Title: Papers and Proceedings of the Twenty-Third General Meeting of the American Library Association
Editor: American Library Association. General Meeting
Release date: December 11, 2013 [eBook #44406]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
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AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
1901
WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN.
JULY 4-10, 1901.
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 64 members who attended its first meeting, held at Philadelphia twenty-five years ago, but 18 have died, and that 20 persons are yet included in its membership list out of the 69 who joined the association in 1876, that initial year. Some of that original number, much to our gratification, are present with us at this 23d 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[Pg 2] 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[Pg 4] 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[Pg 5] 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.
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 1850 that the desirability of a city library was suggested to the City Council of Boston by Josiah Quincy, then mayor. The council cautiously Resolved,[Pg 6] "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 $30,000 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, 1852, 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 $50,000 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 700,000 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. 1. Provide an adequate appropriation for its maintenance; 2. Provide an extra appropriation for emergencies; and 3. 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[Pg 7] 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 300 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."
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 1897. 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 1890. Seventeen states had established such commissions by the end of 1900—more than half of them in the two years preceding that date. I have no statistics regarding the establishment of such commissions in 1901. 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 $100. 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.
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 300,000 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 1876) summarizing their history and two (in 1876 and in 1893) 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 $250,000.
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 500 miles to reach the British Museum. A student in the United States may have to travel as much as 3000 miles to reach the Library of Congress. The area which supports the national library of Great Britain is but 100,000 square miles; that which supports the National Library of the United States is ever 3,000,000 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[Pg 11] 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 (1) original sources, (2) 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 (3) 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 700,000 books and a half million other items. It has for increase (1) deposits under the copyright law, (2) documents acquired through distribution of the federal documents placed at its disposal for exchange—formerly 50 copies of each, now 100, (3) books and[Pg 12] society publications acquired by the Smithsonian through its exchanges, (4) miscellaneous gifts and exchanges, and, (5) purchases from appropriations. These have increased from $10,000 a year prior to 1897 to $70,000 for the year 1901-2.
Such resources are by no means omnipotent. No resources can make absolutely comprehensive a library starting its deliberate accumulations at the end of the 19th 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: (1) the books merely popular, (2) 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 42 persons, for all manner of service, there are now 261, 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 67 persons—to classify and catalog it. There are 42 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 45 employees, a printing office, with a force of 21. The allotment for printing and binding, in 1896 only $15,000, is for the coming year $90,000.
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[Pg 13] 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 200 titles a day—60,000 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—3 × 5 inches—of the best linen ledger stock. From 15 to 100 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 254 libraries. We have them from 202. 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[Pg 14] 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[Pg 15] 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.
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 1852 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 1893, 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; infor[Pg 17]mation 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[Pg 18] 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 616 works for 1900, 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 1879, 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[Pg 19] 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 3400 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 1896, Professors Channing and Hart, of Harvard University, recommended such collections of books as may be had for $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100. 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 1899; 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 1900 at the time that Mr. Larned's book appears. Thereafter Mr. Wells' series will probably be published quarter by quarter. Beginning with 1897, 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[Pg 20] 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 1891. 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 1897, 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[Pg 22] 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?
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 1901.
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 contem[Pg 23]porary 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 100 give an evaluation perhaps of 50, others of 65—still others 80 and 90. 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[Pg 24] 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.
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:
1. What is copyrighted, i.e., what can properly be designated as a "book" in order to secure copyright protection thereon;
2. What is the nature of the protection secured under the copyright law;
3. The limitation in time during which the protection applies, and its territorial limitations;
4. Who may obtain protection—the difference between an "author" and a "proprietor";
5. International copyright;
6. What conditions and formalities are required to be complied with in order to secure copyright;
7. The functions of the Copyright Office; and
8. Possible copyright law amendment.
1. 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 8 of article 1) 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," sub[Pg 25]ject 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.
2. 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, 1896, 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 3, 1891, 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[Pg 26] 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.
3. 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 12, 1900) and Hawaii, since the taking effect (June 14, 1900) 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.
4. 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[Pg 27] 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 1, 1891, 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.
5. International copyright.
The idea of nationality or citizenship governed our copyright legislation for more than a century, from the earliest American copyright statute of 1783 to July 1, 1891, 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 3, 1891, commonly called the international-copyright law, which went into effect on July 1 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. 15, 1892, 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[Pg 28] 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.
6. 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 50 cents in the case of the title of a book whose author is a citizen of the United States, and $1 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 3, 1891. If a copy of the record thus made of the title (commonly called a certificate) is desired, an additional fee of 50 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, 19——, 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 $100 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. 1. Record title in the United States Copyright Office. 2. Print book from type set within the limits of the United States. 3. Deposit two copies of such book in the United States Copyright Office. 4. 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.
7. 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[Pg 30] 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 10, 1870, are but indifferently indexed and rarely by title, usually only under names of proprietors of the copyright. The copyright entries since July 10, 1870, to May 31, 1901, number 1,217,075. The index to these entries consists of more than 600,000 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 97,967, 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.
8. 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 8, 1870, as edited to become title 60, chapter 3 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[Pg 31] 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 3, 1891, 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.
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[Pg 32] "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 11, '01, p. 1149) 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[Pg 33] 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[Pg 34] 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: 1st. 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.
2d. 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.
3d. 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.
4th. 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.
5th. 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[Pg 35] 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 1887, in France a few years later, and in England in 1900.
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[Pg 37] 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.
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.
1. Books.
Number of volumes in library?
Average yearly increase?
Number of volumes in 20 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 80 books can be placed on eight shelves. Floor cases having two sides will hold 160 books for each running foot, and in a close stack 25 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.
2. 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?
3. Community.
In city or country?
Population?
By what class will library be chiefly used?
School children?
Students?
Mechanics?
Reading circles?
Ladies?
4. Resources and conditions.
Money available?
Money annually for maintenance?
Size of building lot?
Location and surroundings?
How many stories?
Elevators?
Heat?
Light?
Ventilation?
5. 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[Pg 40] 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 16 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[Pg 41] 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 30 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 40 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 20 years.
For public access passages between cases should be five feet wide. Cases have some[Pg 42]times 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 81 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 12 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 10 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 30,000 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. 30 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 1, That we have room within the walls for all the books we now have or are likely to have in 20 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 20 years with due consideration of the question of public access.
2, 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.
3, That the best use of the location is made and the building suited to the constituency and local conditions.
4, 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.
5, 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.
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 compe[Pg 45]tition 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[Pg 46] 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.
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 facili[Pg 47]ties 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:
1. The instructor needs to be able to refer, at a moment's notice, to any book relating to his subject.
2. The system enables the instructor to keep a more careful watch over the reading of his students.
3. 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[Pg 48] 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 1894-95, show that in seven selected departments the amount of books ordered, including continuations, was only about 50 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[Pg 49] 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.
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: (1) Brown, (2) Bryn Mawr, (3) California, (4) Chicago, (5) Columbia, (6) Cornell, (7) Harvard, (8) Johns Hopkins, (9) Michigan, (10) Nebraska, (11) Pennsylvania, (12) Princeton, (13) Stanford, (14) Wisconsin, and (15) 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 50 to 250, shall be deposited with some officer of the university or in the library. The statistics are as follows:
California requires 150 copies.
Chicago requires 100 copies. "Accepted theses become the property of the university."
Columbia requires 150 copies.
Cornell requires 50 copies.
Michigan requires 150 copies.
Nebraska requires 150 copies.
Pennsylvania requires 250 copies.
Stanford requires 100 copies.
Wisconsin requires 100 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 150 copies, Pennsylvania of 250, except under certain conditions which will appear later.
Brown makes no requirement for deposit[Pg 51] 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 1st" 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 1899-1900 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.
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,
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 contin[Pg 53]ually 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.
1. 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 15 to 25 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.
2. 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.
3. 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[Pg 54] 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:
1. Genuine character, with broad natural sympathies.
2. Courteous, kindly manners.
3. Education, general and technical.
Any such librarian, with only a fairly equipped library, will find her opportunity at her hand.
By G. E. Wire, M.D., LL.B., Worcester County (Mass.) Law Library.
1. 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, 50,000 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, 5000 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[Pg 55] 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 50 best books for a village library from a list of 500 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 75 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," "1807," "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.
4. Choice by librarian experts.—This seems to be the most satisfactory solution of the problem. It is true that many if not most[Pg 56] of the existing small (5000-10,000) 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 5000 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.
5. 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 $5 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 25 to 10 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 $1 to $2.50 which are far superior for practical purposes to the heavy weight monographs at $5 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.
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: 1, Book reviews in current or earlier periodicals; 2, Lists, graded or ungraded, for libraries; 3, Articles on children's reading in books or periodicals.
1. 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 15th of September and the 15th 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,
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[Pg 58] for Nov. 27, 1897, 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. 6, 1898.) 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. 20, 1898), and a book by Stratemeyer as "a stirring tale, told with enthusiasm." (Oct. 6, 1898.) 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. 6, 1898.) 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. 15, 1898.)
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. 6, 1898.)
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. 16, 1898.)
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. 10, 1898.) 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., 1898), 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. 16, 1897), 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[Pg 59] 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. 13, 1900), 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.
2. There have been in the last 25 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 10 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 20 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 10 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 $1200 earned yearly by her father, a bookkeeper with literary aspirations. He is arrested on a charge of em[Pg 60]bezzlement, 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 10 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 14 or 15, and thinks Dickens too sad for even that age!
The hundred books recommended in the St. Nicholas for March, 1900, 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 10 to 14 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 10 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 499 children out of 500 under 12 or 14. 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"[Pg 61] 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 20 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 10 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 [Pg 62] 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.
3. 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 20 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.
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 12 to 16 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 [Pg 64] 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[Pg 65] 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:
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 some[Pg 68]times 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[Pg 69] 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.
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[Pg 70] 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[Pg 71] 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.
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[Pg 73] 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.
By Harriet H. Stanley, Brookline (Mass.) Public Library.
Preliminary to preparing this report, a list of 15 questions was sent to a number of libraries in different parts of the United States, from 24 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 24 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 inter[Pg 75]ests, 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 19th 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 16 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 10 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 60 painters in Mrs. Jameson's book? Three names were furnished by the librarian, and the child made notes from their biog[Pg 76]raphies. 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 40 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,[Pg 77] Ia., is outlined in detail a course of 12 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 400 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 60 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[Pg 78] 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?
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[Pg 79] 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 116 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 pre[Pg 80]ceded 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:
(1) Alcott's "Little Women." Lessons were given on reading it with the children.
(2) Mara L. Pratt's "History stories," vol. 3.
(3) 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."
(4) 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.
(5) 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.
(6) 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.
1. 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.)
2. Essential purpose of the book: Recreative? Instructive? Moral? Is the recreation afforded wholesome? The instruction reliable? The moral lessons sound?
3. Style: Is it clear? Correct? Beautiful? Suitable?
4. If a story, What is the strongest character in it? The most effective passage? Give reasons for thinking so. Is it true to life?
5. 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 20 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 60 instead of 20 books actually read, and 30 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.
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.
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 20 ft., 50 ft., etc. If 20 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[Pg 84] 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 30 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 22 and 28 inches high, with chairs 14 and 16 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 beau[Pg 85]tiful 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 corre[Pg 86]spond 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.
By George Watson Cole.
The period covered by this report is from June 1, 1900, to July 1, 1901, and includes all gifts and bequests of $500 or more, as well as all gifts of 250 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 50 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 1, 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 50,000 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 1896 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:
1. Buildings, giving value or cost;
2. Sites, giving value or cost;
3. Cash for buildings, with accompanying conditions, if any;
4. Cash for sites, with accompanying conditions, if any;
5. Books, pamphlets, periodicals, prints, maps, etc., giving number of each kind, with value or cost of the whole, if known;
6. Cash for books, etc., with accompanying conditions, if any;
7. Cash for endowment funds, giving purpose for which income is to be expended;
8. Cash to be expended, with specified purposes for which it is to be spent;
9. Cash given unconditionally;
10. 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 pe[Pg 88]riod of two years, there were given 458 separate gifts, amounting to over $10,500,000, and distributed among 36 states and the District of Columbia. This report, covering 13 months, includes 482 separate gifts, amounting to $19,786,465.16, and is distributed as follows: 468 in 39 of the United States, 10 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 $13,704,700, over $12,500,000 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 10 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 $5,200,000, for the erection of 65, or more, branch libraries, is probably the largest library gift ever made at one time to a single city. His gift of $1,000,000 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 $750,000 each to the cities of Detroit and San Francisco, though announced since July 1, have been included in this report. Mr. Carnegie's gifts during the year number 121; 112 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 $1,028,000, one of $25,000 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 $1,000,000, and the gift carries with it two legacies, one of $150,000 for a library building, and another of $500,000 as an endowment fund for its increase and maintenance.
The gift of four public-spirited citizens of St. Louis, who have jointly contributed $400,000 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 842 Arabic manuscripts, many of which are extremely rare. The collection covers the whole range of Arabic history and literature, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries.
This collection, formed by Count Landberg, was purchased by Mr. Morris K. Jesup, of New York, at a cost of $20,000, 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 5000 volumes and 10,000 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 $100,000, 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[Pg 89] 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 $50,000, 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 $20,000, for a library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The building will be erected entirely by student labor.
CALIFORNIA.
Alameda. Public Library. Gift of $35,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Berkeley. University of California. Gift of $10,000, as a fund for the purchase of books for the law library, from Mrs. Jane Krom Sather, of Oakland, Cal.
— Gift of $1000, from Col. E. A. Denicke.
— Gift of about 2500 volumes, being the private library of the late Regent, A. S. Hallidie, from Mrs. M. E. Hallidie.
Fresno. Public Library. Gift of $30,000 for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Napa. Public Library. Gift of $20,000, for free public library building, from George E. Goodman.
San Francisco. Public Library. Gift of $750,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Gift of building and fixtures for Branch Library, No. 5, estimated to cost $20,000, from Hon. James D. Phelan, Mayor of San Francisco.
San Jose. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Stanford University. Leland Stanford University. Gift of $2000, $1000 for books on sociology and $1000 for books on bibliography, special gift from Mrs. J. L. Stanford.
COLORADO.
Grand Junction. Public Library. Gift of $8000, increased from $5000, for a library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Leadville. City Library Association. Gift of $100,000, for a public library, from Andrew Carnegie.
Ouray. Walsh Library. Gift of a library building, costing $20,000, from Thomas F. Walsh.
CONNECTICUT.
Branford. Blackstone Memorial Library. Bequest of $100,000, from Timothy B. Blackstone, of Chicago, founder of the library.
Danielsonville. Edwin H. Bugbee Memorial Building. Bequest of $15,000, 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 $5000, to which sum the donors will add an equal amount.
— Gift of $12,000, raised by popular subscription, towards book fund, from interested citizens. Nearly $75 was given by public school children.
— Gift of $5000, towards a book fund, from Col. and Mrs. H. Holton Wood.
— Gift of 900 volumes, from Derby Reading Circle.
Greenwich. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, as an endowment, from wealthy New Yorkers.
Hartford. Case Memorial Library, Hartford Theological Seminary. Gift of $2000 towards fund for purchase of periodicals, from Mrs. Charles B. Smith.
— Gift of $500 for book purchases, from Miss Anna M. Hills.
— Gift of 365 volumes, pertaining to missions, from Rev. A. C. Thompson, D.D.
— Public Library. Gift of $5000, from F. B. Brown.
Kensington. Library Association. Gift of $10,000, for a new library building, from S. A. Galpin, of California.
Litchfield. Wolcott Library. Bequest of $1000, from ex-Governor Roger Wolcott, of Boston, Mass.
Middletown. Wesleyan University. Gifts of $3604, to be added to Alumni Library Fund.
— Gift of $483, to be added to the Hunt Library Endowment. This addition has been increased to $1000 by the reservation of the income of the fund.
New Haven. Yale University. Gift of $10,000, for a fund for the Seminary library in the department of Philosophy, from Mrs. John S. Camp, of Hartford, Conn.
— Gift of $1500, a contribution towards an administration fund, from Charles J. Harris.
— Gift of $1300, for purchases in the department of Folk-music, from an anonymous donor.
— Gift of $1000, for purchases in department of English literature, from Edward Wells Southworth, of New York.
— Gift of $500, a contribution towards an administration fund, from the Hon. William[Pg 90] T. Harris, U. S. Commissioner of Education.
— Bequest of about 5000 volumes and 10,000 pamphlets, forming the private library of the testator, from Prof. Othniel C. Marsh.
— Gift of 842 Arabic manuscripts, collected by Count Landberg; bought for $20,000 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 12th and 13th centuries.
— Gift of a collection of musical manuscripts, number not stated, from Morris Steinert.
Norwalk. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
South Norwalk. Public Library and Free Reading Room. Bequest of $1000, for permanent fund, from R. H. Rowan.
Southington. Public Library. Gift of $5000, towards a library building, from L. V. Walkley.
Torrington. Library Association. Bequest of $100,000, by Elisha Turner. From this amount is to be deducted the cost of the library building, about $70,000, 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 $4000, towards a library building fund, from Miss Olivia Pierson.
GEORGIA.
Atlanta. Carnegie Library. Gift of $20,000, for furnishings and equipment of new building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Travelling Libraries for Schools. Gift of 960 volumes for 16 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 $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie, the city to furnish a site and guarantee $6000 a year maintenance.
Centralia. Public Library. Gift of $15,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie, the city to provide a site and $2000 yearly for maintenance.
Chicago. John Crerar Library. Bequest of $1000, from the late President, Huntington W. Jackson.
— Rush Medical College. Gift of 4000 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 $30,000, to endow the history library, from Mrs. Delia Gallup.
Decatur. Public Library. Gift of $60,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Young Men's Christian Association Library. Gift of $500, 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 $750, for the purchase of books in political economy, from Norman Waite Harris, of Chicago.
— Gift of $543.50, to be known as the "Class of '95 Library Fund," the income of at least 4 per cent. to be used for the increase of the university library, from the class of 1895.
— Public Library. Gift of $5000, toward library site fund, from William Deering.
Freeport. Public Library. Gift of $30,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Galesburg. Knox College. Gift of $50,000, for a library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city already appropriates $6000 for library maintenance.
Grossdale. Public Library. Gift of $35,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Havana. Public Library. Gift of $5000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Jacksonville. Public Library. Gift of $40,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Kewanee. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Lake Forest. Lake Forest College. Gift of the Arthur Somerville Reid Memorial Library building; cost about $30,000, from Mrs. Simon Reid.
Lincoln. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Maywood. Public Library. Gift of $100, being surplus campaign funds remaining after the election, from Republican Committee of that town.
Pekin. Public Library. Gift of $10,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city has appropriated $1500.
— Gift of a site for the proposed Carnegie library building, value not stated, from George Herget.
Rock Island. Public Library. Gift of $10,000, for book stacks and furniture, from Frederick Weyerhauser, of St. Paul.
Rockford. Public Library. Gift of $60,000, for a new public library building, from Andrew Carnegie, the city to furnish site and "not less than $8000" yearly for maintenance.
Springfield. Public Library. Gift of $75,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The City Council appropriated $10,000 annually in hope that the gift might be increased to $100,000. The library will be known as the "Lincoln Library."
Streator. Public Library. Gift of $35,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Sycamore. Public Library. Gift of a library building, to cost about $25,000, from Mrs. Everill F. Dutton, as a memorial to her late husband, Gen. Everill F. Dutton.
Waukegan. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city already appropriates $2000 for library maintenance.
INDIANA.
Crawsfordsville. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, 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 $30,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city, in advance, has pledged $3500 yearly for maintenance.
Elwood. Public Library. Gift of $1000, through the local Women's Club, from President Reid, of the American Tin Plate Co., of New York.
— Gift of $200, the results of a benefit, from The Women's Club.
Fort Wayne. Public Library. Gift of $75,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Goshen. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a library building, from Andrew Carnegie, the city to furnish $2500 yearly for maintenance.
Indianapolis. Butler College. Gift of $20,000, 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 275 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 $15,000, 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 60 years of historical research, and contains originals of maps, drafts, etc., of great value.
Madison. Public Library. Gift of $20,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Marion. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, 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 $500, for books, from Mrs. J. H. Barker.
Muncie. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Gift of $6000, from the heirs of an estate, name not given.
New Harmony. Workingmen's Institute Public Library. Bequest of $72,000, from Dr. Edward Murphy. In the final settlement the amount may exceed these figures.
Peru. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city already appropriates $2700 yearly for library maintenance.
Portland. Public Library. Gift of $15,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Wabash. Public Library. Gift of $20,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Gift of 5000 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 $15,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
IOWA.
Burlington. Public Library. Gift of $20,000, from Philip M. Crapo.
Cedar Rapids. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Centerville. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, 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 $25,000, for a public library building, thereby increasing former gift to $75,000, from Andrew Carnegie.
Dubuque. Carnegie-Stout Free Library. Gift of $50,000, 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 $17,000, from F. D. Stout, given in memory of his father.
Fayette. Upper Iowa University. Gift of[Pg 92] $25,000, which will be devoted to library purposes, probably for a new building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Fort Dodge. Public Library. Gift of $30,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Grinnell. Stewart Library. Gift of a new library building, costing $15,000, from Joel Stewart.
— Gift of a site for new library building, value not stated, from The Congregational Church.
— Gift of $4000, 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 $40,000, for a library building, from Andrew Carnegie. Conditions, if any, not stated.
Muscatine. Public Library. A new library building, to cost about $30,000, 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 $15,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Kansas City. Public Library. Bequest of about $6000, from Mrs. Sarah Richart.
Lawrence. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
KENTUCKY.
Lexington. State College. Gift of $50,000, from President James K. Patterson.
LOUISIANA.
New Orleans. Public Library. Gift of $10,000 and a valuable collection of books, from Abram Holker.
MAINE.
Bangor. Public Library. Bequest of $18,347.26, towards the building fund, from A. D. Mason.
— Gift of building site, costing $7500, from Nathan C. Ayer.
Belfast. Free Library. Gift of $3000, 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 $150,000, will cost over $200,000.
— Bequest of $2000, from Captain John Clifford Brown, of Portland.
— Gift of $1200, from an unknown donor, through a Boston friend.
Fairfield. Public Library. Gift of a library building, to cost between $8000 and $10,000, from E. J. Lawrence.
Farmington. Public Library Association. Gift of $10,000, for a public library building, from Hon. Isaac Cutler, of Boston, Mass.
Lewiston. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
MARYLAND.
Cumberland. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Hagerstown. Washington County Free Library. Gift of $50,000 and accrued interest $1250, from B. F. Newcomer, of Baltimore, the town to furnish a site for building, which will cost about $25,000.
MASSACHUSETTS.
Amherst. Amherst College. Gift of $500, 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 $4000, from Abram E. Cutter.
— Gift of 599 volumes of text-books used in the public schools of Boston, from the Boston School Committee, in co-operation with the publishers.
— Gift of 597 volumes, relating to music, scores, etc., from Allen A. Brown.
— Gift of 576 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 $10,000, to increase fund, already established by him, for purchase of works of history, political economy, and sociology, from ex-Governor Roger Wolcott.
— Gift of $1250, for purchase of books relating to the history of the Ottoman Empire, from Prof. A. C. Coolidge.
— Gift of $800, for the purchase of books on ecclesiastical history in the Riant Library, from J. Harvey Treat, of Lawrence.
— Gift of $500, for purchase of books relating to Scandinavian subjects, from Mrs. Emil E. Hammer.
— Bequest of 1920 volumes, mainly English[Pg 93] and French literature, from Edward Ray Thompson, of Troy, N. Y.
— Gift of 700 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 549 volumes, the library of Alphonse Marsigny, from The J. C. Ayer Company, of Lowell.
— Gift of 317 volumes, belonging to the library of her late husband, from Mrs. John E. Hudson.
— Bequest of 250 volumes of Sanskrit and other Oriental works, from Henry C. Warren, Esq.
— Public Library. Bequest of 550 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 $500, from Nathaniel Cushing Nash.
Clinton. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Conway. Field Memorial Library. Gift of a library building to cost $100,000, 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 $100,000 to $125,000, and producing an annual income of about $8000, from Henry H. Rogers.
Groveland. Public Library. Bequest of $5000, from J. G. B. Adams.
Hinsdale. Public Library. Bequest of $5000, 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 $125,000, 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 $2000, from ex-Governor Roger Wolcott, of Boston, Mass.
Newburyport. Public Library. Gift of $20,000, for the purchase of books, from John Rand Spring, of San Francisco.
— Bequest of $4500, from Stephen W. Marston, of Boston.
— Bequest of $3000, 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 $12,000, from Lucy F. Willis.
Plymouth. Public Library. Gift of a new library building, to cost about $20,000, from the heirs of the late William G. Russell, of Boston, as a memorial to their father and mother.
Salem. Public Library. Bequest of $10,000, from Walter S. Dickson.
Somerville. Public Library. Gift of $4000, 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 $70,000, from the estate of David Ames Wells, of Norwich, Conn., his son David Dwight Wells having died June 15, 1900, without issue. One-half of the income is to be expended for publications on economic, fiscal, or social subjects.
— Gift of 450 volumes, from Miss Frances Fowler.
Sunderland. Public Library. Gift of $10,000, 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 $70,000.
Worcester. American Antiquarian Society. Gift of $3000, for a fund, the interest of which is to be expended for literature relating to the Civil War of 1861-65. This fund is in memory of Hon. John Davis, President of the Society from 1853-54, 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 $150,000, from Jonas G. Clark, for the erection and maintenance of a library.
MICHIGAN.
Albion. Albion College. Gift of $10,000, 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 $3000, from Mrs. L. M. Palmer.
— University of Michigan. Gift of about 1600 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 $15,000, for a public library, from The Solvay Process Company, of that place.
Detroit. Public Library. Gift of $750,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Gift of 477 volumes and 1932 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 418 volumes and 1435 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 $150,000, 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. 14, 1901, and was at once accepted by the Mayor.
Iron Mountain. Public Library. Gift of $15,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Ishpeming. Public Library. Gift of $20,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Jackson. Public Library. Gift of $70,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city already appropriates $7000 yearly for library support.
Marquette. Public Library. Gift of $5000, toward a new library building, from an anonymous donor.
Muskegon. Hackley Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a new two-story stack room, from Charles Henry Hackley.
Sault Ste. Marie. Public Library. Gift of $30,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
MINNESOTA.
Cloquet. Public Library. Gift of a site for a library building, valued at $2500, from Cloquet Lumber Company.
Duluth. Carnegie Library. Gift of $25,000, for a new library building, in addition to a former gift of $50,000, from Andrew Carnegie.
Mankato. Public Library. Gift of $40,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Minneapolis. Public Library. Gift of $60,000, for the erection of a branch library building, from ex-Governor J. S. Pillsbury.
St. Cloud. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Gift of $2000, 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 $500, for purchase of children's books, from various friends of the library.
— Gift of their library of 430 volumes, from St. Paul Teacher's Association.
— Gift of 38 photographs of paintings, two pictures and a large cast of the Victory of Samothrace, from four donors.
Sleepy Eye. Dyckman Free Library. Gift of $8000, being the cost of the completed library building, from F. H. Dyckman.
MISSISSIPPI.
Natchez. Fisk Library Association. Gift of $25,000, from Mrs. Christian Schwartz, on condition that the Association raise an additional $10,000.
— Gift of site, valued at $3000, and a library building, to cost $10,000, from Mrs. Christian Schwartz.
Yazoo. Public Library. Gift of a library building, to cost $25,000, as a memorial to the late Gen. B. S. Ricks, from his widow.
— Gift of $1000, from Mrs. K. C. Gardner.
MISSOURI.
De Soto. Railroad Library. Gift of $1000, for a library for railroad employes, from Miss Helen Gould, of New York.
Hannibal. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, 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 $25,000, for a new library building, from Andrew Carnegie, upon condition that the city secures a site and appropriates $3000 a year for the maintenance of the library.
St. Joseph. Free Library. Bequest of $20,000, from Jarvis Ford.
St. Louis. Public Library. Gift of $1,000,000, for public library buildings, from Andrew Carnegie, provided the city will contribute the site and appropriate $150,000 yearly for the support of the library.
— Gift of $400,000, 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 $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
NEBRASKA.
Crete. Public Library. Gift of $10,000, 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 2000 volumes, of history, literature, and works on education, forming the library of the donor, from Simon Kerl, of Oakland,[Pg 95] Neb. The books are never to be loaned outside the library rooms.
South Omaha. Public Library. Gift of $60,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Derry. Benjamin Adams Memorial Library. Bequest of $10,000, for the erection of a town-hall and public library building, from Benjamin Adams.
Hanover. Dartmouth College. Bequest of $10,000, 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 $1000, 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 819 volumes and 381 pamphlets, forming the medical library of the late Dr. S. W. Clark, from his widow.
Montclair. Public Library. Gift of $30,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Newark. Free Public Library. Gifts of 1125 periodicals and pamphlets, from three persons.
Perth Amboy. Public Library. Gift of $20,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city already appropriates $1200 yearly.
— Gift of a site for a public library building, value not stated, from J. C. McCoy.
— Gift of $1000, with which to purchase books when needed, from Adolph Lewisohn.
Princeton. Princeton University. Gift of $50,000, for library maintenance, from anonymous donor.
— Gifts of cash aggregating at least $16,000, from various sources.
— Gift of $5000, for library of Germanics, from the class of 1891.
— Bequest of 2739 volumes and 860 pamphlets, from Prof. William Henry Green.
— Gift of 1000 volumes, from the library of the late Dr. Samuel Miller, presented by Samuel Miller Breckinridge.
— Gift of 310 volumes, from D. H. Smith, of New York.
— Gift of 255 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 2500 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 $25,000, on condition that it be used forever as a public library and that $1000 additional be raised by the citizens, from J. S. Reynolds.
— Gift of $2000, 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 $20,000, from Mrs. William G. Rice, in memory of her father, the late Chancellor J. V. L. Pruyn.
— Gift of $525, from various persons.
Angelica. Free Library. Gift of $12,000, 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 $10,000. Mr. Bell also left the library 1523 volumes, collected since he gave his library of 10,425 volumes, three years ago.
— Long Island Historical Society. Gift of $6500. 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 $1000, 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 $13,300, consisting of 100 shares of Amer. Bank Note Co. stock, 35 shares of C. M. and St. Paul R. R. stock, and $2000 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 $20,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Cohoes. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Gloversville. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for new library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city already appropriates $3000 for library maintenance.
Greene. Public Library. Gift of $30,000, 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[Pg 96] $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Homer. Public Library. Gift of $10,000, for the erection of a public library building, from George W. Phillips.
Ithaca. Cornell University. Gift of $12,000, 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 $1126, as a contribution toward printing the catalogue of the Dante collection, from Willard Fiske.
— Bequest, estimated at about $2000, from C. H. Howland, class of 1901. 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 $575, for the increase of the White Historical Library, from the Hon. Andrew D. White.
— Gift of 330 volumes, from the family of the late Prof. S. G. Williams.
— Gift of 300 volumes, from Theodore Stanton, class of '76.
Johnstown. Public Library. Gift of $20,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie, the city to furnish site and appropriate $2500 yearly for maintenance.
Middletown. Thrall Library. Bequest of $31,500, with which a fine library building has been erected, from Mrs. S. Marietta Thrall.
Mount Vernon. Public Library. Gift of $35,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
New Rochelle. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city must furnish site and a yearly maintenance of $4000.
New York City. American Geographical Society. Gift of $4455 to building fund, from various persons.
— Am. Institute of Electrical Engineers. Gift of Latimer Clark collection of electrical works, 6000 v., from Dr. S. S. Wheeler.
— American Museum of Natural History. Gift of 4539 volumes, pamphlets, etc., on Natural History, including 73 maps, of a value of not less than $4200, from Gen. Egbert L. Viele.
— Gift of 3166 volumes of Bibles, dictionaries, travels, cyclopædias, etc., valued at $6500, from N. Y. Ecumenical Council.
— Gift of 243 volumes and 33 pamphlets, handsomely bound and valued at $2000, from Frederick A Constable.
— Gift of 45 rare volumes on Mineralogy, valued at $250, from Ernest Schernikow.
— Association of the Bar. Gift of $10,000, received Jan. 1, 1901, source not given.
— Columbia University. Gift of $10,000, from "A Friend of the University," for additions to the library.
— Gift of $5000, from "A Friend of the University" (another friend), for special purposes.
— Gift of $2250, with which to complete the library's set of English Parliamentary Papers, from the Hon. William S. Schermerhorn.
— Gift of the "Garden Library" of 2279 volumes and 145 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 2700 volumes, a part of the library of the Rev. B. I. Haight, D.D., from C. C. Haight, Esq.
— Gift of 1000 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 $3850, 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 $5000, from estate of Charles P. Haughan.
— New York Free Circulating Library. (New York Public Library.) Bequest of $20,000, from Oswald Ottendorfer.
— Bequest of $11,250, 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 1200 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 $5,200,000, for the erection of 65 branch library buildings, the city to furnish the sites and guarantee the maintenance of the libraries, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Gift of 1304 volumes, from the Union League Club.
— Gift of 738 volumes, from Hon. Robert P. Porter.
— Gift of 592 volumes, from the Misses Ely.
— Gift of 497 volumes, from Mrs. Gertrude King Schuyler.
— Gift of 393 volumes, from estate of S. V. R. Townsend.
— Gift of 343 volumes, from Dr. R. G. Wiener.
— Gift of 287 volumes, from H. V. and H. W. Poor.
— Gift of 280 volumes, from Edmond Bruwaert.
— Gift of 923 groups of steel engravings, all[Pg 97] "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 $1000, from Maria B. Mount.
— Bequest of $20,004.86, from Charles H. Contoit; during the previous year $137,000 was paid to the library by this estate.
— Union Theological Seminary. Gift of 559 volumes, from the library of the late president, Roswell Dwight Hitchcock, LL.D.
— Gift of 519 volumes, from the library of the late Prof. Ezra Hall Gillett, D.D., from his two sons.
— Washington Heights Free Library. Gift of $1700 by Andrew Carnegie towards completing sum required by conditional gift for new building.
— Young Men's Christian Association. Gift of $5000, to prepare catalogue of circulating library, from Frederick E. Hyde.
Newark. Gift of a library building, costing nearly $25,000; also, $1000 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 $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie, the city to furnish a site and a yearly maintenance of $7000.
Oxford. Public Library. Gift of a public library, from children of the late Eli L. Corbin.
Oyster Bay, L. I. Public Library. Gift of $1000, 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 $20,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie, the city to furnish site and appropriate $3000 yearly maintenance.
— Gift of plot of ground for library site, value not stated, from Peter E. Farnum.
Rochester. Reynolds Library. Gift of 900 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 $500, from Andrew Carnegie, without conditions.
Schenectady. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city council had already appropriated $5000 a year for library maintenance provisionally in hope of securing a Carnegie gift. A site is under consideration, at a probable cost of $14,000.
— Gift of $15,000, with which to purchase a site for the new Carnegie library, from the General Electric Company.
Syracuse. Public Library. Gift of $260,000, for a new library building, from Andrew Carnegie, the city to furnish site and guarantee $30,000 yearly for maintenance.
Watertown. Flower Memorial Library. Gift of $60,000, from Mrs. Emma Flower Taylor, for a public library to commemorate her father, the late Governor Roswell P. Flower.
Yonkers. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
NORTH CAROLINA.
Charlotte. Public Library. Gift of $20,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Durham. Trinity College. Gift of $50,000, for a library building, from James K. Duke, president of the American Tobacco Co.
Raleigh. Olivia Raney Memorial Library. Gift of 5000 volumes, also services of a trained librarian to organize the work, from Richard B. Raney.
NORTH DAKOTA.
Fargo. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
OHIO.
Akron. Public Library. Gift of a building for the public library, to cost not less than $50,000, from Col. George T. Perkins.
— Gift of library of music (1898), valued at $600, name of donor not stated.
Ashtabula. Public Library. Gift of $15,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Bucyrus. Memorial Library. Gift of $500, for purchase of books, from Andrew Carnegie.
Canton. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Gift of property, valued at $10,000, from W. W. Clark.
Cincinnati. Natural History Library. Gift of $60,000, for a new library building, name of donor not stated.
— Gift of 14,000 volumes, donor not named.
— Public Library. Gift of $1000, for the purchase of books for the blind, raised by popular subscription.
— Gift of 500 volumes in raised type for the blind, name of donor not given.
— Gift of 416 volumes and 1600 pamphlets, from H. L. Wehmer.
— University Library. Gift of 6782 volumes; the Robert Clarke collection.
Cleveland. Adelbert College, of Western Reserve University. Gift of $15,000, name of donor not given.
— Case Library. Library property condemned by U. S. government for new public building; award, including damages, fixed at $507,000.
— Cleveland Hardware Co.'s Library. Gift of 300 volumes, from famous people all over the world, many with autographs.
— Medical Library Association; The Vance Library. Gift of 2000 volumes, from Drs. Dudley P. Allen and A. C. Hamman.
— Public Library. Gift of 306 bound and 217 unbound volumes, on Oriental religions, folk-lore and allied subjects, from John G. White.
Columbus. Public Library. Gift of $1000, for maintenance of the Kilbourne alcove; also 750 volumes, from James Kilbourne.
Conneaut. Public Library. Gift of $100,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Delaware. Ohio Wesleyan University. Gift of 4179 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 $15,000, names of donors not given.
Geneva. Platt R. Spencer Memorial Library. Gifts of $1577, names of donors not given.
Granville. Dennison University Library. Gifts of $525, names of donors not given.
Greenville. Public Library. Gift of $15,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie, a yearly maintenance of $2000 required. The site has already been secured.
Hamilton. Lane Free Library. Gift of $500, donated by citizens.
Marietta. Marietta College. Gift of 18,712 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 $20,000, name of donor not given.
— Gift of $10,000, 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 385 volumes, name of donor not given.
Sandusky. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Shelby. Public Library. Gift of property valued at $6500, for a public library, from Daniel S. Marvin.
Steubenville. Carnegie Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Toledo. Public Library. Gift of $1800, from Mr. Hardy.
— Gift of $1000, from Mrs. J. R. Locke.
— Gifts of 1223 volumes, names of donors not given.
Van Wert. Brumback Library. Gift of new library building, costing about $50,000, 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 $35,000 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 $5000, received from Charles D. Arms.
OREGON.
Portland. Library Association. Gift of $25,050, from the three daughters of the late Henry Failing.
— Bequest of $2500, the income to be used for maintenance of the donor's private library of nearly 9000 volumes, also bequeathed to this institution, from John Wilson.
— Bequest of his private library of nearly 9000 volumes, valued at $2500, 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 $1100, for work of cataloging the Wilson Library, provided for by private subscription, by the directors.
PENNSYLVANIA.
Braddock, Duquesne, and Homestead. Carnegie Libraries. Gift of $1,000,000, 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 $25,000, 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 $30,000, from a legacy of Augustus S. Van Wickle, of Hazleton. Pa.
— Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The gift was declined March 14, 1901, because of maintenance requirement, and afterwards accepted (April 11) 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 $20,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Idlewood. Chartiers Township Free Library. Gift of $1500, for the purchase of books, from Andrew Carnegie.
Newcastle. Public Library. Gift of $30,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. If the yearly maintenance is made $4000 the gift will be raised to $40,000. Gift rejected, June 27, 1901.
Philadelphia. Academy of Natural Sciences. Bequest of about $500,000, from Dr. Robert B. Lamborn. Though bequeathed to the academy, its library will be benefited by the bequest.
— Bequest of about $75,000, 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 $27,500
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, $7000.
Mr. William W. Frazier, $5000.
Estate of Esther F. Wistar, $5000.
Mrs. William T. Carter, $5000.
Dr. William W. Keen, $1000.
Charles C. Harrison, $1000.
J. Percy Keating, $1000.
Major Luther S. Bent, $1000.
John H. Converse, $1000.
George H. McFadden, $500.
— Gift of 2466 volumes, from Dr. J. M. Da Costa.
— Gift of 1500 volumes, from Dr. John Ashurst, Jr.
— Gift of 272 volumes, from the daughters of the late Dr. William T. Taylor.
— The Franklin Institute. 844 volumes and 899 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 1215 volumes and 1806 unbound books, pamphlets and magazines, through Stevenson Hockley Walsh, from Mrs. Annie Hockley.
— Gift of 464 volumes, for H. Josephine Widener Branch Library, from Mr. P. A. B. Widener.
— Gift of 245 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 $5000, from Mrs. Mifflin Wistar.
— Gift of $2041, from Miss Ellen Waln.
— Gift of $500, from Carl Edelheim.
— Library Company of Philadelphia. Gift of 900 volumes, from the Hon. Richard Vaux.
— Gift of 406 volumes, from Henry Carey Baird, Esq.
— University of Pennsylvania. Gift of $1750, to be spent in purchase of philosophical books, from Class of 1889.
— Gift of $615, for purchase of files of botanical periodicals, from Robert B. Buist.
— Gift of about 2500 volumes exceedingly valuable in works of Travels and Archæology, from the heirs of Robert H. Lamborn, and the Academy of Natural Sciences.
— Gift of 1300 volumes, secured at Hunter sale, from contributions of friends of the University.
Phoenixville. Public Library. Gift of $15,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Reading. Public Library. Gift of $2000, for purchase of books, from friends.
— Gift of 681 volumes, from same source.
— Gift of 356 volumes, forming his library, from Henry S. Comstock.
Sharon. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Washington. Washington and Jefferson College. Gift of $10,000 (added to the $50,000 given by her husband, William R. Thompson, for a new library building), from Mrs. Mary Thow Thompson, of Pittsburg. The building will cost $40,000, the balance, $20,000, 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 $30,000, towards the erection and maintenance of a new library building, from W. P. Thompson, making in all from Mr. and Mrs. Thompson $60,000.
Wilkinsburg. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
RHODE ISLAND.
Central Falls. Adams Library. Bequest of $35,000 from Stephen Ludlow Adams, as a special trust for the establishment of a library, to be named as above; $25,000 to be spent on building, the income of $10,000 for its maintenance.
Newport. Redwood Library. Bequest of $1000, from Miss Martha Maria Anderson.
— Bequest of $5000, 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 $2000, from Mrs. Orleana Ellery Redwood Pell (Mrs. Walden Pell).
— Gift of 316 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 1801, the estimated value of which is at least $1,000,000, shall be maintained as a permanent me[Pg 100]morial. The testator sets aside $150,000 for a building and $500,000 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 $1000, for purchase of American poetry and drama, at the McKee sale, from William Goddard, Chancellor of the University.
— Gift of over 250 volumes on international law, from William Vail Kellen, a trustee of the University.
— Public Library. Bequest of $10,000, from Ada L. Steere.
— Gift of $3000, 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 $15,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. Mr. Carnegie requests that the library be called after his friend, Alexander Mitchell. Accepted March 20, 1901.
Sioux Falls. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
TENNESSEE.
Chattanooga. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for library building, from Andrew Carnegie. It is reported that the amount of the gift will be raised to $100,000, provided the city agrees to appropriate $10,000 yearly.
Jackson. Public Library. Gift of $30,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Memphis. Cossitt Library. Bequest of 942 volumes and 423 pamphlets especially strong in social science and history, from Gen. Colton Greene.
TEXAS.
Dallas. Public Library. Gift of over 1100 volumes, from various persons, at a book reception, held Dec. 11, 1900.
San Antonio. Carnegie Library. Collection of books, valued at $3500, 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 $50 a month towards expenses until so turned over.
Waco. Public Library. Gift of $1000, by Andrew Carnegie, towards the library.
UTAH.
Ogden. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Salt Lake City. Free Public Library. Gift of $75,000, to erect a free public library building, and a building site worth $25,000, from John Q. Packard.
VERMONT.
Middlebury. Middlebury College. Gift of the Starr Library building, erected from a bequest of $50,000, from Egbert Starr, of New York City.
Windsor. Library Association. Bequest of $2000, 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 (1884), made available by death of his widow, from Prof. Vincent L. Bradford, of Philadelphia.
Norfolk. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Seaboard Air Line Travelling Libraries. Gift of $1000, from Andrew Carnegie.
Richmond. Public Library. Gift of $100,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
Winchester. Public Library. Bequest of $250,000, from Judge John Handley, of Scranton, Pa.
WASHINGTON.
Seattle. Public Library. Gift of $200,000, for a new library building, to replace the one destroyed by fire Jan. 2, 1901, from Andrew Carnegie, on condition that the city make a guarantee to provide $50,000 yearly for maintenance and improvement.
Tacoma. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. Accepted with the proviso that $7500 will be appropriated for maintenance annually if the gift is increased to $75,000. A site has already been selected.
WEST VIRGINIA.
Wheeling. Public Library. Gift of $75,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
WISCONSIN.
Appleton. Public Library. Gift of $663.54, from directors of Prescott Hospital.
— Gift of $500, for furnishing room, from women's clubs.
Ashland. Vaughn Library. Bequest of the Vaughn Library, valued at $60,000; also property which will give it an income of $1200 a year, from Mrs. Vaughn-Marquis, of Chicago.
— Bequest of 540 volumes, from Mrs. E. Vaughn-Marquis.
Columbus. Public Library. Gift of $1300, $1000 for endowment and $300 for immediate use, from Mrs. C. A. Chadbourne and F. A. Chadbourne.
De Pere. Public Library. Gift of $2000, towards furnishing a library of 10,000 vol[Pg 101]umes and upwards, if accepted before September, 1902, from A. G. Wells.
Green Bay. Kellogg Public Library. Gift of $20,000, for public library building, from Andrew Carnegie, the city to furnish site and $2500 yearly for maintenance.
— Gift of a building site for new Carnegie Library, worth $2000, from Bishop Messmer.
Janesville. Public Library. Gift of $30,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie. The city council voted March 19, 1901, to appropriate $3500 yearly for maintenance.
— Bequest of $10,000, for a public library building, from F. S. Eldred.
Kenosha. Gilbert M. Simmons Library. Gift of a library building and furniture, costing about $150,000, from Z. G. Simmons, in memory of his son, Gilbert M. Simmons.
— Gift of $20,000, 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 750 volumes, from several ladies.
Lake Mills. Public Library. Gift of $1000, in addition, for building, from L. D. Fargo.
— Gift of $1700, for building site, from citizens of the place.
Madison. Free Library Commission. Gift of $35, for German travelling library, from citizens of Milwaukee.
— University of Wisconsin. The Germanic Seminary Library, comprising 1700 volumes, relating especially to Germanic philology and literature; purchased from a fund of $3146, raised by German-American citizens of Milwaukee and presented Jan. 1, 1899.
— Gift of $2645 for purchase of books for School of Economics and Political Science, from gentlemen in New York, Milwaukee, Madison, and other Wisconsin cities.
— Gift of $2350, for the purchase of books for School of Commerce, from five citizens of Milwaukee.
— Gift to the Germanic Seminary Library of 268 volumes, from the house of F. A. Brockhaus, of Leipzig.
Marshfield. Public Library. Gift of $2500, one-fifth to be expended annually for five years for books, from W. D. Connor.
Menomonie. Memorial Free Library. Gift of about $2000, 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 $10,000, one-half for endowment and one-half for the purchase of books, from A. R. R. Butler.
— Public Library. Gift of $10,000, 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 $1500, toward library building, from Mrs. P. D. Armour.
— Gift of $1500, toward library building, from Mrs. P. D. Armour, Jr.
— Gift of $1500, toward library building, from Mrs. Bullen.
Oshkosh. Harris-Sawyer Library. Bequest of $75,000, toward new library building, from Marshall Harris.
— Bequest of $25,000, towards new library building, from Philetus Sawyer. The bequests of Mr. Harris and Mr. Sawyer were supplemented by $50,000 from the city. The Harris bequest of $75,000 was made in 1895 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 $25,000 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. $90,000 remains as a trust fund.
— Gift of paintings, valued at $5000, from Leander Choate.
Racine. Public Library. Gift of $10,000, towards a public library, from citizens of that city.
Sheboygan. Public Library. Gift of $25,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Gift of $1000, or his salary of $500 per annum for two years, for a site for library building, from the mayor, Fred Dennett.
Stanley. Public Library. Gift of $12,000, $8000 for building and $4000 for equipment, from Mrs. D. R. Moon.
Superior. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, for a public library building, from Andrew Carnegie.
— Gift of $5500, for a library building site, from citizens of the town.
Waukesha. Carroll College. Gift of $20,000, for a library endowment fund, from donor whose name is not given.
Whitewater. Public Library. Gift of $3000, for a memorial collection of books, from Mr. and Mrs. D. S. Cook.
Note.—Foreign gifts include: For British provinces, Vancouver Public Library, $50,000 from Andrew Carnegie—For Canada, McGill University of Montreal four gifts ($14,000, $1300, $1000, $500) for various purposes: Ottawa Public Library, $100,000 from Andrew Carnegie; Windsor Public Library, $20,000 from Andrew Carnegie; Sidney Public Library, $15,000 from Andrew Carnegie; Winnipeg Public Library, $100,000 from Andrew Carnegie; Halifax Art School and Public Library, $75,000 from Andrew Carnegie—For Trinidad, Cuba, bequest for public library from Mary B. Carret—For Scotland, Glasgow district libraries, £100,000 from Andrew Carnegie; Greenock, £5000 from Andrew Carnegie; Hawick, £10,000 from Andrew Carnegie.
SUMMARY BY STATES OF GIFTS AND BEQUESTS.
| No. | Gifts in money. | Money for buildings. |
Books. | Miscellaneous. | Carnegie gifts. | ||||
| N. Atlantic Division | |||||||||
| Maine | 9 | $6,200 | $145,847 | .26 | $50,000 | ||||
| New Hampshire | 4 | 11,000 | 10,000 | + | |||||
| Vermont | 2 | 2,000 | 50,000 | ||||||
| Massachusetts | 44 | 280,550 | 500,000 | 6,508 | v.+ | art works, etc. | 25,000 | ||
| Rhode Island | 10 | 532,000 | 175,000 | 566 | v.++ | ||||
| Connecticut | 28 | 199,887 | 154,000 | 6,265 | v.+ | 842 mss.+ | 50,000 | ||
| 10,000 | pm. | ||||||||
| New York | 74 | 128,030 | .86 | 6,025,655 | + | 29,737 | v. | engravings. | 5,808,200 |
| 178 | pm. | ||||||||
| New Jersey | 15 | 72,000 | 50,000 | + | 7,623 | v. | 50,000 | ||
| 2,366 | pm. | ||||||||
| Pennsylvania | 45 | 1,635,906 | 285,000 | + | 13,149 | v. | dried plants. | 1,216,500 | |
| 2,705 | pm. | ||||||||
| S. Atlantic Division | |||||||||
| Delaware | |||||||||
| Maryland | 2 | 26,250 | 50,000 | 25,000 | |||||
| District of Columbia | |||||||||
| Virginia | 6 | 251,000 | 150,000 | law library. | 151,000 | ||||
| West Virginia | 1 | 75,000 | 75,000 | ||||||
| North Carolina | 3 | 70,000 | 5,000 | v. | services. | 20,000 | |||
| South Carolina | |||||||||
| Georgia | 2 | 20,000 | 960 | v. | 20,000 | ||||
| Florida | |||||||||
| Southern Cen. Div. | |||||||||
| Kentucky | 1 | 50,000 | |||||||
| Tennessee | 3 | 80,000 | 942 | v. | 80,000 | ||||
| 423 | pm. | ||||||||
| Alabama | 3 | 70,000 | yes. | 70,000 | |||||
| Mississippi | 4 | 26,000 | 38,000 | ||||||
| Louisiana | 1 | 10,000 | yes. | ||||||
| Texas | 3 | 1,000 | 1,100 | v.+ | 1,000 | ||||
| Arkansas | |||||||||
| Oklahoma Territory | |||||||||
| Indian Territory | |||||||||
| N. Central Division | |||||||||
| Ohio | 39 | 69,402 | 1,002,000 | 49,553 | v.+ | 280,000 | |||
| 1,817 | pm. | ||||||||
| Indiana | 22 | 94,700 | 370,000 | + | 5,275 | v.+ | ms. | 350,000 | |
| Illinois | 29 | 32,893 | .50 | 685,000 | 4,000 | v.+ | 615,000 | ||
| Michigan | 14 | 3,000 | 1,090,000 | 2,495 | v. | 885,000 | |||
| 3,367 | pm. | ||||||||
| Wisconsin | 40 | 90,993 | .54 | 543,700 | 3,258 | v. | paintings, etc. | 200,000 | |
| Minnesota | 10 | 500 | 162,500 | 430 | v. | art works, etc. | 90,000 | ||
| Iowa | 14 | 24,000 | 307,000 | + | 220,000 | ||||
| Missouri | 7 | 21,000 | 1,475,000 | 1,050,000 | |||||
| North Dakota | 1 | 50,000 | 50,000 | ||||||
| South Dakota | 2 | 40,000 | 40,000 | ||||||
| Nebraska | 3 | 70,000 | 2,000 | v. | 60,000 | ||||
| Kansas | 4 | 6,000 | 40,000 | + | 40,000 | ||||
| Western Division | |||||||||
| Montana | |||||||||
| Wyoming | |||||||||
| Colorado | 3 | 128,000 | 108,000 | ||||||
| New Mexico | 2 | 2,000 | 25,000 | ||||||
| Arizona | |||||||||
| Utah | 2 | 125,000 | 25,000 | ||||||
| Nevada | |||||||||
| Idaho | |||||||||
| Washington | 2 | 250,000 | 250,000 | ||||||
| Oregon | 4 | 28,650 | 9,000 | v. | |||||
| California | 10 | 13,000 | 905,000 | 2,500 | v. | 865,000 | |||
| Cuba | public library. | ||||||||
| British Provinces | 10 | 2,800 | 374,000 | 360,000 | |||||
| Scotland | 3 | 575,000 | 575,000 | ||||||
SUMMARY BY SECTIONS OF COUNTRY.
| North Atlantic Division | 231 | $2,867,573 | .86 | $7,395,502 | .26+ | 63,848 | v.++ | art works, mss., | $7,199,700 |
| 15,249 | pm. | engravings, etc. | |||||||
| South Atlantic Division | 14 | 277,250 | 365,000 | 960 | v.++ | services. | 291,000 | ||
| South Central Division | 15 | 86,000 | 189,000 | 2,042 | v.++ | 151,000 | |||
| 423 | pm. | ||||||||
| North Central Division | 185 | 342,489 | .04 | 5,835,200 | + | 67,011 | v.++ | art works, mss., | 3,880,000 |
| 5,184 | pm. | etc. | |||||||
| Western Division | 23 | 43,650 | 1,433,000 | 11,500 | v. | 1,248,000 | |||
| 468 | $3,616,962 | .90 | $15,217,702 | .26+ | 145,361 | v.++ | $12,769,700 | ||
| Cuba | 20,856 | pm. | 1 library. | ||||||
| British Provinces | 10 | 2,800 | 374,000 | 360,000 | |||||
| Scotland | 3 | 575,000 | 575,000 | ||||||
| 482 | $3,619,762 | .90 | $16,166,702 | .26+ | $13,704,700 | ||||
Total Gifts and Bequests to American libraries from all sources, $19,786,465.16, 145,361 volumes, and 20,856 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.
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 1900. 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, 1901. 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 $830.74, yet it should be noticed that the two largest items in the expense column, $476.84 and $1290.02 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 $927.12. The second section of the table shows what means we have in hand or can count upon. The unpaid bills ($241.69 + $369.52 + $16.50), $627.71, are just about offset by the amount of bills and subscriptions due us, $636.82; leaving the cash balance, $823.64, plus the amount sunk in publications, $830.74, 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, $1617.08, plus the sum of the balances still standing on the old membership accounts, $46.41. It should be remembered that the office expenses of the year having been heavier than usual, over $1800, have not been all charged to the account of our different publications, but a balance of $345.55 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, 10-1/2 Beacon street, Boston, nearly 2000 copies of the conference proceedings, covering the years from 1882 to date. There are a very limited number of copies of the years 1882, 1886, 1892, and 1893, 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, 1900, and may be obtained directly from them. The sales of the book, last year amounting to 84 copies, are gradually reducing the deficit incurred in its publication, which at the end of the year amounted to less than $400.
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 700 copies are now left of an original edition of 3000. It remains in the hands of the Publishing Board.
Library tracts.—Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. have published for the board dur[Pg 104]ing the year three library primers, an edition of 1000 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 2100 books "worthy to be read or studied by girls and women" should now be ordered directly of Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Nearly 300 copies, including parts, were sold during the year, showing a continued though not increased demand.
List of French fiction.—Nearly 1000 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 500 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 300 copies were sold in 1900, and the accounts of the year show a balance in its favor of nearly $500. 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 250 periodical and society publications. During 1900, 2843 titles, or more than 170,000 cards, were sent out. This represents the largest single item of the board's work and an expenditure of more than $1700, which is nearly met by receipts from the sales.
Miscellaneous sets.—The board has now printed 16 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, 1875-1898; American Historical Association—Papers, 1885-91, v. 1-5; American Historical Association—Reports, 1889-98; New York State Museum—Bulletin, 1892-98, nos. 1-23; Massachusetts Historical Society—Collections, 1792-1899; Old South Leaflets—series 1-4; Smithsonian Institution—Annual reports, 1886-96; Smithsonian In[Pg 105]stitution—Contributions to knowledge, 1862-97; Smithsonian Institution—Miscellaneous collections, 1862-97; U. S. Bureau of Ethnology—Annual reports, 1879-95; U. S. National Museum—Annual reports, 1886-95; U. S. National Museum—Bulletin, 1875-98, 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 1901 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, 1900 to date; American Economic Association—Economic studies, 1896-97; American Economic Association—Publications, 1887-96; Bibliographica, 1895-97; Bureau of American Republics—Publications; Columbia University Studies in History, Economy and Public Law, 1891-96; Johns Hopkins University Studies in History and Political Science, 1883-98; U. S. Geological Survey—Bulletins, 1884-98; U. S. Geological Survey—Monographs, 1882-98; U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories—Reports, 1875-90; U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories—Miscellaneous publications, 12 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 $10,000, 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[Pg 106] 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 1 TO DECEMBER 31, 1900.
| PUBLICATIONS. | Copies sold in 1900. | Copies on hand Dec. 31, 1900. | Balances, Jan. 1, 1900, being excess of expenditures or receipts to date. | Operations, Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1900. | Balances, Dec. 31, 1900, being excess of expenditures or receipts to date. | |||||||
| Spent. | Received. | Expenses. | Receipts. | Spent. | Received. | |||||||
| A. L. A. Proceedings | 2 | 1829 | $5.56 | $1.24 | $2.00 | $6.32 | ||||||
| Books for boys and girls | 188 | 643 | $13.47 | 8.60 | $4.87 | |||||||
| Bibliography of fine art | 84 | 209 | 415.87 | 47.50 | 368.37 | |||||||
| List of French fiction | 991 | 440 | 8.51 | 20.64 | 29.15 | |||||||
| Books for girls and women | { | 107 218 | pts. |
474 4064 | pts. |
} | 66.19 | 66.19 | ||||
| Reading for the young | { | 6 32 24 |
orig. supp. compl. |
24 899 5 | } | 418.58 | 48.39 | 370.19 | ||||
| List of subject-headings | 296 | 55 | 227.85 | 144.17 | 390.36 | 474.04 | ||||||
| A. L. A. index, 2d edition | 242.84 | 225.00 | 467.84 | |||||||||
| Portrait index | 728.94 | 561.08 | 1290.02 | |||||||||
| Current book cards | 467.37 | 719.16 | 860.39 | 608.60 | ||||||||
| English history cards | 16.41 | 134.00 | 55.76 | 61.83 | ||||||||
| Periodical cards | 170,344 | 438.37 | 1795.75 | 1688.26 | 330.88 | |||||||
| Miscellaneous sets | 41.85 | 235.48 | 644.67 | 367.34 | ||||||||
| Library tracts | 824 | 2174 | 125.15 | 41.20 | 83.95 | |||||||
| Totals | $1861.55 | $1164.07 | $4007.22 | $3873.26 | $2647.07 | $1816.33 | ||||||
| General balance | 697.48 | 133.26 | 930.74 | |||||||||
| $1861.55 | $1861.55 | $4007.22 | $4007.22 | $2647.07 | $2647.07 | |||||||
| OTHER ACCOUNTS | Bal.Jan. 1, 1900. | Operations of 1900. | Bal. Dec. 31, 1900. | |||
| Dr. | Cr. | Dr. | Cr. | Dr. | Cr. | |
| General expense and income account | $1960.48 | $345.55 | $2.15 | $1617.08 | ||
| Old members account | 49.25 | 2.84 | 46.41 | |||
| Library Bureau account | 455.00 | 1413.23 | 1327.75 | 369.52 | ||
| Houghton, Mifflin & Co. account | 159.12 | 175.62 | 16.50 | |||
| Other charges unpaid | 69.41 | 69.41 | 241.69 | 241.69 | ||
| Balance of cash | $1100.66 | 3019.67 | 3296.69 | $823.64 | ||
| Due to Publ. Board on bills and subscriptions | 736.00 | 2717.26 | 2816.44 | 636.82 | ||
| Totals | $1836.66 | $2534.14 | $1460.46 | $2291.20 | ||
| Balances | 697.48 | 830.74 | ||||
| $2534.14 | $2534.14 | $2291.20 | $2291.20 | |||
Waukesha, Wis., Thursday, July 4—Wednesday, July 10, 1901.
(Methodist Church, Waukesha, Thursday evening, July 4.)
PUBLIC MEETING.
The meeting was called to order at 8.15 by President Carr, who announced that the American Library Association would take up the program prepared for its 23d 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. 1.)
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. 5),
Dr. E. A. Birge reviewing
WHAT MAY BE DONE BY THE STATE,
(See p. 7),
and Herbert Putnam outlining
WHAT MAY BE DONE BY THE NATION,
(See p. 9.)
Adjourned at 10 p.m.
(Assembly Room, Fountain Spring House, Friday morning, July 5.)
President Carr called the meeting to order at 10.25, and announced that the usual reports of officers and committees would be taken up in due order.
The PRINTED REPORT OF 1900 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 17, line 10, 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
During the 13 months since the Association met at Montreal the number of new members added has been 167.[C] Including with the new those who have rejoined (for they are practically new members), we have over 225, 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 1876 only, come in again this year by paying for 1901 and yet appear on a par with the 1876 members who have faithfully kept up their membership for 25 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, 1901, the active membership reached the 1000 mark, an achievement which may well be recorded at the opening of a new century.
In January 4000 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 (68 pages and cover) 3-1/4 × 5-3/4 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 4500 was printed at an expense of $160.60, and about half were mailed, in connection with circular no. 2 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, 476 persons registering for attendance, up to June 28. 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. (800 copies, 24 pages, same size as handbook, $32.75.)
2000 copies of program (16 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 $400, 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 956, number received about 1000.
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, 1900.
Catalogue of books on art, from the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Library.
Statistics of labor, Conn., Report, 1901.
World Almanac, 1901.
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. 1, 1900 (Montreal conference, p. 107) | $54 75 | |||
| Receipts, Jan.-Dec., 1900. | ||||
| Fees from annual members: | ||||
| From | 3 | members for 1898 | ||
| From | 61 | members for 1899 | ||
| From | 780 | members for 1900 | ||
| From | 12 | members for 1901 | ||
| –— | ||||
| 856 | members at $2 | $1712 00 | ||
| Fees from annual fellows: | ||||
| From | 1 | fellow for 1899 | ||
| From | 9 | fellows for 1900 | ||
| –— | ||||
| 10 | fellows at $5 | 50 00 | ||
| Fees from library members: | ||||
| From | 1 | library for 1899 | ||
| From | 29 | libraries for 1900 | ||
| –— | ||||
| 30 | libraries at $5 | 150 00 | ||
| ——— | ||||
| $1912 00 | ||||
| Life membership: | ||||
| Alfred Hafner | ||||
| Emma R. Neisser | ||||
| 2 | life memberships at $25 | $50 00 | ||
| Interest on deposit, New England Trust Co. | 11 64 | |||
| Donation | 1 00 | |||
| ———— | ||||
| $2029 39 | ||||
| ======= | ||||
Payments, Jan.-Dec., 1900.
| Proceedings, including delivery: | ||||
| Jan. | 15. | Publishers' Weekly, balance on printing and binding Atlanta Proceedings | $142 92 | |
| Publishers' Weekly, delivery Atlanta Proceedings | 66 27 | |||
| Mar. | 17. | Publishers' Weekly, cartage | 50 | |
| Oct. | 2. | Publishers' Weekly, Montreal Proceedings and delivery | 881 34 | |
| ——— | $1091 03 | |||
| Stenographer: | ||||
| June | 30. | J. H. Kenehan | $30 75 | |
| July | 7. | G. D. Robinson | 73 69 | |
| ——— | $104 44 | |||
| Secretary and conference expenses: | ||||
| April | 24. | F. H. Gerlock & Co., printing handbook | $59 00 | |
| F. H. Gerlock & Co., circulars, etc. | 35 25 | |||
| May | 29. | Henry J. Carr, postage, etc. | 112 90 | |
| June | 30. | F. H. Gerlock & Co., programs and circulars | 37 75 | |
| July | 24. | Henry J. Carr, travel secretaries' expenses | 67 92 | |
| Oct. | 18. | F. W. Faxon, stamped envelopes, etc. | 15 60 | |
| Dec. | 12. | F. W. Faxon, salary, on account | 50 00 | |
| ——— | $378 42 | |||
| Treasurer's expenses: | ||||
| May | 29. | Gardner M. Jones, postage, etc. | $14 00 | |
| Oct. | 2. | Salem Press Co., printing bills, etc. | 5 50 | |
| Gardner M. Jones, stamped envelopes, etc. | 46 85 | |||
| Dec. | 24. | Gardner M. Jones, expenses | 31 55 | |
| ——— | $97 90 | |||
| Trustees of the Endowment Fund, life membership for investment | $50 00 | |||
| ———— | ||||
| $1721 79 | ||||
| Balance on hand, Dec. 31, 1900: | ||||
| Deposit in New England Trust Co. Boston | $201 55 | |||
| Deposit in Merchants' Bank, Salem, Mass. | 106 05 | $307 60 | ||
| ———— | ———— | |||
| $2029 39 | ||||
| ======= | ||||
From Jan. 1 to July 1, 1901, the receipts have been $1650.00 and the payments $781.32, the balance on hand July 1 being $1176.28. 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. 31, 1900, was as follows:
| Honorary members | 3 |
| Perpetual member | 1 |
| Life fellows | 2 |
| Life members | 34 |
| Annual fellows (paid for 1900) | 9 |
| Annual members (paid for 1900) | 796 |
| Library members (paid for 1900) | 29 |
| —— | |
| 874 |
During the year 1900, 208 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 Geo. T. Little |
} | Finance Committee. |
Necrology.
1. Eleanor Arnold Angell (A. L. A. no. 1631, 1897) assistant librarian American Society of Civil Engineers, New York City. Born Jan. 23, 1874; died in New York City May 18, 1900. Miss Angell graduated from the Pratt Institute Library School in 1896 and was a member of the Pratt Institute Library staff until July, 1897. From Dec., 1897, to the time of her death she was as[Pg 110]sistant librarian of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
2. Hon. Mellen Chamberlain (A. L. A. no. 335, 1879) ex-librarian, Boston Public Library. Born in Pembroke, N. H., June 4, 1821; died in Chelsea, Mass., June 25, 1900. He was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1844, taught school at Brattleboro, Vt., entered the Harvard Law School in 1846, was graduated and admitted to the bar in 1849. 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 1866 to 1870 he was an associate justice of the Municipal Court of Boston, then chief justice of the same court until his resignation in 1878. He was librarian of the Boston Public Library from Oct. 1, 1878, to Oct. 1, 1890. 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 1893 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.)
3. Henry Barnard (A. L. A. no. 104, 1877.) Born in Hartford, Ct., Jan. 24, 1811; died July 5, 1900. He graduated from Yale College in 1830 and in 1835 was admitted to the bar. From 1837-40 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 1838 to 1842 he was secretary of the board of school commissioners in Connecticut; from 1842 to 1849 school commissioner of Rhode Island; from 1850 to 1854 state superintendent of the Connecticut schools, and from 1857 to 1859 president of the State University of Wisconsin. From 1865 to 1867 he was president of St. John's College, and from 1867 to 1870 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 1886 he published a collected edition of his works comprising 52 volumes and over 800 original treatises. Dr. Barnard received the degree of LL.D. from Yale and Union in 1851 and from Harvard in 1852. He was always greatly interested in libraries. In 1823 or 1824 he served as assistant librarian and made his first donation to the library of Monson Academy, and from 1828 to 1830 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, 1837 to 1842, 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 1877, and was made an honorary member at Chicago in 1893. He attended the conferences of 1876, 1877, and 1893.
("National cyclopedia of American biography," vol. I; L. J., 4:289.)
4. Enos L. Doan (A. L. A. no. 1909, 1899), librarian of the Wilmington (Del.) Institute Free Library. Born in Indiana about 40 years ago; died in Wilmington, Dec. 18, 1900. 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 1899 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., 1901.)^nbsp;
5. Josiah Norris Wing (A. L. A. no. 585, 1886), librarian New York Free Circulating Library. Born near Lynchburg, Va., Sept. 29, 1848; died in New York City, Dec. 20, 1900. 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[Pg 111] clerk in the Mercantile Library. He was connected with the library for 13 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 1880 he took charge of the library department of Charles Scribner's Sons, for which his library training well fitted him. In April, 1899, 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 14 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. 29, 1900; L. J., Jan., 1901.)
6. Huntington Wolcott Jackson (A. L. A. no. 884, 1890), president board of directors of the John Crerar Library. Born in Newark, N. J., Jan. 28, 1841; died in Chicago, Jan. 3, 1901. 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 1868. He practiced law in Chicago and in 1888 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 1890 until his death, but there is no record of his attendance at any conference.
(See Report of John Crerar Library, 1900.)
7. Robert Crossman Ingraham (A. L. A. no. 205, 1879), librarian of the New Bedford (Mass.) Free Public Library. Born in New Bedford, Feb. 11, 1827; died there March 3, 1901. The New Bedford Free Public Library was instituted in 1852 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 5500 volumes to 72,000 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 30 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, 1901.)
8. Eugene Francis Malcouronne (A. L. A. no. 1973, 1900), for the last 10 years secretary-treasurer and librarian of the Fraser Institute Free Public Library, of Montreal, died April 11, 1901. 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 6, 1900, to July 1, 1901, 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 (3) life memberships, $75 in all.
In March, 1901, the mortgagor on a loan of[Pg 112] $1000, bearing interest at six per cent., and falling due Aug. 1, 1903, asked leave to pay off the mortgage. He was allowed to do so on paying $53.97, 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 $1000 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 $2102.18 now on deposit, subject to check, $655.04 is on interest account, available for expenditure as the Council may direct. (In addition to this, $301.03 income may be expected during the year 1901-2.) $1437.14 is on principal account to be invested as opportunity offers.
Charles C. Soule ,
Treasurer A. L. A. Endowment Fund.
ENDOWMENT FUND STATEMENT, JUNE 6, 1900-JULY 1, 1901.
| Cash account—Received. | ||||||
| 1900, | June | 6. | Balance on hand, | $619.27 | ||
| 1901, | March | 8. | Repayment of mortgage loan, | 1000.00 | ||
| For permanent fund—life memberships. | ||||||
| 1901, | March | 5. | E. P. Thurston, | $25.00 | ||
| " | S. H. Ranck, | 25.00 | ||||
| June | 21. | B. C. Steiner, | 25.00 | |||
| ——— | $75.00 | |||||
| On interest account. | ||||||
| 1900, | June | 28. | Interest mortgage loan, | $75.00 | ||
| " | 29. | " International Trust Co.'s deposit, | 6.82 | |||
| Aug. | 14. | " Mortgage loan, | 30.00 | |||
| Oct. | 1. | " " " | 24.50 | |||
| Dec. | 27. | " " " | 75.00 | |||
| 1901, | Jan. | 14. | " Brookline Savings Bank deposit, | 40.80 | ||
| Feb. | 6. | " Mortgage loan, | 30.00 | |||
| " | " | " Int. Trust Co., | 6.82 | |||
| March | 8. | " Mortgage loan, | 53.79 | |||
| Apr. | 6. | " " " | 24.50 | |||
| June | 26. | " " " | 75.00 | |||
| " | 29. | " International Trust Co. deposit, | 16.48 | |||
| ——— | 458.71 | |||||
| ———— | ||||||
| $2152.98 | ||||||
| Paid out. | ||||||
| 1901, | Jan. | 14. | Interest added to deposit in Brookline Savings Bank, | $40.80 | ||
| Apr. | 18. | Rent of safe box for securities, | 10.00 | 50.80 | ||
| ———— | ||||||
| 1901, | July | 1. | Balance on deposit with International Trust Co., Boston, | $2102.18 | ||
| Assets. | ||||||
| Loan on mortgage at 7%, due Oct. 1, 1902, | $700.00 | |||||
| " " " " 5% " Jan. 24, 1902, | 3000.00 | |||||
| Deposit with Brookline (Mass.) Savings Bank, 4% interest | 1050.80 | |||||
| " " International Trust Co., Boston, 2% " | 2102.18 | |||||
| ———— | ||||||
| Total, | $6852.98 | |||||
| [Of this amount $6187.94 is principal, to be left intact, $665.04 is interest, available for use.] | ||||||
| Liabilities, none. | ||||||
| Annual expense, $10 for safe deposit box. | ||||||
| Available for appropriation by the Council, 1901-1902. | ||||||
| Cash on hand July 1, 1901 (interest account), | $665.04 | |||||
| Interest on $700.00 @ 7%, | 49.00 | |||||
| " " 3000.00 @ 5%, | 150.00 | |||||
| " " 1050.80 @ 4%, | 42.03 | |||||
| ———- | ||||||
| $906.07 | ||||||
| (If no part of the principal is needed as a loan by the Publishing Board, add also) | ||||||
| Interest on (say) $1500.00 invested at 4%, | 60.00 | |||||
| ——— | ||||||
| Estimated total, | $966.07 | |||||
[Pg 113] 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 $3700 in mortgage loans, of deposit of $1050.80 in the Brookline (Mass.) Savings Bank, and of $2102.18 in the International Trust Company, of Boston. We also find his accounts correctly cast, with proper vouchers for all expenditures.
| James L. Whitney Charles K. Bolton |
} | of the 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 $5000 or $6000 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 $100,000 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 1891-1900, 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 25,000 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:
1. 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.
2. In addition to enumerating documents, this list indicates particular libraries where[Pg 114] 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 W. I. Fletcher |
} | Committee. |
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.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. As to the form in which title-pages and contents should be issued: they should be[Pg 115] 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.
4. 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[Pg 116] 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 12 and 13, 1900, 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 300 complete subscriptions were received by October 1st, the quota of the United States in this being 45. During the summer the Smith[Pg 117]sonian 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 70 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 12 and 13, 1900, 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 34 and 35 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 1st.
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.
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 won[Pg 118]derfully 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 35 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 12 m.
(Fountain Spring House, Saturday morning, July 6.)
The meeting was called to order by President Carr at 10.20.
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 23d biennial report of the state library, covering 289 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[Pg 119] index to the Documentary Journal of Indiana from the beginning of that publication in 1835 to 1899, which is included in the 23d 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 1836, 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 Johnson Brigham |
} | Committee. |
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 10 or 12 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[Pg 120] 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 1 to June 30, 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 25 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 1, 1901. 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 25. 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 32 leading educational journals in this country with the request that they print it. Of these 32 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 $500 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.[Pg 121] 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 As[Pg 122]sociation 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. (1) Books of 50 pages or over; (2) books under 50 pages; or, where books of under eight pages are regarded at all, books of from eight to 49 pages; and (3) 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 [Pg 123] 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 | publisher's circular | |||
| 00 | Collected and mis. works. | Literature and coll. works. | Unclassified. | Misc. includ. pamphlets, not sermons | ||
| 010 | Bibliography. | |||||
| Period. and proceedings | Year b'ks and serials in vols. | |||||
| 070 | Newspapers. | |||||
| 100 | Philosophy. | Philosophy. | Philosophy. | |||
| 230 | Theology. | Theology and religion | Religion. Christ sci., occultism, theosophy | Theol. sermons, Biblical. | ||
| 320 | Polit. Sci. and Law. | Law. | Law, tech. Politics | Law, jurisp. | ||
| Economics and social rel. | Polit. and soc. sci. | Sociological subj. | Polit. and soc. sci. Trade and commerce | |||
| 370 | Education. | Education. | Education. | Education, classical and philological | ||
| 400 | Philology. | |||||
| 500 | Natural science | Physics and math. sci. | Mathematics, chem. and physic. sci. Biology. Nat. history | (See below). | ||
| 600 | Useful arts, Gen. | Useful arts. | Technology. | |||
| 610 | Medicine. | Medicine and hyg. | Medicine. | Medicine, surgery. | ||
| 630 | Agriculture. | Domestic and rural. | Farming and gardening. | |||
| Art of war. | ||||||
| 700 | Fine arts, Gen. | Fine arts, il. gift books. | Art, architecture. | Art, science and il.books. | ||
| 780 | Music. | On music and musicians | ||||
| 790 | Games and sports | Sports and amusements. | Sports and games | |||
| 800 | Literary hist. and crit. | (See below). | ||||
| Poetry and drama | Poetry and drama. | Poetry and drama. | Poetry and the drama. | |||
| Fiction. | Fiction. | Fiction. | { | Novels, tales, juvenile works and other fiction | ||
| Juveniles. | Juvenile. | Juveniles. | ||||
| Other forms. | Humor and satire. | Belles lettres, essays, monographs, etc. | ||||
| 900 | History. | History. | History. | Hist., biog., etc. | ||
| 920 | Biography. | Biog. and correspond. | Biography. | |||
| 910 | Geog. travels and descrip. | Descrip., geog., trav. | Travel. | Voyages, travels, geographical research | ||
| DEWEY (order). | bibliog. ital. | hinrich. | reinwald. | |||
| 00 010 070 100 |
Collected and mis. works. Bibliography. Period. and proceedings. Newspapers. Philosophy. |
Enciclopedia. Bibliografia. Atti accademici. Giornale politici. Filosofia-Teologia. |
{ |
Bibliothekswesen, encyklopädien, Gesammt. werke. Sammel werke, Schriften Gelehrten. Gesellschaften Universatätswesen, etc. |
Divers. | |
| 230 | Theology | Pubbl. relig. e pie. lett. | Theologie. | Religion ((Philos. morale) | ||
| 320 | Polit. Sci. and Law. | Legislazione, Guirisp., Atti del senato, atti duputati. | Rechts u. Staatswiss. | Droit et économie polit. | ||
| Economics and social rel. | Scienze polit. soc. Stat. bilanci ecc. | Handel, Gewerbe Verkehrswesen. | ||||
| 370 | Education. | Instruzione. Educaz. Libri scolastici. | Erziehung u. Unterricht. Jugendschriften. | Education. | ||
| 400 | Philology. | Filologia storia lett. | Sprach u. Litteraturwissen. | Linguistique. | ||
| 500 | Natural science | Scienze fisiche, mate. e nat. | Naturwiss. Math. | Sciences, medicales et naturelles. | ||
| 600 | Useful arts, Gen. | Ingegneria-Ferrovie. | Bau u. Ingenieurwissenschaft. | Technologie. | ||
| 610 | Medicine. | Medicina. | Heilwissenschaft. | |||
| 630 | Agriculture. | Agricolt. Industr. comm. | Haus, Land u. Forstwiss. | |||
| Art of war. | Guerra Marina. | Kriegswissenschaft | Art militaire et marine. | |||
| 700 | Fine arts, Gen. | Belle arti. | Kunst. | Beaux arts. | ||
| 780 | Music. | |||||
| 790 | Games and sports. | |||||
| 800 | Literary hist. and crit. | |||||
| Poetry and drama | Lett. contemp. Poesie. Teatro. | Schöne Litteratur. | Littérature. | |||
| Fiction. | Romanzi e nov. | |||||
| Juveniles. | ||||||
| Other forms. | Misc. e lett. popol. | |||||
| 900 | History. | Storia-Geografia. | Geschichte. | Histoire, Biog. polit. | ||
| 920 | Biography. | Biografia contemp. | ||||
| 910 | Geog. travels and descrip. | Erdbeschreibung, Karten. | Geographie. | |||
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
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 15 years of the 19th century. The collection of information on the locality of files of newspapers up to 1800 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 1815 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 1800, 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 1802-3-4, 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. 54.)
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 [Pg 125] 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 50 people, whose judgment was most reliable, and asked them, out of several hundred pictures, to select 100 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 12.05 p.m.
(Library Hall, Madison, Wis., Monday afternoon, July 8.)
President Carr called the meeting to order at 2.25 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., 40 to 50 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 87 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 8 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[Pg 127] 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 3.30 p.m.
(Fountain Spring House, Tuesday morning, July 9.)
The meeting was called to order by President Carr at 10.20 a.m.
The president announced the receipt in pamphlet form of the
(See p. 87.)
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. 103.)
Mr. Dewey: I wish to remind some of you who were with us 25 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 20 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. 27-30, 1901; 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 8 to 10 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 10,000 or more volumes on Dec. 31, 1900.
While about 80 per cent. of the circulars sent out in 1899 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 8000 and 9000 cards.
This large body of material has been reduced to shape, and the greater part has been typewritten on sheets. What now remains to[Pg 129] 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 1899 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. 1 next, there is every reason to believe that this large piece of work can be presented in completed form to the Association in 1902, with one proviso. When the committee was appointed in 1899 it was given a general authorization to incur expenditure—in fact, without doing so no work could have been done. Again, in 1900, 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 $150. 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:
§1. The annual dues of the Association shall be $2 for individuals and $5 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.
§2. 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 17 members present. The records of the Council, so far as of general interest, shall be printed with the Proceedings of the Association.
§3. 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.
§4. No person shall be president, first or second vice-president, or councillor of the Association for two consecutive terms.
§5. 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.
§6. 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.
§7. 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.
§8. 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.
§9. The objects of sections which may be established by the Council under the provisions of section 17 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.
§10. 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
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 50 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:
(1) Committee on co-operative children's list to appoint six people to collect the subscriptions which have been promised.
(2) Some one experienced and well-known librarian to be appointed by our committee to undertake the preparation of the said list.
(3) When such person has been appointed and has accepted, the money raised to be turned over to that librarian.
(4) 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.
(5) 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.
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 $1000, 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
(See p. 24.)
George Iles read a paper on
THE TRUSTEESHIP OF LITERATURE.
(See p. 16.)
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[Pg 132] 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 1812—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. 22.)
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[Pg 133] 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[Pg 134] 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. 31.)
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 com[Pg 135]mercial 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 1876, there was an attempt on the part of the book trade to deal with this question, and at Philadelphia, in 1876, 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[Pg 136] 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 $1.50 it is expected to publish at twenty per cent., more or less, below that price, and to make a $1.50 book, say, $1.25 or $1.20; a $2 book $1.60 or $1.50, and a $1 book 75 or 80 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[Pg 137] 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 12.45 p.m.
(Fountain Spring House, Tuesday afternoon, July 9.)
The meeting was called to order at 2.15 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[Pg 138] 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[Pg 139] 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[Pg 140] 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. 171.)
(Fountain Spring House, Wednesday morning, July 10.)
President Carr called the meeting to order at 10 a.m., and after local announcements by the secretary called upon the tellers to report upon
The result of the balloting was announced by the secretary as follows:
President: John S. Billings, 103.
1st Vice-president: J. K. Hosmer, 103.
2d Vice-president: Electra C. Doren, 104.
Secretary: Frederick W. Faxon, 104.
Treasurer: Gardner M. Jones, 105.
Recorder: Helen E. Haines, 105.
Trustee of Endowment Fund: Charles C. Soule, 81.
A. L. A. Council: M. E. Ahern, 101; E. H. Anderson, 104; Johnson Brigham, 104; John Thomson, 104; H. M. Utley, 105.
The president then announced that the Association would be glad to hear from Mr. Putnam, as chairman of the
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 4;
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 J. C. Dana Mary Wright Plummer |
} | Committee. on Resolutions. |
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 10.30 a.m.
The College and Reference Section of the American Library Association was called to order in the parlors of the Fountain Spring House at 2.40 p.m. on July 6, Mr. W. I. Fletcher being in the chair.
The program was opened by an address by the chairman on
SOME 20TH CENTURY LIBRARY PROBLEMS.
The 20th century is undoubtedly something of a fad already with public speakers. I should hesitate to speak of 20th 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 1876, 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 1874.) 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 20th 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[Pg 143] 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 20 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[Pg 144] 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. 46.)
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. 50.)
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.[Pg 145] 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. 357-360. A treatise published in 1892 is marked Phys. 358-92; another of the same year, by Phys. 358.92.3.
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 1750, 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.
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 9. 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 32 and 33 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 32 and 33 card from the point of view of the Publishing Board. The Publishing Board has been supplying the 32 or 33 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 33 size. It has not been declared impossible at the Library of Congress to print the cards in[Pg 147] such shape that enough could be cut off to make the card a 32 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 32 size will have to be left aside in the co-operative work. If there is a strong sentiment here to retain the 32 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 19 out of 100 that use the 32 card.
Mr. Andrews: I have Mr. Putnam's figures. I was astonished to find the percentage that were using the larger card. Out of 185 reporting 138 used the 33 card, 38 used the 32 card and only 19 (true those 19 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 32 card in the center of the 33. And the proposition agreed to by all of us in this conversation was to print the 33 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 32 card. It was understood to be satisfactory to all the 32 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 32 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 33 card; then if the 32 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 10 it would not make any difference. In one case in 10 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 32 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 33 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 33 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 33 people as well as for 32.
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[Pg 148] 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 33-card or 32-card people, of the opinion that, after dropping the heading so as to leave ample room at the top to permit the 32 card to be cut out from the 33 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 32 size, or to make a double card both for the 33 and 32 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 32 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 32 card as printed on the 33 size. Is that clear?
Chairman: I believe so. It includes, however, both the users of the 32 and 33 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 32-card limit on the 33 card, rather than furnishing two cards to a title, please rise. 56 persons rose.
Mr. Bowker: Those who are in favor of confining the print to the 32 size and having a second overflow card printed for the same title, please rise. 17 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 32-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 33 card. I wrote to Mr. Whitney, of the Boston Public Library, which as you know uses a card larger than the 33, 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 33 size, they have found it advisable so to modify their plan for titles henceforth that the cards may be cut down to the 33 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 33 card why should they take all that trouble? Now, the problem they had to deal with was 10 times more difficult than that which the users of the 32 cards have to deal with. All you have to do with a 32 card to make it a 33 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 32 card when the change to the 33 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[Pg 149] 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 25,000 cards and the number of titles that run over to second cards is considerably below 1000; it is nearer 500 than 1000.
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[Pg 150] 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 popu[Pg 151]lar 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. 52 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[Pg 152] 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. 16 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[Pg 153] 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. 70 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.
"1a. 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 atten[Pg 154]tion 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 1877; 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 4to, 8vo and 12mo 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 25 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 Kroe[Pg 155]ger 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 25 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 8vo, 12mo, 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 12mo, in such a way as to cross our use of the word 8vo and 12mo 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 25 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. 25 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[Pg 156] 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 8vo, 12mo and 4to. 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 8vo, 12mo and 4to 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 10, 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 1 i 21 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[Pg 158] 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 99 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 21st 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 22 exceptions, and we began with the 21st.
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[Pg 159] 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 1 i 9: 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 21 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 30 or 40 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 1 i 12 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[Pg 160] 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, 1 i 4, 1 i 5 and 1 i 16—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. 1 i 16, "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 1 h 1, "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 1 i 20.
Mr. Hanson: 1 i 20: "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 1 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[Pg 161] 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, 1 h 3: "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 1 h and 1 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: 1 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. 1 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: 1 i 15: "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 5000 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[Pg 162] 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: 1 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.
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 2.15 p.m., Friday, July 5.
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, 1894, 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 1900 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. 57.)
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 1620.
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[Pg 165] 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. 63.)
Miss Lyman also read the second paper by Miss Abby Sargent, on
II. FAIRY TALES.
(See p. 66.)
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. 69.)
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 6. The meeting was called to order at 2.30, 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 15 or 16, 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 read[Pg 167]ing 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 12 to 16, 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 500 story books for young people of the ages 10 to 14. This list she would submit, in whole or in small sections, to as many active libra[Pg 168]rians 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 90 per cent. in the work of preparing and the cost of printing separate lists for each library. The joint lists, containing 500 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. 74.)
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. 83.)
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 80'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 14 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[Pg 170] 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. 72.)
Two papers were read on
VITALIZING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY,
Miss May L. Prentice treating
THE SCHOOL.
(See p. 78.)
Miss Irene Warren presenting the side of
THE LIBRARY.
(See p. 81.)
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.
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 9. 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[Pg 172] 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—150, 250, or 350 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 $10,000 for books and not $200 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 300 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 com[Pg 174]munity 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 45-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 25 or 30 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,[Pg 176] 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 15 or 20 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 100 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[Pg 177] 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 100 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 21, 1898, 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 1899, 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 62 or 63 books. New books were purchased for the purpose, books of a character likely to interest the readers, the new novels with a 40% sprinkling of the best classed literature. The travelling libraries were arranged in three circuits of four each. Each library containing 62 or 63 books, the four libraries in a circuit contain 250 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 12 travelling libraries at less than 12 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 36[Pg 179] travelling libraries to the 36 fire companies of the city. Each of these smaller travelling libraries contains 20 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 37 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 15 or 20 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 75,000 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 1898, 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 14 townships outside of Cincinnati township. Our county is possibly 28 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, 1899. Up to the present, and through the stations alone,[Pg 180] there have been about 7500 new registrations, and we are to-day, through our stations, carrying 20,000 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 71 counties, you would have 71 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[Pg 181] Maryland. There is a county with 75,000 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 5000 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[Pg 182] 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 $150 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 50 or 25 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. 38 or no. 53, 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 2000 books on our shelves that are issued separately; but we have nearly 5000 tied up in libraries. Both classes are in use, but the expense to the local library of getting our collection of 50 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[Pg 183] 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 50 or 100, send them in boxes; that is cheaper. This is a mere shipping question.
Adjourned.
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 10. 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 or[Pg 184]ganize 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[Pg 185] 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 25 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[Pg 186] 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 10 or 12 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[Pg 187] meeting of the state during a year, we are going to have 12 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 50 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 asso[Pg 188]ciation 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 15th 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 87,000 square miles and a population of 164,000 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 10,000, is the home of the Woman's Columbian Club of 200 members. This club, among its many achievements, established and almost wholly supports a public library of 2750 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[Pg 189] 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 15 travelling libraries with a total of 800 volumes, and invited discussion of this work in the public press.
At the 1899 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 1900 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 75 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 1900 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[Pg 190] 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 $6000 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 10 new travelling library cases in addition to the 15 cases donated to the state by the Columbian Club, and have 20 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, 15 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, 1887, no real step was taken in this state to secure the benefits of the public library movement until 1895. 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, 1899, 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 25, 1900 and organized, and being absolutely without funds, efforts were made to secure contributions from benevolent friends of the movement and $2800 were raised from 29 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 800 travelling libraries and an appropriation of $5000 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[Pg 192] 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 $3500 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 1901-1902.
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 15 or 20 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 1895, 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[Pg 193] 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 1897, 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 1899, 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. 20, carrying with it an appropriation of $4000 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 1896, it has been one of its most prominent lines of work. I suppose there are few clubs among the 150 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[Pg 194] 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 2500 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 $500 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[Pg 195] 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 10-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 50 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 50 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.
A meeting of the Trustees' Section of the A. L. A. was held on July 6 in parlor C of the Fountain House, with Dr. Leipziger in the chair and Thos. L. Montgomery acting as secretary. There were 75 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. 38.)
Mr. Mauran, of St. Louis, spoke on
THE RELATION OF THE ARCHITECT TO THE LIBRARIAN.
(See p. 43)
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 $150 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.
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 10, 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 10.30 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 15th 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 16th and the 17th centuries in England, and the 19th 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[Pg 199] 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 GÖTTINGEN.
The first and so far the only professorship in the auxiliary sciences of librarianship in Prussia was founded in 1886 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. 10 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 15 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[Pg 200] 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[Pg 201] 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 8 to 12. 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 li[Pg 202]brary 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 15 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 30) 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 200 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 16 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 at[Pg 203]tended 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[Pg 204] 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 15th 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 15th 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 15th 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[Pg 205] 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 15 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 10,000 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.
Meetings of the Council of the American Library Association were held in connection with the Waukesha conference, on July 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10, in all six sessions being held. There was also a short meeting of the executive board on July 9.
Of the 25 members of Council 15 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 1902 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 1901-2. 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. 129.)
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 $1000, and recommended that the sum of $500 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:
1, That the Council be requested to arrange for securing reduced rates from the express companies for travelling libraries;
2, That the Council be requested to give its support to the Jenkins bill providing for the transmission of library books by rural free delivery;
3, 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, 1900.
| Bernard C. Steiner Walter M. Smith Clement W. Andrews |
} | Committee. |
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[Pg 208] presentation to the Association, to be spread upon the records. (See Proceedings, p. 130.)
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 $425 be allowed for the expenses of the secretary's office for the year ending July 16, 1901. It was Voted, That $100 additional be also appropriated for the secretary's expenses for the past year.
Non-library membership. It was Voted, That the names of 38 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.
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 9. 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. 52.)
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.
A most enthusiastic reunion of the alumni of the Illinois State Library School was held at Waukesha on July 5, 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 1893.
Margaret Mann, Secretary.
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 110°-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 3 with "friendly greetings" at 8.30 p.m.; but as the New York party did not arrive until 9 p.m., and the New England party not until 2 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 40 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 ear[Pg 210]ly, 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 350 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 9 a.m. till 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. till 6 did we sit and listen or stand and discuss the program. At 9 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[Pg 211] 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 8.30, 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.
SERVING IN 1900-01 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.
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, 624 Church St, Evanston, Ill.
Ahern, Mary Eileen, Ed. Public Libraries, Library Bureau, Chicago, Ill.
Allen, Jessie. As. P. L., Indianapolis, Ind.
Allen, Jessie M., 229 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, 514 Masonic Temple, Minneapolis, Minn.
Ball, Lucy, Ex. Ln., 210 N. Union St., Grand Rapids. Mich.
Bangs, Mary Freeman, 80 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., 141 E. 25th St, N. Y. City.
Bates, Flora J., Cataloger, 7013 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, 10-1/2 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, 701 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., 1st As. State L., Indianapolis, Ind.
Chapman, Mabel E., Ln. Milwaukee-Downer College, Milwaukee, Wis.
Chapman, Susan, As. P. L., Milwaukee, Wis.
Chase, Adelaide M., 109 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, 13 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, 2920 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., 404 E. 2d 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 108 Glenway St., Dorchester, Mass.)
Faxon, Mrs. F. W., Dorchester, Mass.
Felt, Anna E., Financial Secy. Board of Library Directors, Galena, Ill.
Fernald, Helen Augusta, 384 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., 378 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, 4812 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, 9 E. 16th 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., 1st 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., 378 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., 1st 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., 414 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, 171 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., 4009 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, 5451 Cornell Ave., Chicago.
Palmer, W. Millard, Bookseller, 20 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., 2d 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., 31 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., 5515 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., 9 S. 9th 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., 2d 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, 3939 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.
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 | 24 | 11 | 35 |
| Chief librarians | 56 | 118 | 174 |
| Assistants | 31 | 136 | 167 |
| Library Bureau, booksellers, etc. | 23 | 4 | 27 |
| Library school students | 3 | 3 | |
| Others | 14 | 40 | 54 |
| —– | —– | —– | |
| Total | 148 | 312 | 460 |
BY GEOGRAPHICAL SECTIONS.
| 9 | of the | 9 No. | Atlantic | states | sent | 87 |
| 6 | " | 9 So. | " | " | " | 23 |
| 2 | " | 8 So. | Central | " | " | 4 |
| 8 | " | 8 No. | " | " | " | 318 |
| 5 | " | 8 Western | " | " | 16 | |
| 5 | " | 8 Pacific | " | " | 9 | |
| Canada sent | 3 | |||||
| —– | ||||||
| Total | 460 | |||||
BY STATES.
| Me. | 4 |
| N. H. | 1 |
| Vt. | 3 |
| Mass. | 22 |
| R. I. | 3 |
| Conn. | 4 |
| N. Y. | 28 |
| Pa. | 22 |
| Del. | 2 |
| Md. | 3 |
| D. C. | 14 |
| Va. | 1 |
| N. C. | 1 |
| Ga. | 2 |
| La. | 1 |
| Tenn. | 3 |
| Ohio. | 18 |
| Ind. | 27 |
| Ill. | 119 |
| Mich. | 14 |
| Wis. | 93 |
| Minn. | 13 |
| Ia. | 18 |
| Mo. | 16 |
| Kan. | 5 |
| Neb. | 6 |
| S. D. | 2 |
| Mont. | 2 |
| Col. | 1 |
| Ariz. | 1 |
| Cal. | 3 |
| Oregon | 2 |
| Idaho | 2 |
| Wash. | 1 |
| Canada | 3 |
| —– | |
| Total | 460 |
NUMBER OF LIBRARIES REPRESENTED FROM EACH STATE.
| Me. | 3 | libraries represented by | 4 | |
| N. H. | 1 | " | " | 1 |
| Vt. | 2 | " | " | 3 |
| Mass. | 9 | " | " | 10 |
| R. I. | 2 | " | " | 2 |
| Conn. | 3 | " | " | 3 |
| N. Y. | 13 | " | " | 17 |
| Pa. | 8 | " | " | 16 |
| Del. | 1 | " | " | 1 |
| Md. | 2 | " | " | 3 |
| D. C. | 4 | " | " | 11 |
| Va. | 1 | " | " | 1 |
| Ga. | 1 | " | " | 2 |
| La. | 1 | " | " | 1 |
| Tenn. | 2 | " | " | 3 |
| Ohio. | 9 | " | " | 17 |
| Ind. | 16 | " | " | 24 |
| Ill. | 38 | " | " | 86 |
| Mich. | 4 | " | " | 8 |
| Wis. | 35 | " | " | 76 |
| Minn. | 5 | " | " | 9 |
| Ia. | 12 | " | " | 14 |
| Mo. | 6 | " | " | 16 |
| Kan. | 2 | " | " | 2 |
| Neb. | 4 | " | " | 5 |
| S. D. | 2 | " | " | 2 |
| Mont. | 2 | " | " | 2 |
| Col. | 1 | " | " | 1 |
| Ariz. | 1 | " | " | 1 |
| Cal. | 2 | " | " | 2 |
| Oregon. | 1 | " | " | 2 |
| Idaho. | 1 | " | " | 1 |
| Wash. | 1 | " | " | 1 |
| Canada. | 2 | " | " | 3 |
[A] Abstract.
[B] Preceding this first general session of the Association, an informal social reception had been held at The Fountain Spring House, Wednesday evening, July 3; and during Thursday, July 4, there were meetings of the A. L. A. Council, special committees, etc.
[C] From the close of the Montreal meeting to close of Waukesha meeting the total new members joined were 280.
[D] This report will appear in a later issue of the Library Journal.
[E] Abstract.
[F] Abstract.
[G] This report is from notes furnished by Miss Mary E. Dousman, secretary of the section.
[H] For report of this committee and action of Association see Proceedings, p. 130.
[I] Also, as president, ex officio member of executive board and council.
[J] Also includes members of executive board.
[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, 1901, p. 397.
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. 7, the word "multimillionaires" was broken between lines in the original; it has been arbitrarily rendered as "multimillionaires" as opposed to "multi-millionaires".
On p. 22, the phrase "to have so-called expert opinions expressed concerning books" had "concernings" in the original.
On p. 43, "expense" was "exepense" in the original.
On p. 48, the phrase "independent and autonomous institutions" had "autonymous" in the original.
On p. 62, the phrase "The best reviews of children's books ever written" had "childen's" in the original.
On p. 67, "unquestionable" was "unqestionable" in the original.
On p. 68, 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. 71, "expressing" was "experssing" in the original.
On p. 79, the word "summer-school" was split across lines; "summer-school" was arbitrarily chosen instead of "summerschool".
On p. 82, the word "handbooks" was split across lines; "handbooks" was arbitrarily chosen instead of "hand-books"; both were in use at the time.
On p. 86, "questions" was "questtions" in the original.
On p. 109, the phrase "have examined the accounts of the treasurer" had "trueasurer" in the original.
On p. 111, in the obituary numbered "8", the word "died" was surmised; the original is unclear.
On p. 114, the phrase "the demand which would otherwise exist" had "exists" in the original.
On. p. 117, 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. 120, the word "inter-oceanic" was split across lines; it was arbitrarily made "inter-oceanic" as opposed to "interoceanic".
On p. 130, in §8, "...meeting of the Association appoint a committee..." was "...meeting of the Association appoint a a committee..." in the original.
On p. 138, 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. 144, 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. 152, the phrase "These subject headings are simply suggestive" had "heading" in the original.
On p. 155, the phrase "purely bibliographical notation" had "biliographical" in the original.
On p. 156, 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. 159, the phrase "the purpose of the author arrangement" had "arangement" in the original.
On p. 162, the phrase "regardless of whether it was as author" had "regardlesss" in the original.
On p. 190, the phrase "the frailest of our sex" had "frailiest" in the original.
On p. 191, 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. 199, the phrase "AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN" had "GOTTINGEN" in the original.
On p. 210, the phrase "at 9 p.m. Mr. Eastman's" was missing the full stop after the "m" in the original.
On p. 210, the phrase "the monotony of work" had "monotany" in the original.
On p. 213, the phrase "Craver, Harrison Warwick" had "Harison" in the original.
On p. 217, the phrase "Shortridge High S." had "Shortbridge" in the original.