Book_^_jr STATE- OFNEWYORK EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DEDICATION STATE EDUCATION BUILDING ALBANY OCTOBERT5 16 17 1912 / NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / o /3 r SOUVENIR OF THE DEDICATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION BUILDING Albany, October 1 5, 16, 17, 1912 Seal of Educarion Department STATE OF NEW YORK EDUCATION DEPARTMENT "IE ■ " . ..,-*-*'-**-*^»IJ*l ^^. --J PREFATORY NOTE This little book has been prepared for the double purpose of providing a souvenir of the dedication of the State Education Building (October 15, 16 and 17, 1912) and of affording our friends a mere glimpse into the organiza- tion and operations of the New York State Education Department. It is expected to follow the dedication exercises with a full report of all that transpires. Credit for gathering and arranging the materials for this publication is duf to Mr Lloyd L. Cheney, the official editor of the Education Departrnent. QOMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION. The stairway leading to the third floor THE STATE EDUCATION BUILDING HISTORICAL TO find the inception of the idea of the New York State Education Building, one must look back to the unifica- tion of educational interests of the State in 1904. Bringing together under one organization two State Education Departments which had become radically separated was an epochal achievement. It was felt that there ought to be a monument to this singular accomplishment and that nothing would be more appropriate than a great state building which would indicate to the State and to the entire world the interest which New York maintains in both popular and higher education. The need of a separate building, however, was not based entirely upon sentiment. There were sufficient reasons of a more practical nature. As the Department had grown and spread out, it had come to occupy rooms in widely separated parts of the Capitol and in other buildings in different sections of the city. The efficiency of the Department was seriously impeded and unity and discipline were nearly impossible. Its priceless collections of books and manuscripts and its valuable museum specimens were improperly housed and were in danger from fire. The first official step looking toward the erection of the new building was taken by the Commissioner of Education, January 1 8, 1 905, when he addressed to the Board of Regents a commu- nication calling attention to the inadequacy of the quarters then occupied, and suggesting that initiatory steps should be taken looking toward the erection of a building to be devoted exclu- sively to the State's educational activities. Nothing having resulted in the meantime, the Commissioner again brought the entire matter to the attention of the Board of Regents at their 9 Site of Education Building, looking east from Swan street, 1907 meeting of December 14, 1905. The Board adopted a resolution indorsing the statements of the Commissioner and appointed a committee to consider the matter. The initial legislative action was taken February 14, 1906, when Senator John Raines intro- duced in the upper house a resolution setting forth the inadequate accommodations of the Education Department, and calling upon the finance committee to make inquiry and report such recommendations and bill as it thought advisable. The resolution was unanimously adopted and on March 29th Senator Raines introduced a bill providing for the acquisition of a site and the erection of a State Education Building, The bill provided $3,500,000 inclusive of the site. On April 20th the Senate finance committee made a careful report reviewing the work of the Department, its divisions, its jurisdiction, and its inadequate quarters, and reported a carefully revised bill. This bill provided a plan for determining the architectural design, and appropriated $3,500,000 exclusive of the site. The bill passed the Assembly on the last day of the session and was signed by Governor Higgins June 1 , 1 906. 10 Site of Education Building, looking west from Hawk street, 1907 The site was readily determined, the total cost of which was $466,440.75. There was more difficulty, however, in selecting an architectural design. Sixty-three designs were submitted in the first competition. The authors of the best ten designs were asked to enter a second competition, and from the plans submitted, all but three were eliminated for the final choice. The Board of Award was divided as to the selection of a classical design or one embodying quite different principles of architecture. After some little delay, the Board of Award on May 16, 1907, announced the selec- tion of the design which has since been executed, and of which Messrs Palmer and Hornbostel of New York City were the architects. It was May 1908 before the finished plans could be delivered to contractors for estimates. There were about thirty bids for the work or parts of it, and on July 10, 1908, the contract for the entire work was awarded to the R. T. Ford Company of Rochester for the sum of $3,622,282. The work was actually commenced July 29, 1908, when the first cement and stone were thrown into the trench. By the terms of the contract the work should have been completed by January 1, 1911, but it was continually delayed for one reason or another. Thus the Commonwealth which has always stood for the most centralized and efficient support of public education; in which the first common school was established; which was the first to create a state board to charter and supervise colleges and academies; the first to appropriate money to common schools and to establish a permanent common school fund; the first to create the office of State Superintendent of Common Schools and a State Department of Public Instruction; and the first to unify all its munificent and innumerable educational activities under one administration, is the first to erect a separate building to stand exclusively and aggressively for its concern about the intelligence and the character of all its people. DESCRIPTIVE The architectural treatment of the building was decided upon after much study and research. It was essential that the building should be dignified and imposing, and that its archi- The beginning of work on the Education Building, December 18, 1908 12 tecture should be of a character to withstand the changing years. It was also necessary to consider the location of the building, which faces the south and does not permit its being viewed in front from any considerable distance. The classical design which has now been executed was selected as best meeting all the requirements. The building has a frontage of 659.6 feet on Washington avenue, is 140 feet wide, and the wing in the rear is 190 by 165.87 feet. It stands 50 feet back of the building line, allowing some space for landscape architectural treatment. Within the space between the building and the street sidewalk, lawns, intercepted by walks, have been laid out. A wide flight of easy steps leads to the main entrance at the center of the building. There are other entrances at either end. The main fagade, extending the entire length of the front of the building, consists of a huge colonnade resting upon a power- ful stylobate; behind the colonnade is an arcade, ample in its proportions and interesting in its repetition. The wall behind the colonnade is broken by a series of large semicircular openings which allow great window area. The entire facade is crowned by a solid wall which gives it unity and strength. The columnar treatment is also carried across the ends of the building. The materials used on the front and end facades are for the most part white marble, terra cotta and gray granite, the latter being used for the stylobate, or base of the building. The rear walls are constructed of a light-colored vitreous brick and terra cotta. The basement contains rooms for service of all kinds, rock- cutting plant for the museum, workshop, janitor's and cleaners* rooms, toilet rooms for the staff and for the public, storage rooms, shipping rooms, a driveway and court for shipping purposes, elevators, ventilating, heating and lighting apparatus, and the lower floors of the great book stack of the library. At the eastern end of the building beginning in the basement and occupying two stories is the auditorium with a gallery and promenade on three sides. The stage has an architectural treat- ment of four huge Corinthian columns forming a curved loggia, 13 The arcade along the front of the building 14 and is flanked by large niches for pipe organs. The auditorium is lighted by twelve large windows and its decorative treatment is in a modified Greek style. It has a seating capacity of about nine hundred. To the right of the vestibule at the main entrance on the first floor is a massive and easy staircase leading to the second floor rotunda; to the left is the bureau of information. A broad, vaulted corridor runs east and west the entire length of the first floor, leading to exits at both ends of the building. By means The Commissioner's room of this corridor access is given to the various administrative offices of the Department which are located on this floor. The Regents chamber, which is in the southwest corner, has walls of Indiana limestone and a carved beam ceiling of oak. The Commissioner's rooms are adjacent to the Regents chamber on the front of the building, and are treated in the Tudor style of Gothic with mahogany wainscoting. Other offices on the front of the building accommodate the three assistant commissioners, the Administration Division, the School Libraries Division, and 15 the Visual Instruction Division. In the rear of the building on this floor are the Vocational Schools Division, the Law Division, the Teachers Retirement Fund Board, the printing section, the cashier's office, the storekeeper's room, the Inspections Division, the Attendance Division, the Statistics Division, the supply, filing and mailing rooms, and general accommodations for clerks and stenographers. The wing in the rear on the first floor contains the continuation of the book stacks, and at either side the rooms for manuscripts, maps and charts, and for cataloging and accession work. From the rotunda on the second floor, several striking views are presented: to the north a great vaulted corridor 40 feet in width, 46 feet in height and 50 feet in length, leading to the general reference reading room; to the east a shorter vaulted corridor leading to the periodical room and medical library; and to the west a similar corridor leading to the law and legislative reference libraries. The rotunda, thus located at the intersec- tion of these vaulted corridors, gives a dominating climax to the architectural treatment. Over the rotunda, supported on pendentives, is a circular colonnade. This colonnade in turn supports a dome in which is a large skylight providing direct daylight to the rotunda below. The rotunda and its vaulted corridors are constructed of Indiana limestone. In the rotunda are the following inscriptions " 1784 1854 1904 The University of the State of New York"; "Here shall be gathered the best books of all lands and all ages"; "This library aims to uplift the State and serve every citizen"; "A system of free common schools wherein all the children of this State may be educated." Conveniently arranged between columns, steel cases afford suit- able provision for the most interesting historical exhibits; the rotunda is therefore virtually a historical museum. With its wings, the rotunda measures about 100 feet by 100 feet. The height of the dome above the second floor is 94 feet. In the disposition of the special libraries (medicine, law, sociological and technical) an innovation of a highly practical character. Involving the use of stack rooms in the center of the building, has been Introduced. This arrangement gives the reading 16 Looking toward the law library from the rotunda rooms the easiest access possible to their respective collections of books. The architectural treatment of these rooms is consist- ently simple and dignified. The general reference reading room, with its dependencies, occupies practically the entire north wing. It is placed directly above, and in immediate connection with, an immense stack room having a capacity of 2,000,000 volumes. The books are placed in artificially lighted stack rooms, the temperature, humidity and ventilation of which can be absolutely controlled. The architectural treatment of the general reference reading room is at once both novel and bold. It consists of twelve slender bronze columns supporting a series of terra cotta domes. The walls are of stone and the room receives sunlight by means of eleven huge leaded glass windows. The lateral dimensions of this room are 1 06 feet by 1 30 feet and the height of the domes is about 50 feet. On this floor, in connection with the rooms already described, are the necessary dependencies: offices of the director, card catalog room, studies, coat rooms, lavatories etc. On a mezzanine at the east end are the offices of 17 Museum rooms in course of construction the secretaries of the State Board of Medical Examiners and the State Board of Pharmacy and the inspector of nurse training schools. On the third floor are the offices and workrooms of the Examinations Division, the Educational Extension Division, the Public Records Division, the History Division, and the Library School. The main reading room of the library also extends through the third floor. The general conference rooms of the various State boards of examiners are located upon this floor. The fourth floor is devoted entirely to the State Museum and contains the State collections in geology, mineralogy, paleontol- ogy, entomology, archeology, botany and zoology. These col- lections will be housed in rooms lighted from above. The principal room on the south side of the building, though subdi- vided into sections, affords a vista its entire length. It is 570 feet in length, 50 feet in height and 54 feet in width; it is not equaled in open and dignified space by any other museum in the country. These rooms are all given an agreeable architectural treatment. Access is afforded from this main museum to the Completed museum rooms north wing of the building; on going to the north wing, one passes the circular colonnade of the rotunda before mentioned; and between the columns a comprehensive view of the rotunda is afforded. The offices of the director of the museum and his assistants are located on a mezzanine in the rear, adjacent to the exhibition rooms. Not only is the building fireproof in every detail, but special provision has been made for the safekeeping of manuscripts and other valuable relics which are in the possession of the Depart- ment. A large safety vault, 15 by 43 feet, with ample steel boxes and cases, has been built in the basement. Within this there is a smaller vault of special construction which will be used for the safekeeping of the Emancipation Proclamation, Washington's Farewell Address, the Andre papers, the King Charles II Charter, the Washington relics and other unique papers and relics. The mural paintings which are to adorn the grand staircase and the rotunda are to be the work of the well-known artist, Mr Will H. Low. The general title of the paintings is to be 19 "The Aspiration of Man for Intellectual Enlightenment and the Results of its Attainment." There are about thirty-two panels with approximately 1730 square feet to be decorated. It is the belief of the artist that fifteen of these spaces may contain developed compositions of several figures, that four will permit the use of a single figure, and that the others must be treated by decorative ornament. Reviewing the plans as a whole, attention may be called finally to the arrangement of practical details; among these is the location of the driveway court under the north wing of the building which makes the delivery of books easy and direct; the concentration of lavatories and lockers for the service and for the public; the ample provision for mechanical transporta- tion, communication, ventilation, heating and lighting; and the thoroughness with which the construction of the building insures every modern facility for administration and assures every protection against fire. Such are the principal features of the State Education Build- ing: the effort has everywhere been made to answer practical needs, to conserve space as much as possible, to provide for future expansion and to treat the building in a thoroughly sane and modern spirit alike in its utilitarian and its esthetic aspects. ,:• ^-"^l " ^M „. _ ,^:S 20 THE PROGRESS OF EDUCATION IN NEW YORK T 'HE real beginning of New York's common school system was in the early days of the colony of New Netherland. In 1633, only a few years after the settlement of the colony, the first public school in New York, as well as the first in the country, was established at New Amsterdam by the Dutch settlers. Under the encouragement of the Dutch other public schools were soon begun in the towns near New Amsterdam and along the Hudson river as far north as Albany. These early schools were all essen- tially elementary schools. They were followed in time by sec- ondary schools, and later came the higher institutions. This order, while appearing the logical and natural one, was quite the reverse of that fol- lowed in some of the colonies. In Massachusetts, for instance, the first appropriations were for Harvard College. Under the English rule in New York the public schools lan- guished. As the English had no elementary school system at home, they naturally were not interested in popular education in the colonies. During the century ending with 1 775 not a 21 single legislative act concerning the elementary schools was passed in New York, and only two relating to secondary educa- tion. Yet at no time was popular education entirely discarded. Before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War there had been established within the territory of New York several elementary schools, a few secondary schools, and Kings College. After independence, New York was first concerned with higher education. At the instigation of Governor George Clinton an act was passed by the Legislature in May 1784, creating the Regents of the University of the State of New Interior view of a typical schoolhouse of 1812 York, a corporation which was to act as the governors of Kings College and was also empowered to found schools and colleges in any part of the State. Three years later the special jurisn diction of the Regents as trustees of Kings College was with- drawn. The Regents were empowered to charter colleges and to incorporate academies and to have supervision over the same. Their jurisdiction was from time to time enlarged so that their work embraced libraries, museums, extension teaching and study clubs, as well as academies and higher institutions. 22 GIDEON HAWLEY of Albany. N. Y. Superintendent of common schools in New York from 1813 to 1821, and the first in the United States; secretary of the Board of Regents from 1814 to 1841; Regent of the University from 1842 to 1870 From an oil painting owned by the Department 23 The Regents in various reports to the Legislature, the first as early as 1787, urged the establishment of public elementary schools. While Governor Clinton suggested the creation of the Regents of the University, he was also the first forcefully to urge the establishment of common schools throughout the State. As a result of his message to the Legislature of 1795, an act was passed appropriating £20,000 annually for five years "for the purpose of encouraging and maintaining schools in the several cities and towns cf this State, in which the children of the inhabitants residing in the State shall be instructed in the English language, or be taught English gram- mar, arithmetic, mathematics, and such other branches cf knowledge as are most useful and necessary to complete a good English education." In 1811 Governor Tompkins was authorized to appoint five commissioners to report a plan for the organization and estab- lishment of common schools. As a result of their report, legisla- tion was enacted in 1812 creating a state system of common schools and a state superintendent of common schools. The administration of the new system was placed in charge of Gideon Hawley, who has been called the father of the common school system in this State. As the first common school in the country was established in New York, likewise the first state system of education was inaugurated by New York in 1812. With the establishment of a state system of common schools, the educational work in New York State became vested in two authorities — the Regents of the University, having jurisdiction over the academies and higher education, and the superintend- ent of common schools, having jurisdiction over the elementary and public secondary schools. During the succeeding years the authority of each was from time to time extended as there were demands for further supervision and control of the educational activities of the State. Though at first the jurisdiction of the two authorities was quite distinct, yet as the educational work increased there naturally developed an overlapping of authority. As early as 1837 Governor Marcy urged a unification of the two systems, but without avail. In 1854 the State Depart- 24 ment of Public Instruction was created, and a new educational era began. The chief officer was a superintendent of public instruction, who was elected by joint ballot of both houses of the Legislature, for a term of three years, and who was invested with all the powers of the former superintendent of common schools. During the thirty years immediately preced- ing the passage of this law, the Secretary of State had also acted as superintendent of common schools. The act of 1854, making the Department of Public Instruction an independent agency of the government and conferring upon the superintend- ent ample powers and authority, was a distinct step toward making New York's educational system more efficient and progressive. In 1869 another effort was made to unify the two great educational departments of the State, but progressed little fur- ther than the introduction of a bill into the Assembly. Another bill having the same objects in view was introduced the follow- ing year and was passed by the Legislature, but was vetoed by the Governor. The succeeding years up to 1904 witnessed the passage of many constructive laws commensurate with the growth and extension of the educational activities of the State. The powers and authority of both the Board of Regents and the Depart- ment of Public Instruction increased from time to time, but each succeeding year showed the gulf between the two departments to be continually widening. As time passed, the people of the State became interested in the controversy, and during the last years of the old order the Legislature became deeply engrossed in the educational situation. The controversy reached a culmination in 1904, and the entire problem was happily adjusted by the passage of the law, under the decisive influence of Governor Odell, known as the Unification Act. All the educational work of the State, including the powers and duties formerly exercised by the Board of Regents and the Department of Public Instruc- tion, is now vested in a single department, under the legisla- tive direction of the Regents and the executive direction of the Commissioner of Education. 25 The main stairway to the second floor 26 THE NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT rE New York State Education Department is charged v/ith the general management and supervision not only of all public schools but of all the educational work of the State. Its jurisdiction extends in varying degrees to the district, village and city schools, to the normal schools, the col- leges and universities, the professional and technical schools, libraries, museums, study clubs, historical societies, and other institutions of an educational character. It supervises the entrance requirements to, and the licensing and practice of, the professions of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, phar- macy, optometry, chiropody, and also supervises the certifica- tion cf nurses, public accountants and shorthand reporters. Through the University of the State cf New York it may incorporate any university, college, academy, library, museum, or other institution or association for the promotion of knowl- edge. The Department regularly inspects the educational institu- tions within its jurisdiction, licenses teachers, sets up uniform standards for the public schools, maintains the State Library, the State Museum, and the State Library School, and appor- tions to the schools the appropriations annually made by the Legislature. By the Unification Act of 1904 the former two State educa- tional departments known as the University of the State of New York (governed by the Board of Regents) and the Department of Public Instruction, were brought under one department called the State Education Department. The Uni- versity of the State of New York was continued as provided by the State constitution, and the powers and duties of the Regents relating to higher education were not changed. The offices of the former executive officers of each department, known as the Secretary of the Board of Regents and the Super- 27 As the building appeared March 9, 1910 intendent of Public Instruction, were abolished and the powers formerly exercised by them devolved upon a new officer known as the Commissioner of Education. The Regents now act as a legislative body upon all matters within the jurisdiction of the two old departments, and the Commissioner of Education acts as the executive officer of the entire State educational system. There are twelve members of the Board of Regents, one of whom is elected annually by the Legislature for a term of twelve years. The statute provides that each of the eight judicial districts of the State shall be represented upon the Board. The first Commissioner of Education was chosen by the Legislature, but since then he is chosen by the Board of Regents to serve during the pleasure of the Board. The administration of the Department work is done through three Assistant Commissioners and fifteen divisions or bureaus. The Assistant Commissioners have the same standing, author- ity, and responsibility. The First Assistant Commissioner has charge of higher education, including matters relating to uni- versities, colleges, professional and technical schools and to the 28 execution of the educational laws concerning the professions. He conducts the correspondence concerning the chartering and registration by the Regents of educational institutions and organizations, and is charged with the execution of the laws concerning the eligibility of candidates for admission to all licensing examinations and their preliminary requirements. The Second Assistant Commissioner has charge of secondary education, including matters relating to high schools and academies and the training of teachers therefor. He also has supervision of the State Normal College, which is designed to train teachers for secondary school work. The Third Assistant Commissioner has charge of elementary education including matters relating to all schools below the academic grade. He also has general supervision of matters relating to the State normal schools and all institutions for training teachers for elementary school work, of the Indian schools, and institutions for the deaf and blind. The detailed work of the Department is conducted through the various divisions, esich presided over by a chief who is responsible to the Commissioner of Education. The work which the various divisions assume to do and the methods by which it is done are briefly described in the following pages. THE STATE LIBRARY The New York State Library provides a highly organized general reference library (with special attention to law, medi- cine, bibliography, Americana, genealogy, social sciences, edu- cation, certain of the natural sciences, and technology) for the free use, either in person at the Library or through corre- spondence, of every person and educational institution in the State. Its democratic purpose has never been better stated than in the act establishing it in 1818, which declared its object to be to found "a public library for the use of the government and of the people of the State." For the first quarter century the Library was in charge of a board of trustees composed of various State officers serving ex officiis. As it grew in size it became evident that a more permanent board would be more effective and in 1 844 the Library was transferred to the custody 29 and control of the Regents of the University of the State of New York. In its early years the Library was mainly used by the Legis- lature and the State courts. In the last twenty-five years its scope and activities gradually have been broadened to meet the modern conception of a state library's functions until it now aims to be the center of all the library interests of the State as well as a library for every citizen. It preserves and makes accessible to students the public manuscript archives of the State and welcomes private collec- tions of letters or documents which relate to New York. It maintains a special library and staff for the study of subjects of legislation, thus actively aiding the enactment of wise laws. For nearly twenty years it has compiled and pub- lished the only important annual index and review of American legislation. Each year it indexes and edits the new laws passed by the Legislature. To more than 1500 registered libraries and schools in the State, which are in effect branches of the State Library, it stands ready to lend books which are not in their own or local libraries, thus supplementing the resources of every library in the State and giving to even the smallest and poorest of these a means of more effectively meeting the educational needs of the community. This great central reserve of books at the State Library serves as a reservoir from which the school, the small college, the city or village library, the study club and, through any of the:e agencies, the individual citizen, may draw streams of knowledge and power into the remotest parts of the State. The State Library assists other libraries and their patrons in the choice of books by printing and distributing freely lists of the best books of each year; by the publication of reading lists on subjects of interest; by advice and lists of books given through correspon- dence and personal visits. It distributes thousands of volumes of the State's public doc- uments to libraries, learned societies and educational institutions throughout the world. It lends without cost good books, period- icals and music in raised type to any blind person in the State. 30 Washington's surveying instruments. Owned by the State and in the custody of the Education Department 31 SCIENCE DIVISION The Science Division includes the State Museum and the various sections of scientific research represented by the Geological Survey with its officials, the State Botanist, the State Entomologist, the Mineralogist, the Zoologist, the Archeol- ogist and their staffs of assistants. Historically the State Museum has been under the charge of the Board of Regents since its inception in 1843, but the scien- tific research work of the division was independently organized in 1836 as the "Natural History of the State of New York." Out of that early organization have grown all the present activities of the Science Division. This division has heretofore devoted the greater part of its energies to the prosecution of scientific investigations. The Geological Survey of New York dates from 1836 and although the title is not now in common use, it has never been abrogated and the work of the survey is carried forward by the State Geologist and Paleontologist. The knowledge of the geological structure in New York has now become very refined and it is probable that few, if any, equal areas in the world are as intimately known geologically as is the State of New York. The geological problems presented have increased rather than lessened with the increase of knowl- edge, and the activity of the organization is as marked and as profitable to the State today as it has ever been. In a commercial sense the geological resources of New York have commonly been regarded as of secondary concern but this is an erroneous conception. The mines and quarries of New York are of great value and the output therefrom today approximates $40,000,000 annually. To some considerable degree this development of New York's geological and miner- alogical resources is due to the work of the Geological Survey. In the important science of paleontology, which records the succession of events upon the earth. New York has long been known for its leading position and influence. The classification of the rocks of New York, as based on the succession of life preserved in them, has been the generally accepted standard for all similar rocks in the western hemisphere. Problems of new 32 < - u g •— '5b c/5 o CC "o UJ = H -S Z " o ^ X - u « Z o and significant character are constantly presented by the con- tinual study of the rocks, and these are problems which have an intimate bearing upon the welfare of the people in the con- struction of public improvements and the manufacture of pro- ducts essential to the comforts of living. The work of the State Botanist for many years has resulted in an accurate knowledge of all the plants of the State, both of high and low degree, and the profuse flora of this region is now intimately understood and the information which the studies of the Botanist have adduced has become a matter of real import- ance to substantial interests in the State, as well as being an exemplification of the advance of botanical knowledge. The office of the State Entomologist, established some thirty years ago, has had for its special function the control of insect depredations upon the agricultural crops and the forests of the State; depredations which aggregate an enormous annual loss to the people of the State, The work of this section of the Science Division has been of an eminently practical character, has devised and put into operation various mechanical modes of control and, while not restricted to these activities alone, has by virtue of them rendered large practical benefit to the public. Insects common or rare to the area of the State are the proper field of study for this section and the original investigations carried on by it have resulted in considerable enlargement of the knowledge of insect life and habits. The Zoologist is concerned with the study of the large and lesser animals of the State, excepting the insects, and his work is mainly to present in the State Museum as complete a represen- tation as possible of the animal life which properly belongs to this political unit. The study of the aborigines of New York was one of the earliest activities of the State Museum, for among its earliest reports are papers by Lewis H. Morgan and Henry R. Schoolcraft, bearing upon the Indian culture and records found in New York. In recent years the position of Archeologlst has been established for the purpose of carrying forward this work in a manner more commensurate with its importance to our history and by means 34 Steel work around the rotunda of excavations and surveys to ascertain and reportray the mode of life among the Indians of New York, especially the great Iroquois Confederacy which had its home here. A proper work of this section of the division is the recording of the traditions and customs of the tribes as ascertainable from their survivors. The State Museum, though in the first instance regarded only as the depository of the materials of research by the various scientific officials, has grown to large proportions in all the departments of work indicated. It has never had a home or halls of display that were at all adequate for its possessions. As a consequence of this the scientific materials of the State have for a half century and more been hoarded in drawers and boxes in several different buildings and for the most part quite out of reach of the public eye. The erection of the Education Building affords the first opportunity for bringing these materials together into one place and of displaying to the people of the State an approximately adequate intimation of the natural resources of New York. 35 ADMINISTRATION DIVISION The Administration Division is charged with the responsibility of the financial and business affairs of the Department. The division was established in 1907. It supplanted the old Accounts Division but was given broader administrative functions. The special activities of this division have to do with finances, publications and printing, and general supervision of the Department staff. The division prepares the annual budgets of the Department for the appropriation and supply bills, certifies to all budgets before payment, conducts all corre- spondence with the Civil Service Commission relative to new appointments and promotions of employees, and endeavors to relieve the Commissioner's office of many matters of executive detail both in correspondence and in administrative routine. Of the total budget of the Department only a small amount is handled directly by the Administration Division. Among the payments made directly by the division are the following: salaries of Department employees including district superinten- dents, purchase of books, grants to libraries, professional examinations, traveling expenses, printing, postage, office expenses, and maintenance of Indian schools. The number of checks drawn during the year in payment of all accounts approximates 17,000. The apportionments to common schools, academic and union schools, and to training classes, together with the maintenance of normal schools, represent over nine-tenths of the annual appropriations made to the Department. The Administration Division is responsible for the character and amount of printing throughout the Department. This division, however, has nothing to do with the making of contracts for printing and has no responsibility in the auditing of bills. These matters are entirely in the hands of the State Printing Board. The Department printing is paid for in two ways. The printing of all blanks and circulars, including the Arbor Day annual, is provided for by the appropriation made to the Department for that purpose. The annual report and the bulletins issued in connection with it are paid for from the 36 legislative printing fund. As a result of the many activities of the various divisions of the Department the volume of printing is large. The very character of much of the work of the Department necessitates the sending of a large amount of printed matter, such as syllabuses, circulars, certificates and blanks to schools, colleges, libraries and other educational organizations. In one sense the Administration Division may be said to be the Department clearing house. Its functions are not only to carry such responsibilities as are peculiarly its own, but also to render more efficient every other division of the Department by increasing the entire efficiency of the organization and mak- ing more effective the articulation of the various divisions. The division properly performs its various functions only when it maintains a high degree of efficiency throughout all the divi- sions and enables the entire Department through its varied activities to be of the greatest service to the entire State. COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE DIVISION The Compulsory Attendance Division is assigned the task of carrying into successful execution throughout the State the various provisions of the compulsory school attendance law and portions of the child labor law. The real function of the divi- sion is to set up the necessary machinery to carry the laws into successful operation and to instruct local school authorities as to the necessary steps to be taken to secure the regular and complete attendance at the schools of all children within cer- tain ages, wherever found within the borders of the State. With this end in view it has been found necessary to require teachers of district schools to file each month with the district superintendents a report of the attendance of all the children under their charge. These reports, numbering about 10,000, are forwarded by the superintendent to the division. They are then carefully examined to ascertain what districts are fail- ing to compel parents to obey the provisions of the statute. The record of each individual district, in the matter of enforcing the attendance law, or failure to enforce it, is kept by means of 38 Looking toward the main entrance, from the second floor a card system; and thousands of letters are written to trustees every year In regard to the poor reports on file at this office. When the records show that trustees have failed to take notice of repeated warnings, the district is punished by the withholding of one-half its public school moneys, for which its trustees may personally be made liable to the taxpayers. When moneys have been withheld from a school district, the district is then placed on probation for a period of twelve months, which affords opportunity for local school authorities to execute the law more successfully; if proof is furnished by subsequent reports that the provisions of the statute are being obeyed, the order with- holding school moneys is vacated and the money is turned over to the district. But if a period of twelve months should elapse before proof of improvement is furnished, moneys withheld revert to the State. To aid in the enforcement of these laws there are appointed annually in the various school districts of the State over three thousand paid officers, known as attendance officers, whose 39 duty it is to render all possible assistance to teachers and trustees in the matter of compelling parents to have their chil- dren in school as the statute directs. When necessary, these officers are required to take legal proceedings against delinquent parents and arraign them in court for prosecution. It further devolves upon these officers at times to arrest truant children and return them to their parents or to the school from which they are truant, or see that they are committed to correctional institutions. Much time and labor is expended by the division in encouraging and directing these officers, and not infrequently is the division compelled to order their summary removal. The enforcement of the attendance law in cities is left to a great extent in the hands of the local superintendents, but the division keeps in close touch with the situation in cities and villages by means of reports of visits filed by the Department inspectors. In the future it is planned to require monthly attendance reports from principals of all city schools, except those in Rochester, Buffalo and New York. DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL EXTENSION The object of this division is to expand the work of the schools by promoting the free use of good books by all the people of the State. It is concerned with public libraries, traveling libraries and study clubs. By its field workers and by correspondence the division is expected to reach every existing public library, to come into personal touch with managers and officers, to learn at first hand the conditions of their work and to encourage and aid them in every possible way. In any locality where no public collection of books is avail- able this division seeks either to place a traveling library or to establish a permanent public library. Its representatives visit any place where such a library is or may be proposed, explain the law, offer the liberal aid and advice of the State, suggest methods of operation, seek to develop local interest and press the matter to a successful conclusion. 41 After incorporation and official inspection a library may be registered as maintaining a proper library standard and thus become entitled to certain privileges and grants of money offered by the State. In the course of establishment, incorporation and registry the libraries come under State supervision and are thereafter offi- cially visited from year to year. Such repeated visitation assures the office that the proper standard is maintained, arouses fresh interest and imparts a clearer understanding of the best methods in library work. It also supplies an official record of all the libraries. More prolonged attention Is given to individual libraries by two library organizers attached to the division. These are expert librarians who are ready to give to any new or small library two weeks of service in arranging and cataloging books with Instruction and aid to local workers. This service Is also extremely fruitful In awakening new interest in all that relates to the library and in opening new fields. The division also serves the libraries in arranging and con- ducting each year, in cooperation with the New York Library Association, a series of about thirty institute and round table meetings. These bring together In all parts of the State small groups of librarians and trustees for mutual acquaintance, comparing notes, discussing methods and receiving skilled Instruction. All libraries are required by law to report annually and these reports, numbering 1389 in the year 1911, are received by this division and a summary of the results is submitted to the Legislature and published. The State distributes $35,000 a year in sums of $100 or less to registered free libraries for buying approved books. The necessary applications, allotments, accounts and enforcement of conditions are In charge of this division. The division has in its charge a stock of about 50,000 vol- umes from which hundreds of traveling libraries are annually sent out. Some of these libraries are In fixed groups of twenty-five or fifty books each, intended for general reading. 42 L. Some of the detail at the top of the colonnade 43 The Resients chamber Many more, selected from time to time to accompany the study of special subjects, are sent to study clubs. Any five persons in the State desiring to hold ten meetings, covering a period of ten weeks, for the study of an approved subject, may be registered as a study club and receive the aid of this division in preparing its program and selecting books to be purchased and lent by the State. The division also prepares and issues four times a year "New York Libraries," a periodical of thirty-two pages devoted to the interests of the libraries of the State. Every number contains articles contributed by experienced workers in this peculiar field, editorial columns, notes from the office and news from the libraries. Select lists of books on special subjects fre- quently appear. This publication, begun in 1907, is proving to be of vital importance as an official organ of communication with the scattered libraries. Another line of service is the aid offered in the preparation of plans for library buildings. Any inquiry in regard to the selection of books, library methods, questions of library law or 44 any other library matter is cordially received and answered according to the best authority which the division can com- mand. EXAMINATIONS DIVISION The Examinations Division is charged with the conducting of examinations, the keeping of records and the issuance of credentials based thereon. Examinations are conducted in the elementary and secondary schools of the State in preliminary and in academic subjects; at designated centers in the State in subjects required for teachers certificates; and at designated centers in the subjects required for licensure and certification in the several professions under the direction of the Department. The preliminary and academic examination questions are prepared by a committee of teachers, school officers and Depart- ment officials appointed by a State Examinations Board and are subject to revision by a special committee. The questions thus prepared are edited and printed by the division and distributed on request to practically all the schools of the State. Such examinations are held in January and in June each year. The subjects cover the entire elementary and secondary school field. The ratings of the schools are accepted by the Department upon all elementary papers, and preliminary certificates showing the completion of the preacademic course are issued, upon the requisition of the schools, to all successful candidates. About 32,000 such certificates are issued each year. In the discretion of the Commissioner of Education the ratings of the schools are accepted upon practically all the academic papers covering the first two years of the high school course. All other academic papers, numbering about 300,000 annually, are actually rated by the division. Pupils who pursue the regular high school course and earn seventy-two counts in Regents examinations as prescribed, receive an academic diploma. This diploma, of which about five thousand are issued each year, meets the statutory requirements for admission to the study of any pro- fession in the State and in a slightly different form is issued as a college entrance diploma. 45 415 -r^' xl i ^' ^'^ V^l 1 .rl 4 i '< 4 yjilii, ^il \''. ?-.^.*. ,->-^~t*» • -*-«-^ . Teachers certificates are issued partially as a result of Regents examinations in the schools and partially as a result of special examinations. Under prescribed regulations the classes of certificates issued are as follows: temporary; elementary; academic; first grade; rural school renewable; state limited; state; training class; training school; special — known as kin- dergarten, drawing, vocal music, commercial, stenographers, elocution, domestic art, domestic science, manual training; temporary normal, normal diploma, college graduate limited, college graduate professional provisional, college graduate pro- fessional, college graduate life, trades schools. All papers written by candidates for teachers certificates are rated by the division and all licenses are issued directly or through district superintendents and city superintendents. Question papers for all professional examinations are pre- pared by boards of examiners appointed by the Regents. There are now boards of examiners in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary science, nurse training, optometry, accountancy and shorthand reporting. The question papers submitted by these boards are printed by the division and the examinations are conducted by it. The answer papers are then sent to the members of the professional boards who know the candidates only by number and who rate the papers and return the result to the division, which then issues licenses to the successful candidates. All correspondence in relation to the preliminary and professional requirements for admission to these professional examinations is conducted by the division. As has been indicated, the statutory basis of admission to the study of the professions is graduation from an approved four-year high school course or the equivalent. The Department main- tains one other large avenue for the admission of candidates to the study of the professions in the form of a special academic examination which is held three times a year in Albany, Buffalo, New York and Syracuse. The largest examination occurs in New York City where there are frequently hundreds of candidates. The question papers are the same as those used in the regular Regents academic examination. The examina- 47 tion is conducted directly by the division as is also all corre- spondence in relation to it. The division has available at all times complete records con- cerning all candidates who have been admitted to professional examinations under existing statute and complete academic records of all pupils who have ever taken Regents examina- tions in the schools of the State and also complete records of all teachers examinations and all teachers licenses issued. Washington relics owned by the State and in the custody of the State Education Depart- ment. In the group are included a pistol presented by General Lafayette, drawing instruments, gold watch chain with two seals, button from his dress coat and table napkin DIVISION OF HISTORY The office of State Historian was established in 1895. Octo- ber 1, 1911, by legislative enactment, the office became a part of the Education Department, becoming its Division of His- tory. Its head was denominated State Historian and Chief of the Division of History. An erroneous impression prevails that the State Historian is a general recorder, or diarist, of the doings of the State in and through its official departments. As a matter of fact the activities of this official have always been rather closely pre- 48 scribed by law. Under the present arrangement the functions of the Division of History are, subject to the regulations of the Regents, to collect, collate, compile, edit and prepare for publi- cation all official records, memoranda and data relative to the colonial wars, War of the Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican War and War of the Rebellion, together with all official records, memoranda and statistics affecting the relations between this Commonwealth and foreign powers, between this State and other states and between this State and the United States. Heretofore the Historian's office has been practically a pub- lishing bureau, wherein certain manuscript records of the State were selected, copied, annotated, explanatory introductions pre- pared and the material thus obtained printed and distributed. Several volumes have thus been prepared and published during the past fifteen years. At the present time the division is engaged In the preparation of a publication to be entitled "The Papers of Sir William Johnson," which fortunately had been partially prepared before the Capitol fire. This material Is being collated as far as possible with the remaining Johnson manuscripts, which were badly riddled by the fire. The His- torian's office has always been used as a bureau of historical Information and research by historians and the public, and all Inquiries of a historical nature are referred to It by the other State departments. Questions are answered as fully and com- pletely as the limited time and equipment at the command of the division will permit. A strong effort Is being made by the division to interest the schools of the State In the history of New York, and it is expected that much good will result from this new movement. Several legislative acts looking toward the preservation of historic memorials have received the attention of the division, resulting In definite action In several cases. With the removal of the various divisions Into the Education Building, allowing a closer cooperation and greater coordina- tion of the historical work of the Library, the State Arch- ivist, and the Division of Records with the Division of History, 49 It is expected that the scope of this division will be greatly increased and that with work planned and being formulated its usefulness to the State will be greater than ever before. INSPECTIONS DIVISION The work of the Inspections Division, as its title implies, lies chiefly in inspecting and reporting upon those educational insti- tutions over which the Department has jurisdiction. This is accomplished through the frequent visitation of the thirteen inspectors attached to the division. The work of three of these is restricted to special fields as follows : (a) the Inspec- tion of commercial schools and commercial departments of high schools ; (b) the inspection of school buildings and the exami- nation of plans for new buildings, and for remodeling or repair- ing buildings, at an expense of over $500, except in cities of the first and second classes; and (c) the inspection of schools for defectives, for Indians, and In State prisons. Each of the ten other inspectors Is assigned to the group of related subjects in which he Is best fitted to represent the Department as a specialist both In the field and in the office. In addition to the special assignment, each of these inspectors is allotted one of the several districts into which the State is divided for inspection purposes and, in this territory. Is held responsible for the general inspection of all secondary schools, professional schools, technical schools, colleges and universities, in so far as inspection is essential to the enforcement of the special provisions of the Education Law and of the rules of the Board of Regents. Under the former, particular attention is given to the enforcement of the statutes relating to compulsory education, proper sanitation, and fire protection ; violations of these statutes are reported to the division for such action as conditions may render necessary. The rules of the Board of Regents to which the especial attention of the Inspector is directed are those relating to courses of study, standards of instruction, adequate equipment for work, and apportionment of academic moneys. It Is further incumbent upon the inspectors to report on conditions relating to general organlza- 50 tion, discipline and instruction in all such institutions, and in all their grades and departments. The Inspections Division carries on all correspondence rela- tive to the construction, remodeling and repairing of school buildings; in regard to recommended changes in the general organization and methods of instruction and discipline of schools; and as to the selection of apparatus and of general school equipment. It also passes upon all applications for the apportionment of school funds toward the purchase of school apparatus. In general, then, the work of the division is to bring the schools and Department into close, sympathetic, and effective contact. LAW DIVISION The chief of the Law Division acts as attorney for the Commissioner of Education, the State Education Department and the Board of Regents in all actions or proceedings insti- tuted by or against them in the courts. Appeals and pro- ceedings before the Commissioner of Education brought under article 34 of the Education Law are referred to this division for examination. Reports as to the law and the facts at issue therein are submitted to the Commissioner of Educa- tion, and decisions are rendered by him. Communications and inquiries coming to the Department as to the legality of acts and proceedings of school district meet- ings, boards of education, trustees and other school authorities are submitted to, and passed upon by, this division. The division also considers and advises as to all questions involving the interpretation, force and effect of the Education Law, other statutes relating to education, the Regents rules, and decisions and rulings of the Commissioner of Education. The chief of the division acts as the legal adviser of the Commissioner of Education, the Education Department and the several divisions thereof, and the boards of medical, dental, veterinary and other professional examiners. NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY SCHOOL The New York State Library School was the first institution ever established for the professional training of librarians. 52 J-l£M-; J.CmUj.^V'^ / /u.^Urr/iI<, 4. /ii,.^^/'^4i^ hirer l^i^ A page of the original draft of the Emancipation Proclamation in the handwriting of President Lincoln, which is owned by the State and in the custody of the State Education Department 53 ,' / '■■ /////i c/fv'/,Yi: ,//^^/t.r,',i A page of the original constitution of New York (1777), in the custody of the State Education Department 54 Started in 1887 in connection with the library of Columbia College, it was removed in 1889 to the New York State Library at Albany with which it has ever since been closely affiliated, the director of the State Library being also director of the Library School and its faculty mainly active members of the State Library staff. A high professional standard is maintained. Admission is limited to graduates of colleges registered by the State Education Department and a rigid two-year course of study must be completed to obtain the degree of bachelor of library science (B.L.S.) which the Regents of the University of the State of New York grant to graduates of the school. On account of the technical character of the work only a limited number of students can be admitted at any one time. The needs of the smaller libraries are cared for in the annual six- weeks' summer session in which elementary but thorough instruction is given to applicants already in library work. Nearly four hundred young men and women of New York State have, as regular or summer students, received professional training here and by far the greater part of the principal public and college libraries of the State have at some time had the services of librarians or assistants trained at the school. A large number of staff assistants of the State Library who have also received training in special lines of library work through partial courses in the school are giving expert service in other departments of the State service. In addition to what it has done for its own State, the school has a national and even an international reputation, and students have come to it from all parts of the United States, from Canada, Australia and from every Teutonic nation of Europe with the exception of Austria. Its former students hold positions in an even greater range of territory and in all kinds of libraries. The outlines and published bulletins relating to the school's work are in constant demand from instructors in other library schools and library apprentice classes, many of which trace their origin directly to the New York State Library School and have always been in charge of its graduates. 55 A view of the west end of the Education Building DIVISION OF PUBLIC RECORDS The office of Supervisor of Public Records was created by the Legislature of 1911. On October 1st of that year the office became a part of the Education Department, being designated the Division of Public Records. The division is charged with the duty of examining into the condition of the records, manuscripts and papers which are kept and filed in the several public offices of the counties, cities, towns, and villages of the State. It also has similar powers over the records which are required by law to be kept by any public body, board, institution or society created under any law of the State in any of its political divisions. The division's jurisdiction does not extend to the counties of Kings and New York. The Education Department, through the Division of Public Records, also has exclusive supervision, care and control of all public records and papers of any board, institution or society 56 now extinct or which becomes extinct, unless such supervision is otherwise lawfully provided for. The division provides for the restoration and preservation of such records, and may make certified copies of the originals. The officers of any political division of the State or of any society or institution may transfer to the Education Department for safe-keeping and preservation any records or documents not in general use. The division has found upon investigation that the condi- tion of the public records throughout the State is deplorable, little or no attention having been paid to the matter by the local officials. The division is engaged in an inspection and examination of these reccds and the conditions under which they are kept. In a large number of instances there is no adequate fire protection, and the division is attempting to cor- rect such delinquencies. This work is proceeding concurrently with personal visits to the various political divisions of the State for the verifying of the reports now on record ; for the extension of the division's information as to the minor record- making and record-keeping offices ; and for promoting general publicity regarding public records. SCHOOL LIBRARIES DIVISION For more than a half century the State has interested itself in school libraries and has contributed largely to their upbuild- ing and support. Considerably more than a hundred thousand dollars is appropriated to that work each year. The School Libraries Division was created when the unifica- tion of the two school systems of the State took place in 1904, and since that time it has directed the school library move- ment. The State allows each common school district $18 each year, and $2 additional for each teacher employed for the full school year, provided the district raises an equal amount and the whole sum is expended for books, maps and globes that are approved by the School Libraries Division. The school dis- tricts may raise a smaller amount than that mentioned above if they so desire and have it duplicated by the State. There is 57 The approach to the Education Building 58 no compulsion in the matter and a school district need not raise any money for the purposes named unless it wishes to do so, but in that case the State makes no allotment of money to the district for library purposes. Union school districts maintaining an academic department are entitled to $268 each year, plus $2 for each teacher employed, subject to the same conditions imposed upon com- mon school districts. In like manner any city may draw as many times $250 as the number of high schools maintained by it, plus $2 for each teacher employed in the city system. Until recently the School Libraries Division has of necessity contented itself with making sure that the books purchased were satisfactory in themselves, and that the maps and globes were properly constructed. Whether the books and apparatus were best suited to the particular district making the purchase, the division had no means of knowing. It often happened that those making the purchase, through lack of experience, were not capable of making the best choice. The problem now before the division is to see that the money expended is spent to the best advantage and that the books and apparatus pur- chased are properly used. The change in the Education Law providing for the election of district superintendents who have had professional training, and whose territory is small enough to make efficient supervision possible, opens the way for more effective work in the use of library books and apparatus in rural schools than has heretofore been possible. This division has prepared and distributed among the districts of the State an annotated, graded, classified and priced list of books suit- able for elementary school libraries and it hopes to prepare a similar list for the use of libraries in secondary schools. It is believed that in the near future the school libraries are to be a much larger factor in the work of education than has been the case in the past. STATISTICS DIVISION The work of the Statistics Division consists chiefly in gath- ering and compiling statistics for all the educational activities under the jurisdiction of the Department and in apportioning 59 V t-^'C*: ' -t* V,' / ' -'■P the public moneys to the schools of the State and keeping an accurate record of the same. In gathering the statistics, blanks are prepared and distributed to 10,500 school districts, 900 academic departments and academies, 126 colleges and universities, 10 normal schools, 129 training schools for nurses and 121 other institutions and associations. These report blanks call for the value of property, the number of teachers employed, the number of students registered, the financial transactions and other matters of general interest. The data gathered from these reports make over 230 printed pages. The public money for distribution to the public schools is divided into two funds. One amounting to approximately five million dollars is distributed to the cities and school districts maintaining schools for at least 160 days each year as follows: to each city and school district having a population of five thousand or more and employing a superintendent of schools a supervision quota of $800; to each school district with an assessed valuation of $20,000 or less a district quota of $200; between $20,000 and $40,000, $175; between $40,000 and $60,000, $150; and over $60,000, $125. Districts employing two or more teachers are also given as many teachers' quotas of $100 each as the number of extra teachers employed. To each city or school district maintaining a vocational school a quota of $500 for the principal teacher and $200 for each additional teacher is granted. There is annually appropriated $125,000 for training classes and schools. Out of this sum a quota of $700 is given to each union school district which maintains a training class and the balance is divided, on the basis of the attendance, among the cities of the State which maintain training schools. The academic fund amounting to $650,000 is distributed as follows: to each nonsectarian academic department a quota of $100; to each public academic department $20 a year for each nonresident pupil living in a school district which does not maintain an academic department, provided such pupil has been instructed in the school for at least thirty-two weeks during the year; to each nonsectarian academic department and to each 61 common school district an amount equal to that raised from local sources up to a certain limit for the purchase of books, apparatus and pictures; the balance of this appropriation is distributed to all academic departments on the basis of the attendance of pupils. The Statistics Division also prepares copy for and supervises the distribution of about twenty thousand copies of the school register each year. All contracts between school districts for the education of their pupils are filed with this division as are also all papers showing the organization of union free school districts. DIVISION OF VISUAL INSTRUCTION The Division of Visual Instruction collects, organizes and lends for free instruction to the educational institutions and organizations of the State lantern slides and mounted photo- graphic prints; lends large framed wall pictures for schoolroom decoration, and passes on such pictures when purchased by a school, recommending an apportionment of State money to pay one-half the cost of the same, if approved; and likewise recom- mends an apportionment of money toward the purchase of approved projection apparatus. The general recognition of the fact that the mind grasps more clearly and firmly what is perceived through the eye has led to the common use of visual aids to instruction, but to have much educational value pictures must be used with definite purposes in mind, must be selected with reference to their intrinsic worth, and must be so grouped as to aid the formation of an orderly mental image. The selection and organization of pictorial reproductions and graphic representations, therefore, receives special attention. As opportunities are offered suggestions are made concerning the most efficient manner of using such material in formal instruction. The quality of photographic reproductions counts for much. The first aim is to secure the best possible original photographic negative of each object chosen. From such negative enough copies of slides and photographs are made to supply the demand from the many borrowers throughout the State. 62 ^ :^>*^ - :? :: ^- - , •^ ? - ^ To -^ J'4'*^ ^ i| >? ^ ■J S r « 4 ?^ ." > i^ - ^'l^itil rt^^^l-3-l n^^^-"^-^ if I o a Z .o 0) -o en l; VJ-', li. ** *.?•, U ii ' H^xt. ^-'C: J i #« .:- U UJ - * 3 14 >»..JB» The New York State Education Department thus undertakes to do for its institutions what it would be impossible, on account of the cost and labor involved, for any one of them to do for itself. Illustrations are provided for a wide range of subjects: architecture, sculpture, painting, geography and travel, history, literature, physiography, engineering works, industrial activities, trade and transportation. In the field of schoolroom decoration the aim is to stimulate through excellent reproductions an increased interest in the study of works of artistic merit, to establish a high standard of quality m such reproductions and to encourage communities to provide schoolroom walls that conform in all respects to the most cultured taste. Attention is paid not alone to the selection of subjects for decoration but quite as much to tint- ing of walls, framing and hanging of pictures and to the placing of these and other decorative elements with reference to filling wall spaces in a pleasing manner. The established rule of lending is that the borrower has the use of the slides, photographs or wall pictures on payment of the cost of transportation merely and on condition that they are used only for absolutely free instruction. The number of slides lent annually to study clubs, libraries, schools and higher institutions is approximately one hundred thousand. From eight hundred to one thousand wall pictures are constantly out on loan. About ten thousand mounted photographs are lent each year, chiefly to libraries and study clubs. The demand for such aids is steadily growing. DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS This division was organized September 1908 and to it were assigned the duties incident to the establishment, organization and management of industrial, agricultural, trade and home- making schools, which receive special apportionments of State school moneys. Within the field of this division are the sub- jects of drawing, handwork, cooking and sewing for the elemen- tary schools; and drawing, manual training, agriculture and household arts for the secondary schools. 65 The New York State Library School Courses in vocational subjects are outlined in the syllabuses for elementary and secondary schools. In the elementary school, these courses are entitled to have their work considered as one-half the value of the v/ork required in these subjects in the academic course, and on completing the required number of hours in such subjects after entering the high school, the pupils are entitled to receive the full academic credit allowed. Local courses of study in these subjects are approved by this division and an inspection of the results is assigned to it. There are three types of vocational schools mentioned in the Education Law. First, general industrial schools; second, trade schools; third, schools of agriculture, mechanic arts and home- making. The general industrial school is intended to explore through various kinds of vocational work the industrial capacities of children, and assumes that a pupil leaves it with some knowl- edge of and some preparation for the work he intends to do. It provides that five-twelfths of the school program for two years shall be given over to shop, laboratory and drawing 66 instruction and that the remaining seven-twelfths be devoted to book studies which are related as far as possible to the indus- trial studies. Shop, laboratory and drawing work varies accord- ing to the sex. The trade school naturally follows the general industrial school type of vocational education. It teaches specific trades after the pupils have had thorough vocational experience and have decided upon their future work. This type of school absolutely abandons any specific instruction in the so-called liberal studies. All the culture which the pupil receives comes directly from his trade instruction. Each particular trade taught forms a school unit in itself and the subjects grouped around it are taught by the teacher of that trade. About nine-twelfths of the school program is given over to shop practice. The schools of agriculture, mechanic arts and homemaking are organized in village high schools where many nonresident pupils from rural districts are enrolled. Agriculture is not introduced merely as a single line of study, but refers to a group of related studies forming in itself a scheme of education continuing for four years and having the distinct vocational purpose looking toward farming as an occupation. Courses of study are flexible and adapted to local agricultural conditions. The work attempts to bring together the school science and the farm practice — to have in the school the "why" and on the farm the "how." This course may also be adapted for girls. Four-year vocational courses in the high school apart from the trade courses already mentioned, have been so developed that pupils may elect vocational studies from the secondary course of study and group them so as to lead to the fulfilment of a vocational purpose as definite as in the case of college preparatory studies. Five-twelfths of the weekly program is given over to vocational studies and seven-twelfths of the program meets the requirements for those studies in the academic syllabus which are primarily liberal. The Depart- ment grants an academic diploma to pupils who successfully complete this course. 67 NOTEWORTHY MANUSCRIPTS AND RELICS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Charter of the Colony from Charles II to the Duke of York, 1664 Duke's Laws, 1664-65 Dongan Laws, 1683-84 Original Constitution of the State of New York, 1 777 Original Constitution of the State of New York, 1821 Original Constitution of the State of New York, 1 846 Original Proposed Constitution of the State of New York, 1867-69; rejected except sixth article Original Constitution of the State of New York, 1 894 Original Journal of the Proceedings of the Convention of the State of New York to ratify the proposed constitution of the United States, held at Poughkeepsie, June 17— July 26, 1788 Original Ratification of the proposed Constitution of the United States by the State of New York in convention assembled at Poughkeepsie, July 26, 1 788 Autographs of all signers of the Declaration of Independence Papers taken from the boots of Major John Andr^, adjutant general of the British Army in the Revolutionary War Original of Washington's opinion of the surviving generals of the Revolution, written in the winter of 1791-92, after the defeat of General St Clair by the Indians in the autumn of 1791 Original draft of Washington's Farewell Address, written in the spring of 1796 Tabulated statement of Washington's household expenses in 1789 Autograph draft of President Lincoln's First Emancipation Proclamation, September 22, 1862 Map of the Colony of Rensselaerswyck of about 1632 69 2 -Q > 1) I— I >- 1) -J ^^•v. CQ Commissions to Philip Schuyler as major general in the Continental Army, 1775, and as surveyor general of the State of New York, 1781 Patent of the Colony of Rensselaerswyck, 1685, New York Council Minutes, 1668-1783 Washington relics, including a pistol presented by General Lafayette, gold watch chain and two seals, compass, tripod and other surveying implements, table napkin, button from his dress coat, etc. r "1 ■'t //J . / /,c iiM^rA/ a/ y/u^t A page ot tVie Journal of the proceedings of the New York State convention to ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States, held at Poughkeepsie June 1 7-July 26, 1 788 71 IMPORTANT DATES IN THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN NEW YORK 1633 First public school established in New Amsterdam. 1702 Passage of an act encouraging the establishment of a grammar free school in New York City. 1754 Kings College (now Columbia University) chartered by George II. 1784 Act creating the gospel and school lands passed. 1784 The Regents of the University of the State of New York incorporated. 1786 Literature fund established. 1795 Office of town inspector of schools created. 1795 First act appropriating money for the support of com- mon schools passed by the Legislature. The act pro- vided that £20,000 should be appropriated annually for five years. 1801 A law passed to raise the sum of $100,000 by lotteries, to be used for school purposes. 1805 Passage of an act ordaining that 500,000 acres of the vacant and unappropriated lands of the State should be sold and the proceeds made a permanent school fund. 1812 A law passed creating a State system of common schools, under the direction of an officer known as the superintendent of common schools. 1818 State Library established. 1821 Office of state superintendent of common schools, as a separate department, abolished and its duties delegated to the secretary of state. 1834 Teachers training classes established in one academy in each of the eight judicial districts. 1836 State Museum organized as the "Natural History of the State of New York." 72 A view looking toward the Capitol and showing the progress of repairs made necessary by the fire of 1911 73 1841 County superintendents of schools appointed. Office abolished six years later. 1843 Office of town superintendent of schools created. Abolished in 1856. 1843 First teachers institute in the United States held at Ithaca. 1844 First normal school in the State established at Albany. 1847 Schools for Indians established. 1853 Union free schools established throughout the State. 1853 First compulsory education law passed. 1854 State department of public instruction created. 1856 Office of school commissioner created. 1863 Second normal school established at Oswego. 1863 First University convocation held. 1865 Cornell University scholarships established. 1865 Regents preliminary examinations first held. 1867 Rate bills abolished. Schools became wholly free throughout the State. 1878 Regents examinations in academic subjects first held. 1888 Uniform examinations for state teachers certificates adopted. 1888 Arbor Day established. 1890 State Normal School at Albany given power to confer degrees, and became the State Normal College. 1895 Passage of the flag law. 1895 Article adopted in the constitution that the Legislature shall provide for the maintenance and support of a system of free common schools. 1904 Passage of the law unifying the two educational systems of the State. 1911 Office of school commissioner abolished and district superintendents created. 1912 State Education Building completed and dedicated. 74 STATISTICAL INFORMATION The figures given below are taken from the Seventh Annual Report of the Education Department (191 1 ) Attendance at elementary schools Attendance at secondary schools Attendance at normal schools and teachers training classes and schools Attendance at higher institutions Attendance at all other schools Number of teachers in elementary schools Number of teachers in secondary schools Number of teachers in normal schools and teachers training classes and schools Number of teachers in higher institutions Number of teachers in other schools Graduates of secondary schools Graduates of normal schools and teachers training classes and schools Graduates of higher institutions Value of elementary school property Value of secondary school property Value of normal school property Value of higher institutions' property Value of other school property Expenditures for elementary schools Expenditures for secondary schools Expenditures for higher institutions Expenditures for normal schools and teachers training classes and schools Expenditures for other schools Expenditures for teachers' salaries in public schools Number of public schoolhouses Number of school districts Number of public secondary schools Number of academies Number of degree-conferring colleges and universities Number of schools of theology Number of schools of law Number of schools of education 75 1 315 275 174 337 10 853 40 918 374 986 38 473 6 832 512 4 789 2 991 12 437 3 069 5 184 $171 155 030 56 209 041 2 604 233 132 684 749 1 137 335 45 190 332 12 870 240 16 770 226 849 567 1 184 297 36 169 810 12 094 11 777 710 170 35 15 9 5 Number of schools of medicine 14 Number of schools of dentistry 3 Number of schools of pharmacy 5 Number of schools of veterinary medicine 2 Number of schools of optometry 2 Number of nurse training schools 129 Number of schools of engineering 8 Number of schools of art 4 Number of schools of music 6 State normal schools 10 State normal college 1 Teachers training schools 15 Teachers training classes 89 Number of public libraries 484 Volumes in public school libraries 3 169 793 Number of trees planted on Arbor Day, 1890-191 1 357 278 *4f9'*^ t Major Andre's pass, owned by the Stale and in the custody of the Education Department 76 u Program of the Dedication of the New Yorl^ State Education Building TUESDAY. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY OCTOBER 15, 16 AND 17, 1912 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15th Ten a. m. Three p. m. Informal gathering in Library reading room (228) for registration and greetings Libraries and museums Opening remarks by Hon. Whitelaw Reid Ambassador to Great Britain and Chancellor of the University of the State of New Yorf^ Libraries: Address by Dr John Christopher Schwab Librarian of Yale University Library Museums: Address by Prof. Henry Fairfield Osborn President of the American Museum of Natural History Eight-fifteen p. m. Elementary and secondary schools Elementary schools: Address by Dr William H. Maxwell Superintendent of Schools, New Yorl^ City Secondary schools: Address by Dr William J. S. Bryan Assistant Superintendent of Instruction in charge of high schools, St Louis, Mo. WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 16th Ten a. m. Educational extension and private schools Educational Extension: Address by Dr Charles Richard Van Hise President, University of W^isconsin 78 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16th {continued) Private schools: Address by Dr William Starr Myers Assistant Professor of History and Politics, Princeton University Th: ree p. m. Eight p. m. Universities and professional schools Universities: Address by Dr Nicholas Murray Butler President, Columbia University Professional Schools: Address by Dr Henry S. Pritchett President, Carnegie Foundation, New York City The Value of Historical Studies to the Higher Learning: Address by Canon H. Hensley Henson Westminster Abbey, London Reception A reception will be given to all invited guests by the Governor and the Regents of the University and State officials, with accompanying ladies. This will be held in the rotunda of the Education Building from 8 to II o'clock. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17th Ten a. m. Presentation of delegates Formal presentation of delegates from institu- tions Three p. m. Dedicatory exercises Remarks by Chancellor Whitelaw Reid Presentation of the building to the Board of Regents by Governor John Alden Dix on be- half of the State Acceptance of the building by Vice Chancellor St Clair McKelway on behalf of the Board of Regents Dedicatory address by Dr Andrew S. Draper, Commissioner of Education Brief congratulatory addresses by former Gov- ernors Benjamin B. Odell, jr, and Horace White 79 NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT The Board of Regents The Regents of the University of the State of New York in office at least a part of the time the State Education Building has been under con- struction are Whitelaw Reid, Chancellor, St Clair McKelway, Vice Chan- cellor, William Nottingham, Pliny T. Sexton, T. Guilford Smith', Albert Vander Veer, Chester S. Lord, Daniel Beach, Charles A. Gardiner', Charles S. Francis, Edward Lauterbach, Eugene A. Philbin, Lucian L. Shedden', Francis M. Carpenter, Lucius N. Littauer, Abram L Elkus, and Adelbert Moot. Commissioner of Educat'.on ANDREW S. DRAPER LL.B. LL.D. Assistant Commissioners AUGUSTUS S. DOWNING M.A. L.H.D. LL.D. First Assistant CHARLES F. WHEELOCK B.S. LL.D. Second Assistant THOMAS E. FINEGAN M.A. Pd.D LL.D. Third Assistant Director of State Library JAMES I. WYER. JR. M.L.S. Director of Science and State Museum JOHN M. CLARKE Ph.D. D.Sc. LL.D. Chiefs of Divisions Administration, GEORGE M. WILEY M.A. Attendance, JAMES D. SULLIVAN Educational Extension, WILLIAM R. EASTMAN M.A. M.L.S. Examinations, HARLAN H. HORNER B.A. History, JAMES A. HOLDEN B.A. Inspections, FRANK H. WOOD M.A. Law. FRANK B. GILBERT B.A. Library School. FRANK K. WALTER M.A. B.L.S. Public Records, THOMAS C. QUINN School Libraries, SHERMAN WILLIAMS Pd.D. Statistics. HIRAM C. CASE Visual Instruction, ALFRED W. ABRAMS Ph.B. Vocational Schools, ARTHUR D. DEAN B.S. The total number of employees in the State Education Department October 1, 1912, was 322. The Trustees of Public Buildings The State public buildings at Albany are under the supervision of the Trustees of Public Buildings. Those in office at least a part of the time during the progress of the Education Building are Governors Frank Way- land Higgins', Charles Evans Hughes, Horace White, John Alden Dix; Lieutenant Governors Matthew Linn Bruce, Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler, Horace White, Thomas F. Conway; Speakers of the Assembly James W. Wadsworth, jr, Daniel D. Frisbie, Edwin A. Merritt, jr. During the same period the State Architects have been George L. Heins, Franklin B. Ware and Herman W. Hoefer, 'Deceased 80 THE cover, but not including the bronze medallion over the main entrance to the State Education Building, was designed by Mr Royal Bailey Farnum of the State Education Department. THE typography, presswork and binding were executed by J. B. Lyon Company of Albany. ai Looking up into the dome of the rotunda $2