny," because of characteristics similar to those of ruth mcenery stuart's hero. any child in the county, so soon as he can write his name, may "join liberry," regardless of "race, or previous condition of servitude," a phrase not without meaning still, in maryland. the same privileges are extended to all, town and country children alike, two books at a time, with privilege of renewal. country books may, of course, be renewed by telephone or mail, and frequent cards come to "dear teacher," or even "dear friend." the teachers draw to a practically unlimited extent upon the circulating collection, as well as from the school duplicates, of which more a little later. so much for the work of the main library. second--branches throughout the county. these are deposit stations, placed in the country store, the post office, the toll gates or, in some cases, in private houses, the boxes contain about fifty books, and are returned every two or three months for a fresh supply. a custodian is appointed who keeps track of the books by means of an alphabetized blank book, the book slips being kept at the library, filed by the browne system, under the name of the station, shady bower, black rock, etc. third--the boonesboro reading room. this village began with a deposit station, and became so interested that a permanent reading room was established, maintained entirely by the village, except for the books, which are supplied by the library; a permanent collection was given, which is supplemented by an exchange every ten days. a fortnightly story hour is carried on here; during the past two years it has become necessary to divide the children into two groups, to the older ones the same series of stories is told as to the older group at the library, norse myths, iliad and odyssey, and, this winter, chaucer, spencer and shakespeare. the latter author, by the way, meets with special approbation among our country friends. fourth--schools. the country schools, as well as those in town, are visited, and collections are sent; with the books are sent pictures, prints of the masterpieces, mounted, and annotated with sufficient fullness to serve as a lesson outline, if the teachers wish to use them so. fifth--the book wagon, or to be strictly accurate, one must now say book automobile. about six years ago it was discovered that thirty of the stations were off the line of railroad, trolley or stage, and the question of transportation arose; for a year a horse and wagon filled the need, going out simply for the purpose of carrying cases back and forth. then the book wagon was built, so constructed as to carry several cases for deposit stations, and at the same time, some two hundred books on its shelves; thus began our rural free delivery of books, and the wagon, with its driver, mr. joshua thomas, became one of the features of the county, until about two years ago, when a most unfortunate accident deprived us of both. a stray engine, coming round a curve, struck and completely demolished the wagon; happily, mr. thomas and the horses were across the track, the horses escaped uninjured, and mr. thomas, though thrown out and stunned, sustained no injuries other than the shock, which, at his age, was naturally very great. mr. thomas has now retired from active labors, and the wagon has been succeeded by an automobile. perhaps i can best give you an idea of the work of the wagon if you will come with me, in spirit, for a typical day in the country. the new car is constructed very much as the old wagon was, with room for two passengers, besides the chauffeur, one member of the staff goes on the trips now, for our chauffeur is a chauffeur only, nor is he the picturesque figure mr. thomas was. let us choose a morning in spring, when red bud and dogwood are in bloom, and the fruit trees are fluffy masses of pink and white clouds, and the tender green of new life is showing on hill side and forest, and the "hills of maryland" stand out like lapis lazuli against a turquoise sky. it is a fair country, and one can understand why the early settlers tarried in this valley in their march westward, over the very national road that we shall drive over today; a road full of historic meaning, a road that has seen the covered wagons of the emigrant tide, that has resounded to the tread of advancing and retreating armies, and that is now a thoroughfare for motor cars. we see little, or no actual poverty, occasionally the down-at-the-heels farm of a "poor white," but thrift and comfort are the rule. we spin gaily along in our motor wagon, stopping at the farm houses along the way; occasionally horses shy at us, and children stick their fingers in their mouths and stare, for automobiles are still somewhat of a novelty on cross roads and lanes, and country horses and children are not so sophisticated as their city brethren. sometimes we go a mile or more off the main road, to reach one house; we are rewarded in one such case, for we find a girl of sixteen, who has never read miss alcott, and we leave her with little women in her arms. a swarm of "sunbonnet babies" greets us here, too, and we find a picture book for the older sister to read to them. at one house we have some difficulty in enticing the farmer's wife out to look at our wares. "he" is out on the farm, and there is not much time for reading. we discover a boy of twelve or thirteen, however, lurking in the background, with a dog at his heels, the dog is a convenient topic of conversation, and beautiful joe happens to be in the wagon. an inquiry as to the family elicits the information that this boy is all, except an "orphant boy we took." after some difficulty the "orphant boy" is brought forth from the recesses of the barn, where, we strongly suspect, he has had an eye at a crack all the time, and proves to be the regulation "bound boy" of mary e. wilkins, tattered straw hat, patched overalls and all; he, too, has a fondness for animals, and so we drive away, leaving boys and dog looking after us, with seton-thompson as a companion. one wide detour, up a hilly lane, brings us to a house, commanding a wonderful view of hills and valleys, and the potomac, a winding silver thread in the distance. here we find the mistress of the house, and a girl of sixteen or eighteen, who "lives there;" they used to get books from the old wagon, they tell us, and it has seemed a long time since they had any. accordingly, we bid them help themselves, and as we are preparing to drive away, one of them, hugging a huge pile of heterogeneous literature, says to the other, "law, bess, we'll fergit to listen on the 'phone!" an unconscious tribute both to us and the rural telephone system. and now we find that the dinner hour has arrived; sometimes there is a country hotel at hand, but more often we have dinner at some hospitable farm house, which gives us a golden opportunity to make friends with our people. it is noticeable that the conversation is confined almost entirely to us women, the men attending strictly to the business in hand; the women, however, make the most of an unusual event, and between serving and conversation, it often seems to us as though their own wants must be entirely forgotten. there is a country school on our way, and we stop there to get the key to a church a little farther on, where we are to pick up a case of books; the temptation to a story teller is too great to be resisted, the wagon goes on, to come back a little later, the two rooms are put together, and i have the pleasure of telling "johnny cake" and "seven little kids" to children who have never heard them before. when the wagon appears we suggest a picture, and a grand stampede follows, all the school commissioners and truant officers on earth could not have kept a child in that building--the charm of the pied piper was no greater! "and what do your country children read?" we are often asked, and we like to reply, with considerable pride, that they read good books. when the wagon is being loaded for a trip a large proportion of the books is from the shelves of the children's room, and of the fiction fully % bears the mystic symbol "j," showing, as i have said, that the same books are read by parents and children; war stories are always in demand, particularly of the civil war; henty is a prime favorite, and of the better hentys, with clive in india, beric the briton, for instance, we duplicate quite freely. novels of a religious character, such as ben hur are popular, and pilgrim's progress is always in demand. and so our day slips by, and before we know it evening is upon us; by four o'clock we see preparations for the night going on in the barn yard. we go home, tired, but with depleted shelves, and the consciousness of a good day's work. may there be many more to come, and may each one of you fare forth with us one day, on some such happy library adventure. mr. henry e. legler read a paper prepared by miss jean mcleod, house librarian, sears, roebuck & co., chicago, on an employees' library--its scope and its possibilities i have been advised that there is only one thing more ruinous to one's reputation than an absent debut to the american library association conference, and that is to inflict a maiden paper upon someone else to read. but after absorbing some of mr. legler's courage and optimism, i cannot refrain from treading upon this dangerous ground and setting forth a few pet theories. i do not know that sears, roebuck & company needs an introduction or an explanation, but as the character, combined with the magnitude of the house, is quite unique, and is such a vital part of the library work, the foundation of this paper, as well as of the work itself, must of necessity be predicated upon some knowledge of the house machinery. we are dealing with a mail order retail house, and this paper will be based upon the central plant only. the existence of the outlying factories, not only in chicago but throughout the country, all under the control of one corporation, opens up a new field in commercial library work, which to my knowledge has never been touched. the house handles everything--that does not mean the usual stock of a department store, but everything that can be bought and sold. new opportunities arise as your eye wanders down the list of the various departments. our house directory lists over departments, including jewelry, baby clothes, and farm implements. in fact, a home can be furnished complete from parlor to stables. besides the merchandise, we have the various administration and utility departments, which include press rooms, bindery, machine shops, shipping rooms, employment department, restaurant, green house, hospital, barber shop, chemical laboratory, etc. with this cosmopolitan center, condensed under one management, there is no limit to library possibilities. my experience so far has been that everything in print can find a congenial resting place somewhere in the house. the central plant occupies three square blocks, including five buildings and a sixth in the process of construction. the largest of these, the merchandise building, is nine stories high and two blocks long, and is a condensed village in population and activity. the library is located next to one of the most popular sections in this building, the employees' and house sales department. in this section employees are obliged to call for their personal purchases. this is an added convenience and a time saving arrangement. the printing building, administration building, power house and paint factory complete the group of this seething little city, and make one wish that a branch library might be established in every corner. our library is primarily a deposit branch of the chicago public library. we have about books on deposit, which give us a circulation of about a month. in addition to that, our daily express service gives us the resources of the main library stock, and makes it possible to send individual cards with specific requests through the station department. this is a great help in making out lists on special topics, as or books on a subject may be listed and drawn one after the other without further reference. our circulation for these books runs from between to a day. in addition to our public library books, we have about a thousand of our own. about per cent. of this collection is light fiction and juvenile books; that is, stories for both boys and girls of the intermediate age. books of this character are, of course, in the greatest demand, and it is for the right kind of this material that we are constantly searching. this supplementary collection of our own does not in any way detract from our public library books, but rather serves as added bait and leads to the better books of the public library, upon whose resources we depend for our existence. we subscribe for about monthly and weekly periodicals, both technical and popular. in addition to these, we have several shelves of miscellaneous magazines, composed of month-old copies sent out from the main library, as well as our own old copies, and donations from the employees. all of these magazines we circulate. in fact, we are in no sense a reading room, as the very nature of a busy -hour day and -minute lunch period will prove. our charging tray and a few pieces of furniture are the only things we refuse to let go to the homes or departments. in taking charge of the library last fall, i realized that there were two distinct phases of the work: the commercial or economic, and the social--the first to be established, the second to be developed--both sides equally interesting and offering equal possibilities. the commercial value must be established not only by becoming familiar with the policy of the house, but by co-operating with the heads of departments and making the library felt as a live agent throughout the house. co-operation is best established by the reference work which can to a large extent be created. for instance: one of the buyers in the supply department is dealing with two agents for rubber bands. the contract is a big one. there is much discussion as to which make of rubber band will live the longer. in self-defence, the buyer telephones the library for any information on rubber. right here is the librarian's chance to make or mar. perhaps this buyer has no library card, but at the eleventh hour has thought of the library as a last resource. there is one sure way to cure him of ever using the library again, and to persuade this time-pressed business man that the library is a plaything done up in red tape, and that is to send word to him that he must come personally to the library, sign an application, and wait for the book according to our library law. he will probably decide to take a chance on the merits of the rubber bands, and condemn the library as an agent of too slow blood for his purposes. the point is to get the information and to get it at once to the right man. if we can find something on our own shelves, a boy is sent with the book at once, even if he carries an encyclopaedia with him. if, as often happens, we are not so fortunate, a signal of distress is sent over the 'phone to the reference librarian at the main library, and she sends out material on the next delivery. not only does this apply to the buyer of rubber bands, but to the chemist who wants material on fabrics, textiles, and lubricating oils; to the manager of the grocery department, on the blending of coffee; to the furniture buyer, on cabinet making and period furniture; to the head of the agricultural department on the silo and the traction engine; to the clerk in the shipping department, on parcels post; to the girl in the correspondence department, on punctuation; to the boy in the automobile repair shop, on the gas engine; and so on indefinitely. a memorandum of these requests makes a busy day for the weekly visit to the reference room at the main library. books of interest on each particular subject are listed, even to government bulletins. we have even had intrusted to our care material from the public document department, and mr. legler's liberality has given us an economic value that will be the stepping stone to a new work, and make the library a factor to be reckoned with by the progressive commercial house. in our library, as well as in any other, the reference work is not confined to the books alone. the value of magazine material is an old story, but its worth is self-evident in a progressive business house whose aim is to anticipate future contingencies as well as to meet present needs. before discarding magazines, all the usable material is appropriated and sent to the man or woman interested. not only does this apply to the man's business, but to his hobbies--a little article for instance, on poultry raising or photographic chemistry will often create public opinion very favorable to the library. so far we have not kept a clipping file of these articles, but that is one of the next steps that could be made quite an important feature. to keep in touch with the buyers and department heads, the newest books on subjects of special interest stimulate not only the men in charge, who are always ready to respond to new ideas, but arouse new interest among all employees and indirectly lead to promotion through more efficient work. these books are sent right to the department, either to be examined with a view to buying, or, if already purchased, to be circulated in the department. we find that in this way we lose few if any books and our time-honored statistics do not suffer. and so in many little ways it is possible to creep into the commercial life of an immense concern; to develop gradually from a convenience to a necessity. the social side of our work is perhaps a misnomer. at least, it is an intangible sort of thing that has no name. our reason for existence is the same as for any other public library--that is, for the common good. to do any grade of work other than simply handing the books over the counter, it is necessary first of all to become familiar with the personnel of our employees. we have about employees, and to become personally acquainted with each is, of course, impossible. however, a surprisingly large number can be reached on this footing, and the rest is a question of time combined with a sane democratic attitude. we do not want our people to feel that reform through the library is one of the rules on the application blank, or that the librarian's stamp of approval must go out with every book. advice, so labeled, is never given. of our employees, one-half are girls varying in education from grammar school to college graduates. one-fifth of this number are under years of age. the work with this last group is intensely interesting, and can be developed in many ways. we have, of course, the usual problem, in trying to direct from mary j. holmes and southworth to a better grade of reading. however, we are not working in the dark to the same extent as is the usual public library. our girls are all banded together with a common interest, and we are at once on the same big plane. we have access to them at any time of the day. we are a part of the thing most vital to them--their daily work and means of support. they come to the library during the noon hour for a change of scene and to see the other girls, as well as to exchange their books. we give them books for their parties and books for their night school classes. a girl is told by her employer that she will lose her position unless she learns to use good english. in desperation, she comes to the library, and we give her a book, yes, even three books, if she needs them, to help her keep her position. another girl must be transferred to a less desirable position unless she can increase her vocabulary in order to take dictation more intelligently. she is advised to come to the library, and we are there to see that she gets the right books. the next time she may come without being sent. the girls come to us to find out when the lake boats begin their trips, as well as to find desirable places in which to spend vacations. and so we welcome them each time they come, regardless of what their errand may be, for we want them to feel that the library is theirs, and is a convenience as well as a pleasure. the work with the girls is so varied, and is such a study in itself, that i have only touched upon its possibilities. however, a book on the subject would not cover the field, but lack of time and consideration for your feelings will prevent further comment, and i will simply outline just a few of the ways in which we try to reach the boys, one-third of whom are under years of age. aside from the eternal vigilance to blot out all alger traces, we have many really interesting phases of the work with the boys. we first of all can and do have confidence in the boys. we can get necessary information as to their home conditions, if we wish it. we have, in common with them, as with the girls, their vital interest, the beginning of their career. the influence that can be exerted over these young boys, many of whom are leaving home for the first time, and are, so to speak, "men among men," is tremendous. often a wavering ambition can be reinforced and a chance for "making good" saved by showing a little unasked interest. we try to give the boys material for both work and play. we post lists of books on the bulletin boards in various departments, and so call attention to books on "choosing a career," or "business efficiency." then we make up lists on athletic sports, interest in which is stimulated by our athletic association, whose membership includes both boys and girls. many times a department is discovered where little or no interest is taken in the library. we find that the boys and girls from there never come to the library, and so we take the library to them. in every case the managers are very anxious to co-operate and are willing to have us send a small collection of light fiction to the time clerk's desk. she circulates these as she wishes. so far, we have lost no books in this way, and in every instance new borrowers have been the direct result. many of the boys have been obliged to leave school before entering high school or even the upper grades, and in many ways we can supplement their lack of school training--especially if we can discover a gleam of interest in any one subject, such as mechanics, electricity or history. all our work, our aims, and our possibilities are crystalized in our library bulletin, a home product in every sense of the word. the direct object of this little publication is to attract all ages and all classes of our employees. it is sent to every department, and from there distributed personally. we try to have in each issue a section to appeal to popular demand, as well as to promote some special feature. we hope to make this bulletin a strong factor in our work, a lever that will gauge not only the circulation of our books, but will be the connecting link between the library and the employees, and make it the medium of a new energy and a new enthusiasm radiating from our small quarters to every activity of the plant. and so, in these few pages, i have tried to show that the commercial house library, although in its infancy, has come to stay. and as the pioneering becomes more and more an established fact in library work, more commercial houses will recognize the need. they will be more than ready to respond to the progressive public libraries, whose efforts to expand and to bring their resources to the very centers of civic activity will thus establish a more intelligent relationship and efficient co-operation with their very means of support. miss grace a. whare, of the houghton, mich., public library, was present at the meeting and asked the privilege of presenting a very attractive exhibit of colored slides and illustrations which she used in telling miss lagerlöf's story of nils. each of twenty-six illustrations depicted an adventure of nils. =business meeting= the regular business meeting of the section was held at chateau laurier, june th at : a. m. miss mccurdy presided. the minutes of the last meeting were read and adopted. the chairman announced that the terms of two of the five members on the advisory board had expired and that only one member was appointed at the last meeting, instead of two. this raised the question as to the advisability of having an advisory board since none of the other sections had such boards. it was urged that an executive committee be formed consisting of the three officers of the section and two other members to be appointed by the chairman, and that all the members of this executive committee be actually engaged in some phase of library work with children. it was finally decided, however, to continue the advisory board as heretofore and the chairman was requested to appoint members to fill the vacancies. mr. hill and miss titcomb were appointed to serve for three years each. the chairman appointed the following committee on nomination for officers: annie s. cutter, gertrude andrus and adah whitcomb. the meeting then adjourned. second session (monday afternoon, july st) the second session of the section was held july , at o'clock. the general subject was "work with high schools." mr. frank k. walter, vice director of the n. y. state library school, read a paper on teaching library use in normal and high schools within the past few years the literature of this subject has become so copious that any original discussion of basic principle has become nearly out of the question. the excuse for papers like this one, which is mostly mere reiteration, lies in the fact that outside of library circles the matter has not been very seriously considered in spite of the constant repetition, and relatively few teachers have as yet attempted to give definite instruction in the use of books. it is one of the characteristics of the present that we are learning the necessity of saving time and effort by doing better the things we can already do passably well. to this end vocational schools and vocational courses are being established everywhere. if the use of the tools of the trades must be taught in the interests of greater individual development and greater efficiency, there certainly is need of teaching the efficient use of books which are the already recognized tools of the professions and which are more and more coming to be recognized as necessary supplements to the tools of the handicrafts. so far, it must be admitted, the response on the part of teachers has not been very general or very enthusiastic when courses of instruction in the use of books are advocated. at first sight this may seem strange. the primary purpose of both school and library is educational and many of the principles on which each line of work is based are equally familiar to teachers and to librarians. let me instance but a few. . education is a continuous process, started but not concluded in school. this is generally accepted and correspondence schools, study clubs, and similar activities are recognitions of its truth. . the complexity of modern life is lengthening the period of formal school instruction and the rapid rise of new industrial processes and the social problems arising in consequence, make after-school reliance on either past instruction or individual personal experience unsafe. . education is not confined to books but books of the right kind are the best single aid to education. . modern methods of teaching demand the comparative use of books, not reliance on a single text-book. modern courses of study emphasize this by their lists of references to material for the use of teacher and pupil. in a pamphlet of pages on "the high school course in agriculture," issued by the university of wisconsin, - / pages are devoted to references to suggested reading. children now study a subject, not a single text-book or series of text-books. . the library is the only continuation school really practicable for all the people at all times and for all subjects, and like any other institution, its value increases in proportion to the intelligence shown in its use. contrary to a rather hazy though somewhat general impression, there are only a few choice spirits to whom it is given to love books instinctively and to know them intimately without instruction. the multitude, whatever their rank or fortune, handle them more or less all the time without knowing much about them or caring much about them. it is true that a knowledge of books comes more readily to some than to others, but training will do much for even unpromising people who, without training, would be practically helpless. the need of this training was shown very clearly a decade or two ago when the method of teaching changed rather generally from text-book mastery to the so-called laboratory method. there were few more pathetic sights than many of the older teachers, almost totally untrained in the comparative use of books which the new method involved, and yet forced to give up their reliance on the catechetical method and memorized text-book which could be kept open by the teacher while the pupil recited. if the library and the school have so much common doctrine and if both recognize in their precept and their practice the importance of books, it seems obvious that some instruction along this line should be given in the high school and, indeed, much earlier. again, if pupils are to be taught to use books, it seems equally obvious that the intelligent use of books must first be learned by the teacher. that is, there should be a "library course" in the normal school. if library and school agree so far as to recognize the need of such a course there still remain several general methods of attempting to get the desired results. ( ) by experiment. this is the customary way; the empirical method or, under certain conditions, the inductive method. "we learn to do by doing" was a pedagogical maxim to conjure with some years ago and it has not yet lost its siren's charm. teachers are still assuming that pupils will learn to use books well by using them without direction, even though an excess of the experimental method has confessedly failed in other directions. we do not often learn to do things in the best way without some direction nor does mere handling of an object teach us much about it. infinitely more biology can be learned from two or three angle worms studied in a laboratory than from quarts of them used for fish bait. the _laissez-faire_ method and the experimental method without a competent teacher to make it really inductive are both uncertain in result and costly of time and effort. ( ) by sending pupils to the nearest library for all aid outside the text-book and by handing over to the nearest librarian all responsibility for teaching the use of books. librarians often advocate this method. it is only an application of the specialization which is so common in high schools and by which each subject has its own teacher who may or may not try to correlate his own work with that of his colleagues. the librarian, who at least ought to know about books, is the logical person to plan courses and to give formal instruction and in any school which can possibly have a librarian who devotes her entire time to the library this is the proper course to follow. it happens, however, that many schools which greatly need such a course have no one but the regular teachers to administer the library and to teach its use. in such an emergency no school faculty is complete without at least one teacher who can show the pupils--and her fellow-teachers, if need be--something of the best methods of using books. moreover, teachers need to know how to use the books connected with their own courses even if they need do little or nothing in the way of general library work. ( ) a third general method remains: systematic training in regularly scheduled classes in the high school and a systematic course in the normal school for the future teachers of elementary and of high schools. this is the plan generally adopted for other subjects and the failure of the schools to provide in their curricula a place for library training can reasonably be attributed only to the fact that librarians have failed to impress on teachers the necessity for such instruction. there are several reasons for the failure. one of the fundamental principles of successful advertising is that the prospective customer must be convinced that the value of the advertised article exceeds its cost. perhaps we librarians have not always recognized the value of this principle in our own campaigns. we use our library jargon and speak learnedly of "library methods," and "the library world" as though our work were based on some occult secret (which it is not) and as though we who carry it on were a peculiar people (which we sometimes are), and we plan elaborate courses in "library economy" which would strike terror to the heart of any teacher, were any teacher interested enough to look at them. it is well to remember that, as far as its place in the school is concerned, the library must always be an auxiliary, not an independent affair--an auxiliary of the greatest importance which aids all courses but interferes with none. this is what it is in the increasing number of schools in which the use of the library is being successfully taught and whenever teachers are shown that librarians are urging something that is a time-saver, not a time-consumer, and that the course they suggest is not an independent affair but something which, even in its own lessons and problems can be made to bear directly on the daily work of the school, there will not be much trouble in getting periods in which to teach the use of the library. as we too often present the matter, in the form of courses planned with little reference to actual conditions in the school and with problems compiled from our library-school note-books, or our training-class notes and not from material selected for its direct relation to the subject matter of any course in the school, we are seemingly asking the teacher to become interested in _our_ work, not in a subject that is of importance to teacher as well as to librarian. no general can plan a successful campaign of invasion without a knowledge of the topography and people of the country to be invaded and no course of study can be successful unless based on sound pedagogy and visibly related to the cultural or vocational need of the persons for whom it is intended. it is also well to remember that in strategy an officer counts for more than a private and that if official recognition is to be secured for any subject, the interest of principals and superintendents, who plan the curricula, is absolutely necessary. work with subordinate teachers alone will make slow progress. another point which we are just beginning to emphasize is the necessity of getting articles in which we desire teachers to be interested, into periodicals intended for teachers instead of confining them to the columns of library periodicals. the advertiser who wants to reach engineers will not send his advertisements exclusively to the "american journal of theology." although the high school and the normal school are usually mentioned together in discussions on the general subject of library instruction in schools, there should be decided differences both in content and in general purpose between the courses in the two kinds of schools. in the high school, the purpose should be to teach the pupils to use books efficiently in solving problems arising in their individual experiences. the care and management of libraries can legitimately be taught only in so far as such knowledge helps the pupil to use libraries of all kinds more intelligently. there is no need of detailed instruction in technique, though some elements of method are necessary. the use of the catalog must be taught in order to overcome the prejudices of most readers against card catalogs by teaching the youth before he arrives at obstinate and benighted manhood, that red headings, indentions and other conventions of the catalog are as sensible and necessary as black ruling, red ruling and other conventions of day-book and ledger. a little attention also to the theory of the charging system will help later in preventing honest but inaccurate thrusts at "red tape in libraries." the general characteristics of reference books should be discussed with the meaning and significance of those universal but little known elements of all modern books, the title page, table of contents and index. the growing popularity of bibliographies of all kinds suggests instruction in their make-up and use while the growing importance of periodicals of all kinds shows the need of knowing how to use the general periodical indexes. in all this work there can be and should be the closest relation to the other work of the school course and the various teachers can easily suggest material of direct use to them which will be quite as interesting and valuable for illustrating the use of the library as set problems compiled exclusively by the librarians. moreover, such procedure will demonstrate conclusively both to teacher and to pupil the direct value of the library in helping school work to be done better and quicker. though any teacher can be of help in this way, english, geography, civics and history are particularly good subjects with which to begin this co-operation. it is doubtful whether the librarian should attempt much formal instruction in book selection in the high school unless it is done with the full knowledge and with the assistance of the other teachers. otherwise, such instruction will almost inevitably lead to duplication and to conflict with the work regularly given in other courses. tactful suggestions to teachers on the value of material which they overlook or know nothing about and personal attention to the voluntary reading done by pupils outside the school-room and not connected with the regular work of the school will furnish any school librarian plenty of opportunity for missionary work. some description of the anatomy of a book will probably help cultivate a greater respect for books as books and may lessen the tendency to use books badly which is now so prevalent among school children furnished with books paid for by the school board and not directly bought by their parents. all of this teaching should be very simple. what is perhaps the most successful manual of the present on the subject of teaching the use of books in schools (ward's practical use of books and libraries), owes its success largely to its attention to the small details which everybody, large and small, is supposed to know but of which nearly everybody is quite ignorant. no high school course of this kind is complete unless it cultivates friendly relations with the public library and promotes the use of the library after the pupils have left school, by calling on it for aid while they are still in school. the best school librarians make every possible use of the public library while they are at the same time using to the utmost the resources of their own school libraries. the amount of time required for such a course as that outlined here and which is substantially the same as dozens of other courses outlined elsewhere, depends considerably on whether any preliminary work of the kind has been given in the lower grades, and, to some extent, on the size and general character of the school's collection of books. something worth while has been done in five or six lessons, though not much can be done in less than ten or twelve, and the twenty to thirty periods which interested principals have sometimes granted are none too many. the general plan will also depend partly on whether the instruction is all given in one year or throughout the entire high school course. in the normal school the purpose of the library course should be not only to teach the use of books, but to teach, in addition, the principles of their proper selection and enough of the essentials of library technique to enable the teacher to administer successfully a small school library and to understand the methods used in larger libraries. it should be not only for individual improvement, as in the high school, but designed also to give skill in teaching others how to use the library. it is necessary, of course, to supply any deficiencies in training of the kind that was suggested for the high school, before the administrative side of the work can profitably be taken up. the technical side of the work, therefore, will be more in evidence in the normal school course. the preparation, adaptation and use of the important records such as the accession book, the shelflist, the catalog and the charging system are necessary parts of the equipment of any teacher who is likely to be put in charge of a school or class-room library. a study of the most common trade lists and a few typical booksellers' catalogs with some comment on trade discounts and the purchase of second-hand books will save much time and trouble later when the teacher is expected to advise as to what and where to buy. instruction in simple methods of book repair will yield large dividends in the shape of better cared for and longer lived books. simplicity and direct relation to school work are the two things to be insisted upon throughout. though the subjects and, to some extent, the treatment should be the same as that of the library school, there is neither opportunity nor need of the same variety and extent of instruction and practice which should characterize schools for the professional training of librarians, nor should any school which can afford special teachers in other subjects thrust technical library work upon its regular teachers. to the teacher, the library is auxiliary to her main work and insistence on elaborate administrative methods will defeat its purpose. this instruction in technique should be simple, but it does not follow that a teacher who has learned merely these elements of technique is fitted in turn to give satisfactory instruction to other teachers or even to administer a school library in the best way. to do this a librarian of wide training and experience is necessary,--one whose knowledge of library theory and practice is wide enough to give the perspective necessary to judge what is essential, and intimate enough to determine what adaptations should be made to fit either general library conditions or special contingencies of individual libraries. efficient simplicity is the result not of ignorance but of trained judgment and the apparent simplicity obtained by reckless or ignorant amputation of library manuals may be worse than none at all. a well managed school must have a well-administered library and a well-administered library implies a competent librarian, not merely the regular presence of a teacher with rather fewer classes and consequently more leisure than her colleagues. indeed, though considerable technique has been suggested as advisable, i am very strongly of the opinion that technique, if by this term is meant the processes of keeping library records, should be thrust upon teachers only as a necessity, not as a desirability. in a school so small that one teacher or a very few teachers at most must do all kinds of work, it will be necessary and therefore it must be taught to these teachers. in larger and better equipped schools there is no more reason for teacher-librarians with a mere smattering of library training than there is logic or justice in compelling the teacher of english or of history to be the principal's secretary. of even more importance than technique is a careful study of important reference books. only a small proportion of the books which would be useful can possibly be obtained and it is very important that the teacher be able to use to the utmost such books as the school may possess. the compilation of reading lists and lists of references, whether for the use of the teacher or the guidance of the pupil, implies the use of bibliographies, footnotes and appendixes and a consideration of the bibliographic aids which are so common in modern text-books and so little used by teachers. moreover, the teacher must know some of the principles of book selection, must know a fair number of the best aids to book selection and must know where to find and how to use good book reviews. no approved list of library, library commission, or state department of public instruction can take the place of independent knowledge, though these approved lists are indispensable aids. the proper relations of school and public library certainly must be taught if any closer and more general co-operation of the two is to be brought about. both teacher and librarian must be parties to such co-operation and each needs to know the point of view of the other. there is no general agreement as to the amount of time which the normal school ought to devote to library instruction. in a summary compiled in by the newark free public library (public libraries : ), the number of hours devoted to such work in normal schools varied from one lesson to . most of the schools which are recognized as leaders in this work gave about lessons. there is reason to believe that the general situation has not materially changed except that the shorter courses are being lengthened and more normal schools are offering courses in library methods. the small number of lessons in even the good courses makes directness and emphasis on essentials imperative. if all normal school students had been taught to use books before entering the normal school, considerable time which is now used in teaching things which should already be known could be devoted to the methodic and pedagogic side of the subject. more and more normal schools are putting instruction in library methods on a par with other subjects by giving credits for it. this is only what all ought to do. no normal school is doing its work well if it sends its students out unskilled in the use of the tools of their own trade. a course in the use of books and libraries is no more of a luxury in the general training of any teacher than a gas range and a kitchen sink are luxuries in the equipment of a domestic science department or planes and chisels in a manual training room. it is not merely altruism that urges librarians to encourage this work. it is highly commendable to increase the good feeling between two members of the so-called "educational trinity," the church, the school and the library, but the benefits to the library will be more direct than mere pleasure in promoting the success of another line of social welfare. to ensure its own permanence, the library must have a reading public in the future as it has in the present and the adult reader of the future is the child of the present. to ensure the further development of the library, not only readers but more readers are needed and the library will be sure of getting them only when school room and children's room work together, and when not only those who come to the library from choice, but all the children whom the community entrusts to the school are taught in the school the latent power in the books the library offers for their use and are taught by trained teachers how best to make that latent power dynamic. the discussion of this paper was led by mr. w. j. sykes, librarian of the ottawa public library, and formerly head of the english department of the collegiate institute of ottawa, who read a paper prepared by dr. l. b. sinclair, dean of the school for teachers, macdonald college. miss mary e. hall, librarian of the girl's high school, brooklyn, n. y., read a paper on the possibilities of the high school library miss hall said in part: to those of us who are interested in the problem of guiding the reading of boys and girls one of the most important recent developments of the modern library movement is the new life which is coming into the high school libraries throughout the country. the high school library, although an old institution, is just beginning to "find itself" in the library world of today. it not only has a right to exist but has possibilities for doing important work in the future which will fully justify its existence. it must serve not only as a great laboratory for the work of all departments in the high school but as an important experiment station for all our work with young people of high school age and aid us in the public library's solution of the problem of helping the thousands of boys and girls who leave grammar school and the children's room and go out into the adult room of the large public library with no one to guide them in their explorations among the books, and no one to take the friendly personal interest in them that the teacher and librarian of the children's room always felt. through the high school library and the public libraries' young people's department of which we dream, we must undertake to "follow up" the work begun in the children's room and build upon the foundations which librarian and teacher have already laid. what are some of the revelations which have been made to those of us who reluctantly undertook this work some eight or ten years ago? in the first place we are, as our high school debaters would say "firmly convinced" of the need of a large carefully selected collection of books within the high school building where they may be had at a moment's notice for reference and reading. we are convinced that we were wrong when in our first enthusiasm over the public library we decreed that the high school library should be limited to books of reference and "required" reading, and that all books to be read for the pure joy of reading should be given over to the public library. for four reasons i would plead today for a large, well equipped library in every city high school, a library managed according to modern library methods and in charge of a trained and experienced librarian who shall be the equal of the high school teachers in broad education and thorough professional training. this librarian must be able to win the confidence and friendship of pupils and teachers and to enter sympathetically into the life of the school. this library may be under the control of the board of education or a joint undertaking of board of education and public library as in cleveland, newark, passaic, madison, wis., and portland, oregon. my first reason for this new high school library is found in the aims and ideals of the modern high school. it is no longer content to serve merely as a preparatory school for college. it realizes that for the great majority of pupils it must be a preparation for life. as these four years end their formal school education it must make the most of the time. these four wonderful years of high school age are the time when ideals are being formed, when boys and girls are hero worshippers, and the personal contact with teacher and librarian or the reading of good biography may do marvelous things in moulding character and setting up standards. in aiming for social efficiency the modern high school endeavors to prepare for intelligent citizenship, for interest in and service for the various movements for social betterment. my second reason for this larger and more efficient library in the high school is the need created by modern methods of teaching. the text book today is only a guide,--with its footnotes and bibliographies it is a vade mecum to the interested student to the best books in school and public library on the subject covered. the efficient teacher today uses books, magazines, daily paper, pictures and lantern slides to supplement the text book. many of these must be at hand in the school building and so classified and cataloged that they are available at short notice. unexpected questions arise in class discussions and must be settled before the close of the recitation period by a student being delegated to "look it up" in the school library and report to the class while interest is keen. this could not be done in a library even five minutes' walk from the school. there are odd minutes at the close of a recitation when a book from the school library can be borrowed and enough read to make the student eager to finish it. pictures are wanted to illustrate some topic and are loaned from one class-room to another for every forty minutes of a school day when the teacher finds they help to awaken interest. the whole method of the recitation has changed. "it becomes," says one, "the social clearing house where experiences and ideas are exchanged and new lines of thought and inquiry are set up." one of the most interesting things in the school library work is the use of books and magazines for the three minute talks pupils have to give in english, french, german and latin as cultivation in the art of oral expression. they may chose anything that interests them or would interest the class,--some interesting bit of news in the morning's paper, some anecdote about a famous person, an account in the survey of the camp-fire girls, etc. the search for material for these three minute talks makes the school library a busy place at times. students vie with one another to bring to class the most interesting contribution from history, biography, literature, current events, etc. so interested are the students in this kind of library work that some of them began making a rough index of material in newspapers, magazines and books that would be good for such talks. the use of the library depends not so much upon the subject as upon the teacher,--a teacher of mathematics who is a constant reader will get the students to make a better use of the library than the english teacher who prides herself that she has taught shakespeare's "as you like it" so thoroughly "inch by inch" that her pupils cannot possibly fail in the final examination. the biology teacher whose one cry a few years ago was the need of cultivating the powers of observation now acknowledges that the books in the school library or public library are needed to make the laboratory and field work of greatest value. even the instructors in the gymnasium feel that books may help. interesting books such as mrs. richards' "art of living," dr. gulick's "mind and work," woods hutchinson's practical talks on the subject of health, etc., are placed on reserve shelves or tables and read by pupils not as "required" reading but because they find them interesting. students interested in problems in chemistry or in the work of physics come up to the school library for a free study period to look over the books on the library shelves and to read them on the suggestion of the teacher. school library reading is coming more and more to be the result of suggestion rather than compulsion. history teachers add to the interest of the recitation by suggesting collateral reading which will appeal to the students,--biography, historical fiction, orations, poetry, and drama are all called into play, attention is called to articles in current periodicals and a wise use of the daily paper is made in order to interest students in history in the making. the history teacher posts on the bulletin board interesting subjects for "special topics," brief oral reports to the class on interesting material outside the text book and students eagerly volunteer to look them up in the library and report to the class. "how did the romans tell the time of day?" "describe the daily life of a monk," "methods of travel in the middle ages," etc. debates also are an important feature of the history recitation: "which contributed most to civilization, the greeks or the romans?" in english there has been a great revolution recently. aside from the interesting work in oral expression already mentioned teachers are beginning to realize that training in the power of expression and the cultivation of taste and appreciation must come from extensive reading of good books, rather than intensive reading of a few. supplementary reading is no longer an "assignment" of a standard work of literature to be taken as a dose of medicine by the pupil with the comforting assurance of the teacher that it "will do him good." with the best english teachers supplementary reading is really an introduction to the best books in school library and public library, books to be read not for marks but for pleasure with the hope that it may mean a permanent interest in good reading, a wise use of the public library and the building up of home libraries. the supplementary reading list of today is a list of many different kinds of interesting books, old and new, which ought to appeal to the average high school boy or girl. there is ample opportunity for each to find something which he will really like and he may take his choice. the skillful english teacher no longer spoils this reading by requiring an examination as to plot, character development, climax, etc. instead of this dreaded written report which was warranted to dull the interest in the most exciting novel as it haunted the reader all the way through the book the recitation is occasionally given up to an informal talk about the books the pupils have read and enjoyed--very much such a book symposium as we librarians delight in. the enthusiasm of a pupil in his report on a book will create an immediate demand for it. "i want that book you talked about in class, it must be a dandy one," the librarian hears one student say to another as they browse at noon among the books of fiction. in the more intensive study of the masterpieces of english literature the best english teachers make the study one of training in appreciation and not an "exercise in mental gymnastics" or a process of vivisection. they realize with burroughs that "if you tear a thing all into bits you haven't the thing itself any more." they have the pupils read other works for comparison,--the alcestis and medea and compare them with some of shakespeare's plays they have been studying. if reading lycidas, then theocritus, shelley's adonais, arnold's thyrsis are read and discussed. in studying burke, orations by lord chatham and mansfield are read and compared. students find in this comparative work a great delight and in this work as well as in the debates which english teachers encourage some of them surprise us with their powers of discrimination and their deep thinking. all of this calls for the use of many kinds of books in school and public library. my third plea for a school library is in the needs of individual students for a guidance in their reading which can be better given by the librarian in the school library than in the busy public library. the school librarian has the teacher always close at hand and can know the problems of these teachers in their work with pupils. through attendance at the teachers' meeting she can keep in close touch with the school's methods of work and its ideals. she can unify the library work which the school is urging upon the pupils as twenty branch librarians working with groups of these same students cannot do. she comes to know each of these hundreds or thousands of pupils better even than some of the teachers in these large schools who have them in their classes for only six months or a year while she has them in the library every day for four years and comes in close personal touch with them. she knows them through their parents, their teachers, and their friends and can sometimes find the point of contact which certain teachers have failed to find. we must make the school library do for the pupils what the little home library used to do for many of us. in these days of apartment houses and tenements, when families move about so constantly there is little chance for the home library. my fourth plea for a library within the high school building is that it is absolutely necessary as a connecting link between the high school and public library in our large cities. wonderful things may be accomplished by the high school librarian, who believes the most important work of the school library is preparation for the best use of the public library and who encourages the use of the public library through all the four years. she can be an excellent "go between" not only for pupils who do not use the public library, but between public library and principals and teachers who have no idea what it can do for them. she can enlighten them on the functions of this institution of the people,--show them how much more it is than what they suppose it to be, "a collection of fiction for those too poor to buy their own books." she can enlighten teachers as to the necessity for giving the reference librarian due notice when material is to be needed by classes on a special topic, and the need for ascertaining whether there really is any available material before requiring reports from students on impossible subjects. she can bring about a personal acquaintance of high school teachers and librarians in public libraries and invite the library workers in public libraries to conferences with teachers in the school library. she can take a census of each entering class at high school and find how many are not using the public library and why. such a census shows usually % who have no library cards. some have their cards taken from them by parents when they enter high school lest they read so many books it interferes with their studies. this is a frequent occurrence. in other cases a heavy fine has made a drain upon the purse of some poor mother and she has vowed that not one of her children should have a card in the public library. many of this % have never cared enough for books to have a card in the public library. the librarian who finds these conditions early in the term explains to parents by personal notes and interviews that library cards in the public library will be an absolute necessity for high school work. students who have never had cards are urged to apply for them at once and they are sent to just the right person in the public library who will take an interest in them, often a personal note of introduction being given to the pupil to make that first visit to the public library easy and pleasant. in addition to the possibilities in high school library work already mentioned the librarian has opportunities for doing many things not possible or not done so easily in the public library. . creating the right attitude towards the library reading called for by the modern high school. the old time school library was not a pleasant place. she can introduce public library methods,--an attractive room, plants, pictures, bulletin board, etc. let them feel an atmosphere of friendliness from the start and bring in the spirit of joy rather than stern duty by making the first visit a delight. an informal "library reception" to each entering class or to groups of or more as they enter the school until all have had this meeting with the librarian, makes a good start. here the students are shown the beautiful illustrated books, pictures, etc., and librarian and pupils talk over the books they have read and liked. teacher and librarian call attention to books they may like to read during free study periods and pupils are made to feel that the library reading is one of the pleasures of high school life. . the study period. this has marvelous opportunities for the librarian. here, every minutes come from to pupils, filling every available seat. many come for definite reference work, special topics, required reading,--many just to spend a free period in browsing. in our best high school libraries there is as little red tape as possible, even "library passes" being dispensed with at times. pupils are free to use books as they choose. they crowd around the library bulletin boards for suggestions as to good books to read, interesting magazine articles, a glimpse of the day's news as it had been clipped by seniors and posted in the form of a "model newspaper" under heading, "foreign affairs, national, state, city, art, civic and social betterment, etc." the bulletin boards call attention to special art exhibits in the city, to musical opportunities in the way of opera and concerts, etc. teachers in the various departments make the department bulletin boards in the library a constant means of awakening interest. the french department posts post cards showing views of places mentioned in their reading. latin teachers post reading lists on life in the time of cicero, and pictures of pompeian houses, furniture, cooking utensils, etc., to make the life real. often at the close of a study period if all are through their regular work the librarian gives an informal three minute talk on some interesting thing on the bulletin boards, urges the reading of some poem or essay or new book of biography, such as mary antin, calls attention to some unusually good magazine article, or to some good edition of a book to buy and own,--hugh thomson's illustrated silas marner in the cranford series, pride and prejudice in everyman's series, library binding, as a good edition to take out into the country for summer reading. . instruction in use of books. in the school library far better than by sending classes out to the public library definite and systematic instruction can be given by librarian on the uses of books. a regular schedule for this work is prepared by principal or head of english department and lessons, lectures, quizzes and problems are given by teacher or librarian as a part of the school work. by working in this close touch with teachers, problems will relate directly to their every day class work. . the library as a social center. here the librarian in the school finds boundless opportunities not possible in public library work. parents' receptions are held in the evenings in the large and beautiful library room and the librarian acts as hostess. here come rich and poor of all nationalities,--learned and unlearned and the librarian meets them all, talk over with them, the boys and girls, shows them what the library tries to do for them and goes over the parents' problems with those who read too much or those who are reading trash,--and last but not least those who do not like to read. the librarian suggests good books and good editions for parents to buy and the number of note books and pencils at work show how eager many are for this help--they delight in the beautiful illustrated books almost as much as the boys and girls. the noon hour offers great possibilities to the school librarian. here she is "at home" to all students who want to talk about books. around her desk is held a daily "book symposium." absolute freedom and frankness is encouraged. she is aided in her recommendations by the pupils' own comments of approval and their word goes farther with a doubting soul than any word of hers. if a pupil returns a book with "i don't like it," the librarian tries to find where the trouble was. if it was the first page or chapter which seemed uninteresting she points out the place just ahead where it begins to be most interesting, gets a student nearby who read and liked the book to tell just enough to show the doubting pupil what he is missing by not reading it. or, if on talking with the pupil it seems he would not like that particular book she assures him it is nothing to be ashamed of if one does not like all great books,--that we have to grow up to some, that some may never be interesting to us while absorbingly interesting to others. the personal equation has to be considered. library reading clubs are a great power for influencing the reading of high school pupils. it is the age of clubs and organizations. in the books the pupils choose while browsing the librarian finds a point of contact and by the reading clubs can direct the voluntary reading. interests unsuspected by teachers are revealed to the school librarian. an interest in art by a pupil thought hopeless in mathematics and physics and only a fair student in other things. the librarian in the school has expert aid in this club work. for the library reading club on art she selects the most inspiring and sympathetic art teacher on the faculty. for those who are reading darwin and spencer and huxley, the finest teacher in biology who thoroughly knows the literature and can make the reading mean much. for those interested in civic and social questions, clubs for discussion and debate are formed with english and history teachers for advisers, but all center in the school library and meet there after school. after school, also where the library is large or there are two rooms, students may stay to study,--tenement homes and apartments are often difficult places for quiet work. for our own school a biography reading club has been a great success, the students reading interesting biographies of famous women, alice freeman palmer, carla wenckebach, jane addams, florence nightingale, etc. also lives of great explorers, artists, musicians, statesmen, etc. . vocational guidance. this is coming to mean great possibilities. if the librarian is sympathetic and has won the hearts of the students they will come naturally to her as a source of information on what a boy or girl can do to earn a living. it is a serious problem to the high school pupil,--often there is no one at home to help. the librarian must be ready with books, pamphlets, clippings to lay before the student the many possibilities in choosing a vocation. the books on these subjects are the most popular books in the library of a large boys high school. catalogs of technical and trade schools, etc., should be on file for reference for students desiring to plan special courses in high school to meet their entrance requirements. where there is a committee of teachers on vocational direction the librarian can be of great service in aiding in collections of books, magazines and pamphlet material. these possibilities of the high school library make it a most tempting field for any one interested in work with the older boys and girls. the librarian has the opportunity of making the school library: ( ) a great working laboratory for all departments which will meet their needs for reference and serve to stimulate interest or awaken interest in the work of class room or laboratory. ( ) a preparatory school for the best use of college or public library by training students in the use of a library during the four years in school. ( ) compensation to the students for the lack of a home library. carefully selected, largely a collection of the best books on the subjects which high school pupils would be interested in and containing all the really great things in the world's literature it affords a browsing place which should mean that inspiring and stimulating contact with books which many have felt in their home libraries, and it should mean also that personal guidance of the reading of the individual which in more fortunate homes parents give to their children. and perhaps quite as important as any other is the possibility of opening up to the high school students and teachers the great resources of the public library. the success of the high school library of the future will depend largely upon its relation to the public library. we are just at the beginning of things today in this matter of co-operation and shall probably see important developments along this line during the next five years. mr. gilbert o. ward, supervisor of high school branches, cleveland public library, led the discussion on miss hall's paper. he said in part: high school pupils after all are a very small proportion of the school community. why should a public library put an expensive assistant into a high school, where, after all, the actual numbers affected are small? one answer is this: high school students like college students, though in a less degree, are a chosen few. they are in a position to become naturally leaders in the community. and it seems to me that public libraries which have the chance to establish high school branches should consider the possibilities of the indirect influence on the community as well as the direct influence on the limited number of high school students. in considering now the relation between high school library and public library, let us first sum up the needs of the high school, the points in which the public library fails to meet the situation, and the points in which the independent high school library is liable to failure: the high school needs: . books, freely duplicated, including general reference books, books relating to school work and selected general reading adapted to the abilities and appreciation of high school students. . a trained librarian. the progressive high school needs these in the building as it needs a chemical laboratory in the building. there is no better reason for making a student go to the public library for an ordinary bit of class work, than for sending him to the y. m. c. a. for his gymnasium work. the public library fails with the high schools as follows: . it generally lacks official standing in the school plan, hence it has to work with the individual teacher or principal as chance offers. . teachers are often too indifferent, careless, or over-pressed by work to come to the public library. . visits to the public library for reference work, inside or outside of school hours, takes up pupils' time, even if the school is convenient to the public library. this difficulty gets worse as reference work increases. . library instruction should cover a number of periods, and if given in the public library, the necessary number of visits deranges schedules, wastes time and raises questions of discipline. . the public library is sometimes unable or unwilling to duplicate books freely enough to meet school needs. . the public library is not on the spot to answer instant needs. the independent high school library meets peculiar difficulties and dangers in fulfilling its duty. it is right to say here that the highest point of development in high school libraries has, to the best of my knowledge, been reached in certain high schools in which the library has no connection with the public library, but where it is managed by a well-paid, trained and experienced librarian. generally speaking, however, especially in the case of high schools which do not employ a trained librarian, i think i may say that the independent high school library at present is likely to be narrow in scope, badly administered, self centered and neglectful of co-operation with the public library, and hampered by red tape getting books promptly through boards of education. neither school library nor public library, it seems to me, can alone meet high school needs. the school library needs the public library because of the broadening influence of the usually larger institution. it needs the resources of the usually larger collection. it can often benefit by suggestion and aid in administrative details, especially when in untrained hands. the public library needs the school library, among other reasons, to bring it into closer contact with the school system officially. the public library, it seems to me, should require the high school librarian to attend its regular staff meetings if she be a public library official or invite her to attend them if she is not. the high school librarian in many cases attends school faculty meetings, and by regularly attending public library staff meetings she can intelligently interpret school to public library and vice versa. the public library needs the high school library so as to get earlier and more certain information of books needed for class use, for the purpose of reserving in the public library or of concentrating them in the school library. six copies of a title concentrated at call in the high school library and lent from there for short loans, prevent a few students from monopolizing books, and so do much more satisfactory work than twice the number lent from the public library in the usual way. in general, the public library by working through the high school library should work more effectively by meeting the school on its own ground. it is pretty clear, i think, that the school library and the public library need each other. the questions remaining are: what kind of co-operation is most effective? how can that co-operation be brought about? i doubt if there is a universal answer for either question. i think that local conditions will have to be studied in each case, and under local conditions i include the school situation, the public library situation, personalities, local politics, etc. miss hall has found a satisfactory answer for the library controlled by the school. the solution which has come under my observation is the administration of the school library by the public library, with a division between school and public library, of the expense. this plan in one form or another is now being tried with the high school libraries in five cities--cleveland, o.; madison, wis.; newark, n. j.; passaic, n. j.; and portland, ore. this includes eleven libraries actually in operation, and five others in contemplation. the plan has also been adopted, i am informed, by a number of towns in new jersey. in bringing about co-operation, the first step is to make a careful, thorough study of conditions, not forgetting the questions, "what is the attitude of the principal?" and, "which can pay the higher salary--public library or high school?" the results under any plan, may we add, depend on the high school librarian. she should have a college education to put her on a par with the teaching staff. she must be adaptable. she must have solid book knowledge, especially of english and history. she must be able to manage a room full of students without fuss or strain. a raw high school graduate with a smattering of technique will not do. finally, whatever the public library's part in the scheme of co-operation, the public library must be willing to view the subject from the school side, and be willing to adapt its methods to school needs. a short business session of the active members of the session followed this meeting. upon recommendation of the nominating committee the following officers were elected: chairman, miss effie l. power, supervisor of children's work, st. louis public library; vice-chairman, miss alice goddard, head of children's department, washington county free library, hagerstown, md., and secretary, miss hannah m. lawrence, children's librarian, buffalo public library. college and reference section first session (friday, june , : p. m.) the first session of the college and reference section was held on the evening of june , in the banquet room of the chateau laurier, about people being present. in the absence of dr. a. s. root, chairman of the section, and miss irene warren, secretary, the meeting was called to order by mr. p. l. windsor, who had at the request of dr. root and of mr. utley, arranged the program; mr. s. j. brandenburg acted as secretary. mr. theodore w. koch, librarian of the university of michigan, read the first paper entitled some phases of the administrative history of college and university libraries[ ] the development of college and university libraries has been so rapid during the past score of years that it may be worth while to turn back for a moment and collect a few illustrations of early ideas of library management from the history of the older universities. the most interesting ones for this purpose are those of oxford and cambridge, harvard, yale and columbia universities. [ ] abridged from an address delivered before the new york state library school and the university of michigan summer library school. the bodleian in its reorganized form was opened in with a stock of two thousand five hundred volumes--a fairly large collection for those days. it had been established in duke humphrey's day in a suite of rooms over the divinity school "far removed" as the old university records put it, "from any worldly noise." the first rules for the government of the library were drafted by bodley himself. while in general they were wise ones, they reflected the spirit of the times in which they were written. sir thomas objected to the inclusion of belles-lettres as beneath the dignity of the institution he was fostering. "i can see no good reason," said he, "to alter my rule for excluding such books as almanacks, plays, and an infinite number that are daily printed of very unworthy matters. haply some plays may be worthy the keeping--but hardly one in forty.... this is my opinion, wherein if i err i shall err with infinite others; and the more i think upon it, the more it doth distaste me that such kinds of books should be vouchsafed room in so noble a library." scholars were required to leave a deposit in cash as a pledge of good faith when borrowing books, but the deposit was usually a mere trifle compared with the value of the loan. unscrupulous borrowers willingly forfeited the money and kept the manuscripts. some volumes were stolen, while others were entered in the catalog as "missing," a distinction with perhaps very little difference. tradition says that polidore virgil had stolen so many books that the authorities were finally compelled to deny him access to the library, whereupon he promptly obtained from henry viii a special license to borrow whatever manuscripts he desired and the librarian had to bow to the ruling of the king. in a manuscript copy of the works of st. augustine and st. ambrose in the bodleian, is written, "this book belongs to st. mary of robert's bridge: whosoever steals it, or sells it, or takes it away from this house in any way, or injures it, let him be anathema maranatha." underneath another hand has written, "i, john, bishop of exeter, do not know where the said house is: i did not steal this book, but got it lawfully." at one time folios in the bodleian were chained to the shelves but the custom was given up and the chains sold for old iron in . that the arrangements at the bodleian were viewed with favor by library benefactors can be seen from a letter which the worthy john hollis of london, second founder of harvard college library, sent to the authorities at cambridge in : "you want seats to sit and read in and chains to your valuable books like our bodleian library or zion college in london. you let your books be taken at pleasure to men's houses and many are lost, your boyish students take them to their chambers and tear out pictures and maps to adorn their walls." gibbon in his autobiography has commented upon the sloth of th century oxford and its absolute indifference to study. the records of the bodleian substantiate the low point to which the intellectual life of the university had ebbed. the registers of books borrowed for the decade - show that only rarely were more than one or two books asked for in a day. in some cases a whole week is passed over without a single entry being made. the indifference throughout the university showed itself in the management of the library. for years, that is, from - , the bodleian was so unfortunate as to be in the hands of only two men, the reverend john price, of jesus college, who died in his eightieth year, and dr. bulkeley bandinel, his son-in-law, who lived to be even a year older than his predecessor. as an illustration of price's ideas of librarianship we have it noted by professor beddoes that "he discouraged readers by neglect and incivility, was very careless in regard to the value or condition of the books he purchased, and had little knowledge of foreign publications." when captain cook's voyages were first published there was quite a demand for the work. librarian price promptly loaned it to the rector of lincoln college, telling him that the longer he kept it out the better, for as long as it was known to be in the library he would be perpetually plagued by inquiries after it. price has been compared to the verger who sorrowfully complained that people were continually invading his church and "praying all over the place." however, it must in justice be said that price's correspondence as printed by john nichols in his "illustrations of the literary history of the th century," shows him to have been helpful to some of the scholars of his day. bodleian's librarians in the eighteenth century were mostly clerks in holy orders and it was not uncommon for them to fail to open the library at all on a saturday if they were "taking duty in the country," on the following day. there is preserved in the bodleian a scrap of paper which an angry scholar affixed to the door of the library in when he found it closed contrary to the statutes. on it were these words in greek: "woe unto you who have taken away the key of knowledge! ye enter not yourself and hinder those who come." how striking is the difference between the lax administration of the th century and that of the th can be seen by a study of the bodleian staff-calendar, an annual of over pages in which are listed day by day the special duties of various members of the staff, with all sorts of suggestions for the improvement of the service. king george iii in his famous interview with dr. johnson asked whether there were better libraries at oxford or at cambridge. the sage replied that he believed the bodleian was larger than any library they had at cambridge, at the same time adding, "i hope whether we have more books or not than they have at cambridge we shall make as good use of them as they do,"--a reply which i always like to associate with the remark of dr. cogswell: "i would as soon tell you how many tons the astor library weighs, as how many volumes it contains." while the university library at cambridge has never been the recipient of such large and rich donations as has the bodleian, it is today one of the best stocked university libraries in the world. its first benefactor was thomas scott of rotheram, archbishop of york, who not only gave books and manuscripts, but also the first library building. despite other benefactions the collection appeared "but mean" in the eyes of john evelyn when he visited it in . among the earliest gifts to one of the college libraries at cambridge there are some volumes which raise curious questions. according to dr. montague r. james, the provost of king's college, cambridge, one book has the bury bookmark and evidently came from that source; another belonged to the canons of hereford, another to worcester, and another to durham. how and under what conditions did the early collegiate and monastic bodies part with these? "was there not very probably an extensive system of sale of duplicates? i prefer this notion," writes dr. james, "to the idea that they got rid of their books indiscriminately, because the study of monastic catalogs shows quite plainly that the number of duplicates in any considerable library was very large. on the other hand it is clear that books often got out of the old libraries into the hands of quite unauthorized persons: so that there was probably both fair and foul play in the matter." the most famous librarian of cambridge university library was henry bradshaw, who not only left a strong impress upon the paleographers and historians of his day, but did much for librarianship by his contributions to bibliography and his work on the printed catalogs issued by the cambridge university library. he believed in making the library as accessible as possible to those who were entitled to its use. the watchwords of his administration were "liberty and discretion," liberty for the people to go freely about the whole library, examining and borrowing such books as they liked, and discretion on the part of the administration in putting such extremely moderate restrictions upon this freedom that the security of its most precious books were safeguarded and the presence of the books most constantly needed for reference was assured without undue interference with freedom of access to the shelves or the borrowing of books from the library. his management of the university library was not in all respects satisfactory, due mostly to the fact that the staff was very inadequate to the task of the attempted reclassification of the large collection of books, and also to the crowded condition of the building. bradshaw did not have a marked capacity for working through subordinates. "he could not," said one of his assistants, "bring himself to allow any one to answer letters for him." he used to carry large numbers of unanswered letters in his coat pockets and would sometimes take them out and show them with a certain mischievous glee and say in his droll way, "i am too wicked. what shall i do?" no one knew this failing better than himself. he once remarked to thomas buchanan read, who wanted some information from him, "you had better come and get what you can by word of mouth. i offend lots of my friends by not answering their letters, or by losing them like yours." one friend, to whom he had long promised a visit and who could not get a definite answer to his invitations, sent bradshaw two post cards on one of which was written "yes," and on the other "no," asking him to post one or the other. bradshaw promptly posted both, although by the next mail he wrote to say that he would come,--and he kept his promise. bradshaw used to say that whenever he was asked to send back an interesting book he "suffered from a chronic paralysis of the will and could not return it until the fit had passed away." in matters of routine business he was, however, seldom behind time and his library accounts were always accurately kept. he was very strict about the observance of the library rules and could never tolerate seeing books mishandled. dr. zupitza, a great friend and admirer of bradshaw, tells how one day he was making notes in ink from the famous manuscript of bede's "ecclesiastical history," in the cambridge university library when bradshaw happened to notice him. "you germans have no reverence," said the librarian as he rushed at the ink bottle and carried it away. a manuscript of that character was not to be approached with anything more dangerous than a lead pencil. bradshaw had no personal ambition and was only too eager to give away such information as he possessed. he put his vast store of knowledge at the disposal of his large group of friends and their books were all the better for his bibliographical zeal. he himself left comparatively little finished work. "my province," he once wrote, "is to give help on certain details which most people don't care about." before leaving oxford and cambridge, a word must be said about the individual college libraries. many of these date from the th century when it was the exception rather than the rule for university students to own books. books were rented from both booksellers and tutors. the college libraries then, as today, did not have enough copies of text-books to go around. the statutes of st. mary's college, oxford, dating from , forbade a scholar the continual use of a book in the library for more than one hour or at most two hours, for fear that others wanting the book might be hindered from the use of it. most of the two score colleges of oxford and cambridge have their own libraries, many of them filled to overflowing with precious manuscripts and old authors. while the manuscripts, like those of corpus christi, naturally attract scholars from all over the world, the libraries are now comparatively little used by the students of the universities themselves. this is not surprising when it is known that to some of them no books have been added for a century or more. there is no union depository catalog in a central place showing what these libraries contain and very little correlation, although there has been some specialization, as in the dramatic collection at trinity college, cambridge, or the modern history at merton college, oxford. several years ago when i visited the bodleian library, i was shown around the portion known as "duke humphrey's library," and when i admired the old parchment bound volumes in the alcoves my guide remarked sententiously: "these books were on these shelves when the pilgrims sailed for america." that remark points to an essential difference between many of the old world libraries and those of this country. the museum feature which is so strong in the administration of some of the european libraries is much less prominent in those of the united states. illustrations of university library history in this country naturally begin with harvard. the library there was begun on the death of its first benefactor in with his bequest of volumes. the mathers were among the largest collectors of books in their day in new england but few of their possessions passed into the college collection, most of the mather library having been destroyed in during the battle of bunker hill. about the close of the th century cotton mather said of the harvard college library that while it was "far from a vatican or bodleian dimension" he considered it the "best furnished that can be shown anywhere in the american regions." the fire of which destroyed the first harvard hall destroyed also the entire college library, housed in an upper room, with the exception of one volume: downame's "christian warfare," which was out in circulation at the time. "may harvard library," wrote john barnard of marblehead, "rise out of its ashes with new life and vigor, and be durable as the sun, tho' the building is a nuisance." this contemptuous sounding phrase, intended to describe the ruined building, can again almost be justified in connection with the overcrowded and outgrown structure of today. the first general catalog of the library, printed in , containing pages, devotes pages to theological tracts, to religious books, - / to bibles, / of a page to periodicals, to books of travel, and ten to greek and latin authors--all of which shows how closely the college had held to its original purpose as a training school for the ministry. there was practically no change in the curriculum at harvard college during the first two centuries of its existence. the old classical course as pursued by our forefathers required comparatively few books. with the introduction of such studies as modern history and languages, the sciences and economics, came the demand for access to many books, both old and new. that books were regarded as a first essential in the establishment of colleges in the new world is shown not only by the terms of john harvard's will, which bequeathed one-half of his estate and all his library "towards the erecting of a college," but also by the picturesque founding of yale college. eleven ministers met in new haven in agreeing to form a college. each member brought a number of books and presented them to the body, and laying them on the table said these words, or to this effect: "i give these books for the founding of a college in this colony." then the trustees as a body took possession of them and appointed the rev. mr. russel of branford as keeper of the library, which at that time consisted of about folio volumes. the library with the additions which came in was kept at branford for nearly three years, and was then carried to killingworth. in the library had grown to , volumes, showing a growth of only volumes a year through two generations. other american university libraries showed equally modest beginnings. in a letter from president manning to dr. llewellyn, , is found the following reference to the early efforts made on behalf of the library of brown university: "at present we have but about volumes and these not well chosen, being such as our friends could best spare," a statement which was equally true of many other college libraries of that period. the vicissitudes of american university libraries in their early years would seem to have been enough to discourage any but the stoutest hearted librarian. thus the king's college buildings in new york having been required by the british for a military hospital, the books were deposited in the city hall or elsewhere. three years later some or volumes were found in a room in st. paul's chapel. how they got there is a mystery, but they were all that remained of the nucleus of what is today the columbia university library. mr. john pintard, the founder of the new york historical society used to say that he remembered seeing the british soldiers carry away the books from the college library in their knapsacks and barter them for grog. horace walpole in his memoirs sneers at the prince of wales, afterwards george iii, for presenting a collection of books to an american college during the revolutionary war, and says that, instead of books, his royal highness ought to have sent arms and ammunition. in his report as secretary of the smithsonian institution for , prof. c. c. jewett wrote: "our colleges are mostly eleemosynary institutions. their libraries are frequently the chance aggregation of the gifts of charity; too many of them discarded, as well-nigh worthless, from the shelves of donors. (but) among them are some very important collections, chosen with care and competent learning, purchased with economy and guarded with prudence." in marshall college at mercersburg, pa., reported that "the college library is distributed among the professors--each professor having charge of those books pertaining to his department." until comparatively recent years the periodicals subscribed to by one of our western state universities were sent direct to the homes of the professors interested and whether they were brought to the library later for binding depended upon the whim of the professor. one of the striking contrasts between the college library of today and that of the middle of the last century is shown by a comparison of the hours of opening. the chinese character for "library" means "a place for hiding books," and if some members of the present day faculties think there is still justification for this pictograph, what would they say of the apology for a library which their predecessors had to contend with? in the libraries at amherst and trinity, for example, were open once a week from to p. m., at princeton one hour twice a week, at the university of missouri one hour every two weeks. at the university of alabama there was a rule that "the books shall ordinarily be received at the door, without admitting the applicant into the library room." harvard with its hours of opening per week was as usual in the vanguard of progress, but contrast even those liberal hours with present day schedules of hours and even more per week and you see that there has been considerable progress along this line. "a quarter of a century ago the library in most of our institutions," said the late president harper in an address delivered in , "even the oldest, was scarcely large enough, if one were to estimate values, to deserve the name of library. so far as it had location, it was the place to which the professor was accustomed to make his way occasionally, the student almost never. it was open for consultation during perhaps one hour a day for three days a week. the better class of students, it was understood, had no time for reading. it was only the 'ne'er do well,' the man with little interest in the class-room text-book, who could find time for general reading. such reading was a distraction, and a proposition that one might profit by consulting other books which bore upon the subject or subjects treated in the text-book would have been scouted. all such work was thought to be distracting. the addition of one hundred volumes in a single year was something noteworthy. the place, seldom frequented, was some out-of-the-way room which could serve no other use. the librarian--there was none. why should there have been? any officer of the institution could perform the needed service without greatly increasing the burden of his official duties." that the college library of the middle of the last century was little more than a storehouse for books, in which the undergraduate had very little interest, is amply substantiated by the reminiscences of older graduates. "to those of us who graduated thirty, or forty, or more years ago," said the late william frederick poole, "books, outside of text-books used, had no part in our education. they were never quoted, recommended, or mentioned by instructors in the class-room. as i remember it, yale college library might as well have been in wetherfield, or bridgeport, as in new haven, so far as the students in those days were concerned." in the old days at columbia college, freshmen and sophomores were allowed to visit the library only once a month to gaze at the backs of books; the juniors were taken there once a week by a tutor who gave verbal information about the contents of the books, but only seniors were permitted to open the precious volumes, which they could draw from the library during one hour on wednesday afternoons. in , the salary of the librarian of columbia was raised to three hundred dollars! professor brander matthews, who graduated from columbia in , says that the library was at that time small and inconvenient and that he never entered it to read a book and never drew one from it during all the time he was an undergraduate. the rules of the old days forbade the use of any lights in the harvard library, "excepting only when the librarian is obliged to seal official letters with wax he may with proper precautions use a lighted taper for that purpose." this recalls an entry in the diary of john langdon sibley, who records spending "four hours with a lantern and cloak in the chilly cellar" where he found many books and pamphlets not in the college library. mr. sibley, who spent years in the service of the harvard library, has frequently been pictured as typical of the old style collector and custodian of books. the story is told of his having once completed an inventory of the library and, when seen crossing the yard with a particularly happy smile, was asked the reason for this pleased expression. "all the books are in excepting two," said he. "agassiz has those and i am going after them." exaggerated as this picture of him undoubtedly is, it must be said that he did lay much more emphasis upon the collecting and preservation of books than upon their use. his successor, justin winsor, was the author of the remark which has come to be regarded as one of the truisms of modern librarianship: "a book is never so useful as when it is in use." in his second annual report ( ) mr. winsor thus summed up his idea of library management: "diligent administration, considerate forbearance, care that no rule is enforced for the sake of mere outward uniformity, and the establishment of reciprocal confidence between the government and the users of the library, open the way to many relaxations of old established prohibitions, which could not be safely allowed if a less conciliatory spirit prevailed. there should be no bar to the use of books, but the rights of others, and it is to the credit of the mass of library users that, when a librarian manifests that single purpose, he can safely be liberal in the discharge of his trust." mr. winsor had an exceptional faculty for organization and administration. for some time after he left the service of the boston public library it was hardly noticeable that there was no librarian. this was due to the fine organization which mr. winsor had effected and did not prove, as alderman o'brien of boston argued, that mr. winsor's services could easily be dispensed with. he found time for writing history during the years of his librarianship at boston and at harvard because he knew how to administer. no doubt in his later years the historian in him overshadowed the librarian. the salient feature of mr. winsor's administration of the harvard college library lay in the fact that he extended very materially the use of books by students. he instituted the system of "reserved" books by which the instructor is enabled to have gathered in an accessible place the reading which he required of his classes,--a device absolutely essential in the new method of teaching which substitutes the reading of authorities for the old time study of text-books. * * * * * and what as to the buildings in which these libraries are housed? the earlier ones like those of harvard and yale, were suggestive of gothic chapels, while the later ones, like michigan, illinois and cornell, are based upon an ecclesiastical motif, and have the questionable addition of a clock tower, the usual accompanying chimes helping to break into the quiet which it is so desirable to maintain in any library. harvard's gore hall was an attenuated copy of the chapel of st. john's college, cambridge, england, and necessarily ill adapted to the needs of a library. it was poorly lighted, poorly ventilated, hard to warm in winter, damp in parts during the spring and autumn. there were no private rooms, no working room, no conversation room, and no reading room worthy of the name. the only saving thing about the management was that the advice of old john hollis was not followed and both students and professors were allowed to draw books for use in their rooms and homes. * * * * * in some cases where the library building has been presented as a gift or as a memorial, trouble has arisen from the proverbial difficulty about examining too closely into the lines of the proposed gift. notable illustrations of this are found in the libraries of columbia university, the university of pennsylvania and the late but not lamented library of leland stanford university. the columbia university library, the gift of ex-president low in memory of his father, was designed by mckim, mead & white after the plan of the head of the firm, the late mr. charles f. mckim. some of you may be familiar with the story of the visitor to mr. mckim's studio asking how he was getting on with the plans for the new library. "oh, everything is going lovely," said he. "you see there on the wall the outline of the facade and the layout of the building. i have worked up all the details of the reading room and the large dome--but i don't know where to put the darned books." "today," wrote president harper, "the chief building in the college, the building in which is taken the most pride, is the library. with the stack for storage purposes, the reading room for reference books, the offices for delivery, the rooms for seminary purposes, it is the center of educational activity. the staff of assistants is often larger than the entire faculty of the same institution thirty years ago." the importance of the university library in the educational work of the institution is being recognized more fully each year. "much of the usefulness and attractiveness of the university for its students," said president eliot in his annual report for - , "depends on the size of the library, on the promptness with which it obtains the newest interesting books, and on the efficiency and liberality of its administration. any need of the library is therefore a need of the whole university." the second paper was then read by mr. willard austen, assistant librarian of cornell university. his paper, an abstract of which follows, was entitled rights of the users of a college and university library and how to preserve them the problem of administering a college or university library with due regard to the rights of all the users is far from simple. a college or university community is not a democracy, where all have equal rights. the natural division into two great classes, the mature teacher and the immature student is the first apparent cause for the modification of privileges. the need of materials for teaching as opposed to the needs of the student suggests other modifications. the need for books of research at home or in the laboratory that may also be wanted for general reading, introduces a third factor that may disturb any set of rules that may be framed. any reader should be allowed to use any book in the library when and where it is most convenient to do so, so far as this can be done and preserve the rights of other users and preserve valuable materials not easily replaced for future generations of users. the ability to shift any book from the place where it is little needed to the place where it is much needed, at a moment's notice, is the ideal. users may be roughly grouped as follows: . instructors of all grades, those whose need for books is primarily for teaching. . those doing research work, which class may include teachers, graduate and undergraduate students. . students needing books for collateral reading. . general readers of all classes, and all persons are general readers when not reading for a definite purpose, but for general culture. obviously the rights of all these classes are not of equal importance. to outline the means of protecting their rights, it is necessary to classify users by certain of their characteristics which bear no relation to the groups named above. first, the conscientious worker who, while using many books, never retains one beyond his real need for it, and who constantly bears in mind the possible need that others may have for a book he is using. library rules are not made for such. the next and most difficult class to deal with are those who want to gather about them all the books they can conveniently lay hands on, with the thought, that they will "come handy some day." a large class, running down to the lowest ranks of college students, comprise those who think they must have all the material on a subject at hand at one time. another class, largely college students, is made up of those selfish persons who, having a task, ride rough shod, if necessary, over the rights of others in doing it. then there is the small class that can be designated by no other names than thieves and vandals, those who steal books, and cut out text or illustrations. an adequate code of rules and regulations should be drawn up, care being taken that all rules should be made for the sole purpose of preserving rights and property. of first importance are the regulations for getting books back into the library. a time limit of one month on all books not in use for instruction or research has been fairly successful. all bound volumes of periodicals may be limited to two weeks or one month. a limit may be put on the number of volumes a user may have out at any one time. a requirement that all books must come back to the library, once a year, regardless of the use being made of them, will keep in the library many books that have been left lying around after being used. within the library the problem of making all books available for use when needed is not a simple one. reserve collections, and the recall of books when needed are familiar practices; but when the demand for a book is very great, its use by one person may be limited to one-half or one hour as the case may call for. the failure to return a reserved book when due interferes seriously with others' rights. in these cases students must be made to respect the rights of others, even at the cost of losing their own privileges which is often a more effective discipline than a money fine. the library shares with other departments of the college or university the duty of teaching students a due regard for the rights of others. the problem of detecting the few thieves and vandals who curse all used libraries, may require professional advice. few seem to be brought to justice, in spite of all efforts. whatever measures are employed to protect the users' rights and the library property, they must have their foundation in a system of classification and notation that clearly indicates in every record the character of the book and its relation to other material in the library; and in a system of record of use that tells not only where a book is when out, how long it has been out, and who is responsible for it, but also tells the life history of that book from the time it comes into the library until it is worn out. * * * * * after the discussion of mr. austen's paper, mr. f. k. w. drury, assistant librarian of the university of illinois, presented a paper on do we need a short story index? is not this the day of the index? have we not poole, the reader's guide, the portrait and the engineering indexes, granger's index to poetry and recitations, and the index to victrola records? what granger is to poetry, may we not compile for the short story? for if this is the day of the index, is it any less that of the short story? * * * * * if we agree to omit fairy stories and folk tales and most juveniles what is the extent of short story literature? in a very brief survey of the field did i not find english and american authors and foreign authors in english translation whose stories have attained book form? let us credit each author with ten titles and we have at once , stories worthy of recognition. and these do not include the vast horde of stories--literally thousands--that have appeared and are appearing monthly, weekly, yea even daily, in the magazines of the hour. how recent then shall we make our list? shall we anticipate the get-rich-quick wallingford tale announced for next month? where shall we draw our line? how inclusive shall our list be made? shall the saturday evening post and the two sunday magazines be indexed? or shall we stay within the circle of the readers' guide and the magazine subject index? how many of the news-stand best sellers shall be admitted? mr. wyer shows us the million circulation figures of the woman's world, comfort, the vickery and hill list of three (happy hours, hearth and home, and good stories), yet these are not taken by our libraries and if indexed could be consulted with difficulty. where shall we draw this line? again, how far abroad shall we go? shall the short stories in foreign tongues fraternize with their english cousins? or shall they be aliens and only admitted when really anglicized? do we need an index? let us test our present resources. how do you find in which volume of kipling is printed "thrawn janet" or his "man who would be king?" how many copies of "the necklace" can you supply? granger tells you it is in cody's "world's greatest short stories" and your catalog may show it in de maupassant's works, or his "odd number." but how would you find out that this classic is also in "little french masterpieces," in esenwein's book on the short story, and probably in several other places. somebody comes in and asks for "napoleon jackson" and you do not find it in the volumes you have by ruth mcenery stuart. perhaps it is loaned out. would not such an index show that this story appeared in the century for january, , under the title "the gentleman of the plush rocker"? vainly have i searched through catalogs and bibliographies and even biographies to find in which book of stories by "adirondack" murray may be found "a busted ex-texan." the book itself must be in hand to find this information. try to search down a particular title by stockton, or bret harte and you will soon despair. have we not then three distinct classes of publications which can be indexed with profit? (a) collected stories of authors, of whom we have listed at least , . (b) periodical sets, which poole indexed by titles only, but since the readers' guide has by both author and title. (c) collections of stories, of which at least are available today. can we not characterize or classify our short story by some such terms as those used in the philadelphia free library catalog of prose fiction, published in ? have you ever been disappointed in reading a story? have you not often wished to know if it were a "good" one or "worth while" before you began it? indeed, have you not often refrained from reading one for fear of wasting your time? how can we tell about these short stories? are they good or bad? detective or amorous? psychological or mysterious? have you ever seen a short story reviewed? have you any way of knowing? must we read every one to find out? some may be characterized from the author. the sherlock holmes series are obviously detective stories. we can be pretty sure of ambrose bierce and edgar allan poe. so stories in harper's have a general tone quite characteristic. here at once is a most important and a most difficult part of such an index. is not the value of granger immensely increased by the topical index? are we not laboring patiently to classify our novels by subjects? why not also the short story? we may now ask ourselves: what would be the scope of the entries? for discussion, we suggest: . author list; giving author, title, number of words, location, character. . title index. . subject or character index. you will readily see the elements of a dictionary catalog here, and it is debatable whether to separate the entries in the three groups as above, or to alphabet them together. shall we double star the best and star the next? are not these questions too perplexing, is not the labor of compilation too arduous, and is not life too short for the reading and classifying all these titles, for one person to attempt this task alone? it has seemed so. hence this question mark rampant, hence this interrogational presentation, hence this request for co-operation. without the subject characterization one man could do it, but would not one of the most valuable features be omitted? with definite assignments, under an editor-in-chief, is not this index possible? is it not needed? in the discussion it was brought out that the chicago public library had made a list of fairy tales, that the cleveland public library had begun a list of short stories not in periodicals, and that titles of stories frequently occur in reference lists on subjects like, for example, hallowe'en. after a discussion of mr. drury's paper, mr. robert kendall shaw, librarian of the worcester (mass.) free public library, spoke on the subject is the establishment of a central reference bureau desirable?[ ] this subject has been so fully treated in recent years, notably by mr. lane in an address at oberlin college in june, , and in several reports of the association of college librarians, that only an outline will be attempted here. [ ] abstract. a natural preliminary inquiry presents itself: is reference work in all its phases adequately performed already? with a well trained library staff, whose work may be supplemented by the inter-library loan; by writing letters; by the use of the priceless though incessant telephone; or by seeking the aid of some such bureau of inquiry as that of thos. nelson's sons, the boston transcript, the new york times or notes and queries, are we keeping our public satisfied, and the voice of conscience still? if not, and if the question of creating some central agency for auxiliary reference service is to be discussed, shall this central agency take the form of a central lending library, with its permanent building, book reservoir and staff to administer it, or of a central reference bureau, which will receive all kinds of inquiries, and answer them, as far as possible, by consultation in libraries already existing, or in other institutions which may possess the desired information? that a central lending library, equipped and maintained under the auspices of the a. l. a. is today or even tomorrow impracticable, can scarcely be denied by intelligent librarians. the writer believes that no adequate endowment could be secured; that if any funds were obtained for this purpose, years would be required to build up a useful collection; that such a collection would, to a great extent, duplicate existing material; that running expenses would be far greater than for an information bureau, and that there are, in short, other more pressing needs. if a central reference bureau is to be established, what form shall it take? shall it be attached to some institution already in operation or exist independently? the latter seems preferable, as it could then maintain a consistent policy, unhampered by political or other undesirable influences; proceed unhampered with singleness of aim and method; be governed by persons disinterested and none others; and restrict its collections exclusively to the purposes which its founders intended it to pursue. where should such an agency be established? at some library center like boston, new york, philadelphia or st. louis? at a. l. a. headquarters? at the library of congress or under the auspices of some active state library commission? the two institutions specifically mentioned are already doing a large work in this direction. the duties and opportunities of this bureau would be: to collect and co-ordinate the public-service records of american libraries and cognate institutions (e. g. supply information on special collections, subject bibliographies, reading lists, etc.); by questionnaires, visits and in other ways obtain supplementary information along these and similar lines; to get results printed and disseminated; to furnish definite information on lending conditions now obtaining in american libraries, and, when possible, to improve them; and to serve as a free registration and employment agency for librarians and library assistants. although this last suggestion has not been proposed, to the writer's knowledge in earlier schemes, its importance as a practical measure, is obvious. to the large body of faithful and efficient workers who have not enjoyed the benefits of a library school training such an agency would render signal service. the unfortunate but frequently recurring repetition of reference research would, in large measure, be prevented if librarians were enabled to derive prompt assistance, in case of knotty problems, from a competent central agency. their duty to dispatch to this agency solutions to such questions of probably common interest as they had themselves discovered, would be equally obvious. the trend of library thought in the thinking world today is toward centralisation and co-ordination of effort; witness the sense of the brussels conference of that central information bureaus should be established in all countries of progressive library spirit; the success and practical value of the gigantic gesammtkatalog; and the expected benefits from the youthful boston co-operative information bureau. that american librarians are looking toward a fuller development of inter-library loans, and away from a central reference bureau, is the consensus of the recent ( , march and may) symposium conducted by the library journal. our duty now is, by sympathy, interest and contribution, to forward the work of the library of congress and the a. l. a. headquarters, and to make our own lending conditions the most generous in our power. mr. c. h. gould, chairman of the committee on co-ordination, stated that the subject just presented had a close relation to several matters before his committee, and gave a résumé of their report submitted in print to a general session of the conference. dr. andrews, as a member of the committee, added that in his opinion photographic reproductions might prove a satisfactory substitute for many inter-library loans. the installation of a cameragraph in the john crerar library had proved of much more use than had been anticipated, not only in regard to the number of copies made, but also in regard to the scope of the material thus copied. it had been found in many cases that these photographic reproductions could be furnished for less than the cost of transportation of the volume, and that besides they gave a permanent record to the borrower. the only obvious limitation was the impossibility of reproducing copyright material. after further discussion, the chairman asked dr. w. k. jewett, librarian of the university of nebraska, to serve as chairman of the nominating committee and to select two others to serve with him. the session then adjourned. second session (monday, july , : p. m.) the second session was held monday afternoon, july , in the ballroom. the first paper was by mr. j. c. m. hanson, associate director of libraries, university of chicago, and was read in his absence by mr. m. g. wyer, librarian of the state university of iowa. the paper follows. some observations on the departmental library problem in universities, with special reference to the university of chicago =list of references= departmental arrangement of college libraries, by edith e. clarke. library journal vol. , , p. - ; vol. , , p. - . reference, seminary, and departmental libraries at cornell university, by w. austen. library journal, vol. , , p. - . function of a university library, by h. l. koopman. library journal vol. , , p. - of conference report. the departmental libraries of the university of chicago, by z. a. dixson. library journal vol. , , p. - . notes on the government and control of college libraries, by g. w. harris. library journal vol. , , p. - of conference report. relation of seminary and departmental libraries to the general university library, by george h. baker. library journal vol. , , p. - of conference report. first report of w. c. lane, librarian of harvard university, , p. - . compare also his th report, p. . the problems of the departmental system in university libraries, by w. w. bishop. library journal vol. , , p. - . report of college and reference section, . library journal vol. , p. - of conference report. relation of the departmental or group libraries to the main library, by dr. e. d. burton. library journal vol. , , p. - of conference report. discussion in college and reference section, . library journal vol. , , p. - of conference report. the future university library, by b. ranel. nation vol. , march , , p. . the university branch library, by w. austen. library journal vol. , , p. - . plea for the central library, by j. bascom. educational review, vol. , sept. , p. - . departmental libraries, by f. c. hicks. columbia university quarterly, vol. , march, , p. - . departmental libraries in universities and colleges, by henry e. bliss. educational review, april, , p. - . ueber die bibliotheken der preussischen universitätsinstitute, von dr. naetebus. zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen, vol. . , p. - . allgemeine grundsätze für die vermehrung der preussischen staatsbibliotheken, von w. erman. zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen, vol. , , p. - . bemerkungen zu dem ermanschen entwurf "allgemeine grundsätze für die vermehrung der preussischen staatsbibliotheken," von j. franke. zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen, vol. , , p. - . für die seminarbibliotheken, von f. behrend. zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen, vol. , , p. - . erlauterung und begründung der allgemeinen grundsätze für die vermehrung der preussischen staatsbibliotheken, von w. erman. zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen, vol. , , p. - . universitätsbibliothek und institutsbibliotheken, von karl bücher, . zentralization der bibliotheken, von hugo zimmer. zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen, . jahrg. , p. - . the pros and cons of the departmental system have been summarized in several of the articles mentioned above. in his annual report as librarian of harvard college for mr. lane calls attention, on the one hand to the more convenient use of books in a small collection, and in case of scientific subjects, the possibility of having the books in or near the laboratory. on the other hand he emphasizes the increased difficulty of consultation on the part of persons not immediately connected with the department, less careful supervision, increase in expense of administration, less security from fire, lack of that reinforcement which every department of a general library receives from all related departments, tendency to narrowness, and growth of special collections beyond a convenient size. on september , , professor e. d. burton, the present director of the libraries of the university of chicago, and professor h. p. judson, now president of the university, presented before the faculty briefs for and against the following proposition: that a limit should be placed in the near future to the development of the departmental library system. the affirmative urged that it was for the advantage of the departments whose interests and relationships are widespread, notably of philosophy, history, political economy, political science, and sociology, that all the library resources of the university should be gathered in one building and brought under one administration and catalog system. the convenience of scholars coming from a distance demanded concentration also facilitated the practical administration of the libraries. as departments grew and the number of books increased, the departmental library system became unwieldy. in the negative the following advantages of the departmental system were emphasized: the importance of close connection with the classrooms, especially the seminar rooms. for the departments which have laboratories the retention of the libraries in connection with the laboratories was indispensable. granting the importance of serving the convenience of visiting investigators, their convenience must always be subordinated to that of the large number of students and professors of the university. practically all the valuable results of concentration could be secured by a catalog of all the departments in the general library and a system of underground book railways and telephone communication. the latest summary which has come to my attention is one by mr. hicks in the columbia university quarterly for march, . there is little that can be added to the arguments presented in these statements. perhaps the following points in favor of the departmental system might be emphasized: ( ) books in the same room with the reader and free access to them is a great inducement to study. it increases the use of books, makes it easier for the investigator to consult books in use by others, and also to consult with colleagues in regard to questions which arise during the investigation. the student feels more at home, less subject to inspection and observation by officials. this adds to the pleasure which he may take in his work and to the feeling of personal responsibility for the collection of books with which he is working. ( ) the ability of a departmental library to make collections of minor publications in the line of its special investigation to an extent difficult or even impossible for the general library may also be conceded. against the system more emphasis should be placed on the following: ( ) as mr. lane points out segregation of books in departments tends to narrowness. while seminary methods of instruction should lead the student to avail himself of the entire resources of the university library, the departmental system as carried out in many universities tempts him to limit his investigations to the departmental library. the narrowing influence of this must be obvious to those who have observed how various subjects and classes overlap and intertwine, how material of importance is found in unexpected places, in general collections, transactions and proceedings of societies and institutions, government reports, and encyclopedic works, not in the departmental library, the loss therefore of that reinforcement which each department should receive from all other related departments. ( ) the use of the departmental library is often limited to students of a particular department. it becomes difficult therefore for others to gain access. if admitted, they are hampered by special rules and arrangements unfamiliar to them. books are as a rule not allowed to circulate and their withdrawal for use in connection with other related works becomes difficult. ( ) many valuable books of reference which cannot well be duplicated are placed beyond the reach of the majority of students and professors. ( ) it increases the liability to loss, because when there are many departmental libraries open many hours a day it becomes practically impossible to provide in all of them adequate supervision at all times. ( ) the growth of the departmental libraries beyond a convenient size and the incidental disadvantages of inadequate shelf space, disorder, lack of accommodation for students, the relegation of less used books to garrets and cellars. ( ) to provide fairly complete catalogs, author, title, and subject, for a large library is becoming more and more difficult as the collections increase in size. to provide these catalogs also for a number of departments, or to furnish copies of the sections likely to interest a given department, would require an expenditure of time and money quite beyond the means of any university, and entirely out of proportion to the advantages to be gained therefrom. the absence of satisfactory catalogs in departmental libraries will therefore have to be reckoned with and must be emphasized as one of the most serious disadvantages of the system. i realize that no argument is likely to change the conviction of certain professors and departments, that the departmental system is the only one which merits consideration, or the view on the other hand of other professors and students, perhaps also the librarian, that a strong general library with small working collections in the departments, largely duplicating books in the general library, is in the interest of the great majority and offers the only reasonable solution. it may, nevertheless, be convenient to have at hand a summary of the question with references to the literature on the subject, especially if governing bodies should be called upon to regulate the issue as has been the case in italy and prussia. the development of the departmental, problem in university libraries dates back to about . while a great many seminar collections, especially in germany, were started prior to that year, they had not as yet reached a size which called for funds, special administration, or space, to a degree sufficient to embarrass the general library and the university. it may have its interest to give a brief outline of the development of the system in prussia. it should prove suggestive as furnishing a parallel to our own situation. in his "eine reise durch die grösseren bibliotheken italiens,"[ ] dziatzko speaks of the italian government regulations of - governing the relation of the departmental libraries to the general university library. the italian regulations specified among other points the following: [ ] beiträge zur theorie und praxis des buch--und bibliothekswesens. sammlung bibliothekswissenschaftlicher arbeiten. . heft. p. - . departmental collections are to be considered as part of the university library. the library commission of the university is to superintend the departmental libraries through the director of the university library. second copies of books already in the university are to be purchased only in case of the most pressing necessity, and periodicals are not to be duplicated. books are to be transferred from one library to another according to definite agreement. books are to be accessioned in the university library and to be entered in its author catalog and stamped with the university library stamp. the approval of book appropriations on the part of the ministry depends on compliance with these regulations. the library commission had apportioned the annual book appropriations as follows: six-tenths to departmental libraries, laboratories, clinics, collections, etc., four-tenths to the general library. whether the prussian ministerial regulations adopted soon after were based on the italian is not known; but the similarity of the problem has undoubtedly led to considerable uniformity in the measures adopted. it was in that the situation in the prussian universities had reached a point where some government intervention seemed called for in order to regulate the relations between the university libraries and the so-called institutsbibliotheken. the regulations formulated (printed in the zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen, ) specified in part as follows: departmental libraries cannot dispose of their books; when no longer needed they are to be turned over to the university library. they are reference libraries and no books can be loaned except by order of the university council, or at berlin which has no council, by the ministry. all students of the university are admitted to the use of the departmental libraries. the university library shall make an author catalog of the books in the departments, one copy for the departmental library, the other for the union catalog in the general library. the university library can loan books to the departmental library for a semester, provided they can be spared. while the government passed the regulations it neglected to provide sufficient appropriations to carry them out, the result being that the union catalog referred to was begun at only two universities, berlin and bonn, and at the former lack of help soon caused a considerable accumulation of arrears. the experience gained showed that, an indication in the catalog of the general library, that a given book can be found in a department is of little value. the general library has not on that account been able to dispense with the purchase of a copy, the distance to the departmental library and the difficulty of securing access making it necessary to duplicate. occasionally a student has been referred to a departmental library, but it has not happened frequently enough to warrant the extra expenditure, or the duplication of catalogs. it has on the other hand proved of great assistance to the departmental library, and in bonn its continuance is strongly urged by the departments. the same holds true of berlin, although instances have been recorded where a department has refused to accept the catalog prepared by the general library. in other respects the departments have neglected to follow the regulations. it has been said, for instance, that instead of turning duplicates over to the university library certain departments have disposed of them through exchange or have sold them outright to book dealers. in his report before the versammlung deutscher bibliothekare, , dr. naetebus gives an excellent survey of the departmental libraries of the prussian universities, reporting in all on different collections. a perusal of his report and of the discussion which followed shows that the problem in prussia is in most respects similar to our own. in the zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen, , p. , et seq., dr. erman criticizes the regulations of for not specifying or providing means for enforcing them. incidentally he says with reference to the development of the departmental libraries, that while the original plan had been to make the books most urgently needed by students in seminars and laboratories more convenient of access than was possible in the overworked and overcrowded university libraries, various circumstances had co-operated towards gradually making these collections more comprehensive than they were intended to be, to include in fact almost all the literature in a given field or in related and overlapping fields of knowledge, thus making the departmental libraries quite independent of the university library. while the original plan had seemed to furnish welcome relief to the university libraries, its recent extension had threatened seriously to cripple them. it was perhaps the lack of funds on the part of the university libraries which had caused the difficulty in the first place. the departments finding that certain expensive books could not be obtained through the university library began to purchase them for their own use. as the funds of the departments were too small to permit of extensive purchases, every effort was made to increase them by special and extra appropriations, this being so much the easier as the directors of the departments were frequently the most influential and powerful men in the faculties, and funds which otherwise would have fallen to the university library were thus diverted to the departments, extending the size and scope of their working collections far beyond the bounds originally intended. dr. erman states that many professors have according to his own experience sought to secure practically all new accessions of value for the departmental library, leaving for the general library only the books seldom or never asked for. to discontinue the university library altogether and divide its collections among the departments would seem a far simpler and more logical plan, and there should be no hesitation in considering its realization provided there seemed any hope that forty departmental libraries would replace the university library and perform its functions in a satisfactory manner. unfortunately, such a solution seems out of the question. it would prove disastrous to the university in various ways. there would be lost to it the one department alike common to all members of the faculty and to the student body. very few work in so narrow a field that they would be served by consulting only one of the departmental libraries. the younger instructors and students who might not have any department, would be at a great disadvantage. if the university libraries were ever discontinued dr. erman thinks that there would soon arise an irresistible demand for their restoration. he also thinks that the increase in the administrative expense resulting from a departmental system would be so great as to be practically prohibitive. in germany as with us, the desirability of some modus vivendi by which university libraries and the departments could be made to work in harmony and mutually assist one another, has repeatedly been emphasized. as it is, the professor to whom a general library was once a vital question, but who has now at hand a well equipped departmental collection, is likely to lose all interest in the former and devote himself entirely to the development of the latter. here in america the separation may not as yet have reached the point where, as in a case cited by dr. erman, a professor on being elected to the library council said to him that this was the first intimation he had had of the existence of a university library. at the same time, we have here and there evidence of a strong drift in this direction, particularly so in universities where the departmental system has been most fully developed. another eminent german librarian who touches on this problem is dr. milkau. in kultur der gegenwart, abt. , p. , he states that in certain universities the total appropriation of all departmental libraries sometimes equals or even exceeds that of the general library. originally intended as collections of reference books to be used in connection with instruction, they have gradually grown to considerable size, so that their supervision and regulation is year by year becoming more difficult. dr. milkau would not abolish the departmental libraries; on the contrary he freely grants their great value and superiority in some respects to the university library. there must, however, be co-operation between the departmental libraries one with another, and with the university library. purchase of sets and expensive books must not be decided upon regardless of what is already in the university. each department must limit itself strictly to its own particular field and omit all works not urgently needed, or of some permanent value. he offers as a remedy for the problem the following: to limit the size of the departmental collection, setting a maximum number of volumes not to be exceeded, a cure which seems a little too radical to find favor with all parties concerned. in the discussion on the report of dr. naetebus referred to above, dr. gerhard, of halle, insisted that the only way to secure relief would be through radical measures on the part of the government, viz., to cut down the departmental appropriations to a point where they would be forced to restrict purchases to the books most urgently needed for use in connection with instruction, the appropriations thus saved to be turned over to the university library. dr. roth, of halle, complained of the lack of system in the development of the departmental libraries due to the frequent change of directors. he, however, considered the power of departments to secure books through gift and exchange an important and valuable factor, one not to be underestimated. dr. erman, breslau, agreed with dr. gerhard and stated that there must be a readjustment of the funds appropriated for the purchase of books for the university and departmental libraries. there could be no complaint with the development of large and comprehensive collections in the departments, if at the same time the university libraries received enough to secure at least a small part of the books needed to keep their collections up to date. there would never have been so large a development of the departmental libraries if the university libraries had been in a position to answer the demands made on them. as it is, when an expensive book is wanted and the university library has not the funds to secure it, there immediately appear from two to three copies in as many departmental libraries, while there is no copy in the university library. the situation which results is intolerable. if in breslau instead of , marks a year for the university library and , for the departmental libraries, the former had , and the latter , , it would mean an immense improvement for all concerned. dr. geiger, tübingen, and dr. frankfurter of vienna, reported that essentially the same or even a worse state of affairs exists in wurtemburg and in austria. the radical measures recommended by dr. gerhard and others were not approved by dr. naetebus, especially on account of the ability of departmental libraries to secure gifts and exchanges not within the reach of the university library. since this discussion took place i understand that the book funds of the prussian university libraries have been materially increased, thus somewhat relieving the situation. after this brief survey of the conditions existing in certain european universities it may be of interest to turn to one of the two american universities in which the building up of departmental collections has preceded the development of a strong general library. =departmental libraries at the university of chicago= the extraordinary development of the departmental library system at the university of chicago is due largely to a number of causes and conditions, many of them accidental and peculiar to the university. the main reason was probably the lack of a general library worthy of the name; also the fact that some of the strongest men on the faculty favored the departmental system. in the president's report (decennial publications, first series, , vol. , p. - ) is found an "outline history of the legislation of university bodies on the question of departmental libraries and their relation to the general library." the first sentence reads: "the system of departmental libraries for research work, supplementing the general library of the university, dates from the organization of the university itself." this would indicate that the departmental libraries were considered supplementary to the general library. however this may have been at the outset, later developments show that the general library has been so entirely outstripped and overshadowed by the departmental collections that in , at any rate, when the writer had his first opportunity to observe conditions at close hand, the general library was found to consist of some , volumes of odds and ends, a mere conglomerate which would have been of little service, except for the fact that it was the only collection on the campus from which books could be drawn somewhat freely and to which undergraduates had general access. appropriations for books amounted to $ , , of which the general library had only $ ; the departmental libraries, $ , . (see above, dr. gerhart's complaint about the situation at halle, , marks for the general library, , for the departments). while the original plan had no doubt intended that departments should abstain from ordering books of interest to several departments, that books of general interest therefore should be purchased only by the general library, the latter was unfortunately prevented by lack of funds and equipment from meeting these demands, the inevitable result being that the departments soon ceased to look to the general library and ordered for their own use any book to which a professor might have occasion to refer in his courses, regardless of whether it was in the general library or in another departmental library. whether in placing orders he was intruding on the domains of a related department may or may not have been considered. at any rate books on exactly the same subject are now found in a number of departmental libraries, editions of the same book are separated and there is duplication of copies to an extent hitherto unheard of, as far as i know, in any university library. that the president and faculty have been aware of the situation and have tried to find a solution, of that there is evidence enough. mr. bishop in his articles in the library journal, vol. , has given a survey of the discussion which took place at the university of chicago in - . a full report is found in the decennial publications, first series vol. quoted above, and in the university record vol. . it has been referred to also by mr. henry e. bliss in his recent article in the educational review, april . the solution attempted, perhaps the only one possible at the time, consisted in a grouping of related departmental collections. the following group libraries were formally approved by the library board in : classical, modern languages, and historical. in the university senate approved the general plan that all departments having laboratories should retain their libraries in the same building with the laboratory, those not having laboratories should as a rule be transferred to the general library building when one was erected. i have already referred to the briefs presented by dr. burton and dr. judson in october, , on the proposition that a limit should be put in the near future to the development of the departmental library system. the university congress after discussing them adopted two resolutions: ( ) that it is the judgment of this body that the departmental library system should be retained. ( ) that a committee of three for each of the several groups of departments recognized by the board of libraries, laboratories and museums be appointed, the committee to consider and to recommend, respecting the group represented, what is best for it and the university in general. the report of this committee appeared in the university record nov. and , . these reports from the different groups and departments are of interest in showing the sentiment in the various departments of the teaching body. they were briefly as follows: of the classical department five favored the departmental system, two a general library. the modern language group was unanimous in favor of centralization. the haskell group (divinity school, semitics, and comparative religion) proposed the maintenance of branch libraries of books likely to be in constant use by students in connection with the ordinary class work to be kept in the lecture hall building, that no books should be permanently assigned to these branch libraries of which there was not another copy in the general library. the historical group held to the departmental library system, but was not so particular about the control of the libraries. like the divinity school, it preferred locating the departmental collection in one building with the general library and related departmental libraries. the philosophical group recognized the great value of location of related departments in the same building, but held strongly to departmental control of the library and free access of students to books in which they are interested. if these two things could be granted, they would advocate a single building for all departments. the mathematical group was non-committal, it emphasized however that astronomy and mathematics must be kept together and that books in these libraries are used almost exclusively by students of the two departments named.[ ] the biology group recommended that upon erection of a suitable library building a separate room be assigned to the biology library. that arrangements be made for telephone communication and speedy transfer of books to laboratories, that special books and periodicals needed by the department for constant use be kept in each laboratory building as a branch of the departmental library, that books in such branch libraries be rendered easily accessible at all hours, and that provision for adequate supervision of these branch libraries be considered an indispensable preliminary to their establishment. the chemical group wished the chemical library to be retained in kent chemical laboratory, but preferred to see the proceedings of academies and journals of general scientific interest kept in the general library, also that a reference shelf containing books of interest to those who are taking undergraduate work in chemistry be maintained in the general reading room of the general library, and that special books needed for consultation in connection with laboratory work be kept in the laboratory. physics considered the departmental library as indispensable to the department. the geology group reported most unqualifiedly in favor of departmental or group libraries that should embrace essentially all the literature pertaining to the group so far as practical considerations would permit. the full statement of this group deserves to be read. it is a most emphatic defense of the departmental system. the statement of the modern language group and of professor hendrickson of the classical group contain the strongest statements on the other side of the question. [ ] note--later on mathematics decided that their library must be kept in the mathematical building. on november , , these reports were referred by the library board to a committee of three, one of whom was the associate librarian, mrs. dixson. the committee reported on march , (see university record march , ) in favor of maintaining the departmental system, but recommended the centralization as far as possible at one point in a central building of the administration of the libraries, and of the books of the university not in use in the departments. after much discussion of the report and a later modification of it, it was decided to refer the matter to a commission consisting of professors and trustees appointed for the purpose of making a thorough study of the entire problem. the outcome of the work of this commission was a decision to place in buildings connecting with the general library the following departmental or group libraries: philosophy, history and social sciences, classics, modern languages, oriental languages, the divinity school, the law school. that further, the departmental libraries of chemistry, physics, geology, and the biological sciences, be retained in the department buildings of these departments, it being understood that these departments may place such books as they desire in the general library building. the library of mathematics and astronomy should be associated with the library of physics. time will not permit any detailed consideration of the report of the commission. it was approved by the congregation, august th, , and adopted by the board of trustees september th of the same year. it is the plan laid down in this report that has in the main been followed in the location and erection of the harper memorial library, dedicated on june , , and which it is also proposed to follow in the separate buildings to be provided for the historical group, philosophy, modern languages and classics. when completed this plan will bring the humanities, with the exception of geography into buildings adjoining the general library, connected with it or with one another by bridges. since the adoption of the report nearly ten years have elapsed during which there has been some progress in the direction of centralization, at any rate of management and control of libraries. a somewhat uniform system of rules and regulations was adopted in . in the same year a common system of catalogs and classification was finally approved. the catalogs will include: ( ) a dictionary catalog for the public in the general library, duplicated in part in the catalog department (official catalog). ( ) classed catalog for the public in the general library, duplicated in part in the catalog department (shelf-list on cards). ( ) author catalog and shelflist on cards for the departmental libraries located in buildings not connecting with the general library. ( ) author catalog only for departmental libraries located in the general library, or in buildings connecting with it. n. b. catalogs in the departmental libraries will not according to the present plan include analyticals or other added entries which may be provided in the dictionary and classed catalogs of the general library. even with the limitations here indicated the catalog plan as outlined may seem a little ambitious and likely to prove expensive and difficult to maintain. in view of the present situation, as well as the outlook for the future, even assuming that departments which in favored a departmental system should be indisposed to change their attitude, it seemed nevertheless the safest plan to adopt. the general library aims to build up a strong central reference collection. this collection should be classified and cataloged so as to yield the best possible results. merged with the catalog of the general library will be one covering all the departmental libraries. it would, of course, be desirable to provide every departmental library with as exhaustive a catalog as the one proposed for the general library. the expense however, even in this day of printed cards would, i fear, be practically prohibitive. moreover, it is doubtful if many of the departments would find the expected relief in an elaborate author and subject catalog of their collections as they stand. this last statement may seem to require some further substantiation, and i shall in the following endeavor to present the necessary proofs and illustrations. it is no doubt true that heads of departments and their associates frequently take a personal pride in their departmental library and feel a certain responsibility for its growth and development. i have known cases where a department would resent any suggestion that a part of its books might to good advantage be transferred to the general library or to another department in exchange for material in these libraries bearing more directly on the special line of study which the department is supposed to represent. the fact remains, nevertheless, that these libraries frequently show in their development a lack of that strong coordinating influence so essential to systematic growth. a detailed examination of their collections soon reveals the fact that books have been ordered principally with reference to their use in connection with courses given in a department, no one apparently questioning the right of one department to poach on the premises of another or on that of the general library. there has resulted, therefore, a situation which cannot be remedied by any catalog, no matter how exhaustive or how perfect. this leads me to go a step further and to venture the assertion that the lack of a strong central library can not be compensated by merely bringing together related departmental libraries into the same or adjoining buildings. it is even doubtful if it would be worth while to prepare an exhaustive union catalog of such libraries without considerable migration of books from one department to another. a few illustrations taken at random from the books which have come under my observation during the past month or two in connection with the recataloging, will, i think, bear me out in this statement. general works on science are in a number of libraries, mainly in geology, biology, and the general library, but also in a number of other departmental libraries. the history library includes many books which deal solely with education, medicine, music, art, religion, technology, and other subjects, overlapping, therefore, practically with all other departments. the main duplication, however, seems to be in church history with the divinity library, in history and topography with geography, in ancient history with classics and in education and other subjects with the general library. the modern language library duplicates chiefly material in the libraries of history and geography, besides of course the general library. it is, however, the one department which strongly favors consolidation of books on the same subject, and if the other departments in or connecting with the general library will agree to such consolidation, its duplication, except with geography and the classical department, should cease after the transfer of its books to the general library building. the fact that this library has on its shelves works like alumni oxoniensis, catalogue of the advocates library, "ersch and gruber," la grande encyclopedie, dante's dictionnaire biographique et bibliographique des hommes les plus remarquables, haebler's typographia iberica, etc., will therefore prove an advantage. the classical library presents one of the most vexing problems of our library situation, one not solved by a most liberal duplication. its collections overlap mainly with those of history, sociology, science, political science, economics, literature, divinity, and the general library. i am not now referring to texts and translations of classical authors, but to modern books on ancient history, government, administration, and the like. what tends to aggravate the situation is the fact that this library possesses also the only set on the campus of certain important general, literary and bibliographical periodicals, e.g., revue critique. although this department is in the near future to occupy a building connecting with the general library, it has always taken a strong stand against any merging of its collections with those of other libraries. there is, therefore in this case little hope of relief through consolidation. books on education have been a source of particular trouble inasmuch as they have been purchased extensively by a number of departmental libraries. mediaeval literature and the history of the middle ages is again a field which has been developed by the classical library, modern languages, history and the general library. general books on literature may be found in philosophy, history, modern languages, and the general library, and likely also in the classical department. books on evolution treating the question strictly from the biological standpoint may be in philosophy and history, but not in biology. whether the reverse holds true, i have not as yet been able to verify by an actual examination of the biology library. naturally books on experimental and physiological psychology may be found in philosophy, psychology, and also in the biology library. books on metallurgy while chiefly in geology are also represented in the library of commerce and administration. this holds true also of engineering, shop management, and agriculture. the latter subject is freely represented also in botany, economics, and in the general library. geography, which is connected with the departmental library of geology in a building not to connect with the general library, buys extensively in history, also in economics, natural conservation of resources, soils, economics, botany, plant industries, etc., etc. meteorology is represented in geology, in physics, astronomy, and in the general library. books on water supply, irrigation and the like are in geology and geography, chemistry, economics, and the general library. books on fisheries, whaling, and related subjects may be found in geography, biology, and the general library. commerce is largely represented in geography, economics, the general library, commerce and administration, and the classical library. canals, waterways, and railroads, are mainly in geography and economics, but also in the general library. mining is in geography and geology, and also in economics. marine biology will be found in geography and geology as well as in biology. geology has a considerable number of books on physics and chemistry. books on various industries are found in economics, in geology, and in the general library. commercial geography is somewhat evenly divided between geography and commerce and administration. another great difficulty is the separation of volumes of the same work. for instance, there is in no library a complete set of the statesman's year book or the almanach de gotha, but partial sets in at least two or three libraries. this holds true also of several bibliographical periodicals and annuals, e.g., le soudier's annuaire de la librarie française. the instances here cited consider only the duplicating and overlapping of independent books or monographs treating the same subject, or the same phase of a subject; it does not take note of the duplication common to all libraries because of the inclusion in encyclopedias, general periodicals, and other comprehensive works, of material on a special subject; neither does it refer to the duplication which may be proper in such subjects as railroads, waterways, etc., where one department takes up the technical and another the economic phase of a subject. it would be possible to go on citing hundreds of illustrations similar to the above, but time will not permit. when the work which practically took its beginning in october, , viz., reclassification and recataloging of the libraries, has been completed i dare say that anyone connected with the work who may have had time to make notes by the way, would be in a position to furnish valuable information as regards the practical workings of a departmental system similar to the one which has grown up at the university of chicago. i have stated that the bringing together of related departmental libraries under one roof and the thorough cataloging of all the books on the campus in the manner indicated above, will not furnish a satisfactory solution of our problems. this i believe can only come about through some exchange of books between departmental libraries which shall bring together, not necessarily all books on the same subject, but at any rate the bulk of the material which deals with a special phase of a subject, and the various volumes of a periodical, annual, or similar work which i trust all are agreed should stand together. it resolves itself then into a question of reclassification or rather relocation of a part of the book resources of the university, and a partial surrender of the right on the part of the departments to determine absolutely the physical location of every book purchased on their recommendation. personally, i feel rather hopeful that when the cataloging of a number of libraries has been completed and their resources brought together in a common catalog, the members of the various departments will see for themselves the advantage to all concerned of a partial redistribution. in a small way the general library has inaugurated such redistribution by indirect purchase of general bibliographies and reference works from the departmental libraries, a sum equal to the cost of the work at the time of original purchase being transferred from the book appropriation of the general library to that of the department. some of the departments have been most willing to agree to such transfers. if it can be put into effect in the libraries which are now to be brought under the same roof, i.e., the humanities with the exception of classics and geography, it will go far toward the establishment of what it is hoped may prove a fairly efficient central library. the centralization of catalogs and reference books alone would in time make it desirable for the departments more and more to consult the general library. a real consolidation of the resources of the historical group, modern languages and literatures, religion and theology with the present general library will, it is hoped, prove to be even more effective. i have already stated that geography would remain outside of this consolidation and probably also the classical department, in spite of the fact that the latter is soon to occupy a building connecting with the general library. it is hoped that in both cases arrangements can in time be devised which, while satisfactory to the departments, shall prove effective in checking the almost unrestricted duplication of material in other libraries which now obtains. it is true that ten years ago other departments of the humanities also held that while related libraries might to good advantage be brought under one roof, there should be no merging of their possessions. considering, however, the lack of co-ordination in the development of the same libraries, the overlapping and intertwining of their respective fields, it is difficult to believe that this view can prevail for any length of time. i have endeavored in the above notes to show that the departmental problem is practically the same in various countries. in italy, germany, and austria as well as in america the development of departmental collections to a point where they have become a perplexing and troublesome problem to government and university authorities is due primarily to the inability of the general university library to provide books and conveniences desired by the departments. neither a union catalog nor the most exhaustive duplication of books, service, and equipment has so far served to offset the weakening of the central library which has been an inevitable result of the rapid growth of departmental collections. possibly mr. l. n. wilson of clark university may have pointed out a partial solution to some of our perplexities. he states that at clark university not only is the drafting of the classification schedules attended to by the professors, but also the actual classification of the books. where the faculty is willing to undertake these duties the librarian is naturally relieved of a great and difficult responsibility. while the plan has evidently worked out in a satisfactory manner at clark, it would seem a difficult or even impossible expedient for certain other universities, particularly the largest ones. there would be difficulty in securing the necessary volunteer service. then the librarian would no doubt have to exercise infinite tact in his efforts to co-ordinate and harmonize the work of so many volunteer classifiers. that some coordinating influence would be required we may take for granted. personally, i see little relief in the direction here indicated. as for the university of chicago, i imagine that we are, in common with most university libraries destined to have the departmental problem with us in some form or other as long as there are collections of books to be administered in connection with departments and courses of instruction. we shall watch with great interest the development of the plans of sister universities, a number of which are said to contemplate the strengthening and extension of at least a part of their departmental collections. i may say in conclusion that judging by observations at chicago i should be disposed to agree entirely with dr. gerhard of halle, and others of our german colleagues, when they state that there can be no objection to the building up of strong departmental libraries, provided this can be achieved without crippling the general library. but where the departmental libraries are developed at the expense of the general library, and where willingness to co-operate, or to observe the most necessary restrictions as regards the fields to be covered is lacking, there the interest of the great majority both of faculty and students are made to suffer for the convenience of the few, a convenience which is, besides, in many cases only imaginary, and based on a lack of knowledge and appreciation of the possibilities of a general library, and no doubt also of the limitations of departmental libraries. as previously stated, the general library is the one department common to the whole university, the department which should have no ax to grind, and which under normal conditions might, therefore, be trusted to preserve an impartial attitude and to safeguard the interests of all departments alike without fear or favor. in closing this paper it is difficult to refrain from expressing the opinion that whatever the policy adopted with reference to its library system, a university owes it to its constituency to see that a strong and well balanced general library constitutes an integral part of the scheme. the establishment of the latter should, when possible, take precedence over that of large departmental collections. when it becomes necessary to organize the latter, they should be considered distinctly a part of the general library and be placed under its control. a partial or nominal control on the part of the general library is not likely to prove effective or to furnish the best possible service for the greatest possible number. dr. w. k. jewett then presented a paper on the proportion of university library income which should be spent on administration the college librarian, like every other department head in the institution, is anxious to spend as much as possible for the development of his department and is consequently seeking to get his appropriation increased as often as possible. it is usually of assistance to him in securing the favorable attention of the authorities to be able to show that the prevailing tendency among institutions of similar rank is to do that which he requests in his own case. sometimes the librarian is asking more money for books, sometimes more money for administration and frequently more money for everything. while preparing an estimate for the authorities of our own institution, i recently collected data from representative college and university libraries in different parts of the country and was interested to compare the data and draw what conclusions i could from the examination and from my own knowledge of the standard of accomplishment in the respective institutions. all but one of these libraries have over , volumes. i was able to separate them into three groups with reference to their book expenditures; those spending $ , a year or less, those spending between $ , and $ , , and those spending $ , or more. six of the libraries were in the first group, spending not to exceed $ , . in all of these the expenditure for library administration exceeded that for books, in some cases by more than %. by amount spent for library administration i mean the amount spent for salaries and wages of persons employed in library work. in other words i mean to include student assistants and to exclude janitors. twelve of the libraries were in the second group, spending more than $ , and less than $ , for books. ten of these spent less for administration than for books, one spent more and the remaining library spent the same for administration as for books. two libraries in the group receive gifts of considerable sums each year for the purchase of books, the buying of which is done through the library so that for all purposes of comparison it is as though their book funds were increased just so much. i have regarded the gift money as equivalent to part of the book fund, although the actual payment is made by the giver without its passing through the hands of the college treasurer. aside from these two, only one library in the second group receives any great number of volumes by gift. the average number of volumes received by gift is about one-third of the number received by purchase. the proportion of income used for salaries ranges from % to % leaving out the two libraries above mentioned which spent % and % for salaries. seven libraries made up the third group composed of those spending $ , or more for books. i omitted to obtain any figures from harvard, yale or chicago as they are known to be making extraordinary expenditures at present in reorganizing or recataloging. of the seven, two spent less for salaries than for books, two spent the same for each and two spent more for salaries than for books. the seventh library like two of those in the preceding group has considerable sums placed at its disposal each year for book buying but the disbursement is made by the donor and not by the university treasurer so that exact figures for calculating percentages are not available in its case. the proportion of income employed for salaries by the other six ranges from % to %. from this brief comparison of data it is possible to draw the conclusion that with the smaller libraries a certain minimum of administration cost is necessary in order to operate the library at all and that this does not necessarily increase with the growth of the book fund. where the book fund is less than $ , , it is no reflection on the capacity of the librarian if his salary expense exceeds that amount although it is evidently his duty to devote his principal efforts to securing increased book appropriations. after the book fund has passed the $ , mark, the librarian should be prepared to give most excellent reasons for letting his salary roll exceed or even equal the book fund in case his governing board should begin to make comparison with the figures of other institutions. if his library is in what i have called the second group and his salary expense exceeds % of the total income, he ought to stand ready to show cause at short notice for some one is likely to attract the attention of the president to the fact any day. if on the other hand his salary roll represents less than % of total income, the librarian may well resist the suggestions of professors to call for more book money and instead devote his annual appeals to securing additional needed assistance and more adequate compensation for the members of his present staff. with the libraries of the great universities the case is different. an institution that can spend upwards of $ , a year for books has more complex needs and more varied activities than the smaller colleges and universities. the quality of service demanded of the library is higher and much less is forgiven by the ambitious holders of highly paid chairs. the pressure of research work demands greater facilities for the prompt purchase and cataloging of "rush" books. more accomplished reference librarians must be had to meet the needs of clients in a great institution with a large number of graduate students. catalogers of special qualifications must be provided to handle the books in oriental and other languages not commonly encountered in the ordinary college library. in the work of a large cataloging department there is more opportunity for lack of uniformity to creep in, and the need of accuracy in an enormous catalog is more vital than in a small one. therefore the work of the revisers has to be more painstaking and time consuming than in a smaller collection where everything is simpler. reclassification of whole sections of books whose classification is now out of date, must be undertaken. bibliographies have to be compiled for professors. the preparation of publications, like the catalog of a special collection, is called for while the smaller library may never print anything more extensive than a list of its poole sets. the duties of the shelf department in a great library are more complicated than many persons dream of and in all the departments fuller and more accurate records are needed. more extended routine in the order department is required in order to prevent unintentional duplication. messenger service for the delivery of books in response to telephone calls from other buildings may be furnished. the maintenance of an efficient exchange bureau is needed in order to conduct the exchange of university publications with the innumerable minor learned societies all over the world. these publications are often called for in the great universities, although one could not reasonably expect to find them in the lesser institutions. in fact for many reasons the proportion of income required for administration in libraries of the first rank increases with the size of the collection itself. it is a fair inference therefore that a university library with a book fund of more than $ , a year is justified in maintaining a pay roll in excess of that sum without fear of criticism. the committee on nominations, reporting through dr. w. k. jewett, chairman, recommended that the by-laws of the section be so amended that, instead of electing a chairman and a secretary each year as heretofore, a committee on arrangements consisting of three members be elected, the one first named by the committee this year to serve for one year, the second to serve two years, and the third to serve three years; one member to retire each year hereafter and his successor to be then elected for a three year term. on motion the recommendation was approved unanimously. the committee then recommended that the following persons be elected as the committee on arrangements: mr. andrew keogh, mr. n. l. goodrich, and miss sarah b. askew. on motion the recommendation was adopted and the three declared elected. the session then adjourned. professional training section the meeting of the section was held at the chateau laurier, tuesday morning, july . mr. m. s. dudgeon, chairman of the section, presided. mr. frank k. walter gave an account of the new quarters and resources of the new york state library school. mr. walter said that the new quarters in the new state education building would probably be ready by october first of the present year, and would provide the most spacious rooms belonging to any library school. the present temporary quarters, however, are comfortable and fairly commodious. a good working collection of reference books and trade and subject bibliographies has already replaced that destroyed by fire. when present orders have been filled the new collection will be better than the old. the collection of illustrative material, thanks to the untiring industry of miss florence woodworth, is growing by leaps and bounds. about , administrative blanks and forms are mounted and classified and a large number are as yet unmounted. about , pictures and plans of library buildings (including post-cards) are mounted and filed. there is an excellent collection of works on bookmaking, ancient and modern, and a fair number of examples of printing of various periods and of beautifully bound books. about mounts show binding material, book illustrations, type faces and other material illustrating printing and binding processes. mention must be made of the "alumni collection" which the new york state library association is collecting for the school. its aim is "to cover all books, pamphlets, clippings, etc., written by students of the school and biographical or professional material relating to them," together with portraits of the students and library buildings erected under their supervision. the "class work collection" numbers about , volumes and is intended primarily for class use, particularly in cataloging, classification and subject headings, in selection of books, and in printing and binding. all of this material is listed in a separate dictionary catalog prepared expressly for the school's use. more than , cards are already included in this catalog which is growing rapidly as more material becomes available for use. the collections of the new york state library will be available as soon as the new building is ready. including such documents and other volumes as can be temporarily shelved for use, upwards of , volumes will probably be available. these include an excellent set of united states documents, a very fair collection of state documents, many important foreign documents, and a good working collection of statutes, law reports, legal periodicals and legal treatises. mention must also be made of the annuals and serials (including reports, bulletins, etc.), on various phases of library work which are currently received and filed and of about bound english and american periodical sets (including most of those listed in the various periodical indexes) besides the numerous foreign periodicals, transactions, etc., currently received. miss agnes van valkenburgh, instructor in cataloging at the library school of the new york public library, read a paper on training or teaching it may be well at the start to explain the terms used, to be sure that we are looking at the matter in the same light. teaching, in this instance, i understand to mean that assistants shall have had library school instruction, while training is the instruction which is given in the library or department itself to fit the applicant for the special work she is to do. when i say assistants, i also mean librarians of the smaller libraries, such positions as the library school student has been called upon to fill. there are two points of view in looking at the question, that of the assistant and that of the employer. on the first there can be little discussion, as the same principles are here involved which underly all education. it is certainly better for any person to have a view of the whole field rather than of one small part of it. i was talking to the head cataloger of a large department the other day, and she said that one of her main troubles was in getting the assistant who has been given a certain part of the work to do, to see that any other parts are necessary or important. if the curriculum of our library schools does not give our students this broader view, we are not living up to our opportunities. no library school, or any other school, for that matter, turns out a finished product. i cannot say to you that the best pupil in my class at the end of one or even two years is a first-rate cataloger. i can only say that i hope and think that she understands the principles and their relation to the rest of the work, and with experience will prove competent, having shown capabilities which point in this direction. on the other side, i have talked with many library people of experience and they all say that, anxious as they are to give the persons under their care all possible instruction, they are so busy with the pressure of accomplishing so much work every day, that when they find a person who does one kind of work well, they are very apt to keep her at that, rather than to give her an opportunity to do all the kinds of work, for the sake of her education. i always have the greatest admiration, not unmixed with reverence, for those who can conduct the business of a large department and a training class at the same time, as either alone seems to me to take all the energy of an ordinary person; also the more people you have to do work which can be done by fewer, the greater the economic waste. from the point of view of the employer there is something to be said on both sides. nowadays the old plea is seldom heard that library school people know too much and have no idea that any method is feasible but the one they have been taught. i did have once a graduate from a so-called library school, to assist in my department while i was ill; after she had been there about a week, she announced that she did not like the way the library was classified and during my brief absence she thought she would re-classify it. we had about , volumes at that time and more than a million cards in our various catalogs. thus did ambition disqualify her, as we had regretfully to let her go, but fortunately her kind is rare enough to be interesting. the other objection to the employment of trained people is the question of expense. the niece of the president of the board must have occupation and is willing to work for her spending money, so as an economical measure, it would be a good thing to employ her. this has two fallacies: first, someone has to pay for the education of every person and it is better from the point of efficiency to have this done by the employee herself rather than by the institution. secondly, we should all be willing to pay for what we get, and you certainly get more for your money in employing the skilled person than the amateur. miss sutliff, after years of experience as a library school teacher, and with both apprentices and graduates, said to me that she thought that a person who was trained for a certain piece of work, at the end of one year, did that work better than the school graduate, but at the end of five years the second was a much better employee. there is also this to be said on both sides of the question. there are people constitutionally unfit for library work, training or no training, just as there are people who can never run an aeroplane or climb a greased pole or be a third-term president; they are not fitted for it, and all of us have had more or less experience with these both in school and out. they may be excellent people; in fact, it is exactly this class of whom her friends say, "isn't it too bad mary never married; she would make such a fine wife for some good man." i have had a green girl who could never be taught to write a dozen catalog cards correctly because she had no bump of accuracy; i also had a library school graduate with the same failing, and when i mildly suggested that the number of corrections seemed excessive, she replied, "oh yes, but, you see, i knew you were going to revise them, so i was not more careful." she also did not remain with me. there are many bright girls who will pick up knowledge of all parts of the work on their own initiative and without any special effort on your part, will be perfectly qualified to step into your place should necessity arise. there is one danger which may be mentioned here and that is the possible injustice done to this exceptional person when library boards refuse to consider any person except library school graduates. during the time students are at school, they and the faculty are carefully considering for which branch of the work they are best adapted, so the employer runs less risk in this respect also, than when he takes an unknown quantity which he hopes may fit some particular place. if the various library schools are not turning out people with broader horizons and greater adaptability, they are not doing their full duty; but if the students they have taught are better qualified for the work, this fact should have due consideration in the selection of assistants or librarians. miss josephine a. rathbone, vice-director of the pratt institute school of library science, described a projected normal course. a projected normal course at pratt institute school of library science much has intervened, but possibly some of you may remember that some thing was said on saturday about specialization in the library school course. discussion among the library school directors present showed a consensus of opinion that specialization is undesirable in the first year of a two years' course and practically impossible in a one year course, nor did any radical plan of differentiation of function among the schools, other than that which has come about already by natural causes, commend itself as possible at present at least. the only practicable form of specialization therefore seems to be along the line of advanced courses for those who have acquired the fundamentals of technique and who have had sufficient experience to determine clearly the direction in which their aptitudes lie. such a course we are making toward at pratt institute and it is of our plans and aims for this normal course in library training that i have been asked to speak today. the inception of the course came about not as the result of a desire to do some new thing, but as a solution of two pressing problems with which i found myself confronted last summer; one of these problems is common, i am sure, to all library school directors, the difficulty of finding teachers for their faculties or of supplying from their graduates demands of public libraries for directors of training classes. the other problem was local and peculiar to ourselves, and by reason of it a possible solution was indicated for the former. this was the suggestion made by the librarian of the brooklyn public library that the pratt institute library school take over the instruction of the brooklyn public library apprentices. as the professional school of brooklyn, it was clearly our duty to perform this function for the public library of brooklyn, and it only remained to find a way,--first, that would satisfy the needs and requirements of the brooklyn public library system; second, that would so strengthen the pratt institute school as to recommend the plan to our trustees; third, would help to alleviate the professional situation of which i had become so acutely concerned. in response to this need, almost an answer to prayer, for the idea occurred to me in church, came the conception of a normal course to fit advanced students for teaching positions in the profession. now for a normal course three elements are requisite. knowledge of the subjects to be taught, training in pedagogical methods and directed practice in teaching. the necessary knowledge of the subjects taught could be obtained by admitting to the course only those who had already acquired library technique. pedagogical training could be given at pratt institute where there already existed a splendidly organized department of education and for the practice teaching there was the apprentice class of the brooklyn public library for which the normal students could prepare and conduct the courses in library economy under the direction and supervision of our instructor of proved success in teaching. these two indispensable factors inherent in our situation seems to mark the pratt institute library school as distinctly the place of all others in which this experiment of training for teaching positions in library work could be tried. now, does the need exist for librarians who are trained to teach? what is the situation? there are ten or eleven library schools offering courses of one or two years. there are probably twice that number of summer library schools. there are training classes in all of the larger libraries and many of the medium sized libraries. there are many normal schools in which library courses are now given and the trend in this direction is unmistakable. there are school departments in many of the larger libraries in which more or less actual teaching is done, and in which a librarian who was at the same time a teacher, who understands the teachers' point of view would connect school and library the more completely. many of you know that these positions are not easy to fill. but could a course be planned that would fit candidates for such positions? i believe so. i am not going to degrade pedagogic training for teachers. that battle has already been fought out in the educational world. of course, the best teachers are born, not made, and some few heaven sent may teach the better for not having learned how, but there are not enough of them to go around and the greater majority teach the better for training in tried and approved methods, applied under competent direction. the normal course will therefore consist of two main parts--theoretical training and practice teaching. the first part embraces educational psychology, a forty-eight hours' course, a thirty-six hours' course in the history of education, a general survey with a supplemental course on american public education--high schools, normal schools and colleges--a thirty-six hours' course in the theory of education taking up the conduct of recitations and giving the presentation of subjects, examinations, etc. a study of public institutions, both civic and philanthropic, will also be included. so much for the theoretical side. the practical application of the theory of education to the teaching of library technique will be made by the preparation of the courses for the brooklyn apprentices and the conduct of the classes. the plan for this work is as follows: the normal students will spend a month before the teaching of the apprentices begins in the study of the brooklyn public library system and in the preparation for the classes they are to conduct under the direction of miss julia hopkins who is to have charge of this work. this work has been planned in consultation with the brooklyn public library librarian and staff and between us we hope to work out the ideal apprentice course. i will go into this somewhat fully in order to show its value as teaching experience for the normal student. . there are to be two apprentice classes a year, beginning in october and march respectively. to these classes four months of instruction will be given. this gives each normal student the opportunity of preparing and conducting different courses each term. . the four months of instruction will be followed by three months of practical work in selected branches of the brooklyn public library, during which time the apprentices will learn the technical details of branch work under the supervision of the branch librarian, thus freeing the course of these details and making it possible to spend the class room time on the broader professional and culture side of the subjects taught. . hours of instruction will be given to apprentices, on three days of the week, mondays, wednesdays and fridays, the alternate days to be devoted by them to study and preparation. full library time will be required of them, which will ensure three hours of preparation for each hour of class room work or lecture. this means the compiling of full reading lists by the normal students to accompany the instruction. . the subjects taught fall into three groups, cultural, technical and professional, with strong emphasis on the first and an effort to correlate the first two quite closely. besides a review of the classics of literature, there will be a study of the important literature of different subjects--history, biography, sociology, science, and to this study will be related as far as possible both parallel courses of classification and reference books, the apprentices being thus required to handle a great many books and to get at their subject contents quickly. they will be required also to make a great many short reading lists on related topics. in the course in children's work, which miss clara hunt will supervise, emphasis will also be laid on the book. miss hunt will examine and criticize the lectures prepared by the normal students. we wish to strengthen this phase of the work both because it is needed by the apprentices and because it will be of the utmost value to the normal students, especially to those who go into normal school work later. the technical courses will take up the usual subjects. in classification the emphasis will be laid on the subject content of the classes to add to the general information of the apprentices and the course related, as i said before, to the study of the literature of the subjects. in cataloging the emphasis will be laid on an intelligent understanding of the use of a catalog rather than on the details of cataloging. on the professional side the course will be stronger than is usual in apprentice courses. now of what value will this course be in providing teaching experience to the normal student? . as preparation for directing apprentice classes in public libraries i feel that it will be of direct utility. . for giving instruction to high school students in bibliography, reference works, classification and the use of the catalog it would seem to give adequate training. . for conducting courses in normal schools these mentioned subjects plus the course in children's books and perhaps the history of libraries would seem to be a good preparation. . the courses in classification, reference work, history of libraries, work with children, loan desk work, compare favorably in length of time given to them and in thoroughness with the average one year library school course and the preparation, to say nothing of the conduct, of such courses would be an excellent foundation for the teaching of the same subjects in a library school. in addition to these main features of the course, the pedagogic training and the practice teaching, there will be lectures on normal and high school library work and permission has been obtained from the public school system for the normal students to have practical work in the library of the buildings, training school and in some of the high school libraries. opportunity to study the organization and methods of presentation of other library schools has been promised. the first year or two will, of course, be experimental and experience alone can show how the whole thing will work out, but we feel that the opportunity is a great one and we mean to approach it open-mindedly and to allow it to develop organically. its success will, of course, depend on our securing the right kind of material for the class and for this we must look to the profession at large and especially to the other library schools. we do not want large classes, ten would be the outside limit, five or six the desirable number. but our own school could not supply even so many, and if you believe the plan a good one, the need real, and if the theory of differentiation of function seems wise, i ask you to send us those of your students who seem fitted for such work, and by coöperation, council and support help us to make the course a benefit to the whole profession. there seems to be some misapprehension in the profession as to the relation of the brooklyn apprentice class and the general course of our own school. so far as our one year course is concerned the only connection is that the brooklyn public library has graciously permitted us to put our students in the branches of the brooklyn public library for practical work, while the apprentices are invited to attend the course of lectures by librarians. there is no thought of combining the two classes in class-room work, which would not be advantageous to either group. miss mary w. plummer gave the following outline of the work done during the past year at the library school of the new york public library and the plans for the second year. report on the new york public library school during the past year we have done four things: trained thirty students for the one year certificate; given partial training to members of the library staff, to be continued or completed the coming year; given the same to members of other library staffs, to be continued or completed, both to be recognized by pass-cards; and tested three sets of probationers for the lowest grade of the library service. there is nothing especial to be said about the first class, except that out of twenty-five who were able to do the full year's work, more than twenty applied for the second year and the diplomas. of these, three asked for the unpaid practice, amounting to fifteen hours per week, and taken as an equivalent for their tuition. these three will probably take two courses of the three offered for the second year in administration, advanced cataloging, and reference work, and in work with children. the remainder have applied for paid positions at not less than $ per month, with one course in the school. as members of the staff for the time being, they will have no tuition to pay. the second type of student we hope may increase in number as time goes on. one branch librarian took about half the course, carrying on her regular work and responsibilities, and seemed none the worse. others took single subjects in which they were interested. one assistant from a suburban library did the same, commuting daily. these, of course, were assigned only a nominal amount of practice, since they had their regular work. for these as well as the probationers the entrance examinations of the school were insisted on. the probationers being usually too young for the school, were allowed three conditions, since they have plenty of time to work them off before old enough to enter the school. others take the probation first, and if appointed to the staff, serve six months or more, and can then enter the school as staff members without tuition. they understand that they are not in any sense a class, that they are not being trained but merely tested, that the school is responsible only for the original selection of the probationers, and though it may take and does take an interest it has no real jurisdiction after this selection is made. mr. brett announced that the cleveland public library would introduce a training class for children's librarians in which the students would be given practical work for five days and receive five-sixths of the regular salary. the remainder of the time will be given to instructions and lectures. mr. w. h. kerr stated that the state normal school at emporia, kansas, had a course in library work which required one-fourth of the time in the four years. miss hazeltine presented the card code of over five hundred cataloging rules which had been prepared by the wisconsin library school for instruction in its school, after consultation with, and assistance from many librarians. in response to a question by miss mary e. hall as to what was being done to train librarians to take charge of school libraries, the discussion turned to that subject. several of the schools mentioned that practical work in school libraries was given their students. emphasis was laid on the point that high school students who had taken a course in the high school in library methods were not qualified to have charge of school libraries. a preliminary report was presented from the chairman of the committee on the uniformity of forms of catalog cards in simplified cataloging. report of committee on uniformity of forms of catalog cards the committee on revision of cataloging practice appointed by the library schools instructors at their meeting in january, , wishes to make a brief report of the work done. as a preliminary step in securing opinions from the various schools on the extent of the work and the forms that the code should take, the following plan was tried. a sufficient number of the galley proofs of a new edition of the rules compiled by the wisconsin library school were secured and, on may , sent to all of the library schools; also to one or two individuals whom the chairman thought might be interested in the project from the teaching point of view. it was thought that this code, which had proved a practical one, might at least serve as a basis for comments. the schools were asked whether they desired to co-operate in the attempt to secure uniformity in practice, and if they approved of the form in which the wisconsin code was to be printed, that is, on cards; and lastly, to show by their comments the points wherein their practice varied. replies have been received at this date from all of the schools, and from them the following conclusions are reached: first, there is a general interest in the subject of securing unification in instruction; but there seems to be some doubt as to whether we are to attempt to cover all of the points of a complete cataloging code, or only matters of spacing, indention, punctuation, etc. second, the majority of the schools returned the proofs fully annotated for the changes which they desire. on the whole, these comments showed that the differences are not great and that uniformity on many at least can be secured, if so desired by the schools. third, a general discussion of the subject will be helpful, before any final decision can be reached in regard to a co-operative code. the committee accordingly decided to ask that there be a discussion of the matter at the ottawa conference and a notice to this effect was sent to each school. a list of the points for discussion has been made out.[ ] the committee will hope to make a final report at the midwinter meeting. [ ] see catalog section minutes, page . helen turvill, chairman. the membership committee, consisting of miss josephine a. rathbone, miss june r. donnelly and mr. paul blackwelder, was continued. the program committee, consisting of miss mary w. plummer, miss mary e. hazeltine and mr. frank k. walter, was also continued. mr. frank k. walter was elected chairman for the coming year and miss agnes van valkenburgh, secretary. adjourned. trustees' section (friday, june , : p. m.) the trustees' section met on friday evening, june , at the chateau laurier. mr. w. t. porter, of cincinnati, chairman of the section, presided and mr. t. l. montgomery, librarian of the pennsylvania state library, acted as secretary. the first item on the program was a paper prepared by dr. otto j. klotz, trustee of the ottawa public library, which was read in his absence. the trustee's duty to the library dr. klotz said in part: it should be assumed that when one accepts the appointment as library trustee he accepts therewith the duties and responsibilities of such position. he who treats them with indifference is a source of weakness to the board. there is no room on a library board for a man who accepts the appointment "just for the honor of it." the trustee must be seized with the fundamental idea and principle that the public library is the people's university, that it is the fountain to which all have access, whose wholesome waters shall give renewed life and intellectual strength. the trustee's first duty is to see that the library receives adequate municipal support. this is seldom an easy matter. it generally requires a good deal of missionary work,--through the newspapers, through personal appeals to councillors, through public addresses before the council or otherwise. the public must be told of its need, which it frequently does not recognize. the trustee must exercise the influence of an educator. the work of the trustee is often discouraging and disheartening, and may take years to attain a particular end. our public libraries act favors the carrying out of some definite plan, because an appointee holds office for several years, giving him an opportunity of thoroughly familiarizing himself with the whole range of library affairs to the great advantage of the best interests of the public and of the library. a further advantage of this tenure of office is that it permits of what is in athletics called "team work." we know how effective it is in this latter respect, and so it is too with a library board. i have reason to refer to this, because all libraries in ontario are not so constituted that "team work" can be efficiently carried out. i allude to libraries whose board has no fixed continuity. with a continuity to the board definite plans may be formulated that one knows in advance will take years to carry out, but if there is no continuity to the board, each new board will have its own notion, using the term notion advisedly, in contradistinction to the matured plan, for it is not to be expected that new men, thrown into new surroundings, faced by problems wholly or nearly wholly foreign to them, can act with that intelligence, with the large-mindedness essential to the best interests of the community. the fault lies not with the men, but with the system. one of the first considerations is the public. the trustee should know his public well, just as a physician can only treat his patient intelligently after having made a thorough diagnosis. the people of one town may differ from those of another town, their industries and interests may be different so that a successful course adopted by a board in one place may not meet with the same success in another, and as the people, the citizens, are to be beneficiaries of a public library, it is all-important that their needs be closely studied. it must ever be the aim of the trustee to try to give the greatest good to the greatest number, without however neglecting to provide opportunities within reasonable limits commensurate with the funds available to the exceptional artisan, mechanic or bright young man who is anxious to pursue his work beyond the ordinary. it can be truly said that even those who do not use the library are to a greater or less extent benefited by it through the environment of those who do use it. one of the functions of a library, and one that generally appeals most to those that control the purse strings, is to increase the industrial productiveness of the people of the respective town or municipality. take a town for example whose industries are almost wholly those of cabinet making. it should be the duty of a trustee to see that the library and reading room is especially rich and complete in all that pertains to cabinet making; to carpentering; the different kinds of wood; designing; drawing and everything that may further the artisan's skill and thereby his productiveness. for we must ever remember that the commercial success of a nation rests on the skill and productiveness of its artisans. this function of the public library is one that may be measured in dollars and cents, but the other function--of making better men and women, of character-building, of brightening homes by the perusal of good literature, of wholesome fiction, of making better citizens, of appreciating the rights as well as the responsibilities of citizenship, these things can not be measured in coin, but they make for a nation's progress and stability. the most important office is of course the librarian, and the success of the library depends more upon him, or her, than upon any one else; for a poor library board and a good librarian are preferable to a good board and poor librarian. hence it is a most important duty of the trustee to see that the services of a good librarian be obtained, not merely an automaton that hands out books and checks off those returned. the day of utilizing men or women whose usefulness in other fields has vanished is past and such should be kept out of the library. what is wanted is a person who has enthusiasm for the work, who has studied library work and methods, who in an unostentatious and quiet way will be helpful to the readers, who can guide particularly the younger readers in their choice of literature, who can encourage the formation of reading clubs and societies, who can make the library and reading room, especially for small libraries, cheerful and attractive by little devices, and by his or her own attitude to the users of the library add much to its usefulness and influence for good. the next duty of the trustee is to see that adequate remuneration be given for the services rendered. the good librarian is in love with his work and is quite willing to sacrifice something on that account to follow a chosen vocation. but that is no reason why inadequate remuneration should be accorded. let the librarian feel that he is getting a fair reward for his services, co-operate with him, assist him in his endeavors to improve the usefulness of the library, let him feel that he has the good-will of the board, and do not throw all the responsibility of the whole management and its aims upon his shoulders. do not dampen his enthusiasm and zeal by indifference and simply perfunctory attendance at meetings, or absence altogether. the library requires the undivided attention of both librarian and trustees. bear in mind that it is an educational institution of the town with a larger attendance than that of the schools. it cannot too strongly be urged upon the trustees and board that a mere collection of books does not constitute a public library, it requires the connecting link, the librarian, to bind those two words more closely together--the public and the library, and the more intimately will they be connected the more efficient the librarian is. a trustee should make a point of becoming somewhat acquainted with what other libraries are doing, as found in reports and publications. he may at times get thereby new ideas or pointers that may be applicable in his own library. again if he has occasion to travel and has an hour or so to spare in a town or city where there is a public library, he should go there, "nose" about, and he will find that the visit is profitable. the trustees should within their means make the library and room or rooms as cheerful and comfortable as possible. let the rooms be well lighted and the light so distributed as to be restful to the eyes. try to make the library the most attractive place in town. that in itself is a standing temperance sermon, without being preached, which many people do not like. believe in the library as an educational institution for all the people, young and old; believe in the library as an aid for technical education; believe in the library as a good thing for your town; and believe in the library as making for a strong and progressive nation. this paper was followed by one by mr. walter r. nursey, inspector of public libraries of the province of ontario, on the trustee's duty to the public mr. nursey said in part: it is well for us all to remember, to whatever country we owe allegiance, we should be stirred by one purpose only, a common purpose that recognizes neither international barriers nor impalpable lines of latitude; our great aspiration being to increase the spread of pure literature, the democracy of letters through the coöperation of the public library which as an educational factor is soon destined to be recognized as of equal importance with university, college or school. before submitting to you my views on the trustee's duty to the public let me briefly recite library conditions that at present prevail in ontario. ontario, practically, is the only province in the dominion of canada that has an aggregation of public libraries, in all, supported in part by the local legislature, under the fostering care of a sympathetic minister of education and a very liberal government. the first library organized in this province, then upper canada, was at niagara-on-the-lake in . in , the first legislation dealing in any way with the library movement was passed and the same year the first government aid was granted. in a new act was introduced creating what was known for many years as the mechanics' institute, the authorities believing that technical books for the working classes were not less important than those for the learned professions. at this time only $ , per year was appropriated and this was found utterly insufficient for the purpose. in general literature was recognized in upper canada in this connection, in addition to the acquisition of technical books. in , the first free library was organized in canada, at toronto. in , following upon the good example set by your organization, the ontario library association was instituted, but it was not until that the present ontario public library act was passed by the legislature, under which all public libraries, free and association, are now organized and controlled. today we have free libraries and association libraries in this province operating under the provisions of this act. in ontario, whether the library is free or association, the financial and domestic affairs of both are under the supervision of a board of trustees, the only difference in these two boards being that in the case of the free library, the governing body is called a library board and in the case of the association library, a board of management; the financial responsibilities are not altogether the same, for while the trustees of the free library are custodians and paymasters of an income derived from the special rate levied yearly for library purposes by the municipality, the board of the association libraries have no fixed income to disburse, being supported largely by the fluctuating fees of the members. the rates levied to support a free library vary, and are based principally, as in many instances in your own country, on population, and range from a minimum rate of one-quarter of a mill on the dollar to a maximum of three-quarters of a mill. in the case of both of these classes of libraries, government aid, of course, is extended in the form of a yearly grant based upon the annual report of the expenditure of the library upon books and paid in conformity with the libraries act, subject to departmental regulations. once a library in ontario accepts a government grant, it automatically becomes a public library. thenceforward it is amenable to the provisions of the statute and failure to keep open or render an annual report to the department of education for two consecutive years, is the signal for dissolution. in other words, it commits suicide. the minister may then take possession of all its books, its magazines and periodicals and dispose of them as he may deem best. further, if a library fails in any year to comply with the regulations, the minister has power to withhold the whole or a portion of the government grant for that year. the ontario act, as you have seen, provides for two classes of libraries, both of which are public libraries; the business of both classes being administered by a board of trustees, one of whom is elected chairman, and while the responsibilities of these boards is greater in the case of the free libraries, both have equal, if not similar obligations as custodians in law of the people's interests. before proceeding to submit my own ideas of what appears to be the most important, if perhaps the unwritten duties of a library trustee to the public, and which i present with extreme diffidence in the presence of so many experts, let me briefly enumerate what are the legal obligations of a trustee in this province as set forth in the statute regulating the same at the present time. these powers are vested in the mayor, or reeve, as the case may be, with three other members appointed by the local municipal council, three by the local public school board or board of education and two by the separate school board representing the roman catholic section of the community; nine trustees in all who elect their chairman and retire annually in rotation. these trustees forfeit their position if they absent themselves from three consecutive monthly meetings without leave. the legal duties of these trustees consist in the general management, regulation and control of the library and reading room entailing the securing, erecting or renting of the necessary buildings for the purpose of the library and reading room, and the purchase of books, newspapers, magazines, maps, etc., illustrative of the arts and sciences for the library reading room and museum. these responsibilities are further increased by the necessity for keeping the building and its contents in a proper state of preservation and repair and to provide the necessary fuel, lighting and other necessaries and accommodations and also the appointment or dismissal at pleasure of the officers and servants of the board. the board is also obliged to make rules for the use of the library reading room and museum and for the admission of the public thereto and for the general management of the library; its reading room, museum, evening classes and art school, and of all property under its control. for breaches of any of its rules, it may impose penalties not exceeding $ . at least two out of these nine trustees, should be women; women who have won a record for activity and good common sense in their departments of business. it is also the duty of the faithful trustee to encourage the public to realize that it is the librarian, not the trustee, who is the real pilot of the ship, and jealously uphold the hands of that important official. unfortunately the library has sometimes been converted into an asylum for the village derelict whose unfitness for any ordinary business pursuits would seem to be the highest passport possible, his incapacity emphasizing in the minds of some trustees his apparent suitability for the position. summarizing the situation, we find the general importance of the position of a trustee viewed from the "library act" point of view, to be that ( ) he holds the property of the library in trust for the whole community. ( ) that the board has the same standing as any other corporate public body, town council, school board, board of education, etc. ( ) that the trustees alone can manage public library affairs and that they have the exclusive authority to pay rent, to build or to sell property, subject to the statutory provisions. ( ) that they have the power both to raise and expend money for library purposes. ( ) that they can demand certain moneys from the municipal council, ranging from a quarter of a mill up to three-quarters of a mill on the dollar of the total annual assessment at the will of the ratepayers. ( ) that the trustees alone are empowered to employ or dismiss the librarian and other members of the staff. ( ) and that they alone are responsible to the public. their importance, if further evidence was wanting, is established by the development of the library movement in the province of ontario, demonstrated by the fact that as individuals, they have been active in founding and maintaining the ontario library association. hence it is easy to understand that the hope for the real and lasting expansion of library work largely depends upon the educating of the trustee up to the sane realization of his responsibilities. in order to have a fair understanding of the trustee's many obligations, we must consider the duties he is called upon to perform in connection with his own library. he should be present and assist at the easter meetings of the ontario library association, and attend the library institutes which are yearly held in each of the library districts into which the province has been carved for this purpose. as an evidence of the material of which the ordinary trustee is made, it is well to note that out of nine presidents who up to the present time have filled that office in the ontario library association, between the years and , six at one time or another have been library trustees. eighty trustees were active officers of these library institutes in , and of these at least gave papers or addresses during the year ending april, . wonderful opportunities for extending the influence of clean literature is held by every trustee in the hollow of his hand, and the literature of the library, taken in all its bearings, forms the great line of demarkation between the human and the animal kingdom. hence, the sound and intelligent coupling of morally well-balanced men and women should be sought, not merely the professional educationist, who, not infrequently is apt to be somewhat narrow in his vision; "not the mere literary triflers or amateur reformers" nor the league of superficial progressives who amuse themselves by lopping off the branches of an evil, but rather the strong and impatient workers, the real trail-makers who strike at the roots. often in a rough and most unpromising exterior we find the very elements and characteristics we have long sought in vain. in and out of season, first, last, and all the time in addition to his statutory obligations the trustee should make the welfare of the librarian his greatest concern. what the pilot is, what the sails are, what the wheel and the propelling power are, individually and collectively to the ship--so is the librarian to the library. it is quite conceivable that a library could exist without a trustee, but almost inconceivable that it could exist without a librarian. in ontario we are doing all we can to elevate the status of the librarian, as well as her status in the army of intellectual workers. we have summer schools and library institutes to encourage her in her ambitions and to improve her knowledge. i am persuaded that on the walls of every library might well be written in large characters, and without any suspicion of disrespect, "god bless our librarian." i refer of course, to the faithful efficient librarian with a proper conception of her own duties who should be honoured in the community by virtue of her position entailing such profound responsibilities. her smallest act of official consideration, to her juvenile readers especially, leaves a widening ripple of influence, the far-reaching effect of which can scarcely be over-estimated. the librarian, unless it is obviously inopportune, should also without doubt be invited to attend every meeting of the trustees and share their undivided confidence, and the importance of her position and her individuality should never be dominated or overshadowed by the personality of the trustee. her suggestions wherever possible should be respected, deferred to and acted upon, and every point strained to give her a living wage as nearly commensurate as circumstances will permit, with a due and extreme regard for the importance of her task,--at best, a somewhat thankless one. i am a strong advocate for sunday opening wherever it can be accomplished without interfering with the conscience or freedom of the employee, and if exempt from hardship. i further believe that every trustee should permit the purchase of books relating to any religious belief providing that they are not of a controversial nature, and that he should actively co-operate with the librarian in the selection of the really best current literature, both books and periodicals, giving fiction, say a % maximum at the most. last, but not least i maintain that it should be a man trustee's greatest pleasure and manifest duty to secure the co-operation of at least two capable women workers to share his responsibilities as co-trustees. discussion brought out the interesting fact that the ontario library association included in its membership almost as many trustees as librarians. mr. bowker suggested that those from the states interested in library development should seek to follow the canadian example in this respect, and obtain more active participation from trustees in the library association. dr. c. r. charteris, president of the ontario library association, gave further word on the relation of trustees to the library organization in canada, and mr. t. w. banton, trustee of the toronto public library, who had been present at the magnolia conference, spoke of his disappointment at finding so little participation by trustees in that meeting. the officers of the section were re-elected for another year: chairman, w. t. porter, trustee cincinnati public library; secretary, t. l. montgomery, librarian pennsylvania state library. public documents round table a public documents round table was held on july , mr. george s. godard, state librarian of connecticut, in the chair. miss elizabeth m. smith of new york state library was appointed secretary. the preliminary report of the committee on public documents already printed was read, in order to bring briefly before the session the status of the bills now before congress relating to the printing, binding and distribution of public documents. the chairman reported his efforts to bring to the conference the superintendent of documents, mr. august donath, to present in person a paper on the new printing bill. a failure of congress to provide in the appropriations for traveling expenses for this and similar purposes, made this impossible. the chairman, mr. godard, reported that he had laid before the senate committee on appropriations the advisability of appropriating funds to pay expenses of the superintendent of documents, or some other competent official, while trying to get into closer relations with the depository and other document libraries. the secretary read a letter from the clerk of the committee on appropriations reporting that mr. godard's letter would be called to the attention of the committee at the proper time. the following letter from mr. donath on the subject of public documents, dealing especially with the new printing bill, was read by mr. geo. n. cheney of the court of appeals library, syracuse, n. y. office of superintendent of documents, washington june , . my dear mr. godard: complying with your kind invitation to send to your committee a paper dealing with the subject of public documents from a standpoint of interest mutual to your association and to this office, i herewith submit a few words covering the subject as briefly as its intelligent discussion will permit. i deem it a privilege to be able to address those to whom this is a live subject, and regret all the more that congress does not seem inclined to endorse recommendations, repeatedly made, that would bring the members of your association and the official in charge of this branch of the public service into more intimate intercourse. this would surely be in the interest of better service on the part of this office and a clearer interchange of expert opinion that could not be otherwise than beneficial to the cause which the law creating our connection was intended to serve. the idea underlying the legislation that created "designated depository libraries" was undoubtedly the intent to create five or six hundred places throughout this broad land where the history of the country, as expressed in the printed page, should be accessible to the public. a very good intention, and one very largely impractical. when it is remembered that the yearly output of public documents is nearly a thousand, and that a steadily increasing amount of shelf room is required to make all these accessible, even those who only have a superficial acquaintance with the subject will see that to live up to the requirement which accompanies the designation is beyond the ability of perhaps the major number of the libraries now regularly supplied. only in the larger cities and the most prosperous communities are there libraries able to cope with this "contract." added to this cause for failure to carry out the intent of thus creating permanent places accessible to the student of the history of his country has been the right of a senator or representative to change the designation at the beginning of a congress, thus leaving the discarded institution with a partial supply of public documents, and starting the new selection with a void that is never filled. poor business, surely. and it is this condition that the official now in charge of the public documents division has worked very hard to have amended. i am glad to be able to state that light seems to have broken on this matter. after repeated searching inquiries on the part of the printing investigation commission the true situation seems to be understood, and the measure popularly known as the new printing bill, which deals with the whole subject of the public printing, promises to establish a connection between the libraries of the land and this office that shall be of more benefit to the public and at much less expense than the operation of the law of january , , permitted. at present writing this bill has passed the senate, has been favorably reported, with amendments, to the house, and appears to be in shape for speedy final action. it contains many provisions that make for economy in the public printing, but i will only mention what is of more immediate interest to the libraries of the country. to begin with, the law will permit selection, at stated intervals, of the class of publications that a designated library is able or desirous to handle. what a relief that will be can best be appreciated by the officials in charge of the smaller libraries. it will serve them, and it will likewise save money to the government. the volume of literature sent out from here that later is returned can only be realized from personal observation. my personal acquaintance with it began on the day i took charge of this office. there were mountains of it, and in a few months, so the public printer informed me, he desired to lay before the committee on printing his report recommending how much of the accumulation seemed worth returning into stock, and how much should be sold as waste paper. however, the subject has become so familiar to the law-making body that remedial action is now apparently in sight. the bill likewise assures that permanency to a designated library without which the original intent, above fully stated, is defeated. once designated, no change in the political representation in congress from that particular locality will affect the library's status. thus the two causes that have operated to nullify the intent to create permanent depositories of the country's history will be removed. and while the question of selection may at first seem somewhat of a problem to many librarians, i feel confident that this matter will soon work smoothly and satisfactorily. i should not forget to mention that besides the privilege of thus curtailing their receipts from this office, libraries may also, in certain cases, receive duplicates that they find desirable. among other provisions of the new bill that will appeal to your committee i may mention that it goes a long distance in carrying out the slogan, "one edition for one book," by taking out of the numbered congressional series all annual and serial publications and those of which a departmental edition has been printed, the only exception being the messages of the presidents and the annual reports of the heads of the nine executive departments. this elimination of document numbers will materially reduce the size of what is commonly known as the "sheep set," and i also expect that it will enable a speedier delivery of this class of publications, besides permitting a return to the old custom of placing the serial number on each volume. i believe the foregoing covers in as condensed a form as the subject admits the matters just now of greatest interest in the discussion of the subject of public documents. i need not assure you, and through you your associates, of the earnest desire on the part of this office to co-operate to the fullest possible extent with the good work that the libraries of the country are doing in advancing the intelligence of a people whose will is the foundation of our government. the greatest menace to a government of the people is ignorance, and no agency is superior to the libraries of the land in combating this foe of free institutions. in the hope that these remarks will be kindly received, and assuring you of my personal regard, i have the honor to be, very respectfully, august donath, superintendent of documents. geo. s. godard, esq., chairman, committee on public documents, american library association. before discussion was opened, the secretary of the meeting read a courteous letter from hon. reed smoot, chairman of the senate committee on printing, expressing regret at his inability to deliver at the conference an address on the general topic of printing, binding and distribution of government publications, and referring with appreciation to the intention of the a. l. a. committee to deliver to him a concise report of the suggestions made by the librarians interested in government publications. discussions followed. mr. henry j. carr, a former president of the a. l. a. and a veteran document librarian, advocated concentrating the efforts of the association on getting the bill through in its present form, on the ground that it was now so nearly satisfactory, and had already been so long in preparation, that further delay would be unfortunate. mr. j. d. thompson, formerly chief of the department of documents in the library of congress, now librarian of the columbia university law library, introduced the question of a limited distribution of bills. the following suggestions were made: by mr. thompson ( ) that public and private bills form separate numbered series, the former to be distributed to libraries requesting, or, if necessary, subscribing through the superintendent of documents, or ( ) that the text of any bill under consideration should be included in the printed report on the same. by mr. thorvald solberg, united states registrar of copyrights, that every bill which has passed one house should be printed in a permanent form convenient for library use. by mr. clement w. andrews, librarian of the john crerar library of chicago, that bills not favorably acted upon should also be included in any scheme to be suggested; that better provision be at the same time recommended for supplying reports of hearings to interested libraries. by mr. william r. reinick, chief of the public documents department of the philadelphia free library, in favor of mr. thompson's suggestion of separate series for public and private bills, and of better distribution of reports of hearings. by mr. herbert s. hirshberg, reference librarian, cleveland public library, that bills be printed in the congressional record. by miss edith e. clarke, now chief cataloger in the library of syracuse university and formerly on the staff of the superintendent of documents, that the superintendent of documents be given a certain specified number of copies of bills to be distributed to libraries on request. by mr. r. r. bowker, editor and publisher of the publishers' weekly and the library journal, that bills favorably reported be included in committee reports; that reports of hearings be included in the document series; that the superintendent of documents be given the power to distribute, on request, copies of individual bills. by mr. solberg, that texts of bills be included in committee reports whether reported favorably or not. in conclusion the following resolution was introduced by mr. thompson: resolved, that the committee on public documents recommend to the proper congressional authorities that there be appended to each committee report on a public bill, when printed ( ) the text of the bill and ( ) the testimony taken if stenographically reported and not confidential. this resolution was adopted. further suggestions regarding other provisions of the printing bill were made as follows: by mr. thompson: that unbound numbered documents be distributed in advance of the bound volumes, and that librarians be given option as to the form they prefer. by mr. andrews: that some provision be introduced which should place in the hands of some one higher in authority than the blanket clerk, the power to place documents in the confidential non-distributable class and thus keep out of that class documents of general library interest which are not confidential. the chairman then introduced the subject of daily lists of documents, with a suggestion that lists be prepared in the senate and assembly document room and printed daily in the congressional record, of all documents received the day previous in the document rooms. such a list should meet with favor from congress because prompt notice of publication would be valuable to congressmen as well as to libraries. doubts of its practicability were raised by mr. solberg and mr. andrews. the latter referred to the difficulty rising from the fact that the congressional record was published only during the sessions, and suggested that the public printer furnish the lists. miss laura a. thompson considered the difficulty raised by mr. andrews a small one because fewer documents and documents of less immediate interest were issued when congress was not in session. miss clarke stated her opinion that the superintendent of documents should issue the list as a daily bulletin. mr. ernest bruncken of the office of the united states register of copyrights, by letter advocated this plan. mr. godard stated that the superintendent of documents was unwilling to undertake it. mr. thompson stated that the necessity of sending it out by mail daily made it impracticable. it was decided to take no action on this particular matter. the following resolution, however, was moved by miss clarke and carried: whereas: the reading public of the united states are looking more and more to the libraries and especially to the depository libraries, to supply to them and advise them about all the publications of the united states government, and whereas: the librarians must of necessity largely depend for information as to these publications, upon the catalogs and bibliographical aids issued by the office of the superintendent of documents, and whereas: promptness in the printing of these bibliographical aids is most essential to the timely use of current government material. therefore be it resolved, that the librarians of the american library association assembled at ottawa, respectfully urge the superintendent of documents to use all reasonable haste in the compilation, printing and distribution to libraries, of the monthly catalog of united states public documents and of the document catalog, so that they may be available in libraries as soon as possible after the periods covered by the same. mr. james i. wyer, jr., director of the new york state library, albany, called attention to the withdrawal of free distribution of the specifications and drawings of united states patents, and moved the following resolution, which was carried: resolved: that the librarians of the for a limited free distribution of the bound volumes (or less desirable, the unbound volumes) of the specifications and drawings of the united states patents, the superintendent of documents, perhaps, to designate or determine such libraries upon presentation of good reasons. mr. charles h. hastings, chief of the card section in the library of congress, expressed regret at the impossibility of printing on library of congress printed cards the volume numbers of the documents in the congressional series, since the documents were not assigned to volumes until some time after publication. the following resolution, proposed by mr. thompson, was adopted; resolved: that the committee on public documents recommend that arrangements be made at the government printing office for the assignment of bulletin or document numbers at a later stage than at present, in order that they may correspond more nearly with the order of publication, and that wherever possible, documents be assigned to their volumes in the congressional series at the time of publication in order that the volume numbers may be used in cataloging. mr. solberg called attention to the unsatisfactory method of numbering treasury decisions and decisions of the attorney general. attention was called to the house amendment making centralization of distributors in the office of the superintendent of documents obligatory to all departments. a similar provision was stricken out of the senate appropriation bill. mr. thompson and mr. solberg opposed obligatory centralization and suggested that the association register with the senate committee on printing its disapproval on the grounds both of economy and of promptness of service. mr. bowker expressed a hope that the association would strongly endorse the attempt now being made to establish a legislative reference department at the national capital. mr. wyer moved that the committee on public documents send a resolution of thanks to the senate and house committees on printing and to the superintendent of documents, for their uniform courtesy and careful consideration of the several suggestions made. this motion was carried. the meeting then adjourned. american association of law libraries seventh annual meeting, ottawa, canada, june -july , first session (june , , : p. m., at the chateau laurier.) the meeting was called to order by president godard, forty-four being present. the president introduced mr. h. h. bligh, k.c., librarian of the supreme court of the dominion, who welcomed the association to canada and expressed the hope that the sessions would be profitable and that the stay in ottawa would be enjoyed. he invited the members of the association to visit his library. president godard then addressed the association. the report of the treasurer was read by the secretary, as follows: to the american association of law libraries: your treasurer respectfully reports the following receipts and expenditures: on august th i received a statement from mr. f. o. poole, former treasurer of the association, and a list of receipted bills which total $ . . these receipts are expenditures made by mr. poole on behalf of the association since the balancing of his books on may , . for the period from aug. , , to june , , the following receipts and expenditures were made: it might be well to state here that your treasurer was elected at the annual meeting of the association held at pasadena in may, , but the financial affairs were not turned over to him until the above date. =receipts= f. o. poole, to balance account $ . subscriptions for index . dues . advertising . overpayment of dues . overpayment of subscriptions . -------- $ , . =expenditures= treasurer, printing & supplies $ . g. g. glasier, express . h. l. butler, typewriting for . the index composition, printing & binding no. & no. and storage on back number as per bills . salary of karl ed. steinmetz as mgr. editor as per agreement with executive committee . salary of frederick w. schenk as per agreement with the executive committee . printing the report of the committee on sessions . wrapping and shipping no. of the index . wrapping and shipping no. of the index . supplies furnished the editor of the index, and express . return of overpayment of dues . refund of subscriptions . , . ---------------------- balance in first nat'l. bank, montpelier, vt. $ . your treasurer wishes to express at this time his appreciation of the many favors of the different officers of the association. respectfully submitted, e. lee whitney, treasurer. the secretary reported that aside from arranging the program of the annual meeting, taking up details with reference to the election of new members, and other routine matters, the executive committee had been obliged to meet the situation arising from the much regretted resignation of mr. gilson g. glasier, as editor of the index, after the publication of the first number of volume . it was finally decided to engage mr. karl e. steinmetz, as editor of the balance of volume at slight increase in compensation over the amount he received for indexing. the negotiations consumed so much time that after the publication of no. of volume . it was decided to omit the third number, and to proceed forthwith with the preparation of the annual number which was to contain all index material of the year, including that which would have appeared in the third number. at the meeting of the committee in cleveland, december - , there was received from mr. schenk a proposition for doing the indexing and editing of volume of the index which was so favorable to the association that the committee decided to accept it. arrangements were effected which the committee believed would place the work on a firm basis. members were urged to do their best to secure new subscribers. on motion by mr. small, the president was directed to appoint an auditing committee, a nominating committee, and a committee on resolutions, of three members each, which committees were directed to report at a later session during the convention. the president appointed the following committees: auditing committee: mrs. m. c. klingelsmith, miss frances d. lyon, harold l. butler. nominating committee: a. j. small, e. a. feazel, c. j. babbitt. committee on resolutions: e. m. borchard, f. b. crossley, f. o. poole. dr. g. e. wire, chairman, reported progress on behalf of the committee on the reprinting of session laws. this report, together with other reports and papers not set out in this number, will be found in the law library journal published by this association in conjunction with the index to legal periodicals. mr. george n. cheney, chairman, on behalf of the committee on the list of law libraries and librarians, reported progress. mr. o. j. field, chairman, on behalf of the committee on latin american laws, reported that that committee had received but one response to about thirty letters sent to various south american legal institutions. this reply came from brazil, and called attention to the fact that the national press of rio de janeiro had for sale the public laws of the country. the committee hoped to report additional information at the next annual meeting. mr. poole, temporary chairman of the committee to confer with the library of congress on shelf classifications for the law department, reported that a series of questions had been propounded by the library of congress, a copy of which had been sent to each member of the committee, and that replies thereto had been received from mr. hewitt and mr. babbitt, which replies had been transmitted to the library of congress. no further action was taken by the committee pending further word from the library of congress, which library since that time has seemed to be fully occupied with other matters. mr. a. j. small, chairman of the committee on bibliography of bar association proceedings, reported that a complete list, prepared by mr. francis rawle, of philadelphia, had been received by the committee, but that, in accordance with mr. rawle's request, details given in this list--many of which were in very abbreviated form--would have to be put into bibliographical shape before publication. it was further reported that arrangements would be effected whereby this work might be done, and publication secured. mr. small, chairman of the committee on the bibliography of american statute law, reported progress. on motion of mr. h. l. butler, it was voted to accept the reports of the special committees so far received, and to continue all the committees, subject to such change in personnel as might seem necessary to the incoming president, and further, that all committees be directed to report at the next annual meeting. mr. john b. kaiser, librarian of the department of economics and sociology of the university of illinois, read a paper on library school training for employees of law libraries. this was followed by an animated discussion. on motion, it was voted to adjourn, to meet again on june th, at : a. m. second session (june , , at : a. m., at the chateau laurier.) president godard called the meeting to order and stated that the first matter to be taken up was the consideration of the "tentative list of subject headings for a law library catalog" prepared by the library of congress. mr. edwin m. borchard introduced the matter. he stated that the list had been prepared primarily for the use of the library of congress in its own catalog and in the work of printing catalog cards for distribution. it was hoped that the list in its final form would be of help to law libraries throughout the country, and to this end criticisms of the tentative list and suggestions were asked for. mr. borchard then took up the headings in regard to which there might be difference of opinion, and explained the decision reached by his library. he pointed out several cases where changes had already been made in the list. considerable discussion ensued on various points. at the suggestion of mr. borchard, the president was, on motion, directed to appoint a committee of three to confer with the library of congress on the matter of these subject headings. the president announced the committee as follows: george n. cheney, luther e. hewitt, j. david thompson. on motion, the resolutions committee was directed to draw up and present at a later session of the convention, a resolution of thanks to the library of congress for undertaking this work. the president announced that the nominating committee was ready to make its report. the nominations presented by this committee were as follows: president, franklin o. poole; st vice-president, frederick w. schenk; nd vice-president, mrs. m. c. klingelsmith; secretary, miss g. e. woodard; treasurer, e. lee whitney; executive committee, e. o. s. scholefield, o. j. field, e. j. lien. on motion, the report was accepted and the president was directed to cast one vote for the candidates mentioned. the president announced that he had cast the vote and that the above officers were elected to serve during the ensuing year. on motion, the meeting adjourned until june , at p. m. third session (june , , p. m., at the chateau laurier.) mr. butler, of the auditing committee, presented a report on behalf of the committee, as follows: the auditing committee begs to report that it has audited the books of the treasurer for the year ending june , , and finds same to be correct. respectfully submitted, margaret c. klingelsmith, frances d. lyon, harold l. butler. on motion, the report was accepted and the treasurer's report was approved. mr. poole, on behalf of the committee on resolutions, presented a number of resolutions acknowledging the services to the profession of the massachusetts state library in publishing a list of american statute law, and the catalog of foreign statute laws; of mr. francis rawle in presenting to the association for publication his list of bar association proceedings; of the library of congress in compiling a list of subject headings for law library catalogs, and the guide to the legal literature of germany; and to all those who contributed to the program of the meeting, and had been instrumental in making the stay of the members in ottawa so pleasant and profitable. there was also presented a resolution in acknowledgment of the life work of william j. c. berry, one of the charter members, and formerly librarian of the association of the bar of the city of new york, and of stephen b. griswold, the only honorary member of the association, and formerly state law librarian of new york. all these resolutions were unanimously adopted. mr. a. j. small stated that he had received many requests for information regarding shelf classifications of text books in his library and moved that the president appoint a committee of three to gather information regarding such classifications in the several libraries and prepare the same for publication. after discussion the motion, being seconded, was duly carried. on motion it was voted to appropriate $ . for the expenses of the committee. the president announced the committee as follows: miss g. e. woodard, g. n. cheney, e. a. feazel. the business of the association having been completed it was on motion, voted that the meeting adjourn sine die. in addition to the above sessions, the association met in conjunction with other bodies in two joint sessions, the first with the national association of state libraries and the special libraries association, and the second, with the bibliographical society of america and other bodies. league of library commissions ninth annual meeting at ottawa, canada, june -july , first session (friday, june , : p. m.) the first session was called to order by the first vice-president, mr. c. h. milam, of indiana, in the absence of the president, miss cornelia marvin, of oregon. it was voted to waive the reading of the minutes of the last annual meeting. the financial report of the secretary-treasurer was read and accepted. the chairman appointed as a nominating committee to report at the last session, charlotte templeton, a. l. bailey, and mrs. percival sneed. miss elizabeth b. wales then presented the following report on charter provisions for public libraries in cities having the commission form of government. report on charter provisions for public libraries in home rule or commission government cities the present chairman took charge of the work about may st. the committee found the time remaining so short that it was deemed inadvisable to attempt to prepare material for the league at this meeting. therefore your committee begs leave to report progress and submit an outline of its plans for criticism and suggestion. the discussion of the subject seemed to indicate that the difficulties might fall into two classes. cases involving a satisfactory library law in danger of change, and difficulties occasioned by attempt to better the original law under the commission government; and a further division including cases where the commission law as passed was inapplicable to the library government, or conflicted with the law. the committee suggests dealing with the matter by statute law rather than by city charter provision, and would suggest as a method, that: (a) two provisional sections be drafted, one to insure the continuing in force of the state library law already on the books, to be used in states where such continuance is for the interest of the library; another to provide for the organization and control of the library under commission government by a definite statement in the commission law to override all former statutes, to be used in states where the present law is not satisfactory. (b) these sections be submitted to the heads of library commissions for criticism, accompanied by a letter of explanation embodying the question, "would such state law meet the problems of libraries in commission governed cities in your state?" another and perhaps better way of securing the result would be to write to library commissions and ask these questions: ( ) what difficulties have arisen in the library administration of commission governed cities in your state? ( ) what remedies would you suggest to meet these difficulties? ( ) would you incorporate these suggestions in the laws of your state or in the charters of your cities? the committee also suggests that a letter be written to mr. richard s. childs, stating the main difficulties experienced and requesting an opinion regarding the best method of meeting them. mr. child's known interest would no doubt bring an enlightening answer to any communication of reasonable length. miss tyler has generously permitted the committee to use the letters received by her in the preparation of her paper for the pasadena conference, and to these cities one or two questions might be sent bearing upon the special conditions developed. this "second appeal" may be made extremely valuable by careful treatment; for instance, there are twelve cities which have experienced change in the number of trustees representing the effect of the law in california, iowa, illinois, michigan, and s. dakota; three report a board elected by the commission or council instead of appointed by the mayor; again the michigan law, and also that of massachusetts and north carolina; two (lewiston, iowa, and decatur, ill.) report supervision of buildings and grounds by city committees; two (des moines and tacoma) mention the value of increased publicity; one (colorado springs) reports civil service; there were in this first inquiry between twenty and thirty "no change" reports; some of these said no change "as yet." there were many special points noted in the letters which would repay investigation by the committee. we shall hope for a generous coöperation from the members of the league, if it be your pleasure to continue this committee. respectfully submitted, elizabeth b. wales, chairman, carl h. milam, m. s. dudgeon, arthur l. bailey. the report was accepted and the committee continued. in view of the work being done by a committee of the a. l. a. council on library laws and charter provisions, the league committee on the motion of miss tyler, was instructed to coöperate with the a. l. a. council committee. mr. m. s. dudgeon reported the work of the committee on library post as follows: report of committee on library post your committee on library post reports as follows: the present status of federal legislation is thus given in a letter received from the hon. john j. esch, member of congress from wisconsin. "the post office appropriation bill, as it passed the house recently, provided for a rural parcels post with rates of cents per pound, and cent for each additional pound up to eleven pounds. these rates, however, are confined to parcels emanating in the town from which the route runs, or along such route, with the right of interchange of packages from route to route. as few books exceed a pound in weight this would mean a charge of cents. the post office appropriation bill is now before the senate. what action it will take remains to be seen. the house bill contained a provision for the appointment of a commission to investigate the whole subject of a general parcels post, the commission to make its report to congress by the opening of the next regular session in december." parcels post vs. library post our league president forwards the following letter from a washington correspondent who is evidently perfectly familiar with the subject: "i am in receipt of your letter of may th, asking me whether there is any hope of getting a library post, and in reply will say that if you mean a special act providing for a library post, separate and distinct from other postal service, i do not think that there is any hope of getting it in the near future. "i do think, however, that the parcels post bill which senator bourne has proposed, if passed at this congress, will very rapidly develop into a law which will be entirely satisfactory for library purposes. the average library book weighs slightly over a pound, but will come easily within two pounds. under senator bourne's bill the rate on rural routes would be cents for the first pound and cent additional for each additional pound; within the fifty mile zone, cents for the first pound and cents for each additional pound; within the two hundred mile zone, cents for the first pound and cents for each additional pound. these rates were decided upon with a certain margin of profit to the government so that there would be no possibility of the government sustaining loss. it was believed that it would be disastrous to the parcels post movement to have any loss at the beginning. such a loss would serve as an excuse for the abandoning of a parcels post. i am very certain that if this bill should be passed one year's experience would demonstrate that the rural rate could be reduced to and cent, making cents for a two pound package; the mile zone could be abolished and the rate for the mile zone fixed at cents for the first pound and cent for each additional pound. the mile zone, at that rate, ought to give you as good a library post service as you can expect to have within a number of years. i do not think that you can expect to get a law enacted which will provide for the carrying of library books at less than cost. it is no argument to say that the government is now carrying newspapers at less than cost. it made a mistake in establishing such a rate, but having made it, it cannot easily increase the rate. "you ask whether there is anything the library people can do to forward this matter. my opinion is that the one thing you could do would be to help get sentiment back of a general parcels post so that a bill on a zone basis with rates varying according to distance, will be passed by this congress. when we once get a law of that kind, its development will be very rapid. the trouble will be to get the first law on the statute books." =senator bourne's bill= the bill introduced by senator bourne seems to be all that we can hope for at present. a summary of it follows: postal rates on parcels vary with distance, thus protecting local merchants and competing with express companies. third and fourth classes of matter are combined. a special rate of one cent an ounce up to four ounces is provided for circulars and small packages of goods. rates are as follows: local, city and rural delivery only, cts for the first pound and one cent for each additional pound. within miles zone, cts for the first pound and cts for each additional pound. within miles zone, cts for the first pound and cts for each additional pound. within miles zone, cts for the first pound and cts for each additional pound. within , miles zone, cts for the first pound and cts for each additional pound. outside , miles zone, cts for the first pound and cts for each additional pound. these rates are based on a careful computation of the actual cost of collecting, distributing and delivering packages, plus the actual cost of transportation. weight limit, pounds and maximum charge cts, the international limit and rate. =committee progress and recommendations= the committee has canvassed the situation carefully and corresponded at some length with many persons. it has also suggested that the various commissions take up and follow the matter with their respective congressmen. many commissions have done this. south dakota, at its annual library association meeting adopted a formal resolution to be forwarded to senators and congressmen for the state. the committee recommends: . that the secretary of each commission which has not already done so immediately communicate in a personal letter as already suggested with each senator and congressman from his state. . that each state commission at its next annual meeting adopt a resolution endorsing a parcels post law similar to senator bourne's measure, urging low rates on rural routes, and a zone system and send such resolutions, signed if possible by all the members of the commission, to each senator and congressman in the state. . that each state library association do the same. . that this league adopt such a resolution, and that the secretary from each commission sees that such resolution reaches the senators and congressmen in his state. . that efforts to secure a separate library post law be abandoned for the present. respectfully submitted, m. s. dudgeon, chairman. the report was accepted and the committee continued and the secretary of the league was instructed to place its recommendations before the council of the a. l. a., in order to secure the coöperation of that body. the members of the league were particularly urged to assist the committee in its efforts. a report of the committee in state school library systems, in the absence of miss martha wilson, the chairman, was read by the secretary. it consisted chiefly of a summary of the school library laws of the different states. the report was accepted. the report of the committee on study clubs outlines, prepared by miss margaret brown was read by mr. dudgeon. it was as follows: report of committee on study outline the committee finds that the difficulties encountered by traveling libraries in attempting to supply satisfactory and adequate reference material to the many study clubs largely dependent upon them for books, is chiefly because of the miscellaneous program, covering a wide variety of subjects. in addition to this, many traveling libraries receive requests for study outlines or are asked to prepare them; hence it was decided by the committee that a plan should be submitted for the preparation of study outlines. this plan once in use by traveling libraries preparing outlines, would bring about a certain standardization, thus making an outline prepared by one useful to all. such a plan could not only be utilized by traveling libraries but by other organizations concerned in providing outlines for study clubs. a plan was presented at the midwinter meeting of the middle-west section of the league, which after discussion has been revised and is herewith again presented with the following recommendations: =first.= plan for preparation of study outlines. =basis.= =a. one book selected as foundation for outline.= if a single book suitable for text cannot be found, outline to be based on fewest number of books necessary for the purpose. texts selected to be authoritative, reasonable in price, readable and stimulating. =b. five to ten books as collateral reference.= selected to cover subject in study outline and amplify the text. publisher and price given for all books included, for use in purchase. a more extended list of books can easily be prepared by any library where additional material is available. =lessons should be outlined by:= =c. question method.= five to ten definite questions on each lesson. =d. or, topical method.= topics assigned under each lesson should be those which present special phases of the general subject. the two methods may sometimes be combined. written papers, if included under either question or topical form of study outline, should be assigned only for subjects which require some degree of original thought; all information to be derived from text books and encyclopedias should be covered by the regular lesson for oral discussion. note. number of meetings of study clubs vary. probably not less than sixteen or more than twenty-six lessons. many average two meetings a month. october to may. =second.= that this committee be authorized to draw upon the league treasury for a definite sum for the employment of a capable compiler to prepare outlines based on this plan. =third.= that if possible the coöperation of some publisher be secured to print the outlines thus prepared, or others passed upon by the committee, and furnish them at reasonable cost to the various commissions operating traveling libraries and to club and individuals desiring them. =fourth.= that the study outline committee be constituted a sub-committee of the publications committee and be empowered to select subjects, revise and pass upon all outlines submitted, before printed. margaret brown, chairman. =explanatory notes on the plan of preparation of study outlines= =a.= the use of a few designated books (or a single book) as a basis for common study of the same subject, or closely related topics, provides the means by which the unity and co-ordination is secured, which is essential for effective and satisfactory results. each member may, if she so desires, provide herself at nominal cost with the source references necessary to cover the essential point contained in the outline. =b.= the books for collateral reading should be carefully evaluated and selection based upon their real value in supplementing text, from the standpoint of reliability, readableness and stimulative quality, also that the price shall not be prohibitive of purchase by clubs, local public libraries and duplication in traveling libraries of large number of copies for use in supplying many different clubs. any local or traveling library may easily provide additional books for collateral reading whenever the collection permits. it is not, however, deemed advisable to have such extended lists incorporated in the outlines; as a demand would then be created which could not be supplied by the small library, and therefore would become a handicap and embarrassment. =c.= in outlining lessons by the question method, the questions should be so formulated as to stimulate discussion; not simply to be answered in the affirmative or negative. the question method permits a free expression of individual opinions based on personal reading. such "discussion awakens the keenest interest through the activity of different minds upon the same fact or idea," as each member is expected to prepare herself to answer all questions. the question method is endorsed by many educational experts as a desirable method for the conduct of study classes, and has been found to be practical and satisfactory by many study clubs. =d.= in outlining lessons by the topical method, care should be taken to include no more topics than can be thoroughly discussed, and such phases of the subject assigned as topics as will amplify the general subject which has been studied in common by all members from the text upon which the outline is based. the report was accepted. on the motion of mr. bliss it was voted that the chairman of the committee be authorized to draw upon the treasurer of the league for any amount not to exceed $ . to defray the expenses of preparing some experimental outlines carrying out the plans suggested in the report. it was moved by mr. dudgeon that the chairman be instructed to enter into negotiations with some publisher to secure coöperation in printing study outlines approved by the committee, to be sold to study clubs and library commissions at reasonable cost. carried. on the motion of mr. bliss, it was voted to continue the study outline committee, with miss brown as chairman, and to authorize the committee to select subjects, revise and pass upon all outlines before printed. adjourned. second session (saturday, june , : p. m.) as there were several important committee reports still to be received it was voted to hold a meeting on monday afternoon at : to complete the transaction of business. mr. milam then turned the meeting over to miss miriam e. carey, of minnesota, and the evening was devoted to the consideration of libraries in institutions. miss e. kathleen jones, librarian of the mclean hospital, waverley, mass., read a paper on library work among the insane i have been asked to talk about two things to-night,--our library at mclean hospital in waverley, massachusetts, and my idea for organization among the state hospitals of the different states. by dint of considerable money, much thought and labor and an unlimited amount of interest and coöperation with the librarian on the part of superintendent and trustees, we have been able to build up at the mclean hospital something which approaches pretty near our ideal of what a library in a hospital for the insane should be. but in regard to the second subject i feel a little diffident, since there are several among you who have actually organized the institution libraries of your different states and combined them under one head, while i have only dreamed about it. still, the dream and the vision must always be forerunners of accomplishment, and you also must have dreamed before you were able to build. at mclean hospital we have two libraries,--one for the use of the patients, which was started in with volumes and now numbers over , , and a medical library organized in and containing over , volumes. the two are kept entirely distinct with separate accession-book, catalog, classification and finances. the medical library comprises a fairly good department in general medicine and a very fine one in chemistry; but of course, its principal features are books and periodicals in psychology and psychiatry. we take medical and chemical journals, most of them german, and the care of these periodicals alone is no slight task for the librarian. i will just say incidentally that, unable to find any classification for medical books which seemed at all adequate to our needs we have evolved one for ourselves, using the decimal idea in numbering. it is a thoroughly satisfactory scheme for us and we hope some time to print it for the benefit of the medical libraries in other hospitals for the insane. although our general library for the patients has been in existence for seventy-five years and more, for the first six decades it was conducted in a rather desultory manner, as indeed, most libraries were at that time. it was not till that any attempt at classification and cataloging was made, and not until was a trained librarian installed and the whole department put on a business basis. the expenditure of the annual appropriation was at that time put into the librarian's hands with directions to build up the library at her own discretion, subject, of course, to the approval of the superintendent and trustees. that the business basis is the only successful one, these figures show:--in , after seventy years, the library numbered only , volumes, with few new books but a large assortment of old sermons and evangelical biography, and its circulation was about , . during the eight years of the new regime, more than , volumes have been added and the circulation has increased to over , . during its seventy-five years of service our library has exemplified at least four important things:--first, as has been shown, that one cannot get such good results from the old desultory method of having a few books on the wards looked after by nurses, or even in a central library run by a stenographer in her spare moments, as from an organized, central library with a trained librarian at its head. second, that although the business basis is the only successful one, the administration of it should be as simple and free from "red tape" as possible. the nearer a hospital librarian can keep her library to the idea of the private library and the more friendly and personal relations she can establish with the patients the more good she can accomplish. the third point i would make is that unless they are very ill and destructive, books are treated as carefully by the insane as by the users of the public libraries. last year, out of , volumes taken out by patients and nurses, only were lost or destroyed, and of these only two were charged to patients. it is the proud boast of one of our head nurses who has under him the next to the most violent and destructive ward on the men's side, that he has had out for his patients over volumes in the last two years, and has not lost or had mutilated one single book! the fourth and most important lesson we have learned is that the value of a well-selected library can hardly be over-estimated as a therapeutic agent. i do not mean by this that a cure can be effected simply by reading the right books; that of course is absurd. but it is a fact recognized by all psychiatrists and at the basis of the treatment of the insane in all hospitals today, that whatever takes a patient's mind off himself and his own troubles and directs his thoughts into other and more wholesome channels, contributes to his recovery. and when amusement pall, handicrafts tire and golf and tennis are too strenuous, books and pictures will almost always help. it is for this reason that we have to be so careful of the kind of reading, especially of fiction, which we put into the hands of our patients. they must be wholesome stories; anything dealing with suicide or insanity is strictly tabu; also stories which are morbid or would be apt to arouse a morbid train of thought. with these exceptions the insane want and should have the same books which you and i read. moreover, and i wish i could say this loudly and emphatically enough to be heard over the whole country, the insane are not imbeciles and they are not children, and they resent it when they are treated as such just as much as you or i would. if the old ladies like to reread the stories they loved when they were young, so do old ladies everywhere, but they do not want kindergarten stories. and they are as interested in what is going on in the world and in keeping up with the times as anyone. about once a week i go to boston, look over the new books, select the ones i like the looks of and have them sent out "on approval." every book of fiction is read by me, or if it is distinctly a man's book, by someone of the staff in whose literary judgment i can rely. the books which are kept are then classified and cataloged and either sent directly to some patient or ward where i know they will be appreciated, or else placed on the "new book shelves." neither staff nor nurses are allowed to have the new books until the patients have read them. the patients come over four evenings a week to the library, the men mondays and fridays and the women wednesdays and saturdays. our library consists of two large and very beautiful rooms with open shelves and open fires. some of the patients roam about and browse among the books, others sit at the tables and look at pictures and magazines, while still others join the ladies of the house who generally sit in the front library in the evening with their fancy-work and the fire. sometimes we play cards with them. besides these four evenings, certain patients are sometimes allowed to come over in the daytime, and the nurses come in at any time of day to get books for some particular patient or for their ward. these "traveling libraries" on the wards are our most successful means of reaching those patients who are too feeble, or too ill, or who lack the initiative to come to the library and select their own books, but who will often get interested in a book which lies on the sitting-room table of their ward. i am often asked what kind of books aside from fiction the patients call for. i suppose books with pictures would rank first, for patients who are too ill to read will often look at these by the hour. these picture-books comprise art books, of which we have a very fine collection bought and added to each year with money from a bequest to the hospital; black's travel books; country life in america, etc. next come the nature and out-of-door books; then literature, especially longfellow, whittier and tennyson. history is seldom called for by the patients,--sociology and economics never; yet our nurses, especially our canadian nurses who want to know about conditions in the states, frequently ask for these, and we have books on all these subjects; for, though our hospital motto is "patients first," we find that whatever increases the intelligence of the nurses increases their efficiency, and we are glad to have them avail themselves of every opportunity for reading and study. frankly humorous books i have learned never to give to a depressed patient, and miss carey tells me she has had the same experience. if a patient is much depressed he seems to resent being cheered up if he knows it, and we all have realized in ourselves that unless we are in the mood for it there is nothing in the world so dreary as an avowedly funny story. neither is there any call for collections like the "international library of famous literature," and the "library of american literature," and in this matter too, miss carey agrees with me. short stories also are at a discount here. the patients want novels which shall grip and hold their attention in spite of themselves. we all know that the complete librarian is supposed to have an extra sense of intuition, and i think i unconsciously say to myself in selecting books for the patients, "if i felt the way that patient looks as if he felt, what kind of books would i want?" sometimes, though, one makes mistakes. for instance,--we have one patient, a dear old lady, somewhat prim, a little austere, a typical new england aristocrat of the old school, with whom one immediately associates "cranford" and "oldfield" and mrs. de la pasture. but this dear lady wants detective stories, if you please, and the more gruesome and bloodier they are the more she revels in them. in her estimation, "the marathon mystery" and "the boule cabinet" and "the mystery of the yellow room" totally eclipse "down our street" and "queed" any day. but while short stories are seldom called for, the "short story in long dresses" and bound by itself, is very popular with patients who are physically weak and unable to hold large volumes or to read very long at a time. i always keep a collection of these little books in a special bookrack so i can lay my hands on them at any moment. they comprise such titles as "pigs is pigs," "the good samaritan," "philosophy four," "stickeen," "the perfect tribute," "songs from vagabondia," "the friendly craft," etc. then i have other racks on tables and window shelves which i keep filled with different books, changing them often. and i find that shifting the books on the shelves every little while brings into prominence some which have heretofore been overlooked. in short, i try to keep something new in the library all the time, even if only a new plant or arrangement of flowers, for the patients in a hospital of this sort are very dependent on outside agencies for diversion and interest, and their attention must be caught and held by some means or other. so much for the reality: now for the dream. because the library in our hospital has been such a success, because it has so thoroughly proved its therapeutic value, i dream of the time when one as efficient shall be in every hospital in the country. the fact that ours is a private hospital means that we are not helped by the state; it also means that most of our patients, but by no means all, are on a paying basis; it most emphatically does not mean that we have the monopoly of the educated class. while it is true that there are many illiterates in the state hospitals, it is also true that there are in them thousands of men and women as well educated, as refined, as great lovers of books as those in our private hospital. for the majority, it is the question of money, not of education, which determines a patient's place in the state or the private institution. if our people value our library so highly, what must be their deprivation when because of lack of funds they have to go to state institutions where there are no books and periodicals or at best only a few old ones, never changed and seldom added to. the state says it cannot afford to appropriate for each of its hospitals and asylums an annual sum sufficient to build up such a library as ours and maintain so many trained librarians, and the state is justified. but i have dreamed of a coöperation by means of which there shall be in every state one trained librarian who shall organize into a library what books there already are in each institution, advise and train in library methods those in charge, and buy from an annual appropriation such as the state can afford, new books which shall be sent from one hospital to another in the form of traveling libraries, and after they have gone the round be divided up among the individual institutions,--thus slowly building up each library. this organizer should be in the employ either of the state board of insanity (or its equivalent) or else of the state library commission. it would seem that the former would be more satisfactory and less complicated, as the state institutions already are under their control, but in some states the library commission seems to have have been entirely successful in co-operating with the state board. one thing seems certain, that unless the state board and the hospital superintendents can be interested in the scheme little can be done; while with their interest and coöperation success is insured. that this dream is practical has been proved in iowa, minnesota, nebraska and a few other states. in new york, most of the state hospitals seem to have fairly good libraries, and the one at middletown, n. y., ranks very nearly with mclean in the number of volumes, and seems to be carried on very efficiently. in trenton, n. j., there is a state hospital which has a memorial library with a good annual appropriation and which adds about one hundred and fifty books a year. i have with me the figures of the hospital libraries in nineteen states, if anyone cares to see them. in my dream i see equal library advantages to every state hospital in the country, and i hear from them all the words they will say to you who are able to realize these dreams,--words our patients at mclean have said to us over and over again,--"you don't know what this library has meant to me!" this is an opportunity for intimate helpfulness and real, practical usefulness which i hope everyone of you will try to introduce into his state. in the discussion that followed, miss jones said the mclean hospital library had an appropriation of about $ a year for books alone for the patients, but thought that a state hospital library could get on nicely with less. miss templeton gave an account of state institutional work in nebraska where the policy has been to get library work in these institutions under the control of the state library commission. mr. dudgeon said that a list of simple industrial books had been prepared with much care for the prisoners in the wisconsin state prison. also that the chaplain helped in recommending reading for the prisoners, those who expected to get out being especially anxious to keep up with events and not be rip van winkles when released. miss carey, of minnesota, said their state commission has made special efforts to know what the libraries of the institutions were doing, how many readers they had, and how many books they circulate. she said this familiarized the institutions with the commission and so the officers were glad to put the burden off on the commission. she thought it was impossible to do anything until the officers of the institutions were on your side; that this must be worked for until secured. after discussion the session adjourned. third session (monday, july , : p. m.) the third session of the league opened with a report from mr. f. f. hopper, of tacoma, on the work of the committee on federal prison libraries. his report was as follows: report of committee on libraries in federal prisons the report of this committee made by mr. hadley at the pasadena meeting, outlined correspondence with the department of justice in washington, which department has supervision of the penitentiaries including their libraries. after repeated efforts by mr. hadley, the department seemed to become interested in the libraries in the prisons, and friendly to suggestions for improving them, but the officials considered that proper library facilities were dependent upon the provision by congress of a system of education for the prisoners. however, the department already had the authority to appropriate money from its own funds for the purchase of books for the prison libraries. in his report, mr. hadley recommended that a bill be introduced in the next congress for an annual appropriation for books and their care in penitentiary libraries. in catalogs of the libraries in the penitentiaries at atlanta and at mcneil island were prepared by the prison librarians and printed. after these were submitted to the department of justice, it seems to have been decided to adopt a definite policy for the annual expenditure of money for the purchase of books for one of these libraries, that at mcneil island. this decision was probably hastened by the disclosures the catalogues made in regard to the kind of books already in the libraries. it is evident that fiction constitutes almost the whole of the collections. at any rate in january the attorney general wrote the secretary of the american library association that the department would spend $ annually for the purchase of books for the library at mcneil island, and requested that a list of books be prepared, none of the books to be fiction, but chiefly history, biography and science. mr. utley asked the present chairman of your committee to prepare the list since the tacoma library is the nearest to mcneil island and the present chairman was somewhat acquainted with the conditions and needs there. a list of titles, with a first choice of books to cost $ . was considered, but the list was reduced to titles, since it was deemed best to provide only for purchase for two years. since the library already contained considerable fiction and the public libraries of both seattle and tacoma frequently send the prison selected books from their discards, it was fortunate that the department wished no fiction on the list. we have learned from the department of justice in the last few days that similar purchases were not contemplated for the much larger prisons at atlanta and leavenworth. no attempt was made to secure the introduction of a bill in congress providing for an annual appropriation for books and their care in the penitentiary libraries, since it was already so late in the present session; since the new interest of the department under the present law appeared promising; and since it seemed desirable first to secure the discussion and coöperation of the american prison association and other societies interested in prison administration and reform. it was hoped that a member of this committee could present the subject of libraries in the federal prisons at the meeting of the conference of charities and corrections in cleveland during the present month, but it was not possible to carry out the plan. the american prison association has formally invited a member of the committee to discuss the same subject at the annual meeting of the association at baltimore in november, and it is highly desirable that the invitation be accepted. it should be possible to interest and secure the powerful backing of the american prison association in securing the passage of any contemplated legislation looking to the improvement of prison libraries. the warden of the prison at mcneil island secures some fifty magazines as gifts by merely begging them from the publishers! at both atlanta and leavenworth, the only new magazines the prisoners see are those which they subscribe for themselves or which are sent by their friends. in the atlanta prison, a regular school is conducted, and whatever books are purchased from the general funds are school books. a school should be established at mcneil island. at present there are no facilities for such work there but with the example of the one at atlanta, it should be possible to urge effectively that the department establish a school at mcneil island. in the coming year the commendable start which the department of justice has made in purchasing books for the prison at mcneil island, should open the way for successful efforts in persuading the department to undertake much more liberal purchases of books for the libraries of the much larger prisons at atlanta and at leavenworth. * * * * * it is earnestly recommended that a vigorous presentation of the needs of the prison libraries be made to the department by someone in person, backed by all the influence obtainable. it is also urged that a list of fiction suitable for prison libraries be co-operatively made with the utmost care. the needs of the prisoner in his reading for recreation are very special, and many books entirely suitable for the open shelf room of a public library should be ruthlessly excluded from the prison. expert knowledge of the psychology of the prisoner should in some way be obtained in preparing a list of fiction for reading in prison. it is better that the prisoner read not at all than that he should be given many of the books eminently fit for one in the normal conditions and relations of life. franklin f. hopper, chairman. * * * * * mrs. sneed supplemented mr. hopper's report with a report of conditions in the federal prison at atlanta and of conferences which she had had with officials from washington. it was her opinion, based on advice from the prison authorities that the only way to accomplish anything is for some one to go to washington, put the case plainly before the department of justice and ask that an appropriation be made for libraries in the federal prisons. mr. dudgeon moved that mrs. sneed, dr. owen and mr. hopper act as a committee representing the league with full power to act, and that the league pledge itself to hearty coöperation. carried. miss tyler moved that the secretary of the league send a communication to the council of the a. l. a., stating the progress of the committee and asking for its coöperation. on the motion of mr. dudgeon, $ . was placed at the disposal of the committee to carry on its work. the report of the publications committee was then presented by the chairman, mr. m. s. dudgeon. at his suggestion the recommendations of the committee were voted on as they were read. the league adopted the first, second and third recommendation of the committee; took no action on the fifth, and adopted the sixth. the report of the committee was then accepted. report of the publications committee your committee respectfully reports the following: . a very definite demand has been presented to the committee from the various commissions calling for the publication of a buying list of about one thousand titles for use by small libraries. the committee has investigated the matter and is glad to report that miss zaidee brown's list has been revised and brought up to date by miss webster of new york, and that this will admirably meet the demand. after going over the matter with mr. utley, it appeared that no advantage would result should this committee handle this publication. the committee recommends that the separate commissions deal directly with the new york state library. the committee is informed that the commissions will be circularized by the new york authorities for this purpose. the price is exceedingly reasonable, probably not exceeding two cents each in large quantities. it seems likely that arrangements can be made so that each commission can stamp or print upon the title page such matter as it sees fit. we understand that copy of the list is now ready for the printer. when printed this list will also contain a magazine list. . it was suggested by the president of the league that the committee collect and print short paragraphs suitable for publication in newspapers during local campaigns for a library. the committee recommends that this be undertaken by one of the commissions as a sub-committee, rather than by the publications committee. . mr. gillis of california, has suggested that each commission prepare a list of the best material available treating of the history of its state. this seems to the committee the function of the state library rather than the commission and it recommends that this request be referred to the national association of state libraries. . it was suggested that the committee reprint moulton's "aids to library work with foreigners." this matter was referred to the a. l. a. publishing board, which has arranged for its publication. . the committee has been asked also to consider the publication of a buying list for traveling libraries, to be followed by a periodical supplement probably issued in mimeograph form. the questionnaire submitted to the commissions indicates that there would be only a limited use of such a list, many commissions maintaining that present aids are sufficient. the commissions exhibited so little interest in the matter that this question is submitted to the league without recommendation. . the loss resulting from the susceptibility of the trustee or librarian of many of the smaller libraries, to the subtle wiles of the eloquent book-agent, calls for some authoritative pronouncement upon the value, or lack of value, of subscription books. to make such a pronouncement seems to be the function of the a. l. a. publishing board. the committee therefore respectfully recommends that such board be requested to make proper provision for such pronouncement. respectfully submitted, m. s. dudgeon, chairman, zaidee brown, mary e. downey. in the absence of the chairman of the committee on uniform financial reports for library commissions, the following report was read by the secretary: report of committee on uniform financial reports the difficulties confronting the compiler of statistics of expenditures of library commissions or library extension departments are obvious, owing ( ) to variations in organization and scope of work in different states, ( ) to variations in accounting systems which must conform to the state accounting system, and ( ) to variations in methods of appropriations. for example, in some states definite appropriations are made for certain departments of work, in others certain expenses such as printing, binding and office supplies are paid from the general state fund for all departments. in view of these facts, many commissions are of the opinion that a uniform accounting system which will meet the needs of every state is impracticable. your committee collected the financial reports of each library commission, or other state department doing library extension work and made a careful comparison of the items included. it was found that these items could practically all be grouped under a few general headings, as given in table i. it was further suggested that another summary giving approximate totals for various departments be added, as outlined in table ii. the committee therefore submits this summary of expenses, as a tentative form, to be used in the annual report of the league for purposes of comparison. the work of the committee has shown that such a summary can readily be made from the financial reports of the several commissions as they are now published and it is believed that this table would be a useful addition to the yearbook. the outline here presented is not regarded as final, but is submitted for your discussion and amendment. clara f. baldwin, chairman. table i. =summary of expenditures= books and binding direct aid pamphlets for distribution express, freight and cartage office supplies and furniture periodical clearing house periodical subscriptions and memberships postage printing salaries state institutions summer school traveling expenses traveling library boxes miscellaneous total table ii. =summary of expenses by departments= field work instruction traveling library direct aid legislative reference school library work (for oregon) educational reference (for n. dakota) the report was accepted. the secretary then presented the following report of what the league yearbook should contain. league of library commissions' yearbook in accordance with the request of the president of the league, the secretary has made the following outline of the matter which should be included in the yearbook to be published this coming autumn: list of members of the league. officers. committees. constitution. report by states, giving under each the names of the executive staff, a list of the publications in print, and new legislation pertaining to library extension, any distinctly new phase of work taken up, and in the case of a new commission a full account of its form of organization and scope of activities. traveling libraries: number of volumes in fixed groups; number of volumes on open shelves; loans. number of requests in answer to which books have been sent; number of volumes sent out. requests classified as follows: groups of taxpayers, public libraries, schools, institutions, study clubs, individuals, other organizations. summary of public library conditions by states: population, number of towns of over , ; number of libraries supported by tax; number of libraries supported by associations; number of subscription libraries; number of library buildings; number of trained librarians. financial report according to the recommendations of miss baldwin's report. the report was accepted. the nominating committee then presented the following names as officers of the league for the ensuing year: for president, mr. c. h. milam, indiana; for first vice-president, miss elizabeth b. wales, missouri; for second vice-president, dr. thomas m. owen, alabama; for secretary-treasurer, miss zaidee brown, massachusetts; publications committee: m. s. dudgeon, wisconsin, chairman; miss fannie c. rawson, kentucky; miss caroline f. webster, new york. it was voted to instruct the secretary to cast the ballot for these officers. the meeting adjourned. special libraries association fourth annual meeting, ottawa, canada, june -july , first (general) session (thursday, june , : p. m.) in the absence of the president, the vice-president, herbert o. brigham, state librarian of rhode island, called the meeting to order in, the ball room of the chateau laurier. the vice-president: ladies and gentlemen, we will open the session this afternoon with the consideration of a general topic, which will be taken part in by mr. dudgeon and by other speakers who will discuss mr. dudgeon's paper. it so happens that this year we have been so fortunate as to have the article reprinted beforehand in the publication of the special libraries association, so that doubtless many of you are already familiar with the paper. i am going to appoint on the nominating committee messrs. george w. lee of boston, john a. lapp of indianapolis, and miss e. v. dobbins of new york city. we are very fortunate in having with us to take the main paper for this opening session a man who has been actively engaged in special library work for some time in the west, one who is very familiar with the development of the "wisconsin idea" of legislative reference work, and closely associated with dr. mccarthy in developing that idea. i take great pleasure in introducing to you mr. m. s. dudgeon, secretary of the wisconsin library commission, who will talk upon the subject of "the plan, scope and results of special libraries." mr. dudgeon: mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen--there are those who maintain that there is no such thing as a special library in a class of its own, but that what we call a special library is simply a general reference library which by the needs of its patrons has become somewhat specialized in its methods and in its equipment. on the other hand, there are those who maintain that a special library has so distinctly a different function and purpose, that its scope is so different, that its equipment is so different, and that the equipment, the qualities and the characteristics of those who man the library are so different, as to entitle such an institution to an entirely different classification; that it is not a general reference library, but a special library, something entirely different. it seems to me to be more or less a distinction without a difference, more or less a play upon words. i have, at the request of the program committee, written down what seemed to me the perfectly obvious things that might be said about the scope and purposes of the special library. you have the paper before you as printed in "special libraries," and will probably be fortunate enough to escape some detail, as i will try to shorten this somewhat in the reading.[ ] [ ] mr. dudgeon's paper appeared in full in "special libraries," june, , pp. - . the vice-president: i think we all have a clear understanding of just what a special library means, and i think we should all notice especially the allusion that mr. dudgeon made to the reference library as compared to the public library, in the definition of the use of the book. i think one of the finest examples of a special librarian one can find is in our absent president. dr. whitten is doubtless one of the best authorities today on public utilities, and he has this month gone to london, where he is spending the summer investigating public utilities for the national civic federation. that, i think, accounts for his absence, and we regret very much that he is not here. i am going to ask mr. josephson of the john crerar library, chicago, to lead the discussion. a. g. s. josephson: i am afraid that you will not find my paper what you expected it to be, a discussion of mr. dudgeon's paper. when mr. lapp wrote me some time ago to ask if i would not discuss the question, i began to try to make up my own mind as to what a special library was. i had made my mental notes on that subject, and when mr. dudgeon's paper came and i read it and undertook to discuss it, it happened that my own ideas came first.[ ] [ ] mr. josephson's discussion will appear in a later issue of "special libraries." the vice-president: i am going to ask mr. w. p. cutter, librarian of the engineering societies of new york city, to contribute either by a paper or an oral discussion of mr. dudgeon's address. mr. cutter: i do not know that i have anything to offer as a contribution to the discussion of mr. dudgeon's very interesting paper and mr. josephson's very interesting discussion of it. i might, perhaps, with my usual liking to express things briefly, say that i consider a special library as one that serves people who are doing things, and a reference library one which serves people who are thinking things. the former are not thinking about doing things, they are already doing them. i think that applies also to people who are serving as legislators, who are making laws; to sociologists, who are making attempts to handle crime and other sociological questions. i believe that the development now in the public library world is in the direction of service to the public. for twenty-five or twenty-six years now we have been talking about, first, books, and then about places for storing books, buildings to put them in, methods of cataloging them, charging them, of making picture bulletins for children and all that, and we have finally arrived at a discussion of the methods of serving the people who are really doing things. it has taken about twenty-five years to arrive at that point, and i think we are reaching that goal. i noticed, although i was not present at the meeting this morning, that in two reports of committees of the american library association, an instrument was mentioned which has been used in one library, at least, to my knowledge, for the reproduction of material for people who are doing things, a reproduction of printed material, manuscripts, maps, drawings, etc. this is the first time that has come up, i think, in a report in the american library association on the reference side. the vice-president: i hoped that dr. mccarthy, the head of the legislative reference department of the wisconsin library, and mr. galbreath, former state librarian of ohio, who is now secretary of the constitutional convention of ohio, would be present today. in their absence the discussion is now open to the members, and i hope there will be a very general and free discussion. john a. lapp: i have not very much to say except to emphasize one or two points which mr. dudgeon brought out in his paper. one of those points is the fact that the material which we deal with in special libraries is not found in books. in a short experience of only four years, i think, outside of those references to legal works, to law periodicals and law books, i have not been able to do one-tenth of my work from books or from published material. most of the work, the real work, which has been done by the legislative reference department of indiana has been done through work which we have prepared, which we have drawn up from the general material scattered here and there in obscure sources and from letters which we had written to experts outside. i say scarcely one-tenth, and i do not know but perhaps that is too liberal. one-tenth of the questions we have been able to answer from published material. that would seem to me to be the most distinguishing point about the special library. i believe that the heads of the industrial libraries, the manufacturing libraries, the commercial libraries, will agree with me on that point. the subject of the training of special librarians is the one subject here upon which there seems to be, thus far, a division of opinion. i have always believed that the person who has a general knowledge of the subject, with a library training, is the person who is best qualified to do the work of a special library. i think that is true particularly in legislative and municipal reference work; but, on the other hand, it should be emphasized that if that person did not have a pretty good knowledge of library work, or if he did not have a pretty efficient librarian with him, he would make a sorry failure, as mr. dudgeon has suggested. at the same time, i do not believe that the librarian who is trained as a librarian merely, who loves books and so on, can get hold of the real vital part of the work in a way that the person who is using the special library demands. on the whole i am inclined to believe that the best working arrangement is to have a man in the library who has a knowledge of the subject matter and a person who knows something about library work and library training, and then to have him supplemented by some one who knows the library side of it, with a bare knowledge of the other subjects, and, working together, they can bring about a very efficient special library service. that is the ideal of a special library combination. i think it has worked out in most cases. but, again, speaking from personal knowledge, i do not think that i could ever do very much in legislative reference work if i were a librarian without the other training. whatever i had of librarian training, through the school, when i went into the work, might be placed in very small compass--i haven't told this before but i will confess now that when i began i knew very little about librarianship. if my assistants knew that at the time, at any rate, i have never told it before, but i have learned something about it since that time. but i think i could have made a better success of librarianship if i had had more library training. on the other hand, i do not believe i could have gotten along if i had not had the other side of the subject more largely. so i agree with mr. dudgeon on most points as to that question; but i would suggest that the person who is in charge, if he is not fairly well grounded in librarian skill and librarian art, should have some one with him who would keep him off the rocks, because he will go on the rocks if he does not have some one to guide him. the special library meets a very special need. that has been pointed out many times. we deal with material that is not in print. we manufacture it. many times we must color it with our own opinions. some people say that in public affairs, in municipal and legislative reference work, we should not allow our own personality or our judgment to enter into the work. i should like to find a librarian who is able to keep from doing that. if i have knowledge which to me seems certain, if i know a certain fact and have the information right at hand, i cannot refrain from telling the person who ought to know that fact; i cannot refrain from telling him that a certain thing is right, or a certain thing is wrong. while we must all do it diplomatically, it is out of the question, i believe, for a man to be efficient as a special librarian, even in dealing with the public affairs in libraries, to avoid giving his own opinions on subjects. what is the use of his getting a knowledge of the subject if he cannot really use it? but he should use it very discreetly. the special library was very well described by mr. cutter when he said it was a library for those who do things, while the reference library is for those people who think of things. this is the age of efficiency. i believe that the librarian is the efficiency engineer, or ought to be the efficiency engineer, of the educational world. i think the general reference librarian ought to be that, and i think the librarian of the special library, particularly of the manufacturing and industrial library, can be to a large degree the efficiency expert of such a concern. guy e. marion: i think the people who are present here would take a good deal of satisfaction in knowing who the people are that are actually and most vitally interested in special library work, and i have analyzed an up-to-date membership list which i hold here in my hand, of which i should be glad to show copies to any who may be interested. we have now grown to a group of people who are interested. that is a growth, roughly, of twenty-five per cent since our last meeting in new york city. there are four insurance libraries in the country. there are nineteen people who are interested in public utilities. there are five financial libraries. there are among the commercial, technical and scientific libraries (many of which are in manufacturing concerns), forty-eight. among the public affairs libraries, which cover the legislative reference departments of state libraries as well, there are something like thirty-six. it is interesting to note that the public libraries have themselves been sufficiently interested to know what we are doing, so that forty-five of them have become members of this association, to be in touch, i presume, with what we are aiming for. there are twenty-nine colleges and universities interested; and of miscellaneous people whom we can hardly classify, not knowing where they belong, there are thirty-eight. in this connection i think it is worth while to say to you, many of you who frequently change about the country, or are looking for advancement, that it would not be amiss for you to fill out one of the little blanks showing your qualifications, the things in which you are interested. at the present moment i know of the largest automobile concern in this country, the automobile trust, which is looking for an active, wide-awake librarian, probably a man. those opportunities are coming to the attention of your secretary quite frequently, and we shall always be glad to have you keep in touch with us by filling out one of these little blanks. we may be able to readjust you. the vice-president: the secretary has an announcement to make in regard to city planning. mr. marion: i think it would not be amiss for me to speak of three or four of our bibliographies. there has been one list published under the direction of mr. meyer of the library of congress, called "selected list of references on the short ballot," which is easily obtainable at our headquarters; also a list of references on street railway service by robert h. whitten, our president. there was prepared by mr. dana, "the social questions of today," which is a very useful compilation of subjects, and institutions and people interested in social questions. then, in addition, our may number of "special libraries" has published probably the most remarkable collection of city planning items that has ever been gathered together. it was done co-operatively between the library of congress and the department of landscape architecture of harvard university. (here the secretary read a notice of a later complete bibliography of city planning which will be published by the library of congress in which a new complete classification scheme for the arrangement of all the articles will be used.) i think that the classification alone will be exceedingly useful to you who ultimately, with the growth of american cities and their rapid development, are going to be forced to take an interest in the subject of their re-arrangement. this is going to become more and more a vital problem, it seems to me, in the future here in america than it ever has been in the past; and when the final list is published it will consider not only american experience, but also european, appertaining to that subject. george w. lee: i should think this might be a good chance for people to express themselves as to the need of bibliographical matter to go into "special libraries," as members who receive "special libraries," whether they think the trend of articles is about right and to make suggestions. possibly it might be some guide to the editorial committee to know whether the material they are putting in is about right, or whether there are certain things that might with advantage be inserted. then the question comes, are you helping, yourself, to make up these bibliographies? the vice-president: perhaps mr. lapp can speak of the various ways in which we made the bibliographies, working with the library of congress methods and various others. mr. lapp: that question might properly come up later, but i just mention at this time that we should be thinking about it, and report at a later session of this organization, this week. the matter is very important to us, because we have some difficulty in selecting. we have some difficulty in knowing just what the members of the association desire most, and at the present time we have a working arrangement with a number of people who are supplying things regularly. we should be glad to enter into arrangements with others if the demand seems to be great. just now we have an arrangement with the public utilities committee, which supplies every two or three months a summary of the best public utility references of the period before. we also have an arrangement with the library of congress, through mr. meyer, by which we receive a bibliography for every issue, a short bibliography on some obscure subject, some subject that is not covered in any systematic bibliography, or not covered adequately; and the desire is to get questions which would be of the widest interest and at the same time not conflict with something that has already been published, because the whole purpose of the special libraries association is to do those things which nobody else does. if we find that we are doing something now which somebody else can do better, we should be very glad to transfer it to them, and merely undertake those things which nobody else does. we have an arrangement also by which we are going to receive some of the best references to material on city documents, beginning with the next issue. that i think will add very materially to the value of the publication, because city documents, as you know, are now almost inaccessible for the reason that no one knows that they are published until they are perhaps out of print, and they cannot be obtained. i would like to take this opportunity of asking all our friends to contribute whenever they know of anything that is done or that has happened regarding a bibliography or in the way of a special locality that you think should be mentioned, that you send a note to the editors, or send us a copy of the publication itself. this is purely a co-operative enterprise, and it is by co-operation that we get the real value of the work. the hope is to cover the whole country, so that if a man is working on a subject in boston some one in san francisco can learn about it, and, if he is thinking of doing the same thing, have him co-operate and perhaps get that thing done better; and any information which can be given which will facilitate that plan will be of very great value to the association and be a very great help to the editors. mr. cutter: the first statement mr. marion made, about obtaining assistants for the people who need them, is, i think, the most searching question in connection with special libraries. it seems to me it would be wise for this association to communicate with graduating classes of some of our universities and suggest to the members of those classes well enough in advance that the library profession is a desirable thing for young men to enter. i think it would be a very wise thing for this association to take that up, and tell them the reasons why, and the demand for assistants. at the present time i have knowledge of several positions, but the specification is made that men are desired, as most of our business men are so ignorant that they do not know how efficient women are. i would say in regard to what mr. lapp mentioned, that i have some bibliographies on engineering subjects, some of them too special, but some of them would, i think, be of general interest, and i will take the opportunity of sending him a list of these. the vice-president: it might be of interest to note what has already been printed in connection with the library of congress, to show the character of the publications received from that source. you will recall, for instance, a bibliography on the drinking habit, the short ballot, on anti-cigarette ordinances and laws, the open shop, public utility rates, the pardoning power, compulsory voting, preferential voting, and, finally, city planning, and, also, i might say, one on the administration of charities and correction boards, a rather technical subject, which appeared in the april number, . (there here followed a discussion led by mr. c. a. george, of elizabeth, n. j., in which he asked for information as to the real purpose of the special libraries movement. mr. josephson, the vice-president, and mr. g. w. lee, of stone & webster, boston, offered replies to the questions asked.) mr. dudgeon: my connection with this association was due to this conception, that in my business, which was legislative work, etc., i conceived that there was a great deal in books that ought to be brought to the attention of the people who were doing the work, and i was glad to join an association whose special function seemed to be to help one another devise ways and means of getting book knowledge into the hands of the actual workers. now, that seems to me to be somewhat of a distinct proposition. i think mr. cutter's definition justifies our existence. we are specialized in getting knowledge out of books and out of the experience of others into the hands of workers rather than into the hands of people who are just thinking about working. it seems to me that it is quite distinct although hard to distinguish. miss lindholm: i believe in the effort to make the business public more appreciative of the work we are doing, we should write more articles about our work and our libraries. i think if there were articles written for the different electrical, engineering, automobile and manufacturing periodicals it would help a great deal. mr. cutter: i would suggest, mr. president, that you can combine all those periodicals the lady mentions by writing articles for the wall street journal. that is the place where the people read things. the vice-president: the editor of the wall street journal was with us at our september meeting and gave us a very interesting description of his own part of the work in connection with the business, and the information bureau established by the wall street journal. i sometimes think we fail to note the speed with which that information must be obtained, either in the reference department or the newspaper. they will sometimes employ a mere mechanical device to save two minutes in connection with the information given. i think miss lindholm's suggestion is a very good one and possibly can be worked out by getting more and more in touch with the trade periodicals. many of those trade periodicals are not taken by the public libraries, are not listed in any indexes of periodicals, and much of the material afforded there is of unusual value. mr. cutter: i would suggest that we have a committee on publicity for the association. the vice-president: the committee have a plan to advance for that which i think they will bring out at the next meeting. second (first joint) session (friday, june , : p. m.) the second session was a joint session held in conjunction with the national association of state libraries, the american association of law libraries and the bibliographical society of america. mr. george s. godard, acting secretary-treasurer of the national association of state libraries, called the meeting to order and occupied the chair. before beginning the regular program, mr. beer, librarian of the howard memorial library at new orleans, called attention to a bibliography of french fiction, which he had come across during his travels in europe last year. he said in part: "i discovered that there was being published at lisle on the borders of belgium by a roman catholic priest the most honest, the bravest review of fiction that exists in any language. he does not fear to mention every book which is published. he praises those which are good, and he scathes with the most bitter sarcasm and truthfulness those that are absolutely bad. he is the abbé bellian. if a young lady goes to buy a book she is asked if that particular book is in the list of abbé bellian. if it is not that store refuses to supply it to any one who is not of lawful age. it has been supplemented by a monthly publication which is very reasonable in price. it has been published since ." he urged that all become familiar with this book in order that the supply of french books generally throughout the united states in our libraries may be much more carefully selected and be more representative of the great french fiction. dean walton of the mcgill university law school, montreal, prepared a paper entitled "legal systems of canada, with a list of statutes and other legal papers of the province of quebec." this paper opened the formal program and was read by mr. charles h. gould. this paper was followed by another entitled "present status of legal bibliography" by dean wigmore of the northwestern university law school. this was read by mr. edwin m. borchard, law librarian of the library of congress, in connection with his own paper on "the bibliography of international and foreign law, with an account of the method of building up the collections of foreign and international law in the library of congress." after reading dean wigmore's paper and discussing the present literature in this field and existing bibliographies, mr. borchard called attention to the effect which the increase in foreign travel had had upon all law library problems in america, bringing in as it had the wider international relations from year to year. he said "there are three points of view that have guided us" (in the formation of the library of congress collection) "the practicing lawyer's necessity of knowing foreign law, the legislator's necessity for knowing the solution of social and economic problems, the scientific object, the students' need of developing the science of law." he dwelt at some length upon the methods which he had used in arriving at the best selection of foreign continental law books. through his connection as international law expert at the hague fisheries arbitration he was enabled to get first hand judgment regarding the actual books by foreign lawyers. further in the name of the government by correspondence he approached the law departments of universities, judges of supreme courts, practicing lawyers, etc., of other countries. in latin america he worked through the consuls and ministers of the united states to get such information. by these methods the books were ordered and many have now arrived. the question now presents itself as to how to make available this new material. this is being done by the publication of guides to the foreign law. "the first guide, the guide of the law of germany, appeared about a month and a half ago.... it undertakes to furnish an introduction to the german system as a whole, and to the principal leading institutions, as parts of the system in some detail, mentioning particularly the important literature and how to use it, what the american lawyer in terms of his own law may expect to find in these european books.... the guide of the law of france is now in course of preparation, and will probably appear about the first of next year. we hope then to continue with austria, spain and italy, which we consider the important countries. later we may publish belgium and switzerland in one volume, perhaps including scandinavia, and then one volume for the law of latin america. if we do not get to the publication of guides we will publish the material that we have received, editing it with perhaps bibliographic notes of such information as we can convey in order to open up this bibliographic source to the general investigator.... we are getting many letters every week in washington from lawyers throughout the whole united states, asking for information on foreign law.... comparative law is a field which is now getting great impetus, partly through the work of developing legal collections, partly through the necessities of a case. we are no longer an insular nation. growing international relations are making necessary some knowledge of foreign law and the desirability of its knowledge to legislators is admitted, i think, without a question." mrs. margaret c. klingelsmith, librarian of the biddle law library of the university of pennsylvania, followed with a paper upon "the books of the beginnings." prof. archibald mcgoun of mcgill university next presented a paper entitled "the bibliography of canadian law." dr. g. e. wire of the worcester county law library of massachusetts opened the discussion. speaking of the ordinary bar library for the working lawyer, he urged that there was needed an extension of mr. soule's manual referred to in dean wigmore's article. he advocated also a much shorter list of citations than that employed in soule. he further referred to the need of some publication on spanish american bibliography, which would cover such things as the number of porto rican reports in a given series. he would like also some publication which would give the various codes and compilations of laws, both official and unofficial, in advance of "our law book friend" who comes along to tell us about it. from the practical standpoint he said that books on foreign laws were so much more useful when translated, that in the average law library the same books in the original language would be rarely used. third (second general) session (monday, july , , : p. m.) the third session was the second session for discussion of problems peculiar to the special library and was called to order by vice-president brigham. the vice-president: we have one paper which remains from our first session, and i am going to call for that paper first. that will be a paper by mr. t. j. homer, member of the massachusetts bar, on "the boston co-operative information bureau." the development of that bureau is interesting and is the first attempt, i think, in this country co-operatively to work the libraries by exchange of publications, and i think probably you can be supplied on application with copies of their bulletins which some of us have here, and which will show you the extent of the movement. i am going to ask mr. marion to read mr. homer's paper.[ ] [ ] this will be published in full in the library journal and reprinted in special libraries. the vice-president: we will now proceed to the regular program for the day. we have a paper by mr. d. n. handy. the topic has been changed by the speaker so, that it reads, "the library as a business asset; when and how?" and i introduce now mr. handy of the insurance library association of boston. the library as a business asset; when and how?[ ] i feel that this subject of the asset value of the special library is one that is bound to be constantly growing in interest, because, of course, the tendency of business is to scrutinize carefully the things which it pays money for, and unless it can be shown that the library has some asset value, naturally, the library will come in for the first cuts in the budgets, and, later on, a complete cutting off. when the subject was assigned me by mr. marion he put the subject as "the library as a business asset." i have therefore discussed the subject from that standpoint, and inasmuch as it seemed to me that the whole thing resolved itself into a few very general and broad principles i have not made any attempt to consider details at all, but have assumed one or two things that it seemed to me must lie at the bottom of the whole proposition and must decide for us whether the library is to find a place among commercial assets and is to receive from business the support to which as an asset it is entitled. [ ] abstract. the full paper will appear in "special libraries." an asset, in business, is a debt-satisfying possession. in determining business solvency assets are set over against liabilities, and if the former exceed the latter, the business is said to be solvent. the term assets is applied technically to _material_ possessions. but there are possessions other, and even more essential than material: these are the _moral_, out of which assets grow. at the foundation of every business lie courage, competency, integrity, perseverance. these cannot be computed or averaged, but their commercial value is everywhere recognized. wherefore, let us at the outset agree that when we speak of the library as a business-asset, we speak not of its value as so many books and pamphlets, but of its value as a contributing agency to those more fundamental possessions to which material assets owe their existence. what, then, has the library contributed and what may it in the future hope to contribute that will add to business courage, integrity, competency, perseverance in a word, to business efficiency? the answer is found in a measure in our conception of a library and its function. shall we then describe what we have in mind when we speak of the library that may become a business asset? it certainly is not any collection of books and pamphlets under any custodian and handled probably more often by the janitor than the manager. that is not the kind of library that we have in mind. our library is a collection organized and planned for a definite end.... the measure of its value is to be sought in increasing efficiency of personnel; wider outlook, clearer vision, firmer grasp, greater fortitude. it would be pleasant to think of the precise manner in which a library might entrench itself in business favor, until it became admittedly indispensable. such an experience is not uncommon. libraries there are today--adjuncts of successful business houses--which stand on a plane of equality with every other department; whose directors are in every sense advisers; whose position in importance and dignity yields precedence to none. they add efficiency to the entire staff, and by breadth and merit bring distinction to the business they serve. the asset value of a library is dependent upon a variety of conditions. foremost among them, i should say, must be a condition of receptivity on the part of business itself. again, and only second in importance, is the attitude of the library towards business. if the library shall cling to traditional aims; shall overestimate the importance of conventional methods; shall hold disdainfully aloof from those adaptations and changes which alone can make it useful to business, then its asset value will never be large or general. finally, assuming business and the library to agree as to their mutual helpfulness, the lines along which they are to co-operate, if the results are to be satisfying to both, must be susceptible of being easily seen and followed.... at no time in the history of the modern business world has the opportunity been so favorable for a lasting alliance between the library and business. business was never more complex, nor more moral. greater wisdom is required to develop it. it is more sensitive. results come quicker, failure follows more promptly on the heels of error--success almost anticipates the footsteps of sound judgment. consequences are more far reaching. disaster to one involves many--while bankruptcy carries overthrow and panic to hundreds of others. the greater demands of business are seen not only in the enormous growth of industrial enterprises, and the larger responsibilities of management, but in the increasing numbers of college and university men who are seeking business careers. again, an almost revolutionary change has taken place in the public attitude towards business of every kind. it matters not what it is. the idea now is that men live for service; that men organize socially, commercially, and industrially for service. and if any organization is unable to undergo this test it must reform, or stand aside and let a better take its place. this i take it is the interpretation of the great unrest which has possessed england and america in the last decade.... all these--this increasing complexity, growing sense of social responsibility, demand for an increasing inflow of college men into business--spell opportunity for the library as an indispensable adjunct for business enterprise. answering for our first condition, then, it may be said that business is in a receptive mood, and that it stands ready today to welcome among its productive forces the library organization. but if the library is to be truly an asset to business enterprise, the library itself must recognize not only its opportunity but its responsibility. the failure of the general library to lead in this work of aiding business in the solution of its problems has been inevitable. business wants its own technology; it wants pamphlets, clippings, reports--all sorts of special things which no public library with all its other obligations could ever hope to get and to classify. hence the need of specialized libraries and special methods. it is evident that the special library has a whole field of methods yet to amplify, systematize and unify. if the library is to help business it must be organized as business is organized. to get everything on a subject may be necessary for some purposes, and is always interesting to the bibliographer; but to get the adequate thing is the business-librarian's ideal of service, and if he misses it he may wake up surprised to find his labor unappreciated. business is multiplying short-cuts, motion-savers, "efficiency" getters in every department; it will tolerate nothing less from the library. it is for the library to prove its value--to demonstrate its practical worth by adjusting itself to the business environment. it must not follow too closely the traditions of general library work. it ought to be familiar with general library methods; but it should never lose sight of the fact that general library methods were devised with an eye single to general library problems. the problems of a business library are different. this, then, is the duty of the business library if the title to asset-value is to go unchallenged. and the library may be certain that business will not take it at its own appraisal but will demand to see for itself whether its claims are justified. business libraries in many cities are justifying their existence and are gradually making for themselves a secure place among the assets of the enterprises which they represent.... finally, how are the library and business to co-operate for their mutual advantage? it is evident that in this respect business has to perform a duty even greater than we have laid upon the library itself. if the library is under obligation to adapt itself to the needs of business, business is under special obligation to place its resources more completely at the disposal of the library. it must take the library seriously and plan for it accordingly.... business fails to appreciate the ally that it might have in the well conducted library. it appreciates and at times is mildly grateful for the library's service; but it has shown no great discernment when it came to an understanding of the means by which the service was rendered. it asks for and expects results; but has little appreciation of the price at which results must be bought. an indispensable requisite of a business library is a librarian thoroughly conversant with the main facts of the business. he must know its theory and history. he must be freed from routine at least to the extent necessary to enable him to become an expert in the materials which he handles. he must be treated as a literary adviser and given the opportunity to develop literary discrimination and judgment in the field which he covers. then he becomes more than a custodian of books; he is a counselor, impressing his personality upon a unique source of business inspiration, namely, the business literature of his collecting and bringing direct to his superiors the information which they will know how to use for the good of the business as a whole. subordinates, working under him, will assemble, classify, card index, bulletin and distribute, while the library itself will stand on a level with manufacturing, accounting and selling. it will be a department of the business, organized like other departments, for efficiency.... the library may adapt itself to business, but it is for business to say whether the adaptation shall be thoroughgoing and effective. is the library, then, a business asset? my answer is that it is such just in proportion as business is willing to let it be. when business shall treat it as it treats other factors of business success, discerning its possibilities of usefulness, encouraging and planning for its development, adapting it to the requirements of business activity, then it will justify itself unquestionably.... business has already awakened to the possibilities of library help, and wherever it has done so with insight and courage it has answered for itself the question which we have here proposed. in banking, in finance, in engineering, in applied chemistry, in insurance and in numerous other fields, business has set itself to the task of adapting library methods to business needs. special collections administered for special requirements are springing up in every large city, and the liberality with which these are beginning to be supported is in some respects an indication of business' own estimate of their value. the vice-president: the matter is now open for discussion, and i will ask mr. morton, librarian of the united gas & fuel company, to be the first speaker.[ ] [ ] mr. morton's discussion will appear in "special libraries." the vice-president: the next speaker is miss margaret e. murray, librarian of wm. filene's sons, boston, who will address us on the subject the earning power of a special reference library on retail distribution the wm. filene's sons company of boston are retailers of men's, women's, children's and infants' wearing apparel and employ at present about , but in a few months will employ employees. among other innovations they have made provision for a business reference library in their new building, which they are to occupy this coming fall, and which is, so far as we know, the first in this line of business. it is planned to have on file all information relating to the business and such other information as may be helpful to the management and all other employees in the discharge of their duties, such as daily papers, technical and general reference books, trade journals, newspaper clippings, and typewritten material. the library was created because there was a definite need for a central clearing house of information on the latest and best in retail distribution and because it was urgent that one department should be responsible to care for safely and mobilize the valuable information, books and pamphlets scattered throughout the various offices of the organization. now what will the earning power of this special reference library be? it will be in exact proportion to its use and efficiency, based on just how well and how often it can make or save a dollar for the business. it will depend largely on how aggressive the library policy will be in creating needs and meeting the needs for its material, and although it may not be able to show quite as tangible a profit and loss statement as a merchandise department, still there should be the same effort and desire to know the stock on hand the first of the month, the purchases, the expenses of the department, the stock on hand at the end of the month (having in mind depreciation) and the sales, which would be services rendered. the more efficiently and oftener the reference library serves the organization, the more time it saves high-priced executives, and helps the rank and file, the more certain it will become a permanent paying department of the business and make itself indispensable. this is in general how the earning value will be determined. however, if the library is to succeed, such general statements will not be sufficient. the chances for service and making definite contributions toward business efficiency in a large retail establishment are innumerable, and especially in a progressive house like the one with which i have the honor to be associated. but such service and such contribution must be made very definite, must be made very specific and must be applied to every member of the organization. for some years past our company has been experimenting with profit sharing agreements, and one of the difficulties has been for general profit sharers, men and women in non-selling departments, working for the whole store, to show what has been his or her contribution toward profits. therefore, if a reference librarian, who would be termed a general profit sharer, fails to study, position by position, just how he or she can contribute to the needs of the men and women connected with the organization, the library will not be recognized and felt as a money making investment. it is, therefore, along these lines that the filene reference library will be operated. in all the initial steps and preparatory work of organizing, the methods of the legislative reference libraries are as far as possible being applied. the work of some of the successful legislative reference libraries is divided into three main divisions--comparative, critical and constructive, and in analyzing the store material on hand, it is found that pretty nearly all of these main divisions of reference work have in the past been practically ignored. in isolated cases, comparative work has been attempted, as for instance, furnishing specific information from some other store on some store policy for some one manager, but it has not been disseminated and placed at the service of all. the need of having this work done has been recognized and in the future will be done through the library. retail distribution has its laws and policies, but the laws and policies are, to a large degree, empirical. they are the result of years of effort and experience, and what was good five years ago, may not be good today. all policies are constantly changing. therefore, the first work, and at present in hand, before the library can start on its aggressive mission is to tabulate, classify, index and fit for use the present valuable information scattered throughout the offices of the management, destroying everything obsolete or whatever has become a permanent part of the store organization. for it is imperative in a fast growing business employing an increasing number of executives, that new employees should profit to the fullest extent by the experience of past years and how other people have handled problems new to us, and the library can assist very definitely by placing in their hands brief summaries on important subjects connected with the business, revised copies of duties of various positions, bibliographies on important subjects related to the business, and any other material that will help them absorb in the shortest possible time the fundamentals of the business. perhaps it may be of interest to mention briefly what special subjects, both general and technical, the library must watch out for. the best way is, with apologies, to give you an idea of the personnel of the management. the filene brothers and their partners are public spirited citizens; one brother, mr. edward a. filene, with a few other men, organized the present successful boston city club and was largely responsible for the amalgamation of the numerous commercial organizations of the city into the present boston chamber of commerce, and was chairman of the recent metropolitan plan commission of massachusetts. the other brother, mr. a. lincoln filene, served for three years on the state commission for industrial education and is now a member of the executive board of the national society for the promotion of industrial education, and also contributed largely in time and money to the boston vocational bureau. the other partners are also serving on special committees of various organizations and are all, with the filenes, very keenly interested in labor problems, the relations of employers to employees, and each has on his desk the best books on scientific management, as taylor's, gantt's, emerson's and brandeis'. therefore, first of all the business reference library will have on its shelves six or seven of the best books on scientific management, also books on organization and finance. then will be added special books on bookkeeping, auditing, insurance, statistics, advertising, decorating, buying, selling, materials, and subjects of interest to the filene co-operative association (an organization consisting of all employees and members of the corporation, each member having a single vote) such as pensions, arbitration, compulsory insurance, co-operative housing, etc. perhaps it might also be well to add that this association has maintained a library of all the popular fiction for the past twelve years, and no fiction will be placed in the new business reference library. the librarian is also custodian of all the private contracts, leases and corporation records, and is expected to prepare digests of any important papers at any time. this is what the filene library expects to do and must arrange for resources to actually obtain and devise ways and means for the dissemination of information needed. the vice-president:--we have with us today miss e. v. dobbins, who is librarian of the edward accounting library of the american telegraph & telephone company, new york city, and she will add to the discussion. miss dobbins: i desired not to write a paper, because i might write one too long and not say much in the end, so i thought perhaps it would be interesting just to tell you why our immense corporation found it necessary to have a library. we have a large engineering library; that is, we have a very fine collection of technical books--unfortunately, as yet, no librarian; we have a splendid legal library, and i represent the accounting library. two years ago our comptroller, who is an authority on accounting in the united states and has some reputation abroad, decided that it was necessary to get together the material, and they were good enough to offer me the position, which i was very glad to accept. so we collected what few books we had. we didn't have much. we bought largely. all our men are authorities on the particular subjects with which they deal, so, consequently, in buying books for our library we cannot select, as we used to in the public library, with due respect to the library, any and all books on a particular subject. we have to have the last word upon it. accounting is a peculiar subject inasmuch as there are only about four or five authorities--i may be wrong, that is all i could ever find. if anybody knows of any more i should be more than glad of the information. we go largely into economics. we also take up public utilities and reports of county and state governments and city reports. we do some little work in scientific management. i do not think the sympathies of the officials lie very largely in the direction of scientific management, however. everybody there is supposed to know his job and do it. we are very fortunate in not being handicapped for money. we can buy whatever is out, just as soon as it is out, and as many copies as we find it necessary to have. we deal primarily with the accounting department, which includes the statistician's department too, and the executive department. those are two very big departments and they keep us pretty busy all the time. we have quite a file of pamphlets. we do not give as much care to the pamphlets as we do to the books. when we came to the question of cataloging i realized that we had a very big piece of work on our hands, and we were short of help, and it was essential that we have everything up to date just as quickly as we possibly could. so i bought library of congress cards, and it was a very happy inspiration, for we had everything done by sub-headings and everything assigned in about two weeks, and of course that helped considerably. the library is used frequently and primarily by the officials and the directors. the employees of the company have the privilege of coming, and they come often and freely. the comptroller has told me time and time again that he could not measure in actual money value the service the library has given the house and himself primarily. we take all the leading economic and scientific journals and they circulate. i have a list of the names of the various men to whom they go. i tried to have a specified time for their return, but i am sorry to say it did not work out. our desks are all equipped with telephones, so we telephone, and if they can find them they return them. when they cannot find them the oldest office boy, joseph, is enlisted. i think he was the leader of the boy scouts. he knows generally where to get them. i think he says they are generally behind the desks, but in any event we get them, and if they are very badly torn, mutilated or marked, we buy other copies to bind. the leading magazines we bind as soon as the volume is completed. they form the largest part of our reference work. i go over those magazines very carefully and find what i would like to bring out more prominently than in a bound magazine, and we catalog those particular subjects, buy extra copies, put them in the pamphlet file, catalog them and put them in the pamphlet catalog, so that if by any chance the bound volume is out and a particular article is sought, we have it. we find in those two places we can generally meet all the needs of the library. i do not think any of the people of the corporation have really ever become familiar with the actual library side of it. they look upon a shelflist as something fearful and awful, and they do not understand it, but as long as they get what they want when they want it, they seem thoroughly happy. speaking in a quite impersonal way, i think our library is quite a business asset, because i can candidly say that the men who are at the head of our corporation would not tolerate it five minutes if it were not. the vice-president: we were to have a paper by miss abbott of the reference department of the studebaker corporation of south bend, ind. she was hindered, however, in the preparation of this paper, and also from coming to this meeting, but the paper will be furnished later and printed in "special libraries." the vice-president: i would like to inquire whether mr. pack, secretary and comptroller of the toronto electric light company is here. mr. lapp: mr. chairman, i have a letter from mr. pack which i wish to read. when mr. pack was asked to be present at this meeting he said he would write his views at least, if he could not come. he has written a general statement of his belief in the special library. (mr. lapp here read the letter which is available at the office of secretary.) mr. marion: may i ask whether miss tutt, who is present, i think, might not have something to say in relation to the automobile library, inasmuch as she is actively representing miss elizabeth abbott here? miss tutt: mr. chairman, i scarcely feel prepared to say anything about her library, particularly as an automobile library, for i do not know that she has done anything especially in the automobile work of her library, her work taking up all lines. her work has grown to such an extent that she told me just a day or two before i left that she really did not know but that they would have to get another name for it; she had not as yet found anything in the corporation that she had not been called upon to do, so that she was at a loss to know just what it was that she was expected to do. it has developed wonderfully and very satisfactorily. it has been up-hill work, as you all know. the corporation has changed hands, gone into various companies, come back again, and she had it all to meet and arrange. all that work and all the papers and records have just simply piled up, are all being sorted out now, indexed and put in order. she is doing a wonderful work. the other institutions there in south bend are watching very closely her work and i think it will be but a short time before the other factories will be following suit; but so far as the automobile part is concerned, there is nothing any more special in that than in any other line of work that she has done; that is to say, nothing that i know of. the vice-president: i am going to ask mr. marion, our secretary, who is at the head of a technical library, to take part in this discussion. mr. marion: i must say, as one of the other speakers, that i have not prepared a paper, believing that in such an assemblage of essayists and discussers it would not be impossible to find some very good material from which to talk extemporaneously. i have not been disappointed. two or three points i will mention in what may be only a rambling discussion, but they may be worth while to some of you. mr. handy mentioned in a passing way only the entrance of a large number of college men into business today. i do not think he put the matter nearly strong enough. it is this very entrance of well-educated men into business, rather than coming in through the long process of experience, entering, that is, half way up the scale of life, equipped with a fine technical training, making them already professional men, as the physician steps into the community a professional man, that has forced business to equip itself along a little different line. it seems to me this is one of the great telling reasons why more and more special libraries are going to be built up in manufacturing concerns and industrial plants; for with these men coming in, they do not come as mechanics wanting a plane, a saw or a hammer; they come primarily wanting books and nothing else. they have been trained to the ample use of books for four and sometimes six years previous to their entrance to business, and to take books away from them would be like taking the plane or saw or hammer away from the carpenter. so these men must be provided for, and i think that is one of the chief causes that is compelling business to adopt libraries. regarding the type of librarian that is required for administering this sort of a library, i think enough emphasis has not been put upon the keen aliveness which is required in these people, if i may be pardoned for saying so, in comparison to those who are employed in public institutions, where the term of office is likely to run anyway for a year. in business, we have to make good, and to make good seriously, daily. our reputation is at stake every time a question is asked. then it seems to me there is no opportunity for the quiet type of librarian who would like short hours and the freedom to come and go at leisure. it requires primarily some one of tireless vitality and one who is ready to sacrifice himself to build up not only the efficiency of his own department, but to support other departments when they may be overworked. this brings me to the point of the preparation for special librarianship. i question very much whether the librarian who is prepared through the regular source of supply, the library school, today, is going to become just the type of person to take up this special library work. it seems to me the more i consider it that a great many of the most successful special librarians are those who have grown up through business, at least to a certain degree, and have taken on the library training in their own quiet moments. if this is the case, would it be worth while for the library schools to consider a list of special libraries where candidates for their certificates or diplomas might go to spend a fraction of their summer vacation in actual special library work and receive credit in their schools toward their diplomas? i think that that might be worked out with more careful thought. mr. morton mentioned the fact that the statistics of the library do not show up against the operating department, the manufacturing department, etc. i want to say that with the arthur d. little, inc., library, we are now obliged to pass in time slips. in other words, the library has been put upon a par with the other departments, the chemical, the research and the engineering departments, and at the end of every month we are given an opportunity to show what we have done in the way of results. if there has been a quiet month of course there will be little put in the way of service, in time, but the time slips show and it is up to the library to maintain its standing, to show just what it has done during the month in actual time, because with a concern of the nature of ours, which is a consulting and engineering corporation, time is a great element. mr. handy touched upon that, but not half emphatically enough. in the insurance library i am sure he does not appreciate it. the monthly report is based primarily on the time spent on different problems, and these time slips are all assorted and tabulated against special pieces of work which are generally known in an engineering organization by what is called a job number; and so the librarian's time is now being accounted for in the same way that that of the head of the research department is being accounted for. it seems to me that that is a step in advance and indicates progress. it occurred to me to say to you that while i have been here at this conference i have received application for another membership, so that while we came with , we now have members. the metropolitan life insurance company have requested their librarian to become a member of this association, so that we grow daily. mr. brigham has called my attention to the fact that it ought to be brought out forcibly here how necessary it is for every one of you people, no matter what part of the country you may go to, to bring to the attention of this association officially, either through the secretary or the president, the birth of every such library that you may know of. business does not know us. we know business of course, but until this association has had a much wider publicity campaign than we have been able with our meager means to give it, business cannot come to us and cannot get the help that we can give it. if, then, when you go to your respective places, you would be alive to the creation of every special library in your part of the country, and when you know of a collection of books where a librarian might be necessary, you would bring it to our attention, we would write them and tell them of the service that we can render them. i think the thing that has impressed me most in the discussion that has gone on just now is the fact that the company that employs miss dobbins has three special libraries. that is unique, it seems to me, that one corporation should employ three special libraries; not merely one, but a library for the legal department, another for the accounting department and a third for the engineering department. that it seems to me represents a pretty high development of the special library idea. miss dobbins: may i just interrupt a moment to say that i too submit a report at the end of every month. it was my own suggestion, for i wanted the company to know that we were doing something, and we would possibly be lost sight of in such an enormous place. so i sent in a report, very brief, just giving the number of books circulated in the various departments, the number of pamphlets and the reference work done. they said they were very glad to get it, and that it put us on a working basis. the vice-president: before opening a more general discussion i would like to have the secretary make a few announcements regarding certain things of interest. mr. marion: i have here a bound volume of "special libraries" that all may see everything that has been published to date. i think it would be of interest to some of you who are not familiar with its contents. we also have for sale, if any one cared to purchase them, three copies of volume complete. then we have for distribution to any who might care for it, "the earning power of chemistry," which is written by mr. little, the president of the concern which i serve. as you know, mr. little is, today, one of the foremost industrial chemists in this country, if not in the world. he is also this year, by a very fortunate circumstance, it seems to me, president of the american chemical society. i say fortunate because this year america is entertaining the international congress of applied chemistry that meets in washington and new york in september. this is a review to convince the business man of the usefulness of chemistry in solving his everyday problems. it is a reprint of a free public lecture delivered to the business men of indianapolis last june. it is simply a talk upon business from another angle. in the same way mr. handy's talk is equally strong, it seems to me, from the library standpoint. we have also for sale here, should any one care to purchase it, the city planning bibliography which was published as the may issue of "special libraries." it is cents a copy. this was compiled by harvard university and the library of congress. i have a few copies left of "the library as an adjunct to industrial laboratories," a paper which i submitted originally to the american chemical society at its boston meeting, and describing in minute detail my own personal library. it may be of interest to some and you are welcome to it if any of you wish to take it away. mr. handy: i was particularly interested in mr. marion's discussion, and in one suggestion more especially, that the library school might specialize somewhat more along the lines of special library work. while i think that might well be brought up as a subject of discussion this evening, i should like to say just now that it seems to me, in the first place, that there is a great dearth of properly prepared assistants to do the kind of work that is needed in the special library. i think the libraries that specialize in business library work have found that to be true, and that these library schools in general are not particularly adapted to meet that requirement. it occurs to me, then, that it might be possible for special libraries, possibly through the co-operation of the american library association, to get the library schools of the country, at some time in their course, to offer a more specialized course which could be taken by those students who intend to specialize in library work, and that in that course an attempt be made to develop the special library attitude, which is absolutely and wholly different from the general library attitude, toward the subjects handled. it seems to me that several exceedingly good things could come of it. in the first place, if the library schools would do for special libraries as they do for general libraries, that is, if they would select a certain number of libraries, which measure up to certain standards, throughout the country, and assign pupils to those libraries, with the understanding that before they could be qualified they would have to measure up to a certain standard; then a student who spent a certain amount of time in such a library would receive credit for special library work in the library course, exactly the same as students do now in general library work. then i think you would find that you would get, in the first place, more specialized students; in the second place, i think you would lift the plane of special library work immensely, you would lift it to a much higher plane of professionalism and you would find that your directors and your people who pay the money to support these libraries would vie with one another to be qualified by the leading library schools in the country, and i think that in itself would be an inducement to a good many halting business concerns to support, as they are not supporting now, their libraries; they would see the advertising value of being endorsed by the leading library schools in the country, if they did not see anything else, and they would pay the money necessary to bring their own libraries up to that degree of efficiency. on the other hand, it seems to me that the special library is offering an exceptionally interesting field to young women going into library work, and that the library schools as at present organized are not pointing the way to them as they should; and possibly the library schools are not in a position to do it. i did not mean to consider this at this point, but i do think that is one of the subjects that might be seriously considered now or this evening, and, if necessary, a committee appointed to go over the whole subject, and possibly co-operate with the american library association or the library schools, whichever might be necessary, to bring it to a focus. the vice-president: it might be of interest to know that in simmons we have a library school which appoints special courses with a view to fitting women especially for economic and business library work. do you desire, mr. handy, to put your suggestion in the form of a motion now or later? mr. handy: my motion, then, would be this, that the subject of co-operation between the library schools and the special libraries, with the aim of preparing students especially for special library work, be taken up at the conference this evening. (carried) the vice-president: before we take up any further discussion, out of respect to the chairman of the municipal year book committee, i wish to ask for a report from that joint committee, of which mr. ranck is chairman. mr. ranck: i can only report progress again. i had hoped to be able to report something very definite at this time. our committee had a meeting in new york in june, after the pasadena meeting, at which time there were present mr. baker, the editor of "engineering news;" professor hart of harvard; professor rowe of the university of pennsylvania; mr. woodruff of the national municipal league, dr. whitten of the new york public service library and myself. i think that includes all of the persons who were present. the committee discussed first of all what should be included in a municipal year book, and as a result of that discussion, which lasted three hours, in the city club, mr. woodruff was delegated to take up with certain publishing houses the project of putting this thing through. i have had several letters from mr. woodruff within the last few months, or weeks, on this subject, and he hoped to have a definite announcement ready for this meeting. the delay has been on account of the fact that the head of one of the publishing houses, the one that seemed most favorable toward this project, and a publishing house that is in the business of making year books and encyclopedias, was in europe, and so mr. woodruff could not get that thing put through. however, he is in hopes that it may be put through almost any day. i may say that thus far the prospects of our having for the cities of the united states and canada an american municipal year book, are altogether favorable. the vice-president: do you wish the committee to be continued? mr. ranck: i think we have this in hand and that perhaps we might continue it. the vice-president: this committee has rather a unique function anyway. it speaks for both the state libraries and the special libraries associations, a joint committee. mr. ranck: and there was brought into it the national municipal league and several others. the vice-president: doubtless the national municipal review will contain in time notes of the proceedings of that committee, so that the members will be informed. could it not be done that way? mr. ranck: as soon as the thing is definitely decided i will notify the secretary. the vice-president: yes, but i mean it would be available for any one to read in the national municipal review which appears from time to time. mr. ranck: probably, yes. if i may be permitted, i should like to say a word about another matter that was under discussion this afternoon. i was very much interested in what was said about present engineering training and the kind of training of men who are going into business, in their use of books, and their demand on libraries. a few weeks ago i had the privilege of going through one of the largest electric lamp factories in the country, one of whose branches has people employed, and i was particularly interested in the corps of professional men. i went there to visit a friend of mine who is a physical engineer. he was a professor at the university of pennsylvania, was afterward at the head of the department of physics in one of our state institutions, and was taken from that into this concern, and within the last three years that concern has engaged, i think, four or five doctors of philosophy, four or five men who have been professors in technical schools, and they are going at that business altogether different from the rule of thumb method; and that type of men who are accustomed to use books and who do use them are coming into demand more and more. one thing my friend said, that impressed me very much, was this, that in going about to a number of engineering schools, cornell, the state college of pennsylvania and several others, he has been talking to the boys taking engineering courses, of the chances and opportunities for going into that sort of work. these companies are after technically trained men from the colleges and universities and they send men like him out to talk to the boys and try to get them to come into their works. another thing he emphasized, and which i think we must keep in our mind all the time--it is a thing we emphasize as librarians of the public libraries, but it has a bearing in the work of this organization as well--he said he was telling the boys at cornell and those other engineering schools that while engineers have to deal with things, they have to know science; yet that more than half of the problems of the average engineer are problems of men rather than problems of things. in other words, that the humanities must be studied; that you must know sociology--that was referred to here this afternoon--and economics, just as much as chemistry and business and all that sort of thing. in short the two must go together. mr. g. w. lee: mr. chairman, you have a question box there which has been forgotten all about, and i am not very sorry. the vice-president: no, i haven't. i am going to put it in for discussion, the whole thing. mr. lee: there were no questions, i think, except the question box. i should like to question that. there ought to be some machinery at these conferences for introducing the new members; some method by which we can all let it be known what we especially want to know; some way to meet the people that have this information. now, what i want to say about the question box is that it seems to me that the special libraries association might introduce a circular that tells about the next conference of the american library association, and could put in a little slip saying, "please send to headquarters a statement of what you want to know, what is your specialty." it would help immensely. people come here to get some information; they want to know about filing photographs, about dry-goods libraries and so on, and we ought to make it possible for them to get something out of the convention without trying too hard. the vice-president: i think mr. lee has raised a very natural question. i have talked with some of the older members of the american library association, and it seems to be the feeling that we have lost something since we have grown so large. with eight hundred members, it is almost impossible to know every one personally, as it was when there were only a couple of hundred in attendance at the meetings. the new york library meeting in september will bring together as many people as used to come to the american library association meetings ten or fifteen years ago. i do not see any way out of it except to follow some definite method from headquarters so that the american library association itself can arrange the matter. it is not a matter of hospitality necessarily, but oftentimes the stranger within our gates is the one that suffers in these respects. after you have been to three or four conventions you enjoy yourself, but the first year it is difficult to know people. mr. morton: i should like to offer a suggestion with regard to the difficulty of the newer members getting to know the older ones. i find out that the way to get acquainted is to pitch in and do some work. then they have to know you. i would therefore suggest putting the younger members on the various committees and make them work and work hard; then they will come to know people. the vice-president: you have brought up a very important point, and that is what we might call the committee system. the system has often failed by being limited to three members. the chairman does the work and sends around to the other members to sign up; or they live at various points of the country and the chairman forgets to do the work or for various reasons fails to report. the way to get the best results is to appoint a committee of one and get the work done by that committee, and if he does not do the work, discharge him and get another person in his place who will do the work. we are suggesting now a re-arrangement of that method by which we can get, i think, better results, in answer to your remarks. mr. marion: i wonder if mr. handy would develop a little the idea that was brought out in a conversation that he held with me some little time ago in boston, in which he pointed out the sort of large opportunities that come to the special librarian, that do not come to the public librarian, and cannot from the very nature of things. mr. handy: i had in mind especially when i was talking with mr. marion a man who at present holds the position of assistant manager in new york of the fire insurance exchange. i think his salary is between six and seven thousand a year. it happens that he is a very bright fellow, and he is taking charge also of evening classes in the new york university school of commerce and accounts, which adds another thousand dollars a year to his salary. i am speaking, in this, simply from the standpoint of salary. he started in as a special librarian. he came into opportunities solely through the close personal contact with superiors who were looking for exactly this kind of advisory and expert service that i tried to emphasize in my paper. of course, he made good in the smaller position, and through making good there got the opportunity to go to new york in the first place, in a position, which while not particularly better than the one he had occupied as librarian, was better in opportunities and much beyond anything that any special library would be likely to offer; and he has so far made good in new york that he has come into the opportunity that i spoke of, and he has the present salary, which of course carries with it responsibilities; but it seems to me it will be a great many years before in general library work one would find an opportunity like that for advancement, because it was all done in about seven or eight years. it is that possibility of getting in close contact with the heads of great industrial organizations and great enterprises, and by making one's self extremely serviceable and valuable there, that makes the special library a particularly promising field either for bright men or bright women. it is not the library service in itself but it is the opportunity of getting into close contact with men who have made great successes in business, and that opportunity, i think, does not come to the general librarian. the person entering the general library must expect that the top of the work is simply the library opportunities themselves, and, of course, they are somewhat limited. a person entering special library work feels that the top is the whole vast industrial or commercial enterprise in which he is engaged, and if he has the adaptability--and that is precisely the thing which we have been trying to emphasize as necessary in library work,--he naturally, as time goes on, sees the field of opportunity broadening, and the opportunity comes for him to step out of the more restricted into the larger, more active field. i know another person who received a very interesting offer, with a considerably larger salary and greater executive responsibilities, due entirely to the fact that he had made good in special library work; to the fact that that work brought him into contact with superiors who were able to help him into a broader opportunity. i think that is well worth emphasizing for either men or women interested in this meeting. mr. lapp: just that fact is the reason why we should have some means of training special librarians. the good men are being drawn off so rapidly that it is impossible for the demand to be supplied, and i am glad that the question of training librarians is coming up, and i hope that when it does come up we shall have some provision made for a committee that will work out a complete scheme in co-operation with the american library association and the library schools for the training of special librarians. but right there we should also emphasize the fact that it is not merely the librarians that should be trained, but we should train the directors of the establishments, and it ought to be emphasized in all special library work that there is a difference. i would agree with many who have spoken before, that the director of an establishment need not necessarily be a person trained in library work, although a person trained in library wok could make a good success of it if he also had an insight into the business. but i would emphasize the fact that we need a training for directors of establishments and we also need a special training for librarians and assistants. it is a great deal in the library world as it is in the college world, that the men who become really worth while as college professors, in the commercial departments at least, and in the engineering departments, unless they have a taste for the teaching work which would prevent their leaving it, do not stay very long in the business of teaching, and the college must continually recruit new men, and that is a difficulty that is going to confront the special libraries association and people who are establishing special libraries, more and more. i believe that if the number of concerns today that ought to have special libraries and would profit wonderfully by them, were to attempt to get special librarians or directors of departments, they would fail completely and the whole movement would go to the bad, simply because you could not supply the people who would be competent for the work. the same thing is true of municipal reference departments. it is unfortunate if they are established and men who are not qualified are put in charge. the same thing is true of legislative reference departments. we might better wait for years rather than establish them before we can put them in charge of people who appreciate the work to be done, and who have the ability to do it. so that i think our big problem is to keep the special library movement from growing too fast for us to supply the men and women who can do the work; and i would emphasize again that we need two or three different kinds of training; one for those who are to have general direction of the work, for those who are to do the actual work on the library side, and also for the assistant side. mr. lee: one difference is that in the public library you are being asked questions all the time, and in the special library you are being asked questions two-thirds of the time, and the other third you ask questions yourselves, so you get the benefit of variety; part of the time you are a student, and the rest of the time you are a librarian, and there is that stimulating, broadening effect, and to me it has been a very uplifting effect. mr. morton: mr. marion spoke of the training of the librarian, also mr. lapp and one or two others. i do not know whether our position is particularly unique, but some months ago i lost my assistant, and instead of going to a library man i considered myself extremely fortunate to get a man who was a graduate chemist, a civil engineer, a mining engineer and a man who had had wide experience in all of those branches. it seems to me that for technical business the practical training in the particular line of business is of far greater value than training in any library system, simply on account of the nature of the information that they are called upon to produce. miss lindholm: i wish to add a word to what mr. lapp has said, to point out the fact that even if we should try to give courses in special library work in the library school, there would not be any teachers in the library school qualified to give these courses, because they would not have the special library experience, and we ourselves are too busy running our special libraries to give the courses, so that it is really a matter quite far in the future, i should think. last spring i read in the library journal a very good article on a course for legislative reference librarians, but that is the first article of the kind i have ever seen, although i had often thought about it myself. another thing that would help out in trying to give some idea of special library methods to new people, would be for those of us who have gotten our libraries well in hand, our systems, etc., to get up a series of little handbooks on how to organize a financial library, a public utilities library, a legislative reference library and so on, those who are perhaps library school students could use these pamphlets as text-books. this would necessitate our starting in the publishing business and having a publishing board, like the american library association. miss hoagland: i think we should fail in our whole duty toward the library profession, and especially to the profession of the special librarian, if we did not take some account of this growing demand for training in special library work. i think that we appreciate the great difficulty of combination of the technical work that is necessary in library training and the special library field that each might wish to occupy. it has seemed to me that it was possible to make a combination by giving a minimum of library training, and then for students to specialize in some business lines and learn the bibliography of that trade. of course, that is a very difficult operation in the ordinary library school, but i believe there are places in the country where that might be acquired, where many businesses are present, capable of furnishing the libraries, and where students can take, say, three months of technical training, which would include typewriting of records, and then can be sent into the field to learn that field, the school to furnish them the special bibliography for that special work. in that way i believe we could develop a series of libraries that would train for special librarianship. miss miller: there is already one school, the wisconsin school, which gives regular instruction to such students as wish to take up legislative reference work. they are given from one to two months library experience during those two months in the winter when the other members of the class go to the public libraries. they at least get the principles of legislative reference work. the vice-president: if there is no further discussion, we will take up the reports of committees, and the first will be mr. lapp's report, as editor of the publication. mr. lapp: there is very little to report in regard to the publication. it has been issued regularly since january, , and the third volume is now nearly completed. the growth of subscriptions has been gratifying, and the publication has been able to do what was done on the membership which we have had. we hope to have an increased membership, because there are a number of things which we can do. we have now regularly established several sources of information, we are going to have others, and out of those we will publish, i think, a better, more useful magazine the coming year than we have in the past. we have a connection with the library of congress by which a special bibliography is furnished every month upon some obscure question. we have a connection with the new york public library by which we receive municipal documents. we have a connection with the public utilities committee by which we will have public utility references and the others, insurance references and so on. the publication will issue also some special bibliographies such as the one that was issued recently on city planning. it will take up certain others and publish them as means permit. the main thing i want to ask as editor of "special libraries" is that the editor should receive co-operation from persons connected with the association. this is a co-operative enterprise and every one should co-operate. whenever you know of anything which has happened in your community in the special library interest, or of any publication that does not get into the ordinary sources, furnish that to the editor and it will be scattered over the country through "special libraries." a new system will be organized following this meeting, we hope, by which the country will be divided into districts in each of which there will be one person who will be responsible for that district, and we hope in that way to keep in closer touch. we will also have a representative in the different classes of special libraries so that no one will be left out, and we will get reports from all persons who are representing the different departments in the special libraries, which now number perhaps seven or eight that are active different classes of libraries. i want to ask for suggestions also from the members of the association about things that we want published. i would be glad to receive letters. i do not receive enough of them; and, another thing, i do not receive criticisms. there are many things we would like to know about the publication, many things we would like to learn. we would like to hear from you either one way or the other on the publication. the vice-president: i will call for the report of the committee on public utilities, mr. morton. (mr. morton rendered a brief report which is available in the secretary's office to those who may be interested to see it.) the session then adjourned. fourth (extra) session (monday, july , : p. m.) after an informal interchange of ideas among a small group of people who gathered in the private dining room, the business session, continued from the afternoon, was called to order by vice-president brigham. in view of the small attendance and in order to allow greater publicity the meeting was adjourned to tuesday, july , : a. m. fifth (second joint) session (tuesday, july , : a. m.) the second joint session was attended by the national association of state libraries, the american association of law libraries and the special libraries association delegates, and was presided over by mr. brigham, vice-president of the special libraries association. the meeting was held in the ball room of the chateau laurier. mr. charles j. babbitt of the massachusetts state library read the first paper, entitled "snags, stumbling blocks and pitfalls among the session laws." during the course of his paper mr. babbitt touched upon some very interesting phases of these questions. in the absence of mr. james mkirdy, mr. thomas montgomery, state librarian of pennsylvania, presented his paper, entitled "bill drafting." following this, in the absence of dr. john h. arnold, librarian of the harvard law school, mr. george s. godard read his paper, entitled "the history of the growth and development of the harvard university law library." great regret was expressed at the absence of dr. arnold, who may now be looked upon as the father of law libraries. following this mr. lapp discussed the question of co-operation between legislative reference departments. this address also covered a report upon the same subject as well as a report on legislative reference service. mr. godard followed with general remarks, in which he called attention to the great changes in our present social life, brought about by improvements in our methods of transportation, so that now our view point is so much broader that in the drawing of bills we can no longer overlook what other states are doing, hence the great necessity for co-operation and wider knowledge in this field. he reviewed briefly the work of the law reporting company and tried to point out how service such as they had rendered might be made practical. he appealed for a national legislative information bureau, and he questioned whether this could ever be brought about by co-operation, but rather insisted that it must be a definitely established service run for profit or subsidized by government support. the chairman called attention to the library law abstracts which are probably present in every state library in one form or another. in these abstracts minute subjects are touched upon which are difficult to get at. the material usually exists only in carbon form. as a result of an interview with a commercial concern, the chairman found that with the use of the multigraph this firm would agree to furnish three hundred copies for $ . a folio with $ . for composition and general work. this would mean on a thirty folio, a total of $ . for an issue of three hundred copies. he suggested that such material be sent to a central agency and believed that such a scheme could be worked out successfully. mr. babbitt called attention to several interesting instances where the assistance of such a scheme would have been invaluable in furthering greater publicity for material which was only found through co-operation among the state libraries. dr. clement w. andrews believed that this sort of work should be done at the american library association headquarters and thought with competent operators this was the most practical way to have it done. he also called attention to the fact that the illinois state bankers association had asked the john crerar library to undertake an analysis of the state banking association publications. he offered to send circulars covering that work to any state or law libraries that might find them of usefulness. mr. d. n. handy of the insurance library association of boston spoke in regard to the recently organized legislative bureau of the national board of fire underwriters. one of the chief functions of this bureau will be to bring together an abstract card index of the laws in the various states in the country bearing on fire insurance. recently the association of life insurance presidents has completed a card index abstract of the laws bearing on life insurance, comprising something like four thousand cards. mr. godard offered further discussion which he finally followed with a motion to the effect "that our committee on resolutions prepare suitable resolution directed to congress, endorsing the bill now before congress looking toward the permanent establishment of a legislative bureau at washington and expressing our hope that it may be established in the very near future, and at the same time expressing our willingness to co-operate in any way that we can." mr. montgomery, as chairman of the committee on resolutions then offered several resolutions.[ ] [ ] these resolutions will be found in full in the proceedings of the national association of state libraries, which will be printed by that association. mr. johnson brigham of iowa then opened up the discussion of the relation between state libraries and legislative reference bureaus, to which mr. montgomery replied. general discussion followed in which several told of the actual working relations between these two jurisdictions in their several states. the meeting adjourned at : p. m. sixth (business) session (tuesday, july , : p. m.) at the close of the second joint session, a business meeting of the special libraries association was called to order by vice-president herbert o. brigham in the ball room of the chateau laurier. the vice-president: the first business is the report of the secretary-treasurer. mr. marion: the membership has increased, from september, , from members, until june, , to members, which is an increase of thirty per cent. the bulletin has increased in pages from to . the financial situation seems to be very satisfactory. we have a cash balance of $ . . there seems to be an increased call for special librarians in heretofore unknown fields. the following statement indicates the condition of the treasury as of the date given: special libraries association july , . financial statement of the books as of the above date. =receipts= cash on hand sept. , $ . membership fees and subscriptions . sale of back numbers . sale of reprints, bibliographies, etc. . advertising . ------- ------- $ . =expenditures= rent of hall at new york meeting . stenographic work of new york meeting . postage, telegrams, express, etc. . storage cabinet for editor's office . indexing of volume . printing . bank exchange . . ------- ------- july , , cash on hand $ . accounts receivable . accounts payable no bills rendered guy e. marion, treasurer. on motion of mr. montgomery the report was received. the chairman: the report of the executive board of the special libraries association is brief. it is proposed during the coming year to readjust as far as possible the committee system and substitute therefor representatives for certain sections of the country, so that the persons who represent those sections shall be responsible for the part in which they are located. it is entirely a matter for the board. i think that will be the extent of their report, in brief, and i will now call for the report of the nominating committee, mr. lee. mr. lee: the nominating committee respectfully submits the following list of officers for the ensuing year: president: d. n. handy, boston. vice-president: r. h. johnston, washington. secretary-treasurer: g. e. marion, boston. executive board: officers ex-officio: o. e. norman, chicago; florence spencer, new york. there being no counter nominations, on motion, the secretary cast a ballot for the association, and the chair declared the nominees elected for their respective offices. mr handy: will it be in order now to take up the matter of special education for the special training of library assistants? the chairman: that comes under the head of new business, which we are now taking up. you are quite in order. mr. handy: i would make a motion that a committee of three be appointed by the president, upon the training of special librarians, with instructions to report upon this matter at the next annual meeting. the motion was seconded by mr. lapp and carried. upon motion of dr. andrews the meeting adjourned sine die. attendance summaries =by position and sex= men women total trustees o library commissions representatives chief librarians assistants library schools editors of lib. periodicals commercial agents others --- --- --- total =by geographical sections= of the new england states sent " north atlantic states and district of columbia sent " south-eastern states sent " north central states " " south central states " " western states " " pacific states " " canadian provinces " england " japan " --- total =by states= alabama california colorado connecticut delaware district columbia florida georgia illinois indiana iowa kansas kentucky louisiana maine maryland massachusetts michigan minnesota missouri nebraska new hampshire new jersey new york north carolina ohio oklahoma oregon pennsylvania rhode island south dakota texas utah vermont virginia washington west virginia wisconsin =by provinces= alberta british columbia manitoba ontario quebec saskatchewan =foreign countries= england japan --- total =by libraries= libraries having five or more representatives: brooklyn public l. chicago public l. cleveland public l. detroit public l. grand rapids public l. illinois, l. of univ. of indiana state l. john crerar l. library of congress mcgill univ. l. new york public l. new york state l. ottawa public l. pittsburgh carnegie l. st. louis public l. toronto public l. =note=: those who participated in post-conference trip _only_ are not counted in above statistics. attendance register * prefixed to a name indicates participation in post-conference trip on the lower st. lawrence and saguenay rivers. ** prefixed to a name indicates participation in post-conference trip only. abbreviations: f., free; p., public; l., library; ln., librarian; asst., assistant; trus., trustee; ref., reference; catlgr., cataloger; br., branch; sch., school. abbot, etheldred, asst. ln. p. l., brookline, mass. ahearn, mrs. thomas, ottawa, can. *ahern, mary eileen, editor "public libraries," chicago, ill. *alexander, w. h., asst. ln. assn. of the bar, new york city. *alexander, mrs. w. h., new york city. allin, eugenia, organizer ill. l. ex. commission, decatur, ill. *anderson, mrs. c. n., detroit, mich. anderson, edwin h., asst. director p. l., new york city. anderson, john r., bookseller, new york city. *anderson, margaret m., asst. p. l., detroit, mich. anderson, robert b., asst. ln. harvard law l., cambridge, mass. andrews, clement w., ln. john crerar l., chicago, ill. andrus, gertrude e., supt. child. dept., seattle, wash. *anthony, grace f., new york city. arbique, georgette, asst. p. l., ottawa, can. archer, frances r., ln. p. l., talladega, ala. arms, jessie l., st asst. catlgr., univ. of iowa, iowa city, ia. *askew, sarah b., organizer p. l. commission, trenton, n. j. ault, a. w., trus. p. l., ottawa, can. austen, willard, asst. ln. cornell univ. l., ithaca, n. y. austen, mrs. willard, ithaca, n. y. ayer, clarence w., ln. p. l., cambridge, mass. babbitt, charles j., asst. state l., boston, mass. baer, harriet irene, hebrew institute br., p. l., chicago, ill. bailey, arthur l., ln. wilmington inst. f. l., wilmington, del. baker, charlotte a., ln. state agric. coll., fort collins, colo. baker, herbert w., ottawa, can. baker, mary n., ln. p. l., elwood, ind. ball, fanny d., ln. central high sch., grand rapids, mich. *banks, mary, ln. p. service l. of n. j., newark, n. j. banton, t. w., trus. p. l., toronto, can. barickman, mrs. rena m., ln. p. l., joliet, ill. *barnett, claribel r., ln. u. s. dept. of agric., washington, d. c. barnett, j. davis, sec'y-treas. p. l., stratford, ont. barnstead, winifred g., asst. catalog dept. p. l., toronto, can. barry, may h., asst. geological survey l., ottawa, can. *bascom, elva l., editor a. l. a. booklist, madison, wis. bates, helen c., chief order dept. p. l., detroit, mich. bates, mary r., asst. ln. univ. of vt., burlington, vt. baxter, miss, asst. ln. p. l., london, ont. beatty, alma, ln. p. l., pembroke, ont. beer, william, ln. howard mem. l., new orleans, la. *bell, madelene m., senior asst. child. dept. f. p. l., worcester, mass. bergman, f. w., mgr. chateau laurier, ottawa, can. bergold, bertha r., asst. lincoln l., springfield, ill. bergold, mrs. e., springfield, ill. berry, ethel i., n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. billingsley, mary p., asst. ln. state l., topeka, kas. black, mary j. l., ln. p. l., fort william, ont. blackwelder, paul, asst. ln. p. l., st. louis, mo. *blanchard, grace, ln. p. l., concord, n. h. bligh, harris h., ln. supreme court l., ottawa, can. bliss, robert p., asst. sec'y f. l. commission, harrisburg, pa. blodgett, evelyn m., catlgr. state l., montpelier, vt. bogle, sarah c. n., director training sch. for children's lns., carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. booth, mary j., ln. state normal sch. l., charleston, ill. borchard, edwin m., law ln. l. of congress, washington, d. c. borresen, lily m. e., ln. p. l., two harbors, minn. bostwick, andrew linn, technical ln. p. l., st. louis, mo. bostwick, arthur e., ln. p. l., st. louis, mo. bostwick, mrs. a. e., st. louis, mo. bowerman, george f., ln. p. l., washington, d. c. *bowker, r. r., editor "library journal," new york city. *bowker, mrs. r. r., stockbridge, mass. boyd, anne m., ln. james millikin univ., decatur, ill. boyd, edward j., mgr. cassell co. ltd., toronto, can. boyd, mrs. w. p., arthur, ill. boyle, gertrude m., asst. catalog dept. p. l., toronto, ont. brandenburg, s. j., ln. miami univ. l., oxford, o. brett, william h., ln. p. l., cleveland, o. *briggs, walter b., ln. trinity coll., hartford, conn. *briggs, mrs. walter b., hartford, conn. brigham, herbert o., ln. state l., providence, r. i. brigham, johnson, ln. state l., des moines, ia. *brown, alice harris, ln. kingsbridge br., p. l., new york city. brown, demarchus c., ln. state l., indianapolis, ind. brown, geo. a., chairman carnegie p. l., campbellford, ont. brown, walter l., ln. p. l., buffalo, n. y. browning, eliza g., ln. p. l., indianapolis, ind. brydone, william, trus. p. l., clinton, ont. bryson, dr. mary, ottawa, can. bucher, mrs. e. a. sherwood, asst. u. s. dept. of agric. l., washington, d. c. bulmer, jeanie n., ln. y. w. c. a., new york city. burpee, lawrence j., ottawa, can. burpee, mrs. l. j., ottawa, can. *burr, clara j., rocky hill, conn. burrell, hon. martin, minister of agriculture, ottawa, can. burrell, mrs. martin, ottawa, can. butler, h. l., am. law l., new york city. butters, mary t., ln. p. l., niagara falls, ont. byam, c. a., chairman p. l., new liskeard, ont. calder, mrs. mary e., ln. p. l., fenelon falls, ont. caldwell, clara a., asst. p. l., cleveland, o. caldwell, lena e., ln. p. l., flint, mich. *calhoun, alexander, ln. p. l., calgary, alta. *calhoun, marion, asst. ln. geological survey l., ottawa, can. *calhoun, mrs. r. c., ottawa, can. cameron, a. w., ex-pres. ont. l. assn., woodstock, ont. carey, miriam e., organizer p. l. com., st. paul, minn. carr, henry j., ln. p. l., scranton, pa. carr, mrs. henry j., scranton, pa. carson, w. o., ln. p. l., london, ont. carswell, f. edina, toronto, can. carswell, r., law book publisher, toronto, can. carswell, mrs. r., toronto, can. carter, bertha, asst. catlg. dept. state l., indianapolis, ind. casey, magdalen, ln. archives l., ottawa, can. caswell, e. s., sec'y-treas. p. l., toronto, can. champion, miss j. h., ln. p. l., sault ste. marie, ont. chapin, artena m., ln. a. k. smiley p. l., redlands, cal. chapman, effie louise, ln's sec'y, p. l., seattle, wash. charlton, miss m. r., ln. medical l., mcgill univ., montreal, can. charlton, ruby, n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. charteris, dr. c. r., pres. ontario l. assn., chatham, ont. chase, kate b., asst. p. l., chicago, ill. cheney, george n., ln. court of appeals l., syracuse, n. y. cheney, mrs. george n., syracuse, n. y. chidester, maud, children's ln. p. l., evanston, ill. chipman, frank e., managing director boston book co., boston, mass. chivers, cedric, bookbinder, brooklyn, n. y. clapp, clifford b., catlgr. dartmouth coll. l., hanover, n. h. *clark, mrs. george edward, skaneateles, n. y. clark, geo. l., state l., lansing, mich. clark, mrs. g. l. lansing, mich. clarke, edith e., head catlgr. syracuse univ. l., syracuse, n. y. *clarke, elizabeth p., ln. seymour l. auburn, n. y. *clayton, reta, ocean grove, n. j. cleavinger, john s., ln. p. l., jackson, mich. cleland, ethel, asst. & catlgr. leg. ref. dept., state l., indianapolis, ind. *clement, caroline b., asst. p. l., manchester, n. h. climie, janet, asst. p. l., listowel, ont. climie, lillie, ln. p. l., listowel, ont. cobb, edith h., asst. f. p. l., new bedford, mass. *cochran, mary r., ln. walnut hills br., p. l., cincinnati, o. colby, adah m., supt. of branches and apprentices, p. l., brooklyn, n. y. colegrove, mrs. mabel e., heermance mem. l., coxsackie, n. y. *cotter, minnie b., ln. p. l., derby, conn. *craig, jennie a., custodian english seminar, univ. of ill., urbana, ill. craver, harrison w., ln. carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. craver, mrs. h. w., pittsburgh, pa. crevecoeur, p. b. de, ln. fraser institute, montreal, can. crocker, mary, chief open shelf dept. p. l., st. louis, mo. **crosby, caroline r., milford, n. h. crossley, f. b., ln. northwestern univ. law l., chicago, ill. cruikshank, d. p., mngr. library bureau, ottawa, ont. cruikshank, mrs. d. p., ottawa, ont. cunningham, jesse, municipal ref. ln. p. l., st. louis, mo. curtiss, frances, asst. p. l., detroit, mich. cutter, annie s., supervisor sch. dept., p. l., cleveland, o. cutter, w. p., ln. engineering societies l., new york city. cuttle, a. h., chairman l. board, collingwood, ont. cuttle, mrs. m. a., collingwood, ont. *dakin, maude i., asst. l. of congress, washington, d. c. dale, dorethea p., asst, p. l., cleveland, o. *dame, katharine, instructor n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. daout, emilieu, vice-pres. librarie beauchemin, montreal, can. datz, h. r., library bureau, new york city. davis, eva, asst. p. l., toronto, can. *davis, georgia s., asst. p. l., grand rapids, mich. davis, mary i., st asst. carnegie west br., p. l., cleveland, o. davis, mary l., ln. p. l., troy, n. y. davis, orlando c., ln. p. l., waltham, mass. davison, mrs. hannah p., ln. p. l., san diego, cal. decelles, alfred d., ln. of parliament, ottawa, can. dewar, a. f., ottawa, can. **dewey, mrs. melvil, lake placid club, n. y. dice, j. howard, n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. *dickerson, l. l., ln. iowa college l., grinnell, ia. *dill, maude, decatur, ill. dinsmoor, kate e., head catlgr. state l., topeka, kas. *dinsmore, lucy c., ln. walker br., p. l., minneapolis, minn. *dobbins, elizabeth v., ln. am. tel. & tel. co., new york city. doren, electra c., dayton, o. dougan, alice m., n. y. state l., albany, n. y. *dougherty, anna r., chief art dept., f. l., philadelphia, pa. dougherty, harold t., ln. sayles mem. l., pawtucket, r. i. *dougherty, helen r., philadelphia, pa. dow, mary e., ln. p. l., saginaw, mich. **drury, miss c. k., new brunswick, n. j. *drury, f. k. w., asst. ln. univ. of ill., urbana, ill. *drury, mrs. f. k. w., urbana, ill. **drury, mrs. j. b., new brunswick, n. j. drysdale, sara e., head circ. dept., p. l., ottawa, can. dudgeon, m. s., sec'y wis. f. l. com., madison, wis. duefel, jennie, p. l., decatur, ill. dunham, b. mabel, ln. p. l., berlin, ont. durfee, jennie t., decatur, ill. dwight, edith c., ln. ont. agric. college l., guelph, ont. eakins, wm. geo., ln. law soc. of upper canada, toronto, can. eaman, mabel, asst. john crerar l., chicago, ill. eastman, linda a., vice-ln. p. l., cleveland, o. elliott, caroline l., ref. ln. p. l., chicago, ill. *elliott, edith l., clerk democrat printing co., madison, wis. elliott, thos. e., trus. p. l., kenora, ont. ellis, helen, asst. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. *ellis, victoria, ln. p. l., long beach, cal. elmendorf, mrs. h. l., vice-ln. p. l., buffalo, n. y. eno, sara w., ln. stetson univ. l., deland, fla. erb, frederic w., supervisor loan div. and asst. ln., columbia univ. l., new york city. erskine, edith, ln. mark white sq. br., p. l., chicago, ill. estabrooke, mrs. kate c., maine l. commission, orono, me. evans, mrs. alice g., ln. p. l., decatur, ill. fatout, nellie b., pacific br., p. l., brooklyn, n. y. faxon, frederick w., l. mgr., boston book co., boston, mass. faxon, mrs. f. w., boston, mass. *faxon, mrs. marcus, boston, mass. feazel, ernest a., ln. law l., cleveland, o. fellows, jennie d., instructor n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. *fenton, polly, catlgr. p. l., milwaukee. wis. field, o. j., chief clerk dept. of justice, washington, d. c. field, pearl i., sen. asst. p. l., chicago, ill. field, ruth k., asst. p. l., cleveland, o. *fison, herbert w., ln. p. l., malden, mass. *fix, arminda l., walla walla, wash. flexner, jennie m., classifier f. p. l., louisville, ky. ford, eva m., chicago, ill. *forstall, gertrude, asst. catlgr. john crerar l., chicago, ill. foster, consul-general john g., ottawa, can. foster, mrs. j. g., ottawa, can. fuller, george w., ln. p. l., spokane, wash. *furness, margaret, sen. asst., john crerar l., chicago, ill. gamble, wm. b., chief tech. div., p. l., new york city. gay, helen k., ln. p. l., new london, conn. gaylord, h. j., gaylord brothers, syracuse, n. y. geddes, helen c., asst. univ. of ill. l., urbana, ill. george, c. a., ln. p. l., elizabeth, n. j. george, mrs. c. a., elizabeth, n. j. *george, lillian m., catlgr. purdue univ. l., lafayette, ind. gerould, j. t., ln. univ. of minn., minneapolis, minn. gifford, florence m., asst p. l., cleveland, o. gill, anna, asst. p. l., st. louis, mo. glasgow, ellen, richmond, va. *gleason, celia, asst. ln. p. l., los angeles, cal. godard, geo. s., ln. state l., hartford, conn. godard, mrs. geo. s., hartford, conn. goldberg, bessie, head catlgr., p. l., chicago, ill. gooch, harriet b., instructor pratt inst., brooklyn, n. y. goodchild, f. d., publisher, toronto, can. goodchild, mrs. f. d., toronto, can. goodrich, nathaniel l., ln. dartmouth coll., hanover, n. h. gosnell, r. e., dom. mss. com., victoria, b. c. *goss, agnes c., ln. state normal sch. l., athens, ga. *gould, charles h., ln. mcgill univ., montreal, can. grant, d. m., trus. p. l., sarnia, ont. grant, sir james, ottawa, can. grasty, katharine g., ln. eastern high sch. l., baltimore, md. greene, ainslie w., chairman p. l., ottawa, can. greene, chas. s., ln. f. l., oakland, cal. greene, mrs. chas. s., oakland, cal. *greenman, e. d., asst. u. s. bur. of educ. l., washington, d. c. **greenman, mrs. e. m., albany, n. y. **greenman, e. may, asst. state educ. dept., albany, n. y. griggs, lillian, asst. barr br., p. l., st. louis, mo. gymer, rose c., ln. perkins br., p. l., cleveland, o. hadley, chalmers, ln. p. l., denver, colo. hall, bessie g., trav. l. dept., mcgill univ., montreal, can. *hall, drew b., ln. p. l., somerville, mass. **hall, mrs. drew b., somerville, mass. hall, ernest s., ln. p. l., plattsburgh, n. y. hall, mary e., ln. girl's high sch. l., brooklyn, n. y. hamilton, w. j., chairman p. l., fort william, ont. handy, d. n., ln. insurance l. assn., boston, mass. hardenberg, bessie, asst. p. l., scranton, pa. hardy, judge a. d., trus. p. l., brantford, ont. hardy, e. a., sec'y ontario l. assn., toronto, can. *hardy, mary t., asst. ln. p. l., grand rapids, mich. harris, miss a. m., ln. p. l., guelph, ont. harrison, joseph leroy, ln. forbes l., northampton, mass. hartshorn, w. h., maine l. commission, lewiston, me. hasbrouck, mary k., ln. p. l., ogdensburg, n. y. hastings, c. h., chief of card section, l. of congress, washington, d. c. hatton, wm. h., chairman wis. f. l. com., new london, wis. hawkins, eleanor e., head catlgr., p. l., kansas city, mo. hawkins, mrs. w. m., buffalo, n. y. hawley, mrs. joseph r., chicago, ill. *hawley, mary e., asst. catlgr. john crerar l., chicago, ill. *hay, flora n., ref. ln. p. l., evanston, ill. *hayes, ethel m., acting ln., tufts college l., tufts college, mass. hazeltine, mary e., preceptor l. sch. of the univ. of wis., madison, wis. henderson, lucia t., ln. james prendergast f. l., jamestown, n. y. henley, lillian, asst. ref. ln., state l., indianapolis, ind. hepburn, william m., ln. purdue univ., lafayette, ind. *herrick, cate e., new haven, conn. hewins, caroline m., ln. p. l., hartford, conn. hewitt, luther e., ln. law assn., philadelphia, pa. hildreth, eugene w., publisher, boston, mass. *hill, edith m., st asst. st. clair br., p. l., cleveland, o. hill, frank p., ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. hill, grace, n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. (ft. dodge, ia.) *hills, elizabeth c., ln. cobleigh l., lyndonville, vt. hinchey, comptroller edward h., ottawa, can. hirshberg, herbert s., ref. ln., p. l., cleveland, o. hirshberg, mrs. herbert s., cleveland, o. hoagland, merica, director indiana l. sch., indianapolis, ind. hodge, cordelia b., f. l. com., harrisburg, pa. hodge, mrs. j. m., harrisburg, pa. holmden, kate, asst. p. l., ottawa, ont. honeyman, j. r. c., ln. p. l., regina, sask. hookstadt, carl, asst. l. of congress, washington, d. c. hooper, louise m., ln. p. l., brookline, mass. hopkins, jessica, ln. p. l., paducah, ky. hopper, franklin f., ln. p. l., tacoma, wash. *horsfall, elizabeth l., br. ln., f. l., newton, mass. hough, romeyn b., lowville, n. y. houston, charlotte s., asst. mcgill univ. l., montreal, can. hubbard, anna g., order ln., p. l., cleveland, o. hubbell, jane p., ln. p. l., rockford, ill. huestis, a. e., trus. p. l., toronto, can. *hughes, howard l., ln. p. l., trenton, n. j. hunter, adam, ln. p. l., hamilton, ont. huntting, henry r., bookseller, springfield, mass. hutchins, margaret, ref. asst. univ. of ill. l., urbana, ill. *hutchinson, helen, ln. am. medical assn., chicago, ill. hutchinson, susan a., ln. brooklyn inst. museum l., brooklyn, n. y. hyde, sophie, head order dept., univ. of minn. l., minneapolis, minn. *ideson, julia, ln. carnegie l., houston, tex. iles, george, new york city. (trustee hackley school l., tarrytown, n. y.) imai, k., director, p. l., osaka, japan. imhoff, ono mary, asst. ln. legislative ref. dept., madison, wis. imrie, william, ln. p. l., tillsonburg, ont. ingersoll, elizabeth s., supt. order dept., cornell univ. l., ithaca, n. y. inman, grace e., st. asst. f. l., olneyville, r. i. inman, harris w., providence, r. i. *jackson, emeline, asst. p. l., winnipeg, man. *jackson, henrietta, asst. ln. p. l., winnipeg, man. janvrin, charles e., ln. nat. hist. l., univ. of ill., urbana, ill. jardine, isabella, ln. p. l., hespeler, ont. jellinghaus, carl l., asst. editor "library journal," new york city. jenkins, frederick w., ln. n. y. sch. of philanthropy, new york city. jenkins, mrs. f. w., new york city. jennings, judson t., ln. p. l., seattle, wash. jerome, janet, asst. child. ln., p. l., denver, colo. *jessop, edith, columbus, ga. *jewell, agnes h., asst. ln. p. l., adrian, mich. johnson, josephine m., asst. p. l., chicago, ill. johnston, louise, ln. p. l., stratford, ont. johnston, r. h., ln. bur. of railway economics, washington, d. c. jolicoeur, marie e., asst. p. l., ottawa, can. jones, e. kathleen, ln. mclean hospital, waverly, mass. jones, mabel delle, ln. p. l., charleston, w. va. jones, mary l., ln. bryn mawr l., bryn mawr, pa. josephson, aksel g. s., chief catlgr. john crerar l., chicago, ill. josephson, mrs. aksel g. s., chicago, ill. josselyn, lloyd w., ln. univ. club, chicago, ill. jutton, emma r., loan ln. univ. of ill. l., urbana, ill. kaiser, john b., ln. dept. of economics, univ. of ill., urbana, ill. kaiser, mrs. john b., urbana, ill. keator, alfred d., asst. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. keefer, jessie g., asst. p. l., scranton, pa. keith, kate, gen. asst. child. dept. carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. kelso, tessa l., the baker & taylor co., new york. kennedy, annie a., ln. p. l., kingston, ont. kennedy, ellen l., sec'y to ln. p. l., chicago, ill. keogh, andrew, ref. ln. yale univ. l., new haven, conn. kerr, mrs. jessie, ln. p. l., brussels, ont. kerr, willis h., ln. kansas state normal sch., emporia, kas. kerr, mrs. w. h., emporia, kas. kimball, w. c., chairman n. j. p. l. com., passaic, n. j. king, dr. w. f., dominion astronomer, ottawa, can. klingelsmith, mrs. m. c., ln. biddle law l., univ. of pa., philadelphia, pa. koch, theodore w., ln. univ. of mich., ann arbor, mich. koch, mrs. t. w., ann arbor, mich. *koerper, anna c., asst. order div. l. of congress, washington, d. c. kohler, minnie m., ln. p. l., moline, ill. kopp, adeline e., ln. p. l., palmerston, ont. krause, louise b., ln. h. m. byllesby & co., chicago, ill. lagergren, anna c. asst. univ. of chicago, chicago, ill. lamprey, mary l., ln. ames f. l., north easton, mass. lane, harriet, ln. p. l., freeport, ill. lapp, john a., leg. ref. ln., state l., indianapolis, ind. lapp, mrs. john a., indianapolis, ind. larmouth, mrs. l. p., ottawa, can. latham, calhoun, ln. p. l., bridgeport, conn. laurier, sir wilfrid, ottawa, can. law, marie h., asst. carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. lawrence, hannah m., child. ln. p. l., buffalo, n. y. le sueur, dr. w. d., ottawa, can. lease, evelyn s., ln. kellogg-hubbard l., montpelier, vt. ledbetter, mrs. eleanor e., ln. broadway br., p. l., cleveland, o. lee, george w., ln. stone & webster, boston, mass. legler, henry e., ln. p. l., chicago, ill. legler, mrs. henry e., chicago, ill. *lehman, reba f., ln. p. l., hazelton, pa. leitch, harriet e., ln. edgewater sub. br., p. l., cleveland, o. *leslie, eva g., child. ln. p. l., cleveland, o. lewis, eleanor f., head of circ. & ref. depts. northwestern univ. l., evanston, ill. lewis, sarah virginia, st asst. circ. dept. p. l., cleveland, o. *libbie, frederick j., book auctioneer, boston, mass. *libbie, mrs. frederick j., boston, mass. *lindholm, marie f., ln. p. service com., new york city. *ling, katherine g., asst. ref. ln. p. l., detroit, mich. locke, george h., chief ln., p. l., toronto, can. loeffler, olive n., asst. child. dept., carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. lomer, d. a., asst. mcgill univ. l., montreal, can. *loomis, nellie a., ln. p. l., columbus, wis. lovi, henrietta, chief order div., p. l., chicago, ill. *lucht, julius, brooklyn, n. y. lyman, bertha h., ref. ln. p. l., providence, r. i. lyman, edna, story teller and lecturer on children's work, oak park, ill. lyon, frances d., sub. ln. state law l., albany, n. y. mcclelland, e. h., technology ln., carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. mccormick, m. c., asst. l. of parliament, ottawa, can. *mccrum, blanche p., lexington, va. mccurdy, mary de bure, supervisor of sch. div., carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. mccurdy, r. m., ln. mercantile l., cincinnati, o. macdonald, mrs. a. c., ln. p. l., st. thomas, ont. *mcdowell, grace e., ln. winthrop station br., p. l., brooklyn, n. y. mcelroy, annie, asst. p. l., ottawa, ont. macewen, violet m., asst. p. l., westmount, que. macguiness, miss c. l., assn. of the bar l., new york city. mackay, margaret s., head catlgr. mcgill univ. l., montreal, can. mckellar, janet c., ln. p. l., ingersoll, ont. mckillop, samuel a., ln. south side br., p. l., milwaukee, wis. *mclachlan, nancy c., ln. f. p. l., hannibal, mo. mclenegan, chas. e., ln. p. l., milwaukee, wis. mclenegan, mrs. chas. e., milwaukee, wis. *mcloney, ella m., ln. p. l., des moines, ia. macnair, mary w., asst. l. of congress, washington, d. c. macnaughton, prof. john, mcgill univ., montreal, can. manche, hellene, asst. p. l., cleveland, o. mann, b. pickman, bibliographer, washington, d. c. mann, mrs. b. pickman, washington, d. c. mann, margaret, chief catlgr. carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. marion, guy e., ln. arthur d. little, inc., boston, mass. marquand, fanny e., asst. catlgr. p. l., cleveland, o. *martin, mary p., ln. p. l. assoc., canton, o. martyn, a. e., ottawa, can. mason, mrs. anna p., asst. p. l., st. louis, mo. massee, may, head open shelf dept. p. l., buffalo, n. y. masson, annie a., catlgr. p. l., ottawa, can. *matthews, harriet l., ln. p. l., lynn, mass. mears, igerna a., asst. p. l., cleveland, o. *mell, mildred, chief of staff, univ. of ga. l., athens, ga. merrill, wm. stetson, chief classifier, newberry l., chicago, ill. mettee, andrew h., ln. l. company of the bar, baltimore, md. metz, corinne a., ln. brumback l., van wert, o. milam, carl h., sec'y p. l. com., indianapolis, ind. milam, mrs. carl h., indianapolis, ind. millard, alice g., ln. p. l., galt, ont. miller, mrs. a. j., muskegon, mich. miller, lulu f., ln. hackley p. l., muskegon, mich. *miller, zana k., ln. wis. tax com., madison, wis. *moir, elizabeth, ref. ln., p. l., toronto, can. monchow, carrie m., ln. f. l., dunkirk, n. y. monrad, anna m., asst. yale univ. l., new haven, conn. montgomery, thomas l., ln. state l., harrisburg, pa. montgomery, mrs. thomas l., harrisburg, pa. morningstern, wm. b., head tech. dept. f. p. l., newark, n. j. morningstern, mrs. wm. b., newark, n. j. morse, anna l., ln. reuben macmillan f. l., youngstown, o. morton, f. b., philadelphia, pa. *moulton, john g., ln. p. l., haverhill, mass. murray, margaret e., ln. filene ref. l., boston, mass. *myers, frances e., child. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. naughton, jane, watertown, n. y. nichols, albert r., asst. ln. p. l., providence, r. i. norman, o. e., ln. people's gas light & coke co., chicago, ill. norton, mary k., ln. p. l., proctor, vt. nursey, walter r., inspector of libraries, dept. of education, toronto, can. *nutting, geo. e., ln. p. l., fitchburg, mass. *nutting, mrs. geo. e., fitchburg, mass. o'flynn, josephine, instructor of apprentices, p. l., detroit, mich. *ogden, e. lucy, asst. l. of congress, washington, d. c. oko, adolph s., ln. hebrew union college l., cincinnati, o. o'meara, eva j., asst. mcgill univ. l., montreal, can. o'shaughnessy, margaret, principal asst. p. l., chicago, ill. owens, alpha l., asst. john crerar l., chicago, ill. palmer, margaret, ln. p. l., hibbing, minn. *palmer, mary bell, ln. carnegie l., charlotte, n. c., paoli, mrs. minnie b., loan ln. p. l., cleveland, o. parent, dr. r. h., ottawa, can. parker, john, acting ln. peabody institute, baltimore, md. *partch, isa l., asst. p. l., detroit, mich. patten, katharine, ln. minneapolis atheneum, minneapolis, minn. pattengill, henry r., lansing, mich. patterson, j. ritchie, supt. binderies div., p. l., chicago, ill. patterson, mrs. j. r., chicago, ill. *patton, adah, classifier, univ. of ill. l., urbana, ill. peacock, joseph l., ln. memorial & p. l., westerly, r. i. peck, nina a., asst. p. l., cleveland, o. peoples, w. t., ln. mercantile l., new york city. peoples, mrs. w. t., new york city. perley, hon. george h., acting prime minister of canada, ottawa, can. *peters, mary g., ln. f. p. l., bayonne, n. j. *petty, annie f., ln. state normal and indust. coll. l., greensboro, n. c. phelan, john f., supt. dept. of branches, p. l., chicago, ill. phelps, edith allen, ln. carnegie l., oklahoma city, okla. phillips, e. c., oneonta, n. y. phillips, mary e., ex-ln., oneonta, n. y. pillsbury, olive e., ln. davis sq. br., p. l., chicago, ill. plummer, mary w., director l. sch., p. l., new york city. pollard, annie archer, nd asst ln., p. l., grand rapids, mich. poole, franklin o., ln. assn. of the bar l., new york city. porter, w. t., trus. p. l., cincinnati, o. potter, mrs. frederick w., oakland, cal. power, effie l., supervisor of child. work, p. l., st. louis, mo. *pratt, adelene j., asbury park, n. j. *pratt, edna b., organizer p. l., com., trenton, n. j. *preston, nina k., ln. hall-fowler l., ionia, mich. proulx, adelard e., ref. asst. p. l., ottawa, can. putnam, herbert, ln. l. of congress, washington, d. c. quinn, florence, asst. p. l., chicago, ill. *rabardy, etta l., asst. boston atheneum, boston, mass. ranck, samuel h., ln. p. l., grand rapids, mich. *rand, mrs. h. t., boston, mass. randall, bertha t., ln. east liberty br., carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. raney, m. llewellyn, ln. john hopkins univ. l., baltimore, md. *rankin, eliza j., ln. p. l., newark, o. rankin, h. m., chatham, ont. rankin, ina, asst. p. l., new york city. rankin, m. s., chatham, ont rathbone, josephine a., vice-director pratt inst. sch. of l. sci., brooklyn, n. y. rawson, fannie c., sec'y l. com., frankfort, ky. read, eva g., hon. ln. women's can. hist. soc., ottawa, can. reece, ernest j., cleveland, o. reed, amy l., ln. vassar coll. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. **reed, edith. reed, lois a., asst. ln. univ. of rochester l., rochester, n. y. reese, rena, asst. ln., p. l., denver, colo. reid, adelia, asst. ln. state l., lansing, mich. reid, jennie s., ln. p. l., chatham, ont. *reid, marguerite mcq., foreign dept., p. l., providence, r. i. reinick, wm. r., chief pub. doc. dept., f. l., philadelphia, pa. reque, anna c., classifier p. l., chicago, ill. richardson, e. c., ln. princeton univ. l., princeton, n. j. richardson, mabel k., ln. univ. of so. dak., vermillion, s. d. ritchie, hazen, chairman p. l., peterborough, ont. robb, miss m. i., ln. p. l., woodstock, ont. robbins, mary e., ln. & chairman l. faculty, simmons college, boston, mass. roberts, mrs. blanche w., ln. bates college, lewiston, me. *roberts, flora b., ln. p. l., superior, wis. roberts, mary h., order asst. univ. of ill. l., urbana, ill. robertson, j. p., ln. provincial l. of manitoba, winnipeg, man. robertson, dr. james w., c. m. g., ottawa, can. *robinson, helen f., divinity sch. l., philadelphia, pa. robinson, rev. l. m., ln. divinity sch. l., philadelphia, pa. roden, c. b., asst. ln. p. l., chicago, ill. roden, mrs. c. b., chicago, ill. *rolland, anna p., asst. ln. p. l., dedham, mass. rose, grace d., ln. p. l., davenport, ia. ross, l. i., asst. mcgill univ. l., montreal, can. rowe, carrie a., clerk of files, office specialty co., toronto, can. rowell, w. c., rep. of h. w. wilson co., new york city. rule, elizabeth e., asst. ln. p. l., lynn, mass. rush, charles e., ln. p. l., st. joseph, mo. *russ, nellie m., ln. p. l., pasadena, cal. ryan, m. lillian, sen. asst. br. dept., p. l., chicago, ill. sanborn, alice e., ln. wells coll., aurora, n. y. sanborn, henry n., stud. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. sanborn, w. f., ln. p. l., cadillac, mich. sanborn, mrs. w. f., cadillac, mich. sargent, abby l., ln. p. l., medford, mass. sargent, jessie m., st asst. circ. dept., p. l., st. louis, mo. saxe, mary s., ln. p. l., westmount, que. scarth, mrs. w. b., ottawa, can. schenk, frederick w., law ln. univ. of chicago, chicago, ill. schenk, mrs. f. w., chicago, ill. scott, mary mckay, ottawa, can. scott, victoria, ln. p. l., owen sound, ont. *secombe, annabell c., ln. p. l., milford, n. h. seemann, samuel, pittsburgh, pa. settle, geo. t., acting asst. ln. f. p. l., louisville, ky. *sewall, w. f., ln. p. l., toledo, o. *sewall, mrs. w. f., toledo, o. seward, wm. f., ln. p. l., binghamton, n. y. seymour, may, lake placid club, n. y. shattuck, helen b., ln. univ. of vt., burlington, vt. shaw, robert k., ln. f. p. l., worcester, mass. sheaf, edith m., ln. f. l., herkimer, n. y. shearman, edna m., dept. of labor, ottawa, can. sheetz, a. coleman, nd asst. state l., harrisburg, pa. *sheldon, philena r., asst. l. of congress, washington, d. c. shepard, rhoda c., asst. p. l., cleveland, o. sherwood, kittie w., cincinnati, o. shortt, mrs. adam, ottawa, can. *sibley, mrs. mary j., acting ln. and director l. sch., syracuse univ., syracuse, n. y. silverthorn, bessie b., asst. ln. kellogg-hubbard l., montpelier, vt. simms, clara a., asst. sec'y a. l. a., chicago, ill. simpson, mrs. j. b., ottawa, can. sine, clifford, sec'y p. l., gananoque, ont. small, a. j., law ln. state l., des moines, ia. smith, adam f., office specialty mfg. co., toronto, can. smith, arthur b., ln. state agric. coll., manhattan, kan. smith, bessie sargeant, p. l., cleveland, o. smith, mrs. elizabeth, ln. p. l., chadron, neb. smith, elizabeth m., ref. asst. n. y. state l., albany, n. y. smith, elizabeth w., portland, me. smith, frances, chadron, neb. smith, rev. g. l., ln. p. l., forest, ont. smith, geo. dana, ln. fletcher f. l., burlington, vt. smith, jessie f., forest, ont. smith, m. e., trus. p. l., niagara falls, ont. *smith, robert l., asst. ref. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. sneed, mrs. percival, prin. atlanta l. sch., carnegie l., atlanta, ga. snyder, mary b., ln. nelson br., p. l., queens borough, n. y. *solberg, thorvald, reg. of copyrights, washington, d. c. *speck, mrs. laura, asst. p. l., st. louis, mo. spencer, lois a., ln. spies p. l., menominee, mich. spereman, patricia, catlgr., dept. of educ., toronto, can. sperry, helen, ln. silas bronson l., waterbury, conn. *sperry, ruth, waterbury, conn. sprague, joanna h., ln. p. l., salt lake city, utah. sprague, katherine t., buffalo, n. y. sproule, jessie, asst. p. l., ottawa, can. staton, frances m., asst. ref. dept. p. l. toronto, can. steele, elizabeth k., ln. p. l., lorain, o. steiner, bernard c., ln. enoch pratt f. l., baltimore, md. stetson, willis k., ln. f. p. l., new haven, conn. stevens, w. f., ln. carnegie l., homestead, pa. stevenson, luella m., st asst. carnegie f. l., braddock, pa. stewart, mrs. mcleod, ottawa, can. stewart, margaret m., ln. p. l., brockville, ont. stimson, florence, loan desk asst. univ. of cincin. l., cincinnati, o. streeter, margaret e., ln. p. l., muncie, ind. strohm, adam, asst. ln. p. l., detroit, mich. strong, george f., ln. adelbert coll. l., cleveland, o. stuart, w. h., bookseller, philadelphia, pa. stuart, mrs. w. h., philadelphia, pa. sutherland, elizabeth m., ottawa, can. sutton, edith, ln. p. l., smith's falls, ont. *swezey, anne d., ln. p. l., east chicago, ind. *sykes, w. j., ln. p. l., ottawa, can. sykes, mrs. w. j., ottawa, can. talcott, mary k., ln. conn. soc. of colonial dames, hartford, conn. tamblyn, w. w., bowmanville, ont. templeton, charlotte, sec'y p. l. com., lincoln, neb. templeton, mrs. robert, sturgeon bay, wis. thain, mabel a., ln. p. l., oak park, ill. thayer, maude, ln. state l., springfield, ill. thomas, herbert i., ottawa, can. thomas, mrs. herbert i., ottawa, can. thompson, h. f., representative of b. f. stevens & brown, london, eng. thompson, j. david, law ln. columbia univ., n. y. city. thompson, laura a., asst. l. of congress, washington, d. c. thompson, laura e., asst. p. l., grand rapids, mich. thuman, jane e., child. ln. f. p. l., new bedford, mass. thurston, elizabeth p., ln. f. l., newton, mass. thwaites, reuben g., supt. wis. hist. soc., madison, wis. tilton, edward l., architect, new york city. tinkham, mabel, catlgr. and ref. ln. p. l., gary, ind. titcomb, mary l., ln. washington co. f. l., hagerstown, md. tobitt, edith, ln. p. l., omaha, neb. tracey, angie e., asst. ln. p. l., lewiston, me. tremblay, amedee, ottawa, can. turnbull, john, trus. p. l., toronto, can. *turner, louise g., asst. p. l., detroit, mich. *tutt, virginia m., ln. p. l., south bend, ind. tyler, alice s., sec'y iowa l. com., des moines, ia. *underhill, adelaide, assoc. ln. vassar coll. l., poughkeepsie, n. y. *underhill, ethel p., child. ln. f. p. l., worcester, mass. *utley, george b., sec'y a. l. a., chicago, ill. *utley, mrs. george b., chicago, ill. van benschoten, miss m. m., ref. ln. l. assn., portland, ore. van duzee, edward p., ln. grosvenor l., buffalo, n. y. van valkenburgh, agnes, instructor l. sch., a. p. l., new york city. vincent, dr. george e., president univ. of minnesota, minneapolis, minn. wadlin, horace g., ln. p. l., boston, mass. *wagner, eva k., dedham, mass. *wagner, sula, chief catlgr. p. l., st. louis, mo. wales, elizabeth b., sec'y mo. l. com., jefferson city, mo. walker, a. r., ln. p. l., belleville, ont. walker, mrs. a. r., belleville, ont. walter, frank k., vice-dir. n. y. state l. sch., albany, n. y. walter, mrs. frank k., albany, n. y. ward, gilbert o., supervisor of high sch. branches, p. l., cleveland, o. *ward, helen m., ln. scripps br., p. l., detroit, mich. warner, mrs. cassandra w., asst. in charge of loan desk, bryn mawr coll. l., bryn mawr, pa. *warner, nannie m., asst. f. p. l., new haven, conn. watts, irma a., leg. ref. bur., state l., harrisburg, pa. weaver, a. b., buffalo, n. y. *webber, anna louise, ln. silsby l., charlestown, n. h. weber, jessie palmer, ln. ill. state hist. l., springfield, ill. webster, caroline f., l. organizer, n. y. state l., albany, n. y. *welles, jessie, supt. of circulation, carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. wellman, harold o., asst. to chief of circulating dept. p. l., new york. wellman, hiller c., ln. city l. assn., springfield, mass. whalen, gladys e., hay mem. l., sacket's harbor, n. y. whare, grace a., ln. p. l., houghton, mich. wheeler, sumner york, treas. essex co. law l. assn., salem, mass. whitcomb, adah f., ln. hiram kelly br., p. l., chicago, ill. *white, anne r., ln. washington & lee univ. l., lexington, va. whitmore, f. h., ln. p. l., brockton, mass. wilcox, helen c, mt. vernon, n. y. *wildman, bertha s., carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. *wilkins, lydia k., washington, d. c. wilkinson, o. a., rep. globe-wernicke co., cincinnati, o. wilkinson, mrs. o. a., cincinnati, o. *williams, carrie l., asst. f. l., newton, mass. williams, lizzie a., ex-ln., cambridge, mass. wilson, mrs. cora mcdevitt, bookseller, new york city. wilson, h. w., president h. w. wilson co., publishers, minneapolis minn. wilson, mary augusta, child. ln. blackstone br., p. l., chicago, ill. *winchell, f. mabel, ln. p. l., manchester, n. h. windsor, p. l., ln. univ. of ill., urbana, ill. wink, mrs. j. s., ln. p. l., port arthur, ont. wire, dr. g. e., dep. ln. worcester co. law l., worcester, mass. wire, mrs. g. e., worcester, mass. wise, flora e., asst. f. l., newton, mass. wolter, peter, manager l. dept. a. c. mcclurg & co., chicago, ill. wood, mable j., herkimer, n. y. wood, mary w., ln. blackstone br., p. l., chicago, ill. woodard, gertrude e., law ln. univ of mich., ann arbor, mich. *woodman, c. belle, springfield, mass. *wootten, katharine h., ln. carnegie l., atlanta, ga. wright, charles e., ln. carnegie f. l., duquesne, pa. wright, ida f., asst. ln. lincoln l., springfield, ill. *wright, rebecca w., sec'y vt. l. com., montpelier, vt. wyer, james i., jr., director n. y. state l., albany, n. y. wyer, malcolm g., ln. univ. of iowa, iowa city, ia. wyer, mrs. malcolm g., iowa city, ia. wyse, cornelia, asst. catlg. dept. p. l., chicago, ill. yust, william f., ln. p. l., rochester, n. y. zachert, adeline b., director of child. work f. p. l., louisville, ky. index accessioning (of books), rpt. of com. on lib. administration on, - . adams, zu, died, . affiliation of other than local, state and provincial associations, rpt. of com. on conditions governing, . affiliation of state library assns. with a. l. a., recommended amendment to constitution affecting, - ; rpt. of com., . agricultural libraries section, proceedings of, - . ahern, mary eileen, chrm. com. on co-operation with n. e. a., ; "day in toronto," - . american association of law libraries, proceedings of, - . american library association, president's address (elmendorf), - ; secretary's rpt. (utley), - ; treasurer's rpt. (roden), ; rpt. of trustees of carnegie and endowment fund, - ; rpt. of executive board, - ; rpt. of council, - ; election of officers, - ; attendance summaries and register, - . a. l. a. and certain other national associations, relations between, rpt. of com. on, - . a. l. a. booklist. rpt. of publishing board on, . a. l. a. catalog, - , suggestions regarding (elmendorf), ; rpt. on (bascom), - . a. l. a. changes in officers and committees (rpt. of secretary), . a. l. a. committees on blind. see blind. bookbinding. see bookbinding. bookbuying. see bookbuying. co-operation with n. e. a. see national education association. co-ordination. see co-ordination. federal and state relations. see federal and state relations. finance. see finance. international relations. see international relations. library administration. see library administration. library training. see library training. newspaper paper. see newspapers. program. see program. public documents. see public documents. resolutions. see resolutions. travel. see travel. a. l. a. constitution, recommended amendment to, and by-law to, adopted, - . a. l. a. council, amendment to constitution relative to election of members to, proposed, - ; rpt. of, - . a. l. a. executive board, rpt. of, - . a. l. a. membership (rpt. of secretary), - . a. l. a. necrology (rpt. of secretary), - . a. l. a. publishing board, rpt. of (legler), - ; recent publications, - ; policy of, ; periodical cards, ; advertising, ; financial rpt., ; sales, - . a. l. a. representatives at other conferences (rpt. of secretary), - . anderson, edwin h., discusses paper on library schools by hadley, - ; member finance com., ; member program com., ; first vice-pres., a. l. a., . andrews, clement w., rpt. of finance com., - ; re-elected member publishing board, ; chrm. finance com., ; informal rpt. as member com. to promote printed cards in relation with international arrangements, ; reports for com. governing affiliation of other than local, state and provincial assns., ; presents rpt. of com. on memorial to f. m. crunden, ; reports on use of cameragraph, - ; addresses public documents round table, . andrus, gertrude, reads paper by alice goddard, . arnold, john h., "history of the growth and development of the harvard university law library," . askew, sarah b., member com. on arrangements college and ref. section, . "assistant and the book" (hazeltine), - . assistants, type of (tobitt), - ; "efficiency of the library staff and scientific management" (strohm), - . attendance summaries and register. see american library association. ault, mrs. herbert, . austen, willard, "rights of the users of a college and university library and how to preserve them," - . babbitt, charles j., "snags, stumbling blocks and pitfalls among the session laws," . bailey, arthur l., rpt. com. on bookbinding, - ; chrm. com. on bookbinding, . baldwin, clara f., represents a. l. a. at montana assn., ; rpt. of com. on uniform financial reports, - . baldwin, emma v., member com. to investigate cost and method of cataloging, . banton, t. w., addresses trustees' section, . barnett, claribel r., chrm. agricultural libraries section, . bascom, elva l., rpt. on a. l. a. catalog, - , - . bay, j. c., member com. on code for classifiers, . beer, william, participates in discussion, - . belden, c. f. d., member com. on federal and state relations, . berry. w. j. c., . billings, j. s., member com. on international relations, . biscoe, w. s., member com. on code for classifiers, . bishop, w. w., member of council, . blackwelder, paul, member com. on federal and state relations, ; member membership com. professional training section, . blair, emma h., died, . bligh, h. h., welcomes am. assn. of law libraries, . blind, rpt. of com. on work with the (delfino), - ; com. on, . "book advertising: information as to subject and scope of books" (roden), - ; "b. a.: illumination as to attractions of real books" (miller), - . bookbinding, rpt. of com. on (bailey), - ; com. on, . bookbuying, rpt. of com. on (brown), - ; "breadth and limitations of" (brown), - ; com. on, . books, knowledge of, among lib. assistants (hazeltine), - ; (tobitt), - . borchard, e. m., addresses am. assn. of law libraries, ; reads paper by wigmore, ; participates in discussion, . bostwick, arthur e., speaker at ala. lib. conference, ; chrm. com. on lib. administration, ; rpt. of com. on lib. administration, - ; discusses library schools, - ; re-elected member publishing board, ; chrm. com. on library administration, ; rpt. of com. on gov. of am. libraries, - . bowerman, george f., letter from, regarding meeting in washington, ; member com. on library administration, . bowker, r. r., responds to welcome by laurier, - ; member com. on international relations, ; speaks on printed card work abroad, ; addresses trustees' section, ; addresses public documents round table, . bradley, isaac s., died, . brett, wm. h., discusses paper on library schools by hadley, - . briggs, mary j., "a. l. a. list of subject headings," - . brigham, herbert o., presides special libraries association, . brigham, johnson, participates in discussion, . brown, c. h., member com. on bookbuying, ; member travel com., . brown, demarchus c., member com. on federal and state relations, . brown, margaret, rpt. of com. on study outlines, - . brown, walter l., rpt. of com. on bookbuying, - ; "breadth and limitations of bookbuying," - ; chrm. com. on bookbuying . brown, zaidee, secretary-treasurer league of library commissions, . bruncken, ernest, member public documents com., . burnite, caroline, member of council, . burpee, lawrence j., reads messages of greeting, - ; , . burrell, hon. martin, address, - ; addresses agricultural libraries section, . butler, h. l., , . california library association, resolution to invite a. l. a. to california for , . cameragraph, use in john crerar library (andrews), - . canada, conservation in (robertson), - . canada, resolution relative to a national library for, . cards, printed catalog, informal rpt. by c. w. andrews on work of special com. to co-operate in development of, in relation with international arrangements, . carey, miriam e., member com. on work with blind, ; presides at session of league of library commissions, . carpenter, george o., member com. on library training, . carr, henry j., moves message of greeting be sent to f. w. faxon, ; addresses public documents round table, . carson, w. o., member of council, . catalog rules for small library, rpt. from com. on, ; com. on, . catalog section, proceedings of, - ; resolution from, . central reference bureau, is the establishment of a, desirable (shaw), - . charging systems and methods, rpt. of com. on lib. administration, - . charter provisions for public libraries in commission governed cities, rpt. on (wales), - . charteris, c. r., addresses assn., ; addresses trustees' section, . cheney, george n., addresses am. assn. of law libraries, ; member com. on subject headings, ; member com. on classification, . children's librarians' section, proceedings of, - . chivers, cedric, discusses preservation of newspaper paper, - . clarke, edith e., addresses public documents round table, . classifiers, code for, proposed and committee appointed, . claxton, p. p., telegram of greetings from, . cleavinger, john s., member com. on library administration, . college and reference section, proceedings of, - . commission governed cities, rpt. on charter provisions for public libraries in (wales), - . connaught, duke of, telegram from, . constitution, see a. l. a. constitution. co-ordination, rpt. of com. on (gould, putnam, lane, gillis), - ; com. on, . crunden, frederick m., died, ; memorial on life and services, - . cutter, w. p., member com. on code for classifiers, ; participates in discussion, , , . dawley, f. f., member finance com., . delfino, emma r. n., rpt. of com. on work with blind, - ; chrm. com. on work with blind, . departmental library problem in universities. some observations on (hanson), - . dickinson, asa don, proposes clearing house for periodicals, ; addresses agricultural libraries section, - . dobbins, miss e. v., participates in discussion, - , . donath, august, letter from, - . donnelly, june r., member membership com. professional training section, . drury, f. k. w., "do we need a short story index?" - . dudgeon, m. s., presides third general session, ff; member public documents com., ; member com. on gov. of am. libraries, ; member of council, ; presides professional training section, ; rpt. of com. on library post, - ; rpt. of publications com., - ; chrm. publications com., ; addresses special libraries assn., . education through the library: "open door, through the book and the library" (mclenegan), - . "efficiency of the library staff and scientific management" (strohm), - . election of officers. see american library association. elmendorf, mrs. h. l., president a. l. a., responds to welcome, - ; president's address, - ; represents a. l. a. at conferences in ohio, pennsylvania, washington, d. c. ; suggestion regarding a. l. a. catalog, ; participates in discussion on library schools, ; accepts gavel in behalf of a. l. a., - . executive board. see a. l. a. executive board. farley, caroline a., died, . faxon, frederick w., message of greeting to, ; chrm. travel com., . feazel, e. a., member com. on classification, . federal and state relations, rpt. of com. on (steiner), ; com. on, . federal prisons. see libraries in federal prisons. field, o. j., addresses am. assn. of law libraries, ; member executive com. am. assn. of law libraries, . finance, rpt. of com. on (andrews), ; com. on, . financial reports, rpt. of com. on uniform (baldwin), - . foster, hon. j. g., welcomes assn., . george, c. a., discusses library schools, . gibson, irene, died, . gile, jessie s., died, . gillis, j. l., rpt. of com. on co-ordination, - ; member com. on co-ordination, . godard, george s., rpt. com. on public documents, - ; chrm. public documents com., ; presents res. from public documents com., ; presides public documents round table, ; presides am. assn. of law libraries, ; presides joint session, ; participates in discussion, - . goddard, alice, "county work with children," - ; vice-chrm. children's librarians' section, . gooch, harriet b., chrm. catalog section, . goodrich, n. l., member com. on arrangements college and ref. section, . gould, charles h., rpt. com. on co-ordination, ; chrm. com. on co-ordination, ; reads paper by walton, . grant, sir j., addresses assn., . greene, charles s., member com. on work with blind, . griswold, stephen b., died, ; resolution concerning, . hadley, chalmers, represents a. l. a. at pacific n. w. lib. assn., - ; "what library schools can do for the profession," - ; member com. on library training, . hall, mary e., "possibilities of the high school library," - . handbook, biographical data for, . handy, d. n., "library as a business asset; when and how?" - ; participates in discussion, - , - , ; pres. special libraries assn., . hanson, j. c. m., member com. on code for classifiers, ; "some observations on the departmental library problem in universities, with special reference to the university of chicago," - . harvard university law library, history of (arnold), . hasse, adelaide r., member public documents com., . hastings, c. h., addresses public documents round table, . hatton, wm. h., "publicity for the sake of information," - . hawks, emma b., addresses agricultural libraries section, . hazeltine, mary e., "assistant and the book," - ; presents card code for catalog rules, ; member program com. professional training section, . hean, c. s., "some types of agricultural college and experiment station libraries," - . heney, mr., presents drummond's poems in character, . hepburn, wm. m., "library extension work of agricultural colleges," - . hewitt, l. e., member com. on subject headings, . high school library, possibilities of (hall), - . high schools, teaching library use in normal and (walter), - . hill, frank p., rpt. of com. on preservation of newspapers, - ; discusses library schools, - . hinchey, e. h., welcomes assn. to ottawa, . hirshberg, h. s., addresses public documents round table, . hitchler, theresa, chrm. com. on catalog rules for small libraries, . hoagland, merica, participates in discussion, . hodges, n. d. c, member com. on co-ordination, . homer, t. j., "boston co-operative information bureau," . hopper, f. f., rpt. of com. on library work in federal prisons, - . hutchins, margaret, addresses agricultural libraries section, - . ideson, julia, "post-conference trip," - . imhoff, ono m., "cataloging in legislative reference work," - . ingersoll, elizabeth s., addresses agricultural libraries section, . insane, library work among the (jones), - . institutional membership, by-law regulating vote of, . inter-library loans, rpt. com. on co-ordination, - . international relations, com. on, state they have no rpt., ; com. on, - . isom, mary f., second vice-pres. a. l. a., . jennings, j. t., member com. on gov. of am. libraries, ; member com. on resolutions, . jewett, w. k., "proportion of university library income which should be spent on administration," - . johnston, r. h., vice-pres. special libraries assn., . jones, e. kathleen, "library work among the insane," - . josephson, a. g. s., discusses library schools, ; chrm. com. to investigate cost and method of cataloging, ; "what is cataloging?" - ; discusses paper by dudgeon, . josselyn, l. w., teller of election, . kaiser, john b., . kelso, tessa l., addresses assn., ; discusses library schools, . keogh, andrew, member com. on arrangements college and ref. section, . kidder, mrs. ida a., addresses agricultural libraries section, - . kimball, w. c., trustee of endowment fund, . kingsbury, david l., died, . klingelsmith, mrs. m. c., second vice-pres. am. assn. of law libraries, ; member auditing com. am. assn. of law libraries, ; reads paper at joint session, . klotz, otto j., message from, ; "trustee's duty to the library," - . koch, t. w., member com. on co-ordination, ; member executive board, ; "some phases of the administrative history of college and university libraries," - . lane, evelyn n., died, . lane, wm. c., rpt. com. on co-ordination, - ; member com. on international relations, ; member com. on co-ordination, . lapp, john a., member public documents com., ; participates in discussion, - , , , , . laurier, sir w., addresses assn., - ; presents gavel on behalf of canadian librarians, . lawrence, hannah m., sec'y children's librarians' section, . league of library commissions, proceedings of, - . lee, george, w., participates in discussion, , , . legislative reference work, cataloging in (imhoff), - . legler, henry e., rpt. a. l. a. publishing board, - ; presides second general session, ; chrm. program com., ; president of a. l. a., , ; reads paper by jean mcleod, . lester, c. b., member public documents com., . librarianship, aim and definition of (putnam), - . libraries, government of, and their relation to the municipal authorities, rpt. of com. on (bostwick), - . libraries in federal prisons, rpt. of com. on (hopper), - . library, public: "a leaven'd and preparéd choice:" president's address (elmendorf), - . library administration, rpt. of com. on (bostwick), - ; com. on, ; "proportion of university income which should be spent on" (jewett), - . library extension work of agricultural colleges (hepburn), - . library post, rpt. of com. on (dudgeon), - . library schools, proposed inspection of, ; "what l. s. can do for the profession" (hadley), - ; discussion of above paper (brett, anderson and others), - . library training, rpt. of com. on (root), ; com. on, . lien, e. j., member executive com. am. assn. of law libraries, . lighting and ventilation of libraries, rpt. of com. on (ranck), , - . lindholm, marie f., participates in discussion, , . little, robbins, died, . locke, george h., member com. on co-operation with n. e. a., . louisville, invitation from, . lucas, stella, died, . lyon, frances d., member auditing com. am. assn. of law libraries, . mccurdy, mary de b., presides children's librarians' section, . mcgoun, archibald, "bibliography of canadian law," . mackay, margaret s., sec'y catalog section, . mclenegan, charles e., "open door, through the book and the library," - . mcleod, jean, "employees' library--its scope and its possibilities," - . macnair, mary w., "library of congress list of subject headings," - . macnaughton, john, addresses assn., . magazine binders, rpt. on, . mann, margaret, member com. on catalog rules for small libraries, ; member council, . manual of library economy. rpt. of publishing board on, . marion, guy e., participates in discussion, - , - , ; presents rpt. as sec-treas. special libraries assn., ; sec.-treas. special libraries assn., . martel, charles, member com. on code for classifiers, . marvin, cornelia, member com. on library training, . merrill, w. s., chrm. com. on code for classifiers, ; discusses uniformity in catalog entries, . milam, carl h., "publicity for the sake of support," - ; presides league of library com., ; pres. league, . miller, grace, "book advertising: illumination as to attractions of real books," - . miller, zana k., participates in discussion, . mkirdy, james, "bill drafting," . monrad, anna m., discusses subject headings, . montgomery, t. l., member com. on federal and state relations, ; secy. trustees' section, ; participates in discussion, . montreal, day in (roden), - . morton, f. b., participates in discussion, , - , . municipal yearbook, rpt. on (ranck), . murray, margaret e., "earning power of a special reference library on retail distribution," - . murray, rose g., member com. on bookbinding, ; member com. on bookbinding, . national education association, rpt. of com. on co-operation with (ahern), ; official greetings from, ; com. on, . necrology. see a. l. a. necrology. new york public library school, rpt. on (plummer), - . new york state library school, account of new quarters and resources (walter), . new zealand libraries assn., greetings from, . newberry, marie a., member com. on co-operation with n. e. a., . newspapers, rpt. of com. on preservation of (hill), - ; discussion on subject, - . normal and high schools, teaching library use in (walter), - . normal course at pratt institute, proposed (rathbone), - . norman, o. e., member executive board special libraries assn., . normandin, monsieur, sings canadian folk songs, . nursey, walter r., "trustee's duty to the public," - . ogden, e. lucy, addresses agricultural libraries section, . ontario, history and condition of libraries in, - . ontario library association, greeting from president of, . "open door, through the book and the library" (mclenegan), - . owen, t. m., member public documents com., ; second vice-pres. league, . paper, rpt. of com. on preservation of newspaper (hill), - . parker, william e., died, . patterson, j. r., member com. on bookbinding, . peck, adolph l., died, . perley, hon. geo. h., welcomes assn. to canada, . perry, e. r., member of council, . phelan, j. f., member travel com., ; teller of election, . plummer, mary w., member com. on library training, ; member com. on resolutions, ; rpt. on n. y. public library school, - ; member program com. professional training section, . poole, f. o., addresses am. assn. of law libraries, ; pres. am. assn. of law libraries, . porter, w. t., presides trustees' section, ; chrm. trustees' section, . post-conference trip (ideson), - . power, effie l., chrm. children's librarians' section, . pratt institute school of library science. proposed normal course at (rathbone), - . prisons, see libraries in federal prisons. professional training section, proceedings of, - . program com., . public documents, rpt. of com. on (godard), - ; com. on, ; res. from com. on, . public documents round table, proceedings of, - . publications, recent, of a. l. a. publishing board, - . publications committee of the league of library commissions, rpt. of (dudgeon), - . publicity for the sake of information (hatton), - ; p. for the sake of support (milam), - . publishing board. see a. l. a. publishing board. putnam, herbert, address, - ; rpt. com. on co-ordination, - ; chrm. com. on international relations, ; member com. on co-ordination, ; speaks of proposed leipzig exhibit of book arts, . ranck, s. h., member public documents com., ; rpt. com. on ventilation and lighting of libraries. , - ; member com. on gov. of am. libraries, ; reports for municipal yearbook com., ; participates in discussion, - . rathbone, josephine a., discusses library schools, ; member of council, ; "projected normal course at pratt institute," - ; membership com. professional training section, . rawson, fannie c., member publications com. league of library commissions, . reference work. see college and reference section. regina, sask., message of sympathy to, on account of cyclone, . reinick, w. r., addresses public documents round table, . resolutions, rpt. of com. on (thwaites), - . richardson, e. c., member com. on. international relations, ; "fundamental principles of cataloging," - . robertson, james w., presides preliminary session, -ff; presides fourth general session, -ff; addresses assn. on conservation in canada, - ; addresses agricultural libraries section, . roden, carl b., represents a. l. a. at wisconsin assn., ; rpt. of treasurer, ; "book advertising: information as to subject and scope of books," - ; member com. on bookbuying, ; "day in montreal," - . root, a. s., rpt. com. on lib. training, ; chrm. com. on lib. training, . sanders, minerva a., died, . sawyer, mrs. harriet p., member of council, . sawyer, laura m., member com. on work with blind, . saxe, mary s., "with the children in canada," . schenk, f. w., first vice-pres. am. assn. of law libraries, . scholefield, e. o. s., member executive committee am. assn. of law libraries, . schools. see high schools, library schools. schwab, j. c., member com. on co-ordination, . secretary's rpt. (utley), - . settle, george t., invites a. l. a. to louisville on behalf various organisations, . shaw, r. k., "is the establishment of a central reference bureau desirable?" - . short story index, do we need a (drury), - . shortt, mrs. adam, welcomes assn. on behalf women's clubs, . sicotte, l. w., died. . sinclair, l. b., discusses paper by walter, . small, a. j., member public documents com., ; addresses am. assn. of law libraries, . smith, elizabeth m., sec'y. public documents round table, . smith, faith e., member com. on library training, . smith, laura, member com. on work with blind, . smith, t. guilford, died, . smoot, reed, letter read from, . sneed, mrs. percival, member of council, . special libraries association, proceedings of, - . spencer, florence, member executive board special libraries assn., . social side of the conference (thwaites), - . solberg, thorvald, addresses public documents round table, . steiner, bernard c., rpt. com. on federal and state relations, ; chrm. com. on federal and state relations, . strohm, adam, "efficiency of the library staff and scientific management," - ; member com. on library training, ; member com. on gov. of am. libraries, . study outlines, rpt. of com. on (brown), - . subject headings, papers and discussion on, - . sutliff, mary l., member com. on catalog rules for small libraries, . sykes, w. j., reads paper by l. b. sinclair, . thompson, j. d., addresses public documents round table, ; member com. on subject headings, . thompson, laura a., presides catalog section, . thwaites, reuben g., represents a. l. a. at inauguration geo. e. vincent, ; rpt. of com. on resolutions, - ; social side of the conference, - . tobitt, edith, "type of assistants," - . toronto, day in (ahern), - . travel com., . treasurer's report (roden), . tremblay, amedee, . true, a. c., "suggestions as to a policy of administration of agricultural college and experiment station libraries," - . trustees' section, proceedings of, - . turvill, helen, rpt. on uniformity in cataloging rules, , . tutt, virginia m., participates in discussion, - . tyler, alice s., elected to executive board, ; rpt. of com. on relation of a. l. a. and state library assns., . "type of assistants" (tobitt), - . underhill, caroline m., member com. on library training, . uniformity in cataloging rules, rpt. of com. on (turvill), , . utley, george b., rpt. of sec'y, - ; represents a. l. a. at conferences in ohio, minnesota, nebraska, north dakota, indiana, wisconsin, - ; lectures before library, sch. iowa, new york, illinois; member program com., . van valkenburgh, agnes, member com. to investigate cost and method of cataloging, ; "training or teaching," - ; sec'y professional training section, . ventilation and lighting of libraries, rpt. of com. on (ranck), , - . vincent, george e., address by, - . wales, elizabeth b., rpt. on charters provisions for public libraries, - ; first vice-pres. league, . walter, frank k., discusses library schools, - ; member council, ; "teaching library use in normal and high schools," - ; gives account of new quarters n. y. state library school, ; member program com. professional training section, ; chrm. professional training section, . walton, f. p., prepares paper for joint session, . ward, g. o., discusses paper by mary e. hall, - . warren, irene, member com. on co-operation with n. e. a., . washington, d. c., suggested for conference, . webster, caroline f., member publications com. league of library commissions, . welles, jessie, "what do the people want?" - . wellman, h. c., reads paper by grace miller, ; member executive board, . whare, grace a., addresses children's librarians' section, . what do the people want (wells), - . whitney, e. l., rpt. as treas. am. assn. of law libraries, ; treas. am. assn. of law libraries, . wigmore, j. h., prepares paper for joint session, . windsor, p. l., member com. on code for classifiers, ; presides college and reference section, . wire, g. e., discusses subject headings in medicine, - ; addresses am. assn. of law libraries, ; participates in discussion, . wood, harriet a., member com. on co-operation with n. e. a., . woodard, miss g. e., sec'y am. assn. of law libraries, ; member of com. on classification, . wyer, j. i., jr., represents a. l. a. at conferences in iowa, illinois, missouri, ; presides third general session, ; member com. on conditions governing affiliation of other than local, state and provincial assns., ; presides agricultural libraries section, - ; reads paper by a. c. true, ; addresses public documents round table, . wyer, m. g., reads paper by hanson, . transcriber's notes: simple typographical and spelling errors were corrected. italics markup is denoted by _underscores_. bold markup is denoted by =equals=. corrected paragraphs on p. in report of committee on uniformity of forms of catalog cards. the problem seemed to be that the lines of the two separate paragraphs were intermixed during typesetting. papers and proceedings of the twenty-third general meeting of the american library association held at waukesha, wisconsin july - published by the american library association contents. title. author. page. address of the president _henry j. carr_ what may be done for libraries by the city _t. l. montgomery_ what may be done for libraries by the state _e. a. birge_ what may be done for libraries by the nation _herbert putnam_ the trusteeship of literature--i. _george iles_ " " " " ii. _r. t. ely_ book copyright _thorvald solberg_ the relationship of publishers, booksellers and librarians _w. millard palmer_ library buildings _w. r. eastman_ the relationship of the architect to the librarian _j. l. mauran _ the departmental library _j. t. gerould_ suggestions for an annual list of american} theses for the degree of doctor of } _w. w. bishop_ philosophy } opportunities _gratia countryman_ some principles of book and picture selection _g. e. wire_ book reviews, book lists, and articles on } children's reading: are they of practical} _caroline m. hewins_ value to the children's librarian? } books for children: i. fiction _winifred l. taylor_ ii. fairy tales _abby l. sargent_ iii. science _ella a. holmes_ bulletin work for children _charlotte e. wallace_ reference work with children _harriet h. stanley_ vitalizing the relation between the library and the school: i. the school _may l. prentice_ ii. the library _irene warren_ opening a children's room _clara w. hunt_ report on gifts and bequests, - _g. w. cole_ report of the a. l. a. publishing board _j. le roy harrison_ proceedings - first session: public meeting second session - secretary's report treasurer's report and necrology report of trustees of endowment fund report of co-operation committee report of committee on foreign documents report of committee on title-pages and indexes of periodical volumes report of committee on "international catalogue of scientific literature" memorial to john fiske third session - report of committee on public documents report of committee on co-operation with n. e. a. report of committee on international co-operation report of committee on library training collection and cataloging of early newspapers. _w. beer_ some principles of book and picture selection fourth session - some experiences in foreign libraries. _mary w. plummer_ from the reader's point of view, and the era of the placard. _j. k. hosmer_ fifth session - report on gifts and bequests report of a. l. a. publishing board invitation from l. a. u. k. report of committee on handbook of american libraries by-laws memorial to john fiske co-operative list of children's books printed catalog cards book copyright trusteeship of literature relationship of publishers, booksellers and librarians sixth session - relationship of publishers, booksellers and librarians, _continued_ seventh session - election of officers report of committee on resolutions college and reference section - catalog section - section for children's librarians - round table meeting: state library commissions and traveling libraries - round table meeting: work of state library associations and women's clubs in advancing library interests - trustees' section round table meeting: professional instruction in bibliography - transactions of council and executive board - elementary institute illinois state library school alumni association the social side of the waukesha conference _julia t. rankin_ officers and committees attendance register attendance summaries. _nina e. browne_ conference of librarians. _waukesha, wisconsin._ july - , . being a librarian: address of the president. by henry j. carr, _librarian scranton (pa.) public library_. in your presence, and in addressing you to-night as presiding officer, i feel to a far greater extent than i can express in words the high honor that has been conferred in each instance upon all who from time to time have been chosen to serve as a president of this particular association. there is in this present age, to be sure, no lack of those popular and peculiar entities termed associations--associations of many kinds, and for almost every conceivable purpose. throughout the entire continent there exist few, perhaps none, whose history, objects, and work, have warranted a more justifiable pride in being a member thereof, than is found in being a member of the american library association. it may here be said that conditions and circumstances have been favorable to the success of the a. l. a.; not the least of which has been the faithful loyalty of its individual members. we realize, too, that even time has dealt leniently with it, upon noting that of the members who attended its first meeting, held at philadelphia twenty-five years ago, but have died, and that persons are yet included in its membership list out of the who joined the association in , that initial year. some of that original number, much to our gratification, are present with us at this d general meeting. considering its purely voluntary nature, the migratory holding of its successive meetings in different parts of the land, and the notable avoidance of fads, or any tendency towards selfish ends that might otherwise mark its united efforts, it becomes almost a matter of surprise that so many persons have unfalteringly kept up their allegiance from year to year ever since the time of their joining the association. but, as a matter of fact, the a. l. a. has at no time fallen off in its total membership; and at this date it numbers nearly one thousand contributing members paying dues for the current year. the american library association has now attained a period of twenty-five years in its history--a quarter of a century. during that time, in the addresses given at its general meetings, as well as in the multiplicity of noteworthy and valuable papers contributed to its proceedings, and the sundry publications devoted to library interests, it would appear as if there must have been presented almost every conceivable phase of library thought and sentiment. can anything new be said, or old ideas placed in a new light, so as to be worthy of hearing and attention at this time? i fear not, except as some lessons may be drawn from the experience of one's past work, perhaps, that shall serve to aid yet others who are to tread like paths in life. i beg, therefore, that you will bear with me for a short space of time while i give expression to some thoughts drawn from the experience of myself and others while being a librarian. without now restricting their application to particular phases of librarianship, let us at the outset consider them as relating to any and all conditions of it as a vocation. "why did you take up library work?" is a question not infrequently asked. to that query various answer may be given, according to the individual views of the persons replying. perhaps one general reason, that in a certain way has had its unconscious influence upon many of us, is best stated in the following characteristic passage from the "book-hunter:" "to every man of our saxon race endowed with full health and strength, there is committed the custody of a restless demon, for which he is doomed to find ceaseless excitement, either in honest work, or some less profitable or more mischievous occupation. countless have been the projects of man to open up for this fiend fields of exertion great enough for the absorption of its tireless energies, and none of them is more hopeful than the great world of books, if the demon is docile enough to be coaxed into it." since burton's day the "great world of books" has taken on many phases of which he never dreamed. and we, as librarians, may reasonably believe that if not entirely a part and parcel of it, we are nevertheless called upon to deal with that "world" in almost every form, and are ourselves more or less important factors in it. we may not be called upon to adopt the "strenuous life," or seek to impart it to the conduct and activities of others. but necessarily we are and must be accustomed to "doing things"; and, by that very doing, will in some degree, each in our own field, inspire and influence others also. furthermore, do we not find _our_ "restless demon of work" more agreeably inclined and contentedly occupied in the library field than in other lines of life which we may have previously entered into? i, for one, certainly think so, even though we may not have had that idea in mind at the outset, or when making the change. and, too, that we derive a certain feeling of encouragement akin to inspiration, that in itself renders _us_ contented and happy, when responding to the varied demands on our time and energy that are entailed by our positions as librarians. that is half the battle, the rest being but a question of persistence in the application of means and ability. therefore, in the consoling words of one of elbert hubbard's salient sayings: "blessed is that man who has found his work." it is not the purpose of these present remarks to set forth particularly the compensations in a librarian's work; neither the advantages or disadvantages, the opportunities or drawbacks therein. those factors have all been frequently and well discussed in prior years, by some of our well-known associates and various contributors to library literature. i desire, rather, to suggest some features and relationships connected with our work as a profession, from which an occasional lesson may be taken, and possibly a word of encouragement, if such be needed. first of all, is librarianship a profession? does it possess the characteristics that make it such; and is that work more nearly professional than otherwise, which lies at its hands to be done? some such queries were propounded to me by the president of a state library association one day last fall, as we were journeying together to an annual meeting. he, himself, had been a teacher and an educational administrator for a number of years before becoming a librarian; and of the recognized professional standing of his _former_ occupation there could be no doubt. my first, and off-hand, answer was to the effect that librarianship certainly has many professional features, even though its being a true and undoubted profession in every respect might be disputed now and then. going further into this question of professional status, however, it will be found that the literature of views and discussions thereon, pro and con, is by no means small. for one of us to now express a doubt that librarianship, as a whole, is a profession, would be almost presumptuous; and i, for one, do not propose to do so. my thesis, so far as it relates to the present remarks, is in affirmation of the claim; not only that it is a profession--our profession--but really the profession of professions! all other professions now depend to a considerable extent upon that of the librarian for the custodianship of their literature, without whose care much of it might be lost. we may not be able to transmit to future eras such enduring records of antiquity as has been done by the librarian of old in his collection of clay tablets (which now serve to tell us of the affairs of mankind as transacted thousands of years ago), but it is certain that we are doing our part towards making modern literature available in disseminating it, and in preserving it as far as lies in our power. cotemporaneous with the organization of this association melvil dewey made the following decided and well-supported assertion: "the time has at last come when a librarian, may, without assumption, speak of his occupation as a profession." i cite mr. dewey's words, not as necessarily conclusive, but because he has ever been an active and constant supporter of that doctrine in both his work as a librarian, as a noted stimulator of the library movement, and as an originator of professional instruction of other librarians. similar enthusiastic and persistent efforts on the part of librarians generally may do much towards the furtherance of such features, and the consequent development of librarianship as a profession in all its aspects. let us now consider for a few moments some features of resemblance and diversity between the library profession and others quite as well or better known. it has been said that the library exists chiefly for the use of its patrons, and that the librarian is necessarily and essentially a servant. therefore the librarian must, of equal necessity, earn a livelihood or receive compensation of some kind for his services. all of which, in the main, is true of the professions generally, as will be seen from a brief statement of circumstances. doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, artists, etc., are engaged by and receive pay from their respective clients. the clergy are supported by contributions of their church members or from denominational resources. teachers in the public schools are paid from public taxes, while those of private schools, or endowed institutions, receive their compensation from various sources. the clergy and teachers, as a rule, like most librarians, no matter how willing or how well qualified, are under the further necessity of obtaining a "call," or position, as a prerequisite to the exercise of their professional faculties. in that respect they are at a disadvantage in comparison with those practitioners in the other professions, already named, who can go to any locality, solicit clients and seek business opportunities, with reasonable assurance of obtaining both according to place and the circumstances of supply and demand. in some of the professions, both the so-called "learned" and the practical ones, there have been developed certain well recognized differentiations and specializations of professional work. those lines have usually been taken up in response to what has seemed a reasonable demand for them; and in their exercise have not unfrequently brought both reputation and corresponding remuneration to the specialists. possibly the time has arrived for doing much more of that nature in the library profession than has yet been customary. and there are those among us, possessing a due amount of working experience coupled with knowledge of other and allied affairs, who might now do well to devote themselves to some special features of library enterprise as a matter of desirable business opportunity. some from the library schools, and a few others, have gone out as "organizers," and found more or less of a field for the exercise of their limited special qualifications. the field ought to be a growing one, it would seem, if recourse to incompetent aid is carefully avoided. but the offices of "consulting librarianship," while possessing many desirable and much needed features, do not appear to be practised as a specific function. something of the kind has been urged in past years, to be sure, and several well-known librarians did undertake at different times to supply such services. sooner or later, however, each one was persuaded into a more certain, or better compensated, and permanent, position of local librarianship, and thereupon abandoned that special line of work. in this era of the establishment of so many new libraries, small and great, and of the gift of hundreds of buildings for such purposes, there is a decided need for the effective services which a consulting librarian might render; and this to a greater extent than is yet fully understood or appreciated. lacking such, some librarians and more library trustees work too often at a disadvantage. many more, too, are burdened with repeated calls for information which more properly ought to be obtained from an independent expert; one so situated as to take an unbiased view of circumstances and equally able to give advice best suited to the particular case in hand. serious mistakes are sometimes made in the preliminary details of new library enterprises that might be just as easily avoided by the employment of a competent and paid professional adviser. turning now to another side of our subject, and considering the relation of the individual librarians rather than of the profession as a class, a few words upon personal actions may not be out of place. a librarian's position is usually of a public or semi-public nature; ability for its duties is implied; and the compensation received is for present services as a rule, rather than as a reward of merit. in order that the library shall perform all that is expected of it, not only in being to some extent an ever-running machine but equally in respect to its recognized higher functions, there must be the application of watchful care, constant attention, foresight, and unremitting work. the direction of all of which, and perhaps much of its actual execution, must depend upon the person placed in charge of the institution as its librarian. it is true that, having a well-trained body of assistants, a library may be able to run on for a time in the prolonged absence of, or when lacking, a chief; because impetus and the effects of past direction are not lost at once, provided that no demoralization has taken place. but it is not a safe policy to allow a library, or other working institution that depends largely upon the work of trained employees for its effectiveness, to go long at a time without the presence and oversight of an actual and capable head. yet it does not follow that the working hours of chief librarians should be absorbed in attending to innumerable and trivial items of detail which might be delegated to and done quite as well, or better, by their assistants. not only is "genius a capacity for evading hard work," as has been said, but one of the proper duties of the executive of a library is to obtain the best results possible from the respective capacities of those through whom the library does its work. all of which should imply the exercise of a kindly and broad-minded disposition towards one's assistants, just as truly as of respect and obedience to one's superiors, or of courtesy and suavity in dealing with customers and the public. it may be only human for one to desire to be that "king of his world," of whom carlyle speaks; but any policy which reduces the assistants to mere machines is not a true professional one, since it tends to rob the library world of talent which is needed and, except for such repression, might be developed and brought forward. on the other hand i might plead no less for corresponding loyalty and fidelity on the part of all library workers, both to their respective chiefs and the institutions that employ them. as a matter of fact, however, action of that kind is the prevailing practice in this country, with hardly an exception, and that phase needs no extended discussion. a chief is, of course, entitled to credit for acts done by subordinates at his direction and for which he is responsible. but chiefs, in turn, can well afford to give recognition to the ability and deeds of their assistants, and will seldom, if ever, lose by doing so. there are one or two other features of librarianship which merit passing mention. among them are what may be termed library succession, or the librarian's duty to his successor. some few librarians "die in the harness"; while quite as many more change from one place to another at times. occasionally they are succeeded by those who come new into the work; and, gaining experience, become a credit to the profession. advancement of those trained in smaller libraries to places in larger ones, or from the position of assistant in a library to the head thereof, has also brought forward quite as many more of those whose progress we watch with cordial interest. although conscious of those facts, and of the inevitable changes and successions that must occur from year to year, do we recognize our duty to our successor? i have asked the question, but its consideration must be left to some future time and opportunity. impartiality in enforcing rules, and in dispensing the privileges of the library to all comers, should be deemed an important feature of librarianship, quite as essential to the welfare of the institution as to the professional success of the librarian. and this suggests a query, which has before now been raised, as to how far librarians should go in aiding persons who expect to use information obtained at the library, solely for the furtherance of personal interests or for purposes of pecuniary profit. impartial and confidential treatment of all readers and seekers, who come to the library after information, would appear to be the only safe practice and criterion, regardless of their particular motives. care should be taken, of course, to assist them in gaining the desired information by means of their own study, and in their own way, rather than through the efforts of library employees applied to searching out the exact and final facts for them. in conclusion, i would direct your attention very briefly to yet another side of librarianship which ought to have an occasional bearing so far as ethical principles may apply. since we regard librarianship as a profession it would seem that there must needs be some recognized principles of an ethical nature relating to it. like many of our working methods, however, they must probably exist chiefly as "unwritten laws." it is always a difficult matter to put our ideals into words. they may be quite real to the sensibilities and yet hardly admit of being formulated. and, too, the evident contrast between the ideals aimed at, and the results attained, is often so great that one hesitates to say in so many words just what is his ideal. still there have been developed in the other leading professions, those that are regarded as the most reputable and noteworthy, certain recognized principles which serve to guide their members in many ways. the full comprehension of such principles as an authoritative guide tends to a correct measurement of the real value of one's professional work. likewise, while supplying certain ideals at the outset, they may aid in determining the lines of effort and action which will tend to elevate the profession itself and to the attainment of individual success in its pursuits. perhaps it is too soon in the history of so young a profession to expect very much in the nature of such formulations. to properly enumerate and determine the essential principles must call for the attention of many minds, working each in their own channel but aimed in the same general direction, until the final outcome shall be a fully developed and rounded code of library ethics which will thus be entitled to and gain well deserved recognition and observance. if, in the views and various thoughts, which i have presumed to set forth at this time, such ideas as have a bearing on this last named topic shall serve as hints to spur on some abler and more philosophically versed person or persons to undertake the task, or serve as a ground upon which to build a foundation code, i shall be greatly pleased. what may be done for libraries by the city. by thomas l. montgomery, _trustee free library of philadelphia_. when, in the course of human events, it became necessary for our people to dissolve the political bonds which connected them with another, pretty much everything was declared a free and an inalienable right with the exception of the public library. whether it would have escaped the attention of that founder of circulating libraries and everything else that is useful, had it not been a time of extraordinary pressure of business, or whether he purposely neglected it in the belief that a people that had expressed such lofty sentiments as to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness might well be trusted to consider such matters in due time it is not our purpose to discuss. he does not hesitate to give credit to the libraries in his autobiography for making the common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen in other countries, and for contributing in some degree to the stand so generally made throughout the colonies in defense of their privileges. it was not until about that the desirability of a city library was suggested to the city council of boston by josiah quincy, then mayor. the council cautiously resolved, "that it would accept any donation from citizens or others for the purpose of commencing a public city library and that whenever the library shall be of the value of $ , it will be expedient for the city to provide a suitable place and arrangements to enable it to be used by the citizens with as great a degree of freedom as the security of the property will permit." in july, , the trustees made a report "that in their opinion the finances of the city will not permit of the erecting of a building and the purchase of an ample library." they suggest "a moderate expenditure on the part of the city for the purchase of books and the compensation of a librarian." it was soon after this that mr. bates made his famous gift of $ , worth of books "on condition that the city provide an adequate building which shall be an ornament to the city." a complete history of this institution would seem to be the best possible answer which could be made to the question before us. what can the city do for the free library. with a magnificent collection of , books, selected under the administration of some of the best men who have dignified our profession, and housed in the most expensive building ever erected by a city for such a purpose, it would appear that the citizen of boston might rightly exclaim "si monumentum quaeris, circumspice." the things that can be done by a city are innumerable; what it _ought_ to do and what it _will_ do are perhaps more easily dealt with. thinking i might obtain some information on the subject i asked the question of the librarian of the free library of philadelphia. he settled himself in his chair and assuming the tone of an oracle said that there were three things that the city should do for its library. . provide an adequate appropriation for its maintenance; . provide an extra appropriation for emergencies; and . provide a special appropriation for some particular work which the librarian might be particularly interested in at the time. i asked several other prominent librarians the same question and their answers were to the same purport--namely, if the city could furnish sufficient money they felt themselves fully competent to build up an ideal institution. we all know as a matter of fact that the strong libraries of the country have been built up by other means than the mere appropriation of money by city councils, and it is not unreasonable to mention as the first of these the librarian. the city should see to it that this individual is a man (or woman) strong, intellectual and vigorous, without bumptiousness, which is often mistaken for vigor, and with those qualities which will procure for him respectful attention from even those who may be opposed to him. i have often heard addresses made before this association bewailing the fact that the city librarian had to deal with certain political elements which very much hampered him. i should regard this state of affairs as belonging to the time when the college president was necessarily a professor of moral philosophy whose duties consisted of receiving the senior class for one hour a week to discuss whewell's "elements." such an officer must now be an active administrative power as well as an intellectual entity to at all meet the modern requirements, and in like manner the public librarian should deem it a privilege to meet the representatives of the city government and to have the opportunity of impressing the needs of his institution upon them. there is no better test of the capacity of the man for the great work in which he is engaged. speaking practically i would state that in the building up of the philadelphia free library in which i have taken an active interest, the political elements have always responded most generously to our requests, and that the library has been more inconvenienced by the writings and personal influence of certain well-to-do-citizens upon whom the word "paternalism" has acted as a nightmare than by any difficulty with the city government. while the city should provide means and a proper official to conduct the institution it should take much more care in the selection of the board of trustees than is usually the case. they should be representative men, who not only should be able to assist the librarian in the formation of an educational institution, but also be able to devote a considerable amount of time to matters relating to its policy. if the librarian is not a systematic business man, one of the board or a committee should be delegated to attend to the financial affairs, as it is absolutely necessary that the accounts shall be at all times in as good condition as in the most punctilious business house. i would also suggest that a certain modesty be observed in the carrying out of such work by a municipality. it is hard to think of anything that could be said for this proposition when the magnificent buildings of boston, chicago and pittsburgh are taken into consideration; but i would respectfully submit that the feeling of unrest among the great army of industrial workers throughout the civilized world is growing. with the tremendous progress in science and industry these people are claiming that they can see no gain in the position of the common people. this discontent has manifested itself lately in the opposition of the labor organizations of certain towns to the munificent proposition made by one of the most conscientious men who has ever been numbered among the multimillionaires of the world. while it is not always wise to consider too seriously the socialistic murmurings of a few negative people, i submit that it is our duty to consider the effect produced upon the poorest and most scantily clad patron of our libraries. it is necessary that the library should be housed in a fireproof building as soon as possible, and the owners of valuable books will always choose such an institution for such gifts as they may make. i believe that the boston library has received donations equal to half the cost of the building since it has been housed in copley square. finally, the city should insist that the library be an educational institution and not receive its appropriation for recreation mainly. the extraordinary demand for light fiction in public libraries has led to a very unsatisfactory condition of affairs, and it is not uncommon to find copies of a new novel necessary to at all meet the demand. there is every indication that the public library will be furnished with a happy release from this call upon their resources by the institution of the book lovers' library which has now extended its branches to all the important cities. if this system can be extended on good business principles, the happiness of public libraries would be complete notwithstanding the slight falling off in circulation that might follow. the motto of every such institution should be: _libri libere liberis_, which being freely translated, means: "a free people should have open shelves if possible." what may be done for libraries by the state.[a] by e. a. birge, _president board of directors, madison (wis.) public library_. the relation of the state to libraries may be considered from three points of view. the first and oldest library function of the state has been the maintenance of a state library, usually begun for the convenience of the legislature and in many states enlarged into a general library. with this function has also gone the indirect support of libraries for historical and scientific societies, incorporated by the state and in some degree representing it. much might be said on possible lines of work for the state in this direction, but as this function is the oldest and best understood, it may be named and passed without further discussion. second, the state holds a relation to the local libraries in communities which are supporting free libraries without aid from the state. the state aids these libraries by enacting proper laws for their organization. in general, the statutes should be such as will give the local library the best opportunity for organization, and will leave it when organized the largest amount of freedom in doing its work. the earlier library laws of the states have very generally contained the provision that, in order to establish a library in a community, the proposition must be accepted by a majority of the voters at an election. this provision has been found disadvantageous in wisconsin, and was eliminated from our library law in . experience has shown that it is better to leave the establishment of a library, like other public works of necessity and utility, to the common council, or other representatives of the people in the larger towns and cities, rather than to commit the proposition to the chance of a general election. the third function of the state with reference to libraries is that which may be called library extension. here the state acts directly to aid in the establishment of libraries and the extension of library work in the communities which would otherwise lack libraries. the necessity for this work has become apparent to the more progressive states of the union within recent years. the justification of this work lies in two main reasons. first, libraries continue for the older youth of the community and for adults the education which the state requires for children. it is neither fair nor right for the state to maintain a system of education which develops a love of knowledge and of reading, and then leave the community without the means for continuing in later youth the development begun in childhood. second, it is known that the intellectual isolation of the rural communities is one of the main reasons for the much-lamented drift from the country into the cities, and it has been found that the establishment of libraries affords one of the most important means of bringing these small communities into intellectual touch with the world. the states then which have undertaken this work of library extension have usually done so by means of the library commission. the first commission was established by massachusetts in . seventeen states had established such commissions by the end of --more than half of them in the two years preceding that date. i have no statistics regarding the establishment of such commissions in . the work of these commissions may be either advisory or missionary, aiding in the establishment of libraries in the smaller communities which are able to establish and maintain them under the guidance and advice of the commission, and directly furnishing library facilities to the smallest and weakest communities. in certain states direct state aid is given to the smaller libraries, notably in massachusetts, where each town library established under the rules of the commission receives books to the amount of $ . in some states aid is given in the purchase of books. the direct furnishing of libraries is done mainly by means of travelling libraries. so far as i can learn, these are now distributed by six states. the system has grown throughout the union, in various manifestations, and its influence in bringing books to the communities that most lack and need them has been of the utmost value. this work is one of the greatest importance, and yet i believe it is one which will ultimately pass into the hands of the counties or smaller governmental bodies than the state. lastly, the commissions are aiding in the library work by the establishment of library schools. in wisconsin a summer school for library training has been held for the past seven years, and represents a class of work which it seems important that each state should undertake, namely: the training of librarians for the smaller libraries in which the salaries paid are necessarily so small that the librarians cannot afford the expense of a complete course in library training. this instruction applies especially to persons already in charge of small libraries throughout the state, who have not had the opportunity to secure professional training for their work, and it is of great value in bringing them in touch with library effort and setting higher standards of purpose and efficiency. experience has shown that in a two months' summer session instruction can be given of the greatest value to those who are to have charge of this class of libraries. in this department of library extension which the states have been entering upon during the past decade lies the most important work which the state can undertake for libraries. the work of the library commissions means a systematic employment of the library as an educational and social factor in the progress of the people. this is the true mission of the library, and the most important function of the state lies in effectively aiding it to perform this work. footnotes: [footnote a: abstract.] what may be done for libraries by the nation. by herbert putnam, _librarian of congress_. you have had suggestions as to what may be done for libraries by the city and what by the state. whatever is left over--if there is anything left over--i am to treat as something that may be done by the nation--the nation not as an aggregate of its parts, but as a unit, acting through its central authority. there is a disposition to contend that _everything_ which may be more effectively or more economically done by a central authority for the larger area should be undertaken by that authority. i am not prepared to go so far. there may be a value in local effort that will repay its greater cost. but in an educational work which involves the accumulation of material some of which is exceedingly costly, only part of which is constantly in use, and little of which perishes by use; a work whose processes are capable of organization on a large scale and the application of co-operative effort: there must be certain undertakings which, relatively speaking, are possible only if assumed by a central authority. it is such undertakings, for the largest area, that i am asked to discover and set forth. to do so involves consequences which may be inconvenient. for a possible service means a correlative duty. and as i myself to a degree represent here the central authority in question, whatever i state as a service appropriate for that authority, i shall have to admit as a duty in which i must share. i shall try to be candid. but under the circumstances i cannot be expected to be more than candid. in some respects the federal government of the united states has already influenced the constitution, resources and service of our public libraries. it has enacted laws which, having for their primary purpose the protection of authors and publishers, benefit libraries by encouraging the manufacture of books soundly, substantially and honestly made. it has favored public libraries by exempting from tariff duty books imported for their use. it has encouraged the study of the classics by laying a penalty upon the general importation of books less than twenty years old. in its executive capacity it is itself investigator, author, publisher, manufacturer, distributor, statistician, bibliographer, and librarian. it maintains at washington, with a generosity not paralleled by any other government, bureaus for scientific research; it compiles, publishes, and freely distributes the results of this research. it is the greatest publisher in the world, and the largest manufacturer of books. in a single publication, repeated each year, it consumes over a million pounds of paper stock; and it maintains a bureau whose purpose is to replenish the forests which as publisher it thus depletes. it distributes gratuitously to the libraries of the united states each year over , volumes, embodying the results of its research, its legislative proceedings, and an account of its administrative activities. it maintains a bureau for the investigation of problems in education, for the accumulation and dissemination of information concerning the work of educational institutions; and it has included the public libraries of this country among such educational institutions. this bureau has issued three reports tabulating statistics concerning them, one also (in ) summarizing their history and two (in and in ) containing essays which embody the best contemporary opinion as to library equipment and methods. it has published as a document the a. l. a. list of best books to form the basis of a public library. through its bureau of documents it is seeking to index and adequately to exhibit its own publications, to facilitate their distribution to libraries and to afford to libraries as to federal documents a clearing house for duplicates. all such services are obviously appropriate for the national authority and may doubtless be continued and extended. if the interchange of books among libraries is to be facilitated by special postal regulations this can be accomplished by the national authority alone. but in the case of a state a service has been described which is to be rendered to local libraries by the library which the state itself owns and maintains. now the federal government also owns and maintains libraries. what may be demanded of these? certain precedents have already been established. the library of the surgeon general's office--the most comprehensive in the world within its special field--sends its books to members of the medical profession throughout the united states, relieving just so much the burden upon local libraries; and it has issued a catalog which is not merely in form and method efficient, but is so nearly an exhibit of the entire literature of the medical sciences that it renders unnecessary duplication of cataloging and analytical work within the field which it covers. this catalog has conferred a general benefit not equalled by any bibliographic work within any other department of literature. it is perhaps the most eminent bibliographic work yet accomplished by any government. the cost of its mere publication--which is the cost chargeable to the general benefit--has already exceeded $ , . but this library is but one of several collections maintained by the federal government; the aggregate of which is already nearly two million volumes. in each federal department and bureau there is a library. and there is a central collection which in itself is already the largest on the western hemisphere. it was created as a legislative library--for the use of both houses of congress. it is still called the library of congress. but it is now being referred to as something more. the government has erected for it a building which is the largest, most elaborate, and most costly yet erected for library purposes. the seven million dollars which it cost has been paid not by the district of columbia, but by the country at large. no such sum would have been requisite for a building to serve congress alone. it seems to intend a library that shall serve the country at large, if there is any such thing possible. in fact the library is already being referred to as the national library of the united states. what does this mean? or rather, what _may_ this mean? one naturally looks abroad--to the foremost of national libraries. the british museum is a huge repository of material. in scope it is universal. its purpose is accumulation, preservation, and the aid of research by accredited persons, upon its own premises. its service is purely responsive. it has printed catalogs of its own collections, but does not undertake bibliographic work general in nature, nor engage in co-operative bibliographic undertakings. it lends no books. but i fear you will hardly be satisfied with the analogy. the british museum, you will say, is placed in a city which is not merely the capital of the british empire, but the metropolis; the literary metropolis also of the anglo-saxon race. the library of congress is at the capital of the united states. but this capital is not itself a metropolis. no student in great britain has to travel over miles to reach the british museum. a student in the united states may have to travel as much as miles to reach the library of congress. the area which supports the national library of great britain is but , square miles; that which supports the national library of the united states is ever , , square miles. the conditions differ, and therefore, you will say, the obligation. if there is any way in which our national library may "reach out" from washington it should reach out. its first duty is no doubt as a legislative library--to congress. its next is as a federal library to aid the executive and judicial departments of the government and the scientific undertakings under governmental auspices. its next is to that general research which may be carried on at washington by resident and visiting students and scholars: which in american history, political and social science, public administration, jurisprudence and international law is likely to make washington its center, and which, under the auspices of the washington memorial institution--that new project for post graduate study involving the use of the scientific collections and scientific experts at washington--is likely to be organized in various branches of the natural and physical sciences as well. but this should not be the limit. there should be possible also a service to the country at large: a service to be extended through the libraries which are the local centers of research involving the use of books. that claim may be made. now what at washington might be useful to these libraries? (a lively imagination is not requisite.) suppose there could be a collection of books universal in scope, as no local library with limited funds and limited space can hope to be: a collection that shall contain also particularly ( ) original sources, ( ) works of high importance for occasional reference, but whose cost to procure and maintain precludes their acquisition by a local library pressed to secure the material of ordinary and constant need, and ( ) the "useless" books; books not costly to acquire, but of so little general concern as not to justify cataloging, space and care in each local library if only they are known to be preserved and accessible somewhere. such a collection must include also the general mass of books sought and held by local libraries--the books for the ordinary reader; the daily tools of research. its maintenance will involve processes--of classification and cataloging--highly costly. suppose the results of these processes could be made generally available, so as to save duplication of such expenditure upon identical material held by local libraries? a collection universal in scope will afford opportunity for bibliographic work not equalled elsewhere. such work centered there might advance the general interest with the least aggregate effort. the adequate interpretation of such a collection will involve the maintenance of a corps of specialists. suppose these specialists could be available to answer inquiries from all parts of the country as to what material exists on any particular subject, where it is, how it may be had, how most effectively it may be used? there are special collections already existent in various localities in the united states and likely to come into being through special local advantage or incentive, or the interest of private collectors, or private endowment--which cannot be duplicated at washington. suppose there could be at washington a bibliographic statement of that which is peculiar to each of these collections; in brief, a catalog of the books in the united states--not of every library, not of every copy of every book, but of every _book_ available for an investigator? there are various bibliographic undertakings which may be co-operative. suppose there could be at washington a central bureau--with approved methods, standard forms, adequate editorial capacity, and liberal facilities for publication--which could organize and co-ordinate this work among the libraries of the united states and represent them in such of it as--like the new royal society index--is to be international? there is the exchange of material duplicated in one library, needed by another. suppose there could be at washington a bureau which would serve as a clearing house for miscellaneous duplicates as the bureau of documents serves for documents? it might accomplish much without handling a single article; it might, like a clearing house proper as it were, set debit against credit, _i. e._, compare the deficiencies in one library with the surplus in another and communicate the results to the institutions interested. it might do this upon slip lists sent in by each--of duplicates and of particular deficiencies--in sets, for instance. one of my associates has been guilty of this very suggestion. it is likely to bring something upon his head. he may have his choice between live coals and the ashes of repentance. now those are some of the things which might be asserted as the duty of washington to the country at large. i have touched them as lightly as possible: but there they are. and we may not be able to avoid them. nay, we seem to be drifting toward them. to some of them we are apparently already committed. there is the building: that in itself seems to commit us. there is equipment. there are books. as regards any national service the federal libraries should be one library. they contain nearly two million volumes. the library of congress contains net some , books and a half million other items. it has for increase ( ) deposits under the copyright law, ( ) documents acquired through distribution of the federal documents placed at its disposal for exchange--formerly copies of each, now , ( ) books and society publications acquired by the smithsonian through its exchanges, ( ) miscellaneous gifts and exchanges, and, ( ) purchases from appropriations. these have increased from $ , a year prior to to $ , for the year - . such resources are by no means omnipotent. _no_ resources can make absolutely comprehensive a library starting its deliberate accumulations at the end of the th century. too much material has already been absorbed into collections from which it will never emerge. but universality in scope does not mean absolute comprehensiveness in detail. with its purchasing funds and other resources the library of congress bids fair to become the strongest collection in the united states in bibliography, in americana (omitting the earliest), in political and social science, public administration, jurisprudence. if any american library can secure the documents which will exhibit completely legislation proposed and legislation enacted it should be able to. as depository of the library of the smithsonian it will have the most important collection--perhaps in the world--of the transactions and proceedings of learned societies; and, adding its own exchanges and subscriptions, of serials in general. with theology it may not especially concern itself nor with philology to the degree appropriate to a university library. medicine it will leave as a specialty to the library of the surgeon-general's office, already pre-eminent, geology to the library of the geological survey. two extremes it may have to abstain from--so far as deliberate purchase is concerned: ( ) the books merely popular, ( ) the books merely curious. of the first many will come to it through copyright; of the second many should come through gift. (perhaps in time the public spirit of american collectors and donors may turn to it as the public spirit of the british turns to the national library of great britain.) original sources must come to it, if at all, chiefly by gift. manuscript material relating to american history it has, however, bought, and will buy. otherwise, chiefly printed books. of these, the useful books; of these again, the books useful rather for the establishment of the fact than for the mere presentation of it--the books for the advancement of learning, rather than those for the mere diffusion of knowledge. lastly there is an organization. instead of persons, for all manner of service, there are now , irrespective of printers, binders, and the force attending to the care of the building itself. the copyright work is set off and interferes no longer with the energies of the library proper. there is a separate division having to do with the acquisition of material, another--of persons--to classify and catalog it. there are persons attending to the ordinary service of the reading room as supplied from the stacks, and there are eight special divisions handling severally the current newspapers and periodicals, the documents, manuscripts, maps, music, prints, the scientific publications forming the smithsonian deposit, and the books for the blind. there is a division of bibliography whose function is to assist in research too elaborate for the routine service of the reading room, to edit the library publications, and to represent the library in co-operative bibliographic undertakings. there is now within the building, besides a bindery, with a force of employees, a printing office, with a force of . the allotment for printing and binding, in only $ , , is for the coming year $ , . the immediate duty of this organization is near at hand. there is a huge arrear of work upon the existing collection--necessary for its effective use, and its intelligent growth. it must be newly classified throughout; and shelf listed. the old author slip catalog must be revised and reduced to print. there must be compiled a subject catalog, of which none now exists. innumerable gaps--that which is crooked can be made straight, but that which is wanting cannot be numbered--innumerable gaps are to be ascertained and filled. a collection of reference books must be placed back at the capitol, with suitable apparatus, to bring the library once more into touch with congress and enable it to render the service to congress which is its first duty. the other libraries of the district must be brought into association--not by gathering their collections into the library of congress, but by co-ordinating processes and service. the library of congress as the center of the system can aid in this. it can strengthen each departmental library by relieving it of material not necessary to its special work. it can aid toward specialization in these departmental libraries by exhibiting present unnecessary duplication. (it is just issuing a union list of serials currently taken by the libraries of the district which has this very purpose.) it can very likely print the catalog cards for all the government libraries--incidentally securing uniformity, and a copy for its own use of each card--which in time will result in a complete statement within its own walls of the resources of every departmental library in washington. it will supply to each such library a copy of every card which it prints of a book in its own collections relating to the work of the bureau which such library serves. to reduce to order the present collection, incorporating the current accessions, to fill the most inconvenient gaps, to supply the most necessary apparatus in catalogs and to bring about a relation among the libraries of washington which shall form them into an organic _system_: this work will of itself be a huge one. i have spoken of the equipment of the library of congress as elaborate, the force as large, and the appropriations as generous. all are so in contrast to antecedent conditions. in proportion to the work to be done, however, they are not merely not excessive, but in some respects far short of the need. to proceed beyond those immediate undertakings to projects of general service will require certain equipment, service, and funds not yet secured, and which can be secured only by a general effort. but the question is not what can be done, but what _may_ be done--in due time, eventually. a general distribution of the printed cards: that has been suggested. it was suggested a half century ago by the federal government through the smithsonian institution. professor jewett's proposal then was a central bureau to compile, print and distribute cards which might serve to local libraries as a catalog of their own collections. such a project is now before this association. it may not be feasible: that is, it might not result in the economy which it suggests. it assumes a large number of books to be acquired, in the same editions, by many libraries, at the same time. in fact, the enthusiasm for the proposal at the montreal meeting last year has resulted in but sixty subscriptions to the actual project. it may not be feasible. but if such a scheme can be operated at all it may perhaps be operated most effectively through the library which for its own uses is cataloging and printing a card for every book currently copyrighted in the united states, and for a larger number of others than any other single institution. such must be confessed of the library of congress. it is printing a card for every book currently copyrighted, for every other book currently added--for every book reached in re-classification--and thus in the end for every book in its collection. it is now printing, at the rate of over titles a day-- , titles a year. the entry is an author entry, in form and type accepted by the committee on cataloging of the a. l. a. the cards are of the standard size-- � inches--of the best linen ledger stock. from to copies of each are now printed. it would be uncandid to say that such a number is necessary for the use of the library itself, or of the combined libraries at washington. the usefulness of copies of them to any other library for incorporation in its catalogs must depend upon local conditions: the style, form, and size of its own cards, the number of books which it adds yearly, the proportion of these which are current, and other related matters. on these points we have sought statistics from libraries. we have them from . with them we have samples of the cards in use by each, with a complete author entry. having them we are in a position really to estimate the chances. i will not enter into details. summarily, it appears that our cards might effect a great saving to certain libraries and some saving to others, and would entail a mere expense without benefit to the remainder--all of which is as might have been guessed. the distribution suggested by professor jewett and proposed by the a. l. a. had in view a saving to the recipient library of cataloging and printing on its own account. it assumed a subscription by each recipient to cover the cost of the extra stock and presswork. there is conceivable a distribution more limited in range, having another purpose. the national library wishes to get into touch with the local libraries which are centers for important research. it wishes the fullest information as to their contents; it may justifiably supply them with the fullest information as to its own contents. suppose it should supply them with a copy of every card which it prints, getting in return a copy of every card which they print? i am obliged to disclose this suggestion: for such an exchange has already been begun. a copy of every card printed by the library of congress goes out to the new york public library: a copy of every card printed by the new york public library comes to the library of congress. in the new building of the new york public library there will be a section of the public card catalog designated the catalog of the library of congress. it will contain at least every title in the library of congress not to be found in any library of the metropolis. in the library of congress a section of the great card catalog of american libraries outside the district will be a catalog of the new york public library. i have here a letter from the librarian of cornell university forwarding a resolution of the library council (composed in part of faculty members) which requests for the university library a set of these cards. mr. harris states that the purpose would be to fit up cases of drawers in the catalog room, which is freely accessible to any one desiring to consult bibliographical aids, and arrange the cards in alphabetical order by authors, thus making an author catalog of the set. he adds "the whole question has been rather carefully considered and the unanimous sense of the council was that the usefulness of the catalog to us would be well worth the cost of the cases, the space they would occupy, and the time it would take to arrange and keep in order the cards." there is a limit to such a distribution. but i suspect that it will not stop with new york and ithaca. there is some expense attendant on it. there is the extra stock, the presswork, the labor of sorting and despatching. no postage, however, for the library of congress has the franking privilege, in and out. the results however: one cannot deny them to be attractive. at washington a statement of at least the distinctive contents of every great local collection. at each local center of research a statement of the distinctive contents of the national collection. an inquirer in wisconsin writes to washington: is such a book to be had in the united states; must he come to washington for it, or to new york?--no, he will find it in chicago at the newberry or the crerar. if there can be such a thing as a bibliographic bureau for the united states, the library of congress is in a way to become one; to a degree, in fact, a bureau of information for the united states. besides routine workers efficient as a body, it has already some expert bibliographers and within certain lines specialists. it has not a complete corps of these. it cannot have until congress can be made to understand the need of them. besides its own employees, however, it has within reach by telephone a multitude of experts. they are maintained by the very government which maintains it. they are learned men, efficient men, specially trained, willing to give freely of their special knowledge. they enter the government employ and remain there, not for the pecuniary compensation, which is shamefully meagre, but for the love of the work itself and for the opportunity for public service which it affords. of these men, in the scientific bureaus at washington, the national library can take counsel: it can secure their aid to develop its collections and to answer inquiries of moment. this will be within the field of the natural and physical sciences. meantime within its walls it possesses already excellent capacity for miscellaneous research, and special capacity for meeting inquiries in history and topography, in general literature, and in the special literature of economics, mathematics and physics. it has still ainsworth spofford and the other men, who with him, under extraordinary disadvantages, for thirty-five years made the library useful at the capitol. the library is already issuing publications in book form. in part these are catalogs of its own contents; in part an exhibit of the more important material in existence on some subject of current interest, particularly, of course, in connection with national affairs. even during the period of organization fifteen such lists have already been issued. they are distributed freely to libraries and even to individual inquirers. but there may be something further. the distribution of cards which exhibit its own contents or save duplication of expense elsewhere, the publication of bibliographies which aid to research, expert service which in answer to inquiry points out the best sources and the most effective methods of research: all these may have their use. but how about the books themselves? must the use of this great collection be limited to washington? how many of the students who need some book in the library of congress--perhaps there alone--can come to washington to consult it at the moment of need? a case is conceivable: a university professor at madison or berkeley or san antonio, in connection with research important to scholarship, requires some volume in an unusual set. the set is not in the university library. it is too costly for that library to acquire for the infrequent need. the volume is in the national library. it is not at the moment in use at washington. the university library requests the loan of it. if the national library is to _be_ the national library----? there might result some inconvenience. there would be also the peril of transit. some volumes might be lost to posterity. but after all we are ourselves a posterity. some respect is due to the ancestors who have saved for _our_ use. and if one copy of a book possessed by the federal government and within reasonable limits subject to call by different institutions, might suffice for the entire united states--what does logic seem to require--and expediency--and the good of the greater number? the library of congress is now primarily a reference library. but if there be any citizen who thinks that it should never lend a book--to another library--in aid of the higher research--when the book can be spared from washington and is not a book within the proper duty of the local library to supply--if there be any citizen who thinks that for the national library to lend under these circumstances would be a misuse of its resources and, therefore, an abuse of trust--he had better speak quickly, or he may be too late. precedents may be created which it would be awkward to ignore. really i have been speaking of the library of congress as if it were the only activity of the federal government of interest to libraries. that, however, is the fault of the topic. it was not what might be done for science, for literature, for the advance of learning, for the diffusion of knowledge. it was merely what might be done for _libraries_; as it were, not for the glory of god, but for the advancement of the church. we have confidence in the mission of libraries and consider anything in aid of it as good in itself. their most stimulating, most fruitful service must be the direct service. the service of the national authority must in large part be merely indirect. it can meet the reader at large only through the local authority. it can serve the great body of readers chiefly through the local libraries which meet them face to face, know their needs, supply their most ordinary needs. its natural agent--we librarians at least must think this--is its own library--the library which if there is to be a national library not merely of, but _for_ the united states--must be that library. _must become_ such, i should have said. for we are not yet arrived. we cannot arrive until much preliminary work has been done, and much additional resource secured from congress. we shall arrive the sooner in proportion as you who have in charge the municipal and collegiate libraries of the united states will urge upon congress the advantage to the interests you represent, of undertakings such as i have described. to this point we have not asked your aid. in the equipment of the library, in the reconstruction of its service, in the addition of more expert service, in the improvement of immediate facilities, our appeal to congress has been based on the work to be done near at hand. i have admitted to you the possibility of these other undertakings of more general concern. if they commend themselves to you as proper and useful--the appeal for them must be primarily your appeal. the trusteeship of literature--i. by george iles, _new york city_. six months ago the curtain descended upon what is likely to be accounted the most memorable century in the annals of mankind. so salient are three of its characteristics that they challenge the eye of the most casual retrospection. first of all, we see that knowledge was increased at a pace beyond precedent, to be diffused throughout the world with a new thoroughness and fidelity. next we must observe how republican government passed from the slender ties spun in the times of washington, jefferson and adams, to the intimate and pervasive cords of to-day, when, as never before, the good of the bee is bound up with the welfare of the hive. parallel with this political union of each and all there was a growth of free organization which, in every phase of life, has secured uncounted benefits which only joined hands may receive. fresh torches of light fraternally borne from the centers of civilization to its circumference have tended to bring the arts and ideals of life everywhere to the level of the best. these distinctive features of the nineteenth century were in little evidence at its dawn, but they became more and more manifest with each succeeding decade. in american librarianship, as in many another sphere of labor, more was accomplished in the last quarter of the century than in the seventy-five preceding years. it is as recently as that boston opened the doors of the first free public library established in an american city. its founders were convinced that what was good for the students at harvard, the subscribers to the athenæum, was good for everybody else. literature, they felt, was a trust to be administered not for a few, but for the many, to be, indeed, hospitably proffered to all. to this hour, by a wise and generous responsiveness to its ever-growing duties, the boston foundation remains a model of what a metropolitan library should be. as with the capital, so with the state; to-day massachusetts is better provided with free public libraries than any other commonwealth on the globe; only one in two hundred of her people are unserved by them, while within her borders the civic piety of her sons and daughters has reared more than six score library buildings. the library commission of the state is another model in its kind; its powers are in the main advisory, but when a struggling community desires to establish a library, and contributes to that end, the commission tenders judicious aid. the population of massachusetts is chiefly urban, an exceptional case, for taking the union as a whole, notwithstanding the constant drift to the cities, much more than half the people are still to be found in the country. for their behoof village libraries have appeared in thousands. still more effective, because linked with one another, are the travelling libraries, inaugurated by mr. melvil dewey in new york in , and since adopted in many other states of the union, and several provinces of canada. all this registers how the democracy of letters has come to its own. schools public and free ensure to the american child its birthright of instruction; libraries, also public and free, are rising to supplement that instruction, to yield the light and lift, the entertainment and stimulus that literature stands ready to bestow. the old-time librarian, who was content to be a mere custodian of books, has passed from the stage forever; in his stead we find an officer anxious that his store shall do all the people the utmost possible good. to that end he combines the zeal of the missionary with the address of a consummate man of business. little children are invited to cheery rooms with kind and intelligent hospitality; teachers and pupils from the public schools are welcomed to classrooms where everything is gathered that the library can offer for their use; helpful bulletins and consecutive reading lists are issued for the home circle; every book, magazine and newspaper is bought, as far as feasible, with an eye to the special wants and interests of the community; information desks are set up; and partnerships are formed with expositors of acknowledged merit, with museums of industry, of natural history, of the fine arts. not the borrowers only, but the buyers of books are remembered. the standard library, brought together by mr. w. e. foster, in providence, is a shining example in this regard. the sense of trusteeship thus variously displayed has had a good many sources; let us confine our attention to one of them. during the past hundred years the treasure committed to the keeping of librarians has undergone enrichment without parallel in any preceding age. we have more and better books than ever before; they mean more than in any former time for right living and sound thinking. a rough and ready classification of literature, true enough in substance, divides it into books of power, of information, and of entertainment. let us look at these three departments a little in detail. restricting our purview to the english tongue, we find the honor roll of its literature lengthened by the names of wordsworth, tennyson and matthew arnold, carlyle and ruskin, emerson and lowell. and not only to authors such as these must our debt be acknowledged. we owe scholarly editors nearly as much. in spedding's bacon, the shakesperean studies of mr. furniss, and the chaucer of professor skeat, we have typical examples of services not enjoyed by any former age. to-day the supreme poets, seers and sages of all time are set before us in the clearest sunshine; their gold, refined from all admixture, is minted for a currency impossible before. in their original, unedited forms, the masterpieces of our language are now cheap enough to find their way to the lowliest cottage of the cross-roads. it is not, however, in the field of literature pure and simple that the manna fell most abundantly during the past hundred years. mr. alfred russel wallace, the last of the great students who took all natural history for their province, declares that the advances in discovery, invention and generalization during the nineteenth century outweigh those of all preceding time. admit this judgment, and at once is explained why the records and the spirit of science dominate the literature of the last ten decades. and let us note that while books of knowledge have increased beyond measure, they have appeared with a helpfulness and with merits wholly new. for the first time in the history of letters, men and women of successful experience, of practised and skilful pens, write books which, placed in the hands of the people, enlighten their toil, diminish their drudgery, and sweeten their lives. cross the threshold of the home and there is not a task, from choosing a carpet to rearing a baby, that has not been illuminated by at least one good woman of authority in her theme. on the heights of the literature of science we have a quality and distinction unknown before these later days. the modern war on evil and pain displays weapons of an edge and force of which our forefathers never dared to dream; its armies march forward not in ignorant hope, but with the assured expectation of victory. all this inspires leaders like huxley, spencer and fiske with an eloquence, a power to convince and persuade, new in the annals of human expression and as characteristic of the nineteenth century as the english poetry of the sixteenth, in the glorious era of elizabeth. the literature of knowledge is not only fuller and better than of old, it is more wisely employed. in the classroom, and when school days are done, we now understand how the printed page may best direct and piece out the work of the hand, the eye and the ear; not for a moment deluding ourselves with the notion that we have grasped truth merely because we can spell the word. to-day we first consider the lilies of the field, not the lilies of the printer; that done it is time enough to take up a formal treatise which will clarify and frame our knowledge. if a boy is by nature a mechanic, a book of the right sort shows him how to construct a simple steam engine or an electric motor. is he an amateur photographer, other books, excellently illustrated, give him capital hints for work with his camera. it is in thus rounding out the circle which springs from the school desk that the public library justifies its equal claim to support from the public treasury. in the third and last domain of letters, that of fiction, there is a veritable embarrassment of riches. during the three generations past the art of story-telling culminated in works of all but shakesperean depth and charm. we have only to recall scott and thackeray, hawthorne, george eliot and thomas hardy, to be reminded that an age of science may justly boast of novelists and romancers such as the world never knew before. no phase of life but has been limned with photographic fidelity, no realm of imagination but has been bodied forth as if by experience on fire, so that many a book which bears the name of fiction might well be labelled as essential truth. within the past decade, however, the old veins have approached their bounds, while new lodes do not as yet appear. of this the tokens are the eager sifting of the rubbish heap, the elaborate picturing of the abnormal and the gross. pens unable to afford either delight or cheer have abundant capacity, often with evident malice, to strike the nerves of horror and of pain. if at the present hour high achievement in fiction is rare, if we hear more echoes than ever and fewer voices, quantity abounds to the point of surfeit. with an output in america alone of works for , all fears of famine may well be allayed. the main fact of the situation then is that the librarian's trust has of late years undergone stupendous increase; this at once broadens his opportunities and adds to his burdens. gold and silver, iron and lead, together with much dross, are commingled in a heap which rises every hour. before a trust can be rightly and gainfully administered, its trustees must know in detail what it is that they guard, what its several items are worth, what they are good for. and let us remember that literature consists in but small part of metals which declare themselves to all men as gold or lead; much commoner are alloys of every conceivable degree of worth or worthlessness. there is plainly nothing for it but to have recourse to the crucibles of the professional assayer, it becomes necessary to add to the titles of our catalogs some responsible word as to what books are and what rank they occupy in an order of just precedence. this task of a competent and candid appraisal of literature, as a necessity of its trusteeship, has been before the minds of this association for a good many years. a notable step toward its accomplishment was taken when mr. samuel s. green, in , allied himself with the teachers of worcester, massachusetts, that they and he together might select books for the public schools of that city. the work began and has proceeded upon comprehensive lines. such literature has been chosen as may usefully and acceptably form part of the daily instruction, there is a liberal choice of books of entertainment and inspiration worthily to buttress and relieve the formal lessons. the whole work goes forward with intent to cultivate the taste, to widen the horizons, to elevate the impulses of the young reader. mr. green's methods, with the modifications needful in transplanting, have been adopted far and wide throughout the union. already they have borne fruit in heightening the standards of free choice when readers have passed from the school bench to the work-a-day world. thus thoughtfully to lay the foundation of the reading habit is a task beyond praise; upon a basis so sound it falls to our lot to rear, if we can, a worthy and durable superstructure. it is time that we passed from books for boys and girls to books for the youth, the man and the woman. and how amid the volume and variety of the accumulated literature of the ages shall we proceed? for light and comfort let us go back a little in the history of education, we shall there find a method substantially that of our friend, mr. green. long before there were any free libraries at all, we had in america a small band of readers and learners who enjoyed unfailing pilotage in the sea of literature. these readers and learners were in the colleges, where the teachers from examination and comparison in the study, the class-room and the laboratory were able to say that such an author was the best in his field, that such another had useful chapters, and that a third was unreliable or superseded. while literature has been growing from much to more, this bench of judicature has been so enlarged as to keep steadily abreast of it. at harvard there are twenty-six sub-libraries of astronomy, zoology, political economy, and so on; at hand are the teachers who can tell how the books may be used with most profit. of the best critics of books in america the larger part are to be found at harvard, at its sister universities and colleges, at the technological institutes and art schools of our great cities. we see their signed reviews in such periodicals as the _political science quarterly_ and the _physical review_; or unsigned in journals of the stamp of the _nation_. fortunately, we can call upon reinforcements of this vanguard of criticism. it would be difficult to name a branch of learning, an art, a science, an exploration, from folk-lore to forestry, from psychical research to geological surveys, whose votaries are not to-day banded to promote the cause they have at heart. these organizations include not only the foremost teachers in the union, but also their peers, outside the teaching profession, of equal authority in bringing literature to the balances. and the point for us is that these societies, through their publications and discussions, enable these laymen to be known for what they are. because the american historical association is thus comprehensive, its membership has opened the door for an initial task of appraisal, important in itself and significant for the future. drawing his two score contributors almost wholly from that association, mr. j. n. larned, of buffalo, an honored leader of ours, has, without fee or reward, acted as chief editor of an annotated bibliography of american history. the work is now passing through the composing room of houghton, mifflin & co., of boston; its contributors include professors of history at bowdoin, bryn mawr, columbia, harvard, mcgill, toronto, tulane and yale, as well as the universities of michigan, wisconsin and chicago; our own association is worthily represented by messrs. james bain, clarence s. brigham, v. l. collins, w. e. foster, j. k. hosmer, e. c. richardson and r. g. thwaites. as a rule the notes are signed. where for any reason a book demanding notice could not be allotted to a contributor, mr. larned has quoted the fairest review he could find in print. he has included not only good books, but such other works as have found an acceptance they do not deserve. all told his pages will offer us about titles; a syllabus of the sources of american history is prefixed by mr. paul leicester ford; as an appendix will appear a feature also of great value. in their "guide to american history," published in , professors channing and hart, of harvard university, recommended such collections of books as may be had for $ , $ , $ , $ or $ . professor channing is kind enough to say that he will revise these lists and bring them down to date as a contribution to mr. larned's work. professor channing may, we trust, name the books in each collection in the order in which they may be most gainfully read. in times past our bibliographies have begun to need enlargement the moment they left the bindery; in the present case that need is for the first time to be supplied. mr. larned's titles come to the close of ; beyond that period current literature is to be chosen from and appraised with the editorship of philip p. wells, librarian of the yale law library, who will issue his series in card form. we hope that he may be ready with his cards for at the time that mr. larned's book appears. thereafter mr. wells' series will probably be published quarter by quarter. beginning with , mr. w. dawson johnston, now of the library of congress, has edited for us a series of annotated cards dealing with the contemporary literature of english history. both the form and substance of his series are capital. in so far as his cards go directly into catalog cases, where readers and students must of necessity see them, they render the utmost possible aid. if subscribers in sufficient array come forward, mr. larned's book may be remolded for issue in similar card form, with a like opportunity for service in catalog cases. in the cleveland public library and its branches useful notes are pasted within the lids of a good many volumes. it is well thus to put immediately under the reader's eye the word which points him directly to his goal, or prevents him wasting time in wanderings of little value or no value at all. with mr. larned's achievement a new chapter is opened in american librarianship; he breaks a path which should be followed up with a discernment and patience emulous of his example. if the whole working round of our literature were sifted and labelled after his method, the worth of that literature, because clearly brought into evidence, might well be doubled at least. every increase in the availability of our books, every removal of fences, every setting-up of guide-posts, has had a heartening public response. so it will be if we proceed with this effort to bring together the seekers and the knowers, to obtain the best available judgments for the behoof of readers and students everywhere. economics and politics, so closely interwoven with american history, might well afford the second field for appraisal. a good many libraries still find aid in the "reader's guide" in this department, although it appeared as long ago as . next might follow the literature of the sciences pure and applied, together with the useful arts. among useful arts those of the household might well have the lead, for we must not be academic, or ever lose sight of the duties nearest at hand to the great body of the plain people. mr. sturgis and mr. krehbiel, in , did an excellent piece of work for us in their "bibliography of the fine arts"; their guide might profitably be revised and enlarged in its several divisions, not omitting the introductory paragraphs which make the book unique in its class. these tasks well in hand, we might come to such accessions of strength and insight as to nerve us for labors of wider range and greater difficulty, where personal equations may baffle even the highest court of appeal, where it is opinion rather than fact that is brought to the scales. i refer to the debatable ground of ethics, philosophy and theology; and, at the other pole of letters, to the vast stretches of fiction and belles lettres in our own and foreign tongues. with regard to fiction and belles lettres, one of mr. larned's methods has a hint for us. in some cases he has found it best to quote mr. francis parkman, mr. justin winsor, or the pages of the _nation_, the _dial_, the _american historical review_, and similar trustworthy sources. with respect to novels and romances, essays and literary interpretation, it does not seem feasible to engage a special corps of reviewers. it may be a good plan to appoint judicious editors to give us composite photographs of what the critics best worth heeding have said in the responsible press. it is in the preponderant circulation of fiction, and fiction for the most part of poor quality, that the critics of public libraries find most warrant for attack. they point to the fact that many readers of this fiction are comparatively well-to-do, and are exempted by public taxation from supporting the subscription library and the bookseller. the difficulty has been met chiefly in two ways; by curtailing the supply of mediocre and trashy fiction; by exacting a small fee on issuing the novels brought for a season to a huge demand by advertising of a new address and prodigality. appraisal, just and thorough, may be expected to render aid more important because radical instead of superficial. in the first place, the best books of recreation, now overlaid by new and inferior writing, can be brought into prominence; secondly, an emphasis, as persuasive as it can be made, ought to be placed upon the more solid stores of our literature. "business," said bagehot long ago, "is really more agreeable than pleasure; it interests the whole mind, the aggregate nature of man more continuously and deeply, but it does not look as if it did." let it be our purpose to reveal what admirable substance underlies appearances not always seductive to the casual glance. lowell and matthew arnold, huxley and john fiske, lecky and goldwin smith are solid enough, yet with no lack of wit or humor to relieve their argument and elucidation. a new york publisher of wide experience estimates that the average american family, apart from school purchases, buys less than two books a year. newspapers and magazines form the staple of the popular literary diet. what fills the newspapers is mainly news; their other departments of information are often extensive and admirable, but within the limits of the hastily penned paragraph or column they cannot rise to the completeness and quality of a book carefully written and faithfully revised. the plain fact is, and it behooves us to reckon with it, the average man, to whom we bear our credentials as missionaries, looks upon a book as having something biblical about it. to sit down deliberately and surrender himself to its chapters is a task he waves away with strangely mingled awe and dislike. so he misses the consecutive instruction, as delightful as profitable to an educated taste, which authors, publishers and librarians are ready and even anxious to impart. we hear a good deal in these days about the need of recreation, and not a word more than is true, but let us remember that the best recreation may consist in a simple change of work. behold the arduous toil of the city lawyer, or banker, as on a holiday tour he climbs a peak of the alps or the adirondacks, or wades the chilly streams of scotland or canada a salmon rod in his hands. why does he undergo fatigues so severe? partly because they are freely chosen, partly because they are fatigues of an unwonted and therefore refreshing kind. so in the field before us to-day. truth is not only stranger than fiction, it is more fascinating when once its charms are recognized and entertained. our public schools throughout the land prove that a true story of exploration, of invention or discovery, of heroism or adventure, has only to be well told to rivet a boy's attention as firmly as ever did robinson crusoe or treasure island. when readers take up from instinctive appetite, or wise incitement, the best books about flowers or birds, minerals or trees, an art, a science, a research, they come to joys in new knowledge, in judgments informed and corrected, unknown to the tipplers and topers whose staple is the novel, good, bad and indifferent. and why, if we can help it, should public money ever be spent for aught but the public good? with a new sense of what is implied in the trusteeship of literature, if we endeavor in the future to ally ourselves with the worthiest critics of books, we must bid good-bye to the temporary expedients which have cramped and burdened our initial labors. the work of the appraisal of literature requires a home, a central bureau, with a permanent and adequately paid staff of editors and assistants. the training of such a staff has already begun; in addition to the experience acquired by those enlisted in our present bibliographical tasks, instruction is now given in advanced bibliography at the new york state library school at albany, and doubtless also at other library schools. and at the central bureau, which we are bold enough to figure to ourselves, much more should be done than to bring books to the balances. at such a home, in new york, washington, or elsewhere, every other task should proceed which aims at furthering the good that literature can do all the people. there might be conducted the co-operative cataloging now fast taking form; there should be extended the series of useful tracts begun by that of dr. g. e. wire on "how to start a library," by mr. f. a. hutchins on "travelling libraries." at such a center should be exhibited everything to inform the founder of a public library; everything to direct the legislator who would create a library commission on the soundest lines or recast library laws in the light of national experience; there, moreover, should be gathered everything to arouse and instruct the librarian who would bring his methods to the highest plane. thence, too, should go forth the speakers and organizers intent upon awakening torpid communities to a sense of what they miss so long as they stand outside our ranks, or lag at the rear of our movement. in the fulness of time such a bureau might copy the franklin society, of paris, and call into existence a needed book, to find within this association a sale which, though small, would be adequate, because free from the advertising taxes of ordinary publishing. to found and endow such a bureau would undoubtedly cost a great deal, and where is the money to come from? we may, i think, expect it from the sources which have given us thousands of public libraries, great and small. here is an opportunity for our friends, whether their surpluses be large or little. when a gift can be accompanied by personal aid and counsel, it comes enriched. it is much when a goodly gift provides a city with a library, it would be yet more if the donation were to establish and maintain an agency to lift libraries everywhere to the highest efficiency possible, to give literature for the first time its fullest acceptance, its utmost fruitage. in a retrospective glance at nineteenth century science, professor haeckel has said that the hundred years before us are not likely to witness such victories as those which have signalized the era just at an end. assume for a moment that his forecast is sound, and that it applies beyond the immediate bounds of science, what does it mean for librarianship? it simply reinforces what in any case is clear, namely, that it is high time that the truth and beauty of literature known to the few made its way to all the people, for their enlightenment, consolation and delight. if the future battles of science are to be waged less strenuously than of yore, if scholarship has measurably exhausted its richest mines, let us give the broadest diffusion to the fruits of their triumphs past. in thus diffusing the leaven of culture the public library should take a leading, not a subordinate part. its treasure is vaster and more precious than ever before. the world's literature grows much like the world's stock of gold, every year's winning is added to the mass already heaped together at the year's first day. in the instruction, entertainment and inspiration of every man and woman there is a three-fold ministry, that of art, of science, and of letters. because letters bring to public appreciation, to popular sympathy, both art and science, and this in addition to their own priceless argosies, may we not say that of art, science and letters, the greatest of these is letters? the trusteeship of literature--ii. by richard t. ely, _director school of economics, university of wisconsin_. it is my purpose to speak plainly and, if possible, forcibly, concerning what seems to me a grave menace to the progress of science, but in all that i shall say, i would have it understood that i have only the friendliest feelings personally for the gentleman who has brought forward what seem to me dangerous proposals. i appreciate his zeal for progress and his self-sacrificing efforts for human advancement in various directions, but i think that in this particular case--namely, the evaluation of literature, or the establishment of a judicature of letters, my friend is working against his own ideals. i admit freely that the readers in our public libraries very generally need help in the selection of books, and that great assistance may be rendered them by judicious advice. much time is wasted by those who read scientific and serious works which do not present the results of recent investigations: furthermore, as another consequence effort is misdirected and instead of producing beneficial results may do positive damage. the question may be asked: "shall i read adam smith's 'wealth of nations?' i hear it mentioned as one of the great works in the world's history." probably many a librarian has had this precise question asked him. in giving an affirmative answer it will be most helpful to offer a few words explaining the circumstances under which it appeared one hundred and twenty-five years ago, and its relation to the subsequent development of economic schools and tendencies. doubtless this work is frequently perused as if it were fresh from the press and were to be judged as a work appearing in . i further admit the harm which has come to individuals from the study of the so-called "crank" literature in economics and sociology, as well as in other branches of learning. doubtless many a man is working vigorously in a wrong way and attempting to force society into false channels who might be doing a good work had his reading been well directed in a formative period. but the magnitude of the interests involved in the proposal which greets us requires caution and conservatism in action. we must take a long, not a short, view of the matter, inquiring into remote and permanent results. it is proposed, as i understand it, to have so-called expert opinions expressed concerning books, new and old; to secure as precise and definite estimates of their value as possible, and then by means of printed guides, and even card catalogs, to bring these opinions and evaluations before the readers in our libraries. let us reflect for a moment on what this implies. it means, first of all a judicial body of men from whom these estimates are to proceed. have we such a body? is it in the nature of things possible that we should have such a body? i say that so far as contemporary literature is concerned, the history of knowledge gives us a positive and conclusive negative answer--a most emphatic "no." let anyone who knows the circumstances and conditions under which reviews are prepared and published reflect on what the attempt to secure this evaluation of literature implies. many of us know a great deal about these circumstances and conditions. we have written reviews, we have asked others to write reviews, and we have for years been in contact with a host of reviewers. we may in this connection first direct out attention to the general character of the periodicals from which quotations are frequently made in the evaluation of literature. i say nothing about my own view, but i simply express an opinion of many men whose judgment should have great weight when i say that one of the most brilliant of these periodicals has been marked by a narrow policy, having severe tests of orthodoxy along economic, social and political lines, and displaying a bitterness and vindictiveness reaching beyond the grave. i mention no names, and the opinion may or may not be a just one; but it should be carefully weighed whether or not, or to what extent, the evaluations of such a periodical ought to be crystallized as it were: that is, taken from the periodical press and made part of a working library apparatus, to last for years. another periodical, an able magazine, which makes much of reviews is under the control of a strong body of men, but they stand for scarcely more than one line of thought among many lines. and sometimes very sharp and very hard things are said about those who believe that scientific truth is moving along one of these other lines. indeed, the discreet person, knowing personally the reviewer and the reviewed, will not be convinced that there is always in the reviews, here as elsewhere, an absence of personal animosity. let us for a moment reflect on this personal element in reviews, as it has surely fallen under the notice of every man with wide experience in these matters. as a rule, the reviewers are comparatively young and inexperienced men, frequently zealous for some sect or faction. sometimes great leaders of thought write reviews, but generally they are unable to find the time to do so. as a result in our reviews in the best periodicals it will frequently be found that an inferior is passing judgment on a superior, and furthermore, reviewers share in our common human nature, and the amount of personal bias and even at times personal malignity found in reviews and estimates of books is something sad to contemplate. an unsuccessful candidate for a position held by an author has been known to initiate a scandalous and altogether malicious attack in a review. in the next place, i would call your attention to the absence of objective standards. necessarily are the standards personal and subjective; particularly and above all in economics, but in high degree in sociology, ethics and philosophy in general, and religion. biological reviews have displayed in marked degree the subjective personal element. chemistry, physics, astronomy and mathematics probably are best of all fitted for evaluations free from personal bias. it may be asked what damage will result from evaluation. passing over grave injustice to individuals, we observe that they must lead to the formation of what bagehot aptly called a crust, preventing the free development of science. we have been laboring for years to obtain scientific freedom, freedom in teaching, freedom in learning, freedom in expression. for this end many a battle has been fought by noble leaders of thought. indeed, every new movement of thought has to struggle to make itself felt, and to struggle precisely against those who control the most respectable avenues of publication; against the very ones who would be selected to give expert opinions and make evaluations of literature. call to mind the opposition to darwin and huxley--although they were especially and particularly fortunate in early gaining the adherence of scientific men--also the opposition to adam smith, malthus, ricardo and john stuart mill--and to the last named, even now, some would on a scale of give an evaluation perhaps of , others of --still others and . recently an economic book appeared of which one widely quoted periodical said that it illustrated a _reductio ad absurdum_ of false tendencies, while another expert opinion inclined to place it among the great works of the age. it would seem to me that if we are to have formal evaluations, they should at least be restricted to works which have been before the public for a period of fifty years. we have in this proposal, as i take it, an attack on liberty, proceeding from one who would not willingly attack it, but illustrating the truth of the saying "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." it is proposed to publish virtually an _index librorum prohibitorum_ and an _index expurgatorius_. and of all efforts ever conceived along this line, this is precisely the worst because of its apparently impersonal character. let the ordinary reader go to a guide and find a book described as unscientific and superficial, and what weight can it have for him. the authority has spoken. it is well enough for librarians personally to guide and direct their constituencies, and one review may be weighed against another review. the old methods even must be used by librarians cautiously, and they are ample for the purpose to be attained. the great point is that there should be a fluid current of opinion, and every facility for a revision of judgment should be maintained. reviewers themselves change their views. i, myself, remember reviews which i wrote of works by two distinguished american authors, which i now regret, as my estimates were, i believe, not altogether sound and did an injustice to the authors, namely john fiske and lester f. ward. but after all, i suppose no special harm was done, but if extracts from these reviews had been made part of a system of evaluation it would have been different. librarians as librarians must watch with impartiality the struggles among tendencies and schools of thought, and above all things, endeavor to keep open a free way for new truth. book copyright. by thorvald solberg, _register of copyright, washington. d. c._ in order to keep within the time limit provided in the program i have been obliged to refrain from even touching upon many points, but have endeavored to present certain general principles governing copyright in books. i shall, therefore, only attempt to make clear, as briefly as possible: . what is copyrighted, _i.e._, what can properly be designated as a "book" in order to secure copyright protection thereon; . what is the nature of the protection secured under the copyright law; . the limitation in time during which the protection applies, and its territorial limitations; . who may obtain protection--the difference between an "author" and a "proprietor"; . international copyright; . what conditions and formalities are required to be complied with in order to secure copyright; . the functions of the copyright office; and . possible copyright law amendment. . _what is copyrighted?_ the copyright statutes enumerate the articles or classes of articles subject-matter of copyright, and first in the list stands "book." the first consideration is, therefore, what is to be understood by the term "book" as thus used? or, in other words, what is a "book," as that designation is employed in the copyright law? the answer is indicated in the provision of the federal constitution upon which our copyright legislation is founded. this paragraph of the constitution (section of article ) grants to congress--"in order to promote the progress of science and useful arts"--the right to enact laws to secure "to authors ... the exclusive right to their ... writings...." this provision is, of course, to be broadly interpreted, but, using the exact wording of the law, it is the _writing_ of an author--his literary composition--the prose or poetical expression of his thought--which makes his "book," as the term is used in the copyright law. in order to be a "book," subject to protection under the copyright law, the author's production must have this literary characteristic. the _quality_ of the literary ingredient is not tested, but its presence is requisite. hence not everything which may ordinarily be called a book is fitly so nominated, in order to indicate the subject-matter of copyright; while some productions not ordinarily designated as "books" may properly be thus classified in order to be registered as a preliminary to copyright protection. that an article possesses the corporeal characteristics of a book is of little consequence. the _literary_ substance, not the material form, primarily determines the matter. an article contributed to a newspaper or a periodical--although but a few paragraphs in length--is a "book" under the copyright law, while a bookkeeper's ledger, to all outward appearance answering the description, is not a "book" so far as registering its title to secure copyright is concerned. a calendar whose main features are literary may doubtless be properly registered as a "book," but a pack of playing cards with pictures on the backs, even though each card may be furnished with a linen guard and all bound up, with a plausible title-page, so as to resemble a book, is not a "book" in the meaning of the copyright law. orderly arranged information produced in a form which would commonly be termed a chart cannot be registered under that designation which in the copyright law is applicable only to a chartographical work, but may properly be called a "book"; while a so-called book of coupons, or railway tickets, or of blank forms, cannot be thus entitled. in brief, it should be a book in the ordinary understanding of a work of _literature_ or art, and may not include a production whose main feature is some original idea, however ingenious or fanciful its form may be, or is of the character of something invented. invention must look for protection to the patent law. . _the nature of the protection secured._ what is the nature of the protection secured? copy-right, _i. e._, the right of copy--the right to make copies. according to the words of our own statute, the author of a book "shall have the _sole_ liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, completing, copying, executing, finishing and vending the same." the _exclusive_ liberty of reproducing his work, and the restriction of the liberty of every one except the author to multiply copies constitute the literary property. it is a much-discussed question whether the author's privilege of copyright is a natural right or was created by legislation. granting the production a proper one, it would seem that the author of a literary creation has a natural right to the unrestricted use and enjoyment of it. as professor langdell recently put it: "he has the right of use and enjoyment, because he can exercise such right without committing any wrong against any other person, and because no other person can prevent his exercising such right without committing a wrong against him." the author's creation is his own, and he has a natural right to the use of it without interference. the state does not create this right, but recognizes it and protects it. protection is secured by restricting the liberty of other people in the use of the author's creation. just how far this restriction should go is still a moot question. the law says, however, that you may not reproduce in whole or in part an author's book without his written consent, signed in the presence of two witnesses. it does not say that you may not read the book, nor are you forbidden to read it in public, even for profit, although in the case of musical and dramatic compositions public performance or representation for profit without the author's special--not implied--consent is not only directly prohibited, but is punishable by imprisonment. the international publishers' congress, which met in paris in june, , passed a resolution to the effect that the reproduction of a literary work by means of public readings, in case such readings were held for purposes of profit, ought not to be permitted without the consent of the copyright proprietor. by the act of march , , the exclusive right to translate or dramatize his book is reserved to the author. in this unrestricted and unlimited exclusive right of translation and dramatization our law has exceeded the usual trend of legislation in regard to the author's control over his work in these directions. foreign legislation usually only reserves to the author the exclusive right to translate or dramatize for a limited fixed period of time, and if he has not himself produced a translation or dramatization within that period, another person may. it has occasionally been intimated that the efforts made by the public libraries to secure the constant circulation of the same book is a trespass upon the rights of the author, as he is presumably thus subjected to the loss of readers who would otherwise also become purchasers of his book. a case has just been decided to test an author's right to object to having copies of his own copyright editions of his books sold in a manner not indicated by himself as volumes of a so-called collected edition of his works. the decision, on first hearing, was adverse to the author's contention. it is the _literary expression_ of the author's thoughts and ideas which is the subject-matter of the protection, and not primarily the thoughts and ideas themselves. these last may or may not be original with the author, but once he has made public a thought or an idea he has given it away; he cannot control its use or application. the author of a translation of a book--the original work being in the public domain--may obtain a copyright upon his own translation, but doing so will not debar another from producing an original translation of his own of the same work and obtaining copyright registration for the same. copyright does not give to any one monopoly in the use of the _title_ of a book, nor can a title _per se_ be subject-matter of copyright. it is the book itself, the literary substance which is protected, the title being recorded for the identification of the work. . _time and territorial limitations of copyright._ a few countries still grant copyright in perpetuity, but usually the term of protection is limited either to a certain number of years, or to a term of years beyond the date of the author's death. this last provision is the more general, and the term varies from seven years after the author's death in england, for instance, to eighty years after the author's death in spain. the two most common terms are thirty years to fifty years beyond the life of the author. our own legislation provides for two possible terms of protection. the first being for twenty-eight years from the date of the recording of the title in the copyright office, and the second, an extension of fourteen years from the expiration of the first term. besides the time limit, copyright--especially as far as the authors of the united states are concerned--is limited territorially, not extending beyond the boundaries of the united states. whether the protection which follows registration and deposit shall extend so as to include porto rico, hawaii and the philippines is a matter of some question. probably as regards the philippines the answer would be in the negative, but as concerns porto rico, since the passage of the "act temporarily to provide revenue and a civil government for porto rico" (april , ) and hawaii, since the taking effect (june , ) of the "act to provide a government for the territory of hawaii," the response would be in the affirmative. the obtaining of copyright protection by a compliance with the united states statutory requirements as to registration of title, deposit of copies, and printing of notice of copyright, does not secure extension of this protection in the territory of any foreign country, the united states not being a member of the international copyright union. an american author must comply with the requirements of the copyright laws of a foreign country, just as if he were a citizen or subject of that country, in order to obtain copyright protection within its borders. presumably, however, the obtaining of valid copyright protection in one of the countries of the international copyright union, england for example, would secure protection throughout the various countries of that union. . _who may obtain copyright._ it is the _author_ of the work who is privileged to obtain copyright protection for it. as i have already pointed out, the constitutional provision enacts that congress is to legislate to secure to _authors_ the exclusive right to their _writings_. when, therefore, the law states that the author "or proprietor" of any book may obtain a copyright for it, the term "proprietor" must be construed to mean the author's assignee, _i.e._, the person to whom he has legally transferred his copyright privilege. it is not necessarily transferred by the sale of the book, _i.e._, the manuscript of the author's work, as the purchase alone of an author's manuscript does not secure to the proprietor of the manuscript copyright privileges. prior to july , , no foreign author could obtain copyright protection in the united states, hence the purchase by a publisher of one of dickens's novels in manuscript, for example, would not enable the buyer to obtain copyright on the book in this country. no author who has not the privilege of copyright in the united states can transfer to another either a copyright or the right to obtain one. he cannot sell what he does not himself possess. under the united states law copyright comes through _authorship_ only. it is not a right attaching to the thing--the book--but is a right vested in the creator of the literary production, hence does not pass to a second person by the transference of the material thing, the book, and evidence must be offered showing that the transference of the book carried with it the author's consent to a conveyance of the privilege of copyright. this same principle is embodied in the provisions of the law as to renewal of the copyright. the second term of protection must also start with the author, or if he be dead, with his natural heirs, his widow or children, but not with his assigns, the "proprietors." the right to the extension term is in the author if he be living at the period during which registration for the second term may take place, _viz._, within six months prior to the expiration of the first term of twenty-eight years. if the author be dead, the privilege of renewal rests with his widow or children. whether the author may dispose of his right of renewal so that the transference may be effective for the second term, even though the author should have died before the date of the beginning of that term, is a question upon which the authorities differ. the language of the statute would seem to give to the author an inchoate right which reverts to his widow or children should he be married and die before the expiration of the first term of the copyright. . _international copyright._ the idea of nationality or citizenship governed our copyright legislation for more than a century, from the earliest american copyright statute of to july , , so that until the latter date copyright protection in the united states was limited to the works of authors who were citizens or residents. by the act of march , , commonly called the international-copyright law, which went into effect on july of that year, the privileges of copyright in this country were extended to the productions of authors who were citizens or subjects of other countries which by their laws permitted american citizens to obtain copyright upon substantially the same basis as their own subjects. the existence of these conditions is made known by presidential proclamation, and up to this time ten such proclamations have been issued extending copyright in the united states to the citizen authors of belgium, chile, costa rica, denmark, france, germany, great britain and her possessions (including india, canada, the australias, etc.), italy, mexico, the netherlands, portugal, spain and switzerland. the privilege of copyright in the united states is extended only to authors who are subjects of some country in whose behalf a presidential proclamation as to copyright has been issued. it is well to point out, perhaps, that these copyright proclamations are not equivalent to copyright treaties, but are only notices that certain conditions exist. only in the case of one country, _viz._, germany, has anything been entered into approaching a convention or treaty. under date of jan. , , an "agreement" was signed with that country to issue a proclamation extending copyright in the united states to german subjects upon an assurance that "citizens of the united states of america shall enjoy, in the german empire, the protection of copyright as regards works of literature and art, as well as photographs, against illegal reproduction, on the same basis on which such protection is granted to subjects of the empire." in order to obtain copyright abroad, therefore, an american citizen must ascertain the requirements of the law of each country in which he desires to protect his book or other production and comply explicitly with such requirements. he can, of course, only avail himself of the legal protection accorded, so far as it is within his power to thus comply, and therein lies the difference between the privileges secured under the present international-copyright arrangements, and such as would be obtainable under copyright conventions or treaties. a citizen of the united states may find himself unable to meet the obligations or conditions of the statutes, just as a foreign author may find it practically impossible to comply with the requirements of the united states law, and in either case there would be a failure to secure the protection desired. in the case of a photograph, for example, the english law requires that the "author" of the photograph must be a british subject or actually "resident within the dominions of the crown," and the united states law requires that the two copies of the photograph to be deposited in the copyright office "shall be printed from _negatives made within the limits_ of the united states," two sets of conditions difficult of fulfilment. by means of a copyright convention exemption could be obtained in either case from these onerous conditions. . _conditions and formalities required by the copyright law._ two steps are made prerequisites to valid copyright by the laws now in force in the united states. the first of these is the recording of the title in the copyright office. for this purpose the statute requires the deposit of "a _printed_ copy" of the title-page, "on or before the day of publication in this or any foreign country." for a number of years it has been the practice of the copyright office to accept a typewritten title in lieu of the _printed_ title-page, but in this, as with all other requirements of the law regarding copyright, the preferable course is a strict compliance with the letter as well as the spirit of the law. the clerical service for thus recording the title requires the payment of a fee, which should accompany the title-page when transmitted to the copyright office. the fee for this, as fixed by law, is cents in the case of the title of a book whose author is a citizen of the united states, and $ in the case of a book whose author is not an american but is a citizen or subject of some country to whose citizens the privilege of copyright in the united states has been extended, under the provisions of the act of march , . if a copy of the record thus made of the title (commonly called a certificate) is desired, an additional fee of cents is required in all cases. in order to have this essential record of title properly made, in the form exactly prescribed by the statute, it is necessary to furnish the copyright office with certain information, namely: _a._ the name of the claimant of the copyright. (this should be the real name of the person, not a _nom de plume_ or pseudonym.) _b._ whether copyright is claimed by applicant as the "author" or the "proprietor" of the book. _c._ the nationality or citizenship of the _author_ of the book. (this is required to determine whether the book is by an author who is privileged to copyright protection in this country, and, also, the amount of the fee to be charged for recording the title.) _d._ the application should state that the title-page is the title of a "book." _e._ a statement should be made that the book is or will be "printed from type set within the limits of the united states." the second prerequisite to copyright protection is the deposit in the copyright office of two copies of the book whose title-page has been recorded. these copies must be printed from "type set within the limits of the united states," and the deposit must be made "not later than the day of publication thereof, in this or any foreign country." the stipulation as to american typesetting applies to works by american authors as well as to those written by foreign authors. the statute provides, as regards both the printed title and the printed copies, that the articles are to be delivered at the office of the librarian of congress, or "deposited in the mail, within the united states, addressed to the librarian of congress, at washington, d. c." just what would be held to have been secured under the latter provision in case the deposit in the mail were made and the book failed to reach the copyright office has not been determined by judicial decision. the law provides for the giving of a receipt by the postmaster in the case of the title and the copies, if such receipt is requested. the third step required for obtaining a defendable copyright is to print upon the title-page or the page immediately following it in each copy of the book the statutory notice of copyright. the form of this notice must be either "entered according to act of congress, in the year ----, by a. b., in the office of the librarian of congress, at washington;" or, "copyright, ----, by a. b." the name printed in this notice must be the real, legal name of the proprietor of the copyright, and must be the same as that in which the entry of title has been made; the date, also, must be the year date of the record of the filing of the title-page. a judicial decision is on record to the effect that printing the year date in this notice one year later than the date of actual recording of title barred the defence of the copyright. a penalty of $ is imposed on "every person who shall insert or impress such notice, _or words of the same purport_ in or upon any book ... whether subject to copyright or otherwise, for which he has not obtained a copyright." an american author may obtain for his book copyright protection in great britain, by a compliance with the official instructions as to publication, deposit of copies and registration. the protection, under english law, dates from the day of _first_ publication, but such first publication must be on english territory, and registration may follow, but cannot precede publication. the term of protection in the united states, on the contrary, dates from the day of registration of title in our copyright office, which must precede publication, and be followed by deposit of copies made "not later than the day of publication thereof in this or any foreign country." the point to guard, therefore, is _simultaneous publication_ in this country and in great britain. registration in england is a secondary matter. as stated in the official circulars of instructions issued by the english copyright office, "copyright is created by the statute, and does not depend upon registration, which is permissive only, and not compulsory, but no proprietor of copyright in any book can take any proceedings in respect of any infringement of his copyright unless he has, before commencing his proceedings, registered his book." under existing legal conditions, in order to secure valid copyright on a book in this country and in england, the following steps should be taken, and in the order stated. . record title in the united states copyright office. . print book from type set within the limits of the united states. . deposit two copies of such book in the united states copyright office. . send sufficient copies to london to _a._ place copies on sale and take such usual steps as are understood, under english law, to constitute "publication" on a prearranged day, on which same day the book is published in the united states. _b._ deposit copies: one copy of the best edition at the british museum, and four copies of the usual edition at stationers' hall for distribution to the bodleian library at oxford, the university library at cambridge, the faculty of advocates library at edinburgh, and the trinity college library at dublin. _c._ register title of book and day of first publication at stationers' hall, london. . _the united states copyright office._ one frequently hears the expressions "has obtained a copyright," "issued a copyright," etc., giving the impression that copyrights can be granted somewhat after the manner in which the patent office issues letters-patent. but congress has established no office authorized to furnish any such guarantee of _literary_ property as is done in the case of patent monopoly. the copyright office is purely an office of record and simply registers _claims_ to copyright. the form of record prescribed by law being the effect that a. b. "hath deposited the title of a book the right whereof he _claims_ as author or proprietor in conformity with the laws of the united states respecting copyrights." the copyright office has no authority to question any claim as to authorship or proprietorship, nor can it determine between conflicting claims. it registers the claim presented in the prescribed form for a proper subject of copyright by any person legally entitled to such registration without investigation as to the truthfulness of the representations, and would be obliged to record, not only the same title for different books, but the same title for the same work on behalf of two or more different persons, even against the protest of either one, were such registrations asked for. no examination is therefore made when a title reaches the office as to whether the same or a similar title has been used before. as i have already stated, the title _per se_ is not subject to copyright, and no one can secure a monopoly of the use of a title by merely having it recorded at a nominal fee at the copyright office. if any one, wishing to use a given form of title but desiring to avoid possible duplication of one previously used, writes to the copyright office asking whether such a title has already been recorded, an answer is made stating what is disclosed by the indexes of the office. it must be frankly explained, however, that an absolutely conclusive statement as to whether a given title has been previously used cannot always be given. the copyright records of entries of title previous to july , , are but indifferently indexed and rarely by title, usually only under names of proprietors of the copyright. the copyright entries since july , , to may , , number , , . the index to these entries consists of more than , cards, many of which contain a number of entries. these cards index the entries primarily under the names of the proprietors of the copyright, and this proprietor's index is understood to have been kept up continuously and to be complete, so that under the name of each copyright proprietor there is a card or cards showing the titles of all articles upon which copyright is claimed. in addition to the proprietor's index there are cards under the titles of periodicals and under the leading catchwords of the titles of other articles, besides cards under the authors' names for books. unhappily there are periods of time when what may be called the subsidiary index cards were not kept up. in addition to cards under the proprietors' names, cards are now made: for _books_, under the names of their authors; for _anonymous books_, _periodicals_ and _dramatic compositions_, under the first words of the titles (not a, an, or the), and for _maps_, under the leading subject words of the titles, _i.e._, the names of the localities mapped. it is doubtful if an absolutely complete index of all copyright entries by the _title_ of the book and other article--in addition to the cards at present made--could be justified by even a possibly legitimate use of such an index. when it is remembered that the copyright entries last year numbered , , the magnitude of the task of making several cards for each entry is easily conceived, and it is a question whether it could be rightfully imposed upon the copyright office under the present provisions of the law and so long as the registration of a title does not secure the use of that title to some one person to the exclusion of all others. . _amendment of the copyright law._ the possible amendment of the copyright laws is a subject which my time does not permit me to consider in detail, even were that deemed desirable. the law now in force consists of the act of july , , as edited to become title , chapter of the revised statutes, and ten amendatory acts passed subsequently. naturally there is lacking the consistency and homogeneousness of a single well-considered copyright statute. it is possible that congress will presently be willing to take under consideration, if not the re-codification of the copyright laws, then, at least, some amendment of them. an increase in the period of protection has frequently been urged, with some advocacy of perpetual copyright. as the federal constitution, however, distinctly provides that the protection granted the writings of an author is to be for a _limited time_, an amendment of the constitution would be necessary before congress could enact perpetual copyright, and such alteration of the fundamental law of the land is not probable. much might be said for an increase in the period of protection. it is for a shorter term of years than that provided by most modern copyright legislation, and the trend of such lawmaking has been in the direction of an increase in the length of time during which the author or his heirs could control the reproduction of his work. it should be borne in mind that for books of little value the length of the term of protection is of no great consequence. "dead" books are not affected by the length of the term of copyright. in the case also of popular new books, the great sales and consequent disproportionate remuneration comes within a short period of time after publication, and are not likely to continue during a long term of copyright. on the other hand, many books of great and permanent value not unfrequently make their way slowly into popular favor, and are not fully appreciated until many years after publication. for such books--the results, perhaps, of long years of study and labor--an equitable return cannot be secured except by a long term of protection. perhaps the most urgently desirable forward step in respect to copyright is the adhesion of the united states to the berne convention, thus securing the inclusion in the international copyright union of our country, the leading one of the three great states not yet members of this admirable association of nations. were the united states a member of the berne union a compliance with the statutory provisions of our own laws alone would secure copyright protection not only within the limits of the united states, but practically throughout the whole book-reading world--great britain, all europe (except temporarily russia, austria, and scandinavia), canada and australia, india, japan and south africa--thus increasing the possible reading public of american authors many fold. it would seem that considerations of justice to our large and constantly increasing national contingent of literary and artistic producers requires this advance of such great practical importance. it is the easier of accomplishment because it involves the adoption of no new principle, but only the extension of the principle embodied in the act of march , , namely, reciprocal international exchange of copyright privileges, and in return for the advantages which would accrue to our own citizens, only obligates the extension of copyright in the united states to the subjects of such countries as are members of the union. of the members of the international copyright union, all the great nations already enjoy copyright in the united states, and it would only remain to extend this privilege to the citizen authors of the six minor states that are members of the union, namely, hayti, japan, luxembourg, monaco, norway and tunis. the relationship of publishers, booksellers and librarians. by w. millard palmer, _grand rapids, mich._ in accepting the president's suggestion to give "expression of the _business_ side of the subject rather than the theoretical or sentimental," i wish at the outset to recall certain functions performed by publishers, booksellers and librarians, and to acknowledge my indebtedness to mr. j. w. nichols, secretary of the american booksellers' association, for material along this line. casual observers have come to regard publishers as bookmakers or manufacturers, who merely put the product of authors into merchantable form, and distribute it to dealers, for sale to the reading public. if this were the only function of the publisher, his task would be an easy one; indeed we might soon expect to see all publishers supplanted by one great co-operative factory, to which authors might take their manuscripts, and have them transformed into books and distributed through the ordinary channels of commerce, like any other commodities. some superficial observers have recently made bold to conjecture that this will be the final outcome of the present troubled state of the general trade of publishing and selling books. but, alas! the actual making of the book--giving to it an appropriate, artistic and really attractive form--is perhaps the least of the publishers' trials, though this, in itself, is a difficult task, requiring an artistic taste, well trained and skilful judgment, and much technical knowledge. to one who has had an insight into the publishing business, the enormous mass of manuscript that is annually submitted to each of the great publishers is simply appalling. they are compelled to employ a corps of "readers" to cull out that which is worthy of consideration by an intelligent and skilled publisher. much that come to hand has been hastily prepared by persons who lacked the time, experience or special training necessary to enable an author to prepare an acceptable manuscript, while the great majority of young authors have really no message to tell that is worth recording. here comes the most difficult and trying task of the successful publisher--_the selection of proper material for publication_. it often happens that a rejected manuscript contains some good work--a promise of something better to come. then the publisher points out the best features and encourages the incipient author to try again. thus books are made, not after a given pattern, like certain fabrics, but each is a creation in itself. the responsibility of the publisher, for the character of the creation, is by no means unimportant. he acts as arbiter of the standard of excellence that must be attained by an author before he is introduced to the public. the publishers' criterion is simply a question of cash. "will the public buy the book and pay for it?" nor can any other standard be adopted with safety. the whole question of supply must always depend upon public demand. but the publisher is not infallible. he often makes mistakes. between him and the readers is the dealer. the retail bookseller stands closest to the reading public. he acquaints himself with the essential character of the new book, points out to his customer enough of interest to cause him to glance through it, and finally sells it to him; for the intelligent bookseller knows the taste and reading habits of his customers. he has his leading customers in mind from the time he orders a new book till he has shown it and sold it to them. if they are pleased with it, and recommend it to their friends, who call at the store for it, the bookseller re-orders it, and, if he is so fortunate as not to be restrained by unfair local competition, he advertises the book and pushes its sale with energy, so long as interest in it can be kept alive. thus the retail booksellers in every city and hamlet throughout the country, standing close to the reading public, knowing what their customers will buy, are the real monitors of the publishers. when the publisher considers the advisability of bringing out a new book, he cannot undertake to look beyond a few hundred booksellers. it is through them, and only through them, that he has learned to gauge the taste of the reading public. the paramount question for him to decide is, "how many copies of this particular book can i sell to dealer a, dealer b and dealer c; how many copies of this book can i hope with certainty to sell to all of my customers in the trade?" the publisher well knows that the dealer is governed by the same criterion as himself: "will it pay; will this book be a ready seller, or will it cost me all of the profit i make on it to sell it?" thus the product of the author is subject to the immutable laws of supply and demand from the time he submits his first immature manuscript until he makes two, three, four or more trials, and finally has a manuscript accepted. but even then the publishers prepares only a small edition for a new author, and the dealers are very conservative in ordering a new book--especially by an unknown author. the conscientious bookseller awaits the verdict of certain patrons, knowing that, if the book is commended by one whose judgment is respected by local readers, he can safely re-order a goodly number. thus the author is dependent upon the publisher for the standard of excellence he must attain in order to achieve success; the publisher is dependent upon the dealer, not only in forming his judgment of the character of books that will sell, but also for the number that he may safely print; while the dealer is dependent upon his best and most critical patrons. hence the relation of author, publisher and dealer is so close--indeed they are so mutually interdependent--that one factor could not be removed without vitally crippling the other. a distinguished librarian, who has been a pioneer of progress in the library movement, has recently suggested the propriety of abolishing book stores (_see publishers' weekly_, may , ' , p. ) and allowing public librarians to receive orders and forward them to the publishers. if the distinguished gentleman did not have in view visions of personal gain for public librarians, he should have carried his philanthropic suggestion farther, and proposed to abolish both booksellers and librarians, and to allow the public to procure their books directly from the publishers, thus saving that moiety of gain that would be made by either in return for the service rendered. it cannot be supposed that so able and conscientious an administrative officer ever contemplated maintaining an extra corps of assistants, at an extra expense to the municipality or to those liberal benefactors who have endowed public libraries, in order that opulent citizens may still further indulge their tastes by purchasing larger private libraries, without paying the small commission or profit that is usually allowed to retail booksellers. on the other hand, if this proposal was made for the purpose of allowing libraries maintained by taxing the municipality, to engage in gainful occupation, this is carrying the socialistic idea farther than even our populistic friends have ever yet proposed. however, inasmuch as this question has been raised, we are bound to treat it from an economic point of view. the question is, "shall the bookseller be abolished and his office merged into that of the librarian, and can the librarian perform the offices of the bookseller?" no one has ever questioned the value of the public library from the burning of the alexandrian library to the present day. the value of a library, as a _librarium_, or storehouse for the permanent preservation of books, has always been manifest. again, the public library gives a larger opportunity and a wider range than is possible in the private collection; and scholars, historians and students of all classes are daily made grateful to the trained, professional librarian, who has so classified the contents of the library as to make the whole available at a moment's notice. still another inestimable feature of the public library is that it maintains a public reading room for children as well as adults. finally, the library furnishes reading at home to those who are not yet in a position to become owners of books. the benefit derived from reading of this character is often of questionable value. the _habitué_ of the circulating library makes his selections from misleading or sensational titles. little care and less intelligence is exercised in choosing either title or author. as a result librarians are constantly complaining that only the trashiest and most worthless books are read. the circulating department of the public library is now supplemented by others that are conducted for cash profit. these have sprung up in many cities. and now we have the "book-lovers' library," a corporation with capital stock, engaging in business for profit. it has the advantage of certain trust features. it proposes to organize branches in all of the principal cities and towns in the country. for five dollars a year it proposes to supply fifty dollars' worth of reading to each subscriber. an automobile is employed, with an attendant to deliver the books to subscribers each week and take up those that have been read. having paid five, ten or more dollars, at the beginning of the year, the subscriber can read from morning till night, while the new books come and go with the lightning speed of the automobile. as in many other circulating libraries, new copyrighted fiction is the chief staple supplied by the "book-lovers' library"--the sweetest pabulum automatically administered. after a season of such dissipation call in a neurologist to diagnose your patient, and he will advise you that by continuing the treatment the mind will be reduced to a sieve, if not ultimately to absolute imbecility. having abandoned the more serious literature that calls into use all the faculties of the mind, the reader of nothing but fiction converts what would otherwise be a healthful recreation into dissipation, that is enervating and permanently debilitating to all the faculties of the mind, when carried to an extreme. had the reader been denied the use of this automatic machine, and been compelled, as formerly, to browse through the book store in search of something to read, more serious books would have been selected--history, travel, descriptive writing or popular science, with an occasional novel by way of recreation. but to continue the argument, suppose we abolish the bookseller, as has been proposed. this would not be a difficult matter. most of them would gladly be "abolished" if they could sell out their stock for anything near what it cost them. their profits have been so reduced by unfair competition that they are not sufficient to pay the cost of doing business. they have been compelled to carry side lines, as stationery, newspapers, periodicals, sporting goods, _bric-a-brac_, wall paper, etc., in order to make a living. by this means they have learned that other lines of merchandise yield a better profit than books. as a result most of them have greatly reduced their book stock, or entirely abandoned the sale of books, and put in more profitable lines of merchandise. the causes that have led up to this result are manifold: st. they were strenuously urged, and they finally consented to allow discounts: (_a_) to ministers of the gospel, since they are public benefactors. (_b_) to school teachers, since they are public educators and benefactors. (_c_) to public libraries, since they are for the most part eleemosynary institutions, and hence entitled to charity. indeed, when i recount the charitable benefactions that have been exacted and received at the hands of the retail bookseller, he seems to me to have been the most saintly character that has lived in my day and generation. and right here it is of interest to note that these ministers, these teachers, these physicians, these public librarians were actually receiving out of the hands of the public stated salaries that exceeded by far the annual net profit of the average bookseller. d. having secured from the local dealer a discount equal to the best part of his profit, many librarians have gone behind him and appealed directly to the publishers for a larger discount. this has been granted in most cases, so that most librarians have recently been receiving as large a discount as local dealers. d. commission agents have purchased complete editions of popular-selling books from the publishers, and re-sold them at a slight advance: (_a_) to dry-goods stores, where they have been put on "bargain counters" and sold at less than cost, to attract customers to their stores. (_b_) to publishers of local newspapers, who give the books away as premiums or sell them at cost prices, to increase the local circulation of their papers. (_c_) to mail-order agencies, who advertise the books at less than they are usually sold for by dealers. th. many publishers have been advertising and mailing their books directly to retail customers at reduced prices, or at the same price they recommended local dealers to ask for them, and they have prepaid the postage, thus _competing directly with their distributing agents, the booksellers, in their own field_. th. finally, some local librarians, who a few years ago were appealing to local booksellers for a discount, having been granted the discount, have recently been supplying books "at cost prices" to other patrons of the local booksellers. thus our friends, the librarians, having inverted the good old practice of returning good for evil, having helped to rob the local bookseller of his livelihood, now propose to abolish his office. to carry the proposition to its conclusions, suppose we abolish the bookseller. can the librarian take his place and send the orders in to the publishers? if so, if this is all there is to the bookselling business, why should the publisher pay a commission to the librarian for doing what the people could as readily do for themselves? but a general business cannot be carried on in this way. publishers have tried it for years, yet only comparatively few people are willing to order books that they have not had an opportunity to examine, and of this class librarians are the most conservative. they, too, want to know what they are buying before they place their orders. hence, this postulate: if the librarian is to succeed the bookseller, he must become a merchant; he must order stocks of books and take the speculative chance of selling them. but the librarian has had no experience or training in merchandising. can he afford to hazard his own capital in an untried field; can he induce his friends to supply him with capital to invest in a business of which he confessedly has no knowledge? it would manifestly be a perversion of the funds of the institution in charge of the librarian, to invest them in a gainful occupation. from what i have said, it must be apparent that booksellers, as well as librarians, have a province of their own, and perform a service that cannot be delegated to another. and hence it is desirable that we live and dwell together in peace and amity. but in these days of combinations, reorganizations and revolutions in the conduct of business, the publishers have looked farther, in their quest for more economical purveying agents. for the past ten years they have been trying to induce the dry-goods merchants to carry books. but, after all this time, not more than half a dozen department stores carry fairly representative stocks of books. they confine themselves, for the most part, to new copyrighted fiction, and of this they handle only that which is widely advertised. of late, department stores and dry-goods stores have met severe competition in clothing stores, that make no pretext of carrying a book stock. they simply buy an edition of a popular-selling book and advertise it for less money than it actually cost. they do this simply as an advertising dodge, to attract customers to their stores. then, too, the mail-order agencies have cut the price of the most popular books so low that it is no longer profitable to handle them. the result of this has been that many of the most promising new novels have been killed before they were fairly put on the market; for _as soon as they ceased to be profitable no one could afford to re-order them_. the effect of this recent drift of the trade has been to stimulate the frothy side of literature to an extreme degree. the more serious literature is being neglected. the latest novel is the fad. its average life is reduced to little more than one year, though the copyright lasts for twenty-eight years, and with a renewal it may be extended to forty-two years. this shortening of the life of books has had a baneful effect: (_a_) baneful to the bookseller, since it frequently leaves him with a dead stock of books on hand that cannot be turned without loss. (_b_) baneful to the publisher, since the book stops selling and the plates become valueless before he has had time fairly to recoup himself for the expense of bringing it out, advertising it, and putting it on the market. (_c_) baneful to the author, since by shortening the life of his books the value of his property in them is reduced. but perhaps the most baneful effect of this craze for ephemeral literature is upon the people themselves. as the standard or degree of civilization for a given age is marked by the character of the literature the people produce and read, we cannot hope for a golden age in american letters, unless the present system is reversed. work of real merit is never done by accident, nor is it the product of mediocre talents. if we are to develop a national literature that shall fitly characterize the sterling qualities of the american people in this, the full strength of the early manhood of the nation; at the time when the nation has taken its place in the vanguard of civilization; at the time when the consumptive power of the nation is equal to one-third of that of the entire civilized world; at the time when men of talents and genius are annually earning and expending, for their comfort and pleasure, more munificent sums than were ever lavished on the most opulent princes; i say, if we are to produce a literature that shall fitly characterize this age of our nation, we must hold forth such rewards for the pursuits of literature as will attract men of genius, men of the most lustrous talents, men who are the peers of their co-workers in other walks of life. but this will not be possible so long as the present strife to furnish cheap literature to the people continues. it should be observed that the bookseller has not suffered alone in this cheapening process. the publisher has suffered. within the past few months two names that for half a century were household words, synonyms of all that is excellent in the publishing world, have met with disaster, and others were approaching a crisis. fortunately one firm stood out so prominently, as a bulwark of financial strength and security, that its president, mr. charles scribner, of charles scribner's sons, could afford to take the initiative in calling for reform. he invited the co-operation of other publishers, and a year ago this month they met in new york and organized the american publishers' association. their organization now includes practically all of the general publishers who contribute anything of real value to current literature. the publishers canvassed thoroughly the causes that had led to the decline of the trade, and they appointed a committee to draft reform measures. in reviewing the decline of the trade, two facts stood out so prominently that it was impossible to disassociate them as cause and effect. the three thousand booksellers, upon whom, as purveying agents, the publishers had depended a generation ago, had shrunk in number until only about five hundred could be counted who were worthy to be called booksellers. the other fact, which doubtless made quite as deep an impression upon the minds of the publishers, was that the long line of books, on each of their published catalogs, was practically dead. those books of high standard character, by eminent authors, books that for years had had a good annual sale, no longer moved. these standard books have been a large source of revenue to publishers and their authors for many years. but now so few of them are sold that it hardly pays the publishers to send their travellers over the road. few dry-goods merchants, druggists, newsdealers and stationers, that have recently been induced to carry a small number of books, feel sufficiently well acquainted with salable literature to warrant their carrying anything more than the most popular-selling new copyrighted novels and cheap reprints of non-copyrighted books that sell for twenty-five cents or less. as stated above, there are a few large department stores that carry a more general stock, but they are so few that the support received from them is not sufficient to compensate, in any measure, the loss sustained through the sacrifice of the regular booksellers. moreover, the regular booksellers that still remain in the business have not been buying many standard books of late. seeing their profit in fiction sacrificed by unfair competition, many of them have ordered only enough of the new copyrighted novels to keep alive their accumulated stocks of standard books, until they can sell them out or reduce them to a point where they can afford to abandon the book business. from the character of the reform measures adopted by the american publishers' association, which went into effect on the first of may, it is evident that the publishers have determined to restore the old-time bookseller. this can be done only by the publishers enforcing the maintenance of retail prices, the same as is done by the proprietors of the earl & wilson collar, the waterman fountain pen, the eastman kodak, and many other special lines of which the retail price is listed. when dry-goods stores and clothing stores bought these special lines and retailed them at or below the cost price, in _contrast to the list price_ asked in the special furnishing stores, in order to attract customers to their stores because of their wonderful "bargain counters," the manufacturers realized that the dry-goods stores were simply using up these wares to advertise their other business. they cut off the supply of their goods to these price-cutting dry-goods stores, and refused to supply any more goods, except under a substantial undertaking on the part of the dry-goods stores to maintain the full list price. this, in a word, is the substance of the publishers' plan. they have agreed to cut off absolutely the supply of all of their books, net, copyrighted and otherwise, to any dealer who cuts the retail price of a book published under the net-price system. on the other hand, the nearly eight hundred members of the american booksellers' association have entered into a mutual agreement to push with energy the sale of the books of all publishers who co-operate with them for the maintenance of retail prices, and not to buy, nor put in stock, nor offer for sale, the books of any publisher who fails to co-operate with them. this is substantially the same system that was adopted in germany in , in france a few years later, and in england in . the effect of this system in germany has been to lift up the trade from a condition even more deplorable, if possible, than that into which it has fallen in this country, and to make it a prosperous and profitable business. it has proved beneficent and satisfactory, not only to dealers and publishers, but also to authors and to the reading public, for every city, town and village in germany now sustains a book shop that carries a fairly representative stock of books, so that the people are able to examine promptly every book as soon as it comes from the press, and the authors are sure of having their books promptly submitted to the examination of every possible purchaser. the results in france and england are equally encouraging, and it is believed that as soon as the american system is fully understood, and as soon as enough books are included under the net-price system, so that a bookseller can once more make a living on the sale of books, many of the old-time booksellers will again put in a stock of books and help to re-establish the book trade in america. having tried to define the present relation of publishers and booksellers, i beg leave to say frankly that i know of no reason why publishers and booksellers should maintain any different relations with librarians than they maintain with any other retail customers. for example, let us take the new "book-lovers' library," so called. their plan is to sell memberships, and to deliver to each member one book a week for five dollars a year, or three books a week for ten dollars a year. they take up the books at the end of each week and supply new ones. if this plan could be carried out successfully, it would result in making one book do the service now performed by ten or fifteen books. in other words, this circulating library proposes to furnish its members with ten or fifteen books for the same amount of money they now pay for one book by simply passing the book around from one to another. the effect of this scheme, if carried into all cities and towns as proposed, would be to reduce the number of books manufactured and sold to about _one-tenth_ of its present magnitude. from a business point of view, publishers and dealers cannot be called upon to make special discounts to encourage such an enterprise. the encouragement and support given to authors, by patrons of literature, would be reduced by this scheme to about one-tenth of the present amount. the effect of this withdrawal of support to american authors can easily be imagined. but i do not believe that real book-lovers, intelligent and conservative readers, will be carried away by this passing craze. on the contrary, they have studiously avoided forming that careless, slip-shod habit of reading that characterizes patrons of circulating libraries. the real book-lover selects his books like his friends, with caution, and with discriminating and painstaking care. from a bookseller's point of view, the "book-lovers' library" is not founded on practical lines. however, as the plan also includes the selling of capital stocks to its patrons, it is probable that the money received from subscriptions, together with the annual membership fees, will be sufficient to keep the enterprise going for some time. but since this is a corporation organized for the purpose of making money, a failure to earn money and to pay dividends will discourage its patrons, cause them to feel that they have been deceived, and finally to withdraw from membership. when the members realize that they are paying five or ten dollars a year for privileges that can be had free at the local library, in most cases they will withdraw their support. thus, while in some respects i regard this enterprise as an evil factor, it contains, i think, inherent weaknesses that will finally compass its own end. but what is said of the relation of publishers and dealers to the book-lovers' library is true in a measure of all circulating and other public libraries. they do not increase, but they positively contract the number of sales that are made in the interest of authors, publishers and dealers. under the german system, of which i have spoken, public libraries were at first allowed ten per cent. discount; but recently this has been reduced to five per cent. under the english system, profiting by the experience of german publishers, no discount is allowed to public libraries, schools or institutions. the american system, however, is modelled largely after the german, and it permits the dealers to allow a discount of ten per cent. to local libraries. in doing this local dealers are protected from competition by the publishers, in that the publishers have agreed to add to the net price the cost of transportation on all books sold at retail outside of the cities in which they are doing business. thus public libraries can buy net books cheaper of the local booksellers than they can buy them of the publishers by just the cost of transportation. library buildings. by w. r. eastman, _new york state library, albany, n. y._ a building is not the first requisite of a public library. a good collection of books with a capable librarian will be of great service in a hired room or in one corner of a store. first the librarian, then the books and after that the building. but when the building is occupied the value of the library is doubled. the item of rent is dropped. the library is no longer dependent on the favor of some other institution and is not cramped by the effort to include two or three departments in a single room. it will not only give far better service to the community, but will command their respect, interest and support to a greater degree than before. the following hints are intended as a reply to many library boards who are asking for building plans. the vital point in successful building is to group all the parts of a modern library in their true relations. to understand a particular case it will be necessary to ask some preliminary questions. . _books._ number of volumes in library? average yearly increase? number of volumes in years? number of volumes to go in reference room? number of volumes to go in children's room? number of volumes to go in other departments? number of volumes to go in main book room? if the library is large will there be an open shelf room separate from the main book room? is a stack needed? will public access to the shelves be allowed? by answers to such questions a fair idea of the character and size of the book room may be obtained. _rules for calculation._ in a popular library, outside the reference room, for each foot of wall space available books can be placed on eight shelves. floor cases having two sides will hold books for each running foot, and in a close stack books, approximately, can be shelved for each square foot of floor space. but the latter rule will be materially modified by ledges, varying width of passages, stairs, etc. the above figures give full capacity. in practical work, to provide for convenient classification, expansion, oversized books and working facilities, the shelves of a library should be sufficient for twice the actual number of books and the lines of future enlargement should be fully determined. . _departments._ is the library for free circulation? is the library for free reference? are special rooms needed for high school students? children? ladies? magazine readers? newspaper readers? how many square feet for each of the above rooms? are class rooms needed as in a college library? club rooms? lecture rooms? museum? art gallery? other departments? . _community._ in city or country? population? by what class will library be chiefly used? school children? students? mechanics? reading circles? ladies? . _resources and conditions._ money available? money annually for maintenance? size of building lot? location and surroundings? how many stories? elevators? heat? light? ventilation? . _administration._ is library to be in charge of one person? how many assistants? is a work room needed? unpacking room? bindery? librarian's office? trustees' room? by careful study of these points a clear conception of the problem is gained and the building committee is prepared to draw an outline sketch indicating in a general way their needs and views. they are not likely to secure what they want by copying or even by competition. the best architects have not the time nor the disposition to compete with each other. a better way is to choose an architect, one who has succeeded in library work if possible, who will faithfully study the special problems, consult freely with the library board, propose plans and change them freely till they are right. and if such plans are also submitted for revision to some librarian of experience or to the library commission of the state, whose business and pleasure it is to give disinterested advice, so much the better. the following outlines taken from actual library buildings are offered by way of suggestion. _square plan._ an inexpensive building for a small country neighborhood may have one square room with book shelves on the side and rear walls. a convenient entrance is from a square porch on one side of the front corner and a librarian's alcove is at the opposite corner leaving the entire front like a store window which may be filled with plants or picture bulletins. with a stone foundation the wooden frame may be finished with stained shingles. _oblong plan._ a somewhat larger building may have a wider front with entrance at the center. book shelves under high windows may cover the side and rear walls and tables may stand in the open space. it will be convenient to bring together the books most in demand for circulation on one side of the room and those needed most for study on the opposite side. one corner may contain juvenile books. in this way confusion between readers, borrowers and children will be avoided. each class of patrons will go by a direct line to its own quarter. this is the beginning of the plan of departments which will be of great importance in the larger building. the number of books for circulation will increase rapidly and it may soon be necessary to provide double faced floor cases. these will be placed with passages running from the center of the room towards the end and that end will become the book or delivery room and the opposite side will be the study or reference room. _t-shape plan._ the next step is to add space to the rear giving a third department to the still open room. if the book room is at the back the student readers may be at tables in the right hand space and the children in the space on the left. the librarian at a desk in the center is equally near to all departments and may exercise full supervision. the presence of a considerable number of other busy persons has a sobering and quieting effect on all and the impression of such a library having all its departments in one is dignified and wholesome. it may be well to separate the departments by light open hand rails, screens, cords or low book cases. it is a mistake to divide a small building into three or four small rooms. _separate rooms._ for a larger library these rails must be made into partitions, giving to each department a separate room. partitions of glass set in wooden frames and possibly only eight feet high may answer an excellent purpose, adding to the impression of extent, admitting light to the interior of the building and allowing some supervision from the center. with partitions on each side, the entrance becomes a central hallway with a department at each side and the book room at the end. this is the best position for the book room for two special reasons. overlapping the departments in both wings it is equally accessible from either, and at the back of the house a plainer and cheaper wall can be built admitting of easy removal when the growth of the library requires enlargement. sometimes the angles between the book room and the main building may be filled to advantage by work room and office. these working rooms though not large and not conspicuous are of vital consequence and should be carefully planned. we have now reached a type of building which, for lack of a better word, i may call the "butterfly plan," having two spread wings and a body extending to the back. others call it the "trefoil." this general type is being substantially followed in most new libraries of moderate size. from one entrance hall direct access is given to three distinct departments, or perhaps to five, by placing two rooms in each wing. _modifications required by limited space._ if we have an open park to build in we shall be tempted to expand the hallway to a great central court or rotunda. perhaps the importance of the library may justify it, but we should be on our guard against separating departments by spaces so great as to make supervision difficult or passing from one to another inconvenient. we should aim to concentrate rather than scatter. more frequently the lot will be too narrow. we must draw in the wings and make the narrower rooms longer from front to back. with a corner lot we can enter on the side street, leaving a grand reading room on the main front and turning at right angles as we enter the house pass between other rooms to the book room at the extreme end of the lot. or again, we shall be obliged to dispense entirely with one wing of our plan, and have but two department rooms instead of three on the floor. every location must be studied by itself. _other stories._ basement rooms are of great service for work rooms and storage. a basement directly under the main book room is specially valuable to receive the overflow of books not in great demand. a second and even a third story will be useful for special collections, class and lecture rooms or a large audience hall. in a library of moderate size it will often be found convenient to build a book room about feet high to cover two stories of bookcases and wholly independent of the level of the second floor of the main building. _extension._ to meet the needs of a rapidly growing library it is important at the beginning to fix the lines of extension. a building with a front of two rooms and a passage between may add a third room at the rear, and at a later stage, add a second building as large as the first and parallel to it, the two being connected by the room first added. this is the architect's plan for the omaha public library. _open court._ when a library is so large that one book room is not enough, two such rooms may be built to the rear, one from each end of the building with open space between, and these two wings may be carried back equally and joined at the back by another building, thus completing the square around an open court. this gives wide interior space for light and air, or grass and flowers. such is the plan of the boston public and princeton university libraries. it will be the same in minneapolis when that library is complete. in the plan of the new library at newark, n. j., the central court is roofed over with glass becoming a stairway court with surrounding galleries opening on all rooms. in columbia university, new york, as in the british museum, the center is a great reading room capped by a dome high above the surrounding roofs and lighted by great clerestory windows. if the street front is very long there may be three extensions to the rear, one opposite the center and one from each end, leaving two open courts as in the plan for the new york public or the utica public; and this general scheme may be repeated and carried still farther back leaving four open courts as in the library of congress. this plan can be extended as far as space can be provided. when the general plan of the large building is fixed, passages will be introduced, parallel to the front and sides, and departments will be located as may be judged most convenient, always having regard to the convenience of the patrons of each department in finding ready access to the books they need and providing for supervision and attendance at least cost of time, effort and money. extravagance in library building is not so often found in lavish ornament as in that unfortunate arrangement of departments which requires three attendants to do the work of one or two. _light._ natural light should be secured if possible for every room. windows should be frequent and extend well up toward the ceiling terminating in a straight line so as to afford large supply of light from the top. windows like those in an ordinary house or office building, coming within two or three feet of the floor are more satisfactory both for inside and outside appearance than those which leave a high blank wall beneath them. from the street a blank wall has a prison-like effect; on the inside it cuts off communication with the rest of the world and the impression is unpleasant. the proper object of library windows six or eight feet above the floor is to allow unbroken wall space for book shelves beneath them. there is no serious objection to this at the back of the room or sometimes at the sides of the house where the windows are not conspicuous from the street, but every room of any size, if it is next to the outer wall, should have windows to look out of on at least one side. a book room at the back of a building may secure excellent light from side windows eight feet above the floor with lower windows at the back. the lighting of large interior rooms is often a difficult problem. light will not penetrate to advantage more than feet. skylights, domes and clerestory windows are used. in the case of the dome or clerestory the room to be lighted must be higher than those immediately surrounding it. the clerestory plan with upright windows is most satisfactory when available, being cheaper and giving better security against the weather than the skylight. in a large building with interior courts, the lower story of the court is sometimes covered with a skylight and used as a room. this appears in the plans for the new york public and the utica public libraries. skylights must be constructed with special care to protect rooms against the weather. the problem of light is peculiarly difficult in the crowded blocks of cities. a library front may sometimes touch the walls of adjoining buildings so that light can enter only from the front and rear. if extending more than feet back from the street, it will be necessary to narrow the rest of the building so as to leave open spaces on each side, or to introduce a little light by the device of light wells. occasionally a large city library is found on the upper floors of an office building, where light and air are better than below, and the cost of accommodation is less. the use of elevators makes this feasible. _shelving._ the general scheme of book shelves should be fixed before the plan of the building is drawn. otherwise the space for books can not be determined and serious mistakes may be made. between the two extremes of open wall shelves and the close stack a compromise is necessary. the large library will put the bulk of its books in a stack and bring a considerable selection of the best books into an open room. the small library will begin with books along the walls and provide cases for additions from time to time as needed. its patrons will enjoy at first the generous spaces of the open room without an array of empty cases to offend the eye and cumber the floor. when walls are covered with books a floor case will be introduced and others when needed will be placed according to plan, till at last the floor is as full as it was meant to be, and the basement beneath having served for a time to hold the overflow, a second story of cases is put on the top of the first. this process should be planned in advance for a term of years. for public access passages between cases should be five feet wide. cases have sometimes been set on radial lines so as to bring all parts under supervision from the center. this arrangement, specially if bounded by a semi-circular wall, is expensive, wasteful of space and of doubtful value, except in peculiar conditions. it is not adapted to further extension of the building. _size of shelf._ for ordinary books in a popular library the shelf should not be more than eight inches wide with an upright space of ten inches. eight shelves of this height with a base of four inches and crown finish of five inches will fill eight feet from the floor and the upper shelf may be reached at a height of inches or six feet nine inches. ordinary shelves should not exceed three feet in length. a length of two and a half feet is preferred by many. a shelf more than three feet long is apt to bend under the weight of books. for books of larger size a limited number of shelves with inches upright space and a few still larger should be provided. the proportion of oversize books will vary greatly according to the kind of library, a college or scientific collection having many more than the circulating library. any reference room will contain a large number of such books and its shelves should correspond. _movable shelves._ much attention has been given to devices for adjustment of shelves. some of these are quite ingenious and a few are satisfactory. no device should be introduced that will seriously break the smooth surface at the side. notches, cross bars, iron horns or hooks or ornamental brackets expose the last book to damage. if pins are used they should be so held to their places that they cannot fall out. heads of pins or bars should be sunk in the wood and the place for books left, as near as possible, absolutely smooth on all sides. it is at least a question whether the importance of making shelves adjustable and absolutely adjustable has not been greatly overrated. as a fact the shelves of the circulating library are very seldom adjusted. they may have all the usual appliances gained at large expense but there is no occasion to adjust them outside the reference room. they remain as they were put up. it is probably well to have the second and third shelf movable so that one can be dropped to the bottom and two spaces left where there were three at first. but all other shelves might as well be fixed at intervals of inches without the least real inconvenience and the cases be stronger for it and far cheaper. a perfectly adjustable shelf is interesting as a study in mechanics, but is practically disappointing. its very perfection is a snare because it is so impossible to set it true without a spirit level and a machinist. all shelves in a reference room should be adjustable. bound magazines might have special cases. _wood or iron shelves._ iron shelf construction has the advantage of lightness and strength, filling the least space and admitting light and air. where three or more stories of cases are stacked one upon another iron is a necessity. it also offers the best facilities for adjustment of shelves and is most durable. on the other hand it is more difficult to get, can be had only of the manufacturers in fixed patterns, and costs at least twice as much as any wood, even oak, unless carved for ornament, and four or five times as much as some very good wooden shelves. this great cost raises the question whether the advantages named are really important. few village libraries need more than two stories of shelves in a stack. if iron is more durable we can buy two sets of wooden shelves for the cost of one of iron--and when we buy the second set will know better what we want. the importance of shelf adjustment has been exaggerated. a more important consideration, to my mind, is that iron is not so well adapted to the changing conditions of a growing library. it is made at a factory and to be ordered complete. it is bolted to the floor and wall at fixed intervals. but we have seen that a gradual accumulation of bookcases is better than to put all shelving in position at first. wooden cases are movable. you begin with those you need and add others as you have more books, you can change and alter them at any time with only the aid of the village carpenter, and enjoy the wide open spaces till the time for filling them comes. iron with all its ornaments belongs in the shop. it is not the furniture you prefer in your home. the item of cost will usually decide the question. for libraries of less than , volumes, where close storage is not imperative, wood has the advantage. _miscellaneous notes._ a floor of hard wood is good enough for most libraries. wood covered with corticene or linoleum tends to insure the needed quiet. floors of tile, marble or concrete are very noisy and should have strips of carpet laid in the passages. on the walls of reading rooms it is neither necessary nor desirable to have an ornamental wainscot, nor indeed any wainscot at all, not even a base board. book cases will cover the lower walls and books are the best ornament. small tables for four are preferred in a reading room to long common tables. they give the reader an agreeable feeling of privacy. do not make tables too high. inches are enough. light bent wood chairs are easy to handle. steam or hot water give the best heat and incandescent electric lamps give the best light. be sure that you have sufficient ventilation. windows should be made to slide up and down, not to swing on hinges or pivots. without dwelling further on details let us be sure , that we have room within the walls for all the books we now have or are likely to have in years; provide the first outfit of shelves for twice the number of books expected at the end of one year and add bookcases as we need them, leaving always a liberal margin of empty space on every shelf. we must plan for the location of additional cases for years with due consideration of the question of public access. , that all needed departments are provided in harmonious relation with each other and so located as to serve the public to the best advantage and at least cost of time, strength and money. , that the best use of the location is made and the building suited to the constituency and local conditions. , that the estimated cost is well within the limit named, for new objects of expense are certain to appear during the process of building and debt must not be thought of. , that the building is convenient for work and supervision, a point at which many an elegant and costly building has conspicuously failed. make it also neat and beautiful, for it is to be the abiding place of all that is best in human thought and experience and is to be a home in which all inquiring souls are to be welcomed. since the people are to be our guests let us make the place of their reception worthy of its purpose. the relation of the architect to the librarian. by john lawrence mauran, _architect, st. louis, mo._ the public library, as we understand the name to-day, has had but a brief existence compared with the mere housing of collections of books which has gone on through countless ages. with the change from the old ideas of safeguarding the precious books themselves to the advanced theory of placing their priceless contents within the easy reach of all, has come an equally important change in the character of the custodian of the books. the duties of the modern librarian are such that he must be not only something of a scholar, in the best sense of the word, but he must be capable also of properly directing others in the pursuit of learning, and, withal, combine executive ability with a highly specialized professional facility. the result of carefully conceived courses of training is apparent in the wonderful results achieved through the devoted and untiring efforts of the members of this association towards a constant betterment of their charges, and a closer bonding, through affection, between the masses of the people and that portion of the books which lies between the covers. my purpose in recalling to your memory the wonderful advance made by training in your profession in a comparatively short time, is to give point to an analogy i wish to draw, showing a corresponding advance in the profession of architecture. not so very many years ago there were ample grounds for the recalling by mr. david p. todd of lord bacon's warning against the sacrifice of utility to mere artistic composition in the following words: "houses are built to live in, and not to looke on: therefore let use bee preferred before uniformitie; except where both may be had leave the goodly fabrickes of houses, for beautie only, to the enchanted pallaces of the poets; who build them with small cost": but to-day, thanks to the munificence of the french government and the untiring energy of some of those who have profited by it, in fostering the growth of our own architectural schools, there are few sections of this broad land which have not one or more worthy followers of palladio and michael angelo. hunt, richardson and post were among the first to receive the training of the ecole des beaux arts, and they, moreover, had the rare judgment to take the training only, adapting their designs to the climatic and other local conditions rather than attempting the importation of french forms as well as method of design. their example and the impetus they were able to impart to the technical schools have been potent factors in the development of the talent of american architects. while it is true, and more the pity, that some students return from paris with the idea that because paris is a beautiful city architecturally, the simple injection of some of their own masterpieces into our diverse city street fronts, is going to reincarnate our municipalities, the major portion are sufficiently discriminating to realize that paris owes much of its charm to a symmetry under governmental control which we, free born americans, can never hope to attain, and leave behind them the mere forms and symbols of their alma mater to use that which is best and most profitable in their training; that is, a breadth of conception of the problem and a logical method of sequential study of it which ensures a creditable if not an ideal solution. the modern architect, to be successful, must be conversant with a vast amount of information which is apparently outside his chosen profession--such as the minutiae of hospitals, churches, libraries, railroad stations and the like. as a case in point i recall the address of a certain railroad president at the dedication of a large terminal depot, in which he said: "while we have had the co-operation of engineers and specialists in every branch of the work, i must give great credit to our architect who is responsible for the conception of the entire system of the handling of passengers, although he was employed solely to enclose the space designated by our engineers." it is not my purpose to laud the profession of architecture, but rather to show its preparedness to _co-operate_ with you in achieving the best in library construction and design. may i add to mr. todd's advice to library boards about to build, "first appoint your librarian," the suggestion that second, in consultation with him, _appoint_ your architect. it is not disbelief in competition which has led the american institute of architects to advise against competitions, for the former is a constant condition, while the latter they believe to result in more evil than good. it is a popular notion among laymen that a competition will bring out _ideas_ and mayhap develop some hidden genius, but in answer to the first i can say, i know of but one building erected from successful competitive plans without modification, and for the second, the major portion of american originality in building designs is unworthy the name of architecture. aside from the needless expense and loss of time entailed on library board, as well as architect, by the holding of competitions a greater evil lies in the well proven fact, that in their desire to win approval for their design, most architects endeavor to find out the librarian's predilections and follow them in their plans rather than to submit a scholarly solution of the problem studied from an unprejudiced standpoint. it is not often the good fortune of competitors to have their submitted work judged with such unbiased intelligence as that which permitted the best conceived plan to win in the competition for the new library in new york city. few men would have dared in competition to remove that imposing architectural feature, the reading room, from their main façade and put it frankly where it belongs, in direct touch with the stacks which serve it, as carrere & hastings did. not long ago a member of a certain library board of trustees wrote to us that we were being considered, among others, as architects for their new building, and he suggested that we send to them as many water colors as we could collect and _as large as possible_, to impress the board; for, as he added, "some of us appreciate your plans, but most laymen are caught by the colored pictures, the larger the better." as a rule librarians have very decided ideas as to the plan desired in so far as it relates to the correlation of rooms and departments, and it, therefore, seems manifestly proper that having selected a librarian on account of merit, the next step should be the selection of an architect on the same basis, to the end that in consultation the theory of the one may either be studied into shape or proved inferior to the theory of the other. under the discussion of two broad minds, the wheat is easily separated from the chaff with the much to be desired result of the assemblying of a well ordered plan to present to the board, which has had such study that few criticisms cannot be answered from the store of experience gathered in the making. this ideal crystallization of ideas, this development of the problem working hand in hand precludes the need of such advice as is found in the following quotation from a paper on library buildings: "taking into account the practical uses of the modern library it is readily seen that it needs a building planned from inside, not from without, dictated by convenience and not by taste no matter how good. the order should be to require the architect to put a presentable exterior on an interior having only use in view and not as is so often done to require the librarian to make the best he can of an interior imposed by the exigencies of the architect's taste or the demand of the building committee for a monumental structure." such an anomalous relationship between interior and exterior is absolutely opposed to the fundamental training of the architect of to-day. often have i heard my professor of design, a frenchman of rare judgment, fly out at a student caught working on his exterior before the interior was complete: "work on your plan, finish your plan, and when that is perfect, the rest will _come_." architects of experience, who have been students of library development in its every branch, who have followed the changes in the relations of the library to the people, have reached the same conclusions along broad lines, as have the librarians, with respect to lighting, access, oversight and administration, as well as the general correlation of universally important departments, and it is therefore my purpose to state our relationship rather than attempt the raising of issues on details of library arrangement, and to show if possible, that the skilled architect's method of procedure tends to settle mooted points by weighing values and considering relations of parts in a logical and broad minded study of the particular set of conditions pertaining to his problem. either owing to the size, shape or contour of the site, its particular exposure, local climatic conditions, the particular character of the library itself or the people whom it serves, the problem presented to an architect by a library board is _always_ essentially a _new_ one. certain fundamental rules may obtain through their universal applicability, but every step in the working out of a successful plan must be influenced by the particular conditions referred to, and here the co-operation of the librarian is of inestimable value to the architect, no matter how wide his experience may be. desired correlation, like most results, can be achieved in divers ways, and in most cases nothing of utility need be sacrificed to secure a dignified plan, which is as much to be desired as a dignified exterior. realizing the importance of accomplishing successful results, a scholarly architect will strive to mould his plan with an eye to symmetry, without losing sight for an instant of the conditions of use, and never sacrificing practical relationship to gain an _absolutely_ symmetrical arrangement of plan. the french architect will, if necessary, waste space or inject needless rooms into his plan to secure perfect balance, while his american student will gain all the value of the _effect_ without diminishing the practical value of his building one iota. along with symmetry, the logical development of the plan in study keeps in mind something of the rough form of the exterior design, with particular reference to the grouping of its masses to secure the maximum of air and the best light for the various departments. with the best designers, it is an unwritten law, that the next step after completing a satisfactory plan, is to sketch a section through the building, not only to ensure a proper proportion in the enclosed rooms, but most important of all to secure a system of fenestration, allowing wall space where needed and introducing the light as near the top of the rooms as the finish will permit. having settled then all the details of plans and section, wherein are comprised all of the matter of greatest moment to the practical librarian, it only remains for the architect to prepare a suitable exterior and i certainly agree with my old preceptor that "it will come." the american people believe that education is the corner stone of manhood and good citizenship, and next to our public schools, if not before them, the most potent educational factor is our public library. the librarians are responsible in a great measure for the good work which is being accomplished in the dissemination of knowledge and culture among the people, but let me ask, are we not as responsible for our share, as co-workers with them, to perpetuate in lasting masonry the best which in us lies for the same great cause of the education of the people? what renaissance has failed to find literature and architecture quickened alike? the awakening of a love of the beautiful brings a thirst for knowledge concerning the beautiful; as the records will show, the interest excited by that marvellous assemblage of architectural masterpieces at the chicago fair, created a demand on the libraries almost beyond belief for books on architecture and the allied arts. every conscientious architect must feel his responsibility to his clients as well as to the people and strive he must, to combine the ideal in convenience with simple beauty in design; my one plea is that such a combination is not only _possible_, but in intelligent hands, should be universal, and if my beliefs, hopes and expectations find sympathy with you, i shall feel repaid in the security of a harmonious co-operation between architect and librarian in the great work which stretches ahead of us into the future. the departmental library. by james thayer gerould, _university of missouri, columbia_. the recent discussion of the departmental library system at the university of chicago and the consequent restatement of the position of that university in reference to such libraries, together with the consideration of the problem in the annual reports of dr. canfield and mr. lane, have called up anew the question of the expediency of the system. is the departmental library to be a permanent feature of the university library? is the highest effectiveness of a library to be secured by a policy of decentralization? the public library has answered the question, finally, it seems, in the affirmative. do the arguments which have induced the public librarian to establish branches and delivery stations apply in the case of the university library? is the university library of the future to be housed in a single building, or is it to be scattered about in class rooms and laboratories? to my mind, there is no more important question of administration before those of us who are trying to render the university library an efficient instrument of instruction than this. with many librarians there is an element of necessity entering into the question. mr. lane is facing a condition where the library has altogether outgrown its building, and some place must be found where books can be stored and used. the situation is much the same in many other places. shall the facilities of the library be enlarged by building or shall the books be transferred to the various departmental libraries? mr. lane, speaking for his own library, says of the latter alternative: "it would commit the library to an entirely different policy from what it has pursued hitherto, and such a change would be little short of a revolution for this library." at the university of missouri we are expecting in the near future to begin the construction of a library building, but, before adopting any definite plans, we are trying to work out the problems that have just been stated, and to make ourselves reasonably sure that we are right before we go ahead. there are arguments enough on all sides of this question, of which dr. canfield says that it has not two sides only, but a dozen. we must premise that no two departments use their books in exactly the same way, and that, consequently, methods of administration must differ. it is generally for the advantage of all, for example, in a university where there is a law school, that the books on private law should be separated from the main collection and treated as a branch library. similarly medicine, theology and possibly a few other subjects may be withdrawn and administered separately. in some of our universities one or more of the departments are several miles away from the main body of the institution. it is obviously necessary that the books most used in those departments should be near enough so that the students can have access to them without too much inconvenience and loss of time. in the ordinary institution, however, most of the buildings are grouped in a comparatively small area, and it is seldom more than five minutes' walk from the most remote building to the library. in a condition such as this, and with the exceptions noted above, i am inclined to the opinion that the university is best served by a central library containing the main collection, and small, rigidly selected laboratory libraries comprising books which from their very nature are most useful in the laboratory as manuals of work. the arguments generally advanced in favor of the system are these: . the instructor needs to be able to refer, at a moment's notice, to any book relating to his subject. . the system enables the instructor to keep a more careful watch over the reading of his students. . the best interests of the library demand that each division of the library shall be directly under the eye of the men most interested in it, that is to say, the instructors in the various departments; that they should direct its growth and watch over its interests. that the first and second of these arguments have great weight cannot be denied, but with a properly constructed library building and most careful administration the requirements of both instructor and student can be met quite as well by a central system. it is, of course, quite impossible for each instructor to have in his office all the books necessary for his work. the duplication necessary for this purpose would be impracticable even for the most wealthy university. he must, therefore, go from his office or class room to the department library and search for the book himself. with the confusion which generally reigns in a library of this sort, and with the lack of effective registration of loans, this is quite often a matter of some difficulty. at columbia university the office of each professor is in telephonic communication with the central library. when a book is wanted the library is notified by telephone, the book is found and sent out at once. within ten minutes from the time that the request reaches the library the book is generally in the instructor's hands. he may lose two or three minutes' time, but the amount lost is more than compensated by the readiness with which others can use the books of the department, and by other advantages to be considered later. at columbia, too, the system of stack study rooms provides in a very satisfactory way for the second objection. there, as many of you have seen, the stacks are distributed through a series of small rooms, the light side of which is supplied with tables and used for study rooms and for seminar purposes. if the instructor can use the departmental library for his work room, he can certainly use this room to as good advantage, for here he has the entire collection and not a selected few of his books. i believe fully that an instructor who is sufficiently interested in the reading of his students to watch over it carefully in his departmental library, will find that he is able to keep just as close a relation to it, if his students are working in a central library. he may be obliged to make slight changes in his methods, but the result ought to be the same. the third argument in favor of the departmental library system is of a different nature. is the librarian or the professor best qualified to direct the growth and watch over the interests of the different departments of the library? so far as i know, this argument is given more consideration at chicago than anywhere else. it may be true, in certain cases, that the professor has the greater qualification for this work, but when this is the case it argues that the professor is an exceptional one or that the university has been unfortunate in the selection of its librarian. it is quite needless to say that the librarian should be in constant conference with the teaching force regarding purchases, but that he should delegate all of his powers of purchase in any given field, admits of the gravest doubt. laude, in his recent work on the university library system of germany, attributes a great deal of the success of those libraries to the fact that they are independent and autonomous institutions, enjoying a much greater measure of freedom than is accorded to any similar american institution. too many professors are apt to buy books in their special field and slight other lines of research in their own subject. for example, a zoologist, who is doing research work along the lines of embryology, is very apt to overload the collection at that point and neglect other equally important lines. again, very few instructors, even granting them the qualifications necessary for the work, have the time or patience for it. if the amount appropriated to the department is at all large, a considerable portion of the sum is quite frequently unexpended at the end of the year. some interesting tables, prepared by mr. winsor for his report for the year - , show that in seven selected departments the amount of books ordered, including continuations, was only about per cent. of the appropriation, plus one quarter, the allowance for orders not filled. while this proportion would probably not hold good in all departments or in all places, it exhibits an almost uniform tendency and a tendency which must be corrected if a well-rounded out library is to be secured. the system of departmental control is very sure to create a feeling of departmental ownership, a feeling that the books, bought out of the moneys appropriated to a particular library, should remain permanently in that library, and that any one from outside who wishes to use the books is more or less of an intruder. pin any one of these men down, and they will admit that the books are for the use of all, but the feeling exists, notwithstanding, and is the cause of constant friction. the departmental library renders the books difficult of access. if the library is large enough to warrant the setting apart of a separate room for its use, this room can seldom be open for as large a portion of the day as the central library, and when it is open the books cannot be obtained as readily by the great body of the students as if they were in a central building. most students are working in several lines at once. they are compelled, by this system, to go from one room to another, and to accommodate themselves to differing hours of opening and to varying rules for the use of the books. then, too, it frequently happens in the case of small libraries that the books are kept in the office of the head of the department, and can only be consulted when he is in his office and at liberty. the difficulty is here greatly increased. i know of cases where even the instructors in the same department have found difficulty in getting at the books, and the library was, in effect, a private library for the head professor, supported out of university funds. if instructors cannot use the books, how can the student be expected to do so? there is a sentiment, false, perhaps, but nevertheless existing in the minds of many students, that any attempt to use the books under these circumstances is an endeavor to curry favor with the professor. this feeling does not exist in connection with the use of the books at a central library. if a book in a departmental library is needed by a student in another department, he must either go to the department and put the custodian to the inconvenience of looking it up for him, or he must wait at the central library while a messenger goes for the book. his need of the book must be very pressing before he will do either. if the different fields of knowledge were sharply defined, the departmental system might be a practicable one, but such is not the case. the psychologist needs books bearing on philosophy, sociology, zoology and physics, the sociologist gathers his data from almost the whole field of human knowledge, the economist must use books on history and the historian books on economics. the system hampers him exceedingly in the selection and use of his material, or it compels the university to purchase a large body of duplicate material, and restricts, by so much, the growth of the real resources of the library. the system, it seems to me, induces narrowness of vision and a sort of specialization which is anything but scientific. trending in the same direction is the separation of the books, in any given field, into two categories. the undergraduate may need some such selection, but any student who has gone beyond the elements of his subject should have at his command the entire resources of the library. the needs of the elementary student can be met by direct reference to certain books, or by setting aside the volumes required as special reference books and allowing free access to them. a large amount of our most valuable material is found in the publications of scientific and literary societies and in periodicals. in many cases these must be kept at the central library. they will be much more frequently read if the readers are using the central library and availing themselves of the information given in the catalog. from the administrative point of view, there is nothing impossible in the organization of the departmental system, provided that finances of the library admit of the increased expenditure. as mr. bishop has pointed out in a recent number of the _library journal_, the element of cost seems to have been utterly left out of consideration in the recent discussions at the university of chicago. it is possible that, with the immense resources of that institution, they may be able to ignore that factor, but most of us are compelled to reduce administrative expenditures to the lowest point consistent with good work. aside from the cost of the duplication of books already noted, necessitated by the division of the books among the different departments, there are the items of space and labor to be considered. it needs no argument to show that there is a great economy of space gained by the consolidation of all libraries, with the exceptions previously referred to, into one central building. an entire room is frequently given up to a departmental library of three or four hundred volumes, when a few extra shelves and possibly a slight increase in the seating capacity of the reading room would accommodate it in the central library. the cost of maintenance, of heating and of lighting is also undoubtedly greater under the departmental arrangement. the greatest increase in expense is, however, in the item of service. in order properly to control a branch of this sort, an employe of the library must be in constant attendance. the duties and responsibilities of such a position are so small that only the lowest paid grade of service can be employed with economy. the amount necessary to pay the salaries of such persons could, with much greater advantage to the whole institution, be used for the employment of a few specialists, highly trained in different lines, who would act as reference librarians in their respective fields. our american libraries are, as a class, compared with those of foreign universities, singularly deficient in this quality of assistance. sooner or later we must supply this lack, and every move which tends in another direction must be examined with care. the university library exists for the whole university--all of it for the whole university. in an ideal condition, every book in it should be available, at a moment's notice, if it is not actually in use. this should be our aim, and it should be from this viewpoint that we should judge the efficiency of our administration and the value of any proposed change. suggestions for an annual list of american theses for the degree of doctor of philosophy. by william warner bishop, _polytechnic institute, brooklyn, n. y._ graduate instruction and the degree of doctor of philosophy as its reward are not so novel and recent in america as to call for either explanation or definition. neither are they so old as to require a history. most of us can well remember when it became a common thing for american universities to have numerous candidates for the doctorate. at the present time there are several hundred students in our universities who are candidates for the doctor's degree and the number is increasing rapidly. a degree implies a dissertation, or, as it is more commonly and less correctly termed, a thesis. i need not here express any opinion as to the merits or defects of these documents as a class. what i wish to speak of is their value to university and college libraries, and the difficulty of discovering what dissertations are produced annually, and, for reference libraries, of procuring them when discovered. i presume the librarian who knows the specialist's insatiate greed for dissertations, _programmen_, and small pamphlets generally will need no words of mine to bring home to him the need of procuring as many of these documents as he can. whatever we may say in derogation of doctors' dissertations--and they have their faults--they at least represent long-continued and careful investigation under supposedly competent direction, and the specialist must have them. it is a comparatively easy task to get him german and other foreign dissertations. the new ones are listed annually and the old ones load the shelves of the second-hand stores of europe. but to find what is being produced here in this country is by no means a simple undertaking. and it behooves us, unless we tacitly admit that our american dissertations are not worth having, to take some steps toward bettering the present situation. in order to ascertain the exact condition of things i have selected fifteen representative institutions which confer the degree of doctor of philosophy and have studied their requirements and conducted some correspondence with their librarians. these institutions have been selected purely as representing various geographical and educational conditions, and omissions from the list are not to be taken _in malam partem_. they are: ( ) brown, ( ) bryn mawr, ( ) california, ( ) chicago, ( ) columbia, ( ) cornell, ( ) harvard, ( ) johns hopkins, ( ) michigan, ( ) nebraska, ( ) pennsylvania, ( ) princeton, ( ) stanford, ( ) wisconsin, and ( ) yale. the majority of these universities require that before the degree is conferred the thesis shall be printed and a fixed number of copies, ranging from to , shall be deposited with some officer of the university or in the library. the statistics are as follows: california requires copies. chicago requires copies. "accepted theses become the property of the university." columbia requires copies. cornell requires copies. michigan requires copies. nebraska requires copies. pennsylvania requires copies. stanford requires copies. wisconsin requires copies. two institutions, bryn mawr and princeton, require the printing of the thesis, but make no requirement, so far as can be ascertained from the catalogs, that there shall be any deposit of copies. johns hopkins and pennsylvania allow the thesis to be either written or printed; if printed, johns hopkins requires the deposit of copies, pennsylvania of , except under certain conditions which will appear later. brown makes no requirement for deposit or for printing. harvard provides that one copy either printed or written must be deposited in the library. yale requires that the "thesis must be deposited at the library for public inspection not later than may st" of the year in which the candidate expects to receive the degree. of these universities two only, brown and california, print the titles of theses in the university catalog. the foregoing statements are taken from the annual catalogs for - of the universities named, except in the case of pennsylvania, where the statement made in the catalog is supplemented from a letter received from the dean. although i presumed that most of the copies deposited in the libraries of the universities were used for exchange, i wrote to the librarians of those universities which require the deposit of a number of printed copies, making inquiry regarding their systems of exchange and provisions for the sale of copies not exchanged. i received replies from almost all. [these letters were read, the common condition being shown to be that most of the copies received by the libraries were exchanged with foreign institutions and other american universities. varying conditions ranging from a refusal to sell any copies to a free distribution of copies not exchanged, was found to exist with regard to sale of theses by the libraries.] it will be seen from these replies that, if a library does not happen to be on the exchange list of the university in which a thesis is written, and if the thesis is not printed in some journal or in the proceedings of some learned society, such a library stands very little chance either of learning of the publication of a thesis or of procuring it from the author or from the university. that this is not much of an affliction in most cases i cheerfully admit. still the small colleges which deliberately refuse to attempt graduate work--and, be it said to their honor, there are not a few of these--and the large reference libraries which do not publish, have as much need of certain theses as the large universities, and they have no means of getting them easily. it appears to me, and i trust to you, that, if our american dissertations are worth anything, if they are valuable enough to preserve, if they are real contributions to knowledge--and i believe that they are all of these--then it is worth while to secure the publication of some list which will tell librarians and specialists where to go to get copies, either from the author or from the university. it should not be difficult to secure co-operation in this matter. the number of theses printed and deposited in any one university in any one year is not large, and it certainly would not be a burden of alarming proportions to send titles to some central bureau. the difficulty will be to secure an editor and the funds for publishing the list. it would seem to me that some one of the large institutions whose libraries publish bulletins and other matter, or possibly the library of congress might assume the expense as a matter of patriotic service to learning in the united states. and it might not be out of place for this section, should it care to follow up the matter, to enter into communication with them on the subject. it might be also, that some enterprising publisher would be glad to undertake the task of both editing and publishing, if it could be shown him that he would thus do a favor to american libraries. one final word should be said before closing. the inevitable delays incident to the publication of such a list would be more than offset by the delays in publishing theses. many a man is called "doctor" who has never received his diploma for that degree because his thesis remains unpublished. the laxity in this matter in some quarters is very great. it may be that such a publication of titles as i have proposed might perceptibly hasten the publication of theses. opportunities. by gratia countryman, _minneapolis (minn.) public library_. if i were to sum up in these short moments the opportunities which lie before library workers, it would have to be an epitome of all that has been said at this conference and all previous conferences, and of all that has been written on library extension and influence. even then the opportunity which lies before you might not even be mentioned. i will not even try to enumerate the almost endless ways in which library usefulness may express itself, for these various ways are, after all, only different directions in which to use our one great opportunity of service to mankind. may we not think of a library as a dynamic force in the community, to be used for lifting the common level. there are so many forces at work in the nation pulling down and scattering; but the hundreds of large and small libraries dotted over the country stand for social regeneration, stand for the building up and perfecting of human society, stand for the joy and happiness of individual lives. and no matter how limited seems our own small field, it is a piece of the great domain of helpful activity. it is not always easy, after a hard and tiresome day of small and perplexing duties, to see beyond our wall of weariness. yet nothing is more restful than to feel that we are contributing our part to a great work, and that we, in our place, are a part of one of the great building-up movements of the century. i will not soon forget what mr. lane said in his president's address at the atlanta conference. i would like to quote largely, but this sentence serves. he said: "what a privilege that we are always free to place ourselves at the service of another. most professions are so engrossed by their own work that they have no time to serve the needs of others, but it is the _business_ of the librarian to serve. he is paid for knowing how." it is peculiarly true that the librarian's business is to put himself and the library under his custody at the complete disposal of the people. it is his _business_ to watch their interests and to think in advance for their needs. the librarian must have, in mrs. browning's words, "... both head and heart; both active, both complete and both in earnest." our opportunities, then, are not something which lie to one side, to be especially thought of, but are the very heart of our business--of our profession. i have been wondering if there is not an element of discouragement to the librarian of the small library, in such a conference as this, or even to us who fill subordinate places in large libraries. we get so many new ideas, we get so many plans which other libraries are putting into operation. we know we cannot put them into practice, we know well enough that we shall go home and do just what we have been doing, with small quarters, with cramped revenues, with possibly unsympathetic trustees who take unkindly to our new-born enthusiasm. there seems to be the possibility of so much, but the opportunity for doing so little, and then our limitations seem more apparent than our opportunities. the assistant in the larger library says, "i wish i could be the librarian of a small library, they have so much better an opportunity for coming into close contact with the people," and the librarian of the little library who does her own accessioning, cataloging, record keeping, charging, reference work, etc., with one brain and one pair of hands, says, "oh, if we were only a little larger library, with more money, and with more help, i might do so many things that other libraries do." carlyle says, "not what i have, but what i do, is my kingdom," and i take that to mean in library work that my opportunity is not what i could do if i held some other position in some other library, but what i can do under present conditions with present means. success does not lie with those who continually wish for something they haven't got, but with those who do the best possible thing with the things they have. "it is not so much the ship as the skilful sailing that assures a prosperous voyage." it is not so much a great collection of books and a fine technical organization as the personal character of the man or woman who stands as a bridge between the books and the people. your opportunity and mine does not lie in our circumstances, but in ourselves, and in our ability to see and to grasp the coveted opportunity. we are reminded of the pious darkey who prayed every night just before christmas, "dear lord, send dis darkey a turkey." christmas came dangerously near, and there was no prospect of a turkey. so the night before christmas he grew desperate, and prayed, "dear lord, send dis darkey to a turkey." that night the turkey came. even so it is with our opportunities. there are three classes of people toward whom the library has a special mission: the children, the foreigner, and the working classes. . as to the children, we have been hearing considerably about them in this conference. mr. hutchins in the wisconsin meeting said that a good book did more good in a country boy's home than in the city boy's. when the country boy takes a book home he and all his family devour it, but the town boy reads his book and exchanges it, and no one in the house perhaps even knows that he has read it. well, that is a subject for thought. if his family or teachers do not watch his reading, it becomes a serious thing for the librarian who chooses and buys his books for him. perhaps the library is not large enough to have a children's department or to send books into the schools, or to do any specialized children's work, but it can make judicious selection of books, and being small can know individual cases among the children. it is not so hard to find out the children one by one who need some care and interest, to learn their names and to find out something about their families. they say that letters cut lightly in the bark of a sapling show even more plainly in the grown tree. a boy whom no one has reached comes into your library. by a little watchful care he reads some wonderful life, learns some of the marvellous forces in god's creation, opens his eyes to the glowing sunsets or to the springing blades of grass; suddenly knows the dignity of human nature and his own growing self. his aspirations are born, his ambition is awakened, his life is changed. library records have not one, but many such cases. the home library is a method of reaching children which is not used enough by the smaller libraries. branches and stations may not be practicable, but a group of to books taken into sections of a town by some friendly woman, on the plan of the home libraries, could be carried out in almost any town. the librarian might not have time, but she could find people who would do it, if she set the work to going. . as to the foreigners, europe has used us for a dumping ground for considerable moral and political refuse. we have the problem of making good citizens out of much wretched material, and next to the children there is no greater opportunity for the library. even the smallest library ought to study ways and means of getting at the foreign element. it would almost pay to make a canvass of the town, to see that these people are reached and that they know about the library. if books in their own language are necessary to draw them, then it is the best investment you can make. . but in reality the library does its great work among the mass of common working people. it is the quiet side which makes no showing, but it has always been the telling side. from the common people spring most of our readers. they do our work, they fight our battles, they need our inspiration. for them you make your libraries attractive, for them you make careful selections of books--the student does not need your pains--for their sake you identify yourself with every local interest. you fix your hours for opening and closing to accommodate these working people. you make your rules and regulations just as elastic as possible, that they may not be debarred from any privilege. they do not ask favors, but after all this great mass of common people whose lives are more or less barren and empty are the ones to which the library caters in a quiet, unadvertised way. it is the great opportunity which we scarcely think of as an opportunity at all. it is just the daily routine. millions of people know little more than a mechanical life, what they shall eat, drink and wear. many can touch their horizons all around with a sweep of their hands, so narrow is their circle. they live in the basements of their spiritual temples, and never rise to the level of their best ability. they have no joy of life, of abundant life. the library performs a great service to society when it has furnished information to the people, when it has been an educational factor, but it has performed a greater one when it has awakened a man and put him into possession of his own powers. well, this is not a very specific setting forth of the ways in which we can extend the work of a small library. the way must vary greatly with the conditions, but the spirit of the work runs through all conditions. if i should name the qualifications of a good librarian, i would give them in the following order, according to importance: . genuine character, with broad natural sympathies. . courteous, kindly manners. . education, general and technical. any such librarian, with only a fairly equipped library, will find her opportunity at her hand. some principles of book and picture selection. by g. e. wire, m.d., ll.b., _worcester county (mass.) law library_. . _books and pictures should be suited to the constituency._--this may seem so trite, so self-evident as to need no statement, much less any argument to support it. but on sober second thought, all will agree that it needs constant reiteration and appreciation. all of us are familiar with libraries--of course not our own--in which we detect glaring inconsistencies in book selection. the story used to be told of one library commission that in its first epoch it used to send the books on agriculture to the sea-coast, and books on fish curing to the hill country. this is now strenuously denied but there may be more truth than poetry in it after all. in the case of large, , v. libraries and over, less care need be taken, both on account of expenditure of money and on account of worthlessness of the book itself. a few hundred dollars' worth of rubbish, more or less, does not count and almost any book no matter how poor comes in use some time. but in the case of the small, v. library or under, with little money to expend and the whole realm of knowledge to cover, it is different. of course the covering will be scanty and thin, but it will do for the first layer. they should buy but few books in philosophy and religion, more in sociology, only the latest and most popular in the arts and sciences, comparatively fewer in literature and more in history, biography and travel. of course fiction, adult and juvenile, must also be bought and at first a disproportionately larger amount in many cases. too much reliance should not be placed on what some larger library has or on what the neighboring library has. avoid imitation and duplication, especially the latter. now that inter-library loans are coming in, each small library in the more thickly settled portions of the country may be able to supplement its neighbor. travelling libraries should also help out the smaller libraries which can ill afford to sink a large part of their annual book-fund in evanescent fiction, which soon moulds on the shelves. as the commissions become better organized, they should also be able to send expensive reference works for the use of study clubs, and so help the small libraries all the more. the needs of the constituency should be carefully studied and the most pressing should be attended to at first, others can wait. as to buying technical books for those engaged in manufacturing, i think a more conservative policy is now favored. better wait a while and feel your way before spending much on these high priced books which rapidly go out of date. theoretically the operatives of a cotton mill should be much interested in all that relates to cotton, but practically when their hours of drudgery are over they are more inclined to a novel, if inclined to read anything. and how much encouragement have they to read in most factories? better begin with the owners, who may be on your board, or the superintendent, who may live on your street. as liberal purchases as possible should be made in reference books--always selecting the latest and freshest to start on. for example seyffert's "antiquities," bulfinch's "age of fable," and murray's "mythology" will serve better than smith's books, now out of date and expensive beyond all return for the money invested in them. more will be said along this line under head of cost. of course in a library of this size, no foreign books should be bought other than perhaps some fiction. i thoroughly believe in america for americans. foreigners would not buy our books under the same circumstances and why should we buy theirs? reciprocity is good policy. even in the case of english books most of those on geology, botany, zoology, on fishing and hunting, are valueless to us, by reason of climatic, or other local conditions. their local history and antiquities are quite as unprofitable for most of our public libraries. . _as to the matter of outside experts._--most of us have seen bad examples of the work of outside experts, in fact i think we are safe in saying there are more bad than good examples. in the case of arts and sciences it is quite the fashion to refer the book list to the nearest high school or college professor, with the idea that in his line he knows all there is to be known about these books. in some cases he is practically given _carte blanche_ and his selection is bought without a murmur. the natural consequence is that in many libraries are to be found high priced technical works of momentary interest, fit only for class-room or laboratory use, too deep for general reading and soon out of date. most of these so-called experts are not even competent to select works for their own department, let alone the public library. personal bias, the quarrels of investigators, loyalty to instructors, jealousy of other workers in the same lines are powerful factors which far outweigh the question of real merit. in new england many of the libraries are overloaded with good, blue, orthodox theology, bought on the suggestion and for the sole use of the dominie who was on the library committee. it was a glorious opportunity for him and it has rarely been neglected. these libraries are now really addicted to this habit; it has become a species of intoxication with them and they continue the pernicious practice. . _choice by committee._--one of the latest fads is selection by voting or by committee. this usually results in a mediocre selection, all the really good books or pictures being left out, or else a preponderance of votes for a few favorites. voting choice is seen in the list of books sent out each year from new york state library as a result of voting by members of the new york state library association. this is a list of the best books for a village library from a list of books, including fiction, adult and juvenile. of course fiction takes a large per cent., while the remaining few books make a most patchy lot. the first list is too large and the last list is too small. another publication by the regents of the state of new york is a list of pictures for schools--not so much selected as neglected by a jury of persons. between religious prejudice, prudishness, peace policy and finical art criticism only the husks of architecture and stately ruins are left for the youths of the empire state to gaze upon. think of leaving out the "sistine madonna," " ," "christ in the temple," "queen louise" and the "horse fair." some of these were omitted in cold blood because they were "poor and popular" and "pupils would like them and should not." most of us, however, have gotten beyond the idea of trying to make people read george eliot when they want mary jane holmes. nothing i have seen in the nature of criticism is so cold, hard and repelling as this. it is to be hoped no other state will follow this example, but that is just the perniciousness of such lists made out by people who are supposed to be experts, but who too often fail worse than common mortals. this whole matter of selection by committee is virtually begging the question of individual responsibility. . _choice by librarian experts._--this seems to be the most satisfactory solution of the problem. it is true that many if not most of the existing small ( - , ) libraries have not or can not afford a trained librarian. but it is also true that more and more are employing trained people as organizers and an increasing number are retaining their organizer as librarian. it is their study and their business to know what books are best suited to the needs of the community. even should we go beyond that into the larger public library, the reference library or the college library i still hold that the librarian is the best judge of books for the library. his taste is sure to be more catholic, wholly unbiassed and he makes a more even and better rounded selection on the whole. in the small public library he is able to carefully study the constituency and then knowing what books are standard in other places he makes the necessary allowances for the case in hand. the time has, i trust, wholly gone by when the local editor, local clergyman, and local schoolmaster have the pleasure of picking out their favorite books, or of ordering "standard sets" or the "classics" in history and literature at the public expense. most of these books are on the shelves to-day faded but not worn, the leaves not even cut and usually only the first volume slightly used. of course books in useful art and sciences were largely overlooked. nowadays library committees are turning more and more to the librarian, knowing that he has made a study of book selection and that they will get better results to leave it with him. this is as it should be and the librarian should not lower himself by going outside for assistance on any line. i count it as slipshod and a confession of ignorance for any librarian to tag around after outside "experts." let him study up his subject and master it himself. there are only a few in which he cannot easily surpass outsiders, and profiting by his knowledge of the many, which enables him to do that part quickly and easily, let him pay more attention to the hard and less familiar subjects. the librarian who delights in religion, philosophy or folklore says of lists on biology, botany, steam-engineering or sanitation--"i leave all that to professor so and so--of course he knows all about it." why should he, more than the librarian? what is the librarian for, if not to know things? is it not time to turn from the material things and concern ourselves more with a higher standard of scholarship and more outside work in our profession? and for the small libraries of v. or under there are the library commissions who are supposed to, and do, advise them. there is difference with the commissions, some are in closer touch with the local situation than others, some are more conscientious than others about costly books, and some are given to this "expert" business which i have named, but on the whole they are doing good work and bid fair to do better. . _matter of cost._--this should be carefully considered. i hold it to be little short of criminal to recommend high priced books for libraries of limited means. by high priced books i mean those costing over $ a volume. this of course does not apply to reference books. and yet in one annual list such books constantly appear, as not only suggestions but, considering the source, as recommendations or even commands. i am thankful the wisconsin library commission has taken up this work systematically and is doing all it can to discourage such foolish waste of money. the worst example is the "encyclopædia britannica" now from to years behind the times and never a satisfactory book of reference at its best. take de bry's "mycetazoa," it stands on the shelves of dozens of libraries, leaves uncut, totally unused, each copy meaning at least four dollars wasted money. these are only given as an example--there might be hundreds of them. there are scores of books now published and more coming out every day on various questions of philosophy, sociology, science, art and particularly literature and history priced from $ to $ . which are far superior for practical purposes to the heavy weight monographs at $ a volume and upwards. you thus get two or three books on the same subject for the money, and in a small library this is a vital question. the money must bring in the largest possible number of good books. book reviews, book lists, and articles on children's reading: are they of practical value to the children's librarian? by caroline m. hewins, _hartford (ct.) public library_. a children's librarian has three sources of reliance in the choice or purchase of books. they are: , book reviews in current or earlier periodicals; , lists, graded or ungraded, for libraries; , articles on children's reading in books or periodicals. . the children's librarian, or any librarian, who orders children's books from reviews often finds the books entirely different from what the description has led her to suppose. even if there is no positive untruth in a notice, it is often misleading from the lack of a standard of comparison with the best books for children. the papers oftenest taken in a country household or small library are a daily or semi-weekly from the nearest large town or city, a religious weekly, and an agricultural weekly or monthly, sometimes all three, oftener only one or two, and it is from the notices and advertisements with quoted notices in these papers that estimates of books must often be formed. libraries and library trustees who send book lists from such sources as these to a state public library commission are often surprised that they do not receive what they ask for, and write anxious inquiries as to why certain books have not been bought. "there surely can be no objection to them," they say, "for we took the titles from reviews in the ---- or ---- or ----," naming denominational papers. now, lest the children's section should be accused of unfairness and denominational prejudices, i shall quote no reviews from these papers, except one which came from a leading religious weekly taken by the household in whose pew i have a seat. it is of eden phillpotts' "human boy," a series of sketches of english schoolboy life, which is dismissed with this remarkable sentence: "the scene here, too, is in the west, and various hunting experiences are recorded." the librarian who orders that book for boys greedy for big game will be disappointed! such a mistake as this is not common, but reviews in both religious and secular papers are often perfunctory and meaningless. one reason of this is that many books are published for the christmas trade, between the th of september and the th of december, when they come into newspaper offices with a rush, until they are piled in stacks on the desk of the hapless reviewer, and hastily noticed, sometimes by title only. in a new edition of elizabeth sheppard's fine, but forgotten novel, "rumour," whose keynote is the quotation from "lycidas" on the title-page, "fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil, nor in the glistering foil set off to the world, nor in broad rumour lies, but lives and spreads aloft in those pure eyes and perfect witness of all-judging jove," the reviewer did not understand the meaning of the lines, and called the book "a good example of the working, influence, and effect of rumour." on one of our own local papers not long ago there was a review of mrs. barr's "maid of maiden lane," which was referred to as the sequel to her "beau of orange river." even in newspapers fortunate enough to command the services of specialists for history and science, and an additional critic for novels, the children's books are hastily noticed, sometimes by the youngest reporter in his spare minutes. in smaller offices the task of reviewing all books falls to the hard-worked editor, who is, like jacob riis, also his own "reporter, publisher and advertising agent," but whose sense of literary values is often not in proportion to his knowledge of state politics or local reforms. it is unfortunate that in the newspapers of as high a class as the _outlook_, _independent_ and _dial_ the notices of children's books are often carelessly written, and show the lack of a standard of comparison. in the _outlook_ for nov. , , richard pryce's "elementary jane," a most unchildlike book, is classed among books for children, and "pansy" and "elsie" are recommended in other numbers. in the _independent_, where notices of books for older readers are written with discrimination, ellis's "klondike nuggets" is described: "full of lively adventures and exciting experiences, and is told in a straightforward, off-hand style just suited to the purpose." (oct. , .) there is nothing absolutely untrue in this, but there is nothing to guide a reader in comparing it with better books. one of alger's heroes is mentioned as "an admirable boy with wonderful ability to take care of himself" (oct. , ), and a book by stratemeyer as "a stirring tale, told with enthusiasm." (oct. , .) stratemeyer is an author who mixes "would" and "should," has the phraseology of a country newspaper, as when he calls a supper "an elegant affair" and a girl "a fashionable miss," and follows oliver optic closely in his plots and conversations. mrs. cheever's "little mr. van vere of china," with its cheap sentiment and well-worn plot of a stolen child coming to his own at last, is commended as "well made, well illustrated." (_dial_, dec. , .) a notice in the religious paper mentioned above says, "he is a thoroughly fascinating little fellow, and his story is told most acceptably." one of amanda douglas's tales is spoken of as "a story with a fine moral influence, yet not preachy, in the end leaving in the reader's mind the sense of having been in good company." (_independent_, dec. , .) one notice of "elsie on the hudson" is: "the multitude of young people who have read the elsie books, by martha finley, will eagerly welcome this volume by the same author. it has to do with american history in the days of the revolutionary war, and the style is simple and pleasing." in another: "miss martha finley continues also the instruction which is mixed up with that young woman's experiences." (_dial_, dec. , .) it is, i think, the same periodical, though i have not been able to verify the quotation, which commends harry steele morrison's "yankee boy's success" thus: "the book is interesting, full of push and go. boys will read it with a gusto; yet they must remember that what this lucky yankee boy did is not what they all can do." another number which puts a just estimate on master morrison as a "very unlovely and unpleasant sort of boy, whose impudence and enterprise ought later to fit him for a place on a yellow journal," entirely mistakes the purpose of pugh's "tony drum," a realistic story of london slum life, and classes it as a book for boys. (_dial_, dec. , .) the _outlook_ says of frances hodgson burnett's mawkish "editha's burglar," which was well parodied in _punch_ by anstey in his "burglar bill": "this story of the queer, loving little girl and her daring and successful effort to protect her mother, and the equally queer burglar, is too well known in play and story to need comment." (dec. , .) this story is in almost all library and school lists, even the best selected and classified. the same number calls "mr. van vere" "a charming story." (the adjective is used for four different works for young people in that week's grist.) even noah brooks, in a signed article in the _bookbuyer_ (dec., ), gives praise to drysdale and stratemeyer, commends the uninteresting chilhowee books, refers to pansy's as "strong and helpful," and one of amanda douglas's as "rich in chastened and refined sentiment." he mentions oliver p. tunk's "awful alphabet" as "a fit companion for 'a coon alphabet.'" perhaps it is, but when libraries and schools are circulating jane andrews's "seven little sisters" to teach the brotherhood and sisterhood of all nations, and teachers, in the language of professor thurston, of the chicago normal school, are "encouraging each nationality to contribute the best it has of song, story, game, home customs and occupations to the life of the school," it is wrong to buy a book for a white child in which black children are held up to ridicule, as they have been many times in _harper's young people_. "blackberries" and "comical coons" are also recommended in the _dial_ (dec. , ), where gertrude smith's "ten little comedies," a book entirely different in spirit from her "arabella and araminta" stories; marion harland's "old-field school girl," which has a story of horrible cruelty of a schoolmaster to a child, and is not meant for children; the silly "elaine" book, and the equally silly and sometimes coarse "father goose" are favorably reviewed. the _nation's_ reviews of children books have lately not been up to the old standard, as for instance a review of sydney reid's would-be funny "josey and the chipmunk" (dec. , ), which is called "a perfectly delightful child's book, nearly as good as the 'alice' books, and, indeed, might be pronounced quite as good if lewis carroll, like shakespeare, had not 'thought of it first.'" it will be seen by these instances that reviews help children's librarians very little, and that it is impossible under present conditions for a library to determine the worth of a book without seeing it. . there have been in the last years many lists of children's books by libraries, schools, denominational societies and other organizations. the earlier lists, although interesting to a student of the evolution of the children's section, have so many books out of print or superseded that they do not concern us now, except in that they are not made for very young children, and often have a profusion of material which is over the heads of boys and girls below, or even in, the high school age. some of them are made from hearsay or from other book lists, without an intimate knowledge, or indeed any knowledge at all, of books recommended, as in the following instance: a paper read at a library meeting and afterward printed in the report of a state librarian describes the "library ladder" as "a list of books beginning with a tale of adventure. from this the reader's attention will be drawn to the next in order, leading on and out, until finally the child will be unconsciously delving into the mysteries of science; for example, we could first take butterworth's indian story, 'the wampum belt': next, brooks's 'story of the american indian'; from this lead to bancroft's 'native races,' and finally various united states histories." any one who has ever seen the five ponderous volumes of bancroft's "native races of the pacific states" knows that although it has some value as a work of reference, not as a history, for older readers, it is entirely useless as a stepping-stone for children, who can easily go without its aid from brooks's, or better, grinnell's "story of the indian" to a good one-volume united states history, or even to john fiske or parkman. it is no more meant for boys and girls than the other thirty-four volumes on the history of the pacific coast completed by bancroft and his corps of assistants. some tests of a library or school list are: are the books in it chosen for their permanent value? has the maker of the list read them? will it tell an overworked teacher or librarian what the best modern straightforward stories in simple english are, the best life of lafayette without any long words like "evacuation," or the best account of a salamander in language that a child of can understand? a list for teachers is not a help in choosing books for children, unless from the point of view of child-study, which has another place than on the shelves of a children's room. in one list the "dotty dimple" and "flaxie frizzle" books are recommended for the third-reader grade. children who are in this grade cannot read the ungrammatical baby-talk easily, and if they could it would demoralize their english. another has for the seventh grade a part of the "library of wonders," translated from the french, and out of date years ago. teachers should be careful in buying books of popular science that they are modern, and also written in a style that makes them attractive to boys and girls. in a long experience in libraries i have never found that boys and girls liked the "library of wonders." a third, for children under years of age, includes miss plympton's "dear daughter dorothy," and even in one of the best and most recent graded lists it is annotated as a "story of devotion and comradeship between a father and his young daughter." now "dear daughter dorothy" is the best specimen i have ever seen of a kind of book to be kept out of libraries and homes, the story of a little eight-year-old girl, who has the entire control of the $ earned yearly by her father, a bookkeeper with literary aspirations. he is arrested on a charge of embezzlement, found guilty in the face of his daughter's testimony, but at last acquitted through the confession of the real criminal, and he and that important little personage, dorothy, who takes all hearts by storm, sail for england escorted to the ship by a crowd of admiring friends, including the judge who sentenced him. the next list has mrs. burnett's "little saint elizabeth," a morbid tale, and with it a reproduction of "prince fairyfoot," a story which the author read when she was a child in a book that she never could find again. in order to understand the pertness and flippancy of her style in this story, one has only to compare it with the original, reprinted within a few months in frances browne's "wonderful chair," or "granny's wonderful chair," as it is called in one edition. a few lines in the simple, direct english of the old fairy tales, are expanded by mrs. burnett into eight or pages, with attempts at wit and allusions to unhappy married life, which should be kept out of books for children. the same article in the _nation_ which gives high praise to "josey and the chipmunk" thinks "the wonderful chair" prosy, but i have tested it on children who do not enjoy stories unless they are simply told, and have found that it holds their attention. books on differences of religious belief, books written in a style or on subjects beyond the years of boys and girls, scientific books that are inaccurate or out of date, books that make children despise their elders, or have an overweening sense of their own importance, and books that are cheap, slangy, flippant, or written in bad english, dialect or baby-talk, should have no place in a school list, and books on poor paper and in poor type and binding should also be kept out. there are books that tell stories of wholesome, well-bred children; fairy tales in the simple, old-fashioned style; out-of-door books that are not dull or aggressively instructive; and selections from the best poetry to choose from. there is room yet for the right kind of histories that are interesting without being babyish, and accurate without being dull. lists are often made in entire ignorance of the limitations of the children who are to use the books recommended in them. a well-intentioned paper suggests for children of eight or over ebers' "uarda" and thiers' "french revolution" as attractive historical works. in science it mentions hooker's books, which are quite out of date, and in biography lockhart's scott and forster's dickens, which not one boy or girl in a hundred would read through, great as is their charm. bryce's "american commonwealth" is also named. this list has either been made up from books that the compiler has heard of as classics, or else she is not in the habit of associating on familiar terms with boys and girls, even of high school age. this paper recommends sophie may for very young children, and also the "story of liberty," which a mother in the new york _times_ says is in the library of her daughter of eight. this is a mother who would not allow a child to read scott's novels till or , and thinks dickens too sad for even that age! the hundred books recommended in the _st. nicholas_ for march, , made up from many competing lists, are nearly all good. a few, like mrs. richards' "captain january," mrs. wiggin's "the birds' christmas carol," and munroe's "through swamp and glade" have no permanent value. if one of munroe's books is to be included it should be "the flamingo feather," or "derrick sterling," both of which are well worth reading many times and are great favorites with children. the defect in the list is the same just spoken of, that too many of the books are for boys and girls from to years old of bookish families, and that little attention is paid to younger or less carefully trained children. one list puts into the first primary grade, or fourth year of school, for children nine or years old, abbott's "cyrus," "darius," "xerxes," and other heroes, and fiske's "war of independence," all of which are entirely beyond the grasp of children out of under or . lists should be shorter, and not too closely divided. a division, "easy books," should include whatever children need until they can read without difficulty, and should contain books like longman's adapted stories from the "blue fairy book" and the earlier volumes of the "ship" english history, baldwin's "fifty famous stories retold" and eggleston's "great americans for little americans." in one case where books are not classified by grade, horace bushnell's "woman suffrage," hinsdale's "president garfield and education," and wright's "industrial evolution of the united states" are in the same class with emilie poulsson's "through the farmyard gate," with no discrimination as to the age for which any one of the four is intended. three are beyond the understanding of boys and girls below high school age, and if in school libraries should be for teachers only, and the fourth is a book of kindergarten stories. a book which is often commended by teachers and librarians is coffin's "story of liberty," which i said nearly years ago "is so fierce in its protestantism and so bloody in its details that it causes pain to many a sensitive child." the pictures are too horrible for a child to see, and the book, like any other which wars against any form of religious belief, should not be allowed in a public school. some lists admit the "elsie" books, tearfully sentimental and priggish, where the heroine is held up as a saint and martyr for refusing to obey an entirely reasonable request of her father, and where money, fine clothes, and love-making at an early age hold too prominent a place. in one list, one of mayne reid's books is annotated, "to read carefully any volume of this author is to acquire a considerable knowledge of the trees, the flowers, the animals, the insects, and the human creatures existing in the region where the story takes place." in mayne reid's "desert home" maple sugar trees are tapped in the autumn and yield nearly a hundred pounds of sugar. emerson's "trees and shrubs of massachusetts" states that although sap will flow in summer and early autumn, it has but little saccharine matter. mayne reid's stories as stories are delightful for children to read, but should never be used as aids to geography lessons. one library offers its boy-and-girl readers bushnell's "moral uses of dark things," mrs. campbell's "problems of poverty," ely's "labor movement in america" and shinn's "mining camps." the lists made by james m. sawin, of providence, are good and suggestive, but better for older than younger children, including, however, for beginners in reading some excellent old favorites like mrs. follen's "twilight stories," and for children a little older a book that ought to be in print, paul de musset's "mr. wind and madam rain." the milwaukee list for children under is good for the most part, but includes "dear daughter dorothy" and "editha's burglar." mrs. whitney's list of "books not usually selected by young people" (first published in the _bulletin of bibliography_) is for the most part beyond the grammar-school age, including such books as sismondi's "literature of the south of europe" and ragozin's "vedic india." it is unclassified, good and not too american. the buffalo public library lists are the best that i have found, thoroughly practical, well chosen, and in the pamphlet entitled "classroom libraries for public schools" well graded as far as one can judge. the grading of schools varies so much in different cities that it is impossible unless one knows exactly what "four" or "eight" or "nine" represents to say whether books are suitable for it. a list of this kind cannot be made without a thorough understanding between librarian and teachers, a thorough knowledge of the condition of the schools and the home-life of the children on the part of the librarian, and a knowledge of books on the part of the teachers. the graded and annotated list from the carnegie library of pittsburgh is for teachers, not children, and has many suggestive notes, but will bear weeding. many lists are almost entirely american, and seem at first sight narrow and one-sided. a little thought and knowledge of the conditions under which they are made shows the cause of this apparent fault. city lists are made for schools which are full of children of newly-arrived emigrants, whose first desire, as soon as they can read english at all, is to know something of the great free country to which they have come. it is to supply this demand that many simple united states histories and historical stories relating to this country have been put upon the market in the last five years, almost to the exclusion of other books of the kind. teachers and librarians should remember in making lists that there are other countries in the world, and good histories of them, like longmans' "ship" series. the books suggested by public library commissions are usually published in this country, partly for the reasons that it is easier to find them, that they are cheaper than imported books, and that they are in demand in small libraries. the new york state library lists are of this kind, and the books for children are carefully chosen as far as they can be from this country alone. with regard to scientific books for children, the springfield (mass.) city library has printed a short list of books on science and useful arts that children really enjoy. this list has been prepared by the children's librarian in connection with the supervisor of science in the springfield public schools and an out-of-town librarian. the list is the best i have seen, but is open to criticism on account of one or two of the books being out of date. the list for third-grade teachers compiled by miss may h. prentice for the cleveland library is excellent for supplementary reading and nature-stories and poems. . the value of articles on children's reading is variable, but a fair specimen may be found in the _contemporary review_ for june, where h. v. weisse states in his "reading for the young" that a generation ago the number of published books was small, magazines were high in tone, and in the realm of juvenile literature ballantyne was "monarch of all he surveyed." on account of the limited supply of children's books, boys and girls were thus driven to standard authors. "now magazines and so-called 'historical stories' are issued in such quantities that young people read nothing else. they should be trained to better things, and teachers and mothers should read to their children and see that they read good books for themselves, if need be rewarding for a clear reproduction of the sense of any good book, never punishing for a failure to understand, at first hearing or reading, that which involves 'a new form of mental effort.'" we have all heard something like this before! even agnes repplier, with her charm of style and her denunciation of the "little pharisee in fiction," and the too-important rose in bloom in contrast to the well-kept-under rosamond, makes few suggestions of books which are good for children to read. the reading lists in the new york _times_ are based on the experience of the writers, who have often been precocious, over-stimulated children of bookish families without companions of their own age, and have no idea of the needs, wants and limitations of the public library children of to-day, many of whom have few or no books at home. "i have quite a library," wrote one such child. "i have three books, longfellow's poems, a geography, and a book of fairy tales." a dreamy boy like "the child in the library" of a recent _atlantic monthly_ and the keen little newsboy who snatches a half hour after school is over and he has sold his papers to spell out a simple life of columbus or the "story of the chosen people" have little in common, and need different books, but they both need the very best of their kind. a book reviewer or maker of book lists for children should have an intimate knowledge of the best books which have been written for them, and the unconscious training which this knowledge gives in good taste and a critical sense of style. he (or she) should have also the intimate knowledge of all sorts and conditions of children and their limitations that a teacher or a settlement worker or a wise mother has. more than years ago, in the meeting of the american library association in boston, mrs. kate gannett wells said: "i would like to have mothers prepare lists, whose headings should vary from any yet given; such as: books that make children cry; books of adventure for unexcitable and unimaginative children; unlovesick novels." the best reviews of children's books ever written in this country were the work of a woman and a mother--lucy mckim garrison, who, in the earlier volumes of the _nation_, put into her work broad-mindedness, high ideals, and an understanding of children. it is such work as this that should be a model for the reviewers and a guide to the librarians of to-day, and one of the most important duties of the children's section is to insist upon higher standards, both in reviewers and through them in the writers of children's books, and upon trained critical knowledge in the makers of children's lists. books for children: i. fiction, ii. fairy tales, iii. science. it seems to have been fairly demonstrated that we have as yet no proper standard of values to guide us in the selection of children's books. reviews fail: they either do not evaluate the book at all, or they lack appreciation of it or of the children who are to read it--or both. book lists fail, as a rule, through eagerness to get something printed before we know what to print. articles upon children's reading fail because the people who have written them are not always familiar with children's books or are not acquainted with the "public library child." we turn to the books themselves, but, having no standard of values, how shall we judge? how are we to know whether a book is good or poor? it is not possible to reduce the appreciation of literature--whether books for children or for all time--to an exact science. it is difficult to conceive of any formula for the evaluation of books in general or the books of a particular class which would not fail again and again when applied to the individual book through the medium of a personal judgment. we shall not attempt, therefore, to answer the questions which form the substance of our topic. we have endeavored merely to state a question which to all children's librarians seems to be of paramount importance, trusting that we may eventually reach a partial solution of this problem by bringing the thought of many minds to bear upon it. this collective paper, or, more properly, this collection of ideas upon different classes of books, requires a word of explanation. the contributors were not asked to prepare papers but to furnish ideas and opinions, which should form the basis for discussion of the general principles of selection and of individual books in the several classes considered. the purpose was to present briefly the principles that should apply in each class, and to emphasize these by citation of specific books. _i. fiction._ we were recently asked to make out a list of a dozen books suitable as prizes for a sunday-school class of boys and girls from to years of age. we studied a long and carefully prepared list of stories written for girls of this age and supposed to include what was most desirable. assuming that the girls had read mrs. whitney and miss alcott, we did not consider them, and we found not one story which we could recommend as possessing permanent interest and literary value. there were many books which girls read and like but they did not reach a fair standard for this purpose. we filled out the desired number for the girls with books written for older readers. far different was our experience with the books for the boys. it was only a matter of choice between a large number, both suitable and desirable, and yet the lists which we consulted had been compiled by the same hand. in making selections of books for her readers, the children's librarian encounters at the first step this difference in the quality of the books written for boys and those written for girls. judged purely by the standard of taste, she must reject the greater proportion of those written for girls. when she finds so few that reach her standard she may blame herself for ignorance of the better books, but she must ultimately reach the conclusion that whatever her own shortcomings there is a lack of desirable books for girls. however, another most important factor comes into the case on the reader's side of the question. if the librarian is going to meet the needs of her readers she must understand what they are instinctively seeking in books, and she must enlist herself on the side of human nature. she will find at once that a distinct division in the reading of boys and girls springs from the fact that, generally speaking, the mental life of the boy is objective, that of the girl subjective. the boy seeks action in fiction, the girl is attracted by that which moves her emotionally or relates itself directly to her own consciousness, and the last thing that either of them cares about is the literary value of the book. hundreds--no doubt thousands--of our college graduates look back to the period when, according to their sex, the "oliver optic" series, or the "elsie dinsmore" series, played a very important part in their existence. the love of adventure in the boy gave the charm to the books. adventure he must have, whether he finds it in the tinsel setting of oliver optic or the refined gold of robert louis stevenson. and the magnet in the nature of the girl draws to herself something helpful even from martha finley; otherwise, she would not speak of the "elsie" books as "beautiful": there is something in them which to her represents "beauty." nevertheless, while justly condemning the oliver optic and the elsie books as cheap, tawdry things, the librarian must seek among better authors the holding quality on the nature of the child which these books possess. she must search for books in which these elements of interest are incarnated in what we call literature--books which, while rivalling these in attraction, will at the same time refine and broaden the taste of the reader. now, the lovers of oliver optic and mrs. finley do not take kindly to the classics and as, in the modern stories for young people, few will pass muster as literature, all that the librarian of to-day can do is to use her judgment and discrimination among those the writers have provided. the boys are readily turned from oliver optic to henty, tomlinson, jules verne, and on to "ivanhoe," but with the girls the case is hard. the girl tells us that she likes stories about boarding-school. it is a capital subject: in the hands of a writer sympathetic with girls, of fertile imagination and vigorous power of characterization, boarding-school life affords material for most entertaining combinations--but the literature of the boarding-school has yet to be written. the average boarding-school story has three main characters--the attractive, impulsive heroine, always getting into trouble; the cruel, cold-blooded, unscrupulous rival, habitually dealing in falsehood, and the teacher who is singularly devoid of discernment or intuition. the heroine inevitably falls into the snare of the rival, and things are usually set right all around by a death-bed scene--although actual death is sometimes averted. "louie's last term at st. mary's" is one of the better stories of this kind, and mrs. spofford's "hester stanley at st. mark's" is fairly well written, with a touch of the charm of the author's personality. "chums," by maria louise pool, is one of the worst of its kind, where envy, hatred, and malice run riot through the pages and the actors in the story are wholly lacking in vitality. the experiences of miss phelps's "gypsy breynton" and susan coolidge's "katy" are as satisfactory pictures of boarding school life as we have; and helen dawes brown's "two college girls" is a good story. "brenda, her school and her club," by helen l. reed, is a recent valuable addition to books for girls. in stories of home life miss alcott still easily takes the lead, with susan coolidge and sophie may following in merit and popularity. the boys have an excellent story of home life in rossiter johnson's "phaeton rogers." the setting is perfectly simple, every day surroundings, but the characters have the abounding vitality that keeps things moving. the entertaining succession of events proceeds directly and naturally from the ingenuity and healthy activity of the young people grouped together. the book is a model in this respect as well as in the use of colloquial english which never loses a certain refinement. every boy, while reading "phaeton rogers," finds himself in touch with good companions--and this is true as well, in charles talbot's books for boys and girls. the most important books for boys are the historical stories, appealing at once to the hero worship and the love of adventure common to boyhood; at the same time they should give a good general idea of history. the story in historical setting is, also, most desirable for girls--in that it balances the too subjective tendency; it carries the mind of the reader beyond the emotional condition of the heroine--indeed the heroine has no time to study her own emotions when brought into vital relation with stirring events. apart from the value of the historical facts imparted is the indirect but more valuable habit of mind cultivated in the girl reader. vivid, stirring, absorbing stories for girls can be and should be written in this field, which is practically unlimited. miss yonge has done some good service here. "the prince and the pauper" and the "last days of pompeii" are also illustrations of the kind of work that should be done--they are both strong in the direct interrelation between the imaginary characters and real history--and both appeal alike to the boy and the girl. books written with a direct moral purpose seldom achieve popularity with boys--and yet one of the most popular of all their books is "captains courageous," which is of the highest moral value though without one line of religious preaching in its pages. here the boys are in touch with a real, living character, acted upon and developed, through the moulding pressure of life itself--from first to last the aim of the story is the boy; and yet the moral outcome is simple, natural, inevitable and manly; it appeals to the common sense which is strong in boys. now when a woman writes for girls on the subject of the transformation of a frivolous butterfly into a girl of sense, instead of giving us character and action with a moral outcome, we have a religious setting with the action of the story and the conduct of the characters bent in every direction to illustrate the motive of the story--the religious idea. the plastic nature of the young girl wrought upon by life, fresh faculties brought into activity by the hard knocks of fate or the sunbursts of good luck--although these things are happening every day in the real life of young girls, we yet await the writer who will put them into literature without sentimentalizing. what we want is the novel simplified; the story told directly, without byways of description or analysis; where healthy young people, neither saints nor prigs, nor creatures of affectation, jealousy, or malice, are acted upon by life and each other in a natural fashion. let boys and girls be brought together as in real life; brothers are a good element in girls' stories, and love affairs need not be excluded, if handled with delicacy, common sense and true feeling. many books classed as novels are merely stories simply and clearly told, intended for older readers, but far better for young girls than the stories usually written for them. miss jeanie gould lincoln's stories and mrs. j. g. austin's historical novels, some of mrs. barr's and mrs. oliphant's novels and a wide range of other interesting, well-told stories can be substituted, if care and discrimination are used in the selection. fortunately, too, many girls of twelve are ready for dickens and other standard writers. however it is not only through the emotions that these aspirations and desires are ministered to--when the writer can develop this emotion into spiritual enthusiasm--or when she portrays a character of active spiritual force, she has put something valuable into the life of the reader. here, as always, it is the personality of the writer--the soul back of the words that most counts, and it is just this quality of true spirituality which gives value to mrs. whitney's stories, in spite of their wordiness, lack of proportion and forced symbolism; as it is the genuine goodness and pure idealism of miss mulock which forms the very atmosphere in which her characters move. while it is impossible to offer a practical guide to the selection of books a few suggestions can be made. in the religious stories, for instance, there must be discrimination between those encouraging morbid self-examination or religious sentimentalizing, and those cultivating optimism and the perception of true values and ideals. in books of adventure the dividing line would fall between, on the one side, those stories where the hero is actuated by pure love of adventure or where the adventure is worth while in itself--as in "foul play"; and, on the other side, those stories where the hero is merely seeking to exploit himself and in which the tendency might be to incite boys to reckless escapades for the sake of notoriety. in the _purchase_ of books one must consider the range of the average reader, but in _recommending_ books to the individual boy and girl, appreciation of differences in temperament and culture is indispensable. winifred l. taylor, _pratt institute free library, brooklyn, n. y._ _ii. fairy tales._ fairy tales must appeal to the love of the marvellous, and must yet be told with a simplicity that precludes all doubt of their reality in the mind of the child, no matter how improbable the circumstances to our prosaic minds. the language must be simple and dignified. to write a fairy tale, one must first of all be a poet, at least must have the poetic instinct. the child very early absorbs the idea of rhyme. he is sung to sleep with cradle songs, and soothed by jingles, and he does not soon outgrow their influence. these tales from the librarian's standpoint, fall naturally into two classes: the folklore legends adapted for children (in which, regardless of classification, we include mythological tales) and the purely literary, imaginative story. _fairy tales derived from folk-lore._ fairy tales derived from folk-lore--stories drifted down from the childhood of the world, were not originally written for children, and perhaps for this very reason, they have claimed them for their own. they are not "the artless appeals to all little masters and misses who are good or intend to be good" of john newbery's time. they have a naturalness which these first books printed especially for children lack; the moral is not too strongly urged. different versions of the old, old tales reflect in a measure the manners and customs of the country in which they are collected. fairies are stolid or clever, mischievous or amiable, according to the characters of the people to whom the stories were told. to this class belong the grimm brothers' "household tales," "icelandic tales," edited by mrs. a. w. hall (tales in which it is the princess or the peasant maiden who rescues the prince, instead of being rescued); the norwegian tales of asbjörnsen and moë, the grimm brothers of the far north. the collections of lang, baring-gould; and cruikshank, because of illustrations; miss mulock's "book of fairies" and william canton's "true annals of fairyland" should be in all libraries. collections of tales derived from greek and roman mythology, such as kingsley's "heroes," hawthorne's "wonder book" and "tanglewood tales," may also be considered as fairy tales derived from folk-lore. one of the most exquisitely told of the old greek fairy tales is that of "eros and psyche," adapted by paul carus from apuleius. the story appeals to children, regardless of the religious significance indicated in the preface of the book. "fairy tales from far japan," translated by susan ballard, is excellent, particularly the story of the "magic mirror," which is also found in a charming set of booklets published in tokio, in english. this set is called the "japanese fairy tale series," the type, paper and colored illustrations being all of japanese manufacture. "fairy stories from the little mountain," by john finnemore, is a good collection of welsh stories as is frere's "old deccan days" of indian folk-lore. "wigwam stories," edited by mary catherine judd, are told by indians, or adapted from ethnological reports and original sources. mabie's "norse stories retold from the eddas," keary's "heroes of asgard," "the wonder-world stories" of marie pabke and margery deane, scudder's "book of folk tales" and wiltse's "folk-lore and proverb stories," both of the latter for the youngest readers, the countess d'aulnoy's fairy tales, the collections of laboulaye and the immortal tales of perrault, we cannot afford to be without, as well as howard pyle's "wonder clock" and "pepper and salt," which retain the old-time flavor and are much enhanced by the author's illustrations. _literary fairy tales._ hans christian andersen's stories, while based often upon tradition, are excluded by hartland from the list of pure fairy tales and classed as literary. yet even the old, old fairy tales cannot, with justice, rival his in the hearts of the children. their feeling for him has been expressed by john white chadwick, in writing of another: "but as i muse, i seem at heaven's door to hear a sound which there i heard before. when danish hans that way did softly wend-- a sound of children making merriest din of welcome, as the old man entered in." mary s. claude, in "twilight thoughts," has shown herself a graceful follower in the footsteps of andersen. such stories create a tenderness for plants and animals not easily effaced. it detracts nothing from the interest of the story that what a child calls a fairy tale we call literature. even dr. johnson recognized that "babies do not want to hear about babies." it is a great pity that a child should never meet the knights of the round table, or the charlemagne legends--half history, half romance--or the homeric tales, outside the dissecting room of a literature class. small wonder that a child who heard them there for the first time should exclaim with considerable animus, "i like to read, but i hate literature." here is a good field for the "story hour" so successfully introduced in the carnegie library, pittsburgh. that edition which follows most closely the original, or is told in graphic clear-cut english, such as morris uses in the "earthly paradise" or the "life and death of jason," or butcher and lang's translation of the odyssey, is the best. such a version read aloud is infinitely better than the best dilution by any well-meaning attendant. skip judiciously, but do not weaken the story. it is not only the plot but the charm of style which we wish to introduce. the argument may of course first be given, that the child be put in sympathy with the situation. _modern fairy tales._ a good modern fairy tale is a rare article. one may search far and long before finding it. if it is not worth reading twice, it is not worth reading once. in many of these modern tales there is an atmosphere of haste wholly lacking in the good old tales. fairyland has a government of its own, where neither time nor space has value. it lies "east of the sun and west of the moon." one of the best collections is "granny's wonderful chair," by frances browne--in the american edition "the wonderful chair." it is well written, the interest is well kept up, and the language is befitting the subject. the surest way to test a poor fairy tale is to first read one of unquestionable merit, and to get thoroughly into its atmosphere. _good modern fairy tales._ "princess ilse," by marie petersen; a gracefully told story of a discontented mountain brook. "mopsa the fairy," by jean ingelow, and "the little lame prince," by dinah maria craik. "lob-lie-by-the-fire," by mrs. ewing, and "at the back of the north wind" and "the princess and curdie," by george macdonald. the average modern fairy tale is a jumble of impossibilities, with no continuity of incident, well enough or poorly written, according to the ability of the writer. "the magic fruit garden," by marion wallace dunlop, is an illustration of this kind. two very small children, in abbreviated pinafores, are studying their monday lessons; one is writing an essay on perseverance, the other is copying geographical names. by the illustrations, one may judge the children to be of kindergarten age. it is not surprising that they fall asleep, and, to dreamland sent, meet with adventures enough to make the strongest head whirl--a case of literary delirium tremens. "snow garden," by elizabeth wordsworth, is on the whole a good collection; the stories, however, are of unequal merit. "the other side of the sun," by evelyn sharp, is of negative goodness. the witches and wizards are mild and amiable, especial care evidently being taken that no child should be kept awake at night. it does no harm for children occasionally to shiver and shake as poor hans in the grimm collection longed to do. the author's satisfaction at the expression the "wymps wimpled" is insisted upon a little too frequently. "fairy folk of blue hill," by lily f. wesselhoeft, is of especial interest to children about boston, since it accounts for the granite quarries and pudding stone of the region. it is smoothly written and is not spoiled by slang or pertness. "summer legends," by rudolph baumbach. the stories are not altogether fairy tales nor are they written for the youngest readers. they are gracefully written although they lose somewhat by translation. the book is in some parts amusing and all the stories are peopled with the wonderful creatures of fairyland. other tales seem invented only for the purpose of forcing religious sentiment, or pointing a moral in inverse proportion to the size of the reader. their authors seem sometimes to have reached mark twain's conclusion that "every one being born with an equal amount of original sin, the pressure on the square inch must needs be greater in a baby." "pixie and elaine stories," by carrie e. morrison, is a mixture of fairy tale and religious story. the author speaks in her preface of the stories having been carefully pruned. one shudders at thinking what they must have been before, with such chapters as "the elaines' picture of heaven," and "the pixie transforms an elaine" left in. "new book of the fairies," by beatrice harraden, is marred by the suggestion of cruelty to animals. in one story, in place of rubbing the aladdin lamp, that what one wishes may happen, one must pull the black cat's tail. it is gratifying to reflect that black cats have their own peculiar method of retaliation for such experiments. _burlesque fairy tales._ burlesque fairy tales are the most atrocious of all. they are apt to be broad in their humor, full of _fin de siècle_ jokes or puns, and modern allusions which mar the poetry of the tale if there is any in it, and create an appetite for facetiousness in books. "lips wagging, and never a wise word," one is tempted to say with ben jonson.... copyright fees should be trebled on this class of books. under this head come: "the book of dragons," by e. nesbit. "here they are!" by james f. sullivan; full of modern allusions and puns. "the pink hen," by cuthbert sterling; a sort of "continuous performance." the pink hen is hatched from a forgotten easter egg, is driven from the barnyard by her associates and forced to seek her fortune. she links her fate with that of a little girl who has escaped from an ogre, and together they redeem a prince from the curses of bad fairies. the pink hen is continually punning, and the prince while still in the cradle is addicted to smoking. it is hard to tell how the author of jewett's "more bunny stories" would classify them. we hope not as fairy tales. they are poor from any point of view. the bunnies might as well be ordinary children as anything. they go to lawn parties, play golf, dance the virginia reel, go to west point, tell folk-lore stories, repeat bible verses and say their prayers. we are sometimes asked for a sunday book. for one who must have a special book for that day, this might possibly answer; it is certainly full of moral reflections and pious sentiment; but there is no reason at all for reading it on monday or tuesday or wednesday. the story closes with a wedding where the happy bunnies are united under a bridal bell, while the strains of the march from "lohengrin" float in the air. humor is not early developed in all children, which is perhaps why a great many do not care for "alice in wonderland," and for stockton's fairy tales--"the bee man of orn," "the griffin and the minor canon," etc. laura e. richards' "chop-chin and the golden dragon" must also be classed as humorous. it is not as good as the toto stories. _animal folk-lore._ animal folk tales as exemplified in joel chandler harris's stories, "little mr. thimble-finger," "mr. rabbit at home," "daddy jake," "uncle remus," "story of aaron," etc., are excellent. brer fox and brer rabbit, the black stallion and all the animal characters are quite as much realities to the children as buster john, sweetest susan and the little master. ortoli's "evening tales," follows the same general line. kipling, too, in the "jungle books" has won the hearts of the children, and here there is no hint of the "garlic flavor," mentioned by higginson. fraser's "mooswa" also belongs to this class. a common practice in modern fairy stories is for the author to open the tale in this way: a child falls asleep and enters fairyland via the dream country. often the child has been sent to bed for some misdemeanor, as in the "dream fox story book," by mabel osgood wright, or has fallen asleep over his tasks, as in the case of the "one-eyed griffin," by herbert e. inman, the fairy tales being offered by way of consolation; a reprehensible practice in itself, besides putting one out of touch with the real fairyland. it is too conspicuously "make believe" and leads one to suspect that the author has little confidence in his own production. as "good wine needs no bush," so a good fairy tale needs no introduction or apology. in the real fairyland one cannot easily be ungraceful. _nature fairy tales._ nature fairy tales are more than apt to be failures, and often include a great deal of pertness and cheap talk, in their effort to teach by stealth. (charles lamb writes to coleridge in regard to goody two shoes in this way: "think what you would have been now, if, instead of being fed with tales and old wives' fables, you had been crammed with geography and natural history.") a conspicuous example of the faults of this class of story is found in "sylvia in flowerland," by linda gardner. the heroine is introduced as a high-school girl, well-advanced in latin and mathematics, and amply able to supplement very largely the information which the flowers give her about themselves. linda strolls into the fields and is told all sorts of facts about the habits of plants by the flowers. the story where the author forgets to interject puns is interestingly told, certainly enough so to attract a girl of fourteen, who has any fondness for flowers. besides the numerous puns, such glaring sentences as the following, condemn it. "i don't know who you mean." "why it is a nasty nettle"! said sylvia. "nasty, yourself," ejaculated the nettle sharply, "why do you come shoving against me?" mccook's "old farm fairies," gives what mrs. malaprop calls "a supercilious knowledge" in its attempt to interest children in insect life, by introducing different insects in the form of pixies, brownies and fairies. while it has not the faults of "sylvia in flowerland," the information is mainly crowded into footnotes and appendices, which as a rule are carefully avoided by children. mabel osgood wright's "tommy anne" and "wabeno" are more successful; but the same amount of energy spent in making the facts of nature interesting in themselves would be preferable. while not assuming an absolute censorship in this department, the principle of natural selection may be applied in discarding such books as are characterized by the faults here cited, that we may do our share towards discouraging a taste for facetiousness, flippancy and poor style in literature. for while these modern, sham, soulless fairy tales soon lose themselves in the overwhelming mass of printed matter, in their brief existence they have time to accomplish considerable harm. far better to encourage re-reading the imperishable tales, than to gratify an insatiable desire for more. did not we ourselves again and again shed fresh tears over cinderella's hard fate, or gasp with bated breath while watching with sister ann for that distant speck on the horizon? if children are different to-day, it is partly because we are helping to make them so. abby l. sargent, _medford_ (_mass._) _public library_. _iii. science for children._ in the selection of books for children's libraries it is necessary to understand the difference between the aims and methods of the old education and the new. until recently the schools have centered their work about man, studying his language, literature, methods of reasoning, and the manner in which he has partitioned off the earth into countries. no importance whatever was attached to his physical surroundings, which form so great a factor in his life and by which he is so profoundly affected. in history, the study of dates, battles and leaders was all that was required. in geography, the work was almost exclusively confined to a description of the earth, the location of mountains, rivers, cities, and political divisions. before the establishment of the national weather bureau there was scarcely any public interest manifested in the phenomena of the atmosphere and its relation to various weather elements. many of us can recall from our own experience the picture of the earth divided into zones, but why such a division was made did not come up for consideration. what are we now aiming to do for the child? we are looking beyond the mere cultivation of memory; and we desire to increase the child's point of contact with the world, to bring him into closer relationship with the life about him, to broaden his sympathies and to develop the powers of observation and reason. in so far as we are able to accomplish these results, we shall make him happier by enabling him to understand the great laws that govern the universe. the child is learning that the facts of history are the results of causes, that they are the working out of great principles and that by the comparison of the past with the present he may be able to judge of the future. from a study of the physical features of the earth he learns that slopes determine the course of rivers and that cities are dependent for their growth upon physical environment. the consideration of the weather enables him to understand the state of the atmosphere about him, its effect on climate, the cause of storms, and the different action of solar energy on air, land, and water, which renders possible life upon the earth. science demands an investigation of the growth and habits of plants and animals, the relationship of one form to another, the function and adaptation of parts, the effect of surroundings, while form and structure are results, not ends. we want to lead the child from results back to causes. the possession of a vast number of facts, unrelated among themselves, is valueless and even harmful, for the child does not look upon nature as a whole. nature-study, perhaps more than any other subject, leads the child into sympathy with his environment. he observes carefully and thoughtfully and thus the individual is developed. from personal contact with nature he gains the power of accurate observation, correct thinking and judgment; thus strengthening his moral character. if this is the effect of nature-study upon the development of the child, the question comes to the librarian--what principles shall guide me in the selection of books that the library with which i am connected may be of assistance in accomplishing these results, and meet the demand of modern education? a book for children should be attractive. the exterior should present a harmony of color and tasteful decoration. the text should be printed with clear type upon good paper and should be well illustrated. colored plates are preferable, provided the coloring is good, otherwise uncolored illustrations are far more desirable. the text should be clear, simple, and scientifically correct. the new scientific book differs from the old. the old style book gave dead results, no sympathy in or interest for life was aroused, no suggestions were given for first-hand observations of nature, consequently the book failed to stimulate a desire for personal investigation that could be verified by the recorded work of others. the new scientific book not only gives results but a detailed account of the methods employed in obtaining those results. the reader is interested in trying the same experiments, gains a sympathy and interest in the wonderful life history of a plant, bird, or insect, develops a tenderness for life and feels that all nature is a sympathetic unit. within the last few years the interest that has been aroused throughout the country in "nature-study," has caused a great demand for this class of books. writers and publishers have hastened to meet the demand and as a result the market has been flooded with books that were made to sell. too often the writers have not been scientific persons, and as a result the books have been mere compilations, or were not true to facts. they lacked the true spirit of science. other authors have not separated the element of fiction from that of science, thinking that the child could only be interested in nature by means of a story. the writer of this paper does not believe that science books should be made story books. "tenants of an old farm," by mccook, is a good illustration of the combination of the science and story element. the author is a naturalist and whatever facts are presented may be accepted as being as nearly correct as it is possible to make them since they represent the results of careful personal observation. the author himself did not believe that the truths of nature were so unattractive that they needed to be woven into a story in order that the book might find its way to the general reader. then why did he employ this method? he was persuaded by his friends to change the original plan of the book and presented it, after much hesitation, in its present form. the book has thereby lost much of its usefulness. another element that many authors have employed to a greater or less extent is personification. that the value of a book is lessened thereby and its power over the reader greatly decreased, is beyond question. there may be some excuse for a limited amount of personification in the treatment of bees, wasps, or ants, but the majority of forms of plant and animal life does not need the human factor in order to make clear life-relationships. grant allen, in his "story of the plants," has described the use of the stamens and pistils as "how plants marry" and the modes of fertilization as "various marriage customs." allen gould, in "mother nature's children," speaks of the "snakehead" fish and its young as "mr. and mrs. snakehead and their babies" and of the seed-vessels of plants as "ways the mother plants have of cradling their babies." this method of treating nature's truths does not make the facts any clearer to the child; it only tends to diminish the grandeur of that truth. some writers have considered it desirable to embody the thought in terms that are already, or are supposed to be, familiar to the child, that he may be able to grasp the truth. the author forces upon the child a double task, since he must first get the thought as it appears and then search for the concealed fact. this process is not liable to be successful. mrs. dana, in "plants and her children," uses the term "sweet stuff" for nectar, "watery-broth" for the cell-sap of plants. the food of plants is spoken of as the "plant's bill of fare," and in expressing the fact that the crude sap which is taken up by the roots needs to be converted into elaborated sap before it may be used as food, she says "when the watery broth is cooked in the sun, the heat of the sun's rays causes the water to pass off through the little leaf mouths. thus the broth is made fit for plant food." must not the child possess some scientific knowledge before he will be able to understand the author's meaning? "plants and her children" is a valuable book, but would not its merits be greatly enhanced if the scientific facts were told in simple language? they certainly have interest enough in themselves to be attractive to the child. books like hooker's "child's book of nature" should be discarded. they represent the old scientific thought. no sympathy or interest in life is aroused, no relationships are suggested, no adaptation to environment is shown, no incentive is given for personal observation. why should we cling to the old when a book can be obtained that will more nearly satisfy our needs? there is often a great difference in the individual merits of books by the same author. mabel osgood wright's "birdcraft" is valuable, while "tommy anne and the three hearts" and "wabeno" are the reverse. the last two represent a type of book that should not be included in a science library. the fairy and story element so greatly exceeds the scientific as to render the books absolutely valueless, nor are they a success from a literary standpoint. no book in which the author wanders from one subject to another, in such rapid succession that the reader has difficulty in following the thought, or is so vague that an effort must be made to understand the topic treated, can be of much practical value. the greater number of the appleton's "home reading books" possess little merit. the selections were not written for children; they lack simplicity, are not attractive and are too technical. the article "the life of plants" in "plant world" would require two or three readings by an adult in order to understand what the author was discussing. the best books in this series are weed's "insect world" and holden's "family of the sun" and "stories of great astronomers." such books as fanny bergen's "glimpses at the plant world," carpenter's "geographies," kearton's "our bird friends," and weed's "stories of insect life" represent the style of book that the elementary science of to-day demands. we do not wish to make scientists of the children, but by means of the best books on nature-study we would prepare the way for elementary science. _nature-study_ is not _science_, for science is classified knowledge. so far as possible let the elements of personification and fiction be omitted, do not select books that are too technical or vague, that are not well illustrated, and that are not true to science. then our libraries will contain books that will incite the self-activity of the child and arouse the spirit of investigation; books that will stimulate observation and inculcate a spirit of tenderness and love for all life. ella a. holmes, _assistant curator, children's museum of the brooklyn institute of arts and sciences_. bulletin work for children. by charlotte elizabeth wallace, _hazelwood branch, carnegie library of pittsburgh_. the primary object of bulletin work is to direct the attention of the children to the books. the bulletin, like a poster, attracts the eye, arouses interest in a subject, and advertises the books treating of it. by means of picture bulletins interest may be awakened in topics before unnoticed; the children are curious to learn more about the pictures displayed, their curiosity is further excited by the short descriptive text, and as a result books relating to the subject are read. thus, without rousing the children's suspicions, we are able to guide their reading. the second object is the cultivation of the children's appreciation for pictures. if we can catch the eye by attractive pictures, we may add to the children's store of ideas, and aside from broadening their knowledge, bring them under the beneficent influence of beauty. pictures of æsthetic value placed in a children's room in which harmony of decoration, furniture, and arrangement have been considered, exert a vitally refining influence. when we realize how painfully lacking in refinement are many of the homes of the children who visit the library, how blinded are their eyes to beauty because of their sordid surroundings, we shall then see how essential it is to enrich their lives by every means of cultivation appropriate to our field of work. whatever we may do in bulletin work must accord with the high standard of taste evidenced in all of the fittings of a dignified library. while we are to aim to attract the children by bulletins which are simple and childlike in spirit, we must keep a sharp lookout that in our effort to please them our bulletins do not become tawdry and fussy in style. we are to meet the children on their level and yet educate their taste to a higher standard. the first practical consideration of bulletin-making is the collection of material. pictures may be obtained from a variety of sources. old magazines, book announcements, publishers' catalogues, book covers, book plates, railroad guides, advertising sheets, posters, special prints, etc., form the main sources of supply. in addition to a stock of good-toned gray mounting-board for regular use, colored mounting-board may be employed as a suitable background for colored prints, or to express the main idea of the bulletin--a delicate shade of green making an effective mount for certain pictures for bulletins on "spring." the choice of subject is of supreme importance. we should study the children whom we are trying to benefit, that we may discover their tastes and learn their interests. we may select a subject in line with the course of school study. this serves not only to illustrate a subject in which the children are already interested, but is an incidental means of making known to the teacher and pupils the usefulness of the library in furnishing reading supplementary to the school studies. we may bulletin a subject of transient interest, thus informing the children along this particular line; or, we may choose a topic which by the novelty of its presentation, may arouse interest in an unfamiliar subject, providing we make sure in choosing that we relate the unknown to the known. we always have a chance of illustrating some one of the universal interests of childhood. spring and autumn exhibits, bulletins on birds, flowers, and animals, certain anniversaries, etc., invariably prove attractive to children. the bulletins should be such as to satisfy a catholicity of taste and cover a wide range in age and understanding. but whatever be one's choice of subject, let it be carefully thought and wrought out, definite in plan and purpose, and worthy the necessary expenditure of time, material, and effort. it is well to read thoroughly on a subject before attempting to plan a bulletin. the reading of sketchy accounts in children's books is not a sufficient preparation for this work. it is better to turn to more substantial sources that we may penetrate the meaning of the subject for the children, and reflect this in the selection and arrangement of the pictures in the text, and in the talks with the children about the bulletin. we may thus reinforce the message of the bulletin and lead the children to the best book where the information they are seeking may be found. the explanatory text of the bulletin should be direct and simple. accuracy of statement is essential; this is especially important in scientific subjects. experiment has proved that a concise and simple account will be read, when a longer statement is passed unnoticed. poetry may be appropriately introduced to illustrate the thought of the bulletin. we should select the very best poems which will serve the purpose, making sure they are simple and clear enough in meaning to be readily understood by the children. in bulletin work we have an opportunity to acquaint the children with the choicest poetry. in addition to displaying pictures which please the eye, we may also present word-pictures, thus making a double appeal to the mind. an annotated book list is of great service in connection with the bulletin. this enables the children to gain an idea of the subject matter of the various books, and, if the notes are attractive, induces them to read a book which otherwise might be ignored. in teaching the children the use of lists we are also preparing them for independent work later. the books, it possible, should be placed on a shelf near the bulletin, that they may be conspicuous and easily accessible. no matter how beautiful the collection of pictures, nor how happy the choice of subject, a bulletin will not be successful unless it is well executed. technical skill is also necessary in carrying out the idea. not only should the bulletin direct attention to books but it should nourish æsthetic taste as well. form is as important as subject. slipshod mounting, unequal margins, untidy work in general, detract from the appearance of the bulletin, and are most disastrous object lessons to children. we must collect only material which is worth while and even from this select with the greatest care. sometimes it may be necessary to make use of weak or faulty prints in reference work, if a subject is sparingly illustrated, but such material should be reserved for this purpose rather than posted on bulletins. there is danger in exhibiting more than one bulletin at a time--exception being made, of course, for such bulletins as illustrate allied subjects, thus forming an exhibition. the display of too many pictures on any one bulletin is equally inadvisable. have we not all of us at times felt oppressed and confused by the seemingly endless array of pictures at a large art exhibit? the mind is overtaxed in the effort to grasp it all. knowing the patience with which little children study a picture, even dwelling on the smallest detail with delight, it would be better to choose with discrimination, and avoid bewildering the minds of the children, and fatiguing their attention by a large collection of pictures. a miscellany of pictures or bulletins defeats its one purpose--that of making a definite impression which should lead to further investigation of a subject. the arrangement of the bulletin should make its central thought and object apparent. a bulletin on lincoln's life if properly arranged could easily tell the story of the experiences between the log-cabin and white house. the pictures should have some logical grouping, whether by succession of events, or according to some natural relationship, as bringing a collection of wild flowers together in the order of their appearance, birds and animals by families, etc. concerning the composition of the bulletin, we may borrow the rules of pictorial composition and adapt them to bulletin purposes. according to john c. van dyke, "pictorial composition may be defined as the proportionate arranging and unifying of the different features and objects of a picture.... there must be an exercise of judgment on the part of the artist as to fitness and position, as to harmony of relation, proportion, color, light; and there must be a skilful uniting of all the parts into one perfect whole." in a bulletin as in a picture there must be a center of interest. we should strive to effect this by selecting for this purpose a picture which has earned its place, because it best suggests the subject, or because pictorially, either through tone or color, it best adapts itself to the principles of composition. the other pictures should be grouped accordingly, always taking account of the subject and artistic value of each in placing them. the bulletin should be built up architecturally as well, letting the heavy pieces support the light. such a picture as rosa bonheur's "ploughing" should not surmount breton's "song of the lark." color has its legitimate place in bulletin work as children are keenly alive to its attractiveness. it is because they are so sensitive and impressionable in this regard that our responsibility is proportionately greater; this alone should make us most discreet and careful in its use. van dyke cautions us in the following terms: "beware of your natural taste, beware of bright pictures for they are generally bad." he tells us "that 'color' does not mean brightness alone; and that a 'colorist' is not one who deals in flaming colors with the recklessness of a crazy-quilt maker, but one who justly regards the relationship, the qualities, and the suitableness of his colors one to another...." harmony strives to associate colors which are congenial to each other; however, it cannot be comprehended in the abstract. we bring to our bulletin work the results of our previous standards of taste, be these high or low. but we may raise our standards by holding ourselves receptive to the influence of art, whether it be decorative, ceramic, textile, or pictorial, and appropriate the lessons which it teaches in blending color into harmony. the love of prime colors is characteristic of primitive man, while the appreciation of the neutral tones is the acquirement of civilization. intellectual development conforms to the epochs of racial progress. children love crude and elementary colors. but while we make concession to their taste we should also educate it to an appreciation of the refined in color. the question of economy often arises in connection with bulletin work. are bulletins sufficiently useful and effective to pay for the outlay of time and money? in a system of central and branch libraries this is not so serious a problem as the same bulletin may be of service in the various libraries. the tendency toward extravagance would appear in the excessive quantity of bulletins exhibited, rather than in the expensive quality of any one of them. certainly we should strive to be economical in the sense of planning the material without loss or waste, but "whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well," and the main question is, are bulletins worth doing at all? the bulletin justifies itself by the results it accomplishes in calling attention to subjects, guiding the reading, circulating books, and increasing the children's observation and enjoyment of pictures. reference work with children. by harriet h. stanley, _brookline_ (_mass._) _public library_. preliminary to preparing this report, a list of questions was sent to a number of libraries in different parts of the united states, from of which replies were received. so far as space would permit, the facts and opinions obtained have been embodied in this paper. reference work with grown people consists in supplying material on various topics; we consider it sufficiently well done when the best available matter is furnished with as little cost of time and trouble to the inquirer as is consistent with the service we owe to other patrons of the library. to a certain extent this statement is true also of reference work with children, but i think we are agreed that for them our aim reaches further--reaches to a familiarity with reference tools, to knowing how to hunt down a subject, to being able to use to best advantage the material found. in a word, we are concerned not so much to supply information as to educate in the use of the library. seventeen of the libraries reporting judge children to be sent to them primarily, if not wholly, for information. one of the first steps towards improving and developing reference work with children will have been taken when the teacher appreciates the larger purpose, since the point of view must materially affect the character and scope of the work. another forward step is for the library to have definitely in mind some plan for accomplishing these ends. whatever the plan, it will in likelihood have to be modified to accord with the teacher's judgment and needs, but a definite proposal ought at least to give impetus to the undertaking. six libraries state that a considerable part of the inquiries they receive from children are apparently prompted by their individual interests, and not suggested by the teacher. these inquiries relate chiefly to sports, mechanical occupations and pets. this paper is confined to the discussion of reference work connected with the schools. _library facilities._ in selecting reference books for the purpose, certain familiar ones come at once to our minds. beyond those there have been suggested: chase and clow's "stories of industry," "information readers," brown's "manual of commerce," boyd's "triumphs and wonders of the th century," patton's "resources of the united states," geographical readers, _youth's companion_ geographical series, spofford's "library of historic characters," larned's "history for ready reference," ellis's "youth's dictionary of mythology," macomber's "our authors and great inventors," baldwin's "fifty famous stories," "riverside natural history," wright's "seaside and wayside," bound volumes of the _great round world_, and text-books on various subjects. a dictionary catalog will be useful in teaching the child to look up subjects for himself. if a separate catalog is provided for children, the question arises whether it is wiser to follow closely the a. l. a. headings or to modify them where they differ from topics commonly asked for by children or used as headings in text-books. this question suggests also the advisability of a modified classification for a children's library. last and not least, children should have room and service adapted to their needs, so that they may not constantly have to be put aside in deference to the rightful demands of adult readers. so far as the writer knows, the public library of boston was the first library to open a reference room expressly for children, well equipped and separate from the children's reading room or circulating department, and from the general reference department for adults. _choice of topics._ many libraries report that they find the topics habitually well chosen. the gist of the criticisms is as follows: (_a_) the teacher should make clear to the child just what he is to look up and how to ask for it. an eastern library furnishes this incident: "i want a book about flowers." "do you want a special flower?" "yes, i want the rose." a book on the cultivation of roses is handed her. her companion, looking over, exclaims, "why, she wants the _wars of the roses_!" the same librarian was invited to provide something on _american privileges_; whether social, religious, political, or otherwise, the child did not know. (_b_) the teacher should be reasonably sure that there is on the topic something in print, in usable shape, that can be gotten at with a reasonable amount of labor. (_c_) the subject when found should be within the child's comprehension. the topic _grasses_ is manifestly unfit for children, since grasses are difficult to study, and the description of them in encyclopedias and botanies is too technical. an eight-year-old had to investigate the _abyssinian war_. pupils under were assigned the topic _syncretism in the later pagan movement_. a western librarian was asked by some girls for kipling's "many inventions" and "day's work." both were out. "well, what other books of kipling's on _agriculture_ have you?" "why, kipling hasn't written any books on _agriculture_; he writes stories and poems." "but we have to debate on whether agriculture or manufacturing has done more for the welfare of the country, and we want a book on both sides." (_d_) the topic should be definite and not too broad, and should be subdivided when necessary. the briefest comprehensive description of _rome_ is probably that in champlin's "persons and places," where the six columns, already much condensed, would take more than an hour to copy. a young girl came to find out about italian painters. none of the several encyclopedias treated them collectively under either _italy_ or _art_. mrs. bolton's book of artists includes four italians, but it takes some time and skill to discover them, as the fact of their nationality does not introduce the narrative. how should a sixth grade pupil make a selection from the painters in mrs. jameson's book? three names were furnished by the librarian, and the child made notes from their biographies. the next day she returned and said she hadn't enough artists. (_e_) the question should preferably be of such nature that the child can be helped to find it rather than be obliged to wait while the librarian does the work. one inquiry was, "what eastern plant is sometimes sold for its weight in gold?" this is not in the book of "curious questions." (_f_) the topic should be worth spending time upon. the _genealogy of ellen douglas_ will hardly linger long in the average memory. _use made of the material by the child._ suppose the topic to be good and suitable material to have been found; for older children there are two good ways of using it--one to read through and make notes on the substance, the other to copy in selection. children need practice in doing both. the first method suits broad description and narration, the second detailed description. there seems to be a prevailing tendency to copy simply, without sufficient neglect of minor points, a process which should be left to the youngest children, since it furnishes little mental training, uses a great deal of time, keeps the writer needlessly indoors, and fosters habits of inattention, because it is easy to copy with one's mind elsewhere. the necessity for using judgment after the article has been found is illustrated by the case of some children who came for the life of homer. champlin, in about a column, mentions the limits within which the conjectures as to the time of homer's birth lie, the places which claim to be his birthplace, and tells of the tradition of the blind harper. the children, provided with the book, plunged at once into copying until persuaded just to read the column through. "when you finish reading," i said, "come to me and tell me what it says." they came and recounted the items, and only after questioning did they at all grasp the gist of the matter, that nothing is known about homer. even then their sense of responsibility to produce something tangible was so great that they would copy the details, and from the children who came next day i judged that the teacher had required some facts as to time and place and tradition. while it is true that we learn by doing and it is well that children should rely upon themselves, it is evident that young pupils need some direction. even when provided with sub-topics, they often need help in selecting and fitting together the appropriate facts, since no article exactly suits their needs. about half of the reporting librarians are of the opinion that it is the teacher's business to instruct pupils in the use of books; they consider the library to have done its share when the child has been helped to find the material. the other half believe such direction as is suggested above to be rightly within the librarian's province; several, however, who express a willingness to give such help, add that under their present library conditions it is impracticable. we can easily see that time would not permit nor would it be otherwise feasible for the teacher to examine every collection of notes made at the library, but there ought to be some systematic work where the topics are thoughtfully chosen, the librarian informed of them in advance, and the notes criticised. a moderate amount of reference work so conducted would be of greater benefit than a large quantity of the random sort which we now commonly have. five librarians state that they are usually given the topics beforehand. several others are provided with courses of study or attend grade meetings in which the course is discussed. _systematic instruction in the use of the library._ while a general effort is being made to instruct children individually, only a few libraries report any systematic lessons. in providence each visiting class is given a short description of books of reference. in hartford an attempt at instruction was made following the vacation book talks. in springfield, mass., last year the senior class of the literature department was given a lesson on the use of the library, followed by two practice questions on the card catalog. in one of the cleveland branches talks are given to both teachers and pupils. at the central high school of detroit the school librarian has for the past three years met the new pupils for minutes' instruction, and test questions are given. a detailed account of similar work done in other high school libraries is to be found in the proceedings of the chautauqua conference. cambridge has given a lecture to a class or classes of the latin school. in the current library report of cedar rapids, ia., is outlined in detail a course of lessons on bookmaking, the card catalog, and reference books. the librarian of michigan city, ind., writes: "each grade of the schools, from the fifth to the eighth, has the use of our class room for an afternoon session each month. each child is assigned a topic on which to write a short composition or give a brief oral report. when a pupil has found all he can from one source, books are exchanged, and thus each child comes into contact with several books. at these monthly library afternoons i give short talks to the pupils on the use of the library, the reference books, and the card catalog, accompanied by practical object lessons and tests." at brookline our plan is to have each class of the eighth and ninth grades come once a year to our school reference room at the library. the teacher accompanies them, and they come in school hours. the school reference librarian gives the lesson. for the eighth grade we consider the make-up of the book--the title-page in detail, the importance of noting the author, the significance of place and date and copyright, the origin of the dedication, the use of contents and index. this is followed by a description of bookmaking, folding, sewing and binding, illustrated by books pulled to pieces for the purpose. the lesson closes with remarks on the care of books. the ninth grade lesson is on reference books, and is conducted largely by means of questioning. a set of test questions at the end emphasizes the description of the books. in these lessons the pupils have shown an unexpected degree of interest and responsiveness. the course brought about children to the library, a few of whom had never been there before. these were escorted about a little, and shown the catalog, charging desk, bulletins, new book shelves, etc. every one not already holding a card was given an opportunity to sign a registration slip. the following year the eighth grade, having become the ninth, has the second lesson. with these lessons the attitude of the children towards the library has visibly improved, and we are confident that their idea of its use has been enlarged. _bibliographical work._ the inquiry was made of the reporting libraries whether any bibliographical work was being done by the high school. the question was not well put, and was sometimes misunderstood. almost no such work was reported. at evanston, ill., one high school teacher has taught her class to prepare bibliographies, the librarian assisting. at brookline we have ambitions, not yet realized, of getting each high school class to prepare one bibliography a year (we begin modestly) on some subject along their lines of study. last may the principals of two grammar schools offered to try their ninth grades on a simple bibliography. the school reference librarian selected some topics of english history--bretwalda, sir isaac newton, east india company, the great commoner, etc. each bibliography was to include every reference by author, title and page to be found in the books of the school reference collection of the public library. the pupils displayed no little zest and enjoyment in the undertaking, and some creditable lists were made. observation of the work confirmed my belief in its great practical value. pupils became more keen and more thorough than in the usual getting of material from one or two references on a subject. such training will smooth the way and save the time of those students who are to make use of a college library, and is even more to be desired for those others whose formal education ends with the high or grammar schools. the practice of sending collections of books from the public library to the schools is becoming general. when these collections are along the lines of subjects studied, it would seem as if the reference use of the library by pupils might be somewhat diminished thereby. no doubt it is a convenience to both teacher and pupils to have books at hand to which to refer. the possession of an independent school library also tends to keep the reference work in the school. but in neither case ought the reference use of the public library or its branches to be wholly or materially overlooked, since it is on that that pupils must depend in after years, and therefore to that they must now be directed. we recognize that the people of modest means need the library. as for the very well-to-do, the library needs them. other things being equal, the pupil who has learned to know and to know how to use his public library ought later so to appreciate its needs and so to recognize the benefits it bestows that he will be concerned to have it generously supported and wisely administered. even we librarians claim for our public collections no such fine service as is rendered by those private treasures that stand on a person's own shelves, round which "our pastime and our happiness will grow." books for casual entertainment are more and more easily come by. but so far as our imagination reaches, what private library will for most readers supplant a public collection of books for purposes of study and reference? is it not then fitting that we spend time and effort to educate young people to the use of the public library? do not the methods for realizing this end seem to be as deserving of systematic study as the details of classification and of cataloging? we have learned that to bring school authorities to our assistance our faith must be sufficient to convince and our patience must be tempered by a kindly appreciation of the large demands already made upon the schools. have we not yet to learn by just what lessons and what practice work the reference use of the public library can best be taught to children? vitalizing the relation between the library and the school. i. the school. by may l. prentice, _city normal school, cleveland, o._ years ago a little girl ran down a country road to meet the light wagon returning from town with the purpose of climbing into the back and so getting a ride. without turning, the wise elder brother spoke from the driver's seat: "i wouldn't undertake that if i were you." and over his shoulder a breathless but dignified voice answered, "but i have already undertooken it!" a similar answer might reasonably be expected from the library to any well-meant but tardy advice from the school-side in regard to the vitalization of the relation between the school and the library. it has already been accomplished, and comparatively small thanks are due to the school for its doing. graded lists of books, special lists of materials for occasions, library league work, the establishment of school branch libraries, all these have been the work of the library in a much larger measure than of the school. however, there are many teachers who share the library's buoyant faith in the blessing which books bring. these have been first to appreciate all which the library has offered them. they have accepted all that has been offered them and asked for more. they have circulated library books through their own schools, sometimes at considerable cost and trouble to themselves, and for years have done all in their power to make their pupils wise and discriminating patrons of the library. that the children of their care and love might have life and have it more abundantly--that is why they have done these things. these teachers are comparatively few. that it is any function of the school to give joy to its children is an idea of slow growth. a child's school-time is usually thought of as preparation for living and not as living itself. hence the rebuke of the teacher to the child who interrupts the "nature-lesson" to blow the thistle-down which waves over his head, or to watch the bee which booms against the window-pane, or the hawk which floats lazily against the blue sky. life is such a wild, wilful, irregular thing. quietude, prudent inaction, is so much safer. so with books. it is the old search for life, life, more abundant life--for knowledge of it, for entrance into it--which sends the child to the fairy-story, the boy to the tale of adventure, the young girl to the story of romance, the older man and woman to the realistic novel. and it is the instinctive feeling of the teacher and parent that life is a dangerous force and difficult of control which has made school and home look askance upon reading which the child finds too enjoyable. there is another feeling or belief which lies back of our doubt of work or study or reading which is too enjoyable. it is in regard to the part which love of ease plays in human enjoyment. love of ease is strong in human nature, and the man who tries to get his knowledge of human life mainly through the novel has indeed sought a short-cut to his end which will bring him but a short distance on his way. this is not the time nor place for the discussion of the value of fiction, but undoubtedly we are inclined to believe that man's indolence is a strong factor in man's enjoyment of certain lines of reading, and indolence is a bad thing. therefore, we distrust the value of such reading. whether we like or dislike it, however, we are obliged to admit that fiction is a permanent form of literature, that our children will read it, and that the question for us to settle is shall it be good or poor. what, then, has the teacher to do? two things: to _be_ the atmosphere from which the child breathes in love for and delight in good books. this is first. all things in the way of learning are possible after this. second, to be the pupil's guide and director in what may be called his "laboratory practice" with books. the autocrat, mellowest of men of ideas, once suggested that every college and university should have a professorship of books. the autocrat was an ingrained aristocrat, although one most mild and kind. the true democratic idea is that a professorship of books should be established in every school-room. but how shall the blind lead the blind? how shall the teacher who herself never has learned to know, to enjoy, and to choose good books guide others to do so? the library is a storehouse of great thought, an unfailing source of healthful recreation, but also the library is the mine in which the practical man and woman, the lawyer, the machinist, the scientist, the teacher, must dig deep for information, if he is to keep near the head in his own line of work. so far, as i have said before, nearly all organized effort to teach the teachers along these lines has come from the library. certain normal school and college librarians have done much, but to a large extent the work has been on sufferance. odds and ends of the students' time and attention have been given to it. the desirable thing is that the study of juvenile literature and the use of the library shall take equal rank with other studies in the preparation of prospective teachers; that the normal school, the pedagogical department of the college and university, the teachers' summer-school and institute, shall recognize this subject in their curricula. the practical side of library use--its use for information--is easily seen by the public, and schools for teachers can quite readily be induced to make room for the course of study suggested. in the cleveland city normal training school an attempt to carry out such a course of study has been made. a term's work is given in juvenile literature and the use of the library. moreover, this subject is placed upon an equality with the philosophy of teaching, history of education and psychology. as yet the work is not thoroughly organized. we feel, however, that some things of value have been already accomplished. in a twelve-weeks' term a class of prospective teachers (the junior class of the school) have taken notes on a series of talks on reference books. they have learned something of the comparative value of various standard encyclopædias, gazetteers, dictionaries and indexes, and they have been sent to the public library a half-day at a time to do work which required the use of these. for instance, a study of the life of robert louis stevenson was made for the purpose of giving a talk on the subject to fifth-grade pupils. the students were required to look up all the available material in the library, looking not only in the printed and card catalogs for individual and collective biography, but in the various indexes--poole's, the annual, the cumulative--for magazine articles. they were required to select the four or five articles found most valuable and to estimate their comparative value for the purpose in hand, making definite statements of the points of value. they were required to make careful and well-worded notes from the best material available, either books or periodicals, always giving the source, and to read these notes in class subject to the criticism of their instructor and school mates. and, lastly, they were required to write the story of stevenson's life as they would tell it to the children. careful instruction in the use of the printed and card catalogs and of indexes had preceded this assignment. we were fortunate in possessing quite a large number of issues of the cumulative index unbound. it was thus possible to place one of these in the hands of each student during instruction on the subject. this was a considerable aid. there was too much work with the less-used ready-reference books. next year the number will be largely reduced. a study of fairy stories was made. an attempt was made to find a philosophical basis for the love of children for fairy stories. an attempt was made to discriminate between the good and the bad fairy story. felix adler's "moral instruction of children" was helpful here, but the study of the fairy stories at first hand is still more helpful. the following books were read by the whole class: ( ) alcott's "little women." lessons were given on reading it with the children. ( ) mara l. pratt's "history stories," vol. . ( ) eggleston's "first lessons in american history." the pratt and eggleston books were read in succession for the purpose of contrasting them. a yet better contrast would have been baldwin's "fifty famous stories." ( ) frau spyri's "heidi." some of our girls read this story in the original german but most in the translation published by ginn & co. it is a charming story of a breezy little maiden whose home was in the swiss alps, and one of the rather scarce desirable books for the fourth grade. ( ) mrs. burnett's "sara crewe." this was read as a type of the "child novel" and for the sake of a study of the charms, dangers and benefits of this class of books. ( ) howard pyle's "men of iron" was read as a study of the worthy historical story. the following outline was given the students as an aid in judging the books read: _outline to aid in estimating a juvenile book_. . written when? by whom? for children or adults? [e.g., "robinson crusoe" and "gulliver's travels" were written for adults.] if for children, of what age? (consider both manner and matter.) . essential purpose of the book: recreative? instructive? moral? is the recreation afforded wholesome? the instruction reliable? the moral lessons sound? . style: is it clear? correct? beautiful? suitable? . if a story, what is the strongest character in it? the most effective passage? give reasons for thinking so. is it true to life? . is the book a creator of ideals? how so? along what lines? an effort was made that there should be no formal adherence to this outline. papers on the books read were required in which the outline could not be used. for example, after reading "men of iron" the students were required to write, in class, a paper on "the education of a boy in chivalry" based on the story of myles falworth. the oral discussions of these books were often very animated. each student was also required to hand in an annotated list of at least books actually read by the student and judged by her suitable for the grade in which she is to train. an oral discussion of these lists took place, and the student in many cases was required to justify her judgment, and to answer questions in regard to the books read. some of these lists were very cheering. one excellent list for the sixth grade, with very original annotations contained instead of books actually read, and more which the student had listed to be read at her convenience. not all of the lists were of that character. a list for the third grade recommended "gulliver's travels, by gulliver" as a valuable aid in geography. the instance is eloquent of the value of a course of study which results in the illumination or the elimination of such a student. much remains to be worked out, but a beginning has been made. ours is one instance of the awakening of the school to the value of the privileges which the library gives it. and as the reward of doing work well is invariably to have more work to do, from the school fully awakened the library shall receive its exceeding great reward in more work to be done. except for the hearty co-operation of the cleveland public library the little experiment here outlined could not have been undertaken. vitalizing the relation between the library and the school. ii. the library. by irene warren, _librarian university of chicago school of education_. the establishment of the library section of the national educational association was proof that the thoughtful librarians and school men of this country believed that an effective co-operation between public schools and public libraries was possible. in many states library sections of the state teachers' associations have been formed. many public libraries have for some time past systematically sent both books and lists of books to the public schools. no sooner had this been done than librarians and teachers both saw that they had made but a beginning, and the next steps, and, indeed, the present needs, are to bring about a more intelligent use of both books and libraries and to place larger and better arranged collections within easy access of the pupils. rarely do the teachers find the libraries adequate to the reference work or the collateral reading they wish the pupils to do. the funds are seldom sufficient to keep the libraries up to date. there is no one person in the school who knows how to organize and administer the library, and therefore whatever work the teachers do in this line is at a greater expense of both time, energy and material than it would be were it done by one having had a library training. the school buildings are frequently closed to the students shortly after the school session, usually by five o'clock, and always on holidays and during vacations. most of the pupils' reading and research must therefore be done in the one or two books which he carries home with him. the buffalo public library made another step in organization when it offered to take the collections of books from any of the public schools in the city and in return mend, rebind, catalog, classify them, furnish such schools as agreed to this arrangement with the books they needed, either from their own collections or from that of the public library, and appoint two attendants to look after the school work. the public school began with the one central school in the community, but it soon found that it must establish branches if it reached all of the children of the city. to-day there is no town of any considerable size but has its central school with a high school usually, and its branches on the north, east, south and west sides. the public library, following the public schools, has found that it cannot reach the people of the community unless it delivers books to the various parts of the town, and moreover establishes branch reading rooms where at least reference books may be consulted and magazines read. as in the history of the schools, so in the history of the libraries, provision was first made for the mature student. educators have been slow to see that they should begin with the child before he has established habits of thought and action. not until the public library is considered a vital factor in the educational scheme of a city can it hope to secure its best results, nor is this possible when the central library and its few branches are removed, as at present, from the public schools. the libraries and the schools should be housed in close proximity to do the most effective work. it is with keen interest that the experiment in new york city is being watched. it certainly seems as if the most economical arrangement would be to have the branch of the public library so placed in a school building that the students would have free access to it, and the public also, not only during school hours but public library hours. it seems the logical duty of the board of education to furnish the few necessary reference books that are in continual demand in every school room and also the sets of books which are used for supplementary reading. it does, on the other hand, seem that the public library can furnish a larger general collection, in better editions and keep them in better condition for less money and with better results than can the public schools. the already crowded curriculum in most of our public schools made many an educator hesitate when a course in library economy was suggested. one can indeed see a time not far distant, it is hoped, when such a course will not be thought necessary. such a time will be when instructors have awakened to a much greater appreciation of the value and use of bibliography and the need of training students in this line. along with this will develop a desire in the student to keep his own references and material so arranged that he will be able to use them easily. there will still be considerable of a general bibliographical character, handbooks, etc., which would be of value in all subjects and yet perhaps be overlooked by the specialists, that could be called to the students' attention through such a pamphlet as was recently compiled by mr. andrew keogh, of yale university library, under the title, "some general bibliographical works of value to the students of english." there is a phase of library economy that every teacher should know, and which it seems must always have its proper place in the curriculum of the normal school. that is the knowledge of how to obtain books. every teacher should know what the laws of his state are regarding the establishment and maintenance of the public library and the public school library, and how these laws compare with those of other states. he should know what aid he can gain through the travelling library system, should he be in a village or country district, and the possible co-operation between the public library and the public schools should he be assigned to a city. just as the public schools are finding that they must adapt their curriculum to the needs of the children of a certain district or class, so the public library has the same lesson to learn. the carnegie public library of pittsburgh has been one of the first to recognize this in the establishment of home libraries. it has thus reached a class of children that could be reached in no other way, and why should not the public library as well as the public school aim to reach these less fortunate children? the subject of children's literature should be a serious one with every teacher of children. the best writers for children, best illustrators, and best editions should be part of the normal school student's knowledge when he completes his course and goes out to teach. it is a great problem with him now how he shall keep this information up to date, when there are hundreds of books coming out every year and his school-room duties absorb so much of his time. here is the librarian's opportunity to be of great aid to the public school teacher by issuing lists of the best children's books on various subjects, exhibiting them in the library from time to time, and to the schools for trial, as so many libraries are now doing. in the country districts the library commissions must supply this information through annotated lists. it has been shown in a number of schools that children love to make books, and that the making of books quite successfully lends itself to the constructive work as carried on in the schools of to-day. the materials for this work are not so costly as to make it impossible for the average school. every child at the completion of the graded schools should know the value of a title-page, the use of the preface and introductory notes, the difference between the table of contents and the index, the best books in the several subjects which he has studied, and where and how he can obtain more books on these subjects later, should he wish them. it would doubtless be a great surprise to one who has not tried the experiment to ask the pupils in our graded and high schools even, for such simple information as the author, title and date of the text-books they are using daily. if the suggestions in this paper be accepted, and most of them have already been successfully tried, it will be seen at once how great is the importance of having trained librarians in our normal schools and institutions of higher learning. the time has now come in a number of cities which we hope is prophetic of the future, when the public library stands equally important as an educational institution with the public school, each supplementing the other in work and still distinct in function and administration. it is therefore necessary that our teachers should be trained to use libraries, and that our librarians should be acquainted with the great educational movements of the day. opening a children's room. by clara whitehill hunt, _newark (n. j.) free public library_. in writing this paper on the opening of a children's room, i am presupposing the following conditions: that in a library whose work with the children has been confined to the general delivery desk, and the divided attention of clerks whose time an adult public would monopolize, there is to be set aside a commodious apartment to be known as the children's room; that, considering this work of enough importance to demand such a department, the trustees are prepared to support it by a reasonable outlay for new books, necessary and convenient furnishings, and especially by placing in its charge one who, by natural fitness and special training they believe to be so thoroughly capable of supervising the work, that she is to be given a free hand in deciding both how the room is to be made ready for opening, and how managed after it is opened. this being the case, i imagine the children's librarian, with opening day a few weeks or months ahead, planning her campaign with such wise foresight and attention to the smallest detail that, in the rush of the first weeks, there may be the least possible wear and tear on nerves and temper from petty inconveniences which assume gigantic proportions when one is hurried and tired, and the smallest amount of undoing and beginning over again as time goes on. it is difficult to be clear in speaking of furnishings without something more than verbal description for illustrating mistakes and excellences, but so much power can be lost by not having the parts of the machine properly fitted and well oiled that how to furnish the children's room becomes one of the most important topics under this subject. to begin with, the children's librarian must cultivate, if she does not already possess, the architect's faculty of seeing a completed structure in a flat piece of paper marked off by lines labelled ft., ft., etc. if ft. does not mean anything to her she would do well to take a tape measure to an empty lot and measure off the exact dimensions of her room to be, until she can see its floor space clearly. she should live in her room before its existence, locating every door and window, the height of the windows from the floor, every corner and cupboard, the relation of her room to the other departments of the library. in proceeding to furnish the room she will learn what to adopt and what to avoid by visiting other children's rooms and asking if the tables and chairs are the correct height, if the exit is satisfactorily guarded, what working space is necessary for a certain circulation, whether the electric light fixtures are easily broken, and many other things. if she cannot make such visits, her knowledge of children and a study of conditions in her own library will answer. limited to a small space the children's room is nevertheless a circulating department, a reading room, a reference room, perhaps a repair room, and a cataloging department all in one; and if the children's librarian has not had actual work in each of these departments of her library, she should serve an apprenticeship at the receiving and charging desks, the registration desk, the slip rack, not only for the sake of knowing the routine of each department, but for studying improvements in planning her furnishings. the registration clerk will tell her that she has not enough elbow room, that the application drawers are too narrow or too heavy; the attendants at the charging desk find every present arrangement so satisfactory that they advise exact reproduction. armed with pad and tape measure the children's librarian notes all these points. the problem how with a minimum of help to "run" all departments, to see all parts of the room, to keep your eye on the entrance so as to nip in the bud any tendency to boisterousness as the children come in, and to watch the exit so that no book goes out uncharged, how to keep all unfinished work out of the children's reach but to give them perfectly free access to the books, in short, how to arrange your working space so that one person on a moderately busy day can attend to all these things, may be answered, i think, in this way. all wall space will sooner or later be needed for books. taking an oblong floor space (dimensions proportionate to size of room and circulation) and surrounding this by a counter inches high and two feet wide, is a simple way of accomplishing these things. the counter opposite the entrance is the receiving and charging desk; at another place it is the registration desk; books after "slipping" are piled in another part ready for return to shelves; books waiting to be marked occupy a fourth section; the catalog case, notices to children, call-slip holders, etc., stand on the counter. the space under the counter is available for supply cupboards and drawers. the height of the counter is such that a grown person sitting in an ordinary chair works comfortably behind it, but it is so low that no small child feels frowningly walled out in standing on the other side. thus all the work of the room is concentrated and supervision is easy. a few details are worth noticing. first, don't let the carpenter give you drawers instead of cupboards. drawers are wasteful of room for packing supplies, and of time in hunting for them. next, have the cupboard doors slide, not swing, open, for economy of your working floor space. underneath registration and charging desks leave space empty for your feet. just under counter near the registration desk have a row of drawers, sliding easily but fastened so they cannot fall out, made of the exact size to hold your application blanks and cards, with guide cards. a work table within the counter will be necessary. in addition to this working space, every large children's room should have a locked closet, or better still, a work room opening from it. in busy times things _will_ accumulate which must be kept out of reach, and it would not be sensible to take valuable space out of the children's room to hold such accumulations until you have time to attend to them. the height of the children's chairs and tables seems to have reached a standard in children's rooms--tables and inches high, with chairs and inches to go with them. i think it best to have very few tables of the smaller size, for tall boys take the strangest delight in crouching over them, snarling their long legs around the short table legs and trying, apparently, to get a permanent twist to their shoulders. small children do not stay long, and it is less harmful, if necessary, for them to sit in a chair a little too high than to compel large children to spend a holiday afternoon with bodies contorted to fit a small chair and table. by all means have the electric light _fixed_ in the center of the table so that each child gets an equal share of light, and have the connections so made that jarring the table and the movements of restless feet will not put the fixtures out of order. be very careful not to have the shade so high that the glare of the lamp instead of the restful green shade is opposite the child's eyes. when you see a chair that you like, find out before purchasing whether it is very easily tipped over. you will know why, if you are not wise, on some rainy day, when the room is full of readers and the reports of chairs suddenly knocked over sound like a fusillade of cannon balls. leaving this hasty and most unsatisfactory discussion on getting the _place_ ready for opening, i would say a word about getting the _books_ ready--not about buying a large quantity of new, and putting the old into the best possible condition of repair and cleanliness, for that will naturally be done. but from experience i know that the moment is golden for weeding out, never to return, authors you think objectionable. suppose a girl reads nothing but the elsie books. very likely one reason is that she knows little about any other kind. in a printed catalog with a scattering "j" between many titles of adult books it is easier to make lists of numbers from the long sets of prolific writers, and those excellent authors who have produced only a few books for children are oftenest overlooked. suppose in the process of moving the elsie books are left behind. the little girl comes into the beautiful new children's room. she sees the shining new furniture, the pictures, the comfortable tables and chairs and book cases so planned that any child can reach any book. she finds that there is perfect freedom for every child in this room--that no stern olympian comes and says, "don't do this," and "you can't have that," and "those books aren't for you," but that among all these hundreds of fresh new covers she may take her pick, may sit anywhere, or stand or kneel as she chooses. do you imagine that, as these unaccustomed delights sink into her mind, any child is going off in a huff when she finds one author is lacking, if the children's librarian uses any tact in introducing her to others adapted to her tastes? i have been asked for alger and optic and elsie, of course, though much less often than i anticipated, but i am perfectly certain that i have never lost a "customer" because i did not display these wares. one little girl exclaimed in doleful tones, "oh, haven't you the elsie books? oh, i'm _terribly_ disappointed! i think those are _grand_ books!" but in spite of this tragic appeal her curiosity and interest proved stronger than her disappointment, and i have the satisfaction of seeing a more wholesome taste develop in a child who must have been on the high road to softening of the brain and moral perversion from association with the insufferable elsie. if you once put these books on the open shelves, however, and later attempted the weeding out process, a howl would arise which would not be silenced without consequences which i, for one, would not like to face. furniture and books are comparatively simple matters to make ready, but to prepare your assistant or assistants for opening day and the time that follows is harder. the external preparation for the rush of the first weeks consists in drill in the routine to be observed. assigning a place and certain duties to each person, foreseeing as far as possible all questions that may arise and making sure that each attendant understands what to do in any case, having a place for everything, and everything in its place, and every person knowing what that place is, so that there will be no frantic search for an extra set of daters when a long line of people stands waiting--this also requires only foresight and firmness. but so deeply to imbue your chief assistant with your spirit and principles of management that she will not simply obey your directions, but be inwardly guided by your desires, and there may be no break in the steady march to a definite end--this demands that rare species of assistant who is born, not made, for the position, and a leader who possesses strength, tact, contagious enthusiasm, a likeable personality, and other qualities difficult to attain. this brings us to the consideration of what the guiding principles of the new department are to be--a question which must be pondered and settled by the children's librarian before making the external preparations. if the senior members of the american library association, the librarians-in-chief, would consider the children's room of enough importance to give us their ideas of what it should stand for, what its scope should be, the result might be more uniformity of thought among members of the library profession in this regard, and a more sensible attitude toward the children's room in the library. between those who, on the one hand, take themselves so very seriously, pondering with anxious care what probable effect on the child's future career as a reader the selection of a blue or a green mat for mounting the picture bulletin would have, and those who look upon the children's room merely as an interesting plaything, driving the big boys away in disgust by encouraging visitors who exclaim, "oh, what cunning little chairs and tables! why, you have a regular kindergarten here, haven't you?"--from either point of view, the discussions on children's rooms in libraries seem almost to lose sight of the very word library and all it carries with it. the children's room is only one room in a great dignified library. as the newspaper room, the catalog room, and all the rest are fitted up with furnishings suited to their peculiar needs, so the children's room is furnished with tables and chairs and books suited to its constituents. apart from this, all its management and spirit should correspond as closely as possible to that of the other departments. the same dignity, the same freedom, the same courteous attention to every want without fussy attentions which by grown people would be called intrusiveness should prevail. make the selection of books what it should be, provide guides and catalogs, perfectly clear but not patronizingly written down, show the children that you are always willing to respond in every way to their questions, and then--let them alone! some one has asked me to speak on the question of discipline. after the first two or three weeks, if one begins properly, there will be no such question. allowing something for the noise of small feet which have not learned to control themselves as they will later on, and expecting more "talking over" an interesting "find" than is common with adults, one should aim for library order. teach the children what a library reading room means. if in the first days there is a disposition on the part of any boy to be rough or unruly, or if a group of girls make a visiting-and-gum-chewing rendezvous of your tables, don't waste any time in sunday-school methods of discipline, trying to keep a hold on the child at any cost to the library. a sentence in a report of pratt institute children's room is worth adopting as a guiding principle. "the work of the children's room should be educative, not reformatory." give one decided warning and then if a child does not behave, send him out at once. do not be afraid of seeming stern at first. the fascinations of the room are such that a child who has been turned away for disobedience comes back a subdued and chastened young person and your best friend forever after; then with your aim and your firmness early settled, you will have no more thought of discipline than the reference librarian with his tables full of studious adults. after the first a little care about the way a child enters the room will be all that is necessary. your courteous manner, low tones, a little reminder about caps and clean hands while discharging his book, will give him the cue as to what is expected, and he will have a pride in living up to what is expected of him as a gentleman, not demanded of him as a child under authority. many other points will engage the thought of the children's librarian, for example, what shall be the attitude of the children's room toward the other departments--whether it is to encourage the children to make use of the adults' reference room, to take out cards in the main delivery department, and get into the way of reading standard works from suggestions of the children's librarian; or whether the line of separation is to be rigid and she will be jealous of their "graduating" from her care. how to prepare the public, especially the school-teaching public, for the opening, so as to secure their hearty co-operation from the beginning is worth constant effort. the question of blanks and forms for the children's room is a minor matter which is after all not a small thing. to make as few changes as possible in the forms already in use, so that any assistant from the main delivery room can in emergencies quickly take up the clerical work of the children's room without needing to learn a new routine may save much confusion should the children's staff all happen to be stricken with grippe at the same time! beginning early to plan, profiting by other people's mistakes, getting the routine of each department at one's finger tips, foreseeing every probable obstacle and removing each in imagination, beforehand, proceeding with calmness and common sense, thus the new machinery will move as smoothly during opening weeks as if it had been running for years, and, as "well begun is half done," every thought given to preparation while the room exists only on paper will have a far-reaching effect on the permanent influences of the children's room. report on gifts and bequests to american libraries; - . by george watson cole. the period covered by this report is from june , , to july , , and includes all gifts and bequests of $ or more, as well as all gifts of volumes and over, given by any single individual. a few gifts have been included which fall below these figures where the importance or value of the gift seemed to require mention. this report has been increased by the addition of over gifts, information of which was received too late to be inserted before its presentation to the waukesha conference. a few others, which have been announced since july , have also been inserted. much of the information here given has been obtained by a careful examination of the _library journal_ and _public libraries_. communications were sent to all the state library commissions, several state library associations and clubs, and to the librarian of libraries known to have , volumes or more. the responses to these communications have been quite general, and the information contained in the replies has been embodied in this report. the thanks of the compiler are herewith extended to all who have assisted him in collecting the material for this list. it was suggested by miss hewins in that it would be desirable to have the library commission of each state appoint some librarian, or library trustee, who should be responsible for the collection of information regarding the gifts and bequests made within his state. judging from the replies received this year the suggestion has never been carried out. following the example of my predecessor, i wish to emphasize the importance of the suggestion, and would further recommend that the information so gathered be divided as nearly as possible into the following classes: . buildings, giving value or cost; . sites, giving value or cost; . cash for buildings, with accompanying conditions, if any; . cash for sites, with accompanying conditions, if any; . books, pamphlets, periodicals, prints, maps, etc., giving number of each kind, with value or cost of the whole, if known; . cash for books, etc., with accompanying conditions, if any; . cash for endowment funds, giving purpose for which income is to be expended; . cash to be expended, with specified purposes for which it is to be spent; . cash given unconditionally; . miscellaneous gifts, specifying their nature and value. it will be observed that the first four of the above headings relate to gifts of real estate, which should also include gifts for fixtures of any kind, such as plants for lighting, heating, and ventilation; mural decorations, such as frescoes; furniture, so constructed as to be an essential part of the building; landscape gardening, etc. the remaining headings include books, endowment funds for various purposes (excepting building funds and the other objects just mentioned), and gifts of money for administration, current expenses, etc., etc. then, too, information should be given as to whether a gift has been offered, accepted, or received. it seems desirable that information relating to such old and moribund libraries as have been absorbed or merged with newer and more vigorous institutions should somewhere find a record. as such transfers are usually made as gifts, there seems to be no more suitable place for such a record than in the annual report of gifts and bequests. it is to be hoped that, in the future, the tables of statistics issued from time to time by the state library commissions, the u. s. bureau of education, and others will contain a record of the final disposition of such libraries. in the report of gifts and bequests made by mr. stockwell, a year ago, covering a period of two years, there were given separate gifts, amounting to over $ , , , and distributed among states and the district of columbia. this report, covering months, includes separate gifts, amounting to $ , , . , and is distributed as follows: in of the united states, in the british provinces, and three in scotland. to that princely philanthropist, mr. andrew carnegie, we are indebted, during the past year, for gifts reaching the enormous aggregate of $ , , , over $ , , of which was given for the erection of library buildings. in every case the gift, except where otherwise specified, was made upon the condition that the city or town receiving it should furnish a site for the building and appropriate yearly for the maintenance of the library a sum equivalent to per cent. of the gift. the most notable gifts of the year are due to the ever-increasingly generous hand of mr. carnegie. that to the city of new york of $ , , , for the erection of , or more, branch libraries, is probably the largest library gift ever made at one time to a single city. his gift of $ , , to the city of st. louis for library buildings and an equal sum, placed in trust as an endowment fund, for the carnegie libraries at braddock, duquesne, and homestead, pa., occupy the second and third positions, by reason of their amounts. his recent gifts of $ , each to the cities of detroit and san francisco, though announced since july , have been included in this report. mr. carnegie's gifts during the year number ; in the united states, six in canada, and three in scotland. one hundred and seven of these gifts in the united states were for library buildings. of the remaining five, amounting to $ , , , one of $ , will probably be used for a building. the transfer of the john carter brown library to brown university by the trustees of the estate of the late john nicholas brown, recently announced, is one of the most important library events of the year. this library contains, if not the finest, at least one of the finest collections of early americana in this country, and possesses many books not to be found in any other library on this side of the atlantic. its collector, after whom it is named, was a competitor with lenox, brinley, and other early collectors of americana for many a choice nugget which henry stevens and other european dealers had secured for their american patrons. the library is estimated to be worth at least $ , , , and the gift carries with it two legacies, one of $ , for a library building, and another of $ , as an endowment fund for its increase and maintenance. the gift of four public-spirited citizens of st. louis, who have jointly contributed $ , to lift an incumbrance on the block to be used for the new carnegie library in that city, is a noble example of public spirit, and one of which the friends of that city may justly feel proud. the collection of oriental literature of yale university has been enriched by the gift of arabic manuscripts, many of which are extremely rare. the collection covers the whole range of arabic history and literature, dating back to the th and th centuries. this collection, formed by count landberg, was purchased by mr. morris k. jesup, of new york, at a cost of $ , , and was presented by him to the university library. this library has also received, as a bequest, the private library of the late prof. othniel c. marsh, consisting of about volumes and , pamphlets, dealing mainly with palæontological subjects. the new york public library--astor, lenox, and tilden foundations--through the generosity of mr. charles stewart smith, has come into possession of a large and valuable collection of japanese engravings and chromo-xylographs, formed by captain brinkley, of the _japanese mail_. i regret that i do not have the pleasure to record any addition, during the year, to the publication fund of the american library association. the publishing board is much hampered by lack of funds from carrying on its important work. if some philanthropically inclined person would present a fund, say $ , , upon condition that all publications issued from its income should bear the name of the fund, it would not only be of inestimable benefit to the cause of libraries, but would also be a most enduring monument to its donor. an examination of the following list will disclose other gifts worthy of special mention if space permitted. the main list has been arranged alphabetically by states, as being the most convenient for reference. a tabulated summary, arranged by the geographical sections of the country, will show how widely scattered have been the benefactions of the year, extending from alabama in the south to montreal in the north, and from bangor in the east to "where rolls the oregon" in the far west. alabama. _montgomery._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of books forming its library, from the montgomery library association. _tuskegee._ tuskegee normal and industrial institute. gift of $ , , for a library building, from andrew carnegie. the building will be erected entirely by student labor. california. _alameda._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _berkeley._ university of california. gift of $ , , as a fund for the purchase of books for the law library, from mrs. jane krom sather, of oakland, cal. -- gift of $ , from col. e. a. denicke. -- gift of about volumes, being the private library of the late regent, a. s. hallidie, from mrs. m. e. hallidie. _fresno._ public library. gift of $ , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _napa._ public library. gift of $ , , for free public library building, from george e. goodman. _san francisco._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of building and fixtures for branch library, no. , estimated to cost $ , , from hon. james d. phelan, mayor of san francisco. _san jose._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _stanford university._ leland stanford university. gift of $ , $ for books on sociology and $ for books on bibliography, special gift from mrs. j. l. stanford. colorado. _grand junction._ public library. gift of $ , increased from $ , for a library building, from andrew carnegie. _leadville._ city library association. gift of $ , , for a public library, from andrew carnegie. _ouray._ walsh library. gift of a library building, costing $ , , from thomas f. walsh. connecticut. _branford._ blackstone memorial library. bequest of $ , , from timothy b. blackstone, of chicago, founder of the library. _danielsonville._ edwin h. bugbee memorial building. bequest of $ , , for the erection of a building, also the donor's private library and cases, from edwin h. bugbee. _derby._ public library. gift of a fully equipped public library building, by col. and mrs. h. holton wood, of boston, the city to agree to maintain the library and raise a book fund of $ , to which sum the donors will add an equal amount. -- gift of $ , , raised by popular subscription, towards book fund, from interested citizens. nearly $ was given by public school children. -- gift of $ , towards a book fund, from col. and mrs. h. holton wood. -- gift of volumes, from derby reading circle. _greenwich._ public library. gift of $ , , as an endowment, from wealthy new yorkers. _hartford._ case memorial library, hartford theological seminary. gift of $ towards fund for purchase of periodicals, from mrs. charles b. smith. -- gift of $ for book purchases, from miss anna m. hills. -- gift of volumes, pertaining to missions, from rev. a. c. thompson, d.d. -- public library. gift of $ , from f. b. brown. _kensington._ library association. gift of $ , , for a new library building, from s. a. galpin, of california. _litchfield._ wolcott library. bequest of $ , from ex-governor roger wolcott, of boston, mass. _middletown._ wesleyan university. gifts of $ , to be added to alumni library fund. -- gift of $ , to be added to the hunt library endowment. this addition has been increased to $ by the reservation of the income of the fund. _new haven._ yale university. gift of $ , , for a fund for the seminary library in the department of philosophy, from mrs. john s. camp, of hartford, conn. -- gift of $ , a contribution towards an administration fund, from charles j. harris. -- gift of $ , for purchases in the department of folk-music, from an anonymous donor. -- gift of $ , for purchases in department of english literature, from edward wells southworth, of new york. -- gift of $ , a contribution towards an administration fund, from the hon. william t. harris, u. s. commissioner of education. -- bequest of about volumes and , pamphlets, forming the private library of the testator, from prof. othniel c. marsh. -- gift of arabic manuscripts, collected by count landberg; bought for $ , by morris k. jesup and presented by him to the university. many of these mss. are very rare. the collection covers the whole range of arabic history and literature, dating back to the th and th centuries. -- gift of a collection of musical manuscripts, number not stated, from morris steinert. _norwalk._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _south norwalk._ public library and free reading room. bequest of $ , for permanent fund, from r. h. rowan. _southington._ public library. gift of $ , towards a library building, from l. v. walkley. _torrington._ library association. bequest of $ , , by elisha turner. from this amount is to be deducted the cost of the library building, about $ , , which was being erected by the testator at the time of his death. _wallingford._ public library. gift of library building, cost value not stated, from the late samuel simpson, as a memorial to his daughter. _windsor._ library association. gift of $ , towards a library building fund, from miss olivia pierson. georgia. _atlanta._ carnegie library. gift of $ , , for furnishings and equipment of new building, from andrew carnegie. _travelling libraries for schools._ gift of volumes for travelling libraries for country schools, for that number of counties in the state, from the hon. hoke smith. it is planned to have each library remain in a school for about two months. illinois. _aurora._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie, the city to furnish a site and guarantee $ a year maintenance. _centralia._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie, the city to provide a site and $ yearly for maintenance. _chicago._ john crerar library. bequest of $ , from the late president, huntington w. jackson. -- rush medical college. gift of volumes of medical and surgical books, from dr. christian fenger. this gift contains a practically complete collection of german theses for the past fifty years. -- university of chicago. gift of $ , , to endow the history library, from mrs. delia gallup. _decatur._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- young men's christian association library. gift of $ , from miss helen gould, of new york. _dixon._ dodge library. gift of a valuable and extensive collection of art books, value and number not stated, from george c. loveland. _evanston._ northwestern university. gift of $ , for the purchase of books in political economy, from norman waite harris, of chicago. -- gift of $ . , to be known as the "class of ' library fund," the income of at least per cent. to be used for the increase of the university library, from the class of . -- public library. gift of $ , toward library site fund, from william deering. _freeport._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _galesburg._ knox college. gift of $ , , for a library building, from andrew carnegie. -- public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city already appropriates $ for library maintenance. _grossdale._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. _havana._ public library. gift of $ , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _jacksonville._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _kewanee._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _lake forest._ lake forest college. gift of the arthur somerville reid memorial library building; cost about $ , , from mrs. simon reid. _lincoln._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _maywood._ public library. gift of $ , being surplus campaign funds remaining after the election, from republican committee of that town. _pekin._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city has appropriated $ . -- gift of a site for the proposed carnegie library building, value not stated, from george herget. _rock island._ public library. gift of $ , , for book stacks and furniture, from frederick weyerhauser, of st. paul. _rockford._ public library. gift of $ , , for a new public library building, from andrew carnegie, the city to furnish site and "not less than $ " yearly for maintenance. _springfield._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city council appropriated $ , annually in hope that the gift might be increased to $ , . the library will be known as the "lincoln library." _streator._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _sycamore._ public library. gift of a library building, to cost about $ , , from mrs. everill f. dutton, as a memorial to her late husband, gen. everill f. dutton. _waukegan._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city already appropriates $ for library maintenance. indiana. _crawsfordsville._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- wabash college library. gift of the original manuscript of "the prince of india," from general and mrs. lew wallace. _elkhart._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city, in advance, has pledged $ yearly for maintenance. _elwood._ public library. gift of $ , through the local women's club, from president reid, of the american tin plate co., of new york. -- gift of $ , the results of a benefit, from the women's club. _fort wayne._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _goshen._ public library. gift of $ , , for a library building, from andrew carnegie, the city to furnish $ yearly for maintenance. _indianapolis._ butler college. gift of $ , , for a library building, also a site for the same, from mr. and mrs. edward c. thompson, in memory of their daughter. -- public library. gift of volumes on music, in memory of her son, harry s. duncan, deceased, from mrs. ella s. duncan. this collection includes musical scores of the most famous operas and oratorios, as well as the best critical works on music. _lafayette._ public library. gift of property, valued at $ , , from mrs. robert r. hitt, of illinois. _logansport._ public library. gift of a fine library of historical material relating to the mississippi valley, collected by the late judge horace p. biddle. this collection was the result of years of historical research, and contains originals of maps, drafts, etc., of great value. _madison._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _marion._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. a site was purchased some time ago, and the offer was promptly accepted. _michigan city._ public library. gift of $ , for books, from mrs. j. h. barker. _muncie._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of $ , from the heirs of an estate, name not given. _new harmony._ workingmen's institute public library. bequest of $ , , from dr. edward murphy. in the final settlement the amount may exceed these figures. _peru._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city already appropriates $ yearly for library maintenance. _portland._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. _wabash._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of volumes, from woman's library association. the library has been turned over to the city to be maintained as a public library. _washington._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. iowa. _burlington._ public library. gift of $ , , from philip m. crapo. _cedar rapids._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _centerville._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building and site, from ex-governor f. m. drake, on condition that a two mills tax be laid for the perpetual and proper care of the property. _davenport._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, thereby increasing former gift to $ , , from andrew carnegie. _dubuque._ carnegie-stout free library. gift of $ , , from andrew carnegie, on condition that the young men's library association be made the nucleus of a free public library, and that the city furnish a site and maintain the institution. -- gift of a suitable site for the library building offered by andrew carnegie, valued at $ , , from f. d. stout, given in memory of his father. _fayette._ upper iowa university. gift of $ , , which will be devoted to library purposes, probably for a new building, from andrew carnegie. _fort dodge._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _grinnell._ stewart library. gift of a new library building, costing $ , , from joel stewart. -- gift of a site for new library building, value not stated, from the congregational church. -- gift of $ , for books, raised by popular subscription by the citizens of grinnell. _iowa falls._ public library. gift of a public library building, if the city will provide a suitable site, from e. s. ellsworth. _mt. vernon._ cornell college. gift of $ , , for a library building, from andrew carnegie. conditions, if any, not stated. _muscatine._ public library. a new library building, to cost about $ , , by p. m. musser, provided the city vote to establish and maintain the library. kansas. _dodge city._ railroad library and reading room. the atchison, topeka, and santa fé railroad co. are fitting up a library and reading room at this place for its employés. _fort scott._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _kansas city._ public library. bequest of about $ , from mrs. sarah richart. _lawrence._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. kentucky. _lexington._ state college. gift of $ , , from president james k. patterson. louisiana. _new orleans._ public library. gift of $ , and a valuable collection of books, from abram holker. maine. _bangor._ public library. bequest of $ , . , towards the building fund, from a. d. mason. -- gift of building site, costing $ , from nathan c. ayer. _belfast._ free library. gift of $ , as a fund for the purchase of books on history and biography, in memory of albert boyd otis, from albert crane. _brunswick._ bowdoin college. the new library building, given by gen. thomas h. hubbard, of new york city, reported last year, at over $ , , will cost over $ , . -- bequest of $ , from captain john clifford brown, of portland. -- gift of $ , from an unknown donor, through a boston friend. _fairfield._ public library. gift of a library building, to cost between $ and $ , , from e. j. lawrence. _farmington._ public library association. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from hon. isaac cutler, of boston, mass. _lewiston._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. maryland. _cumberland._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _hagerstown._ washington county free library. gift of $ , and accrued interest $ , from b. f. newcomer, of baltimore, the town to furnish a site for building, which will cost about $ , . massachusetts. _amherst._ amherst college. gift of $ , to form a fund for the purchase of spanish books, from hon. john s. brayton, of fall river, mass. _bolton._ parker library. devise of a dwelling house and one-half acre of land, on condition that within one year from the allowance of the will the town shall establish a free public library to be known as the parker library, from louisa parker. _boston._ lang memorial library. gift of a free public library of musical scores, founded by b. j. lang, as a memorial to ruth burrage. -- public library. bequest of $ , from abram e. cutter. -- gift of volumes of text-books used in the public schools of boston, from the boston school committee, in co-operation with the publishers. -- gift of volumes, relating to music, scores, etc., from allen a. brown. -- gift of volumes, relating to music, including operas, oratorios, collections of school and college song books, etc., from the oliver ditson co. _cambridge._ harvard university. bequest of $ , , to increase fund, already established by him, for purchase of works of history, political economy, and sociology, from ex-governor roger wolcott. -- gift of $ , for purchase of books relating to the history of the ottoman empire, from prof. a. c. coolidge. -- gift of $ , for the purchase of books on ecclesiastical history in the riant library, from j. harvey treat, of lawrence. -- gift of $ , for purchase of books relating to scandinavian subjects, from mrs. emil e. hammer. -- bequest of volumes, mainly english and french literature, from edward ray thompson, of troy, n. y. -- gift of volumes from the library of james russell lowell, to form the lowell memorial library for the use of the romance departments of the university, from various subscribers. -- gift of volumes, the library of alphonse marsigny, from the j. c. ayer company, of lowell. -- gift of volumes, belonging to the library of her late husband, from mrs. john e. hudson. -- bequest of volumes of sanskrit and other oriental works, from henry c. warren, esq. -- public library. bequest of volumes, consisting chiefly of maine and new hampshire local histories, genealogies, etc., from cyrus woodman. -- gift of a collection of art works, valued at about $ , from nathaniel cushing nash. _clinton._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _conway._ field memorial library. gift of a library building to cost $ , , as a memorial to the donor's father and mother, from marshall field, of chicago. it will also be endowed by mr. field. _fairhaven._ millicent library. gift of fairhaven waterworks, valued at from $ , to $ , , and producing an annual income of about $ , from henry h. rogers. _groveland._ public library. bequest of $ , from j. g. b. adams. _hinsdale._ public library. bequest of $ , to be known as "curtice fund," the income to be used for the purchase of books, from john w. curtice, of washington, d. c. _lynn._ free public library. gift of a library building, erected largely from the bequest of mrs. elizabeth shute. --gift of large mural painting, by f. luis mora, from joseph n. smith. -- gift of copy in marble of the venus of milo, from charles w. bubier, of providence, r. i. -- gift of a bronze bust of the late charles j. van depoele, from his family. _malden._ public library. gift of $ , , to be known as the elisha and mary d. converse endowment fund, from hon. elisha d. converse. "the income from this fund will be 'used freely in any direction in which it may conduce to the welfare of the library.'" _milton._ public library. bequest of $ , from ex-governor roger wolcott, of boston, mass. _newburyport._ public library. gift of $ , , for the purchase of books, from john rand spring, of san francisco. -- bequest of $ , from stephen w. marston, of boston. -- bequest of $ , from e. s. moseley. _north adams._ public library. gift of furnishings and decorations of children's room, value not stated, from william arthur gallup, as a memorial to his children. _petersham._ public library. bequest of $ , , from lucy f. willis. _plymouth._ public library. gift of a new library building, to cost about $ , , from the heirs of the late william g. russell, of boston, as a memorial to their father and mother. _salem._ public library. bequest of $ , , from walter s. dickson. _somerville._ public library. gift of $ , from mrs. harriet minot laughlin, in memory of her father, isaac pitman, the first librarian of the institution, the income to be used for the purchase of "works of art, illustrative, decorative, and otherwise." _springfield._ city library. bequest of about $ , , from the estate of david ames wells, of norwich, conn., his son david dwight wells having died june , , without issue. one-half of the income is to be expended for publications on economic, fiscal, or social subjects. -- gift of volumes, from miss frances fowler. _sunderland._ public library. gift of $ , , for a library and its equipment, from john l. graves, of boston. _swansea._ public library. bequest of a library building, cost not stated, from frank shaw stevens. _woburn._ eunice thompson memorial library. by his last will jonathan thompson, of woburn, left a plot of ground and the residue of his estate for the erection and maintenance of a suitable building by the city, to be known by the above name. value of bequest about $ , . _worcester._ american antiquarian society. gift of $ , for a fund, the interest of which is to be expended for literature relating to the civil war of - . this fund is in memory of hon. john davis, president of the society from - , and was given by john c. b. davis, of washington, d. c., horace davis, of san francisco, and andrew mcf. davis, of cambridge. -- clark university. bequest of $ , , from jonas g. clark, for the erection and maintenance of a library. michigan. _albion._ albion college. gift of $ , , to be devoted to a library building, as a memorial to the donor's daughter, lottie t. gassett, from mrs. c. t. gassett. _ann arbor._ ladies' library association. bequest of $ , from mrs. l. m. palmer. -- university of michigan. gift of about volumes, belonging to the library of the late prof. george a. hench, from his mother, mrs. rebecca a. hench. the greater number refer to germanic philology. _delray._ public library. gift of property, valued at $ , , for a public library, from the solvay process company, of that place. _detroit._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of volumes and pamphlets, from the heirs of the late gov. john j. bagley. "this collection was notable in being almost wholly available, useful, and valuable to the library." -- gift of volumes and pamphlets, from herbert bowen, formerly a member of the library board. "all were of a historical character, mostly local and relating to michigan, or institutions and localities in the state." _grand rapids._ public library. gift of $ , , for the erection and furnishing of a library building, from martin a. ryerson, of chicago, the city to provide site and maintenance. the offer was made feb. , , and was at once accepted by the mayor. _iron mountain._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _ishpeming._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _jackson._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city already appropriates $ yearly for library support. _marquette._ public library. gift of $ , toward a new library building, from an anonymous donor. _muskegon._ hackley public library. gift of $ , , for a new two-story stack room, from charles henry hackley. _sault ste. marie._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. minnesota. _cloquet._ public library. gift of a site for a library building, valued at $ , from cloquet lumber company. _duluth._ carnegie library. gift of $ , , for a new library building, in addition to a former gift of $ , , from andrew carnegie. _mankato._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _minneapolis._ public library. gift of $ , , for the erection of a branch library building, from ex-governor j. s. pillsbury. _st. cloud._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of $ , towards the purchase of a site for the new carnegie library building, from j. j. hill, of st. paul. _st. paul._ public library. gift of $ , for purchase of children's books, from various friends of the library. -- gift of their library of volumes, from st. paul teacher's association. -- gift of photographs of paintings, two pictures and a large cast of the victory of samothrace, from four donors. _sleepy eye._ dyckman free library. gift of $ , being the cost of the completed library building, from f. h. dyckman. mississippi. _natchez._ fisk library association. gift of $ , , from mrs. christian schwartz, on condition that the association raise an additional $ , . -- gift of site, valued at $ , and a library building, to cost $ , , from mrs. christian schwartz. _yazoo._ public library. gift of a library building, to cost $ , , as a memorial to the late gen. b. s. ricks, from his widow. -- gift of $ , from mrs. k. c. gardner. missouri. _de soto._ railroad library. gift of $ , for a library for railroad employes, from miss helen gould, of new york. _hannibal._ public library. gift of $ , , for the erection of a library building, to be known as the john h. garth public library, from mrs. john h. garth and her daughter, mrs. r. m. goodlet. _jefferson city._ public library. gift of $ , , for a new library building, from andrew carnegie, upon condition that the city secures a site and appropriates $ a year for the maintenance of the library. _st. joseph._ free library. bequest of $ , , from jarvis ford. _st. louis._ public library. gift of $ , , , for public library buildings, from andrew carnegie, provided the city will contribute the site and appropriate $ , yearly for the support of the library. -- gift of $ , , to lift incumbrance on block to be used for the new carnegie library, from four st. louis citizens. _south st. joseph._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. nebraska. _crete._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from t. h. miller, provided the city furnish a site approved by the donor. _lincoln._ university of nebraska. bequest of volumes, of history, literature, and works on education, forming the library of the donor, from simon kerl, of oakland, neb. the books are never to be loaned outside the library rooms. _south omaha._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. new hampshire. _derry._ benjamin adams memorial library. bequest of $ , , for the erection of a town-hall and public library building, from benjamin adams. _hanover._ dartmouth college. bequest of $ , , as a library fund for the department of philosophy, from mrs. susan a. brown. _pittsfield._ public library. gift of a library building, to be erected, value not stated, from josiah carpenter, of manchester. _rindge._ ingalls memorial library. gift of $ , as a fund, the interest to be used for the benefit of the library, from the hon. ezra s. stearns. new jersey. _jersey city._ free public library. gift of volumes and pamphlets, forming the medical library of the late dr. s. w. clark, from his widow. _montclair._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. _newark._ free public library. gifts of periodicals and pamphlets, from three persons. _perth amboy._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city already appropriates $ yearly. -- gift of a site for a public library building, value not stated, from j. c. mccoy. -- gift of $ , with which to purchase books when needed, from adolph lewisohn. _princeton._ princeton university. gift of $ , , for library maintenance, from anonymous donor. -- gifts of cash aggregating at least $ , , from various sources. -- gift of $ , for library of germanics, from the class of . -- bequest of volumes and pamphlets, from prof. william henry green. -- gift of volumes, from the library of the late dr. samuel miller, presented by samuel miller breckinridge. -- gift of volumes, from d. h. smith, of new york. -- gift of volumes, from prof. henry van dyke. _trenton._ public library. gift of books, forming the women's christian temperance union library, to the public library. -- gift of about volumes, comprising books in "a. l. a. catalog" not already in library, from ferdinand w. roebling, president of the board. new mexico. _albuquerque._ free public library. gift of a two-story brick building, valued at $ , , on condition that it be used forever as a public library and that $ additional be raised by the citizens, from j. s. reynolds. -- gift of $ , for the purchase of books, raised by popular subscription. new york. _albany._ young men's association library--pruyn branch library. gift of building, furniture, and equipment, cost about $ , , from mrs. william g. rice, in memory of her father, the late chancellor j. v. l. pruyn. -- gift of $ , from various persons. _angelica._ free library. gift of $ , , for a library building, from mrs. frank smith. -- gift of a building lot for a library building, value not stated, from frank s. smith. _brooklyn._ the brooklyn library. bequest from mr. james a. h. bell of sixteen-seventy-fifths of his estate. this bequest is estimated to be worth about $ , . mr. bell also left the library volumes, collected since he gave his library of , volumes, three years ago. -- long island historical society. gift of $ . this amount was raised by popular subscription, and is to be known as the "storrs memorial fund," the income to be devoted to the increase of the library. -- bequest of $ , the income to be expended in "the enlargement of the department of ecclesiastical history," from richard s. storrs, d.d., late president of the society. _caldwell, lake george._ dewitt c. hay library association. bequest, valued at about $ , , consisting of shares of amer. bank note co. stock, shares of c. m. and st. paul r. r. stock, and $ in duluth and iron range r. r. stock, to be held in trust, the income to be spent for new books, pictures, and objects of art, from mrs. marietta c. hay, of tarrytown, n. y. this library is established in memory of the donor's husband. _catskill._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. _cohoes._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. _gloversville._ public library. gift of $ , , for new library building, from andrew carnegie. the city already appropriates $ for library maintenance. _greene._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from william h. and james h. moore, founders of the diamond match co., of chicago. _hempstead, l. i._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _homer._ public library. gift of $ , , for the erection of a public library building, from george w. phillips. _ithaca._ cornell university. gift of $ , , as an endowment fund for the flower veterinary library, the income alone to be used for the increase of the collection, from mrs. roswell p. flower. -- gift of $ , as a contribution toward printing the catalogue of the dante collection, from willard fiske. -- bequest, estimated at about $ , from c. h. howland, class of . this is to form an endowment fund, the income to be used for the purchase of works in the english language for a circulating library for the use of students and officers of the university, and is not payable until after the death of the testator's father, who is still living. -- gift of $ , for the increase of the white historical library, from the hon. andrew d. white. -- gift of volumes, from the family of the late prof. s. g. williams. -- gift of volumes, from theodore stanton, class of ' . _johnstown._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie, the city to furnish site and appropriate $ yearly for maintenance. _middletown._ thrall library. bequest of $ , , with which a fine library building has been erected, from mrs. s. marietta thrall. _mount vernon._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _new rochelle._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city must furnish site and a yearly maintenance of $ . _new york city._ american geographical society. gift of $ to building fund, from various persons. -- am. institute of electrical engineers. gift of latimer clark collection of electrical works, v., from dr. s. s. wheeler. -- american museum of natural history. gift of volumes, pamphlets, etc., on natural history, including maps, of a value of not less than $ , from gen. egbert l. viele. -- gift of volumes of bibles, dictionaries, travels, cyclopædias, etc., valued at $ , from n. y. ecumenical council. -- gift of volumes and pamphlets, handsomely bound and valued at $ , from frederick a constable. -- gift of rare volumes on mineralogy, valued at $ , from ernest schernikow. -- association of the bar. gift of $ , , received jan. , , source not given. -- columbia university. gift of $ , , from "a friend of the university," for additions to the library. -- gift of $ , from "a friend of the university" (another friend), for special purposes. -- gift of $ , with which to complete the library's set of english parliamentary papers, from the hon. william s. schermerhorn. -- gift of the "garden library" of volumes and pamphlets, consisting of works by southern authors or bearing on southern history, from the new york southern society. -- deposit of the library of the holland society, consisting of books and pamphlets, mostly in the dutch language, many of which are rare. -- general theological seminary. gift of volumes, a part of the library of the rev. b. i. haight, d.d., from c. c. haight, esq. -- gift of volumes, a part of the library of the rt. rev. horatio potter, d.d., from prof. william b. potter. -- gift of books, number not stated, to the value of $ , from the society for promoting religion and learning in the state of new york. -- mechanics' institute library. (general society of mechanics and tradesmen.) bequest of $ , from estate of charles p. haughan. -- new york free circulating library. (new york public library.) bequest of $ , , from oswald ottendorfer. -- bequest of $ , , from proudfit estate. this library is now absorbed by the new york public library--astor, lenox, and tilden foundations. -- new york university. gift of over volumes, from the library of the late prof. ezra hall gillett, d.d., from his two sons. -- public library--astor, lenox, and tilden foundations. gift of $ , , , for the erection of branch library buildings, the city to furnish the sites and guarantee the maintenance of the libraries, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of volumes, from the union league club. -- gift of volumes, from hon. robert p. porter. -- gift of volumes, from the misses ely. -- gift of volumes, from mrs. gertrude king schuyler. -- gift of volumes, from estate of s. v. r. townsend. -- gift of volumes, from dr. r. g. wiener. -- gift of volumes, from h. v. and h. w. poor. -- gift of volumes, from edmond bruwaert. -- gift of groups of steel engravings, all "engravers' proofs," chiefly the works of the donor's father, from james d. smillie. -- gift of a large and valuable collection of japanese engravings and chromo-xylographs, formed by captain brinkley, of the _japan mail_, from charles stewart smith. -- new york society library. bequest of $ , from maria b. mount. -- bequest of $ , . , from charles h. contoit; during the previous year $ , was paid to the library by this estate. -- union theological seminary. gift of volumes, from the library of the late president, roswell dwight hitchcock, ll.d. -- gift of volumes, from the library of the late prof. ezra hall gillett, d.d., from his two sons. -- washington heights free library. gift of $ by andrew carnegie towards completing sum required by conditional gift for new building. -- young men's christian association. gift of $ , to prepare catalogue of circulating library, from frederick e. hyde. _newark._ gift of a library building, costing nearly $ , ; also, $ to send out travelling libraries in the neighborhood and the salary of the librarian for a year, from mr. henry c. rew, of evanston, ill. _niagara falls._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie, the city to furnish a site and a yearly maintenance of $ . _oxford._ public library. gift of a public library, from children of the late eli l. corbin. _oyster bay, l. i._ public library. gift of $ , towards a public library building, by andrew carnegie. no conditions were attached to this gift. _peekskill._ public library. gift of the old henry ward beecher residence, fully equipped for a public library, from dr. john newell tilton. _port jervis._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie, the city to furnish site and appropriate $ yearly maintenance. -- gift of plot of ground for library site, value not stated, from peter e. farnum. _rochester._ reynolds library. gift of volumes of united states public documents, from hon. charles s. baker. _st. george, s. i._ arthur winter memorial library of the staten island academy. gift of $ , from andrew carnegie, without conditions. _schenectady._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city council had already appropriated $ a year for library maintenance provisionally in hope of securing a carnegie gift. a site is under consideration, at a probable cost of $ , . -- gift of $ , , with which to purchase a site for the new carnegie library, from the general electric company. _syracuse._ public library. gift of $ , , for a new library building, from andrew carnegie, the city to furnish site and guarantee $ , yearly for maintenance. _watertown._ flower memorial library. gift of $ , , from mrs. emma flower taylor, for a public library to commemorate her father, the late governor roswell p. flower. _yonkers._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. north carolina. _charlotte._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. _durham._ trinity college. gift of $ , , for a library building, from james k. duke, president of the american tobacco co. _raleigh._ olivia raney memorial library. gift of volumes, also services of a trained librarian to organize the work, from richard b. raney. north dakota. _fargo._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. ohio. _akron._ public library. gift of a building for the public library, to cost not less than $ , , from col. george t. perkins. -- gift of library of music ( ), valued at $ , name of donor not stated. _ashtabula._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. _bucyrus._ memorial library. gift of $ , for purchase of books, from andrew carnegie. _canton._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of property, valued at $ , , from w. w. clark. _cincinnati._ natural history library. gift of $ , , for a new library building, name of donor not stated. -- gift of , volumes, donor not named. -- public library. gift of $ , for the purchase of books for the blind, raised by popular subscription. -- gift of volumes in raised type for the blind, name of donor not given. -- gift of volumes and pamphlets, from h. l. wehmer. -- university library. gift of volumes; the robert clarke collection. _cleveland._ adelbert college, of western reserve university. gift of $ , , name of donor not given. -- case library. library property condemned by u. s. government for new public building; award, including damages, fixed at $ , . -- cleveland hardware co.'s library. gift of volumes, from famous people all over the world, many with autographs. -- medical library association; the vance library. gift of volumes, from drs. dudley p. allen and a. c. hamman. -- public library. gift of bound and unbound volumes, on oriental religions, folk-lore and allied subjects, from john g. white. _columbus._ public library. gift of $ , for maintenance of the kilbourne alcove; also volumes, from james kilbourne. _conneaut._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _delaware._ ohio wesleyan university. gift of volumes, including the complete library of the late prof. karl little, from prof. john williams white, of harvard university. _gambier._ kenyon college library. gifts of $ , , names of donors not given. _geneva._ platt r. spencer memorial library. gifts of $ , names of donors not given. _granville._ dennison university library. gifts of $ , names of donors not given. _greenville._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie, a yearly maintenance of $ required. the site has already been secured. _hamilton._ lane free library. gift of $ , donated by citizens. _marietta._ marietta college. gift of , volumes, from his private library, by hon. r. m. stimson; to be kept together and in reasonable repair. the collection is especially rich in americana relating to the mississippi valley. _massillon._ mcclymonds public library. gift of library building, valued at $ , , name of donor not given. -- gift of $ , , as an endowment for books, name of donor not given. _painesville._ public library. gift of new library building, neither value nor name of donor given. -- gift of volumes, name of donor not given. _sandusky._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _shelby._ public library. gift of property valued at $ , for a public library, from daniel s. marvin. _steubenville._ carnegie public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _toledo._ public library. gift of $ , from mr. hardy. -- gift of $ , from mrs. j. r. locke. -- gifts of volumes, names of donors not given. _van wert._ brumback library. gift of new library building, costing about $ , , from family of the late john s. brumback, thus carrying out his intentions in completing and furnishing it and presenting it to the county. _wooster._ university library. gift of a $ , library building, from h. c. frick, of pittsburg, pa. "this beautiful building is fitted up with the latest improvements." _youngstown._ reuben mcmillan free library. bequest of $ , received from charles d. arms. oregon. _portland._ library association. gift of $ , , from the three daughters of the late henry failing. -- bequest of $ , the income to be used for maintenance of the donor's private library of nearly volumes, also bequeathed to this institution, from john wilson. -- bequest of his private library of nearly volumes, valued at $ , from john wilson. this library is rich in art works and examples of early printing, and is to be kept as a separate collection for reference only. -- gift of $ , for work of cataloging the wilson library, provided for by private subscription, by the directors. pennsylvania. _braddock_, _duquesne_, and _homestead_. carnegie libraries. gift of $ , , , from andrew carnegie. this amount has been placed in trust with the carnegie company, of pittsburg, the income of which is to be devoted to maintaining the above libraries, founded by mr. carnegie. it will be distributed from time to time, according to the work done or needed. _carbondale._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _duquesne._ _see_ braddock. _easton._ lafayette college. the van wickle memorial library building, erected at a cost of $ , , from a legacy of augustus s. van wickle, of hazleton. pa. -- public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the gift was declined march , , because of maintenance requirement, and afterwards accepted (april ) on assurance that the site would be given to the city. -- gift of money to purchase a site for the building offered by mr. carnegie, amount not stated, raised by popular subscription. _homestead._ _see_ braddock. _huntingdon._ gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _idlewood._ chartiers township free library. gift of $ , for the purchase of books, from andrew carnegie. _newcastle._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. if the yearly maintenance is made $ the gift will be raised to $ , . gift rejected, june , . _philadelphia._ academy of natural sciences. bequest of about $ , , from dr. robert b. lamborn. though bequeathed to the academy, its library will be benefited by the bequest. -- bequest of about $ , , and a valuable collection of botanical books and dried plants, from charles e. smith. the library will be benefited by this bequest. -- college of physicians. gifts and bequests amounting to $ , towards a "library endowment fund," raised through the efforts of the president of the college, dr. w.w. keen, within a period of eighteen months, as follows: trustees of the william f. jenks memorial fund, $ . mr. william w. frazier, $ . estate of esther f. wistar, $ . mrs. william t. carter, $ . dr. william w. keen, $ . charles c. harrison, $ . j. percy keating, $ . major luther s. bent, $ . john h. converse, $ . george h. mcfadden, $ . -- gift of volumes, from dr. j. m. da costa. -- gift of volumes, from dr. john ashurst, jr. -- gift of volumes, from the daughters of the late dr. william t. taylor. -- the franklin institute. volumes and pamphlets, relating to iron, coal, mining, railroads, and statistics, from the late charles e. smith, at one time president of the philadelphia and reading railroad co. -- free library. bequest of volumes and unbound books, pamphlets and magazines, through stevenson hockley walsh, from mrs. annie hockley. -- gift of volumes, for h. josephine widener branch library, from mr. p. a. b. widener. -- gift of volumes, from estate of george b. roberts. -- gift of several volumes in embossed type for the blind, from dr. david d. wood. -- historical society of pennsylvania. gift of $ , from mrs. mifflin wistar. -- gift of $ , from miss ellen waln. -- gift of $ , from carl edelheim. -- library company of philadelphia. gift of volumes, from the hon. richard vaux. -- gift of volumes, from henry carey baird, esq. -- university of pennsylvania. gift of $ , to be spent in purchase of philosophical books, from class of . -- gift of $ , for purchase of files of botanical periodicals, from robert b. buist. -- gift of about volumes exceedingly valuable in works of travels and archæology, from the heirs of robert h. lamborn, and the academy of natural sciences. -- gift of volumes, secured at hunter sale, from contributions of friends of the university. _phoenixville._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. _reading._ public library. gift of $ , for purchase of books, from friends. -- gift of volumes, from same source. -- gift of volumes, forming his library, from henry s. comstock. _sharon._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _washington._ washington and jefferson college. gift of $ , (added to the $ , given by her husband, william r. thompson, for a new library building), from mrs. mary thow thompson, of pittsburg. the building will cost $ , , the balance, $ , , will be held as a book fund, the income only to be spent. mr. thompson's gift is intended as a memorial to his mother, mrs. elizabeth donaldson thompson. -- gift of $ , , towards the erection and maintenance of a new library building, from w. p. thompson, making in all from mr. and mrs. thompson $ , . _wilkinsburg._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. rhode island. _central falls._ adams library. bequest of $ , from stephen ludlow adams, as a special trust for the establishment of a library, to be named as above; $ , to be spent on building, the income of $ , for its maintenance. _newport._ redwood library. bequest of $ , from miss martha maria anderson. -- bequest of $ , to be paid at the expiration of three years, from john nicholas brown. this is to be used as a fund, the income to be used for the purchase of books. -- bequest of $ , from mrs. orleana ellery redwood pell (mrs. walden pell). -- gift of volumes on angling and hunting, from daniel b. fearing. _providence._ brown university. by the will of the late john nicholas brown it is provided that the john carter brown library of americana previous to , the estimated value of which is at least $ , , , shall be maintained as a permanent memorial. the testator sets aside $ , for a building and $ , as an endowment fund for its increase and maintenance. this library and its endowments have been presented, by the trustees of the estate, to brown university. -- gift of $ , for purchase of american poetry and drama, at the mckee sale, from william goddard, chancellor of the university. -- gift of over volumes on international law, from william vail kellen, a trustee of the university. -- public library. bequest of $ , , from ada l. steere. -- gift of $ , to be invested and income used for purchase of books. the name of the donor is not made public. south dakota. _aberdeen._ alexander mitchell library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. mr. carnegie requests that the library be called after his friend, alexander mitchell. accepted march , . _sioux falls._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. tennessee. _chattanooga._ public library. gift of $ , , for library building, from andrew carnegie. it is reported that the amount of the gift will be raised to $ , , provided the city agrees to appropriate $ , yearly. _jackson._ public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie. _memphis._ cossitt library. bequest of volumes and pamphlets especially strong in social science and history, from gen. colton greene. texas. _dallas._ public library. gift of over volumes, from various persons, at a book reception, held dec. , . _san antonio._ carnegie library. collection of books, valued at $ , from san antonio library association. to be turned over to the carnegie library on the completion of its building, and provided that the city contribute $ a month towards expenses until so turned over. _waco._ public library. gift of $ , by andrew carnegie, towards the library. utah. _ogden._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _salt lake city._ free public library. gift of $ , , to erect a free public library building, and a building site worth $ , , from john q. packard. vermont. _middlebury._ middlebury college. gift of the starr library building, erected from a bequest of $ , , from egbert starr, of new york city. _windsor._ library association. bequest of $ , from charles c. beaman, of new york. virginia. _hampton._ hampton normal and industrial institute. gift of a new library building, cost not stated, as a memorial to collis p. huntington, from mrs. c. p. huntington. _lexington._ washington and lee university. bequest of his law library ( ), made available by death of his widow, from prof. vincent l. bradford, of philadelphia. _norfolk._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- _seaboard air line travelling libraries._ gift of $ , from andrew carnegie. _richmond._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. _winchester._ public library. bequest of $ , , from judge john handley, of scranton, pa. washington. _seattle._ public library. gift of $ , , for a new library building, to replace the one destroyed by fire jan. , , from andrew carnegie, on condition that the city make a guarantee to provide $ , yearly for maintenance and improvement. _tacoma._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. accepted with the proviso that $ will be appropriated for maintenance annually if the gift is increased to $ , . a site has already been selected. west virginia. _wheeling._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. wisconsin. _appleton._ public library. gift of $ . , from directors of prescott hospital. -- gift of $ , for furnishing room, from women's clubs. _ashland._ vaughn library. bequest of the vaughn library, valued at $ , ; also property which will give it an income of $ a year, from mrs. vaughn-marquis, of chicago. -- bequest of volumes, from mrs. e. vaughn-marquis. _columbus._ public library. gift of $ , $ for endowment and $ for immediate use, from mrs. c. a. chadbourne and f. a. chadbourne. _de pere._ public library. gift of $ , towards furnishing a library of , volumes and upwards, if accepted before september, , from a. g. wells. _green bay._ kellogg public library. gift of $ , , for public library building, from andrew carnegie, the city to furnish site and $ yearly for maintenance. -- gift of a building site for new carnegie library, worth $ , from bishop messmer. _janesville._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. the city council voted march , , to appropriate $ yearly for maintenance. -- bequest of $ , , for a public library building, from f. s. eldred. _kenosha._ gilbert m. simmons library. gift of a library building and furniture, costing about $ , , from z. g. simmons, in memory of his son, gilbert m. simmons. -- gift of $ , , for purchase of books, from z. g. simmons. _la crosse._ washburn library. gift of the albert boehm collection of stuffed birds, valuable but cost not stated, from citizens of the city. _lake geneva._ public library. gift of volumes, from several ladies. _lake mills._ public library. gift of $ , in addition, for building, from l. d. fargo. -- gift of $ , for building site, from citizens of the place. _madison._ free library commission. gift of $ , for german travelling library, from citizens of milwaukee. -- university of wisconsin. the germanic seminary library, comprising volumes, relating especially to germanic philology and literature; purchased from a fund of $ , raised by german-american citizens of milwaukee and presented jan. , . -- gift of $ for purchase of books for school of economics and political science, from gentlemen in new york, milwaukee, madison, and other wisconsin cities. -- gift of $ , for the purchase of books for school of commerce, from five citizens of milwaukee. -- gift to the germanic seminary library of volumes, from the house of f. a. brockhaus, of leipzig. _marshfield._ public library. gift of $ , one-fifth to be expended annually for five years for books, from w. d. connor. _menomonie._ memorial free library. gift of about $ , for running expenses pending settlement of the estate of captain a. tainter, from his son and daughter, l. s. tainter and mrs. fanny macmillan. _milwaukee._ law library. bequest of $ , , one-half for endowment and one-half for the purchase of books, from a. r. r. butler. -- public library. gift of $ , , for a collection of books on literary subjects, from mrs. a. a. keenan, as a memorial to her husband, the late matthew keenan. _oconomowoc._ public library. gift of $ , toward library building, from mrs. p. d. armour. -- gift of $ , toward library building, from mrs. p. d. armour, jr. -- gift of $ , toward library building, from mrs. bullen. _oshkosh._ harris-sawyer library. bequest of $ , , toward new library building, from marshall harris. -- bequest of $ , , towards new library building, from philetus sawyer. the bequests of mr. harris and mr. sawyer were supplemented by $ , from the city. the harris bequest of $ , was made in by mrs. abby s. harris, to carry out the intentions of her husband. it was made on condition that within three years an equal amount should be raised for the same purpose. the bequest of $ , by hon. philetus sawyer was made to assist in raising the latter amount, the balance of which was secured by the issue of city bonds. $ , remains as a trust fund. -- gift of paintings, valued at $ , from leander choate. _racine._ public library. gift of $ , , towards a public library, from citizens of that city. _sheboygan._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of $ , or his salary of $ per annum for two years, for a site for library building, from the mayor, fred dennett. _stanley._ public library. gift of $ , , $ for building and $ for equipment, from mrs. d. r. moon. _superior._ public library. gift of $ , , for a public library building, from andrew carnegie. -- gift of $ , for a library building site, from citizens of the town. _waukesha._ carroll college. gift of $ , , for a library endowment fund, from donor whose name is not given. _whitewater._ public library. gift of $ , for a memorial collection of books, from mr. and mrs. d. s. cook. note.--foreign gifts include: for british provinces, vancouver public library, $ , from andrew carnegie--for canada, mcgill university of montreal four gifts ($ , , $ , $ , $ ) for various purposes: ottawa public library, $ , from andrew carnegie; windsor public library, $ , from andrew carnegie; sidney public library, $ , from andrew carnegie; winnipeg public library, $ , from andrew carnegie; halifax art school and public library, $ , from andrew carnegie--for trinidad, cuba, bequest for public library from mary b. carret--for scotland, glasgow district libraries, £ , from andrew carnegie; greenock, £ from andrew carnegie; hawick, £ , from andrew carnegie. waukesha conference --------------------------------------------------------------------| summary by states of gifts and bequests. | ===================================================================== |no.|gifts in |money for |books. | | |money. |buildings. | | --------------------+---+-------------+---------------+-------------| n. atlantic division| | | | | maine | | $ , | $ , . | | new hampshire | | , | , + | | vermont | | , | , | | massachusetts | | , | , | , v.+ | rhode island | | , | , | v.++| connecticut | | , | , | , v.+ | | | | | , pm. | new york | | , . | , , + | , v. | | | | | pm. | new jersey | | , | , + | , v. | | | | | , pm. | pennsylvania | | , , | , + | , v. | | | | | , pm. | s. atlantic div. | | | | | delaware | | | | | maryland | | , | , | | district of columbia| | | | | virginia | | , | , | law library.| west virginia | | | , | | north carolina | | | , | , v. | south carolina | | | | | georgia | | | , | v. | florida | | | | | | | | | | southern cen. div. | | | | | kentucky | | , | | | tennessee | | | , | v. | | | | | pm. | alabama | | | , | yes. | mississippi | | , | , | | louisiana | | , | | yes. | texas | | | , | , v.+ | arkansas | | | | | oklahoma territory | | | | | indian territory | | | | | | | | | | n. central division | | | | | ohio | | , | , , | , v.+ | | | | | , pm. | indiana | | , | , + | , v.+ | illinois | | , . | , | , v.+ | michigan | | , | , , | , v. | | | | | , pm. | wisconsin | | , . | , | , v. | minnesota | | | , | v. | iowa | | , | , + | | missouri | | , | , , | | north dakota | | | , | | south dakota | | | , | | nebraska | | | , | , v. | kansas | | , | , + | | | | | | | western division | | | | | montana | | | | | wyoming | | | | | colorado | | | , | | new mexico | | , | , | | arizona | | | | | utah | | | , | | nevada | | | | | idaho | | | | | washington | | | , | | oregon | | , | | , v. | california | | , | , | , v. | | | | | | cuba | | | | | british provinces | | , | , | | scotland | | | , | | --------------------+---+-------------+---------------+-------------+ summary by sections of country. ======================================================================== north atlantic division| |$ , , . |$ , , . + | , v.++ | | | | | , pm. | south atlantic division| | , | , | v.++ | south central division | | , | , | , v.++ | | | | | pm. | north central division | | , . | , , + | , v.++ | | | | | , pm. | western division | | , | , , | , v. | +---+-------------+---------------+-------------+ | |$ , , . |$ , , . +| , v.++| cuba | | | | , pm. | british provinces | | , | , | | scotland | | | , | | +---+-------------+---------------+-------------+ | |$ , , . |$ , , . +| | -----------------------+---+-------------+---------------+-------------+ waukesha conference -------------------------------------------------- summary by states of gifts and bequests. ================================================== |miscellaneous. |carnegie | | gifts. --------------------+----------------+------------ n. atlantic division| | maine | | $ , new hampshire | | vermont | | massachusetts |art works, etc. | , rhode island | | connecticut | mss.+ | , new york | engravings. | , , new jersey | | , pennsylvania | dried plants. | , , | | s. atlantic div. | | delaware | | maryland | | , district of columbia| | virginia | | , west virginia | | , north carolina | services. | , south carolina | | georgia | | , florida | | | | southern cen. div. | | kentucky | | tennessee | | , alabama | | , mississippi | | louisiana | | texas | | , arkansas | | oklahoma territory | | indian territory | | | | n. central division | | ohio | | , indiana | ms. | , illinois | | , michigan | | , wisconsin |paintings, etc. | , minnesota |art works, etc. | , iowa | | , missouri | | , , north dakota | | , south dakota | | , nebraska | | , kansas | | , | | western division | | montana | | wyoming | | colorado | | , new mexico | | arizona | | utah | | , nevada | | idaho | | washington | | , oregon | | california | | , cuba |public library. | british provinces | | , scotland | | , --------------------+----------------+------------ summary by sections of country ====================================================== north atlantic division |art works, mss.,| $ , , |engravings, etc.| south atlantic division | services. | , south central division | | , north central division |art works, mss.,| , , | etc. | western division | | , , +----------------+------------ | |$ , , cuba | library | british provinces | | , scotland | | , +----------------+------------ | |$ , , ------------------------+----------------+------------ total gifts and bequests to american libraries from all sources, $ , , . , , volumes, and , pamphlets. the above figures do not include several buildings and other gifts, the value of which was not stated. statistics of this nature must ever remain mere approximations until some uniform system of gathering them is devised and carried out. report of the a. l. a. publishing board. by joseph l. harrison, _treasurer, librarian of the providence (r. i.) athenæum_. in accordance with the requirement of the constitution i have the honor to present herewith the report of the publishing board for the year . the table of the financial operations of the board is essentially a trial balance, but divided into two sections to bring out more clearly the condition of the board's undertakings. the first section shows in the last two columns the net balance of loss or profit on each of our publications, june, . in general it is true that our book publications, except the "list of subject headings," have not brought in what was expended on them, while our card publications have more than offset these losses by their profits, for although the final balance of all these accounts shows an excess of expenditures over receipts of $ . , yet it should be noticed that the two largest items in the expense column, $ . and $ . are on account of publications which have not yet begun to bring many returns, viz., the second edition of the "a. l. a. index" and the "portrait index." if these are left out of consideration our other publications show a net profit to date of $ . . the second section of the table shows what means we have in hand or can count upon. the unpaid bills ($ . + $ . + $ . ), $ . , are just about offset by the amount of bills and subscriptions due us, $ . ; leaving the cash balance, $ . , plus the amount sunk in publications, $ . , to represent the sum still remaining in our hands of money appropriated to our use by the trustees of the endowment fund or received from other sources, $ . , plus the sum of the balances still standing on the old membership accounts, $ . . it should be remembered that the office expenses of the year having been heavier than usual, over $ , have not been all charged to the account of our different publications, but a balance of $ . has been allowed to remain, reducing by so much the balance on this account of the previous year. as a complement and supplement to the table the following statements concerning the board's publications and work may be of interest: _books._ _a. l. a. proceedings._--the board has in stock at its headquarters, - / beacon street, boston, nearly copies of the conference proceedings, covering the years from to date. there are a very limited number of copies of the years , , , and , and it is suggested that libraries desiring to complete sets in order to bind the proceedings by themselves would do well to give the matter early consideration. _annotated bibliography of fine art._--the "bibliography of fine art," prepared by mr. sturgis and mr. krehbiel and edited by mr. iles, which has become so favorably known because of the value of its descriptive, critical and comparative notes, was among the board's publications transferred to messrs. houghton, mifflin & co., of boston (now the regular publishers of the board), in january, , and may be obtained directly from them. the sales of the book, last year amounting to copies, are gradually reducing the deficit incurred in its publication, which at the end of the year amounted to less than $ . _books for boys and girls._--the little, inexpensive, paper-covered handbook which bears this title, with its carefully annotated lists, prepared by miss hewins, of the hartford public library, for the home use of fathers, mothers and teachers, continues in such active demand that less than copies are now left of an original edition of . it remains in the hands of the publishing board. _library tracts._--messrs. houghton, mifflin & co. have published for the board during the year three library primers, an edition of of each tract being printed. the first, "why do we need a public library?" was compiled by a committee of the a. l. a. this was followed by "how to start a public library," by dr. g. e. wire, of the worcester county law library, and "travelling libraries," by mr. frank a. hutchins, secretary of the wisconsin free library commission. they have been well received, and others on practical library subjects will follow as soon as possible. a very low price has been fixed for the tracts, and it is hoped that they will be generously used by clubs, commissions and individuals interested in promoting the advancement of library interests. _list of books for girls and women and their clubs._--this carefully selected list of some books "worthy to be read or studied by girls and women" should now be ordered directly of messrs. houghton, mifflin & co. nearly copies, including parts, were sold during the year, showing a continued though not increased demand. _list of french fiction._--nearly copies of this convenient list, chosen and annotated by madame cornu, of montreal, and mr. beer, of new orleans, were sold during the year, reducing the stock on hand at the board's beacon street office, where it can still be obtained, to less than copies. _list of subject headings for use in dictionary catalogs._--"subject headings" continues to be one of the most lucrative publications of the board. nearly copies were sold in , and the accounts of the year show a balance in its favor of nearly $ . since the demand for the book comes almost exclusively from libraries, it still remains in the hands of the library bureau, where orders should be sent. _reading for the young._--sargent's "reading for the young" is offered by messrs. houghton, mifflin & co. in three forms: the original edition, compiled by mr. john f. sargent; the "supplement," compiled by miss mary e. and miss abby l. sargent; and the original and supplement bound together. during the current year the original edition has become exhausted. it is probable that a limited number of copies will be printed at once to supply the immediate demand and that a reprint, with additional matter, will be undertaken in the near future. _printed cards._ _current books._--it need simply be stated under the head of "printed cards for current books" that the entire reorganization of this part of the board's work has been the subject of active discussion during the year, and that the proposed plans for carrying it on more effectively will be fully explained to the conference by mr. fletcher, chairman of the publishing board. it may be appropriately added that, as in past years, the thanks of the association are due to the publishers for their courtesy in sending books, and to miss browne for her earnest work in getting the cards to subscribers with--under often adverse conditions--most commendable promptness. _english history._--the annotated cards on english history continue to be printed at a loss. mr. w. d. johnston has been re-engaged, however, to edit the cards for the current year, and it is hoped that in the end their usefulness will be found to justify the work, at least to the extent of making them self-supporting. _periodical and society publications._--the publishing board is now printing cards for nearly periodical and society publications. during , titles, or more than , cards, were sent out. this represents the largest single item of the board's work and an expenditure of more than $ , which is nearly met by receipts from the sales. _miscellaneous sets._--the board has now printed of the so-called "miscellaneous sets," which are, together with the years or volumes covered, as follows: american association for the advancement of science--proceedings, - ; american historical association--papers, - , v. - ; american historical association--reports, - ; new york state museum--bulletin, - , nos. - ; massachusetts historical society--collections, - ; old south leaflets--series - ; smithsonian institution--annual reports, - ; smithsonian institution--contributions to knowledge, - ; smithsonian institution--miscellaneous collections, - ; u. s. bureau of ethnology--annual reports, - ; u. s. national museum--annual reports, - ; u. s. national museum--bulletin, - , and (books) depew, "one hundred years of american commerce"; authors club, "liber scriptorum"; shaler, "united states of america." these sets simply cover the back numbers of what are now grouped in the board's work as "periodicals and society publications"--completed works like "liber scriptorum," of course, being excepted. subscriptions to these periodicals and publications as current continuations begin with the date of the receipt of the subscription, so that unless one has been a subscriber from the beginning there will of necessity (because of the limited number of the cards printed) be a break between the last year covered by the "miscellaneous set" and the beginning of the subscription. the sets have met with a warm welcome from the libraries, and the board is prepared to print cards during for the following additional sets, providing a sufficient number of orders are received to justify the work: american academy of political and social science--annals, to date; american economic association--economic studies, - ; american economic association--publications, - ; _bibliographica_, - ; bureau of american republics--publications; columbia university studies in history, economy and public law, - ; johns hopkins university studies in history and political science, - ; u. s. geological survey--bulletins, - ; u. s. geological survey--monographs, - ; u. s. geological and geographical survey of the territories--reports, - ; u. s. geological and geographical survey of the territories--miscellaneous publications, nos. these brief statements show concisely the bibliographical work which the publishing board has completed and is now carrying on, and for which it needs the continued moral and financial support of the libraries of the association. _in preparation and under consideration._ other important work is in active progress. the "literature of american history," being edited by mr. larned, and for which mr. iles has so generously donated $ , , is well along, and may be announced as a fall book. under mr. fletcher's direction work on the second edition of the "a. l. a. index" has advanced rapidly, and the book will be ready for distribution before the end of the year. mr. dewey has promised that the long-delayed "supplement" to the "a. l. a. catalog," being edited, as was the original, by mrs. salome cutler fairchild, will be out this summer. it is expected that active work on the "portrait index" will be continued, and that under the editorship of mr. lane and miss browne the index will be pushed to rapid completion. among the pieces of valuable work under consideration, on which the board hopes soon to be able to take final and definite action, may be mentioned mr. teggart's "handbook of libraries of the united states," an "index to library periodicals," a "bibliography of reference books," cards to current books recommended by the wisconsin free library commission and the massachusetts library club index to the massachusetts public documents. in conclusion it remains to express the deep and sincere regret with which the board accepted the resignation of mr. william c. lane as its secretary and treasurer, tendered in december of last year on account of ill health and after a long period of most earnest, faithful and valuable service, and to repeat here the suggestion with which he closed his report to the montreal conference, a suggestion made, it must be remembered, after years of closest attention to the workings of the board: "the desirability of taking some definite steps toward putting the work of the publishing board on a broader and stronger basis is as evident as ever. in addition to the efficient service rendered by the assistant secretary, the publishing board could with advantage employ a portion, say half, of the time of a capable man who should combine business judgment and alertness with bibliographical tastes and knowledge of library interests. the time has come when both for its own sake and in justice to those who serve it the publishing board should have salaried officers. to make the change successfully, however, requires a better financial condition than it yet has." ====================================================== statement of accounts, january to december , . ------------------------------------------------------ | | | | copies | copies | publications. | sold | on hand | | in | dec. , | | . | . | | | | --------------------------+---------------+----------| a. l. a. proceedings | | | books for boys and girls | | | bibliography of fine art | | | list of french fiction | | | | { | | books for girls and women | { pts. | pts.| | | | | { orig. | | reading for the young | { suppl.| | | { compl.| | list of subject-headings | | | a. l. a. index, d edition| | | portrait index | | | current book cards | | | english history cards | | | periodical cards | , | | miscellaneous sets | | | library tracts | | | --------------------------+---------------+----------| totals | | | general balance | | | --------------------------+---------------+----------| | | | ------------------------------------------------------ ====================================================================== statement of accounts, january to december , . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | balances, jan. , | operations, | | , being excess | jan. to dec. , | publications. | of expenditures or | . | | receipts to date. | | |---------+----------+----------+----------| | spent. | received.| expenses.| receipts.| --------------------------+---------+----------+----------+----------| a. l. a. proceedings | | $ . | $ . | $ . | books for boys and girls | $ . | | | . | bibliography of fine art | . | | | . | list of french fiction | | . | | . | | } | | . | . | books for girls and women | } | | | | | | | | | | } | | | | reading for the young | } . | | | . | | } | | | | list of subject-headings | | . | . | . | a. l. a. index, d edition| . | | . | | portrait index | . | | . | | current book cards | | . | . | . | english history cards | | . | . | . | periodical cards | | . | . | . | miscellaneous sets | . | | . | . | library tracts | | | . | . | --------------------------+---------+----------+----------+----------| totals |$ . | $ . | $ . | $ . | general balance | | . | | . | --------------------------+---------+----------+----------+----------| |$ . | $ . | $ . | $ . | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ==================================================================== statement of accounts, january to december , . -------------------------------------------------------------------- | balances, dec. , | , being excess publications. | of expenditures or | receipts to date. |----------+--------- | spent. |received. --------------------------+----------+--------- a. l. a. proceedings | | $ . books for boys and girls | $ . | bibliography of fine art | . | list of french fiction | | . | | books for girls and women | | | | | | reading for the young | . | | | list of subject-headings | | . a. l. a. index, d edition| . | portrait index | . | current book cards | | . english history cards | . | periodical cards | | . miscellaneous sets | | . library tracts | . | --------------------------+----------+--------- totals | $ . |$ . general balance | | . --------------------------+----------+--------- | $ . |$ . ----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | bal. jan. , . | other accounts. |---------+----------| | dr. | cr. | -------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+ general expense and income account | | $ . | old members account | | . | library bureau account | | . | houghton, mifflin & co. account | | | other charges unpaid | | . | balance of cash |$ . | | due to publ. board on bills and subscriptions | . | | -------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+ totals |$ . | $ . | balances | . | | -------------------------------------------------+---------+----------+ |$ . | $ . | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- | | |operations of .| other accounts. |---------+---------| | dr. | cr. | ----------------------------------+---------+---------+ general expense and income account| $ . | $ . | old members account | . | | library bureau account | . | . | houghton, mifflin & co. account | . | . | other charges unpaid | . | . | balance of cash | . | . | due to publ. board on bills and | . | . | subscriptions | | | ------------------------------------+----------+------+ totals | | | balances | | | ----------------------------------+----------+--------+ | | | ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ | |bal. dec. , . other accounts. |---------+--------- | dr. | cr. ----------------------------------+---------+--------- general expense and income account| |$ . old members account | | . library bureau account | | . houghton, mifflin & co. account | | . other charges unpaid | | . balance of cash | $ . | due to publ. board on bills and | . | subscriptions | | ------------------------------------------------------ totals |$ . |$ . balances | . | ------------------------------------------------------ |$ . |$ . ------------------------------------------------------ the proceedings. waukesha, wis., thursday, july --wednesday, july , . _first session._[b] (methodist church, waukesha, thursday evening, july .) public meeting. the meeting was called to order at . by president carr, who announced that the american library association would take up the program prepared for its d annual meeting. the president then introduced andrew j. frame, of waukesha, who extended a cordial welcome to waukesha on behalf of the local committee, referring to the advance made in library development throughout wisconsin, largely through the efforts of such men as senator stout, of menominee, and z. g. simmons, of kenosha, and the enthusiasm of the state commission. mr. carr then delivered the president's address. (_see_ p. .) the subject what may be done for libraries was presented by three speakers, t. l. montgomery presenting what may be done by the city, (_see_ p. ), dr. e. a. birge reviewing what may be done by the state, (_see_ p. ), and herbert putnam outlining what may be done by the nation, (_see_ p. .) adjourned at p.m. _second session._ (assembly room, fountain spring house, friday morning, july .) president carr called the meeting to order at . , and announced that the usual reports of officers and committees would be taken up in due order. the printed report of meeting was approved as presented and distributed. the amendment to constitution, as approved at the montreal meeting was submitted for ratification, and was adopted. it provides that in section , line , of the constitution the words "of the association," shall be stricken out, thus making the final sentence of that section read as follows: "it may, by a two-thirds vote, promulgate recommendations relating to library matters, and no resolutions except votes of thanks and on local arrangements shall be otherwise promulgated." f. w. faxon presented his secretary's report. during the months since the association met at montreal the number of new members added has been .[c] including with the new those who have rejoined (for they are practically new members), we have over , the largest year's increase in the history of the a. l. a. the system of giving to each person who joins an accession number, and after a lapse of membership for one or more years reverting to the old number when he again joins, is not to my mind quite fair to the regular continued membership. one of the charter members, to take an extreme case, may, after paying dues for only, come in again this year by paying for and yet appear on a par with the members who have faithfully kept up their membership for years. those rejoining members should be included with the total of new names added. there is a chance here for our statistician to devise a better system of accession. in march, , the active membership reached the mark, an achievement which may well be recorded at the opening of a new century. in january copies of preliminary announcements were mailed to members, and others supposed to be interested. the secretary compiled for this purpose a card catalog of names, including in it members of all the state associations and local clubs. in may a new handbook ( pages and cover) - / � - / in., practically following the size of last issue, was sent out, giving list of members, officers and committees, statistical tables, lists of state and local library associations and state library commissions, necrology for the year, and other information of value to members and of use in extending the work of the a. l. a. an edition of was printed at an expense of $ . , and about half were mailed, in connection with circular no. regarding the waukesha meeting. the remainder should suffice for the coming year, with a small supplement to include the new members, and the by-laws to be passed at waukesha, thus completing the new constitution. early in june the final announcement was sent out, with private post card enclosed, requesting advance registration. this was entirely successful, persons registering for attendance, up to june . a printed list of these, for distribution at the early sessions of the meeting, will, it is confidently expected, more than justify the expense of its compilation. ( copies, pages, same size as handbook, $ . .) copies of program ( pages, handbook size) were printed and a copy mailed to each person who registered for attendance at the meeting, and to all members of the association. the secretary's expenses for the year, exclusive of handbook, will be about $ , the chief items being postage and printing. this seems justified, as it has been the means of increasing the income of the a. l. a. by more than the amount expended. number of letters and postcards written during the year , number received about . gifts to the a. l. a. during the year have included: current issues of the new york public library _bulletin_, and the _library journal_, from the publishers. reports of the bristol meeting of the l. a. u. k., from the honorable secretary. report of the trustees of the public library of victoria, australia, . catalogue of books on art, from the newcastle-upon-tyne library. statistics of labor, conn., report, . _world_ almanac, . annual reports of several american libraries, including philadelphia free, haverhill public, somerville public, and bowdoin college libraries. in closing i wish to thank all upon whom i have called for information or help, for the promptness and cordiality of their response. gardner m. jones presented the treasurer's report. balance on hand, jan. , (montreal conference, p. ) $ receipts, jan.-dec., . fees from annual members: from members for from members for from members for from members for --- members at $ $ fees from annual fellows: from fellow for from fellows for -- fellows at $ fees from library members: from library for from libraries for -- libraries at $ ------- $ life membership: alfred hafner emma r. neisser life memberships at $ $ interest on deposit, new england trust co. donation -------- $ ======== payments, jan.-dec., . proceedings, including delivery: jan. . _publishers' weekly_, balance on printing and binding atlanta proceedings $ _publishers' weekly_, delivery atlanta proceedings mar. . _publishers' weekly_, cartage oct. . _publishers' weekly_, montreal proceedings and delivery ------ $ stenographer: june . j. h. kenehan $ july . g. d. robinson ------ $ secretary and conference expenses: april . f. h. gerlock & co., printing handbook $ f. h. gerlock & co., circulars, etc. may . henry j. carr, postage, etc. june . f. h. gerlock & co., programs and circulars july . henry j. carr, travel secretaries' expenses oct. . f. w. faxon, stamped envelopes, etc. dec. . f. w. faxon, salary, on account ----- $ treasurer's expenses: may . gardner m. jones, postage, etc. $ oct. . salem press co., printing bills, etc. gardner m. jones, stamped envelopes, etc. dec. . gardner m. jones, expenses ----- $ trustees of the endowment fund, life membership for investment $ -------- $ balance on hand, dec. , : deposit in new england trust co., boston $ deposit in merchants' bank, salem, mass. $ -------- -------- $ ======== from jan. to july , , the receipts have been $ . and the payments $ . , the balance on hand july being $ . . the membership, hence the income, of the association is increasing from year to year, but it should be borne in mind that increased membership means increased expenses. the secretary and treasurer are obliged to ask for more money for postage, stationery, printing, etc., and it is only by the most rigid condensation that the recorder is able to keep our conference proceedings within our means. the number of members in good standing on dec. , , was as follows: honorary members perpetual member life fellows life members annual fellows (paid for ) annual members (paid for ) library members (paid for ) --- during the year , new members joined the association and seven died. gardner m. jones, _treasurer_. the following report of audit was appended: the finance committee have performed the duties laid down in the constitution; they have examined the accounts of the treasurer, during the period covered by his report, and find them properly kept and vouched for. james l. whitney, } charles k. bolton, } _finance committee._ geo. t. little. } _necrology._ . eleanor arnold angell (a. l. a. no. , ) assistant librarian american society of civil engineers, new york city. born jan. , ; died in new york city may , . miss angell graduated from the pratt institute library school in and was a member of the pratt institute library staff until july, . from dec., , to the time of her death she was assistant librarian of the american society of civil engineers. . hon. mellen chamberlain (a. l. a. no. , ) ex-librarian, boston public library. born in pembroke, n. h., june , ; died in chelsea, mass., june , . he was graduated from dartmouth college in , taught school at brattleboro, vt., entered the harvard law school in , was graduated and admitted to the bar in . in the same year he took up his residence in chelsea and began the practice of law in boston. he held several municipal offices and was a member of both houses of the state legislature. from to he was an associate justice of the municipal court of boston, then chief justice of the same court until his resignation in . he was librarian of the boston public library from oct. , , to oct. , . during his administration the library's collection of americana was largely increased and the preliminary plans for the new building were developed. the remainder of his life was devoted to literary and historical work. judge chamberlain was recognized as one of the foremost students of american colonial history and his collection of autographic documents relating to american history was one of the finest in the country. this collection was deposited in the boston public library in and became its property on the death of judge chamberlain. (_see "brief description of the chamberlain collection of autographs," published by the boston public library._) . henry barnard (a. l. a. no. , .) born in hartford, ct., jan. , ; died july , . he graduated from yale college in and in was admitted to the bar. from - he was a member of the connecticut legislature and during his term of service advocated reforms in insane asylums, prisons and the common schools. from to he was secretary of the board of school commissioners in connecticut; from to school commissioner of rhode island; from to state superintendent of the connecticut schools, and from to president of the state university of wisconsin. from to he was president of st. john's college, and from to u. s. commissioner of education. he wrote and compiled many educational books and edited several educational periodicals, the most important being the _american journal of education_. in he published a collected edition of his works comprising volumes and over original treatises. dr. barnard received the degree of ll.d. from yale and union in and from harvard in . he was always greatly interested in libraries. in or he served as assistant librarian and made his first donation to the library of monson academy, and from to was librarian of the linonian society of yale college, giving twice the amount of the small salary back to the library in books. during his connection with the legislature and common schools of connecticut, to , the district school library system was established and the power of taxation for libraries was given to every school society in the state. during his sojourn in rhode island he started a library in every town in the state. he joined the a. l. a. in , and was made an honorary member at chicago in . he attended the conferences of , , and . ("_national cyclopedia of american biography," vol. i; l. j._, : .) . enos l. doan (a. l. a. no. , ), librarian of the wilmington (del.) institute free library. born in indiana about years ago; died in wilmington, dec. , . he was a graduate of haverford college and was for several years connected with the friends' school in wilmington, first as teacher and later as assistant principal and principal. in the spring of he resigned that office to accept the appointment of librarian of the wilmington institute free library. he had previously been active in the development of the library, and as chairman of the library committee had aided in the reorganization of the former subscription library into a free public library. (_l. j., jan., ._) . josiah norris wing (a. l. a. no. , ), librarian new york free circulating library. born near lynchburg, va., sept. , ; died in new york city, dec. , . his father, e. n. wing, was engineer of the east tenn. and va. r. r. he was a union man and after the siege of knoxville removed to new york city. here young wing attended the public schools and entered the college of the city of new york, but before the close of the first year he became a clerk in the mercantile library. he was connected with the library for years and became first assistant librarian, but his unceasing work and devotion to details injured his health and he was obliged to retire from active work. in he took charge of the library department of charles scribner's sons, for which his library training well fitted him. in april, , he was elected chief librarian of the new york free circulating library. during the years he was in the book business mr. wing kept in close touch with library interests. he was a member of the a. l. a. for years, and was almost from its beginning an active member of the new york library club. he had been treasurer of the new york library association for seven years, holding that office at the time of his death. he was also prominent in book trade organizations and in various civic reform movements in new york city. he was always ready to give help and service in any good cause and he will be missed by many friends among librarians and bookbuyers. (_publishers' weekly, dec. , ; l. j., jan., ._) . huntington wolcott jackson (a. l. a. no. , ), president board of directors of the john crerar library. born in newark, n. j., jan. , ; died in chicago, jan. , . he attended phillips academy, andover, mass., and entered princeton college. at the end of his junior year he enlisted in the army, where he secured rapid promotion. after a year at the harvard law school and a year spent in european travel and study, he finished his studies in chicago and was admitted to the bar in . he practiced law in chicago and in was elected president of the chicago bar association. mr. jackson was a warm and trusted friend of the late john crerar. at mr. crerar's death he was, with mr. norman williams, one of the executors of the will and a co-trustee of the john crerar library, then to be founded. for many years mr. jackson was chairman of the committee on administration and practically all of the details of administration were passed upon by him and some quite important changes were made by him. mr. jackson was a member of the a. l. a. from until his death, but there is no record of his attendance at any conference. (_see report of john crerar library, ._) . robert crossman ingraham (a. l. a. no. , ), librarian of the new bedford (mass.) free public library. born in new bedford, feb. , ; died there march , . the new bedford free public library was instituted in and mr. ingraham was chosen its first librarian, then taking up the work to which he gave nearly half a century. under his management the library grew from its nucleus of volumes to , volumes, and the strength and good proportions of the collection are due to his scholarship, unsparing labor, and discernment of local needs. for many years mr. ingraham had little or no assistance in the library, yet for more than years he cataloged every book added to its shelves. he kept in touch with changes in library administration and was not prevented by conservatism from adopting those which his good judgment approved. mr. ingraham was a man of retiring disposition and simple tastes, a hard student with a marvellous memory. in addition to his great fund of general information, and knowledge of the books in his library, he was thoroughly posted in everything relating to the history of new bedford, and had few equals in his knowledge of mosses and liverworts. he devoted his life to his library and his fund of erudition was always at the service of every one who sought his assistance. (_see w. r. l. gifford in l. j., april, ._) . eugene francis malcouronne (a. l. a. no. , ), for the last years secretary-treasurer and librarian of the fraser institute free public library, of montreal, died april , . mr. malcouronne will be pleasantly remembered by many who attended the montreal conference. the treasurer's report was accepted. c. c. soule read the report of the trustees of the endowment fund. _to the secretary of the american library association._ i submit herewith a report of the receipts and expenditures from the date of last report, june , , to july , , together with a schedule of assets, and an estimate of income for the ensuing year. there are no donations to report. the permanent fund has been increased by the fees for three ( ) life memberships, $ in all. in march, , the mortgagor on a loan of $ , bearing interest at six per cent., and falling due aug. , , asked leave to pay off the mortgage. he was allowed to do so on paying $ . , being the difference between the six per cent. he was to have paid, up to maturity of the mortgage, and the four per cent. which the trustees can expect to get on reinvestment of the $ repaid. this repayment to the fund has been kept in bank until after this conference. if not needed by the publishing board as a loan, it can be invested at, say, four per cent. of the $ . now on deposit, subject to check, $ . is on interest account, available for expenditure as the council may direct. (in addition to this, $ . income may be expected during the year - .) $ . is on principal account to be invested as opportunity offers. charles c. soule, _treasurer a. l. a. endowment fund_. endowment fund statement, june , -july , . _cash account--received._ , june . balance on hand, $ . , march . repayment of mortgage loan, . _for permanent fund--life memberships._ , march . e. p. thurston, $ . " s. h. ranck, . june . b. c. steiner, . ------ $ . _on interest account._ , june . interest mortgage loan, $ . " . " international trust co.'s deposit, . aug. . " mortgage loan, . oct. . " " " . dec. . " " " . , jan. . " brookline savings bank deposit, . feb. . " mortgage loan, . " " " int. trust co., . march . " mortgage loan, . apr. . " " " . june . " " " . " . " international trust co. deposit, . ------ . -------- $ . _paid out._ , jan. . interest added to deposit in brookline savings bank, $ . apr. . rent of safe box for securities, . . -------- , july . balance on deposit with international trust co., boston, $ . _assets._ loan on mortgage at %, due oct. , , $ . " " " " % " jan. , , . deposit with brookline (mass.) savings bank, % interest . " " international trust co., boston, % " . -------- $ . [of this amount $ . is principal, to be left intact, $ . is interest, available for use.] liabilities, none. annual expense, $ for safe deposit box. _available for appropriation by the council, - ._ cash on hand july , (interest account), $ . interest on $ . @ %, . " " . @ %, . " " . @ %, . ------- $ . (if no part of the principal is needed as a loan by the publishing board, add also) interest on (say) $ . invested at %, . ------ estimated total, $ . the following report of audit was appended: at the request of charles c. soule, treasurer of the endowment fund, we have examined his accounts and securities, and find evidence of investment of $ in mortgage loans, of deposit of $ . in the brookline (mass.) savings bank, and of $ . in the international trust company, of boston. we also find his accounts correctly cast, with proper vouchers for all expenditures. james l. whitney, } _of the_ charles k. bolton } _finance committee_ mr. soule: in submitting this report, i would call the attention of the association to the fact that the permanent fund is not as large as it ought to be. if you will remember, the attempt at collection, made with much vigor at first, had to be abandoned on account of general financial trouble through the country. no systematic effort has since been made to increase the fund. the work of the association would be very much furthered if this fund were large enough to provide $ or $ of income, so that the association could have two or three, or one or two, permanent paid officers, with a good allowance for travelling and incidental expenses. if any of you should be asked where an amount of say $ , could be placed with advantage to the general library cause, i hope you will bear in mind the inadequate funds of the association. the report was accepted. in the absence of w. l. r. gifford, chairman, the secretary read the report of the co-operation committee. the exhaustive report on co-operative cataloging rendered by the co-operation committee of last year has disposed for the present, so far as this committee is concerned, of the most important subject which has of late years been brought to its attention. dr. richardson reports that the index to theological periodicals is progressing rapidly, and will probably be published before the next conference of the a. l. a. the index will cover the years - , and will include all the standard theological periodicals, of poole rank and upwards, in all languages of which there are representatives in american libraries, together with many references to theological articles in general periodicals, in all not less than , references. it will be an alphabetical subject index like poole, but will differ from poole in giving regular author-title entry, and will be more bibliographical in character through the select references to general periodicals. a feature of the index will be a very brief definition of each subject. dr. richardson has at present seven clerks engaged in the work, and is pushing it as fast as possible. the dictionary of historical fiction, in preparation by the free library of philadelphia, is making satisfactory progress, and will probably be issued within the coming year. since the announcement was made at the atlanta conference that this dictionary was in preparation there have been many inquiries concerning it, and the prospect of its publication will be welcome. the committee has received no new information during the past year in regard to plans for bibliographical work, and it would emphasize the recommendations of previous years that all such plans be reported promptly to the committee, so that they may be published in its annual report. william l. r. gifford, _chairman_. in the absence of c. h. gould, chairman, c. w. andrews read the report of committee on foreign documents. the committee begs to report, with considerable confidence, that this is positively its last appearance in connection with the list of french government serials, which has been long in course of compilation and publication. this work is now in its final stage, and as it will soon be in the hands of the reviewer, to say much in regard to it at present seems hardly necessary. two points, however, require a word: . recognizing the difficulties in the way of attaining anything like completeness in an enumeration of this nature, the committee deliberately decided to omit certain documents in favor of others. thus it happens that no reference is made to the legislative proceedings of the several revolutionary assemblies, nor to other publications of equal importance. . in addition to enumerating documents, this list indicates particular libraries where they may be consulted. it was, of course, unnecessary, even had it been possible, to mention all the libraries in the country which possess sets more or less complete. but it is hoped that the libraries chosen are so widely distributed as to save a would-be reader from undertaking a long journey when a shorter one would serve. such other features as call for notice will be referred to in the preface. it would, however, be unbecoming if the committee failed now to recognize and thank miss adelaide r. hasse for the pains and labor she has bestowed upon the list. she has co-operated with the committee from the first, and to her and to mr. andrews the committee is under special obligations. the committee would further report that it now has on hand a considerable amount of raw material for a german list similar to the french; and it is hoped that progress may be made in arranging this during the present summer. respectfully submitted, c. h. gould, _chairman_. w. i. fletcher read the report of committee on title-pages and indexes of periodical volumes. your committee have understood their business to be the preparation of a note to be addressed to the publishers of periodicals, setting forth the views of librarians in regard to the issue of title-pages, etc., with periodicals. they, therefore, submit as their report the accompanying draft of such a note, with the recommendation that it be sent to the publishers of all leading periodicals, and that a committee on this subject be continued, to receive and act upon any correspondence that may be called out. thorvald solberg, } }_committee_. w. i. fletcher, } _note to publishers of periodicals, as to the furnishing in proper form of title-pages and contents. this note was drawn up by a committee of the american library association and was approved by the association._ as a result of much dissatisfaction among librarians with the irregularities and uncertainties connected with the issue, by publishers of periodicals, of title-pages and "contents" of volumes, the american library association has had a special committee considering the subject with a view to drawing up a suitable memorial to be presented to such publishers, looking to the securing of more uniformity and propriety in this matter. after mature consideration the committee have prepared the following recommendations as embodying the minimum of improvement which may reasonably be hoped for. . title-pages and tables of contents should always accompany _the number completing a volume_, and not the first number of a new volume. [they should be _stitched in, and not sent loose_.] there are several cogent reasons for this recommendation: (_a_) in many cases it is a serious detriment to the usefulness of a set in a library, if a completed volume cannot be bound until the receipt of the next number. (_b_) more important is the need that the numbers of a volume shall constitute the volume in its entirety, so that as they are bought and sold there shall not be the necessity of handling also another number belonging to a different volume in order to complete the first. now that libraries are buying periodical sets and volumes in such large numbers for use with poole's and other indexes, it is of great importance to the book trade, as well as librarians, and must have a real bearing on the business interests of the publishers, that this matter, often trifled with, shall receive due attention. publishers must come to feel that if it is necessary (which it generally proves not to be) to delay a completing number a day or two in its issue in order to insure its completeness in this respect, the delay is abundantly compensated for. . title-pages and contents should be furnished _with every copy_ of the issue of a completing number. we earnestly believe that by inserting title-pages and contents in all cases publishers will at once put a premium on the preservation and binding of their magazines, suggesting it to many who otherwise would not think of it. in the long run the demand for back numbers to make up volumes must more than compensate for the extra expense of putting in the additional leaves. the policy of sending title-pages and contents only to those calling for them is suicidal, as it results in flooding the market with numbers from which volumes cannot be made up and by destroying the hope of making up sets weakens the demand which would otherwise exist for volumes and numbers of the periodical in question. if an alphabetical index, in addition to a table of contents, is furnished, which is the preferable practice, the former should be paged to go at the end of the volume. when such an index is furnished, and no table of contents, the index should be printed to follow the title-page. . as to the form in which title-pages and contents should be issued: they should be printed on a two-, four-, or eight-leaved section, separate from other printed matter, either advertising or reading. nothing is more important in binding volumes to stand the hard wear of our public libraries than that none of the earlier leaves in the volume shall be single leaves pasted in. one of the greatest abuses of the book trade at present is the disposition to have title and other preliminary leaves pasted in. librarians find to their cost (what is not so obvious to the book manufacturer) that this does not work. an absolute requirement for good bookmaking is that the first and last portions of the book especially shall be good solid sections--no single leaves, nor do most librarians or owners of private libraries like to include advertisements, in order to secure these solid sections for binding. we feel sure that it is abundantly worth while for the publishers to squarely meet this demand. . admitting that there may be cases in which it is practically impossible to furnish title and contents with the completing number of a volume, we would recommend for such cases that such a separate section as has been described be made and furnished with the first number of the new volume, stitched in _at its end_, not at its beginning. the last-named practice is likely to cause more trouble to librarians than any other that is common, as it is difficult to remove the section without making the number unfit to place in the reading room. we would like to call the attention of periodical publishers to the difficulties arising from the common practice of printing some first or last leaves of reading matter on the same section with some pages of advertising. most librarians prefer to remove the advertising leaves before binding the magazines. the practice referred to makes it necessary to bind in some advertising leaves or else take off and paste in single leaves of reading matter, sometimes three or four in one place, which is very inimical to good binding. publishers are advised to have all advertising pages printed on separate sections if possible. desiring to meet, so far as possible, the views of publishers in regard to the matters referred to above, the committee will be pleased to hear from any to whom this note may come. mr. fletcher: the committee have corresponded with some of the magazine publishers, and if any are disposed to consider what is here proposed an ideal system, your attention may be called to the fact that several of our magazine publishers are carrying it out. for instance, houghton, mifflin & co.--i am not mentioning them as superior to others; others might be mentioned--but in their reply to a tentative letter houghton, mifflin & co. say that "in all of our publications every one of these recommendations is strictly carried out." they took pride in replying to us that they believed they were doing exactly what we wanted--and several other publishers. g. m. jones: i understand the report to recommend that title-pages and indexes be fastened into the last number of the volume. now it seems that in many cases it would be very much better to have them left loose. the case is this: in almost all public libraries of any size periodicals are put into some kind of a binder. on many accounts binders which perforate are the best, but we do not wish to perforate title-page and index, if we can help it, especially the title-page, and i would like to inquire why the committee considered it so essential that the title-page and index should be fastened into the number? mr. fletcher: these questions were all considered by the committee, and i would say when i first drew up my suggestion on this point it was that title-page and index should be sent loose; but i found an overwhelming argument against that, when we came to consider that they were desired to be with every completing number; that those completing numbers are sold to the people in railroad trains and elsewhere and are coming into the second-hand periodical market, where we must look for many to make up our sets. now as to the point which mr. jones has spoken of. if the magazine is to be perforated to be put in the binder, as the completing number is to have the title and index, as we proposed, in a separate section, it can be removed by undoing the stitching, or sewing, if it is sewed. that can be done before it is put into the binder. of course there is no necessity for ruining, the stitching in its entirety. there may be some little objection there, but it is so slight that it seemed to the committee entirely counterbalanced. mr. jones: mr. fletcher's reply is perfectly satisfactory on that point. w. s. biscoe: one other suggestion: do i understand from mr. fletcher, if there is a table of contents, that the index be put after the title-page? mr. fletcher: no, the suggestion is that if there is an alphabetical index and a table of contents, the index should be planned and arranged at the end of the volume, but that if only an index is furnished, and no table of contents, that would be in accordance with the usual practice in such cases--the index should go, like a table of contents, after the title-page. mr. biscoe: if there is no table of contents the alphabetical index is to go after the title-page? it seems to me desirable that it should always go at the end of the volume. mr. fletcher: i am very glad that point has been called attention to. i should like it if mr. biscoe would suggest an amendment. according to the report, when such an index is furnished, and no table of contents, the index should be printed to follow the title-page. we might say: if an alphabetical index is furnished, it should be paged to go at the end of the volume. t. l. montgomery: was not the committee's report to provide for the printing of the alphabetical index in the place of a table of contents, thereby making it one section? mr. fletcher: the advantage of that would be that there would be something to go with the title-page to make up the section. the title-page should be part of a section for binding as a separate section. i wonder if most of the librarians present haven't had the same exasperating experience which i have so often had with those title-pages which are separate leaves, and have to be pasted into the volume. there is hardly any practice so vicious in bookmaking as having the title-page pasted in. it almost always pulls out before the book is in any other respect at all dilapidated. a. g. josephson: i would suggest that the committee recommend that both a table of contents and an index should be furnished. mr. fletcher: the committee would entirely agree to that, and it could very easily be done. if an alphabetical index, in addition to the table of contents, is furnished, a practice to be preferred might be to consolidate them. pres. carr: i think, mr. fletcher, you should be able to modify your report, before printing, to incorporate those suggestions. f. w. faxon: if the committee is trying to get at an ideal arrangement, it might be well to suggest that the publishers of magazines have some one who knows something about the contents make the index. we have a magazine in boston that persists in indexing articles under "a" and "the," and proper names under "john" and "james." but if the committee is trying to get a rule that the publishers will be most likely to adopt, it seems to me they might suggest that the index be published in each concluding number of a volume, even though the index is put in place of that many pages of text. of course it would not do to suggest that these pages be taken out of advertising, but as the text usually costs the magazine something, publishers would probably be willing to devote four of the pages they would have to pay for to an index, which would cost them much less. mr. fletcher: i think it would interest the association to know of an example that mrs. fairchild sent me some time ago of the way these indexes are made. some periodical in new york had an article on motive power for the canals, and in the index it appeared under "mule, must the canal go?" the report was approved and referred to the council. in the absence of dr. j. s. billings the secretary read the report of committee on "international catalogue of scientific literature." your committee begs to report that the final conference of delegates of the various governments for the purpose of considering an international catalogue of scientific literature was held in london on june and , , and, as intimated in the report of your committee last year, owing to the failure of congress to make it possible for delegates with power to attend, no representatives of the united states were present. mr. herbert putnam, librarian of congress, who was visiting england at the time was informally in conference with various members of the royal society and rendered effective service in enabling them to reach a conclusion. the conference decided to undertake the issuing of the catalogue provided complete subscriptions were received by october st, the quota of the united states in this being . during the summer the smithsonian institution issued a circular to american libraries and universities and learned societies and scientific men, announcing the fact, with the very gratifying result of the subscription to the equivalent of over complete sets for a period of five years. a meeting of the international council to finally arrange for the beginning of the work was held in london on december and , , at which the necessary financial arrangements were agreed to, the royal society advancing certain sums and agreeing to act as publisher, and being authorized to enter into contracts, etc. doctor h. foster morley was elected director and offices were secured at and southampton street, strand, london, w. c. the initial work has begun. the preparation of a list of periodicals to be indexed and a more careful revision of the schedules was the first work to be done. thus far the periodical lists for germany, great britain, denmark, norway, sweden, holland, japan, portugal, canada, india and ceylon have been printed. that for the united states is expected to be ready for transmission to london about august st. in the absence of any provision, the smithsonian institution is carrying on the work for the united states, although with very inadequate force. it would be very desirable if legislation could be had to enable the smithsonian institution to prosecute this work more vigorously and without drawing upon its own funds. j. s. billings, _chairman_. cyrus adler, _secretary_. pres. carr: dr. hosmer has, i think, a communication to make that is of concern to us all. memorial to john fiske. dr. hosmer: mr. president, and ladies and gentlemen: we meet here in the midst of beautiful surroundings, but with considerable discomfort. perhaps we hardly make it real to ourselves that this is in our country a time of calamity. never in the course of a somewhat long experience, can i remember so many fatalities from the terrible heat of the summer. the newspapers have come to us from day to day with the list of victims from the great cities, and this morning comes in intelligence of a death which touches us librarians very closely--the death of john fiske. he died yesterday at gloucester, mass., overcome by the heat; and i think it entirely right to say that in the death of john fiske comes the extinction of the greatest force in american literature at the present moment. john fiske, while not a member of our association, was at one time a librarian; he had a great interest in the association; he was the personal friend of many of its members. it is perhaps quite right to say that no author at the present time is so frequently in the mouths and in the hands of the librarians. it has been thought fitting by the executive committee that we should make an exception in his case, and that there should be some formal mention of his passing. i regret very much that the time is so brief. what i have to say must be unconsidered. in several directions, john fiske was a great writer. first as regards the doctrine of evolution, the great idea which has come to the world in our day. what a great and solemn thing it is! the slow process through the lapse of ages from the monad to that which crawls, then to that which swims, then to that which flies, until we come at last to that which walks erect with brow expanded broadly to the light of heaven; the slow increment of intelligence in the brain, as species becomes merged in constantly higher species; the extension of infancy, with its beautiful sequence of humanity, of love, of spirituality. this has come to be accepted by scientific minds as the path which the divine energy chooses to follow in the work of creation. now, among our american writers, i suppose there is no one who has had so much to do with the development of the doctrine of evolution as john fiske. he was the intimate friend and counsellor of darwin, of huxley, of herbert spencer, of tyndall. they recognized in him their peer, and if it is the case--and i believe it to be the case--that john fiske contributed to the doctrine of evolution the idea of the "extension of infancy" as being the cause of what is most gentle and lovely in humanity he deserves to be named with the first of those who have been connected with that great theory. in the second place as a historian, this wonderfully versatile man stands among the very first of the country. as a historian, john fiske is not to be spoken of without discrimination. he had his limitations. i do not think that he had the power of picturesque description to the extent that motley or prescott possessed it. i do not think that he had the power of indefatigable research to the extent that it was possessed by our honored fellow-member, justin winsor. i do not think that he had the faculty of character-drawing as it was possessed for instance by the great historian, clarendon, of the seventeenth century. but john fiske had his gift, and it was a remarkable one. taking a chaotic mass of facts, i know of no other american writer who had such genius to go in among them, to discern the vital links that connected one with another, to get order and system out of it, and then to present the result with a lucidity and a beauty which carried captive every reader. that was his faculty, as a historian; and he possessed it to such an extent and he used it in such a way that he is entitled to a place among our greatest historians. nor are these the only claims to distinction of this great man who has gone. as a religious leader, john fiske is one of the foremost men of the time. his "destiny of man," his "idea of god," his latest noble address on the immortality of the soul, not yet published, are priceless writings, and men and women among the very best and brightest find in these books the best expression and guidance for their religious feelings. every one here has had opportunity, abundant opportunity, to know the greatness of john fiske's mind. few here, perhaps no other one, has had such opportunity as i have had to know the warmth and the generosity of his heart. for ten years in the washington university, at st. louis, we were colleagues; for years we have been friends, and as i stand here before you to speak of him, my emotions fairly overcome me and i can do nothing but take my seat; but it is appropriate that in the american library association there should be some recognition taken of the passing from the midst of us of this great and noble figure. pres. carr: after these fitting and touching words, we can hardly have it in our hearts to transact any further business this session, and therefore, if there is no objection, we will proceed to take an adjournment. mr. crunden: i think a fitting action, on the suggestion of dr. hosmer, would be the appointment of a committee, with dr. hosmer as chairman, to draw up memorial resolutions. i make a motion to that effect. the motion was adopted, and a committee was appointed, of j. k. hosmer, george iles, and r. g. thwaites. adjourned m. _third session._ (fountain spring house, saturday morning, july .) the meeting was called to order by president carr at . . in the absence of r. r. bowker, chairman, w. e. henry read the report of committee on public documents. the committee on public documents this year makes an exclusively negative report. the congress was occupied so exclusively with matters of larger public policy, particularly in relation with new territorial developments, that no attention was given in either house to public documents measures. a bill was presented in the house of representatives by mr. heatwole, on somewhat different lines from the platt bill offered in the senate last year, but like that in essential conformity with the general position taken by the american library association. this bill did not, however, progress beyond the introductory steps. within the past twelvemonth the indiana state library has issued its useful "subject catalog of u. s. public documents in the indiana state library," as an appendix to the d biennial report of the state library, covering pages, and presenting a useful conspectus within its field. this index, while serving helpfully as a general key for the use of other libraries through the range of documents contained in each specific library, suggests the greater importance of an adequate subject index to u. s. government publications in general, which could be made a checklist by several state and other libraries. the indiana state library has also prepared an index to the _documentary journal_ of indiana from the beginning of that publication in to , which is included in the d report of that library. there is also little to report as to state publications, although there is evident a growth of interest in state bibliography, particularly in the state libraries. part second of the bibliography of "state publications" is promised for the present year, including the states of new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan, and wisconsin. a contribution of interest within this field has been made by the acorn club, of connecticut, which has issued an elaborate bibliographical record of "connecticut state laws," from the earliest times to , compiled by a.c. bates, librarian of the connecticut historical society, a useful feature of the work being the indication, when possible, of some library in which each issue recorded may be found. record may also be made, in this connection, of the work accomplished or accomplishing by the public archives commission of the american historical association, headed by prof. william mcdonald, of bowdoin college, as chairman, in which professors robinson, of columbia, caldwell, of nebraska, bugbee, of texas, who are his associates on the committee, have the co-operation of representatives in the several states. while this commission does not concern itself specifically with bibliography, it is preparing the way for a better bibliography of state publications than has hitherto been possible, by investigating the conditions of the public archives of each state, with a view to inducing the systematic and more complete collection in each state of its own archives, including its printed documents as well as manuscript records. r. r. bowker, } w. e. henry, }_committee._ johnson brigham. } herbert putnam: i would suggest that the superintendent of documents is here, and that possibly he might have some suggestion or recommendation to make on the subject of this report. l. c. ferrell: i suppose anything i may have to say will be in addition to what was said in the report of the committee on public documents, as the report was rather negative. the matter of bringing about any legislation requires time and involves a great deal of hard work upon somebody. this is especially so if the subject is one in which no member of congress, in particular, has a personal interest. it generally takes or years to pass any bill of interest to the people that no member of congress will take care of personally. if it is a matter like saving the country, you can get a fifty million dollar bill passed in half an hour, but you cannot get a member of congress to take up and pass a bill changing the method of printing and the distribution of documents without a great deal of pressure. now, if mr. heatwole, chairman of the house committee on printing, was here, i think we might accomplish something to advantage on that subject, because i think if he could meet this great body of librarians face to face, we might get him to commit himself as to what he will do next session. he has promised me to take up this matter next winter and revise the printing laws from "a" to "z," as he expressed it, but whether he will do so or not, i cannot say. now, i shall prepare another bill, or have the old bill introduced again, i do not know which, and, as long as i remain in the office of superintendent of documents, i shall endeavor to bring about legislation on the lines proposed in the bills heretofore presented to congress. in the first place, i want all the government periodicals taken out of the congressional series and bound in cloth, so that they can be distributed to the libraries as soon as they are printed. but one edition of any document ought to be printed, and that edition ought to have the same endorsement on the back and the same title on the inside. if we continue to print duplicate and triplicate editions--departmental, bureau, and congressional--librarians will always have trouble in classifying and cataloging them. as far as my record is concerned, i suppose most of you are familiar with it. i am constantly endeavoring to improve the service. i have adopted a cumulative index for the monthly catalog; cumulative for six months, with a consolidated index for the entire year, in the december number. that was done mainly because the annual catalog cannot be printed so as to be distributed promptly, and the monthly catalog fully indexed can be made to answer all temporary purposes. now, we have three series of catalogs, as you all know, perhaps, each one serving a distinctive purpose. the document catalog, or comprehensive index--its official title--is intended for permanent use. it includes all documents printed during a fiscal year--july to june , following. the document index is a subject, title, and author index of all congressional documents, indicating the number of each document and the volume in which it is bound up. in the monthly catalog all documents are arranged alphabetically under the author of the document, and everything related to the same subject is brought together in the index. now, we are broadening out a little in our work; probably doing something congress never contemplated we should do when the office was established. we are doing a good deal of bibliographical work, and i intend to enlarge upon it as i have the opportunity. we have published "reports of explorations printed in the documents of the united states government, a contribution toward a bibliography," by miss hasse; a "bibliography of u. s. public documents relating to inter-oceanic communication across nicaragua, panama, etc.," and we expect soon to take up the subject of documents relating to the various states, the purpose being to make a complete bibliography of everything printed in the u. s. public documents concerning each state and territory. we propose to take up the matter of documents relating to the louisiana purchase first, because we are going to have a great exposition two years from now at st. louis to commemorate that great event. j. c. dana presented the report of the committee on co-operation with the national educational association. early last winter i secured from librarians, library assistants and teachers about brief articles on co-operation between libraries and schools. these articles were written with special reference to teachers. i made a descriptive list of them and sent this list to leading educational journals in this country, with the request that the editors thereof select from it one or more of the articles and publish them prior to july , . largely through the kindness of mr. winship, editor of the _journal of education_ of boston, i got the promise of publication of these articles from educational editors to the number of . the articles were duly sent out. i regret to have to report that i have received notice of the publication of less than half a dozen of the whole number. a few others may have been published, but the editors have never notified me of the fact. the articles were brief and chiefly written by persons prominent in library work in this country, they were of general interest, and seemed to deserve publication. the fact that they did not get it is to my mind somewhat indicative of the comparative unimportance of libraries in the opinion of educational people of this country. since coming here i have learned of another little incident which throws some light on our relation to the educational profession of this country. from the office of _public libraries_ the program of the meeting of the library department of the n. e. a. at detroit was sent to leading educational journals in this country with the request that they print it. of these papers two only printed the program as requested, or at least two only printed it and gave due notice of the fact. from all this we may learn, as i have stated more than once before, that libraries and librarians are as yet held in small esteem by the educational people of this country. our influence among them is not great. it is not considered that we are connected in any important way with educational work. this is the opinion held by the rank and file. i believe this to be true in spite of the fact that the leaders of the n. e. a. have themselves been more than generous to the library department. those leaders, largely through the influence of mr. hutchins of wisconsin, gave a special appropriation of over $ to a committee of this department for the publication of a report on the relation of libraries and schools. this report has been quite widely circulated and has been well received by both teachers and librarians. we owe that to the n. e. a. we owe it to the appreciation of library work by the leaders of the n. e. a. nevertheless, taking the teaching profession at large, i think it safe to assume that our experience with the educational journals during the past winter is indicative of the teacher's attitude toward libraries and their possible helpfulness in the school room. this fact should not discourage us. on the contrary it should stimulate us to make our collections and our work with them of still more consequence until it becomes quite impossible for anyone in the educational world to be ignorant of, or to fail to take advantage of, the assistance to every day teaching work which we believe our libraries can give. it is quite difficult, of course, if not impossible, for us to produce any great effect on the teachers of the present day save through individual work in our respective communities. no one can ask for a better opportunity to see the result of such work than i have had myself. i have seen two or three hundred teachers in the course of four or five years changed from an attitude of indifference toward the library as an aid in every day school room work, to one of readiness not to say eagerness, to take advantage of every opportunity the library could possibly offer. many other librarians have had similar experiences. but this work does not go on rapidly enough to influence the profession as a whole. the teaching profession as it now stands is, as i have said, indifferent toward us. one thing we can do, and that is, arouse an interest among those who are to become teachers. after individual work in our own towns the best thing we can do, and especially the best thing we can do as an association, is to stimulate an interest in library training in the normal schools of this country. interest in this phase of practical work has increased very much in normal schools the last few years. this is especially true in the west; and perhaps more true in wisconsin than in any other state. mr. dewey has recently given this matter consideration and i shall be much pleased if he will say something further by way of supplementing this informal report of mine, on what has been done and what can be done in normal schools toward interesting teachers in the use of libraries in teaching. melvil dewey: what mr. dana has said, though perhaps a little discouraging in its tone, is pretty nearly the truth; but we ought to remember this--the public school teachers and the other teachers of this country are a badly overworked class. many a man and woman has broken down of nervous prostration in school, who has entered a library and worked hard and kept well. our friends on the school side of educational work have a strain that comes from the disciplinary side. worry kills more than work, and teachers have to meet this question of discipline; they have to take responsibility in the place of parents; they have an interminable number of reports to fill out; they have a mass of examination papers to read and deal with; and they have examinations to make until they are driven almost wild. now, we go to them and present our case, our arguments for co-operation with the library. they admit it; they are convinced of it; but they have not vital energy and force enough to take up the matter and do much work in our cause. it is not that they doubt. they won't question the high plane on which we want to put the library, and they want to fulfil all their duties. i believe if we were to change places and were put into their routine, the majority of us would do just what they do--put it off until a more convenient season. i think that is the real trouble with our teachers. they are overworked, many of them; they are in certain ruts; and my suggestion is to try to reach them when they begin their work, through the normal schools. if we can get the normal school authorities to give the right kind of instruction and the right kind of a start to the teachers, we will accomplish a great deal more. we can do twice as much in working with the student teacher; it is like working in plaster of paris--easy while in a soft and plastic stage, but you leave it awhile and it hardens. so i should say, in considering this report, that we ought not to be discouraged. it is what we should expect, and we should turn our attention to, doing all we can to reach the young teachers who are now in a plastic state, ready to be moulded, but who in ten years will be dominant forces in education. miss m. e. ahern: i wish to call attention to the fact that the program of the library department of the national educational association calls for a greeting from some representative of the a. l. a., and i therefore request, as secretary of that section and as an earnest member of the a. l. a., that you appoint some member to carry such greetings to the library department of the n. e. a. it was voted that mr. crunden be appointed to represent the library association at the n. e. a. meeting. f. m. crunden: touching the subject before this meeting, i want to corroborate the statement made by mr. dana regarding the progress that comes quickly if you once induce the teachers of a city to accept, even in a small measure, the co-operation of the library. only a few years ago we almost had to beg the teachers to use our books. we had to offer every inducement to them, and they did it, most of them, rather reluctantly. now the great majority of our schools use the library books. not long ago i asked three questions of the teachers using the library in their work: what value do you place upon the library in supplementary reading? what effect has it had thus far on the progress of your pupils in their studies? is it an aid to the pupils? all these question were answered most satisfactorily to us. several say the library books are worth as much as any study in the curriculum, while two of them say that the library books are worth all the rest. and regarding discipline, the universal testimony is that the library is an aid to the discipline. in the school where most reading is done, the principal tells me that the problem of discipline has been practically eliminated; they give no more thought to it, because the children are interested and pleasantly occupied, so they do not get into mischief. the library has aided in all studies, is the basis of language work, has improved the language of the children, and has given an interest to the school work that it did not have before. now if the teachers can only understand that this is going to lighten their work instead of increasing it, they will accept the co-operation of the library. dr. canfield: just one word to express my appreciation of the fairness with which mr. dewey put before you the position of the teachers and to add this statement: you are all likely to forget that you determine the lines of your own work and that a teacher's work is laid out for her by other people, and it takes about all the time and strength of the pupil to meet the immediate demands of the curriculum, which is often very unwisely laid out. i want to add to that, as a proof of the interest taken by teachers, i know of my personal knowledge that the teachers of the high schools of new york have frequently placed their personal endorsement upon library cards for the pupils they have sent to the libraries and for whose books they are personally responsible. they cannot prove their interest in any better way than that. mr. dana: i just want a moment to correct a possible impression that i was finding fault with the educational profession of this country. i was not finding fault with them, but finding fault with ourselves. if we are not yet a power to the teachers of this country, then it is our own fault. we do not as yet understand our own fitness, especially in relation to schools and reading in the schools, and we do not even know what we want to do, or what books to recommend. we do not know what the field of work in the schools is. how, then, can we expect to teach it; to urge a thing in regard to which we are not yet free of all doubts? the fault is our own possibly, and yet it is not all our own fault. it is largely a question of necessary time. in the absence of dr. e. c. richardson, chairman, the secretary read the report of committee on international co-operation. the committee on international co-operation in taking up the work referred to it by the association has limited itself this year to a consideration of the question of a uniform standard of book statistics. this question is a two-fold one, first, what should be called a book, second, when statistics are classified, what are the most practical and useful classes? in respect of the first matter, it recommends that all books for statistical purposes be divided into two or three classes. ( ) books of pages or over; ( ) books under pages; or, where books of under eight pages are regarded at all, books of from eight to pages; and ( ) books under eight pages. in respect of the second question, the chairman has prepared a comparative table of the usage of the _publishers' weekly_, _bookseller and newsdealer_, _publishers' circular_, _bibliografia italiana_, _hinrichs_ and _reinwald_, arranging these in the order of the dewey classification. this was printed by mr. bowker for the use of the committee, and is herewith submitted. _table showing classification of book trade statistics._ some of the chief matters for attention are the questions of _biography_, whether by itself or scattered in classes; _literary history and art_, by itself or under philology, or under bibliography, or scattered; _juveniles_, by itself or divided among fiction, poetry, education, etc.; _scientific school books_, _geographies_, _etc._, under subject or under education; _art of war_, _commerce_, _etc._, under economics or technology. all these conflict somewhere in usage shown and in the judgment of the various members of the committee, although there is a majority for keeping biography as a separate class--contrary to unanimous foreign usage. =================================================================== dewey (order). | pub. weekly. | bookseller | | | and newsdealer. | -------------------+-------------------------+--------------------+ | | | collected and | literature and | unclassified. | mis. works. | coll. works. | | bibliography. | | | period. and | | | proceedings. | | | newspapers. | | | philosophy. | philosophy. | philosophy. | theology. | theology and | religion. | | religion. | christ sci., | | | occultism, | | | theosophy. | polit. sci. | law. | law, tech. | and law. | | politics. | economics and | polit. and soc. | sociological | social rel. | sci. | subj. | education. | education. | education. | philology. | | | natural | physics and math. | mathematics, | science. | sci. | chem. and physic. | | | biology. nat. | | | history. | useful arts, | useful arts. | technology. | gen. | | | medicine. | medicine and hyg. | medicine. | agriculture. | domestic and rural. | farming and | | | gardening. | art of war. | | | fine arts, | fine arts, il. gift | art, architecture.| gen. | books. | | music. | | on music and | | | musicians. | games and | sports and amusements. | sports and | sports. | | games. | literary | | | hist. | | | poetry and | poetry and drama. | poetry and drama. | drama. | | | fiction. | fiction. | fiction. | juveniles. | juvenile. | juveniles. | other forms. | humor and satire. | | history. | history. | history. | biography. | biog. and correspond. | biography. | geog. | descrip., geog., trav. | travel. | travels and | | | descrip. | | | ========================================================================= | | | dewey (order). | publishers' circular | bibliog. ital. | | | | -------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+ | | | collected |misc. includ. pamphlets, |enciclopedia. {| and mis. | not sermons. | {| works. | | {| bibliography. | |bibliografia. {| period. and |year b'ks and serials in |atti accademici. {| proceedings. | vols. | {| newspapers | |giornale politici. {| philosophy | |filosofia-teologia. {| theology |theol. sermons, biblical |pubbl. relig. e pie. lett.| polit. sci. |law, jurisp. legislazione, guirisp. | and law | | atti de senato, atti | | | duputati. | economics and |polit. and soc. sci. |scienze polit. soc. stat. | social rel. | trade and commerce. | bilanci ecc. | education. |education, classical and |instruzione. educaz. libri| | philological. | scolastici. | philology. | |filologia storia lett. | natural |(see below) |scienze fisiche, mate. e | science. | | nat. | useful arts, | |ingegneria-ferrovie. | gen. | | | medicine. |medicine, surgery. |medicina. | agriculture. | |agricolt. industr. comm. | art of war. | |guerra marina. | fine arts, |art, science and |belle arti. | gen. | il. books. | | music. | | | games and | | | sports. | | | literary hist.|(see below) | | and crit. | | | poetry and |poetry and the drama. |lett. contemp. poesie. | drama. | | teatro. | fiction. |{novels, tales, juvenile |romanzi e nov. | juveniles. |{works and other fiction.| | other forms. |belles lettres, essays, |misc. e lett. popol. | | monographs, etc. | | history. |hist., biog., etc. |storia-geografia | biography. | |biografia contemp. | geog. travels |voyages, travels, | | and descrip. | geographical research. | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================= | | | dewey (order). | hinrich. | reinwald. | | | | -------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+ | | | collected {|bibliothekswesen, |divers. | and mis. {| encyklopädien, gesammt. | | works. {| werke. sammel werke, | | bibliography. {| schriften gelehrten. |bibliografia. | period. and {| gesellschaften |atti accademici. | proceedings. {| universatätswesen, etc. | | newspapers {| |giornale politici. | philosophy {| |filosofia-teologia. | theology |theologie. |religion (philos. morale).| polit. sci. |rechts u. staatswiss. |droit et économie polit. | and law | | | economics and |handel, gewerbe | | social rel. | verkehrswesen. | | education. |erziehung u. unterricht. |education. | | jugendschriften. | | philology. |sprach u. |linguistique. | | litteraturwissen. | | natural |naturwiss. math. |sciences, medicales et | science. | | naturelles. | useful arts, |bau u. |technologie. | gen. | ingenieurwissenschaft. | | medicine. |heilwissenschaft | | agriculture. |haus, land u. forstwiss | | art of war. |kriegswissenschaft |art militaire et marine. | fine arts, |kunst. |beaux arts. | gen. | | | music. | | | games and | | | sports. | | | literary hist.|(see below) | | and crit. | | | poetry and |schöne litteratur. |littérature. | drama. | | | fiction. | | | juveniles. | | | other forms. | | | history. |geschichte. |histoire, biog. polit. | biography. | | | geog. travels erdbeschreibung, karten. |geographie. | and descrip. | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- mr. bowker, in behalf of the committee, has submitted the matter, through mr. g. h. putnam, to the international congress of booksellers, and it is hoped that there may be a committee appointed or empowered to confer with this committee, and that some practical result may be reached in spite of various difficulties. this committee therefore recommends for the purpose of library reports, etc., the use of the dewey order and divisions given in the accompanying table, with such modification as may be necessary to meet book trade requirements, but in the case of all recommendations begs to make them subject to an international understanding, and asks that the committee be continued and given full power to adopt a recommended order, providing an understanding can be reached with a representative of the booksellers. if such an understanding is reached, efforts should be made to get the further concurrence of other library associations and bibliographical bodies generally. ernest c. richardson, _chairman, for the committee_. j. c. dana for the committee on library training made a brief statement, that the committee as a whole had been unable this year to visit and report upon the schools. he presented, as the report of the committee, a letter from dr. e. c. richardson, one of its members who had visited several of the schools as lecturer.[d] william beer spoke briefly on collection and cataloging of early newspapers. the few remarks i have to make on this subject are prompted by a recent effort to collect from printed catalogs the scattered newspaper material for the first years of the th century. the collection of information on the locality of files of newspapers up to has been commenced, and will in time be completed by mr. nelson, who publishes his results in the "archives of the state of new jersey." many corrections will be necessary to his list, but it will even in its present shape be of great advantage to historical students. the difficulty of the work increases almost in geometrical proportion as the dates approach the present era. the great increase of newspapers renders it necessary to divide the work into decades. i have chosen to carry it to on account of the importance to louisiana history of the reports on the battle of new orleans. the particular feature in cataloging which i would fain see carried out in every library is the chronological conspectus, of which so admirable an example exists in bolton's catalog of scientific documents, which is, or ought to be, familiar to all present. it is exceedingly simple and easy to prepare and is of the greatest possible service, both to the librarian and the student. take any folio book ruled in wide columns with an ample margin. for my purpose i start by heading the first column , and so on to the end of the page. taking material from mr. galbreath's useful compilation, i find that in the libraries of ohio there is only one title which will appear under this head, the _western spy_ in the collection of the cincinnati young men's mercantile library. enter in the marginal column the full details of the publication of this newspaper and draw a horizontal line across the column. the years - - , etc., present an increasing number of titles. the horizontal lines in the columns present an immediate summary of all the newspaper literature on the subject. dr. g. e. wire read a paper on some principles of book and picture selection. (_see_ p. .) melvil dewey: i want to say a word about that new york list of pictures. when we printed that bulletin a great chorus of criticism arose from among the newspapers, and we smiled; we said it was characteristic of newspapers to discuss a thing without knowing at all what they were talking about. but i did not suppose that same characteristic would appear in this association. our bulletin states very distinctly what it is for, and it makes its own case absolutely infallible. we had to meet the problem in the state of new york, of circulating pictures bought with the taxpayers' money, to be put on the walls of the school houses--jewish schools, roman catholic schools and schools of many denominations. under those peculiar conditions it was a question whether we could carry the movement at all, and we selected about people, whose judgment was most reliable, and asked them, out of several hundred pictures, to select that would be open to no objection of any kind. there was no effort whatever to select the hundred _best_ pictures. they simply made a list that would pass the legislature. it included pictures that people ridiculed sadly; and yet we had on file letters from prominent people in the state to the effect that they would protest against certain well-known pictures, and we thought it wiser not to raise issues over minor details. our bulletin is simply a list of pictures that have been passed by representatives of various religious and ethical interests. you may think it most absurd that certain pictures, perhaps the most famous, should have been voted out of such a list, but if you were to go through the schools of the state of new york or any other state you would find that there are conscientious mothers and fathers, who have had no opportunity for art training, who would get down on their knees and pray that some of these pictures might not be put on the walls of the school room. if you do not know that, you are not familiar with the sentiment in the rural districts. there was a specific purpose in our action; we heard all of these criticisms, and we did the thing that seemed right and best under the circumstances. there are about a hundred of us on the state library staff, but we do not yet, as a body, venture to feel as omniscient as some single individuals regard themselves. i strongly believe that it is not a bad thing to take the opinion of experts. we are perfectly willing to show respect to the specialist in his own field, and i think it is mighty unwise advice to give young librarians, when they are told not to ask the opinion of a good specialist, whose verdict commands the confidence of the public. adjourned at . p.m. _fourth session._ (library hall, madison, wis., monday afternoon, july .) president carr called the meeting to order at . p.m., and in a few words expressed the appreciation of the association for the delightful arrangements that had made "madison day" so interesting and enjoyable. miss mary w. plummer then spoke on some experiences in foreign libraries[e] miss plummer deprecated any desire to make a comparison between foreign and american libraries. they served so different a purpose, for the most part, that comparison was impossible. libraries, like systems of education, were an outcome of the history, of the race-temperament and characteristics, and of the social conditions of a people. and it was according to one's point of view whether such a comparison would be favorable to one side or the other. one thing seemed almost predicable--that, wherever democracy was making its way, there the library supported by the people and for the use of the people had a tendency to appear patterned more or less after those of england and america. english libraries were not touched upon, but the leading collections of germany, france and italy were briefly described. at the bayreuth and nuremberg libraries books were secured without formality, and all privileges were extended to the visiting colleague, with entire trustingness and fraternity. in italy more formality was required, the libraries being government institutions for reference use, but courtesy and a desire to be of service prevailed throughout. considering the question, "what do people do who want to read fiction in italy--the same people who are always wanting the new novels in this country?" miss plummer said: "apparently, these people do not exist in sufficiently large numbers to be considered in the libraries. if a work of note comes out, such as a new novel by d'annunzio or fogazzaro, it can be had at the book shops in paper for two lire or two and a half, _i.e._, to cents, and people buy it and lend it. in some of the little book shops books circulate for a small fee, but not by any means the best class of books. the government libraries may purchase the novels of such authors as those i have mentioned, but they do not make haste about it, and in one library (a municipal, circulating library) no book can go out that has not been in the library's possession three months. the novel-reading class is chiefly composed of visiting or resident english and americans, and in all italian cities of any size there is a subscription library where books in english can be had." at florence, when one discovers the large and enterprising subscription library which the viesseux, father and son, have carried on for several generations, one's troubles in getting books seem ended, for they have all the books that the government libraries cannot and do not buy--a large subscription list of periodicals, open shelves, late books separated from the rest, and they will get what one asks for if they haven't it already. if american publishers sent their lists regularly to viesseux one would probably find more american books there. further than this, one's subscription entitles one to a book or books by mail to any place in italy or in the surrounding countries where one may be staying. of the florentine libraries, the marucellian is the nearest our ideal of a modern reference library in its collections as in its methods. it has, as its chief field of purchase, the best modern books in belles-lettres, and as it is open in the evening its rooms are often crowded with students and readers until closing time. it has a card catalog by subjects and a duplicate card catalog of part of the collection of the national library of florence; a ms. catalog in book form by author, which is accessible to readers; a room set apart for women students, with a woman, a university graduate, to preside over it. the national library is a much greater collection and older, in its rooms; and its periodical room is the most modern of all, with its magazines from all countries, even our own _harper_ and _century_ showing their familiar faces on the racks. a special room here is devoted to the catalogs, which were partly in ms. book form and partly on cards, and students were always searching the pages or the cards without let or hindrance. at rome the victor emanuel library had a small room shelved with the leyden catalogs, in constant consultation. as in most of the government libraries, there was a table reserved for women, though it did not seem to be much used. among the paris libraries described were the ste. geneviève, the sorbonne, and one of the ward or "arondissement" libraries. the latter was in the mairie, and open at p.m. only. the books were in floor cases, with a counter between them and the people, and on the counter lay small pamphlet finding lists. it is not hard to keep these up to date, since the libraries themselves are far from being so, and new books are not often added. the librarian, who had some other occupation during the day and served here in the evening, to add a trifle to his income, got books and charged them in a book as people asked for them. use of the library was permitted only after obtaining as guarantor a citizen living in the same arondissement with the would-be borrower. while this kind of library is of course much better than none, and the situation in paris is that much better than in italian cities, the fact that the hours of opening are only in the evening is a barrier to much usefulness. on the other hand, a library to each arondissement is a fair allowance, and no one has to go very far to reach his library. for the most part they are patronized by the small tradesmen of the neighborhood and their families. a large proportion of our reading public is missing from these municipal libraries--they buy their own books, in paper, at the department stores, and make no use whatever of the government libraries or of these small circulating centers. in conclusion, miss plummer said: "if i were asked what sort of library was most needed in france and italy, i should say first _good_ libraries for children and young people. the children of these countries read earlier than ours, the language presenting fewer difficulties of spelling and pronunciation, and many of them are fond of reading. good material is not plentiful, and what there is the child has no help in getting hold of. bad reading there is in abundance, in the shape of so-called comic papers, etc., at every turn and for an infinitesimal price. one is ready to say that it is better not to know how to read than to be induced by one's knowledge to make such acquaintance as this." dr. j. k. hosmer followed with an amusing fable, entitled from the reader's point of view, and the era of the placard.[f] the subject was presented in the form of a clever parable, satirizing the present-day "booming" of popular books, and the unseemliness and vulgarities of modern advertising methods. it concluded with an "imaginary conversation" between a librarian and a reader, as follows: "'a fellow-librarian?' said i. "'not quite that,' said he, 'but one who uses libraries--a reader, in fact.' "i felt a sudden thrill of satisfaction. here at last i had found my reader, and i faithfully proceeded at once to get at his point of view. 'well,' said i, 'is it not an inspiration to live in the era of the placard; and what do you mean to do for the great american bill board trust?' "we walked down the street arm in arm, and this is the rather unsympathetic monologue in which the reader indulged: "'the bill-board--and i mean by the bill-board coarse and obtrusive advertising in general, whether shown in this defacement of natural objects, road-signs, street car panels, or in newspaper columns--an evil from which even the public library is not free--the bill-board is an evil, but after all only a minor evil. if we had nothing worse than that among our social problems to vex us, we should indeed be fortunate. advertising is a legitimate incident of commerce. the merchant who has wares to sell may properly make his commodities known. i own i study the advertising pages of my _century_ and _scribner_ with scarcely less interest than i do the text. but the world is so full of bad taste! there is no sanctity or silence through which the coarse scream of the huckster may not at any time penetrate. the loud bill-board is but the scream of the huckster transmuted so that it may attack still another sense. the wonder is that this bill-board, and its fellow enormities in the street car panel and the newspaper columns, do not repel instead of attract. in the case of refined minds certainly repulsion must be felt. now for myself,' said the reader, and here i thought he spoke conceitedly, 'the fact that a thing is coarsely and loudly advertised is a strong, almost invincible reason for my not buying it, however necessary it may seem. with the world in general, however, the standard of taste is low. coarseness does not offend; also, it pays to use it. "'i have sometimes seen on library walls placards sent in with the demand, 'please display this prominently,' that have exercised upon me an immediate deterrent effect. still,' said the reader, with his superior air, 'do not think me ill-natured. the best thing we can do is to keep our temper, stamp down as we can what becomes too outrageous and indecent, and labor and pray for the refinement of the world's taste. this no doubt will come very slowly.' "'can we help the thing forward at all?' said i, falling in for the moment with his humor. "'only as we can promote in general the diffusion of sweetness and light,' said the reader. 'if a man should be aroused to attack directly i believe he might strike a more effective blow through ridicule than through denunciation. keep denunciation for the more weighty and ghastly evils that beset us; a mere annoyance it is better to laugh away if we can do it.'" adjourned at . p.m. _fifth session._ (fountain spring house, tuesday morning, july .) the meeting was called to order by president carr at . a.m. the president announced the receipt in pamphlet form of the report on gifts and bequests. (_see_ p. .) this was read by title, and filed for publication in the proceedings. w. i. fletcher presented the report of the a. l. a. publishing board. (_see_ p. .) mr. dewey: i wish to remind some of you who were with us years ago in philadelphia, when we organized the a. l. a., and who, during that whole period, have studied its interests so closely, that the time has come at last when we are really on the way to secure one of the things we have always thought most important--co-operative printed catalog cards. this will make for all of us less drudgery and more inspiration, for there is not much inspiration in writing out author's names; it will relieve us of a considerable burden; it will produce economy and increase efficiency; and it appeals strongly to our trustees and business men. it is perhaps the most important thing we have to do, and there have been apparently insuperable obstacles to success; but we have always hoped for one complete solution. and this was that it could be done at the national library in washington, with its printing presses, post-office facilities, copyright department and great central collection. you remember that when the pacific railroad was built, and as the ends came together to make the connection, a great celebration was held through the country, a thrill that the work was at last done; and i feel to-day, now that we hear in this able report that printed catalog cards are really to be undertaken at the national library, that what we have waited for over years and what we have been dreaming about has come to pass at last. after serving my term on the publishing board--this is my valedictory--i feel to-day that i must say just this: now that we have reached this point, that every one has hoped for so long, we must see to it that this agency is utilized and appreciated. every one of us ought to watch those printed cards, and make suggestions as to their use. if we utilize them, and prove their value and their economy, we can rely on the great support of the national library in many other movements. the secretary read a letter from the hon. secretary of the library association of the united kingdom, inviting the a. l. a. to be represented at its annual meeting, to be held in plymouth, england, aug. - , ; and, on recommendation from the council, it was voted that members of the a. l. a. abroad at the time of the english meeting be authorized to represent the american library association on that occasion. the president announced that the polls would be open for election of officers in the library exhibit room at the fountain house from to tuesday evening, and that j. i. wyer and j. g. moulton would serve as tellers. in the absence of f. j. teggart, chairman, the secretary read the report of committee on handbook of american libraries. since its appointment this committee has worked steadily towards the accomplishment of the object of the handbook. specifically this object is the collection of the statistics, history and bibliography of all libraries in the united states having , or more volumes on dec. , . while about per cent. of the circulars sent out in were returned, the cases in which the bibliographical and historical data was supplied were too few in number to be of much assistance. the work which has therefore fallen on the chairman of this committee is neither more or less than the preparation of a check list of all the publications of american libraries. the need of this work must be apparent to any librarian who considers that there is at present no bibliographical source in which information regarding library publications may be found. the "american catalogue," for example, ignores such publications altogether. in beginning this work the chairman of your committee indexed the set of the _library journal_ and all available bulletins and catalogs of libraries for library publications, and cataloged the similar material existing in the libraries of san francisco. approximately the list now includes between and cards. this large body of material has been reduced to shape, and the greater part has been typewritten on sheets. what now remains to be done is that some person conversant with the library literature of a state or city should take the sheets representing that district and carefully compare the entries with the books themselves, supplying omissions and correcting errors. this certainly is no light piece of work, but it is essential to the success of the undertaking. the historical notices have been prepared in part, but the statistics obtained in must of necessity be renewed to bring the entire work down to the end of the century. as the manuscript can be completed by jan. next, there is every reason to believe that this large piece of work can be presented in completed form to the association in , with one proviso. when the committee was appointed in it was given a general authorization to incur expenditure--in fact, without doing so no work could have been done. again, in , an authorization for expenditure was passed by the association. up to the present the chairman of the committee has expended directly on this work on postage and printing about $ . owing apparently to the general terms in which the authorizations for expenditure were made at previous meetings, the officers of the association have not so far made any appropriation towards this amount, and it would seem proper that some definite provision should be made by the association at this meeting to cover a part at least of this expenditure if the handbook is to be considered an "a. l. a." undertaking. frederick j. teggart, _chairman_. c. w. andrews: as the third member of the committee, i may supplement this report, and state that the matter of obtaining the consent of the bureau of education to undertake the publication of this handbook was left to me, and that i have pleasure in informing the association that there seems every prospect that at least a portion of this material will be published by the bureau of education, and that we may hope to have made available in this way a much-needed tool for practical use and a mass of information which cannot fail to be of value outside of this country. w. i. fletcher: the matter of the publication of this handbook was referred to the publishing board, but if the plan for its publication by the government is carried out, the publishing board understands that will take the publication out of its hands. i move that the executive board be requested to inquire into the matter of the expense incurred by mr. teggart, and provide for meeting it, if this is found possible. _voted._ the secretary read the by-laws to the constitution, prepared by special committee and adopted by the council, as follows: by-laws. § . the annual dues of the association shall be $ for individuals and $ for libraries and other institutions, payable in advance in january. members who are one year in arrears shall, after proper notification by the treasurer, be dropped from the roll of membership. § . nine members shall constitute a quorum of the council for the transaction of routine business, but no sections of the association shall be established and no recommendations relating to library matters shall be promulgated at any meeting at which there are less than members present. the records of the council, so far as of general interest, shall be printed with the proceedings of the association. § . in case of a vacancy in any office, except that of president, the executive board may designate some person to discharge the duties of the same _pro tempore_. § . no person shall be president, first or second vice-president, or councillor of the association for two consecutive terms. § . the president and secretary, with one other member appointed by the executive board, shall constitute a program committee, which shall, under the supervision of the executive board, arrange the program for each annual meeting and designate persons to prepare papers, open discussions, etc., and shall decide whether any paper which may be offered shall be accepted or rejected, and if accepted, whether it shall be read entire, by abstract or by title. it shall recommend to the executive board printing accepted papers entire, or to such extent as may be considered desirable. § . the executive board shall appoint annually a committee of five on library training, which shall investigate the whole subject of library schools and courses of study, and report the results of its investigations, with its recommendations. § . the executive board shall appoint annually a committee of three on library administration, to consider and report improvements in any department of library economy, and make recommendations looking to harmony, uniformity, and co-operation, with a view to economical administration. § . the executive board shall at each annual meeting of the association appoint a committee of three on resolutions, which shall prepare and report to the association suitable resolutions of acknowledgments and thanks. to this committee shall be referred all such resolutions offered in meetings of the association. § . the objects of sections which may be established by the council under the provisions of section of the constitution, shall be discussion, comparison of views, etc., upon subjects of interest to the members. no authority is granted any section to incur expense on the account of the association or to commit the association by any declaration of policy. a member of the association eligible under the rules of the section may become a member thereof by registering his or her name with the secretary of the section. § . provisions shall be made by the executive board for sessions of the various sections at annual meetings of the association, and the programs for the same shall be prepared by the officers of sections in consultation with the program committee. sessions of sections shall be open to any member of the association, but no person may vote in any section unless registered as a member of the same. the registered members of each section shall, at the final session of each annual meeting, choose a chairman and secretary, to serve until the close of the next annual meeting. dr. j. k. hosmer reported for the committee on memorial to john fiske. dr. hosmer: the committee to whom this matter was referred thought it best to prepare, instead of a formal preamble and resolution, a minute to be entered upon the proceedings of the convention. that received the approval of the council. the minute is as follows: "the news having reached us of the untimely death of john fiske, once our professional associate, we, the american library association, desire to make record of our profound grief at the departure of a writer who was a dominant force in american literature, and to express our sense that in this passing of a great thinker, historian, and spiritual leader, our land and our time have sustained irreparable loss." president carr: this minute will be spread upon the record of the proceedings, having taken the regular course. co-operative list of children's books. c. r. perry: at the last session of the children's librarians' section action was taken looking towards a co-operative list of books for children. there were some features connected with it that were of such a general character that we thought it essential that the plan come before the association in general session, to secure proper authority for us to proceed with the work; furthermore, there was no further session of the children's librarians' section, so if a report was made at all it would have to be made to the a. l. a. in general session. the report is as follows: _to the american library association_: at the last session of the children's librarians' section a committee was appointed to formulate some plan whereby a co-operative list of children's books may be produced, this committee to report at some general session. we now are ready and beg leave to report progress. we have interviewed over members of the a. l. a. within the last two days, and find a general desire for such a list. moreover, the people interviewed have expressed their willingness to subscribe among themselves a sum of money necessary to cover the cost of preparing such list (postage, typewriting, stationery, printing, etc.). your committee have found that one or two days are hardly sufficient to enable us to bring our plan into perfection. we desire very strongly to accomplish the results for which we were appointed, and therefore ask for more time. we do respectfully recommend and ask that authority be given to our committee to proceed with the following plan: ( ) committee on co-operative children's list to appoint six people to collect the subscriptions which have been promised. ( ) some one experienced and well-known librarian to be appointed by our committee to undertake the preparation of the said list. ( ) when such person has been appointed and has accepted, the money raised to be turned over to that librarian. ( ) our committee to suggest to the person undertaking this work a plan whereby not only may be secured the approval or disapproval of librarians and teachers as to the books of the tentative list, but also a report as to the manner in which these books have been received by the children in all parts of the nation. ( ) a final and definite report to be submitted at the next conference. this report to include the books generally accepted and those rejected as well. respectfully submitted, chesley r. perry, _chairman_, j. c. dana, eliza g. browning. president carr: this report comes before you in the nature of a recommendation, and suitable action would be to move that the association appoint a general committee to carry out the recommendations of the report. that committee might consist of the members of the present committee, who drew this report--mr. perry, mr. dana and miss browning. r. r. bowker: is not this a matter which should come under the jurisdiction of the publishing board? it would then give this proposed committee somewhat the relation to the publishing board that is borne by the advisory committee on printed catalog cards. otherwise we might have a confusion of results. mr. perry: that matter was discussed, but we felt that we were preparing something which at the next convention might be submitted to the association, and then referred to the publishing board. we are not expecting to prepare a list for general printing and circulation, but a list which may be brought up at the next conference as something definite to be referred to the publishing board. it was _voted_, that the committee acting for the children's librarians' section be appointed to carry out the work outlined. printed catalog cards. herbert putnam: i ask your indulgence, mr. president, for a few words. the readiness of the library of congress to take up the work of supplying printed cards has been stated. for the library of congress, i wish to say that we do not repudiate anything of what has been stated as to our readiness; it must be understood, however, that we are justified in entering upon this undertaking only in case it presents a reasonable probability of success. now, for that probability three elements are essential. first, some body that should represent judgment and experience, in such co-operative work, and be in touch with the interests at large of the library association. that body is furnished by the publishing board. second, there was necessary some office that was directly in relation with the publishers of this country. that office is the _publishers' weekly_, and the _publishers' weekly_ has generously offered to place at our disposal all of its facilities for securing prompt information as to every recent publication. third, there is a strong probability that during the first year at least there will be some deficit, while the experiment is merely beginning. that danger has been met. mr. bowker, personally, has tendered a guaranty amounting, if necessary, to $ , to meet the possible deficit of the undertaking during the present calendar year. repudiating nothing of what has been said about the readiness of the library of congress to serve in this undertaking, i nevertheless wish this matter to appear in its proper proportions, and we should not be willing to have these other elements overlooked. in the absence of thorvald solberg, j. c. hanson read mr. solberg's paper on book copyright. (_see_ p. .) george iles read a paper on the trusteeship of literature. (_see_ p. .) mr. iles: i may add, that when i was in england three years ago and talked about this scheme, one or two asked me, "who is going to meet your libel suits?" i explained that there was already a very large body of responsible critics who contribute in this country, especially in this field; as, for instance, the critics of the _american historical review_, and the notes that i have in mind are very much of the color of the notes one reads in such reviews--not many of them very black, not many of them very white; most of them a whitey brown. i have never heard yet of any libel suits against the editors of the _american historical review_, even when their reviews have not been particularly amiable. i do not think we need to dread any litigation. mr. larned went to work in organizing his staff of contributors with great caution and good judgment. he did not choose them from any one particular university, but when he heard that at university "a" there was a man who was acknowledged to know the literature of the columbian period of american history better than anybody else, he sought to enlist that man. and mr. larned has been limited, of course, in various ways that you can readily understand, as for instance when sometimes a contributor has given him notes which he has felt obliged to discard. and let me say also that in the main the most important work has been done by the professors of history in the colleges and universities, except for the period of the civil war, where the late general cox, who had made a special study of that field, was his contributor. mr. larned's idea is simply to find throughout this country in any particular field--the civil war period, or the pre-columbian period, or the settlement of the northwest period, or the war of --the most authoritative and trustworthy man and enlarge his audience to take in all the readers and students in this country, instead of having him speak merely to the students of a particular university or to the readers of a particular review. dr. richard t. ely read a paper on the same subject. (_see_ p. .) mr. bowker: can't we have a word from mr. thwaites on this question? r. g. thwaites: i do not suppose i ought to speak on this matter, for i am one of mr. larned's contributors. i have done a good deal of annotation, or evaluation, of this sort, upon request; i have a fair acquaintance with reviewers, and have done a good deal of reviewing myself. i know the limitations of reviewers, and there is, i think, a great deal of truth in what dr. ely says. i always want to know, when i read a review, who wrote the review; after i know the individual who has written the review, i make up my mind more or less regarding its verdict. often, in writing annotations for this work of mr. larned's i have felt the very serious responsibility which rested upon me as an individual contributor, in seeming to crystallize judgment for generations perhaps--if this book is to be used for generations--and the possible harm that might result from such crystallization. i know that my point of view will be entirely different from another man's point of view. you take four or five men and ask them to write a note on the same book for this annotated list, and you will have four or five different judgments--absolutely, radically different. it is perhaps, a dangerous thing to crystallize these judgments; and yet, after all, i sympathize very greatly with mr. iles' position. i think the thing should be done. librarians are asked for such judgments all the time. all of us who write text-books are continually asked for annotated bibliographies for students to follow, and we are always passing judgments--other people might call them "snap" judgments--upon various books. great wisdom is necessary in this matter. for instance, the other day mr. larned sent a note to two of us who are contributing to this annotated bibliography. it happened through some editorial mistake that two notes, asking for comment on a certain book, were written to different individuals. it was dr. davis dewey, of the institute of technology, who happened to cross my path and wrote a note on the same book. now we had two absolutely different opinions about this book. and yet it was very natural. i had looked at this book as the story of an exploring tour down the mississippi valley; he had looked at it as a study in sociology from an economic standpoint. it was exceedingly interesting from my standpoint; it was filled with fallacies and whims from the standpoint of an economist and sociologist. well, i threw up my note and let his stand. what are we going to do about it? some work of this kind ought to be done, because it is most useful; but after all, i think dr. ely's word of warning is one that we should take to heart very thoroughly. personally i really don't know whether we ought to "evaluate" literature or not; and yet i am doing it all the time. mr. iles: we expect that this bibliography of mr. larned's, and any others in the same series which may follow, will appear also in card form, and i very much desire when the central bureau finds that a particular note can be replaced by a better one, in the light of further developments, that that particular note should be withdrawn, and a better and more nearly just note be substituted; all gratuitously to the subscribing libraries. f. m. crunden: i realize the force of what dr. ely has said, but i still believe that this work is worth doing, because it is exceedingly valuable to us. we have got to have some guide. we cannot all of us read in all lines and so far as the contradictory notes referred to go, it seems to me that all that was necessary was for the editor to apply to those two divergent notes just the remark that mr. thwaites made--that one was written from the standpoint of the sociologist and economist, the other from that of the historian and geographer. from one side it was a good book; from the other side a bad book. mr. putnam: i speak on such a subject as this with very great reluctance, and yet, as a librarian who has had occasion in times past to select--i do not have so much occasion now, because so much matter comes to us without inspection--i wish to draw a distinction between selection and exclusion. now, when dr. ely speaks of an _index librorum prohibitorum_ or an _index expurgatorius_, the implication is that the libraries of this country, on advice or of their own motion without advice, are deliberately excluding from their collection books of which they disapprove. the librarian, however, approaches the matter in an entirely different way. he has at his disposal, for purchase, a very limited sum of money; a very limited sum of money, no matter how large his library, for the amount of literature put upon the market is practically limitless. men of science themselves, after contending for liberty of expression, do not always use that liberty with discretion or to the advantage of the community. now, there must be a selection. that is the point we start from as librarians; that is the duty laid upon us--to get, with the means at our command, the books that will be most useful to our constituents. now, that means choice. how are we to make a choice? i do not believe there is a librarian in the united states who would set himself up as an arbiter or an expert in every department of literature; who would claim to determine the value of doctrine, either in religion or in economics, the two departments of literature as to which the discrimination must be most difficult and most dangerous; and yet even in those departments we must choose. that means a selection. what is the alternative, in case we have no guide? what would dr. ely offer us? dr. ely, of course, as any university professor, has his students, who are studying not merely one subject in which they wish to get the best and final opinion, but all opinions, from which they are to draw conclusions. now, the duty of the librarian is simply to represent all opinions, and not his own opinion, or his notion of the best opinion, or somebody else's notion of the best opinion; but, given a doctrine which is important, which is attracting attention, he assumes that this doctrine must be represented in his collection. it is only a question of what represents this doctrine best--not whether the doctrine is right or wrong. if there is a book regarding which there are two opinions, the appraisal may give the two opinions, as all appraisals should, so far as it can be done. the substance of what i wish to say is this: our duty is not one of exclusion; it is one of selection, and that fact is as little understood as any element in library administration to-day--and i am sorry to say that the misunderstanding is apt to be countenanced by the librarian. take for instance the case of the boston public library, berated all over the country for excluding certain books from its collection. now, the boston public library deliberately excludes, to my knowledge, almost no book. its process is of selection. it receives about seven hundred volumes of recent fiction a year, to consider for purchase. it believes that it is for the best interests of its constituents to buy less than two hundred titles and multiply copies. now, how is it going to dispose of the other five hundred? they are neither rebuked, disapproved of or placed in an index. they are simply left out, because in the process of selection, the first two hundred seem most useful for the purpose of the library. dr. ely: i was not thinking about the librarians in my remarks. they must, of course, make their selections of books, but what i had in mind was the bringing, especially in the form of a card catalog, these judgments and these appraisals before the reading public all over the entire country, and so possibly forming opinion, along one line. formerly librarians have had a great many facilities to aid them in making this selection of which mr. putnam has spoken. they have had the various periodicals with their reviews; they could read these and base their selections upon these. i had especially in mind the objections to crystallizing opinion and bringing a one-sided opinion, or one kind of an opinion, before the entire united states, instead of having opinions of one sort in one place and opinions of another sort in another place. also, it is the impartial nature, or the apparently impartial nature, of the proposed "evaluations" which seems to me especially objectionable. of course, in our college classrooms, we give our estimates of books, but professor a will give one estimate, and then the students go to professor b's class-room, and they hear another estimate, so that they soon learn the personal inclinations and preferences of the various professors, and can soon offer some explanation of the conditions and the circumstances under which these estimates are formed. and the views expressed in one university are criticised very largely by another university. not so i take it with the person who ordinarily consults the card catalog of a public library. r. r. bowker: may i take a moment from my own paper to say just a word on this subject? questions are asked of the librarians, and they must be answered. to answer them in the fullest light instead of the scantiest is, as i understand, the purpose of what mr. iles calls "evaluation." if miss smith--i think there are six of her, so that my remarks are not personal--comes from the library school, or after the library school training, to a public library desk, she is sure to be asked questions, we will say, in american history. there may be an information clerk to refer them to, or there may not; but, as i understand, this work of mr. iles is intended, not to exclude other sources of information, but to give miss smith opportunity to inquire and obtain the best and widest available information as to the character of a particular book, or as to its rating. if this book were to be the sole and exclusive authority, then of course we might have a censorship in literature, but i do not understand that in the minds of the promotors of this plan there is any such design to make an exclusive and solely authoritative work. w. millard palmer read a paper on the relationship of publishers, booksellers, and librarians. (_see_ p. .) r. r. bowker: there is, or should be, i take it, a large purpose common to all who have to deal with books, as intermediaries between the author and the reader, whether from the altruistic side, as the librarian, or from the commercial side, as the publisher and bookseller. we are familiar with one expression of that purpose, to get "the best reading for the largest number at the least cost"; and i, for one, am firmly of the opinion that that function is properly shared by the two classes of whom i have spoken, that they are not in competition but in co-operation; i mean the librarian and the bookseller. it is a narrow view, it would seem, which puts the two in opposition, or even in the position of competitors. and just as it seems that the bookseller is wrong in feeling that the librarian is interfering with his business, so i think it is wrong for the librarian to feel that the bookseller should in any way be limited or hampered or belittled in his kind of work of getting books to the people. it seems to me a truism, indeed, that there is one thing better than a book loaned, and that is a book owned. the ideal library community is, after all, one in which the people are so well supplied with books in their own homes that the function of the library is not so much a great circulation, however fine that may look in the statistics, but rather that of guide and helper to readers in the selection, and, if you please, in the "evaluation" of books. the board of health in a city or in a state is, perhaps, a fair illustration of the final function of the librarian; a health board, in its ideal, is a body to promote sanitation, to warn people against errors, to get rid of the mistake that tuberculosis is a hereditary disease from which people have to suffer, instead of one which is communicated and which can be avoided; rather than a body to furnish free medical attendance like a dispensary. so i start with the proposition, that it is desirable for librarians, for public librarians, as such, to encourage most of all the formation and owning of private libraries throughout their bailiwicks. now, there has been one difficulty of late years in bringing about this result, in the most effective way, and that difficulty has been felt not only in this country, but throughout most countries--the fact that competition, not in quality but in "cut rate" price, has practically taken away the living of the commercial intermediary in the distribution of books, the hire of the laborer who is working in that particular vineyard. that has been true in germany, in france, in england, and in this country. it has not prevented the sale of books; it _seems_ not to have limited the sale of books; but it is probably true that the dissemination of the best literature among the mass of the people, in private libraries, while it has been immensely improved by the library system, has not been promoted by the bookselling system under present conditions as it should be. in germany, a movement has been on foot for a few years past, and has been quite successful, to give that particular kind of librarian, the bookseller, a fee more worthy of his function; a profit which makes it possible for him to keep that sort of library which is distributed into private libraries, _i.e._, the book store. in france a very curious difficulty is in illustration. there the price of books had come to be very low, so low that when a rise in the price of paper came, the publisher's business was found to be almost impossible. the remedy naturally took the shape of a general rise in price, a considerable rise in price in cheaper books, sufficient to meet that particular difficulty and to make possible at the same time a better recompense, a living wage, to the intermediary. now, the whole tendency of modern industrial development is to get rid of the intermediary as much as possible; _i. e._, to have as few steps, of person and of cost, between the producer and the consumer as is practicable. this we may take as fundamental to-day. it remains true, nevertheless, that there must, as a rule, be somebody between the producer and the consumer, between the person in the great manufacturing center and the remote distributing points on the circumference to bring the thing wanted to the person who wants it; and it is only in view of that requirement that the bookseller is to be considered. in that sense, as i have said, he seems a complement of the librarian, and the book store the complement of the library. now, a librarian cannot live without salary, though many live on very small salaries, in the hope of better things--and one of the accomplishments of the american library association has been to bring better things to the librarian. both the dignity and the emolument of the library profession have been, i believe, increased greatly by the existence of this association. the librarian receives a salary, and it is not true, as we all know, that books can be circulated freely from public libraries in the sense of their being circulated without cost. indeed, we have occasion to lament often that the cost of circulating a single volume is so great. it is a fair question whether the cost of shelving, preparing for the public, and in many cases, of circulating a volume, is not greater than the fee which the bookseller asks as his profit, his wage in transferring that volume from the publisher to the reader. therefore it seems to me that the suggestion of which mr. dewey is the apostle, that the public library should take the place of the book store, that it should exhibit recent books to the public and take the public's orders for those books, rests both on an economic and on a social fallacy. in a word, work cannot be done for nothing, and whether that work is paid for by the public in the shape of salaries or by the private buyer in the shape of profits is a matter of comparison. about the time at which the a. l. a. was organized, in , there was an attempt on the part of the book trade to deal with this question, and at philadelphia, in , a meeting was held at which a reform plan was initiated. that plan, it seemed to me then as it seems to me now, involved a fundamental mistake, in that it did not deal with the question of published prices. it is evident that books cannot be increased in price, unless there is a specific reason in the price of paper or some such reason, without interference with their sale and wide distribution. it is poor policy for the publisher to limit the sale of his ware by putting a higher price on it than the traffic will bear. at that meeting it was proposed not to alter the published prices of books, but to recognize formally the custom of giving twenty per cent. discount to the retail buyer. the reform proceeded upon that basis, and the system presently broke down. within a year past there have been shaped two organizations, the american publishers' association and the american booksellers' association, which are working in harmony on another plan. that plan is that new books, new copyright books (fiction and some special classes excepted for the time), should be published at a price which recognizes the fact that the published price hitherto has not been the real or standard price. in other words, a book which was priced at $ . it is expected to publish at twenty per cent., more or less, below that price, and to make a $ . book, say, $ . or $ . ; a $ book $ . or $ . , and a $ book or cents. this plan recognizes the existing situation, and the proposal is that the plan shall be enforced by the publishers declining to supply books to booksellers who fail to maintain those standard prices. the plan has worked out with other classes of specially owned articles, in that respect similar to books, and it has worked with fair success. there is only one exception which the bookseller is permitted under the proposed regulations to make, and that is a discount to the library. that discount is limited to ten per cent., and i think it should fairly be stated that this may increase, perhaps by five or ten per cent., the actual prices which some libraries, at least, have been paying for their books. that is a disadvantage from the library point of view which must be faced. i do not know that it will increase the price in the case of libraries generally. in the case of the public, it has been true that while many have paid the lower price for the books, others have been asked the full published price, so that there has been an inequality of price where the person best equipped in one sense, least equipped in another, has had the advantage of the lower price. in other words, the person who had most books and knew most about them, got the book at a very low price, and the person who was really most in need of the book, because he knew less, had to pay the full price for it. i do not believe myself that that is the right or a good way of doing business. it would not be the method which you would permit in libraries, of treating one person differently from another, because the fundamental proposition of this association is that the public should be treated equally and justly. take it altogether, i for one believe that although in some cases there may be this slight rise in cost to the library, the whole library situation, or, i should say, the whole book situation, would be so much improved by the proposed change that it would be to the general advantage of the libraries to suffer that specific disadvantage. nevertheless, there is a good deal of grasping in human nature, and it might be very wise for the american library association, in one sense representing the public, to come into official relation with this matter and be the guardian of the buying interests, to the extent of making sure that there is a real reduction in the prices of books on this scheme. the large-minded publishers will doubtless see their interests in making the reduction throughout on the copyright books which are to be published on this plan. there are others who may not see this advantage, and who may attempt, under the new plan, to set as high a price on the book as under the old plan. if we had a committee of this association on relations with the book trade, it might be possible for such a committee, known to be on the alert, to prevent or remedy cases of that sort, and i trust such a committee will be appointed by this body, or by its council, as i shall take the liberty of moving. i should feel some hesitancy in speaking to this association from the two points of view, of relation with the book trade and of relation with the library interests; _i.e._, of speaking as the editor of the _publishers' weekly_ and as the editor of the _library journal_, but for the fact that i believe the interests to be one. i may, however, make the personal explanation that while it seems to me that a journalist cannot write that in which he does not believe, on the other hand, a journalist who is responsible for the conduct of a representative journal cannot interpolate his own opinion to the exclusion of the opinion of the class whom he is supposed to represent; for that reason i have taken the position in my own office that in case the library interests should come in conflict with the publishing interests, i will give over that particular subject to some librarian, who, using the editorial columns of the _library journal_, will represent distinctively, free from any interest in the book trade, the views of the library association and of the library interests at large. i take this opportunity to say that in case the opinion of this association is adverse to the plan which i have been outlining, the _library journal_ will take that course in presenting fairly and fully the views of the profession. when the whole question is threshed out; when such a committee has discussed, perhaps with the publishers' association itself, whether there should not be a somewhat greater discount to the librarian, to equalize the old rates; when such a committee expostulates with individual publishers against an abuse of this plan, i believe that the result will be, on the whole, to promote the wide and useful dissemination of books, and i trust that any action which is taken, if action should be taken by the association or by its council, will be in view of the wider co-operation in which these two interests should work. let me remind you that the bookseller cannot live without earning his living any more than the librarian, and it is not quite fair perhaps for those of us who are protected by salaries to impeach the fair living which the bookseller earns in another way. the book store should exist in every community, alongside the library. we know as a matter of fact that even our large cities, certainly our small cities, even more our towns, are very ill equipped with book stores; that in many places they are notable for their absence rather than for their presence. this element of active work in the distribution of books should, i believe, come back more to our american life. it cannot come back, apparently, under present conditions, and any movement, it seems to me, should have the helping hand of the a. l. a. that tends to put the american bookseller on a plane with the librarian as an agent for the dissemination of the best books at the least cost to the most people, and i emphasize "at the least cost," meaning the least cost at which the service can be rightfully performed. adjourned at . p.m. _sixth session._ (fountain spring house, tuesday afternoon, july .) the meeting was called to order at . p.m. by president carr, who announced that the discussion would be continued from the morning session, on the subject the relationship of publishers, booksellers and librarians. melvil dewey: there seems to be an impression on the part of some that the attitude i have taken in regard to this question is for the sake of starting up discussion. i am quite sincere in what i say and in what i believe in regard to it. in the first place, i think nothing could be more unfortunate than for any of us to get into an attitude of antagonism with the publishers and booksellers. there was something like that twenty-five years ago; their organization and ours began at the same time. there were some who wanted to fight with the booksellers and publishers. i think that is all wrong. i am heartily in sympathy with nearly everything that mr. bowker said this morning, and with what has appeared in the columns of the _publishers' weekly_. i read every page of it. i believe so profoundly in the value of the bookman's work that, when formulating definitions of our university studies, as to what a full-fledged university should be, i insisted it should include publishing research and publication, not only the preservation of learning. it is because i have so profound a respect for what may be done by the book trade, as we call it, that i believe in these things. but the discussion this morning seemed to be very much on the line of ruskin's attack on railroads, which he said always were devices of the devil, and he said it very eloquently. you heard the same talk about the trolley lines--about the whitening bones of the young innocents that had been killed by them. we were assured that bicycles were to destroy the horse trade entirely, yet horses now bring double what they did before. twenty-five years ago, i remember a very prominent man most earnestly pointing out just what was pointed out this morning--that the a. l. a. and the public libraries were simply devices to injure the interests of publishers and booksellers. and the attitude of men on these things is based on what mr. bowker called "an economic and social fallacy." i like the phrase; only he was fitting it to me, and i fit it to him, and it is for you to decide which is right. the question hinges on what we understand the library to be. if the library is like a blacksmith shop, or shoe store, or something of that kind, then he is right. if the library is an essential part in our system of education and a necessity for our civilization, then i am right. in new york we still have the plank road and the toll-gate, and we are just taking them over for public use--buying them and abolishing the tolls, so that the public's right to use the roads has come back to them. all the arguments we heard this morning would fit the question of abolishing the toll-roads. a great many people keep no horses. why should they be taxed to maintain the roads? we have the fire department. we do not tax only the people whose houses are on fire. it is a public necessity. we have the best illustration of the case in our schools. the tax-supported high school has killed off a number of private schools, and estimable people who were earning their living that way were thrown out of employment. and the tax-supported high school is in analogy with the public library. it has offered instruction free and has ruined the business of others. it is so with many professional schools. a transition has been going on very rapidly. the last big fight we have been having is over the business colleges, some of which are directed by mere charlatans, and others by those who are giving admirable instruction, doing their work well. but they have outlived their time. the public demanded that certain instruction of this kind should be made available cheaply to all the people. now, we have been charged with wanting to abolish the bookseller. i never said anything about abolishing him. it is like saying that because the tadpole is going to be a frog we are abolishing the tadpoles. it is nature that does it; it is a matter of growth. or it is like saying that the entomologist in pointing out that the moth is going to develop into the butterfly, is abolishing all the moths. so the good booksellers, if they go on with the work of supplying the public with good reading, will do it through the agency of the public library, where they can do it cheaper. when we are sure that a certain thing ought to be done; that it is a good thing; and, secondly, when we are sure that it can be done cheaper than in any other way, we are not inclined to waste a great deal of time theorizing over anybody's philosophy as to whether it is a proper thing to do or not. we want the right things done in the best and cheapest way. i am sorry to see the old-time bookseller, who did good work, crowded out of the field. i do not see any way in which he can save himself, except in the largest cities. i am sorry to see a great many of the old schools, the secondary schools, crowded out of business and entirely replaced by the tax-supported schools. i do not understand that it is our purpose, either in this association, or in life, to be studying how we are going to feed every man after the system which has fed him up to the present time is abolished. if the man is good for anything, he will earn his wages; and it is utterly fallacious to say a thing is wrong because somebody is going to lose his business. when the railroad was built a great many worthy men who drove stage coaches were driven out of business in just that way. every modern improvement does that; new machinery of all kinds has the effect of driving people out of employment; but, in the long run, it pays. i ought to say in the first place that the suggestion that the librarian would sell books for a profit is one of those queer things that crop out in connection with all great movements. i never yet heard of any library that was buying books and distributing them. i believe that the library will order books in connection with other work. my thesis is this: the book owned is a great deal better than the book loaned. i believe it is better for a man to own a book than to borrow it; that it is legitimate, at public expense, to show him that book in the library and hand it to him as his book--just as legitimate an expense, every way, as it is to employ a man to sell people books so that they won't patronize the booklovers' library. i think the whole thing hinges there. it is not a matter of theory, but of fact. if that is what we want to accomplish, can we do it best with the book store or with the library? i contend that it is impossible to rehabilitate the old bookseller, any more than the old private school, which could be done only by endless means in endowment. i do not believe we should try, because it can be done better and cheaper in another way; because the library has the books on its shelves. the statistics this morning showed that the bookseller is dying out. i believe it to be entirely impossible to rehabilitate that profession. if in the library it becomes a recognized principle that the library is supported at public expense for the purpose of lending books. i am confident that the public will demand it to be done in that way. i am confident of another thing. you have only to consult your catalogs to see the remarkable development of the last decade in publishing which is done by endowed universities and colleges and of learned societies. see the great body of technical journals that have been turned over the university presses. every university that pretends to accomplish much now has a press, and is developing it with great rapidity. it was said this morning that the publisher hinged on the cash; that the bookseller hinged on that. ladies and gentlemen, the cash profit is not a proper scale in which to weigh the questions in which we are interested. when you take questions of education, or religion, or philanthropy, and put them on a question of cash profit, you are in an absolutely false attitude. i do not mean by that that we must not regard business conditions. we must know how to pay for our coal and our rent, but not a dividend in dollars and cents. and the moment my antagonist says that this question is to be measured by a cash dividend, i say he is ruled out of court in any body of librarians who are giving their lives and their work at salaries not at all commensurate, but who make dividends on a higher plane. there is no occasion for an attitude of hostility; nor, i take it, for me to take issue on this new proposition in regard to prices to libraries. there is not a librarian in this room who has all the money he wants. if prices rise ten per cent., it will diminish the number of books he can buy. i followed the argument this morning. if it is correct, there is only one thing we can do. we, as librarians, are cutting into the revenues of these men, and we ought not only not to ask a discount but librarians ought to pay twenty-five per cent. in addition, because we are cutting into their revenues. we ought to appoint a committee, which without a bit of the spirit of antagonism, should meet the publishers and booksellers and point out all over the united states large consumers who buy for cash. i think it is a practical mistake to try to force up the price, and that we are bound as custodians of this money that is put in our hands, firmly and courteously, but, i am sure, with the most friendly relations on both sides, to see that the prices of our books shall not be cut down. i say, therefore, in summing up, after an observation of thirty years, that i am confident that the library of this century is going to assume those educational functions, and that among the most prominent of these is the putting into the hands of the people who wish to make their lives wealthier in arts or trades the books of power and of inspiration. the public library cannot afford not to put into their hands at a minimum price the books they want to read. and, logically we shall be forced in that direction. you will find that this tendency is growing all the while, and we will have to put the library squarely alongside the high school. indeed the library in its development is following exactly the line of development of the tax-supported high school and for that same reason, that in the high school we now offer instruction free, the library will offer books for sale without profit--there should be no profit in the library--and will lend books freely, and will with regret kill the local book store and supplant it by something that is worth a great deal more. w. i. fletcher: i have been so long on the publishing board with mr. dewey that i have got thoroughly in the habit, when he gets through, of saying something on the other side. it seems to me that a few words might be said to clarify this subject. it is undoubtedly true, as mr. dewey has said, that a book store that is worth anything could not be established in every place in the country. there ought to be something of the sort, even if it is a public library. the book stores exist only in places where it is commercially possible, and that number of places is very limited. now i suppose that if we could ascertain the communities where it is not commercially possible for a book store to be carried on, we should none of us have any objection--it seems to me most of us would favor the idea--that the public library should, to some extent, take the place of the book store in supplying books to the would-be owners in such a community. that leaves the question confined to those places where a book store is commercially impossible, probably to those places where book stores have been, even with difficulty, maintained under past conditions. i should be willing, for my own part, to do all i could in securing the establishment of a good book store where there is not one, where it is commercially possible to maintain one. where it is not, it would be a good thing to let the library sell the books. i am greatly impressed with the argument as to the advantages of a book store in a community where it can be maintained. so it seems to me that there is not very much difference of opinion among us, after all, as i dare say those who spoke this morning would not object seriously to the distribution of books for sale through the libraries, where there is no hope of having a local book store. as to the amount of discount under this new arrangement, i am entirely in accord with mr. dewey in wishing that the association might present whatever are the views of the association. on the subject of the amount of discount that we ought to have, i should hardly feel that the booksellers were treating us right in this country if they should follow the custom of the german publishing trade and refuse any discount at all; and it is a question whether the ten per cent. which they propose to allow under this new system is enough. i have advised our library committee to express a hearty readiness to accede to the proposed arrangement, to take the ten per cent. discount, and we have given our adhesion to it. perhaps that was somewhat hasty, before the librarians in general had an opportunity to act; but i do not believe anything very different from that will be the attitude of the librarians at large. we might in time, for example, make it fifteen per cent., but i am sure that could not be done at present. i am heartily in sympathy with the movement that will make it possible to have a good book store, which i believe every librarian would like to have in his place. w. m. palmer: i wish to say just this: of course in the lack of time that was accorded me, it is difficult to say all that can be said on the subject, and explain the by-paths, and so forth; but, as i intimated at the introduction of my paper, i simply stated what i said as facts, and while we wish a great many things to be different, we realize that they cannot be reached in a certain direction all at once. in order to bring the bookselling business to a basis which will enable the bookseller to live, some reform had to take place. the publishers have seen fit to institute the reform which has been outlined to-day. when i spoke this morning, for instance, of the fact that some librarians ordered books for friends and others at the discounts which the library and they themselves received from the booksellers, i did not wish to impute any wrong motive to the librarian in doing that. it is a matter within the knowledge of the booksellers, and the booksellers wink at it. i do not think there was any element of dishonesty in it, because the bookseller who sold the book to the librarian knew it was again to be sold to some friend of the librarian. r. r. bowker: in offering a resolution, i wish to say just a word or two. i had not expected mr. dewey to make an argument in favor of the public library, for certainly there would be no disagreement on that point in this room. where he went further and suggested that the salaried librarian should become the commercial bookseller, i think and i hope that there are few to follow him to that length of argument. as to the booklovers' library, of course that is not at all in analogy with the public library, and i want to take this opportunity to call attention to what seems to me an admirable use of the booklovers' library scheme, so long as it can hold out. mr. carr has told me that he has looked upon the booklovers' library as a very useful overflow or safety-valve for the public library. when thirty-five people come at once and want "quincy adams sawyer," and a librarian sees that the two copies that could be put on the shelves would not meet the demand, he would say to himself "i cannot rightly spend the money for thirty-five copies," and therefore he would say to the thirty-three, "you can go to the booklovers' library and get these new books just when you want them." so this library may be a relief to the librarian who is conscientious in the spending of his money. the resolution which i now ask to move is that the council be requested to appoint a committee on relations with the book trade, to which this question shall be referred. the resolution was carried. the general session was then adjourned, and there followed a round table meeting on the work of state library commissions. (_see_ p. .) _seventh session._ (fountain spring house, wednesday morning, july .) president carr called the meeting to order at a.m., and after local announcements by the secretary called upon the tellers to report upon election of officers. the result of the balloting was announced by the secretary as follows: _president_: john s. billings, . _ st vice-president_: j. k. hosmer, . _ d vice-president_: electra c. doren, . _secretary_: frederick w. faxon, . _treasurer_: gardner m. jones, . _recorder_: helen e. haines, . _trustee of endowment fund_: charles c. soule, . _a. l. a. council_: m. e. ahern, ; e. h. anderson, ; johnson brigham, ; john thomson, ; h. m. utley, . the president then announced that the association would be glad to hear from mr. putnam, as chairman of the committee on resolutions. mr. putnam: the committee on resolutions has suffered the usual embarrassments of committees on resolutions. it has been compelled to abstain from expressions which might seem hyperbole, and from designating by name many services that prefer to remain anonymous. it is the custom of certain associations to make acknowledgment to those speakers on the program not members of the conference. that is not customary with the a. l. a. had it been, i should have had a special pleasure in proposing an acknowledgment to professor ely for his presence and paper yesterday. it is no slight compliment to the association when a thinker and writer so eminent as dr. ely is willing to lay his views before it. it is, in a sense, a greater compliment when his views prove unfavorable to some undertaking which the association is inclined to approve. it implies that our action may be important, and therefore our judgment worth convincing. could the association convince dr. ely, great advantage indeed might result. for should a selected list of books in economics be undertaken with helpful notes--i will not say "evaluations," or "appraisals"--but helpful _notes_, dr. ely's aid would be one of those first sought. the resolutions follow: report of committee on resolutions. _resolved_, that the american library association, in concluding a meeting that has been one of the most largely attended and most successful in its history, desires to express its hearty obligation to the various committees and individuals who have made considerate arrangements for its comfort, and in many an agreeable incident acted as its hosts. in particular: to the wisconsin free library commission for its efficient general arrangements for the conference; to the citizens' executive committee and women's clubs of waukesha, for the attractive drives about the city, for the pleasant evening reception at the fountain spring house, and for various attentive courtesies; to the members of the methodist church of waukesha, for the use of the church for the public meeting on july ; to senator a. m. jones, for the opportunity to visit bethesda park and enjoy there the concert given by him complimentary to the association; to the trustees, librarian and staff of the milwaukee public library, for the opportunity to inspect the library under most favorable conditions, and to the junior members of the staff for the appetizing refreshments served in connection with the visit; to the resident librarians of madison, the forty thousand club, and various citizens, for the drive through the city and delightful parkways of madison; to the resident women librarians, the madison woman's club, and the emily bishop league, for the luncheon which was provided so substantially for the great company of visitors; and in general to the chairmen and members of the several local committees representing the state, the city, and various institutions and organizations, who contrived so excellently for the accommodation and enjoyment of the association in its visit to madison. the association deems itself fortunate indeed in having held its meeting within reach of two achievements in library architecture so notable as the library buildings at madison and at milwaukee. the association would add its appreciation of the endeavor of the management of the fountain spring house to convenience in every way the business of the conference; and its obligation for the special provision made by the management for its entertainment on two evenings of the conference. the association is aware that in addition to the hospitalities which it has enjoyed, many have been proffered which could not be accepted without injustice to the affairs of business which were the proper purpose of the conference. it desires to record its acknowledgment of these also, and of the kindly consideration of the hosts who in deference to this purpose have been willing to forego inclinations which it would have been a generous pleasure to themselves to have carried into effect. herbert putnam, } _committee_ j. c. dana, } _on resolutions._ mary wright plummer, } the report of the committee was unanimously adopted by a rising vote. president carr: this report having brought to a conclusion the general business of the association, i may perhaps be permitted just a word before we dissolve this general session, which is to be followed by a round table meeting in this room. the chair can only say to you that he appreciates more than he can express, even had he more vigorous and full command of language than he possesses, all that has been done by members, officers, chairmen of committees, one and all, to aid in the transaction of business and in the success of this conference. the chair also wishes to congratulate you upon what you yourselves have done to make this meeting a happy one, and trusts that it may long be remembered by us all, and that we may all long continue to work together in the a. l. a. adjourned at . a.m. footnotes: [footnote b: preceding this first general session of the association, an informal social reception had been held at the fountain spring house, wednesday evening, july ; and during thursday, july , there were meetings of the a. l. a. council, special committees, etc.] [footnote c: from the close of the montreal meeting to close of waukesha meeting the total new members joined were .] [footnote d: this report will appear in a later issue of the _library journal_.] [footnote e: abstract.] [footnote f: abstract.] college and reference section. the college and reference section of the american library association was called to order in the parlors of the fountain spring house at . p.m. on july , mr. w. i. fletcher being in the chair. the program was opened by an address by the chairman on some th century library problems. the th century is undoubtedly something of a fad already with public speakers. i should hesitate to speak of th century problems in library work were there not a special justification for noting chronologic epochs in connection with the modern library movement. it was almost precisely at the middle of the century that this movement took its rise in the passage of the first public library laws in england and in new england. and again it was at the very middle of the last half century, in the year , that this association was formed and the _library journal_ started. (i may be excused for merely alluding to the fact, parenthetically, that melvil dewey graduated from amherst college in .) and now at the very beginning of the new century the library movement receives an enormous impetus from the benefactions of andrew carnegie, not only in themselves multiplying and increasing libraries, but serving as a great stimulus to towns and cities and states as well as to individuals, so that his indirect contribution to the cause of libraries will probably far outweigh his direct gifts, princely as they are. the library problems of the th century sum themselves up in one, the problem of expansion, and we may perhaps best regard them from the point of view of the obstacles to expansion, these obstacles constituting the problems. first, we must notice our library buildings, and admit that many of them, and most of the ideas heretofore cherished about the building of libraries, present such an obstacle. when we note that since the plans were drawn on which nearly all of our most recent large library buildings have been erected, three new ideas in library administration have come into general acceptance which must powerfully affect library construction, we can but feel that great foresight and wisdom are needed to erect libraries that shall not very soon be obstacles to proper and necessary expansion. these three new ideas are, first, access of readers to the bookshelves; second, children's rooms, and third, the distribution of books through schools, branches, delivery stations, home libraries, and inter-library loans, this third new idea involving provision for business offices, packing rooms, etc., unthought of formerly. to meet not simply these new ideas, but others with which the new century is pregnant, care must be taken that great sums of money, leaving the securing of more for a long time hopeless, are not expended on structures in which instead of provision for expansion we seem to have provision against it. another obstacle to expansion is found in elaborate systems of shelf-marks connected with systematic schemes of classification, representing carefully arranged subordination and co-ordination of the parts. for two things are certain: first, accepted classifications of books rapidly become obsolete, and second, no library will long be content with an out-of-date arrangement. especially will my successor, or yours, be sure to feel the necessity of signalizing his accession to office by introducing what is in his day the latest classification. and in this he will be right. now, if we have a fair sense of our duty to our successor, which is merely an extension forward of our duty to the library itself, we shall be unwilling to tie the library by an intricate notation to a present system of classification. i think we must take more pains than is done by either the decimal or expansive schemes to provide a somewhat elastic notation. i regard the classification of the university of california library as the best (available in print) for libraries of our class, because it employs designations which indicate mere sequence of classes. a little thought will, i am sure, show you how this is true. at any rate, a little experience in attempting more or less reclassification with, for example, the decimal classification, will prepare you to believe that a less highly involved and articulated method of designation would be in the interest of reasonable expansion, and save such expansion from the odium of upsetting the classification. through the logic of events forcing those considerations to the front more and more, i anticipate that the larger and rapidly growing libraries will increasingly shun all such systems as the "d. c." and the "e. c.," of which the paradox is certainly true, that the better they are made the worse they become. the scheme of numbering classes recently adopted by princeton university library points in this direction, while the reclassification of harvard university library, which has been slowly carried forward during the last years or more, represents a complete departure from the idea of any correlation between classes, as indicated in the notation, the order of minor divisions being a numerical sequence easily changed or modified, while each main class bears a mark suggesting no relation to another. for example, the military and naval sciences have lately been reclassified and brought under the designation war, which may be called (to represent a certain harmony with other designations) w-a-r. the location of any main class in the library is subject to change at any time, and is known to the attendants by a chart, which may be somewhat altered to-day, and replaced by a new one with large differences to-morrow or next year. not that such changes would be made except for real occasion, but under this system, when they are necessary they are not deferred or regarded as hopeless as they must be under any highly organized system. another obstacle to expansion closely related to elaborate methods of notation is found in the common practice of inserting the call-numbers in catalogs of all kinds, written or printed. when the boston public library was moved into the new building it was naturally supposed that it would be completely rearranged to suit its ampler and entirely different shelf-room, particularly as much fault had already been found with its existing classification, which seemed quite outgrown. but when it is observed how the library was tied to its old numbering by an endless variety of catalogs, printed as well as written, it ceases to seem strange that it was thought best to transfer the old arrangement to the new building, with all its infelicities heightened by its new location and surroundings. and in this respect that library should serve as a warning to others to avoid, by any available means, such an entanglement. if it be asked what means of avoiding it are available, i would say that i am inclined to think that if i were starting with a new library i would try the experiment of putting no shelf-numbers or call-marks in any catalog, but rather have a key by which they could be found by means of the accession numbers which alone would be given in the author-catalog. i can only refer hastily to one feature of library expansion which is coming in with the new century, and which has to do with the catalog. i mean the introduction of printed cards, and would say that i look to see these work a revolution in library methods. if we can procure at low cost an indefinite number of these cards for each book we shall come to use them in many ways, as, for example, the accession record, the shelf list, bulletins and special lists, and charging cards. for the latter purpose they would have the advantage of absolutely identifying the book. i am sure i have said enough to set you thinking, and i hope when time is given for discussion you will freely express your thoughts. j. t. gerould read a paper on departmental libraries. (_see_ p. .) w. p. cutter read a letter from r. c. davis on the reclassification of the library of the university of michigan. i am conscious that this report of our adoption of the decimal classification is, as far as i am concerned, premature. i look upon the work in its present state as just from the broad-axe or the saw-mill. there is planing to be done and sand-papering. except to discuss now and then some fundamental principle in classification, i have had little to do with the work. other duties, which i must necessarily perform, have occupied every hour of my time. i am hoping that now the rough part of this work is off our hands, i can make a readjustment of the work in general that will give me time next year to participate in the finishing process. the history of the matter is very brief. our old fixed location had become impossible, and a point was reached where it was necessary to begin at once with whatever movable method we might adopt. i had been at work for some time on a substitution of relative markings for fixed ones, which would, without any change of classification, set our books free. this was interrupted by sickness at the critical time, and it was determined to adopt the decimal classification as the most generally used and the most susceptible of modification. also, my assistants, on whom the work would fall, were familiar with this method, and had experience in working it. the changes that had been made were made largely in deference to the desires of heads of departments. it was not always easy to act on these suggestions inasmuch as a general adoption of them would be fatal to uniformity. in consequence some of the changes are in the nature of a compromise, and are tentative. the change now so nearly accomplished has been made economically and, considering all things, expeditiously. the credit of this is due to my assistants. they have been untiring in their industry and their management of the differences of opinion that they have encountered has been wise and tactful. mr. jordan, my cataloger, has made a brief catalog of the changes, which i enclose. you can make such use of this matter as you may desire at your meeting, but i would prefer that nothing go upon record. by next year we shall have the matter better digested, and i hope some of us may be present at the meeting to discuss it. it is a subject which has a perennial interest. in the absence of w. w. bishop, j. i. wyer read mr. bishop's paper on suggestions for an annual list of american theses for the ph.d. degree. (_see_ p. .) after the reading of mr. bishop's paper there was some discussion in regard to the great desirability of having published each year a list of the dissertations presented to american universities. on the motion of dr. b. c. steiner it was resolved that a committee of three be appointed by the chair to consider the question of the section taking steps to secure such an annual list. mr. fletcher appointed dr. b. c. steiner, w. m. smith and c. w. andrews to form the committee. mr. a. g. s. josephson wished that a complete bibliography of university theses could be made. the chairman announced that the election of officers for the next year would take place, and called for nominations. mr. josephson nominated mr. a. s. root for chairman. mr. root was elected. dr. canfield nominated for secretary mr. w. m. smith, and mr. smith nominated miss emma a. hawley. mr. smith was elected. after the election there followed a general discussion of the topics presented during the afternoon, those receiving special notice being classification, notation, the use of call numbers, department libraries and university theses. in the discussion mr. fletcher said: my thought about dispensing with shelf-marks in the card and other catalogs (not really my thought, for i had it from one of our leading librarians, who has not, however, put it in practice himself) is that the great difficulties connected with the changing of shelf-marks in catalogs when books are reclassified may be avoided by placing on the card only the accession number (in case of a set the accession number of the first volume), and then maintaining a key, consisting of a book closely ruled in double columns, where for each book in the library the shelf-mark is written in pencil against the accession number and changed whenever the book is renumbered. such a scheme could not be satisfactorily applied in a library where the looking-up of the shelf-mark is involved in the calling for books in most cases. i am prepared to favor it only where (as is now the case in our own library) a majority of the calls for books are made orally and answered by the attendant without reference to shelf-mark. in our case these calls amount to seven-eighths of all the calls, and in addition to this it should be said that at least one-half the books drawn under our open-shelf system are drawn without any "call" at all, so that we may say, that if we had the "key" system it would come into play for perhaps one-sixteenth of the books drawn. in libraries of moderate circulation like our college and university libraries, and (for all but certain classes which are most used) even in the large public libraries, it seems to me that the key plan may work well. of course the key if subjected to constant use would be difficult and expensive to maintain, owing to wear and tear. we should not fail to observe that three separate and distinct features of modern library progress are each and all working against the necessity, _i.e._, tending to minimize the necessity, of shelf-marks in the catalog. these are, first, the open-shelf system; second, minute classification and alphabetical arrangement in classes, and third, book-card charging systems. without enlarging upon these points, i would like to suggest them to you as worthy of consideration. mr. hodges described briefly the classification of the scientific books at harvard. first, the serial publications of the broad learned societies, the societies taking cognizance of all branches of learning, are brought together arranged alphabetically by country and city. secondly, the general scientific serials and the special scientific serials, however published, are arranged in a group; the general coming first, the others following according to subject, astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural history, zoology, botany, etc. when suggesting the separation of the serials in pure science from the handbooks at the very outset of his work at harvard, mr. hodges urged that the serials constitute a record literature to which the investigator must refer when carrying on original work, while the handbooks are used by the pedagog when preparing for his classwork. the general designation for the learned society group is l. soc.; for the scientific serials, sci. the handbooks on physics are in a group designated phys.; the general treatises by phys. - . a treatise published in is marked phys. - ; another of the same year, by phys. . . . mr. root said: it may possibly have interest in this connection to note that the catalog of the university of göttingen, which was established about , has the feature which has been mentioned here as characteristic of the harvard system. the books are grouped in large classes with an abbreviated heading, with minute sub-classification. just when this system was introduced i do not know, but i suppose it to have been in use a hundred years or so, which i judge to be a longer life than mr. fletcher is willing to allow to the d. c. interesting remarks were made by several others, notably mr. andrews, dr. steiner and dr. canfield. it is to be regretted that the revision of their remarks has not been received in time for publication. olive jones, _secretary_. catalog section. the catalog section of the american library association held two meetings in connection with the waukesha conference. _first session._ the first session was held in one of the parlors of the fountain spring house, on the afternoon of tuesday, july . the chairman, anderson h. hopkins, called the meeting to order. it was _voted_, that the section waive the formality of registration of members preliminary to voting. it was _voted_, that the chairman appoint a nominating committee of three, to report at the close of the session. this committee was appointed as follows: miss sula wagner, mr. jones, mr. roden. a. h. hopkins: when the round table session on this subject was held last year its object was, of course, to find out whether there was a demand for a section of this kind. we found it out pretty soon. now we have the section. then came the question, when i was asked to assume the chairmanship for one more year, of how it might best be occupied. it seemed to me for a time that perhaps the best plan would be to go to the opposite extreme--from having been informal last year--and have set papers, especially as the association had decided not to take stenographic reports of the meetings. however, a change came about in my views when the interstate meeting was called at atlantic city last march. a meeting was held there of the publishing board's committee on rules for a printed card catalog. the members of that committee were at that time all of the opinion that no better plan could be followed for this year's meeting of the catalog section than to have another discussion similar to that of last year, but confining the talk chiefly to knotty points which they met in the course of their work. that has been done; but there have been added a few questions which have come to your chairman in the course of the year from persons interested in the section. the publishing board, in taking up the task of producing printed cards, found that widely divergent practices must be shaped so that they would work together. to this end they appointed a committee of seven and set them the task of producing harmony among the jarring elements of practice in all the libraries of this country, barring none. the head of the catalog department of the library of congress was made chairman of this committee; and, as you know, this great library and its chief, to whom we all turn so gladly, are lending their cordial support to the project, and realization now seems near at hand. now what do we want? we want an arrangement whereby any one may be able at a reasonable cost to get accurately made and well printed cards for any book at any time. this and nothing else will do. (applause.) the members of the committee on rules thought this session could not be better occupied, as i said before, than in a discussion of certain points, met by them in their attempts to produce a workable scheme which would meet adequate support, it having at that time become evident that the enthusiasm so manifest at montreal had largely evaporated; probably because it had not been made clear that the proposed plan was really a workable scheme. some of these points the chairman of the committee and myself have selected and graded roughly into three classes, and i will lay some of these before you. one of the chief troubles is going to lie between the _ and size cards_. let us hear from you on this subject, if you have anything you wish to say about it. mr. fletcher: perhaps those present may be interested to know something about the and card from the point of view of the publishing board. the publishing board has been supplying the or size card as required by subscribers for cards for current books. i cannot speak authoritatively, but i think the board is nearly prepared to say that in future, if these cards are prepared at the library of congress and distributed from there, it will be found very much the wisest plan from the beginning to use only the size. it has not been declared impossible at the library of congress to print the cards in such shape that enough could be cut off to make the card a card; neither has it been decided by the board that it is not worth while to try earnestly to bring that about; but the present impression, i think, is that the size will have to be left aside in the co-operative work. if there is a strong sentiment here to retain the size card, let us hear of it now. mr. bowker: couldn't mr. hanson, of the library of congress, give us a report on the letters they received there in regard to the size of cards used? and let me emphasize this thought, that in coming to a uniform system we must approach as near uniformity as possible. it is impossible to meet all the variances of cards in the several libraries, but we must look towards drawing all the using libraries into as close uniformity as possible. and i think the prevailing practice is shown best by the statistics which i believe mr. hanson has with him. mr. hanson: the statistics mr. bowker refers to i have not with me. as i recall the figures there are something like out of that use the card. mr. andrews: i have mr. putnam's figures. i was astonished to find the percentage that were using the larger card. out of reporting used the card, used the card and only (true those are the older, better established and larger libraries) used odd sizes. i will take occasion to ask mr. hanson to answer another question on this point. i had an interview in his company last winter with the representative of the harvard library, which uses the smaller card. we then came to a satisfactory compromise, and i am surprised to hear mr. fletcher say it is all in the air. it was understood that the library of congress wanted for its subject headings, and we wanted for our subject headings, a sufficient amount of space, and that they were not willing to print below the punched hole. that leaves exactly the width of the card in the center of the . and the proposition agreed to by all of us in this conversation was to print the card with the broad margin above and never go below the hole, so any library that wanted to could buy the cards and cut them down on both top and bottom and have a card. it was understood to be satisfactory to all the users that i consulted, including harvard, the largest, i believe, of them all. it is that point that i would like to ask mr. hanson to report on--whether he now feels that he must go higher or lower than the lines we then indicated. mr. hanson: i don't feel it absolutely necessary; in fact we are following out the measurements laid down by the publishing board now. i have in my hand two cards--the title runs over on the second card at considerable waste of space, as you can see. but the printers have their measurements which provide for cutting away the space above and below to accommodate the card. but i believe it is going to be objectionable, in the end, when it runs over on the second card. that is the only objection i can see. mr. fletcher: i should like to have mr. andrews state whether this card, if it has to be cut down at the top as well as at the bottom, will allow room for headings? miss browne: instead of having to print a second card i don't see why we can't print the card; then if the card libraries want it in their catalog why can't they transcribe the extra line or so by hand on a second card and cut off the bottom. in nine cases out of it would not make any difference. in one case in where they would have to transcribe on the second card, is there any reason why it could not be done? miss doren: i am not a user of the card. the only objection i see, if i were to use it, would be that perhaps i should have to pay a little more for my card than those that use the card, and it would make the catalog a little more bulky. mr. andrews: talking with miss crawford it was evident that the dayton library wanted a broad margin for analyticals and headings above the print in the card. that is exactly what we want. we don't want it as much as they do, but i want to emphasize the necessity for a broad top margin. that is the point which makes it desirable for people as well as for . miss doren: i did not understand the question as referring to analytical headings. we do want those above all things, and if we are to use the card at all we need the broad margin at the top. our use of the card depends upon having a broad margin at the top. mr. bowker: i should like a show of hands on this point. are those present, whether -card or -card people, of the opinion that, after dropping the heading so as to leave ample room at the top to permit the card to be cut out from the card, as stated by mr. andrews, it would be better to run the type down farther than the hole, if necessary, on either side, and then cut and recopy for the size, or to make a double card both for the and size? i suggest that the show of hands be first from those who prefer to have one card furnished for a title when possible, and then to transcribe the lower part, if necessary, for the card; and then from those who prefer to have a second card wherever it is not possible to put the material on the space of the card as printed on the size. is that clear? chairman: i believe so. it includes, however, both the users of the and cards, and instead of a show of hands let us have a rising vote, and give time to count them. mr. bowker: those who are in favor of printing below the -card limit on the card, rather than furnishing two cards to a title, please rise. persons rose. mr. bowker: those who are in favor of confining the print to the size and having a second overflow card printed for the same title, please rise. persons rose. mr. fletcher: i should like to call for a rising vote to learn how many would like to urge that arrangements be made by which -size cards can be furnished. three persons rose. mr. hanson: i cannot think of any library printing cards that would care to print any lower than the round hole. on the other hand, the library must have three-quarters of an inch at the top of the card for headings. will that leave sufficient space for taking away from top and bottom? mr. andrews: they accepted it by that first vote. mr. hanson: then they must punch the hole in the margin. chairman: or lose the part they punch out. if you will excuse me, i will put forth a little argument of my own. apropos of another report i had to make some time ago, i had heard that the greatest library in this country, certainly in some respects, was changing its plan to accommodate itself to the card. i wrote to mr. whitney, of the boston public library, which as you know uses a card larger than the , and it is a fact that with their immense catalog running for so many years, and with so large a number of cards which they cannot now cut down to the size, they have found it advisable so to modify their plan for titles henceforth that the cards may be cut down to the size on reprinting the old titles. here is the letter, the report from his cataloger. [mr. hopkins here read the letter.] if they do not think it likely that ultimately they will use the card why should they take all that trouble? now, the problem they had to deal with was times more difficult than that which the users of the cards have to deal with. all you have to do with a card to make it a size is to paste it on something big enough and provide space to hold it. with such evidence as this before us why should we fret ourselves to provide a card when the change to the can be so easily and so cheaply made? mr. bowker: may i add a word which dr. billings said to me? he said that he preferred a printed catalog card to a written catalog card any time, without reference to any question of uniformity. so he was actually replacing his written catalog cards with the library of congress cards or library bureau cards. i think that there is growing in the great libraries a desire for some general method which will supply printed catalog cards. chairman: is there any further discussion on this topic? if not we will pass to the next. _notes and contents._ i read from the official report made by the committee on rules to the publishing board: "the position of the collation and series note to be on a separate line immediately after the date and preceding other notes." now we cannot take up the whole question of notes, nor the question of the minority report which mr. hopkins was asked to submit; but the question i would submit to you is this: is not the contents note really, logically, sensibly, a part of the title? is it not actually, in almost nine cases out of ten, more important than the title itself? if it were not, would it not be nonsense to print the contents note? if it is so, why separate the contents note from the title by other relatively unimportant matter? has anybody anything to say? mr. hanson: it seems to me it would be well to say here, collation is used for pagination, illustrations, maps, plates, etc., and size. that is the imprint, as we have for convenience's sake called collation; and the idea is that this information is to be paragraphed, on a separate line, so as to set out the date and make the date end the line in twelve point. mr. biscoe: i want to say a word on the other side. it seems to me that it would be unfortunate to put the collation after the contents, particularly where the contents are long. it would throw the collation on the second card. to find out whether you had more than one volume you would have to turn to another card. if you are looking for duplicates you want to see at once not only the author of the book, but also the number of pages, to show whether the edition is the same. and if for all those purposes you have got to turn to a second card, it seems to me it would be unfortunate. mr. jones: i agree strongly with mr. biscoe. i think the number of volumes, size, etc., range in properly with the date, while the contents should come afterward and range in with such matter as critical or descriptive notes. ordinarily you want those parts that i speak of first, then your contents, like any other kind of descriptive or explanatory notes. chairman: mr. biscoe's position appears at first sight very solid and plausible but there is nothing in it. the reason for this is that there is only a small class of books that will call for a contents note. i deprecate mentioning any institution, particularly the john crerar library, but that calls for contents notes probably as often as any, and i should like our cataloger to answer if he knows about how many cases run over on the second card. mr. josephson: we have printed so far about , cards and the number of titles that run over to second cards is considerably below ; it is nearer than . mr. jones: i should like to ask the chairman whether in foreign bibliographies we do not find that the data, as to volumes, size, etc.--called the collation--always come first. should not we be setting ourselves up in opposition to other catalogers if we put the collation after the contents? chairman: possibly that it so; but if we gain a truth, what then? tradition is powerful, but it is not all. sometimes it is very little indeed. and this is one of the cases in which i believe it is very little. mr. fletcher: i hold in my hand one of the sample cards which have been distributed, which has this arrangement. that represents what we now call the old practice, which we are proposing to depart from--cutter's rules say that the imprint, strictly, is place, date and form of printing; and then goes on to say that for practical purposes the imprint is considered as being enlarged so as to contain not only place, date and form of printing, but also publisher, number of pages and number of volumes. it seems to have been agreed some time ago by the committee on rules and the publishing board that it was wise to bring back the imprint to the old idea of giving the place, date and form of printing and publisher. it was also pretty generally agreed that form--or size as we now call it--number of pages and number of volumes, and anything else that might describe the book from an exterior point of view, should be called collation--we have not exactly agreed it should be called that--and that this should be put in a statement by itself in smaller type, after the title and imprint, the imprint being printed in the same type as the title and even completing the line the title ends on. now the question is whether that line of smaller type should be printed immediately after the title and imprint or whether it should follow contents; that is to say, whether contents (called "contents" and not "contents note") should not be attached immediately to the title--which is mr. hopkins's idea, i understand, as he thinks logically it belongs there. the card i have in my hand has contents occupying four lines, because while it is one volume it contains four different lectures. that brings before us the "contents note" and the other notes. now i understand the new proposition is that the collation should follow the contents note, but precede other notes. chairman: the thing i want is that the contents note should follow the title. i called it "contents note" merely because it appeared in the smaller type with the other note. mr. fletcher: i wish to express my preference in accord with mr. jones and one or two others, that the collation note should continue to occupy the place it has always occupied, of immediate juxtaposition with the imprint, and other notes should go below. chairman: in explanation, permit me to take the floor again---- mr. bowker: has not the officer of the john crerar library given the best argument for placing the collation before the contents? mr. josephson has told us that probably the number of cards including contents would be less than three per cent. why should we not follow the old practice and let the cataloger and the public continue to use the usual thing? mr. josephson: i did not say how many cards give contents notes, but how many titles need more than one card. chairman: that is the strong point. it is not three per cent. nor anywhere near it. those cards that ran over were not all contents notes. the actual number of contents notes that run over is very small indeed. and moreover, you have this bibliographical note on every card. you are going to put it between the contents note and the title every time. mr. harris: i would like to ask what proportion of cards have contents notes at all. mr. josephson: i don't think i can answer that. it is between ten and twenty-five per cent. mr. harris: the point i was about to make was that i think it is well to sacrifice something for the sake of uniformity, for the aid of persons who consult the catalog; and as mr. josephson says only fifteen to twenty-five per cent. of the cards have contents notes, in seventy-five per cent. the collation would immediately follow the title. and therefore it seems to me it is desirable not to have the contents note follow the title. a show of hands was called for. chairman: before we have the show of hands, may i say one thing more? i don't believe that most of you that have not been using these cards know how useful the contents note is or what it is for. it is to furnish your analyticals. if you want to analyze a volume of essays, for example, your contents note does it all for you with just a little bit of clerical work when the cards come in. you have fifty items that you would like to represent in your catalog, and the card does it all for you. it is costing you one to three cents instead of fifty or sixty cents. mr. l. p. lane: i have learned a good deal since i have been in the boston public library by observing the practices which that library has departed from. i know the library did in times past print contents and have an entry designed to fit one particular item of contents and then underline that item on the card. that has been found so unsatisfactory that when we now recatalog anything and deem any item of contents worthy a separate entry we catalog that item separately and print a second card. mr. andrews: if the library of congress will do this we do not care for many contents notes. i didn't understand the library of congress proposed to print analyticals, but rather to print contents notes; that they, and most of the libraries that print cards, found their economy on this point. but it is really the library of congress that must be consulted as to the desirability of many contents notes. mr. hanson: that has been one of the perplexing questions with us in printing cards. we do use the contents as analyticals to some extent, underscoring the particular item on the heading given. but where an analytical is what we catalogers call an imprint analytical, that is, with separate title and pagination, we find it more economical to print a separate card for that title. in other cases and where we find it very inconvenient to use the contents card, we print analyticals. chairman: my own opinion is that it is best to put the collation at the end. it is easiest found there. the thing i want to see is to have it go below the contents. i want to say one thing more. the reason you think more than one per cent. consult the note is because you are librarians. take your popular libraries, and they deserve to be considered, how many readers are going to look for that note? miss crawford: i am somewhat undecided in mind between the two standpoints. it seems to me that the contents, from the nature of the case and from the accessibility of the catalog, belongs rather at the top. i believe you are right when you say that ninety per cent. would use the contents first, rather than the bibliographical note. but the critical notes and any other general information should come right next to the contents. mr. jones: i wish to repeat that "collation" is a bibliographical description of the book; if you want to describe a book or to order from a bookseller you turn to that data. collation, it seems to me, comes naturally after the title, and i still hold that to separate it from the title is not in accord with the general bibliographical practice of the world. chairman: as many as are in favor of placing contents note immediately following the title, please rise. three persons rose. chairman: as many as are in favor of placing contents note after collation, please rise. persons rose. chairman: the next question is a recommendation from the committee: "_that a column be set aside in the library journal for notifications to libraries of decisions on doubtful points; e. g., 'kate douglass wiggin should not be changed to riggs; or, automobiles should be classified ...'_" in other words, that a kind of department be created, when the central bureau is created, for giving librarians throughout the country a notion of how these matters are to be treated. what is the opinion? is there any discussion? if not we will go on to the next point. a member: no discussion means that we agree to it, i understand. chairman: i suppose so. if it doesn't you should say so quickly. a member: does this recommendation say _journal_ or journals? chairman: _journal_ is the word used. the _library journal_ is the official organ of the a. l. a. probably if the committee had gone beyond that it would have been exceeding its province. "_the committee earnestly recommends that the practice of giving dates of birth and death be used extensively. it is convinced that a very large share of the work has already been done and may be easily obtained for the use of the central bureau. expressions from various members of the committee have shown a great readiness to assist in this._" mr. merrill: i would like to inquire whether that means that dates shall be given only to distinguish men of the same name or whether they shall be used in every case. chairman: it is not designed that the use of dates be intended only for distinguishing writers, but it is urged that dates be given extensively. mr. bowker: doesn't that mean that the dates should be used where the authors are not of the same names? chairman: yes. mr. bowker: in the case of living authors, is it intended to give date of birth if possible? chairman: yes. miss browne: at the boston athenæum for years they have been giving those dates on their cards, and now they are scratching them off. mr. bowker: does anybody know why? miss browne: i believe they consider they are not as desirable as a means of distinction as some phrase might be, and so they scratch off the date and give, for instance, "henry james, _novelist_; emerson, _essayist_." miss wagner: how would they classify william morris? a member: or andrew lang? chairman: the next question is the following recommendation of the committee: "_the committee recommends that the central bureau prepare a biographical card giving the fullest form of name, dates, official and honorary titles and degrees, membership of academies, etc., and all forms of names and pseudonyms used._" mr. fletcher: i suppose the idea is to prepare a biographical card for each author for whom any card is issued. i don't know exactly how it should be worked. i want to call your attention to the fact that the advocates' library of edinburgh tried this in preparing the first two volumes of their catalog; and when they got the two volumes printed they concluded it was too expensive, and gave it up. i wonder how many libraries would advocate that the library of congress shall furnish us cards, not only for the books, but whenever an author comes for whom they have not furnished such a card that they shall furnish us a biographical card, which we shall pay for? i do not understand that the library of congress is preparing such a card now. it may be worthy of discussion whether we want such a card prepared. miss ambrose: it seems to me a card of that kind would be extremely helpful in smaller libraries that are limited in biographical books. mr. jones: i would suggest that in the case of authors for whom we most need those facts, new authors, the facts would not be available. could we have a copyright note by which each author should furnish the desired facts? chairman: mr. hanson could answer that, perhaps. mr. hanson: i have familiarity with copyright authors that many librarians do not meet with, but whom we must have information about to distinguish from other well-known authors of the same name. we have a method of getting at them through the copyright records, and we write them, sending a blank, and occasionally ask them to give information of their other works. that is put on a preliminary card, and before every new author such a biographical card is inserted. i believe this is an old practice, used in many libraries. mr. bowker: the publishing board would like a show of hands on how many libraries would like such a biographical card. at first sight this struck me as a most valuable suggestion. it would, of course, cost the extra half cent or cent--whatever it might be--for the card; on the other hand, it might be of great value to the reader. i suggest that we have a show of hands, not _pro_ and _con_--simply _pro_. miss van valkenburgh: i am especially interested in this, because we tried such a card in our library. we thought an information card was going to be a desirable thing. we tried it for about two years, and we found it was very little used indeed for biographical purposes. people wanted more information than we could give on a biographical card. of course it is very desirable to differentiate authors of the same name. miss ambrose: have those cards a distinct purpose, as of assisting the catalogers aside from the public? miss van valkenburgh: from the standpoint of a cataloger who has done it, we didn't find it useful to us. it was more work than help. mr. brett: wouldn't it be more valuable to the small library than to the larger library? a great many of the smaller libraries haven't time to look up authors. it seems to me it would be of value in our library. mr. andrews: i think those cards would be of use not only to small libraries, but to readers in larger libraries. i do not say, though, that i think it was the purpose to print a card for every author. if the heading used on the library of congress card gave all the information desirable, i don't see any use of printing it again. i hope the proposition will be put in three forms: those who want such a card for every author; those who only want a distinctive card in cases where distinction is desired; and those who do not care for such a card at all. chairman: as many as favor such a card for general use, please rise. persons rose. chairman: as many as favor such a card for distinctive purposes only, please rise. miss van valkenburgh: if we are going to have the same material on the other cards we won't need it here. one person rose. chairman: as many as do not care for such a card at all, please rise. none voted. chairman: we have still another of these topics: "_the committee recommends as strongly as it can the importance of placing the subject headings and classification numbers (d.c. and e.c.) on the bottom of the card._" miss browne: these subject headings are simply suggestive. if any cataloger has already started with, for example, "birds" instead of "ornithology," he can simply go on as he has begun. the same way with the d.c. and e.c. numbers. there are certain ones that perhaps are absolute; others are suggested to go in one place, but would go perfectly well in three or four other places; you take the one that fits in with your scheme; if you have no scheme you can use the one that is suggested. mr. fletcher: the committee on rules has recommended this, and unless objection is presented here this meeting might endorse this recommendation. w. m. smith: i don't see how these marks could be put on without preliminary classifying. mr. hanson: if the work is done at the library of congress, of course the book has to be classified, and it is very easy to translate any classification mark into either d.c. or e.c. it would be an additional cost, of course, to print two or three headings at the bottom of the card, but it has to be done. chairman: in other words, the work has to be done for the library of congress. miss kroeger: the subject headings are the most expensive part of the catalog. it would be a mistake to leave off the marks. chairman: a show of hands is called for. as many as favor recommendation of this rule, please rise. persons rose; contrary, none. mr. bowker: i would like to say a word upon the question which was raised of printing certain matter in the _library journal_. while the _library journal_ is technically the official organ of the a. l. a. it would seem desirable to send such material to all the library periodicals, and i should suppose that it would be understood that the committee might so do. chairman: in the formal report of the committee to the publishing board the same plan of numbering is followed that was followed in the last issue, or edition, of cutter's rules, of the a. l. a. rules. a number of changes, additions, excisions and emendations have been made. i will read the first. " a. enter books under surnames of authors when ascertained, the abbreviation _anon._ being added to the titles of works or editions published anonymously." now the question has been raised since, by a member of the committee, and it was desired that it be placed before this section for decision, if the heading of an anonymous book is always bracketed is it necessary to add the abbreviation "_anon._" to the end of the title? mr. josephson: it sometimes happens that an author signs his name at the end of the preface. in that case the name is not on the title-page, and should be bracketed on the heading. we have to distinguish those from the really anonymous books in some way. you have to do one of two things, either put the abbreviation "anon." or the full word "anonymous" on the top line, or, as we do in the john crerar library, put a note at the bottom. miss crawford: it has been my experience that the word "anon." at the end of the line is sometimes confusing to the reader and brings up all sorts of questions, and is taking space that might be needed for something else. i do not see its value, and sometimes it is positively misleading. the bracket expresses all that is of real use, and it doesn't matter whether the author's name appears in some other place in the book; at any rate it was not on the title-page. the brackets tell that, and i don't see the use of the abbreviation. miss wagner: i don't see that the public are interested in brackets or in the word "anon." it is for the public that the card is being made, i understand. mr. josephson: when i spoke i went on the supposition that the title entry would, as is now usual, give the title only and omit the author's name from the title. but if, as i hope, the publishing board will decide to have the title-page copied exactly, giving the author's name in the title as it is done on the title-page, then you don't need to distinguish the anonymous authors from those who have signed in any other place than the title-page, except that in the former case you put a bracket around the name. as to the objection that the public is not concerned with the brackets, that may be true; but the librarian is very much concerned with knowing whether a book is published anonymously or not. i should like to have instead of brackets a footnote, telling "published anonymously" or "signed at the end of title-page" or "signed at end of the book." mr. fletcher: i would like to call attention to one or two things. in the first place, many popular libraries might like to have extremely simple cards. they will have to realize that they must take a good deal of information they do not want if they are to take the cards made for all libraries. mr. josephson's idea is a good one, that technicalities shall be avoided in favor of good, plain english notes. "anon." is obscure to a great many people, while "published anonymously" is pretty plain english. if such a note follows it is not necessary to use any brackets. mr. josephson: i rise to suggest that we should discuss the question of _size notation_. mr. fletcher: what we have to consider here is whether this meeting would favor one method or the other in size notation; and a consideration of that question might be largely affected by the further question, is either of these methods to be followed for the printed cards? if you should be told that in all probability neither of them would be followed, it would prevent a good deal of waste of time in discussing one as against the other. we have two old methods that are mentioned in the reports. the third method, which finds a great deal of favor and which may be adopted by the publishing board, is that the size notation shall be represented by a mark giving the absolute measurement of the book, perhaps in centimeters, perhaps in inches and fractions. mr. hanson: these three questions came before the committee at the meeting at atlantic city; one was to give the fold symbol, as is used all over europe and in the larger libraries of this country; the other was to give the letter symbol adopted by the a. l. a. in ; the third, presented by mr. hopkins, was to give measurements in centimeters of the letterpress and of the page--not of the binding. a minority report was submitted by mr. currier, miss kroeger and myself urging the fold symbol. mrs. fairchild, mr. cutter and miss browne are the majority, because i understood mr. hopkins to stand with them. miss kroeger: mrs. fairchild was undecided, saying she was inclined to the exact measurement in centimeters; miss browne and mr. cutter voted for the old letter symbol; so there was no majority of the committee. mr. hopkins's vote was for the exact size. it was left with the publishing board to decide. mr. hanson: the report is for the figure, but with a strong predilection of the members who signed it towards exact measurement, providing that should be adopted by the publishing board. three of us argued in favor of the fold symbol. there were too main reasons argued, one that the great majority of readers in this country were familiar with the figure; the to, vo and mo gave them the size of the book; and that the majority of libraries used that rather than the letter. the other was in favor of uniformity. we found that the fold symbol as a measure of height, not in the old sense, was advocated by the prussian, the italian and the french university libraries and others. but if the publishing board should decide to adopt size measurement in centimeters i do not believe there is anyone of the committee who will insist very strongly on the retention of the one or the other. mr. harris: i think that bibliographically it is a mistake to take the old fold symbol and apply it to size notation. it is not size--it represents form notation. it is much simpler to give size in inches or in centimeters, whichever you prefer, rather than to use the symbol which denotes fold. l. p. lane: it was said that the fold symbol was now almost never used to indicate the fold. in the boston public library we use it to indicate the fold for foreign books and old books. we also use the same symbol in the case of american books to indicate size. there is considerable dissatisfaction with the practice and some of the cataloging staff would prefer to give the size in inches. how would that apply to books not in the condition in which they were published? also i should like to ask whether it might not be possible where the fold is easily distinguished, to give both size and fold. mr. hanson: that is really the practice of the prussian university libraries. miss browne: my thesis for defending the size letter is that years ago the a. l. a. thrashed this matter all over and decided on the size symbol. mr. bowker has used that letter symbol from that time on. miss kroeger found a very large proportion of the libraries using the letter symbol; library classes are teaching the letter symbol. my chief objection to the fold symbol is that we are making one sign serve two uses, which i think is always bad. mr. josephson: if the library association years ago decided to use one symbol or another symbol, that is no reason why we should do so now. the objection to using the fold symbol to denote size is, among other things, as mr. lane suggested, that you need it in case of old books to tell the fold. the only rational designation of size is by centimeters, or inches, if you prefer. there is of course one difficulty in using accurate measurement in centimeters, if you have a book that has been bound and cut down. but that can be overcome, i think, by letting the measurement mean letterpress and nothing else. in ordinary cases you know about how wide a margin is if you know the side of the letterpress; it is always a certain proportion. you don't need the size to tell on what shelf the book is put, because that is given by the call number. so in order to find a book you don't need the size notation; you need it to see what size the page is. it is a purely bibliographical notation. [mr. hanson here read rule for size notation for books "notable for age or rarity."] mr. bowker: in the days of our youth, in fact almost as soon as we were born, this association, as miss browne has indicated, adopted the letter symbol; and it seems to me that the reasons that operated for the choice of the letter symbol are stronger now than they were then, because the symbol has in the meantime come into quite general, if not universal use. the association at that time had a phrase to indicate size. the objections to the old fold symbol still remain, and i think one very strong one has been stated. it is not only that the numerical system of vo, mo, etc., has ceased to mean what it originally meant and is confused with measurement size, but that it is used in england and america with utterly different meanings; and that difference continues. that is to say, the english use crown octavo and post octavo and two or three names for mo, in such a way as to cross our use of the word vo and mo and make a double confusion. i feel very strongly, for one, that the method of breaking over from the octavo and duodecimo, etc., the figure designation, into a definite and accurate letter designation was a very ingenious and very useful move. it is difficult to get general adoption of a modification of that sort, but the adoption has been quite general, and to me it would seem a very great retrogression to go back to the old figure symbol; we had better adhere to the a. l. a. notation of years ago and custom since, and give a symbol which is in no sense confusing or misleading, following that, if you please, with the actual size measurement in centimeters. mr. roden: i understand, of course, that we cannot legislate upon the subject, and possibly our discussion will not influence the legislature. at the same time, as a representative of a popular library in the middle west, i cannot help but regard with apprehension the small but insidious innovations which these rules seem to display. mr. josephson has said measurement is a bibliographical detail; in popular libraries it is a gratuitous detail. it could very well, as the chairman suggests, be placed at the end. in the public i am dealing with i should say the old fold symbol is most commonly used and means most. it occurs to me that a combination of fold and letter symbols might be used. i suggest this as a little concession to the popular library, and it is the first i have heard this afternoon. mr. jones: an objection to exact measurement is, that so far as the greater mass of books that we have to deal with are concerned, it is not very important whether they are a few centimeters larger or smaller, and such books are often rebound in such a way that if we have an exact description our copies do not correspond. i agree with mr. bowker that the symbols adopted by the a. l. a. years ago are sufficiently well known by people who are handling books to be recommended as a system to be adopted. miss kroeger: i have been teaching in the library school according to a. l. a. measurements, yet it has always seemed to me somewhat absurd. none of the publishers have adopted it; i suppose the newer libraries have. the replies received to the questions sent to the various libraries last june, except for the newer libraries, indicate that the majority are using the fold symbol, and they would like to know why, if the letter symbol is such a good thing, the publishers are still marking their books vo, mo and to. the fold symbol means more to the mass of the people than do the letters o or d. mr. bowker: if i remember correctly the london _bookseller_ is giving the exact size and measurement now. mr. harris: many literary and critical journals give the size of all books recorded in inches. mr. bowker: the publishing board is extremely interested in getting the feeling of those here on the question. i want to suggest that when it comes to the rising vote or show of hands, we take a somewhat complicated vote: those who are in favor of the present a. l. a. letter; those in favor of returning to the fold (i mean not in the usual sense); those in favor of exact measurement in centimeters; those in favor of a combination of letter symbol and centimeter; and those in favor of the fold symbol and centimeter. the board wants all the information it can get. chairman: i will ask mr. bowker to state the first proposition. mr. bowker: those in favor of the letter symbol, the present a. l. a. method, please rise. twenty-four rose. mr. bowker: those in favor of returning to the fold symbol, the vo, mo and to please rise. ten rose. mr. bowker: those who prefer a designation of actual measurement, please rise--with the understanding that those voting for this will then vote their preference as to either inches or centimeters. seventeen rose. chairman: your next proposition, mr. bowker. mr. bowker: those who would prefer centimeters if exact measurement should be adopted, please rise. thirty-two rose. mr. bowker: now those who would prefer inches if an exact measurement were adopted. three rose. chairman: as many as are in favor of the exact measurement coupled with the a. l. a. symbol, in case there is to be a combination--letter and exact size--please rise. thirty-two rose. chairman: now those who would prefer the combination of exact size with figure symbol. sixteen rose. mr. josephson: we might have another vote on whether the size should mean letterpress or book. chairman: before this is done i want to call attention to the effect of binding after cataloging. if this scheme is going to take in foreign books, and you are going to get cards promptly, a large share of the books will be cataloged before they are bound. if a good binder does his work conscientiously and as it should be done, if you give the page you will have a more satisfactory measurement. mr. hanson: i have looked into this question recently, and i find, where libraries do measure in centimeters they measure the paper. if the book is bound they measure the outside cover, for the reason that when the unbound book is trimmed down for binding what is lost is regained in the binding. i have found no instance yet where the practice that is advocated by yourself, the measurement of the letterpress, is followed in actual work. mr. josephson: let all those who want an exact measurement of the letterpress please rise. two rose. mr. josephson: now those who want size to mean the outside of the book. fifty-five rose. mr. bowker: i think it might clarify things if we take the vote of those who favor the use of the symbol alone as against those who favor the use of the symbol and exact measurement in centimeters. chairman: those who favor the use of the symbol alone as against the combination of symbol with measurement please rise. twenty-three rose. mr. bowker: those who favor combination of symbol with exact measurement, please rise. fifteen rose. mr. bowker: if there is no other business i wish to move the very cordial appreciation of the catalog section of the admirable report which has been presented in such detail by the advisory committee of the publishing board. _voted._ mr. bowker: mr. hanson, as chairman of the committee, i have great pleasure in conveying to you and to your associates this appreciation, which i know is most thorough on the part of all here. i would also like to move a vote of thanks to the chairman for his admirable presiding during the session. _voted._ l. p. lane: i move that the program committee be requested to assign a time before the end of the conference when there may be a continued meeting of this section; and if such a time be found, that when we adjourn we adjourn to that time. _voted._ chairman: let me announce again that at the close of this session the secretary, miss van valkenburgh, will be ready to begin the registry of persons who express themselves as willing to become members of this section. mr. andrews: i would call attention to the fact that under the by-laws, if the section wants to, it can adopt rules restricting membership; if it doesn't adopt rules any member of the association may be a member of this section. it is a question whether we wish to confine this section to catalogers. chairman: it is an important point or might easily become an important point. for the ordinary run of affairs it would be a matter of no consequence, but it may be that this section will sometime wish to promulgate some proposition and a little logrolling might vote it down. what does the section wish to do in this matter? mr. windsor: i think we can safely leave it open to all who are interested in the subject of cataloging. i don't see that there is anything gained by leaving out anybody who is interested in the work. mr. josephson: i move that a vote on this question be postponed. _voted._ mr. hanson: in the points that were outlined last year for discussion at this meeting there were a great many details; we have not reached a fifth of them. may i ask catalogers to get copies of the rules recommended by the committee on rules and look them over and communicate with any one of the members of the committee--mr. hopkins, miss kroeger, miss brown or myself. it would be of the greatest assistance to us. [miss kroeger objected to giving out copies of the rules, because they were incomplete.] chairman: i think we have no right to make a general distribution yet, to do so would perhaps exceed the province of the committee; but we might lend copies to those who want to look them over. i will now call for the report of the _committee on nominations_. [the committee reported the names of mr. hanson, of the library of congress, for chairman, and miss mary e. hawley, chicago public library, for secretary.] mr. hanson: i am the chairman of the advisory committee and we have a great deal of hard work before us. i would ask the section to accept my resignation. i really do not feel i can give the time necessary to make this section a success at the next meeting. chairman: there are no rules governing us, mr. hanson, but i beg that you do not insist on this, or if you feel you must resign that you do so between now and the next session. the names submitted were unanimously elected, and adjournment was taken subject to call of chair. _second session._ the second session of the catalog section was called to order on wednesday, july , anderson h. hopkins presiding. chairman: the matters that were of first importance to be brought before the section were discussed yesterday. at the same time there are other things that i am sure would be interesting; and perhaps you would prefer to bring up your own topics, and each present something you would like to talk about. miss wagner: is the y. m. c. a. question proper for discussion? chairman: i believe that question was received; please read it, mr. hanson. mr. hanson (reading): young men's christian associations, mercantile library associations and the like are to be entered under place. that is i of the rules suggested. miss wagner: it is our practice to put the y. m. c. a. under y. m. c. a.; y. m. c. a., boston; y. m. c. a., new york; instead of putting it under place. there is a separate association which has a distinctive being and the local associations are branches. it seems this is much more logical, and where the public would expect to find reports of the y. m. c. a. mr. hanson: i wish to state in support of miss wagner's contention that mr. cutter in his new edition, which is now in manuscript, was rather in favor of changing his rule, which reads as this one does. he has always advised entering under the place; but he was now inclined to enter under young men's christian association, not only for the general association of the united states, but for the associations of the various states. a majority of the committee, however, seemed inclined to enter the local y. m. c. a. under the place, on the ground that per cent. would look for chicago y. m. c. a. under chicago, philadelphia y. m. c. a. under philadelphia, rather than under y. m. c. a.; and that the same was true of the mercantile library associations. miss crawford: was any argument brought forth to substantiate that statement that nine-tenths of the people would look under the local name? mr. hanson: no contention, except that it seemed to be the general experience. miss crawford: it seems to me if the committee would correspond with public libraries there might be some change of opinion on the matter. miss wagner: i find that chicago enters y. m. c. a. under y. m. c. a., as the st. louis public library does. miss crawford: the logical thing has always seemed the fair thing in this matter--to ask one's self the question, has the organization a national existence? and if so, to enter it under the generic name. the y. m. c. a. has a national existence, which is more important as a governing body than any one of the local associations. and the same is true of other organizations. if they have no national organization, then i enter them under the local name; but if there is a national association, then i enter under the generic name. miss ambrose: would you follow the same reasoning for entries under methodist episcopal church, or would you put them under the place? it seems to me the same reasoning would apply. miss crawford: i shouldn't wish this logical process to supersede the better rule of entering under the best known form. and i think in the case miss ambrose mentions the best known form would be the locality. mr. hanson: miss wagner's question has launched us into the center of the most difficult problem of all--that is, corporate entry, entry of societies and institutions. there is an underlying principle which governs our distinctions, i believe. there is a distinction to be made between societies, and to some extent institutions; societies, including royal academies, which are societies, to be entered under the first word not an article; on the other hand, institutions, galleries, museums, libraries, etc., which generally have buildings and are affiliated closely with the place, to be entered under place, unless they have other distinctive names--that is to say, names from persons or geographical locations. that principle would to some extent affect the young men's christian associations and mercantile libraries. miss crawford: would that override the other rule of entering under the best known form? would the institution entry override the principle of entering under best known form? mr. hanson: that rule we have not formulated. we have not considered as broad a rule as that--entry under best known form. we have tried to lay down some rule that should govern entry under place and entry under name; and what we are really trying to get at is best known form. miss crawford: i appreciate that, and there ought to be some ground on which to make exceptions. i think your distinction between institutions and societies is a good one. is not the y. m. c. a. a good case to make an exception? mr. hanson: yes, that is the st exception, is it not, under the rule? the general rule is, "enter societies under the first word not an article or serial number, of its corporate name." then there are exceptions, and we began with the st. l. p. lane: i don't know whether the practice of the boston public library is of interest, but personally i incline to the views miss crawford has expressed. the boston public library strives to use the corporate name where there is a corporate name, carrying that practice, i think, to an extreme degree, so that they enter chamber of commerce under chamber of commerce, so and so. i understand under this rule chamber of commerce would be entered under the name of the place. mr. hanson: yes. we propose to enter all boards of trade, all chambers of commerce under the name of the city or state. miss kroeger: that comes under rule i : if a body's name begins with such words as "board," "corporation," "trustees," enter that part of the name by which they are usually known. mr. hanson: this will be very helpful to the committee, because it shows that in the case of exception there is a strong sentiment of entering it under name instead of under place. miss crawford: would you make that same application to mercantile libraries? it seems to me in that case the place is what people would look for, just as they would for a public library. mr. hanson: yes, personally i should feel disposed to give in on the y. m. c. a. question, but not on the mercantile library. miss wagner: the mercantile library has no general organization. if you enter the local y. m. c. a. under the city you are forcing the people to look in perhaps or places. mr. biscoe: is it the purpose of the author arrangement to show what the library has on y. m. c. a.? miss wagner: it is the purpose to show what the library owns under the authorship of the y. m. c. a. and to find that you force the person to look into as many different places as there are y. m. c. a.'s represented in your catalog. the person who comes to your catalog wanting to know what y. m. c. a. publications you have has a right to find them in one place. mr. hanson: he could always find it by cross-reference under the general y. m. c. a. to every local y. m. c. a. represented in the catalog. the contention at the meeting of the committee was that in a great majority of cases a man is interested in a particular y. m. c. a. if he comes to study all y. m. c. a.'s the catalog must make provision to help him. chairman: i am one who maintains the thesis that no one has a right to expect to find everything pertaining to y. m. c. a. under y. m. c. a. in the author catalog. miss wagner: it seems to me in the author catalog you have a right to expect to find what the author has written, therefore you have a right to find what the y. m. c. a. is responsible for. mr. biscoe: why isn't it the same thing to expect to find out everything about the episcopal church under "episcopal church"? isn't every branch of the episcopal church a part of the general episcopal church? miss wagner: the answer in our library would be that nobody asks for that information, as they do for the y. m. c. a. chairman: are you sure the reason they ask for the y. m. c. a. in that way is not because you catalog it that way, and they have learned to look for it there? miss wagner: my answer is that for the last seven years we entered y. m. c. a. under place. the change was made in agreement with the demand at the issue desk. chairman: that is just the kind of thing we want to find out. miss crawford: under i what would you advise regarding the carnegie libraries which in large numbers have assumed the name carnegie since the endowment of the building? would you give them all as carnegie libraries of so-and-so, or would you still preserve the form showing the library was supported by the city in which it was? for example, pittsburgh carnegie library and atlanta carnegie library--introducing the word carnegie right after the city? or would you advise putting the word carnegie for all of these libraries? mr. hanson: i have not had to deal with that question. i should think they would be entered under the name of the city, and then if you want to bring the entire carnegie record together you can make a second entry. chairman: this raises the question whether or not the designation "carnegie library" is an official one. if it is not, then it is a name which has come up by common consent, and it seems to me that nothing but time would enable us to determine exactly how it should be treated; the conservative thing would be to use the name of the place. miss ambrose: i would like to hear an expression of opinion--it is the same principle in three different places, i , i and i --as to entering professional schools, libraries and observatories separately if they have distinctive names separate from the corporations that they belong to. mr. hanson: i think it would be better to enter the colleges of american universities under the name of the university. it is an easy rule to follow and a rule that has been followed in american libraries. on the other hand we have peculiar cases--the medical schools, for instance, which have distinctive names and are often situated a hundred miles from the mother school. "college libraries and local college societies under the name of the college, but the bodleian library may be put under bodleian. intercollegiate societies and greek letter fraternities under the name." i think all will agree with that. i , "observatories under the name of the place, except that those having distinctive names are to be entered under that name. refer for university observatories from the university." i personally think that is unfortunate; i would prefer to see university and observatories under university. for instance, for washburn observatory i would say, "wisconsin university, washburn observatory." miss crawford: under h , "enter government bureaus or offices subordinate to a department directly under the country not as sub-heading under departments." is it proposed to invert the name of the bureau or office so as to bring the distinctive name to the fore or let it read in its natural way? mr. hanson: the practice of inverting has been followed, i think, in the majority of american catalogs. we have not as yet inverted our headings. we are printing them in the order in which they read, as "bureau of education"; but that does not mean we may not arrange entries under united states, _education_. l. p. lane: it seems to me it would be most desirable to harmonize the practice of the superintendent of documents with the library of congress in this matter. in the "comprehensive catalogue" there is this inversion, and it seems to me it has been very judiciously done. in the present practice of the boston public library, however, it is not done. miss ambrose: i should like a definition of the word "local" in i . mr. hanson: i : "purely local benevolent or moral or similar societies under the place." mr. cutter said that he had more trouble with this rule than with any other. he had, in fact, i believe decided to enter under name, not under place, but it seems during the discussion he changed back to the old rule. miss kroeger: that was in deference to the majority vote. mr. cutter's opinion favored entry under name. mr. hanson: his reason seemed to be that those referring to these local societies were the citizens of the place where they were situated and they sought the name of the society. if the people in other states, using other catalogs, were looking for the societies, they would not remember the name. in fact, the only thing that remains in one's memory is the name of the place, and one naturally would look under the place for it. chairman: as i understand miss ambrose she raises the question how large a locality might be meant--whether it should go to the limits of a county or a state. i should have supposed it meant a narrower locality and would apply to a city or town--a vicinage. mr. josephson: perhaps it might be well to let the word "local" mean here what it means in "local geography"--anything belonging to the state--not taking in towns. i should like to bring up k: "enter commentaries accompanied by the full text of the work under the name of the author." and then exceptions only when the text is not to be readily distinguished from the commentary. we have a good many cases where the text is particularly short--a text of from four or five or ten pages--and then comes a commentary of several hundred pages. it seems absurd to catalog a text of five or ten pages accompanied by a commentary of five or six hundred pages under the name of the author of the text. miss kroeger: that is provided for in the rule. "except when the text is distributed through the commentary in such a manner as not to be readily recognized or is insignificant as compared with the commentary." that is designed to fit just such cases. mr. hanson: there is another rule, on laws, h : "laws on one or more particular subjects, whether digested or merely collected, to be entered under the collector or digester, with added entry under country." i think that is a departure from the present practice, which has been to enter new york laws on state taxation under new york, state legislature, and secondly under compiler or collector. miss ambrose: if you had a compilation of road laws of illinois, you would put that under the compiler first and secondly under illinois state legislature? mr. hanson: yes. l. p. lane: under h and q i would like to ask whether a proclamation by the king of england would be put under england, or great britain, king, or under edward vii.? mr. hanson: we enter such publications in two places; the official proclamations or edicts under the name of the country with a subdivision for king or sovereign, and then their private publications under their names. miss crawford: j: "enter a periodical under the first word, not an article or serial number, of its title." what is the judgment of the committee upon newspapers? should they always be entered under the first word of their title, or would it be better to enter under the name of the place? miss kroeger: we consulted mr. fletcher about the rules, and he suggested this very point, bringing up the question of newspapers. and we have a rough draft of a rule to enter newspapers under the name of the place, putting the name of the place in brackets and not in the title. j also brings up the question as to whether it is to be under the first word of the current title or of the original title. miss graham: i : "exhibitions under the name of the place where they are held." it would seem to me that in the case of the pan-american exposition, that should be first, rather than buffalo. also the columbian exposition. mr. hanson: i think a majority of the expositions in this country have specific names. in the discussion of the committee i think mr. cutter proposed the rule as follows: "enter under the name of the place in case of expositions, always making a cross-reference from the special name of the exposition, if it has one." in all cases it would be necessary that the cross-reference should be made from the special name by which it is known--as the cotton states, pan-american, world's columbian. chairman: is there anything more to say on this subject? if not, miss graham, you might bring up that question you spoke to me about this morning. miss graham: the matter mr. hopkins refers to was regarding the revision of the "a. l. a. catalog" of the best books. we feel the need in small libraries, and i think the need is felt where libraries are trying to organize, for a revision of that catalog. we all use that in small libraries when making out lists of standard works. there are many of them out of print. if we could have a revision of that catalog on printed cards it seems to me it would be a great help in the work of library extension as well as to smaller libraries which have little cataloging force--where the librarian has to be cataloger. chairman: i thought perhaps enough would be interested in this to raise the question in such a way that the publishing board would take it up. it may be cards are in existence that might be reprinted for this work. miss ambrose: there is a supplement to this catalog just about ready to come out. would that include new editions or simply new books? mr. fletcher: the matter has been put off to such a large extent that the state library at albany has undertaken to publish this supplement; but it has been delayed. they intend to print it for their own state use, but allow the publishing board to distribute it to other places. as to a revision, i do not know whether it has been undertaken. i think that the original edition was not electrotyped, and that there are no plates existing to reprint it from. chairman: i will read a question from the hartford public library on the arrangement of author, editor and translator in a card catalog--whether to be put in one alphabet or arranged separately? miss crawford: that hits upon a very practical experience which we had in dayton. we arranged the works of an author under the author's own works; then the author as editor; and then author as joint author; and then the author as translator; alphabeting by the word which happened to follow the name of the author at the top of the line. we tried that for three or four years, and at the end of that time we ourselves in our own use of the catalog were so continually running up against our own arrangement as a thing which we never used and which was a constant blunder to us that last year we set about rearranging all the authors so as to bring them in one alphabeting order by the first word of the title, regardless of whether it was as author, editor or compiler. of course when translator or editor of a specific person's work, that entry was placed after the others. mr. fletcher: that is our practice, after having used the other for some time. we now undertake to put all the works of an author in a general series, whether he is author, or editor, or collector, or whatever it be, if the work is significant as his work. we put those all in one alphabet, as if there was no such addition after his name, and then we put at the end the two notes which are in the nature of cross-reference. if a man is translator of somebody else's work we cannot very well put those in as his works. everything else we put in one series. mr. perley: in the library of the institute of technology, of boston, we arranged the authors, joint authors, translators and editors all in one common alphabet. it seems to me in a library of this kind such an arrangement is especially good, because the public patrons of the library never seem to take very kindly to distinctions, however interesting they may be to the librarians; and it happens very often that the american translator is a good deal more important to the american reader than the original author from whom it was translated. and in the same way a joint author may take equal rank with the author in the main entry. miss crawford: o: "enter under highest title unless family name or lower title is decidedly better known." will you keep the title in the vernacular in all cases? for example, will you always say "fürst von" instead of the english form, and "graf von," etc.? mr. hanson: there is a varying practice as to that. i will say for the library of congress, where they are purely titles of honor or minor noblemen, we use the vernacular; but we have found it advisable for kings, in fact for sovereigns, to use the designation king, emperor, pope, etc., in english. miss kroeger: has anything been said about entering sovereigns and popes in the vernacular or english form? the rule says, "_may_ be given in the english form." mr. fletcher: i think we should generally feel, as mr. cutter expresses it in his rule, that this is a matter of progress; and before long our library committees will not tolerate "henry" instead of "henri" for king of france, or "lewis" instead of "louis." we are in a transition stage, and this "may be" means that it is considered allowable while we are in the transition stage to use the english form instead of the vernacular. but give names of sovereigns in the vernacular. the same thing is true of names of cities. some librarians are leading us a little and giving wien for vienna. mr. perley: it seems to me the use of the english form would largely depend upon the length of the custom. i think for the names of the italian cities which have been given common english names since the middle ages we are justified in using the english forms, and the names of persons in the same way. adjourned without day. section for children's librarians.[g] the a. l. a. section for children's librarians held two sessions during the waukesha conference. in the absence of miss annie carroll moore, chairman of the section, the chair was occupied by miss l. e. stearns, who presided as honorary chairman. _first session._ the first session of the section was called to order at . p.m., friday, july . the secretary read a communication from the chairman, miss moore, who extended her cordial greeting to the children's librarians' section, and expressed regret that she was unable to be present. she also expressed her satisfaction that the meetings should be conducted by one whose contributions to the work of children's librarians, both by the pen and the power of her magnetic personality, have been so far-reaching in their influence. miss stearns' paper given at the lake placid conference, , she believed to be one of the most important contributions to the development of work with children, as it set people thinking and talking, and stimulated activity along the lines indicated. in regard to the establishment of a separate section of the a. l. a., miss moore said: "it is most encouraging and gratifying to feel that we have the support of those whose interest in library work for children precedes our own, and whose wise counsel may be counted upon in considering the problems which have arisen out of a practical experience. "it has been the chief object in the construction of this first program to define certain phases of our work in order that we may proceed with a clearer vision of its significance and with a better idea of how we are to accomplish the results at which we seem to be aiming. it is hoped that succeeding meetings may be rich in profitable discussions of practical problems, but let us plan our programs with the utmost care, that we may gather a body of matter which shall prove valuable for the future as well as enlightening in the present. "most hearty thanks are due to all who have assisted in the making of the program, and to those who have volunteered to carry it to a successful issue. "we feel especially grateful to the librarians at large who have so generously responded by the preparation of papers, or by participating in the discussions, to this special claim of ours upon their time and thought." the secretary read a statement regarding the club of children's librarians. at the a. l. a. conference in montreal in an informal meeting was held for the purpose of personal acquaintance and co-operation among those actively engaged in library work with children. as a result of this meeting an organization was formed, to be known as the club of children's librarians, of which miss a. c. moore was made chairman, and miss m. e. dousman secretary. in order to facilitate the work of the club it was decided to divide the work into departments, each department to be in charge of a chairman appointed by the chair. the secretary of the club was instructed to inform the secretary of the american library association of the formation of the club and to offer its services in the making of the program for future sessions on library work with children, if so desired. the result of this proposition was that at a meeting of the executive board of the a. l. a. it was voted that a section for library work with children be established, providing such section be acceptable to the officers of the club of children's librarians. the section was accepted, and the program for the same was submitted by the officers of the club to the program committee of the a. l. a. the establishment of a section devoted to work with children, as a result of the efforts of the club, is a matter of congratulation for all those interested in this branch of library work. special thanks are due the chairman, miss moore, for her unremitting efforts in making the program for the sessions helpful and inspiring. thanks are also due chairmen of committees for their zeal in collecting valuable material and for the presentation of practical and suggestive reports. in view of the establishment of the section for children's librarians, which makes possible the thorough treatment of children's library work, it seems desirable that the club of children's librarians be no longer continued, its special purpose being accomplished; at the present meeting of the section it is hoped to perfect its organization and outline its plans for the coming year. the first paper of the session was by miss caroline m. hewins, and in her absence was read by miss helen e. haines. it dealt with book reviews, lists and articles on children's reading: are they of practical value to the children's librarian? (_see_ p. .) the subject was discussed by miss haines, who said: miss hewins' criticisms and deductions are so sound that there is little to add to what she has said, except in the way of assent. the children's librarian who relies only upon what she can find in print to tell her what she ought to think about children's literature, leans upon a broken reed. in general, reviews in this field are valueless, owing to lack of discrimination and of good taste, and to indifference. the reason for this is the unimportance of the subject, from the standpoint of the average reviewer or literary editor. miss hewins has stated with entire fairness the conditions that control reviews of children's books. christmas time--the "rush season"--is practically the only time when they are given attention, and then owing to the great mass of review copies to be handled, notices are most inadequate. indeed, most of these notices are evolved from material supplied by the publisher with the book--the trail of the publisher is over them all. there is not yet among children's librarians a sufficient "body of doctrine"--critical judgment, knowledge of books--to produce satisfactory library lists. such lists are too often made up from hearsay, or through selection from other lists, which is almost always unsatisfactory. the most prevalent and serious defect in these annotated library lists is the use of too many words which mean nothing. in this work especially "the adjective is the enemy of the substantive." even the carnegie list, excellent as a whole and probably the best of the kind yet published, is crude in some respects, and would stand pruning. there is too frequent use of such phrases as "a wholesome book," "a cheery tale," "a children's classic," and there is too great a preponderance of american books, of commonplace "series," of books in what may be called the public-school rut. as an example of "what not to do" in book annotation, extracts may be given from a recent annotated list of children's books, which included the following: warner, s. the wide, wide world. miss warner is one of the best friends a young girl can have as chaperone into the delightful kingdom of romance. weyman, s. the house of the wolf. a modern english version of a curious french memoir written about . church. three greek children. mr. church is an accomplished restorer of the antique, and has a keen discrimination for points appealing to child-like magnetism. cooper. the spy. a story founded upon fact. the same adventitious causes which gave birth to the book determined its scenes and its general character. it will be seen that not one of these annotations conveys an idea of subject, quality, or treatment, while in two of them at least it is evident that the annotator knew nothing at all about the book. articles on children's reading are in general either sentimental or prejudiced, and they are not of direct practical use to the children's librarian. reading such articles, however, is interesting and often suggestive. their best feature is the hints they now and then give of some book or class of books that has pleased children, and that the librarian does not know or had not thought of. turning to specific points in miss hewins' paper, one is inclined to question the stringent criticisms of the "pansy" books, the "prudy" books, "editha's burglar," and the like stories, that certainly do delight many children, though they may not be of a high literary plane. nor do i believe in children's books carefully "written down" to their audience and never rising above their comprehension. "words-in-one-syllable" books are obnoxious to a right-minded child. it is a good thing to be given now and then what is above our comprehension. what we don't quite understand holds a strong fascination. nor do i believe that the "horrors" of the old fairy stories are particularly harmful--the thrills they impart have a subtle charm, and most children delight in "horrors." the difficulty is to steer between what is vulgar and coarse or trashily sentimental on the one hand, and the limiting of a children's collection only to "pretty-pretty" stories, innocuous but utterly without character or variety, on the other. such a collection should be made as broad, as varied, as catholic as it can be, including old books, english books--miss yonge, miss shaw, miss strickland--not just current and american books. in conclusion, the most important thing is to know the books themselves. this could not be possible for the librarian of a general collection, but it is possible, and ought to be indispensable, for the librarian of a special class of literature. a children's librarian can make herself familiar with the literature suitable for children, and should do so. personal familiarity is better than all "evaluations" by other people. there should be a constant interchange of criticism and experience among those working in this field--it is as yet small enough to permit this. this should be largely personal and individual--not brought out as a public expression--until there is developed a better basis for critical and literary discernment in this subject than now exists. the most important thing to do is not to rush hastily into print--to "educate ourselves in public"--but to set to work to know our books, and through such knowledge to establish a fund of critical judgment and experience that will later make it possible for the utterances of children's librarians to carry weight in their own field of literature. there followed a "collective paper," in three parts, each part being treated by a special writer. it dealt with the books themselves. in the absence of miss winifred taylor miss edna lyman read miss taylor's consideration of i. fiction. (_see_ p. .) miss lyman also read the second paper by miss abby sargent, on ii. fairy tales. (_see_ p. .) the third paper, in the absence of its author, miss ella holmes, was read by miss bertha m. brown. it reviewed iii. science for children. (_see_ p. .) the general subject was opened for discussion by f. m. crunden, who said that he thought it was unwise to make a distinction between the reading of boys and girls, as it tended to differentiate the sexes. he also believed in the reading and rereading of the classics and standard literature to children as a means of checking the craving for new books which is a characteristic evil of the american adult. the best means of judging the quality of a new book was to set it in comparison with an old one that had stood the test of time, so that familiarity with, and an ample supply of, the best literature was one of the most effective ways of raising the standard of taste as regards current books. he also said that the well-brought-up child will usually choose the best himself, though wise direction is necessary, for the books he reads influence his whole life. reading aloud to children is of great value in bringing them to love books, and too strict a grading of books by age suitability is inadvisable, as many very young children enjoy books that at first thought seem beyond them. the boy who reads the best books will not choose the worst companions. the program of the meeting was shortened, owing to arrangements of the local entertainment committee, so that the conclusion of the discussion on this subject was carried over to the next session. before adjournment a nominating committee was appointed, made up of miss linda a. eastman, miss edna lyman and mrs. menzies. _second session._ the second session of the section was held on the afternoon of saturday, july . the meeting was called to order at . , when discussion was resumed of the subject the books themselves. miss w. w. plummer said: i should much like to see tried miss sargent's plan for the story-hour, _i. e._, the argument of the story being given first in the attendant's own words, followed by a reading from some good version of the original, with judicious skipping. if this has been tried anywhere, we should be glad to know of it. we have given as a problem to our class of children's librarians the selection of one or two books of homer, of the odyssey preferably, to cut and edit for reading by or to children, and have always found that what was left made an exceedingly interesting story, that it seemed might be read just as it was. but, of course, such an exercise would require an unusually good and very intelligent reader to be a success. _fairy tales._ belief, on the part of the author, at least while writing, is necessary if one would preserve the true atmosphere of the fairy story and communicate the right enjoyment to the child-readers. the fairy book in which the author tries to be "smart" and is continually thrusting in his own personality, is a failure. he must forget himself, leave the present century, and for the time be as credulous as the child himself. _fiction._ the vulgarization of the child is one of the dangers we must avoid. what if the boy's father does read the _new york journal_ and the girl's mother, when she reads anything, laura jean libbey? it is our business, as librarians for children, to see that by the time the child reaches the same age he shall like something different and better. and how can this be brought about if we let him steep himself in the smart, sensational, vulgar and up-to-date children's books that naturally lead to just such tastes in the adult? we must also guard against false reasoning. some authors whom we have probably never questioned will have to go, if thus examined. i am thinking, for instance, of a writer for girls who has been generally accepted. i examined her last book, the story of a little girl and her grandmother, apparently plain people, who moved into a summer village alongside of a family of fashionable city people. the question with the children of the fashionable family and their friends was whether they should or should not make a friend of the new girl--she was nice, but evidently not rich, not fashionable, not one of their kind. the counsel of the minority prevailed, and the children, boys and girls of or , kindly admitted her to their circle, though not considering her their equal. how they held their breath at thought of their nearness to a great mistake when they found she belonged to a fine old family of another city, and had great expectations from the quiet grandmother! "see how it paid to be polite!" is the tacit morality of the book, which is full of the spirit of snobbery while professing to teach the opposite. it behooves us, therefore, to dip into books before purchasing or recommending. nothing will take the place of knowing the books we handle and having our own opinion of them. a thing we have to look out for is the intentional or unintentional imitation of the names of well-received writers, _e.g._, the marie louise pool, author of "chums," to whom miss taylor refers, is not the miss pool who wrote "roweny in boston" and "mrs. keats bradford," that author having died two or three years ago. the person who uses the same name, rightfully or wrongfully, writes very different and very inferior books. at the information desk we have made lists for various classes and types of person--but very often have had to lay these aside and make a special selection for the individual, after talking with him or her. this is as true for children as for adults--the books that appeal to one person do not appeal to another of seemingly the same type. until the proper relation be established between the child and the librarian, he cannot be influenced very much in his choice of books. sometimes this relation may be established in five minutes, sometimes in a week, a month, or a year; sometimes it seems impossible to do it, and some other personal influence must be waited for. people sometimes say that the children's own tastes in reading should be our guide. this is true thus far: that if a child is reading books that do not seem good for him in our judgment, we should find out what it is _in_ these books that appeals to him; then look for the same thing in books that are better written and lack the objectionable features, and both librarian and child are satisfied. children learn a great deal by absorption, and if the children's librarian can give them the sort of plot or incident they want and, at the same time, a book from which they may absorb good english instead of bad, high ideals and a high code of behavior instead of low ones, she has accomplished a great part of her task. _science._ with regard to nature books for children, i am glad that miss holmes has spoken frankly and pointed out to us the dangers we incur in rushing into the purchase of a new kind of book without investigation. the taking up of nature study and the study of art in the public schools has meant a great pressure upon libraries for books which teachers and pupils have heard of, but of the merits of which many of them as well as ourselves are unable to judge. in order to have books enough to meet the demand, our temptation is to buy entire series, every book we hear of in these lines, whereas our best plan would be to get them for inspection only, invite the inspection and criticism of some scientific person, or some one conversant with art and its literature, and reject what they condemn, putting in duplicates enough of the approved books to meet the large demand. a thing we need to beware of is the stampede--the wild rush to or away from a thing without reasoning, without stopping to think, just because other libraries we know of are engaging in it. the librarian needs at such times to keep cool, brace himself or herself against the rush, and when the dust of the crowd is over think things out and go ahead. and in these lines where special knowledge is necessary do not let us think ourselves infallible or even altogether competent; let us be humble enough to take advice and information from those who have a real claim to know. j. c. dana said: the papers we have heard read tell us that we can put no dependence on book reviews; that the librarian must depend on herself. how can she do it? there are no laws or rules or principles of book selection. even if there were, no librarian has time to read even hastily all the books for children. if she wishes to evaluate them in the light of any possible principles she may have laid down, she finds the principles themselves very shaky. experience is our only guide. a friend of mine much interested in psychology, and especially in the psychology of young people, and especially, again, in the influence on young people of the books read during the years to , tells me that as a result of considerable study of nickel-libraries and news-stand story papers of what we call a poor kind, he thinks this literature is generally harmless; is perhaps even helpful; is well above the intelligence of most of those who read it; and is largely written by men and women who seriously wish to help to bring light and joy into the world. if our general opinion about these nickel-libraries is to be given a shock such as that, what may we not expect as to other classes of books, of our judgment on which at present we are quite as sure? it is distressing, the amount of work that is being done in this country nowadays even by the librarians themselves in their attempt, each by herself alone, to come to sound conclusions in regard to the value of books for children. we don't care to read these books. we read them when we are weary, we read too many of them. our own taste, if originally good, gets perverted; our point of view gets prejudiced; and our opinions are of very little value when formed. why not try co-operation? i suggest that you appoint a committee to formulate some scheme for securing the beginning of an evaluated list of children's books; and that this committee see that at least a portion of the scheme, enough to show us another year how it can be successfully carried on, be completed before our next annual meeting. i would suggest, for example, that this committee, in the first place, collect from members of the association sufficient money in voluntary subscriptions to pay for postage, clerical work and printing, in beginning the evaluated list; that they then appoint some person to set in motion the machinery necessary for getting together a set of evaluations. she would perhaps begin by selecting almost at random story books for young people of the ages to . this list she would submit, in whole or in small sections, to as many active librarians who are interested in children's literature, as she could get into communication with. having secured from them opinions, she would tabulate the results of the reading of each book and compile from these opinions a brief note. she would, perhaps, submit to us at the end of the year a brief list, in type, with or without annotations, of story books for children that are not good, another brief list of story books for children that are good. without going further into detail i think you will see that in some such way as this, we can make the reading we now do along these lines permanently helpful to one another. we can perhaps in two or three years produce a foundation list of books for young people on which we can depend; we can then continue the evaluating process for other books as they appear from year to year. h. c. wellman directed attention to the economy which would result from a printed list of juvenile books to be prepared and issued by the section of children's librarians and used as a catalog of the juvenile collections in public libraries. such a list should not only embody the joint opinion of the best authorities, but should effect a saving of per cent. in the work of preparing and the cost of printing separate lists for each library. the joint lists, containing or more titles, could be set up with slugs, and revised and brought down to date in frequent editions. some simple notation could be adopted, and the juvenile books in each library numbered to correspond. then the list could be purchased in quantities by the libraries and sold to their borrowers at a cent apiece. the result would place within the reach of even small libraries a juvenile list at an exceedingly low price, always up-to-date, and of a quality and authority which should make it superior to any similar lists ever issued. a motion was made by mr. perry that a committee of three be appointed to take action on mr. dana's suggestion. the motion was carried and a special committee consisting of mr. dana, mr. perry and miss browning was appointed by the chair to act upon the suggestion at some general meeting of the association.[h] in the absence of miss h. h. stanley mr. wellman read miss stanley's paper on reference work for children. (_see_ p. .) mr. wellman then discussed the question of whether the bulk of reference work with children should be carried on in the schools or at the library, and urged the claims of the library. the ultimate aim of reference work with children is to teach them to use the library during school life and after for purposes of study and self-education. to accomplish this end no person is so competent as the librarian and no place so appropriate as the library. miss linda a. eastman said: miss stanley's excellent report appears to furnish just the sort of basis for a discussion of one of the most vital questions in relation to the work with children, such a discussion as may lead to a much-needed definition of principles in regard to this side of the work. a word or two about special topics mentioned--under library facilities. in addition to the books for reference mentioned by miss stanley, there is one which may not yet have come to the attention of all children's librarians because it is but just published--the new "index to _st. nicholas_," published with the consent of the century company by the cumulative index co. it has its imperfections, but it certainly should prove a useful reference tool for every children's librarian, and the best simple stepping-stone yet furnished to the use of poole and the other indexes. now, for the general subject, miss stanley says, "i think we are agreed that for the children our aim reaches to a familiarity with reference tools, to knowing how to hunt down a subject, to being able to use to best advantage the material found. in a word, we are concerned not so much to supply information as to educate in the use of the library." the aim is well stated, and we are agreed in it, i believe, but are we agreed as to, and have we given sufficient thought to, the methods by which this desirable aim is to be accomplished? where, in that ideal ultimate of co-operation between schools and libraries toward which we are striving, will the necessary instruction be given, in the schools or in the library? or, if in both, where will the division of labor be placed? i, myself, am inclined to think that the formal, systematic instruction in the use of books should be given in the schools, with sympathetic, systematic help on the part of the library. is it not possible that we, as librarians, seeing the need, are over-anxious to do the whole work, or at least feel sometimes that we can do the whole work more easily and better than we can get the overworked teachers to do it--though a large part of the work really belongs to them. more than in any other work with the children, this reference work requires that we go back of the children and begin with the teachers--no, not with the teachers, but with the teachers in embryo--the students in the normal schools. miss alice tyler, who followed, said that it was of the greatest importance to teach children the use of the catalog, which should be made to suit the mental capacity of children, using terms with which they are familiar. in cleveland the children's catalog was made upon these lines, using simple subject headings based on headings used by miss prentice in her "third grade list" and the pratt institute lists. teaching children in the children's room how to use the catalog is the only way to make the future men and women more independent readers in the public library. mr. hensel closed the discussion with a short account of the reference work done in the columbus public schools. a paper by miss clara w. hunt was read on opening a children's room. (_see_ p. .) the discussion was opened by henry j. carr, who said: i cannot say why i was selected to discuss miss hunt's paper, unless because i was known to her and somewhat familiar with her work and the particular children's room fitted up under her direction in the new building of the newark free public library. i am so much in sympathy with miss hunt's views as expressed in the paper, and regard them as so correct that i can do little but emphasize the points she has brought out. she has been eminently wise in presenting for consideration some of the proper guiding principles of the children's room, something that is too often lost sight of in the attitude taken by those responsible for their establishment and operation. we should not look upon the children's room as a "kindergarten," or playground for the younger children, so much as a stepping-stone to tide them along to the reading of books adapted to more mature minds, and hence to "graduate" them out of it as fast as possible. it has also a purpose, which is a further reason for retaining in this room, more or less, an aspect similar to that of the adults' rooms. parents to some extent come to select reading matter for their children, and those of mature years but immature minds may drift into this department, if it is not made too juvenile in tone and appearance. hence, i prefer the name young people's library to that of children's room. i have seen boys stand aloof at first for fear of ridicule for going into the room "for kids." i prefer to have the discharging of books done at one main desk, as it keeps the children in touch with adults and gives all ages more freedom in drawing from all departments. hence we have no special juvenile cards. i should advise to include on the children's shelves good books for older readers; to avoid sets or the writings of voluminous authors, as a rule; and to aim to seek the writers of those good books that are apt to be overlooked. discipline and good order should be maintained at the outset, and after that the children should be let alone, so far as possible. they like to have a chance to inform one another; those becoming first familiar with the room and its methods will only too gladly induct newcomers into its operation. mrs. m. a. sanders said: the librarian from newark speaks from experience, for hers is an ideal children's room, both in equipment and administration. at the dedication of the library the interest centered largely around that department. her interest in the children and their work, so ably expressed, carried me back to the early 's, when, as some of us remember, scarcely a round dozen libraries could be found where children were admitted. on one side of the door we saw a placard reading, "children not admitted under years"; on the other, "dogs not allowed." a strong appeal was made at that time at the thousand island meeting for children's rights in the public library by a librarian who was making a specialty of work with children, and admitted them without an age limit. glorious has been the response, for the library that makes no provision for the children to-day is the exception. at pawtucket we open our children's rooms and bid them welcome, we open our shelves, and their judgment in the selection of books often equals our own. we decorate the walls with pictures that appeal to the affections, we send them into the homes, and by and by we see an entire family gathered around the table deeply interested in the pictures and the description of them as they read from the books brought home by the children. we put in our cases of birds, which the children delight to study, and soon a mother says to us, "i never thought much about the birds till the children began to talk about them, but we have been out every morning listening for the new calls as the birds appear in the spring." in these and various other ways we see the influence of the children's room, which is broadening every day. there is, however, many a library where the children's room has not yet materialized, either from lack of space or funds, that is exerting a powerful influence through its children, and i question sometimes whether it may not be a mistake to draw too sharp a line of separation. where should we draw our line? at just what age do girls and boys cease to be children? that has been for me a serious question; i wonder if you have escaped it, and if the children's room solves it. i am in hearty sympathy with the opinion expressed that "the management and spirit of the children's room should correspond to that of other departments of the library." there seems to be a tendency to make these rooms a play-room--the children coming to be amused, and the time of one person devoted to their amusement. if this is the design of the children's room, our own young people at pawtucket will be sadly disappointed. while we will put in the pictures, the birds, the plants, the busts and all else to make the room interesting, and while we will have frequent talks in the lecture room, the children being quietly led on to express themselves freely, the quiet dignity of the children's library room as an important part of the library will be maintained. the books will also be charged at the main charging desk for them, as we feel that this bringing of the adult and the child into close contact is of mutual benefit. the discipline of the children's department has never been a serious question to us. give them a very few brief rules, and enforce them, and we shall have no great troubles to contend with; the children will virtually take care of themselves. the question is asked us, "for what does the children's room stand, what is its real purpose?" it is evident that it has a different purpose in different libraries. to us the children's library room is for reading, for study, for observation, for questioning undisturbed and undisturbing, while the entire library is still at the service of any child who desires to make practical use of it. miss charlotte wallace read a paper on bulletin work for children. (_see_ p. .) two papers were read on vitalizing the connection between the school and the library, miss may l. prentice treating the school. (_see_ p. .) miss irene warren presenting the side of the library. (_see_ p. .) owing to the lateness of the hour discussion of the last topics had to be passed over. the chairman then called for the report of committee on nominations. the committee on nominations wishes to submit the following names: for president, miss annie carroll moore; for secretary, miss mary e. dousman. in suggesting the continuance of the present officers the committee does not wish to establish a precedent, but there seems to be special fitness and justice in asking miss moore and miss dousman to serve the section for another year. to their earnest effort this section of children's librarians is largely due; these well-balanced programs are a result of their careful planning. the section can hardly be put in safer hands for its second year. the officers named in the committee report were unanimously elected. footnotes: [footnote g: this report is from notes furnished by miss mary e. dousman, secretary of the section.] [footnote h: for report of this committee and action of association _see_ proceedings, p. .] state library commissions and travelling libraries: round table meeting. an informal "round table" meeting for the consideration of the work of state library commissions, including travelling libraries, was held in the assembly room of the fountain house on tuesday afternoon, july . the chairman, melvil dewey, called the meeting to order at three o'clock, and in a few introductory remarks outlined the subjects to be discussed. mr. dewey: we have on our program this afternoon two of the most interesting things in library work. the travelling library is reaching out in its manifold forms with wonderful rapidity and gives very great promise of usefulness for the future; organized work under the state commissions is showing every year better and better results and indicating that just as our schools increased their efficiency so immensely by having state departments to look after them, we are repeating the history of that evolution in our state library commissions. we have only a single session this afternoon to discuss these two subjects. if we were to give them one quarter of the time that they ought to have, we would not get one quarter through, and i propose therefore to deal only with questions and answers, and utilize one another's experience or thought along these lines of state commission work and work of administering travelling libraries. i have noted down some of the topics that have been given to me by persons who wanted to have them discussed briefly; we will first take up some of these. so much has been done in travelling libraries, that perhaps we should clear the floor of that subject, and then consider the work of the state commissions--and in that i mean all the work done by the state in its official capacity--chartering libraries, library legislation, inspection, travelling libraries--whatever the state may do for public libraries. the first topic is, "what is the best method of getting travelling libraries before the people?" who has any experience or suggestion to offer on that point--either of difficulties or successes? a member: go to the pastors and school houses. mr. hostetter: does the gentleman mean to put the travelling libraries into school houses? last sunday i visited a man who had never heard of such a thing as travelling libraries; he was a german pastor; and probably that accounted for it. mr. hutchins: is there not objection to having travelling libraries in school houses, for the reason that so many of the hours during which the children have leisure to read, and their parents could read, the school houses are closed? another difficulty is the long summer vacation; and still another is that to place the library in the school house makes the travelling library merely a side issue. mr. dewey: where would you put it? mr. hutchins: find somebody to take it in special charge. a travelling library in a community is bound to find some good woman who would rather have charge of it than anything else in the world. mr. dewey: then you would put it in a private house? mr. hutchins: in a private house or a country post-office--wherever you can find a person who believes in its use and will give service for it. mr. galbreath: i should like to ask mr. hutchins, provided the teacher is a man or woman who believes in the library, what objection is there to placing it in the school house? mr. hutchins: the teacher may be a person who believes in it, but he or she makes the school of first importance. mr. brigham: what difference does it make if the library is a side issue, so long as it gets in its work? mr. hutchins: if it is a side issue it does not get in its work. miss stearns: let us go back to the original question, how to get the travelling library before the people. the best method, we find, is to take with you a county superintendent who is acquainted with all the people in his county, or ought to be. take your travelling library with you also, just as a travelling man takes his samples. do not start out with a lot of circulars; take the books themselves right with you, in the back of the wagon. when you have brought the people together open your box; take out your _scribner_ or your _youth's companion_; take out your books on the philippines, on birds, on cookery; show your audience some good stories; and you will organize a library association ten times quicker than if you had started out by writing letters. those are letters, very often, that are never answered, and you wait and wonder why the people do not want the books. go to the people with the books. that is the way we find we can work best in wisconsin. mr. galbreath: sometimes it is difficult to find the means to do the work that miss stearns has mentioned, and possibly our experience, briefly stated, in bringing the travelling library to the attention of the people of ohio might not be out of place here. we began by advertising it through the daily and weekly papers. that brought us very few responses. we next tried to reach the people through the official organ of the teachers of the state. that brought us many responses from rural schools. our next effort was to reach the farming communities through the state grange, which devoted one of its quarterly bulletins to the travelling libraries. this brought many responses. we reached the women's clubs through circulars issued to their membership, and this was very effective in turn. we found it best to reach the people of the state through the organs that were devoted to specific interests, especially along educational lines. mr. dewey: did you go personally to the grangers, write to them, or send printed matter? mr. galbreath: we saw the lecturer of the grange, who issues a quarterly bulletin in our state. we explained the system fully to him, and he devoted almost an entire bulletin to an explanation of the system, and advised the farmers of the state to patronize the travelling libraries. then we have published in ohio the _ohio farmer_, which circulates widely outside of the state. that took up the work and helped us greatly. we reached the farmers by going to the public press and using the organs that the farmers read. we reached the teachers in the same way, and the women's clubs. we have advertised our system pretty widely over the state, so that now we do not send circulars except when they are requested. we are circulating about one thousand travelling libraries in ohio, and they go to all parts of the state. not only that, but we have travelling library systems in three counties of the state that are in no way dependent upon the state for support and that are doing excellent work. mr. hutchins: do the people pay anything for the libraries? mr. galbreath: they pay transportation both ways, and that is all. miss stearns: do they always have to pay it? mr. galbreath: yes. miss stearns: if you found a community too poor to pay, what would you do? mr. galbreath: we have not so far met that condition. perhaps some libraries have not been sent out because the people were too poor to pay the charge, but if that problem does come up before us, we will try to find some person who will pay the transportation. mr. dewey: are there no remarks to be made on the use of annotated finding lists in travelling library work? mr. hutchins: annotations are worth a great deal, because the people, at their homes, sit down and talk over the books in these lists, and they get acquainted with the books and the authors. mr. dewey: the best form of annotation, i take it, would be the brief note, giving the best idea possible of the character of the book, and telling the reader whether he wants to read it or not, not necessarily as a matter of quotation from some one else. miss stearns: it is always a good plan to put in the publisher and price of the book; if the person gets interested in the book he can find out how much it would cost and where he can get it. mr. brigham: it would be well also to put in the number of pages, so that people know how large a volume it is-- , , or pages. mr. dewey: has any one else tried the use of a wagon, as described by miss stearns--going right to the people and reaching the homes? that means going out into the rural districts and dealing with the farmhouses as individual homes. there must be the right person in the wagon, of course, who can stand and speak for an hour perhaps and leave half a dozen or a dozen books to start the work along. miss stearns: that is the only way in the world by which you can find what the people like to read--it is only by visiting the people, getting acquainted with them, going right into their homes. the idea of sending a box of books off in a freight car, not knowing anything about the country or the people it is going to! if you want those books to do good work, you must know where they are going. mr. dewey: that is the way men sell goods. the librarian is just as anxious to place his books to advantage as the merchant is to sell his wares. if he is dealing with the rural community he follows just that method. i am inclined to think that somebody is going to make a great success with those wagons. mr. galbreath: where the demand for books is strong, as it is in ohio, and you have all that you can do to supply that demand, should not that be attended to before you go out in a wagon to enlarge your field? mr. dewey: oh, yes; but in ohio everybody expects to be president sooner or later. mr. hutchins: isn't the point this: where you only supply a demand you reach the intelligent communities first and the neglected communities are left out; but the libraries should reach the neglected communities. we spend too much money in buying books and not enough in educating the people to use the books. it is the same old story. you spend $ , for books and not $ for administration, and the administration is the important point. mr. dewey: there is another analogy. we used to have the schools only for the bright boys. it is a modern idea to give education to the dull, the backward, the blind and the deaf, but nowadays they are all being trained. and we keep finding men who are among the strongest citizens of their age, but who, if we get at their early history, we find were once dull, backward boys that somebody hunted up and started along the right lines. mr. galbreath: what communities, as a rule, are first served in wisconsin? mr. hutchins: the neglected communities. the community in which we are meeting is in the wealthiest part of the state of wisconsin. we have not got a travelling library near here. we have only of these libraries, and we seek out the neglected communities; not because we do not care to help the people here, but we must take the neglected ones first. mr. galbreath: this is a practical question. it may be that after a while we will all be seeking the neglected communities. what is the practical method of going out into the state after the neglected communities? how are you going to do it? mr. hutchins: that is where you have got to have missionary work, personal contact. mr. dewey: it is not a question of studying what to do; it is a case of the man behind the idea. if a man starts out who is a born missionary, he will go straight to the communities who need him, while another man will take care of another class. we want to do all the work before us, but if we are so situated that we cannot do both kinds of work in this field, which is the more important to do first, cultivate the good field or the poor field, which if you do not cultivate it will run to weeds and escape us entirely? as mr. galbreath asks, if a community is anxious to read, will you supply that, or will you stir somebody up that does not want your supplies? in other words, if there is a field that is rather poor, will you cultivate that at the expense of another field that yields a good crop? mr. galbreath: it seems to me that a neglected community is one that has no library of any kind of its own; nine-tenths of our travelling libraries go out to communities of that sort. mr. hutchins: i would not take that as a definition. in an intelligent community they buy books, they buy magazines, they have intelligent people. a neglected community is one that is not reached by these means, or by any means of civilization. mr. galbreath: suppose i go into a community which all the american people are gradually leaving, only foreigners remaining. how can i reach the foreign people that hardly have the english language in their homes, and scarcely in the schools? mr. hutchins: take, for instance, one of those foreign communities. the children go to school; some of them stay in school until they can barely spell out the third reader, and then they go out and become american citizens. reading is hard work for them. you offer them a chance to read a book, and they do not want it. but in that place we send first with our travelling libraries the _youth's companion_ and the little picture papers, to interest them in spelling out little short stories. try elementary books; simple books of american history and biography; lead them on to better books. but the way is, first of all, to go to them. we have many such communities in the northern part of the state, where the people have come from foreign lands and know nothing about our customs. mr. galbreath: another question. i would ask mr. hutchins, if a farming community should send to the state commission for a travelling library, and with the request state that they had no library to which they had access, if he would decline to send to them because they were an intelligent community? mr. hutchins: no, we send libraries to these communities. we are sending to all classes, but if miss stearns, in the northern part of the state, finds a neglected community, and can work with them, and can find some members of the women's clubs to go out and help, we send to them first. mr. galbreath: i think that perhaps our methods do not vary so much after all. the women's clubs are supplementing our work in that way. in ohio we have succeeded in interesting a number of the members of the legislature, and frequently they come in and look over our maps illustrating the travelling library work, and say, "there is in our county a community that is very backward. they have no libraries there, and they are not very intelligent. i wish you to write to so-and-so in that community." we do a great deal of work in the line of reaching what mr. hutchins calls the neglected communities. a member: i would like to ask mr. hutchins if he has forgotten that we have something besides the readers in our wisconsin schools? under the present school law every district in the state has the beginnings of a library, and adds to that library each year. and we have in each of our school institutes held during the summer a -minute period which is spent in training teachers how to get children to read books, how to interest them in the books, and how to show them to get from the book the information it contains. and i would also like to ask if the library placed in the school house is not as accessible to the district as a library that may be placed at some central point? very often people would have to drive or miles to reach that central point, whereas in the library in the school house the children can take the books to their homes. during the long vacation the library need not be left in the school house, but in some other place. mr. hutchins: a library in a school is a school library, no matter where it may be, and the children do not go to the school house after they leave the school. mr. dewey: the library is an optional affair; the children are compelled to go to school. on the other side, there are a number of advantages in favor of the school building. has anybody succeeded in getting from the railroads or express companies special concessions for the transportation of library books? mrs. dockery: in idaho, while the travelling libraries were in the hands of the women's clubs. when they came in the hands of the state, the railroads felt that they should have some compensation, and they gave us half rates. the stage lines give us less than half rates. e. h. anderson: in pennsylvania the adams and the united states express companies, which are the two leading companies, have made this concession: we can send out books at full rate going, and half rate returning. these rates apply only on condition that the books returned are paid for at the library, so there is no confusion at any other station. mr. montgomery: how about books that are transferred to another point? mr. anderson: we do not transfer them; they must all come back. g. f. bowerman: the law of delaware requires that the express companies shall give the franking privilege, both coming and going, to all state documents, and we intend, if possible, to extend that provision to our travelling libraries, now that they are conducted by a state commission. mr. hostetter: on the question of express, my experience in illinois is that the shipping of our books has been unsatisfactory, and i have had some conversation in the matter with the express companies. they seem willing to give us some concessions, and i believe if this meeting would recommend that the american library association take up the question of express charges, that we could get for the whole united states a liberal concession for travelling libraries. at least i think we could get as much concession as is given the farmers for returning chicken coops. i think if this is taken up by the association, as an association, we could get a very liberal reduction. mr. bowerman: the seaboard air line runs a free travelling library system, and i presume they send their books over that system free? mr. dewey: yes. they also pay expenses, but would they open those privileges to other people? mr. brigham: i want to raise one question. isn't it a mistake to put the library in the position of a beggar? is it not better to pay for what we get? mr. dewey: if we have money enough. we would rather beg than have no bread. we are willing to profit by whatever concession we can get which will enable us to do our work. no one has spoken of the most important thing of all in this work. we are reaching communities, but there are in all our states great numbers of isolated homes and of farmers. they have more leisure than any other class, especially in the winter, and we have to reach them through the mails. we have a letter from mr. lane, of harvard, upon the movement to secure reduced postal rates for library books, undertaken through the new england education league by mr. scott. this matter is of great importance to us all. [mr. lane's letter was read by mr. bowerman.] mr. montgomery: in connection with that, has any one here tried to send single books to individuals in any of the communities through the rural delivery system? mr. hutchins: we have to a certain extent. we have not sufficient funds to send out enough of the boxes, so we allow a school teacher in the northern part of the state to draw out some book on some subject, and we send these by the rural delivery, or by mail, whichever will reach him most quickly, but of course we have to pay the regular postage. mr. hostetter: we have sent out a few books to the country domestic science clubs through the mails, and we have a greater demand for them than we could ever supply. now i find this experience: the express companies, in the matter of books, would carry a book more cheaply than the united states mail. i am quite confident that the express companies would return the books free, or at a very low rate, if the charges were prepaid. i move that this meeting recommend that the american library association take up the question of procuring reduced transportation rates for all free circulating library books. mr. dewey: if this large meeting is practically agreed on the importance of that, we could send the recommendation into the council meeting to-night. it seems to me simply inconceivable that we are willing to allow periodicals, bad and indifferent, and the yellow journals, to receive the pound postal rate, while our libraries, suffering from lack of income and working for the public benefit, cannot use the public facilities as cheaply as the people who are using them for public harm instead of public good. i had supposed there would be unanimous approval of an act to register public libraries, owned and maintained for the public benefit, so that they could receive the pound postal rate on books. mr. hostetter's motion was seconded. mr. dewey: let us see if there is anything more on this question before the motion is put. there is a bill closely allied to this going into the next congress. mr. hutchins, will you state it briefly? mr. hutchins: we have twice tried to secure better transportation in the state of wisconsin. we have found rural mail carriers who said that they would carry books to the farmers for a travelling library without cost, but the united states law said that we could not do this; that we cannot carry in this way anything under four pounds in weight except it is stamped. congressman jenkins, therefore, has drawn a bill which gives libraries authority to send their books free along rural mail routes. at present the farmer must either carry the book himself and return it to the public library, or he must pay postage. mr. dewey: you say that the carriers cannot take packages under four pounds without stamps? mr. hutchins: yes; the government rules that packages under four pounds are to be sent by mail. larger packages we could send by the carriers, and we have sometimes thought of sending or books to a neighborhood for distribution. i think that could be done, under the government rule, if the mail carrier was willing to carry them. mr. dewey: the idea is, that the carrier must not carry anything to compete with the postal service. mr. hutchins: mr. jenkins, who has drawn this bill for us, has submitted it to all the senators and representatives in the united states, and nearly all favor it. now, i am in favor of mr. scott's bill, which gives libraries reduced rates through the whole united states. as things are to-day, if you want to send a travelling library book miles out into the country it costs as much as to send it to san francisco or new york. if we can get the government to allow transportation by rural free mail delivery it will be an entering wedge for this other bill. mr. bowerman: why cannot the legislation adopting the rural mail delivery also include this matter of the pound rates? why not have both provisions in one bill? my library is practically free to the whole of newcastle county, not confined simply to wilmington, but it is a farming community. we would like to send books to every part of the county, practically to every part of the state. the library is practically free to the state of delaware, so far as people can come to us, but they cannot come to us; we would like to go to them, but we cannot do it, because of the expense. we could do it if we could afford sufficient postage to send books. mr. dewey: these are two closely allied questions. has any one any objection to this jenkins bill, which, on its face, promises to be so useful to us? i think we can get it, if we work together. miss stearns: if the government admits library books into this country free of duty, why cannot it allow a man to carry a book free on the rural delivery route if he wants to do it? in our state we have people who cannot afford to pay postage on the books; if the mail-carrier is willing, in the goodness of his heart, to take the book to them, why can't it be done? why should not a book from a free library be sent free? i do not mean from one state to another, but i mean by rural free delivery. mr. brigham: would you make it optional with the carrier? why not make it compulsory? you say, "if he wants" to carry the book. suppose he does not "want" to carry it? miss stearns: i would have it so that he can do it for nothing if he wishes, or he can charge a little for express. the rural mail delivery people have to work hard, and they make but little. now, the united states government has to employ good men to do this work, so it puts in a premium by allowing them to conduct an express business in connection with it. in order, however, that the government may receive its revenue, it does not allow the carriers to carry any packages under four pounds in weight. what we want is to have that embargo removed for free library books, so that they may carry books weighing a pound or a half pound. mr. brigham: the post-office would probably say that this would interfere with the delivery of the regular mail. miss stearns: if it interferes, then the whole express business interferes. the carriers are doing such a business now for packages about four pounds in weight. mr. dewey: then all you need to do is to attach a brick to your book and make it weigh over four pounds. is there any motion before the meeting? mr. brigham: the motion of the gentleman from illinois has not been disposed of. mr. hostetter: my motion relates to express transportation. rural delivery is somewhat of an experiment, and it would not reach the case i have in mind. we spend our money for expressage, and we want the express companies to give us a minimum rate. mr. dewey: i rule there is no motion before us until it is repeated. mr. huse: i move that we recommend the passage of the jenkins bill. we ought to pay no attention to all this talk about lines of least resistance. if we have no law, we will find the post-office department ready with an objection that will answer any request we may make. if we can get a law authorizing what we want, the post-office department will obey it whether we seek the line of least resistance or not. mr. dewey: is the motion seconded? mr. brigham: i rise to a point of order. there was a previous motion made and seconded, and i call for the question. mr. hostetter: i made a definite motion in regard to the express companies. it was made for the reason that arrangements can probably be effected with the express companies, but we are not likely to get the legislation we want. this motion was this: that this meeting request the council of this association to negotiate with the express companies of the united states for reduced rates upon travelling libraries and travelling library books. the motion was adopted. mr. huse: i renew my motion that we recommend the passage of the jenkins bill. mr. hutchins: the jenkins bill provides that wherever there is established a public library from which rural delivery routes radiate, books may be carried upon those routes from the public library to the patrons in the country without cost. they may not, however, be returned free; in returning they must either be returned personally to the library or postage must be paid. the motion made by mr. huse was adopted. mr. dewey: we come now to the question of pound rates. that has been before congress for some time, and i think there is hope of its passage; but it needs our support. i am heartily in favor of it. i think it is just, and that a great deal of the criticism it has received is based on misapprehension. some people look only at the rates that extend throughout the country, and say that the government will be carrying books at a loss, but these books will largely circulate within miles of the library, and you will pay exactly the same rate within that circuit as you would if sending to san francisco. does anybody want to move that the council be asked to support this bill? it was moved and seconded that the support of the bill be recommended. mr. huse: it seems to me we are trying to get a good many things. if we get the cheap postal rates, that will include rural delivery, and then the express companies will come down in their rates to compete with the government. mr. dewey: the rural delivery is limited to a single section, and is analogous to newspaper rates. mr. huse: but if this pound rate is extended to library books the express companies will come down in their rates, and the rural delivery will be almost free. mr. dewey: but in any case if we want all these things, it won't do any harm to ask for them. mr. eastman: i would like to raise one point, and that is, what would be the effect of the extremely cheap rates of postage upon small libraries or upon libraries which we want to establish? in the remote parts of the state, where the population is small, won't the tendency be to have one great library dominate the whole state? then when you go to a community to awaken library interest the people will probably say, "we don't care about a library; we can get our books from new york, or albany, or cincinnati, or chicago." won't this measure tend to hamper the work of establishing libraries in the small places? mr. anderson: that is a difficulty easily remedied. i do not think that any library should act as a forwarding agent to a person in any place where another public library is or can be established. our library takes that position very firmly. we refuse to be a forwarding agent to any person; if a library, however small, asks us to send books, we are glad to do it. i know we have helped small libraries by making people feel that the small library was very important, as it could get concessions that they reasonably could not obtain. mr. dewey: mr. eastman's point, if this were a commercial question, might have something in it, but as long as books are circulated free, we should make the road free to the reader, for a short distance or a long distance. the motion was adopted. mr. dewey: we will now take up the topic of county libraries as units in a state library system. mr. hodges, of cincinnati, has something to say on this. n. d. c. hodges: by an act passed april , , the privileges of the public library of cincinnati were extended to all residents of hamilton county. while the trustees did not derive any revenue from the taxpayers outside of the city limits until the beginning of , steps were taken at once on the passage of the act to enable all the residents of the county to avail themselves of their new privileges. there has been some discussion in the public press as to whether this library or that might claim priority as a county library. the public library of cincinnati has been loaning its books to all the residents of hamilton county for more than three years. i believe there is no other library in the state of ohio which had furnished books throughout a whole county before january of this year. this method of supplying books over a comparatively limited territory has interest when we are discussing the circulation of books over a whole state from the state capital. for those who cannot, or will not, come to the central library, there have been established throughout the county forty-one delivery stations. four of these are branch libraries. all these branch libraries had previously been village libraries with very respectable histories; started as subscription institutions they had in years past taken on a public character and were supported partially by taxation. there are several other local libraries in the county which are supported more or less by taxation and which are likely to come under the general management of the trustees of the public library of cincinnati, as otherwise the taxpayers in the regions where they are located will be subject to double taxation for library purposes, and, moreover, there seems to be a consensus of opinion among those who are interested in the branches which have come under the wing of the central institution that they have found the change to their advantage. hamilton county is not a flat region. the old part of the city of cincinnati is located on what might be called the river bottoms, though the land is, most of it, at a safe height above the river floods. half a mile or a mile back from the river there are sharp rises of four hundred or five hundred feet to the hill tops, on which the newer portions of the city are built. again, these hill tops are not tablelands but are cut here and there by deep gorges. the hilly character of the county adds to the difficulty of transportation. it is slow work for a wagon to climb the steep ascent from the old city to the suburbs. the library does not have its own service of wagons, but depends on the local expresses. there are portions of the county with which there is no regular system of communication by stage or express. it is in these regions, more or less inaccessible, though not uninhabited, that the authorities of the library have placed travelling libraries. twelve of these travelling libraries were sent out in march of this year. in each library there are or books. new books were purchased for the purpose, books of a character likely to interest the readers, the new novels with a % sprinkling of the best classed literature. the travelling libraries were arranged in three circuits of four each. each library containing or books, the four libraries in a circuit contain volumes. the books in circuit a are the same as those in circuit b and as in circuit c. the libraries were placed with school teachers. right here a difficulty has arisen on account of the closing of the schools for the summer. the country schools have rather long vacations. some of the teachers are willing to care for their libraries during the summer and see that they are open to the patrons. some are not in a position to undertake this work. for the summer months there has been a gathering of these travelling libraries at less than stations. the idea has been, in general, that one of these travelling libraries should remain about six months at a station before it is moved on. the public library has also sent out travelling libraries to the fire companies of the city. each of these smaller travelling libraries contains volumes and they have been moved more rapidly than the larger travelling libraries sent to the remote parts of the county. the deliveries to the delivery stations vary. with some there is a daily delivery, with others triweekly, for a few twice a week and there are two which have but one delivery a week. there are a good many women's clubs in hamilton county, ohio. last winter we received programs from of these clubs, and reading lists were prepared on these programs by the cataloging department. a club alcove was set aside and an attendant assigned to aid any of the members of the clubs visiting the library for study on the papers which were to be read. we have not attempted to send out selected lots of books for the clubs in the suburban districts. much better work can be done for the readers if they will only come to the central library; and it cripples the resources of the library to scatter its reference books far and wide. we have sent such selected lots of books for limited periods to the university for the use of the students and professors, but, in general, for such reference work the policy has been to encourage the use of the central library. this brings me to the consideration of whether there is any advantage in the system of county libraries. no very great expense is involved in a journey from the most remote corner of hamilton county to the central library in the city. those who are intent upon serious study can, in most cases, make a journey of or miles. at the central library with a concentration of financial resources there can but be a more valuable collection of books. on the other hand, it is perfectly feasible for the officers of the library to visit even the most remote portions of the county and by personal interview estimate the character of the people whom they have to serve; with the result of a more intelligent distribution of books in the outlying districts. serious study is provided for at the central library, while desultory reading is supplied through the delivery stations and travelling libraries. dr. steiner: it seems to me that it depends somewhat upon your unit of local government as to how much you need a county library. i should think in massachusetts or connecticut the county library would be rather an unfortunate enterprise, unless used in connection with the town libraries. but in many of the southern states the county library is going to be almost indispensable. with us the unit of local government is the county, except in the case of the incorporated municipality. there is a county in maryland with , people without a single municipality. the county commissioners attend to the minutest details of administration in that county. it is manifestly unwise that the state should take all the functions of the local library. but it seems that in the states where we have no township system, or where the township system is little developed, the county library is at present a necessity. mr. dewey: how do you support the schools? dr. steiner: by a county tax. we have school districts; but their only function is to have district trustees, appointed by the county commissioners, whose duty it is to take care of the school house and appoint teachers. the taxes are raised by the county. it is the same in other southern states, so far as i know. w. t. porter: mr. hodges has said that the public library of cincinnati was a county library. possibly that was a little misnomer, in that the library still remains the public library of cincinnati, but we have extended the privileges of that library to the county at large. that was done under act of legislature of , continuing the board of trustees of the public library in office, and then authorizing that board of trustees to make a levy upon the county for the maintenance of the library. miss stearns: how much of the county is embraced outside of the city of cincinnati? mr. porter: we have about townships outside of cincinnati township. our county is possibly miles in extent. miss stearns: then it is a small county that you supply? mr. porter: it is a small county, but the population is extensive. we commenced the county delivery system in june, . up to the present, and through the stations alone, there have been about new registrations, and we are to-day, through our stations, carrying , books. mr. dewey: this question seems to be of a city library extending its privileges. what i thought we were to talk about was whether the county should be used as a library unit. that is quite a different matter. mr. galbreath: but in this case the county here is the unit, and is taxed for the support of the library. there are no other public libraries in the county. mr. dewey: but there is a different side to the question. suppose you take a rural community and establish a county library there? i think it would be a great extravagance to maintain not only local libraries throughout the state, but also county libraries; it is going to cost too much. miss stearns: would it not be better to have a central library? mr. porter: we have also in ohio, something which approaches the county idea, known as our van wert law. the state of ohio, by an act, authorized the county commissioners of any county to accept library donations, funds, or building. upon the acceptance of that donation the county can be required to maintain a library within the building. in van wert county, the brumback library building and grounds were given in this way and the agreement was made with the county commissioners, that they maintain thereafter a library. mr. dewey: our question is not whether such libraries should exist or can exist, but are they desirable? mr. huse: what is the use of asking questions that must be governed entirely by local conditions? this matter must be governed by local conditions. mr. brigham: we are trying a line of rural travelling libraries in three counties of our state, in advance of any county or state legislation. miss brown, of lucas county, and myself, in correspondence, could see no reason why a travelling library sent to sheridan should not go on to another point, and to another point, and so on, and then back to sheridan, back to me, and then after it had made its rounds, take another start, and so on. we tried the plan and it has worked so well that we are now trying it in two other counties. what the development may be i do not know, but the satisfaction and the gratitude of the people in the small towns it reaches is worth all it has cost of extra effort. miss tyler: the point of the plan is that the librarian of the county-seat library is responsible for the travelling library. she guards the books, watches over them and makes her library the point of distribution. she distributes the books through the county, they come back to her library for exchange, or are passed on to the next exchange, whichever is most convenient; but they come under her direction. mr. dewey: let me state the point as i understand it. we are all agreed that we must have local libraries for the people. they can go from their homes into the library and take the books into their hands. if they are in the city almost every day they can utilize the large city library. when it comes to the question of sending books by mail or express we are all agreed that each state must have a state library and its own state commission. the question is, should there be an intermediary point between a state library and the local library? it seems, at first thought, that there should be, because you would have a shorter distance to travel, but all commercial experience is against this. manufacturers are closing factories all the while and paying transportation, because they can do their work more cheaply in one place. thus, repair of books, checking lists, and all that kind of work can be done under a single executive at some central point in the state more cheaply than if there was a library in each county. in wisconsin, with counties, you would have libraries and you would have to duplicate great quantities of books. my experience indicates that we can do this work more cheaply and more economically by putting the books under control of a central library. as to the extra distance, very often the identical trains that would take the books from a county seat would have brought them from the capital as it went through, so that they would have been received almost without delay. is it going to pay to introduce a new ganglion--that is, the county library? dr. steiner: take baltimore county in maryland. there is a county with , people; it has an electric lighting system, a police court, fire engine houses; there are towns in that county of a thousand people. there is no government in that county except the board of county commissioners, who are as complete autocrats as the czar of russia. there is no municipality in the county; there is one town which has people. you must have a county library with a county administration, because you cannot have anything but the county library; you cannot discriminate between one part of the county and another. that library must send books equally to all parts of the county; you cannot put it where the great centers of the population are, because you cannot deprive any citizen of the county of his right to draw books. mr. dewey: of course, we are not discussing a peculiar condition such as exists in maryland. dr. steiner: it is not a peculiar condition; it is the condition of at least one-third of the united states. mr. galbreath: it seems to me that there is nothing peculiar about this condition. of course, it differs from conditions in the north, but it includes a state government, to which the county is subordinate, and if i understand mr. dewey, it is his purpose to do this work from the state as a center, and the question he has raised is whether it is better to do it from the county as a center, or from the state as a center. i think that in our state it would be well to use the county as a center, for a time at least. however, i believe that in our state "benevolent neutrality"--to apply the term that mr. putnam used the other day--on the part of the state librarian toward these matters would be more effective than "benevolent assimilation," and we hope for much from the county library system. mr. dewey: it is a question of what we should encourage. is it wise to do this work by the county unit or the state unit? it is largely an economic question. how can you give the people the best reading for the least amount of money? r. p. hayes: in north carolina we have practically nothing in the library field and the question is, shall we try for county library development or state library development? i would like to get some definite word on that. dr. steiner: it seems to me we should try distinctly for county libraries. in the southern states at least there is no question about it; you have got to have county libraries. i started with the idea of the local township libraries, but we must wait until we have a township. my idea is, in any county wherein there are no incorporated municipalities or where the incorporated municipalities do not care to support libraries, the county library is the proper thing. in the south the county takes the place of the town in new england; it is the taxing unit, the unit in which all the local administration is carried on. mr. huse: it seems to me that for the south, as stated by the gentlemen here from maryland and from north carolina, the county system is very probably the best one; but in new england we could not work by a county unit, any more than the people of north carolina and even further down south could run a toboggan slide nine months in the year--they would not have the ice; we haven't the counties. at least, we have the counties, but they are of no importance to us except to have court houses, and courts of justice. now, each state must solve this problem according to its own conditions and according to the desires and enthusiasm of its own workers. the gentleman from maryland, i haven't any doubt, will soon have the county system operating fully and successfully in his state, and the same will be true in north carolina and throughout the south; whereas in new england it won't be done because the county is not a unit. in wisconsin and new york, mr. dewey and mr. hutchins, and the men and women who know more than they do, will run the library system safely; whether it is state or county. but we cannot adopt any general rule or take any general expression of opinion, for the people in each state must work out their own salvation according to their own condition. mr. dewey: there are a number of other topics that have been specially asked for. can state commissions provide travelling libraries for hamlets which furnish the money, and make such hamlets travelling library stations? mr. hutchins: i wish to say a few words on that question. all through wisconsin, when we started travelling libraries, some people found that there was a chance to make money by using the idea in a commercial way. they went to communities which had heard of the travelling libraries, raised $ or so for "subscription" and then sent about ten dollars' worth of books once in six months. now, the plan we have worked out may be best described by this illustration: about a year ago miss stearns heard that there was a little hamlet of fishermen far up in the state on a point which juts out into lake michigan. it included about a hundred people who had heard of the travelling libraries, but they did not want to be indebted for a gift or a charity, and so they had a series of entertainments, and raised fifty dollars. they sent the money down to us and we agreed to buy a library in their name. that library was the contribution of the fishermen of the hamlet of jacksonport, and the hamlet was made a travelling library station. you can see how such a method works out. the second point is, that in communities where there are a hundred people or so, and conditions are favorable, we offer to give them travelling libraries on condition that they establish permanent public libraries on lines that are satisfactory to us. we take care of the travelling libraries and they take care of the local libraries. it seems to me, that in this method we have struck finally the correct principle, the principle of self-support. the state takes the money and gives trained service in the selection of the books, in taking care of them, and in keeping the books travelling around their circuit. the citizens pay for their books, and have the feeling that they belong to an organization. more than all, when they are collecting their library fund, giving their little "dime socials," contributing two dollars or five dollars apiece, they are advertising that library, and it seems to me that the library that is coming to them that way means far more than the library that is given to them as a charity. mr. galbreath: mr. hutchins, how often do the communities raise that fifty dollars? mr. hutchins: they raise fifty dollars once, and for that the state engages to send them libraries during the life of the library given by them, which we estimate to be about six years. mr. dewey: what shall be the unit of circulation--the cataloged library or the single book or combination? mr. brigham: we have tried both in iowa. one of the twins is growing faster than the other, and of course that is the hopeful one. mr. dewey: which one is that? mr. brigham: that is the individual, or the single book as the unit, rather than the travelling library; but i believe that the shelf-listed library will always exist. the shelf-listed library of or books must be a necessity in the communities where there are no libraries, and i am sorry to say that there are a great many communities of that sort; but the communities in which there are libraries are increasing, and wherever there is a local library, or wherever there is a woman's club, there the single book can be used to the best advantage. there are disadvantages in the use of the shelf-listed library. before we adopted the new system, we often had requests for library no. or no. , and later found that the request arose from the fact that there was a single book, or perhaps two books in that library, that some one wanted, while the rest of the volumes would come back comparatively unused. that was not good business economy. we might better have sent those two books, and i became more and more impressed with this fact, and was finally able to partially adopt the other plan. we have now perhaps books on our shelves that are issued separately; but we have nearly tied up in libraries. both classes are in use, but the expense to the local library of getting our collection of books for the sake of using perhaps two volumes is unnecessary. i am more and more impressed with the fact--though the remark may be unorthodox--that there is prevalent a little fad for spending money for administration, and spending it not always economically. i believe in spending money freely for administration that is approved by good common sense; beyond that it is a woful waste of money. and so i would keep the use of the single book in mind. the women's clubs as you know, are studying more and more, and are doing less and less miscellaneous reading. suppose we are trying to meet the wants of the women's clubs. we put up a library covering the victorian period in literature, and we find that some one wants a certain number of books on the lake poets. what is the use of sending the entire library? we may have a library made up on the lake poets. then, suppose one librarian or one secretary writes for what we may have on coleridge, another wishes material on wordsworth. why not send the coleridge books to the one, and the wordsworth books to the other? in that way, make the books count. we should not be penurious in the matter of expenditure for cases or for printing, or for any other working tools, but we should always keep in mind that the essential thing is the book, and if we can get on without the book case, or without the cover that envelops it, or without the shipping case, or without the combination book case and shipping case, all the better. we cannot get along without them altogether, but we can send small packages all over the state wrapped in paper, and can get rid of a great deal of expense. mr. dewey: when you send ten books, of course send them in paper, but when you send or , send them in boxes; that is cheaper. this is a mere shipping question. adjourned. work of state library associations and women's clubs in advancing library interests: round table meeting. the work that can be done by state library associations and women's clubs to advance library interests was considered in a "round table" meeting, held in the assembly room, fountain spring house, on the morning of wednesday, july . miss marilla waite freeman presided as chairman. miss freeman: at the montreal conference last year a round table meeting of officers of state library associations was held for the discussion of questions affecting association work. certain subjects, some of which were informally discussed at that time, seem naturally to invite our attention at the present session. we are to consider the object and functions of state library associations--whether they should attempt other lines of effort than the holding of a general meeting; what principles as to time and place of meeting, topics, and participants should govern the preparation of a program. with this general subject has been joined the allied topic of the work of women's clubs in advancing library interests. few of us fully comprehend even yet the amount of effective library extension work which has been and is being accomplished by club women in almost every state of the union. i have asked representative members from some of the states which have been working along these lines to tell us of their work. we shall hear first from mr. j. c. dana, of the city library, springfield, mass., the western massachusetts club, and the massachusetts library club, on what the work of state library associations should be. j. c. dana: perhaps the chief purposes of a state library association are to arouse an interest in libraries among the public and to increase the knowledge and enthusiasm of the members of the profession. the mistake is often made of thinking that the chief purpose of an association is to hold an annual meeting. it is thought that the annual meeting once provided with a good program, and that well carried through, the work of the association for the whole year is done. there could not be a greater mistake. the benefits of a state association come largely from correspondence between members, the preparation for the meeting, and the securing of ideas, new methods and statistics by circulating letters among members, and the publication in newspapers and elsewhere of notes about the meeting which is to come and the meetings which have been. one is almost tempted to say that a library association performs its duty better if it is active during the year--carrying on correspondence and thoroughly advertising itself--and holds no meeting whatever, than it does if it holds an annual meeting and does not advertise. another mistake common to those who organize state library associations is to suppose that they are chiefly designed for the benefit of those who organize them. they do not realize that to help younger and less experienced members of the craft is a chief purpose of the association, and that if through it librarians generally are informed and encouraged, the profession itself is thereby improved, and they are themselves advanced in general esteem. it is, then, an association's business to be active all through the year, to devote itself largely to such work in and between its meetings as will benefit both beginners and past-masters among librarians, and, always, properly to advertise its work. along this last line let me say an urgent word in favor of good printing. it is difficult to overestimate the value to an institution like a library association of an exhibition of itself, through all its circulars and programs and lists, by means of the best printing that money can buy. the general state association, being the largest and richest of all associations in a given state, should take upon itself some large definite work of permanent value and as far as possible of general interest; say the compilation of historical material, the making of a useful index, the issuance of popular lists, etc., etc. this work may continue along the same line for several years, ending in the publication of something thoroughly worth while which shall have been the means of arousing interest in the profession itself and of bringing the members of it into touch with one another month by month and year by year. as to the place of meeting of the state association, i doubt if much benefit accrues, on the whole, from meetings held in remote places for missionary purposes. i say this, of course, on the supposition that the meetings thus held, being at places difficult of access, will not generally draw a large gathering. better results can generally be reached in these same small communities by sending to them occasionally one or two active representatives of the association to carry on a little propaganda work, speak before a woman's club, before the school teachers, or a local literary society on the local library problems. about the programs of association meetings, it is difficult to say anything which will have general application. they must, of course, to a considerable extent, fit local conditions. i do not think it advisable to give up much time to local speakers, either for words of greeting or for historical sketches. these latter are generally unspeakably dull. on the other hand, if popular interest in a place is desired a local speaker may be the one best means available for accomplishing your object. associations which are attended, as so many are, by librarians of smaller libraries who rarely get abroad and do not often have an opportunity to meet their fellows and to expand in the social atmosphere of the library meeting, should cultivate to the greatest possible extent what one may call the conversational feature. not only should ample opportunity be given before and after and between the sessions for informal talks, but a portion of the formal gathering itself should be devoted to brief and rapid exchange of ideas. this can be brought about by a little preliminary wire-pulling. let some one briefly open a topic, and then let questions be offered, some of them by the most diffident of those present who have previously been posted as to what they are to ask and when. manufacture a little spontaneity by way of an ice-breaker, and it is surprising how freely genuine spontaneity will then flow. it is unquestionably of great value to a librarian who is unselfishly giving her energy to a small library in a remote place, trying to make her books of use, to be able to express herself, no matter how briefly, on some of the matters which touch her work at home. a state association should draw out the diffident; cheer the discouraged ones; magnify our calling; compel public attention to the value of libraries; be active the whole year through; and always keep a little ahead of the general library progress in the state. miss ella mcloney: it is unquestionably true, as has been stated, that the annual meeting of a state library association is not the whole of the work that must be done through the year. it is possibly only an incident, but the fact is that in the nature of things the work of preparation for this meeting must be carried on during at least half the year. the preparation of the programs requires a great deal of correspondence, and this must extend over a great part of the state and during a great part of the year. whenever any circulars or announcements are issued, they should be sent to every library in the state; it does not matter whether that library is likely to be represented or not, it should have information as to the work that is being done by the state association. so far as advertising a library is concerned it seems to me a good deal of a problem. of course, library people, like other people, need the help of the newspapers, but if you want to get the newspapers interested in libraries it will have to be on the strength of something more than what libraries are going to do. in other words, it will have to be something that the newspapers can take up as news and feel that the public are interested in; they want material that is fresh and newsy, and if you can furnish them with that, then the newspapers will be willing to help. as to the printing of programs and other material, i am hardly prepared to say that library associations should always have the best and most expensive work. it is a proper thing, theoretically, to appear before the public in the handsomest and most suitable dress possible, but when every cents is of importance and your treasury is practically empty, and there is no one upon whom you can legitimately draw to fill it, i think you must limit your work accordingly. about definite work to be done, it is true of a library association, as of any other association, that it should do something that will furnish a reason for its existence. in most cases the most definite thing, if you are beginners in association work, will be the task of gaining a foothold; but the time will probably come when it will be necessary to undertake some definite work, that the life of the association may be prolonged and finally assured. the iowa association, for its first three or four years, was a very frail child, and required most careful nursing; but finally, about the fourth year, it began to seem as if there was very good prospect of its growth and development. miss ahern, whom illinois has claimed for the last five years, and who was at that time interested in the iowa work, devised the plan of establishing a four years' course of library study, an ambitious undertaking in the condition of affairs in iowa then. this was printed in a neat folder, which was sent to every library in the state, with a circular telling them what the plan was, and that the library association wished the librarians of the state to enter upon this four years' course of study, and asked all who would pledge themselves to do so to come to the next meeting with their report of the work. i received seven letters in response to all this circular work, and when the time for the annual meeting came there was no one there to report. librarians were too busy, too far apart, and too poorly paid, to permit the work being carried on systematically. it was dropped at that point; i think it could be done now, and it may be taken up yet. it did furnish a common bond, although the results were not very evident just then. the next thing, as has been the case with many other associations, was the work of securing the library commission. we pegged away at that for five years before we accomplished anything. finally the state federation of women's clubs interested itself; we secured the commission, and the work has been going on exceedingly well for the past year. we have made no plan yet for further definite work, but some need will doubtless develop. in regard to programs, they must, of course, as mr. dana said, be adapted to local conditions, and the people who are primarily the workers in the state association, cannot expect personally to get much from the program or from the work of the association. but it is probably true in most cases that these workers have opportunities of visiting other libraries, and have facilities for work that are not open to the librarians in the smaller places. the librarians of the smaller libraries should be given something definite, something technical, something that will be of help to them in the work from a professional point of view. as to place of meeting, the iowa meetings were always held in des moines, the capital city, until two years ago. then it was decided to make the library association a movable feast. we met at cedar rapids two years ago, last year at sioux city, where we had a good meeting, although not largely attended. sioux city is in the extreme western part of the state, and is not easily accessible by railroad, but we drew a little from south dakota, which was what we had counted on; some dakota people came and joined the association, and two of those people have attended this a. l. a. conference. we meet next in burlington, where there are more libraries in the locality, and we expect a larger attendance. i suppose the ideal condition would be to meet in some central place, where there are library facilities, but i believe it is worth while to move the association about; that is one way of advertising it. miss olive jones: i fully believe that the greatest work of the state association it does through the librarians individually. it is of help in the state in bringing out different lines of work, and in keeping the library work before the public; but, after all, do we not gain more from individual effort than from anything else? in educational problems, it is coming to be realized that the work of the individual means more than the work of any body of people, and i am fully convinced, if we can bring librarians to our state associations, and have an association full of enthusiasm and that intangible something which we call library spirit, we will have more done for the state at large than by any devising of general work along large lines. i would make a special plea that in deciding where to meet, you should consider first the librarians, and settle a pleasant place for the members who meet fellow-workers only once a year. there are librarians who have no vacation at all, except when their board kindly allows them to go to the state association meeting; there are librarians who never know personally anything of this larger work done all over the country, and we should not ask such persons to come to a place where they are not going to be comfortable, and which they must spend a good deal of money to reach. we must be sure of having something for the librarians of the smaller libraries; something technical, not too much, but something which the librarian can take away, feeling that it has been worth while to attend. i am not certain that we could have library instruction in ohio; we tried it and it did not seem to work; but if you can introduce in the program one or two definite, technical papers, it is a good thing. and at the same time give a chance for sociability and some social entertainment. there is one other point, and that is in regard to the advertising that we can do through individuals--you see my point is individualism. i believe in newspaper advertising, but i think if you can work up a good mailing list through your state, sending all your circulars to individuals, you will do more than by newspaper advertising. and it is a good thing to get one library in each city to keep a list of every one in that city who ought to be specially interested in library work, whether members of the association or not. then let that librarian send to the secretary of the association a duplicate of that list, so that everything the state association issues goes to each person who should be interested in library work. w. r. eastman: in new york we are going through a little transition period in state library association work. formerly our state association held occasional meetings in different places. it held one in midwinter in new york city, with the new york library club. then in the summer or spring we held a meeting in the central part of the state. we tried to make our programs as practical as could be, discussing not only occasional technical points, but elementary points as well. we always had good meetings; we got together a little circle of librarians who were interested, and we thought the state association was worth keeping up, although the state was so large that we reached only one or two centers. about a year ago, under a new administration, dr. canfield suggested that the annual meeting should always be held in one place. we consented to try the plan, and decided to make lake placid, in the adirondacks, our meeting place. we met there, and the association, to my surprise and somewhat to my disturbance, first voted always to meet in one place, and then voted always to meet at lake placid. we then made a proviso instructing the executive board to district the state into or districts, and lay out a plan by which every one of those districts should have a library conference in the course of the year. thus, instead of one meeting of the state during a year, we are going to have local conferences. whether those local conferences will have an organization i do not know; the board has not yet reported its plan. probably there will be some sort of a skeleton organization--a president and secretary, and perhaps some one in charge of each local conference, and then some member of the association will probably come and attend the conference. our object is to bring together the librarians and library trustees for miles around; if the teachers are interested, so much the better. so, you see, we have begun to establish a system of local conferences all over the state. it is not extravagant; it is hopeful; i believe there is a great deal in it, especially for the larger states. miss stearns: i for one would protest against always meeting in one place, unless as mr. eastman has described, the meeting is held at a resort. i have known cases where meetings were held at one central, large town, because it was so accessible; and the librarian of a little library, who cannot have open shelves and all facilities, goes to this town and sees its large library, with its red tape, and gets so completely tangled up in the red tape of that institution that she will never be able to disentangle herself. i believe in the migration of meetings. h. c. wellman: i am in hearty sympathy with what has been said in regard to extending library work through the state. it is especially valuable in the newer states of the union, but in the older states, in new england, in new york, and elsewhere, i think we must not attend too strictly to the extension of library work, but must rather intensify it. a state library association, as miss jones said, can do a great deal for librarians and for the library profession. the massachusetts library club has done something in the way of giving a series of lectures, to run two or three years. the first lecture dealt with paper making, the subject being treated by an expert; then came book illustration, of which most librarians knew absolutely nothing; and then, finally, book binding, for which we had one of the best binders of the state to come down and show us the tricks of the trade. you are all library school graduates out here; but in the effete east nine-tenths of the librarians have not had that technical training. i do not know anything that was of more practical good to our club membership than that lecture on library binding. there is another thing that we ought to do, and that is to give attention to the more scholarly side of librarianship. we are so busy organizing, so busy spreading library ideas, that we are in danger of losing sight of scholarship. that is something the state association can do--in the directions of literature, bibliography, and such subjects. i think that should be emphasized more than has been the case. in the massachusetts club we are trying a similar scheme to that of mr. eastman; we are going to have one annual meeting, which will take in all the library clubs all over the state. then, besides that, the state club meets about three times a year in different parts of the state. in concluding, i want to make sure that this round table is to be continued, and i therefore move that this assembly petition the program committee of next year for another round table meeting on this subject. _voted._ miss m. e. ahern: i want to say a word about this matter of having peripatetic meetings. in the state of illinois we have all the library law and all the library books in the northern part of the state, and then there is a part of the state down in the south that they call "egypt." there may be some libraries there, but we have been unable yet to induce them to take their place in the state library association. two years ago, after having tried for several years to get these libraries to come into the association, we brought the association to them, and held our meeting in east st. louis, under the most distressing circumstances of weather and other uncomfortable conditions; and not a single librarian from that community attended the meeting. we tried the same plan last year in another place in the state, and i felt when the meeting was over that we had not done much good there. very few of the local people came to the meeting. later i heard that we did some good, but i am inclined to think that the personal efforts of the librarians at that place did more than the association did. i am not at all a pessimist, but in illinois this plan has failed to interest the people of the indifferent districts in the work that the library association was trying to do, and i have been almost convinced that it is the proper thing for an association to get a central point and bring librarians in touch with the vitalizing spirit of a good library conference, rather than to try to take the association to an indifferent community. i want heartily to emphasize the point made by mr. dana about local speakers. i have suffered more than once from these local speakers. i have a most distinct recollection of hearing a trustee talk for one hour and a quarter on the beautiful, magnanimous and generous efforts made by himself to run the local library. the point made by mr. wellman needs to be taken cautiously. i think there is more danger of emphasizing the scholarly side of librarianship at state meetings than there is of not giving it sufficient attention. the american library association, in my opinion, should stand for the higher tenets of the library faith, and the scholarly side should be more emphasized than has been the case heretofore in the meetings of the national association. with all our different organizations, clubs, associations, conferences, round tables, and so on, it seems to me that the american library association should take care of the technical side, and the smaller questions, that must, indeed, be settled by local conditions, should be taken up by the state associations. while, of course, we want to have material of a high order presented at the state association, at the same time we must remember that these associations reach those people who cannot be touched in any other way; and if they have come to get light on this new topic of work for children, or if they are on the point of reorganizing their library, or if they are having trouble with their board, they do not take kindly to a dissertation on printing in the th century. one thing has been left out in the various interests which have been brought forward, and that is the part of the trustee in the state association meetings. a librarian may have all possible inclination, and all the enthusiasm that we can give her, but if she does not have the co-operation and the kindly sympathy of her library board, or at least a majority of its members, life is to her a burden. her condition is worse than when she did not know, and did not know that she did not know. the state associations have not so far been open enough to the trustees. it seems to me that this is a subject well worth taking up, and we should try to do more for the library trustees of the state than we have done heretofore. necessarily they take rather a material view of the situation, and we should try to lead them away from the dollar-and-cents view of library work. these two things need to be emphasized--keep in mind the small librarian, and educate the trustee. some one has said that we need a library school for trustees quite as much as we need a library school for librarians, and the more i see of libraries the more i believe that. mrs. e. j. dockery spoke on how a library commission was secured in idaho. i bring to you an accurate and complete history of the course adopted by the club women of my state in securing library legislation, as i personally participated in the work with other members of the woman's columbian club, the organization that had the direct and immediate charge of the subject. it is a somewhat embarrassing confession to make that idaho, with its area of , square miles and a population of , souls, and its sobriquet of "the gem of the mountains," has not a free circulating library. i make this statement, however, to emphasize the virgin field in which we had to labor and the munificence of our legislators when we consider the various tax burdens are so many and the number so few to bear them. boisé city, the capital of our state, with a population of , , is the home of the woman's columbian club of members. this club, among its many achievements, established and almost wholly supports a public library of volumes at boisé; and its members stand in the vanguard and do yeoman's service as leaders and in the ranks in all causes to advance the moral, intellectual and material good of all the people of the state that has granted women equal suffrage with men. the club strongly urges the formation of other woman's clubs throughout the state, and encourages at all times the organization and development of free libraries. the first really effective and aggressive step of the club in this direction, and which led to important results, was the adoption of the free travelling library scheme. its zealous members, by united action and individual effort, accumulated sufficient funds to put into circulation travelling libraries with a total of volumes, and invited discussion of this work in the public press. at the state teachers' meeting representatives of the club, on invitation, espoused the cause of the travelling library and libraries generally. the demand for library cases soon exhausted the columbian club's ability to respond, and then an appeal for legislative aid was determined upon, and systematic methods, principally through the press, were pursued to awaken public sentiment favorable to the election of friendly legislators. after the election of the legislators in the columbian club sent circular letters to each one, setting forth the merits of the two bills the club had prepared and upon which its energies were concentrated, namely: a bill creating a state library commission, and a bill authorizing common councils of cities and governing bodies of communities to levy a tax not to exceed one mill on the assessed valuation of property for the establishment and maintenance of free reading rooms and libraries. similar circular letters were sent to each of the newspapers published in the state. all women's clubs were importuned to co-operate, and also all public school officials, teachers and educators of the state. the press responded right royally with one single exception, and book lovers and educators of high and low degree lent their willing assistance. representatives of the club again appeared before the annual state teachers' meeting, and secured an official endorsement from that body for the proposed library legislation. the state teachers' association, in addition, advocated a law requiring that three per cent. of all school moneys be set aside as a fund for school libraries, to which the club women gave their aid and which also became a law. at the convening of the legislature in january of this year the leaven had begun to work, thus paving the way for the successful lobbying by the official representatives of the columbian club. the first step was the selection of a conspicuous legislator to stand sponsor for our bills. in this we encountered an embarrassment of riches in capable legislative material, but finally selected senator s. p. donnelly, who cheerfully assumed the duty, and exerted the full force of his wide popularity and marked ability from the time of his introduction of the bills until the final vote upon them. the club members held frequent conferences with the educational committee of both houses of the legislature and other legislators specially interested in educational matters, and made plain to them the inestimable benefits of the bills we championed. and in this connection i desire to make graceful acknowledgment to the library workers of wisconsin, as it was while a resident of this state i received from them my first library inspiration; and particularly do i desire to acknowledge our indebtedness to mr. f. l. hutchins, whose personal communications and generous supply of library literature enabled us to fully present our subject and to meet all objections raised by some of the legislators. every member of the legislature, with the exception of one in the lower house, was buttonholed, and the consequence of that oversight was manifested on the final voting day. in the meantime the club requested the home papers of the legislators to continue to urge favorable action; and the club women from all parts of the state, by letters, personal visits and petitions to the legislators, did likewise. the instinct of partisanship, a peculiarity of all legislative bodies, was not manifested in the least. on the day for the final action in the senate committee of the whole the columbian club was notified and attended in a body, the courtesy of the floor being extended to us. imagine our consternation, when the question was submitted to an aye and nay vote, at not a voice being raised in its favor save senator donnelly's. for a few moments silence so profound that it was almost palpable prevailed, when presently senator kinkaid, who was in the chair, without calling for the nays, solemnly announced, "the ayes have it"; and delight supplanted our agonized distress as the pleasantry at senator donnelly's expense and ours dawned upon us. the bill was then placed upon its final passage, and the senators, who hesitated in their support on the ground of economy only, announced that they would vote in favor of the bill, but desired it expressly understood that they did so because they were intimidated by the presence of the columbian club. the best of spirits prevailed, and our bill providing for a state library commission of five members, two at least to be women, passed the senate unanimously, the president of the state university and the superintendent of public instruction to be _ex officio_ members and the other three members to be appointed by the governor; and the law appropriated $ for the purchase of travelling library books and the maintenance of the commission for two years. the bill was sent to the lower house to take its course in that body, but we were denied the privilege of practicing intimidation there. immediately upon its arrival in the house a member moved that it be made a special order of business and be immediately placed upon its final passage, and that a polite message be sent the president of the columbian club that the house would perform its solemn duties without the assistance or coercion of that club. the bill passed the house unanimously save for the solitary negative vote of the member whom, by an inexplicable oversight, we failed to interview, and who announced he so voted for that reason. this library commission bill was by all odds the most conspicuous matter before the legislature, and the enrolled bill submitted to the governor for signature was elaborately prepared and adorned with the club colors by the attaches of the legislature. the commission has been in existence three months, or more properly speaking, less than two months, for the necessary preliminary work did not enable us to get before the public until may. already we have been invited to assist and direct the formation of six libraries and to select books for the penitentiary library, have placed in circulation new travelling library cases in addition to the cases donated to the state by the columbian club, and have more cases in preparation. while the law provided for the appointment of at least two women on the commission, the governor appointed three, two of whom are members of the columbian club; and our superintendent of public instruction being a woman, we have four of the five members, and what is more especially to the point, they are all club women. woman's clubs may with propriety, i think, lay claim to some credit for library laws in idaho, and yet it is significant that the reason for their power lies in the fact that the women of our state have in their hands the wand of progress and civilization, the most powerful and bloodless offensive and defensive weapon on earth--the ballot. in the hand of the frailest of our sex this powerful weapon can strike as deadly a blow at evil or as strenuous a blow for good as it can in the hands of the brawniest of fighting men; no moral wretch of whatever size and strength but what the very gentlest of our number can cancel his registered will on election day; for an aspiring public servant to dare oppose a righteous cause means sure defeat--for womanhood inevitably arrays itself against the hosts of error. the women of our state, marshalled under the leadership of women's clubs, stood in an unwavering and united array for all our library laws and every other law that stood for good; and there were, all told, bills affecting education enacted into laws at the last session. whatever of inspiration and encouragement the success of women's clubs in idaho may give our sister clubs in sister states, the success of woman's suffrage there at any rate will help to silence the scoffers' sneers and help put this ballot-sword, forged in the workshop of right and justice, in the hand of every woman. in the absence of mr. john thomson miss neisser read mr. thomson's paper on how to secure a state library commission. i am asked "how to secure a state library commission?" i answer: _ask for it._ _urge it on the legislature._ _strive persistently._ without these three methods, there is little hope of getting a library commission or the passage of good library legislation. pennsylvania has been behind every other state in the union in the matter of library legislation and principally because hardly any effort was made to procure the assistance of the legislature. outside of a dog-tax paid over for the support and maintenance of public libraries, under an act approved in may, , no real step was taken in this state to secure the benefits of the public library movement until . in that year, it was sought to pass an act to authorize all cities and boroughs of the commonwealth to levy taxes and make appropriations for the establishment and maintenance of free libraries. unfortunately, this bill was stoutly opposed and was finally amended so as to affect only cities of the first class. the most important subsequent legislation was the approval by the governor in may, , of a bill providing for the appointment of a free library commission and defining its powers and duties. under this act, the governor had power to appoint five persons, who with the state librarian, constitute the free library commission--the state librarian being _ex officio_ secretary of that body. the commission has power to give advice and counsel to all free libraries in the state and to all communities which may propose to establish them, as to the best means of establishing and administering such libraries, the selection of books, cataloging, and other details of library management; and the commission has certain powers of general supervision and inspection. the section closes with the following words: "the commission shall also establish and maintain out of such sums as shall come into their hands, by appropriation or otherwise, a system of travelling libraries as far as possible throughout the commonwealth." legislature adjourned without making any appropriation and the commission found itself in the position described by dickens when mr. pickwick and his friends were authorized to travel where they liked, make such investigations as they thought good, and generally to promote science at their own expense. the commission was authorized under the powers conferred upon it to purchase books, provide book-cases, print whatever matter seemed good to it, and generally develop a travelling libraries system throughout pennsylvania _at its own expense_. nothing daunted, the members of the commission met in the state library on april , and organized, and being absolutely without funds, efforts were made to secure contributions from benevolent friends of the movement and $ were raised from persons who generously placed in the hands of the commission sufficient funds to enable it to start the work. in a recent circular issued by the commission, the secretary calls attention to the fact that ohio already had more than travelling libraries and an appropriation of $ per year with which to carry on the work. michigan has many libraries and an appropriation of from three to five thousand dollars per year. wisconsin has six or seven hundred travelling libraries, and new york nearly one thousand. every state of any importance in the union has established and is maintaining travelling libraries on from three to five thousand dollars per annum. a few travelling libraries only at present have been sent out in pennsylvania. these are now in use, but the commission was afraid to undertake much work, as it did not know how soon its funds might be exhausted, and it might find itself unable to grant the applications for travelling libraries which are steadily coming in. when it is asked how to secure a state library commission the second question how to secure an appropriation with which to carry on the work of the commission is necessarily involved. in the case of pennsylvania (just brought to a happy issue,) the active interest of many of the leading newspapers throughout the state was sought and obtained. the editors of these papers were written to in person and a statement describing the scope and needs of the library commission and the amount of the appropriation hoped for was forwarded to each. with one or two exceptions, the editors printed much of this material as news, and a considerable number added editorials urging the importance of the movement. more valuable help could not have been secured. the smaller papers, which of course draw their material largely from the papers published in the larger cities, followed suit, and practically reprinted the same matter. copies of the papers containing these articles were secured, and marked copies were sent to the representatives from their own neighborhoods. in this manner nearly three hundred of the newspapers throughout the state were communicated with, and their assistance had a great deal to do with the final granting of the appropriation. in this way information was laid before thousands of citizens who would otherwise have been uninformed on the matter. beyond all this an explanatory letter fully detailing the position of the commission was sent by one of the commission to every member of the legislature and the secretary of the commission issued the excellently prepared circular (above referred to), several copies of which were sent to every member of the legislature and to others. the result has been that an appropriation of $ has been passed by both houses, and there is no reason to doubt that the bill will receive the governor's signature when the time comes for him to sign the appropriation bills for - . it would be waste of time at a round table meeting like this to dwell upon the benefits of the travelling libraries movement. the free library commission of pennsylvania has determined to do its utmost to develop the movement throughout the state, and if a practical answer is to be given to the question, how to secure a state library commission?, i would say, recognize the importance of the movement, strive early and late, through the newspapers, by means of circulars and by personal interviews, to interest the members of the legislature, and persevere unintermittingly in impressing your needs upon those who have the power to grant the necessary legislation and appropriation. work early and late and do not stop working until you have secured what you want. mrs. belle m. stoutenborough spoke on what women's clubs can do to further the work of the library. i trust you will pardon me for adding the word "nebraska" to my topic. six years ago last october the nebraska federation of women's clubs held its second annual meeting at our state capital. some two weeks before the meeting mrs. peabody, a name familiar to every librarian in this room, who was at that time our president, wrote me: "i am very anxious to bring the travelling library movement before the women of our state. will you talk for or minutes on this topic before the lincoln meeting?" if she had asked me to talk on the study of comparative anatomy, i should have been just as familiar with the topic, but in the reference room of the omaha public library, i held a consultation with poole's index, and succeeded in finding just one article on travelling libraries; it was in the january _forum_ of , and if i am not mistaken, it was a brief history or sketch of the traveling library movement in new york. here was my opportunity; what had been done in new york, could be done in nebraska, although upon a smaller scale, by the federation of women's clubs. i shall not forget how i trembled as i stood before that large audience and made my first plea for a travelling library. however, the secretary, in reporting the meeting, was kind enough to say that the audience at once caught the speaker's enthusiasm, and a committee was appointed for the formation of plans for a federation travelling library. a hundred dollars was subscribed, and sixty books purchased and sent out to eight clubs that first year. i know it seems like a small beginning to-day, but it was serious, earnest, and full of possibilities, and to-day the work is an educational factor in our state. i believe that these books which have gone out to the club women have not only enabled them to pursue certain lines of study, which otherwise it would not have been possible for them to have taken, but they have created in the minds of other members of the family a desire to possess good reference books. these books are sent out from my own home. the clubs receiving them are at no expense except in paying express charges for their return. the work is supported by voluntary contributions, and as to the salary of the librarian, she is paid over and over again in the thankful letters which she receives from the people who are using the books. in , the nebraska library association succeeded in introducing a bill in the legislature, creating a library commission for travelling libraries. it passed the lower house, and went into the senate, where it was "lost to sight, though to memory dear." in , nothing daunted, the nebraska library association was there again with its library bill. it passed the lower house, but it never reached the senate. last june, the national federation of women's clubs was held in the city of milwaukee. mrs. buchwalter, of ohio, the chairman of the program committee, planned for a bureau of library instruction or information, and this bureau was located in an upper room in the milwaukee public library. the presiding genius in the room was miss stearns; i always think of her as the pioneer travelling library woman of the northwest. a clubwoman from nebraska was in attendance at that meeting and instead of spending her time listening to the program, she passed the greater part of the week in that upper room, and there she learned the work which is being done by women's clubs throughout the length and breadth of our land in this library field, and she went back to nebraska determined, if possible, to secure legislation for free travelling libraries in the coming year. it was a strange coincidence, that last october the nebraska federation of women's clubs again held their annual meeting at our state capital, and as before, the same woman who had presented six years before to that meeting, a plan for a federation travelling library, was there to present a plan for free travelling libraries and a state library commission for nebraska. the plan was formally and unanimously adopted, and a committee was appointed to co-operate with the nebraska library association to secure legislation. in all this work, we never had any one who assisted us more ably than mr. wyer, the librarian of the state university, who was never too busy to advise us or to see a man that we could not reach, and he it was who drafted our bill and saw it through. to make a long story short, the first thing we did was to send out circulars suggesting that "a library day" be observed in the clubs; this library day was generally discussed throughout the state. then we sent a petition which was circulated, not only in the towns, but among the farmers and their wives; and finally one march morning i received the following telegram: "rejoice and be exceeding glad"--and i have been rejoicing ever since, for house bill no. , carrying with it an appropriation of $ for free public libraries, for free travelling libraries, and for the state commission, had passed, not only the lower house, but the senate. it received the governor's signature, and it means we are to have travelling libraries in nebraska. miss freeman: mrs. morris, of the wisconsin free library commission and the general federation of women's clubs, will be unable to be with us this morning on account of illness. we are, however, fortunate in being able to hear from mrs. youmans, the president of the wisconsin federation of women's clubs. mrs. youmans: i cannot possibly fill mrs. morris' place, but i should not like to have this subject discussed without wisconsin being represented. we may gather from the deliberations of this association, that wisconsin keeps a prominent place in library work among the states of the union. if this is so, and i do not doubt it, it is, as we all know, due to the enthusiasm and energetic efforts of the free library commission, and this commission will assure you that its members have had no more enthusiastic allies than the club women of the state. work for libraries was the first work undertaken by wisconsin women's clubs--the first work outside of their regular literary programs--and since the organization of the federation in , it has been one of its most prominent lines of work. i suppose there are few clubs among the in the federation that have not done something, sometimes important and sometimes unimportant, for the library movement. they have established libraries and free reading-rooms; they have helped to support libraries; they have made donations of books and money; they have sent out travelling libraries on their errands of usefulness; and they have also sent out travelling reference libraries especially for the uses of the study clubs. the federation at the present time is making a special effort toward securing as many of these travelling reference libraries as possible. the club women in the interior of the state have very inadequate reference facilities; we have now only six or seven of these reference libraries, and we feel comparatively rich that we are soon to have half a dozen more. a great many of the public libraries in wisconsin are due directly to efforts of club women. the public library of waukesha is due directly to the efforts of a little coterie of club women; they started seven years ago, with prospects that could not possibly be called brilliant. they kept the library going for seven years from one month to another, in some way securing the money, and finally the burden was taken from their shoulders by the city council. now, the library is not large; it is not, from a technical point of view, fine; and it certainly lacks many things that we hope to have in the future; but it has volumes, generally read and much valued by the people, it has become established as a regular necessary part of the municipal life, and i think it is sure of a regular though moderate support from the public funds. in a city a few miles north of here a woman's club has a fund of $ towards a library building. it does not intend building a library with that sum; it does not intend to go on earning money by rummage sales and private theatricals; but it does expect to use that money and to use the interest of the members of the club as a center for developing library interests in the vicinity. this work is illustrative of what is being done all over the state, and it is not so much the money that the club women collect for the libraries, nor the books they may secure, nor even the direct work that they do; it is the feeling that they disseminate as to the value of public libraries. the club woman, in her club work, finds the need of a good library; her associations and connections are such that she learns to value books more than she ever did before; she learns, too, that for the intellectual life of her vicinity it is necessary to have a public library; she helps to develop the public spirit that demands a public library; she helps to bring out an atmosphere in which public libraries germinate and grow and flourish. this, it seems to me, is the most important part of club work among club women. this is what they are doing in wisconsin, and what they will continue to do. mr. hutchins: i have been watching for years the work of the women's clubs and their enthusiasm for libraries. they are accomplishing a great deal, and there is just one thing i would like to say to the club women of the country, "plan a study club, and in a few years you get a public library. plan a library, and in a few years you get five study clubs." co-operation between a. l. a. and general federation of women's clubs. miss stearns: the american library association has fallen into a most successful alliance with the national educational association, as is demonstrated by the continuation of our meeting at detroit. now, the a. l. a. has never realized all that the general federation of women's clubs has done for the promotion of library interests. this is the first time in the history of the a. l. a. that the women's clubs have been recognized on our program, and i move that the a. l. a. council be requested to form an alliance between the american library association and the federation of women's clubs for the promotion of library interests. _voted._ in the absence of miss marie s. dupuis, the chairman read by title her paper on the woman's club and the travelling library. the woman's club and the travelling library seem made for each other. so perfectly does the travelling library supply a suitable channel for the energies of the woman's club, and so admirably does the woman's club seem fitted for the work of sending out travelling libraries, that the one seems the natural and perfect complement of the other. what a box of well-selected reading matter means to a rural community probably only those know who have lived in a rural community without the box. others must draw upon their imaginations to picture farm homes without other current literature than a weekly local paper whose "patent inside" contains all the news they receive of the world's work; homes where the family bible--not always present--and the children's school books form the only bound volumes of the family library, where even the deservedly ephemeral literature of the daily paper and the -cent magazine are unknown, though rural free mail delivery will soon alter this. with numberless such communities on the one hand, we have on the other numerous women's clubs organized for self-improvement and "mutual aid," to use the fine phrase of prince kropotkin. and so closely are human interests interwoven that "mutual aid" means self-improvement, and self-improvement "mutual aid." it is doubtful if any form of educational endeavor undertaken by women's clubs is so fruitful in good results as the travelling library. it is the most practical form of educational work as yet undertaken by these organizations. the work of the illinois federation of women's clubs in this direction has been under the supervision of the library extension committee of that organization. more than one-third of the clubs of the state are now engaged in travelling library work. the number of libraries in circulation has doubled in the past year. the plan usually adopted in the formation of a travelling library is for each member of a club to donate one or more books. a parmelee or other suitable trunk bookcase is purchased for the collection, usually consisting of about volumes, a record-book is provided, each volume is furnished with a library catalog and the rules for borrowers recommended by the committee, and the library is then ready to begin its travels. several libraries are grouped into county circuits--a unique feature of the illinois plan--of four or more to a circuit. two years has been found to be the average life of a travelling library, and a circuit of four libraries remaining in each community for six months will thus supply four communities with travelling libraries for two years. with regard to the composition of the travelling library, the committee recommends that each library consist of about volumes; that of these one-half shall be juveniles; that fiction shall be carefully selected, preference being given to standard works, those which have stood the test of time; that everything of a theological bias shall be excluded; that biographies, travels and nature studies and stories are particularly desirable, with other suggestions for particular communities or of a general character. we lay particular stress upon the proportion of juveniles being at least one-half, for the reason not only that children and young people are generally the most numerous class of readers, but also because many adults, unaccustomed to much reading, find juvenile literature more readily comprehensible. considering the fact that our libraries are almost wholly the result of voluntary donation, it is remarkable and, indeed, extremely gratifying that the libraries sent out are of such a high degree of literary excellence. the outcome of the heterogeneous tastes of club members, they seem admirably adapted to the equally heterogeneous tastes of the communities to which they are sent. improvement, however, is always possible, and for the coming year we have model lists of books drawn up as guides, if not patterns, for future libraries. in states where a public travelling library system does not yet exist, the women's clubs seem excellently qualified for inaugurating and maintaining such a system until the time comes, as it surely will, when every state has its library commission and its travelling library fund. trustees' section. a meeting of the trustees' section of the a. l. a. was held on july in parlor c of the fountain house, with dr. leipziger in the chair and thos. l. montgomery acting as secretary. there were persons present. dr. leipziger made an opening address, outlining the work that might be discussed by the section. mr. soule urged the election of trustees for a term of years only, and in the opinion of those present three years seemed the proper limit. the question of whether members of the board of education should be admitted to library boards excited considerable discussion, in which mr. cooke, of iowa, mr. porter, of cincinnati, mr. crunden and the secretary took part. it was generally conceded that members of the board of education should not be trustees of libraries _ex officio_, but that there was no objection to electing them as individuals. mr. eastman then read his very interesting paper on library buildings. (_see_ p. .) mr. mauran, of st. louis, spoke on the relation of the architect to the librarian. (_see_ p. ) mr. patton, of chicago, said that the two papers showed the lack of any antagonism between the professions. he considered it absolutely necessary that the architect should be selected before anything else, in order that he should be familiar with all the librarians' requirements, and that the interior arrangement was the only matter that should be thought of then. the plan of giving premiums is bad, because it is no temptation to the skilled architect, but it is to the mere draughtsman. he also thought that library architecture must become a specialty. mr. dewey asked, "what is the best way to get the combined judgment of several architects without offence to the profession, and yet give a proper remuneration for their labor?" mr. patton answered that there was no objection to such consultations on the part of the profession, and that it was becoming more common every year. the objection to competitions was that there was no expert to make a fair decision. competitions, as a rule, did not produce such good results as the appointment of a well-equipped and competent architect, to plan and oversee the work from the beginning. under any circumstances expert advice might be had and should generally prove useful, especially when members of a library board were not prepared to give thorough attention to the architectural problems. personally, he had often been employed as consulting architect, just as a physician might be called in that capacity. mr. eastman stated that in the case of the utica public library $ had been given to each of ten architects for small sketches or outlines incorporating the requirements of the board. mr. dewey thought that every state commission should have an expert, to whom should be referred all suggestions for plans for libraries, in order that the bad features may be called to the attention of the library board. in the case of very large institutions the national library should be appealed to. this was by far the most interesting meeting that has been held by the section, and the interest taken in the discussion promises well for the future meetings. dr. leipziger declining to serve as chairman, and the secretary having declined the nomination, mr. d. b. corey was elected chairman and t. l. montgomery secretary for the ensuing year. thomas l. montgomery, _secretary_. professional instruction in bibliography: round table meeting. an informal "round table" meeting for the consideration of present and possible methods of professional instruction in bibliography, was held on the morning of monday, july , in one of the parlors of the fountain spring house. a. g. s. josephson was chairman, and j. i. wyer, jr., acted as secretary. the meeting was called to order at . a.m. by mr. josephson, who opened the session with a paper on a post-graduate school of bibliography. in looking over the various definitions of the word bibliography, i have found two main groups, one narrow, one broad. the narrow definition has been thus expressed by prof. c v. langlois: "bibliography is the science of books. as library economy treats of the classification, the exterior description of books, of the organization and history of libraries; as bibliography treats of the history of the book as a manufactured product (printing, bookbinding, bookselling); so bibliography in the precise meaning of the word, is that particular part of the science of the book which treats of the repertories and which provides the means of finding, as promptly and as completely as possible, information in regard to sources." as an example of the broad definitions i choose the one by m. e. grand in "la grande encyclopédie" he defines bibliography as "the science of books from the point of view of their material and intellectual description and classification," and goes on to say that "there are three principal things to be considered in the study of bibliography: classification of books, ... (_bibliographical systems_); description of books (_bibliographical rules_); and the use of _bibliographical repertories_." if we compare these two definitions we see that here the same word has been used for two distinct subjects, the one of which includes the other. without here going deeper into the intricacies of these definitions, i will, for the purpose of this discussion, accept the broader of the two. the question what instruction in bibliography should contain is already answered in the above definition itself. the study of _bibliographical systems_ for classification of books presupposes the study of the theoretical systems of classification of knowledge and this presupposes the study of the history of the sciences. _bibliographical rules_ govern the practical art of book description, what is technically known as cataloging. there are various codes of rules, more or less arbitrary, as they are more or less the outcome of a compromise. but under all arbitrariness one will discern some underlying theory as to what a description of a book should contain. such theories are founded on the practice of printing and publishing: thus the intelligent study of bibliographical rules presupposes the study of the history of printing and publishing. _bibliographical repertories_ contain the systematic records of printed documents and the study of these repertories is what is called bibliography in the narrow sense. while the branches of study previously referred to may by some be regarded as of less value to the librarian there is surely none who will deny the necessity of his being thoroughly familiar with the literature of bibliographical repertories. however, i do not think that i am alone in the contention that all the different branches of bibliography in the broader sense are of the utmost importance to the librarian. dr. dziatzko has pointed out that in such an eminently practical occupation as that of the librarian it is particularly important not to neglect altogether some kind of theoretical studies. there can be no studies of greater importance to the librarian than those just enumerated, namely, history of literature--the word taken in its broadest sense--history of the book in all its phases, and the study of bibliographical literature. the library schools have done much to encourage the professional spirit of librarians and to develop the technical side of their work. it is, however, felt that something more is needed, something that a professional school or a training class cannot give, namely, solid bibliographical scholarship. this can, in my opinion, not be acquired except at a university with a faculty of specialists and an extensive equipment of bibliographical literature as a part of a large university library. a post-graduate school of bibliography, such as i have in mind should offer instruction to two classes of students. the one class would be students in the other branches of instruction who would select as a minor one of the subjects offered by the school, and who should be required to pursue in the school the bibliographical study of their main topics and the preparation of the bibliographies that should be required as a necessary accompaniment to every dissertation. the other class would consist of persons wishing to prepare themselves for the professional work of the librarian and bibliographer. they would choose as their majors the studies offered at this school, and could choose as a minor any other scholastic subject. it would be of great importance to the would-be librarian, could he, while pursuing his special studies, be allowed to do university work in some other subject of his choice, such as literary history, philosophy, american history, mathematics, or the like. as thorough bibliographical knowledge is the foundation for the work of the librarian, the central subject of instruction in the school should be the study of bibliographical repertories and of the record literature. this study should include seminar work in the handling of literary tools, in hunting up references on special questions, and in the preparation of bibliographical lists. this leads to the study of bibliographical methods. the principles of book description should be discussed, the leading codes of rules studied comparatively, their merits and defects discussed, but none should be taught as the one to be absolutely followed. history of printing and bookselling comes next, preceded by an introductory consideration of palæography, particularly that of the th century. the steps leading to the discovery of printing with movable types, and the spread of the art over the world should be followed. examples of the products of the first printing presses should be studied and described. of later periods in the history of the book the most important seem to be the later th and the th centuries in england, and the th century in germany. a parallel study with that of the history of printing might be classification of knowledge and of books, with the history of science. the student might well be given his choice between these two topics, while that of bibliography in its narrower sense should be required of everyone. the history and interrelation of the various sciences is a subject of great importance not only to the classifier, but to the library administrator in general. it should be covered by special lectures by the representatives of the various sciences, connected by a theoretical course in the theory of classification, and followed by seminar work in classification of books. a course preparing for the professional work of librarianship cannot be complete without the study of library administration. while we are not particularly concerned with this to-day, it should be said that this subject would naturally be a required one, and would cover particularly the history of libraries and of the methods of library administration. the technical training in the minor topics of library economy would not have any place in a school of this description. i had hoped to be able to present at this meeting some statements from university authorities in regard to the establishment of a post-graduate school of bibliography at some university. i have not, however, succeeded in getting any statement of such definiteness that i can present it here. i can only say that the president of one of the larger western universities seems to look with some interest on the proposition. a letter from dr. w. t. harris, commissioner of education, says: "it is very easy for me to say that i believe post-graduate courses in bibliography to be a most excellent thing, but whether there should be such a school established in washington--i have no conviction on this question. i am not in a condition to say whether it would not be a most excellent thing to establish such a school in connection with the library of congress. mr. putnam is proceeding in a very intelligent manner to make the congressional library of use to the whole country. would not a school of bibliography here in washington have the best opportunity to do, so to speak, laboratory work in bibliography, and this in connection with the national library? i am not able to affirm an opinion on this question. the subject is very important and your letter was a letter which i wished to answer to some purpose, but i have not been able to do it, and this is merely an explanation of why i have not been able to do it. "you very well name the studies of such a school: the literature of the subject; the use and handling of books as literary aids; bibliographical methodology; comparative history of literature and the sciences; classification of knowledge accompanied by the study of the various systems of classification of books; palæography, history of printing. "it seems to me that one-tenth of all the librarians educated for the purpose of working in a library should take just such a course of instruction as this. this would give them directive power in the most important part of the librarian's duty." the secretary read a paper by dr. joh. leche describing the courses in bibliography offered by prof. dziatzko at the university of g�ttingen. the first and so far the only professorship in the auxiliary sciences of librarianship in prussia was founded in in göttingen as a consequence of the growing importance of libraries. this professorship has been filled since its foundation by professor dr. carl dziatzko. the courses of lectures given have so far been as follows: library administration. the laws of authors and publishers in the history of bookselling. books in the middle ages. (the above courses have not been given in later years.) books and writing in ancient times. history of printing and bookselling: (_a_) previous to the reformation. (_b_) since the reformation. history and development of modern librarianship. the lectures are held three times a week and have the same strictly scientific character as other university studies. they demand therefore real co-operation between lecturer and students, putting before the latter, as they do, a rich and critically sifted material which gives them, in a way, a sharp outline only which they will fill out more or less fully according to their diligence in carrying on their studies. the lectures are made particularly attractive and stimulating through the exhibition of important examples of printing, if possible original works referred to or quoted in the lectures, etc. beside these public lectures, prof dziatzko gives once a week a bibliographical seminar for a smaller circle. the majority of the members of this seminar are the library volunteers who naturally are more numerous in göttingen than at other prussian university libraries. if it is true of the public lectures that valuable results are gained only by real co-operation of the students, these seminars directly demand independent work of the members. a considerable part, in fact half of the allotted time, is given to description of incunabula according to the rules formulated by prof. dziatzko and published in no. of his "sammlung bibliothekswissenschaftlicher arbeiten." apart from the importance of incunabula for the history of printing, they are particularly suited to bring out questions of various kinds relating to bibliography and librarianship. the remaining seminar hours are given up to reviews and papers by the members. in most cases the subjects are selected at the suggestion of prof. dziatzko, but it is preferred that the members should select their own topics. the papers deal with the most varied subjects: questions of a purely practical nature alternate with scientific and historical investigations of bibliographical topics. (several of these papers have afterwards been prepared for publication in prof. dziatzko's "sammlung bibliothekswissenschaftlicher arbeiten.") the papers are followed by judicious criticism by prof. dziatzko and discussion by the members of the seminar. whatever time is left is devoted to reading of old manuscripts, exhibition of bibliographical rarities and curiosities, important new publications, etc. in connection with the palæographical studies just mentioned it should be noted that a special seminar in palæography, given by another professor, dr. wilhelm meyer, is attended by many as a supplement to their bibliographical studies. a. s. root, librarian of oberlin college, supplemented this letter with a description of his work with dr. dziatzko, stating that the real strength and power of the work consisted in the bibliographical seminar and the work with incunabula. in this work each student has assigned to him the work of a special city or a special press. he studies the books, catalogs them, and submits his work to prof. dziatzko for review. these papers are then discussed by the members of the seminar and sharply criticised by prof. dziatzko. the new literature of bibliography added to the library is periodically examined and discussed by the class. g. w. harris, librarian of cornell university, gave in outline, the substance of a course of lectures on bibliography, delivered one each week during a half year at cornell. the nature of these lectures is general because in each department more or less stress is based on the use of special bibliographies, and each thesis for an advanced degree at cornell must be accompanied by a satisfactory bibliography of the subject treated. the large collection of early imprints representing many of the different presses affords excellent opportunity to inspect and study examples of early printing. mr. harris was of the opinion that work in the bibliography of special subjects should be given by the heads of the departments concerned. mr. harris gave the following synopsis of lectures on bibliography, cornell university. lecture. i. definition--advantages of knowledge of bibliography; range of bibliography; antiquity of books. ancient materials--clay tablets of assyria, assyrian libraries--palm leaf books of india--birch bark books of cashmere--maya books and mss. ii. papyrus and its importance, preparation, grades, roll form of books--papyrus mss. and egyptian literature. iii. papyrus paper among greeks and romans--methods of bookmaking and publishing in greece and rome. writing instruments and inks--mss. of herculaneum--public libraries of the ancients--alexandrian and roman libraries. iv. wax tablets of the romans--introduction of parchment--change from roll form to square form of books--results of this change--palimpsests. v. latin palæography and various styles--bookmaking in the middle ages--schools of calligraphy--scriptorium and its rules--colophons--monastic libraries. vi. secular scribes of middle ages; gilds. art of illumination with examples of illuminated mss.--changes resulting from introduction of paper--cotton vs. linen paper--block printing in china and europe--block books. vii. invention of printing--career of gutenberg--earliest printed books--spread of the art in germany, italy, france, england--printing in america. viii. incunabula--characteristics--types, abbreviations, signatures, colophons with examples. ix. technical terms for sizes of books--confusion of size and form--signatures, water-marks, size notation. x. bindings of books--historical sketch--processes of book binding--examples. xi. rare books--fashions in books--famous presses--famous editions. xii. illustrated books--methods of illustration--manuals for collectors. xiii. classification of books in libraries; various systems briefly described, with examples. xiv. catalogs and cataloging; various kinds of catalogs briefly described, with examples. xv. aids in use of the library--reference lists--bibliographies, national and special, with examples. prof. charles h. haskins, professor of european history in the university of wisconsin, presented an outline of his course in historical bibliography, university of wisconsin. my standpoint is that of the user, not the custodian, of books, and of the user of historical books in particular. there is no branch of knowledge more dependent upon bibliography than is history. the natural sciences, for example, get their bibliographies through current journals and their original materials in the laboratory, while the student of history must not only cover current literature thoroughly but is entirely dependent upon bibliographies to guide him to the primary sources of his subject of study. there is not as yet enough definite instruction in historical bibliography offered in american universities; indeed, there is some vagueness as to just what historical bibliography is. in the work at wisconsin the course is divided into two broad sections. the first half of the course is taken up with a general account of the manuscript and printed collections of historical material in europe and america. the second half begins with a description of the bibliographical tools which all students alike use, the national bibliographies, and the trade bibliographies of all the important countries, and goes on to consider the bibliographical materials peculiar to history and of prime importance only to the historical student. in this connection especial stress is laid upon the historical periodicals. the aim throughout the whole course is to indicate the nature and the range of historical material, where it is to be found, what and where are the sources, so that the student will come to know what he wants and where to find it. the course is given one hour each week through a half year and is taken entirely by graduate students. the registration is usually from to . the work in the lectures is supplemented by many references to articles and books. in the latter part of the course the "manuel de bibliographie historique" of langlois is used as a text in the hands of the students. the second edition of this book, which is just out, forms an exceedingly satisfactory book for this purpose, and is supplemented by informal comment and mention of additional material. in this admirable little volume nothing of importance is omitted and very little indeed which is unimportant is included. very much is made of the actual handling of the books by the students. no regular system of practical exercises in connection with this course has yet been worked out, but progress is being made in this direction. the object is primarily to impress students with the importance of the use of bibliographical tools. considerable practice in the use of bibliographies is also given in all the advanced courses in history. in general i have found that much inconvenience both to students and instructors results from the habit of secluding all the most important bibliographies in the catalog room. if it be true that these bibliographies are constantly needed in the catalog room, they should be duplicated for the use of the students. this practice of seclusion would not be worth mention did it not seem to be habitual in almost all libraries, and i wish here to register a special plea that bibliographies may be shelved just as publicly as any other section of the library. i am much interested in mr. josephson's proposals for developing bibliographical instruction in universities. it seems to me he has taken hold of the matter by the right end, and the establishment of a course similar to that he suggests would not only be of value to future librarians by giving them wider opportunities for general training than they can get in special schools, but would also prove helpful to advanced students in all departments of study. i hope some university will take the matter up. i am in sympathy with any instruction, formal or informal, which brings instructors and students to a better knowledge of how to use the library and the books. courses at other colleges. mr. root gave in detail the work he is doing at oberlin in this line. he said: we offer at oberlin a course in bibliography in each college year. the first year the work has to do with the use of libraries, with questions of classification and cataloging, and is designed to aid the new students in becoming familiar with the methods in use in our own library and also with accepted methods in all well-conducted libraries. the course in the second year has to do with the history of books and of printing. this work is almost entirely historical. some study is given to the process and history of binding, with examples of famous bindings. the third year work deals with palæography and the history and development of handwriting, illumination, and work with manuscripts in general. the fourth year work is in the nature of a seminar and is devoted to instruction in bibliography. after an outline of the leading national and trade bibliographies, problems in bibliography are handled and discussed. the courses fill half of the college year, one lecture per week being given. the work is entirely elective and the completion of all of it enables a student to elect one-eighth of his course in this subject. i should be glad to see recognition by the leading library schools of this work, perhaps giving students advanced credit when work has been satisfactorily done at any reputable college. walter m. smith, librarian of the university of wisconsin, briefly outlined the elementary work done there with new students, and maintained that formal lectures were not so good as practical instruction in the use of the library both from the librarian's desk and from the reference desk. miss sharp, librarian of the university of illinois, stated that a one-hour course was given there for the general student body in the use of the library. regular university credit is given, but students may attend these lectures optionally and many do so. andrew keogh, of yale university library, described a short course in the use of the library offered at that university. two lectures are given, one in the class room and one in the library, accompanied with actual demonstration with the books. some further and more elective work is given as graduate work at yale, but the elementary work is compulsory with all new students. a letter was read from dr. h. p. talbot, of the massachusetts institute of technology, giving full description of his course in bibliography of chemistry. my attempts to interest my students in books and bibliographies are briefly these: for one term of weeks of the junior year the students of the course in chemistry devote an hour each week (with two hours assigned for preparation) to practice in reading chemical german. the subject matter assigned is either from some work on general or analytical chemistry or from some current journal. of late i have confined myself mostly to a work on inorganic chemistry. the purpose here is not at all to attempt to teach german, but to assist the students in acquiring a moderate facility in reading, that is, sufficient to enable them to get the _essentials_ from an article, rather than to make a finished translation. during the term following this, there is assigned to the class one or more (usually two) topics, and they are required to prepare and submit for inspection a bibliography of the journal literature upon these subjects. this year the topic assigned to the whole class was the "determination of sulphur in irons and steels." the class (of ) was divided into squads, and to each squad a second topic was assigned, such as "the use of sodium peroxide in analytical chemistry," "the preparation and analysis of persulphuric acid and the persulphates," "the recovery of molybdic acid from residues," etc. general directions are given as to procedure in the compilation of the bibliography, the use of such periodicals as the _centralblatt_ as a starting point, and also the way to record and classify the references found. this year we have used library cards for the recording of the references for the first time, with marked success. each card was to bear the original reference, the _centralblatt_ or _jahresbericht_ reference, the title of the article (if possible) and a very brief statement of its contents. the cards were then to be grouped according to a classification to be worked out by the student. each student had finally about cards, often with several references on a card. they were allowed to divide the journals among the members of a given squad, and to exchange cards. the results are most satisfactory. the work has been well done as a whole, and already i hear of resolves on their part to keep up a card catalog of interesting articles, which is a promising symptom. each year for some time, i have devoted a single hour near the close of the year to a brief discussion of books, from the point of view of the needs of a person desiring to collect a small library. in this connection i have put into the students hands a list of "standard works" citing the essential reference books on the subject, and have commented briefly on the list. please understand that this list is not by any means infallible, and that there are doubtless other works just as good as those mentioned. our senior students are all required to compile a bibliography of the literature of the subject chosen as a thesis, and to prepare a brief review of all recorded work, before they can begin their investigation, and the way in which they attack this work seems to indicate that the familiarity with journals and methods gained in the work of the junior year outlined above stands them in good stead. in connection with the instruction in the history of chemistry, frequent preparation of memoirs and a study of works in this field is also required. the list of books referred to in dr. talbot's letter was divided under the following heads: history of chemistry, physiological chemistry, organic chemistry, technical chemistry, agricultural chemistry, analytical chemistry, biography, dictionaries, tables, dyeing, foods, general chemistry, toxicology. j. i. wyer, librarian of the university of nebraska, outlined a course of lectures which are given there during the first semester of every alternate year, embracing national and trade bibliography, reference books, and thorough drill in subject bibliography. the work is primarily given as part of the apprentices' training for the library, but is attended by advanced and graduate students in other departments. regular university credit is given for the work. w. stetson merrill, of the newberry library, read a paper, entitled a desideratum for library schools. as i am desirous that you should apprehend precisely what it is that i am to suggest as a desideratum for the library schools, i will ask to be permitted to lead up to my point, rather than state it at the outset. we are all of us daily impressed with the rapidity of change and enlargement in the arts, sciences and various achievements of knowledge to-day. in some departments, indeed, such as the natural sciences, we expect the accepted opinions of one decade to give place to others in the next decade. but we perhaps hardly realize that there is a similar progress in the historical, sociological and religious sciences, and in the fine arts. new facts are discovered, verdicts of history are reviewed, new schools of thought and methods of study are established; new men, new theories, new things come up every year, almost every day. now, a librarian is expected to bring the stores of knowledge to an inquiring public; to render available the resources of accumulated wisdom which but for him would be like gold hidden in the veins of the rock. to perform this function requires of course primarily a certain amount of educational training. a library assistant should be at least a high school graduate; the librarian of a library of research should be a college bred man, as such collegiate training will be found to his own advantage and to that of his library. but how after all their training and preparation are librarians, library workers or students of library science to keep abreast of the time? this is really the problem in what may be called the higher education of the library profession. it may be thought that the reading of annual cyclopedias, periodicals and the latest treatises will suffice to keep members of the profession posted upon all subjects of importance. yet a little consideration will show that by such means much time and labor are sacrificed. a library worker reads in such a case, not for general information, but to ascertain definite and pertinent facts of importance to him in his special field of work. what he wishes to know are indeed the new discoveries, facts and opinions; viewed, however, not in themselves as events in the progress of the sciences, but as bearing upon the classification and nomenclature of the respective sciences which treat of them, and upon the relations which those sciences bear to others. he needs also an up-to-date acquaintance with the great men of the time, not in a personal way, but through the contributions which they have made to knowledge. otherwise he will not discern the authority upon any given subject from a tyro or an ignoramus. a true knowledge of bibliography does not consist merely in knowing lists of books or in knowing where to find such lists. it implies an acquaintance with the relative values of books as well. a thoroughly equipped reference attendant or cataloger should also be familiar with the shibboleths and theories of the schools and with the opinions of scholars upon questions of the day. now how is he to learn all this? he cannot learn it before he begins to study library work, because it is a growing, living thing--this mass of current fact and opinion. yet he has no time to master each science for himself, and in merely cursory reading he will miss the point which is to be of most use to him in his particular line of work. i reply that he needs the spoken word of the expert, framed and directed to meet the special requirements of his case. the expert who knows his subject in all its bearings can tell us at once just what we want to know, if we have a chance to ask him. let us have then before our library schools and--i may add also--our library clubs and associations, periodical talks by specialists upon their respective subjects, presenting in a concise form the progress of these sciences and arts with special reference to the needs of library workers, as outlined above. such a presentation will enable the librarian, the reference attendant, the cataloger or the classifier to perform his work with an assurance and a facility that can be acquired in no other way. he will be acting under expert advice. the special points to be brought out will be presented to the lecturer beforehand; he will prepare his statement, deliver it, and later answers inquiries which may have arisen. we all know how much easier it is to ask somebody about something than it is to look it up in some book. let questions be noted as they occur and the class be given a chance to ask them of an authority. these lectures or talks need not and should not be confined to student class rooms. let them be public lectures which library workers outside the school may attend upon payment of a small fee. the intrinsic interest of a lecture upon some topic of the day whether literary, historical, political, or scientific, would attract in a way that a course upon pure bibliography can never do. as our library schools are so integrally a part, as a rule, of some system of collegiate instruction, there should be no difficulty in securing the services of different members of the faculty. i may repeat also that no more useful program of work for a library club during a season could be planned than a course of just such talks as i have described. to tell the truth, the matter of this paper first occurred to me in its bearings upon the work of library clubs. to them and to the directors of our library schools it is presented for their consideration. following this the representatives of the various library schools were asked to describe the work offered in bibliography at the library schools. mr. biscoe described the work at albany, running through two years, the first being taken up with trade bibliography and the second with reference work and subject bibliography. the large resources of the new york state library enable the students to see, study and use almost all books taken up and the work is accompanied with many problems. further elective work is also offered to students desiring to specialize along this line. miss plummer spoke for the pratt institute school. during the first year a general course of instruction in bibliography is offered, beginning with trade bibliography, students being referred to the leading works of reference in english, french and german through lectures and problems given during the year. each student is required to prepare a reading list on a selected subject, requiring considerable research work, which must be satisfactory to the instructor. the leading national and subject bibliographies are included in the lectures, and the problems frequently require consultation of these. ten lectures are given on the history of books and printing. this is merely an outline course offered partly that students may discover any latent inclination toward the historical course, that they may know there is that side to their work. "in the special lessons in french and german cataloging which we expect to undertake this fall," she said, "a study of foreign catalogs will be a prominent feature, and the students will collect for themselves a vocabulary of bibliographical terms in these languages. in the broad sense of the term bibliography, as we find it in the 'century dictionary,' the subject is fairly well covered by the second year's historical course. through the courtesy of the new york public library the class has had opportunity to do most of its work at the lenox library where there is a fine collection of reference books. the course begins with a study of reference books on the history of printing, bibliographies of the th century, etc., and books such as hain, panzer, etc., and the more general bibliographies, _e.g._, brunet, graesse. the history of bookmaking is studied from the period of the manuscript through the th century, and some work with american and other books has been done each year. the materials used in the earliest times, the methods of production and the steps leading to the invention of printing are all treated. the history of printing is studied by country, town, and printer, chronologically, and a study of the types used by different printers is made. for practical work the class catalogs th century books. the books used for consultation in this course have been very numerous, and perhaps a good working knowledge of them has been the most important feature of the work. the class was not and could not be limited to books in english, but used and in part translated books of reference in foreign languages. in the work with manuscripts the historical course depends upon instruction given by prof. egbert, professor of latin palæography of columbia university, who has made up a course especially adapted to the object of our work and to the time we have to give. twenty-three lectures, only a few of which are devoted to the bibliography of the subject, comprise the instruction, two hours' work outside being necessary on each lecture. much more is usually done by the students, who generally live in new york city while taking the historical course. the study of successive handwritings and abbreviations as illustrated by blue-prints furnished by the professor, leads naturally to early printed books, whose types were modelled after the handwriting of the period. reports of the work of this class have been very satisfactory." miss kroeger, of the drexel institute library school, described a course of lectures on the history of books and printing, given at her school. the lectures embrace the following subjects: i. the development of language, oral and written. ancient systems of writing. derivation of the english alphabet. the preservation of literature. earliest forms of permanent records, literature, books, and libraries in the ancient civilizations of the east. ii. the literatures of greece and rome. the book in the classical age. alexandria as a literary center. barbarian invasions of the roman empire. decline and extinction of ancient culture. destruction of books and libraries. iii. the book in the middle ages. the preservation and the production of books in the monasteries. development of the illuminated manuscript. the early renascence in its relation to literature and books. iv. the later renascence: revival of learning. recovery of ancient literature. rome, florence, and venice as the centers of activity. multiplication of manuscripts. the formation of modern libraries. v. the art of engraving as the precursor of printing. the invention and diffusion of printing. the chief centers and the great masters of printing. the printed book and its influence upon civilization. vi. book illustration in ancient, medieval, and modern times. vii. books and libraries in europe and the united states. types of modern public libraries. viii. makers and lovers of books, and their libraries. miss sharp told of the instruction in bibliography given to the students in university of illinois library school by the professors at the university. several of the professors give lectures on the bibliography of their various subjects; a subject is assigned to the students before the lecture, they are required to examine bibliographies, reviews, and the books themselves, as far as accessible in the library, and to select ten books which they would buy first for a library of , vols. this selection is criticised by the professor, who meets the class, gives them an outline of his subject, speaks of the principles of selection, mentions the writers who are considered authorities, and calls to the attention of the students valuable material not to be found in the trade lists. this is in the first year; in the second year the professors give their lectures first and the class will select their books for criticism afterwards. the professors have given most generous co-operation in the work; but their work has been uneven and many of them fail to catch the librarian's and bibliographer's point of view, and most of them acknowledge that their studies are limited to the advanced works, so that they do not know what to recommend for the small public libraries. an interesting discussion followed as to the relation between university librarians and professors in mutual co-operation in bibliographical work. miss kroeger suggested that library students who felt a special inclination for some scholastic subject might take up such study as a supplement to the library school course. to this mr. haskins remarked that the proper way would rather be the opposite, namely that the student of history, for example, who wished to take up library work, might take a course in library economy as a supplement to his university studies. he pointed out that a university graduate did not at all need to spend two years in getting familiar with library technique. mr. hanson, of the library of congress, mr. andrews, of the john crerar library, and miss clark, of the department of agriculture library at washington, all emphasized the need of scientific experts who should also be trained in bibliography and library economy. the opinion was strongly expressed that there was no greater desideratum in instruction in library work at present than a course offered to trained scientists who would be willing to add to their scientific training a fair knowledge of library methods. transactions of council and executive board. meetings of the council of the american library association were held in connection with the waukesha conference, on july , , , and , in all six sessions being held. there was also a short meeting of the executive board on july . of the members of council were present, as follows: c. w. andrews, r. r. bowker, w. h. brett, h. j. carr,[i] f. m. crunden, j. c. dana, melvil dewey, electra c. doren, w. i. fletcher, j. k. hosmer, george iles, mary w. plummer, herbert putnam, katharine l. sharp, charles c. soule. in addition, the members of the executive board served as _ex officio_ members and officers of council. they included the president, henry j. carr; ex-president, r. g. thwaites; secretary, f. w. faxon; recorder, helen e. haines; treasurer, gardner m. jones. the first and second vice-president--e. c. richardson and mrs. salome c. fairchild--were not present during the conference. proceedings of council. _place of next meeting._ invitations for the meeting of the american library association were received from detroit, mich.; charleston, s. c.; memphis, tenn.; brevard, n. c.; from a new hampshire board of trade, suggesting a resort in the white mountains, and from the massachusetts library club, urging that the meeting be held on the eastern coast, near boston. it was _voted_, that place and date of next meeting be referred to the executive board, with recommendation to meet at a resort on the new england seaboard near boston. _nominations for officers._ it was _voted_, that the ex-presidents present at the meeting be appointed a committee to submit nominations for officers for - . this committee reported at a later session of the council, and the nominations submitted were adopted, with the provision that the ticket include also without distinction names sent in on nominations signed by five members of the association. _by-laws._ h. m. utley, chairman of the committee on by-laws, reported the draft of by-laws prepared by that committee. this was discussed and amended, each section being separately considered and voted upon. it was _voted_, that the entire body of by-laws, as amended, be adopted, subject to such arrangement of sections as may be made by the president and secretary. the by-laws were later presented to the association in general meeting. (_see_ proceedings, p. .) _endowment fund and publishing board._ charles c. soule, trustee of the endowment fund, reported that the income of the fund now on hand and to accrue during the year amounted to about $ , and recommended that the sum of $ be added to the principal of the fund, unless required by the publishing board or for other purposes of the association. w. i. fletcher, for the publishing board, stated that the board would need during the ensuing year an appropriation as ample as could be secured; and it was _voted_: that the trustees of the endowment fund be authorized to transfer to the publishing board the income of the endowment fund now on hand and to accrue during the coming year. _reduced postal and express rates on library books._ recommendations were submitted from the round table meeting on state library commissions, as follows: , that the council be requested to arrange for securing reduced rates from the express companies for travelling libraries; , that the council be requested to give its support to the jenkins bill providing for the transmission of library books by rural free delivery; , that the council be requested to actively interest itself in securing lower postage rates on library books. after discussion it was _voted_, that a committee of five of the council be appointed on express and postal rates for library books, to negotiate with the express companies, to co-operate with regard to congressional legislation, and to report further to the council as to the postal question. the committee was appointed as follows: e. h. anderson, chairman; j. s. billings, w. c. lane, r. r. bowker, johnson brigham. it was _voted_: that in case of the inability of any member of the committee to serve, the retiring president be authorized to fill vacancies. _relation of libraries to the book trade._ it was _voted_, that the executive board be requested to appoint a committee of five to consider and report upon the relation of libraries to the book trade. _cataloging rules for printed cards._ it was _voted_, that the council authorize the promulgation of the proposed a. l. a. cataloging rules for printed cards, so soon as the publishing board and its special advisory committee, and the library of congress, shall have agreed upon the details of same; that the committee on cataloging rules for printed cards be requested also to formulate the variations from those rules which they recommend for manuscript work. _list of american dissertations._ the college and reference section submitted the following communication: "_to the council of the a. l. a._: "the college and reference section, at its recent meeting, appointed the undersigned, a committee to prepare and report to the council the draft of a request with reference to an annual list of american dissertations for the degree of doctor of philosophy or science. we would, therefore, respectfully ask that the approval of the council be given to the plan outlined herein, viz: "to send to such institutions of learning in the united states and canada as confer the degree of doctor of philosophy or science, after residence and examination, the following circular letter: "_to the president and faculty of ----_, "gentlemen: the college and reference section of the american library association, with the approval of the council of such association, respectfully requests that your institution publish in its annual catalog, or corresponding publication, a list of the dissertations accepted from persons who have been granted the degree of doctor of philosophy or science during the preceding academic year, and a supplementary list of all dissertations printed since the publication of the last annual catalog. this list should contain the following particulars: the full name and year of graduation of the author; the full title of the dissertation; the year of imprint, and, if a reprint, the title, volume, and pagination of the publication from which it was reprinted. "we also request your institution to require a title-page for each dissertation, giving, in addition to the full name of author and title of dissertation, the year in which the degree was conferred, and in which the dissertation was printed, and, if a reprint, the title, volume and pagination of the publication where it was first printed. "a compliance with these requests will be a most valuable service to the college and reference libraries of the country." the section further instructed us to suggest to the council the desirability of the compilation and publication of a complete list of such dissertations to july, . bernard c. steiner, } walter m. smith, } _committee_. clement w. andrews, } it was _voted_, that the circular letter prepared by the committee of the college and reference section be approved, and that the executive board authorize the necessary slight expense of printing and postage required; that a committee of the college and reference section be appointed to secure the publication of the list of dissertations referred to without expense to the a. l. a. _prosecution of book thieves._ communications were read from c. k. bolton, recommending that the council appropriate, when necessary, from the income of the endowment fund, money to be used in the detection or prosecution of book thieves. it was pointed out that "a few men systematically rob libraries, particularly in small poor towns that happen to have some rare books. to gather evidence and rid us of these men requires money, and seems very properly to come within our field of work." no action was taken on the subject. _minute on john fiske._ the memorial minute on john fiske, prepared by the special committee, consisting of j. k. hosmer, george iles and r. g. thwaites, was submitted to the council and recommended for presentation to the association, to be spread upon the records. (_see_ proceedings, p. .) transactions of the executive board. _list of american dissertations._ in accordance with vote of council, the following committee from the college and reference section was appointed to arrange for the publication of the list of dissertations proposed by the section: b. c. steiner, c. w. andrews, w. m. smith. _committee on resolutions._ a committee on resolutions to serve during the waukesha conference was appointed, as follows: herbert putnam, mary w. plummer, j. c. dana. _secretary's expenses._ a communication was received from the finance committee, recommending that the sum of $ be allowed for the expenses of the secretary's office for the year ending july , . it was _voted_, that $ additional be also appropriated for the secretary's expenses for the past year. _non-library membership._ it was _voted_, that the names of persons not engaged in library work, as presented by the treasurer, be accepted for membership in the association. no meeting of the incoming council or executive board was held, and the appointment of special and standing committees, reporters, etc., was therefore deferred. helen e. haines, _recorder_. footnotes: [footnote i: also, as president, _ex officio_ member of executive board and council.] elementary institute. an elementary institute, for the presentation of "first principles" in library work, was held in the assembly room of the fountain spring house on tuesday evening, july . in the absence of miss cornelia marvin, chairman, miss l. e. stearns presided. the meeting was quite informal, and there were no prepared papers, except one by miss gratia countryman on opportunities. (_see_ p. .) an introductory speech was made by mr. dewey, who spoke of the educational force that libraries should exert in the community, and the varied field before the public library of to-day. there was some general discussion, in the course of which j. c. dana read a letter describing pioneer library work carried on in the yukon district of alaska, and e. p. mcelroy told of some interesting incidents connected with the work of his library at algona, iowa. an early adjournment was made to attend the display of stereopticon views of library buildings which was given on the same evening. illinois state library school alumni association. a most enthusiastic reunion of the alumni of the illinois state library school was held at waukesha on july , in connection with the meeting of the a. l. a. forty-seven members of the alumni association sat down to a long table which had been spread for them in the dining-room of the fountain spring house, where a very pleasant hour was passed in renewing old friendships and hearing about the work of classmates who had gone out to make themselves famous in the library world. following the dinner a business meeting was held, after which the members listened to a most interesting report by miss katharine l. sharp, director of the illinois state library school, on the growth and present condition of the school, showing the changes which have come to it from its connection with the university of illinois. miss sharp gave an outline of each course as it is now given in the school, noting the changes which have been made and the reasons for these changes. the report was of especial interest to the early graduates of the school, who could follow the changes made in the course of instruction, the general development in scope and methods, and could so well comprehend the great growth of the school since its establishment at armour institute of technology, in chicago, in . margaret mann, _secretary_. the social side of the waukesha conference. by julia t. rankin, _carnegie library, atlanta, ga._ to chronicle the social side of the twenty-third annual meeting of the american library association is a pleasant duty. to recall all of the courtesies extended to us by our hosts of the middle west would take more time than is at my disposal and more space than the proceedings allot to the frivolous recreations of the strenuous librarians. through the entire period of the meeting, the good people of waukesha did everything in their power to make the time pass pleasantly and mr. walker, the proprietor of the fountain spring hotel, worked early and late to make the members comfortable. golf had a few members marked for its own, and these were not deterred by the °-in-the-shade-conditions. dancing was in order every evening after the meetings (sunday excepted) and the gentleman from washington is said to have solved the problem of how often a man can dance with the same girl in a given evening. the piazzas were ample and as each led to some spring sooner or later, the "water habit" became popular. the dining-room was, in the language of the daily papers, "taxed to its utmost," but all shortcomings were treated with good-natured indifference when it was understood that the hotel had never accommodated so many people in its history, and the management promptly increased its force of servants to meet the occasion. according to the program the social side of the conference should have begun on the evening of july with "friendly greetings" at . p.m.; but as the new york party did not arrive until p.m., and the new england party not until a.m., it will readily be seen that the friendly greetings had to be postponed. social amenities, however, commenced on the morning of "the fourth" when the proverbial early bird, arrayed in cool flannels or faultless duck, promenaded the long veranda of the fountain house and greeted the later arrivals. as the "later arrivals" had almost all come from a distance during one of the hottest weeks of the hottest summer known, and were consequently covered with dust and cinders, it was tantalizing to see the earlier arrivals in such cool array, and welcome speeches were cut short until the dust of travel could be removed. the coolness of the evening found a refreshed, summer-attired conference wending its way to the methodist church where the public meeting was held. the speeches were interrupted repeatedly by the festive small boy and his fourth of july crackers. the explosions caused untimely mirth when they punctuated or emphasized the well rounded periods of the orators. the formal meeting was followed by informal groups on the veranda of the hotel and at the springs where thirsty mortals never tired of drinking the "fizzy" waters, that have made waukesha famous as the "saratoga of the west," and, indeed, the place has many features similar to its famous eastern prototype. friday evening was devoted to various dinner parties of the alumni of the library training schools, and the dining-room with its long tables and flowers presented a festive scene. college yells and class cheers resounded through the halls. one got a good idea of the number of technically trained library assistants now dispersed over the country. saturday evening the hotel management provided a dance for the guests and the great dining hall was transformed into a gay ballroom. although mr. cutter was absent the dancing contingent was ably represented, and a delightful evening was enjoyed. the program meetings were well attended and the many papers presented during the sultry days of the first week made sunday a welcome day. the rest cure seemed to be the order of the day until after lunch, when most of the members went to milwaukee to see the public library, where an informal reception was held. misses stearns, dousman, van valkenburgh and stillman entertained a party of at white fish bay. a trolley ride to milwaukee and on to this beautiful bay proved a good appetizer for the very excellent lunch provided. the view of the lake was keenly enjoyed and the day was clear and cool. twenty miles home and an early supper, and most of us were willing to retire early, for the trip to madison next day was scheduled for an early hour. although the day spent in madison was not strictly a "social" feature of the conference, yet so delightfully did the citizens of madison welcome the visiting librarians that the record of the day in truth belongs to the social chronicler. its pleasures came as a complete surprise to those who had not prepared themselves with appleton's guide and other works of ready reference. the building of the historical society is certainly one of the most beautiful and sensibly arranged libraries in the united states and its situation on the outskirts of the grounds of the university of wisconsin leaves nothing to be desired. in fact it would be hard to picture a more beautiful situation for a university town than this. the lakes, the undulating landscapes and the beautiful roads extending for twenty-five miles and maintained by a committee of public spirited men, who also are responsible for planting the roadsides with hardy shrubs, trees and flowers, make the external conditions ideal. the whole party was driven through the town, the university campus, and through five or six miles of the park roads, and was then escorted through the library building by mr. thwaites, mr. bradley and the assistants. it was while the members were being driven through the town that the new library anthem was perpetrated, and "of all the cakes my mother makes give me the gingerbread!" will go down in a. l. a. history linked with "here's to mr. bradley who smiles on us so badly, gladly, madly, sadly!" the whole found chairs in the gymnasium of the university and disposed of every one of the doughnuts promised to them by mr. thwaites in his eloquent address on luncheons the previous day. the afternoon was spent in inspection of the beautiful new library building, and here an hour or so later the "official photograph" was taken, the delegates being seated on the steps of the library with its stately façade for background. madison refused to maintain us after five o'clock, and on our return to waukesha we found that the city federation of women's clubs of waukesha would be "at home" in our honor, so we put on our prettiest frocks and were presented in due form. the reception committee comprised mrs. h. y. youmans, president of the state federation; miss l. e. stearns, mrs. o. z. olin, mrs. c. e. wilson, miss winifred winans, miss emily marsh and miss kate kimball. a bevy of pretty girls served tempting ices and a musical program was delightfully rendered. tuesday's program was almost too much for even the most confirmed conference attendant. from a.m. till p.m. and from p.m. till did we sit and listen or stand and discuss the program. at p.m. mr. eastman's display of library architecture, by means of a stereopticon, proved to be one of the most interesting features of the meeting. it is wonderful the advancement made in this form of library development; and still more wonderful how many bad libraries are still being built when so much information is to be had on the subject. later the dining-room was cleared and the conscientious librarians who had sat all day in interesting sessions were invited to relieve the monotony of work with the terpsichorean muse. it was a pretty sight to see the girls in their muslin frocks and all the young and old members meet in the measures of a virginia reel. and such a reel; it will go down to history as _the_ dance of the waukesha meeting. staid librarians growing bald with the weight of a nation's libraries; quiet instructors in library economics, all unbent to the fascination of this old-fashioned country dance. wednesday's sessions were somewhat broken by the necessary preparations for departure. in order to leave nothing undone the hotel management arranged a fire spectacle this last afternoon of the conference and the fair grounds looked their best with flames leaping in the air and the black smoke rolling on. there was a large attendance of spectators, including the town fire department who declared the exhibition a great success. then came the leavetakings, and after many handshakings and hearty appreciations of hospitality, the conference gradually disintegrated and only a small number of us were among that fortunate party lined up along the wharf at milwaukee to take the lake trip to buffalo _en route_ to our homes. we stood in silence as the big white _northwest_ loomed in sight. this ship and its twin-sister the _northland_ represent the perfection of modern lake travel and rival the trans-atlantic liners in elegance and comfort. it was a sleepy party that sought staterooms early. the morning came fine and cloudless, and although the dawn and sunrise on the water seemed to come very early in this high latitude, it was a thing of beauty--an aquarelle of nature's best workmanship. the trip to mackinac was marked by the organization of the infinite eight, a secret society having blood-curdling ritual and banded together for offensive and defensive tactics in the war upon the cuisine--led by the gallant survivor of the "adventures of a house-boat." this company attacked everything that was before it and demolished everything within its reach. not until the last day were any reverses recorded and then neptune with his trident reduced the gallant band to four. in memory of this glorious record the survivors have applied for arms consisting of a ship rampant on a field azure and the motto puellæ pallidæ non ad cenam veniunt. when buffalo was reached the pan-american exhibition claimed everyone's attention. most of the party were there by eleven o'clock and spent the rest of the day. mr. elmendorf claimed a number of the men and gave them a delightful dinner in "in nuremburg," and everyone was in front of the great pilons in time to see the electricity turned on at . , after which the gondoliers became popular. it was georgia day at the exposition and the a. l. a. members who had attended the atlanta conference were greeted by a familiar figure in the person of mr. cabiniss, who had addressed the association at atlanta and was one of the orators of the day. the most popular part of the proceedings, however, was the singing of the refrain "he laid aside a suit of gray to wear the union blue" which was cheered and encored many times. sunday was spent at niagara falls by most of the survivors and everything was accomplished, even to going under the american falls. many goodbyes were said in the nuremburg restaurant at the exposition that evening and the shutting off of the electric light closed one of the pleasantest post-conference trips in the history of the association. officers and committees serving in - and during waukesha conference. _president_: henry j. carr, scranton public library. _first vice-president_: ernest c. richardson, princeton university library. _second vice-president_: salome cutler fairchild, new york state library. _secretary_: frederick w. faxon, boston book co. _treasurer_: gardner m. jones, salem public library. _recorder_: helen e. haines, _library journal,_ new york. _registrar_: nina e. browne, a. l. a. publishing board, boston. _trustees of the endowment fund_: charles c. soule, brookline; john m. glenn, baltimore, md.; g. w. williams, salem, mass. _a. l. a. council_:[j] henry j. carr, john c. dana, melvil dewey, george iles, mary w. plummer, r. r. bowker, c. a. cutter, w. i. fletcher, w. e. foster, caroline m. hewins, wm. h. brett, f. m. crunden, frank p. hill, hannah p. james, j. n. larned, c. w. andrews, john s. billings, electra c. doren, wm. c. lane, j. l. whitney, c. h. gould, j. k. hosmer, herbert putnam, katharine l. sharp, charles c. soule. _executive board_: president, ex-president (r. g. thwaites), vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer, recorder. _publishing board_: chairman, w. i. fletcher; w. c. lane, george iles, r. r. bowker, melvil dewey. standing committees. _finance_: james l. whitney, george t. little, charles k. bolton. _co-operation_: w. l. r. gifford, w. r. eastman, electra c. doren, j. g. moulton, agnes e. van valkenburgh. _public documents_: r. r. bowker, adelaide r. hasse, w. e. henry, johnson brigham. _foreign documents_: c. h. gould, c. w. andrews, l. b. gilmore, james bain, jr. _co-operation with library department of n. e. a._: j. c. dana, melvil dewey, f. a. hutchins. special committees. _by-laws_: h. m. utley, w. c lane, b. c. steiner. _gifts and bequests_: reporter, george watson cole. _handbook of american libraries_: f. j. teggart, t. l. montgomery, c. w. andrews. _international catalog of scientific literature_: john s. billings, c. w. andrews, cyrus adler. _international co-operation_: e. c. richardson, r. r. bowker, s. h. ranck, mary w. plummer, cyrus adler. _library training_: john c. dana, w. h. brett, electra c. doren, eliza g. browning, e. c. richardson. _title-pages to periodicals_: w. i. fletcher, thorvald solberg. sections and section officers. _college and reference section_: chairman, w. i. fletcher; secretary, olive jones. _state library section_:[k] chairman, l. d. carver; secretary, maude thayer. _trustees' section_: chairman, h. m. leipziger; secretary, t. l. montgomery. _catalog section_: chairman. a. h. hopkins; secretary, agnes e. van valkenburgh. _children's librarians' section_: chairman, annie c. moore; secretary, mary e. dousman. footnotes: [footnote j: also includes members of executive board.] attendance register. abbreviations: f., free; p., public; l., library; ln., librarian; as. assistant; ref., reference; s., school; com., commission; tr. trustee. abbott, elizabeth lilyan, as. p. l., cincinnati, o. adams, katharine s., ln. adams memorial l., wheaton, ill. adams, zella frances, library organizer, church st, evanston, ill. ahern, mary eileen, ed. _public libraries_, library bureau, chicago, ill. allen, jessie. as. p. l., indianapolis, ind. allen, jessie m., no. topeka ave., wichita, kan. allen, sylvia m., as. p. l., st. louis, mo. ambrose, lodilla, as. ln. northwestern univ. l., evanston, ill. anderson, edwin hatfield, ln. carnegie l., pittsburgh, pa. andrews, clement walker, ln. the john crerar l., chicago, ill. apple, helen, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. applegate, elsie, as. p. l., indianapolis, ind. bacon, gertrude. as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. baker, florence e., state hist soc. l., madison, wis. baldwin, clara f., ln. minn. state l. commission, masonic temple, minneapolis, minn. ball, lucy, ex. ln., n. union st., grand rapids. mich. bangs, mary freeman, huntington ave., boston, mass. bardwell, willis arthur, as. ln. p. l., brooklyn, n. y. bardwell. mrs. willis a., brooklyn, n. y. barker, bess l., as. p. l., portland, oregon. barnard, pierce r., as. p. l., st. louis, mo. barnes, mrs. clara p., ln. gilbert m. simmons l., kenosha. wis. bate, florence e., mcclure, phillips & co., e. th st, n. y. city. bates, flora j., cataloger, yale ave., chicago. beck, sue, ln. p. l., crawfordsville, ind. beer, william, ln. howard memorial l. and fisk free and p. l., new orleans, la. bell, martha w., ln. p. l., beloit, wis. benedict, laura estelle watson, ln. lewis institute. chicago, ill. bennett, helen prentiss, ln. p. l., mattoon, ill. berryman, j. r., ln. state l., madison, wis. best, mrs. louise l., ln. p. l., janesville, wis. billon, sophie c., ln. l. assoc, davenport, ia. biscoe, ellen lord, albany, n. y. biscoe, walter stanley, senior ln. state l., albany, n. y. bishop, william warner, ln. academic dept., polytechnic institute of brooklyn, n. y. blend, belle, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. booth, jessie. as. p. l., chicago, ill. bowerman, george franklin, ln. wilmington inst. f. l., wilmington, del. bowerman. mrs. george f., wilmington, del. bowker, r. r., ed. _library journal_, n. y. city. bradley, isaac s., ln. and asst. supt. state hist. soc., madison, wis. branch, elizabeth, univ. of ill. l. s., champaign, ill. brett, w. h., ln. p. l., cleveland, o. briesen, henreiette von, ln. p. l., manitowoc, wis. brigham, johnson, ln. state l., des moines, ia. brigham, mrs. johnson, des moines, ia. brigham, mabel. as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. brown, bertha mower, ln. p. l., eau claire, wis. brown, gertrude l., cataloger f. p. l., evanston, ill. brown, margaret w., travelling l. as., state l., des moines, ia. brown, walter l., as. supt. p. l., buffalo, n. y. browne, nina e., sec'y a. l. a. publishing board, - / beacon st., boston, mass. registrar, a. l. a. browning, eliza g., ln. p. l., indianapolis, ind. buntescher, josephine, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. burnet, duncan, glenwood av., avondale, cincinnati, o. burns, adeline, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. burton, kate, ln. p. l., geneva, ill. calkins, mary j., ln. p. l., racine, wis. canfield, dr. james h., ln. columbia univ. l., new york, n. y. cargill, joseph, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. carpenter, mary f., ln. state normal school, west superior, wis. carr, henry j., ln. p. l., scranton, pa., and pres. a. l. a. carr, mrs. henry j., scranton, pa. carter, lillian m., as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. carver, l d., ln. state l., augusta, me. carver, mrs. l. d., augusta, me. chapin, artena m., st as. state l., indianapolis, ind. chapman, mabel e., ln. milwaukee-downer college, milwaukee, wis. chapman, susan, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. chase, adelaide m., brooks st, w. medford, mass. chase, jessie c., as. p. l., detroit, mich. cheney, john vance, ln. newberry l., chicago, ill. chipman, kate, ln. p. l., anderson, ind. clark, josephine a., ln. u. s. dept. of agriculture, washington, d. c. clarke, elizabeth porter, ref. ln. f. p. l., evanston, ill. clatworthy, linda m., cataloger p. l., dayton, o. coad, priscilla, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. cole, theodore lee, ex-trustee, corcoran bldg., washington, d. c. colerick, margaret m., ln. p. l., fort wayne, ind. cooke, thos. f., pres. f. l., algona, ia. corey, deloraine pendre, pres. p. l., malden, mass. corey, mrs. deloraine p., malden, mass. cory, h. elizabeth, ln. carnegie l., lawrenceville br., pittsburgh, pa. countryman, gratia a., as. ln. p. l., minneapolis, minn. crafts, lettie m., as. ln. univ. of minnesota, tr. p. l., minneapolis, minn. craver, harrison warwick, as. carnegie l. technical science dept., pittsburgh, pa. crawford, esther, head instructor summer school for librarians, state univ., iowa city, ia. crim, margaret e., clerk p. l. com. of indiana, indianapolis, ind. crunden, frederick m., ln. p. l., st. louis, mo. curran, mrs. mary h., ln. p. l., bangor, me. cutter, william parker, chief order division l. of congress, washington, d. c. dana, john cotton, ln. city l., springfield, mass. danforth, george f., ln. indiana univ. l., bloomington, ind. davis, h. w., _milwaukee free press_, milwaukee, wis. davis, olin sylvester, ln. p. l., lakeport, n. h. dean, c. ruth, as. p. l., st louis, mo. decker, cora m., as. ln. p. l., scranton, pa. de moe, claire, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. denison, george a., c. & g. merriam co., springfield, mass. denton, j. h., chairman p. l. com., toronto, canada. dewey, melvil, director state l., albany, n. y. dexter, lydia aurelia, calumet ave., chicago. ill. dickey, helene l., ln. chicago normal s., chicago, ill. dill, miss minnie a., as. ln. p. l., decatur, ill. dillingham, w. p., tr. state l., montpelier, vt. dippel, clara e., as. p. l., indianapolis, ind. dixson, mrs. zella a., ln. univ. of chicago, chicago. dockery, mrs. e. j., f. l. com., boise, idaho. donaldson, allison, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. doolittle, hattie a., ln. williams f. l., beaver dam., wis. doren, electra collins, ln. p. l., dayton, o. douglas, matthew hale, ln. iowa coll. l., grinnell, ia. dousman, mary ella, head children's dept., p. l., milwaukee, wis. downey, mary e., as. ln. field columbian museum, chicago. drummond, mary, tr. adams memorial l., wheaton, ill. dudley, w. h., as. ln. univ. of wisconsin, madison, wis. durham, josephine e., ln. p. l., danville, ill. dwight, agnes l., ln. f. p. l., appleton, wis. earl, mrs. elizabeth c., p. l., com. of indiana, connersville. ind. eastman, linda a., vice-ln. p. l., cleveland, o. eastman, william reed, inspector p. l. dept., state l., albany, n. y. eaton, harriet l., as. p. l., oshkosh, wis. elliott, carrie. ref. ln. p. l., chicago. elliott, julia e., ln. p. l., marinette, wis. ellison, mrs. annette c., children's ln. p. l., minneapolis, minn. elrod, jennie, ln. p. l., columbus, ind. engle, emma r., as. f. l., philadelphia, pa. ensign, katherine w., e. d st., duluth, minn. evans, mrs. alice g., ln. p. l., decatur, ill. faddis, miss zoe, as. chicago s. of education l., chicago. fairbanks, may l., ln. cornell coll., mt. vernon, ia. fatout, nellie b., ln. p. l., elwood, ind. faxon, frederick winthrop, manager library dept., the boston book co., boston, secretary of a. l. a. (address glenway st., dorchester, mass.) faxon, mrs. f. w., dorchester, mass. felt, anna e., financial secy. board of library directors, galena, ill. fernald, helen augusta, adams st., dorchester, mass. ferrell, cullom holmes, washington, d. c. ferrell, l. c., supt. of documents, washington, d. c. ferrell, mrs. l. c., washington, d. c. field, walter t., library dept. ginn & co., wabash ave., chicago, ill. field, mrs. walter t., chicago, ill. fitzgerald, eva m., ln. p. l., kokomo, ind. fletcher, william i., ln. amherst coll. l., amherst, mass. flint, col. weston, ln. p. l. of the district of columbia, washington, d. c. forstall, gertrude, as. the john crerar l., chicago, ill. foss, sam walter, ln. p. l., somerville, mass. foster, mary stuart, as. wis. state hist. soc., madison, wis. foye, charlotte h., as. the john crerar l., chicago, ill. frame, hon. a. j., waukesha, wis. frame, walter, waukesha, wis. freeman, marilla waite, ln. p. l., michigan city, ind. gainer, mrs. c. a., ln. state l., boise, idaho. galbreath, c. b., ln. state l., columbus, o. gale, ellen, ln. p. l., rock island, ill. ganley, marie, cataloger p. l., detroit, mich. george, helene thekla, ln. f. p. l., sioux falls, s. d. gerould, james thayer, ln. univ. of missouri l., columbia, mo. glatfelter, mr. j. h., l. bldg. committee, state normal school, emporia, kan.; supt. city school, atchison, kan. godard, george s., ln. state l., hartford, conn. goding, sarah e., as. ln. f. l., philadelphia, pa. goldberger, ottilie, clerk p. l., chicago, ill. gould, h. a., l. dept. a. c. mcclurg & co., chicago, ill. goulding, philip s., head cataloger univ. of missouri l., columbia, mo. gove, hon. p. l., mayor, waukesha, wis. graham, emma, ln. p. l., sidney, o. gray, john h., tr. northwestern univ. l., evanston, ill. greene, janet m., organizer, indiana ave., chicago. gunthorp, pauline, as. the john crerar l., chicago, ill. hackett, irene a., ln. y. m. c. a. l., brooklyn, n. y. hafner, alfred, bookseller, e. th st, new york, n. y. hafner, mrs. alfred, new york, n. y. haines, helen e., managing ed. _library journal_, n. y. city. recorder a. l. a. hall, howard j., ln. univ. of arizona l., tucson, ariz. haller, f. l., trav. l. commissioner, care lininger & metcalf co., omaha, neb. hamilton, ella a., ln. p. l., whitewater, wis. hanna, belle s., ln. p. l., greencastle, ind. hanson, james christian meinich, chief catalog division, l. of congress, washington, d. c. hardy, e. a., sec. p. l., lindsay, ont. harpole, minnie p., as. ln. library bureau, chicago. harris, george william, ln. cornell univ. l., ithaca, n. y. harrison, joseph le roy, ln. providence athenæum, providence, r. i. harter, lyle, ln. p. l., huntington, ind. hartswick, howard b., st as. state l., harrisburg, pa. hartswick, mrs. jennie betts, clearfield, pa. hawley, emma a., as. ln. state hist soc., madison. wis. hawley, mary e., as. cataloger the john crerar l., chicago, ill. hayes, rutherford platt, asheville, n. c. henderson, mrs. kate a., ln. p. l., joliet, ill. henneberry, kate m., as. ln. p. l., chicago. hensel, martin, ln. p. school l., columbus, o. henry, w. e., ln. state l., indianapolis, ind. hild, frederick h., ln. p. l., chicago, ill. hill, cora m., supt. circulating dept. f. p. l., evanston, ill. hill, prof. j. h., latin professor; chairman l. committee, state normal school, emporia, kan. hilligoss, gertrude, as. p. l., indianapolis, ind. hine, j. w., art metal construction co., boston. hine, mrs. j. w., boston. hoagland, merica, l. organizer of indiana, office of p. l. com., state house, indianapolis, ind. hock, mrs. maggie, kokomo, ind. hodges, nathaniel dana carlile, ln. p. l., cincinnati, o. hoover, anna f., ln. p. l., galesburg, ill. hopkins, anderson hoyt, as. ln. the john crerar l., chicago, ill. horne, miss lulu, as. city l., lincoln, neb. hornor, martha, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. hosmer, prof. james kendall, ln. p. l., minneapolis, minn. hostetter, a. b., supt. and sec'y illinois farmers' institute, springfield, ill. hostetter, mrs. a. b., springfield, ill. hough, georgia rodman, ln. p. l., madison, wis. howard, clara e., student univ. of ill. l. s., champaign, ill. howey, mrs. laura e., ln. hist. dept. state l., helena, mont. hoyt, jessie f., as. p. l., eau claire, wis. hubbard, anna g., ref. ln. state l., indianapolis, ind. hubbell, jennie p., ln. p. l., rockford, ill. huse, hiram a., ln. state l., montpelier, vt. hutchins, frank a., sec. wisconsin f. l. commission, madison, wis. hyer, f. s., agent houghton, mifflin & co., wabash ave., chicago, ill. iles, george, journalist, park ave. hotel, n. y. city. ingalls, jennie, ln. p. l., fort madison, ia. johnson, mary hannah, ln. howard l., nashville, tenn. jones, elizabeth d., pasadena, cal. jones, gardner maynard, ln. p. l., salem, mass. treasurer a. l. a. jones, mary letitia, ln. p. l., los angeles, cal. jones, olive, ln. ohio state univ. l., columbus, o. josephson, aksel gustav salomon, cataloger the john crerar l., chicago, ill. jutton, emma r., reviser univ. of ill. l. s., champaign, ill. kautz, f. r., tr. butler coll. l., irvington, ind. kealhofer, william, tr. washington co. f. l., hagerstown, md. keefer, jessie g., as. p. l., scranton, pa. kellogg, myra, as. p. l., indianapolis, ind. kelso, tessa l., with baker, taylor co., n. y. city. kennedy, john pendleton, l. of congress, washington, d. c. keogh, andrew, ln. linonian & brothers l., yale univ., new haven, conn. kercheval, margaret mce., st as. howard l., nashville, tenn. kerr, willis holmes, acting vice-pres. bellevue coll., bellevue, neb. knudson, signa, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. kohler, minnie, ln. p. l., moline, ill. krengel, f. w., adv. dept. _public libraries_, library bureau, chicago, ill. kroeger, miss alice bertha, ln. drexel inst. l., philadelphia, pa. lamb, mary j., as. p. l., fond du lac, wis. lane, harriet, ln. p. l., freeport, ill. lane, lucius page, as. p. l., boston, mass. langton, joseph f., as. ln. p. l., st. louis, mo. larson, charles a., as. p. l., chicago. lawson, publius v., vice-pres. l. board, menasha, wis. pres. fox river valley l. assoc. pres. winnebago county board of libraries. leach, davis parker, ln. l. assoc., portland, ore. leavitt, charlotte d., ln. mcclymonds p. l., massillon, o. leipziger, dr. henry m., consulting ln. aguilar f. l., new york, n. y. leipziger, pauline, ln. aguilar f. l., new york, n. y. leonard, charles h., e. fulton st., grand rapids, mich. leonard, mrs. charles h., grand rapids, mich. lewis, kate, west superior, wis. light, matilda m., as. p. l., dayton, o. lindsay, mary boyden, ln. f. p. l., evanston, ill. little, george t., ln. bowdoin coll. l., brunswick, me. lucas, stella, ln. memorial f. l., menomonie, wis. luce, cyrus g., pres. michigan l. com., coldwater, mich. luce, mrs. cyrus g., coldwater, mich. lyman, edna. children ln. scoville inst., oak park, ill. mccaine, mrs. helen j., ln. p. l., st. paul, minn. mccormick, lilian, ln. superior p. l., west superior, wis. mccrory, harriette l., ln. f. p. l., cedar rapids, ia. mccullough, elizabeth, ln. p. l., logansport, ind. macdonald, katharine a., as. sec. f. l. com., madison, wis. mcdonnell, pearl, as. ln. univ. of washington, seattle, wash. mcelroy, e. p., ln. f. p. l., algona, ia. mcilvaine, caroline m., as. newberry l., chicago. mcilvaine, mabel, as. newberry l., chicago. mcintosh, margaret, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. mckee, horace a., library bureau, chicago. mckee, syrena, ln. p. l., leavenworth, kan. mckillop, samuel, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. mclane, mary, ln. joseph dessert p. l., mosinee, wis. mcloney, ella m., ln. p. l., des moines, ia. mcmahon, joseph h., cathedral l., new york city. mcneil, anne h., ln. st. supt. office, madison, wis. macomber, mary e., ln. kellogg-hubbard l., montpelier, vt. macpherson, maud r., as. ln. gilbert m. simmons l., kenosha, wis. manchester, bessie i., as. p. l., detroit, mich. mann, margaret, as. ln. univ. of ill. l., champaign, ill. martin, deborah b., ln. kellogg p. l., green bay, wis. marvin, cornelia, instructor f. l. com., madison, wis. marvin, mabel, head cataloger, univ. of wisconsin, madison, wis. marx, bertha, ln. p. l., sheboygan, wis. mattison, olinia may, as. northwestern univ. l., evanston, ill. mealey, edward w., pres. trustees washington co. f. l., hagerstown, md. meleney, g. b., manager library bureau, chicago, ill. meleney, harriet e., chicago. melvill, jessie d., substitute ln. p. l., galena, ill. menzies, mrs. minnie, children's ln. p. l., janesville, wis. merrill, julia wright, as. cataloger p. l., cincinnati, o. merrill, william stetson, chief classifier newberry l., chicago, ill. merryman, bertha, marinette, wis. meyer, emma, ln. p. l., delphi, ind. miller, else, supt. delivery stations, p. l., st. louis, mo. mills, m. emily, as. the john crerar l., chicago. miner, mrs. sarah h., cataloger univ. of wisconsin l., madison, wis. mitchell, tryphena g., ln. vaughn l., ashland, wis. montgomery. thomas l., ln. wagner f. inst. l., philadelphia, pa. montross, elizabeth, as. the john crerar l., chicago, ill. moody, katharine twining, as. p. l., st. louis, mo. moore, evva l., ln. scoville inst., oak park, ill. morris, f. m., bookseller, madison st., chicago. moulton, john grant, ln. p. l., haverhill, mass. mudge, isadore g., ref. ln. univ. of ill. l., urbana, ill. neisser, emma rittenhouse, travelling libraries, f. l., philadelphia, pa. nelson, e. a., ln. state l., st. paul, minn. newman, l. m., chippewa falls, wis. nicholl, mary wylie, ln. bellevue coll., bellevue, neb. nicholson, mrs. george t., lake ave., chicago. nunns, anne e., as. state hist. soc., madison, wis. oakley, minnie m., as. ln. state hist. soc., madison, wis. o'brien, margaret a., as. ln. p. l., omaha, neb. ogden, miss j. f., as. l. of congress, washington, d. c. ogilvie, jane, ln. p. l., antigo, wis. olcott, florence, as. ln. p. l., milwaukee, wis. paddock, catherine d., library organizer, cornell ave., chicago. palmer, w. millard, bookseller, monroe st., grand rapids, mich. parham, nellie e., ln. withers p. l., bloomington, ill. parker, h. w., ln. mechanics' inst. l., new york city. parker, keta b., acting ln. virginia l. mccormick theological seminary, chicago. parmele, ella goodwin, ln. state normal school l., oshkosh, wis. parsons, n. b., library bureau, chicago. parsons, mrs. n. b., chicago. patenaude, rose e., ln. peter white p. l., marquette, mich. patten, katharine, as. p. l., minneapolis, minn. patton, adah, student univ. of illinois l. s., champaign, ill. patton, normand s., architect, chicago. payne, w. p., pres. trustees p. l., nevada, ia. payne, mrs. w. p., nevada, ia. perley, clarence w., as. the john crerar l., chicago. perry, chesley r., as. p. l., chicago. pierce, mary, cataloger p. l., chicago. pifer, ida f., as. l. of congress, washington, d. c. plummer, mary wright, director pratt inst. l., brooklyn, n. y. poirier, lydia m., ln. p. l., duluth, minn. pollard, annie a., d as. p. l., grand rapids. mich. porter, washington t., tr. p. l., cincinnati, o. potter, kate m., ln. city l., baraboo, wis. potter, lucy a., as. ln. state normal school l., oshkosh, wis. pray, t. b., state normal s., stevens point, wis. price, anna m., ln. univ. of s. dakota l., vermillion, s. d. price, helen l., l. organizer, urbana, ill. putnam, mrs. hannah, canton, ill. putnam, herbert, ln. of congress, washington, d. c. radcliffe, alice, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. rankin, julia toombs, as. ln. carnegie l., atlanta, ga. reed, mrs. adele c. paxton, ill. reeve, dr. j. t., secy. f. p. l., appleton, wis. remmer, mary e., cataloger p. l., chicago. resor, mrs. josephine h., ln. parlin l., canton, ill. riblet, l. e., waukesha. wis. ringier, margaret, deputy ln. p. l., quincy, ill. robertson, josephine chester, head cataloger univ. of chicago, chicago. robinson, lydia g., as. p. l., chicago. roddy, marie louise, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. roden, carl b., supt. order dept. p. l., chicago. rommeiss, emma, as. p. l., chicago. root, azariah smith, ln. oberlin coll, l., oberlin, o. roper, eleanor, senior as. the john crerar l., chicago. rose, emma e., ln. p. l., fond du lac, wis. russel, j. r., ln. p. l., butte, mont. russell, janet, ln. p. l., merrill, wis. ryerson, e. egerton, as. ln. p. l., toronto, can. sacksteder, m. a., open court publishing co., chicago. salisbury, grace e., as. ln. state normal s., whitewater, wis. salisbury, o. m., agent ginn & co., madison, wis. sanders, mrs. minerva a., ln. f. p. l., pawtucket, r. i. sawyer, ida e., cataloger northwestern univ. l., evanston, ill. schmidt, eliza, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. sears, minnie e., as. cataloger univ. of illinois l., champaign, ill. seely, blanche, as. the john crerar l., chicago. seeman, samuel, william g. johnson & co., pittsburg, pa. seeman, mrs. samuel, pittsburg, pa. scott, mrs. frances hanna, ln. mich. coll. of mines, houghton, mich. sharp, katharine lucinda, head ln. and director state l. s. univ. of illinois, champaign, ill. shaw, r. k., as. l. of congress, washington, d. c. shepard, rhoda c., ln. shortridge high s., indianapolis. ind. silverthorn, nellie c., ln. p. l., wausau, wis. simonds, may, as. mercantile l., st. louis, mo. simonson, roger a., library bureau, chicago simpson, frances, cataloger univ. of illinois l., champaign, ill. skavlem, gertrude j., as. ln. p. l., janesville, wis. skinner, marie a., ln. p. l., lake forest, ill. smith, elizabeth, sec'y l. board, de pere, wis. smith, elizabeth church, as. state hist. soc., madison, wis. smith, faith e., ln. p. l., sedalia, mo. smith, laura, chief cataloger p. l., cincinnati, o. smith, susan t., ln. state normal s., chico, cal. smith, walter mcmynn. ln. univ. of wisconsin l., madison. wis. smythe, elizabeth harris, circulating l., washington st., chicago. soule, charles carroll, ex-trustee, pres. the boston book co., boston, mass. sperry, ethel, waterbury, conn. sperry, helen, ln. bronson l., waterbury, conn. stearns, lutie e., library organizer wisconsin f. l. com., madison, wis. steiner, dr. bernard c., ln. enoch pratt f. l., baltimore, md. stern, renée b., woodlawn ave., chicago. stevens, edith, boone, ia. stevens, olive, as. ln. iowa state college l., ames, ia. stevenson, william marshall, ln. carnegie f. l., allegheny, pa. stewart, rose gemmill, cataloger f. l., philadelphia, pa. stillman, mary louise, supt. issue dept. p. l., milwaukee, wis. stites, katherine, ln. f. p. l., hoopeston, ill. stout, hon. j. h., trustee mabel tainter l., menomonie, wis. strohm, adam, ln. armour inst, of technology, chicago. stuart, william h., leary, stuart & co., s. th st., philadelphia, pa. stuart, mrs. william h., philadelphia, pa. stuntz, steve c., as. univ. of wisconsin l., madison, wis. swan, l. p., ln. state normal school l., whitewater, mo. thayer, maude, as. ln. state l., springfield, ill. thorne, elizabeth g., ln. f. l., port jervis, n. y. thwaites, reuben gold, sec. and supt. state hist. soc, madison, wis. thwaites, mrs. r. g., madison, wis. todd, marie a., as. p. l., minneapolis, minn. tuttle, elizabeth, as. ln. l. i. hist. soc, brooklyn, n. y. tyler, alice s., sec. iowa l. com., des moines, ia. urban, gertrude, as. p. l., milwaukee, wis. utley, henry m., ln. p. l., detroit, mich. van valkenburgh, agnes e., head cataloger p. l., milwaukee, wis. vincent, mrs. anna c., as. ln. p. l., rockford, ill. voges, aug., bookseller, chicago. waddell, nina t., d as. ln. p. l., kansas city, mo. wagner, sula, cataloger p. l., st. louis, mo. wales, elizabeth b., ln. p. l., quincy, ill. walker, evelyn h., ln. all souls church, langley ave., chicago. wall, lenore, cataloger p. l., quincy, ill. wallace, anne, ln. carnegie l., atlanta, ga. wallace, charlotte elizabeth, ln. hazelwood br. carnegie l., pittsburg, pa. warren, irene, ln. univ. of chicago school of education, chicago. waters, w. o., univ. of illinois l. s., champaign, ill. watson, carrie m., ln. univ. of kansas l., lawrence, kan. weber, mrs. jessie palmer, ln. state hist. l., springfield, ill. weber, linda, springfield. ill. webster, ida m., ln. p. l., lincoln, ill. wellman, hiller crowell, ln. p. l., brookline, mass. welsh, robert gilbert, manager library dept. charles scribner's sons, new york city. wescoat, lulu m., as. p. l., st. louis, mo. west, mabel g., cataloger knox college l., galesburg, ill. wheelock, mary e., ln. p. l., grinnell, ia. whitaker, alfred e., ln. univ. of colorado, boulder, col. white, peter, state l. commission, marquette, mich. whitten, robert h., sociology ln. state l., albany, n. y. whitten, mrs. robert h., albany, n. y. whitney, mrs. carrie westlake, ln. p. l., kansas city, mo. wilkerson, elizabeth b., cataloger cossitt l., memphis, tenn. williams, lizzie annie, ln. p. l., malden, mass. williams, mary, as. hampton inst. l., hampton, va. wilson, halsey w., cumulative book index, minneapolis, minn. windsor, phineas l., as. l. of congress, washington, d. c. wing, florence s., student univ. of illinois l. s., champaign, ill. wire, dr. g. e., deputy ln. worcester county law l., worcester, mass. wood, harriet ann, cataloger p. l., cincinnati, o. wood, mary whistler, cataloger p. l., chicago. woods, henry f., ln. p. l., east st. louis, ill. wright, charles edward, ln. andrew carnegie f. l., carnegie, pa. wright, mrs. mary l., ln. p. l. streator, ill. wright, purd b., ln. f. p. l., st. joseph, mo. wyer, james ingersoll, jr., ln. univ. of nebraska l., lincoln, neb. wyer, malcolm g., excelsior, minn. youmans, mrs. henry m., pres. wisconsin state federation of women's clubs, waukesha, wis. footnotes: [footnote k: the state library section held no meeting, as such, but its interests were represented in the meeting of the national association of state librarians, held simultaneously with the a. l. a. meeting, and reported in _library journal_, july, , p. .] attendance summaries. by nina e. browne, _registrar; librarian of library bureau, boston; secretary a. l. a. publishing board_. by position and sex. men. women. total. trustees and other officers chief librarians assistants library bureau, booksellers, etc. library school students others --- --- --- total by geographical sections. of the no. atlantic states sent " so. " " " " so. central " " " no. " " " " western " " " pacific " " canada sent --- total by states. me. n. h. vt. mass. r. i. conn. n. y. pa. del. md. d. c. va. n. c. ga. la. tenn. ohio. ind. ill. mich. wis. minn. ia. mo. kan. neb. s. d. mont. col. ariz. cal. oregon idaho wash. canada --- total number of libraries represented from each state. me. libraries represented by n. h. " " vt. " " mass. " " r. i. " " conn. " " n. y. " " pa. " " del. " " md. " " d. c. " " va. " " ga. " " la. " " tenn. " " ohio. " " ind. " " ill. " " mich. " " wis. " " minn. " " ia. " " mo. " " kan. " " neb. " " s. d. " " mont. " " col. " " ariz. " " cal. " " oregon. " " idaho. " " wash. " " canada. " " * * * * * transcriber's notes some inconsistencies and obvious errors in punctuation and capitalization have been corrected without further note. inconsistencies in hyphenation have been retained. unusual spellings have been retained, except as noted below. inconsistencies in spelling have been fixed in cases where there was a clear majority of a given spelling, and otherwise retained. on p. , the word "multimillionaires" was broken between lines in the original; it has been arbitrarily rendered as "multimillionaires" as opposed to "multi-millionaires". on p. , the phrase "to have so-called expert opinions expressed concerning books" had "concernings" in the original. on p. , "expense" was "exepense" in the original. on p. , the phrase "independent and autonomous institutions" had "autonymous" in the original. on p. , the phrase "the best reviews of children's books ever written" had "childen's" in the original. on p. , "unquestionable" was "unqestionable" in the original. on p. , there is mention of "'the pink hen,' by cuthbert sterling. there is a fairy tale called "the pink hen", by cuthbert spurling; this may be what was meant. on p. , "expressing" was "experssing" in the original. on p. , the word "summer-school" was split across lines; "summer-school" was arbitrarily chosen instead of "summerschool". on p. , the word "handbooks" was split across lines; "handbooks" was arbitrarily chosen instead of "hand-books"; both were in use at the time. on p. , "questions" was "questtions" in the original. on p. , the phrase "have examined the accounts of the treasurer" had "trueasurer" in the original. on p. , in the obituary numbered " ", the word "died" was surmised; the original is unclear. on p. , the phrase "the demand which would otherwise exist" had "exists" in the original. on. p. , the phrase "although with very inadequate force" appeared in the original on a line ending in "in-" followed by a line starting with "dequate"; hence, "indequate". on p. , the word "inter-oceanic" was split across lines; it was arbitrarily made "inter-oceanic" as opposed to "interoceanic". on p. , in § , "...meeting of the association appoint a committee..." was "...meeting of the association appoint a a committee..." in the original. on p. , the phrase "and, secondly, when we are sure" appeared in the original on a line ending in "sec-" followed by a line starting with "condly"; hence, "seccondly". on p. , the phrase "wished that a complete bibliography" appeared in the original on a line ending in "con-" followed by a line starting with "plete"; hence, "conplete". on p. , the phrase "these subject headings are simply suggestive" had "heading" in the original. on p. , the phrase "purely bibliographical notation" had "biliographical" in the original. on p. , the word "letterpress" was split between lines once, and written as "letter-press" once; these have been changed to "letterpress" for consistency with previous usage. on p. , the phrase "the purpose of the author arrangement" had "arangement" in the original. on p. , the phrase "regardless of whether it was as author" had "regardlesss" in the original. on p. , the phrase "the frailest of our sex" had "frailiest" in the original. on p. , the phrase "the support and maintenance of public libraries" appeared in the original on a line ending in "pub-" followed by a line starting with "lib"; hence, "publib". on p. , the phrase "at the university of g�ttingen" had "gottingen" in the original. on p. , the phrase "at p.m. mr. eastman's" was missing the full stop after the "m" in the original. on p. , the phrase "the monotony of work" had "monotany" in the original. on p. , the phrase "craver, harrison warwick" had "harison" in the original. on p. , the phrase "shortridge high s." had "shortbridge" in the original.