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X) ,Hy:vii..:.. .
CLASSICS OF <tiM&RICAN LIBRAMANSHIP
THE LIBRARY
AND ITS ORGANIZATION
Classics of ^American Librarianship
Edited bij Arthur E. Bostwick, Ph.D.
The Relationship between the Library and the Public Schools.
By Arthur E. Bostwick, Ph. D.
Library Work with Cbildren. By cAtice I.
The Library and Society. By Arthur E. Bostwick, Ph. D.
The Library and Its Organization. By Gertrude Gilbert Drury,
IN PREPARATION
The Library and Its Contents. By Harriet ^Price Sawyer,
The Library and Its Home. By Gertrude Gilbert ""Drury*
The Library Without the Walls. By Laura Jan^ow*
The Library Within the Walls. By Katharine Twining Moody.
The Library and Its Workers. By Jessie Sargent McNiecc,
The Library as a Vocation. By Harriet *Pric<e Sawyer,
Classics of ~Atfi:ejri&an Librarian ship
Edited by ARTHUR E,BQSTWICK, PK. D.
THE LIBRARY
AND ITS ORGANIZATION
REPRINTS OF ARTICLES AND ADDRESSES
SELECTED AND ANNOTATED BY
GERTRUDE GILBERT DRURY
Chief Instructor, St. Louis Library School
NEW YORK
THE H. W. WILSON COMPANY
1924
Publifbed August 1924
Printed in the United States of America
PREFACE
This fourth volume In the series of Classics of Ameri-
can Librarlanship is devoted to general library organiza-
tion and administration. In surveying the field one finds
many forms of organization. The principle followed in
selecting the articles in accordance with the purpose of
the series, has been to choose the typical forms/ or those
which have played a definite part in library development
and progress, rather than the erratic or spectacular.
The arrangement of the groups recognizes the pre-
eminence of the public library and includes the national
library, national and state organizations, the college li-
brary and special libraries.
GERTRUDE GILBERT DRURY.
CONTENTS
PREFACE 5
THE LIBRARY AND ITS ORGANIZATION 13
PRECURSORS OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 15
Proprietary Libraries and Their Relation to Public Libraries.
(Library Journal, 18 : 247-8, 1893,) 17
CHARLES AMMI CUTTER
The Boston Athenaeum (U. S. Education Bureau. Special
Report on Public Libraries in the U. $., 1876, p. 854-6.) . . 21
CHARLES AMMI CUTTER
The Proprietary Library in Relation to the Public Library
Movement. (Library Journal, 31:0. 268-72, 1906.) 25
WILLIAM ISAAC FLETCHER
The Mercantile Library, New York. (U. S. Education Bu-
reau, Special Report on Public Libraries in the U. S*,
1876, p. 928-31.) 33
O. C. GARDINER
Popular Libraries. (Educational Supplement of Appleton's
Journal^ 1870.) 39
HONORABLE IRA DIVOLL
GENERAL PUBLIC LIBRARY ORGANIZATION AND
ADMINISTRATION 57
Free Public Libraries ; Suggestions on Their Foundation and
Administration. (American Social Science Association,
Rev, eel, 1871, p. 9-15.) 59
A Word to Starters of Libraries. (Library Journal, 1 : 1-3,
1876.) 65
JUSTIN WINSOR
Organization and Management of Public Libraries (U. S.
Education Bureau, Special Report on Public Libraries in
the U, S,, 1876, p. 476-9.) 69
WILLIAM FREDERICK POOLS
8 CONTENTS
Formation and Organization of Public Libraries. (Library
Jownal, 12 : 117-19, 1887.) 75
RICHARD ROGERS BOWKER
Business Methods in Library Management. (Library Journal,
12:335-8, 1887.) 81
FREDERICK MORGAN CRUNDEN
Management of Small Libraries. {Library Journal, 24 : c. 76-
80, 1899.) 87
MARILLA WAITE FREEMAN
Library Administration on an Income of From $1,000 to
$5,000 a Year; Essentials and Non-essentials. (Library
Journal, 30 : c. 58-63, ioosO 97
SAMUEL HAVERSTICK RANCK
Form of Library Organi2ation for a Small Town Making a
Library Beginning. (Library Journal, 31:803-6, 1906.).. 109
ALICE SARAH TYLER
The Work of a Modern Public Library. (American Review
of Reviews, 29 : 702-8, 1904. ) 117
HENRY LIVINGSTON ELMENDORF
LIBRARY LEGISLATION 129
State Legislation in the Matter of Libraries. (Library Jour*
nal, 2:7-12, 1877.) , ... .,,. 131
WILLIAM FREDERICK POOLE
Legislation for Public Libraries. (Library Journal, 4:262-
7, 1879.) 141
HENRY AUGUSTUS HOMES
Essentials of a Good Library Law. (Library Journal, 25 ; c.
49-5 *» *90G.) ..,.,.. 151
WILLIAM REED EASTMAN
BRANCH LIBRARIES , 157
Branches; Discussion Conducted at the Centennial Library
Conference at Philadelphia. (Library Journal, t : 125-6,
1876.) ..,.. ....„,. 159
Branch Libraries, Boston, (Library Journal, 1:388, 1877.), 163
Branch Libraries. (Library Journal, 23:14-18, iHcjB,) ...... 167
ARTHUR ELMORE BOSTWICK
CONTENTS 9
The Branch Library and Its Relation to the District.
(A. L. A, Proceedings, 33:109-12, 1911.) '. 177
CLARA ELIZABETH HOWARD
Limitations o£ the Branch Librarian's Initiative. (A. L. A.
Proceedings. 33 : 105-8, 1911.) 185
CHARLES HARVEY BROWN
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 193
American Library Association. (Library Journal, 1 : 245-7,
1877.) 195
MELVIL DEWEY
American Library Association: an Editorial. (Library Jour-
nal, 3 : 43-4, 1878.) 201
Address of the President of the American Library Associa-
tion. (Library Journal, 22 :c. 1-5, 1897.) 205
WILLIAM HOWARD BRETT
A Headquarters for Our Association. (Library Journal, 28 :
c. 24-8, 1903.) 213
GEORGE ILES
American Library Institute. (Public Libraries, n: 108, 1906.) 221
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 223
Library of Congress or National Library. (U. S. Education
Bureau. Special Report on Public Libraries in the U. $.,
1876, p. 253-61.) 225
AINS WORTH RAND SPQFFORD
The Library of Congress as a National Library. (Library
Journal, 30 : t\ 27-34 1905.) , 237
HERBERT PUTNAM
How the Library of Congress Serves the People. (Public
Libraries, 19:331-4, 1914.) 253
WILLIAM WARNER BISHOP
STATE LIBRARY ORGANIZATIONS 261
What May Be Done for Libraries by the Stale. (Library
Journal. 26 : c. 7-8, 1901,) 263
EDWARD ASAHEL BIRGE
io CONTENTS
Where Shall State Aid End and Local Responsibility Begin
in Library Extension Work? (A. L. A. Proceedings, 29:
238-43, IQ070 .^ 267
ASA WYNKOOP
State Library Associations. (Library Journal, i6:c. 112-13,
1891.) 277
CHARLES AM MI CUTTER
Development of the State Library. (Library Journal, 30 : c.
37-40, 1905.) 281
GEORGE SEYMOUR GODARD
How to Organize State Library Commissions and Make
State Aid Effective. (Library Journal, 24 :c. 16-18, 1899.) 287
LXJTIE EUGENIA STEARNS
Lines o£ Work Which a State Library Commission Can
Profitably Undertake. (Library Journal, 25 : c. 51-2,
1900.) 293
GRATIA ALTA COUNTRYMAN
State Library Commissions. (IJbrary Journal, 30 : c. 40-5,
1905.) . . , 301
HENRY EDUARD LKGLER
A Model Library Commission Law. (Library Journal, 30:
c. 46-50, 1905-) - • - 3 n
JOHNSON BRIGHAM
Work of Library Extension in Iowa. (Public Libraries, 9:
296-9, 1904.) * 319
ALICE SARAH TYLER
The Commission and the Local Library. (Wisconsin Library
Bulletin, 7 : 1 12-16, 191 1.) ..,....„ 325
CLARA FRANCES BALDWIN
The Trend of Library Commission Work (A, L. A. Proceed"
inys, 3 1 : 107-202, * W.) 331
CHALMERS HADLKY
COUNTY LIBRARIES 341
Latest Stage of Library Development (Forum, 31:338-40,
KJOI.) .... ..,,....,..,. 343
EKNKST IHVINC ANTRIM
CONTENTS ii
A County Library. (A. L. A. Proceedings, 31 : 150-2, 1909.) 347
MARY LEMIST TITCOMB
The California County Library System. (A. L. A. Proceed-
ings, 31 : 152-4, 1909.) 353
JAMES Louis GILLIS
California County Free Libraries. (A. L. A. Proceedings,
33:138-44, 1911.) 357
HARRIET GERTRUDE EDDY
County Libraries in Oregon. (A. L. A, Proceedings, 33 : 144-
6, 19".) 369
MARY FRANCIS ISOM
Summary of County Library Laws. (Public Libraries, 22:
17-19, 1917.) 373
JULIA ALMIRA ROBINSON
COLLEGE LIBRARIES 379
College Library Administration. (U. S. Education Bureau.
Special Report on Public Libraries in the U. S,, 1876,
p. 505-20.) 381
OTIS HALL ROBINSON
Hints for Improved Library Economy Drawn From Usages
at Princeton. (Library Journal, 2 : 53-7, 1877.) 395
FREDERIC VINTON
Departmental Arrangement of College Libraries. (Library
Journal, 14 : 340-3, 1889.) 403
EDITH EMILY CLARKE
A Study of College Libraries. (Library Journal, 18:113-17,
1893.) 413
LODILLA AMBROSE
Functions of a University Library. (Library Journal, 19:
e. 24-30, 1894.) 425
HARRY LYMAN KOOPMAN
SPECIAL LIBRARIES 437
Development of Special Libraries. (Library Journal, 34: 546-
7. »9090 * 439
ROBERT HARVEY WHITTEN
12 CONTENTS
Medical Libraries in the United States. (U. S. Education
Bureau. Special Report on Public Libraries in the U. S.f
1876, p. 171-82.) 443
JOHN SHAW BILLINGS
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Department (Library
Journal, 30 : c. 242-6, 1905.) 457
CHARLES MCCARTHY
Administration and Use of a Law Library. (A. L, A. Pro-
ceedings, 29 : 92-6, 1907.) 465
FRANK BIXBY GILBERT
Library of the New York Public Service Commission.
(Special Libraries, 1:18-20, 1910.) 473
ROBERT HARVEY WHITTEN
Library of Stone and Webster, Boston. (Special Libraries,
i : 44-7, 1910.) 481
GEORGE WINTHROP LEE
Reference Library in a Manufacturing Plant. (Special Li-
braries, 2 : 13-15, 191 1.) , 487
LAURA E. BABCOCK
FUNCTION OF LIBRARIES 495
Function of the Library. (Public Libraries, 6 : 527-32, 1901.) 497
SALOME CUTLER FAIRCHILD
of
(X»
O
THE LIBRARY AND ITS ORGANIZATION
o
PRECURSORS OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
The most important forms of library organization pre-
ceding the public library were two; that maintained as
one of the varied activities of a society or foundation and
available only to the members or stock holders in it ; and
that organized as an association for the purpose of main-
taining library service, membership in which was prac-
tically open to all who paid the fee or helped to support
it. Proprietary, subscription, mercantile and society li-
braries are terms variously used in application to these. £
In the early attempts to extend library privileges to
the general public, school libraries organized under spe-
cial laws were also utilized and in some states were the
only supplies of reading furnished for many years.
Benjamin Franklin is known as the founder of the
first subscription library. He says in his autobiography:
About this time, our club meeting, not at a tavern, but
in a little room of Mr. Grace's, set apart for that purpose, a
proposition was made by me, that, since our books were often
referr'd to in our disquisitions upon the queries, it might be
convenient to us to have them altogether where we met, that
upon occasion they might be consulted; and by thus clubbing
our books to a common library, we should, while we lik'd to
keep them together, have each of us the advantage of using
the books of all the other members, which would be nearly as
beneficial as if each owned the whole. It was lik'd and agreed
to, and we filled one end of the room with such books as we
could best spare. The number was not so great as we expected ;
and tho* they had been of great use, yet some inconveniences
occurring for want of due care of them, the collection, after
about a year, was separated and each took his books home again.
And now I set on foot my first project of a public nature,
that for a subscription library. I drew up the proposals, got
them put into form by our great scrivener, Brockd«n, and by
16 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
the help of my friends in the Junto, procured fifty subscribers
of forty shillings each to begin with, and ten shillings a year
for fifty years, the term our company was to continue. We
afterwards obtain'd a charter, the company being increased to
one hundred: this was the mother of all the North American
subscription libraries, now so numerous. It is become a great
thing itself, and continually increasing. These libraries have
improved the general conversation of the Americans, made the
common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentle-
men from other countries, and perhaps have contributed in some
degree to the stand so generally made throughout the colonies
in defense of their privileges.
PROPRIETARY LIBRARIES AND THEIR RELA-
TION TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES
As a forerunner of the public library, the subscription
library rendered a valuable service. Mr. Charles Ammi
Cutter briefly surveys the situation that existed before
public libraries had occupied the field.
Mr. Cutter was born in Boston, Mass., 1837, and
graduated at Harvard in 1855, and from its Divinity
school in 1859, serving as librarian of the latter in 1858-
59. Early in 1860 he became an assistant in the Harvard
College library, and eight years later he was elected li-
brarian of the Boston Athenaeum, where he remained
until 1893. For the last ten years of his life, he served
as librarian of the Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass.
In 1875, he prepared the "Rules for a dictionary cata-
logue" in the special report on public libraries issued by
the Bureau of Education in 1876. The "Expansive clas-
sification" and the "Alphabetical-order tables" were pub-
lished while he was at Northampton,
Mr, Cutter, as president, presided over two conven-
tions of the American Library Association, and served as
honorary vice-president of the International Library Con-
ference, London, 1897.
By a "proprietary library" is here meant one that is owned
in shares by a limited number of stockholders, thre association
having been formed for the sake of creating a general library.
This excludes Odd Fellows' Libraries, Social Law Libraries,
Young Men's Christian Association Libraries, which are merely
adjuncts to an association, and libraries formed for the special
study of their own branch of knowledge by scientific bodies,
which can convicntly be called Society Libraries. Here and
there you may find one, like the Boston Athenaeum, in which
the library was not the main object of the foundation, but has
i8 CHARLES AMMI CUTTER
gradually absorbed all the life of the institution, which is now
kept up solely or mainly for the sake of the books. These are
properly included.
In this country the Proprietary Library was the parent of the
Public Library, and as is said to be the custom among some
savage tribes the son when grown up has devoured his father.
Our ancestors organized library societies in which the shares
ranged from $5 to $300, and the annual dues for the borrowing
of books from $i to $5, The Redwood was the first, in 1730;
Franklin's foundation at Philadelphia was the most noted.
In all the laws previous to 1849 where the term "public
library" is used proprietary libraries and society libraries are
meant; there were no others. They spread over the country
rapidly, considering its sparse population and its poverty. Of
those which in 1875 numbered ten thousand volumes five were
established in the last century, ten in the first quarter of this
and eighteen in the second quarter. Then our state laws for the
maintenance of libraries by taxation began to be passed ; but the
service which proprietary libraries could render was by no means
over, and the new libraries of that kind founded between 1850
and 1875 would not compare unfavorably in number with those
of the previous quarters.
In the second period, after the public library is established,
a very different fate awaits the proprietary library according as
it is endowed or not endowed. If it is endowed the two become
friendly rivals, dividing the work of supplying the book needs
of the city. The public library at first aims to provide chiefly
for the uneducated and the partly educated. It is crowded and
unpleasant to frequent. The proprietary library is able to pay
more attention to the special studies of the scholars among its
proprietors, it can give them more personal attention, and it is
for other reasons more agreeable to the fastidious. Neither
has any motive to wish ill to the other, or In any way to oppose
it. In a poor city it would not be hard for a public library to
"freeze out" an unendowed proprietary library. It has only to
offer a larger supply of equally good books; to be cordial and
obliging to every one; to have long hours and comfortable
reading-rooms; to admit a selected number of scholars to the
greater part of the shelves. If it does these things its com-
petitor will soon find itself with empty rooms and an empty
treasury.
PROPRIETARY LIBRARIES 19
The main advantage of a proprietary over a public library is
that it can grant to its shareholders absolutely free access to the
shelves. To a student and a booklover this alone is well worth
the price of admission.
But some losses should be expected and considered as the
price which it is worth while to pay for the immense advantage
of the privilege ; the most valuable books should not be so
freely accessible; and where objection is made it should be
clearly explained that the choice is not between the browsing
of all and the browsing of some, but between the exclusion of
all and the admission of some.
What then is the role of the proprietary library in the future?
Has it any work to do in the library scheme? The sketch which
has been given of its history shows that it has. In states with-
out a library law it must in the future as in the past do the
work of the free library. It must supply reading to at least
that portion of the community which can afford to pay for
reading; it must kindle the desire in as many others as pos-
sible; it must make all those local collections which a town
library ought to make; it must attract to itself gifts and legacies
so as to be ready, when the state finally passes a library law,
to serve either as a nucleus or a succursal to the public library.
The proprietary library performs some of the work of a
branch of the city library without costing the city anything.
And each library gives the other that gentle stimulus to the
performance of good work which only the presence of a com-
petitor can supply.
THE BOSTON ATHENAEUM
One of the most noted survivors of the proprietary
library is the Boston Athenaeum. Its organization and
early history are described by Charles Ammi Cutter, its
librarian, for the special report on Public Libraries in
the United States, published by the United States Bureau
of Education in 1876, and his contribution is used here as
an example of that form of library service.
Mr. Qtiincy, the historian of the Boston Athenaeum, (from
whose work almost the whole of this short memorandum is
derived,) dates its first suggestion on October 23, 1805, when
the members of the Anthology Society voted "that a library of
periodical publications be instituted for the use of the society."
In the following May it was decided to make this library, which
had meanwhile increased encouragingly, the basis of a public
reading room ; and such a reading room was accordingly opened.
Not long afterward arrangements were made to permit the in-
corporation of the institution. On January I, 1807, the trustees
(Theophilus Parsons, John Davis, John Powell, William Emer-
son, J. T. Kirkland, P. Thacher, A. M. Walter, W. S. Shaw,
R. H. Gardiner, J. S. Buckminster, O. Rich) issued an announce-
ment that the rooms were opened for use, in Joy's building,
Congress Street. The name used in this paper was Anthology
Reading Room and Library. In February of the same year the
trustees were incorporated as the Proprietors of the Boston
Athenseum, and as such they organized April 7, 1807.
It is characteristic of what has always been and is still the
purpose of the Athenseum, that in a "Memoir" of the Athenseum
which was circulated in order to obtain subscriptions at this time,
the reading room was described as being "the first department"
of the Athenaeum, and the library as "the next branch." As was
the case with many of our libraries dating from the first half o£
the century, several collateral departments were added to the de-
sign; in this instance a museum or cabinet of natural objects,
22 CHARLES AM.MI CUTTER
curiosities, antiques, coins, etc.; a "repository of art," both in-
dustrial and aesthetic; and a laboratory and observatory.
The premises first occupied by the Athenaeum were in Scol-
lay's building, between Tremont and Court streets. In 1809
the trustees bought a house in Tremont street, to which the col-
lections were removed and the rooms opened for use in July
of that year. In 1809, a catalogue, prepared by Rev. Joseph
McKean, was printed, but not published, interleaved copies be-
ing used in the library for nearly twenty years.
When John Quincy Adams went as minister to Russia he
deposited his own library in the Athenseum for the use of the
proprietors, thus nearly doubling the size of the collection for
the time, as his books were about 5,450 in number, and those of
the library about 5,750. In 1814 the library itself had increased
to 8,209 volumes. In April, 1817, the American Academy of
Arts and Sciences deposited its books with the Athenaeum,
under the terms of an agreement between the two corporations
providing for the proper separate accommodation and joint use
of the collections. In 1820 the number of books had increased
to 12,647, and the whole number available for the use of the
proprietors and subscribers was nearly 20,000. In 1822 Mr,
James Perkins, who had been one of the trustees and vice-
president of the Athenaeum, gave it his own dwelling house
and land in Pearl Street, worth then not less than $20,000; and in
June of that year the collections of the institution were removed
to its own newly acquired building. This gift is properly de-
scribed by Mr. Quincy as "timely, munificent, and decisive in
stamping it [the Athenaeum] with the character of a permanent
public institution."
In the summer of 1823 two other collections of books were
deposited in the Athenseum on terms somewhat similar to those
in the case of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, namely, the
Library of King's Chapel and the theological library belonging
to the Boston Association of Ministers. In January, 1824, the
Athenaeum Library consisted of 14,820 books.
In 1826 Mr. Thomas H. Perkins and Mr. James Perkins, the
brother and son of Mr. James Perkins already mentioned, each
offered the Athenseum $8,000 conditioned on the gift of an equal
amount by other citizens. This was raised, and the money was
used in building a lecture room, and in enlarging the collections
of the library. During this year the books of the Boston Medi-
THE BOSTON ATHENAEUM 23
cal Library, more than 2,000 in number, were added to
the Athenaeum Library; and the Boston Scientific Association,
uniting with the Athenaeum, handed over to it a fund of over
$3,000, which, with other sums raised for the purpose, afforded
the means of placing its scientific department on a very credit-
able footing. In November of that year a curious agreement
was made between the Athenaeum and the Rev. J. B. Felt, ad-
ministrator of the estate of Mr. W. S. Shaw, long the librarian
of the Athenaeum. Mr. Shaw had for many years been in the
habit of buying books, coins, and other property in such a way
that it was impossible to tell whether it was done with his own
money or with that of the Athenaeum. Though a shrewd, zeal-
ous, and successful collector, and thoroughly devoted to the
Athenaeum, he was far from being a careful accountant, and so
thoroughly mixed up were the two properties at his death that
Mr. Felt, as administrator, and the Athenaeum executed a formal
release to each other; Mr. Felt thus generously surrendering
not only a large number of valuable books, pamphlets, coins,
and other articles whose precise ownership might have been
doubtful, but a considerable number to which he might easily
have proved a claim.
At the beginning of 1828 the number of volumes in the
library was 21,945 ; and besides the use of the books on its own
premises, their circulation among the proprietors, first permitted
in the year 1827, amounted during 1829 to 4000 volumes.
From this time forward the history of the Athenaeum has
been little more than a quiet and steady progress in extent and
usefulness. In 1839 it began to be evident that the Pearl Street
neighborhood was becoming too exclusively a business one to
be proper for the best success of the Athenaeum, and after various
difficulties and negotiations a site in Beacon Street was obtained,
the present edifice erected, (costing about $200,000,) the library
and other collections removed to it and opened for use in the
year 1849.
The extent of the library is now about 105,000 volumes, and its
executive staff numbers about twelve persons. Its increase
during 1875 was 3,729 volumes, and the extent of its use is
estimated at 33,000 volumes a year. Its use is confined to those
owning shares or admitted under various agreements, or by
votes of the trustees, so that it is strictly a proprietary library,
It is, however, conducted in a liberal manner, and with courtesy
24 CHARLES AMMI CUTTER
to all applicants. The real estate, library, and fine art collections
of the Athenseum are now estimated to be worth about $400,000,
and its other property, the income of which is used for the cur-
rent expenses, at about $250,000.
THE PROPRIETARY LIBRARY IN RELATION
TO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY MOVEMENT
The possible future of this form of library organiza-
tion was discussed at a Round Table meeting at the Nar-
raganset Pier Conference of the A. L. A. in 1906. — Dur-
ing this discussion William I. Fletcher of the Amherst
College Library stated his belief that the public library
movement had received important contributions from the
subscription library, and that the latter may still render
a service and be a convenience to its patron, beyond what
the public library can do and be. A sketch of Mr.
Fletcher will be found in Volume 2.
In speaking of the "proprietary library" one must have it
understood what is meant by the term. It is quite common to
speak of "semi-public" libraries, meaning those which are to
some extent open to the public, but are not entitled to be called
free public libraries. This designation of "semi-public"1 may
be applied to a great variety of institutions. I suppose college,
university and school libraries would properly come under that
heading. Of the semi-public libraries, which then are to be called
"proprietary"? There are first those belonging to clubs; but
perhaps these would hardly be called even semi-public. Then
there are those owned by corporations or stock companies and
used by the shareholders. Of this class the Boston Athenaeum
is probably the most characteristic example. Most such libraries
are recognized as semi-public for two reasons: (i) their regular
constituency constitutes a considerable public by itself, and (2)
they generally make it possible for a share of the general public
to use their books at least on the premises.
Then we have the association library, of which the best
known examples are the "mercantile" libraries once found in
nearly every city, but now almost extinct under that name, that
of New York City being one notable example of persistence.
The Mercantile Library flourished in Boston alongside of the
26 WILLIAM ISAAC FLETCHER
Athenaeum, but found it impossible to maintain itself as against
the Public Library when that was fairly started.
Another class of semi-public libraries are those known as
Institute Libraries, often as Young Men's Institutes, These
were very common a generation ago in the smaller cities and
larger towns, being nearly identical in character and methods
with the "mercantile" libraries of the larger cities, The field
occupied and the methods employed by the Young Men's Insti-
tutes were those now pertaining to the Young Men's Christian
Association, except that the Institutes gave more attention to
the library and less to other means of culture. But the Young
Men's Christian Association libraries of today constitute a large
and important section of the semi-public libraries.
. There is still another class of libraries, which should be
counted as semi-public, namely, those public libraries which, while
freely used by the public and in most cases subsidized by the
city or town, remain the property of a corporation or association
and are managed by it. The City Library of Springfield is per-
haps the most notable example of this kind of library in Mas-
sachusetts. The Berkshire Athenaeum of Pittsfield, the West-
field Athenaeum, the public libraries of Amherst, Easthampton,
and many other towns are of this sort These libraries generally
have a governing board made up in part of representatives of
the city or town, the appropriation of public money being sup-
posed to carry with it the right of representation on the board
of management.
All these varieties of libraries shading off from the club
library to the free public library, in which the actual ownership
is not vested in the city or town, but in the corporation or
society, might properly enough be brought under the term pro-
prietary libraries. But as the last of the class mentioned com-
prise libraries commonly included as "free public," I shall re-
strict the term "proprietary libraries" to those the use of which
is not free to the public but is enjoyed only by the shareholders
or members or by those specially introduced by them — that is, to
those libraries whose use, as well as ownership, is mainly re-
stricted to the "proprietors."
The relations of these proprietary libraries to the public
library of the last fifty years may be properly indicated as three—-
the historically antecedent, the parental, the concurrent As to
the first of these relations little need be said. This is not the
THE PROPRIETARY LIBRARY 27
place for a historical sketch of the proprietary library movement
in itself. Beginning with the inception by Benjamin Franklin
and his associates, in 1732, of what later became the Philadelphia
Library Co., "mother of all the subscription libraries in North
America," as Franklin called it, this movement made consider-
able progress before the Revolution, was checked by that era
of uncertainty and poverty, and then spread with remarkable
rapidity over nearly the whole country in the years from 1785-
1820.
The extent of that growth is realized by few who have not
looked into the matter. It would seem that few towns of any
size in the northern part of the country failed to organize a
public library of this sort during that period, while the southern
states were not far behind in the matter, and many of even
the smallest towns were included. It is evident that a most
valuable and interesting chapter of library history remains un-
written, and it is to be hoped that it will be fairly well covered
in the series of library histories now being issued by the Library
of Congress.
But I have proposed to treat in the second place of the
parental relations of the proprietary library to the free public
library of today. Without a larger opportunity for research than
I have had one must be cautious in tracing these relations, for
the post hoc pro pier hoc fallacy is very apt to lead one astray
when inquiring into such matters.
It certainly is true that many of our free public libraries
are the direct outgrowth of antecendent proprietary ones. There
are cases of all degrees of parenthood. At one extreme we have
a proprietary library with a good collection of books, a building
of its own and endowments for maintenance, all turned over to
the. town or city on condition of continued support as a free
library. At the other end of the scale we behold a small and
struggling library association welcoming the opportunity to turn
over its few books to the free library which is being started by
a popular movement and thus to terminate its own existence.
Between these extremes there are cases as various as they are
numerous. Take them all in all, it would have to be admitted
that a very large share of all the free public libraries were the
direct outgrowth of the proprietary ones and a moment's thought
will convince one that in this way the free library system of
today is vastly indebted to those who, often very persistently and
28 WILLIAM ISAAC FLETCHER
In the face of difficulties, and at serious financial cost to them-
selves, laid these foundations.
But apart from this direct contribution of foundations for the
free library structure, the proprietary libraries have done much
to prepare the way for the modern system. The breadth and
catholicity of view displayed by the founders of these early in-
stitutions, the public spirit animating their actions, are very
apparent in the constitutions and other documents of these li-
braries. The address to the public, printed in the Connecticut
Courant, of Hartford, March i, 1774 in behalf of a proposed
subscription library, began as follows: "The utility of public
libraries, consisting of well chosen books under proper regula-
tion, and their smiling aspect on the interests of Society, Virtue
and Religion are too manifest to be denied." This passage, so
far in its spirit from that of narrow or personal advantage, will
be found to be the keynote of the whole subscription library
movement, which was thus closely akin in motive and aim to
the free library movement of a hundred years later.
This public aspect of the subscription libraries was recog-
nized by legislation which in most of the states exempted them
and their buildings from taxation, and appears also in the fact
that they were often the recipients of endowment funds given
with a view to forward public interests.
Perhaps it was one important contribution of the subscrip-
tion library to the library movement that it demonstrated the
need of something more than it could supply. Most o£ these
subscription libraries, it must be confessed, died out; only a
minority endured until they could be merged in a nascent free
library. But those that perished had in the first place created
some public interest in the movement and then proved disap-
pointing as a means of meeting the real needs of their com-
munities. In these various ways the proprietary libraries were
vitally related to the public library movement.
The remaining division of my subject is the concurrent
existence of the proprietary library alongside of the free public.
Generally speaking the proprietary libraries have "gone out of
business" on, or soon after, the advent of the free public library,
in most cases, as has already been said, forming its nucleus and
foundation.
Those which have survived and bid fair to live permanently
are mostly in large cities, notable examples being the Athenaeum
THE PROPRIETARY LIBRARY 29
and the Boston Society Library in Boston, the Athenamm in
Providence, the Mercantile Library and Society Library in New
York, and the Philadelphia Library Company. Some of these
institutions flourish but feebly under the shadow of the powerful
and growing free library, while others seem to have found a
place and mission of their own and are even regarded by their
friends as having gained rather than lost by the competition. In
1861 the Boston Athenseum seemed to be suffering seriously from
the rivalry of the public library. Its shares, with a par value
of $300, sold as low as $49, in at least one instance within my
memory. But that was the low water mark, the tide soon turned,
interest in the special advantages of the Athen^um increased
rapidly, and the selling price of the shares rose until in 1866 it
was above $150, and if I am not misinformed has since reached
the par value of $300; and it should be noted that when this
stock was issued at that price most of those who took it did
so to aid in the foundation, and but few would have considered
a share really worth that amount, while the prices paid recently
represent an estimate of their real value to the owner. The
price of shares must be taken as a sure index of the estimate
placed upon the institution by a portion of the public. But in
this library and in others in various parts of the country one
will find every evidence of vigorous life, efficient and up-to-date
administration, and a large and well pleased clientele.
Where the proprietary libraries languish in the race, it may
be for one of several reasons, as e.g., a lack of independent re-
sources in the way of endowments, a meagre population, or one
lacking in the scholarly and leisure elements, or in wealth, a
failure to adjust the administration to new conditions, resulting
in making the library unattractive and inefficient as compared
with the free public library where modern ideas and methods
are apt to prevail.
One may well believe that with the growth of our cities and
large towns, in population, in wealth, and in culture, that which
has proved true of the Boston Athenaeum will be true of pro-
prietary libraries in general, and that they will enter on a future
of enlarged prosperity and usefulness. I may naturally be ex-
pected to indicate somewhat more particularly what is the sub-
stantial basis of prosperity and usefulness of these proprietary
libraries alongside of the free public libraries. It is certainly
not difficult to believe that in a well conducted library of this
30 WILLIAM ISAAC FLETCHER
kind privileges and conveniences can be afforded to patrons that
cannot be given to the general public in the free library- ^Ap-
parently it is hopeless for any other library to rival the public in
the number o£ volumes. On the other hand, the number of
borrowers and the consequent difficulty in getting a desired book
goes far to offset the superiority in number of works purchased.
Again, the public library is for all, and must attempt to
meet all demands, while the proprietary library, with its smaller
and select constituency, is likely to have a smaller range of de-
mands to meet, and may excel in some branches of literature.
When one undertakes to enumerate the special privileges that
the proprietor has in a proprietary library, one is likely to find
it difficult to make any extended list that is not paralleled in the
free library practice of today. With the rather rigid rubs
and mechanical methods which were thought, a generation ago,
to be essential to free library management, the public libraries
compared much more unfavorably, in point of freedom of ac-
cess and use, with the proprietary libraries than they do now.
And one thing that has kept the latter behind in the race has
been the slowness with which they have waked up to the modern
library spirit and method.
There will always be those who object to proprietary libraries,
as to private schools, on political and social grounds, charging
against both a tendency to foster class distinctions in the com-
munity.
Dr. Gilman, of Cambridge, has made a fine plea for the
private school in a democracy in which he speaks of the strong
movement made in Massachusetts some 20 years ago to
discredit private school education, and indicates that there has
been a reaction and that the private schools of the state now
educate at least one-fifth of all the pupils.
Only under socialism could it be fairly claimed that education
should be the same for all. As Dr. Gilman shows, if the state
allows .people of means to dress better than those who are poor,
it will also allow them to provide themselves either individually
or collectively with such education and such opportunities of
culture as may suit them best. Unless the American people
come to care less and less for the things of the spirit, it cannot
be otherwise than that those who have means will combine in
associations of one sort or another in which they can secure in-
tellectual advantages not open to all As nothing of this kind
THE PROPRIETARY LIBRARY 31
that they can engage in is more likely to be in the end a public
benefit than the establishment and maintenance of a public or
semi-public library, we may well hope that such libraries will be
increasingly prominent among the cultural institutions of the
land.
When the librarians of America first met in council in 1853,
I believe there was not among them one representing a free pub-
lic library. Jewett, Poole, Lloyd Smith, Guild, and the others
were from semi-public institutions. But they were the pioneers
in the modern library movement. It is certainly incumbent now
on those having in charge such libraries to see to it that all the
facilities and more, all the freedom and more, all the "atmo-
sphere" and more, of the free libraries are present in theirs,
and to develop to the utmost the possibilities within their reach
of making their libraries do some public service beyond that
rendered by the free libraries. Such libraries should be, as they
usually have been, favorite resorts of writers and of earnest
readers, schools of the individual rather than of the crowd,
ministering to the many by helping the few who will lead. Such
a distinction is within their reach, and no one need be such a
leveller in the interest of an abstract notion of equality as to
do other than rejoice when the free public library has by its
side a sister institution so well calculated to aid in forwarding
the cause of human enlightenment.
THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY, NEW YORK
A somewhat different form of organization was that
of the Mercantile library, the earliest example of which
was the one in Boston, organized in 1820, which gave its
books to- the public library in 1877. The South End
Branch was first housed in its building. A more typical
example is the New York Mercantile Library, a descrip-
tion of which by O. C. Gardiner follows. This is part
of his report on Public Libraries of New York City in the
special report of the Bureau of Education for 1876.
O. C. Gardiner is probably Oliver Cromwell Gardiner,
who was the author of "The Great Issue, or the Three
Presidential Candidates'' (New York and Boston, 1848)
and "Sketch of the Life and Public Services of W. S.
Hancock" (New York, 1880). The editors have been
unable to find further information about him.
The first movement in behalf of a mercantile library was
made by a number of public spirited merchants and other active
business men late in the year 1820. Their efforts met with such
success that in February, 1821, the association numbered one
hundred and seventy-five active members and opened its library
with about seven hundred volumes, which increased to one
thousand within the year; and John Thompson, the first libra-
rian, was employed at a salary of $150 per annum. In these
early years of its history it was open only in the evening, and
two directors were always in attendance. All the leading pub-
lishers of the city generously agreed to present copies of every
work of merit they should issue.
In 1823 it was incorporated as the Mercantile Library Asso-
ciation, under the general law of 1796. In the same year it re-
ceived from the Chamber of Commerce a gift of $250, and a
committee of that body was appointed to report annually upon
its condition. The library had grown in 1826 to 2,200 volumes,
and the membership to 438. Such was its prosperity, and so
34 O. C. GARDINER
well had it fulfilled the hopes of its friends, that, at the end
of two years, February 22, 1828, a meeting of prominent mer-
chants was called, at which it was agreed to raise funds for a
permanent library building. About $40,000 were subscribed, and
a building at once begun at the southwest corner of Nassau and
Beekman streets. As a means of greater protection to the library,
the subscribers to this fund formed a separate association, and
obtained from the legislature a charter under the title of The
Clinton Hall Association of the City of New York, for the cul-
tivation and promotion of literature, science, and art. This
corporation was distinct from the Mercantile Library Associa-
tion, but identical in purpose and object. It went into operation
February 23, 1830. The object of the corporators was to hold
in trust and manage all the property, real and personal, which
the association might accumulate for the benefit of the library
for all time, while the officers of the library should manage
their own affairs, monetary and administrative, as a distinct
organization.
The first book presented to the library was a History of
England, the gift of De Witt Clinton, late the governor of the
state, and, in memory and honor of this eminent statesman; the
building was named Clinton Hall.
A covenant was made between the two associations, by which
the library should always occupy its rooms free of rent, and, after
paying the ordinary expenses and laying aside a contingent fund
of $5,000 per annum from rents and income of Clinton Hall, the
surplus should be invested in books for the library. It was
further covenanted that the library should always be equally
free to the members of both associations. Under this liberal
covenant the Mercantile Library Association took possession of
its rooms in Clinton Hall November 2, 1830, with 6,000 volumes
and a membership of 1,200. During this year Columbia College
granted perpetually to the library association two free scholar-
ships. A like gratuity was awarded to the association by the
University of the City of New York in 1845, and several of the
scholars of these foundations have been graduated with special
honors.
The library entered upon its second decade with marked
prosperity. During this period courses of lectures, which had
been established, were prosperous. Classes were also formed
for the study of the French, German, and Spanish languages,
MERCANTILE LIBRARY, NEW YORK 35
chemistry, drawing, and penmanship. Under the supervision of
able professors these were largely beneficial to the members.
Its members and volumes steadily increased, so that in 1840 the
association numbered 3,652 active members, 278 stockholders in
Clinton Hall, and the library 21,906 volumes.
The third decade, from 1840 to 1850, was not distinguished
by any event of peculiar interest. The membership varied, but
the library steadily increased in the number and in the value
and character of its volumes. At the close of this period the
public interest in the library and the general belief in the power
of the institution to elevate and give a higher tone to the char-
acter of the future merchants of the city had been greatly
strengthened. At or about this period there began an increased
demand for a better class of books. It often exceeded the
supply. Thirteen copies of Macaulay's History of England, nine
of Layard's Nineveh, six each of Lynch's Expedition and
Hawks' Monuments of Egypt did not supply a sixth of the
demand. By this alliance and cooperation of the Clinton Hall
Association with the library, the selection of its higher perma-
nent class of books was perpetually delegated to a committee of
older men. Their selections greatly enriched the library. They
aimed in their choice to combine solid instruction with enter-
tainment. Out of 2,500 volumes added in 1849, over 2000 were
works of general literature, science, and art. Among these were
the Sydenham and Ray Society publications, Philosophical Trans-
actions, (in all, 55 volumes,) Burnet's Rembrandt and his works,
and Landscape painting in oil colors, Pickering's Races of Men,
and other similar works.
In entering on its fourth period, in 1850, it had about 3,500
members, and 33,539 volumes. The reading room was now re-
ceiving special attention, and had on its tables 131 daily, weekly,
monthly, and quarterly journals, American and foreign.
The fourth period, from 1850 to 1860, began a new era in the
history of the library. In the first year its circulation reached
one hundred thousand volumes. The library had been entirely
re-arranged in alphabetical order. Other important events in
the history of the library followed. Clinton Hall was sold to
the Nassau Bank for $100,000; its charter was amended to give
it power to increase its capital. The Astor Place Opera House
was purchased and remodeled for the use of the library at a
cost of $250,000. So strong and deep was the interest of the
mercantile community, that a subscription was raised sufficient
36 0. C GARDINER
to reduce the entire debt to $75,ooo. The result of this change
was a large increase of members. Among those who ten and
fifteen years before had been its young and active members,
were now found the enterprising and successful merchants ^ of
the day. The annual report of Clinton Hall for 1856, setting
forth the cost of this transfer and describing the advantages
of the new and spacious edifice, was made by the president,
Wilson G. Hunt, esq., who for a period of twenty years had
been one of its most active, able, and faithful directors, and has
so continued to the present day. Such were the interest and the
prosperity of the preceding sixteen months, that 308,254 times
had Its members shared in its benefits, making a daily average
of 750 members who had received books or visited the reading
room; 22,164 young men had been identified as members during
the thirty-five years of its history; its library now contained
55,000 volumes, and the total library receipts up to this period
were $173,000. There were now 6,064 active and subscribing
members, and this period left a more decided waymark in the
progress of the library than any of the years preceding or
ensuing down to the close of our civil war. The year 1857
was one of financial panic and disaster. The rupture between
the north and south so soon followed, and so great was the
strain of the war in its opening upon the financial resources of
the whole people, and so many of the young men of the city
went into the ranks, that all social and literary progress was
checked. It greatly diminished the numbers and resources of
the library. For five or six years it scarcely held its condition
as in 1856. But near the close of the war an era of prosperity
began, which closed this decade of ten years from 1856 to 1866
as one of the brightest and most successful in its history. A
new catalogue was completed and $7,500 expended in its pub-
lication; nearly $12,000 expended for new books; a new act of
incorporation granted giving the power to receive and use large
legacies without doubt; and as a crowning success, the entire
debt on Clinton Hall of $62,000 was extinguished. During this
year there was a total gain in membership of nearly 30 per cent.
There were now 1,500 stockholders and 10,169 sharing the bene-
fits of the library and reading room. The library now numbered
81,000 volumes, and the year's record showed a delivery of
178,000 volumes to its readers.
During the last nine years the association has advanced in
MERCANTILE LIBRARY, NEW YORK 37
wealth and power for good beyond any period in its fifty-four
years. The officers of the library and the trustees of Clinton
Hall have specially sought to combine the knowledge and ex-
perience of forty-five years' administration here with that o£ the
best popular libraries at home and abroad. They have sought
to prove what is best in the daily record of delivery, in classify-
ing and arranging the books upon the shelves, and the selection
of books with special reference to the future needs of the
library.
The reading room now contains the best American and for-
eign newspapers, magazines, and quarterlies, the total number of
all being 417. On the ist of May, 1875, the active and subscrib-
ing members of the library were 8,380, and the total number
sharing its privileges 10,287. The library contained upward of
160,000 volumes. The number of volumes circulated and read
during the last year was 203,000, and 7,332 were used as ref-
erence. A bindery is connected with the library and thus a large
saving is effected every year. A new catalogue is being prepared
under the direction of Mr. W. T. Peoples, librarian.
The Mercantile Library holds the fourth place, as to number
of volumes on its shelves, among American public libraries. Its
property, real and personal, is about $300,000 in value. Within
its rooms it has gathered seven pieces of costly statuary, twenty
portraits and paintings, and thirty engravings, all the gifts of its
friends.
POPULAR LIBRARIES
Honorable Ira Divoll was born in Topham, Vermont,
in 1820 and died in 1871. He graduated from the Uni-
versity of Vermont in 1842, studied law, and practised in
St. Louis, where he also became superintendent of
schools. He interested himself in libraries and laid the
foundation of the public school library in St. Louis out
of which the free public library grew. The extent and
importance of school libraries at this time are shown by
the following article by Mr. Divoll, which appeared in a
supplement to Appleton's Journal in 1870.
The last third of a century has been a fruitful season for
the establishment of libraries in the United States. The great
Public Library of Boston, the Astor Library of New York, and
many others of the first class, have had their origin and growth
within this period; while hundreds of smaller ones, including
popular and scientific, as well as college and professional libra-
ries, have been founded by donation, endowment, or local enter-
prise, and are exerting a wide and healthful influence in the
communities where they exist.
But it is a class of libraries, very different and distinct from
the foregoing, to which I wish to call particular attention in this
article — a class attempted to be established simultaneously in
every part of a great state by legislative enactment.
As early as 1835-1838, the state of New York passed laws
empowering (impliedly requiring) every school district within
its jurisdiction to establish by taxation a free library for the use
of school-children and adults, and made liberal appropriations
of money to help defray their expenses. It was claimed that
these libraries would "stimulate and aid the larger pupils," "pro-
mote the intellectual, moral, and religious culture of the rising
generation," "tend to occupy the minds of the community, give
them a taste for books, a love of knowledge, and consequently
an interest in the schools." In short, they were to be both
40 IRA DIVOLL
auxiliary and supplemental to the district school, and constitute
the "crowning excellence" of the system of popular education.
Mr. Rice, the father of the school law of Ohio, said of this
system: "In twenty years, if the library tax be continued, the
people of Ohio as a mass, I will venture to predict, will become
the most intelligent people on the face of the globe, and that,
too, at a cost nobody would feel." Mr. Everett said: "If the
state would adopt the plan of advancing to each town, for a
school library, as much money as the town is willing to raise
by itself, the greatest amount of good will be effected by the least
burden on the state treasury." Dr. Wayland said: "Our system
of general education seems to render some provision for fur-
nishing abundant and good reading an imperative duty. To
teach our people to read is to accomplish but half our work, or
rather to leave our work unfinished precisely at the point where
what we have done may prove a curse instead of a blessing.
We can only realize the benefits of our system of general educa-
tion when we not only teach the people to read, but also provide
them with such reading as shall cultivate the intellect and im-
prove the heart. When this shall have been done for our whole
country, a population will rise up among us such as the world
has never yet seen."
Hundreds of pages similar to the foregoing might be quoted
from the advocates of the district-library system. The leading
educators and statesmen throughout the land became enthusiastic
on the subj-ect. They took success for granted, and, in their
eulogies upon the enterprise, dwelt only on the benefits which
would accrue from an efficient general system. The opponents
of the scheme were identical with the opponents of free schools — •
they objected to it solely on account of the expense. .Of course,
the friends of popular education overpowered such objectors.
But I cannot find in all the records of the early discussions of
this subject a single criticism on the feasibility of the plan pro-
posed. No advocate of the measure seemed to think there was
any risk, or danger, or possibility, of failure. No provisions
were made respecting the details of the plan — no one suggested
that such precautions were necessary — a mere legislative act
authorizing each school district to levy a tax for the purpose
of furnishing books was deemed a sufficient guaranty of suc-
cess. It is wonderful the degree of credulity, and enthusiasm,
and unanimity, that prevailed among the projectors and sup-
porters of this scheme.
POPULAR LIBRARIES 41
Since the statutory provisions of the several states differ
materially in some particulars, I shall treat each state separately.
New York. — Mr. Abram B. Weaver, Superintendent of Pub-
lic Schools for this state, in his report to the Legislature, Feb-
ruary 26, 1869, says : "An act of the Legislature, passed April,
1835, authorized the inhabitants of each school district to raise
a tax not exceeding $20 the first year, and $10 in any
subsequent year, for the purchase of books for a district
library. The law of 1838 provided that the sum of $55,000 from
the income of the United States Deposit Fund should be applied
annually for the same purpose. The distribution of this money
was based upon the condition then regulating the distribution
of other school moneys, that there should be raised in each town
annually, by the several boards of supervisors, an amount equal
to that apportioned by the state. This plan was discontinued by
the act of 1851. Chapter one hundred and thirty- three of the
laws of 1843 provided that, whenever a district has a library of
a prescribed number of volumes, the money may be applied
to the purchase of maps, globes, and other scientific apparatus,
and, when both these requirements have been fulfilled, it may,
with the consent of the superintendent, be expended for teachers'
wages. This diversion was still further extended by act of
1858, which authorized trustees to apply the library money,
whenever the amount was less than $3 for a district, to payment
of teachers' wages. Under the operation of these statutes, the
library system was organized and has been conducted to the
present time."
What results ought we to expect from a system which has
thus been persevered in, fostered, and liberally supported, for
thirty-five years, by the Empire State of the Union? Let
official documents give the answer. "The system," says Mr.
Weaver, "seemed to have culminated in 1853. From that date
its decline has been uniform and rapid."
The following statistical items are not without significance:
Whole amount expended by the state, to 1853 $1,266,282.97
Whole amount expended by the state, to 1868 1,788,693.60
Total number of volumes in libraries, in 1853 • • • • • 1,604,210
Total number of volumes in libraries, in 1868 1,064,830
Decrease of volumes 539»38o
42 IRA DIVOLL
It will thus be seen that the total amount expended since
1853 is over half a million of dollars, and, during the same
period, the number of volumes has decreased more than half a
million, or more than one-third of the greatest number ever in
the libraries.
Further evidence might seem to be unnecessary with regard
to the condition of the district libraries of New York, but, since
this state was the first to adopt the system, and has adhered
to it through evil and good report for more than one-third of
a century, I deem it proper to give a few samples of the evi-
dence furnished to the superintendent on which he based his
comments. There are in the state some sixty counties, for
which commissioners are appointed, whose duty it is to report
to the state superintendent the condition of the libraries as well
as of the schools. The reports given below are not selected,
but taken in regular order, beginning with Albany County, the
counties being arranged alphabetically:
1. The libraries in some of the large districts are in good
condition, but those in the rural districts are miserable in the
extreme. School-district libraries have passed their day of use-
fulness, etc.
2. Most of the districts use the library money in payment of
teachers' wages, the libraries being pretty generally neglected,
and in many instances thrown aside.
3. School-district libraries seem to have had their day; and,
unless some radical change can be effected, it is useless to make
appropriations to continue them.
4. These are of little or no account, some of the trustees
hardly knowing whether they have one or not.
5. Only seven districts purchased books with the money
appropriated to them within the year, while seventy-two applied
it to the payment of teachers' wages — some without authority of
law.
6. There ^ seems to be but one way by which the school-
district libraries can be saved from total destruction, etc.
7. I think the library money would be used with greater
profit to districts, if it was expended in buying books for in-
digent children.
8. In regard to libraries, I can but repeat my views, given
in a former report, that, in a large majority of districts, no atten-
tion whatever is paid to them. The interest once had in them
cannot be revived. ^The time of their usefulness has passed.
9. The school-district libraries are very poorly sustained.
10. A few of these libraries are very valuable, and are well
cared for. That libraries, however, as a whole, are at a dis-
count, is evident.
POPULAR LIBRARIES 43
Precisely the same strain of comment runs through all the
commissioners' reports.
Ohio. — This state tried to improve upon the New York plan
by establishing town instead of district libraries. But, when the
system had been thoroughly tested in this form without result-
ing in the success which was anticipated, an act was passed to
divide the town library into sub-district libraries. This measure,
however, not only failed to revive interest in the subject, but
hastened the loss and destruction of the books by parcelling out
each town collection to a dozen or more irresponsible parties,
as will be seen from the following official statements:
Mr. John A. Norris, Commissioner of Common Schools for
this state, in his report for 1868, says : "There can be little ques-
tion that our township libraries have either fulfilled their mis-
sion, or are destined never to fill it. The books are scattered
or lost in large numbers. Those that are gathered into the
township central libraries, as required by the amended law of
1864, are read by few or none but the families of the libra-
rians; and, in the townships where the requirements of the
amended law have not been complied with, the books, at least
the great bulk of them, are hopelessly scattered or destroyed."
No. of volumes in libraries, 1867 310,328
No. of volumes in libraries, 1868 28
Decrease 23,644
No. of volumes in libraries, 1869 258,731
Decrease 28,313
Mr. William D. Henkle, commissioner for 1869, asks the
"school examiners" for the respective counties to report the
"condition of school libraries." Reports are made for about
ninety counties, the counties being arranged alphabetically. I
give in order the responses of the examiners for the first ten
counties, as follows:
1. Bad.
2. In most of our townships they are reported as things
that were; while in a few they have been gathered and stowed
"mid the old lumber of the gallery," until, in the dust and
cobwebs of years, the place of their burial is almost lost or
forgotten.
44 IRA DIVOLL
3. Of no consequence. Books scattered, and no care taken
of them.
4. As a general thing, reported in good condition; not much
used; a few books badly worn.
5. Bad.
6. As a general thing, they do not amount to much, and the
books are lost or destroyed, etc.
7. Not good; few libraries; books scattered, but little used,
and less cared for.
8. Libraries are in a scattered condition.
9. Very bad, with but two or three exceptions.
10. Generally neglected. Reports indicate no interest in them
whatever.
The rest of the responses reiterate the same story.
Wisconsin. — The law passed in 1848-1849 authorized the town
superintendent to deduct 10 per cent of the money apportioned
to the town from the income of the school fund, and apply It
to the purchase of books for district libraries. In 1861, this
law was repealed, and since then it has been lawful only to
raise a district tax for libraries. In 1868, an act to provide for
establishing town libraries was passed. It authorized every town
to determine by vote for or against a town library, and to raise
a sum of money, not exceeding $150 in any one year, for the
purpose of defraying the expenses of the same. Nothing has
yet been reported concerning the operation of this new law. But
the old system is thus briefly disposed of by Superintendent
McMynn, in his report to the Legislature in 1867:
The returns show that the present library system is a failure,
so far as most of the districts of the state are concerned.
Mr. A. J. Craig, successor to Mr. McMynn, do'es not even
allude to the subject in his report for 1868, nor in that for 1869,
except to give some tabular statements of the number of volumes
in the libraries, their cash value, etc., from which I gather the
following significant items:
No. of volumes in libraries, 1866 26,667
No. of volumes in libraries, 1867 23,758
Decrease 2,909
h value of libraries, 1866 $21,893
li value of libraries, 1867 19,563
Decrease $2,330
POPULAR LIBRARIES 45
Michigan. — Here, originally, the law provided for township
libraries; but the books, instead of being loaned out directly to
individuals, were to be allotted in just proportion to the directors
of the sub-districts, and by them distributed to the parents and
guardians of the school-children — that is, the whole collection
of books was to be divided into as many parcels as there were
districts in the town, and a parcel was to go to each district.
At the end of three months, all the books were to be returned
to the town library for a new allotment; and thus, every three
months perpetually, a return and redistribution were to be made.
That this plan failed most signally, is not to be wondered at;
but the wonder is, that any sane person should ever dream of
trying to put in practice such a visionary scheme. It has been
humorously but very justly called the "itinerary district-library
system."
The dissatisfaction with the township system, and the clamor
for district libraries pure and simple, became so great that in
1859 an act was passed, allowing the towns by popular vote to
change to the district system. About three-fourths of the towns
voted to change; but no good came of it. Those who favored
the new plan, however, maintain that its failure was attributable
wholly to the lack of suitable support. The revenue, though
small, was certain before the change — only contingent after*
The old law set aside $25 out of the two mills school tax for
libraries in each town. Under the new law, all moneys received
from fines, forfeitures, and penalties, go for libraries, and also
such other sum as each town may vote out of the two-mills tax.
The results of the Michigan system are easily told. Mr. 0.
Hosford, State Superintendent, says, in his report for 1868:
"The district libraries have proved a failure. The reports from
all parts of the state are, that no district libraries can be found,
except those belonging to some of the Union Schools." The
county superintendents, so far as they mention the subject at
all, testify to the same effect. I add a few samples of their
reports :
1. Libraries are a failure throughout the county.
2. The condition of the district libraries is deplorable. The
system, I am convinced, is devoid of vitality.
3. Libraries are of but little account. ^
4. Not much progress can be reported in this matter.
5. The libraries seem to have fallen into general neglect,
46 IRA DIVOLL
Indiana.— This state adopted the township system, and as-
sessed a general tax for purchasing books. While the system
was a novelty, the books were much read; but, being, like the
other schemes, devoid of vitality, it soon fell into general neglect,
and became unpopular. On the recommendation of the State
Superintendent of Public Schools, 1866, the law authorizing the
levy of a library tax" was repealed. Thus ended the Indiana
scheme, which had been lauded as the greatest blessing ever
vouchsafed to the state.
Massachusetts. — My belief is that a plan similar to that of
New York was originally adopted in this state (about 1840-1845),
and that it soon proved unsatisfactory, and was abandoned. I
cannot speak positively on this point, however, for the Secretary
of the Board of Education, to whom I applied for information,
did not respond to my request
The following law respecting libraries, passed in 1851 is still
in force :
Each town and city may establish and maintain a public
library therein, with or without branches, for the use of the
inhabitants thereof, and provide suitable rooms therefor, under
such regulations as may from time to time be prescribed by
the inhabitants of the town or by the city council.
Any town or city may appropriate money for suitable build-
ings or rooms, and for the foundation of such library, a sum
not exceeding $i for each of the ratable polls, in the year
next preceding that in which such appropriation is made; may
also appropriate annually, for the maintenance and increase there-
of, a sum not exceeding 50 cents for each of its ratable polls,
in the year next preceding that in which such appropriation is
made, and receive, hold and manage any devise, bequest, or
donation for the establishment, increase, or maintenance of a
public library within the same.
This law is believed to be the wisest that has yet been
adopted on the subject, and under its operation permanent popu-
lar libraries have sprung up in all parts of the state. I shall
have occasion to refer to the above act again.
Connecticut. — The law adopted in 1856 authorized the state
treasurer to pay $10 to every school district which should raise
a like sum for the same purpose, to establish within such district
a school library and procure apparatus; and every subsequent
year the sum of $5 was to be paid on the same condition. The
Board of Visitors for each town selected the books, and made
rules for their management and safekeeping. This law is still
POPULAR LIBRARIES 47
in force, and is generally complied with; but the funds, instead
of being used to build up libraries for general reading (as was
undoubtedly intended), are applied for the purchase of suitable
apparatus and reference-books for use in the school-room. This
slight diversion has saved the statutory provisions from that con-
tempt into which they have fallen in other states.
With the hope of building up an efficient system of libraries
for general reading, Connecticut adopted, in 1869, the Mas-
sachusetts law in substance.
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and California, have
enacted laws on the subject; but no practical results are reported.
In view of the foregoing statements, it is just to conclude,
not that all the efforts and expenditures that have been made
have been wholly wasted — for many good books have been fur-
nished to the people, and read by them, and the reading of good
books is always a benefit — but that, in regard to the primary
obj-ect of those efforts and expenditures, namely, the founding
of a system, of permanent libraries, the attempts have proved
total and unqualified failures.
CAUSES OF FAILURE
From the very nature of the case, it is impossible to establish
thousands of libraries on a firm foundation by a single legis-
lative enactment. The Legislature, we know, can do many
things. It can make laws, and punish law-breakers ; it can estab-
lish courts of justice, gather taxes, etc., because in such matters
it exercises absolute control, appoints its own agents, prescribes
their duties, and rewards their services. On the same principle,
a state could undoubtedly attempt to establish a system of li-
braries. But the attempt would be so absurd as to cause speedy
displacement from office of those who might make it; hence it
is just to conclude that it is impossible for the state to do this
thing. But it may be asked, Why is it not just as easy and
proper for the state to direct and supervise a system of libraries
as a system of schools? This is just the point that needs ex-
planation, and the advocates of library schemes are greatly at
fault for never having explained it.
Persons not yet past middle age, whose attention has been
called to the educational progress of the country, will remember
what obstacles and difficulties, what delays and trials, had to be
encountered, in many states, before the present efficient system
48 IRA DIVOLL
of education could be established. And yet, how simple and
easy the undertaking, compared with that of establishing a system
of libraries!
1. The district school is as old as our government. The
district-school library which was inaugurated by the New York
Legislature in 1835 was new to the whole world.
2. Even during the early period of our government, a large
portion of our people, in many states a majority, were in favor
of free schools, to be supported by taxation; now, an immense
majority in every state are in favor of such schools. But there
is no evidence of strong public sentiment in any state in favor
of supporting free libraries in the same way.
3. The school district is the primary feature of our form
of government. From the beginning, the legal voters have been
accustomed to meet once or twice a year, and transact their
business in truly democratic style. They are, and always have
been, familiar with the details of managing schools. But, as
a general thing, they have had no experience, and consequently
have gained no knowledge, with reference to the management
of libraries.
4. The whole world regards schools as a necessity. There
is no such feeling or appreciation with regard to libraries. Con-
sequently the people will readily contribute to the support of the
former, when they will not for the latter.
5. Everybody understands, in reference to schools, the neces-
sity of having a school-house, text-books, furniture, records, rules,
and a teacher. But the projectors of our library schemes did
not deem it necessary to provide for library-room, bookcases,
furniture, or librarian. They provided for books, and for noth-
ing else. What chance of success had the library compared with
the school?
6. School property is less liable to loss or destruction than
library property. The school-house, furniture, and teacher's
services, are not subject to much risk; but a collection of books
is— ten thousand instances attest the ease with which they dis-
appear.
From the above brief statement of the nature of libraries, and
the difficulties of managing them, it is easy to discern the causes
of failure in the schemes hitherto adopted:
a. In no single instance was the law well matured, no at-
tention was given to details ; no provision was made, except for
POPULAR LIBRARIES 49
supplying books — none for rooms, furniture, bookcases, cus-
todian, etc.
b. The same general provisions were attempted to be ap-
plied alike to cities, towns, villages, and rural districts; while
it is plain that their respective requirements are essentially dif-
ferent. Ohio, having reference to this fact, in revising her
library law recently, divided cities into those of first class,
second class, etc., and made special provisions for each class.
c. In part, the laws were compulsory, and in part advisory,
or left to the option of the district or town to fulfill them. In
so far as they were compulsory, they failed to furnish sufficient
means of support, and, in so far as they were advisory, they
failed to arouse sufficient local interest to render them effective.
NEW PLAN PROPOSED
Notwithstanding past failures, the American people are by
no means disposed to give up the problem of founding libraries,
they are determined to establish them as a part of the system
of popular education, to be easily and permanently accessible to
all classes of persons, children, and youth, as well as adults.
The first step in the program is to devise and agree upon a
suitable plan — a plan possessing features or characteristics clear
and well defined, and of general application; and withall one
that will meet with favor among the people, and hence prove
practicable, feasible, successful. Who is equal to the task of
devising and defining such a plan?
The writer of this article will not attempt to give a full
and satisfactory solution of this problem ; but he ventures cer-
tain opinions and suggestions on the subject, and hopes they
will provoke further consideration on the part of educators and
law-makers :
1. The plan must provide for pay instead of free libraries;
the latter not having proved successful anywhere in this coun-
try, it may be taken for granted that they are not yet available.
2. Great stress should be placed upon life-membership, the
subscription price for which should be made very low, and pay-
able in small instalments when desired, so as to be within the
means of all classes of persons who may wish to use the books.
Let the life-members, above a certain age, have the management
of the library ; they will form a perpetual association, which will
care for its interests.
50 IRA DIVOLL
3. Let the library be formed for children and youth as well
as for adults, and let the terms be precisely the same for all.
4. The juvenile and all other books should be selected with
great care, and with reference to the wants of the members.
But every association must do this work for itself. Doubtless
in many libraries already formed, and in many that will be
formed hereafter, mistakes will be made in this matter, but it
is through mistakes that the American people are expected to
educate themselves — to learn wisdom; and the same rule which
applies in matters of politics must apply in this case.
5. Woman is peculiarly adapted to aid in the formation and
management of libraries; therefore let her be placed on equal
footing with men in respect to membership and direction oi
affairs.
6. Let the library be inalienably connected with the public
schools by having one or more of the local school-officers on
the board of managers. This connection will be of great service.
The public schools are the most popular institutions in our
country, and they are becoming still more popular every year.
They can carry a library with very little effort. Pupils and
patrons are certain to sympathize with the movement, and,
through the agency of the teachers their combined influence can
easily be concentrated and made available. In practice it will
be found that a large proportion of the new members will be
recruits from the youth in the schools and those having just
left. This will tend to make the juvenile department prominent
for a short time, but, since the library is built for the future—-
for future generations — it is plain to see that, after a few years,
the adult membership will largely predominate.
The main reason for connecting the library with the schools
is to make it, in a special sense, educational in character. Mere
text-book education is inadequate to meet the wants of the ris-
ing generation. Children should be made to understand that
only the merest elements of learning are taught in the school-
room—that only the foundation is laid, and that the library is
to furnish the means for completing the superstructure. The
school and the library should thus be associated together in the
pupil's mind, so that the transition from the one to the other
will be encouraged and made easy and certain. In this way,
if at all, the people may be educated to read good books, in-
stead of the vile trash now so popular and so corrupting to
the young.
POPULAR LIBRARIES 51
7. How far Is It advisable and just to ask state cooperation
in the establishment of such popular libraries as are contem-
plated? From the tenor of the foregoing remarks the reader
has already learned that the writer of this article has not much
confidence in the efficacy of state legislation. I would strike
from the statute-books all library laws that are in any sense
compulsory — all that look to founding libraries by wholesale —
all that make a general appropriation for their support. All
such schemes have been shown to be visionary. I would com-
mence de novo} relying mainly upon individual efforts and local
interest for initiatory steps. If local agencies cannot be en-
listed in the cause, it is futile to undertake the founding of
libraries by state enactments. But the question I propose is
"How far is it advisable to seek state cooperation in aid, or
for the encouragement, of local authorities." There are two
ways in which state cooperation may be safely sought: first, by
the enactment of a law simply empowering the trustees of any
town to use a certain per cent of the school revenues toward the
founding and maintaining of a library; and, secondly, by adopt-
ing, in substance, the Massachusetts law. This law, already
quoted, may well claim a moment's attention, for it is doubtless
the wisest legislation that has been had on the subject It was
instigated by no visionary educators over-anxious to establish
a state system, and yet it has proved the most effective of any
in establishing such a system. It looks wholly to local interest
and local agencies. Its origin was as follows: Presi-
dent Wayland made a donation of $1,000 to the town
of Wayland, in Massachusetts, to purchase books, on
condition that the town would suitably provide for their
depository and use. The town authorities, conceiving they
had not corporate power to comply with the condition, applied
for an enabling act. But the Legislature, very properly regard-
ing special legislation as objectionable, enacted a general law,
giving to every town in the state authority to do what the town
of Wayland asked permission to do. This law is in no re-
spect compulsory or mandatory; it is not even advisory, but
only permissive. It prescribes no system, it levies no tax; it
appropriates no money; it lays down no rules. It simply author-
izes a community to tax themselves, if they choose, to establish
a library. It contemplates local interest as preliminary to the
operation of the law. Since the passage of this act, in 1851,
52 IRA DIVOLL
permanent libraries have been founded in a large majority of
the towns of the state, and especially in the cities and villages.
(If the library be maintained in part by a general tax, it should
be free to all citizens for reference use while membership-fees
should be charged only upon those who draw books for home-
reading) .
8; It will save disappointments, perhaps failures, if those
who undertake to found libraries will bear in mind that the
most difficult part of the task is, not to get the books, but to
take care of them after purchase — to utilize them — in a word,
to manage the institution. Neither is the cost of the books
a large item in the total cost. Rooms, bookcases, furniture,
registers, librarian, etc., are to be provided, it is sheer folly
to attempt to start a library without making these provisions ;
they are just as necessary to success in a collection of five hun-
dred volumes as in one of fifty thousand. I add a few esti-
mates, which are approximately correct, showing the relative
cost of books in the current expenses of established libraries.
ST. LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARY
Total expenses, 1866, about $13,000
Expended for books, about 5,ooo
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Total expenses, 1868, about $51,000
Expended for books, about 11,500
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
Total expenses, 1868, about $12,000
For books, about 2,500
CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY
Total expenses, per annum, about $30,000
For books, about 11,500
ST. LOUIS MERCANTILE LIBRARY
Total expenses, 1868, about $20,000
For books, about 4,000
9. No attempt is made in this article to give specific direc-
tions with regard to organization; but it is believed that the
plan here outlined may be adopted with success in any city or
village of a thousand or more inhabitants. It is evident the
obstacles in the way of forming libraries are far greater in
POPULAR LIBRARIES 53
rural districts than in towns, and it is useless to attempt the
more difficult task until complete success has been achieved in
the more feasible.
ST. Louis PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARY
Success is the test o£ merit of any given plan. In order to
show the practical nature of the principles just laid down, I
will give a brief account of the above-named institution, in
whose establishment and management I have participated, and
which is founded on the plan here briefly sketched. This library,
nowr numbering over twenty thousand volumes, and having an
annual circulation of over sixty thousand volumes, with a large
and well-appointed reading room attached, was begun in 1865.
It had no endowment nor claim for support upon any public
fund, but was dependent solely upon membership fees, and upon
such other precarious revenues as might be derived from small
gifts of books or money, and from lectures, exhibitions, etc.
With these means it grew in two years to over ten thousand
volumes, and had a large membership and extensive circulation.
Since then it has received $5,000 from a public fund, and is
now the annual recipient of $4,000 or $5,000 from a bequest.
The success of this institution did not result from any ad-
ventitious or peculiar circumstances, but was due mainly to the
plan on which it was founded. It was adapted to the means
as well as the wants of the masses, and they came to its support,
and availed themselves of its blessings, by thousands. Firmly
believing that this plan possesses the merit of general applica-
tion, I shall, at the risk of some repetition, explain its practical
working. The library was originally organized under a special
charter, but said charter connected it permanently with the pub-
lic schools by making four prominent school officers trustees
ex officio of the library. After two and a half years of sepa-
rate existence, during which time it had grown to over twelve
thousand volumes, it was transferred to, or rather adopted by,
the Board of Public Schools, whereby it became in legal form
what it had already demonstrated itself to be in fact, a useful
and efficient accessory to the educational system.
The mode of management under the special charter was not
materially changed by the terms of transfer, the latter providing
for a board of sixteen managers, nine of whom are appointed
by the schoolboard, and seven are elected by the life members.
54 IRA DIVOLL
From the beginning the board of direction has been com-
posed o£ both males and females. The propriety and wisdom of
this arrangement became apparent when one bears in mind that
the library is to be built up mainly through school agencies, and
that more than nine-tenths of the teachers are females. This
feature has undoubtedly given encouragement in the direction
it was intended to, and caused the unusual if not unprecedented
enrollment of female members, who comprise just about one-
half the total number.
Twelve dollars is the entire fee for life-membership, and
this may be paid at once, or in annual subscriptions of $4 each,
or in $i instalments, at the option of the applicant. All these
ways of paying are practised, but by far the larger portion of
the applicants, particularly the younger ones, become members
by purchasing a dollar-certificate every three months. This
feature gave great popularity to the institution, and rendered it
self-supporting. One dollar secures the use of the library for
three months, and, when once a member, the applicant is almost
certain to go on and pay the $12.
It is doubtful if this library would be as useful as it is if
it were entirely free — doubtful if the number of readers or the
circulation of books would be as great. The small fees exacted
do not operate to exclude from becoming members any con-
siderable number of persons who have time and inclination to
read books. What the American people want is not a gratuity
or a charity, but an institution within their means — one of
whose privileges they can readily avail themselves. Such is the
library which I am describing, and it is the constant resort of
hundreds, nay thousands, of the youth of the city.
Besides the ordinary and palpable advantages which adult
members derive from a well-selected popular library, there are
observable in this case the most happy and beneficial results
upon the younger visitors. Firstly: A very large portion of
the advanced pupils of the schools, at* the instance and under
the direction of their teachers, use the library to assist them to
a better understanding of the subjects they are studying. Thus
they learn how to use a library, obtain the key with which they
can unlock its treasures at their will. Secondly: Experience
has already shown that those who become members while they
are pupils continue their connection after leaving school. They
get attached to the institution, because it is their institution,
POPULAR LIBRARIES 55
and they will not be likely soon to forsake it. Habits of read-
ing once acquired are pretty certain to last through life.
Thirdly: The associations formed where perfect decorum and
propriety of conduct prevail, cultivate good manners and good
morals. Fourthly: The youth who have been using the library
for two or three years have made marked progress in the qual-
ity of books which they read.
From the foregoing it will be seen that the process of
educating readers which is constantly going on in this institution
necessitates a collection of books of the widest range as well
as of the highest order. Hence the managers have been care-
ful to preserve, in the increase of the library, just proportions
in the several departments. The juvenile collection numbers
about sixteen hundred volumes, or 8 per cent of the whole.
The rest of the books are selected for adult and educated readers,
and for scholars in every field of learning. The scientific de-
partment, in particular, is so full already as to be scarcely sur-
passed in older and larger institutions.
GENERAL PUBLIC LIBRARY ORGANIZA-
TION AND ADMINISTRATION
One of the most noticeable characteristics of this
section is the changing emphasis. In the early days it
was placed upon an organization that should have an
exact legal status, and be conducted according to strict
rules. Later the emphasis swings to community service,
with only sufficient attention paid to "rules and regula-
tions" to insure efficiency.
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES
In his annual report for 1869, Mr. Justin Winsor,
then superintendent of the Public Library of Boston, says,
"We have no schools of bibliographical and bibliothecal
training whose graduates can guide the formation of, and
assume management within the fast-increasing libraries
of our country; and the demand may perhaps never war-
rant their establishment: but every library with a fair
experience can afford inestimable instruction to another
in its novitiate, and there have been no duties of my
office to which I have given more hearty attention than
those which have led to the granting of what we could
from our experience to the representatives of other li-
braries, whether coming with inquiries fitting a collection
as large as Cincinnati is to establish, or merely seeking
such matters as concern the establishment of a village
library. It is much to be hoped that during the coming
year there will be instituted an organized medium for
such inter-communication, under the direction of the
American Social Science Association."
The following extract is from a pamphlet entitled
"Free Public Libraries; suggestions on their foundation
and administration/' published by the above-mentioned
association. Though libraries had been in existence in
this country since the day when John Harvard gave his
books to the college which bears his name, the first free
library entirely supported by taxes, that of Peterboro,
N. H., was not founded till 1833, and it was long* after
that day that the increase of libraries made it necessary
to formulate some principles of organization and admin-
istration, of which this in 1871 is one of the first state-
ments.
60 JUSTIN WINSOR
FIRST STEPS
First of all is the project of the library, then the enlistment
of the right men and women to secure its execution. Public
interest is to be aroused, in some communities created, and
whatever means may be properly used for this purpose must
be employed. It will soon be found that a good many means
are needed. A brief circular to the towns-people, explaining
the plan, and describing the experiences of towns possessing
libraries, will generally be serviceable.
As an example of what may be done by means of a cir-
cular, the following extracts are given from a recent report
on a proposed library for the town of Milton, Massachusetts:
Libraries, accessible to the people, have always been encour-
aged in the most intelligent and advanced communities. The
father of social libraries in this country is Benjamin Franklin.
They took for their model the proprietary library of Philadelphia,
which was founded in 1731, mainly by his exertions. To use
his own words, they "improved the general conversation of the
Americans, made the common tradesmen and farmers as intelli-
gent as most gentlemen in other countries, and perhaps con-
tributed in some degree to the stand so generally made through-
out the colonies, in defense of their privileges." With the great
patriot and philosopher, these were not words of theory alone,
but of experience. In the sharp struggle of his youth for a
livelihood, he had learned the priceless value of good books to
a young man without patrimony, and dependent upon his own
hands and brain for support. To such libraries, however, sub-
scribers only were admitted; and, beneficent as they proved, they
yet failed to reach a large portion of the community. In the
direction of a freer system, but with special and almost ex-
clusive reference to children in the public schools, the state of
New York in 1835, and our own state in 1842 and 1843, enacted
laws authorizing the establishment of School District Libraries.
These did much good in directing public attention, and prepar-
ing the way, but they were too limited in their scope; and, be-
sides, it was found that the town system for the support and
administration of a library, 'like the town system for the sup-
port and administration of schools, was more likely to secure
the best results.
Accordingly, in 1851 our Legislature enacted a law authoriz-
ing towns to establish and maintain Public Libraries, and raise
money for the purpose. Under this act, and the additional
legislation of 1866, each town has ample and unrestricted power
to establish and maintain a Public Library, and to provide suit-
able buildings or rooms therefor.
< It may be worth while to note that almost contemporaneously
with the act of 1851 — a few months earlier — similar legislation
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES 61
for town libraries, to be voted upon by the burgesses, and to
be supported by local taxes, took effect in England, which has
been Amplified by succeeding Acts of Parliament. Under it
libraries have been opened at Manchester, Birmingham, Liver-
pool, and less populous places, often with imposing ceremonies.
By the concurrence of all testimonies, they have already achieved
a great work in spreading intelligence among the masses, par-
ticularly among artisans and families of limited means, and they
promise to realize still greater results in the future. This sys-
tem has been extended in a measure to Canada and other British
Provinces. The state of Wisconsin, in 1859, established a liberal
system of Township Libraries; and other western states have
moved in the same direction.
Your committee believe that such a library would be useful,
directly or indirectly, to all the citizens of the town. It would
be especially so to those whose straightened means do not allow
them free access to books. Few, if any, households would fail to
seek and appreciate its benefits. In all seasons it would be re-
sorted to by a large proportion of our people, and in the winter
and less occupied seasons it would be an unfailing source of
entertainment and profit. Besides its advantages to adults, it
would be of great service to the scholars of the high school,
and to the advanced scholars of the grammar schools. Indeed,
no school education is complete which does not conduct the
child to a good library. Nor is it unworthy of consideration
that a town library would bring our people more together, and
stimulate a greater unity of feeling among them, and a greater
interest in the common welfare. It would make a residence in
the town more attractive and valuable, and invite others to re-
move to it, who, by sharing our taxation, would reduce the rate
now assessed upon us. May we not also With much confidence
expect that, when its success is assured, citizens or natives of
the town, following the example of Joshua Bates and George
Peabody, and many other benefactors of town libraries, will
enrich it with donations and legacies? The experience of other
towns warrant this expectation.
OBJECTIONS TO BE MET
However persuasive a circular may be, — indeed, whether
there be any or not, — objections are almost sure to arise. Some
will come from timidity, some from stinginess, some from
apathy, if not hostility. They must be met The expense of
a library must be proved judicious; the uncertainties or fears
regarding its use must be dispelled; the indifference or opposi-
tion to it must be broken up. It is impossible to suggest meas-
ures adapted to all cases ; nor is it necessary. But one or two
objections of frequent recurrence may be adverted to, e.g.
"Books won't be taken out," to which the simplest answer is,
62 JUSTIN WINSOR
"Try," or, "They are, everywhere else." Again: "They won't
be brought back," to which one may reply, "They will be, for
when they are read, others will be wanted." The strongest
objection, however, is pecuniary; and if that can be met, others
will not be stoutly pressed.
MODES OF RAISING MONEY
It becomes, therefore, a question of primary importance,
how the money for the library can be raised. Sometimes, and
perhaps generally, a town can be persuaded to make the requi-
site appropriation; but this is not always to be depended upon.
It happens not infrequently that a library has to be started by
individuals, trusting to its being taken up afterward by the
town or by some rich townsman. In that case, a subscription,
in which but few will probably join at the outset, is to be opened
and to be carried as far as circumstances allow.
BOARD OR COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY
In anticipation of the steps thus suggested, a board of man-
agement is to be selected. Even before the library exists, or
the board can be formally appointed, its designation is of great
consequence. In fact, the value of the library to come will
depend upon the persons who are to usher it into being. As
far as possible, they should represent all the leading interests
of the community. They should hold their appointments long
enough to render their experience serviceable, and when they
go out of office, it should be by twos or threes rather than that
the entire body should be changed at once.
One of their first acts should be the choice of a librarian.
If not fully qualified, he should make a study of the work to be
done, and fit himself at once to be the literary counsellor of
the institution.
As he must act upon some clearly defined system, it will be
well to give early consideration to rules concerning
THE LIBRARIAN AND His DUTIES
Art. I. The Librarian, under the direction of the Board
or Committee on the Library, shall have the charge and super-
intendence of all books and other property belonging to the
Library, and shall be responsible for the due care thereof.
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES 63
Art. 2. He shall be present in the Library in person, or by
an assistant approved by the Committee, at all times when it is
opened to the public.
Art 3. He shall cause to be entered in a record to be
called the Accession Catalog the title of every book added
to the Library, the date of its reception, its cost if purchased,
the name of its donor if given, and such other particulars as
the Committee may direct. And no book shall be put in use un-
less so recorded.
Art. 4. He shall promptly acknowledge all gifts to the Li-
brary, in such form as the Committee may direct.
Art. 5. He shall arrange all the books on the shelves in a
proper order, and prepare such catalogs, lists, and forms as
the Committee may direct.
Art. 6. He shall affix a star to the title of such books as
from rarity, costliness, or any reason, should not be permitted
to go into the hands of a borrower without special permission.
Art. 7. He shall attach to every volume, before it is lent,
such rules of the library as are needful to be known, and also
a stamp, label, or book-plate, with the date of accession, the
donor's name, if it be a gift, the number of the shelf on which
it is kept, and the number it bears on the Accession Catalog.
Art 8. He shall keep a record of all books asked for
which are not in the Library, with the names of the persons
asking for them,
Art. 9. He shall keep a record of persons entitled to use
the Library, enter the delivery and return of books ; take care
that books are not kept beyond the time, ill-used or lost; main-
tain order in the Library; and enforce all rules of the Com-
mittee.
Art. 10. He shall from time to time, under the direction
of the Committee, make a thorough examination of the Li-
brary, and present a report of its condition and increase.
Art. u. If the Committee do not reserve the charge to
themselves, he shall, subject to their approval, contract for and
order books.
Art 12. If the Committee do not reserve the charge to
themselves, he shall, subject to their approval, appoint assistants
'and fix their salaries.
A WORD TO THE STARTERS OF LIBRARIES
The first article in the first number of The Library
Journal is this by Justin Winsor. It suggests rather how
to "get ready to begin" to start a library, than how really
to organize. The problem then was an individual one,
with very little standardized material. The word of ad-
vice is still needed by many who contemplate the estab-
lishment of libraries, though published material is now
so easily available.
Justin Winsor was born in Boston, January 2, 1831.
He took his bachelor's degree from Harvard College,
travelled and studied in Paris and Heidelberg, his special
interest being in literature and American history. He
was made a member of the Board of Trustees of the
Boston Public Library in 1866; in 1868 he became
superintendent of the same library. He became libra-
rian ,of Harvard University in 1877 where he remained
until his death in 1897. He was the first president of
the American Library Association and served in that
office from 18764885.
Every well-established librarian occasionally or even fre-
quently receives letters of which the following is a fair sample:
PUNKEYVILLE, July 10, 1876.
DEAR SIR: The Honorable Hezekiah Jones, of our town,
has donated [by the way, given has dropped out of the dictionary
with such people] $ — - — to found a library in this his native
place, and we wish the library to reflect honor on him and
credit on Punkeyville. Accordingly we would be obliged for
any information you can give to enable us to establish this
trust on a correct basis.
Very respectfully,
For the Committee,
JOHN BROWN.
P. S. — I hope you will send us your catalogues, your charter,
and your rules.
66 JUSTIN WINSOR
Mr. Brown is very likely an estimable person, whom the
benefactor has designated as suitable for the head of the trust
Perhaps he is a clergyman, and if you should ask him to tell
you the way in which to run a church and take care of a parish,
he would remind you that, if it were not for writing the next
Sunday's sermon, he might find time to enlighten you. Perhaps
he is a physician, beloved of the people, and trusted above all
by the Honorable Mr. Jones; but if you asked him something
about the theory and practice of medicine, he would refer you
to the journals of his profession or recommend a course of
study in the schools. Perhaps Brown is the lawyer of the place
who has the most business in the County Court, and if you
should ask his professional opinion, he would charge you for
it according to the time he takes for it, and according to the
number o£ letters he has written you about it. Perhaps he
Is a teacher of the academy, which is another of Jones' bene-
factions, and he finds all the spare time he can get from teach-
ing valuable to him in preparing an annotated text of Nepos,
which through Jones' influence he hopes to get introduced
into schools by the State Board of Education, and to profit
thereby enough to lay aside a beginning of a competency for
a rainy day.
And yet —
Brown the clergyman has written a letter without a firstly
and so on to lastly in it, and evidently with the expectation
that the librarian can answer in a sentence more points than
he ever ventured to put into half a dozen sermons.
And yet —
Brown the physician has asked a diagnosis without giving
you a symptom to go by, without the slightest intimation of
any of the conditions, in gift or community to be met.
And yet —
Brown the lawyer has written a letter which will require
another in return to learn what is really wanted, knowing
very well that librarians never send bills with "letters" charged
at so much.
And yet —
Brown the teacher thinks the librarian has no time outside
o£ his prescribed duties that can profitably be spent in laying
in his store for a day' when he can labor no more.
I hope those who are laboring to advance the library interests
A WORD TO STARTERS 67
of the country will understand that I am not aiming to abridge
the useful advice which an experienced librarian can bestow
outside of his own sphere, and can bestow gratuitously, but I
would inculcate upon all having occasion to avail themselves
of such experience, that it is the result of application that is
never ceasing, and that it is only fair to such librarians that
they should not be called upon to spend time on cases until
the cases are well made up. There is no disposition on the
part of librarians to shun a general duty which they owe as
citizens, if the propositions which are made to them are put
with understanding and in such a way as to show that the
seekers have fairly tried to help themselves.
Now, how can this be done? In the first place, procure
what is in print — such volumes, for instance, as the new pub-
lication of the Educational Bureau at Washington. Send to
any library which is a fit exemplar, and ask for its rules and
reports, and do not forget to enclose stamps for postage; but
do not ask of a great library to have its catalag sent till
you have learned something of what you are asking for, a
little later in your progress. I think you will never, or rarely,
get a rebuff to such a request. Take time to study all these
documents and when you have got a clear idea of what a
library is, and how it should be administered, consider closely
the fitness of this or that library to this or that kind of
community, or to these or those conditions under which you
are to work. Do not think you have no time for this. If you
have not, resign your trust to some one who has, and who
has a correct appreciation of the old adage that those who
help themselves are soonest helped by others.
Now, after this, if you find there are still points on which
you are in doubt, and questions which your study has not given
you solutions of, you may bother an old librarian. You can
now write him understandingly. He will discover it at once,
and will be propitiated. Ask him your questions concisely, and
come to your points at once. Avoid all irrelevant twaddle.
The librarian will not understand Brown's quandary any better
from learning that Jones married Brown's wife's sister, or that
Jones' endowment is invested in Punkeyville Mining Com-
pany, which pays good dividends. There is no busier man
than the librarian of a large library; for his work is never
68 JUSTIN WINSOR
done, and he is one of those people who find the more ex-
pected of them the more they do. There is one thing more.
You must not be surprised to find some diversity of views
among experts. They arise from different experiences and
because of the varying conditions under which a library may
be administered. The processes of one "library can rarely be
transplanted to another without desirable modifications, arising
from some change of conditions. This accounts for a great
deal of variance in the opinions of librarians; but it by no
means follows that each of two systems under proper condi-
tions may not be equally good, when both are understood and
an equal familiarity has been acquired with each. Choose that
which you naturally take to ; run it, and do not decide that
the other is not perfectly satisfactory to him who chose that.
Whichever you have chosen, study to improve it, and you will
probably do so, in so far as it becomes fitted more closely
to the individuality of yourself and your library.
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
This article, from the Special Report on Public Li-
braries published by the U.S. Bureau of Education, was
written while the author Mr. William F. Poole, was li-
brarian of the Chicago public library. We include here
only the introductory paragraphs, as the succeeding sec-
tions discuss details which will be taken up under their
respective topics in other volumes of this series. The de-
finition of a "public library," which he gives in the third
paragraph, is that upon which the real American public
library has been built. Routine for obtaining support is
his main theme and it is one of the first steps to be taken.
A sketch of Mr. Poole appears in Volume 3.
The librarians of city libraries are constantly receiving letters
from communities, where no public library exists, or where a
new one is in progress, inquiring into the methods by which
such a library may be organized and conducted. Sucn informa-
tion, when it is directed to specific points, is freely given; but
in the midst of pressing official duties, it is often a severe tax
upon a librarian's time to answer these inquiries. It is also
impossible, in the brief space of such a reply, and without
knowing the resources at command and the special conditions
of the enterprise, to give much useful instruction. Many per-
sons have written about public libraries, but there is no treatise
giving that rudimentary and practical information which Is
needed, and to which the parties making these inquiries can
be referred. In view of the pressing necessity that appears to
exist, the writer has prepared the following paper, embodying
some practical suggestions on this subject which, it is hoped,
will partially supply the want that has been named.
The term "public library" has come to have in our country
a restricted and technical meaning. The Library of Congress,
the Boston Athenaeum, and the Astor Library are, in a general
70 WILLIAM FREDERICK POOLE
sense, public libraries; but they are not the class of institutions
we are to consider. In the Library of Congress, the Senators
and Representatives and the chief officers of the government
are the only persons who enjoy its full privileges. By courtesy,
the public are allowed to use its books on the premises. The
Boston Athenaeum is a stock company, and only proprietors
and those whom they introduce enjoy its benefits. The Astor
Library, though accessible to all persons for reference only,
was founded and is maintained by private munificence. The
public has never contributed to its support, and has no voice
in its management Free libraries and free town libraries have
existed in Europe for three centuries; but they are libraries
for scholars and not for the masses of the people, and are
not supported by popular taxation. The Free Library of Ham-
burg, in Germany, was founded chiefly from monastic collec-
tions in 1539, and in 1869 had one hundred and ninety thousand
volumes and five thousand manuscripts; but during that year
only four thousand volumes were taken out. The Free Library
of Frankfort-on-the-Main, with eighty-four thousand volumes,
issued two thousand; and that of Leipzig, with one hundred
and thirteen thousand volumes, issued fifteen hundred. The
books which these libr-aries contain are not of the class which
interest the people at large.
The "public library" which we are to consider is established
by state laws, is supported by local taxation and voluntary
gifts, is managed as a public trust, and every citizen of the
city or town which maintains it has an equal share in its
privileges of reference and circulation. It is not a library
simply for scholars and professional men, as are the libraries
which have been named, but for the whole community— the
mechanic, the laboring man, the sewing-girl, the youth, and
all who desire to read, whatever be tEeir rank, intelligence, or
condition in life. It is the adjunct and supplement of the
common school system. Both are established and maintained on
the same principles — that general education is essential to the
highest welfare of any people; and, considered simply as a
question of political economy, it is better and cheaper, in the
long run, to educate a community than to support prisons and
reformatories.
It is now about a quarter of a century since the first insti-
tution of the kind existed. The idea originated in Massachu-
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 71
setts and England nearly at the same time, the Massachusetts
enterprise having a slight priority. These libraries now number
several hundred, and their number is rapidly increasing. Their
surprising development within the last few years is one of
the most interesting features of educational progress in our
time. In England these institutions are called "free libraries."
It will be the purpose of this paper to state somewhat in detail,
and in the simplest manner, the methods and plans o£ pro-
cedure which experience has tested in the establishment and
arrangement of a public library.
PRELIMINARY STEPS IN ORGANIZATION
The first question to be considered is this: Is there a statute
of the state which authorizes a tax to be levied for the sup-
port of a public library? Without a legal authority for taxa-
tion, a public library of this kind is an impossibility. Active
operations must be delayed till such a law is enacted. If a
petition, supported by the influence of the local representative,
be sent to the legislature, a public library act can probably
be obtained.
In Massachusetts, cities and towns are authorized to lay
any tax they see fit for the support of a public library. In Ohio,
cities may lay a tax of one-fifth of a mill on the dollar valua-
tion for the purchase of books. Salaries and running expenses
are paid out of the local school funds. Boards of education in
Ohio have the control of public libraries, appointing, however,
for their more immediate supervision, a board of managers,
whose powers are scarcely more than that of a committee.
Managers can make recommendations and nominate the em-
ployees of the library, but can make no appointments and vote
no money. All their action may be supervised and reversed
by the board of education. "The board of managers so con-
stituted," says the statute, "shall at all times be under the con-
trol of the board of education, both as to their authority and
tenure of office." The statute of Indiana is similar to that of
Ohio. The obvious objection to this system is that the real
control of the library is with a board of many members who
were appointed for other duties, and have not the time or in-
clination to make themselves familiar with the details of library
management They are required to vote upon subjects on which
they have little or no practical knowledge. The library statute
72 WILLIAM FREDERICK POOLE
of Illinois in a measure obviates this objection. It creates an
independent board of directors, who have full control of all
the affairs of the library and of its funds. This board is ap-
pointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. In
cities of less than one hundred thousand inhabitants, a tax of
one mill on the dollar may be levied, and in cities of more
than that population one-fifth of a mill. This tax would give
in Chicago an income of $65,000 a year to the library. The
city council may, however, cut the levy down to a smaller sum
than the law allows as a maximum. The income of a library,
be it larger or smaller, should be uniform, and not subject to
the vote of a department of the city government which is
liable to have fits of liberality and economy. None of these
statutes has any validity unless accepted by the city or town.
It seems hardly necessary to remark that a board of directors
should be selected from the most intelligent, cultivated, and
influential citizens of the community. It is very desirable also
that a liberal private subscription and partial endowment, if
possible, should be made at the outset with which to make the
first purchase of books. The regular tax levy will not be suf-
ficient for this purpose unless it be allowed to accumulate for
several years; while it will be sufficient to meet the running
expenses from year to year and keep the library supplied with
new books. Communities are impatient when taxed year after
year without seeing the results. There is danger, if a tax be
laid, and the opening of the library be postponed for a long
period, that the interest in the enterprise will decline and the
citizens withdraw their consent to be taxed. Never buy books
on credit; never embarrass the library by anticipating its in-
come; and do not open to the public till there are books enough
on the shelves to make, in your community, a respectable col-
lection.
If there be a stock or subscription library in the town, or
a literary society possessing books, bring such motives and
arguments to bear upon their owners that they will present
them as the foundation of a public library. One well furnished
•and thrifty library in a town under good management, is much
more serviceable to all concerned than several small and scat-
tered collections. Before any selection of books is made it is
well to give a general and urgent invitation to the citizens to
send in, as donations, such books as they can spare from their
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 73
household libraries. Every family has books and pamphlets
which they have read, and which thrifty housekeepers can spare
without feeling that the gift is a sacrifice. This general con-
tribution will furnish a large amount of excellent reading, and
will save the expense of purchasing these books.
FORMATION AND ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC
LIBRARIES
Mr. R. R. Bowker here calls attention to the belief
that "every citizen should have free access to books" and
surveys many methods that have been tried, some dis-
carded and others developed for obtaining support, books
and a building and so making this belief a reality.
Richard Rogers Bowker, editor, publisher and author,
was born at Salem, Massachussetts in 1848, and gradua-
ted from the College of the City of New York. He began
publishing The Library Journal in 1876, The Publisher's
Weekly in 1879 and The American Catalog in 1884. He
has held many library offices, and has been active in
business and civic life as well.
The statistics of libraries show that in the 5338 public libraries
of the country (over three hundred volumes each) there are in
all but twenty million books, less than one book to every three
persons in the nation, or one book to every two persons of
reading age and ability. Even this statement does not show
the full extent of the field for library development In Massa-
chusetts, for instance, and in other eastern states there are
nearly three books per head of population, reducing the average
in some of the extreme western and southern states as low as
one book to eighteen people. The field for the extension of
the public library system is thus wide beyond the possibility of
filling it for generations to come.
It has become a settled principle of our reading civilization
that every citizen should have free access to books, although
there have been and always will be differences of opinion
whether the public should look to the state or local community
to provide such books by taxation or whether it should by its
own exertions and by the help of the richer and more liberal
minded provide free libraries for itself. The series of articles
76 RICHARD ROGERS BOWKER
which this paper opens, is intended to suggest simply and briefly,
in view of the library progress of recent years, how public
libraries may best be organized and administered. A great
body of information on these subjects may be found in the
Government Report of 1876 (especially Mr. W. F. Poole's arti-
cle, p. 76-504), and in the successive volumes of the Library
Journal. But within the past ten years great strides have been
made in every detail of library administration, and the num-
ber of questions still asked throughout the country shows that
every few years these subjects must be written over again.
There is shadowy mention of a public library in Boston in
a will of 1674, and in the town records of 1683 and 1695, and
a "library-room in the town-house" is mentioned in 1686, but
whatever this beginning of public libraries in America was,
it came to an end in 1747. Franklin founded what he calls
"the mother of all the North American subscription libraries,"
that of the American Philosophical Society (now the Phila-
delphia Library Society), whose first books were received from
London in 1732; the librarian, in attendance one hour on Wed-
nesday and two on Saturday, might "permit" any civil gentle-
man to read but none other than subscribers to take away
books, "Mr. James Logan alone excepted;" and this was the
pattern of most of the early American libraries, other than
those of the colleges. Franklin's library work produced more
result in France than in his own country, for the Sodete
Franklin, an organization not patterned here or in England,
was founded there in 1862 for promoting and maintaining small
provincial libraries. The most curious of these early libraries
was the "revolving library," the gift of Sir William Pepperell
and others, which travelled about the parishes of Kittery and
York, Maine.
The real start of the American public library system was
in the school library plan of the state of New York, broached
by Governor Clinton in 1827. In 1831, the state placed "Hall's
Lectures on School-Keeping" in every school district; in 1835,
the voters of any school district were authorized to levy a tax
of $20 to start and $10 annually to continue a library; in 1838,
a law passed appropriating $5S,ooo annually to the school dis-
tricts to buy books and requiring them to raise a similar amount,
as a result of which these school libraries in 1853 aggregated
1,604,210 volumes. The "library fund" was presently diverted,
FORMATION AND ORGANIZATION 77
in part to teachers' wages, and the libraries began to disappear
from dry-rot. In 1862, only 1,206,075 volumes could be ac-
counted for, and in 1874, 831,554. The Empire State shows
some remnant of the two and half millions spent for library
purposes in district libraries here and there, but although it
passed in 1872 a library act, the school district system proved
to be rather a discourager of a better system. Subscription,
society, and endowed libraries have served instead.
Massachusetts, under Horace Mann's leadership, had taken
up the New York school method in 1837, but here, happily, the
free-town library system came to the front. The first town
grants for library purposes are supposed to have been those
made by Salisbury, Conn., to extend the library given for the
children of the town by Caleb Bingham in 1803. In 1833,
Peterborough, N. H., devoted a part of its share of the bank
tax to start a town library, and in 1848, Wayland, Mass., voted
$500 to add to the like sum given by President Wayland, of
Brown University, for a town library, but, the question being
raised whether taxation for this purpose was legal, the tax*
payers were requested to make voluntary payment A special
act chartered the Boston Public Library in 1848. These in*
cidents preluded the first general "library laws," New Hampshire
leading with that of 1849, authorizing towns to vote grants
for town libraries, which should be exempt from taxation, and
Massachusetts coming next with that of 1851, authorizing cities
and towns to vote $i per poll to start and 25 cents annually to
maintain free libraries.
No less than twenty-one states, beginning with 1835 and
continuing as late as 1876, had provided laws of one sort or
another for school district libraries, some of them being for
libraries for the use of school-children and others, as in the
case of the New York act, provisions for a public library sys-
tem which made the school district the unit. The key to the
failure of such systems as that of New York state was in the
fact that a district of this sort was too small; that the library
so gathered did not amount to enough to make its preservation
an object, or to arouse and maintain public interest in its further
development. Unfortunately, where such laws exist they have,
in too many cases, hindered the development of the town library
method, which has been found to be the best working plan.
Twenty or more states and territories have now passed pub-
78 RICHARD ROGERS BOWKER
lie library laws, essentially on the town system, although in
some cases, as that of the New York act of 1872, the acts were
so resultless that their very existence was forgotten. In the
Government Report (p. 38-59) will be found an analysis of
the earlier acts for school libraries, and in the Library Journal
(v. 2, p. 7-12) is an account of state library legislation by Dr.
Poole and two years later (v. 4, p. 262-7) a continuation by
Dr. Homes, which is usually supplemented by successive reports
of the A. L. A. Committee on Library Legislation. They may,
in general, be divided into two kinds : the short laws, which
follow the Massachusetts and New Hampshire model, simply
authorizing towns to levy a tax and form a library after their
own methods, and the Illinois law, which has practically been
adopted in Wisconsin and other western states, and also in
Connecticut, providing minute directions for the organization
and control of local libraries. The laws will be found in full
in the Library Journal. It is to be regretted that a model law
which was to be prepared by Dr. Homes, combining the best
working features of the several laws, has never yet been pre-
sented.
Of course, in organizing a new library in any state which
has a library law, the first work is to study thoroughly the
existing provisions, and in the missionary work of obtaining
laws where they do not exist it is well to consider all existing
laws, with the purpose of adopting those provisions which seem
locally of the most use. It may be stated briefly that a board
in which a large proportion of members holds over from year
to year, new elections being made by the town council or sim-
ilar body to fill expirations, and a provision for a tax within a
certain maximum and above a Certain minimum, which shall
provide at least for the continuous expense of a library over
bad years are generally considered desiderata.
But it is often well, whether the library is ultimately to
be supported by the state or is to be developed by the organi-
zation of citizens, to start the collection of books quietly, as
a nucleus for greater things. A local book club which keeps
its volumes instead of selling them is often a capital beginning
for a public library, and the account of the Hand-to-Hand Book
Club, which is printed in this number, may serve as a model
for the organization of such associations. The essential prin-
ciple of a book club is that, by joining together where there
FORMATION AND ORGANIZATION 79
is no library, ten people may for the same money obtain joint
possession of ten books instead of individual possession of one ;
and, as a rule, it does not seem that any less books are bought
because of the formation of such joint stock companies. If, also,
some member of such a book club or some interested person
will make it his or her special work to preserve the newspapers
of the town or vicinity, clippings about the place and the peo-
ple who belong to it or have gone from it, and such pamphlets
or books as have a local bearing, another important feature
of a local library will be provided for. As the club obtains a
larger number of books than its members keep constantly in
use, it is practicable to make such a collection a lending library
in a modest way, if any lady has the public spirit to act as
librarian, or if there is a headquarters at which the books
can be kept, and at which different members of the club may
serve in turn. Often books will be given to increase such a
collection; but there should be rigid care in rejecting those
white elephants of donations, such as government reports or
unusable trash which require expense and trouble for storage,
and which, however valuable in their place, are not called for
in a small public library.
Another method of making a start is for some one or more
enterprising persons to inaugurate the work as a voluntary pub-
lic library committee. For this purpose, as recommended by
Mr. Pendelton, it is worth while to obtain the voting lists or
other lists of the inhabitants of the town, and to enlist the
aid of the ladies of the place or of enterprising young people
and to make a thorough canvass for subscriptions to start a
library, dividing the list carefully among the several solicitors,
indicating to the solicitors about how much each person may
fairly be expected to give, arranging the subscription-books
with a page for each higher amount and going first to those
most likely to give liberally. It has been wisely recommended
that whatever amount may be raised in this way shall be divided
into two parts — the one for the immediate purchase of books;
the other in part for the opening expenses of a library, and in
part to tide over bad years in the future, so that no year may
pass without some expenditure for furnishing books.
Such a collection being started, it is not impossible that some
rich man of the place can be induced to provide a library
building, which he will usually prefer to have called by his own
So RICHARD ROGERS BOWKER
name, and often it is found most practicable to begin with a
nucleus of an art gallery as well as of a library. If the National
Library Extension Society should ever be organized and become
effective according to the plan presented by Mr. Sponable, in
the December Library Journal, that would be of great help in
promoting the development of local libraries ; or if the rich man
is not forthcoming and there is no state law authorizing taxa-
tion, those interested may begin a fund for the erection of a
proper building or the hiring permanently of a suitable room,
by some small contribution per month or year, which if well
invested produces astonishing results in the course of a few
years.
One of the safest methods for providing for the future,
hitherto devised, was the method devised by a liberal citizen
of Baltimore, who gave $1,000,000 to the city on condition
that it should be invested, and the equivalent of the interest
of the investment paid over for the continuing support of a
public library, either directly from the investment or by taxa-
tion to an equivalent amount. In this way the city became
the trustee of a fund of which the principal was safely placed
in such wise that the lack of popular interest for a year or two
would not interfere with its continuance. Where a sufficient
fund is gathered by private subscription it is worth while to
keep this method in mind as a means of providing suitably for
the future of a town library.
Whatever the start it is vitally necessary to have enough
books and enough fresh books to keep public interest alive,
and a working librarian, whether paid or voluntary, or whether
the whole or part of the person's time is used, who will be
an efficient means of keeping alive interest between the people
and the books. This is the sine qua non of success, and it is
because of the failures in this direction that the New York
school district library law came to naught. In regard to the
selection of books, the choice of library-room or building, and
other points, the special topics will be covered in successive
papers of this series by librarians who are specially qualified
to speak of each subject in turn.
BUSINESS METHODS IN LIBRARY
MANAGEMENT
This paper was presented by Frederick M. Crunden
then librarian of the St. Louis Public Library, at the
Thousand Islands Conference of the American Library
Association in 1887, and indicates the change that was
then taking place in library administration. The modern
library was beginning to appear — the library that looks
outward toward serving the people rather than inward to
the care of books, and depends more upon the personality
and ability of the librarian than upon rules and regula-
tions.— A sketch of Mr. Crunden appears in Volume 1.
It is not many years since the popular mind pictured the
librarian as an elderly man of severe and scholarly aspect,
with scanty gray* hair, bent form, and head thrust forward
from the habit of peering through his spectacles along rows
of books in search of some coveted volume. He was supposed
always to have led a studious and ascetic life, to have had his
boyhood and youth in a previous state of existence, and, since
becoming a librarian, to have lived wholly in the world of
books, without any knowledge, thought, or care regarding the
world of men and things. Nothing more was expected of him
than that he should be erudite and orderly, know where to find
his books, and be ready to point out sources of information
wanted by his first cousin, the professor, or by another class
of individuals, who also stood apart from the rest of mankind,
and were regarded as gods of Parnassus or as imps of Bohemia.
Of late years authorship has become more common. Every one
has a friend who writes for publication in some form. Authors
are, perhaps, less exalted but more respectable than formerly.
The professor has long since been recognized as sometimes
young and athletic and jovial; and for the last ten years the
librarian also has been abroad, and is now becoming pretty well
known. He is found to be generally young in years and always
82 FREDERICK MORGAN CRUNDEN
young in spirit. When librarians first came together, each, I
believe, was surprised to see how young the others were. In
'79, when I attended my first convention at Boston, I expected
to find myself among a body of patriarchs. Dr. Poole, I thought,
must be a bent and decrepit old man; and Mr. Dewey, though
I had only lately heard of him, I had pictured as a little,
withered, bespectacled old Dryasdust, who had given his life
to the development of his decimal system, and was warning
young men against the dangers of diffusiveness. Subsequent
observation has shown me that librarians not only have had
a youth, but that they find in these conventions the means of
continually renewing it. There were two or three who im-
pressed me in '79 as perhaps a little old, who last year were
completely rejuvenated.
The librarian, then, of the present day is not like his pre-
decessor of a generation ago; and other and different duties
are imposed upon him, and other offices expected from him.
There still, however, remains considerable misconception regard-
ing his proper functions. When I entered the profession I
received numerous congratulations on the great opportunity af-
forded me for gratifying my taste for reading. Most of my
friends, one after another, have learned that my duties are
numerous and varied, and that my reading for personal im-
provement or pleasure must be done in the hours common to
all for rest and recreation. Still in the popular conception
the librarian combines business and pleasure by spending a
great part, if not the greater part, of his time in reading books.
Very few laymen, even among the better-informed, realize how
closely the conduct of a library resembles the management of
a business; and even among professionals there may be oc-
casion for emphasizing the value of a more thorough adoption
of business methods by librarians and by library directors.
The primary lessons of a library apprentice are the same
as those of a boy who enters a business house. He must
learn neatness, order, accuracy, punctuality, and despatch. And
with all these, if he is to succeed in the issue department,
which to the public represents the library, he must cultivate
politeness and equability of temper. He must treat every ap-
plicant as a salesman does a customer. He must not let him
go away without the article he wants if it is in stock; and
if it is not, he should show his concern by promising to give
BUSINESS METHODS 83
notice of the deficiency, and supply it later if possible. As the
youth goes up the ladder of promotion, all these talents and
acquirements find a wider field for exercise; and, as sub-
ordinates look to him for direction, other faculties are brought
into play, and other qualities are required. One of these is
a liking, an enthusiasm, for library work and a thorough
belief in the particular institution served. A librarian or an
assistant in a position of any authority who does not "swear
by" his library cannot do justice to his work; and on business
principles his services had better be dispensed with. The head
of a St. Louis jobbing firm told me not long since that he
would keep no one in his employ who did not think Blank, Dash
& Co. the greatest hat and cap house in the west. Any sales-
man known to hold different views would be instantly discharged.
The application of business principles also demands a cer-
tain degree of loyalty on the part of subordinates toward
the chief officer, as well as to the institution. Disaffection is
contagious; a house divided against itself cannot stand; and
a board of directors is not acting in accordance with approved
business methods if it does not speedily secure harmony of action
by removing the disturbing element. In one of the large manu-
facturing establishments of St. Louis the rule is that any man
who cannot get along with the foreman of the shops is at once
dismissed. There is no investigation, no hearing of complaints.
The company look to the foreman for results, and recognize
that responsibility must be accompanied by corresponding au-
thority; and, as long as their superintendent satisfies them, the
men must, suit him.
A chief librarian is in a position analogous to that occupied
by the head of a commercial house. He must know his wares/
i.e., his books; he must know his customers, the community;
he must study their wants ; and, like a merchant of the highest
type, he will endeavor to develop in them a taste for better
articles. Like a merchant also, he must advertise his business.
He must let the people know what the library offers to them,
whether gratis or for subscription fee. All the more is this
necessary in the latter case.
To be more exact in my comparison, the duties of a chief
executive of a library differ in no essential from those of a
manager of a stock company carrying on a commercial enter-
prise. In both cases there is a board of directors to dictate
84 FREDERICK MORGAN CRUNDEN
the general policy, which the manager is to carry out In
both cases the details are left to him; and, if he occupies a
proper position in the esteem and confidence of the directors,
they rely on him largely for suggestions as to measures for
furthering the objects in view. If he cannot be so relied on,
he is not fit for the place, and another man, should be ap-
pointed.
It seems hardly necessary to call attention to the librarian's
function as purchasing agent, in which his judgment, or the
lack of it, is a direct gain or loss, greater or less according to
circumstances.
The librarian, like the business superintendent, is expected
to organize his subordinates so as to secure the most efficient
service at the least outlay for salaries. To this end the largest
powers should be given him in the appointment and removal
of assistants, especially those upon whom he must most im-
mediately depend. Let him have assistants of his own choos-
ing, and then hold him to a strict accountability for results.
If from personal favoritism or bad judgment he selects lazy
or incompetent people, let him suffer the consequences. If he
possesses the requisite discernment and powers of observation,
the innate selfishness of human nature may be relied on for
the rest. The success of the library is his success;* and he
may be trusted not to jeopardize it by surrounding himself with
incompetent friends. The business man who does this ends
in bankruptcy; and so must the librarian — bankruptcy of posi-
tion, reputation, and self respect.
In keeping his institution before the public, the librarian
may profit by the methods of the business man. In the case of
a public library, he will generally find the local press willing
to render very valuable assistance by publishing news concern-
ing the library; such as noteworthy gifts or purchases, reports
of directors' meetings, abstracts of annual reports, and occa-
sionally an appeal for aid or an explanation of some feature of
the library which may be of public interest. Mercantile and
other class libraries, though not on an equal footing with pub-
lic libraries in this respect, are still in a measure public insti-
tutions, and may therefore expect a share of the notice which
a liberal press accords to all things that are for the general
good.
How much the press of St. Louis has contributed to the
BUSINESS METHODS 85
building up of the Public Library there, it would be difficult
to estimate. Its willingness to assist in such work is attested
by four large scrapbooks filled with clippings relating to the
library, which furnish in outline a sketch of the institution
from its organization to the present day. It goes without saying
that no public enterprise can succeed without the help of the
press; and I think the converse is true, that no paper can
achieve great success which ignores public interests.
Library affairs doubtless do not interest as many people as
a base-ball match or a notable burglary or divorce suit; but
it can hardly be that, among the mass of readers of a great
daily, there are not a respectable number who would rather
hear something about the new books added to the libraries
than to learn that a John Smith, of Wayback Corners, Tex.,
was killed in a drunken brawl, or that a William Wilson, of
Skrigglesville, Me., had his thumb cut off by a circular saw,
or any of the thousand and one petty incidents that make up
the regular columns of Crimes and Casualties.
As an illustration of immediate results from a press notice 4
Some years ago one of our papers published a communication
from me asking citizens to give to the library old directories
and other books of no further use to them, especially anything
relating to St. Louis. Within a week or two sixty or seventy*
five volumes and a number of pamphlets were received. How
many subsequent gifts this brought, I cannot tell; but nearly
two years afterward sixty-eight volumes and twenty-four pam-
phlets, the greater part popular novels and juveniles, in excellent
condition, were received, accompanied by a note stating that the
donor had sent them in response to my request, which she had
happened to see in an old paper.
But over and above all this, the librarian will find his ad-
vantage in the business man's use of printer's ink. Four or
five years ago I distributed through the schools and throughout
the central portions of the city seventy-five thousand circulars.
During the next six months more than three times as many
new members were added as in the previous year. To these
circulars the increase was largely due. Last December and
January the board adopted my suggestion to insert regular ad-
vertisements in the daily papers. An expenditure of $100
brought an addition of at least $200 from new subscribers.
Some of these probably had lived in the city for years and
86 FREDERICK MORGAN CRUNDEN
had never before heard of this library of sixty-five thousand
volumes; and at this day I dare say they are thousands of old
citizens who are in a similar benighted condition, despite all
our efforts for their enlightenment. Others had a vague idea
that there was such a place; but it would not have occurred to
them to become members if they had not seen the suggestion
in the newspaper.
An eminently legitimate and proper mode of advertising is
the distribution of a large edition of the annual report; but
methods must vary with circumstances, and from time to time
new ones must be devised.
I have found a personal canvass in the schools productive
of immediate results. I take a book or two with me, or some-
times send a package of ten or twelve books. I dilate upon the
benefit and the pleasure of reading, explain at how little cost
these may be obtained through a membership in the library,
putting it at the price per week, exhibit the books with appro-
priate comments, and end by reading an entertaining extract
from one of them. In short, I play to the best of my ability
the role of a commercial drummer.
I have said the librarian is expected to do so and so.
Expected by whom? Well, to some extent and in some par-
ticulars, by the public, whom he has in the last few years
taught to look for what previous generations never thought
of. But the highest and heaviest demands are those of con-
science and professional pride. The public is vastly more ex-
acting than it used to be; but the true librarian keeps always
in advance of his community, and constantly educates it to make
greater demands upon him. The body of the profession fixes a
high and ever advancing standard, which each individual must
strive to reach, or allow himself to be shelved among specimens
of the antique.
The modern librarian, then, must be, as of old, a scholar
and a gentleman; but, more than that, he must be a good busi-
ness man. And with all this, unless he have the industry and
endurance of a Napoleon and the patience of a Job, he shall
sometimes fail to satisfy his constituents and at all times
fall short of his own ideal.
MANAGEMENT OF SMALL LIBRARIES
To this paper, presented at the American Library As-
sociation Conference at Atlanta, Marilla Waite Freeman
brings her own personal experience, which is typical of
that of others, showing that in the ideal small library at
the opening of the 20th century, "management" involved
personal relation to the public, attractive arrangement
of rooms and books, interest in children, clubs, schools
and firemen, publicity in all forms; — in short, contact
with every phase of our complicated modern world — and
casts into the background concentration upon technical
details.
Miss Freeman was born at Honeoye Falls, N.Y.,
graduated from the University of Chicago in 1897 and
took a short course of library training in the New York
State Library School in 1900. She organized and was li-
brarian of two libraries the first at Michigan City,
Indiana, 1897-1902, the second the Carnegie Library of
Davenport, Iowa, 1902-1905. She then aided in the or-
ganization and administration of the Louisville, Ken-
tucky library and was its reference librarian until 1910.
From 1911 to 1921 Miss Freeman was librarian of
Goodwyn Institute, Memphis, Tenn. During this time
she studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1921.
She then took charge of the Foreign Law Department
of the Harvard Law School from which she was called
to be librarian of the Main Library of the Cleveland
Public Library in 1922. Miss Freeman was elected .first
vice-president of the American Library Association in
1923.
The public library should not be only the educational center
of the town or city, and often its art center as well, but it
88 MARILLA WAITE FREEMAN
may become, in the language of the new sociology, a center
of social service. Just here lies the great opportunity of the
librarian of the small library. She is fortunate in her privilege
of personal contact with her public, and upon her depends, in
large measure, the atmosphere of the library. She should be
alert, tactful, a gracious hostess, ready alike with helpful sug-
gestions to the timid or the uncertain, and with quick, intelli-
gent service for the man who knows what he wants and wants
it at once. Let her, if possible, find some time for personal
intercourse with her readers. If she knows, as she should,
the books she handles, and remembers, as the "small librarian"
may, not only the \names and faces, but the differing person-
alities of her readers, she may quietly and unobtrusively direct
the whole trend of the intellectual life of her town. She should
be accessible, not only within the library, but out of it. Let her
not rebel at being known as "the library lady" by the small
boys on the street. Let her be ready, not to introduce indeed,
but 'to respond willingly to talk of books and of the library,
even at those social functions where "shop" is supposed to be
tabooed.
She should carry out in every way the open door policy,
not merely by opening the doors and waiting for people to
come in, but by going out to seek them. Many people hesitate
long and timidly over the preliminary visit to the library for
a card. I like the suggestion of Mr. Foss, of Somerville,
Mass., in Public Libraries, March, 1899, that a personal can-
vass of the town be made, so that every man, woman, and
child may be offered a library card. And, above all, when
people have come, let them be made to feel at home.
The aim and general attitude of the librarian being thus
outlined, how shall she put it -into active force?— that is, by
what channels can she reach the people at large, and, when
reached, how hold them?
Since this is the day of the children, the first thought of
the librarian may well be for them. And, first of all, do not shut
out bright and eager children by the age limit. If there must
be a test, let it be nothing more than the child's ability to
write his own name. The pride of ownership and of re-
sponsibility should not be denied him. Often the younger
children take better care of books than their older brothers and
sisters. If possible, have a special room for the children. If
MANAGEMENT OF SMALL LIBRARIES 89
not, resort may be had to a children's alcove or corner. The
smallest library may at least find space in a corner of its
reading-room for a special table for the children, made lower
than the usual size, and, if it can be managed, cases with some
or all, of the children's books should be near their tables.
In our library we are fortunate in having a room which
can be devoted to the children, and which is at the same time
so situated that it can be under the personal supervision of
the librarian. The children's books are in wall-cases about the
room, grouped according to subjects, under various attractive
headings, such as Stories of long ago, Fairy tales, Indian
stories, Poetry, Lives of great men and women. The children
may make their own selections, except as they desire help, with
no restriction other than careful treatment of the books. We
have considered the organization of a children's library league,
for the protection of the books, but our town is not too large
for individual work with the children, and we have found the
use of the Maxson book-mark sufficient thus far.
We are fortunate, also, in the possession of a room which
may be used as a class-room in connection with our work with
the schools. The room is furnished with tables and with chairs
sufficient to seat 50 pupils and their teacher. Each grade in the
schools, from grades five to eight, has the use of this room for
one afternoon session of each month. All the eighth grades come
the first week, the seventh grades the next, and so on through
the month. At their grade meetings the teachers determine
upon the subject which they will take up at their next visit
to the library, and notify us a week in advance. Books on
that subject sufficient in number to supply each pupil in the
grade, and suited to the age of the pupils, are sent up to the
room, and each child is assigned a topic upon which to write
a short composition from the material furnished. When a
pupil has found all he can from one source books are ex-
changed, and thus each child conies into contact with several
books which may be new to him. The subjects chosen are
those in which different grades are at the time specially in-
terested in school. Thus last week the seventh grades, which
are reviewing in school the geography of Europe, had for their
library subject travel in Europe and description of various
European countries and cities. For this grade we utilized, in
addition to the regular books of travel, such descriptive stories
QO MARILLA WAITE FREEMAN
as "Hans Brinker" and the "Witch Winnie" series. A younger
grade took up stories, battles, and incidents of the American
Revolution. In the spring and fall nature-study afternoons
are popular. A specially valuable feature of the plan is the
opportunity it gives the librarian for short talks to the pupils
on the use of the library, the reference books and card catalog,
accompanied by practical object lessons and tests. The school
children are unanimously enthusiastic over their library after-
noon, and we find the plan very successful in stimulating their
interest in good reading and in forming the library habit along
right lines. With libraries where there is no room available
for such work, there may be at least an occasional visit to
the library from teacher and pupils for the purpose of becoming
familiar with the location and use of the reference books and
other resources of the library.
We have found the monthly visits helpful in the opportunity
they give the librarian to know the teachers individually, and
to come into sympathetic relation with them and their work.
The close co-operation that should exist between the library and
the schools will be most firmly grounded upon a personal and
individual interest on the part of the librarian in the teachers
and in their plans for work and for personal culture. Spe-
cial privileges to teachers, short talks at the teachers' meetings,
personal visits to the schools for talks to the pupils — all these
things help to strengthen the tie between library and schools.
The librarian should keep in close touch with the school
work, informing herself in advance of the order of studies and
subjects for debate, so that the wants of pupils may be promptly
supplied. The teachers may be asked to furnish lists of special
topics to be taken up in geography, history, and other studies,
and references may be made for each topic on separate cards,
to be included in the catalog. In advance of all special days
which are celebrated in the schools, such as Washington's
Birthday, Arbor Day, and Memorial Day, lists of references
and suitable selections should be compiled. These lists, which
may be fastened upon the library bulletin board, sent to the
teachers, and printed in the daily papers, will serve a double
purpose, that of answering the demands of the children for
"pieces" to speak, and of helping the teachers to prepare their
programs.
The question of free access to the" shelves is a puzzling one.
MANAGEMENT OF SMALL LIBRARIES 91
Certainly the public should be made to feel at home among its
own books, and certainly the experience of libraries with "open
shelves" goes to prove that the public may be trusted among
its own books. For the larger libraries, such a plan as Mr.
Foster's "Standard library" (see Providence Public Library
Bulletin, October, 1898, or Library Journal, December, 1898),
or the remarkably successful open-shelf department of the
Buffalo Public Library, seem to have solved the problem. The
same plan may be applied, in miniature, to small libraries in
which the construction of the building or other conditions
make indiscriminate access impracticable. In these cases, one
side of the delivery-room, or at least an alcove or corner, may
be fitted with shelves accessible to the public, upon which may
be placed a selected collection of books from all classes in the
library, including not only some of the newest and some ot
the most popular, but also some of the "best" books — books
upon which Time has set the seal of its approval. This open-
shelf corner or department should in no way interfere with
the privilege to teachers, students, and all who wish of exam-
ining the entire collection in the main bookstack. Indeed, it
may well be adopted even where free access is the rule, for
the convenience of the many readers to whom a large array
of volumes brings embarrassment and uncertainty. In the first
confusion and excitement attendant upon the opening of a
new library, this plan of partial access may be made simply
a preliminary step to the inauguration of open shelves, after
the novelty shall have worn away. Certainly the access of
the public to the shelves, whether in whole or in part, not only
brings a great saving of time to public and librarian alike,
but is a source of that freedom and satisfaction which should
inhere in an institution whose first aim is "public happiness."
Reference work similar to that done for the schools should
also be done for the literary clubs of a town. The library may
furnish material and aid in the making of programs, lists of
references on the general topics of work, to be printed
with the program, and lists of references on special
subjects for individual members of the club. We find
that a room in our building, the use of which is
given to literary clubs for their meetings, has helped to effect
a strong co-operation between the library and the club members.
The use of pictures in connection with the school and club
92 MARILLA WAITE FREEMAN
work is helpful. For this purpose may be utilized illustrations
from duplicate or worn-out magazines. In our library we have,
through requests in the newspapers, received many volumes
and odd numbers of valuable magazines. These are primarily
used for the completion of volumes and sets, but from all
duplicate numbers the best illustrations are cut, mounted on
heavy gray paper or bristol board, and classified like the books.
Groups of them, illustrating various countries, art subjects, etc.,
are loaned to teachers, to literary clubs, or to individuals. These
pictures are also utilized in the library for wall exhibits and
illustrated bulletins.
Two large, portable screens are covered with groups of pic-
tures on various subjects, the soft, gray mounting paper mak-
ing an effective background. For Christmas one of these
screens was covered with a fine collection of Madonnas, some
of them taken from magazines and illustrated papers, many
loaned by friends of the library. The other screen bore a
collection of illuminated holiday magazine covers, mounted on
gray paper. On a large wall space was placed an exhibit of
gay holiday posters. The screens are at present used for re-
productions of pictures by modern artists, in illustration of a
course of University Extension lectures on art, the collection
of pictures on the library screen being changed each week
to correspond with the subject of the lecture for that week.
Every library, however small, should have a bulletin board
and blackboard placed in a conspicuous position, to which may
be fastened, or upon which may be written in bright colored
chalks, attractive lists of new books, birthday bulletins of some
noted person accompanied by his or her picture, anything and
everything, in brief, which will attract the attention of vistors
and encourage them to use the library.
Among the ways and means of gaining the attention and
interest of the public, the library exhibit is one of the most
popular. An exhibit of photographs taken by local amateurs;
an "Indian day," with a collection of local Indian relics, Indian
pictures mounted and grouped on the wall, including Burbank's
highly colored studies, with some new "Indian books" for the
boys and with all the old ones attractively displayed ; a "Nature
day" in the spring or early fall, with decorations of wild
flowers, with an exhibit of books relating to birds, animals,
plants, and out-of-door life in general, the walls covered with
MANAGEMENT OF SMALL LIBRARIES 93
the beautiful colored bird and animal plates Issued by the
Nature Study Publishing Co., of Chicago, perhaps a few rare
birds in cages; these and innumerable other ideas may be
effectively used. Art exhibits are a most pleasing and legitimate
part of the library's work, from the collection of mounted
illustrations cut from the magazines, or the local loan collec-
tion, to the exhibition of original drawings and paintings loaned
by Scribner's Sons and other publishing houses, or the beautiful
reproductions of the world's great pictures loaned by the
Helman-Taylor Co. and other art firms.
Scarcely second in importance to the work with the children
and the schools is the opportunity of the library among the
working classes. In any towns large enough to sustain a public
library there are likely to be more or less industrial centers,
and to the mass of workers which such centers gather about
them, the library should make a special appeal. Let us hope,
primarily, that it is situated upon a main business street where
the factory people as they stroll by of an evening may find
it convenient to drop into the brightly-lighted reading-room.
The best bait will be a goodly number of clean, entertaining,
illustrated periodicals, popular monthlies, reliable reviews, illus-
trated weeklies, and wholesome "funny papers." Try to have
if possible at least one semi-technical magazine for each class
of workers represented in the town, and the Scientific American
and its supplements for all inventive boys and men. With a
large German population we find two or three illustrated Ger-
man papers a good drawing card, and we keep on file the local
German daily as well as those printed in English.
We have also a slowly increasing collection of German
books, believing that the German working people, many of
whom can read only in their native tongue, should share with
others the privileges of the library and of access to the printed
page. Many German parents, too timid to come to the library
themselves, will send their children, who, taking advantage of
the two-book privilege, will draw a German book for the
father or mother and an English book for themselves.
If it is the aim of the library to draw to it all classes,
there should be at least a few books suited to the wants of
each individual class. A little group of carefully chosen, up-
to-date books on electrical and mechanical engineering, loco-
motive construction, wood-working machinery, or textile
94 MARILLA WAITE FREEMAN
industries, according to local needs, will often prove the best
possible investment, even for a small library, in a manufactur-
ing town. Superintendents or foremen of factories may be
interested by requests for suggestions from them in the selec-
tion of technical books, and the intelligent workingman who can
find at the library just the book he wants on electricity or
foundry practice becomes from that moment one of the library's
warmest adherents.
But given the book and the man who wants it, how is the
one to be drawn to the attention of the other? The first article
of the modern librarian's creed should be "advertise." Adver-
tising is one of the fundamentals of success in the business
world, and why not in the library world? From the time
your first instalment of books is ready for . the public your
watchword should be "Make it known."
Doubtless the best advertising medium is the local news-
paper, which will carry the library news into many homes. In
it may be printed lists of the new books, introduced by a
striking headline, and by brief notes or reviews on some of
the most timely or valuable among the books. Lists of books
on special topics or for special days should frequently appear,
and a half or quarter column of "Library notes," calling at-
tention to gifts of pictures or books to the library, to special
exhibits or other library matters, will help to keep the public
interested. If your list is one of special interest ask your
editor to have the type saved for further use. It may be taken
to a small job press, and 500 or 1000 or more copies may be
struck off for distribution at the library. The expense involved
in this will be slight. Some newspapers will print these lists
free, if such a notice as the following be inserted in the list:
"Printed by the courtesy of the Dally News" If there is more
than one paper in the community furnish library news and lists
to them all, thereby making them all friends of the library.
Where there are but two papers, of about equal standing, it is
well to send exactly the same copy to each and divide the li-
brary's job-printing between them.
If your town has one or more trade journals send them
lists on various local industries, on electricity, and on labor
questions. An excellent list for Labor day was published in
the Union Advocate, St. Joseph, Mo., Sept. 3, 1898.
A most successful means of advertising the library among
MANAGEMENT OF SMALL LIBRARIES 95
the workingmen Is by means of bulletins and lists posted in
factories, car-shops, electric power-houses, etc. In every de-
partment of every factory and industrial centre in our com-
munity we have placed one of the little wall-boxes, originated
by Mr, Wright, of the St. Joseph Public Library, containing
a number of library application blanks and labelled with the
following inscriDtion:
PUBLIC LIBRARY,
EIGHTH AND SPRING STREETS
BOOKS LOANED FREE.
Take one of these applications, fill it out, have some
real estate owner sign as your guarantor, then bring
it or send it to the library and books will be loaned
you without charge.
Library open from 9.30 A.M. to 9 P.M.
Each of these boxes is accompanied by a printed or type-
written list of books — books on electricity for the power-house
— on locomotive construction, pattern making, metal work, en-
gineering, etc., for the car factory and railroad shops, and
attractive titles of books for girls and women in all departments
of factories where women are employed. The results from
this one form of advertising have been more satisfactory than
from any other employed. The library wall boxes may also be
placed in hotels, railway stations, and other public places.
In these days when the A B C of social service — Altruism,
Brotherhood, Co-operation — is familiar to all, the library must
be indeed poor and small and self-centered which can do noth-
ing to extend its privileges to those, at least in its own im-
mediate environment, to whom the library itself is not accessible.
Poor and remote parts of town, or adjacent rural districts,
may be made centres for small travelling libraries, little groups
of books sent out from the main library to some home or small
store from which as a centre they may be issued to the people
of the neighborhood. To children too far away to reach the
central library, little home libraries may be sent A home
library is defined as "a group of 10 or more poor children, a
96 MARILLA WAITE FREEMAN
library of perhaps 20 carefully selected books placed in
the home of one of the children, and a sympathetic visitor,
usually a woman, who meets the children once a week, talks
over the books which they have read at their homes, and in-
terests and amuses them for an hour in any way she choses."
Each group contains both boys and girls from eight to fifteen
years of age.
The members of a fire department, a police force, or a life-
saving crew, are quick to appreciate an effort to provide them
interesting reading for the long, monotonous hours in the sta-
tions. Regular travelling libraries may be sent them each
month, or a more informal arrangement made. At the life-
saving station in Michigan City the captain gives leave of ab-
sence to one of the men once a week to exchange books at
the library for the crew. A light, compact wooden case, suit-
able also as a receptacle for the books at the station, is con-
venient for carrying them back and forth.
Suggestions might be multiplied in regard to the opportuni-
ties for usefulness in the management of the small library.
Much may depend, it is true, upon the assistance and the re-
sources which the librarian may have at her command, but more
will depend, in the end, upon the unwearying patience and
energy and enthusiasm of the librarian and her band of helpers.
Kipling has painted for us at once the ultimate ideal and the
ultimate reward of the earnest worker, in that happy state
where
No one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame;
But each for the joy of the working, and each in his separate
star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as
They are.
LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION ON AN INCOME
OF FROM $1,000 TO $5,000 A YEAR: ESSEN-
TIALS AND NON-ESSENTIALS
Balancing his knowledge of a large library with ex-
perience in two small ones, Samuel H. Ranck, of the
Grand Rapids Public Library, gives practical advice on
such questions as legal status, governing boards, build-
ings, books, records and librarians.
A sketch of Mr. Ranck is to be found in Volume 1.
The term 'library administration" as used in this paper is
limited to the organization, operation, and maintenance or growth
of a library — the plans and methods of making the library an
efficient means of service to the whole community. The ques-
tions to be considered are, What shall be included? What is
essential? and What shall be excluded? What is non-essential?
when the total income of the library ranges from $1000 to
$5000 a year; for an institution whose income is $1000 must
omit many things that are done in the institution whose in-
come is fifty times that sum.
We must first of all realize the wide difference between
"essential," "desirable," and "non-essential." Those things are
essential which, when they are omitted, make it impossible for
the library to exercise its function; to wit, to spread through
the community the knowledge — the experience, real or imagin-
ary— the race has accumulated, and has recorded in books —
here used to include all printed matter.
The library must first of all live, and that means a growing
existence. It must therefore have the things that make for
life and growth — means of subsistence and intelligent direction ;
otherwise it will die, or at least become devitalized, fossilized.
The desirable things are those that assist the library to perform
its functions to a wider and better extent, corresponding to
the comforts of our family life, carpets on the floors of our
homes, modern plumbing, etc. The non-essentials are those
98 SAMUEL HAVERSTICK RANCK
which may or may not help in the performance of function to
a wider or better extent — corresponding to the luxuries of life,
automobiles, horses, and carriages in the city, etc. All these
things grow into each other and the non-essentials in one en-
vironment may be absolutely essential in another. In this paper
it shall be my effort to lay stress on the essentials for the type
of library whose annual income is not less than $1000 or more
than $5000. The desirable and non-essential will rarely be
referred to; for it is the essential that we must ever keep
in mind. It must also be remembered that these essentials apply
to a greater or less degree to all kinds of libraries, whether
large or small.
By way of personal explanation, permit me to refer to my
own experience with small libraries. I do this because after
this papers was assigned to me some one remarked that my
treatment of it would doubtless be more or less theoretical,
supposing that my experience had been wholly with relatively
large libraries — with libraries having incomes many times that
of $5000 a year. During the four years I was in college, I
worked in a library (two years as librarian) with an income
of from $200 to $250 a year. All this money went into opera-
tion and growth — most of it into growth, for there were no
charges for salaries or the maintenance of the building. I recall
that the additions to this library in those four years were
often in the neighborhood of from 500 to 1000 volumes a year
and that in two years the library (then over 6000 volumes) was
cataloged on cards, and that its use then, and even to-day, I
am informed, is greater in many directions than the college
library itself, not a stone's throw away, with its $50,000 build-
ing and large collection of books.
The other small library with which I was identified is the
oldest circulating library now existing in the state of Maryland
— in continuous operation as such since 1795. This library has
a regular income for operation and growth of about $125 a
year. For a number /of years I took an active part in its
management, as a member and as an official on its governing
board. You will pardon me, therefore, if I have my experience
in these two small libraries more or less in mind all through
this paper, even though I imagine that the committee in assign-
ing it had the public library of a village or town in mind.
In the public municipal library the first essential in its a.d-
ADMINISTRATION ON $1,000 TO $5,000 99
ministration is that those in charge of it should have a full
knowledge, and a clear understanding, of the legal rights and
duties of the library and its officers. They should know and
understand the provisions of the state constitution, the state
laws, and the city ordinances- relating to libraries in general
and in particular. This is of fundamental importance to the
governing board and to the librarian. I need only refer to the
fact that the two relatively large libraries with which I have
been connected found it necessary to have the state legislature
amend their charters in important particulars so as to prevent
a possible serious loss to these libraries. The importance of
these legal details was further impressed upon us in Grand
Rapids by the fact that only a little over a month ago our
library came near losing almost $6000 for its book fund-
money that conies to it through a provision of the state con-
stitution— because of a clerical omission in the office of the
city board of education in reporting to the state superintendent
of public instruction the number of children of school age in
the city. As it was, legal processes had to be resorted to to
protect the library, and the matter was straightened out by a
special trip to Lansing and by keeping one of the county offices
open after the usual time of closing on the last day of the
year when the state constitution permitted a correction of the
error.
Another instance of the importance of these legal details is
found in the last report of the Michigan State Board of Li-
brary Commissioners, according to which, and to a recent
remark by the president of that board, it appears that in the
state of Michigan at least $50,000 a year is being diverted from
library purposes, as provided for In the state constitution,
simply because various library governing boards in the state
do not know their legal rights or have refused to exercise
them.
A second essential is that the governing board of the library
— regardless of whether its members are appointed or elected,
whether it contains three members or thirty or the ideal num-
ber of five or seven — and the librarian should have a full
understanding of the functions of each, for both have very
definite duties to perform in the administration of a library.
The board represents the whole community and is presumably
chosen to make the library an efficient means of public education
ioo SAMUEL HAVERSTICK RANCK
and recreation, and I take it for granted that the idea of
"spoils" — politics— personal, social, or religious — is excluded
from the management of the library. The board should de-
termine the general policy of the library and its administration,
regulate the scale of expenditures, salaries, etc,; and I assume
that the members of the board are disposed to deal justly and
fairly in regard to salaries, hours, and vacations, ever mind-
ful of the fact that reasonably happy circumstances are essen-
tial for the best service. The position of the board, therefore,
is that of stewardship for the people, and the people have a
right to demand that it be exercised. If any member of the
board finds that his interest is not sufficient for him to give
the library the little time that is required, he owes it to the
library and to the community to resign; and the community
owes it to itself to remind him of this fact, should he forget it.
The librarian should be the executive officer of the board,
and as such be responsible to them for the execution of the
plans and purposes of the library. It is presumed that he has
at least some knowledge and expertness in the profession of
librarianship. The librarian, therefore, should have a free hand
in developing and managing the internal and technical features
of the library, control the assistants, detail the work they are
to do, including in this the work of the janitor, and, in gen-
eral, have full control of the detailed work of the library.
As a rule and under normal circumstances the librarian should
represent the library before the community and all the employees
before the board. With the advice and consent of the board
the librarian should have the right to employ, promote, suspend,
or dismiss his assistants, again including the janitor.
The failure of governing boards to recognize these functions
of the board and the librarian is a most fruitful source of
misunderstanding, trouble and inefficiency in library administra-
tion. I recall cases where individual members of the board
were in the habit of coming to the library and directing the
librarian or the assistants as to the details of routine work-
set the assistants to doing something different from what was
assigned them by the librarian, set about doing things generally
without consulting or "regarding the librarian. When such
cases arise the librarian should insist upon his rights. He is
the executive officer of the whole board and not of any indi-
vidual member. If the librarian is incapable of directing or
ADMINISTRATION ON $1,000 TO $5,000 101
doing this work satisfactorily the board should employ another
librarian and not disorganize the whole institution by attempt-
ing to right a wrong thing in the wrong way, thereby making the
last condition worse than the first. I have in mind now an
instance where a library was disorganized and much hard feel-
ing engendered — a hard feeling that exists to-day, years after
the occurrence — by a member of the board on her own motion
coming in and moving and rearranging a large lot of books
in the absence of the librarian, thereby causing great confusion.
I said "her," for it was a woman on the board who did it.
Is this the reason one often finds, especially among women
on a library staff, a strong prejudice against women on the
board? In more than one instance I have heard women say
that men on governing boards are much less likely to take a
hand in the details of the work. Men, it seems, are more likely
to look for ultimate results, and for that reason they are more
likely to permit the librarian and the staff to work them out
in their own way-. I cannot speak from experience on this
point, for I have had men only on my library boards.
On the other hand, the deadly blight arising from lack of
intelligent interest is much more likely to occur among men
on a board than among women. Nothing can be more dis-
couraging to a librarian than to have every plan for the im-
provement of the library held up by an uninterested, inactive
board. Such a blight will in the long run affect the whole library
and destroy much of its usefulnes. I believe, therefore, that
on the whole the misdirected interest that may arise on the
part of women is better for the library, though harder for
the librarian and the staff, than the paralyzing effect that may
come from the persistent lack of interest, inactivity, and in-
attention to obvious duties, on the part of men.
Another essential is that the librarian and the staff should
know the history and spirit of the institution. They are part
of an organization that has a life and a spirit, things that are
rooted in the past. They can accomplish the best results only
when all consciously realize the aims and purposes for which
they are working. There should be a very definite plan In the
mind of the librarian, and the whole staff should be taken into
the scheme of the plan, so that all can work together in an
atmosphere of freedom— a freedom which is soon felt by the
public and which alone can produce the best results.
102 SAMUEL HAVERSTICK RANCK
To a large part of the general public the library suggests
a building — usually a Carnegie building; and many persons
think that a building is the first thing that is necessary. (If
I were a Mark Twain I should like to digress at this point
to tell of some of the things that happen to a town when
Mr. Carnegie offers it a library. This subject has never re-
ceived adequate treatment.) As a matter of fact, a building
is the last thing necessary for any library and especially a
library having an income of from $1000 to $5000 a year. A
building is a good thing. It makes the library mean more
to the 'public, and it stands for and insures the permanency
of the institution. It is an evidence of better things hoped
for; but I believe that a library with an income of only $1000
should not have a building at all, if the maintenance of this
building is to absorb practically all of its income. Let trustees
have a realizing sense of what can and cannot be done with
$1000 a year before assuming the fixed charges that go with
a building. It is often wiser to wait for a larger income, and in
the meantime much better results will be accomplished for
the community if rented quarters are secured and the money
put into books and the librarian. It is indeed giving a stone
instead of bread when so large a proportion of the total in-
come is absorbed in maintaining a building, starving and freez-
ing the life out of the library for the sake of the things that
count for little in the real work it has to do.
And right here I wish to call attention to one non-essential
in a library building for a small library, and that is the idea
that it must be fireproof. Fireproof materials cost from 25
to 30 times as much as some of the materials that would serve
every purpose in the working of the library. A library build-
ing in a small town need not be built with the idea that it
is competing with a safe- deposit company, where the funda-
mental idea is a safe place for storage. Libraries should be
built and administered to keep books outside of the building
as far as possible—in the hands of the readers. The few
things that are really in need of safety against fire can be
preserved much more cheaply in a substantial safe or vault,
than in a whole building built on the vault plan, with its ex-
pensive steel stacks and shelves.
The smallest town can start a library without a building,
and scores of towns bear witness to the fact that they can
ADMINISTRATION ON $1,000 TO $5,000 103
erect the building when they are ready for it without waiting
for some one to present it. I have a special admiration for
such towns. They have the true spirit of true democracy.
If, however, it is offered a building— a Carnegie building,
for example — what shall the town do? If it has no library,
here is an opportunity to start one. Accept the gift. Then
consult a librarian before consulting an architect. It is of
the greatest importance for the small library to have its build-
ing planned so that its operation is as inexpensive as possible.
Build it to save light and coal; build it to save work in keep-
ing it neat and clean — mahogany furniture, polished brass fix-
tures, and marble floors, for example, add immensely to the
cost of janitor service; build it to allow for growth and ex-
tension; and finally, build so that one person can control all
the rooms and do all the work for the public in all but the
busiest hours.
I believe in fine buildings, handsome fittings, and all that
goes with them; but it is a sin against the community when
these things are put in and administered at the expense of
the service that really counts in forming the lives and char-
acters of the citizens. Such things are desirable — not essential.
What a fine, large building means in expense for its care and
maintenance may be realized from the fact that the new Ryer-
son Public Library building in Grand Rapids costs in one year
nearly $5000 more than the old wholly inadequate quarters of
the library simply to keep it in condition that regular library
work may be done in it. I may add, however, that .such a
building is worth much to a community simply as a work of
art. It ought, 'however, to be clearly understood that extra
provision is made for its care and maintenance on that score,
as the city of Grand Rapids is doing and takes pride in doing.
Those in charge of a public library are caring for property
that belongs to other people. It is essential that adequate
records and accounts be kept of all money received and ex-
pended, so that an intelligent report of one's stewardship can
be given at any time. But in book-keeping, as in all other
things, eliminate every possible bit of red tape.
It seems to me that many libraries are woefully lacking
in their methods of book-keeping — concealing rather than ex-
plaining what they did with the public money. Often the
methods of book-keeping are beyond the control of the library
104 SAMUEL HAVERSTICK RANCK
authorities, being prescribed by city ordinance. Instances are
not unknown where the librarian must sign his name half a
dozen times in the various steps connected with every purchase
for the library. I should like, however, to see a great reform
in this direction — clearness and the exclusion of red tape. I
recall selling a book to a library, and the bill for $1.50 came
back to me for receipt containing the names of eight different
officials through whose hands it passed before payment could
be made. Avoid such foolishness as you would the plague.
Good books, adapted to the needs of the particular community,
are the life blood of the library, for the right use of them is
the end and aim of the library. It is essential to have a con-
stant supply of them — better, I believe, to add small lots fre-
quently than a relatively large lot once a year. Accept all kinds
of books as gifts with the clear understanding that you reserve
the right to make such use of them as comports with the best
interests of the library. Never, however, be deluded with the
idea that cast-off books which are sent you at house cleaning
time can put life into your library, any more than that the
cast-off clothing that goes to a rummage sale would supply
you with the clothes you would wish to wear at one of Presi-
dent Roosevelt's White House receptions. You can use these
things, and you should, only have it generally understood that
they will be used — on the shelves, for exchange, or for junk —
as each item warrants. The person who gives something to a
library in this way is generally more interested in it because
of his gift, and it is that interest that we should ever keep
in mind.
It is vastly more essential for the librarian of the small
library to be a student, to know the books in the library, than
it is for the librarian of the large library. In the large library
to know the books in it is, indeed, impossible, and the librarian
must depend on others; his time is largely absorbed, as Mr.
Putnam once told me in his office in Washington, in pushing
buttons — the details of administration.
Libraries with the proper librarian can do good work with-
out a catalog. Some of the members of this association who
are here present may recall the remark of Judge Pennypacker
(now governor of Pennsylvania) in his address welcoming us
to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1897, to the effect
that he then had 7500 volumes in his private library, and all
ADMINISTRATION ON $1,000 TO $5,000 105
that his system of cataloging required when he wanted a book
was simply that he should walk to the shelf on which it stood
and get it. In short, he carried the contents and the location
of the books in his head. He was the library's catalog.
Public libraries, however, cannot do this satisfactorily, not
even small ones. Librarians resign, get married, or die, and
then there is no catalog. The small library should have an
accession book and an author card catalog. It can get along
without the other desirable features, and, in large libraries,
essentials of modern cataloging — shelf -lists, subject catalogs, etc.,
etc. The accession book is an account of stock. It Is the one
essential record of the history of every book, its cost, etc., in
the library, and in case of the library's destruction by fire
nothing can take its place in adjusting insurance. Libraries
can and do get along without this record, but it seems to me
that no public library can afford to be without it. Large
libraries have the bibliographical tools to supply most of the
information given in this book which the small library has
not. Small libraries, as well as large, should avail themselves
of the use of the cards supplied by the Library of Congress.
By classifying the books on the shelves the small library has
some of the essentials of a subject catalog.
A system of registration for those who draw books from
the library and a regular method of charging the books drawn
is essential, though in a small library these records can be
made exceedingly simple. In a small town it is not necessary
to have guarantors for the registered card holders. I still
believe, in view of the methods used in the first library in
which I worked, that for a very small library a ledger system
of charging is the cheapest and simplest method. It is in-
expensive, however, and soon becomes cumbersome to handle
with the growth of the library. A simple card system of charg-
ing is the most satisfactory. Another essential in the admin-
istration of this department of the library is that every one
be treated alike if fines are to be charged. Nothing arouses
opposition to the library sooner than the feeling that favoritism
is shown in dealing with the public. 'Have as few rules as
possible, however. The golden rule is the shortest and best.
Put the emphasis on what can be done rather than on what
can't. The latter makes for a passive library, the former for
an aggressive one. It is essential that the library be aggressive.
io6 SAMUEL HAVERSTICK RANCK
From the various essential records that are kept, interesting
statistics can readily be gathered, and these serve a useful
purpose in making intelligent reports and in keeping up interest
in the library; for it is essential that the public, as well as
the governing board, be kept adequately informed of all the
library is doing. And even then you will be surprised to learn
how much of ignorance there remains in spite of your best
efforts. (I may remark in passing that I believe that our largest
libraries ought to employ a press-agent, with his whole time
devoted to keeping the public interested in the library.) Sta-
tistics should not be gathered for their own sake. They may
easily cost more than they are worth. When rightly used, how-
ever, they enable the librarian to make comparisons, detect
weak points in the work of the library, and so enable the
intelligent application of a remedy. Used in this way statistics
are essential in every library.
I leave for the conclusion of this paper the one essential
that makes all things possible in a library — the one thing that
the general public usually considers last — of least importance
— the librarian.
Books alone are not a library, any more than a pile of
stones is a cathedral. It requires knowledge, intelligence, and
skill — trained men — to make something out of these raw ma-
terials; and it takes as many years of training to learn to ad-
minister the affairs of a library to the best advantage as it
does to learn to erect a large successful building. Furthermore,
a librarian must know as wide a range of subjects as the
architect.
The foremost essential in the administration of a small
library (and I mention it last by way of emphasis) is the
right kind of a librarian — a librarian with training and ex-
perience. With such a librarian the proper spirit of freedom
and j£ service will soon dominate the whole institution; the
various personal problems of dealing with people successfully
— with the board, with the staff, and with the public — will
gradually adjust themselves to the satisfaction of all; the right
books will be bought and guided intelligently and sympathetically
into the hands of the people who really need them; every part
of the work will be characterized by economy, accuracy, and effi-
ciency— economy in the matter of binding, the purchase of
ADMINISTRATION ON $1,000 TO $5,000 107
books and of supplies, the use of materials and in the methods
of work; accuracy in all the details of cataloging and record;
and efficiency in making the library a real vital force In every
phase of the life of the community. Such a librarian will keep
out fads and personal whims, will keep free from becoming
a slave of routine, mechanical details, will interest and secure
the cooperation of the public in ways that will make many
things possible beyond the regular fixed income of the library.
In short, such a librarian will furnish the steam, the motive
power, that must be put into any institution to make it go,
for institutions no more run themselves than do locomotives.
Such a librarian with a strong personality makes the library
stand for character and for the highest manhood and woman-
hood; and on these will be built the future glory and greatness
of our nation and our race — free, manly men. Such service
on the part of the librarians can not be measured in dollars and
cents, and it never will be. We ought not to expect it. Nor
is it likely that such a librarian will receive the reward of
famous men, but rather that of "men of little showing," men
whose "work continueth," through all time continueth, "greater
than their knowing."
While all of us fall far short of this ideal, it is the ideal
worth striving for, on the part of trustees worth seeking for;
for such a librarian is the foremost essential, not only of the
small library, but of every library.
FORM OF LIBRARY ORGANIZATION FOR A
SMALL TOWN MAKING A LIBRARY
BEGINNING
This was read before the League of Library Com-
missions at the Narrangansett Pier meeting in 1906. The
definite methods outlined make it excellent for inclusion
here. Miss Tyler has in mind the small town with which
the commission worker has to deal, and suggests making
use of club libraries, traveling libraries, church libraries,
and subscription libraries as well as town-supported
libraries.
Alice Sarah Tyler, now director of the Western Re-
serve Library School, was for thirteen years secretary of
the Iowa State Library Commission. She has been presi-
dent of the League of Library Commissions, the Ohio Li-
brary Association, the Association of Amercan Library
Schools, and the American Library Association.
The awakening of one or two individuals to the possibilities
for good afforded by a public collection of books marks the
beginning of the library movement in that town. These men
or women may have formerly lived in a town having a flourish-
ing library, and recalling the pleasure and benefit derived from
it begin to wonder why such privileges may not be provided
in the new home. Or some one who has grown up in the
community hears of the work being done by the library in a
neighboring town and asks why Pleasantown cannot do the
same; or, as frequently happens, a woman's club has been
organized in the town, a representative goes to the meeting
of the State Federation, hears of the interest other club women
have had in the founding of a local library, and, feeling the
need of books for club study and knowing the dearth of good
literature for her boys and girls who are growing up, joins
with others in the effort to provide a collection of books for
i io ALICE SARAH TYLER
general use. Whatever may be the cause of the interest which
marks the beginning, the little seed has been sown and begins
to grow.
In considering the topic assigned me, "What form of library
organization is most desirable for the small town," it is, of
course, necessary first of all to agree upon the meaning of
the words "small town." In Iowa a community having a popu-
lation of two thousand inhabitants or less is termed a town,
and for small town I will assume that we agree upon inter-
preting it to mean a population of one thousand or less. With
this group of people, having the ordinary advantages of school
and church, what is the best method by which both young and
old may be provided with the books that may inspire and
cheer, inform and uplift both individual and community life?
It does not seem necessary in this company to discuss the
important function this library should fulfill in the life of the
people; the mission o£ the book has been set forth so ably
and so frequently in all library meetings that it would be in-
deed "carrying coals to Newcastle" to attempt it here. It is,
however, well for us to remember that, while there is a surfeit
of cheap literature that seems to have reached the smallest
hamlets and villages, the need is as great as it ever was for
the best books to be made accessible to those who do not yet
know the "books of all time."
This group of people in the small town desiring to provide
a public collection of books will probably follow the "line of
least resistance" in making the beginning. Considering the
prejudices, church affiliations, rivalries, etc., that exist in almost
every town, what is likely to be the basis of the movement
for a library? It will probably take one of the following forms :
1. Enlargement of the meager school library.
2. A church reading room.
3. Woman's club or town federation library.
4. Library association or subscription library.
5. Free public library, supported by taxation.
6. Travelling library center or station.
There may be and probably will be combinations of two
or more of these into one plan, and if there is a state or
county system of travelling libraries there would be, in any
of the plans suggested, the probability of the use of the travel-
ling libraries.
SMALL TOWN BEGINNING in
Considering the forms in the order mentioned : First, the
enlargement of the meager school library — this has been oc-
casionally resorted to because the few books serve as a nucleus,
they in some instances having been found to be of little service
in the schoolroom, while for the general public they might be
of value. Poorly selected, ill adapted to the uses for which they
were intended, with no one especially concerned as to their
care and use, locked up and of no use to any one during the
three months' vacation, they are indeed serving a good pur-
pose if some of these dusty, neglected books in the school
collections are made the nucleus of a public collection for
the entire town. This, however, is rarely done.
The second plan — a church reading room — is one which is
usually suggested by some enthusiastic pastor who is genuinely
concerned regarding the young people of his church and town,
and is generous enough to open a room in his church for this
purpose. My observation has been that this is an unwise and
undesirable method, as it is likely to be immediately corn-
batted either secretly or openly by denominational opposition
or jealousy on the part of other churches, and will not be
likely to attract into the circle of its influence those who may
not be identified with orthodox churches, or the unformed
boys and young men who might be reluctant to use freely a
library thus located.
The third — a movement on the part of a woman's club or
a federation of all the clubs in the town to found a library —
is a method that has been tried in several towns in our state.
The organizations being already in existence, active and com-
mitted to altruistic and civic work, find in the public library
a cause that appeals to its members strongly and to which
they are willing to give enthusiastic labor. After close and
sympathetic observation of this method of making a library
beginning, I believe that it is not the ' best plan, because of the
fact that it confines the movement to a limited group of workers.
Sometimes, too, it encounters a spirit of jealousy and criticism
on the part of those outside the club that is not conducive
to the forwarding of a large public movement such as a library
should be — to include all ranks and conditions, regardless of
age, sex, or social standing.
The fourth plan — a library association or subscription library
— is a popular method of making a beginning when properly
H2 ALICE SARAH TYLER
understood. The few who see the need of a library and plan
to accomplish its organization, believing that it should be for
all the people, call a meeting for the express purpose of dis-
cussing ways and means of providing a public library for the
town. Notices of this meeting are sent to all churches, schools,
clubs, lodges, etc., where people congregate, and are printed in
the local newspaper so that all are given the opportunity of
having a part in it. At this meeting, after addresses and dis-
cussion, it is voted that a library association shall be formed
for establishing and maintaining a public library. Committees
are appointed to recommend a basis of organization and on
providing a book fund, and the movement takes form in a
few weeks or months with a fund for the purchase of books
and a specified annual membership fee which shall provide
(probably very meagerly) for running expenses. With many
variations, with discouragements and struggles, it is neverthe-
less an oft-tried and satisfactory method of making a beginning,
the association affording an organization through which to
work toward a tax-supported library.
But in each of the four plans mentioned by which a begin-
ning may be made there is always and persistently and depress-
ingly the question, "How are libraries begun in this manner
to have sufficient funds even to barely exist, much more to
grow?"
And this is the fundamental matter after all — money. Whence
shall the funds come? The church plan, the club plan, the
school plan, the association plan — all are dependent on the spas-
modic and irregular support that results from the labors of a
soliciting committee using persuasive arguments with business
men and others. There are certain expenses that are absolutely
essential — books first and most, a room for which, probably,
rent must be paid (though some generous citizen may give
the use of it), periodicals to be subscribed for, heat, light,
table, chairs, etc., besides the most important feature of the
whole scheme — the librarian.
Shall the use of the books be free? or, in this period of
beginning, shall each person pay an annual fee or a rental for
the use of the books? If an attempt is made to make the
library absolutely free, on the basis of any one of the four
plans suggested, there must be back of the movement a very
active and probably much worried finance committee struggling
SMALL TOWN BEGINNING 113
with entertainments, suppers, lecture courses, subscription lists,
etc., to provide the "ways and means."
The fifth form of organization is the tax-supported free
public library. Is it desirable that the small town shall in
its beginning in library matters attempt at once to secure a
municipal tax to found and maintain a free public library tinder
the state law? There are those who believe this is the only
way to make a beginning. I am confident that I voice the
sentiment of commission workers when I say that we are all
agreed that eventually, if not in the beginning, the free public
library on a rate or tax-supported basis is our endeavor. The
point whereon there may be a difference of opinion is whether
the movement might first be started as an association and by
means of this association public sentiment created which shall
provide for the municipal support. There is no doubt
but that the amount from the tax levy provided by
law for the maintenance of the library in most states would be
so small in a town of one thousand inhabitants or less, that
it would be necessary for a movement to be inaugurated to
provide a book fund by some other means — in other words,
the plant must be installed, and this requires money. After-
ward the running expenses may be met by the tax levy. It is
certainly true that the life of a library is precarious and un-
certain until an annual revenue is assured by a municipal tax,
but it would seem to be simply a question of policy as to
whether this shall be the first step or not. In studying this
question at first hand it has been observed that the first im-
pulse seems naturally to be to solicit subscriptions for a book
fund, and this seems a necessity whether there is a maintenance
tax or not. A library association standing back of this solici-
tation for a book fund and back of the entire movement seems
very desirable and, though temporary, has usually proven to
be successful.
Now, what, we may ask, is the relation of the state library
commission to this community? What has it to do with this
small town desiring to make a library beginning? First, its
advisory relations with the community should be such that it
will aid that town in avoiding the mistakes made elsewhere
in the form of organization and in methods of work. Surely
the observations and experience of commission workers, who
are provided by the state, should be at the service of every
ii4 ALICE SARAH TYLER
community in the state if desired. One of the points, however,
that is always perplexing to the earnest commission worker
is, how to help effectively. The cry of paternalism is not
heard so much as formerly, but it is certainly a fine point as
to how far the state shall go in aiding the local movement,
and surely there must first be a desire on the part of the
community.
But if it is the desire of but one, that is sufficient to bring
the commission worker to the aid of that one in arousing
interest. I would suggest that the effect of the commission
worker's co-operation with the local movement is much greater
if she comes on the invitation of the local leaders, and there
is always a way to secure such an invitation. This puts the
commission worker on a basis where she can serve much more
effectively.
It may save the club and the library movement from much
tribulation if we can tell them of the disaster that came to
one town because of the zeal of the woman's club to have the
honor of founding the library, or of another town where a
certain secret organization aroused the opposition of all other
societies in town by starting a library and collecting over one
thousand volumes for public use, or of another town where
a "generous citizen" gave a large sum for a new church build-
ing on condition that it should have a library room included
for the use of the town (which the members of other churches
in town seldom enter). On the other hand, they may be told
of the enthusiastic organization of a library association, the
raising of a book fund of $2000, and the favorable sentiment
immediately created for a municipal tax which resulted in a
free public library upon that basis within one year. Such in-
formation and the details gained from experience as to just
how the work may best be accomplished constitute a part of
the preliminary work the commission may do.
Second, to aid in the selection of books. Certainly this
function of the library commission does not need to be em-
phasized here. The utter helplessness with which a new library
board or book committee undertakes the task of providing books
for the new library makes it absolutely imperative that selected
lists should be available that can be placed in their hands. The
"Suggestive list of books" published by the League of Library
Commissions is especially suited for this sort of work, also
SMALL TOWN BEGINNING 115
reliable lists of children's books, such as Miss Moore's "List
of books for a children's library/' published by the Iowa Library
Commission; the Cleveland list, compiled by Misses Power and
Prentice; Miss Hewins' "List of books for boys and girls,"
and others. The A.L.A. Booklist is also supplying this definite
need of the small library for a reliable list of the best recent
books, and this is furnished free (monthly) by most library
commissions.
Third, to install a simple loan system and such other rec-
ords as are absolutely essential to the orderly conduct of the
library. This includes classification and shelf list, but not
necessarily a card catalog.
Fourth, to provide the travelling library that shall augment
the very meager collection of books belonging to the local
collection.
This method of "state aid" is especially suited to the wants
of the small town in making a beginning, but it also has the
entire state for its field of activity, sending books to the re-
motest corners — the country neighborhood, the rural schools,
the clubs, also loaning books on special subjects of study to
the larger libraries. This fresh supply of books coming from
this state center at intervals throughout the year may enable
the local library to use some of the funds for a reading room
as a feature of the work as well as the lending of books. In
fact, I am inclined to say that if a suitable person is available
for the position of librarian, the reading room can be made
a more powerful influence for good in the small town than
the lending of books for home reading. The absolute lack of
provision for wholesome diversion and entertainment for young
people in the small town, the inclination of the boys to loaf and
lounge about the post-office, the railway station, the tobacco
store, etc., because there is nowhere else to go; these conditions
make it extremely important that a movement to establish a
library in a small town should include the reading-room, where
the open doors, bright lights, attractive periodicals and interest-
ing books invite and attract those who would not otherwise
come under the influence of the printed page.
But the problem of the reading-room in the small town is
one of maintaining order without repelling, of cheer, welcome,
helpfulness; so that the librarian's personal qualities are put
to the test in such a position out of all proportion to the ap-
n6 ALICE SARAH TYLER
parent interests involved. Over and over again do we see un-
selfish, cultured, devoted women, fired with the altruistic spirit,
giving themselves to such service "without money and without
price," and so we have the volunteer librarian — without salary
— as one of the most important factors in many of the small
towns making a beginning, and but for whom probably there
would be no beginning.
Certainly all the interests mentioned in the opening o£ this
paper — the schools, the churches, the clubs — should be concerned
in providing the public collection of books for the town, but
these should rise above the particular organization or interest
which chiefly concerns each. Obliterating all lines of separa-
tion they may unite in service for the public good, working
unitedly either for the library association or the municipal library
as the first step. Without the support of these interests the
work would be well-nigh impossible.
THE WORK OF A MODERN PUBLIC LIBRARY
The purpose served by this article in The Review of
Reviews is just the one to be served here — the presenta-
tion of the work of a typical large library to supplement
that of the smaller ones already described. A sketch of
the author, Henry L. Elmendorf, of the Buffalo Public
Library, will be found in Volume 1.
The Review of Reviews, in asking for this outline of the
organization and working of the Public Library of the city of
Buffalo, as typical of the kind of work which, mutatis mu-
tandis, is being done over and over again by cities and towns
in this country, chose this library quite as much, probably, be-
cause of the size, situation, and character of the city as because
of the specific work of the library.
Buffalo is a city of about four hundred thousand inhabitants,
— large enough so that the working out of her library experi-
ment has been on a liberal scale, and yet not so large but
that it is thoroughly centralized. The city is located neither
so far east that untried things were too deeply against estab-
lished precedents, nor so far west that the tax burdens, made
heavy by the demand for those material things that make city
life tolerable, such as sewers and pavements and schoolhouses,
forbid even a small increase. Buffalo's population is mixed, of
every name, and nation under heaven, so that her problems are
as varied, though not as vast, as those confronting cities of
larger growth.
The late founding of the library, as a public library, has
perhaps been in its favor as a type. Sister cities, on all sides,
had their public libraries years ago. Boston, Detroit, Cleveland,
Cincinnati, Chicago, and Milwaukee created their public libraries
in the order named, and have been making their successes and
their mistakes, one after another, ever since 1850.
The American Library Association was founded in 1876,
and has met annually since, winnowing a body of library doc-
n8 HENRY LIVINGSTON ELMENDORF
trine out of the experience of its members. Buffalo, not organ-
izing her public library until 1897, would have been foolish,
indeed, had she not taken advantage of this body of doctrine
and gone to each of these libraries for something of sugges-
tion, if not for imitation.
Buffalo was not, however, so dead in library matters as
so late a public-library movement might seem to indicate. In
1837, one of the earliest of the Young Men's Association libra-
ries was founded here. It was managed with great intelligence
and business foresight, and by means of fortunate real-estate
investments, and by becoming; still more fortunately, a pet
hobby of rich men while living, and their favorite legatee
when dying, it accumulated a very considerable property. To
show its hold on the community, it would be interesting to
tell the story of the time when a very desirable location, much
wished for by the library, was likely to pass irrecoverably into
private ownership. A popular subscription was opened, and
more than one hundred thousand dollars was raised from more
than five thousand subscribers.
Through various vicissitudes, one of which was the disas-
trous Hotel Richmond fire in 1887, the "Buffalo Library," as
it came to be known in 1886, finally became possessed of
its present centrally located property and fine building, and
the great Iroquois Hotel, which it still owns. The beautiful
building was its home; the rentals of the Iroquois Hotel were
its sufficient income.
It seems a far cry from the Trinity Church tenements in
New York City to the Buffalo Public Library, but without
the one the other very probably, might not be in existence. The
agitation concerning the Trinity tenements led to the passage,
in 1896, of the act of the New York Legislature taxing, through-
out the state, all property of learned, educational, and religious
societies from which they received a revenue. This act at once
curtailed the income of the Buffalo Library. It stood possessed
of its valuable collection of 86,000 volumes, and its buildings
and grounds valued at close to $1,000,000, and a total remaining
income, from all sources, of not more than $5,600 for adminis-
tration and for growth.
The situation was evidently quite impossible, and something
had to be done. The Buffalo Library had been very public-
spirited, the community was proud of the institution, and the
MODERN PUBLIC LIBRARY 119
city came to the rescue in a way that, while it saved the situa-
tion, was, nevertheless, greatly to the city's profit.
After a short period of negotiation, enabling acts were ob-
tained, and the whole of the library's property was turned over
in trust to the city, under a contract that safeguarded all in-
terests, on condition that the city maintain a free public library,
giving it an annual income of not less than 3-100 of I per cent
of the total assessed valuation of the city.
Thus from the travail of the "Buffalo Library," the Buffalo
Public Library was born, in the year 1897, with a great library,
a great building, an income of some $60,000 already in its pos-
session, and the problem before it so to administer all these
things as to influence most effectively and most wholesomely
the life of the city. The history of the founding of the library
is necessary to an understanding of the instant appreciation
of the public library by the people of Buffalo,
The dominating idea of the library management throughout
the seven years has been how to bring the books of the library
most wisely, most easily, most attractively, into the hands of
their owners, the citizens of Buffalo. This idea governed the
rules by which those qualified to borrow books were determined,
hence they were very liberal. Any grown person, and any
child who was old enough to write his name, might have the
cards which entitled him to draw books by simply identifying
himself as a resident of Buffalo, with a stated home in the city.
Even this registration, as it is called, is irksome to the un-
thinking, but, of course, it is quite impossible to allow public
property to be carried away by persons whom it is not easily
possible to trace. No such thing as a guarantee, or identifica-
tion by a property-owner is required, but simply satisfactory
evidence of the person's real name and residence.
At the end of four months from the opening, there were
more than 32,000 registered borrowers. The old library had at
no time more than about 1,500 members. The increase is strong
testimony of how effective a barrier even a small fee is to multi-
tudes of would-be readers. The registered borrowers now num-
ber 56,500, besides 30,000 children, whose attendance at the public
schools is made to serve as sufficient identification.
The next thing to be considered was how freely the people
could wisely and safely be permitted to handle the stock of
books in making their choice to take home. The precedents in
120 HENRY LIVINGSTON ELMENDORF
public libraries the country over were by no means uniform, —
e.g., Boston closed its circulating books and required that they
be asked for by list at a desk, and threw its beautiful reference
library open; Cleveland opened its entire circulating shelves and
restricted its reference shelves; Philadelphia threw all shelves
open, and Chicago closed every shelf.
The policy of an institution, like the conduct of an indi-
vidual, is usually a resultant of the clash between ideals and
fixed conditions, and the policy in this case was so determined.
The Buffalo Public Library was born with a large collection
of books and a building; these were its fixed conditions. These
books had been gathered during a period of sixty years. Some
of them were too valueless, by reason of age and consequent
lack of interest, to be put in the way of unskilled readers;
and, on the other hand, some of them were of value to the
few, the students merely, and of so great value that it would
be the height of extravagance to allow them to be worn out by
the aimless handling of the many, to whom they are without
interest. The building was arranged to store the books in
what is called a "stack/' — that is, in this case at least, a long,
rather narrow room, with two stories of bookcases throughout,
separated by aisles less than three feet wide, the whole rather
poorly lighted. It was evidently quite impossible to admit peo-
ple in any numbers into such a room and expect them to find
what they wished and keep even reasonably out of one an-
other's way. It seemed a foregone conclusion that the public
could not have free access to the mass of the books, and a
compromise was in order.
AN OPEN-SHELF DEPARTMENT
In the course of some alterations in the building, to make
it more fit to accommodate large numbers of people, by the re-
moval of partitions and the cutting of new openings, an at-
tractive, well-lighted, easily accessible room, 75 by 38 feet in
dimensions, was provided. This room was shelved with oak
bookcases seven shelves high, around the walls only, leaving
the center of the room free for tables and hospitable chairs.
Shelving was thus at hand where about eight thousand books
could be comfortably displayed to a large number of people.
Upon these shelves was placed a selected library representing
MODERN PUBLIC LIBRARY 121
all classes of literature, with the exception of books for reference
only, not omitting a generous supply of the best novels.
The plan was to throw open the best popular books of
every description, — not books for scholarly research, or even
for careful study, but the best of everything to attract and
interest that large class called "general readers." Beside the
permanent collection, a section is reserved in this room where
new books are shelved for three months after they are added
to the library. Every one is welcome to this room to read and
to examine the books as he will, and such &s have library
cards may borrow the books in the usual way. These books
serve best those who come to the library not knowing pre*
cisely what they want, but needing to be reminded of some-
thing that they have long desired to see but have momentarily
forgotten, or to be pleased with something that attracts them
by its appearance. Those who prefer to ask directly for what
they want can be best served in the outer room, where assistants
hand them books over the counter from the stack. The books
in the open shelves, except the comparatively small number
of new books, are all duplicated in the stack, and do not in-
terfere with presenting lists in the time-honored way.
The purpose of the open shelves is to recommend the best
books by placing each book where it can recommend itself by
being seen and handled. Large numbers of duplicates are
provided, so that favorites may always be represented on the
shelves. Twenty thousand volumes are necessary to keep the
eight thousand places on the shelves reasonably well filled. The
list is constantly revised, and no book that proves unattractive
is allowed to cumber the shelves, but is retired to the stack,
to give place to something more desirable. No book is shelved
here that has not something attractive in itself, which will make
the book more likely to be read because it can be seen and
examined.
ATTRACTING READERS TO THE BEST BOOKS
Experience shows that no book which is well made, — that
is, well printed and bound, and has a real, vital, message for
mankind, — fails to find appreciation. Many of the best and
greatest books are borrowed from the open shelves four or
five times as often, during the year, as copies of the same
122 HENRY LIVINGSTON ELMENDORF
book are lent from the stack. To show that the collection is
really liked, it is only necessary to say that during 1903, these
20,000 volumes gave a circulation of 245,000 — that is, each book
of the entire number was taken home and, presumably, read
twelve times during the year. This is, of course, an average;
some did not go twelve times, but others went oftener. The
ordinary library methods are used to attract attention to the
books, such as special lists and special displays of books on cur-
rent topics of interest, critical notices posted near the new
books, book-posters, and bulletin displays.
The open-shelf collection, — a library for the general reader,
carefully selected, tested by experience, and constantly revised,
— cannot, and does not, strive to keep pace with the skilled
novel-reader. It does attempt to put most of the old, great
books, the authorities on special subjects, the pleasant, lovable
authors, and the best new books, be they delightful, useful,
or instructive, before its readers, and the steady and, in many
cases, growing use of these books is a constant source of en-
couragement and delight.
The question is always asked, and may as well be answered,
"Do you not lose books under this system?" We certainly
do, but very few, — less than I to 5,000 of circulation. The board
of directors and library authorities have long ago lost the fetish
idea in regard to books. This collection represents current books,
easily replaceable and worth just the money it will cost to re-
place them. The money loss is many times made up by the sav-
ing in attendants' salaries, as it costs about one-third as much
to circulate books in this way as under the old system. Neither
the loss nor the saving is to be taken into account as compared
with the pleasure and profit of the many who enjoy these privi-
leges, and who, collectively, pay the pittance of loss.
The open-shelf department may be considered the most dis-
tinctive feature of the library's work, so much so that among
librarians it is often referred to as the "Buffalo plan."
FREE USE OF REFERENCE BOOKS AND PERIODICALS
The reference department adjoins the open-shelf room. Here
the ordinary encyclopaedias, dictionaries, atlases, gazetteers, and
the like are convenient to the visitor's hands, and skilled at-
tendants are ready to place the entire resources of the library,
from all departments, at the inquirer's service. Many books
MODERN PUBLIC LIBRARY 123
are bought with reference to the wants o£ the manufacturing
interests of the city. These are occasionally used, and their
information is very valuable at times, though not so often as
might be expected by students in other lines. In mechanical
engineering and manufacturing processes, practice is far In ad-
vance of the record of it. The most practical men, the men
that bring things to pass, seldom either write or lecture, and
books in these lines are often out of date before they are off
the press. The consultation of formulas and tables, however,
often saves the mechanic and the manufacturer much time.
It is by students of literature, by high-school pupils, and
by members of literary clubs and societies that the room is
most used.
The idea of accessibility, which pervades the library, is car-
ried out in the periodical room by placing three hundred of the
most popular current weekly and monthly magazines in an open
rack, or case, in the center of the room. These are arranged
alphabetically by titles, that they may be easily found, and are
free to all, for use in the room, without receipt or record of
any kind.
The same freedom prevails in the newspaper room, where
the local dailies and weeklies and representative papers of other
cities are placed on wall racks or reading tables, and invite
the reader to their use without inquiry or formal receipt
The children's department is administered on the same lines
as the open-shelf room. The children have their own reference-
and reading-room, and their library is a selection of the best
children's books on open shelves. They have their picture
bulletins, their special book lists, and special collections of books
on topics in connection with their school studies and their
Saturday-morning story hour. The children's work needs for
its description an article by itself, although it differs little from
that of other modern public libraries, save possibly in the size
of its rooms and the volume of its circulation.
BRANCH LIBRARIES
In order to reach people who live too far off to come to
the main building, the library has nine delivery stations and
three branch libraries. At the stations, a daily delivery is made
of books asked for by written lists. These stations are usually
located In drug stores or news-stands, the proprietors being
124 HENRY LIVINGSTON ELMENDORF
responsible merely for receiving the requests and delivering the
books.
Each of the three branches is a small library in itself, and
has from two thousand to three thousand books. Each branch
is in communication with the main library by telephone, and
has a daily delivery of books from the central building to sup-
ply such calls as cannot be filled from the branch collection.
The open-shelf system applies to all. The branch work has
an effectiveness similar to that of the well-managed library in
a small town. The librarian is thorougly acquainted with his
small collection of books, and knows individually the readers
who frequent the library, and their needs and wishes have the
personal attention which they deserve.
PUBLIC-SCHOOL LIBRARIES
The chief function of the public library is the education
of good citizens, and its greatest opportunity is with young
people. While the library affords information and recreation
for those of mature years, it can help to form the characters
of the children. Realizing this, it was thought all important
to take advantage of the gathering of sixty thousand of the
young citizens some two hundred days in the year, at an ex-
pense fifteen times greater than the cost of the public library,
for the express purpose of suggesting to them the various
ways by which they may develop into happy, wise, and useful
citizens. Nowhere else does the city gather her citizens in
any such numbers or so accessibly. If there is a means by
which the two institutions, the school and the library, which
are supported by the city for one and the same purpose, can
unite their endeavors, the one strengthening, deepening, and
enlarging the work of the other, is it not manifestly a culpable
waste of both appropriations if they do not join forces?
When the library was made free every public school had
something of a school library, bought with the State and city
appropriations for the purpose, supplemented in many schools
by gifts, the proceeds of entertainments, etc. Some of these
libraries were good, but all of them were inadequate, and all
of them failed in the vital matter that their use brought no
association with the public library. They were school property,
and there was no suggestion in them that when school-days
were over there were in the public library more and better
MODERN PUBLIC LIBRARY 123
books, always free to them as one of their rights and privileges
as children and citizens of Buffalo.
The school authorities of the city and the board of directors
of the library have been equally alive to the value of the co-
operation, have authorized each step, accepting and encouraging
with good will and intelligence every advance in the system.
After careful consideration, the following plan was sub-
mitted to principals and teachers : the schools were to turn
over to the public library all their miscellaneous books, retain-
ing only purely reference books. These miscellaneous books
were to be sorted, the poor ones withdrawn and the good ones,
supplemented by others from the public library, were to be
returned in the form of a library for each class-room, about
equal in number of volumes to the number of pupils. Twenty-
four school principals made application to have the libraries
in their schools, and ten schools were chosen for the experi-
ment. In making the selection, the distance of the school from
the library, the character of the district in which it was located,
and the possession, by both principal and teachers, of such an
intelligent sympathy with the idea as would give the experi-
ment a fair test, were all taken into consideration.
The books turned over to the library showed a plain need
that selection and purchase should be in the hands of a single-
headed institution like the public library, which could be held
responsible, rather than a composite body of principals and
teachers. Only about 20 per cent of the books in the old school
libraries were thought fit to return, and the public library added,
from its own resources, more than five thousand volumes to
begin the experiment. The selection was made with the greatest
care, each book being thoroughly examined, and most of them
critically read. Each school and each class was studied, with
the aid of the teacher, before intelligent assignment of the books
could be secured, and even then many errors mere made, some
of which experience and observation have helped to correct.
The very simplest method of charging was devised, to be
kept by the teacher. Each teacher was allowed to make her
own rules for using the books. They might be used in the
school-room, for reading to the children, drawn for home use,
or in any way thought best, the only restriction being that
they must never be used as rewards or punishments.
Library assistants visit each school twice each month, — once
126 HENRY LIVINGSTON ELMENDORF
to take necessary statistics from the records, and once in a
friendly way to talk with the teachers, to find whether the
books are suitable, to take account of any special wants, and
to aid the work in every possible way. Reasonable care of the
books is required, but only such as is given to other school
property, and in case of loss or damage there is no money
liability for the teacher. The libraries are changed once during
the school year by shifting from room to room or from school
to school.
Schools have been added to the ten with which the start was
made, until now thirty-nine schools, with six hundred and
ninety-three class-room libraries, are included in the system.
The school department began in very modest, — in fact, very
cramped, — quarters in one of the library workrooms. The work
grew so that it demanded more room, and the department now
occupies five of the most desirable rooms in the library. The
pleasantest of all is a teachers' headquarters, where a sample
of every school library book is kept, and where pictures are
displayed. School reference books are here for inspection, and
a small pedagogical library. Teachers can freely use this room
for their committee meetings or in any way to help their work
and make them at home in the library.
The difficult but natural and practical question is, "What
is the result of all this?" The statistics of use of the books
is the most tangible record. The first year, with ten schools,
showed a home circulation of 27,469, with 6,400 volumes in
use. In 1903, with 39 schools and 30,600 volumes, the home
circulation was 309,874. These figures speak for themselves,
and it should be remembered that the books are not an or-
dinary general collection of children's books, but have been
selected with great care, so that the circulation might justly
be called "approved."
The success of the libraries is not uniform, but varies with
the ability of the teacher to make use of the facilities offered.
The library's idea is to furnish the teachers means, or at least
an aid, to develop each individual child along the line of that
child's strongest inclination and greatest ability.
TRAVELING LIBRARIES FOR FIREMEN AND OTHERS
The stations of the city fire department are supplied with
small libraries on the traveling-library plan,— that is, a case
MODERN PUBLIC LIBRARY 127
with from twenty-five to fifty books is sent to each fire-house,
and is changed about six times a year. The work of the fire-
men involves so much enforced leisure, while they are waiting
and must be ready for a call, that it gives them ample op-
portunity to read. These libraries are greatly enjoyed and
highly appreciated. One fireman exclaimed, "Before the library
came, I did not know there were such books in the world."
Naturally books "where they do something" are chosen, and
several chiefs have reported that numbers of their men read
every book in the collection.
Besides the firemen, many others draw books on the traveling-
library plan, and one hundred and eight collections were issued
last year to literary clubs, teachers in private schools, five
Sunday-schools, twelve charitable institutions, homes, etc. The
spirit and practice of the library is to seek and to accept every
opportunity to get the books into the hands of the people, and
thus allow the books to serve most completely the purpose for
which the institution stands.
SPIRIT OF THE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION
Not a prohibitory sign defaces the library rooms, and while
there are many placards giving information and directions,
it has never been found necessary to display a single "Thou
shalt not."
The present annual income of the library, from all sources,
is about $85,000, and its annual circulation of books for home
use 1,085,000 volumes.
The measure of success which the library has had is largely
due to the wise and cordial support of the board of directors.
Its policy from the start has been to impose responsibility for
initial action and all executive work upon the librarian, and to
require results. The librarian, to a certain extent, takes the
same course with his heads of departments, so that the library
has the cordial interest and endeavor of the personnel of the
staff. The board meets once a month, with its treasurer and
librarian, carefully examines the work of the month past, pa-
tiently listens to the plans for future work, and discusses and
approves or not, as is thought most wise. The directors visit
the library between meetings, and are the intelligent advisers
and trusted friends of the librarian.
LIBRARY LEGISLATION
History reports some futile attempts to force libra-
ries by law upon peoples who have never felt the need for
them, but in the progress of library organization in
America, legislation has usually come as a means of mak-
ing secure and effective the work of institutions already
functioning, in process of organization, or for which
there was an expressed need. The laws recently enacted
for the organization of county libraries are taken up in
a separate section on that subject.
STATE LEGISLATION IN THE MATTER OF
LIBRARIES
This is the first survey made of the progress of legis-
lation for American libraries, beginnng with the school-
district libraries, and continuing with the public library
statutes in the various states.
A sketch of William Frederick Poole, who wrote this
article, will be found in Volume 3.
For the past forty years, crude and ill-digested schemes of
legislation on the subject of libraries have existed in most of
the Northern states. Millions of dollars have been expended in
purchasing district-school libraries which cannot be found, and
which form no part of the library statistics of the country.
Perhaps the greatest impediment to the general adoption of
the modern public library system is the improvidence and
wastefulness which have everywhere attended these schemes.
District-school libraries were first established by law in the
state of New York, in 1835. In ^S, the General Assembly
passed an act appropriating $55,000 annually for supplying books
to these libraries, and requiring towns to raise an equal sum
by taxation for this purpose. The motive which prompted
this legislation was praiseworthy, but the methods adopted were
ruinous.
Massachusetts, under the lead of Horace Mann, adopted a
similar statute in 1837; Connecticut followed in 1839; Rhode
Island and Iowa in 1840; Indiana in 1841; Maine in 1844;
Ohio in 1847; Wisconsin in 1848; Missouri in 1853; California
and Oregon in 1854; Illinois in 1855; Pennsylvania in 1864;
Kansas and Virginia in 1870; New Jersey in 1871; Kentucky
and Minnesota in 1873; and Colorado in 1876. In states which
have adopted the scheme within the past twenty years, fortu-
nately very little money has been spent, and in several states
none. Massachusetts repealed her statute for sustaining dis-
trict libraries in 1850. The concurrent testimony from all these
132 WILLIAM FREDERICK POOLE
states is, that the scheme has been a failure. The books rapidly
disappeared, for they had no proper care, and the public soon
lost their interest in the collections.
No state has carried out the district scheme so persistently
and extravagantly as New York, and, as a result, New York
to-day has on her statute-book no law authorizing taxation for
the support of public libraries. The enterprise and intelligence,
however, of a few of her inland cities are in advance of the
legislation of the state, for they have free municipal libraries
supported indirectly by local taxation. A few extracts from the
official reports of the State Superintendent of Schools will show
the practical results of the district-library system in New York
state. The superintendent for 1861, in his annual report, says:
"Concurrent testimony from nearly every quarter of the state
represents the libraries in the rural districts as almost totally
unused, and rapidly deteriorating in value. The whole number
of volumes reported during the past year is 1,286,536 which
is 317,674 less than was reported in 1853; although $55,000
has been appropriated each year since that date for library
purposes." The superintendent for 1862 reports, that "in the
last five years $139,798 have been expended in the rural dis-
tricts for library purposes, while the number of volumes reported
has diminished in the same period from 1,288,070 to 1,206,075
— a loss of 81,995 volumes as a return for the expenditure
named." He speaks of the rural libraries as "a motley collec-
tion of books ranging in character from Headley's 'Sacred
Mountains' to the 'Pirate's Own Book,' scattered among the
families of the districts, constituting a part of the family library,
serving as toys for children, crowded into cupboards, thrown
into cellars, or stowed away in lofts." In cities and larger
villages, the books were better cared for; but the funds ap-
propriated for books were generally applied to other purposes.
It might be supposed that a scheme which produced such re-
sults would be short-lived; but it has not been. The
superintendent for 1875 says: "The district-library sys-
tem has not worked well in this state, and has utterly
failed to accomplish what was expected of it. The libraries
have fallen into disuse, and in a large majority of districts
have become practically valueless." "The total amount of ap-
propriation since 1838 is $2,035,100. I doubt whether more than
STATE LEGISLATION 133
one-half of the state appropriation has for many years been
used for library purposes,"
The legislation for school libraries in several of the Western
states has been spasmodic, raising and expending large sums of
money for a short period, and then suspending all support for
a term of years. Ohio in 1853 laid a tax of one-tenth of a
mill on the dollar upon all the taxable property of the state
for furnishing libraries to all its common schools. In three
years, 332,579 volumes were placed in school libraries. A sus-
picion arose that there was a large steal in the contracts for
supplying these libraries. The tax was then suspended for
two years, and at the end of that period the number of volumes
reported had fallen off more than 100,000. In 1860, the tax
levy was restored. In 1865, the number of volumes reported
was only 350,000. In 1868 the State Superintendent says:
"The books are scattered or lost in large numbers. Township
school officers are puzzled to know what to do with the few
books remaining, and are calling for the privilege of selling
them at public auction, or to be otherwise relieved of tfifeir
care." In 1869, only 258,371 volumes were reported; and since
that year no statistics of these libraries have been published.
In Indiana, the district system has passed through a similar
experience. In 1853, a general tax levy was laid, which in three
years raised $266,597, and purchased 226,213 volumes. In 1861,
the number of volumes had increased to 315,209 volumes; but
in 1874 the number had decreased to 253,545 volumes, of which
only 85,366 had been taken out during the year. The Public
Library of Indianapolis, with 14,560 volumes, circulated the same
year 101,281 volumes.
The report of the United States Bureau of Education of
1876, from which these statistics are drawn, gives some detailed
reports from the county superintendents of Indiana for 1874,
which illustrate the practical operation of the district-library
scheme, from which I make a few selections:
Bartholomew Co. — Number of volumes, 2572; number taken
°ut, 395. Many of the books have been lost; the remainder are
in bad condition, and but little read. The expense overruns the
benefits derived.
Carroll Co. — Number of volumes, 3428; taken out, 428. Our
libraries are in poor condition; many of the books are stale, and
the people take but little interest in them.
134 WILLIAM FREDERICK POOLE
Decatur Co.— Number of volumes, 3637; taken out, 528. The
books are but little read, and are slowly but surely becoming
scattered and lost.
DeK.aH> C0,-— Number of volumes, 2573; taken out, 50.
Fountain Co.— Number of volumes, 2748; taken out, 546. Our
township libraries are a general failure. More than half the
books have been carried away and lost. Those that remain are
practically of no value.
Time will not permit me to trace the operation of the district-
library scheme in other states. This examination would show
results similar to those already given. In some localities the
libraries, though small and badly selected, have been cared for
and have benefited, at least, the families which have had them
in charge. They have doubtless, in isolated instances, helped
individuals to form habits for reading, and to inspire a taste
for better books. The scheme, however, as a measure of pub-
lic policy, has been a failure; for the good it has accomplished
bears no reasonable proportion to its cost. It stands also in
the way of the general adoption of the more recent and success-
ful method of maintaining public libraries.
The modern public-library system which has gone into prac-
tical operation, both in this country and in England, within
the last twenty-five years, avoids the practical mistakes on
which district libraries have made shipwreck. It asks for no
appropriation from the state for its support, and hence requires
no state supervision. Those communities only which have the
population, wealth, and disposition to support a public library
can have one. It is a local institution, and the only function
of state legislation in the matter is, giving these communities
the right to levy a local tax for the support of the library,
and affording it the same protection which is given to other
municipal institutions. A library adapted for public use is some-
thing more than a collection of books. It is a collection of
books selected with intelligence, catalogued and arranged in an
orderly manner, protected by judicious rules, and under wise
and efficient management. The district libraries have failed from
the want of such supervision. No city or town, which has
intelligence enough to vote to tax itself for a public library,
will lack the persons of sufficient education and culture to man-
age it, when so much printed information on the subject is now
available. Every taxpayer also constitutes himself a committee
STATE LEGISLATION 135
of advice and visitation; and if abuses exist, they are likely to
be speedily remedied.
Twelve states of our Union have enacted laws for the main-
tenance of public libraries, and most of these states have changed
their laws from time to time by removing restrictions on the
amount of taxation, and giving the people greater freedom in
making appropriations for this purpose. Massachusetts, for
instance, in 1851 authorized a town or city to raise a sum not
exceeding one dollar for each ratable poll for the first year,
and twenty-five cents yearly thereafter. In 1859 a larger tax
was permitted, and in 1866 a city or town was authorized to
raise any sum it deemed necessary for the establishment and
support of a public library.
The present condition of legislature on the subject of public
libraries in the several states, is exceedingly varied — some stat-
utes being very brief and others extended; some placing the
libraries under the control of an independent board of directors,
and others under the local boards of education, and others
still making no provision on the subject. Our secretary, in
proposing that I prepare a paper on this subject, suggested that
I draft the form of a statute, which, after consideration and
revision by the conference, might be recommended for general
adoption by states which have no legislation in the matter of
public libraries. After some reflection on this point, it has
seemed to me a more judicious plan for the conference not to
commit itself to any specific form of legislation at this time,
and thus divide our forces on methods; but to recommend, and
so far as the individual members can do, to promote, the
establishment of public libraries in all parts of the country
where they do not exist. This can be done through the medium
of the. public prints, by setting forth their advantages, explain-
ing their practical operations, imparting information, and an-
swering objections. When public attention is awakened, and
the need of such institutions are felt, legislation on the sub-
ject will naturally follow, which, though simple and perhaps
crude, may go as far as public opinion in the state will at
first sanction. The precise form of legislation, provided it gives
a community the right to tax itself sufficiently to establish and
maintain a library, is not a matter of much importance at the
outset. The main object is to commence; and if there be an
enlightened public opinion sustaining the library, any minor
136 WILLIAM FREDERICK POOLE
imperfection of legislation will correct itself or will be harm-
less. Without such a public opinion behind it, the best form
of legislation will not save it. It has seemed to me, therefore,
that I can best accomplish the object I have in view in this
paper by briefly sketching the form in which legislation in
this country on tne subject of public libraries has manifested
itself, and noticing some of the merits and defects of this leg-
islation.
New Hampshire, as early as 1849, passed a statute allowing
towns to raise by taxation such sum for the support of a
public library as the voters might determine. Maine and Con-
necticut adopted and still maintain the limit of taxation of one
dollar on each ratable poll for the first year, and of twenty-
five cents for each subsequent year. This rate is too meagre
to support a healthy library. Each of these states is wealthier
than New Hampshire, and yet both combined have fewer libra-
ries, and raise only about half as much money for their support.
Vermont began in 1865 with the New Hampshire law, but fell
back in 1867 to that of Maine and Connecticut; and hence
its libraries are few and feeble. Massachusetts commenced,
as we have seen, with the same plan of limited taxation, from
which it advanced to the adoption of the New Hampshire law.
It has now one hundred and twenty-seven public libraries, con-
taining more than a million volumes. In none of the New
England states is there any legislation regulating the manner
in which public libraries shall be managed. These details are
determined by the votes or ordinances of the several towns
and cities.
The statute of Texas, enacted in 1871, is a model of con-
ciseness, and, supported by public opinion, is sufficient. In a
form slightly amended and condensed, it reads as follows:
"Any incorporated city may establish a free public library, and
may make such regulations and grant such part of its revenues
for the management and increase thereof as the municipal gov-
ernment of the city may determine." In Wisconsin, legislation
began in 1868, by permitting towns to raise by taxation yearly
$150 for the purchase of books; and in 1872, cities and towns
were authorized to raise a tax of one mill on the dollar for
the support of public libraries. Subscription and social libra-
ries, many of them under the intelligent management of ladies'
associations, are maintained in nearly all the principal towns of
STATE LEGISLATION 137
the northwestern states; and these often develop into free pub-
lic libraries. Iowa also grants a mill tax.
In Ohio and Indiana, public libraries are under control of
the local boards of education; and few of these institutions
have been so successful as the public libraries of Cincinnati
and Indianapolis. In Ohio, the immediate care of the libraries
is committed to a board of seven managers appointed by the
board of education chiefly from citizens at large. These man-
agers have only the power of a committee. They may recom-
mend measures and nominate officers; but they can make no
appointments and vote no money. In cities of the first and
second class, a tax of one-tenth of a mill is annually levied for
the purchase of books. The expense of buildings, salaries, and
incidental charges is defrayed from the general educational
fund. In 1875, a taw was passed permitting any city or in-
corporated village to establish a public library, and t<$ expend
upon it any amount which the municipal authorities may de-
termine.
The legislation of Indiana is very simple and con-
cise, being all embraced in a single paragraph of an act
passed in March, 1871, concerning the election and duties of a
board of school commissioners. One of the duties of the
commissioners is as follows: "To levy a tax each year of not
exceeding one-fifth of one mill on each dollar of taxable prop-
erty, . . . for the support of free libraries, . . . and to disburse
any and all revenue raised by such tax levy in the purchase
of books for, and in the fitting up of suitable rooms for,
such libraries, and for salaries to librarians; also to make and
enforce such regulations as they may deem necessary, . . .
and to prescribe penalties for the violation of such regula-
tions." Here is ample authority for the establishment and ad-
ministration of a public library.
The objection to the system of Ohio and Indiana is, that
boards of education and school commissioners are not selected
and appointed with reference to their qualifications for man-
aging public libraries, and practically they give very little at-
tention to the subject. Hence they a' re required to act in mat-
ters upon which they have little or no knowledge. They must
rely on the judgment of managers or committees having spe-
cial supervision of the libraries, or act on impulse or prejudice.
The persons who have the supervision and knowledge, ought
i38 WILLIAM FREDERICK POOLE
also to have the power of making appointments, fixing salaries,
and disbursing the funds of the library.
The library statute of Illinois, being one of the most recent,
is the most extended and perhaps the most carefully considered
instance of legislation on his subject. It creates an independent
board of nine directors, nominated by the Mayor, and approved
by the city council, to hold office for three years. Not more
than one director can be a member of the city council. This
board has the exclusive control of the library, making all the
appointments, fixing salaries, disbursing all its funds, and with
power to construct or lease library buildings. Towns and vil-
lages may levy a tax for libraries not to exceed two mills on
the dollar; cities of less than 100,000 inhabitants, one mill; and
cities of over 100,000 inhabitants, one-fifth of a mill. This tax
would give the Chicago Public Library about $60,000 a year.
The only point in which any other department of the city gov-
ernment comes in to effect these provisions, is in the fact that
the city council may, at the time of making the annual city
appropriations as the basis of taxation, appropriate a less amount
than that named in the statute as a miximum. The council may
appropriate one-half the sum named, or may kill the library by
making no appropriation at all. Here, in another form, the
same danger arises that was mentioned in connection with the
statutes of Ohio and Indiana. City councilmen are not appointed
to administer public libraries; and, perhaps, with the multiplicity
of their other duties, know less about libraries than if they were
not councilmen. An amendment depriving the city council of
the right to limit the appropriation, would remove this danger;
but would it be good policy to recommend such an amend-
ment? City councils fix the appropriations for schools and
every other class of municipal expenditures. Panics and finan-
cial disturbances, such as now exist, necessarily compel cities
to curtail expenses. Might not a popular prejudice arise against
libraries if they were the only department whose expenditures
the municipal government could not control? This question,
I am told, was carefully considered when the Illinois statute
was drafted, and it w'as decided to give city councils this power,
relying upon an enlightened public opinion to sustain the libra-
ries, in case they should temporarily suffer from this cause.
I am not prepared to say that this view of the matter is not
the correct one. The resources of the public libraries of
STATE LEGISLATION 139
Illinois have been curtailed by the appropriations of city coun-
cils during the late business and financial disturbance; but
they have not suffered more than the public schools, the streets,
the charities, and other objects of municipal expenditure. Pub-
lic appreciation of these institutions, based on the work they
are doing, is, after all, the only sure guaranty that they will
be liberally supported, enlarged, and cherished.
LEGISLATION FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Further investigation into the history of library legis-
lation, by Henry Augustus Homes is presented in this
paper, written two years after Mr. Poolers article
appeared.
Mr. Homes discusses in more detail the libraries
which preceded the public or town library, and notes the
first granting of certain library rights and privileges.
Mr. Homes was born in 1812 in Boston. He attended
Amherst College and both Andover and Yale Theolog-
ical schools. He spent a year in Paris studying Oriental
languages, and from 1838 until 1851 was in Constanti-
nople and the east as a missionary where he took parti-
cular interest in the work of translation. He then served
for three years in the United States Diplomatic Ser-
vice at Constantinople before returning to this country.
From 1862 to his death in 1887 he was state librarian of
New York, having entered the library as assistant in
1854, and shown exceptional fitness for the work.
In the preparation of the present paper on State Legislation
for Public Libraries, I have been following in the path previously
traced by our colleague, Mr. Poole, in his paper two years
since on the same subject. It was his discussion which sug-
gested to me to make still further researches in the same fields.
I do not intend to repeat any of the statements made by him
in that paper; and if my figures in any particulars differ from
those given by him, it will be because I include the territories
as well as the states, and also because that in the two years
since his article was written, the legislation of the states has
advanced and improved.
Without discussing questions of library government and ad-
ministration, my aim is to note historically certain steps of
progress antecedent to the introduction of the town library
142 HENRY AUGUSTUS HOMES
system, till we reach the present condition of legislation regard-
ing these libraries.
Previous to the legislation for free public libraries was
that for library associations. The early library associations were
known by the names of proprietary, social, subscription, and
even of public libraries. At least sixteen of the states, Cali-
fornia, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachu-
setts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, have
a statute for the incorporation of such association under a
general law. We, in every case, even when not mentioned,
include the territories with the states in the enumeration.
In one other way the representatives of the people have
shown a disposition to encourage the formation of these asso-
ciations, by exempting their libraries and buildings from taxa-
tion. This exemption is authorized in at least twenty-three
of the States and territories: Alabama, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont,
Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming. In the revised statutes
of the following states and territories, no legislation regarding
libraries was found, except for the State Library, Columbia,
Dakota, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina. A further
expression has been given to the high estimate put upon the
value of knowledge to be derived from books, by enaction
of law, in at least nine states, by which private libraries tip
to a certain amount are exempted either from taxation or
attachment: Alabama, Columbia, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas,
Massachusetts, New York, West Virginia, Wisconsin,
But in no way has the popular estimate of the value of libra-
ries been shown more persistently and extensively than in the
establishment of the school-district library system, under the
operation of state school laws. In this measure, from the
year (1835) in which New York introduced it, at least twenty-
one states have entered: California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachu-
setts, Mississippi, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey,
Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Wiscon-
sin. We will not repeat here the summary of facts regarding
LEGISLATION FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES 143
the system so clearly given by Mr. Poole In his paper just
referred to. From year to year in the states which have ex-
pended the most money to make school libraries a success* the
laws have been amended and modified in later times* in the
hope of creating a tolerable substitute for the public town
library. The Indiana and Wisconsin systems, carried out under
school boards of education, are examples of these changes ;
and perhaps Pennsylvania should also have been classed with
those states having a town libraries' law. Yet in reference to
them all, the superintendents of education in those states pro-
nounce these libraries failures. Michigan finally adopted a
thorough town libraries' law in 1877. In 1859 her superintendent
of education reasoned strongly in stating the advantages of
the district system over the town system. And yet in 1876 one-
third of the counties in the state made no appropriation for
either the district or the town system, and the bulk of all
that was appropriated for libraries was made by three out of
the entire seventy-six counties in the state. The superintendent
of education of 1877 observes: "The public library has almost
ceased to exist as a part of the public school system of the
state." In the state of New York, testimony from the county
school commissioners is frequently of this nature: "The library
money is almost invariably applied ... to the payment of
teachers' wages. In four-fifths of the districts, not one in
ten of the inhabitants can tell where the library can be found,
or how many volumes it contains, and probably in ninety-nine
cases out of every hundred the libraries are of no practical
use whatever."* The present superintendent of education re-
marks^ "I am satisfied that the day of usefulness of district
libraries is past;" and he recommends a system of town libra-
ries in their stead, and the gathering the books of the district
libraries into them.
If the school-district library has resulted in disappointing
the expectations with which it was established, the reasons for
the failure are very apparent, now that we have obtained a
better system. All of the reasons suggested have had a share
of influence. But the reason of all was that the amount of
money and the number of books annually obtainable for any
one district were too few and small to admit of an interest in
* New York Educational Report, 1874. p. 240.
f New York Educational Report, 1875. p. 27.
144 HENRY AUGUSTUS HOMES
the library, or to secure proper care of the books, either for
circulation or preservation. The sum disposable, from both
the state and the town, would not be more, ordinarily, than
from eight to ten dollars a year. The school-district was too
small a unit for the object. And these funds, either with or
against the authority of law, were constantly diverted to other
purposes, as for the wages of the teachers. The books selected,
at their best, were not selected as much for adult minds as
for young minds. The abundance and the cheapness of ex-
cellent monthlies for old and young, and of other cheap lit-
erature, have served to diminish the interest in these small
libraries. Notwithstanding the failure of the district library,
the expenditure of money has not been useless. Along with
the direct and positive advantages which have accompanied
them during all the years of their existence, we are indebted
to them for the preparation of the public mind to welcome
the town library. They have occasioned the need and the utility
of books and good reading for the whole community to be
appreciated, and the public town library to be regarded with
hope and strong conviction as one of our best resources for the
future.
The school-district library is acknowledged to have been the
transition-link between the subscription library and the town
library. I think that the law of New York, of 1835, creating
them, has more of historical significance than is usually ascribed
to it It is, I believe, the first known law of a state allowing
the people to tax themselves to maintain genuine public libra-
ries. The law did not establish libraries for schools, but for
the people, in districts of the size of a school-district. The
first recommendation of this law proceeded from a man whose
name has since obtained the widest national repute by his emi-
nent public services, but who, in 1836 and for three years
thereafter, was secretary of state and superintendent of educa-
tion— a son of New Hampshire, the late John A. Dix. In his
report of that year, he says: "If the inhabitants of school-
districts were authorized to lay a tax upon their property for
the purpose of purchasing libraries for the use of the districts,
such a power might, with proper restrictions, become a most
efficient instrument in diffusing useful knowledge and in ele-
vating the intellectual character of the people. . . The power
of the inhabitants to lay taxes is restricted to specific objects,
LEGISLATION FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES 145
and a legislative act would be necessary to enlarge it. . . It
would be proper to limit the amount to be raised annually.
. . As its imposition would be voluntary, it would be made
only where its tendency would be to produce salutary effects."
Secretary Dix, in 1836 (this law proposed by him having
been enacted in 1835), m 5i*s report on the object of the law,
says: "The object . . . was not so much for the benefit of
children attending school, as for those who have completed
their common school education. Its main design was to throw
into school-districts, and place within the reach of all their
inhabitants, a collection of good wTorks on subjects calculated
to enlarge their understandings and store their minds with
useful knowledge. . . Works of a juvenile character would
not, therefore, as a general rule, be suited to the purposes of
the law."
In the volume entitled "Decisions of the Superintendents
of Schools," published by him in 1837, Mr. Dix gives one of
his own decisions on this subject in the following language :
School district libraries are intended for the inhabitants of
school districts ; as well for those who have completed their com-
mon school education as for those who have not. The primary
object of their institution was to disseminate wrorks suited to
the intellectual improvement of the great body of the people,
rather than to throw into school districts, for the use of young
persons, works of a merely juvenile character. . . I doubt, there-
fore, the right of the inhabitants to restrict the choice of books
to be taken from the library to scholars attending the district
school. They may have the privilege of drawing them if the In-
habitants adopt such a rule; but I think any such rule must be
subject to the right of any inhabitant to take from the library
for perusal any book in it.
It is worthy of note that in the law of 1835 these libraries
are called district libraries simply, never school district libra-
ries, and least of all district school libraries, which last term
countenances the very popular notion that the libraries were
originally intended for schools. The district was merely a unit
of size supposed to be suitable for a free public library. I
cannot better substantiate the allegation that the departure has
been great from the original design of the district library of
Gov. Dix than by reading a part of the section of the Con-
necticut law, enacted in 1839, only four years after the New
York law of 1835, when the contrast will be evident : Any school
district ... is hereby authorized to levy a tax . . . for the
146 HENRY AUGUSTUS HOMES
purpose of establishing and maintaining a common school library
. . . for the use ol the children of such district"
We have now in chronological order reached the town library
proper. The first on record so far as known, is that of Salis-
bury, Conn., supported by the town without authority of state
law, from previous to the Revolution for many years after,
but not now in existence. The next is the Peterborough, N.H.,
public town library, established by the town in 1833, and still
in existence, but maintained by the town for seventeen
years previous to the general state law on the subject* The
first town or city library for which a special state law was
enacted was for that of the city of Boston — in 1848.
The honor belongs to New Hampshire of having been the
first among the states to place upon her statute-book a general
law authorizing towns to maintain libraries to be as free to
all the inhabitants as the common school. Its legislature, on
July 6, 1849, adopted without amendment a bill introduced June
29, by Dr. J. C. Eastman, of Hampstead, Rockingham Co.,
with the title, "An act for the establishment of public libra-
ries," and it was approved by the Governor on July 7. The law
was so complete and satisfactory in its provisions that it has
remained unchanged as the law of the state to the present time,
and under it at least twenty libraries are maintained by the
same number of towns.
In apportioning the honors of precedency in inaugurating
successive portions of this great movement, this is the proper
place to mention that the first constitution of the state of
Michigan contains this important clause, one perhaps not yet
found elsewhere in the organic act of any state: "The legis-
lature shall also provide for the establishment of at least one
library in every township." The legislation by the state of
Indiana in 1852, allowing each county to raise by tax seventy-
five dollars a year to maintain a county library, free to the in-
habitants, is of a kindred nature.
It is a point of some importance and worthy of observa-
tion that from the day of the passage of these laws the word
public, as applied to libraries, has gradually been acquiring an
extension of its meaning which did not before belong to it
The "public" designated by its earlier usage was the public that
enjoyed the use of a library which was owned in common by
* Dr. Smith's History of Peterborough," 1876.
LEGISLATION FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES 147
stockholders, or by annual subscribers. The law of April I,
1796, of New York, entitled "An act to incorporate such per-
sons as may associate for the purpose of procuring and creat-
ing public libraries in this state," yet contained in it such a
limitation as this, that "a part of a right in said library shall
not entitle the owner thereof to any privilege ... in said
library or corporation." The law of Indiana, as late as 1852,
with the title, "An act to establish public libraries," contained
no provision for the use of the books by any persons but the
stockholders of such libraries. In the exemptions of certain
property from taxation, in the statutes of 1829 of the state
of New York, one specification is in these terms : "The real
and personal property of every public library," which could only
mean proprietary associations, for the public free library had
not yet appeared above the horizon, and the "public" designated
was as limited as the number of proprietors.
Since the British libraries' act of 1850, and the opening of
the Manchester library in England, and the Astor Library
in New York, and the Boston Public Library in the
same year, with the passage of the Massachusetts law of 1851,
there has been a continuous progressive activity in establishing
free town libraries. The passage of the British and Massachu-
setts laws of 1851 stimulated considerable activity in 1852, 3,
and 4, to favor library associations on the part of states .not
ready to favor taxation for town libraries. This wras true of
Indiana in 1852 and New York in 1853.
Maine adopted a town library law in 1854; Ohio, Vermont
and Rhode Island, in 1867; Connecticut in 1869; Colorado,
Illinois, Iowa, New York and Wisconsin, in 1872; Texas in
1874; Nebraska in 1875; Michigan in 1877, and California in
1878, making sixteen states in all that have given their appro-
bation to the same general system. These laws are not all
equally comprehensive, but all these states fairly deserve to
be included.
Several of the states have occasionally made amendments
to their public libraries' law, some of which have been alluded
to by Mr. Poole in his paper. Those states that have been
most deeply engaged in sustaining school district libraries have
had the most difficulty in bringing themselves into the town
library system. The present Ohio law is a very good example
of the shape that may be given to legislation to secure the
I43 HENRY AUGUSTUS HOMES
desired transition. It allows school officers to deposit tlieir
libraries for use in the town libraries. Michigan has at last
secured a good law, which sets the towns free from any embar-
rassments arising from the school libraries; unfortunately it
confines the application of the law to towns having less than ten
thousand inhabitants; but this section will probably be soon
repealed. Nebraska had a capital law, passed in 1875; but a
clause introduced as a rider, confined the law to the single
city of Brownsville. Two years after, not only was this final
section repealed, but the operation of the law was extended
to the towns as well as the cities.
Several of the states seem to have received the boon of a
public library law in advance of any general demand for it
in the state. Yet the same thing had been true of the school
library laws, which found their place upon the statute-book
as the result of the constant appeals of their friends, who were
sanguine as to the grand results which would follow. The
generous zeal of a single individual is often allowed easily
to carry through the legislative halls successfully a bill for a
pet and supposed harmless scheme, yet, if he himself after-
wards fails to prosecute the matter so as to secure the ad-
vantages of the new law, perhaps nothing will be done by any
other persons. Indiana library laws illustrate this. Successive
acts of the legislature, from the year 1852 to the present time,
testify to the presence there of many friends of books as edu-
cators, but with two or three exceptions, and those not re-
sulting from the public library law, town libraries have been
rarely established.
In the state of New York, a law authorizing the mainte-
nance of public libraries by the towns and cities has been on
the statute book since May I, 1872, and yet very few persons
have been aware of its existence. The gentleman who intro-
duced the bill and secured its passage, has done nothing to
make the law known. From the Index to the Revised Statutes *
of 1875, it is next to impossible to infer the existence of such
a law; and in the chapter in which it is found it is merged
with "Library Associations" under the same series of sections,
and the same running caption to the pages; the broad dis-
tinctive idea of town free libraries does not appear to have been
before the mind of the person making the index. The town
* Bank's edition, 1875.
LEGISLATION FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES 149
libraries of Syracuse, Newburg, Poughkeepsie, etc., are oper-
ated by these towns under a provision of the school law of
1847, by the boards of education; and we are not aware of
a single library being maintained under the law of 1872. The
law of Texas has as yet accomplished little, from the lack of
a local population to claim its advantages; while local public
opinion has been so effective in Massachusetts as to secure
public libraries in more than a third of the 346 towns in the
state since 1851.
There is great difference of opinion as to what are essen-
tial provisions in a town libraries' law. This is shown in the
differences among the states in the length of the laws enacted.
The law of Iowa, Rhode Island, and Texas is in a single short
section; in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, the law
is embraced in two sections; in New Hampshire and Vermont,
it is in four sections; in three of the states, Colorado, Ohio
and Wisconsin, it is in seven, eight, and nine respectively;
Nebraska and Michigan devote eleven sections to it, while
Illinois requires twelve sections. The last section of each law,
— of its immediately taking effect — we have not intended to
count in any case.
The origin and nature of these variations in length become
apparent when we trace the laws for these libraries chrono-
logically. The law of New Hampshire, as the first, was evi-
dently made use of in framing that of Massachusetts, of 1851.
The latter derived from it the rather peculiar provision for the
receipt of gifts, donations and bequests, which, however, had
previously been engrafted upon the general laws for the in-
corporation of library associations. Indeed, this provision for
bequests has been adopted by a majority of the states that have
enacted a public libraries' law (Massachusetts, Michigan, Ne-
braska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Vermont, Wisconsin). After the passage of the Massa-
chusetts law of 1851, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, New York,
Texas and Vermont conform the language of their statutes to
it, and to the principle, at first, of restricting taxation by towns
to a definite sum annually, while they are all left to devise
such local management as each town may deem suitable. But
in 1872 Illinois struck out a new course, and passed a law,
with minute details for organization, government, and manage-
ment, in twelve sections. Ohio followed with two laws, one
150 HENRY AUGUSTUS HOMES
for cities and another for towns, in nine sections each. The
law of Illinois lias been the basis of more library legislation
in the western states than any other law. Its longest section
is the one relating to bequests. In framing the last but one
of the state laws,- — the law of Michigan, — that of Illinois was
chiefly followed, except in the I2th section of the latter, which
refers to the losses of books by the great fire in Chicago.
In conclusion : The facts upon which we have dwelt show
that the introduction of public libraries is one of the prominent
movements of the period. It is well that it is so. The annual
increase of printing is incredibly enormous ; inventions of cheap
paper stock and machinery are continually aiding this increase.
Common schools are supplying undeveloped readers by millions
in a perpetual stream. Well-chosen libraries, administered with
generous sympathies, are for these readers a great necessity
and a great boon. Must the multiplication of them be left
solely to the spontaneous action of solitary individuals?
ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD LIBRARY LAW
The points for which a good library law should pro-
vide, including trustees, support and contracts, are briefly
outlined by William Reed Eastman in this article pre-
sented at the Montreal Conference of the American Li-
brary Association. It helps to clarify our vision as to the
serious nature of a library enterprise and its dependence
upon legal authority.
Mr. Eastman is a graduate of Yale (1856) and of
Union Theological Seminary. He served in the ministry
for over twenty years, then took his degree from the New
York State Library School. He served as inspector of
public libraries in the state of New York, assistant in the
State Library, and chief of the Educational-extension
Division of the State Education Department, from which
position he retired in 1913.
I. Information. When the people of a community begin
to be interested in having a public library the first thing wanted
is information. A knowledge of facts is the only proper basis
of action. Their first call upon the state is that it shall tell
them the latest results of library experience and advise them
as to their course. Hence, the first point in library law is
the creation of a state board or commission whose official
business it shall be to learn library facts, study library meth-
ods, answer inquiries and publish results and in every possible
way interest the public, promote new library enterprises, and
enlarge the scope and value of those already existing.
A commission of five, each one to serve five years with one
new appointment each year, will have a desirable permanence.
If appointed by the governor on the ground of personal fitness
the results will be better than if each commissioner is to rep-
resent some interest or is added because he already holds some
other office.
152 WILLIAM REED EASTMAN
The commission, receiving annually a report from every
library in the state, should report a summary of all its facts,
doings, and recommendations to each session of the legisla-
ture.
The commission may very properly, and with advantage to
the state, have charge of the state library, appointing the libra-
rian and all needed assistants, and make it the center of the
library movement. A strong, inspiring personal leadership is
of the first importance and, if means can be supplied, every
such commission should have a paid executive whose time will
be given to its work. If libraries are aided by the state, either
by grants of money or books or traveling libraries, distribution
should be made through the commission in accordance with their
rules.
If the first legislation should stop with the creation of a
commission instructed to report to the governor before the
next session of the legislature a library law adapted to state
conditions, it might lead to better results than those reached
by any hasty action.
2. Founding. The law should provide for the founding of
libraries by a method easily understood and readily followed.
There are three ways of founding a library: by the gift of one
person, by the combined gifts of many persons, or by the act
of the community voting a public tax.
The law does not concern itself very much with the initial
proceedings in the first two cases, but is concerned with every
step in the establishment of a tax supported library.
^ In every state there is already a system of common schools.
Libraries are also educational and their relations to the schools
are vital, and an important question to be settled at this point
is whether the public libraries shall be placed in the hands of
the school authorities. Since these authorities are already in
active service under a well organized system, it seems a very
simple solution of the problem to add one more item to their
duties. But long experience in several states is opposed to this
course. In a multitude of cases the school district is too small
to maintain a good library; the care of a library calls for a
special personal fitness on the part of its trustees not always
possessed by those chosen to do a different service. It has
been found that in the combination of school and library under
one management the library is liable to suffer for lack of both
A GOOD LIBRARY LAW 153
attention and funds and It also fails to arouse the same public
interest that it might receive if standing by itself as a distinct
enterprise in care of a board chosen to promote a public library
and for no other purpose.
But inasmuch as the school system is established and familiar
to the people, the library system should be along lines parallel
to it Let any municipality or district, when holding its usual
meeting to vote taxes for the year, have the power to establish
a public library and to lay a tax to support it. If in a city
or large village this tax levy for the school is commonly made
by the common council or village board or by the school board,
let the same course be taken for the library. Lest there should
be some hesitation about bringing the subject before the meet-
ing let the petition of 25 taxpayers be sufficient to
require a vote. Let the principle of home rule be fully re-
spected in this matter, and the power to found a library be
as free as the power to start a public school. It will be con-
venient in preparing ballots for a library vote to include thereon
the amount of yearly tax proposed, thus, on one ballot, "Li-
brary tax of mills. Yes." Or, on another, "Library tax of
mills. No."
A library so established by the voters or their representatives
should be declared by law a body corporate. Free libraries
founded by endowment or by associations should become in-
corporated under general corporation law, and on application
to and approval by the state commission should be registered
as associate libraries.
3. Control. The control of the library will be determined
by the choice of trustees. They will be chosen by the body
that founds the library, in cities, perhaps, on nomination of the
mayor, from persons of recognized fitness. No one should be
ineligible by reason of sex. The number should not be less
than three nor more than seven. Five is a convenient number,
allowing some division of labor, without impairing a sense of
personal responsibility. Their terms of office should be not
less than three nor, as a rule, more than five years. To secure
a good degree of continuity in management their terms should
be so arranged that only one or two will go out of office in
any given year.
Direct control by any outside body is not desirable, but if
154 WILLIAM REED EASTMAN
state aid Is extended a proper standard should be fixed by the
state commission as a condition of state aid.
4. Support. The law should insure the support of a library
doing good work. At the time of establishment let a maximum
rate of annual taxation for its support be fixed. After that
the trustees should annually report to the body establishing the
library the work done, the money spent, and the money needed
for the next year. If this amount falls within the maximum
it should be levied without question or vote. The maximum
rate should not be diminished unless it is so voted at two con-
secutive annual elections.
Some have preferred to fix in the law a maximum rate for
the whole state, but conditions vary so greatly that it seems
better to leave this to local determination, and the very dis-
cussion of this question may increase public interest in the
enterprise.
5. Contract. The law should permit the making of con-
tracts for library privileges. There are several different con-
ditions in which a contract offers the simplest, most convenient,
and satisfactory solution of the difficulty of concurrent action.
An established library, privately owned and controlled, may be
glad to open its doors wide to the public if the public will
pay the cost of the additional service required. The city will be
better served by paying the cost to the private library than
by founding a rival library of its own. On the other hand,
many a community too small or too poor to maintain a good
library may be glad to share the facilities of a neighboring
library and to pay some small amount raised by taxation for
the privilege. Another neighborhood would be greatly en-
couraged to found a library if it might hope to secure contracts
with other districts. Combination for library purposes may
thus be effected without tedious formalities. Such contracts
should be referred to the state commission for approval. They
might provide for lending books to individual borrowers in the
contracting districts or for travelling libraries or for any other
form of service deemed most convenient
6. Travelling libraries, A state system of travelling libra-
ries under charge of the state commission is desirable, not only
to supply the best reading in distant districts, but to stir up a
general library interest, give the commission tools to work
A GOOD LIBRARY LAW 155
with, suppfy an object lesson, and lead to local movement for
permanent libraries.
7. Buildings. Municipalities or districts should have the
same power to take land and erect buildings or rent rooms
for libraries as for schools.
8. Exchanges. All public and associate libraries should have
the privilege of exchanging books and duplicates with the state
library and with each other under rules of the state commission.
9. Permanence. The abolition of a public library should
be more difficult than its foundation, requiring at least the vote
of two consecutive annual meetings of the body that estab-
lished it.
10. Penalties. Penalties for injury or detention of books
should be named in the law. If wilful and continued they
should be misdemeanors, punishable by fine and imprisonment.
BRANCH LIBRARIES
BRANCH LIBRARIES
One of the early problems of administration which
faced the libraries in large cities was that of reaching all
sections of the city. Delivery and distributing stations
served to a certain extent but as early as the Centennial
Library Conference at Philadelphia in 1876 experiments
had been made with branches. These are discussed by
Mr. Justin Winsor of the Boston Public Library and Mr.
William T. Peoples of New York City as follows. A
sketch of Mr. Winsor will be found in Volume 4.
Mr. Peoples was born in 1843 and died March 9,
1923. He became librarian of the Mercantile Library,
New York City in 1873 and was made librarian emeri-
tus in 1916.
Mr. Peoples attended the first American Library As-
sociation meeting and in the early days was one of the
earnest, active members of the association. He was a
member of the first A.L.A. Council, of the American Li-
brary Institute, the New York Library Club and the New
York State Library Association.
MR. WINSOR. — The Boston Public Library now consists of
a central library, containing the great students' collection in the
Bates Hall, and a popular department of over 30,000
volumes. Communicating with headquarters daily, by boxes
passing to and from, are six branch libraries, containing from
seven to seventeen thousand volumes each, and situated at from
two to seven miles from the central library, forming a cordon
of posts. Farther outlying we have begun a system of de-
liveries or agencies, where orders for books are received, which
are sent to the nearest branch or to the central library. The
books are sent in response, and delivered at the delivery. In
the same way the branches are deliveries of the central library.
The system works well, and popularizes the institution; and
i6o PHILADELPHIA
the branches and deliveries, instead of detracting from the
importance of the central library, only serve to advertise it and
to Increase its circulation, so that now the issues of the central
library are between two and three times what they were in 1870,
when we had no branches; and the grand total of issues of
the entire library is now from four to five times what it was
in that year. There is of course more or less delay in the
delivery service, owing to our boxes passing but once each way
in a day. 1 deem It not unlikely that much time will before
long be saved by using a telegraphic wire for the messages;
nor do I deem it impracticable to annihilate time by the pneu-
matic tube,
MR. BARNWELL hoped that the librarian of the Mercantile
Library of New York would speak of his experience with branch
libraries.
MR. PEOPLES, — Several years ago our library tried the ex-
periment of establishing branch libraries in the surrounding
, suburban towns. We opened them in the towns and villages
of New Jersey and Connecticut, and places adjacent in our
own State. Altogether I think we started twelve different
branches. One of the conditions we required before we would
open a branch was that we should receive at least one hundred
subscribers to start with. We received the orders for the books
that were wanted by mail or messenger every morning, and
made the deliveries in the afternoon. At first the plan worked
very well, but gradually the number of subscribers began to
decrease, until finally we were compelled to close them for want
of sufficient support. The only branch that we have at present
is that located in the lower part of the city, established for
the benefit of those who reside in Brooklyn and Jersey City,
but who do business in New York. This branch is very success-
ful. We circulate there as many as two and three hundred
books daily. We have also a system of delivering books at
the residences of members who do not care or are unable to
come to the library. We have a form for ordering books, printed
on the backs of postal-cards, with the address of the library
on the front. These we sell for ten cents each. A member
wishing a book, and being unable to come to the library, by
BRANCH LIBRARIES 161
writing the name of the book wanted on the card, and drop-
ping it in the nearest mail-box, can have the book delivered
at his home. For this purpose we employ messengers.
MR. WINSOR. — I would draw attention to a practice which
prevails in connection with the Public Library of Melbourne,
which I think not unsuited for our Western States, where the
population is less dense than in the East. That library sends
a few hundred of books in boxes, which can of themselves
become shelves when set up, into the inland towns, where an
agent takes charge of them, and having circulated them for
two or three months, returns them and receives another lot.
MR. CUTTER said that a somewhat similar method was em-
ployed at the Warren County Library, Monmouth, 111.
MR. WINSOR. — Another custom, likely to be of some use as
a precedent, is in vogue at Hamburg. Seven libraries in that
city, in buying books of which one accessible copy will suffice
for its citizens, apportion the departments of knowledge among
them, and once a year issue a joint catalogue in one alphabet,
having indications against the titles of the particular library
possessing the book.
BRANCH LIBRARIES, BOSTON
During the next year, in an unsigned article in The
Library Journal, the results of Boston's experiments with
branches were recounted.
The establishing of branches of a central institution was
authorized in the original acts of the Legislature of Massachu-
setts as in the permissive bills of Great Britain, passed at about
the same time; but while in England the advantage of them
was availed of at once, and in some instances the branch pre-
ceded the main trunk in development, no public library in Amer-
ica extended its usefulness in this way before the Boston Public
Library opened its first branch at East Boston, late in
1870, eighteen years after the founding of the insti-
tution. The Mercantile Library of New York had previously
opened branches at Yonkers, on Long Island, and elsewhere,
but the experiment was not attended with success, and they
have long since been discontinued.
There was some doubt felt as to the effect that branches
might have upon the central library, when in Boston, in 1870,
the question of beginning such a system was under considera-
tion. It seemed to be the general opinion that the importance
of the main collection would be diminished, and that something
like a frittering away of the opportunity for Boston to have
a great library would ensue. Those charged with the examina-
tion of the question, however, were soon convinced to the con-
trary. It was found, by a careful analysis of the registration
of borrowers, that vicinage was the important factor in the
elements of success. Just in proportion to the remoteness of
residence of the borrowers, their proportion to the population
decreased. In East Boston, which is an island, connecting with
the city proper by a ferry, it was found that the chance for a
resident to become a user of the library was only from a quarter
to a third as great as it was for a citizen in the city proper.
With Roxbury and South Boston the ratio maintained just
the same sort of proportion to the ease of approach to the
164 BOSTON
central library. This seemed conclusive that it only needed
books to be put in those districts in as close connection with
the people as they were in the compacter parts of the city
to make the use of them commensurate. The other part of
the question still remained: Would this newly-developed use
detract from the hold which the main collection might have
upon the people? In this connection the general question of
the help of branches in all business operations in building up
an enlarged sphere for the central department was considered.
It was found that while they create and supply a constituency
of their own, they also serve to make known to a larger degree
the existence and capabilities of the parent institution. In this
faith the system was begun in Boston. What the result has
been will appear from the following table, in which are given
the issues of the various departments of the library as they were
in the month of March in 1870, when there was no branch
whatever, and in March, 1877, when there were six branches,
two of them having dependencies still further outlying in the
system.
March
1870 1877
Central Library. ..A ?ates H£I!T; 6'g6 i6,744
J I Lower Hall 23,678 43,579
( East Boston 13,180
South Boston 16,531
Branches \ ^xbury 18,236
I Charlestown *~
Brighton 3,492
I Dorchester 8,330
Totals 30,674 133,466
Here we have an increase of over four hundred per cent in
seven years.
The reader will understand that the Bates Hall is the main
reference collection — though the largest part of it circulates—
and that its issues in the interval have considerably more than
doubled. This department is to some extent drawn upon by
the clientage of the branches, who leave their orders for books
from its shelves at the branch; the order in due course reaches
the central library, and the books are sent to and delivered at
the branch. The Lower Hall answers in character to the
BRANCH LIBRARIES 165
branches, that is, it is distinctly a popular collection, and It will
be seen that its issues are nearly a hundred per cent more than
they were before any one of Its six branches were established.
The figures of the intervening years show a steady increase, so
that the present figures are the result of a gradual increase, and
not a spasmodic expansion.
BRANCH LIBRARIES
Twenty years later we find the principle widely adop-
ted but much variation in the administration of these
branches and in the relation of the branch to the central
organization. Our excuse for violating at this point our
rule not to include in our quotations the work of any of
the editors of this series is that the following summary
is the only one available for this particular stage of
branch development. The author, Dr. Bostwick, at the
time of writing was librarian of the New York Free Cir-
culating Library, merged with the New York Public Li-
brary in 1901.
In speaking of branch libraries 1 shall adhere to the defini-
tion of such libraries as it is generally given, to distinguish
them from delivery or distributing stations. A distributing or
delivery station has no stock of books of its own for circula-
tion, and merely circulates those that are sent to it for the
purpose from some central. point. A branch library has its own
permanent stock of books. Mr. George W. Cole, in a paper
on "Branches and deliveries," read at Chicago in 1893, makes
a still further distinction between delivery and distributing sta-
tions, giving the former name to places where books are sent
for delivery in response to a particular order, and the latter
to places where small stocks of books are sent from time to
time for circulation.
All three — branch libraries, delivery stations, and distributing
stations — or any two of these, may of course exist in the same
library system, as at Boston, where there are 10 branches and
1 6 delivery stations. Others have only the one or the
other. At the Chicago Public Library for instance, there are
no branches, but 32 delivery stations, although six of
these have reading-rooms and small reference libraries con-
nected with them.* On the other hand, the principal free cir-
* The figures here given are for early in 1897, and may not now hold
good.
168 ARTHUR ELMORE BOSTWICK
culating libraries in New York City, the Aguilar, with four
branches and our own library with nine, have no regular de-
livery stations at all In our own case we have used schools
and clubs as temporary distributing centres, but circulation
through such temporary stations is really a travelling library
system and its consideration is entirely without the limits of
this paper,
Of course a branch may be at the same time a delivery
or a distributing station. This has been notably the case with
some of our newly established branches, where the stock of
books was small and loans for distribution were made freely
from the older and better stocked libraries. It is so to some
extent with all our branches at present, for one branch often
borrows from another for distribution classes of books in which
the former branch is weak. Any book in one branch may also
be ordered at another, thus making the second play the part
of a delivery station for the first. The relative merits of
branches and delivery or distributing stations have been much
discussed, but so far as our experience goes the solution lies
In just this sort of combination of the two, the branches spe-
cializing to some extent and interchanging books freely.
The existence of branch libraries seems to imply that of a
parent stem, but in some cases, for instance, that of the New
York Free Circulating Library, the parent has been dwarfed
by its progeny and now appears as one of them. Our library
has therefore sometimes been called a "system of libraries,"
or a "circulating library system," but it differs from other
libraries only in having no large central building. It is thus
an example of the fact, which to many may seem paradoxical,
that the usual organization of a large central library with
smaller dependent branches, is accidental and not necessary
to the system. There must of course be a department of
administration, where shall be performed all the operations
that it is not expedient to allow each branch library to per-
form for itself; but this need not be located in any library
building at all, or if so, it may be placed in an insignificant
branch as well as in an important one.
On the organization and functions of this general depart-
ment of administration really depends that of the whole system
of branches. According as it does everything except what the
branches must do, or does only what the branches cannot do,
BRANCH LIBRARIES 169
the system is centralized, approaching that of a single library
with delivery stations, or localized, approaching a federation of
separate libraries. In reality the system may have almost any
position between these two extremes. As in any group of re-
lated things, there are always at work in such a system the
centrifugal and the centripetal forces that have been exemplified
on a grander scale in the history of our own government —
one working for centralization and the other for localization.
Exacly what position is taken up under the action of these
two forces depends on conditions and environment, and prob-
ably no two libraries occupy exactly the same rank in this re-
spect. For instance, in the completely centralized library, those
in charge of the branches would have absolutely no voice in
their management nor in the choice of books. Books would
be accessioned, prepared for the shelves, and cataloged at the
administration building, all lists and bulletins would be pre-
pared there, etc. On the other hand, in the completely localized
library each branch would do all this work for itself and would
have its own rules. In the extreme case each would have its
separate librarian, responsible only to the trustees.
One of the determining conditions toward either centraliza-
tion or localization would be, of course, the previous existence
of one or more branches as separate libraries that were after-
wards absorbed into the larger organization. In such a case
it may be necessary or expedient to leave a larger measure of
local control than would otherwise be done. Centralizing ten-
dencies, however, have usually gained the day.
In Boston several of the present branches were originally
separate libraries. At Pratt Institute the Long Island Branch,
and in Philadelphia the Chestnut Hill Branch were formerly
independent. In New York two branches of the Aguilar were
taken in from other management, and the Free Circulating as-
sumed charge in May last of the first branch acquired in this
way — the Riverside in West 6oJ;h street. In nearly all these
cases old methods have been at once altered to conform with
the usage of the main library. The exceptions are the Aguilar,
where the branches so acquired are still permitted to use their
own methods of circulation, but are uniform In other respects,
and the new Riverside branch of the Free Circulating, which
by special agreement retains the open-shelf system, and thus
differs in some respects from the older branches. The open-
i7o ARTHUR ELMORE BOSTWICK
shelf system, however, has also been Introduced in the newest
branch— the Yorkville, at Second ave. and 79*h st, and
there is some probability that it may be adopted elsewhere,
so that we may see the unusual case of the older branches
of a library taking tip one of the features of the newest branch,
As regards the preparation and cataloging of books, the
existing libraries that have branches are in various stages, gen-
erally inclining, however, to centralization.
At Pratt Institute the branches have separate registers, cata-
logs, and shelf lists, but the main library does all accessioning
and keeps all applications. Cataloging is done at the branch,
the title-page being marked at the main library. At Baltimore
and Philadelphia the branches have separate accession books,
but these are all kept at the main library, while each branch
retains its own register. At Boston each branch has a separate
accession book and register, but cataloging is all done at the
central library, which is also the case in Baltimore and Phila-
delphia. In New York, both at the Aguilar and the Free Cir-
culating, each branch is complete in itself as regards accession
book, register, and catalog, and cataloging is done chiefly at
the branch, under the direction of the central cataloging de-
partment.
At Boston there is at the central library a union catalog,
accession book, and register; Pratt Institute has a union acces-
sion book but no union catalog nor register; Baltimore has a
union shelf list and a printed union finding list ; Philadelphia has
an official union catalog at the central library. In New York
the Aguilar has no union accession book, register, or catalog;
the Free Circulating has a union shelf list and is making a
union card catalog, a duplicate of which it is intended to place
in every branch. The monthly bulletin of accessions is printed
in union form.
An important requisite, if there are to be union catalogs
or lists, is uniformity of numbering in all the branches. This
exists or is attempted at Pratt Institute, Baltimore, and the
Aguilar, and the work of making the numbers uniform has
been nearly finished at the Free Circulating. At Boston no
attempt has yet been made to have numbers uniform at all
the branches, but such uniformity is considered by the libra-
rian highly desirable and will probably be realized in the future.
BRANCH LIBRARIES 171
In Philadelphia numbers are the same at all the branches, but
not necessarily the same as those of the central library.
In other details, however, the necessity for uniformity is
not so great, and it is always necessary for the librarian to
ask himself whether uniformity among branches in a given
case is more desirable than a departure from it in the interest
of a particular locality. In general we may say that in all
matters that pertain to the systematic and routine work of
the library uniformity is the first thing to be considered. Then
an assistant from one branch can be transferred to another
at a moment's notice and fall into her place quickly and natuarally.
The machinery of such a system is like that of a machine-made
watch or gun, where the parts are thoroughly interchangeable
— that of a branch which has its own peculiar methods, excellent
though they may be, is like the Swiss watch that must have a
wheel made especially to fit the place of one that gives out.
But in minor matters each branch should adapt itself to local
conditions. All cannot have rooms of the same size and shape,
and the same arrangement of shelving. It is on the proper
drawing of this line between uniformity and non-uniformity
that the success of a system of branch libraries largely depends,
and the fact that every library has drawn it in a slightly dif-
ferent place and is generally satisfied with that place shows
that what is good for Philadelphia may not be good for Boston
or for New York.
Another region where the line may be drawn in different
places is that of the relations between those in charge of the
branches and their chief. The names given to these officials
are often significant of the tendency toward centralization or
the reverse. The head is sometimes simply the librarian, and
they are "custodians" or at most "assistants- in-charge." At
the Free Circulating Library they are librarians-in-charge and
he is librarian-in-chief. The former nomenclature belongs to
a more highly centralized system than the latter. There may,
of course, be various ways of keeping in touch with the heads
of branches and of keeping them in touch with each other. At
Boston the heads of the branches meet at the central library
once a week for consultation with the Supervisor of Branches
and Stations. At Philadelphia there is no stated meeting, ex-
cept on pay-day once a month. At Baltimore each custodian
reports personally at the central library every Monday morning.
172 ARTHUR ELMORE BOSTWICK
At the Free Circulating Library there is a weekly meeting of
librarians-in-eharge of branches, at which the chief librarian
presides, and at which views are interchanged freely. At Balti-
more the chief librarian visits the branches fortnightly, at Pratt
about once a month, at Philadelphia "pretty frequently," at the
Aguilar once a week, and at the Free Circulating Library sev-
eral times a week — from twice to five times, oftener the latter.
There is also telephone communication in Philadelphia, at the
New York Free Circulating, and probably in other cases where
it is not specially reported. It seems to me that the officer
in charge of the branches, usually the chief librarian, but some-
times a special supervisor as at Boston, in order to do his
work to the best advantage must see the heads of branches
both all together and separately. In other words he must meet
with them at stated times and must also visit each branch fre-
quently. Some necessary information can best be obtained by
informal comparison of experiences and some by separate re-
port. Here again we have the balance between uniformity and
localization.
Besides these informal word-of-mouth discussions and re-
ports, of course something more formal is necessary at stated
intervals. At the New York Free Circulating Library written
reports embracing a variety of details, somewhat greater in
number than those inserted in the annual report, are filled in
on blank forms by the different librarians-in-charge monthly
and submitted to the chief librarian, to be shown by him to
the library committee. In Boston the custodians of the branches
report each month to the central library their circulation, books
received from the central library, their accessions, losses, fines,
registrations, and a record of library publications which they
have distributed. At Philadelphia each librarian communicates
with the chief librarian whenever there is anything special to
report. At the Aguilar Library there are monthly reports on
the lines already laid down, as also at Pratt Institute. At the
Enoch Pratt Library the librarian states that reports are made
weekly, but it is possible that he does not refer to written
reports. At the Free Circulating Library a special feature of
the monthly reports is the comparison of the circulation, reading-
room attendance, etc., with that of the corresponding month
in the year previous. By this means we keep a close watch
on the condition of each branch, so far as its decrease or
BRANCH LIBRARIES 173
increase of usefulness is concerned. By this means also a
healthy rivalry is stimulated, each librarian-in-charge striving
to increase the work done by the branch at a more rapid rate
than the others.
The annual reports can of course be made up from the
monthly reports, but it is better to require each branch, to sub-
mit a special annual report, covering additional details. In
the Free Circulating Library, for instance, class percentages
are made out only once a year and the total number of books
in the libraries is reported at the same time. In Boston the
additional points covered are statistics of binding and classi-
fication, and a general history of the previous year.
The different position of various libraries in the scale be-
tween centralization and localization is shown again in the
parts taken by librarians of branches in the selection of books.
At Pratt Institute, for instance, the heads of branches make
suggestions of books that seem most in demand at their several
branches. At Philadelphia the librarians-in-charge are requested
from time to time to send in lists of books, and their recom-
mendations are generally followed. The limitation denoted by
that word "generally" is more closely defined by the librarian
when he adds, "If they ask for 'The sorrows of Satan* they
don't get it." In Boston "branch-custodians are invited to rec-
ommend books for addition to their branches." At Baltimore,
those in charge of branches have no voice in the selection of
books, although they may suggest to the librarian what they
want. At the Aguilar the librarians-m-charge make lists and
in almost all cases the library committee acts favorably on the
suggestions. At the Free Circulating Library the lists of sug-
gestions are ma'de on order blanks and are read and discussed
once a month at the meeting of librarians-in-charge. The
greatest efforts are made to keep all heads of branches in
touch with current literary criticism and to put them in a
position where they can make out their lists intelligently, A
set of the literary and critical papers is kept circulating from
branch to branch, so that each is read carefully by all with
a view to making orders. The librarian-in-chief feels that at
any time he might safely entrust the ordering for a month
to any one of the librarians-in-charge. In almost all libraries
books are ordered from the administration department and sent
there, being distributed afterward to the various branches.
174 ARTHUR ELMORE BOSTWICK
There may b€ exceptions. For instance, current periodicals
naturally go directly to the branch for which they are intended.
In our OWE case, also, books for which there is an immediate
call, or large special orders, are often sent directly to the branch
of which they are to form a part.
The comparative fixity of the collection of books has already
been mentioned as a peculiarity of the branch as distinguished
from the delivery station. Exactly where the library stands in
the scale between absolute fixity and absolute mobility depends
largely OB its size.
The number of volumes in a branch may vary, of course,
within wide limits. In Boston the branches average about 15,000
each, in Philadelphia they vary from 4000 to up 24,000; at
Baltimore from 10,000 to 14,000. At Pratt Institute the two
branches contain respectively 3000 and 5000 volumes. In New
York the Aguilar has 3000 in its smallest and 16,000 in its
largest library, while at the Free Circulating our maximum
and minimum are respectively 25,000 and 5000. The Boston
average of 15,000 is a good one, and where there is free com-
munication with a central library 10,000 probably need not be
exceeded at a large branch, while 5000 is enough for excellent
work at a small one. The reason for branches that approxi-
mate 25,000 is either that they were formerly complete and
separate libraries, or that they contain many books that should
properly find a place in a central repository for works not in
constant demand, as with our larger branches.
In regard to exchange of books between different branches
or between branches and the main library there is wide differ-
ence of usage. In Baltimore there is no such free exchange.
In Boston and Philadelphia there is little of it between branches;
in Boston, because the branches are largely duplicates of each
other, and in Philadelphia, because interchange is not encouraged,
even with the central library. In Boston, however, books from
the central library are constantly drawn out through the branches.
At Pratt Institute books are sent from the central library to
the branches, but there is no exchange between the latter. At
the Aguilar only certain classes of books are exchanged. At
the Free Circulating we have tried our best to encourage the
freest kind of exchange between branches, publishing union
bulletins and lists constantly, and reminding the public that the
whole library's stock of books can be drawn upon freely. So
BRANCH LIBRARIES 175
far, however, the privilege has not been made use of as fully
as we could wish, perhaps owing to our limited messenger
service. Another way to get at free use of the library's whole
stock of books is to allow drawing from more than one branch,
or to make transfer simple and easy. Thus at Philadelphia
persons may have cards at more than one library, although
they are not encouraged to use more than one at a time. At
Pratt Institute, Baltimore, the Aguilar and the Free Circulating
no person may have out books at two branches at the same
time. At Boston there is unusual freedom in this respect. Every
borrower may have out two books at the same time. If he
has a special-privilege card he may have six additional books.
There is no restriction as to where these books shall be drawn,
so that in an extreme case a person might have out a book
from each of eight different branches. These are all charged
on the same card — in red ink if from the central library, other-
wise in green, with the branch's initial.
The trouble about giving such privileges is not so much
an objection to one person's having out several books at once
as the danger that a person who has been debarred from
using his own branch as a penalty for misconduct will simply
go to another. In the Free Circulating Library we issue
temporary transfer cards, which are simply evidences that the
holder is in good and regular standing, and which enable him
to draw a book from any branch he wishes to use. It is
evident that if persons are to be prohibited from taking out
cards at more than one branch means must be adopted to dis-
cover violations of this provision. At the Free Circulating
Library all applications are made in duplicate, one copy being
filed at the branch where application is made, and one at the
comparison department. Whenever examination of the slips
filed at this department shows that the applicant has already
been a member at some branch, that branch is notified and re-
ports at once. If the applicant is in good standing he is given
a transfer, otherwise his application is refused. It may seem
that this comparison is simple enough, but it is not always so.
To locate John Smith among a hundred or so of exactly the
same name, and to try to identify him with some of them
by address or handwriting — both uncertain — is not at all easy.
The work of filing and comparison for nine libraries takes
176 ARTHUR ELMORE BOSTWICK
half the time of one assistant, and would probaby take the
whole time of one not so skilled as she has become.
The question continually comes up, whether the game is
worth the candle, and whether all this elaborate detective sys-
tem is justified by the saving of a few books and the detection
of a few small boys' efforts to evade payment of fines, espe-
cially when by the giving of a fictitious name, as is often
done, the whole machinery may be made of none effect. The
conclusion with us has always been, so far, that the moral effect
of the system on the public is its justification. As soon as
the impression gains ground that a library is careless and can
be cheated with impunity a great many persons are tempted
to try the experiment who otherwise would never think of
such a thing.
The number of assistants at a branch library will, of course,
depend largely on the work required, being least where the
tendency is toward making the branch a mere distributing sta-
tion and greatest where it approximates an independent library.
Thus most librarians hesitate to lay down a general rule on
this point At the New York Free Circulating Library we
find that one is required for about every 2000 o'f monthly
circulation, and the Aguilar reports that its experience is the
same. In Boston one assistant is .required for 1250 of monthly
circulation. In Philadelphia one branch of 28,000 circulation
has 14 assistants, and another of 16,000 has g — just about our
proportion, while the smallest branch, with 1700 circulation, has
two. Pratt Institute requires the full time of two assistants
and half the time of a third for circulations of 2000 to 3000
volumes. But, of course, any rule that lays down a ratio
of number of assistants to circulation will hold good only
where a considerable number is required. We have operated a
branch from 2 till 9 p. m., circulating about 2000 a month, with
only one librarian, and a branch open from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m.,
circulating 7000, with only two. This shows what can be done
in extreme cases, but, of course, in these instances the labors
of the assistants, aside from direct attention to the circulation,
were made as light as possible.
THE BRANCH LIBRARY AND ITS RELATION
TO THE DISTRICT
Branch libraries had ceased to be experiments in
1911, but they still had their problems of organization
and administration which are presented In the next two
articles, given at the Pasadena Conference of the A.L.A.
In the first we have a good description of a branch func-
tioning fully in its special field. This is by Clara E.
Howard of the Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh.
Miss Howard was born in 1879, graduated from the
University of Illinois with the degree of B.L.S., in 1901
and has been Teacher-librarian at the Schenley High
School since 1916. She held positions in the Carnegie
Library of Pittsburgh continuously from 1901 to 1916,
nine years of which were spent as branch librarian at the
Wylie Avenue Branch. She was special lecturer at the
University of Illinois, in 1919 and associate professor in
the University of Michigan for the summer session of
1922.
Within the past ten years the duties of a branch librarian in
Pittsburgh have changed. When the branches were first opened
it was found necessary to keep a great many records, but
since the running machinery is in order, many of the details
of the organization have been done away with. At present
the only records kept are those which are not obtainable at
the central library. The branches depend upon the central for
figures of additions and number of volumes in their collections,
and the central expects from the branches only those figures
for which the branch is responsible. The monthly and annual
statistical reports of each branch are now compiled in the
central office where they have an adding machine. As much
routine as possible has been done away with and as our books
come to us already accessioned, shelf listed and cataloged it
173 CLARA ELIZABETH HOWARD
remains for us only to check our orders, file our cards and get
our books into circulation.
The object of this change was, first to do away with un-
necessary duplication of work, and secondly to give the branch
librarian more time for field work which is much more vital.
In some of the fundamental principles a certain amount of
uniformity Is required, but as the eight branch districts in
Pittsburgh are so different and individual, it is the policy of
the library to give the branch librarian full power to develop
the district as she may see fit, so long as she keeps within her
appropriation and the genera! policy of the library system. She
has no limits except the physical ones, the size of her building
and staff. She is made to feel that the library board and the
librarian particularly are in sympathy with what she is trying
to do, and that she has their hearty cooperation. She becomes
a part of the community in which she works, and is vitally
interested in all its activities. In this respect a branch library
closely resembles a library in a small community.
The Wylie Avenue Branch is situated in the heart of what
is known as the "Hill District." At one time this was a
very well-to-do part of Pittsburgh with substantial and well
built homes, but for the most part this better class of people,
the old families and even the lower middle class have left the
district, and their places have been taken by foreigners and
negroes. The homes were originally built for one or two fam-
ilies, but they have been changed to such an extent that we
now find five or six families occupying the same building. Many
of the parlors have been turned into storerooms and here we
find tailors, grocers, butchers, bakers and toby-makers who make
up the trades people of the neighborhood. The entire neigh-
borhood is badly congested, and it is a common occurrence
for a family to move five or six times a year in their efforts
to find more livable quarters.
The nationalities represented at the branch are American,
English, Jewish, Russian, German, Austrian, Italian, Roumanian,
Hungarian, French, Negro, Scotch, and Irish. The district is
essentially Jewish, but the people are divided into groups of
German Jews, Russian Jews and Roumanian Jews, so there
is a lack of community life and community interest Few women
among the foreigners use the library. Either they are sus-
picious of all reading on account of the years of oppression
BRANCH LIBRARY RELATION TO DISTRICT 179
in their native land, or they have very little time from their
household drudgery or they do not know how to read. The
foreign men seem more anxious to get books in their native
languages and read constantly. The library has been working
to get a good collection of books in the foreign languages, as
they are now looked upon as a means of establishing a home
feeling in a new country where the foreigner can be brought
into a sympathetic understanding of our life and institutions.
The public school looks after the children of the aliens, but
the parents land in America when they are beyond the age of
the elementary school and very often the only way they can
learn is through unpleasant experiences. Books which tell the
parent that it is against the law to send his child to work
before he is fourteen, what the taxes are for and where they
go, where to get naturalization papers and questions of similar
nature save the foreigner a great deal of embarrassment at
times and render him a service which he does not soon forget.
It is really marvelous how readily the foreigners do assimilate.
They are quick to learn and many times their efforts to secure
an education after they are advanced in years is pathetic. They
want to learn English and will even ask for a copy o£ the
alphabet that they may learn to read and write at home. Primers,
first and second readers are in constant demand by the parents,
and the library buys all the so-called "Helps to Foreigners"
that can be procured.
One of the most important agencies of the district is of
course the public school. Regular visits are planned in the fall
when the schools are well started to meet the principal and
new teachers, to tell them about the library and its catalogs
especially The Children's Catalog and Graded List of Books
for use in the schools, the picture collection and the books
on the Teachers' Reading Circle list Our plan of cooperation
is explained and the teachers are usually most cordial. One
of the strongest points that we try to make is to get the
teachers to notify us in advance if they are to assign a special
topic for composition work or outside reading so that we may
have the material looked up before the children come in for it.
If the principal is willing, and usually she is most anxious for
us to visit the different rooms, we tell the children about the
library, how they may get cards to take books home and that
the library has many books which their fathers and mothers
i8o CLARA ELIZABETH HOWARD
might like. An announcement is also made at this time of the
story hours for the little children and the older boys and girls.
If requested to do so, we tell stories in the different rooms.
In my own district we visit the schools only once a year, as each
visit brings in such overwhelming results that we cannot take
care of all who come. We also feel that we might wear out
our welcome if we visited more often. Friendly visits are
made at other times, however, to see the work of the school
An arrangement is also made whenever possible with the
two high schools in the district to enable us to have the ma-
terial looked up and reserved before the demand conies.
A very progressive night school is also conducted in one of
our schools, designed especially to meet the needs of foreigners.
The enrollment is 1200 and 29 nationalities are represented.
Old men and women, husbands and wives and half-grown chil-
dren eager to learn take advantage of every opportunity. A
great many of the teachers are regular borrowers at the branch
and have asked for cooperation with their evening classes. De-
bates, recitations and questions in civics are looked up for them
and a list of good books for foreigners to read after they have
reached a certain degree of proficiency in English is about to
be prepared.
There are two large and very active social settlements in
the districts. Kingsley House conducts many classes in gym-
nasium work, basketry and bead work, sewing, dressmaking,
typewriting and stenography, telegraphy, domestic science, manual
training, weaving and dancing and the library is constantly
called upon for books along these lines. Just now the residents
are making their plans to open their summer home, about twenty
miles in the country^ where they entertain parties of 250 for
two weeks at a time from the poorer districts of the city from
June to October, besides many hundreds of visitors who go
for one day only. The instructor in manual training is having
the boys make kites, stilts and bird houses and such things that
will be used in the country, and the library was asked to furnish
patterns and designs for this work. We are also going to fur-
nish a case of books about insects, birds, flowers and trees and a
genera! collection of books for the children and mothers for
use during their stay at the summer home.
The other settlement is Jewish entirely and much of the
class work is among foreigners who have recently come to the
BRANCH LIBRARY RELATION TO DISTRICT 181
city. The Jewish children are very precocious and much of the
work done for them is along the line of debating clubs and
literary societies. This settlement has a large reading room for
the use of the members, but for the most part the collection
consists of books for recreation so that practically all of the
reference work for the clubs is done at the branch.
In this connection I may mention a serious defect of the
branch library system and that is the lack of a Poole set of
magazines kept at the branch. It is out of the question to buy
a complete set even were there room at each branch to store
it. The borrowers usually want the information right away
and are unwilling to pay the car fare necessary to get to the
central library, nor do they want to wait until the messenger
can bring it. At present we have messenger service three times
a week, but we hope some day to have a daily messenger and
this will in a way alleviate this difficulty. We have estimated
for this for several years, but the final appropriation has not
warranted it.
Each of the settlements has one or two friendly visitors
and nurses with whom we cooperate. If children come to
the library and we think they need attention or medical aid
we find out which settlement they attend and ask the nurse
of that settlement to look after them. If not a member of
either settlement we refer all Jewish cases to one and the rest
to the other settlement
We are occasionally called upon to look after some of the
proteges of the Juvenile Court who are released upon probation.
They are allowed to come to the library for books and the
assistants at the branch make a special effort to see that they
get the proper sort of books.
A children's librarian is occasionally sent down to the
Temporary Home for Children to tell stories and the matron
has at times brought the children to the regular branch for
story hour.
The Boy Scout movement has recently developed in Pitts-
burgh and within the neighborhood there are several patrols
already established. This gives rise to the demand for Boy
Scout books and also books on allied subjects such as camp-
life, fishing and hunting.
Besides the foreigners in the Hill District there is also a
large colored population. Very little is done for them in the
182 CLARA ELIZABETH HOWARD
city. While the settlements do not actually bar their doors
against them the negroes do not feel free to avail themselves
of the privileges. The playground of the district admits them
because it is more or less a city institution, but they have found
that separate classes for them is the best plan.
The library conducts a s'tudy club for colored women. The
work taken up is literary in character and prominent men and
women, both colored and white, have given their services for
an evening's entertainment. For the basis of good work the
club membership is limited to twenty-five, and all vacancies are
filled from a waiting list. The members are the better class
negroes, and most of the young women are employed in some
kind of work, such as hair-dressing, dressmaking, stenography
or general office work. While most of the members come from
the district around the branch a few are from the surrounding
suburbs. The club is looked upon as one of the social organi-
zations of the city, its meetings are announced from the pulpits,
and at the annual open meeting there is usually a very repre-
sentative negro audience. A list of books of interest to colored
people was at one time sent to the local colored newspaper
and this list has appeared weekly with the call number of the
books. There was also an editorial urging the men and women
to become familiar with the books which were to be found in
the library.
So far I have spoken only of the work that has been ac-
complished at the Wylie Avenue Branch. We feel that very
little has been done to advertise the library because we
have been handicapped by the size of our building am!
staff. The greatest problem has been to handle effectively
the crowds that come of their own accord, for dur-
ing the busy months our attendance is often over two thou-
sand a day. We are looking forward to the time when our
building ^ can be enlarged, when we can take a more active
interest in the district working especially through the toby-
factories.
The other branches in the city have worked along different
lines. The West End Branch has reached good results through
several clubs conducted by the branch. South Side, which is
in a great mill district, has found it advisable to open the
branch as a social meeting-place for the men, and very crude
quarters are provided for them in the basement, where they
BRANCH LIBRARY RELATION TO DISTRICT 183
may smoke if they wish. In the Homewood district the Board
o£ Trade has been very much interested in the branch and its
work, and there has been active cooperation with the Home-
wood Civic Club. The East Liberty Branch has cooperated
with the local Board of Trade of that district and one of the
strongest allies has been the churches. Mothers' meetings have
also been a potent factor.
The problems o£ the branches are so many and so diversi-
fied that once a week the branch librarians meet with the
superintendent of adult circulation to talk them over and make
such recommendations as seem feasible. This meeting follows
the regular weekly book order meeting. Once a month a
meeting is held of all leading department assistants who can
be spared and still keep the branches running. At this time
there are usually one or two speakers from outside the field
and one speaker from the library staff who tells of the special
work she is trying to do. These meetings are planned to keep
the assistants in touch with what is going on in their own
library and round about them.
LIMITATIONS OF THE BRANCH LIBRARIAN'S
INITIATIVE
In this paper one of the debatable questions of branch
organization is discussed — the degree of independence of
the branch from the central library and the resultant in-
fluence upon the work which may be accomplished by the
branch.
Mr. Charles Harvey Brown graduated from Wes-
leyan University and the New York State Library
School. Among other positions he served for five years
as reference librarian of the John Crerar Library in
Chicago, as assistant librarian of the Brooklyn Public Li-
brary for ten years, and in the A.L.A. war service in
1917-1919, when he became library specialist for the U.S.
Navy Department. He is now librarian of the Iowa
State College at Ames, Iowa.
As good American citizens we have from our earliest days
been thoroughly imbued with the spirit of Patrick Henry, "Give
me liberty, or give me death." We as librarians have some-
times applied this motto to our professional work, holding up
before ourselves as our ideal, independent positions. We dis-
like to be limited in our work in any way, and it is possible
we may at times spend many minutes in thinking how much
more successful our libraries would be if we were not hampered
by what we may at times consider necessary evils, such as
boards of trustees, chief librarians and in our larger libra-
ries superintendents of departments. It cannot be denied that
there are many advantages in allowing heads of libraries,
whether they be branch librarians or librarians of independent
city libraries freedom of action. Why should not branch libra-
rians be given the same privilege of initiative which the chief
librarians expect in dealing with their boards? Those directly
in charge of branches know the immediate needs of their
x86 CHARLES HARVEY BROWN
own communities better than those at the head of large systems
of libraries, many of which have to deal with different types
and races of people. An over-centralized system may involve
the loss of originality and what is worse the loss of enthusiasm
and interest among the assistants. Even in these days of me-
chanical progress a machine will not do as a reference librarian
or a loan desk attendant. I! the decision of the small every-
day problems which are continually arising must wait until
some administrative officer, usually several miles away, can be
consulted, we shall have continual trouble and vexation of spirit
not only on the part of the assistants immediately concerned,
but also of the public. On the other hand, it is obvious that
there are many reasons why it is inexpedient for a branch to
be entirely independent of its neighbors, as if it were in an-
other city. The economic loss in doing the work of ordering,
accessioning and cataloging the same title 25 or 30 times in-
stead of once, the confusion to the public through dif-
ferent rules in different branches and the unnecessary duplica-
tions of books are a few of the many arguments against a
decentralized system which will at once occur to us. How far,
then, can we retain the advantages of decentralization and in-
dependent administration without injury to the service? To
what extent must the initiative of the branch librarian be
limited? Is it feasible to increase or decrease the limitation of
freedom of action and what are the corresponding gains and
losses ?
It may be of interest to compare in a few points the ad-
ministration of a branch library with that of an independent
city library. How much of the authority that is usually given
to the head of a city library can be given to a branch librarian?
What are the agreements and what are the differences in the
underlying conditions? How much actual and absolute in-
dependence of action can be given to the one and not to the
other? Let us take as a basis of comparison branches and in-
dependent libraries of about the same circulation. At the head
of the independent city library is the board of trustees with
its various committees on administration, books, buildings, etc.,
to which the recommendations of the librarian are submitted.
The branch librarian on the other hand has as her superior
officers the chief librarian and the heads of departments to
whom her recommendations may be submitted. The chief libra-
BRANCH LIBRARIANS 187
rian Is an expert in library economy; the trustees usually are
not. The assistants are appointed and removed in the one
case by the board or a committee of the board after recom-
mendation by the librarian ; in the second case the branch libra-
rian may or may not make recommendations as to the appoint-
ment or transfer of the assistants employed in- a branch. The
rules and regulations for the public are in the case of the in-
dependent library fixed by the board upon the recommendation
of the librarian ; the assistant in charge of a branch may or may
not make recommendations to her superior officers as to changes
of rules. In relation to other libraries and institutions there is
a marked difference. The independent library does not usually
have to consider the limitation of scope due to other libraries
in the same city doing the same general work ; the branch library
must bear this continually in mind. The main difference, how-
ever, is in the amount of money available for library purposes.
The circulation of the larger branches in New York and Brook-
lyn, such as Seward Park, Brownsville and Bushwick, com-
pares not unfavorably in number with such cities as Worcester,
Denver, Providence, Springfield, Grand Rapids and New Haven.
The population of the districts reached by those branches varies
from 50,000 to 150,000, as does the population of the cities men-
tioned, with the exception of Denver, which is larger. But the
amount of money available for the support of these branches
is, roughly speaking, in each case about one-half the library
appropriation of the cities, even if the cost of the administra-
tion of the central office is distributed proportionally among the
branches. This means in the case of the branches smaller
buildings, fewer assistants and lower salaries. As the circulation
is the same and requires the services of the same number of
assistants in both cases, there will obviously be in the case of
the branch library a smaller force available for other routine
work.
Now to what extent do these differences limit the comparative
freedom of action of the branch librarian, and how far do the
agreements permit it. Let us take it as granted that it is
desirable to give the branch librarian as much initiative as is
consistent with economical administration and satisfactory ser-
vice to the public. Bearing these facts in mind, it is not diffi-
cult to come to some general conclusions with regard to the
administration of a large system of branches.
i88 CHARLES HARVEY BROWN
In the first place, the fact that the money available for a
branch is much less than that for an independent city library
with the same circulation, must involve certain economies of
cooperative administration. The saving in cataloging and ac-
cessioning at the general office is considerable and cannot be
ignored. In the- ordering of books and supplies there is even
a greater economy in having the work done at one place for the
entire system, for by this means larger discounts may be obtained
through the purchase of large quantities at one time. How-
ever, this routine work is not such as affects the initiative of
the branch librarian to any great extent, provided certain es-
sentials of this work are left largely to her discretion. These
essentials are first, recommendation as to the selection of books
and supplies, second, the addition in cataloging of certain sub-
ject headings such as may be in her opinion needed in her
special branch. In the selection of books the branch librarian
may not have the knowledge possessed by the head of an in-
dependent library. The former receives less salary and has a
narrower experience. But, knowing1 her own community with
its various factories and industries, she should be given the
initiative as to what books should go into her special branch.
Her recommendations may well be examined at the central of-
fice, as the recommendations of the independent librarian are
examined by his book committee. This is the more essential
in the case of the branch library, as the chief librarian, while
he may not know the 40 or 50 different communities of
his city, does have a better knowledge of the value of various
books and editions. The same argument applies to additional
subject headings. In a general book on technology a bibliog-
raphy of steel works management may be worth a subject head-
ing in a library near the steel mills. The addition of such
subject headings and the analysis of special articles or chapters
may well be left to the branch librarian, if the headings selected
by her are approved by the head of the cataloging department.
It follows, therefore, that although a certain part of the routine
work must for purposes of economy be done in the central
office, yet this centralization does not necessarily lessen the
branch librarian's initiative.
In regard to the personnel, it has been found necessary in
the larger libraries to conduct training classes for embryo libra-
rians. It is not possible, even if it were desirable, for each
BRANCH LIBRARIANS 189
individual branch with its small force to conduct its own school,
but the apprentices may be given experience in various branches,
and the branch librarian allowed an opportunity to report and
recommend as to their appointment. In the case of an un-
desirable assistant, the branch librarian may have even more
opportunity for initiative than the independent - librarian, for it
is far easier for the former to transfer an assistant from one
branch to another than it is for the latter to make an absolute
dismissal. The branch librarian should know the efficiency of
her various assistants and should be encouraged to report upon
them to the chief librarian. If this be done, her initiative as
to the personnel of her force does not compare so unfavorably
with other librarians and is superior to the privileges many
librarians enjoy under city civil service rules.
The reference work is another department which calls for
decentralization. Each branch should have its own reference
collection. Although it must of necessity be smaller than that
of the independent library with its larger building and greater
income, yet it should be sufficient to answer most of the ques-
tions that are asked. The remaining inquiries call for coopera-
tion. If the information sought cannot be given at the branch,
the reader should be referred to the central building or the
question should be forwarded to the chief reference librarian
for investigation and report This, however, is not so much
a case of centralization as of cooperation, and would be found
to a less extent perhaps in our larger libraries.
The rules and regulations for the public must involve some
degree of centralization, although even here the initiative of
the branch librarian may not be necessarily limited. It is
clearly desirable to allow the public to use different branches
if they wish. This involves "some uniformity as to registration,
charging systems, etc. It also implies uniformity as to certain
regulations. It will not do to allow persons in one branch
to take out 5 books at one time for 3 months, and in another
branch a mile away to limit them to one book for 2 weeks.
This uniformity does not imply, however, a central registration
office. The branch librarian may well be given charge of her
own registered list of patrons, thus keeping in closer touch with
the people of her community. As the librarian makes recom-
mendations to his board as to changes of rules, so should the
branch librarian be encouraged to study and recommend any
190 CHARLES HARVEY BROWN
amendments to the regulations of her own library. She has
the further assurance that any improvement she can propose
will benefit not only her special branch, but all the branches
of the city. Thus she may be given a great incentive for orig-
inality and initiative.
So far, I have attempted to show that the opportunities for
initiative of a branch librarian do not necessarily compare
unfavorably with those of the independent librarian. While a
certain portion of the routine work for purposes of economy
must be done in a central office, yet this does not affect neces-
sarily the opportunities ia branch work, and this centralization
may be even a relief to the individual and thus an advantage
to the public. Most of us will not consider that the decrease
of routine work lessens our initiative.
Centralization does not mean uniformity along all lines. The
individuality of the branch and the branch librarian must be
retained. The branch librarian should and must study her
community and the conditions in her neighborhood which may
affect her branch, and should make recommendations embody-
ing her conclusions. Different neighborhoods have different
needs, A duplicate pay collection may be an excellent thing
in a residential district and a total failure in Little Hungary.
A collection of books in a Fifth Avenue branch on How to
live on $500 a year would be absurd. The branch librarian
should be given and should feel the responsibility for the success
or failure of her branch. She should make recommendations
to the administrative officers as to the selection of books, changes
of rules, the personnel of her force, and the extension of the
library's activities within her neighborhood, as the independent
librarian makes his report to his trustees.
How may the initiative and originality of the assistants in
a large system of branches be encouraged? It is possible to
foster the spirit of cooperation among the branches of a system.
Advice and counsel should be given in place of direct orders
in so far as may be possible. The military system is not to
be commended in library work. It is perfectly feasible to
discuss any proposed changes at the meetings of the branch
librarians, who should be encouraged to take part in such dis-
cussions. The assistants should be urged to recommend at any
time possible improvements in the library service, and should
feel free to talk over such recommendations informally with
BRANCH LIBRARIANS 191
those at the head. If this Is done the originality and interest of
the assistant will not be lost; the decision of every small point
need not be postponed. It is not sufficient to say, the "Work
for the work's sake." It is the "Work for the public's sake."
You all have heard of the library assistant who exclaimed when
Interrupted in her routine work by a reader: "If the public
would only let us alone, we could get some work done."
Those of us who may be longing for Independence should
remember that there is no such thing as an absolutely inde-
pendent position in library work or any other work. Some-
times I think independence is what we think the other fellow
has and the other fellow thinks we have. The head of the
library has his trustees and the city officials, who, with their
civil service rules and their inclination to cut our budgets, can
make more trouble than any chief librarian would ever dare to
make. No one ever accomplished anything by thinking con-
tinually of the limitations in his work and by telling himself
that opportunity has knocked and fled, never to return. Op-
portunities are always with us ; it Is for us to see how we
can make the best use of them.
THE AMERICAN LIBRARY
ASSOCIATION
Edward Edwards a pioneer in the public library
movement in England, in his Memoirs of Libraries pub-
lished in 1859, states, in answer to the question : Is a pro-
fessional organization of librarians practicable and
likely to be useful? "If such an organization (of libra-
rians) could be created upon a solid basis without osten-
tation, and without attempting to achieve too much, some,
at all events, of the difficulties which beset appointments,
under circumstances such as have been glanced at, would
be put in the way of removal. In proportion as the num-
ber of public libraries shall increase and as the public
concern in them shall be broadened, both the means and
the desirableness of creating a librarians7 association will,
in all probability, evince themselves. . . But unless an
association bring with it increased means of systematic
study, and of public evidence of the fruits of study, no
result of much worth can be looked for." This quotation
is found at the head of some early numbers of The Li-
brary Journal and expresses the hopes of the leaders in
the library profession in America when the American Li-
brary Association was formed at Philadelphia in 1876, at
the time of the centennial celebration. As a preamble to
the constitution the founders adopted the following:
"For the purpose of promoting the library interests of
the country, and of increasing reciprocity of intelligence
and good-will among librarians and all interested in li-
brary economy and bibliographical studies, the under-
signed form themselves into a body to be known as the
American Library Association."
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
As an introduction to this group of articles we include
one by Dr. JVlelvil Dewey, then secretary of the newly
formed association, in which he points out lines of use-
fulness which he sees in the organization. A sketch of Dr,
Dewey is in Volume 1 of this series.
The interest manifested in the proposed library co-operation
is sufficient to satisfy the most sanguine. Evidence from ail
sides proves that the time is fully come for something to be
done. An editorial note on page 178 of the JOURNAL called
attention to this subject, and the Constitution reported by the
Board is simply another step in the same direction. The sat-
isfactory organization of the Association should take precedence
of every thing else, for individuals are backward in urging
their plans when there is no authority to which they can be
submitted for consideration. Even when brought forward, they
amount to little, whatever may be their real excellence, because
of the need^of official approval. * An equally Important service
will be rendered by this tribunal in pointing out worthless
propositions before time and labor are wasted in trying what
has been repeatedly found without value. Here again individ-
uals hesitate to come forward and demonstrate the folly of
the crude ideas submitted and zealously supported by those of
little actual experience. There are scores of matters already
broached, all of them worthy the examination and attention of
the Library Association. But until the organization Is perfected,
and some one has the authority to appoint committees and
divide the work, each waits for the other, and while all are
anxious to have something done, comparatively few feel at
liberty to do any thing. We have had the conference, and
it was a success beyond all that its most sanguine friends had
hoped. If there were those who doubted the necessity of a
library organization, their doubts vanished after those three
days of earnest and profitable labor, and there was established
10 MELVIL DE\VEY
the American Library Association. The next thing of Importance
is agreement on a constitution under which to work, and after
due consultation that is now adopted.
The interest had to be developed — of the profession and
of the public. The Government Report, the establishment of
the JOURNAL, the Conference, the permanent organization, the
preparation and adoption of a constitution — all these things have
taken time and deserved it, are done and well done. The
necessary preliminaries are finished, and we are ready for
actual work.
One of the oldest living librarians recently said, in review-
ing the year, "Through all coming time 1876 will be looked
upon as the most eventful year in the history of libraries—
the year in which the librarian fairly claimed and received
at the hands of the public his place among the recognized
professions." Something of this feeling has spread, not through
this country alone, but in nearly all countries a new interest
and activity in library matters is noted. It has been the proud
fortune of America to lead in this movement, and the best in-
formed of other countries are frank to say that they have
much to learn on this side the Atlantic.
The result of this interest is naturally a large number of
new ideas and suggestions from those experienced, and from
those little versed, in the technicalities of library work. It is
no small part of the work of the Association to 'control this
interest and to guide it into profitable channels. For a time
much attention must be given to details, and only a librarian
appreciates the importance of library details. Most of these,
once fairly settled, will require little, if any, more attention,
and, when fairly out of the way, the Association will have op-
portunity to attempt that work which to the public will seem
more important and profitable. But we cannot build the house
until we have made the bricks, for they are not ready to our
hands. The problem before us is briefly this: to make the
libraries better — their expenses less. If the average voter can-
not be made to understand the importance of improvement,
he is very susceptible to arguments in favor of economy, and
the proposed work receives the most cordial endorsement of
practical men.
As much uniformity as is consistent among the differently
constituted libraries is a necessity for the full measure of econ-
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 19?
omy; the present extravagance is almost entirely in doing things
by ones, instead of by thousands, and the possibility of labor-
saving In cataloguing and money-saving in supplies is condi-
tional upon the degree of uniformity in methods and appliances.
If no two libraries use the same size catalogue card, it will
be difficult to devise any system of co-operative cataloguing
applicable to all alike, and it will be wholly impossible to
make the cards by the hundred thousand, and thus reduce their
cost one-half. There are several hundred different blanks and
appliances already sent in as contributions to the Bibliothecal
Museum. Many of these are of exceeding convenience, and
help materially in the satisfactory and economical administra-
tion of both large and small libraries. If they could be obtained
of the most approved patterns and at the lowest possible cost,
it would be desirable to use them in many places where it is
not desirable for the librarian to spend the amount of money
and time necessary to devise and superintend the making of
the few that he himself needs. A competent committee on
supplies could do some exceedingly valuable work for the Asso-
ciation by carefully comparing the great variety in use, selecting
the best models for all needed purposes, reporting them as stand-
ards, and then securing, as could easily be done, their manu-
facture in large quantities, so that they could be distributed
to all libraries desiring, at a much lower price than they could
otherwise be obtained. The advertising value of such supplies
to any book house competing for library trade would induce it
to furnish them at a trifling advance on the wholesale cost of
manufacture; or should there be objections to this plan, offers
have already been made by prominent and responsible parties
to make needed library supplies under direction of a committee
of the Association, and to hold them in stock subject to the
orders of the committee, who may pay for them as fast as
distributed to participating libraries. It would thus be possible
for a Supply Committee to carry on this work without drawing
on the Association for capital or support, and still the whole
matter would be under the control of the Association. Without
discussing details, it is evident that there is opportunity for a
material saving in one considerable item of library expense. The
catalogue cards, call slips, special blank books, notices, bor-
rowers' cards, placards (many apply equally to all libraries),
ledgers, slip boxes, devices for holding books upright, library
xg8 MELV1L DEWEY
trundles, steps, indicators, check boxes, etc., etc., while costing
comparatively little to any one, amount to a very large sum
when many libraries or a number of years are considered, for
many of the supplies named from their nature require constant
replenishing.
The proposed saving should not be confounded with Co-
operation in the ordinary sense, which is simply a device for
reducing the cost of getting1 articles from producer to con-
sumer, without paying too much to middlemen. Library sup-
plies are hardly any of them in the ordinary market, but are
things made to special order. Such co-operation will conflict
little with any established business. In each town some sta-
tioner, carpenter, and jack-of -all-trades may miss an occasional
job of "puttering up something for the library;" but hereto-
fore it has been about as practicable to make the supplies in
quantity for all the libraries as it would have been to make
the false teeth for an entire commonwealth from a single
mould. Every thing had to be fitted to its special destination.
While the field is not large enough to bring in capital and
competition so that what is wanted can be secured, like the
necessities of life, at a simple living profit above cost, the field
is altogether too large to continue the wasteful and unsatis-
factory system of each entirely for himself. In addition to the
direct saving in money, such a series of standard supplies would
assist a young librarian very materially in adopting the best
methods, besides tending largely to secure uniformity in other
matters. The Supply Committee, if it do vigorous work, can
effect a substantial saving in money and patience to all the
profession. At the first it will be no little labor, but, once
done, the standing committee will have simply to consider
actual improvements worthy adoption, and to keep the plan in
repair.
Similar foundation work must be done by other competent
committees, so that uniformity of some kind may be established
in regard to a code of library abbreviations, capitals in cata-
loguing, preparation of titles; in fact, the foundation will only
be laid when the Association has given suitable attention to all
these matters, and recommended to its members for uniform
use what seems to be the best. Then we can intelligently and
with some hope of success enter upon measures for co-
operative cataloguing and indexing, and important biblio-
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION igg
graphical or bibliothecal works. At present the diversity in
details is so great, that it is a serious impediment to progress
in these more important matters. Then with tThese details
properly disposed of, we shall be ready to grapple directly
with the main problem — the education of the masses through
the libraries, by securing the best reading for the largest num-
ber at the least expense.
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
In only two years from the date of organization of
the American Library Association, it was possible to see
some accomplishment worthy of its aims. Further state-
ment of purpose and aims was necessary In order that
increased membership might bring enlarged opportunity
for service. A brief editorial in the Library Journal ex-
presses this appeal.
In the Centennial year, at the Convention of Librarians field
at Philadelphia, a Library Association was formed, which has
already proved itself so useful that Great Britain has been
moved to hold a similar convention and to found a similar
association.
The aim of those who projected the American society was
twofold — practical and educational; 1st, to enable librarians
to do their present work more easily and at less expense;
2d, to enable some of them to do a higher work than
they had yet attempted, and others to perform their highest
work better. The first object has been already attained to a
considerable extent. Library supplies (cards, shelf-lists, acces-
sion-books, book- covers, book-supports, revolving book-shelves,
binders, numbers, call slips, and indeed every appliance pertain-
ing specially to a library) can be had from the Supply Depart-
ment of the Association at very much less than the prices which
dealers had found it necessary to demand, and must have con-
tinued to demand if the Association had not taken the matter
in hand. This has been accomplished by the well-known ad-
vantage which co-operation always gives, of having things manu-
factured in large quantities cheaply, instead of singly and dearly.
Moreover, arrangements have been made by which certain parts
of library work, instead of being done independently by many
libraries, each laboring through the same drudgery, will be
done, and done better than ever before, by a central bureau,
at little more expense for all than has been hitherto paid by
202 AN EDITORIAL
each. Various other suggestions for saving in time or expense
have been made and discussed, and still others will from time
to time be brought forward. And particularly rules have been
under consideration for some time which will introduce greater
uniformity and greater efficiency in cataloguing, a matter which
forms a very large item in the cost of all libraries. Most public
libraries spend at least twice as much for running expenses
as for books ; in reducing the cost of the former the Association
makes it possible to buy more books or to effect a direct saving
to the tax-payers.
The second part of the work laid out for the Association
is not less important, and is of more general concern. It is
to increase the efficiency of libraries in the education of the
people. The value of libraries attached to colleges, to historical
and scientific societies, and to other learned bodies, has been
long acknowledged, and their methods are tolerably well settled,
although there are possibilities of progress even in them which
are known only to a few. But it is not so with the libraries
for the unlearned. Their value is not universally granted;
their methods are yet unsettled; many things are still untried;
the libraries themselves are not yet in existence in all the
places where they are needed; there is a crowd of doubtful
questions which ought to be thoroughly discussed and viewed
from every side, — the use and abuse of fiction for instance, and
the possibility and best means of elevating the character of
the reading; and, moreover, there is a great opportunity for
giving important aid in the choice of books. To these ques-
tions the Association will address itself; and their consideration
cannot fail to be of interest to all who have any care for
popular education, for the progress of their fellow-men, and
for the safety of their country. This may seem a large phrase;
yet if there is any truth settled in political science it is that
where suffrage is universal, ignorance must not be general.
The two pillars of a republic, without which its fall is in-
evitable, are morality and intelligence. Our extensive and costly
school system is nothing but a perpetual fight against ignorance,
waged by the State for its own preservation; but it is a fight
which, however perseveringly and successfully it is waged, too
often ceases before the victory is won. The necessities of a
struggle for existence take children away from school when
they have little more than begun their education. We need
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 203
institutions to continue the refining, enlightening work. The
pulpit, the lyceum, the press, much as they effect, are not
enough. They all testify to their need of the assistance of the
public library. The schools teach children to read; the teachers
and the librarian should (but at present generally do not) teach
children how to read and what to read; the library furnishes
them the books to read. It introduces them into regions of
thought and learning, puts into their life possibilities of mental
training and improvement which without it many would not have
the slightest chance of reaching. Rich men's sons, and some
poor men's sons who have suitable tastes and inclinations, go
to college to complete their education; but the vast majority
cannot and do not want to go to college. Is their education,
therefore, to stop and never get beyond the three R's? It need
not, if their town contains a public library, in any way worthy
to form a part of that great institution which has been well
named of late "The People's University." It is only too evi-
dent, however, that public libraries are not yet all they should
be; and to develop and improve them is the task to which
the Association now addresses itself. How this is to be done,
there is not space to set forth here, even if all that is possible
could be foreseen. But one thing may be just mentioned. The
Association intends to prepare (by means of a committee), and
to publish from time to time hand-books of the best reading
on various subjects, with short explanatory and critical notes.
Experience has amply shown that nothing (except personal in-
fluence, which the Association also hopes to foster) tends so
much to raise the character of the reading in any community
as showing that community what is the best reading. There
are plenty of persons who wish to improve themselves if they
only knew how; and the Association believes that it is the
duty, and that it is within the power of the libraries as a whole
to show them how. Single libraries working by themselves
find that impossible which all working together can easily ac-
complish.
One thing is certain, the Association needs the hearty and
efficient co-operation of every friend of education throughout
the country, and with such co-operation it will achieve wonders.
Imagine what could be done by one associate in each town,
who, thoroughly interested himself, should set to work to in-
terest others. And he who already feels some attraction towards
204 AN EDITORIAL
a good work of this kind will be much more likely to deepen
and increase this interest, and will have much more influence
upon others if he feels that he is one of many all working
to the same end; if, in short, he belongs to an association.
Moreover, by means of reports, circulars, etc., he will then be
informed of what is going on in other places, and hear of
the best methods and newest ideas.
We ask you then to join, and also to induce all those within
your reach— teachers, clergymen, editors, publishers, literary
men, and every one interested in educational and political
progress—who sympathize in these endeavors to maintain our
country's fast-waning pre-eminence in popular education, to
join the American Library Association.
How TO JOIN
Send to the Secretary your name (with full post-office ad-
dress, position, occupation, or any titles or degrees that should
appear for identification in a full list of members), and fee
for the current year ($2). He will send your official certificate,
after which you will be entitled to all privileges of membership,
PRIVILEGES
In addition to the usual rights each member will receive
from time to time suggestions for work in his own section,
reports of experience in other places, and other matter of
practical value to any one interested in libraries. In attending
annual or other meetings and conventions, members only have
the privilege of any reduced rates for railroads, boats, hotels,
etc. Chiefly in the rapidly growing Supply Department of the
Association, where may be obtained every thing pertaining to
a library except the books, members may purchase for them-
selves or for their libraries all supplies at 10 per cent less than
the price to others. The amount of the largest assessment is
saved on the first $20 expended, and it is economy for the
smallest library to be on the roll, saving the small assessment
many times over. Private libraries derive the same advantages.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS OF WILLIAM
HOWARD BRETT
The following is taken from Mr. Brett's address at
the Philadelphia Conference of the A.L.A. in 1897. This
was the occasion of the coming of age of the association
and the president takes the opportunity to survey the
past quarter of a century and draws courage for the fu-
ture from the progress of the past.
The sketch of Mr. Brett found* in Volume 1 of this
series needs to be supplemented by the statement of his
tragic death in August 1918, which cut short his service
as librarian of the Cleveland Public Library one week be-
fore he would have completed his 34th year there.
The present meeting of the American Library Association
has not only that interest which attaches to all meetings of the
Associaton, as forming one of those milestones by which it is
accustomed to mark its annual progress and gather up and
preserve in its published proceedings a record of the work of the
year, but derives great additional interest from the fact that
this is the twenty-first year from the founding of the Associa-
tion, the year in which we attain our majority, and that we
come together to celebrate that event as is fitting in this beauti-
ful city, rich with historic memories, which we are proud to
claim as the birthplace of our Association.
The program as prepared for this meeting appears to be one
of unusual fullness, and I shall not detain you from it further
than to present briefly to you some of the considerations which
were present in the minds of our committee in arranging it.
Meeting under such circumstances of time and place, it is
but natural that we should recall the founding of our Associa-
tion, and trace the steps of its progress not merely for the sake
of recalling pleasant recollections, nor that we may congratulate
ourselves upon a certain satisfactory measure of accomplish-
ment, but that by considering what has been done we may
206 WILLIAM HOWARD BRETT
better determine what would best be done in the immediate
future, and shape our plans thereto, and that, realizing how
much has been accomplished with comparatively slender means,
we may look forward with courage and confidence upon a
greater future.
The American Library Association held its first meeting in
the rooms of the Philadelphia Historical Society, where we
were gathered together again so pleasantly last evening. There
were present 104 members, of whom 13 were women. These
represented 16 states and the District of Columbia. The num-
ber of libraries represented was almost 100, and included school
and college, proprietary, endowed, and public libraries.,
The Association was welcomed at its first session by John
William Wallace, president of the Society, in an address in
which, after cordially greeting them and referring to the cir-
cumstances that attended the meeting, he outlined with remark-
able prescience those problems which librarans, both individually
and in our Association, have since been striving to solve.
The papers read were upon such practical subjects as ca-
taloging, indexing, bibliography, book sizes, copyright, the
qualifications of the librarian and his relations to readers, and
the still broader subject of the status of the library in the
community. Before adjourning the Association effected a per-
manent organization, elected officers and appointed a committee
on finance and one on co-operation ; and in naming' this last
committee it indicated the means of progress and sounded the
keynote of success,
The second meeting of the Association was in connection
with the English librarians in an international gathering in
London, in 1877, which resulted in the formation of the Library
Association of the United Kingdom. Since that time meetings
have been held almost every year. They have been held at
various points from the extreme east to the Pacific coast. The
Association has had upon its rolls since its formation over 1500
members, and the present membership is almost 800. It includes
within its number library trustees, librarians, and those filling
other positions in libraries, and some others, who, though not
actively engaged in the work of libraries, are interested in their
success. All classes of libraries have continued to be repre-
sented. Their essential unity of purpose has been recognized,
and the special work of each fairly considered.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 207
The year in which our country celebrated the xooth
anniversary of its independence marked a distinct epoch in Its
history. It began an era of progress in the arts and Industries,
In literature and education, and It marked also a distinct step
forward and the beginning of a new era In the libraries of
our country. The progress of American libraries during the
quarter of a century dating from a little before the centennial
year has consisted first of a wonderful Increase both In the
number of libraries in the country, and In the volume of books
contained in them, and available for public use; and second,
and scarcely less important, in an improvement of library meth-
ods, and the reduction of library organization and administra-
tion to a system.
The report of the United States Commissioner of Edu-
cation for the year 1876 furnished for the first time statistics
of the number of libraries in the country and of the books
contained in them, and the successive reports of 1886, 1893, and
1896 enable us to measure their growth. As you all know there
were in 1876, or just before, about 12,000,000 volumes in the
libraries in the country. There are now over 33,000,000. That
is, In 21 years, or a little more, the libraries of our country have
increased nearly 200 per cent, have almost trebled in volume.
This growth has been due in part to large and generous gifts
for the foundation and endowment of libraries, and even more
to a wholesome growth of public appreciation of their value,
practically expressed in the willingness of our citizens to tax
themselves for their support. These two instrumentalities have
given to many of our larger cities magnificently equipped li-
braries in which broad-minded and far-seeing citizens have
erected for themselves monuments more enduring than marble.
They have dotted the country here and there with smaller
memorial libraries, and have largely increased the number of
public libraries.
During the same period noteworthy developments and im-
provements of library methods have been carried forward. Al-
though before the centennial year much good work was being
done in many libraries, there was little attempt at mutual
helpfulness, and each librarian did that which was right in
his own eyes without the opportunity of availing himself of
the experience of others. The report of the Commissioner of
Education of 1876 gave not only statistics which I have already
208 WILLIAM HOWARD BRETT
mentioned, but also published a series of papers by leaders of
the library movement treating of the more important questions
of library management, and forming collectively a compendium
of the subject which was invaluable to the student of library
methods.
The Library Association, with this as a basis, has continued
this interchange of opinion, both at its meetings and through
the pages of its official publication, the Library Journal, and has
thus furnished a medium of communication by which the ex-
perience of each librarian and the advances and improvements
which were made in each library were speedily placed at the
service of all. The result of these years of earnest work is that
a body of library knowledge has been formulated which is
generally accepted. Library architecture, furniture, and appli-
ances have been studied, and the conclusions are so accessible
that the architect who chooses to avail himself of them may
plan a building which will be pleasant to use, convenient, and
economical to administer. Schemes of classification have
been devised, comprehensive, yet easy to understand and apply.
The principles of cataloging have been studied, and definite
rules for its practice prescribed. Formerly, the great catalog
was the product of the broad scholarship and assiduous work
of a master; a magnum opus into which he sometimes put
his very life, and which became to him a monument. Now, it
simply means trained work according to well-defined rules,
producing a certain result; and, speaking broadly, we may say
that an adequate catalog is within the reach of every library.
Charging systems have been systematized, their principles de-
fined, and the requisites of accuracy and speed measurably at-
tained. Helpful indexes have been devised, and by co-operation
placed within the reach of all. Many practical helps to the
estimation and selection of books have also been produced.
The need of thorough training for the work has been recog-
nized by the establishment of library schools.
I have thus briefly indicated the various branches of knowl-
edge and practice which form the body of library science and
art as it exists to-day. The practical result has been a marked
increase in the efficiency of the library. Trustees and librarians,
upon whom devolves the pleasant task of organizing a new
library, to-day need not grope in the dark as would those of
25 years ago. They may accept a plan from the architect
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 209
and feel certain that the building, when completed, will be
a library building. They can choose intelligently from various
plans of shelving and showing books; they can decide upon
plans o£ classification and cataloging, and feel sure of the
result; they can select a charging system with the certainty
that it will work; and what is of still greater importance, and
would better have been placed at the beginning of this cate-
gory, the trustees may secure at once the services of a com-
petent librarian instead of experimenting with the raw material.
There is no question but that this increased efficiency of
library work has secured for libraries a higher place in the
public estimation, and has directed the attention of the generous
minded to them, and has thus been a powerful factor in pro-
moting their extension and increase.
This great work has been accomplished by generous and
intelligent co-operation, and this co-operation has been mainly
brought about through the American Library Association, which
has been the bond of union and the means of communication.
It is not too much to say that during all these years no im-
portant advance has been made in library plans, nor any valu-
able improvement in library methods and appliances, which was
not first proposed by a member of the Association and discussed
at its meeting, or in the pages of the Journal.
This work of devising appliances, improving methods, and
perfecting organization, received the attention of those librarians
who organized the Association and carried it forward during those
earlier years simply because it was the most pressing need.
It was dictated to them by the circumstances. They gave their
thought, their time, their work, ungrudgingly and unsparingly
to the improvement of methods even in the most minor details,
not as an end but as a means ; building a machine, no detail of
which was insignificant, if it made the machine any more
perfect; creating an instrument which was to perform a great
work. Great as was this task, however, it would be a mistake
to suppose that it entirely absorbed the time and thought of
the librarians, or that their interest was confined to the
work which could be done within the walls of their libraries.
From these earlier times, and increasingly to the present, efforts
have been made to enlarge the scope of the work of the library,
and to extend its beneficent influence outside of the walls
which contain it. In the larger places the area of its influence
210 WILLIAM HOWARD BRETT
has been enlarged, and the number of people which it could
reach Increased by the establishment o£ branches and delivery
stations, doing practically the same work of issuing books as
the main library, and being in effect an attempt to take the
library to those who cannot conveniently come to it. Travel-
ling libraries bring books temporarily within the reach of such
neighborhoods as are without them, with the view not only
of supplying an immediate want, but of encouraging the es-
tablishment of permanent libraries.
All of this w*ork, however, is simply carrying out the older
library idea more fully, broadly, and generously. It brings many
more good books within easy reach of many more people than
ever before, but apparently leaves the choice of their reading in
their own hands. The elements of guidance, supervision, direct
instruction, are not apparently provided for. These do, how-
ever, enter into modern library work quietly and unobtrusively,
but largely. The reader is guided in certain lines by the judg-
ment of those who are forming the library and making it
specially full on the lines which seem to them most useful to the
particular community, it is limited by their decision as to the
fitness of particular books, and influenced also by the catalogs
and indexes which are used. More than in any way, however,
is the reading of a community moulded for good or for better,
by the personal influence of those who have the pleasant duty
of meeting those who use our libraries and helping them in
the selection of their books. So far as this is done it introduces
a new element into library work, making the library no longer
a mere reservoir of knowledge, but more distinctly a teaching
force. There can be no doubt as to the propriety and value of
work in this direction, and no more important question can
engage the attention of librarians than the means of doing this
work fully, systematically and efficiently.
The future historian of the library movement, if he be
disposed to generalization, may possibly characterize, as I have
already suggested, the quarter of a century through which we
have just passed as the period of organization.
While it is true that the growth of libraries during this
period has been great, it is equally true that this is plainly an
increasing growth; that the movement is an accelerating one.
The growth of the later years is greater than that of earlier
ones, and libraries are now increasing in number and in size
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 211
more rapidly than ever before. It seems probable that we are
entering upon an era of growth which will exceed that of any
previous time, and surpass even the hopes of the most sanguine;
that in the generalization of the same historian of whom I
have spoken, the period upon which we are entering will be
known as the era of library extension. This great work we
can, as librarians, promote not only by bringing the work of
the library to the highest possible state of efficiency, but also
by taking all proper means of calling attention to its value, and
letting its good work be known.
A notable thing in the growth and development of the li-
brary is the spirit in which it has all been done. It seems
natural to trace an analogy between human institutions and the
individual man. As we recognize in man the triune nature,
body, mind and spirit, so in the institution we may see the
trinity of material, method and motive. The library has its
body of buildings, appliances and books; its directing intelli-
gence in method and organization ; and its spirit of good will
and helpfulness which calls it into existence and gives it
vitality and value. This is the true library spirit It is this
which brings to libraries endowments and noble gifts and a
generous public support. It is this which impels men and
women to give their time, their thought, their effort, their very
selves to the work. And it is only by an appeal to this same
spirit in those who use the library that it can do its best
work. It is a truism that an institution can only attain its
fullest development and do its best work on lines consistent with
Its own genius. To an institution founded as a library is upon
generosity, and carried on in unselfishness, narrowing rules
and hampering regulations are as foreign and repugnant as
they are ineffective. The free library can only do its best work
by trusting the people who use it, by appealing to their honor
and unselfishness, by enlisting their sympathy and securing their
help in its wTork.
Our library system thus organized and thus increasing is
doing a more definitely educational work, is filling a larger
place among those forces which make for uplifting and bet-
tering social conditions. Among the most important of these
forces we recognize the school, the church, the journal These
years of growth of our libraries have also been years in
which these institutions have been broadening their work. The
212 WILLIAM HOWARD BRETT
school has been applying itself more definitely to the training
of its pupils for productive and remunerative occupations, and
for the performance of their civic duties. The church seems
to be realizing more than ever before how important a part
of its mission it Is to save men from the evils of this world,
to help them in its difficulties, and to increase the happiness
and sweetness and joy of living this present life. The spirit
and direction of the best journalism, the best authorship, and
all the best institutional and individual work, is the same.
The library is not only doing its own work in this direction,
a work which no other institution can do, but it presents itself
as the most effective helper to all other good work.
As the progress and organization of libraries has been ac-
complished by a close and intelligent co-operation of libraries
sharing in the movement, so in the larger work which lies
before us we may hope for the greatest results by a recognition
of the oneness of purpose of all educational and social work,
and a close and cordial co-operation on the part of all engaged
in it. The library presents a common meeting ground and can
do much to bring about such a co-operation.
May I venture to take a moment or two more of your time
to sum up briefly what I have already said, and in so doing
to indicate what appears to be the present status of the library
movement? The work of the past 25 years has effected a sys-
tematic library organization which, while it will be still further
perfected and improved, leaves librarians much freer than for-
merly for the further extension and broader aspects of the
library work. The tendency seems definitely towards freer
methods, and the greatest hope for the usefulness of the library
lies in that direction. We may hope for, and we may do much
to promote a great additional increase of libraries. We are
doing tentatively in various directions much definitely educa-
tional work, and in this as in all of the broader work which
lies before the library in the future the road to success lies
through cooperation, keeping our own organization compact and
effective, and lining up together and uniting the efforts of all
the forces which make for civilization.
A HEADQUARTERS FOR OUR ASSOCIATION
A plan for enlargement of scope and for increased
usefulness of the A.L.A. is here outlined by Mr. George
lies. In the twenty years since this was published great
strides have been made but the association has not ac-
complished all he then visualized for it,
Mr. lies was born at Gibraltar in 1852. He is the au-
thor of several books, among- them "Flame, electricity
and the camera." He was editor with R. R. Bowker of
the Readers' Guide on Economic, Social and Political Sci-
ence ; with Mrs. A. C. Leypoldt, of A List of Books for
Girls and Women and Their Clubs, and a Bibliography
of Fine Art. He gave $10,000 to the A.L.A. for the cost
of the Guide to American History. One of his great in-
terests has been in trustworthy "appraisal of literature/'
For years it has been plain that the work of this Associa-
tion could be broadened and bettered if it had a headquarters
at a leading center of library work. There might be gathered
everything to inform the founder or the architect of a library,
everything to aid a librarian in choosing books wisely, in mak-
ing them attractive to his whole public, from the child in the
nursery to its grandfather in the arm chair. Every experiment
of assured success might here be recorded for the behoof of
librarians everywhere, so that the labors of all might come
to the level of the best. The systematic selection and criticism
of literature can hardly be accomplished anywhere but at a
headquarters, with the whole country in its purview as a source
of contributors, with all America as a market for its guide
posts. At that central watch tower should be alert eyes to
discern how best to co-ordinate the vast and diverse library
interests of the nation, how literature could do all the people
the utmost possible good. The beginnings for such an insti-
tution are with us to-day. At Albany, in the New York State
Library, is a collection of plans and elevations of library build-
214 GEORGE ILES
ings, together with shelves filled with volumes of library
legislation, bibliographical aids and the like. Such a collection
kept up to date at a headquarters would have the utmost utility.
At the Boston Athenaeum Library our Publishing Board has
rooms for the issue of cards, pamphlets and books o£ in-
estimable value to librarians. The demand for these publications
would undoubtedly increase were this agency removed to the
suggested central bureau.
That bureau should first concern itself with the housing
of libraries. Our architects of old time were wont to begin
with an ornamental shell, and dispose the interior to fit that
shell; their designs, therefore, are more profitable for warning
than for instruction. Our best modern homes for books have
been planned as much by librarians as by architects. Their joint
purpose has been to provide rooms of such form and size as
best accommodate the various departments of a library, and so
group these as to promote the convenience of the public and
the efficiency of the staff. This done, walls and roof enwrap
and complete a structure executed as handsomely as the funds
allow. To illustrate such practice there should be collected plans
and elevations of central and branch libraries in cities, of
village, town and college libraries; all these graded, with full
details of heating, lighting, ventilation, systems of book carriage
and telephony. Wherever possible there should be recorded
a just criticism of these buildings in the light of experience,
that there may be no needless repetition of error or waste.
Some of our recent structures include lecture halls, museum
annexes, dark rooms for photography; these and similar fea-
tures should have attention. All to be accompanied by exhibits
'of furniture, equipment and appliances of good types, not
omitting the simple cases for travelling and school libraries.
The cost of each item in this array should always appear. The
publications of our Association might well comprise illustrations
and descriptions chosen from this department.
Our headquarters, next after housing, might consider ad-
ministration. First should be collected the laws affecting public
libraries, creating state libraries, state library commissions, and
the like, with their reports. Beside these might be placed bound
volumes of the leading library journals of the world. Next
might stand the works which set forth the chief methods of
classification and cataloging, to be illustrated in the library
A HEADQUARTERS FOR OUR ASSOCIATION 215
itself. Then should come bibliographical aids of all kinds,
whether in card or book form ; together with important trade
catalogs, both American and foreign ; indexes to publications of
the United States and of state governments, indexes to period-
icals, and a complete set of the title-cards now being issued
by the Library of Congress. Here also should be found such
lists as are issued by the Boston Public Library in special
fields of research. In print or manuscript should be presented
methods of administration illustrated in detail, with particulars
regarding organization, staffs, salaries and the duties of em-
ployees. To these should be added statistics of expenses of
various typical libraries, with results in circulation, and a
statement, wherever it can be had, as to what departments
stand highest in public regard and in evident fruitfulness. It
would be helpful to include here detailed memoranda of the
cost of printing and binding in standard styles. Here, too,
should be records of the libraries richest in engineering or
other special literature, with such of their catalogs as may be
obtained in book form. To solicit loans from such libraries,
whether public or private, on reasonable conditions, might be
one of the functions of the bureau. The gist of all this infor-
mation might well be embodied by our Publishing Board in
a hand-book, to be reissued at intervals in revised form.
Work on many other helpful lines might well proceed at
the proposed headquarters. There should center the appraise-
ment of books so worthily initiated for us by Mr. J. N. Larned
in his "Literature of American history." That work and its
supplement, I am glad to say, are to be continued by our Pub-
lishing Board in a series of its card issues. Nothing in Mr.
Larned's Guide has proved more useful than Prof. Chan-
ning's lists of books suitable for school, town and working
libraries. Most of our libraries are small, and it is just such
brief selections by scholars of authority that are in the largest
request. In extending the work of appraisement the first task
at headquarters would be to learn what fields may next be
entered most acceptably. As far as I can ascertain, fiction, the
useful arts, and the "nature-books," are what might be taken
up with most benefit Effectively to carry out appraisement
there should be an unceasing canvass for competent and trust-
worthy critics, chiefly to be found in universities, on the staffs
of leading journals, or contributing to the organs of learned
216 GEORGE 1LES
societies, such as the Physical Review. Each appraisement of
a branch of literature should be directed by an editor-in-chief
careful to keep the scope of selections well in hand, and
sedulous that notes be given such form as librarians desire.
Many of us, I feel sure, would be glad to see such notes brief
enough to be printed upon catalog cards. Reviews of indis-
pensable value appear in such journals as Nature of London,
the Political Science Quarterly of New York; these should be
filed in order to check and supplement the notes received by an
editor from his contributors. A review may often be quoted
or condensed to serve quite as well as a specially written note.
For some years Mr. W. Dawson Johnston, of the Library of
Congress, has edited our series of catalog cards for current
books on English history, with annotations. He has suggested
to our Publishing Board plans for a periodical review of current
literature in all fields, which would enlist a corps of competent
critics. Were the financial outlook for such an enterprise well
assured, it might soon see the light of day.
The training of men and women for tasks of criticism at
a headquarters has happily begun. During the academic year
just closed the State Library School at Albany gave courses
in book selection and annotation directed by Mrs. Salome Cutler
FairchilcL Her aim was to cultivate the judgment of book
values, the adaptation of books to various types of libraries
and of readers. The characteristics of good writing were kept
constantly in mind — that an author's knowledge should be com-
prehensive and at first hand, that he should be judicial in spirit,
and treat his theme with proportion, conciseness and clearness.
Each student was required to read with care a selection from
recent literature and write notes thereon; these notes were
then compared with the reviews of standard periodicals. These
periodicals, in turn, were studied with a view to ascertaining
their merits and faults. Cards of appraisement prepared at the
school are pasted into books at the Cleveland Public Library
and at several small libraries. Another branch of work at
Albany has an important suggestion for our headquarters — sys-
tematic attention to the journals, magazines and reports which
supplement books and bring their chapters down to date. Liter-
ature, especially in .the field of science, is more and more
taking the shape of monthly, weekly, or even daily contribu-
tions to the press. To keep track of all these might be one
A HEADQUARTERS FOR OUR ASSOCIATION 217
of the most useful functions of our central bureau. In all
this work it is desirable and probable that our British cousins
across the Atlantic might join hands with us. After all, much
the larger part of the literature with which we deal is either
written in English or translated into that tongue. Why should
not the whole English-speaking world co-operate to give its
great literature the utmost availability and acceptance?
Throughout the Union our leading libraries are constantly
publishing lists for young folk, selections in biography, travel,
and so on. As a rule the titles are drawn solely from the
issuing library. All such aids could be better executed at a
headquarters bringing into alliance many scattered workers, and
dealing with the whole of literature instead of with only a
part. Much duplication of toil would thus come to an end,
and the work done would be of improved quality. At St. Louis
next year will be published the "A. L. A. catalog" of books,
about eight thousand in number, deemed most suitable for
small libraries. To reissue this catalog from time to time,
revised and enlarged, would be "a fitting task for our central
bureau, enlisting the best available advisers in America. Only
about one-fourth of our libraries have as many as ten thousand
volumes on their shelves; plainly, such a catalog will aid a
public much larger than that served by any of the elaborate
guides we may be able to prepare.
In 1879 Mr. S. S. Green of Worcester, Massachusetts, began
his great work of binding together the public library and
the public school. All that has followed from his labors in
its salient features should be presented at our headquarters,
for it is only in boyhood and girlhood that the reading habit
can be formed and trained. A remarkable phase of adult
education which continues the work of the public school and
makes its home there is conducted in New York as its free
lecture system. A standing rule with its supervisor, Dr. H. M.
Leipziger is that the lecturers shall mention such books as
most helpfully treat the topics of the platform. Many of his
courses develop consecutively, evening by evening, such a theme
in .science as heat or light, or, in literature, the chief poets of
the nineteenth century. For every such series a printed syl-
labus recommends well chosen books. Dr. Leipziger has furth-
ermore begun the service of "platform libraries." Last winter
at one of his lecture halls a series of discourses was given on
2i8 GEORGE ILES
applied electricity. No fewer than two hundred copies of a
standard text-book on electrictiy were there lent gratis or sold
at cost to all comers. In Philadelphia is the office of the Ameri-
can Society for the Extension of University Teaching. The
syllabi published by this society deserve the widest possible
circulation. Take, as an example, the syllabus of six lectures
on Florentine history delivered by Mr. W. Hudson Shaw, of
Oxford. It offers fifty titles of notable books on the themes
of the lectures; the thirty pages which follow are an admirable
introduction to the study of Dante, Giotto, Cimabue, the Medici,
Savonarola, Machiavelli, and Michelangelo. All such syllabi
as these might well be filed at our headquarters, and there,
too, should be recorded the most effective modes of organiz-
ing lecture courses, partnered with the dissemination of good
literature.
These courses are to-day as gladly heard in the country as
in the city, and their circuits have much the economy of the
travelling libraries which follow up and strengthen their work.
Four years ago Montreal, with aid from New York, established
a course of free lectures which last winter went the round of
as many as fifty-one towns, villages, mining and lumbering
camps throughout the Dominion. Prof. D. P. Penhallow,
who is at the helm, conducts affairs much as if he had charge
of a circle of travelling libraries. In his central depository he
keeps instead of books the slides and manuscripts of his lec-
tures; the whole store is in active movement from the begin-
ning to the end of a season. Each community gets such lectures
as it wants, borrowing instead of having to buy the outfits, at
the sole outlay of carriage on small boxes from Montreal and
back again. This system has distinctly created a demand for
books treating the themes of its lectures. Wisconsin has a
lesson as worthy to be placed on record at headquarters as that
of Canada. Her farmers are receiving instruction in agricul-
tural and dairy science from a round of lectures as well il-
lustrated as those familiar to city audiences. In all such work
a door opens for the circulation of good books. Nowhere
in the Union are travelling libraries more worthy of praise
than in Wisconsin.
Thus in city and country, education to-day so far from
ending with the school bench only begins there; its continuance
through all the years of life, a source as much of joy as of
A HEADQUARTERS FOR OUR ASSOCIATION 219
gain, largely turns on good reading. Hence our central bureau
should note every new partnership of the public library with
schools of art, with trade schools, with colleges of science.
Many an isolated student in a parish of Louisiana, or Quebec,
or elsewhere, wants books and knows not where to find them.
For every such inquirer there should be at our headquarters
prompt and judicious aid. What better can we do than rear
a continental switch-board to bring together the seeker and
the knower, no matter how far apart they may be?
Last month it was my privilege to see the work of the
Training School for Children's Librarians at Pittsburgh, which
has just completed its second year of activity. At our head-
quarters there should be not only circulars describing Its courses,
but a pamphlet, for broadcast distribution, setting forth the
hints that these courses have for parents everywhere. To
adapt reading to the seasons of the circling year, to
follow the procession of the flowers from the blood root
in May to the aster and goldenrod of October; to awaken
interest in the men and women who have made famous one's
city and state; to prospect with books of art or science, travel
or business, history or romance; until a young reader's bent
is discovered; to ally story-telling, visits to museums and pic-
ture galleries with the printed page, to form home libraries
and clubs, is to make literature grapple with the mind and heart
of boys and girls as it never grappled before. Surely the ad-
dress and patience of it all deserves an audience as wide as
the nation. The Library School at Albany, first and chief of
its class, has, in the same way, a story to tell which at our
headquarters might supplement its formal prospectuses and re-
ports. A pamphlet which might cost but a dime would give
everybody who is forming a home library invaluable hints
for the choice, the classification and cataloging of books and
periodicals, the best ordering of the notes which accumulate
under the hand of the student or scholar. Of course, at our
headquarters the publications of all library schools should be
gathered for reference, including the programs of the summer
schools conducted at Amherst, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.
I would like to see every large public library in America con-
ducting summer classes for the behoof of libraries near by.
There are thousands of small libraries throughout America, in
schools, in villages and towns, which would be greatly bettered
220 GEORGE ILES
if their librarians attended a library school even for a single
month. It Is becoming the practice for the owners of large
private libraries to call in professional classifiers and catalogers,
indicating another service our headquarters could render.
In this tentative survey, which seeks to bring out the opin-
ions of this Association as to what its headquarters should
be and do, we may, perhaps, consider where it should arise.
Plainly, it might with most advantage be placed where geo-
graphical claims have had due weight, as well as those which
turn upon proximity to great editorial and publishing centers.
If in the same city and its neighborhood, visitors could ex-
amine libraries of various types, all good of their kind, so
much the better. It is of vital importance that this headquarters
should be united with a great library whose books and periodicals
could be used by the staff, and where the best administration
would be exemplified. From its shelves loans might be avail-
able of books not fiction, of plans, photographic slides, and the
like, for all libraries of approved standard, extending to the
Union the service which the State Library at Albany now per-
forms for New York. Affiliated with the headquarters, and
participating in its work, there might with great advantage
be conducted a library school, mainly directed to the higher
branches of study and practice, and incidentally serving as a
training ground for the staff of the central bureau.
A word may be admissible as to the cost of creating and
maintaining the institution proposed. Much would depend upon
the extent to which it carried on its most expensive task, ap-
praisement. Basing an estimate on the sales thus far of the
Larned Guide, I should say that the net loss in publishing
similar aids would vary from three to five dollars for each
annotated title. With subjects comparatively popular this loss
might sink below three dollars; and as our libraries grow in
number and strength all such losses would proportionately
dimmish. A million dollars would provide a suitable site,
building and equipment, and would leave for endowment a
sum which would greatly lift the efficiency of our libraries as
a whole, and add incalculably to the good that the printed
word would do in America and the world. The man or men
to give this large gift would undoubtedly assure its success
by adopting a constitution so wise, and by appointing trustees
of such ability and character, as to shed new lustre on the work
and aims of us all.
AMERICAN LIBRARY INSTITUTE
This outgrowth of the American Library Association
is indicative of the desire for serious discussion of the
vital needs of the profession. Its organization and ob-
ject are made clear in the following editorial summary
from Public Libraries (Chicago).
The much-discussed Library academy has after mature
consideration completed its organization, adopted its con-
stitution, and is about to announce its first list of 70 fellows.
After consideration at St. Louis and Portland [1905], the A.L.A.
by unanimous vote created the proposed library senate under the
name American library institute. The resolutions of council and
A. LA, were as follows:
RESOLVED: That the members of the council present approve
the plan submitted by the Library academy committee to estab-
lish an American library institute to consist of 100 persons chosen
from English-speaking America as likely to contribute most to
library progress by conference together, and recommend that
A.L.A. take direct action by passing the following.
RESOLVED: That the ex-presidents of the A.L.A. be elected
the first members of this institute, with power to add to their
number, to organize and adopt needed rules, provided that all
ex-presidents and members for each current year of the execu-
tive board and council of the A.L.A. shall have seats in all meet-
ings of the institute.
The first institute board elected was : Melvil Dewey,
president; F. M. Crunden; J. H. Canfield; J. C. Dana; and
F. P. Hill; H. J. Carr, secretary.
The sole standard is ability to help solve the large library
problems. No one has a claim to membership because he
lives in a section having no fellow or occupies a position of
prominence. The man or woman who in the judgment of
the institute can be most helpful in its deliberations is to be
chosen for each vacancy.
The board has voted to leave 30 vacancies. The result of
*the ballots already taken is the election of 44 fellows including
the 15 ex-presidents. The board meets in Atlantic City, March
222 AMERICAN LIBRARY INSTITUTE
10, to make up Its nominations for the 26 vacancies and lay out
the program for the July meeting with the A.L.A.
There are no honorary members. Besides the regularly
elected fellows, four classes have seats in all Institute meet-
ings:
1. All ex-presidents of the A.L.A.
2. Members of the A.L.A. executive board.
3. Members of the A.L.A. council.
4. Foreign or corresponding members elected within five
years.
Foreign members who take no active interest in the wrork
are dropped out after each five-year revision, thus elimina-
ting "dead wood."
Election of new fellows is so important as to results, and
Is the assignment of an honor which will justly be so much
coveted by every librarian, that the board is required when
submitting" its nominations to give a summary of reasons
for the selection of each candidate. The vote is by every
fellow in writing and strictly confidential, and no one can
become a fellow till three-fourths of all the other fellows
have expressed deliberate judgment that his name should be
added to this honor roll of the library senate.
While not required by constitution, it is understood that
one of the institute meetings will be held in connection with
the A.L.A. and that at least one other shall be called at a
time and place where there will be more ample opportunity
for consideration of large questions of librarianship than
is afforded by any of the present library meetings.
The dues for the full ten-year term are $10, but those
elected for short terms or to fill vacancies will pay only pro
rata.
One unusual provision makes it possible to determine
exactly who voted for or against any measure at any meet-
ing. Another leaves small meetings entire freedom to dis-
cuss and express opinions, but these will be the opinions of
those present and not of the institute unless they have been
formally submitted to all the fellows.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The distinctive position which the Library of Con-
gress now holds as the real national library of the United
States gives it a place in this survey of library organiza-
tions. Its long years of restricted usefulness and the ac-
tivities of those striving to make it take its rightful place,
form an interesting history.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, OR NATIONAL
LIBRARY
No one is better fitted to recount this history than Mr.
Ainsworth Rand Spofford, who was born in 1825 at Oil-
man ton, N.EL He came to this library as assistant libra-
rian in 1861 and became librarian in 1864, holding the
position for thirty-three years. His fund of information
and his faculty for locating it were both remarkable. He
gave up his position as chief librarian in 1897, after the
building for which he had striven was completed, and was
honored as librarian emeritus till his death in 1908. He
served as councilor of the American Library Association
from 1892 to 1895.
The Library of Congress had its origin in the wants of
our National Legislature for books and information. Its estab-
lishment, like that of some of the government libraries of
other countries, was almost co-eval with the existence of the
Government in a permanent form, the origin of the Library
of Congress dating from the year 1800, about the time of the
establishment of the seat of Government at Washington.
The Continental Congress, assembled at Philadelphia during
the period of the Revolution, represented a government consist-
ing of a mere league of colonies, without central power or
authority; and it was dependent for library aid upon the chance
researches of its members, and the gratuitous use of books
tendered them by the Library Company of Philadelphia. Thus
it formed no library of its own, and after the adoption of the
Constitution in 1789, while the controverted question of the
ultimate seat of government remained unsettled, there was little
motive to enter upon the collection of a permanent library.
The first appropriation made by Congress for the purchase
of books was on the 24th of April, 1800, in the fifth section
of "An act to make further provision for the removal and
accommodation of the government of the United States/7 This
act appropriated the sum of $5,000 "for the purchase of such
226 AINSWORTH RAND SPOFFORD
books as may be necessary for the use of Congress at the said
city of Washington, and for fitting up a suitable apartment
for containing them, and placing them therein." The selection
of books was devolved upon a joint committee of both Houses
of Congress, to be appointed for that purpose. And the statute
provided :
That said books shall be placed in one suitable apartment
in the Capitol in the said city, for the use of both Houses of
Congress, and the members thereof.
FOUNDATION AND HISTORY OF THE LIBRARY
Congress met in October, 1800, at the city of Washington,
for the first time. In the unfinished condition of the original
Capitol, the two Houses, with the Supreme Court, were all
crowded into the north wing of the new building, and little
was done for the accommodation of the nascent Library of
Congress. As the next session, which convened under the
presidency of Thomas Jefferson, in December, 1801, that officer
appears to have taken an earnest interest in the library, and,
at his suggestion a statement was made, on the first day of the
session, respecting the books and maps purchased by the joint
committee of Congress, A special committee was appointed
at this session on the part of both Houses to take into con-
sideration the care of the books, and to make a report re-
specting the future arrangement of the same. This report, made
to the House by John Randolph, of Virginia, December 21,
1801, formed the basis of "An act concerning the library for
the use of both Houses of Congress," which was the first
systematic statute organizing the Library of Congress, and
which still continues substantially in force.
This act of organization, approved January 26, 1802, located
the Library of Congress in the room which had been occupied
by the House of Representatives. It empowered the President
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House to establish regu-
lations for the library. It created the office of Librarian, and
vested his appointment in the President of the United States,
required him to give bond for the safe keeping of the library
and the faithful discharge of his trust. It further restricted
the taking of books from the Library of Congress to the mem-
bers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, together
with the President and Vice-President of the United States.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 227
This regulation was subsequently extended so as to Invest with
the privilege of drawing books from the Library of Congress
the heads of Departments, the judges, reporter, and clerk of
the Supreme Court and of the Court of Claims; the Solicitor
of the Treasury; the disbursing agent of the library; the
Solicitor-General and Assistant Attorneys-General; the Secre-
tary of the Senate, and the Clerk of the House of Representa-
tives ; the Chaplains of both Houses of Congress, the members
of the Diplomatic Corps, and the Secretary and Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution resident in Washington.
The disbursement of funds for the purchase of books Is
under the direction of a joint committee of both Houses of
Congress on the Library, consisting of three Senators and three
representatives, who also have power to make all regulations
not inconsistent with law in relation to the Library of Con-
gress, or either of its departments.
In the early years of the library there was little occasion
for official work with a view to its wider usefulness; and the
care of the few books accumulated (which amounted only to
3,000 volumes up to the year 1814) involved but little
time or trouble. Hence, the earliest librarian placed in charge
of the books was, in the case of each Congress, the Clerk of
the House of Representatives for the time being, who em-
ployed an assistant to take the immediate care of "the books.
The annual appropriation for the purchase of books during these
early years was only $1,000.
On the 25th of August, 1814, the Capitol was burned by
the British army, which invaded and held possession of Wash-
ington for a single day, and the Library of Congress was en-
tirely consumed with it During the following month, Ex-
President Jefferson, then living in retirement at Monticello,
and overtaken by pecuniary embarrassment, tendered to Con-
gress, through the Committee on the Library, his private col-
lection of books, as the basis for a new Congressional Library.
The offer was to furnish the books (numbering about 6,700
volumes, of which a manuscript catalogue was submitted) at
cost, and to receive in payment the bonds of the United States,
or such payment as might be "made convenient to the public."
This proposition was favorably reported from the committees
in both Houses of Congress, but excited earnest debate and
opposition. The final vote in the House upon the passage of
228 AINSWORTH RAND SPOFFORD
the bill authorizing the purchase, at the price of $23,950 was
81 yeas and 71 nays.
On the 2ist of March, 1815, Mr. George Watterson was
appointed Librarian of Congress by President Madison, and a
room in the building temporarily occupied by Congress was ap-
propriated for the reception of the Jefferson library. A catalogue
of the collection was printed the same year (1815) in a thin
quarto of 210 pages, which is little more than a rough finding-
list of an imperfect character. It is noteworthy that on the title
page of this volume the collection is styled "The Library of the
United States," Instead of the Library of Congress, which latter
designation has since been generally employed.
At the next session of Congress, the library was removed
from this temporary building (which was the Post-Office De-
partment of that day) to the brick edifice on Capitol Hill which
had been erected as a temporary home for Congress, until the
Capitol should be rebuilt upon the old site. The annual appro-
priation for the purchase of books was raised to $2,000 a year
in 1818. This continued until 1824, when the sum of $5,000
was appropriated; and the same amount continued the average
annual appropriation for twenty or thirty years thereafter. The
annual accessions of books under this modest appropriation
were not great, although the selections were generally judicious,
and resulted in bringing together a library formed with a view
to the highest utility, and with some general unity of plan.
In the year 1824, the library was finally removed to the central
Capitol building, which had been completed, where an apart-
ment 92 feet in length by 32 feet in width (still occupied as the
central library hall) was fitted up to receive the books.
There the library continued to grow, slowly but surely, until
it had accumulated, by the year 1851, 55,000 volumes of books.
On the 24th of December of that year the calamity of a second
fire overtook the Library of Congress. A defective flue, which
had been neglected, and was surrounded with wooden material,
communicated the flames to the adjoining shelving, and the entire
library, then, as now, occupying the western front of the Capitol,
was soon wrapped in flames. The fire occurring in the night,
its extinction was attended with great delay, so that only 20,000
volumes were saved from the flames. These, however, embraced
the more valuable portion of the library at that time, including
the whole of the department of jurisprudence, American history
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 229
and biography, and political science. But the important divisions
of geography, voyages and travels, English and European his-
tory, fine arts, natural history, poetry, the drama, &c., were en-
tirely destroyed.
Starting anew in 1852 with the little nucleus of 20,000 vol-
umes, the Library of Congress soon arose from its ashes, and
has since continued to grow in a greatly accelerated ratio. The
Congress of that day took a wise and liberal view of the situa-
tion, and appropriated at the same session the sum of $72,500
for the reconstruction of the library rooms, and $75,000 addi-
tional for the immediate purchase of books. The library hall,
under the superintendence of Thomas U. Walter, esq., Architect
of the Capitol, was rebuilt in fire proof material, the walls, ceil-
ing, and shelves being constructed of solid iron finished in highly
decorated style.
The Library of Congress thus furnished the first example
of an interior constructed wholly of iron in any public build-
ing in America.
The liberal appropriation made by Congress for books soon
began to show its fruits in the acquisition of multitudes of
volumes of the best literature in all departments; and many
expensive art publications, sets of periodicals, and valuable
and costly works in natural history, architecture, and other
sciences were added to its stores. By the year 1860 the library
had grown to about 75,000 volumes.
Soon after the outbreak of the civil war in 1861 the regular
appropriation for the purchase of books was increased from
$7,000 to $10,000 per annum, the great cost of imported books
rendering it very difficult to keep up with the current literature
of value and to continue to supplement the deficiencies of the
collection within the limits of the former meagre appropriation.
THE SMITHSONIAN LIBRARY
In the year 1866, the Library of Congress received a most
important accession in the transfer to its shelves of the whole
collection of books gathered by the Smithsonian Institution,
and representing twenty years' accumulation since its estab-
lishment. This collection was a most valuable complement to
the library already gathered at the Capitol, being well supplied
with books in the natural and exact sciences, and quite unique
in the multitude of publications of learned societies in all parts
230 AINSWORTH RAND SPOFFORD
of the world and In nearly all the modern languages. With
this large addition (numbering nearly 40,000 volumes) the Li-
brary of Congress became at once the most extensive and valu-
able repository of material for the wants of scholars which
was to be found in the United States. By the terms of transfer
of the Smithsonian Library, Congress became its custodian dur-
ing such time as the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
should continue the deposit, it being stipulated that the expense
of binding and cataloguing of all books should be defrayed by
Congress in return for this valuable and annually increasing
addition to its stores. This arrangement, while it relieves the
funds of the Smithsonian Institution from an annual charge in
maintaining a library, secures to the National Library an in-
valuable scientific department without material cost ; and the
deposit, supplying as it does a much larger library of use and
reference to the scholars of the country than is to be found
in any one body elsewhere, is likely to be a permanent one.
THE FORCE LIBRARY
In the following year (1867) Congress became the purchaser
of a very extensive historical library, formed by the late Peter
Force, of Washington. This collection represented nearly fifty
years of assiduous accumulation by a specialist devoted to the
collection of books, pamphlets, periodicals, maps, manuscripts,
£c., relating to the colonization and history of the United States.
This purchase, which was effected at the price of $100,000, in-
cluded, besides nearly 60,000 articles (or titles) in books, pam-
phlets, and manuscripts, the entire unpublished materials of the
Documentary History of the United States, a work to which
Mr. Force had dedicated his life, and nine folio volumes of
which, embracing a portion only of the history of the revolu-
tionary period, had been published. This wise and timely pur-
chase saved from dispersion one of the most valuable libraries
ever gathered by a single hand, and has treasured up in a national
fire proof repository multitudes of original political and military
papers and historical documents, which are unique, and throw
much light upon our revolutionary history, as well as upon that
of subsequent periods.
By the accessions of succeeding years, the department of
American history has been still further enriched by assiduous
care in selecting from catalogues at home and abroad, and pur-
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 231
chasing at every important auction sale whatever works were
not already in the Library of Congress illustrative of the dis-
covery, settlement, history, topography, natural history, and
politics of America.
THE LAW LIBRARY
The law department of the Library of Congress was con-
stituted by act of July 14, 1832. Prior to that time the whole
collection had been kept together; but the wants and conven-
ience of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
would, it was found, be greatly promoted by removing the
department of jurisprudence into a separate room more con-
veniently accessible to the court and conference rooms of that
tribunal. By the same act the Librarian of Congress was re-
quired to take charge of the law library, which was made a
part of the Library of Congress subject to the same regula-
tions as the general library, except that the justices of the
Supreme Court were empowered to make such rules for the
use of the same by themselves and the attorneys and counsellors
of said court during its sessions as they should deem proper.
The annual appropriation for the purchase of law books was
fixed at $1,000, and a special sum of $5,000 was twice appro-
priated to enrich the law department, which, at the time It
was set apart, consisted of only 2,011 volumes. From 1850 to
the present time the annual sum appropriated for law books
has been $2,000. The law library was first placed in a room
adjacent to the main collection, on the same floor. Removed
in 1848 to the floor underneath, near what was then the Su-
preme Court room, it was finally lodged in the Supreme Court
room itself in December, 1860, the court having been trans-
ferred to the former Senate chamber on the upper floor.
The Law Library of Congress is rich in the English and
American reports, of which it possesses full sets, many of
them being in duplicate. In civil law it contains all the leading
works, and many of the more obscure collateral treatises. In
the statue law of the several States, and of the chief foreign
nations of the globe, it is well equipped ; its collection of treatises
in every department of the common law and miscellaneous law
literature, both in English and French, is large, though far
from complete ; while its collection of sets of all important law
periodicals, whether English, French, or American, surpasses
232 A1NSWORTH RAND SPOFFORD
that of any other library in the United States. It now numbers
upwards of 35,000 volumes, exclusive of works on the law of
nations and nature, and the journals 'and documents of legis-
lative bodies, which form a part of the general Library of
Congress.
EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF THE COLLECTIONS
It may be said that the central idea of a library for the
use of a legislative body should be completeness in the two
departments of jurisprudence and political science. Yet a library
adequately contributing to the enlightenment of the legislators
of a nation must necessarily embrace much more than this.
There is, in fact, no department of science or literature which
may not require at any moment to be drawn upon to lend its
aid. Further than this, as the Library of Congress is also freely
open for the use and reference of the much larger public, resi-
dent or temporarily sojourning at the seat of Government, it
must inevitably, by the mere law of growth, become sooner
or later a universal library, in which no department shall be
neglected. While, therefore, the importance of rendering it ap-
proximately complete in books relating to law and government
has been kept steadily in view, it has also been assiduously
enriched in other directions. Its accumulation of authorities
in English and European history and biography is especially
extensive. Its collection of periodicals is very rich, and there
are few English or American reviews or magazines of any note
of which complete sets are not to be found upon its shelves.
An admirable selection of the more important literary and sci-
entific periodicals published in France, Germany, Italy, Switzer-
land, and other countries of Europe, is also to be found here.
As the library of the American people, supported and con-
stantly enlarged by taxation, it is eminently fitting that this
library should not only be freely accessible to the whole people,
but that it should furnish the fullest possible stores of informa-
tion in every department of human knowledge. While, there-
fore, more particular attention has been devoted to rendering
the library complete in jurisprudence, history, and Americana,
there is no department which has been neglected in its forma-
tion; and it is, accordingly, becoming measurably complete in
many directions which, were it merely the Library of Congress
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 233
and for the 'sole use of a legislative body, would not receive
special attention. As one example, it may be stated that this
library contains much the largest collection of the county and
town histories of Great Britain and of genealogical works, to
be found in America.
The present numerical extent of the Library of Congress
may be summed up in saying that it contains 300,000 volumes,
besides about 60,000 pamphlets. But this estimate by enumer-
ation, although commonly the first item asked for, is very far
from constituting a practical test of the value of any library.
Non mult a, sed multutn applies with strict pertinence to the
intellectual wealth stored within the alcoves of a great library.
And with regard to the careful selection and winnowing of
books, so that we may be sure to have the best on any given
subject, no matter what other collection contains the most, it
may be said that it has been the steady aim to secure for the
Library of Congress the most comprehensive materials which
can be contributed to the enlightenment of readers upon every
theme that interests men. Further than this, suggestions of
books wanting in the collection have been welcomed from
all quarters, and whenever found worthy of incorporation in
the library, they have been procured*
THE COPYRIGHT DEPARTMENT
It remains to consider, briefly, one distinctive field of the
operations of the Library of Congress, namely, its copyright
accessions. By an act of Congress approved July 8, 1870,
the entire registry of copyrights within the United States,
which was previously scattered all over the country in the
offices of the clerks of the United States district courts, has
been transferred to the office of the Librarian of Congress^,
The reasons for this step were threefold: i. To secure the
advantage of one central office at the seat of government
for keeping all the records relating to copyrights, so that any
fact regarding literary property can be learned by a single
inquiry at Washington. 2. This transfer of copyright busi-
ness to the office of the Librarian of Congress adds to the
registration of all original publications the requirement of a
deposit of each publication entered, in order to perfect the
copyright. This secures to the library of the government
an approximately complete representation of the product of
234 AINSVVORTH RAND SPOFFORD
the American mind in every department of printed matter.
The resulting advantage to authors and students of being
certain of finding all the books which the country has pro-
duced in any given department is incalculable. 3. The pe-
cuniary fees for the record of copyrights are now paid di-
rectly into the treasury, instead of being absorbed, as for-
merly, by the clerical expenses in the offices of the district
clerks.
The average number of copyright entries is not far from
12,000 per annum. As two copies of each publication are re-
quired to be deposited in the library as a condition of per-
fecting copyright, the annual receipts under this head amount
to nearly 25,000 articles. Of this large number, however, one-
half are duplicates, while a very large share are not books, but
musical compositions, 'engravings, chromes, photographs, prints,
maps, dramatic compositions, and periodicals. Yet there is, even
in the accumulation of what some critics might pronounce
trash, an element of value which will receive increasing illus-
tration in the future. By the constant deposit of copyright en-
gravings, photographs, wood-cuts, chromes, and other objects
of art, the library must in time accumulate a large and attractive
gallery of the fine arts, richly worthy of attention- as repre-
senting the condition and progress of the arts of design at
different periods in the United States.
By the required deposit, also as a, condition of the copy-
right, of every book and periodical on which an exclusive
privilege is claimed, there will be gathered in a permanent
fire proof repository the means of tracing the history and
progress of each department of science or literature in this
country. As a single example of this, consider how great
a benefit it must be for those who are interested in the pro-
fession of education to be secure of finding in a national
library a complete series of school books produced in all
parts of the United States for the period of half a century.
What seems trash to us to-day may come to-morrow to have
a wholly unsuspected value; while that which is worthless
to one reader may contribute a very solid satisfaction to
another,
There should be in every nation one great library, and
that the property of the whole people, which shall be in-
clusive, not exclusive, in its character; which shall include
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 235
not a selection merely, but all the productions of the intel-
lect of the country, year by year, as they appear from the
press. Thus only will our National Library be fitly repre-
sentative of the country; thus only will it discharge its func-
tion as the custodian and transmitter to future generations
of the whole product of the American press. No one who
is familiar with the tendency to disappear, or the rapid con-
sumption, so to speak, which overtakes so large a portion of
the books that are issued; no one who has sought in vain
for a coveted volume, which has become almost lost to the
world from the small number of copies printed, and the
swift destruction through the accidents of time, can fail to
appreciate the value of a collection thus truly complete and
national.
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AS A NATIONAL
LIBRARY
The tremendous field open to the Library of Con-
gress, the needs for library service unmet by any other
institution, and the organization by which the national li-
brary attempts to fulfil its obligations are all most effec-
tively set forth by the present librarian, Dr. Herbert Put-
nam, in an address given at the Portland conference of
the A.L.A. in 1905. A sketch of Dr. Putnam will be
found in Volume 3.
I have tampered with my title. The one assigned was
"The Library of Congress and what it stands for as our
National Library." As it now reads — "The Library of Con-
gress as a National Library" — it permits me to speak not of
what the library is, but of what it may be.
The term is "national," not "federal." The Library of
Congress is a federal library and will continue to be, what-
ever the general service that it may perform. As a federal
library it will owe to the literature of the country as a whole
the duty which the state library or the municipal library
owes to the literature of the smaller geographical area which
maintains it: that is, to accumulate and preserve, irrespective
of present demand. For the United States it must be as
these others for their lesser areas, a library of record.
As a federal library it must render a service to the fed-
eral government. It was established to serve but one de-
partment of the government, the legislative. It has come
to serve all three — legislative, executive, and judicial. In
addition, it is a laboratory absolutely essential for the
bureaus of the government engaged in scientific investiga-
tion; and, as you know, these bureaus are many and
the amount and variety of their investigations prodigious,
exceeding those of any other government, or two govern-
ments, in the world.
238 HERBERT PUTNAM
As a federal library, then, the Library of Congress must
exist for the convenience of Congress, and its law division
for the convenience of the supreme court and its bar; it
must aid the executive departments in works of practical
administration, a great many of which — now that we have
come to be a world power — involve investigations into de-
scriptive or scientific literature; and it is a laboratory for
the scientific bureaus, except so far as their needs are sup-
plied by the working libraries which they themselves main-
tain.
But the term is not "federal," but "national," and the
question therefore is as to a service not to the federal govern-
ment which directly maintains it, but to the country at large.
The general theory of our national functions is that the
nation — that is, the federal government — shall undertake
only those services which cannot be performed, or can but
imperfectly, or at excessive cost, be performed by the local
authorities — state, county, or municipal. This limitation may
readily be applied here. The national library for the United
States should limit itself to the undertakings which cannot,
or cannot efficiently, or cannot without extravagance be
carried on by the several states or smaller political sub-
divisions; or (since libraries are a frequent and common
form of private benefaction) are not adequately cared for
by private endowment.
One great group of activities we may at once set aside — •
those which deal with the elementary and the general reader.
To provide for the elementary or general reader is no more
the duty of the national government than to provide for the
elementary pupils in the schools. But besides the elementary
and general reader there is an investigator. The investi-
gator stands on a different footing. His purpose is not self-
cultivation, but the establishment of general principles. An
investigator who establishes a general principle has bene-
fited the entire community. To aid him is a proper concern
of the entire community.
Now such investigators exist all over the country: in the
universities of course, and also in the small colleges, and
countless of them without any academic connection what-
ever. Some of them are within reach of municipal, others of
academic libraries, a few of endowed libraries — all of these
generous in service. How far do they meet the needs?
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 239
A map of the United States exhibiting them would show
at a glance one need not met: the need of an equalization
of facilities. Even the popular lending libraries are grouped
in certain areas out of proportion to population; and
the great collections of specialized material, collections
necessary to advanced study and to original investiga-
tion, are massed in a few spots, chiefly in the far East, the
North, the Middle West, so-called (that is, the states between
the Alleghanies and the Mississippi, and California; and either
in a few large cities or in university towns. In a country of
the size of Great Britain such concentration is no inconvenience.
In a country covering 3,000,000 square miles it may form an
absolute impediment to research of high importance, by men
of high capacity. Even, however, in the centers best provided
the present or prospective service does not appear completely to
cover the need, for with the exception of the endowed libraries
there, is no class of local library whose primary duty is to re-
search. The municipal free library is a department of the
system of popular education. It is to aid the systematic in-
struction of the common schools and to supplement it; it is
to give opportunity for self-instruction to those who have
missed the schools or wish to go beyond them; and oppor-
tunity for self-cultivation to those who justly look to books
for this service. To do this reasonably will exhaust all its
energies; to do even this completely is impossible — impos-
sible with the funds likely ever to be available. Each mu-
nicipal library must take care first of the people of its own
city. It must take care first of the general reader. There
is little prospect that the ordinary municipal library can do
more. It has some other limitations: it must devote its
funds to general literature, it desires only the worthy books,
and in the literature of knowledge it gives preference to the
books which interpret agreeably and intelligibly, rather than
to those which are the original sources. It can rarely afford
the unusual and little used book; and, as a rule, it has not
space for it. If, then, it assists research it cannot go far in
promoting it. Its primary duty is in service of a different
nature.
The academic libraries in this country, in particular the
university libraries, have become the custodians of material
of eminence which they employ most generously in aid of
research. More than any other class of libraries they at
240 HERBERT PUTNAM
present promote research. Their first duty is, however, to
supply the material required in the work of direct instruc-
tion. Their funds are not generally able to go far beyond
this. They are apt to be embarrassed for space to accommo-
date conveniently highly specialized material which comes
by gift and to make it useful in catalogs and bibliographies.
Already the authorities of our oldest university are consider-
ing the suggestion of its president that the largest, the old-
est of our university libraries, which has heretofore grown
comprehensively, shall hereafter restrict itself within the
much narrower dimension requisite for the immediate needs
of its faculty and students.
"Selected libraries" of general literature, working li-
braries of necessary reference books, museum collections of
books that for their form or dress, or rarity, attract the pri-
vate collector — all of these taken together do not make a
research library. In literature the need of research is
bounded only by the limitations of the literature which ex-
ists, and in a country such as this the need of the investi-
gator is not fully met by local libraries however generous,
which are limited in means, in space, and have a primary
duty to a local constituency.
Taking, therefore, the state and municipal libraries in
the aggregate, and making due allowance for academic and
for endowed libraries for research in particular fields, there
seems room in this country for one library that shall be
(1) a library for special service to the federal government;
(2) a library of record for the United States; (3) a library
of research, reinforcing and supplementing other research
libraries; (4) a library for national service — that is, a library
which shall respond to a demand from any part of the coun-
try, and thus equalize opportunities for research now very
unequally distributed.
These are but a few -aspects. Let us consider them a
moment before passing to others. What do they require?
In the first place, an ample building. This we have. Most
of you know it by observation, all of you by description and
by report It is exhibited here by model and photographs.
Certain of its features and characteristic work within it are
being described by my colleague, Mr. Johnston, in connec-
tion with the exhibit. I need not review them. Sufficient to
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 241
say that the building is a large one, with eight acres of floor
space, with present shelving for two and a half million vol-
umes and possible provision for seven million, and with ac-
commodation for a thousand readers at a time. It is also an
efficient building.
The second requirement is large collections: a sure pro-
vision for the acquisition of Americana, and generous pro-
vision for the acquisition of all the literature of knowledge.
The present collections aggregate 1,350.000 books and pam-
phlets and three-quarters of a million other articles — a total
far in excess of that of any other single collection on this
hemisphere, and ranking the library already third among the
libraries of the world. Among the sources of increase are
three which are unique: (i) The copyright deposits, which
ensure to the library two copies of every article copyrighted
on or before the date of its publication; (2) international
exchange — the returns from the issue to foreign governments
and institutions of publications of the United States govern-
ment, loo copies of which are placed at the disposal of the
library for this purpose; (3) the returns from the exchanges
of the Smithsonian Institution with learned societies all
over the world; and the surplus returns (not otherwise re-
tained) from the exchanges of other departments and bureaus
of the government at Washington. From these three sources
the library has already the largest single collection of Ameri-
can imprints of official documents of all countries, and of
the publications of learned societies, existing in any single
institution. It has become the depository for historical manu-
scripts in the possession of the federal government no
longer required for administrative purposes. It has thus the
papers of no less than nine of the presidents, and of many
other American statesmen, from Franklin to Chase. Its
manuscript collections have now by transfer, by gift, by pur-
chase come to be preeminent in American history. It is, I
suppose, now impossible for any work in any period of
American history to be definitive without recourse to Wash-
ington.
In addition to these sources which are peculiar to itself,
the library has what other libraries have — the resource of
ordinary exchange and of purchase; and its appropriation
for purchase is now $98,000 a year. Freed from any expen-
242 HERBERT PUTNAM
diture for current copyrighted books and a considerable
mass of other material, this may go far. It might do much
even in the purchase of the rare and curious books suited
to a museum library. It is not, however, being applied to
these. It is being applied to the acquisition of the material
not precious from its form or rarity merely, but useful from
its content. There is an immense mass of such material
which cannot be acquired by the ordinary library; or which
if acquired, could not adequately be maintained by the or-
dinary library, and which yet is needed by the investigator.
The need may be only occasional, but when it conies it may
be of vital importance. It may come at one time at only
one point, so that a single copy of the book, if liberally
administered by an institution having a duty to the entire
country, may suffice to meet it.
Fifty years ago it was a grief to an observer that all the
libraries in the United States together would not have fur-
nished Gibbon the sources for his history. All the libraries
in the United States will never, I suppose, be able to fur-
nish to any historian of European history the sources for a
definitive history based upon original sources. For European
history, and indeed for that earlier history of America whose
origins are European, and whose relations are inextricably
interwoven with the affairs of Europe, the original sources
are and must remain, abroad. But the secondary sources —
that is, the printed book, and reproduction of the original
sources in transcript, and where necessary in facsimile:
these may ultimately be looked for in Washington. Such a
collection is not built in a day. The library is, to be sure,
not at its beginnings. When the new building was com-
pleted eight years ago it was already a collection of three-
quarters of a million volumes; but only from the comple-
tion of that building — only indeed within the past five years
—has it had resources for systematic growth reasonably
adequate to the problem.
The building and the collections being given, the third
requisite is an organization capable of maintaining them, of
developing them, and of making them useful. The organi-
zation that we have is not a huge one, consisting indeed in
the library proper of less than 240 persons; but it represents
for the technical work a force somewhat carefully developed
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 243
during the past eight years; and the division of now 90
persons which deals with the work most technical— that is,
classification and cataloging— represents, I believe, a group
as highly expert as is maintained by any library, and larger in
number than is maintained by any other two libraries.
Unfortunately, a large part of its energies must still be ap-
plied to arrears of both classification and of cataloging, repre-
senting work which should have been spread over the past
fifty years. No estimate of the service which the library can
ultimately render is safe, and, I may say, no criticism of
imperfections in its present bibliographic work is just, until
these arrears shall have been completely dealt with; nor Is
consistency in rule or method in such work to be hoped for
while both rule and method are being worked out and de-
termined by actual experiment during the present, which is
still an experimental, stage.
The expert service of a research library must extend be-
yond its classifiers and catalogers. It must include interpre-
ters. The expert service of the Library of Congress does
include some interpreters — men of special training in the
subject matter of knowledge, in addition to classifiers and
catalogers, as well as accomplished bibliographers who are,
to some extent, specialists trained in the subject matter of
literature. Our faculty of these is small, and but partially
covers the various departments of knowledge, but they may
be to some extent supplemented from the scientific bureaus
of the government, whose aid can be invoked where ours is
imperfect; and their service in the compilation of bibliogra-
phies and in the direct response to particular inquiry, resi-
dent and non-resident, is a potent one. But I lay stress
upon the group engaged in the technical work of classifying
and cataloging, because it is their product that specially con-
cerns libraries in general,
The collections being there, what can be done with them?
There is of course the direct and immediate use upon the
premises. In the case of national libraries abroad, this ser-
vice is considered an adequate service. The British Muse-
um, for instance, is, as you know, a purely reference library.
The other great national libraries of Europe are essentially
reference libraries. But, as I have said, a limitation which
works no hardship in Great Britain might work a consider-
able deprivation in the United States.
244 HERBERT PUTNAM
The Library of Congress is lending books. It has lent
them as far east as Maine, as far west as California, as far
south as Texas. It lends them only to libraries, but of
course for the benefit of individuals. They must be required
for serious research— that is to say, for an investigation cal-
culated to advance the boundaries of knowledge. They are
not lent for the purpose of private study or self-cultivation.
The need, in other words, must be a matter of public con-
cern. But with these conditions fulfilled the library does
lend. There is, of course, some risk of loss in transit,
and there is also the wear and tear upon the books. There
is a possibility that some book lent may be lost to posterity
seeking it at Washington. There is a risk, to the charge
of which I know of but one answer; that a book used is,
after all, fulfilling a higher mission than a book which is
merely being preserved for possible future use.
The character of the demand already met is assuring.
It is very largely for out-of-the-way articles in society trans-
actions or the less common scientific periodicals. The
number of volumes thus far issued is not great — a thousand
a year — but we have not particularly advertised our willing-
ness in the matter.
Here, then, is a service outside of the limits of Washing-
ton. It is indeed a service to the country at large. In di-
mension it is at present no great service, but its dimension
is not to be reckoned by the number of volumes issued. A
thousand books for mere self-amusement or self-cultivation
issued to 1000 readers will not be a great contribution to
the advancement of learning; but rooo works of scientific
content issued to investigators are a very different matter. In
the hands of investigators they are transmuted through
written word, by word of mouth, or in principles newly
ascertained, and are thus diffused throughout the entire com-
munity. A visitor to the library remarked to me: "Ah, I
see, this library is supplying the authors who are filling the
Carnegie libraries!"
The amount of investigation under way in the country is
not to be reckoned. The variety and extent of material req-
uisite for an investigation absolutely thorough seems to be
indefinite. A collection containing everything that has ever
been printed would doubtless in every one of its parts find
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 245
some use at some time. Do we propose a collection of
everything in print? Heaven forbid; or even of all that's fit
to print. A collection comprehensive in scope is one thing;
a collection made with reference to something more or less
than merely literary worth, and something beyond the pres-
ent demand, is one thing; but an indefinite accumulation
without discrimination and without selection is another
thing. The Library of Congress must discriminate. It
must reject much that is available to it without cost and
must select among the material available by purchase.
Its range will be far wider than that of any local library,
and still there must be both discrimination and selection.
Subject to this, the mere accumulation at our national
capital of a collection comprehensive in scope, representa-
tive of all departments of literature, and as completely as
possible exhibiting the product of the American press, would
itself render a national service. Such a mass, even if inert,
would offer some lessons and exert some influence. It
would be at least a monument
Which is not to say that it need be inert.
The active service of such a collection may consist in
the direct issue of books either on the premises or abroad,
but also in bibliographic contributions based upon it or in
the direct aid to inquirers rendered by the experts adminis-
tering it; or, finally, in the example furnished of method and
system as applied to it.
The single great bibliographic contribution of the British
Museum is . its catalog in book form. The notable contri-
bution of the Library of Congress is its catalog on cards.
What this is you know. What it means, or may mean,
can at present only be roughly guessed at. It is in
the first place a catalog, which is to be a complete
catalog of the largest collection of books on this hemi-
sphere, indefinitely expanding. As such a catalog it
will be available in copies placed at over a score at least of
centers of research in this country. As such a catalog it is
a bibliographic aid in the same way as is the catalog of the
British Museum, but covering in part a field very different,
and covering this preeminently. It is to inform the investi-
gator what books are in the national library. It will ulti-
mately inform the bibliographer more than does any other
246 HERBERT PUTNAM
one publication, or perhaps all other publications combined,
what books are in print. But it is something more than
either of these. The copies of the cards distributed to other
libraries for their own catalogs become a part of their own
apparatus. The sale of these cards to other libraries began
you will recall, three and one-half years ago. We have not
sought to press it for three reasons: (l) Because the dis-
tribution involves to the Library of Congress an expense
and some inconvenience not at all reimbursed by the sub-
scriptions received; and (2) because the cards at present
cover but a fraction of the existing collection, and (3) be-
cause our methods and rules of entry are still undergoing
revision, and we did not covet the task of explaining changes
or of satisfying subscribers as to inconsistencies. We have
not, therefore, sought to push the sales. They have, how-
ever, increased each year in almost geometric proportion.
The list of libraries subscribing, or I will say participating,
now totals 608. The receipts from sales during the past fiscal
year will have exceeded $16,000. You are aware what it costs
to catalog a book. The ordinary estimate is from 20 to 35 cents.
Five copies of a printed card cost but 4 cents. The saving to
the subscribing library as against the cost for doing the work
independently is thus from 16 to 31 cents on each book cata-
loged, or from 4 to nearly 8 times the amount it pays for the
printed cards. The saving, therefore, to the subscribing libraries
during the present year will have been from 4 to, say, 7 times
the total amount paid in — that is, from $64,000 to $112,000.
Even if we take the mean of this, in order to allow for some
clerical work required on certain at least of the printed cards
in order to adapt them to the catalogs of a particular library,
we shall have $88,000 — a substantial saving effected.
These cards are produced primarily for the library itself.
The copies supplied to other libraries for their own catalogs
are a mere bye-product. I believe, however, and I have sug-
gested elsewhere, that in the end so large a percentage of
the libraries of this country will be getting so large a per-
centage of the cards for so large a percentage of the books
in their own collections that the production of these cards
alone would justify the maintenance of a national cataloging
bureau at the expense of the entire country irrespective,
mark you, of any other use of the books cataloged. In other
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 247
words, that it would pay this great community, through its
central government, to buy a book for the mere purpose of
cataloging it and making the catalog entry available in these
printed cards, even if the book should then be thrown away.
Yet we do not propose to throw it away.
To supplement other collections for research your na-
tional library must have the unusual book; to enable its cata-
loging work to be serviceable to other libraries of varying
types, it must have the usual book. The distribution of its
catalog cards, therefore, will tend to round out its collec-
tions in directions which mere research would not require or
justify.
Of bibliographical aids in book form we publish, as you
know, some reports, a very few catalogs of special portions
of the collection, chiefly form groups, select lists of refer-
ences on topics under discussion, and, beginning recently
with the "Journals of the Continental Congress," some
manuscript material in extenso. Of these the reports may
have some administrative value, the catalog a value which
other catalogs have, the lists of references may save some
multiplication of work in local libraries. The publication of
manuscripts is not perhaps so much a service from us as a
library as a duty from us as the custodians of original
sources for American history. But in two publications — one
of the past, and one proposed for the coming year — we
have undertaken a service of a different nature. The first
was the "A.L.A. catalog"; the second will be the "Portrait
Index." The service of the latter of these will of course in-
clude a service to research. The service of the "A.L.A.
catalog" will be chiefly elementary and popular; but in pub-
lishing the catalog we render that service not directly to
the individual, but to the institutions — that is, the libraries
themselves, which serve him. I believe that this distinction
may be salutary throughout While a national library does
not supply the elementary or general reader, but rather the
investigator, yet it may aid the libraries which do supply him
where the aid that it can render will accomplish for them
something that they cannot individually accomplish for
themselves, or if undertaken by them individually would
represent a great multiplication of expense. To gather up
authoritative opinion upon public questions of general con-
248 HERBERT PUTNAM
cern and to use its facilities for making this generally
available — this also may be a function of a national insti-
tution, whether it be a department of agriculture or a
bureau of education, or a marine hospital service, or a na-
tional library.
There is a direct service to readers, or to inquirers. In
a library serving merely a local constituency this consists
in the direct service to resident readers. The Library of
Congress has its local constituency. It includes, outside of
the government, a considerable number of men attached to
the academic institutions in Washington and pursuing- ad-
vanced study or research. It includes also some resident
investigators unattached, and it is coming to include an in-
creasing number of non-resident investigators who visit
Washington for limited periods for the express purpose of
investigation. But beyond this there is now a service by
correspondence; for the library answers every appeal for
bibliographic information that conies to it from anywhere.
The number of such appeals reaches now perhaps eight or
ten thousand yearly, and they come from all parts of the
United States, and are upon subjects most diverse. Those
which can be answered from material in the library are so
answered. Where they cannot be, the inquirer is referred to
a more competent, or more appropriate authority.
"In the Carnegie Library, this city," writes a correspon-
dent, "is a notice to the effect that anyone not finding the
information they desired in that library should address you."
Then there is method itself. Of this, so far as we have
example, one may not speak complacently — at least, I am
not that one. A national library is conceivable which would
exemplify, in its own administrative processes, methods and
service, as well as in its collections and apparatus, what is
most efficient and most economical for other libraries. The
Library of Congress makes no pretense to this. There are,
of course, certain branches of a library system, as well as
certain apparatus necessary to a library of a popular type,
which would have no appropriate place or use in a research
library. If example of this is to be furnished by the federal
government, it must rather be looked for in the free library
of the District of Columbia than in the Library of Congress.
For libraries of research the operations of a national
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 249
library that might offer analogy would be those which con-
cern the accommodation of material, its classification, its ex-
position in bibliographies and catalogs, and its interpretation
by experts. The problem of selection in a library which has
such large accessions by copyright, gift and exchange, and
so small an immediate constituency, has little of analogy.
The methods of purchase might have some. The system of
record, of use, etc., is, in comparison with the scientific pur-
pose, of trifling moment.
Classification is a matter of supreme moment, or would
be unless we give that place to cataloging. How excellent
a service if the national library could adopt a classification
which would become universally current! We have had
visions of such a one. They have passed. We long con-
sidered existing systems, in the hope that one of these might
be adopted by us, if that could be seen to have a clear pros-
pect of general adoption. We considered long, but felt
obliged to conclude that no existing system likely to be gen-
erally current would serve our purpose without modifica-
tions which would defeat the very purpose of uniformity —
that is, identical call numbers. We have proceeded to con-
struct a system of our own, and have thus added one more
crime to the calendar, and further confusion.
We have sought extenuation in this reflection — that it is
a matter, after all, relatively indifferent as to whether a
book occupies an identical position in relation to its
class upon our shelves and upon those of any other library,
provided that we supply to that other library, a key to its
position upon our shelves, and in a particular division of
literature, by supplying a printed system of our classifica-
tion. If the same notation be not used, at least, with the
aid of such key, the symbols of one notation may be trans-
lated into the symbols of another.
I say we have sought extenuation in this. How far the
efficiency of our cards and other bibliographic apparatus is
to be diminshed by the fact that the call numbers are not
identical with those of the same books in the recipient li-
braries is yet to be proved.
Uniformity in cataloging stands, in our opinion, upon a
very different basis. Heretofore we have not offered our
practice as a model. Inevitably, however, it has to be con-
250 HERBERT PUTNAM
sidered, and it has entered into discussions of uniformity in
cataloging rules. We have contributed our opinion to this
discussion, and have sought to make all the concessions
that were consistent with our willingness to have the final
compromise represent our own practice. There are still
numerous points of difference, but, as you know, many that
were a half dozen years ago points of difference have come
to be points of agreement There has been progress, and
the points that remain unsettled are, I believe, for the most
part of minor importance, at least of detail. In considering
what the compromises should be it must be remembered
that your national library is to be a great research library,
whose catalog Is to be a piece of permanent apparatus and
for scholarly reference, not for superficial or temporary re-
ference, and that the catalog entry produced by such a li-
brary, with an adequately expert staff, will be more full, as
it will attempt to be more thorough, than an entry which
would suffice and perhaps would be convenient for an or-
dinary library.
Of personal service in interpretation there is not yet
much to say which could be said compactly or concretely,
and I will avoid it wholly, except to refer to a suggestion
in my last report — that a library with the collections, the
equipment, the organization, and the relations of service of
the Library of Congress offers opportunity for a valuable
experience which a national library might furnish as a school
of experience for the higher grades of library work.
In the character of their service the libraries of this
country do not accept as limitations the areas of the poli-
tical divisions which maintain them. If they did, we might
foresee an organic structure in which municipal library would
be subsidiary to state library, and the state libraries as a
whole, in certain of their relations, subsidiary to the library
of the nation — not, of course, in their organization or gov-
ernment, but in their service. Neither logic nor constitu-
tional propriety is likely to determine such relations. But
a specific request from the state libraries to the national
library for a concrete service to be rendered to or through
them is certain to be effective.
Lastly, if there is a matter of international concern upon
which international cooperation should be sought, coopera-
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 251
tion between institutions as distinguished from associations,
it is the national library of our country which would repre-
sent the community of libraries in the exchange of view and
of effort.
In fine? A collection indefinitely expanding, at once a
monument of American literature and an exposition of the
serviceable in all literature; resident at our national capital,
but made available in non-resident service through the loan
of material required for research, and through the exhibit
in bibliographies of the material most important for research
in particular subjects, and expounded by experts in response
to particular inquiry; a central bureau upon matters biblio-
graphic; a central bureau for cataloging, the product of
whose work may be utilized by other libraries; and — a few
other things. Pleasant matter of speculation, some part of
which has been brought from the realm of speculation into
the realm of — promise.
I recur to Edward Everett, that sensitive soul: "Who,"
exclaimed he, eighty-five years ago — "who can see without
shame that the Federal government of America is the only
government in the civilized world that has never founded a
literary institution of any description or sort?"
HOW THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SERVES
THE PEOPLE
While Mr. William Warner Bishop was superinten-
dent of the reading room, of the Library of Congress,
he published this article in Public Libraries. Giving
somewhat more detailed explanations of what the library
does for individuals over the country, it seems to form a
practical sequel to Mr. Putnam's broad survey. Mr. Bish-
op was born in 1871. He is a graduate of the University
of Michigan where he has held the position of librarian
since 1915. He began his library work at Garrett Biblical
Institute, was head cataloger and then reference librarian
at Princeton University, and superintendent of the read-
ing room at the Library of Congress for eight years. Mr.
Bishop has been president of the American Library As-
sociation, and is the author of the "Practical Handbook
of Modern Library Cataloging:"
The Library of Congress has a great and pressing duty to
perform in Washington in its service to the various branches
of the government of the United States, and, more particularly
to Congress. It is further busily engaged in supplying the needs
of scholars resident in Washington or resorting thereto for
more or less lengthy periods. In the midst of these multiform
and strenuous activities — for the Library of Congress is a very
busy place — how may it serve the people of the country as
a whole? To what extent may it help the individual reader
and the individual library? And how is this to be done?
In the first place, the Library of Congress serves the people
by the mere fact of its being. It is, we may say with all
modesty, the largest library in the country, and the best known
throughout the land. The fact that the Federal government has
put up a magnificent palace and has gathered in it over two
million volumes is of itself no small matter to librarians. It
is a recognition of our profession and its importance which
254 WILLIAM WARNER BISHOP
can not but react helpfully on every librarian in the country.
Each librarian shares in the dignity and honor which the
creation, the growth, the maintenance of this noble library
imply. The attitude of the whole people toward libraries can
not but be to some extent influenced by the very fact of generous
recognition of their value and importance by the national gov-
ernment.
For the people of the United States come to the Library of
Congress. Last year there were over 888,000 who came inside the
building. Probably over 500,000 of these were not residents of
Washington. Some of them were but passing tourists — some were
scholars who came to study rare manuscripts or maps — some were
college students who came away with a renewed sense of what
a library is—and the pride in what their library is. For it is
theirs, and the sense of ownership is strong on the part of the
average American visiting Washington. May it never be less !
When the American citizen gets to thinking of the government
as something foreign to himself, our democracy will have
suffered a radical and unwholesome change. The nation's li-
brary, then, is of some service to the library profession and to
the country by the mere fact that it is the nation's library.
Its books, its music, its maps, its great collections of prints and
photographs, its priceless papers of the Continental Congress,
of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Van Buren, Jack-
son, Polk, Johnson, and other public men, belong to us all.
The Library of Congress has some peculiar duties and re-
sponsibilities. The fact that it contains the office of copyright
registration and receives the compulsory deposits of copyrighted
articles gives it a unique place among American libraries. These
deposits and their bulk impose certain duties on the Library
of Congress which do not fall upon the ordinary library — the
maintenance and rounding out of the music and prints collec-
tions in a manner commensurate with the size and scope of the
copyright deposits is, for example, one of the duties. Its direct
relations with Congress impose on it a task of preparing bib-
liographies on topics of current interest in Congress. These
printed lists represent but a small portion of the output of the
Bibliography division, which makes a hundred typewritten lists
for one it prints. These typewritten lists can almost always be
lent to other libraries, and frequently they can be given to
them. Being the office of exchange of the U.S. gov-
HOW LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SERVES 255
ernment publications for those of foreign governments the
Library has necessarily to handle the mass of in-coming docu-
ments— and incidentally to increase their number, and make
more complete the files. That division published as a part of
its regular work the Monthly List of State Publications which
is most helpful to all libraries, particularly to the state libraries
The fact that the Library of Congress contains the copyright
office has led to the regular publication (three times a week)
of the Catalog of Copyright Entries which Is the most complete
record of the press of America, and which deserves the careful
study of both bibliographers and students of literary history.
The Library of Congress began in 1899 to print cards for
copyrighted books — you all know the result. It has become the
central cataloging bureau for the United States, and now carries
a stock of over forty million copies of its cards. This is
another unique feature. Moreover, having the Government
printing office at hand, through the liberality of Congress it
has published a notable array of calendars, special catalogs,
bibliographies, and texts. These are all at the service of other
libraries and of individuals for trifling sums. These various
activities distinguish the Library of Congress from other li-
braries— but they all make it more useful to the states.
This usefulness is, however, rather indirect than direct and
personal. I have thought it wise to mention some of these
peculiar features of the Library of Congress to show certain
channels of helpfulness which are, perhaps, but partially recog-
nized, and incidentally to let you know that we have duties of
our own which absorb most of our time and strength. As to
more immediate and personal relations of service we may per-
haps state briefly what we already do — and then what we un-
fortunately can not do.
The most direct service we render to persons who do not
come to Washington is in answer to inquiries by letter. These
are already very numerous, so much so as to prove an embarrass-
ment at times. The kind of questions which the Library en-
deavors to answer is thus set forth in the "Rules and Practice:"
A service to the Library distinct from that involved in the
actual loan of books is that performed by answer ^to inquiry
through correspondence. The character of the questions which
the Library answers most willingly is noted below:
1. As to its possession of a particular book.
2. As to the existing bibliographies on a particular subject
256 WILLIAM WARNER BISHOP
3. As to the most useful existing authorities on a particular
subject, and where they may be available.
4. As to the author of a book by a known title.
5. As to the date, price and probable cost of a specific book.
6. For the source of a particular quotation, if ascertainable for
ready reference.
7. (If not requiring elaborate research) for other particular
facts in history or literature; in the organization or oper-
ations of the Federal Government.
8. (Where of moderate extent) for an extract from a book in
its possession. . . .
We were formerly obliged to decline to make copies and
excerpts because we had no force to devote to this work. The
photostat now enables us to make photo-duplicates at a very
reasonable rate. Thus the whole library is practically at the
service of anyone who cares to pay the cost of photographic
reproductions of a desired passage of a book or manuscript.
Frequently this cost is much less than would be the expense of
transportation, to say nothing of the need of making the copy
of the passage when the book has been received. This process
is particularly useful in the reproduction of maps, charts, sta-
tistical tables, newspaper articles, and prints. Is a man interested
in a map of his locality printed a century or so ago? For
sixty-five cents he can get a copy of that map — for which the
library may have paid some scores of dollars. Does the local his-
torical society wish an extract from a newspaper in our files?
The same trifling sum will secure it, or two passages may be
had for seventy-five cents, and so on. The charges are nominal
covering only the actual cost of paper and operation of the
machine.
The inter-library loan is another direct service, perhaps the
most useful and tangible of all. It proceeds, as you all know,
on the basis of endeavoring to meet the unusual need with
the unusual book. The resources of the Library of Congress
are freely open to any other library within the limits which
have been found expedient and which are set forth in detail
in the "Memorandum" governing inter-library loan. We have
excepted very few classes of books from the service, and these
only because of definite needs of our own service in Washing-
ton. We do not refuse to lend magazines or transactions of
societies. We do not refuse to lend a book because it is rare
or valuable — indeed, that is just the sort of book we do lend.
Of the requests which are not filled over eighty per cent fail
HOW LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SERVES 257
because we do not own the book or edition desired. We will lend
to the small library as freely as to the large one. We depend
on the professional attitude and judgment o£ the librarian mak-
ing the request to see that the book is properly safe-guarded.
But there are certain things which, even at the risk of
seeming ungracious, we have to decline to do.
We can not undertake to furnish books for everybody. The
mere fact that a book is not in a local library is no warrant
for suggesting that it can be secured from Washington. Due
regard must be had by the librarian to the purpose for which
the book is desired and the character of the request. The
Library of Congress lends in aid of research with a view to
enlarging the boundaries of knowledge. It can not lend in aid
of mere self-instruction or recreative reading, laudable as both
purposes are.
The Library of Congress can not undertake to provide (by
inter-library loan or otherwise) information in any subject
which curious persons may raise. As previously explained, it
must limit its answers to correspondents to certain restricted
fields. So far as questions are bibliographical in their nature,
we are glad to try to help. But even in this direction there
are. necessarily physical limits to our powers, to say nothing
of others. To give a concrete case: a certain man sent in not
long ago a list of titles covering six legal cap pages closely
(and illegibly) written and asked us to let him know all the
editions we had of each book, that he might borrow them
through his home library at his convenience. Obviously we
could not detail a man to make a search of this nature, in
justice to our current work. We offered to turn the
matter over to the Card Section and let him pay for printed
cards plus the cost of searching, or to refer him to persons
outside the library staff who make a business of such work.
This is hardly a typical case, but we are occasionally obliged
to say, even in answer to librarians, that we are unable to
undertake to supply certain information, because of the work
involved.
This leads me to remark that we are unable to do research
work for people at a distance. When an inquiry is pointed and
definite, we do try to answer it. But while recognizing to the
full the difficulties which wholly inadequate library facilities
often produce, it does not seem reasonable that a person at
258 WILLIAM WARNER BISHOP
the other side of the continent should expect us to solve his
knotty problems, correct his misquotations, and furnish him
expert bibliographic aid. Certain kinds of work, in other
words, can not be done away from a large library.
We can not lend our reference books just because they are
needed badly by another library. Generally we have but one or
two copies, and they are in constant use here. Do not, however,
hesitate to ask for reference books. When we have extra copies
we will send them, and when we have none available, we will
say so by the next mail. But please understand that the refusal
is merely to be taken as a matter of fact, not one of policy.
If we can supply the need, we will.
We can not lend new novels or cheap books. A great many
libraries ask us to send them books which they can buy for a
dollar or a. little more. By no stretch of the imagination can
these be called "unusual" books. They are not within the scope
of inter-library loan, as anyone will see on reflection. It
not infrequently happens that we are asked to send books in
print, at a cost to the borrower greater than that of the book
itself. We do not ordinarily send out very recent books which
can be bought easily. But we do send such books in emer-
gencies, if our copies can be spared.
Finally, to end this unpleasant list of things we can not do,
we can not lend genealogies, local histories, and newspapers.
Genealogies and local histories are in such constant demand at
the library that we can not send them away, even when we have
extra copies. (We sometimes do this in the case of local his-
tories.) Newspapers "form a part of a continuous historical
record" which the library has a duty to keep intact.
There remains the matter of transportation costs. The Li-
brary of Congress has no appropriation from which it can
prepay such charges, and it is debarred by law from using its
frank in this service. The expense rests, therefore, on the
borrowing library. Under the new ruling of the post office
books are admitted to the parcels post. Within certain limits
the charge is much less than that of the express companies.
Librarians desiring to borrow can remit stamps in advance and
can, of course, return the books by post. Beyond these limits
books are still sent by express more cheaply than by mail, and
probably more safely.
To sum up: the Library of Congress, which is the nation's
library, stands ready to aid your constituencies through your
HOW LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SERVES 259
good offices in various ways. Its publications, its bibliographies, its
catalog cards are yours for the asking or for very small sums.
The photostat will bring you copies of its most valuable manu-
scripts, maps, music, prints, or books at the mere cost of paper
and chemicals. Its stores of bibliographic material are yours
for the writing. Its books go and come freely so far as may
be without hindering the service in Washington. On you rests
the responsibility for using or ignoring the opportunities it
offers.
STATE LIBRARY ORGANIZATIONS
The organization of state agencies for library service
has been rather slow, as the field is large and so varied
that methods of handling differ in the several states.
State libraries, state library associations and state library
commissions are the three agencies to be found, but with
the differences in state organization their activities vary.
The first and last are official and governmental, while the
associations are voluntary bodies of librarians. In the
articles included in this section the largest amount of
material is on commission work.
WHAT MAY BE DONE FOR LIBRARIES BY THE
STATE
All three of the state agencies are considered in this
article presented at the Waukesha, A.L.A. Conference in
1901 by Dr. Edward Asahel Birge, then president of the
Board of Trustees of the Public Library, Madison, Wis-
consin and now president of the State University. It out-
lines all the work which falls to the hands of state rather
than local organizations.
A sketch of Dr. Birge will be found in Volume 3.
The relation of the state to libraries may be considered from
three points of view. The first and oldest library function of
the state has been the maintenance of a state library, usually
begun for the convenience of the legislature and in many states
enlarged into a general library. With this function has also
gone the indirect support of libraries for historical and scienti-
fic societies, incorporated by the state and in some degree
representing it. Much might be said on possible lines of work
for Ihe state in this direction, but as this function is the oldest
and best understood, it may be named and passed without
further discussion.
Second, the state holds a relation to the local libraries in
communities which are supporting free libraries without aid
• from the state. The state aids these libraries by enacting
proper laws for their organization. In general, the statutes
should be such as will give the local library the best opportunity
for organization, and will leave it when organized the largest
amount of freedom in doing its work. The earlier library laws
of the states have very generally contained the provision that,
in order to establish a library in a community, the proposition
must be accepted by a majority of the voters at an election. This
provision has been found disadvantageous in Wisconsin, and
was eliminated from our library law in 1897. Experience has
shown that it is better to leave the establishment of a library,
264 EDWARD ASAHEL BIRGE
like other public works of necessity and utility, to the common
council, or other representatives of the people in the larger
towns and cities, rather than to commit the proposition to the
chance of a general election.
The third function of the state with reference to libraries
is that which may be called library extension. Here the state
acts directly to aid in the establishment of libraries and the
extension of library work in the communities which would
otherwise lack libraries. The necessity for this work has be-
come apparent to the more progressive states of the Union
within recent years. The justification of this work lies in two
main reasons. First, libraries continue for the older youth of
the community and for adults the education which the state
requires for children. It is neither fair nor right for the state
to maintain a system of education which develops a love of
knowledge and of reading, and then leave the community with-
out the means for continuing in later youth the development
begun in childhood. Second, it is known that the intellectual
isolation of the rural communities is one of the main reasons
for the much lamented drift from the country into the cities,
and it has been found that the establishment of libraries affords
one of the most important means of bringing these small com-
munities into intellectual touch with the world.
The states then which have undertaken this work of library
extension have usually done so by means of the library com-
mission. The first commission was established by Massachu-
setts in 1800. Seventeen states had established such commissions
by the end of 1900— -more than half of them in the two years
preceding that date. I have no statistics regarding the estab-
lishment of such commissions in 1901. The work of these
commissions may be either advisory or missionary, aiding in the
establishment of libraries in the smaller communities which are
able to establish and maintain them under the guidance and
advice of the commission, and directly furnishing library facil-
ities to the smallest and weakest communities. In certain states
direct state aid is given to the smaller libraries, notably in
Massachusetts, where each town library established under the
rules of the commission receives books to the amount of $100.
In some states aid is given in the purchase of books. The
direct furnishing of libraries is done mainly by means of trav-
elling libraries. So far as I can learn, these are now distributed
HOW THE STATE CAN SERVE 205
by six states. The system has grown throughout the Union,
in various manifestations, and its influence in bringing books
to the communities that most lack and need them has been of
the utmost value. This work is one of the greatest importance,
and yet I believe it is one which will ultimately pass into the
hands of the counties or smaller governmental bodies than the
state.
Lastly, the commissions are aiding in the library work by
the establishment of library schools. In Wisconsin a summer
school for library training has been held for the past seven
years, and represents a class of work which it seems important
that each state should undertake, namely: the training of li-
brarians for the smaller libraries in which the salaries paid are
necessarily so small that the librarians cannot afford the expense
of a complete course in library training. This instruction applies
especially to persons already in charge of small libraries
throughout the state, who have not had the opportunity to
secure professional training for their work, and it is of great
value in bringing them in touch with library effort and setting
higher standards of purpose and efficiency. Experience has
shown that in a two month's summer session instruction can
be given of the greatest value to those who are to have charge
of this class of libraries.
In this department of library extension which the states have
been entering upon during the past decade lies the most impor-
tant work which the state can undertake for libraries. The work
of the library commissions means a systematic employment of
the library as an educational and social factor in the progress
of the people. This is the true mission of the library, and the
most important function of the state lies in effectively aiding
it to perform this work.
WHERE SHALL STATE AID END AND LOCAL
RESPONSIBILITY BEGIN IN LIBRARY
EXTENSION WORK
It was at the Ashville Conference, 1907, that this
paper of Mr. Asa Wynkoop's was presented. He attacks
the whole problem of state relation to local community
from the psychological viewpoint and illustrates from ex-
perience what he considers should be the effective rela-
tionship. Mr. Wynkoop took his college degrees from
Rutgers, graduated from Union Theological Seminary
and studied also at Columbia University and Marburg
(Germany) University. He was first, inspector of pub-
lic libraries under the New York State Education Depart-
ment, but from 1913 to date has been head of the public
library section of the Extension Division of the Univer-
sity of the State of New York. Other activities have in-
cluded the editorship of New York Libraries from 1907
to date, and the direction of library publicity in New
York state for the United States Food Administration
during the war.
Where shall state aid end and local responsibility begin in
library extension work?
We have here one phase of a general problem that confronts
us in all governmental activities, and indeed, in all centralized
efforts for human betterment. In its broadest aspect, it is the
fundamental problem of all government and of all social
schemes. It is a question that must be asked in determining
the wisdom of every piece of state legislation, whether relating
to the moral, the intellectual or the industrial life of the com-
munity. In such matters as the public health, the promotion
of temperance and education, the extension of good roads,
the regulation of child labor, the care of the feeble and de-
fective, the regulation of common carriers and a thousand other
similar problems, exactly the same question is involved as in
268 ASA WYNKOOP
the matter before us, — what ought the state to do and what
ought it to leave to local initiative?
Now whatever our attitude toward any of these particular
questions, I think we will all agree in the general proposition
that whatever can and will be done just as well or nearly as
well by local initiative as by action of the state, should be left
to such initiative. The bearing of responsibility is the most es-
sential condition of any true development, and for the state
to assume any responsibility that belongs of right to either the
individual or the community, is to do a grave social injury, even
though it be done under the guise of beneficence. It is better
even that a community should be left to suffer local evils than
that the direct responsibility for removing those evils should
be taken away by the state. Only a few days ago this principle
was invoked in a vigorous veto message by Governor Hughes.
The bill under consideration was aimed to prevent local cor-
ruption in the prosecution of an important public work, by
putting the construction of the work in the hands of a state
instead of a local board, where it naturally belonged. To the
mind of the Governor, such a transfer of responsibility would
in the end do the community more harm in its political and
economic life than the corruption it aimed to prevent. Wise
economists and philanthropists are coming to recognize more
and more that the giving of help, either by an individual or
by a state, is the most difficult and delicate of all human tasks,
and often means an injury rather than a benefit.
Applying this principle to the matter of library extension,
we see that the question of state aid is not to be determined
merely by the general merit of our work or by the direct ben-
efits it may confer. A library in a community may be a very
desirable thing, but is it therefore desirable that the state shall
enact a law compelling every town to levy a tax for library
support, regardless of local initiative, as in the case of New
Hampshire? The stocking of a library with books of genuine
merit and permanent value is doubtless a thing greatly to be
desired, but is it good policy for this reason to take from the
local and incompetent committee, the selection of books, and
put that work into the hands of a state board? The supply
of money wherewith to make frequent and generous purchases
of new books is essential to a library's vitality, but ought money
to be supplied from state funds for this purpose? A good system
of classification and a good catalog are essential to efficiency,
STATE AID AND LOCAL RESPONSIBILITY 269
but is this a sufficient reason why the state should itself supply
these library tools? Every one admits the supreme importance
of having the library in charge of a qualified librarian, but
is it therefore the function of the state to prescribe the neces-
sary qualifications? Not until we have considered in each case
the effect that our action is likely to have on local initiative and
the local sense of responsibility can we answer these questions
wisely. More important than that a town should have a library
is it that the town shall have a full sense of responsibility for its
own welfare. As stated by Mr. Legler in his address before the
Portland conference' -two years ago, the question what not to do
is quite as important as the question what to do, if the local
libraries are to be brought to that degree of permanent effi-
ciency to which initiative and independence are essential. "Bet-
ter," he said, "that mistakes be made by the local library than
that these be avoided by having the commission do for them
what they should do for themselves." Wh&re then shall we
draw the line, and what are the limits of wise state aid?
The question can hardly be answered without briefly consider-
ing the more fundamental question, Why state aid at all? To
this I would submit three general considerations:
1. The intellectual and social condition of each locality of
the state is a matter of concern, not only to the people of that
locality, but to the whole state. Conditions which foster illit-
eracy, degeneracy, and crime in one part of the state affect
the state as a whole in a very vital way. Apart from considera-
tions of humanity, merely on economic grounds, the state owes
it to itself to look after the welfare of its several parts. No
more suggestive social analogy has ever been proposed than that
of the Philosopher Hobbes, later so carefully elaborated by
Spencer in his "Sociology," in which the state is likened to
a living body, whereof, if one member suffer, all the members
suffer with it. Recently this principle has been strongly urged
before the British Parliament by representatives of the Library
Association of England in the advocacy of parliamentary grants
to local libraries. If the library be a means of promoting good
citizenship, it was urged, then library extension is a matter of
national concern. To emphasize local responsibility is well, but
there is a national responsibility as truly as a local one, and it
is as bad to ignore the one as the other.
2. In the second place, by its very constitution, the state
can do many things which the individual community cannot do.
270 ASA WYNKOOP
For example, the state alone has the power to frame the laws
under which the community is to express its will. These laws
may be a very great aid to library extension or they may be a
serious hindrance. Again there are many forms of combined
action which can be directed only by state agency. The state
is the natural and logical agent for coordinating and system-
atizing the work of scattered libraries whereby each may-
strengthen and enrich the others. Initiative here surely belongs
to the state.
3. In the third place, we invoke the aid of the state in this
work because the action of the state can be made the most
efficient factor in arousing the sense of local responsibility and
stimulating local initiative. Interest, enthusiasm, ambition, are
not the result of a sporadic and spontaneous generation, but
of an intelligent systematic propaganda, and in a matter so
closely related to civic welfare, the logical as well as the most
efficient agent for this propaganda is the state. For one instance
where local initiative has suffered from direct action of the
state in its library propaganda, a hundred could be cited where
such action has been the direct and only means of arousing such
initiative. This indeed has been the main thought in the estab-
lishment of the state commissions, and the granting of state aid.
In some states, practically the whole work of the commission
is thus to create and guide local interest, the only form of aid
being moral and intellectual stimulus; and even in those where
direct material benefits are conferred, the aim of these benefits
is not primarily to give something, but to call out something,
and the benefits are conditioned on this response. Local re-
sponsibility is largely a reflex of the state's attitude.
Such I conceive to be in brief the logic of state aid in library
extension. The local library is a matter of state concern.
The state can do what the locality cannot do. Local action
awaits the stimulus of state action. What is involved in this
logic ? A good deal more, I believe than has yet been realized
or undertaken in any state.
To mention a few of the things in which I think the logic
of state aid has not yet been adequately applied, I would say,
in the first place, in the matter of a general or state tax for
the benefit of local libraries, if the whole state must bear the
burden of local vice and crime, by maintaining institutions and
commissions necessitated thereby, surely the state may wisely
STATE AID AND LOCAL RESPONSIBILITY 271
assume the burden of fostering local institutions which tend
to check degeneracy and crime. If the whole state may profit-
ably be taxed for the promotion of good roads in a distant
county, it surely may be taxed to promote good reading in
that county. In New York state was appropriated this last year
from state funds the sum of $4,093,266 as direct aid to local
schools. In the judgment of expert educators it was a wise
and profitable expenditure for the state; and no one who has
studied the development of local schools in this state recently
under the stimulus of such grants can doubt this; but in what
essential respect does the claim of the local library differ from
that of the local school?
To some extent, the principle of a state tax for libraries has
been accepted in most of our states, but in what a halting,
apologetic, compromising way I The state which leads all oth-
ers in the amount of public money appropriated for public li-
brary extension and improvement, — the state which last year
gave more than $4,000,000 for direct aid to schools, gave $28,000
for direct aid to libraries, — seven-tenths of one per cent, of the
amount granted for schools! Just consider the sums appro-
priated by other great and wealthy states last year for library
extension : Wisconsin, $23,500 ; Pennsylvania, $12,000 ; Ohio,
$9,500; Minnesota, $7,500; Kansas, $5,800; Nebraska, $3,000; New
Jersey, $5,000; and so on down to $300 and nothing, — states
which appropriated at the same time for the most trivial and
temporary purposes, sums which make these figures seem like
a beggarly pittance. The fact is, that judged by their appropri-
ations, the states have hardly begun to treat the library cause
seriously; and the blame for this I believe rests largely on our
library representatives. They do not appear to be at all con-
scious of the strength, either of the logic of their position or
of their cause with the voting population, and are too timid
and apologetic by half in urging their claim. For which, do
you suppose, an assemblyman from a remote county and his
constituents care the more, — for the supply of numerous and
superfluous brass bands at the summer encampment of the state's
militia, or for the development of local libraries in his district?
Yet that very assemblyman votes $30,000 for the former and
$5000 for library extension in his state, chiefly, I am convinced,
because of lack of a bold, vigorous confident appeal in behalf
of the latter cause. I have just read from the reports of one
of the commissions of a unanimous resolution passed at a
272 ASA WYNKOOP
meeting of a farmers' grange, to the effect that a recent library
law and grant had conferred more pleasure and profit on the
rural communities of the state than had been conferred by any
act in years. With what effect, do you think, such resolu-
tions might be used before legislatures in enforcing the appeal
for library support? The commissions have no more impor-
tant work now before them than the putting of the library cause
before our legislatures in its true relations, — not as an object
of pity or compassion for which in a spirit of philanthropy
they will vote a pittance of public money, but as an educational
work of the very first importance to the state and as a social
factor worthy of their most serious consideration.
But fully as serious as is the general lack of adequate finan-
cial provision for library extension is the failure of the state
fully to utilize the provisions which it does make. For example,
in New York our present library law providing for state aid
to local libraries, the supply of traveling libraries, etc., was
passed in 1892. I claim not to have been unusually lacking in
public spirit or in library interest, yet it was not until n years
later, when I went to the library school at Albany, that I learned
of these state provisions. All that the state was ready to do
was non existent so far as any action of mine was concerned,
because I knew nothing of it. Since then I have spoken with
many well informed men in regard to this, a very large propor-
tion of whom I have found as ignorant as I was. What then
is the likelihood of people knowing of it in distant and isolated
communities? What the state does for libraries is largely
neutralized by what it does not do. It provides a great State
library and offers to loan books to people in all parts of the
state, but leaves 99 men out of 100 in ignorance of this offer.
It buys a great collection of books for the purpose of supplying
small libraries to villages and rural communities, and lets the
people of these villages find out by accident, if at all, of these
provisions. It offers a sum from the state treasury every year
to each community for the buying of books, but whether the
news and conditions of this offer reach the community or not
is not their concern. How do you suppose this matter would
be managed if the functions and facilities of the state were to
be assumed by an aggressive business man, to whom personally
library extension was to yield the same profit that it does to the
state? I say, to whom personally, library extension were as
STATE AID AND LOCAL RESPONSIBILITY 273
important as it is to the state? Why, he would have agents
and well paid and competent ones too, to visit every town, vil-
lage and cross roads in the state and make a persistent and sys-
tematic effort to arouse interest in each. Lack of interest at the
first proposal would not discourage him, but he would send again
and again, men whose peculiar quality it was to interest and
convince. He would make a canvas of every school district in
the state, and would regard every school house as a possible
center for the distribution and use of his wares. At every
meeting of teachers, farmers, improvement societies and leagues,
he would have an agent present to show how the library could
help in their work. He would see to it that In every local paper
having a constituency which he wished to reach, there was full
notice given again and again of what he had to offer.
And I venture to say that in a year's time he would add
more new libraries to our roll than we have added in five, —
and multiply by ten, the number of places reached by our travel-
ing libraries. Why, a business man would fail almost as soon
as he had invested his capital who would conduct his business
as most of our states are conducting this library business. 'Tis
true, in some states, much of the personal work here advocated,
is already being done, notably in Wisconsin, California, Michi-
gan and New Jersey, — in some, library periodicals are published
specifically for this library propaganda, library organizers are
sent out by the state to inform the public and arouse interest,
advertising columns of local papers are employed to publish the
work, — but in no state will the commission admit that it has
reached the limit of its possibilities in this work; in most states,
it is only in its initial stage.
Again in the matter of the promotion and direction of co-
operation among local libraries the states are far behind the
possibilities of effective state aid. Our great cities are pointing
out the way in which this cooperation can be effected, and the
benefits flowing from it. Take New York City as an 'example,
with its thirty-five branches, each of which is in a sense a local
library responding to local conditions and demands, while all
are brought into such vital relations that the strength of the
whole belongs to each. One branch builds up a German col-
lection, another a Bohemian collection, another a collection of
art, another of music, another of educational works, and so
throughout the system, and each reader of each branch has the
274 ASA WYNKOOP
whole collection at his disposal. Then in the matter of internal
economy, in buying, in binding, in cataloging, and in a dozen
other matters, what a saving of money and energy is effected.
Suppose these branches were each unrelated to the others, with
all its thirty-five Carnegie libraries, what chance would there be
for real library development in New York City? The energy
and funds of each would be exhausted in doing in 35 centers
about the same work, in buying about the same books and the
whole would be hardly stronger than one of its parts. Now of
course a state cannot bring its scattered libraries into any such
close relation as are the branches in a city, but it can accomplish
far mofe in this direction than has yet been done in any state.
Why should not a dozen village libraries lying within easy reach
of each other by trolley or railroad agree each to develop special
features and to exchange with each other the works from these
special collections occasionally needed, thus giving an individuality
to each library and making the whole region twice or thrice as
rich in books as it would be were each library a duplicate of
the others? Why should not the duplicates purchased by the
large city library while the work was fresh in the public mind
and much in demand, but now lying idle on the shelves, be avail-
able for use in the distant rural library, where money for fresh
supplies of books is so hard to raise? Why should not the
village library through the agency of the state have the same
advantage in the buying and binding of books as the city li-
brary? Why should not the state supply to its libraries a
central agency whereby a library having superfluous duplicates,
or books urisuited to its peculiar community and therefore of no
use, could exchange these on an equitable basis for needed
books in other libraries, which themselves are perhaps needing
just these books? What means of state aid could we devise
that would add more to the riches of local libraries at so slight
a cost to the state as the maintenance of a central clearing
house for duplicates? Again why should not every local library
be so linked to the State library and the traveling library sys-
tem that through them it should be able to supply at a nominal
cost, its temporary needs, and thus be enabled to use the greater
part of its book money for works of permanent value? These
are just a few of the suggestions as to the possibility of a closer
cooperation that may, and I believe ought to be brought about
by the initiative of the state. If exercised discreetly, such
STATE AID AND LOCAL RESPONSIBILITY 275
action by the state will open up the very largest possiblities for
local initiative.
Another matter in which the states appear to be far behind
the legitimate requirements for our work is the matter of library
training. What state is there which does not maintain at
public expense, training schools for teachers, or require some
educational qualification for taking charge of a school? Yet
there are but three states which provide permanent schools for
library training and none in which state credentials for library
work are required. Is not the untrained librarian as much an
anachronism as the untrained teacher? Does she not represent
the same educational and economic waste both to the state and
to the community? Indeed, is not the qualification of the local
librarian the one condition of success in all the work of the
state for library development? You and I could name cases
where in the same community, with the same building and the
same books, the work of the library has been multiplied by
two and three, simply by the substitution of a qualified for an
unqualified librarian. Do you say, this is a matter peculiarly
for local action? But such action cannot supply the training
school, — that, at least, the state must maintain, and would it not en-
hance the value of the training there given in the public estimate
if a premium were to be put upon it in the form of a minimum
requirement for library work? And further, would it not give
to many a locality a freedom for the exercise of its initiative
which it now lacks on account of local, personal, social or
philanthropic considerations which hold sway?
These are some of the directions in which it seems to me
states have yet far to go before reaching the point where state
aid should end.
In conclusion, it need hardly be said that in approaching
this point it will be found to be a greatly varying one in dif-
ferent states and in different sections of the same state. What
may be a wise, legitimate and much needed form of state aid
in one community may be not only useless but offensive in
another. This principle is specifically embodied in the laws
of some states, notably in those of Massachusetts, where the
commission is excluded from giving certain kinds of aid to towns
having more than a specified tax valuation. Practically all the
commissions are acting more or less on this principle, even
where there is no recognition of it in the law of the state. The-
276 ASA WYNKOOP
oretical objections have been made to it as a state policy on the
ground that it is unjust to take the proceeds of a general tax and
apply them to favored communities, and further, that it made the
library appropriation appear like an act of state charity. But
the distribution of public funds according to the peculiar needs
of the different parts of the state is something that is seen in
every form of public work. Thus, the state does for the roads
of a rural community what it does not do for the streets of a
city; for the schools in unpopulous districts, it distributes a
ratio of public money decidedly greater than that which it sup-
plies to wealthy and populous communities. In all its public
improvements it recognizes the principle stated at the outset, that
the state is an organism, a "body politic, and that the well being
of the whole is dependent on the well being of its several parts.
In making special efforts to conserve the health of its more
feeble members, it is most effectively conserving the health of
the whole body.
STATE LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS
The discussion here quoted is an interpretation by
Charles Ammi Cutter of a tabulation of association re-
ports made by Miss Harriet E. Green, covering date and
place of organization for each state, need for the associ-
ation, work accomplished by it, work for the future, spe-
cial features, number of members, and of constitutions.
Mr. Cutter briefly shows the place that state associa-
tions hold in the field of library organization and growth.
A sketch of Mr. Cutter is found on page 17.
In 1876 it occurred to a young college graduate that it
would be a good plan for librarians to get together and ex-
change their information and make one another's acquaintance.
The first meeting, therefore, of the American Library Associa-
tion was held in connection with the Exposition in Philadelphia.
Since then meetings have been held nearly every year. Sim-
ultaneously with these meetings a library journal has been pub-
lished, and at the same time there has been a most important
development of libraries; enormous amounts of money and of
books have been given to them and great improvements have
been made in library administration. I take it, it would be
claiming altogether too much to assert that this great develop-
ment of libraries has been caused by the stimulus of the Li-
brary Association and the Library journal, but I have not the
least doubt that it has been very much assisted by our existence,
by the discussions which we have held, by the notices in the
papers, and by all our meetings, and by the efforts which we
have made to advertise the improvement of libraries and the
advancement of Library Associations, from time to time, and by
progresses, such as we are now making through the country.
We have caused the library idea to be more in the air than it
would otherwise have been.
But it was found that library conventions had to be held
in different parts of an enormous country and that a very
278 CHARLES AMMI CUTTER
small part of the librarians could attend. There are in the
United States some 6,000 libraries; there are probably almost
as many librarians. There are at least 1,000 librarians of im-
portant libraries, and we bring here from beyond the mountains
only fifty ! It is evident that there are a great many more who
could be benefited and who should receive all the good which
comes from library conventions, who are not among our mem-
bers. It was thought, therefore, to be a good plan to have asso-
ciations which would not cover so large a ground; one associa-
tion for each State, one association, if necessary, for each county.
That idea came to a head in 1890. Before that, in 1885, the
New York Library Club had been founded in New York, and
was, in some sort, a State association. Not merely the libraries
of the city of New York met in the Library Club, but those of
the whole State. New York was followed by New Hampshire,
New Jersey, Massachusetts, and in the present year by Wiscon-
sin, Maine, and Michigan, and an attempt has been made in
Pennsylvania which was unsuccessful. But we notice that there
is rot in that list the name of California, nor the name of any
State on the Pacific Coast. Why should you not have an asso-
ciation for the Pacific Coast? You certainly cannot be expected
to come across the mountains for our annual meetings; neither
can we come here more than once in a generation, until, at
least, an air-ship is made which shall bring people across the
continent in a day or two. Why not have an association which
shall combine together all your librarians? If, as I dare, say
you will, you tell me that your coast is as long as the Atlantic
coast, and the difficulties would be as great as in the American
Library Association, why not have an association for Southern
California, and another one for Northern California, and per-
haps for States still farther North? You will find it is very
rare for librarians with any brains to be blind to the real ad-
vantages of renewing their acquaintances with one another and
exchanging their ideas. Twenty of you, I believe, have already
met this year. I am sure you must all be convinced it is worth
while. As the result of your meeting, you will have many new
ideas and make many new experiments, and I think you will be
very glad to see one another again.
Perhaps those who are present now may think it is not
worth while to come from a considerable distance and meet
in such an assembly as this, and listen to papers which might
STATE LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS 279
elsewhere be read, in the report of the proceedings or In the
Library journal. There is something in this, but I have always
been of the opinion that the great good that comes from these
library conventions is not in listening to papers. It is a great
deal more in listening to the discussions which follow the
papers, and more even than that in the little private confer-
ences which are going on all the time on the street cars, in the
railroad cars in which people come to the conference, in the
hotel corridors, and elsewhere, in which the librarian privately
gives his experience, his difficulties, and the way in which he
has overcome them. That is what makes these conventions im-
portant; and it is just as likely to be useful in a state associa-
tion as in the American Library Association.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE LIBRARY
A good deal of emphasis was put by the American
Library Association at its Portland Conference in 1905,
on the place of the state in library administration. This
article by the Connecticut State Librarian given at that
time combines theory with practical suggestions. Mr.
George Seymour Godard was born in Connecticut in
1865. He attended Wesleyan University and Yale, and
became assistant librarian of the Connecticut State Li-
brary in 1898. He has been librarian since 1900, was
for several years a member of the A. L. A. council, and
is a member of the American Library Institute. Mr.
Godard has held many important positions in state and
law library circles, and is active in their organizations.
Libraries are no longer luxuries confined to the families and
friends of the rich. They are no longer looked upon as a
charity nor as a gift from the rich to the poor, but, like the
public school and the public highway, they are for the use and
benefit of every one. In other words, libraries have become
an element of sound public policy, and demand the same care-
ful, intelligent and interested official supervision and assistance
as is given by the state to any other branch, of its public
economy. Moreover, to reach their highest state of usefulness
and personal comfort, this bond of interested, assisting sym-
pathy between the state and the several libraries within its
borders must be supplemented by a similar bond of sympathy be-
tween the libraries themselves. But whether this state super-
vision, this state sympathy, shall be through the state library,
the state library commission, the state board of education, or
some other medium must, in my judgment, be solved by each
state for itself. If the work is being properly done by any
existing state department, it ought, in my opinion, to remain
there until some good reason demands a change.
282 GEORGE SEYMOUR GODARD .
We now have our national library, state libraries, county
libraries, town libraries, school libraries, college and university
libraries, historical society libraries, theological libraries, law
libraries, medical libraries, libraries devoted to history, science,
art, languages; also libraries of clubs or associations for spe-
cial study, and special circulating libraries almost without num-
ber. Moreover, all of these and many more are intertwined
and interlaced through the medium of library commissions, dis-
tric, state, interstate, national, and international associations,
library training schools, branch and travelling libraries, ex-
changes, cooperative cataloging, common donors, and many other
kindred ties. Since much of this activity has been developed
within the last twenty years and is continuing with renewed
strength, what is to be the result? What in the midst of such
activities must we expect in the development of the state library?
Possibly we might describe the ideal state library as a library
located at the capitol, owned and administered by the state, and
representing every department of knowledge, having each de-
partment immediately under the direction and supervision of
a competent expert in such department, and having a supply
of books properly classified, cataloged, labelled, and shelved,
not only representing the several editions of each work, but
with sufficient duplicates to meet at once every call in every
part of the state arid the neighboring states — using "neighbor-
ing" in the broad sense, with a department of archives repre-
senting the development of its several towns, counties, and in-
dustries, and the genealogies of its families. Moreover, this
library to be ideal should be blessed not only with a beautiful,
well arranged, well lighted, fire proof building with unlimited,
well-lighted accessible and adjustable shelving, but with an un-
limited appropriation and the franking privilege.
In the few minutes allotted to me, I am supposed to present
to your view the several stages in the development of the state
library. I am asked to call your attention, too, to a few steps
in the gradual series of processes from a simple and incom-
plete condition in its life to a more complex and complete
organization. For the state library, like so many other insti-
tutions and other animate things, is the result of evolution and,
in my opinion, will continue so to be, for the end is not yet.
Moreover, while it has progressed by stages, it has progressed
DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE LIBRARY 283
in no two states in precisely the same way not to the same
extent
Practically all of the state libraries of the older states had
their foundation in the miscellaneous collection of books which
had gradually accumulated in the offices of the several state
officials from the beginning. These volumes consisted prin-
cipally of collections of their own laws and legislative proceed-
ings, books purchased to meet temporary official necessities,
or which had been presented by the sister states, foreign gov-
ernments, or individuals. Until they had been gathered together
and arranged and some one made responsible for their com-
pleteness and safety, they were of very little service to the
public.
It was not until after the War of 1812 that the establishment
of the state libraries as such began to be seriously considered,
although in 1777, April 22, Congress passed the following reso-
lutions ;
"Resolved: That it be recommended to the several states to
order their statute laws and the additions that may be made
thereto to be sent to Congress and to each of the states together
with all discoveries and improvements in the arts of war made
in such states respectively."
From the last phrase in this resolution we again see the
great foresight of the founders of our country. Note: "to-
gether with all discoveries and improvements in the arts of
war/' Evidently "they foresaw in their wisdom the mighty on-
slaught to be made upon us by our modern publishers.
So far as we know governmental libraries began with or-
ganized government. The kings of Assyria had their libraries
of carved stone and carved clay; the Ptolemies gathered at
Alexandria an immense library, and immense governmental
libraries were accumulated at Constantinople and at Rome.
The national libraries at Paris, London, and the other European
capitals have grown, have evolved to such proportions and are
now so deep rooted in the fabric of government that they are
numbered among the chief attractions of modern Europe, while
in our own country the Library of Congress — our national
library — is an object of admiration to the world.
It was not until revolutionary times, however, that we find
any systematic attempt being made to accumulate regular libra-
ries at the several capitals. The spirit of the i;th and i8th
284 GEORGE SEYMOUR GODARD
centuries as evidenced by the administration of the foreign
governors who were sent to the several colonies did not seem
to encourage governmental libraries. (To be sure, there had
been accumulated in some of the states their own laws and their
own legislative proceedings.)
Now, the very thought of the individual possession of my
ideal state library, just described, is to most states unthinkable,
except possibly to New York under Dr. Dewey. The area of
human knowledge is unlimited and getting more so. Books!
Books! Books! See how they grow. A dozen or more new
ones every hour, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and
sixty-five days in a year. Good books and bad books. Large
books and little books. Picture books and scrap books. Standard
books and books to stand, and someone, somewhere, desiring to
see, not necessarily read, each one sometime. Think of it!
From eternity to eternity is a long time, and each decade must
learn and unlearn so much, but apparently print it all. It is
no longer possible within any sort of reason for any one library
— town, county, state, or national — to think of enveloping every-
thing printed. The expense of purchasing, collating, cataloging,
and housing is prohibitive. Therefore, is it not desirable — -as
has in some instances been done — that each state library select
its departments or fields of work which may thus be made
approximately complete, leaving the other departments of
knowledge which are thus either neglected or deficient to be
covered by other libraries which may in turn be deficient or
neglected in some lines covered in this?
There are two extremes to be guarded against in our library
development, viz., undue contraction, which may result in chan-
nels too narrow to be practical, and, on the other hand, undue
expansion, which must result in most libraries in more or less
shallowness. There are, however, two lines which the people
of a state have a right to expect to find. in their state library,
viz., whatever pertains to the science of government for the
aid of those who are to administer government and whatever
illustrates the history, character, resources and development of
their state.
The reference department should be especially rich and com-
plete in encyclopedias, dictionaries, gazetteers, atlases, hand-
books, and the reliable time savers of our day. So far as
needed and possible there should be special libraries for the
several departments of state and legislative committees.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE LIBRARY 285
The scope of the law department should be a broad one.
It should be as complete as possible in its collections of the
statute laws and official law reports of the United States and
of the several states and England; if not also those of Canada,
Ireland, Scotland, and the British colonies, together with such
books as mark their development The world is fast growing
smaller and our neighbors are fast getting nearer. The "might
be" soon becomes "may be," and before we realize it "is.*' An
attorney, therefore, has the right to expect to find in his state
library any books cited in the opinions of his own supreme court
and the Supreme Court of the United States, if not everything
cited by the highest courts in the several sister states.
The department of archives cannot be over-emphasized. As
the writing of history will never end, so the collecting of
material for historical purposes must never cease. With each
generation there are produced histories of the past, written
and interpreted in the light of its own civilization.
States are but individuals, and, like individuals, differ in
age, occupation, wealth, and territory controlled. Like indi-
viduals, then, they should conduct their several households and
fashion their several establishments, being governed largely by
their environment, requirements, and financial abilities.
While in general the state libraries should be to the several
states what the Library of Congress is to the nation, the system
of common schools, academies, colleges, universities, and public
libraries in vogue in a state very materially affect the develop-
ment of the state library. The development of the state library
in a state whose several towns have good public schools, good
public libraries, and in whose borders are one or more good
college or university libraries open to its citizens, will naturally
be very different from the development of the state library of
a state whose system of education is not so well developed. In
the former case the state helps the several communities through
the local school or local library, so that the state library is of
necessity largely a library of reference, built up not necessarily
in all departments of knowledge, but along those lines not ade-
quately represented by the other large libraries within its borders.
Such an arrangement or division of labor not only accomplishes
the ideal university plan where each department is independent
and under the direct supervision of a trained expert, but each
library is thus permitted to use all its funds to purchase books
along its chosen lines.
286 GEORGE SEYMOUR GODARD
It can hardly be expected that the states of Rhode Island,
Connecticut, or Delaware, or any one of the smaller states can
or will maintain an establishment equal to that of New York,
nor that New York will equal our national library. It is not
necessary that they should. In these days of rapid transit dis-
tance is fast being eliminated, and one can be served practically
in his own home. The time has come to club ; to cooperate. United
we stand. Divided we fall. In the near future I believe local
libraries will look to central libraries for books not in common
use, and these central libraries will look to larger depositories
for books infrequently called for. The states and several com-
munities will, I think, come to see the waste of money there
is in purchasing, cataloging, and housing certain books in small
libraries when a few copies of such books centrally located will
serve an entire state. The local, the central, the university,
the state, the interstate, the national, and international, or uni-
versal library is a series by no means unthinkable. It should
be, and I believe sometime will be, possible for anyone who
really needs to consult a special work to be able to consult
that work or a reproduction of it or a separate printed from
it, practically in his own home. Dr. Putnam's "service to the
country at large" is bound to come. Such a service extending
through local libraries or in the absence of a local library
through designated public officials as local centers, is reasonable,
feasible, economical, and needed. Such a system of interlibrary
loans under proper conditions and regulations will do much to
clear our library and literary horizons.
It is said that through disobedience man fell, that is, he
fell by staying just where he was. He fell through not ad-
vancing to the better and broader things ahead, which it was
his privilege and duty to occupy and enjoy. In the same way
there may have Been times, and probably will be still, when
some of our state libraries— yes, and some of our large public
libraries also— seem to have fallen or be falling— falling by
not advancing to the field prepared for them from the founda-
tions of the world. But whether this fall of libraries is due to
disobedience, lack of funds, lack of administration, or lack of
the franking privilege, I know not. But one thing I do know,
it is not from lack of opportunity.
HOW TO ORGANIZE STATE LIBRARY
COMMISSIONS AND MAKE STATE
AID EFFECTIVE
These are practical suggestions out of the experience
of Lutie Eugenia Stearns in Wisconsin, the first state
to establish commission work under pioneer conditions,
its predecessors being four of the New England states.
She begins with legal considerations, touches upon some
of those vital spots in the whole system which spell suc-
cess or failure, and closes with specific suggestions toward
the accomplishment of the state library commission's
first duty which is "nurturing and fostering the small
library/' Miss Stearns was born in Stoughton, Mas-
sachusetts, and graduated from the Milwaukee State
Normal School. She taught for two years and began
her library career in 1890 as head of the Circulating
Department of the Milwaukee Public Library. From
1897 to 1914 she was connected with the Wisconsin Free
Library Commission, since which time she has been
travelling as a lecturer.
A state library commission has been not inaptly described
by Mr. Johnson Brigham, state librarian of Iowa, as a Yankee
device for bringing together the state, with its ample means and
its facilities for getting books cheaply, and the people, with
their limited means and their unlimited and illimitable longing
for books; that shrewd device for bringing together the people
who may, can or must, might, could, would or should read,
and the books that should be read.
That such bodies are finding favor with those that have the
best interests of libraries at heart is shown by the fact that
no less than 13 state library commissions have been organized
within the past nine years — such bodies now being found in
Massachusetts, which led off in 1890, followed in turn by New
288 LUTIE EUGENIA STEARNS
Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia,
Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Maine
—the six last-named having joined the ranks during the past
winter. That each of these state library commissions exempli-
fies the library missionary spirit o£ the age may be shown ^by
the fact that it is expressly stimulated in each one of the bills
creating such commissions that no member of such body shall
receive any compensation for services rendered; indeed, the
members of two boards, those of Georgia and Pennsylvania,
have been granted the privilege of paying their own travelling
expenses.
Any state, no matter how politically depra\ed may be its
legislature, may secure a state library commission when the
law-makers are made to realize that the bill is backed by a
strong public sentiment, and when a practicable plan is shown
of maintaining it at a reasonable expense. A bill carrying
with it an appropriation of but a few hundred dollars is gen-
erally passed over by the watch-dogs of the treasury^ A measure
headed "To promote the efficiency of free public libraries" ^has
no attractions for the scalping-knife of such practical politicians
as a Croker or a "Hinky Dink," who passively ignore the first,
second and even third readings of the bill. Their inactivity
does not mean, however, that the bill should be introduced and
then be allowed to find its own circuitous way through its pas-
sage; for such inattention may result in the early burial of the
measure in a committee's box, too deep for after-resurrection.
In advocating the passage of the measure, strong allies may
be found in the various educational associations, such as state
federations of women's clubs, teachers' associations, and in per-
sonal letters to the legislators from well-known and influential
men and women of the state. Sometimes, however, where a state
is commission-ridden and has expensive Fish, Forest, Mining,
Labor, Dairy and Food commissions, it may be well to proceed
quietly and leave the bill in the charge of a wise legislator
interested in educational advancement The greatest care should
be exercised in drafting the desired measure. The best fea-
tures of existing bills may be wisely adopted with modifications
to suit the local conditions. If it is desired, through the law's
provisions, to divorce the state library from political control,
the Ohio commission bill may be wisely studied. In states
where it is customary to turn all rascals out at intervals of two
HOW TO ORGANIZE STATE COMMISSIONS 289
years, it may be well to fortify the commission by a majority
serving ex-officio. In two or three instances, among the library
commissions recently created, the state librarian acts as the
secretary of the commission. This we do not deem a wise
provision, especially where the tenure of office of the state li-
brarian is a brief one, as it would mean a constant interruption
in the commission's work. If the state librarian could be
appointed by the commission and serve at its pleasure, this
part of the difficulty would be remedied. In any event, the
sooner the library commission can employ a paid secretary and
assistants, who shall devote their entire time to the work, the
better for the library movement.
After deciding upon the membership of the commission and
its officers, its powers are next to be considered; and right
here is where the kindly missionary spirit should be made mani-
fest. "The commission shall give advice and counsel to all
free libraries in the state and to all committees which may
propose to establish them, and to all persons interested, as to
the best means of establishing and administering such libraries,
the selection of books, cataloging, and other details of library
management. The commission may also send its members to
aid in organizing new libraries or improving those already
established" — such a provision as the foregoing will show the
commission's willingness to aid every library endeavor.
The western and southern states of our land are not yet
ready, we believe, to establish libraries through compulsory
legislation. The conditions which obtain in the west, as affect-
ing library development, are but little understood in the eastern
part of the country. In the west there are whole communities
of foreigners who never had the advantages of free libraries
in the far-off fatherland, and who, therefore, know nothing,
at first hand, of their benefits. Again, towns in the west are
still being cut out of the heart of forests, schoolhouses, churches,
and dwellings are being built, water and sewerage improve-
ments made, sidewalks and pavements laid, all causing heavy
burdens of taxes and expense. Such reasons as these cause
libraries to be regarded in a certain sense as luxuries and not
necessities. Any attempt at coercion would be met with fierce
antagonism. But ofttimes, undismayed by the taxation bug-
bear, the library commissioner goes to "Forestville," studies
the local conditions, confers with the liberal-spirited and wise-
2QO LUTIE EUGENIA STEARNS
minded, succeeds in getting the village president to appoint a
library board of interested men and women under the state
library law, whose duty it then becomes to devise ways and
means of securing the blessings of a free public library. The
proceeds from entertainments, fairs, lectures, suppers, etc., in
which all join, go to swell the library fund until the library
becomes so essential in promoting the general happiness of
the town that the people willingly tax themselves for its sup-
port A library started under such conditions, with untrained
and gratuitous service, is not ready to be officially inspected
nor marked below grade for the absence of an altogether too
expansive system — for its purpose — of classification; but its
management warmly welcomes and adopts any advice or sug-
gestions when tendered in a kindly way through the medium
of a wholly friendly visit from the itinerant commissioner.
And here comes in the question of state aid. Some of the
eastern states have adopted the principle of giving a grant
of money upon the opening of a free library. In others a few
books are given as an incentive to start the ball rolling. Now
it is the universal experience that the occasional receipt of new
books is the factor, above all others, that sustains the com-
munity's interests in a public library. The difficulty in library
extension in small villages lies in the fact that the small annual
income for a library is eaten up by its running expenses —
librarian's salary, fuel, light, and rent — and too little is left
to buy semi-annual supplies of fresh books, and a library with-
out such additions soon loses its popularity and support.
In discussing the question of state aid, therefore, might it
not be well to devise some method by which the state could
assist in sustaining the interest in the library; and how better
could it do this than by sending to each of the smaller com-
munities, at regular intervals, a box of fresh literature — not
necessarily composed wholly of the latest, but many of the
best, that are not usually found on the shelves of village libra-
ries? In other words, might it not be better to invest a lump
sum in good books, leaving a margin for late additions, and
then, by a wise system of exchange, give an entire state the
benefit of each and every book? Would not the knowledge
that fresh books were to be received every six months, year
after year, serve as a greater incentive to a community in
starting a library than to be given $100 once and for all, or
HOW TO ORGANIZE STATE COMMISSIONS 291
$50 worth of books outright? This subject will bear the
serious and thoughtful consideration of all interested in the
growth of libraries in small towns and villages.
It has been our aim to show that the state library corn-
mission's first duty lies in the direction of nurturing and
fostering the small library; for, as has been rightly said, it is
after all, not the few great libraries but the thousand small
ones that may do most for the people. The possibilities in
library commission work are infinite. Every commission finds
many avenues of labor and each leads to many new ones. Among
the agencies for good may be mentioned: (a) The collection
of books and magazines for travelling libraries, the publication
of a library bulletin, with helpful articles on the library pro-
fession, details of library management, reports of libraries, un-
biased reviews of the best books for village libraries, etc., etc.
(b) The preparation of articles for the press on the library
movement, and the publication of handbooks and circulars of
information, (c) A library lecturer to rouse apathetic com-
munities of retired farmers and the like to enthusiasm and
subsequent action; to address women's clubs, farmers' insti-
tutes, town meetings, business men's leagues, and educational
gatherings of every description on the various phases of library
endeavor; to give stereopticon lectures on the history of the
book, public library building, and travelling libraries; in fact,
to conduct a perpetual aggressive campaign for more and better
libraries, (d) A library instructor to go about visiting libraries,
meeting with boards of trustees as a committee of the whole
on ways and means; settling vexed points of charging systems
and other details of library management so perplexing to the
inexperienced; to get the librarians of a single county together,
for a little institute or section meeting, elementary in character,
but sometimes similar to state library meetings, from which
many are debarred by reason of stress of time, purse, or dis-
tance; to conduct a summer school of library science where
librarians for a merely nominal fee may learn the best methods
gained from the experience of others and, best of all, absorb
what has come to be known as "the library spirit." (e) An
itinerant circuit rider of to-day, who shall visit the various travel-
ling library stations, such as farmers' homes, logging camps,
village post ofBces, and the like, to counsel with the librarian
as to the best management of such libraries. (/) An art di-
292 LUTIE EUGENIA STEARNS
rector, who shall manage a system of travelling pictures to be
distributed in farming communities, schoolhouses, etc.; to foster
a love for the beautiful in communities too poor to purchase
works of art for themselves.
All this work is in its infancy, but the outlook for the small
library is most hopeful and encouraging. For years, as some
one has said, the world has been making great reservoirs of
blessings in the great cities; but now, from the fountain-head,
the state, there comes a well-spring which sends its contents
in little rills to sparkle at the doors of the thirsty who cannol
come.
LIKES OF WORK WHICH A STATE LIBRARY
COMMISSION CAN PROFITABLY
UNDERTAKE
Gratia Alta Countryman says that library develop-
ment in the state, — the extension of reading facilities —
is the object for which a library commission exists. She
outlines three lines of work which experience has shown
help to accomplish this object.
A sketch of Miss Countryman appears in Volume 3.
This paper does not attempt any exhaustive study of the
work being done by various existing commissions, but for the
sake of discussion tries to give a summary of the kinds of
work which have been undertaken, and which from experience
the writer believes can be effectively and successfully carried
out.
The work of a library commission naturally falls into three
divisions :
1. The establishment of permanent local libraries.
2. The organization and improvement of existing libraries,
including the training of librarians in necessary technical knowl-
edge.
3. • The circulation of free reading matter in places which
have no libraries, commonly in the shape of travelling libraries.
These three divisions will cover almost, if not all, the work
which a commission can do. Indeed they open a very wide
field of usefulness, especially in the south and west. How
much can be done by the commission will depend upon the amount
of money at its disposal, and the number of people who can be
enployed to carry on such work. But the advisability of doing
this or that must depend partly upon the nature of the com-
munity and the response which the people themselves make.
Some commissions have been able to do what other commis-
sions could not possibly have done. So that the first thing
which any commission should do, is to study the conditions
in the state, know where the libraries already exist, know the
294 GRATIA ALTA COUNTRYMAN
races composing the population, know the local industries, know
the movements stirring in the state with which libraries can
co-operate, and be ready to take advantage of favoring circum-
stances. Library development in the state and the extension
of reading facilities is the object for which a library commis-
sion exists.
In the headings mentioned above, we have given the lines
of work in the order of their importance, and will take them
tip in the same order,
I, What can the commission do t<* establish permanent local
libraries?
We put this as the chief work of a commission, because
it is better to put people to work for themselves than to makt
them recipients of outside aid. It arouses their local pride to
have a library of their own and it is something permanent
accomplished.
All of our states have library laws according to which a
village or town must proceed in establishing a library. Many
towns do not know the law, and do not know how to proceed,
and if they are not especially interested they do not take the
trouble to find out. If the commission will publish the law,
and point out the simplest way to go about it, many towns may
be started into action. This spring four or five libraries in
Minnesota were started in this simple way— by the printing of
the law and simple directions.
In many towns, public-spirited people need only to have the
way pointed out by the commission, but in others this is not
sufficient. Some enthusiastic persons must be sent right into
the field, must awaken interest by personal work, must see
the influential people or the town council, must perhaps give a
public talk on libraries with lantern slides to draw, until the
ball is set rolling, and the people go to work. From the ex-
perience of Wisconsin this personal work by a field secretary
would seem to be the most telling way of helping to establish
libraries.
The commission, if it is so empowered, can offer a small
sum of money to each town that will establish a local library,
as is done in Massachusetts. This is undoubtedly very helpful
to some of the small villages, and is an initial impetus toward
establishing a library. It is not enough, however, to give help
in the shape of money only, if the library is thereafter left to
itself to live or die. Such help ought to be conditioned upon
WORK STATE COMMISSION CAN UNDERTAKE 295
an annual town appropriation, which would ensure the per-
petual support of the library, and such help should be followed
up in other practical ways mentioned later.
The presence of a travelling library in a town is an object
lesson, which often creates the desire for a permanent library,
and perhaps, on the whole, more local libraries have been estab-
lished in the west through that agency than any other. The
travelling library is the good right arm of a commission in
more ways than one.
The rivalry which exists between towns is often a healthy
stimulus to good works. So we suggest that an annual list
of the libraries of the state, with what they are doing, the
new one's which have been established, and the towns which
are agitating the matter, is good missionary material to send to
towns which have no libraries. Some of the comments in coun-
try newspapers would lead one to this belief. "Jonesville has
a library. We are a larger town than Jonesville. We must have
a library." Such a list sent annually would certainly encourage
healthy rivalry.
Any method which is possible for a commission to adopt,
either by personal effort, or printed matter, which awakens
civic pride and sets the people to work for themselves is more
apt to result in permanent good than a gift of any size.
The commission ought to emphasize at all times the free
library, and to discourage subscription libraries which are for
the few. It ought to urge support by general taxation. Even
a gift from an individual is more valuable, if conditioned upon
an annual tax.
2. What can the commission do to better those libraries
which are already in existence? When a commission comes
into existence, they find a number of libraries already started.
Some of them are several years old and are laboring under
heavy burdens, poor systems, and bad management. Many of
them are nearly dead, and if they are subscription libraries,
they will probably be facing starvation. It is incumbent upon
the commission to resuscitate and give new impetus to these
libraries wherever possible. In the case of subscription libraries,
the first thing to do is to urge the necessity of a free library,
upon a self supporting basis. That may be almost as hard as
starting a new one, but it is the only way to revive a dead sub-
scription library. If the library is already free, but for any
reason the people have lost interest, that reason should be sought
296 GRATIA ALTA COUNTRYMAN
out. Perhaps they have not known what books to buy and
have bought unwisely; perhaps they have not enough money
to buy at all, and an effort should be made to increase their
appropriation; perhaps the librarian takes no interest in her
work, and is killing interest which others might take. There
might be a dozen difficulties to be overcome. Begin with the
librarian. By visits, or by correspondence, the librarian may be
inspired to feel the dignity and importance o£ her work. She
might be urged to attend the state association meetings, until
by contact with other librarians, and the constant encourage-
ment which she receives from the commission, she grows to feel
a pride in the results of her labor.
I might sum up that the best help is to show an active,
helpful interest in each library and its librarian, until the con-
fidence of the board and librarian is gained, so that they natur-
ally turn to the commission for advice.
If the commission has funds enough, some one should be
employed who could be sent out to catalog and classify small
libraries upon demand, and could help them to use their re-
sources to the best possible advantage. Many a dollar of use-
less expenditure could be saved them, if they had some one
to call upon who could help them on the spot. They cannot
afford to hire expert help. The commission ought, if possible,
to furnish that for them.
A summer library school conducted by the commission gives
an opportunity for training many librarians, who never could
go to the larger schools. This is not a great expense for the
commission to undertake, and can be done at a nominal ex-
pense to the student. It is a much better way to teach
systematic technical work, by regular classes, than to teach the
librarians one by one in their home libraries. The results
are better, and the expense no more. An esprit de corps is
produced, a state unity of method and feeling.
Many other effective ways of helping them have been tried:
The making of suggestive lists of books for purchase, with
publisher and price.
Reference lists of material for Arbor Day, Memorial Day,
special birthdays, etc.
Best books for children.
Suggestions for bulletins, etc., etc.
All of these things give them new ideas, put freshness and
life into the work, and make things go.
WORK STATE COMMISSION CAN UNDERTAKE 297
The New Hampshire Commission has just started a new
bulletin to be issued quarterly, which contains library articles
and library news. Wisconsin has lately added library news and
suggestions to their monthly birthday lists. In such bulletins
the very things which small libraries need to know can be
mentioned better than in a general library journal.
Most small libraries throw away or at least do not bind their
magazines, not realizing their value. The commission can cor-
rect this mistake. In Minnesota we are endeavoring to collect
sets of the best magazines for the last ten years, which will
be given to any small library who will pay for the binding.
If possible, a card index will be given to them as a model
for them to follow, for Poole's index will be out of the ques-
tion.
It seems also that it would be useful if the commission would
collect plans of small library buildings and be ready to help
whenever a town is ready to build. There is just as much
chance of blundering in a small library building as in a large
one.
If the state commission is connected with the state library
there seems to us another opportunity of helping the town
library. The state library is a rather expensive bit of machinery
if it can be used only at the capitol city. Why should not the
state library be directly connected with the local libraries and
loan its books wherever needed in the state through the local
library. Some states are doing this, we believe, but the com-
missions of other states might accomplish more along this line.
3. What can the commission do for communities which
have no libraries?
This refers to small villages and country communities. It
also refers to larger places where the time is not ripe for a
local library, or where sentiment cannot be aroused. The trav-
elling library has been the solution. It has not only supplied
books and awakened reading instincts, but it has often been
the most successful way of arousing local sentiment. Permanent
local libraries often follow the advent of the travelling library
into the town. The commission either buys and directly cir-
culates these libraries, or spends its energies in securing private
gifts of libraries. Private benevolence cannot always be de-
pended upon, however, and a commission is safer if it has
funds to buy libraries of its own. A state system of travelling
libraries is in a position to treat every part of the state in the
2p8 GRATIA ALTA COUNTRYMAN
same way. But there is no reason why a combination is not
even better.
What can be done through the travelling library depends
partly upon the community that borrows it, and there seems to
be no end to the things that suggest themselves. The books
themselves must be chosen so that they will appeal to all classes
and various tastes. They must give pleasure, and they must
also be of educational value. The travelling library may be
made the medium for distributing material issued by farmers'
institutes and by the national and state agricultural depart-
ments. The library may contain material which will encourage
reading circles and neighborhood classes. Books in foreign
languages ought by all means to be included if there is the
least demand for them. Magazines and illustrated papers are
gladly welcomed. Travelling pictures are growing in favor
and are surely going to be a feature in future travelling library
work, especially in foreign and uneducated communities. Ref-
erence libraries on special subjects, for club work, are a useful
branch of travelling library work. Some of the women's clubs
in little towns work under great disadvantages through lack
of books, and their work is worth encouraging by the com-
mission. If the commission can do so, single volumes ought to
be loaned as readily as travelling libraries. A large share of
the books loaned in New York are loaned by the single vol-
ume. In other words, individual needs as well as community
needs fall under the legitimate care of the state commission.
We have not mentioned the institutes which Wisconsin has
held for the librarians of travelling libraries. Minnesota is
going to try a state institute this fall in connection with the
state fair. This is only an attempt to make these country and
village librarians realize that they are a part of a large work,
not isolated workers, and to make them feel the importance
and usefulness of what they are doing.
Work in mining camps and lumber camps would certainly
seem to be a useful field for some form of travelling library.
We would suggest that the commission, in any or all of its
work, should work in conjunction with other organized work.
If the women's clubs are already doing something it is better
to help them than to start a new work. If missionary so-
cieties, or temperance workers, or private individuals are try-
ing to do work in lumber camps, etc., it is better to throw
WORK STATE COMMISSION CAN UNDERTAKE 299
our work through the channels they have digged, than to make
new ones. The commission ought to watch the various civiliz-
ing efforts that are going on in the state, and put itself in touch
with them wherever there is hope of helping.
New lines of work will constantly be undertaken as the
work progresses, and the need shows itself, but the secret of
real usefulness will always be in the personal care and help-
fulness which the commission and its assistants give to the
work.
STATE LIBRARY COMMISSIONS
What they are and what they are doing is the theme
of this paper by Henry E. Legler, then secretary of the
Wisconsin Library Commission. He finds a field "wide
in area, and fruitful of soil" and suggests that the atti-
tude in this form of state work should be that of guide,
counsellor and friend rather than of one exerting auto-
cratic authority. A sketch of Mr. Legler, published just
before his death, which occurred on September 13, 1917,
will be found in Volume 2.
I. WHAT THEY ARE
Statistics of libraries have been collected by the United
States Bureau of Education at irregular intervals for about
thirty years. Six compilations have been published during
this period showing the number of libraries and the num-
ber of people per library for each of the years mentioned
in the several reports. In 1875 each library supplied an
average of 21,432 persons while in 1903 there was a library
to every 11,632 persons, showing that the number of li-
braries had increased twice as rapidly as the population.
The increase in volumes in twenty-eight years has been at
even a greater rate than the increase in number of libraries.
In 1875 the library had 26 volumes to the 100 population, while
in 1903 there were 68 to the 100 people. While the population
increased 83 per cent in twenty-eight years, the number of books
accessible to the people increased 374 per cent.
These figures, being official and indicative of extraor-
dinary library growth, are apt to induce a feeling of com-
placency and a belief that the people of the United States are
extremely well supplied with library privileges. But statis-
tics will always bear analysis, if wrong deductions are to be
avoided. If one millionaire and nine penniless men are put
in one group, it will be found that* the average wealth of
these ten men is $100,000, but doubtless nine of the men
302 HENRY EDUARD LEGLER
will derive but scant comfort from that fact. At a recent
state library meeting some comparisons were made of the
cost of books. One economically-inclined trustee proudly
announced that the books acquired by his library during
the preceding year had cost an average of but 11 cents. He
forgot to mention that an ex-congressman had transferred
from his attic to the shelves of the library about 1200 public
documents amassed by him during his congressional career,
This circumstance not only reduced the average cost per book
acquired, but greatly amplified the average number of books per
inhabitant of that particular community.
To him who hath, more shall be given. Gratification
over the extraordinary increase in number of volumes per
100 of the population must be tempered by the fact that the re-
sultant benefit is confined to a fraction of the population. Thou-
sands of people are absolutely without library privileges, even
though the stimulus given by the Carnegie gifts has, during
the past decade, scattered libraries into regions which would,
but for that inducement, remain without libraries today. Per-
haps the statistics for a typical state of the Middle West, or as
the Bureau of Education would term it, North Central state,
will suffice to illustrate:
Total population 2,069,042
Population of cities with libraries 866,000
Population served by travelling libraries 52,000
Country people with access to city libraries.. . 26,590
Population with library privileges 944*59°
Population without library privileges 1,124,452
According to the official statistics, there are in this state
58 volumes to the 100 of the population. According to the un-
official, but actual fact, certain groups of 100 persons in this
state have from two to ten times that number of books within
easy reach, and a million and a quarter of people have access
to no libraries, and many of them do not see a book from the
first day of January to the following Christmas.
Conditions such as these, not apparent from official re-
ports, but actually existent, have given to the public library
commissions a field of work wide in area, and fruitful of
soil. Commissions, or organizations bearing other names
and having equivalent functions, are now operating in 23 states,
STATE LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 303
eight of them in the North Atlantic division, eight in the North
Central, five in the Western, two in the South Atlantic, and none
in the South Central. In a consideration of library commission
activities, the states in the two latter geographical divisions can
be eliminated. In the North Atlantic division, which includes
the New England group, the plan of organization and operation
differs essentially from that which has found root in the North
Central division or Middle West group. In the former, direct
aid to libraries, with but limited supervision (except in New York)
seems to have been adopted as most likely to stimulate th-e
library movement. In the Middle West, no direct state aid
is given the local libraries, but it is held to be important to
concentrate effort upon field and instructional work, includ-
ing the organization of new libraries and reorganization of
older ones on approved lines, instruction by means of in-
stitutes and of summer schools, and individual instruction to
librarians in their own libraries. Instructional publications,
such as book lists, bulletins, and circulars of information
are also made an important channel of usefulness.
In the western states, the methods that obtain in the
Middle West have been followed in essential particulars. In
nearly all of them, travelling libraries are circulated for the
benefit of remote rural communities where conditions do
not warrant the establishment of permanent libraries, and in
temporary aid of small and struggling libraries whose
limited book funds permit only infrequent or insufficient
purchases. The reason for the divergent lines of endeavor
governing the commissions in these several geographical
groups of states is not far to seek. The characteristics of
the one include greater density of population, older estab-
lished communities, and naturally more public libraries with-
in given areas. In sharp contrast are the conditions which
affect the comparatively newer regions of the west, where
the material necessities of lighting, transportation, and other
utilities overshadow for the time being the desire for intel-
lectual expansion. Naturally, different methods must be em-
ployed to meet these differing conditions. Massachusetts
boasts that no township within its borders, 353 in number, is with-
out a public library. It will be many years before, in most of
the western states, the same condition will be even approximately
true. There it is the province of the commission workers;
304 HENRY EDUARD LEGLER
1. To educate public sentiment so that a genuine desire
for library privileges will manifest itself in the practical
form of local taxation adequate to proper maintenance.
2. To give personal help in the organization of the
library, and to furnish such instruction to the librarian and
assistants as will bring the institution to the highest degree
of efficiency possible.
In both these endeavors serious difficulties are often en-
countered. This is an era of public improvements. The con-
struction of gas and electric light plants, roads, courthouses,
city halls, and public school buildings swell taxation often
beyond the point of endurance, and naturally the average
citizen suggests that library appropriations can be deferred
till the unavoidable financial pressure is relieved.
When sentiment has finally ripened and the establish-
ment of a library has been determined upon, the selection
of a librarian becomes a vexing question. There is appar-
ently in every community at least one needy old lady who
requires the position to keep out of the poorhouse, and
where she is not insistent, a sister, cousin, or aunt of an in-
fluential trustee has the necessary tenacity of purpose to
secure it. Sometimes the commission, by firmness supple-
mented with tact, is enabled to influence the appointment of
a trained person. Otherwise, the crude material must be
moulded into the best form possible by patient work during
visitation of the library and by securing attendance at in-
stitutes and library summer school.
State library commissions have been in existence for
fifteen years, but sixteen of them have been created during
the second half of this period, and it is not surprising, there-
fore, that their work up to this time has been largely experi-
mental.
II. WHAT COMMISSIONS ARE DOING
While numerous channels of activity appeal to the ex-
ploratory instinct of a state library commission, two prob-
lems of paramount importance must engage attention:
1. The problem of the community, urban and rural, with-
out a library.
2. The problem of the small library.
STATE LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 305
The former problem finds its solution in the travelling
library, and is largely a matter of funds to buy and facilities
to distribute the most wholesome books to the greatest
number of people. Methods differ in different states, some
having fixed groups of books with printed catalogs for dis-
tribution, and others preferring the elasticity which permits
users to make selections. From a recent report may be
quoted a comparison of the two plans as operated in the
two adjacent states of Ohio and Indiana:
"Ohio had a fund of $7638 for its travelling libraries. Indiana
expended last year $1985.02 for its travelling libraries. "Ohio
employs six persons to administer the travelling libraries; Indiana
employs two. Ohio has 30,000 books, many of them duplicates.
The Indiana travelling libraries contain 5000 books with only a
few Duplicates, and circulated 330 libraries, while Ohio, with
six times as many books and three times the clerical force, cir-
culated 923 libraries. In a consideration of these comparisons
the fact must be borne in mind that the chief work of the Ohio
libraries is with the schools and study clubs; that of Indiana
with the farmers and general readers."
In some of the Western states, which have a polyglot
population and many distinctive communities of foreign-
born population, travelling libraries of books in foreign lan-
guages for the use of public libraries, and small groups of
foreign books in connection with the English travelling li-
braries, meet the needs for this class of readers. Much
work is also being done in connection with study clubs and
debating societies, and some attempt has been made to reach
military companies and the inmates of penal and charitable
institutions. Travelling libraries are also used in connection
with small libraries by a cooperative system that enables
each library to secure a hundred new books annually, or
serni-annually, for a series of years, each subscribing library
paying for one group to be exchanged at stated intervals
with the other cooperating libraries. There are many inde-
pendent and voluntary organizations which are engaged in
travelling library work, but the tendency seems to be toward
centralization in commission hands. In Wisconsin, annual
appropriations by boards of supervisors are permitted by
law for this purpose, and seven counties now have travelling
library systems for the towns within their borders. These
supplement the state and proprietary travelling libraries.
306 HENRY EDUARD LEGLER
Maryland has county libraries, a central library supplying
the communities within its jurisdiction. In Georgia the
seaboard line and other agencies circulate travelling li-
braries. In many states the Woman's Federation clubs do
considerable work of this kind.
Colorado has two library commissions. Maryland also
has two boards. Idaho's commission, which was established
in 1901, has ceased to exist Georgia has a nominal com-
mission, receiving no funds and engaging in no activities.
In Massachusetts the Woman's Educational Association has
placed 43 travelling libraries in the field.
The second main agency of the state library commission
has to do with the small libraries — how to promote their
multiplication and how to secure their efficient administra-
tion. The term "small library" has a different meaning in
the West than in the East, and thereby is largely determined
the marked differences in conception of commission work
which seems so strongly affected by geographical lines. In
the East, where libraries are older and where direct state
aid has stimulated the expansion of the shelflist, a collection
of 5000 volumes is a small library. In the West, when the
accession book becomes filled to that number, the library is re-
garded as worthy to rank in the first class — it is the library from
200 to 2000 volumes that is termed smalL Something of the
difficulties in the administration of these small libraries, espe-
cially in the newer communities, has been referred to earlier in
this paper. The librarian, the trustees, and the members of the
common council who hold the purse strings, must be in-
cluded in the educative duties which devolve upon the com-
mission staff. What an important element the small library
represents in the library world of the United States may
be gathered from the fact that, roughly grouped, five-
sevenths of all the public libraries in this country contain
less than 5000 volumes each, and but one-seventh in excess of
10,000 volumes. The work of the state commission is therefore
one of tremendous significance. Its influence must be exerted
to effect the proper organization of the small library and the tech-
nical equipment of the librarian, so as to ensure good business
'methods and wise extension work; to influence the selection of
first class plans for new buildings, or at least the inclusion of
certain essentials in the plan selected ; to render such unobstrusive
STATE LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 307
but effective aid in book selection as to yield a good permanent
nucleus for the larger book collection of the future; to
strengthen the reference departments of the libraries by the
inexpensive medium of a magazine clearing house; to secure
the enactment of laws by the state legislature that seem
best adapted to the immediate needs and conditions of the
local libraries; to encourage the state library associations
and local clubs to hold meetings that shall infuse esprit de
corps among their members and a desire to emulate what is
most progressive in library work; by means of model child-
ren's libraries, model reference libraries, binding exhibits,
and other suggestive collections and exhibits, and of well
edited instructive literature, such as bulletins, book lists,
and similar publications, to bring forcibly to their attention
what is newest and best in their profession which may be
adopted, or adapted, for themselves.
The most important instructional work of the commis-
sion is that which centers in the library summer school.
The most successful commissions are those which have real-
ized this fact. During the past year the Indiana commission
has conducted an interesting experiment in adding a normal
school course designed to bring about closer relations be-
tween the library and the school. Wisconsin plans for next
year a special course for teachers affiliated with the summer
course of the University of Wisconsin. The commissions
,wihich now maintain summer schools of library training, or
which plan to have them hereafter, include the following
states: California, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New
Jersey, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin. The sole
permanent school established by state funds, up to this year,
is that conducted by the New York Department of Home
Education. The Wisconsin legislature has now authorized
an annual appropriation for a permanent school of library
science to be conducted by the commission of that state,
and it is proposed to begin it in September of next year.
In an admirable and comprehensive paper submitted by
Miss Gratia Countryman, at the St. Louis Conference last
year, the work of the individual commissions was given in
extenso. The purpose of this hasty survey has been, there-
fore, to note rather the general plan of commission work as
conducted by certain geographical groups of states, and the
308 HENRY EDUARD LEGLER
trend of such work as Indicated both by well-established
policy generally followed and by experimental enterprises
attempted by individual commissions. This has been done
in a somewhat fragmentary manner, and it may be per-
mitted to briefly summarize commission activities in the
following tabular form:
Direct Aid
State appropriations, usually in money.
Traveling libraries:
general,
fiction,
juvenile,
study,
foreign groups.
Clearing house, magazine gifts.
Services in cataloging and organizing.
Advisory
Counsel in preliminary efforts.
Selection of librarian.
Plans for buildings.
Furnishings and decorations.
Book selection:
special lists,
Extension work:
schools,
clubs,
institutions,
stations and branches,
county readers,
classes for foreigners,
lectures,
story hour.
Instruction
Summer school for library training.
Institutes.
Personal visitation.
Publications:
bulletins,
book lists,
handbooks,
library literature.
STATE LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 309
Documents
Legislative reference library.
Check lists in printed form.
Bibliographies on current questions.
Young men's current topics clubs:
traveling library groups,
outlines for study.
Plans have been formulated for material extension of the
publishing enterprises undertaken by the League of Library
Commissions. Their work is significant of the newer trend
in the library world to minimize expenditure and energy
by means of cooperative enterprises subserving a common
end. "Poolers index/' the indexes and catalog cards of the
A.L.A. Publishing Board, and similar notable achievements,
illustrate what may be accomplished to aid libraries which
can not hope to undertake such work independently.
Much work, however, which libraries now perform for in-
dividual use, is a mere mechanical repetition and could be
done more expeditiously, more economically and more ad-
vantageously in every way by joint arrangement. The li-
brary world has given to the business world, in the card system,
a device which has revolutionized its methods, and in the
saving of time and money has more than quadrupled its
facilities. Until recently, however, librarians have been
singularly dilatory in availing themselves of the advantages
created by themselves.
In conclusion, a personal opinion as to the scope and at-
titude of state library commissions may be ventured. It is
this: That commission will accomplish most within the
sphere of its influence which seeks to exercise the least
autocratic authority, but instills into its relation with the
libraries of the state the unobtrusively persuasive rather
than the domineeringly exacting element; which assumes
the attitude not of a censor whose judgment is dreaded,
but of a guide, counsellor, and friend whose advice is sought
and followed because given in confidence. It will prove a
mistake to invest any commission with powers so broad in
scope that it becomes virtually a large library with branches
scattered over the state. In all matters of moment affecting
the administration of the small library, including the selec-
tion and purchase of books, the commission should endeavor
310 HENRY EDUARD LEGLER
to exert a directing: influence by suggestion and counsel, but
not otherwise. Better that some mistakes should be made
by the local library than that they should be avoided by
having the commission do for them what they should do
themselves.
In any system of education, mistakes are a part, and a
necessary part; but, of course, these must be not too many,
and there should be an avoidance of repetition. It is, there-
fore, an important and delicate problem for the commission
to determine what not to do, as well as wrhat to do, if the
local libraries are to be brought to that degree of permanent
efficiency with which initiative and independence are in-
separable. It must be the purpose of the commission to
help them to help themselves.
A MODEL LIBRARY COMMISSION LAW
Mr. Johnson Brigham, state librarian of Iowa, takes
the Oregon commission law as his model rather than
that of his own state, and comments upon the various
sections. Mr. Brigham was born in New York state in
1846, and was educated at Hamilton collegeoand Cornell
university. He was an editor for sixteen years before
becoming state librarian in 1898. He has been president
of the National Association of State Libraries, member
of the A.L.A Council, and has published several books,
most of them historical, writing under the pseudonym
Wolcott Johnson.
In attempting to give my views as to a model library com-
mission law I shall first attempt a definition. A model com-
mission law is not one with the most or the fewest words or
sections, nor one in which the words are thrown together with
the most of euphony, nor one which embodies an argument in
favor of commissions : but is, rather, one that in fewest, simplest
and most logically sequent words, phrases and sentences (i)
creates the best working commission, (2) best empowers the
commission to do its work, (3) most wisely confines the com-
mission to the specific work which has called it into being,
(4) best guards the public treasury against waste of public
money by the commission, and (5) without extravagance or
excess provides ample funds for the prosecution of the work
of the commission, erring if at all, on the side of liberality
and, finally, (6) providing for covering into the treasury all
funds not needed.
My first thought was to use the Iowa Library Commission
law as a basis for my model; but, on re-reading it I find that,
nothwithstanding the attempt of four years ago to perfect that
law — an attempt in as large measure as possible frustrated
by legislative amendment — it is still faulty in several respects.
I have therefore taken the latest embodiment of an effort to
312 JOHNSON BRIGHAM
formulate a model law: I refer to the act enacted by the leg-
islature of the state of Oregon on February 9 of the present
year— "An act to create the Oregon Library Commission and
to provide for the conduct and expenses thereof, and to ap-
propriate money therefor."
To begin with the title just read, I would add after the
word "commission" the words "to define the powers and duties
of said commission." I would make this addition that the title
may conform to the rule in some states — which by the way,
should be the rule in all — that the main purposes of a bill
should be outlined in its title.
I see nothing to amend in the sequence of the several sec-
tions.
The first section creates the commission, lodging the ap-
pointing power and fixing the term of service.
The second outlines the work of the commission, here wisely
using the word "may" instead of "shall," thus — improving on
the laws of several other states — giving ample scope for the
exercise of judgment by the commission but, of course, within
the limits defined by the other sections of the law.
Section three defines the duties of the commission and of
its secretary and limits the expenditure of money.
Section four relates to the commissioner's biennial report
on library conditions and progress in the state, including an
itemized statement of commission expenses, also covering the
printing of the report and of such other matter as may be
required.
Section five limits the salary of the secretary, and the neces-
sary travelling and incidental expenses of the members of the
commission and the secretary.
Section six makes the appropriation and provides that any
balance not expended in any one year may be added to the ex-
penditures for any ensuing year.
The only change I would suggest in this order would be
to eliminate section five altogether, transferring the matter of
salary to section three in which the matter of commission ex-
penses is considered.
This would leave us a bill of five sections briefly sum-
marized as follows: (i) Appointment; (2) Duties; (3) Or-
ganization and limitations; (4) Publication and printing; (5)
Appropriation.
MODEL LIBRARY COMMISSION LAW 313
I. Taking up section one in detail, the Oregon commission
provides that the governor shall appoint but one person as
commissioner who, with the governor, superintendent of public
instruction, president of the state university, and librarian of
the Library Association of Portland, shall constitute the com-
mission.
Here I would repeat the commonplace which no writer or
speaker on library themes can wisely ignore, namely: that
every state has its own variation from any general plan which
may be developed, and the most we can claim for the best
laid scheme is that it shall be a plan to work toward.
While the Oregon commission is fortunate in having as
a member the librarian of the Library Association of Portland,
and while I would not question the wisdom of the Oregon
legislature in appointing the governor an ex officio member of
the commission and leaving off the board the state librarian,
yet I think a model library commission law should not be so
constituted. I think it should not include any public librarian
as an ex officio member, though I would regard a public libra-
rian especially interested in and adapted to commission work
as extra-eligible for appointment on a library commission.
I do not think the law should make the governor of the
state a commissioner, because of the multiplicity of other in-
terests with which the chief executive is charged.
In my judgment the commission should include the state
librarian, who is — or should be— the official head and front of
the library movement in the state so far as the state may lead
in library activities.
In my model law I would have a commission of seven mem-
bers, three of whom shall be members by virtue of the offices
they hold, namely: the state librarian, for the reason given, the
state superintendent of schools, as a connecting link between
the commission and the schools, and (he president of the state
university, as a connecting link between the commission and
higher education including university extension work. I would
leave four positions open for appointment by the governor with
an unwritten law that the four shall represent both the
four quarters of the state geographically and the organizations
most interested in libraries, such as the state library association
and the state federation of women's clubs. These positions, out
of politics, without salary and wholly honorary as they should
3i4 JOHNSON BRIGHAM
be, are not sought after by politicians, and any reasonable gov-
ernor would be glac! to receive suggestions and would be pleased
to receive recommendations from duly constituted bodies of
men and women interested. In the case of Oregon, without
doubt the librarian of the Portland Library Association would
be the first one recommended and appointed. The Iowa law
declares that at least two of the four appointed commissioners
shall be women. While I am in favor of women as com-
missioners, I think it best that they be appointed on their merits
and not of necessity.
Section 2 — which covers essentially the same ground
as that covered by two sections of the Iowa commission law —
defining the duties of the commission, appears to me to include
about all that any good working commission should undertake
in the interests of libraries and the state. These duties, epitom-
ized, are: the giving of advice to the representatives of schools
and public libraries, and the communities proposing to establish
them — as to the means of establishing and maintaining public
libraries, the classification and cataloging of books for such libra-
ries, the purchase of travelling libraries, and the operation of
the same within the state, in community libraries, schools, col-
leges, universities, library associations, study clubs, charitable
and penal institutions, etc., such service to be rendered free
of cost except for transportation under such conditions and
rules as shall protect the state and increase the efficiency of
the service. This section covers all that is necessary as to the
publication of lists and circulars of information. It authorizes
also that valuable adjunct, a clearing house for periodicals for
free gift to local libraries. It also wisely authorizes but does
not require, the creation and maintenance of a summer school
for library instruction */ such school be needed.
I would subtract nothing from this section; but would add,
as a protection against the possible over-ambition of some fu-
ture library commission or secretary, a clause which should
limit the summer school for library instruction to persons
either at present engaged in library work or supervision or
already under engagement for future library work. I would
make this change also as a protection to the commission and
its secretary against insistence that pupils be permitted to enter
the school with a view to fitting themselves for the mere pos-
sibility of future library service. The summer library school
MODEL LIBRARY COMMISSION LAW 3*5
as maintained by the state should be confined to those who are
already committed to library work or active trusteeship and
for the one purpose of increasing their efficiency. The purpose
of such schools should be kept separate and distinct from
that of the library school proper with its two years' course;
the purpose of the one being to fit men and women for the
profession of librarian, that of the other, simply to increase
the efficiency of those already engaged in, or under engage-
ment for, library service.
3 Section three provides for a chairman to be elected from
the members thereof for a term of one year, and a secretary,
not of its own number, to serve at the will of the commission
under such conditions as it shall determine. I recommend that
instead of chairman, the title of president be used, as one which
commands somewhat more of respect for the executive head of
the commission. If I, myself, were not a commission presi-
dent, I think I would here recommend that the state librarian
be ex officio president of the commission. I would incline to
make this recommendation because the necessities of the situa-
tion, as viewed from the standpoint of my experience, almost
compel the selection of the state librarian. The complimentary
election of any other member would be to most secretaries a
serious embarrassment, in that any business-like plan of keep-
ing accounts, auditing bills, recommending purchases, etc., re-
quires the approval and signature of the president, and this
would be accompanied with vexatious and sometimes disastrous
delay if the president were not immediately accessible and if
the state were not entitled to the president's time.
The Oregon law says that the expenses of the commission
and of its officers, when approved by the chairman shall be
certified under oath to the secretary of state. Of course the
machinery of such executive work is different in different states.
In Iowa such certification would be made to the state auditor
instead of the secretary of state. With us the machinery of
financing the commission is made unnecessarily cumbersome by
provisions compelling the president and the secretary of the
commission to certify under oath to the executive council, con-
sisting of the governor, the secretary of state, the state auditor
and the state treasurer. These in turn approve the bills be-
fore they go to the state auditor for payment — cumbersome
machinery which is either perfunctory, as is ordinarily the case,
3i6 JOHNSON BRIGHAM
or an embarrassment and annoyance to the commission and a
needless burden to men without detailed knowledge of or spe-
cial interest in commission work. If the members of the com-
mission are devoid of common honesty, they should summarily
be removed from office. If theirr judgment is not as good^as
that of men wholly outside the range of commission activities,
then there should be an overhauling of the commission.
The Oregon law fixes the salary of the secretary of 'the
commission. My judgment is that the commission should fix
the secretary's salary and that the same should be paid from
the appropriation. Commission laws usually limit the outgo
for travelling expenses, and the limitation may be wise; but
my own judgment drawn from experience is that if the limit
happens to be too small it is an embarrassment, and if too
large it is superfluous. No commissioner, no secretary, worthy
to serve the state, will be disposed to expend money for mere
junketing. In our Iowa commission, though we go whenever
and wherever we deem it necessary to go, our annual limit
of travel expenditure has not as yet been reached.
4. I have no serious criticism to make on section four of
the Oregon law, for there is nothing in it except directions
as to the printing of the biennial report and other printed
matter required by the commission and the amount of money
to be expended annually for printing. This sum would widely
vary in different states, and I think it would be better to let the
necessities of the commission, not the statute, fix the limit of
expenditure in this direction.
5. As to section five, I will simply make the commonplace
remark that a sum necessary to run a commission in one state
may be excessive in another and may be repressive in another.
Another criticism occurs to me — one which I am not likely to
urge upon an Iowa legislature, but which impresses me as in
some respects for the best interests of the state. The Oregon
law says "any balance not expended in any one year may be
added to the expenditure for any ensuing year." The question
of unexpended balances is one which admits of a very good
argument on either side; but my judgment, as expressed away
from home, and independently of the immediate interests of
the commission over which I preside, is that a balance not ex-
pended in any one year should be covered into the treasury.
This may work a hardship in some particular cases; but the
MODEL LIBRARY COMMISSION LAW 31?
effect of such a measure would be to make it easier for com-
missioners to obtain liberal legislation; while unexpended bal-
ances at the end of the year, or at the end of the biennial
period, are a constant invitation to the watch-dogs of the
treasury who are always found on the committee on retrench-
ment and reform and the committee on appropriations.
THE WORK OF LIBRARY EXTENSION
IN IOWA
Miss Alice Sarah Tyler was secretary of the Iowa
Library Commission when she spoke at the meeting of
the Illinois Library Association in 1904 on her work,
introducing it with a brief summary of the general pur-
pose and methods of commission work, and placing the
most emphasis on the importance of establishing libraries
in towns where none exist and enlarging the work of
those already established. A sketch of Miss Tyler will
be found on page 109 of this volume.
The aim and purpose of library commissions have become
so familiar to library workers that it would seem almost safe
before such an audience as this to assume an acquaintance
with the reasons for their existence. Nevertheless, as there
may possibly be those here who are not familiar with what is
being done in a number of states by library commissions, it
may be well to briefly review their purpose and methods.
State encouragement and supervision of public library in-
terests have come to be recognized as important in the further-
ing of the system of public education. Massachusetts was the
first state to see the importance of fostering and encouraging
this interest, which has much to do in developing a sound and
intelligent citizenship, and therefore the Massachusetts legis-
lature created a library commission in 1890. The chief duty
of this commission was to use every effort to make good books
accessible to all the people of that great commonwealth, by
means of free public libraries. Since that time, 19 other
states have seen the importance of library development and
have secured legislation providing for library commissions. The
states now having library commissions are : Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia,
New Jersey, Maine, Indiana, Kansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Penn-
sylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Idaho, Washington, Delaware, Ne-
braska.
320 ALICE SARAH TYLER
"Differing materially in composition and in methods, their
common aim is to inspire communities with a desire for library
service, to foster zeal in literary work, to aid by advice and
example, to simplify methods and act as an agency for the
application of public spirit and private bounty in the direction
of library interests."
It has been seen that as our public school system evolved,
it was necessary to give direction and encouragement to it.
This is done through the Department of public instruction in
each state. In a similar though in a much smaller way, the
library commission in each state is to give direction and en-
couragement to the library interests. "No thoughtful man can
question that it is a supreme concern to provide for our people
the best of the literature of power which inspires and builds
character, and of the literature of knowledge which informs
and builds prosperity. This can be done effectively and eco-
nomically only through free public libraries. A limited number
can buy or hire their books, but experience has proven that
unless knowledge is as free as air or water, it is fearfully
handicapped, and the state can not afford even the smallest
obstacle to remain between any of its citizens and the desire for
cither inspiration or information."
A majority of the states have laws providing for the estab-
lishment and support of free public libraries, but in many com-
munities the people need to be encouraged to take advantage
of the provisions of the law.
In Iowa the library commission was created by an act of
the twenty-eighth general assembly, March 20, 1900. The com-
mission consists of seven members, three ex-officio and four ap-
pointed by the governor. These elect a secretary not of their
number to attend to the activities of commission work. The
rapidly increasing duties of the first two years tested the law
and showed the necessity for certain changes. The traveling
library work which had been in charge of the state library
was seen to be so closely related to the work of the library
commission that it was thought desirable by all concerned that
it should be transferred to the commission. Therefore the
twenty-ninth general assembly revised the law, provided for
this transfer and increased the appropriation.
The activities of the commission have varied as the
demands of the work have required. The secretary
LIBRARY EXTENSION IN IOWA 321
through correspondence and personal visits has become
acquainted with library conditions in the state, and every effort
is made to encourage all cities in the state (of over 2000
inhabitants), to take advantage of the law providing for
a municipal tax. The demands upon the secretary include many
phases of work, among which are the following: Aiding in
the preliminary plans for the submission of a library tax to
the popular vote; assisting boards of trustees and librarians in
organizing libraries for a business-like administration; advice
regarding library records — classification, shelf-list, and catalog;
aiding in securing a competent organizer for properly organiz-
ing a library according to present methods; conferring with
library trustees regarding plans for new buildings, with special
reference to interior arrangements, that provide supervision
and -economical administration; addressing teachers' meetings,
women's clubs, public meetings, etc., on library subjects; selec-
tion of books ; supervision of traveling libraries ; direction of
the Summer library training school; keeping accurate records of
the work of the commission and all expenditures; correspond-
ence on many subjects related to the above-mentioned activities.
As new needs arise, new forms of service will be developed as
far as means permit.
Of the many activities which naturally grow out of the sys-
tematic effort of a state to advance library interests, those most
generally accepted are the traveling library (Iowa has I2,ooov.), a
periodical exchange or clearing-house, some method of instruc-
tion for librarians (usually by a summer school), the free
use of printed matter for giving publicity to the work and
for furnishing library information, and aggressive library work
in general.
Extension in the sense of enlarging, widening or expanding
at once conveys the thought of growth, and while the term
library extension is a large and inclusive term and really covers
all the activities of a state library commission, which exists
for the purpose of extending the library interests of the state,
it is also applied more particularly to the work of establishing
local libraries in towns where no such institution exists and in
aiding in the development and enlargement of the local library
after it is established. In this sense therefore library extension
takes on a specific meaning as one of the most important ac-
tivities of a library commission, and it is this particular line of
work that, it seems to me, needs to be emphasized.
322 ALICE SARAH TYLER
A public collection of books for the free use of the people
should exist in every town or city. Believing that such a col-
lection of books, wisely used, has great educational value and
has a far-reaching influence in molding the character of the
young people of the community, the state has provided that
such an institution may be established and maintained by taxa-
tion. One state, New Hampshire, provides that it must. Many
communities, however, are indifferent to the possibilities and
needs of such an institution, and some method needs to be
adopted whereby these are brought to realize the advantages
which are easily within their reach. Here the need of the ag-
gressive work of the state library commission becomes" at once
apparent. The representative of the commission (secretary,
organizer, visitor or whatever term may be used) can by various
methods gain the interest and confidence of the people of a
community and there are usually a few people in every com-
munity who are ready to take the initiative in a movement of
this sort. In Iowa an unfailing source of strength in work of
this sort is the club woman and in most of the towns they give
the first impetus to the work.
It should be borne in mind that encouragement and help
from the state, as represented by a state library commission
representative, carries with it a certain force in a community,
the value of which we should not overlook. Where a few
people have at first to combat the indifference and doubt of a
majority of the citizens, and have to create public sentiment,
it means a great deal to feel back of their feeble ef-
forts the recognition and encouragement of the state as
represented by a commission. The local movement at
once takes on dignity. Furthermore, the mere fact of some
one outside the community coming to talk on the value of a
library develops an interest which at first may be only curiosity.
A central bureau or center for library information and sug-
gestion is certainly a source of strength and encouragement to
those in the state who are trying to develop this interest in
the establishment of public libraries in their communities, and
an active field worker who shall visit these communities and push
the work of library extension is certainly an important factor.
How shall such a center be maintained, and how shall such
aggressive field work be done unless there is a permanent in-
come for its support? So far, the most reliable plan for thus
providing for supervision and development is through a state
LIBRARY EXTENSION* IN IOWA 323
appropriation. The name commission may he questioned from
prejudice against it. There may be other ways, but this is the
method which gives stability and permanence to the work of
library extension in Iowa.
The lines most definitely be tore the Iowa Library Commis-
sion in library extension are: (i), encouraging and aiding in
towns where no libraries exist; and (2), improving conditions
and raising standards in the older libraries by cooperation with
librarians and trustees in introducing modern methods; (3),
aiding in the selection of books; (4), advising regarding plans
for library buildings. Incidentally these duties overlap with
other activities which definitely bear upon bringing about re-
lated results, such as the Summer library school, publications
of the commission of various kinds, etc. which give instruction
and information.
In conclusion let me give you just a glimpse of one week
of field work in library extension out of my own experience.
The first week of this month I visited seven towns (Waterloo,
Osage, Charles City, Nashua, Waver, Clarksville and Cedar
Falls), driving 12 miles to reach one of them; I met four
library boards, conferred with two building committees, made
one evening address in a small town of about one thousand
inhabitants where club women were trying to start a library,
and inspected the libraries in five of these towns, conferring
with the librarian in every instance, in one town there being
two libraries, one in a state institution. In every place I was
welcomed most cordially and my regret always is that I can
not give more time to field work. It pays.
THE COMMISSION AND THE LOCAL LIBRARY
This lecture was given by Clara Frances Baldwin at
the Summer Library Conference conducted by the Wis-
consin Free Library Commission at Madison, July 12-
26, 1911. She takes the same attitude toward commission
work that Mr. Legler expresses in the article just
quoted, and treats it very effectively.
Miss Baldwin was born in 1871, took her bachelor's
degree at the University of Minnesota in 1892 and was
cataloger in the Minneapolis Public Library in 1892-
1899. She was secretary of the Minnesota Public Li-
brary Commission in 1900-1919 and since that date has
been director of libraries for the Minnesota Department
of Education.
The function of the library commission in establishing and
organizing libraries has been generally recognized, but the limits
of its field in relation to the administration of the local library
are not as clearly defined. Perhaps this is due somewhat to
the fact that establishment and re-organization has absorbed
most of the time and energy of commissions in the newer grow-
ing states where libraries are springing up almost as fast as
commissions can keep track of them. Then, too, methods of
organization have become standardized, there are definite laws
under which libraries must be established, and technical sys-
tems are quite generally agreed upon. The assistance commis-
sions can give in technical matters is recognized and appre-
ciated, but the assistance which may be rendered in solving
problems of administration is somewhat less tangible.
There have been those among commission workers who
maintained that the commission had no part in the administra-
tion of the local library, that it should be merely a silent
partner, distributing state funds to a limited extent, as a reward
326 CLARA FRANCES BALDWIN
of merit for the purchase of approved books, and there to end,
assuming that if the library is once established, and suitable
books are added from year to year, there is no need of further
supervision by state authorities. But experience has shown
that the establishment and technical organization of libraries
is only the beginning and that "advisory work with libraries
is limited only by the resourcefulness of the commission itself."
This work has developed by meeting the needs of libraries, and
librarians and trustees may help the commission by making
known their needs and calling upon the commission for help
in all sorts of problems.
The ideal commission, as it appears to me, should be a
guide, counsellor and friend to all library workers in the state,
never dictating or offering untimely criticism, but tactfully main-
taining an attitude of helpfulness, serviceableness and under-
standing which results in a mutual feeling of perfect confidence.
This relation manifestly cannot exist without thorough knowl-
edge on the part of the commission, first of the librarian and
library board, then of the resources of the local library, and
furthermore of local conditions, and this, of course, implies
frequent visits from members of the commission staff.
Librarians should do all in their power to make the visitors
welcome, and these visits shall never be "visitations" to be
dreaded by the librarian.
Taking up some of the concrete problems of administra-
tion, as they have been discussed in previous conferences, let
us consider what library commissions have done and may do to
help the local library solve these problems. The first problem
for consideration in library administration is that of finances
and the budget, and here the first question which arises is
how to apportion the funds. The commission collects reports
and statistics which furnish valuable information for compari-
son with other libraries. Interested trustees find great satis-
faction in working out such comparisons, and librarians may
help by keeping careful records, and above all by sending re-
ports promptly. Statistics are usually a bugbear, but often serve
a useful purpose and may sometimes prove of value to your
own library as well as to other libraries. Another problem
which frequently confronts the library board is how to increase
the library fund. Library commissions have done much to edu-
cate public sentiment in favor of larger appropriations for
COMMISSION AND LOCAL LIBRARY 327
library purposes. The recent Wisconsin bulletin on library ap-
propriations is full of practical suggestions. In dealing with
city councils, county or township boards, comparative statistics
are again of value, and the presence of the state officer with an
authoritative statement regarding the library law is often all
that is needed to carry the day for the library.
To towns which must raise money to supplement the fund
raised by taxation, the commission offers many suggestions
gleaned from experiences of other towns.
Business methods have been sadly neglected in the ad-
ministration of many libraries, but commissions have furnished
uniform blanks for accounts, to simplify the keeping of re-
cords and encourage the use of better business methods. The
importance of this cannot be over estimated, when it comes to
seeking increased appropriations and a clear, business-like state-
ment of expenditures and results obtained will often accomplish
more than the most convincing argument as to the value of the
library.
In the problem of government and service, library commis-
sions have helped the local library by constantly striving to
raise the standard of library service throughout the state.
The first means to this end is the summer school, which
has not only taught better methods, but inspired librarians with
a broader view of the possibilities of their work. The commis-
sions have further strived to educate boards of trustees, leading
them gently up to the idea of trained service and recommending
the right person when opportunity comes.
This educating process is continually going on at state and
district meetings, and as a higher ideal of the library's place
in the community is established, the dignity of the librarians'
office will be recognized, and vice versa — as better service is
rendered by the library to the community at large, so will the
dignity of the institution be augmented.
In the relation of commissions to librarians and trustees we
have one of the must difficult points in library administration.
In general, librarians and trustees work in harmony for the
best interests of the library, but unfortunately there is some-
times, to use a gentle phrase of a well-beloved librarian of the
old school, a little "lack of sympathy" and we find librarian and
board working at cross purposes. Doubtless this is due to the
fact that there is "as much human nature in library trustees as
328 CLARA FRANCES BALDWIN
there Is in librarians, if not more," and librarians, perhaps on
account of over-zeal, fail to win the support of their board
in their favorite schemes. In such cases the commission may be
extremely useful as a sort of buffer, or safety valve. The com-
mission will endeavor to cultivate patience in the over-zealous
librarian and may often clear up misunderstandings by a tactful
handling of the situation. These situations are sometimes a
little disconcerting to the commission worker, as when board
members take the commission worker aside and ask her to
correct certain faults in the librarian, which are evidently due
to the fixed habits of some 50 odd years. Remember that
commission workers are only human beings after all, and while
often effective as a high court of arbitration, do not set them
impossible tasks. I know of no better way of establishing
friendly relations between librarians, trustees and commissions
than through the board meeting called to meet the commission
visitor and discuss informally the affairs of the library. Libra-
rians should make every effort to get the board together, ask
questions and give the trustees an opportunity to feel more
strongly the vital connection which should exist between the
commission and the local library board. Sometimes a social cup
of tea is not out of order, and does much to establish this ideal
relation.
But it is in the broader social and civic work of the li-
brary that co-operation with the commission is most needed.
In a paper on The Trend of Commission work, read before
the Bretton Woods conference, Mr. Hadley, then Secretary of
the Indiana Commission, pointed out the need of real co-opera-
tion when he said that we should have "not simply a friendly
attitude or theory of work, but a positive and vital connection
between the commission and outside forces and between the
commission and every library within its state."
A newspaper in a remote community recently recorded thai
the people of a certain district had established "a state circu-
lating library for the benefit of those up there who are unable
to secure literature to inculcate their mental faculties to keep
abreast of the advancing march of civilization." In spite of
the dizziness of this editorial flight, there is a certain stimulus
in the words, and the library which is keeping abreast of the
advancing march of civilization must bring its community into
COMMISSION AND LOCAL LIBRARY 329
touch with all the great movements of the present for social and
civic betterment. But the librarian in the small town does
not easily come in touch with the agencies for promoting these
movements and the commission should be the connecting link
through which these forces are brought to the libraries and
through the libraries to the people.
There are in every state, boards such as the state board of
health, the forestry and labor commissions, which are working
for the conservation of human life and natural resources. The
publications of these boards should not only be sent to every
library, but their value should be made known to the public.
There are state associations, not official, such as the Anti-tuber-
culosis society, the Audubon society and others of a similar
nature. All of these have literature for free distribution, which
should be brought to the people through the local library. Furth-
ermore, there are national associations, such as the American
civic association, the peace society and our own American li-
brary association, whose resources should be made available.
The commission should serve to bring the local library into
communication with all these state and national organizations,
not only by publishing lists of available publications, but often
distributing such material, and seeing to it that it is brought
to the attention of the public. The commission not only supplies
literature, but should be able to furnish lecturers, or at least
put the librarian into communication with such.
The recent publication of the Wisconsin Commission on "The
library and social movements" is an important contribution to
this work, furnishing a complete list of material on this subject,
which may be obtained at little or no expense,
Mr. F. A. Hutchins in an address before the Minnesota
Library Association several years ago drew attention to the
enlarging field of the small library and emphasized the need
of "closer co-operation and co-ordination of all of our great edu-
cational forces, which are now wasting energy in duplicating
methods and systems of popular education."
The ideal library commission seeks a vitalized co-operation
with every educational agency in the state, the University, the
Agricultural Extension Dept, the public schools and the entire
educational system.
The service of a library commission should be measured
not by the numbers of libraries established, not even by the
330 CLARA FRANCES BALDWIN
number of books available to the reading public, but by the
efficiency of library service throughout the state. The ideal
commission then will not be satisfied when every town of a cer-
tain population has a library (although this gives much ground
for genuine satisfaction) not even when these libraries are
well housed, well chosen, well organized and economically ad-
ministered, but must help to keep always before the libra-
rians and trustees a broader vision of the library's possibili-
ties until each library becomes a real factor in its community
in "the fight against ignorance, dullness, selfishness and ma-
terialism" and in the development of a higher ideal of citizen-
ship so that each community however remote will realize that
it may "keep abreast of the advancing march of civilization"
and have a share in the world wide movements for social re-
generation.
TREND OF LIBRARY COMMISSION WORK
This group of articles is appropriately closed with
one presented by Mr. Chalmers Hadley at a general ses-
sion of the Bretton Woods Conference of the American
Library Association in 1909. Mr. Hadley, who was
then secretary of the Indiana Library Commission, speaks
in an inspiring way of the whole field of commission
work past and present and future. Mr. Hadley was edu-
cated at Earlham College, Indiana, and the New York
State Library School. For several years before entering
the library field he was in newspaper work. He left
the Indiana Library Commission to become secretary of
the American Library Association and in 1911 became
librarian of the Denver Public Library. He was presi-
dent of the American Library Association in 1919, is
a member of the American Library Institute, and has
held many other library and civic positions.
The comparative newness of library commission work
makes any estimate of its tendencies of little value, for thus
far its daily demands have called for immediate action rather
than for reflection regarding the future.
The question of "trend of library commission work" as-
sumes added interest when considered with the assertions of
sonic library workers, that library commissions are of a
temporary nature, with their end already in view. Some
idea of discontinuance may be given by the name "commis-
sion," which sometimes has designated bodies appointed to
superintend some temporary activity. WHatever the opinion
of others may be, to commission workers, burdened with
duties, and with new ones constantly needing attention, any
assertion of temporarmess receives little consideration; for
the commission's advisory work with libraries alone, seems
limited only by the resourcefulness of the commission itself.
332 CHALMERS HADLEY
Should it cease to operate in any state, it would probably
be because a comparison of work to be done with the ridicu-
lously small appropriation frequently made with which to
do it would indicate the futility of any possible effort.
The original idea of commission work seemed to be,
primarily, the establishment of new public libraries; but
while libraries established have shown a marvelous increase
in number, especially in commission states, this is only one
of many activities. If commissions exist simply to increase
the number of public libraries, then library commissions
may well consider themselves of temporary existence, for
the advent of every new library would toll a day less of
official and professional life.
In the state of Massachusetts there is a library in every
town. In Wisconsin, there is not a city of more than 3*000
inhabitants without a library, and only five cities exceeding
2,000 people without such an institution. Of 88 cities in
Indiana, 69 have public libraries, and similar conditions exist
in many other states. But the cessation of library commis-
sion work with the establishment of public libraries would
be nearly as blameworthy as the desertion of a new born
babe by a supposedly interested parent.
With public opinion and the assistance of Mr Carnegie's
money, the establishment of libraries in a new field is com-
paratively easy work. In fact, the commission worker fre-
quently has to play the role of conservative when he detects
an emotionalism in a public library campaign akin to that
in a camp-meeting revival; for unless the situation be
handled in a calm, professional way, the results may be as
unfortunate to the library as they sometimes are to the re-
pentant but lonesome sinner who has been swept to un-
supportable heights.
One unsuccessful library frequently will attract more
public attention and comment than six successful ones.
Every library which fails in its mission is a stumbling block
to library development in general, and if a commission con-
siders its work ended with the establishment of libraries
alone, in my opinion it should move with exceeding care in
this field of activity.
An important step in library commission, or library ex-
tension development, was taken in 1893 when the state of
TREND OF COMMISSION WORK 333
New York saw the possibilities of traveling libraries with
sufficient clearness to provide books for communities lack-
ing library advantages; and most if not all states which have
library commissions or extension departments now send out
these libraries. Not only are they lent for the personal use
of readers, but they are used as entering wedges for the
establishment of tax supported public libraries in communi-
ties able to continue them.
The period following 1893 was the formative one, the
blocking-out stage in commission activities, and the work
showed a decided change. A glimpse into the future
seemed to stir most commissions alike, and in addition to
the supervision of traveling libraries and the establishment
of new public libraries, the work began to be of more defi-
nite service to public libraries already in operation. It soon
included in its activities the training of library workers
through summer library schools and institutes, and the
establishment of clearing houses for periodicals and numer-
ous other interests.
For the last five years, commission work, even in widely
separated states, has tended toward greater uniformity. Lo-
cal conditions will always exist, but the scope and methods
of work, whether in charge of a commission, the state li-
brary or some other special department, have been getting
more alike. Any difference in scope is due chiefly to the
size of appropriations for carrying on the work.
It is this agreement in method which shows the present
trend of the work. Whether conscious of a trend or not,
commissions will meet it if they successfully do the work
of every day; for the trend comes in meeting the needs of
libraries and is not a direction given the work from the com-
mission office itself. No radical change is imminent, for the
trend is simply along the line of increased usefulness
through greater co-operation.
Co-operation is no new word in commission work. For
several years there has been sufficient co-operation between
the various states for the exchange of benefits among the li-
brary commissions. But the co-operation which seems nec-
essary at present, is not simply a friendly attitude or theory
of work, but a positive and vital connection between the
commission and outside forces, and between the commission
334 CHALMERS HADLEY
and every library within its state. With a definite and in-
telligent study of co-operative possibilities and a willingness
to merge commission activities with those of individual li-
braries, results should be unusual.
Frequently in library co-operation the popular conception
of results seems to be based largely on a financial economy
in the loan and use of books. Suggestions have been made
which indicate a belief that a library field can be developed
as a corporation would exploit an oil field. The trust
methods of the business world, involving as they do the
sacrifice of the individual plant for the benefit of central-
ized interests and supposed financial economy, cannot be
used in this proposed commission co-operation, for in it,
economy, if there be any, will accrue from better work ac-
complished in the individual library for the same appropria-
tion.
The trend which seems evident will not be so apparent in
the newer commission states where library commission
work will continue to take its usual course of blazing the
way. There will be public library opinion to arouse and to
guide when awake. New commissions will block out their
work through legislation and then protect it from hostile
attack. The establishment of public libraries and the con-
struction of new buildings will continue to be of paramount
importance, however, every new library established means
so much work finished; and in commission states at present,
libraries are springing into existence at a rate exceeding
that at which towns become able to support them through
increased property valuation. Fewer new libraries naturally
mean fewer new buildings to construct and fewer untrained
librarians to instruct, but they mean also, more opportunity
and greater necessity for closer co-operation between com-
missions and the libraries they have helped to set going.
An increase in the number of public libraries in success-
ful operation in a state will also affect the traveling libraries
as well. Many years will elapse in most states before differ-
ent methods in lending traveling libraries will be necessary,
and no changes may be needed in some; but in states where
public libraries in cities and towns are reaching out to
county support and service as in California, and to township
TREND OF COMMISSION WORK 335
support and service as in Indiana, new adjustments must
follow. These will be welcomed, not regretted by library
commissions, for none should live for itself except as its
existence is a benefit to libraries in general, and the town-
ship and county libraries sending out books within their own
territory will have some decided advantages. A librarian in
personal touch with her reading public, whether it embrace
city or county, will have wide scope in selecting her books.
Her personal touch will acquaint her with her public's exact
needs and she will be better able to meet them. Traveling
libraries circulated from a township or county center will
decrease their expense to most readers, but best of all they
will mean another strong bond between the librarian and
her people, and between a public and a local institution
which stands for intelligence, progress and happiness.
Library commissions will continue to use traveling li-
braries as a first step in library organization, and to supply
books to the thousands who lack all public library facilities;
but the greatest care will have to be used in the future by
commissions and state libraries in sending traveling libraries
into public library territory. Central state offices have lent
books in public library communities when the cost of pos-
tage to the reader has equaled the original purchase price of
the book which should have been on the shelves of the local
library in the first place. Commissions will continue to lend
books to struggling libraries and to supply them with books
too expensive for local purchase, but fewer officers, whether
bf the library commission or some other department of the
state will mistake competition for co-operation, and commit the
professional sin of standing between any librarian and her
public.
A cursory glance over library legislation for the last
few years will show how library activities have become
centralized more and more in the state-supported library in-
stitutions. One wonders whether this is because of a general
desire among library workers of the state, or because the
state legislators, with unexpected clear vision as to library
needs, have agreed as to the advantages of such centraliza-
tion, or because of personal pride and professional ambition
in a state-supported office. Proper professional ambition is
laudable, certain library legislation absolutely necessary, and
336 CHALMERS HADLEY
no state institution needs more careful legislation for its
existence than a library commission.
Its comparatively recent appearance in library affairs is
responsible for the fact that many public officials do not
thoroughly understand commission work. A library com-
mission, separate from the state library, has no array of
books, furniture and staff with which to impress a legislator
with the magnitude of its work; and aside from statistical
information regarding the circulation of traveling libraries
and of library visits made, the results of library commission
work frequently must be intangible, at least, to some doubt-
ing Thomas who calls at the commission office.
A library commission can no more state what it has ac-
complished for libraries, than a board of health can specify
the cases of typhoid fever it has prevented in a given time.
Because of this limitation, legislation must be the backbone
and frame which supports the commission body. But state
libraries and commissions must avoid the danger of extend-
ing this backbone until it becomes a legislative shell, encas-
ing the body to the detriment of growth, and so cumbering
it that activity and flexibility become impossible. Success-
ful library commissions cannot rely on a legislative "thou
shalt and shalt not" in their relations with individual li-
braries, but must depend on a helpful, tactful attitude and
service which result in a mutual feeling of perfect confi-
dence.
A commission must be sufficiently effective to make it-
self the center of library activity in its state, and one which
depends on legislation alone to gain this position, is in grave
danger of being little more than a machine. In the work
which is upon us no library commission or state library do-
ing commission work can successfully devote its attention to
admiring the oiled workings of its own machinery. While
we may praise its frictionless movements and are impressed
by the sound of mighty forces pent up within, let us recog-
nize that in the hum of a legislatively constructed machine
at least some of the noise may come from an exhaust pipe.
I believe that in the older commission states at least, ne-
cessary legislation applying to the central library office has
nearly reached its maximum. Today there seems to be more
interest in legislation which directly develops individual libra-
ries throughout the state. Growth in the individual library
TREND OF COMMISSION WORK 337
from within is much to be preferred to hot-house forcing
by applications of legislative steam heat from a great cen-
tral plant.
Library commissions have always stood for increased
efficiency on the part of the librarian, and they are tending
more and more to stand also for increased consideration for
the librarian. The call to overworked, underpaid librarians
has been to strive for "love of the work," but commissions
while realizing the value of this attitude, are trying to place
the work on a professional rather than a sentimental basis.
An awakened conscience is apparent, also, regarding the
frequently neglected library trustee. During the coming
year, one library commission has planned to hold trustees'
institutes as distinct from librarians' institutes; and another
commission is considering the advisability of regularly is-
suing a publication for the use of the trustees.
While trend is not synonymous with revolution, and the
development of library commission work doubtless will con-
tinue along general lines already laid down, the next few
years should witness a wonderful growth in all commission
states. It may be said in fairness that commissions have
not been derelict in the duties imposed upon them in the
past, but they themselves are recognizing that the methods
of the past cannot be depended upon entirely for the future.
The time has come for commissions to realize fully, as most
public libraries are realizing, that technical training, build-
ings and even books themselves are but means to an end,
and this end is more than the polishing of tools or of halos.
It is the diminution of ignorance, unhappiness and isolation,
through the broadening and quickening of life.
It is strange how a community and even an entire town
may go on its way thinking and living as its founders did,
frequently unconscious of the great uplifting forces at work
all about. But it is not so strange after all when we remem-
ber that the protectors of public health, the conservators of
our natural resources, the advocates of better municipal gov-
ernment, the beautifiers of cities, the guardians of neglected
children, the workers in organized charities and juvenile
courts — this host of unselfish, public spirited people — con-
fine their work mainly to our larger cities and leave the
smaller places neglected.
The librarian and her local board may realize the respon-
338 CHALMERS HADLEY
sibility for making the library a vital force in the com-
munity, but too frequently they feel helpless to do this, for
the great vitalizing influences seem too remote for availa-
bility. These influences fly high, but the library commis-
sions propose to play the part of Franklin, and catch these
forces which flash among the clouds and conduct their
sparks to the small library bottles all over the state.
We have had library displays showing the wetness of
water and the dryness of dust,— all helpful to the incredu-
lous— kut the library commission can co-operate with the
state board of health, and through exhibits, speakers and
books, join in the fight against disease and suffering. It can
work with the state fish and game commission and increase
the understanding and respect for animal life about us. As-
sociated with the state board of forestry and with the state
geologist, the commission can help libraries to teach the
proper use of natural resources and how to protect them
for future generations. Better ideas of home economics, of
sanitary surroundings and of increasing the earnings from
the farm will follow if library commissions will bring the
state agricultural college with its varied resources into touch
with the small community. Similarly, through co-operation
with landscape artists and architects the commission can
demonstrate the economy in beauty.
Whatever the agent, library commissions can co-operate
with it and work through the individual library by means of
popular lectures, public exhibitions and, best of all, by means
of books. In any community the commission can use its
traveling libraries to advantage, send pictures and books to
supplement the local collection, select books for purchase
by the library and act as a bureau of bibliography in com-
piling reading lists for public use when these duties cannot
be performed by the local librarian. This last should be a
most important work, for the ordinary bibliography issued
by the large library is no more adapted for use in the very
small one than its building plans would be.
But not only can the commission co-operate with forces
within the different states for the benefit of individual libra-
ries and communities, it can join hands with many national
igencies whose aims are similar. The Bureau of education
it Washington or some other national office is losing splen-
a
TREND OF COMMISSION WORK 339
did opportunities to co-operate with library commissions and
with the League of library commissions by not keeping in-
formation to date regarding new library activities and con-
ditions in each state. Unfortunately library co-operation of
this kind in the past seems to have been confined chiefly to
spasmodic collections of library statistics.
Although much work has been devoted to laying the
foundations of library commission work, even greater per-
severance and devotion will be required to realize all its
possibilities. The success or failure of a commission will
depend upon its ability to get behind the individual library
and will be disclosed by library conditions throughout the
particular state in which the commission's work and re-
sources have been expended. My personal belief is that suc-
cess will most easily be achieved by the commission which
has the least official connection with or oversight of any
single library in the state, so that undivided time, impartial
attention and effort can be given to all public libraries of the
state as a whole. Free from ambitions for any single insti-
tution but with unselfish loyalty to all, the future develop-
ment of commission work should show more splendid re-
sults than ever marked the past. In the recent words of a
library commission secretary, "we must now look forward
to the period of perfecting, developing, spiritualizing. We
must look for results in the finer culture of the community,
in individual lives, in character, in a development of living
conditions more worth while, through a vitalized co-opera-
tion which shall bring our libraries into touch with the great
social regenerative forces of the land, and through them to
the people."
COUNTY LIBRARIES
"Over half the population of the United States Is
extra-urban living outside the limits of cities and towns
and therefore outside the limits of the supply of reading
matter which is now so< readily accessible to most urban
residents. To get reading into the hands of this large
part of our population is a problem. One of the best
plans offered for its solution is the County Library Sys-
tem." This was a statement made by the Committee on
the Enlarged Program of the American Library Asso-
ciation in its report of December 31, 1919.
The articles selected show that this phase of library
organization has come entirely within the last twenty-
five years, largely within the last fifteen and is still one
of the important problems of library extension.
LATEST STAGE OF LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
Some little controversy occured over the claim of the
Van Wert County Library for first place in the county
library field. Money was given by J. S. Brumbach for
the erection of a building under condition that the county
should equip and maintain the library. This the county
contracted to do by taxation, a law having been passed
authorizing such taxation, and the library was founded
in 1899. Meanwhile the organization of the Cincinnati
Public Library had been changed in 1898 so that it was
supported by the whole of Hamilton County and open
to residents of the county. This was made possible by
the passage of a special library law. It was reported at
the time that the Norris-Jewett library for the county of
Trenton, Missouri had been started in 1894, and the
records show that the Warren County library, Men-
mouth, Illinois, was founded in 1870.
Ohio certainly led in the passage of laws making the
support of such libraries by the county legal. Following
is a brief description of the Brumbach library by Ernest
Irving Antrim, one of its trustees. Mr. Antrim is a
son-in-law of the donor. He is a graduate of Depauw
University, took a Ph.D. at Gottingen University, Ger-
many, and in 1912 represented Van Wert County in the
Ohio Constitutional Convention.
*******
Those who have followed the deliberations of our national,
State, and district associations, during the past few years, have
noted that the ' one absorbing problem has been : How can the
people, young and old, be best reached and most benefited by
our libraries? The problem of reaching the people of our towns
and cities has been in a very great degree solved. The problem
of reaching the people in the rural districts, first conceived, and
344 ERNEST IRVING ANTRIM
partially solved, by the distinguished librarian Melvil Dewey,
in the traveling-library movement inaugurated by him a few
years ago, has been nearly solved by the late J. S. Brumback,
donor of America's first county library. As the Brumback Li-
brary is a new institution and represents a new stage of our
library development, I shall give a brief description of its modus
operand!.
Sf! Sj« 5fc %. * * #
The method adopted by the Brumback Library to bring its
books to all parts of Van Wert County is easily explained.
The library itself— which represents a value of $50,000, receives
an annual income of fully $6,500, and has a stack-room capacity,
when all available room shall be used, of 100,000 volumes — is
located in the city of Van Wert, the county seat of Van Wert
County. Fortunately the city is located in the center of the
county, which contains in round numbers 275,000 acres and
has a population of nearly 35,ooo. Besides the central library
there are ten branch libraries, which are so situated that every
resident of the county is in easy access of the library itself or
of one of its branches. The ten branches have an unique
feature in the form of what may be called a traveling-library
system, and are also in direct communication with the central
library. The ten branch libraries are placed in the more im-
portant stores or offices of the villages of the county, where
they are excellently managed, by virtue of the fact that those
having charge of them are given nominal salaries.
To start the traveling-library system, the library trustees
purchased 1,000 books, most of them entirely new, which were
sent to the ten branch libraries, 100 to each branch. After
keeping its 100 books two months, each branch sends them
to one of the other nine branches, and receives a second 100
from one of its neighbors to take their place. So the books
pass from branch to branch until each branch has had the
thousand books, when they are returned to the central library,
and cataloged. In the meantime, another r,ooo books have
been purchased and put in readiness to repeat .the experience
of the first thousand.
I have already said that the branch libraries are in direct
communication with the central library. By this I mean that
all persons securing books from the central library through
any of its branches are subject to no other rules than those
LATEST LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT 345
imposed by the central library. Cards can be had from the
central library only; but persons holding cards may secure
books anywhere in the county. The more important papers
of the county have published lists of all the books contained
in the library and continue to publish the titles of new books
as soon as they have been cataloged.
During the few months since the Brumback Library opened
its doors to the people of Van Wert County it has been con-
clusively proved to be a very gratifying success. Unusual in-
terest is manifested, and books go every day to readers in
even the most remote townships. It is the purpose of the
Brumback Library to accomplish in Van Wert County what
some of our more progressive city libraries are already ac-
complishing in the cities. First and foremost, the interests
of the whole county are considered by the trustees and libra-
rian in every move they make. The county's various business,
social, and intellectual activities are promoted by selecting the
latest and most authoritative works on all subjects, and bring-
ing them to the attention of those who most appreciate them.
The tastes and inclinations of every class of people are studied;
and as far as these pertain to the province of a library and
are deemed practicable they are gratified. As the great uni-
versity strives to adapt itself to the many who come under its
instruction and also to raise them to a higher plane of use-
fulness, so the Brumback Library strives to adapt itself to the
people of Van Wert County, and to raise them to a higher
level. If in the years to come the Brumback Library can be
credited with having made homes happier through its influence,
the purpose of its founder will have been attained.
A COUNTY LIBRARY
The development of a county library in Washington
County, Maryland, seems to have been the normal re-
sult of the county as the unit, in the south. The service
rendered was pioneer work, and the method employed,
that of distribution by book wagon, was of much interest
to librarians all over the country. Miss Mary Lemist
Titcomb, librarian, who presented the following ac-
count at the American Library Association meeting in
1909, took charge of this library during its organization
in 1901. She was born in Farmington, N.H. in 1857,
was for ten years librarian of the Rutland, Vermont,
Free Library. From 1899 to 1901 as secretary of the
Vermont Library Commission she organized and cata-
loged several new libraries in the state. She has been
chairman of the Library Extension Division of the Gen-
eral Federation of Women's Clubs and active in other
local and national affairs.
The special library of which I am to tell you today is the
Washington county free library at Hagerstown, the county seat,
in Western Maryland. Nine years ago, when the subject of a
library was mooted, the men most interested in the matter and
who afterwards formed the Board of trustees, were a German
Reformed (minister, two lawyers, a banker, a paper maker, a
farmer and a merchant. They knew nothing of public libra-
ries by actual experience, and they advised with none of the
profession as to preliminaries. But they were all public spirited
men, and men of affairs. They had paid, and were paying, their
full meed of service to the county as managers of its various
institutions. They were familiar with the workings of the Wash-
ington county high school, the Washington county orphan's
home, the Washington county hospital, and even of the Wash-
ington county jail. So it happened that while we of the
348 MARY LEMIST TITCOMB
library world were tentatively discussing the question of county
libraries, of regional libraries, and so forth, they calmly went
ahead and established the Washington county library. A library
intended to serve only the residents of Hagerstown, the county
seat, would have been an anomalous institution to them. The
county being the unit of government in Maryland, the county
library naturally followed. The county seat where the central
library is located, is a place of about 20,000 inhabitants, easily
accessible from all parts of the county which covers an area of
500 square miles, and has a population of SO,000 almost exclu-
sively agricultural in its pursuits. The library is absolutely free
to all residents of the county without distinction as to age, "race
or previous condition of servitude," a phrase not yet without
meaning in our state.
Since its doors were opened in 1901, it has been the un-
ceasing effort of the management to make the library as vital
a thing in the county as in the town. To this end, desposit
stations (seventy-five in number) have been scattered over its
territory, placed in the country store, the post office, the cream-
eries, at the toll-gates, or if nothing better offers, in some
private houses. These boxes, containing about fifty books, are
returned every sixty or ninety days for a fresh supply. The
books that come back become an integral part of the library,
and in turn the entire library is taken into account in making
up the outgoing collection. With the books, an alphabetized
blank book is sent, which contains on the first page a list of
the books in the case, and in which the custodian is asked to
keep a record of the circulation by name of borrower and
title of book. It is found that this ledger system is less be-
wildering, more familiar in appearance, than one more con-
formable to library methods, and quite adequate for all purposes.
At the central library, the book slips are retained and filed by
the Browne charging system, the envelopes being marked with
the name of the station, as Sandy Hook, Shady Bower, etc.
If the borrower living in the country desires a particular book
not included in the deposit station nearest him, he asks for
it at the central library by post or telephone and it is mailed
to him, charged to his station, with subcharge in his name, and
directions that he return it to his station when due. A weekly
delivery of books is also made to individuals through each
deposit station if desired. One village in the county, beginning
A COUNTY LIBRARY 349
with a deposit station, has become sufficiently interested to estab-
lish a permanent branch and reading room. A room has been
furnished, a good magazine list secured, and the room is open
daily under the care of a custodian provided by the village.
From the central library, about three hundred volumes were
first sent as a nucleus, and in addition an exchange of books
is made every ten days. To this reading room go bulletins
and exhibits which have first done duty at the central library,
and here, a fortnightly story hour is conducted during the
winter season.
The country schools are visited as well as those in the city,
and teachers are made to feel that the library stands ready
to help. Collections of ten books each are sent to these little
schools in which there are seldom more than twenty pupils.
With the books are sent pictures of which the library has a
large, and constantly growing collection. All these pictures are
mounted and annotated with sufficient fullness to serve as a
lesson outline for the teachers if they wish to use them thus.
In this way thirty class rooms in the city and as many more
in the country are now being supplied. This foothold in the
schools was not gained without labor, and even after a semi-
reluctant permission from the teacher to send an experimental
lot of books, the first attempt did little more than pave the
way for another trial.
Rather an interesting example of the evolution of the use of
the b6ok in the school is afforded by the Sweet Spring school
of which I hold a record of the past year. This school opened
in September with 18 pupils, 10 books and 4 pictures from the
library. That term the books were read 26 times, but no pupil
read more than 4 of the books and 7 did not read any of
them. The second term there were 15 pupils, 10 books and 6
pictures. These books were read 59 times, and there was no
pupils who did not borrow at least one book. The third term
the attendance was 19 and the supply of books and pictures
the same. Now the circulation rose to 145 and 12 of the boys
and girls read every book that was sent. The fourth and last
term of the year opened with 20 pupils, 4 of whom left to
work in the fields as soon as the spring weather came; so
that from 16 to 18 children this term read 10 books 171 times,
16 of them reading every book. The first term, as you recall,
each book was read twice, while the last term each one did
duty 17 times.
350 MARY LEMIST TITCOMB
In connection with the work with the schools, a story hour
has been inaugurated in several of the country districts, one
of the substitutes from the children's room going out by trolley
to the school room. The story hour has a double object, the
first, and perhaps the most important, being to make the children
conscious of the existence of the library, so that when they
come to town, the children's room will be an objective point;
and second, to introduce them to certain books which the story
teller carries with her and leaves, either with the group of
children, or at the nearest deposit station.
After three years work in the county with the deposit sta-
tions and schools, it was found that thirty of our stations were
off the line of either railroad, trolley or stage, and the question
of transporting the books back and forth was before us. For
a year we worked with a Concord wagon and horse, going
out simply for the purpose of taking our cases. Then we built
our book wagon, so constructed as to carry several cases for
deposit stations and, at the same time, a collection of about
two hundred volumes on its shelves. This began our system
of rural free delivery of books which is now in its fourth year
and can no longer be classed as an experiment.
No better method has yet been devised for reaching the
dweller in the back country. The book goes to the man. We
do not wait for the man to come to the book. Our British
critics would call this a concrete example of the frantic rushing
about of the American librarian, but we all know we might
wait long before a busy farmer would ride five, ten, or fifteen
miles for a coveted volume. The man who drives the wagon at
once establishes a human relationship between the library and the
farmer, a thing no deposit station can do. Psychologically, too,
the wagon is the thing. It is the unknown brought to the very
threshold. As impossible to resist the pack of the pedlar from
the Orient as a shelf full of books when the doors of the
wagon are opened at one's gate way. Sixteen routes, covering
the entire county, have been laid out, some of them consuming
one day, some two or three, while to drive to the most distant
outpost and return takes five days. The wagon is on its travels
at least two days in the week when the weather permits. Oc-
casionally a week of rain or snow keeps it at home, for not
only must the comfort of driver and horses be considered, but
the fact that it is useless to ask, or expect people to come tq
the wagon for selection on an unpleasant day.
A COUNTY LIBRARY 351
The experiment o£ operating this county library has shown
two things conclusively. First, a central library supplying a
large area gives better service than a number of small libraries
scattered over the same territory. Second, it is an economy, an
economy of books and of administration. Seventy-five deposit
stations among 30,000 people, the number in the county exclusive
of Hagerstown, means that every 400 people have access to at
least 150 fresh books yearly. I remember when I was working
with the Vermont library commission, how we hugged ourselves
if we found a little library that could spend twenty-five or even
fifteen dollars annually on new books. Then as to economy.
With a trifle over 19,000 volumes on our shelves, our circulation
last year reached 100,590. That eliminates the problem of the
dead book, you perceive. Neither do we have to bother our
heads with the ultimate use of our duplicate fiction.
And this work of ministering to the needs of 50,000 people,
circulation department, children's room, school work, deposit
stations, book wagon, Sunday schools, to say nothing of the
clerical work, cataloging, etc., was done by a staff consisting
oi the librarian, children's librarian, two assistants, a janitor,
and two substitutes. We are too busy to need a rest room,
so there is another economy!
This does not mean that we are not augmenting our stock
of books as fast as money and time permit, nor that we could
not keep a larger staff at work. But we hope a larger staff
and more books would mean a proportionate increase in our
activities. Our dream is to have, instead of one permanent
branch which now exists, six, in the six largest villages m
the county. These branches should have suitable permanent
collections, and be served with a weekly exchange of books
from the central library. Instead of a story hour in a half
dozen schools in the county, there should be a weekly story
period set apart in each school. Instead of one book wagon,
there should be two, and both on the road every day, weather
permitting.
Then indeed we would make it unnecessary for the Country
life commission to visit Washington county, for given a rural
population inoculated with the reading habit, "all these other
things" that make for rural uplift, "would be added unto them."
THE CALIFORNIA COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
This paper was presented at a session on county li-
braries during the American Library x\ssociation con-
ference at Bretton Woods in 1909. Its author, James
Louis Gillis, was born in Richmond, Iowa in 1857. He
was in railroad service in California from 1872 to 1895
when he was appointed keeper of archives in the Secre-
tary of State's office, California, from which position he
advanced till appointed state librarian in 1899, where
he remained till his death in 1917. As state librarian
he extended the sphere of influence of the library and
was largely instrumental in securing the county library
law in which he had great faith. He also established the
California State Library School.
During the past four years the California state library has
been actively encouraging and assisting the towns of our state
in the establishment of public libraries. We feel that we have
been successful in our original undertaking. On the other hand,
we have become convinced tha^t our original plan is not the
best possible means for getting books into the hands of all
the people. And again, we know that the small town library
is not altogether effective in its own restricted field of activity.
In the first place, its income is too small; it cannot purchase
books enough ; it cannot employ workers trained to do its par-
ticular sort of business. It does not reach the people who
live just beyond the municipal boundaries. We are convinced
that if the library is to be a worthy part of our popular edu-
cational system it must have a greater income and must reach
all the people whether they reside in the town or country.
We have tried to profit by the experience of other states wherein
a larger library unit has been tried; we have gone a bit further
and added some features which round out the plan. The result
of our work is embodied in the County Library Act*, which
* See California Statutes 1909, ch. 470, o, 811-14.,
354 JAMES LOUIS GILLIS
was passed during the 38th session of the California Legisla-
ture.
The decision as to whether or not a county shall establish
this system must be made by popular vote at the time of the
annual election of school trustees. The question is submitted
by the Board of supervisors, so there, will be no difficulty in
getting a vote, if there is any sentiment in the county favoring
such a system. Towns and cities already having public libra-
ries need not participate in the election, provided the govern-
ing body of the municipality gives notice of such intention at
least five days before the election. In that case of course
the town does not have the right to draw books from the county
library and does not help support it. The advantages of being
a part of a large system, insuring better trained attendants
and a greater store of books to draw upon, will, it is believed,
convince most towns that it is better to come in than to stay
out.
An innovation which seems to us to promise exceedingly
well is the method by which the county library is managed.
The library committee of three is chosen annually from among
the board of supervisors, hence the committee is one having
a voice in the levying and disposition of county funds. The
municipal library committee has no such powers and is often
for various reasons altogether unable to influence city boards
to raise sufficient funds to carry on the work of the library.
The library committee of three selects a county librarian for
a term of four years, subject to prior removal for cause; but
the librarian in order to be eligible must present a certificate
from the state librarian, or from the librarian of the University
of California or the Leland Stanford, Jr., university, vouch-
ing for the qualifications for the position. The candidate need
not be a resident of either the county or the state at the time
o£ his election. The salary of the librarian ranges, according
to the class or importance of the county, from $750 to $2,400
per year. There are, 29 counties in which the salary would
be not less than $2,000. While the library committee has
the power to make general rules and regulations and to de-
termine the number and kind of employees of the library, the
appointment and dismissal of such employees and the manage-
ment of the business of the library, including the determination
of what books shall be purchased, are duties which are left
entirely to the county librarian.
CALIFORNIA COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM 355
The state librarian is given general supervision of the county
library systems of the state. He is expected, either personally
or vicariously, to visit the libraries of each county and to in-
quire into their condition. He may annually call a convention
of county librarians, whose duty it is to attend and whose
expenses, the law says, shall be paid out of the county library
fund. An annual report of each county library system must
be made to the state librarian.
The county library is to be maintained by a tax levy which
may not exceed one mill on the dollar of assessed valuation.
Instead of establishing a separate county library the board of
supervisors may enter into a contract with an existing public
library to carry on the work. Since, however, an election must
be held before the tax can be levied, and since the school elec-
tion occurs in April, nothing can be done under the provisions
of the act, either in establishing a separate county system or
in making a contract with a municipal library, until April 1910.
Meanwhile literature is being prepared and plans are being
made for laying the question, with elucidations, before the
voters of the more promising counties.
California, like many other states, has a system of school
libraries for which in the aggregate a rather large sum of
money is annually spent. Returns from this expenditure are
not satisfactory, a fact of which the school authorities them-
selves have long been painfully aware. With the approval of
the State superintendent of public instruction an amendment
to the school library law was introduced, permitting school
libraries to become a part of the county library system. Their
books and funds are turned over to the county library and the
school libraries then become branches of the county system,
serving not only the pupils of the school but also all persons
residing in the neighborhood. We feel that the effect of this
arrangement will be beneficial alike to school and to library.
In California there is also a teachers' library fund which
is derived from certain fees charged when certificates are issued.
The law establishing this fund was also amended, permitting the
fund to be turned into the county library; it must be spent,
however, for books of professional interest to teachers.
The foregoing is a very brief outline of what we are at-
tempting to do in furthering library development in California.
None of the laws for which we feel responsible go into minute
356 JAMES LOUIS GILLIS
details for carrying on the work. We believe, rather, that a
broad foundation should be laid on which each county may build
with such variations as local need may dictate. Experience
and time will doubtless suggest improvements. We are sure,
however, that greater results will come from working the library
business on a larger unit than the municipality. The county
appears to be that golden mean which lies between the un-
wieldy state, on the one hand, and the too small town on the
other.
CALIFORNIA COUNTY FREE LIBRARIES
In this paper, given at the Pasadena Conference of the
American Library Association in 1911, Harriet Gertrude
Eddy gives such a picture of the work actually being
done in California, that it visualizes for one the possi-
bilities inherent in the system.
Miss Eddy says she was "born" to library work in
1908 when she became first custodian of the first branch
of the first county library in California. She was then
principal of the Elk Grove Union High School. From
1909 to 1917 she worked under Mr. Gillis of the State
Library as county library organizer. She left the library
in 1918 for the University of California to become assis-
tant professor in Agricultural Extension and State Home
Demonstration Leader.
What justifies county free libraries in- California? The
answer is CALIFORNIA. From the Mexican line, 1000 miles to
the north; from the Ocean, 350 miles to the east; down to hard
pan and two miles straight up, every inch of California justified
the idea and existence of a county free library; from orange
groves to snow banks every month in the year ; from steam plows
on the plains, to mills and mines in the mountains ; from gas en-
gine irrigating plants in the valleys to stupendous engineering
enterprises among the peaks. Single counties bigger than some
states, where you take a sleeper on a fast train at the county line
at sundown, and reach the county seat only in time for breakfast
next morning! Our fathers thought of California as the land
of gold. It is rather the land of grain and alfalfa, the land of
lumber, of salt, and of borax, the land of oil, the land of fruit,
and fast becoming the land of rice and cotton. Its vast ex-
lent has scattered its population; its topography has isolated it;
its varied industries have diversified it; and necessities have
made much of its keen-witted and intelligent.
Why county free libraries in California? Climb into a
county automobile with me and glimpse some of our opportuni-
358 HARRIET GERTRUDE EDDY
ties and responsibilities. Here is the beautiful Capay valley,
settled by intelligent, thoughtful, reading-loving English people,
living thirty miles away from a library. Forget your native
tongue now while we go to a Portuguese settlement up near
the San Francisco Bay, where only a year ago an attorney said
discouragingly : "No use to put a branch of the county free
library down there. The people won't look at a book." But
to-day they tell me that nearly all the children, and at least half
the grown people are reading.
From there we would go to one of our large counties where
until a year ago, when the county free library was started,
there was not one free library privilege within its confines, save
the state traveling libraries of 50 volumes. There you would
see at least eight thriving towns, almost cities, eager to be
abreast with the procession of library supporting towns, yet
diffident about undertaking the establishment of what has so
often proved a mediocre institution. We pass farm colony after
farm colony, growing up all over California with mushroom-like
rapidity, desirous of having the best and most recent books
on farming, but unable to buy them while meeting the heavy
expenditures incident to the development of the new ranch.
Has the gasoline given out? Then we will stop at one of
the many oil leases, where you will be surprised, not only at
the oil, but at the high quality of intelligence of the people,
and where you will find your technical and professional books
in steady demand. You will meet educated mothers who wel-
come your books by saying, "We do not want our children to
grow up in bookless homes," a condition otherwise forced upon
them as their nomadic life from lease to lease eleminates books
from the home equipment. One mother wrote to the county
librarian, "There's nothing out here to look at but the stars.
Can't you please send us a book about them?"
We would then visit a construction camp up in the Sierra
Nevada mountains sixty miles from a railroad. Graduates and
postgraduates from every notable college in the Union will
greet you there, and you discover that the need for books is
unprecedented, both because of previous opportunities which
made books their portion in life, and because of present iso-
lation, which makes books doubly welcome.
When we have taken this trip and many others like unto it,
and only then, are we in a position fairly to consider the sub-
ject of California county free libraries. They have been a na-
CALIFORNIA COUNTY FREE LIBRARIES 359
tural and inevitable outgrowth of California conditions and de-
velopment. While the work on the county libraries in Maryland,
Ohio, Oregon and otfier states has offered a background, those
methods could be applied to California only when modified to
meet California conditions. Owing to the reversal of ways of
thinking and doing things which the newcomer must make if he
will succeed here, it seems impossible for a stranger, or anyone
who has not had opportunity to study conditions, to realize
the problems which are confronted here in California, in at-
tempting to provide complete library service. The immense size
of the counties, with their population so scattered as to require
endless small community centers for marketing; the breaking up
of ranches into smaller acreages, and the consequent establish-
ing of hundreds of colonies ; the springing up of numerous small
towns; the superior quality of readers in the oil leases, con-
struction camps and other places calling for professionally
trained men, all these reasons and undoubtedly many others have
shown the futility of attempting to secure a library service for
all the people by the use of the two conventional and time-
honored methods, the municipal library, and the traveling li-
brary.
Even though every municipality in this state were to have its
own established library, nine-tenths of them would be too poorly
supported to maintain more than a third rate reading room.
And then what about the thousands of people living beyond the
municipal line? The municipal library could not possibly shed
its beneficent beam, far enough to lighten the country gloom.
Clearly, then, the municipal library does not sohre the problem
of complete library service. And even if there were a traveling
library in every unincorporated community in the state, what
could it avail for full library service, with its fifty miscellaneous
books kept for three months? What would it mean, for in-
stance, to the engineer who wishes to spend his spare time
studying some of the books published since he left school? or
to the ranchman who wants the latest books on alfalfa? or to
the union high school located out at some country cross-roads?
But even granted that state traveling libraries could furnish
adequate service, the extravagance of transportation and dup-
lication would be prohibitive. It is, however, too highly the-
oretical even to suppose such a service, for with the state li-
brary as a wholesale distributor of books through unlimited
traveling libraries, the medium of connection between book and
36o HARRIET GERTRUDE EDDY
borrower would be too elusive, too filmy. To get the best
results there must be more concrete relations, a definite means
of service through a more personal supervision. That is, in
a huge state like this, traveling libraries have proved to be a
good whetstone to sharpen a library appetite, but scarcely a
good meal with which to satisfy it. Instead of having the
state library deal directly with the people, it is better to have
much smaller units as a base, presided over by a live, enthu-
siastic person who knows the people and who gives them direct
personal service, leaving the state library to its more legitimate
work of supplementing and coordinating the smaller units.
The state library is usually an abstraction in the minds of most
people. The institution that is most concrete and is personified
in the work of its librarian can secure most effective results.
With a conviction, then, that California had its own peculiar
problem to work out; that it wished only to evolve a plan by
which all the people of this state might receive library service;
that half service is not business-like; and that a library has
demonstrated its right to be conducted along sound business
lines,— with this conviction, California set herself single-mind-
edly to the task of looking towards the best library interests of
her people. What factors must be considered before the best
results could be induced? What conditions were hampering
the present attempts at library service? First, not a library could
be found in the entire state which had sufficient funds to pro-
mote all the plans for advancement which it could well be justi-
fied and expected to undertake; clearly then it was the part of
wisdom to seek means to secure more funds ; second, the endless
duplication in schools and libraries of the first few thousand
books in numerous small towns showed the need of co-ordina-
tion with a larger unit as the base ; third, the small libraries with
their pittance of income prohibit trained workers, and it was
clear that if library service is to become a science, professional
supervision must be provided. And finally what unit would
insure service to everybody? Only one answer to these prop-
ositions was inevitable: The county. In California the county
is the unit of civil government which corresponds to the town-
ship of many of the eastern states. The county high school here
corresponds to the township high schools around Chicago. The
county, then, offered a logical unit, already organized, and af-
fording machinery for library development which make artificial
CALIFORNIA COUNTY FREE LIBRARIES 361
organizations unnecessary. Then, too, the county represents
enough valuation to insure adequate financial aid; moreover,
its size is great enough to justify trained supervision. It would
also furnish opportunity for co-operation and co-ordination,
checking useless duplication, minimizing wasted effort and use-
less expense. And finally, with every county in the state or-
ganized, it would give all the people a library service.
Every reasoning, then, justified the adoption of the county
as a library unit, and with this base, the first county free library
law was passed in 1909, with these as its principal features:
1. The entire county was made the unit for library service.
2. Any municipality might withdraw if it did not wish to be
a part of the system. 3. The county librarian, who was to be
certificated, was given large power in carrying on the work.
4. A committee of the county board of supervisors constituted
the library board. 5. An alternative or contract plan could
be entered into between the supervisors and any library board,
by which the library could in return for an appropriation of
county money render library service to the entire county.
Probably no upward pull has ever been attempted in any
undertaking by any organization in history, but what has had
its difficuties, its setbacks and its obstacles. And the progress
of county free library work in California has been no excep-
tion. Its difficulties came from two widely different sources:
objections on the part of some library people, and defects in
the law itself. The objections from the library side were that
the county as a whole was made the unit, from which the munic-
ipality not wishing to be included must withdraw; and even
when withdrawn its position was deemed to be insecure, since
the city trustees could cause it to be included by their own
vote. The other objection by some libraries was to the control
by the supervisors.
As for the form of the law, it was fatally defective in the
conflict been two sections. The original plan had been to put
the county free libraries into operation through petitions, just
as in the law providing for the establishment of municipal li-
braries. But during the passage of the bill through the legisla-
ture, amendments were inserted requiring an election. The sec-
tions providing for this did not accord, however, and so ren-
dered the law inoperative, except in the section providing for
a contract between the county and a city library.
362 HARRIET GERTRUDE EDDY
Notwithstanding the objections made to the content of the
law from the libraries, and notwithstanding its inherent defects
from the legal side, it was a' matter of deep significance, and
most encouraging to those whose hearts were alive to the hope
of improving library service, that the work of organizing and
developing the counties went forward with an impetus that
nothing could stop. The eagerness of the people for the adop-
tion of the plan was instantaneous, for they saw possibilities
for library privileges such as they had not before dreamed of.
The plan appealed to them as comprehensive, logical, econom-
ical, and business-like, designed to get what the business world
is seeking more and more these days— results. Eleven counties
in quick succession adopted the contract plan, making in ail
twelve counties in the state, which are now giving county free
library service, for Sacramento county had pioneered the work
even before the formal passage of the law.
The mere mention of the Sacramento county free library
is the touchstone to awaken the happiest and fullest feelings of
reminiscence. I am glad that my first connection with the work
was from the people's side of it; that my first impression, and
the indelible one, of the true purpose of the county free library
is service and always service, that every means to bring this
about must always be a means, and ovdy a means, and never
magnified in its importance to endanger or overshadow the end.
We never want to be in the embarrassing position of the
traveler who could not see the woods for the trees. Nor do
we want to be like the business firm that had just adopted a
new but complicated system of administration. On being asked
how it was working out, the manager rubbed his hands in
satisfaction and said, "Fine! just fine! We know to a cent
about every department." "How's business?" the first man asked.
The manager looked rather blank and then said, "Business?
Why weVe been so busy getting the system to work that we
haven't done any business." The teacher thinks because the
class room order is good that the school is a success. Libraries
-and librarians, like all other professions, are apt to confuse
the issue, to mistake the means for the end. In a big issue like
this, the library is liable to entangle itself in meshes of confu-
sion, mistaking the mechanics of the organization for the
single-hearted purpose — which is service.
So I reiterate, that I am glad my first idea came from the
CALIFORNIA COUNTY FREE LIBRARIES 363
people's end of it. I shall all my life be proud of that branch,
acquaintance with the county free library number i, which we
had in our country high school. The library had the goods.
We wanted the goods. The county free library established the
connection. That was the whole story, a very simple one. If
any of you have ever faced the problem of making bricks with-
out straw, you can appreciate what it means to try to make a
first class high school without the laboratory service that a li-
brary affords. But we got the service that year. Think of one
country high school having over $2,000 worth of books put on
its shelves for use as it needed them throughout the year ! Is it
any wonder that high schools all over the state, as they hear
of this beautiful new plan, are eager for it!
Is it any wonder that as the work of information and or-
ganization has been carried on, people in the county make every
effort in their power to help toward success. One high school
principal said, "We'll go on our hands and knees to the county
officials." Others said, "We'll snow them under with petitions/*
This method has been necessary in only one county, however,
for usually the county supervisors are as keen to see that the
adoption of the plan will bring satisfaction to their people, as
the people are eager to see it adopted. The time so far actu-
ally spent in the starting of county free libraries has been ten
months. One ultra conservative county required the combined
efforts of two organizers for a month. No particular oppo-
sition existed, but merely a desire on the part of the officials
to be thoroughly informed that the people wanted the library.
The very next county required only four days, and resulted
in an appropriation of $5,200. Another county bade fair to take
up the plan with only a three days' canvass; the supervisors
were ready to, but an unexpected legal question caused the final
action to be postponed two weeks. The ultimate appropriation
of $12,000 made the two weeks seem trivial. Still another county
voted $10,000 after only a week's missionary work.
They tell me that organizing work is easier here than in
most states. I do not know, as my experience is limited. We
have met temporary difficulties here in various ways. Some-
times the plea is that the county first needs good roads; some-
times the bridges have all been washed out by last winter's rain ;
once the county superintendent of schools wanted us to wait
till the county had voted bonds for a new high school. But
364 HARRIET GERTRUDE EDDY
opposition is never met from the general public, for they want
the library service;, and only one board of supervisors was
completely indifferent, but you will agree with me that the cir-
cumstances were extenuating; they really were not to be held
responsible for their strange actions; they were in the throes
of a hotly contested primary election, a condition which being
undergone for the first time in our state produced symptoms of
incipient insanity.
The work of organization under the contract plan continued
till is seemed wise not to carry it any farther, but wait for the
new law, which was inevitable both because of the defects in the
first one and the objections to it. The utmost care was taken to
eliminate completely these two difficulties, by continued confer-
ences and submitting the proposed bill to library folk who had
found reason to complain; and by having the bill completely
constitutionalized by expert lawyers and approved from the
attorney-general's office. Only expressions of satisfaction and
congratulation have come from all sources over the result of
these efforts, and there now stands as a consequence upon the
statute books of California a county free library law which we
are confident will prove to be all that every one hopes for— a
medium of library service to all who wish. I do not mean by
that, that we consider it final. We are seeking only results.
If this plan does not give them the desired results, or if a
better one appears, we shall greet the new, and lay aside the old,
with the same open mindedness that now infuses itself into the
present conduct of work. We believe, however, that the new
law offers an elastic medium to meet our present needs. It con-
tains seventeen sections, and attempts to cover whatever points
may be logically a part of the county free library's policy. It
differs from the former law, which it repeals, in a half dozen
or more vital features. First of all, the establishment of the
county free library is left entirely permissive with the board
of supervisors, no petition or election being called for, as it
had been proved conclusively by the work of organization that
boards of supervisors will, if they think best for the county, take
tip the work on their own initiative. A provision for a notice
to be published three times before establishment gives sufficient
publicity to the contemplated action. The second main point
of difference is that while the former law included the entire
county as a unit, with provisions for a municipality to stay
CALIFORNIA COUNTY FREE LIBRARIES 365
out, the present law turns the whole plan diametrically around,
making the unit to start with only that portion of the county
not receiving public library service. If a town has no library,
it is included; if it has a library, it is automatically excluded.
Two plans are provided, however, by which a town thus left
out may if it wishes enter the system. It may by action of its
board of city trustees become an integral part in event of which,
notices of intention must be published, and the town is taxed
as a part of the system; or it may contract with the county
free library for any or complete service, in which event the
town is not taxed, but it pays whatever sum .is agreed upon
by the contract. Under either plan a town may withdraw from
the system.
Counties may also contract with each other for joint ser-
vice— a plan which will undoubtedly work out with advantage
and economy, as in cases of a small and a large county close
together, or two comparatively small counties, or an interchange
of service along the dividing line, or for particular service of
various kinds such as the use of a special collection of books.
The new law also provides for a board of library examiners,
made up of three members, the state librarian, the librarian of
the San Francisco public library, and the librarian of the Los
Angeles public library. This board will issue certificates to any
desiring to become county librarians, whom they consider cap-
able of filling the position. It is perhaps unnecessary to explain
this provision of the law, as its wholesome intent is clearly
manifest It forestalls the appointment of any but those quali-
fied for the position, and thus insures the carrying on of the
county work along efficient and professional lines. The sug-
gestion has been made by the board of library examiners to
prospective candidates, that they spend a short time at the state
library, since it is the clearing house, so to speak, for records and
for information of the county free libraries already started,
which will prove helpful to those coming new into the
work; on the same general principle that progressive teachers
gather as often as possible for the summer session at the Uni-
versity, which in turn becomes a clearing house of good ideas
for the schools all over the state.
The power to make rules for general supervision over the
county free libraries is vested in the board of supervisors, an
arrangement necessary to insure the library sufficient attention
366 HARRIET GERTRUDE EDDY
from those who fix the income; but maximum power is given
to the county librarian, who determines what books and other
library equipment shall be purchased, recommends where
branches are to be established, the persons to be employed, and
approves all bills against the county free library fund. Salaries
are fixed according to the class of the county, and range from
$2,400 to $500.
The state librarian is authorized to co-operate with the
counties, by sending a representative to visit them, and by calling
an annual meeting of county librarians, just as the state super-
intendent of public instruction convenes the county superinten-
dents of schools. An annual report is required to be sent to
the state library, just as at present municipal libraries send one.
A tax of not more than one mill on the dollar can be levied
for the county free library on that part of the county receiving
service from it, and the county is authorized to issue bonds for
any part of its support County law libraries, county teachers'
libraries, and school libraries may be made a part of the county
free library. The law also includes the contract section from
the former law, in case any county should prefer that plan.
Such are the salient features of the new law. It became
operative less than a month ago, but already two counties have
taken the first step in establishment. The growth is bound to
be rapid as has been evidenced by the enthusiastic but sober,
serious way the work has so far been taken up. In the short
time that county free libraries have been in operation, over
$70,000 has been appropriated by the different counties, 114
branches have been established, and over 12,000 people are read-
ing county books. Compare this support with $7,000 that the
state library was able to spend this last year on traveling libra-
ries ! At the end of seven months one county librarian sent in
the triumphant note that her card-holders topped the thousand
mark. Another reported a circulation of over 37,000 for the first
year. The work is already spreading itself into every branch of
activity and industry. School libraries are being co-ordinated
with the county work, women's clubs have their special study
books, some fruit-packing1 houses have been made branches, a
collection of books has been put into a jail, another at the
agricultural farm, county teachers' libraries have in two in-
stances been turned over to the county free library, and home
libraries are being sent out in some counties.
CALIFORNIA COUNTY FREE LIBRARIES 367
This is the merest beginning. It furnishes, however, some
basis for prophecy; too often there is too much talk, too little
done, and California does not covet such a stigma; but in the
light of what has already been accomplished I look forward to
the time when our ideal shall have been realized; when the
annual appropriation for library work by the counties shall
aggregate half a million dollars; when in each of the 58 counties
of this state there shall be a library centre with branches reach-
ing out to every community needing them; when in every
county seat there shall be a servant — trained, indeed, in the
technique of library work — but beyond this and above it and first
of all, fired with the inspiration of a mighty ambition to make
his library a living, pulsing power to broaden and deepen and
sweeten the whole life of his county; when in every little com-
munity there shall be a branch custodian, set on fire by the county
leader, with vision wide enough to see that care of the branch
library is a minor incident — that to know all the people and
their needs, to quicken the desire to read, to direct that desire
when awakened, and to furnish the books for the satisfaction
of the desire — that this is the real work. I love to dream of
the time when the library organization and equipment and ser-
vice shall be so complete and efficient that every resident of
this coast state, whether in the congestion of the cities, or the
solitude of the farm distant on the mountain side shall have
not only the opportunity, but the persuasion to read wisely and
well
This was the vision seen by those who launched the plan.
This is the daydream that has quickened the zeal and strength-
ened the arms of those who have made the beginnings. In
the gleam of this vision, under the inspiration of this dream,
have we not the right to hope that the work will continue till our
ideal shall become real and the people shall enter into their
true heritage of a home university.
COUNTY LIBRARIES IN OREGON
A glimpse of another well-organized field where the
aim is to reach every corner of the state. This article
by Mary Francis Isom was also presented at the Pasa-
dena conference. Miss Isom was born in Nashville,
Tennessee in 1865. She was a student at Wellesley Col-
lege and attended the Pratt Institute Library School in
1899-1901. Her life work was as librarian of the Library
Association of Portland from 1901 to 1920. She was a
leader in library thought and activity on the Pacific
coast, and her influence and service extended throughout
the country.
Library development is still in its beginning in the state
of Oregon. The Portland library has been a public institution
only nine years, and for four or five years enjoyed the distinc-
tion, joyfully given up, however, of being the only public library
in the state. It has been a county library for seven years.
Consequently, with library work slowly a-building and fairly
well centralized, we do not meet the complications existing
in California and other older and more fully developed states,
and it has been an easy matter to prepare and adopt a law
simple in itself, but covering existing conditions and providing
for future growth and extension.
The Oregon library law as first enacted authorized any
county containing a population of 50,000 or more to take ad-
vantage of its provisions, and limited the special tax for li-
brary purposes to 1/5 of a mill. This was passed primarily
for the benefit of Multnotnah County, the only county
in the state whose population exceeded or equaled 50,000, and
to enable the Portland library to extend its activities through
the county, which it was exceedingly anxious to do.
The Portland library was so eager for this privilege that an
emergency clause was added and the bill became a law at once.
The Library Association of Portland is a private corporation.
3/0 MARY FRANCIS ISOM
A contract was made with the county court similar to the one
already existing between the city and the Library Association.
Under these two contracts the county library was organized.
Its work may now be summarized as iollows :
The central library containing the administration offices and
the usual departments, reference, children's, circulating, etc.;
four branches in the city with daily delivery from the central
library; 406 classroom libraries in the city schools; traveling
libraries in the engine houses and in the club houses o£ the
street railroad men; then, through the suburbs of the city,
where the population does not justify the maintaining of a
branch, and in several of the small towns of the county, there
are reading rooms, each open five hours a day, afternoon and
evening, and containing a deposit for circulation of from 500
to 1,000 volumes. These have weekly deliveries from the central
library. One of these reading rooms is a reference library of
agricultural books and periodicals, with perhaps 75 volumes of
general reading for circulation.
In the county districts there are 16 deposit stations of from
50 to loo volumes each placed in the post-office, the general
store, the hospitable farmhouse, the grange hall, occasionally
the school house, in one instance in a barber shop, and in another
in a church. These are practically traveling libraries, but a
shifting collection and under elastic rules, for the interested
custodian often brings in an armful of books for exchange
to freshen up his collection, as he comes into town on his weekly
or monthly errands. These deposit stations consist of adult
books entirely. The juvenile libraries are placed in the country
schools. There were over 60 of these libraries sent out last
fall and placed in 89 class rooms. Does a county library pay?
In the last ten years Multnomah County gained 119 per cent in
population. In six years the circulation of the library increased
212 per cent
To meet the changing conditions, at the session of the Ore-
gon legislature last winter, the county law was amended, re-
moving the clause specifying the amount of population, and in-
creasing the library tax to J/2 a mill, so that now any county
in Oregon can avail itself of this law. The section specifies
that the tax shall be assessed, levied and collected in the same
manner as other taxes for county purposes, the proceeds to be
known as the "library fund" to be expended solely for the pur-
COUNTY LIBRARIES IN OREGON 371
pose of establishing and maintaining, or the assisting in the
establishment and maintenance of a public library within the
county.
The second section of the law provides that the county
court^ for any county which has levied this special tax may use
the library fund to establish, equip, maintain and operate at
the county seat of the county, a public library, including branch
libraries, reading rooms, lectures and museums and may do any
and all things necessary or desirable to carry out this purpose.
A clause follows which permits the county to- contract for
public library service with any corporation maintaining a public
library at the county seat This of course is equally applicable
to a city library or to a private corporation giving public ser-
vice, as is the case with the Library Association of Portland.
The third and fourth sections covering the usual provisions
that no 'money can be expended except upon warrant drawn
by the order of the county court and that every library so
maintained by the county library fund must be entirely free to
the inhabitants of the county, subject to such rules and regu-
lations as are prescribed by the county court or the manage-
ment of the library were not amended. These bills became laws
on Thursday, the iSth of May, and Wasco County has already
signified its intention of establishing a county library and Hood
River County is considering the matter. The Library Associa-
tion of Portland will henceforth enter into contract with the
county alone, as the l/2 mill tax will provide sufficient main-
tenance. In order to provide for the housing of libraries under
this act, a county library building law was adopted. The first
section of this law permits any county of the state containing
a population of 50,000 inhabitants or more, to assess, levy and
collect in the usual manner a special tax not to exceed ij4 mills
on a dollar for the purpose of erecting a public library building.
The Library Association of Portland is immediately taking ad-
vantage of this new law, and has plans under consideration for
the much needed new building. The second section provides
that this tax may be divided and may be assessed, levied and
collected in not more than two successive years, but it shall
never aggregate more than the iJ/£ mills. The third section pro-
vides that this tax shall be used solely for the erection of a pub-
lic library building at the county seat upon a site approved by
the county and conveyed to the county by any person, firm or
372 MARY FRANCIS ISOM
for the tise and occupation of this building with any corporation
maintaining and operating a public library at the county seat.
This contract may be upon such terms and conditions and ex-
tend for such a period as may seem advisable to the county
court, but in the contract it is provided that the plans for the
county library building are to be in accordance with the plans
prepared by architects to be selected and under the control of
the management of the library, subject to the approval of the
county court. A fourth section reiterates the command that the
library shall be free to all the inhabitants of the county.
In addition to the amended county library law and the new
law relating to county library buildings, the Oregon legislature
also passed a bill concerning farm libraries. This bill was in-
troduced by a legislator who quoted J, J. Hill that "every farmer
should have a library of agricultural books." This law provides
that the county commissioners may appropriate $200 of the gen-
eral fund of the county for the purpose of establishing farm
libraries. The value of the Oregon law, it seems to me, is its
extreme simplicity. No new elements are introduced; no new
boards are established. The contracts are made with the county
court which consists of the county judge and two commissioners.
This is the governing body of the county with whom all con-
tracts are made. The power, the responsibility, are left where
they should be, with the librarian and directors of each county
library.
SUMMARY OF COUNTY LIBRARY LAWS
Julia Almira Robinson first presented this to the
League of Library Commissions in 1915. It was pub-
lished in Public Libraries two year later. Miss Robin-
son, secretary of the Iowa Library Commission since
1913, graduated from the Wisconsin Library School in
1909 and was for a time with the North Dakota and
then with the Kentucky Library Commissions.
1. Support — Tax levy adequate for support, exempting towns
with free public libraries.
A tax levy is now allowed in all states except Missouri
which authorizes a maximum appropriation from the county
funds of three per cent of the annual appropriation — and Wis-
consin allowing a maximum appropriation of $500 for the first
year and $275 annually thereafter. In New York the county
tax is added to the city library tax for communities with li-
braries already established.
All will agree, I think, on a support by tax levy rather
than by appropriations and exempting communities with public
libraries. Because of difference in valuations a difference in the
levy to yield an adequate support will be necessary.
2. Government — A library board of five or seven selected
by the county officers, with terms stated (three to five years)
— also allowing a contract with an established library.
The present laws authorize library boards in the following
states : Maryland, nine directors ; Texas and Wyoming, three,
the former appointed for four years, and Wisconsin five. In
all these states the board is appointed by the county officers.
It is possible in some other states a library board is appointed
but I found no mention of it. But I can see no more reason
for leaving the government of a county library to a politically
constituted body than the management of a city library to
the city council, and therefore favor a library board.
California, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Ohio and Oregon
give the management of the library to the county officers but
374 JULIA ALMIRA ROBINSON
allow contract with a local library, and Indiana, Iowa, Minne-
sota and Missouri make no provision for independent county
libraries but allow county officers to contract with existing libra-
ries for extension of library privileges to townships or counties
making the contract.
In this question of the government of a county library by a
board representative of the entire county, or by a local library
board on which the community outside the town has no repre-
sentation lies the difference between the independent county
library and the one serving by contract. The former is of
course the more desirable yet the law should provide for con-
tract service also as this may temporarily furnish the best or
only solution of the problem and need not interfere with the
establishment later of an independent county library. In Iowa
the officers of a township, town or school corporation are
allowed to contract for library service, and the law works well.
3. Powers of library board — These should be clearly de-
fined.
This will remove cause for friction in cases where a library
board is appointed, but the county officers claim joint jurisdiction
and frequently retain powers and duties rightfully belonging
to a library board, which should be given the control and su-
pervision of the library, the employment and removal of the
librarian, the making of rules and regulations, and the expendi-
ture of all library funds whether for building or other library
purposes. The selection of books might be placed in the hands
of the librarian. The board should be required to keep a record
of proceedings and report regularly to the county officers.
4. Initiative — By county officers (or township officers) with
or without a petition signed by a majority of resident taxpayers,
Maryland, Wyoming, Iowa, and California with a two weeks'
notice, allow the county officers to levy the tax and take steps
for the establishment of a library. Iowa also allows a petition
of a majority of resident taxpayers, Missouri requires a peti-
tion signed by one hundred or more taxpayers, Montana by
twenty per cent of the voters. Nebraska, New York and Texas
require the vote of the residents of the county.
I think no one would advocate making a vote necessary
to the establishment of a county library, and I may pass by
the objections to that But county officers may be indifferent
or hesitate to make a levy unless assured that it is the wish
SUMMARY OF COUNTY LIBRARY LAWS 375
of the taxpayers. Hence it is desirable to allow a petition by
which they may be forced or authorized to action, though al-
lowed the initiative without it if they will take it.
5. Location — County seat or elsewhere.
Maryland, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming require the loca-
tion of the county library at the county seat; California and
Montana allow it to be at the county seat or elsewhere, while
the contract law in Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri make no
restrictions.
The county seat might seem most desirable as bringing to-
gether all county departments but it is often less accessible or
for other reasons less desirable than some other place.
6. Buildings — By tax or gift, erection in the hands of library
board.
Few states make provisions for a building. California allows
the board of supervisors to issue bonds, in Maryland the board
of directors has power to purchase lot and erect a building, and
in Oregon and New1 York a tax for a building is permitted.
Rather than leave this as an open question a clause per-
mitting a levy for a building to be erected by the library board
would better be included.
7. Period of existence — Library should be terminated only
by a majority vote of taxpayers, and a definite term should
be fixed for contract.
In California a county library may be discontinued by a
board of supervisors on two weeks' notice; in Montana on a
petition of twenty per cent of voters; in Texas by the county
court on six weeks' notice; in Iowa the contract is mad'e for
five years; in Missouri from year to year.
No provision is made in most states for the discontinuance
of city libraries and it would hardly seem that such power
should be delegated to the county officers except under limi-
tations, for a hostile board might use its authority contrary to
the wishes of the residents of the county. In case of a contract
a definite term should be stated, to be terminated by majority
vote, as to leave it to be renewed from year to year is to
reopen the question too frequently and often thereby close
the contract.
8. Extent of service — Whole or part of a county, or another
county, excepting communities with public libraries established.
That portion of a county not desiring library privileges may
376 JULIA ALMIRA ROBINSON
be omitted, also communities with public libraries is allowed in
almost all states, and would seem to be best, for though the
whole county as a unit would appear desirable insistance might
in some cases defeat the whole project.
9. Methods of service — Direct loan, branches, stations,
schools, libraries, book wagons, etc.
This is stated or referred to in many laws and would well
be included.
10. Librarian—What, if any, qualifications should be re-
quired is open to discussion, but appointment and removal should
be with library boards, reports to be required to library board
and state library commission.
California requires a certificate from a board of library
examiners and attendance upon the annual convention of county
librarians and reports as above indicated. Montana makes
library training or one year's practical experience a condition,
but allows removal of the librarian by the county commissioners
for or without cause. In this state also employees of the county
library, probably meaning assistants, are to be graded and pass
an examination before* appointment satisfactory to county li-
brarian and county commissioners. In Texas the librarian is
appointed for four years by the county court upon recom-
mendation of library board. The salary is fixed by county
court who may also employ and dismiss assistants.
Provisions protecting the librarian and defining duties as
well as fixing qualifications might well be included and to re-
move the temptation to political favoritism, as is offered by the
Montana law, it were better to definitely place employment and
removal of librarians with library boards. The question of
assistants might be left with the librarian subject to approval
of library board.
11. Operation — The following are at present in service:
California, 24 independent, 7 by contract; Iowa, 16 libraries
with township extension ; Maryland, Washington County li-
brary; Minnesota, 9 counties; Missouri, none; Nebraska, none;
Ohio, 8 plus 2; Oregon, 5 counties; Wisconsin, 14 with traveling
library systems.
It is hardly necessary to suggest that even with the best
possible law the help of the commission is needed to give in-
formation, arouse interest and promote county library projects.
SUMMARY OF COUNTY LIBRARY LAWS 377
Suggested provisions for a good county lazu
Sitp port — Tax levy adequate for maintenance, exempting
towns with free public libraries.
Government — Library board (5 or 7) selected from resi-
dents of the county by county officers, for a stated term
(3 to 5 years), or a contract with an established library.
Pozvers of library board — Should be clearly defined.
Initiative — By county (or township) officers with or with-
out a petition signed by a majority of resident taxpayers.
Location — County seat or elsewhere.
Building — By tax or gift, erection in hands of library board.
Period of existence — Terminated only by majority vote of
taxpayers, and definite terms by contract.
Extent of service — Whole or part of a county another
county, excepting communities with public libraries estab-
lished.
Method of service — Direct loan, branches, stations, schools,
libraries, book wagons, etc.
Librarian — Qualifications required open to discussion, but
appointment and removal with library board, and regular
reports required to library board and state library com-
mission.
Operation — Even with best possible law the help of com-
missions is needed to give information, arouse interest
and promote county library projects.
COLLEGE LIBRARIES
The earliest libraries in this country were in colleges,
so that in organization and administration they de-
veloped early along very definite lines. Many of these
lines of development differed from those of public li-
braries, but others were of great aid in establishing" uni-
versal library principles.
In selecting this group of articles the college library
has been thought of as occupying a field next in im-
portance to the public library, the only special library
to be treated alone.
COLLEGE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Otis Hall Robinson, then librarian of the
university of Rochester, made this summary of college
library principles and usage for the special report on
public libraries published by the Education Bureau in
1876. Mr. Robinson was born in 1835 and graduated
from the University of Rochester in 1862. In 1864 he
began teaching mathematics in the university and conti-
nued as professor of mathematics and later of natural
philosophy until 1903 when he was made emeritus pro-
fessor. From 1867 to 1889 he held the office of li-
brarian and wrote various articles on library administra-
tion as well as on scientific subjects.
After what has been said by such men as Bacon, Whately,
Charles Lamb, Carlyle, Emerson, and President Porter on the
choice of books and how to read them, I shall not persume to
give advice to the general reader. In the presence of so many
rules and suggestions, however, it is natural for a librarian to
inquire how many of the readers in his library pursue the best
methods, and how many drift here and there without regard
to rules, and with very little profit. This question is espe-
cially pertinent in a college library. Here the reader is at the
same time a student The librarian is, with the faculty, in some
degree responsible for his healthy intellectual growth. He is
not at liberty to permit a waste of energy for want of method
by those who are inclined to read; nor may he be indifferent
to the neglect of opportunities by those who are not. A library
for the use of students requires such an administration as to
inspire the dullest with interest and give a healthful direction
to the reading of all.
The object of a society or club library may be the cultivation
of science, the general diffusion of knowledge, or the mere
pastime and amusement of its stockholders. Their tastes and
aims must determine its administration. Librarians in such
libraries work for their employers, and, right or wrong, are
accustomed to boast their ability, after a few years, to know
382 OTIS HALL ROBINSON
the reading habits of their patrons so as to select for them
just what will suit their fancy. The tastes and aims of stock-
holders will also determine the influence of such institutions.
Towards the close of his life, Dr. Franklin claimed that this
class of libraries, the first of which he himself founded, had
"improved the general conversation of the Americans, made
the common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most
gentlemen in other countries, and perhaps contributed in some
degree to the stand generally made throughout the colonies in
defense of their privileges/7 In the absence of newspapers and
other periodicals the libraries were the great sources of infor-
mation. This indeed was probably Franklin's principal object
in founding them. Discipline and general culture followed
naturally. Public or town libraries are, except as to their sup-
port, very much like those of the early societies. Their object
is general information and profitable pastime. A professional
library is little more than a treasury of strictly professional
knowledge. It is more or less limited by the practical wants of
a single business or pursuit. Before reaching such a library
a reader is supposed to be quite independent of the supervision
of a librarian.
Now, a college library is none of these; it is something more
than all of them. It is the door to all science, all literature, all
art. It is the means of intelligent and profitable recreation, of
profound technical research, and at the same time of a complete
general education. Well supplied in all its departments, it is
a magnificent educational apparatus. How shall the student of
to-day become the scholar of to-morrow? It will depend little
upon teachers, much upon books. He must learn to stand face
to face with nature, with society, and with books. He will get.
access to nature and to society best through books. Without
them he will ever be wasting his time on the problems of the
past; with them alone can he get abreast with his age. Carlyle
has pointed out the true relation of the teacher to the book.
"All that the university or final highest school can do for us
is still but what the first school began doing, teach us to read."
And yet how few of the multitude who annually carry their
parchments from our colleges can be said to be intelligent
readers.
The importance of properly teaching to read is vastly in-
creased in this country during the last half century by the
rapid increase of libraries and other reading opportunities a.U
COLLEGE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION 383
over the land. Whoever will take the pains to compare the
statistics of libraries and of publishing houses and importations
of books which have been published since 1825, will see that
the young man who enters the lists for scholarship to-day has
a very different field before him from what one had then. It
is not too much to say that, even so short a time ago, books,
to the great majority of our population, were exceedingly rare;
and that there were not more than two or three places in the
whole country, possibly not one, where a scholar could properly
investigate a difficult subject. The rapid growth of population
at hundreds of centres has given rise to thousands of libraries,
many of them of considerable size. It is no objection that the
number of readers has increased with the number of books. The
advantages of each reader are proportional to the size of his
library, suffering little or no loss from the presence of other
readers. Besides our public libraries, the country is full of
private collections, large enough to be centres of influence. And
then we must add innumerable periodicals, which fill every
avenue of public and private life, crowding upon us unbidden
in business and retirement alike, with every possible variety of
subject and style, and demanding that we take a daily survey
of every nation and kingdom under heaven, Christian and
heathen, savage and civilized. Fifty years ago most of the
graduates from our colleges had to settle down to their life
work where they had access to very few books, and among men
who had never seen a library. They had to content themselves
with the purchase of a few standard authors, an occasional
addition of a new volume, and a few leading periodicals. Now
the majority, of those at least who give promise of becoming
scholars, soon find themselves in communities where books and
magazines are as necessary for the mind as bread for the body.
A constant stream of printed matter sweeps along with it public
opinion. All read and think more or less. Our young graduate
to be a scholar, an intellectual leader, must rise among men who
have such advantages and such habits. The standard of scholar-
ship is pushed upward by the intelligence of the masses. In
view of these facts, one can hardly overestimate the importance,
to those whose aim is above mediocrity, of learning to read
during student life.
The question as to how the colleges are using their libraries
to promote this land of learning is one which may well receive
the attention of those liberal patrons of higher education who
384 OTIS HALL ROBINSON
create library funds and build library buildings. Rapid as is the
increase of libraries, still all are clamoring for more books. It
is as if excellence were in numbers alone. How many volumes?
This is always the question; never, How much and how well
do you use what you have? Now and then an old man, more
practical than scholarly, and a hundred years behind the times,
stares around at your alcoves, seriously doubting whether you
use all the books you have, and asks how you can possibly ex-
pect any one to give you more. The question is not an imper-
tinent one, if only intelligently asked. That the measure of our
having should be determined by the mode of our using is as old
as the New Testament. Five thousand well selected volumes
judiciously and constantly used will serve the purposes of edu-
cation better than twenty-five thousand used only at the caprice
or fancy of inexperienced young men. Far be it from me to
discourage giving to increase libraries, but I would have those
who give consider whether part of their endowments had not
better be directed towards such a vigorous administration as
to render the libraries most efficient.
What, then, should the administration be? The question
naturally divides itself into three, which I shall consider sep-
arately.
First, as to the preparation of the library itself, its growth,
classification, arrangement, and the other facilities for making
it accessible.
Second, as to the nature and extent of the privileges to be
granted to officers and students.
Third, as to the instruction in its use to be given to students.
I shall purposely omit all reference to the use of a college
library by others than those connected with the college; for
so far as its privileges are extended, by courtesy or otherwise,
to clergymen and scientific and literary residents, it partakes
of the nature of a public library, and does not come within
the scope of this paper.
GROWTH OF THE LIBRARY
In considering how a college library shall be prepared for
use, the mode of its growth demands our first attention. It must
be constantly borne in mind that the object of a college is
COLLEGE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION 385
education, not mere information, nor amusement, nor in general
professional training. For the purposes of general education,
teachers, students, and books are together. Any department
of the library filled for any other purpose is filled amiss. Ephem-
eral literature on the one hand, and strictly professional works
on the other, will properly .occupy but small space, as the object
of the library embraces very few of them. Now, theoretically
at least, a college education extends to the elements of all the
different departments of human thought, literature, science, art,
history, with their various subdivisions. Each of these depart-
ments requires its share in the library, which shall be for that
department the best attainable expression of its historical de-
velopment and present condition. To manage the growth of any
part of the library, therefore, one must be familiar both with
what is contains and with the trade. The books one buys are
to take their places among those already on the shelves, so that
the whole taken together shall form the best possible educational
apparatus. In managing its growth an active librarian and pur-
chasing committee can do much, but they cannot be expected
to know the whole library thoroughly, and, so to speak, also
to read ahead of its growth, so as to know which of all the
books published each department needs. Outside of what they
happen to be familiar with, they will be apt to trust too much
to numbers. But every teacher knows that the number of
books in an alcove has very little to do with their educational
value. Take chemistry, geology, almost any science — ten good
new books may be worth more than a whole case twenty-five
years old. Whatever we do with the old books, it is certain
that the greater part of them must be excluded when the work-
ing power of the library is to be estimated. And then there
will always be a large percentage of books, both in the library
and in the trade, which have the general appearance of value,
but which would really render little or no service either to
teachers or to students. So far as the administration of the
library relates to its growth, it is clear, then, that it must be
directed in its different parts by masters of those parts, men
who shall know perfectly its true relation to the progress of
thought. Fortunately, in a college library such men are always
at hand. The officers of instruction are in general the only
persons capable of determining what books their several depart-
ments need It is assumed that each will keep his eyes open
386 OTIS HALL ROBINSON
both to the state of the library and to the growth of ideas, at
least in his own special field of inquiry. The growth of the
library for the special benefit of the officers of instruction
themselves, will properly come up under the head of privileges
granted to officers, and need not be considered here.
ARRANGEMENT
Were the readers always to call for books from their cata-
logue numbers, and the librarian to act as a mere servant to
take them down and put them up, it would make little differ-
ence how they were arranged provided only that the catalogue
referred to their shelves. But if both officers and students are
to make a study of the books collectively as well as individually,
and the librarian is to be a teacher of their use, they must be
arranged with these ends in view. Dictionaries, cyclopaedias,
gazetteers, maps, and other works of reference are best kept
where every reader can have free and easy access to them dur-
ing all library hours. If the management of the library should
involve the use of a separate reading room they might be kept
there, where also the better class of reviews and magazines
could be used before the volumes to which they belong were
complete for binding. It should be remarked, however, in pass-
ing, that a miscellaneous reading room, where all sorts of peri-
odicals are regularly received, is at best of very doubtful
educational value. Where no room is specially devoted to gen-
eral reading, reviews and magazines are best treated in every
respect as books. After the works of reference, and the peri-
odicals, the arrangement should follow the classification as far
as possible. Then the reader can pursue the study of a sub-
ject or the examination of a class of books with ease and the
librarian and his assistants, when experienced in the classifica-
tion, can manage the library in all its departments intelligently.
To facilitate the finding of books the shelves in each class or
department should be numbered, and the class mark and num-
ber of the shelf of each book entered in the catalogue. The
class and shelf should also be very clearly marked on the cover
of the book inside. Labels on the outside would be preferable
if they were not so easily worn off. To number the books on
a shelf seems to me an unnecessary labor, as a shelf is so
easily looked over.
COLLEGE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION 387
LIBRARY PRIVILEGES
Having prepared the library for use, it is proper to consider
next the privileges to be granted to its readers. For the officers
of instruction I have treated the library as an apparatus. It
is theirs to use, both to increase their own personal efficiency
and supplement and illustrate their teaching. The only special
privilege accorded to them which should be mentioned here is
the purchase of books for their special use which do not bear
directly on their daily work in the lecture room. No one will
doubt the propriety of furnishing teachers with the means of
keeping in the front rank of their profession. The cause of
education is best served thereby, though it require the purchase
of books which no student is likely to touch. How far a col-
lege should promote science by equipping its professors for
original investigations outside of their official duties, must de-
pend upon its general purposes and the extent of its means.
Certainly no one can rightfully claim this for one department
till the others are reasonably provided for. The duty of a
teacher to watch over his part of the library requires him to
do it, not for his own purposes, but for those of general edu-
cation, directly or indirectly.
SHALL STUDENTS TAKE BOOKS OUT?
Among the first of the privileges to be granted to students
is that of carrying books to their rooms, to be used there. To
this there are many and serious objections which, I learn, are
allowed to prevail at several colleges of good standing, viz,
the books are worn out; some are never returned; they are
not in the library when wanted for consultation. These and
other similar objections might have been forcible when books
were rare enough to be a luxury. It was doubtless wise, then,
to regard the preservation of a library as the chief end of its
administration. But now the chief end is its use. If properly
used, the wearing out of the good books is the best possible
indication. As to the loss by failure to return, I quote from
the last annual report of the Boston Public Library:
The whole number of persons who have made application to
use the library since 1867 now amounts to 90,782, of whom 14,599
were entered during the last year. . . The number of books lost
during the year was 85, or abot^ * to every 9,000 circulation.
388 OTIS HALL ROBINSON
After such a report it is clear that if books are lost among
a few hundred students, who are nearly every day together,
it must be due to ill management. The objection that books
are not in the library when wanted for reference can apply
with force only to a very limited number, which it is customary
to reserve from the circulation. What is wanted is the greatest
possible benefit from a library, but a large percentage of its
most useful books will be of very little account to young men
if their use is to be confined to a public reading room.
ACCESS TO THE SHELVES
In seeking for the highest working power of a library, our
questions come up in this order: First, what use will increase
its power? Then, what restrictions must be placed upon that
use for the sake of preservation? Whatever privileges were
granted or denied when books were scarce and newspapers and
magazines few, the time has come to prepare students for the
intelligent use of many books and the society of many readers.
With that end in view, for many reasons the bars should be
taken down under proper regulations.
First of all, because the study of the library, as such, is a
very important part of a student's education. The complaint
is made, and it is doubtless well founded, that the present
tendency is to drift away from the solid reading which made
the scholars of past generations, and be contented with the
easy reproductions of thought in the newspapers and magazines.
How many men are satisfied with one or two reviews of a
book, when the book itself is within their reach and might
far better speak for itself! In the multiplicity of subjects to
be studied and things to be learned, we grow impatient. Turn-
ing over books leisurely and brooding over subjects till one
grows familiar with the great authors of the past, and learns
to love them, is seldom indulged in. The daily or weekly
newspaper is ever before us. If this and succeeding genera-
tions fail to produce scholarship commensurate with their ad-
vantages, will it not be largely due to the frittering away of
time which might be spent on good authors over short and
carelessly written paragraphs on insignificant current events?
A young man who is ashamed to be ignorant of the common
newspaper gossip, who is ever placing the trifles of the present
COLLEGE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION 389
before the great events of the past, is never found hungering-
and thirsting for scholarship. He has little time and less dis-
position for thoughtful and protracted study of the masters
in science and literature. Now, by all means, let this tendency
be counteracted by an introduction to the library. Remove
the barriers and make familiarity with well chosen authors as
easy as practicable. No habit is more uncertain or more ca-
pricious than that of a student in a library. He wants to
thumb the books which he cannot call for by name. It Is
not an idle curiosity. He wants to know, and has a right
to know, a good deal more about them than can be learned
from teachers and catalogues. Deny him this, and he turns
away disappointed and discouraged ; grant him this, and his
interest is awakened, his love for books increased, and the
habit of reading will most likely be formed.
Another reason for opening the doors and encouraging
familiarity with the library is suggested by the question so
often put by young graduates, especially young clergymen,
What books shall I buy? In the ordinary use of a library where
books are referred to by teachers, or selected from a catalogue,
a student will rarely handle more than four or five hundred
volumes in a course of four years. He will learn something,
but very little, of a few more which he does not handle. Dur-
ing his professional study he may become acquainted with as
many more. Of all these he will care to possess but a very
small percentage. How, then, supposing him to have acquired
in any way a taste for books, is he to learn what to buy? He
can generally spare but little from each year's income for his
library. It is said that the next thing to possessing knowledge
is to know where to look for it; it is also true that the
next thing to owning books is to know what books to buy.
Besides the purchase of his own library, many a young bachelor
of arts or science finds himself, soon after graduating, in a
town where a new public library is to be founded or an old
one enlarged. He is supposed to have had advantages which
the general public have not had. They are glad to avail them-
selves of what he knows. He ought to be able to lead them
intelligently and keep the best books before the purchasing
committees.
To my mind, at least, questions like these, of constantly
increasing importance as they are, are worthy of the careful
390 OTIS HALL ROBINSON
study of librarians and library committees. A young man who
spends four or seven years of student life where he can see
a library, but cannot reach it, generally just fails of the only
opportunity which is ever possible both to acquire the tastes
and habits of a reader himself, and to prepare himself to mold
the tastes and habits of others.
Again, in college life every young man has constantly be-
fore him two or three, perhaps four or five, subjects of study.
Generally text books are prescribed, which with the lectures
make up the required work. Now there is a school-boy way
of going through such a course of study from term to term,
learning precisely what is assigned, and never looking to the
right hand nor to the left for collateral views of different
writers. Servility and narrowness are the result. There is also
a manly and scholarly method of making the required study
only the nucleus about which are to be gathered the results
of much interesting and profitable investigation — the pathway
of thought through a very wide field of inquiry. This is the
true method of a higher education. Take astronomy for an
illustration. From twelve to twenty weeks are devoted to the
usual course of lecture, recitation, and examination — just enough
to teach the leading facts and principles of the science, solve
a few illustrative problems, point out the intellectual value
of its processes, its historical development and practical bear-
ings. The teacher who attempts even these finds himself lim-
ited at many points to mere suggestion. The reading student
usually acquires the facts and solves the problems of the lec-
ture room very readily. He comes then to the suggestions.
He* soon makes this collateral work his own field. He feels
a manly self-dependence as he turns over for himself the
authors whose opinions have been accepted or rejected by his
teacher. He raises pertinent and exhaustive questions. He
learns the names and something of the lives and scientific
places of the men who have made the science what it is. He
makes memoranda of works valuable for their breadth and
accuracy of scientific statement, or for the clearness of their
popular method, or their historical places in the growth of
astronomical ideas. When the term of study is ended he is
fitted by his knowledge, and much more by his method, to
serve the public wherever his lot is cast on all general questions
involving the study of astronomy. What I have said of astron-
COLLEGE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION 391
omy may be said of every other department of college study,
and of some of them with much greater force. But the con-
dition of all this work is a proper relation to the library. No
student can do this work well, and few will undertake it at
all, by calling for books from a catalogue. A reference is to
be made, a date to be fixed, a question of authority to be
settled, the scientific relation of two men to be ascertained, a
formula to be copied, and a thousand other almost indefinable
little things to be done, the doing of which rapidly and in-
dependently and with a purpose is the very exercise which will
go far to make the man a broad and self-reliant scholar. To
do them, however, a man must stand face to face with the
books required. Then there are books to be selected for more
extended reading, apart from the alcoves. One can be read
carefully out of half a dozen of nearly equal value. An hour
spent in turning over the books and making the choice is, per-
haps, better than any two hours spent in the reading. Some-
thing is learned of the five which cannot be read, but which
may be of great service for future reference; and, besides,
the very act of making the choice — where assistance can be
had in case of special difficulty — is a valuable educational ex-
ercise.
Notwithstanding the great advantages of the use of a
library in the manner pointed out, if I mistake not, it is not
usually contemplated by college library regulations. How to
use books is not so much studied as how to get and preserve
them. It is seldom or never made itself an end to be attained
by study. I have seen a college library of 25,000 volumes or
more, all in most beautiful order, everything looking as perfect
as if just fitted up for a critical examination, where the read-
ing room was entirely apart, and the books could be seen by
students only through an opening like that of a ticket office
at a railroad station. The reading room contained dictionaries,
cyclopaedias, newspapers, and magazines, and, it was said, a well
kept manuscript catalogue of the library. The result one can
easily conjecture; the students read the newspapers, and the
librarian preserves the books. At another college, which has
good claims to rank among the first in the country, a friend
residing as a student, after complaining of the great difficulty
of using a library by means of a catalogue and with no access
to the shelves, writes that he knows it contains plenty o£ good
392 OTIS HALL ROBINSON
books, for he got in. through a window one Sunday and spent
the whole day there. It is pertinent to inquire whether the
interests of education would not have been promoted by allow-
ing such a young man to ascertain that fact on a week day.
In short, it is the usual regulation conspicuously posted, "Stu-
dents are not allowed to take books from the shelves." This
is reasonable, perhaps necessary, as a general rule; but when
one inquires, as I have in several of the most prominent col-
lege libraries of the country, what provision is made for the
student to look through the cases, and study the library as
a whole, the answer is either that there is no such provision,
or that the privilege is sometimes granted as a special favor to
very worthy young men.
Now the preservation of the books is a very important con-
sideration, and the general regulation guarding the shelves a
most healthful one; but the proper use of books, collectively
as well as individually, is quite as important, and hence the
propriety of some special provision to that end. Granted that
in order to have books in condition to be most useful, as well
as to preserve them, they must be protected from too promis-
cuous handling by inexperienced or merely curious persons.
Whatever order or arrangement is adopted, it is of the highest
importance that it be rigidly observed. Still I cannot believe
that regulations the most adequate for protection are at all
incompatible with suitable provisions for use. The extent and
kind of such provision practicable, or even desirable, would
differ widely in different places. In small colleges two or three
hours set apart one day in each week, with the privilege ex-
tended to all the classes, might be practicable and sufficient;
in larger colleges it might be better to have hours set apart
for particular classes, that the number might not be too large
at once. Or it might be still better to provide for such work
at certain hours regularly each week, and let the admission be
regulated by previous arrangement with the librarian or other
officer. The number to be provided for at once could thus be
adjusted to the convenience of the rooms and the working
force of the library, and what is quite as essential, the stu-
dents admitted could be definitely put upon their honor in the
enjoyment of such a privilege, and excluded if found untrust-
worthy.
I have tried to be very explicit on this point, because I am
COLLEGE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION 393
satisfied that this privilege, when it is extended without proper
restrictions, operates to the great injury of a library, especially
as to good order; and secondly, because I believe that the sup-
position that such injury is unavoidable, is far too often allowed
to stand in the way of the privilege altogether. I have written
earnestly, almost in the style of an advocate, because in ten
years' experience I have seen the best results from such a
use o£ books as I have described. The two hours' work done
regularly every Saturday in this library by an average of forty
or fifty students, does them more good than any two hours'
instruction they receive through the week. It is work which
develops their powers, and begets the habit of independent re-
search and the love of books. The questions which have been
suggested by the lectures of the week are then chased down;
books are selected to be consulted at the library, or drawn for
reading at home during the coming week. All the advantages
I have spoken of above, and many more, I have seen growing
out of this privilege in the library over and over again. And
further, it is a noteworthy fact that this privilege is sought
and this work done by the best students. It is a proper sup-
plement to the prescribed curriculum of studies, for men who
are capable of extra work. In no case has it been suspected of
dissipating the energies and causing a neglect of other regular
duties. The injury to books is mainly that of misplacement,
which with suitable instruction and safeguards, can be reduced
almost to zero. The temptation to carry away books without
permission is probably diminished rather than increased, as the
privilege of using them is extended.
HINTS FOR IMPROVED LIBRARY ECONOMY
DRAWN FROM USAGES AT PRINCETON
The method of administration at Princeton Univer-
sity, as described below, is so typical of the college li-
brary of the time, and of later years as well, that it
admirably supplements Mr. Robinson's more theoretical
article, just preceding.
Mr. Frederic Vinton was born October 9, 1817 in
Boston, graduated from Amherst College in 1839, pre-
pared for the ministry at Andover Theological Seminary
and then taught for a time on account of his health. His
first library experience was in cataloging his brother's
library of five thousand volumes. In 1856 he became
assistant librarian in the Boston Public Library, 1865
first assistant in the Congressional library and 1873 li-
brarian at Princeton. His special interest was in biblio-
graphic work. He published a subject catalog of the
Princeton library and at the time of his death in 1890
was preparing an analytic index of scientific periodical
literature of all languages.
If a college library differs from others, it may be in per-
mitting a simpler administration, because the resort to it will
be by a less number of persons, and those of higher intelli-
gence. To meet the probable wants of such a constituency,
the library should consist of the higher and highest sort of
books ; and to assist such readers in the use of such books,
the librarian needs every ability and every accomplishment.
Such requisitions would be overwhelming, if the appropriate
work of the librarian were not exactly suited to make him what
he needs to be. That appropriate work, in such a sense as
almost to exclude every other, we hold to be the making of
the catalogue. This making does not consist in the mere copy-
ing of the titles, but in acquiring as complete an idea as possible
396 FREDERIC VINTON
of the books themselves. While each volume is passing through
his hands, he must compel it to leave its image in his mind;
not only that he may locate it among those most nearly re-
sembling it, but that its idea may immediately recur to his
thoughts when information is asked which it can supply. The
supposed drudgery of cataloguing is therefore the indispensable
means of making him a good librarian. We fear that the so
much desiderated object of co-operative cataloguing (by which
each librarian shall have the least possible writing to do) is un-
favorable to good librarianship. For myself, I would on no
account lose that familiarity with the subjects and even the
places of my books which results from having catalogued and
located every one.
Perhaps the first rule to be laid down in respect to a library
is that it should be accessible in the highest possible degree.
The ideal of a church is that, like the ear of God, it should
be always open. The piety of Catholic countries and of
monastic establishments has required that worship should never
cease, and that the weary soul should always be able to enter
the place of prayer. It is desirable, but not to be expected, that
the student should be able to find at any hour the solution of
his doubts. Libraries are closed during the night, though some
are lighted in the evening. But it may be boldly said that
libraries should be open every day and during most of the
sunlight hours.
It follows, from such requisitions, that the library must have
more than one attendant. A very moderate library exacts a
number and variety of services too great for any one person.
Equally necessary is it that its head should have nothing else
to do than library work. It has been the custom of colleges
and seminaries that some professor should also be librarian.
No library can confer a tenth of the benefits legitimately to
be expected from it unless it has a librarian wholly devoted
to its service. The idea is intolerable that a librarian should
have other work to do, whether that of another office or under-
taken for his own interest. Authorship is a librarian's most
probable temptation, but he should resist it with a priestly spirit.
That is demanded of him which is required of the Christian :
willingness to be last of all and servant of all. Not fame, but
usefulness, must be 'his mark. A living index to the library
must be his coveted praise. This will be partly secured by that
HINTS DRAWN FROM PRINCETON 397
diligence in cataloguing of which we have already spoken. But,
if the acquisition of new books were suspended, he would find
a yet larger usefulness in studying- the classes into which
his books are divided: to perfect these, to have a clear idea
of them, and to write a coup d'oeil for each. Specifying and
criticising the characteristics of each book is his highest and
most useful function. Instead of a mere nomenclator, it makes
of him a critic, a philosopher, and a friend to every one who
borrows. Judiciously done, this is of the utmost value to a
body of students, equalling the usefulness of any professor.
Too extended to be posted in every alcove, this should be ap-
pended to every section in the catalogue.
This catalogue, as fast as it proceeds, should become ac-
cessible to the students, in printed form placed in every room,
if possible; otherwise in manuscript. How this may be ac-
complished, it may perhaps be permitted to explain, by describ-
ing the surroundings of the present writer. He sits in a circular
desk having two openings for a passage-way. Four circles of
small drawers gird him about, one above the other. These
drawers contain the card catalogue, authors on one side, sub-
jects on the other, both alphabetical. As he catalogues each
book, he drops the description into the proper drawers, right
and left. These drawers stand loosely on shelves, and may
be pulled either way — inside by the librarian, outside by the
students. A wire, passing through all the cards in a drawer,
near the bottom, prevents the loss or displacement of any. Any
man, therefore, seeking information may satisfy himself whether
the library is known to contain what he wishes, so far as the
catalogue has advanced. This he may do silently and without
confession of ignorance. But in the early stages of catalogue
preparation, the librarian's own stock of information may be
drawn on or his individual ingenuity and aptitude for research
be appealed to. If worthy of his place, mortification will follow
any case of fruitless inquiry.
An approach to circular form seems most convenient for a
library building. It has been adopted for several college libra-
ries, and specially at Princeton. So great advantages seem to
attend that a short description may be permitted here in addi-
tion to the illustrations engraved elsewhere. The circular desk
•already alluded to occupies the middle of an octagonal room,
each side of the octagon having four windows, lofty but nar-
398 FREDERIC VINTON
row. Two are omitted on opposite sides of the lower floor, for
the sake of entrances, but the upper story has two half-length
windows over each doorway, making thirty-two in all. Between
every two windows a bookcase, starting from the wall, advances
toward the centre; but they all stop short of it, so as to leave
an open space of thirty feet. Every alternate one, moreover,
is shorter than its neighbors, to avoid immoderate clustering in
the middle. The material of all is butternut-wood, in native
color. Large cinque-foil windows fill the pediments over each
of the eight sides, and a star window is immediately over the
desk. By these arrangements abundant light is secured. Each
shelf holds two sets of books, standing edge to edge, no par-
tition being interposed. Thus free circulation of air is obtained,
the eye ranging through the building, over the tops of the books,
as through the meshes of a net. The greatest amount of shelf-
room is also secured; for, though the outside diameter of the
building is but sixty- four feet, more than a hundred thousand
volumes can be shelved within it. This is the more surprising,
since the great reading-room of the British Museum, 140 feet
across, if shelved twenty feet high around the wall would hold
but eighty thousand volumes. From his desk in the centre, the
librarian can see no book, but he can see every person present,
even the floors, being of perforated iron, presenting no great
obstruction to the eye. It is a perfect panopticon.
The usage prevails in some American libraries of locating
books as they are acquired, according to a running number
recorded in a catalogue kept at the desk. By this arrangement,
it is claimed, if the alphabetical place of the title is known,
the book can always be found. This may be true ; but it is
also true that all research by subjects is impossible. Logical
connection of parts is everything to the inquirer, and the total
absence of it makes a library useless for independent study.
At Princeton, the students are allowed free access to the shelves,
and no privilege is so highly valued. The inquirer does not
then depend on the title in deciding the fitness of a book to
his purpose, but is able to reject one and take another, if
examination shows it to be more suitable. Besides this, his
knowledge of books and of the laws of classification continually
increases. It will be said by many that the safety of the books
is completely sacrificed by so doing. But in so small a com-
munity as a college, where every man may be known by every
HINTS DRAWN FROM PRINCETON 399
other, this may not be true. Ample experience has proved that
in proportion as men are trusted it becomes safe to trust them.
Each borrower is required to show his book at the desk be-
fore taking it from the room, leaving its title on a blank
signed by himself. As a safeguard, however, against the dis-
honorable, a long colored book-mark, bearing the date and other
memoranda, is laid in each book so as to appear at each end
when it is shown at the desk. An attendant at the sole door
of egress can see, as borrowers pass, whether any book has
been illegitimately taken. The librarian always conducts the
distribution of books, since this is almost his only opportunity
of knowing the students, and of assisting their inquiries.
A skilful arrangement of books on the shelves is of the
highest importance to inquirers pursuing research among them.
During the absence of a complete catalogue, such an arrange-
ment affords no mean substitute. A skilful arrangement is one
which brings together things really alike, however entitled. It
is well to divide the circle of knowledge into a few great sec-
tions conspicuously distinguished. The world and its parts may
be one of these, literature and science two others. The ad-
vantage will follow from this that the inquirer decides at
once to what part of the house he must direct his steps. If
now, in the alcoves having1 geographical names, a similarity
of internal arrangement obtains, still further assistance fol-
lows. Let the books occupying the first tier of shelves in a
geographical alcove contain voyages and travels in the region
indicated; then the history of it as a whole; then the history
of sections; then the biography, and last the collected mis-
cellaneous works of its citizens. When this uniformity of ar-
rangement is understood, it will afford much assistance; and
if something like it is attempted in every other alcove, the
advantage, will be greatly extended. Every alcove at Princeton
has its name plainly but not obtrusively printed within it, and
a diagram of the whole floor, with all the subdivisions num-
bered, hangs in a conspicuous place. An alphabetical list of
these subdivisions borders the diagram, making the way to
find books very easy. The use of such expedients by ap-
plicants in finding their own books affords a useful discipline of
mind to which intelligent persons are not averse. If unsuccess-
ful in their search, the librarian may be applied to, who is
then put on the defensive to vindicate his arrangement. It is
400 FREDERIC VINTON
understood in all cases that the continuation of any subject
located on the first floor may be looked for immediately above.
Provided with so many facilities, the student may fairly be
expected to use his own ingenuity; and a few leading questions
from the librarian may be better than that he should leave his
place to bring a book. When twenty persons are waiting at
once, it is impossible he should do so. Explanations must be
asked before or after the hour for registration.
The registration of books borrowed need not occupy much
time in any library frequented, let us suppose, by two hundred
a day. The labor may be thrown mainly upon the borrower,
who finds blanks within his reach. These are somewhat oblong,
having separate lines for "Author's name," "Title of the book,"
"Borrower's name," "Date." When a borrower presents his
book and the receipt he would give for it, a careful comparison
of the two requires but an instant. If the description be in-
sufficient to identify the volume, because it is but one of a
set, or because there may be more editions or more copies than
one, the librarian adds these particulars to prevent subsequent
dispute. While the book is abroad, the receipt should be kept
with others, alphabetized according to borrower's names, in a
box or drawer. If these were copied by the papyrograph and
arranged in the order of authors' names, it might be known
who has any absent book and when he ought to return it.
When the book is returned, a colored pencil-stroke by the libra-
rian, across the face of the receipt, frees the late holder from
the obligation he contracted, and yet the receipt may be held
by the librarian. These, being preserved in alphabetical order,
form the literary history of the borrower, of his class, and
of the institution. The statistics of progressive usefulness may
be easily ascertained by means of them, at any distance of
time. The receipts of literary men borrowing from the British
Museum, early in this century, would have afforded a most
attractive study if they had not been sold to paper-mills.
In a college library, oftener than elsewhere, it seems suitable
to have several copies of standard works. Oftentimes, when a
professor has commended a certain book in his lecture, a stream
of students seek that book immediately after. It is not fair
that only one copy should be found. Especially in respect to
famous authors, every good edition should be in the library.
It often happens that a whole shelf will be depopulated by
HINTS DRAWN FROM PRINCETON 401
the sudden incursion o£ lovers of Milton or Shakespeare, stu-
dents of Macaulay or Fronde. Not seldom, after such a raid*
some belated inquirer will report his disappointment at the
desk, and be delighted if told that the coveted poem is also
included in a certain collection at hand, or the admired passage
concealed in some volume of extracts.
A most responsible part of library work remains to be
mentioned, the selecting of books for purchase. Of course
each professor is best adviser in his own department,
but the professorships do not cover the whole of knowledge.
This duty may not always be entrusted to the librarian; but,
if he is fit for his place, he is more likely to do it well than
any ordinary board of trustees. Having located and often
handled his books, he is better guarded than any other against
the danger of buying again what he already has. By constant
intercourse with his constituency, he knows their needs, their
wishes, and their capacity. If he is familiar with what has
been written already, if his eyes are open to what is daily
produced, and if his mind has been widened to comprehend
the relations of one department of knowledge to another, it
will be wise to entrust him with the augmentation of the
library. He will not go wrong if he follows the track of the
Astor library and the Boston institutions, as indicated in their
catalogues. Especially if he has been trained in one of the
great libraries of the country, he not only knows, by inspection
of their contents, the quality of many thousand volumes, but
he has probably had the advantage of years of intercourse with
the great and learned men whose wisdom has made them what
they are.
In many colleges one or more periodicals are maintained,
as vehicles of public opinion or as repositories of superior
literary work. The librarian may easily avail himself of such
an opportunity to keep the students informed of attractive or
useful acquisitions. If his funds do not permit a constant
succession of purchases, he may confer great pleasure by de-
scribing some remarkable book, or even detailing the history
through which some volume on his shelves can be proved to
have passed. Perhaps no college library in the land is with-
out some relic of scholastic or historic ownership. The parch-
ment cover of an old volume may possibly be part of a unique
manuscript of the classics. By searching out such things, the
402 FREDERIC VINTON
librarian may awaken interest in his labors, attract public at-
tention to his college, or at least promote good-will toward
himself. Students respect a man whose eyes keenly interrogate
every object within their vision; they may even be prompted to
form habits for themselves of the greatest importance for
their after-lives.
The librarian of a college holds a place of exceptional ad-
vantage in respect to opportunity for useful and happy rela-
tions. He sits in the centre of instrumentalities of which all
wish to avail themselves, having facilities for knowing season-
ably what all wish to know. It is often in his power to confer
peculiar pleasure or render important services, at little expense
to himself. He may thus connect himself by agreeable asso-
ciations with the most influential persons. Young men may
resort to him in mental perplexities, finding unexpected help or
even deriving impetus for life. As a college officer, he has
nothing to do with government, and therefore, in moments of
irritation, he may serve as a pivot round which great excite-
ments may revolve.
A college library, well furnished and well managed, becomes
the workshop of the institution, the rendezvous of all the
studious, the hearthstone, the heart and brain of the whole
family. Many a man looks back to it as the place where he
learned to think; where his conception was first widened of
the infinity of knowledge, of the interdependence of all the
departments of it, of the brotherhood of all who search for it.
Its influence is in the highest degree suited to counteract that
narrow selfishness which often results from the collisions of
life. And thus, in regard to both heart and mind, it is the
most important part of a literary institution, and should be
cherished accordingly.
DEPARTMENTAL ARRANGEMENT IN
COLLEGE LIBRARIES
Edith E. Clarke was born in Syracuse, New York, in
1859, took her bachelor's degree at Syracuse University,
and graduated from the New York State Library School
in 1889 when she presented the thesis which follows, as
printed in The Library Journal. Two years later after
serving as cataloger in the Columbia University library
and in the Newberry Library she wrote a second part
which was also published in The Library Journal.
As former cataloger in the Library of Public Docu-
ments, Washington, D.C, and author of the Guide to the
Use of the U. S. Government Publications, her work is
well known. She was librarian of the University of Ver-
mont for eleven years and has been instructor in library
schools.
We quote only Part I which gives a general outline
for such a form of organization as Miss Clarke is ad-
vocating for student's libraries. Part II fills in many of
the details of internal administration. The principle
involved is division by subject rather than by processes.
The University of Chicago library illustrates the de-
partmental type of library while that of Princeton de-
scribed above is closely centralized.
Is it desirable to divide a college library into separate de-
partmental or seminary libraries, corresponding to departments
of instruction in the college? On this proposition I take the
affirmative, and shall try to show that in some cases the
foundation of separate departmental collections will best fulfil
the mission of the library — that of practical use.
I want to restrict my subject to the support of the propo-
sition just laid down. That is, do not expect me to arrange
the distribution of the library between the several departments,
404 EDITH EMILY CLARKE
nor to lay down in detail a plan for the management of such
a system. My work is argumentative, not constructive, and I
will only undertake to show when and why the plan proposed
is feasible and convenient.
1st, as to the case where this plan is to be applied — for I
am not so demented as to assert that all libraries indiscrimi-
nately should be arranged on the plan which is argued to be
the best for one type among them. The type to which the plan
of departmental libraries may be applied is college libraries,
connected in their life and their use with schools of instruc-
tion, with institutions where study is carried on on a systematic
basis and courses of instruction are adhered to more or less
strictly. Contrast the functions of such a one with the free
public library. To the college library flock the students, all
wanting the same book at the same time. A squad of them use
one set of books during all of one term, another squad another
set as regularly. All have some definite end in view, and this
end is designated to them from the central point of the de-
partment or course of study they are under. Their researches
radiate from this primum mobile, never depart from it, con-
nect with it at all points, and finally return to it as the re-
pository of all their acquired knowledge. The public library
reader, on the contrary, is desultory. He may be reading about
China with a view to silkworm culture, or if he asks for a
valuable work on coins, it is ten to one that he is getting up
a campaign badge. The second work he asks for will in either
case send you to the remotest regions of the classification from
the first. It is true that the free library stands in the
same relation to the public schools that the college library
does to its college, but the connection is vastly more remote
It is along the same lines and entails the same kind of re-
sponsibilities, but other conflicting claims break in upon the
adaptation of the one to the other, and the public library finds
that the public school is only one of the most important among
many patrons. Another point which effectually bars this plan
from adoption in public libraries is the impossibility of ad-
mitting to free use of the books. Our scheme pre-supposes
this and is nothing without it.
2d. I come now to the arguments for the plan. I will
state them first and enlarge upon them afterward.
I. A large library becomes unwieldy and defies arrangement
DEPARTMENTAL ARRANGEMENT 405
in one room under the eye of one man. It then becomes a
question of stacks, or separate collections.
2. A large library for convenience and maximum useful-
ness must eliminate from its working-shelves books duplicated
in different editions, antiquated works, and others for any
reason not in common use.
3. By this arrangement the librarian gains assistants in re-
sponsibility for books and in their care.
4. The departmental system secures a maximum freedom
in the use of books with minimum risk of injury or loss.
5. It is eminently adapted to relative location.
6. It is a logical outcome of the classed arrangement.
7. It is superior to the plan of reserving books and pre-
vents friction among students using the same books.
8. It is in accordance with the most advanced methods of
instruction.
9. Its usefulness is attested by its being adopted to some
extent by three of the leading college libraries of this country.
First: a large library becomes unwieldy. It is desirable to
have each reader under the eye of an official of the library.
For this to be possible, either the number of officers must be
increased or the library must be in one room. Put the great
majority of your books in stacks and a worker cannot use
them there to advantage. Or if he has table and light, will
you detail a special member of the staff to watch him? It be-
comes a compromise; either books must be used singly, away
from others of their class, thus rendering impossible parallel
readings, most valuable of all methods of study; or individuals
most worthy of that privilege, I suppose most book-learned to
start with, are admitted to the shelves, all others barred out.
This is contrary to our library maxim, which is, Compel them
to come in.
Second: books not used should be relegated to the stacks.
The library has two functions, a workshop and a storehouse.
Some of the books in Columbia Library belong to the museum
department. I mean by that that they are of no earthly use,
but are objects of antediluvian interest. The old fellows who
took all knowledge for their province, and put all they knew
in a quarto volume, should in these days of monumental achieve-
ments in science retire gracefully to the background, for they
have finished their work in this world. A working library
406 EDITH EMILY CLARKE
should be kept as free from lumber as possible. Books re-
moved need not be put beyond reach and knowledge. It is a
matter of choice as to whether the second function of a library,
that of storehouse, shall be performed by all. The librarian
of the Nebraska State Library acknowledges that he disposes
of old editions and rare and choice books in preference for
those of more practical use (see L. J., 8:246). Where one
is met with I always think there must be others yet to hear
from. The Cambridge (Eng.) University Library, which re-
ceives copyright accessions, puts aside those not deemed worthy
of a place in the main library. The British Museum keeps
on the shelves of its vast reading-room a selection of 20,000
standard works which it aims to keep abreast of the best
thought of the day. To accomplish this these books are almost
entirely renewed in the course of a single generation. All work-
ing libraries should have the same treatment.
Third: by the proposed arrangement the library gains in
the professors and advanced students of the departments co-
adjutors in the responsibility and care for the books entrusted
to them. The department is to a degree the curator of the
collection. The vexed question of pamphlets will then be solved.
Forming, as they do, the latest results of the studies of spe-
cialists, their importance, when put in the hands of those who
recognize that importance, will insure their preservation. Do
you think, if you were a special student in mathematics and
spent much of your time in the mathcmatic seminary
room, learning the outsides of books as one learns the faces
of dear friends, that that valuable monograf, paper-bound, on
the theory of determinants, would be pushed against the wall
to become dog-eared and dusty? Another consideration: Spe-
cial use creates special interest. By classes is the most natural
way for a library to grow, and would-be benefactors prefer to
enrich a department rather than an unwieldy whole.
Fourth: by this arrangement the maximum freedom in the
use of books may be obtained with minimum risk. Only stu-
dents of the department are admitted to its library— no others.
Accountability is thus narrowed down. Add to this the sense
of ownership and pride felt by the class in their collection, and
you have so many detectives on the watch for any one who shall
filch from the value of their store.
Fifth : the seminary arrangement is eminently adapted to
DEPARTMENTAL ARRANGEMENT 407
relative location. Some one may say that departmental libraries
break up the order of the classification so that relative order
is unattainable. In answer to this— two things: (i) A large
library so planned as to have all its books in consecutive order
on the shelves without a break must be either all one large
room or all stacks. In the one case it would resemble a skating-
rink, in the other a prison. (2) Relative location does not
assist in finding books till you know the fixed location of the
class. It would be difficult to begin at No. I, and follow the
classes around till you came to 900, here at Columbia. And in
these separate libraries classification with respect to the whole
library and relative location should be maintained. I cannot
be so disloyal to that method to which all true members of
the Library School pin their faith, as not to carry the Dewey
classification with me into departmental libraries as into all
others. Duplicates there may and must be in these separate
libraries, but they bear a class number according to their lo-
cation. Books too valuable to duplicate must be supplied by
dummies, shelf-reference, or supplemental lists.
Sixth: the departmental library is the legitimate outgrowth
of the classed arrangement on shelves. Arranged syllogistically,
the argument may be put as follows: Whatever arrangement
enables a reader to find quickest and easiest, and most con-
veniently for his needs, all that a library has on a given sub-
ject, is best. Classed arrangement on shelves does this best for
general readers; therefore classed arrangement on shelves is
best for general readers. Departmental arrangement does this
best for special students; therefore the departmental library is
best for special students.
Seventh : Harvard Library has a plan of reserving books tem-
porarily on order of a professor. These books are put on the
shelves in the main library : the class being directed to use them
freely. In 1887 as many as 6,280 were reported thus withdrawn
from circulation at one time. This plan must entail confusion in
all departments, and I should think special collections for the de-
partments would take the place of this to a great degree. There
must also be some friction among students all using the same
books. If placed in their hands with absolute freedom, as
the Law Library in Columbia is, this is reduced to its minimum.
My eighth is the main argument; more important than all
that precedes or follows it. The departmental library works
4o8 EDITH EMILY CLARKE
on the line of the most advanced methods of instruction. As
books multiply and the sum of knowledge doubles with every
century, the system of acquirement of knowledge develops in
two ways. It requires (i) wider acquaintance with authorities,
and (2) more special investigation. Both of these lines require
a greater number o£ books and more frequent reference to
them than the old way, which had constantly in hand a few
authorities which were depended on for all information needed.
Now there is gleaning from all fields, and the man without
books may better be without brains as far as work in any
department of facts is concerned. Formerly it was a student's
acuteness and intellectual calibre that was to be nurtured; now
methods of study and use of authorities form a large part of
instruction in all departments. I do not need other arguments
in its favor than to mention that at Harvard, last year, "Under
the name of seminary or special advanced study and research,
this plan is introduced in the study of the Semitic languages,
Latin, English, psychology and metaphysics, political economy,
history, Roman law, mathematics, and, of course, the natural
sciences. Not one of these seminaries existed fifteen years
ago."1 A description of the seminar given by Dr. H. B. Adams
in "Seminar libraries and university extension" (1887) may
be interesting to those who are not familiar with the subject.-
We hear most of the study of history conducted in this way;
let me read also a description of a seminar conducted by the
famous Dr. Ernst Curtius in classic art;3
For the afternoon, Mr. Curtius asked me to meet him at
the Museum of Antiquities, where he gives, weekly, a lesson on
Greek and Roman archaeology. On his arrival the students,
strolling about in the college waiting for him, came together,
saluting him silently, then replacing their hats on their heads.
He also remained covered and began without delay a tour of
archseologic demonstration. Armed with a paper-knife of ivory,
he went from one object to another, explaining and pointing
out most minute members with the point of his paper-knife —
now raising himself on tiptoe, now going down on his knees to
better illustrate his remarks. Once he laid himself on the floor
before a Greek statuette. Leaning on his left elbow and
brandishing in his right hand his trusty paper-knife he launched
forth into raptures upon the perfection of form and execution
1 Dr. Foster, in "Seminary methods of original study in the historical
sciences," 1888, p, 107-8.
2 See also L. I. 5: 170-182.
8 "New methods of study in history/' by H. B. Adams, in volume 2.
DEPARTMENTAL ARRANGEMENT 400
of a miniature masterpiece. It can easily be imagined how
profitable instruction so ardently imparted by such a teacher
in the midst of such a college must be to the pupils. The lesson
that I heard turned only on subjects of minor importance —
tripods, candelabras, plaster vases etc. — but in spite of that,
there seized upon one an infectious enthusiasm, a sort of odor
of the antique enveloped one.
I am sorry I cannot, within the limits of this paper, go into
a detailed examination of how far the seminary method is used
in other colleges and in what departments. But it is safe to
say that where Harvard leads others will soon follow. I hope
I have said enough to show that work with the authorities at
first hand forms an important part of instruction in all depart-
ments of knowledge in our day, and requires the library as
faithful cooperator.
Ninth: the advantages of the proposed scheme are attested
by the arrangement of three leading libraries of the country
— Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia. The Johns Hopkins
University report for 1887 makes a statement as follows: "The
library numbers 35,000 bound volumes. These are arranged in
several collections of which the following are the chief: (i)
General reference; (2) Historical; (3) Mathematical and Phys-
ical; (4) Chemical; (5) Biological; (6) Classical; (7) Shemitic
and Sanskrit; (8) Romance languages ; (9) Teutonic languages.1
At Harvard the sentiment of the chief librarian seems to be in
favor of departmental libraries.2 Growth in this direction, how-
ever, does not seem to have been so rapid as he has anticipated,
for in 1887 he reports in all the separate collections in various
class-rooms and departments a total of only 5200 volumes. We
must add to these the 6280 reserved volumes to get the entire
number open to students in connection with their special studies.
Here at Columbia the law library is a departmental collection,
not in a separate room, for reasons of economy, but that too
may come in time, as the general readers crowd the law stu-
dents out. The students in political science are assigned tables
in No. 4, in convenient proximity to the Government reports.
Last winter the philosophical seminar found an easy place in
1 See also caution against any further separation into seminary libraries
at the expense of the main library unless in way of duplicates. — 8th An-
nual Report, 1883.
2 See Winsor's report describing arrangement of Harvard University
Library. — L. /., 6: 9-11; also 6: 65; also Harvard College Library; Reports:
1 88 1 to date.
410 EDITH EMILY CLARKE
No. 5, with philosophical books all around them, and theology,
her twin sister, at one side. These examples might be multi-
plied had I time and space.
If my arguments have not convinced you, I have only one
more weapon, viz., expert opinions on this subject gleaned from
the L. J. and other sources. Mr. W. E. Foster says (L. J.,
9:239) in a report on arrangement of libraries as affording aid
to readers: "When the question is one of meeting the wants
of a collection created for special purposes of study and re-
search, different considerations are involved which do- not enter
into the case of libraries collected on general principles. . . .
Nowhere does the application of careful study and intellectual
planning, to such a problem as this, seem to have been brought
to so high a point as in the case of one of the department
libraries of Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore." Then
follows a description of Professor Adams' seminar library.
Mr. Bowker, in speaking of the ideals of various prominent
librarians of libraries of the future, speaks as follows (L. J.»
8 : 249) : "Mr. Poole's cellular plan, so to speak, providing for
growth by rooms, each of which may be a specialized library
within easy distance of a common focus." Whether or not
Mr. Poole's idea is faithfully reported here, it describes the
plan I have been presenting to you. In relation to it Mr. Spof-
ford says : "Mr. Poole's plan would be entirely impracticable
in the National Library, although suited to students."
Dr. Guild, of Providence, says (L.J., 8 : 274) : "My own
views in regard to a college library especially are in favor of
the open alcove system, where the books can be classified ac-
cording to subject and where professors and students alike
can have free access to the shelves."
President White, of Cornell, has just left his fine historical
library of 40,000 volumes to the university on the condition
that a suitable separate room be provided for it. He also pro-
vides for a special librarian and professorship, thus creating
a department around it of which it shall be the special library.
In conclusion, let me say that any one who cares to see
a scheme of a vast library specialized as to subject will be
well repaid for reading Mr. Cutter's paper on the Buffalo Li-
brary, in 1983, in L. J., 8:212.
I have been saving till the last a noted exception to the
rule I have been stating, viz., where a college library is so
DEPARTMENTAL ARRANGEMENT 4"
situated that it is called upon to furnish mental aliment, not
only to its own students, but also to an almost greater num-
ber of specialists in every field. In this case it may be absolved
from giving itself over so entirely to the convenience of its
own students, and this work — I am bold enough to express the
opinion — awaits Columbia College library in the future.
A STUDY OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES
Based upon the latest report of the Commissioner of
Education, the statistics are so interpreted and humanized
as to make a very illuminating discussion upon all phases
of college library administration, near the close of the
nineteenth century.
Miss Lodilla Ambrose was assistant librarian of
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, when she
made this study. She left there in 1909 and became li-
brarian of the Department of Tropical Medicine and Hy-
giene of Tulane University. She is now doing library
research in medicine in New Orleans.
This study o£ college libraries in the United States is based
on the latest published report of the commissioner of education,
the official publications of colleges and universities, and some
personal experience and observation. What, in general, is the
relation of the library to the departments of instruction and
the intellectual life of the college? The president of Vassar
College once said to me: "I consider the library the very heart
of the institution." It is significant that John Harvard's 320
volumes formed so prominent a part of his bequest for the
foundation of Harvard College. There is similar suggestiveness
about the action of the eleven Connecticut clergymen who
laid down their books to the number of forty "for the found-
ing of a college in this colony," and in Governor Belcher's
early bequest of books to Princeton College. Where is the de-
partment of instruction that can get along without books? The
library is the very workshop or laboratory for the students
and the professors of the literary and historical branches of
learning. The scientific man wishes to do original work. Be-
fore he can undertake it with any assurance of its being original
work when finished, he must resort to books to learn just what
others have accomplished. The record of what has been done
and is doing in all departments of knowledge is, or should be,
4H LODILLA AMBROSE
in the college library. And college libraries have undoubtedly
shared in the on-going and the out-reaching of the recent Amer-
ican library movement.
The report of the commissioner of education affords a
basis for comparative statement regarding college libraries. I am
obliged to use the latest published report, that of 1888-89, but
the forthcoming reports will probably not alter the relative
results to any great extent. I have taken into account the
institutions given in the list of "Colleges of Liberal Arts,"
of "Collegiate Institutions for the Higher Instruction of Women,
Division A," and of "Schools of Science." These lists include
456 institutions exercising college functions and influencing the
lives and intellectual development of young men and women.
Forty-three of these do not give the number of volumes in their
libraries, and 44 give the number as under 1000; 57 have 1000
volumes but less than 2000; 45 have 2000 volumes but less than
3000; 43 have 3000 volumes but less than 4000; 21 have 4000
volumes but less than 5000; summarizing, 253 of these insti-
tutions, or 55 per cent, of them, have less than 5000 volumes
in their libraries. Eighty-four colleges have 5000 but under
10,000 volumes ; 43 have 10,000 but under 15,000 volumes ; 21
have 15,000 but under 20,000 volumes ; 12 have 20,000 but less
than 25,000; 12 have 25,000 but less than 30,000 volumes; 8
have 30,000 but less than 35,000; 4 have 35,000 but less than
40,000 volumes ; 3 have 40,000 but less than 45,000 volumes ;
5 have 50,000 volumes but less than 60,000; 3 have above 60,000,
one has above 80,000, and one above 90,000 volumes. Only
four, at the date of this report, pass the 100,000 line. Perhaps
the upper fourteen of these libraries have attracted more at-
tention than the other 442 put together because of their size
and the degree of perfection to which their organization and
administration have been carried, and because of the fame
of the colleges and universities with which they are connected.
Take another point of view. Which libraries, the small or
the great, have the largest number of students dependent upon
them? The four which passed the hundred thousand volumes
line in this year had together 3037 students, and the upper
fourteen, including these four, had 8120. The (253) institutions
with libraries containing less than 5000 volumes, had 45,641 stu-
dents. The (84) colleges having libraries of 5000 but under
10,000 volumes had 17,998 students; those (43) with libraries of
10,000 volumes but less than 15,000 has 12,031. In the colleges*
A STUDY OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES 415
(33) whose libraries contained 15,000 volumes but less than
25,000 there were 11,928 students; in those (27) whose libra-
ries contained 25,000 volumes but less than 50,000 there were
10,037 students. Thus it follows that about 8 per cent, of the
college students of the United States have access to college
libraries of more than 50,000 volumes. Another small section
of them, 9 per cent, have access to college libraries numbering
25,000 volumes but less than 50,000. Forty per cent, look to
libraries with less than 25,000 volumes but more than 5000.
Forty-three per cent have for their college libraries those that
contain less than 5000 volumes. I do not for a moment minify
the importance of the great college libraries, but manifestly
these small libraries of less than 25,000 volumes upon which
83 per cent, of the young men and women in this country who
are seeking a higher education are dependent, have an im-
portance that is not always accorded them.
The small college library has been characterized thus: "It
consists of from six to twenty thousand volumes. It is com-
posed in part of the libraries of deceased clergymen which
have been contributed to the institution in bulk. To these are
added the encyclopaedias and books of reference of the edition
before the last and a miscellaneous assortment of all the most
obvious books in the ordinary branches of science, literature,
and art. It is particularly rich in the 'books that no gentleman's
library should be without/ and which, perhaps for that reason,
are most often found on the tables of the second-hand dealers.
The ideas of those who use it are generally bounded, not by
the horizon of the subject which they are considering, but by
the literature which is accessible." Granting this, the fact re-
mains that these small college libraries are the only ones for
very many college students. It would seem that their problems
should be more studied, yet perhaps their greatest problem is
poverty; like Hannah Jane they have to "make two hundred
dollars to do the work of nine." Study may help them to
make a little go as far as possible, improved methods adapted
to small libraries may aid them to make the most of what
they have. The importance of the library as an inseparable
adjunct of college work may be emphasized and the necessity
of having books before showy buildings. There can be no
library without books, yet it has been said to me that it is vastly
easier to get endowments for bricks than for brains.
It would be interesting to search out the eminent men and
4r6 LODILLA AMBROSE
women who have had their training in these small colleges with
their smaller libraries. I think of one, bright, versatile, wield-
ing a wide influence. I have seen his college library, a scanty
collection crowded in an unassorted mass into a poorly lighted
and worse ventilated room. But he said to me : "When a stu-
dent at college I was one of the student assistants in the library.
I went through it, book by book, and made a sort of mental
catalogue of it for myself that has been of the greatest value
to me ever since."
While the few great libraries serve research purposes, the
many smaller ones promote the wide extension of education
in a manner impossible to the few. The two classes are not
antagonistic. What James Bryce has said regarding small col-
leges is easily applicable to their libraries. Admitting that the
time for more concentration has come, he says: "The European
observer conceives that his American friends may not duly real-
ize the services which these small colleges perform in the
rural districts of the country. They get hold of a multitude
of poor men, who might never resort to a distant place of
education. . . . They give the chance of rising in some in-
tellectual walk of life to many a strong and earnest nature who
might otherwise have remained an artisan or store-keeper, and
perhaps failed in those avocations. . . . This uncontrolled free-
dom of teaching and this multiplication of small institutions
have done for the country a work which a few State-controlled
universities might have failed to do. The higher learning is
in no danger."
As a college librarian I have been interested in the detailed
study of some scores of American college libraries as represented
in the official publications of the institutions to which they be-
long. This does not give absolute results, and silence on certain
matters does not always mean that they are disregarded in
the particular institution. But it is fair to assume that the
facts thought most important are mentioned. This study at
least shows tendencies and their comparative strength.
The object of college work has been defined as "the systematic
and liberal education of young men and women." How is the
college library related to this object? The independent utter-
ances of several widely separated institutions bear on this ques-
tion. One says : "It is becoming a factor of great importance
in the educational work of the college;" another, 'The library
A STUDY OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES 417
is upon the whole the most important building on the campus;"
again, "The efficiency of an institution for the higher education
is dependent upon its library; if this was ever in dispute it is
not now;" and another, "No one feature in the university equip-
ment is more useful or more pleasing and satisfying to stu-
dents." Even an institution whose library is open only seven
hours a week says: "It is a valuable adjunct to the regular
courses of study." The sentiment, "We try to get the students
to use the library as much as possible," is in pleasing contrast
to the ancient rule of Brown University, "Students shall come
to the library four at a time when sent for by the librarian, and
they shall not enter the library beyond the librarian's table on
penalty of threepence for every offence." Justin Winsor says:
"There should be no bar to the use of books but the rights
of others. . . It is with me a fundamental principle that books
should be used to the largest extent possible and with the
least trouble."
To be used appears to be recognized by many as the chief
end of college libraries. We may consider the preparation for
this use, the kinds of use, and aids to use.
No money, no books; no books, no library. Endowment is
an essential preparation for the use of a library. Out of about
170 colleges whose catalogues I have examined recently, in-
cluding all the larger institutions and many of the minor ones,
25 mention a library endowment, stating either the yearly in-
come or the amount of the fund; the incomes given vary from
two or three hundred dollars annually to tens of thousands,
the funds from £ single thousand to several hundred thousands.
A library that is to live and be used must have a suitable
abiding-place. A very common habitat of college libraries is a
room or two or three in one of the college buildings, more likely
than not in an upper story. Twenty-eight of these colleges
speak of having an independent library building, the stated cost
of these buildings ranging from $5500 to over $200,000, the
facilities afforded for library work varying in a similar ratio.
Many of these buildings claim to be fireproof ; some of them
are devoted entirely to library purposes, but in other cases
the library is compelled to divide its heritage with some art
gallery or museum. One college reports a library building
promised, another one in process of erection, a third has a
fund the income of which is accumulating for a, library building.
4i8 LODILLA AMBROSE
Many colleges do not specify the form of library govern-
ment. The library committees and councils described are va-
riously constituted. The Harvard library council consists of
the president, the librarian, and six other persons appointed
by the corporation with the consent of the overseers for terms
of three years. Another library council is composed of the
president, the librarian, one trustee, and four professors; two
others the same, omitting the trustee. One library committee
is appointed by the president and trustees. The library com-
mittees are made up generally of members of the faculty, the
president and the librarian being frequently included.
I suppose the ideal college librarian should have more wis-
dom than Solomon, more patience than Job, more meekness
than Moses. But how many colleges have librarians who hold
no other office in the institution, or whose chief duty is to
the library? About one- third of these that we are considering.
For the rest the librarianship is an attachment to some pro-
fessorship which should command the energy and best efforts
of the holder. There does not seem to be any marked pref-
erence for any one professorship in assigning this library re-
sponsibility. The chairs to which the librarianship is appended
in American colleges include nearly all the subjects ever taught
in them, singly and in widely differing combinations. One man
is professor of history, philosophy, and political science, and
librarian ; one combines mechanics, astronomy, chemistry and
the library; another is down to teach Greek, Hebrew, botany,
and penmanship, and be librarian; and so on. It seems plain
to me that a college library cannot be very efficient unless at
least one qualified person gives his or her entire time and
energies to its interests.
A prime requisite in a college library, where so much of
the reading is done by subjects, is good classification on the
shelves. Not many colleges give their classification ; some simply
state that the library is "classified," or "arranged by topics."
Of those who speak of it at all, the greater part say that they
have the Dewey system. One says, "Simple decimal classifica-
tion," and one, "The Dewey plan in its division under general
departments without the more minute subdivision." One follows
closely the arrangement of the departments of instruction.
Justin Winsor well says that a library without a good cata-
logue is a "mob of books." Many more specify concerning
A STUDY OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES 419
catalogues than do concerning classification. A very few have
printed catalogues, the rest card catalogues. And here they
differ again. Many say only "card catalogue" or "card index,"
others specify the "dictionary plan," "classed," "Dewey system,"
"author, title, and subject," or "authors and subjects." Several
make note of a catalogue in preparation or an old one being
rearranged.
What kind of books do these college libraries profess to
contain? They say, some of them, books "selected with spe-
cial reference to the needs of students;" books "bought under
the direction of the heads of the several college departments;"
books "intended to meet the needs of all departments of the
university, the daily needs of the students, and the needs of
the faculty and seminary students in investigation." Some
make particular mention of collections of reference-books. Some
confess to having very few of the books they most need and
plead for endowment
What kind of use is made of these libraries, or what arrange-
ments are made for their use? Generally the library is open to
all members of the institution, faculty and students, though I did
find one that had a library of 22,000 volumes, 6000 of which
had been "carefully selected for the use of students;" and
generally the use of the library is expected to be supplementary
to the class-room work. A dozen say that the library is open
to the public also under certain regulations. The hours of
opening, when specified, may be classified as follows: 80 hours
or m/ore per week, 2; 70 or more, 3; 60 or more, 7; 50 or
more, 5; 40 or more, 15; 30 or more, 8; 20 or more, 7; 10
or more, 5; less than 10, 5; "daily," 19; less than daily, 2;
evening hours, 12; vacation hours, 9. One library is open
"during recreation hours." Nearly all are closed on Sundays
and holidays. The few that arc open at all on Sunday either
have nothing but the reading-room open, or if the whole library
is open, it is for consultation only.
I have not noted any college whose library is not a circulat-
ing one for its faculty. The rnajqr part of those who give
any information on this subject state that students may draw
books for home use. Several large institutions limit students
to a reference use of the library, but these provide long library
hours. Harvard allows each student three books at a time,
which may be kept one month. Several allow three books at
420 LODILLA AMBROSE
once, but make the time two weeks with, the privilege of one
renewal; others permit two books at a time; the majority
make no definite statement on this point One college permits
a student to take a book out if he deposits the value o£ the
book. In a certain college a student may have only two books
a week; one of these must be from the religious department,
and these will only be given to him on presentation of a ticket
signed by one of his professors.
Access to the shelves is a more or less mooted question. As
I recollect the results of a study made several years ago, I
feel justified in saying that the practice has greatly increased
in college libraries in this time. Thirty now make a point of
saying that students are admitted to the book-shelves. Usually
this Is under restriction, but some say "free access" without
modifications. Some admit all students; more confine the privi-
lege to certain classes, as junior, senior, and graduate students,
or to advanced students to whom tickets of admission to the
alcoves have been issued. Some who do not allow students
in the book-stack place a collection of reference-books on open
shelves in the reading-room. Some comment on the practice:
"The books of a college library should be so arranged as to
allow the students and professors to handle them freely. Cata-
logues, whether printed or otherwise, however necessary and
accessible and however carefully and skilfully prepared, can
never in an institution of learning take the place of the books
themselves;" "It is thought that the resulting practical ac-
quaintance with books and bibliography is no small part of a
liberal education."
Following closely on the question of access to the shelves
come certain special arrangements for facilitating the use of
books, so that the special student and the special book may
get together as readily as possible. I refer to reserved books,
class-room libraries, department libraries, and seminary libra-
ries, all only different applications of the same principle. Where
the reserved-book plan is used, as it is by a few leading in-
stitutions, the professors select the books needed by their classes
for collateral reading, and they are placed on open shelves anc!
may be drawn only over night Not many books are lost, but
students sometimes sneak them out and keep them when they
are needed most. Class-room and department libraries are placed
in class-rooms or laboratories under the supervision of some
professor in the department, and are designed to be working
A STUDY OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES 421
libraries at hand for dally use. They are sometimes duplicates
of volumes in the main library, and sometimes are only bor-
rowed from it and are changed from time to time. Seminary
library has come to have a familiar sound, but the idea is
developed only in the larger institutions, where the seminary
library is arranged for advanced students taking research
courses. It has a room to itself with tables and chairs, where
the work is done and the seminary meetings held, with the
working authorities right at hand.
The reading-room where current literature is found is fre-
quently separate from the library proper, and is sometimes under
different management and maintained by the students them-
selves. Some institutions report society libraries, but they
seem generally to have been absorbed by the college library,
and to be now under the same administration. At least twenty-
five institutions situated in or near cities call attention to other
libraries than their own to which their students have access.
What aid is given in the use of the college library? The
machine is in place, but the college student, with rare excep-
tions, knows almost nothing about its use. Shall he be taught
systematically how to use it, or shall he be left to grope hap-
hazard— a very unscientific, uncollege-like proceeding? First
and always there must be personal work on the part of the
librarian and assistants, so lightening a student's first library
efforts that he will be inclined to come again; and when he
returns, helping him again; and so on indefinitely. But how-
ever faithfully done, this personal work is fragmentary. The
student does not so learn Latin or mathematics. If he is in
any sense a student he must use books other than his text-
books. Each professor, if he keeps the matter in mind, can
do much to assist the student in the use of the literature of
his own department. But this will be only partial and in-
cidental to the regular class-work in very many cases. There
is need for systematic instruction in bibliography and the use
of books, viewed from the librarian's standpoint and inspired
by the librarian's practical experience with students on these
lines. The student needs teaching about books and about
method in using them. I have found only nine institutions
that mention any instruction of this kind. At Amherst Col-
lege, "the librarian lectures to the different classes from time
to time on the use of the library and on general bibliography."
At Bowdoin College, "instruction in the use of the library is
422 LODILLA AMBROSE
given to undergraduates by the librarian." At Colgate Uni-
versity the statement is : "Lectures will be given by the librarian
on the true methods o£ using and reading books, and on the
subject of library classification. Elementary instruction will
also be given in library economy, with the purpose of preparing
students who may desire to undertake library work for entering
Library School at Albany or elsewhere." Among the courses
of instruction at the University of California, I find "The Use
of Books," with the following explanation: "The librarian de-
livers annually to the' incoming freshman class a lecture de-
scribing the university library, its contents, arrangement, and
catalogues. He points out the best books of reference, the
bibliographies, and in general the working tools most useful
to students. Illustrating by examples, he gives practical hints
as to the methods of using books and of reading, especially as
related to university studies." At Cornell University the libra-
rian has a lecture course of one hour a week for two terms of
the year on "Bibliography." It includes "introductory survey
of the historical development of the book, illustrated by ex-
amples of mss. and incunabula; explanation of book sizes and
notation ; systems of classification and cataloguing ; bibliographical
aids in the use of the library." Wellesley College offers an
elective course in bibliography of an hour a week throughout
the year. "It is practical in its nature. It aims to familiarize
the student with the best bibliographical works and the library
methods and catalogues, to teach the best method of reaching
the literature of a special subject, to furnish important biblio-
graphical lists likely to prove valuable in future study." Some
general library talks are also given. The Iowa State Agricul-
tural College offers some similar talks during the fall term
of the freshman year. At Johns Hopkins University the spe-
cial librarian of the historical department lectures on library
administration and history and literary methods. At the Uni-
versity of Michigan during the month of October the librarian
gives a "course of lectures designed to aid readers in the use
of the library and in gaining a knowledge of recent books. The
lectures do not count toward a degree." The lectures given
one hour a week during the second semester on "Historical,
Material and Intellectual Bibliography," do count toward
a degree. A full outline of this course was given in the
LIBRARY JOURNAL in 1886. (L. J, 11:289.)
A STUDY OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES 423
A few special items about these college libraries remain to
be noted. Several issue publications at regular intervals. About
thirty of them charge a library fee varying in amount from
one to six dollars per year; in one or two cases this is a
deposit required only of those students who use the library.
In one college there are book clubs among the students, and
the books which they purchase during the year are at its close
turned over to the college library. One college offers prizes
for systematic reading. Some Catholic institutions have stu-
dent library associations "intended to encourage useful reading
among students;" in one of them, at least, unauthorized books
found among students are liable to confiscation. Several colleges
print lists for collateral reading in connection with the statements
of the various courses. One announces a book reception by
which it hopes to secure additions to its library. One places
new books in a revolving case in the reading-room, and keeps
up an index to current events.
May I quote Carlyle? "Of the things which man can do
or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful,
and worthy are the things we call books," and that other as-
sertion of his, "The true university of these days is a collection
of books." Such books, I suppose he means, as Milton called
"The precious life-blood of a master-spirit." Surely Carlyle
believed in good college libraries.
FUNCTIONS OF A UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Tho he acknowledges all the normal functions of a
college library, Mr. Harry Lyman Kooprnan's interest is
in presenting his idea of a seldom recognized department
which he calls the "student's library." It recognizes the
extra-curriculum needs of the student, and encourages
the development of the reader as well as the student.
The "Linonian and Brothers" library at Yale is perhaps
the oldest department of this kind, and a similar one now
existing in the Smith College library is called a "brows-
ing room/' The paper called forth interesting discus-
sion when presented at Lake Placid Conference in 1894.
Mr. Koopman was born at Freeport, Maine in 1860.
He graduated from Colby College, from which he later
received the degree of Litt.D. He held several catalog-
ing positions before becoming librarian of Brown Uni-
versity, the position he now holds. He has published a
catalog of the library of George P. Marsh, a Historical
Catalog of Brown University, The "Booklover and his
Books," and several other titles. His poetry has been
highly commended by critics.
In the following paper I shall attempt to discuss the func-
tions, or kinds of service, fulfilled by a university library;
noticing at greatest length one function which is not yet rec-
ognized, and in regard to which I must appear in the character
rather of advocate than expositor; but which, I trust to show
you, represents an educational potency as vast as any that
has yet been drawn from the still unexhausted resources of
the library. In the limits of this paper the historical develop-
ment of these functions can only be hinted at. Suffice it to
say that they have all risen in response to the single demand
of use, that principle which I take to be the rule of all sound
library development. We all know how imperfectly it is still
426 HARRY LYMAN KOOPMAN
applied; in how few libraries the searching challenge of utility
is passed upon either the new books that come in or the old
books that burden the shelves, or any other o£ the library's
manifold problems. The demand of utility is simply a demand
for fitness, the principle according to which libraries as well
as vertebrates have been evolved.
What, now, are the functions that in the university library
have grown out of the original simple service of displaying
or lending books? A satisfactory university library of the
present day must provide:
1. Reference-books of a temporary character. These are
represented by the current numbers of periodicals and the va-
rious year-books and annual indexes.
2. Reference-books of a permanent character. These may
be divided into direct and indirect helps, or epitomes and bib-
liographies, more familiarly known as reference-books proper,
and catalogues; the former containing in condensed form the
information sought, the latter telling us where to find it. Under
the head of epitomes should be classed cyclopaedias, and the
various dictionaries, whether of language, literature, history,
dates, biography, geography (including atlases), classical lore,
theology, quotations, or synonyms. To these must be added
concordances and indexes. Bibliographies are general, like
library catalogues, or special, like catalogues of individual sub-
jects. The works of this class are often found in manuscript,
and represent almost the only department of intellectual activity
not yet subjugated by the printing-press.
3. Reserve books of a temporary character. These are
familiar to us from the reserve shelves of most college libra-
ries, but may perhaps best be illustrated by the collections in
the reading-room of the Harvard University library, where
books to the number of hundreds are reserved by the different
departments for periods varying from a week to a year or
more. These books are reserved in connection with the cur-
rent work of the classes, and have their own card-catalogue.
But even in the largest departments they fill only a few shelves,
or, at most, a case or two, often including several copies of
the same work. Under this head belongs also the temporary
display of new books.
4. Reserve books of a permanent character. These con-
stitute the department libraries, which form *so important a
FUNCTIONS OF A UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 427
feature of the modern university. They should contain all
books likely to be referred to with any frequency in the work
of the department. The size of the collection will, of course,
vary with the nature of the department. Five hundred vol-
umes might represent, I should think, a full-sized department
library in any of the exact sciences, while 5,000, or possibly
10,000 volumes, might be needed for a language department;
though, I confess, the latter number seems to me excessive.
Frequency of use should be the test of a book's fitness for
the collection, its importance otherwise being not in point. Books
ceasing to be frequently used should be returned to the main
library. For, the smaller a library is, the more useful it is,
provided it contains the books needed. A collection of 1,000
books in frequent use will be much less available if mixed
with 4,000 books never or seldom consulted. Unnecessary
duplication is certainly an evil, since it wastes both money and
space. But duplication has, nevertheless, a place in library man-
agement, which has hardly yet been appreciated.
A department library is, in my judgment, most satisfactorily
formed by duplication of appropriate portions of the university
library. In other words, a book gains its admission to the
department library by being in sufficient demand to make a
second copy of it desirable, the additional copy being placed for
convenience in the working-room of the department. This I
should take to be the rule, without insisting upon its Invariable
observance. To build up the department libraries at the ex-
pense of the university library is, of course, to deprive the lat-
ter of its most valuable reference-books on every subject. More-
over, there are many books which are of importance to several
departments, and must either be duplicated in all or kept in the
main library.
There is a further consideration that in practice will be
found to weigh heavily against the over-enlargement of de-
partment libraries; and this is the fact that beyond a certain
point they can no longer run themselves, or be managed with
little or no extra effort on the part of the professor in charge;
but, in order to be manageable, require the services of a special
attendant or librarian. Even with this functionary I doubt
if the plan would be a success, because the enlargement would
involve the dilution of much-used with little-used books, which,
as already pointed out, is simply to destroy the character of
428 HARRY LYMAN KOOPMAN
handiness and ready consultation that, next to its convenience
of situation, is the department library's chief excuse for being.
5. The great store-house of the library, corresponding to
the "stack" at Harvard, where all but the reference and tem-
porarily-reserved books should be found. It is the building-up
and management of this library that forms the chief task of
the librarian and his directors. Around this collection cluster
the great problems of library administration, such as that of
selecting from current publications the books of permanent
value and only these, with the parallel task of supplying the
library's deficiencies of this character in respect to past litera-
ture; such, again, as the admission of the whole body of the
students to the shelves (a question which, as our libraries in-
crease, will, in my opinion, have more and more to be answered
in the ne^tive, and that for two purely mechanical reasons,
lack of standing-room, and confusion caused by disarrange-
ment) ; such a problem also as the disposal ol wholly superseded
books, which make up from one to seven-tenths of every library,
a problem which can be solved in one of only two ways, en-
largement of the building, or "weeding out" of the books.
6. "The student's library;" or, a library for general culture
specially designed for undergraduates. Such a library, so far
as I know, does not exist; but I think of four libraries that
by their defects as well as their excellencies may serve to in-
dicate what such a collection should be.
It is still a source of gratification -to me that my start in
the scholarly use of books was made amid such favorable sur-
roundings as those of the library of Colby University. When
I entered college in 1876 the books under Professor Hall's
.charge numbered about 18,000, of which the less-used half was
relegated to the second floor, leaving on the first floor one of
the best working libraries for student use that I have ever
had the pleasure of seeing. This is not merely my under-
graduate opinion. I have visited the library twice after intervals
of work in great reference libraries, and each time the impres-
sion was only deepened. The elements which go to make up
the excellence of this little collection are, in brief, the following:
convenient size, not too great to prevent the studious students'
acquiring a real knowledge of the library's contents; good selec-
tion of books with reference to mere undergraduate work, and
within the scanty means at the librarian's disposal; entire ac~
FUNCTIONS OF A UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 429
cessibility, convenient arrangement, and a satisfactory cata-
logue; above all, a skilled and helpful librarian. The faults
are those of poverty, and such as a scholar will find in the
best of "student's libraries," when he attempts to use them
in research.
For, such a collection, even for undergraduate work in a
progressive institution, needs to be backed up by a genuine
"scholars' library" of ten times its size. This is the more
favorable situation of the Linonian and Brothers' Library of
Yale University, which is a separate collection of some 30,000
volumes adjoining the main library, and having its own libra-
rian, hours of opening, and general administration. This library
is supported by a special tax on the undergraduates, its growth
being about 1,000 volumes a year. The history of the col-
lection is an interesting one, as the library represents the
fusion of the libraries of the two public societies, the Linonian
and the Brothers in Unity, which, after about 100 years of
usefulness, disbanded in 1871. Such libraries were found dur-
ing this period in most American colleges, and have usually
either been scattered or turned into the college library.
At Yale, it was the happier fate of two such libraries to
be preserved and continued as one. The value of this col-
lection to the students of Yale it would be hard to over-
estimate. But the library is much larger than is necessary for
its object, a fault which is due to the mistake of keeping all
its old books after they have been superseded; and, perhaps
also, to a not sufficiently rigid selection in purchasing. But the
Linonian and Brothers' Library comes, after all, nearer than
any other that I know to what I have in mind for a "student's
library." It has its own librarian and management, it is self-
supporting, and is kept up to date. All that is needed to im-
prove the collection as it now stands would be the exclusion
of disused and unworthy books, and perhaps a more careful
system of additions; together with such an improved catalogue
as I shall describe later.
A third library, and one with which I am personally ac-
quainted, is the Phoenix collection in the Columbia College Li-
brary, which numbers about seven thousand volumes. The col-
lection contains many choice editions, and much elegant bind-
ing; but it represents too many out-of-the-way subjects and is
too uneven for an ideal "students' library;" but its size is
430 HARRY LYMAN KOOPMAN
not too great for familiarity, and it adds the educative value
of good editions.
The fourth library, which I may claim to know well, is the
private library of the scholar and diplomat, George P. Marsh,
now in the possession of the University of Vermont. This
collection contains 12,500 volumes, gathered for purposes of self-
culture by one of our noblest specimens of the cultivated Ameri-
can; and therefore is, and for years will remain, a source of
inspiration and culture to the students within reach of its
privileges. But for their purposes the collection includes too
many books in foreign languages, and is too exhaustive in special
subjects, like physical geography and philology. The library
enjoys a beautiful setting, a high and well-lighted room of its
own, finished in oak, with an immense stone fire-place, opposite
which is a large window looking out on the Green Mountains.
The collection, however, is not intended to be increased, and,
while it has been elaborately catalogued, it is not administered
as a student's library of general culture, though it has excellent
material for the foundation of orce.
But before I present more definitely my conception of an
ideal "student's library," let me ask you first to consider some
of the reasons why such a library is desirable in a modern
university. There is first the general reason of the desirability
of culture-, and the fitness of such a library to promote it.
But there are also three special reasons. One is the fact that
the modern family library has by no means the standard char-
acter possessed by that of two generations ago. Any dealer
in second-hand books will confirm this statement. As a result
of this condition the boy of to-day conies to college with little
of that educative experience of having "tumbled about in a
library/' which Dr. Holmes sets so much store by. Another
reason is that the size of the university library, even if it
does not forbid his access to the shelves, sufficiently bewilders
the student to prevent him from picking out the books he needs
for personal culture. Where access to the shelves is denied,
the difficulty of getting at books by means of the catalogue at
once restricts the student's use of the library to reading for
aimusement or for production.
The result is that a man can go through college and lake
high rank, and yet enter the world a thoroughly uncultivated
man. I do not say that he might not do this with the best
of all "student's libraries" within reach; but he would not have
FUNCTIONS OF A UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 431
the same excuse. In fact, while we furnish opportunity for
special research to the graduate or university student in the
modern sense, if we provide no corresponding privilege for the
undergraduate or college student, we are discriminating harshly
against the college. Now, if those are right who hold that
the two functions of higher education are best performed in
concert, our institutions must beware lest, by a neglect of the
college library as opposed to that of the university, they starve
out the corresponding function of the institution itself.
The third of the special reasons for the "student's library"
is found in the character of the modern university curriculum ;
which, to parody Shakespeare's Csesar, tells us rather what is
to be learned than what we learn. In our larger institutions
the elective studies offered are so numerous, that the most in-
dustrious student finds a four years' course too short for more
than a small fraction of them. In consequence of this, I
prophesy that, while the courses chosen by different students
will vary greatly, the wiser student will seek thoroughness
rather than quantity; will endeavor to gain at least the foun-
dation of knowledge in what seem to him the most important
subjects, and will relegate the rest to systematic general reading.
The character of the library in question will be determined
at every point by adaptation to its purpose ; and that purpose we
have taken to be the supply of books for the furtherance of
general culture in undergraduates.
President Eliot has repeatedly asserted that he knows of no
intellectual qualification essential to a lady or gentleman except
the ability to use the mother-tongue correctly. The "student's
library" will do much, will do more than a college course gen-
erally accomplishes, if it ensures this attainment. But it must
obviously attempt more than this. Let us take a hint from the
German name for cyclopedias, "dictionaries of conversation,"
and set as the lower limit of our endeavor such intellectual
furnishing as shall put the student at his ease in intelligent
company, an attainment conspicuously greater than is achieved to-
day by the average Bachelor of Arts,
If there is such a thing as a college's duty to itself, or a
students duty to his college, it seems to me that the two obli-
gations should combine to prevent any student from getting
through college without an intelligent, all-round interest in the
world he lives in, together with some satisfaction to that interest
I am not sure that the 'extent of our modern elective system has
432 HARRY LYMAN KOOPMAN
not somewhere near its sources a thought of this kind. But the
elective system, so far as the individual student is concerned,
breaks down by its own weight. What I offer has, it seems to
me, at least the merit of being practicable, and may deserve con-
sideration as complementing the inevitable deficiences of the
elective system. Even if the duty of the college to itself and the
duty of the student to the college are ignored, it seems to me
that the college owes it to the student to provide him the pos-
sibility of such training, whether or not he chooses to avail him-
self of it.
But is not the standard we have set absurdly too low? Is
it not rather the obligation of the university to provide for the
student such a fuller degree of culture as involves an intellec-
tual rapport with the true and the fine in human attainment as
recorded and expressed in the world's masterpieces of science
and art? The masterpieces of the world's science and art:
this phrase furnishes the outline we have been seeking for our
library; or, to employ the familiar, but practical and suggestive,
distinction of De Quincey, the literature of knowledge and the
literature of power should be made accessible to the student
with such fullness and in such form as his capacities determine.
The fittest size for such a library could be decided only by
trial Perhaps the most natural suggestion would be 10,000
volumes as the best number for experiment, though the actual
number of volumes might be increased by additional copies of
the works most in demand. Beginning with the literature of
knowledge, the student should find in this library information,
in its most authoritative form, in regard to the world of matter
and of men, in which his lot has been cast.
First, there should be at his disposal whatever is known of
the earth itself, with its two great divisions of life, and the in-
organic basis of that life, all in their past no less than in theit
present conditions. In the course of this study he would find more
than one link to bind him to the orbs of day and night that
once seemed so remote from all connection with himself. Se-
lecting for special study the highest form of life, his own
species, he would find in the many-sidedness of this subject, in
its present and its past history, the larger part of all the books
before him. He would be confronted by the record of man on
the material side, in all that is implied by the science of medi-
cine, with an inclusion of higher elements in anthropology and
ethnology. Taking a still higher plane of observation he would
FUNCTIONS OF A UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 433
have unfolded to him man's social life, on the destructive side,
in whatever pertains to war and its organized agencies, and on
its constructive side, in the slow development of that which is
still so far from maturity, human civilization. Passing to the
literature of power, the student would find as elements of this
civilization the aesthetic unfolding of the race, with its results
in art and literature; and lastly, the parallel if not higher de-
velopment of humanity represented by the words of the world's
masters in philosophy, ethics, and religion.
Even the sight of these books in plainly-marked arrangement
would be in itself no slight education; for it must not be for-
gotten that the ordinary student, especially in our larger col-
leges, never has an opportunity to see such a conspectus o£
human knowledge, and might even greet as a novelty the idea
of a classification of the sciences.
Viewed from the librarian's position rather than from that
of the student or teacher, this means the ten thousand best
books for readers of the degree of intelligence represented by
the college student. But there are several matters that need to
he further specified; they are, to be sure, mainly concerned with
the material side of the enterprise, but are of sufficient impor-
tance to make the difference between success and failure.
First, the building. If the collection is so fortunate as to
possess a room of its own, and is not perforce consigned to
a corner of the university library, I should like to imagine for
it a room high enough for easy ventilation, and sufficiently large
to contain the 10,000 volumes of the library on wall-shelves,
the highest of which should not be above the reach of a person
of middle height. Such a room might most advantageously be
lighted from above, and its generous floor space should be pro-
vided with large and small tables and convenient chairs for
readers. Here should be the desk of the librarian in charge,
with a case for his most-used reference books.
In a well-lighted spot would be found the second matter
of importance, the catalogue, which should differ from all ex-
isting catalogues by giving1 after the title of every work the
reason for its presence in the library; indicating, if the work
be one of pure literature, the author's school and relative stand-
ing; and, if a work of information, the relation of the work
to the subject, with reference in either case, where necessary,
to the character of the edition. In other words, the whole
catalogue should be an annotated bibliography. This plan would
434 HARRY LYMAN KOOPMAN
apply within the scope of the library, and with some extension,
the "evaluation of literature" so strongly advocated in catalogue-
making by Mr, George lies. In these notes commendation would
be out of place, because the admission of the book to the library
would be praise enough; but they should give in terse form
the author's attitude toward his subject, and his weak points
should be indicated, with references in important cases to his
opponents and defenders.
Thirdly, as to the books themselves, perhaps their general
character has been sufficiently indicated. But it should always
be remembered that the collection is a living one, new tissues
constantly replacing those that are worn out. Whenever a book
appears on an important subject, new or old, it would be added,
only to be displaced like all the rest when superceded; so that
the library would always represent the world's best books for
the intellectual latitude and longitude of the college student.
This should be equivalent to saying the best ten thousand books
for the intelligent English reader not a specialist on any sub-
ject. It would be the privilege of the library to include a few
of the first-class periodicals of the English world, like the
Atlantic Monthly and the Nation in our own country, and the
Nineteenth Century and Academy in England.
The librarian would also have the grim pleasure of barring
out every made-to-order book, the mere response to market
demand, literary slop-work; likewise every cheap and un-
worthy reprint or other edition of books to be had in reputable
shape. Of course, if the reprint were better than the original,
it would be preferred. Editions de luxe would be excluded, as
they emphasize mere externals, and do not represent for the
purposes of such a collection a value corresponding to their
cost But the library should certainly offer an object-lesson in
sound book-making. No wood-pulp-paper should be admitted
if avoidable, and if ever it had to be accepted, the catalogue
should call attention to the cheat. The library would not at-
tempt to make a display of fine bindings. Books issued in cloth
binding should be so acquired as thus clad most distinctively:
but whenever re-binding becomes necessary an opportunity would
arise for displaying sound and durable bookbinding.
What would be the cost of such a collection? Perhaps ten
or fifteen thousand dollars; with an annual requirement, for
purchase and binding, of from five hundred to a thousand
FUNCTIONS OF A UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 435
dollars. A force of at least two persons would be required to
run the library, as it would need to be open from eight in the
morning until ten at night. The duties of the librarian would "be
to supplement his catalogue in every possible way, not neces-
sarily confining his advice within the limits of his own collec-
tion. He should be the university's professor of books and
reading, and should lecture to the students collectively as well
as give personal advice. It might also be his province to offer
an advanced course in bibliography, which would draw on the
resources of the university library; but for his more primary
lectures on the use of books the student's library would suffice,
forming his own "department library/'
As I think of the work of such a librarian, I do not find it
easy to overrate, nay, rather, difficult adequately to estimate,
the educational importance of such a position. Including all
that the old college librarian might have done, but never did, it
supplements the almost purely administrative duties of the
modern university librarian with a service, which, I say frankly,
I do not believe the great universities can afford to leave un-
done. There will always be men whom the work of direction
and management, without participation in the literary side of the
librarianship, will attract; and let us trust that they may be
found in number and ability sufficient to the need of them.
But another quality, which we may call the spirit and power
of helpfulness, is required for the successful working of a
'"student's library;" and I am not sure that this gift, when
found in conjunction with the requisite training is not an
even rarer occurrence than the former. I am sure, at least,
that if the "student's librarian" fills a position humbler in the
eyes of the world than the university librarian, or the regular
professor, as a wielder of power over future generations he
need fear no rivalry from the occupant of any chair— or throne.
NOTE. — The writer is pleased to add that the discussion
following his paper called out the statements that the reading-
room of the Cornell University library contains a collection
corresponding in almost every particular with that here out-
lined; and that the new reading-room of the Harvard Univer-
sity library will contain a similar "student's library;" while
much the same idea is to be carried out at Columbia; in that,
had the presentation of the paper been delayed, the suggestions
it offers must needs have assumed the form of history. The
writer would also remark that the additional function o£ a
436 HARRY LYMAN KOOPMAN
university library specified by Mr. Austin of Cornell, namely,
that of giving personal instruction to all the students in the
use of reference books and catalogues, was in his own mind
as one of the regular functions of the "student's librarian;"
while he would express his obligations to Mr. Tillinghast of
Harvard, for reminding him that he had failed to emphasize
the important service of the "student's library" as a stimulus
and guide to the students in the formation of their own private
libraries.
SPECIAL LIBRARIES
In July, 1909 representatives of various special types
of libraries, public utilities, legislative, technical, com-
mercial, etc., met at the Bretton Woods Conference of
the A. L. A. and organized a Special Libraries Associa-
tion. Previous to this time very little had been written
concerning these specialized phases of library work. Col-
lege, medical and scientific libraries had been surveyed
in the special report of 1876, but the majority of libraries
interested in this association were the product of the
twentieth century. Much of the material included in
this section is due to the activity of this association.
The opening general article is followed by articles
on a half dozen selected libraries illustrative of their
types.
DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL LIBRARIES
As an introduction to this group of articles, I in-
clude a paper read at the first annual meeting of the
Special Libraries Association in 1909. It defines the
field entered by the association as specifically as a field
consisting of so diverse parts may be defined. Robert
Harvey VVhitten, the author, was librarian of the New
York Public Service Commission. Dr. Whitten was born
at South Bend, Indiana, in 1873. He graduated from
the University of Michigan, studied law at Columbia and
political science at Chicago University. Hie was legis-
lative reference librarian of the New York State Library,
1898-1907 and librarian-statistician of the New York
Public Service Commission in 1907-1914. Since then
he has been connected with city-planning in New York
City and in Cleveland. He is author of several books in
the field of city administration.
Perhaps the best way to begin a discussion of the develop-
ment of the special library is to state briefly my conception of
what is involved in the term "special" library. Many libraries
have special collections on various subjects, and there exist in
various places collections of books that are called libraries of
this or of that. But these do not necessarily come within the
scope of the term "special" library as I am here using it. By
"special" library I mean an up-to-date working1 collection with
a "special" librarian in charge; a collection so complete and
well organized that it becomes an efficient tool in the daily work
of those for whose use it is designed.
The purchase of a lot of books on a particular subject does
not make a special library. The first essential of a special
library is a special librarian. Without the librarian the library
is dead. The special librarian is needed to put life into the
collection and make of it a vital, growing, working force. This
is the part of the problem that is most frequently neglected.
440 ROBERT HARVEY WRITTEN
Books are purchased and perhaps cataloged and a library is
said to have come into existence. This may be literally true,
but the important question is as to whether the new library
is dead or alive, and this depends chiefly on whether it has been
placed permanently in charge of an efficient librarian. The li-
brarian of the special library must take an intelligent, active
interest in the problems to which his special collection relates.
He must read and study many and know the contents of more
of the books in his charge. He must look at each problem from
the view point of the investigator and collect in advance the
data from every source that will be wanted for its solution.
A live working collection of material will thus be brought to-
gether.
The constant use of the book as a tool in the daily work
of the world will be the outcome of the special library move-
ment. The special business or office library corresponds some-
what in aim and scope to that of a handbook, such as the
engineer's handbook. The handbook aims to serve the pur-
pose of a tool for daily use. The special working collection has
a similar aim. Each book, pamphlet and article in the collection
corresponds to a page in the handbook. Each should have a
very definite part to play. While not exhaustive, the collection
should be sufficiently complete to answer the customary demands
upon it.
The development of the special library is somewhat analogous
to the development of the special school in education. The
college of general learning was at one time predominant, but
the need was felt for special training and special schools in
law, medicine, engineering, etc. Special colleges and schools
have been established to meet these needs. The great university
of to-day is not a single school, but a cluster of schools around
the central school. A great university now has separate
schools of law, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary
medicine, mechanical, civil and electrical engineering, agri-
culture, forestry, pedagogy, journalism, library economy, com-
merce, etc. The number is steadily growing. I look to see a
somewhat similar development in "the library world. In the
great library of the future the general collection will be used
primarily to supplement the special libraries clustered about
it. We realize that mere greatness does not constitute a great
library. In practical usefulness the small, carefully selected and
DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL LIBRARIES 441
organized collection is much more valuable than a large but
imperfectly organized collection.
In discussing library co-operation at the recent Bretton
Woods conference of the American Library Association, the
most helpful suggestions were in the direction of specialization.
Recognizing that no one library can possibly adequately cover
the entire field, it was suggested again and again that each library
should attempt to specialize within some particular field. By
thus specializing they will be able to co-operate in the most
efficient manner. By thus specializing and by developing within
each great library special collections the library will be able to
perform much more effectively its important task of so organiz-
ing the vast amount of printed material that it can be used in
the every day work of the world. We are extremely rich in
books, pamphlets and especially periodicals containing valuable
information on every conceivable subject, but how seldom is
this information available for use in connection with current
problems of industry, commerce, finance or government The
material must be so organized that it can be used by busy men
in the settlement of the problem that must be decided this day
or hour — by the lawyer preparing his brief, the physician treating
a case, the legislator drafting a bill, the engineer or architect
preparing a plan, the editor writing an editorial, the business
man making an investment. Only by the systematic specializa-
tion of existing libraries and by the establishment of many
special and office or business libraries can this be brought about
I believe that before long our great public libraries will not only
have as at present numerous branch libraries of general litera-
ture, but will have branch libraries of municipal affairs, branch
law, medical and engineering libraries and special commercial
and business libraries of various kinds.
One of the best examples of specialization in library work
is the development of the Legislative Reference library. This
movement was started in 1890 by the establishment of the
position of Legislative Reference librarian in the New York
State Library. The State Library has a large general reference
collection, organized and classified with reference to general
uses. In order to make this material practically available in the
work of legislation, it was found necessary first to secure a
librarian with special training in economics, government and
law, and second to collect, arrange and index material with
442 ROBERT HARVEY WHITTEN
special reference to problems of legislation. In 1906 the success
of State Legislative Reference libraries led to the creation in
Baltimore of a similar library for the city government. There
is need for a special library of municipal affairs in every large
city, either as a branch of the general public library system or as
a separate department of the city government. A number of
the national departments at Washington have established special
office libraries. In the leading states of Europe the large gov-
ernment departments usually have quite a large office library.
Among the departments of our state governments the Public
Service Commission of New York City is the first to establish
a complete working collection of this kind.
To meet the needs of the lawyer and physician special li-
braries of law and medicine have been established. The de-
velopment of the engineering profession has brought with it
the demand for special libraries of engineering. Large engineer-
ing firms have found the establishment of an efficient office li-
brary indispensable to their business. The great insurance in-
terests have found special insurance libraries of practical value.
Certain civic and commercial associations have demonstrated
the value of a working office collection of material relating to
the problems in which they are interested. Some of the large
banking firms are making the office library an integral part of
their equipment. A few large manufacturers have realized the
practical value of an office library. The use of the office library
in business has only just begun. I am confident that we will
witness a remarkable development of business libraries. The
time is not far distant when no great office building will be
complete without a reference collection of books, directories
and manuals and when most great engineering, industrial, com-
mercial and financial firms will consider an efficient office library
an indispensable part of their equipment.
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES
Medical librarians have their own association, which
meets with the American Medical Association. It has
not been affiliated with the American Library Associa-
tion, and very little is found in library literature about
this field.
The article included was written by Dr. John Shaw
Billings, then assistant surgeon in the U.S. army and
librarian of the Surgeon-General's office in Washington.
It surveys the important collections in the chief cities
and describes in some detail the workings of the library
of the Surgeon-General's office, the most important activ-
ity of which is the cataloging and indexing of their
large collection.
A sketch of Dr. Billings is in Volume 3.
It is proposed in the following sketch to give some account
of the resources available to the medical scholar and writer in
the United States in the way of libraries which have been
formed with reference to his special wants, and to make some
remarks on the formation and care of such collections.
Comparatively few persons have any idea of the amount of
medical literature in existence, or of its proper use and true
value, and the result is that the same ground is traversed over
and over again. Cases "are reported as unique and inexplicable
which, when compared with accounts of others buried in obscure
periodicals or collections of observations, fall into their proper
place and both receive and give explanation. Old theories and
hypotheses, evolved from the depths of the inner consciousness
of men too zealous or too indolent to undergo the labor of
examining the works of their predecessors, re-appear, and are
re-exploded with the regular periodicity of organic life ; and
even when literary research is attempted, it is too often either
for controversial purposes, to serve the ends of prejudiced criti-
cism, or to support a charge of plagiarism, or else for the
444 JOHN SHAW BILLINGS
purpose of obtaining a goodly array of footnotes, which shall
imply that the subject is exhausted, and give a flavor of erudi-
tion to the work. This state of things is by no means peculiar to
medicine, but its literature is certainly an excellent illustration of
the maxim "The thing which has been is that which shall be, and
there is no new thing under the sun."
The record of the researches, experiences, and speculations
relating to medical science during the last four hundred years
is contained in between two and three hundred thousand volumes
and pamphlets; and while the immense majority of these have
little or nothing of what we call "practical value," yet there is
no one of them which would not be called for by some inquirer
if he knew of its existence.
Hence, it is desirable, in this branch of literature, as in
others, that in each country there should be at least one collec-
tion embracing everything that is too costly, too ephemeral, or
of too little interest to be obtained and preserved in private
libraries.
When the great work of Mr. Caxton, the History of Human
Error, is written, the medical section wrill be among the most
instructive and important, and also that for which it will be
most difficult to obtain the data.
There are a number of valuable private medical libraries
in this country of from four to ten thousand volumes each.
Having been collected for the most part with reference to
some special subject or department, they are the more valuable
on that account. The majority of the medical schools also have
libraries of greater or less value to the student.
The collections relating to medicine and the cognate sciences,
which are available to the public and are of sufficient interest
to require notice in this connection, are those of Boston, Phil-
adelphia, New York, Cincinnati, and Washington. No one of
these indeed approaches completeness, but each supplements the
other to such an extent that it seldom happens that biblio-
graphical inquiries cannot be answered by referring to them
in succession.
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN BOSTON
The principal medical collection in Boston is that of the
Boston Public Library, which now comprises about n,ooo vol-
umes, for the most part standard works and periodicals, the
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES 445
latter containing files of the principal American and foreign
publications. There is no separate printed catalogue of the
medical section nor of any of the medical libraries of Boston,
which fact much impairs their practical usefulness.
The Boston Athenaeum has about 5,000 volumes of med-
ical works. The Boston Society for Medical Improvement has
1,000 volumes of bound periodicals. The Treadwell Medical
Library at the Massachusetts General Hospital contains about
3,542 volumes. Harvard University Library, including the li-
brary of the medical school, has between 5,ooo and 6,000 vol-
umes of medicine, including some of much rarity and value.
A collection which gives promise of much usefulness is that
of the Boston Medical Library Association, which, although
only about a year old, already contains about 3,000 volumes and
receives the most important medical periodicals.
If the resources of Boston and vicinity in the way of med-
ical literature available to the student could be shown by a good
catalogue indicating where each of the several works may be
found, the practical working value of the collections would be
greatly enhanced. The difficulties in the way of accomplishing
such a desirable result, although great, do not appear to be at
all insuperable, and might be readily overcome by the conjoint
action of the medical societies and of the libraries interested.
The same remarks will apply to the medical collections of New
York and Philadelphia.
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN NEW YORK
The library of the New York Hospital is the oldest and
largest collection in the city, and now contains about 10,000 vol-
umes. It is well housed in a building which although not fire
proof is comparatively so. The books are conveniently arranged,
and there is room for twice the present number. It receives
about 100 current periodicals, but with this exception does not
contain much recent literature. An alphabetical catalogue of
authors was published in 1845 ; three supplementary catalogues
have since been printed, and a fourth is now in the press.
The one published in 1865 is a list of the donation of Dr. John
Watson, consisting of 481 volumes of rare and valuable books.
This library is for consultation and reference only, as no books
are loaned, and is open daily, except Sunday, from 9 a. m. to
10 p. m.
The collection of the New York Medical Library and Journal
Association now contains about 3,500 volumes, and Is mainly
446 JOHN SHAW BILLINGS
valuable for its collection of periodical literature. It receives
about 95 current journals. No catalogue of this collection has
been printed.
The Mott Memorial Library is free and numbers 4,700 vol-
umes.1
The Academy of Medicine of New York City has recently
taken steps to purchase a building, with the intention of forming
a library which shall meet the requirements of so important
a medical centre as New York, and valuable aid to this end
from private collections is promised, notably from the library
of Dr. S. S. Purple, which is remarkably complete in American
medical periodicals and in early American medical literature. A
large, well appointed, and well sustained medical library is much
needed in the city of New York, and it is to be hoped that the
effort referred to will be crowned with success. The library at
present numbers 3,000 volumes.2
1 This library was founded by the widow of the eminent surgeon,
Valentine Mott, M.B., and is free for consultation and study to medical
students and members of the profession. Additions to the collection are
made annually by Mrs. Mott and her son; the latter manages its affairs.
It has no permanent fund for its increase. — EDITORS.
2 The Medico-Legal Society of New York, organized in November, 1872,
began in 1873 the formation of a special library. The following is taken
from a circular published by the president of the society in October, 1875:
"The Medico-Legal Society of New York has voluntarily assumed the
labor of organizing and maintaining a complete library of all accessible
work upon medical jurisprudence — especially in the English, French, and
German tongues.
"There is not at the present time any notable collection of such works
in the United States. The great law libraries in the city and State of
New York, and indeed in the United States, have only a few standard
works of this character, and there is no reason to suppose any change
is likely to occur presently in this regard. The medical libraries of the
nation are nearly as poor as are the law libraries in works upon medical
jurisprudence.
"The society, by_ a general resolution unanimously adopted, voluntarily
assumed the obligation on the_ part of each of its members of contributing
one volume per annum to this library. A membership, which has grown
from a small list to upwards of four hundred in three years, and which
bids fair to be the strongest, numerically, of any of the kindred societies,
makes this means alone likely, in time, to furnish a collection of great
value. Liberal contributions of money have also been made by indi-
vidual members, which have been invested in volumes, obtained by cor-
respondence with all the dealers and most of the librarians of such works
throughout the world.
"A catalogue of the names of all works ever published on these sub-
jects is in course of preparation by members of the society, and is now
far advanced towards completion."
The annual reports of the society show that up to November, 1875,
the contributions to the library had been 390 bound volumes, 121 pam.*
phlets, besides $498 for the purchase of books. — EDITORS. '
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES 447
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN PHILADELPHIA
The medical libraries of Philadelphia are large and valuable,
and an interesting account of their history and condition is
given by Dr. Richard Dunglison.1
The library of the College of Physicians has received large
additions within the last few years, and is now the most valuable
working collection in the country, with the exception of that
in "Washington. It numbers more than 19,000 volumes, receives
about 80 current journals, and is rich in the early medical litera-
ture of this country. It is a reference and consultation library
to the public, and loans books to the members of the college.
It is much to be regretted that it has no printed catalogue nor
a catalogue of subjects in any form. It has about 5,ooo volumes
of medical journals.
The Library of the Pennsylvania Hospital, numbering 12,500
volumes, is the oldest medical collection in this country, having
been begun in 1763. The last printed catalogue, issued in 1857,
is a classed catalogue with an index of authors, on the plan of
the catalogue of the Library of the Medical Society of Edin-
burgh, and is a valuable work for reference, which should be
in every public medical library. A supplement to it was issued
in 1867.
According to Dr. Dunglison, there is a remarkable absence
of duplication between this collection and that of the College
of Physicians, and together they well represent the early med-
ical literature of this country, especially of Philadelphia im-
prints.
Since the Medical Department of the University of Penn-
sylvania has occupied its new buildings in West Philadelphia,
a valuable foundation for a medical library, consisting of about
3,000 volumes, has been presented to it by Dr. Alfred Stille,
provost of the university;*
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN CINCINNATI
In Cincinnati there is a small but valuable collection of med-
ical books at the City Hospital. The Mussey Medical and
1 Philadelphia Medical Times. Reprinted, 46 pp. 8°. Philadelphia:
J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1871.
2 This library is thus characterized by the generous donor:
"The collection comprises upwards of 3,000 volumes, including a con-
siderable number of pamphlets. The bulk of the library consists of Ameri-
can, English, French, and German periodicals. The other works are in
English, French, and German, and are chiefly medical as distinguished
from surgical," — EDITORS.
448 JOHN SHAW BILLINGS
Scientific Library contains about 4,000 volumes and 2,000 pam-
phlets and is at present a special deposit in the Cincinnati
Public Library.
MEDICAL LIBRARY IN WASHINGTON
The Library of the Surgeon-General's Office is deposited in
the Army Medical Museum at Washington, but may be con-
sidered as the medical section of the Congressional, or National
Library, and is managed and catalogued in substantially the
same manner as that collection. It now numbers about 40,000
volumes and 40,000 pamphlets, or, to state it in another form,
about 70,000 titles. The library is intended to cover the entire
field of medical and surgical literature, and is now an excellent
foundation for a national medical library that shall be worthy
of the name, and put the writers and teachers of this country
on an equality with those of Europe so far as accessibility to
the literature of the subject is concerned.
It has been formed within the last twelve years, and is of
course too young to contain many of the incunabula or the
books noted as rare and very rare, which are the delight of the
bibliomaniac; nor, indeed, has any special effort been made to
obtain such. Yet there are few of the ancient authors whose
works it does not possess, although not always in the most de-
sirable editions. It is comparatively full in American, English,
French and German medical literature of the present century,
and in works relating to surgery, pathological anatomy, and
hygiene. Of the early medical literature of this country, that is,
prior to 1800, it has but little. It possesses a few valuable
manuscripts, the oldest of which is a fine copy of the Lilium
Medicinse of Bernard de Gordon, dated I34Q.1
1 There are libraries belonging to several schools in which, the Eclectic
and Homeopathic theories of medicine are taught, the only one of the
former reported being that of Bennett Medical College at Chicago, con-
taining 500 volumes; and the largest of the latter class that of the Hahne-
mann Medical College at Philadelphia, which numbers 2,000 volumes. The
American periodical literature of neither of these schools is extensive. The
following statement is from the^pen^of the dean of the faculty of jthe
Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, also editor of the Eclectic Medical
Journal. ^ He thus sketches the history of the library of the institute:
"Beginning Jn 1845, it was deemed an important object to secure a
good medical library of books, both new and old, and as a nucleus of
such, a private library was purchased, at a cost of $1,500. It was a
singular collection of books, both old and rare, and yet, with a few ex-
ceptions, it was wholly worthless for the uses of the medical student The
antiquary who desired to unearth old theories and crude methods of treat-
ment would have been delighted with it. To this were added, from time
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES 449
CATALOGUING AND INDEXING
For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the
practical workings of a large library, and who, therefore, do not
appreciate the amount of time and labor involved, the following
account is given. It will give no information to the skilled
librarian, who will see at once many defects in the mode of
recording — due in this case to the lack of clerical force.
The working catalogue of this library is a card catalogue
of the usual form ; that is, each separate work, whether it be a
pamphlet of two leaves or a cyclopaedia of fifty volumes, is
catalogued on a slip of stout paper about 7 by 5 inches, giving
under the name of the author the exact title of the work, the
place and date of publication and the collation, that is, the
number of pages or leaves, the size or form of the book, and
the number of plates or tables. These cards are arranged in
drawers, according to names of authors in dictionary order,
anonymous works forming a separate class.
From these cards was printed the catalogue of authors, which
was completed in 1873, and makes two volumes, royal octavo,
of about 1,200 pages each, with a supplementary volume contain-
ing the anonymous works, reports, periodicals, and transactions.
The cards from which this was printed were then distributed
according to subjects, the subjects being arranged in dictionary
to time, works of the present generation until, in m 1853, some 3,000 volumes
had been collected, when, the library room being required for enlarge-
ment of the college halls, the books were stored in a small room, and
the college was without a library for five years. In 1858 changes in the
building were again made, and the books were dusted, some of them re-
bound, numbered, and catalogued, and made ready for use% But stiU the
students were not inclined to use them, even with the aid of a nicely
carpeted, lighted, and heated reading room, and, after two winters of
disuse, the dust was allowed to accumulate on the books, and they rested
in peace until the fire of 1870, when they were fortunately consumed.
''While thus somewhat unfortunate in our general library, we have to
record marked benefit from a collection of books of a different character.
In a medical college there are often spare moments between lectuers that
students might improve, if books were at hand; and quite frequently study
would be much facilitated if reference could be made to a standard
authority, even for a moment. Often some important fact will have es-
caped the learner's rnind, which, could he recall it, would make an entire
subject plain and enable him to meet a coming examination. _ A moment's
reference to an authority between lectures is sufficient, while without it
there might be complete failure. Frequently an entire train of thought
is arrested by the want of a single fact which is an initial pojnt; the
struggle of the mind to recall this fact is frequently sufficient to incapaci-
tate it for the day.
"A reading room furnished with several sets of the latest text books
for reference was provided, and with most satisfactory results. The books
were in constant use.
"I believe that these working libraries are to be commended in alj
higher schools." — EDITORS,
450 JOHN SHAW BILLINGS
order. This forms the subject catalogue. As new books were
added a second card catalogue was carried on for them, which
is known as the supplementary catalogue.
The subject catalogue above referred to has been very
greatly extended by a process of indexing original papers in
medical periodicals and transactions. The preparation of this
index was begun January I, 1874, since which date every number
of current foreign medical journals and transactions has been
indexed as soon as received. When a number of the London
Lancet, for instance, is received, the librarian indicates in it by
a slight pencil check the articles which should be indexed. The
journal is then handed to a clerk who indexes each article
checked upon one of the catalogue cards. The top line is left
blank for the subject. Next is given the name of the author,
the title of the article, literally transcribed, or if there be no
title, one is made for it, and finally the abbreviated title of the
journal, the year, the number of the volume, and the pagina-
tion. This mode of indexing is on the plan pursued in the
Catalogue of Scientific Papers, 1800-1863, compiled and pub-
lished in six quarto volumes by the Royal Society of London.
The number of the journal, with the cards thus prepared, is re-
turned to the librarian, who indicates in pencil the subject under
which each card should be distributed, and the cards go to the
subject catalogue. The journal receives a red stamp showing
that it has been indexed, is checked off on the register of period-
icals received, and goes to the files.
At first only foreign journals were thus indexed, it being
known that Dr. J. M. Toner, of Washington, was preparing
an index of American journals, which it is his intention to make
complete to the year 1876. Upon inquiry, however, the work
of Dr. Toner was found to be on a very different plan, as it
includes all articles, whether original or copied, while on the
other hand the titles of articles are much abbreviated.
It has therefore been thought best to index all journals,
American and foreign, beginning with January I, 1875. At the
same time as much as possible is being done to index preceding
volumes of important journals and transactions, of which about
1,000 volumes were indexed during the past year. This work
will be continued as rapidly as possible. The following statis-
tics show the total number of what may be called regular med-
ical journals which have been established since the first, namely,
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES 451
Les Nouvelles Decouvertes stir toutes les parties de la Mede-
cine, Paris, 1679, as well as the time and labor which the making
of such an index will require:
Number begun.
Number of volumes
published. j
II
•d
^t) .
d <u
III
+*ja o
v* >
<u ,_,
•a *j en
S <y u
§ bKC
£
T3
a>
!*
SH
&r2
Vi*"*
o
U.-5
V
|.S
1
T3
U
Ib
SI
Is
V
cr,J5
t
*o
Current number,
January i, 1875. I
British. Am erica. ......
IQ
en
6
18
6
United States
........ 214
I 320
66
-0
IVIexico ................
<5
1 1
West Indies and South
America 10
56
•9 A -1
....
7
I9
i
France and Algeria ....
2 684
1 1
9T
I 846
<8
Germany and Austria . .
386
3 280
208
2 <OA
Great Britain
1,327
14
80
I 129
47
23
Holland
Italy
6«c
671
527
Japan
41
l
Russia
168
3
Q7
Spain and Portugal
IQI
j
8
*5
6
Sweden, Norway,
and Denmark
^89
10
260
5
Switzerland
. . .. 16
I I A
10
gj.
j
I
j
j
Turkey
18
i
18
i
Total
218
7i4
8 214
2^.4
From this table it will be seen that the library now contains
about 75 per cent, of all that has been published in medical
journals. It would not probably be desirable to extend an in-
dex of these farther back than 1800, as the works of Ploucquet
and Reuss fairly cover all medical periodical literature of any
importance prior to that date. A few of the journals will be
very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain-; but these will be for
452 JOHN SHAW BILLINGS
the most part of little practical importance. Several medical
officers of the Army, whose stations made it possible to send sets
of journals to them without too much inconvenience, have as-
sisted in the work, and if this aid can be continued, it is hoped
that the index will be completed in about two years. There
is little doubt that it will then be printed, and it will form a
valuable contribution to medical bibliography.
Such an index is proposed in the preface to the Catalogue
Raisonne of the Medical Society of Edinburgh, published in
1836, but Professor Maclagan states that nothing has been done
in this direction.1
The important part of a medical library, that which will give
it character and value, and for deficiency in which nothing can
compensate, is its file of medical journals and transactions.
The difficulty of obtaining and preserving these is in propor-
tion to the importance of the matter. The majority of them
are essentially ephemeral in character; small editions are pub-
lished; they are rarely preserved with care, and even when
attempts are made to preserve them by binding, it is often, and
indeed usually, without sufficient attention to the collation, so
that in examining files of old journals it will be found that at
least one-half lack a leaf, a signature, or a number, / This fact
causes much trouble and disappointment to the librarian, and
must always be kept in view in the collection of this class of
literature. In the attempt to make a complete collection of
American medical journals for this library, it has been repeat-
edly found that what purported to be the volume or number
wanting to complete a file was defective. It is probable that*
there is not a complete collection in existence at any one point,
although there are two public and at least three private collec-
tions in this country which are very full, those of the library
of the Surgeon-General's Office; of the College of Physicians,
of Philadelphia; of Dr. Toner, of Washington; of Dr. Hays, of
Philadelphia, and of Dr. Purple, of New York.
The rarest American medical journals are probably some of
those printed in the West and South; for instance, the Ohio
Medical Repository (i826-}27) a%d the Confederate States Med-
ical and Surgical Journal (i864-'6s).
Another class of medical literature which is important to
the librarian, and the value of which is usually underestimated,
1 Edinburgh Medical Journal, January, 1873, P- 585.
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES 453
consists of medical theses and inaugural dissertations. To obtain
complete series of these is even more difficult than to get
journals, for the reason that they are more ephemeral, and
because it is scarcely possible to ascertain what have been pub-
lished, or when the series may be considered complete. For a
few schools, lists have been published of the theses presented by
their graduates, such as Paris and Edinburgh, but even for
Edinburgh, the only catalogue of the theses which the writer
has been able to obtain, does not show when the regular print-
ing of all theses ceased. Callisen has been led into error in this
way in his otherwise very complete Bibliographical Lexicon, in
which he gives the titles of many theses which were never printed,
notably of the Universities of Pennsylvania and Transylvania.
The value of these theses is fourfold. As material for the history
of medicine they may be taken to represent the theories and
teaching of the school; they often contain reports of cases,
or accounts of investigations made by the student under the
direction of a professor, which are of much value, and they are
necessary to medical biography, the more so as in most of the
German universities a sketch of the life of the candidate is ap-
pended to the thesis. In addition to this, prior to the era of
medical journalism, it was the custom for the president or one
of the professors to add an introduction of ten or twelve pages
to the dissertation, treating on some subject usually having no
direct relation to the thesis, and forming the sort of paper
which would now be sent to a medical journal. The number of
these theses in existence is very great; there are in the Library
of the Surgeon-General's Office about 40,000.
A few words of advice to those who may be desirous of
forming a public medical library in connection with a medical
school may be of some use ; at all events, they are the result of
practical experience. The first thing is to obtain works of med-
ical bibliography, and a list of a few which will be found the
most useful is appended. In addition to these it will be neces-
sary to make arrangements to obtain regularly as published the
catalogues of medical books issued or furnished by the following
booksellers :
In Boston, Schcenhof & Moeller, James Campbell; in New
York City, Wm. Wood & Co., L. W. Schmidt, B. Westermann
& Co., E. Steiger, Stechert & Wolff, F. W. Christern; in Phil-
adelphia, H, C. Lea, Lindsay & Blakiston.
454 JOHN SHAW BILLINGS
The next thing is to take steps to obtain the current medical
periodicals as completely as possible, and also the current
ephemeral pamphlets, such as reports of hospitals and asylums,
boards of health and health officers, transactions of medical
societies, addresses, etc. These things, as a rule, cannot be
purchased, and while they may usually be had for the asking
at the time oE their publication, it will be found very difficult,
if not impossible, to get them after a few years, or it may be
only a few months, have elapsed.
With regard to the purchase of books, so much depends on
the amount of funds available that no general advice can be
given. The majority oi: large works, of which there is little
danger that the supply will be exhausted for several years,
should not as a rule be purchased at the time of their publi-
cation, unless they are wanted for immediate use. In a year
or two they can be obtained at a much reduced price. It will
often be good economy to buy a lot of books in bulk, even
although a number of duplicates be thus obtained, and this is
especially the case at the commencement of the formation of
a collection. On a small scale the same rule applies to the
purchase of bound volumes of pamphlets. All duplicates should
be preserved for purposes of exchange. It may seem hardly
worth the trouble to preserve what most physicians would
throw at once into the waste basket, but unless this is done
the library will never be a success. There need be no special
haste about the disposal of duplicates, as they increase in value
with age.
PAMPHLETS
The pamphlets in the Library of the Surgeon-General's Of-
fice have been disposed of in three ways : First, there are 760
volumes of bound pamphlets, mostly purchased in that condition,
which are for the most part classified according to subjects ;
these volumes are numbered consecutively. Second, about 2,000
pamphlets are bound in separate volumes. These are numbered
as single volumes, and include those which are considered rare
or especially valuable. The remainder of the pamphlets, in-
cluding the majority of the inaugural dissertations of the Ger-
man universities, are kept in file-boxes. These boxes are made
of walnut, and the pamphlets stand in them with their title-
pages looking toward the back of the shelf, the boxes being
of widths suitable for octavos, quartos, etc. The box has no
MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES 455
top, and the rear end slides in and out, and can be fixed at
any point. Each box will hold about 100 pamphlets.
The boxes are arranged on shelves suited to their height,
thus preventing the admission of dust. The front of the box
has a ring, by which it can be pulled out, and presents an ample
surface for labeling its contents. By loosening the rear end,
which can be done by a touch, and withdrawing it, the title
of the work is before the examiner, and a pamphlet can be
added or withdrawn without disturbing the others. When a
pamphlet is required for use it is bound temporarily in stout
covers, the backs of which are pressed together by a strong
spring. These covers have an enameled card on the side, on
which is written in pencil the title of the pamphlet within. This
can be readily erased to make room for the next.
The theses of the schools of Paris, Montpellier, and Stras-
bourg are bound in volumes, following the usual arrangement
for those schools.
With regard to binding, it is believed that the advice of the
Librarian of Congress is the best that can be given : "Bind in
half turkey, and in most cases let the color be a bright red."
Binding in calf should not be used, except to match what has
already been so bound. The binding in of covers and advertise-
ments is an important point, and gives increased value to a
volume so bound; indeed, it is sometimes impossible to collate
serial publications without the assistance of the covers.
WISCONSIN LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE
DEPARTMENT
Dr. Charles McCarthy, who was instrumental in
founding the reference department for the Wisconsin
legislature in 1901, wrote this account of its organiza-
tion and work which was published in the proceedings
of the Portland Conference, 1905, tho not read at the
meeting.
This was the pioneer library in the field, and under
Dr. Me Carthy's librarianship proved itself of inestimable
value to the legislators and through them to the country.
Tho connected with the state government such a library
must, like all others, be absolutely uninfluenced by pol-
itics to fulfill its purpose.
Dr. McCarthy was born in Brockton, Massachusetts,
in 1873. He graduated from Brown University, but took
his doctor's degree in history at the University of Wis-
consin, where he immediately became legislative libra-
rian.
Fifty years ago it was easy enough, with the problems then
before the ordinary legislator, for him to understand in a
degree, at least, enough about legislation to make laws which
were good enough to meet the simple conditions which arose
at that time. However, within these last fifty years great in-
dustrial enterprises have sprung up with increasing complexity
of economic and social conditions. With this complexity leg-
islation has of necessity also become complex. Our legislators
have not kept pace with this immense development. In the
short time of the legislative session it is absolutely impossible
for any one man, never mind how intelligent he may be, to
grasp all the facts relating to the complex conditions of mod-
ern legislation. It is true that we have many great writers on
economic conditions who are constantly leading public thought
458 CHARLES McCARTHY
today. Men like Ely and Clark and Jenks do much to modify
public opinion, but the ordinary legislator knows nothing or
little about the work done by these men upon great questions of
the day.
We have then, first, a great increase in complexity of legisla-
tion, and, secondly, we have a great many scholars working upon
the complex problems which have come up, which are constantly
arising, but we have not yet established a medium by which
the thought of these great scholars can be brought to the prac-
tical help of the ordinary legislator. We have not devised the
means by which our legislation can be bettered by the thought
of a man like Ely or Clark or Jenks.
It is this problem that we are striving to solve by means
of the Legislative Reference Library, maintained by the Free
Library Commission, in the state capitol at Madison. This
work demands an explanation. First as to the history of it:
In 1901 the historical society, whose historical library had
rendered great aid to the legislature, was removed from the
capitol, and the legislature provided for a small reference library
to take its place. The author of this article was engaged to take
charge of that library. It became apparent at once that the
demands of this library were of a peculiar nature which could
not be readily met by the ordinary library methods or by the
ordinary library material.
A plan was devised which has since been carried out as far
as the resources given by the legislature would permit. We
found that there was no co-operation between the different
states of this Union in the matter of getting the history of leg-
islation. Wre found that there was a constant demand for a
history of what occurred in Europe or in any state of the
Union, upon a certain subject of interest to the people of this
state. We tried to supply this demand by getting such indexes
of up-to-date legislation as were published, by getting the bills
from other states as well as the documents explanatory of
legislative movements in other states, and arranging these under
the subjects so they would be immediately at the service of all
who desired to see them. We soon found that even this ma-
terial did not solve the problem. We found it necessary to clip
newspapers from all over the country and put the clippings
in book form, to carefully index them and put them also with
the subjects. We went over our own bills, and carefully indexed
WISCONSIN LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 459
them back for four sessions and by noting the subjects which
were contained in those bills we anticipated the problems with
which the legislature had to grapple. These problems or special
subjects we carefully worked up through the most minute de-
tail. It was comparatively easy to get laws and court cases, but
it was a far harder job to find how those laws were admin-
istered and to find the weaknesses in them and to note as far
as possible how they could be adapted to our use here.
Our short experience has taught us many things. We have
been convinced because of the success of our work and our
methods that there is a great opportunity to better legislation
through work of this kind. We are convinced that the best way
to better legislation is to help directly the man who makes the
Jaws. We bring home to him and near to him everything which
will help him grasp and understand the great economic problems
of ^ the day in their fullest significance and the legislative rem-
edies which can be applied and the legislative limitations which
exist. We must take the theory of the professors and simplify
it so that the ordinary layman can grasp it immediately and
with the greatest ease. The ordinary legislator has no time to
read. His work is new to him, he is beset with routine work,
he has to have conferences with his friends upon political
matters, he is beset by office-seekers and lobbyists and he has
no time to study. If he does not study or get his studying
clone for him he will fall an easy prey to those who are looking
out to better their own selfish ends. Therefore we must shorten
and digest and make clear all information that we put within
his reach. This is a tremendous task, but not an impossible one.
We must first of all get near to the legislator, even as the
lobbyist does. I do not mean that we must use the evil meth-
ods of the lobbyist, but we must win his confidence and his
friendship and understand him and his prejudices. We study
him just as the lobbyist does. Above all, we must not be ar-
rogant, presumptive, opinionated or dogmatic. We are dealing
with men who are as a rule keen and bright, who as a rule have
made a success of business life. We must always remember
that we are but clerks and servants who are helping these men
to gather data upon things upon which we have worked as they
have worked at their business. We must be careful to keep our
private opinions to ourselves and let the evidence speak for itself.
We are not doing this work to convert, but to help and to
460 CHARLES McCARTHY
clear up. No busy man can keep track of legislation, and es-
pecially the complex legislation of our modern times in one
state, not to let alone half a hundred states. It is our work to
do that — to find out the history of particular pieces of legisla-
tion, to find out how a law works, to get the opinions of just
lawyers, professors, doctors, publicists upon these laws and to
put their opinions well digested in such form that it can be
readily used and understood by any legislator even in the whirl
and confusion of the legislative session.
In answer to constant inquiries I have compiled some essen-
tials for work in helping the cause of good legislation, similar
to the work done by our department here.
1. The first essential is a selected library convenient to the
legislative halls. This library should consist of well chosen
and selected material. A large library is apt to fail because of
its too general nature and because it is liable to become cumber-
some. This library should be a depository for documents of
all descriptions relating to any phase of legislation from all
states, federal government and particularly from foreign coun-
tries like England, Australia, France, Germany and Canada. It
should be a. place where one can get a law upon any subject or
a case upon any law very quickly. It is very convenient to
have this room near to a good law library. Books are generally
behind the times, and newspaper clippings from all over the
country and magazine articles, court briefs and letters must
supplement this library and compose to a large extent tis ma-
terial.
2. A trained librarian and indexer is absolutely essential.
The material is largely scrappy and hard to classify. We need
a person with a liberal education, who is original, not stiff, who
can meet an emergency of all cases and who is tactful as well.
3. The material is arranged so that it is compact and acces-
sible. Do not be afraid to tear up books, documents, pamphlets,
clippings, letters, manuscripts or other material. Minutely in-
dex this material. Put it under the subjects. Legislators have
no time to read large books. We have no time to hunt up many
references in different parts of a library. They should be to-
g-ether as far as possible upon every subject of legislative im-
portance.
4. Complete index of all bills which have not become laws
in the past should be kept. This saves the drawing of new
bills and makes the experience of the past cumulative.
WISCONSIN LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 461
5. Records of vetoes, special messages, political platforms,
political literature, and other handy matter should be carefully
noted and arranged. Our legislator often wants to get a
bill through and we must remember that he often relies as
much upon political or unscientific arguments as we do upon sci-
entific work. He should be able to get hold of his political
arguments if he wants to, and the political literature from all
parties upon all questions should be kept near at hand.
6. Digests of laws on every subject before the legislature
should be made and many copies kept. Leading cases on all
these laws and opinions of public men and experts upon- the
working of these laws or upon the defects, technical or other-
wise, should be carefully indexed and as far as possible pub-
lished in pamphlet form, with short bibliographies of the sub-
jects most before the people.
7. The department must be entirely non-political and non-
partisan or else it will be worse than useless. If you have the
choice between establishing a political department and no de-
partment at all take the latter.
8. The head of the department should be trained in eco-
nomics, political science, and social science in general, and should
have also a good knowledge of constitutional law. He should,
above all, have tact and knowledge of human nature.
9. There should be a trained draftsman connected with the
department — a man who is a good lawyer and something more
than a lawyer, a man who has studied legislative forms, who
can draw a bill, revise a statute, and amend a bill when called
upon to do so. Such a man working right with this department
and the critical data which it contains will be absolutely essen-
tial.
10. Methods — (a) Go right to the legislator, make yourself
acquainted with him, study him, find anything he wants for
him, never mind how trivial, accommodate him in every way.
Advertise your department. Let everyone know where it is and
what it does. Go to the committees and tell them what you
can do for them, (b) It is absolutely essential that you get in-
formation ahead of time or else you will be of no use in the
rush. Send a circular letter out to your legislators and tell
them you will get any material which will help them in their
work before the session is over. The following is a sample of
such a circular sent out by this department:
462 CHARLES McCARTHY
MADISON, Wis., Nov. 20, 1904.
DEAR SIR: The Wisconsin Legislature of 1901 authorized
the Wisconsin Free Library Commission to conduct a Legis-
lative Reference Room, and to gather and index for the use
of members of the legislature and the executive officers of the
state such books, reports, bills, documents and other material
from this and other states as would aid them in their official
duties.
The Legislative Reference Library was entirely destroyed
by fire, but much of value to the student of state affairs has
been collected. We desire to make such material of the utmost
use and wish you to call upon us for any aid we can give in
your legislative duties.
If you will inform us of any subjects you wish to investigate,
as far as we have the material, time and means, we will tell
you:
1. What states have passed laws on any particular subject
2. Where bills for similar laws are under discussion.
3. What bills on any subject have been recently introduced
in our legislature.
4. Where valuable discussions of any subject may be ob-
tained.
As far as possible, with our limited force and means, we
will send you abstracts of useful material and answer any ques-
tions pertaining to legislative matters.
It is not our province to convince members of the legisla-
ture upon disputed points. We shall simply aid them to get
material to study subjects in which they are interested as pub-
lic officials.
Make your questions definite. Our work is entirely free, non-
partisan, and non-political, and entirely confidential
The replies to such a circular give you an idea of what is
coming. Work for all you are worth on those topics, send out
thousands of circular letters to experts on these topics, subscribe
to clipping bureaus if necessary to secure critical data from the
public at large. Gather statistics ahead. Carefully search books
for significant and concise statements; if to tne point copy out
or tear them out and index them. Go through the court reports
and get the best opinions, (c) Get hold of libraries or indi-
viduals or professors in other states with whom you can cor-
respond. Speed in getting things to a committee or an indi-
vidual is absolutely necessary. Do not fail to use the telegraph.
Get material, facts, data, etc., and get it quickly and get it to
the point, boil down and digest. I can say again, the legislator
does not know much about technical terms; avoid them, make
things simple and clear, (d) Employ if you can during the ses-
sion a good statistician. He can be of great service in dealing
WISCONSIN LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 463
with financial bills, in estimating accidents from machinery, or
in gathering statistical data of any kind. He should be a man
who can work rapidly and accurately and work to the point.
Throughout all of his work it is absolutely necessary to get all
material absolutely upon the points at issue, (e) Make arrange-
ments with all libraries in your city and libraries elsewhere for
the loan of books or other material. You should have every
sort of an index in your library as well as catalogs of any of
the libraries with which you are corresponding, (f) A cor-
respondent clerk and some helper to paste clippings, mount let-
ters, etc., are necessary, especially during the legislative session,
(g) Keep your place open from early in the morning till late
at night. Do everything in your power to accommodate those
for whom you work.
I believe that every such library established should try to
specialize on one great division of legislation. If one place
studies municipal government especially and another labor leg-
islation it would be a very useful arrangement, as one could
go directly to that library having the most expert knowledge
on one subject. Of course a journal of comparative legislation
is necessary to bring this work into co-ordination in the future.
In conclusion I will say that this department in Wisconsin cost
$1500 a year for the first year and $2500 a year for the last
two years, and now has an appropriation of $4500 a year. The
cost is so insignificant because documents are on the whole very
cheap, and especially because we are near the state law library
and the state historical society which kindly lend us much of
their material.
In conclusion, I believe that this work has a decided effect
upon good legislation in Wisconsin. I can say truthfully that
it is popular with all the members of the legislature. We have
drawn or amended probably two hundred bills in this depart-
ment. We have answered thirty or forty questions a day upon
various topics. It is not so easy now for a man to make a
false statement before a committee on any matter, as the
material is apt to be sent to this department and looked into
carefully. The legislator can hold his head up and speak out
for himself because there is always some place to go where
he is sure that he can get aid in looking up matters. He does
not have to depend upon what people tell him who are interested
in different bills. He can easily investigate for himself and con-
sequently there is more balance in legislation than formerly.
464 CHARLES McCARTHY
Trained experts formerly put forth overpowering arguments.
There was no means to answer them or no way or time to
work them up. Now there is, and the legislator can look up
the truth or untruth of every statement if he so desires. Com-
mittees, too, cover a good share of their investigation of the
worth of bills investigated by this department. Committees
working upon abstracts and technical subjects will have at their
hand in concise form letters and opinions from all over the
country from expert men. Science and theory have for the
first time come to the help of the struggling legislator in a
practical way.
ADMINISTRATION AND USE OF A
LAW LIBRARY
The field taken by Mr. Frank Bixby Gilbert in this
article delivered before the American Library Associa-
tion in 1907, is that of the American Association of Law
Libraries, consisting of those connected with educational
institutions and associations.
Mr. Gilbert was born in Bainbridge, N.Y., educated
at Hamilton College, and admitted to the bar. He has
held several New York state positions, including* that
of state law librarian, and is now deputy commissioner
of education and counsel to the state education depart-
ment.
THE LAW LIBRARY
There is no class of men, professional or otherwise, so de-
pendent upon books as the lawyers. There is no library, of
whatsoever kind or nature, which so directly pertains to the
interests which it is designed to serve, as the law library. I am
speaking with authority when I say that the lawyer's books are
his tools, without which he would be unable to provide for
himself and his family. Courts of last resort of good standing
in our country have expressly classed law books with the brick
mason's trowel and spirit level and declared that, like them,
they could not be sold under an execution process issued
to enforce the payment of a judgment which even the astute
lawyer debtor could not avoid.
Lenoir v. Weeks, 20 Ga., 596.
Lambeth v. Milton, 2. Robinson (La.)- 81.
The law library fitted with the tools essential to the lawyer's
vocation, becomes therefore the lawyer's workshop. It is here
that he solves the intricate problems which his more or less
extended clientage has presented for his consideration, and
precedents to do battle with a similarly equipped opponent
From the time when he first sees visions of courts and juries
466 FRANK BIXBY GILBERT
bending to the force of his matchless logic, he is the habitant
o£ the law library, either in the office of his preceptor, in the
college of his choice, or in the institution where he is privileged
to read. The books contain the law which he is to practice
and apply. His familiarity with them, his ability to absorb
their contents and still retain his normal power of mental
digestion, bespeaks for him the success which he hopes for and
expects.
I am not to speak of the law library that every lawyer must
possess. There are many of these which in size, completeness
and efficiency compare favorably with those supported by as-
sociated interests or at the expense of the public. The Ameri-
can Association of Law Libraries, an organization recently
affiliated with this Association, and which I have the honor
to represent at this meeting, is confined in its membership to
those who have to do with law libraries maintained and ad-
ministered for the benefit of the bench, the bar and the school,
at the expense of the public or of those who are entitled to
the privileges afforded. These law libraries readily group them-
selves into five classes: (i) the state law library; (2) the
court law library; (3) the association law library; (4) the
law school library; (5) the law library maintained by private
enterprise with privileges leased to lawyers at a fixed rental.
Each class has its own purpose to serve, its own special objects
to attain; but the character of the books collected does not
materially differ. All of them have to do with the law, and
the law, in its literature at least, is fixed and determinable.
It may be appropriate at this point to consider in a some-
what elementary manner, the material which enters into the
make up of a law library. The law has been classified as lex
scripta and lex non scripta; that which is written and that
which is unwritten. This classification is of little value to the
law librarians. To him it is all written, printed and bound in
much the same manner. To avoid confusion it is much better
to discard this classification and substitute for it the division
of law into statute law and court made, or case law. The
foundation of every law library is in the statute and the ju-
dicial decision. Every law book owes its existence to either
the one or the other, or both. Statute law finds expression in
codes, compiled statutes and sessional laws; judicial decisions
are contained in law reports, and cataloged and classified in law
A LAW LIBRARY 467
digests; while both are made the subjects of discussion and
treatment in so called law treatises.
In the time of Lord Bacon all English law was contained
in sixty volumes of law reports and as many more of statutes;
it is said that the industrious Bacon found these too burden-
some and suggested to his Sovereign, King James the First,
that a digest be compiled of all these laws, "and that these
books should be purged and revised, whereby they may be
reduced to fewer volumes and clearer resolutions." These days
he would have been a fitting leader in a movement for reform
in our system of law reporting. Nearly 300 years have passed
since then; there has been frequent revision, many digests, but
very little purging.
Every law librarian will testify as to the almost unsurmount-
able obstacles in the way of acquiring a complete collection of
the statute law of the several states and of the United States.
Many of the earlier state sessional laws are exceedingly rare
and expensive, while the colonial laws of the original 13 colonies
are in many instances practically unobtainable. I have no
means of ascertaining the exact number of volumes of American
statute law, or how much they would cost. But a fairly com-
plete collection would comprise nearly 3,000 volumes. If a
collection of the statute law of Great Britain and its colonies
were acquired, at least 1,500 volumes more would be added
These collections are sought for by the larger law libraries, and
are deemed indispensable in those maintaining legislative ref-
erence departments. In libraries located in cosmopolitan centers,
extensive collections of foreign continental statute law are also
desirable.
While the legislatures everywhere are excessively busy in
enacting innumerable laws, the courts are even busier in ex-
plaining what these laws mean, and in declaring what the law
is as to subjects in respect to which legislatures have not seen
fit to legislate. The written opinions of the federal and state
courts are reported, whether officially or unofficially. If the
court is an appellate court of last resort, an official reporter
is usually appointed whose duty it is to prepare the opinions of
the judges for publication. Special series of reports are pub-
lished by private enterprise containing selected cases on im-
portant subjects, or opinions of judges not officially reported
Law reports comprise the chief collection in every law library.
468 FRANK BIXBY GILBERT
The nucleus of this collection in every American law library is
the reports of cases decided in federal and state courts of the
United States. In the year 1850 these cases were reported in
980 volumes. In 1865 there were 1820 of such volumes, an
average yearly increase of about 55. In 1880 this number
had grown to 3230, there being an annual increase of 94. In
1895 ^e number of volumes of these reports had further in-
creased to 6300, at the annual rate of 205. In the years from
1895 to *ne present time the annual rate of increase has been
260, so that at the present time there are 9300 volumes of Ameri-
can law reports. In addition to these reports law' libraries
are required to collect the reports of the courts of Great Britain
and its colonies. The extent of this collection will vary accord-
ing to the resources available. A complete collection of Eng-
lish, Irish and Scotch law reports comprises about 3400 vol-
umes, more than half of which were in existence in 1866, since
which time the law reports have been regularly published under
the authority of the Council of law reporting, to the discourage-
ment, though not exclusion, of special series of unofficial re-
ports. A practically complete collection of Canadian law reports
consists of about 800 volumes. This collection is desirable
for law libraries in the states because of the similar conditions
existing in the Canadian provinces. About 1,000 volumes of
the law reports of the other British colonies have been pub-
lished. The total number of law reports in Great Britain and
its provinces thus approximates 5,200 volumes, which added
to the number of American reports already referred to, exceeds
the grand total of 14,500 volumes of English written law reports.
There may not be a single law library in this country which
possesses all these reports; indeed some of them are now of
little importance and have ceased to be of value as authorities.
There are, however, a few law libraries in this country which
have practically complete collections of them; many more have
the reports of all the appellate courts of the several states,
and the reports of common law courts of England, together
with the law reports of the different divisions of the Supreme
court of judicature. Even these are very numerous, so that
it may be said that a law library which seeks practical efficiency
must find a place for at least 7,000 volumes of these reports.
Thus does the unwritten law find expression in numberless
volumes. The progressive ratio of the annual increase in the
A LAW LIBRARY 469
published law reports furnishes plenty of food for thought,
and presents problems which must ultimately be solved by the
courts and the lawyers. But law librarians are not much, con-
cerned therein. It is for them to take the books as they are
published, and so dispose of them as to make them readily
available.
But the effect of this constantly increasing accumulation of
law material upon the future of law libraries will prove inter-
esting. It is apparent that it will soon be beyond the means
of even the prosperous lawyer to collect for his individual use
the reports of all the courts wThich are recognized as ruling
authorities within the jurisdiction in which he practices. Al-
ready in our populous centers the owners of buildings occupied
by lawyers are supplying their tenants with the use of valuable
collections of law books. The increased cost of maintaining
large private law libraries, with the expense attendant upon
the shelving of the books contained therein, which is no in-
considerable item in cities where the annual rental value of
suitable offices is frequently in excess of $3 a square foot of
floor space, will soon force lawyers to pool their interests and
establish in conveniently accessible quarters cooperative law
libraries equipped with the most modern working tools of their
trade, and manned by experts in the science of finding the law.
Existing publicly supported and association law libraries will
become more important adjuncts in the lawyer's professional
life ; and those in charge of them will become more essential
elements in the administration of the law. The day of the
law librarian as a mere keeper of law books is now past
Knack of arrangement and classification with knowledge of the
art of book binding are not now sufficient to constitute a com-
petent law librarian. He must be a capable guide to the user
of his library; a well trained expert in the learned science of
how to find the law.
The lawyer oE to-day is a case lawyer; he knows his facts
and seeks to apply thereto the law as declared by some court
of competent jurisdiction. In this immense maze of reported
judicial determinations he may well think there is a case with
facts like his which, if found, will be conclusive upon the tribunal
which he seeks to convince. He starts on his hunt, and the
law librarian must aid him in his search. In making the search
every available law tool is brought into use. Text books
470 FRANK BIXBY GILBERT
digests, cyclopedias and tables of cited cases are to be consulted.
These are for the most part the means to the end that the
much sought for case may be found.
Law text books or treatises, as now written are expositions
of the law as found in statutes and reported cases. The modern
law writer does not often state his individual opinion as to
what the law is or should be, and if he should, the lawyer who
read would be inquisitive as to the authority upon which the
statement was based. Kent, Story and Greenleaf are frequently
cited as authorities equally as weighty as reported opinions of
eminent judges; but they wrote after long service in judicial
positions, at a time when reported cases were comparatively few.
They declared the law as adjudicated and as they thought it
should be, and did it so well that courts have often based their
opinions upon what they said, thus giving their statements the
mark of judicial approval. There are a few others who might
be mentioned in the same class. But few of our modern law
treatises are written with a view of declaring the law independent
of statutory or judicial authority. Their only purpose is to
point the way to the statute or decision with a bearing upon the
chosen subject. They are therefore in their effect nothing else
than specialized digests, more or less carefully analyzed, of the
decided cases, and are only cited to show what has been de-
clared to be the law by court or legislature. It is not intended
to belittle their importance or value. They are substantial aids
in tracing the cases which establish the principle desired to be
asserted or applied. They must be wisely selected with a view
of promoting the interests which the law library is designed
to serve.
The million and a half or more cases reported in the 15,000
volumes of law reports would be of comparatively little value
were it not for the commendable industry of law editors in
digesting those cases and classifying them under more or less
arbitrary headings, alphabetically arranged. These digests are
the law librarian's subject catalog of reported law cases, pre-
pared fortunately for his use outside of the library by his
enterprising friend, the law publisher. The increase in the num-
ber of cases has relatively increased the size of the digests.
A digest of all the reported cases decided in state and federal
courts down to and Including the year 1896 is contained in 50
large royal octavo volumes of at least 1,500 pages each; 18
A LAW LIBRARY 471
volumes of supplements to this edition have been issued cover-
ing the years from 1897 to 1906 inclusive. This is a compre-
hensive publication covering the whole field of American law
reports; in addition to this, each state has its own digests of
law cases, and every series of reports containing especially
collected cases is supplemented at intervals by digests.
The cyclopedic treatment of law Is a comparatively new
development in the realm of legal literature. This is an ex-
ceedingly ambitious effort to classify the whole body of the
law under appropriate heads, arranged alphabetically. The sev-
eral subjects considered are more or less carefully analyzed
with the co-relative principles grouped and stated concisely with-
out editorial elaboration; the notes cite the cases upon which
the statements of the text are based. The result produced is
a legal work occupying the field between that of the text book
and the digest. Such a work, if accurately done, if at once
full, precise and correct, will be of the greatest value. While
not in any sense superseding special treatises upon different
branches of the law, or digests of law reports, it will, by
facilitating, save labor. As stated aptly by the late James C.
Carter of the New York City bar, in describing the possibilities
of such an undertaking:
"It would refresh the failing memory, reproduce in the mind
its forgotten acquisitions, exhibit the body of the law so as to
enable a view to be had of the whole, and of the relations of
the several parts, and tend to establish and make familiar a
uniform nomenclature."
Statutes, reports, digests, text books and cyclopedias are the
books which comprise the law library; how best to make them
available and to promote such a use of them that the purposes
for which they were created may be attained, is properly the
law librarian's object in official life. The law library is almost
in every sense a reference library. The use demands that the
books be placed in open shelves, so that they may be accessible
to all. Scientific classification, decimally or otherwise, is pe-
culiarly inappropriate, because unnecessary and confusing. Law
reports are published serially, each volume with a number ; they
are arranged on the shelves alphabetically, according to the
state or country in which the courts are situated. Every text
book professes on its label to be somebody's treatise on. some
important subject, thus inviting classification and citation by
472 FRANK BIXBY GILBERT
the name of the author, rather than the subject. A great Eng-
lish judge wrote learnedly on the law of bills and notes, so
that Byles on Bills is a familiar title in the bibliography of
every law library, and needs no mystic number to bring it from
the shelves. It may thus be seen that arrangement and classifica-
tion of law books are not complex. The lawyers have troubles
enough in finding what they want without adding to their bur-
dens by compelling them to master the intricacies of an in-
geniously devised system of classification.
There are law libraries whose chief aim is to make com-
plete collections of law literature without regard to practical
use or adaptability. These have exhaustless resources at their
command and are rapidly becoming the museums of rare and
obsolete law books. It is indeed fortunate that such institutions
exist; their value as educational factors must not be under-
estimated. But the working law librarian in charge of a library
founded on a basis of utility and maintained to aid the court,
the lawyer, the legislature or the student, has not the time or
the means to indulge his longing to collect. He must get what
his library needs to carry out the purposes for which it was
organized. He must be familiar with the books upon his shelves,
and know their uses, so that he may direct the search for the
well hidden legal principles. He should be in touch with the
trend of judicial and legislative thought. He may or he may
not be a lawyer, but like the lawyer, he should know where to
find the law. This is the science of the law librarian; if he
is not expert in it, he is like the mountain guide who seeks
to lead where he has not climbed.
LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC
SERVICE COMMISSION
Among the first libraries to become affiliated with
the Special Libraries Association was this public service
library, representative of an important type. This article,
by its librarian, Robert Harvey Whitten, published in
Special Libraries, gives the scope and workings of a
library organized to collect and index material that may
be wanted on a great variety of subjects, using a collec-
tion of some eight thousand books and pamphlets. Dr.
Whitten's life is noticed on page 439.
The Public Service Commission for the First District, has
jurisdiction in New York City over gas and electric companies,
railroads and street railroads, including under the Rapid Transit
Act the laying out of rapid transit routes the preparation and
supervision of contracts for construction and operation, and in
certain cases the granting of franchises. The surface, elevated
and subway companies in New York City carry annually over
1,300,000,000 passengers, which exceeds by more than 66 per cent
the total number of passengers carried on the steam railroads
of the entire country. The gas companies of the city produce
more than 20 per cent, of the entire gas output of the United
States.
The problems coming before the commission in relation to
rates, service, equipment and subway construction are numerous
and important, and involve in many cases the working out of
new methods and the laying down of policies of tremendous im-
portance. The commission has a staff of over 600 employes.
About 300 of these are the engineers, draftsmen and inspectors
engaged directly in the work of subway planning and construc-
tion. The commission has drawn into its service highly trained
statisticians, economists, accountants, lawyers and engineers of
all kinds.
As a tool for the use of this large organization it has estab-
474 ROBERT HARVEY WRITTEN
lished an office library. The library is intended to be a work-
ing office collection of books, pamphlets and periodical articles
needed in the current work of the commission and in the con-
sideration of the various questions that come before it. The
library aims to collect and index material in such a thorough
and scientific way that when information is wanted in relation
to car brakes, gas meters, franchise terms, Paris subways, etc.,
the material from which the desired information may be secured
will be at hand. The library now contains some 2,600 volumes
and 5,400 pamphlets, making the total collection 8,000.
Selection and Collection of Material: In a special office
library, great care must be taken in the selection and collection
of material. Selection must be exhaustive but discriminating.
All possible sources must be searched for useful material, but
just as great care must be exercised to exclude material not
needed. The efficiency of the collection is reduced by every
useless book it contains. It is often a doubtful question as to
whether a particular book should be added to the collection,
and an even more troublesome question as to whether a book
now on the shelves should be discarded. The librarian must
use his best judgment. He will make mistakes both in original
selection and in discarding, but it must be done.
In the library of the Public Service Commission we ex-
amine regularly the Publisher's Weekly, and the lists of the
United States and parliamentary publications. We get track of
most of the books and pamphlets desired, however, by a rather
careful perusal of a number of technical journals that relate
to public utilities. Among the most important are Electric Rail-
way Journal, Light Railway and Tramway Journal, Electrical
World, Engineering News, Progressive Age. Here we find
references to the annual reports of the various public utility
companies of American and European cities and to many printed
papers and special reports, official or unofficial, relating to public
utilities. The lists published by Stone & Webster and the
current bibbliographies in the Journal of Political Economy and
American Political Science Review and the Economic Quarterly
are also useful. Much material has been obtained by writing
directly to American consuls and to the public officers and com-
pany officials in the large cities of the world.
But as important as are the books, the pamphlets and spe-
cial reports, they are outranked in value by the periodical
NEW YORK PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION 475
article. In the numerous general, economic, law and technical
periodicals of this and other countries there are many articles
of the utmost importance in the routine work of the com-
mission and in the consideration of the various problems that
come before it. The library receives some 25 periodicals that
are systematically examined, for articles and material of use
to the commission. In addition we examine the Index to legal
literature contained in the Law Library Journal, the Readers'
Guide to Periodical Literature and most important of all, the
Engineering Index. The Engineering Index is a monthly an-
notated index of the more important articles appearing in some
200 American and European technical journals. The publishers
of the Index undertake to supply copies of the articles listed.
This is a great convenience, especially in securing copies of
articles in foreign periodicals. As soon as the Index is re-
ceived it is checked up and an order sent in for copies of all
the articles of special interest
Classification. A special library will usually require a spe-
cial classification. The standard classifications are all right
for the smaller public libraries. Standard classifications have
been specially designed to meet the requirements of a general
collection. They are usually a sad misfit when applied to a
special library. The special working collection is intended to
serve very definite needs and is required to answer certain
definite problems. The purpose of the classification is to aid
in supplying desired information with speed and certainty. The
resources of the library must be classified around the special
problems that are to be solved. "Close" classification is also
essential. There should be a special heading or subheading in
the classification for practically every subject, no matter how
minute, concerning which information will be frequently wanted.
The classification that we have worked out in the library of
the Public Service Commission is extremely simple. The broad
subjects are arranged alphabetically. Subheadings are arranged
alphabetically under the main heading. States and countries
are arranged alphabetically and cities alphabetically under the
state or country. The alphabet is much in evidence. The scheme
has the advantage of fitting in well with an alphabetic catalogue.
A feature of the classification is the system of uniform in-
terchangeable headings and subheadings. Certain subheadings
476 ROBERT HARVEY WRITTEN
are used uniformly under each of the main utility headings
and certain main headings are used also as subheadings. Thus
"Accidents" appears as a main heading and also as a subhead-
ing under "Gas," "Electricity," "Transit," "Railroads," etc.
The notation used in the classification is a combination of
letters and figures. Letters of the alphabet are used to represent
all headings other than regional; e. g., Fr, Franchise; Ra,
Railroad; Ga, Gas, etc. Regional headings are represented by
Arabic numerals. States and countries are always designated
by 2 figures and cities by 3 figures. These numerals are read
as decimals though the decimal point is uniformly omitted;
e. g., 401 Boston follows 40 Massachusetts and precedes 41
Michigan. The same notation means the same thing wherever
it occurs. Ac always means Accidents, whether as a main
heading or as a subheading; e. g., Ac, Accidents; GaAc, Gas-
Accidents; RaAc, Railroads-Accidents, etc. The same number
is always used for a given city or country wherever it occurs
in the classification; Ga40i, Gas-Boston; Ra4Oi, Railroads-Bos-
ton, etc.
The above are some of the main features of the classifica-
tion. They are subject, however, to numerous elaborations,
modifications and exceptions.
Arrangement of Material: All magazines, clippings and
pamphlets are kept in large vertical file drawers. The clippings
are usually placed in manila folders. They are arranged under
exactly the same headings as the books on the shelves. Under
each heading they are arranged chronologically according to
year of publication. Each article, or pamphlet has a separate
file number, corresponding to the book number in the case of
volumes on the shelves.
Of the 25 periodicals received, only 6 are bound. Articles
of interest from periodicals that we do not bind are clipped,
put in folders and placed in the vertical file drawers. The same
treatment is also applied to the numerous special copies of peri-
odicals not taken regularly, but which are purchased because
they contain some article of interest. The verticle file drawers
keep the material free from dust and offer a maximum of con-
venience in consultation. The material is compact and can be
easily and quickly consulted.
NEW YORK PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION" 477
Catalogue. The card catalogue is in three main divisions,
each alphabetically arranged:
First — Author and title.
Second — Subject headings.
Third— Regional headings.
The subject headings used in the classification are retained
in the catalogue and used in their various combinations. Maga-
zine articles and pamphlets are catalogued just as fully as books,
and the cards for the articles are placed in the catalogue with
the cards for the books. Chapters or parts of books relating
to specific subjects are separately catalogued. A feature of
the catalogue is the complete entry under the regional heading.
Every subject entry relating to a particular city or country is
duplicated under the city or country heading. We find it a
great convenience to be able to find everything we have relat-
ing to Paris, for example, together under that heading.
We try to realize that it is not so much particular books
or sets of books that we need to classify and index as it is
the specific information contained in the books. Our catalogue
is not used nearly so frequently to find the location of a par-
ticular book as it is to find information in regard to some
particular subject. The more specialized a library becomes the
more important, as well as practicable it becomes to classify
and index information rather than books or sets of books.
Bulletins and Publicity: A library bulletin is issued once or
twice a week containing references to current books, articles
and pamphlets received by the library. Each bulletin is a single
sheet. It is mimeographed and sent out to about 250 officers
and employes of the Commission. The person receiving the
bulletin checks in the margin the books or articles he desires
to see, signs his name to the sheet and returns it to the library.
On receipt of this sheet at the library, the book or article desired
is sent if available, and if not, the name of the applicant is
placed on a reserve list. Often it seems desirable to bring a
particular article or book to the special attention of some officer
or employe. To do this the item in question is stamped in red
with a rubber stamp marked "special" on the copy sent to the
particular person in question. An article or book that will
probably be of interest to but one or two or three persons is
omitted from the bulletin and is sent directly to the individuals
478 ROBERT HARVEY WRITTEN
Interested with a blank form stating that it is being transmitted
for inspection and the request to return as soon as possible.
In these ways we attempt to carry out the recognized function
of the office library, that of bringing promptly to the attention
of the officers and employes of the Commission the new books
and the articles of interest in connection with their official duties.
The bulletin is a notable success in directly increasing the
use of the library. It also has a publicity feature. It is a
constant reminder of the existence of the Library and of the
nature of the material that may be found there. The office
library is an innovation and the habit of turning to it for in-
formation must be acquired. Various forms of publicity should
be resorted to, to aid the development of the library habit I
think we could and should do more in this direction than we
have in the past.
Reference Lists: Numerous special reference lists are
prepared from time to time on subjects of special interest. Our
close classification, analytic catalogue entries and combined peri-
odical and book catalogue make the preparation of special ref-
erence lists much simpler. Often all that is required is a straight
copy of the catalogue entries.
Blue Print Methods: We are experimenting on a new
form of catalogue that promises certain distinct advantages.
The catalogue entries on each subject are arranged chronolog-
ically and copied on letter size onion skin paper. This makes
a negative from which a blue print may be taken. A single
sheet or sheets being devoted to each subject, it is possible
to add future accessions to the original sheet without the neces-
sity of recopying. We can thus have always an up-to-date
catalogue on loose sheets. It is of course easier to consult a
catalogue with five to twenty entries on each page than to
ringer over the cards in a card catalogue. Another advantage
will be that we can make portions of the catalogue available
in the various bureaus of the Commission. Thus we can sup-
ply the Franchise bureau with a loose leaf always up-to-date
catalogue of franchise material, the bureau of Statistics and
Accounts with a catalogue of accounts, finance and statistics,
and similarly for the various other bureaus and departments.
Another advantage will be that we can always supply a blue
NEW YORK PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION 479
print copy of any part or parts of the catalogue. It seems
probable that these will in large measure take the place of
the special reference lists that we have been preparing. A ref-
erence list is out of date as soon as it is made. The advantage
of having available an always up-to-date list is evident.
Collection of Information: The library also compiles data
on various subjects, and particularly in relation to public utility
supervision and conditions in other states and cities. To a
considerable extent, the qualifications essential for the scientific
selection and collection of material are the same as those re-
quired for the compilation of the information contained in the
material. These functions are therefore combined and the
library, so far particularly as conditions in other states and
cities are concerned, both collects and collates information.
Thus detailed reports have been prepared in relation to the
supervision of street railways in England and Prussia, the sub-
way system of Paris and the laws and experience of various
cities in relation to the indeterminate franchise and in relation
to profit sharing as a method of franchise compensation. Num-
erous brief comparative statements have also been prepared. Much
of our most valuable information has been drawn from the
laws, methods and experience of the great cities of Europe.
I think that this combination of library work and collation
or investigation is a practical one. The librarian gains an in-
timate knowledge of the contents of the material in his collec-
tion. His direct use of the material shows him the weak places
in it and enables him to fill up the missing portions that are
so absolutely essential to an efficient working collection. Active
use of his collection helps the librarian, moreover, to get away
from the habit of looking at the book as the unit of library
work. It helps him to a realization that it is facts and in-
formation that it is his function to classify, arrange and make
readily available rather than particular books or sets of books.
Quick Service: The necessity for quick service is a funda-
mental and all sufficient reason for the existence of the special
library. Information to be of use in the every-day work of
the world must be quickly available. Quick service multiplies
use — ^is is as true of libraries as it is of transit systems.
The importance of quick service should therefore condition and
480 ROBERT HARVEY WRITTEN
mould the entire organization of the special or office library,
its classification, arrangement and cataloguing.
In the development of a special library emphasis needs to
be laid on these two things : First, the necessity for quick
service, and, second, that the service rendered is for the pur-
pose of giving information and that the library is not merely
dealing in copies or titles of books and articles. While we hold
these ideals in the library of which I am speaking, we still lack
much of their complete realization.
LIBRARY OF STONE AND WEBSTER, BOSTON
Shortly after Dr. Whitten's article (just preceding)
appeared in Special Libraries, another was published In
which George Winthrop Lee, librarian of Stone and
Webster, the engineering and contracting firm, compared
his library point by point with that of the Public Service
Commission. A fuller account by Mr. Lee was published
as a pamphlet by the company. It was the first record
we have of such a library. We omit the introductory
paragraph, containing a summary of Mr. Whitten's
article.
Mr. Lee was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in
1867, and has been with Stone and Webster since 1894,
serving as librarian since 1900. He is a writer on busi-
ness libraries and allied interests and has been especially
active in advocating a "sponsorship for knowledge" — an
extension and specialization of the informational side of
libraries.
The Stone & Webster Library has been built up in the in-
terests of an organization, likewise, having to do with public
utilities; more especially, however, their financing, constructing
and operating. It has a collection of books, periodicals and
pamphlets to the number of about 5,000, perhaps two-thirds as
many as the N. Y. Public Service Commission ; but, as this
article goes to press, much material is in process of being dis-
carded because superseded, or not timely for our present pur-
poses, or because available elsewhere in the vicinity.
Selection and Collection of Material. Our book selection
is made from reviews and announcements in periodicals, from
publishers' lists, from the recommendations of various members
of the organization and from monthly visits to the Boston Pub-
lic Library, where such books of possible interest to us as
may be available are looked over, and whence some are brought
482 GEORGE WINTHROP LEE
to the office to be especially considered. The system is susceptible
of improvement, and in this connection mention may be made
of the proposal to establish in Boston a depository for new
books. If the plan goes through it is hoped that publishers from
far and wide will co-operate by sending one copy of each of
their new publications as fast as they appear. Under present
circumstances the chances that many of the books we need
escape our attention for an indefinite period are very large.
Our disposing of superseded and unnecessary books is partially
achieved through a monthly auction, which means that a large
number are given away or are carried off as waste. It has
been suggested that one of the functions of the Boston Branch
of the Special Libraries Association might well be to operate
a clearing house of books wanted and for sale in this vicinity.
We follow the periodical literature bearing upon our in-
terests and depend very largely upon the items we list there-
from. Our Current Literature References for 1907 and 1908,
in pamphlet form, and our supplementary card index to date,
together with such aids as the Readers' Guide and the Engi-
neering Index, avail us for many subjects of reference. In con-
trast to the P. S. C. Library, we seldom send for copies of
articles listed in the Engineering Index, finding that most of
the references that we need are in the journals we subscribe
for or are otherwise obtainable; also, we clip comparatively
little, probably less than we could to advantage clip. We do,
however, clip and paste away in monthly succession the various
groups of items in that Index. These we maintain in a vertical
filing cabinet until succeeded by their annual volume.
Classification. Our classification is quite different from
that of the Public Service Commission, though should we start
again I am not sure but that we should copy theirs almost in
every essential.
Dr. Whitteu's mnemonic notation, like Fr. for Franchise, Ga
Ac for Gas Accidents, is an obvious convenience ; so also his com-
bination of geography and subject, as Ra4Oi for Railroads —
Boston. Our classification starts geographically, i. e., noo,
Maine; 1200, New Hampshire, etc.; 1460, the region of Boston;
1461, Boston; 6131, Seattle, etc. Then follows the decimal point,
and to the right of it comes the classification by company and
by subject. Company numbers hardly concern the books, so
LIBRARY OF STONE AND WEBSTER 483
that the latter usually have a "o" after the decimal. Thus .01
signifies propositions (seldom used for books); .02, statistics;
.03, legal affairs, etc.; .07 and its ramifications for engineering;.
The laws of Washington State would thus have the number
6100.03, while a book on electrical engineering, which defies the
geographical classification, would have the number to the left
of the decimal omitted. The system was originally devised for
the Library and the Filing Department combined, but today,
when these are separate, the numbers to the right of the decimal
often prove conspicuously unsatisfactory for the book classifica-
tion. A pamphlet issued in 1907, entitled 'The Library and the
Business Man," describes the system in use at that time and
suggests most of the underlying principles of the system, even
though changed in various details to meet the needs of today.
Copies of this pamphlet are still available for those who may
be interested in the subject.
Our periodical classification has been considerably modified
since the description in the pamphlet, but it follows largely the
headings of the Engineering Index and is proving particularly
efficient for putting-away purposes. Some one hundred refer-
ences a week are thus written and filed away. Civil Engineer-
ing falls in the io's; Electrical Engineering in the 20's, while
90 covers the considerable Miscellany. As an instance in de-
tail, 50 covers Railway Affairs ; 54, Electric Railway Construc-
tion, Equipment and Operation; 54^ Shops, Plants, etc.; 5413,
Substations. I can readily understand that Dr. Whitten might
use the letters "Sb St" for substations, which should certainly
be easier to remember than our number. Recently, however, I
have been working upon a system of cross-tying the classifica-
tion, which bids fair to help the memory and hasten the work.
By using this decimal point to indicate "aspects," we have under
7ia, which refers to societies, 7ia.i for Civil Engineering So-
cieties; 7ia.2 for Electrical Engineering Societies; 7ia.3 for
Mechanical Engineering Societies ; 7ia.Q, Miscellaneous Societies.
On this analogy, should occasion require, we could use 7ia.54f3
for a society which devoted itself to the study of substations.
It seems to be the conclusion of most special libraries that
each special library needs its own classification, and, therefore,
I would say, "Come and talk it over before you go very far
on your own tack, to get from us who have established systems
some suggestions that may prove of decided help to you."
484 GEORGE WINTHROP LEE
A further improvement recently effected, which is after Dr.
Whitten's system, but which will not have been thoroughly
tried out before this article goes to press, is to use the small
letters of the alphabet to indicate certain topics in which we are
particularly interested, viz., b, bibliography; e, electric railways;
m, money and banking; p, power stations; s, statistics; t, tables,
charts and formulae, etc., etc., the whole alphabet thus being
used for mnemonic short cuts. These brevities would thus
allow the use of a notation such as eS2d for electric railways
in Massachusetts. Furthermore, by combining these with the
geographical figures that we have been using for our book
files, e82d6i could be used for electric railways in Boston.
Arrangement of Material. Dr. Whitten's magazine clip-
pings and pamphlets are kept in vertical filing drawers. We
subscribe for about 60 and we receive about 150, some 50 of
which are bound, subject to retrenchment in the measures we
are now taking for greater efficiency. In addition to the in-
dexes bound in with each volume we have a duplicate set for
many of the journals, so that time and nervous energy are
frequently saved by referring to special "loose-leaf" volumes
of indexes. This index set is likely to be developed further,
so that we may maintain indexes to publications that we do
not bind.
Catalogue. Our card catalogue as it is being changed to
date has its shelf list (arranged by the geographical and sub-
ject numbers) and its alphabetical list, in which subjects and
authors are run together. We do not cross-reference so highly
nor make so many cards in duplicate as does the Public Service
Commission Library, but we have laid plans for a library cata-
logue in book or pamphlet form which will be, also, a source
of information handbook. We realize that books need to be
analyzed, and that many a book contains several monographs
which should each be treated as books in themselves. This prob-
lem is, of course, quite universally felt by librarians, but we
have not yet advanced sufficiently far in the handbook compila-
tion to foretell just how it will appear in every detail.
Bulletins and Publicity. The Public Service Commission
Library issues a bulletin once or twice a week containing ref-
erences to books, articles and pamphlets. We issue a sheet
LIBRARY OF STONE AND WEBSTER 485
regularly twice a week, dated for Tuesdays and Fridays, con-
taining only references to periodical literature. The Tuesday
sheet covers civil, electrical and mechanical engineering; the
Friday sheet railways and all else that may be of interest to
us. The sheets circulating- throughout the office are marked
substantially as in the case of the Public Service Commission
and, likewise, we call attention to articles that may be of par-
ticular interest to particular persons. These semi-weeklies would
seem to stimulate the use of the library, as indicated by the
requests for articles referred to. Outsiders who receive the
lists seldom ask us for or about the references, and we hardly
know to what extent they are actually appreciated. When, how-
ever, for some five months the service was abandoned we had
several letters to the effect that it was decidedly missed.
Reference Lists. Because we do not keep our periodical
and our book list as one, we caniiot make reference lists with
the same ease as the Public Service Commission Library, though
the handbook to which I have alluded would in itself be a series
of reference lists; and if this should be edited annually or
maintained by an interleaved or loose-leaved system, it should
become a most important feature of our Library.
Blue Print Methods, The blue print lists of the Public
Service Commission, maintained to date, are a novelty to me,
and I should think they would be most useful. I hope Dr,
Whitten will report on this several months hence, so that if
the experiment proves all that he anticipates we, too, may un-
hesitatingly adopt the system. Besides keeping the additions
to date, he can also make obliterations to date, as possibly
called for by the superseding of references that have been listed.
Collection of Information. Our Library seldom compiles
data on various subjects, not only because we have so much
else on hand, but more especially because the statistical and
other departments, with their "students," do considerable work
of this kind.
Record of Questions. A matter that Dr. Whitten does not
touch upon is the recording of questions; who asked them,
who answered them, how long it took to answer them, and
where the information was found. Our classified collection of
question slips makes a stock-in-trade reference bureau, which,
486 GEORGE WItfTHROP LEE
to my mind, Is of great value, and should prove of greater
and greater value. It is my hope to see the headquarters of the
Special Libraries Association build up a bureau of this kind, so
that it shall indeed become the information center for specialists
of all kinds. But this is far beyond the modest achievement that
the S. L. A. aspires to for the present
Quick Service. Quick service is indeed called for and
rightfully expected. We need to realize that not only are
we library workers, but that we are office workers, and that
the department as a whole is merely incidental to the work of
the engineers, financiers and general managers of public utilities.
REFERENCE LIBRARY IN A
MANUFACTURING PLANT
The library of the H. H. Franklin company, an auto-
mobile-manufacturing concern in Syracuse, N.Y. is de-
scribed in Special Libraries by Miss Laura E. Babcock,
its librarian. There were very few libraries of this type
when it was founded in 1909, and no accounts precede this
article which was revised from a report which she made
to the Committee on Education of the Syracuse Chamber
of Commerce. An interesting characteristic of the li-
brary is its use of the Dewey classification as adapted
for engineering industries by the University of Illinois.
The idea of establishing a commercial library as a depart-
ment of a business house, and especially of a manufacturing
plant, was still comparatively in its infancy at the time the
Franklin Reference Library was established in February, 1909.
The only business library of a purely reference character of
which any account could be found at the time, either printed
or through correspondence, was the library connected with
Stone & Webster of Boston.
The H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company, of Syracuse,
New York, is engaged in two industries — the making of Frank-
lin automobiles and the manufacture of die castings, the latter
being the original business of the company, automobiles being
added in 1902. The number of employes averages between 1,800
and 2,000, including the office force of about 300. At the time
the librarian was engaged there was no general library, al-
though a nucleus for such a library existed in a collection of
about 75 books and a number of periodicals located in the
engineering department, about 115 books in the legal depart-
ment, and a few other scattered books. The advertising de-
partment was receiving a large number of periodicals and
newspapers which, after being clipped for advertising or pub-
licity material, were distributed about the offices as desired. The
48S LAURA E. BABCOCK
company also subscribed for a few technical periodicals, which
were handled in the same way.
The library was started in a small way, and was located
temporarily at one end of the large advertising room. In
order to call the attention of the heads of departments and
others to the library, and to secure their interest and co-
operation, official memos. were sent out from time to time,
stating its object and aims, wherein it could be of service to
them, and each new development. At the end of three weeks
interest began to awaken, and from that time on the work of
the library and the demands upon it steadily increased. In
November a trained librarian was engaged as assistant libra-
rian, making with the stenographer a staff of three. In Janu-
ary, 1910, about 2,000 catalogs were taken over from the engi-
neering, manufacturing and other departments in an unindexed
state — the several indexes the departments had attempted to
maintain having dropped so far behind that they were practically
useless — and a fourth assistant was added to take care of this
work and to assist in other lines.
In the meantime the library had outgrown its original quar-
ters, moved into a large office, in turn being crowded out of
that, and at present occupies one of the small cottages used
as annexes to the offices, this cottage having been altered to
meet the needs of the library. When a new office building is
constructed space will be reserved for suitable library quarters,
to be well equipped with modern appliances.
The library was established as a technical reference library
for the use of the departmental offices, but may be used by
all employes of the company for reference purposes. Its aim is
to supply all literature or information of any kind bearing
upon the work of any department. In addition to the re-
sources within itself, material and information are frequently
obtained through the Syracuse Public Library, the Syracuse
University Library and the Technology Club of Syracuse, from
firms in town by telephone, and from out-of-town sources by
correspondence.
Possibly one might infer that the information required in
an automobile plant would relate only or chiefly to technical
automobile subjects. In order to realize how erroneous such
an idea would be, one must know that the library serves not
only the engineering department, with its chemical and
LIBRARY OF A MANUFACTURING PLANT 489
mechanical laboratories and metallurgist, and the manufacturing
department with its divisions, but also the executive, account-
ing, costs, sales, sundry, advertising, printing, purchasing, legal,
die-casting and commercial car departments, the latter being
independent of the pleasure car departments.
The library is not circulating, but books and back numbers
of periodicals may be withdrawn for home use when desired
over night, and between 12 m. Saturday and 8 a.m., Monday.
The only work of a popular nature which is undertaken Is the
loaning of popular magazines received gratis through the ad-
vertising department These may be borrowed for home read-
ing by any employe of the company for a period not to exceed
four days. The library may also be used for recreative reading
during the noon hour, as well as for reference. The library
is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. to 12 m.
'Tables are provided for readers, and assistance freely rendered
to make all material available.
The reference work of the library is varied and interesting,
including questions upon industrial and economic conditions,
statistics, correct English, biography, mathematics, education,
etc., besides the more technical engineering problems. No
regular record is kept of requests received for information,
except those requiring more or less extended research, although
such requests are frequently noted in order to keep in touch
with the character of the demands. Side by side with requests
for material upon the length of bore and stroke of foreign
cars, dimensions of torque or rear axle, theory and design of
centrifugal pumps and fans, stresses and strains in transmission
gears, hardening processes and strength of material of aluminum
alloy, co-efficient of expansion of nickel-iron alloys, foreign
motor rating formulas, and cam design, appear questions relat-
ing to employers' liability, production cost, shop management,
technical and industrial education, apprenticeship schools in the
United States and Europe, ambulance equipment, ventilation,
flaming arc lamp, list of foreign ambassadors, employes1 savings
banks, building and loan associations, insurance, and height of
Mt. Wilson, Arizona.
The number of volumes at present is about 1,125, including
pamphlets. Special collections of books are located in the
legal and engineering departments, chemical laboratory, etc.,
only works of a general character and bibliographical and
490 LAURA E. BABCOCK
reference works being retained in the library. Very few tech-
nical books are purchased, and as a rule only the most recent
editions, as constant investigation and research often makes
an engineering book out o£ date before it is printed. Pamphlet
literature and public documents, however, are often valuable
assets. There is a collection of about 4,200 trade catalogs,
including 1,000 catalogs from competing automobile firms in
America and Europe.
The best sources of information, however, are periodicals.
Of these the library receives altogether about 235, a large num-
ber being received gratis through the advertising department,
including trade papers and popular magazines, in addition to
which the company at present subscribes for 78 periodicals of
a technical nature. Many of the trade and technical periodicals
are duplicated, in some instances several times. Newspapers
are still taken care of by the advertising department, a few
leading papers being kept on file in the library.
All periodicals are received at the library direct from the
mailing table, and are there checked up and marked for route-
ing to individuals or departments. As many copies are often
received, or a single copy sent from one department to another,
a special method of checking has been devised which is very
simple but has proven quite satisfactory. Before distributing,
a routeing slip is pasted on the cover of each periodical, with
columns for names of persons, "clipping page," "reference
page" (for articles the reader would like to have clipped or
indexed in library), "date forwarded" and "remarks." The
periodicals then pass to the advertising department for noting
and clipping of advertising material, from which they pass
to the messenger service for distribution.
All periodicals are reviewed by the librarian and checked
for indexing. In order to avoid duplication of work, technical
articles which are listed in printed indexes are not usually
indexed, although articles which are of immediate interest to
any individual or department are indexed when received, and
are then referred to the person or persons interested. In ad-
dition to technical articles, which include the work of all de-
partments, everything is indexed relating to the automobile
industry from an economic standpoint — trade and financial con-
ditions in the United States and foreign countries, collectively
by firms, exports and imports, automobile statistics, etc.
LIBRARY OF A MANUFACTURING PLANT 491
In order to meet a demand for condensed information on
matters relating to the trade, and to bring together the items
published during a week upon a given subject, a digest or
resume was attempted of the automobile industry as culled
from periodical literature. This was issued weekly, copies
being distributed to several heads of departments. The attempt
was merely to bring out the salient points of immediate interest,
followed by title of periodical, date, page, length of article
(pages, columns or paragraphs) and whether illustrated. Tech-
nical articles relating to individual firms were briefly noted, in
order to bring together all material relating to a given firm.
This resume was briefly indexed, enabling one to get all ma-
terial on a given subject at a minute's notice, without the neces-
sity of consulting a large number of periodicals. If fuller
information was desired the article itself could be produced.
The resume seemed to be much appreciated, but was discon-
tinued at the end of six months, more urgent work demanding
the time spent upon it.
The current periodicals are taken care of at present in a
somewhat different manner than is usual. There was originally
no room for magazine racks, the shelving space was limited,
and the periodicals had to be kept on open shelves in a large
room. A neat filing box was therefore devised as a temporary
arrangement, but has proven exceptionally satisfactory and easy
to consult. The periodicals are kept clean and unrumpled and
occupy from a half to a third less space than if they were laid
in piles on the shelves. These periodical boxes were made by
a local firm. They are similar to pamphlet boxes with open
backs, and are covered with a good quality of black pebble
paper. They are in three sizes, 10 inches by 7 inches by 3 inches,
13 inches by n inches by 4^ inches and 16 inches by 12^
inches by 4^ inches outside dimensions, the larger sizes being
made entirely of thin boards, the smallest size having double
pressed pasteboard sides.
Many of the periodicals are kept on file in the departments
for immediate reference, especially in the engineering depart-
ment, thus forming with the books so kept a branch depart-
mental library. All other periodicals are returned to the library-
files as soon as read. Twice a year completed volumes are
called in for binding, but only those which have permanent
value for reference work are bound, in all about twenty-eight
492 LAURA E. BAB COCK
titles. Other periodicals which have a temporary value are
retained for a time in an unbound form, duplicate copies and
material of an ephemeral nature being distributed to the men
throughout the factory or "junked." One copy of every peri-
odical received, however, is kept on file for advertising refer-
ence. In a few instances, where magazines are in much demand
for reference work, sets have been completed as far back as
1900 or 1905.
Much of the pamphlet literature which is received, including
government publications, has permanent value, and it is de-
sirable to preserve this in permanent form. For this purpose
the Gaylord pamphlet binder is used, cut to the desired size,
the cover of the pamphlet being pasted on the front of the
binder. This saves the expense of binding, and yet preserves
the pamphlet permanently and in better form than the manila
envelope. Pamphlets having only temporary value are filed in
pamphlet boxes.
The question of a classification which would adequately
meet the needs of the engineering and automobile material
was for quite a time a mooted one. The final decision, how-
ever, was in favor of the Dewey decimal classification, modified,
supplemented by the "Extension of the Dewey classification
as applied to Engineering Industries," published by the Engi-
neering Experiment Station of the University of Illinois, this
in turn supplemented by an automobile classification presented
by Mr. Henry Hess before the Society of Automobile En-
gineers, and published in "Horseless Age," August 25, 1909.
An account of this library would not be complete without
mentioning our method of caring for trade catalogs, as large
business and manufacturing firms often find this class of lit-
erature most troublesome to handle. Our method is quite
simple. At the time a request is sent the name of the firm
is entered on a card, and above this is penciled the date of
the letter and the name of the person or department desiring
the catalog. This card is filed alphabetically under the head-
ing "Catalogs ordered." When the catalog is received, this card
is removed from the "Catalogs ordered" list, title or titles and
class number added, and the card filed in the index list of trade
catalogs. Subject cards are made, and the catalog is labeled
and forwarded to the party for whom it was obtained. If no
reply is received, or the firm does not issue catalogs or the
LIBRARY OF A MANUFACTURING PLANT 493
edition is exhausted, these facts are noted and the card filed
for future reference.
The system of numbering adopted is the Cutter-Sanborn
author numbers, by means of which catalogs are filed in strictly
alphabetical order by firms. A classed arrangement by sub-
jects undoubtedly has advantages over this method, but requires-
more time and skill in classifying, and separates the several
publications of a firm. It is believed the brief subject cards
take the place of grouping the material by subjects. Catalogs
are filed in a specially designed Caldwell cabinet, disregarding
the one, two, three fixed number scheme which accompanies
the regular cabinet.
An interesting feature of the work has been the collecting
and arranging of Franklin literature. This includes all cata-
logs, booklets, circulars, leaflets, bulletins, etc., arranged chrono-
logically, thus forming a literary history of the company be-
ginning with its earliest publications.
FUNCTION OF LIBRARIES
FUNCTION OF THE LIBRARY
The name of Salome Cutler Fairchild is so Inextri-
cably linked with the progress of libraries in this country
that it seems especially fitting to close with a word from
her which truly, for all time, expresses the purpose for
which libraries are organized and administered. A sketch
of Mrs. Fairchild is in Volume 2.
Some movements begin with a philosophy, others with an
enthusiasm. It is fortunate that the modern library movement
began with an enthusiasm. If the men who in 1876 founded
the American Library Association had, as a body of students,
formulated a library philosophy, society might have waited till
far into the twentieth century for the working of its influence.
Because they were men possessed of an enthusiasm, and with
the magic power of communicating that enthusiasm, the library
idea was translated rapidly into practice, and today we have
a library activity which is recognized by those outside our
ranks as a movement, and which Thomas Wentworth Higgin-
son compares to the cathedral-building impulse of the thirteenth
century.
We have no reason to find fault with our past, but I be-
lieve it is time for us to have as the foundation for our
library enthusiasm a library philosophy, by which I mean a
carefully thought out and adequately expressed statement of
the fundamentals of library science. We need a philosophy,
not to take the place of enthusiasm, but to support and strengthen
and keep alive enthusiasm. Thomas Davidson says of the
Reformation: It was a considerable time before the movement
became sufficiently conscious of its own meaning and pre-
suppositions to give them conscious expression in a philosophy;
and until this is done no movement can display its whole
strength or proceed securely. [History of education, p. lt>7-1
If Mr. Davidson is correct in his analysis the statement applies
eaually to the library movement. Such a formulation of prin-
498 SALOME CUTLER FAIRCHILD
ciples might save us from the faddish and one-sided develop-
ment which thoughtful librarians deplore, would help us to a
perfect correlation of the various types of libraries, and secure
from all library workers respect for the work of each other
type. I offer a single sentence as a slight contribution to a
library philosophy which will, if it is needed, be built up gradu-
ally by the united work of many thinkers.
The function of the library as an institution of society is the
development and enrichment of human life in the entire com-
munity by bringing to all the people the books that belong to
them.
If it were possible to be sure that the word education
would be understood in its broadest sense, we might say that
the function of the library is the education of the entire com-
munity. There is, however, too great risk that the word edu-
cation will be understood in its more restricted sense of the
formal, systematic training extending from the kindergarten
to the university.
I should like to make more vivid my conception of the
meaning of the words "the development and enrichment of
life" by a few stories of results in life which are brought
about by the use of the library. All but one of them fell within
my actual knowledge, and are reports of fact. One is imagi-
nary, but I believe has often been realized.
A home library was put into the house of a hard- working
German baker. One of his sons was a member of the little
group of children. About two years later the mother said to
the home library visitor, I want to give a dollar for the sup-
port of the library because the books do so much good to
the children. Perhaps you don't see it, for you only come
once a week; I am here all the time and I know. There's
my boy, he is going to enter the high school. We wanted our
older boys to go to school longer, but they did not want to,
and Max would have been just the same if he hadn't read
these books ; that put it into his head to go to school longer.
And so the German baker's wife gave her hard-earned dollar
to buy more home libraries, and the next year she gave an-
other dollar. I saw the boy's picture as captain of the base-
ball team of the high school, a fine, manly looking fellow.
The high school gave Max an ambition to go to college. Through
the influence of friends a scholarship was obtained, and he is
FUNCTION OF THE LIBRARY 499
now a student in one of our older colleges. Max will get
added satisfaction out of life, and if his future course is
rightly shaped, the community will be bettered in every way
by his developed life. Society cannot afford to leave dormant,
powers which might be trained to do a higher grade of work.
It is probable that Max was made of finer stuff than his older
brothers, but you could never convince his mother that the
home library did not make ail the difference. We can agree
with her that without the library he would never have gone
to college.
The Altruria public library undertook systematically to do
what had been done in part by many libraries, notably by the
Worcester public library. It bought books in the interest of
every trade and occupation followed in the city, and gave
special and appropriate invitations to workers in each industry
to avail themselves of the opportunity of perfecting themselves
in their work by using these books. Something like the fol-
lowing has, no doubt, happened more than once. The car-
penter's trade was represented among others. The men In
a large shop received one payday, in their money envelopes,
invitations to inspect the books on carpentry in the branch
of the public library nearest their work and homes. The in-
vitation was worded in such a way as to pique the curiosity
and appeal to each man's sense of his own importance. There
was a moderate response on the part of the men. One man
whose home happened to be particularly unattractive, and who
was too unsocial in his disposition to care much for the saloon,
fell into the habit of spending all his evenings in the public
library. After a time he read through the books on carpentry
originally provided, and others were bought especially for his
use. He gradually came to take a more enlightened interest
in his work in the shop. The quality of his work improved,
and within a couple of years he was promoted from his posi-
tion as common carpenter to that of master carpenter. When
it became noised about that this man's wages were advanced
because he used the public library, more men from that shop
began to frequent the library. Not having his natural aptitude
or his powers of close application, they did not all get an
advance in wages.
One of them did not take much to books on carpentry; he
had enough of that during the day, he said. He used to hang
500 SALOME CUTLER FAIRCHILD
around the political economy alcove of an evening and of a
Sunday afternoon. He read Adam Smith and Ricardo and
Henry George and Mill and Sumner and Walker. His mental
apprehension of what it all meant was very vague. If he had
been forced to pass an examination on the subject, the result
would have been ludicrous. But the reading habit developed
in adult life tended to increase his self-respect, and from the
confusion of conflicting theories and scientific terms he did get
clearly the idea that a working man who is the master of a
good trade has a better chance in the struggle for existence
than one without. His boy was drifting about the city doing
all sorts of odd jobs, and he did not see how he could afford
to feed and clothe him two or three years longer while he learned
a trade. But as he kept on reading, the sense of his obligation
to give his own child a good start in life grew upon him, and
the man actually gave up his pipe for three years, until his task
of giving the boy a trade was accomplished.
This man's wife, from her novel and her volume on domes-
tic economy, got the notion of taking more pains with making
her bread, of keeping her cellar clean, and of having a prettier
parlor for her daughter's sake. The raising of ideals in stand-
ards of living is of great service in social development.
A young woman of my acquaintance, who is bookkeeper in
a village store, with a comfortable home but a somewhat re-
stricted social life, and close, painstaking attention to her ledger
and daybook tending to restricted interests, took as the com-
panion of her short summer vacation Mrs Dana's, How to
know the wild flowers. As I watched her use it I had a
revelation of the new world such a book may open up. She
delighted in the exactness of scientific description, even en-
joying the use of the glossary. She went back to her book-
keeping with freshened interest and more spirit in life from
her acquaintance with the wild flowers. In this case the gain
comes not from new facts learned, but from the broadening
out of experience, the uplifting of a narrow horizon.
Here is another true story. The adventures of Sherlock
Holmes, by sharpening the wits in imitation-suggestion, helped
a man to find a difficult trail in the woods and save the party
of friends with him from spending the night on the mountain.
A friend told me that a wise mother of her acquaintance
had been reading aloud to her somewhat self-willed boy of
five years Kipling's Jungle books. She found to her surprise
FUNCTION OF THE LIBRARY 501
that these stories were proving her most effectual means of
controlling the child. Being a woman of natural insight, and
of psychological training, she was able to find the reason. The
child seemed from the first to get the suggestion of law and
obedience which runs through the stories and which is crystal-
lized in the Law of the jungle.
Now these are the laws of the jungle, and many and mighty
are they; & J
But the head and the hoof of the law, and the haunch and the
hump is — obey.
The association in the child's mind of his own life with
the life of the jungle was so strong that the law actually
seemed to him to apply to his own conduct. The book may
serve this double purpose also for the adult— -satisfy the human
instinct for a good story and give a strong and healthy push
toward law and order and obedience in the whole of life.
Uncle Tom's cabin has doubtless been the most potent of
all influences in rousing to action the sentiment of sympathy
for the enslaved. Kipling's Absent-minded beggar opens hearts
and loosens purse-strings for the man who ignores all moral
obligations except the duty to fight for his country.
Edward Everett Kale's Man without a country, makes every-
body who reads it realize the joy of sharing in the national
life of a civilized country. The white man's burden gives us
a sense of belonging to the world-life.
In distributing all these books the library is not in any formal
way teaching carpentry, or political economy, or botany, or
morality. It is simply setting free and directing into wise chan-
nels forces which shall naturally play their part in broadening
and unifying life, in giving it purity and beauty and sweetness.
The cultivation of the imagination, the fancy, the sense of
humor, of the sympathetic nature, as Mr Larned so aptly puts
it, "the whole conscious contentment of the absorbing mind,"
is a real gain for the individual and for society. Read some
evening MacManus' In chimney corners, with its pure fun and
rollicking Irish humor, and see if work doesn't go smoother
"the day" and the world seem a sweeter, wholesomer place to
live in.
If the book, circulated through the library, enlarges the
experience, raises ideals, stimulates the mental powers, increases
the capacity for enjoyment, then the library is working power-
502 SALOME CUTLER FAIRCHILD
fully and permanently for the development and enrichment
of human life.
Returning to the thought that the purpose of the library is
bringing to all the people the books that belong to them, I
should like to emphasize for a moment the phrase "all the
people," not for the sake of dwelling on the democratic ideal
of the library, which is commonly acknowledged and which
is a very old story, but to correct what seems to me the mistake
of considering the library as a big philanthropic effort for the
unprivileged, for the unfit and the delinquent. The ob-
ject of the library is to bring to all the people the books that
belong to them. The scholar has at least an equal claim with
the vagrant. The shop girl, the mechanic, the unskilled laborer,
the children of the slum districts, have a right to our philan-
thropic effort, and may require more of our time because it is
hard to gain insight into their life; but we should not fail to
acknowledge the claims of the well-to-do, the society girl, the
business man, of the real student in any line of investigation,
and when we are buying expensive books for the student, or
making an elaborate catalog, or spending hours of time in ref-
erence work, we are not simply giving him his share which
is his right, we are working through him for the good of the
whole community. The scientific man, the inventor, the honest
investigator in any line, however selfish his personal motive,
cannot work for himself alone; his labor after it has found
expression must bear fruit for the common welfare, and so,
most truly, in helping him, we are fulfilling the purpose of
the library. We must have, therefore, to furnish reading fa-
cilities for the leaders of the community, strong reference de-
partments in the public library, reference libraries, college
libraries and special subject libraries like the great medical
collection of the surgeon-general's office.
Perhaps I should make clearer what is meant by the ex-
pression, the books that belong to them. We have a little
neighbor about 12 years old, whose father is a bookkeeper of
average education, but very fond of reading. He was distressed
because the boy hated to go to school and disliked reading,
and he tried to coax him by giving him books. As a student
of library work for children I studied the boy and brought
him home books that are usually alluring to children, but it
was of no avail. He had only one characterization for all
stories — lies. I found by watching him that he was of a
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