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THE QUESTION MARK Published by the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 2 March 1949
Publications Committee: Mildred R. Adelson, M. Dorothy Brackett, John M. Carroll,
Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M. Usher, Chairman
Publication date; The fifteenth of each month
Deadline for submittino; material; The tenth of each month
HOW DO YOU DO?
Wien the first issue of the bulletin of the B.P.L.P.S.A. appeared, it carried at its masthead the phrase "Question Mark", for two reasons. First, a more formal title had not been adopted; and secondly, it represented a state of mind. With the passage of time, that name became perma- nent since it seemed to suggest the poten- tialities of such a bulletin as a growing} evolving, intelligent, inquiring periodi- cal. Of course, the question marks asso- ciated with certain aspects of the bulle- tin have been eliminated, since, though young in years, there has already been established a challenging tradition to be lived up to.
The first Editor-in-Chief was Miss Honor C. McCusker, formerly the Curator of English Literature, who left the service of the Library to assume duties with the State Department. She was most happily succeeded by Mrs Sarah W. Flannery, Chief of the History Department, whose direction of and contributions to the Question Mark are fresh in your minds. This issue of the bulletin is its first appearance under its present editorial aegis.
The Question Mark will continue to gath- er professional information of especial interest to members of the Association It will try to report information about people and events throughout the system that does not travel too far or too fast through a group the size of the Boston Public Library family. But, as the pres- ent President of the Association has al- ready pointed out, much of the vitality and vigor of such an undertaking depends on you.
The name is still the Question Tferk. Commas, periods, quotation marks, and so on, as well as questions marks, will be supplied and are all ready waiting to be used. But you be sure to supply the wordsJ
PERSONAL NOTES New Staff Members
Margaret F. Green, Kirstein Business Branch.
Matthew P. Gallagher, History Depart- ment.
Isabelle M. McHugh, Office of the Trustees.
Mrs Barbara P. Cotter, Reference Divi- sion Office.
Robert J» Harris, Book Stack Service.
Salter R. Curley, Science and Technol- ogy Department, (formerly part-time in Fine Arts Department).
Norma E. Dalton, Book Stack Service (formerly part-time in Book Stack Service).
Joan L. Hopkinson, Book Selection De- partment, Circulation Division.
Mrs Jane M. Jackman, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Division.
Frank A. Milillo, Book Stack Service.
Naomi R. Michalak, Charlestown Branch.
Duane E. Young, Circulation Division Office.
Isabel M. Martino, Parker Hill Branch, (formerly part-time at Brighton Branch).
Resignations
Fiorina E. Reffi, Allston Branch, to be married.
Babies
A daughter named Joan Margery was born to Mr and Mrs Earn on McDonough on February 24, 1949. Mr McDonough is on the staff of the General Reference Department and Mrs McDonough (Phoebe Stone) is a former staff member.
Deaths
Bridget Day, retired member of the cleaning staff, on March 2.
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Fublication by Staff Member
The Library Journal for February 15, 1949 carries an article by Roger P. Bristol of the Cataloging and Classifica- tion Department of the Reference Division: "It Takes Courage to Stock 'Taboos'".
Library Visitors
Mr Howard M. Nixon, Assistant Keeper in the Department of Printed Books, British Museum, visited the Boston Fublic Library on January 27, 1949. Mr Nixon is visit- ing American libraries and microfilming institutions to study the latest techni- cal developments and library practices.
Miss Johanna R. Wolff, children's li- brarian from The Hague, Holland, visited Boston libraries during the week of March 7, She has been in this country on a fellowship from UNESCO, since the first of October, 1948. Miss Wolff has visited li- braries in New York City, Cleveland, Detroit, and other large cities, as well as The Boys and Girls House in Toronto, under arrangements made by Miss Mildred Batchelder of A.L.A. headquarters in Chicago. On Wednesday, March 9, Miss Wolff spoke informally to the children's librarians of the Boston Public Library at their monthly meeting, telling them about library work for children in her country, and of Holland's pleasure in the receipt of the delightful Treasure Chests of chil- dren's books from America.
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ALUMNAE NOTES
Naomi-Churchill Dick, who left the Office of the Trustees in the early fall for work in a civilian capacity with the United States Department of the Army, re- turned from Germany several weeks ago» On "Wednesday, February 23, she was married to Captain Howard G. Dice at Leslie Lindsay Memorial Chapel , Emmanuel Church. After spending their honeymoon in "Washington, D. C, and Sun Valley, Idaho, Mr and Mrs Dice will live in Omaha, Nebraska, pending a hoped-for reassignment abroad. While in Washington, the couple had lunch with Corporal Doris A. Quigley,
also a former member of the staff of the Office of the Trustees.
Mr and Mrs James P. McDevitt have an- nounced the birth of a son, Daniel John, on February 9. Mrs McDevitt is the former Agnes Dunn of Charlestown Branch Library. Daniel John has two brothers and two sis- ters.
Mr and Mrs John Niland have announced the birth of a son, Lawrence Joseph. Margaret Niland was a member of the staff in the Book Selection Department of the Reference Division.
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IN MEMORIAM
MARY URSULA NICHOLS
Three months after her mid- summer trans- fer to Faneuil Branch Library, a little North End girl asked, "Where is Miss Nichoxs? She liked children". This in- stinctive recognition of the underlying attitude of the former Branch Librarian reflects the fact that to the end of her service, Mary Nichols remained at heart what she had first chosen to be — a Chil- dren's Librarian. A faithful and compe- tent executive and administrator, she was by predilection a worker with and for children.
To her staff, Mary Nichols had three outstanding qualities: kindness and un- selfishness, honesty, and courage. Her new assistants she took to all points of interest, introduced them at all schools, both public and parochial, and to all social agencies in the district. She never nagged her staff. Her Yankee humor was dry and delightful. Nor was it from her that we learned of her going to the home of a cleaning woman too ill to get out of bed, and building a fire and making tea — and not merely once.
Her innate honesty was inflexible. She was no less exigent with herself than with her staff. If she arrived at 9:02, she so reported, with a scrupulous honesty that
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inspired respect. From workmen or library employee, she insisted on a dollar's worth of service for every dollar the taxpayers provided.
No fear of disapprobation deterred her from defense or attack where she felt principle to be at stake. Mary Nichols never attempted to evade or to shift responsibility. And though we were so close to her that we perhaps took it for granted, in retrospect we realize, at least in some degree, the magnificent courage with which she faced life, well knowing that the ever- increasing physical burden of pain and effort would have pre- cisely the end that brought merciful re- lease on ?Jednesday, January 26, 1949.
To work with Mary Nichols those last fruitful years was a privilege. Her high courage remains an inspiration to devo- tion to duty. May the earth rest lightly on that gallant heart,
Geraldine S. Herrick
E. CAROLYN MERRILL TAYLOR
Mrs E. Carolyn Merrill Taylor died in Brookline on February 19, 1949 after a long illness. Mrs Taylor was a member of the staff of the Cataloging and Classifi- cation Department, Reference Division, for thirty-three years. She was an out- standing example of one who ever retained a marked enthusiasm for her daily work. Her almost superhuman accuracy was evi- dent to everyone who had contact with her, and yet she was understanding of that lack in others. Because of her duty nights and Sundays in the Music Depart- ment, she was aware of the needs of the public and the catalogers' responsibility. The scholarly cataloging of the Music Collection over the years that she worked with it is a monument to her industry, knowledge, and appreciation of all phases of music,
Mrs Taylor made a great contribution to the Library, more than most of us can hope to accomplish. She was personally poised, serene, kind, and possessed a de- lightful sense of humor. We extend our sympathies to her husband, Mr Lucien
Taylor, who is also a former member of the staff.
Alioe E. Hackett
He****** »c He*
PRESIDENT'S NOTES
The first meeting of the Executive Board of the B.P.L.P.S.A, which was held in the Staff Library on Friday morning, March 4, with only one member absent, was an interesting experience for those members of the Board who had never served in that capacity before. Aside from the routine business matters, a very detailed discussion was carried on regarding the plan outlined in writing by Mr Joseph L.- Wheeler, former Librarian at Enoch Pratt Library, Baltimore, for a series of lec- tures to be presented under the sponsor- ship of the B.P.L.P.S.A., these lectures to be based on Mr Wheeler's forthcoming book on Administration. After a thorough examination of all angles of the question it was unanimously decided not to recom- mend the sponsorship of such a series.
On a separate page of this issue you will find a list of the standing commit- tees for the current year. I am sure that you will think, as did members of the Executive Board when the list was submitted to them, that the affairs of the Association are in hands of a very competent group of committees, headed in every instance by people of exceptional ability. With your cooperation these committees should be able to make a out- standing contribution to the interests of the Association.
Let's all make a real effort, if it takes an effort--which I doubt, to make our first program of the new year a marked success. Bishop Wright, a former staff member and currently a member of the Examining Committee, is a speaker of recognized ability. His knowledge of world events, as well as his recent trip to Ireland, makes him especially quali- fied to give us a stimulating talk on his chosen subject. The film on Ireland
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which is to be shown is an exceptionally- fine one. Need one mention refreshments as an inducement after that?
The chairman of the Entertainment Com- mittee has two treats in store for us. She has arranged for two hundred seats-- one hundred of them table seats, the other hundred of them first balcony — for a POPS night on Friday evening, June 24. Save that date! She is also making ar- rangements through Philip J. McNiff, Librarian of the Lamont Library, for the members of the organization to visit that library, exact date to be specified later. Since it is strictly a "No Ladies Allowed" library this should be a genuine treat for the feminime members who always enjoy going into prohibited areas. This will be your one and only chance to visit Lamont and see the latest in library fashions.
This is the month when every member has an opportunity to make a personal contri- bution to the Association. Dues are duel Please accept this stupendous challenge, all twenty-five cents worth, and give your contribution to your staff repre- sentative today — right now. As soon as the dues are received by the treasurer, Mrs Lydia Falladino of the Open Shelf Department, and the necessary records made, your 1949 membership card will be forwarded to you.
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Our president and Arthur H. Farsons, Librarian of the Brockton Public Library, are to be guest speakers on the united Nations program, It's Your Move Next, transcribed over Station 1-7C0P at 10:30 p.m., Monday, April 4.
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B.P.L. SCORES HEAVILY IN NOMINATIONS FOR FIFTY NOTABLE BOOKS OF 1948
On October 1, 1948 a letter, quoted here in part, was addressed to this Li- brary by Mr Louis M. Nourse of the St. Louis Public Library, and President of
the Public Libraries Division of the American Library Association.
"A committee of the Public Libraries Division... is preparing a list of out- standing books for the current year to... be adopted as the A. L. A. list of 'Fifty Notable Books of 1948'.... Representative libraries and certain individuals are be- ing asked to suggest titles. ..of American publications for adult readers published ...during 1948.. .selected. ..because of their usefulness, their timeliness or their contribution to permanent litera- ture."
In November and December 1948 a commit- tee of twelve members of the B. P. L. staff discussed nominations for this list. Two hundred and thirteen titles were re- viewed orally at four sessions. For only one of these titles, The Gathering Storm, by "^inston Churchill, was there a unani- mous favorable vote. Runners-up were Sherwood's Roosevelt and Hopkins, with 9 votes; Hull's Memoirs, 10} Mailer's The naked and the dead, 9; Stilwell's Papers,
8; and Paton, Cry the beloved country, 7.
The list finally adopted by the A. L. A. and currently appearing in The Booklist for February »15 is reproduced below. The 36 titles starred were named by the B. P. L. committee.
Of the 14 others, 12 were discussed but rejected by a majority. Only 2 were not considered at all, The Africa of Albert Schweitzer and ^re need not fail, by Welles,
FIFTY NOTABLE BOOKS OF 1948
♦Bradley. No place to hide.
♦Camus. The plague.
*Chase. The proper study of mankind.
♦Churchill. The gathering storm.
♦Conant. Education in a divided world.
Crankshaw. Russia and the Russians. ♦Eisenhower. Crusade in Europe. ♦Evatt. The United Nations. ♦Fairbank. The United States and China. ♦Faulkner. Intruder in the dust.
Freeman. George Washington, 2v. ♦Gandhi. Gandhi's autobiography. ♦Giedion. Mechanization takes command. ♦Greene. The heart of the matter.
Hamilton, ""itness to the truth. ♦Hull. The memoirs of Cordell Hull.
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Joy and Arnold, The Africa of Albert Schweitzer. ♦Kinsey and others. Sexual behavior in
the human male. *Krutch. Henry David Thoreau. *La Guardia. The making of an insurgent *Laski. The American democracy. *Lecomte du Nouy. The road to reason. ♦Literary history of the United States.
Lockridge. Raintree County.
Lomax. Folk song U. S. A.
MbWilliams. A mask for privilege. ♦Mailer, The naked and the dead. ♦Malone. Jefferson and his time (v,l). ♦Mann. Dr Faustus.
Mearns. The Lincoln papers.
Merton. The seven storey mountain. *Paton. Cry, the beloved oountry. ♦Plievier. Stalingrad.
Russell. Human knowledge. ♦Sandburg. Remembrance Rock. *Shaw. The young lions. ♦Sherwood. Roosevelt and Hopkins.
Sitwell. Laughter in the next room. ♦Stewart. Fire.
♦Stilwell. The Stilwell papers. ♦Stimson, On active service in peace
and war. ♦Taylor. The taste of angels.
Toynbee. Civilization on trial. ♦Van Doren. The great rehearsal. ♦Vogt. Road to survival. ♦Ward. The West at bay. ♦Wecter. The age of the great depres- sion, 1929-1941.
Welles. We need not fail. ♦White. Man called White.
Wilder. The ides of March.
Editor's Note: If it was modesty which prompted the committee to present its report without listing its membership, we commend it for that desirable quali- ty. Feeling that it should, at the same time, be commended for its achieve- ment, we list the names so that due credit may be given to:
Christine Hayes, Chairman
Chief, Book Selection Department,
Reference Division Geraldine M. Altman
Branch Librarian, Jeffries Point
Branch Library Harry Andrews
Second Assistant, Branch Issue
Department
John M. Carroll
Chief, General Reference Depart- ment, and Deputy Supervisor
Muriel C. Javelin
Chief, Open Shelf Department and Supervisor in Charge of irrork with Adults
Priscilla S. MacFadden
Chief, Fine Arts Department
Louisa S. Metcalf
First Assistant, Open Shelf De- partment
Ollie J. Partridge
Second Assistant, Open Shelf De- partment
Edna G. Peck
Chief, Book Selection Department, Circulation Division
Mary F, Ryan
Assistant, Parker Hill Branch Li- brary
Theodora B. Scoff
Branch Librarian, Mattapan Branch Library
Lois M. Shoemaker
Probationary Assistant, History Department
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BRANCH LIBRARY NOTES
The East Boston Branch Library will hold Open House on Monday, March 28th, from seven to ten o'clock. A special program \vill be held in the Lecture Hall at eight o'clock. A social hour with refreshments will take place afterward. All who have worked at East Boston and interested staff members are cordially invited.
A display of interest at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library has for its caption, on a large green shamrock, Ireland, land of scenic charm. Photographs of both scenes and people typical of Ireland were obtained through the courtesy of the Irish Consulate. Neighbors and members of the staff filled a cabinet with pieces of Irish linen, peat, a jug, a cup and saucer brought from Ireland, an ancient cross made in Ireland over fifty years ago, and albums and photographs taken in Ireland. The Irish airway contributed a large post- er of Wicklow. Books by the authors O'Brien, O'Flaherty, Byrne, Callaghan,
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Purcell, Laverty, McLaverty are circula- ting well. A book talk on Irish fiction is planned.
This is one of the series on other parts of the world, such as Pan America, Scotland, Palestine, and the Near East, to be displayed at this branch in con- secutive order.
On February 26 Mrs Miriam Hannon was the guest of honor at a luncheon given by the Staff of the South Boston Branch Library at Hampshire House. Superb shrimp cocktail was followed by a deli- cious curry of turkey, with luscious strawberries and ioe cream in various forms for dessert.
A gift of dinner plates in the "Wedgwood Napoleon Ivy pattern added to her china set. Friends take notice I Mrs Hannon has been transferred to Allston Branch Library.
MARCH 17 IN SOUTH BOSTON
To the people of South Boston the month of March has a dual significance — the joint celebration on March 17 of Evacua- tion Day and Saint Patrick's Day. ""hile appreciating the importance of the first, to the many Irish- Americans who live in that part of the city, it is the second which they celebrate with the greater degree of affection. It is, therefore, appropriate that the three branch librar- ies should feature displays stressing the history and legends of Ireland.
South Boston Branch started its cele- bration with an Irish Night. The film "lings to Ireland was shown. Patrick Joyce, a seventy-seven-year-old resident of the district, played Irish tunes on his fiddle, and Anne Connors, Children's Assistant, sang ,,177hen Irish Eyes are Smiling."
On display at this library are souvenirs of Ireland furnished by the people of the district, including a fine collection of Irish linens and Irish ware lent by Mrs Patrick J. Foley and Mrs Catherine
Connolly, and three Irish dolls, complete in every detail, lent by Mrs Patrick J. Foley.
In the display case in the juvenile room of Washington Village Branch Library is a little old man playing a fife and looking at a pot of gold at the end of the rainb&w — a leprechaun, a fairy or sprite in Irish folklore. Underneath a poster bearing the caption Irish Tales are books for young people on and about Ireland. Bookmarks with green shamrocks scattered over them are being given to the children, and appropriate books are set aside for the adults of the district.
The City Point Branch Library is featur- ing a display of articles from Ireland, including Irish Baleek china, china cups and saucers from Sligo, lent by Mrs Helen McAuley, Irish linen and an old Irish shillelagh. There is also a handsome replica of the famous Book of Kells and an illuminated manuscript copy of the Gospels in Latin. Featured too is a book called Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland, lent by the Neponset Branch Library. This book which lists leading Irish families, gives coats of arms, and shows pictures and maps of Ireland, has been particularly intriguing to the people of the district who have found much pleasure in identify- ing familiar landmarks. A poster, St. Patrick and the Emerald Isle, has also caused much interest inasmuch as on it are indicated family names common to specific parts of Ireland. Shamrock bookmarks and book lists are being distributed,
********** BPLEBA VALENTINE PARTY
On Thursday, February 10, 1949, the Boston Public Library Employees' Benefit Association, Inc. held a Valentine dinner and dance in the Salon of the Hotel Sheraton. The room was appropriately decorated with valentine motifs and color- ful balloons were attached to each chair, both effecting a gay, holiday air. Over 200 people — past and present staff members and their fri end s--en joyed a delicious dinner and the talented singing of Alice O'Donnell of Book Stack SerTioo and the Herman Sisters, Martha of Charlestown Branch Library and Patricia, formerly of
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the Branch Issue Department.
The highlight of the evening was a mock marriage skit with Alvin George of the Stock Purchasing Department as the bride and Henry B. Jones of Book Stack Service as the happy bridegroom. John McNally of the Buildings Department acted the part of the officiating clergyman.
Frank Myers and the Braves Troubadours provided tuneful music for dancing until 1 a.m. From all reports everyone felt this was the best affair sponsored by the Employees' Benefit Association to date. Congratulations to the Entertainment Committee I
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WORN THRESHOLDS
Someone has noted that the Library's attractiveness rises as the thermometer drops and that bad weather may be an in- centive for getting started on a book that one has long had in mind to read. That may be so, but what happens when we have pleasant, balmy weather such as Bostonians experienced in the week of February 25 to March 3, just gone by?
In that week special arrangements were set up at the Central Library whereby an hourly count was made of visitors to the Library. The count revealed that a total of 31,035 persons entered the Central Library in these seven days. This is an average of 4,434 persons a day, or 369 visitors during each hour that the Li- brary was open.
********** MASSACHUSETTS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
Library expansion programs was the main topic of the morning session of the meet- ing of the Massachusetts Library Associa- tion at the Brookline Public Library on February 9, 1949.
Harvard University's program, outlined by Keyes D. Metcalf , Director, was es- tablished ten years ago, and encompassed four units— for less used books, treas- ures, undergraduates, and underground stacks. The building of the New England
Deposit, Houghton, and the Lamont librar- ies took care of these needs, Lamont pro- vides underground stacks in addition to facilities for undergraduates. Mr Metcalf thinks Harvard's expansion program is con- cluded. It will use the New England De- posit Library or a regional library in- stead of planning more buildings in Harvard Yard,
The Boston Public Library's program, as presented by Milton E. Lord, Director, in- cludes expansion of the Central Library and of the branch libraries. Of the Boston University buildings recently pur- chased, the former Boston Athletic Associa- tion building will be used as a service building for the staff. Mr Lord reminded the group that the building has a swimming pool and an excellent indoor track! The College of Liberal Arts will probably be razed. If the main entrance to the Cen- tral Library is, changed from Dartmouth to Boylston Street, the Boylston Street side vail then be used for much needed exhibi- tion space and will furnish corridors be- tween the present building and the new- buildings.
Three new branch libraries are planned for 1949, each to cost $75,000 including the land. The buildings will be one story high, without cellars, of a type that can be used for commercial purposes if they are no longer desirable as libraries. It is hoped that a bookmobile may be bought later in the year to meet the interim needs of the public until more branch li- braries are built.
Since no funds are available for new buildings, the expansion program of Framingham Public Library, described by Edward Perry, Librarian, means looking critically at its organization, its per- sonnel, and its book collection. The branch in the town hall is now larger than the main library. The library's one en- dowment fund is restricted to the main library. Mr Perry hopes to liberalize this arrangement so that the branch li- braries may share in the fund. If the March town meeting provides the money for his new classification and pay plan, he will be able to strengthen the staff, re- placing lost members and adding more. The recataloging of the library provides an opportunity to weed out "dead" books. A
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central or circuit collection is being built up to avoid overduplication.
Stacy B. Southworth, Chairman of the Board of Free Public Library Commission- ers, announced that the report on certi- fication, undertaken by the Advisory Com- mittee of librarians, will be ready with- in two or three months,
Thurston B. Taylor of Worcester Public Library urged the members to write Congressmen Kennedy and McCormick to pro- mote favorable action on the Library Demonstration Bill.
At the afternoon meeting Virginia Kirkus spoke of the influence of best seller lists on reading. Miss Kirkus thinks one of the evils of best seller lists is that poor books are listed be- cause their authors have previously writ- ten good books. The lists show unusual interest in war novels and a lessening of the preponderence of historical novels. Miss Kirkus characterized The Naked and the Dead as "painfully authentic" and was surprised that it became a best sel- ler. Discussing it with soldiers she learned that it gave them a sense of comradeship and of knowing each other. Occasionally books of literary value do make the best seller lists as, for ex- ample, Graham Greene's Heart of the Matter and Rumer Godden's Candle for St. Jude.
Siri M. Andrews, Young People's Librar- ian at the Concord, New Hampshire, Public Library, said that A.L.A.'s Plans for the
Teen Age represents idealism in book selection for the student of junior and senior high school age. Miss Andrews thinks young people are reading less. Radio and television cut down their reading time and influence the kind of book wanted. Sherlock Holmes is too slow after hearing radio murder stories. Young people, with their many activities, are too pressed for time to get the un- derlying meaning for which the book is selected. Miss Andrews concluded that the librarian should do her book selec- tion realistically and provide growing- up books. Science, or pseudo-science, fiction, and poetry are popular in Concord.
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CATHOLIC BOOK 7JEEK
On Saturday, February 26, as a final gathering of Catholic Book 'Vfeek, an authors' meeting was held at the Parker Hill Branch Library. The four principal speakers stressed the slogan of the Book *"Teek, "Read Wisely — Share Truth.", com- menting on books which had influenced their lives or recommending books to in- fluence our lives. Rev. Francis Moran, editor of The Pilot, spoke on Catholic reading; Helen Landreth, author of Dear Dark Head and, currently, The Fursuit of Robert Emmett, gave intimate glimpses of people and places in Ireland; Mrs Dorothy ""ayman, of the Boston Globe, began with Uncle Tom's Cabin and Ben Hur, dwelling on
their spiritual values and their impres- sion on her early life; and William Scofield, of the Boston Traveler,' talked on Communism. Mr Scofield, spent some time in Europe last Fall, and gave an in- teresting account of conditions in Europe as seen by a news reporter. The speakers were introduced by John O'Loughlin, Li- brarian of Boston College and President of the New England Unit of the Catholic Li- brary Association. Rev. John Broderick, Librarian of the Creagh Research Library of St. John's Seminary, was Chairman of the Catholic Book "leek Committee.
********** ADULT EDUCATION COUNCIL OF GREATER BOSTON
Several members of the Boston Public Library staff enjoyed the dinner meeting of the Adult Education Council held at Simmons College on Monday evening, March 7. Fortified by a delicious dinner, pre- pared and served by the Simmons Cafeteria staff, the guests assembled to hear the speaker of the evening, Marc Starr, Educa- tional Director of the I.L.GoW.U. and Mem- ber of the Executive Board of the American Association for Adult Education,, The meeting was opened by M. Norcross Stratton, Vocational Director, State Department of Education, who, after a brief business session, introduced Dr Harrison L. Harley, Professor of Philosophy and Psychology, Simmons College, who in turn presented Mr Starr,.
Mr Starr's remarks were most challenging and made those present realize that on the
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shoulders of such groups as the Adult Education Council, organized to further intellectual freedom, rested the fate of the future. Unfortunately, Mr Starr had to return immediately to New York and was unable to stay and answer the many ques- tions which were around in the minds of his listeners by his critical analyses of the menace of social illiteracy.
Mrs Muriel Javelin is the Executive Secretary of the Adult Education Council.
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FILM COUNCIL OF GREATER BOSTON
The April meeting of the Film Council of Greater Boston will be held in the Lecture Hall of the Boston Public Library on Tuesday, April 12.
Subject: Producing your own motion pictures.-- an exhibit of home-made movies produced by people in the Greater Boston area.
A panel of experts on the production of motion pictures will be present to criti- cize the pictures shown and to offer fundamental suggestions for producing motion pictures .
If you know of anyone in the Greater Boston Area who has produced a motion picture, please leave the name and ad- dress of the person with Mrs Muriel Javelin.
All individuals interested in the pro- duction, distribution, or utilization of educational motion pictures are invited to this meeting.
The Boston Public Library is one of the sponsoring agents of the Film Council of Greater Boston.
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SOAP BOX
IN A POOR LIBRARIAN'S BUDGET
"Ten dollars dues for A.L.A." .. .
It's oh, so' easy just to say!
Two hundred cups of cheap, black coffee
or One hundred cups in a tea shoppe.
or Ten weeks carfare to work and back
or Nylons a year you shall not lack ■
or Boston Symphony for one whole year
or You'll drink a hundred glasses of beer
or Eight plays for dollar-twenty each
or Three and one-third cheap opera seats
or Sixty- seven "cheese on rye" You sadly say and softly sigh. It's scrimp and save to do as you
should. A.L.A. you'd better be goodj
Shakespeare (of course) *
77ANTED:
An adequate answer to the question "Thy should Professional employees get four weeks vacation, and Subprof essionals get only two?"
Answers accepted from any one, if anyone can think one up0
Enigma,
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY PROFESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION Officers and Standing Committees, 1949 Officers
President Vice-President Corresponding Secretary- Recording Secretary- Treasurer
Edna G. Peck Frank P. Bruno Irene J. "r,Tadsworth Mery J. Brady- Mrs Lydia A. Palladino
Mrs Geraldine S. Herrick Charles L. Higgins
The Executive Board
Helen Sagoff
Standing Committees
Catherine M. MacDonald Louisa S. Metcalf
Constitution
Moorfield Storey, Jr., Chairman Mrs Gertrude L-. Bergen Roger P. Bristol
Gladys R. "r!hite
Entertainment
Margaret~A. Calnan, Chairman Mrs Margaret D. Butler
Rose G. DiPasquale Mrs Mary D. Farrell
Veronica M. Flattich
Mildred E, Francis
Mary A. Hackett
Marion R. Herzig
Mrs Grace B. Loughlin
Jean Tatson
Mrs Edna M. Wollent
Membership and Hospitality Marie J~Pineo, Chairman Rose E. Baravella Anne P. Connors Mary T. Crowe Barbara Gilson Ruth Riceman
Men's House Committee
Charles J. Gillis, Chairman
Louis Polishook
Robert J. Roper
Rare Book Department Mattapan Branch Library- Cataloging and Classification
Department, Reference Division Mt. Pleasant Branch Library
Connolly Branch Library Periodical and Newspaper
Dopartm^nt North End Branch Library Cataloging and Classification
Department, Reference Division Book Stack Service Business Office Parker Hill Branch Library Roslindale Branch Library Branch Issue Department Director ;s Office Staff Hospital
Uphams Corner Branch Library 3c ok Preparation Department South Boston Branch Library "lest Roxbury Branch Library History Department Connolly Branch Library
Cataloging and Classification Department, Circulation Division
Science and Technology Department, Patent Room
Science and Technology Department
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Program
Mrs Geraldine M. Altman, Chairman Roger P. Bristol
Mary F. Daly- Margaret A. Morgan Dorothy F. Nourse
Jeffries Point Branch Library Cataloging and Classification
Department, Reference Division Statistical Department Dorchester Branch Library East Boston Branch Library
Publications
Sarah M. Usher, Chairman
Mildred R. Adelson M. Dorothy Brackett John M.- Carroll Eleanor DiGiannantonio
Records, Files, and Statistics
Office Jamaica Plain Branch Library City Point Branch Library General Reference Department Kirstein Business Branch
Staff Library
Leonard J. Macmillan, Chairman
Harry Andrews
Mary F. Daly
Mrs Evelyn G. Green
B. Joseph O'Neil
Mrs Mary W. Taters
Book Purchasing Department Branch Issue Department Statistical Department Jamaica Plain Branch Library Periodical and Newspaper
Department Cataloging and Classification
Department, Reference Division
"Somen's House Committee
Mary O'G. Cahill, Chairman Deirdre M. Barry Mary E. Cull inane
Flora A. Ennis Mary L. Gilman Mrs Mary L. Sands
Book Purchasing Department Book Stack Service Cataloging and Classification
Department, Reference Division Book Stack Service Lower Mills Branch Library Fine Arts Department
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^ARY
PROFESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION
THE QUESTION MARK
Published by the Boston Fublic Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 3 April 1949
Publications Committee: Mildred R. Adelson, M. Dorothy Brackett, John M» Carroll,
Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M» Usher, Chairman
Publication date; The fifteenth of each month
Deadline for submitting material : The renth of each month
"."HAT'S YOUR SCORE?
What do you know about A.L.A. and efforts to secure Federal Aid for Libraries?
'That do you know about programs for pro- fessional education and recruiting on a national scale and in our own back- yard -- or front yard?
'That do you know about M.L.A. and Freedom of Speech?
"That do you know about Certification of Librarians in Massachusetts?
What do you know about libraries and the Great Issues Program?
What do you know about the Great Books program?
."That do you know about C.A.R.E.?
Vftiat do you know about the lending of films?
"That do you know about State Aid programs?
What do you know about Bookmobiles in Boston?
"-That have you contributed in time, sug- gestions, thought, energy, support, or money, where such were involved, to these activities?
Has 1949 so far seemed like a signifi- cant year in librarians hip to YOU?
It has been an important year. If it hasn't reached you, why not? There's A.L.A. , S.L.A., M.L.A.,
B.P.L.P.S.A., B.P.L., and YOU.
What's YOUR score? **********
The Publications Committee has pre- pared an outline to help you in report- ing news for The Question Mark. Copies to be filled out for the next month will be sent to Field Representatives with each current issue. A sample copy forms the last page of this issue.
**********
PERSONAL NOTES
New Staff Members
Patricia E. McDonough, Charlestown Branch Library.
Robert J. Carner, Rare Book Department.
Transfers
With the closing of the Fellowes Athenaeum Branch Library;
Marjorie A* Obenauer to City Point Branch Library.
Mary Dennison to Allston Branch Library.
Etta Kessell to Neponset Branch Library.
Alice M. Waters, formerly of the Allston Branch Library, has been lent to the Norfolk House Center in Roxbury where Roxbury residents may use their Boston Fublic Library borrowers' cards.
Mrs Miriam B. Hannon, from South Boston Branch Library to Allston Branch Library.
Mrs Mary D. Yanovich, from Charlestown Branch Library to South Boston Branch Library.
Engagements and ""eddings
Dorothy B. Graham, Statistical Depart- ment, has announced her engagement to James M. Mackey.
Lola Robinson, Book Stack Service, has announced her engagement to Donald MacKay of Lynn.
Annette L. Shapiro, Personnel Office, was married on April third to Wilfred M. Sherman. The staff of the Personnel Office attended the wedding ceremony and reception which were held in the audi- torium of Temple Kehillath Israel in Brookline.
■ d-
Babies
A son, Robert Christopher, was born to Mr and Mrs Matthew P. Gallagher on April 4. Robert has a brother, Matthew, four years of age. Mr Gallagher is a member of the History Department staff.
Publications by Staff Members
Til son Library Pullet -In, March 1949: pp 528-9. "Public Relations Institute",
Louisa S. Metcalf (First Assistant, Open
Shelf Department)
pp 561-2. "Store Displays into Library
Exhibits", Mrs Irene H, Tuttle (Branch
Librarian, South Boston Branch Library).
Director's Calendar
March 16 - American Committee on Arrange- ments for the International Library Congress of 1950, at Washington, D. C.
March 17 - Nominating Committee of the Council of National Library Associations, at New York City
March 26 - Panel on Libraries, for the Committee on UNESCO Program of the United States National Commission for UNESCO, at Washington, D. C.
March 30, 31 - Meeting of United States National Commission for UNESCO, at Cleveland, Ohio.
**********
ALUMNAE NOTES
Mr and Mrs Joseph H. Lyons are receiv- ing congratulations on the birth of a daughter, Patricia Dolonia, born March 7. Mrs Lyons is the former Irene Bixler of the Information Office.
Mr and Mrs Philip Rotondo are the proud parents of another daughter, Maria Margaret, born March 16. Mrs Rotondo was Sadie Stella, former assistant at the Jeffries Point Branch Library.
Mrs D. Richard Sturgis (formerly Florence Stanley of the Young People's Room) has an article on the Great Books Foundation in the Christian Science Monitor Magazine Section, April 2, 1949. Mrs Sturgis also wrote Charlotte Bronte, Artist which appeared in the Monitor of October 11, 1947.
SIMONS COLLEGE STUDENTS AT THE BOSTCi PUBLIC LIBRARY
Four students from the Simmons College School of Library Science and one student from the School of English, are doing field work in the Boston Fublic Library from April 4 to 16., Their assignments include work in the Information Office, Book Selection Department in the Circula- tion Division, Rare Book Department, Fine Arts Department, General Reference De- partment, Cataloging and Classification Department in the Reference Division, and at Up hams Corner and Memorial Branch Libraries , They are: Miller Cook, Fhyllis Glasener, Esther N. Partee, Margaret Me "raitj and Mary Massa.
********** MARY U. NICHOLS BOOK PRIZES
7'ith the approval of the Trustees and the Director, a Mary U. Nichols Fund is being raised to establish the Mary U. Nichols Book Prizes,, Two books of last- ing value will be awarded annually at the North End Branch Library, one to the North End boy, the other to the North End girl, who shall have done the best work in English during the Senior Year at the local High School. The Fund will be ad- ministered and the awards made by the Trustees of the Boston Fublic Library.
irre shall welcome support for this Memorial to Miss Nichols. Contributions may be sent to the following staff mem- bers for transmission to the Treasurer of the Fund before May 1st.
Dorothy K. Becker - North End Branch
Library Duilia Capobianco - East Boston Branch
Library Rose Di Pasquale - North End Branch
Library Mrs Geraldine S. Herrick - North End
Branch Library
**********
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PRESIDENT'S NOTES
Apologies are in order. Through an error - entirely my own, sad to say - the name of Robert Roper was omitted from the Program Committee for the current year» I have apologized privately to Mr Roper; I would now like to do the same publicly. Please excuse me, Mr Roper, I'm sorry.
A committee on CARE has been appointed; Helen M. Donovan, Jamaica Plain Branch Helen L. Lambert, Uphams Corner Branch Eamon E. ^cDonough, Chairman, General
Reference Department. Notices will be forthcoming shortly.
The Executive Board will join me, I am sure, in expressing thanks to Mrs Geraldine Altman and the Program Commit- tee and to Margaret Calnan and her fellow toilers on the Entertainment Committee for the exceptionally pleasant evening provided for us on Friday, April 8, at our first open meeting of the current year. Superlatives are necessary. The evening was perfect in every respect. More need not be said, except a hearty thanks to all those who gave so freely of their time, talents, and money.
At the recent Executive Board meeting held in the Staff Library on April 1, several projects for staff participation were discussed. It is hoped that con- crete plans for at least one major activ- ity may be ready for release to the mem- bers in the next issue of The Question Mark.
How about those dues? Paid? Of course they are. But just in case the matter slipped your mind, how about seeing your field representative today! Paid-up dues are so much nicer than unpaid dues. Don't you agree?
Miss Calnan has completed arrangements for the visit to the Lamont Library, The date is April 30, 1949— the time, 7:30 P.M. At that time Philip McNiff, the
the Librarian* has made arrangements where- by the staff members of the Boston Public Library will be given a conducted tour through the new library. All Boston Public Library staff members are cordially invited to take advantage of this generous offer on the part of the Lamont officials. Since "no ladies allowed" is the rule at Lamont, this offers a real challenge to the femi- nine members of our staff.
Miss Calnan also has kindly offered to arrange for dinner in Cambridge should any of those who are going wish to make it a gala occasion by including a dinner party before being exposed to the charm of the most beautiful library in New England.
A specific notice regarding registration for attendance is about to be sent to all branch libraries and departments.
Don't forget to save that other impor- tant date, June 24th ...
... B.P.L.P.S.A. Pops night ... One hundred floor seats, one hundred first balcony seats. First come, first served. wIhy not stake a claim now by contacting Miss Calnan, Connolly Branch Library?
At the Executive meeting on March 4th, the President was instructed to write to the Director regarding the matter of long- service bonuses. The following letters are self explanatory. Mr Lord's letter should be very gratifying to the staff.
March 10, 1949
Dear Mr. Lord:
The Executive Board of the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association, at its meeting on Friday, March 4, requested that I ask your coop- eration in bringing to the attention of the Trustees as soon as possible the mat- ter of granting long-service increases to members of the Boston Public Library staff at the completion of twenty-five years of full-time service. The Executive Board, representing the Association, has gone on record as favoring such action. It hopes that the Trustees will find an opportuni- ty, despite the many demands on their time and attention, to give this matter
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careful consideration.
If you have no objections, the Board would like to have this letter appear in a forthcoming issue of The
Question Mark.
(signed)
Very truly yours,
EDNA G. PECK
President,
Boston Public Library
Professional Staff
Association.
April 11, 1949
Dear Miss Peck:
I am happy to notify you that at their meeting on April 8, 1949 the Trustees of the Library took action to change from thirty years to twenty- five years the period of service upon the completion of which long-service in- creases in pay are accorded to members of the library staff. This change will be put into effect as of July 1, 1949.
Yours sincerely,
(signed) MILTON E. LORD
Director
To: Miss Edna G. Peck President Boston Public Library
Professional Staff Association Boston Public Library Boston 17, Massachusetts
********
FIRST 1949 SOCIAL MEETING
On Friday evening April 8, members of the staff and their friends had the pleasure of hearing The Most Reverend John J. Wright, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, discuss his recent visit to Ireland. Aside from the knowledge we gathered concerning present conditions in this tiny country, we were all enter- tained by the many amusing anecdotes
recounted with great wit and charm by this careful observer. His frequent references to Helen Landreth's Dear Dark Head will create new friends for this delightful book. Incidentally, I wonder how many were as surprised as I by the revelation that all Ireland is smaller than our own Massachusetts?
The talk, which ended all too soon, was followed by a film "Wings to Ireland". This was especially pleasant to view with Bishop Wright's words so fresh in our minds.
A reception for staff members and their guests was held in the Abbey Room follow- ing the conclusion of the film. Everyone had an opportunity to meet and chat with Bishop "'right, who graciously stayed well on to the close of the evening. Other distinguished guests included Milton E. Lord, Director, and Frank W. Buxton and Francis B. Masterson, Trustees.
Our thanks go to Edna G. Peck, who was responsible for the presence of our charm- ing guest, and to Margaret A. Calnan and the members of the Entertainment Committee for the delicious cakes and coffee served so efficiently. This was no small feat when one considers the size of the gather- ing--about 300 is our guess. Most of them stayed until well after eleven o'clock. We think this is pretty good evidence that the evening was very enjoyable.
Geraldine M. Altman
Chairman, Program Committee. **********
BRANCH LIBRARY NOTES
The Junior Book Reviewers Reading Club of Connolly Branch Library was host to the Jamaica Plain Branch Library Junior Book Reviewers on the evening of March 31. Both groups, each of which consists of 15 junior high school girls, met in the lecture hall of the Connolly Branch Library for a special program which consisted of a quiz, movies, and refreshments. The Jamaica Plain girls were the winners of the quiz, which consisted of questions on four different subjects, each contestant choosing the subject about which she wished to be asked. The movies shown were "You and your family," which was followed
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by a discussion of teen agers' problems in relation to their families, and "It's all yours," a film which tells about the importance of reading and the enjoyment one can get from it. The program was under the direction of Mildred R. Adelson, Children's Librarian, Jamaica Plain Branch Library, and Ruth Riceman, Chil- dren's Librarian, Connolly Branch Library,
An unusual doll collection is on dis- play at the Connolly Branch Library dur- ing the month of April. It consists of dolls from every country of the world, which have been collected by Anna von Euw of Jamaica Plain. There are dolls from Hawaii, Africa, Japan, and a very tiny doll which sits on the head of a pin. A little doll carriage made of sea shells contains two tiny sea-shell dolls. The collection is very large, containing over 200 dolls, and the exhibit will be changed from time to time throughout the month, so that all the dolls can be dis- played.
A collection of toys made by the stu- dents at the Mary E. Curley Junior High School for the Junior Red Cross has been on exhibit at Connolly Branch Library. Large colorful yarn dolls with long braided hair and crocheted bonnets were made by the girls, while the boys made bean bags of oilcloth, in the shape of cats. The toys are used by the Red Cross for distribution to children arriving in Boston from Europe as displaced persons.
Community night at the East Boston Branch Library on Monday evening, March 28, was attended by about two hundred friends from the neighborhood who enjoyed a varied program of East Boston talent. Albert 'Test, President, and officers of the Friends of the East Boston Branch Library assisted the staff in sponsoring the fourth Open House.
After a short welcome by the branch librarian, Mr Lord expressed his pleasure at the interest shown by the community in the library in his talk "The Library and the Community." "Little Man in a Fix," a Danish folk dance, was performed by girls from Marginal Street Center
under the direction of Elizabeth Pope. Directed by Anna Lewis, girls from Trinity Neighborhood House danced "New Castle" and "Black Nag," English country dances. In the main feature of the evening, Lawrence vroodbury, Director of Central Square Center, illustrated with slides his talk on "German Youth, Yester- day and Tomorrow, " based on his trip to study recreation in Germany last year. The Mikado Chorus from the Jeffries Point Boys' Club concluded the formal program with several selections of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta under the baton of Dave Cates.
During the social hour which followed the program, punch and cookies were served in the Children's Room which was decorated with forsythia, jonquils, and acacia. Catherine Flannery of the Orient Heights Branch Library and Mrs Geraldine Altman of the Jeffries Point Branch Library presided at the punch bowls. Frank W, Buxton, Francis B. Masterson, Trustees, Milton E. Lord, Director, and Orlando C. Davis, Chief Librarian of the Circulation Division, were special guests. The fourth Open House was a memorable and happy occasion!
As you may or may not know, the East Boston Branch Library provides weekly movie entertainment for its smaller bor- rowers. On one such occasion it was decided to have a question period follow- ing the shorting of a cinema attraction called profoundly, The Mailman. Matters were arranged so that the children could ask the questions and other children answer them. After several average queries, one freckle-nosed infant intel- lectual arose and after a dramatic pause asked —
"TJhat doesn't a mailman not have to worry about?"
Silence pervaded. No one could even venture a guess. Curiosity was rapidly getting the better of me so I asked — (I was playing the straight man at the time) "What doesn't a mailman have to worry about?"
Answer — "Feeding de chicks de day after they're borned 'cause you don't have to feed or drink 'em, jso they can be mailed."
Ah me I Life in the children's room!
Ursula Von Zarsk **********
MY DAYS IN COURT
To anyone uninitiated in court proce- dures the opportunity to sit as an observ- er at the trial of the books Serenade, by James Cain, and God's little acre, by Erskine Caldwell was more than welcomed. The three days spent in the Superior Court listening to the trials proved to be both a broadening and an entertaining experience.
An old hand at that game would probably never have been shaken from his equanimi- ty by the "S'elp me Gawds" that boomed out as each witness was sworn in; by the accumulated dust that almost obliterated the design of the American flag; or by the leisurely atmosphere that pervaded the entire sessions. But to a novice, these minor details seemed to have dra- matic implications.
The judge, the Honorable Charles S. Fairhurst, was just as a judge is always imagined— white-haired, benign, soft- spoken, but very firm and with a mind as keen as a razor blade, never missing a point no matter how trivial.
The trial was of special significance in that it was only the second case to be tried under the new Massachusetts' law. wherein the book and not the person dis- tributing the book is on trial. Forever Amber was the first book to be tried under this law.
The Attorney General's Office was rep- resented by Assistant Attorney General Timothy J. Murphy. The case for Serenade was defended by Arthur E. Farmer, of New York, while Robert W. Meserve, former Assistant United States Attorney in Massachusetts, was counsel for God's little acre. The two books were tried separately, each trial taking approxi- mately a day and a half.
The state's witnesses in the case of Serenade were Sergeants Edward I. Blake and John E. Howard, of the Boston Police Department, Lieutenant Michael J. Cullinane, of the Massachusetts State Police, and tvo English High School teachers, Bernard McCabe and Joseph E. Kenney. One of the witnesses for the original publisher, A. A. Knopf Company,
was Harold Strauss, while the reprint editions were championed by Victor E. Teybright, president of the New American Library of World Literature > Inc. (The
word "Inc." pronounced Ink, was used
on all possible occasions... It seems that once a firm reaches the status of being "Inc.-ed," "Inked" it must ever be, even in speech). Other witnesses for Serenade were Theodore Morrison, director of English for the freshman class at Harvard University; Ralph Thompson, New York literary critic; and Robert G. Davis, associate professor of English at Smith College. In each case, except for the publishers, the witness was requested to give an evaluation of the book from a literary point of view. After the wit- nesses had concluded their testimonies, Mr. Farmer summed up the case. Assistant Attorney General Murphy's refutation fol- lowed.
The case rested, - but not the observ- ers „ They were plunged at once into the intricacies of court procedure for God's little acre^ Mr. Meserve opened the casei The state called as witnesses the same three policemen who had testified against Serenade. The original publisher of God's little acre, Viking Press, was represented by B. W. Huebsch, president and director of the company. Duell, Sloane and Pearce, to whom the rights were sold, was represented by Charles E. Duell, president of that company. Again Mr. TJeybright appeared for the reprint firm, the New American Library of World Literature, Inc. Others who testified in behalf of God's little acre were John Chamberlain, New York literary critic; Erskine Caldwell, the author; Lewis Stiles Gannett, New York literary critic; Dr. Ira Reid, professor of sociology at Haverford College; Dr. Sydney MacLean, professor of English at Mount Holyoke College; and a young Carvel Collins, who teaches English at Harvard and is assist- ant dean of men, in charge of freshmen. Mr. Meserve gave his summary and the counsel for the state refuted. The case rested. The decision is now in the hands of Judge Fairhurst,
A three days' steady diet of such literary highlights left one rather groggy mentally. Such a series of cap- sule courses in literary criticism cannot
-7-
be absorbed in three days without a strain on the average mentality - but it was certainly worth the strain.
The highlight of the sessions should have been the appearance of the author, Erskine Caldwell, who was flora on from his home in Tuscon to be present at the hearings. The morning he was scheduled to appear tension was high. Rumors were afloat that the publishers produced Mr. Caldwell on every possible occasion, since his cherubic appearance made good advertising. '"Vhen he appeared, however, there was little indication of the cherub about him. He was tall, sandy-complex- ioned, well-groomed, sophisticated. He was not an impressive vri.tness. He was forthright and sincere but unspectacular. In fact Judge Fairhurst had Mr. Caldwell rather at a disadvantage several times. To me the outstanding witness vias Dr. Ira Reid, the Negro sociologist. His keen mind, his critical appraisal of the book, his fluent flow of language, and his en- gaging manner made him stand out in this array of brilliant minds. Even Mr. Caldwell, who maintained a rather suave and nonchalant appearance during the testimony of the preceding witnesses, Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Gannett, quite obviously came to life when Dr. Reid began to speak. TJhen Dr. Reid had fin- ished one was tempted to suspect that Mr. Caldwell had been surprised to discover how good an author he really was when he wrote God's little acre.
It is interesting to note that librar- ies were mentioned only twice during the entire proceedings, once when a reference was made to the Worcester Public Library and once when the Boston Public Library was credited with supplying witness mate- rial in the form of bound magazines which were used in citing certain advertising.
It is to be hoped that such a perform- ance will not need to be repeated with other books on trial, but as a premiere this certainly had much of entertainment and enlightenment to offer to those in- terested in modern trends in the world of literature.
E. G. Peck **********
HEARING ON SENATE 366
Mrs Sarah W. Flannery represented the Association at the hearing on Senate 366, held on April 6. Her report follows:
On Wednesday morning April 6, 1949 the Legislative Committee on Pensions and Old Age Assistance met in room 446 of the State House to consider among other bills, Senate 366— "Petition of John J. Craffey for legislation relative to the superan- nuation retirement allowances of certain public employees." The act is of inter- est to all library personnel and there- fore worth our serious attention. At the present time under the new State-Municipal retirement system, the amount of pension a person receives is computed on the basis of what he would get if he retired at 65. For each month the person lacks of the age 65 at retirement the pension is reduced 1/4 of 1% or Z% a year which means that a person retiring at the age of 60 received 15% less pension than if he retired at 65, end at 55 gets 30-% less. The present bill would make the reduction l/8 of 1% a month or 1 l/Z% a year (ex- cept in the case of veterans whose reduc- tion would still be Z% a year) so that a person retiring at 55 v/ould receive only 15$ less than he would receive if he re- tired at 65.
Two other bills discussed at the same time were of similar nature. These were House 357, introduced by William V. 'Tard and Frank D. McCarthy and House 982, in- troduced by the Massachusetts Associated Retirement Boards. These two advocated cutting the loss of pension by as much as 2% a year. Many persons, among them some library staff members, went on record as favoring the bills under discussion. No one except the Real Estate Association (which opposed several other proposals for pension legislation) went on record as opposed.
It was noted, however, that several members of the Legislative Committee did not seem kindly disposed to legislation that would lower pension ages or increase pension benefits. This was especially marked in the discussion of several bills introduced whereby the length of service required before an employee be permitted to retire for disability be reduced from
-8-
twenty years to fifteen years. The crit- icism was mainly on two counts--one took the form of a rhetorical question as to how long state and municipal employees were going to continue their demands for more and more benefits at the taxpayers' expense, and how far did they think the taxpayers could go in tolerating such re- quests. The other was that requests of this sort continued to be made year in and year out by the same few people-- people who never proposed legislation in the common interest but only in behalf of their own limited groups.
**********
Many comments have been heard concern- ing the attractive centerpiece on the Abbey Room table at the reception on Friday evening. Although the flowers were beautiful, their beauty was accentu- ated by the Daniel TJebster bowl in which they were arranged. Special thanks goes to those who so graciously made this treasure available for use that evening.
$********* ADDITIONS TO THE STAFF LIBRARY
American Library Association. Board on Personnel Administration. Descriptive list of professional and nonprofession- al duties in libraries. 1948.
American Library Association. Committee on Postwar Planning. A national plan for public library service. 1948.
Chicago. University. Graduate Library School. Library Institute. Youth, communication and libraries. 1947.
Immelman, Rene F. M.
The foundations of library management; organization from the administrative angle. 1947.
Institute of government, University of '"Tashington. Section on public library administration. Proceedings. 9th and 10th annual. 1946.
Irwin, Raymond. The national library service. 1947.
Kiefer, Monica Mary. American children through their books, 1700-1835. 1948.
Merton, Thomas. The seven storey moun- tain. 1948.
Robertson, John George. A history of German literature. 1931.
Rossell, Beatrice Sawyer, "forking with a legislature. 1948.
Savage, Ernest Albert. A librarian looks
at readers. 1947. Special Libraries Association. Employer's
evaluation of training desirable for
the special librarian. 1948. Stewart, James Douglas. A tabulation of
librarianship. 1947,
**********
SOAP BOX
Dear "Soap Box" Editors
There seems to be confusion on the part of some staff members concerning the pro- cedure to be followed in receiving visi- tors during business hours. It is gener- ally understood that visitors who come fcr purely social reasons are not to be entertained. There are, however, in- stances when it is necessary to see, for a brief period, friends or business ac- quaintances from outside the library. It has been generally understood also that in such cases the staff member, if he or she works in a closed department, is to be summoned to the front hall where the reason for the visit can be taken care of in comparative privacy and without dis- turbing other members of the department or office. Recently, with no general notice as to a change in procedure, people are being sent to the offices and closed departments. For the most part these quarters are designed as working units and as such afford no privacy.
Since visiting for visiting only is discouraged, and rightly so, the people who do come to see staff members come for a purpose. Frequently that purpose may be one which the staff member does not wish to share in detail with the other members in the department or office.
It would seem also that the same might be said for those who work-in open de- partments, for there the public as well as other members of the staff, have to be protected against disturbance or inter- ruption which is often unavoidable when two people are discussing something, ir- respective of how low the voice is kept.
If staff members cannot be summoned to the front hall, where there is at least seating space for a brief conference,
would it be possible to make some other arrangement whereby staff members could see a person from outside the library without disturbing the entire department or office? Some clarification in pro- cedure concerning this matter would be ap- preciated.
Dear "Soap Box" Editor:
Several notes have appeared in The Soap Box from time to time in favor of four weeks' vacation for the members of the Subprofessional Library Staff, obvi- ously \vritten by members of that group.
As members of the Professional Library Staff, may we express an opinion on the subject? T7e too believe that the vaca- tion allowance of four weeks granted mem- bers of the Professional Library Staff should be granted also to members of the Subprofessional Library Staff. Our reasoning in this is as follows:
1. Vacations should not be based on educational background or responsi- bilities in positions held; they should be recognized as equally necessary for the physical well- being of all members of the staff, regardless of the types of work they perform.
a. It is generally understood that vacations are granted for rea- sons of health; in order that energy and vitality may be re- newed so that work in the year ahead may be performed to the best of one's ability. The need for this period of rest and relaxation is the same re- gardless of the type of work performed during working days.
b. Persons holding professional positions receive pay commen- surate with their responsibili- ties and in recognition of the educational backgrounds which they possess,
c. Educational background and ability to pass examinations has never been proved, as far as we know, to be a measure of one's ability to turn in a good
day's work. It is possible that there are many Subprofes- sionals who are giving a better return on the taxpayers' money than are some Professionals. As a matter of fact, the pres- sure under which Subprofession- al Assistants are frequently called upon to work is as great, if not greater, than that under which some Professional Assist- ants workg
2. In the matter of daily relief periods it is considered that Subprofessional Assistants need the same amount of time as Professional Assistants; it would seem logical to apply the same principle to vacation allowances.
3. The present practice of allowing up to two weeks' sick leave in days to Subprofessional Assistants means that there are likely to be more absences during the busiest winter season, since it is only human nature to take a day off if one is not "feeling up to scratch" if one knows that the time is not coming out of one's vaca- tion.
4. A uniform treatment of bibliothecal workers in the granting of vacation allowances would boost morale and make for a happier, more-contented personnel.
SYMPATHETIC PROFESSIONALS **********
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY PROFESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION
Monthly Memo to THE QUESTION MARK
Department or ig4g
Branch Library Issue J
Note: The Publications Committee has drawn up the following outline to aid you
in gathering material for The Question M^.rk. Please feel free to list any events which you feel would be of interest in addition to the items sug- gested. If you prefer also to write original articles on any of the sub- jects or events, please attach each write-up on a separate sheet of paper. Clippings or carbon copies of articles will be accepted, if that will be of greater convenience*
Attention is called to the fact that items for the Soap Box must be signed when submitted to the Editor. However... names will not appear on these articles when they are printed in The Question Mark unless specifically requested by the writers, and their soarcS will be~held in confidence.
You are reminded that the Publications Committee may have to exercise some selection because of limitations of space,
THE PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
News of Present Personnel (engagements, marriages, births, extended illnesses,
academic achievements , publications, travel, etc.)
Alumnae Notes (engagements, marriages, births, academic achievements, publica- tions, etc.)
Branch Activities (Open House, community meetings, Friends of the Library, etc.)
Staff Activities (parties, teas, etc.)
Exhibits
Films
Story Hours
Notable Visitors
Clubs
Discussion Groups
Interesting Community Items of Cultural Mature
Staff Problems — AIR YOUR VIE^TS
Staff Suggestions — SHARE YOUR IDEAS
Short Cuts and Bright Ideas
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ASSOCIATION
THE QUESTION MARK
Published by the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 4 May 1949
Publications Committees
Mildred R. Adelson, M. Dorothy Brackett, John M. Carroll, Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M. Usher, Chairman
Publication date; The fifteenth of each month
Deadline for submitting material i The tenth of each month
MOTHER SCOREBOARD
PERSONAL NOTES
The following art member of the assoc local paper, which a non-existent pape "Jhatever its purpos is something about thinking. If your high last month, pe you, or vice versa.
icle came to us via a iation, clipped from a in turn quoted it from r, the "Norwood Press", e may be, we think it which we all should be score was flatteringly rhaps this will deflate
New Staff Members
1. Don't go to any of the meetings. But if you do, go late.
2 . Always find fault with the work of the officers and members.
3. Never accept an office — it is much easier to criticize than to do things.
4. Get sore if you are not appointed on a committee. Should you be appointed, don't attend any of the committee meetings.
5. If asked to give your opinion on some matter, tell the chairman you have nothing to say. After the meeting, tell everyone how it should be done.
6. Do nothing more than is absolutely necessary. "Then others roll up their sleeves and willingly and unselfishly use their ability to help matters along, howl that the organization is run by a clique.
7. Hold back your dues as long as pos- sible, or don't pay them at all.
8. Make no effort to get a new member.
9. Don't be sociable either within or outside the organization.
10. If you should get a good idea smother it at once.
**********
Miss Rhoda May O'Donnell, Circulation Division Office.
Mrs Laura V. Nitchie, General Reference Department (Mrs Nitchie has been working in the department on a part-time basis).
Miss Marie L. Crowley, Registration Department .
Engageme nt s and beddings
Miss Victoria Venezia, Book Purchasing Department, to Francis X. Cronin.
Miss Helen Sagoff, Children's Librarian at the Mattapan Branch Library, has an- nounced her engagement to Mr Bernard W. Berkowitch.
Miss Florence S. Cooper, South End Branch Library, was married to Mr Peter MacNair on April 27, 1949.
Miss Dorothy B. Graham, Statistical Department, was married to Mr James M. Mackey on April 14, 1949.
Babies
Twins, John Charles and Mary Ann, were born to Mr and Mrs John Hatzik on April 22, 1949. Mrs Hatzik (formerly Gussene Guveyan) is a member of the Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Division.
Roger P. Bristol of the Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Division, did his field work as a Simmons College Library School student in the Order Division of the Library of Congress in April.
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VISITING LIBRARIANS
The Association welcomes the following visiting Librarians who are in the Boston area this week:
Dr Hanns W. Eppelsheimer
Director of the University Library- University of Frankfurt, and Chairman of the Trizonal Committee on Libraries
Mr Werner Mevissen
Librarian of the Volksbuecherei of
Bremen
Miss Marguerite Schmeer Chief Librarian of the Volksbuechereistelle, Munich
Miss Gertrud Baruch
Chief Librarian of the Volksbuechereistelle, Bayreuth
********** ROUND THE WORLD TOWN MEETING
As President-Elect of the American Li- brary Association, Mr Milton E. Lord will represent that Association as a member of the World Town Hall Seminar, from June twenty-sixth to September first. Presi- dents and high representatives of some twenty organizations in the United States will visit a dozen or more capital cities, including London, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, Rome, Cairo, Tel-Aviv, Karachi, Delhi, Manila, Tokyo. The group will stay five days in each place, engaging in daily seminars with groups of leaders in each country visited. The purpose of the trip is five-fold: (l) To increase American understanding of world problems, (2) to increase understanding of America 'round the world, (3) to show our genuine inter- est in other peoples and their problems, (4) to strengthen and spread the democrat- ic way of free discussion, and (5) to promote peace, freedom, and well-being. There will be a Town Meeting on a differ- ent subject in each of the capitals vis- ited, participated in by two Americans and two citizens of the host country. These meetings will be recorded and the record- ings will be flown back to this country to be used in the summer on the regular Tuesday evening probram America's Town Meeting of the Air.
During his absence Mr Lord will also represent the American Library Association at the meeting of the International Feder- ation of Library Associations in Basel, in connection with the planning of the Inter- national Library Congress in the United States next year.
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WOMAN OF THE WEEK
Late in August of last year, Miss Anne Armstrong of the Young People's Room was nominated Woman of the Week on station WBMS, by Mrs Rose Schildkraut. This re- sulted from Miss Armstrong's kindness in corresponding with Mrs Schildkraut 's daughter over a long illness in the Children's Hospital, and while she was a patient in a convalescent home. The little girl had been a Library borrower from the Young People's Room, and her mother felt that Miss Armstrong's interest in her pub- lic was something to be commended.
During the broadcast, Miss Armstrong stressed Library service to both children and parents.
Miss Fanny Goldstein, Branch Librarian of the West End Branch Library, received the signal honor of being chosen as Boston's "roman of the Week on the program, ABPOINTMENT irfITH EVELYN, featured over Station WBMS and was interviewed on Mondajj April 25th.
Miss Goldstein was introduced by Evelyn and heartily congratulated for her out- standing work as a humanitarian in the community. ••
During the interview Miss Goldstein pointed out that a knowledge of the tradi- tions, customs and literature of other races is a great integrator of good will and understanding...
F.F.R. **********
The suggestion has been made that The Question Mark be given another name. One specific recommendation has already been made. The Publications Committee would be interested in expressions of opinion from members of the Association on a change of name.
**********
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CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER'.
Arnavets have announced the following officers:
Commander
Leonard J. Macmillan Vice Commander
Thomas J. Manning Adjutant & Quartermaster
James P. J. Gannon Chaplain
Russell A. Scully- Officer of the day- Patrick 0. Murtagh Trustees
Charles J. Gillis
Louis N. Rains
Samuel Green Historian
Henry F. Barry Sargeant Major
James W« Kinsella Patriotic Instructor
Sarah W. Flannery Bugler
Charles L. Higgins Guards
Thomas J. Daly
William Di Rosario
Martin F. Waters
Louis Polishook Sentinel
John T. Kyle Color Bearers
Charles F. Weider
"filliam A. Reynolds
Stephen L. Baxter
Francis H. Boudreau Color Guards
George E. Earley
Bernard F. Doherty
Joseph Fallon
Edward F. Maynard Guard Commander
B. Joseph O'Neil
The Boston Public Library Employees Benefit Association, Inc., has elected the following officers:
President
Fanny Goldstein Vice President
Albert J. Carpenter Secretary
Mary D. Farrell
Treasurer
Francis Fichter Financial Secretary
John W. Tuley Board of Directors
Margaret A. Calnan
**********
The four scholarships of $100 each ftor study at library schools during the twelve months period dating from June 15 , 1949 have been aivarded to the following members of the staff?
Miss Vanda Bertazzoni
Assistant;, Science and Technology Department
Joseph H. Center Scholarship Miss Elizabeth M. Kaufmann Assistant, Print Department Daniel Sharp Ford Scholarship Miss Helen G. Pappas
Probationary Assistant, Information Office
Francis Skinner Scholarship Miss Elizabeth G. Todd
Probationary Assistant, Teachers' Department
Daniel Treadwell Scholarship
********** PRESIDENT'S NOTES
The visit to the Lamont Library on Saturday evening, April 30th,proved to be an exceptionally pleasant and inspiring occasion., In spite of the fact that the event took place on a Saturday evening and that it was a beautiful evening when the out-of-town allure was very strong for habitual country week enders, almost a hundred staff members and their friends enjoyed the hospitality of Mr Philip McNiff, Librarian of Lamont, and two of his staff members „ These three gentlemen constituted themselves as guides through the library. Their obvious pride in the building was certainly understandable,. Many laudatory accounts of Lamont have been written elsewhere. Nothing can be added to what has already been said. ""Te can only say that those members of the B.P.L.P.S.A. -who had the privilege of seeing the library were quite carried away by its comfort, modernity, and practical aspects.
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Our sincere thanks go to Mr McNiff and those of his staff members who gave so «. freely of their time to make our visit the unqualified success it so obviously was.
Miss Calnan, Chairman of the Entertain- ment Committee, calls to your attention the fact that plans for the POPS program on Friday evening, June 24th; are shaping up nicely* On May 23rd she will be given the floor plan chart and the tickets* The plan will be posted on the Staff Bulletin board of the Central Library* and Mrs 'Tollent, in the Staff Hospital, will be available to allocate seats and sell tickets. Those who wish to make reserva- tions prior to May 23, may get in touch with Miss Calnan at Connolly Branch and indicate how many and the general loca- tion. The price range is as follows:
Table seats $2.25
First balcony (first row) $1.75
First balcony (other than $1.25 first row)
Miss Calnan reports that she already has a considerable number of reservations. Don't put it off too long. We only have two hundred reservations. Indicate your preference now and pay later. The money does not have to be in Miss Calnan' s hands until June 14th. That is the dead line for both reservations and payments.
We are pleased to announce the formation of an In -Service-Training Committee. This committee is busy drawing up plans for a staff in-service-training project for the fall. This is a committee which is very important to the vitality of our organi- zation. As you will see it is made up of members who are not only filled with con- structive ideas but they are people who are not afraid of good, old-fashioned hard work. However, no committee, no matter how strongly guided or how effi- ciently organized or how willing to make self-sacrifices for the good of the or- ganization they serve, can really accom- plish very much without the whole-hearted support of every member of the organiza- tion. That means you. The Committee has high hopes of active staff participation
in their fall activity. T"hen they ap- proach you for aid, please remember there are two words you never knew and which you will never use as far as participation in activities of the B.P.L.P.3.A. are con- cerned. The simple words, "I can't", are so small yet so powerful to cripple the progressive, forward march of any activity to which they are applied. Be a bulwark to this committee by the encouraging words,, "I'd be glad to try-" The calibre of the B*P.L. staff is such that few of those who really try ever fail*
The In-Service-Training Committee for the current year is as follows t Sarah vr. Flannery, Chairman
History Department Ruth S. Cannell
Circulation Division Office Charles L<. Higgins
■ General Reference Department Evelyn Levy
Brighton Branch Library Pauline A* "Talker
'Test Roxbury Branch Library
Friday, May 20th at 9 A. M. the spring Business Meeting of the B.P.L.FaS.A. will be held in the Lecture Hall. This is an activity in which all members, who can be spared from their regular duties, are in- vited to participate, VTe hope to accom- plish much without an undue strain on time away from our assigned duties for that morning. After the business meeting, the president would like to meet for a few minutes with the field representatives. This too, we hope, will be a brief but important meeting.
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BRANCH LIBRARY NOTES
The Jamaica Plain Branch Library had on display for the month of April an inter- esting exhibit on South America, titled NEIGHBORS TO THE SOUTH. Books and pam- phlets on the various parts of South America were advertised. Some of the dolls on exhibition were lent through the courtesy of the Childrens' Museum. Such articles as a hand woven basket, an onyx figure, an inlaid mahogany box, a poncho doll, an embroidered piece from Chiapas,
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a gourd and bombilla for drinking mate, the national beverage gf Argentina, a pair of sisal sandals made ' ±tr Ecuador, a cap or chupa worn by Indiana of Peru, and a mat from Ecuador were on display. Mrs barren Lothrop of 18 Traill Street, Cambridge, lent some of the pieces men- tioned as well as several large-sized posters with South American background. TRADE ROUTES, a poster with a map of South America, attracted attention. About two dozen pamphlets arranged in fan form on two separate tables were secured from the Pan American "rorld Airways. The Mexican Tourist Association and the Commerce Department Buildings, Washington, D. C. furnished material.
So much has been written about the Holy Land, and the subject is so controversial, that the Jamaica Plain Branch Library has as its display for the next two months an exhibit which reads: A LAND IS BORN. Because of the ancient traditions and the beliefs of many people in many lands who claim the Holy Land as their own we have collected books on both sides of the question. One of the patrons of the Jamaica Plain Branch Library, Mrs Fiorina C. Adams, a Registered Nurse, ivas sta- tioned in Palestine, Egypt, and Syria dur- ing the World War II. During her stay in the various countries Mrs Adams found time to study and write about Palestine. She has kindly lent a few of the beautiful laces from Nazareth, linens from Tel-Aviv and Bethlehem, dolls, costumes, and reli- gious articles gathered by her while on duty in the Holy Land. One of the patrons who had been to the Holy Land as far back as 1914 enjoyed the display so much that she volunteered to lend some of the special laces which she brought from Nazareth. Through the courtesy of the Zionist House and the United Nations As-ociation Information Center pamphlets and a large poster with the caption: THE TOUTED NATIONS IN A TROUBLED WORLD are on display. This exhibit is the third one in a series on the peoples of the world. We are pleased to find that this type of exhibit has been very popular and that the public are eager to lend materials for the various displays.
E. G.
The following letter written by an eleven-year-old child was received at the Mattapan Branch Library.
April 24, 1949
Dear Sirs,
I'm registered at your library, and own a library card. .1 own a dog and so does quite a few other card holders.
It's hard for me to go to the library without, him since my mother is so busy. You don't allow dogs in the library and so you see my perdikermant.
It is hard to tie him outside without him howling and whining for me. I usually go to the library myself and I can't trust my dog with somebody outside. Could I suggest you to slightly change your rules. I know you'd have to go through quite a bit of trouble but could you allow dogs only on leash and above a certain age. I know I'm practically ask- ing the impossible. If the Dogs couldn't be allowed in the library, couldn't you fence in a section in the back of the library to keep the dogs in. Please answer me quickly,
Sincerely yours,
(Name withheld)
G • L. B.
More than a hundred people attended the Irish program at Neponset Branch Library on April 27 and found pleasure in the ex- hibit of photographs of Ireland lent by Miss Catherine C. Kelly. Books about Ireland were displayed with the pictures. Anne Flaherty, one of the teen-agers, en- tertained with a group of Irish melodies and Miss Ruth M. Hayes, Branch Librarian, told the story of "Teig Mulligan". The program closed with a showing of the film "'ings to Ireland. The audience was well pleased and left expressing the desire that "we could do this more often".
To the FRIENDS OF THE PHILLIFS BROOKS BRANCH LIBRARY organization, in Readville, a new YOUNG FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY group
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was added this last month. On April 15th parents, teachers, and officers of the FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY met at an informal tea to discuss the formation of this new group and to consider activities for the YOUNG FRIENDS; especially, now, their part in the community project to secure a moving picture projector for their li- brary.
Recently the YOUNG FRIENDS OF THE PHILLIPS BROOKS BRANCH LIBRARY have been meeting on Tuesday afternoons, first to organize, then to work on projects to benefit the projector drive, under the guidance of Miss Reva Halperin, who is in charge of the neighboring Hemenway School. Both girls and boys, lower schools and high school, are eagerly working together to make and sell handwork for the further- ance of this project.
In connection vath the post-war Treasure Chest Campaign, an unusual young people's program was held at the Phillips Brooks Branch Library on Monday evening, April 18. Mrs Herbert Loeb, a native of Holland and Chairman of the New England Treasure Chest Committee, was the guest speaker. Addressing an audience con- sisting of members of the Saturday li- brary reading club, their parents and friends, Mrs Loeb related many interest- ing stories, gathered during her recent visits to Holland and other European countries, to show how much European children enjoy our gifts of books.
The remainder of the evening was filled with the reading of letters from a girls' school in Bourdeaux, France. Having been the recipients of one of the treasure chests sent by the Phillips Brooks Branch Library, these Frence girls recently expressed a desire to correspond with our children in Readville. Their first let- ters, written in amazingly accurate English, contained many charming proofs of friendship based on gratitude for American kindnesses. For example, in one of the letters read on April 18, one little girl declared, "I say dear sister (to you) because I think that the nations United States and France are sisters. Daddy during the last war was the brother of your father. And it was thanks to your aid we have had the victory."
Through their letters these French children are trying to create real under- standing between their country and ours. We hope that the April 18th library program did much to accomplish the same end.
Lithuanian Night was observed on April 27 at the South Boston Branch Library as a "get-acquainted" night for the people of t he district. The program was con- ducted in Lithuanian and English by the Reverend Albert Contons of St. Peter's Lithuanian Church. Mrs Ona Ivaska led a group of young people in songs and dances with Lithuanian music and costume. An accordion, a zither, a fiddle and a flute provided the accompaniments.
Over 150 people of all ages, including some DPs and their families, filled the main floor of the library, and thoroughly enjoyed the lively dancing and singing. The talk in Lithuanian by Father Contons stressed the opportunities of a democracy and the free education which the library offers to all. Since the weather was warm, the windows were open, and a large audience collected outside for the music.
A display of hand-woven linen, models of wooden roadside crosses, and books published by Displaced Persons in the American Zone of Germany showed different phases of Lithuanian culture.
The unexpectedly large crowd and the hearty expressions of thanks were very gratifying results of this experiment in public relations.
The following item appeared, unsolic- ited, in the May 10, 1949 issue of the Darbininkas, the Lithuanian bi-weekly newspaper.
A free translation:
Lithuanian night was held two weeks ago in South Boston Library with many newly arrived Lithuanians in attendance. These people have started a drive to in- crease the Lithuanian book section at the South Boston Library. Mr Gimbutas do- nated new books to be taken out by the public, especially the newcomers, and
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wishes to organize a beautiful Lithuanian book collection so that the older resi- dents in America can borrow the latest books brought by displaced persons. He asks everyone possessing Lithuanian books to donate at least a few of them so that all can benefit from them and in that way raise a new Lithuanian cultural feeling among South Boston Lithuanians. All Lithuanian people are requested to take Gimbutas' offer and promise to work to- gether, • ••
Mr Mosheh Oved, eminent Yiddish poet, author, and sculptor, was the guest of honor at a meeting held at the rfest End Branch Library, Saturday April ninth.
Miss Fanny Goldstein, Branch Librarian at the West End Branch Library, opened the formal part of the program with a few words of welcome and sketched briefly the history of the Branch building, formerly the Old West Church. Miss Dorothea Blue, a member of the West End Branch Library Staff sang AMERICA. Miss Blue and Mrs Ernest Roussos sang GOD SAVE THE KING. Mrs Roussos sang the Jewish National Anthem, HATIKVOH. After the musical por- tion of the program, Miss Goldstein in- troduced Mr Oved, who spoke on the topic, THE THREE GIFTS OF ISRAEL. Mr Oved*s talk was timely and gave the listeners a new awareness of Israel's position in our hectic world.
A reception and tea followed which was thoroughly enjoyed by all of the guests.
"May I hear about Thidwick?" "Tell us about Madeline today." These and many other requests are heard by the library "teacher" every Wednesday morning at the West Roxbury Branch Library. Stories are told and picture books are shown to the enthusiastic pre-schoolers. The treat of the morning is Mother's granting permis- sion to take books home. The stories are told by Miss Marion E. Flaherty under the direction of Miss Marjorie Maclntire, Children's Librarian.
M. E. F.
On Saturday, April sixteenth, the City Point Branch Library Staff entertained
Mrs Helen O'Leary at the Town Line House. Mrs O'Leary, until her recent transfer to Faneuil Branch Library, had been Branch Librarian at City Point Branch Library for twenty years.
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Mrs Dorothy Lovett, Business Branch Librarian, is serving as Chairman of the Nominating Committee of the Boston Chf pter of the Special Libraries Association.
W. F. R.
********** DEPARTMENT NOTES
On Thursday evening, May 5, several mem- bers of the Branch Issue Department, and former members of the old Branch' Depart- ment, made up part of the enthusiastic audience who witnessed the second success- ful performance of Bashful Mr Bobbs, pre- sented by the Literary Club of xhe North End Union. Miss Cclomba Bartalini of the Branch Issue Department gave a convincing performance as one of the principal char- acters. Dinner at Freda's was enjoyed earlier in the evening.
Miss Eloise Lownsbury, author of The Boy Knight of Rheims, Saints and Rebels, and other juvenile books, visited the Young People's Room recently, after a round-the- world cruise during which she spent much time in India and China.
With the opening of the Baseball season, the readers in the Young People's Room are evincing a marked interest in plans for this summer's reading club. Memories of the autographed baseballs presented to winners of last summer's ^orld Series Reading Club have probably prompted the enthusiasm shown thus far.
BOOKS AND BUNNIES
A very frightened rather worse-f or-wear, rabbit, Peter by name, appeared in the Young People's Room one day in early April. He really shouldn't have been scared in a children's room, but you see Mr McGregor
was chasing him and that v/as reason enough for a very small rabbit to be up- set. He came to us from the Children's Museum, and through the artistry of Miss Mildred Somes of the Book Preparation Department, stayed with us in Mr McGregor's tool shed for about a month. I think he quite got over his fright for, lo and behold and true to form, by Easter our case blossomed into Bunny Town with rabbits big and little snuggled under an Easter Egg Tree. The rabbits were origi- nally from a collection belonging to Ruth Sawyer. Maybe Peter sent a message to his Museum pals that the glass case in the Young People's Room was a pleasant place in which to be and so they followed him. At any rate, we and our young li- brary users welcomed them with low cries of joy. Grown-ups too paused to enjoy our Easter Egg Tree, an old German custom, we learned, and to admire the rabbits, some of which had travelled long dis- tances — even from China and England and other foreign countries.
Since the bunnies have returned home, we are playing host to "Little Women" dolls. Miss Elizabeth Boudreau borrowed them for us from Jordan Marsh Company, From the pleased expressions on the dolls' faces, we feel sure they like the visi- tors who stop to renew their friendship with Jo, Beth, Amy and Meg, and to wel- come new readers who have just been in- troduced to them.
M. U. P.
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RECENT MATERIAL OF PROFESSIONAL INTEREST
In the April 1949 number of COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES there appears an arti- cle by Rudolf Hirsch on The In-Service Training Program of the University of Pennsylvania Library. In marked contrast to the conception of in-service training held by this Association, the Pennsylvania idea seems to consist of general library training for a selected few, and incor- porates some of the features of an in- ternship program. One wonders if such a program does not go far toward dupli- cating facilities already in existence in library schools.
If there is anyone who has not yet read the editorial in the SRL of March 26, 1949 titled Bogus Best Sellers it will be to their advantage to do so. The article was deemed of sufficient importance to receive coverage on at least one national radio news program. On the same subject, but with a different approach is H. A. Pulling* s Our Best Sellers; Better? - Or Worse? ( Library Journal, Feb. T,~ 19*49~] This latter is not concerned with the method of selecting best sellers as is the former. It simply tries to evaluate those titles reported as best sellers from the viewpoints of literary excel- lence and moral standards.
The "situation" which arose at the ALA Mid-Winter Meeting receives good report- ing at the hands of L. I. Poste in his No Top Brass in the ALA (Library Journal, Mar. 1, 1949~T. This article presents a full account of the controversy which arose over the method of nomination, the debate thereon, the personalities in- volved, and the final resolution.
An eminently sane approach to the prob- lem of the correct place for technical training in library education is seen in Need We Be Ashamed? by Wharton Miller and Carl Melinat (Library Journal, Feb. 1, 1949). Written jointly by two veil- qualified librarians, its central theme is that library schools need not hang their heads in shame because they teach the basic techniques of library service.
It is pleasant to note here the publi- cation of Francis X. Doherty's survey of the New England Deposit Library (Library Quarterly, Oct., 1948 and Jan., 1949). Mr Doherty was a member of the staff of this Library for several years. Follow- ing war service he left here to do grad- uate work at the University of Chicago prior to accepting his present position as Branch Librarian with the District of Columbia Public Library. His two arti- cles on the Deposit Library sum up in admirable fashion the purposes of that institution and present a careful out- line of its problems and activities.
C. L. H.
±±2t*e!k-i*-4**'kii?
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A RARE BOOK CONNOISSEUR
Asked by a young colored boy in the Treasure Room:
"Have you got any Bibles with gold trimmings?"
"Haven't you got Bibles with gold trimmings?"
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The showing of the film Little Tomen in Boston recently stimulated anew the demand for Louisa May Alcott's books. In this connection, the following article is of particular interest.
A MEMORY OF LOUISA M. ALCOTT
At the outset let me confess that I never met Miss Alcott but once and then for a few moments only.
On an afternoon almost seventy years ago my aunt was on her way along the streets of Concord to call on her friend, Louisa Alcott, when somewhere near the library I met her. Of course, she could not resist the temptation of giving her little niece the opportunity to meet the beloved author of Little 'Tomen, so she took me along with her.
When we arrived at the Alcott home my aunt discovered that my hands were very dirty. In spite of that disgraceful fact, however, Louisa, who came to the door herself, looked at me kindly and seemed to think it was a most natural thing for a little girl to have dirty hands.
I remember being taken to "May's room" where Miss Alcott very graciously helped me to clean up. I also remember wonder- ing about certain pencil drawings "right on the wallpaper". My aunt explained to me on the way home that they had been drawn by May (I knew her as Amy), who was no longer living.
Miss Alcott frequently sent little gifts to my aunt. These offerings were always accompanied by rhymes, scribbled in her readable handwriting.
With a pair of bellows she sent the following:
"To Anna
"A little pair of 'bellus' Your cosy fire to blow, "Ihen winter winds are howling, And softly falls the snow.
"I wish some gentle fairy The magic would bestow, Whereby all care and worry Up the chimney would go.
"But the best kind of angels For a world of want and woe, Are the cheerful heart and spirit That in your bosom glow.
"So with many happy wishes That time be very kind, A useful friend I offer To help raise the wind."
"Tith a calendar she wrote,
"To Anna
"To one who uses life so well A calendar but serves to tell The sands that fall from old Time's
glass and turn to gold as they downward
pass.
LeM.A."
One of my favorites came with a box of notepaper :
"Anna, my dear, I send you here, In return for your bread Note paper white That your appetite For writing may be fedc 'Tis the only way My debt I can pay, And you know the Scriptures tell If your bread you cast, On the waters vast, It comes back buttered well."
On a visit to Orchard House, not long ago, I was surprised to see among the exhibits a faded wax doll dressed in a
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costume of the Alcott period* I recog- nized the little doll as one I had given to the wife of one of "Meg's" sons, be- cause every bit of her costume had been designed and made by my aunt, who was a dear friend of "Meg" and "Jo."
Edith Guerrier Supervisor of Branch Libraries, Emeritus
**********
MARY U. NICHOLS BOOK PRIZES FUND
Under the sponsorship of friends of the North End Branch Library contributions to the Mary U. Nichols Book Prizes Fund have been received to perpetuate the memory of Miss Mary U. Nichols, Branch Librarian there from 1941 - 1948. Mrs Thomas Raia, Treasurer of the Fund, presented a check in the amount of five hundred sixty dol- lars fifty cents ($560.50) to the Library on Monday, the ninth of May, 1949.
The Director has appointed the following committee in 1949 to select the books to be awarded: the Branch Librarian of the North End Branch Library (Miss Ellen C. Peterson); the Deputy Supervisor in Charge of Work with Children (Miss Elizabeth M. Gordon); and two individuals from the faculty of the local high school: Father Thomas, O.F.M. , Vice Principal and Head of the English Department of the Christopher Columbus Catholic High School, and a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur.
The presentation of the two book prizes for 1949 will be made by the Director of the Library on Thursday evening, June 2, 1949 at 8 o'clock at the North End Branch Library. The other speakers will be Bishop John J. bright, Father Timothy O'Leary, and Mrs Thomas Raia in represen- tation of those contributing to the Fund.
All members of the staff of the Boston Public Library who are interested are cordially invited to attend.
**********
SOAP BOX
PLAINT
A peasant I, you must agree My years "in service" are but three. But, peasant-like, I take my stand And shake my unknown sister's hand- Mother of the incantation "Give us two more weeks vacation.
For most of us will never know
The joy of being called a "Pro"-
And we must answer to a dub
As insignificant as "Sub" I
To complete the degradation
1rfe have just two weeks vacation.
^'e, sore of backs and weak of bones, Are violets by mossy stones We must, perforce, remain anon As carelessly we're trod upon
Nor wail too loud our lamentation "Give us two more weeks vacation."
But, if our efforts you reward Then, jubilant, we'll thank the Lord And glare no more at Personnel Nor joke about the 3.P.L.
And plague no more this publication Demanding two more weeks vacation.
"The Unendowed"
EXCERPT PROM THE REGISTER INSIDE THE GATES OF HEAVEN
Name: Jane Doe
Occupation: Late employee of the B.P.L< Professional assistant
Duration of stay: Eternity
Name: Jane Schmoe
Occupation: Late employee of the B.P.L. Sub-professional assistant
Duration of stay: One -ha If eternity
"Bewildered" *
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Sub. - You'd better go lie down.
Pro. - Lie down? ^Thy?
Sub. - Because I'm only supposed to get half as tired as you and I'm exhausted.
"The Ha If -baked"
Editor's Note; At the meeting of the officers of the Library held on May tenth the Director reported that a study of vacation policies in certain other li- braries is being made for the benefit of the Trustees.
LATE FLASHES
Dolores J. Masoay, Book Stack Service, has announced her engagement to Paul Dobay of the United Stares Coast Guard. She is planning to be married June 5.
Veronica M. Flattich, Book Stack Service, is planning to be married on May 28, to Paul Tibbets of the New England Telephone Company.
Sarah Kushner, also of Book Stack Service, has announced her engagement to George Marshall.
Mr Kenneth C. Barnes, Assistant in the Periodical and Newspaper Department, has had two prints chosen for exhibition in the Eighteenth Boston International Salon of Photography, at the Boston Camera Club, 351a Newbury Street, from May 22 through May 29. The public is invited to attend this exhibition, which is open from 2 to 9 p.m. daily.
Prints of Mr Arthur W. Heintzelman, Keeper of Prints, and Miss Muriel C. Figenbaum, also of the Print Department, are shown in the Boston Printmakers' second exhibition at Paines of Boston, May 11 through May 28.
The Boston Printmakers are a group of graphic artists and print collectors devoted to developing a more widespread interest in the print field. Founded in 1947, the membership lists have grown to include a great many internationally known artists and prominent print collectors.
Mr Arthur ,rr. Heintzelman, Keeper of Prints in the Boston Public Library was a participating artist in a group demonstra- tions given at the National Academy Gal- leries, New York on April 7, 1949.
Mr Heintzelman demonstrated the drypoint medium, and his model was the Honorable Judge Harold R. Medina of New York.
E. K.
The officers of the Library are invited to attend a tea which is being given in honor of the Librarians from Germany who are visiting libraries in the Boston area at this time*
The tea will be held in the Somen's Lounge on Monday, May 16, 1949 from 4 - 5 P. M.
**********
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LIBRARY
PROFESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION
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THE QUESTION MARK
Published by the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 5 June 1949
Publications Committees Mildred R. Adelson, M. Dorothy Brackett, John M. Carroll,
Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M. Usher , Chairman
Publication datei The fifteenth of each month
Deadline for submitting material; The tenth of each month
TWO LIBRARIANS
In the columns of this issue are to be found notes on the death of two members of the Library profession, Mr T. Francis Brennan, who at the time of his retire- ment was Chief of the Issue Department and Deputy Supervisor in the Reference Division, and Miss Nina G. Brotherton, Professor of Library Science at Simmons College,
Mr Brennan had worked in the Boston Public Library from July 1890 until his retirement in December 1943. He was fa- miliar with the growth of the Library from the days when it occupied the "old" building on Boylston Street. His consci- entious, careful work on the card cata- logs of the Library, the Classics, the Bible, the city, state, and federal docu- ments is still of major value to people utilising the reference material in the Library. In his capacity as Chief of what is now Book Stack Service from 1930 on, he kept a growing city of books or- ganized into a smoothly operating system, free of traffic snarls. He liked people and enjoyed serving the public.
Miss Brotherton had been in library work since 1907, Her career embraced a wide variety of experiences in many places throughout the eastern section of the country. She came to Simmons College in 1927 to give courses in Yfork with Children and The Library as an Institu- tion, Her's was a ranging mind, always enquiring and exploring. It was obvious to all that her heart was in her work.
Some of us had the opportunity to know both of these people. Their passing over within a relatively short time makes a comparison of their careers rather inter- esting to speculate about. Each in his way had much to contribute toward librar- ianship. Each did. Their careers span a whole phase of the growth of Librarian- ship. In each career there is much to be
found that was truly inspiring as well as instructive, Ave,
*** * * **** *
PERSONAL NOTES
New Staff Members
Frank J, Donovan, Book Staok Service,
Helen R, DeSimone, Book Stack Service (formerly part-time),
Mary A, Gelsomini, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Division (formerly part-time),
Adrienne I, Murray, Roslindale Branch Library,
Jean Richardson, Personnel Office,
Resignations
Martha A. McGee, Dorchester Branch Library, to be married,,
Jean M» Canavan, Book Sta*k Service.
John H, Kelly, Book Stack Service,
Mary C, O'Brien, Book Staak Service,
Mrs Mary T. Miller, Roslindale Branch Library, to live in Chicago.
Mrs Mary W. Waters, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Division, to remain at home.
Louis N, Rains, General Reference De- partment, to go into business for him- self.
Helen Sagoff , Mattapan Branch Library, to be married,
Mrs Myrene L, Steele, Codman Square Branch Library.
Mrs Suzanne Turner, East Boston Branch Library.
Annie J, Daley, Branch Issue Depart- ment,
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Weddings
Veronica M. Flattich, Book Stack Serv- ice, -was married to Mr Harold Tibets on May 28, 1949.
Dolores J. Masaoy, Book Stack Service, was married to Mr Paul Dobay on June 5, 1949.
Thomas O'Connor, Statistical Department, was married to Maury Catherine MacDonald on June 11, 1949.
Deborah Blossom, General Reference De- partment, was married to Mr Paul E. Est over on June 11, 1949,
Babies
Mr and Mrs Timothy F. Desmond, 31 Paulina Street, Somerville, are receiving congratulations on the birth of a son, TTilliam J. on May 21. Mrs Desmond is the former Dorothy Ployer of the Supply Room.
Since so many friends have enquired for Miss Editha Ewing, we are happy to print the address to which cards and greetings may be sent: Channing Home, 198 Pilgrim Road, Boston 15.
WE WELCOME BACK
Mrs Cecilia Nazzaro McCarthy, Charles- town Branch Library, after a long siege of illness.
Earl Quadros, Buildings Department, after several weeks' illness.
********** CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER*.
Miss Theresa Durante, Information Of- fice, was awarded a two-year scholarship for Emmanuel College at the graduation exercises of Fitton High School in East Boston.
Miss Mary Hennessey, Information Office, is working on a personnel survey at Jordan Marsh Co. for the summer.
Miss Ruth Marshall, Information Office, is graduating from Radcliffe College with high honors, (incidentally, as a gradua- tion gift, she is taking an extended motor tour with Virginia as her goal.)
Miss Isabella Pennampede, Information Office, was the main speaker at the grad- uation exercises of the High School of Practical Arts in Roxbury on June 1. A graduate of the school, she received three scholarships from there in 1943. The subject of her talk was Experiences of a Graduate.
Miss Helen Savakian, Information Office, who has a B.S. degree in Commercial Science from Boston University, will re- ceive a B.S. degree in Library Science from Simmons College on June 13.
Miss Ursula Von Zarsk, East Boston Branch Library, is graduating from the Leland Powers School of the Theater and Radio*
Miss Mary Brady, Cataloging and Classi- fication Department, Reference Division, received her A.B. degree from Boston College on June 8,
Miss Mary Ann Gelsomini, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Division, graduated from Girls' High School on June 1.
Miss Sally Trentini, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Division, received her diploma from Everett High Schoon on June 7. .
Miss Mildred R. Adelson, Jamaica Plain Branch Library, has recently completed the course at the Simmons Library School.
Mr William J. Mclntire, Mattapan Branch Library, a member of the class of 1949 at Boston Latin School, was axvarded the "Freshman Scholarship" which will extend throughout the four years at Harvard College. He was president of the Modern History Club, a member of the literary staff of the "Register", the school maga- zine and the Honor Society. He also was active in the Debating Club, the French Club and the Music Appreciation Club.
Mr Paul X. Shea, Mattapan Branch Li- brary, a member of the class of 1949 at the High School of Commerce, won two scholarships. In addition to one of the Silver Anniversary scholarships awarded by the Class of 1924, he also received a $100 award from the Alumni Educational Fund. While in school, Paul ivas a member of the Key, Forum and Booster Clubs, was a delegate to the Washington national convention of the Key Club, assistant editor of the Tradesman, and represented the school at the Boston Rotary Club.
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Mr Bradford M. Hill has recently been elected President of the Boston Chapter, Special Libraries Association, for the year 1949-1950.
Mr Charles L. Higgins, General Refer- ence Department, has been asked to give the course "Introduction to Librarians- ship" at the Simmons College summer ses- sion.
Editor's Note; We are sure that many other members of the staff are receiv- ing academic honors of various sorts but these are all that have been sent to us. Congratulations to all the others I J
**********
ALUMNAE NOTES
Mr and Mrs Joseph Lynch are receiving congratulations on the birth of a daugh- ter, Rita Patricia, on May 19. Mrs Lynch is the former Rita Carr of the Director's Office.
********** ARTICLE BY THE DIRECTOR
The A.L.A. Bulletin for May, 1949 car- ries a biographical sketch of Dr. Jaime Torres Bodet of Mexico, the new director- general of UNESCO, -written by Mr Lord. Dr. Bodet was at one time head of the Department of Libraries in the Ministry of Education.
********** RECENT VISITORS
Mr Palle Birkelund of the Royal Library, Copenhagen, visited the Boston Public Library recently. He is holder of a UNESCO Fellowship. He is interested in Personnel, Cataloging and Classification in the Reference Division, and in Book Purchasing.
Mrs Bland of the Ordering Department of the Vancouver Public Library paid an in- formal call on the Book Selection Depart- ment recently. Young, charming, and very much interested in book selection and book purchasing procedures, Mrs Bland was able to tell us many interesting things about the ways in which these processes
are carried on in the Vancouver Public Library. The exchange of ideas with workers from other libraries is always stimulating. It is a pleasure to have out-of-town visitors take a business holiday and visit our library. Mrs Bland, who is visiting friends in Melrose, said that she "simply could not resist coming to see the Boston Public Library."
Miss Mary Reynolds, formerly of the Book Stack Service, visited the Library last week. Miss Reynolds commented on the many changes, especially in the staff quarters.
Corporal Doris Quigley of the United States Marine Corps, formerly of the Trustees' Office, visited the Library on Thursday, June 9. She is on a twelve-day leave from her duties in Tfashington, D.C.
Miss Dorothy Joan Tierney, a former member of the staff, visited Charlestown Branch Library while vacationing in Boston from her duties as Librarian of the Navy Line School in Newport, Rhode Island,
**********
After many years of service in the Branch Issue Department, Miss Annie J. Daley resigned from her position on May 9, 1949.
During her long service in the Library, Miss Daley has made many friends who were all very sorry to see her leave, and who now wish her every joy and happiness in her much-deserved rest.
**********
One protest against changing the name of our publication was registered. Since that was the only response to the request for comments on the suggestion that the name be changed, we assume that the pres- ent name, The Question Mark, is satis- factory.
********** XMAS IN JUNE
The Board of Directors of the Boston Public Library Employees* Benefit Asso- ciation, Incorporated, wishes to remind the staff, through the courtesy of the B.P.L.P.S.A., that there are only 193 days before Xmas. For your Xmas cards and gifts this year, don't forget the Post Card Counter.
PRESIDENT'S NOTES
Instead of having our theme song for this month June is bust in* out all over, we might paraphrase it to say June is poppin1 out all over, since we are all so vitally concerned with our Pops evening. All the seats have been spoken for (and paid for by now, no doubt) with a very few exceptions* If Aunt Susie. Uncle Henry, or Cousin Liz should arrive unex- pectedly, no doubt Miss Calnan would be able to produce another ticket from that magic hat which she uses so effectively. According to the enthisiasm evidenced, this should be a very happy occasion.
Mrs Sarah W. Flannery, as past editor of The Question Mark, and the President have been invited to meet with the Pub- lications Committee on Monday, June 13th, in order to crystallize, if possible, an editorial policy for The Question Mark which should serve as a guide for present and future editors and their committee members. It is hoped that there will be a definite policy evolved which can be reported in detail at a later date»
Congratulations are in order to the members of the staff of the North End Branch Library for the exceptionally well-planned and efficiently carried out program on June 2nd, at the first award- ing of the Mary u", Nichols Book Prizes. The laudatory comments about Miss Nichols, her fine %vork in the library, and her outstanding contribution to the community brought home to us all very forcefully the need for a kind word of encouragement and an occasional crumb of appreciation while we are here to enjoy it. It seems to be a universal human failing to expect from our fellow work- ers a good job, well-done, with no com- monts, whereas an unexpected bit of ap- preciation from our superiors and co- workers can do much to help us over some of the hard spots. It might be worth trying sometime.
As the report of the Membership Commit' tee brought out at the May business
meeting, our paid-up membership is very gratifying. There must, however, be a few hardy souls who are still resisting our manifold temptations of membership. The Piold Representatives still have a little missionary work to do along that line. Let's aim at 10C$ and achieve that aim.
Please notify your social secretary to set aside for you the following dates — November 17 and 18, and December 2, 1949. Exciting events are in the making and it would be sad if a previous engagement made it impossible for you to participate. Details later. Save the dates.
As first president of the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association, Mr Bradford M. Hill's name has been sub- mitted for possible inclusion on the slate of the Steering Committee of the national SORT (Staff Organization Round Table), TTe are hoping that the Executive Committee of that organization will con- sider favorably the candidate from our Association.
Our CARE representatives are doing a grand job. Don't forget that they can't " keep it up without your pennies, dimes, and nickels -•- and, of course, hundred dollar bills are always acceptable.
********** MARY U. NICHOLS BOOK PRIZES
The First Annual Award of the Mary U. Nichols Book Prizes was made by the Director, Milton E. Lord, at the North End Branch Library on Thursday evening June 2, 1949 at 8 o'clook. On that beautiful June evening over three hundred persons gathered in the adult room of the Library before the model of the Doges Palace, Miss Ellen C. Peterson, Branch Librarian, made the address of welcome and introduced as Chairman, "•■ John A. Scanga, the popular manager of the Michelangelo Evening School Center 0 Mrs Thomas Raia, Treasurer, ingratiated her- self with the audience by her aclmowledged
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inexperience as a public speaker, as she presented the Book Fund, which has now reached $591.50, to the Director. In presenting the Book Prizes, Mr Lord stressed the unusualness of Miss Nichols' having made so deep an impression on the community in so relatively short a time.
Award winners were Joan Marie Sandrelli, who received "Poems of Francis Thompson" with notes and biographical sketch by Terence L. Connolly, S.J., and Vincent A. Maglia, who received the Kittredge edi- tion of "Shakespeare". Both books had a bookplate designed by Mr Arthur W. Heintzelman, Curator of Prints. The dark green full leather binding with gold tooling v/as done under the personal super- vision of Mr James P. Mooers, Chief of the Binding Department.
Reverend Timothy F. 0TLeary, Ph.D., Assistant Superintendent of Diocesan Schools, spoke of the fine cooperation between the Boston Public Library and the Parochial Schools. He paid a personal tribute to Miss Nichols for her inspira- tion and help when he was faced with the task of transforming an army barrack into a modern city high school in the dis- hearteningly short space of two months.
Bishop John J. Wright spoke on the cul- tural heritage of Italo-Americans, and urged the boys and girls to learn Italian, not the local North End dialect but pure Tuscan.
The Girls' Glee Club from Christopher Columbus High School sang three selec- tions.
An informal reception and refreshments brought the program to a close.
Trustees, Library staff members, Pastors of St. Mary's and St. Leonard's Churches and many of their assistants, as well as the entire faculty of the boys' division at Christopher Columbus High School, representatives from the Social Houses, Schools, Italian Consulate, local organizations, and neighborhood friends made up the audience.
The day after the presentation, the principal at Christopher Columbus High School was besieged by members of the Junior Class from the North End wishing to know what they had to do to qualify for the Mary TJ. Nichols Book Prizes next year.
One Christopher Columbus Senior, in- spired by Mr Heintzelman1 s bookplate, spent the week-end designing his personal
bookplate, and on Monday took his sketch to an artist to find out how much it would cost to have the bookplate made ready for engraving. The price over- whelmed him. He wishes he had won the Mary U. Nichols Book Prize just to have a copy of the Bookplate.
Miss Mildred Kaufman of Mount Bowdoin Branch Library lent a group of Italian dolls dressed in the costumes of the various Provinces of Italy. These dolls made a very interesting exhibit and were much admired by the Award guests.
Requests continue to come tothe Library for the attractively printed programs which were distributed to our guests by members of the North End Branch Reading Teensters Club,
The beauty of the Prizes volumes and the spirit in which they were received is an outstanding tribute to the Boston Public Library, to the people of the North End, and to the memory of Mary U. Nichols.
**** ****** M.L.A. ANNUAL MEETING
The annual meeting of the M.L.A. was held in the Memorial Hall at Plymouth on Wednesday, May 25. More than three hun- dred members attended, many of them from Boston. A special chartered bus carried forty-one B.P.L. members and additional members went in private automobiles.
The morning program opened with a panel discussion on "Inter library loans: their use and abuse," Mrs Ethel Chandler, Librarian of the East Bridgewater Public Library. (and a past President of the Association) expressed the views of the small library; Miss Lucile Wickersham of the Springfield City Library Association gave the viewpoint of the medium-sized library; Irs Grace B. Loughlin, Chief of the Branch Issue Department of the Boston Public Library, upheld the policies and views of the large library; while Miss Elsie M. McCabe» Reference Librarian of the Division of Public Libraries, ex- plained how the Division functions in this field. A summary of the statements made by this panel of experts cannot do justice to the many points brought out for the improvement of loan procedures. However, this discussion revealed so many inadequacies in the present system that a
I -: (1
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special committee was suggested to draw up a statewide system of rules and han- dling procedures. If this suggested com- mittee is formed the resulting rules and regulations should prove beneficial to both libraries and borrowers.
The Honorable Timothy Murphy, Assistant Attorney General (and the attorney in charge of the prosecution in the recent case of Caldwell's "God's Little Acre" and Cain's "Serenade" versus the state) presented the inside story of the official position now taken by the state in regard to books accounted obscene or injurious to the morals of youth. Mr Murphy's speech will be printed in full in the Fall issue of the M.L.A. Bulletin so that everyone interested will be able to judge for himself as to the merits of the case. Also, the function of the Massachusetts Advisory Committee for Juvenile Reading was explained. This committee was formed mainly to advise the Attorney General when cases of comic books and other juve- nile "literature" considered injurious to the morals of youth were discovered by the committee members. The committee is to inform the state authorities in such cases and then the Attorney General's office is to persuade the dealers to re- move such items from their stock. Miss Elizabeth M. Gordon, Deputy' Supervisor In Charge of YTork with Children, is a member of this committee.
No official luncheon was scheduled, so when the morning session was adjourned by President Rich, the meeting broke up into small groups of members, who repaired to the many restaurants and tea-rooms spe- cializing in sea-food.
The afternoon session was opened by the introduction of Mr Fred H. Garrigus, Director of Public Affairs for Station WEEI. His topic was "Radio — education or recreation?" A very facile speaker of great experience in radio programming and publicity, Mr Garrigus kept his audience at attention by explaining just hox7 the radio station can help the library and hew the library should arrange programs capable of "holding" the listener. The old standby of the past — a fifteen- minute speech read by a librarian — Mr Garrigus stated really cost the station ore hour and fifteen minutes. He ex- plained that this type of program caused the listener to tune out the station and on an average the listener did not tune
in again for one hour after the program. The best type of program for libraries, in his opinion, is the group discussion program, consisting of three or four speakers and a coordinator. His sugges* tions and explanations were considered very helpful by a great many of the mem- bers, especially those from small librar- ies.
The annual business meeting was held next and Mr Rich installed the new President, Mr John D. Kelley, Librarian of the Somerville Public Library. Miss Louise B. Day, of the Lynn Public Library is the new Vice President.
Mr Harold A. Tfooster of the Newton Free Public Library was called upon and he presented the tentative program of the A.L.A. Regional Meeting to be held at Swampscott, October 12-15, 1949.
C .J.G. **********
RECENT MATERIAL OF PROFESSIONAL INTEREST
Those working in subject departments will be interested in R, H. Whitford's thoughts on the educational requisites for successful special librarianship. Although particularly concerned with training for the technical librarian, his remarks have a bearing upon the entire field of special librarianship. (iThitford, R. H., Triangular training for the technical librarian. Special Libraries, May- June, 1949, p. 178-182).
An interesting item of information is the note that beginning July 1 of this year, the magazine Newsweek will be available on micro-card, as well as micro- film.
The May 14, devoted almost ing and output presses. This which SRL has the topic. It formative read rial having be coming Report presses.
1949 issue of the SRL is entirely to the function- of American university marks the seventh year given over one number to makes interesting and in- ing with much of the mate- en digested from the forth- on American university
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Oftentimes one hears comment on the personnel policy and salary schedules in college and university libraries without being presented with sufficient facts to warrant conclusions. For the most part information on such subjects has been piecemeal and quite unsatsifactory par- ticularly when comparisons with the pub- lic library field are sought, M. P. Seay in his Key to college salaries (Library Journal, June 1, 1949, p. 860-861) has done a service in presenting the results of a survey of some 72 land-grant col- leges and universities with respect to their policy in such matters as tenure, educational attainments and salaries. The presentation is incomplete from sev- eral viewpoints, but it is at least a beginning.
C •L.Ha
*$;|e *$$$*$$
IN MEMORIAM
On Kay 30th Mr T. Francis Brennan, formerly Chief of the Issue Department and Deputy Supervisor in the Reference Division, passed away. Mr Brennan had retired from the service of the Library in December 1943, after more than fifty years of faithful service. Until a year ago he had been in good health.
Frank, as he was known to all his asso- ciates, was a man who had a large heart and a generous nature under a seemingly gruff exterior. Most of his many acts of kindness will never be known; as he truly believed, and practiced his belief, in doing all his good deeds in such a manner that his left hand should not know what his right hand had done.
Always interested in the welfare of those who came under his supervision, he was constantly on the alert to be of as- sistance to them by counsel or in other ways. Any member of the staff who had troubles of any kind always found a friend in Frank Brennan. It was his in- terest in his fellov/ worker that caused him in 1902 to be one of the founders of t.ie Boston Public Library Employees Benefit Association.
Funeral services for Mr Brennan were held on Thursday, June 2, 1949, at St. Cilumbkille's Church, Brighton, with a E'.ah Mass of Requiem and interment was at Calvary Cemetery, Mattapan. The services
were attended by a large delegation from the Library, headed by the Director, Milton E. Lord.
J .o .K«
Members of the Boston Public Library Staff, who were former students of the late Miss Nina C. Brotherton, professor of Library Science at Simmons College, were shocked and saddened at the news of her sudden passing on May 25,
She had been a member of the library profession since 1907 when she graduated from the School of Library Science at Western Reserve. She served as children's librarian at the Cleveland Public Library from 1907 to 1917. She often fondly re- called her work there. From 1920 to 1927 she was principal at the Carnegie Library School. Coming to Simmons College in 1927, she had been on the faculty twenty- two years. Her special field was chil- dren's work, but yearly she gave an in- troductory course in Library Science,
It was a privilege to have had Miss Brotherton for an instructor. Her stu- dents felt that they had received the best possible introduction to library work coming as it did from one who had such a vast fund of library knowledge and experience. To have known such a person as Miss Brotherton was an added privilege. Her valued advice, which was frequently sought, was cheerfully and graciously given. Her perspective vms hard to duplicate. She had a delightful sense of humor in the classroom as well as outside. Imbued with a great love of Boston and a tremendous interest in the Simmons Col- lege Library School, it vias fitting that Miss Brotherton passed on while still an active teacher.
E. J.L,
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BRANCH LIBRARY NOTES
Codman Square
The staff entertained Mrs Myrene L, Steele at luncheon on May 20, Mrs Steele has resigned to return to her home city, Indianapolis, where her husband has been appointed Minister of the Bethel Methodist Church.
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Dorchester
A luncheon party -was given by the staff of the Dorchester Branch Library at the Toll House on Saturday, April 30th, in honor of Miss Martha McGee. The tables rere attractively decorated with spring f lowers and gay colored May-baskets. A sterling silver sugar bowl, creamer, and tray were presented to Miss McGee. Mrs Geraldine Altman and Miss Marguerite McCauley, former members of the staff, were guests at the luncheon.
Miss McGee was married to Mr David McDonnell on May 14th. Many members of the Dorchester staff attended her wedding and reception in Hyde Park.
East Boston
Mrs Suzanne Turner and Miss Ursula Von Zarsk of the Children's Room staff, were guests of honor at a staff party held at the home of Miss Dorothy Nourse, Branch Librarian. Both present and form- er members of the staff who had worked with the guests of honor gathered to ex- tend good wishes to Mrs Turner, leaving the library service, to return to her home in Louisiana, and to Miss Von Zarsk, graduating from the Leland Powers School of the Theater and Radio. A delicious dinner was served by the hostess.
Lower Mills and Neponset
On Saturday, May 14th, about fifty boys and girls who are members of reading clubs at the Neponset and Lower Mills Branch Libraries, got together for a trip to Orchard House and other points of in- terest at Concord. Naturally, the first stop was made at Orchard House, where they were received very graciously and conducted on a tour of the house. After- wards they were permitted to roam about and examine whatever interested them especially. The boys and girls had a wonderful time both inside and outside the house. Another stop v/as made at Concord Bridge, and other places of in- terest were pointed out to the children.
The trip was under the direction of Miss Mildred Presente of Neponset Branch Library and Miss Mary Gilman of Lower Mills Branch Library. Miss Ruth Hayes, Branch Librarian at Neponset and other
staff members accompanied the group and helped conduct the tour.
Phillips Brooks
The third week in May proved to be an exceptionally memorable one at the Phillips Brooks Branch Library. On May 16, the newly organized FRIENDS OF THE PHILLIPS BROOKS BRANCH LIBRARY combined their first program meeting with the celebration of the eighteenth anniversary of their library as a branch of the Boston Public Library. After a few words of welcome by the Branch Librarian, Miss Virginia Haviland, and Mr Milton E. Lord's recognition of the significance of "Friends of the Library" in a community such as Readville, the meeting was turned over to the president of the organization, Mr Donald Leavitt. He opened the program with a message describing the aims of his group. He made it clear that the organi- zation is designed "to create an aware- ness among the people (of Readville) of the greater uses of the library and its importance to the life of the community"; he concluded with a statement of the group's desire, by working with the li- brary, "to help our children appreciate the finer things in life (and) teach them to understand and respect the rights and privileges of others." For the eve** ning the speaker was Mr Tilliam jj, Harlow of Hyde Park, a member of the Great Books Discussion Group at Phillips Brooks Branch Library and a lecturer on local history. He presented an accurate and fascinating picture of the growth of the' Readville-Hyde Park area of Boston from 1689 to the present.
Both the evening's entertainment and the delicious cakes and punch served as refreshments were provided by THE FRIENDS OF THE PHILLIPS BROOKS BRANCH LIBRARY. Over a hundred and fifty people attended the festivities, including as special guests Mr Milton E. Lord, Director, Mr Francis B. Masterson, Trustee, Mrs Ada A. Andelman, Supervisor in the Circulation Division, Miss Edna G. Peck and Mrs Edith H. Bailey, former Branch Librarians at this Branch Library.
During the same week, our last Great Books Discussion for the year was held on Thursday evening. Members of this 1948- 49 group (who will continue next year for the second course of reading), led by
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Mrs Bailey and Miss Havilandj entered in- to a lively appraisal of Karl Marx' COICUNIST MANIFESTO; This was carried on farther by Mr Gordon DuPee, Regional Director of the Great Books Foundation^ who was a visitor for the evening. For the social period which followedj a com** mittee of women from the group served punch and cookies,
B.G,W»
Uphams Corner
".Talking into the Uphams Corner Branch Library between May 31 and June 9, one would have seen on display anything from a portable radio to a small table lamp complete with wiring. The occasion for this display was a Hobby Show, held dur- ing the month of May in order to stimu- late and encourage the neighborhood chil- dren to express their creative abilities.
Children in grades four to eight were asked to bring in specimens of their hobbies for exhibit at the library, Jhe response to the invitation was quite en- thusiastic. Thirty-eight children brought in hobby exhibits, including stamp collections , drawings, clay models, embroidery, needlecraft, wood carvings, and original poems. Of particular inter- est was the radio constructed by an eighth-grade boy from directions given in Popular Mechanics Magazine,
On June 9 two prizes were awarded to the children with the best displays, and four other boys and girls received honor- able mention.
While the hobbies were on exhibit, the library was visited by both teachers and social workers, all of whom showed great interest in the work that the children had done. The results of the contest were most gratifying, both in bringing to light latent talent, and in creating a closer contact between the children and the Library t
R.B. *
The Uphams Corner Branch Library is planning a varied group of activities for its summer program. In July Mr and Mrs John Cronan will give a Stcry Hour every Thursday morning at ten o; clock for the neighborhood children. Invited to these
Story Hours will be the boys and girls from Denison House and Little House, two Red Feather organizations, and from the six playgrounds in the area. In addition, the Library is supplying these groups with books to help their1 leaders carry out their summer activities*
Spscial Story Hours will be given in August for the children in the Pilgrim Church Vacation School, and books will be fum5.sh.ed to the School to afford both recreation fur the children and assist- ance to the teachers,
R.B.
The Librarian and staff of the Uphams Corner Branch Library gave a ben voyage party in honor of Miss Marie Pineo., the children's librarian, on Wednesday, June 22. .
Miss Pineo is sailing from Quebec on June 25th for a two month European tour under the chape ronage of the American You-ch Hostels, The staff presented her with several small but .useful gifts to tuck in her bicycle bag (30 pounds limits) , as the young lady in question is bicycling through France over the Swiss Alps into Italy, and possibly through Austria ~ no mean feat for a librarian who has only recently taken up the fine art of bicyclingo
M.E.O.
DEPARTMENT NOTES
Cataloging and Classification, Reference Livisi on
This department kept the usual June tradition of brides and sweet girl graduates this year of 1949,
Our bride, Miss Sally Trentini, was married at 4:30 p*m9 on Sunday, June 12f in St0 Anthony's Church, Everett, to Mr Joseph D. I/Iiloe The department sent their very best wishes with a silver cream and sugar and accompanying tray. Miss Trentini aj.so was among our sweet girl graduates, as on the Tuesday previ- ous to her "/redding day she received her diploma from Everett High School,
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General Reference
A small group of his friends fore- gathered recently to extend best wishes to Mr Louis Rains of this department on the occasion of his resignation from the Library. As a memento, the departmental staff presented him with a desk pen set. Mr Rains leaves on June 15 after more than twelve years of service during which time he worked at the Kirstein and "West End Branch Libraries and the General Reference Department, In addition he has been active in several of the staff groups and has held office in the B.P.L.P.S.A. During TTorld War II Mr Rains was with the U. S. Navy and saw service in the Pacific,
For the past two years he has been pre- paring for entrance into the real estate field. Upon leaving the Library he Tall establish offices in the Copley Square district. Those who have had the pleas- ure of .rorking vdth him or knowing him will regret his departure and extend every good wish for success in his new field.
Mr Arthur W, Heintzelman, Keeper of Prints, was Chairman of the committee for the International Exhibition of Contem- porary Graphic Art at the Petit Palais Museum, Paris, France, from April 29 through May 30, 1949. The Exposition was sponsored by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Minister of Education, and the City of Paris,
The exposition was organized in recip- rocation of the invitations which have been extended since 1945 by public or private foreign organizations to the National Committee of French Graphic Artists, the Society of Comtemporary Young Graphic Artists, and the Society of French Painters and Graphic Artists,
The United States was confined to send- ing only forty prints to this exhibition, Mr Heintzelman is also an exhibiting mem- ber,
E,K,
After many months of waiting and keep- ing watch from the Albert H. ITiggin Gallery, the Keeper of Prints, Arthur W. Heintzelman, and his staff were pleased
to welcome visitors to their new enlarged quarters on May 18 and 19, 1949.
In connection with our recent gift of a complete collection of the lithographs of Henri Fantin Latour from Mr TJTiggin, then on exhibition, a special invitation was sent to the Trustees of the Boston Public Library, Friends of the Print Department, and to persons interested in French art activities, to view the exhibition and to inaugurate the re-opening of the Depart- ment. He were very pleased to include among those who poured Mrs John Hall, Madame Albert Chambon, wife of the French Consul of New England, Madame Montalembert, wife of the French Vice Consul, and Mrs John V, Spaulding, The following day all members of the staff were invited to vis- it the Department,
Those who frequented the third floor during the alterations know something of what was done, and many must have seen the steel beams coming in through the courtyard. The former location of the department was on a balcony overlooking the picture files of the Fine Arts De- partment. The open space between the balcony and the windows was then floored over, giving much added space, as well as more light and air. Because of the en- gineering problem the new floor level had to be raised several feet above the old, so that we now have two levels. Our largest area is the Study Room which now looks down upon the courtyard, making a most pleasant place for artists and col- lectors to work. It is also large enough to take care of small lecture groups. The room is lined with print cabinets stained as before, and the walls have been painted a beautiful light and cool grey green. Behind the Study Room is the Office of the Keeper of Prints, The main entrance has remained the same, from the balcony of the Albert H, TTiggin Gallery,
ARNAVETS
On Tuesday evening, June 7, the Arnavets enjoyed a dinner party at the Irving Adams Post, A,L. hall in Roslindale, A sumptuous boiled dinner was served and all commented favorably on both the flavor and sufficiency of the meal.
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After dinner, one minute of silence was observed in honor of members of the li- brary staff who did not return from the wars and also for deceased members of the organization. Mr Louis Rains was pre- sented with a gift, as he is leaving the library service. Mr James Gannon, the Quartermaster, introduced each member who was present, in order that the new mem- bers couid become acquainted.
Upon conclusion of these formalities, many groups formed slightly off-key barber-shop quartets, while others ex- changed reminiscences. Forty-six members attended the party. Membership in the Arnavets is at an all-time high of sixty- eight members.' Mr John McNally deserves a vote of thanks for his untiring efforts in making the arrangements for a very en- joyable evening e
L.J.M.
SOAP BOX
In the May, 1949 issue of The Question Mark there appeared an item against which I wish to register an emphatic protest. I am referring to the article on the top of page nine, under the caption, A Rare Book Connoisseur. I am not concerned with the fact that the little story is rather senseless, but I am surprised at the needless mention of the boy's color. Cannot we be more adult in our selection of material; especially of so-called humor, and thus reject inane items which are bound to give offense?
Yours truly,
(signed) GEORGE E. EARLEY General Reference Department
Editor's Notes
Sorry. We accept the reprimand.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord III The pen is mightier than the swordl
Old Ever sharp it was you, Who gave the B.P.L. its cue!
Subpros now all promise to wear Eversharps in their hair!
""■/hat's the cause of this elation? We have won three weeks' vacation!
Ever grateful will we be, Yes, until Eternity!
**********
EARLE QUADROS
The staff at Central Library was sad- dened upon arrival at work this morning, June 15, to learn that Earle Quadros of the Buildings Department had passed away suddenly last evening.
Earle, who had only recently returned to work from a leave of absence and who was looking forward to a vacation in Maine, was well-known by the staff and was appreciated for his pleasant smile, his cheery disposition, and his obliging nature. He was always willing to under- take any mission, small or great, to help a friend.
Earle entered the Library in February, 1929, in the Book Purchasing Department. Transferring to the Buildings Department in January, 1936, ho was made Junior Building Custodian on June 21, 1944.
Earle 's hobby ;vas stamp collecting and his enthusiasm was so contagious that his friends were always on the lookout for unusual specimens to augment his collec- tion.
He is survived by his wife, Maxine, and his ten-year-old daughter, Marjorie, who only last Saturday accompanied her daddy to a Sunday School picnic.
We will all miss Earle.
Requiescat in pace!
H.F.
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
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DAT?
IOFE55IONAL STMT ASSOCIATION
THE QUESTION MARK
Published by the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 6 July 1949
Publications Committee: Mildred R. Adelson, M. Dorothy Brackett, John M. Carroll,
Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M. Ushor, Chairman
Publication date; The fifteenth of each month
Deadline for submitting material; The tenth of each month
Shhhhhhl
There have been some awfully amusing cartoons appearing of late spoofing li- braries on their "Silence" traditions. That certainly is a joke of ancient vin- tage. Mention it and most library people grin self-consciously, almost guiltily. But, fundamentally, what is wrong in pro- viding quiet in a library reading room?
It seems to be just good manners and commonsense not to interrupt a conversa- tion. Reading is certainly a form conver- sation. If the books on library shelves are well selected the "conversation" of- fered users of libraries should be worthy of full attention and some concentration. Yet libraries at times don't seem to take positive steps to have some respect the privileges of others in this regard.
At a library meeting a while ago, a guest speaker was figuratively throwing bouquets at a certain library because its policy permitted him to go there and talk to its staff and with his associates with- out restraint. As he spoke in that vein, he was literally throwing a fit because a banquet was being set up in an adjacent area and the hotel employees were bustling in and out with linen, silver, chairs and such. The speaker, despite his praise of those licensing him to disturb others in a library reading room, was visibly upset that he did not have quiet as he spoke. And his audience (librarians) applauded his message and gave out with little gusts of annoyance at the source of the disturb- ance.
Has anyone made that study of the number of people who have been kept from using a library because of quiet compared with the number who have ceased to use a library because of lack of quiet?
PERSONAL NOTES
New Staff Members
Miss Jean W. Brisoo, Codman Square Branch Library.
Miss Harriet J. Stainback, Rare Book Department.
Miss Patience-Anne C. Williams, East Boston Branch Library.
Miss Marion J. Manthorne, Dorchester Branch Library.
Miss Margaret M. Gallagher, Dorchester Branch Library (formerly part-time at Phillips Brooks Branch Library).
Resignations
Miss Rose E. Baravella, Book Preparation Department. She will soon begin to work part-time in the Branch Issue Department.
Miss Jean D. Lamb, Rare Book Department, to do graduate work.
Mrs Norma D. Eisengrein, Codman Square Branch Library, to live in New Mexico.
Miss Alice M. O'Donnell, Book Stack Service.
Miss Bertha S. Smith, Kir stein Business Branch, to resume her studies at North- eastern University.
Mrs Gussene G. Hatzik, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Di- vision, to remain at home.
Transfers
Mrs Anna L. Shanor, West End Branch Library to South End Branch Library.
Engagement s
Miss Natalie C. Herman, Book Stack Service, to Alton Y. Snyder of Amesbury, Massachusetts.
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Tfeddings
Miss Vanda P. Bertazzoni, Science and Technology Department, to Mr Anthony R, Cariani.
Mr Paul Sweeney, Extra Assistant in the Periodical and Newspaper Department, was married on May 28 to Miss Mary Curry of Quincy,
Babies
A son, Stephen, Jr., was born June 8 to Mr and Mrs Stephen Roomian. Mrs Roomian is on leave from the City Point Branch Library,
Miss Editha Ewing writes, to quote from her note in verse to the Personnel Office Staff:
"Please thank my friends For notes and cards, Both beautiful and funny, But there's a distinct lack of 'dirt1 Don't say there isn't any."
Mr Carl Hoyer, Periodical and Newspaper Department, starts six weeks' training duty at the U. S. Navy Reserve Officer Candidate School at Newport, Rhode Island, on July 7, 1949.
Mr Charles Murphy, Book Purchasing Department, and Mr Paul Smith, Business Office, are with the National Guard at Camp Edwards for two weeks.
Miss M. Dorothy Brackett, City Point Branch Library, Miss Rose DiPasquale, North End Branch Library, and Mrs Bette Preer, Mt. Pleasant Branch Library, are enrolled in the summer session at the School of Library Science, Simmons College.
TEE DIRECTOR AMD UNESCO
Mr Milton E. Lord has been appointed by the Secretary of State to be a member of the United States National Commission
for UNESCO, in representation of the American Library Association,
m WELCOME BACK
Mr Paul E. Nagle, after an extended absence on account of illness. Mr Nagle, formerly of the Cataloging and Classifica- tion Department, Reference Division, is now working in the Book Preparation De- partment.
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CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER!
Miss Alice M. Mulhern, extra assistant at Connolly Branch Library, was awarded the Jamaica Plain Women's Club Scholarship at the graduation exercises of Jamaica Plain High School on June 3. Miss Mulhern, who has been at Connolly Branch Library for three years, was also awarded the Mueller Gold Medal for holding the highest marks in her class since her sophomore year.
BON VOYAGE
Miss Rebecca Millmeister, Second Assist- ant at West End Branch Library, sailed from New York on Friday, July 1, on a three-weeks' cruise to Guatemala.
Miss Elizabeth M. Gordon, Deputy Supervisor in Charge of Work with Children, Miss Margaret Morgan and Miss Virginia Haviland, Branch Librarians at Dorchester and Phillips Brooks Branch Libraries re- spectively, are flying to Mexico (includ- ing Yucatan) and Guatemala on July 30 for a four-weeks' vacation. While in Mexico City they expect to see Eva Anttonnen, who formerly worked at East Boston Branch Library,
Editor's Note: There may be others who
should be included in this list of travel- ers; if so, Bon Voyage to them, tool And, of course, Happy Vacation to all those who are planning to enjoy vacations in New England, and nearer home — or even at home!
**********
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ALUMNAE NOTES
Miss Elena Conlin, formerly on the staff of the Personnel Office, is now em- ployed in the public library at Orlando, Florida.
Hiss Elizabeth J. Hodges, a member of the staff of the Boston Public Library System for some years, has been appointed Librarian at the Leominster Public Li- brary. Since her return from service overseas, she has been circulation li- brarian at the Yfatertown Public Library.
Miss Kathleen T. Ryan, former assist- ant in charge of children's work at the Yfest End Branch Library, was married to Mr T.'illiam Dacey of Milton on Saturday, June 4.
Mr Frank N. Jones, formerly Chief of the Science and Technology Department and Deputy Supervisor of the Special Refer- ence Departments of the Boston Public Library, has left Harvard College Library to become librarian at Ohio University, as of July 1, 1949. Mr Jones was active- ly associated with the organization of the Lamont Library.
At the annual meeting of the Thoreau Society in Concord, Massachusetts, on July ninth, Miss Edith Guerrier (Super- visor of Branch Libraries, Emeritus ) € granddaughter of Mr Daniel Ricketson'of New Bedford, spoke on Thoreau's Friends, the Rickets ons.
Henry David Thoreau and Mr Ricketson corresponded for many years and Thoreau visited at the "Brooklawn" home of the family. In his journal Daniel described his first meeting with the Concord phi- losopher as follows:
"The season %vas winter. A snow had lately fallen and I was engaged in shovelling the accumulated mass from the entrance to my house when I per- ceived a man walking toward me bearing an umbrella in one hand and a travel- ling bag in the other. So unlike my
ideal Thoreau, whom I had fancied from the robust nature of his mind to be a man of unusual vigor and size, that I did not suspect, although I had expected him in the morning, that the slight quaint looking person before me was the ITalden philosopher. There were few per- sons who had previously read his works who were not disappointed by his person- al appearance. As he came near to me I gave him the usual salutations supposing him to be either a peddler or some way- traveller. He at once remarked, 'You don't know me.' Concealing my surprise I at once took him by the hand and led him to the room already prepared for him. "
Daniel also referred to Thoreau's dance at the Brooklawn home:
"One afternoon when both Henry and Amos Bronson Alcctt were present, while my wife was playing an air upon the piano, Thoreau became very hilarious, sang 'Tom Bowline', and finally entered upon an improvised dance. Not being able to stand what appeared to me at the time the somewhat ltidicrous appearance of our TTalden hermit, I retired to my Shanty, while my older and more humor-loving friend Alcott remained and saw it through, much to his amusement." Of the Thoreau bust in the Concord Pub- lic Library, modeled by Daniel's son, Dr. Edward Emerson, son of Ralph Waldo, wrote: "Hal ton Rickets on 's bust will be on the whole the best representation of Thoreau. It is idealized but only justly and has an artistic quality. It cannot be ex- actly alike, even if that were desirable, but it is sufficiently like and tells the story of clear eyed courage and directness, a suggestion of Nature's ruggednoss with Nature's refinement and wholes omeness, and a hint too of the tenderness and faith that made him poet as well as naturalist. It is a happy face, as it should be."
**********
RECENT VISITORS
On Saturday, June 35, Miss Nora de Lamos, of the Biblioteca Minister io do Fomento, Caracas, Venezuela, visited the Library.
On Thursday, June 30, Miss Pearl E. Portnoy, branch librarian from Cincinnati, visited the Library. Her regret ^ms that she had so little time that she could not see more of our Branch Libraries. She
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did visit the departments in Central Li- brary which work directly with Branch Libraries and found much of interest there.
On Thursday afternoon, June 30, a group of thirty librarians who wore enrolled in the annual Summer Library Institute of the Division of Public Libraries, visited the Library. After a short talk by Mrs Elizabeth Wright, Supervisor of Personnel, they were taken on a tour of the building. They were then shown two moving pictures of professional interest followed by a showing of the picture on Yosemite which was introduced by Mr Young. This last, was a demonstration of the proper way to introduce a film to a library audience.
AN ACCIDENT
On June 28 an accident occurred in the Book Preparation Department which in- volved two members of the Buildings De- partment ~ Mr John J. Mealeyand Mr Michael Sullivan, While Mr Mealeywas at work washing the upper windows, the lad- der on which he was standing slipped on the highly polished linoleum and he fell, dislocating his shoulder and receiving other cuts and bruises. Mr Sullivan, who was steadying the ladder, injured his ankle. We are happy to report that no more serious injuries were sustained; to welcome back Mr Sullivan, who returned to his duties last week; and to send our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Mr Me a ley.
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POPS
The evening of June 24, was Pop's night for members of the Staff Association and their friends. One hundred and forty- eight people enjoyed a delightful program of old-time music. Some of the old fa- vorites whioh the audience took up with a great deal of spirit were, Sidewalks of New York, Sweet Rosie 0» Grady, The Band Played On, Smiles, Till We Meet Again, and Sweet Adeline. The high lights of the wonderful evening were special fea- ture numbers by Leo Litwin, master of
classical music, and Phil Saltman, the king of rhythm. Priscilla Fortescue was chosen as the commentator to give thumb- nail sketches of the lives of these men who are outstanding in different fields of music.
Our friends will be glad to know that the profits from this concert have in- creased the funds of the treasury of the Staff Association by thirty-seven dollars and seventy- five cents.
M.A.C.
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LIBRARY GROUP ENJOYS OUTING
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On the morning of July 4, a group of library employees and their friends left by bus from Copley Square for Crane's Beach, Ipswich. Approximately one hun- dred and thirty people filled four buses for this outing.
Amid a minimum of confusion, the buses left Copley Square at 10:15 a.m. and ar- rived at 11:30 a.m. The members of the group refreshed themselves in the cool water of Crane's Beach. Although a few games of dodge-ball and softball were played, the terrific heat lessened activ- ity. The party spent most of its time in the water — except during the unexpected rain-hail-sand storm in the afternoon — which was ideal for swimming. Tonic which was supplied was served at the afternoon and evening meals.
Tired but happy from the trip, the crowd — sunburns and all — headed for home at 9:15 p.m. and arrived safely in Copley Square at 10:30 p.m.
I wish to express my thanks to all those who helped make this outing a big success.
F.P.C.
3JC -ft 3ff 3QG JfC ^y ?JC 3f£ ^t SfC
PRESIDENT'S NOTES
Miss Mary T. C. Mannix, children's librarian of the Parker Hill Branch Li- brary, has been appointed to fill the un- expired term of Miss Helen Sagoff as mem- ber of the Executive Board.
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A recent pole regarding CARE distribu- tion reveals the following: There were 273 ballots returned. Number wishing present
policy continued • • 104
Number wishing a proportion of CARE money to be devoted to the Book Program • •• 153
(25$ for books and 75$ for food as a proportion received the majority of votes) Number wishing all CARE allotments to go to Book
Program. ■•••••••••••• • 14
Number not in favor of any
one of the three plans.. . .... •• 2
This survey shows several very gratify- ing trends. The fact that 273 ballots were returned at the height of the vaca- tion season indicates a real interest in CARE and its activities. The voting re- veals the fact that serious thought was given to tho problem by individual voters
In another column there appears a plea on the part of the current CARE committee, Such reminders are essential. They help us to remember that while the B.P.L.P.S.A. has an enviable CARE record (at the rate we are going we will soon top our $1000. mark since the project was inaugurated in 1948) we must not rest on our laurels, great as they may be. There is still much to be accomplished and it can be done only by individual effort. Let us each one, as our CARE representative sug- gests in her article, stop, look, and listen every time we are tempted to "wait until next week" to contribute to CARE.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The In-Service-Training Committee for the year 1949, under the capable leader- ship of Mrs Sarah Flannery of the History Reference Department, has drawn up tenta- tive plans for the fall program. This is to take the form of an Institute to be held in the Boston Public Library Lecture Hall on Thursday and Friday, November 17 and 18, 1949. The main objective of the Institute is to present new developments in several fields of knowledge, especial- ly as they are reflected in the attitudes ..f the writers in the various fields, ihis objective, if attained, should help
to bring staff members up-to-date on modern trends in the publishing field. It should also make the staff more aware of what is useful and interesting and make them better able to serve the public in helping them to select reading suited to specialized needs, in preparing book lists and other professional aids.
The title of the Institute is to be Current attitudes. A limited number of subjects will be covered during the tvo- day sessions with specialists in the various fields as leaders. Details will be reported as they are worked out by the committee.
The success of the Staff Institute in
1948 was due not only to the outstanding contribution of the 1948 In-Service- Training Committee but to the fine finan- cial support given by the Trustees of the Library. It gives me real pleasure to be able to announce that the Trustees have made a similar grant of $200. for the Staff Institute for 1949.
The Trustees are behind the idea of an
1949 Institute. The members of the com- mittee are prepared to give unstintingly of their time and talents. All that is needed to make the 1949 Institute equal in interest and value to the individual staff members is your wholehearted sup- port and participation. No staff activi- ty* great or small, can succeed without the cooperation of the staff. If you wish to make a contribution of ideas or effort, contact Mrs Flannery or any mem- ber of her committee — Miss Ruth Cannell, Mr Charles Higgins, Miss Evelyn Levy and Miss Pauline Walker.
THE B.P.L. QUARTERLY IS OUT!
"Le roi est mort. Vive le roil" is the theme of this notice. Since December More Books in its cheerful covers of crimson, flame, russet, green, and (in Junet) sky-blue was no more to be seen lying about on reference desks and hall tables. Like air and love and all the best things of life, More Books was free (of charge). But we are living in a hard age of heavy costs, with the consoquence that this freedom, and with it the life of the Bulletin, could not be maintained. A new venture, however, has taken its place — The Boston Public Library Quarterlyj one which is different in form,
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but not so very different in essence.
Dr. Zoltan Haraszti, Keeper of Rare Books, who created More Books and edited it for twenty-three years, is also the Editor of the new Quarterly. More Books was unique in that it served a twofold purpose. For the Boston Public Library, more than any other library in the coun- try, except the New York Public Library, combines the resources and services of a public and of a university library j more- over, the scope of its special collec- tions exceeds that of the American uni- versity libraries, with the exception of Harvard and Yale. So the bulletin looked backward and forward. It showed to re- search scholars - and to the general pub- lic also - the riches of the rare book and other special collections, describing these from a historical and humanizing, as well as a technically bibliographical, angle. At the same time, it printed a classified, annotated list of the books currently acquired and, in addition, of- fered the familiar "Ten Book" feature - brief reviews of ten non-fiction books chosen monthly. Formerly the Bulletin's list of recent acquisitions included also fiction and children's books - a freight now carried by the Books Current of the Circulation Division.
In the first year of its existence More Books was voted by the Library Scnool of Columbia University "the best bulletin published by any library in America." And during its long career More Books maintained its initial stand- ard. A glance over the articles it pub- lished shows an infinite variety. Every new issue had a pleasant freshness and vitality. To the end, its distinguishing feature was the combination of sound scholarship with popular appeal.
More Books had a high reputation among librarians and book collectors throughout the country as well as abroad. The in- numerable inquiries of the public, both by mail and in person, after it became known that the December issue was to be the last, show to what extent More Books has become a part of the tradition of the Library — has won the affection of scholars and laymen alike.
In its light-blue cover The B.P.L. Quarterly presents a strikingly attrac- tive appearance The cover « designed
by that great artist of the book, Mr William A. Dwiggins — • is dignified and restful. People may notice that the traditional seal of the Library has been redrawn -- simplified — by Mr Dwiggins.
The first number of the new Quarterly opens auspiciously. Those who have read Dr. Haraszti' s previous studies present- ing John Adams's marginal comments on the eighteenth-century French philosophers will welcome the first article entitled "John Adams and "Turgot." The frontis- piece is a portrait of the great Comptroller-General of Louis XVI, against whose criticism Adams wrote his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States. The dialogue between Turgot's letter and Adams's manuscript comments, now printed for the first time, throbs with the vital issues of the young American nation. "The fate of America is already decided -- she is independent now for ever," the French statesman reflected, "but will she be free and happy?" And Adams answered with a confident "Yes,"
The second article, "Pantaloon as Shylock" by Professor John Robert Moore of Indiana University, should be welcome to that growing public which — thanks, perhaps, to Laurence Olivier — is more and more interested in Shakespeare, Professor Moore shows that Shylock is in the tradition of the Pantaloon, or harle- quin, bequeathed by the 16th-century Italian comedy.
The staff members who take their rest in the court-yard must be familiar with the bronze tablet on the north wall: "In Memoriam Thomas Sergeant Perry, 1845- 1928. He enriched this Libraby by his wise counsel and his rare learning during half a century." Miss Virginia Harlow, Professor at Do Pauw University, has con- tributed an enjoyable chapter on the friendship between Perry and Henry James, Long excerpts from more than fifty un- published letters by James make the arti- cle both significant and delightful.
Readers of the Quarterly would be dis- appointed if they had to miss the regular articles by Mr Arthur Tf. Heintzelman, Keeper of Prints, on the artists whose works have been exhibited in the "Tiggin Gallery. The first issue includes his sensitive interpretation of the litho- graphs of Fantin-Latour — the most com- prehensive collection of its kind ~- re- cently donated to the Library by Mr Wiggin,
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The descriptive catalogue of the Li- brary's Griswold Collection, begun sever- al years ago by Miss Honor McCusker in More Books, is continued. Within this formal framework, the literary world with which Rufus Wilmot Griswold, editor of Graham's Magazine and literary executor of Poe, was in correspondence comos sub- tly to life.
Finally, under the collective title of "Notes on Rare Books" are briefer arti- cles: on the rich Treasure Room exhibit made in celebration of the centenary of the publication of George Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature; on an en- tertaining old work on medicinal plants; on the 1513 edition of Huon de Bordeaux; on Lorenzo Gracian's baroque Art of Ingenuity; and on Jane Austen's last novels.
Paper, format, and typography of The B.P.L. Quarterly are equally excellent. The Printing Department has done itself proud with the new publication.
REDUCED RATES FOR EMPLOYEES
We note here with pleasure that copies of the B.P.L. Quarterly will be available to employees of the Library at reduced rates. Every employee is entitled to purchase a single copy at $.35 (instead of $.50) or have a year's subscription at $1.25 (instead of §2.00).
This is really a bargain. The four issues of the B.P.L. Quarterly v/hich will make up a year's volume will comprise, v.ith the inserted illustrations, nearly 300 pages — a substantial book, which would command something like $5.00 nowa- days.
(A hint to the wise: Two years ago a New York rare book firm, The Brick Row Book Shop, offered a handful of stray copies of More Books for §12.50).
BRANCH LIBRARY NOTES
Connolly
The annual lollipop party for the chil- dren of the district took place on Thursday afternoon, June 23, in the lec- ture hall of the Branch. Sponsored by the Jamaica Plain Women's Club, the party
featured entertainment by the children, community singing, and a quiz between a team of girls and a team of boys. On the way out, each child was presented with a lollipop and a bag of popcorn, with the compliments of the Jamaica Plain Women's Club. These parties, started three years ago, have become an annual event at tho library. The children enjoy them, and the lollipop parties have proven to be good public relations for the branch.
A special exhibit explaining the many benefits to be had from Federal Social Security is being featured. Pamphlets are being distributed to help the public learn how they may obtain benefits under Social Security.
A very unusual shell collection vail be on exhibit during the month of July. Miss Anna Von Euw of Jamaica Plain has offered to exhibit her collection, gathered during her trips to all parts of the world. It is completely catalogued, and contains dolls and other articles made from shells, as well as many rare types of shells.
Mattapan
A delightful luncheon was tendered to Miss Helen Sagoff at the Salmagundi Tea Room on May 14 by members of the Branch Staff and friends. A silver decorated salad bowl was presented to her. The children's librarians entertained Miss Sagoff at a luncheon at the Red Coach Grill in May. In early June Miss Gladys White and Miss Pearl Smart were hostesses at a supper party held at Miss Smart's home to which former Mt. Bowdoin Library associates were invited. Miss Sagoff was married on June 26 to Mr Bernard W. Berkowitch. Their home is at Point of Pines, Revere.
North End
The High School Reading Club ooncluded its activities for the season by attend- ing a "Pops" concert at Symphony Hall with Mrs Herrick. It was a new and
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greatly enjoyed experience for the girls.
Miss Becker accompanied her "Reading Teensters" on an all-day picnic to Riverside* Perfect weather, swimming in the pool, games, and hearty lunches com- bined to make a memorable day.
A demonstration of storytelling tech- niques was given by Miss Dorothy Becker of this branch library and Miss Jeannette Pepin of Hyde Park Branch Library to the Conference for Playground Workers held at Boston Teachers1 College,
Miss Ellen Peterson assisted by Miss Becker and Miss Pepin spoke at the "Summer in the City Training Program" on How to choose and tell stories to chil- dren. This institute, now in its eighth year, is held annually at the North End Union for the training of volunteer so- cial workers. Books, reading lists, and marionettes made by children at the li- brary were exhibited.
Miss Estelle Henderson recently trans- ferred from North End Branch Library to Jeffries Point Branch Library was hon- ored at a luncheon and presented a gift by the North End staff.
Vacation time has come for Miss Ellen Peterson who is spending three weeks at her summer home in Sandwich, for Miss Dorothy Becker who is taking a motor trip to the Gaspe with Miss Marie Kennedy of Mt, Bowdoin, and for Miss Saari who is visiting her family in Fitchburg, The vacationists shared honors at an ice cream party which also served to cele- brate Miss Rose DiPasquale's birthday and enrollment at Simmons College Summer School, and as a welcome to Miss Charlotte Myers recently transferred from South End Branch Library, At the party, Miss Rita Susi gave an account of a glorious Fourth of July week-end at Hampton Beach.
STOP AND THINK
Did you enjoy your last steak dinner? Your last broiled lobster with drawn butter? Do you scrape your plate clean until every morsel of food is gone, or are you a disciple of etiquette who always leaves some? Do you swallow, grab, and gobble your food -- any food as long as it is food — without regard to taste or type? Some will answer "Yes"? others, "No"; and yet others with a horrified, "Of course not; I wouldn't think of gobbling my food," or "I'm very particular about what I eat,"
Well, many of our neighbors in European countries would have said the same thing once, for Europe was once the center of food culture, each country being famous for a dozen different dishes. But hunger ends all that. Food becomes anything that is edible, anything that can be crammed into hungry mouths, anything that can be used as sustenance for tortured bodies, TOien was the last time you were hungry? Perhaps you are hungry right now if it is just before lunch time or dinner time or at three o'clock in the afternoon. You feel hungry. Sure, but stop and think a moment. You had all you wanted to eat — probably wasted a lot, or a lot was wasted or discarded in preparation -- just a few hours ago. Multiply that hunger you feel now by several days. Work in the field for six hours to get a mouthful of food that is barely enough to sustain life for another six hours. The next time you get hungry, skip a meal and see if you are as particular about the next meal you eat. Just think how you would feel if that hun- ger was prolonged for three days, a week, a month, or since before the last war — for ten years.
Of course, we all know how necessary it is for us to lend aid and we all talk of billions to this country and that, but the fact is that little of this aid reaches the individual immediately. Government expenditures are primarily to set the huge wheels of overall economy turning again, and a slow process it is in war-ravaged countries. But, we as individuals can feel the needs of people as individuals. Ask any serviceman. He was fed and clothed by the Army and Navy by the high- est standards of the world, yet the things these men and women longed for most were the packages from home ~ food, candy, socks, sweaters. Our foreign neighbors
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are not eating at the highest standards, may live largoly on American gifts; so, you can imagine their joy upon receiving a package of the staple food items sent from some warm-hearted friends here in America,
This giving is not beyond our reach; giving is a satisfaction everyone can en- joy. T7e have heard stories of some of the roughest MP Sergeants taking off much of the monthly pay to send packages from CARE to friends or acquaintances they had made on their tour of duty in Europe. One said, "Why shouldn't I? The people are starving." There was no forcing him; no one had even put up a CARE poster. He knew from experience that he got the most good from his money from CARE. One look at some of the privations and starvation of the people and you, too, will give more to CARE.
Especially during this time when some hope is returning to the world, let's help that hope in the B.P.L. drive for C'\RE. More especially, every time you sit down to even your plainest meal, give thanks that you will not be hungry -- and give more to CARE.
H.L.L. **********
NEW BOOKS IN THE STAFF LIBRARY
American Library Association
Handbook. 1948 . Assembly of librarians of the Americas
Proceedings, 1947. Bent ley, M. L.
Wedding etiquette. Bowen, Elizabeth
Heat of the day. Buck, Pearl
Kinfolk. Cerf, Bennett
Shake well before using, Churchill, Winston S.
Their finest hour. Costain, Thomas
High towers. Cowles, B. M. and Robert W, Orr
Library instruction manual. Cozzens, James G,
Guard of honor. Far son, Negley
Sons of Noah,
Fowler, Gene
Beau James; the life and times of
Jimmie Walker. Gilbreth, F, B, and E. M. G. Carey
Cheaper by the dozen. Gunther, John
Death be not proud. Hamburger, Philip
The oblong blur, Joeckel, Carleton B,, ed.
Reaching readers; techniques of extend- ing library services, Jordan, Alice M,
From Rollo to Tom Sawyer and other
papers, Marquand, John
Point of no return. Mason, F, Van Wyck
Cutlass empire, Meany, Tom
Baseball's greatest teams. Miller, Arthur
Death of a salesman. Murphy, Audie
To hell and back. Pan ova, Vera
The train, Pearson, Hesketh
Dickens, His character, comedy and
career. Persons, Christopher Edgar
Public relations for colleges and
universities, Ruark, Robert C.
I didn't know it was loaded. Sheen, Fulton J,
Peace of soul, Shera, Jesse H,
Foundations of the public library. Smith, Ira L. and H, Allen Smith
Low and inside; a book of baseball
anecdotes and oddities. Smith, "Red"
Saturday Evening Post sport stories. Spring, Howard
There is no armour, Taylor, Margaret S,
Fundamentals of practical cataloguing. Walser, Frank
Art of conference. Wayman, Dorothy G.
Bite the bullet, Wellman, Paul I.
The chain, Wylie, Philip
Generation of vipers, Zilahy, Lajos
The Dukays,
**********
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AIR YOUR VIET73
If we cannot have a food concession at present, why can't we have a coke machine, anyways ?
**********
ODD ITEMS
Requested Seriously — cushions of some
sort for people who have to sit for long hours studying.
********** MUSIC IN THE COURTYARD
To the casual observer it would seem that there are two distinctly divergent schools of thought regarding music in the courtyard during the lunch hour. It ap- pears that some people believe that under any circumstances and at any time "Music hath Charms", while others feel that un- less conditions are ideal "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter". The opinions we share with you are those of individual staff members, staffs of some departments fronting on the court- yard, and some volunteered by members of the public.
Music in the Courtyard is a happy thought, but is not enjoyed by people who are working up above the cloister roof. The music from this point is simply a sound, no feeling of the programs offered.
Pleaset No vocal selections. Sounds like a loud speaker sound wagon on elec- tion time.**Please go light on brasses, the courtyard can't take such volume,** A person who likes to go into the court- yard to read said there was no use to do so — it was impossible to concentrate,** Can't we have light background music, instead of a concert?** Overtures, Strauss waltzes and popular tunes ~ such as the Jerome Kern album -- seems most unsuited if readers are trying to concen- trate seriously,** TUhy not concentrate on
chamber music?** Try something on the or- der of Schumann's Carnaval Suite, Schubert's ballet music from Rosamunde, etc,** Try the sonatas of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc,** How about the quartets of Hayden, Boccherini, etc?
This is a bid for MORE AND MORE MUSIC in the courtyard, I find the noonday program most enjoyable and pleasant to hear as I toil at my desk. To me it is not dis- tracting but stimulating; not disturbing but refreshing. The only suggestion I of- fer is that the programs be continued every day, not just the three-day schedule. The selections are excellent, and the at- mosphere created by this musical interlude often lends a certain enchantment to an otherwise ordinary work day.
Most of our students think the music is distracting, A few think it is "very nice". The reception is poor, and at times it is only sounds up and down. We think the students and serious readers should be considered before the General Public who are only relaxing in the court- yard. Isn't the fountain music enough on a hot day? Glancing around the courtyard there is just as much conservation going on as ever and few seem to be concentrat- on the recordings,** My personal vote would be for Stop the Mus ic ,
The music in the courtyard provides a pleasant interlude on a long hot summer day. Admittedly it is there primarily for the library patrons' enjoyment, but I wish there were some way we in our depart- ment could hear it more clearly.
PANEM ET CIRCENSES
The so-called music in the courtyard represents one more step toward turning the Library from its established purpose, "Thy should a library, built for reading, join the company of busses, restaurants, bars, and the neighbors' radios which flood people day and night with amplified
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music.
A courtyard is poorly adapted to music f any kind. Carefully chosen selections, j ""lyed on great occasions by talented r sicians, could be delightful. But a hedge-podge of selections badly played assault the one sense that cannot be "turned off".
Serious readers, in need of quiet in which to study, are sacrificed in a fool- ish attempt to cater to a casual group of people who loaf in the courtyard for a few minutes or hours. Some of these idle people come in search of quiet, which they do not find. Among the readers are many who have come long distances to get books which are unattainable elseivhere, and their time is limited. Surely they have a right to as much quiet as the lo- cation of the Library and the routine of departments allow,
I do not speak of those persons, and there are very many, who either do not care for music or who only wish to listen to excellent music when they are in the mood for it.
A musician: The amplification is very poor and the choice of records is com- monplace. In an institution of this kind - musical program should include little- k. own music, not the stuff that is played frequently on radio programs and in popu- lar concerts. The music may be good, but we are getting tired of it.
An average man: It squeaks; sounds like a bad calliope.
A sensitive man: I wonder about the mentality of the person vfho suggested such an atrocity.
A woman trying to concentrate: "Then will it be over? I»ll come back then.
A half dozen others: Ye gods J IThat a racket I
A reader of Lawrence Hope's India's love lyrics: I like it.
"Music hath charms to soothe the troubled breast". Maybe -- maybe not.
It depends on many things -- mood, temper- ament, ability to throw off extraneous "noises", and the capacity for musical appreciation. Personally I must lack the latter. I seldom hear the concerts when they are on; I never miss them when they are off.
Immune .
It's a d— - nuisance. First it's the noise in the subway; then electric fans humming while one tries to concentrate; then that!
Are you irked by NoohMusik in the Court- yard? Is your telephone conversation marred by Voices of Spring and do you find that when you look at a book Smoke Gets in Your Eyes? Is it true that to you a Nutcracker is no longer Suite?
You should have a windo\v on Blagden Street and hear the music students in the Nottingham Building vocalize, an obstruc- tion to orderly mental processes, it is admitted, but one which the Library staff has withstood for years and still has been able to function.
A listener.
Given the proper amplifier and soft, sub- dued background music — who knows, it might be fine I
**********
SOAP BOX
PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE TRAVEL FOLDERS
Behold the Subs
Though they be proud
In reverence
Their heads are bowed
Showing their appreciation
For that increase in vacation,
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Editor's Note;
An unsigned suggestion concerning employ- ees working 30 hours a week has been re- ceived. If the person who sent it will submit a signed letter setting forth the details of the case, vie shall be glad to print the letter (without name if desired) in the next issue of The Question Mark.
********** IN APPRECIATION; CARE
Dear Sir,
It was a very pleasant surprise that came to us last week, when we opened the large carton and stacked out on the kitchen floor such a pile of good things to eat in those bright American wrappers which reminded us of our three year visit to the States years ago.
Some things we just put away for those occasions when one wishes he had some- thing special, but the dried apricots were soon in an appetising dish on the breakfast table. They were of first quality, and we couldn't resist the temptation to use them at once.
I do not know how you managed to get our names, I am Librarian in a small missionary college, and am doing my ut- most to build it up to 10,000 volumes (all non-fiction). But to the individual who put us on the list, and to the group that gave us this pleasure, we wish to send back a hearty "Thank You."
E. A. Marter England
Dear unknown Friend,
77e have just received your parcel CARE and we wi sh to tell you how pleased we are my wife and I with all these precious things from America.
Will you please thank all the members of your staff for their kindness. As life is yet quite difficult here we con- sider ourselves very lucky to receive such a wonderful gift. It does not only help us considerably but shows the sym- pathy and the generosity of our american friends.
We remain yours very greatfully,
A, Ramirez France
Dear friends,
"7e are extremely grateful to acknowledge receipt of a CARE parcel for our baby, sent by your kindness. The tins of baby foods etc. will prove inval- uable during the coming winter; their variety amazed us I
We have two young children - Anthony Robin (2 years 4 months) and Gillian (11 months) both with hearty appetites. I enclose a recent photo of Gillian (on file) in order that you may seo the one v/ho will actually benefit from your par- cel. As our mi. Ik ration has now been cut again for the coming winter, the tins of dried milk will be most useful for making puddings and drinks for her.
In conclusion, my husband and I wish to thank you very much for this fine gesture of friendship from the library staff of your city, and your thoughtfulness for the children of this country.
Yours sincerely, (Mrs.) Joan Crossley England
********** FLASH
Bates Hall ceiling is falling down — again I
LATE FLASH
Mr Albert Carpenter and his assistant, Mr Paul Kennedy, nearly came to blows over who should investigate a lost book which had been borrowed by a chorus girl who performs at the Old Howard. Miss Ruth S. Cannell had to make the final decision.
Paging Miss Cannell It
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY PROFESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION
THE QUESTION MARK
Published by the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 7 August 1949
Publications Committee: Mildred R. Adelson, M. Dorothy Brackett, John M. Carroll,
Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M. Usher, Chairman
Publication date: The fifteenth of each month
Deadline for submitting material: The tenth of each month
TiHAT'S IN A SMILE?
It has been said that over fifty muscles are brought into use when one frowns and only twelve or thirteen when one smiles. In these days of heat when every excess movement counts, it is well to consider the value of a smile.
This has been put very aptly in a clip- ping which we came across recently, the original source of which we have been un- able to locate.
The Value of a Smile
It costs nothing, but creates much.
It enriches those who receive without impoverishing those who give.
It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.
None are so rich they can get along without it, none so poor but are richer for its benefits.
It creates happiness in the home, fos- ters good will in a business and is the countersign of friends.
It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature's best antidote for trouble.
Yet it cannot be bought, begged, bor- rowed or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody till it is given away.
And if someone is too tired to give you a smile, just give them one of yours anyway. For nobody needs a smile as much as those who have none left to give
*
How about it? Have you some smiles tucked aivay? Why not try giving them to patrons and fellow staff members?
PERSONAL NOTES New Staff Members
MisS Marcia J. Dunlevy, Allston Branch Library.
Miss Mary J. Littlefield, Charlestown Branch Library.
Mrs Jane B. Lacy, Rare Book Department.
Miss Barbara S. Rogovin, Book Stack Service.
Mrs Virginia B. Reusch, General Refer- ence Department.
Miss Elaine D. Parsons, Business Branch.
Miss Ruth E. McNamee, Book Preparation Department (formerly part-time at School Issue Department)
Miss Patricia A. Tuley, Book Preparation Department (formerly part-time at Mt. Bowdoin Branch Library)
Miss Doris M. Cornelius, Codman Square Branch Library (formerly part-time at Washington Village Branch Library).
Miss Helen R. McMahon, Book Stack Serv- ice.
Resignations
Mrs Florence McNair, South End Branch Library, to live in California.
Mrs Jean W. Armstrong, Book Purchasing Department.
Miss Mary L. Mowles, Dorchester Branoh Library, to stay at home.
Mr Ralph 0. Silva, Fine Arts Department.
Miss Doris L. Cros6, Rare Book Depart- ment, in order to accept a teaching posi- tion.
Miss Norma Dalton, Book Stack Service, to join the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.
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Miss Mary K. Donaldson, Fine Arts De- partment, to study at Columbia University. She also received a Fulbright Scholarship and will study abroad in Athens, Greeoe.
Mrs Dolores Dobay, Book Stack Service, to stay at home after a month's vacation in Maryland.
Transfers
Miss Mary L, Dennison, Allston Branch Library to Jeffries Point Branch Library.
Miss Rosemarie DeSimone, Jeffries Point Branch Library to Dorchester Branch Library,
Mrs Iphigenia K. Fillios, Jeffries Point Branch Library to Orient Heights Branch Library.
Miss Estella R. Henderson, North End Branch Library to Jeffries Point Branch Library,
Miss Mildred Kaufman, Mt, Bowdoin Branch Library to Mattapan Branch Library.
Miss Marie R. Kennedy, Orient Heights Branch Library to Mt, Bowdoin Branch Library,
Miss Charlotte A, Myers, South End Branch Library to North End Branch Li- brary,
Mrs Anna L. Shanor, "Vest End Branch Library to South End Branch Library,
Miss Naomi R. Michalak, Jamaica Plain Branch Library to Hyde Park Branch Li- brary,
Engagements
Miss Mary T. Ryan, Tfest End Branch Li- brary, to Mr Kenneth Hale Robinson of Char lest own, Massachusetts and Old Orchard, Maine,
Miss Carol Antoinette Connor, Fine Arts Department, to Mr Luis Amescua of Mexico City, Mexico,
Weddings
On Saturday, July 23, Miss Isabelle M, McHugh, Office of the Trustees, was mar- ried to Mr Henry M, Leen, at St, Joseph's Church, Amesbury. A reception followed at the Amesbury Country Club, After a honeymoon in Nassau, Mr and Mrs Leen will live in Tfoburn. Miss Elizabeth B, Brockunier and Miss Phyllis Hoffman of the Office of the Trustees attended the wedding and reception.
Miss Fanny Goldstein, Branch Librarian of "Test End Branch Library, will attend the New York State Community Service Council of Young Adults Conclave at Hamilton College, Clinton, New York during the week of August 30 — September 5.
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ALUMNAE NOTES
Mr and Mrs Lawrence Kirkman are receiv- ing congratulations on the birth of a son, Robert Kincaid (weight four pounds), Mrs Kirkman is the former Clarinda ("Topsey") Lavrson of the Science and Technology De- partment,
Mr and Mrs Joseph Runci are receiving congratulations on the birth of a daughter, Janet Louise, on August 3, 1949, Mrs Runci is the former Alice O'Connell of the Circulation Division Office,
********** RECENT VISITORS
On Sunday, July 31, Mr and Mrs Albert H, Yfiggin paid their first visit to the new enlarged Print Department, Mr Tfiggin formed his unique collection of prints over a period of many years, culminating his work by placing the Collection in the Boston Public Library in June 1941, when the Print Department was established. Since that time he has added many invalua- ble prints to the Collection, most note- worthy being the complete works of Alphonse Legros, Honore' Daumier, Gavarni* and Henri Fantin-Latour .
Miss Florence Adelson, former children's worker in the Branch System, visited li- brary friends on her way to a Canadian vacation. Miss Adelson is now Branch Librarian at Montclair, New Jersey,
Miss Eva Anttonen, a member of the staff of the Benjamin Franklin Library in Mexico City, recently visited East Boston Branch Library where she had been children's
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librarian. Miss Dorothy F. Nourse enter- tained Miss Anttonen at a dinner to -which many of her friends and former associates were invited.
Mr Edward X. Casey, formerly at the Kirstein Business Branch, visited Central Library recently. Mr Casey is now study- ing at Boston University.
On the afternoon of July 19, 1949 a class from the Simmons College Library School, which Mr Charles L. Eiggins of the Reference Department has been teaching this summer, visited the Library to make a study of its services. Mrs Elizabeth L. Wright, Supervisor of Personnel, spoko to the class on the library service, and then they wero taken on a carefully planned tour of demonstration.
**********
CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER?
Miss Mary Cornwall, extra assistant at South End Branch Library, won the award on the "Cinderella Yfeek-end" program on August 5. Mary will go to New York by plane on August 12, and there she will meet other "Cinderellas". And it couldn't happen to a nicer girlt
Miss Louise Fogarty, extra assistant at Washington Village Branch Library, has been awarded the Notre Dame Alumnae four- year scholarship to Emmanuel College.
**********
BON VOYAGE
AND WELCOME BACK
Mrs Elizabeth L. Wright, Supervisor of Personnel, and Miss Elizabeth B. Brockunier, Assistant to the Director, are flying to Mexico on Monday, August 15, for a four-weeks' vacation.
Miss Nura Globus, first assistant at West End Branch Library, is traveling by automobile through the Blue Ridge Moun- tains.
Miss Rebecca Millmeister, second assist- ant at West End Branch Library, reports that her recent cruise to Guatemala was one of her most enjoyable trips*
Miss Carol A. Connor, Fine Arts Depart- ment, has returned from an extended tour of the Southwest, including Mexico City*
**********
MR MAIERS RETIRES
Fifty-two years of library service is the proud record of Mr William C. Maiers, Chief of the Book Purchasing Department, who has just been retired. The title "Chief of the Book Purchasing Department, Emeritus" was immediately given him*
All of us, and especially members of the Book Purchasing Department staff, now realize the meaning of a void and a vacuum, and the loss of a "guide, philosopher, and friend". In addition to business acumen, Mr Maiers had the "human touch" and ready wit which endeared him to his associates. He was almost as much of an institution as the Library itself J
He was the recipient of a gift and a memory book at an informal reception held in the Book Purchasing Department on Thursday, July 28.
Mr Maiers carries with him the respect and good wishes of all for his outstanding achievement and for the leisure which he has abundantly earned. However, if we were to hazard a guess, Mr Maiers might soon embark on Career No, 2,
A. V.
*#**#*#;|<**
INSTITUTE IN RADIO-AUDIO- VISUAL AIDS
Mrs Muriel C. Javelin aoted as a dis- cussion group leader covering the subject, Putting Films to Work in the Community, at the Institute in Radio-Audio-Visual Aids
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held at The Massachusetts School of Art, on June 28, 29, 30, and July 1, 1949* This Institute was presented by the Divi- sion of University Extension, Office of Radio-Audio- Visual Aids, with the coopera- tion of Boston University's Divisions of Radio and Teaching Aids; WBZ-WBZA, the Westinghouse Stations in New England; WCOP, The American Broadcasting System; WEE I, Columbia Broadcasting System; WHDH, Boston; "JNAC, the Yankee Network; and the New England Committee on Radio in Education.
CONFERENCE OF VISUAL AIDS
Mrs Muriel C. Javelin, Deputy Supervisor in Charge of Work with Adults, attended the annual conference of the Educational Film Library Association held in Chicago, July 29 to August 3, in cooperation with the National Association of Visual Educa- tion Dealers, the Film Council of America, and the Midwest Forum on Audio-Visual Aids.
The conference theme was Improving Ad- ministrative and Supervisory Patterns for Audio-Visual Center Operations. In addi- tion to the general sessions, there were sectional meetings covering such subjects as, "What Assistance Should the User Re- ceive from a Center of Audio-Visual Materials," "What are the Problems of Dis- tribution, Maintenance, and Storage of Audio- Visual Materials," "Ylhat is the Role of the Commercial Producer," "What are the Problems of Implementing the Audio-Visual Functions at the Local Level," etc.
The speakers at the banquet meeting of the Film Council were: Dr. Homer P# Rainey, President, Stephens College, Dr. Mortimer J. Adler, University of Chicago, and Mr Charles H, Percy, President, Bell & Howell Co.
Mrs Javelin was elected a member of the Senate of the Film Council of America representing the Northeastern Region.
********** MOONLIGHT SAIL
A group of over one hundred enthusiastic poopie, young and old, enjoyed a delight- ful evening aboard The Boston Belle on the evening of August the fifth. This modern floating palace — • with its spacious decks,
lovely ball-room, and peppy orchestra — has all the facilities for providing a happy evening for its passengers. Those who preferred to enjoy the invigorating salt air from the decks were fortunate in having a dear moonlight night to view Boston's fast changing sky-line. The orchestra wss most generous in the selec- tions which it offered to those who en- joyed the dancing, and dedioated one num- ber, I love you truly, to the BPLPSA.
Yfe are glad to announce that the treas- ury of the Association was increased by twenty-six dollars and five cents from the sale of the one hundred and twenty-three tickets ,
The Entertainment Committee thanks all those who contributed to the success of the first Moonlight Sail of the BPLPSA.
Margaret Calnan, Chairman Entertainment Committee
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PRESIDENT'S NOTES
In these days of soaring temperatures, it is refreshing to be able to even think about next January. So a cooling note comes when we report that a Nominating Committee has been chosen by the Executive Board to draw up a slate of officers for the business meeting of January 20, 1950. The list is to be submitted for approval, or rejection, by the membership as a whole at the November business meeting. The task of this committee is not always an easy one. You can be of real service to the organization by accepting graciously any office which might be offered to you. Based on personal experiences, I can say that the actual demands made upon an offi- cer are much less strenuous than might be expected. The membership as a whole makes the task of the officer a very satisfying one. Complete cooperation on every score and a willingness to make unlimited per- sonal sacrifices of time and talent on the part of the individual members has been most gratifying. It is certain that the incoming officers, whoever they may be, will find that this spirit of cooperation does much to lighten what otherwise might be the heavy tasks of office holding. Do not hesitate to say "yes" to the fatal question. With over four hundred willing cohorts, your task will be relatively easy.
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The Nominating Committee, which v/ill be waiting on you in the near future, is made up of the following members :
Miss A. Gertrude Barry, Personnel Office.
Miss Muriel C. Figenbaum, Print Depart- ment.
Miss Mary Golden, Allston Branch Library.
Mr Robert J. Roper, Science and Tech- nology Department.
Miss Dorothy F. Nourse, Chairman, East Boston Branch Library.
The Executive Board, at its last meeting, decided to appoint a Publicity Committee to serve for the remainder of the current year. The Association's activities have never been publicized through a duly ap- pointed Publicity Committee and it seemed wise to make this one of the special com- mittees for this year with the recommenda- tion that it become a standing committee should there be sufficient work to justify its continued existence.
The membership for the Publicity Commit- tee for 1949 is as follows:
Miss Marie T. Hastie, School Issue De- partment.
Mr B. Joseph O'Neil, Periodical and Newspaper Department.
Miss Isabelle G. Pennampede, Chairman, Information Office.
Mrs Sarah W. Flannery, Chairman of the In-Service Training Committee, reports that plans for the Fall Institute (November 17 and 18) are coming along apace. She hopes to have a detailed re- port for the September issue of The Question Mark.
Remember that VERY IMPORTANT date we asked you to save, December 2nd? We hope it isn't too late to change it to December 1st. Events over which mere humans had no control made it necessary to change the date. "Tatch the September issue of The Question Mark for more about this gala
8f 'Ut.
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NOTABLE BOOKS COMMITTEE
1949
Once again the Boston Public Library has been invited to participate in the selec- tion of the A.L.A. List of Notable Books. The national committee is under the chair- manship of Mr John S. Richard, Librarian of the Seattle Public Library and vice- president of the Public Libraries Division of the A.L.A. The local committee is to work under the chairmanship of Miss Edna G. Peck of the Book Selection Department, Circulation Division. The following staff members are serving on the committee for the current year :
Mr Harry Andrews, Branch Issue Depart- ment.
Mr John M. Carroll, General Reference Department.
Miss G. Florence Connolly, Fine Arts Department.
Miss Mary F. Daly, Statistical Depart- ment.
Miss G. Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Division.
Miss Christine Hayes, Book Selection Department, Reference Division.
Mrs Geraldine S. Herrick, North End Branch Library.
Miss Frances C. Lepie, Mt. Bowdoin Branch Library.
Mr Leonard J. Macmillan, Book Purchasing Department.
Miss Louisa S. Metcalf, Open Shelf De- partment .
Mr Robert J. Roper, Science and Tech- nology Department.
Miss Pauline A. r'.ralker, "".Test Roxbury Branch Library.
Miss Gladys R. Ylhite, Mt. Pleasant Branch Library.
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BOTTLING LEAGUE ORGANIZED
The organization of a fall bowling league among the members of the library staff is in progress. Male and female are invited to participate. Anyone interested should contact Mr Arthur Mulloney of the Statistical Department or Mr Frank P. Bruno of the Patent Room.
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CITY OF BOSTON EMPLOYEES' CREDIT UNION
ITord has been received from the Credit Union Office that beginning Monday, August 15, it will be possible for any permanent employee of the City of Boston to purchase five shares per month ($5.00 per share) for an indefinite period. This is in addi- tion to the fifteen shares per employee available for purchase since April 1,
It is suggested that, if you are not familiar with the Credit Union and are in- terested in joining, you contact Room 38, City Hall Annex. It is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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BRANCH NOTES
An unusually interesting exhibit of fourteen varieties of breads from other countries, which was on display at the Jamaica Plain and South Boston Branch Libraries last winter, is being exhibited at the Children's Museum for the summer months. This exhibit will be available for loan to other branch libraries this fall. Any persons interested, please con- tact Miss Mildred Adelson. Jamaica Plain Branch Library.
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DEPARTMENT NOTES
The staff of the Kirstein Business Branch entertained Miss Sylvia Smith at dinner at Patten's Restaurant on July 15th, She was presented with golden earrings. Miss Smith is leaving the service to re- sume her studies at Northeastern Universi- ty.
REPORTS ON CARE PACKAGES
Vienna, Vl/56
Dear Sir,
Several weeks ago my chief said to me, that I would receive a CARE parcel. I think the joy, which I had you cannot imagine, because we are in Austria very indigent now.
"Then I went to fetch the parcel I came td know your address and now I want to thank you very, very much for it.
The contents of the parcel is so consti- tuted, that every woman must be very en- joyed, of course my wife was also very delighted, you can perhaps imagine.
Now I will introduce myself to you. I am lodging in Vienna with my family. I am thirty-six years old and have tvo children, a girl, who attends the first class of the elementary school and one boy, seven month of age. My profession is law-officer and my salary is only so, that I am able to purchase the most necessary things only.
During the war I was soldier and one and a half year prisoner of the Americans in Italy in Naples and Pisa. The treatment was good there, but the foods better.
Now dear unknown donor once more the best thanks for the present, which you have done for a really needy family. You gave us many pleasure with it, particular- ly for the children also, I mean ;vith the chocolate and cocoa, and I don't know, how I can thank you.
Looking forward to a letter from you, I close my letter vdth the best Y/ishes,
Yours sincerely,
Anton Ulrich.
BOROUGH OF DEPTFORD PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Dear Mr McDonough,
I would like to thank you most sincerely for the very kindly gift of food which was sent to me by your Staff Association. The consignment arrived safely and was imrne- diagely unpacked and the goods displayed on our staff room table. I wish our good friends in Boston could have seen the de- lighted expressions on the faces of the staff at the sight of the contents of the parcel. It was decided to ballot for the articles and I am pleased to say that each member of the staff was able to benefit from the gift.
As you know, we in England have been living under austere food conditions for some years now, and although we are far from being badly fed the type of articles reveived from you are in very short sup- ply, and were most appreciated. Indeed
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some of the things had not been seen for many years. On behalf of the staff of the Deptford Libraries I do again thank you for so thoughtful a gift.
Deptford, with a population of about 80,000, is one of the smaller of the twenty-eight London Boroughs, but owing to its strategic situation was one of the most badly damaged by enemy action. It is also a very historic borough, and for your interest I am enclosing two booklets which briefly describe and illustrate something of its history and present-day conditions. I am also enclosing a short account of the Deptford Libraries during the war which has been written by one of the Staff, as I was away on Tjar Service at the time.
Trusting you and your Staff Association will find these items of some interest, and welcoming this occasion of contact between your large and progressive city and this small London borough.
Yours sincerely,
(signed) H. J. Rengert
Borough Librarian
DEPTFORD LIBRARIES 1939 to 1945
During the first few months of the war the activities of the Libraries in Deptford were considerably reduced. Deptford was very much "on the map" because of its riverside position in the South East of London. There was the mass evacuation of children and the work of the Junior Li- braries, a special feature of the service, ceased completely. Later when, contrary to fears, as the months passed bombs did not fall many children returned to their parents and one of the Branch Libraries was able to offer accommodation to a teacher who had rounded up sufficient pu- pils for a class but had no place in which to hold it since all the schools were closed or being used for other purposes.
The Libraries Committee were determined to maintain the service to its members. A return to the reading habit was inevitable once people had recovered from the first shock of war and all that it had implied. In actual fact the issues per head of the much depleted population began to in- crease. Reading as "escapism" was common, and a growing return to a more normal
mental outlook brought the demand for knowledge. But the maintenance of the service was carried out under considerable difficulties. As soon as what had, prior to September 1939, been referred to as a "state of emergency" became bluntly a "state of war" the Staff, headed by the Borough Librarian, became responsible for feeding the Civil Defence Personnel and were organised to be prepared to act in all circumstances and under all conditions from exercise operations to the complete obliteration of whole areas, by enemy ac- tion. This was additional to the continu- ation of the Library service and it was quite common for assistants to be attend- ing to the preparation and distribution of eggs and bacon (later to be supplanted by toast and margarinej) from 7 to 9 a.m. and books thereafter.
Yihen later Deptford began to "get it", and as we pride ourselves to take it, the Libraries Staff was made responsible for the preliminary emergency feeding of peo- ple rendered homeless by bombing (and there were many hundreds since Deptford suffered some of the worst incidents on record) and of those who spent their nights in public air-raid shelters. Even here, in addition to a food service, a shelter library service was inaugurated and every communal shelter in the borough had a corner from which a library servioe was operated. It was in the feeding of the people that the borough will always remember its indebtedness to the generosi- ty of the people of the United States who presented two mobile canteens and to the children of Australia who presented one for work with Deptford children. These canteens, although operating under the authority of Civil Defence, were organised by the Libraries Staff and serviced by a band of '"'omens' Voluntary Service helpers under the able and sympathetic leadership of Miss Noel Streatfeild, known equally well in the United States as in England as novelist, writer of children's books and lecturer. It is also of interest that on more than one occasion of heavy bombing, especially the Flying Bomb era, and par- ticularly after an attack on the Victual- ling Yard, both soldiers and sailors of the U.S.A. billeted locally, gave valuable assistance. They will be remembered also as giving help when the people of Deptford experienced for the first time the devas- tation caused by a Rocket.
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And so the Libraries continued until the final "all-clear" to hold the reins of the Departments for feeding the inner man coupled with the nourishment of the in- tellect. But the story was not as simple as it is in the telling. The Government early in the TJar began to direct women into National Service and it became nec- essary to replace all but the Senior mem- bers of the Staff by young and untrained assistants with little or no aptitude for the duties required of them. The Chief Librarian and Deputy Librarian were also required to serve in the armed forces. Albeit the storm was weathered and now, with almost the full complement of pro- fessional staff, the leeway is being made up and the Library Service takes its place in the fore-front of the Deptford Borough Council's cultural activities.
COUNTY BOROUGH OF i.TEST HAM
Public Libraries
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you very much in- deed for your kind gift of a food parcel received through the C«A,R.E. organisa- tion. I have acknowledged its receipt through the official organisation but feel that I must express my personal ap- preciation to you all.
The 'Test Ham Libraries, seven in num- ber, are situated in this heavily indus- trialised area, of eight square miles, and they carry an annual issue of books amounting to over a million and a half.
Our southern boundary is the River Thames, on the banks of which are situ- ated the Royal Docks. This dockside area was an attraction to the enemy during the last war. So much so that the Borough of "Test Ham had over eleven hundred of its citizens killed in air raids and over thirty thousand injured and taken to hospitals. Fourteen thousand houses were completely demolished and, as you can imagine we are faced with a huge housing problem.
The replanning of the Borough is now under way and several hundred houses have now been built in our Tidal Basin area, which was practically completely de- stroyed. The replanning includes provi- sion for new library buildings, but
these, of course, must await the rebuild- ing of houses which have first priority.
It is interesting, however to mention that before the war, with a population of 280,000 our annual book issue was about a million. Today with a reduced population of 170,000, our issues are now over a mil- lion and a half.
Once again, ever grateful thanks for your very kind generosity.
Yours sincerely,
(signed) E. R. Gamester
Borough Librarian
London **********
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ATI ON
THE QUESTION MARK
Published by the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 8 September 1949
Publications Committee: Mildred R. Adelson, M» Dorothy Brackett, John M. Carroll,
Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M. Usher, Chairman
Publication date; The fifteenth of each month
Deadline for submitting material; The tenth of each month
ANNOUNCEMENT
The stencil for the present cover of The Question Hark is rapidly disintegrat- ing. The Publications Committee, there- fore, is faced with the necessity of pro- viding a new cover.
The suggestion has been made to the Com- mittee that there are many people with artistic talent on the staff who should be asked to contribute sketches for a new cover.
So, we are now inviting anyone who wishes to make his contribution to The Question Mark to submit a sketch for a proposed cover, not later than October 20, 1949.
All sketches received will be reproduced in The Question Mark for November fif- teenth so that each member of the Staff Association may have an opportunity to vote for his choice.
Width of design: Length of design:
Specifications
Not over 7 inches.
Not over 11 inches,
Deadline October 20, 1949
REMEMBER — TIME MARCHES ONI
Make sure that you have earmarked time ~ and a few dollars — so that you can participate in the first New England Con- vention of the A.L.A. under its new plan. M.L.A., S.L.A., — and all the other L.A. 's — will be represented.
New Ocean House
Swamps cott
October 12-15
SORT breakfast — October 13, 8 a.m. **********
PERSONAL NOTES
New Staff Members
Mrs Barbara G. Sissman, Jamaica Plain Branch Library.
Miss Philomena F. DiVito, Book Purchas- ing Department.
Miss Mary C. O'Malley, Book Stack Serv- ice (formerly part-time at Connolly Branch Library) .
Mrs Elizabeth A. Simoons, West Roxbury Branch Library.
Mr Thomas H. O'Connor, Statistical De- partment (formerly part-time).
Mrs Margaret P. Filburn, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Divi- sion.
Miss Mary V. Groden, Book Stack Service (formerly part-time at Washington Village Branch Library).
Miss Marion H. Dowling, Fine Arts De- partment .
Mrs Elaine E. Kimmelman, Rare Book De- partment .
Mr Edward X. Casey, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Divi- ion (formerly worked at Kirstein Business Branch).
Transferred
Mrs Iphigenia Fillios, Orient Heights Branch Library to West Roxbury Branch Li- brary.
Miss Marion Flaherty, ".Test Roxbury Branch Library to Orient Heights Branch Library.
Miss Gilda Rossetti, Reference Division Office to Kirstein Business Branch.
Resignations
Mrs Dorothy G. Mackey, Statistical De- partment, to remain at home.
Miss Mary J. Azadian, Book Stack Service, to attend Boston University.
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Mr Roger P. Bristol, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Di- vision, to work at the Peabody Institute Library, Baltimore.
Mr Domenic J. Maio, Book Stack Service, to attend Northeastern University.
Miss Joan Hopkinson, Book Selection De- partment, Circulation Division, to accept another position.
Mrs Adele Wynne, Kir stein Business Branch, to live in England.
Engagements
Mr John M. Carroll, Deputy Supervisor in the Reference Division and Chief of the General Reference Department to Miss Evelyn Caswell, Head of Guided Missiles Library, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Miss Caswell is a former member of the staff of the Science and Technology Department.
Miss Kathryn I. N. Dolan, Open Shelf Department, to Mr Edward G. Maloof.
'Weddings
On Saturday morning, August 27, Miss Frances W. McGonagle of Book Selection Department, Circulation Division, was married to Mr William P. Kelley, Jr. at St. Anthony's Church, Allston. A recep- tion followed at the Hotel Somerset, and the honeymoon was spent in Bermuda. Miss McGonagle was attended by her twin sister, Mrs Marjorie Eiggins.
Miss Jean "T.. Briscoe, Codman Square Branch Library, to Mr Thomas C. Buchanan III, July 23, 1949.
Mr Ernest E. Hughes, Science and Tech- nology Department, to Miss Margaret Ann McDonald on August 20, 1949.
Babies
August 16 — a son, Brian Gerard, to Mr and Mrs Henry Barry, Book Preparation Department .
August 18 -- a daughter, Carol C, to Mr and Mrs Robert Roper, Science and Technology Department (Mrs Roper is the former Dorothy Galvin of the Business Office).
August 19 — a daughter, Priscilla Ann, to Mr and Mrs Francis Myers, Book Stack Service (Mrs Myers is the former Carolyn "Wallace of the Director's Office).
August 20 ~ a son, Roger William, to
Mr and Mrs William DiRosario, Fine Arts Department •
September 5 — a daughter, Kathleen Ann, to Mr and Mrs Patrick Murtagh, Book Stack Service (Mrs Murtagh is the former Alveria Calbury of the Fine Arts Department).
Septembor 12 — a son to Mr and Mrs Sidney Altman. Mrs Altman is Branch Librarian, Jeffries Point Branch Library.
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W WELCOME BACK
Mr Donald L. Newman, Records, Files, and Statistics Office, after an absence of over five weeks on account of an injury to his ankle received while playing baseball.
Miss Sigrid Robinson, Open Shelf Depart- ment, after a four-months' leave of ab- sence.
********** CONGRATULATIONS, MR HILL
The June issue of The Question Mark carried the announcement that the name of Mr Bradford Hill had been submitted for possible inclusion on the slate of the Steering Committee of the national SORT (Staff Organizations Round Table). It is with real pleasure that we can now write the second chapter to that story. Not only was Mr Hill's name included in the nomination slate but he was elected to the office. Thus the BPLPSA is represented on the national organization. This honor which comes to Mr Hill, and indirectly to the staff association which he represents, is well deserved for Mr Hill has done much to further the interests of our staff as- sociation. It also means that we, as an association, are growing up9
These who are serving with Mr Hill on the Steering Committee of SORT for the current year are:
Margaret G. Hickman, Los Angeles Public Library Staff Association! Esther Kelly, Dayton Public Library Staff Association; Katherine Prescott, Cleveland Public Library "Torkers' Association; Wilma W. Taite, University of California Library Staff Association.
A SORT breakfast is being planned for October 13, during the Swampscott Confer- ence which will provide an excellent op- portunity for those interested in staff
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organizations to get together and ex- change ideas.
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ALUMNAE NOTES
Miss Annie J. Daley, former member of the staff of the Branch Issue Department, is now a neighbor, having recently moved from T7ellesley to 127 Commonwealth Avenue
Mr Robert F. Dixon, Jr., has recently been made Assistant Librarian at the United States Coast Guard Library, New London, Connecticut . Since leaving the Science and Technology Department of the Boston Public Library, Mr Dixon has been at the United States Naval Academy Li- brary, Nevrport.
Mr Francis X. Doherty, Branch Librarian in the '"."ashington, D. C. Public library system, has recently been transferred from the Northeastern to the Mr. Pleasant Branch Library, one of the largest in the system. Mr Doherty formerly worked in the General Reference Department,
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RECENT VISITORS
Dr Herbert Putnam, Librarian of the Boston Public Library from 1895 to 1899, and now Librarian Emeritus of the Library of Congress, on September 8. Having been instrumental in planning the present Central Library Building, Mr Putnam ex- pressed the hope that he will live to see new wings or additions made to the build- ing when the Library comes into posses- sion of the Boston University buildings. Mr Putnam is 88.
Miss Juliette Chabot, Assistant Chief Librarian of the Montreal Public Library was one of the out-of-town visitors to the Library on August 23, 1949.
Miss Chabot was especially interested in the new quarters of the Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference
Division, and inquired about the lighting fixtures, the equipment and furniture, the system of storage space in the adjoining stack, as well as the size of personnel and the technical processes of the depart- ment. The duplication of catalog cards was a main point of interest to her, com- paring our Niagara Duplicator to the mul- tilith machine used in the Montreal libra- ry.
Miss Chabot also visited the Parker Hill Branch Library. She was impressed with the architecture and equipment of the building, "giving due consideration" to quote Miss Chabot, "to the European branch libraries I have visited".
Miss Edith Gustafson, formerly of the Branch Department, and now on the staff of the Newark Museum, visited Central Library on August 24. She was interested in the changes -- physical and administrative — which have taken place in the Branch De- partment, as well as throughout the rest . of the building.
Mrs Ned Yfyinan of Athens, Vermont, visit- ed the Library one day in August. She was nmch surprised to find that the Catalog Department was not in the room which she left in 1914. She is the former Laura Mendum and has never returned to the Li- brary since her last day of work here and was amazed at the changes which have taken place.
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THE DIRECTOR SPEAKS FROM CAIRO
Town Meeting of the Air program on Tuesday, August 20, originated in Cairo, Egypt, and, as all others of this partic- ular series, it was transcribed, Mr Milton E. Lord, representing the American Library Association, made the introductory remarks. He was heard by many staff mem- bers who have followed the tour with great interest.
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Reprinted by Request
CITY OF BOSTON EMPLOYEES' CREDIT TO ION
Word has been received from the Credit Union Office that beginning Monday, August 15, it will be possible for any- permanent employee of the City of Boston to purchase five shares per month ($5.00 per share) for an indefinite period. This is in addition to the fifteen shares
per employee available for purchase since April 1.
It is suggested that, if you are not familiar with the Credit Union and are interested in joining, you contact Room 38, City Hall Annex. Ih is open from 9 a,m, to 3 p.m.., Monday through Friday.
THE GOLDEN FUTURE
Those members of the staff who belong to the "5^" State Retirement System will be interested to know that during the recent session of the State Legislature three changes were made in that pension system. Die full text of these changes will be found in Chapters 656, 657, and 671 of the Acts of 1949, copies of which are located in the General Reference and Statistical Departments.
These amendments to the basic law gen- erally liberalize the previous provisions. Chapter 656 modifies the formula for cal- culating retirement benefits for those reaching 60 years of age and having had 40 years of service. Chapter 657 reduces the length of service required before being eligible for disability retirement from 20 to 15 years, making that feature uniform with the "4^" system. Chapter 671 liberalizes the financial provisions of the system,
LABOR DAY OUTING
As the sun broke through the clouds at about 10:15 Labor Day morning, three bus loads of Library employees set forth from Copley Square for Stage Fort Park, Gloucester. We arrived there at 12 m. The weather, which the weather forecaster tried to ruin for us, turned out to be
ideal. Everyone enjoyed the refreshing waters of a Gloucester cove, particularly those who played ball until they were about ready to fall in their tracks. The busses headed for home at 8:45 p.m., and arrived at Copley Square at 10:30 p.m. There were no accidents but the next day everyone was quite stiff from the strenu- ous exercise of the day before.
I wish to express my deepest thanks to all those who helped in the success of our Labor Day outing.
Francis P. Connell
A NEW LOOK
The front entrance hall of the Central Library Building is taking on a new look) The enclosure which was erected during the War to form an Information Booth will be dismantled and the new Information Desk will be opened this vreek. Be sure to step by to see this attractive new Desk which has been especially designed to harmonize with the 'jurroundings.
The beauty of the entrance hall is to be further enhanced shortly by the installa- tion of four handsome bronze exhibition cases_, which., being placed in the four niches . will give opportunity for more adequate displays of the Library's treas- urest.
NE7J BRANCH LIBRARY
Mr Richard Shaw, 25 Huntington Avenue, Boston, has been selected by the Trustees to design the new branch library building which is to be erected on a site on Adams Street, Dorchester, between Delmont Street and Oakton Avenue.
BOOKMOBILE COMES TO BOSTON
Some time in October Boston will get its first modern Bookmobile Service. Ar- rangements have been made with the H.B. Church Truck Service Company to provide the bookmobile for us on a contractual basis. The driver will be from the truck company while the other personnel will be
from the Library staff. The bookmobile, with a capacity of approximately 3500 volumes, vail serve the adult and juve- nile population of the entire city. De- velopments in this service will be re- ported with interest in future issues*
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IN RETROSPECT
A mobile library is not an entirely new venture in Boston. Remember the pushcart library which was used in the summer of 1925 and a Fcrd truck book wagon in 1926?
It began with an inspiration on the part of Miss Grace ITills, the Head Worker of Lincoln House settlement and the prompt acceptance by her personal friend and our then Supervisor of Branches, Miss Edith Guerrier. Miss Wills found a fine banana push cart and a willing friend who was interested in promoting a nevr idea, and so the Tyler Street Branch Library was started on a new method of bringing books to the homes of the neighborhood.
For the three summer months, under the direction of Miss liarion C. Kingman, Eranch Librarian at Tyler Street Branch Library, a weekly load of books, in English and four or five foreign lan- guages, made a trip through the crowded streets of the Harrison Avenue district between the railroad tracks and Dover Street from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
Good Luck and Bon Voyage to the stream- lined model!
MONTREAL EXPRESS ACCIDENT HITS NEAR HOME
On August 19, the Ambassador, Boston- bound Montreal express, collided with its sister train, also called the Ambassador, out of Boston, at Canaan, New Hampshire. One of the passengers was Miss Martha C. Engler, Children's Librarian at South End Branch Library, who was returning home after her vacation. Miss Engler writes:
"I should like to say a sincere •Thank you!1 to all my good friends who sent cards, letters, and telegrams to me in the hospital and at home. It is all deeply appreciated.
"As for the accident itself, it all happened so quickly that none of us in
| the train had any chance to be frightened. i One minute we were sitting there very peacefully minding our own business, and the next minute we were all nursing our individual cuts and bruises. Thanks to my loyal, hard-working Guardian Angel, who was right on the job, I escaped with cuts on my face rather than injured eyes. One minute before the crash I turned my head to look out of the window, and the back of the seat in front of me hit me on the side of my face rather than full front! My right foot was also badly sprained and that is what is keeping me at home» Otherwise, I feel fine,
"Those of us who were taken to the Mary Hitchcock Hospital in Hanover, N. H. , were very fortunate. It is a modern, well- equipped hospital with lots of very young and very efficient doctors. Everyone there, patients, nurses, and doctors were very jolly and it was as pleasant a place to be as to be in a hospital at all can ever be pleasant.
"All in all, the experience, though un- desirable, was not too harrowing."
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TEA AT BENJAMIN FRANKLIN LIBRARY
Three B»P.L. travellers in Mexico this summer were honored in a delightful manner at a tea given in our State Department's Benjamin Franklin Library in Mexico City. Miss Elizabeth M. Gordon, Deputy Supervi- sor in Charge of Work with Children, Miss Margaret Morgan and Miss Virginia Haviland, Branch Librarians at Dorchester and Phillips Brooks Branch Libraries, en- joyed meeting staff members, other librar- ians, and authors, who, at the invitation of Miss Bertha Harris, Director of the Benjamin Franklin Library, and Miss Eva J. Anttonen, Children's Librarian, met in- formally. "r,hile the delicious tea was being served there was opportunity for most interesting conversation with persons doing unusual work in the library field.
BOTLING LEAGUE
The bowling league begins next Tuesday and Wednesday, September 20 and 21 at the Fenway alleys at eight o'clock. It is still not too late to join on either night as the first two weeks of bowling will be
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noncompetitive to ascertain positions on teams. No new members will be accepted after the second week.
A GOETHE EXHIBIT IE THE TREASURE ROOM
The bicentenary of Goethe's birth is being celebrated in the Treasure Room by an exhibit of first editions and other Goetheana. Most of the items belong to the Sears-Freiligrath collection; others were purchased from the income of the Benton Fund. Though the exhibit is not large, the volumes on display do set forth the wide range of Goethe's inter- ests.
The most important, of course, is Faust, which in the literal sense was a life- work, as Goethe began on it at the age of twenty-five or even younger, and com- pleted it only shortly before his death, in his eighty -third year. The Library is fortunate in having the first printed version, Faust, ein Fragment of 1790 in three copies ~ two separate ones (one with the date misprinted 1787) and one as volume 7 of Goethe's works published in the same year. This edition is especial- ly intriguing for the student, who can compare it with the earliest version ex- tant, the Urfaust, and also with the com- pleted Faust, Part I.
The earliest of the first-edition items is Goetz von Berlichingen of 1773, with- out the author's name or the place of printing. Goethe v.rote this gripping drama of sixteenth-century feuds and the Peasants' War at the period of his life when he was most under the influence of Shakespeare, Die Leiden des Jungen Wert her is present in the second issue of the first edition of Leipzig 1774. This sensitive tale of hopeless love made Goethe suddenly world-famous. It was translated, imitated, and parodied — in short, a propelling force of the romantic movement.
The four volumes of Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre are seen in the edition of Berlin 1795-96, with the six folded plates of music to Goethe's songs. Countless people are familiar with Mignon's song "Knows 't thou the land," even though they have no idea that Mignon is a fascinating character in Goethe's engrossing novel of a young idealist's
strange adventures. Another novel, more modern and "psychological," is Die Wahlverwandtschaften (Elective Affinities), represented in the first edition of Tubingen^ 1809. The narrative poem of rural life, Hermann und Dorothea, may be seen as it first appeared in an almanach.
The many-sidedness of Goethe's mind, re- calling that of Leonardo da Vinci's, is brought out by a view of his contributions in the fields of art and of science. Here are copies of the art periodicals, the Propylaen — which takes its name from the vestibule to the temple of Athena ~ founded and edited by Goethe himself, and Ueber Kunst und Alterthum which contains
his critical contributions, as well as "Jinckelmann und sein Jahrhundert, Goethe ' s tribute to a great art historian of his time. His works on botany and optics are also represented by original editions.
Other items are Goethe's translations from the French and the Italian, and nu» merous volumes of his correspondence. A book of opinions on Goethe by his contem- poraries includes an' amusing criticism of Goetz von Berlichingen by Frederick the Great, who, writing in French, commented: "One can pardon Shakespeare for his bi- zarre faults, for the birth of the arts is never the point of their maturity. But behold a Goetz de Berlichingen appears on the scene, a detestable imitation of these bad English plays, and the pit applauds and calls with enthusiasm for a repetition of these disgusting platitudes,,."
A number of English translations are shown, including Carlyle's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Edinburgh 1824, and the manuscript of John Sullivan Dwight's Select Minor Poems of Goethe and Schiller, published in 1G<59* A welcome feature is the display of various Faust illustrations, ranging from the austere outline drawings by Moritz Retzsch, a con- temporary of Goethe, to Rene Clarke's brilliant illustrations for Alice Raphael's translation of Part I, brought out by the Limited Editions Club in 1932. The most striking of all is the splendid folio of a French translation, Paris 1828, with the haunting lithographs by the great French artist Delacroix.
Those who wish to know more about the exhibit are referred to the article which is to appear in the October issue of The Boston Public Library Quarterly.
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AN EXPERIMENT IN BOOK CHARGING
Photochargers have been installed in two Branch Libraries — Mattapan and West Roxbury — for an experimental period of two months. They will be put into opera- tion sometime within the next ten days. This charging system, developed by the Library Bureau Division of Remington Rand Company, is designed to eliminate part of the clerical work now involved in the charging of books*
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READING LISTS PREPARED AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY IN 1949
Book List for Grade Three
January 1949 Book List for Grade 4
January 1949 Book List for Grade 5
January 1949 Book List for Grade 6
January 1949 Third National Army- Industry Day
February 4, 1949 Recent Books on the Negro
Negro History Week
February 6-13, 1949 Brotherhood Week
February 20-27, 1949 Science and the Citizen
March 29, 1949 Army Day
April 6, 1949 The State of Israel
May 4, 1949 List of 100 Books for the
Average Reader
June 1949 Enchanted Caravan
Summer Reading Club
June 1949 Goethe Bicentennial, 1749-1949
August 1949 The Electoral College and
Presidential Election
August 1949 Reading List suggested in
connection with the 63rd
Annual Convention of the
American Philatelic Society,
Inc., August 16-20, 1949
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BRANCH NOTES
Hyde Park
The staff is appreciative of the re- painting job which will be completed here during September.
Jamaica Plain
An exhibit on SCOTLAND, consisting of interesting articles lent by a patron of the branch library, attracted much atten- tion. Appropriate books and magazines were also displayed.
Meet the Author Group at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library
So many high school girls, ranging in age from fifteen to seventeen, have shown an interest in the personalities and lives of the authors of their favorite books that special sessions have been held this summer at the Jamaica Plain Branch. These book reviews were similar to the ones held here last summer. The most frequent re- mark made by these girls has been, "We have read many of these books and feel that we would have enjoyed them more if we knew something about the men and women who wrote them."
The procedure at these meetings was to combine enjoyment and knowledge. Results have proved -unusually worthwhile. A. J. Cronins James Hilton, Louis Golding, Kenneth Roberts, Mildred Walker, Lloyd Douglas, Jane Austen, and Thomas Gray illustrate the diversified interests of the young people who took part in these discussions. The informal atmosphere re- sulted in spontaneous reactions. The at- mosphere and results of the meetings are perhaps best summarized by reactions of one of the girls s "I like the reading club because many of the other girls had differences in opinions about the authors and it made me understand their opinions."
One of the members has a sincere love for poetry and she held the group en- thralled when she discussed in simple lan- guage the life and works of Thomas Gray.
E. G.
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North End
The Puppeteers had a very successful season, giving weekly shows each "iednesday morning at 10:30 during the months of July and August. Despite all the city heat, these performances were very well attended, having audiences of 100 to 120. Many mothers brought their pre-school children to the plays. The local playground teachers and settlement house workers used the Library's programs in connection with their own planned rec- reation for the children.
In addition to the regular weekly per- formances, the Puppeteers played host to a group of girls and boys from the Phillips Brooks Branch Library. On July 29 Miss Virginia Haviland, Branch Li- brarian, and her assistant, Miss Gracemarie Alfe, conducted 34 children on a visit to the North End Branch Library.
The Summer Reading Club had a party in the branch library on Wednesday, Septem- ber 7, to end a very successful season. "TJhile the number winning awards this year was not as large as in other years be- cause of the terrific heat, much very good reading had been accomplished by the finalists. Refreshments consisted of punch and candy. Miss Tyyne Saari, as- sistant in the Children's Room, led the group in playing games. After the party, pictures were taken of the group.
Yjest End
An exhibit is being currently featured of scenes from the new motion picture "Sword in the Desert". A collection of pamphlets and books on Israel has also been assembled and the public is cordial- ly invited to visit the Branch Library and see this timely and interesting ex- hibit.
Thirty children had their favorite toys as special guests at the Toy Party held on August 3 for members of the Summer Reading Club. Bride dolls, trains, and Shmoos were among those present. Prizes were avrarded to the owners of the pretti- est, the funniest, and the most unusual
toys.
Miss Fanny Goldstein, Branch Librarian, talked to the children on summer reading, and Miss Elinor Day, Children's Librarian, told an entertaining story. The guests also participated in two quizzes ~ one on books, and the other on the "Jest End Branch Library building and its history. As a climax to the party, ice cream and lollipops were served to the guests.
A Great Books discussion group will car- ry on for the second year, beginning Monday evening, October 10, and meeting every other Monday thereafter.
In connection with the beginning of a new academic year for institutions of higher learning, there will be featured during the month of September an exhibit on famous colleges and universities, both at home and abroad. The exhibit will in- clude mounted photographs, catalogs, and histories of many of the schools, as well as general material on adult education.
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PRESIDENT'S NOTES
There is no doubt in the minds of the members of the Executive Board of the B.P.L.P.S.A, as to what season of the year it is. Fall is indeed with us, and with the fall a host of proposed activities. At the Executive Board meeting held September 14 there were brought before the Board several suggestions for future As- sociation undertakings which should pro- vide pleasant social activities for the members and at the same time be a substan- tial help to our shrinking finances, which need reinforcement if our professional projects are to be properly executed. The fact that the proposals submitted by staff members were nicely balanced between pro- fessional and social shows that the in- dividual members are alive to the needs of the Association. Several of these sug- gestions require some ground work done be- fore they can be reported to the member- ship as a whole but they should be ready for release in the October issue of The Question Mark. We can give a brief report
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on the follcwing items:
(1) The plans for that VERY IMPORTANT date -- December 2, 1949 — can now be divulged. It is to be a reception to honor our Director upon his inauguration as President of the American Library As- sociation. The reception is to be held in the Princess Suite at the Hotel Somerset, 400 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, at 8 p.m. It lias been several years since a Director of the Boston Public Library has been President of A.L.A.
This honor which comes to Mr Lord is shared in a certain measure by the Boston Public Library and the other libraries in the New England area, where Mr Lord has made a valuable contribution to the im- provement of library standards. It is hoped that all staff members will take this opportunity to pay tribute to a high office and to the man who has been chosen to serve in that office for the coming year.
(2) The Committee on In-Service Train- ing reports that speakers for the Pall Institute, to be held in the Boston Public Library Lecture Hall November 17 and 18, have been contacted. The list is impressive and it is hoped that those who accept will bring to the membership, and all others who are able to participate in the Institute proceedings, real inspira- tion for a broader and more understanding service to the public. A general plan of the Institute was outlined in the July issue of The Question Mark.
(3) Tentative plans are underway for a theatre party and for an evening of square dancing, both undertaken to pro- vide pleasant recreation and, it is hoped, a little financial upholstery for the Institute expenses.
SOAP BOX
Dear "Soap Box" Editor:
Those of us who are interested in the scholarships granted to staff members for study in the fields of library science are somewhat disturbed by the number of applicants who receive scholarships and then, after a very brief time with the Library, go on to "greener pastures." It would seem that the prevalence of this
practice should be given some serious con- sideration. TTould it be possible to make one of the requirements of the receipt of a scholarship a promise from the recipient that he or she will stay in the Library a specified length of time after the comple- tion of the course for which the scholar- ship was given?
Not being familiar with the procedure of scholarship grants, I find it difficult to offer concrete suggestions, but it does seem that some measure should be taken to protect the Library against this method of refined exploitation which is becoming far too prevalent either for the good of the Library service or for those receiving scholarships.
AN INQUIRER
A CHEAP Y7AY TO BETTER PUBLIC RELATIONS
In direct ratio to the building up of the splendid book collection in the Branch Issue Department during recent years is the growing need (apparent to those mem- bers of the staff working with the public) to make this collection more widely avail- able to borrowers using the Central Li- brary. The size of the collection (more than double that of the Open Shelf Depart- ment and the largest of the Branch adult collections) and the broad understanding of books and people and their needs re- flected in its selection, make it incom- parably the finest basic circulating col- lection in the library system. Carefully developed on the basis of city wide rather than purely local needs it is free of the parochialism which of necessity may char- acterize a branch collection. For this reason and because of the sharply reduced book quotas now in effect in the Open Shelf Department and the Branch Libraries it would seem desirable that its resources should be available to the public at all times that the circulating departments of the Central Library are open.
All too often a Branch borrower, finding his local collection inadequate for his immediate special needs, comes hopefully to Central only to discover that the books he requires are unobtainable from the Open Shelf Department or restricted to hall use in the Reference Division. Unless it is at a time xihen the Branch Issue Department
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is open (whore in many instances his needj might be met) the borrower will leave un- satisfied, mentally chalking up a black mark against the library "where you can never get anything" -- a wail familiar to complaint-hardened staff members.
In addition to its overall value as a well rounded, basic collection is the added fact that it includes also hundreds of "starred" books which in most in- stances are unobtainable for circulation anywhere else in the system. As every assistant in public departments such as Open Shelf and General Reference is aware, many of these are among the most consistently asked for books by students and teachers as well as the general reader.
Discounting the numerous ephemeral "best sellers" which for one reason or another are assigned to this collection, the following groups of books are to be found in the "starred" collection*
1. Significant fiction -- Authors
ranging from Boccacoio to Flaubert, Zola, Stendhal, Romains, Gide, Proust, James Joyce, Huxley, D. H. Lawrence, Dos Passos, Sherwood Anderson, Dreiser, Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck, James Farrell and such contempo- rary war novelists as Hersey, Burns, Shaw, Mailer, etc. Although but a handful of exam- ples, these suffice to indicate that it is impossible for a stu- dent, teacher or the general reader to study the development of the modern novel without re- course to this collection,
2, Books on sex and marriage, contin-
ually asked for by students, teachers, social workers, young couples, etc.
3. Titles in various special fields of
psychology, such as Psychology of women, Varieties of temperament, etc.
4, Miscellaneous — individual titles
in the fields of criminology, anatomy, physiology and medicine, anthropology, autobiography, drama, etc. Other important fields in which the Branch Issue Department's holdings are strong, on which the Open Shelf Depart- ment and the Reference Departments draw heavily for their borrowers because of
inadequacies or restrictions in their own collections, are:
1. Civil service books. Unavailable in
the Open Shelf at the present time, the bulk of the Reference Division's extensive holdings are for hall use only, and the few available for circulation are entirely inadequate to meet the continual heavy demand for copies for home use.
2. Technical books. These are unavail-
able in the Open Shelf Department and in many cases are restricted to hall use in the Reference Division.
3. Vocational literature — including
operating small businesses, etc,
4. The standard classics — including
wide duplication of titles used in "Great Books" courses.
5. So called "avant garde" literature.
6. Psychology — standard works and
texts insufficiently duplicated elsewhere.
7. Arts and crafts.
8. Social sciences,
9. Certain current reference books,
generally unavailable elsewhere for
home use. Since the Branch Issue Department is closed evenings, Saturdays and Sundays (or 39 hours weekly when Open Shelf and General Reference Departments are open) it is painfully apparent to assistants in these departments that scores of borrow- ers are each week denied at the time of their requests books which in most in- stances could be supplied without waiting by Branch Issue Department. In many in- stances these individuals are working people whose only free time is during the evening hours and on weekends.
At the present time, during those hours when Branch Issue is open, an average of thirty trips daily are made from Open Shelf to that Department to supply borrow- ers' needs. This is in addition to simi- lar trips made from the various Referonce Departments,
In view of these facts, might it not be possible to staff the Branch Issue Depart- ment during these hours with one capable, trustworthy part-time assistant (at 60 - 80/ an hour) who would service the col- lection and be responsible to the Supervisor? In terms of added, much needed service to the public, and the sub- sequent good public relations created by such a step certainly the cost (roughly
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$1400 a year) would be negligible.
CONCERNED
*
To the "Soap Box":
No Soap Box in the August issue! Lest this lapse should become permanent, I've picked two conflicting opinions out of the not-as-hot-as-it-was atmosphere (if that is where opinions dwell) and present them for inspection:
la The Question Mark is not "profes- sional" and it should be as the mouthpiece of a professional organ- ization, 2. The Question Mark is grand because it brings me up-to-date on what's happening around me. I look for- vrard to the fifteenth of each month with pleasurable anticipation. Obviously, before agreeing or disagree- ing, it was only fair s
1. To examine the Constitution and By- Laws of the Association and the file of The Question Mark to see if the scope of the paper had ever been set down in black and white.
2. To examine the issues to date to reacquaint myself with what they contained.
3. To consider — regardless of 1 and 2 — the people for whom the paper is issued.
First, the Constitution contains no statement with regard to a bulletin. The By-Laws (Article V, Section 5) state:
"It shall be the duty of the Publica- tions Committee to issue a bulletin. The chairman of this committee shall be the editor-in-chief."
The first issue of The Question Mark included this statement:
"This publication is a trial balloon — a news sheet for the Staff Association. We should like to have it controlled as much as possible by all the Staff members for whom it is issued,.,
"The present plan is to cover, in brief form, current library news and person- al notes of general interest, with occasional notices of special books or articles on library topics. Further suggestions will be very welcome. There might, for instance, be an 'open forum* section; or one for
discussion of projects under way in Branches or at Central; or any other feature which you would find useful." Secondly, an examination of the issues through the years revealed that space has been given to: Reporting professional library meetings; listing articles of pro- fessional interest in periodicals; detail- ing branch and department activities (social and professional); announcing ever-changing personnel; and free expres- sion of opinion in the Soap Box.
Thirdly, for whose consumption is The Question Mark intended? Primarily for
the members of the Staff of the Boston Public Library — hundreds of human beings (from 15 to 701 ), subject to the frailties and foibles of all Imman beings; therefore, probably interested in the minutiae of everyday living among their fellow workers, and ~ in more serious moments ~ eager to be informed of the progress being made in the profession of Librarianship,
These hundreds of human beings are lo- cated in more than thirty widely-separated buildings (no bookmobiles, yetl) through- out the city. They need a medium through which they can keep in touch and be made to feel that what their branch or depart- ment does professionally and socially is helping to make the whole organization prosper.
All of which leads me to express two personal opinions:
First, that The Question Mark should be both professional and non-professional; both serious and not-so-serious; but always embracing a "live-and-let-live" philosophy and never a condescending "holier-than-thou" attitude. Secondly, that whatever The Question Mark contains it will appeal — now, to some; again, to others; but probably never to all at the same time. Hot/ do you feel about your Question Mark?
I LIKE ITS
Editor's Note: The Publications Commit- tee \velcomes — and anticipates ~ dis- cussion with regard to the content of The Question Mark, It is hoped that the above letter will call forth other ex- pressions of opinion as well as contri- butions of both types mentioned.
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ASSOCi/VriON
THE QUESTION MARK
Fublished by the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 9 October 1949
Publications Committee t Mildred R. Adelson, M. Dorothy Braokett, John M. Carroll,
Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M. Usher, Chairman
Publication date; The fifteenth of each month
Deadline for submitting material j The tenth of each month
IN MEMORIAM
Abraham E. Pinanski
Trustee of the Boston Public Library February 1943 — April 1949
"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."
With the death of Judge Abraham E. Pinanski on October fifth the Library lost a staunch friend and tireless worker for its betterment. Judge Pinanski served the Library from 1934 to 1942 as a member of the Examining Committee, of which he was elected Vice Chairman in 1937 and again in 1938. On February 16, 1943 Judge Pinanski was appointed a Trustee of the Library and con- tinued on the Board of Trustees until April 30, 1949, He served as President of the Board of Trustees in 1946.
The human quality of his warm friendliness and of his unfail- ing kindness made association with Judge Pinanski a pleasure for the staff. His willingness to aid in activities carried on by members of the staff and to give of his time and energy whenever called upon by the Library will not soon be forgotten.
PERSONAL NOTES New Staff Members
Miss Joan R. Nill, Mattapan Branch Library.
Miss Joyce C. Rylander, Reference Divi- sion Office.
Miss Nancy J. Dickson, Book Selection Department, Circulation Division.
Miss Fern K. Schoonmaker, Brighton Branch Library.
Resignations
Mrs Phyllis Podren, Brighton Branch Branch Library, to remain at home.
Mrs Jeanne C. Foret, Mattapan Branch Library, to accept a position as Chil- dren's Librarian at the Watertown Public Library.
Miss Joan Hopkins on, Book Selection Department, Circulation Division, to ac- cept another position,
Mrs M. Kathleen Roomian, City Point Branch Library, to remain at home.
Mr Julian L. Moynahan, Cataloging and Classification, Reference Division, to study at Harvard University.
Transferred
Mrs Helen F. Hirson, West Roxbury Branch Library to Circulation Division Office.
Staff Members Studying at Simmons College
School of Library Science
Miss M. Dorothy Brackett, City Point Branch Library.
Miss Mary J. Brady, Cataloging and Classification Department, Reference Di- vision.
Mrs Marjorie G. Bouquet, Reference Di- vision Office.
Miss Elizabeth H. Kaufmann, Print De- partment.
Miss Isabella G. Pennampede, Informa- tion Office.
Miss Elizabeth G. Todd, Teachers De- partment .
Miss Katharine TJeisman, Memorial Branch Library.
Engagements
Miss Nancy J. Dickson, Book Selection Department, Circulation Division, to Mr Tilliam A. Boy Ian, Harvard Lav/ School.
Miss Sigrid Robinson, Open Shelf De- partment, to Mr John W. Reddy of West Newton, on September 18.
Weddings
At ten o'clock on the morning of Saturday, September 17, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Miss Kathryn I. N. Dolan, Open Shelf Department, was married to Mr Edward G. Maloof . Miss Anne Moore of the same department was one of the bridesmaids. Following the ceremony a reception was held at the Brookline Elks1 Club. After a wedding trip through New Hampshire and Canada, Mr and Mrs Maloof will live in Winchester.
WE WELCOME BACK
Mr Milton E. Lord, the Director, after a summer's absence during which he repre- sented the American Library Association as a member of the World Town Hall Seminar.
Miss Marie McCarthy, Cataloging and Classification Department, Circulation Division, after a long absence on account of illness.
Miss Martha Engler, South End Branch Library, after several weeks* absence as the result of a railroad accident.
ACCIDENT
Miss Katherine G. Sullivan of the General Reference Department has been ab- sent from the Library since September 10 because of a fractured v/rist sustained in a fall while visiting in Quincy. Her re- turn is looked forward to by her fellow workers and the public as eagerly as we hope she looks forward to it.
4HHHHHHHHH*
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C0NGRATULATI0N5 ARE IN ORDER
Miss A. Virginia Haviland, Branch Li- brarian at Phillips Brooks Branch Library, will give the second Hewins Lecture at Swampscott on Saturday afternoon, October 1$. She is the second member of the Boston Public Library staff to have re- ceived this honor. The first lecture in 19h7 was given by Miss Alice M. Jordan, Supervisor of Y/ork with Children, Emeritus. The Hewins Lectures were founded by Mr Frederic Melcher and are administered by the Round Table of Chil- dren' s Librarians.
Mrs Dorothy M. Lovett, Business Branch Librarian, will participate in the Region- al Meeting of the Business and Technology Section of the ALA. An informal discus- sion of mutual problems and plans for the formation of a Regional Group is scheduled.
Mr Charles L. Higgins, First Assistant in the General Reference Department, is conducting a course in Reference Work at Simmons College and is also teaching a University Extension course in Reference Work which will meet in the Training Classroom in the Central Library.
We are happy to learn that, effective March 1, 19h9 , according to Chapter 681, Acts of 19l;9, all city employees retired prior to October 1, 19U6, received an in- crease of 20$ in pensions, provided that they had been receiving less than $1^00 a year, and that no pension in this category should be increased to an amount exceed- ing .$1500. Congratulations to each of you I
ALUMNAE NOTES
SECOND ALUMNAE TEA
Remembering that those who attended the Alumnae Tea in 19U8 had expressed a desire that the event might become a regular Fall
activity, Miss Edith Guerrier, Supervisor of Branch Libraries, Emeritus, issued in- vitations to the same fifteen who were invited one year ago.
Those Branch Librarians, Emeritus, who came were: Mrs Edith H. Bailey, Misses Anne M. Donovan, Margaret H. Reid, Katherine S. Rogan, Mary M. Sullivan, and Geneva Watson ; also, Miss Marion A. McCarthy, Chief of Book Preparation De- partment, Emeritus. Those who were pre- vented from coming on account of previous engagements were: Supervisor of Work with Children, Emeritus, Miss Alice M. Jordan, and Branch Librarians, Emeritus, Misses Katie F. Albert, Mary E. Ames, M. Florence Cufflin, Clara L. Maxwell, Carrie L. Morse, and Katharine F, Muldoon, and Supervisor in the Circulation Division, Mrs Ada A. Andeiman.
Miss Guerrier was assisted by what she referred to as her "Catering Club" : Miss A. Virginia Haviland, Mrs Muriel C. Javelin, Miss Dorothy F. Nourse, Miss Edna G. Peck, Mrs Gertrude Stoddard, and Miss Sarah M. Usher.
After refreshments had been enjoyed, colored slides taken by her in Mexico this past summer were shown by Miss Haviland. The afternoon was in all re- spects a complete success.
MISS GUERRIER GIVES TALK
On Friday evening, September 30, Miss Edith Guerrier entertained the Old Dartmouth Historical Society with a talk about the friendship between her grand- father, Daniel Ricketson of New Bedford, and Henry David Thoreau, famous author, naturalist, and philosopher.
Miss Guerrier also read many excerpts from letters written by friends to her grandfather. There were letters from William Howitt, British author, Lydia Maria Child, editor of the first monthly periodical for children published in the United States, Charles Elliott Norton, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Greenleaf Whittier, W. Ellery Channing, Theodore Parker, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, the English poet, William Barnes, George William Curtis, and Thoreau.
In the informal period which followed the talk, Miss Guerrier was greeted by
'..
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many persons who remembered her as a child in New Bedford. She had the thril- ling experience of being introduced to an unusually good oil painting of her mother, the existence of which she had not known of previously.
MISS OLIVIER IN ACCIDENT
On September 17 > 19h9 , while on an automobile trip to Prince Edward Island, Miss Evelina V. Olivier, formerly of the Connolly Branch Library, was badly in- jured vihen the car in which she was a passenger skidded on a newly constructed highway in Norton, New Brunswick. The driver was also badly injured. Because of the seriousness of their injuries a long period of hospitalization will be necessary. At present they are being cared for in the King's County Memorial Hospital, Sussex, N.B. Canada. After about two weeks they hope to be trans- ferred to a hospital near home. I am sure Miss Olivier would be glad to re- ceive friendly greetings from her library friends.
M. A. C.
*
The engagement of Miss Joan L. Hopkinson and Mr John W. Harder has re- cently been announced. Miss Hopkinson is a former member of the staff of the Book Selection Department, Circulation Division.
*HHHHHHHBf#
LIKE TO BECOME A FIVE PERCENTER?
Those who did not j")in the $% retire- ment system for the reason of the 20-year disability provision as against the l^- year disability provision of the k% sys- tem may now feel that they wish to look into the $% system in view of the change in the law equalizing the two systems in this respect.
It has been suggested at the office of the Retirement Board that Mr Kenney might be able to present a petition to the Board to re-open the $% system if enough people are interested. Letters may be sent to:
Mr William D. Kenney
Secretary and Executive Officer
Retirement Board
City Hall 6$
Boston 8, Massachusetts
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CREDIT UNION LATE FLASH
The City of Boston Employees Credit Union reports that no payments will be accepted until further notice. Future issues of The Question Mark will keep you posted on any changes.
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BE ON THE ALERT
We urgently request all those who are attending the Regional Meeting in Swampscott to be on the alert for items which will be of interest to the Boston Public Library staff and should be in- cluded in the November issue of The Question Mark.
THE B0WLIN3 LEAGUE
The bowling season officially opened Wednesday evening, October fifth. Be- cause of the small turnout on the previ- ous two weeks on Tuesday night, the day was changed to Wednesday. The active bowler r now number U2 — 23 women and 19 men. Each week the bowling averages with pinfall will be posted on the bulletin board. On account of the holiday on October 12, there will be no bowling that week.
TELEVISION SET RENTED
The Men's House Committee renorts that the television set rented by popular sub- scription of BPL baseball fans so that the World Series could be brought to the Men's Smoking Room, was greatly appreci- ated by the men (and a few of the ladies'.)- The Committee hopes that at some future time a television set will be a permanent fixture in the library.
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PRESIDENT'S NOTES
The changing foliage, the crisp early- morning air, and the calendar all remind us that fall is here. There are also several other indications for BPLPSA mem- bers that the busy season is with us.
It is almost time for the annual insti- tute. The In-Service Training Committee reports that plans are progressing favor- ably. Unless some unforseen difficulties arise, the Institute promises to be a re- warding experience for all staff members. Save the dates — November 17 and 18. Before this issue of The Question Mark reaches you, you will have received the preliminary announcements concerning the Institute. Remember that this Institute can be of value to you, only if you at- tend.
To help defray the necessary expenses involved in carrying on the Institute, and to supplement the two hundred dollars so generously granted by the Trustees, the Entertainment Committee has made ar- rangements for a Square Dance to be held in the BPL Lecture Hall on Friday even- ing, October 28, at 8 p.m. Duncan Hay will be the caller. Refreshments will be in keeping with the season. Admission is sixty cents, tax included. Come and bring a friend. This is a grand chance to have a oleasant evening and at the same time to help bolster the financial structure of the Association.
Recently two special committees have been appointed by the Executive Board. It was decided that some foundation work should be done on the problem of Sabbati- cal leaves. Miss Pearl Smart of the Personnel Office was asked to choose a committee to begin work on this problem. Their first project is to make a report on Sabbatical leaves as practiced in other educational institutions, with special detail given to the library angle. Miss Smart has chosen to work with her, Mr Edward X. Casey, Cataloging and Clas- sification Department, Reference Division, Miss Marie J. Pineo, Uphams Corner Branch Library, and Miss Edith M. Sliney, Records, Files, and Statistics Office.
i I am sure that the membership will be in- terested in hearing from this committee.
Another special committee headed by Miss M. Catherine Robbins is busy, very busy, making a study of possible discounts for BPL employees in several essential cate- gories. Their contacts to date have been most gratifying. In the November issue of The Question Mark it may be possible to submit to you at least a partial list of business houses and firms that are inter- ested in giving discounts to BPL employ- ees. Miss Robbins has chosen to work with her on this project the following people: Mr Samuel Green, Business Office, and Mr Edward X. Casey, Cataloging and Classifi- cation Department, Reference Division.
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At the request of the Executive Board, steps are being taken to have the complete file of The Question Mark bound and in- dexed. Copies will be added to the Li- brary's collection. This important task is being carried on by the Publications Committee.
The Executive Board has voted to utilize the constructive suggestion submitted by Mr Moorfield Storey, Junior, Chairman of the Constitution Committee. Mr Storey has suggested that it might be helpful if a week prior to any business meeting, the agenda for that meeting were posted on the bulletin boards, in Central Library and in all the branch libraries. In this way every member of the Association will have some idea of what is to be taken up at the meeting, and will be able to crystallize his or her own ideas on the topics to be discussed. This should do much to stimu- late interest in the business meetings, and each individual member will be given a greater responsibility in expressing opin- ions on any policy or question under dis- cussion.
The fall business meeting is scheduled for Friday, November 2£, at 9 a.m. in the Lecture Hall. Yes, we know it is the day
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after Thanksgiving but due to complica- tions — November 11 is a holiday, Nov- ember 18 is the final day of the Institute — the 2£th seems to be the only Friday available — and it has been generally agreed that Friday morning is the best morning, all things considered. So, even tho' you may be feeling somewhat inflated due to over-indulgence on Thursday, come just the same. The exer- cise will be good for you.
Another suggestion submitted by an in- terested association member, Miss Marion Kingman, 3ranch Librarian at South End Branch Library, is that a plan should be set up whereby, through some competitive measure, a cash prize should be offered to young staff members, (i.e. young in point of library service) to help defray expenses at professional library meetings, such as the ALA, MLA, SLA, etc. The Executive Board has this suggestion under advisement and it is hoped that a satis- factory plan may be set up in the near future. At the moment lack of funds is the chief deterrent to the plan.
The results of the CARE drive were very gratifying. You are doing a grand job. One more long hard pull and we ' 11 make that desired destination — one thousand dollars.
On Tuesday afternoon, October h> Miss Fanny Goldstein, President of the Boston Public Library Employees Benefit Associa- tion, Inc., Miss Edna G. Peck, President of the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association, and Mr Leonard J. Macraillan, Commander of the Arnavets, met together to discuss the possibility of the three organizations joining forces to lay plans for the erection of a suitable memorial to those library employees who served in World War II. A communication has been sent to the Director regarding this matter. It is hoped that we may have some concrete plans to present in the December issue of The Question Mark.
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What is the status quo of your engage- ment calendar? Don't forget you have a VERY IMPORTANT date on Friday evening, December 2. You'll be hearing more about it very shortly.
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LEST YOU FORGET
Sketches for a cover for The Question Mark are due on October 20 , 19lt9 .
Specifications
Width of design: Not over 7 inches.
Length of design: Not over 11 inches.
Is yours ready?
NEW QUARTERS
A contract has been awarded to C. C. Temple for making renovations in the form- er Cataloging and Classification Depart- ment. Upon completion of the work, on or about February 1, 1950, new quarters will be available for the Open Shelf Department.
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BOOKMOBILE
Word has been received that the Book- movile will be ready for use on November 1st.
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BLIND DATES
Girls from various colleges going out on blind date — first question asked: Wellesley — How much money has he got? Smith — What about his family back- ground? Radcliffe — What college did he go to? Simmons — Where is he?
THE LIBRARY — ACCORDING TO NIECES
This fall Janet aged six entered school and learned many things including the pledge to the American flag. Her version
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is "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and the pub- lic library for which it stands."
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Ten year old Faith has her life well planned. She says, "When I get out of college, I'll teach for a year or two un- til I get married. If no one asks me to marry him, I'll be a librarian like my aunt."
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OUR FRONT HALL LOOKS BACKWARD
"Yes, a good many men have thought me beautiful. Thoy do now — sometimes." Our Front Hall was reviving her memories of other days in an interview granted ex- clusively to The Question Mark. "No longer ago than last Christmas," she con- tinued, "a man stopped one of the Library girls on the main staircase and asked, 'What does it say to you, this hall, as you go in and out and look up at its walls? I come back to it whenever I am in Boston. It's forty years now since I first saw it. '"
"In those days," the Front Hall chuck- led, "we didn't think too much about utility and convenience. Being beautiful was supposed to be enough. But you have to do more than that now if you want to keep your public.
"Things went on much as they were in the beginning for a number of years — till after the First World War. Oh, we held an exhibition on the street floor occasionally in one of those little rooms where the Open Shelf Department is now. And over beside the elevator a public stenographer had a room. The telephone booths were down the hall just outside the door of the Newspaper Room. Except for a bench where visitors to members of the staff could be entertained, that was all there was until Christmas of 1918.
"Then some women from the Red Cross wanted to come in for the holiday season to sell greeting cards to help the organ- ization. They set up a table and two chairs in front of the old coat room at the left of the staircase, and they wore their hats and coats and rubbers all day.
"In the fall of 1920, the combined Open Shelf Room, Information, and Government
Service Departments moved into the little exhibition room and it wasn't long after that before we began to hear a lot about the importance of information. People needed guidance all of a sudden and they had to have it as soon as they were in- side the front door. So, a few years later — in 1928, it was — we had an Information Booth. It cost nine hundred and seventy-five dollars. Somehow, I never thought it suited me. It was a big round thing of dark-brown wood with a dome-shaped top and little glass windows so that the girls inside wouldn't feel the draft. But it vrould take more than glass to keep the drafts out of this hall, if you ask me. I used to see the girls dash to their lockers for their over- coats whenever a break-down of the sched- ule threatened and an emergency call was sent down for some one to go on duty in a hurry at the booth.
"Then came World War II. By that time it wasn't enough to have just information. There had to be a center for it and, of course, I was the Center. You remember what happened. Booths to the right and left of you, maps, flags, posters, signs, and flood-lights that made your eyes pop. The old, dome-covered nine-hundred-and- seventy-five-dollar pagoda with its lit- tle glass windows was hustled off to the basement. Additional heat was installed in the outer lobby and smart tweeds re- placed the attendants' overcoats. Open- toed sandals had come in with the war, and no one wore rubbers any more even when they were needed. Like the bewil- dered old woman in Mother Goose, I looked round and said to myself, '0! deary, deary me, this is none of I.' '
"Stay? Yes, indeed, I did. Every day I was right there, greeting the public and trying to look my best. I was biding my time. Sure enough, after the war all but one of the booths were moved away. Now, that, too, is gone. And today, where the old coat-room with its drinking fountain was once, and afterwards the office of the tabulating machine, and after that, Book Selection, is the new nineteen forty-nine home of Information. You can read the familiar name in shining letters. Only this time it's stencilled over fluorescent lights.
"People tell me," the Front Hall con- cluded, with a touch of vanity, "that I am looking more like myself again."
CHRISTINE HAYES
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PRAYER BOOK EXHIBIT IN THE TREASURE ROOM
It was on January 22, 15U9 — four hundred years ago — that the first Eng- lish Book of Common Prayer was ratified by Parliament. In commemoration of the anniversary, an exhibit has been arranged in the Treasure Room.
The Boston Public Library owns one of the richest existing collections of the Book of Common Prayer. Received in 1919 as a bequest of the late Josiah H. Benton and augmented since from the trust fund established by him, the collection com- prises over eight hundred volumes. It includes first-edition copies of the first Prayer Book of 15U9, Edward's sec- ond Prayer Book of 1552, and those of Queen Elizabeth of 1559, King James's of I60I4, and no less than five copies of the final revision of 1662, besides scores of other editions. It has some of the rar- est English Primers, the Scottish Liturgy of 1637, and the first Prayer Book of the Church of Ireland of 1?21. Translations into nearly a hundred languages, ranging from Greek and Latin to Turkish, Yiddish, Sanskrit, Eskimo, and the dialects of the remotest African, Australian, and Polynesian tribes, are one of the salient features of the collection.
The American section is equally com- plete. It boasts of such extreme rari- ties as the first American edition of 1710, the Mohawk Prayer Book of 1715, Benjamin Franklin's Abridgement of 1773, and the Liturgy of the First Episcopal Church in Boston, 1785. Naturally, it has the "Proposed Book" of 1786, and the first standard edition of 1790, and all the later revisions. The exhibit in the Treasure Room had to be limited to a hundred items — to the choicest volumes of the magnificent collection.
The pre-Reformation service-books are extremely rare — the King's Primer pro- hibited their use in \$l&, and a year after the publication of the Book of Common Prayer a statute ordered that "all Bookes called Antyphones Mysalls Scrayles Processionalles Manualles Legends Pyes Portuyses Prymers in Lattyn or Inglishe... shalbe clerely and utterlye abollished extinguished and forbidden for ever to be used or kepte. . ,"
The Library has about a dozen of these precious items. The earliest is a Hore Virginis Mariae according to the
I Salisbury use, printed in Paris in 1526. It is a beautiful folio of 22li leaves, each page surrounded by a woodcut border made up of scenes from the Bible, the Dance of Death, and various grotesque figures; the title-page shows the funeral of the Virgin, and there are twenty other full-page woodcuts, besides numerous his- toriated initials. Next should be men- tioned the Prymer off Salysburye Vse printed in Paris in 1533. This is a small book of nearly three hundred leaves. The twelve oval woodcuts of the Calendar, rep- resenting the successive stages of human life, are probably by Geoffry Tory, as they are signed by his mark, the Lorraine cross.
But even more valuable is a copy of the first edition of the Marshall Primer. The volume is in its original binding, wooden boards covered with green velvet. On the last fly-leaf there is the inscription: "The seventh daye of Septembre was the lady Elizabeth daughter to Kinge Henry borne at Greenwiche and christened at the frere churche the X daye of Septembre..." It must have been jotted down in early 153U, a few months after Elizabeth's birth — that is why the year is not given. The writer speaks merely of "Septembre," meaning last September. The Library has a beautiful copy of the King's Primer. The volume was produced by Richard Grafton, the last page bearing his mark, a tree growing through a barrel.
The first edition of the Book of Common Prayer was published by Edward Whitchurche in London. It has the date "anno Do. 15U9. Mense Martii" on the title-page, the colo- phon further stating that it was printed "the seventh daye of Marche, the yeare of our Lorde, I5ii9." Whitchurche issued two more editions, with the dates of May and June. Simultaneously Richard Grafton, too, published three editions: the first has March in the title and March 8 in the colophon; the second has March in the ti- tle and June in the colophon; and the third has June in both the title and colo- phon. John Oswen printed two editions at Worcester, with the dates of May and July 151*9-
The Library has a beautiful copy of the first edition by Whitchurche. A note on the inside cover states: "This Book belonged to Lord Crewe, Bishop of Durham in time of Charles II, and descended to Lord Alvanley. At his death his library was sold and I bought this volume. Wm. Gott."
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William Gott was the father of John Gott (1830-1906), Bishop of Truro; and the former owner mentioned v.ras undoubtedly the third Lord Alvanley, who died in 1857 and whose library was sold the following year. The fly-leaf has another note, in the hand of Bishop Crewe: "This is so great a Curiosity I apprehend the value of it to be at least Ten Guineas." The copy should be worth today fifty times that sum. . . We have also a beautiful copy of the second issue produced by Grafton .
Apart from its comprehensiveness, the Benton Collection is remarkable for the condition of its volumes. Most of the items are in original bindings. Old limp vellum, fish-skin, and oak-boards with metal clasps alternate with richly orna- mented brown, red, and blue morocco. The great names in the history of English binding — Samuel Mearne, Roger Payne, Charles Lewis, Francis Bedford, and others — are well represented.
The provenance of the books, too, should delight the bibliophile. Many volumes have three or four book-plates, besides autograph signatures of former owners. Some of these — like Archbishop Juxon, and Bishops Wren, Vaughan, and Crewe — have played leading parts in the history of the Prayer Book. Several vol- umes are embellished with royal monograms, while others belonged to simple parish churches. A handsome copy of the 1660 folio edition, published after the Restoration but before the final revision, Mr. Benton received as a gift from Kenneth F. Gibbs, Vicar of Aldenham and Canon of St. Albans, himself a collector of prayer-books. The fly-leaf bears the inscription, "To Mr. J. H. Benton, from a brother maniac."
The First Book of Common Prayer is the subject of the leading article of the October issue of The Boston Public Library Quarterly. Two later articles will dis- cuss the successive revisions; and a fourth will be devoted to the Book of Common Prayer in America.
CHANGE IN CHARGING
Remington Rand Photochargers have re- cently been placed in the Mattapan and West Roxbury Branch Libraries for two months' experimental use. From the
Mattapan Branch Library comes the follow- ing account of the experience of the people there with the new machine.
"On Wednesday, September 21, 19U9, a new system of charging books was inaugu- rated at the Mattapan Branch Library. The Remington Rand Photocharger, a ma- chine which keeps a photographic record of all books charged out along with the borrower's name and address, was in- stalled at the issue desk for a two months' experimental period.
"The Photocharger is an electrically operated important-looking square grey machine, 1U inches high and 15 inches wide, which contains a roll of photo- graphic paper long enough to charge out 2100 books. The borrower's library card, the book slip, and a "date due" slip are placed in position beneath the photo- graphic lens of the machine. Then a foot pedal is pressed, lights go on, and a picture of the whole transaction is taken on the roll of photographic paper inside the machine. This streamlined method of charging books eliminates the copying of card numbers, and also does away with the tedious process of slipping books. Each date due slip is numbered consecutively, stamped with the date the book will be due, and placed with the library card and book slip into the pocket of the book.
"The film is not removed from the charg- er until its 2100 charging spaces have been used up. At present the developing of the film has been taken care of by the Remington Rand people. After it has been developed it is returned to the branch to be read on a viewer that makes each name easily scanned for the information in- volved in each charging operation.
"Y/hen the book is returned the date due slip is removed from the pocket and filed numerically with all the other date due slips removed from returned books. When the time to type mail notices arrives, the date due slips are scanned for mis- sing slips, i.e. , if we have slips #1,2, 3, and 5, we know that #U is missing, and that the book taken out on #U date due slip has not as yet been returned and is now overdue. Then we examine the devel- oped roll of photographic paper to find the picture of #U date due slip, and there we find the name and address of the borrower, and the author, title, and num- ber of the book borrowed. The overdue notice is then typed directly from this photographic record, thereby eliminating
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the time-consuming method of looking up the card number in the numerical record, and then looking up the address in the registration files.
"All of which is very interesting in theory, but is twice as interesting in actual practice, as the staff at Mattapan Branch Library discovered on the first day of operation. Mr. Purcell and Mr. Underwood of Remington Rand were on hand to lend much needed moral support to the awed staff members. The machine was "loaded" (a term which did little to al- lay suspicions of the new contraption), and then a rather apprehensive group of library workers waited for the morning's first customer. Time dragged — indeed, it seemed to be standing still as we waited. Just when it began to look like the public was suddenly boycotting Mattapan Branch Library and just when the gentlemen from Remington Rand were sug- gesting that we camp out on the sidewalk to waylay unsuspecting passers-by, busi- ness began with the customary sudden rush The lights on the machine were soon flashing busily.
"Operation of the machine, as we dis- covered immediately, was as quick and easy as rolling off the proverbial log — and much more fun. Charging books this new way was fast becoming as automatic to us as the old stamping and writing of card numbers had been.
"As may be expected, comments by the public came in fast and furious, the most frequent being, •'What's THAT?' After being told what THAT was, the remarks varied. One woman pointedly asked the assistant, •'What are you going to do if the machine does all the work?' It's this latter type of question which con- firms our suspicion that the public be- lieves a librarian does nothing but stamp books in and out all day. Another bor- rower (he'd probably just received his tax bill) asked if the machine would do away with librarians entirely, and if taxes would then be lower.
"And the remark which might be classed under the heading "signs of the times" came from a busy housewife who hurried in to return her books and failed to notice that the issue desk had been rearranged. The assistant asked the borrower to come around to the other side of the desk, ex- plaining 'We've moved.1 'Oh.'' cried the borrower, obviously misunderstanding,
'Aren't you lucky to have found an apart- ment these days. •
"But the reaction of the wide-eyed chil- dren was perhaps the best of all. One small group of youngsters stood just out- side the front and breathlessly asked each child as he came out clutching his library books, 'Did you get your picture taken yet?'"
NEW BOOKS IN THE STAFF LIBRARY
American Library Association. Committee ■ on Post-was Planning
The public library plans for the teen
a£c? o
(Cnicago) A.L.A. 19U8. American Library Association. Division of Cataloging and Classification
A.L.A. cataloging rules for author and
title entries. 2d ed.
Chicago, A.L.A. 19h9. American Library Association. Division of Libraries for Children and Young People
Proceedings, pre-conference: youth
and libraries and Institute on chil- dren's books and reading.
Atlantic City, N.J., 19W3. Berelson, Bernard
The library's public; a report of the
Public Library Inquiry.
New York, Columbia Univ. Press, 19lt9. Miller, William
The book industry, a report of the
Public Library Inquiry.
New York, Columbia Univ. Press, 1939. Orne, Jerrold
The language of the foreign book trade.
Chicago, A.L.A., 19U9. Prescott, Marjorie W.
New England son.
New York, Dodd, Mead. 19ii9. Special Libraries Association, Boston Chapter
Directory of special libraries in
Boston, vicinity and member libraries
in New England. 5th ed.
Boston. 19U0. U.S. Library of Congress. Subject Cata- loging Division
Subject headings used in the diction- ary catalogs of the Library of
Congress. 5th ed.
Washington. 19U8. Y/aldron, Gloria
The information film; a report of the
Public Library Inquiry
New York, Columbia Univ. Press, 19U9.
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Wheeler, Joseph L.
A regional library service for the East Bay area. Oakland, California. East Bay Regional Library Committee. 19U8.
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BRANCH NOTES
i in the Children's Room during the month of | October. While the emphasis is on stamp I collecting, other hobbies are represented 'with descriptive pictures and books. 'Framed "Blocks" bearing the coveted serial | numbers of stamp sheets form the nucleus jof the display, and many a young stamp ! collector will enjoy seeing the correct ■way to mount and preserve valuable stamps.
Connolly
On October ll; the Community Fund Com- mittee of Jamaica Plain held its first meet;ng here to make plans for the annual drive to raise funds for the social agencies.
The first meeting of the combined West Roxbury and Connolly Branch Libraries Great Books Group met on Thursday, October 6. Homer's Odyssey provided the material for a spirited discussioni The meetings will be held once a month at each branch library.
Miss Gilligan of the Art Department of the Mary E. Curley School has offered to cooperate for Art Week by sending for display purposes an exhibit of the work done by the pupils of her classes.
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Neponset
On Wednesday evening September 'twenty- eight, at seven-thirty o'clock, a special program was held at which prizes were awarded in the Book Review Contest which was sponsored by the Neponset Post, No. 583U, Veterans of Foreign Wars, in co- operation with the branch library. More than one hundred people were present. Commander Robert Carson and Mr William Timmins represented the Neponset Post. After a speech by 'Ir Timmins, Commander Carson awarded prizes to eight boys and girls. The program concluded with the showing of three films It's All Yours, Backward Ho I , and Washington, D. C.
West End
"What's your hobby?" is the theme of an unusual exhibit which is being featured
Beginning October 8, stills and descrip- tive material will be exhibited in con- nection with the first Boston showing of the new Technicolor motion picture, "Christopher Columbus". A tie-up with the film will be a display of mounted pictures, book jackets, and books on great explorers and explorations through the centuries.
Art Week, October 31 to November 7, will be observed with an exhibition of drawings and paintings by the pupils of the local schools; The Blackstone, the Peter Faneuil, and the Winchell. A cordial invitation is extended to the community to view this display.
DEPARTMENT NOTES
The staff of the Kirstein Business Branch enjoyed an outdoor picnic at the Humarock Beach cottage of Miss Rita Desaulniers on Saturday, September 10. The occasion was a farewell to Mrs Adele Wynne, who has resigned to live in England for a year. Her husband has a Harvard fellowship in neurology at Queens Square Hospital, London. They will make their home in Iverheath, Bucks, a small village about twenty miles from London. The group enjoyed a feast of humburgers, sweet corn, and all the fixings. A long walk on the beach was necessary in order to negotiate the ice-cream and cake which came later. Farewell gift to Mrs Wynne was a rhine- stone necklace.
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THE QUESTION MARK
Published by the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 10 November 19U9
Publications Committee:
Mildred R. Adelson, M. Dorothy Brackett, John M. Carroll, Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M. Usher, Chairman
Publication date; The fifteenth of each month
Deadline for submitting material: The tenth of each month
A NEW COVER
In the September issue we announced that the stencil for our cover was fast deteriorating. We asked that members of the staff possessed of artistic ability submit suggestions for a new cover.
We are happy to announce that eight drawings have been received. These have been reproduced, each by its creator, and copies are attached. They are num- bered from 1-8, inclusive.
Please examine these suggested covers carefully so that, when a ballot is sent to you in the near future, you will be ready to cast your vote without delay.
The cover chosen by you will appear on the December issue. At that time the name of the artist will be announced.
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MR LORD TO BE HONORED
Plans have been completed for the re- ception on December second, when the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association will honor the newly-elected President of the American Library Asso- ciation, Mr Milton E. Lord.
Invitations have been issued to all active members of the Association, to re- tired members of the staff, and to libra- ry friends outside the Boston Public Library. A general invitation has been extended also to those members of our staff who are not members of the Associa- tion, and to friends and families of all groups.
Now, to answer a few questions] What part of the Hotel Somerset? The Princess Ballroom. Formal? No, it is not formal. Program? No formal program — reception to guests, vocal and instrumental music, no ballroom dancing. Refreshments? Yes J
Additional tickets are available upon
application to the Chairman of the Entertainment Committee, who reminds you that returns should be made by November twentieth.
Margaret A. Calnan Chairman, Entertainment Committee
PERSONAL MOTES New Staff Members
Miss Rose S. Sanft, Book Stack Service (formerly part-time in Book Stack Service),
Resignations
Mrs Edith P. Kelley, Uphams Corner Branch Library.
Mrs Rita 0. Sullivan, Brighton Branch Library, to remain at home.
Engagements
Miss Jean E. Watson, Director's Office, to Mr Frank C. Weitz of Allston.
Marriages
Miss Patricia C. Carter, Registration Department, to Mr Henry F. Iseman on October 12.
Miss Corona M. Groves, Mt. Bowdoin Branch Library, to Mr Ralph F. Murphy on October 17.
Births
Mr and Mrs John Bavicchi have announced the birth of a daughter, Janet Marie, on September 26. Mrs Bavicchi is an assist- ant at Hyde Park Branch Library.
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DEPUTY SUPERVISORS GIVE TALKS
Miss Elizabeth M. Gordon, Deputy Super- visor in Charge of Work with Children, gave a talk at a meeting of the Old Colony Library Club held in Abington, Massachusetts, on November \\. Miss Gordon spoke on children's work and re- viewed the fall books.
Mrs Muriel C. Javelin, Deputy Super- visor in Charge of Work with Adults, gave a talk at a meeting of the Merrimac Valley Library Association in Chelmsford on October 21. Mrs Javelin spoke on the use of films in the public library.
One hundred and ninety-seven parents attended the October twenty-sixth meet- ing of the Thomas Gardner Home and School Association to hear Miss Elizabeth M. Gordon, Deputy Supervisor in Charge of Work with Children, describe the behind- the-scenes work involved in buying books for young people. The Association, which was instrumental in the establishment of the library in that school, was interest- ed in learning of the careful screening process employed by the juvenile book review committee, and in knowing of the Library's other facilities for children, story telling, films, the bookmobile-to- be , etc .
After the meeting, the parents visited in the library where they had an oppor- tunity to examine the book collection and to talk with the librarians. This year marks the thirteenth that the Thomas Gardner School Library has been in opera- tion. In 1936-37 it was administered by the Staff of the Young People ' s Room, but since 1938 it has been under the direc- tion of the School Issue Department.
WE WELCOME BACK FROM THEIR ILLNESSES
Miss Beatrice M. Flanagan, Chief of the School Issue Department.
Miss Katherine G. Sullivan, General Reference Department.
Miss Grace McCarthy, Book Purchasing Department.
RECENT VISITORS
On November tenth, Mr and Mrs R. F. M. Immelman of Cape Town> South Africa, vis- ited Central Library. Mr Immelman is University Librarian and Director of the School of Librarianship of the University of Cape Town, and Vice President and President Elect of the South African Li- brary Association.
ALUMNAE NOTES
Mrs Kathleen Ryan Dacey, formerly an assistant in the Children's Room of the West End Branch Library, was elected a member of the Boston School Committee on Tuesday, November 8.
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IN MEMORIAL
Mr Alexander D. Magee, who at the time of his retirement in 19h0 was Acting Foreman of Painters, passed away on October thirtieth. He leaves his wife, Eleanor J. Magee.
He will be remembered as an interior decorator of excellence and a master craftsman. One of the highlights of his years of work in the Boston Public Library was his friendship with Mr John Singer Sargent which began while Mr Sargent was installing his famous murals.
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Mrs Frank Benson passed away on October thirtieth. Mrs Benson, the former Susan Maguire, worked in the Issue Department from 1905 to 1918.
LETTER FROM MRS PINANSKI
In acknowledgment of a letter of condo- lence from the Benefit Association and of the expression of sympathy which appeared in The Question Mark, Mrs Pinanski has written the following letter, addressed to Mrs Mary Farrell, Secretary of the Benefit Association:
"Will you express to the members of the Boston Public Library Benefit Association
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my deep appreciation of your kind letter and of the beautiful tribute you paid to ray beloved husband in 'The Question Mark?' He was very haopy in his association with the library staff and counted it a priv- ilege to be your guest at your annual dinner. I remember so well, the dinner he wanted me to go to when he was in the hospital two years ago and he wanted to hear all about it on my return.
"'To serve in his name and his memory is my only reason for courage in these dark hours.
Sincerely yours, (signed) Viola R. Pinanski"
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PRESIDENT'S NOTES
As this issue of The Question Mark goes to press, the Institute is about to be- come a reality. An outstanding program has been planned. Mrs Sarah Flannery and her able committee have put in long hours of concentrated effort in order to bring to our staff members and to members of the library profession throughout this area, a group of speakers who will pre- sent to us messages of inspiration and challenge. The program is given in de- tail later in this issue. A glance will assure you that the Institute this year bids fair to equal that of last year. It is something no alert library worker can afford to miss.
The special committee appointed to in- vestigate the possibilities of cash dis- counts for staff members has done an out- standing piece of work. The results of their labors may be announced soon.
Another honor has come to our associa- tion. Mr Bradford M. Hill, recently elected to the Steering Committee of SORT (Staff Organizations Round Table) has been invited to serve as Editor of the Bulletin of SORT for the current year. Congratulations and best wished to him! May the Bulletin of SORT flourish under his expert guidance.
How much do you know about the Fourth Activities Committee Report? The Swampscott meetings certainly brought home the fact that the ALA members are faced with a real challenge. The Committee re- ports as well as background material is available in the Staff Library. It might be a good idea if we each one set aside a definite evening in which to devote some time to the study of this important sub- ject.
On Friday November 25, at 9 a.m., the fall business meeting of the Association will be held in the Lecture Hall. At that meeting there will be placed before the membership the question of the Association assuming the responsibility for, and thus acquiring profits from, the new food and drink con- cession about to be opened on the stack two area. Reports from Committees will include a report on the Institute by Mrs Sarah Flannery, the Chairman of the In- Service-Training Committee, and a report from the Entertainment Committee headed by Miss Margaret Calnan, on social events past and near future. The report of the Committee on CARE, to be given by the Chairman, Mr Eamon McDonough, will include the showing of the film sponsored by the national CARE organization.
It is unfortunate that the meeting has to be held the day after Thanksgiving, but it might be a good time to be thankful that you are able physically and mentally to come — and come J
The following letter has been received from the Director:
7 November 19h9
Dear Miss Peck:
I am inclosing a copy of the announcement setting forth a change in the matter of approval of the making up of fractional time in certain instances, such as appointments with a doctor, a dentist or an oculist, and funerals and weddings. I think that it speaks for itself.
It was interesting to have this mat- ter presented as it was in the Question Mark, and I am happy that it has been
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possible to take action along the lines suggested.
Yours sincerely,
(signed) Milton E. Lord Director
To:
Miss Edna G. Peck President
Boston Public Library Profes- sional Staff Association Boston Public Library Boston 17, Massachusetts
ENCLOSURE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Fractional Time
To Members of the Staff:
Beginning on November h, 19h9 Chiefs of Departments and Branch Librarians may arrange for the making up of fractional time which does not exceed two and one-half hours re- sulting from a fractional absence occur- ring for any of the following reasons:
(a) a doctor's appointment
(b) a dentist's appointment
(c) an oculist's appointment
(d) a funeral
(e) a wedding
For fractional absence? for these pur- poses it will no longer be necessary to submit Form 10 U2 to the Supervisor of Personnel, provided that the amount of time to be made up does not exceed two and one-half hours.
Fractional absence up to this maximum of two and one-half hours may be made up as follows :
(a) on a lunch hour or a supper hour, provided that no lunch hour or supper hour is of less than one- half hour in duration
(b) by working up to six o'clock on a regularly scheduled five o'clock
! day in an open' department or a branch library (c) by working up to one o'clock if working on a six a.m. to twelve noon schedule
The maximum allowance of two and one- half hours fractional time which may be made up in this fashion will equalize for all employees the opportunity for making up of fractional time, since in a closed department one-half hour a day (a total of two and one-half hours in a five-day week) represents the maximum amount an individu- al can work over and above the normal daily work schedule.
MILTON E. LORD Director h November 19h9
COUNTRY DANCE PARTY
Over one hundred Association members and their friends spent an exceptionally happy evening on October twenty-eighth at the Country Dance Party which was held in the Lecture Hall. Mr Duncan Hay, the popular dancing leader, was the caller, and was largely responsible for the gay spirit with which all present joined in the dancing and merrymaking. Newcomers were warmly welcomed and an air of conviviality and good fellowship enhanced the evening's fun. Light refreshments befitting the occasion were served and enjoyed by all.
The Country Dance Committee takes this occasion to thank the Director and the Trustees for the use of the Lecture Hall. They thank also those members of the Divi- sion of Business Operations who contributed materially to the success of this event.
The interest and enthusiasm in these pleasant socials seem to indicate that more frequent gatherings could be planned and enjoyed in the future.
Margaret A. Calnan
Chairman
Entertainment Committee
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FIRE PREVENTION WEEK
The Library was a very popular place during Fire Prevention Week — October 9 through October 15>. There was a continu- ous stream of firemen, along with the public, that came into the Library to see the exhibit in observance of Fire Preven- tion Week.
In the Venetian Lobby on the second floor, articles seized by the arson squad of the fire prevention division of the Boston Fire Department were displayed. Deputy Chief Edward Montgomery lent the articles to the Library. Included were: trailors recovered from the basement floor of an antique shop; coal lining and padding saturated with flammable fluid recovered from the debris of a large fur factory; trailors of cellophane and ex- celsior; and excelsior rolled in wrapping paper, candle with matches attached to one end which was recovered from a large wholesale grocery store. On either side of the display case were two portable fire trucks, part of the Central Library^ equipment.
In the Puvis de Chavannes and Sargent Galleries, the exhibit was supplemented by books and rare pictures. Among the pictures were found the famous fires occurring in Boston, 1872, Chelsea, 1908, and Chicago, 1871. The famous documents on display included the act for the pro- tection of the City of Boston against fire, 1827, and Governor Sharpe's appeal for aid to sufferers from the fire in Boston on March 20, 1760. Also dis- played were pamphlets and posters depict- ing the causes of fires and means of pre- vention.
Interesting to note was the book Ye Olde Fire Laddies by Herbert Asbury which mentions Washington as a fireman. George Washington was one of the most enthusias- tic firemen in America. Mr Asbury says: "»., Washington was more than a buff, as these amateur smoke-eaters are called; he was a practical and capable fireman, and greatly delighted in manning the brakes of an engine and splashing buckets of water upon the roaring flames."
Fire Prevention Week was also observed at the Branch Libraries. Posters and pamphlets showing causes and prevention of fires were displayed at the Charlestown, Connolly, Faneuil, Jeffries Point, Mattapan, North End, Parker Hill,
and West Roxbury Branch Libraries.
In addition, on October lU at torelve noon, the drill team of the Boston Fire Department presented its annual demonstra- tion and drill in Copley Square in front of the Boston Public Library.
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UO DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS
Bought your Christmas cards yet? If not, the Post Card counter, sponsored by the Benefit Association, has some beautiful cards which could well be used as Christmas cards. Why not look before you leap?
Don't forget The Boston Public Library Quarterly makes an excellent gift, also.
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INVITATION TO JOIN ROUND TABLE OF CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS
To all who are interested in literature for and work with children — whether they are actively engaged in the field or not — an invitation is extended to join the Round Table of Children :s Librarians. The annual dues are only twenty-five cents and five self-addressed post cards. The treasurer, Miss Pauline Winnick, of the Codman Square Branch Library, will be hap- py to receive your dues in coin or stamps, and even to address the post cards for you.
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THE BOKLING LEAGUE
The bowling league rolls merrily on with a weekly attendance of forty or more. The early season jitters have disappeared, and the averages for most are mounting. As of November third the standing shows John V. Sullivan, Buildings Department, leading with a ninety-four point average, closely followed by Donald Ross, Cataloging and Classification Department, Circulation Division, with a ninety-three. Bob Williams, Patent Room, is in third place with an eighty-eight, and the rest of the field trails. "Sullie" came up with a one twenty-one string to top the previous high by Ross of one twenty. We aren't very
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happy at the Fenway Alleys. They're in poor condition, and we need two more al- leys to accommodate our eight teams. If anyone knows of available alleys close to the Library, please contact Mr Frank Bruno in the Patent Room.
SHOWER FOR MISS FERRANTE
On the evening of October twenty-sixth, in the Staff Lounge, Miss Pauline M. Ferrante of the Circulation Division Of- fice was tendered a surprise shower. Her fiance, Mr Paul J. Vinci of Hartford, Connecticut, presented her with an orchid corsage. Lovely gifts from her many friends were of constant delight as she carefully brought them forth from their beautiful wrappings. This was followed by refreshments featuring a bride's cake in the shape of two hearts on which were inscribed the principals' names. The couple are to be married Sunday afternoon, November twenty-seventh, at two o'clock, at St. Clement's Church in Somcrville.
CENTRAL LIBRARY LOUNGE
Those who use the Lounge in the Central Library will be pleased to learn that plans are under way for the installation of a rubber tile flooring sometime during November. The present bare cement sur- face has not exactly fitted in with the otherwise inviting atmosphere of the room, and we have been especially con- scious of this when receptions have been held for visiting librarians, etc. In the new floor covering it is hoped there will be achieved the effect of a rug with a gray-black tone predominating. This month, also, it is expected that a new sofa will be added to the none-too-numer- ous items of furniture already in the Lounge. It should raise the morale of all of us a few notches to see this par- ticular staff facility take on a new at- tractiveness.
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FLUORESCENT LIGHTING FOR BRANCH LIBRARY
The West Roxbury Branch Library is soon to be one of the few branch libraries to
have fluorescent lighting. For some time this branch library has had a lighting problem, and after careful study it was decided that fluorescent lighting is the best answer. The contract for this work has been awarded and installation will be undertaken shortly. It is believed that in the coming year the lighting problems in several other branch libraries will receive attention.
19h9 FALL MIMEOGRAPH PROCESS REVIEW
St. John and McColl, Inc., authorized distributors of A. B. Dick mimeograph products in this area, held a fall review in Boston, during the last two weeks in October. Each day there were two identi- cal three-hour sessions, with registra- tion limited to thirty people. Eleven assistants from the Boston Public Library who cut stencils and do mimeographing work were given permission to attend.
The sessions were conducted by Miss Florence M. Raye, the A. B. Dick repre- sentative from Chicago. Her program was well planned and was carried out with un- usual effectiveness. There were demon- strations of the most up-to-date mimeo- graph equipment. An opportunity was giv- en for each person attending to do spe- cial work on stencils, such as drawing pictures, lines, and writing in long hand.
If the people who attended remember only that the degree of perfection of the finished material which comes through the mimeograph is entirely dependent upon the excellence of the stencil which was pre- pared for duplication, attendance at the course will have been worthwhile.
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A LIBRARY PATRON
A constant patron of various depart- ments in Central Library, Miss Mary Forbes of Fairfield Street, was inter- viewed in the Boston Traveler of October twenty-first, in connection with the vis- it to Boston of Pandit Nehru. Thirty- seven years ago, Miss Forbes, born in India where her father owned a tea plant- ation, was seated at a dinner party in Simla next to Nehru. He had just gradu- ated from Trinity College in England. They had talked of his plans for his
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future, which were indefinite except that j he wanted first of all to serve his coun- try. They had also discussed the differ- ence in the way the English treated the Indians in England and in India. Miss Forbes was later tutor to the Rani of Mandhi and was head of a girls ' school in Palestine. She has written for British publications in India and her writings have been censored because her interpre- tation of the American way of life "tend- ed to increase the ideas of freedom in a period of tension" .
19h9 BOOK WEEK
MAKE FRIENDS WITH BOOKS is the theme for Book Week, November 13-19, 19h9.
HUMAN RELATIONS INSTITUTE
The second annual Human Relations In- stitute for Teachers and Librarians, sponsored by the Boston Public Library with the co-operation of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, was held in the Lecture Hall of the Boston Public Library on Saturday, November fifth.
The morning session opened with an in- spiring keynote address by Dr Dennis C, Haley, Superintendent of Schools in Boston, followed by an excellent discus- sion of new books in the field of human relations by members of the Library staff — Miss Edna G. Peck, Chief of the Book Selection Department, Miss Pauline Winnick, and Miss Mildred Kaufman, Chil- dren's Librarians, Codman Square and Mattapan Branch Libraries. Dr Martin P. Chworowsky, Director, Intergroup Rela- tions Program, Columbia University, pre- sented a thought-provoking address on "The Intergroup Education Responsibili- ties of Schools and Libraries". Mrs Muriel Javelin presided at the morning meeting.
The afternoon session was devoted to the production, evaluation, and use of human relations films, and film demon- strations. Because of illness, Mr Louis de Rochemont was unable to appear, but was ably represented by Mr Thomas Orchard, Vice President of Louis de Rochemont
Associates, and the Producer of "The Earth and its Peoples", a new and pio- neering effort in human relations motion pictures. Mr Howard M. LeSourd, Dean of the School of Public Relations, Boston University, introduced Mr Orchard.
At a luncheon meeting, with Mr Francis L. Hurwitz presiding, Dean Charles W. Ha vice, Chairman of the Department of Sociology, Northeastern University, de- livered a stimulating talk on "Diversities That Unify Us".
Mr Thomas F. Dungan, Submaster, Theodore Lyman School, East Boston, and thirteen of his pupils demonstrated to a delighted audience the way in which the film Sing a Song of Friendship might be used in a sixth grade classroom,, Mrs Beryl Y. Robinson, Children's Librarian, East Boston Branch Library, discussed the ef- fective use of educational moving pictures in the library before demonstrating some of her points by introducint Farmer- Fisherman, a Louis de Rochemont film in Norway. She was assisted by eleven chil- dren chosen for unusual library co-opera- tion who demonstrated by a quiz the after- film check-up. The two presentations in- terestingly contrasted film use in formal and informal education.
Four students from Teachers College and the School of Library Science at Simmons College served as ushers.
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A.L.A. REGIONAL MEETING AT SY/AIvjPSCOTT October 12-lg
The major theme of the Conference was The Pub! ic Library Inquiry. Inasmuch as the various reports published as a result of the Inquiry are being added to the Staff Library as they become available, no summarized presentation is made here.
The talk given by Mr Milton E. Lord, Town Meeting of the Air, Around the World, was one of the highlights of the Confer- ence. It is understood that similar talks will be given at staff meetings in the near future; consequently, it is not summarized here.
Several persons have been asked to give short reports on various phases of the Conference in which they were especially
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interested. These follow:
Massachusetts Library Association Business Meeting
The business meeting of the Massachu- setts Library Association was attended by a small group of members. After the routine reading of the secretary's report, Miss Gertrude Callahan gave the report of the Nominating Committee concerning the proposal to place on the ballot the name of only one candidate for the position of Vice President and President Elect. Miss V. Genevieve Boisclair of the Division of Public Libraries reported that applica- tion forms for certification will be ready for distribution in about three weeks. Libraries may request a sufficient number of blanks for their entire staffs, if desired, thus eliminating the necessi- ty of each person applying individually. She also spoke of two courses being spon- sored by the Division of Public Libraries: a fifteen-lesson course in Reference Work, beginning October 21;, conducted by Mr Charles L. Higgins, General Reference Department, Boston Public Library; and an eight-lesson laboratory course in Radio- Audio- Visual Education for Librarians, beginning October 21, conducted by Mr Rodney R. Wood, Instructor of the Duxbury School Department; and answered the many questions which were asked concerning them. Miss Louise B. Day announced that suggestions for the Program Committee would be most welcome and should be gdven to any member of the committee. Miss Edna G. Peck announced the Country Dance which the Professional Staff Association sponsored on October 28, and the recep- tion which it is giving on December 2, to honor the President of the American Li- brary Association, Mr Milton E. Lord.
SORT Breakfast
The 8 a.m. Staff Organizations Round Table breakfast was attended by approxi- mately thirty people, at least one-third of v/hom were from the Boston Public Li- brary. Arrangements for a private room did not materialize, so the group was as- signed one long table just inside the main dining room. Because of the conges- tion attendant upon feeding a large group, the constant coming and going past the table, and the fact that many of the
group were interested in getting away to another meeting at 8:30, the breakfast meeting was not, in the opinion of this participant, one of the successful ses- sions of the Conference. It was impossi- ble to hear the short speech of welcome at both ends of the table at the same time and there was no discussion of the announced subject Recruiting. What ben- efits were gleaned from the meeting by individual attendants came only from con- versation with those sitting within hear- ing distance.
A Workshop on the Use of Audio-Visual Aids
At the early hour of 8:30 on the morn- ings of October 13, lU, and 15, the Pub- lic Libraries Division of the Adult Edu- cation Section of the A.L.A. sponsored A Workshop on the Use of Audio-Visual Aids in Library Adult Education. The fact that 53 New England and New York Librar- ians attended the complete series, and 2U others attended one or more sessions, in- dicates that New England Librarians are becoming increasingly concerned about the use of Audio-Visual media.
At the opening meeting, Mrs Patricia Blair, A.L.A. Library Film Advisor, de- veloped the subject, The Why and How of Films. Mrs Blair described briefly the Regional Library Film Plans in operation at the present time and also covered such topics as film selection, the sponsored film, and film previews. Mrs Javelin served as Chairman at this meeting.
Professor Samuel B. Gould, Director of the Division of Radio and Speech, School of Public Relations, Boston University, presented a practical talk on Recordings, Radio, and Television in Adult Education. Professor Gould illustrated his remarks with demonstrations of recordings which might be used in a Library program. Mr C. R. Graham, Director of the Louisville Public Library, and newly-elected first Vice President and President Elect of the A.L.A., gave the group an enthusiastic ac- count of the Louisville Public Library's Audio-Visual program. Miss Sigrid Edge, Professor of Library Science, Simmons College, acted as Chairman.
At the third and closing session, with Mrs Blair as Chairman, Mr John Cory, Ex- ecutibe Secretary, A.L.A., spoke on the Use of Films in the Community, and
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discussed Group Services Through the Li- brary. He then led a stimulating discus- sion based on Productivity: Key to Plenty, and Peiping Family, two films contrasting ways of life in the United States and China.
Kits of book lists, sample film period- icals, and other mimeographed material pertaining to the selection and use of films were distributed. A display of film forms and catalogs used in various public libraries, and an exhibit of audio-visual books and pamphlets attract- ed wide attention
Music Library Association Boston-Cambridge Chapter
The Boston-Cambridge Chapter of the Music Library Association took advantage of the Regional meeting of the A.L.A. to have its fall meeting at Swampscott. The joint meeting brought together music as- sistants from Connecticut and New Hampshire, as well as Massachusetts. The New Hampshire representative reported on the state-wide circulation of records — a project which, owing to the lack of funds has had to be temporarily suspended. A report on the Julius Hart School of Music at Hartford and on the public li- brary at Stamford revealed the resources and services of these institutions.
Professor John LaRue of Welle sley spoke on a process of duplicating music which has great possibilities for quantitative production of rare items to avoid multi- ple use of the same. Mrs Mary Ankudowich of Smith College described the unique manuscript collection of Italian madri- gals donated by Alfred Einstein.
After a business meeting and luncheon at the New Ocean House the members ad- journed to the Essex Institute at Salem to examine the collection of musical instruments exhibited there, and to hear a paper on Music in Museums, by Miss Narcissa Williamson of the "Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Mr Edward C. Richard gave a demonstration of wire and tape record- ers to conclude the afternoon session. Steps are being taken to secure members in Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island, and to secure more members from public librar- ies in the region who are meeting an in- creased demand for music.
A.L.A. Division of Cataloging and Classification
The A.L.A. Division of Cataloging and Classification had a joint meeting with the Boston Regional Group of Catalogers and Classifiers on Friday, October four- teenth. Miss Marion L. Kesselring of Brown University, Chairman of the Boston Regional Group, presided.
Miss Laura C. Colvin, Vice President of the Division of Cataloging and Classifica- tion, brought to the attention of the group the statement of the Division's Ex- ecutive Board on the report of the Fourth Activities Committees. Miss Colvin asked the audience to send her their opinions on the questions raised in the statement. The opinions will guide the Executive Board in their recommendations about the Fourth Activities Committee report at the A.L.A. Midwinter Conference.
Dr Andrew D. Osborn, Assistant Librar- ian, Harvard College, spoke on the Cata- loging Aspects of the Public Library Inquiry. Dr Osborn 's talk was a criti- cism of the Inquiry report by Watson O'D. Pierce entitled Work Measurement in Pub- lic Libraries. As the result of question- naires sent to libraries, Mr Pierce e- volved simplified methods of measuring library operations. Mr Pierce applied his method for two weeks to three librar- ies ranging in size from large to small: Newark, N. J., Montclair, N. J., and Larchmont, N. Y. Dr Osborn considered the choice of libraries unfortunate since one library was not preeminent in cata- loging while another was so publicity- minded it sought innovations to add to its publicity. The two-week period was too short to justify the conclusions drawn. During the two weeks Newark cata- loged iiOO titles, Montclair 223, and Larchmont 7$. Since these libraries usu- ally catalog 10,000, 5,000, and 1,000 titles annually the figures obtained dur- ing the two-week period were out of pro- portion. Mr Pierce decided that too much time has been devoted to the study of catalog departments and not enough to the operation of the other departments of a library. Dr Osborn agreed that catalog- ers have by their own efforts improved the efficiency of catalog departments.
Dr Osborn concluded that the report
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should have been theoretically qualita- tive rather than quantitative. It is not a question of whether a department can catalog a book in so many minutes, but can a department keep abreast of its work. In his sociological statistical study of library problems Mr Pierce has lost sight of the fact that a library organization is people and not processes. The study is not an important contribution to cat- aloging literature.
Dr Robert D. Leigh, Director of the Public Library Inquiry, answered Dr Osborn's criticism by agreeing the time measurements were crude, but quantitative measurements are admittedly very helpful in setting standards.
Division of Libraries for Children and Young People, and Round Table of Children's Librarians
The Division of Libraries for Children and Young People presented three inter- esting programs: On Wednesday, The Place of Young People ' s Work in the Library and
Community, with Librarians from Brockton, Leominster, and Greenfield as speakers, and a radio program by a group of alert Brockton high-school students; on Friday, Book Reviewing for Book Selection, a thoughtful talk by Miss Mary Silva, Consultant, School Libraries and Library Work with Children and Young People, Massachusetts Division of Public Librar- ies; and on Saturday, a lively discussion of the Fourth Activities Report, led by Miss Mildred Batchelder, Division Execu- tive Secretary. Miss Batchelder inter- preted some of the debatable points, then comments followed from the various mem- bers of the symposium group, with pros, cons, and questions from the floor.
The Round Table of Children's Librar- ians sponsored three meetings also. On Friday, a delightful tea and reception was held, in honor of the 25>th anniversa- ry of the Horn Book, with birthday cake and candles, and greetings from the guests of honor. On Saturday afternoon the Caroline M. Hewins lecture was given by Miss Virginia Haviland, entitled For Profit or Pleasure: the travelogue storybook of the nineteenth century, a skillful, enjoyable presentation indicat- ing thorough research. Lastly, and in fact the closing event of the Conference, was the party for Berta and Elmer Hader,
beloved illustrators and authors of chil- dren's books and Caldecott medal winners, a reception giving opportunity for them to meet Children's Librarians from every part of New England,
A.L.A. Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups
The well-arranged meeting of the A.L.A. Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups, under the Chairman, Miss Sigrid A. Edge of Simmons College, was in the form of a panel discussion with three speakers covering Labor and Libraries in New England.
The most interesting speaker for the Boston audience was Mrs Charlotte D. Robinson, Educational Director of the International Ladies ' Garment Workers Union, A.F.L., who described her experi- ence with the Boston Public Library. The contact was made by Mr Abraham Kalish, formerly in charge of work with unions. The Bostonians were pleased to hear Mrs Robinson's praise of Mr Kalish' s person- ality and his work. Mrs Robinson's chief problem was familiar to librarians — how to interest people in reading. As she was sympathetic with tired and busy union workers, she set no time limit or fines for the loan of a book. Indeed, in order to help union members more, she followed Mr Kalish 's suggestion that she request the factory owners to permit a collection of books from the Boston Public Library to be deposited in the shops themselves. Three factories readily consented and as- signed a worker as librarian. Mrs Robinson closed with her definition of a good union librarian as a person with an understanding of the workers and of the problems of trade unions.
The second speaker, Miss Dorothy G. Flynn, Assistant Librarian of the Lynn Public Library described the services to the United Electrical Union, the largest union in Lynn. Profiting from past fail- ures, Miss Flynn recommended a bookmobile with a trained librarian to visit the plants on the lunch hour, as the ideal solution.
A different phase of labor service was presented by Mr Frederic G. Dunn, Super- visor of Workers ' Education Program, Rhode Island State College. In ±9k5, a Labor Advisory Committee vras formed under the General College Extension of Rhode Island. Since then, evening classes have
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proven consistently popular. During the day, for a short but concentrated period, there is a "Resident Institute" on the campus for union members.
Association of College and ' Reference Librarians
The first action taken at the meeting of the Association of College and Refer- ence Librarians on Saturday, October 15> at the A.L.A. Regional Convention was the passing of tv.ro resolutions. One resolu- tion was to the effect that the members present wished to go on record as feeling that the Fourth Activities Committee re- port should be accepted as a guide for the Executive Board rather than taken as a course of action. The second resolu- tion authorised the officers of the Asso- ciation to enter into discussion with the officers of other library associations about the possibilities of a federation of library associations. The background for such resolutions and for similar ac- tion at the Far West Regional A.L.A. Con- ference is to be found on pages 310 and 311 of the October, 19h9 issue of the A.L.A, Bulletin.
After both resolutions were passed by a showing of hands with approximately half those present voting, and with no nega- tive vote being registered, the meeting was turned over to three very lively speakers ivho talked on practical problems of the college reference library service pattern in a down-to-earth vein.
Mr Nathaniel Goodrich, retiring librar- ian of Dartmouth College Library, admit- ted he had come prepared to address the New England College Library group. His comments were quite a propos, neverthe- less. Sharing his enthusiasm for poetry and mountain climbing with all present, he also found it possible to project to his auditors some of his professional enthusiasms, and reservations, after a long career. Keep libraries beautiful, keep systems simple, keep morale high, and keep book collections alive, were the keynotes of his professional remarks.
Miss Eileen Thornton of Vassar College, a non-New Englander note, spoke on the need of liaison between library staff and faculty, both for service purposes and for book selection activity. She made the point that being a good librarian is a career in itself, with or without a
faculty status. Personnel recruiting and the developing of a staff with subject specialization was one of her themes. Her punch line — to the effect that we can't please everyone all the time but that we could try — was delivered with a sincerity that conveyed conviction.
The final speaker, Dr D. L. Farnsworth of Mol.T., spoke on Psychiatry and the Libraries. He made available to the audience a list of some forty titles of books in the field that he felt had a place in a general library collection, copies of which could also be secured from him at M.I.T. In his comments he dwelt on the practical points of the handling of such books and the type of library user interested in such material.
Special Libraries Association Boston Chapter
In her talk, How Business Uses Library Services, Miss Eleanor S. Cavanaugh, Librarian, Standard & Poor's Corporation, New York City, brought out the following points:
"No business executive alone can keep abreast of all factors affecting his busi- ness without tailor-made knowledge pro- vided by specialized library services." Business needs a clearing house for in- formation to which it may turn for back- ground material, for current trends, and for today's latest information on which to base tomorrow's decisions.
There is no indication that the special- ized information services to business men have kept pace with industrial develop- ments in various areas in the United States. A public relations program is needed so that we may more effectively sell ourselves to business. We probably have not yet even learned the correct ap- proach.
Business today operates in a highly competitive field. It must develop new products, find markets for them, keep old customers, find new ones, produce and sell at the lowest possible cost, advertise, and carry on public relations,, Business must cope with problems of management and labor relations; must keep informed of materials, prices, shortages; and, on top of this, is constantly harassed by various regulations which are now the lot of so many businesses.
To do all this without a clearing house
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to which to turn seems to a librarian an impossible task. It is unfortunate that public libraries, and especially those in the larger industrial areas — good as they are, and as hard as they try to give competent services — are so handicapped by lack of funds that they are unable to engage in the exploratory type of re- search and to furnish highly-specialized services to the extent which would be de- sirable.
We would not be too far wrong if we placed on the librarian the blame for this situation, inasmuch as he has not been sufficiently articulate about what he can do. On the other hand, we can place on the business man the responsi- bility for not demanding such highly- specialized services from his library, and for not insisting upon getting them. If this type of cooperation between li- braries and businessmen could be achieved; it would in all probability help library administrators to secure more funds with which to carry on such services.
The discussion period brought out (1) a greater need for co-operation between li- braries, (2) a need for pooling resources, and (3) that regional libraries are prob- ably the best means of achieving the former.
Mr D. H. Angney, Manager, Research and Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, spoke on Recent Trends in the New England Economy* He pointed out that if New England's growth and strength in the future depends on men, research, ideas, and aggressive action, then the special library has an important role in our re- gional economy. It is an important mem- ber of a research team which is inter- ested in action. A special library must anticipate the needs of the other members in a research organization or business. Ideas are potent forces but they must be widely disseminated if we are to achieve action. Special libraries are not only the custodians of ideas in written form but are also the "routing points" for directing the flow of ideas. "A library is not as popular as a movie theatre, but if it reaches key people, it can be an effective aid for selling ideas."
A research worker must be conversant with day-to-day changes in his assigned field. In addition he must follow the
current trends of research activity and have the proper perspective for integrat- ing his work with the efforts of others. He must avoid duplication and benefit from new ideas. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's special library publishes daily News Notes, consisting of abstracts of items of local, regional, and national interest, and sends it to banks in New England, but not to such organizations as public libraries. This library also pub- lishes a Quarterly Inventory of Economic Research which summarizes the subject matter of economic research projects on New England, their dates of completion, and where they may be obtained.
The most important single economic problem for New England is how to imple- ment and achieve future growth. This bank is actively engaged in a study of man-made obstacles to growth in New England in order that they may be correct- ed. The problems of taxes, new factory buildings, sources of raw materials, costs of transportation and electric pow- er, availability of equity capital, and community attitudes toward industry are some of the pressing issues.
A series of charts thrown on the screen showed the economic changes in New England in regard to population, income, employment, retail sales, and other eco- nomic data. Mr Angney painted a rosy future for New England, based upon the growth of new industries and the presence of certain skills. He felt there was a compensation for the decline in such lines as leather and wool.
BRANCH NOTES
East Boston
About one hundred teachers visited the fifth annual art exhibit Tuesday, Novem- ber first. Besides the usual spectacular display of street scenes, flower and fruit arrangements, pencil sketches, crayon work, etc, there were new fea- tures. An interesting display showed the adaption of mechanical drawing and formal design to making unusual buttons. Another exhibit traced the making of a stencilled cloth from the formal sketching of the design to the stencil and the finished hanging. Two hundred and thirty-six pic- tures, the work of East Boston students
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from the kindergarten through the high school, have been on display since October seventeenth.
From two-thirty to four-thirty tea, sandwiches and cookies were served in the candle-lighted office. Mrs Ada A. Andelman and Miss Elizabeth M. Gordon, Supervisors in the Boston Public Library, poured. Miss Dorothy F. Nourse, Branch Librarian, and her staff were assisted as hostesses by Mrs Margaret A. Donovan, Children's Librarian at the Jeffries Point Branch Library.
Jamaica Plain
An unusual music display called OLD MASTERS — NEW FRIENDS is being featured. Pictures of composers and performers in both the operatic and concert field are displayed on a colorful background. At the entrance to the stacks there are some excellent color prints of Schubert, Koussevitsky, Toscannini, Tchaikovsky, Kreisler, Wagner and Rimsky-Korsakov. On the top shelf on the exhibition case are the busts of Schumann, Schubert, Bach and Wagner: on the next shelf are miniature reproductions of a violin and a Russian Balalaika — both of which were brought here from Europe by a musician on one of his tours. These two pieces are charm- ingly made and delightfully trimmed with a mother-of-pearl inlay.
The public has a large selection of books from which to choose — fiction with a musical background; biographies and autobiographies of past and present performers and stars of the musical world. For the more serious-minded there are books of the symphonies and operas which explain many musical mysteries to the layman .
Mattapan
For two weeks, November 1-12, the branch library will be the proud posses- sor of a fine collection of "young American originals" — paintings, draw- ings, murals, and designs done by the elementary grade public school children in the Audubon, Martha Baker, William Bradford, Charles Logue, Robert T. Paine, Pauline A. Shaw, Tileston, and Roger Wolcott Schools. In co-operation with the Art Department of the Boston Public Schools, the Art Week is being celebrated with the exhibition.
The picture collection is indeed a varied one. The subject matter consists of wonderful multicolored designs to please the lover of abstract art, as well as still lifes and lively scenes for those who prefer more realistic represen- tation. Both color and form are handled with great precision. The everyday scenes reveal the interests of our young artists in the life about them; there are pictures of Hallowe'en witches and fierce- looking dogs, of skiers and dancers, of snowmen and of the school children them- selves.
Worth particular mention are the three large murals in the exhibit. Two of them were done by Marjorie Swartz, a first grader at the Audubon School; Helene Feldberg, Roberta Kosofsky, Carol Levitt, Ilene Perlis, and Lawrence Mills, sixth graders at Charles Logue School, collabor- ated to do the third mural. All three murals show extreme skill in perception of movement, besides a protrayal of per- spective that is also admirable.
North End
Films were used for the first time to explain the Library to the Senior English classes from the boys' division of Christopher Columbus High School.
Father Thomas, O.F.M. brought lii5 boys in three groups to the Library. Miss Ellen Peterson and Mrs Geraldine Herrick gave introductory talks and then the films Find the information and Know your Library were presented. lot Ice, a hockey film, was shown as a dividend to lighten the program. Needless to say the boys were delighted with it. The in- structor, the boys, and the Library per- sonnel felt that the use of films in teaching the use of the Library was a complete success. The following morning, the boys returned to the Library, to spend their English period on assignments that tested their ability to develop the techniques presented in the films on the use of the Library.
The program was repeated for the girls on Wednesday, November ninth. Early Settlers of New England was substituted for Hot Ice.
Parker Hill
In observance of Art Week, a large ex- hibit of drawings by the pupils of the schools in the district was featured
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Book Week exhibits will include: For- eign dolls and books with foreign back- grounds, stressing the theme United through
books; and a large collection of pictures of authors of juvenile books. The high- light of the Book Week celebration will be a tea and Open House on November fifteenth, from three to five o'clock, in honor of the teachers of the public and parochial schools in the district.
Phillips Brooks
Recent events have included a delightful book review evening on October twenty- seventh at which Kiss Edna G. Peck dis- cussed informally new fiction and non- fiction titles. The very active FRIENDS OF THE PHILLIPS BROOKS BRANCH LIBRARY fur- nished refreshments — the traditional autumn cider and doughnuts . Newer resi- dents of Readville, as well as Miss Peck's old friends in the community, attended the program.
Continuing their activities for the season, THE FRIENDS OF THE PHILLIPS BROOKS BRANCH LIBRARY will sponsor a morning cof- fee party at the library during Book Week. On Wednesday morning, November sixteenth, while pre-school children are entertained with picture books, in this first of their new pre-school story hours, their mothers will enjoy contact with other women of the community and will have opportunity to discover books in special exhibits ar- ranged for them.
Another activity currently being pro- moted by this group is an essay contest for children upon the subject: WHAT THE PHILLIPS BROOKS BRANCH LIBRARY MEANS TO ME J On Monday evening, November twenty-first, at a regular meeting of the group, six selected essays will be read and books awarded for the best in each of the three age groups. Judges for the contest, se- lected by the executive board of "THE FRIENDS" from people outside Readville, are: Mrs Edith H. Bailey, former Branch Librarian, Mr William B. Harlow, a leader of the second year Great Books discussions, and Mr Paul Heins, teacher of English at English High School.
Uphams Corner
Special exhibits were shown in the Chil- dren's Department during Art Week. These consisted of free-hand work in water color and pastels; still life studies and child- hood activities. A panorama of Meeting
House Hill in color, the work of the third grade of the Quincy Street School, was perhaps the most outstanding and astonish- ing. Each pupil executed a section in the mural which showed perfect harmony, design and arrangement. The work of the students in the following schools included: John Motley, John Winthrop, Benedict Fenwick, and the Quincy Street. Miss Angela Cannata, supervisor of Art in the Public Schools, planned the work.
Washington Village
It is a pleasure to announce the resump- tion of the Book Discussion Group for the season, l°U9-£0, October through June, the first and third Wednesdays of the month. It is even more pleasant and gratifying to be able to say that some of the members are veterans and devotees, going into their fourth year. The average attendance is eighteen, a third being men and articulate ones (praise be!). As always, the assem- bly is composed of a variety of types and backgrounds — young and old — all linked by, and animated with, a common interest and purpose. The meetings take place in a cozy corner of the Children's Room, in an atmosphere and attitude that, one hopes, would meet with Dr Mortimer Alder's approv- al.
Conducted along the informal, Socratic method, the books discussed, of course, are of a different vein from the Great Books, and therefore are not as arduous, being geared to people who feel that Great Books entail more time than they have to give. The books selected, however, are worthwhile or outstanding, either from a literary or historical point of view, This year the book program is centered on the Study of the novel by dominant type, such as the picaresque, Gothic, satirical, problem, historical, as well as the novel of manners and the novel of atmosphere, Defoe ' s Roxana was the first novel con-
sidered, important as one of the first realistic novels in English and indicative of a very early and generative type, the picaresque novel, in which the chief pro- tagonist is an anti-hero or heroine, trav- elling from one level of society to anoth- er, often satirizing these levels. As may be expected, the discussion of Roxana was spirited and challenging. The group, as a whole, it should be mentioned, is mentally mature and conversant with a diversity of reading, classical and modern. Above all,
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they are good sports and willing to be taken dovm strange paths! Ann Radcliffe, Jane Austen, Sinclair Lewis, Joseph Conrad, Edith Wharton, are the authors in mind from which the novels will be chosen.
At the second meeting of the month, cur- rent events hold sway, and are very much in favor with the group. The topics to be considered are specified at the pre- vious meeting, so that there will be similarity and unity in the reading of current events. Our special textbook and guide for the year is Dr Liebman's Peace of mind, a sub-topic of which is closely analyzed, on our current events evenings.
In accord with a custom established at the inception of this Discussion Group, there is a pleasant half -hour, after the two-hour session, of friendliness, gen- eralities, and partaking of the "cup that cheers but not inebriates".
West Bnd
Children's Book Week this year will be observed November 13-19, with "Make Friends With Books" as its theme. The West End Branch Library will celebrate the event both in the Children's Room and in the Main Reading Room. Original il- lustrations from the year's best in Children's literature and the new books themselves will be featured. Bookmarks, 3s well as the latest publishers' cata- logs and related material will be dis- tributed to teachers, social workers, and parents.
As in the past, the West End Branch Library will play a leading part in this ye?.r:s observance of Jewish Book Month in Boston, November 11 to December 11. Besides featuring several displays it- self, it will serve as headquarters for other branch libraries and Jewish agen- cies, and will arrange and send out ex- hibits dealing with various facets of J brash culture.
Miss Fanny Goldstein, Librarian of the West End Branch Library, will deliver a lecture in the Lecture Hall of the Boston Public Library, on Sunday evening, November twentieth, at 8:00.' . . Her topic will be "Sholem Asch - the Man and hits Works" •■ The meeting is open to the public. On Sunday, December fourth, also in the Lecture Hall of the Main Library,
another program in connection with Jewish Book Month will take place. Several oth- er programs of interest are being planned, details of which will be announced later.
NEW BOOKS IN THE STAFF LIBRARY
Baldwin, Emma V.
Library costs and budgets.
New York, Bowker, 19hl Berelson, Bernard
Education for Librarianship.
Chicago, A.L.A., 19U9 Bonnet, Theodore
The mudlark.
New York, Doubleday, 19h9 Burns, John H.
Lucifer with a book.
New York, Harper, 1914-9 Caldwell, Taylor
Let love come last.
New York, Scribner, 19k9 Cather, Willa
Willa Cather on Writing.
New York, Knopf, 19h9 Christie, Robert
Inherit the night.
New York, Farrar, 19U9 Dinneen, Joseph F.
Purple Shamrock.
New York, Norton, 19U9 Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Portable Fitzgerald.
New York, Viking, 19^9 Hayes, Alfred
The girl on the Via Flamina.
New York, Harper, 19U9 Howe , George
Call it treason.
New York, Viking, 19U9 Lea, Tom
Brave bulls.
Boston, Little, Brown, 19^9 Lewis, Sinclair
The God-seeker.
New York, Random House, 19U9 Lord, David
Joey,
New York, Dutton, 19U9 McCamy, James L.
Government publications for the citizen;
a report of the Public Library Inquiry,
New York, Columbia Univ. Press, 19h? Maclnnes, Helen
Rest and be thankful.
Boston, Little, Brown, 19h9
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Mannin, Ethel
Late have I loved thee. New York, Putnam, 19h9 Merton, Thomas
Seven storey mountain. New York, Harcourt Brace, 19U8 Merton, Thomas
Seeds of contemplation. Norfold, Ct., New Directions, 19U9 Muntz, Hope
Golden warrior. New York, Scribner, 19U9 O'Brien, John A., ed. Road to Damascus. New York, Doubleday, 19li9 O'Faolain, Sean Irishi
New York, Devin-Adair, 19U9 Orwell, George
Nineteen eighty-four. New York, Harcourt, 19U9 Perelman, Sidney J.
Listen to the mocking bird. New York, Simon & Schuster, 19U9 Rogers, Agnes
Women are here to stay. New York, Harper, 19U9 Savoy, Willard ViT. Alien land.
New York, Dutton, 19U9 Sheean, Vincent
Lead, kindly light. New York, Random House, 19h9 Starkey, Marion
The Devil in Massachusetts. New York, Knopf, 19U9 Steen, Marguerite
Twilight on the floods. New York, Doubleday, 19U9 Street, James H. Tomorrow we reap. New York, Dial, 19U9 Streeter, Edward
Father of the bride. New York, Simon & Schuster, 19h9 Taber, Gladys
Especially father. Philadelphia, Macrae Smith, 19U9 Utter, Ethel C.
Parliamentary law at a glance. Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 19U9 Van Praag, Van Day without end. New York, Sloane, 19h9 T':altari, Mika The Egyptian. New York, Putnam, 19U9
Williams, Ben Ames
Fraternity village.
Boston, Houghton, 19h9 Williams, Charles
Many dimensions.
New York, Pellagrini, 19U9 Wilson, Mitchell
Live with lightning.
Boston, Little, Brown, 19h9
THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY PROFESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION
An Institute on CURRENT ATTITUDES UNDERLYING RECENT YJRITING OH MAM AND THE ".ORLD IN "nlCH HE LIVES, sponsored by the Association, will be held in the Lecture Hall of the Boston Public Library on Thursday and Friday, November 17 and 18, 1949.
Eight distinguished subject specialists have agreed to present to the membership and its guests an evaluation of current trends in writing in selected fields of study. In this way it is hoped that the membership will be provided with authoritative estimates of opinion trends in fields which will be of assistance in an individual's professional life.
The program will be as follows:
Thursday Morning at 9:30 A.M.
Introductory remarks by Mrs. Sarah 7«. Flannery, Mr. Milton E. Lord, and Mr. Kenneth R. Shaffer. Address j Franc is R. St. John, Librarian, Brooklyn Public Library,
speaking on LIBR.RY TRENDS AND THEIR RELATION TO INTELLECTUAL
FREEDOMS
Thursday Afternoon at 2:30 P.M.
Address t Thomas E. Shortell, S.J., Assoc. Prof., Boston College
speaking on CURRENT ATTITUDES T0"\ARD THE LABOR MANAGEMENT
RELATIONSHIP.
Address: S. Andhil Fineberg, Author, Counsellor, speaking on
CURRENT PHILOSOFHIES IN RACE RELATIONS
Thursday Evening at 8;00 P.M.
Address: John Lobb, Prof., Mount Holyoke College, speaking on
MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY. Address: John Brubacher, Prof., Yale University, speaking on
THE PHILOSOPHIES OF TODAY'S WRITERS ON EDUCATION.
Friday Morning at 9s 30 A.M.
Address: Myron P. Gilmore, Assoc. Prof., Harvard University, speaking
on CURRENT EUROPEAN HISTORICAL VvRITERS. Address: Thomas' H.D. Mahoney, Ass't Prof., Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, speaking on SOCIAL AND POLITICAL FORCES AT WORK TODAY IN
AMERICA AS REVEALED THROUGH FOR' AL V.RITIKGS.
Friday Afternoon at 2j30 P.M.
Address j ".aldenar B. Kaempf fert, Science Editor, T.evr York Times, speaking on PRESENT DAY SCIENCE AND SCIEKTItTS IN THEIR RELATION TO THE • ORLD AT URGE,
There will be no pre-registration. Tickets may be purchased at the entrance to the Lecture Hall during the thirty minutes preceding each session* Admission fee will be the same as last years that is, 50/ for a single and §1.00 for the entire series.
The printed program for the Institute will be distributed early next week and will be available before each meeting. Members of the Association are urged to be in attendance. The series gives promise of providing information which all can use in our daily work.
SARAH If. FLAN1JERY, Chairman SpecoComn. on In-Service Training 9 November 1949.
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PROFESSIONAL, STAFF ASSOCIATION
THE QUESTION MARK
Published by the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association Volume IV, Number 11 December 1949
Publications Committee: Mildred R. Adelson, M. Dorothy Brackett, John M. Carroll,
Eleanor DiGiannantonio, Sarah M. Usher, Chairman
Publication date; Deadline for submitting material t
The fifteenth of each month The tenth of each month
A MESSAGE
FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION TO THE
MEMBERS OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY PROFESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION
To the
members of the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association:
As I have entered upon my responsibilities as President of the American Library Association, I have been greatly cheered and en- couraged by the friendly interest which has been shown in my doing so by the members of your Association. Particularly was this so in help- ing me to get off to a good start with the very pleasant reception which you so kindly held for Mrs Lord and me on the evening of De- cember 2nd. It was the first official function in which I had par- ticipated since entering upon the position only eight days earlier.
A national professional association such as the A.L.A. runs always the risk of seeming remote from its members by virtue of the fact that it has to operate primarily at the national level. This sometimes seems particularly true to those of us off in one corner of the country, whether this be the Northeast or the Northwest or the Southeast or the Southwest. The problem is to find a ground upon which each of us as individual members may have a sense of participa- tion in the affairs and programs of the Association.
One of the ways in which this may perhaps be accomplished is through a strengthening of the state and regional library asso- ciations in the areas in which each plays its role, and then to re- late the national association more closely to them, and they in turn more closely to the national association. This is a process which requires time. It is one to which I am asking the A.L.A. Executive Board to give increasing attention during the period immediately ahead. The state and the regional associations must be put into a strengthened position if they are to play an effective role in sup- port of a strong national professional association. And we as in- dividuals must also help to strengthen them by developing a larger degree of participation in their programs both at the state and local levels. Only thus can we as individuals bring our influence to bear upon the national picture satisfactorily and successfully. Simply being a member of a national association alone will not solve the problem.
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In similar fashion we need to maintain and develop our li- brary activities through the library groups which are directly con- cerned with the functional fields or the type-of -library or the sub- ject fields in v;hich we are engaged in our regular jobs. In other words we have a role to play as members of the Division of Public Libraries or the Association of College and Reference Libraries or the Special Libraries Association and the like, of the Division of Cataloging and Classification or the Children's Library Association and the like, or of subjeot groups such as the Music Library Associa- tion and the like.
As professional librarians we can strive to participate ful- ly and actively (l) at the national level as members of the American Library Association, (2) at the state or local level as members of our state associations and local library groups, and (3) at the functional or type-of-library or subject levels as members of the appropriate as- sociations. It is only thus that as individual librarians we shall be able to play our professional role to the fullest degree possible. If and as we do participate to that extent, we can require that in their turn our associations (whether national, state or local, or of special fields) play a dynamic role in relating their activities one to the other in such manner as to bring about an integrated sum-total of results. Cne of the goals which I intend to stress during my pe- riod as President of the American Library Association is the breaking down of the barriers between the various library groups. They need to act together to an increasing degree as a related whole.
I pledge my best efforts for the accomplishment of the de- sired end. I am confident that all of you will likewise play your full role by participation both in the programs of the A.L.A. and also in those of state, local, and other library groups.
The task ahead is a large one. It is one that will perforce have to continue well into the future. It will require the combined action of all who are friends of libraries in the truest professional sense.
President, American Library Association
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FESTIVE THRONG HAILS NEW PRESIDENT
On the evening of Friday, December 2, we who work in the Boston Public Library- united to honor our Director, Mr Milton Edward Lord. The occasion was his recent elevation to the presidency of the American Library Association at the Southwestern Regional Conference of the Association in Fort Worth, Texas, from which he had just returned. The place was the Princess Room of the Hotel Somerset in Boston.
For months plans for this event had been simmering. Calendars had been scratched, admonitions to save the date were issued at intervals, committees met, went on field trips, and re-convened until the seemingly effortless moment arrived when we stepped forward one by one over the deep-piled velvet carpet of the ante-room at the Hotel to greet the Director and Mrs Lord, with their son, Peter, standing beside Miss Edna G. Peck, president of the Boston Public Library Staff Association, Mr Frank P. Bruno, vice president, Mrs Geraldine M. Altman, chairman of the Program Committee, and Miss Margaret A. Calnan, chairman of the Entertainment Committee.
Those of us who have sampled Library hospitality in the past know that there is always in it vigor, heartiness, and good spirits. But the numbers on Friday night were impressive. Parenthetically, it should be said in fairness to the Hotel management that the fire laws for- bade them to provide chairs enough to seat everybody. Entire staffs of the Branch Libraries turned out. All the Divisions in almost all of their several departments in Central were represented. Professional colleagues came from the State Library, the Boston Medical Library, from the nearby cities of Brockton, Lynn, Everett, Newton, and Quincy, from Melrose, Watertown, Winchester, Medford, Somerville, even from Springfield. Members of the Examining Committee were there: Mr H. Daland Chandler, Mr Samuel Stern, Mrs Thomas H. Mahony, Mrs Vincent L. Greene, Mr William F. A. Graham, and Bishop John Wright, as were our Trustees, Father Robert H. Lord, Judge Frank J. Donahue, Mr Lee M. Friedman, Mr Francis B. Masterson, and Mr Frank W. Buxton, President of the Board. Retired members of the staff who returned included Miss
Edith Guerrier, Mrs Bertha V. Hartzell, Miss M. Florence Cufflin, Mr Lucien E. Taylor, Miss Marion A. McCarthy. From Simmons College came Mr Kenneth R. Shaffer, Miss Laura C. Colvin, Miss Sigrid Edge, Miss Mary R. Kinney, and Miss Ruth S. Leonard.
The Director, in his response to Miss Peck's address of welcome, recalled his predecessors in office who, like him, had come from the Boston Public Library and, referring to his globe-circling pilgrim- age of the past summer, spoke of what library people everywhere could do to promote the mutual understanding so badly needed in the world today.
In the musical selections which fol- lowed, the v;ell-known trio of the Circula- tion Division, made up of Miss Mary Golden, Mattapan Branch Library; Miss Marion Abbot, Charlestown Branch Library; Miss Winifred Root, Kirstein Business Branch, were heard in the following num- bers: Haydn's minuet in C; Trio in B-flat, by Dvorak (second movement); and a Hungarian Dance, by Brahms. Mr Paul Tibbetts, an exceptionally gifted member of the staff of the Music Department, Reference Division, who was ably accom- panied by Mr Richard G. Appel at the pianoforte, sang The Holy Child, by Martin, and two English folk-songs ar- ranged by Benjamin Britten, The Sally Gardens and Oliver Cromwell.
With the conclusion of the program, punctuated more or less often by the pop- ping flash bulbs of the press photograph- ers, not to mention those of our own Frank Myers, we gave ourselves up to re- newing "auld acquaintance," to chatting with friends whom we hadn't seen for we couldn't remember how many years, or just to enjoying the fun of looking at our fellow workers in different clothes and with time to talk to each other. Gener- ous refreshments were circulating pleas- antly meanwhile and the Guest Book was well on its way to being filled before it was time to say good-night and to think of overshoes and taxis and of what the weather-man was doing.
CHRISTINE HAYES
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THE A.L.A. PRESIDENCY COMES TO THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY A FOURTH TIME J
With the election of Mr Milton E. Lord as President of the major professional library organization of the country, with a membership of nearly 20,000 and an in- ternational role of great responsibility, it may be interesting to review the ros- ter of men to whom that honor has come who also have headed the Boston Public Library.
Mr Justin Winsor was elected the first President of the American Library Asso- ciation when it was organized in 18?6 and remained President until 1885. Late in 1866 he had been appointed Trustee of the Boston Public Library and in 1868 he was asked to assume the duties of Superin- tendent of the Library, and in that ca- pacity he directed the activities of the Library until 1877 when he left to become Librarian of Harvard College. In 1877 he attended the first International Confer- ence of Librarians when it met in London. He was one of the founders of the Library Journal. He became President of the A.L.A. again in 1897. Apart from his career as Librarian, where he did much to liberalize the relations between librar- ies and their users, he also did much original work, including the editing of the four volume Memorial History of Boston) Ecol
and the Narrative and Critical History of America.
Mr Herbert Putnam was the second head of the Boston Public Library to hold the A.L.A. Presidency. He was first elected President in I898. By that time the A.L.A. could claim almost 900 members. Mr Putnam had been appointed Librarian in 1895. He had practiced law in Boston from 1892 to 1895. As Librarian he handled the problems of adjusting a work- ing library to quarters in an Italian Palace after the move from the library building on Boylston Street to the monu- mental new building in Copley Square. He left the Boston Public Library in 1899 to become Librarian of Congress. He held that position until his retirement in 1939. He had been elected President of A.L.A. a second time in 1903.
When Mr Charles F. D. Belden became President of the A.L.A. in 1925, the A.L.A. had over 6,000 members. Mr Belden, like Mr Putnam, had a legal background, having graduated from Harvard Law School
in I898. He was successively Assistant Librarian of the Harvard Law School Li- brary, Librarian of the Social Law Library of Boston, and Librarian of the Massachu- setts State Library from 1909 to 1917. In 1917 he was appointed Director of the Boston Public Library and held that title until his death in 1931. Under Mr Belden the book collection of the Library grew from 1,157,362 volumes to 1,631,1+22 vol- umes. The annex on Blagden Street was completed. Cooperative arrangements with the Harvard Business School Library and the Boston Medical Library were worked out. His span of office saw the establishment of the Kirstein Business Branch and the erection of several new buildings for the branch libraries.
As Mr Milton E. Lord, the present Director of the Library, assumes the re- sponsibilities of President of the A.L.A., he heads an organization functioning through at least 58 active boards and com- mittees, 26 joint committees, and 7 divi- sions and 9 round tables, quite a differ- ent picture from the days when 103 inter- ested people met in a single convention in Philadelphia for the first A.L.A. Confer- ence. Mr Lord received his A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1919, and has done graduate study at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and at the e des Sciences Politique in Paris. Mr Lord has been Director, and Librarian of the Boston Public Library since 1932. Before coming to this Library he had been associated with the Library of Harvard University, the American Academy in Rome, and the State University of Iowa Libraries. While in Rome he served on the Commission of Five American Librarians appointed to aid in the reorganization of the Vatican Library. Since coming to the Boston Public Library, Mr Lord has served on many professional committees. He was the or- ganizer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Book Center for War Devastated Libraries, Inc., and became also President of the United States Book Exchange, Inc., the successor to the form- er. He has been associated with the Council of National Library Associations since its beginning, having drafted its constitution. He has been since 19U7 the First Vice President of the International Federation of Library Associations, and is Chairman of the American Committee on Arrangements for the International Congress
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of Libraries to be held in the United States in 1950. He has twice served as a delegate to the International Congress of Libraries and Bibliography, once in 1929 and again in 1935- He served as Director of the American Library in Paris in 19U5» and has been an Honorary Trustee of that institution since 19h7. In 19U9, with leaders of representative professional groups of America he circled the globe as a member of the World T-^wn Hall Seminar. Currently he is also a Trustee of Simmons College. Mr Lord is perhaps singularly equipoed to help the A-.L.A. achieve its purposes of "promoting* library interests throughout the world, . .inducing coopera- tion in all departments of bibliothecal science. . .disposing the public mind to the founding and improving of libraries", to quote from the A.L.A. Charter. We wish him well in his undertaking!
A.L.A. CONFERENCE
The American Library Association will hold its 1950 conference in Cleveland, Ohio, from July 16 to 22, 1950. This represents a change in meeting place and in date of meeting.
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SUCCESS OF
"GREENE -S CANDTjTSHOPPE"
PHENOMENAL
Boston Public Library staff members, taking advantage of the new discounts of- fered by local merchants, have overwhelmed Mr Green with orders for candy —
l,it35 pounds — $1,068
It is anticipated that the BPL will have to set up a diabetic clinic early in the new yeari
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THE COVER AND THE ARTIST
Now you know that cover number 3 was ad- judged the winner; and it was by a deci- sive vote. There are at present U32 mem- bers of the Association Returns on the balloting were as follows;
No. 3 •> 161
No- 2.... 67) tied
No. 8... 67)
NO. 5.o, , ... 21
No, U. • • 18
No. 6.., 12
No. 7-. h
Preferred former cover... 10
Total* 393
The Committee is grateful to all who submitted designs and hereby records its sincere thanks.
The winner is Miss Mildred R. Somes, who has been a member of the staff of the Book Preparation Department since 19U3» We of- fer her our hearty congratulations,'
The work of Miss Somes is already famil- iar to staff members, inasmuch as she has conceived and executed many excellent posters for various Library functions; witness, the last page of this issue.
Miss Somes received her training at the Rhode Island School of Design and is cur- rently continuing her studies under Mrs Polly Nordell, Boston artist.
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NOTED ON A RECENT PPL N0NFICTION LIST
The last sentence in the annotation of Beauty After Forty reads as follows :
"The whole' theory of the author is that forty is a date line not a deadline — wake up and lie, the best is yet to be!" That little "v" was surely needed then, if ever.
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PERSONAL NOTES
Transferred
Mrs Helen M. Duston, Cataloging and Classification, Reference Division, to the Rare Book Department.
Resignations
Mr Patrick A. Forrester, Binding De- partment .
Mrs Selma Zimmerman, Roslindale Branch Library, to remain at home.
Weddings
On Sunday afternoon, November 27, Miss Pauline M. Ferrante, of the Circulation Division Office, was married to Mr Paul J. Vinci at St. Clement's Church in Somerville. Miss Pauline J. Uccello, of the Cataloging and Classification De- partment, Reference Division, cousin of the bride, was a bridesmaid. A dinner and reception were held at the Hotel Continental in. Cambridge. Mr and Mrs Vinci are spending their honeymoon motor- ing to New York, Washington, and Florida. On their return, they will reside in Medford.
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IN MEMORIAM
MRS CATHERINE BURKE
Mrs Catherine Burke of the Buildings Department died suddenly on November 23. Mrs Burke had been in the service of the Library since 1917 and will be missed by all those who frequented the Women's Lunch Room.
RECENT VISITORS
Dr Richard G. Hayes, Director of the National Library of Ireland, visited the Central Library in late November in his tour of important reference and research libraries in this country. He is partic- ularly interested in microfilm activities in American libraries and is sponsoring a project to have all early documents re- lating to the history of Ireland eventu- ally preserved for posterity through
microfilming. In the Central Library a loan exhibit of Douglas Hyde material, lent by the Library of Congress, was shown in honor of Dr Hayes' visit. The exhibit was opened on November 2lj.th with a brief ceremony in which Mr Lord, Honorable Joseph F. Shields, Consul of Ireland, Mr Martin A. O'Malley, President of the Eire Society of Boston, Professor Emeritus Fred Norris Robinson of Harvard, and others spoke. Dr Hayes was also honored with a formal dinner at the Hampshire House on November 26th given by the Eire Society, to which Mr Lord and Mrs Bouquet were in- vited.
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Miss Norah Albanell MacColl from Uruguay, a graduate of the University of Denver Library School, now at the Columbus Mem- orial Library at the Pan American Union in Washington, D. C, visited Central Library on November 23. She was particularly in- terested in reference activities.
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WE WELCOME BACK AFTER LONG- ILLNESSES
Mr Alfred Fairbairn, Buildings Depart- ment.
Miss Rose Karaian, Branch Issue Depart- ment.
Mr Thomas J. Manning, Patent Room.
Miss Florence McManus, Brighton Branch Library.
Mr John Mealey, Buildings Department.
Miss Ruth B. Sather, Codman Square Branch Library.
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AN EAST BOSTON VIGNETTE
A little boy who visits us infrequently came in the other day and asked if we had any baseball stories. Said the Children's Room Assistant, trying to think of a good story for a small boy, "Have you read "Steady"? Somewhat self-consciously came the answer, "Yes — that is — most of the time."
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WE SEND SPECIAL HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO SPEED THEIR RECOVERY
to
Miss Anna M. Buckmann (Registration De- partment), 62 Forest Street, Roxbury 19
Mr John J. Cronan, (Library Storyteller) 6^1 '.Vest Roxbury Parkway, West Roxbury 32
Miss Bridget Downey (Buildings Depart- ment), 6l West Brookline Street, Boston 18
Miss Editha Hwang (Personnel Office), 198 Pilgrim Road, Boston 1$
Miss Catherine E. Flannery (Orient Heights Branch Library) 33 Pleasant Park Road, Winthrop 52
Mr William J. McCarthy (Periodical and Newspaper Department), 2lr9 River Street, Mattapan 26
Mrs Margaret O'Connell (Buildings De- partment), Ik Winthrop Street, Charles- town 29
Mr Edward H. Redstone (Supervisor in the Reference Division), 31 Linnean Street, Cambridge 38
Mr Michael Sullivan (Buildings Depart- ment), 75 Goodenough Street, Brighton 35
MR APPEL SPEAKS
Richard G. Appel, Chief of the Music Department, spoke at the first meeting of the season of the New England Chapter of the American Musicological Society held at Boston University, November 7, 19l;9.
A JAMAICA PLAIN GEM
A child asked for "that book you told us about at school — the one about the 'stupid butler'." After deep thought the Librarian remembered The Barkingtons — a story with a 'dumb waiter'.
SOUTH BOSTON BRANCH LIBRARY TO BE OR NOT TO BE?
Following the announcement of the Trustees that the South Boston Branch Library would be closed, the South Boston Citizens' Association protested the clos- ing of the branch library and asked for a hearing before the Board. Representatives
of the group appeared before the Trustees at a special meeting held on Friday, December 2, and requested that the branch library not be closed and that temporary quarters be found somewhere in the dis- trict. The new owners of the building in which are housed the present quarters ' of the South Boston Branch Library have agreed to allow the library to remain for an indefinite period pending further study of the entire situation by the Trustees.
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ALUMNAE NOTES
Miss Evelina M. Olivier, former staff member at Connolly Branch Library, is now back in Boston after having spent several weeks in a New Brunswick hospital follow- ing an automobile accident while traveling in Canada. Miss Olivier is at the New England Deaconess Hospital, 16 Deaconess Road, Boston 15, still undergoing treat- ment. Cards and notes from her friends on the B.P.L. staff would give her a great deal of pleasure.
Seasons Greetings go to Mr Richard Brown, who would, we feel sure, be happy to re- ceive cards at Christmas time from his friends in the B.P.L. Mr Brown, who re- tired in 19hl after long service in the Shipping Department, is at the Massachu- setts State Hospital, ^75 Trapelo Road, Waltham 5U.
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On November twenty-third, Mr William J. Ennis, Chief of Book Stack Service, Emeritus, visited friends in Central Li- Enthusiastic over his busy life in
brary.
Maine, he is a convincing example of a man
who knows how to enjoy his retirement.
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Miss Edith Guerrier, Supervisor of Branch Libraries, Emeritus, Miss Alice M. Jordan, Supervisor of Work with Children, Emeritus, and Miss Marion A. McCarthy,
Chief of Book Preparation Department, Emeritus, have all visited friends in the
Central Library during the past month.
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These three ladies are excellent examples of women who know how to enjoy their re- tirement to the full.
Mrs Dorothy Harvey Turner, an assistant in her office when Miss Guerrier was Supervisor of Branches, is now living in Alton, Illinois. Her older son, Bill, was married last January, and is now sta- tioned with the Air Force at Weaver Base, Raoid City, South Dakota. Her younger son, Jim, entered Antioch College this fall.
On a recent visit to the New York Public Library, Miss Edna G. Peck talked with Mrs Adele Sulesky Requena, who is in the office of the Supervisor of Work with Children, Mrs Requena sent greetings to her friends in the B.P.L. Mrs Requena was in the Director's Office prior to her moving to New York.
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Congratulations to to Sgt. Doris A. Quigley, USMC-W, C102 Nebraska Hall, Arlington Farms, Arlington, Virginia, upon her promotion from Cpl.J Miss Quigley formerly worked in the Office of the Trustees.
QUARTER CENTURY CLUB
A meeting was held in the Lecture Hall of the Central Library on Wednesday, November 9th, at which time the Quarter Century Club was reorganized, Officers xvere elected, and plans for the future were outlined. Officers elected were: Mr George W. Gallagher, Binding Depart- ment, President; Miss Bessie L. Doherty, Branch Issue Department, Secretary; Mr Robert F. Dixon, Shipping Department, Treasurer.
A dinner and reception to the Trustees of the Library is planned for sometime during January 1950.
All members of the staff who are eligi- ble for membership should contact Miss Doherty, Secretary, or Mr Dixon, Treasur- er.
PRESIDENT'S NOTES
The President, for the Executive Board, has only one line of thought these days — a large banner-size "Thank You-."
To Mrs Sarah W. Flannery, Chairman of the 19U9 In-Service-Training Committee, and her able committee goes the sincere thanks not only of the Executive Board but of the entire Association. The Institute reflected a high degree of ef- ficiency not only on the part of the com- mittee but also those who gave so freely of their services in the carrying out of the various phases of the program. One and all worked hard and a fine spirit of cooperation was evident -on all sides. Everyone, even those who supported the Institute by their oresence, should feel very gratified at the unqualified success of this Institute which equalled in many ways the excellence of its predecessor, the 19U8 Staff Institute. To one and all who in any way helped toward this success the Executive Board extends sincere thanks.
It is fortunate that gratitude is un- limited, for much is needed to extend to those responsible for the success of the reception for Mr Milton E. Lord, newly elected President of the A.L.A. Inevita- bly the major responsibility for this so- cial activity fell on Miss Margaret A. Calnan, Chairman of the Entertainment Com- mittee. Miss Calnan was aided by her very efficient entertainment committee and by several special committees appointed to serve as auxiliary aids. All gave freely of their time and effort, and the result was a reception which reflected great credit on the committees in charge. Work- ing with Miss Calnan was the program com- mittee headed by Mrs Geraldine Altman. The fine program was indeed a credit to those who were responsible for its ar- rangement. The Executive Board would like to express its thanks to everyone individ- ually who helped in this project in any way. However, space permits us to mention, in addition to the committees, only those who prepared the printed matter — Mr Arthur W. Heintzelman, who designed the programs; Mr William B. Gallagher and his staff, who printed the invitations and programs; Mr James P. Mooers and his staff, who assembled them. Special thanks is due the artists who gave so generously of their talents. The trio — Miss Mary Golden; Miss Marion Abbot and Miss Winifred Root — played with finesse and
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ability. Mr Paul Tibbetts, accompanied by Mr Richard Appel, won the admiration of everyone by his outstanding vocal a- bility. The Executive Committee is both proud and grateful to have found such talent among staff members. Our sincere thanks go to one and all who performed with such a high degree of excellence. Probably most of all we should thank the many who braved the bad weather to pay tribute to the man who has recently as- sumed the high office of President of the national organization — The American Library Association. The best wishes of the Association are extended to Mr Lord as he assumes this great responsibility.
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The President and the Executive Board extend to all staff members the greetings of the season. May you one and all have a very happy Christmas and may the New Year bring to you only the better things of life.
At the business meeting of the Associa- tion held in the Lecture Hall on November twenty-fourth, it was voted that the As- sociation should assume responsibility for setting up and operating a Staff Canteen, on an experimental basis. It was the feeling of the members that the Canteen should be operated, not primarily to make money for the Association, but rather to sell food to staff members at just what the concessionaire charges; thereby benefiting each individual staff member who patronizes the Canteen. What- ever profit is made will come from the soft drinks machines or other dispensing machines which may be installed in the building.
The problems involved in setting up such a project are many. The Committee will need the cooperation of every member of the staff. If you have any construc- tive suggestions, please offer them. They will be more than welcome. If you have nothing constructive to offer, please withhold comment until such time as the Committee has had an opportunity to work out its own ideas.
The Committee is as follows:
Mr Aaron A. Starr,. Business Office, Chairman
Miss Rita M. Doherty, Book Stack Service
Mr Charles. J. Gillis, Catalogingrand Classification Department, Circulation Division
Miss Barbara Gilson, History Department
Mr Joseph A. Lynch, Book Preparation Department
Miss Catherine Robbins, Director's Office.
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PROPOSED MEMORIAL TO VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II
In the October 19h9 issue of The Question Mark, under PRESIDENT'S NOTES, was an announcement that a committee of three — representing the Arnavets, The Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association and the Boston Public Library Employees' Benefit Association, Inc., — had conferred together concerning the "possibility of the three organizations joining forces to lay plans for the erec- tion of a suitable memorial to those li- brary employees who served in World War LT". Mr* Leonard J. ITacmillan, for the committee, presented the suggestion in writing to the Director. The correspondence follows:
October 10, 19U9
Dear Mr Lord,
It was recently proposed by a member of the Professional Staff Association, that the staff erect a memorial to the members who served in World War II to complement the one dedicated to those who served in the First World War.
Consequently, on October Uth, Miss Peck, acting in her capacity as President of the Professional Staff Association, Miss Goldstein, as President of the Employees' Benefit Association, and I as Commander of the Arnavets held a meeting to consid- er preliminary procedures. At this meet- ing it was decided that any campaign to erect such a memorial, must be a joint operation with the three organizations playing an equal part. Secondly, it was agreed that I should initiate the drive by informing you of the proposal.
Therefore, this letter serves a two- fold purpose. First, we wish to ask your kind permission to inaugurate such a ven- ture.. Second, we beg that you favour us with any suggestions that you may have as to the location of a memorial, providing permission to advance our plans is
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forthcoming.
We realize that it will be a matter of considerable time, even years, to bring these plans to fruition, but the present officers of all three organizations will feel proud if such an enterprise can be started during their terms of office. Speaking for myself, I am fully in accord with the principle involved in such an undertaking, and I am particularly pleased that the proposal originated in a non- veteran's organization rather than in the Arnavets. It seems to indicate what the reaction of the average staff member would be if approached with such a propo- sition.
The Executive Board of the Professional Staff Association asks that I request your answer by December 1, 19U9 in order that a definite announcement may be made in the December issue of the "Question Mark" .
Yours most sincerely,
(Signed) Leonard J. Macmillan Commander, Arnavets.
11 October 19U9
Dear Mr Macmillan:
I have received with much interest your memorandum of October 10th. I shall be glad to have consideration given to the interesting proposal which is there set forth concerning the possibility of there being erected in the Library by members of the Library staff a memorial to those members who have served in World War II, this being a complement to the one to those who served in World War I. This is a very interesting pos- sibility which will receive cordial con- sideration.
I note that the Executive Board of the Professional Staff Association has re- quested further word in the matter in season for an announcement to be made in the December issue of the Question Mark.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) Milton E. Lord
Director
P.S. This seems to be a happy develop- ment in that any campaign in support
of such an activity might well be a joint operation of the Arnavets, the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Associa- tion and Boston Public Library Employees' Benefit Association.
To:
Mr Leonard J. Macmillan
Commander, Arnavets
Copy to: Miss Edna G. Peck
Miss Fanny Goldstein
13 December 19U9
Dear Mr Macmillan:
A while back you wrote to me concerning the possibility of there being erected in the Library by the members of the library staff a memorial to those individuals who served in World War II as a complement to the one to those who served in World War I.
It would seem to be thoroughly appropri- ate for such a proposal to be carried through. Of course, its design would have to have the approval of the Trustees of the Library, and also that of the Art Commission of the City of Boston. I am sure that this could be worked out with- out undue difficulty, however. Presumably the location could be the north wall of the courtyard of the Central Library building in an appropriate place to the west of the existing memorial tablet for those who served in World War Ie
If you and your associates wish to pro- ceed along such lines as these mentioned above, I shall be glad to see that such design as is brought into being is pre- sented for approval to the appropriate authorities.
What you and your associates have in mind is a very desirable development in every way.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) Milton E. Lord Director
To:
Mr Leonard J. Macmillan
Commander, Arnavets
Copy to: Miss Edna G. Peck
Miss Fanny Goldstein
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SECOND SUCCESSFUL INSTITUTE
The Institute, presented on November 17 and 18 by B.P.L.P".S.A. , on "Current Attitudes Underlying Recent Writing on Man and the World in Which He Lives" was a great success, at least from the point of view of the caliber of the speakers who were present, and from the interest their remarks aroused in those who at- tended. The average attendance at the meetings was about a hundred. A new de- parture in this year's Institute was that instead of discussing principles, philos- ophies or techniques of Library practice per se, an approach was made to the sub- ject fields of the books with which we deal as librarians. It was felt that this would give the staff something they do not usually get through other of their professional associations and that thus the work done by the other associations would not be duplicated. The B.P.L.P.S.A. is in a good position to do this sort of thing, representing as it does the staff of a large library with interests in many fields.
The content of the books with which we deal is of interest to all of us, whether cataloguers, reference assistants, branch librarians or children's librarians .» It is manifestly impossible to keep up in all fields of knowledge and the birds-eye view of the many important fields which the Institute provided was something which held some interest for nearly all of us.
S.W.F.
RECENT ARTICLES OF PROFESSIONAL INTEREST
World shows high regard for our informa- tion libraries. Library Journal, October 15, 19h9.
"A State Department exclusive which tells how librarians and literature aid foreign millions who seek aid."
The Library's part in the communicative arts. Franklin Dunham, Chief of Radio, U. S. Office of Education. Library Journal, December 1, 19U9- Discusses the library's responsibility to act as the major distributer, of books and audio- visual materials.
New York State refines regional plan. Warren W. Coxe, State Division of Re- search, Albany, N. Y. Library Journal, December 1, 19U9-
"This official believes basic princi- ple has been found for improving public library structure through state aid."
L.S.M.
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HINTS FOR CHRISTMAS I.AILING
Don't
DON'T use fancy papers or string unless covered by heavy wrappings. Wrap it for safety and not for sight.
DON'T ask for it-cent stamps for un- sealed Christmas cards at your Postoffice — present third-class rate is two cents.
DON'T neglect having a book of stamps on your person or in your purse so that you will not have to stand in line to purchase a single stamp frequently.
Do
DO place a duplicate address inside each package for additional protection.
DO write mail and return address in ink — not pencil.
DO be sure the address is complete, in- cluding name, street and number, anart- ment if known, city, zone and state.
DO insure or register all parcels, val- uable papers or letters.
DO use air mail to the fullest extent where distance is great.
DO use first-class mail to assure for- warding or return of all letters and cards.
DO bring your parcels to the postoffice- in the morning so as to avoid the heavy business mailings in the evening.
DO use special handling or special de- livery on all fragile gifts and those which warrant special attention and de- livery.
DO use plenty of heavy paper and strong cord on parcels.
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AT CENTRAL LIBRARY
New Exhibition Cases
The four new glass exhibition cases which we've been expecting arrived last week and are now in place in the four niches in the front lobby of the Central Library. The cases, which are dust- proof, are framed in a beautiful rich bronze, have three generous sized shelves of heavy glass and are lighted by means of concealed cold cathode tubes. They will certainly set off our exhibits to great advantage.
New Electric Self-regulating Clock System
There has recently been installed in the Central Library building an Inter- national Business Machines Electric Clock System featuring an Electronic self- regulator. The system has an accurate Master Time Control as director of the system. Once each hour, I.B.M. clocks which are plugged into any electric out- let will automatically be corrected to the exact second. When completely in- stalled through the building, this spe- cial clock system will assure a uniform recording of the correct time. At pres- ent only the Courtyard Clock has been con- verted from mechanical to electric mech- anism and is now recording accurate time. As soon as funds permit, additional clocks will be installed or converted to this system.
CHRISTMAS COFFEE PARTIES
Mrs Ada A. Andelman and the branch li- brarians were the hostesses at an inform- al coffee party in the women's lounge following the branch librarians ' meeting on Wednesday morning, December 7,- 19U9* About fifty staff members enjoyed the opportunity to have a friendly chat while balancing a coffee cup in one hand and a couple of doughnuts in the other.- One of the most pleasant features of the occa- sion was the opportunity to welcome some of our retired co-workers, Miss Edith Guerrier, Supervisor of Branch Libraries, Emeritus, Miss Mary E. Ames, Branch Librarian, Emeritus (Fellowes Athenaeum
Branch Library) ; Mrs Edith H. Bailey, Branch Librarian, Emeritus (Phillips Brooks Branch Library) . The consensus of opinion is that these informal gatherings are very pleasant and should happen more frequently.
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On Wednesday morning, December lli, fol- lowing their monthly meeting the Chil- dren's Librarians were hostesses at a similar function. Although the group was not as large as in the previous week), the same festive spirit pervaded the women ' s lounge .
BRANCH NOTES
Brighton
In the second week of its three-week celebration of Book Week, a poster con- test was held in the Children's Room, Children in the neighborhood from grades three to eight were invited to submit posters based on the theme of Book Week ,TMake Friends with Books". On Monday, November 21, 79 posters were on display and ready for their judges, who were to be the boys and girls who came to the Library throughout the week. No names of "artists" were in sight and each poster could be identified only by the number which was assigned to it. Each voter had four votes — one for the best poster in each of the following groups — * fifth grade,- sixth grade, and Junior High School. Each ballot had to be signed — repeaters beware J A padlocked ballot box was provided and the elections were on.- By Monday morning of the following week the results were known and blue ribbons were attached to the prize-winning post- ers.. On the following evening, November 29,- an Open House for the parents of the children who had submitted posters was held. The response was overwhelming and the Children's Room was bursting at the seams as more and more proud parents came through its doors. Posters were viewed and exclaimed over by parents and friends, displays of new books and Newbery and Caldecott medal books were examined, and book lists were distributed. The Chil- dren's Librarian, Miss Evelyn Levy, gave ■i!--third and fourth grades,
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a short talk and Miss Elizabeth M. Gordon, Deputy Supervisor in Charge of Work with Children, after an informal talk, awarded the four prizes — books, of course.
The evening ended with conversation, cider, and cookies.
Connolly
Today the Branch will be the scene of a gay Christmas party when the Jamaica Plain Women's Club presents its fourth annual Christmas party for the children of the district. It is expected that two hundred boys and girls will attend the party, which will feature movies, carol singing, and even Santa Claus himself. Santa will arrive with a gift and a bag of candy for each child, providing a fit- ting climax to an afternoon which it is hoped every child will enjoy.
Jamaica Plain
History in the making is the caption of a poster which calls attention to a dis- play of historical novels. Since Ameri- can history is an intriguing subject and since the public has always enjoyed reading history in the form of a good novel, the circulation of these books has been gratifying.
North End
The Staff held its annual Christmas party on Thursday, December 8, so that Miss Tyyne Saari could attend. Two days later, Miss Saari left to spend the holi- days in Florida. She and her family are planning a celebration for her father's 75th birthday.
Parker Hill
Christmas Week activities will start on Friday, December 17, with a Christmas Story Hour and "Brunch" for Miss Hagerty and the Special Class of the Martin School. After refreshments have been served, individual guests will entertain with holiday songs and recitations. The program will conclude with carol singing by guests and staff, and the awarding of a gift book to Miss Hagerty for the class.
On Monday, December 19, the film show- ing for children at h p.m. will include: Christmas rhapsody; Little Child; Children of Holland; Mother Goose stories. At 7:30 p.m. the adult film program will feature: Pearl of the Orient; Peonle of Hawaii; Wings to Hawaii.
Christmas carols will be sung by the Boys' Choir of the Mission Church in the Lecture Hall, on Tuesday evening, December 20, at 8 o'clock. The program, under the direction of Mr Rodolphe E.« Pepin, Mission Church organist, will be open to the pub- lic.
Mrs Phyllis Barclay, former Children's Librarian in the Boston Public Library, will be the storyteller at the Christmas Story Hour on Wednesday, December 21, at U:l5 P»m. Children in grades 3-6 will be invited to attend.
Teachers and pupils of the Thomas Dwight School will present their Christmas pro- gram in the Lecture Hall on Thursday morn- ing, December 22, at 10 o'clock. The in- vited guests will be the parents of the children.
The annual staff Christmas luncheon on Friday, December 23, will wind up Christmas Week festivities.
Phillips Brooks
A community group in Readville met at the Branch Library on Monday evening, November 28, to hear Miss Patience Bowen, a long-time neighbor, give a most delight- ful account of her recent trip to Europe. Miss Bowen, who has spoken here before about her earlier travels, pleased this group with a vivid picture of Ireland's scenic beauty and historic interests. She will, by request, return in January to continue the account of her trip, covering this time her travel in England and France.
West End
The Branch Library has been very busy this past month planning and holding pro- grams in celebration of Jewish Book Month.
Mr Yudel Mark, eminent Yiddish scholar and educational consultant for Jewish schools in New York, spoke at a Yiddish program held at the Mattapan Branch Li- brary on Sunday evening, November 27.
On Sunday evening, December k, Miss Marie Syrkin, author of BLESSED IS THE MATCH, was the principal speaker at a pro- gram held in the Lecture Hall of the Central Library. Dr Harry Savitz spoke on THE SYMBOLISM OF THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY. The musical portion of the program con- sisted of songs by Mrs Ernest Roussos, accompanied on the cello by Miss Mildred Kravitz, both members of the staff of the West End Branch Library, with Mrs Hyman Shrier at the piano.
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Mr Charles Angoff , author, of Y/HEN I WAS A BOY IN BOSTON, was honored at a recep- tion and tea at the West End Branch Li- brary on Saturday evening, December 10. Mr Angoff, a former resident of West End, was representative of the many Jewish authors of yesterday and today who were among the distinguished guests attending the event. Mr Charles Angoff was inter- viewed by Miss Fanny Goldstein on Station MAC on Wednesday afternoon, December Ik. at U:15 p.m. on THE IMPACT OF THE JEWISH* WRITER ON AMERICAN LITERATURE.
A radio symposium, SOME GREAT JEWISH CLASSICS, will be aired over WNAC on Saturday afternoon December 17 at U:30p.m, The distinguished members of the round- table will be Rabbi Abraham J. Klausner of Temple Israel, Boston, Rabbi Judah Nadich of Temple Kehillath Israel, Brookline, and Rabbi Dudley Weinberg of Temple Ohabei Shalom, Brookline. Miss Goldstein will act as moderator.
West End will hold its annual goodwill Hanukah-Christmas party this evening at the branch library.
-x-:kbf,h«bhb;-
DEPARTMENT NOTES
Mr and Mrs William Javelin entertained twenty-six members of the Open Sheld De- partment, including husbands and fiances, at their home on the evening of November 11. Mr Paul Delahanty, part-time assist- ant, delighted the group with his feats of magic, and the Javelins showed color slides of their last summer's trip to Williamsburg, Charleston, New Orleans, and points en route.
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NEW BOOKS IN THE STAFF LIBRARY Fiction
Asch, Sholem
Mary
New York, Putnam, 19k9 Brady, Leo
The edge of doom
New York, Dutton, 191+9 Chase, Mary Ellen
Plum tree
New York, Macmillan, 191+9
Frankau, Pamela
Willow cabin
New York, Harcourt, 191+9 Gallico, Paul
The lonely
New York, Knopf, 191+9 Green, Henry
Loving
Viking, B., jr.
19k9
New York, Guthrie, A.
Way west
New York, Sloane, 191+9 Lampell, Millard
The hero
New York, J. Messner, 191+9 Ogilvie, Elizabeth
Rowan Head
New York, Whittlesey, 191+9 O'Neal, Charles
The three wishes of Jamie McRuin
New York, J. Messner, 191+9 Peters, Arthur A.
The world next door
New York, Farrar, Straus, 191+9 Sinclair, Upton
0 shepherd, speakl
New York, Viking, 191+9 Stone, Irving
Passionate journey
New York, Doubleday, 191+9 Upson, William
"Hello, Mr Henderson"
New York, Rinehart, 191+9 Welty, Eudora
Golden apples
New York, Harcourt, 191+9 Wilkins , Vaughan
Once upon a time
New York, Macmillan, 191+9
Non-fiction
The Association of American Library Schools
Directory 2nd. ed. , 191+8
Seattle, Univ. of Washington, 191+9 Benchley, Robert
Chips off the old Benchley
New York, Harper, 191+9 Brown, John Mason
Morning faces
New York, Whittlesey, 191+9 Gunther, John
Behind the curtain
New York, Harper, 191+9
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Hottes, Alfred C.
Flower garden for the amateur
Forest Park, 111., Midland Publishers,
(19U9) Leighton, Isabel, ed.
The aspirin age
New York, Simon & Schuster, 19h9 Mauldin, Bill
Sort of a saga
New York, Sloane, 1°U9 Rogers, Will
Autobiography
Boston, Houghton, 19U9 Roosevelt, Eleanor
This I remember
New York, Harper, 19h9 Smith, Lillian E.
Killers of the dream
New York, Norton, 19h9 Steegmuller, Francis
Maupassant: a lion in the path
New York, Random, 19U9 Toombs, Alfred
Raising a riot
New York, Crowell, 19U9 Tully, Grace G.
F.D.R., my boss
New York, Scribner, 19U9 7/aldron, Gloria
The information film; a report of the
Public Library Inquiry
New York, Columbia Univ. Press, 19U9
4HHHHHHHf-H-fr
SOAP BOX
To the Soap Box Editor:
There are questions in the minds of some members of the staff about State Certification of Librarians, e. g. :
1) Is it advisable for Boston Public Library staff members to apply for State certification?
2) Is a State Certificate of value only to those who plan to seek library em- ployment outside of the Boston Public Library?
3) What value does the certificate have to justify its fee?
h) Will a State Certificate of Librarian- ship be a prerequisite in the Boston Public Library for appointment or pro- motion in the future?
5) Why is the position held on August 19U8 considered the basis for application?
6) Why is July 19^0 the deadline for ap- plying without examination?
May we have some authoritative informa- tion that will clear the air I
Sincerely yours, (G. S. H.)
The Publications Committee hopes that these questions may be answered at the Officer Meeting on December 15. If they 'are not, it will attempt to have answers appear in the January issue.
To the Soap Box:
Remember the old Library Life? That was printed and bound. Why should not The Question Mark, gaining stature with every issue, be accorded an equal courte- sy?
Library Life makes fascinating reading, as well as preserving a valuable record of staff activities. Maybe fifty years hence the staff might like to know what was going on way back there at the middle of the century. Our Question Mark in its present format will never last fifty years. What can we do about it? Some- thing, surely!
FORWARD LOOKER
AN ADVOCATE FOR THE INTERESTS
OF POSTERITY
To the Soap Box:
In the October 19h9 issue of The Question Mark the "Soap Box" carried an article on the poor lighting conditions of the service stairway connecting stacks four and five in the annex. The day fol- lowing the publication of The Question Mark this stairway was equipped with new lights and the stairs were properly marked. It would be nice if The Question Mark could claim credit for this much needed improvement. However, this cannot be. Even the B.P.L. electricians, speedy as they are, could never have completed that job in two hours I The work was evi- dently planned and completed between the
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time the letter was submitted and The Question Mark published. To the Division of Business Operations goes the credit. Who was responsible for having the work done is, in the long run, immaterial. The fact that it is done is what counts. •The writer of the letter to the "Soap Box" wishes to say to those responsible, "Thank you for anticipating my comments."
■H-
Dear Editor:
A great deal of the Christmas mail that circulates through the building is strict- ly intra-mural . This generally causes heavy loads not only on the U, S. Post- office, but also on the Records, Files, and Statistics Office here in Central. This year there is the additional consid- eration of an increase in mail rates.
Therefore, may I suggest that the As- sociation play Postoffice this year? A large box could be set up in the Staff Library some days prior to Christmas for the reception of staff mail. Then sever- al volunteer postmen could sort and de- liver the mail to the separate depart- ments. Incidentally, branch people who wished to send cards to friends in Central might also make use of the serv- ice.
I might add in closing that this idea originated with the bashful Mr Andrews of the Branch Issue Department, but since he was too shy to appear in print, I have been persuaded to act as amanuensis.
Yours , (signed) Eamon McDonouth General Reference Department
#
To the Soap Box:
Among the recent announcements of va- cancies to be filled is one of compelling interest — Deputy Supervisor in the Reference Division — inasmuch as the re- quirements have been changed since the vacancy was announced 19 May 19U8 and not filled. At that time the first paragraph read:
"The passing of the requisite Promotion- al Examinations for any Department in the Reference Division."
The revised version omits this qualifica- tion by examination only, thus eliminating
persons who may have passed examinations in the Reference Division while working in the Circulation Division, to prepare themselves for promotion in either Divi- sion,
The baffling question is why the posi- tion is restricted to members of the Reference Division (and there, Kirstein Business Branch is excluded!). This would seem to be discriminating against a portion of the staff, among whom it is very possible that there may be some who have satisfactory personalities, superior educational backgrounds, adequate knowl- edge of the Central Library building and of reference tools, an intelligence capa- ble of learning the contents of our spe- cial collections and other information pertinent to the position, years of ex- perience in working directly with the public, and judgment sound enough to cope with emergencies. — - in addition to hav- ing passed the necessary examinations.
Obviously, if, as is allowed in an al- ternate qualification, a person holding a pertinent position outside the Boston Public Library and possessing knowledge of the field were chosen for the position, he would not only have to learn about our special collections, but would also have to familiarize himself with the building, learn our rules and acquaint himself with our personnel — and would not have passed our examinations.
It can be recalled by all that not too many years ago a chief of a reference de- partment was promoted to an important supervisory position in the Library Sys- tem — an entirely different field from that in which she was working. Was hers a special case, or should all other staff members be given similar opportunities for advancement?
BAFFLED
*8HHHHH*"K-3Kt
The Members of the Publications Commit- tee wish for all members of the staff of the Boston Public Library a Blessed Holiday Season!
■
1
/edn 26 da u . nft c moon • DECEMBER -21- 1949
''vf/ "V
from
7
J OCIQCK
in the
WovnmA Lounqe
COMMITTEE FOR CHRISTMAS TEA for the Central Library Staff
Helen Schubarth, Chairman
Barbara P. Cotter Mary F. Daley William DiRosario Eleanora V. Fiorio Barbara Gils on
Julia M. Manning Lucy M. Manzi Ruth V. Marshall
Francis G, Myers Annette L. Sherman Mildred R. Somes Gertrude Stuhl Elizabeth G. Todd
7 December 19h9
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 9999 06314 605 2